Showing posts with label 3x. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3x. Show all posts

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Campaign Ideas 2011 June Edition

From Hell's Heart

In the setting, the PC's were seriously wronged by the ruling class, cast out, tortured, lost families, come up with whatever truly awful tragedy you like as per the background, just make it bad. Being nearly broken by this only one thing keeps them alive and sane ,faith and hope. Faith in each other and Hope of vengeance.

All PC's must be of evil alignment have a basic loyalty to other party members and be interested in vengeance at any cost. Its D&D on the dark-side where you can be the one drowning the world or consorting with witches and werewolves. Learn to hate and come from Hell' Heart.

Needless to say this is for select mature players who can handle it.

R.A.I.D.

Royal Army Intelligence Division.

Gear Up! We have a dead marine. Its TV's NCIS in a D&D world. The PC's are tasked with investigating crimes caused by or against members of the King's Forces. Investigate crime, espionage, terror and ordinary dirty deeds while trying to avoid disappointing from The Gnomish Duchess of Deception (or the L.J. Tibbs)

Exemplars Two

My original version of this concept was a bit more complex and gritty but I thought y'all might like to see it.

Mortals and Heroic Mortals work as before with the caveat that they use the mechanics from a Game of Thrones for combat and do not have access to spell casting classes other than a modified adept.

Exemplars are made the same way as above with the following changes.

Use the Best 6 of 8 ability matrix and start at L10 Gestalt
Exemplars heal as per standard D20
Exemplars are immune to aging and cannot be turned into undead.
Unlike mortals who stun on 1/2 Con plus feats Exemplars use their who Con score.

Magic items are as per normal however as every class gets a defense bonus and armor is DR, the easiest solution is to split the GP allotment, half should become innate bonuses bought as slot-less items (but at normal cost) and the other half cool items.

Not also that magic weapons work as Valayrian Steel weapons in the AGOT ruels against no magic armor.

After re-flavor feats and such to taste.

And there you have it, Exemplars 2.0 ..

Comments?

Examplars, Exalted using D20

It might surprise folks house easy this is. You don't even need to change the rules.

Simply do the following

All Normal Humans use Epic 6 Rules and at most 20 point buy. They do not get +2 to an attribute

All Heroic Mortals use Epic 8 Rules and at most 25 point buy

All PC Exemplars are Gestalt, start at 10th level and use the following ability matrix.

Roll 8d6, Arrange the best 6 as desired and add 12 to each roll.

Exemplars heal as per standard D20

Exemplars are immune to aging and cannot be turned into undead.

Season with flavor text, fancy names for feats and such to taste

These small changes will create a game that in play feels as epic as Exalted without any real learning curve.

Armor and Heat in 3x/Pathfinder

The biggest drawback to armor is surprisingly not the weight, mind you its not pleasant to carry 70lbs all day long but armor weight is generally well distributed.

No what makes armor unpleasant is the heat.

Mail is marginally tolerable, even with the weight mostly hanging on the shoulders as its breaths a bit but Plate, well its like wearing a boiler all day.

If you want to simulate this effect in your 3x and Pathfinder games its really easy.

Simply subtract the armor check penalty from armor from any rolls vs heat and fatigue. As with the helmet rules, all reductions to this check (class, masterwork and magic) count as usual. If the helmet is removed (reducing AC vs critical conformation by 4, to a minimum of 10) reduce the penalty by half, round up.

In addition, if desired, a shields armor check penalty can be applied as well though this should only be applied to fatigue, not heat.

One warning though, this does weaken heavy armor for non fighters a bit, so be warned.

Helmets in Pathfinder/3x

I was stewing on the issue of helmets a while back and came up with a set of rules that add verisimilitude to the existing helmet rules without too much complexity.

All armor is assumed to come with an appropriate helmet. However as helmets make it much harder to see and hear, subtract all armor check penalties from perception rolls,

All abilities that reduce armor check penalties (class abilities, masterwork, magic etc) also reduce this penalty.

If a character chooses not to wear a helmet, perception penalties may be ignored however reduce armor class vs confirmation of critical hits by four to a minimum of 10.

Magic helmets work normally as per armor.

So what do ya think?

Friday, June 10, 2011

Change the Classes Change the World Very Low Magic

It might surprise folks who haven't tried it but 3x is a very flexible set of games. With a little application of DM elbow grease and brain sweat its pretty easy to use the system for most anything.

For those who want essentially no magic in the hands of the PC's and farily high verisimilitude it can be a little tricky but you have a couple of options.

#1 You can use the old Game of Thrones D20 rules with some combination of E6/E8 and Codex Martialis and get a very authentic set up

or you can use your PF/D20 at E6 or E8 and my low magic rules in the sidebar. This will cover your needed decently well except for the mojo.

Classes are limited to

Fighter
Rogue
Barbarian
Skirmisher Ranger
Noble
Cavalier
Warlord or War Master
and some kind of Scholar/Everyman either one of the Scholar classes, the Savant from Thieves World, The Master from Dragonlance or the Maester from Game of Thrones, depending on what you have.

The magic is best handled with a feat based system something like the special abilities in Wheel of Time.

My feat list is below though note I did not include any description as its not done. Hopefully the names will be evocative enough to give you an idea of what they are like.

Totem Spirit

Medium

Echoes of Yesterday

Fortunetelling

Foretelling

Animal Talker

Animal Kin

Old Blood

Obscure Knowledge

Wolf Brother

Heightened Senses

Animal Bond

Pack Alpha

Wolf Dream

Dream Capture

Dream Watch

War Cry

Dreamer

Dream Bind

Dream Walk

Dream Jump

Bend Dream

Sniffer

Second Sight

Waking Dream

Green Thumb

Tree Warden

Mesmerize

Uncanny Luck

Déjà vu

Horse Whisperer

Commune with Nature

Fearless

Nose of the Bear

Healing Hands

Smell Gold (Genteel Looter)

Systematic Mind

Danger Sense (Danger Intuition)

Uncanny Alertness


With this kind of set up and a little imagination you can have a game where there is magic and mystery but which cleaves decently close to reality. Not bad from a game whose default mode of play is in the words of one of my players "Final Fantasyesque"

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Theme Parties: The Nakama

Something crazy that just occurred to me, with the right books its pretty easy to create a balanced Anime themed party.

Like many Anime groups its a five man band. I haven't assigned genders so set em up as you like. You while in this set up you need Tome of Battle to use this fully, the Sword Sage can easily be switched for a War Blade if you want a big guy or if you are clever, a Fighter.


The Nakama:



Sword Sage

Alchemist Preservationist

Summoner Synthesist

Ninja

Wizard Scroll Master

Friday, May 20, 2011

A few words of Wisdom from one of my Players regarding High Level 3x

I was chatting with one of my players, Eric the other day and was busily extolling the virtues of E6 and and E6.

Eric politely agreed that they were cool and more realistic but than added a bit of advice "Look High Level games and worlds aren't that hard of you remember that D&D characters live in a Final Fantasy-esque world."

I have to say its interesting advice and probably true though anyone naming a character Cloud Strife without a really good reason is probably banned from the game ;)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

64 pages of feats is a bit much

Yes, 64 pages. Thats 12pt text only , estimated after condensation BTW, its a little over that now and not 100% complete.


Much as I like 3x and enjoy writing for it, comes a point in which a man needs to take a hint from his players (who are suggesting they might have a big group who would enjoy 2e ) and roll back.

When all those pages are only part of one subsystem, basically just the WOTC feats plus a few 3rd party feats and a few homebrew feats. and it doesn't even include the Pathfinder feats, maybe its just a bit much.

Theme Parties: The Six Fingered Hand

I haven't done one of these in a while and I am pretty sure this is my 1st villain group.

The Six Fingered Hand is probably the most feared group of malefactors on Midrea. Tomb Tainted and capable of any crime or depravity, unlike most evil groups this group is truly dedicated to one another. If they could be said to have any redeeming trait or affection, their genuine friendship to each other is that. Of course thats no consolation to anyone else ...

Unless noted all of the member of the groups are human (well sort of) and possess the Tomb Tainted Soul feat which allows them to treat negative energy as positive as vice versa.

Charis, L12 Anti Paladin. The groups leader and immoral center

Sen L12 Cleric Undead Domain

Mala Fallen Star ,L12 Order of the Star Mystic Ranger (uses extended Arcane and Ranger magics)

Fayer, L12 Dread Necromancer

Skit, Tomb Tainted Greater Tiefling Fiendish Inheritor L5Rogue L7Assassin (3.5)

Calik, L12 Warlock

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Women and Classes in Midrea

In the Midrea game a female character (almost always played by a female player for various reasons) can be of any class or race they wish and set their stats any way they like

There are four basic reasons for this policy

#1 Its more fun

#2 Not doing so would cheese off female players

#3 PC's are always outliers anyway and there have been many historical outliers who took on "mens work"

#4 Hey its a magic world and said woman may have supernatural abilities


However as Midrea is designed with the idea "What if this were a real world with magic' and as it a with a lower technology (at the high end ,early enlightenment with retarded weapons do to the lack of gunpowder most places) combat and life in general places places a premium on muscular power. This leaves mundane non magical women at a disadvantage in heavy combat and as such has a profound impact on what classes are selected.


Women Cavaliers are rare enough that its entirely possible a PC will know almost all of the others as only one chapter accepts women entrants. However all orders are available and though done grudgingly, female Cavaliers are equated the same respect as male cavaliers by the authorities.

Adepts Aristocrats , Commoners and Experts have equal numbers of men and women

Barbarians, Fighters, Warriors and Rangers are fairly rare. Not unknown, just rare. Female Mystic Rangers however are fairly common as such Rangers go.

Bards are equally likely to be a man or a woman

Clerics and Cloistered Clerics will depend on the faith with more "Cloistered Clerics" among women. Some faiths and deities are all women, some all men, some mixed . Its about even

Inquisitors are usually male but there are exceptions, Oracles are more typically women. Paladins are never common and while men outnumber women by a margin, its not a great one.

Druids are about 50-50

Monks tend to be Male but there are plenty of women and there are "Nunneries" as well . Female "Monks" tend to favor wisdom as as stat rather than strength or dexterity

Female Rogues are as plentiful as men since the Rogues principal combat trick "sneak attack" is about hitting people where its hurts and the "fairer sex" is at no disadvantage. As a general thing, most non magic female adventurers will be Rogues.

Summoners are slightly more often male but the number of gate linked women is growing.

Alchemists are usual male as the number of women interested in puttering about with dangerous substances, heaving bombs and transmuting into a monster form is fairly small.

Sorcerers favor women somewhat and the usual "magic adventurer" among women will be a Sorceress and or Battle Sorceress

Wicca and Witches are majority female

Warlocks usually men (and not related to either Witches or Wicca)

Noble tends to favor men for social reasons but in areas where women have higher social status, female adventuring Nobles are common . As a general thing though, High Born NPC women are usually aristocrats ..

Archivists and Wizards are usually male since these people are the science and school geeks of the game world but given the lack of talent, none of the Wizard schools will turn down a women who can meet standards.

A Magus or a Hexblade or any of the other "fighter/mage" hybrids tend to favor men over women.

Lastly the the remaining 3x classes when I use them classes (Marshal, Warlord, Shaman, Dragon Shaman etc) tend to be male with the exceptions of the Assassin which may be either in equal numbers and the Healer which is usually female.

Typical Levels in Midrea 3x

I use a somewhat non standard level demographics in Midrea. Typical levels run from one ot three with an informal limit of 6 or 7 at most for NPC's. This selection puts me into the very high end of the "realistic" spectrum as advocated by the Alexandrian article "Calibrating Your Expectations" and allows me to make much use of one of my favorite supplements for NPC design,
ENWorld Publishing's Everyone Else .

Important NPCs and of course the players can exceed and do exceed this.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Charlie Sheen in 3x

This post over on Big Purple stating up everyones current favorite clown prince Charlie Sheen got me to thinking about a 3e write up.

A Tiger Blooded Vatican Assassin Warlock is actually rather easy to do in 3x terms. This wrote up assumes my usual +2 to skills house rules.

In case you wondered I decided against making him a shifter an djust made "Tiger Blooded" a feat though I don't know what it does

The 14 intelligence and 12 wisdom might seem a bit high but the man does seem to know his limits and seems to have trolled the entire planet. The high Constitution and Charisma are of course obvious ..

I decided to go straight warlock, assume a "divine" power source and multi rogue to cover the Vatican Assassin bit too.

So without further ado ...


Charlie Sheen

S 12
I 14
W 14
D 12
Con 20
Cha 16

Human?
Warlock 8/Rogue 3

Feats
H Tigerblooded
1 Lighting Reflexes
3 Iron Will
5 Great Fortitude
7 Extra Invocation
9 Extra Invocation
11 Extra Invocation

Skills
You figure it out

Special Abilities
Eldritch Blast with Hideous Blow and Brimstone Blasts (flaming fists of magic!)
Fell Flight
DR 2 Cold Iron
Fiendish Resilience
Beguiling Influences
Dark Ones Own Luck
Extra Invocation from Feat (Voice of Madness)
Extra Invocation from Feat (See the Unseen)
Sneak Attack +2d6
Evasion
Trap Sense +1

Special Items
Magic Machete

If you wanted to use this in E8 its actually easy. Just drop the Rogue Levels add a bonus feat (Martial Weapon Proficiency /Machete) and you are done, This still makes him a superhero of course but how many Vatican Assassin Warlocks do you know ;)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Guns on Midrea Rules Thoughts

Rules wise I found it simpler to graft on the rules bits from D20 Modern spiced with a spot of the new pathfinder . This set up is compatible with 3x and the rules while far from perfect work well enough for me.

Costing firearms was a bit trickier

Typically I assume flintlocks cost about 3x what an equivalent bow does with ammo running roughly 1sp per point of maximum damage the weapon can do. Lead balls can be had anywhere for about a copper..

Modern Firearms are a but pricey, costing around 1000 for a handgun and 5000 for a long gun, based on weight and the cost of the casting of 7th level spell plus markup.

Ammunition is also crazy expensive costing costing about 15GP per handgun round and 30GP per shotshell or Rifle round. This premium keeps the number of them in circulation small. The small number of casters capable of handling 7th level spells means that the number of military units with these weapons is small.

As for energy weapons, they exist but are rare and cannot be bought.

As above I tend to use modified D20 Moder/Pathfinder rules.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Prestige Classes OK Idea, Bad Implementation

I almost didn't need content for the post as the title summed up my feelings.

Basically as my class/race list (in the sidebar) and some of my previous posts show, I don't like prestige classes very much.

yes I know they have been around since the early game (the 1e Bard and as Hill Cantons notes BECMI and UA classes) but its not the core idea thats bad so much as the implementation.


Not only are there far too many of the things to be easily managed but the entry mechanism is just bad. I can deal with the bloat by simply banning them but the starting level is a bigger challenge.

Starting a prestige class at 6th or 7th level has the cardinal sin of being boring. Its not something to strive for as much as a "level grind" Taking up to six months (24 sessions, 1 combat per session, 4 hours each, 1 time per week) just to play your concept is just not fun.

I can see (though I don't really like) the name level classes in BECMI, at least those are tied to an end game. The ones in 3x are just there .. Yuck..

Now if I were to redesign them I'd take a note from Hill Cantons (again) and start them at 4th level. And yes if you go and read that post, you'll see I was critical of the idea somewhat. After long thought I have come to the conclusion that its actually a very good idea. Sorry HC...

Anyway starting them at 4th fits the general, 1st thru 3rd are regular Joes, L4 Hero L8 Superhero ethos of D&D very well, allows them to be common enough to have orders and organizations without level bloat and even blends in well the the implied 5th thru 7th are exceptional but not super rare implication of the fighter/nobles on the 1st Edition DMG.

This kind of set up gives a good intro to the game and a new player can play maybe nine to a dozen sessions as a low level guy then be ready to try something more challenging. It just fits.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Spell Point System for All Versions

Yes all versions.

My group play-tested the original version with 2e /Diablo and while it was fine for Diablo it was a bit overpowered for standard D&D. We found there was too much magic missile spamming and in games that were less undead heavy, there would almost certainly be too many sleep spells for game balance.

However this version is better balanced and should be OK for most games. And in case you wondered, I actually prefer the default Vancian system a. Its more flavorful and more D&D in my opinion.

Now what this system does is grant spell casters a bit more flexibility, a bit more power and eliminates the "15 minute adventuring day" . Its quite possible to adventure all day and manage resources with a lot more precision.

It comes at a cost in blandness and more importantly in game balance. This will make spell casters stronger and as such, even in old school games some kind of gimme for non spell casters might be a good idea.

So without further ado, Spell Points ala 5 Stone.


OSR and Pathfinder version.

Add all your spells per day together.That is your spell point pool.

You know whatever spells your DM allows and may cast them as per normal however all spells that directly inflict harm effects on people other than the caster cost Level +1. Other spells cost an amount equal to their level. when the pool reaches zero, you can no longer cast spells. You regain the pool with 10 hours uninterrupted rest.

example

Findel a 5th level Int 14 Elf Fighter/Magic User will have 10 spell points (3 1st level spell, 2 bonus spells for INT 1 L2 spell and 1 L1 spell ) He knows sleep, mount , shield, charm person, light, magic missile, web and fireball

He can cast sleep for 2, mount for 1 , shield for 1, charm person for 2 light for 1, magic missile for 2 web for 2 and fireball for 4

This certainly gives him bonus flexibility but still keeps him within reasonable limits. Now note it can prevent low level, low stat magic users or clerics from actually casting damaging spells but thats a feature not a bug.

Options

For a lower magic feel, you can double the cost of person effecting spells instead (sleep 2, web 2, Fireball 6 )

Notes:
#1 Pathfinder . You will need to exclude L0 spells in Pathfinder as these have unlimited use.

#2 Older editions. I recommend allowing high INT magic users bonus spells as per clerics in these versions as 1st level magic users will not eb able to cast direct damage spells or sleep without the extra points.

#3 3.5 version. The 3x version works identically however as cantrips are daily spells, the spell pool is calculated at Level +1 for all spells (with L0 spells costing 1 point) and spells cast from the pool at L+1 and L+2 for harmful magic ...


#4 Optional rule. If you want faster or slower recovery, you can change the recovery rate. The most popular change is 10% per hour. This is a bit of a power up so be warned!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Those Pesky WOTC Magic Classes

This is almost an outtake or fan supplement as these classes contain closed content owned by Wizards of the Coast. As such you'd never seen any of it anywhere but here on line.

However as part of my "use almost anything in a logical fashion" approach to Midrea I had to shoehorn some of the WOTC classes in.

1st was the Warlock. These guys gain there power either by birth to a Warlock parent, being granted power (by say a dying Warlock) , from killing a Warlock with a cold iron blade (DC18 bardic or arcane check to know this) or by being exposed to the Well of Archeon (DC10 bardic, arcane or Int check) which is a Proto-Gate.

Four Classes, Healer, Warmage, Dread Necromancer and Beguiler all share a common origin/ These types were granted power by the Tears of the Sleeping Goddesses who are rumored to be the lost or murdered consorts of the Lawbringer. A word of warning though, spreading that rumor in lands Under the Law is the heresy and the penalties are unpleasant.

Deathlord from the Dragon Compendium was another "magical radiation" origin as such persons are attuned to the magical energy of the wastelands

Incarnum is the raw spiritual energy and was discovered by experimentation into the natur eof divinity in Orena.

Another Orena discovery is the The Sublime Way. These Book of Nine Swords powers come from intense training in the interaction between natural Ki magic and ambient energy fields from the various gates,

Dragon Magic, in a particular Dragon Shamans and Dragonfire Adepts come from The Dragon Empire as you might expect and are a product of deep connection between the houses and the Draconic Spiritual Forces. These same forces also produce the Dragon Disciple prestige class.

lastly, the various Pseudo-Asian classes such as Shugenja, Wu_jen and the like are simply variants of the existing power types.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Origin of Wizards on Midrea

This is actually a decently well known fact known to anyone making a Bardic Lore check or Knowledge Arcana check at DC15.

Arcane Magic was discovered by Baran the Master Magister around the year 170 or so. He discovered The First Book and a magic pair of spectacles that enabled him to understand the text. After that he taught himself Wizardry and eventually taught a few additional people the art and it spread from there. The First Book is at the Collegium in Firom. Its value is mostly historical as its an ordinary spellbook in the Shaper idiom that contains essentially all the spells in SRD they do not bear a proper name.

A DC20 check of either will also reveal that Baran is still around and in fact still holds his position as the Master Magsiter and as before is found in the Passak Vale near the Stehl Mountains.

Magic in 3x Midrea, Expansion

This is not part 2 but an expansion of part 1 detailing a few bits I forgot.

Bard Magic is related to Sorcery and occurs among people with exceptional creative and performing talents than are exposed to the energy of the Violet Gate at a young age. This energy is a kind of glare and clamor in the form of words or an inchoate song, most folks call it Glamor.


Wicca
Sometimes called Witchcraft, Wicce (pronounced wis) , or Witta this is an arcane tradition that blends some spiritual, natural and arcane powers. Most of its practitioners are women but this not a requirement. This class uses a blend of rules rules from Green Ronin's Witches Handbook, Mongoose's Quintessential Witch, Web Warlocks entirely free and excellent Liber Mysterium and Citizen Game's/Trollord's Way of the Witch.

Shamans. These mysterious people are much as they are in Earthly traditions though with assistance from spirit intermediaries they can access the ambient magical energy that lies in the space between worlds that is available at different periods, I use a mix of WOTC and Green Ronin's Shaman's Handbook

Spell Preparation.

Spell Preparation is the easiest form of magic to master as it only requires access to study materials, enough discipline to meditate enough mental power and enough intelligence to understand and master the magic. It takes about 6 years of study to master "3rd Magnitude" spells and be considered a full fledged wizard. Training typically starts around 16-18 or so for most children as younger pupils often lack the focus necessary.

Each tradition uses its own mnemonic patterns to facilitate the trance like states needed to impress the spells to manipulate energy on the Wizards mind. This can make gaining new spells a bit of a challenge of course but for those with the resources it can be a worthwhile endeavor.

It should also be noted that many people have a mastered cantrip or two. Fully half the population has the brains to do this and while they don't all have the time , money or inclination during period in which arcane magic works, its not uncommon to see a cantrip or two.

Gestalt Rules on Midrea 3x

Yep I do have them. Coming up with these was a bit tricky but in the end I was inspired by Inuyasha and other anime and came up with this.

Gestalts also called Exemplars are created when a person of exceptional potential becomes attuned to a shard of the gem of the Realms. This jewel was created by unknown parties in Orena sometime around 922 . These persons were attempting to fuse all of the different magical powers into a single artifact. While this did create a Gem this proved to be unstable and the it exploded into energized fragments.

Person with enough potential (high stats and at least 5th level) gain the a Gestalt class as per the SRD except that unlike the standard rules, one class will always be a magical class. When this class is gained, they gain one Gestalt level immediately and 2 Gestalt Levels at each level up till the levels are even,

Once a person becomes an Exemplar even loss of the Shard won't change this although death will drain the Gestalt levels and render the person ordinary. Mind you, nothing stops said person from gaining another shard and again regaining lost Gestalt levels. Such an event, while rare is instantaneous.

In addition Exemplars also gain the ability to enchant shards of the Gem using magical material as if they had the appropriate item creation feats.

A Gem Shard that is embedded in a Charkra point uses that point and maybe be enchanted as any item that would normally be appropriate. It functions normally except that it must be cut from a person in order to be taken and it cannot be targeted or disarmed. Its also cannot be changed although with practice (and appropriate feat) it is possible to drain magic from an item linked to that Chakra into the Gem.

Shards may also be carried. These are treated as slot-less items even if they are in jewelery or the like. As above it also possible to drain items with the feat. Although only one half the energy is collected when used in this way such energy may be used for any purpose.