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It's not like thaaaat serious. I haven't messed around with the chat stuff or like server hosting. If you want to go in you can go real loving deep tho. It's almost all modular. But Setting it up is generally port forwarding the application and then just opening a world from the world selector. And then just learning the basic UI and how everything is organized and set up. And then going to the discord to find the recommended modules. Out of the poo poo ton of stuff people have made for it. But just like general use it's not that bad.
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May 27, 2021 06:42
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Edit: ignore this post, it came off way, way more aggressive than I intended.
Gentleman Baller fucked around with this message at 09:20 on May 27, 2021 |
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May 27, 2021 09:05
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There was some discussion about magic in law recently, anyone have any feedback about this?
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May 27, 2021 09:36
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Enjoy posted:There was some discussion about magic in law recently, anyone have any feedback about this? It looks pretty reasonable to the time period, did you have more on what divides a royal wizard from a heretical witch? Since this mentions a distinction, I presume its more than "I say so" in eras where the Church generally has massive sway on things like this.
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May 27, 2021 10:50
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Karatela posted:It looks pretty reasonable to the time period, did you have more on what divides a royal wizard from a heretical witch? Since this mentions a distinction, I presume its more than "I say so" in eras where the Church generally has massive sway on things like this. I would imagine royal wizards are trained by agents of the church and state. However, wizards can't cast zone of truth, only bards, clerics, and paladins. I guess maybe if the institutions are loose about what qualifies as a 'wizard' and include those classes, maybe that might make more sense then.
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May 27, 2021 11:07
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Karatela posted:It looks pretty reasonable to the time period, did you have more on what divides a royal wizard from a heretical witch? Since this mentions a distinction, I presume its more than "I say so" in eras where the Church generally has massive sway on things like this. Since it's 17th century Europe but with DnD stuff added, Christianity is dominant and Christian-trained spellcasters are legitimate. Satanism and paganism are overblown threats (I'm trying to convey a moral panic with a tenuous relation to reality, but DMs could use Satanists etc as actual threats if they want)  Mr. Lobe posted:I would imagine royal wizards are trained by agents of the church and state. However, wizards can't cast zone of truth, only bards, clerics, and paladins. I guess maybe if the institutions are loose about what qualifies as a 'wizard' and include those classes, maybe that might make more sense then. Oops! quote:Suspects in lay courts have few rights. If the accusor is a noble or wealthy merchant, they may hire a spellcaster to cast Zone of Truth or Detect Thoughts on the defendant, if the judge agrees. If the court is a royal court, there will be a dedicated Cleric or Wizard for casting such spells. Refusing to testify while under such magical effects will be seen as a sign of guilt. Enjoy fucked around with this message at 11:21 on May 27, 2021 |
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May 27, 2021 11:18
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Enjoy posted:There was some discussion about magic in law recently, anyone have any feedback about this? I think it looks really cool. I do want to reiterate though that I think there was--in common law--if not quite a right to silence then at least a convention that the accused should not be compelled to testify, because the Court of the Star Chamber's practice of compelling testimony during the period was seen as an outrageous abuse. I think for this to have been recognised as wrong at the time, it must have violated a tradition or norm of how legal proceedings normally went. That need not be true in your magical Europe, of course.
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May 27, 2021 15:29
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Reveilled posted:I think it looks really cool. I do want to reiterate though that I think there was--in common law--if not quite a right to silence then at least a convention that the accused should not be compelled to testify, because the Court of the Star Chamber's practice of compelling testimony during the period was seen as an outrageous abuse. I think for this to have been recognised as wrong at the time, it must have violated a tradition or norm of how legal proceedings normally went. That need not be true in your magical Europe, of course. Yeah I've been reading a lot of stuff about judicial systems to try to get a better grasp of it and I'm rewriting it to mention this
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May 27, 2021 17:43
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Zone of Truth feels like it should tie more into religious law, as it's a miracle from God. That said, the existence of a saving throw raises so many theological questions.
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May 27, 2021 21:08
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Doing some stewing on something. Which subclasses in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything would work in Kara-tur? I'll start Clerics of Order are kinda my default cleric of those that have to work off of the Celestial Bureaucracy.
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May 27, 2021 22:33
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  I feel like this should help a DM throw enough terms into a scene to be convincing, right?
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May 28, 2021 06:31
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Enjoy posted:
I feel like it's worth pointing out that in this time period there is basically no such thing as prison, with crimes punished by either physical measures or death. It's also worth pointing out that most crimes, even blatant ones, do not go into the justice system. The crown is only going to prosecute a select few offenses like murder or treason, while common crimes like burglary, robbery and especially assault are only going to get into the legal system if done against someone who can pay court costs. Much of the criminal justice system at the time is a way to enforce power structures, without really much universality of access in either popular perception or fact. And one last point... The actual courts were part time affairs in most places in England. A court circuit would have a few judges touring it, and without a present judge proceedings couldn't take place. It might well be that a judge comes every three months, and hears outstanding cases for a few weeks before moving on.
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May 28, 2021 08:43
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Enjoy posted:Since it's 17th century Europe but with DnD stuff added, Christianity is dominant and Christian-trained spellcasters are legitimate. Satanism and paganism are overblown threats (I'm trying to convey a moral panic with a tenuous relation to reality, but DMs could use Satanists etc as actual threats if they want) This is neat and fits, thank you! Reveilled posted:I think it looks really cool. I do want to reiterate though that I think there was--in common law--if not quite a right to silence then at least a convention that the accused should not be compelled to testify, because the Court of the Star Chamber's practice of compelling testimony during the period was seen as an outrageous abuse. I think for this to have been recognised as wrong at the time, it must have violated a tradition or norm of how legal proceedings normally went. That need not be true in your magical Europe, of course. Mainly, forcing a plea was an outrage because even if you were crushed to death for not entering a plea, you died without being found guilty of the crime, which tended towards the treason end of things, and could result in loss of lands and titles for you and family. Forcing a plea removed that traditional escape valve for your survivors.
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May 28, 2021 10:14
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   Spheres of the Mists: the Spheres System for Ravenloft A world that obeys not the laws of nature, but the tortured whims of malevolent entities and their godlike captors. Those unlucky enough to be claimed by the Mists need to use every bit of skill and wit at their disposal to survive in this world of monsters and fell magic. Major Traditions: The Demiplane of Dread has claimed entire lands and civilizations from a myriad of worlds, a milieu of cultures and lost histories that point at unknown legacies. Hunter-gatherer tamers of beasts, musketeers in tri-coned hats, and medieval knights on horseback can all be found within the Mists’ shrouded worlds to some degree. The same applies to magic, although the tainted influence of the Dark Powers means that the supernatural is often a rare and subtle art. Traditions that point to ‘dark fantasy’ influences and come at a price such as Added and Blood Magic are more common than in other settings, while paladins and high priests of good-aligned deities are as rare as hen’s teeth given they eventually draw the baleful eyes of a domain’s Darklord. Advanced/Legendary Talents: Ravenloft is a lower-power setting, one where the heroes often face overwhelming odds and cannot easily rely upon miraculous wonders with no strings attached. Advanced and Legendary Talents, particularly those with a prerequisite of 11th level and higher, are often unsuitable in the hands of PCs. But instead of a blanket ban, the DM should look over particular talents in the relevant spheres possessed by the PCs, and ask themselves the following: “Can this talent effortlessly bypass certain elements in the adventure, particularly those necessary for maintaining a sense of horror?” Beyond this, talents which ignore the setting limitations under New Rules & Subsystems, such as Warp’s Planeshift, should be banned, although even high-level talents can still have a place in gothic horror. Scrying is a common spell in horror and folkloric stories, while Creation’s Fleshcraft is thematically appropriate for characters seeking to push the boundaries of the humanoid body into uncharted (and potentially dangerous) territory Technology Level: In pre-5th Edition the Ravenloft setting divided domains into Cultural Levels, a comparison of the land’s technological prowess compared to real-world timelines. The majority of domains are medieval, although lands ranging from the Stone Age to Victorian Times have been possibilities. No known domains have reached a truly “modern” or futuristic age. And of those exceptions, such as the alien workings of Bluetspur’s illithids, have been more or less monstrous realms whose inventions are unfathomable to mortal safety and sanity.  New Rules & Subsystems Note: Although 2nd and 3rd Edition are very different ruleswise, the latter tried to be faithful in converting material to the D20 System. Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is notably a lot more free-wheeling and rules-lite, where things such as altered magic and Cultural Levels are more or less gone. In the discussion of rules, “classic” refers to 2nd/3rd Edition versions of the setting, while “5e” refers to the latest version. Altered Magic (classic): The Dark Powers have a vested interest in making magic of a dark and morally dubious nature more tempting to spellcasters, while those that allow for easy travel and the vanquishing of aforementioned dark magic are heavily restrained. Instead of going over every individual sphere and talent, a set of rules discuss how certain forms of magic are changed or even unavailable. Summoning and Banishing: Summoning-related magic that calls and banishes entities from other planes only function normally as a one-way into Ravenloft, and such creatures often resent such imprisonment. Conjured companions are more likely to be those already bound to the Demiplane of Dread, such as ghostly haunts, spirits of the land or Mists, manifestations of the caster’s subconscious, beings already physically present heeding the spell’s call, and the like. Talents which can banish a creature to another plane of existence are equally fruitless. Travel: Spells which allow for extradimensional travel cannot leave the Demiplane of Dread proper or cross through domain borders closed by a Darklord. Basically if the start and endpoint are still within Ravenloft proper, the talent can work as usual. Coterminous planes such as ethereal travel are an exception in that it works normally, but further travel into the Deep Ethereal cannot work. “Pocket dimensions” such as the Dark sphere’s Shadow Stash, Warp sphere’s Extradimensional Room, and Warp sphere’s Extradimensional Storage are allowed and are still technically within Ravenloft’s planar fabric. Alignment Detection: Divination magic cannot detect alignment on the good/evil axis, although lawful/chaotic still works. Magical detection of an indirect fashion, such as Fate sphere’s Divine Force, still works normally. General Divination: Undead are better capable of concealing their natures, and are always allowed a saving throw vs the Sphere DC against Divination sphere talents that would reveal their true nature. Furthermore, the Scrying advanced talent manifests a ghostly version of the caster’s relevant sensory organ. This can be detected via an opposed Perception/Stealth roll with the scryer having advantage on the check. The organ makes them vulnerable to sensory effects performed in the sensor’s area of influence, such as gaze attacks for visual senses, thunder damage for auditory senses, etc. Divine Communion: Spells which allow the caster to petition a deity or similar being of power can be intercepted by the Dark Powers. Relevant rolls for information-gathering should be made by the GM in secret, and on the result of a failed check give a misleading result rather than a silent/“no result” one. Shadow Magic: Spells that make use of shadow are stronger than usual in Ravenloft. PC spherecasters specializing in such magic (and not just dabblers who want a free talent!) may be given a bonus talent in reflection of this, typically of the Dark or Illusion spheres. The Shadow Creature form talent for Conjuration, the Beshadowed/Ink/Shadow blast types for Destruction, the Detect Shadows divine talent for Divination, and the Shadow Cage dual sphere talent for Universal are also appropriate choices. Necromancy: It is easier to create undead creatures but harder to control them in Ravenloft. Casters with the Death sphere can have a total number of reanimated creatures equal to double their proficiency bonus. This comes at a price: undead created beyond the caster’s normal proficiency bonus will not only persist when the spell’s duration ends, they end up outside the caster’s control. In some cases they can end up under the Darklord’s control! Challenging the Darklord’s Will: PCs who make use of talents that affect a spell or supernatural effect created by a domain’s Darklord (such as foul weather, curses, etc) must succeed at a spellcasting ability check vs. the DC of the effect, even if the talent normally has an auto-success. Such a check is made with disadvantage. In cases that involve bypassing closed domain borders, the check automatically fails. Cultural Level (classic): In most cases the Cultural Level of a domain is more a set of guidelines than hard and fast rules for determining starting equipment and proficiencies. PCs are by nature exceptional individuals, and there’s a limited amount of trade between domains allowing travelers and people of means to obtain items that would otherwise be beyond their homeland’s meager resources. But in a few cases some backstory justification is heavily encouraged. A “mad scientist” style PC in a Medieval domain whose devices come to him in fevered dreams can have Tinkerer sphere talents, but a Barovian peasant whose family is just getting by is a harder sell. At least not without a patron willing to supply them the necessary gear and training! PCs from realms of a Chivalric or Renaissance Cultural Level are proficient with Renaissance-era firearms if they’d be proficient with all martial weapons, effectively possessing the Renaissance Voyager discipline talent from the Equipment sphere. In the case of beginning play with a martial tradition, said discipline talent may be taken as though it was a regular (non-legendary) talent. Curses (classic/5e): The curse rules found in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft are open-ended and thematic enough to be used in a Spheres game relatively seamlessly. But the Spheres system also introduces many spells that have their own category as the [curse] descriptor. Spherecasters who possess such spells are capable of pronouncing their doom upon creatures with their dying breaths. Should a spherecaster suffer instant death upon dropping to 0 hit points or fail their third death saving throw, they may choose to cast a talent with the [curse] tag as a reaction against the creature who brought about their end. The target suffers disadvantage on any relevant ability checks and saving throws to resist, and for non-instantaneous effects the duration becomes permanent. Once cast in such a way the caster seals their fate, becoming permanently dead and unable to be restored to life. They may come back as undead, with their nature tied to the curse in some way. Soothing the Mind (5e): Certain sphere effects can be used to reduce a target’s Stress Score as defined in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. The Life Sphere’s Restore Mind talent can reduce a target’s Stress Score by 1, while Restore Mind & Body reduces it to 0. Appropriate charm talents of the Mind sphere (Amnesia, Calm, etc) can suppress the effects of the Stress score for the duration of the talent. Tarokka: This set of mystical cards is famous for determining the fate of the heroes and villains of Ravenloft. Those learned in its ways can find inspiration in the card’s readings, deriving magical power from them. The use of the Tarokka Deck can take many forms in the Spheres system. One suggestion is to make it a Casting Tradition, like so: Tarokka Reader Spellcasters who rely on the Tarokka Deck entrust their power to fate, understanding that some things are beyond their control. Still, there is power to be found in this mindset, for knowledge learned from such inevitability can be used to guide mortals in the here and now. Bonus Spell Points: None Key Ability: Wisdom Bonus Magic Talents: Divination, Fate Drawbacks: Focus Casting (Gaming Set Tools-Tarokka Deck), Mental Focus, Prepared Caster, Skilled Casting (Gaming Set Tools-Tarokka Deck) Variants: None Boons: Aptitude (Gaming Set Tools-Tarokka Deck), Heart of the Cards (see below) Granted Items: Gaming Set (Tarokka Deck) New Boon: Heart of the Cards Your magical potential is bound up in the Tarokka, its whims bestowing you with random gifts. At the end of a long rest, you roll a 1d20, reflecting the consultation of the Tarokka deck. You gain that Motif talent from the Fate sphere as a bonus talent until the next long rest. If you roll a Motif you already know, then its duration increases by 1 step (4 hours typically). Die Result: Motif Talent 1: the Chariot 2: the Devil 3: the Emperor 4: the Empress 5: the Fool 6: the Hanged Man 7: the Hermit 8: the Hierophant 9: Justice 10: Justice 11: the Lovers 12: the Magician 13: the Moon 14: the Star 15: Strength 16: Sun 17: Temperance 18: the Tower 19: the Wheel 20: the World  Popular Archetypes Anchorite: Anchorites are priests who serve the church of Ezra. They are invariably spherecasters, although how their spells manifest differs. Common spheres of the goddess include Divination, Life, Mind, and Protection. Each major denomination has a bonus sphere relevant to their religious interpretation: Destruction for the Lawful Evil (Nevuchar Springs) sect, Light for the Lawful Good (Mordant) sect, Universal (wild magic package) for the Neutral (Dementlieu) sect, and Weather for the Lawful Neutral (Borca) sect. Anchorites are also capable of turning the undead, which can be reflected as the Priest subclass of the Incanter. Anchorites have an all-or-nothing approach to armor, either only wearing the heaviest kinds of armor reflecting their image as defenders of the common folk, or trusting solely in Ezra to protect them and thus wear no armor at all. The Evangelist or Shield of Faith Martial Tradition where Armor Training is taken as the bonus variable talent is sufficient enough to grant heavy armor proficiency for classes that begin with proficiency in light armor. Alternatively the Hermit Tradition has Ascetic and Weapon Master which both grant Unarmored Training while also having some religious flavor text. The Anchorite’s Mistwalking talent can be reflected as the Warp sphere, with True Teleport at higher levels, and perhaps unique to Anchorites given their special connection with Ezra. Shield of Ezra manifests differently depending on the sect, albeit is almost always some variety of Protection sphere effect: Exclusion (usually against metal) for the Lawful Good (Mordant) sect, Inner Peace or the Mind sphere’s Mind Shield for the Lawful Evil (Nevuchar Springs) sect, Obstruction for the Lawful Neutral (Borca) sect, and Spell Ward for the True Neutral (Dementlieu) sect. 3rd Edition gave additional abilities as well as the division of the Anchorite into three prestige classes: Anchorite Inquisitor and Anchorite Wanderer in Heroes of Light, and Anchorite of the Mists in Van Richten’s Arsenal. The Inquisitor’s Candle Communication (where two priests communicate via magical lit candles) can be replicated via the Mind sphere’s Greater Communication advanced talent, while its various immunities can be simulated as the aforementioned Mind Shield and Spell Ward talents, and True Seeing has a Divination sense talent of the same name. As for the Anchorite Wanderer, the class is more physically inclined, particularly in the mobility department. Athletics sphere talents, especially Rapid Motion and Swift Movement, are common, while Absolution can be replicated by the Fate sphere’s Atonement advanced talent. Wanderers choosing to wear heavy armor often take the Equipment sphere’s Armor Expert twice to allow for faster donning and stealth in such gear. Anchorites of the Mists rely upon using the misdirection of the Mists to cloud their opponent’s minds, often manifesting as the Illusion sphere, the Mind sphere’s Confusion talent, and the Warp sphere’s ability to teleport. The Divination sphere’s Blindfolded Oracle and Scout’s Sight Beyond Sight can replicate the class’ blind-fighting abilities. Arcanist: Arcanists are a specialized discipline of wizards who delve into arts that are regarded as occult and macabre by other spellcasters. No matter their alignment, all study forbidden lore such as necromancy and pacts with strange entities, although their motivations for doing so differ. Arcanists are best simulated with the Traditional Magic Casting Tradition, specializing in the Conjuration, Death, and Life spheres and subclasses which enhance such spheres. Their general-purpose knowledge of various “dark magic” can be reflected as being proficient in various Intelligence skills, especially Arcana, History, and Religion. The Incanter’s Priest subclass is appropriate, even if the arcanists technically aren’t clerics of a god, and the Necromancer and Summoner subclasses are also common choices. The Soul Weaver’s the other common class, often following the Path of the Gothi or Path of the White Necromancer subclasses, with Gothi’s proficiency addition/doubling to Intelligence checks being highly appropriate for them being knowledgeable sorts. Path of the Lichling represents those who seek to become free-willed undead. Avenger: These driven warriors are motivated by a burning desire for revenge. Their ability to push onwards for this goal is best emulated via the Berserker sphere’s more defensive-minded talents, such as the Berserk adrenaline talent and the Deathless talent. Their Intuition in knowing the direction to head in achieving such vengeance may be replicated via the Scout’s Track the Scene talent, the Scholar’s Dowing Study, or the Scholar Occultist subclass’ Esotery of Divination. Bardic College of Spirits: The Bard Spherecaster with this subclass works quite well. Most of its class features are more or less independent from Vancian magic and can be used relatively unhindered, but some conversion is necessary. Guiding Whispers can be reflected as gaining the Mind sphere’s Inspiration talent as a bonus talent. The Spiritual Focus’ 6th-level feature applies the d6 to a sphere effect that deals damage or restores hit points. For Spirit Session, the Bard gains a bonus talent from either the Death or Divination sphere. Eremite/Hallowed Witch: Devotees of Hala and witches of the less religious sort, these spellcasters prefer to imbue their magic in otherwise mundane objects. This is best simulated as a Casting Tradition with the Material Casting drawback and Physical Magic boon. Those with access to Blended Training and thus martial sphere talents commonly take the Alchemy sphere and the Witch Martial Tradition for obvious reasons. Knight of the Shadows: Hailing from the Shadowlands, this honorable order was founded by the noble Shadowborn clan. Very much bastions of virtue in an otherwise dreary land, they often find themselves worn down by the pressures of their ideals and vocations. The best among their lot stay true to their cause, even as their bodies and minds slowly fray. The archetype is best reflected via the Guardian sphere, given their role as protectors of the innocent from evil. They are also spellcasters of the divine sort, commonly of the Divine Crusader Casting Tradition, and thus belong to classes that have Blended Training. They aren’t particularly potent in their spellcasting, so they tend to be dabblers in the magical arts at most.  Monster Hunter: Less a direct class conversion and more a variety of suggestions, Ravenloft’s monster hunters are a diverse bunch of people who pursue vocations that mark them as madmen by others. The Scout sphere is perhaps the most common martial sphere among this profession, for it is unmatched in the granting of knowledge and lore of foes. The Target Weakness talent grants them a limited amount of tools to overcome monstrous defenses, while Discern Illusions, Heightened Awareness, and Sense and Resist Scrying are common options for “witch-hunters.” Talents which reduce the chances of ambush such as Piercing Senses, Sight Beyond Sight, and Somnambulance are also common talents. Alchemy is another favored sphere option, both for offensive purposes such as the Holy Water formula talent and various poison talents, and overcoming supernatural maladies with Panacea, Salve, and Smelling salt formula talents. Monster hunters in the vein of Rudolf Van Richten and other “brains over brawn” noncasters are most commonly of the Scholar class, usually either Natural Philosophers or Occultists. The former subclass grants various features useful to a monster hunter: the Belladonna and Salt material impositions are specifically defensive against certain monster types and attacks. Spiritualists: These more benevolent kinds of death mages prefer to treat ghosts and other undead with respect, viewing them as wounded souls in need of aid in passing on. They are not necromancers, for they do not seek to dominate such souls. Spiritualists are most commonly Soul Weavers of either the Gothi or White Necromancer subclasses. They often specialize in abilities to ensure a spirit’s proper passage, such as the Death sphere’s Gravetongue talent, the Life sphere’s Break Enchantment talent, and the Fate sphere’s Exorcise talent. Undead allies are incorporeal spirits and thus can be reflected either as Conjuration companions manifesting when ‘called,’ or have the Death sphere’s Incorporeal talent applied to a Reanimated undead. The Death sphere’s Summon Spirit Advanced Talent is another good choice. Undead Warlock Patron: The Warlock Spherecaster subclass works well enough. For Expanded Spells, the bonus talents most appropriate are the Conjuration sphere (Phantom Steed), the Death sphere’s Gravetongue talent (Speak with Dead), the Illusion sphere (Phantasmal Force), the Life sphere (False Life), the Illusion sphere’s Obscure talent (Greater Invisibility), Protection sphere’s Deathless talent (Death Ward), the Protection sphere’s Exclusion talent (Antilife Shell), and the Destruction sphere with the Poison blast type and the Sphere blast shape (Cloudkill). The 14th-level Spirit Projection’s feature where it waives verbal, somatic, and material components is a bit trickier, as spherecasters generally can’t avoid their Casting Tradition drawbacks without retraining and thus losing boons and bonus spell points. One suggestion would be to have it provide a bonus Casting Tradition boon that only lasts in spirit form. Or simply waive it; this class feature gets a lot of other benefits as is! Libertad! fucked around with this message at 05:16 on May 30, 2021 |
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May 29, 2021 06:41
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shades of eternity posted:Doing some stewing on something. Both of the Warlock patrons probably work well enough. Genie Warlock as a traveller from the neighboring seems like an obvious fit; Fathomless fits near any city with a port more or less. Also Clockwork Soul Sorcerer for sure.
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May 29, 2021 23:16
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I am planning an upcoming event I'll be running in all my FoundryVTT campaigns which I am currently workshopping. Basically, to celebrate the release of Magic the Gathering's Forgotten Realms set at the end of July, I'm 'importing' the cards as collectable items and making some usable booster packs and a card binder to go with it. The idea is, some character I haven't decided on yet has magically replaced a bunch of treasure in the world with random packets of trading cards. They've also announced that anyone who collects a whole set gets a reward. For the reward I'm thinking it'll be both a trading card in game (which will help their characters in-universe fame, basically) and a real life holo proxy card of their character that I'll get made for them. All my players are using HeroForge to make their character art so this should be pretty easy for me to pull off. A little bonus to the idea, if I'm too lazy to think of a story hook, I know with some of my players at least I can just create a quest around getting an autographed holo Elminster card or whatever and have it be a life or death quest for them.
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May 30, 2021 03:02
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Gentleman Baller posted:I am planning an upcoming event I'll be running in all my FoundryVTT campaigns which I am currently workshopping. This sounds awesome, and I suggest coming up with some sort of "Tap" mechanic that seems appropriate. Maybe something that is temporarily game changing like allowing players and enemies to "tap" an attribute and double its value, or tapping a character to phase them in/out of combat, or allowing players to charge their abilities by tapping their collectible trading cards. Something of that sort, anyway. Sounds fun!
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May 30, 2021 04:44
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 Dark Spheres: the Spheres System for Dark Sun Athas was once a lush green world brimming with life, but magic and warfare warped the land into so much dry dust. Violence is a way of life in the Tablelands, and invokers of the supernatural derive their powers from the land itself, the fell Dragon-Kings, or their own minds. Major Traditions: Dark Sun is a scorched land where metal is scarce, so traditions emphasizing light and unarmored forms of defense are more common. Equipment in other settings made out of metal such as swords and axes are still available, but made out of stone, bone, obsidian, and wood. Bows, crossbows, spears, slings, whips, and clubs are the most common weapon proficiencies, so traditions focusing on those are preferred by many warriors. As for armor, Athas has adapted to using non-metal alternatives, so in most cases such armor remains unchanged. The exceptions are chain shirts, chainmail, splint, and half and full plate armor, which have to be made with metal and are prohibitively expensive, rare, and impractical. As this more or less closes off the bulk of heavy armor, any martial tradition that would grant Armor Training twice (or move a character to heavy armor proficiency) can opt instead to replace the second talent with some other defensive talent. Armor Expert, Einhander, Unarmored Training, Versatile Shield, and the Shield sphere are all appropriate choices. Edit: wellis of RPGnet pointed out that the 4th Edition conversion of Dark Sun had non-metal heavy armors. Chainmail is replaced with bone/horn/wood-stupped leather jacks made from kank and cyclops body parts, while plate armor is made from the chitin of insects, crustaceans, braxats, gaj, and even drakes. Such armor is designed to be worn in hot climates so it does not impose disadvantage on Constitution saving throws to resist exhaustion. Advanced/Legendary Talents: Dark Sun’s harsh ways make characters more powerful than usual out of necessity. Arcane magic is most responsible for the world’s state of affairs, the Sorcerer-Kings possess magic and psionic powers lost to the ages, and defiler wizards find it all too tempting to achieve feats of eldritch might at the cost of further killing the planet. Advanced and Legendary Talents certainly fit the world of Athas. Most such talents that are in line with spells and psionic powers from AD&D can fit, provided they don’t contradict the base magic and technological assumptions (see New Rules & Subsystems). Technology Level: Dark Sun is more primitive than the typical medieval setting. Beyond what is mentioned under Major Traditions, a lot of gear is recycled and piecemeal, and beasts of burden are the most common means of transportation. There are devices in Athas that are rare in other settings, such as skimmers capable of sailing upon the Sea of Silt and wind-powered wheeled sand skiffs which travel easily across wide open terrain. The Tinkerer sphere’s accessories and gadgets can range from devices which can be easily reflavored from local materials such as the Suit Improvement talent, to ones which can only be the result of lost wonders from prior Ages such as Recording Gadgets. Certain talents from this sphere may be restricted depending upon the PC backstory and DM’s judgment.  New Rules & Subsystems Wild Talent: Just about every person in Athas has some degree of minor psionic skill. In the original rules they rolled randomly for 1 (or a lucky 2-3) psionic powers, but anything more powerful than that necessitated a proper psionic class. In the Spheres system this can be emulated via granting every PC a psionically-themed bonus feat. For the spheres system proper the granting of the Magical Training feat for non-spherecasters to simulate a psionic casting tradition works well enough. But for spherecasters the spheres system unfortunately doesn’t have options for “multi-tradition” builds, which means that their powers must be in line with the drawbacks and boons of their proper spherecasting class. In such a case, Extra Magic Talents or Magical Expertise are feats that can let the PC gain access to an otherwise unthematic sphere/talent, representing a psionic origin rather than a traditional arcane/divine one. Otherwise, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything has some feats that grant the use of a minor spell or two per long rest, such as Fey Touched, Telekinetic, and Telepathic. Non-Metal Weapons: Weapons made out of non-metal material are more apt to break. When used against a creature with resistance or immunity to the weapon’s damage type or material, said weapon has a cumulative 5% chance of breaking per attack. A broken weapon deals the minimal amount of damage if it can still conceivably still be used to injure; otherwise it’s useless. Weapons made out of metal cost ten times the normal amount they’d be in other settings. Rare Terrain: Much of Athas is hot and arid, and the few exceptions are small and isolated regions. Barring campaigns set predominantly in such places, it’s fair to say that most Dark Sun campaigns will be in desert-like environs. Additionally, iron, steel, and metal in general are extremely scarce. Any talent or effect which creates water can never be of instantaneous or permanent duration. In such a case the duration becomes 24 hours. The Metal geomancy package’s Recover Ore ability can only work a number of times per long rest equal to the spherecaster’s proficiency bonus. Once this limit is reached, the area is temporarily tapped out of resources. Sphere talents reliant upon certain terrain for their effects are less optimal choices, and thus not as valuable as others. One solution would be that PCs at character creation gain one bonus talent for an otherwise sub-optimal sphere package/talent choice. Nature’s metal, plant, and water geomancy packages qualify, as do the Weather sphere’s shroud and mantle talents reliant upon cold and precipitation conditions. Another option is presenting a new, if rather macabre, talent has been made for Nature sphere users with the metal and water geomancy packages: Blood Mastery (geomancy, metal, water) Augment 0 sp: Whenever a metal or water package ability would require water or metal, you can instead use blood to fill that requirement. Augment 0 sp: You can use blood siphon on a creature or corpse containing blood within range to supply the required blood for the effect you are augmenting. Generally speaking, a living creature can supply enough material necessary for a space or object two size categories smaller than their own size. Exsanguinating a non-undead corpse can supply material one size category smaller. You gain the following geomancy abilities. Blood Siphon Target: one creature containing blood. (requires a living creature containing blood) You can telekinetically drain a target of blood within range, dealing 1d8 necrotic damage and making the target suffer 1 level of exhaustion (max 1 level of exhaustion per creature) on a failed Constitution saving throw. A successful Constitution saving throw halves this damage and avoids the exhaustion. The damage increases by 1d8 at 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8). Mounting Wounds Cost: 2 sp (concentration, requires a bleeding creature) You can cause a bleeding creature within range to heal less efficiently. They take 1d8 additional damage from any piercing or slashing damage attacks done to them, and any healing effects restore only half the usual number of hit points (rounded down). Red Mist Area: 10-foot square Cost: 1 sp (concentration, requires a bleeding creature) As the water geomancy package’s fog ability, save that those within the area of effect suffer disadvantage on saving throws vs the frightened condition, the Confusion spell and Confusion charm sphere talent, and similar effects that bestow distracting negative emotional effects.  Popular Archetypes Bards: Bards on Athas do not have knowledge in spells, instead specializing in poison and with more thief-like abilities. The Guild Trained Martial Tradition is the best fit in granting access to the Alchemy and Scoundrel spheres, and for the former they invariably pick poison talents. Talents which can alter the form of poisons, such as Contact Poison Delivery and Gaseous Application, are eventually picked up, especially at higher levels. Those which increase the speed and reliability of delivery such as Quick Doses, Risky Business, and Skilled Applicator are common. For the more secondary talents, the Warleader sphere’s shout-based talents are a good means of ‘inspiring’ allies, particularly Harangue, Rallying Speech, and Rousing Claxon. A Bard’s actual class can vary. Alter Ego is the most thieflike of the Sphere of Might classes, although it’s alternate identity is most likely of the mundane double agent/spy variety. Conscripts with the Knave subclass and Strikers with the Skirmishing Scout subclasses represent other good sneaky options. Druids: Druids are specialized priests who make a pact with spirits of a localized geographic area known as a Guarded Land. Although capable of long-range travel at lower levels, they are expected to eventually settle down and choose a permanent location to defend. In terms of Casting Tradition they are closest to Druidic, but are similar to Elemental Priests (see below) in that they must choose Nature and a relevant geomancy package for a favored element as one of their two sphere options. They do not speak Druidic as a bonus language given Athas’ lack of an overarching culture or organization of druids. Furthermore, they also are likely to have the Nature Warden drawback, representing their bond to a Guarded Land. The benefits derived from their Guarded Land can be simulated in a number of ways. The Photosynthesis feat can emulate a Druid’s ability to not need to eat or drink for sustenance, while the ability to speak with animals and plants may be reflected via the Nature sphere’s Speak with the Elements talent and either Alteration’s Bestial Spirit talent or Beastmastery’s Wild Speaker legendary talent. As the latter is a martial sphere, the GM may make an exception in letting it be taken as a Nature sphere talent. The ability to shapechange into creatures common to one’s Guarded Lands is best replicated as the Alteration sphere with the Animalistic, Avian, Plant, and/or Vermin genotype talents, with complementary talents such as Bestial Reflexes and Size Change. Elemental Priests: Divine magic in Dark Sun comes from the elements or the Dragon-Kings. In the case of the former, priests pledge themselves to one of the four elements and derive power from making said element more influential in the Material Plane. As a Casting Tradition they can be emulated as Divine Petitioners, choosing the Nature sphere with the geomancy package of their favored element, and either another Nature talent in line with their element or another sphere that can simulate this. Conjuration for summoning an elemental companion, Destruction for blast types of related elemental energies, and Weather for phenomena related to their favored element are common choices. The Elementalist with the Geomancer subclass is a popular choice, and its ability to trade out class proficiencies for a martial tradition can better replicate weapon restrictions: Earth priests can use any weapons and armor, Air priests focus on ranged weaponry ‘guided by the air,’ Fire priests are likely to have Bombardier Training and access to the Alchemy sphere for the Alchemist’s Fire talent, and Water priests have a preference for bows, spears, and bludgeoning weapons. Gladiator: Not only does Spheres of Might have a Gladiator Martial Tradition, it also has an entire sphere of the same name! Unfortunately, the Gladiator class’ major feature in Dark Sun is that they are proficient in all weapons. As the Spheres of Might system encourages specialization in small families of weapons rather than being a broad jack of all trades, other options are necessary for an authentic conversion. The Mageknight and Prodigy classes both have Blended Training and can choose to not opt for a Martial Tradition at character creation, still giving them access to talents as they level up while maintaining their universal weapon proficiencies. For the Prodigy the Battleborn subclass is the best choice, while for Mageknight magical spheres can be reflavored to be less magical or reflective of Wild Talents. The Psionicist path is a great choice for this, as is the Spellblade who takes variants to have their magical spheres be self-buffing, such as Protection’s Protected Soul and taking the Blade blast shape talent for Destruction. The Gladiator’s expertise in unarmed combat can be represented in them taking the Equipment sphere’s Unarmed Training and Mystic Fist talents, and complementary spheres such as Brute and Wrestling. For the AC bonus to worn armor, the Enhancement sphere’s Enhance Equipment talent combined with the Personal Magics variant is a good choice. Finally, the gladiator’s ability to attract followers is best represented as the Leadership sphere with the follower package and Soldiers talent. Psionicist: Special Note: These guidelines are useful for other campaign settings that employ the use of 2nd/3rd Edition style psionics. Dark Sun may be a low magic setting, but it’s certainly a high-psionics one. Unlike divine or arcane magic which draws power from an external source, psychic powers come from one’s own personal will. As a Casting Tradition it is closest to Natural, albeit having Wisdom as its key ability modifier. The Psychic Casting Tradition may seem more appropriate at first glance, although the bonus spheres may differ depending on one’s favored disciplines and AD&D psionics are not necessarily limited by a caster’s concentration or emotional state. The most likely drawbacks are Mental Focus and Rigorous Concentration, and ones which rely upon external physical objects such as Diagram and Material Casting are inappropriate. For classes psionicists can vary wildly, although “pure psionicists” are more likely to be pure casters and thus be Incanters and other classes that don’t have Blended Training or Martial Traditions. Psionic Combat is discouraged as a wholesale conversion; using typical offensive and defensive sphere effects is preferred. For psionic attack forms, the Destruction sphere is ideal: Ego Whip and Id Insinuation are best emulated via the Slowing blast type, Mind Thrust via the Disrupting blast type, Psionic Blast via the Siphoning blast type, and Psychic Crush Corrosive or Scorching. For psionic defenses, they can be emulated via various features that impose disadvantage on enemy rolls and advantage on the user’s defensive rolls. The Universal sphere’s Dispel package can be used as a reaction by default when augmented with spell points, while the Protection sphere’s Resistance talent can grant advantage to a saving throw as a reaction. The Mind sphere’s Mind Shield talent is a highly appropriate choice, too. When it comes to disciplines, their particular talents can vary wildly, much like the core rules’ schools of magic. Clairsentient powers are best replicated via Divination sphere talents. Psychokinetic powers typically use the Creation and Telekinesis spheres, with some miscellaneous spheres for more specialized effects: Enhancement’s Animate Objects talent for the power of the same name, the Dark and Light spheres for Control Light, Enhancement’s Manipulate Hardness for Molecular Manipulation, etc. Psychometabolic powers manipulate the physical form and thus are best replicated by the Alteration, Enhancement, and Life spheres; the Illusion sphere’s Illusionary Disguise is good for replicating the Chameleon Power. The Cannibalize power is less represented as a talent, and more of the Overcharge Casting Tradition boon, which lets a caster treat their proficiency bonus as 1 higher in exchange for suffering a level of exhaustion. Psychoportation powers are best reflected by the Conjuration and Warp spheres, as well as the Death Sphere’s Astral Projection for the power of the same name. Telepathic powers are best represented via the Mind sphere, with the Life sphere’s Break Enhancement and Restore Mind talents useful for emulating Psychic Surgery, Divination sphere’s Detect Life talent for the Life Detection power, and the Destruction sphere’s Frightful blast type talent emulates the Inflict Pain power. In Dark Sun’s Expanded & Revised Edition, Metapsionics no longer exists as a discipline, being folded into the previous one. But some have not made the transition, which I’ll cover here. Aura Alteration can be replicated as the Illusion sphere’s Veiled Illusions talent, Empower is best emulated as the Enhancement sphere’s Bestow Intelligence talent, Psychic Clone is represented as the Death sphere’s Project Spirit advanced talent, Split Personality is emulated by the Time Sphere’s Adjusted Frequency and Shift Time talents for the apportioning of additional actions, Gird can represent augmenting spells to persist without concentration in general instead of a specific talent, Convergence is emulated by various Manabond talents from the Universal sphere, and Retrospection is closest to the Divination sphere’s Delve for Knowledge advanced talent, to name just a few.  Templar: Templars best represent hybrid/gish spherecasters, most likely a class or subclass with access to Blended Training. For Casting Traditions they are most commonly Divine Petitioners with spheres related to their Sorcerer-King’s areas of influence. For Martial Traditions they can be diverse in a variety of fighting styles, but the institutional authority they wield often grants them Traditions with the Warleader and/or Gladiator spheres, particularly those options which impose and play off of the frightened condition. Their ability to requisition soldiers, draw upon the city treasury, and give commands to slaves may be represented by the Leadership sphere with the Followers package, with the Detectives, Soldiers, and even Friends in Low Places as common talents. Trader: This thieflike class focuses more heavily on social skills and contacts. Their fast-talk can be easily emulated as proficiency in Deception and perhaps the use of proficiency-doubling features such as the Alter Ego’s Socialite persona or the Skill Expert feat from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. The followers and special agents can be replicated both via the Leadership sphere and the Commander’s Politician subclass. For the Leadership sphere, the Merchant and Messenger follower talents are obvious choices, followed by others reflective of the trader’s areas of expertise. Alchemists, Artificers, and Craftsmen are appropriate for production of specialized goods, Entertainers for services of a non-physical nature, Friends in Low Places for illegal and black market goods, Laborers for construction projects, and Managers and Base of Operations for those whose business empire grows beyond any one person’s ability to operate. For the Politician subclass, Call In a Specialist emulates a Trader’s ability to hire on retainers of exceptional quality, as does the Leadership sphere’s sidekick package. Wizards: This entry covers both defilers and preservers. All arcane magic draws upon surrounding life energy, specifically plants and soil, for the powering of spells. Defilers and Preservers are cut from the same cloth, but the difference is in their mindset. In traditional AD&D they were treated as separate classes, with defilers leveling up faster to represent the tempting ease of their power. Preserver Wizards more or less function as standard Wizards in other D&D settings for conversion: the Traditional Magic Casting Tradition being the most likely, and from there it’s all up to the player on what class and spheres best reflect their favored spells. As for defilers, they are equally versatile but always have the Terrain Casting Drawback and Terrain Defiler boon. Libertad! fucked around with this message at 21:46 on May 31, 2021 |
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May 30, 2021 04:59
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Kaal posted:This sounds awesome, and I suggest coming up with some sort of "Tap" mechanic that seems appropriate. Maybe something that is temporarily game changing like allowing players and enemies to "tap" an attribute and double its value, or tapping a character to phase them in/out of combat, or allowing players to charge their abilities by tapping their collectible trading cards. Something of that sort, anyway. Sounds fun! Some sort of tap mechanic is a great idea. Will also help encourage players to take their hard earned, mostly complete collections with them 
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May 30, 2021 07:31
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We're approaching the end of Frostmaiden and flying to Auril's castle on griffins to go kick her rear end and pick up her blessings, not necessarily in that order, before we head to the glacier. Well, that was the plan, before our DM rolled a random encounter with that blind ancient white dragon and we got into a sky battle because everyone failed their stealth checks. Instead of trying to sneak past again, we decided to go all in out of vengeance because she killed one of our party members last time we crossed paths and everyone's still traumatized by it. We had to end on a cliffhanger but depending on where our bodies fall if we get downed (like in the Sea of Moving Ice), it could be a TPKO
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May 31, 2021 04:23
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First time DM here and I'm not doing it for awhile but am sort of loosely sketching out my ideas and have a few questions. Planning on running my campaign in D&D, it's what I'm interested in and the players are as well, some of them are a lot more experienced playing it and the others haven't played roleplaying tabletop stuff at aside from what we're currently playing but are really interested in D&D specifically as well. So the questions I have are: 1) I'm going to start it shortly after we finish the one we're currently playing, another campaign run by one our friends, he's let 7 people play, not sure on the ruleset (keeping it secret and running 99% of it himself was part of it so we don't even have character sheets) but it seems pretty light. That seems like way too many people for a D&D campaign though, especially my first one. I take it that is a correct estimation? Hoping a couple people take themselves out of the running I suppose, or we'll have to sort that out somehow. 2) As an extension to the number of people thing above, people have gotten accustomed to splitting up quite a lot in that campaign, in a way that creates a lot of work for Cyrus, the guy running it. One of the guys who has played D&D and other roleplaying games a fair bit will usually say something out of character like "maybe we shouldn't do this guys cause it'll create a lot of extra work for Cyrus" and he'll be like "no, no guys it's fine" so people will do it but it is clearly a lot of hassle. It's not the sort of setting where going off on your own is clearly suicidal in the world either so there's no in universe reason we wouldn't. Not talking about splitting up to explore two adjacent rooms or something either, like at one point someone was on a different planet to us and he had his own little adventures going for a couple weeks at different times to the weekly session the rest of us were doing which is absolute madness and not something I wanna do. Is that something I should try and push harder to have not happen so much or at all? It makes sense for downtime between big events and such for each person to have like a little 15 minute bit maybe, splitting off into seperate discord channels or just all hearing it but anything more just seems like needless complexity. I've not seen this addressed in the DM videos I've been watching or the DM guide but it might be just such an obvious "hey we know it doesn't make too much sense but just don't do this all the time for the sake of your DM's sanity" thing. Or is that something that is reasonable to expect the DM to accommodate? I guess I can just say "well I ain't going to do that" and that settles it but I want to get an idea of what the general expectation is I guess. Might be a good question to address in a session zero as an expectations thing. 3) For my actual campaign, one of the things I'm struggling with and maybe I don't need to/shouldn't plan things out but from what I've been looking at, most campaigns peter out around level 12? Obviously that's going to vary person to person, group to group and I suspect the people who haven't played much will say they want to go all the way to max at the outset. However then that'll change the longer it goes because it's pretty natural seeming initially to want to get all the features of your class, etc without considering how long that will be and how weird balance might get at the higher levels. So my instinct is to plan my initial campaign to basically be finished at around that sort of level (or earlier I guess if people hate me DMing and tap out) and then if it's seeming like they want to go further as we get to the end then I start planning something else as it's coming to a close for them to move onto. I'm not sure whether to use the Lost Mines adventure or not, seems like that will be an easy entry point but it might be a bit boring for the people who've played a lot of D&D and it'll take up some of the levelling I guess? Or I could just run one of the other adventures straight up like the Storm Giant one or something and then use my real campaign idea after I've done a successful campaign. A part of me always wants to delay using the stuff I really want to use until I get more practice and feel confident (in both this and other facets of my life, like I don't want to waste the opportunity of my ideas until I feel I can execute them perfectly, wanky as that sounds) but then I might not ever get another chance to run some of these things ever so maybe I should just go with it and start with them straight away? Sorry for the massive wall of text, I have other stuff but this has gone long already. Probably will have more stuff the closer I get to running it as well. thebardyspoon fucked around with this message at 20:08 on May 31, 2021 |
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May 31, 2021 20:03
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thebardyspoon posted:1) I'm going to start it shortly after we finish the one we're currently playing, another campaign run by one our friends, he's let 7 people play, not sure on the ruleset (keeping it secret and running 99% of it himself was part of it so we don't even have character sheets) but it seems pretty light. That seems like way too many people for a D&D campaign though, especially my first one. I take it that is a correct estimation? Hoping a couple people take themselves out of the running I suppose, or we'll have to sort that out somehow. 7 is A LOT, especially if you are new. I'd say cap your players so that you expect to have 4-5 every session. If your people are flaky, have 6, if not, have 5. thebardyspoon posted:2) As an extension to the number of people thing above, people have gotten accustomed to splitting up quite a lot in that campaign, in a way that creates a lot of work for Cyrus, the guy running it. One of the guys who has played D&D a fair bit usually will say something out of character like "maybe we shouldn't do this guys cause it'll create a lot of extra work for Cyrus" and he'll be like "no, no guys it's fine" so people will do it but it is clearly a lot of hassle. It's not the sort of setting where going off on your own is clearly suicidal in the world either so there's no in universe reason we wouldn't. Splitting The Party is a meme for a reason: It's a lot of extra work, and it's super boring for the people sitting around not participating. You can do it when Absolutely Necessary, but the system doesn't do anything to support it, and it's hard to manage. It's more doable if you are doing non-realtime sessions (like Play-by-Post), but for live sessions, it's to be avoided. thebardyspoon posted:3) For my actual campaign. one of the things I'm struggling with and maybe I don't need to/shouldn't plan things out but from what I've been looking at, most campaigns peter out around level 12? Obviously that's going to vary person to person, group to group and I suspect the people who haven't played much will say they want to go all the way to max at the outset. However then that'll change the longer it goes because it's pretty natural seeming initially to want to get all the features of your class, etc without considering how long that will be and how weird balance might get at the higher levels. Lower than that, really. Most campaigns don't get past 9 or 10, and the end of "Tier 1" in first party stuff is level 4, so a lot of first party books are 1-4 or 1-5. An Important Note is that it is Extremely Recommended to use Milestone Levelling (the characters level when you say they level, and you disregard XP), so you really get to set the pace on this. thebardyspoon posted:So my instinct is to plan my initial campaign to basically be finished at level 12 (or earlier I guess if people hate me DMing and tap out) and then if it's seeming like they want to go further as we get to the end then I start planning something else as it's coming to a close for them to move onto. I'm not sure whether to use the Lost Mines adventure or not, seems like that will be an easy entry point but it might be a bit boring for the people who've played a lot of D&D and it'll take up some of the levelling I guess? Or I could just run one of the other adventures straight up like the Storm Giant one or something and then use my real campaign idea after I've done a successful campaign. I'd recommend planning around Number of Weeks, not Number of Levels. Figure out a point where you want to circle back and touch base and see how people want to proceed. Don't tie it to progression, tie it to what works for your schedule.
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May 31, 2021 20:12
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When I was a teenager I played in one of those weird campaigns where the DM keeps everything a secret for realism reasons and it was the worst. Guy made us roll our stats on the other side of a curtain because "real people don't know their own stats." Verisimilitude is a brain disease.
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May 31, 2021 20:34
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1) I have 6 players in my current campaign and I wouldn't recommend it, especially as a new DM and with new players. I'm lucky in that my more experienced players make a point of sharing the spotlight and drawing out my newer players, but even with that, it's very easy for any given player to essentially become a background character and not really do anything but act in combat because of how things play out. I would say that shooting for 4 players is ideal, with 3-5 being very workable. More or less ends up being harder, but is doable with extra effort and some player cooperation. 2) You should absolutely not allow a party split and if your players really want to do it, you should level with them and say that it's beyond your ability to prep and run currently. Your players should understand that as a new DM, you're not going to be able to do some of the crazy shenanigans that an experienced DM will be able to whip up on the fly. 3) Most campaigns will peter out before level 10, and that's okay. Really, I wouldn't worry too much about planning that far in advance though. My recommendation would be to break down your campaign into something akin to modules like Wizards sells. That is, your initial module gets the players from 1 to 3, and should be planned in a high degree of detail. You've got your hook or hooks set up to get the players into the conflict, you've got your big bad fleshed out, you've plotted key story points and given some thought to how your players might deviate from what you've got planned, you've got encounters and non-combat challenges set up that you can plug in at will, that sort of thing. Then, for the next module, which might be 3 to 5, you have planted some story hooks into your first module and have several ideas for how to get your players from the original module to the next one, depending on how they tackle your challenges. For this you should have an outline of what the players will be doing at each level but don't bother with really detailed planning or plotting quite yet. You can definitely do that level of planning, but be aware that the further out you meticulously plot, the more likely you are to basically have to throw that work away because your players did something that you didn't account for and now what you planned doesn't make sense. For the module after that, say from levels 5 to 8, you can basically decide if you want to cap off your campaign there, or if you want to try to keep going. I think it's a good idea to know where your story is going to end, and to try to set up something epic for when it does, but I wouldn't plan much beyond that. And to echo Toshimo, definitely use milestone leveling. Tie levels into story progression, so level ups happen after major story beats. It'll help you plan ahead so you won't need to worry about your players cheesing out the big boss showdown by being a full level ahead of what you planned when it happens.
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May 31, 2021 20:55
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Toshimo posted:Lower than that, really. Most campaigns don't get past 9 or 10, and the end of "Tier 1" in first party stuff is level 4, so a lot of first party books are 1-4 or 1-5. An Important Note is that it is Extremely Recommended to use Milestone Levelling (the characters level when you say they level, and you disregard XP), so you really get to set the pace on this. Interesting that it's lower than I thought even (also seems a shame that some of the pretty cool feeling/sounding abilities never get any play) and yeah I was planning on doing milestone levelling, just seems better to me at least so glad my instincts were right there. I guess my concern was like, pacing the milestones more so than the levels themselves? I really have no idea on number of weeks I'd think, maybe I'll sketch that out with my rough plan as well and then try and work out how many/what milestones there could be and see if I think that'd feel like a satisfying pace. Also I'll keep an escape hatch where things can quickly be bought to a finale if people are seeming like they want to wrap it up maybe? As a group they seem to sort of just want a story told and not to go off the rails too much but I won't plan out to a ridiculous extent just in case they do end up wanting to. Cheers for the other answers as well. theironjef posted:When I was a teenager I played in one of those weird campaigns where the DM keeps everything a secret for realism reasons and it was the worst. Guy made us roll our stats on the other side of a curtain because "real people don't know their own stats." Verisimilitude is a brain disease. It's worked reasonably well I think, or at least everyone is enjoying it well enough for a thing we spend a few hours a week doing. The thinking behind not having character sheets initially on his part was that it's a blank slate kind of setup, our characters all woke up from cryo sleep on a ship with no lost memories, which yeah, massively clichéd and then the initial stuff was finding out who our characters had been, what to do with that information and finding out what we were good at. We see rolls and stuff but not our stats, which I guess represents us like, knowing how natural firing a gun or whatever feels like. If someone is missing with what feel like decent rolls then that means they're dogshit at shooting but he's made it so there's enough poo poo going on that everyone has had a few really cool moments so far and stuff to do. I think 7 people has turned out to be a lot even for whatever relatively light ruleset he is using though and it's definitely missing a big sense of progression after the initial few sessions since we aren't gaining new abilities or perks/feats. The people who've played tabletop stuff the most are fine with that whereas the people more used to videogames as their main knowledge of rpgs are really missing it. thebardyspoon fucked around with this message at 21:30 on May 31, 2021 |
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May 31, 2021 21:21
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generally for beginners i recommend campaigns start at level 3 and end at level 8. unless you have any particular reason to extend these, this is where the game is best. level 1 and 2 are significantly more lethal and are weirdly balanced as not everyone has an archetype yet. it is very easy to accidentally kill level 1 and 2 players as even a single crit drops people and players may not have unlocked healing tools. on the other hand, level 9 introduces 5th level spells which can significantly change how a campaign is played. with spells like raise dead, contact other plane, scrying, and teleportation circle, the way the game is played changes very significantly. this is a normal part of the dnd experience, but for first time dms managing people teleporting around and scrying on major characters can become difficult. this also keeps player options low enough to be manageable. knowing the campaign starts on 3rd level and ends at 8th level lets you plan for 5 level ups, which is a very convenient number to work with on milestone leveling. there are 5 major events that you can level your players up with. what are they? knowing this lets you structure a campaign very easily. of course, i also love levels 1 and 2, and i love higher level dnd(maybe not as much after level 15, but...), however this i think is the best way for first time dms to have a relatively pain free experience and avoid a lot of common pitfalls for their first campaign.
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May 31, 2021 21:58
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I've got a few Eldritch Invocations in mind for my planned Archfey patron, Path of the Talisman Human Warlock, but I can't really decide what a good order to take them would be.
I probably won't be taking these invocations:
Thoughts on a good order for the options I've curated?? Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Jun 1, 2021 |
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Jun 1, 2021 02:51
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I've got a few Eldritch Invocations in mind for my planned Path of the Talisman Human Warlock, but I can't really decide what a good order to take them would be. Talisman is the pact, but what’s the patron?
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Jun 1, 2021 03:32
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CaptainPsyko posted:Talisman is the pact, but what’s the patron? Archfey. (Oops, I forgot that part. I guess it's pretty important.)
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Jun 1, 2021 03:34
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Archfey. (Oops, I forgot that part. I guess it's pretty important.) Eldritch Mind for Concentration saves is pretty big deal. Repelling Blast is still really good even if you can’t provide the area effect spell combo for yourself. Get creative with terrain (cliffs rule, obviously, but being able to use that ten foot push upwards if you can get under your target is even better. Once you hit 5th level and you can start pushing 20 feet at a time it becomes a no-save trip +damage). The Devil’s Sight/Darkness combo is incredibly popular for a reason. I’m not as huge a fan as some (there are enough other ways to get advantage that punishing melee allies and concentrating on darkness gets old at higher levels), but it’s still worth considering. Especially as something to grab early and eventually switch out. I’m not a fan of eldritch sight If you’ve got a wizard around. Yeah, waiting ten minutes for ritual detect magic is a liability sometimes, but burning a slot as powerful as an invocation on not doing that is an even bigger liability. Misty Visions is extremely on theme for a feylock and if you’re willing to get creative with illusions, it can do a lot of heavy lifting. Remember that if you have time to set up you can combine a Silent Image with an audio effect from a Minor Illusion cantrip for pretty good results. Maddening Hex is a feat tax but it’ll double your hex damage if you feel you need that to keep up. As for the question of order specifically? I’d start with Agonizing Blast because it’s a feat tax and after that it doesn’t really matter too much. Remember that if you want to do mega long range but won’t be taking Spell Sniper to 8th level, you can take Eldritch Spear early and just switch it out later. Chevy Slyme fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Jun 1, 2021 |
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Jun 1, 2021 03:49
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These are dependent on the campaign and DM, because they're noncombat invocations, but I always try to find room in my warlock builds for Aspect of the Moon and Eyes of the Pact Keeper.
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Jun 1, 2021 15:07
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:[*] If I'm going Path of the Talisman, I feel like I would want at least one of Rebuke of the Talisman (use a Reaction to push someone who hits the talisman's wearer 10 feet away) or Protection of the Talisman (when the wearer of the talisman fails a save they can add 1d4 to the roll). As for these specifically, a thing you need to figure out is whether you want to hand your talisman to a friend. There's good reasons to do this and not to do this, but they absolutely change how the Talismanlock plays. As a non melee lock, getting Rebuke of the Talisman, and putting it on a friend who stands up front can be extremely powerful, and the Bond of the Talisman teleport is really strong as well.
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Jun 1, 2021 15:47
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CaptainPsyko posted:The Devil’s Sight/Darkness combo is incredibly popular for a reason. I’m not as huge a fan as some (there are enough other ways to get advantage that punishing melee allies and concentrating on darkness gets old at higher levels), but it’s still worth considering. Especially as something to grab early and eventually switch out. I'm definitely taking Agonizing Blast first no matter what. You're right, I probably should take Eldritch Mind since I don't see a good place for a feat to help in that area. - Because of the other suggestions, now I'm not sure I have room for Devil's Sight even if it is strong. - What I'm taking away from your panning of Eldritch Sight is that if the party doesn't have a wizard, Eldritch Sight will look a lot better. Hmmm... on the other hand though, an adventuring party probably is going to need someone who is proficient in Arcana - and my Warlock won't be (that's just not the character he is). Because I can't cover that aspect myself, the overall party composition would be more inclined towards wanting a wizard. - Misty Visions could work, as I was planning to take Minor Illusion as my other starting cantrip. - I don't think I'll take Maddening Hex. It seems to be super-situational weak damage. I guess it's supposed to be good because casters don't get much to do with a bonus action, but I don't think I have room for it. So... I guess in order... Level 2 - Agonizing Blast, Misty Visions (OR Eldritch Sight if no one has ritual Detect Magic) Level 5 - Repelling Blast Level 7 - Eldritch Mind Level 9 - Rebuke of the Talisman, maybe? Probably no reason to plan past that. Volkova III posted:These are dependent on the campaign and DM, because they're noncombat invocations, but I always try to find room in my warlock builds for Aspect of the Moon and Eyes of the Pact Keeper. Aspect of the Moon requires Pact of the Tome, which would be my second choice if I'm not permitted to use Pact of the Talisman, but my Warlock was never really much of a reader. I think you mean Eyes of the Rune Keeper, which I had considered, but I don't think I have room for it, and as a lesser version of Comprehend Languages, it's probably even more situational, and less useful than at-will Detect Magic. CaptainPsyko posted:As for these specifically, a thing you need to figure out is whether you want to hand your talisman to a friend. There's good reasons to do this and not to do this, but they absolutely change how the Talismanlock plays. As a non melee lock, getting Rebuke of the Talisman, and putting it on a friend who stands up front can be extremely powerful, and the Bond of the Talisman teleport is really strong as well. It would probably move around depending on circumstance, because it doesn't require attunement. I'm... pretty sure? ****** Unrelated to the above: My idea for Wilbur the Halfling Wizard started out with the background of Sage (Wizard's Apprentice), but as I developed specifics, the more I wondered what prompted him to seek out a Wizard to teach him... and the backstory I wrote actually fits a lot of the straight-out-of-the-book personality tables for Folk Hero... or rather Folk Pariah or Folk Laughingstock. - As a gardener to a Halfling which became a famous adventurer, Wilbur comes from a humble social rank. Like most Halflings, Wilbur had a love of stories, particularly of adventure, and dreamed of being a hero. - Defining Event: I led a militia to fight off an invading army. // (For about 5 seconds before badly failing his saving throw vs Fear (even at advantage) and running away.) - Personality Trait: If someone is in trouble, I'm always ready to lend help. // (This does fit Wilbur's normally cheery optimistic nature.) - Ideal: Sincerity. There's no good in pretending to be something I'm not. // (Wilbur tried to be a front-line fighter and was not good at it.) - Bond: "I worked the land, I love the land, and I will protect the land." // (This fits for a gardener. Although "I wish my childhood sweetheart had come with me to pursue my destiny." also kinda fits. Except that she was never really his sweetheart and also was killed by the invading army.) - Flaw: "The people who knew me when I was young know my shameful secret, so I can never go home again." // (Oh, absolutely. Except that "young" wasn't really all that long ago, and it's not-so-much people who knew him personally, as it is EVERYONE in his former community. As well as people outside the community who have heard the unfortunately popular tavern drinking song "The Coward Wilbur Greenmeadow".) It's pretty funny how the original notion has changed one background into another. I'll probably just use background customization and use those bits from the Folk Hero tables with the Sage background.
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Jun 1, 2021 16:35
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- I don't think I'll take Maddening Hex. It seems to be super-situational weak damage. I guess it's supposed to be good because casters don't get much to do with a bonus action, but I don't think I have room for it. quote:It would probably move around depending on circumstance, because it doesn't require attunement. I'm... pretty sure? It doesn't, you can pass it around freely. But you should probably have a general idea of how you want to use it and build for that in general terms. Basically, Rebuke is much less useful if having it in the hands of someone in melee isn't the default state in combat.
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Jun 1, 2021 16:47
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pog boyfriend posted:generally for beginners i recommend campaigns start at level 3 and end at level 8. unless you have any particular reason to extend these, this is where the game is best. level 1 and 2 are significantly more lethal and are weirdly balanced as not everyone has an archetype yet. it is very easy to accidentally kill level 1 and 2 players as even a single crit drops people and players may not have unlocked healing tools. Wise advice as usual. I'd also add to aim for an ending - it's always better to have a story that starts and finishes than one that just peters out. You're also allowed to do things like time skips, pulling focus out to the strategic level, swapping to a rival party.
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Jun 2, 2021 03:22
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I think it's good that most campaigns end between 8 & 12. It's been my experience that the game starts to fall apart after level 10 or so, and the effect gets worse with every level toward 20. The writers know this, and plan campaigns and modules accordingly. It's just a shame that you miss out on so many fun abilities, especially as martial classes. Agree completely that 3-8 is the sweet spot.
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Jun 2, 2021 05:01
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High level play is great if you just ban wizards and clerics and maybe sorcerers.
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Jun 2, 2021 06:22
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:It would probably move around depending on circumstance, because it doesn't require attunement. I'm... pretty sure? CaptainPsyko posted:High level play is great if you just ban wizards and clerics and maybe sorcerers.
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Jun 2, 2021 07:08
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cowboy
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High Level D&D is a political game and that isn't quite articulated in the rules. You can't continue to play like a dungeon crawl or it all falls apart. You need to be managing kingdoms and wizard schools and stuff.
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Jun 2, 2021 13:03
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| # ? May 31, 2024 05:55 |
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Yeah, at a certain point in the game the script flips and the party starts to tell the DM what happens, rather than the other way around.
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Jun 2, 2021 13:15
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