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The people over in the "What system should I use" thread pointed me towards 13th Age. I picked up the core rule book, and trying to parse the rules. They seem simple enough, but the layout is really weird. I have a couple stupid questions: How Important is the Icons to the system as a whole? Can I ignore it? Being the first thing in the book makes it seem it is very integral to the whole system. When a class has a class feature, say barbarian Rage, do they have to spend their feats to get the upgrades below the class feature? Same with talents? Even spells? Incremental Advantage, when they select one of their options they gain the bonus for next level now? or do they gain double the benefit? Say player chooses Feat for next level now. Next level do they not receive their feat, but they are free to change it, right? Or do they receive this feat now, and another one later? How balanced are the homebrew "Serf's 13th Age Firearms Rules v.2"? My last big campaign guns where rare, but a new thing. This campaign I'd like them to be much more common. Would it be easier to just reskin crossbows as guns, and allow everyone to use them?
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Jan 16, 2016 23:26
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Thanks for all the info guys. I think I'm going to swap some of my NPCs around into ICONS. So far I am liking the direction it is taking me. A player really wants to play a Barbarian, but the class seems very boring. One class feature and like 6 Adventurer Tier Talents. Compared to even the fighter who has different maneuvers and stuff. Then I read the True Ways book, and saw the classes from there; I think the Occultist has like 8 class features. Is the barbarian as terrible in game as it looks on paper? It gets better at attacking. Kind of. I know that the fun mostly comes from player options, and how I run the game. What I allow on the battle field, and I am a pretty easy going DM. I just like to have some sense of uniqueness built into the classes. Things the players can look forward to getting from their classes, which is the strength of having classes in the first place.
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Jan 19, 2016 05:27
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I think reskinning is the way to go. Requires almost no work. Even have the same class names. A1 Class"Fighter" (Wizard, cleric etc.) Mech up to A4 Class "Fighter" Mech. Then you get into C5. Highest class is E10 Class Mechs. PD is Mechs defense and MD is the pilots mental defense, agaisnt attacks that target them directly. Pilots have no stats of their own.
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Jan 30, 2016 22:54
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Captain Hats posted:I definitely could reskin, the classes would make serviceable mechas, but they're just not quite all the way there. Like, a Barbarian would make a decent enough Mazinger type in theorey, but where's the finishing moves? The Wizard makes a fair energy blaster super robot, but its cantrips and utility spells are a little focused on classic D+D effects. Allow finishing moves to be described by the player who deals the last damage to their HP. This has the benefit of allowing the player to tie in the narrative to the finishing move. Enemy laying prone on a toppled over building? Curb stomp his head off, or open your chest cannon to blast him into rubble. If you give each class a specific finishing move, they become repetative, and bland. "I summon my sword from the sky and chop him in half. Again." As per utility, and DnD-ish spells: just retool them some. Most of them aren't really DnD specific if you took away the name and fluff. Disguise Self: you look like someone else. Maybe it becomes: "X4 Unit custom Stealth Tech: You can make your unit appear friendly to enemy radar, just don't let them get a visual on your Mech." 90% of them work fine with a little re-flavoring. Ghost Sound: enemy mechs pick up false information of incoming backup Knock: Low energy force beam opens up wholes in terrain and buildings but cant hold up against mechs armor/shields. Light: flair or mech's high beams mage hand: tractor beam Mending: Torch or beam that repairs buldings, terrain but useless against the advanced tech of mechs. Prestidigitation: i'd just ignore this one, not much to do with it for mechs Spark: Flame jet to light environment on fire disguise self: hide from radar, or alter your radar signal Feather fall: foot jets that slow your fall. I'm sure mechs dont take fall damage, maybe change to allow large jumps hold portal: welder to melt metal or stone. can make cages or traps out of buildings. levitate: jets boots let you go up or down, not as much control as actual fly message: messaging device. allows you to talk to anyone you placed one on in the past. speak with item: maybe speak with human on ground with out opening up your mech? water breathing: same as dnd. scrying: Satellite Connection to see anywhere on the planet Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Jan 31, 2016 |
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Jan 31, 2016 20:41
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Short: How broken would it be to give my players another skill point? Longer: A necromancer in my game recovered the bones of his religion's "Jesus" figure. This is the 3rd campaign in the same world and the religious figure is a NPC from last campaign. He really wanted to play a character that worshiped this npc as a god. What I am thinking of have happen is the NPC inhabits/haunts my player. To represent this I thought it would be cool to give him a background point of "bearer of the shadow", and each time he levels he can move a point onto this background as a representation of this NPC regaining his memories and sanity. If he wants to ignore it then the free point would represent his still being haunted, and would need to go on a quest to remove it or something. Does this sound like a good idea?
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Feb 10, 2016 09:51
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After debating for a bit on whether I should include the icon system in my homebrew campaign, I decided to do it. I couldn't be happier. Though, its only been one session in so far. My icons: http://www.dustfall.net/13th-age-dustfall/icons I took all the big NPCs in the game and found the most important and interesting ones, and wrote up bios similar to those in the core rule book. This is the 3rd campaign to take place in the world, and almost half of those icons have some sort of connection to the previous campaigns due to player actions(one is even a player's character from last game). The first session went beautifully. I had them roll the icon Dice at the end of the game, instead of at the start. Got some crazy results, which led me down a awesome DM path. I'm excited for next session to see how the players like it.
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Feb 11, 2016 11:36
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Turtlicious posted:
I'm still learning but this is what I've gathered so far. Momentum: swashbuckle and a bunch of the rogue powers require it. Such as sure cut, for example. Mooks: They are sperate like characters that roll in groups and go on the same initiative. They all share one HP pool. Each mook rolls to hit. Necromancer: yeah, don't see why not. She loses some max HP for flavor and slightly better casting. Make it a fun quest she has to do to, or something(nothing long mind you). ATK is to hit. The escalation die applies only to hit, but it also works for casting I think. That's how I've been doing it.
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Feb 21, 2016 09:57
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Due to a post in this thread I decided to try and focus on adding unique environmental combat situations. The last one had the players fighting some monsters among a panicking crowd. At ED2 I started to roll off a chart I made, as the crowd got too compacted to allow fighting easily. Stuff like, "crowd surges forward pulling you away from the goblins, you become disengaged". Some positive, but mostly negative. The players loved it, and definitely will try to think of cool gimicks to toss at them when appropriate.
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Mar 2, 2016 21:41
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They need to have the options for melee combat be built into the system mechanics and not into the class itself. Pathfinder's Combat Maneuvers minus all the separation, feat tax, and wierd overly complex rules. Then have fighter class play off of those in flavorful ways. Such as, Barbarian and ranger can disarm, but only the fighter can disarm and hold their blade to the opponent's neck forcing a surrender or death. Edit: that might not even be a proper fix. I think it comes down to how dnd has always been. It's easier for a person to rationalize this idea that magic is deadly and can remove an enemy from combat immediately but fighter can't. That mentality holds itself to this idea that magic is balanced because their use of that power is limited in number, while swinging your sword is not. Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 03:49
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A player in my game gained the favor of an evil God in my custom campaign. The favor turned out to be Vampirism, which is not actually a "thing" in my game world, yet. I wanted it to feel unique and awesome for the player, but also balanced. Here is what I have so far. Let me know what you guys think. I am open to all suggestions. The Player gained a Background with 1 point in it. It was called "Mother's Chosen". While he has this background (vampirism) he must roll a Normal Save every day + his ranks in the background. At rank 5 his save would be 16+. If the player succeeds the saving throw he does not need to feed. If he fails the saving throw the player must feed on the blood of a living sentient creature in 24 hours or take a stacking -2 to all stats. If any of his stats drop to 0 he dies. This Vampirism background can not be increased the way normal backgrounds work. The only way to increase the background is to Feed off of a living sentient creature after a successful save. He must feed for more than just sustenance. Only once per save can he increase his background rank this way. If he succeeds a save he can also choose to lower the rank. He no longer regains recoveries after a rest. Instead he must drink blood. If he drinks the blood of a living sentient creature he regains all his recoveries. If he simply drinks blood of any kind he regains 1 recovery. Depending on his rank in the Background he gains these benefits, and negatives. Benefits Rank 1: Night vision Rank 2: Regenerate your Background x3 in HP as a quick action up to five times after feeding off of Sentient living creature. Rank 3: No longer need to breath WIP: and use your CON or CHA for HP calulation, which ever is higher. Rank 4: Life Sense Rank 5: Resistance to non-magical arms Negatives Rank 1: Light Sensitivity( Penalty to all vision based background checks and attacks in bright light equal to background level) Rank 2: Weakness to Holy, Radiant, and Fire Damage. Taking damage from one of these sources removes one of your uses of Regen. Rank 3: Rank 4: Damage in Daylight equal to Level per Round. You physically look like a monster and people will react as such. Rank 5: Can not heal using Recoveries unless you are currently feeding. Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Apr 28, 2016 |
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Apr 28, 2016 04:31
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Captain Walker posted:Just from a quick glance at that, the foundation is cool but the execution is flawed. Why would you ever want to go past level 2 and become a Final Fantasy undead? And didn't we get rid of that ability damage poo poo back in 2008? Drop the undead stuff is easy enough. Makes sense. What would you recommend in-place of the ability stuff? I wanted a penalty that represented becoming weak from starvation, and that had a real threat to it. Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Apr 28, 2016 |
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Apr 28, 2016 06:00
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I wrote up some custom rules for Icon Dice. Mainly because I was having trouble trying to work them into the game every session. I felt like sometimes including players relationships into the direction of the story felt forced and I was able to do the mechanic justice. I was having them roll their dice at the end of the session, but trying to fit 5 players relationship dice into the story was getting taxing on my creativity, especially when all 5 players hit a their 5s or 6s. I decided to put the burden in the hands of the players themselves, and so far it has been working splendidly. Huckabee Sting posted:Combat: You can roll your 1d6 of your Icon Dice as part of a d20 roll and add that result to your roll. If you roll a 6 on your Icon Dice and your roll without the Icon Dice would have succeeded anyways, the roll is a critical success. The DM will work with you to give extra benefit for the success. If you fail the roll but roll a 6 on the Icon dice you automatically succeed, but with no extra benefit. If you roll a 5 on the Icon dice and your normal roll would have succeeded you can gain an extra benefit but it puts you in a tight spot as pertaining to the narrative. If your roll fails but you get a 5 on your Icon Dice you can turn it into a success but, again, you get put into a tight spot. Huckabee Sting posted:Narrative: You can use your Icon Dice to help push the narrative during social or exploration scenarios. You roll the dice, and describe how you change the narrative. On a 6 you can choose what happens, basically gain complete narrative control for a moment, with help from the DM if needed. On a 5, you choose what happens but the DM gets to choose something as well. On any other roll the DM will work with you to create a happy medium. Example: “ I know the prison guard because we used to work together when I was a younger and a member of the ICONs cult” This one has worked wonders so far, and the players have been extremely happy with it. The players have used it pretty creative with its use gaining answers to massive plot questions, and advancing the story at a pretty steady pace. I am happy with this as it is.
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Oct 10, 2016 00:16
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I'm going to run "Shadows of Eldolan" on Thursday. Anyone have any tips? Specifically about this adventure but I'll take general 13th age stuff.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:29
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I am going to run a heavily modified version of "Make Your Own Luck". Basically, its a siege mission. The Lich King (Dead Mother in my campaign) is laying siege to a small city called Harrowdale for some secret artifact hidden in the city. The PCs have to help hold the city long enough for some ally Icon forces to arrive. In the end they find out a secret cult is in amongst the refugees and are planning on summoning the stone thief (under-kracken in my version). The book is about 1 session long, and I'm looking to stretch it out to 3. In my modified version the players do not know where the artefact is located. I want to stretch the players focus a bit, having to focus on dealing with the siege, finding the artefact, and uncovering the mysterious cult threatening the city from within. Players are level 2 at the moment. I want to use a die to represent tension in the city. Should I just use the Escalation die, and have it raise 1 per day, and then start all combat encounters with it at its current position? Or should I use a different mechanic? Also, any encounter ideas you have would be helpful. So far I have mostly focused on the siege:
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Feb 14, 2021 07:03
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Hollow Talk posted:With some delay on my part, thanks for the hints -- I will try and do a bit more with terrain etc, and see how things will go. I am currently running my second 13A campaign, and the party just hit level 5 this go around. The last time my players rolled Icon dice I had something like 10 different 5's and 6's to deal with. A couple things I have learned about Icon rolls:
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Oct 4, 2021 08:24
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I have started to lead my players down into the underdark. Recently, I have been playing a lot of cyberpunk, and really liked the idea of Web City. I created a small document going a bit into the lore of Web City in my world, and figured you folks might want to make use of it. I have made notes where my own campaign lore interacts with lore from 13th age or generic fantasy stuff. The City Imagine going into an abandoned barn. Webs, old and new, sprawling across the walls and ceiling. A million spiders’ nests built on top of each other, unable to tell where one ends and another begins. Now imagine the barn is a metropolis, and the spiders are as big as people. Welcome to Web City. Where secrets are currency and names are earned. But be careful, there is a fragile balance that is held together between the gangs, the sects, and the runners. And you wrapped up in the middle. The Sect of She Who Spins in Darkness, or simply spinners as they are called in the city, sell their poison to the masses. They collect secrets from those on the sunbaked surface, and spin them into Tales, or Yarns. A web covered paper talisman. Placing it over your eyes will send you to live the secret as if you were there. Every smell. Every pinprick of pain. Every mind blowing ounce of pleasure will be felt as if you were living it. The halls of He Who Weaves with Joy echo with the ringing of bells. A constant reminder of time ticking away. A place of progress or so claim the weavers who work there. They have their own use for your secrets. Forming the essence of your secret into a Word of Power called Scripts. Similar to the Yarns in form, but completely different in function. Those with a script can summon some of the primal forces of the universe granting them super strength, or speed. Manipulation of the real. Even go invisible. A shotty script will have only a few uses, or cause backlash on the user. Almost everyone in Web City has some script on their person. Many will ask how the yarns and scripts work. The sects will tell you they are prayers to their respective God. Those who run in the dark parts of the web will tell you that is only half the story. Join one of the two majors sects in the underdark. Become a Spinner, turning secrets into Tales to sell to the lowly masses, whispering with She Who Spins in Darkness. Or laugh, and boast along with He Who Weaves With Joy as they bring Words to those who have none. Last, you can join one of the many gangs. Make your own family through blood, sweat, and theft. Or weave your own destiny, and become a mercenary. Whatever you decide, try not to get wrapped up in Web City. The Web All of Web City is connected through the webs. A city wide entanglement of all the different spiders and ettercaps weaving and spinning the largest webbing in the world. Now, top it all off with the ethereal weave; a mysterious web created by the Phase that acts as a sort of glue holding it all together. They say anyone who breaks the ethereal weave gets “phased”. Hauled away by the enigmatic Phase Spiders, and their ettercap riders. Some places, tucked in the shadows of the city, are separated from the Web. Secure locations like vaults where the web doesn’t spread, or is culled so it can not reach. Vaults in the Sects, or secret secure locations the gangs have set up. Locations and information kept secret from the web, and we all know what secrets are worth in Web City. While Ettercaps use the web to speak to each other in their vibrations, there is another use for it. To identify people moving along the web. Webwatchers; etcaps who specialize in reading the distant vibrations of the webs. Sects, and even gangs, employ watchers to secure their secrets. A watcher can tap into the web in a building or cave, and identify every creature that enters the building via the vibrations of the web keeping their secrets safe from the prying eyes of outsiders. But, there are ways around that, especially in Web City where secrets never stay secrets for long. Webrunners. Etcaps that focus on hiding their vibrations from Watchers. Runners are able to nullify their vibrations and the vibrations of their team, rendering them invisible to any Webwatcher listening in. A game is played between the Runners and the Watchers, a game of cat and mouse, or more accurately spider and prey. Lastly, each building will have a series of Anchor Lines. The main web that ties that building to the Ethereal Weave and to the main hub of Web City. Most buildings or tunnels will only have one Anchor Line. Some of the more well defended places might have an Anchor Line on every floor, or every branch of a tunnel. If a runner manages to find the Anchor Line they are given root access to the entire floor, being able to identify the location of every creature that creates a vibration, and more importantly they are able to hide the vibrations of their allies without having to be near them. The importance of the Anchor Lines is well known, so they are very well defended with a Watcher jacked into it listening to your every step. An exceptionally talented watcher or runner with access to an Anchor Line can really cause havoc on a team. Some can even cast spells through the web, or create false vibrations to distract security teams. The full power of a truly talented runner is still unknown as new techniques are being discovered. The Neon Glow of the Underworld Advertisements line the streets of Web City. Neon webbing flickers in the dark whispering promises of a better you. A you that is more handsome. Stronger. Faster. Why have a regular hand when you can have a metal one? Learn secrets that no one is privy to, all for a price. Specialized spiders created by He Who Weaves In Joy can make you neon webbing with the right price. Able to create any sort of image in any color you can imagine. Half of Web City is covered in glowing neon webs. Upside Web City is split into two main areas. Upside is the top half of the Web. Both of the Sects have their main headquarters in Upside. It is where most of the up and up business takes place. Clean Markets, and rich houses line the web streets. The more reputable Derro Augmentors, those who haven't gone completely mad, have shops here. The place is kept clean by the Boot, a gang of Drow who have a contract with both sects to keep the place running smoothly, and they do so with violent relish when given the opportunity. Downside The rest of the city. A place of dingy dive bars, and trash filled streets. But don’t be deceived, there is more life down here in the shadows than those Upside assume. Food Carts can be found everywhere. Children playing in the streets. And music felt all over the downside. Though, Gangs split the districts up among themselves through deals, or sometimes violence. The Sects would have you believe that they are too clean for Downside. They also would have you believe they do not lie. There are plenty of blacksite or hidden fortresses downside that the sects would rather you not know about. The Citizens Ettercaps These make up the majority of the people in Web City. From the lowly street vendor to a head of a Sect. They are humanoid spiders who found Web City in ages past. A perpetual war fought in the webbing between the two sects has created massive opportunity here in Web City, and the Etcaps are at the foundation of it all. Most Etcaps talk through the vibrations of the city. If an Etcap focuses they can talk to any single other Etcap within the city no matter the distance, as long as the other party is also touching the web. When they have to use their fangs and pedipalps to create sound it comes whispery or quiet. Though, there are some who have adapted to the language of foreigners, and have mastered the spoken language.
Derro Dwarves that have fallen to the calling. The darkness of the underworld has twisted and warped their minds and souls. Though, some have fallen farther than others. You will quickly be able to determine how far gone a Derro is at a quick glance. Something about the eyes, like the amount they have generally. Derro are the masters of biological augmentation. Looking for a third arm to get an Upperhand in combat? Find a Derro Augmentor. Some ironically call them Mentors as taking advice from a Derro, even a sane-ish one is the idea of a crazy man.
Drow The Silver folk who live in Web City generally come in two varieties: those looking to hide from the Elf Queen, and those who call Drowfort their home. A people who have become accustomed to the more dangerous side of the underdark has given the drow a unique advantage in Web City. In the district of Upside you can find Drowfort. An ancient fortress that claims to have been here before the first webs were spun. They have a truce with the Sects, and such work the streets of Upside protecting the city and the sects, sometimes even from each other.
Everyone Else Outside of the three main races, there are plenty more lurking in the webs of the city. Fungaloids. Serpentfolk. Every race under sunbaked topside. And many other underworld creatures. Don’t be surprised if you find someone who once called the Overworld their home, now toiling away in the maze of Web City. The Sects She Who Spins In Darkness. Come work for the Spinners. Topside, the Spinners collect secrets from anyone willing to spill. But down here, in the neon cob of Web City, those same secrets are turned into Tales. Live any life you want, in someone else's shoes, just to get away from your own problems. Live the greatest highs, and experience the most violent a person can be, from the safety of your own bed. Join the Spinners and you too can spin the yarns that move the city. He Who Weaves with Joy Weavers just wants to help the city progress. They collect secrets, much like She Who Spins In Darkness, but Weavers actually search for something more valuable to them. Knowledge from the sunbaked. Specifically lost knowledge. Anything on the verge of collapse calls to the weavers. They use secrets, and lost insight to create Scripts to help the citizens live easier lives. Ease pain. Make travel quicker. Solve problems easier. Enhance the people and they will enhance the city. Work with He Who Weaves with Joy to create the scripts that will propel Web City into the future. The Gangs The Bloody Razor Those who see their normal biology as broken or weak. Each member of the bloody razor has undergone extensive body augmentations. Mixing flesh and steel and more flesh and some more steel. It's a mess but potent. If you want an augmentation done cheap and quickly, a Razor will gladly help you out. But you’ll be lucky if you get only what you ask, as they have been known to throw in some extra steel you never asked for, and expect payment upon awakening. The Boot A violent gang of Drow. They call their base of operations simply Drowfort. Located in Upside, the Boot police their web with violent authority given to them by an alliance between the two sects. They may be all bad, but they have their uses. Anytime Web City is under threat from an outside source The Boot has managed to repel the attackers. Their reach extends far beyond Web City, placing many smaller communities under their martial law. Followers of the Pulse Ettercaps who claim they can hear the city itself speak. They worship a sort of Web City consciousness that they hear in the vibrations in the webbing that they call the Pulse. Seeking answers and prophecy the Followers bring a zealotry like fervor to Web City that even the spinners and weavers do not have. While a majority of the members are etcaps, there are plenty who are not. People who seek answers that the two sects do not promise. Some of the most talented runners and watchers are found in the fold of the Pulse, but what do you expect from a gang that spends all its time listening to the vibrations of the city. The 33rd Radii A smaller gang, located on a single webway in the Downside. What they lack in territory they make up for in ferocity. It is said that not even the Phase will step foot on their block. The Phase Strange and enigmatic. The Phase are ethereal spiders and ettercaps that have a strange connection to another place. They live in the inbetween. No one really knows much about them. Those who go searching always go missing. The Phase have been seen working with both Sects but very irregularly. Reports claim the phase help transport etcaps to the sunbaked, but that is as far as their relationship seems to go. Also, sometimes they appear to haul away dead bodies. No one knows why certain people are phased and others are left to be eaten by the spiders. The Phase are a mystery to everyone in Web City. The Edge of Finality The largest of all gangs in Web City. Some members think there is a meaning to the name, but most just think it sounds cool. Despite the name, the gang is dangerous. They claim the most territory and have the largest numbers. They pay their gang well, and keep their territory clean. Though, they tend to be a bit harsh with the citizens under their authority, forcing them to pay ridiculous protection fees. Rumors are that one of the two sects are secretly funding them. City Life Upside Hub Central market district in Web City. Located dead center of the city. It is equidistant from both He Who Weaves and She Who Spins. A truce of neutrality allows Hub to prosper. It is said anyone who breaks the peace in Hub gets Phased. Drowfort A massive sprawling fortress built into the stone of Web City itself. Made from mostly obsidian and quicksilver, the fortress is indestructible. One of the largest buildings in Web City. In Fact it is an entire district in itself. Tucked in the fortress are their own schools, engineers, libraries, teleportation cirlces, and hospitals. Drowfort is a city within a city and you are not welcome. For more info on Drowfort, check out page 52 in The Book of the Underworld for 13th Age. The Belfry: Weaver Headquarters The Belfry is the main center of worship, and place of work for those who follow He Who Weaves With Joy. A massive behemoth of a building, with many floors. Each one has bells that ring at different intervals. These bells work as both a reminder to those working, and as additional security. They mask vibrations coming from the Belfry. Only Watchers with high enough clearance are trained in the techniques required to ignore the bell’s vibrations. Every Etcap or braced worker is rendered mute and deaf in the web while working in the tower. This stops spies, as well as forces etcap weavers to learn how to speak common. Which also helps with their work in the sunbaked. The Library: Spinner Headquarters Where the art is made. A quiet place, where silence is necessary for both their work, and to keep the vibrations in their webbing to a minimum. The Library is made of a network of intertwining and maze-like tunnels. It is said it goes all the way below downside deep into the etterpit, but who would be willing to test that theory? Downside Radii Radii are roads or webways. They start in the center of Web City and spread out from there. They pass through both Upside and downside. A few distinct radii that you should be aware of:
The Moorings Located along the outskirts of the city. An insect would say this is the place where the dredges of society are living in destitution and filth. This is also where most of the illicit fun happens. The people here aren't well off by any means, but they are far from broken despite what a bugger told you. It got this reputation because of the Razor, a derro gang that calls the Moorings home turf. New Point One of the newest sections of downside. At one time it was home to a Fomorian cult, but before a dead god could be risen the Boot, aided by the Phase, burnt the whole district to ash. Now the web has been rebuilt on top of the rubble of the old. Some say the curse of the dead god’s still linger, and there are secrets tucked away in the shadows waiting to be found. Blackrock Park Once a small suburb mostly left alone, now a burgeoning hellhole. The demonic forces localized in this area have caused much of this district to become warped.The walls talk, and the web itself has started to become corrupt. Rumors are the Phase are preparing to move in and clear the area, but for some reason they haven’t, and that has spread even bigger rumors. Technology Augmentations For the right price or juicy secret you can pay someone to alter your physical body. Add blades in your forearms or weave mithral under your skin. This has become so common that almost every citizen of Web City has had some sort of work done. If you are desperate you can always go to a Derro Mentor and gamble with their sanity, and eventually yours. Spidertech Both of the Sects have found ways to alter the biology of spiders through secrets and magic. One example is the bracer, which allows skeds to interact with the vibrations in Web City. Another is to create webbing that glows neon in the darkness. They have created spiders that you can ride, and even ones that are partially invisible. Tales and Scripts Both sects create the Tales and the Scripts. People from around the underworld, and even topside come to Web City to watch some tales or acquire a script. There is a catch, they do not work so well away from Web City. You can experience a tale, and learn the secrets within, then move on, but if you try to watch a tale while basking on a beach in the midland sea you will find yourself sorely disappointed. Similar goes for scripts, they will get one good use outside of Web City before they disintegrate. And still, the demand for them outside the city is high. Key words Anchor Line Give a Runner access to a building's or local area’s internal webwork. Often is protected, or being used by security runners. A whole building or tunnel may only have one anchor line, while some more secure buildings may have one per floor or branch. Bracer A specialized spider that can attach itself to the wrist of a Sked, giving them access to the same vibrational communication that Etcaps enjoy. Tale or Yarn A web covered paper talisman with Etcap logograms written on it. When worn over the eyes it lets someone experience the secret first hand, as if they are living it themselves. A major form of entertainment in Web City, but also has a million other uses. Some are not so innocuous. Script or Fab A web covered paper talisman with Etcap logograms engraved on it. When attached to the body it grants the user access to a specific and temporary use of Primal Word. Some Fabs are more potent than others, and can be made permanent. Note: In my Dragon Empire I use a system I call a Primal Word. In mechanics it behaves exactly like an Icon Relationship die. Each creature is made up of 3 Primal Words. Each word is an action verb. When the player wishes to use their Primal Word, I ask them to use it in a sentence to describe their character's action. Then have them roll the die to see how well it worked. Even on a 1 I give them a little something. It is another way that the players are given narrative control over the game. In my lore the Scripts act as fake Primal Words Ethereal Weave Webbing created by the Phase. No one knows the true purpose of the Ethereal Weave, nor can many people even see it. It runs through all the web in Web City. Should the Ethereal Weave be damaged at all the Phase will retaliate with prejudice. Runners Etcaps that specialize in infiltration. They are capable of interacting with the web in such a way they remove others' vibrations. Essentially allowing people to move undetected in the city, specifically in secure locations they aren't supposed to be in. They are essential to any sort of merc work. Watchers They focus on countering Runners. They are as capable of interacting with the web in the same way as runners, but they often do so in a manner to protect assests. To keep secrets safe from would-be thieves. The Sunbaked or Topside Anyplace not in the underdark. Also used as an insult. Slang Insect Anyone who is in either of the Two Sects. Bugger see Insect Phase To die, or to go missing. Called this due to the odd occurrence of Phase Spiders removing specific people, and more often phasing out dead bodies. Spinner Anyone who works for She Who Spins in Darkness. Weaver A worker for He Who Weaves with Joy Brace To call someone on their Brace Spider. Sked Anyone who is not an Etcap. Come from an Ettercap word that means "prey caught in the web unaware it is food." Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Nov 29, 2021 |
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Nov 29, 2021 07:20
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PublicOpinion posted:I made my own take on a spellcaster that I played in a decently long campaign; the goal was to have one that was fairly complex in play but simple to create. It can sometimes have a pretty high load of things to keep track of. Here it is if anyone wants to take a look: http://goo.gl/vQg4FP This may be a dumb question. When do you roll the dice from your pool? I assume you roll them as you use them, but sometimes it seems to imply that they are already rolled or the values are predetermined. Are you supposed to roll the dice as they enter your pool, so then you use those results as you build your elemental blast/storm etc? I really like these mechanics, and I think I'm gonna write up a npc badguy for my players to fight using them as a base. While we play online, it would be awesome at a table for the players to see the pool of dice in front of the DM as a sort of 'oh poo poo' mechanic. I'll see if I can find a way to make that work online, anyways. Edit I've been tinkering with a gunslinger class for a while now. The core idea is to get away from the pathfinder/dnd concept and find a way to tie the actually flavor of a gun to the mechanics beyond critical fumbles jamming the gun. As of right now it uses a Gun Dice (d6) that you roll at the start of the round. The result is tied to your deeds you know augmenting how they work. But once you spend your Gun Dice on a deed that result can not be used again until you reload your Gun Dice, which is an action(but becomes increasingly easy to do as you level up, as different class features, feats, and deeds grant free reloads or let you roll an additional gun dice and choose the result). The d6 plays on the six chambers of a revolver. But your energy pool idea has me thinking that might be an interesting way to take it too. Instead of building up a pool of points you could work backwards. Starting with a pool of six dice, and you spend those to power your deeds, and then reloading refills the pool. This would remove the chance to land on a spent result which would take out that fumble feeling even more. Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 23:26 on May 15, 2022 |
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May 15, 2022 22:56
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I'm working on the start of a new campaign. This is a continuation of my last 13th age game. In this one the players will be working with one Icon. A character from our last game became an icon, but doing so started a war. The players are going to be a special forces strike unit for this icon. Using a magically tamed living dungeon as a mobile artillery and command platform the players will be running strategic assaults behind enemy lines. So, instead of icon dice I'm going with Ordnance. Players can prepare 3(at the start) different ordnance at the start of the mission. And call them in as needed. They will also be given the opportunity to upgrade their living dungeon, and discover new ordnance. Tech is sort of higher in this than general 13th age. Guns are just becoming common. (A player is going to play test a custom gunslinger class I've been working on so that is exciting for me). Some kind of magitech is starting to make it's way into the world as well. I could use any ideas anyone has for special units, equipment or artillery the players could call in. Things like dragon strikes or nightfire napalm.
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Feb 26, 2024 07:25
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neonchameleon posted:So how are the changes from 1e looking? There were bits I liked and bits that disappointed me about 1e. For me, its a side grade so far. Here's a simplified list of broad changes( i am definitely missing some):
It feels more like a 1.5 than an actual edition change. Huckabee Sting fucked around with this message at 21:38 on May 8, 2024 |
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May 8, 2024 20:35
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long-rear end nips Diane posted:Did the orc lord die in an adventure somewhere or is this new lore? I don't think so. I believe this is new lore. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken. CitizenKeen posted:12 Icons in 13th Age is a weird choice. The idea I've seen floating around is that the 13th Icon is created by the GM, though this isn't mentioned in the beta book. There is supposed to be a beta GM Guide coming soon, so I think we'll see if it appears in there.
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May 9, 2024 02:40
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