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Topics - Bronzebeard

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1
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Discussion on Vancian Magic - Chapter 3
« on: January 18, 2018, 12:17:01 PM »
First part can be found here.
Previous part is here.



Creating a spell; rules.
Steps in designing any spell



The assumption, right now, is that the caster has access to a limited number of keys, along with few basic keys which are accessible to every caster from the start.


  • Pick target type:
    Determines the maximum distance a target (as chosen above) be, to be cast upon.

    Objectany inanimate matterSurfacepoint of origin located on feature from the surroundings.
    spreading using that surface as vector.
    ?
    Voida location in space from which the spell emanates regardless of obstacles.?
    Creaturean independent entity such as the living,
    automatons, golems, constructs, animals, etc'.
    Selfcaster himself0
    Naturala willing creature1
    Hostilean unwilling creature, enemy2



  • Pick casting range:
    Determines the maximum distance a target (as chosen above) be, to be cast upon.

    Melee0
    Near1
    Sight~having open line of sight4
    Unrestricted9


  • Pick spell's duration:
    The span in which an effect will be active.

    Instantaneousapplying effect when the casting concludes?
    Focusenables the caster to keep an effect in action while he concentrate on the spell?
    Shortapply for a short while after the casting and concentrating thereafter concludesabove+num'ofroundsafter


  • Pick occurring effect:
    Can be chosen multiple times.

    The effects available to chose from sometimes depends on the type of target.

    Object:
    • (Mend/Repair) Restore AEGIS hit points to target material.
    • (Damage) Deduct AEGIS hit points of target material.
    • (Animate) Animate AEGIS of target material.
    • (deceive/illusion/phantasm/pattern) Create an illusionary image from nothing or change appearence of existing~~~~__mimics other KEYs~
    • (Supress)->(Dispel) Disable AEGIS of ongoing spell effect.* __does this belongs to all?__
    • (Harden) Grant target material DR up to AEGIS.

    Creature:
    • (Heal) Restore AEGIS hit points to target creature.
    • (Harm) Deduct AEGIS hit points of target creature.
    • (Regenerate) Improve condition on hp-wounds scale.
    • (Injure) Worsen condition on hp-wounds scale.
    • (Weaken) Worsen condition on strength-weakness scale.
    • (Bind) Worsen condition on dexterity-paralyze scale.
    • (Exhaust) Worsen condition on constitution-exhaustion scale.
    • (Confuse) Worsen condition on intelligence-confusion scale.
    • (Frighten) Worsen condition on wisdom-panick scale.
    • (Compel/Charm) Worsen condition on charisma-charm scale.
    • (Haste) Grants target additional actions.
    • (Slow) Withhold actions from target.
    • (Contact) Communicate with target.
    • (Know) Target creature understand chosen subject*
    • (Sense)->(Detect) Reveal up to AEGIS of a certain topic.*
    • (Figment/Glamour) target creature percieve a false sensation. __not sure if part of confuse or not __mimics other keys?
    • (Morph) Enhance creature's abilities up to AEGIS.


    Both:
    • (Ward) Absorb AEGIS of hp damage directed at target
    • (Summon)(Conjure) Summon AEGIS.
    • (Banish)(Remove) Unsummon target up to AEGIS.
    • (Jaunt/Shift) Teleport target. AEGIS. 10ft' per level(?)
    • (Conceal) Hide features of target.
    • (Force) Push, Pull or hit (or float?) with AEGIS of magical force*
    • (Anchor) protects from teleporting~?~~~
    • (Flight)


    Damage:

    • (Fire) catches on fire. 1d4 dmg per round.
    • (ice) coat with ice.


    AEGIS = Appropriate amount for given spell level.
    * = Scope seems to be too general. Three options: leave it as is; force caster to choose specifics when memorizing/learning spell or KEY; break effect to multiple seperate KEYs.

2
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Initiative
« on: September 02, 2017, 05:27:06 PM »
I read mike mearls' new initiative suggestion and a whole lot of comments regarding it (honestly surprised nothing came up in this forum). Nytemare3701 also had a thread which I read. But I'm still not sold on the item presented.

How's this:

Combat start - all characters roll d20 - that is your place.
Goes from lowest to highest.
Character chooses an action. Actions are grouped to 'weights', like 5, 10 or 20.
Action start at your initiative and resolves at initiative + weight. New initiative is initiative + weight.
=If all characters have initiative > 20 then reduce everyone's initiative by 20.

Your thoughts?

3
Game Design / You roll what and add how much?
« on: March 22, 2016, 05:23:41 PM »
As theoretical as it goes -

I'm looking at this page, and out of it comes the question of what resources are available for d&d players? And as a bonus question, even thou it's not really a resource as per the example provided, what method exists in d&d? The basis was always roll d20 and add a modifier (written in the first introductory part of the book), and latter was added a roll twice and discard one of the results. What can you think of?

4
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Discussion on Vancian Magic - Chapter 2
« on: January 07, 2016, 10:56:20 AM »
First part can be found here.

Foreword: I wish to thank faeryn, Eldritch_Lord, Jackinthegreen, Unbeliever, SneeR, and the rest for their invalubale help and all the helpful input.


Onwards!

New arcane spellcasting rules
alpha build - temporary name "Mystery"

  • Spells memorized: The arcanist can memorize spells up to his Int. mod. + 1 (e.g. human with 14 int. can memorize 3 spells at any given time).
  • Spell level limit: The arcanist can cast spells no higher then his class level divided by 2 and rounded up (e.g. Caster level 5 will be able to cast no higher then 3rd level spells).
  • Spellcasting: each spell is cast against relevant save (Illusion vs. mental, disease vs. Fortitude, etc.). Casting a spell will not remove it from memorization. It is possible to recast it multiple times.
  • Spells: The only existing spells are 1st level pieces that are very minor and can be combined for greater effect with other pieces. Example:
    Assume I have orb of acid, a 1st level 1d3 ranged attack spell, memorized. I can combine it with daze, another 1st level spell, and the widen metamagic in order to have a different spell in my arsenal. The new spell will be called bronzebeard's acid arrow and will be used as a 5th level spell of cone shaped acid 1d3 damage with daze effect upon hitting an enemy.
    (click to show/hide)


Questions? Comments? For? Against?

5
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Source vs. Save
« on: November 23, 2015, 07:06:39 AM »
A sort of open question towards everyone:



Assuming each character is armed with six saves - each tied for each ability (Str. Dex. Con. Int. Wis. & Cha.), what sources of damage or attack would you associate with each save?

(click to show/hide)


Good day to all.

6
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Decomposing spells
« on: November 17, 2015, 05:17:56 AM »
I just wanted the community's assistance in a certain thought experiment.

What I need is a list of basic properties that comprise all of the available spells.

For example:
Some spells inflict direct damage.
Some spells summon additional bodies.

I guess there are more.

Would you kindly help me?
Thank you.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editing: Here be the table of spell schools

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
--> MajorBuffBuffDebuffDebuffDamageControl
V Minor Vaddremoveaddremove
Buffadd--------Illusion
Buffremovetransmutation--------
Debuffadd--------
Debuffremove--------
Damage--------
--------
ControlEvocation--------
--------

7
Game Design / The return to Gradual & Binary Defenses
« on: June 29, 2015, 10:25:08 AM »
After reading SneeR's excellent theory thread with it's accompanied replies I fell enamored with the idea and wanted to come up with something of that sort. Unfortunately, I was prompted that the thread is old and to reply only if I'm absolutely sure. Hence the new thread.
I came to something close which I wanted to run by you all and hear your different opinions.

The basis is that each ability has a few stages a la StarWars saga condition meter.
There is one positive stage to represent temporary boons.
Three negative stages that are steps. First one is a minor case (-2), usually no special disadvantage. Secondary is slightly bigger negative (-4 or -5), maybe special ruling e.g. can't use full round action when Exhausted (-5 at constitution). After this, major penalty which makes the character nigh impossible to take action at certain aspects, like Paralyzed (-10) at dexterity. This would place more importance at working together and avoiding or helping inflicted teammates.
The last one is essentially "death" state. If you've been inflicted 4 times at the same ability then you're out. Attempting to mimic the Gradual Defense in SneeR's post.

Here are the conditions from the 3.5 edition arranged as described above. At this point I'm not sure whether it is relevant to keep the conditions as they are or change it to something new.

BonusMinor-PenaltyPenaltyMajor-PenaltyK/O
Strength (Weakness)**Weak*Helpless
Dexterity (Immobile)**EntangledPinnedParalyzed
Constitution (Fatigue)**FatiguedExhaustedUnconscious
Intelligence (comprehension)**DazedFascinatedConfused
Wisdom (Fear)**ShakenFrightenedPanicked
Charisma (Persuasion)****Dominated


One thing that is missing is the Hp row.
I think that it is possible to implement something similar for it, incorporating the 3 Death save rolls into the 4 condition steps and also creating new conditions, such as Bleeding, Wounded, Maimed and bloodied (from 4th edition). One thing different is that while the ability saves requires you to attack higher then the saves themselves (vs. ability score), the hp is a pool that usually drains away - you chip away at it until you reach zero and fell your foe. Can it exist within the condition meter? Does it needs to change? Not sure.


Your input greatly appreciated.

8
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Discussion on Vancian Magic
« on: May 06, 2015, 06:25:46 AM »
Foreward:
After a discussion in my Game group during the last few days - I went back to my sketching desk and thought for long about the mechanics for the wizards in d&d and especially third edition.
I know that many a word had been written over the subject and I did went on a little journey across the web. But, alas, no webpage held the highly prized answer. Or rather, none had an answer suiting my reasoning.
The following is an attempt at an open discussion regarding the abilities and numbers of the arcane enabled character. Your input and opinion is greatly appreciated.


Main Topic - Arcane spellcasting mechanic.
Emphasize on dynamics and rules with little to no regard of the flavor.


So far, my personal experience has led me to believe that there are a few fundamental problems associated with arcane characters:
  • When running out of spell the player feels that he is no longer contributing to the party and is at a huge disadvantage. Particularly at low levels.
  • At high and end-game levels the arcane characters overshadow the rest of the team.
  • The rules for regaining spells have caused many players to simply make camp after every encounter, thus inventing the "5 minute work day" and bypassing the resource management aspect completely.
  • Items such as spellbook keeping, (holy symbol,) components, and other foci demanded too much booking and were often ignored by the players.
  • Spells often presented a simple off-switch solutions, affectionately named Save or Die, without any trade-off, penalty or otherwise.


These, in turn, give birth to a number of questions:

- What should a spent mage be allowed to do? What could be his options?
 - How should a mage regain his power?
 - What is the purpose of the spellbook?
 - What makes arcane differ from divine spellcasting?
 - What is the tradeoff for the immense high level spell's power?
 - What makes the spellcasting schools unique?
 - How can an arcane caster work with the other characters?


I would like to emphasize that what I'm looking for is not a way to solve the mentioned in-game. I don't wish to present magic-resistant monsters or have the caster amnesiac. Neither am I willing to simply swap the casting system with a different one.
Instead, I want to look at the arcane spellcasting ability as it is presented in the Core Rules materiel and adjust / change it so that it would evolve into a fun engaging thematic mechanic.

And again, thank you for reading and for your input.

9
Introduce Yourself / Greetings and Salutations
« on: May 06, 2015, 04:44:05 AM »
Hello one and all.

My name is matt. I live in Israel. Been playing p&p RPG for the best 20 or so years. For the most part, D&D is the majority of what we play, thou we do dabble in other systems from time to time. Besides that - what is else to say?

A good day!

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