Min/Max Boards

Greetings, all!

Due to time, I can but link you to my query and posts of the same name at GiantITP.  I'm curious about your commentary.

So as we were discussing in Better Off Ted, how would Ted the Enabler work in 2014? 

Ted, in short, is a person who helps his party by making them all better at what they do, and helps the party well.  I don't believe Ted must inherently be a build or role no one else would want to play, but I've found disagreement.

The current build stub is True Neutral Human Specialist Wizard (Diviner?)3/War Weaver5/Red Wizard of Thay5/Incantatrix3/Spellguard of Silverymoon4.  (I assume Ted is male.)  With this build, Ted can cast one spell and buff his entire party, even personal only spells thanks to the feat Magic of the Land (Races of the Wild) and the Spellguard of Silverymoon ability, Spellguard.  By RAW, he can also use Selective Spell to cast any spell in 1 round.  Say hello to Selective Spell genesis or Selective Spell simulacrum.

A major downsidde is needing to oppose at least 3 schools - one for Wizard, one for Incantatrix, and one for Red Wizard, though Red Wizard explicitly allows spells of the opposed school to still be cast if this Red Wizard was able to cast them prior to his Red Wizardry.  Your GM may let this work too for Incantatrix, since that's how 3.0's Incantatrix worked, but ask your GM.

There's a minor fluff tidbit about needing to be from both Silverymoon (for Spellguard) and Thay (for Red Wizard).  Maybe your character traveled a lot, or was adopted.  Whatever.  Ask your GM.

Assuming all this works, what are we left with?  A guy who's powered by his simulacrum (or Circle Magic minion) army (or squad) to cast all his spells at caster level 40+.  And he can Persist and Extend them due to Metamagic Effect.  And each buff spell he casts can affect his entire party, with all the previosuly mentioned benefits.

Greetings, all!

Let's assume I'm a Human Sorcerer1 with Extend Spell and Sanctum Spell.  Since cast spells and apply metamagic spontaneously, does this mean I can cast level 1 spells using level 0 spell slots?  If so, combine this with the Pathfinder cantrip system (infinite level 0 spells), and boom!  Woo!

(This combination only works if 3.5 and Pathfinder material are allowed.)

Greetings, all!

Over the past few years, I've asked a variety of questions regarding D&D, preferences, and mechanics.  Some of these were an inspiration for Taste of Power (codename Yevir, the name of the new ruleset's default setting).  This is a taste of the Taste of Power ruleset.

The ultimate goal of this project was to redo 3.5 into a cohesive, interesting whole where each class was at least tier 3 (and had spiffy advice on why and how to play each class's strengths), where each feat is worth its slot, where each spell and power is well-defined (including leaving enough stuff not explicitly mentioned to allow creativity), and where mechanics and default aesthetics meshed.  The mechanics that are there aim toward this goal.

Overall, Taste of Power combines the best of 3.5, Pathfinder, D&D Online, 4E, and other games into one cohesive package.  Instead of having to reference about 100 splatbooks like I have (and not being able to pay by the rule - aw!), the game is intended to be about playing powerful heroes against powerful challenges in a magic-rich setting, where people don't need to rely on a 15 minute workday.  (The option is there.)  This game is primarily 3.5's core and splat condensed, refined, explained, and integrated into the new core rules and is intended for people who want to play 3.5 in a more balanced and optimization-friendly way, where the game was made by someone who deeply understands the interactions of 3.5's mechanics.  For example, it's possible to make a version of Hood using the Taste of Power rules, but minor creation and major creation specifically cannot create antimatter.

There is some backwards compatibility between Taste of Power and 3.5/Pathfinder, but this compatibility is not stressed.  Unlike Pathfinder, I was more interested and willing to gut things and rennovate to make the game play more of my way, and was not so concerned about OGL.  (Were I to publish this stuff for profit, I may need to change some names.)

Additionally, classes were meant to have something spiffy every level.  Sometimes, this meant new maneuvers/stances gained.  Often, it meant a significant and new ability each level that would entice people to just keep playing that class, while giving them incentive to multiclass if they so desired.  Sometimes, classes make up for a 'lack of spiffy new ability at level X' by having a buncha periodic abilities, like Sneak Attack, increase on the same level.

Each class has maneuvers/stances, spells, or powers.  All of them are fun, and giving each class such abilities effectively guarantees their position in the tier 3 and higher bracket.  This also means everyone has, at least in theory, access to all the List of Necessary Magic Items in 3.5 as class features, stances, maneuvers, or feats.  Each martial adept (Crusader, Marshal, Ranger, Swordsage, Warblade) has native access to one of the Big Four Immunities - true seeing, death ward, freedom of movement, mind blank - with access to at least one other via a stance.

All matial adepts can swap all their maneuvers and stances daily.  Again, versatility and experimentation foster fun. for some

Each race has something unique.  Mere stat bumps aren't enough to keep things interesting.  I wanted humans to be viable, but not the go-to option that they were in 3.5.  Each of the race's significant special abilities is worth approximately a feat.

At the system level, I generally increased the HP of everyone significantly while accounting for new damage values.  This means a level 1 character is far less likely to get one-shot.  On the high end, a Crusader is meant to be able to take approximately one hit or one round's worth of punishment in HP damage from an optimized damage dealer.

Initiative boosters are far fewer, and Improved Initiative is gone.  (Yes, I liked Imp Init too, but if everyone has it - and they should if they're smart - then we may as well be given a feat back.)  In 3.5, a Wizard1 could start with an initiative bonus of 'I Go First', or +15 (+4 Improved Initiative, +5 DEX, +2 Aggressive trait, +4 Hummingbird familiar +5 nerveskitter).  Combat initiative is less predictable now, making for a lot more tense moments.

Low-level crowd control spells, like glitterdust and web, now require 1 round to cast or have reduced effects if cast as a standard action.  Blasting spells, like fire spray or magic missile, instead are cast with full effect as standard actions, giving people reason to blast.

Additionally, ability scores are gone.  They were needlessly in the way of ability modifiers, which people used frequently.  Things that boost or penalize ability mods (like ray of enfeeblement or animal affinity) account for this.

Metamagic cost reducers are far fewer.  Divine Metamagic is still in because investing 3+ feats to Persist, at most, 2 buffs at a time initially (and 6 buffs at a time assuming a max CHA Cleric20) is not that bad in the scope of things.  Also, metamagic costs are generally reduced by 1 level (minimum 0), but can be applied spontaneously, even for prepared casters.  (Doing so usually costs 2 spell slots.)  Paying for a feat should grant a significant usable ability, not two words on a page you forgot you had unless someone told you.

Feats, in general, scale.  Either they scale directly (like Dodge giving a dodge bonus based on your HD), or they give a set bonus to something that scales (like Spell Focus granting +1 caster level and DC for one school of magic).  With an end to flaws for feats, that means fewer feats at character creation.  I did somewhat make up for that by giving each class a bonus feat at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20 (or thereabouts).

BAB is also more important, if only a bit.  If your main lot in life is hitting things until they die and you aren't a caster/manifester, you get full BAB.  Also, many feats scale with BAB.  Weapon Focus, considered trash in 3.5 for giving +1 accuracy with a single weapon, is now a strong contender in Taste of Power:  This game's version of Weapon Focus grants +3 accuracy and HP damage with all weapons, +1 accuracy and damage per 3 BAB you have.  Also, a natural 1 on accuracy is no longer an automatic miss.

Fully spontaneous casters (like Bards) can swap one spell known for another of the same level at each rest.  There's a bit of versatility and forgiveness in this.  Additionally, manifesters (Psions and Psychic Warriors) can swap one power they know for another of any level available for them to manifest each day.  Psychic reformation is still around for those who want it.

A Cleric's domains are a privilege and not a right.  A Cleric1, depending on his Cleric Aspect, gets one specific domain (and the associated devotion feat).  The general domains come at Cleric5, 10, 15, and 20.

Skills are combined, in similar fashion to Pathfinder.  PF's "one rank in a class skill gives you a one-time bonus of +3" is in.  Also, every class gets at least 4 + INT modifier skill points per level.  Skills are important, but not class sellers:  Everyone should be able to use skills, though some more effectively through class features/more skill points/more class skills.

Regarding combat, the combat techniques (CM and CD) are meant to be simple and effective.  They're revised from 3.5 and Pathfinder.  Everyone can attempt a disarm/overrun/sunder/grapple/feint/trip without provoking AoOs, and each of these techniques has at least one associated stance or maneuver.  Similarly, size modifiers to CM and CD are drastically reduced, so showing up 2+ size categories bigger than your opponents is not an automatic win.

Full attacking as a standard action is for everyone now.  That includes full attacking at the end of a charge.  Also, people can substitute one of their attacks from a full attack routine with many "single attack" maneuvers.  Thus, for martial characters, dealing damage is not inherently at odds with being versatile or doing something spiffy.

Metaphysical resistance is another major change:  A creature's MR reduces the caster level of an effect, except for range, area, number of projectiles, and number of targets.  If the MR reduces an effect's caster level or manifester level below the minimum to use this ability, the effect is negated.  For example, if I cast scorching ray (a level 2 spell) at CL11 against a foe with MR10, the MR reduces the caster level to 1, which is too low to cast scorching ray.  If, instead, I cast this CL11 scorching ray against a foe with MR4, it could still affect this target, but it would be considered CL7 against this target for most purposes.  (This article on Spell Dampening on DnDWiki.com was a major inspiration.)

Much of this game is left unfinished, and that unfinished state is why I delayed so long in posting what I have, due to always wanting to finish more before publishing.  The races document is effectively complete.  The maneuvers and stances documents are effectively complete.  Of the classes, the Bard, Crusader, Marshal, Psychic Warrior, Ranger, Swordage, Warblade, and Wizard are the most complete.  Many spells and powers are complete, but there is a long way to go.

I planned to overhaul magic items to be useful but less necessary in fulfilling basic class competency, and have a certain number of attunement slots, similar to in Frank & K's tomes.  Magic items are much less likely to scale since classes have such a solid foundation.  If such an item has a DC, it should scale with the wielder's BAB and maybe CHA mod.

Creatures also need an overhaul to fit with this new system.  I was inspired by Pathfinder's system of generally 1 HD = 1 CR.

Consider this my handing off of the project to the community.  I may return someday (especially since I have plans for a PC RPG using at least a similar ruleset), but for now, enjoy!  For anyone who is greatly interested in continuing or completing this work, contact me.

Google Docs Linkage - If a file won't display, just download it.  Word files are meant to be viewed in Word 97 and later.  OpenOffice may not display them correctly.

URL: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5j6iD8ffNt7LVNMU09FMnB2VFk&usp=sharing

And this is an answer to those wondering what I've been up to.

This was posted at the prompting of Amechra, here.  Consider yourself ponied.

Greetings, all!

Yes, I've been away for awhile.  I'm in my master's program in Game Design at Full Sail University in Florida.  Class starts tomorrow.

Other big reasons I've been away?  I've discovered life outside of D&D and tabletop gaming.  There was a time when I was frustrated and annoyed when a new player wanted to go out and do something besides another campaign.  However, I've found that going out on my Saturday nights means my crew is normally happier.  We can watch sports events, play card games, play video games, and do things that are fun and exciting in the moment without the prep work of another tabletop campaign.  I also have more money, meaning I don't need to hide behind tabletop gaming as a money saver.  (I already bought the books and minis and supplies.  Additional costs were incidental.)

Also, I discovered what it's like to focus on playing games instead of theorizing and talking about them.  I loved my D&D, and since playtime was rare, I wanted to be the absolute most effective person around.  Some of my group members played through Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for PC and loved it!  The BG series has the right amount of difficulty for me; crank it up, make the foes intelligent (such as through mods), and pile on the most powerful abilities I prefer.  See what happens.  (Solo Sorcerer rocks!  Woot!)

Furthermore, I've mastered the 3.5 system.  Not to the extent of Emperor Tippy, but it's my nature to find out the best way to build a character within the confines of a system (Hood) and overshadow my friends and teammates.  I've already played a Wizard from level 1 to level 16ish.  I've played Epic characters.  I've GMed a long running campaign from level 1 to 21+, Awakening of Xeen, which is my magnum opus of GMing.

When it comes to playing, I don't want to pull punches.  I don't want to limit my resources.  I want to play with everything at the highest eschelons of power and still be challenged in a meaningful, fun way!  And I want to be able to play on the standard character scale (with my one character plus his posse of summons and permanent/semi-permanent pets), an army scale (to handle a personal Wightpocalypse or somesuch), a world shaping scale (reforming terrain and building fortresses a la Minecraft), and an economic scale (building an economy and being a potilical power a la Civilization).  While D&D 3.5 can handle these situations to some extent, the players I've been with generally prefer to roll dice, muck around, and treat the game casually.  I also love a good story and long for a story and setting of the caliber of Dragon Age: Origins, Baldur's Gate II, and Final Fantasy VI.  I also like small party sizes and am interested in 1 on 1 games, for the challenge, personal attention, and intimacy.  Tabletop RPGs have the potential to be this involving, this engrossing, this deep, this open, and this free.  But there's one thing that surpasses all these in satisfaction; life.

D&D was great fun, a rewarding investment for the thousands of hours I immersed myself in it.  D&D 3.5's many flaws and inconsistencies (and just plain "wuh?" moments) inspierd me to make my own system, Taste of Power.  This ruleset is not done.  I've worked extensively on it and have redone these things:

CLASSES: Basic classes are a mere 15.  Each class gets spells, powers, or martial maneuvers.  (Lycanthromancer: Your desire for Factotums, martial adepts, and psionics to be core has been granted.)

Each class has something spiffy in its Special column every level.  There's good reason to want to stay one class all 20 levels, but multiclassing is also considered.  Class subdivisions (like a Wizard's specializations) are still present, but more pronounced.  An Evoker is more than an Enchanter with different opposed schools and extra slots for a different school.

E6 is an included variant, and classes are built with the possibility of E6.  An explanation of the tier system is included, with all classes intended to be tier 3, 2, or 1.

Advanced classes are the new prestige classes.  They are also much fewer in number, a mere 5.  With more robust basic classes, there's much less need for gobs of classes that are slightly more or less powerful than their base classes, and that eat up valuable feats and skill points.

Each advanced class effectively blends two classes.  They are the Master Initiator, Metaphysical Theurge and the 3 gish classes; Diamond Heart (psionics), Phoenix Adept (arcane), and Divine Vindicator (divine).

RACES: The standard races have been overhauled.  Each race gets something unique and powerful; not just a +X to Y stat.  I've not yet revised level adjustments, but I'm not a fan of them.

ABILITY SCORES AND MODIFIERS: Ability scores are completely gone.  Ability modifiers remain.  No more ability score/modifier prereqs for anything that I anticipate.

FEATS: Every feat included has been revised somehow.  In general, things scale, either directly or indirectly.  For example, Dodge provides an initial +3 Dodge bonus to AC, and +1 AC per 3 HD you have.  Against all targets.  And if an attack requiring an accuracy roll misses you, then you may immediately take a 5' step.  (There is a limit to the number of 5' steps you can take this way.)

Also, Spell Focus provides +1 DC and caster level in the school of choice.  Greater Spell Focus provides an extra +2 DC and +2 caster level.  These bonuses scale indirectly with abilities (spells) that already scale to some degree with class level and ability modifiers.

SKILLS: More skills are combined, and every class gets at least 4 + INT modifier skill points per level.  Also, I use the Pathfinder "+3" skill system:  If you have at least 1 rank in a class skill, you get a one-time bonus of +3.

MARTIAL MANEUVERS AND STANCES: Things have been more streamlined.  3 new disciplines have been added.  Every maneuver and stance, new and old, was reviewed and many old abilities were clarified.  Also, martial adepts can switch all their maneuvers and stances daily,  This was done in part to cure the "wait for awesome" effect of adding half your HD to your initiator level for other classes.  (This rule is still in.)  However, now you can be, say, a Warblade all the way, or start as a Crusader2/WarbladeX and not feel bummed about having to wait a few more levels to get the initiator level you really wanted.

MUNDANES GET MORE AWESOME: Melee classes and non-full casters still get nice things.  For example, a Warblade20's capstone ability is thus:

[20] Immediate Strikes (Ex): Starting at level 20, you may use any martial strike you have readied
(and granted to you, if it uses the Crusader's recovery mechanic) as an immediate action if this strike
normally requires a single attack, a standard action, a move action, or a swift action. These strikes are in
addition to your normal attacks, and allow you to make more strikes than normal in a turn.
Remember, an immediate action use a swift action from your next turn.

COMBAT TECHNIQUES: Bull rushing, feinting, tripping, disarming, sundering, overrunning...  These have grown in power and have become easier to use.  No feats required just to try them.  Also, new stances and new and revised maneuvers boost these techniques or integrate them somehow.

REVISED SPELL, POWER, AND ABILITY DESCRIPTIONS: I'm tired of arguing, and spending days or weeks in anticipation of an online game asking about what abilities are allowed and what they mean.  For a knowledgeable GM, I may ask 200 questions before I settle on a level 1 character.  Now, things are meant to say what they mean and mean what they say.  Yes, some things are outright powerful, but I'm revising spells and abilities so there everything is more useful and there are no obvious stinkers.

COHESION: This is a system with its parts meant to be used together.  Default D&D in general is a patchwork.  This is a comprehensive designer linen bedset.

WHAT'S DONE SO FAR?
-Martial maeuvers and stances
-Races
-Feats
-Some spells and powers
-Basics and ability modifiers
-Some skills
-Much of the basic classes
-A scant bit of the advanced classes

PROJECT-WISE
Lemme know if you're interested in helping finish this.

Greetings, all!

It's well-established that a Wizard is powerful.  He's tier 1 for good reason.  Still, how does a pure Wizard compare to a Wizard with access to any PrC?  What about a pure Wizard compared to other tier 1s and tier 2s with access to PrCs?  How effective can such a Wizard be?

RULES:
-This Wizard is to be evaluated over a 20 level span, levels 1 to 20.  Alternative class features are OK, but no PrCs or other non-Wizard class.

-Official 3.x material is allowed.  No Pathfinder.  Magazine material (like from "Dragon") is allowed.

-Standard wealth by level at each level.

-No level adjustments.

MY PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
-At least in theory, a Wizard20 will be powerful.  The most powerful PrCs already have full casting, meaning it's their class features (and other tidbits, like having higher saves or more skill points/class skills/HP) that sell them.

-In practice, having fewer class features means potentially less fun.  Still, going Wizard20 for the familiar advancement means you can do some interesting and powerful things.

-With Master Specialist out, but ACFs in, Conjurer and Transmuter are still strong.  An Elf Substitution Level Domain Wizard is still a strong generalist.

-No feats are wasted on class prereqs, leaving all available for spiffy feats and feat chains.

-Without PrCs, a Wizard is still tier 1. but a slightly(?) lower tier 1.  It's the spells and the ability to change preps daily to suit needs which makes them solidly tier 1.

Greetings, people!  How would you like to play a tabletop game where your character starts off dead?

Kickstarter - Spooks!  The Great Beyond

You play traditional horror creatures (dolls, zombies) in a system about what it's like to live after death.

Real-life historical people are available.  Want to recreate the Alamo?  Go ahead.  Want to talk business with Steve Jobs?  Also good.  Want to pick the mind of Jesus Christ?  Go ahead!  And if you want to include someone else?  It's your game!

The LAST DAY to contribute is SEPTEMBER 30, 2013!

( LINK: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/984696056/spooks-welcome-to-the-great-beyond-tabletop-rpg )

Greetings, all!

Let's define the "Fighter" archetype here in the context of 3.x and Pathfinder.  It's one that relies on physical prowess (STR, DEX, and CON mostly) with the occasional emphasis on mental abilities (knowledges, social grace).  It is not one that relies on innate magic or magic-like abilities.

Considering all the options available to casters in 3.x and Pathfinder, and keeping in mind that these are games about magic (the wearing and wielding of items, and using magical abilities from race/class/items, and facing magical foes and magical locations), why would anyone volunteer to not have something like magic?

Aside from an antimagic-heavy or wild magic-heavy area (or a GM who hates magic), I can see no reason to avoid magic or something like it for any character.

There are magical takes on front-liners (gishes) and magical takes on skill types (the Factotum, Unseen Seer, and Arcane Trickster to name a few).  There are classes that even blend the progressions of multiple casting classes/sources (Mystic Theurge, Cerebremancer, Ultimate Magus)!

Perhaps the biggest reprieve the mundane side of 3.x and Pathfinder has gotten is the Tome of Battle.  I love this book (and revised its disciplines here, even adding some new ones), yet most the maneuvers and stances boil down to 'Buff me', 'Attack foe(s) for damage/status effect(s)', 'Interrupt an enemy', 'Move someone somewhere', and Iron Heart Surge.

Sure, mundanes can swing their weapons repeatedly and (aside from certain abilities usable X/day or Y/rounds) technically never run out of swings, but they have hit points.  And they can fail saves to incapacitate them.  Mundan abilities (like maneuvers and stances) are useful and powerful, situation depending, yet none of these seems as much fun (or captivating to my imagination) as a Wizard who can do all this and more.  A Wizard can use his spells fewer times per day than the 'never runs out of stamina Fighter-type' but, at least in theory, the two have a similar stamina by about character level 7.

This also gets into another argument:  Spells are fun!  While I've played D&D for over a decade (since Baldur's Gate in 2E), I've been one to find the magical solutions more... interesting.  Want to teleport across the world?  A Wizard can do it.  Want to change planes?  A Wizard can do it.  Want to become your favorite creature for awhile via polymorph and co?  A Wizard can do it.  Want to unlock anything, ever in 6 seconds or less, size permitting?  A Wizard can do it.  Want to have an army of minions and charmed friends?  A Wizard can do it.  Oh yes, and at the right level, a Wizard can do all these and more in a single day!  Then, the next day, he can do other stuff with those same spell slots.  How cool is that?  (Cool enough to italicize.)  And this doesn't touch upon other casters, like Clerics, Druids, and Warlocks.

One other argument is the connation of 'magic.'  The term 'magic' implies that it does things better than without magic.  (See every non-sarcastic, non-ironic instance of the phrase 'works like magic!')  Want to dig a mine?  You could hire a bunch of workers you'd have to care for, or animate of a bunch of Skeletons and Zombies.  Or just skip the 'others as laborers' route entirely and use stone shape, transmute rock to mud, disintegrate, or a variety of other spells.

If we're talking real life Earth here, I can see the benefits (including the spiffy image) of being the agile athlete or the bodybuilder over an intellectual (and hey, I attend Zumba classes at my gym weekly to become fitter!), but in a world where magic does everything better than mundanes*, the best role I can see for the Fighter archetype is in keeping the casters alive long enough to become powerhouses.  Oh, and perhaps to get a spiffy retirement as a Skeleton or something.

*Logical contradictions aside, of course.

> > > +1 BAB and +1 Caster Level or +1 Manifester Level at PrC Level 1 < < <

A useful gish resource I would've had when I played 'em.

In America today, there's been a lot of drinking, grilling, and explosions.

In honor of this, I propose a call to a theme build: The Best Blastificer!  (ECL20 worth of XP, 760K gold, all official D&D 3.x material allowed, and official magazine material too, because we're going for bigger bangs.  And no loops.  Let's also assume that abilities which reduce the cost of metamagics also affect the craft cost appropriately.)

Oh yes, "Best" in this case has 3 categories:
-Highest single-damage blast
-Most damage in a 20' radius spread
-Most overall damage in 10 rounds.

Why Blastificer?  The Mailman already does damage marvelously in an arcane fashion, and I wanted a different flair.  And with Blastificer, there's the element of homebrew rockets.