Author Topic: Interest Check--2e Netheril  (Read 16456 times)

Offline Raineh Daze

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Interest Check--2e Netheril
« on: May 01, 2014, 10:22:44 PM »
So, since by the end of this month I have until September to do very little, and I have come into the possession of the core 2e books... would anyone be interested in this? I should note, however, that I have no practical experience with 2e (just all the damn books. Shiny, shiny books). And, of course, spellcasters have the most glorious buff possible (put simply: casting is like proto-3.5 Psionics) whilst melee characters kind of suffer from lack of equipment.

Though, depending on exact time period, spellcasters must also contend with certain spells' non-invention.  :rolleyes

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Blame Linklord.

Offline FlaminCows

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2014, 10:46:30 PM »
I just finished playing in one 2e campaign, and will surely play in another.

In what possible way is setting a campaign for a system I don't know well in the place wizards are by far their strongest a good idea? :O
I do not know, but now I'm going to play a wizard, just because.   :p
« Last Edit: May 01, 2014, 10:49:35 PM by FlaminCows »

Offline Garryl

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2014, 10:50:43 PM »
Could be interesting. It'll be nice to make a D&D character without poring over spreadsheets (one of 3E's unfortunate flaws). I have the core 2E books, but nothing specific to Netheril, so I don't know any details of the setting or what specific changes from the basic rules are in play.

Offline ketaro

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2014, 11:24:37 PM »
Ah, so close.

Dad only has the 2e DMG & Monstrous Manual. I was tempted to consider if the 2e PHB was also there but oh well :p

Offline linklord231

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2014, 12:05:37 AM »
I think you already know my answer  :smirk
I'm not arguing, I'm explaining why I'm right.

Offline Mnemnosyne

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2014, 01:08:14 AM »
Not only 2nd Edition, but Netheril as well?  Absolutely!  Two things I totally love.   :D
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2014, 06:24:44 AM »
Could be interesting. It'll be nice to make a D&D character without poring over spreadsheets (one of 3E's unfortunate flaws). I have the core 2E books, but nothing specific to Netheril, so I don't know any details of the setting or what specific changes from the basic rules are in play.

It's basically Forgotten Realm's tumultuous past. More or less the only setting thing you need to remember are 'flying cities', because I will probably stick this just before the Phaerimm start draining magic. :lmao

And rules changes, well... this is based on them. More or less: you have a total spell levels per day, and can freely cast spells you know from that, BUT you're restricted to only being able to access 2/3 of them (it has a specific spell list in the book, whilst there I just split the schools up). Damage dice are uncapped, but that shouldn't be relevant. And if you fail to learn a spell, you can never learn it. Also, the arcs per day column is a straight copy.

Mythallars and such are a setting feature, but not something you want to mess with. Quasimagical items, however, are common as muck.

Clerics and such have a similar deal, having a restricted spell access based on god of choice but again being able to spontaneously cast from it. Bards work like wizards.

Offline Gazzien

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2014, 09:16:40 AM »
... I'd like to play an Arcanist, pitiful though I will be. I never play casters...

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2014, 09:19:27 AM »
... I'd like to play an Arcanist, pitiful though I will be. I never play casters...

And I'm unfamiliar with the system, so someone who'll be nice to me by accident is good. :P

Looks like enough people to get started on this, so...

Offline Mnemnosyne

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2014, 10:08:02 AM »
Hm, planning to enforce racial level limits?  I might go something other than human, although probably not.

I suppose I had best wait until you decide how ability scores will be determined before trying to decide on my class, as well...ability score requirements and all.
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
Ailanreanter, Arcanaloth

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2014, 10:11:24 AM »
Probably best to go with human, given the setting. The elves think Netheril is going to cause untold damage, dwarves mostly keep to 'emselves. Halflings are the underclass, and there's a theory presented that they're the result of some of all this magic. Either way, Netheril is, at heart, human-centric in the extreme.

Offline Mnemnosyne

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2014, 10:19:08 AM »
That's partly why I was considering it, since I thought it would be interesting to play the outsider in Netheril.  Also because I thought of a half-elf cleric/arcanist as a possibility, since so many arcanists spurn the gods.  Thought maybe a half-elf that grew up in the Ioulaum enclave where they actually have a temple to Mystryl.  Though if you think it would be too distracting to the game, I'll stick with human.  Maybe dual-class it.

...and there I go thinking about classes before ability scores.   :banghead
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
Ailanreanter, Arcanaloth

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2014, 10:24:06 AM »
Half-elf? Yeah, that might work better than a pure elf. And Arcanists specifically do not spurn Mystryl because they want to keep doing magic and she's Chaotic Neutral. :lmao

6 x 4d6, best 3, assigned however you feel like. I'd rather not have everyone in a situation to not play what they want to play. Though a party of all Arcanists is going to be hilariously fragile, so do try and avoid that. :p

Offline Mnemnosyne

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2014, 10:57:10 AM »
Well, 'spurn' was probably too strong a word, but there's that whole thing of avoiding praying to them, and refusing healing if it comes from a divine source and such, and the fact that the Ioulaum enclave is the only enclave to ever allow a temple to Mystryl and all.

Anyways...  I used Invisible Castle to roll (Link), got 16 15 11 15 12 14, so pretty solid all things considered.

So, racial level limits?  You never really said whether you're keeping those or not.  And connected to that, assuming everything goes well, how high level do you think we're gonna get, anyways?  I like to have a good idea of what level I might potentially reach.
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
Ailanreanter, Arcanaloth

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #14 on: May 02, 2014, 11:05:32 AM »
1) Please allow me to read the damn book, I only got my hands on them yesterday, and I was tired from the journey. :P

2) I honestly have no idea. Until I run out of idea/people get bored, presumably. XD

Offline Gazzien

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #15 on: May 02, 2014, 11:08:56 AM »
1) Please allow me to read the damn book, I only got my hands on them yesterday, and I was tired from the journey. :P

2) I honestly have no idea. Until I run out of idea/people get bored, presumably. XD
Yeah, I have to wait until... saturday or sunday to read the books, and find the Arcanist 2e class somewhere. I think I've got a bunch of 2e books at my house, but I'm going to be away today & tomrorow.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #16 on: May 02, 2014, 11:16:55 AM »
1) Please allow me to read the damn book, I only got my hands on them yesterday, and I was tired from the journey. :P

2) I honestly have no idea. Until I run out of idea/people get bored, presumably. XD
Yeah, I have to wait until... saturday or sunday to read the books, and find the Arcanist 2e class somewhere. I think I've got a bunch of 2e books at my house, but I'm going to be away today & tomrorow.

It's in the Netheril book--it's not really a class per se, just a modification to Wizard (ditto for Priests), altering how they cast spells and which they can learn. If you find the book... no spells or anything from after 2,800. Yes, this means we're around in the brief period that Spelljammer intersects with Netheril, but don't make me do that stuff early. :rolleyes

Gonna say there's no racial class restrictions, but most people will look down at your or hate you. XD

Offline Gazzien

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2014, 11:18:32 AM »
1) Please allow me to read the damn book, I only got my hands on them yesterday, and I was tired from the journey. :P

2) I honestly have no idea. Until I run out of idea/people get bored, presumably. XD
Yeah, I have to wait until... saturday or sunday to read the books, and find the Arcanist 2e class somewhere. I think I've got a bunch of 2e books at my house, but I'm going to be away today & tomrorow.

It's in the Netheril book--it's not really a class per se, just a modification to Wizard (ditto for Priests), altering how they cast spells and which they can learn. If you find the book... no spells or anything from after 2,800. Yes, this means we're around in the brief period that Spelljammer intersects with Netheril, but don't make me do that stuff early. :rolleyes

Gonna say there's no racial class restrictions, but most people will look down at your or hate you. XD
Netheril and Spelljammer? You must love me.

Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #18 on: May 02, 2014, 11:19:28 AM »
1) Please allow me to read the damn book, I only got my hands on them yesterday, and I was tired from the journey. :P

2) I honestly have no idea. Until I run out of idea/people get bored, presumably. XD
Yeah, I have to wait until... saturday or sunday to read the books, and find the Arcanist 2e class somewhere. I think I've got a bunch of 2e books at my house, but I'm going to be away today & tomrorow.

It's in the Netheril book--it's not really a class per se, just a modification to Wizard (ditto for Priests), altering how they cast spells and which they can learn. If you find the book... no spells or anything from after 2,800. Yes, this means we're around in the brief period that Spelljammer intersects with Netheril, but don't make me do that stuff early. :rolleyes

Gonna say there's no racial class restrictions, but most people will look down at your or hate you. XD
Netheril and Spelljammer? You must love me.

Everyone up there hates Netheril by default, due to vivisection. Have fun with that. :P

Offline Mnemnosyne

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Re: Interest Check--2e Netheril
« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2014, 11:26:13 AM »
Heheh, okie then.   2nd Edition Netheril campaign just has me a biiit excited.  :blush

Gazzien, Arcanist is basically just a modification to the Mage class.  There's like four tables in the Netheril: Empire of Magic boxed set that cover the modifications.  To sum it up: you no longer memorize spells, but spontaneously cast any spell you know, using 'arcs', which are equivalent to spell points, each worth one spell level, thus a 3rd level spell costs you 3 arcs to cast.

Arcanists are also all specialists, but not in the traditional schools.  There are only three schools: Invention, Mentalism, and Variation.  Invention creates/destroys, mentalism affects the mind, variation alters things.  At least, that's the quick description.  There's a listing of PHB spells and how they fit into the three schools in the book, but it's kind of annoying to read because you have to cross-reference that table with another table that gives the Netherese names for spells.  Maybe I'll write those into a spreadsheet while you guys are reading up on the basics, so everyone who decides to play a spellcaster can reference that.

Anyway, you specialize in one of the three schools as your major, another as your minor, and you're prohibited from learning spells from the third.  If we wind up with multiple arcanists in the party, it would probably be a really good idea to make sure we have different majors, at least, because you can only research new spells from your major.  You can learn and cast any spell in your minor (up to normal limits, and based on a learn spells roll) but you can't research new spells that are deemed to belong to the minor, so someone who doesn't major in mentalism can never research a new mind control type spell.  But if they minor in it, they can learn it from whoever researches it.
-Do you honestly think that we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match.-
Ailanreanter, Arcanaloth