Author Topic: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime  (Read 308888 times)

Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #760 on: June 25, 2016, 11:15:59 PM »
Gift of the Spider Queen-style feats for Gnomes and other races that get three-ish SLAs.

For example, Gnomes would get something based off of:

• Dancing Lights + Ghost Sound
• Dancing Lights + Speak with Animals
• Speak with Animals + Ghost Sound
• All three

Combine with some feats that let you sacrifice those SLA uses for something else, and we're cooking with gas.



I might also do something for those feats in Complete Arcane that give you three 1/day SLAs.
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Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #761 on: June 27, 2016, 08:04:28 PM »
Possible redesign to standardize how true dragons are handled and make it a bit easier to estimate them instead of consulting a unique table for each type plus another set of things shared between all of them. This would also include a standardization of a lot of the important things that are slightly different between different types, such as when they start their sorcerer spellcasting.

Each true dragon type has a basic stat block describing the dragon as a wyrmling. This also includes any type-specific abilities that it gains at higher age categories, like the various SLAs that most get. So, this covers things like:
- Breath weapon
- SLAs
- Special domains they can choose spells from

Each age category has a set of adjustments that it applies that are the same for every true dragon (sort of like half-way between a template and a PrC). This covers things like:
- Ability score increases
- Size category increases
- CR and LA changes
- Sorcerer spellcasting
- DR/magic
- SR
- Frightful presence
- Natural weapons

Edit: Better idea. Basic stat block for each age category of dragon with all the things that are the same (sort of like Astral Constructs), then treat each type of dragon as a template that's applied to the true dragon base (with all the differences and even more fun stuff than just "one option from menu B"). Basically, this is switching which of the dragon type and the age category is considered the base creature and which is considered the template for the way I originally jotted this idea down.
« Last Edit: June 27, 2016, 11:18:43 PM by Garryl »

Offline oslecamo

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #762 on: June 27, 2016, 10:25:48 PM »
Reducing the iconic mosnters to palette swaps of the same cookie cutter is boring as hell.

I much prefer rules where dragons are truly diversified.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #763 on: June 27, 2016, 10:54:54 PM »
It's mostly about standardizing the parts that are large quantities of numbers that are subtly different from each other. It would be nice to be able to tell roughly what you're getting when you talk about a dragon of age category X in terms of overall power level and pure statistics. There's still plenty of room for the basic dragon to be different and for dragon-specific features to scale up and grow more different with age, still enabling each dragon type to have its own distinct flavor and specialties.

I'm not trying to say dragons should be all the same. I'm just trying to have a sort of presentation that separates out the parts that are actually unique and doesn't try to mix them in with the things that are the same for everyone.

Offline littha

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #764 on: June 28, 2016, 05:38:16 AM »
It's mostly about standardizing the parts that are large quantities of numbers that are subtly different from each other. It would be nice to be able to tell roughly what you're getting when you talk about a dragon of age category X in terms of overall power level and pure statistics. There's still plenty of room for the basic dragon to be different and for dragon-specific features to scale up and grow more different with age, still enabling each dragon type to have its own distinct flavor and specialties.

I'm not trying to say dragons should be all the same. I'm just trying to have a sort of presentation that separates out the parts that are actually unique and doesn't try to mix them in with the things that are the same for everyone.

One thing I thought of for this idea is an expanded range of age categories with each racial type getting a +/- on where they start but they all cap at great wyrm.

That you have a unified lookup table for your dragons whilst maintaining the differences in power between variations.

Say the table has 20 sets of stats on it, dragons have 12 age categories. Have wyrmling white dragons start at set 1 and advance to set 12 and wyrmling gold dragons start at set 3 or 4 and advance. If it is designed with enough space you can even fit the Epic dragons on the table.

That said, it would only be useful for basic stat blocks. Size, ability scores etc. Each type of dragon would need to exist as a weird kind of template.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2016, 05:40:06 AM by littha »

Offline linklord231

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #765 on: June 28, 2016, 12:15:40 PM »
So you'd start with something like "Adult Dragon" and then apply (for lack of a better term) templates to differentiate between a White and Red dragon?  I like the idea, but I'm afraid it might be too little, too late.  The biggest reason people I've played with have given me for not including more dragons in their games is that it's too much work to make one.  This would alleviate that somewhat, but you'd still have to choose spells and feats, which is where most of the work was anyway.  Still, it would help make everything else easier, which can only be a good thing.
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Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #766 on: June 28, 2016, 12:28:07 PM »
So you'd start with something like "Adult Dragon" and then apply (for lack of a better term) templates to differentiate between a White and Red dragon?  I like the idea, but I'm afraid it might be too little, too late.  The biggest reason people I've played with have given me for not including more dragons in their games is that it's too much work to make one.  This would alleviate that somewhat, but you'd still have to choose spells and feats, which is where most of the work was anyway.  Still, it would help make everything else easier, which can only be a good thing.

Go with Invocations instead of spells.

Best part? Dragonfire Adept gets a power boost.
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Offline Stratovarius

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #767 on: June 29, 2016, 06:15:55 AM »
Athasian/Wasteland Bard -

This means taking a normal bard, stripping out spellcasting, and fitting in poisons and assassin type abilities to replace them.

New class abilities:
  • Sneak Attack
  • Death Attack
  • Poison Use - Include Poison Expert and Master feat applied to all poisons
  • Cityskulk - When in an urban environment, the character can use the Hide skill even if the terrain doesn't grant cover or concealment. In addition, the wasteland bard cannot be tracked in urban environments (as per trackless step).
  • Assassin's Brews - Every odd level, gain a bonus feat that applies to alchemy or poisons
  • Steady Stance  - She is not considered flat-footed while balancing or climbing, and she adds her class level as a bonus on Balance or Climb checks to remain balancing or climbing when she takes damage.
  • Undetectable Alignment

Probably needs more, but that's a start for ideas.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #768 on: June 30, 2016, 01:52:48 AM »
Rigging
Shadowrun Returns-esque rigging/drone control. Note that this is for combat drones designed to be manually operated. It also covers brain-driven vehicles, but for those it's probably not as interesting.
- Controlling a drone requires some degree of concentration. Not as much as casting a spell, for instance, but not a negligible amount either. You have to spend an action each round (see below), and you need to make a Concentration check if you're damaged or otherwise distracted.
- Directly connecting to a drone is a standard action. Maintaining the connection is a move action each round. This allows you to see through the drone's senses and to directly control its actions. Otherwise, the drone follows its fairly simple programming, which lets it follow very simple commands (follow, go there, stay here, etc.), although combat is beyond it.
- Directly connecting to a drone requires some sort of mind-to-machine connection, be it a datajack, a neural mesh, the psychic interface power, or something else.
- A drone under your direct control acts immediately after your turn (sort of like White Raven Tactics).
- A drone you are controlling benefits from some of your abilities and statistics. It adds your Intelligence modifier on its attack rolls and saving throws, to its Armor Class, and on most skill checks (possibly in place of its own scores, depending on balance). It uses your base attack bonus, base saves, and skill ranks if they're higher than its own, sort of like familiars.
- More complicated (and powerful) drones require a minimum number of ranks in the Drone Control skill to use effectively.
- The Rigger class is focused on drone use and combat. Benefits include better drone combat abilities, the ability to rig into/control multiple drones at once, and maybe a customized, personal-built drone (sort of like the PF Summoner's Eidolon).

Drone Control (Int; Trained Only)
- Drone Control skill checks allow you to perform special tricks with drones, to defend drones you're controlling from hacking and disruption, and to seize direct control of other computer-controlled mechanisms not normally designed for that sort of thing.
- It also covers brain-driven vehicles, but for those it's just like the Ride/Drive/Pilot skills for the most part.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #769 on: July 05, 2016, 04:29:34 PM »
Slight change to the way AoEs centered on creatures determine their area. Whenever an area effect (burst, emanation, etc.) determines its area from a creature, its area extends from each corner of each space the creature occupies, instead of only a single corner of its space. Thus, for example, a colossal dragon casting antimagic field would affect its entire space and every square within 10 feet of it, instead of failing to even cover the entirety of the creature itself.

Also, speaking of 10-foot radius effects, might also want to round up and include their corners (change them into squares rather than circles) like the special rule for 10-foot reach.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #770 on: July 05, 2016, 05:12:13 PM »
That rule change makes sense from a logical perspective, I'm for it.

Offline Kerrus

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #771 on: July 05, 2016, 06:33:53 PM »
  • Not sure what to do with Favored Enemy. Probably going to remove it. It always kinda felt to me like you needed metagame knowledge of what enemy types are common to make it work at all, and even then it still wasn't too great
My take on it would be to enhance favoured enemy, and then make it a variable/prepared thing. So like, much like the Warblade or the Swordsage- at the beginning of the day you sit down and prepare for what kind of hunting you're expecting to do that day. This is mainly fluff supported so shit like particular fletching for your arrows, particular types of arrows- blunt headed arrows for skeletons, slashing arrows for zombies. Particular adjustments to your clothing-

Basically make favoured enemy an adjustable suite of tools a Ranger has that he can use to improve his ability to fight a specific type of enemy each day. So he gets bonuses on skills vs that enemy, maybe a bonus on attacks, definitely a bonus on damage, and as he levels up and 'favoured enemy' improves, he'd get two things:

More uses of the '1day pick', representing improving his repetoire and his ability to swap out his preparations on the fly, maybe up to three or four times per day.

And: Rider abilities that add onto attacks or actions vs favoured enemy. Stuff like a tangental dodge bonus vs the enemy, or damage reduction vs their attacks, or extra damage of [type] or whatever.

For the sneak attack, honestly I'd approach it from another angle, giving them a choice of Skirmish or the sniper shot thing, where they get bonus dice if they haven't moved. I wouldn't lock it into a fighting style or anything, so you could have zippy bow rangers and hidey TWF ambushers if you wanted.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #772 on: July 06, 2016, 01:14:14 AM »
Grey Smite [General]
Prerequisite: Smite ability.
Benefit: You can use your smite abilities that normally affect only some creatures (such as a Paladin's Smite Good) against any creature. If you smite a creature that would normally be a valid target, you gain an additional +1 bonus on your attack roll and an additional +2 bonus on your damage roll.



Smiting Fervor [General]
Prerequisite: Cha 13, ability to enter a rage, frenzy, or similar state, smite ability.
Benefit: While you are in a rage, frenzy, or similar state, you gain a bonus on your weapon damage rolls equal to your Charisma bonus. This only applies against creatures your smite ability applies against can use your smite against using an attack form you can smite with. Smite abilities that affect all creatures regardless (such as the granted power of the Destruction domain) do not count towards this ability. For example, a Paladin with Smite Good would deal extra damage to evil-aligned creatures with melee attacks only.

Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #773 on: July 06, 2016, 02:43:04 AM »
  • Not sure what to do with Favored Enemy. Probably going to remove it. It always kinda felt to me like you needed metagame knowledge of what enemy types are common to make it work at all, and even then it still wasn't too great
My take on it would be to enhance favoured enemy, and then make it a variable/prepared thing. So like, much like the Warblade or the Swordsage- at the beginning of the day you sit down and prepare for what kind of hunting you're expecting to do that day. This is mainly fluff supported so shit like particular fletching for your arrows, particular types of arrows- blunt headed arrows for skeletons, slashing arrows for zombies. Particular adjustments to your clothing-

Basically make favoured enemy an adjustable suite of tools a Ranger has that he can use to improve his ability to fight a specific type of enemy each day. So he gets bonuses on skills vs that enemy, maybe a bonus on attacks, definitely a bonus on damage, and as he levels up and 'favoured enemy' improves, he'd get two things:

More uses of the '1day pick', representing improving his repetoire and his ability to swap out his preparations on the fly, maybe up to three or four times per day.

And: Rider abilities that add onto attacks or actions vs favoured enemy. Stuff like a tangental dodge bonus vs the enemy, or damage reduction vs their attacks, or extra damage of [type] or whatever.

For the sneak attack, honestly I'd approach it from another angle, giving them a choice of Skirmish or the sniper shot thing, where they get bonus dice if they haven't moved. I wouldn't lock it into a fighting style or anything, so you could have zippy bow rangers and hidey TWF ambushers if you wanted.

One suggestion I've seen a lot is to have Favored Enemy give you general bonuses. Like "I hunt dragons, so I pick stuff that counters flying creatures, Natural Armor, and stuff with breath weapons."

That way, if you suddenly face stuff that isn't dragons, you can at least do something.
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Offline RedWarlock

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #774 on: July 06, 2016, 01:47:29 PM »
One suggestion I've seen a lot is to have Favored Enemy give you general bonuses. Like "I hunt dragons, so I pick stuff that counters flying creatures, Natural Armor, and stuff with breath weapons."

That way, if you suddenly face stuff that isn't dragons, you can at least do something.
Ooh, I like that. In theory that was where the archetype split was going with the 5e ranger, broadening into general types, but they kind of lost that.

I could see it even as a configurable set of boosts based on the chosen opponent-type's qualities. Improved levels allow you to select more boosts to use at a time. (Kind of like the PF Hunter's animal focus, a switchable boost, except here it's always-on, so maybe only switchable per-day or with a non-combat 10-min-rest-type period?)

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Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #775 on: July 22, 2016, 03:17:37 PM »
Shield Blocking
When you wield a shield, you can move to more actively block with it. The basic shield bonus to your AC represents attempts to simply deflect attacks away from you, or to interfere with the attacker's strike so they never get a chance for a solid hit in the first place.

The number of times per round you can attempt to block is limited. You can't just block everything.
- Shield block attempts come from the same pool as attacks of opportunity. Your basic character can attempt to block one attack per round or make one attack of opportunity.
- Combat Reflexes allows you to make additional AoOs equal to your Dex mod, or that many extra shield blocks, or any combination in between.

Blocking is not guaranteed
- To block an attack, you make shield block roll, which is a special attack roll with your shield: 1d20 + your Dexterity modifier + your shield's block bonus + your Base Attack Bonus + any other modifiers that apply to your attack rolls.
- Until more fully-developed rules get made, use the shield's base/normal shield bonus for its block bonus, except bucklers which are +0.
- A magic shield adds its enhancement bonus to this roll. A masterwork shield provides a +1 enhancement bonus.
- If you are fighting defensively or using Combat Expertise, you add the AC bonus to your roll rather than subtracting the attack roll penalty. Likewise, if you are performing a total defense, you add the AC bonus to your roll.
- You use the result of your shield block roll in place of your Armor Class (like with Wall of Blades) to determine if you block successfully.

A successful shield block means that you're taking the attack on your shield. You don't get hit (although the impact may still be jarring enough to injure you), and your shield takes the full force of the blow.
- On a successful shield block, your shield is hit, rather than you, much like with a sunder attempt. Your attacker is not actually attempting to sunder your shield (they're not lining up their strike specifically to break your shield), so sunder-specific abilities and effects do not apply for them. Any effects of the attack apply to your shield, rather than you (since it was your shield that was hit, not you).
- A blocked attack is still jarring. You take nonlethal damage equal to half the damage negated by the shield's hardness, and lethal damage equal to half of the damage absorbed by the shield's hit points. Any damage in excess of the shield's hit points applies fully to you. Other effects of the attack, however, are still negated against you, even if the shield had but a single hit point.

You can't block if your shield is out of position, or if the attack would otherwise bypass it.
- Any time you would not apply your shield bonus to AC (against touch attacks, after making a shield slam attack without Improved Shield Slam, etc.), you can't attempt to shield block.
- You can't attempt to shield block when you would be unable to make attacks of opportunity (ex: if you are flat-footed and don't have the Combat Reflexes feat).

Feats:
- Dodge: Dodge bonus to AC also applies to block rolls.
- Improved Shield Block: Negates the nonlethal damage from damage blocked by shield's hardness and makes the rest of the damage blocked by the shield nonlethal. Grants +2 on block rolls.
- Shield Riposte: Requires Improved Shield Block and Improved Shield Bash. When you block an attack and your shield isn't destroyed, you can make a shield bash attack using that shield against your attacker.
- Two-Weapon Block: Requires Two-Weapon Fighting and Two-Weapon Defense. While wielding two weapons and gaining the shield bonus from Two-Weapon Defense, you can use them to shield block. Somehow. The details are not important. (Mechanics to be filled in later.)
- Shield Evasion: See Amechra.
What if shields "upgraded" Evasion, in addition to giving an AC bonus?

Shield, but no Evasion: Make a Reflex save as if you had Evasion, but the Shield takes the damage on a successful save.
Shield, with Evasion: Make a Reflex save as if you had Improved Evasion, but the shield takes the damage too on a failed save.
Shield, with Improved Evasion: Your shield takes the damage on a failed Reflex save instead of you.

Items:
- Ghost Touch (shield property): Since the shield bonus applies against incorporeal touch attacks, the shield can be used to block incorporeal touch attacks.

Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #776 on: July 22, 2016, 03:48:19 PM »
Merciful Crystal
Weapon crystal
Least (500 gp): Weapon can deal nonlethal damage with no penalty.
Lesser (3000 gp): As least, plus an extra 1d6 nonlethal damage when dealing nonlethal damage. Does not stack with the Merciful weapon ability.
Greater (6000 gp): As lesser, plus a critical hit causes subject to suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 round.

Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #777 on: July 24, 2016, 12:21:54 AM »
The Cold-Iron Knight, a PrC for the Knight that's focused around being a nuisance for casters. Progresses Knight's Challenge and Vigilant Defender, and gives out anti-caster upgrades of both of them, like "you can't cast spells at me when I challenge you" and "add my class level + my Knight level to all checks you make to cast defensively".
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Offline Amechra

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #778 on: July 24, 2016, 12:51:38 AM »
Make a Dragon version of Astral Construct, then make a base class that's focused around it, with all the different True Dragon types being the equivalent of Ectopic Form feats.

Not sure if breath weapon and frightful presence should be default features of the "construct"...
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Offline Garryl

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Re: 1001 Homebrew Ideas to Flesh Out Sometime
« Reply #779 on: July 24, 2016, 12:54:36 AM »
Make a Dragon version of Astral Construct, then make a base class that's focused around it, with all the different True Dragon types being the equivalent of Ectopic Form feats.

Not sure if breath weapon and frightful presence should be default features of the "construct"...

I think one of Sirpercival's Ethos of the Wyrm classes did that.