Author Topic: Souls Reborn  (Read 19877 times)

Offline Quillwraith

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Souls Reborn
« on: May 02, 2016, 07:05:35 PM »
Perhaps you took a wrong turn traveling. Perhaps you didn’t know the portal was there, until you’d stepped through. Maybe you left your house one foggy day and found that your front door lead somewhere that isn’t home, or were lost at sea and found yourself sailing a different sea entirely.
However it happened, whether captured by creatures of the planes or stumbling through darkness to another place, you unlucky strays find yourselves together
here... wherever here may be.


This is a reboot of Souls, one of the two campaigns I DMed a few years ago before I left the boards. Many of the players from last time are gone now, but I hope some will return as well as perhaps some of the players of Legacy of the Makers (which will not be restarting), but new players and/or characters are very welcome as well. There have been a few revisions to the setting and houserules, and I think and hope that I have improved as a DM since then.

This game is likely to be relatively low on combat as compared to diplomacy and mystery, but that's fairly flexible depending on how your characters decide to go about things. Homebrew base classes are strongly encouraged; particularly exotic parties of PCs have become a part of the style of the setting, by this point.

Level 2,  average HP, up to 2 flaws and 2 traits. Stats are 32 point buy. Moderate optimization. Houserules are here, setting information is here.

(Legacy of the Makers and Souls both died before I left the boards, though Legacy of the Makers had lasted over a year before that. Souls was very new at the time, however, which makes it my preferred choice for resurrection, since it's possible to switch players and characters without losing much progress.)

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2016, 06:32:00 AM »
I'd be interested in hopping in. I've certainly got enough home brew to be trying out as well. Most likely would be either an Overlord or a Commander (I'll edit links in shortly).

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2016, 11:19:45 AM »
I could be tempted but I'd be making a whole new character.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2016, 12:04:42 PM »
I could be tempted, pbps are slow enough to handle a couple just fine.

How about a meta character? Someone who is totally aware of how the rules work in their universe, including that they are a PC, without actually knowing about Players & Dungeon Masters. To them, the term "PC" is like what the Wheel of Time calls "ta'veren". Then combined with this, well you ran Legacy of Makers, so how about allowing some content from Munchkin d20 books? They have a bunch of meta-related stuff, like "accidentally" forgetting to record a loss of arrows and other stuff, I can comb through for a character build and if I can't find anything I like I'll just run them past you as I find (or make) something that'll work. The overall goal would be something like Red Mage meet Milo or something.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2016, 12:07:09 PM by SorO_Lost »

Offline Quillwraith

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2016, 09:29:08 PM »
I could be tempted but I'd be making a whole new character.
Welcome! Do you have a new concept in mind?

I'd be interested in hopping in. I've certainly got enough home brew to be trying out as well. Most likely would be either an Overlord or a Commander (I'll edit links in shortly).
I couldn't find Overlord with a quick search; I'll look it over whenever you get the link. The Commander seems like it might make things a little bit difficult, just insofar as having an additional minor character around, but I think we can work with it if you want to.

How about a meta character? Someone who is totally aware of how the rules work in their universe, including that they are a PC, without actually knowing about Players & Dungeon Masters. To them, the term "PC" is like what the Wheel of Time calls "ta'veren". Then combined with this, well you ran Legacy of Makers, so how about allowing some content from Munchkin d20 books? They have a bunch of meta-related stuff, like "accidentally" forgetting to record a loss of arrows and other stuff, I can comb through for a character build and if I can't find anything I like I'll just run them past you as I find (or make) something that'll work. The overall goal would be something like Red Mage meet Milo or something.
Much as I appreciate Milo, I'm a little wary about inviting someone like him into a campaign - this was intended as a mostly-serious setting, and met tends to lead pretty quickly to chaos and confusion. I'm not familiar with Munchkin d20, but I'm willing to take a look at it.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2016, 09:37:53 PM »
Overlord. Of the two, I'd lean towards the Commander, it's much less effort for the DM to learn. Plus it has the whole evil necromancer thing going on.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2016, 09:39:33 PM »
A concept for level 2?

Hmm, let me see...

Offhand?

Something out of this system, or a Gambler, or a necromancy focused maneuver user, or a paladin.

Sorry Strat, your stuff gets enough low level playtesting. :p

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2016, 09:45:59 PM »
Don't make me invent a new class just to throw at you! There's always the Martyr if you don't behave :P

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2016, 10:11:47 PM »
Don't make me invent a new class just to throw at you! There's always the Martyr if you don't behave :P

You can't make me play anything, especially in someone else's game.  :P

Offline Garryl

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2016, 11:33:30 PM »
I am tentatively interested. I'm thinking of a Monk/Spirit Warrior. Possibly an Erg (from a campaign setting I never finished), although that's more of a whim.
« Last Edit: May 03, 2016, 11:36:07 PM by Garryl »

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #10 on: May 04, 2016, 01:03:05 AM »
I'm not familiar with Munchkin d20, but I'm willing to take a look at it.
A little sad humor will be limited but Munchkin does some odd stuff. Some of it can be insanely broken, like the Munchkin Domain grants Fireball at the 1st level and Wish as a 7th level Spell (magic missile is ironically 9th), but my interests lay else where. It's probably faster to list them.

Race: Half-Kender* Human
Abilities(?): Str 10, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 14 (will readjust to fit your strange odd rule later)
Class: Spellthief 2
Feats: Ammo Written in Pencil1, Magic Marker2, Marker Mayhem3, Juggle The Numbers4.
Skills: Anyx2, Bluff, Craft[weaponsmithing], Knowledge[adventure spoilers]5, Pose6, Search, Disable Device.
Spells: 0th Mage Hand, Least Wish (aka prestidigitation); 1st Cheat, Scholar's Touch; 2nd Heroics, Mirror Move.
*: Half-kender is essentially meaningless. He is a very short human that claims he is half-kender when his height is pointed out.
1: DC 18 (28 if magical) to keep an arrow after being shot. The goal will be to stockpile 1~3 of every arrow possible, like +1 holy silver, +1 bane[fey] cold iron, +1 splitting, etc. since you can partially buy them for the ultimate in versatility.
2 & 3: Essentially adds wizard-like casting to the spelltheif class. Two spells of every spell level, no bonus & no changing spell choice. It'll nicely buff up the spellthief's weakness (in that is pretty much sucks).
4: I can swap spells cast, uses of a feat, damage, and 11ft pole numbers around, like instead of taking 4 damage four 11ft poles appear in my backpack. For a nice moderate power gain thanks to having such terrible spells (it'd be broken if I were a sorcerer), zero poles can be swapped to 0 spells cast today so for instance I can cast heroics twice in a single day rather than once-only. Technically says "once per session" on use but pbp don't have sessions, 1/encounter (I want to play with the poles too!) with a special 1/day limit on spells work?
5: Knowledge checks to spoil the planned adventure. Technically meaningless at level 2 if you decide everything is a "tough question" but if handled like bardic knowledge (PCs only use that to obtain exposition of the plot anyway) it works fine.
6: The DC is unnoted (10+hd?) and "-2 moral" doesn't say what it applies to (att/dmg/save/checks?), but every time I do something cool I can make a check and impose the penalty on nearby enemies.

Offline Quillwraith

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #11 on: May 04, 2016, 06:10:42 PM »
Something out of this system, or a Gambler, or a necromancy focused maneuver user, or a paladin.
The Spellshaping system is allowed, though there are too many classes for me to look at individually yet. Gambler is allowed. Necromancy focused maneuver users are allowed. Aura!Paladin is allowed.



I am tentatively interested. I'm thinking of a Monk/Spirit Warrior. Possibly an Erg (from a campaign setting I never finished), although that's more of a whim.
Monk/Spirit Warrior strikes me as a lot of systems to deal with at once, but it's acceptable. Erg is allowed.



I'm not familiar with Munchkin d20, but I'm willing to take a look at it.
A little sad humor will be limited but Munchkin does some odd stuff. Some of it can be insanely broken, like the Munchkin Domain grants Fireball at the 1st level and Wish as a 7th level Spell (magic missile is ironically 9th), but my interests lay else where.
I'm not opposed to humor in its own right, exactly; what I'm concerned about is humor that disrupts other aspects of the game. It seems to me that a setting in which characters know they're in a game rapidly stops making much sense if it wasn't made with that sort of a premise in. If this was a fundamentally silly campaign, that wouldn't matter, but since it mostly isn't, I'd like to preserve it's ability to mostly not be.

Race: Half-Kender* Human
*: Half-kender is essentially meaningless. He is a very short human that claims he is half-kender when his height is pointed out.
I don't know exactly what a kender is, but it doesn't sound like I even need to, necessarily. Allowed

Abilities(?): Str 10, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 14 (will readjust to fit your strange odd rule later)
If you mean the houserule about effects based on one-half of an odd ability modifier, it's pretty minor; you almost certainly don't need to adjust your build based on it.

Class: Spellthief 2
Feats: Ammo Written in Pencil1, Magic Marker2, Marker Mayhem3, Juggle The Numbers4.
Skills: Anyx2, Bluff, Craft[weaponsmithing], Knowledge[adventure spoilers]5, Pose6, Search, Disable Device.
Spells: 0th Mage Hand, Least Wish (aka prestidigitation); 1st Cheat, Scholar's Touch; 2nd Heroics, Mirror Move.

1: DC 18 (28 if magical) to keep an arrow after being shot. The goal will be to stockpile 1~3 of every arrow possible, like +1 holy silver, +1 bane[fey] cold iron, +1 splitting, etc. since you can partially buy them for the ultimate in versatility.
2 & 3: Essentially adds wizard-like casting to the spelltheif class. Two spells of every spell level, no bonus & no changing spell choice. It'll nicely buff up the spellthief's weakness (in that is pretty much sucks).
4: I can swap spells cast, uses of a feat, damage, and 11ft pole numbers around, like instead of taking 4 damage four 11ft poles appear in my backpack. For a nice moderate power gain thanks to having such terrible spells (it'd be broken if I were a sorcerer), zero poles can be swapped to 0 spells cast today so for instance I can cast heroics twice in a single day rather than once-only. Technically says "once per session" on use but pbp don't have sessions, 1/encounter (I want to play with the poles too!) with a special 1/day limit on spells work?
2 is definitely okay. I can't picture the fluff on 1 and 4, but the mechanics are tentatively allowed.

5: Knowledge checks to spoil the planned adventure. Technically meaningless at level 2 if you decide everything is a "tough question" but if handled like bardic knowledge (PCs only use that to obtain exposition of the plot anyway) it works fine.
This represents the character being genre savvy, yes? Occasionally spoiling the planned adventure is likely to result in a less planned alternate adventure, which isn't a major problem for me; it sometimes happens with high knowledge checks or good guesses anyway. Allowed.

6: The DC is unnoted (10+hd?) and "-2 moral" doesn't say what it applies to (att/dmg/save/checks?), but every time I do something cool I can make a check and impose the penalty on nearby enemies.
For the sake of decisiveness, I'll rule that the DC is 10+HD and the penalty applies to attacks and checks, but not damage or saves.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #12 on: May 04, 2016, 06:38:56 PM »
You'll want to know what a kender is if he plays the character like one.  Trust me.   :p

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #13 on: May 04, 2016, 06:48:24 PM »
I'm not opposed to humor in its own right, exactly; what I'm concerned about is humor that disrupts other aspects of the game. It seems to me that a setting in which characters know they're in a game rapidly stops making much sense if it wasn't made with that sort of a premise in. If this was a fundamentally silly campaign, that wouldn't matter, but since it mostly isn't, I'd like to preserve it's ability to mostly not be.
I can understand that, which is also why I referenced Milo.

Red Mage from 8bit comic is essentially what you're talking about. So wrapped up in the meta he doesn't pay attention to what's happening in front of him. HP&Nd20'stake on things is much more milder, more like the observation on some of the rules of reality such as normally casting a spell every six seconds, or that special people come along and change things, or the law of reality are actually subjective thinks to the over deity DM favoring spectacular stories and will step in if the rules of reality are abused.

Kenders are btw a Drgonlance specific race and can be reboiled down to a Halfing variant. They are known for their fluff of not having any concept of ownership and would picket a gold coin just because it's shiny which is often invoked to mean theft is fair game. Except, often left out by the very same Players is a Kender would also just as easily lose the gold coin, refuse to spend it, or return it and apologize even if they don't understand why someone complained because their ADD & lack of ownership isn't all positives.

The fluff of Juggle The Numbers is pretty easy. Think of all the Maneuvers, Spells, Powers, and even Feats that already do stuff like reducing damage and such. It's just imperfect and has a side effect of producing large wooden sticks. And ditching what amounts to the excess waste allows your magic to run more efficiently like cleaning out the air filter. And yeah, genre savvy would be another way to explain it.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2016, 08:56:47 PM »
Kenders are btw a Drgonlance specific race and can be reboiled down to a Halfing variant. They are known for their fluff of not having any concept of ownership and would picket a gold coin just because it's shiny which is often invoked to mean theft is fair game. Except, often left out by the very same Players is a Kender would also just as easily lose the gold coin, refuse to spend it, or return it and apologize even if they don't understand why someone complained because their ADD & lack of ownership isn't all positives.
They were also completely immune to fear, and insatiably curious, which often combined for great hilarity.
I don't pee messages into the snow often , but when I do , it's in Cyrillic with Fake Viagra.  Stay frosty my friends.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2016, 10:46:25 PM »
Still thinking about traits, pondering and thinking. The Munchkin ones really are too powerful...
Specialized: +1 k-genre savvy, -1 all other knowledge.
And.... Theatrical: +1 bluff & pose, -1 strength-based skills (climb/jump/swim)?

(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: May 06, 2016, 01:17:16 PM by SorO_Lost »

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #16 on: May 06, 2016, 06:02:17 PM »
I'm bored at work so I'll narrow things down a little more.  Yes, I've got some diametrically opposed concepts here.  I've got enough ideas that I'll just pick once everyone has things a little more finalized so that I can fill any gaps.

Character ideas (In no particular order):

Gambler - Social/skill/Chrisma based martial adept
Death Knight - To paraphrase Garryl, it's like a martial adept version of the Dread Necromancer
Elemental Adept - Pew pew.  Uses a new casting system (spellshaping, like spells combined with maneuvers).


...off the top of my head that's all I can come up with for homebrew that looks good for second level that I am in the mood to play right now.

Offline Stratovarius

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #17 on: May 06, 2016, 06:17:09 PM »
Started in on the character build - Commander PC.

And I'd vote for the Necromancer, but that's always my taste  :D

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #18 on: May 07, 2016, 12:17:18 AM »
Death Knight - To paraphrase Garryl, it's like a martial adept version of the Dread Necromancer
The campaign has no Positive/Negative Energy Plane, it's split into a bunch of different Elven-ruled planes.

I think you should murder and reanimate them all to restore the Negative Energy Plane to it's rightful place.

Offline Garryl

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Re: Souls Reborn
« Reply #19 on: May 07, 2016, 03:03:16 AM »
Huh, I forgot that I'd expressed interest in this game the first time around, too. I'm going to have to think about my original idea, too (anthropomorphic bat thaumaturge with a goal of cataloguing the sounds of magic).