Author Topic: Arx Index and General Discussion (Read 10000 times)

Stratovarius · « **on:** March 28, 2014, 08:29:54 PM »

Glyph Magic
Glyphs are written the in air, the magic of the creator holding them there as he spells a particular word that he will summon forth the spell that he wishes. Glyphs are made up of a series of symbols, known as runes, that represent a basic concept of the universe such as fire (Yok) or creation (Aam). Combining the runes to create a word with meaning begets the desired spell.

At first, a glyphwielder can only master the gestures needed to create the most basic of spells, but much like a wizard, as his skill grows with combining runes, so does the volume of glyphs that are available to him, and the strength of glyph that he can enact using his will.

Like all forms of magic, there are some restrictions upon the creation of glyphs. Creating magic in this way draws upon the personal strength of the creator in the form of mana, and while the pool will replenish over time, restoring willpower is a trickle compared to the expense of creating glyphs, so a glyphwielder must be judicious in using their talents. However, unlike a traditional caster, his glyph pool will always replenish itself over time, and so he has access to his magic from the moment he wakes till the moment the dungeon is cleared.

No matter how strong the glyphwielder grows in power, he only will ever know a limited number of runes, for learning new concepts at the very core of magic takes time and effort.

Download Glyph Magic

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Raineh Daze · « **Reply #1 on:** March 28, 2014, 08:37:30 PM »

... is Arx Fatalis relevant to this?

Stratovarius · « **Reply #2 on:** March 28, 2014, 09:25:30 PM »

Given there's a couple posts called Arx... it might be

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #3 on:** March 28, 2014, 09:31:43 PM »

Quote from: Stratovarius on March 28, 2014, 09:25:30 PM

Given there's a couple posts called Arx... it might be

Also, of course, the rune names.

I CAN HEAR THEM IN MY HEAD.

You should include POW/POM/that one that gives you a BFS. <.<

Stratovarius · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2014, 09:41:29 PM »

The cheat code ones? Not sure those are quite as appropriate...

Currently designing a bunch of new ones. Just not sure how to apply the casting mechanic in D&D. Spellcraft check? Longer action times depending on number of runes involved? Mana pool?

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #5 on:** March 28, 2014, 09:46:02 PM »

It's not as if it's that POWERFUL a sword.

Action times is probably a start, but one of the best also goes down to only two runes (bloody Ylsid). Spellcraft checks are meaningless, since if your class feature demands it you just grab an item familiar and go from there, and avoid it at earlier levels. Mana pool seems like a better implementation, but I'm not sure how to link that to the runes?

Stratovarius · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2014, 09:53:11 PM »

I've got a few ideas on the Mana pool. Small mana pool, regen X per round while in combat. Spells cost their level in mana points. Feats to boost mana pool size.

Also, those Ylsids? They sucked. Horribly. So damn fast they'd wreck you. Even worse for me since I played a hit and run caster. Couldn't bloody well run :/

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #7 on:** March 28, 2014, 09:54:47 PM »

And then, later on, you get the ability to play at their speed or turn them off!

At least their armour is awesome.

Stratovarius · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2014, 10:01:29 PM »

I sort of went with the nuke from a distance option. Especially if using levitate, like in the ice dragon room.

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #9 on:** March 29, 2014, 12:45:23 AM »

Please organise the Arx spells at some point... the list is hard to read.

Stratovarius · « **Reply #10 on:** March 29, 2014, 06:55:33 AM »

Now why would I want to do something like that?

Stratovarius · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2014, 10:46:04 AM »

Quote from: Raineh Daze on March 29, 2014, 12:45:23 AM

Please organise the Arx spells at some point... the list is hard to read.

List is all cleaned up, organized by spell level and alphabetically. Should make it a touch easier to follow

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2014, 08:03:12 PM »

I have no exact suggestion for practitioner names, seeing as last I checked it was DRAW A GLOWY SYMBOL IN THE AIR, but something to do with its predominantly subterranean usage might work. Or Norse. Norse fits.

Stratovarius · « **Reply #13 on:** March 30, 2014, 08:08:30 PM »

Quote from: Raineh Daze on March 30, 2014, 08:03:12 PM

I have no exact suggestion for practitioner names, seeing as last I checked it was DRAW A GLOWY SYMBOL IN THE AIR, but something to do with its predominantly subterranean usage might work. Or Norse. Norse fits.

The one that comes immediately to mind is Delver, but I'm not 100% sure that fits

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #14 on:** April 08, 2014, 08:55:40 PM »

Achanta's X: Somehow, I think class features that outright cripple you when not constantly doing something are a poor idea.

A total -6 to all saves, skill checks, AC, attack, damage, and a -3 to ability score modifiers is just plain not worth it (better hope you don't have anything reliant on these scores/ability checks, or anything only checked against them once a day). Your carrying capacity is shot, you basically never have max HP, you can't spot anything before it gets to you, you're going to have a hell of a time going first (yay, screwed initiative checks), and if you don't go first you're in the worst position possible.

Also, Fast Healing is now almost never worth it, because it barely ever gets to the point it makes a notable contribution within the fight, and it can't heal you outside of it.

Stratovarius · « **Reply #15 on:** April 08, 2014, 09:03:40 PM »

Well, the Glyphmaster is a supremely powerful caster, at least in terms of damage per round. He needed some kind of penalty to balance that up. I'll take another look at it though.

And there's nothing in the SRD that says Fast Healing stops working outside of combat.

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #16 on:** April 08, 2014, 09:06:58 PM »

Quote from: Stratovarius on April 08, 2014, 09:03:40 PM

Well, the Glyphmaster is a supremely powerful caster, at least in terms of damage per round. He needed some kind of penalty to balance that up. I'll take another look at it though.

And there's nothing in the SRD that says Fast Healing stops working outside of combat.

If you're taking damage equal to your fast healing every round when not casting, then you never get the benefit of fast healing: given a few minutes between fights and you can go from the brink of death to full HP. Basically, you don't actually get to heal properly. <.<

DPS is nice, I guess. DPS at the expense of being crippled out of combat is like taking the long way round to playing an optimised fighter.

Stratovarius · « **Reply #17 on:** April 08, 2014, 09:10:20 PM »

Oh, that problem. Yeah, it's intentional. Although, actually, kind of pointless, between having the heal spell and mana regen...

I shall need to redo the penalties!

Going to finish the system off with 4 more prestige classes. One of them will be a Chicken Lord (based on Lord Inut). Not entirely sure on the others. Suggestions are welcome.

Stratovarius · « **Reply #18 on:** April 12, 2014, 09:04:40 PM »

Okay, so the Arx system is all complete. It's mostly Fighter/Mage type classes, because, well, that's what Arx Fatalis ends up as. My favorite is the Chicken Lord though. Because Chickens!

Raineh Daze · « **Reply #19 on:** April 12, 2014, 09:07:16 PM »

Nice to see that Ylside still means 'ROVING SPEEDY DOOM'.

Honestly, I'm wondering if you should get the Arx stuff split off into its own subforum.

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Author Topic: Arx Index and General Discussion (Read 10000 times)