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  1. - Top - End - #61
    Titan in the Playground
     
    PirateCaptain

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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Quote Originally Posted by Weirdlet View Post
    *scribblescribble*

    Call the louvre
    Quote Originally Posted by Dsurion View Post
    I don't know if you've noticed, but pretty much everything BRC posts is full of awesome.
    Quote Originally Posted by chiasaur11 View Post
    So, Astronaut, War Hero, or hideous Mantis Man, hop to it! The future of humanity is in your capable hands and or terrifying organic scythes.
    My Homebrew:Synchronized Swordsmen,Dual Daggers,The Doctor,The Preacher,The Brawler
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  2. - Top - End - #62
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Oh yeah! Very nice pic!
    [Public Service Announcement]P.E.A.C.H stands for Please Examine And Critique Honestly[/Public Service Announcement]
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  3. - Top - End - #63
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    "I dub thee GUILTY"

    Too cool for words.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bears With Lasers View Post
    Build? He's the goddamn Batman. He doesn't have a build, he has victory.

  4. - Top - End - #64
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    PirateCaptain

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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    I Wonder what the LA On a hangman is, because I want to play one JUST to look like that, though playing almost the incarnation of law will be a 180 away from my usual scoundraly "Whats in it for me" characters
    Quote Originally Posted by Dsurion View Post
    I don't know if you've noticed, but pretty much everything BRC posts is full of awesome.
    Quote Originally Posted by chiasaur11 View Post
    So, Astronaut, War Hero, or hideous Mantis Man, hop to it! The future of humanity is in your capable hands and or terrifying organic scythes.
    My Homebrew:Synchronized Swordsmen,Dual Daggers,The Doctor,The Preacher,The Brawler
    [/Center]

  5. - Top - End - #65
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  6. - Top - End - #66
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Not quite as cool as the Hangman. I think that in all three cases the sepia backgrounds add a lot to the feel.
    [Public Service Announcement]P.E.A.C.H stands for Please Examine And Critique Honestly[/Public Service Announcement]
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  7. - Top - End - #67
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    *Casts resurrection*

    This thread is way too many kinds of awesome to allow to die. Any word on updates to the world, Silverclawshift?
    In the desert
    I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
    Who, squatting upon the ground,
    Held his heart in his hands,
    And ate of it.
    I said, "Is it good, friend?"
    "It is bitter - bitter", he answered,
    "But I like it
    Because it is bitter,
    And because it is my heart."


    Stephen Crane, 'In the Desert'

  8. - Top - End - #68
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Sort of. I put the Glyphcrafter "Alpha 1" in the base class post on the first page, but I think note of that update got lost in the art flurry

    We've playtested it a few times, and it really seems to work well. It has a unique feel to the way it handles (which is what we were going for), and while powerful, certainly doesn't stand out when you're talking about wizards and clerics. It's a little lighter on the power, a little more party friendly, and still feels strong without making everyone else feel useless.
    We're writing down and polishing the glyphs (we want plenty of options), and putting a lot of effort into making them usefull but not ridiculous. Depending on the glyphs we've leaned towards in playtesting, the glyphcrafter can be a really good party booster (with a few tricks up their sleeves for protecting themselves), or they can hoarde their power and become a powerhouse themselves. Either way works fun.
    We also are working on the details surrounding surpressing/destroying/countering the glyphs themselves.

    It's a lot of work to make it all presentable, considering it's basically a full specific magic system. If anyone wants solid mechanical examples of glyphs we've played with (and mind you, we're coming up with them on the fly and still trying to fine tune everything)

    Basic Glyph
    Glyph of Dimming - A basic level glyph that takes up 1 of the glyphcrafters total glyph potential, and is applied to a creature or object of medium size maximum. If put onto a wearable item or object, the item becomes difficult to see itself (you'd be unlikely to see it in moonlight), and the wearer gains +2 hide and move silent, and 10% concealment. If marked directly on a creature, the bonus increases to +4 hide and move silent, and 20% concealment, but obviously can't be transfered, and imposes a -2 penalty to Charisma based skill checks as it dillutes the bearers presence.
    Doesn't stack with itself or other arcane magics, makes the creature harder to identify by scent, and has 'plot device' effects when a DM wants something to come from nowhere.

    Glyph of Blinding - A basic level glyph that's put onto a weapon (even an improvised weapon). Whenever the weapon hits a creature successfully, it's blinded for three rounds, no saving throw. If the creature can't see it has no effect, it works 5 times before fading from existance, and the weilder of this weapon can 'suppress' the glyph if they want to save the uses for something in particular.
    I don't like the glyphs 'running out', it's contrary to the idea of the glyphs being permanent until dismissed, but for now I don't have a better idea, so I'm going with the group on this one.

    Advanced Glyph
    Glyph Web - Not what it sounds like, the Glyph Web lets the glyphcrafter who uses it create 'travel points', which can teleport a creature with the appropriate key (another glyph, probably on an object, potentially on the skin) from one to another. You can make 4 keys. You can also create up to 4 locations, you have to have been there physically, and no glyph can toss you further than a 1/4 mile without another glyph as a relay.
    This DOES mean that if you want to put a glyph at the entrance, and use it to teleport out of a dungeon, you have to stop and find the time to create a 'relay' where you're standing to use that relay as an exit. Such is the nature of glyph magic.
    It's important to note that this glyph can stack with itself if the glyphcrafter desires, so they can create additional keys, further distances, and additional teleportation points.

    Master Glyph
    Mark of Grotesque Form - Is applied directly to a creature. The creature can "steal" a physical aspect of some other creature and apply it to themselves, gaining wings, physical strength, scales (armor), claws, appearance itself, or what have you, at the cost of weakening the creature they take it from.
    The first few times we've tried to mess with it, we've generally agreed that it lets you take up to five 'features' (currently DM discretion, but we'll make solid rules for it) and gain them yourself. Can't change the way you look, the creature you took it from loses it as long as you have it (which is potentially permanent, depending on how long the glyphcrafer decides it's useful and is willing to give up their potential to have it), and the create has faint glyph-markings which can be used to find out what happened to it, and serve as a focal point for magic users trying to track down the person who did it.

    I can't beleive I wrote that much, that was supposed to be a "Yeah, I'm still here" paragraph. And yes, I know the glyphs still need a lot of work, I warned ye all

    As for the Dustlands, my group and I all have other stuff going on a lot of the time, and when we get together, we still want time to game and have fun. But production is still underway! My DM and I were talking, as the Glyphs shape up, we're going to be interested in working on the Totem Warrior class and Wasteling race some more.

    Happy Gaming everyone.

  9. - Top - End - #69
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    I would be interested in seeing a preliminary gunslinger design, as the fluff fits in with a character I am making. (character depicted in avatar)
    Last edited by ThunderEagle; 2007-07-28 at 01:36 PM.
    78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature.

    the most epic game ever

  10. - Top - End - #70
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    I really, REALLY want to play a glypcrafter! The Mark of Grotesque form, scares me quite a bit. One part of it confuses me though: if it doesn't affect your appearance, than in what way are you 'stealing' the features.

    Web glyph: Awesome, awesome, awwwwe-sooooome. Excelent party glyph.

    for the glyph of blinding, maybe instead of completely fading from existence, it simply becomes less effective the more its used, blinding fewer and fewer rounds, until it only has a 50% chance of blinding at all. Since the glyphs are painted onto a weapon, I think some chipping or flaking is inevitable.

  11. - Top - End - #71
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Quote Originally Posted by BarroomBard View Post
    One part of it confuses me though: if it doesn't affect your appearance, than in what way are you 'stealing' the features.
    In my usual rambling way, I glossed over that in a way that made is easy to misinterpret. Once you steal a feature, as long as you have it, 'that's just how you look now'. You can't activate and deactivate it at all.
    So if you steal the strength of some troll or something, your muscles become bulgy and your form becomes larger and grotesque, and you have to change your appearance magically because "That's just the way you look" until you remove the glyph entirely

    The Glyph of Grotesque Form (along with everything else) needs a lot of work. In my opinion, it fits in with what the glyphs are supposed to do, but not how they're supposed to do it. I'd like something a little more...concise in its behavior.
    It's not a bad concept mind you, the glyphcrafters can warp reality just like anyone else, I'd just like it if it operated a little 'cleaner'.

    Quote Originally Posted by BarroomBard View Post
    Web glyph: Awesome, awesome, awwwwe-sooooome. Excelent party glyph.
    I listed that one specifically because it's one of my favorites. Our DM actually tossed us up against a glyphcrafter villain, who had an entire city blanketed in glyph webs. Him and his right hand were always a few steps ahead of us, because anytime they got away from us, they could hop around the city like crazy.

    Quote Originally Posted by BarroomBard View Post
    for the glyph of blinding, maybe instead of completely fading from existence, it simply becomes less effective the more its used, blinding fewer and fewer rounds, until it only has a 50% chance of blinding at all. Since the glyphs are painted onto a weapon, I think some chipping or flaking is inevitable.
    That's basically the direction I want to take it. Scale down the power so it's balanced to be 'permanent'. Something that's fair as a chunk of the glyphcrafters total power level, but still useful to have.
    It's just a question of balancing the numbers really.

    Glad you like it

    Quote Originally Posted by ThunderEagle View Post
    I would be interested in seeing a preliminary gunslinger design, as the fluff fits in with a character I am making. (character depicted in avatar)
    Well, I'll go on record to say that I don't like the name "Gunslinger", but the rest of the group does. "Cowboy" would be better, because the class is meant to be a sort of rough-and-tumble physically skilled type who happens to know how to fight.
    "Cowboy" would also probably give the wrong image of the class, so we're at a loss for a better name than Gunslinger.

    Righ now, it's a 1/1 BAB, with strong FORT and REF saves, 4 skill points per level, with a list of 'cowboy' skills (balance, climb, craft, escape artist, handle animal, jump, profession, ride, survival, swim, tumble, use rope at the moment).

    It's probably going to focus on battlefield mobility and ranged combat, for the most part.

  12. - Top - End - #72
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    How would the name "Desperado" work for the gunslinger class? Also, you mentioned that this class would focus on mobility and ranged combat. Will it be mechanically or flavorfully similar to the Scout class from Complete Adventurer, or go in a different direction from it?
    In the desert
    I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
    Who, squatting upon the ground,
    Held his heart in his hands,
    And ate of it.
    I said, "Is it good, friend?"
    "It is bitter - bitter", he answered,
    "But I like it
    Because it is bitter,
    And because it is my heart."


    Stephen Crane, 'In the Desert'

  13. - Top - End - #73
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Quote Originally Posted by Marek View Post
    How would the name "Desperado" work for the gunslinger class?
    That's what I suggested! But now dice, I was universally shot down on that one (no pun intended...).

    Not because it doesn't work, but the group wants to save the 'desperado' name for a prestige class?... I don't agree, but that's part of operating in a group of people, sometimes something you think sounds good or not good is still what the group goes with.

    Quote Originally Posted by Marek View Post
    Also, you mentioned that this class would focus on mobility and ranged combat. Will it be mechanically or flavorfully similar to the Scout class from Complete Adventurer, or go in a different direction from it?
    If we DO focus on ranged combat, as ideally we would (it's just a ranged combat kinda world), we're thinking of coming up with something new, but Tome of Battle-Esque. Coming up with a list of universal "Trick Shots" of varying degrees of power, and giving the class access to a limited selection of them in various ways. In fact, doing that might inspire an additional base class or two (or become a limited feature for another base class) with different ways to access the trick shots.

    If the trick shots were universal to 'ranged combat', then the class could reasonably be adapted to other worlds, as a trick shot with an arrow is still awesome.

    Also, calling the feature something other than 'trick shots' would probably be a good idea.

  14. - Top - End - #74
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Personally, I think that Desperado would make a better name for the base class, because a Desperado is more of a jack-of-all trades, while another name could specialize it.

    Here's a list of other names that may work:
    Marauder
    Highwayman
    Drifter

    Names other than trick shot:
    Methodical Shot
    Skill Shot
    In the desert
    I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
    Who, squatting upon the ground,
    Held his heart in his hands,
    And ate of it.
    I said, "Is it good, friend?"
    "It is bitter - bitter", he answered,
    "But I like it
    Because it is bitter,
    And because it is my heart."


    Stephen Crane, 'In the Desert'

  15. - Top - End - #75
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    *Sigh* I don't enjoy double posts, but as I said before, this thread is way too many kinds of awesome to let it go to waste. *Casts Resurrection*

    Any additional thoughts and/or updates?
    In the desert
    I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
    Who, squatting upon the ground,
    Held his heart in his hands,
    And ate of it.
    I said, "Is it good, friend?"
    "It is bitter - bitter", he answered,
    "But I like it
    Because it is bitter,
    And because it is my heart."


    Stephen Crane, 'In the Desert'

  16. - Top - End - #76
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Heh, don't worry, it hasn't been long enough to call the thread deceased, it's only been a few days.

    Most of my gaming group has been busy these past few days, so we haven't done a lot of playing and testing. Me and my DM are working on some stuff though (specifically, the Gunslinger, Totem Ascendant, and the Wasteling race, as well as continuing to tune the glyphs up).

    No real updates though, which is why I haven't bothered posting.

  17. - Top - End - #77
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Have a little something something to drop in here. Nothing big, just a disease, but it's part of the world, and new content that's actually finished, so here yas go.

    The Whitelight Shakes

    Sometimes you can get too much of a good thing...

    Healing houses, temples, and hospitals the world over tend to the sick and wounded, nurturing them back to health one grueling day at a time. Mending bones, stitching flesh, and cooling fevers until their patients are able to stand under their own power once more. Many have questioned the refusal to simply embrace magical healing as the sole source of recovery. It's argued that even a team of novice healers could channel enough positive energy to return the most grieviously wounded to their full health in moments, with no cost in time or supplies. The urge to cling to the traditions of bandages and leeches is often regarded as some sort of stubborn or prideful urge among the pious, who are well known for regarding patience and dillegence as among the highest of virtues.
    Sometimes however, it's simply best to wrap a wound and let nature take its course.

    The Whitelight Shakes are one of the best kept secrets among healers and those who support them. They are a collection of symptoms associated with - of all things - overexposure to positive energy. When a living creature receives too much magical healing in too short of a time period, there is a risk that their homeostasis will be disrupted as surely as if they had been the target of negative energy or flames, and they will become a possible victim of the Whitelight Shakes.
    A creature inflicted with the Whitelight Shakes may initially regard their symptoms as beneficial, a mark of their own physical integrity or some divine blessing. Even in later stages of the disease, a sufferer may regard themselves as being healthier than those around them, ignoring the malign symptoms beginning to manifest amongst the positive aspects until it is too late.

    Infliction:
    As with all aspects of the game, the DM has the final say on what does or does not constitute 'overexposure' to positive energy. As a guidline, being exposed to a number of curing or healing spells equal to (character level + 1d4) within the span of (character level x 2) rounds will all but guarantee coming down with the Whitelight Shakes (the level of the cure spells is less important than their sheer number, as rapid pulses of exposure to even small amounts of positive energy are more dangerous than one large blast of it).
    A character who is overexposed does not receive a fortitude saving throw as with normal diseases, though they will receive saving throws to resist symptoms and shed themselves of the disease once it begins to manifest.

    Incubation:
    Initially the Whitelight Shakes has an incubation of 1d4 days. During that time, a character may notice that they feel unusually upbeat and energetic, but nothing more than that (no effect on statistics). Physically, they may begin to appear slightly flush.
    After the incubation period, the first phase of the disease will be reached. The character must make a DC 14 fortitude saving throw or immediately suffer 1d2 Dexterity damage. This Dexterity damage cannot be healed or recovered in any way while a character is afflicted with Whitelight Shakes.
    Each continueing day, the creature must make another saving throw with a +1 modifier (DC 15 the second day, DC 16 the third day, and so forth) or take an additional 1d2 Dexterity damage.
    Those are the baseline symptoms. In addition to the Dexterity damage (which manifests, obviously, as shaking... nervous ticks and enthusiastic motion progressing to more and more debilitating motion) the creature will also begin to manifest symptoms from the following lists. Each time a creature with the Whitelight Shakes fails their saving throw against the disease, roll 1d4 and add an approrpriate symptom from the following two lists.

    1 - Advance Blush (*)
    2 - +1d4 Strength, an additional -1d2 Dexterity (**)
    3 - Low Light Vision and Light Sensitivity(***)
    4 - -1d2 Int
    *The creature appears abnormally red (or whatever shade is appropriate for their race) as if they were unusually warm.
    **This persists as long as the disease does, and stacks with other sources
    ***If a creature allready has low-light vision, they gain darkvision instead. If a creature allready has darkvision, this symptom has no affect other than Light Sensitivity


    Once a creature manifests 2 symptoms from the list above (meaning they have failed at least two saving throws) they enter the secondary phase of the disease. A creature in the secondary phase of the disease must continue to make saving throws as before, but each day the DC increases by 2 instead of by 1. They also roll on the following table for symptoms

    1 - Glowing Eyes, -4 to spot and search checks, and the loss of any vision beyond normal human vision)
    2 - Hair becomes Golden white
    3 - +2d4 Strength, -1d4 Dexterity
    4 - Fast Healing 5
    5 - -1d4 Int. Creature becomes delirious and unpredictable.
    6 - Roll on the Lesser Symptoms table above. If the lesser symptoms have all been acquired, re-roll on this table.

    A creature cannot receive the same symptom twice. If they would receive the same symptom twice, re-roll and apply another.
    A creature who reaches 0 Dexterity is incapacitated by the disease, but continues to make saving throws and acquire symptoms normally. They are concious, but are unable to control their motions or communicate through their chattering teeth and erratic breath. If they are capable of communicating mentally, they may still do so.

    Once a creature has manifested 5 symptoms, they enter the final stage of the disease. They begin to acquire bonus hitpoints above their maximum as long as the diseases persists (due to their fast healing if it is gained as a symptom, or simply above their normal healing from resting naturally). If the character attains twice their normal number of hitpoints, they simply explode in a brilliant flash, curing all nearby creatures (60 foot radius) as if they had received a restoration spell, but has a 1 in 4 chance of afflicting each creature with the Whitelight Shakes.

    Removing the Disease:
    The Whitelight Shakes cannot be healed magically. The nature of the disease means that any attempt to alter it via divine magic simply fails outright, or worsens the condition.
    To be cured of the Whitelight Shakes, a creature must be brought to negative hitpoints. Each round a creature with the Whitelight Shakes has negative hitpoints, they may make a DC 18 fortitude saving throw to throw off the disease. If they are successful, they lose 1 symptom randomly and regain 1d2 Dexterity for each day that passes.
    If they are being tended to by professionals (using bloodletting and similar methods to weaken, but monitor, the creatures condition), they may use the professionals Heal check instead of their own saving throw.

    *************************************************

    This originally came up when a party barbarian did the math, and said something about jumping off a cliff to catch up with the party. He figured he could survive the fall damage, and then the cleric could patch him right up with a few dozen low level cure spells, and then we could camp out for the night.

    Our DM said "If you do it I'm giving your character radiation poisoning from the positive energy."

    He liked the idea enough that he developed the Whitelight Shakes as a discouragement against Healbot abuse by the party. He also through us in an uncomfortable situation where we were trying to get a very important someone to a house of healing before the Whitelight Shakes killed them. We found them digging a dagger into their palm and mumbling incoherently, and we had to set up shifts of injuring them to keep their hitpoints at manageable levels.

    Our DM is kind of a sadist towards us. Makes for good games though.
    Last edited by SilverClawShift; 2007-08-26 at 07:15 PM.

  18. - Top - End - #78
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    That- is genius. I love it.

  19. - Top - End - #79
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Glad it's liked :)

    Our DM figures we shopuld never stop being utterly terrified of what he's going to do next.

    *EDIT*

    The "Miscellaneous" reserved post (post #11) updated to include the Whitelight Shakes, 08-27-07
    Last edited by SilverClawShift; 2007-08-27 at 12:52 PM.

  20. - Top - End - #80
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Whoooo. Got the current (and possibly final(!!!!)) version of the wastelings all typed up from my DMs notes on it. Here ya go!

    Wasteling

    Born of a human bloodline tainted for generation after generation with negative energy are a race that straddles the line between life and unlife. Barely alive, but not truly undead, the Wastelings are a testament to the ability of nature to adapt to any and all situations given enough time and a lack of options. While the constant drain of vitality sprawling back throughout their ancestry causes them a measure of frailty, overcoming that same obstacle has given them a racial sturdiness that none can dispute.

    Personality:
    Wastelings often come across as blase and detached from the world around them. Their entire race is blanketed in a dark shroud which stifles the spark of their lifeforce, and as a result they seem to project a universal sense of disinterest. In truth however, the Wasteling 'racial detachment' is in appearance only, they are an intensely curious race, especially when matters of mortality are in question. For example, a Wasteling may readily dissect a family member to discover what caused their death. Far from showing a lack of respect or sorrow, it is simply a reflection of their durability as a race, even in the face of tragedy.
    Physical Description:
    Wastelings often stand between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 feet tall, with particular members of their race being exceptionally tall or short as personal uniqueness, just as with humans. They are typically only 80-130 pounds regardless of gender, with males slightly larger and heavier and females tending towards being smaller and lighter. Other races unfamiliar with the Wastelings may assume them to be ill or wounded humans, as they strongly resemble members of that race afflicted with a plague of some sort. They often appear boney and frail as if malnourished, however, individual wastelings may appear healthier than others, some even passing for human entirely. Even in those unique examples, there are still several tell-tale signs that they are in fact a wasteling.
    Wastelings have thin limp hair which grows very slowly. Their eyes often either lack irises entirely, or have unusually large irises leaving little to no white exposed. Both their hair and eyes are usually in shades of gray ranging from black to white with no coloration whatsoever, though exceptions do exist.
    A wasteling recovers from physical injury much more slowly -and less perfectly- than members of more living races. On the same hand, such injuries are much less debilitating than they would be to other races, and the muffling force which causes a wasteling to appear detached and unconcerned also provides them a mild physical numbness. A human with a deep slashing wound across the forearm will experience intense pain and require several weeks of clean bandages and careful attention to safely heal. A wasteling with the same wound may barely realize they have been injured, and simply pin the wound together with a metal needle, or ignore it entirely, knowing it has allready scarred. Wastelings tends towards one of two extremes when it comes to such physical injuries. They either tend to the wound with meticulous precision, stitching and binding it as perfectly as possible to preserve their appearance, or they may simply give the wound the bare minimum of physical care necessary. Wastelings who tend to themselves carefully usually appear much more human, but retain tell-tale signs of stitchwork and scarring. Wastelings who are careless are often much more violent in appearance, with horrible scars and possibly even exposed bones (which is socially acceptable in wasteling societies, and occasionally even considered attractive).
    Relations:
    Wastelings fit in very poorly with other races. Individually, they may get along fine with members of any race, assuming those races can get over the wastelings tendency to seem lacking in empathy and compassion. As a whole, they are rarely welcome in other societies, as they are a living reminder of the dead, and often leave other races feeling uncomfortable at best, and violent at worst. They may blend in with human civilizations, possibly even passing themselves off as human, but they rarely feel truly welcome with their distant ancestors.
    Because of the wastelings perceived coldness, most other races naturally feel unwelcome in wasteling lands. In truth, they are readily accepted and treated as would any other member of that society... it is just that the wastelings treat other members of their society with the same -perceived- indifference.
    Alignment:
    Wastelings tend towards no alignment very strongly, not even neutrality. Despite their clinical detachment, they run the gamut from all extremes on the alignment scale, from lawful to chaotic, and good to evil. Wasteling civilizations would often be described as mildly lawful evil, due to the cold precision with which their laws are treated, but individual wastelings are no more naturally lawful or evil than humans are.
    Wasteling Lands:
    Wastelings in The Dustlands hail from the Bleak North, a hostile land seeped in naturally occurring negative energy. The area is actually a peninsula, choked off with a dense rotwood forest, and full of naturally occurring undead creatures. The water is black, the land is parched and lifeless, and the sky itself seems dim and unnatural. Nevertheless, the Wastelings feel at home here, moving among the undead as if they were brethren, feeding off of the unnatural land out of unconcerned necessity, and living their lives as they see fit.
    Wastelings group themselves into cooperative kingdom/city-states. While they do not rely on each other for anything in particular, travel and communication flows freely from one city to the next, and laws are almost universal from one area to another. A strong exception is the city-kingdom of Ceverne, controlled by the Corvus Brotherhood, a group that believes undeath in any form is unnatural. This makes Ceverne unique -and unpopular- as it is the only wasteling civilization that forbids necromancy in any form. All other wasteling societies practice it freely, and readily welcome sentient undead among them.
    Other races in wasteling lands will quickly come to the realization that the entire city/kingdom is one huge graveyard. Rather than collecting their dead in centralized locations, wastelings tend to place graves wherever seems fitting of the individual who has passed. As such, individual graves, coffins, and tombstones may be found anywhere and everywhere, indoors and out, and almost all are inscribed with a unique and beautiful -but macabre- poem pertaining to the one who as passed. This is true even in Ceverne, where the dead are blessed and honored -and often dismantled- in order to prevent their return from the grave. Despite their natural lack of charisma, some Wastelings do become Bards, often specializing in dirges, laments, and poetry related to funerary proceedings for that purpose.
    Religion:
    Wastelings tend towards no religion, especially in the religiously decimated world of The Dustlands. They pay great respect to their ancestors, regardless of differences or conflicts within their family, and even have strong respect for the ancestors of others (believing, accurately, that all their family trees lead back to the same general place). This respect is the closest thing Wasteling society usually has towards "worship", and it would not be unfair to say they place more faith into their ancestry and their continued existence than in any religion or ideal.
    Language:
    Wastelings have no unique language, tending to speak whatever language humans in their world spoke (Common, in the Dustlands). They do, however, sprinkle obscure necromantic terminology and archaic phrases related to death and dying into everyday speech, not out of any deliberate effort, but simply as a manner of course. As a result, any creature raised in a wasteling society can choose to speak in a way that other Wasteling-raised creatures will understand perfectly, but will befuddle and confuse any non-wasteling-raised. The other creatures often still understand what was said, but may miss key meanings and any subtleties in the discussion will be lost.
    Names:
    Wasteling names are often heavy with S, X, Z, E, and L sounds, with male names favoring L's, and female names favoring S's. They tend to be either strikingly abrupt (one or two syllables), or extremely long and elegant. Male names are often more abrupt, while female names are often longer. Wastelings only use single names.
    Male Names: Wex, Lell, Less, Zel, Xerx, Xellerefelex
    Female Names: Xezz, Xezzenel, Leselenex, Seeseeleenia
    Family Names: While wastelings are only given (or only use) one name, often a family will incorporate an identical string of syllables into longer names to denote family ties. For instance, Xeleeseet and Lethleeseer are siblings, and each share the leesee string in their names. Wastelings who are believed to have important futures are often given the family string as their sole identifier, simply being named Leesee.
    Adventures:
    Wastelings often leave their homelands out of an almost scientific curiosity, seeking to understand more about themselves, the other races, and the differences that mark the wastelings as unique. In The Dustlands, Wastelings feel the same undeniable pull westward as all races do, searching out the secrets of their dead world, almost applying their fascination with individual death in a meta-fasion to the world itself.

    Wasteling Racial Traits
    : -2 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Cha. Wastelings seem leeched of their lifeforce, coming across as distant and weak which hides an underlying stability.
    : Medium: As medium creatures, Wastelings receive no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
    : Wasteling base land speed is 20 feet, owing to their lack of zest and energy.
    : Inert Biology: Wastelings receive a +4 racial bonus to saving throws made to resist disease or poison of any kind, magical or mundane. Wastelings may also go five times as long without food, water, or air as a normal human can before suffering any penalties or damage.
    : Light Fortification: When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on a wasteling, there is a 25% chance that the extra damage is negated and the attack is rolled normally.
    : Damage Negation: Wastelings ignore the first two points of damage from any source, wether physical, elemental, or magical. This represents Their ability to ignore certain wounds entirely with no repercussions, and stacks with other sources of damage reduction such as a Barbarians class features.
    : Negative Energy Resistance: Wastelings take only half damage from any source that deals negative energy damage, rounded down.
    : Undead Empathy: The mindless undead regard wastelings as among their ranks, and will not attack them unless they are ordered to specifically, or are attacked by them first. Wastelings also receive a +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, or Sense Motive checks made against sentient undead creatures.
    : Unresting: A wasteling, wether exposed to necromantic energy and undead sources or not, has a 10% chance of raising as a mindless undead creature the day after they have died. If there is a chance of them returning as an undead creature for another reason, there is instead no chance and they always return to unlife.
    : Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Any, except for secret languages such as Druidic.
    : Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass wasteling's wizard class does not count when determining wether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Wastelings are naturally studious and experimental, and often tend to dabble in necromancy at least partially.
    A Wasteling from Ceverne may opt to make Paladin their favored class instead.


    Playing a Wasteling:
    Remember that despite their resemblance to the undead, Wastelings are nevertheless as alive as human or dwarf. If other races try to regard a Wasteling character as dead or undead, they should be calmly reminded that the character is, in fact, completely alive.
    A Wasteling who dies poses a danger to an adventuring party they are traveling with. There is a 1 in 10 chance that you will return from the grave as a monster when one day passes, meaning there is a potential time limit on resurrection spells and similar concerns.
    While your physical stats are lacking compared to other races of your size, your natural hardiness helps to make up for it in many situations. You have a 1 in 4 chance of turning a sneak attack or critical hit -a possibly life ending experience- into just another hit in an ongoing battle. That and the ability to ignore 2 points of damage from any source means that a dedicated Wasteling can overcome their weaknesses, and potentially contribute greatly in combat if they desire.

    Adaptation:
    If you are adapting Wastelings to other worlds, they should tend towards gloomy areas which are naturally foggy or heavy with rain, as their ties to negative energy make them feel more comfortable in such conditions than in more cheerful locals. Placing them underground, or in surface cave systems is also a viable alternative. Perhaps small tribes of Wastelings may spring up living near particularly notorious cemeteries or areas where strong necromancy has been practiced once too often. It's also not impossible for a single Wasteling to be born into an otherwise human society, either as the results of a necromantic experiment, or a fluke or magical energies. Such a wasteling may either be an NPC of noteworthy importance, or a player character wishing to be a Wasteling in another campaign setting.
    In other worlds, Wastelings should tend towards worshipping deities of death or undeath, even if not evil, or continue their practice of ancestor worship.


    **************************************

    Dustlands Races reserved post updated to include Wastelings, 08-27-07
    Last edited by SilverClawShift; 2007-08-27 at 10:25 PM.

  21. - Top - End - #81
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    This is all realy good, but I ave one question...

    you have a negativly radiated area, why not have a positivly radiated one? a god might have used that spot as a base, so infecting the lands with positive energy. it is a place that could infect you with the white shacles, or a place were positive energy waistlings are.
    just a thought
    awsom avvy by simius
    srry 'bout the spellin'

    OoTS Graveyard

    R.I.P OoTS #1-#443
    Fell right into her grave. OoTS#120-#464

  22. - Top - End - #82
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Just as with the Wrieks race, we're trying to avoid the mentality that "Every race, feat, class, ect has an exact opposite".

    I don't mean that to be insulting, we just consider it something of a personal cop-out, 'doubling' the amount of content by providing twice as much of the exact same stuff.

    That said, technically, every area that is NOT the Bleak North is technically a positively radiated area. In most areas, living creatures are normal and undead are abnormalities. In the bleak north, negative energy is the normal background energy.

    Creating an area that 'pulsed' positive energy in the same way would... just basically be a lush garden where everything tasted, smelled, felt, looked, and sounded wonderful. The Bleak North doesn't actually cause hitpoint damage, so a reverse area wouldn't cause healing or anything like that. It would just be like saying "The sky is twice as blue here".

    A positive energy wasteling is called a human

    I appreciate the input, don't get me wrong, we're just not trying to create a world of identical opposites.

  23. - Top - End - #83
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    The Whitelight Shakes are awesome. Wastelings are double awesome, and I am very much going to steal them. Keep posting - your group is coming up with truly great stuff.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thespianus View Post
    I fail to see how "No, that guy is too fat to be hurt by your fire" would make sense.

  24. - Top - End - #84
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Steal away, that's what it's made for
    Loot from, add in, the dustlands is a big ole d20 grab-bin. Always good to hear someone enjoys it as much as we do.

    Typed up the half-wasteling race too. It's not quite as spectacular (half-breeds are hard to write up without saying "Just like their parents, just like their parents, just like their parents, jus..." ect ect) but is what we wanted them to be, and they fill their place in the world nicely. More importantly, they answer the question of "What happens when a character falls in love with a pale creepy princess?"

    Without further stalling:

    Half-Wastelings

    Members of the Wasteling race are decidedly not human, at least, not human any longer. However, they are not so far removed from their progenitor that the two are incapable of mating, and indeed, breeding. The result of such a union is a half-wasteling -called a grayblood in some slang- one who falls somewhere between the human and the almost human, simultaneously becoming both and neither. A half-wasteling can only naturally arise between a human male and a wasteling female. A wasteling male cannot successfully breed with a human female unless aided by magic (in which case, the resulting offspring is a half-wasteling as normal). Naturally occurring half-wastelings are rare enough, those with a human mother are almost unheard of.
    While most half-breeds suffer from their status, half-wastelings are among the few of mixed heritage to truly thrive as a result of their lineage. Fitting into both societies while owing no unbreakable allegiance to either, the unique half-wasteling finds themselves in an unusually pleasant situation. In human societies, they stand out as an exotic exception to the crowd, while staying clearly human enough to avoid inherent alienation or disdain. In wasteling societies, they are a vibrant spark which paradoxially manages to fit into that dreary world. While not all half-wastelings are automatically appreciative of their lot in life, they often find themselves in a situation they can attempt to make the best of... something most half-breeds would give a lot to share.
    Half-wastelings are also capable of breeding true to members of either race, including, oddly enough, their own. A Half-wasteling who mates with a human will produce human children, one who mates with a wasteling will produce wasteling children, and one mates with another half-breed will continue to produce half-breeds. In fact, there is at least one fledgling community populated entirely by half-wastelings.

    Personality:
    Half-wastelings do no feel the same dark shroud covering their existance that their full wasteling parent does, and as a result they reveal a personality that burns fiercely, made stronger by its struggle to escape the bleak. Natural born charmers, half-wastelings often find themselves capable of seizing the attention of those nearby -wether wasteling, human, or otherwise- and captivating them with their subtle vibrance.
    Physical Description:
    Half-wastelings more strongly resemble their human parent, but there is an in-born elegance to their features; pale, flat, and wieldly. They are considered beautiful in the same way vampires often are, that of chilling perfection. They are heartier than their wasteling parentage, tending towards the same weights and sizes as humans, and they do no share the wasteling tendency to scar so readily. Occasionally their eyes share the wasteling iris traits (either lacking entirely or covering the entire eye), but they are more likely to have human eye colorations.
    Relations:
    Half-wastelings enjoy an almost universal acceptance among civilized races, including those of the Loaman tribes. They are readily accepted in both human and wasteling societies, fitting into whichever side of their ancestry they choose to adapt the most readily. Half-wastelings find themselves especially welcome in the city-state of Beltine, where they fit in so well as to be virtually indistinguishable from the core populace.
    Alignment:
    Half-wastelings, like both of their parent races, tend towards no alignment.
    Wasteling Lands:
    Half-wastelings have no true land, calling either of their parents civilization home... though there is a small community comprised entirely of half-breeds near the Wasteling homelands.
    The Corvus Brotherhood in the wasteling land of Ceverne often makes an effort to contact half-wastelings and invite them to visit -and join- their city. Half-wastelings who manage to join the Corvus brotherhood often find themselves rapidly acquiring a fair measure of prestige, as their charisma lends itself both to leadership within the ranks, and as a boon to their inevitable confrontations against the undead. Such half-breeds often consider Ceverne their true home as a result.
    Religion:
    Half-wastelings do not share the natural inclination towards deep ancestral respect that full wastelings do, though those raised in wasteling societies are likely to feel similar stirrings of curiosity and reverence towards their fore-fathers. As with most races in the dustlands, half-wastelings put their faith in a guiding ideal, and follow that ideal as a general life course.
    Language:
    Half-wastelings have no language, and either speak normal common (if raised in a human society), or the necromantic tinted version (if raised in a wasteling society). The half-wasteling community near the Bleak North has a unique dialect and pacing pattern to their speech, often described as musical in quality, but is otherwise normal common.
    Names:
    Half-wastelings are usually given wasteling names; to mark their similarity in wasteling lands, or to mark their uniqueness in human lands. However, most half-wastelings are also given their human parents family name in addition to their wasteling name.
    It is not unheard of for a half-wasteling to have a more traditional human name.
    Adventures:
    Half-wastelings are rare creatures in the dustlands, but they adventure for the same reasons their parents might. The lure of the unexplored wastes, the driving questions surrounding their desolation, the promise of new possibilities... all of these things push characters in the dustlands westward. Half-wastelings will also find themselves starting with more questions than members of many races, as they are almost inevitably contacted by the Corvus Brotherhood, which may also bring to them an awareness of the secretive Lock organization.


    Half-Wasteling Racial Traits
    : -2 Str, +2 Cha. Half-wastelings share the wasteling weakness, but their personalities are much stronger.
    : Medium: As medium creatures, half-wastelings receive no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
    : Half-wasteling base land speed is 30 feet
    : Resistant Biology: Half-wastelings receive a +2 racial bonus to saving throws made to resist disease or poison of any kind, magical or mundane. They may also hold their breath for twice as long as a human.
    : Gray Blood: For any purpose related to race (including qualifying for feats and prestige classes), the half-wasteling is considered to be both a human, and a wasteling.
    : Natural Charm: Half-wastelings add Bluff and Diplomacy to their class skill list of any class they take.
    : Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Any, except for secret languages such as Druidic.
    : Favored Class: Grifter. A multiclass half-wasteling's grifter class does not count when determining wether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Half-wastelings have naturally strong personalities and often find themselves capable of manipulating others or holding their attention.
    If you are adapting the half-wasteling race to another setting that does not include the Grifter base class, half-wastelings use the favored class of Bard instead.

    Playing a Half-Wasteling:
    You are an exceptional rarity even in a world where rarity is the norm. Unlike many, you have at least three places where you are probably more than welcome; the human civilizations, the wasteling civilizations, and the city of Ceverne. Despite being welcome, however, you have no inherant ties to any land that you have not forged for yourself. While the city of Ceverne will gladly welcome you into its ranks, you are not obligated to join them. The same is true of any human or wasteling lands.
    Unless you have a human mother, your natural ability to grab attention is probably also a compulsion. While your wasteling mother may have loved you dearly, the natural cold and unresponsiveness of that race probably left you with a desire to have appreciation for you vocally re-affirmed.

    Adaptation:
    Half-wastelings can exist in any world Wastelings and humans can both be found. Read the adaptation entry for the Wasteling race for suggestions on including them in your world.

    *EDIT*

    Expanded and cleaned up the half-wasteling race entry a little. The wording was clunk and a few bits of info were missing.
    Last edited by SilverClawShift; 2007-08-28 at 11:39 AM.

  25. - Top - End - #85
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Okay, so a bonus picture. One of our group (the one who can actually draw, at least, compared to the rest of us) put this together.




    A Wasteling who cares about her appearance will tend to her injuries carefully, but the signs will always remain

    Trying to talk my DM into making an account here, we'll see if I can get him to join up and post some stuff directly instead of me being a proxy

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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    I'm making an effort to format all of this a little better for my own ease of editing and organization, so the next post is just going to be the glyphcrafter base class in a way that'll make it easier to hit and alter as needed.

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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Glyphcrafter
    There is great power to be found in even the simplest of images. The right patterns begin to form the framework of reality, reflecting universal truths that all of existance is based upon. The Glyphcrafter dedicates their life to understanding, and altering, the living patterns of reality in a way that suits them best. As their understanding of the magical nature of these glyphs develops, they begin to learn to create maintain ever greater effects.

    Adventure: Glyphcrafters head out into the world for any number of reasons, including raw curiosity. They may be interested in searching for information about the arcane symbols they seek to master, they may be interesting in learning more about the broken world and its secret past, or they may simply feel more inspired living an active life.
    Characteristics: A Glyphcrafter has a unique outlook on magic, the way it interacts with the world, and most importantly, the way they interact with it. Their creations are simultaneously permanent and transient, tenaciously clinging to existance until actively destroyed or dismissed. Because of the semi-permanent nature of their creations, most glyphcrafters choose to augment themselves and their allies with a number of usefull boons, knowing that their magic will not 'run out' at an inoportune time, or be dismissed by the simple wave of a mages hand.
    The glyphs have many uses however, and given time a skilled crafter of those symbols can use them to tilt almost any situation into their favor.
    Alignment: Glyphcrafters tend towards no alignment as a general rule. Their individual outlooks on life can be as varied as brushstrokes on canvas.
    Good glyphcrafters can occasionally be found as protectors, warding against harm the people and places they have taken it upon themselves to protect. Lawful glyphcrafters can even occasionally be found under employment in jailhouses and insane asylums, augmenting security and reinforcing the cells of the most dangerous criminals.
    Chaotic and Nuetral glyphcrafters alike have a strong tendency to treat their craft as a pure artform, selling or giving their services to whomever they feel inspired to. There are those who are extremly artistically inspired by large sums of gold.
    Evil glyphcrafters usually use their strengths to further whatever plans they have in life. They are more likely to stay in one area, and weave a supportive network of glyphs to maintain an uperhand in any situation. Some particularily vile glyphcrafters have even become killers, seeking to use their victims flesh as canvas in some macabre "masterpeice".
    Religion: While religion in the Dustlands is allready weakened concept, the Glyphcrafters especially tend to focus more on their works than on religious beleifs. There is nothing prohibiting a glyphcrafter from any form of worship or beleif, but there is no strong tendency towards any particular religion either.
    Background: Glyphcrafters are often secretive of the details of their craft, and those who learn of the art usually do so through private contact with other glyphcrafters, or by finding intentionally vague reference material on the nature of living imagery. Some glyphcrafters learn what the proper formation of symbols can cause on their own, stumbling across some simple pattern at a young age, and learning to repeat the effect.
    But learning of the glyphs is only the first step on the glyphcrafters path. Even those with proper tutors quickly learn that a skilled teacher can only show them how to avoid raw failure, not how to acheive true success. The end works may be the same among several glyphcrafters, but their individual creation is a personal and deeply introspective process. Each glyphcrafter must learn alone how to produce greater symbols, taking their past efforts and building upon them.
    Because of this, it is never enough to simply look at a glyph and reproduce its physical form. The glyphs must be "birthed" into this world by a deliberate stroke, crafted by a skilled mind before they are given physical shape.
    Races: Few races have any particular tendency towards the creation of glyphs. Humans can excel here as they can at all things, and Bletese humans in particular have an affinity for all things related to art and fine craft. Several Loaman and Sliss tribes have been known to take great care in painting decorative symbols on their protective artifacts and shields. The possibility that those symbols are more than just decorative cannot be neglected.
    Wastelings often embrace the creation of glyphs to one degree or another, and those traveling in most wasteling societies will notice elaborate arcane symbols built into the local infrastructure.
    Other Classes: Glyphcrafters can work well with any other class they find themselves traveling with. A durable companion who meets their fights head on will feel comforted by the powerful magical symbols painted on their armor and weaponry. The more utilitarian effects the glyphcrafter brings can be put to good use in getting any party out of ...or into... almost any situation.
    Glyphcrafters traveling with arcane or divine spellcasters often find themselves discussing the difference between the various forms of magic. Both types of spellcasters consider the Glyphcrafter to be some form of kin... Arcane casters considering the glyphs to be a symbolic and muted way of accessing the power they weild, while Divine casters often consider the glyphs as proof of some natural order or divine guiding hand in the creation of the world. Both may be correct.
    A Glyphcrafter will have little, if any, healing ability, and will feel much safer when traveling with comeone capable of mending physical wounds. However, while most glyphs are actively offensive or intentionally defensive, there are some which provide makeshift durability, helping a creature cling to life just long enough to get them to a real healer.
    Role: A Glyphcrafters primary role is to act as a party "spellcaster", with an emphasis on utility and defensive effects. In a party that allready has a spellcaster, the glyphcrafter can still serve the party with defensive magic while the other spellcaster takes a more offensive role.
    A Glyphcrafter who focuses on learning and using the proper combinations of glyphs can perform in any number of ways to benefit themselves or their party.
    Starting Gold: 4x4 x 10 (average: 100)
    Starting Age: As a Wizard

    Adaptation: A glyph by any other name... would still be a symbol of raw universal power. Nordic cultures and dwarves who know of glyphs might refer to them as Runes, considering them divine symbols created by their gods and carving them into stone and steel instead of painting them onto surfaces. Elves might regard the glyphs as an alternate form of magic. Both arcane magic and the creation of glyphs are often refered to as an artform, so it's not unreasonable for a race to consider them different faces of the same coin.
    Or the flavor here may be left untouched. Any game world with magic of any kind might have GLyphcrafters, and there is nothing limiting their inclusion in any other world.

    {table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Basic|Advanced|Master

    1st|
    +1
    |
    +0
    |
    +0
    |
    +2
    |Glyphcraft, Basic Glyphs|3|-|-

    2nd|
    +1
    |
    +0
    |
    +0
    |
    +3
    |-|5|-|-

    3rd|
    +2
    |
    +1
    |
    +1
    |
    +3
    |-|6|-|-

    4th|
    +2
    |
    +1
    |
    +1
    |
    +4
    |-|-|-|-

    5th|
    +3
    |
    +1
    |
    +1
    |
    +4
    |-|7|-|-

    6th|
    +3
    |
    +2
    |
    +2
    |
    +5
    |-|-|-|-

    7th|
    +4
    |
    +2
    |
    +2
    |
    +5
    |-|8|-|-

    8th|
    +4
    |
    +2
    |
    +2
    |
    +6
    |Advanced Glyphs|-|1|-

    9th|
    +5
    |
    +3
    |
    +3
    |
    +6
    |-|-|-|-

    10th|
    +5
    |
    +3
    |
    +3
    |
    +7
    |-|9|-|-

    11th|
    +6/+1
    |
    +3
    |
    +3
    |
    +7
    |-|-|2|-

    12th|
    +6/+1
    |
    +4
    |
    +4
    |
    +8
    |-|-|-|-

    13th|
    +7/+2
    |
    +4
    |
    +4
    |
    +8
    |-|10|-|-

    14th|
    +7/+2
    |
    +4
    |
    +4
    |
    +9
    |-|-|3|-

    15th|
    +8/+3
    |
    +5
    |
    +5
    |
    +9
    |Master Glyphs|-|-|1

    16th|
    +8/+3
    |
    +5
    |
    +5
    |
    +10
    |-|-|-|-

    17th|
    +9/+4
    |
    +5
    |
    +5
    |
    +10
    |-|-|4|-

    18th|
    +9/+4
    |
    +6
    |
    +6
    |
    +11
    |-|-|-|-

    19th|
    +10/+5
    |
    +6
    |
    +6
    |
    +11
    |-|-|-|2

    20th|
    +10/+5
    |
    +6
    |
    +6
    |
    +12
    |-|-|5|-[/table]

    GAME RULE INFORMATION
    Glyphcrafters have the following game statistics.
    Abilities: Intelligence and Charisma are both useful to a Glyphcaster, but are not as important as they are for other spellcasters, as the creation of glyphs is not limited by any stat. High Intelligence allows a glyphcrafter to learn additional glyphs beyond those granted by their class progression. Intelligence is also the key stat for many of the Glyphcrafters skills. A high Charisma allows a glyphcrafter to maintain more glyphs then they would be able to otherwise, as the more forceful the personality of a glyphs creator is, the more tenacious the glyph is.
    High Constituion and Dexterity both help a glyphcrafter survive longer if they find themselves in direct combat.
    Alignment: Any.
    Hit Die: 6

    Class Skills
    The Glyphcrafters class skills (and the key ability modifier for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Forgery (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Profession (Wis)
    Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
    Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

    CLASS FEATURES
    All of the following are class features of the Glyphcrafter
    Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Glyphcrafters are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any armor or shields, but do not suffer any penalties to creating glyphs if they wear such items.

    Glyphcraft: Glyphcraft is the raw understanding of the nature of the glyphs, and the knowledge needed to form them into the proper shapes and patterns to bring them their power. Once a glyph is created, it remains in effect until actively dismissed or destroyed. In this sense, a glyph is "Permanent". However, a glyph being in existance strains its creator, and there is a limit to how many glyphs a glyphcrafter can have in existance at any one time.
    The table above represents, before bonuses gained by having a high modifier in relevant stats, how many Glyphs a glyphcrafter can learn, create, and maintain. At level one, a Glyphcrafter can learn 3 different glyphs, from the list of glyphs available. They can also create and maintain three different glyphs. It's worth pointing out that the glyphs known and glyphs made are not inseperably linked, and there is nothing prohibiting them from simply creating 3 copies of one glyph.
    Additional Glyphs are learned based on the glyphcrafters intelligence. A Glyphcrafter learns 1 additional Basic glyph for each point of intelligence modifier (+1 for 12, +2 for 14, +4 for 18, ect). They learn 1 additional Advanced glyph for each two points of their intelligence modifier (+1 for 14, +2 for 18, +3 for 22, ect). They learn 1 additional Master glyph for each three points of their intelligence modifier (+1 for 16, +2 for 22, +3 for 28, ect). Temporary boosts to intelligence, and boosts created by removeable items, do not cause a glyphcrafter to learn additional glyphs, but inhereant bonuses to their stat do.
    Additional Glyphs can be created and maintained based on the glyphcrafters charisma. Following the same formula as for learning extra glyphs, the glyphcrafter can maintain one extra basic glyph per point of intelligence modifier, one extra advanced glyph per two points, and one extra master glyph per three points.
    Glyphs take varying amounts of time to create. Some can reasonably be created in combat, but most will be prepared by a glyphcrafter prior to engaging in battle.
    (MISSING MATERIAL) we still need to work on how Glyphs interact with magic, attempts to physical remove them (which they resist) and
    IMPORTANT NOTE: The glyphcrafter can only create a number of glyphs each day based on that table. If they destroy a glyph, they can create a new one, but they can't create more glyphs per day than their limit. No switching glyphs wildly in between combat.

    Basic Glyphcraft: Basic glyphs create subtle, but valuable effects. Some of them interact with people and objects, but for the most part, they interact in ways with the terrain and surrounding areas, create wards, passages, guides and the like.

    Advanced Glyphcraft: The Second tier of glyphcrafting power, Advanced Glyphcraft represents when the crafter begins to be able to form more complex patterns or even combine other glyphs into the same image. Advanced Glyphcraft creates a very noticeable and strong magical effect, bending the local rules of reality in various ways. Advanced glyphs might teleport between each other, animate objects (or corpses), bind someone to service, or even cause two creatures to trade minds while the glyph is in effect.

    Master Glyphcraft: Master Glyphcraft represents the ability to create Glyphs so elaborate and complicated that lower level glyphcrafters cannot even envision them. A Master Glyph represents a localized re-write of the basic fundamentals of reality. A Master Glyph creates an extremly powerful effect, such as blanketing a large area of terrain in certain effects (altering gravity, hiding entire buildings, or creating a large area of perpetual darkness), warping an indidivudal in grotesque but presumably beneficial ways (widlly changing their physical form, giving them ethereal propertes, or even warding against permanent death), or even gaining a measure of sentience in their own right.

  28. - Top - End - #88
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    This is the coolest thread ever. :)
    Ceci n'est pas une sig.

  29. - Top - End - #89
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    SilverClawShift's Avatar

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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    Quote Originally Posted by MMad View Post
    This is the coolest thread ever. :)


    Well thank you. I don't think the material is quite THAT good, but I'm extremly fond of it too.

  30. - Top - End - #90
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [World] The Dustlands

    At first glance, I like the Glyphcrafter quite a bit. I'll have to look a little deeper at the mechanics, though. At the least it's a very neat idea, along with much of the material introduced in this thread.
    I have returned!! Not that most of y'all know whom I am.

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