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  1. - Top - End - #211
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    SLAs actually work differently than spells in quite a few ways.
    In D20L or Pathfinder?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    Out of like 10 different sessions I ran that adventure in (I used to do a lot of tabletop games, demos, and parties as a teenager/young adult), ONE group actually figured it out without flubbing it up, because out of all the people who played it, one person noticed that the shapes were a very simple math question. It simply didn't occur to anyone else.
    Does it have a hint you are supposed to press them in that order? Just because you have buttons 1, 2 and 3 doesn't mean the password is 1 2 3.
    Chief Librarian and Chronicler of Ashiel

  2. - Top - End - #212
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    In D20L or Pathfinder?
    In Pathfinder, actually.

    A few key differences between SLAs off the top of my head.
    1. They require no components, including material, focus, somatic, or vocal.
    2. They cannot be counterspelled.
    3. They do not always mimic spells, some are unique powers.
    4. If they are a unique power, they are supposed to be assigned an effective level for purposes such as Concentration checks or to determine if globe of invulnerabilities block them. Writers often forget this (including Paizo).
    5. Effects that modify spells such as Spell Focus or Metamagic feats do not work on them. Instead, you have to take the Ability Focus feat.
    6. Since they aren't spells, they aren't able to be used to create magic items, or take prestige classes requiring you cast spells.
    7. They are neither Arcane nor Divine.
    8. You cannot create a scroll, wand, or staff of a spell-like ability.
    9. You cannot share them with your familiars, animal companions, or psicrystals.
    10. They cannot be delivered by your animal companions or psicrystals.
    11. You cannot identify a spell-like ability as it is being used (as with Spellcraft).
    12. They use a different metamagic mechanic than spells, requiring special feats unique to SLAs, such as "Quicken Spell-Like Ability".

    There's probably some other differences, maybe, but I can't think of anymore off the top of my head.

    Does it have a hint you are supposed to press them in that order? Just because you have buttons 1, 2 and 3 doesn't mean the password is 1 2 3.
    Not that I recall. It's been a while. Of course, that's kind of what I was getting at, albeit indirectly. It seemed the author kind of assumed the puzzle was simple enough people would have an "ah hah!" moment quickly, yet that's not actually how it played out at the table. Realistically, there wasn't much reason for there to even be clues since it was a safe in an abandoned foundry. Most vaults don't leave the combinations or explanations thereof in the local vicinity. That's just asking for someone to try to crack it.

    My longwinded point being, be careful with puzzles. Ritual puzzles are probably the easiest puzzles to implement without inviting too much trouble (ritual puzzles being things where you collect things or activate stuff in an effort to do a thing, such as retrieving keys from obstacle rooms, or bringing something to elemental braziers, or choosing some sort of object out of a multiple choice thing based on a riddle or something).
    You are my God.

  3. - Top - End - #213
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    In Pathfinder, actually.
    Yeah, see, I was talking about D20L)

    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    My longwinded point being, be careful with puzzles. Ritual puzzles are probably the easiest puzzles to implement without inviting too much trouble (ritual puzzles being things where you collect things or activate stuff in an effort to do a thing, such as retrieving keys from obstacle rooms, or bringing something to elemental braziers, or choosing some sort of object out of a multiple choice thing based on a riddle or something).
    Well, I figure that various environment puzzles coupled with combat should be alright, since you either solve it before the combat ends (thus incentivising suzzle solution) or you kill all your enemies, at which point puzzle can be bypassed (e.g. by destroying the exit door) or solved rather easilly, thus not grinding the game to a halt. Likewise, puzzles where you can easilly walk away and come back later (e.g. a locked box you can pick up and take with you) should be workable into pretty much any narrative, since you can even potentially solve those between sessions.
    Chief Librarian and Chronicler of Ashiel

  4. - Top - End - #214
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    Yeah, see, I was talking about D20L)
    Ah, okay.
    A number of the differences will vanish in D20L. Some of the major differences.
    • Effects like Spell Focus apply to them as well, but do not stack with Ability Focus.
    • There's no divide between Arcane and Divine spells so that difference is gone.
    • Since spell progression isn't tied to classes but your choice of paths, there will be no worries concerning prestige class type stuff.
    • You still can't make magic items out of SLAs, but you don't need a caster level to create magic items, so that's a moot point.

    One cool thing about acquiring an SLA is they're more covert than other sorts of spells by default. Since they have no components, you don't have to speak or move when using them, so a roguish character with SLAs can happily use them while sneaking around without alerting anyone to their presence. Without somatic components, it also means that you can use the when bound up and stuff without trouble. Without material components, you can pretty much use 'em naked.

    All of the above are part of the reasons I've been thinking of changing their names to "innate magic" or something like that. Especially since some SLAs are constant effects that you can suppress or resume at will.



    Well, I figure that various environment puzzles coupled with combat should be alright, since you either solve it before the combat ends (thus incentivising suzzle solution) or you kill all your enemies, at which point puzzle can be bypassed (e.g. by destroying the exit door) or solved rather easilly, thus not grinding the game to a halt. Likewise, puzzles where you can easilly walk away and come back later (e.g. a locked box you can pick up and take with you) should be workable into pretty much any narrative, since you can even potentially solve those between sessions.
    Yeah, those seem pretty safe. Most people, when talking about puzzles, are usually going with the more "speak friend and enter" sort of puzzles, or riddles, or some other thing where the puzzle itself is intended to be the challenge rather than a part of the challenge. In much the same way a lone trap doesn't usually doesn't cut it as a challenge, but can be quite exciting when a bit of thought is applied and the trap becomes a compliment to different things (multiple traps, environment-related traps, or traps in encounters can make them more interesting). So if you use the same sort of care, you'd probably be alright.
    You are my God.

  5. - Top - End - #215
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    This question has to do with what is the most important thing for various mechanical character archetypes. I am not sure if I managed to translate my idea into words correctly, but eh, what can you do.

    If you could choose a single active thing (instantaneous/short-timed(rounds/minutes) effect invocable X times per day), a passive thing (a passive effect, like a feat), and a counter-y thing (instantaneous/short-timed(rounds/minutes) effect invocable X times per day as a result of an enemy doing something) that you would very much enjoy as a character of a %type%, what would it be?

    An example of an active thing would be True Seeing activatable as a free action for 1 minute 3 times per day. Very useful on a melee martial character.

    An example of a passive thing would be a feat like Spell Focus, an effect that gives you extra spell slots per day, an effect that raises your CL in regards to a single spell or an ability that works all the time(e.g. flight).

    An example of a counter-y thing would be something like Cut From The Air, or any counters from Path of War.

    Here, %type% stands for a mechanical archetype of a character. Here are some types I came up with, but you are free to make up your own if you see some hole I left:

    • Blasting mage (i.e. mage who focuses on various fireballs and rays)
    • Supporting mage (i.e. a caster who focuses on various spells like Bless, Haste, Heroism and other party-supporting spells)
    • Debuffing mage (i.e. an opposite of a support-someone who throws Slow and such at the enemies)
    • Illusionist (Self-explanatory)
    • Mindraping mage (Domination, Charm, all the goodies)
    • frontline martial-single targets (e.g. wildshaping druid/Harbinger with Elemental Flux-someone who can really effectively wreck the face of a single high-profile target per round)
    • frontline martial-mook control (i.e. someone who can destroy a whole lot of relatively weak targets per round)
    • Controlling AoE mage (i.e. soemone who focuses on various Create Pits, Black Tentacles and other AoE control spells)
    • Conjuring/minion mage (Summoner/undead creator/planar binder)
    • Ranged martial (Self-explanatory)
    • Mounted character (i.e. Character with a mount closely intertwined with their story arc)


    To answer my own question in regards to frontline martials focused on single targets, I'd say it would be some way to negate enemy evasiveness (like True Seeing) for the active ability, some sort of mobility power like flight for passive, and some way to evade/negate/reflect the nastiest spells an enemy might throw at me (like SoDs, mindrapes or instant kills). Obviously, these are not the same three things a blasting mage would want.
    Chief Librarian and Chronicler of Ashiel

  6. - Top - End - #216
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Holiday season has had me spending less time on writing and more on hanging out with the family / finding gifts and such, but I've spent the majority of the day working on the first four classes for public release. Currently I'm working on the Champion, so I thought I'd share a few of the design concepts surrounding them and preview a few abilities.

    Spoiler: Champions
    Show

    Champion
    The champion channels divine powers to work miracles or curses, drawing upon this spiritual energy to achieve great or terrible things. Honorable Paladins, wizened priests, or cult leaders, a champion can be the pillar that holds his team together, or the hammer that breaks his enemies.

    Recommended Path: Any.

    Core Mechanics
    Champions have a reserve of energy known as Divine Power and expend this energy to use abilities that allow them to heal themselves and allies, smite enemies, or utter fierce curses that bring ruin to enemies. Some champion options allow them to use their divine power to empower other spells and abilities, or convert other spells and abilities into divine power, allowing them to be extremely versatile and relentless in achieving whatever goals they set for themselves.

    Divine Power
    Champions use a resource known as Divine Power. Divine power is a standard resource. A champion's divine power reserve is equal to 3 + their Mind modifier (minimum 1). A champion increases this reserve by ½ their level (so +1 at 2nd, +2 at 4th, etc). Divine power can be spent to activate a champion's special abilities, known as Miracles.

    Miracles
    Champions have special abilities known as miracles. These are magical abilities that are fueled by the champion's divine power. A champion begins play with the smite, lay on hands, corruption, waves of healing, and winds of corruption miracles. Additional miracles can be gained through the Miraculous talent. If a miracle has a prerequisite, the champion must meet those requirements before they can learn that miracle.
    The special attacks for a champion's miracles use the champion's Mind modifier.
    Champion miracles are separated by theme for convenience, but you may take any miracle that you qualify for regardless of their organization.

    Starting Miracles
    The champion begins play with the following miracles.
    Smite [Magic, Miracle]
    Cost 2 divine power; Action free; Range special (see text); Target special (see text); Duration special (see text)
    The champion channels his divine energy and wrath to devastate his foe. The champion can expend 2 divine power to declare a creature their smite target. The champion must be aware of their target, but needs not see or hear them (so a champion could declare an invisible creature their smite target if they become aware of the creature's existence). The champion gains a +2 class bonus to attack and damage rolls against their smite target. The champion treats the target's damage reduction and magic resistance (if any) as being 10 points lower. The champion's smite lasts until the champion recovers the divine power expended to activate the smite.
    At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, the champion's class bonus from smite increases by +1 (to a maximum of +7 at 20th level). At 8th and 16th level, the champion ignores an additional 10 points of damage reduction and magic resistance (-30 at 16th level).

    Lay on Hands [Magic, Positive, Miracle]
    Cost 1 divine power; Action 1 standard or swift (see below); Range touch; Target 1 creature; Defense none; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    By expending 1 divine power, the champion channels positive energy through his touch. The champion needs one free hand to deliver the touch. The touch inflicts 4 points of positive energy damage per level of the champion to undead creatures. Positive energy instead heals living creatures for the same amount. If the champion targets himself with the power, activating it becomes a swift action and the champion does not need a free hand. This ability always heals the champion regardless of his creature type.

    Corruption [Magic, Negative, Miracle]
    Cost 1 divine power; Action 1 standard or swift (see below); Range touch; Target 1 creature; Defense none; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    This miracle works as the lay on hands miracle (see above), except it deals negative energy damage, harming living creatures and healing undead creatures.

    Waves of Healing [Magic, Positive, Miracle]
    Cost 2 divine power; Action 1 standard; Range personal; Target creatures within a 30 ft. burst centered on you; Defense Will; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    By expending 2 divine power, the champion releases a wave of positive energy that bursts away from the champion. The wave deals 4 points of positive energy damage per level of the champion to undead creatures within the targeted area, or 2 points of positive energy damage on a failed special attack. Positive energy instead heals living creatures for the same amount. The champion can choose to have the ability ignore himself if desired, as well as any number of additional creatures up to the champion's Mind bonus (if any).

    Winds of Corruption [Magic, Negative, Miracle]
    Cost 2 divine power; Action 1 standard; Range personal; Target creatures within a 30 ft. burst centered on you; Defense Will; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    This miracle works as the waves of healing miracle (see above), except it deals negative energy damage, harming living creatures and healing undead creatures.

    Divine Spellcaster Miracles
    These miracles allow the champion to merge their divine power with their spellcasting, allowing one to support the other. Ideal for those who want to make spellcasting a primary focus of their characters.

    Divine Magic [Magic, Miracle]
    Requirement: Spellcasting
    The champion can convert stored spell energy into divine power. As a free action, the champion can expend one of their spells per day as if they had spent it to cast a spell, to gain divine power equal to the level of the expended spell. The divine power gained this way is lost when the spell slot expended is recovered.

    Divine Metamagic [Magic, Miracle]
    Requirement: Spellcasting
    The champion can convert divine power into additional spell energy. As a free action, the champion can reduce the spell level adjustment of a metamagic feat when applied to a spell, by expending 1 divine power per level reduced (to a minimum of +0 level adjustment) when the metamagic feat is used.
    When the champion gains this miracle, the champion may select a metamagic feat he qualifies for and gain it as a bonus feat for as long as he has this miracle.

    Plagues and Pestilence Miracles
    These miracles center around inflicting curses, diseases, and plagues upon enemies. Such miracles tear opponents down, make ongoing battles harder for enemies as their strengths are sapped as they rot and wither. Ideal for creating blackguards or evil cultists, or for spreading the wrath of the gods.

    Plague-bearer [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    You are immune to the harmful effects of diseases that you have contracted, and can choose to suppress their contagiousness if desired. When you deal damage with miracles, you can attempt to afflict creatures with a disease from the list of diseases below with a successful special attack against the target's Fortitude defense. If your attack is successful, the creature contracts the disease and the onset is immediate. The diseases use your special attack modifier.
    Filth Fever: Filth fever inflicts 2 Strength and Dexterity damage at onset. Once per day thereafter, it can inflict an additional 2 Strength an Dexterity damage on a successful special attack. Successfully resisting the disease two consecutive times cures the disease.
    Mindfire: Mindfire inflicts 2 Mind damage at onset. Once per day thereafter, it can inflict an additional 2 Mind damage on a successful special attack. Successfully resisting the disease two consecutive times cures the disease.

    Withering Plague [Magic, Curse, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirements: Plague-bearer miracle
    Your diseases are now curses as well, and can affect creatures that are normally immune to disease and ability damage as though they were not immune. Creatures still receive any bonuses to defenses against diseases (if the creature was immune to disease they receive a +4 bonus to their defenses against disease instead).
    Additionally, once per round as a major action, you can have your filth fever and mindfire diseases progress as if a day had passed, forcing creatures to attempt to resist the disease damaging them again.

    Volatile Outbreak [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirement: Plague-bearer miracle
    Action 1 swift; Range medium (200 ft.); Target creatures within a 15 ft. burst centered on diseased creatures; Defense Fortitude; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    Creatures that are afflicted with a disease contracted from you or your miracles spread those diseases to creatures within 15 ft. of them unless the creatures resist your special attack. Filth fever and mindfire have immediate onsets when spread this way. At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, the affected areas increase by 5 ft. (to 50 ft. bursts at 20th level).

    Festering Wounds [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirement: Plague-bearer miracle
    When a creature suffers ability damage from your filth fever or mindfire, they take 1d6 damage along with the usual effects of the disease. This damage increases by 1d6 at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.
    Special: If you have the Volatile Outbreak miracle, creatures deal an equal amount of damage to other creatures within volatile outbreak's target area if your special attack would succeed in spreading diseases (very likely causing a devastating chain reaction in tightly packed groups of enemies).

    Powered by Pestilence [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirements: Plague-bearer miracle
    When a creature suffers ability damage from one of your diseases, you gain that damage as a class bonus to the same ability score for 10 rounds. The bonus increases each time you deal more ability damage through diseases, but the bonus to a single ability score cannot exceed +6.

    Walking Plague [Magic, Curse, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirements: Plague-bearer miracle, 6th level
    Cost 4 divine power; Action 1 major; Range medium (200 ft.); Target 1 dead creature; Defense none; Magic Resist no; Duration Instantaneous
    If a creature was slain within the past minute (10 rounds) while afflicted by your filth fever or mindfire disease, you can animate them as a plague zombie, similar to an animate dead spell. The plague zombies are only ½ your level regardless of the creatures original level, and can only control a number of zombies equal to your Mind bonus (minimum 1 zombie). If you create additional zombies beyond your limit, previous zombies crumble and are destroyed, consumed by decay (you choose which zombies are destroyed). Unlike normal plague zombies, these spread filth fever and mindfire, rather than zombie plague. They receive an enhancement bonus to their attack rolls, damage rolls, and special attacks equal to your Mind bonus whenever they are within 200 ft. of you.


    Currently projection for champions are class options that make them well suited for...
    • Alignment stuff
    • Blessings
    • Curses
    • Diseases
    • Healing
    • Undead stuff


    As always, stuff is subject to revisions.
    Last edited by Ashiel; 2016-12-19 at 05:51 PM.
    You are my God.

  7. - Top - End - #217
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    Holiday season has had me spending less time on writing and more on hanging out with the family / finding gifts and such, but I've spent the majority of the day working on the first four classes for public release. Currently I'm working on the Champion, so I thought I'd share a few of the design concepts surrounding them and preview a few abilities.

    Spoiler: Champions
    Show

    Champion
    The champion channels divine powers to work miracles or curses, drawing upon this spiritual energy to achieve great or terrible things. Honorable Paladins, wizened priests, or cult leaders, a champion can be the pillar that holds his team together, or the hammer that breaks his enemies.

    Recommended Path: Any.

    Core Mechanics
    Champions have a reserve of energy known as Divine Power and expend this energy to use abilities that allow them to heal themselves and allies, smite enemies, or utter fierce curses that bring ruin to enemies. Some champion options allow them to use their divine power to empower other spells and abilities, or convert other spells and abilities into divine power, allowing them to be extremely versatile and relentless in achieving whatever goals they set for themselves.

    Divine Power
    Champions use a resource known as Divine Power. Divine power is a standard resource. A champion's divine power reserve is equal to 3 + their Mind modifier (minimum 1). A champion increases this reserve by ½ their level (so +1 at 2nd, +2 at 4th, etc). Divine power can be spent to activate a champion's special abilities, known as Miracles.

    Miracles
    Champions have special abilities known as miracles. These are magical abilities that are fueled by the champion's divine power. A champion begins play with the smite, lay on hands, corruption, waves of healing, and winds of corruption miracles. Additional miracles can be gained through the Miraculous talent. If a miracle has a prerequisite, the champion must meet those requirements before they can learn that miracle.
    The special attacks for a champion's miracles use the champion's Mind modifier.
    Champion miracles are separated by theme for convenience, but you may take any miracle that you qualify for regardless of their organization.

    Starting Miracles
    The champion begins play with the following miracles.
    Smite [Magic, Miracle]
    Cost 2 divine power; Action free; Range special (see text); Target special (see text); Duration special (see text)
    The champion channels his divine energy and wrath to devastate his foe. The champion can expend 2 divine power to declare a creature their smite target. The champion must be aware of their target, but needs not see or hear them (so a champion could declare an invisible creature their smite target if they become aware of the creature's existence). The champion gains a +2 class bonus to attack and damage rolls against their smite target. The champion treats the target's damage reduction and magic resistance (if any) as being 10 points lower. The champion's smite lasts until the champion recovers the divine power expended to activate the smite.
    At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, the champion's class bonus from smite increases by +1 (to a maximum of +7 at 20th level). At 8th and 16th level, the champion ignores an additional 10 points of damage reduction and magic resistance (-30 at 16th level).

    Lay on Hands [Magic, Positive, Miracle]
    Cost 1 divine power; Action 1 standard or swift (see below); Range touch; Target 1 creature; Defense none; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    By expending 1 divine power, the champion channels positive energy through his touch. The champion needs one free hand to deliver the touch. The touch inflicts 4 points of positive energy damage per level of the champion to undead creatures. Positive energy instead heals living creatures for the same amount. If the champion targets himself with the power, activating it becomes a swift action and the champion does not need a free hand. This ability always heals the champion regardless of his creature type.

    Corruption [Magic, Negative, Miracle]
    Cost 1 divine power; Action 1 standard or swift (see below); Range touch; Target 1 creature; Defense none; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    This miracle works as the lay on hands miracle (see above), except it deals negative energy damage, harming living creatures and healing undead creatures.

    Waves of Healing [Magic, Positive, Miracle]
    Cost 2 divine power; Action 1 standard; Range personal; Target creatures within a 30 ft. burst centered on you; Defense Will; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    By expending 2 divine power, the champion releases a wave of positive energy that bursts away from the champion. The wave deals 4 points of positive energy damage per level of the champion to undead creatures within the targeted area, or 2 points of positive energy damage on a failed special attack. Positive energy instead heals living creatures for the same amount. The champion can choose to have the ability ignore himself if desired, as well as any number of additional creatures up to the champion's Mind bonus (if any).

    Winds of Corruption [Magic, Negative, Miracle]
    Cost 2 divine power; Action 1 standard; Range personal; Target creatures within a 30 ft. burst centered on you; Defense Will; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    This miracle works as the waves of healing miracle (see above), except it deals negative energy damage, harming living creatures and healing undead creatures.

    Divine Spellcaster Miracles
    These miracles allow the champion to merge their divine power with their spellcasting, allowing one to support the other. Ideal for those who want to make spellcasting a primary focus of their characters.

    Divine Magic [Magic, Miracle]
    Requirement: Spellcasting
    The champion can convert stored spell energy into divine power. As a free action, the champion can expend one of their spells per day as if they had spent it to cast a spell, to gain divine power equal to the level of the expended spell. The divine power gained this way is lost when the spell slot expended is recovered.

    Divine Metamagic [Magic, Miracle]
    Requirement: Spellcasting
    The champion can convert divine power into additional spell energy. As a free action, the champion can reduce the spell level adjustment of a metamagic feat when applied to a spell, by expending 1 divine power per level reduced (to a minimum of +0 level adjustment) when the metamagic feat is used.
    When the champion gains this miracle, the champion may select a metamagic feat he qualifies for and gain it as a bonus feat for as long as he has this miracle.

    Plagues and Pestilence Miracles
    These miracles center around inflicting curses, diseases, and plagues upon enemies. Such miracles tear opponents down, make ongoing battles harder for enemies as their strengths are sapped as they rot and wither. Ideal for creating blackguards or evil cultists, or for spreading the wrath of the gods.

    Plague-bearer [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    You are immune to the harmful effects of diseases that you have contracted, and can choose to suppress their contagiousness if desired. When you deal damage with miracles, you can attempt to afflict creatures with a disease from the list of diseases below with a successful special attack against the target's Fortitude defense. If your attack is successful, the creature contracts the disease and the onset is immediate. The diseases use your special attack modifier.
    Filth Fever: Filth fever inflicts 2 Strength and Dexterity damage at onset. Once per day thereafter, it can inflict an additional 2 Strength an Dexterity damage on a successful special attack. Successfully resisting the disease two consecutive times cures the disease.
    Mindfire: Mindfire inflicts 2 Mind damage at onset. Once per day thereafter, it can inflict an additional 2 Mind damage on a successful special attack. Successfully resisting the disease two consecutive times cures the disease.

    Withering Plague [Magic, Curse, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirements: Plague-bearer miracle
    Your diseases are now curses as well, and can affect creatures that are normally immune to disease and ability damage as though they were not immune. Creatures still receive any bonuses to defenses against diseases (if the creature was immune to disease they receive a +4 bonus to their defenses against disease instead).
    Additionally, once per round as a major action, you can have your filth fever and mindfire diseases progress as if a day had passed, forcing creatures to attempt to resist the disease damaging them again.

    Volatile Outbreak [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirement: Plague-bearer miracle
    Action 1 swift; Range medium (200 ft.); Target creatures within a 15 ft. burst centered on diseased creatures; Defense Fortitude; Magic Resist no; Duration instantaneous
    Creatures that are afflicted with a disease contracted from you or your miracles spread those diseases to creatures within 15 ft. of them unless they resist your special attack. Filth fever and mindfire have immediate onsets when spread this way. At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, the affected areas increase by 5 ft. (to 50 ft. bursts at 20th level).

    Festering Wounds [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirement: Plague-bearer miracle
    When a creature suffers ability damage from your filth fever or mindfire, they take 1d6 damage along with the usual effects of the disease. This damage increases by 1d6 at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level.

    Powered by Pestilence [Magic, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirements: Plague-bearer miracle
    When a creature suffers ability damage from one of your diseases, you gain that damage as a class bonus to the same ability score for 10 rounds. The bonus increases each time you deal more ability damage through diseases, but the bonus to a single ability score cannot exceed +6.

    Walking Plague [Magic, Curse, Disease, Miracle]
    Requirements: Plague-bearer miracle, 6th level
    Cost 4 divine power; Action 1 major; Range medium (200 ft.); Target 1 dead creature; Defense none; Magic Resist no; Duration Instantaneous
    If a creature was slain within the past minute (10 rounds) while afflicted by your filth fever or mindfire disease, you can animate them as a plague zombie, similar to an animate dead spell. The plague zombies are only ½ your level regardless of the creatures original level, and can only control a number of zombies equal to your Mind bonus (minimum 1 zombie). If you create additional zombies beyond your limit, previous zombies crumble and are destroyed, consumed by decay (you choose which zombies are destroyed). Unlike normal plague zombies, these spread filth fever and mindfire, rather than zombie plague. They receive an enhancement bonus to their attack rolls, damage rolls, and special attacks equal to your Mind bonus whenever they are within 200 ft. of you.


    Currently projection for champions are class options that make them well suited for...
    • Alignment stuff
    • Blessings
    • Curses
    • Diseases
    • Healing
    • Undead stuff


    As always, stuff is subject to revisions.
    >Alignment stuff

    I thought it was abandoned?
    Chief Librarian and Chronicler of Ashiel

  8. - Top - End - #218
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    >Alignment stuff

    I thought it was abandoned?
    I haven't decided if I want to throw alignment out in its entirety. In my home games, there do exist tangible forces of things like good and evil. Holy and unholy energies being the dominion of certain outer planes and creatures closely connected to them (such as angels and devils). Such powers can be tapped into by mortals.

    The result of that being that unless you happen to be a class with the Aura class feature (such as Clerics and Paladins), or posses an alignment subtype, you are effectively Neutral for all mechanical purposes. This means most mortal evils won't show up on things like detect evil. Being a serial killer is pretty horrible but it's not enough to make you radiate raw evil. Only a connection to the primordial forces of evil will make you show up as being Evil with a capital E.

    Odds are, D20 Legends will have options for these sorts of things. People like things like holy swords and devils unleashing unholy blight. What most people tend to dislike a lot are arguments over whether or not someguy McBarbarian suddenly cannot progress at being a barbarian because he lives by a code of honor, or if Dudeman SirSmitesalot suddenly loses all his class features because he kicked a priestess of Asmodeus in the cooch and the GM thought that was pretty dishonorable and perhaps not very lawful or...something.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    Odds are, D20 Legends will have options for these sorts of things. People like things like holy swords and devils unleashing unholy blight. What most people tend to dislike a lot are arguments over whether or not someguy McBarbarian suddenly cannot progress at being a barbarian because he lives by a code of honor, or if Dudeman SirSmitesalot suddenly loses all his class features because he kicked a priestess of Asmodeus in the cooch and the GM thought that was pretty dishonorable and perhaps not very lawful or...something.
    I totally agree with this. From what I feel and what I've seen, just alignment is not bad, but rather Dudeman SirSmitesalot falling or Someguy McBarbarian not being able to progress or what have you. Also Stupid [Any Alignment] is bad.
    Quote Originally Posted by Red Fel View Post
    Imagine how many problems you can solve, how many ways you can help your friends, when not constrained by paltry morality! Imagine how much good you can achieve when you're willing to go to any length to achieve it! Imagine the monsters you can slay when you are the greatest monster of them all!
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    Quote Originally Posted by LordOfCain View Post
    I totally agree with this. From what I feel and what I've seen, just alignment is not bad, but rather Dudeman SirSmitesalot falling or Someguy McBarbarian not being able to progress or what have you. Also Stupid [Any Alignment] is bad.
    Given the number of arguments I've been in concerning alignment, it often comes off that I dislike alignment in its entirety. In truth, I really didn't run into alignment troubles much if at all in games until I started dealing with them in the online arena, where I was interacting with many more people using alignment in many different ways. In fact, the house rules I use to this day concerning alignment were born on OpenRPG during a time when I was running a persistent world and developed them as a means of resolving problems between other players.

    But I would propose that the problem with alignment isn't alignment itself, it's the direction people run off with it. See, in 3.x/PF, Alignment is not hard coded into any sort of list of laws that dictate any given thing being always a particular alignment. Instead, it gives the fundamental - I'd dare say primal - aspects of the various alignments and allows you to weigh them against the circumstances in question.

    Some common problems associated with alignment include...
    • Thinking alignment influences how a character acts (in truth, it is the opposite)
    • Thinking alignment doesn't allow for gray areas (in fact it is mostly gray)
    • Thinking people of the same alignment are supposed to act the same or get along (which is far from true)
    • Thinking that deviating from the norms of your alignment should warrant an alignment change (the alignment rules actually call this out as false)
    • Thinking that you must codify every sort of action or intent into an alignment (in truth, actions do not have alignment until you give it)


    So looking at the alignment system for some answers, the alignment system has the following things to say.
    A creature's general moral and personal attitudes are represented by its alignment
    Speaking as a generality, alignment is explicitly non-specific and non-definite trends in attitude.

    Alignment is a tool for developing your character's identity—it is not a straitjacket for restricting your character. Each alignment represents a broad range of personality types or personal philosophies, so two characters of the same alignment can still be quite different from each other. In addition, few people are completely consistent.
    This (and the next line) debunks the idea that alignment influences action rather than action influencing alignment. It also notes that characters who act wholly consistent with their alignment are actually the odd ones, rather than the norm.

    All creatures have an alignment. Alignment determines the effectiveness of some spells and magic items.
    Further noting that alignment doesn't influence the way your character acts, it's mechanical.

    Animals and other creatures incapable of moral action are neutral. Even deadly vipers and tigers that eat people are neutral because they lack the capacity for morally right or wrong behavior. Dogs may be obedient and cats free-spirited, but they do not have the moral capacity to be truly lawful or chaotic.
    This describes that you have to have the mental faculties to make moral choices to actually have an alignment. Essentially codifying that non-sentient creatures will be Neutral. RAW, even if a creature is aligned upon creation (such as in 3.5 where casting animate dead produces neutral-evil zombies) they will become Neutral (mostly because there is no special ability or exception clause present in things like zombies that prevents the normal alignment rules from governing them, so their alignment will change to Neutral as per the alignment rules).

    Alignment is a tool, a convenient shorthand you can use to summarize the general attitude of an NPC, region, religion, organization, monster, or even magic item.
    This is where alignment is useful to a player or GM from a roleplaying perspective, since it gives you a general idea as to the behavior that you're trying to convey in a character. If you're a GM and you read that an NPC is Neutral Good, you immediately know that the character is more altruistic, protective, and concerned than the average character, even if you didn't write the NPC yourself. Similarly, you know that if a character routinely hurts, oppresses, and kills things, the character is Evil, and you can measure roughly that he or she is a lot more evil than the other NPC.

    Certain character classes in Classes list repercussions for those who don't adhere to a specific alignment, and some spells and magic items have different effects on targets depending on alignment, but beyond that it's generally not necessary to worry too much about whether someone is behaving differently from his stated alignment.
    It even goes as far as saying that with the exception of a few edge cases (such as Paladins), alignment it more or less irrelevant aside from the mechanical implications. Incidentally, this is actually where I take the most issue with the alignment system and that's because of things like Paladins. From a narrative perspective, the assured loss of capability due to abandoning the norms of a given alignment more or less eliminates any sort of personal conflict narratives since a character can't really go through a rough patch without automatically knowing that what they are experiencing is right or wrong, which isn't particularly good for character development. Similarly, the idea of a former champion who has gone rogue (such as a Paladin who forsakes his order after some traumatic event) is more or less eliminated by this as well. I personally prefer dealing with a game where a former Paladin could fall off the horse so to speak and end up as an antagonist (who can hopefully be reset on the righteous path).

    I'm also a big fan of refluffing stuff if the mechanics fit, and I think alignment restrictions on classes make that overly troublesome. For example, the standard Barbarian class in 3.5/Pathfinder actually makes for a really damn good SAMURAI. They're proficient with all the right weapons, they work best in light and medium armor, they're known for being resilient and tough, and they can go into a sort of combat trance that makes them fight really hard and resist mental attacks, and have more skill points than average and have skills like Ride. However, the alignment restriction makes building a samurai using the Barbarian class feel awkward at best and impossible at worst.
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    So I know I still have that question hanging and I don't usually ask a second one simultaneously, but do you know what (if any) numeric formula is behind Pathfinder's WBL and XP by level charts? I tried a polynom and an exponent, neither fits.

    I am this close to concluding that Pathfinder has no actual math behind all those fancy tables, because I already exhausted all sensible theories for how it might work.
    Last edited by Klara Meison; 2016-12-20 at 03:39 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    So I know I still have that question hanging
    Eh? *scrolls up* Egad, I missed an entire post. I'll check that out right after this.

    and I don't usually ask a second one simultaneously, but do you know what (if any) numeric formula is behind Pathfinder's WBL and XP by level charts? I tried a polynom and an exponent, neither fits.

    I am this close to concluding that Pathfinder has no actual math behind all those fancy tables, because I already exhausted all sensible theories for how it might work.
    It's been a long time since I tried to figure them out, but the last I recall concluding was that the medium XP progression is built around the idea that 20 equal CR encounters will produce +1 level, and the WBL table is the sum of the average treasure values of said encounters, sans about 15% (presumably assumed expended on consumables or other non-permanent expenditures). As a result, if you're frugal, you'll actually end up being over WBL if you get all your treasure the old fashioned way (so WBL is kind of a safe minimum).

    It's been a while though.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    This question has to do with what is the most important thing for various mechanical character archetypes. I am not sure if I managed to translate my idea into words correctly, but eh, what can you do.

    If you could choose a single active thing (instantaneous/short-timed(rounds/minutes) effect invocable X times per day), a passive thing (a passive effect, like a feat), and a counter-y thing (instantaneous/short-timed(rounds/minutes) effect invocable X times per day as a result of an enemy doing something) that you would very much enjoy as a character of a %type%, what would it be?

    An example of an active thing would be True Seeing activatable as a free action for 1 minute 3 times per day. Very useful on a melee martial character.

    An example of a passive thing would be a feat like Spell Focus, an effect that gives you extra spell slots per day, an effect that raises your CL in regards to a single spell or an ability that works all the time(e.g. flight).

    An example of a counter-y thing would be something like Cut From The Air, or any counters from Path of War.

    Here, %type% stands for a mechanical archetype of a character. Here are some types I came up with, but you are free to make up your own if you see some hole I left:

    • Blasting mage (i.e. mage who focuses on various fireballs and rays)
    • Supporting mage (i.e. a caster who focuses on various spells like Bless, Haste, Heroism and other party-supporting spells)
    • Debuffing mage (i.e. an opposite of a support-someone who throws Slow and such at the enemies)
    • Illusionist (Self-explanatory)
    • Mindraping mage (Domination, Charm, all the goodies)
    • frontline martial-single targets (e.g. wildshaping druid/Harbinger with Elemental Flux-someone who can really effectively wreck the face of a single high-profile target per round)
    • frontline martial-mook control (i.e. someone who can destroy a whole lot of relatively weak targets per round)
    • Controlling AoE mage (i.e. soemone who focuses on various Create Pits, Black Tentacles and other AoE control spells)
    • Conjuring/minion mage (Summoner/undead creator/planar binder)
    • Ranged martial (Self-explanatory)
    • Mounted character (i.e. Character with a mount closely intertwined with their story arc)


    To answer my own question in regards to frontline martials focused on single targets, I'd say it would be some way to negate enemy evasiveness (like True Seeing) for the active ability, some sort of mobility power like flight for passive, and some way to evade/negate/reflect the nastiest spells an enemy might throw at me (like SoDs, mindrapes or instant kills). Obviously, these are not the same three things a blasting mage would want.
    It'll take me a bit to work through the entire list, but while I'm thinking about it, I'm gonna grab the conjurer and go with that to see if I've understood the question.

    Conjuring/Minion Mage
    • Active - The ability to summon relevant minions on the spot.
    • Passive - Summon an additional minion when summoning OR make minions more resistant to CC/sweeping.
    • Reactive - Immediate action dimension door (to teleport-dodge stuff).
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    It'll take me a bit to work through the entire list, but while I'm thinking about it, I'm gonna grab the conjurer and go with that to see if I've understood the question.

    Conjuring/Minion Mage
    • Active - The ability to summon relevant minions on the spot.
    • Passive - Summon an additional minion when summoning OR make minions more resistant to CC/sweeping.
    • Reactive - Immediate action dimension door (to teleport-dodge stuff).
    Yep, that's pretty much what I was going for. My own picks for a conjurer(binder) were:

    Active(Take): Ability allowing you to take control of opposing summons.

    Passive(Bind): Something to make your bindings stronger (e.g. bonuses on opposed binding checks) and/or last longer(e.g. your bindings are permanent instead of days/level)

    Reactive(Deny): Ability letting you make various saves in place of your minions/flat out deny attempts to control them when they are targetted by spells.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    • Blasting mage (i.e. mage who focuses on various fireballs and rays)
    • Supporting mage (i.e. a caster who focuses on various spells like Bless, Haste, Heroism and other party-supporting spells)
    • Debuffing mage (i.e. an opposite of a support-someone who throws Slow and such at the enemies)
    • Illusionist (Self-explanatory)
    • Mindraping mage (Domination, Charm, all the goodies)
    • frontline martial-single targets (e.g. wildshaping druid/Harbinger with Elemental Flux-someone who can really effectively wreck the face of a single high-profile target per round)
    • frontline martial-mook control (i.e. someone who can destroy a whole lot of relatively weak targets per round)
    • Controlling AoE mage (i.e. soemone who focuses on various Create Pits, Black Tentacles and other AoE control spells)
    • Conjuring/minion mage (Summoner/undead creator/planar binder)
    • Ranged martial (Self-explanatory)
    • Mounted character (i.e. Character with a mount closely intertwined with their story arc)
    Some of these might show up in D20 Legends in some form or other...

    Blasting Mage
    • Active - The ability to perform a spell combo (such as turning burning enemies into bombs or freezing wet foes)
    • Passive - Applying status ailments as a secondary effect of dealing damage
    • Reactive - Retaliating with elemental bursts when threatened


    Supporting Mage
    • Active - The ability to spread buffs to multiple targets or condense them on a single target (such as being able to cast bull's strength on lots of people at once, or on a single person for a bigger bonus)
    • Passive - Buffs are harder to dispel
    • Reactive - Expend resources to cast a supportive spell (such as death ward) out of turn


    Debuffing Mage
    • Active - The ability to spread a bad status ailment to multiple targets or condense them on a single target (such as being able to hit someone with hideous laughter on one turn, then spread it to nearby foes)
    • Passive - Debuffs are harder to dispel
    • Reactive -Expend resources to attempt to re-apply a debuff that's being removed


    Illusionist
    • Active - The ability to make illusions that do things like provide flanking, or perhaps even inflict nonlethal damage
    • Passive - Illusions are easier for you to detect, harder for others
    • Reactive - Emergency invisibility or similar effect


    Mindrapist
    • Active - Expend resource to attempt to pierce resistance/immunity
    • Passive - A bonus on opposed ability checks (such as the opposed Charisma check to control a charmed creature)
    • Reactive - Reroll a failed ability check


    Front-line Martial
    • Active - Abilities to close on enemies and hamper escape
    • Passive - Abilities that help bypass things like concealment
    • Reactive - Resilience against CC abilities (such as temporary freedom of movement)


    Front-line Controller
    • Active - Abilities that CC foes
    • Passive - Enhanced mobility
    • Reactive - Reactions that let you intercept attacks


    Controller Mage
    • Active - The ability to ignore a select few targets from your AoEs
    • Passive - Bigger AoEs
    • Reactive - Gain cover/concealment while inside your own AoEs


    Ranged Martial
    • Active - Ranged debuffs (such as anchoring a foe with an arrow, clipping a wing, etc)
    • Passive - Less trouble using a ranged weapon at close range
    • Reactive - Dodge roll!


    Mounted Character
    • Active - Trample the fools!
    • Passive - Mount scales with level and benefits from your benefits (mount shares things like rage, stances, spells, etc)
    • Reactive - Take hits for each other
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    Long as I get my Virulent Walking Bomb from Dragon Age Origins I'm happy. My favorite spell by a massive landslide. Lock the enemy down, nail them all with it, then quickly cast forcefield on the melee person because friendly fire is a thing. Boom.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zilrax View Post
    Long as I get my Virulent Walking Bomb from Dragon Age Origins I'm happy. My favorite spell by a massive landslide. Lock the enemy down, nail them all with it, then quickly cast forcefield on the melee person because friendly fire is a thing. Boom.
    I will always prefer Earthbound 's PSI [whatever your favorite thing is].

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zilrax View Post
    Long as I get my Virulent Walking Bomb from Dragon Age Origins I'm happy. My favorite spell by a massive landslide. Lock the enemy down, nail them all with it, then quickly cast forcefield on the melee person because friendly fire is a thing. Boom.
    Noted. >_>

    EDIT: Incidentally, while not identical, the champion preview I showed has options for dealing a lot of AoE damage in clusters of enemies. With the right investments, they can spread diseases in AoEs around all their disease targets, then spend a major (standard) action to force a test against the disease, and then everyone that takes damage from the disease goes boom for 1-5d6 damage in the AoE of the disease spread range. If you've got a cluster of foes nearby, the damage can get fierce pretty rapidly (for example, if you're 4th+ level, foes deal 2d6 damage in a 20 ft. radius when they suffer from your disease, so if you have 3 guys packed in a 20 ft. area, they'll make an explosion for 6d6 damage to anyone in the overlapping AoEs).

    Mages using fire magic will probably have similar options (turning burning enemies into walking AoEs).
    Last edited by Ashiel; 2016-12-21 at 01:57 PM.
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    The fun part is when they blow up and turn everyone hit into living bombs, repeat until out of targets. Great for villains, good for less squeemish heroes for clearing rooms. And incredibly intimidating too.

    I'm also fond of being able to turn undead into explosives.

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    Serious question here, which is more about organization than anything.

    I've been chewing over the idea of placing class and race specific feats in the descriptions of those classes and races, so you can quickly find feats for the class you are interested in. So hypothetically, feats like "Extra Divine Power", "Extra Mercy", "Extra Cruelty", and so forth would be found within the pages of the Champion class which has the requisite class features to even qualify for those feats (and those feats are by nature designed to allow you further specialize by expending feats too).

    I feel like organizing feats into the classes (maybe even alongside the abilities they improve if any) would make it much easier to find feats that are relevant to your interests and would make building characters a lot easier for newbies (it's difficult to get a good mental picture of how to build a character when you're selecting your class and feats separately during your first read through).

    Anyone see any obvious problems with this I'm overlooking?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    Serious question here, which is more about organization than anything.

    I've been chewing over the idea of placing class and race specific feats in the descriptions of those classes and races, so you can quickly find feats for the class you are interested in. So hypothetically, feats like "Extra Divine Power", "Extra Mercy", "Extra Cruelty", and so forth would be found within the pages of the Champion class which has the requisite class features to even qualify for those feats (and those feats are by nature designed to allow you further specialize by expending feats too).

    I feel like organizing feats into the classes (maybe even alongside the abilities they improve if any) would make it much easier to find feats that are relevant to your interests and would make building characters a lot easier for newbies (it's difficult to get a good mental picture of how to build a character when you're selecting your class and feats separately during your first read through).

    Anyone see any obvious problems with this I'm overlooking?
    Make a website (Don't you have that Wyrmspire place?). Then put race-specific feats into separate pages. Then link to those pages from race descriptions. So you'd have, for example, whatever.com/mechanics/feats/racial_feats/brain_slugs where all links to feats relating to brain slugs would be located, and whatever.com/mechanics/races/brain_slugs would have a link to that place, perhaps embedding the feat table from there in a spoiler or something.

    Likewise, you'd link /racial_feats/monstrous from all monstrous race pages, /racial_feats/undead from all undead race pages, /combat/stabbing from all classes closelly related to stabbing (who might want to look into those), and so on. You can do that with more than feats too, e.g. /spells might have a big table with all spells (as is the current default), while /spells/explosions might have links to all spells that cause explosions in the same place, /spells/healing might have links to all healing/regeneration/status-cancellation spells, /spells/rays to all rays, /spells/summoning to all summoning spells, and so on and so forth and ad infinitum.

    Seriously, it's 21 century. I wouldn't be playing Pathfinder if d20pfsrd didn't exist and I had to look into actual pdfs to find useful stuff.

    As for actual problems, where do you put a feat that relates to a class and a race? If you also write the whole feat text in the class/race bloak, you will make class/race description way bigger, which will make it harder to read. Neither of those problems arise in a website-based design, since you can link to the same page from multiple pages, and only have to put the text into a single place.
    Last edited by Klara Meison; 2016-12-22 at 11:39 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    As for actual problems, where do you put a feat that relates to a class and a race? If you also write the whole feat text in the class/race bloak, you will make class/race description way bigger, which will make it harder to read. Neither of those problems arise in a website-based design, since you can link to the same page from multiple pages, and only have to put the text into a single place.
    The way I was thinking about it was if there was a specific feat designed to go alongside a specific ability, then it would be included with that ability. Here's an example.
    Spoiler: More Champion Spoilers
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    Cruelty [Magic, Curse, Miracle]
    When you hit someone with your corruption miracle, you can make a special attack against their Will defense to afflict them with a negative status condition. You get two cruelties from the list below, and an additional cruelty at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level. No matter how many cruelties you have, only one can be applied per use of corruption (though multiple cruelties can be applied over multiple corruption attacks). Cruelties marked as 4th, 8th, 16th, or 20th level cruelties can only be taken if you are the required level.
    Cruelties: You can take any of the following cruelties immediately.
    • Burning: The target gains the Burning condition.
    • Chilled: The target gains the Chilled condition for 10 rounds.
    • Fatigued: The target gains the Fatigued condition.
    • Shaken: The target gains the Shaken condition for 10 rounds.
    • Sickened: The target gains the Sickened condition for 10 rounds.


    4th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 4th level or greater.
    • Curse: The target as affected as if by a bestow curse spell.
    • Dazed: The target is dazed for 1 round.
    • Diseased: The target is affected as if by a contagion spell.
    • Staggered: The target is staggered for 10 rounds.


    8th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 8th level or greater.
    • Exhausted: The target is exhausted. You must have the fatigue cruelty to select this cruelty.
    • Frightened: The target is frightened for 10 rounds. You must have the shaken cruelty to select this cruelty.
    • Holocaust: The target gains a stack of the burning condition for every d6 worth of damage your corruption miracle deals. You must have the burning cruelty to select this cruelty.
    • Nauseated: The target gains the nauseated condition for 10 rounds. You must have the sickened cruelty to take this cruelty.
    • Poisoned: The target is poised as if affected by a poison spell.
    • Shatter: The target gains the frozen condition for 10 rounds. As long as the condition remains, the target gains vulnerability to Bludgeoning damage (they take 50% more damage from bludgeoning weapons and effects). You must have the Chill cruelty to take this cruelty.


    12th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 12th level or greater.
    • Blinded: The target is blinded for 10 rounds. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, the blindness is permanent.
    • Deafened: The target is deafened for 10 rounds. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, the deafness is permanent.
    • Madness: The target is acts as if affected by an insanity spell. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, the insanity is permanent.
    • Paralyzed: The target is paralyzed for 10 rounds.


    16th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 16th level or greater.
    • Enervating: The target gains 4 negative levels for 10 rounds and you recover hit points as if you healed yourself with your corruption miracle. If you beat their Will defense by 10 or greater, they are instantly slain and you are affected as if by a heal spell. This is a negative energy death effect.
    • Dominating: For 10 rounds, the target must make an opposed Mind check with you to make attacks against you or target you with abilities you deem harmful. This opposed check is attempted each time they wish to attack you. If your check wins, the action they were using is wasted and nothing happens. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, they are affected as if by a domination spell.
    • Soul Reap: The creature is branded with a dark sign for 10 rounds. During this time, the benefits of your smite miracle are doubled against the target. If your target dies while under the effects of soul reap, you condense their soul into a soul gem, preventing resurrection unless the gem is recovered or destroyed.


    Extra Cruelty [Feat]
    Prerequisite: Cruelty miracle
    You can select an additional cruelty that you qualify for.
    Special: This feat can be taken multiple times, allowing you to select an additional cruelty each time.


    EDIT:
    Seriously, it's 21 century. I wouldn't be playing Pathfinder if d20pfsrd didn't exist and I had to look into actual pdfs to find useful stuff.
    Lots of people do enjoy PDFs and also physical books, and still use them. While a wiki-format page will assuredly be a thing, it wouldn't be the only option.
    Last edited by Ashiel; 2016-12-22 at 12:31 PM.
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  23. - Top - End - #233
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Ashiel View Post
    The way I was thinking about it was if there was a specific feat designed to go alongside a specific ability, then it would be included with that ability. Here's an example.
    Spoiler: More Champion Spoilers
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    Cruelty [Magic, Curse, Miracle]
    When you hit someone with your corruption miracle, you can make a special attack against their Will defense to afflict them with a negative status condition. You get two cruelties from the list below, and an additional cruelty at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level. No matter how many cruelties you have, only one can be applied per use of corruption (though multiple cruelties can be applied over multiple corruption attacks). Cruelties marked as 4th, 8th, 16th, or 20th level cruelties can only be taken if you are the required level.
    Cruelties: You can take any of the following cruelties immediately.
    • Burning: The target gains the Burning condition.
    • Chilled: The target gains the Chilled condition for 10 rounds.
    • Fatigued: The target gains the Fatigued condition.
    • Shaken: The target gains the Shaken condition for 10 rounds.
    • Sickened: The target gains the Sickened condition for 10 rounds.


    4th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 4th level or greater.
    • Curse: The target as affected as if by a bestow curse spell.
    • Dazed: The target is dazed for 1 round.
    • Diseased: The target is affected as if by a contagion spell.
    • Staggered: The target is staggered for 10 rounds.


    8th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 8th level or greater.
    • Exhausted: The target is exhausted. You must have the fatigue cruelty to select this cruelty.
    • Frightened: The target is frightened for 10 rounds. You must have the shaken cruelty to select this cruelty.
    • Holocaust: The target gains a stack of the burning condition for every d6 worth of damage your corruption miracle deals. You must have the burning cruelty to select this cruelty.
    • Nauseated: The target gains the nauseated condition for 10 rounds. You must have the sickened cruelty to take this cruelty.
    • Poisoned: The target is poised as if affected by a poison spell.
    • Shatter: The target gains the frozen condition for 10 rounds. As long as the condition remains, the target gains vulnerability to Bludgeoning damage (they take 50% more damage from bludgeoning weapons and effects). You must have the Chill cruelty to take this cruelty.


    12th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 12th level or greater.
    • Blinded: The target is blinded for 10 rounds. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, the blindness is permanent.
    • Deafened: The target is deafened for 10 rounds. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, the deafness is permanent.
    • Madness: The target is acts as if affected by an insanity spell. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, the insanity is permanent.
    • Paralyzed: The target is paralyzed for 10 rounds.


    16th Level Cruelties: These cruelties can only be taken with cruelties gained at 16th level or greater.
    • Enervating: The target gains 4 negative levels for 10 rounds and you recover hit points as if you healed yourself with your corruption miracle. If you beat their Will defense by 10 or greater, they are instantly slain and you are affected as if by a heal spell. This is a negative energy death effect.
    • Dominating: For 10 rounds, the target must make an opposed Mind check with you to make attacks against you or target you with abilities you deem harmful. This opposed check is attempted each time they wish to attack you. If your check wins, the action they were using is wasted and nothing happens. If your special attack beats their Will defense by 10 or greater, they are affected as if by a domination spell.
    • Soul Reap: The creature is branded with a dark sign for 10 rounds. During this time, the benefits of your smite miracle are doubled against the target. If your target dies while under the effects of soul reap, you condense their soul into a soul gem, preventing resurrection unless the gem is recovered or destroyed.


    Extra Cruelty [Feat]
    Prerequisite: Cruelty miracle
    You can select an additional cruelty that you qualify for.
    Special: This feat can be taken multiple times, allowing you to select an additional cruelty each time.


    EDIT: Lots of people do enjoy PDFs and also physical books, and still use them. While a wiki-format page will assuredly be a thing, it wouldn't be the only option.
    And what if someone makes this:

    Double Super Mega Extra Cruelty [Feat]
    Prerequisite: Cruelty miracle, Aasimar race
    You can select two additional cruelties that you qualify for. You can't select this feat a second time.

    Where do you put something like that?
    Last edited by Klara Meison; 2016-12-22 at 01:35 PM.
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  24. - Top - End - #234
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Don't know in which thread to post this, but:

    You (along with 3 other heretically powergaming munchkins of your choice) are teleported into the world of Pathfinder. You (all 4 of you) begin as lv 1 Human gestalt Fighter/Rogue-s, with everything else about your characters chosen by you. As you advance in levels, you can only take levels in gestalt Fighter/Rogue, so no fighter 1/wizard 19 shenanigans.

    You are running an unknown AP (could be by Paizo, could be 3pp, point it anything can happen and you don't know the plot), with all combat encounters rebalanced and rebuilt by malicious evil twins of your party. How do you survive? Assume that if you try to stop following the plot of the AP you first get an extremely nasty encounter thrown your way (to show you the error of your ways), and if you still don't stop, you drop dead instantly.

    Bonus round:same thing, but now Path of War is banned.
    Last edited by Klara Meison; 2016-12-22 at 02:08 PM.
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  25. - Top - End - #235
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Well I personally would hope racial feats would be things that specifically only affect their races. And made sense. No, only elves can stab people better with arrows nonsense. Or only elves can be arcane archers because no elf has ever defected with the secrets, been scryed on, mind controlled etc etc etc.

    I'm alright with an improved stonecutting or whatever for dwarves, or what not. Though race and class feats together are a bit messy.

    Also my guess for the only problem I can think of for feats spread across the class area would be it might get confusing in the everythings spread all over sense. Maybe having a class feat section in the feats book would be a good compromise?

  26. - Top - End - #236
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Zilrax View Post
    Well I personally would hope racial feats would be things that specifically only affect their races. And made sense. No, only elves can stab people better with arrows nonsense. Or only elves can be arcane archers because no elf has ever defected with the secrets, been scryed on, mind controlled etc etc etc.

    I'm alright with an improved stonecutting or whatever for dwarves, or what not. Though race and class feats together are a bit messy.

    Also my guess for the only problem I can think of for feats spread across the class area would be it might get confusing in the everythings spread all over sense. Maybe having a class feat section in the feats book would be a good compromise?
    Well I do too, that was mostly a hypothetical.
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  27. - Top - End - #237
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    And what if someone makes this:

    Double Super Mega Extra Cruelty [Feat]
    Prerequisite: Cruelty miracle, Aasimar race
    You can select two additional cruelties that you qualify for. You can't select this feat a second time.

    Where do you put something like that?
    At the moment, the organization I was contemplating would look something like this.

    Race Chapter
    • Race Header (such as Elf)
    • Race fluff entry (say elf fluff)
    • Race statistics (basic elf stats)
    • Race specific talents (elf paragon stuff)
    • Race specific feats (elf specific feats)
    • Repeat for next race


    Advanced Races Sub-chapter
    • Hybrid race stuff (such as aasimar and tieflings)
    • Racial talents for those things
    • Racial feats for those things
    • End sub-chapter



    Class Chapter
    • Class header (such as "Warror")
    • Class description / fluff (such as "these guys make good knights")
    • Recommended path (such as "warriors do best as martials")
    • Core mechanics (a description of how the class plays)
    • Class Features or Talent (such as "Divine Power" or "Miracles")
    • Feat that improves that feature or talent (such as "Extra Divine Power" or "Extra Miracle")


    Advanced Class Subchapter
    • Explanation of multiclassing
    • Talents geared towards multiclassing ("When you enter a rage, you gain 2 temporary divine power" type stuff)
    • Feats geared towards multiclassing ("With this feat, you gain 4 temporary divine power instead!" type stuff)


    Feats Chapter
    • Explain how feats work
    • List all feats that aren't directly tied to a race or class (such as Improved Initiative)


    If there were race-class hybrid feats, I'd rather keep such stuff out of the core rulebook. I feel that such things should not be inherently part of the game and would serve better as an optional splatbook of its own, which would probably be for the best since that could potentially be a huge amount of content. For example, let's say we have a handful of core races...
    1. Humans
    2. Halflings
    3. Elves
    4. Dwarfs
    5. Gnomes
    6. Orcs
    7. Hobgoblins
    8. Goblins
    9. Aasimar (via hybrid mechanics)
    10. Tieflings (via hybrid mechanics)

    That's 10-ish basic races.

    Then the possible classes include...
    • Alchemist (concoctions)
    • Barbarian (rage cycling)
    • Bard (performances)
    • Champion (divine power)
    • Druid (wild shaping)
    • Mage (mage schools)
    • Monk (chakra powers)
    • Ranger (animal buddy)
    • Rogue (stabbing)
    • Sorcerer (bloodlines)
    • Warrior (not ToB)

    That's about 11 classes (assuming nothing such as monk gets cut).

    So if you were going to make a book that only had 2 new race specific talents and 2 new race specific feats, for each class, you'd have to write out 440 new (220 new talents, 220 new feats). At the moment the average length of a talent or feat is around 100 words or so, some being far fewer, some being far longer, depending on the complexity of the ability and if it has any targets or sub-options (the shortest miracle written so far is 35 words, while the longest is 685 words). Going with just a simple 100 word average, that would mean you'd be looking at about 44,000+ words in just rule crunch alone, not including any fluff, descriptions, or author commentary.

    To put that 44,000+ words number into perspective, the National Novel Writing Month event uses the 50,000 word mark as a goal for writing a novel during the month.
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  28. - Top - End - #238
    Orc in the Playground
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Are there any problems that you know of with converting items from 3.x to Pathfinder?
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  29. - Top - End - #239
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Klara Meison View Post
    Are there any problems that you know of with converting items from 3.x to Pathfinder?
    Spell levels and material component costs come to mind. Some spells changed levels in the conversion, but some spells were in the wrong level in 3.5, either too high or too low. I would compare any non-Pathfinder spell to a similar spell before converting it over. Some spells had drastic changes in material component costs, so this can affect an item using that spell.
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  30. - Top - End - #240
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    Default Re: [D20 Legends Project] Ashiel's Crunchy but Approachable D20

    Quote Originally Posted by Tels View Post
    Are there any problems that you know of with converting items from 3.x to Pathfinder?
    Spell levels and material component costs come to mind. Some spells changed levels in the conversion, but some spells were in the wrong level in 3.5, either too high or too low. I would compare any non-Pathfinder spell to a similar spell before converting it over. Some spells had drastic changes in material component costs, so this can affect an item using that spell.
    For most things it shouldn't be too difficult. For weapons and armor, you just choose some statistics based on its size/tech level.

    For magic items, the "usual" rules will still apply (stuff like components being factored into items per charge, duration modifiers, etc). However, a lot of items will probably change in price slightly due to variances in spell and caster level. In general, most items will become less costly for the following reasons.

    • Magic arms & armor have their enhancement bonuses paid for separately (due to them now being mundane modifiers). This means that the cost of a +2 holy longsword would be +16,000 gp (+8,000 for the +2 and +8,000 for the holy), rather than 32,000 gp (for a +4 weapon).
    • Some restrictions on items are being lifted (your weapon doesn't have to be masterwork or be +1 before you can enchant it with special abilities, so a flaming stick that's essentially just a stick is do-able.
    • A number of spells become available a bit earlier and durations are standardized, which will affect the prices of a lot of items (since unless the spell gets stronger, there's less reason to craft them at huge caster levels). For example, the haste spell is still going to be 3rd level, but it comes online at 4th character level, and always lasts exactly 10 rounds (so you'd probably craft it at CL 4th). As a result, your typical boots of speed would cost 4,800 gp instead of 12,000 gp.
    • Some spells won't exist in d20 Legends (things like charm monster don't exist anymore), so the closest equivalent would be used instead.
    • The rules will be a little tighter concerning how many magic item effects you can use during your turn (so a lot of things that were free actions will become swift actions), and you'll receive only one set of actions for all intelligent items worn, rather than a separate set for each intelligent item (which prevents shenanigans like making all of your items intelligent and giving them the ability to shoot magic missile at will, and then blasting everything to pieces with 10 slots worth of xd4+x force damage during your turn at no action cost).


    What this will generally mean for players is you'll be able to get cool toys earlier (bought, crafted, or looted, since lower prices means they'll show up in treasures and on NPCs earlier) and have more coin for adding little effects to items. You'll be able to safely account for things like enhancement bonuses, ability boosts, save boosts, and energy resistances without totally giving up having "interesting" things. For example, let's say we want to get a +1 goblinbane sword, a +1 armor of fire resistance, a +1 shield of cold resistance, and boots of speed, the costs would be...

    Pathfinder
    • Sword = 8,300+ gp
    • Armor = 19,150+ gp (resist energy was priced as a 2nd level spell, 3rd CL, 10 points, x1.5 for adding to the magic item)
    • Shield = 19,150+ gp
    • Boots = 12,000 gp (3rd level spell, CL 10th, 1 charge/day)
    • Total = 58,600+ gp


    D20 Legends
    • Sword = 4,000+ gp
    • Armor = 13,000+ gp (1st level, CL 4th, cost multiplier of 2,000x1.5 for duration, continuous = 12,000 gp)
    • Shield = 13,000+ gp (see above)
    • Boots = 4,800 gp
    • Total = 35,600+ gp

    Or 23,000 gp less costly. Which leaves more dosh for expanding your golfbag, buying potions/oils, or pimping out your favorite ride ("My war-trained donkey has spinning rims").
    Last edited by Ashiel; 2016-12-25 at 09:04 PM.
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