Age of Wonders

[Szatany]

Hello everyone
Some of you might remember me from the times when 3.5 on top. It was a fun system but had some serious flaws. Still I and my friends played it, even if less and less as we got more annoyed at the complexity of the game. Then the 4e came and seemed like a fantastic thing at the beginning. Unfortunately, after some playing, I found out that the game was too artifical and bland. Having some free time I decided to make my own version of the d20 system as presented in the SRD.
So here I am. I have looked into some forums trying to decide where should I put my work so I can get as much feedback as possible. Having read few threads, I decided not to put the whole game right away, but rather offer previews for the material to prevent information overload.
If you are looking for a rule system that:
- is overall much simpler that d20,
- removes most broken options and adressed slightly broken ones,
- is more balanced without making everything too similar (as 4e did),
- allows as much character flexibility as d20,
the Age of Wonders is the system for you.

When it's finished, AoW will be a complete gaming system for any fantasy setting, just like D&D game.

I will post one preview per week, starting today. Each preview will start with a commentary on what was changed and why.

[Szatany]

Preview I - Minor Actions

At the early stages of rewriting the rules, I was wondering about unifying certain concepts already present in the d20 ruleset, as well as introducing some form of per-round currency. The idea came from iterative attacks - what if, instead of allowing more than one attack during a full-round action, you could make extra attacks as minor actions and gained extra minor action per round every few levels? This also opens design space for other abilities that require minor actions.
Just in case you wonder, Battle Ability bonus is the new name for BAB. Magic Ability bonus replaces caster level, spellcraft, and more. Circle is a new name for spell level.


From chapter: classes

Minor Actions: How many minor actions a character can perform since the beginning of his turn to the beginning of his next turn. Minor actions are used to sustain spells, make extra attacks, make small moves, and more.


From chapter: combat
Minor Action: A minor action takes small amount of time compared to other actions. A character starts with one minor action per round, but gains more as he advances in levels. A character at 6th character level has two minor actions per round, three minor actions at 11th level, and finally four minor actions at 16th character level. Normally a minor action has two uses: you may either move one square on your turn, or make a save on, or outside your turn. Some abilities require minor actions and may allow spending them outside your turn.

MINOR ACTIONS
Concentrating to Maintain a Spell
Some spells require continued concentration to keep them going. Concentrating to maintain a spell is a minor action. At the end of your turn, if you have not spent a minor action to sustain it, the spell ends.

Direct or Redirect a Spell
Some spells allow you to redirect the effect to new targets or areas after you cast the spell. Redirecting a spell requires a minor action.

Dismiss a Spell
Dismissing an active spell is a minor action.

Drop Prone
Dropping to a prone position in your space is a minor action.

Ready
The ready action lets you prepare to take an action later, after your turn is over but before your next one has begun.
Readying an Action: You can ready a standard action, a move action, a minor action, or a free action. You lose the action chosen from your turn, to be able to perform it outside your turn. Specify the action you will take and the conditions under which you will take it. Then, any time before your next turn, you may take the readied action in response to that condition. The action occurs just before the action that triggers it. If the triggered action is part of another character’s activities, you interrupt the other character. Assuming he is still capable of doing so, he continues his actions once you complete your readied action.
Initiative Consequences of Readying: Your initiative result becomes the count on which you took the readied action.
Distracting Combatants: You can ready an attack with the trigger “if she starts casting a spell” or “if she starts making an attack with a ranged weapon”. If you damage the target, she suffers a –5 penalty to the attack roll (or to Magic Ability check in case of utility and ritual spells.

Shift
You can move 1 square. You cannot shift if you moved more than double your walk speed until the beginning of your current turn. If you want to move through a lightly obscured square, you must spend 2 minor action to do so. If you wish to move through a heavily obscured square, you must spend 3 minor actions for that.


From chapter: feats
AIM
Prerequisite: Battle Ability bonus +1.
Benefit: On your turn, before making an attack that requires a standard action, you can spend a minor action to gain a +1 bonus to that attack’s attack roll.
If you have more than one minor action per round, you can spend multiple actions to gain greater bonus or to augment multiple attacks.
If you make a ranged attack augmented with this feat against an opponent engaged in melee, you don’t suffer the standard –2 penalty on your attack roll.

QUICKEN SPELL
Prerequisites: Magic Ability bonus +12.
Benefit: You can cast some spells as a minor action. The maximum circle of spells that can be cast in this way depends on your Magic Ability bonus. You can quicken only one spell per round.

Magic Ability Bonus	Spells Affected
+12                	1st circle
+18                   	2nd circle

RAPID SHOT
Prerequisites: Battle Ability bonus +8.
Benefit: On your turn, you can make a basic attack with a bow as a minor action. You suffer a –5 penalty to attack rolls with those extra attacks.
If your Battle Ability bonus is +16, the penalty becomes –2 instead.

[Haffrung Helleyes]

One consequence of requiring a minor action to make a saving throw is that people who don't keep a minor action in reserve become very vulnerable to spells. Or , did you intend for minor actions to grant save rerolls?

Are you aware that there is a turn based strategy fantasy computer game called Age of Wonders? I think you may run into issues trying to use that name; I think it might prove confusing to your audience.

Ken

[Szatany]

Originally Posted by Haffrung Helleyes

One consequence of requiring a minor action to make a saving throw is that people who don't keep a minor action in reserve become very vulnerable to spells. Or , did you intend for minor actions to grant save rerolls?

Spells, like other attacks, target a defense (Armor, Stamina, or Will), and then allow a save as an extra. Defenses are however slightly easier to beat than saves. So a character targeted by a spell decided if he wants to use passive defense or burn a minor action for a somewhat better (sometimes much better) chance to avoid the attack.

A good example is wizard. He has poor armor, poor fortitude and good will. He also has good Magic Ability bonus that is used to save against spells. If he is targeted by a spell that attacks armor or fortitude, it's a really good idea for him to make the save. So if you are a wizard and know or suspect you will be battling spellcasters, you are wise to keep your minor action or two.

[Szatany]

Preview II - Injuries
The second preview of my game system is the injury rules. When thinking about hit points I wanted to address three things specifically. First, to somehow nerf death effects without removing them (because, frankly, they are a lot of fun sometimes). Now death effects can affect only characters that have lost half or more their hit points, so a scenario when the combat ends in the first round because someone got lucky with finger of death is no longer possible.
Second, I wanted to have some difference between lightly damaged and heavily wounded characters. I used mechanic similar to 4th edition, but here there are inherent pluses and minuses for being bloodied or not. At any given time, you are either vulnerable to subdual damage or death effects, but never both. This rule serves to provide a shift in tactics and feel of any combat at its midpoint.
Thirdly and finally, I wanted some simple rules for dying, to make it interesting and to make Medicine (old Heal) skill more valuable.

There are also rules for resurrection but I haven't finished them yet. In a nutshell, resurrection is easy and relatively cheap, but each time you come back, your body and mind change a little, gravitating toward undeath.


From chapter: combat
INJURY AND DEATH
Your hit points measure how hard you are to kill. No matter how many hit points you lose, your character isn’t hindered in any way until your hit points drop to half your total value or lower.


LOSS OF HIT POINTS
The most common way that your character gets hurt is to take lethal damage and lose hit points
What Hit Points Represent: Hit points mean two things in the game world: the ability to take physical punishment and keep going, and the ability to turn a serious blow into a less serious one.

Effects of Damage: Depending on how many current hit points a character has, she must obey few rules:
Not Bloodied: You currently have more than half your total hit points. You are susceptible to subdual damage. If not bloodied, you recover 1 hit point on your own every 10 minutes.

Bloodied: Your current hit points are somewhere between half total hit points and zero. You are immune to subdual damage but vulnerable to death effects (effects that have a chance to slay you outright). When bloodied, you recover 1 hit point every hour.
If you have no current hit points, you are still bloodied but also any damage you take is converted into a Wound. Wounds are dangerous effects that hamper you or threaten your life, and take a long time (or strong magic) to remove.


WOUNDS
Wounds are crippling or deadly effects that stick to you until you recover. Whenever you take damage and any portion of that damage that is not covered by loss of hit points, the DM makes a death check against you. The check is a d20 roll + damage that wasn’t reduced with hit points against your Stamina defense. The result of the check explains what happens to you as the result of damage:

Death Check result 	        Effect
Failed by 5 or more	        Light bleeding
Failed by 4 or less	        Heavy bleeding
Stamina beaten by 0 to 4	Heavy bleeding and crippled
Stamina beaten by 5 to 9 	Heavy bleeding and massacred
Stamina beaten by 10 or more	Dead

Wounds are not cumulative – only the most severe applies. For example, if a lightly bleeding character takes damage and suffers from heavy bleeding as a result, the light bleeding effect is replaced by heavy bleeding.
Note that in order to save a crippled or massacred character from dying, a healer must first stop the bleeding and then tend to the wounded character for an extended period of time.

Light Bleeing: Make a d20 roll at the beginning of each your turn. If you roll a natural 1–5, light bleeding turns into heavy bleeding. Light bleeding can stop on its own if you roll a natural 20. Whenever you take a standard action, roll again, although this extra roll doesn’t end the bleeding on the result of a natural 20. A successful DC 15 Medicine check to provide first aid will also stop light bleeding.

Heavy Bleeding: Make a d20 roll at the beginning of each your turn. If you roll 1–2, you bleed out and die. Whenever you take a standard action, roll again. A successful DC 25 Medicine check to provide first aid will stop heavy bleeding.

Crippled: One or more of your limbs or organs is in a sorry state. Because of injuries and pain, you have a –10 penalty to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saves. The effects remain until the wound is successfully treated with the Medicine skill.

Massacred: You are on the brink of death and your entire body is more or less failing. You are unconscious. If you take any damage while massacred, you die. If a massacred character is successfully treated with Medicine skill, she becomes crippled instead.

[ValhallaGH]

I've got little to say about your Wound rules (kind of neat, they make the loss of HP much more dangerous, reminding me of Vitality / Wounds). I really dislike the name "Massacred", as it seems totally inappropriate for a single character that's still alive; I'd suggest "Maimed" or something similar. However, the healing rates mentioned when you talk of HP have me concerned.

Example:
Two characters, one with 10 hp and one with 200 hp.
The first guy isn't very tough, but he's decent. If he goes to 0 hp, he can fully recover in about 6 hours on his own (5 hours, 50 minutes). That's some serious resiliency.
The second guy is hideously tough. However, if he goes to 0 hp it will take him over 4 days to fully recover on his own (100 hours and 100 minutes ). Lots of endurance but without the other guy's resiliency.

Going up 19 levels shouldn't make a character less resilient. It takes the 200 hp guy 16 times as long to recover from an equally dangerous set of injuries (relative to the two character's hp totals); from the world's perspective, both characters were equally close to death and equally far from full health, yet one of them bounced back in one afternoon, while the other took nearly a week to recover. And the wrong one bounced back in hurry, the guy that isn't as good at mitigating injury is the one that got over it the fastest.

That seems like a pretty glaring issue, to me.

[Wycen]

Not to thread hijack, but I read this thinking you were talking about the computer games Age of Wonders.

Man, I loved those.

[Szatany]

Originally Posted by ValhallaGH

I've got little to say about your Wound rules (kind of neat, they make the loss of HP much more dangerous, reminding me of Vitality / Wounds). I really dislike the name "Massacred", as it seems totally inappropriate for a single character that's still alive; I'd suggest "Maimed" or something similar.

Maybe the world loses in translation - it's a good fit in polish. Anyway, how about Agony?

Originally Posted by ValhallaGH

However, the healing rates mentioned when you talk of HP have me concerned.
Example:
Two characters, one with 10 hp and one with 200 hp.

I'm not too sure about that. First, the example you give will rarely come into play since the healing magic (which I plan to be little less common but still readily available). Second, I played few games that use such a method of HP regeneration and I never got the feeling that longer regenration makes me weaker. Quite the opposite actually - the longer regeneration time gave me the feeling of being someone powerful that needs time to recharge. IMO the perception of being less resilient is an illusion. It's like saying that when you gained a level and got +1 to attacks but monsters got +2 to AC, you are now weaker. You are not

[Szatany]

Originally Posted by Wycen

Not to thread hijack, but I read this thinking you were talking about the computer games Age of Wonders.

Man, I loved those.

Hmmm, maybe I should rename to Age of Legends...

[ValhallaGH]

Originally Posted by Szatany

Maybe the world loses in translation - it's a good fit in polish. Anyway, how about Agony?

I can't comment on how well it fits in Polish (first because I don't speak Polish, and second because even if I did I still think English words in English). Here's the definitions.
"Massacred - the unnecessary, indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings or animals"
"Maimed - a physical injury, especially a loss of a limb"
"Agony - extreme and generally prolonged pain"
Either Agony or Maimed would work fairly well. But, hopefully, you can see why Massacred is simply wrong.

Originally Posted by Szatany

I'm not too sure about that. First, the example you give will rarely come into play since the healing magic (which I plan to be little less common but still readily available).

Unless some grognard doesn't like playing with healing magic.

Originally Posted by Szatany

Second, I played few games that use such a method of HP regeneration and I never got the feeling that longer regenration makes me weaker. Quite the opposite actually - the longer regeneration time gave me the feeling of being someone powerful that needs time to recharge. IMO the perception of being less resilient is an illusion. It's like saying that when you gained a level and got +1 to attacks but monsters got +2 to AC, you are now weaker. You are not

Well, lets just look at the first 10 hp, then, since that's all either one has. The weak guy recovers that in just under 6 hours. The strong guy recovers that in 10 hours.
So, in six hours the weak guy has recovered more hit points than the strong guy, making him better able to resist a damaging attack, immune to death effects, and able to survive anything else better.

How is the weak guy not better off under that healing rate? I'm trying to understand.

[Szatany]

Originally Posted by ValhallaGH

Well, lets just look at the first 10 hp, then, since that's all either one has. The weak guy recovers that in just under 6 hours. The strong guy recovers that in 10 hours.
So, in six hours the weak guy has recovered more hit points than the strong guy, making him better able to resist a damaging attack, immune to death effects, and able to survive anything else better.

Ah, but that's because the strong guy was more badly hurt to begin with (unless I'm not understanding something here).

[ValhallaGH]

Originally Posted by Szatany

Ah, but that's because the strong guy was more badly hurt to begin with (unless I'm not understanding something here).

No, they were equally hurt. They both had 0 hp left.

And after 6 hours, the weak guy is all kinds of healthier than the strong guy. Making him stronger.

[Szatany]

Originally Posted by ValhallaGH

No, they were equally hurt. They both had 0 hp left.

And after 6 hours, the weak guy is all kinds of healthier than the strong guy. Making him stronger.

They may have been equaly hurt but the strong one took far more damage. HP in my game don't represent ability to dodge serious damage (you have reflex save for that). A high level character can literally have more of his body hurt before he goes down, so it takes more time to heal for him.

[ValhallaGH]

That's not consistent with what you describe HP as representing.

And now I've said my piece. I'm done with this conversation. Good luck with your system.

[Szatany]

I forgot to add one thing: In D&D it works the same way, just to a lesser extent. If you raise your constitution and your hit points change, you now recover your total hit points slower.

[ValhallaGH]

In 3.x you recover your character level in hp. So it takes about as long to fully heal at any point in your career. The exception is, as you note, if you get an increase due to increased Constitution bonus, feats, or other sources. Even then, it adds no more than a day per con bonus increase.

If you used that model, then my complaint would be non-existant. It's the complete and total lack of scaling for natural healing that makes your system feel like it punishes characters for getting tougher. If you did scale it with level then both example characters would bounce back in about 6 hours (assuming one was level 1 and the other was level 20) and the strong guy would be actually and consistently stronger than the weak guy.

[Szatany]

How about this variant:

Not Bloodied: You currently have more than half your total hit points. You are susceptible to subdual damage. If not bloodied, you recover 10% of your total hit points per hour.
Bloodied: Your current hit points are somewhere between half total hit points and zero. You are immune to subdual damage but vulnerable to death effects (effects that have a chance to slay you outright). When bloodied, you 10% of your total hit points per 8 hours of light activity or 4 hours or rest.

[ValhallaGH]

So 25 hours of real rest to fully recover, for everyone. Or 45 hours of "light activity", so it will probably be some kind of mix, around 37 hours, for the typical adventurer.

That's definitely a lot better overall than the original version, though it also has a different feel being based on hours of time (1 and 4/8) rather than minutes (1 and 60). I don't know how important that feel was to you. You also lose a touch of the elegance you had before, since there's now the requirement to figure out what 10% of max hp is, but that loss is a small price for the ability to recover in a useful time.

There are other ways to figure the number recovered, some based upon level, others based upon abilities (Con Mod, Con Score - 10, etc.). But the one you've suggested is probably the most fair.

[Szatany]

Originally Posted by ValhallaGH

You also lose a touch of the elegance you had before, since there's now the requirement to figure out what 10% of max hp is, but that loss is a small price for the ability to recover in a useful time.

Not really. 4e, for example, has a box on the character sheet where you put 25% of your total HP. Mine will simply have similar box for the 10% value.
(and to answer a possible future question: I have no plans for healing surges in my game)

[Szatany]

Preview III - Combat Statistics
In this preview I give you the basic combat stats. As you can see, this system has both 3e saves and 4e defenses. This is to give players opportunity to approach combat from more tactical angle. Saves are there so characters can spend actions to increase their chances of survival, unless they miscalculate. Choosing a right save for right situation is essential.
Other changes include simplified range increments, off-hand and 2-hand damage, and the return of 3.0 subdual damage (which I found an interesting concept but poorly implemented).
You will notice that every attribute except Wisdom affects exactly one defense or save. This was done to make attributes more balanced against eachother. Also, in an attempt to de-empasize dexterity's role in combat, Armor defense (old AC) is no longer affected by it. Armor is no unaffected by any attribute. It may be controvential, but I want to try it.

From chapter: combat

COMBAT STATISTICS
This section summarizes the statistics that determine success in combat, and then details how to use

ATTACK ROLL
An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent with an attack. When you make an attack roll, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus. (Other modifiers may also apply to this roll.) If your result equals or beats the target’s defense (most often Armor defense), you hit and deal damage.
Automatic Hits: A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a hit. A natural 20 is also a critical hit if you beat target’s defense or save by 5 or more with the attack roll.

ATTACK BONUS
Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is:
Battle Ability bonus (BAB) + Strength modifier
Your attack bonus with a ranged weapon is:
Battle Ability bonus (BAB) + Dexterity modifier –5 penalty if the attack is made at maximum range

DAMAGE
When your attack succeeds, you deal damage. The type of weapon used determines the amount of damage you deal.
Damage reduces a target’s current hit points.
Strength Bonus: When you hit with a melee, thrown weapon, a sling, or a bow, add your Strength modifier to the damage result.
Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you don’t add your Strength bonus to damage, although you still add the penalty if your Strength is 9 or lower.
Wielding a Weapon Two-Handed: If you wield a one-handed melee weapon in both hands, you add +2 points of damage.
Dexterity Bonus: When you hit with a crossbow or a gun, add your Dexterity modifier to the damage result.
Maximized Damage: Sometimes you maximize damage, such as on a critical hit. Calculate the value of damage as if you have rolled a maximum possible result on all damage dice.
Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage are not maximized.
Subdual Damage: Subdual damage reduces hit points only when the target is not hurt. A hurt character is immune to subdual damage.
Lethal Damage: As opposed to subdual damage, lethal damage reduces hit points regardless of target’s condition. Lethal damage is usually not specifically mentioned – any damage that is not described as subdual is lethal. For example, a fireball spell deals 24 points of damage. Since the damage is not described as subdual, the spell deals 24 points of lethal damage.

DEFENSES
There are three defenses that protect character in a passive manner, providing the attack roll result that an opponent needs to achieve to hit you.
Defense Types: The three different kinds of defenses are Armor, Stamina, and Will:
Armor: Represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on you. Your Armor defense is equal to 10 + armor bonus. All armor is more or less unwieldy, causing encumbrance penalty to certain skills. Heavy armor also reduces walk speed and imposes a penalty to Reflex saves.
Stamina: Measures your ability to stand up to physical punishment or attacks against your vitality and health. Your Stamina defense is equal to 10 + class bonus + Constitution modifier.
Will: Reflects your resistance to mental influence as well as many magical effects. Your Will defense is equal to 10 + class bonus + Charisma modifier.
Touch Attacks: Some attacks disregard armor and parrying attempts. In these cases, the attacker makes an attack roll (either ranged or melee). Unless the target uses Reflex save, or Disrupt save if the attack is a spell, the touch attack automatically hits (in this case the attack roll is made only to determine whether the attack will produce a critical hit).

SAVES
Generally, when you are subject to an attack, you can spend a minor action to make a save and use the save’s result in place of the defense the attack targets. Some attacks don’t target any defense and the only way to avoid them is to make a save.
If you have no minor actions left, you can spend a minor action from your next turn, but you make the save with a –5 penalty.
Like an attack roll, a save is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your class and level, and an attribute modifier.
Save Types: The three different kinds of saves are Disrupt, Parry, and Reflex:
Disrupt: These saves measure your ability to disrupt spells that you are attacked with. In place of a defense the spell normally targets, you can try to disrupt it with your magical skill. Sometimes a disrupt save is the only way to avoid a particularly nasty spell. To make the save, use this formula: Magic Ability bonus + Intellect modifier + d20 roll.
Parry: These saves test your ability to deflect physical attacks with a weapon or shield. All weapon attacks that target armor defense allow for a parry save instead. Touch attacks cannot be parried. Shields also allow to parry some area attacks, such as fireballs. To make the save, use this formula: Battle Ability bonus + Strength modifier + d20 roll.
Reflex: These saves test your ability to dodge attacks. Most attacks that target armor defense allow for a reflex save instead. Sometimes a reflex save is the only way to avoid an attack. To make the save, use this formula: Reflex save bonus + Dexterity modifier –armor penalty (if any) + d20 roll.