I'm new to this site and to D&D, but was interesting in getting started here to get more of a feel for D&D, as well as to pass the time. When looking at the stickies I was directed to, I came across a few questions:
Welcome!
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Originally Posted by Theroc
When I post my character to be approved, do I Email ALL of the judges about my character? Or do I pick a few at random?
All of the *character* judges. There are five of us, and we're listed in the first page of the Character list. There's a longer list of judges who judge adventures and decide rules, but it's only the five of us who do characters. Also, two of us need to approve the character before you can adventure, so you'll want to get whichever judges are the first two to look at it -- if you decide only to email a couple, and those ones are the busiest that week, you could be waiting a long time.
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Originally Posted by Theroc
Also, whenever ANYTHING about my character changes on my character sheet, do I email judges again to reapprove, or does this only occur upon levelling up?
Only when you gain a level. We're busy enough as it is without having to look over a character sheet every time someone finds a little treasure.
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Originally Posted by Theroc
Besides the SRD and homebrew content, what source materials are available?(And if there are any online sources I could view, directions to them would be awesome)
All material not in the SRD has to be approved. Material already approved should be listed in the Rules and Mechanics thread.
Also, a caveat about the SRD: Most of us like to use the hyperlinked SRDs at The Hypertext d20 SRD (v3.5 d20 System Reference Document) :: d20srd.org or System Reference Document v3.5. That's fine, but you should know that they both include some material that is not in the official SRD. In the former version, it's listed under "Variant Rules", and in the latter, under "Unearthed Arcana". Much of this stuff has been approved for LEW, but on a case-by-case basis. So if you see something in those particular sections, it's only good for LEW if it's also listed in the Rules and Mechanics thread. Of course, if you see something you'd like to use that isn't approved yet, you can always propose it, provided it isn't proprietary. Any of the material in the above SRDs is open-source, so we could allow it in LEW if we decide to.
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Originally Posted by Theroc
Edit: Also, how do I alter my information to make my email visible so that I may begin my efforts to make a character? Or did I already do that?
I'm not sure what you mean by that. You don't need to change any settings to post a character. You just post to the Character thread, and then email the character judges to take it from there.
__________________ Living ENWorld judge and player Jo Guilan, half-elf druid 1, would rather never return to Orussus Nurlan, human bard 5 / fighter 1, is in the Red Dragon Inn
I'm not sure what you mean by that. You don't need to change any settings to post a character. You just post to the Character thread, and then email the character judges to take it from there.
From "A Guide to living EN World"
In order to get started, a member needs to set their settings on the message board so that an active email address is available to other participants in the game. This can be done by going to the User Control Panel -> Settings -> and then selecting to accept emails from other board members. This is necessary so that relevant emails can be sent to your address readily.
I didn't quite understand why the PM system couldn't be used, especially in my situation as it's easier for me to check the PM box here than use my email(~kicks Outlook Express~) and I check my PM's on forums more than my emails anyway, but I wanted to follow the rules/guides so I could participate without being a headache.
Another question, this time about prestige classes:
I'm thinking this is a no, but in the hypertext D20 SRD, I saw a variant rule about prestige classes regarding In Character assessments rather than statistical values. Is this possible? If not, could the situation be played once the player meets the right requirements? (I dislike the discontinuity of just 'levelling into' a new class without playing out how it happened)
I didn't quite understand why the PM system couldn't be used, especially in my situation as it's easier for me to check the PM box here than use my email(~kicks Outlook Express~) and I check my PM's on forums more than my emails anyway, but I wanted to follow the rules/guides so I could participate without being a headache.
The problem here is that Private Messages aren't readily available to all board members, unfortunately. IIRC, currently board members that aren't community supporters can only PM moderators.
Anyway, currently, you can set that in the My Account link above, following Edit Your Options, and check Accept Email from Other Members.
__________________ Also posts as Ashardalon (here and elsewhere) and as Eques Concordia and Guinea Pig (only elsewhere).
Another question, this time about prestige classes:
I'm thinking this is a no, but in the hypertext D20 SRD, I saw a variant rule about prestige classes regarding In Character assessments rather than statistical values. Is this possible? If not, could the situation be played once the player meets the right requirements? (I dislike the discontinuity of just 'levelling into' a new class without playing out how it happened)
Are you thinking of Test-based prerequisites That's not a LEW rule, and while you can always propose it, I'd oppose it, because I think less-rigorously defined prerequisites don't work well in a campaign that doesn't have a single absolute DM authority.
However, if your character is about to meet the prerequisites for some PrC, and you'd like to role-play in-character qualification, you can always post a request for a DM to design and run a vignette for that. Nobody's obliged to do that, but we have had some adventures designed to fit PCs character development plans before.
__________________ Living ENWorld judge and player Jo Guilan, half-elf druid 1, would rather never return to Orussus Nurlan, human bard 5 / fighter 1, is in the Red Dragon Inn
Are you thinking of Test-based prerequisites That's not a LEW rule, and while you can always propose it, I'd oppose it, because I think less-rigorously defined prerequisites don't work well in a campaign that doesn't have a single absolute DM authority.
However, if your character is about to meet the prerequisites for some PrC, and you'd like to role-play in-character qualification, you can always post a request for a DM to design and run a vignette for that. Nobody's obliged to do that, but we have had some adventures designed to fit PCs character development plans before.
Yes, that's what I meant. I always thought the idea of suddenly gaining levels in a prestigious class you'd never heard of made no sense, so the idea of a 'mini adventure' dedicated to playing out how the character was introduced to it struck me as ideal. So, if it comes to the time I'm awesome enough to take one, I'll see if I could get a DM to look into it.
Thanks muchly.
Last edited by Theroc; 1st April 2009 at 02:56 AM..
Apologies if doubleposting is prohibited, but I've seen no rule against it, and have seen other members do so as well.
Had a couple more questions... yeah, I'm full of them.
What Racial Paragon classes from the Variant Rules in the SRD are available, besides human and half-elf? The Wiki didn't explain, and the class starting scores simply listed Paragon (Other). Is it all of them?
Also, what is the maximum level achievable in EN-worlds? I'd like to know that before I make a complex build strategy only to discover I can't achieve it. I do realize that higher level builds would likely take years to achieve though.
Last edited by Theroc; 1st April 2009 at 03:35 AM..
What Racial Paragon classes from the Variant Rules in the SRD are available, besides human and half-elf? The Wiki didn't explain, and the class starting scores simply listed Paragon (Other). Is it all of them?
All of them -- they were approved as a single proposal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Theroc
Also, what is the maximum level achievable in EN-worlds? I'd like to know that before I make a complex build strategy only to discover I can't achieve it. I do realize that higher level builds would likely take years to achieve though.
The sky's the limit. Epic level rules are part of the SRD, and therefore part of our ruleset. At the pace of PbP, expect at least 10 years from character creation -- if you're lucky, and don't get stuck in any adventures getting bogged down -- before you reach that level. The most advanced PCs have about 1 level per 6 months since LEW was created.
__________________ Living ENWorld judge and player Jo Guilan, half-elf druid 1, would rather never return to Orussus Nurlan, human bard 5 / fighter 1, is in the Red Dragon Inn
Location: columbia, missouri, u.s. of north america, terra, sol III, Milky way, third demension
Posts: 4,861
Quote:
Originally Posted by Theroc
On the character application, there were a few abbreviations and things I had questions on.
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Firstly, what is ACP? Are those actions points? Or Armor Check Penalty? I'm thinking the latter.
armor check pennalty
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Do I put N/A for arcane failure chances on a character who does not cast arcane spells?
I do. gives them notice yoou understand what it is and how it does not apply to your character
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What is Spellsave? I am not familiar with it...
it does not sound familiar to me either. what context is it in? can you give me a link to it? I have never seen it my self. it might mean the spell save dc for each level of spell. (10+spell level+int mod+other mods
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Abilities on the chart means special abilities granted by race, correct?
I am once again not sure of the context, but it could mean class abilities on progression charts.
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For skills, do I list all skills, or only those which I've placed skill points into?
i would recommend on those that you have ranks in, then as yoou use cirtain skills regularly you can add those for simple refrence
as an example i present you with my character pendrake utherman, fighter 4. just plain fighter.
notice that there are un ranked skills listed. those were called upon quite often when he was fighting against the blacklilly thievs, and for easy refrence for often used untrained skills, i listed them.
Code:
Skill Points: (2+1) X 4 (fighter lv 1) +4
(human race bonus) = 16
2+1+1 (int +1, human bonus +1) = +4 skill points /level
after 1st
total at level 4: 28
Max Ranks (class/crossclass): 7/3.5
Skills: Ranks Mod Misc Total acp
Climb * 3 +3 +3 -3
Craft, leatherworking * 7 +1 +8
Craft, scrimshaw * 3 +1 +4
Diplomacy 0 0 +0
Gather Info 0 0 +0
Handle Animal * 2 0 +2
Jump * 5 +3 +5 -3
Listen 0 0 +0
Ride * 4 +2 +6
Swim * 4 +3 +1 -6
Spot 0 0 +0
Use rope 0 +2 +2
(*) denotes class skill
The standard character sheet is intended to be a general guide to how a readable character sheet looks, not an iron-clad law dictating exactly what you have to fill out and where it goes. It helps us character judges if, when looking to see that you've calculated your armor check penalty right, we know roughly where to look for the ACP number. But if there are fields that don't apply to your character, it's certainly okay to leave them off or put N/A or leave them blank.
My recommendation is to look over some character sheets for characters similar to yours and try to get a feel for how other people have represented the information. You'll quickly find that there's a lot of variation, and that you like some formats better than others. Copy one you like. If the judges hate it, we'll tell you to fix it, but otherwise don't worry too much about the details.
Thanks guys, sorry if I seem rather clueless, as I said in a post elsewhere, in the previous D&D adventures I played, both were rules light(one moreso than the other) games, so when getting into this, I'm running into things I never encountered during my brief experiences.
As another question: As the SRD cannot tell me, is it possible for me to get a brief synopsis on levelling benefits? I've seen things indicate that every third level a character gets a feat, but elsewhere I've seen it mentioned as four. Is this class or race based? Or is one or the other correct?
This is one of the only things I know I can't get info on regarding levelling.
Given how little I know, I'm thinking a fighter would be my best bet on starting off... any opinions on which classes are easiest to ease into EN-World with, with regards to rules and whatnot?
Location: columbia, missouri, u.s. of north america, terra, sol III, Milky way, third demension
Posts: 4,861
character level 1 you get a feat and then at 3. beyond that it is every third level.
you get an ability modifier (+1) at every 4th level
this information, as far as i know , is not in the srd. I believe the srd was originally designed to create 3rd party material (modules and books) and not intended to create characters. thus, I had to personally find a PHB when i first played this game. the chart with the information you are asking about here is in the PHB.
As for the questions, I fully encourage the questions to be asked now so that you don't do what I did and take a feat that was not on the list because i didn't read the rull page or so of rules and screwed up. The judges were gracious in their helping me fix my mistake and i am glad to see you asking these questions.
so: on behalf of the judges not getting another bout of heart burn like i caused them. . .
Just to clarify something for myself, yeah, more questions... lol
When taking the "Martial Weapon Proficiency" feat, it applies to only one weapon, but classes such as fighter can use any martial or simple weapon without buying feats, correct?
Yet another question:
What crafting skills apply to which items?
The SRD didn't list specific skills, so which exist in EN-World?
I saw someone was a Blacksmith, weaponsmith and armorsmith, each having different levels.
What is the difference between these?
What other crafting skills are there? Leatherworking, alchemy?
It should be pretty straitforward as to what you can make with each Craft skill. It may vary somewhat DM to DM.
The following skill are listed in the PHB (they are missing in the SRD):
alchemy, armorsmithing, basketweaving, bookbinding, bowmaking, blacksmithing, calligraphy, carpentry, cobbling, gemcutting, leatherworking, locksmithing, painting, pottery, sculpting, shipmaking, stomemasonry, trapmaking, weaponsmithing and weaving.
This is not an inclusive list. If you're interested in something not covered here, you can come up with something appropriate. For example, I have seen Craft: Poisonmaking show up in a few sourcebooks.
Re: armorsmithing, blacksmithing and weaponsmithing.
The way I see it, armorsmithing and weaponsmithing are more specialized. They would allow you to create/repair armor and weapons, respectively. Knowing how to make a sword doesn't mean you know how to make plate mail, and vice versa. Blacksmithing is more generalized. It would allow you to things you would generally xpect the town smithy to do, i.e. shoe horses, create pots, pans and other simple metal objects, basic smelting...
The SRD does contain a table with some DC rating for some objects to give you a basic idea.
It does help some, as you provided the list, but... what mechanically does each crafting skill do?
Like, are basket weaving and weaving just flavored crafting skills, or can you produce a useful adventuring item with it?
I just want to clarify, so I know which crafting skills I should aim towards for a given character, and also curious what types of items each crafting skill creates.
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