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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 01:59 AM #1
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ø Block Ry
ø Friend+E6: The Game Inside D&D (new revision)
This is E6’s fourth iteration here at EN World; there’s been an explosion of interest in it lately, and I have revised it again here. Enjoy!
E6: The Game Inside D&D
What is E6?
Earlier this year Ryan Dancey suggested that D&D has four distinct quartiles of play:
Levels 1-5: Gritty fantasy
Levels 6-10: Heroic fantasy
Levels 11-15: Wuxia
Levels 16-20: Superheroes
There’s been some great discussion about how to define those quartiles, and how each different quartile suited some groups better than others.
E6 is a game about those first 2 quartiles, and as a result, it has fewer rules, a low-magic flavor, and it is quick and easy to prepare. I have playtested the system extensively with my crew, and it works as intended. There seems to be a lot of lively debate about E6, and some real interest in how it works, so I've revised it here.
How E6 works
Like D&D, E6 is a game of enigmatic wizards, canny rogues, and mighty warriors who rise against terrible dangers and overcome powerful foes. But instead of using D&D’s 20 levels to translate characters into the rules, E6 uses only the first 6. E6 is about changing one of D&D’s essential assumptions, but despite that it doesn't need a lot of rules to do so.
In E6, the stats of an average person are the stats of a 1st-level commoner. Like their medieval counterparts, this person has never travelled more than a mile from their home. Imagine a 6th-level Wizard or 6th-level Fighter from the commoner's perspective. The wizard could kill everyone in your village with a few words. The fighter could duel with ten armed guards in a row and kill every one of them. If you spot a manticore, everyone you know is in terrible, terrible danger. Against such a creature, the wizard or fighter may be your only hope. E6 recognizes that 6th level characters are mortal, while providing a context where they are epic heroes.
Levels 1 to 6 was the period where a character comes into his own, where a crash course in action and danger transforms them from 1st-level commoners into capable fighting men (or corpses). Once transformed by their experiences, a character’s growth is no longer a continuous, linear progression. There are still major differences between the master warriors and the veteran mercenaries, but it's not a change of scale.
Rules
Character progression from level 1 to level 6 is as per D&D. Upon attaining 6th level, for each 5000 experience a character gains, they earn a new feat. A diverse selection of feats should be made available in any E6 campaign, however, feats with unattainable prerequisites under this system remain unattainable.
For the purpose of experience awards, treat each 5 feats as +1 CR (or level), to an upper limit of 20 feats. After this, a ratio of 10 feats to 1 CR can be used, as it becomes more and more difficult to bring all a character’s feats to bear in a given situation. Alternatively, and at the GM’s option, player-characters with more than 20 feats can simply be always treated as if they were level 10 for experience and challenge purposes.
For the GM
E6 isn't just a change for the players: Monsters are presented differently than in d20. Just as level 6 parties in D&D aren’t expected to tangle with monsters higher than CR 10, the mighty monsters of E6 require special consideration for presentation in-game. E6 characters aren't intended to go up against high-level D&D threats under the same circumstances as high-level D&D characters; those creatures, if they are defeatable at all, require the kind of resources and planning far beyond the typical D&D encounter.
In terms of raw rules, CR 7-10 monsters are an excellent guide for what E6 characters can handle. As they rise to around the 20-feat range, the range is more like 7-12. Beyond that, a DM should take monsters in the CR 7-12 range and use feats (and to a lesser extent templates) to advance them. Hit die or class-based advancement beyond CR 12, or base monsters above CR 12 should generally be avoided as straight-up fights.
Of course, not every monstrous encounter is a straight-up fight. For example, insane horrors from another age might be a reason to run, and there is little a character could do in the face of an angry Titan. But these situations don’t call for direct confrontation, except with some special resource or amazing circumstance. Perhaps, in a special ritual with the presence of 20 mages, a Titan can be bound to the mortal realm (lowering its stats to an Aspect of Kord), with whom the players can do battle. Again, that's far from a straight-up fight with a CR 20 creature, but we can console ourselves with the fact that it's probably a very memorable encounter.
If, as a result of the restrictions on items, an item cannot be created, then it should not be distributed as normal treasure. Like high-level monsters, such items should be placed carefully and built to make sense in the context of your game. For example, a +4 sword can’t be made by a human wizard, but it could be crafted by a Titan (which makes for great god-stats). That's a sword that no mortal can make.
E6 will always inherit D&D's balance issues at the same level, especially issues that result from scenarios where those characters D&D characters have long periods of downtime. The best approach is to be cognizant of these issues when considering what feats to allow in your E6 game.
On Allowing Feats
Benefits of E6Last edited by Ry; Saturday, 14th July, 2007 at 12:11 AM. Reason: trimmed for readability
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:00 AM #2
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ø Block Ry
ø Friend+Feats
Extra Feats
I consider these feats to be necessary even with the Cautious Approach; along with the SRD feats, they provide for a minimal level of continuing advancement for E6 characters, and address issues like removing negative levels.
The Feats
Extra Feats for Ability Advancement
If you want your characters to be able to improve their abilities slightly above their natural aptitudes, then you can use the following:
Ability FeatsLast edited by Ry; Sunday, 8th July, 2007 at 06:38 PM. Reason: Sblocks make for a less overwhelming read.
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:00 AM #3
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ø Friend+Faq
The E6 FAQ
Using E6
Q: So characters just stop levelling at 6?
A: That’s right. Characters who have reached level 6 have proven themselves, but this extremely rapid growth does not go on forever. Instead, they master specialized techniques, or become more versatile. This stage of a character’s development is represented by gaining new feats.
Q: Does E6 change the stacking rules? For example, can I take Weapon Focus twice and have it stack? Can I take Skill Focus twice and have it stack?
A: The stacking rules remain the same as in standard D&D.
Q: What if I want there to be a higher level magical effect, but still use E6?
The rules for rituals in Unearthed Arcana are an excellent fit for E6, to support things like opening portals to another dimension, higher-level divinations, and so on. When a spell is a 3-day event requiring 20 mages, it’s more of a plot point than a spell itself, and that maeks it a great a springboard for challenging the players.
Q: As a DM, I like running things on the fly. Can E6 support that kind of play?
A: Absolutely. A DM that knows how to estimate the abilities of enemies in the low-level range can use that knowledge throughout the campaign. Likewise, familiarity breeds mastery – and for feats, spells, and monsters, there is more chance for a DM to become familiar with abilities in an appropriate range to the PCs, even if he is using a diverse selection of monsters. Furthermore, Dungeon Masters can get much more mileage out of their previous work: The stats of a 5th-level sorcerer written for 4th level PCs is still a useful tool months of gametime later against characters who are 6th level +10 feats.
Q: Can you make high-level items as a low-level caster in E6?
A: No, caster level requirements for magic items are treated as hard requirements.
Q: If a character took multiple classes, or Prestige Classes, suddenly you've got a guy with saves that are seriously out of whack. Is this a game-breaking issue?
A: If you multiclass that much, you're probably doing it to get the saves. In that situation, your saves are your special ability. Moreover, saves are passive abilities; the player doesn't control when their character uses a save, which gives them limited appeal compared to stuff the player can control. So if a player goes after them like crazy, and succeeds in having really exceptional saves – let them have their fun.
Q: I prefer stopping at around 8th level, does that work for this system?
A: The system will probably work about as well at 8th level, but note that “Epic 6th” characters do end up being more powerful than regular 6th level characters. Epic 6th may be what you want for a game that sits at the power level for Level 8, and Epic 8th may cater more closely to Level 10 style play.
Q: Does E6 work with a slower progression to level 6? Does it work when characters are created at 2nd level?
Yes and yes. I've tried both during my playtesting period. I'll be starting my new game at 3rd level.
Q: I’m not a big fan of experience points. Do you need a strict XP system to make E6 work?
A: An ad-hoc "gain a feat" approach would work absolutely 100% with this system. I used to do that with other systems (power up when the story makes it appropriate) and given the fact that the upper end of the power curve flattens off, that method should go very smoothly with E6.
Q: Can you use Prestige Classes with E6?
A: I’d recommend taking the same approach you take in your regular D&D game. If you allow Prestige Classes there, feel free to allow them here. Of course, characters capped at 6th level can usually take at most 1 level of a Prestige Class.
Q: With only 6 levels, how do races with a level adjustment work?
If you use races with a level adjustment, the 6th level cap is a big issue. Use the point buy rules in the DMG as follows:
LA Point buy
+0 32
+1 25
+2 18
+3 10
+4 00
Thus, +LA races should start with zero LA, but use the point buy listed here. Keep in mind the difference between LA and racial hit dice (the two combine to give starting ECL).
Why is E6 designed this way?Last edited by Ry; Sunday, 8th July, 2007 at 04:43 AM.
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:03 AM #4
Spellbinder (Lvl 16)
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ø Block Nifft
ø Friend+Question: how do you count the CR of a level 6 NPC with a bunch of extra feats and/or loot?
Question: wish and Inherent bonus stacking. There are still ways to get wishes, but getting 5 in a row is a problem. How do you account for Inherent bonuses, and how do you account for CR of NPCs who have such bonuses?
Cheers, -- N
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:07 AM #5
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ø Block Ry
ø Friend+5 feats : 1 CR is a good ratio for the first 20 feats or so. After that it gets hard for a monster / NPC to really bring more than 20 feats to bear. Like anything with the CR system, this guideline does not override the DM's responsibility to use his or her own judgement.
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:07 AM #6
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ø Block Ry
ø Friend+As to inherent bonuses... huh? How do characters get wishes?
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:12 AM #7
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ø Block Ry
ø Friend+Ry's Drama Rules
These house rules go well with or without E6, and I recommend them.
I use these rules in my game to reduce lethality, make sure that the PCs are the stars of the show, and provide a stunt mechanic without slowing down play with new odds or modifiers. These rules assume that Players Roll All the Dice, which I recommend for all campaigns, Epic 6th level or not.
Conviction
The Death Flag
Raising the Stakes
Reading the Players
When a player spends Conviction, they're saying "Hey, this is important to me. I want my character to have been the one that pulled this off - or at least, put everything into trying."
When a player raises the Death flag, they're saying "This is worth staking my character's life on."
When a player Raises they're saying "Hey, I have an idea to make this more exciting. What do you think?"
When a DM declines a Raise they're saying "Cool idea, but I'm not quite ready for that to happen right now."
Playtesting
I have used Conviction in many, many sessions, the Death Flag was only used in one-shots so far, and I have not had a chance to playtest Raises yet. I will be using all 3 in my new campaign.Last edited by Ry; Saturday, 7th July, 2007 at 11:23 AM.
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:17 AM #8
Spellbinder (Lvl 16)
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ø Block Nifft
ø Friend+Originally Posted by rycanada
Cheers, -- N
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:25 AM #9
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ø Block Ry
ø Friend+Hmm... I'm not sure. Whatever method you would use to evaluate the CR of a low-level encounter that had the benefit of a wish spell in D&D would be the best to use here. I mean, if the wish's results are like a template, compare to a template's CR change. If they up a stat by 2, then treat it as 2 feats like Ability Training / Advancement, above. But inherent bonuses are an even deeper corner case in E6 than they are in D&D.
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Saturday, 7th July, 2007, 02:44 AM #10
Spellbinder (Lvl 16)
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ø Block Nifft
ø Friend+In regular D&D, I'd use wealth-by-level / wealth-by-CR guidelines and count a Tome of Blah in with the equipment.
But, you see, at CR 6 that is too much wealth.
So, I guess this goes back to the earlier question: how do you account for wealth in CR?
-- N
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