Occult Adventures Discussion

Commander_Fallout · Sep 18, 2015

So, as I mentioned in the General Discussion Thread, Occult Adventures is finally fully cataloged on d20pfsrd, and I wanted to get a discussion going on whether or not we should add all or some to our game here. Personally, I really like it. It's incredibly flavorful, it looks fun, and it brings a new dimension to the game which really was fairly nonexistent before. I know that when I was building Wahyu, I was looking for a lot of options that didn't exists then, but do now in this book.

In particular, I'm mainly interested in adding the new classes and spells, though some of the new Occult rules could certainly make for a new brand of adventure to sustain this game longer, should they be added (Ley Lines could be edges where the planes intersect, for instance, perhaps the Gate of Sumbru is a focal point where a great deal of them meet, as an example).

What does everyone else think?

GlassEye · Sep 18, 2015

I like what I've seen though I've only done a cursory read so far. I think the material supports some of the setting that we have going on so far (like Akutu and the Blood Goddess) and would allow better exploration of those. I'll delve into it in earnest and post up further thoughts as I go.

Commander_Fallout · Oct 2, 2015

I agree. I also believe it fits the setting since E'n seems to be in a general Renaissance period, which is generally when Occultism started taking hold IRL. Also, Halloween's coming up. Just saying.

Aura · Oct 5, 2015

I'm not against it, but I'm in no rush for it, either. GMs are already approving and running character classes for the first time, with no real idea what said classes are bringing to the table. Thus, I'm a little cautious on that issue.

Commander_Fallout · Oct 6, 2015

That's true, but, on the other hand, but on the other hand, I feel that the entirety of the online community, at this point, has gotten pretty efficient at testing and quantifying the viability/power of new options. So, while there could be some options that no one has found/reported yet that throws everything out the window, I think the most we're looking at is a collection of reasonably balanced T3-4 classes. Oh, and also Psychic, and while I'm not too keen on adding yet another 9th level caster, on the other hand, I think the fact that they can be so easily shut down with a simple Intimidate check does loads to bridge the caster/martial gap, which usually can't be done if the caster is a wizard instead. Unless they're an abomination psychic. Hmm...

We could, however, try adding them in in singles or pairs so that we aren't immediately flooded with loads of new options. Perhaps we could leave the optional rules alone for now, and examine them if a GM specifically wants to add one to their adventure.

Maidhc O Casain · Oct 7, 2015

Full disclosure - I haven't read this sourcebook, so I can only speak in generalities and can only reference past approvals/dis-approvals.

In general, optional rules have not been voted in to LPF. The ruleset we use has to work for everyone, all the time, in order to facilitate characters moving from group to group, adventure to adventure, and GM to GM. So things like piecemeal armor, armor as DR, etc. don't get used.

Also in general, we started out with the idea that we'd be cautious in what we allow in, taking our time and reviewing new materials thoroughly. LPF is not - can't be, really - a testing ground for new stuff. It's just too hard to take it away once it's been allowed in, even if it turns out to be vulnerable to rules exploitation/power bloat/etc.

I know the new toys are bright and shiny, and they just beg to be taken out of the box and played with. But I'd rather we take our time and make sure they're a good fit for E'n before we turn them loose on our little world.

Commander_Fallout · Oct 9, 2015

Ah. So, should we move to a more case-by-case basis, holding judgement on each class for entry until someone specifically requests them, that way we can focus on them one at a time?

Commander_Fallout · Sep 24, 2016

Well, last time on Dragonball Z, we got Spiritualist approved, and I was currently looking to get the Haunted archetype approved as well.
*nudge*
*nudge*