Flynn
First Post
It seems that everyone goes through a phase where they look at the rules and think to themselves, "What would I change if I could?" I am currently in the middle of a Grim Tales sword and planet campaign, but I expect that campaign to end before the end of the year (probably around its 18-19 month mark). I like some of what I've seen in True 20, but plainly, I like hit dice and rolling for damage, that kind of thing, and my gaming friends have demonstrated that they have a hard time with non-standard magic systems (i.e. no spells or spell slots). All in all, though, I'm beginning to get a mental picture of a new variant rules set to use for my next fantasy-based campaign. I would like to post my initial thoughts here, to see what people think and determine if this might be of enough interest to attract local gamers.
Here is a brief list of my current thoughts:
1. Streamline combat, using inspiration from True20's system, so that combat runs more quickly. This would mean less attacks per round at higher levels, for both PCs and monsters.
2. Prestige Classes are optional in the rules (see the DMG's intro on prestige classes for proof on that one), so remove them from this campaign. Instead, add the appropriate special abilities as feat chains, to empower character choice and variety.
3. Use Weapon Group feats. The response for these has been very good from all playtesters.
4. Use Action Dice in the manner described in Grim Tales. I've seen it in action, and it's a wonderful system. No complaints, and lots of compliments from players over the life of the GT campaign.
5. Offer the Battle Sorcerer as a core class, replacing the sorcerer.
6. Possibly trim down the core classes, and use feat chains to allow duplication of old classes, if desired. This is simply to prevent core class proliferation, and isn't a deal-breaker, though.
7. Modify the magic system somewhat, implementing a spontaneous system for divine casters as outlined in Unearthed Arcana, perhaps with an increase in spells known. (That was the only complaint we had in playtesting that aspect in a previous campaign.)
7a. Alternately, I could go with a magic system inspired by True20, where spellcasting is based on spell checks, and failure leads to exhaustion. However, instead of power checks, spells from a character's known spell list would be the effect generated by a successful casting check.
8. The use of negative CON score as the Dead value instead of -10, and the use of negative CON bonus as the lower end of the staggered range instead of 0 alone as staggered, as per Grim Tales. Also, using a Fortitude save (DC 20) to stop bleeding instead of a straight 10% roll.
I realize that this does change some of the basic nature of the game, and purists will have problems with it. However, is it too much? Would people still be interested in playing in such a game? If it's too much, what would need to be dropped from the above in order to bring it back to an "acceptable" level?
An inquiring DM wants to know,
Flynn
Here is a brief list of my current thoughts:
1. Streamline combat, using inspiration from True20's system, so that combat runs more quickly. This would mean less attacks per round at higher levels, for both PCs and monsters.
2. Prestige Classes are optional in the rules (see the DMG's intro on prestige classes for proof on that one), so remove them from this campaign. Instead, add the appropriate special abilities as feat chains, to empower character choice and variety.
3. Use Weapon Group feats. The response for these has been very good from all playtesters.
4. Use Action Dice in the manner described in Grim Tales. I've seen it in action, and it's a wonderful system. No complaints, and lots of compliments from players over the life of the GT campaign.
5. Offer the Battle Sorcerer as a core class, replacing the sorcerer.
6. Possibly trim down the core classes, and use feat chains to allow duplication of old classes, if desired. This is simply to prevent core class proliferation, and isn't a deal-breaker, though.
7. Modify the magic system somewhat, implementing a spontaneous system for divine casters as outlined in Unearthed Arcana, perhaps with an increase in spells known. (That was the only complaint we had in playtesting that aspect in a previous campaign.)
7a. Alternately, I could go with a magic system inspired by True20, where spellcasting is based on spell checks, and failure leads to exhaustion. However, instead of power checks, spells from a character's known spell list would be the effect generated by a successful casting check.
8. The use of negative CON score as the Dead value instead of -10, and the use of negative CON bonus as the lower end of the staggered range instead of 0 alone as staggered, as per Grim Tales. Also, using a Fortitude save (DC 20) to stop bleeding instead of a straight 10% roll.
I realize that this does change some of the basic nature of the game, and purists will have problems with it. However, is it too much? Would people still be interested in playing in such a game? If it's too much, what would need to be dropped from the above in order to bring it back to an "acceptable" level?
An inquiring DM wants to know,
Flynn
