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A New D&D Revolution: Nations & Cannons Core Rules Review
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<blockquote data-quote="Sparky McDibben" data-source="post: 9014650" data-attributes="member: 7041430"><p>Nope! I'll let the developers answer if that's something they're thinking of including, but for me, I'd run a mass combat using the old 3.5 <em>Tome of Battle</em> with a loose Victory Point system.</p><p></p><p>So, as an example, Bunker Hill:</p><p>1) Can the PCs convince Putnam & Prescott to fortify the correct hill (they actually fortified Breed's Hill, but this is a chance for the PCs to sway their commanders) +10 VP</p><p>2) Can the PCs get exposed troops to cover when the <em>HMS Lively </em>opens fire on their fortifications? An optional objective might be to salvage the water supply (Advantage on all rolls if they fortified Bunker Hill) +5 VP, +10 if they salvage the water supply</p><p>3) Can the PCs forage successfully among the British dead for powder and shot? +2 VP</p><p>4) Can the PCs convince deserting men to stand their ground? +5 VP</p><p>5) Can the PCs cover the retreat from Breed's Hill effectively, buying time for the wounded and the artillery to be evacuated? +13 VP</p><p></p><p>At 0 VP, the battle plays out as in the history; at +20 VP the colonists fall back in good order, salvaging artillery and supplies for the siege of Boston. At +40 VP, the PCs might actually be counterattacking Howe's exhausted regulars, driving the British off the peninsula and handing the Continental Army a stunning success.</p><p> </p><p></p><p>See? Told you they were friends of the forum! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>Alright, y'all, let me know if you want me to go back and cover any of the Origins in more detail! For today let's get into the class options!</p><p></p><p>Nations and Cannons presents four subclasses and one new class. I'm going to start with the new class, the Firebrand!</p><p></p><p>So first off, as has been previously commented by Weiley31, the class symbol is <em>fire:</em></p><p></p><p><img src="http://nationscannons.com/wp-content/uploads/icon_firebrand-1.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 324px" /></p><p>Points to that logo designer, y'all! The firebrand is all about the class fantasy of mobilizing other folks to accomplish change. It's core concept is that with just a quill and the right ideas, you can change the world. It's also a huge part of why I jumped into this system - I love a design that's willing to swing for the fences. </p><p></p><p>The mechanical package falls somewhere between rogue and bard, occupying a back-rank slot for combat while being a fantastic face and getting a few options to help integrate with the exploration pillar. We get a d8 Hit Die, light armor proficiency, simple weapons, longswords, and all martial pistols. You get Charisma and Wisdom save proficiency, and three skill selections.</p><p></p><p>Your first option is called Bear Witness - it gives you advantage when confronted with deception. The more you know about the deception, the more you can find out about the truth, with specific prompts the player can ask the DM. It's an interesting and well-done feature that plugs the player into the world, but is probably worth a session zero conversation with that player to avoid hyper-focusing on Insight checks.</p><p></p><p>Next up is your second level 1 feature: Speech Casting! So, this is worth a quick digression. <em>Nations & Cannons</em> focuses on historical play, so obviously there are no spells*. But what the design team did was package cool, thematic, heroic elements of flintlock-era RP into something that is mechanically like a spell, but really just represents something cool your character can do a limited number of times per day. As an example, the blowback gambit:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]283875[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>So you don't get <em>fireball</em>, but you do get to <em>blow up a fool with his own grenade!</em></p><p></p><p>I just thought that was awesome. Anyway, only the firebrand and the ranger get gambits in the base rules, but the various subclasses presented here interact with it off and on. </p><p></p><p>The Firebrand occupies a little bit of a unique space, being a prepared half-caster that gets two slots at level 1. You also (at level 1) choose your subclass, or Vocation. There's the Chaplain, which takes the class in more cleric-ish direction, and the Demagogue, which gives you grenade proficiency and leans heavier into bard territory. Another interesting decision the designers made was to let the Firebrand upcast gambits using a meta-currency called Resolve. Resolve lets you force rerolls on Charisma saves and checks made by anyone in 60', letting you act as either debate bro or hype man, depending on whether it's an enemy or ally, respectively. Since this presumably includes yourself, you are a bard-tier social monster at level 2, which really lets the Firebrand shine without making them frustrating to GM for (looking at you, College of Eloquence). </p><p></p><p>Resolve can also be used to upcast gambits that you can't cast yet. The Resolve cost is ((level of gambit x 2) - 1)), so you can cast a fifth level gambit at 9th level (Resolve scales upward with your character level, like ki or Sorcery Points). So you can expend a big surge of Resolve and accomplish something really impactful, but there's a meaningful cost associated. 5th level gambits on the firebrand's list include things like <em>summon company, </em>which lets you bring partisans to help you out in magnificent style. You can't use Resolve to cast first-level gambits, though, so no spamming. </p><p></p><p>Resolve refreshes on a long rest until 6th level, when you get a 1x/day short rest recharge. I personally would houserule that you can refresh on a short rest from the jump, but that's a matter of preference. </p><p></p><p>There's one more awesome thing about this class that I want to address real quick, and that's the 5th level feature, Pamphleteer. This lets you inscribe a gambit into a letter and mail it to someone. The gambit must only target one person, and must inflict either a curse or the charmed condition. I love this so much, y'all; it reminds me of something like <em>Rights of the British Colonies</em>. It also feels like something that should be possible with this class, and also I just love anything that lets me weaponize civil servants. </p><p></p><p>Alright, y'all, it's the Saturday after Cinco de Mayo, and where I live, that's a Big Deal. So I need to go walk my yard and make sure no hooliganery got into ol' Sparky's bailiwick. Y'all have fun, and I'll catch you on the flipside!</p><p></p><p>*If you have to ask why, you might be spending too much time here. Go outside, hug a squirrel, punch a llama, and if you see Dan, tell him he still owes me that $200.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sparky McDibben, post: 9014650, member: 7041430"] Nope! I'll let the developers answer if that's something they're thinking of including, but for me, I'd run a mass combat using the old 3.5 [I]Tome of Battle[/I] with a loose Victory Point system. So, as an example, Bunker Hill: 1) Can the PCs convince Putnam & Prescott to fortify the correct hill (they actually fortified Breed's Hill, but this is a chance for the PCs to sway their commanders) +10 VP 2) Can the PCs get exposed troops to cover when the [I]HMS Lively [/I]opens fire on their fortifications? An optional objective might be to salvage the water supply (Advantage on all rolls if they fortified Bunker Hill) +5 VP, +10 if they salvage the water supply 3) Can the PCs forage successfully among the British dead for powder and shot? +2 VP 4) Can the PCs convince deserting men to stand their ground? +5 VP 5) Can the PCs cover the retreat from Breed's Hill effectively, buying time for the wounded and the artillery to be evacuated? +13 VP At 0 VP, the battle plays out as in the history; at +20 VP the colonists fall back in good order, salvaging artillery and supplies for the siege of Boston. At +40 VP, the PCs might actually be counterattacking Howe's exhausted regulars, driving the British off the peninsula and handing the Continental Army a stunning success. See? Told you they were friends of the forum! :D Alright, y'all, let me know if you want me to go back and cover any of the Origins in more detail! For today let's get into the class options! Nations and Cannons presents four subclasses and one new class. I'm going to start with the new class, the Firebrand! So first off, as has been previously commented by Weiley31, the class symbol is [I]fire:[/I] [IMG width="324px"]http://nationscannons.com/wp-content/uploads/icon_firebrand-1.png[/IMG] Points to that logo designer, y'all! The firebrand is all about the class fantasy of mobilizing other folks to accomplish change. It's core concept is that with just a quill and the right ideas, you can change the world. It's also a huge part of why I jumped into this system - I love a design that's willing to swing for the fences. The mechanical package falls somewhere between rogue and bard, occupying a back-rank slot for combat while being a fantastic face and getting a few options to help integrate with the exploration pillar. We get a d8 Hit Die, light armor proficiency, simple weapons, longswords, and all martial pistols. You get Charisma and Wisdom save proficiency, and three skill selections. Your first option is called Bear Witness - it gives you advantage when confronted with deception. The more you know about the deception, the more you can find out about the truth, with specific prompts the player can ask the DM. It's an interesting and well-done feature that plugs the player into the world, but is probably worth a session zero conversation with that player to avoid hyper-focusing on Insight checks. Next up is your second level 1 feature: Speech Casting! So, this is worth a quick digression. [I]Nations & Cannons[/I] focuses on historical play, so obviously there are no spells*. But what the design team did was package cool, thematic, heroic elements of flintlock-era RP into something that is mechanically like a spell, but really just represents something cool your character can do a limited number of times per day. As an example, the blowback gambit: [ATTACH type="full" width="383px"]283875[/ATTACH] So you don't get [I]fireball[/I], but you do get to [I]blow up a fool with his own grenade![/I] I just thought that was awesome. Anyway, only the firebrand and the ranger get gambits in the base rules, but the various subclasses presented here interact with it off and on. The Firebrand occupies a little bit of a unique space, being a prepared half-caster that gets two slots at level 1. You also (at level 1) choose your subclass, or Vocation. There's the Chaplain, which takes the class in more cleric-ish direction, and the Demagogue, which gives you grenade proficiency and leans heavier into bard territory. Another interesting decision the designers made was to let the Firebrand upcast gambits using a meta-currency called Resolve. Resolve lets you force rerolls on Charisma saves and checks made by anyone in 60', letting you act as either debate bro or hype man, depending on whether it's an enemy or ally, respectively. Since this presumably includes yourself, you are a bard-tier social monster at level 2, which really lets the Firebrand shine without making them frustrating to GM for (looking at you, College of Eloquence). Resolve can also be used to upcast gambits that you can't cast yet. The Resolve cost is ((level of gambit x 2) - 1)), so you can cast a fifth level gambit at 9th level (Resolve scales upward with your character level, like ki or Sorcery Points). So you can expend a big surge of Resolve and accomplish something really impactful, but there's a meaningful cost associated. 5th level gambits on the firebrand's list include things like [I]summon company, [/I]which lets you bring partisans to help you out in magnificent style. You can't use Resolve to cast first-level gambits, though, so no spamming. Resolve refreshes on a long rest until 6th level, when you get a 1x/day short rest recharge. I personally would houserule that you can refresh on a short rest from the jump, but that's a matter of preference. There's one more awesome thing about this class that I want to address real quick, and that's the 5th level feature, Pamphleteer. This lets you inscribe a gambit into a letter and mail it to someone. The gambit must only target one person, and must inflict either a curse or the charmed condition. I love this so much, y'all; it reminds me of something like [I]Rights of the British Colonies[/I]. It also feels like something that should be possible with this class, and also I just love anything that lets me weaponize civil servants. Alright, y'all, it's the Saturday after Cinco de Mayo, and where I live, that's a Big Deal. So I need to go walk my yard and make sure no hooliganery got into ol' Sparky's bailiwick. Y'all have fun, and I'll catch you on the flipside! *If you have to ask why, you might be spending too much time here. Go outside, hug a squirrel, punch a llama, and if you see Dan, tell him he still owes me that $200. [/QUOTE]
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