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Ptolus in the Swordlands
- Thread starter Waylander
- Start date
Particularly how magic-rich Ptolus is . . . Just wondered if anyone else had attempted this?
Waylander
The Slayer
Hi Odhanan!
Preferably Iron Heroes throughout (I have the players companion on order which may help with this) but if this becomes too problematic I may compromise to having some NPCs retain their current D&D spellcasting classes (but with a modified background to explain why).
Preferably Iron Heroes throughout (I have the players companion on order which may help with this) but if this becomes too problematic I may compromise to having some NPCs retain their current D&D spellcasting classes (but with a modified background to explain why).
Odhanan
Adventurer
It's feasible if you still include magical options and classes. You might want to rip off the Magister from AE, or use one of the options provided by various sourcebooks (including the new Spiritualist from IH's Player's Companion. For other magic system options, see this OYT thread).
You'd have to rethink/redesign the critical magical items as well (Shadowstaff, swords of Ptolus and so on). Redefine magic-oriented groups in Ptolus (Inverted Pyramid and so on). Some "common things" in Ptolus, like the Shadow sendings, could be reinterpreted with a much darker feel to them.
No doubt your Ptolus would end up quite different in feel from the original, but if you don't try to do everything at once and just stick to what players are likely to see and interact with, bit by bit, that is indeed feasible.
You'd have to rethink/redesign the critical magical items as well (Shadowstaff, swords of Ptolus and so on). Redefine magic-oriented groups in Ptolus (Inverted Pyramid and so on). Some "common things" in Ptolus, like the Shadow sendings, could be reinterpreted with a much darker feel to them.
No doubt your Ptolus would end up quite different in feel from the original, but if you don't try to do everything at once and just stick to what players are likely to see and interact with, bit by bit, that is indeed feasible.
Odhanan
Adventurer
Another thing in Ptolus that is bound to change with IH is, no matter what magic system(s) you end up using, you will have to rethink the whole economy of Ptolus on the adventurer's side of things, since magic items will be much more rare and dangerous. This will have a domino effect on magic stores and guilds, obviously.
mhd
Adventurer
I don't know where I read it, but someone was trying to start a Ptolus campaign using a mixture between the standard D&D rules and IH. If I remember correctly, the premise was that the players are a new breed of heroes, i.e. the _only_ ones using the Iron Heroes core classes, while everyone else is a D&D based character.
Magic items would pose a problem, but the rest could work quite fine.
I've been converting some Forgotten Realms stuff to Iron Heroes, where the general level of magic is pretty high, too. Generally I tend to go with the spirit of thing, instead of a straight conversion. Take the much-hated Elminster as an example. He's two things: The "Sage of Shadowdale", i.e. a much-used information resource for fledgling players, and the most powerful wizard of the realms.
The pinnacle of wizardry endeavors would just be a high-level character of whatever sorcerous class I chose to use (Arcanist, Warlock ...). His absolute power level would probably drop significantly, but relative to the world itself he would stay the same.
If I just want to stick with the "Sage" stuff, any class with high enough Knowledge skills would suffice, so why bother with anything else.
Iron Heroes itself can be mixed-and-matched with various levels of magic. So the first issue one has to decide is what will both average and maximum magic be. Converting Ptolus to a rather mundane city is definitely possible, with almost no magical characters at all. It would require quite some effort though...
Coming up with a half-way decent mixture of IH and D&D (or AE) would make things easier.
Magic items would pose a problem, but the rest could work quite fine.
I've been converting some Forgotten Realms stuff to Iron Heroes, where the general level of magic is pretty high, too. Generally I tend to go with the spirit of thing, instead of a straight conversion. Take the much-hated Elminster as an example. He's two things: The "Sage of Shadowdale", i.e. a much-used information resource for fledgling players, and the most powerful wizard of the realms.
The pinnacle of wizardry endeavors would just be a high-level character of whatever sorcerous class I chose to use (Arcanist, Warlock ...). His absolute power level would probably drop significantly, but relative to the world itself he would stay the same.
If I just want to stick with the "Sage" stuff, any class with high enough Knowledge skills would suffice, so why bother with anything else.
Iron Heroes itself can be mixed-and-matched with various levels of magic. So the first issue one has to decide is what will both average and maximum magic be. Converting Ptolus to a rather mundane city is definitely possible, with almost no magical characters at all. It would require quite some effort though...
Coming up with a half-way decent mixture of IH and D&D (or AE) would make things easier.
Odhanan
Adventurer
mhd said:
Correct. That's the idea of the "Iron Mark" I talked about just after IH first released.
Iron Marked characters use IH classes and mechanics, while the rest of the world follows D&D's rules. IM Characters are out of the flow of magic, meaning they can't use standard magic items, or use any magic triggered by an act of ownership or will. You can also push the envelope to precise they are outside of the normal flow of destiny of the world. They would thus not be subjected to divine magic (which would thus conveniently include buff spells).
Odhanan
Adventurer
There's also an article on the Iron League detailing an alternate way to handle the IH Ptolus Idea (and justify the existence of the Brand, i.e. the Iron Mark).
stuff
To take the Iron Mark idea further, you could just require them to save against all magic. That means that they COULD be healed, but will have to save against it. And, with IHer's high saves, they're likely to succeed too. It makes healing almost useless, but if you're willing to burn lots of magical energy, you could get a minor healing spell through.
Against magic items, I'd say you can either say they can't use them, or that their Iron Mark corrupts the magical energies, and they suffer standard drawbacks, as described in Mastering Iron Heroes.
To take the Iron Mark idea further, you could just require them to save against all magic. That means that they COULD be healed, but will have to save against it. And, with IHer's high saves, they're likely to succeed too. It makes healing almost useless, but if you're willing to burn lots of magical energy, you could get a minor healing spell through.
Against magic items, I'd say you can either say they can't use them, or that their Iron Mark corrupts the magical energies, and they suffer standard drawbacks, as described in Mastering Iron Heroes.
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