Rystil's Neospelljamming Gestalt Setting: Berserker and Eldritch Infiltrator Up!

[Rystil Arden]

OK, so a while ago I randomly created 11 new (mostly) worlds, populated by 20-some new (kind of) races, who were memberes of 63 new (sort of) thematically appropriate classes that were whipped up starting with basic gestalts and adding some interesting tidbits to each (sometimes more than others). At the time, I thought I was crazy. "Who would want to actually play in this setting?" I asked. Later, I heard that there might actually be some interest in this setting. So now, I bring the question to you, "If I started a campaign in this setting about a month from now, would you want to play?" Here's the lowdown on the majour known worlds (please note-even if a class bears the same name as a non-core base class, it doesn't mean its the same; in fact it won't be the same):

Format is:
World [World adjective] (Main Political Unit [Unit Adjective]): Brief description
Races- List of main playable races
List of main playable classes

[SBLOCK]
Vanarca[Vanarcan] (Altania [Altanian]): Magocracy, all inhabitants have innate magickal abilities
Races- Altanian
Arcanist, Spellhunter, Spellsworn, Spellsword, Spellfrenzied, Spellguardian
Xarata[Xaratu] (Lara Kai [Larakese]): Oriental flavour, legendary martial arts
Races- Larakese
Ronin, Ninja, Sohei, Wu Jen, Martial Artist, Ascetic, Samurai
Tymadeau[Tymadish] (Rowain[Rowaini]): Medieval flavour, traditionalist
Races- Rowaini, Byblan
Knight, Troubadour, Jester, Witch, Swashbuckler, Sage
Rhapsodia[Rhapt] (Sonata[Sonatan]): World controlled by music and song
Races- Melodian, Harmonian
Soulsinger, Treesinger, Bladesinger, Oathsinger, Truthsinger, Spellsinger
Kanath[Kanather] (Eldiz[Eldish]): Cosmopolitan Urban Centre, home of the Organization
Races- Dolathi, Immigrants from other Worlds
Planeswalker, Alley Stalker, Bounty Hunter, Eldritch Infiltrator, Marksman, Urban Naturalist
Chuliit[Chuliiti] (Yharaz[Yharzu]): Jungle-covered prehistoric world
Races- Lacerta, Feldori
Totemist, Animist, Shaman, Wild Mage, Soulwarden
Scandaj[Scandajian] (Nardaln[Narlse]): Norse Viking-like setting with islands and longboats
Races- Narlseman, Nibelan, Tralg
Skald, Berserker, Raider, Wrathbringer, Mystic
Arris[Arrian] (Valthas[Valsian]): Desert world with a few lush oases
Races- Valsian, Mojiin
Dweamoreater, Preserver, Ecomancer, Avenger, Dragonlord
Amaranthia[Amaranthine] (Seelyne[Seelie]): Mystical fey realm populated solely by females
Races- Sidhe, Nymph[Naiad, Dryad, etc]
Classes- Siren, Amazon, Runemaiden. Swanmay, Votress, Enchantress, Nymph
Gyaros [Gyarive] (Praetorianus[Praetorian]): Imperial world with Roman flavour
Races- Praetor, Pleb
Gladiator, Centurion, Templar, Liberator, War Mage
Sancirce[Sancyric] (Putalis[Putal]): Superstitious world dominated by a strong church
Races- Sacra, Vildri
Zealot, Heretic, Inquisitor, Champion, Psalmist
[/SBLOCK]

Oh yeah, and did I mention that there's Spelljamming? Exploration of new worlds is more of the main focus than ship-to-ship combat, but I still have my old Spelljammer books somewhere if I need to dreg them out because the group decides to go find and take on a Witchlight Marauder or two

And as a teaser, quick info on the Altanian race and the Spellfrenzied class (don't blame me that my chart got all messy; it looks perfect in Notepad, honest!:

[SBLOCK]
Altanian:
+4 INT -2 WIS +4 CHA
Bonus Feat, Bonus Skill, Spellcasting Prodigy, Arcane Armour Proficiency
Type- Humanoid, reproduces as human
Society- Meritocratic magocracy, non-discriminatory except against those with no arcane power, whom they consider inferior
Hair colours (common to rare): shades of blue (dark to light), silver, Eye colours (common to rare): blue, lavender, silver, green


The Spellfrenzied
BAB Fort Ref Will Special Spells/Day Spells Known
+1 +2 +0 +2 Spell Frenzy 1/day 4/2 4/2
+2 +3 +0 +3 5/3 5/2
+3 +3 +1 +3 Spelltouched 5/4 5/3
+4 +4 +1 +4 Spell Frenzy 2/day 5/5/2 6/3/1
+5 +4 +1 +4 5/5/3 6/4/2
+6/+1 +5 +2 +5 5/5/4/2 7/4/2/1
+7/+2 +5 +2 +5 Spellstruck 5/5/5/3 7/5/3/2
+8/+3 +6 +2 +6 5/5/5/4/2 8/5/3/2/1
+9/+4 +6 +3 +6 Spell Frenzy 3/day 5/5/5/5/3 8/5/4/3/2
+10/+5 +7 +3 +7 Arcane Frenzy 5/5/5/5/4/2 9/5/4/3/2/1
+11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +7 Spellwarped 5/5/5/5/5/3 9/5/5/4/3/2
+12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +8 5/5/5/5/5/4/2 9/5/5/4/3/2/1
+13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +8 Spell Frenzy 4/day 5/5/5/5/5/5/3 9/5/5/4/4/3/2
+14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +9 Frenzied Resilience 5/5/5/5/5/5/4/2 9/5/5/4/4/3/2/1
+15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +9 Spelltwisted 5/5/5/5/5/5/5/3 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/2
+16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +10 5/5/5/5/5/5/5/4/2 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/2/1
+17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Tireless Frenzy 5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/3 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/2
+18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 Spell Frenzy 5/day 5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/4/2 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/2/1
+19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Spelltainted 5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/3 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/3/2
+20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Eldritch Frenzy 5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5/5 9/5/5/4/4/4/3/3/3/3
Spellcasting: A Spellfrenzied casts her spells spontaneously from her list of Spells Known, with CHA as the relevant stat.
She can cast spells in light armour without any chance of Arcane Spell Failure.
Spell Frenzy: Whenever a Spellfrenzied makes a successful saving throw against a spell or resists it with Spell Resistance,
she can convert the spell energy into a Spell Frenzy. During a frenzy, the Spellfrenzied gains +4 Strength,
+2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves, and the ability to make an extra attack at her highest attack bonus
if she takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls. The Spell Frenzy lasts 1 round per spell level absorbed, plus three rounds thereafter.
She can continue to absorb spells during the Frenzy to extend it by making successful saving throws or Spell Resistance checks.
At the end of a Spell Frenzy, the Spellfrenzied is fatigued.
Arcane Frenzy: The bonuses of the frenzy increase to +6 and +3

Frenzied Resilience: While in the frenzy, the Spellfrenzied gains SR 10 + character level

Tireless Frenzy: The Spellfrenzied is no longer fatigued after a frenzy.

Eldritch Frenzy: The bonuses of the frenzy increase to +8 and +4

Spelltouched: Spellfrenzied sometimes gain strange abilities as a side effect of the twisted arcane energies playing inside them.
Choose from the following list-
False Pretenses- When you succeed on a save against a Charm or Compulsion spell, the caster believes you have failed, the mental link is
established, but you don't have to follow the commands.
Alternate Form- Choose one specific form that you could transform into using the Alter Self spell. Now you can transform yourself between
your natural form and this form as a Spell-like Ability
Life Leech- Each dying or stable creature within 30 feet of you loses 1 hp each round at the beginning of your turn. You gain the same amount,
and if you rise above your maximum, the excess becomes temporary hp that last for 10 minutes.
Stench of the Dead- You exude a carrion stench that causes any creature directly adjacent to you to need to make a Fortitude Save
DC 12 + CHA mod

Spellstruck: Choose a new ability from the Spelltouched list or one of the following-
Conductivity- Whenever you take damage from an electricity effect, you may send a line of electricity arcing at a single target within 30 feet.
The line deals damage equal to half the damage you took, DC 16 + CHA mod.
Controlled Immolation- Whenever you catch on fire you take no damage from the flames. If you are struck in melee combat, the attacker takes
1d6 damage, and your unarmed attacks also do 1d6 additional damage. The fire persists for 1d4 rounds unless something puts it out.
Photosynthetic Skin- Whenever you are in direct sunlight, you gain a +2 enhancement bonus to Natural Armour.

Spellwarped: Choose a new ability from the Spellstruck list, the Spelltouched list, or one of the following-
Eyes to the Sky- You automatically spot the sensor from scrying spells if it's within 40 feet of you.
Live My Nightmare- Anyone who successfully target the Spellfrenzied with a divination spell gets a glimpse of her twisted mind. This acts like
the Phantasmal Killer spell with DC 14 + CHA mod
Bladeproof Skin- You gain Damage Reduction 3/bludgeoning (so slashing and piercing effects all do 3 less damage to you). However, your skin
gives you an Armour Check penalty of -2 to all the skills normally adversely affected by armour.

Spelltwisted: Choose a new ability from any of the above lists, or one of the following-
Naturalized Denizen- The strange arcane energies coursing through you cause you to always count as native to a particular world or plane.
You can never be affected by Banishment or Dismissal, hedged out by "Protection from" spells, etc.
Polar Chill- As a standard action, you can make the ground icy in a 20-foot radius around you. Balance and Tumble check DCs increase by 5, and
movement in the area is halved. The ice remains for 1 minute unless something melts it.
Breadth of Knowledge- Random divination spells shoot around your brain, making you able to make all Knowledge checks as trained checks. If you
actually have a Knowledge skill, you get +1 to the check instead.
Omniscient Whispers- A constant, barely audible muttering echoes in your ears, beyond your comprehension. Once per week, you can tune into the
voices to get an answer to a question as the Commune spell. This leaves you exhausted, however.

Spellmaimed: Choose a new ability from any of the above lists, or one of the following-
Extradimensional Hitchhiker- Whenever anyone uses Teleport, Greater Teleport, Plane Shift, or Shadow Walk within 30 feet of you, you can come
along with them for the trip, although you won't know where you are going in advance. If you are the intended recipient of one these spells,
you get two rolls to check the accuracy of the transportation.
Ineluctable Echo- Whenever you are targeted by any Power Word spell or an Area of Effect sound-based spell such as Wail of the Banshee,
the caster hears their own spell and is also affected. This doesn't protect you, however.
Residual Rebound- If you roll a Natural 20 on a save against a targeted spell, it turns back on the caster.
[/SBLOCK]

Reply if interested, as it will require a good number of replies before I commit to making a game. Expect heavy Unearthed Arcana variants; they're what inspired this whole concept. And if you think you've seen those Spellfrenzied abilities before, you have Oh, and if you're wondering if the name similarities are a coincidence, nope, the Valsian Dragonlords are so psion-sorcerers who can absorb life-energy to power their spells.

I welcome posts of "Rystil, you're a crazy fool. Why did you bother with this?" just as much as "Rystil, you stole my idea and I'm suing for intellectual property infringment!" or "Rystil, this is a great idea! Why didn't I think of it before?" or even "Rystil, why do you even post here; we don't like you."

 

[Keia]

I'll start it off, I guess. The idea looks very intriguing, and I think I'd be interested in playing in something of this sort (depending on level). Myself, a mid range level is more preferable. Actually - Scratch that, really anything level wise would be fine in this. It might no be bad developing the characters from the ground up considering all of the different nuances that are going on here.

I 'll go with . . .

"Rystil, this is a great idea! Why didn't I think of it before?"

Keia

 

[Rystil Arden]

I'll start it off, I guess. The idea looks very intriguing, and I think I'd be interested in playing in something of this sort (depending on level). Myself, a mid range level is more preferable. Actually - Scratch that, really anything level wise would be fine in this. It might no be bad developing the characters from the ground up considering all of the different nuances that are going on here.

I 'll go with . . .




Keia

I'd prefer starting at level 1 (which is still pretty darn powerful )

And thanks for the kind words!

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

I'd prefer starting at level 1 (which is still pretty darn powerful )

I'm not much for level 1... I think I've started at level one once in the last year but this might work then again everything running around should be this powerful so the balance is the same and maybe I should worry about PC death.

 

[Eonthar]

This seems quite interesting.

I would be interested in playing in this type of campaign. Always wanted to try Spelljamming, but never got a chance to play it.

So, my vote is:

"Rystil, this is a great idea! Why didn't I think of it before?"

 

[Rystil Arden]

This seems quite interesting.

I would be interested in playing in this type of campaign. Always wanted to try Spelljamming, but never got a chance to play it.

So, my vote is:

Thanks! This setting is not quite "Real" Spelljamming, since I won't be using anything from the Spelljammer setting except the concept of Spelljamming (although you could see it as "Real" Spelljamming in a different set of crystal spheres, I suppose). That's why I call it Neospelljamming

 

[Eonthar]

I won't be using anything from the Spelljammer setting except the concept of Spelljamming

That's fine. I really like the concept of Spelljamming, but there were some things about the general setting that I did not like. It doesn't sound like you will be keeping any of the stuff I did not really appreciate.

 

[Keia]

All things considered . . . I'm interested.

Level one works . . . though hit points might be an issue. Perhaps a 1/2 a hit die per ECL that fades with each real level taken might mitigate that a bit, as a suggestion - if necessary.

Now I'm all interested in all of the various worlds and classes and races and stuff !!!

Keia

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Well, all the races are probably somewhere around ECL +2, and gestalt is estimated around ECL +2 as well (by the conservative estimates.

If you've gestalted everything in the game there should be no ECL... It’s balanced within itself and the same thing pretty much goes for the races, if they’re all ECL +2 then it’s balanced within itself…

So it still comes down to having very few hit points (first level HPs) and still being one very bad roll from a dead character… That's not really my cup of tea.

 

[Rystil Arden]

All things considered . . . I'm interested.

Level one works . . . though hit points might be an issue. Perhaps a 1/2 a hit die per ECL that fades with each real level taken might mitigate that a bit, as a suggestion - if necessary.

Now I'm all interested in all of the various worlds and classes and races and stuff !!!

Keia

I'm open to starting at level 1 or 2 (or maybe 3) depending on interest; I'd really rather not start above level. I also have approximately 10 adventures depending upon interest, ranging from battle-intensive to roleplaying. Add here's a quick teaser on the Chuliiti races:
[SBLOCK]
Lacerta:
+2 STR -2 DEX +2 INT +4 WIS
Natural Attacks, +3 Natural Armour, Totem Affinity, +2 Balance (tail)
Type- Monstrous Humanoid, genderless, reproduces through reincarnation
Society- Tribal, usually led by a wise elder shaman
Appear as humanoid dinosaurs, skin colours are typically greens or oranges, although red and pink are not unknown

Feldori:
+4 DEX +4 CON -2 INT -2 WIS +2 CHA (+2 to any stat from Paternal Power)
Paternal Power, Luck Affinity, +2 Balance (tail)
Type- Humanoid, female only, reproduces by absorption of foreign DNA through blood taken in by front incisors
Society- Tribal, often led by the most skilled or persuasive
Appear as catlike humanoids, green feline eyes, many possible hair colours depending on paternal DNA
[/SBLOCK]
And brief descriptions of the Amaranthian classes
[SBLOCK]
Siren- A powerful sorceress who uses the power of her songs to bend the minds and hearts of those around her, and she is full of useful skills and information from her time spent among social circles.
Amazon- A skillful, stealthy, and mighty warrior-maiden known for using her natural surroundings to her advantage. They live in the jungles far from Seelyne
Runemaiden/Runetemptress- A mighty warrior devoted to the arcane mysteries of Amaranthia, she draws runes to invoke her powers, and others can use them as well
Swanmay- The warrior-maidens of Seelyne, who are known for their love of animals; they can even transform into swan form.
Votress- A holy maiden devoted to one of the fey lords, often Titania; she forswears the use of weapons and perfects her mind and body in her mistress's service
Enchantress- Often the most politically important Amaranthian, they wield many and various magicks, and are among the best magic item crafters in the Known Spheres. Each has a signature spell nexus that she carries with her wherever she goes. Unfortunately, they are rather clueless when it comes to combat.
Nymph- Not to say that Naiads, Dryads, Oreads, Haliai, Oceanids, Nereids, Meliai, Epimeliads, Daphniai, Aurai, Anthousa, and Lampiads cannot take other classes, but this class embodies the spirit of the nymph. Members are skillful and emphasise their ties to nature, while simultaneously gaining powers associated with the Monster Manual nymph.
[/SBLOCK]

Thanks for the interest!