Considering DMing a game... [Interest Check]

[Theroc]

If anyone has played the Knights of the Old Republic RPG, I'm taking a page out of their arena matches, as well as the WOtBS Player's Guide.

Essentially, for nonlethal combats, there is a powerful spell on the area which converts all damage into non-lethal damage. So, essentially at that point, the crowd may influence whether your next match remains nonlethal. Too many repeated losses or poor performances and they may remove the barrier to renew interest in your fights.

Which reminds me, I am thinking of a very, very minor houserule.

I want to add another Perform skill. Perform: Gladiatorum(or something to that effect), essentially representing one's ability to work the crowd. There was a really good article on it in a recent Dragon issue(pretty sure it was dragon), and I'm wishing I could find it... I plan on adapting some of it.

 

[Dragonwriter]

Which reminds me, I am thinking of a very, very minor houserule.

I want to add another Perform skill. Perform: Gladiatorum(or something to that effect), essentially representing one's ability to work the crowd. There was a really good article on it in a recent Dragon issue(pretty sure it was dragon), and I'm wishing I could find it... I plan on adapting some of it.

Sounds good. There are some rules along this line near the back of Complete Warrior. It also gave a way for the crowd to influence how the fight was going.

 

[Lughart]

Essentially, for nonlethal combats, there is a powerful spell on the area which converts all damage into non-lethal damage.

Am I still allowed to make elaborate descriptions of blood spattering and metal tearing through bone and sinew?

I'm thinking of an evil fighter, the sort who files his teeth sharp, paints his face before matches and brands himself with the names of his kills. Gory descriptions are kinda part of the concept.

 

[Theroc]

Am I still allowed to make elaborate descriptions of blood spattering and metal tearing through bone and sinew?

I'm thinking of an evil fighter, the sort who files his teeth sharp, paints his face before matches and brands himself with the names of his kills. Gory descriptions are kinda part of the concept.

Haha, sure. I'm thinking if it's a normally lethal blow, the normal thing occurs and simply heals incredibly quickly, to remain non-lethal. I'm not sure how that feels RPwise, but I think with a strong enough spell, essentially it could be cast by a series of Clerics or something casting a Divine Sanction on the field, being a level '10' spells insofar as it's power due to being cast by multiple high level casters.

Dragonwriter: Thanks, the Complete Warrior excerpt will work much more easily than trying to adapt the 4E skill challenge into 3.5, lol.

Not sure what classes I want to be able to take Gladiatorum as a class skill though. Thinking most definitely fighters, simply because... as far as I can tell, they get the short end of the stick mostly.

 

[SolosAddie]

i'm fine on the converting thing, how about I start as a just plain vanilla goliath, at level 1? level two i get 1 level in a class? is that what you were thinking?

 

[Theroc]

i'm fine on the converting thing, how about I start as a just plain vanilla goliath, at level 1? level two i get 1 level in a class? is that what you were thinking?

Goliaths have no HD. How would he start at level 1 without a class? It'd have to be an NPC class at the least, no?

 

[Dragonwriter]

FYI, there is a similar thing with the Draconic creature template, presented in Races of the Dragon. It basically allowed you to begin as a normal 1st-level character in a PC class with a few traits and rather than go up a normal level when you advanced, you instead gained your normal template benefits.

For Goliath, you could work it like this:
1st-level Fighter (or whatever) is Monstrous Humanoid type, +2 STR, -2 DEX, with the normal 1st-level Fighter benefits (d10 HD, bonus feat, etc). Then rather than pick up Fighter 2 when enough EXP is gained, instead you gain the rest of the racial traits (other ability mods, Powerful Build and whatever else). After that's done, you advance normally.

I hope this is clear... I've tried to explain it once or twice before and got it rather jumbled.

The intent is similar to Savage Species progressions, trading a normal level for the racial ability/s.

 

[Theroc]

FYI, there is a similar thing with the Draconic creature template, presented in Races of the Dragon. It basically allowed you to begin as a normal 1st-level character in a PC class with a few traits and rather than go up a normal level when you advanced, you instead gained your normal template benefits.

For Goliath, you could work it like this:
1st-level Fighter (or whatever) is Monstrous Humanoid type, +2 STR, -2 DEX, with the normal 1st-level Fighter benefits (d10 HD, bonus feat, etc). Then rather than pick up Fighter 2 when enough EXP is gained, instead you gain the rest of the racial traits (other ability mods, Powerful Build and whatever else). After that's done, you advance normally.

I hope this is clear... I've tried to explain it once or twice before and got it rather jumbled.

The intent is similar to Savage Species progressions, trading a normal level for the racial ability/s.

You just quoted where my idea came from. Dragonwriter did what I had in mind, I hadn't quite decided on the specifics of the change, but what he used probably works, as it's similar to most other races, though maybe get the jump benefit too.

 

[Lughart]

How about an aura that automatically casts revivify on anyone who dies inside it? Lvl 5 clesic spell, returns target to life stable at -1hp if the target has been dead no longer than one round. Saves you from having to explain away stuff.

 

[Theroc]

Would revivify apply to massive damage or stuff like disintegrate?

Haha, this field is more complicated than I thought if I have to explain every in and out on how it works.