Oaths, Geasa and Regimen - creating Boons and Grandmaster Training

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 26, 2013

• #1

Boons and such have ambiguous durations and unlike magic items lack conditions for their loss... the following ideas change that.

Oath Binder: You can create legendary boons as mentioned in the alternate rewards chapter in the DMG2 these effects are bound up in an oath which allows the effect to be lost if the oath is broken or abandoned or even upgraded these are bound with an oath "a behaviorial stricture" which when broken - releases/rescinds the boon or associated or These boons have a charity price which is sometimes paid in advance or tithed or attained via affirmation questing. An affirmation quest may be a mystical quest or spirit journey and failure is possible (though such a failure means the boon is not created/affirmed/awakened). This cost is a direct analog to the cost an item creation ritual. An oath binder must be trained in requisite skills for certain subsets of boons (such as nature for the Totemic Oaths and boons).

similarly

Gift Awakener : a Shamanic style ritual which allows one to create Legendary and pseudo divine boons which are bound by taboos aka Geasa

Arms Master: a explicitly martial practice which allows one to create regimen which support Grand Master Training effects these regimen are daily kata which maintain the perfection in arms obtained forgoing the regimen decays the performance due to confidence and clarity loss. A daily Kata might include an hour of excercise per day (during which you are totally focused unable to do guard duty) and maybe an hour of extra sleep (representing extra exhaustion).

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2013

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Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 26, 2013

• #2

One reason to have Oath and Geasa based boons is to in effect re-create the Paladin with a more martial base (a part of me is still attached to a more original paladin which was a fighter++). A fighter taking and gradually gathering boons with chivalric and honorable combatant flavors might have an oath against using poison one against striking a downed enemy, one against using a ranged attack form, one of celibacy and along side each an appropriate boon. A set of oaths defined by type perhaps.. (chivalric, totemic, honorable combatant, etc) might operate like an item set and once you have gained N of them you get additional benefits.

Heros like Lancelot, CuCulaine and Samson did not necessarily fight or arm or amor themselves that much alike.. but they were each oath bound heros.

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2013

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 26, 2013

• #3

Lancelot is an inspiration for the idea for the extra hour of sleep price mentioned in the regimen above in many stories where Lancelot is found deeply sleeping during odd hours of the day due to the excessive martial regimen which allowed him to be the mightiest of all knights. Thought bringing that home to mechanics would be fun.

 

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 26, 2013

• #4

Legendary Boons are not unlikely to have drawbacks. After a battle Cuh Culaines Warp Spasm gave him a fever which took some effort to quell - it is described very extremely as skin hot to the touch so hot as to boil water repeatedly - its not even clear if this cooling the fever was anything more than to allow him to interact with people. Perhaps if the fever is not treated it might result in temporary loss of speech (both understanding and the use of) followed by unconsciousness for a period.

 

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 27, 2013

• #5

Gawaine had a boon which tied superhuman strength to the rise of the sun in the sky, that was most distinctly tied to his Blood-line heritage which makes it seem different after all you cant lose your bloodline.. but the concept of the Geasa is very much that it awakens a gift you already have so it isnt black and white.

 

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 27, 2013

• #6

I have posted more ideas here
http://dyasdesigns.com/kingsmagic.html

 

Last edited: Oct 10, 2013

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 27, 2013

• #7

It occurs to me that while Oaths and Geasa work for there abstracted Charity Debt or Affirmation Quest or Spirit Quest the GrandMaster Training is somewhat different though that quest fullfillment could be a similar proof of worthiness test and there is a tradition of payment in menial labor that I am considering in this regards. The point of affirmation and spirt quests they can be exciting and interesting in play and Charity Debt is directly impacting pocket book (either now or spread out over time in Tithing). Hmm Grandmaster training seems a toughie.

 

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Sep 28, 2013

• #8

Garthanos said:

It occurs to me that while Oaths and Geasa work for there abstracted Charity Debt or Affirmation Quest or Spirit Quest the GrandMaster Training is somewhat different though that quest fullfillment could be a similar proof of worthiness test and there is a tradition of payment in menial labor that I am considering in this regards. The point of affirmation and spirt quests they can be exciting and interesting in play and Charity Debt is directly impacting pocket book (either now or spread out over time in Tithing). Hmm Grandmaster training seems a toughie.

Click to expand...

I added the lines - The price of Grandmaster training usually involves a trial of humility and/or a test of worthiness. The former often involves menial labor often for a third party. The labor itself may not end up as menial as it first appears... and generally the forces of fate work to make it so (and keep game play interesting). The test of worthiness is sometimes an actual smokescreen.

 

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Oct 3, 2013

• #9

I actually prefer more potent rarer magic items or ones which grow over your career its a taste I picked up long ago - the use of boons/blessings and grandmaster training are then more potent in that context, via that a characters personal ability and the ability gained via equipment is synchronized. Lancelot has his extraordinary Grandmaster Training and Arthur has his Excaliber and Excalibers protecting sheath. (Though both may be exploiting oaths for other boons as well)

Lay on hands is a strong enough boon/blessing that it may be at high end play equivalent of several significant items.(like mayhaps 1 per tier).

 

Last edited: Oct 3, 2013

Garthanos

Arcadian Knight

• Oct 8, 2013

• #10

Some quick examining of the Birthright setting is giving me the thought that in effect Oaths and Geasa might allow those who are not necessarily Scions to gain benefits through association with those of a blood-line.

One negative feature I have heard of Birthright was it lacked reason to play characters who might not be Scions... being a member of a Scion's Blood-Brotherhood rather works around that.