Search results

Eh, the 3rd edition's druid's wildshape is a well-detailed, well-expanded class ability that received support in terms of feats and magic items all through the edition. There are alternative class features that modify it, and one of them from Player's Handbook II even turns it into an ability...

Yes, the weapons require a standard action command word to activate. Unless otherwise noted, a "command" or "command word" are standard actions, and like their descriptions say, the energy effect remains on the weapon until de-activated with the same command. You can have mental command words...

But if pearls of power are use-activated, how do you use them? With a command. How could it be anything but a standard action? You have to use the pearl with a command, and use-activated items require a standard action unless the usage itself is something else. A +1 sword is use-activated, and...

Memento magica is from Magic Item Compendium, which clarifies magic item activation and body slot rules. A memento magica is exactly the same as a pearl of power, except that it's specifically for spontaneous casters (since the pearl is only for preparing casters), plus it's a little bit more...

A pearl of power does require a standard action to activate. It even says in the description, "once per day on command." The spontaneous version of the item, memento magica, specifies a standard action command word as the activation type (no slot though, so you just have to have it on your...

If you wanted to, you could increase their power over time to match what you currently have in mind. Maybe the rogue acquires the daggers at around levels 4-6, but they're just +1 weapons with minor additional benefits. Something like, increase the concentration DC by 2 or 5 when you damage a...

Think of it this way: The ring allows a wizard to boost his strength -- adaptability. With the pearls, you can cast more of the same few spells, but with the ring, you can cast a larger variety of spells and thus be more flexible in dealing with challenges. The difference between the sorcerer...

Maybe around levels 9-11. They're probably worth about the same in gold as +2 weapons. Could be that they're stronger than that, but even then, levels 12 and above tend to be rarely played, so around level 10 would be a fair compromise.

The 4e monster math as of MM3 is to adjust all defenses, attack bonuses and damage by 1 per level, either up or down. One reason why you shouldn't go more than 4 levels in either direction is just the one you mentioned -- different PC capabilities between level bands. It's very simple, and the...

Well, in the case of 4e, you can comfortably adjust the dragons' CR (or levels, more specifically) by up to 4 in either direction without any mechanical hindrances. Thus there are no gaps in the monster levels -- everything between 1-30 is covered, and even above. But that obviously assumes...

Don't forget that you have different dragon types to cover CR bands within the tiers. Non-hatchling whites to reds at the lowest levels could range from CR 4 to 10 for example. Mid tier dragons could cover, say, CR 12 to 20 with just the five iconic chromatics.

4 or 5 is enough. Wyrmling for the smallest, and mechanically they should be simpler than the others. Young for the lower level parties. Adult for mid-level parties. Ancient or Wyrm for high-level and/or epic characters.

The rules in DMG2 don't tell you to remove magic items completely -- it says you remove the lowest and the highest level item from the magic item parcel. Thus a standard 5-person party would still get two magic items/boons per level. It's possible to re-flavor many magic items into boons if you...

And in 3e the tubes of dynamite and explosives would be unaffected if creatures were holding them, since fireball damages creatures and unattended objects, and items creatures are carrying can only be damaged if you roll a nat 1 on the saving throw. And even then there's an order in which the...

You don't need to give your NPCs the exact amount of feats and skill points they'd receive if you followed the rules as written. Also, you don't need to have a separate "Feats" section -- just incorporate the benefits into the statblock. Ability scores can be represented as modifiers only -- you...

Right, but you said that a large city would have about 40k to buy items -- that's not how it works. The 40k of a large city is just the limit what a single item may cost -- you could have several 40k items available in the city, but none that cost, say, 50k gp. A large city could buy a thousand...

You've misunderstood the rules. That particular gold amount is the limit that a single item may cost in the settlement, ie you can't buy an item costing more than 40,000 gp in a large city, or an item worth more than 100,000 gp in a metropolis. There's another formula to determine how much cash...

See, I wouldn't even necessarily call the example changes I laid out 'homebrew'. Let's assume I say that before the first session, that this'll be a homebrewed version of the setting. The players ask, "Ok, what's changed? What should we take into account?" And due to the nature of the changes...

So what's the point of telling the players that it's not going to be a 'pure' canon game? What purpose does it serve? Doesn't a player always assume that the DM could change various aspects of canon (NPCs, locations, organizations, deities, priesthoods, monsters -- you name it), even when...

How about if you took a cleric or an invoker, and gave them the wizard's spellbook class feature, maybe calling it a prayerbook. After all, archivists are essentially just wizards but divine instead of arcane. Themes, backgrounds, and feats can cover the more mundane sage-like abilities.