Amethyst - New campaign setting

[Moon-Lancer]

I dont mean to cause trubble, but this is about the gsl and
Amethyst. If wizards wants to change the gsl to say you cant remove races like elf, they can add that later and you would not be grandfathered in. i don't think the gsl is reasonable for any publisher to work under, and i hope you don't get burned. We need more people with high quality visions and ideas and willing to take it to the next level.

I like the look of Amethyst, and i may buy it soon. I was going to go 4e, cold turkey, but this rpg has really given me a soft spot for 3.5. damn.

 

[Agamon]

I dont mean to cause trubble, but this is about the gsl and
Amethyst. If wizards wants to change the gsl to say you cant remove races like elf, they can add that later and you would not be grandfathered in. i don't think the gsl is reasonable for any publisher to work under, and i hope you don't get burned. We need more people with high quality visions and ideas and willing to take it to the next level.

So, you include a paragraph at the end of the book saying that you can use any races and classes in the PHB and if you want info on them, read that book. And then never mention them again if you don't want.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Oh, don't worry, guys. I don't. Let me quote you a passage from one of our announcements:

From those curious at our approach, we are "listing" available races and classes in Amethyst while including additional ones of our own. Ones not "listed" are "assumed" not present in our setting nor are they referred to in any rules as canon. All original Amethyst races are to return. In the old game, we removed Bard and Sorcerer and turned Paladin and Ranger into Prestige classes. In this version (all this is currently not official), we are "ignoring" Warlock, Cleric, and Paladin from the official Amethyst world and adding in four new classes dealing with the other side of the science/magic coin.

The big addition is the inclusion of something we are currently calling "lifepath" which is "kinda" like Paragon path, only for the Heroic levels. They are in between Race and Class and offer mostly fluff and out-of-combat rules dependent on where the character was born and/or what natural gifts he/she possesses.

They are not as powerful as Paragon paths and are mostly setting related. For those who have read our 3.5 Game, it is related to our "Class Focus" ability all core classes were given, radically widening the number of options at first level. Some feats have a specific lifepath as a prerequisite. There might be dozens of available paths; add that into races and classes and the absence of three core classes probably won't be felt. We removed--ahem--"ignored" these three core classes because, as the story is set on a real earth, is lacking the "proof of god"...thus no divinity.

Obviously, we'll have new racial feats for our races, new paragon paths, as well as new epic destinies, the latter of which we are looking forward to as it is related to the story the characters play in this setting. Foundation spells will return and be closer to their original intent as they were in the 3.5

As we said on our podcast, the 3.5 was about...a 70% representation of the real Amethyst setting. 4.0 should be closer to 85%-90%--though not perfect, it is pretty darn close.

I hope that alleviates some doubt at our..."wording"

 

[Agamon]

From those curious at our approach, we are "listing" available races and classes in Amethyst while including additional ones of our own. Ones not "listed" are "assumed" not present in our setting nor are they referred to in any rules as canon. All original Amethyst races are to return. In the old game, we removed Bard and Sorcerer and turned Paladin and Ranger into Prestige classes. In this version (all this is currently not official), we are "ignoring" Warlock, Cleric, and Paladin from the official Amethyst world and adding in four new classes dealing with the other side of the science/magic coin.

So, a cleric-like class? Just wondering, as I'm using the 3.5 book fluff for my new 4e game, and one of the players is a cleric. Mahan is obviously a cleric, so I assume you'd support such a character?

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

So, a cleric-like class? Just wondering, as I'm using the 3.5 book fluff for my new 4e game, and one of the players is a cleric. Mahan is obviously a cleric, so I assume you'd support such a character?

Ahh...you see, one must peer into the real Amethyst few have actually read.

In the real Amethyst--and what will appear in the new 4.0--there are three types of magic:

1. Draconic, the power of god to create something by naming it--the magic possessed in the language of the greatest species. Wizards use this.

2. Naturally enchanted--inorganic. We established materials like Angelite, Coruthill, and Magnarros as elements which respond differently under the saturation of magic. This actually spreads to all corners of science. There are thousands of materials and combinations of elements that produce different results. This brings back Alchemy and an enchanted metallurgy as those with the know forge items of enchantment by simply being aware of the exacting ratios required.

3. Naturally enchanted--organic. The same as monsters, some people suddenly possess magical abilities on their own from birth. In the 3.5 setting, we only addressed this slightly, as we didn't want to bog down the 3.5 book too much with more rules. Since we always had intended to downplay divinity, 4.0 gave us the opportunity to do it right. So those with powers to heal, raise the dead, or cure disease are part of these freak occurrences. Obviously, some of these people are deified and worshiped while others are sometimes outcasted. In the 3.5 book, we referred to one type as a Vivicator. Mahan is one of these gifted souls. If a character sheet was ever made for him, he would be listed as a Ranger. Using our new new 4.0 lifepath, he would also be a vivicator.

Now we are still in the planning stages, so how we address this may alter...but so far, that's how it is looking.

To answer your question, since we are pulling out divinity, the real Amethyst has not actual cleric, though you can replicate something cleric-like by choosing the appropriate lifepath. Then you can go on to Fighter, Rogue, Wizard...whatever you like. Does that help?

And yes, you can do whatever you want...

 

[Agamon]

To answer your question, since we are pulling out divinity, the real Amethyst has not actual cleric, though you can replicate something cleric-like by choosing the appropriate lifepath. Then you can go on to Fighter, Rogue, Wizard...whatever you like. Does that help?

And yes, you can do whatever you want...

Sounds pretty cool. And yeah, I've gotten that vibe, even though I'm not quite through reading everything. Thanks.

Oh, and I like where you placed Selkirk...yeah, I'm onto you guys.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

Oh, and I like where you placed Selkirk...yeah, I'm onto you guys.

Yeah, we placed it in the Selkirk Mountains. We are not actually all that clever about that sort of thing.

 

[Dias Ex Machina]

I just found out our 3.5 version of the game has been bestowed an HONORABLE MENTION from the 2008 Ennie Awards for Best Setting.

That's pretty cool...