Anyone check out Radiance RPG yet?

[AncientSpirits]

We're starting to use the Radiance system for the D&D-style campaign I'm running. Had been using C&C with a bunch of house rules, but we're going to see how things roll with Radiance.

Coverting the characters was a snap, except for one player who has a Yeti Brawler. I ended up letting him pick abilities from the Goliath race and using monk class, minus the alignment restriction.

The players are liking the extra crunch and abilities. I'm glad they're happy, but not sure about the extra work I'll be taking on as DM...

For Radiance rpg to really succeed, IMHO, it needs to be very modifiable with different editions and varying play styles... no doubt more layers will be revealed in the Master's guide.

I downloaded it the other day and looking it over I definitely like what I see.

My only real critique is how skills work.

While characters will certainly have the skills common to their class/profession it doesn't look like it's possible to be very good at skills outside your class focus.

In 3.5 (and in Pathfinder) it was possible to specialize in skills outside the class's focus if you want to.

I know this can mitigated a lot for Humans but what about other races?

As an aside, the skills set-up was something debated a lot as the game evolved. Eventually, they became so entwined into every class, race, etc, that changing the way skills work would be a monumental task.

As for stepping outside one's class skills, my suggestions:

1) Take a theme that is slightly off-kilter from your class. You can be an arcanist wizard, sure, or an explorer wizard, martialist wizard, guildsman wizard, etc. There will be even more theme options in the Expansion Kit.

2) Take the dilettante theme. It's the one that says, "I don't want to decide on a theme, I just want access to stuff that fits as my character grows."

3) Take on followers, start a business with some hired townies, and/or join a faction that has strong performance in skills that don't match yours. This isn't quite like building your character's own skill-set. It is more like expanding your circle of friends to include people who can do skills for you. Maybe not as exciting as options 1 and 2, but still very rewarding.

Hope that helps

 

[AncientSpirits]

Everything I've read and the great responses from [MENTION=55778]AncientSpirits[/MENTION] (whom I am assuming is the author Dario Nardi) make me think it would be an easy game to GM and play. Plus I really enjoy Dario's writing, there's enough there that familiar so that the new stuff really pops out nicely, and is surprisingly good.

I made a dummy 10th level PC as a mockup of one player's character, and managed to squeeze everything legibly onto one page! That's amazing for a high level D&D-type character!

I'm the author, yes. That said, our gang of players--including some folks I've never met--have certainly helped shape the result.

A trick to quickly creating a PC is to print the PDF pages for the race, class, theme, and deity. Then refer to page 39 and use a highlighter to note which abilities you've selected. Oh, and pick up one of the 2 pre-made packs in the equipment section.

 

[AncientSpirits]

Ok I hadn't looked too in depth at themes, that does make me feel a bit better.

Still overall while I like what I see I'm not convinced to run it over E6 or E8 Pathfinder.

Definitely some neat ideas though.

The biggest reward: Combats go much faster and remain fairly quick even as PCs level up.

And if you've liked E6 and such (which I totally get, with such fond memories of low-level campaigns!), then level 8 is a great spot to stop in Radiance, because anyone gets advanced tier abilities.

That said, I'd suggest level 10 as a stopping point. Every PC will be ONE advanced tier ability at 9th level as their crowning achievement, and will have 2 levels to play with it before retiring, giving them time to enjoy it and shine in a final adventure.

Another tidbit that is a boon for GMs: TOWNIES. Visit the townie section starting on page 259. They will save you many hours of prep AND they are fairly potent as NPCs. A 10th level PC should rightly fear a half-dozen townies, which helps keep the game fun and a little gritty even at the higher level. This differs from 3.5 and PF, where the bulk of NPCs pose no threat and offer no benefits to higher level PCs.

Finally, magic items play much less of a role in Radiance than in other fantasy d20 games. Yes, the magic item section is quite large, but in practice PCs don't have enough money or opportunities to get them. Very few folks will be selling magic items or upgrading them or such, even at 10th level.

 

[AncientSpirits]

A lot of other races have different amount of skills, look at Tengu, Slith or Rakasha for example. Classes have easy multiclass options to dabble in as multiclassing isn't all the difficult to get. Also many of the themes have many ways to gain skill points in something else. See Specialist and Dilettante in particular.

Basically the main way to get skill points outside of your class is the themes, only a few don't have the option to gain skill points as awards.

Also do remember for skills there is no such thing as being untrained and you may always take 10 unless you are combat. Not to mention Hard DCs begin at DC 30 so once you have a couple of abilities in your skill you become quite good at that already.

Thank you for articulating this.

 

[VanceMadrox]

The biggest reward: Combats go much faster and remain fairly quick even as PCs level up.

And if you've liked E6 and such (which I totally get, with such fond memories of low-level campaigns!), then level 8 is a great spot to stop in Radiance, because anyone gets advanced tier abilities.

That said, I'd suggest level 10 as a stopping point. Every PC will be ONE advanced tier ability at 9th level as their crowning achievement, and will have 2 levels to play with it before retiring, giving them time to enjoy it and shine in a final adventure.

E6/E8 keeps things fairly quick too. Also I don't think you quite understand E6/E8. Characters don't retire when they hit max level, they just stop increasing in level and get feats instead.

That said I don't actually see the need to stop at 10 in radiance. A lot of the issue in higher level 3.5/Pathfinder doesn't seem to exist in Radiance.


For the most part if looks like classes top out with powers/spells/abilities roughly equivalent to level 9-12 3.5/pathfinder characters. So a lot of the highest level magic/issues simply doesn't exist.


Radiance also mostly avoids the hit point issue. In 3.5/Pathfinder once a character is higher than 6-8th level they don't really feel human/real anymore. By not having a character's wounds increase much at all Radiance avoids this disconnect.



Still though I don't really see the need for it over 3.5/Pathfinder but I am intrigued.

Also your communication has been excellent, that alone has made me take a closer look.

 

[VanceMadrox]

I also have a few other specific questions from just looking through things.


Why are Dhampirs a class and not a race? Even in your description of the class it says they are the offspring of Humans/Vampires.

This screams race not class. If I ever ran anything using Radiance I would not allow a Dhampir class.


The Elementalist's Sudden Burial power should NOT be a Basic Tier ability. What 3.5/Pathfinder spell did you base it off of? It definitely seems like it should be Intermediate. (And Mass Burial should be advanced)




Do you realize that your version of the Wizard makes magical colleges pointless? It really destroys the traditional idea of the WIzard. The class has no mechanical way to acquire more spells/power by simple study or by collaborating with other wizards. As a result several standard fantasy tropes regarding wizards (like the magical college) simply just don't work.

Not sure if you're interested in a fix but it could be as simple as not letting spellbook access any ability but needing to colelct the abilities it has access too. This would require more book keeping though which seems to be against the spirit of the game.



I may have more later.

 

[Davachido]

I also have a few other specific questions from just looking through things.


Why are Dhampirs a class and not a race? Even in your description of the class it says they are the offspring of Humans/Vampires.

This screams race not class. If I ever ran anything using Radiance I would not allow a Dhampir class.


The Elementalist's Sudden Burial power should NOT be a Basic Tier ability. What 3.5/Pathfinder spell did you base it off of? It definitely seems like it should be Intermediate. (And Mass Burial should be advanced)




Do you realize that your version of the Wizard makes magical colleges pointless? It really destroys the traditional idea of the WIzard. The class has no mechanical way to acquire more spells/power by simple study or by collaborating with other wizards. As a result several standard fantasy tropes regarding wizards (like the magical college) simply just don't work.

Not sure if you're interested in a fix but it could be as simple as not letting spellbook access any ability but needing to colelct the abilities it has access too. This would require more book keeping though which seems to be against the spirit of the game.



I may have more later.

I don't know much about the wizard thing, but I'm sure there are reasons for magic colleges still. Did you think the 4E wizard was also a destruction of the traditional idea of a wizard because it couldn't get other spells through study? I see it as a more from a balance standpoint. Allowing the wizard to draw spells from the same pool as skills, so if you devote your time to just studying spells as you level up, you gain just that, more spells. Though I think we'd just be arguing a matter of preference at the point.

Though one thing I can comment on, sudden burial should still be a basic as should mass burial be an intermediate. As when you target something of level 5 or higher (Which can be easily done at level 2+) you have -5 to your attack roll, this does include mass burial as it only allows you to target more creatures not improve your attack. Not to mention it only works on soft ground. So ignore flying enemies, ignore using it cities, ignore using it in dungeons, ignore using it in glaciers, ignore mountains etc etc. The -5 is a huge hamper on your ability to hit anything past level 5 so at that point it might as well be an auto slow. Which is fine for a basic. (Be aware there is very little to raise the attack of a spell caster as compared to physical characters such as fighters or gunslingers.)

 

[VanceMadrox]

I don't know much about the wizard thing, but I'm sure there are reasons for magic colleges still. Did you think the 4E wizard was also a destruction of the traditional idea of a wizard because it couldn't get other spells through study?

Well I don't like 4E in the first place but yes I do think the 4E version didn't work as the traditional idea of the wizard

Though one thing I can comment on, sudden burial should still be a basic as should mass burial be an intermediate. As when you target something of level 5 or higher (Which can be easily done at level 2+) you have -5 to your attack roll, this does include mass burial as it only allows you to target more creatures not improve your attack. Not to mention it only works on soft ground. So ignore flying enemies, ignore using it cities, ignore using it in dungeons, ignore using it in glaciers, ignore mountains etc etc. The -5 is a huge hamper on your ability to hit anything past level 5 so at that point it might as well be an auto slow. Which is fine for a basic. (Be aware there is very little to raise the attack of a spell caster as compared to physical characters such as fighters or gunslingers.)

Ok this one I'll concede. It's situationally useful and after considering your points I'll agree that it's no wrose than Color Spray or Sleep at 1st level in 3.5/Pathfinder.

 

[AncientSpirits]

I also have a few other specific questions from just looking through things.

Why are Dhampirs a class and not a race? Even in your description of the class it says they are the offspring of Humans/Vampires.

This screams race not class. If I ever ran anything using Radiance I would not allow a Dhampir class.

I'm happy to answer questions.

Think of the dhampir class as a "monster class" from the heyday of 3.5. Keep in mind a character can multiclass, switching into dhampir after being infected in some way by a vampire or by joining a vampiric faction (Blood Masquerade).

So why do it? The class meets a mechanical need that a race cannot because vampires are so powerful. A player comes to me and says, "I want to play a vampire" just as he might say, "I want to play a dragon" or "a werewolf". He or she wants to play Blade or Selene. How do I accommodate that as a GM beyond taking the question literally or offering something puny? There is a Pathfinder race called dhampir, but as a race it's limited and its abilities don't live up to its flavor text.

So, I interpreted the term "dhampir" loosely to mean "part human, part vampire, still alive but having some powers of (and against) the undead".

Now, the dhampier text reads:

"These charming night-dwellers harbor vampire blood. Dhampirs start their careers as living mortals, but as they embrace ancient, accursed urges and powers, they travel a path into undeath.
Dhampirs tend to be loners, as they are the unwholesome, rare result of a mortal and vampire union."

Perhaps it's too easy to read literally. "Union" can mean sex, or a ritual or some other activity that results in exchange in blood between the PC and a vampire, thus kick-starting vampiric life. It doesn't necessarily mean the character was birthed as a half-vampire. It could even mean the character's great grandfather was a half-vampire, and that small amount of vampire blood is enough to open up a path toward the undead, but as something studied and acquired.

Narratively, film characters tend to start down the vampire path as adults. In many, the transition is very sudden, but even then the understanding is that the character will learn more powerful vampire abilities over the centuries or by drinking elder vampire blood, etc. Sometimes the transition is slower and characters can even remain alive as they transition, perhaps by using a drug or spell or such, as in "The Forsaken". With all the vampire movies out there, we don't need to say Blade is the only model for a dhampir.

Anyway, this class is pretty popular. To ban it for flavor reasons in the setting makes sense of course, but I'd ask you consider other stories and ways the class might work.

 

[AncientSpirits]

The Elementalist's Sudden Burial power should NOT be a Basic Tier ability. What 3.5/Pathfinder spell did you base it off of? It definitely seems like it should be Intermediate. (And Mass Burial should be advanced)

Davachido has answered this pretty well. The inspiration was the Sleep spell, which is 1st level. It's a little harder for your friends to restore you compared to sleep, but then you're still conscious. It's situation, and the -5 really puts a damper on longterm use.

Where I do agree there is a danger: A player who learns this and "fails to notice" the caveats (soft ground and -5) in the thick of play will produce a broken effect. It's important for the GM to know that the price for some of the more flavorful abilities is that one needs to remind players to use them as written .