Anyone here use Soveriegn stone magic

[Tsyr]

One interesting thing I tried with the SS base system is I crosed it with the WoT weave system once, as an experiment.

Obviosly I cant post much detail, as the weave system is sadly NOT OGC, but basicly it amounted to giving channeler classes a spellcasting bonus each level, assining each possible weave "level" a threshold... the hardest part was keeping over channeling rules intact in some form... How I eventualy did it was to allow an overchannel check to grant an amount of bonus to the spellcasting total. Not exact, but close. And I felt the SS base spellcasting mechanic fit WoT better than vancian. Wilders got slightly higher HP progression to represent their higher ability (since casting ultimatly is limited by HP)... Um, that's pretty much how I did it, without giving any actual rules... Oh, and I used void-mage casting rules after a male channeler past a certain level of madness.

 

[Archangel]

Bestiary of Loerem

Anyone have this yet? Can I get a synopsis of the dragon (I know, it probably isn't OGC - but even a non-rules synopsis would be nice)?

Also, what of the other creatures and their portability?

I am interested in the way Sovereign Stone uses dragons, but I do not want to purchase the monster book for that alone.

 

[Stormprince]

Re: Kudos and some questions for Christopher

Christopher,

First I must say good job to the folk at Sovereign Press, for although I do not run a Sovereign Stone campaign, I do use much of the rules from both the campaign sourcebook and the Codex Mysterium.

I even have use for Portals in my world, and I am using Dragons the same way.

It is kind of weird how much stuff fit so nicely in my world and I had not read the books at the point - although I did pick up Well of Darkness for the read. And to think, I was going to create my own system and mess with the classes and such (argh, what a headache), so thank you Sovereign Press.

Oh, Christopher I do have some questions -

I like the spell Heigh-Ho, but noticed that it does not allow a saving throw. Is this correct?

Is there any way of avoiding it?

Does the caster identify his target when the spell goes off or at the beginning of casting (thereby allowing the person standing in that spot a chance to move)?

Just wondering.

Oh, and I also use Ken Hood's Bushfighter (I call it the Ranger, since I have no Ranger) as well as the Stalker - both have their uses.

I love coincidences when they work in my favor.

Archangel,

First off, thanks alot for the kudos! Brings a warm fuzzy to our hearts It's always great to hear that people like our products... all too often, we either don't hear anything at all, or we only hear the complaints

Now, onto your question:

The way Heigh-Ho was designed was to not include the saving throw, mainly because it is not a direct attack, which is the same reason Spell Resistance would not apply to the usage. You can very easily allow a Reflex saving throw, or a Dex check, however, to avoid being caught as the pillar rises beneath your feet.

Oh, and if you want rules for our dragons, check out the new Bestiary... they have an entire appendix, along with three sample dragons and Elmore artwork!

Christopher

 

[Stormprince]

It's nice to hear from someone at Sovereign. I'm preparing a homebrew campaign that I'll be starting with my group in the fall and I will be using the SS magic system. I really like the feel and balance of it.

For those who have been asking, I picked up both books. If you enjoy flavor as well as crunchiness, the campaign setting is a good read. And Codex Mysterium is chock full of crunchy goodness.

I saw somebody asked about house rules. I'm working on a house rule to allow classless spellcasting as well as a cast-on-the-fly (for allowing characters to invent spells in the process of casting).

Now, I'd be very interested in seeing your "cast-on-the-fly" house-rules once they're completed If they work well, I just might be able to talk to my bosses and seeing if we could tie them in, somehow, even if it's just as an optional rule we present as a .pdf on our soon-to-be-rereleased website.

Christopher

 

[Stormprince]

Re: Another Question

Christopher,

I have another question. This one involves the skill Spellcraft. It seems that when used in conjunction with Sense Magic, a character can learn different things about a spell. Can a character use this skill and the difficulties listed to determine a information about a spell as it is being cast?

Thank you

This is purely up to the decision of the DM. I would increase the DC by about 5 for spells deemed Dweomer and by 15 for spells considered Forbidden.

Christopher

 

[Stormprince]

I know I would if I was in the business. It would be nice to see a demonology supplement to the system. Maybe I'll make a netbook.

As a quick aside, there are a very small handful of essential spells not mentioned yet, one that neutralizes poison for example, that are only in the campaign setting. If you don't mind filling these in then you should be okay.

You will also need to do something about classes though. Most standard D&D classes use slot based magic. Only the fighter, rogue, barbarian, and monk remain compatible if you completely change to an alternate magic system. That might be fine if you only like a small number of classes though. It has been argued in the past that D&D should have only had 3 classes, and with Sov Stone you could do it: Mage (Elemental & Void are basically the same class), Fighter, and Rogue. I think it's kind of nice to have more options though, as player's might feel that they are getting kind of straightjacketted, much as such a simple model might be nice in theory. The campaign book gives you a nice assortment of other classes to choose from, all of them without spells to cast. One of my big problems with core D&D is that everyone casts spells -- there's certainly nothing mysterious about magic for me when everyone uses it.

You could also scour together classes from other systems that you have -- the bushfighter, one of the noble/courtier type classes from Star Wars, Rokugan, etc. and maybe some other classes which don't cast spells pulled from various sources. That's definitely an option.

Quick Take:

Both books have about the same number of spells. With the codex you also get rules for creating spells and magic items. With the campaign setting you get some of the more basic spells and new mundance core classes. With both books there are some cool campaign setting based ideas to steal from as well. I guess you can choose which of those two factors is more important to you.

In the Sovereign Stone novels and Campaign Setting, magic is supposed to be outside the abilities of most people, hence why there are organizations that try and keep the impression of magic "clean" (such as the Temple of Magi), or who only want to keep it to themselves (the Mage Guilds of Dunkarga). However, one thing you may think of doing is giving the "Spell Talent" Feat (from the Codex Mysterium) as a Bonus Feat to certain classes once every few levels. It grants a number of Intimate Knowledge spells from the race's Advantaged element, without the ability to learn additional spells. They become innate, spell-like abilities. You could expand the ability, allowing the individual to cast spells from other Elements, or from Dual-Elements, such as Plant and Animal, to simulate Rangers or Bards. This is a completely optional, "unofficial" rule, however, so you won't see us using it any time soon

Christopher

 

[Stormprince]

Re: Bestiary of Loerem

Anyone have this yet? Can I get a synopsis of the dragon (I know, it probably isn't OGC - but even a non-rules synopsis would be nice)?

Also, what of the other creatures and their portability?

I am interested in the way Sovereign Stone uses dragons, but I do not want to purchase the monster book for that alone.

Unfortunately, you're correct... from the Bestiary, every creature is considered OGC except for the Dragon and the Bahk, which actually belong solely to Larry Elmore.

Basically, the way things work, is that Dragons are each born with two Elemental aspects, one dominant one recessive, and this determines their abilities.

Now, the Dragons aren't the only interesting creatures in the book, particularly if you are already using the SS Magic System. There's quite a few new spells, magically created creatures that could serve as templates for designing your own, our version of the Lich - the Qabalta (uber-liches that work cooperatively together), our version of Treants - Chamber Oaks (uber-treants... trust me, they're bad arse!), summoned creatures, and the like. Off the top of my head, I think there are something like 15 new spells in there. It's a pretty book and one that I'm particularly proud of. I know that there have been two comments on the book.... the first one is white-space. *chuckles* We used an old marketing technique to draw attention to the artwork since it compliments each monster (and unlike many monster books, our descriptions actually match the artwork!), yet we don't feel it detracts from the value of the book as many "3E Elitists" say (as if "too much white space" is actually a bad thing... I know that my eyes bleed after reading a Paladium book, which lacks white space!). The second complaint is that the monsters seem to be "too out there." Every monster in the book has a place in Loerem, each one with comments on its place in the ecosystem... heck, Margaret herself went through each and every monster and made sure they fit!

In closing, no, the Bestiary is not required, but I sure as heck advice people picking it up if they liked our first two hardbounds!

Christopher

Oh, and PS, if you like Void Magic, check out The Taan, the wicked saurian Void masters... they've got an all new twist on Void magic, with embedded stones that grant them incredible abilities.

 

[ancient_ones]

Question

IN the equipment section under mages shop it lists earth and water components listed at a price of 2 cononents(I don't have my book in front of me), but it doesn't list how many castings it provides. So then is it safe to assume that it is only enough for one casting?

 

[Stormprince]

Re: Question

IN the equipment section under mages shop it lists earth and water components listed at a price of 2 cononents(I don't have my book in front of me), but it doesn't list how many castings it provides. So then is it safe to assume that it is only enough for one casting?

Yep, you're pretty much correct. The material components being required for every spell is basically a way to try and keep things balanced... after all, a Mage can only carry so much dirt around in his pockets It's also one of the things that causes many to turn to the Void...as the spellcaster is able to sacrifice his own lifeforce instead of requiring any components... the double-edged sword, if you will. Now, a mage can use common dirt for Earth magic, his breath for Air magic, spit for Water magic and a spark for Fire magic, but these are all considered either normal Essences (components) at best, or tainted/spoiled at worst.

Christopher

 

[ancient_ones]

Re: Re: Question

Yep, you're pretty much correct. The material components being required for every spell is basically a way to try and keep things balanced... after all, a Mage can only carry so much dirt around in his pockets It's also one of the things that causes many to turn to the Void...as the spellcaster is able to sacrifice his own lifeforce instead of requiring any components... the double-edged sword, if you will. Now, a mage can use common dirt for Earth magic, his breath for Air magic, spit for Water magic and a spark for Fire magic, but these are all considered either normal Essences (components) at best, or tainted/spoiled at worst.

Christopher

Thanks for clarifying so those 2 items would bought would be considered pure/enhanced(i can't remember the correct term). Those can be purchased easily but what about the water or fire versions how could pure/enhanced versions of those be acquired and what would they be? water could be easily transported and if it's say holy water or what have you it would seem that the container to carry it would need to be special. And what about fire how could it be transported so that it doesn't loose it's "purity"?