D&D 4E ARCANE AND PRIMAL SKILLS...

[AbdulAlhazred]

They defined intimidate skill in a way that could have a real impact in combat ... atleast wrt finishing the battle .. but then I see a bunch of things that really ought to be intimidation effects in both Fighters and Warlords and Barbarians and they build them in to powers.

Perhaps these classes could have been written as able to do intimidate as a minor action when combined with basic attack or select powers

See, this kind of thing is why HoML makes you use a power to do EVERYTHING, ALWAYS. Thus you just have to go look at 'Intimidate' and you find a list of the 'stock' things that can be done with it. Obviously there can be trained things, class-based things, role-based things, and things that you get if you have boon X. This covers a really wide possible range, and if something SHOULD be possible, then it is an 'ad hoc power', that is one that just isn't written up formally.

I'd note that one of the other consequences of this is that when you use 'page 42' it is formally the composition of an ad hoc power. This makes it clear that you can and should describe these things in a power-like way and that they should fit within the framework of powers. The same holds true for things like Terrain Powers.

 

[Garthanos]

See, this kind of thing is why HoML makes you use a power to do EVERYTHING, ALWAYS. Thus you just have to go look at 'Intimidate' and you find a list of the 'stock' things that can be done with it. Obviously there can be trained things, class-based things, role-based things, and things that you get if you have boon X. This covers a really wide possible range, and if something SHOULD be possible, then it is an 'ad hoc power', that is one that just isn't written up formally.

I'd note that one of the other consequences of this is that when you use 'page 42' it is formally the composition of an ad hoc power. This makes it clear that you can and should describe these things in a power-like way and that they should fit within the framework of powers. The same holds true for things like Terrain Powers.

At minimum effects like shouting back off and forcing enemies in radius drops back 5 feat once an encounter or some such.

I would like to see your HOML in more detail

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

At minimum effects like shouting back off and forcing enemies in radius drops back 5 feat once an encounter or some such.

I would like to see your HOML in more detail

Well, I posted a link to a version of it in the thread I started on 4e homebrews. That wasn't TOO long ago so it should be easy enough to find. I think you'll find that what I've written contains very little 'theory' and pretty much just mechanics and basic process. I really would need to write some sections on what the ideas are and how to use them. I suspect you could read all of what I've written (its a lot, you don't have to try) without necessarily picking up on the more theoretical aspects. Also there's a lot of stuff in there that is probably not up to snuff, and a lot of ideas that I've talked about haven't been translated into any concrete form yet.

Still, you may definitely amuse yourself, if you so choose. The first 20 or 30 pages may be the most interesting, as it explicates the core mechanic and describes how characters are built and level.

 

[Garthanos]

This could be seen as the seeds of a Skill based Magic System... almost but its kind of simplistic as the functions are basically a block of thematically combined things using relatively normal skill checks for specific abilities

 

[Garthanos]

I cast resurrection on the dead

 

[Garthanos]

I guess a core value of this is recognizing magic is a different not better way to anything but yes it can get many of the same things accomplished a different way and as long as the cost is pretty much the same in terms of character building cost it doesnt matter that much ... just a as a party might have two characters trained in thievery they might have one with the invocations of Mecha and Pyrexia and an overlapping in resulting capacity.

 

[Garthanos]

One interesting ramification of this would be there would be a need for Skill Powers associated with and styled to go with the Invocations

 

[Garthanos]

Friendly Brownies (a Primal flavored one) level 2 umm Invocation Power
you have a small swrm of forest sprights of some sort that swarm around you they tend to juggle your equipment and pick up things from the ground around you and so on though for the most part it seems out of your control they will also aid you an the things picked up are often very useful even you you have no hand to spare -- that is mostly flavor text

 

[Garthanos]

Free Action
You may draw or sheathe a weapon, pick up an item in your space or adjacent to it, or retrieve or stow an item
You can use this power only once per round.

More flavor text the brownies also pick up a lot of junk check your pockets

 

[Garthanos]

I might call those Fae Invocations instead of Primal Invocations but its sort of wish washie overlap in flavor anyway