Astrology Rules in Your Campaign?

[Samothdm]

I'm just now getting to this part of my campaign world and trying to think of ideas of how Astrology can play a part. I'm thinking of doing it as different feats - each character could pick a feat based on which astrological calendar he/she follows (there would be cultural and racial differences in the calendars).

Just curious how everyone else handles Astrology in their campaigns and what kind of d20 resources are out there for developing the concept a little further. I don't think I want to have Astrologer "classes" but am rather thinking that taking the Astrologer feat(s) could positively affect someone's spellcasting. I'm also wondering how to handle Astrology for non-spellcasters (ie, why would they take the feats?).

Any ideas/contributions/thoughts would be welcome. FYI, I have "Occult Lore" (which has Astrology rules) but that's not quite what I'm looking for.

 

[Katerek]

I play with two different approaches to astrology.

First I make everyone determine their birthdate randomly.

Then, each of the 13 months of my calendar have a "Sign" appointed to them that grant anyone born in that month an ability of some type.

The abilities are varying degrees of powerful and useful. IIRC I stole the concept from someone else online, but I cannot remember who.

The second thing I have are the Angels of Dawn and the Demons of Dusk. Basically, every month in my world has 28 days. During each day a dfferent Angel of Dawn is in ascendency and given command of that day. There are 28 of these Angels. During the night the same holds true for demons. Each day an angel grants something different. For instance Malchiel the Whisperer my grant anyone trying to Move Silent a +2 synergy bonus for the remainder of that day. Then a Demon takes over during the dark hour and either grants a boon or causes a bane.

What day each angel or demon is given changes each month, so there are some really interesting combos.

This system requires alot of paper work and a good trackable calendar though. My players have responded to it rather well, though we often forget to see what is happeneing each day/night.

 

[Samothdm]

Thanks, Katerek. That's good information and very clever - I like your angels/demons thing a lot. It does sound like a lot of paperwork which is one of the things I was wondering about when I posted this thread.

I noticed that over 20 people have read it but only one response. Anyone else have any interesting ideas?

 

[harvicus]

This is a most welcome discussion. I just recently decided to run a game again and dusted off my astrology system from an old Basic D&D game I once ran. Certainly requires some tweaks, and I will definatly be watching this topic. I have 12 astrological signs, 1 for each month. A PC's sign is randomly determined, but I allow every player to roll up 2 different ones and pick, because each sign gives +1 to one stat, and -1 to another. Borrowing a page from our world's astrology, each sign is represented by a star constilation, and my worlds 6 dieties are planets. Each dieties influence on the world is based on which constilation their planet currently resides in. I didn't have any hard fast rules for these effects, but just kept the current planetary alignment in mind while running the game.
Final Fantasy Tactics had an involved system where your odds of hitting and magical attacks were affected by your own sign vs the target's sign. That was just a random idea on the topic, do not know whether that sort of thing has a place.
I like the angel/demon idea, thanks for posting that idea, it gives me new ideas to think about...

 

[seasong]

Keeping track has always been too hard for me .

With that said, I did consider using the zodiac to give a slight boost to beginning characters. Something like Air signs +1 INT, Water signs +1 WIS, Earth signs +1 CON, Fire signs +1 CHR, and then a +2 skill bonus for each one (gemini = bluff, libra = balance, cancer = heal, etc.).

 

[Azure Trance]

Septentrionalis has rules for Astrology from the Sun to Saturn

http://www.catspawcomics.com/sept/sept.html

 

[Bendris Noulg]

I've got two versions that I've reviewed for consideration. I'm just waiting to get Star Magic to make my final decision (one of them, a hybrid, my own unique system, etc.).

I'm watching this thread for more possible morsels, however.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Here's what I do (and I freely let my PC's choose when they're born and what system they follow):

STEP ONE: The Year. If you follow the elvish system of astrology, this gives you a totem animal, mirrored after Chinese astrology. A totem animal gives you access to feats related to that animal.

STEP TWO: The Season. If you follow the gnomish system of atrology, this gives you a totem element (Fire = Summer, Air = Autumn, Water = Winter, Earth = Spring). A totem element gives you resistances to some energies, vulnerabilities to the others.

STEP THREE: The Month. If you follow the dwarven system of astrology, this gives you a guardian spirit, mirrored after typical Zoroastrian astrology (12 months a year). A guardian spirit watches over you. Guardian spirits gives you access to special feats.

STEP FOUR: The Week. If you follow the halfling system of astrology, this gives you a guardian planet (7 weeks a month). A planet gives you a bonus to one ability score, and a penalty to another, and gives you a new favored class.

STEP FIVE: The Day. If you are an Astrologer (A PrC IMC), you can combine the effects of all the other totems of a specific day. There are also PrC's for each individual sign. The day is mostly only important to an astrologer.

Of course, each race follows their own by default.

The Yearly Animals are pretty much animistic spirits of the world.

The Seasonal Elements are the four major classical elements of science.

The Monthly Spirits are twelve godlike angles/demons, each with an aspect of control over each other.

The Weekly Planets are seven true deities, each with an instrumental role in the world.
----
Of course, the system is also fairly modular -- you want a new planet, whip up some ability adjustments, etc. No biggies.

 

[harvicus]

Kamikaze, thanks for those details, those are some great ideas you got there. I am curious about the Prestige Classes associated with the signs, and which of the 4 steps the signs describe, as you only make mention of them under Step 5 (Day).

 

[Matt Neuman]

Slightly off topic, but related-ish:

In my campaign, there exists the following piece of equipment:

Dilunascope (500 crowns)
A dilunascope is used to chart the position of the two moons. It is used by sailors to aid in navigation, and
is also used by soothsayers to aid in their predictions. When used for navigation, it grants a +4
circumstance bonus to any skill checks related to plotting your position.