Attempt at a Lankhmar Conversion---Need Advice/Input [Long]

[AFGNCAAP]

Well, since I still have some of the 1st & 2nd Ed. Lankhmar stuff lanying around, as well as all of the stories, I figured to work on a Lankhmar conversion just for the heck of it. Here's a few things I've brainstormed so far, & I would really appreciate some feedback on it.

Races Available:
*Human: have a "generic" human for the majortiy of Lankhmarts & many other cosmopolitan folk, & additional info for specific cultures, ala the Clan Humans from OA. Cultures I've considered are pretty much from the 2nd Ed. book: Northerners, Land Mingols, Sea Mingols, residents of Klesh, & Eevanmarenseers.

*Nehwonian Ghoul: essentially human, except for the transperent flesh & visible skeleton. Not sure how to work out their benefits from this attribute from 2nd Ed. to 3rd.

*Additional Races: I thought that, for a bit more liberal Nehwon setting (for some who might see the low-magic setting to be a bit restrictive), I'd include stats for creating characters of non-human races. Maybe include a guideline rule to restrict the # of non-human members of the group to half or a quarter of the group's size (1 or 2 of a 4 member group, for example). The races I've considered including are:
*Ice Gnomes
*Half-Elves (originally based on the appearance of "winter elves" on the 1st Ed. encounter charts for Nehwon in
Deities & Demigods.
*Half-Orcs (only for a "liberal" version of Lankhmar---the end result of some evil wizard's experiements)
*Spirit Folk (possibly the end result of a dalliance between some feminine nature spirit & mortal adventurer).

*NPC Races: I also considered providing info for races available for NPCs, either for weird allies or supernatural opponents for the party to face. Genasi, Tieflings, & Aasimar for something supernatural, modified Nezumi stats for human-size rats from Lankhmar Below, info for Simorgyans, Invisibles of Stardock, humans from Quarmal, & maybe a few other creatures.

Classes Available:
*Unchanged Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Rogue.

*Modified Classes: Bards & Rangers---need to give them suitable replacements for complete loss of spellcasting ability.

*Forbidden Classes: OA classes (pre-samurai Asian-style cultures, like the Mongols), Cleric, Druid, Paladin (too many abilities would have to be removed/changed to work in Lankhmar), Psion (see NPC Classes), Psychic Warrior, Sorcerer, Wizard.

*New Classes: Black Mage, White Mage. I was thinking of how magic sort of worked in Nehwon, & I really don't recall the use of spellbooks. I figured on basing these 2 classes on sorcerers, but with a few changes, like multiclassing restrictions (forbidding multiclassing, with the exception of certain prestige classes after a certain level), different spell lists (an arcane list of cleric/druid/shaman spells for the white mage; a sorcerer/wizard/wu jen style list for the black mage), AL requirements, potential "school" spell lists, ala the OA Shugenja, plus a few other things.

*Prestige Classes: A few from 3rd Ed. could work (like the Duelist), some would need to be modified if not reinvented (the Assassin for members of the Slayers' Guild), as well as a few new prestige classes: Elemental Mages (different from what's in tome & Blood---it would include Ice as a path instead of having it be a part of Water; maybe include Wood & Metal as well), Lankhmar Guild Thieves, Priests for various deities of Nehwon (sorta based on how priests were designed in the 2nd Ed. Lankhmar rules), etc.

*NPC Classes: Aristocrats, Commoners, Experts, & Warriors would be available. Adepts would not---might use them as part of the design element for white/black mages. Maybe allow Psion as an NPC class for humans of Quarmal.

Magic:
*PCs can only use arcane magic---no divine magic. The gods are more prone to punish than reward their followers. A few opponents, OTOH, would be exclusively divine magic.

*Not sure of increasing casting times: maybe provide such rules for a more conservative Nehwon game. Require mages to have at least a spell component pouch to cast spells (& maybe a holy symbol to boot, though the magic's still arcane).

*Maybe provide rules for placing caps on the total plusses a magical item can have: maybe up to +6 in bonuses/abilities instead of +10. Allow for PCs to come across more masterwork items as treasure, or even rare alloys which simulate materials such as darkwood, mithral, or adamantine.

Well, that's what I have so far. I'd really need to work out this system before I attempt to build characters w/ it. I can only guess at what the Twain would be:

*Fafhrd, NG male Northerner-human barbarian/bard (maybe ranger/bard, but I don't really recall Fafhrd fighting w/ 2 weapons frequently).

*Grey Mouser, N male human rogue/black mage/fighter (maybe throw in Duelist prestige class, or have it in place of fighter).


I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback you could offer on this. Like I said, just doing this for fun, & I figure there's a few Lankhmar fans out there who'd might like to chime in.

EDIT: Couldn't type in the residents of Klesh as listed in the 2nd Ed. book---filter doesn't like it.

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

Don't forget about the black magician's curse causing them to go nuts, get ugly or take on supernatural taboos as soon as they gain 3rd level spells! Ouch. Keep up the good work; my group loved Lankhmar (the city, not so much the rest of the world, which seemed poorly developed).

 

[drowdude]

Lankhmar roxxx!!!! (or at least the city does...)

I dropped it into my FR campaign waaaay back in 2e. Using that in place of Raven's Bluff.

Also shifted the terrain around a bit in order to place the dykes and the swamps in... and placed a massive mountain there upon which expansions to the city were built onto and within. Called it Stardock of course ... also placed a Spelljammer port and both a wizards school and a bardic college on top of the mountain... the sewers conected directly to Undermountain and several other dungeons across the Realms... the street of the gods had a temple (or at least a shrine) to every god within the realms...


Calaunt became something like Ilthmar (City of Rats).


Sorry, I am rambling OT a bit here... just brought back fond memories

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Thanks! I considered that. Briainstormed a bit more, & here's a bit of details on the magic-users of Nehwon.

White Mage
*Casts arcane spells essentially derived from the cleric/druid/shaman spell lists, though spells such as raise dead, reincarnation, & ressurection are forbidden. Wisdom is used to determine spellcasting ability. Requires a spell component pouch to cast spells. Their spells are meant to be helpful & protective.

*Proficient w/ simple weapons; no armor nor shields. Suffers arcane spell failure rules when using such items.

*Can gain a familiar at 2nd lvl., much like the adept.

*Must select a school, like the shugenja from OA. White mages can cast 1 school spell plus their normal allotment of spells. I thought of including this so that mages can develop themselves for prestige classes like Ice Mages & Fire Mages early on. School ideas include:
*Fire Magic
*Ice Magic
*Sea Magic
*Earth Magic
*Air Magic
*Metal Magic
*Wood Magic
*Beast Magic
*Storm Magic
*Lore Magic
*Trickery Magic
etc....

*White Mages may only be non-Evil aligned at first, & once they reach 5th level, they must be Good-aligned or stop progressing as white mages. Of course, this can be circumvented for a while by taking a prestige class before obtaining 5th level as a white mage.

*Along the same lines, white mages can freely mutli-class while 4th level or lower. Once a white mage obtains 5th level, he/she can no longer multi-class (with the exception of a few select prestige classes)---a white mage that is 5th level or higher that multi-classes can no longer progress as a white mage. In any event, white mages can never select black mage as a multi-class.

Black Mage
*Casts arcane spells essentially derived from the sorcerer/wizard/wu jen spell lists. Uses Intelligence to determine spellcasting power, & must have a spell component pouch to cast spells at all. Their spells are meant to exert power over others, whether offensively or subtlely.

*Proficient with simple weapons; no armor or shields. Suffers arcane spell failure rules when using such items.

*Can gain a familiar at 2nd level.

*Must select a school, as per the white mage.

*Black mages must be non-Good aligned at first, & must be Evil-aligned when they obtain 5th level or stop progressing as a black mage; basically the same rule for white mages, but different AL.

*Like white wizards, they are restricted in their multiclassing choices. They can never select white mage as a multi-class, & are restricted to select pretige classes after they reach 5th level.

*Once a black mage reaches 5th level, he/she starts to suffer the corrupting effects of black magic. At 5th level & every level afterward, the black mage gains a supernatural taboo or deformity. Even if the black mage takes levels of a prestige class after reaching 5th level, if gaining a prestige class level increases his/her spellcasting level, the black mage gains a new taboo/deformity. This is the price for the power of black magic.


Here's some ideas for mage-related prestige classes:

*"Elemental" Mage---this is actually several different prestige classes focused on the different elements. All of them must be able to cast at least 2nd level spells. Here is a bit of info on the classes:

*Ice Mage: Must come from a cold homeland (such as the Cold Wastes, Rime Isle, etc.)---Northerners, Rime Islanders, Ice Gnomes, some Mingols, etc. Must have selected the Ice Magic school.

*Earth Mage: Must be Klesh humans only (or earth genasi). Must have selected the Earth Magic school.

*Air Mage: Must be an Invisible of Stardock, air genasi, or have spent a month with such an air-dwelling race. Must have selected the Air Magic school.

*Sea Mage: Must be from a seafaring people (Sea Mingols, Lankhmarts, Northerners), water genasi, or Simorgyan. Requires 3 ranks in Swim. Must have selected the Sea Magic school.

*Fire Mage: Must be Eevanmarenseer, Mingol, or fire genasi. Must have lit a fire just for the sake of burning an object. Must have selected the Fire Magic school.

*Nature Mage: Requires 3 ranks in Wilderness Lore; must have an animal familiar. Must have selected the Wood or Beast Magic school.

*Metal Mage: Requires at least 1 rank in a metalworking skill such as Craft (Weaponsmithing) or Craft (Blacksmithing). Must have selected the Metal Magic school.

*Sorcerers' Guild Member: Requires 1 rank in Spellcraft & Knowledge (Arcane). Must pay membership dues.


Well, that's all I have so far. I really think it needs to be fleshed out some more. I'm basing the classes off of the sorcerer since I don't recall any of the mages needing spellbooks---though they definitely needed spell components. Plus, the # of spells known limits how many spells a mage has access to, & the school selection places the mage on a path of development. I might go as far as placing restrictions on schools---mages with the Fire Magic school can never learn Cold-based spells, etc.

Appreciate any feedback you can provide.

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

Any more progress?

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Well, a little bit...

If I decide to provide a bonus feat for each spell level for the ranger, & can do the same for bards & assassins (potentially). Bards would gain 7 bonus feats this way---I may have some of the bonus feats set in stone (perhaps Skill Focus or the like).

I intended to allow monks in Lankhmar (they seem to be suitable for some unique followers of Issek of the Jug, maybe Aarth), but I forgot about their supernatural abilities like timeless body & perfect self. Then again, barbarians gain damge reduction at higher levels (though it's an extraordinary ability instead of supernatural or spell-like). The more I work on the conversion, the more I'm tempted to just allow fighters & rogues only.

I'm still undecided on Lankhmar arcane spellcasters; rereading "Ill Met in Lankhmar" has made me reconsider making them a sort of sorcerer---Hristomilo used a scroll during his death smog spell, so wizards may work out better.

The key thing I that I want to be able to convert the stuff without having to draw on several different sources for material; it'll be more of a hindrance than a help if my conversion requires that players own at least as many D&D books as I do.

Since I was intending on having a strict as well as a lenient rules set for the conversion, I think I'll have to indicate which classes may have to be disallowed, depending on which style of game is preferred.

Here's what I've got so far:

Races:
Humans: As is---no Favored Class modifiers or skills becoming Class Skills at the moment. No stat modifiers. However, each culture will be written up w/ guidelines (suggestions for placing stats, preferred classes, preferred weapons/armor/equipment, etc.)

Demi-Humans:
For lenient games, these will be allowed--no CR modified races at all, though (those are exclusively NPC races). Here's what I have so far:
Native: Nehwon Ghouls, Ice Gnomes
Very Plausible: Spirit Folk (children of humans & nature spirits--given the amorous exploits of the Twain, this is very feasible)
Lenient Games Only: Half-Elves (elves being an NPC race only---no subraces; very few & far between); Half-Orcs (the by-product of a black wizard's experiments, either w/ half-orcs as the result, or half-orcs being a by-product of the experimental creature [orcs] & humans).

NPC Races:
Genasi: Air Genasi could be the Arillians (ala Frixifrax), or the result between Arillian & human daliances; Water Genasi could be used for Simorgyans (or Water Genasi-Weresharks for the vicious Simorgyans). Fire & Earth Genasi are feasible as well.
Slitheren (Ratmen from CC): For the rats of Lankhmar below.
Aasimar & Tieflings: A bit of a stretch, but feasible for lenient games.
Invisbles of Stardock
Quarmall Humans---only race able to select Psion class
Elves & Orcs: only in lenient games---they should be very sparsely used.
Lycanthropes: They lose their damage reduction.
Lich: Suitable for Khakht & a few others
Ghost: Great for the denizens of Shadowland

Classes:
Readily Useable: Fighter, Rogue, Barbarian
Some Modification Needed: Ranger, Bard
Lenient Games: Monk (due to supernatural abilities)
Prohibited: Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Sorcerer, Wizard*, OA classes
Heavily Modified/New Classes: White & Black Wizards. Here's what I'm considering now.

*White Wizards (uses a modified version of the Druid spell list, borrowing some from the Cleric, Shaman, & perhaps Shugenja lists) Must be Good-Aligned, uses Wisdom to determine spellcasting ability. Can gain familiar only if 5th level or higher.

*Black Wizards (uses the standard Wizard/Sorcerer spell list, borrowing some form the Wu Jen). Must be non-Good aligned at first, but Evil-Aligned by 5th level. Uses Intelligence to determine spellcasting ability. Gain taboos/deformities at 5th level & higher. Can gain familiar only if 5th level or higher.

Both white & black wizards can choose to specialize in a school of magic; however, certain schools are allowed, while others aren't. Some existing schools are Air, Earth, Fire, Ice, Water, Metal, Wood.

Both white & black wizards may multiclass freely while 4th level or lower; however, they must devote themselves to magic by 5th level; they cannot gain any more levels in other classes (barring certain prestige classes, of course) once they are 5th level or higher; they can choose to continue gaining levels in other classes, but cannot rise above 4th level unless devoting their lives to magic.

More Crunchy Bits:
*A list of NPCs, including where & when they lived (& died).
*Rules for Social Level (pretty much straight from 2nd Ed., but w/ some modifications)
*Info on the Gods & Powers
*Monsters of Lankhmar
*Campaign Recommendations, including where & when to start campaigns (& the poltlines involved at the time).

How's all this sound? Still could do w/ some ideas for Assassins, Bards, Rangers, & Monks without a lot of need for additional books.