Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8284029" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/bQUIBqQ.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Spheres of the Lance: the Spheres System for DragonlanceA world rent asunder, abandoned by the gods. The rise of a dark empire and dragon-mounted knights on both sides. This is the world of Krynn, where the harried forces of Good prevailed over Evil at great cost thanks to the return of the gods and the discovery of the fabled Dragonlances.Major Traditions: Magic in Krynn is divided between divine magic, granted by the gods directly (clericism) or empowered by faith in oneself and the soul (mysticism), and sorcery which is either powered by the three moons (High Sorcery) and studied or an innate aspect of one’s being (Primal Sorcery). As of the Age of Despair, Primal Sorcery is only possessed by dragons, fey, and other innately magical beings and out of the hands of typical PC races. After Chaos’ unleashing into the world, primal sorcerers and mystics start springing up among mortals. Casting Traditions should be in line with these aspects.Before the unleashing of Chaos into the world, mortal magic had to come from the gods either as divine magic or wizardry, and thus had to spend prayer or research in choosing what spells to be gifted every day. Additionally, commonly required specific combinations of words, gestures, and in some cases materials in order to use. Prepared Caster, Somatic Casting, and Verbal Casting are extremely common drawbacks for casting traditions.Notably, healing magic was the sole province of divine spellcasters. Arcanists who attempted to emulate such miracles often did so at a price, such as draining the life force from another soul. The Life sphere and ‘no strings attached’ magical healing should be similarly restricted.Advanced/Legendary Talents: Barring a few notable exceptions, the world of Krynn is more down to earth than other campaign settings. The most powerful mages and warriors were often from the long-dead Age of Might or significant figures often acting behind the scenes such as the Masters of the Orders of High Sorcery or Emperor Ariakas of the Dragonarmies. The Heroes of the Lance and other figures of the novels were capable adventurers but not oft-possessed of world-breaking powers, Raistlin excepted.Even so, Advanced and Legendary talents may be allowed depending on how unique the PCs are in the grand scheme of things. Raistlin’s power made him a threat even to the gods, and the modules suggested for Goldmoon to use her newly-granted powers to resurrect a PC that may have been killed by a dragon’s acidic breath weapon in the first adventure. Characters with such talents most certainly exist, but are often important figures destined to shape the history of Krynn.Technology Level: The majority of Ansalon is pre-Industrial, with the notable exception of the gnomes of Mount Nevermind who effectively have access to technology far beyond that of everyone else. Renaissance, Modern, and even Futuristic Technology can be found among Mount Nevermind’s experimental labs and guilds, albeit of dubious reliability in gnomish hands and almost incomprehensible to other races.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/mSkaUJx.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> New Rules & SubsystemsDragon Riding: The setting’s major claim to fame was the romantic ideal of heroes astride majestic winged beasts, jousting with polearm and fiery breath in aerial dogfights against other dragons and their riders. Any Dragonlance campaign worth its salt will give characters this opportunity.A PC who wishes to be a dragonrider is best off making use of the Conjuration sphere, with the Dragon base form and the Altered Size talent taken at least twice to ensure a rideable mount. Aerial Creature is necessary in granting them a fly speed, as is Draconic Creature for that classic breath weapon. One of these is granted automatically with the Dragon base form, so taking the other costs just 1 talent slot. Further talents can be added based on the dragon’s species and capabilities.But what of characters who do not wish to be a spherecaster? Well then things get a bit harder. Beastmastery is only applicable to unintelligent creatures, and Leadership’s sidekick rules specify a stat block of CR ½ or less, and true dragons most certainly do not count! So let’s make a new legendary talent for just that purpose!Dragon Friend (sidekick)Prerequisites: Leadership sphere (sidekick package), 5th level.You learn the Draconic language if you don’t already know it. Additionally in lieu of a normal sidekick you may gain a dragon companion. The dragon uses the stats of a Dragon base form via the Conjuration sphere talent, save that it is Large size, can also speak and understand the languages you speak, and can act independently of your actions in combat. Additional talents may be spent on this sphere to apply Conjuration sphere talents to the dragon.At 9th, 13th, and 17th level the dragon adds +2 to its Strength score (maximum 20), and at 9th and 13th it also grows an additional size category.Design Notes: I have yet to playtest it, but I wanted something in line with the Conjuration sphere’s Draconic base talent while also understanding that in comparison to a Leadership sidekick they may have less versatility, talents, and hit points. Thus my decision to grant it size and strength increases when the PC gains a proficiency bonus, as well as independent actions in combat. As I presume the dragon will be used as a flying mount this seemed like a good way of allowing PCs to be dragonriders without having a potential overpowered companion tagging along.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/YQHO8aL.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Moon Magic: In the world of Krynn, wizards who join one of the three Orders become attuned to their patron moon, their power affected by its phases.During the High Sanction phase of their patron moon, Wizards of High Sorcery gain advantage on spell attack rolls and impose disadvantage on opposed attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws to resist the magic of their Order-chosen spheres (see Wizards of High Sorcery under Popular Archetypes). During Low Sanction the opposite occurs, where they suffer disadvantage on spell attack rolls and targets gain advantage on rolls to resist their magic.The exception to the above is when at least two moons’ phases are in conjunction, in which case Wizards of the appropriate Order treat their moon as being in High Sanction. During the momentous event of the Night of the Eye (occurs only once every 504 days), wizards of all Orders are empowered. In addition to the former benefits they gain a number of bonus Spell Points equal to their proficiency bonus.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/pVRpubQ.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Popular ArchetypesGnomish Inventors: Much of what has been said for Gnomish Artificers/Techsmiths in the Forgotten Realms post can be applied here. However, gnomish artisanship is explicitly nonmagical and often bulky and unpredictable, so Krynnish gnomes are more likely to be Armigers, Artisans with the Technician subclass, Conscripts with the Mechanic subclass, and Scholars. For those who wish to go with a spherecasting class, the Wild Magic drawback is reflective of gnomish technology’s unpredictable effects.Knights of Solamnia: The three Orders of Knighthood and their skills are altered slightly based on whether or not the campaign is set in an era where the gods returned to Krynn. This matters more for the Knights of the Sword and Rose, as the Knights of the Crown don’t gain spellcasting by default. All three Orders are well-reflected by the Knight Martial Tradition or any that grant appropriate proficiencies in knightly gear: armor, blades, polearms, mounted combat, and morale-boosting.Knights of the Crown focus on obedience and loyalty. Proficiency in Wisdom saving throws is quite common to ensure they don’t fall victim to charm and fear effects. The Guardian sphere’s resilience talents are appropriate, particularly Cold Iron Call and Durable which can delay the onset of negative effects. The Berserker sphere’s Deathless talent and Guardian’s Indomitable Advanced Talent can prevent an early death and/or unconsciousness.Knights of the Sword embody courage and faithfulness and are quite commonly warrior-priests. Classwise they are most commonly Paladin Spherecasters with the Divine Petitioner or Divine Crusader Casting Traditions. They’re most known for their magical talents and given that they are commonly promoted from ranks of the Crown they often share the same martial talents. For magical talents they most commonly have spells of the Enhancement and Light spheres, and Destruction sphere talents which deal radiant damage. Unfortunately they don’t have much to make them stand out non-magically, meaning that in eras absent of the gods they are the hardest-hit of the orders.Knights of the Rose are the highest tier of the orders, almost always in vaunted leadership positions. Like Knights of the Sword they are spellcasters, but derive their magic from Paladine. They are more likely to have talents from the Leadership and Warleader spheres, focusing on ones that grant boons to their allies. They can be represented via the Commander class, particularly during eras where the gods abandoned Krynn, but otherwise are best emulated via the Paladin Spherecaster.Knights of Takhisis/Neraka: Specific to the Age of Mortals, the Knights of Takhisis are the Knights Solamnia’s evil counterpart, pledged to the Dark Queen and then to their country after her death. Much like Solamnia they have similar Martial Traditions, emphasizing armor and heavy weapons. The major difference is that they aren’t necessarily pledged to the gods, and thus most of them are Mystics and Primal Sorcerers (see below). Additionally they are more focused on demoralizing enemies than rallying their own forces, represented as the Gladiator sphere’s various demoralize and fear talents. Knights of the Skull are spellcasters who make for skilled ambassadors and secret police, while the Knights of the Thorn are seers without peer. Both orders’ aptitudes are reflective of the Divination sphere’s various talents, especially Detect Thoughts for Skull, while Augury and the Advanced Talents of Read Omens and Delve for Knowledge for Thorn.Mysticism: Also known as the Power of the Heart, mysticism is a form of primal magic powered by an individual’s soul and faith in oneself. The Citadel of Light, the most renowned academy of mysticism, divides common types of mysticism into (conveniently) spheres. Spheres that enhance and manipulate other creatures and material are the most common, such as the Alteration, Creation, Enhancement, Life, Mind, and Nature spheres. But Mystics who are “sensitives” have the Divination sphere with the Limited Divination (divine) variant, specializing in reading the auras of others. Some mystics can manipulate dead bodies and spirits, representing the Death sphere.Primal Sorcerers: Also known as Wild Sorcery, this is a caster’s natural talent in shaping the elemental building blocks of creation. Although it comes naturally to people and is commonly possessed by all manner of ‘natural spellcasters’ such as dragons and fey, the Academy of Sorcery in the Fifth Age managed to divide the magic into various schools.Primal Sorcerers are most commonly Elementalists, preferring the Destruction, Nature, and Weather spheres, although Conjuration, Enhancement, and Illusion are also recognized schools. They ‘cast spontaneously,’ representing the lack of the Prepared Caster drawback of god and moon-granted magic. Their most common Casting Traditions are Natural and Sorcerous Blood.Wizards of High Sorcery: Dragonlance’s wizards are very much the prototypical D&D spellcasters, and easily reflected with both the Traditional Magic Casting Tradition, but with the Ritualist and/or Spellbook boons. The above rules for Moon Magic are for those formally pledged to one of the three Orders.Wizards in Dragonlance are incredibly versatile and their class, subclass, and sphere choice can vary wildly. For members of the Orders of High Sorcery, they may choose one sphere to be their favored sphere, whose overall power corresponds to the phases of the relevant moon. The spheres favored by White Robes include Divination, Fate, Protection, & Universal. Red Robes favor Alteration, Enhancement, Illusion, Nature, Telekinesis, Time, and Weather. Black Robes favor Enhancement, Death, Life, and Mind.Furthermore, Wizards of High Sorcery gain access to safehouses, resources, and the goodwill of their Order. This can be expressed in making an exception by allowing them access to the Leadership sphere as though they had Blended Training, gaining allies and apprentices in the form of Sidekicks and Followers. In such a case the only allowable Sidekick class is Spherecaster, whose Casting Tradition and spheres are in line with the PC’s order.</blockquote>

Verification