Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Defiler/Preserver Basic Idea (Darksun)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 7602780" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>As originally conceived, the preserver/defiler divide is super dependent on roleplaying as a balance tool. I like the idea of looking for a way to translate that roleplaying element into concrete mechanical benefits; but I'm not a big fan of "free inspiration" as a solution. For one thing, inspiration has limited value to a wizard. Wizards don't roll d20s all that often; they make <em>other</em> people roll d20s. For another, inspiration is supposed to be an incentive to think about your character traits; making it automatic for preservers means they lose that incentive.</p><p></p><p>What about using the Veiled Alliance instead? The Preserver tradition grants access to various resources that the defiler does not get, the sort of resources that come with being part of a "mage guild." This could include:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">An extra spell for your spellbook on level up.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Able to buy consumable magic items up to a certain rarity.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Discounts on common magic items (e.g., healing potions) and spell components.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Certain spells that can only be cast by preservers.</li> </ul><p>Note that I am focusing here on benefits that are fairly universal; you would want them even in a beer-and-pretzels monster-bashing game. Stuff like "they will hide you from the sorcerer-kings" is valuable in many games, but worthless in others, so I don't want to lean on it exclusively.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the defiler tradition would grant straight-up power boosts, and maybe an AoE debuff whenever they cast a spell, since defiling magic causes pain to living creatures.</p><p></p><p>The Preserver tradition would allow you to use certain features of the Defiler tradition, but each use has a cumulative chance to make you go dark side and switch you to Defiler permanently. (At this point, the Veiled Alliance can sense the taint of defiling on you, and they kick you out.) Going from Defiler to Preserver would be much harder; mechanically, you'd have to forego using your Defiler tradition features for some period of time. You might also need a sponsor from the Veiled Alliance, both to help you learn preserving magic and to vouch for your reformation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 7602780, member: 58197"] As originally conceived, the preserver/defiler divide is super dependent on roleplaying as a balance tool. I like the idea of looking for a way to translate that roleplaying element into concrete mechanical benefits; but I'm not a big fan of "free inspiration" as a solution. For one thing, inspiration has limited value to a wizard. Wizards don't roll d20s all that often; they make [I]other[/I] people roll d20s. For another, inspiration is supposed to be an incentive to think about your character traits; making it automatic for preservers means they lose that incentive. What about using the Veiled Alliance instead? The Preserver tradition grants access to various resources that the defiler does not get, the sort of resources that come with being part of a "mage guild." This could include: [LIST] [*]An extra spell for your spellbook on level up. [*]Able to buy consumable magic items up to a certain rarity. [*]Discounts on common magic items (e.g., healing potions) and spell components. [*]Certain spells that can only be cast by preservers. [/LIST] Note that I am focusing here on benefits that are fairly universal; you would want them even in a beer-and-pretzels monster-bashing game. Stuff like "they will hide you from the sorcerer-kings" is valuable in many games, but worthless in others, so I don't want to lean on it exclusively. Meanwhile, the defiler tradition would grant straight-up power boosts, and maybe an AoE debuff whenever they cast a spell, since defiling magic causes pain to living creatures. The Preserver tradition would allow you to use certain features of the Defiler tradition, but each use has a cumulative chance to make you go dark side and switch you to Defiler permanently. (At this point, the Veiled Alliance can sense the taint of defiling on you, and they kick you out.) Going from Defiler to Preserver would be much harder; mechanically, you'd have to forego using your Defiler tradition features for some period of time. You might also need a sponsor from the Veiled Alliance, both to help you learn preserving magic and to vouch for your reformation. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Defiler/Preserver Basic Idea (Darksun)
Top