[E6] Setting Brainstorm

[d20Dwarf]

I'm cross-posting this because it wasn't getting much play elsewhere (and I've been busy completing a project so I haven't had much time to post on it either). This is very much a brainstorm, an unfiltered blog, so if I say something stupid it's probably because I thought it, typed it, then moved on to other things without vetting the idea.

I welcome discussion on the points I raise, but I'm not going to get argumentative. I have a pretty firm setting design paradigm that I believe *works* and so I hope you won't get too upset if I don't agree with some of the ideas bandied about, or favor my own conclusions (I will probably disagree with myself as well ).

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So I really dig E6, the idea from EN World poster rycanada, which limits level advancement to 6th level, allowing only the acquisition of feats from there on out.


Here are the revelant threads:


E6 Ruleset Discussion: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=200754


rycanada's E6 Setting Discussion: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=200783


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Here is what I want to do with this thread, and what I do not want to do.


Want to Do

--Examine how E6 changes the default assumptions of D&D, regarding Magic, Society, Treasure, Adventuring, and Mechanics.
--Think about how an E6 setting would differ from a D&D setting, using examples from Forgotten Realms and Eberron to illustrate.

Don't Want to Do

--Talk about specifics of a setting, or throw out ideas of what would be a cool setting for an E6 game.

There are millions of ideas that we could use ("Orcs would like, totally enslave dwarves in E6!"), and starting with an idea and trying to figure out how to fit it into an E6 setting would be like starting with a spice and trying to build a dinner around it...best to decide what's for dinner, then select spices that complement it.


If you're interested in E6, then by all means please join in the discussion!

 

[d20Dwarf]

Society and Adventuring

Preface

D&D is a bit wonky in its assumptions regarding society, adventuring, and class levels in my opinion. You've got PC classes which all get really kickass abilities, but are generally only gained by people that go into dark dungeons to fight dangerous foes, risking life, limb, and soul for instant wealth and powers. Of course, the wealth comes a lot faster than the powers, since a PC has treasure enough to live several lifetimes before he's even halfway up the advancement chart.

Then there are NPCs who have crappier class levels for gaining the same amount of XP, but generally for doing mundane things we are led to believe. For instance, how does one become a 10th-level Expert? This is never really explained.

Applied to E6

In a fantasy world without superheroes, would more or less people try to advance in the arcane arts? On one hand, the "cap" on extraordinary abilities might encourage more people to train in them to a certain degree, but that's assuming a socio-economic system capable of supporting it. Sorta like the prevalence of college degrees in the civilized world. A medieval agrarian, proto-urban socio-economic system would probably still have limitations on who had time and money to get the necessary training.


On the other hand, the effective upper limit on heroic abilities is going to leave people with a lot more time on their hands to do things other than adventure. So, does that leave us with career adventurers, or would those be rare things like the rangers from Lord of the Rings? I think an E6 setting wouldn't have crazy dungeons and professional adveturers like the D&D settings do, it wouldn't be filled with ancient ruins and underdark spaghetti. It's conflicts would be more down-to-earth: political, protection of the homeland, and the occasional supernatural menace.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Magic

Magic is an interesting topic in E6. D&D settings necessarily have to worry about magic all the way up to 20th level and beyond, and the insanely powerful magic items they can create. One of my biggest criticisms of the new edition was the bookkeeping aspect of magic items and the link between level, treasure, and CR.

E6 makes that a lot more palatable by really limiting the amount of bookkeeping you must do, and the limited number of magic items means that the "standard suite syndrome" probably doesn't exist. You only get 13,000gp value in gear at 6th level, so not everyone's going to spend a third of that for a +2 stat boost. I think it also lessens the pressure for the DM to keep close track of "gear value by level" anyway and just inject whatever super-cool items he wants in his game. Consequently, it also makes it easier to get rid of items without feeling like you're screwing the PCs. But we're not here to talk about why E6 rocks.

An E6 setting doesn't have to lose the backdrop magic that most D&D settings have just because the PCs don't have access to that level of power. In fact, it's best if it's left in, but not in the workaday ubiquitous fashion of the Realms or Eberron. I think higher magic should be shrouded in mystery, religion, and legend, because it's clearly beyond mortal ken.

I'm interested in how PCs gain access to magic, and why it's so limited. Seems like that's a good opportunity to adjust the setting to the rules. There are a few options to go with here:

--Magic was once powerful but is sputtering, for reasons either known or unknown.
--Magic was unknown to mortals but has suddenly become available.
--Mortals are unable to handle higher magic, it might hurt them if they try (including trying to wield powerful magic items)
--Magic is licensed by a powerful wizard's guild or the government

 

[Evilhalfling]

Well Ill share my take, cause apparently I am addicted to E6 threads.
I think we differ in some basic assumptions.
NPC levels - I give xp for overcoming challenges, and for completing story goals. So on the assumption that NPCs get this as well I assume that most competent adults are 2nd-3rd level. (this also reflects the fact that my players dislike the first 2 levels)
In standard D&D I cap all non-active adventures at about 9th, where they stop getting xp for CR 1 challenges.

As a side note if you convert the DMG level demographics (pg139) over by making all higher level characters = level 6 you get an interesting distribution:
Metro's will have 12 sixth lvl+ characters of each class
Large Cities will have 3-9 sixth lvl+ of each class
Small Cities have 2 for every class, and up to 6 for fighters and rogues
Large towns will have 1 for half of the classes

Are you thinking that a world of E6 would be somewhere near this breakdown or that 6th level people would be very rare?
If e6 were very rare than you are forced to fall back on the PC's are heroes, no one else gets the same kind of advancement, or you slow down advancement alot across the board.


To Address your points:
Why say there was ever a change in magic?
I was attracted to the E6 concept because of its ability to simulate fantasy literature. Magic items of great power, enchanted forests, etc are done by the gods, or in rycanada's original concept, titans. I agree fully that higher magic should be surrounded in mystery.

As for PC wealth levels and magic items, I have no problem with every sword owned by a lord, knight or successful mercenary having an enchantment of sharpness (+1) and most valuable armor having a similar charm or blessing to increase its protection (and allow the perfect fit.) I agree that mostly the wealth by level guidlines can get tossed, since there is a hard cap on what can be purchased / made, once you spend about 10,000 gp you hit diminishing returns. +1weapon,+1armor and shield, +2 cloak resistance, +1 amulet on NAC.

This does not include potions, scrolls or wands. Of these only wands require 1000's of gold.
I would prefer to keep +2 stat items out of common circulation for aesthetic reasons, because they really are good enough that all PCs would want 1-3 of them.

 

[Ry]

Those +2 Stat items require CL 10 (right?) so they're not available in my E6.

 

[Ry]

Strangely enough, I don't think E6 changes that many assumptions that we see in the settings. For example, how much raising / ressurecting / reincarnating of important individuals do we really see in those settings histories?

 

[Aegir]

Strangely enough, I don't think E6 changes that many assumptions that we see in the settings.

I actually made this comment in the other setting thread: alot of the existing settings seem to be built independent of the rules governing them, for example Forgotten Realms. With the exception of some of the uber NPCs that run about Faerun, the world itself doesn't fit at all with the uber high-magic that FR D&D has become known for. In fact, if you simply re-stat (or remove entirely) the uber NPCs from the setting, it'd work with E6 perfectly well as-is.

 

[Ry]

In another thread it was mentioned that Dragonlance would run particularly well with E6 (and the drama rules), and I definitely agree.

Even Ptolus isn't hard to convert; you tone down the magic item trade, write a spell that teleports from a specially-prepared location to a specific chamber in the Inverted Pyramid, and change the uber NPC stats, and you're basically good.

 

[d20Dwarf]

As a side note if you convert the DMG level demographics (pg139) over by making all higher level characters = level 6 you get an interesting distribution:
Metro's will have 12 sixth lvl+ characters of each class
Large Cities will have 3-9 sixth lvl+ of each class
Small Cities have 2 for every class, and up to 6 for fighters and rogues
Large towns will have 1 for half of the classes

That's a really interesting distribution. I definitely think E6 characters will be more common, not less (and therefore heroic again). The difference between heroes and normal people that reach E6 is that the heroes will do it more quickly for whatever reason, whereas most of the other E6s will either be ex-heroes or elders (elders being as powerful as top heroes is definitely a change in viewpoint from standard D&D).

 

[d20Dwarf]

I actually made this comment in the other setting thread: alot of the existing settings seem to be built independent of the rules governing them, for example Forgotten Realms. With the exception of some of the uber NPCs that run about Faerun, the world itself doesn't fit at all with the uber high-magic that FR D&D has become known for. In fact, if you simply re-stat (or remove entirely) the uber NPCs from the setting, it'd work with E6 perfectly well as-is.

I think FR has been restructured to make the high-magic assumption, though. The most glaring example is the introduction of ubiquitous portals that have been created by people to teleport between two places.