E6: The Game Inside D&D (with PDFs!)

[Tagnik]

The way I'm currently running my E6 Campaign is without Multiclassing and no Prestige Classes. I'm really just trying to make it as easy on myself as possible.

I use the Prestige classes as regular classes for my NPC's. I have no idea how difficult they are to fight (No frenzied berserker yet )

I "buffed" so many of my classes that I have a long house rules list, but it gives my players a lot of options and abilities.

Something I found useful was to just look ahead of the classes, take SOME of those abilities and make them feats, as Ry called them "Capstone" feats.

IE a barbarian taking Indomitable Will, a Spell thief taking Absorb Spell as a feat. the only prereqs is that they are of their class level and level 6.

The reason I didn't make a lot of these Feats and just worked them into class progression is because I wanted my players to have their new abilities early to have fun

don't know how to do the "Spoilers" thing, so I posted my house rules here
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3666681#post3666681

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

I'd like to make another plug for Eex, which requires exponentially more xp to advance. You start at 3rd and advance at 5K (4th), 10K (5th), 20K (6th), 40K (7th), etc. You get a feat at 5K intervals between advancing.

This means you have substantially more time at 6th level than in a standard campaign (20,000 xp instead of 6,000 xp) but when it stars to chafe you will be able to get to 7th and, eventually, to 8th. I don't think class balance will fall apart in those two levels, and the fact that advancement is possible will keep people's multiclassing choices more natural.

In a way it will be like playing E6 for a while, then trying out E7 and, eventually, E8.

I really don't know if the 4th level spells need extra controls. Is the transition between 6th and 7th level really such a big deal?

See, I 've been considering something like this as well, since I can't make my mind up on E6 or E8. I also thought about adding a level after X thousand XP's and letting character's get the feats in the meantime. What's holding me back at this time is the fact that Sorcerers get shafted big time, as wizards (and clerics) will run around with the potentially troublesome 4th level spells for quite a while before sorcerers get the chance.

However, the solution is good for other classes, as we rogues get another sneak, and we don't need feats that give virtual BAB and a lot of those cool feats that require 12 ranks in a skill becomes available.

Man, this E-thingie is keeping me awake at night

 

[Ry]

Curses... can't... name... E6 campaign setting!

 

[Cheiromancer]

Curses... can't... name... E6 campaign setting!

Are you under an NDA?

Hey Khuxan - I like the centaurs you made up (and I REALLY like how OGC it is).

What centaurs are these?

 

[Ry]

Are you under an NDA?



What centaurs are these?

No NDA, just a mental block. I need to name the setting just so I can stop saying "the setting" all over the wiki.

The centaurs are that .pdf Khuxan linked a few pages back.

 

[GameDoc]

E6 is cool!

I followed a link from over at the True20 site to the original E6 thread and have been absorbing this stuff for a couple of days now.

Really great idea, Ryan!

I did have a few thought to throw out for discussion:

1) As a benefit for sticking with one class and to give an option for some of the more popular class features that come at levels 7-10, why not just make those features into feats with a prerequisite of class level 6 (i.e., Wholeness of Body is a feat that has Monk level 6 as a prerequisite)?

2) One quirk of E7 would be that wizards get 4th level spells, but sorcerers do not. It might further differentiate the two classes. Would that be a good thing or bad?

3) I was going to suggest making higher level spells work as incantations with materials that cost what it costs to have the spell cast in regular d20, but you guys beat me to it.

I am hoping the next new campaign my friends and I start will be an E6 or E7. If I can sell them on it, I'll let you know how it works for us.

 

[GameDoc]

For anyone interested, here is one of the articles that gets a lot of discussions on the "sweet spot" going (and sometimes invokes a reference to E6 at some point)

http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/d&d-calibrating.html

 

[iceifur]

2) One quirk of E7 would be that wizards get 4th level spells, but sorcerers do not. It might further differentiate the two classes. Would that be a good thing or bad?

Bad idea. IMO, and IME, sorcerers get shafted (compared to wizards) as it is. No need to aggravate the problem.

 

[Cheiromancer]

I need to name the setting just so I can stop saying "the setting" all over the wiki.

I'd suggest "Ebrycan." Which would be written E6rycan, of course.

One quirk of E7 would be that wizards get 4th level spells, but sorcerers do not. It might further differentiate the two classes. Would that be a good thing or bad?

You have to decide if 4th level spells are a bug or a feature. If you *want* 4th level spells to be accessible (maybe banning a few, like solid fog, polymorph and black tentacles) you might consider changing the sorcerer spell progression. Make it equal to the wizard's spells per day plus 2, and sorcerers always know at least one spell of the highest level they can cast. This is a little boost to sorcerers, but that's probably OK.

If you don't want 4th level spells, change the spellcaster progressions of wizards to be the sorcerer progression minus 2. Do the same for clerics, druids, and other full casters. This weakens those casters a little, but that is a good thing if you are going to E7; at E7 the spellcasters have pulled ahead a little from the mundane classes, and this sets things right again.

I think you'd need a good deal of playtesting to see which way is better.

 

[WhatGravitas]

You have to decide if 4th level spells are a bug or a feature. If you *want* 4th level spells to be accessible (maybe banning a few, like solid fog, polymorph and black tentacles) you might consider changing the sorcerer spell progression. Make it equal to the wizard's spells per day plus 2, and sorcerers always know at least one spell of the highest level they can cast. This is a little boost to sorcerers, but that's probably OK.

It is the strong stuff - solid fog, polymorph and their ilk. Right now, I've tested E7 with Arcana Evolved for two sessions... and it works, though I recommend to state, that the extra spell feats don't work for 4th level spells (but then, my players are hardly very good in optimizing).

Being able to cast a 4th level spell once or twice per day is a much nicer capstone, than getting an extra allotment of 3rd level spells - and since pure meleeists got their second attack on 6th, they get the chance to diversify their abilities a bit, by multiclassing (but getting the 7th level, means they're really good in their niche).

Of course, you have to watch out for classes, who have a totally dead level on 7th - they should get some kind of goodie.