E6: The Game Inside D&D
- Thread starter Ry
- Start date
Jeff Wilder
First Post
This is really cool, and I'm going to give it very serious consideration for my next campaign.
One thing:
Shouldn't the feats for ganing additional spells known and additional spell slots be adjusted for spontaneous and non-spontaneous casters? For a sorcerer, additional spells known are much more valuable than for a wizard. On the other hand, for a wizard, additional spell slots are significantly more valuable.
Any thoughts?
One thing:
Shouldn't the feats for ganing additional spells known and additional spell slots be adjusted for spontaneous and non-spontaneous casters? For a sorcerer, additional spells known are much more valuable than for a wizard. On the other hand, for a wizard, additional spell slots are significantly more valuable.
Any thoughts?
Kunimatyu
First Post
Jeff Wilder said:
There were some other feats tossed around, but it's both a simplicity issue and the fact that with a feat that grants both a slot and spell known, both the wizard and sorc get something they really want and something they only somewhat want -- it just happens to be different for each. If you want to, of course, it's very easy to design feats that split the benefits, but that's more a matter of personal preference and house-ruling, not anything that's required for E6 to work.
Kunimatyu
First Post
rycanada said:Sounds very pulp
What is the "Encyclopedia of Mu" in that setting? What's Mu?
Doh -- it's "Dictionary of Mu", no encyclopedias here; the sourcebook is supposed to be the writings of a scribe who fled the Witch-King. It has brief entries in alphabetical order that give a rough picture of the setting, with lots of room to fill in the blanks.
"Mu" is a legendary giant who fought Lemur, another legendary giant. Since the capital city of Lemuria is called "Mu's Bed", and the scribe was from Lemuria, I'd suspect that's why it's called the Encyclopedia of Mu, but I'm not entirely certain.
It's quite the evocative read.
Nytmare
David Jose
I threw the idea of E6 at my players about a month ago. I was excited about it, but figured that the campaign we were currenty playing in (3rd-4th level Scarred Lands) was better left alone, and that we'd try it out on the next one. There were, however, a bunch of rules that I did want to take a swing at (conviction, the death flag, raising the stakes) so we started talking.
Conviction I changed around a bit, making a sort of hybrid to the existing Scarred Lands "Invocation Benefits". The original system basically gave players a +1 to +3 on various d20 rolls when they'd pray to different gods. We trimmed the number of APs down to four, and made the bonus die range between a d4 and a d8.
[sblock=INVOCATION BENEFITS]
INVOCATION BENEFITS
===================
The gods' worshippers can call upon the power of their deities when in need by expending action points over one or more rounds to chant, meditate, pray, or otherwise contact the god's spiritual essence.
How long the invocation bonus lasts before it is lost entirely is dependant upon the situation and is left to the GM's discretion. In almost all cases, the task, feat, or endeavor for which the worshipper desires the god's boon must be specified and be undertaken immediately. A ranger facing a charging band of trolls might invoke Tanil to guide his arrow and find that his first shot has divine accuracy. But if that same ranger prays every morning just in case he should happen to go into battle, he may discover that Tanil will find his prayers unanswered.
Worshippers who invoke their god too often may find that their god has developed a deaf ear to their nagging pleas. Furthermore, worshippers who frequently invoke gods other than their patron deity, or (worse still) one of opposing beliefs, may find themselves abandoned and suffering the wrath of a vengeful god.
The following write up assumes 4 APs, regenerated each time a player rests, which can only be spent once per round.
AP EFFECT
1 Pray - Roll an additional d4, adding it to a d20 roll. This must be declared before you roll.
1 Invoke - Roll an additional d4, adding it to the appropriate roll (see below). This must be declared before you roll. If you pray for a full round, the die is increased to a d6. If you are praying to your patron deity you may pray for a third full round and increase the die to a d8.
2 Take an extra move-equivalent action, on your turn only
3 Take an extra standard action, on your turn only
-4 Raise your "Death Flag"
4 Lower your "Death Flag", on your turn only
INVOCAIONS
===========
COREAN
+dx to attack
+dx to damage against titanspawn
+dx to skills involving fire or blacksmithing
MADRIEL
+dx to healing spells
+dx to save vs negative energy
+dx to turning checks against undead
+dx to Heal checks.
TANIL
+dx to attack with bows
+dx to Wild Empathy checks
+dx to skills involving music, the wilderness, or animals
HEDRADA
+dx to Will saves
+dx to saves against spells with the "chaotic" designator
+dx to the spell strength of spells with the "law" designator
+dx to skills determining truth, like Sense Motive
ENKILI
+dx to Reflex saves
+dx to any skill checks involving or penalized by storms or the sea
+dx to Balance, Bluff, Disguise, Jump, or Tumble checks
CHARDUN
+dx to an attack
+dx to the spell strength of any mind affecting or damaging spell
+dx to Concentration, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive, or any skill that involves strategy or military tactics
BELSAMETH
+dx to an attack made on a good aligned creature
+dx to your AC against an attack made by a good aligned creature
+dx to a Control Shape check
VANGAL
+dx to an attack against an otherwise invulnerable target, such as those with DR, incorporeal foes, and the like. If weilding two axes, both weapons become enchanted
+dx to the spell strength of a spell with the "necromancy" designator
[/sblock]
We've only had two sessions so far, but the APs have really given the mechanic the boost that it needed. We trimmed it down to four action points instead of six because one of the players runs an Ebberon campaign, and he found the 5 or so points you get per level to almost be too much. Either way, I think that I'm satisfied with where we have it.
The Death Flag was put in almost exactly as written (aside from the slide to 4 points) and I felt the benefits almost immediately. I am normally a "try to keep em alive" DM, which heaps a lot of unecessary stress on you when trying to find those dangerous/deadly and believable/silly balance points during encounters. But with this, I quickly fell into a comfortable position where I didn't have to worry about fudging dice rolls and throwing away tactical advantages.
As for Raising the Stakes, it's the one mechanic I really wish I had been able to fit into things. The problem is that we use a critical hit and fumble table that has it's fingers spread through the ranged combat and magic systems, and I can't really see using both of them together. When it comes down to it, I think that Raising the Stakes is a much better mechanic, but I think we're too hung up on the charts we're using.
What I wasn't expecting, was that my players had decided that they wanted to change over to E6 with or without me. People are still a level or two away from the level six break point, but everyone seems to be excited. For the most part, my group already preferred the E6 "sweet spot", and their primary complaints with other campaigns were when things powered up to the realm of level five spells.
Surprise number two was for one of the players to suggest using the "players roll all the dice" rule. When I looked over it at first, I liked it, but the loss of control for a DM who often fudged rolls to keep players from dying scared me. But, after having witnessed the genius of the Death Flag in action, I knew that I had nothing to worry about.
But yeah, so far everything's turning up roses. There have been fewer arguments about this round of houserules than anything else we've tried, and everyone seems to be excited. The only hitch we've run into is wrapping our heads around the "players roll" rules, but we've only had one real swing at them so far.
Conviction I changed around a bit, making a sort of hybrid to the existing Scarred Lands "Invocation Benefits". The original system basically gave players a +1 to +3 on various d20 rolls when they'd pray to different gods. We trimmed the number of APs down to four, and made the bonus die range between a d4 and a d8.
[sblock=INVOCATION BENEFITS]
INVOCATION BENEFITS
===================
The gods' worshippers can call upon the power of their deities when in need by expending action points over one or more rounds to chant, meditate, pray, or otherwise contact the god's spiritual essence.
How long the invocation bonus lasts before it is lost entirely is dependant upon the situation and is left to the GM's discretion. In almost all cases, the task, feat, or endeavor for which the worshipper desires the god's boon must be specified and be undertaken immediately. A ranger facing a charging band of trolls might invoke Tanil to guide his arrow and find that his first shot has divine accuracy. But if that same ranger prays every morning just in case he should happen to go into battle, he may discover that Tanil will find his prayers unanswered.
Worshippers who invoke their god too often may find that their god has developed a deaf ear to their nagging pleas. Furthermore, worshippers who frequently invoke gods other than their patron deity, or (worse still) one of opposing beliefs, may find themselves abandoned and suffering the wrath of a vengeful god.
The following write up assumes 4 APs, regenerated each time a player rests, which can only be spent once per round.
AP EFFECT
1 Pray - Roll an additional d4, adding it to a d20 roll. This must be declared before you roll.
1 Invoke - Roll an additional d4, adding it to the appropriate roll (see below). This must be declared before you roll. If you pray for a full round, the die is increased to a d6. If you are praying to your patron deity you may pray for a third full round and increase the die to a d8.
2 Take an extra move-equivalent action, on your turn only
3 Take an extra standard action, on your turn only
-4 Raise your "Death Flag"
4 Lower your "Death Flag", on your turn only
INVOCAIONS
===========
COREAN
+dx to attack
+dx to damage against titanspawn
+dx to skills involving fire or blacksmithing
MADRIEL
+dx to healing spells
+dx to save vs negative energy
+dx to turning checks against undead
+dx to Heal checks.
TANIL
+dx to attack with bows
+dx to Wild Empathy checks
+dx to skills involving music, the wilderness, or animals
HEDRADA
+dx to Will saves
+dx to saves against spells with the "chaotic" designator
+dx to the spell strength of spells with the "law" designator
+dx to skills determining truth, like Sense Motive
ENKILI
+dx to Reflex saves
+dx to any skill checks involving or penalized by storms or the sea
+dx to Balance, Bluff, Disguise, Jump, or Tumble checks
CHARDUN
+dx to an attack
+dx to the spell strength of any mind affecting or damaging spell
+dx to Concentration, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive, or any skill that involves strategy or military tactics
BELSAMETH
+dx to an attack made on a good aligned creature
+dx to your AC against an attack made by a good aligned creature
+dx to a Control Shape check
VANGAL
+dx to an attack against an otherwise invulnerable target, such as those with DR, incorporeal foes, and the like. If weilding two axes, both weapons become enchanted
+dx to the spell strength of a spell with the "necromancy" designator
[/sblock]
We've only had two sessions so far, but the APs have really given the mechanic the boost that it needed. We trimmed it down to four action points instead of six because one of the players runs an Ebberon campaign, and he found the 5 or so points you get per level to almost be too much. Either way, I think that I'm satisfied with where we have it.
The Death Flag was put in almost exactly as written (aside from the slide to 4 points) and I felt the benefits almost immediately. I am normally a "try to keep em alive" DM, which heaps a lot of unecessary stress on you when trying to find those dangerous/deadly and believable/silly balance points during encounters. But with this, I quickly fell into a comfortable position where I didn't have to worry about fudging dice rolls and throwing away tactical advantages.
As for Raising the Stakes, it's the one mechanic I really wish I had been able to fit into things. The problem is that we use a critical hit and fumble table that has it's fingers spread through the ranged combat and magic systems, and I can't really see using both of them together. When it comes down to it, I think that Raising the Stakes is a much better mechanic, but I think we're too hung up on the charts we're using.
What I wasn't expecting, was that my players had decided that they wanted to change over to E6 with or without me. People are still a level or two away from the level six break point, but everyone seems to be excited. For the most part, my group already preferred the E6 "sweet spot", and their primary complaints with other campaigns were when things powered up to the realm of level five spells.
Surprise number two was for one of the players to suggest using the "players roll all the dice" rule. When I looked over it at first, I liked it, but the loss of control for a DM who often fudged rolls to keep players from dying scared me. But, after having witnessed the genius of the Death Flag in action, I knew that I had nothing to worry about.
But yeah, so far everything's turning up roses. There have been fewer arguments about this round of houserules than anything else we've tried, and everyone seems to be excited. The only hitch we've run into is wrapping our heads around the "players roll" rules, but we've only had one real swing at them so far.
shdwrnr
First Post
For your consideration
Stumbled upon this yesterday and I'm really impressed. This is exactly the kind of game I like to play and run. I don't know if anyone has done this already, but for your consideration I have a few feats you might enjoy for your "villian" section.
[sblock=Assassin Prestige Feats]
Assassin Training [Prestige]
You have begun training as an assassin.
Prerequisite: No other prestige feats, evil alignment, must kill someone for no other reason than to join the assassins, character level 6th.
Benefit: The following skills become class skills for you: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Magic Device, and Use Rope.
In addition, you gain the sneak attack ability which deals an additional +1d6 points of damage against an opponent that is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC. This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. This bonus on damage stacks with sneak attacks from another source.
Special: You may not gain this feat if you already possess any other prestige feats.
Poison Use [Prestige]
You have learned how to safely apply poisons to your trade.
Prerequisite: Assassin Training, Craft (Alchemy) 4 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: When applying poison to a weapon, you no longer risk accidentally poisoning yourself.
Assassin’s Guile [Prestige]
Your training as an assassin has been augmented by arcane study.
Prerequisite: Intelligence 12+, Assassin Training, Spellcraft 4 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: Choose two spells from the following list: Disguise Self, Detect Poison, Feather Fall, Ghost Sound, Jump, Obscuring Mist, Sleep, and True Strike. You may cast one of these spells per day with a caster level equal to the number of prestige feats you possess.
Assassin’s Trade [Prestige]
You have learned how to quickly bring death to the unaware.
Prerequisite: Assassin Training, two or more prestige feats, Disguise 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks character level 6th.
Benefit: You gain the Death Attack special ability.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Blackguard Prestige Feats]
Blackguard Training [Prestige]
You have begun training as a blackguard.
Prerequisite: No other prestige feats, evil alignment, must have made peaceful contact with an evil outsider, character level 6th.
Benefit: The following skills become class skills for you: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (religion), Profession, and Ride.
In addition, you gain an Aura of Evil. The power of the aura (see the detect evil spell) is equal to the number of prestige feats you posses.
Special: You may not gain this feat if you already possess any other prestige feats.
Sunder the Righteous [Prestige]
Your devotion to darkness has granted you power to harm the followers of the light.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Sunder, character level 6th.
Benefit: Once per day, you may make a single melee attack against a good aligned target. You add your Charisma modifier (if positive) to the attack roll and deal 1 extra point of damage per prestige feat you posses, plus any bonuses from high Strength or magical effects that normally apply. If you accidentally use this ability feat against a target that is not good, the feat has no effect but is still used up for that day.
Inquisition [Prestige]
You have gained the ability to sense the righteous wherever they may lurk.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, Hide 4 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You may use detect good as a spell like ability at will. In addition, any melee weapon you wield is considered evil aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction
Fallen From Grace [Prestige]
The lords of corruption favor those who were once pure.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, one or more paladin levels, character level 6th.
Benefit: You immediately gain a number of prestige feats equal to your paladin level/2. For example, a 3rd-level paladin/3rd-level cleric would gain 1 extra prestige feat upon gaining this feat while a 5th-level paladin/1st-level rogue would gain 2.
Special: This feat adds to the number of prestige feats you posses as normal in addition to any added by virtue of this feat. Feats gained by this feat do not count towards the limit of prestige feats you may learn.
Lord of Despair [Prestige]
Your body has become a conduit for negative energy.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, two or more prestige feats, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You may command or rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. You command undead as would a cleric who’s level equals the number of prestige feats you posses -2.
In addition, the dark energy you wield envelopes you in a malign aura that causes enemies within 10 feet to take a -2 penalty on all saving throws.
Fiendish Servant [Prestige]
Your dark masters have granted you an ally from the lower planes.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, three or more prestige feats, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You acquire a fiendish servant that serves you as a guardian, helper, or mount. You may choose from the following: fiendish bat, cat, dire rat, horse, pony, raven, or toad. The servant further gains HD and special abilities based on the number of prestige feats you posses.
Five or less prestige feats grant your fiendish servant +2 HD, +1 Natural Armor, +1 Strength, an Intelligence score of 6, and the following special abilities: empathic link, improved evasion, share saving throws, and share spells. Six or more prestige feats grant your fiendish servant +4 HD, +3 Natural Armor, +2 Strength, an Intelligence score of 7, and the ability to speak with you.
Special: You may only have one fiendish servant at a time. Should your fiendish servant die, you may call for another one after a year and a day.
Blessing of Darkness [Prestige]
The dark masters you serve have invested a spark of the divine in you.
Prerequisite: Wisdom 12+, Blackguard Training, three or more prestige feats, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You may cast one spell per day from the following list: cause fear, corrupt weapon, cure light wounds, doom, inflict light wounds, magic weapon, and summon monster I (evil creatures only).
In addition, you gain a bonus to your saving throws equal to your Charisma modifier (if positive).
Edit: Underlined text was added later. Yeah, I'm anal about formatting, sue me.
[/sblock]
Stumbled upon this yesterday and I'm really impressed. This is exactly the kind of game I like to play and run. I don't know if anyone has done this already, but for your consideration I have a few feats you might enjoy for your "villian" section.
[sblock=Assassin Prestige Feats]
Assassin Training [Prestige]
You have begun training as an assassin.
Prerequisite: No other prestige feats, evil alignment, must kill someone for no other reason than to join the assassins, character level 6th.
Benefit: The following skills become class skills for you: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Magic Device, and Use Rope.
In addition, you gain the sneak attack ability which deals an additional +1d6 points of damage against an opponent that is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC. This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. This bonus on damage stacks with sneak attacks from another source.
Special: You may not gain this feat if you already possess any other prestige feats.
Poison Use [Prestige]
You have learned how to safely apply poisons to your trade.
Prerequisite: Assassin Training, Craft (Alchemy) 4 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: When applying poison to a weapon, you no longer risk accidentally poisoning yourself.
Assassin’s Guile [Prestige]
Your training as an assassin has been augmented by arcane study.
Prerequisite: Intelligence 12+, Assassin Training, Spellcraft 4 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: Choose two spells from the following list: Disguise Self, Detect Poison, Feather Fall, Ghost Sound, Jump, Obscuring Mist, Sleep, and True Strike. You may cast one of these spells per day with a caster level equal to the number of prestige feats you possess.
Assassin’s Trade [Prestige]
You have learned how to quickly bring death to the unaware.
Prerequisite: Assassin Training, two or more prestige feats, Disguise 4 ranks, Hide 8 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks character level 6th.
Benefit: You gain the Death Attack special ability.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Blackguard Prestige Feats]
Blackguard Training [Prestige]
You have begun training as a blackguard.
Prerequisite: No other prestige feats, evil alignment, must have made peaceful contact with an evil outsider, character level 6th.
Benefit: The following skills become class skills for you: Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (religion), Profession, and Ride.
In addition, you gain an Aura of Evil. The power of the aura (see the detect evil spell) is equal to the number of prestige feats you posses.
Special: You may not gain this feat if you already possess any other prestige feats.
Sunder the Righteous [Prestige]
Your devotion to darkness has granted you power to harm the followers of the light.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Sunder, character level 6th.
Benefit: Once per day, you may make a single melee attack against a good aligned target. You add your Charisma modifier (if positive) to the attack roll and deal 1 extra point of damage per prestige feat you posses, plus any bonuses from high Strength or magical effects that normally apply. If you accidentally use this ability feat against a target that is not good, the feat has no effect but is still used up for that day.
Inquisition [Prestige]
You have gained the ability to sense the righteous wherever they may lurk.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, Hide 4 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You may use detect good as a spell like ability at will. In addition, any melee weapon you wield is considered evil aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction
Fallen From Grace [Prestige]
The lords of corruption favor those who were once pure.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, one or more paladin levels, character level 6th.
Benefit: You immediately gain a number of prestige feats equal to your paladin level/2. For example, a 3rd-level paladin/3rd-level cleric would gain 1 extra prestige feat upon gaining this feat while a 5th-level paladin/1st-level rogue would gain 2.
Special: This feat adds to the number of prestige feats you posses as normal in addition to any added by virtue of this feat. Feats gained by this feat do not count towards the limit of prestige feats you may learn.
Lord of Despair [Prestige]
Your body has become a conduit for negative energy.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, two or more prestige feats, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You may command or rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. You command undead as would a cleric who’s level equals the number of prestige feats you posses -2.
In addition, the dark energy you wield envelopes you in a malign aura that causes enemies within 10 feet to take a -2 penalty on all saving throws.
Fiendish Servant [Prestige]
Your dark masters have granted you an ally from the lower planes.
Prerequisite: Blackguard Training, three or more prestige feats, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You acquire a fiendish servant that serves you as a guardian, helper, or mount. You may choose from the following: fiendish bat, cat, dire rat, horse, pony, raven, or toad. The servant further gains HD and special abilities based on the number of prestige feats you posses.
Five or less prestige feats grant your fiendish servant +2 HD, +1 Natural Armor, +1 Strength, an Intelligence score of 6, and the following special abilities: empathic link, improved evasion, share saving throws, and share spells. Six or more prestige feats grant your fiendish servant +4 HD, +3 Natural Armor, +2 Strength, an Intelligence score of 7, and the ability to speak with you.
Special: You may only have one fiendish servant at a time. Should your fiendish servant die, you may call for another one after a year and a day.
Blessing of Darkness [Prestige]
The dark masters you serve have invested a spark of the divine in you.
Prerequisite: Wisdom 12+, Blackguard Training, three or more prestige feats, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, character level 6th.
Benefit: You may cast one spell per day from the following list: cause fear, corrupt weapon, cure light wounds, doom, inflict light wounds, magic weapon, and summon monster I (evil creatures only).
In addition, you gain a bonus to your saving throws equal to your Charisma modifier (if positive).
Edit: Underlined text was added later. Yeah, I'm anal about formatting, sue me.
[/sblock]
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