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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nytmare" data-source="post: 3751696" data-attributes="member: 55178">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    EFFECT1    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 only3    Take an extra standard action, on your turn only-4    Raise your "Death Flag"4    Lower your "Death Flag", on your turn onlyINVOCAIONS===========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 animalsHEDRADA+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 MotiveENKILI+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 checksCHARDUN+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 tacticsBELSAMETH+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 checkVANGAL+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.</blockquote>

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