Enworld Co-OP Campaign Setting

[kroh]

When this is all done is it going to go up as a wiki or are you going to try and market it as "The House that EN World Built?"

So far all the ideas look great!
Regards,
Walt

 

[Sir Elton]

If we start doing things like that, we should better be sure that everything we do is SRD compliant. Thus, no referencing to things like mind flayers, non-OGC books, and so forth - and no using Wikis on sites like Wikia.com, which have Open Licences of their own which could clash with the OGL.

Personally, I'd rather not take the risk, but the decision is up to you...

Most of it is OGC. Just not the pictures and the Introduction. Advanced d20 Magic has all the spells already in the SRD converted over to its system. I'll just add it to the D&D Wiki.
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:System_Reference_Document

 

[Roman]

Hmmm... let me think about this.

Perhaps it's worth borrowing some mechanics from WFRP for this. In WFRP, you can theoretically cast spells as often as you want, but you have to rull a number of d10s and add them together to reach a so-called "casting number" - the spell only succeeds if the number is reached.

Furthermore, each time you roll multiple numbers with these d10s (for example, if you roll "5" two times), Something Bad happens. The spell still goes off, but you have to deal with some nasty side effects. These range from "your hair stands up for 1d10 minutes" for doubles to "you are sucked into a parallel dimension and die screaming" as the nastiest result for quadruples.

Now, how can we use this for D&D? Well, let's say arcane magic works like this:

You don't have to keep track of spell slots and don't have to memorize spells. You can attempt to cast a spell as often as you want. However, each time you want to cast a spell, you have to make a Spellcraft roll.

The base DC is equal to 10 + (spell level)x5. You can Take 10 on this if you are not rushed and outside of combat.

The DC will be modified by the number and level of spells that have been cast "recently" and "in the same area". Add the highest spell level that has been cast to the DC, as well as +1 for each additional spell that has been cast at this location.

"Recently" is an amount of time that depends on the spell level. The effects of a 1st level spell probably shouldn't linger for more than an hour, while the effects of a 9th level spell should linger for days, if not weeks.

"In the same area" likewise depends on the spell level. For a 1st level spell, this would perhaps be 10 meters. For a 9th level spell, we are probably talking about dozens of miles.

Additional effects - such as being in the Dark Zones, or close to magical artifacts that calm the local magical field - can also modify the DC.

I like this.

If you fail the Spellcraft roll by 5 or less, you have to roll two dice. If they come up as doubles, you will have to roll on a "Side-Effect table" to see what happens. If you fail by 6-10 points, you have to roll three dice. If you roll doubles, you have to roll on the same table, but if you roll triples, you will have to roll on a table with more severe side effects. And so on - for each 5 points by which you fail, you will have to roll another dice, and for each additional multiple you get, the side-effects will be more severe.

I think we can streamline the rolling. Failing the spellcraft check by say 5 (exact number to be determined) would simply entail rolling on the side-effects table (no need for more rolls and double rolls) and each additional 5 points (again, exact number yet to be determined) below the DC would increase the potency of the side effects.

This system would be another way of balancing arcane magic (though it shouldn't affect divine magic - divine magic comes directly from otherworldly entities). However, I'm not sure if this isn't too much bookkeeping to keep track of where what amount of spells has been cast. Furthermore, this system has not been playtested, so it's hard to say how well it would work in general practice.

I agree that divine magic should not be affected by this. I am not sure, though, that the system can be used to balance the two types of magic and enable arcane casters to cast at almost at will - that might be a bit too much.

 

[Roman]

Actually, Jürgen, we'd be better off adapting the system from Advanced d20 Magic.

The entire system is already DC based. And is balanced by either adding the energy point system, or the VP/WP system from UA, or use the system already presented. I've got the book, and most of it is Open Content. I can make an SRD out of the PDF easily.

I think most of us (myself included) don't know how the system functions, but if it fits than go for it.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Most of it is OGC. Just not the pictures and the Introduction. Advanced d20 Magic has all the spells already in the SRD converted over to its system. I'll just add it to the D&D Wiki.
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:System_Reference_Document

External references could work, as long as we don't have them within the setting website itself. In that case, we would have turned from a "fan site" to a "d20 publisher", which would have resulted in all sorts of legal complications I'd rather not deal with in a collaborative project...

Another question: Does the Advanced d20 Magic system use the standard D&D spells? If not, then maybe we should reconsider - the standard D&D spells have the advantage of being familiar to everyone, and they are also fairly well integrated into the rest of the D&D rules so that removing them can create quite a few problems...

 

[Sir Elton]

External references could work, as long as we don't have them within the setting website itself. In that case, we would have turned from a "fan site" to a "d20 publisher", which would have resulted in all sorts of legal complications I'd rather not deal with in a collaborative project...

Another question: Does the Advanced d20 Magic system use the standard D&D spells? If not, then maybe we should reconsider - the standard D&D spells have the advantage of being familiar to everyone, and they are also fairly well integrated into the rest of the D&D rules so that removing them can create quite a few problems...

Yes. Here is Gentle Repose, Advanced d20 Magic page 73, and the link to the SRD .

GENTLE REPOSE
NECROMANCY
CASTING DC: 31
# OF SLOTS: 1
RANGE: Touch
TARGET: Corpse touched
DURATION: One day/Caster Level
SAVING THROW: Will negates (DC 13)
SPELL RESISTANCE: Yes (object)
You preserve the remains of a dead creature so that they do not
decay. Doing so effectively extends the time limit on raising that
creature from the dead. Days spent under the influence of this spell
don’t count against the time limit. Additionally, this spell makes
transporting a fallen comrade more pleasant. The spell also works
on severed body parts and the like.

And Fireball, on page 69 of Advanced d20 Magic, along with it's link on the SRD.

FIREBALL
EVOCATION [FIRE]
CASTING DC: 31
# OF SLOTS: 1
RANGE: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./Caster Level)
AREA: 20-ft.-radius spread
DURATION: Instantaneous
SAVING THROW: Reflex half (DC 13)
SPELL RESISTANCE: Yes
A fireball spell is an explosion of flame that detonates with a low
roar and deals 1d6 points of fire damage per Caster Level (maximum
10d6) to every creature within the area. Unattended objects also
take this damage. The explosion creates almost no pressure.
You point your finger and determine where you want it to
detonate. The range (distance and height) at which the fireball is
to burst. A glowing, pea-sized bead streaks to that location and,
unless it impacts upon a material body or solid barrier prior to
attaining the prescribed range, blossoms into the fireball at that
point. An early impact results in an early detonation.

And finally, that Spell that Separates the normal spells from the EPIC spells, WISH!!!! On page 143 of Advanced d20 Magic, along with the link to the SRD.

WISH
UNIVERSAL
CASTING DC: 101
# OF SLOTS: 4
RANGE: See text
TARGET/EFFECT/AREA: See text
DURATION: See text
SAVING THROW: See text (DC 30)
SPELL RESISTANCE: Yes
Wish is the mightiest spell a wizard or sorcerer can cast. This is
the most powerful mortal magic that exists, and can accomplish
nearly anything. Only that which the GM has decided is utterly
impossible in his or her game should be disallowed — and
sometimes not even then. For more information about common
uses of the wish spell, see the PHB.

 

[Sir Elton]

I think most of us (myself included) don't know how the system functions, but if it fits than go for it.

Click on my review link for a review of Advanced d20 Magic.
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BTW. This is my 888th post. The most perfect number.

 

[GreatLemur]

I wouldn't make the "true atmosphere" truly unbreathable - that would be too harsh since the humans wouldn't be able to create technological countermeasures, thus seriously limiting exploration into the "Dark Zones" (the areas reclaimed by the chuul.

Oh, absolutely. I think it would be logical if there were varying levels of environmental transformation, each applying greater penalties (to things like attack, skill, and save rolls) than the last, without ever reaching a lethal or completely crippling degree even at their worst. And, of course, it would work both ways: Most or all of the aberrations would suffer similar penalties in areas they haven't reclaimed. In the middle ground, things would even out: Both sides would suffer minor penalties.

How about this instead: Many plants in the Dark Zones emit pollen that have an intoxicating and euphoric effect on humans if exposed to them for too long. Humans can prevent this by wearing primitive "filter masks" (basically, layers of thin cloth put before their mouths and noses and held in place by carved wooden frames). However, some humans have become addicted to this effect and now live permanently in the Dark Zones as primitive and rather crazed tribes.

That's cool. I really dig the idea of some groups of humans being corrupted in various ways by the invaders. Alien narcotics, chuul-worshipping cults (we could get seriously Lovecraftian, here), maybe even some degree of physical mutation, etc.

If we start doing things like that, we should better be sure that everything we do is SRD compliant. Thus, no referencing to things like mind flayers, non-OGC books, and so forth - and no using Wikis on sites like Wikia.com, which have Open Licences of their own which could clash with the OGL.

Oh, damn, I forgot mind flayers were considered product identity! Aw, that hurts. Beholders too, now that I think about it. Well, honestly, I don't mind the idea of having aboleths as the masterminds behind the chuul. I dig them, and they are hugely underused.

 

[Tonguez]

That's cool. I really dig the idea of some groups of humans being corrupted in various ways by the invaders. Alien narcotics, chuul-worshipping cults (we could get seriously Lovecraftian, here), maybe even some degree of physical mutation, etc..

I was thinking - if we make Zone plants into fungi/algal colonies then perhaps things like assasin vines could be part of that ecology

That got me thinking about the pseudonatural template - what if at their most malignant the Zone plants spores cause massive mutation to animals, most of these mutations are fatal but in some rare cases a pseudonatural creature (half-flesh, half-fungus) is created

So we have savage tribes of Zone-crazed Chuul worshipping humans led by pseudonatural Warlords (can you say BBEG)

 

[GreatLemur]

I was thinking - if we make Zone plants into fungi/algal colonies then perhaps things like assasin vines could be part of that ecology

That got me thinking about the pseudonatural template - what if at their most malignant the Zone plants spores cause massive mutation to animals, most of these mutations are fatal but in some rare cases a pseudonatural creature (half-flesh, half-fungus) is created

So we have savage tribes of Zone-crazed Chuul worshipping humans led by pseudonatural Warlords (can you say BBEG)

Yeah, that totally works.

I've had similar thoughts, thinking of the reclaimed / "dark zone" flora as being like huge fungal growths and even coral colonies. Algae and moss-like stuff work, too. I figure most of this stuff was probably killed off or pushed into total dormancy when the human indaders transformed the environment, but now that the terraforming artifacts are being shut down, surfaces which seemed like solid rock are turning soft and slimy, and blooming into loathesome life. Fungus-like growths which were stunted by the clear, terrestrial atmosphere are now swelling all over the landscape, larger and more numerous than ever before. And spores of things--both plant and animal--which the world hasn't seen for millenia are coming out of the chuul gateways to take root in familiar soil.

There are a lot of different possibilities for humans and other terrestrial creatures to be transformed by the new environment. As mentioned before, some substances might have drug-like effects on people, addicting them and destroying their reason--and their resistance to mental domination--even as they boost their strength and dull their sense of pain. Alien viruses or polyp-like colony organisms could infest humans and animals, changing them in subtle or drastic ways, and driving them to transmit the infection to others. (Anybody ever see the movie Matango?) The very atmosphere itself might slowly wear away at the human psyche, driving men gradually mad if they stay deep in the reclaimed zones for too long. And, of course, there all the things the invaders themselves can do.

I've been taking another look at the aboleth's stats, and it's obvious they could make extremely great primary antagonists. Their psionic abilities are as brutal as those of the illithids, including a psychic domination power that could make slaves out of quite a lot of people . . . and that's before you even take into account their ability to convert humans into skum. Thing is, though, while they're amphibious, they definitely prefer the water, so I figure one of the main changes to the dark zone environment will be a hell of a lot of rain...

The chuul, meanwhile, are making more and more sense as the advance guards of such an invasion. They're completely immune to poison--making it reasonable that they can endure the world's terraformed atmosphere without real trouble--and they're amphibious like the aboleths, but much better on land than they are.

Man, I really need to take a look at The Lords of Madness.