Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="JamesonCourage" data-source="post: 5972425" data-attributes="member: 6668292">Thank you, and I agree about the group to system dynamic (though of course system is important too).Probably in some ways.Generally speaking, no. They might encounter something, though. I have a chart I'll roll on to see if anything happens. Then, if it does, what it means (good for PCs, bad for PCs, good for NPC, bad for NPC, news of event, etc.). Then, I'll roll on one of two charts: the first chart gives me a very rough idea by giving me a couple words to work with, while the second chart gives me a more specific event that's going on. Then, depending on the current situation, location, area, etc., I interpret the rolls and insert them into the game.This rarely ends up in any sort of combat for the PCs, but it did just a couple sessions ago (though they did initiate it). But, I don't go out of my way to start encounters on the road or anything, no.It depends. Oftentimes, no. Other times, those two days might (or will) matter. Are they acting as messengers ahead of an invading force? Those two days will probably matter a great deal. Are they showing up to the Pit to stop the rampaging ghosts? Those two days will matter some, but not as much as the first scenario. Are they showing up to break a curse, but it's not harming anything in the area and won't be anytime soon? Then those two days don't matter too much.First, yes, if they increase their speed and save some time, then this may help them (it's why my players almost always invest in horses, even after having lost them on multiple occasions). Like before, it depends on the situation. If they arrive six days early to warn of an incoming invasion, that's six extra days to help set up defenses, get to the next town, etc. This is a positive thing for the PCs, and they're rewarded for investing in speeding up. If they're showing up six days early to the Pit, they're going to save lives in the surrounding area (as they can try to stop the ghosts from rampaging). If they're arriving six days early to break that curse, it may mean very little.Well, I described how I deal with encounters, and I also described how I deal with time as it relates to their travel. I also mostly hand wave the travel time, unless they encounter something (good or bad), unless the weather gets much worse, etc.Well, this is a problem in 3.X. It was something I tried to fix for my RPG. But, I'll answer your question, as the level 2-27 game was played using 3.5.Generally speaking, the enemies were acutely aware of this sort of tactic, and tried taking steps to stop it. The Mage Council -an international organization devoted to protecting magic users- had made a pact with each nation not to engage in this type of warfare. The nations had just received magic again after a few thousand years, and people across the nations were wary of magic users. To keep the general populace of each nation from stringing them up, big displays like this were punishable by death by the Mage Council (with the blessing of each nation).Secondly, when the bad guys were building up smaller things, they'd use things like <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/forbiddance.htm" target="_blank">Forbiddance </a><a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/forbiddance.htm" target="_blank"></a> to keep people from teleporting in, creatures with blindsight for invisible creatures (something the Fighter PC did quite often, too, thanks to his prestige class), etc. The Sorcerer in the party was, at one point, caught in a Bigby's Crushing Hand in the no-teleport zone, and when I asked him what he was doing, it was "I... guess I'm yelling for Blake (the Fighter) to save me." Which he did, by the way.So, there was an in-game reason that those types of attacks didn't happen often (hunted by the Mage Council). However, the party engaged in scry and fry a couple times, but the Sorcerer also got paralyzed in his sleep by a lich and tortured to death, so that type of thing can run both ways in my game.I'll answer this one from my RPG, because I think that's a better way to answer the question. I do use spell slots in my RPG, though you can cast continuously using a skill check (for less powerful spells). Also, there's no memorizing spells. So, it's kinda Vancian, in that a hit die 15 character might "nova" with his level 7 and 8 spell slots, rather than use his level 3 spells.The way to keep this in check is through a few methods. First, I don't give bonus spell slots based on high attribute score. Secondly, combat spells, even at high level, are generally less effective than warriors. And, most utility spells (charms, divinations, etc.) are less effective than skills are. At first, this didn't sit well with the players, but they've grown very fond of it over time. Lastly, spell slots take longer to recharge over time (a level 8 takes 1-2 weeks to come back, for example).Essentially, a high level caster can "nova" to attempt to be nearly equal to someone in their field, or occasionally do things that nobody can do (fly, etc.). But, most things benefit those who are good at it. For example, you can turn someone translucent (the equivalent of invisibility), but it merely allows them to make Hide checks without any cover or concealment. This means that the ideal person to conceal is the Rogue, not the Wizard. Or, you can use Revelation magic (divination) to find out who somebody is, but this merely gives you the most common perception of that person. So, people that cover their tracks, are unknown, give out fake names, etc. can bypass this magic. However, with a good Leadership check to gather information, you can find out things that the magic does not have a chance of revealing to you.Magic becomes a "jack of all trades, master of none" for the most part. It does allow some unique things, obviously (creating magic items, talking to rocks, flying, etc.), but each of those usually comes with a balance of some sort (magic items drain Charisma, your primary casting attribute; rocks have a terrible memory; it takes a standard action to fly; etc.).So, to balance Vancian, I'd suggest:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Checks on spells that allow unique effects.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No bonus spell slots for high attribute score (stopping around 2 spells of each level).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Lower spells can be performed at will.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic is worse than skills or warriors when it comes to utility or combat.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic benefits those adept at things already (translucence on the Rogue, not the Wizard).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spell slots take longer to recharge.</li> </ul>I should note, though, that when it makes sense for the party to be able to rest and nova, I don't try to stop it. It seems to happen infrequently enough (especially in my RPG) that it is its own little reward. When it makes sense, sure, unload your whole spell load, and take the couple weeks to recover (again, this is with my RPG). If there's no logical reason to stop it, then I don't. It just usually doesn't work out that way (or the players don't know if it will, and hold back out of a learned cautiousness). As always, play what you like <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

Verification