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Free 60+ page Guide to Sword & Sorcery for 5E D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7818552" data-attributes="member: 58172"><p>[USER=6986003]@xoth.publishing[/USER]</p><p></p><p>Thinking on it more.</p><p></p><p>For the gritty low magic setting, maybe the following.</p><p></p><p>Eliminate Wizard, Sorcerer, and Cleric completely.</p><p></p><p>Reserve the Druid exclusively for the prehuman races, maybe especially the giants. Giants associate with elements (frost, fire, cliffs, storms), and according to reallife ‘wastelands of the north’, many giants shapechange into an animal − normal animals as well as monstrous giant animals. If a DM gives a player permission to play a Druid, it means there has been contact with and training from a giant, and the DM and the player need to figure out how this happened.</p><p></p><p>The above effectively removes four full casters from the game. This already helps ensure a lower magic feel. Removal of the Cleric can help reduce dependence on healing magic.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Two full casters remain: Bard and Warlock. Each can be on opposite sides of the cultural spectrum.</p><p></p><p>The Bard with its more shamanic magic, takes on some of the ‘noble savage’ tropes among the Savage and Nomad cultures.</p><p></p><p>Oppositely, the Warlock with its more foul magic, takes on some of the ‘corrupt civilization’ tropes among the Decadent and Degenerate cultures.</p><p></p><p>In both cases, full spellcaster − powerful magic − mainly happens at the periphery of civilization.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Cultist is super important for the Sword & Sorcery genre. When I think of the stories, the cultist is magical, but not really cast spells every round magical. Actually, they tend to be competent at melee combat, sometimes surprisingly so, despite appearances.</p><p></p><p>Make the Cultist the Paladin class. Oath of the Cult. The oath bonds with an idol, enables the Blood Ritual for sacrificial healing magic, and uses necrotic damage instead of radiant for smite magic. That the Cultist should have high Charisma (intimidation and leadership) is central to the genre.</p><p></p><p>Tweak the Paladin class as seems fit. But it is a loathsome kind of Paladin zealot. Since it has fewer spells than the Cleric class, it helps reduce dependence on spells for healing, which helps keep the setting gritty, except for possible dependence on the Blood Ritual, which is also gritty.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For the courtier magician, I would instead use the Trickster Rogue for the concept. Maybe use its skills and tools to allow the player to craft potions and poisons, as long as the correct ‘ingredients’ are available.</p><p></p><p>I like the Courtier as a semimagical social class, sorta the way the Monk is semimagical. The Spymaster and Seducer work well as subclasses. Even these subclasses could be Rogue archetypes, but Charisma would be their key ability, so they can merit their own Courtier class. Make sure the class is powerful and on par mechanically to balance with other D&D classes. The lack of spells is significant, and the class needs compensation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 7818552, member: 58172"] [USER=6986003]@xoth.publishing[/USER] Thinking on it more. For the gritty low magic setting, maybe the following. Eliminate Wizard, Sorcerer, and Cleric completely. Reserve the Druid exclusively for the prehuman races, maybe especially the giants. Giants associate with elements (frost, fire, cliffs, storms), and according to reallife ‘wastelands of the north’, many giants shapechange into an animal − normal animals as well as monstrous giant animals. If a DM gives a player permission to play a Druid, it means there has been contact with and training from a giant, and the DM and the player need to figure out how this happened. The above effectively removes four full casters from the game. This already helps ensure a lower magic feel. Removal of the Cleric can help reduce dependence on healing magic. Two full casters remain: Bard and Warlock. Each can be on opposite sides of the cultural spectrum. The Bard with its more shamanic magic, takes on some of the ‘noble savage’ tropes among the Savage and Nomad cultures. Oppositely, the Warlock with its more foul magic, takes on some of the ‘corrupt civilization’ tropes among the Decadent and Degenerate cultures. In both cases, full spellcaster − powerful magic − mainly happens at the periphery of civilization. The Cultist is super important for the Sword & Sorcery genre. When I think of the stories, the cultist is magical, but not really cast spells every round magical. Actually, they tend to be competent at melee combat, sometimes surprisingly so, despite appearances. Make the Cultist the Paladin class. Oath of the Cult. The oath bonds with an idol, enables the Blood Ritual for sacrificial healing magic, and uses necrotic damage instead of radiant for smite magic. That the Cultist should have high Charisma (intimidation and leadership) is central to the genre. Tweak the Paladin class as seems fit. But it is a loathsome kind of Paladin zealot. Since it has fewer spells than the Cleric class, it helps reduce dependence on spells for healing, which helps keep the setting gritty, except for possible dependence on the Blood Ritual, which is also gritty. For the courtier magician, I would instead use the Trickster Rogue for the concept. Maybe use its skills and tools to allow the player to craft potions and poisons, as long as the correct ‘ingredients’ are available. I like the Courtier as a semimagical social class, sorta the way the Monk is semimagical. The Spymaster and Seducer work well as subclasses. Even these subclasses could be Rogue archetypes, but Charisma would be their key ability, so they can merit their own Courtier class. Make sure the class is powerful and on par mechanically to balance with other D&D classes. The lack of spells is significant, and the class needs compensation. [/QUOTE]
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