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<blockquote data-quote="Dessert Nomad" data-source="post: 7531648" data-attributes="member: 6976536"><p>This seems like a good idea, it doesn't read as 'cartoony' to me. My suggestions:</p><p>I don't like fixed bonuses like +1 AC for this. They can easily throw off the balance of the game, especially when multiple bonuses accumulate, and are easy to ignore - the players will just record them on their sheet and forget they're there. Also some like "+3 to fire damage" scale really weirdly; that's a huge buff to low level casters who go from 1-10 damage to 4-13 damage on their fire bolt (over 50% increase), but almost negligible to a mid level caster tossing an 8D6 fireball vs 8D6+3 (around 10% increase). I would make the bonuses be a larger effect that can only be used occasionally - this way players have to actively call on the bonus to use it (so it keeps coming up in the game) and each time it's used it will be notable instead of background math. </p><p></p><p>For example, if the shrine of vision were to give good aligned people +1 to hit, that's boring and forgettable, but also affects every encounter and skews the math. If instead it allows you to channel the energy of the shrine to get advantage on all attack rolls for a round once per day, then it is still incredibly useful, doesn't skew every attack roll, and will remain in player's minds much better. The shrine of fire can give anyone using fire one 'reroll any damage dice' chance per day, the shrine of light can give 'cast shield once per day', and so on. This also opens up another dramatic option: What if the forces of darkness take back the shrine and corrupt it again? Then when a player announces that he's calling upon the shrine of vision, you inform him that instead of feeling enlightened by the energy, his vision is shrouded and he has disadvantage for the round. Now the party knows not to call on that shrine and might need to mount an expedition to find out what happened and take it back, but in a much more interesting and dangerous way than 'a courier informs you that the temple of light has fallen'. </p><p></p><p>Also I'd consider making it a regional effect rather than a world effect. Using the map of Earth as an example, you could have the early adventures unlock shrines that affect the Mediterranian (Southern Europe and North Africa), but when that area becomes more secure, they go to the kingdoms of Western Europe where they have to start from scratch again. Then after sorting out that area, they have to go into the wilds of Russia or the unknown lands across the sea where the dark forces are already established, and this time the shrines are controlled by the enemy, so they're not just losing their bonuses but facing enemies who already have them. This makes the world feel much bigger and solves the problem of accumulated bonuses making PC power levels snowball to the point that what should be challenges become trivial as the campaign goes on.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dessert Nomad, post: 7531648, member: 6976536"] This seems like a good idea, it doesn't read as 'cartoony' to me. My suggestions: I don't like fixed bonuses like +1 AC for this. They can easily throw off the balance of the game, especially when multiple bonuses accumulate, and are easy to ignore - the players will just record them on their sheet and forget they're there. Also some like "+3 to fire damage" scale really weirdly; that's a huge buff to low level casters who go from 1-10 damage to 4-13 damage on their fire bolt (over 50% increase), but almost negligible to a mid level caster tossing an 8D6 fireball vs 8D6+3 (around 10% increase). I would make the bonuses be a larger effect that can only be used occasionally - this way players have to actively call on the bonus to use it (so it keeps coming up in the game) and each time it's used it will be notable instead of background math. For example, if the shrine of vision were to give good aligned people +1 to hit, that's boring and forgettable, but also affects every encounter and skews the math. If instead it allows you to channel the energy of the shrine to get advantage on all attack rolls for a round once per day, then it is still incredibly useful, doesn't skew every attack roll, and will remain in player's minds much better. The shrine of fire can give anyone using fire one 'reroll any damage dice' chance per day, the shrine of light can give 'cast shield once per day', and so on. This also opens up another dramatic option: What if the forces of darkness take back the shrine and corrupt it again? Then when a player announces that he's calling upon the shrine of vision, you inform him that instead of feeling enlightened by the energy, his vision is shrouded and he has disadvantage for the round. Now the party knows not to call on that shrine and might need to mount an expedition to find out what happened and take it back, but in a much more interesting and dangerous way than 'a courier informs you that the temple of light has fallen'. Also I'd consider making it a regional effect rather than a world effect. Using the map of Earth as an example, you could have the early adventures unlock shrines that affect the Mediterranian (Southern Europe and North Africa), but when that area becomes more secure, they go to the kingdoms of Western Europe where they have to start from scratch again. Then after sorting out that area, they have to go into the wilds of Russia or the unknown lands across the sea where the dark forces are already established, and this time the shrines are controlled by the enemy, so they're not just losing their bonuses but facing enemies who already have them. This makes the world feel much bigger and solves the problem of accumulated bonuses making PC power levels snowball to the point that what should be challenges become trivial as the campaign goes on. [/QUOTE]
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