GOD RULES: Player's Guide (5e) Kickstarter Pre-Launch Page

[Upper_Krust]

I have not seen those movies, but they're totally on my watch list if I ever get the free time (double majoring is hard lmao)
I do see where you're coming from with the chaos Nezha represents, but IMO it's something with the eyes and new smirk that really crosses the line between "haha, I'm going to prank this old stodgy deity by stealing all of his gold/furniture/weapons" to "haha, I'm gonna slaughter this deity's worshippers in brutal ways cause he didn't get me what I wanted when I wanted it." That's just me, though, so idk

I think keeping the old-non fiery eyes for Nezha's non-Mythic form would be better, and having them burst into flame when he goes Mythic would be really cool imo

P.S I literally just noticed this, but I think another part of the reason why Nexha doesn't look quite right is because I think the new eyes are lopsided/misaligned somehow, but I'm not sure exactly. it just feels off yk.

You could be right, not sure they are lopsided but I think they maybe don't follow the line of the spear and that's what's bugging me. I'll take another look tomorrow.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Just a quick update to note the God Rules: Player's Guide Kickstarter is now in its final 24 Hours.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Big thank you to everyone here who made the Kickstarter a success! Greatly appreciated.

 

[ArcanistDragonborn]

Hey U_K! I was wondering, what DR would be recommended to give a character a fully-powered TARDIS?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey U_K! I was wondering, what DR would be recommended to give a character a fully-powered TARDIS?

Well I might have my version of Gallifreyans (named something differently of course) in the book as a playable race. I'm still not sure I can fit them in though. I currently have 6 new Epic Races but I have rules for 6 Immortal Races as well (not yet added) who start as Demigods. One of these is "slightly" based on the Gallifreyans. As of right now the book is shaping up to be 512 pages if I add everything I want to.

I wonder if (next year) I offer a version split into two that will be more 'table manageable'. I guess I will wait and see what the book is like when I have it in my hands.

 

[Just Passing Through]

Hi UK, thank you for your response to my testing, and for clarifying many of your design goals and intentions. It was my pleasure to test out your work, as I am familiar with and a big fan of epic level content in various editions of dnd. I do have a few additional thoughts and comments.

One of my favorite things about deities in 3e was their portfolio sense, remote sensing and communication abilities. It gave them a passive reach that even the most powerful epic characters lacked. Are these abilities present in your system?

Do player characters get cool regional effects/lair actions in their realms? Do they get combat reactions against weaker opponents or is that strictly a monster thing? What about allies/ retainers?

How do warlocks fare under your system? I ask because a chunk of their damage output comes from eldritch blast, and the damage threshold system is going to have a high impact on that.

How compatible is your system in general with 3rd party content? My understanding is that your system layers on top of the existing structure, so it should be reasonably compatible. My thinking is that because your system already goes far beyond the bounds of normal 5e, I might as well throw some other 3rd party content into the mix for extra fun.

Is there any way you could post higher resolution versions of some of the kickstarter screenshots? I would love to see and give feedback on Thors statblock for example, but it’s all blurred.

Do you have any dragon statblocks? I am a big fan of dragons, and would love to see what you have done with them.

Speaking of dragons, one notable epic character I have played was a fully transformed maximum level Athasian Dragon back in 2e with multiple powerful boons, permanent enhancements, sentient items, and artifacts. I have my own thoughts on the matter, but I would be interested to know where you would put such a character power wise in your system.

Finally let me know if there is anything else you want me to test.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi UK,

Hello Just Passing Through amigo!

thank you for your response to my testing,

I really enjoyed it - made for a great fight, especially Nezha's ability to move the PCs - always makes a fight more dynamic.

and for clarifying many of your design goals and intentions.

That's what I'm here for. Obviously, everything will become a lot clearer when you have the book.

It was my pleasure to test out your work, as I am familiar with and a big fan of epic level content in various editions of dnd. I do have a few additional thoughts and comments.

Fire away.

One of my favorite things about deities in 3e was their portfolio sense, remote sensing and communication abilities. It gave them a passive reach that even the most powerful epic characters lacked. Are these abilities present in your system?

Yes although most immortals have Wish at will (or better) but I always liked the idea of a Fire God being able to see through sources of Fire (possessed by several deities in AD&D Deities & Demigods.

3E was a bit waffle-y and either buried a lot of its good ideas, or simply failed to commit to things like Divine Ascension, but overall I guess it was okay - plus much of the art was gorgeous.

A lot of my immortal traits are baked into the rules...why do Gods have Worshippers? Why do Mortals worship Gods? What happens when you kill a God?

I have (hopefully) clear and concise explanations for everything immortal and its all tied to the mechanics.

Do player characters get cool regional effects/lair actions in their realms?

Yes you can choose from Lists of Regional Effects, Lair Traits and Lair Actions.

Currently you get 1 Regional Effect OR Lair Trait each time you gain a Divine Boon. You also get 3 Lair Actions.

That said, I don't see 'Home Invasion' scenarios being the norm, so these might not see a lot of use for PCs. But certainly very useful for fleshing out NPCs.

Do they get combat reactions against weaker opponents or is that strictly a monster thing? What about allies/ retainers?

Combat Reactions are based upon the power differential of the group (Highest vs Highest)

So a CR 24 Monster will get 4 Reactions (Combat or Otherwise) against a group of Epic Tier PCs (the difference is +12 CR and its +1 Reaction for every 4 CR/1 Divine Rank).

If the Epic PCs are fighting CR 3 opponents (the adjusted equivalent of -3 Divine Ranks) they would also get 4 Reactions provided the CR 3 creatures were the most powerful monsters of the encounter.

How do warlocks fare under your system? I ask because a chunk of their damage output comes from eldritch blast, and the damage threshold system is going to have a high impact on that.

Eldritch Convergence is a Boon that allows the Warlock to combine multiple rays into a single beam for maximum damage...though if combined with Agonizing Blast you only add the CHA mod once.

E.g. With this Boon a Demigod Warlock with 30 Charisma would be dealing 130 damage with Eldritch Blast. Without this Boon the same Warlock would still shoot 4 Rays each dealing 3d10+10 (26 average x 4).

...RAW you could technically combine 2 rays twice for 70 damage (per Ray, x2 rays)

Gravitic (Super-Force) [Effect] is a Boon that (on top of allowing Gravitic attacks as Actions/Reactions) converts Force damage into Gravitic damage against which Damage Threshold is only half effective.

How compatible is your system in general with 3rd party content? My understanding is that your system layers on top of the existing structure, so it should be reasonably compatible.

These rules should be compatible with any 5e adjacent rules.

I think if you were to use them with 3rd Party Rules that extend classes to Level 30 then things require a tiny bit of tweaking. A Level 30 character is basically (a more complicated version of) a Hero-deity. However, to keep the scaling consistent your Divinity Multiplier would need to be equivalent to that of the next lowest Divine Rank.

ie. a Level 30 character (skips Divine Rank 1) goes immediately to Divine Rank 2 but their Divinity Multiplier is always that of the Previous Divine Rank.

Monsters: I would say my monsters are (at least from CR 20 onwards) increasingly more powerful than the Official WotC monsters. So my CR 20 creatures will be slightly stronger, CR 24 obviously stronger (maybe even twofold), CR 28+ a LOT stronger (likely 1 shot-ing the average Epic PC), etc. This is to preserve the x2, x3, x6, x10 difference every 4 ranks.

E.g. A CR 24 creature is worth 6 x CR 12/13 (Epic Tier PCs). A CR 124 creature (such as a Lipika) is worth 6 x CR 112 creatures (such as Origanimals...I think, hard to recall every monster's CR without looking them up).

So you need to factor that in. Typically though WotC monsters are weaker than all 3rd Party monsters so it won't be as big a factor when using 3rd Party creatures.

My thinking is that because your system already goes far beyond the bounds of normal 5e, I might as well throw some other 3rd party content into the mix for extra fun.

Until I get a few books pout there, DM's will need to do a bit of work to flesh out the monster roster.

Is there any way you could post higher resolution versions of some of the kickstarter screenshots? I would love to see and give feedback on Thors statblock for example, but it’s all blurred.

Haha! You know what, when I first posted it you could zoom in and see all the stats, I had to manually downgrade the image so they couldn't be seen. My reasoning being, those are not simply early stats, but technically unfinished - because I am only finishing off the Powers/Boons chapter this month. So I'll need to go back and double check the NPCs after I get this chapter finished...and then again when I get the Magic chapter finished.

Note also Thor is CR 32/DR 5 (Intermediate God). Epic PCs just don't have a chance. I mean I estimate he's 'worth' 18 Epic PCs but beyond a CR 12 gap (and certainly beyond a CR 16 gap) PCs are just getting one-shot-ed.

Do you have any dragon statblocks? I am a big fan of dragons, and would love to see what you have done with them.

I do have my converted Ancient Red Dragon stat-block (that I use in the book to explain the new Stat-Block features). I'll maybe post that a bit later.

Speaking of dragons, one notable epic character I have played was a fully transformed maximum level Athasian Dragon back in 2e with multiple powerful boons, permanent enhancements, sentient items, and artifacts. I have my own thoughts on the matter, but I would be interested to know where you would put such a character power wise in your system.

I never got to play Athas back in the day so its one of the settings I am least familiar with. So I cannot really give you an educated answer on that without more info.

Finally let me know if there is anything else you want me to test.

I'll post the Ancient Red Dragon later tonight and if you want to test that feel free. Its CR 24 (like Nezha) but I don't have Lair Actions with it (its just a stat-block showcase sort of thing) and it doesn't have a Mythic Form. Should be a Hard Encounter for 6 Epic Tier PCs, but if the PCs know what they are fighting in advance I fully expect them to win.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Here is the CR 24 Ancient Red Dragon Stat Block Preview, let me know what you think?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Meant to add, as a Rule of Thumb, Godlings (divine ranks 1-2) will have +4 weapons and Immortals (divine ranks 3-6) will have +5.

Weapon abilities are only worth one plus, but each has a minimum base plus. ie. vorpal weapon property needs a +3 or better base.

So Nezha having a +3 Spear of Speed that also inflicts Disintegrate on a 20, is just about okay.

 

[Just Passing Through]

My thoughts.

I am a fan of the compactness and clarity of the stat block.

Was not expecting resistance to acid and magic, doesn’t seem to fit thematically.

I really enjoy the weak spot mechanics and the risk/reward nature of it.

Fire breath dealing ongoing damage and leaving burning terrain is cool.

I am a big fan of all of the reactions and the different control effects. I especially like that there is no mass hard control that locks people out of the fight. Also the psychic damage on roar is a great way of keeping it relevant against fear immune creatures.

Compared to the cool reactions, the dragons claw and bite attacks don’t have much control potential. It is a big dragon, so I was at least expecting a grab on the bite or something of that nature.

The other thing that stood out to me is that it does not have limited wish, meaning it is vulnerable to forcecage and other effects that require spells to deal with.

Overall the dragon made a good impression.