GOD RULES: Player's Guide (5e) Previews/Discussion

[Upper_Krust]

Questions re magic:
1) Overcasting ignores spell slots (implied in overcasting section, confirmed in Epic Spells section). Does overcasting apply only to epic spells, or could it apply to non epic magic as well? (e.g. a 5th level wizard who has 3rd level spell slots max could overcast a 9th level spell - after all, the DC is only 18)

Yes you can Overcast non-epic magic - I actually think it makes for cool Ritual rules.

2) For the save DC of wish-based spells, fine to self select which spellcasting ability score applies? This is how it happens for core monster design.

I don't see why not.

3) For epic spell design, you talk about the base spell level by evaluating parameters. However, do some parameters not belong together without increasing the spell level? I think you mean this but I might have missed you spelling it out. A spell that deals 30 dice of damage in a 160 ft area of effect AND also summons a CR 16 creature AND creates 60 ft volume of something has 3 parameters of level 10... but presumably this is the same as stacking 3 different spells, right?

Yes that is right - although its a bit fiddly.

Basically a 10th level spell can:

A. Deal 30 dice of damage

or

B. Summon a CR 16 Monster

or

C. Apply a "Level 10" Condition/Effect

Range always parallels Spell Level
If you change Single Target to Area that is +4 to the level.

I'm currently not happy with how the Epic Spellcasting rules are explained, so expect a few changes there. I also think I need more examples.

4) Delayed spell note - is my understanding of this correct? A 4D being that casts an epic spell version of delayed blast fireball is able to target a 3D being that has moved "out of the area" - in effect, the targetting happens in the 4th dimension, and so the 3D being "has not moved" in that respect. Is that right?

Yes.

5) Can non epic spells be upcast in epic spell slots?

No, you would need to create a new spell of the new level.

I'm thinking about wish in particular, to fill the gap between 9th and 13th level spells (alter reality) when you want to replicate higher level spells. I can see a case for an upcast wish allowing you to cast any 9th level spell, but not to cast an epic spell. (Allowing upcast wish to cover epic spells would be problematic, even with a quintessence cost and the other consequences of casting wish you discuss on p55.)

Having a Wish spell at every spell level would undermine every spell other than your highest spell slot.

I suppose I could have done a "Greater Wish" at 11th level and then had Alter Reality at 15th, 19th , 23rd etc. Then it would have been the top spell of each Tier Immortal @ 15th, Eternal @ 19th, Cosmocrat @ 23rd etc.

 

[therealselah]

I'm currently not happy with how the Epic Spellcasting rules are explained, so expect a few changes there. I also think I need more examples.

Sounds good.

I suppose I could have done a "Greater Wish" at 11th level and then had Alter Reality at 15th, 19th , 23rd etc. Then it would have been the top spell of each Tier Immortal @ 15th, Eternal @ 19th, Cosmocrat @ 23rd etc.

No, I like it as you have done it - just testing ideas.

 

[Upper_Krust]

I have to say, I love the structure of the cosmology.

Its been a weird evolution. I've been trying to incorporate all levels of Comics Power-Scaling so these rules can just convert ANY fictional being (including all the ridiculous SCP entities).

Another patron of your book was complaining about how you specify Good as a choice, while Evil, Chaos, and Law are forces.

They had a valid point, but if I ask even mythology fans to name a God of 'Good' from mythology - they won't be able to name one. I know because I am a mythology fan and I can't name one. But if I ask them to name a God of the Sun they will likely rattle off half a dozen or more and almost all of those Gods of the Sun are good-aligned beings.

But your approach is mythologically sound - with a particular focus on Law vs Chaos more prevalent in ancient mythology than Good vs Evil as we might recognise today.

I think Moorcock proved Law vs. Chaos is much more nuanced and interesting.

(For those interested in how pervasive that approach is, I can happily recommend the podcast "The Ancient Tradition" to give you massive exposure to a very wide range of common mythological concepts.)

Will investigate when I have more time.

You've been consistent with this structure vertically through the cosmology. I really like it. I'm looking forward to the additional detail yet to come for some of the higher dimensional pieces still missing.

All the kosmos maps adjacent text is updated to the new maps.

A lot of changes revolved around the new size rules. When I broke it all down I was arbitrarily jumping too quick from Planet to Star to Galaxy to Universe, rather than just using the sizes themselves.

So with the new Titanic+1 to +50 (IIRC)

 

[ApollyonFall]

Quick clarification question, this has probably been answered before, When an ability states does damage equal to 'your hit dice' or 'target's hit dice' does it mean a static amount of damage equal to the number of hit dice. or does it mean you roll the hit dice and deal that amount of damage?
As the latter would lead to effectively double counting the power multiplier and I doubt that's what you intended but just wanted to be sure.

 

[therealselah]

Quick clarification question, this has probably been answered before, When an ability states does damage equal to 'your hit dice' or 'target's hit dice' does it mean a static amount of damage equal to the number of hit dice. or does it mean you roll the hit dice and deal that amount of damage?
As the latter would lead to effectively double counting the power multiplier and I doubt that's what you intended but just wanted to be sure.

I was confused about this initially as well. I believe it was reading through the Force Field divine boons that finally had me settle on 'your hit dice' being exactly as written - a number equal to the number of your hit dice.

Suggests that this may need to be better explained in the text somewhere - or that you and I missed it.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Quick clarification question, this has probably been answered before, When an ability states does damage equal to 'your hit dice' or 'target's hit dice' does it mean a static amount of damage equal to the number of hit dice. or does it mean you roll the hit dice and deal that amount of damage?
As the latter would lead to effectively double counting the power multiplier and I doubt that's what you intended but just wanted to be sure.

Hey ApollyonFall, thanks for the question.

If the attack deals damage equal to 'your' Hit Dice in d6's (for example) and you were a 40 Hit Dice Quasi-deity then that attack would deal 40d6 damage (average 140).

For Divine Boon Special Attack Damage (based upon Hit Dice) and Epic Spells you do not apply any Power Multiplier...as that is already 'baked in'.

Sometimes a Special Attack will deal damage based on your Hit Dice (without any Dice 'riders' (for example) a 40 Hit Dice Quasi-deity might radiate an Aura that deals damage equal to half its Hit Dice (like the Balor), in which case it inflicts 20 damage.

I'll add some text to the Divine Boon explanation page.

It also might help clarify the templates if I have Power Multiplier apply to:

"Hit Dice, 0-9th level Class Spells (but not Wishes, nor Epic Spells) and Damage (not attacks based on Hit Dice)"

 

[therealselah]

Hmm. I think there may have been some boons that don't mention "HD in dx's ", just "your HD" that I thought should be based on HD in dxs... I don't know how much that sentence made sense... Point is, I have seen references to just "your HD". Sometimes that makes total sense (force field), but I can't recall whether it seemed too low in other instances. I'll do a check and come back to this.

 

[therealselah]

Divine Comedy seems very powerful as written for an Epic Boon... mimicking an action, reaction or ability...

So...
Free use of Legendary Resistance? (a reaction observed... which wouldn't help the Divine Comedian in terms of using its own reaction for this, but potentially could use the bonus action mimic to auto end an ongoing effect that LR could be used for?)
Cheap way to mirror passive abilities? (despite being passive, still abilities - eg round by round add a Force Field, Halo, Forms or Second Skins, Crit Chance, etc)
Free epic spellcasting? No mention of Divine Comedy requiring expenditure of resources, thus no spell slot, quintessence, etc...

Probably needs to specify a duration if not mimicking something instantaneous (otherwise the potential for stacking exists). Or specify a limit on concurrent uses (probably 1? So you could reuse, at the expense of surrendering one passive, as an example, for another passive.)

 

[Upper_Krust]

Divine Comedy seems very powerful as written for an Epic Boon... mimicking an action, reaction or ability...

So...
Free use of Legendary Resistance? (a reaction observed... which wouldn't help the Divine Comedian in terms of using its own reaction for this, but potentially could use the bonus action mimic to auto end an ongoing effect that LR could be used for?)
Cheap way to mirror passive abilities? (despite being passive, still abilities - eg round by round add a Force Field, Halo, Forms or Second Skins, Crit Chance, etc)
Free epic spellcasting? No mention of Divine Comedy requiring expenditure of resources, thus no spell slot, quintessence, etc...

Probably needs to specify a duration if not mimicking something instantaneous (otherwise the potential for stacking exists). Or specify a limit on concurrent uses (probably 1? So you could reuse, at the expense of surrendering one passive, as an example, for another passive.)

Divine Comedy was a Tier 2 Boon that I retrofitted to the Epic Boons. I probably need to go over it again.

 

[ArcanistDragonborn]

Hey U_K! I'm wondering, what exactly is Olam Ha-Ba/the plane of success, and what Divine Rank would a party need to be to get to/survive there? Also, I've noticed that there are some discrepancies between table A-2 and the higher dimensions chart, which of the two is more accurate?

-Arcane