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Help with low magic S&S homebrew
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<blockquote data-quote="SpiderMonkey" data-source="post: 3310358" data-attributes="member: 11385"><p>Hey all,</p><p></p><p>Long time lurker, infrequent poster here.</p><p></p><p>While my default homebrew is pretty epic high fantasy where you can fit just about any core add on, I've been itching for a low magic, sword & sorcery style game (Howard, Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith). I'm thinking about setting it in a pastiche of the ancient Roman world (with standard swords and platemail, of course). I'd probably also throw in some other historical references (Spartan types, Viking types, etc.). I'm thinking of giving it a multicultural, mediterranean feel.</p><p></p><p>To enforce the low magic theme, here are the permitted classes I'm considering:</p><p></p><p>Barbarian</p><p>Bard</p><p>Fighter</p><p>Paladin (non-magic variant)</p><p>Ranger (non-magic variant)</p><p>Rogue</p><p></p><p>Splat base classes:</p><p></p><p>Swashbuckler</p><p>Scout</p><p>Samurai (“Champion”)</p><p>Warlock</p><p>Binder</p><p></p><p>Magic would be rare and come in two types: "right hand" (Bard) and "left hand" (Warlock). Generally, Warlocks and Binders would be the province of NPC villain types. Item creation feats (perhaps with the exception of Brew Potion) would be off limits as well. Bards would be more like skilled mages who can defend themselves if it comes to it. Maybe emphasizing the chanting or oratory aspect of perform in their abilities.</p><p></p><p>To keep the game more human-centered but not limited as to abilities, I'm considering doing away with demi-humans, but repackaging their abilities as "pureblood" human races. For example, switching out some of the Dwarven stone-oriented ablities for seamanship and smithing-related skills, and switching darkvision out for lowlight vision to emulate a Spartan-like race. Any suggestions here?</p><p></p><p>To use the CRs from monsters predictability I am considering the most dramatic change in place of magic weapons. I'm thinking about making passive bonus "paths" that would emulate the purchase of magic items as inherent abilities.</p><p></p><p>For example, a fifth level fighter type might have chosen the "Offense" ability path. In the normal wealth scheme he should have around 9,000 gp worth of gear. In this setup, however, he might instead have a +2 to hit and damage with swords (or whatever weapon-type they favor), emulating having a +2 weapon (8,000 gp value). If he chose the "Defense" ability path, he might have a +1 natural armor bonus, + 2 to AC while wearing armor, a +1 to all saves, and a +1 to AC while using a shield.</p><p></p><p>So far the paths I've come up with are:</p><p></p><p>Offense</p><p>Defense</p><p>Distance/Archer</p><p>Skill User</p><p>Caster</p><p>and maybe balanced paths between two or more of the prior.</p><p></p><p>What do you guys think? Any suggestions?</p><p></p><p>Thanks in advance!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SpiderMonkey, post: 3310358, member: 11385"] Hey all, Long time lurker, infrequent poster here. While my default homebrew is pretty epic high fantasy where you can fit just about any core add on, I've been itching for a low magic, sword & sorcery style game (Howard, Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith). I'm thinking about setting it in a pastiche of the ancient Roman world (with standard swords and platemail, of course). I'd probably also throw in some other historical references (Spartan types, Viking types, etc.). I'm thinking of giving it a multicultural, mediterranean feel. To enforce the low magic theme, here are the permitted classes I'm considering: Barbarian Bard Fighter Paladin (non-magic variant) Ranger (non-magic variant) Rogue Splat base classes: Swashbuckler Scout Samurai (“Champion”) Warlock Binder Magic would be rare and come in two types: "right hand" (Bard) and "left hand" (Warlock). Generally, Warlocks and Binders would be the province of NPC villain types. Item creation feats (perhaps with the exception of Brew Potion) would be off limits as well. Bards would be more like skilled mages who can defend themselves if it comes to it. Maybe emphasizing the chanting or oratory aspect of perform in their abilities. To keep the game more human-centered but not limited as to abilities, I'm considering doing away with demi-humans, but repackaging their abilities as "pureblood" human races. For example, switching out some of the Dwarven stone-oriented ablities for seamanship and smithing-related skills, and switching darkvision out for lowlight vision to emulate a Spartan-like race. Any suggestions here? To use the CRs from monsters predictability I am considering the most dramatic change in place of magic weapons. I'm thinking about making passive bonus "paths" that would emulate the purchase of magic items as inherent abilities. For example, a fifth level fighter type might have chosen the "Offense" ability path. In the normal wealth scheme he should have around 9,000 gp worth of gear. In this setup, however, he might instead have a +2 to hit and damage with swords (or whatever weapon-type they favor), emulating having a +2 weapon (8,000 gp value). If he chose the "Defense" ability path, he might have a +1 natural armor bonus, + 2 to AC while wearing armor, a +1 to all saves, and a +1 to AC while using a shield. So far the paths I've come up with are: Offense Defense Distance/Archer Skill User Caster and maybe balanced paths between two or more of the prior. What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! [/QUOTE]
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