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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greyfeld" data-source="post: 5332820" data-attributes="member: 93479">Ok, so, long story short, I have a campaign idea I want to run, but I can't seem to get any practiced GMs to help me hammer out the rough patches and balance issues before I advertise the game and look for players.I know this website is full of long-time GMs, so I beg you, please PLEASE take the time to read my information.  I know it's extremely long, but the game in question is going to require a lot of homebrew rules and features, and I need thoughts on everything I've written thusfar.So, without further adieu, for your critiquing pleasure, here is the current framework for my upcoming D&D 3.5 campaign, Ascension: Bloodlines.[sblock=Ancient History]Stretching back before recorded history, the world was chaotic.  The elements swirled about, according to their own will.  Amidst the choas, 4 dragons arose.  Great, winged beasts, masters of their own domain, borne to bring the elements under their command.From the fire arose the ruby dragon, bending all flames to its command.  From the depths of the seas came the sapphire dragon, flowing like the tides he controls.  Carved from the earth itself, the ebony dragon commands rock and stone.  The dragon of pearl decended from the heavens, the wind and sky his ultimate domain.For a time, the 4 dragons lived peacefully among the humans, using their command of each domain to help them live harmoniously with the land.  Some time later, the 4 kings (as they had come to be called) told the people that they were about to die.  The humans became frightened of what might happen to their way of life when the dragons were no longer alive to control the elements for them.  To ensure their peoples' future, the kings looked deep into themselves for an answer.  Finally, they came to a resolution.Each dragon would take a human female, and empregnate them.  When the child was born, the woman would, unfortunately, die.  However, the newborn child would be of dragon blood, and would take the place of the old kings once they passed on.  The humans agreed to the sacrifice in the name of preserving their lifestyle, and in due time, came 4 dragon-touched children.  When the time upon them came, the 4 children ascended, each to their own place amidst their own elements, becoming the new 4 kings, and for a time, the people were happy.  However, time corrupts us all, and as the centuries marched on, each dragon king replaced in his own time, the people had forgotten their place, and became jealous of them.  The humans revolted against the 4 kings, upsetting the order that had been set for many many years.  With the elements at their side, 1 dragon alone could have wiped out the entire population of humans, let alone all 4.  However, they felt pity on the populace, and could not strike, for the many years they had lived together in harmony.  As the only alternative, they left, seeking refuge in various parts of the globe.With the dragons no longer watching over the humans, the elements rose up and began destroying them.  Eventually, they split apart to take shelter as best they could, and brave the elements in the ways they knew best, but not before being nearly shattered on the world.  In time, many settlements of humans were created across the land.  And over time, they became seperate peoples, adapting to their own environment.Those that took refuge in the southern and western mountains gave birth to the dwarves.  A stout people, hardened by the mountain itself, and darkvision keener than an owl.A few made their lives in the forest, among the trees.  These are the ancestors that bore the elven folk.  A light and nimble race, almost as tall as a man, and accustomed to moving quickly through the trees.To the far west, beyond the mountains, lies the land of ash and fire, where a very few people settled after the revolt.  Over time, their skin scarred and thickened from the blistering heat, giving way to the lizard-like Dracora that now inhabit that land.And finally, the eastern sea holds those least changed by time.  Still retaining their human nature, a number of sea ports have sprouted along the coast as the centuries passed.  Many navigate the open sea in hopes of discovering new land, or treasure.Though the 4 dragons remained hidden through the millenia, they continued their existence, and continued their watch over the races.  Where life thrived and flourished, one could be sure a dragon was watching.  And as time continued its flow, so did life.  The 4 still were not immortal, and continued their original plan as laid down by the first kings.  Throughout the generations, dragon-touched were born to fulfill their role of ascending the elements.These were hard times.  Times of war, famine, and plague.  Even the offspring of a dragon would come on difficult times, trying to survive in a world gone cold and divided.  Thus, the 4 spread their seed throughout the centuries, in hopes that it would yield at least 1 child when the time came for the ascension.  While this plan of action proved fruitful, a new problem arose.  When the elder dragons came to the Place of Ascension, there were more than just 1 child.  There were dozens awaiting their rightful claim to the elemental domains.  Being of human descent, the throngs of dragon-touched fought among themselves, and began slaughtering one another.  Killing and bloodshed stained the fields of ascension, until only 4 remained.  The elder dragons, having no other choice, transfered their powers to the new kings.  Thus the elements were tainted with blood, and the dark times began.[/sblock][sblock=Recent History]The land is governed by the 4 races; humans, dwarves, elves, and dracora.  Respectively, they live on the eastern coast, in the sourthern mountains, among the central forests, and in the western burning lands.  While they live seperately, each race is well known to the others, and in recent years, some few traders from the eastern settlements have taken it upon themselves to make treks to the other lands, in hopes of becoming rich through their own pioneering efforts.It wasn't long before other races began to co-mingle, forming truces, alliances and friendships with one another, balancing the hate that had plagued the land for so long.  Of course, where free will exists, so does treachery, but this was to be a beginning.In more recent years, there has also been an explosion of magick.  Element users have grown in numbers significantly, especially in the last 100 years or so.  While wonderful for the way of life for each people, the news is also slightly off-putting, considering the last time history tells us this happened was around the time of the Great War, about 1,000 years ago.  The war left magick all but non-existent in the land, making life extremely difficult for many generations after.  The only real trace of the old war is the Dead Fields, to the north; nothing but wasteland as far as the eye can see.Of course, the real story of the magick and the war are only known by a few.  The few who keep the old tales; the few who actually know the real story of the 4 Kings of old, and how they were betrayed by the very people they had sworn to protect from the elements.If one happened to be lucky enough to stumble across a keeper of the old tales, you might find out that the old war had nothing to do with anything as trifling as land, money, women, or even honor.  No, the war was a battle fought to determine the course of the next 1,000 years.  Hundreds of elemental users met in the Dead Fields to answer the call of the 4 Dragon Kings.  What most don't realize is that amagick user is not just another human, but rather, a dragon-touched child; a decendent of the dragon kings themselves.  Only through their blood have the nations gained command over the elements.So almost 1,000 years ago, hundreds of wizards stood toe-to-toe and obliterated each other, until only 4 remained.  Those 4 becamse the new Kings, and now a millenia later, history is time to repeat itself.[/sblock][sblock=Kings of Dimension]The legend of the 4 dragon kings is well enough known; one could hear the story from a retired sea-dog with too much time on his hands.  The true tale worth knowing deals with the 2 dragons you'll never find in any history book.The Kings of Dimension are an enigma unto themselves.  Their origin is unknown, as is the time when they actually were borne into this world.  The gold dragon is the keeper of time itself, master of the continuum.  The aurora dragon is known as the dragon of illusion, being the master of reality and perception.These two dragons represent the two dimensions in time and space that we humans never seem to acknowledge.  Mostly because they're intangible.  But think of the dimensions you do know of; the horizontal.... the vertical.... and depth.  What you don't realize is these are actually the third, fourth, and fifth dimensions.  The first two are time, and perception.  Think of it this way... a line can be drawn, but it has a beginning and an end.  It has a place in time when it started, and a place in time when it was completed... without time, it could have neither been started nor completed.  Without perception, the line could not be perceived.  This is why these are the first two dimensions.[/sblock][sblock=Bloodlines]The idea behind this campaign will be a low/no-magic setting, with only select people having elemental affinity, in the way of Bloodlines (Unearthed Arcana).  However, due to the nature of the campaign, I wanted the bloodlines to be more powerful than the current listings in the current RAW.  I also wanted to give each bloodline character a handful of Supernatural Abilities that fit within their bloodline.In the end, I decided I would try affiliating each bloodline with a different ability score (instead of making every bloodline require pumping Wisdom to increase DCs, which would suck for almost every character, considering Wisdom is a dump stat for most martial characters).  I haven't completely hammered out the specifics for every bloodline, but here is an example from the Water Bloodline, for reference.Water1.  Water Manipulation2. +2 Jump3. Dragon Sense*4. +1 Str5. Water/Cold Resistance +56. SLA7. +2 Climb8. +1 Deflection Bonus9. Dragon Sense*10. Water/Cold Resistance +1011. SLA12. +1 Str13. +2 Swim14. +1 Deflection Bonus15. Dragon Sense*16. SLA17. Water/Cold Immunity18. +1 Str19. +1 Deflection Bonus20. SLA*= Dragon Sense is going to be an increased awareness of the presence of other bloodline creatures.  However, I'm considering dropping it to only 2 levels of Dragon Sense, and replacing one of them with a Tremorsense-esque type ability for each bloodline's element.[/sblock][sblock=Supernatural Abilities]The list of Supernatural Abilities are far from complete, but this is a very rough list of what I'm currently looking at.  I took a lot of ideas from the Last Airbender D20 Supplement, and a few ideas from re-flavoring Telekinesis.Fire*Fire Manipulation - The caster may create flames by manipulating the heat in the air.  Fire created this way originates in the caster's palm and does not harm him in any way as long as he holds it.  When this technique is first acquired, the user may create and manipulate fire of up to dimunitive size.  At level 5, he may create and manipulate fire of up to small size, and every five levels after that, the size of the fire he may create and control increases by 1 size category.Manipulation of flame requires breathable air, and sputters out of existence within seconds of leaving the caster's hands, unless it comes into contact with flammable material, at which point it will behave as a normal fire would.Flames created from Fire Manipulation may be thrown, and deal 1d6 fire damage as a dimunitive flame, increasing by 1d6 for every increased size category beyond that.  Flames may also be focused into a weapon (or even bare fists), increasing the fire's intensity, rather than its size.  Weapons enhanced this way deal +1 fire damage for every 1d6 damage your fire would normally deal.Flame Shield - Those of the fire bloodline become increasingly in tune with heat and flame.  As a swift action, the caster may enhance his body's attunement to fire.  Any attempt to strike him in melee results in a backlash of flame, dealing damage equal to the caster's max possible damage through Fire Manipulation.  (For example, a level 12 caster would backlash 3d6 fire damage any time he is attacked)Dragon's Breath - The caster breaths a spout of flame out of his mouth.  The use of this ability heats the body of the caster, and the air immediately around him, staving off cold and the effects that come with it.  A caster may use this ability in lieu of making a fortitude check to avoid non-lethal damage from cold weather or extreme cold weather.  The character must be in an area with breathable air for the use of this technique.This flame may be shot in a cone shape of up to 15 feet.  Just like Manipulation of Fire, the flames created from this technique may be used for anything that fire would normally be used for.  Dragon's Breath deals the same amount of damage a character could deal with Fire Manipulation.Heat Transfer - Instead of creating flames, a character may directly heat an object, projecting the fire from within his own body.  You may channel extreme heat through your hands to effect the temperature of an object you touch.  You can affect up to 1 cubic foot of ice, snow, or water per 2 character levels; 1 cubic foot of rock per 4 character levels; 1 cubic foot of metal per 5 character levels.  The character is not burned by objects he heats until he stops actively heating them.Ice/snow melt and water boils in 1 full round action, or two standard actions.  Evaporation takes place afterward at a rate of 1 cubic foot per round.  Water cools slowly, boiling for 1 round after heat is removed, and becoming hot for two rounds after boiling stops.Rock/Metal becomes hot to the touch in 1 full round action or two standard actions.  It becomes searing hot after two full rounds or four standard actions.  It melts at 3 full round actions or six standard actions.  Rock/Metal cools slowly, remaining searing for three rounds after heat is removed, then becoming hot to the touch for three rounds.Hot - 1d4Boiling/Searing - 2d4Melting - 3d4WaterWater Manipulation - The caster can manipulate water in the area directly around them.  Depending on how it's used, this ability can change the element's form and nature, perform a variety of combat maneuvers, or exert a short, violent thrust.Elemental Form: A character of the water bloodline can control water in all its natures and will them to immediately change from one to another.  As a swift action, you may change the nature of the water you currently control, choosing between ice, snow, water and steam.  Also, you may manipulate the basic shape of water or ice to look like something else, though specific detail is difficult.  The Craft skill determines the exact quality of the object created.  Simple sculptures that can be created with Craft check of 10 or less can be made with a full-round action; however, for every 5 points the Craft DC increases, this ability requires one additional round to activate.When you stop concentrating on water, it returns to its natural shape.  Sculpted ice has a hardness of 15 and 5 HP per inch of thickness.Craft (Weaponsmithing) or Craft (Fletching) can be used in conjunction with this ability to create weaponry and ammunition out of water or ice.  This weaponry deals damage as a normal weapon of its kind.  Only water may be used to make supple, pliable weapons such as whips or bows, but ice deals an additional +1d4 cold damage.  1 cubic foot of water creates material for one medium-sized weapon or up to 50 pieces of ammunition.Weaponry made out of water has a hardness of 0, HP equal to twice your bloodline level, and fast healing equal to your bloodline level.  Weaponry made out of ice has a hardness of 10 and 1 HP.  Ammunition and thrown weapons made of water/ice always dissolve/break upon usage.  Unless the ambient temperature is below freezing, weaponry made of ice becomes useless in 10 minutes, faster in hot conditions.Combat Maneuvers: Alternatively, you can use water to direct the flow of combat around you.  As an immediate action, once per round you may use ice, snow or water to block or redirect an attack.  Rolling an attack roll using your Bloodline level + Strength Modifier, if you beat the opposed attack roll made by your opponent, the attack is blocked or redirected.Ranged attacks are blocked by this maneuver.  A successfully blocked ranged attack fails to hit its target and grants the caster a +2 shield bonus to AC (stacking with all other shield bonuses) against the rest of that opponent's ranged attacks for that round. Melee attacks are redirected by this maneuver.  A successfully redirected melee attack fails to hit its target, and allows the defender the choice to change the attack's target to any creature or object within 5 feet of the defender.  If the attacker is not close enough to attack the new target, he is moved close enough to strike the target (even if the attacker would not normally be allowed any more movement that round).  The strike against the new target is made with the original attack roll, though the target is denied his Dexterity modifier (if any) to his AC.  This does not grant sneak attack damage to the original attacker (or any other precision-based benefits that require a target be denied his Dex to AC).Violent Thrust: Alternatively, the water itself may be used as a weapon.  As a standard melee or ranged attack, a character may use ice or water to cause 1d6 Piercing, Bludgeoning, or Slashing damage of your choice per 5 bloodline levels.  This thrust of water is considered a normal melee or ranged attack and may be included as part of the full-attack option.  Your attack rolls with this ability are always made with your Strength modifier.You may only manipulate 1 cubic ft./level of water at any time.  Only water sources within 10 ft. + 5'/level may be used for Water Manipulation.EarthEarth Manipulation - The caster may control the earth immediately around them.  Depending on how it's used, this ability can reshape earth, perform a variety of combat maneuvers, or exert a short, violent thrust.Reshape Earth: A character of the earth bloodline can reshape the earth in their immediate vicinity to fit their needs.  Anything from raising a patch of earth to form a stool, to creating handholds in the side of a mountain face, to splitting a boulder in half, and everything in between.  You may manipulate rock, crystal or tightly packed dirt to look like something else, though specific detail is difficult.  The Craft skill determines the exact quality of the object created.  Simple sculptures that can be created with Craft check of 10 or less can be made with a full-round action; however, for every 5 points the Craft DC increases, this ability requires one additional round to activate.Sculpted rock has a hardness of 10 and 20 HP per inch of thickness.  Sculpted clay has a hardness of 5 and 35 HP per inch of thickness.Craft (Weaponsmithing) can be used in conjunction with this ability to create weaponry and ammunition out of rock.  This weaponry functions exactly as a normal weapon of its kind.  1 cubic foot of rock creates material for one medium-sized weapon or up to 50 pieces of ammunition.Combat Maneuvers: Alternatively, you can use the earth around you to bolster your defenses.  As an immediate action, you may block an attack or conceal yourself.One ranged attack per round may be blocked by making an attack roll using your Bloodline Level + Con Modifier.  If the block is successful, you gain a +2 Shield Bonus to your AC (stacking with all other shield bonuses) against that target's ranged attacks for the rest of the round.At any time you are to take an attack, before you find out the result of the attack roll, if you are fighting on sufficiently loose soil you may use an immediate action to send a cloud of dust into the air.  This cloud extends 5' in each direction, centered on the caster, and grants total concealment, as well as total blindness.  This ability lasts for 3 rounds, unless there is a light wind, which disipates the cloud in 1 round.  Anything stronger than a light wind disippates the cloud immediately, granting no concealment bonus.Violent Thrust: Alternatively, the earth itself may be used as a weapon.  As a standard melee or ranged attack, a character may use a small amount of rock or compact earth to cause 1d6 Piercing, Bludgeoning, or Slashing damage of your choice per 5 bloodline levels.  This thrust of earth is considered a normal melee or ranged attack and may be included as part of the full-attack option.  Your attack rolls with this ability are always made with your Constitution modifier.You may only manipulate 1 cubic ft./level of earth at any time.  Only earth within 10 ft. + 5'/level may be used for Earth Manipulation.AirWind Manipulation - The caster may control the air immediately around them.  Depending on how it's used, this ability can provide a gentle, sustaining wind, perform a variety of combat maneuvers, shoot a fierce burst of air, or exert a short, violent thrust.Sustained Winds: A sustained wind moves an object weighing no more than 25 pounds per caster level up to 20 feet per round. A creature can negate the effect on an object it possesses with a successful Reflex save equal to 10 + 1/2 your bloodline level + your character's Dex modifier.This version of the spell can last as long as you concentrate on it. The weight can be moved vertically, horizontally, or in both directions. An object cannot be moved beyond the range of 10 ft. + 5'/level. The spell ends if the object is forced beyond the range. If you cease concentration for any reason, the object falls or stops.Combat Maneuver: Alternatively, once per round, you can manipulate the air around you to perform a bull rush, disarm, grapple (including pin), or trip. Resolve these attempts as normal, except that they don’t provoke attacks of opportunity, you use your bloodline level in place of your base attack bonus (for disarm and grapple), you use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier, and a failed attempt doesn’t allow a reactive attempt by the target (such as for disarm or trip). No save is allowed against these attempts. This version of the spell can last 1 round per caster level, but it ends if you cease concentration.Violent Thrust: Alternatively, the energy can be spent in a single round. You can hurl one object or creature per caster level (maximum 15) that are within range and all within 10 feet of each other toward any target within 10 feet per level of all the objects. You can hurl up to a total weight of 25 pounds per bloodline level.You must succeed on attack rolls (one per creature or object thrown) to hit the target with the items, using your base attack bonus + your Dexterity modifier. Due to the nature of the wind, directing weapons to fly point-first is nigh-impossible.  Because of this, weapons, like all objects, cause damage based on their hardness rather than their standard weapon damage.  Hard, dense objects deal 1d6 damage per 10 pounds, while less dense objects may deal as little as 1 point per 10 pounds.Creatures who fall within the weight capacity of the spell can be hurled, but they are allowed Reflex saves to negate the effect, as are those whose held possessions are targeted by the spell. If a creature is hurled against a solid surface, it takes damage as if it had fallen 10 feet (1d6 points). Burst of Air: Alternatively, the wind itself may deal damage to its targets.  As a standard melee or ranged attack, targets take 1d6 non-lethal bludgeoning damage per 5 bloodline levels.  This burst of air is treated as a normal melee or ranged attack that may be included as part of the full-attack option.  The attack roll is always made with your Dexterity modifier.Attacks made with this version of Air Manipulation have an automatic chance to Bull Rush.  Attack rolls made with an air blast automatically Bull Rush the target on a natural 20.  For every 1d6 damage this attack deals, the resulting Bull Rush pushes your target back an additional 5 feet (For example, for the first five levels, the air blast would only push your target 5 feet, however at level 6 when your air blast damage increases to 2d6, your resulting Bull Rush would increase to 10 feet).  The resulting Bull Rush is calculated as normal, except there are no size modifiers, and similarly to Combat Maneuvers, the character's Dexterity modifier is used in place of his Strength modifier.  Burst of Air and the resulting Bull Rush effect do not provoke any attacks of opportunity.  *= Fire needs to be completely revamped to be more along the lines of the other elements.  However, there are some very rough ideas in there that I hope are balanced and useful.[/sblock]I don't expect anybody to take the time to comment on everything.  However, if you're going to make suggestions, please at least give reasons behind your thoughts and try to keep the design of the campaign in mind when doing so.Also, the game's history can be tweaked as necessary, what I have written is just the major framework.And if anybody needs to know, I'm considering running this either as a 4-player campaign, or a two-group campaign with 4 players and 2 players.  I have yet to decide if I want to make the Dimension Dragon Bloodlines into NPCs, or create and entirely seperate campaign arc for two players that occasionally intersects with the main 4-player group.</blockquote>

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