Immortals Handbook Epic Bestiary (now available)

[Upper_Krust]

Mother Superior!

Hey guys!

Okay, I am putting the finishing touches to the epic feats. I have 98 feats that I like and 6 others that I don't really like that much (bread and butter feats lets call them).

So which two, from the following six sound the most interesting...?

Superior Bull Rush - You do not fall prone if pushed back
Superior Cleave - You can make a 5 foot step while cleaving
Superior Disarm - Successful attacks deal damage and a disarm attempt
Superior Feint - You can feint even non-intelligent opposition
Superior Trip - Successful attacks deal damage and a trip attempt
Superior Power Attack - Trade one point of BAB for 2 points of damage

DOH! Actually, I just recalculated and it appears I have 101 feats that I like, so the above six are surplus, but do you think any of them merit inclusion? Looking at the table I now have room for one more.

One other feat related question...

Is the name Underwalker or Earthwalker better for a feat that lets the character burrow?

Oh, and those of you who remember me talking about not having enough bardic love amidst the feats, need not worry, I don't know where they came from but I now appear to have about half a dozen.

 

[historian]

Hey U_K!

I am open to ideas...?

If I had a silver bullet I would give it freely but unfortunately I have no experience in RPG marketing. It appears that you have the web channels pretty well saturated. Would it be possible to offer the pdf versions on Amazon or another equivalent?

Additional pdfs can be generated with virtually nothing in terms of marginal cost. Were it me I don't think I would hesitate to broadcast them over any channel that offers direct sales to consumers.

Part of this will also likely be influenced by your agreement with Mongoose who I am sure will do a fine job promoting the hard copy.

Well certainly they are going to publicise it, but not before I get the cover done, and even then thats not going to help me in the short term which is the main problem.

In all candor I hate that you're having to do that on your own. I like your art, but if this compromises your products' release by any material length of time then that not only compromises your economics but it also doesn't do Mongoose any favors. It's made that much worse by the fact that, not only will it delay the release of the print versions of the Bestiary and Ascension but will have a domino effect on subsequent product releases.

You might well be the best crafter of epic and immortal gaming materials in the world; seriously. To me that's the value you bring to the dance. I think folks should let you do what you do best and subcontract that which could be more easily replicated. IMO, that makes more sense for you and your publisher.

Please understand that the foregoing is not at all a complaint over a release date. I just don't want to see you as a starving artist.

Well certainly they are going to publicise it, but not before I get the cover done, and even then thats not going to help me in the short term which is the main problem.

September is starting to look very scary (financially speaking). Since the chances are (now that I have to take time off to do the cover) that I won't have the finished Ascension until early/mid September at the earliest, which means even if its on sale at rpgnow and drivethru I basically won't see any of the profits until October, which then take another week to clear anyway. So there is a window of about five weeks starting in September for which I have no actual money.

...and just to prove my lucks in, the next invoice for the website is due at the start of October.

That's a bummer dude.

Perhaps there is a way to collect an advance from Mongoose based on anticipated sales revenue? Certainly they should be interested in the most expeditious release date possible.

There are also several financial types (of one I am not) like venture capitalists or private equity type groups that operate on a smaller scale. I'm sure they could provide some near-term help in exchange for an interest in your business.

The problem there is they may actually want an arm and a leg. You tend to have to negotiate very hard with them.

To be honest though I only have myself to blame. Ascension should have been finished months ago and we should be talking about the iminent release of the Grimoire at this stage of the year.

I have your alignment as lawful good with chaotic tendencies when it comes to release dates. Don't beat yourself up over it any more than you already have. It's what you do forward that counts.

As with the initial Bestiary release (pre-art version) I totally hate giving people an unfinished book. But theres nothing else for it.

I would just have the reviewers note that it's a beta pending completion.

Alzrius seems to love it so far, and from what I've seen it looks great.

Good luck man and as always feel free to get in touch here or by e-mail if I can help. In the interest of full disclosure you have my assurances that anything I can do will be pro bono (and of course not legal advice as I don't have a license to advise you).

 

[historian]

So which two, from the following six sound the most interesting...?

Superior Bull Rush - You do not fall prone if pushed back
Superior Cleave - You can make a 5 foot step while cleaving
Superior Disarm - Successful attacks deal damage and a disarm attempt
Superior Feint - You can feint even non-intelligent opposition
Superior Trip - Successful attacks deal damage and a trip attempt
Superior Power Attack - Trade one point of BAB for 2 points of damage

Superior Disarm and Superior Trip get my vote as most cinematic.

Superior Power Attack seems most useful.

One other feat related question...

Is the name Underwalker or Earthwalker better for a feat that lets the character burrow?

How about Krustwalker?

Seriously, Underwalker seems more apropos.

 

[Servitor of Wrath]

*breaks into song* ToMORrow, toMORrow, Ascension's toMORrow! It's onnnly a day awayyy!

 

[dante58701]

*speechless in anticipation*

 

[Fieari]

Superior Bull Rush - You do not fall prone if pushed back
Superior Cleave - You can make a 5 foot step while cleaving
Superior Disarm - Successful attacks deal damage and a disarm attempt
Superior Feint - You can feint even non-intelligent opposition
Superior Trip - Successful attacks deal damage and a trip attempt
Superior Power Attack - Trade one point of BAB for 2 points of damage

Bull Rush is rarely used in my estimation, and the superior version of it is simply a defense against a bull rush. Not impressive to me.

Superior Cleave already exists in other WotC products, doesn't it? As a class feature, not a feat, if I'm not mistaken, but still...

Now, the Superior Disarm, THAT'S useful. Disarm on every attack, and do damage whether you succeed or fail? Nice! And perfect for the merciful type... I can imagine someone with the Vow of Peace wanting this feat a lot (in conjunction with their Merciful weapon, of course).

Superior Feint is interesting, but doesn't it provoke the "absolute" problem anyway, just like a feat that allows you to plow through energy immunity?

Superior Trip should be a feat. If wolves can do it, why can't humans learn how?

Superior Power Attack... my God... Power Attack as is is a MUST HAVE feat for epic gaming. If this feat existed, there's not a fighter alive that wouldn't take it first thing. Now... is that a good thing or a bad thing? I mean, a feat so useful that EVERYONE needs it, just to be competetive? Sounds broken to me...

 

[Strife]

I believe that both superior cleave and superior power attack are extremely good ones,

being that it allows you get the two class features that my gorup considered coolest about the Frenzied berserker, without having to deal with the frenzy bs, and the overall brokenness of the class. we always wonder in regards to power attack,

whys the 20th level fighter only do half the powerattack damage of a 10 barb 10 frenzied berserker,

well the berserkers drooling that adds all the difference,
then we questioned why can he still hit so hard when hes not frenzied...
well i dont know he just knows how to hit harder...

I say this even though i was the one playing a frenzied berserker in epic, who happened to be the smartest in the group and most charismatic, known for being a demon in battle as well as one of the most honorable men alive

 

[Ltheb Silverfrond]

U_K!

...yeah and that art just draws itself, those Index books will go quickly.

Well, this is true. But inspirational material isn't too dificult to find on such topics. I don't know how many pictures of Zeus there are, but I am sure we have seen a few of them, and I don't think a picture of a Giant in a Toga throwing Lightning Bolts is too out there. (Compared to the nexus dragon. I am still trying to figure out which end is the "head." I think it the part encircled by the 6 wings? That does kindof look like an eye or maw)
Oh, perhaps a minor question, since Grimoir is next, and no doubt you have been thinking of such related things. Are artifacts like the Robes of the Almight (Nimrod) or the Ram Headed-Throne (Sandalphon) unique, or are those powers duplicatable at a certain level of divinity?
Just curious, as I think they are so awsome. (The line about it being foolish to attack Sandalphon on his home plane is an instant classic)
Sadly, with the Enworld board "hiccup" your post reguarding Deity artifact ratings based on ECL is no longer here. It came out to having a bonus equal to ~1/3 ECL, right? All I remember is an example of an ECL 800 deity being able to have Omnific-level artifacts.
I think you listed some sort of equivalent Artifact-feat-equivalency that lead to that number. Also, does having an Infinity-power grant other, lesser benifits? Like if you had infinite Intellect, would you just know everything, even what the DM has planned?
I am sure a couple of these will be answered tomorrow, but since Grimoir is like 4-6 months away, I dunno.
Just a random estimate. I remember trying to price Epic Magic item powers myself. This was back in 3.0, where weapon "Plus" mattered, so my reasoning is that having a power with an equivallency of +10 would cripple your ability to injure things, and so gave those levels of weapon power amazing abilities. I remember I had a "Legendary" enhancement, that did 3 things, for a +10 equivallency: Natural 19's counted as 20's (on attacks for weapons, saves for armors), Criticals were automatically confirmed (minor, but Icing on the cake) and any kind of smite damage done with such a weapon was doubled.
Your never-miss-except-on-a-one power sure blows that out of the water!
Well, its late here, and If I stay up too terribly late, I will end up waking up at 1:01, thus robbing myself of sixty whole seconds of *Cue Palpatine Scream* "Unlimited Power!"
EDIT: WOW I missed a whole page?!?!
All of those abilities seem nice and merit inclusion, however, Superior Cleave and Power Attack are both class features of a certain Frenzied Berserker PrC. (At least in name I believe, though I think its Power Attack ability is better than yours)
The feint power seems the most powerful, I might have to say even broken, since, without a bit of common sense on part of the DM, it allows the rogue to sunder walls very well. "Forget disarming traps! Ill just destroy them!" Though it does help said rogue stand a chance, should they ever be forced into a Knife Fight with a Neutronium Golem.
Other than that, they sound totally awesome. And it sounds to me they are the basic feats! Oh boy, If those are indeed the basic epic feats, then I cant wait to get to ultra-mindblowingly-blinding speed!
EDIT, MARK II: It seems my insomnia has returned... *Yawn* I think Underwalker sounds much more appropo, though earthwalker could be the name of some rediculously high-prereq feat that like grants X10 overland travel. "So you say you walked 240 miles yesterday? Who do you think you are, Forest Gump?"
As for bard stuff, with a dozen or so feats in there, plus I know of a few from other supplements that are surprisingly good, Epic bards should be in good shape. I wonder, would granting a bard the ability to invoke the "brown noise" be an epic feat, or a divine ability?

 

[Nyeshet]

I just realized. Tomorrow could mean any time from midnight to next midnight. Technically he could tease us all day with Ascention and only relent a minute before the day after tomorrow.

Of course, he wouldn't really do that, right?

[Edit]Nevermind, I just read his website. I look forward to 6pm. I will be getting home from work about that time, give or take a quarter hour, so it will be perfect for me. Hmm, maybe it will be a good idea to wait an hour before downloading, as I imagine many will be hitting the 'download' button come 6pm. [/edit]

In any case I am really looking forward to ascention. Not so much because I or my players tend to go epic all that often (quite the reverse actually, as we prefer levels 8-12 - to the point of starting our characters around levels 3-5 and often retiring them around levels 15 - 17), but rather because I intend to use it to create more realistic / balanced (per level) deities for the campaign world.

How many others will be getting Ascention for that reason, I wonder, rather than to create PC playable deities?

 

[thundershot]

I've been lurking for quite a bit, (with a couple replies here and there) and I can't wait until I see these books in print. I apoligize for not supporting PDF, but in my home, they just never get used.... ever. Except for the Riding Hare from "In the Saddle"... Yeah. As soon as the first volume of the Immortals Handbook is out, I'm on it. My only fear is that the other books don't make it to print.... I'm tempted to just preorder it from Mongoose... I wonder though... why didn't they like the cover? Is it because there's too much black? Or the art in general?


Sorry for the randomness,
Chris