Iron Heroes - I have it in my hands!

[Aldarc]

and has been described as such for week after week.

More like months after months.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

With respect to Iron Heroes magic, are there conversion notes for monsters with spellcasting ability?

How do you adjudicate a monster that casts as a 7th level sorcerer, for example?

The conversion rules that deal with that that I have noted are:

- If you are going to bring other kinds of spellcasters they should probably replace arcanists, though personally I think arcanists might be competitive just not as primary spell casters.

- Monsters with such abilities should probably take on a different story role than normal. IH seems to want to use them with the elevated threat level that such abilities imply in a low magic world. The conversion rules say that while CR should still be the same having multiple encounters with such beasts in quick succession would be unbalancing.

- For levels where creatures with appropriate CR are almost certain to have such abilities it recommends 'upping the die' on the frequency of rounds in which it can use such a weapon.

The main issue seems to be that where saving throws are higher and you cannot fail on ones that still doesn't remove the chance that a couple of bad rounds in succession could take out the party before it could react.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

So, do magic items exist at all? From the sounds of it, you'll never find a Longsword +1 in your entire career.

Am I right?

 

[BryonD]

So, do magic items exist at all? From the sounds of it, you'll never find a Longsword +1 in your entire career.

Am I right?

I certainly have not done cover to cover yet, but it looks that way from this book.
Though the later books may very well expand on the options.

Also, It would be very easy to dump in one +2 Keen Bastard Sword as an Excalibur, if you wanted such as that.

But I certainly believe the primary idea is that characters should expect to get to 20th with zero magic items.

 

[zen_hydra]

Reall, because the very first thing that I thought of was the manga Berserk. A mundane world of warring kingdoms that slowly reveals its otherworldliness as the character simply try to survive the forces of the universe that they do not understand.

That's cool, because it is the exact same thing that went through my mind.

 

[Nifelhein]

Hey Ash! I hope it does, although defenders, legates and the great 2nd edition book that i haven't even finished reading are my main concerns with this one. Anyway, i am in the list of those that are fighting their curiosities and the very very attractive price malhavoc has placed on the pdf...

PS for Ash: AtS.org was nominated for an ennie!

 

[Kunimatyu]

There is less than a page and a half on converting existing material into IH.
Basically, it says they should be able to handle it, so don't worry about, but take into account that things like petrification are more permanent in IH than D&D.

It even goes so far as to say that villian could be a sorcerer by virtue of being "alien or demonic".

It also recommends converting magic items into inherent abilities. Such as if the module NPC has boots of speed, make them be arcane foot tattoos.

meh, I'll just start from the beginning. Easier than retrofitting everything.

Well, in IH's 'implied setting', the human bad guys, the First, are supposed to be better than normal people, up and including magical augmentation. It's not that ridiculous to expect a First to have magic gear attuned to his person, or even the 'magical foot tattoos' suggested. I think it's possible to work around this...but I'll still want to put IH though its paces via a module first.

 

[Kunimatyu]

So, do magic items exist at all? From the sounds of it, you'll never find a Longsword +1 in your entire career.

Am I right?

Yes and no. Your arcanist will be able to give your longsword enhancement bonuses, though you may or may not want him messing with your precious heirloom.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Hey Ash! I hope it does, although defenders, legates and the great 2nd edition book that i haven't even finished reading are my main concerns with this one. Anyway, i am in the list of those that are fighting their curiosities and the very very attractive price malhavoc has placed on the pdf...

Nice to see you Nif!

I'd have to get my hands on Iron Heroes, and I'm ashamed to say I havn't been able to pick up Midnight 2nd edition yet, but there certainly seems like there could be a good blend.

I'm running two Eberron campaigns right now, but I hope to be able to jump back into Midnight in a few months. I may try a IH/Midnight hybrid then. Maybe I'll write a conversion article for AtS when I get around to it.

Off the top of my head:

Defenders - Sigh... I don't know. I never really cared for them in the first place.

Legates - Pretty simple I'd think. They're basically just evil arcanists. Maybe replace one of the arcanist's early special abilities with their Astirax bond. Or maybe the bond is a feat only open to legates?

Channeler - "Channeler" becomes "Arcanist". Direct port.

PS for Ash: AtS.org was nominated for an ennie!

I know. I voted!

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Yes and no. Your arcanist will be able to give your longsword enhancement bonuses, though you may or may not want him messing with your precious heirloom.

I guess what I'm wondering is, if I give a 10th level character a +1 sword, will he be horribly overpowered? I see magic can penetrate DR, which is the major function of armor, so it has me worried.

As mentioned in my other posts, I see this blending well with Midnight, which has magic items as VERY rare, but not unheard of.