Bendris Noulg
First Post
That be me.Indigo7 said:
Wow, that's a lot. I'll cover some basics, though...
To begin with, all Core Spellcasting Classes except Druid are dumped.
-Arcane-
All: If you start as an Arcane Spellcaster at Level 1, you gain the Mageborn Feat for free. If you start as another class, however, you must take Mage Born as a Birth Feat (i.e., at Level 1) in order to become an Arcane Caster later.
Channeler: Conversion of PO:S&M's Channeler, consisting of a spellcasting method that causes severe fatigue in the spellcaster, rendering them weak and helpless if they overdo it with spells. Channelers have the ability to learn spells quickly and change the spells they have memorized in a short period of time, but discovery of new spells takes a long time. Learning and researching requires an extensive Arcane Library, and researching requires an expensive Laboratory.
Sorcerer: Initially began as a conversion of the Al'Qadim Sorcerer, this transformed into an Element-based spellcaster. Spells do not spring from no-where, but is reflected in the study of Genie Lore. Sorcerers have less need for a Library and Laboratory (unless they want to craft items, see below), and learn new spells quickly. Once a spell is learned, however, it is forever retained (like the Core Sorcerer), but their ability to memorize at lower levels is greatly reduced, arcing upwards after 12th Level.
Medicine Magician: A "witch doctor" type class (based on the Witch Doctor class from The Primal Codex, in fact), the Medicine Magician comes from primitive cultures with a Spirit-based religion. They have a moderate learning and research time, but a very lengthy memorization time, with no requirement for a Library or Laboratory but must deal with moody and demanding Spirits.
Wu Jen: Exists in my world, but none of the adventures have brought the PCs anywhere near the world's "Orient", so it hasn't caught up. Will likely be similar to the Medicine Magician, but more involved in Asian religion than primitive spirituality.
-Divine-
Druid: Spellcasting ability unaltered, although most of the abilities got re-shuffled for better balance with the other Spellcasters (most Wildshape abilities moved to higher levels with some tweaks, Elemental Wildshape removed in favor of Bonus Wild Feats). Also, being a Druid results in some obligations and duties after 5th Level and becomes quite political after 12th.
Clerics & Paladins: Both have been completely removed, mostly for flavor (a world without gods), although non-deific faith is represented via Prestige Classes (each with a customized Spell List suitable to the faith).
Shaman: Based on the Shaman presented in The Primal Codex, but revised for setting-specific goals, this Spellcaster is required to fulfill spiritual obligations for their spells. The higher level the spells, the greater the obligation.
Ranger: I use a (modified) version of the Dark Sun Ranger, which doesn't get spells "per source", although I've built in an option to allow appropriately aligned Rangers to gain Druidic Orisons.
-Other-
Bard: The Bard is more of a Skill-based class than a spellcaster, although upon becoming a Bard, the PC can make a choice of which magic type they want to use: Channeling, Sorcery or Druidic.
Another big one...
- Sympathetic Item Creation: If the item was not crafted by you, by your own hands, than it cannot be enhanced by you. Item must be Masterwork quality.
- Actual enhancement occurs after performing a True Ritual (which includes a chance of failure).
- Item Creation Feats only give knowledge of the process of manipulating magical energy into the item-type, thus knowledge to create specific magic items themselves is not gained. This knowledge must be researched in a manner similar to a spell (which requires a Library and Laboratory*).
- Upgrading an item (meaning adding later enhancements) cannot be done.
- Exotic Ingrediants required: The tongue of a Red Dragon for a flaming whip, for instance, or ink made from the ashes of a firebat for a flaming hands scroll, etc.
None of the above. It is intentionally dark and gritty, with ambigious alignments, moral quandries and mysterious unknowns.
A question with many answers. Aedon could be described as "Few Casters/Moderate Spells/Few but Potent Items". My last campaign would have been described as "Many Casters/Weak Spells/Few Items".
*In several points in the Core Rules, it is stated that it is "assumed" that Spellcasters have access to a Library and Laboratory; Removing this assumption goes a long way towards reducing the amount of magic present in a game since obtaining access or possession of such becomes an added expense. You simply need to determine a ratio between Value/Spell Level desirable for your game.
Also note that this is just a summary, and many other co-existant rule changes are also in effect. For instance, I use a system called Health & Resilience that lands somewhere between Grim'n'Gritty and Wounds & Vitality (probably a little closer to W&V than I initially wished, but it works fairly well, so I'm not changing it unless I get a true inspiration for change). This helps counter the lack of Divine Healing (and a Level or 3 in Expert: Physician is also a viable and valuable option). Additionally, I use a Rune Magic system (Feat & Skill Based) as well as Bastion's Alchemy and Herbalist's rules.
Which is why I love Aedon even if I won't play there any time soon.
Now THERE'S an idea I wish I had thought of.
