HephaistosFnord
Explorer
After lots of feedback and playtesting, I've finally decided to take what I have and publish it:
DriveThruRPG
So, what makes Materia Mundi different?
Classes & Levels
There are effectively 3 classes in Materia Mundi: Warrior, Expert, and Magic-User. Each class has three variants, which modify the class substantially enough that a 'variant' is somewhere between a 'subclass' and its own class, but they still share a good number of class features. Each variant should be reasonably familiar to a 5E player:
Warriors can be Knights, Martial Artists, or Berserkers.
Experts can be Thieves, Alchemists, or Bards.
Magic-Users can be Wizards, Clerics, or Druids.
Each class has ten class levels, and magic has three levels of spells -- this is a 'low magic' game, compared to standard D&D.
You can also dual-class, if you want to build a Paladin (Cleric/Knight), Ranger (Thief/Druid), or similar hybrid-class character.
Skills
Skill proficiencies form the backbone of the system; Each character class gets a set number of skill proficiencies at first level, and the player is then free to train up those skills as they see fit at higher levels. Skill proficiency levels determine everything from saving throws, to class feature bonuses, to spellcasting rolls and targets.
All proficiencies in Materia Mundi use proficiency dice, rather than static modifiers, to determine their bonuses; these dice also set the bonuses for feats like Sneak Attack, Inspiration, and so on, and form the die size for any damaging or healing spells cast.
Non-Combat Activities
Navigation, Exploration, and Socialization all get their own rules sections devoted to them, without becoming overwhelming or lost in minutia. Each system is designed to be tight and cohesive, and easy for the referee to run and modify as they see fit.
Magic
Wizard, Cleric, and Druid magic have each been rebuilt to have more flavor and 'interactivity', while still aiming to stay true to D20 aesthetics.
Lots of Magic Items
Alchemy and magic item creation are a huge part of the game, so the main book gives you a huge list to play with.
Compatible with OSR/5E
The proficiency bonuses achievable by characters stay firmly within the 5E range, although translating from PF2 or other systems isn't that hard. Translating a monster from any other system shouldn't take more than a few seconds of eyeballing.
OSR Flavor
The game is designed to be less of a 'combat simulator' (although it does a pretty good job at that); at core, it's an 'exploration simulator' in the vein of old-school dungeon crawls, and the setting and themes are meant to help evoke that. Less focus has been put into "encounter balance" than into ensuring that players have tools available for creative problem-solving, and that a player can pick up quickly and get back into the game should they make a lethal mistake.
Artwork
The entire game's artwork is AI generated using MidJourneys, to evoke a certain aesthetic - it's pretty and functional, but it's primarily there to draw attention to the system. If you don't approve of AI artwork, you're still welcome to grab a copy; it's pay-what-you-want, so go ahead and pay what you think the system and writing merit (even $0), and appreciate the pretty computer-rendered art as a nice bonus.
DriveThruRPG
So, what makes Materia Mundi different?
Classes & Levels
There are effectively 3 classes in Materia Mundi: Warrior, Expert, and Magic-User. Each class has three variants, which modify the class substantially enough that a 'variant' is somewhere between a 'subclass' and its own class, but they still share a good number of class features. Each variant should be reasonably familiar to a 5E player:
Warriors can be Knights, Martial Artists, or Berserkers.
Experts can be Thieves, Alchemists, or Bards.
Magic-Users can be Wizards, Clerics, or Druids.
Each class has ten class levels, and magic has three levels of spells -- this is a 'low magic' game, compared to standard D&D.
You can also dual-class, if you want to build a Paladin (Cleric/Knight), Ranger (Thief/Druid), or similar hybrid-class character.
Skills
Skill proficiencies form the backbone of the system; Each character class gets a set number of skill proficiencies at first level, and the player is then free to train up those skills as they see fit at higher levels. Skill proficiency levels determine everything from saving throws, to class feature bonuses, to spellcasting rolls and targets.
All proficiencies in Materia Mundi use proficiency dice, rather than static modifiers, to determine their bonuses; these dice also set the bonuses for feats like Sneak Attack, Inspiration, and so on, and form the die size for any damaging or healing spells cast.
Non-Combat Activities
Navigation, Exploration, and Socialization all get their own rules sections devoted to them, without becoming overwhelming or lost in minutia. Each system is designed to be tight and cohesive, and easy for the referee to run and modify as they see fit.
Magic
Wizard, Cleric, and Druid magic have each been rebuilt to have more flavor and 'interactivity', while still aiming to stay true to D20 aesthetics.
Lots of Magic Items
Alchemy and magic item creation are a huge part of the game, so the main book gives you a huge list to play with.
Compatible with OSR/5E
The proficiency bonuses achievable by characters stay firmly within the 5E range, although translating from PF2 or other systems isn't that hard. Translating a monster from any other system shouldn't take more than a few seconds of eyeballing.
OSR Flavor
The game is designed to be less of a 'combat simulator' (although it does a pretty good job at that); at core, it's an 'exploration simulator' in the vein of old-school dungeon crawls, and the setting and themes are meant to help evoke that. Less focus has been put into "encounter balance" than into ensuring that players have tools available for creative problem-solving, and that a player can pick up quickly and get back into the game should they make a lethal mistake.
Artwork
The entire game's artwork is AI generated using MidJourneys, to evoke a certain aesthetic - it's pretty and functional, but it's primarily there to draw attention to the system. If you don't approve of AI artwork, you're still welcome to grab a copy; it's pay-what-you-want, so go ahead and pay what you think the system and writing merit (even $0), and appreciate the pretty computer-rendered art as a nice bonus.
