NC Game Day VII - April 23!

[Clueless]

For my GT character, I've been sticking to DC 49 and lower, because I can safely cast that if taking 10 in calm conditions, and adding a somatic and fetish component.

.... a fetish component?

 

[Henry]

.... a fetish component?

Not THAT kind of fetish. In D&D, it would be more like a focus component, and it adds a bonus to your check to cast the spell successfully.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

.... a fetish component?

Hmm. Are we going to be seeing Henry wearing a bondage mask and dressed in Black Leather at the GameDay?

 

[Mark Causey]

For example:
Assailment of the air spirits

• Cast DC 16, swift action - Force, 3d4 dmg non-lethal, 30’ ranged touch, 1d8+3 drain
• Cast DC 16, swift action - Force, 4d4 dmg non-lethal, 10’ ranged touch, 1d8+3 drain
  

Vexations of Kryshni

• Cast DC 16, swift action - Afflict, -1 att, saves, & checks, 20’ ranged touch, 1d8+3 drain
• Cast DC 16, swift action – Fear, target saves or shaken, 20 range, 1d8+3 drain

Out of ignorance and curiosymmetry, with these DCs, it sounds like a novice character could get these effects off with some luck and time ... is that meant to be so? It'd be neat to read a system where someone didn't have to take a class level to start casting spells, and thus have a touch more versimillitude when it comes to 'teaching and learning' magical abilities.

If not, then nevermind

 

[Ruined]

Hmm. Are we going to be seeing Henry wearing a bondage mask and dressed in Black Leather at the GameDay?

So that's how the Taken were such good spellcasters... (just read the first novel with Soulcatcher and all that).

btw Henry, I feel your pain. The BCCS is calling me as well, now that I've started playing in such a campaign.

 

[Henry]

Hmm. Are we going to be seeing Henry wearing a bondage mask and dressed in Black Leather at the GameDay?

No, my spellcaster will be just waving his arms in the air, speaking magic words, and lusting after someone's toes. And if Old One makes my character wear a bondage outfit to cast spells, I'm gonna... I'm gonna... well... group's gotta have a spellcaster...

Out of ignorance and curiosymmetry, with these DCs, it sounds like a novice character could get these effects off with some luck and time ... is that meant to be so? It'd be neat to read a system where someone didn't have to take a class level to start casting spells, and thus have a touch more versimillitude when it comes to 'teaching and learning' magical abilities.

The Black Company spell reference sheet on Green Ronin's web site holds some of this info, but simply put, a Dabbler (game term) who tries to cast these could do so (at least the DC 16 ones), but it would take them a while to cast (up to 2 to 3 full rounds!) depending on their Use Magic skill ranks. You also need training in the basic skills (in the form of Feats).This PC can cast them as swift actions because he's taken the "student of wizxardry" talent and the "1st magnitude" talents, and he has the Afflict, Force, Fear, and Cold Feats. Old One could tell you more about it, but reading his and my correspondences earlier in the threat can tell you more. Spellcasting isn't so much about class level as about taking the appropriate talents (Grim Tales uses Talents for spellcasting, and I imagine Black Company does, too).

 

[Riggs]

Black Company sourcebook

My book is on order due next week. Mmm good.

I started rereading the BC book too. Great books. One of the few times I have been told "You have GOT to read this!" and it was true and more.

 

[Old One]

Out of ignorance and curiosymmetry, with these DCs, it sounds like a novice character could get these effects off with some luck and time ... is that meant to be so? It'd be neat to read a system where someone didn't have to take a class level to start casting spells, and thus have a touch more versimillitude when it comes to 'teaching and learning' magical abilities.

If not, then nevermind

AA -

As Henry noted above, reading through this post can give you a feel for how this hybrid system works. I am actually following the lead of HeapThaumaturgist in this thread:

Grim Tales Spell Casting Questions

We hijacked the thread midway through to workout the hybrid GT/BCCS spellcasting system. Since GT is based on 6 20-level basic classes (strong, fast, tough, smart, dedicated and charismatic) and relys on skills, feats and talents to craft unique PCs - fitting the BCCS class-based casting system into it is a bit problematic.

Fortunately for me, Heap did most of the heavy lifting. BCCS wizard class features that allow you to improve as a spellcaster (Student of Wizardry, 1st magnitude, 2nd magnitude, 3rd magnitude and 4th magnitude) became a talent tree available to smart, dedicated and charismatic classes. SoW is a basic talent, the remainder are advanced talents and require a prereq chain of previous talents and X ranks of Magic Use for each one. Magic Use is a CHA skill in BCCS and I kept it that way for this hybrid experiment, although I am toying around with allowing a one-time character choice of INT, WIS or CHA-based Magic Use to offer additional flavor (still playing around with that one). In addition, spell "talents" are bonus feats for smart, dedicated and charismatic heroes, allowing them to build their spell repetoire much more rapidly than other heroes. Each spell talent has a minimum required level of magic ability as a prereq - most utility spell talents are on the lower end (dabbler, SoW) while most of the heavy-hitting spell talents require much more magical ability (1st, 2nd or 3rd magnitude).

The way Heap structured it was to make magnitude talents available 1 level after a BCCS wizard would get them. SoW is available as a 1st level smart, dedicated or charismatic hero, but the earliest you can pick up 1st magnitude is at 5th (based on talent chain and Magic Use rank prereq), 2nd magnitude can be gained at 11th, etc.). This keeps the magic ability advancement slightly behind the BCCS norm, but considerably ahead of the GT basic magic system.

Any character can take the Dabbler feat, which grants CON bonus +1 of spell energy and allows for putting ranks in Magic Use. A character must have spell energy to cast spells and won't be very good unless their Magic Use is a decent level, although the system is flexible enough to allow even a dabbler with only a couple of ranks in Magic Use to create some decent effects with enough time and a few props (somatic, material and fetishes). The real limiter on the Dabbler is the limit number of spell talents available to them - which fall into the utility category - animal talent, awareness, charm, glamer, figment, etc - although the lovely afflict talent is available to dabblers.

Hope that helps a bit...

~ OO

 

[der_kluge]

Hmm, apparently I missed a few pages of stuff.

die_kluge, BelenUmeria, Henry, I read over the rules for the RR, and the subsequent comments. I'm on board for pretty much everything that was said.

Will we be declaring a theme (in addition to the mcguffin and BBEG)?

We can at game time. I'd be hesitant to attempt to do that now. The more undefined the game is up until the moment of actual play, the better it will be.

 

[Old One]

Well, I just failed my Will save and ordered the Black Company CS from Green Ronin today. I'll be getting it around wednesday next week.

I'm just having so much fun playing with this thing! There's so much you can do to stack, fiddle with, and create effects that you could spend an afternoon building a better magical mousetrap.

For example:
Assailment of the air spirits

• Cast DC 16, swift action - Force, 3d4 dmg non-lethal, 30’ ranged touch, 1d8+3 drain
• Cast DC 16, swift action - Force, 4d4 dmg non-lethal, 10’ ranged touch, 1d8+3 drain
• Cast DC 21, std. action - Force, 6d4 dmg non-lethal, 20’ ranged touch, 1d8+4 drain
• Cast DC 26, full-rd action - Force, 6d6 dmg non-lethal, 20’ ranged touch, 1d8+5 drain

Vexations of Kryshni

• Cast DC 16, swift action - Afflict, -1 att, saves, & checks, 20’ ranged touch, 1d8+3 drain
• Cast DC 16, swift action – Fear, target saves or shaken, 20 range, 1d8+3 drain
• Cast DC 26, full-rd action - Afflict, target loses one sense, 20’ ranged touch, 1d8+5 drain

Kiss of Kryshni

• Cast DC 49, 4 full rounds – Afflict, target loses one sense, 30 foot radius area, 10 rounds, 60’ range, 1d8+9 drain
• Cast DC 49, 4 full rounds – Fear, targets save or frightened, 20 foot cone, 3 rounds duration, 1d8+9 drain

Breath of the Shadow

• Cast DC 49, 4 full rounds – Fear + Cold, 30 foot range, 10 foot radius burst, 5d6 cold dmg, 7 rounds duration, save DC 18 for half, save DC 18 or shaken, 2d8+12 drain

And that's just with three of the five talents - I haven't given much thought to defense, yet. For my GT character, I've been sticking to DC 49 and lower, because I can safely cast that if taking 10 in calm conditions, and adding a somatic and fetish component.

Henry,

Ha! Another BCCS convert ! Now you will be able to make all kinds o' effects...plus it will be nice to have another book at the table.

Nice effects...I don't have the book in front of me, but will check them when I do. They look fine at first glance. Just checking...but you know that the "Cold Damage" component of Breath of the Shadow is instantaeous, right? The only other quick comment I have is that one might think good Tony is league with the Shadow from his spell effect names ! Perhaps "Righteous Fear of Emor" might be more appropriate (or "The Emperor's Icy Wrath" ).

~ OO