[OOC Thread] Delving the Mists (seeking recruits!)

[Salzorin]

I'm going to need your modified rules for Dhampir, cause I have a character concept I'm fleshing out that I think I'll use that would be a Dhampir....

 

[Cerebus13]

Someone wanted equipment and such from some of the books so I went through and got a
combination of brief descriptions or scans of stuff from various books.

Here are a bunch of magic items you might want to use from the DMG:

Magical weapons -

Courageous Blade: +1 Rapier, grants +2 EQ bonus on Will saves including 
Fear and Horror checks.  If a Madness check is ever made with it the 
wielder drops the blade before making the save.  CL 4, 3300 gp.

Deception Blade: +1 Short Sword, get +5 competence bonus on Bluff checks 
including Feints.  Non-rogues using get a -4 to attacks.  CL 3, 5000 gp.

Greater Magic Longsword: Sacrafice a permanent Wisdom to bind the sword 
to yourself.  1/day speak the blade's name and gain an enhancement bonus 
equal to 1/3rd of character level (max +5) for your next attack.  CL 4, 
5700 gp.

Living Saw: Greataxe, when command word is spoken the sawteeth on the 
axe begin vibrating rapidly and it deals an additional 2d8 damage per 
hit.  If anyone is struck for more than 20 points of damage the results 
are brutal enough for a Horror Save (DC 15)

Sylvan Short Sword: +1 short sword, deals 1d6 extra damage to all 
non-elf humanoids.  Non-elves who willingly grasp the hilt take damage 
every round.  CL 7, 8300 gp.

Magical ammunition -
[energy ammo]: Flaming, Frost, Shock.  Deal 1d6 extra damage.  
200gp/10 bullets.

[burst ammo]:  Flaming, Frost, Shock.  Deal 1d10 extra damage.  
Thundering, deals 1d8 sonic extra.  350gp/10 bullets.  If a weapon 
has a crit multiplier of x3, roll bonus damage from burst ammo twice.  
If a x4 weapon, roll the bonus damage three times.

Potions/lotions -

Fog Juice: As spell Fog Cloud, caster level 6.  CL 2, 300 gp.

Oil of Enslavement: When rubbed on intelligent humanoid acts as Charm 
Person, caster level 6.  CL 2, 50 gp.

Potion of Gentle Repose: As spell gentle repose (preserves a body).  
CL 2, 300 gp.

Potion of Lies: Grants +30 Bluff checks when used for lying, magic for 
sensing lies (such as detect lies) will not work for the duration.  
Lasts 1 hour.  CL 2, 400 gp.

Sphere of Night: As spell deeper darkness, 60' radius, caster level 6.  
CL 2, 750 gp.

Tentacle Aquarium: As spell Evard's black tentacles, 15' diameter, 
caster level 10.  Attacks targets user designates, if no target is 
designated it attacks nearest being even the user.  CL 3, 1400 gp.

War Paint of Natural Armor: Grants natural armor bonus for 10 minutes, 
bonus depends on cost.  CL 2.  +3 300 gp, +4 900 gp, +5 1800 gp.

Wine of Questing: User pours and imbiber drinks it, user is immune to 
own wine's effects.  User can make one command as per spell Lesser Geas 
Will save DC 21.  CL 4, 3300 gp.

Wine of Suggestion: User pours and imbiber drinks it, user is immune to 
own wine's effects.  User can make one suggestion as per spell, Will 
save DC 12.  CL 4, 400 gp.

Rings -

Ring of Swarm: Once per day summon 1d4+1 dire rats for 3 rounds.  CL 4, 
2000 gp.

Ring of Enduring Swarm: As Ring of Swarm but rats stay as long as wearer 
uses ring every 3 rounds (as a move action) to convince them to stay.  
Rats must be dismissed or die before more can be summoned.  CL 4, 3750 
gp.

Rods -

Rod of Mists: Cast obscuring mist and expeditious retreat at will, total
of 3/day.  CL 4, 5000 gp.

Scrolls -

Earful Scroll: Allows communication between recepient and user for 5 
minutes when used (more rules, can be provided if asked).  CL 4, 585 gp.

Teleporting Message Scroll: As Earful Scroll but lasts 10 minutes, also 
can be sent anywhere in domain as per greater teleport spell.  CL 4, 
4800 gp.

Scroll of Literacy: If reader is illiterate they gain the effects of 
comprehend languages for 10 minutes.  CL 4, 50 gp.

Wands -

Flash of Courage: Functions as a wand.  50 sips of liquid, each sip 
intoxicates user for one minute and they suffer -2 to Wisdom but gain 
+2 morale bonus against Fear/Horror Saves.  CL 5, 750 gp.

Knock Key: 50 charges of knock spell as 6th level caster.  CL 4, 4500 gp.

Magician's Wand: 50 charges of prestidigitation, as 6th level caster. 
 CL 4, 375 gp.

Severed Spectral Hand: 50 charges of spectral hand, as 6th level caster.  
CL 2, 4500 gp.

Wonderous Items -

Bomb Sack:  Absorbs the first 5 points of damage from any attack that 
would damage a bomb inside it, but can only hold one bomb.  CL 5, 2000 
gp, Weight 1/2 lb.

Cloak of Stealth:  Gain +5 to hide or move silent checks, user chooses 
which one whenever they don the cloak.  CL 2, 2750 gp, Weight 1 lb.

Crest of Alarm:  Can be attached to any surface, acts as if user cast 
the Alarm spell with caster level 6.  [once duration ends user must pick 
it up and attach it again as it does nothing at that point]  CL 2, 4000 
gp.

Detective's Magnifying Glass: +10 competence bonus to Search/Spot when 
looking through it.  CL 9, 8000 gp.

Goblet of Gossip:  User can cast message at will as 4th level caster.  
CL 3, 2000 gp.

Hypnotism Disk:  One side grants +10 bonus to Hypnotism skill, other 
side can cast hypnotic pattern (as 6th level caster) 1/day.  CL 9, 6200 
gp.

Magician's Top Hat:  Grants +10 competence bonus on Sleight of Hand 
checks.  CL 9, 2000 gp.

Magician's Hat of Summoning:  Can summon a tiny creature of less than 
1 HD 3/day.  Will do user's bidding for 3 rounds.  CL 9, 3600 gp.

Mask of the Dead:  As spell invisible to undead, lasts 10 minutes and 
can be used 3/day.  Cannot wear any other headgear with it.  CL 3, 2000 
gp.

Severed Mage Hand:  When held and command word spoken acts as spell 
Mage Hand, caster level 6.  CL 1, 1000 gp.

Spray of Nausea:  1/day can target one thing within 30', victim is 
covered in 3 rounds by a Fog Cloud spell.  Also must make a Fortitude 
save (DC 20) or nauseated for 3 rounds.  CL 9, 5400 gp.

Spurs of Phantom Steed:  Can whistle up a Phantom Steed for up to 3 
hours each day, time used does not have to be continuous.  Cannot wear 
magic boots along with spurs.  CL 2, 5400 gp.

Stirrup of Horsemanship:  Can be attached to any saddle to give +10 
comp. bonus to Ride checks.  CL 4, 2000 gp.

[Not including Hell Scythe in list because it is way unbalanced for 
it's price, so I would cost it at far over the 8300 gp they list]

I have also set up a tripod account where I'm hosting a bunch of scanned and cropped pictures of
some normal equipment tables and such. It is hosted at:
h**p://<myusername>.tripod.com/
[replace the ** with tt, and <myusername> with cerebus13. I'm paranoid about internet spiders]

Images pertaining to equipment:
arsenal-magic.jpg
arsenal1-eq.jpg
arsenal2-eq.jpg
arsenal3-eq.jpg
arsenal4-eq.jpg
phb1-eq.jpg
phb2-eq.jpg
darkon.jpg (map here too)

Or if you have an unzipping utility just download "images-eq.zip" and they're all packaged into that.

I'm going to need your modified rules for Dhampir, cause I have a character concept I'm
fleshing out that I think I'll use that would be a Dhampir....

I'll make a post pertaining to this next...and then my next post will be concerning feats and
new skills in Ravenloft. Whee!

 

[Gramcrackered]

Someone wanted equipment and such from some of the books so I went through and got a
combination of brief descriptions or scans of stuff from various books.

Uh...Unless there's a post I missed, I suspect you may be referring to me. All I wanted was to know what equipment your city guards would be wearing. Thanks though.

 

[Cerebus13]

Uh...Unless there's a post I missed, I suspect you may be referring to me. All I wanted was to know what equipment your city guards would be wearing. Thanks though.

Fangor mentioned it earlier that he wanted to know some ideas of feats/equipment that would benefit his character. I didn't want to be too choosy so just I went through and grabbed a bunch of info and slapped it together for him to peruse. He also has NONE of the Ravenloft books...so I have to do the expansion justice and give him a good taste of the info .

As for guard equipment...something pretty standard would be metal armor of a sort, a polearm/longspear, and a sheathed sword and shield. Some of the melee guards may carry crossbows, and some forgo the polearm in favor of a normal bow.

 

[Gramcrackered]

Ah, well, that explains that then. Gracias.

And as for the guard's equipment - that was pretty much what I thought. Thanks.

 

[Cerebus13]

I've added a bunch of images of various feats and such to my little Tripod site. The file is called "feats.zip"....there are just too many little pictures for me to bother uploading them one at a time so just get an unzipping utility and look at them. The only new skill added to the campaign is Hypnosis...which doesn't seem like it would benefit you much so I didn't include it at all.

Fangor, I recommend looking at the Anatomist Prestige class here:
h**p://www.dungeon.gr/database/archive/bosacpdf.zip

This link is to a netbook .pdf file that a fan group was releasing on a monthly basis or so on different stuff for Ravenloft. The table of contents tells you where the class is explained.

There is also the Detective Prestige class which only requires a Base Attack bonus +3, 5 ranks of Sense Motive, the Track feat, and a Lawful alignment to begin the class. I can grab some rough scans of it if you are interested.

Lastly...I also grabbed a bit of info about the two new clerical spell domains, and a table with information about deities in Ravenloft. The only gods that will make much sense will be ones from the Northern/Southern Core or from Darkon itself. So the Eternal Order, Ezra, Hala, or the Lawgiver are suitable. If you want something way off the wall from another place we'll have to talk about it more in depth. This are saved as "cleric1.jpg" and "cleric2.jpg" on my Tripod account.

Up next....Dhampir rules!

 

[Cerebus13]

Dhampir - Half-Vampire

8 level monster class

Race: Can be combined with any of the standard PHB races for Ravenloft and they gain the normal benefits for whatever race they choose.
Outcast Rating: +1 due to vampire blood
Hit Dice: d8 while leveling as a monster, one die higher (up to max d12) when leveling as a character.
AC: +4 bonus to natural
Base Attack Bonus: As a fighter
Ability Bonuses: +3 Str/Dex/Con/Chr, +2 Int/Wis. The +3 stats increase to +4 upon reaching level 8.
Saves: Good saves are Reflex and Will
Feats: Get to choose 3 bonus feats from the following, and gain the last two one at a time on 7th and 8th level: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning reflexes. (must meet requirements to take)
Dhampirs also get normal feat progression, ie. feat at 1st/3rd/6th....
Skills: +4 bonus on Bluff, Hide, Listen, Move Silent, Search, Sense Motive, Spot checks. Raises to +5 at 7th, and +6 at 8th. All of these skill are the only class skills for a Dhampir.
Skill Points: 2 + int bonus per level
Proficiencies: Dhampir are proficient with only simple weapons to start, and no armor or shields.

Special Attacks:
- gain a 1d6 damage slam attack that counts as a magic weapon for terms of damage reduction
Domination: A dhampir can meet someone's gaze and can affect them as per a dominate person spell (caster level 8). This is a gaze attack, and requires a standard action to use. Victims must be within 30', and them merely looking at the Dhampir are not affected. [caster level increases to 10 at 7th, and to 12 at 8th]
Blood Drain: If a Dhampir can first make a successful grapple check they can then attempt to pin a foe and drink their blood. If the pin is successful they drain 1d4 Con. (temporary) every round that the grapple is maintained.
Children of the night: 1/day a Dhampir can summon forth 2d8 Dire Rats, 8d10 Bats, or 1d6 wolves as a standard action. They take 2d6 rounds to arrive and will serve for up to one hour. [at 7th and 8th level increase each amount by one extra die]

Special Qualities -
Damage Reduction: 4/magic [increases to 5 at 7th, and 6 at 8th]
Resistance: cold 10, electricity 10
Spider Climb: Can climb sheer surfaces as the Spider Climb spell at will, caster level 12.
Fast Healing: Heal 1 hitpoint every 3 rounds as long as they are not reduced to -10 hit points. [increases to every 2 rounds at 7th, and every round at 8th]

Weaknesses -
Blood Requirement: Must feed on at least 5 Con. worth of humanoid blood a week or they act as if they are in natural sunlight at all times until feeding again. Very every week beyond the first that they do not feed reduce all abilities by 1/3rd until they act as a normal racial character after a month without feeding.
Vulnerability to Sunlight: In the presence of natural sunlight a Dhampir cannot use any of the abilities listed under Special Attacks and Special Qualities. Natural Sunlight cannot be avoided by layering on clothing, but going indoors is sufficient to avoid it if they keep out of any direct rays shining in.

So......as everyone starts as a 6th level character anyone making a Dhampir would have to gain 3 levels before they could begin taking levels as a normal character. I've changed the rules slightly as they were listed in Denizens of the Dark to make them a little more balanced (lower Damage reduction mainly, and better clairified their weaknesses).
I'm only allowing one of these in the party...so I'm going to assume Salzorin wants to take one for now until he tells me otherwise.

Phew...going to take a shower now, all this information gathering makes me sweaty .

 

[Telsar]

Hey Gramcrackered,

Glad your character is so much better at combat than mine. I was afraid some goblins could come and kill me before the horrors ever showed up.

One thing I noticed about your character is it looks like you added your fear and horror modifiers to your Reflex save instead of Will save. Just thought I'd point it out.

 

[Gramcrackered]

Dang it. Now I have to go and kill you to cover the evidence of this tiny little mistake of mine.
Bother.

Edit: Suddenly, I'm more than a little worried about the odds I fail a Fear/Horror/Madness save.

 

[Cerebus13]

Don't worry too much about Madness saves, as from what the book says I should not overuse them as they can quickly make any campaign not fun. If you back yourself into a horrible situation then it is your own fault of course .

I'll look over your characters some more tomorrow and check for errors and such. Gram...would it be possible for you to put some carriage returns on the feats and race abilities you have listed? Would make it a lot easier to read .

Get your backgrounds and such written eventually too and I'll build the story a bit more around them.

Just a peak at what I've got planned from the start....
Your group is going to have been working together informally the last few months as law enforcers for the city. The story will begin with you finally being recognized for your efforts and being given an office to work out of. I'll be spending a few days introducing you to people and showing you around the new part of the city you have been moved to.