Runepriests of Kara-Tur is up!

[Klaus]

1. Was this an article you pitched, or one that was assigned?

It was WotC's idea (and it was a great idea, tying runepriests to Kara-Tur calligraphy), and I jumped at the chance. I used the original Oriental Adventures hardcover and the Kara-Tur boxed set as my main reference material.

2. Why no at-will attacks? When I look at the class, that's one spot that I think needs some more content.

I tried providing options that supported levels were the runepriest had less desirable options. Plus, I had a limit on how much mechanic material to include, and I'm glad I managed to include that many powers.

3. I'm a little confused with Protective Scroll ... it's an encounter power that can be kept until an extended rest. Does this mean you can stockpile them during the day (either by creating one every encounter but not expending it or taking multiple short rests at the beginning of the day)? I don't think that this is unbalanced if it's possible, but I'm curious as the the RAI.

IMO, it's not supposed to allow stockpiling. I'll see if I can correct it with WotC, unless they feel it's okay as it is.

4. Written and illustrated ... how are you so awesome?

A badly misspent childhood?

 

[Klaus]

Honestly? It is quite solid and the mechanics seem to be pretty clear. I didn't see anything rules-wise that would warrant a lot of discussion. You CAN sort of spam the scroll writing thing, but it doesn't really look like that gains you any huge benefit. With the right party setup it might be a decent trick, take a few short rests in a row and pen several of them, but generally speaking there are other equally good ways to shift hit points around etc. that already work equally well.

I think for an OA based game the RP will make a good solid oriental priest. Certainly some people are going to complain about the level of support. The thing is RPs have a lot of built in flexibility. They do have a limited set of powers, but with all the various runestate flipping stuff going on you can do a lot of different stuff with them.

Thanks!

The way I see it, runepriests are more common than any other divine class in Kara-Tur.

This article was inspired by two characters from other media: Broken Sword, played by Tony Leung in the Jet Li movie "Hero" (2004), and Miroku, the lecherous priest in the anime Inuyasha (2000-2004).

 

[Riastlin]

Personally, I really liked the article. I thought it a bit odd that the level 3 encounter power targeted all creatures, and not just enemies, but that really isn't a big deal. I don't mind forcing my rune priest to be a little more careful with his powers. The PP is also quite nice in my opinion. The flying ability has Crouching Tiger images in my head and another runic artistry is certainly nice.

I'll confess that I actually wouldn't have minded having the new artistry feature be tied to Int, but that's a minor issue. It still kind of irks me that RPs get Religion automatically but that Int will always be, at best, a tertiary choice for them.

As for the scroll healing utility, yeah it could potentially be abused by stockpiling as written, but at the same time it does at least require expenditure of healing surges. Not a big deal for Wrathful Hammers but perhaps more of a concern for the other RPs.

All in all a very good article and my RP is very pleased at some of the new options. The flavor in the article tied very well into the mechanics, so Bravo!

 

[I'm A Banana]

I like the fluff.

Still doesn't validate runepriests for me as a class, but the fluff is solid and interesting.

Though I'm beginning to wonder after the Vryloka and this what Claudio's obsession with the color red is.

 

[Klaus]

Personally, I really liked the article. I thought it a bit odd that the level 3 encounter power targeted all creatures, and not just enemies, but that really isn't a big deal. I don't mind forcing my rune priest to be a little more careful with his powers. The PP is also quite nice in my opinion. The flying ability has Crouching Tiger images in my head and another runic artistry is certainly nice.

I'll confess that I actually wouldn't have minded having the new artistry feature be tied to Int, but that's a minor issue. It still kind of irks me that RPs get Religion automatically but that Int will always be, at best, a tertiary choice for them.

As for the scroll healing utility, yeah it could potentially be abused by stockpiling as written, but at the same time it does at least require expenditure of healing surges. Not a big deal for Wrathful Hammers but perhaps more of a concern for the other RPs.

All in all a very good article and my RP is very pleased at some of the new options. The flavor in the article tied very well into the mechanics, so Bravo!

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was precisely the vibe I wanted to convey with the Cloud Step rune state.

I see what you mean about Int, but I wanted previous RP powers to be available, and those were all Con or Wis. Plus, "enlightenment" is more about Wisdom than Intelligence. And if you watch the scene in "Hero" where Broken Sword is painting the kanji while the calligraphy school is under attack, he's very lost into the action, very intuitive. So Wisdom makes sense.

 

[Klaus]

I like the fluff.

Still doesn't validate runepriests for me as a class, but the fluff is solid and interesting.

Though I'm beginning to wonder after the Vryloka and this what Claudio's obsession with the color red is.

Besides red being awesome?

Actually, the whole "red lightning" bit was straight out of the Kara-Tur boxed set. The text there mentions red being the color of enlightenment in Kara-Tur, and priests wearing red robes. And then, while re-watching "Hero" in preparation for this article, Broken Sword mentions that "a scroll this big can only use red ink", which was a cool coincidence. So that gave me an anchor for the article.

Two things that didn't make it to the final article were a mention that, when you create a "potion" through the Scribe Sutra feat, the potion is actually a tiny scroll, which doesn't change anything mechanically. Also, there was a list of item categories that could be described as scrolls, including lair items, whetstones, talent shards, etc. So you can have an evil mandarin whose palace is protected by a 10-foot-tall scroll with the properties of a lair item.

 

[D'karr]

So you can have an evil mandarin whose palace is protected by a 10-foot-tall scroll with the properties of a lair item.

You sir are awesome. Visions of Big Trouble in Little China just came to mind, and an idea for an adventure is starting to coalesce.

Jack Burton: Not so fast gentlemen.
Lo Pan: Argh, is it too much to ask Thunder? Kill him, for me!!

 

[Kobold Avenger]

This article describes the Runepriest as being most of the priesthood of the Path of Enlightenment.

But what would classes would you say that the priesthood of most of the Way happen to be?

I certainly have my own opinions on what they might be based on the real world religions they're similar to, but I'm curious what other people think they might be.

 

[Klaus]

This article describes the Runepriest as being most of the priesthood of the Path of Enlightenment.

But what would classes would you say that the priesthood of most of the Way happen to be?

I certainly have my own opinions on what they might be based on the real world religions they're similar to, but I'm curious what other people think they might be.

The Way is very similar to the Path of Enlightenment, even if the people from Kozakura and Wa place lesser emphasis upon calligraphy (and therefore, runepriests). I could see a big number of primal classes (specially shaman and seeker) being priests of the Way. Seekers, with their bows, are actually a very good fit for someone like Kykio, the archer-priestess from InuYasha. A shaman's spirit companion would be an ancestor type.

 

[Shroomy]

If only Kara-Tur didn't have two religions with almost the exact same name!