Shadow Chasers-ey campaign.

[psychognome]

I might be starting a campaign with a serious Shadow Chasers slant to it. Kinda like Buffy, but the characters are not teenaged kids. Lots of camp humour, weird creatures (mostly fiends and undead) and discreet magic. This is what I've got so far:

• Basic d20 Modern classes.
• All Advanced Classes from the d20 Modern basic setting, plus the ones from the Shadow Chasers campaign option, are available to the players.
• Magic can be used through the Occultist Advanced Class, in the form of scrolls. In addition to this, Incantations from Urban Arcana are present too, but somewhat lightened so that they don't require hours to cast.

Are there any suggestions to this that you would like to make? I don't think a Sanity system would fit the setting, since most of the characters are already considered raving lunatics because they can see through the Shadow. Is there an alternate magic system that you'd recommend?

 

[zenld]

I am working on a modification of the midnight spellcasting system to include in my own d20M "shadow chasers-ey" campaign. Not done yet. But I'll let you know.

zen

 

[psychognome]

I am working on a modification of the midnight spellcasting system to include in my own d20M "shadow chasers-ey" campaign. Not done yet. But I'll let you know.

zen

What is the Midnight spellcasting system like? How does it differ from the basic D&D system?

 

[morrolan]

What is the Midnight spellcasting system like? How does it differ from the basic D&D system?

It is spell point system keyed to your primary ability (Int/Wis/Cha). You only get a few points, but after that you can drain Con to fuel spells. Midnight is a rare magic world, and you learn spells by schools, not from a wizard or bard list. Anyone can take the magecraft feat and learn a few spells, but only Channelers (devoted spellcasters) will be any good. Concepts like wizard or druid become Prestige classes, rather than core classes.

Cheers,
Morrolan

 

[zenld]

Thanks for covering that for me, Morrolan.

zen

 

[Runesong42]

I'm doing it, too!

Are there any suggestions to this that you would like to make? I don't think a Sanity system would fit the setting, since most of the characters are already considered raving lunatics because they can see through the Shadow. Is there an alternate magic system that you'd recommend?

I'm running a 18+ (ie not PG-rated) Buffy-style campaign myself, and I find I dislike the magic system as well.

For the campaign, I suggest saving a lot of work and use a 'real' city as your setting. I would definitely stay away from mega-cities (like New York, say) as there are too many possibilities and your head will cave in for trying to think of all of them. Depending on how realistic you'd like the setting to be, a Sanity/Horror/Fright system would be very appopriate, espcially like the one found in D&D's Ravenloft. Remember - the PC's who can see the Shadows are sane (at first ) - it's everyone else who is deluded.

If you want magic to be more common, treat it exactly like Psionics, as spells and psionics are handled exactly in the same manner, plus a bonus: have them regenerate at a rate of something like:

Physical Exertion:
Hard exertion - none
walking and like activity - 1 pt/hr
sitting and talking or reading - 2 pt/hr
resting and meditating - 4 pt/hr
sleeping 8 hrs - total recovery

This could turn mages (and Acolytes!) into magic cannons, so try before you buy.

I certainly wouldn't object to e-mail correspondence if you'd like to share ideas for our respective campaigns. I only have two players, and despite what one would normally think, less players = more work.

Dru

 

[psychognome]

From what I've heard, the Ravenloft Fear/Fright/Sanity system is a lot lighter than the Call of Cthulhu system, which might just be what I'm looking for. One of the players to be in this campaign owns the Ravenloft 3e book, so I might be able to use the rules therein.

Also, for magic-using classes, I'll probably stick to the Occultist for the use of magic items, and the Incantation rules for all the rest of it. I'll probably tone down the Incantations, so that they can be used effectively by players, say, in the middle of combat. I am tempted to just use the Mage and Acolyte Advanced Classes, but that would make magic too commonplace to my tastes.

Since I'm already involved in quite a few D&D campaigns and at least one doomed attempt at a sci-fi RPG, it might take me some time before I can pull this one off, but if I have any updates, I'll be sure to tell you.

Edit: Also, on the subject of real town against fictional town, I'm gravitating towards creating my own town. Even though this does add to the workload, it also gives a nice sense of liberty. I can see why you would prefer to use a real town though.