Level Up (A5E) Steampunkette's Writing Requests

[Steampunkette]

Going back through the tier 1 Arcane Knight powers and rewriting my Binding Strike into something a little different... Does this feel too strong as a low-tier Maneuver to anyone?

Warding Flourish (2 points)
1st degree Arcane Knight action
With a mystical flourish of your weapon you briefly create a weak shield of force around a nearby ally. Any creature that attempts to enter the threatened area of your target must make a Strength Save or be unable to enter your target’s threatened area. On a successful save, the threatened area is instead treated as difficult terrain.

It is meant to be a maneuver you use to explicitly protect an ally, so it deals no damage. But I can't think of a single movement-denial ability available at low-levels which has this kind of defensive power. Sanctuary makes it hard to hit the target, sure, but this can make it difficult to just move -past- someone. Then again, it is 2 points so it'll take half your exertion just to do it once at level 1...

 

[tetrasodium]

Going back through the tier 1 Arcane Knight powers and rewriting my Binding Strike into something a little different... Does this feel too strong as a low-tier Maneuver to anyone?

It is meant to be a maneuver you use to explicitly protect an ally, so it deals no damage. But I can't think of a single movement-denial ability available at low-levels which has this kind of defensive power. Sanctuary makes it hard to hit the target, sure, but this can make it difficult to just move -past- someone. Then again, it is 2 points so it'll take half your exertion just to do it once at level 1...

What about warning strike? 1 point 1st degree mirror's glint speed=0

 

[Steampunkette]

What about warning strike? 1 point 1st degree mirror's glint speed=0

It's close, for sure. And provides no saving throw, and shuts the target down completely, and it uses a reaction...

I shall tentatively mark it good for now and continue working on the 2nd and 3rd degrees.

Basically: Both the Arcane Knight and the Eldritch Blackguard are going to be doing lots of battlefield control with their maneuvers. Movement denial, difficult terrain, forced movement, some personal movement as well with the Knight advancing while the Blackguard's movement options are largely retreating...

Trying to do two ways to do the same thing to make for crazy cool Marshalls and Fighters in particular.

 

[Steampunkette]

Just had a whacky idea I wanted to share for an Arcane Knight maneuver:

You start to swing your weapon at empty air, then teleport to your target to finish the strike. If you teleport more than 15ft, the attack is made with advantage.

All it needs is a Nightcrawler "Bamf" sound effect.

 

[Blue Orange]

Not sure how redundant this is, but two things I've seen people bring up again and again over my time on this board are some sort of 'gish' arcane/martial class (as hybrids of the other major roles seem to exist) and a folkloric-flavored witch class (roughly, a rural wizard who focuses on debuffs and charming and has potion-making, minor healing, and shapechanging abilities).

 

[Corinnguard]

So. I'm going to try a new writing process for Gate Pass Gazette articles and I could use your help! Yes. You!

Morrus casually mentioned wanting to see spells which inflict Strife. An hour and a half after reading it I had 8 spells for inflicting different levels of Strife mainly to single target but two of them are -powerful- AoE abilities. I'm currently working on the Arcane Knight maneuvers and planning out an Occultist style maneuver set to go alongside it so you can do either a bright and colorful Knight or a dark and conniving Blackguard.

My intention is to just straight up write as many articles as I can, fully proofed and edited, ready for release. Then submit the pitches for them to the GPG. Anything that doesn't get a mark for the GPG, I'll release myself. Either here on the forums, or on my own Patreon.

So where do you come in?

Ideas. Give me things you'd like to see in A5e. Things you'd like to play. Spells, Feats, Heritages, Backgrounds, Cultures, Destinies, Archetypes, the works. Even just general or fairly specific "Themes" you'd like me to flesh out into game mechanics and writing that can be provided.

And with those themes? Don't feel like you have to be bound to a specific aspect of A5e. My first article for the GPG involves both Backgrounds and a Destiny, so if you feel like something could be described as multiple aspects of a character, don't hesitate to point it out!

What about material involving a planar origin? So far the material in A5e covers stuff you might find on any world within the material plane. But what if there is something about your character that hails from another plane of existence?

Take heritage, for starters. While there is a Planetouched heritage in A5e, it usually involves something from the planes visiting the material plane and interacting with someone of a mortal heritage. However, the reverse could happen too. Someone from the material plane visiting one of the planes and then siring a Planetouched individual who was shaped by that plane in some fashion.

Then there is Culture. Imagine growing up on some other plane other than a material plane world.

Yes, I am talking about a Planescape theme for A5e's GPG.

 

[Steampunkette]

Not sure how redundant this is, but two things I've seen people bring up again and again over my time on this board are some sort of 'gish' arcane/martial class (as hybrids of the other major roles seem to exist) and a folkloric-flavored witch class (roughly, a rural wizard who focuses on debuffs and charming and has potion-making, minor healing, and shapechanging abilities).

Trust me when I say: I love Gish. It's why I did the Psychic Warrior combat maneuvers and why I'm doing both the Arcane Knight and Eldritch Blackguard maneuvers, currently.

But.

As I'm intending to submit all these materials to the Gate Pass Gazette for a shot at publication before doing so, myself, I am trying to aim for what the GPG Guidelines are. Which, unfortunately, includes "No Classes at this Time". Classes often dramatically exceed the 2,000 word count size of your typical article, occasionally coming in at 9,000 words with archetypes and spell lists included.

There may come a time in the next year or three when they open the floor for new classes. And you can bet your bottom dollar I will try to put a Gish into the mix.

What about material involving a planar origin? So far the material in A5e covers stuff you might find on any world within the material plane. But what if there is something about your character that hails from another plane of existence?

Take heritage, for starters. While there is a Planetouched heritage in A5e, it usually involves something from the planes visiting the material plane and interacting with someone of a mortal heritage. However, the reverse could happen too. Someone from the material plane visiting one of the planes and then siring a Planetouched individual who was shaped by that plane in some fashion.

Then there is Culture. Imagine growing up on some other plane other than a material plane world.

Yes, I am talking about a Planescape theme for A5e's GPG.

An Extraplanar Cultures article? I could see that... Though with a 2,000 word limit I managed to do two Backgrounds and one Destiny, so it would probably be a bit. Mmm... Constrained.

Maybe a series..?

This is quickly becoming a "Release your own book" thing... I'm kinda here for it.

Lemme get through to August, see where we are, and build up from there.

 

[Corinnguard]

Trust me when I say: I love Gish. It's why I did the Psychic Warrior combat maneuvers and why I'm doing both the Arcane Knight and Eldritch Blackguard maneuvers, currently.

But.

As I'm intending to submit all these materials to the Gate Pass Gazette for a shot at publication before doing so, myself, I am trying to aim for what the GPG Guidelines are. Which, unfortunately, includes "No Classes at this Time". Classes often dramatically exceed the 2,000 word count size of your typical article, occasionally coming in at 9,000 words with archetypes and spell lists included.

There may come a time in the next year or three when they open the floor for new classes. And you can bet your bottom dollar I will try to put a Gish into the mix.

An Extraplanar Cultures article? I could see that... Though with a 2,000 word limit I managed to do two Backgrounds and one Destiny, so it would probably be a bit. Mmm... Constrained.

Maybe a series..?

This is quickly becoming a "Release your own book" thing... I'm kinda here for it.

Lemme get through to August, see where we are, and build up from there.

I am fine with the Extraplanar stuff being doled out as a series for the GPG.

 

[Steampunkette]

Yeah... yeah... the Blackguard is going all in on positioning and Press the Attack. This is going to be one -aggressive- combat tradition that winds up retreating in a puff of smoke when they get in over their head...

 

[Steampunkette]

The Cruel Weight of Magic is now complete. 13 vicious spells meant to hamper your party's capabilities or empower your villainous spellcasters by using their own, or someone else's, hit dice. Coming in at 1,996 words it sure is a buzzer beater!

Eldritch Knight is down to 4th and 5th degree maneuvers (2022 words, already, so I'm gonna be taking a loss on this one already!) and I'm trying to figure out how to format the Concept Winnowing Phrases...