Yes, I do. And thank you.
I went and checked it out. First of all, the good stuff: great NPC concept. I love the idea - very original. I can't stress that enough, because it's good enough to make me want to use it despite the problems I discuss in the next three paragraphs.
That is my strong point -- the concepts. That is also why, for my more 'professional' stuff, I let NSRuf look over it and make sure I am not smoking anything...
Unfotunately, the location didn't look like it'd be much use without the NPC - a failing that seems to be entirely too common in this contest. They were tied too closely together. Maybe a better choice would have been to have the hermit living in an unusual area, and discussing that rather than detailing his cabin.
I liked the idea of the cabin; the fireplace was an afterthought. Still, I get your meaning and point well taken.
Also, I didn't care much for some of the rules you used - they seemed rather arbitrary. For example: Why does the fire blast not allow a reflex save if you are in the center, when a much larger fireball or even a flame strike does?
I just thought it added something to the effect -- you are, of course, free to ignore that. YMMV.
(And what is the effect of making the save?)
My bad. 1/2 damage.
What makes the NPC's belief so strong that it can counter magic and even cause damage to characters?
The last (shaded) paragraph explains that one. And no, I do not feel "formalizing" that would be a good idea. Magic should, very often times, be mysterious. Something that D&D magic lacks far too often.
I think that there are probably ways that these things could have been handled that would be within the scope of the existing rules, which is IMHO always preferable, if only for having the suport of the rules during unexpected interaction.
Agreed. If I had it to do over, that would be the case. The fireplace would more than likely be just a plain fireplace, no magic at all.
(For example, what's the effect of an anti-magic shell on the Reality Quake? I have no idea, since it's not even listed as a specific "type" of power - Extraordinary, Spell-like, or Supernatural.)
That was intentional. It will all depend entirely on the way the Dungeon Master sees the ability. If this is something akin to "true love conquers all" then it is something akin to Extraordinary (or even something that goes beyond the three classifications). I, personally, would use it as a "Primal" ability (a.k.a.: The Primal Order -- this means that it cannot be countered; period).
On the whole, though, it at least inspired me to start thinking about it, which is . Now if the "belief abilities" were an aspect of the location...hmm...
Your call, and I am glad it got you thinking. However, I think that linking these to the place weakens the idea of this "true love lost" possibility.
But thanks for the feedback. And glad you liked it.
