Unearthed Arcana Variant Rules - Previews and Questions

[thalmin]

When is it released?

WotC street date is Feb 13.

 

[MEG Hal]

WotC street date is Feb 13.

*bows*

Thanks Curt.

 

[dcollins]

I've got to say this -- the OGL is listed at the end of this PDF document, but I really think that they have used it incorrectly.

(a) There is no added copyright notice for this document itself, the "Unearthed Arcana Variant Checklist". That's required by Section 6.
(b) They reference Unearthed Arcana itself, which is not currently Open Game Content. That's also a requirement of Section 6.

WOTC has been getting sloppier and sloppier with the legal treatment of the OGL since Ryan Dancey left. I strongly suspect the whole project is going to collapse if WOTC keeps contradicting their own legal language.

 

[Dalamar]

I'd guess both cases can be attributed to the check list being the same thing that will be in the UA, just made available so you don't have to cut your book to photocopy it.

 

[MadBlue]

(b) They reference Unearthed Arcana itself, which is not currently Open Game Content. That's also a requirement of Section 6.

Jeez Louise. Unearthed Arcana isn't currently anything since it hasn't even been published yet. Andy Collins himself has already said that UA will be Open Game Content. Unless you know of some third party publisher with access to a time machine that's going to use material from UA before it's been printed, I don't see what the problem is.

I think it's like Dalamar said - this is stuff taken from the book - because posters on the WotC message boards requested it no less.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

Chapter 1: Races

Aquatic Races
Arctic Races
Desert Races
Jungle Races
Races of Air
Races of Earth
Races of Fire
Races of Water
Reducing Level Adjustments
Bloodlines
Racial Paragon Classes

All nifty ideas, though I'm mainly curious about the 2nd & 3rd to last items: Reducing Level Adjustments & Bloodlines.

Chapter 2: Classes

Totem Barbarian
Bardic Sage
Divine Bard
Savage Bard
Cloistered Cleric
Druidic Avenger
Thug
Monk Fighting Styles
Paladin Variants
Planar Ranger
Urban Ranger
Wilderness Rogue
Battle Sorcerer
Domain Wizard
Specialist Wizard Variants
Spontaneous Divine Casters
Favored Environment
Whirling Frenzy
Level Check Turning
Planar Banishment
Aspect of Nature
Prestige Bard
Prestige Paladin
Prestige Ranger
Gestalt Characters
Generic Classes

The 3 I was most lookng forward to were the PrC versions of the Paladin, Ranger, & Bard (I was at least intending on using the PrC Paladin). The other ideas seem interesting, but I wonder if it'll be just cut & paste notes (sort of like the non-spellcasting variants of paladins & rangers in Complete Warrior, or the slightly-modified PHB core classes in Oriental Adventures), or in some cases, they'll be full core-class treatments. I'm curious about the generic classes, & I'm not quite sure what to make of the gestalt characters.

Chapter 3: Building Characters

Alternative Skill System
Complex Skill Checks
Character Traits
Character Flaws
Spelltouched Feats
Weapon Group Feats
Craft Points
Character Background

Not too sure what to make of some of these ideas. The skill system seems easy enough as is--I wonder if the alternate system proposed is? Some sort of skill tree/chain? An expanded/specified skill list (instead of catch-all skill categories such as Perform & Craft)?

Now, I did like using the Traits/Flaws system back in Skills & Powers 2nd ed., but since then, I'm not so sure now. I mean, it looks interesting, & I may wind up using it, but I'm not too sure how exactly these will work. I mean, some feats seem to work in this way (a bonus to a certain skill or skills, or a bonus somewhere else). And, how exactly does it work out? Do the traits & flaws need to be balanced out? Do they give/use up feat slots, skill points, XP %, what? I kinda wonder if the traits/flaws could have been combined somehow (sorta like the Traits from Fallout), where a trait provides both a bonus & a penalty, automatically balancing itself out. Just have to see when the book hits the streets.

Chapter 4: Adventuring

Defense Bonus
Armor as Damage
Reduction
Armor Damage Conversion
Injury System
Vitality and Wound Points
Reserve Points
Massive Damage
Death and Dying
Action Points
Combat Facing
Hex Grid
Variable Modifiers
Bell Curve Rolls
Players Roll All the Dice

The Defense Bonus (& possibly the VP/WP) will crop up in the Lankhmar conversion I'm working on. May consider Action Points (haven't had an opportunity to actually play a game that uses them). However, I'm not sure at all about the players rolling all the dice--I've already got 1 player who has suspiciously good/beneficial/high rolls every gaming session.

Chapter 5: Magic

Magic Rating
Summon Monster Variants
Metamagic Components
Spontaneous Metamagic
Spell Points
Recharge Magic
Legendary Weapons
Item Familiars
Incantations

I'm really curious about this section. Some of it does sound familiar (from d20 Modern sourcebooks & Dragon articles).

As for spell points, I'm really leaning against using them IMC. It's another number-pool to manage/account for during the game.

Chapter 6: Campaigns

Contacts
Reputation
Honor
Taint
Tainted Prestige Classes
Sanity
Test-Based Prerequisites
Level-Independent XP Awards

Contacts & Reputation sound the most interesting so far. Honor/Taint, I'm not too sure of, really (I'm trying to consider what gets affected by removing Honor/Taint from Oriental Adventures).

Dungeon Master's Guide Variants

Roll Initiative Each Round
Sapient Mounts
Striking the Cover
Automatic Hits and Misses
Defense Roll
Clobbered
Massive Damage Based on Size
Damage to Specific Areas
Weapon Equivalencies
Instant Kill
Softer Critical Hits
Critical Misses (Fumbles)
Skills with Different Abilities
Critical Success or Failure
Saves with Different Abilities
Spell Roll
Power Components
Summoning Individual Monsters
Free-Form Experience
Faster or Slower Experience
What Disabling a Device Means
Upkeep
New Magic Items
Separate Ability Loss
Nonmagical Psionics
Less Lethal Falls

The Critical Fumbles sound interesting; I won't use the nonmagical psionics option (I might it there was an arcane vs. divine magic option); I'll pretty much have a wait & see attitude on the rest.

Y'know, I'm quite curious to see what will happen to a lot of games & campaigns after this book comes out. Heck, I'd be curious to see what kinds of games take shape at the hands of different DMs for the same gaming group.

 

[Hecatæus]

I hope the binding doesn't suck...I had to buy 2 Unearthed Arcanas ('member them?) within a short time period, the first started to slowly fall apart just after getting it home. I took better care with the second, but many other older books held together better than second purchase.

 

[Felon]

But if it is an NPC class, and thus a new one, it should be between the Sorcerer and Wizard variant classes. But as it is, it's there where the Monk variant class should be.

...or where the Fighter variant would be.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I've got to say this -- the OGL is listed at the end of this PDF document, but I really think that they have used it incorrectly.

(a) There is no added copyright notice for this document itself, the "Unearthed Arcana Variant Checklist". That's required by Section 6.
(b) They reference Unearthed Arcana itself, which is not currently Open Game Content. That's also a requirement of Section 6.

WOTC has been getting sloppier and sloppier with the legal treatment of the OGL since Ryan Dancey left. I strongly suspect the whole project is going to collapse if WOTC keeps contradicting their own legal language.

Feh. It's very common, and quite defensible -- the material from the preview is from UA, so it doesn't need a seperate copyright. (You don't think they registered the preview seperate from the book with the US gov't, so you?)

I've seen dozens of previews from many publishers use this same method -- they list the sec. 15 from their book in the preview, since any material they have in the preview is already copyrighted under the product itself.

 

[TheRaven]

The Aspects of Nature sound very interesting so far. A few german people who have received their books today told me about. They are replacements for the druidic wildshape ability. Aspect of Plant, Aspect of Elemental Earth, Aspect of Elemental Fire, ...

The abilities are combat related. On Level 5 you can choose one aspect, then at level 8 a second one and so forth. Aspect of Elemental Earth grants a slam attack with 1d8 damage and a +8 to ac. You need to be level 16 for that.

Aspect of Plant grants a +10 on hide in natural enviroment, immunity to sleep effects, paralysis and stunning. A slam attack is in as well as a AC bonus of 4. Can be taken at 12th level.