Kobold Avenger
Legend
So what things do you think each power source should do, that they do better than other power sources?
What Unique Schtick Do You Think Each Power Source Should Have?
- Thread starter Kobold Avenger
- Start date
I don't even know what are the mechanical implications of a power source.
My character is a Wizard, yours a Warlock, we both use the arcane power source, so what? Do we recharge our powers in the same fashion? Do we share a list of powers, feats, etc? Is it just a metagame term, like Defender, striker, etc?
My character is a Wizard, yours a Warlock, we both use the arcane power source, so what? Do we recharge our powers in the same fashion? Do we share a list of powers, feats, etc? Is it just a metagame term, like Defender, striker, etc?
outsider
First Post
I'm having a bit of a hard time finding a term to describe it, but "advanced fighting techniques" should be the domain of the martial power source. By this I mean the mundane, tactical abilities like spring attacks, disarm, feints, sneak attacks, bull rush, trip, etc. These should be martial class abilities rather than feats, and they should be more effective than they were in third edition.
ZombieRoboNinja
First Post
Martial power is drawn from within - from the incredible potential within the most heroic of mortal hearts. This power source dominates the realm of physical combat. Wizards may be able to summon up strange powers from other realms, but all the arcana in the world is no match for a sword through the skull.
Divine power comes directly from the deities of the Astral Sea. The divine hero is not a source of that energy, but merely a conduit for one far greater than he. Because divine magic entails an intimate connection with higher beings, along with a deep understanding of the nature of souls and borrowed access to the raw energy of life itself, divine magic excels at healing, negative energy manipulation (anti-healing), connection to the realms of the dead (resurrection, communion with spirits, etc) and all forms of divination.
Arcane power comes from intricate manipulation of the unseen forces that govern the world. A sorcerer may draw power from within, but unlike a martial hero, he is accessing something far different from the potential inherent to all mortals. Likewise, a warlock or bard may seem to receive his power from a more powerful extraplanar being, but unlike a cleric, this is a relationship not of faith, but of mutual understanding and contracts that are more ironclad than the laws of physics themselves. At heart, arcane heroes draw their power from an intricate understanding of natural and supernatural laws, even if they work to chaotic ends. Arcane characters excel at manipulating the physical world around them by accessing the raw power of the elements and of natural and supernatural forces barely glimpsed by the uninitiated, but they lack both the divine hero's understanding of higher, astral powers and the martial hero's incredible focus on the pragmatic world around them.
When a martial hero looks at a man, he sees tactical possibilities, weaknesses and strengths in stance, armor, and attitude, and a network of veins, pressure points, vital organs, and psychological vulnerabilities.
When a divine hero looks at a man, he sees a soul bound to a corporeal flesh, a network of faith and doubt, sin and redemption.
When an arcane hero looks at a man, he sees a balance of humours and elements, bound intrinsically to a dozen planes of existence and a thousand modes of analysis.
Divine power comes directly from the deities of the Astral Sea. The divine hero is not a source of that energy, but merely a conduit for one far greater than he. Because divine magic entails an intimate connection with higher beings, along with a deep understanding of the nature of souls and borrowed access to the raw energy of life itself, divine magic excels at healing, negative energy manipulation (anti-healing), connection to the realms of the dead (resurrection, communion with spirits, etc) and all forms of divination.
Arcane power comes from intricate manipulation of the unseen forces that govern the world. A sorcerer may draw power from within, but unlike a martial hero, he is accessing something far different from the potential inherent to all mortals. Likewise, a warlock or bard may seem to receive his power from a more powerful extraplanar being, but unlike a cleric, this is a relationship not of faith, but of mutual understanding and contracts that are more ironclad than the laws of physics themselves. At heart, arcane heroes draw their power from an intricate understanding of natural and supernatural laws, even if they work to chaotic ends. Arcane characters excel at manipulating the physical world around them by accessing the raw power of the elements and of natural and supernatural forces barely glimpsed by the uninitiated, but they lack both the divine hero's understanding of higher, astral powers and the martial hero's incredible focus on the pragmatic world around them.
When a martial hero looks at a man, he sees tactical possibilities, weaknesses and strengths in stance, armor, and attitude, and a network of veins, pressure points, vital organs, and psychological vulnerabilities.
When a divine hero looks at a man, he sees a soul bound to a corporeal flesh, a network of faith and doubt, sin and redemption.
When an arcane hero looks at a man, he sees a balance of humours and elements, bound intrinsically to a dozen planes of existence and a thousand modes of analysis.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
I like that. Well put.ZombieRoboNinja said:
Now quick, someone finds such good descriptions for alternative power sources, like
- Primal
- Psionic
- Dream
- Shadow
Haffrung Helleyes
First Post
I like that description too
Except for one thing:
The mention of priests seeing a network of faith and doubt.
What exactly are PCs and NPCs supposed to have faith and doubt about in D&D? The existence of the gods , their afterlives, or their abilities aren't really in question. I don't see much to doubt, or to have faith about.
I think that this particular juxtaposition is a holdover from our own culture, that has no place in D&D.
Ken
Except for one thing:
The mention of priests seeing a network of faith and doubt.
What exactly are PCs and NPCs supposed to have faith and doubt about in D&D? The existence of the gods , their afterlives, or their abilities aren't really in question. I don't see much to doubt, or to have faith about.
I think that this particular juxtaposition is a holdover from our own culture, that has no place in D&D.
Ken
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
Not necessarily the doubt about the existence of gods, but doubt like these:chitzk0i said:
- Do the ideals my god defines really are the ideals I want to follow? Did I choose the right god(s) to worship?
- Does my god really care for the same things I do?
- Can I achieve the ideals my gods defines for me?
- Did I fail my god? Was I already deemed unworthy?
vulcan_idic
Explorer
Mustrum_Ridcully said:
SOrry for going the humor route... but I'd really like to see a "Green Lantern" power source...
Quickleaf
Legend
Primal power is drawn from understanding of nature's cycles and patterns, animal lives, plant medicine, and the spirit of place. While martial heroes rely on their own wits, primal heroes rely on knowledge of and connection to place. While divine heroes rely on faith in a higher power, primal heroes are indivisible from the great creation - both humbled by it and intimately involved in maintaining and shaping it. While arcane heroes probe the unknowable and esoteric, primal heroes have their hands in the earth and their feet on the ground.
When a primal hero looks at a man he sees how the natural world responds to the man, the man's ability to survive, nature spirits bonded with the man, and instinctual urges.
When a primal hero looks at a man he sees how the natural world responds to the man, the man's ability to survive, nature spirits bonded with the man, and instinctual urges.
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