ZEITGEIST ZEITGEIST 5E

[SanjMerchant]

Huh, I like that, actually.

I had been surprised that you didn't do something similar in the Pathfinder version using the Mythic rules. Then I looked up the release dates and realized that Last Starry Sky was probably in the "finalizing the layout" stage when those rules came out. (To the best of my research, Mythic came out in November 2014 and Starry Sky was January 2015.)

 

[gideonpepys]

I had been surprised that you didn't do something similar in the Pathfinder version using the Mythic rules. Then I looked up the release dates and realized that Last Starry Sky was probably in the "finalizing the layout" stage when those rules came out. (To the best of my research, Mythic came out in November 2014 and Starry Sky was January 2015.)

Similar to what I'm doing in Cypher: taking the PCs up to the 6th (& final) tier by the end of adventure #9 and then using the optional 'power shift' rules to create an epic feel to the final Act. Assuming we can keep the wheels on the cart that long!

 

[gideonpepys]

Lifetime gold? You mean silver?

I think we'll probably phase out the gold. It was used for Ryan to upload working manuscripts of Zeitgeist as it was being developed, but that's all over now. I'll put the 5E versions in the silver subscriber area though, as and when they appear (no ETA on them).

Is this still the plan? I'd love to take a gander at how Zeitgeist translates to 5E.

 

[Zipster]

The pathfinder numbers were getting too out of control, without people even necessarily trying to min-max (all rogues stack stealth, for instance) people where having +19's to things at level 7. It was just too much. I've been working on my own conversion, presently in the middle of Adventure 5. Some Players were a little upset with me making the change literally mid-adventure. Some character classes, Ninja, the Gun-Wizard, the Oracle, and Gunslinger had to be totally converted and created from scratch, keeping things from PF that the PCs had previously done, or were skilled in for narrative cohesian. Other things translated very well without complaints from my PCs.

Enemy conversion has been fairly simple, using the MM and Volo's for the basis of many of the Kell-thugs, though even for them, a copy/paste works very well and only requires minimal adjustments. My current challenge is converting Lorcan Kell - who is his own unique Fighter Class in PF who focuses heavily on critical hits (15-20 Crit Range in PF and 20AC without heavy armor). But, so far, the Switch to 5th has been very receptive.

 

[SanjMerchant]

By the way [MENTION=63]RangerWickett[/MENTION] , if one of us as a spitball idea for something, are there legal concerns about sharing it here? Because I know that can be a thing with, say, fanfiction. But on the other hand this idea is burning a hole in... what's the mind's equivalent of a pocket?

 

[Morrus]

By the way [MENTION=63]RangerWickett[/MENTION] , if one of us as a spitball idea for something, are there legal concerns about sharing it here? Because I know that can be a thing with, say, fanfiction. But on the other hand this idea is burning a hole in... what's the mind's equivalent of a pocket?

We embrace fan creations wholeheartedly. We not only allow them (as if we could stop them!), we positively encourage them. Go for it!

 

[RangerWickett]

what's the mind's equivalent of a pocket?

Think of a pocket.

Voila.

 

[SanjMerchant]

OK, so my basic idea was for a lot later in the game, but how to model the Big Change in Death, Dying, and Healing:

The simplest version is

• Rolling 9 or lower on a death save no longer adds failures
• When a character stabilizes by any means, they regain 1 hit point

Thus, beating on a fallen person will still kill them, as will leaving them in something very immediately lethal (e.g. a vat of acid), but if you just leave them lying where they fall they will, eventually, recover enough to get up and walk away (assuming nothing else comes along to finish them off, like a pack of wolves or something). (Very far outside chance that someone could stay down long enough to starve to death, but if you're that unlucky, I think the dice want you dead. )

If you wanted to add some more complexity to it, a few other ideas:

• Rolling 9 or lower on a death save negates one success, if any. (A natural 1 might negate two.) This would make it take (on average) a little bit longer for a KO'd person to get back up on their own.
• Critical hits add one death save, like normal damage Only a 11th Level (or higher) Fighter can outright kill someone in one action; characters with the regular version of Extra Attack (eg Rangers) can probably do it one round (Action for 2 hits, bonus action for a third), everyone else has to take two or even three rounds to outright kill someone.
• Add some arbitrary number of failures for someone to outright die The more you add, the more time and effort people have to spend hacking at someone to kill

 

[Evil Midnight Lurker]

Should the characters start with more than the 1st-to-5th-level standard equipment/cash?

Edit: I'm considering letting the constables do non-lethal damage with almost anything, not just melee attacks, due to a combination of training and rituals. Would this break the plot?

 

[Zipster]

I believe it's in the players guide to zeitgeist that, at least in Pathfinder, that due to training and laws that Constables are able to deal non-lethal damage without issue.

Police shouldn't be just running around and killing people, so I generally give them the opportunity to do non-lethal damage whenever they choose. Sometimes I make them specify. Sometimes I offer clues to whether people are nearly at 0hp and see if they specify accordingly.

And in some cases regarding enemies that the PCs have history and grudge with - such as Lorcan Kell- I'll require a willpower sav or check to do non-lethal damage

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