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TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-22, 08:43 AM
I have before failed in my attempt to transfer the world of the incredibly amazing Monster Blood Tattoo books into D20, but I think that I know of a new approach to it that may make it possible. E6 is perfect, partially because the characters don't end up too tough (MBT is quite gritty and realistic), and because the feat system makes for very flexible character creation, a vital part of the MBT universe.

Before going on reading this, I would recommend that you read the first four posts on this thread (or at least the second one): http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149193&highlight=monster+blood+tattoo

Now that that's over with, I'll continue. I don't think it will work having specific classes for different kinds of adventurer, however, an 'adventurer' class with plenty of skill point and some bonus adventuring feats would be perfect. At first I thought a Sagaar should be a separate class, but I think agility, speed and increased combat ability can be conveyed through feats and the Perform (Dance) skill.

On the subject of money and challenge ratings for monsters, I think it may be best just to say that one sequin is worth one gp. If your average monster-hunter makes 300 sous a year (let's say two theroscades [monster-hunts] a month) then each theroscade is worth 200 sequins (gp), or treasure from a CR 3 monster. That is not too high for a level one party of four characters to handle, and, as such, it seems that this should be our average aim for making monsters.

Just some points I would like to make before we begin: the hardest thing to balance will be monsters, so we will need people with good creature-making experience; almost all monsters will have DR; and becoming a lahzar could be an LA +1 template rather than a feat, so feel free to make that.

Expect me to come along with some feats soon, for now I have to restart my computer.

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-23, 04:25 AM
A few Leer feats:

Readying of the Eyes [Leer]
Having soaked your eyes in adparatic syrup you have clearer eyesight and are ready to take the more advanced washes.
Prerequisites: Must have bought enough Saum of Adparat to bathe one's eyes for month, one hour a day. This costs 5 sous.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to spot checks.

Laggard Treatment [Leer]
With the application of Bile of Vates to your spheres you can now see into places few others can.
Prerequisites: Readying of the Eyes, Must have bought enough Bile of Vates to bathe one's eyes for one month, one hour a day. This costs 5 sous.
Benefit: You gain low light vision. You also take half penalties to spot checks when trying to see something far away.

Falseman Treatment [Leer]
Swill of Cognit has made your whites red and your pupils electric blue, and has allowed you to sense the true emotions of those you look at.
Prerequisites: Readying of the Eyes, 4 ranks in Sense Motive, Must have bought enough Swill of Cognit to bathe one's eyes for one month, one hour a day. This costs 10 sous.
Benefit: You gain a +10 bonus to the Sense Motive skill when used to tell whether someone is lying or not.

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-23, 04:41 AM
Whilst we're on the subject of leers:

Sthenicon
A biolouge, this modest looking wooden box contains artificial organs that greatly enhance sight and smell when attached to the face. The wearer gains low light vision, +4 circumstance bonus to spot checks, takes half penalty to spotting things far off (no penalty for laggards) and gains the scent ability. This also allows the use of 'soups' (to be detailed soon), concoctions that alter the function of the organ inside the sthenicon.

If worn for too long the organ within the sthenicon can grow into the wearers nose and face. If worn for over five hours it deals 1d6 damage when removed. If worn for over a day it deals 2d4 damage. If worn for over a week it does 1d12 damage and inflicts a permanent -2 penalty on diplomacy checks. If worn for over a month it cannot be removed except for hacking most of it off, even after which bits of it are still stuck in the face, inflicting a -6 penalty on diplomacy checks.

Cost: 50 sous

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-25, 09:03 AM
Adventurer Class:

HD: d8

Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (dungeoneering, geography, monsters, history, local, nature, scripts), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex)

Skill Points: 6 + Int bonus

NAME OF CLASS
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Saves and Attack Bonus, Bonus Feat

2nd|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Bonus Feat

3rd|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|

4th|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Bonus Feat

5th|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|

6th|
+x|
+x|
+x|
+x|Bonus Feat[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: All simple weapons, light armour and shields. An adventurer with a medium attack bonus progression gets additional proficiency with five martial weapons and medium armour. An adventurer with a maximum attack bonus progression gets additional proficiency with all marital weapons, medium armour and heavy armour.

Attack Bonus and Saves: An adventurer gets three points. With they automatically get all poor saves and poor base attack progression. One point can make one save good, or increase base attack progression one step (poor to medium to good). This cannot be changed.

Bonus Feats: Any fighter, leer, lazhar, sagaar or skold feat.

Lonidaus
2010-08-25, 10:35 AM
Whilst I agree that having individual classes might not work as well as an adventurer type, I feel like there should be skills for almost everything that require prerequisites. (A skill tree if you will.) If not for this, troubardiers and pistoleers would have similar fighting styles, which is not at all accurate.

Maybe you could have it that they slowly begin to be more proficient at their trade, as it were. Troubardiers could slowly get better at hand strokes, while a Pistoleer or Haubardier might become more proficient at shooting or making skold-shot.

(They could also slowly build up to using better muskets/pistols. I.E: A Haubardier might use a carbine and later a long-rifle, for the pistoleer, maybe start them with a salinumbus and work them up to hauncets. Dual wielding, etc.)

I mean, don't get me wrong, it seems all good and correct, it just seems like the more.. special classes get a lot of attention while the pediteers just sortof got lumped.

Edit: Also, if you like, we could work together on coming up with a graph to make it easier to follow. (I.E: Choose two of these skills, choose one of these skills, etc)

Edit Edit: I'm also not familiar with the E6, only having ever played D20, so you might have to be a little patient with me.

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-26, 09:57 AM
E6 is D20 up to level six, and then additional feats after that meaning the character comes close to, but never quite reaches, the power of a tenth level character.

I understand your complaint, but not your solution. If you could detail it a little more I would be very grateful.

In the meantime:

Knowledge

Monsters (origin of monsters, threwd, false gods, urchins, gudgeons, game details of encountered monsters)

Potives. The knowledge (scripts) skill affects which potives a character can make using the craft (scripts) skill. They know by heart a number of scripts equal to twice their knowledge (scripts) modifier. They can still follow recipes without a skill check (except for their craft (scripts) skill check).


Craft (scripts) works the same as any other craft skill, but ingredients may be bought that are in a better state of completion, being more expensive but speeding up the process. You pay two thirds of the items price, but make checks every hour in cp rather than every day or week.

Edit: We can include pistoleer and troubadier feats too, if that's what you're getting at. Really, I think that their fighting styles would be differentiated enough by the different weapons they wield and the way they go about fighting. What we need to remember is that the rules of the monster blood tattoo universe and the rules of D&D may not always agree, and that sometimes we'll have to go with D&D for the sake of a playable game.

Lonidaus
2010-08-26, 10:59 AM
I agree with you on the incompatibility of MBT and D&D. Especially since a lot of the battles were so fast (especially from the side of some of the bogles that would just rip a man apart and keep going.). Fortunately for us, the Fusils are rather slow to reload, so that'll be easily transferable into turn-based combat. Atleast, I think so.

I guess what I was thinking, is that basically, everyone would start out as an adventurer. From there, they would choose feats, based on what they want to eventually become. For instance, since I'm such a pistoleer fan, I'll use that. (These are just examples, mind you. I understand that this is your brainchild, and I'm just here to feed off it. :P)

So. Let's say I start out as an adventurer, with the mind to become a pistoleer. Upon my first feat, I might take 'Pistol Adept' which would give me a small ToHit modifier with pistols. From there, it might unlock feats like 'Basic Skold-shot' or 'Basic Hauncet Use'. Now, being that these are just basic uses, they'd have a limited use (such as lower check modifiers, and such.) but they would encourage me to use and further advance in the ways of pistols instead of just say.. picking up my friend's Halberd and using that. Hopefully I better explained it.

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-27, 09:52 AM
That all seems to be within the reach of classic D&D and the existing system, but yes, I understand what you're getting at. However, I do think that potives and things like skold shots should all be within the range of the knowledge and craft skills, maybe with feats such as 'extra scripts' and 'enhanced skold shot'.

Extra Scripts
Through studying the art of skolds, dispensurists and the like, you have learnt more scripts off by heart than you would have otherwise.
Prerequisites: Skill Focus (Craft (scripts)) OR Skill Focus (Knowledge (scripts)
Benefit: You know how to make 12 additional scripts.


I still think a pistoleer could be easily made using feats like weapon focus and point blank shot.

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-27, 10:01 AM
WIP:

Fulgar Organs [Lazhar (Fulgar)]
The surgeons of sinister have done their infamous work and have turned you into a fully-functioning astrapecrith.
Prerequisites: Con 13, must have gone to Sinster and paid at least 1,200 sous for clysmosurgia. Each additional thousand spent allows the astrapecrith to take a bonus lazhar (fulgar) feat as long as they meet the prerequisites.
Benefits: The fulgar gains a touch attack that deals 1d8 points of electricity damage. Each time she uses this she must take one point of non-lethal damage. This is called arcing. She also learns a trick called resisting, where, as a swift action, she can take one point of non-lethal damage to increase the amount of d8s in her next arcing attack by one. The amount of d8s cannot exceed the fulgar's HD + her constitution modifier.
Drawbacks: Must drink her potives at the right times each day or take one point of permanent non-lethal damage, not healable by any means except for a 10 sous operation by a sinster surgeon, increasing by 5 sous for every additional potive missed. A fulgar potive taken heals one point of non-permanent non-lethal damage. Two must be taken a day, and, each brew, if bought at a normal store, costs 10 guise.

Lonidaus
2010-08-27, 10:12 AM
Alright, yeah, I'll go along with that. Maybe I need to see the finished product before I stick my two cents in, huh? :P

Just let me know what I can do. I honestly want to see this get off the ground.

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-28, 10:18 AM
Well, you can start by telling me what you think of that feat and suggesting improvements.

Lonidaus
2010-08-28, 04:26 PM
I think it sounds good. I think when we're done, we might want to make sortof a chart.. where it'll show what 'classes' (more in title than definition) will be able to take what feats. Or were you planning on basically having everyone make what the want, more or less?

TheLonelyScribe
2010-08-30, 09:39 AM
Basically, most people can take most feats, except for when common sense dictates that they shouldn't. (for instance, a fulgar can take a feat augmenting their pistol skills, but a pistoleer has to take Fulgar Organs before getting a feat to augment their electric touch attack).

On another not, I'm not gonna be able to contribute for about 3 days. Feel free to come up with some ideas while I'm away.

Lonidaus
2010-08-30, 12:16 PM
I can agree with that. I still think, however, there should be small bonuses for choosing and putting most of your points into one specific.. skill-set. (For example, there should be a bunch of different lighting augmentations for fulgars, a bunch of different halberd skills for hand strokes, skills involving the weapons for pistoleers and the likes. Basically, have it be like D&D where as hybrids can become powerful, but you don't get a sort of.. penalty from staying within your class. I'll work on the pistoleers, Habardiers, and troubardiers if I get time over the next few days.

Lonidaus
2010-09-02, 09:17 AM
Smashing Blow:
Sometimes you just know you've hit your mark.
Prerequisites: Strength of 12, use of a melee weapon.
Benefits: Smashing blow will allow you to stun a monster (therefore preventing him from acting on his next turn), anytime you roll a critical hit. However, you must roll higher than a 6 to deliver a successful smashing blow.

Take aim!: (Note: I'll probably change this to the MBT phrase for taking aim when I get my book back. Unless you wanna change it for me!)
With a trained eye and a steady hand, you're confident you can make the shot.
Prerequisites:TBT/use of a ranged weapon
Benefits: Take Aim will allow you to drastically increase your ToHit chance for the next turn only. However, it will cause you to lose your turn as you look down the sights of your weapon.

Hope these look good so far. I'll try to come up with more, but I gotta get to class.

Menelin
2013-10-12, 11:21 AM
Well-a-day! I much like the idea of translating the Half-Continent setting into a p&p rpg. Inspired by your efforts, I'm attempting to try my own hand at translating it, much of it available at the Monster Blood Cult on Facebook. I was wondering if I could use your materials for my own interpretation? Assuming you still frequent this site...:smallconfused:

SaengerFuge
2019-07-02, 09:21 AM
I know that this thread might be dead already but I still got some hope.
I just wanted to know if this Project got finnished.
I'm from Germany and finally got to read the third book of the trilogy. As it is not available in german and the fact that it is not written in simple english I had to wait a long time to finally being able to read this book.

Sadly nobody I know has read the last book and most of them that have read the first two books can't read it in english.

I also got into P&P a few years ago so this thread was a dream come true for me. Every other social-media page about those books is either taken down or inactive.
This thead is from 2010, but maybe the users are still active somehow D: