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View Full Version : Focus and Revamped MR: A Few New Mechanics for a Game



wayfare
2010-11-02, 02:11 AM
So a while ago I was looking at all to cool things psionic character can do when they expend their psionic focus, and I kinda wondered...why can't other folks do that?

Now, I get it, Psionic Focus is a cool class feature that exemplifies all the nifty stuff that psionic characters can do via mastery of their body/mind harmony dealy.

But what if we created a new mechanic simply called Focus that could be used by all characters to do cool stuff? Psionic characters would get to do extra cool stuff with Focus, but nearly any character class could benefit from using it.

The basic effect of Focus would be a re-roll. A character could expend his focus to re-roll and d20 roll he makes, before the result of the roll is given.

But each class could use Focus to power class features or feats.

One example might be the option to maximize a spell by expending focus. The spell doesn't take up a higher slot, but you must expend your focus to maximize the spell.

Under normal circumstances, becoming Focused would be a DC 15 concentration check. In combat, the check is DC 20 and takes a full action.

Any thoughts?

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Next up, is Magic Resistance. I've always missed the AD&D version of MR, where there was a flat chance that a spell would fail. Sort of like magical miss chance. And while an MR of 100 is just plain cheap, 50% MR is basically the same as full concealment against magic.

Are either of these mechanics workable?

Melayl
2010-11-02, 04:10 AM
I, too, miss the old school MR. It now becomes one more way of evening up the odds between casters and non.

I'm not sure about the Focus, though.