Libertad
2015-04-06, 09:02 PM
http://i.imgur.com/ccXAak1.jpg?1 (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/118475/Rule-Zero-Underlings)
Click the image to be taken to the Drive-Thru RPG page!
Hello folks. I realize that I've taken an Internet hiatus on several websites, and I haven't reviewed anything in a long time. I realize that my Path of War review is on hiatus, and trying to review Ptolus and the Key of Destiny Adventure Path overwhelmed me due to the scope of said projects. I do want to get back to reviewing stuff, but now that I have a busier schedule I planned on starting out with some smaller stuff.
So for my first review of 2015, I'm going to show you a little mini-sourcebook which has served me very well in my 6+months of GMing Pathfinder: Rule Zero Underlings!
3rd Edition D&D and Pathfinder are rules-heavy games, there's no doubt about that. That's not a problem when one knows the rules, but it is a lot more stressful prep work for weekly games; designing proper stat blocks for parties can take over an hour easily, especially at high levels, and the use of minions and over a half-dozen characters on the battlefield can end up a book-keeping nightmare.
It's especially punishing for martial characters who don't have save-or-dies, as even CR 5-6 monsters can have excess of 50 hp don't serve well the role of "mooks who can be downed in one hit" unless everyone at the table's building ubercharger Barbarians. As a lot of high-CR monsters end up turning into walking bags of hit points with Natural Armor, and even low-level Wizards gaining access to a bunch of spells, minimalist minions who can pack a punch but go down easy are very rare in Pathfinder.
Rule Zero: Underlings is the remedy to these problems, and it's served me very well for the months of gaming I've used for it. Fortunately the game mechanics of this product are all OGL, so I'll be showcasing how the rules variants work.
The Humble Underling
An underling is a new type of creature with more simplified rules in combat. They attack, deal damage, take turns, and otherwise act similar to normal characters. However, an underling's stats are primarily determined by their Challenge Rating, which informs their core abilities such as Armor Class, saving throws, damage, etc. Beyond this core CR framework, underlings have a race/monster type to determine their primary roles in combat, while an optional underling template might grant them new abilities or modify one or two traits.
http://i.imgur.com/rMzZInW.png?1
As Underlings are meant to be mooks fought in groups, the Group CR measures fighting a group of 4 of them instead of a single creature. Their Inidividual CRs are for when the GM feels like adding in reinforcements, but it is not recommended for using them as individual opponents because they're not meant to be challenging encounters.
So for example, an encounter with three ogres (CR 3 each), the GM might decide to replace one of the ogres with a group of 4 cultists with a Group CR of 3.
Underling stats are extremely streamlined in comparison to base monster rules and class creation for NPCs. Regardless of their natural weapons, equipment, etc, their AC/CMD, Saving Throws, skill bonuses, etc, are determined by their Group CR. Be they vampires, giants, or drow, Underlings with a Group CR of 4 have 14 AC, +6 attack and 1d10 damage with their weapons of choice, and have a Wound and Kill Threshold of 4 and 9 hp respectively. There is some variety, for an Underling's race determines which saving throws are "good" and which are "bad," as well as which skills their "class bonus" entry applies to.
Most of the entries on the table are self-explanatory, but I'll explain a few of them.
AC/CMD: The AC is the normal value; the book does not mention anything about touch or flat-footed values, so I assume the AC is the same for all three. CMD, or Combat Maneuver Defense, is part of the Combat Maneuver mechanics introduced in Pathfinder which consolidate bull rush/disarm/trip/etc into a single roll (Combat Maneuver Bonus) vs. ones' Combat Maneuver Defense.
Wound/Kill Threshold: The Wound Threshold represents the minimum amount of damage necessary to wound an Underling of that CR. Wounded underlings function normally, but if they suffer another attack of equal or greater value to their Wound Threshold, they are killed or knocked unconscious (depending on whether non-lethal damage is used). The Kill Threshold represents the minimum damage necessary to kill an Underling; they do not do into the 'dying' condition or can be saved via stabilization, they instantly die once their Kill Threshold is crossed or they're wounded twice.
Damge which deals a value less than an Underling's Wound Threshold is ignored. Conversely, spells and effects which heal can remove the wounded condition from an underling if the damage healed exceeds their Wound Threshold Value.
Attack: This is the value used for melee and ranged attacks, but it is also the valued used for an Underlings' Combat Maneuver Bonus. Regardless of whether they're swinging a sword, shooting a crossbow, or desiring to disarm an opponent, an Underling uses the same bonus for them all.
However, Underlings are incapable of performing critical hits, and they always provoke an attack of opportunity when they perform a combat maneuver within reach of an enemy. A natural 20 is still an automatic hit, though.
Damage: Underlings can perform an attack as either a standard or full-round action. Full-round attacks deal the listed damage, but standard attacks deal half damage (rounded down), for both base and Average Damage. Attacks made due to the result of an attack of opportunity deal half damage as well.
Average Damage: In lieu of rolling damage dice, the GM can instead opt to apply the average damage on the result of a successful attack. Attacks made as part of a standard action or attack of opportunity deal half this value, rounded down.
Ability DC: Underlings which have special abilities which allow for a saving throw have this as their listed DC.
Skill Bonus: Basically the Underlings' race determines which skills these bonuses apply to. They have a +0 modifier to skills not listed in their race or template.
Miscellaneous Stuff: Underlings have an Initiative modifier of +0. They do not have ability scores or class features, and almost none of them gain feats. They use half their Group CR (rounded down) when they must make an ability check, and they are unaffected by ability score damage and drain except for Constitution (which lowers their Wound and Kill Thresholds by a like amount). They cannot die due to bleed damage, only be wounded by it, and any spell or ability which would grant an extra attack or action instead allows them to deal full damage as a standard attack instead.
There's an Optional Rule for Underling Morale, hearkening back to the days of Old-School D&D. Basically, Underlings who are wounded when the last non-Underling ally is slain or knocked out in combat attempt to flee the battle as quickly as possible.
Initial Impressions: I like this universal consolidation of streamlined abilities. Although underlings are overall rather weak, they do have the action economy on their side and if equipped with various debilitating attacks (tanglefoot bags and the like), they can wear down the PCs and soften them up for the main villains. The Wound/Kill Threshold strongly reminds me of Savage Worlds' system for Extras, who would drop immediately when a damaging attack exceeded their Toughness rating. I do think that it's a shame that ability damage/drain is nerfed when used against Underlings, but it's much better than the alternative of book-keeping penalties and the like.
The next post will cover Underling Races and Templates, the latter of which includes things like sneak attack, a limited selection of spell-like abilities, and the like.
Click the image to be taken to the Drive-Thru RPG page!
Hello folks. I realize that I've taken an Internet hiatus on several websites, and I haven't reviewed anything in a long time. I realize that my Path of War review is on hiatus, and trying to review Ptolus and the Key of Destiny Adventure Path overwhelmed me due to the scope of said projects. I do want to get back to reviewing stuff, but now that I have a busier schedule I planned on starting out with some smaller stuff.
So for my first review of 2015, I'm going to show you a little mini-sourcebook which has served me very well in my 6+months of GMing Pathfinder: Rule Zero Underlings!
3rd Edition D&D and Pathfinder are rules-heavy games, there's no doubt about that. That's not a problem when one knows the rules, but it is a lot more stressful prep work for weekly games; designing proper stat blocks for parties can take over an hour easily, especially at high levels, and the use of minions and over a half-dozen characters on the battlefield can end up a book-keeping nightmare.
It's especially punishing for martial characters who don't have save-or-dies, as even CR 5-6 monsters can have excess of 50 hp don't serve well the role of "mooks who can be downed in one hit" unless everyone at the table's building ubercharger Barbarians. As a lot of high-CR monsters end up turning into walking bags of hit points with Natural Armor, and even low-level Wizards gaining access to a bunch of spells, minimalist minions who can pack a punch but go down easy are very rare in Pathfinder.
Rule Zero: Underlings is the remedy to these problems, and it's served me very well for the months of gaming I've used for it. Fortunately the game mechanics of this product are all OGL, so I'll be showcasing how the rules variants work.
The Humble Underling
An underling is a new type of creature with more simplified rules in combat. They attack, deal damage, take turns, and otherwise act similar to normal characters. However, an underling's stats are primarily determined by their Challenge Rating, which informs their core abilities such as Armor Class, saving throws, damage, etc. Beyond this core CR framework, underlings have a race/monster type to determine their primary roles in combat, while an optional underling template might grant them new abilities or modify one or two traits.
http://i.imgur.com/rMzZInW.png?1
As Underlings are meant to be mooks fought in groups, the Group CR measures fighting a group of 4 of them instead of a single creature. Their Inidividual CRs are for when the GM feels like adding in reinforcements, but it is not recommended for using them as individual opponents because they're not meant to be challenging encounters.
So for example, an encounter with three ogres (CR 3 each), the GM might decide to replace one of the ogres with a group of 4 cultists with a Group CR of 3.
Underling stats are extremely streamlined in comparison to base monster rules and class creation for NPCs. Regardless of their natural weapons, equipment, etc, their AC/CMD, Saving Throws, skill bonuses, etc, are determined by their Group CR. Be they vampires, giants, or drow, Underlings with a Group CR of 4 have 14 AC, +6 attack and 1d10 damage with their weapons of choice, and have a Wound and Kill Threshold of 4 and 9 hp respectively. There is some variety, for an Underling's race determines which saving throws are "good" and which are "bad," as well as which skills their "class bonus" entry applies to.
Most of the entries on the table are self-explanatory, but I'll explain a few of them.
AC/CMD: The AC is the normal value; the book does not mention anything about touch or flat-footed values, so I assume the AC is the same for all three. CMD, or Combat Maneuver Defense, is part of the Combat Maneuver mechanics introduced in Pathfinder which consolidate bull rush/disarm/trip/etc into a single roll (Combat Maneuver Bonus) vs. ones' Combat Maneuver Defense.
Wound/Kill Threshold: The Wound Threshold represents the minimum amount of damage necessary to wound an Underling of that CR. Wounded underlings function normally, but if they suffer another attack of equal or greater value to their Wound Threshold, they are killed or knocked unconscious (depending on whether non-lethal damage is used). The Kill Threshold represents the minimum damage necessary to kill an Underling; they do not do into the 'dying' condition or can be saved via stabilization, they instantly die once their Kill Threshold is crossed or they're wounded twice.
Damge which deals a value less than an Underling's Wound Threshold is ignored. Conversely, spells and effects which heal can remove the wounded condition from an underling if the damage healed exceeds their Wound Threshold Value.
Attack: This is the value used for melee and ranged attacks, but it is also the valued used for an Underlings' Combat Maneuver Bonus. Regardless of whether they're swinging a sword, shooting a crossbow, or desiring to disarm an opponent, an Underling uses the same bonus for them all.
However, Underlings are incapable of performing critical hits, and they always provoke an attack of opportunity when they perform a combat maneuver within reach of an enemy. A natural 20 is still an automatic hit, though.
Damage: Underlings can perform an attack as either a standard or full-round action. Full-round attacks deal the listed damage, but standard attacks deal half damage (rounded down), for both base and Average Damage. Attacks made due to the result of an attack of opportunity deal half damage as well.
Average Damage: In lieu of rolling damage dice, the GM can instead opt to apply the average damage on the result of a successful attack. Attacks made as part of a standard action or attack of opportunity deal half this value, rounded down.
Ability DC: Underlings which have special abilities which allow for a saving throw have this as their listed DC.
Skill Bonus: Basically the Underlings' race determines which skills these bonuses apply to. They have a +0 modifier to skills not listed in their race or template.
Miscellaneous Stuff: Underlings have an Initiative modifier of +0. They do not have ability scores or class features, and almost none of them gain feats. They use half their Group CR (rounded down) when they must make an ability check, and they are unaffected by ability score damage and drain except for Constitution (which lowers their Wound and Kill Thresholds by a like amount). They cannot die due to bleed damage, only be wounded by it, and any spell or ability which would grant an extra attack or action instead allows them to deal full damage as a standard attack instead.
There's an Optional Rule for Underling Morale, hearkening back to the days of Old-School D&D. Basically, Underlings who are wounded when the last non-Underling ally is slain or knocked out in combat attempt to flee the battle as quickly as possible.
Initial Impressions: I like this universal consolidation of streamlined abilities. Although underlings are overall rather weak, they do have the action economy on their side and if equipped with various debilitating attacks (tanglefoot bags and the like), they can wear down the PCs and soften them up for the main villains. The Wound/Kill Threshold strongly reminds me of Savage Worlds' system for Extras, who would drop immediately when a damaging attack exceeded their Toughness rating. I do think that it's a shame that ability damage/drain is nerfed when used against Underlings, but it's much better than the alternative of book-keeping penalties and the like.
The next post will cover Underling Races and Templates, the latter of which includes things like sneak attack, a limited selection of spell-like abilities, and the like.