The Savage World of Karethor (3.5/IH yields to new system?)

[StardustReborn]

After a long time away from the boards, I return.

Over the past few weeks I have been obsessed with the ideas of a Conan-style campaign. I'm not entirely certain that the d20 model works for this campaign, but we'll start there and see what happens.

This started after I was bored one night and began flipping through the Iron Heroes rulebook. I kept getting flashes of an archaic world, older than most fantasy systems. Possibly older than magic, but that remains to be seen. It is a dark time, filled with monsters and savage humans. Civilization is frail where it blossoms, and the wilderness seems to be a constant threat. There are even older ruins in the wilderness. Magic may have been real at one time, but it has fallen into shadow and mystery.

At this point, I try to find an inspiring soundtrack: https://youtu.be/lgU5j0bGR8E

Now we're cooking. But I need a world. So off to d20srd.org and there's the random map generators. Yay.

So fiddling around with the generator, I put in a random number for a seed and it does its magic.

MAP (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2gvhuQclM7bTjhCeHE2TGgtZFk)

Of course, I wanted it in color, but alas it won't generate the same world twice. But this one was interesting....... I already saw places I wanted to highlight, that spoke to me of high adventure and devastation. The amount of desert on the planet seemed to definitely fit in with a more savage setting. I had some colored pencils so I printed it out. (It takes about 6 pages of regular paper to print out the map at a readable scale.)

Even looking over the black and white hexes with the places called out in text, it was fascinating. But I had no place to start. It was all just so overwhelming. When this happens, ask someone else for help. "If you could visit anyplace on this map, where would you go?"

Interestingly enough, the person in question said "The Tomb of Horrors". I looked at the map. I know that this is the name of an old D&D dungeon, and sure enough there it was in the northeastern page, on a coastline. So then I started asking myself those wonderful questions.

What is the Tomb of Horrors?
Why is it Horrifying?
Why is it a Tomb?


Obviously, it has the stench of undeath about it. Something that might definitely call to adventurers. But I didn't really want a high magic campaign, and the Iron Heroes book doesn't really allow for one other than the Arcanist, which has never sat well with me as a class. There has to be a low magic alternative that still speaks of epic high fantasy.

I began looking at the Scholar from the Conan d20 book, except I called it Sorceress. This seemed appropriate to me. There were things I wasn't happy about from the Conan d20 Scholar class. And there were other things I wasn't happy about from the Arcanist class. What did work for me? The Sorcery magic system. Everything about the Arcanist except the magic system. Could it be that simple?

But these were things that I decided to think about later. There was coloring to do. A few hours later, I had colored in most of the the whole page that now represents the Continent map, with only the major cities highlighted and a few interesting places. And things I had to pontificate upon. Time to restart the soundtrack.

If the Tomb of Horrors was the destination of our still unmade Heroes, I needed to find out why they were going there.

Trestalg, the Jewel of Eimlalon drew my attention rather strongly. If there is a capital city in this area, this would have to be it, I thought to myself. But I began to realize that these cities were more like city states than the capitals of any empires or kingdoms. They may have zones of influence, but the wilderness is still encroaching, more strongly than in any d20 campaign I've ever worked on before.

Fastow, Sirithon, Forleras, Hille, Shurazig (what a strange place for a town or city). And of course Utcot Keep seemed like important bastions of civilization. The Nizwi Desert seemed to dominate much of the western part of this area. Trestalg must be near a fresh water source, so I decided that the Eimlalon lakes were the largest fresh water lakes in this world.

The larger body of water to the south by the Honorable City of Whoopool is a large bay, connected to the Maelstrom Sea by a small inlet.
The body of water north of Ghost Tower, the Ghostwash is poisoned.
This only left the lake system north of Glano Forest as a comparable system of lakes to Eimlalon, but still slightly smaller. (I still hadn't drawn in minor rivers yet, just some of the major ones.) There is one running through the Nizwi Desert for example.

Anyway, I decided to sleep on it, and I'll post more in the next post about what I dreamed of next.

[PapaQuackers]

I think this would be better suited to the world building thread, unless I missed something.

[StardustReborn]

Vast deserts, reddish mountains of rock and dried forest, hills covered with scraggly shrub and dried grass drifted beneath my gaze. But ahead of me, a sparkling lake gleamed like diamonds, and something red and flashing sparkled even above that. I could not see from that distance, but as I flew closer the white towers of Trestalg became more visible. The tallest of course was the Citadel at the city's center, a massive red stone sparkled in the brilliant sunlight at the tower's peak. White and red banners hung from the highest balconies. The city was crowded, and besieged by tents surrounding the gate. But this was no war. A celebration of some type.

The dirt path leading from the east had been lined with flags also in white and red, and a procession was already making its way up the steps from the pier beneath a majestic waterfall. Caravans had brought gifts from far and wide. Wheat and barley from Forleras, chests of fine wood filled with spices and ambergris from Sirithon. Even the tribal horsemen of the Doji plains had sworn warriors as lifebound (slaves). It was a wedding.

The Princess Sarina, daughter of Sudea was to wed Hallal, the Prince of Hille, a city that had recently acquired a great navy. It was a marriage of great political importance. And the two moons would align this day, a great omen for unification (but also for doom, some of the eldest said). It was true that when the two moons eclipsed the sun, it was a sign of great darkness and despair. But the signs pointed to the moons being opposite the sun on this day. Still, those who honored the ancient traditions wore the evil eye to ward off any darkness that may rise this day.

A scattering of women in white hooded cloaks over gowns of white gauze approached the city's gates. They were Gifted, many of them with the Sight, and they had joined to bring the Princess and Prince tidings of their fates as the gifts of those learned in that skill.

One of these women was Thalania, the Pearl of Inderral. She was not the strongest of these sorcerers, but was known for her great wisdom. She alone had the escort of a bodyguard, a massive barbarian from the North, the mountain city of Shurazig. Germon carried a massive sword, much heavier than most men can carry, but wore no armor. His bare chest was lined with scars of old and nearly forgotten battles.

At this point, my vision shifted and I was drawn into the Jeweled Citadel. Inside the tower, ancient bones of ivory lined the pillars that held up the high walls of the citadel. Silver and brass gleamed brightly throughout, and red sparkling jewels could sometimes be seen beneath the haze of glitter from the brass and silver. Prince Sudea, an aging man with tangled silver hair and sharp green eyes sat in a throne, scowling over a scroll that had been given to him. The words were not what he had wanted to read, and he swiftly stood and approached a man standing in the shadows behind the throne. "Are you certain of this, Angthor?" Sudea asked the man, who now turned towards me in the vision.

His eyes were dark, dark beyond possibility. A crescent moon of black metal protruded from his forehead, glowing with a soft purple light that was only visible because he was in the shadows. "I have seen the signs myself. Call off this wedding, at least until a more auspicious time."

"Auspicious?" The word confused Sudea.

"Until the signs are more favorable, your highness." The man stepped out of the shadows completely, and pulled the cowl of a black robe over his head as though to protect himself from the brilliance of the jewels, silver and brass in the room. A raven flew from the shadows and landed on Angthor's shoulder.

"But the moons will not be joined again until after the next harvest!" Sudea exclaimed. "And the preparations have already been made. We cannot stop this now."

Angthor bowed his head at Sudea's wrath. "Then the fate be on you, my prince."

Sudea nodded. "Surely you can conjure some spirit to... to prevent this?" He gestured towards the scroll.

Angthor shook his head. "I do not know with any certainty what specifically will happen." At Sudea's angry glance, he amended his words. "I will not know which spirit to summon, and if the need is great, it will exact a great cost. My life, and possibly yours, would be at stake."

Prince Sudea's angry glare softened, but his mouth remained a sour line. "The ceremony will take place, at the appointed time. If anything comes of this omen, we will deal with it at that time. I will alert our warriors."

[StardustReborn]

I think this would be better suited to the world building thread, unless I missed something.

Oh, sorry. Can it be moved?

EDIT: I reported the thread to be moved, so hopefully it won't take too long. Thanks for the headsup.

RE-EDIT: Actually, since I am still working out which gaming system (rules and mechanics to use) for this campaign, I think it belongs in Homebrew, at least according to the World Building posting guidelines.

[StardustReborn]

Okay, so I have three characters to generate here.

Thalania, the Pearl of Inderral
Germon
Angthor the Shadowed

One of the things I do like about the Iron Heroes rulebook is the Trait system, which replaces races in traditional D&D.

Thalania the Pearl of Inderral has the Wise Background, refocused to avoid the ability penalty.
Germon has Mighty Build and Powerful Backgrounds.
Angthor the Shadowed has the Child of Omen and Shadowborn Backgrounds.

So, on to the Sorceress. As I mentioned above, I am not a fan of the Arcanist magic system. I haven't ever played it, but from a DM perspective it seems rather tedious and time consuming. So I decided to use the Conan d20 Sorcery system. (Still a Work in Progress, if you all know of anything that might work better, let me know.)

Female Wise Sorceress 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+15 (32 hit points)
Initiative: +2 (+2 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 15 (+3 level, +2 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 0 (no amor)
BAB/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: Eldritch Dart +5 ranged 1d6+3 force (20/x2, 50 ft. increment)
Special Qualities: Wise Background, Sorcery, Aspect of Power (Wound Mending, Eldritch Dart)
Saves: Fort +6; Ref +7; Will +11
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 18, Cha 14
Skills: Ancient Text 11, Appraisal 11, Awe 10, Concentration 9, Deceit 10, Diplomacy 10, Disguise 10, Force Mechanism 10, Healing Lore 16*, Intuition 12, Legerdemain 10, Lore (Arcana) 11, Lore (Nature) 7, Lore (Nobility) 7, Mechanical Lore 11, Performance 10, Power Artifact 10, Searching 11, Spellcraft 11, Stealth 10, Wit and Savvy 10
Feats: Beast Lore (II), Healing Lore (III), Iron Will
Base Power Points: 9 (3 base, +4 Wis, +2 bonus; 18 maximum)
Magic Attack: +6 (+2 level, +4 Wis)
Sorcery Styles: Divination, Counterspells, Nature Magic
Spells Known: Animal intercessor, astrological prediction, blessing of fate, desperate ward, rune of Jhebbal Sag, summon beast

Possessions: White silken robes, fine jewelry, healing kit

As you may have noticed, I've attempted to reflavor some of the skills to fit in more with a savage campaign, but I'm not sure that it has the effect I am looking for. The d20 system for skills has not always been good for me. I've never liked the idea of the heroes getting more and more powerful (at least to the extent that they are) so that in order to present a challenge for them as a DM I have to keep increasing the DCs. I like having the possibility of failure constantly throughout the campaign. More on this later.

Here is Angthor the Shadowed

Male Omened Spiritualist 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+30 (43 hit points)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 16 (+3 level, +3 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 2 (leather armor and stigmata)
BAB/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: Unarmed +4 melee 1d6+2 (20/x2) or Quarterstaff +3 melee 1d6 (20/x2)
Special Attacks: Unarmed Fighting
Special Qualities: Spiritualism, Favored Ritual (Flame), Spirit Servant (Raven Shadow), Stigmata (transfiguration of flesh), Child of Omen Background, Shadow Born Background (precognition)
Saves: Fort +7; Ref +6; Will +6
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 18
Skills: Ancient Text 9, Appraisal 9, Awe 12, Concentration 10, Deceit 12, Diplomacy 12, Healing Lore 9, Intuition 9, Lore (Arcana) 9, Lore (History) 9, Lore (Religion) 9, Perception 9, Power Artifact 12, Searching 9, Wit and Savvy 12
Feats: Overwhelming Presence (I), Deflect Missiles (II), Dodge (I), Unarmed Combat (Finesse) (I)
Magical Attack: +6 (+2 level, +4 Cha)
Spiritualist Rituals Known: Rite of the Flame, Rite of Light and Shadow, Rite of the Mind, Rite of Phantoms, Rite of Trickery
Possessions: Quarterstaff, Leather Armor

And Germon.

Male Mighty Berserker 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+60 (74 hit points)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 14 (+3 level, +1 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 1d4+1 (no amor)
BAB/Grapple: +5/+5
Attack: Large Falchion +9 melee 2d6+4 (18-20/x2)
Special Attacks: Cleave, Fury Pool, Furious Strike, Overwhelming Charge
Special Qualities: Berserk Strength, Uncanny Dodge, Mighty Build Background, Powerful Background
Saves: Fort +9; Ref +6; Will +5
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Climbing 12, Jumping 12, Perception 8, Rope Use 9, Swimming 12, Wilderness Lore 8
Feats: Cleave (III), Armor Mastery (I)

Possessions: Large falchion, leather basic clothing

[StardustReborn]

On to the Spiritualist. This is a class from the player companion for Iron Heroes.

At first I thought I would like this class. It seems interesting to play, but the problem lies once again with the magic, the Rite system. It's tedious and time consuming to use a ritual. And I'm looking for something that is still potentially dangerous, deeply thematic, but easy to resolve. Not something which takes 5 minutes of gameplay to figure out.

Mechanically and thematically, the Spiritualist gathers spirit tokens (spell points, basically) from contacting spirits (a potentially dangerous thing to do) which he then uses to cast "spells" and rituals. The ritual must be chosen before the whole process, but in game terms it only takes a move action, a standard action, or a full round action. The problem is that the ritual takes as long to craft as the arcanist spell system.

I think I want something a little more defined, as easy to interpret and DM as the classic combat system.

I am not opposed to thinking outside the dice box. I've actually come up with a "d20" token system that works a lot better for this campaign. (22 tokens in a bag, numbered 1-20, doom and fate) The reason this works better is because I sometimes have to work with a player who is handicapped and cannot sit directly at the table for dice rolling. Shaking a bag and then drawing a token is easier for the player (and I think it is a little more thematic myself).

[StardustReborn]

So I have been thinking more about the Spiritualist spell system. I almost want to go with a M:tG style of card-based spell casting for this one.

Contacting a Spirit, for example, feels a lot like "tapping" a land to gather "mana" (These words belong to their perspective copyright holders. I do not claim ownership.) except that "mana-burn" is a stronger possibility. The spiritualist can hold onto spirit tokens if he doesn't have enough to cast the ritual he wants, but if he takes on too many spirit tokens he takes 1d6 psychic damage for each spirit token that he is forced to release.

In the rulebook, there are seven types of spirits a Spiritualist can contact. So if we were to remechanic these spirits to cards the spiritualist can gain spirit power from, we might get something that looks like:

Lesser Spirit
1 Spirit Token

Minor Spirit
3 Spirit Tokens

Common Spirit
5 Spirit Tokens

Uncommon Spirit
7 Spirit Tokens

Greater Spirit
10 Spirit Tokens

Lesser Power
15 Spirit Tokens

Greater Power
20 Spirit Tokens

This scales a little differently from the original, with a slow build up at first, then much larger build ups based on the power of the spirit contacted. Of course, we don't know yet how the spiritualist contacts these spirits, or what their price for power will be. But that we can explore at a different time.

Angthor's favored rite is the Rite of Flame, so we can say he has a Greater Power spirit card in his hand and a few Flame spell cards. The problem is that the highest Flame spell card he has in his hand is only a Power 5. So if he were to use the Greater Power spirit card to cast the Flame spell card, he would either have to empower it with the extra Spirit Tokens or take 1d6 psychic damage for each Spirit Token he cannot use.

Does he pass the turn to discard the Greater Power spirit card to draw another card in the hopes of finding a less powerful spirit? Or take the damage to cast the Power 5 Flame spell? 15d6 damage can potentially kill Angthor, so it's definitely a situation to consider carefully. Going down in a self-sacrificial blaze of glory would be entirely thematic with a Conan-esque magic system however.

[StardustReborn]

Okay, so the card system is working out a little bit more interestingly.

First, it makes the Spiritualist Rituals a little less certain, not without deck cycling (which is possible given enough time.) Spirit contact is also not a given, and there are certain penalties for connecting to a Spirit if the Doom token should come up in any of the player's bag-draws.

I am in the process of modifying the base attack and skill systems in a fitting way, I think.

I'm not sure I like the high attack values for high level characters. It seems like overkill in most places. So I am limiting the base attack bonus to level / 5 (rounded down). There is some skill growth, but not much. To compensate for this, I am introducing weapon skills, which grant a character a +3 bonus to attack rolls made with a specific weapon. These are based on weapon proficiency, but the skill system and weapon skill system are much more simpler and streamlined in this system than in the traditional d20.

Also, if a player has access to additional attacks per turn, I am not penalizing the second attack in any way, though each attack beyond the second suffers a cumulative -1 to hit. So I have reduced the base attack bonus quite significantly, but also reduced some penalties and granted some thematic ways to improve attack rolls.

Trained Skills

So, this method replaces the Skill system from d20/Iron Heroes. Instead of receiving a bunch of skill points at 1st level, each character receives the number of skill points they would have received at each additional level. So for example, the Sorceress (based on the Arcanist) would receive 8 + Int modifier skill points at each level, including 1st. Each of these skill points may be spent to learn a single skill, but if the skill is not something the class would normally learn in their training it requires an additional skill point. Skill points can also be saved for weapon skills if the player wishes.

Instead of keeping track of the number of points spent in a skill, characters use trained skills at +3.

The interesting part of this system occurs when the character advances in level. All trained skills and weapon skills decrease by 1. A skill point must be spent at each level in that particular skill to "remember" the skill at its full capacity. So, if a player wanted to "switch out" skills at any particular level, just spend the skill points on something other than what you originally did at character creation. Trained skills that do not have a skill point placed in them, suffer a cumulative -1 penalty until a skill point is placed in them once again. If a character advances three levels without putting a skill point in a trained skill, that trained skill is forgotten.

Trained Skills (1d20 + Ability score modifier +3)
Untrained Skills (1d20 + Ability score modifier)

Native Skills

Some characters have Native Skills, which is a skill that they have used from a very young age and comes very naturally to the character. For most characters, this includes Language (Common). Traits and feats may provide additional Native Skills. The Skill Affinity feat, for example, makes any two trained skills into native skills.
A character uses all native skills at +5. Native skills do not require skill points, so if the Skill Affinity feat is acquired, the character is free to use those two (or four) skill points towards other skills.

Native Skills (1d20 + Ability score modifier +5)

Weapon Skills

In addition to weapon proficiencies which give characters rudimentary control of the weapons they were trained with as part of their training, characters are also skilled with weapons they have chosen to focus on during that training. Each weapon group provides 2 weapon skill points per level. Partial access to any weapon group provides 1 weapon skill point per level. The Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat grants access to 1 weapon skill per level (which probably should be used on that particular exotic weapon). The wisdom modifier is applied to the total number of weapon skill points gained at each level.

Any character with access to sorcery or spiritualism may place weapon skill points into magical attacks and spell attacks.

As with skills, weapon skills may deteriorate over time. Each time a character levels and does not place a weapon skill point in a weapon skill, the attack bonus with that weapon decreases by 1. If three levels pass without any weapon skill points being placed in a particular weapon skill, that weapon skill is forgotten. The character is still proficient with the weapon, but does not wield it with any particular prowess.

Weapon Focus

Some feats and traits may grant a player an additional bonus with a particular weapon. If this is the case, this is considered to be a focused weapon and has been used by the character since a very young age. Knowing how to use the weapon is second nature to the character. As a result, the weapon skill bonus is permanent and no longer requires the use of weapon skill points. Attacks with these weapons also enjoy a further +1 attack bonus.

[StardustReborn]

Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and remake the characters with the new system and see how it looks.

Female Wise Sorceress 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+15 (32 hit points)
Initiative: +2 (+2 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 15 (+3 level, +2 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 0 (no amor)
BAB/Grapple: +1
Attack: Eldritch Dart +7 ranged 1d6+3 force (20/x2, 50 ft. increment)
Special Qualities: Wise Background, Sorcery, Aspect of Power (Wound Mending, Eldritch Dart)
Saves: Fort +6; Ref +7; Will +11
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 18, Cha 14
Trained Skills (+3 + ability): Ancient Text, Appraisal, Awe, Concentration, Deceit, Diplomacy, Disguise +2, Force Mechanism +2, Intuition, Legerdemain +2, Lore (Arcana), Lore (Nature) +2, Lore (Nobility) +2, Mechanical Lore +2, Performance +2, Power Artifact, Searching, Spellcraft, Stealth +2, Wit and Savvy +2
Native Skills (+5 + ability): Healing Lore, Language (Common)
Weapon Skills (+3 + ability): Dagger, Eldritch Dart, Magic Attack, Spell Attack,
Feats: Beast Lore (II), Healing Lore (III), Iron Will
Base Power Points: 9 (3 base, +4 Wis, +2 bonus; 18 maximum)
Magic Attack: +7 (+3, +4 Wis)
Sorcery Styles: Divination, Counterspells, Nature Magic
Spells Known: Animal intercessor, astrological prediction, blessing of fate, desperate ward, rune of Jhebbal Sag, summon beast

Possessions: White silken robes, fine jewelry, healing kit

Male Omened Spiritualist 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+30 (43 hit points)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 16 (+3 level, +3 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 1d2+1 (leather armor and stigmata)
BAB/Grapple: +1
Attack: Fist +5/+5 melee 1d6+2 (20/x2) or Quarterstaff +4/+4 melee 1d6 (20/x2)
Special Attacks: Unarmed Fighting
Special Qualities: Spiritualism, Favored Ritual (Flame), Spirit Servant (Raven Shadow), Stigmata (transfiguration of flesh), Child of Omen Background, Shadow Born Background (precognition)
Saves: Fort +7; Ref +6; Will +6
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 18
Trained Skills (+3 + Ability): Ancient Text, Appraisal +2, Awe, Concentration +2, Deceit +2, Diplomacy, Healing Lore +2, Intuition, Lore (Arcana) +2, Lore (History), Lore (Religion), Perception, Power Artifact +2, Searching, Wit and Savvy
Native Skills (+5 + Ability): Language (Common)
Weapon Skills: Unarmed, Staff, Magic Attack, Spell Attack
Feats: Overwhelming Presence (I), Deflect Missiles (II), Dodge (I), Unarmed Combat (Finesse) (I)
Magical Attack: +7 (+3, +4 Cha)
Spiritualist Rituals Known: Rite of the Flame, Rite of Light and Shadow, Rite of the Mind, Rite of Phantoms, Rite of Trickery
Possessions: Quarterstaff, Leather Armor

Male Mighty Berserker 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+60 (74 hit points)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 14 (+3 level, +1 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 1d4+1 (no armor)
BAB/Grapple: +1
Attack: Large Falchion +8 melee 2d6+4 (18-20/x2)
Special Attacks: Cleave, Fury Pool, Furious Strike, Overwhelming Charge
Special Qualities: Berserk Strength, Uncanny Dodge, Mighty Build Background, Powerful Background
Saves: Fort +9; Ref +6; Will +5
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Trained Skills (+3 + ability): Climbing, Jumping +2, Perception, Rope Use, Swimming +2, Wilderness Lore
Native Skills (+5 + ability): Language (Common)
Weapon Skills (+3 + ability): Falchion, Javelin, Longspear
Feats: Cleave (III), Armor Mastery (I)

Possessions: Large falchion, leather basic clothing

[StardustReborn]

Okay, so I've actually come up with a slightly different skill system that I think will work better for what I have in mind. And for this, I'm going to base the skills off of The Pillars of Eternity computer game.

I'm not sure what to call this system, but each level a character receives 1 + Int modifier skill points (a minimum of 1.) A character may spend skill points to increase a skill rank, and the number of skill points that must be expended is equal to the new skill rank of the desired skill. So for example, increasing a skill rank from 0 to 1 requires 1 skill point, and from 1 to 2 requires 2 skill points, etcetera. A player does not have to spend all skill points at each level and may save them for later opportunities.

The skills that are available for characters are Athletics (modified by Strength), Communication (modified by Charisma), Lore (modified by Intelligence), Mechanics (modified by Dexterity), Perception (modified by Wisdom), Stealth (modified by Dexterity), and Survival (modified by Constitution). This makes it a little more similar to the Iron Heroes original skill idea (of skill groupings), but without sacrificing ease of play. Also, players must be a little more tactical with their character skills now, so there is a little bit more thought put into it.

Also I see a lot of possibilities for skill conflicts, such as Stealth vs. Perception. Communication vs. Communication, etcetera.

[StardustReborn]

Sofar, to review.

I like the following:

Diminished Magic, Greater Focus on Heroic Abilities (Iron Heroes)
Randomized Magic for more powerful effects (possible, but still dangerous) (Conan-esque)
Smaller BAB (Level/5 rounded down = +0 to +4) (No Uberpowerful Heroes, Danger in the World)
The New Skill System (Pillars of Eternity)
Weapon Skill System (Training with consequences)

I think I will introduce simplified ability checks. I want to be able, as a GM, to ask my players to make an ability check and have them know immediately if they succeed.
So I will introduce it as a d20 roll, to roll under the ability score. Str 18 and making a Strength check, roll a d20 and get 17 or lower to succeed, for example. The positive modifiers still affect Athletics skill checks and attack rolls, but in the case of just using one's abilities without training, there's not much that extra skill can do for you. Of course, some abilities do develop over time as the abilities are used, and that's accounted for in level-increase ability enhancements.

I also want to introduce some more magic into the campaign. Something a little more cinematic in nature, but hopefully not overpowering the game. And I want it to be something like Sorcery but quite different. I have been thinking of introducing the Witch from Arcana Evolved (simple spells only), but using Power Points similar to sorcerer spells. I am calling it a Wizard instead of a Witch, though, because again that goes with Conan-esque tales. Wizards can also use some 0-level spells at will, much as they can in Pathfinder and D&D 5th Edition.

So, a quick look at the optional rules from d20srd, and we have the spell point system. So a Wizard has Power Points much like a sorceress does, and knows a few spells. (The number of spells a Wizard knows is the same number as Witch spell slots per day in Arcana Evolved. The main difference we have from the spell point system is that in this campaign, each spell costs an additional Power Point to represent the difficulty and rarity of magic.

I have also brought in a Ritual Warrior, also from Arcana Evolved, but I'm not sure how fitting that is for this world. I have reduced the number of times per day that rituals can be used, but have also made most rituals last for an entire encounter. This almost feels like a Jedi to me, for some reason; so I have introduced the caveat that each Ritual Warrior comes from a tradition with one teacher or trainer. Master and Padawan, if you will. As I contemplate this possibility, it definitely makes the class feel rare and unusual, but most PC classes should feel that way. I may introduce the two characters I've designed in the next post.

[StardustReborn]

Ingrimmel the Shield
Female Quick, Light Footed Ritual Warrior 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+40 (53 hit points)
Initiative: +4 (+4 Dex)
Speed: 40 ft.
Active Defense: 23 (+5 level, +4 Dex, +4 shield)
Passive Defense: 12 (+2 shield)
DR: 1d3 (leather amor)
BAB/Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: Longsword +6 melee 1d8+2 (19-20/x2), Masterwork Shield Spike +7 melee 1d6+2 (20/x2), Longbow +8 ranged 1d8 (20/x3, 100 ft. increment)
Special Qualities: Swift Background, Light Footed Background, Combat Rituals, Shrug off Damage
Saves: Fort +7; Ref +8; Will +8
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 10
Skills: Athletics 4 (+2 to balance, -1 armor), Communication 0, Lore 1, Mechanics 4, Perception 5, Stealth 5, Survival 4 (0 skill points remaining)
Weapon Training: Longbow, Longsword, Shield Spike, Unarmed, Quarterstaff, Heavy Crossbow, Greataxe
Feats: Run, Shield Mastery (III), Mobility (II)
Ritual Warrior Rituals (CL 5th)
1st (3/day) - Battle Focus, Calmness of Thought, Canny Strike, Coils of the Snake, Deadly Charge, Defensive Focus, Disarming Strike, Opportunistic Assault, Power Focus, Reaction of the Viper, Resistant Focus, Rhinoceros Charge, Speed of the Wind, Stealth Focus, Take Down
2nd (1/day) - Battle Focus (Greater), Canny Strike (Greater), Critical Hit, Defensive Focus (Greater), Distracting Shove, Great Charge, Ignore Condition, Missile Deflection, Mystic Strike, Power Focus (Greater), Precision, Quick Retrieval, Reflexes of the Cat, Resistant Focus (Greater), Speed of the Wind (Sustained)
Possessions: Longsword, wooden shield with masterwork shield spike, longbow (20 arrows), leather armor, cloak, scarf

Ashalbus the Evergreen
Male forest born resilient wizard 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+20 (38 hit points)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 13 (+3 level), 14 vs wooden weapons
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 1 (padded armor)
BAB/Grapple: +1/+3
Attacks: Quarterstaff +6/+6 melee 1d6+2 (20/x2), Fist +6/+6 melee 1d3+2 nonlethal (20/x2); Eagle Strike +4 ranged 1d4 (20/x2; 80 ft range)
Special Attacks: greenfire 3/encounter
Special Qualities: Forest Born Background (ghost in the green), Resilient Background, Animal Companion (eagle), Wizardry, Wizard Sight, Healing Spirit.
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +8
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 16
Skills: Athletics 2, Communication 3, Lore 1, Mechanics 0, Perception 3, Stealth 0 (+2 in Forest), Survival 4 (+2 in Forest), (0 skill points remaining)
Weapon Training: Club, Quarterstaff, Unarmed, Magic, Spell
Feats: Beast Lore (III), Beastmaster (I)
Base Power Points: 8 (3 base, +3 Wis, +2 bonus; 16 maximum)
Wizard Powers (at will): Lesser Repair, Sense Thoughts, Contact
Spells Known: Mind Stab (2 PP), Lesser Transfer Wounds (2 PP), Lesser Door Seal (4 PP)
Possessions: Wizard's Box of Artifacts, Robes, Quarterstaff, Golden Ring with Ruby.
Companions: Eagle "Timber"

[StardustReborn]

So, the Spiritualist with the cards for spells and contacting spirits doesn't really work very well. It's interesting, but feels *too* different. So I had to cast the net a little wider and see if I could come up with something else for the Spiritualist. And I think I stumbled on something kind of interesting, the Shaman, from Pathfinder Advanced Classes.

With a few tweaks and modifications, Angthor the Shadowed would make a good Shaman (though I will probably keep it labeled as a Spiritualist). We already know that Angthor is specialized in rituals of flame, so why not make his Spirit a Spirit of Flame? Of course, the Pathfinder Spell system is a little overpowered for this campaign, so back to Arcana Evolved with the caveats we have for the Wizard (Witch). Spells are based on power points. Casters have access to 1 fewer spell of each level, and the power point cost is +1 from the original 3.5 Unearthed Arcana.

The Spirit of Flame, in addition to giving Angthor hexes, also allows Angthor to commune with the spirit world (much as he did already) to learn complex spells with the Fire descriptor, but I'm going to try to reintroduce some danger back into the spellcasting here. Any complex spell Angthor casts requires a Spiritualist check (1d20 + Cha + 1/2 Spiritualist level +1 for each additional power point fueling the spell), vs DC 15 + normal power point cost. If the Spiritualist check is failed, Angthor loses the spell and takes 1d6 psychic damage for each power point that would have been put into the spell.

For example, if Angthor tries to cast Energy Blade to summon a sword of pure fire energy, he must roll a 19 or higher with his Spiritualist check. He already has a +6 bonus to the roll, but he decides to spend another 2 power points to ensure that the blade is conjured without incident, giving him a total of +8. He only needs to roll an 11 or higher to cast the spell successfully. If he does not cast the spell successfully, he suffers 6d6 psychic damage (4d6 + 2d6). This seems potentially lethal, and in a Conan-esque game, perhaps such powerful magic is supposed to be potentially lethal. So perhaps it is best to modify it with a saving throw of some type, at least under some conditions.

If Angthor is in physical contact with his spirit servant, he can attempt a Will saving throw with the same DC as the spiritualist check to half the psychic damage from the spell not functioning.

Angthor the Shadowed
Male Omened Spiritualist 5
Hit Dice: 5d4+30 (43 hit points)
Initiative: +1 (+1 Dex)
Speed: 30 ft.
Active Defense: 16 (+3 level, +3 Dex)
Passive Defense: 10
DR: 1d2+1 (leather armor and stigmata)
BAB/Grapple: +1
Attack: Fist +5/+5 melee 1d6+2 (20/x2) or Quarterstaff +4/+4 melee 1d6 (20/x2)
Special Attacks: Unarmed Fighting, Cursed Wounds (hex)
Special Qualities: Gaze of Flames, Spiritualism, Favored Ritual (Flame), Spirit Servant (Raven Shadow), Stigmata (transfiguration of flesh), Child of Omen Background, Shadow Born Background (precognition)
Saves: Fort +7; Ref +6; Will +6
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 18
Skills: Athletics 0, Communication 6 (-1 stigmata), Lore 4, Mechanics 1, Perception 1, Stealth 2, Survival 2 (0 skill points remaining)
Weapon Training: Unarmed, Staff, Magic Attack, Spell Attack
Feats: Overwhelming Presence (I), Deflect Missiles (II), Dodge (I), Unarmed Combat (Finesse) (I)
Magical Attack: +7 (+3, +4 Cha)
Power Points (9/18)
Spiritualist Powers (at will) - Canny Effort, Touch of Nausea, Lesser Telekinesis
Spiritualist Spells - Fireburst (2 PP), Obscuring Mist (2 PP), Energy Blade (4 PP)
Possessions: Quarterstaff, Leather Armor, Black Robes
Companion: Spirit Servant (Raven) "Shadow"

[StardustReborn]

Well, I actually like that. It makes it much easier if the spell casting is similar. I think the only other thing I will do is have spells that normally have saving throws be an attack roll instead. So the Target Number of the attack roll is 8 + Modifier. (For example a +8 Will bonus would be a target number of 16.) I thought seriously about having it be 10 + Modifier, but I think this is a bit too powerful. Magic is rare and dangerous, but its effective.

So there we have it, a full game system, more or less. I'm not certain if I will throw out any of the other Iron Heroes classes if they are not fitting with the campaign, but if I do so, it will be a world making decision, not a game technical one. So we'll move on to the World Creation thread for the rest of this discussion.