Malapterus
2018-11-03, 11:29 AM
So I've made a lot of new threads recently and feel spammy. I'm going to list a bunch of minor thoughts here I need help with and anyone who wants to pipe up on any of them will be greatly appreciated!
uhhhhh...
For something like a Centaur or a Drider (NPC) that can't really ride something but has an appropriate mount growing out of its hips, what do you think of letting it be its own Special Mount as a Paladin (or Paladin variant)? Like, it would get all the bonuses a special mount would normally get, aside from being able to be stored in another realm of course, applied to itself - in reference to its lower half where appropriate.
What's an appropriate level for a Druid spell that turns someone into a Wendigo? (Fiend Folio page 186).
The details of the spell would include the following:
-An appropriate Will save
-the resulting Wendigo does not have the Disease quality initially, though perhaps it would gain it after a while (days/weeks/months)
-the resulting Wendigo is Chaotic Evil even though it remembers its life up to the transformation. Whatever its life before, its motivations are now that of a Wendigo.
-It is not under the control of the caster, but is initially friendly and allied; it will fight alongside and follow the caster until such time that their interests vary too much, at which point it will go off on its own.
-a Remove Curse or similar effect will restore the Wendigo to its previous form.
I want a Druid spell, probably level 9, that is an insta-kill along the lines of Phantasmal Killer or Power Word - Kill. I don't like Power Word Kill's hard HP limit. Phantasmal Killer's double-save with consolation prize of damage is pretty good, thought I always thought it was a bit much for a level 4 spell.
This one works by turning the target's heart to ice, probably at Close range. This would mean;
-it's going to get at least a Fortitude save, probably with some Cold damage on a failed save.
-it can only insta-kill things that have a heart and need them to survive, so things immune to Fortitude-save-effects would instead auto-succeed and take the cold damage, as would plants and oozes and anything immune to critical hits.
-Dying from having your heart turned into a chunk of ice should have some lingering effect, maybe it takes another step to resurrect your dead butt.
These spells are for a Druid variant I had, a terrain-based version based on Wasteland/Tundra/Jungle/Whatever. You lose the ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally, and gain a Domain-like list of 9 appropriate spells that you can spontaneously cast instead. You'd probably also get some other bonus based on your terrain - I feel like you'd gain enough that you should get some penalty or lose something else, any thoughts?
-The Druid I am talking about here is from Arctic terrain and would have a pocket full of Ice spells from the variation.
If you were using the Druid class variant that gives you an Elemental as your animal companion, what level would be fair to swap that out for an Invisible Stalker? How many levels should you be docked for the upgrade?
Moving on from Druids-
Some Exotic weapons are definitely exotic. The bastard sword requires a level of wrist strength you have to achieve, and the orc double axe is weird enough that you really have to learn it. Other weapons, though, are such a hair over the line of Exotic that it doesn't seem like you'd need Feat-level experience to use them.
A good example is the Repeating Crossbow. What if, presuming you were already proficient with a crossbow, someone who was proficient with the repeater could take the time to teach you to use it? You'd really just need to learn to use the reloading lever and load the clip. For something like this, do you think giving a couple days down-time with a proficient user would be a fair trade for proficiency? You'd have to find someone and convince them to do so, but that could be as easy the guy who sells repeating crossbows. The Hand Crossbow is also along these lines.
I've got some Gnome-crafted gadgety stuff I want to make available, but I don't want to make my players blow their Feats to enjoy them.
I had an idea for a Wizard (backup NPC for when one of my NPC spellcasters bites it). He has an Effigy (Complete Arcane pg 151), of himself, and he pilots it remotely via Divination. It can, somehow, cast his spells for him; I am not sure how to work that. It can also command his other minions, and converse with his allies for him. I am also not sure how far away he should be able to control it from, though anti-Divination effects would surely be a problem for him. The fact that he is a robot would be distracted from by his primary source of attack; an Iron Golem he built and possibly some other constructs, which he devotes his combat rounds to buffing and guiding tactically. (if he has to show up too soon he'll probably have something a little tamer).
I like the idea too of him teaming up with the team's Dread Necromancer; in the event another party member is killed they could put together a combo brain in a jar/effigy concept to bring them back as some sort of clockwork cyborg that is much more cooperative.
*note; if someone wants an exotic weapon at character creation they'll have to take the feat or otherwise obtain it normally, this would only be during gameplay.
Speaking of evil parties, the evil party is all CE/CN loners who do not like working in groups and have an automatic dislike for each other. What's a good physical class who could be their leader and keep them in line? Someone who can loom authority over wizards and rangers and vampire barbarians. For some reason I feel like a Rogue might work due to their skills and sneaky tactics, but I don't think anyone without a full BaB would intimidate these guys enough one-on-one.
-I'll note that this gentleman has been entrusted with a particularly nasty magic weapon that is probably a few notches above his pay grade.
Anyone know a good scythe build to go with my LA+4 Drow Vampire? I'd like to capitalize on that 4x crit, and also maybe get her Reach on that scythe. She's the epitome of Chaotic Evil; very intelligent, but bestially aggressive, delighting in terrifying and striking down... I was going to say 'her enemies', but that qualifier is not necessary. Anyone, anywhere, any time, is a valid target for intimidation, slaughter, or torture. This is not to say she has no self-control, no other interests, and no capacity to know when she needs to behave, just she is happy to let it all out on the battlefield. Some sort of crit-maxing melee-reaching barbarian-raging mashup would be nice but I really don't know where to start.
Is a Paladin of Tyranny a worthwhile avenue for an armored, mounted, front-line NPC combatant? Female Drow in service of Lolth, riding one of them big ol' tongue lizards from the Drow book. Is there a option? I might even consider Paladin of Tyranny and making her Lawful Evil, which breaks from the group but would give the boss someone he can actually count on.
Maybe somehow prestige it into Eye of Lolth? not sure how to get sneak attack on a knight, but I'm sure it can be done & I've seen in the past that heavy-armor strength-based rogues can actually be quite competent.
Speaking of Lolth, I need a deity for my evil Drow King. Lolth does not approve of his patriarchal shenanigans, so he needs a deity that suits him and is not afraid of Lolth. Conquest is the goal of the king, and shrouding the entire world in darkness is something he is willing to do in his goal of owning the surface.
If you were in a game would you rather see something that is anachronistic but balanced or something put together from source books that is more setting-appropriate but more powerful?
-In this case I have a Ranger dual-wielding wondrous items that function as 1d4 bludgeoning 5-shot 'pistols' with a range of 8 feet and a basic crit; I could replace these with light repeating crossbows powered by a permanent Ghostly Reload effect, and from there I could even make them the axe/crossbow combos from the Magic item Compendium. This would be an additional -2 to attack without an additional magic item slot used, but would really increase their usefulness. It would also be easy to enhance a clip so it holds 100 rounds or even produced infinite +1 rounds like a glove of daggers - but I'm going for style here, not optimization. Even without upgrades past the ghostly reload, it's a huge increase in damage, range, and critical.
So, would you rather have the crossbows because they 'fit' or would you rather be up against the 1d4 wondrous item tubes enchanted with Launch Bolt?
https://i.imgur.com/sk2jJOd.png
If I send my Good party on a quest to fetch a wayward soul from an infernal domain as part of the plot, what do you think the ramifications of that will be? I worry that they will think it is an option to solve other problems, even if I make it so they need a distinct NPC to get to Hell and back that is not interested in their problems but has an investment in the particular soul.
What's a good way to handle it when your plot relies on the players solving a riddle and your players just can't figure it out? My group is pretty sharp, but I still worry.
I have a map set up so it will be possible, and in one case likely, for my team to wander into the lair of a monster they are NOT equipped to defeat - in this case, a CR26 Mountain Giant named Gobo. Now, they are definitely equipped to solve the problem Gobo is causing with finesse, but if they try to attack Gobo we're talking a TPK since they'll probably be level 11 or 12 at the time. All they have to do is rescue some gnomes he kidnapped, which I figure should be easy enough to do with some stealth and planning.
How, though, can I make it very clear that a given monster is above their level? Like, short of speaking dm-to-player and stating DO NOT ENGAGE, what are some good storytelling and roleplaying ways to let the characters know that they're in over their head?
I mean, I feel Gobo should be obvious. He's 40 feet tall and his weapons are bigger than the characters' bodies - but nothing is ever obvious to players and if they go into KILL mode it's going to be unpleasant.
Thanks for anyone who takes the time to parse and read this crud.
uhhhhh...
For something like a Centaur or a Drider (NPC) that can't really ride something but has an appropriate mount growing out of its hips, what do you think of letting it be its own Special Mount as a Paladin (or Paladin variant)? Like, it would get all the bonuses a special mount would normally get, aside from being able to be stored in another realm of course, applied to itself - in reference to its lower half where appropriate.
What's an appropriate level for a Druid spell that turns someone into a Wendigo? (Fiend Folio page 186).
The details of the spell would include the following:
-An appropriate Will save
-the resulting Wendigo does not have the Disease quality initially, though perhaps it would gain it after a while (days/weeks/months)
-the resulting Wendigo is Chaotic Evil even though it remembers its life up to the transformation. Whatever its life before, its motivations are now that of a Wendigo.
-It is not under the control of the caster, but is initially friendly and allied; it will fight alongside and follow the caster until such time that their interests vary too much, at which point it will go off on its own.
-a Remove Curse or similar effect will restore the Wendigo to its previous form.
I want a Druid spell, probably level 9, that is an insta-kill along the lines of Phantasmal Killer or Power Word - Kill. I don't like Power Word Kill's hard HP limit. Phantasmal Killer's double-save with consolation prize of damage is pretty good, thought I always thought it was a bit much for a level 4 spell.
This one works by turning the target's heart to ice, probably at Close range. This would mean;
-it's going to get at least a Fortitude save, probably with some Cold damage on a failed save.
-it can only insta-kill things that have a heart and need them to survive, so things immune to Fortitude-save-effects would instead auto-succeed and take the cold damage, as would plants and oozes and anything immune to critical hits.
-Dying from having your heart turned into a chunk of ice should have some lingering effect, maybe it takes another step to resurrect your dead butt.
These spells are for a Druid variant I had, a terrain-based version based on Wasteland/Tundra/Jungle/Whatever. You lose the ability to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally, and gain a Domain-like list of 9 appropriate spells that you can spontaneously cast instead. You'd probably also get some other bonus based on your terrain - I feel like you'd gain enough that you should get some penalty or lose something else, any thoughts?
-The Druid I am talking about here is from Arctic terrain and would have a pocket full of Ice spells from the variation.
If you were using the Druid class variant that gives you an Elemental as your animal companion, what level would be fair to swap that out for an Invisible Stalker? How many levels should you be docked for the upgrade?
Moving on from Druids-
Some Exotic weapons are definitely exotic. The bastard sword requires a level of wrist strength you have to achieve, and the orc double axe is weird enough that you really have to learn it. Other weapons, though, are such a hair over the line of Exotic that it doesn't seem like you'd need Feat-level experience to use them.
A good example is the Repeating Crossbow. What if, presuming you were already proficient with a crossbow, someone who was proficient with the repeater could take the time to teach you to use it? You'd really just need to learn to use the reloading lever and load the clip. For something like this, do you think giving a couple days down-time with a proficient user would be a fair trade for proficiency? You'd have to find someone and convince them to do so, but that could be as easy the guy who sells repeating crossbows. The Hand Crossbow is also along these lines.
I've got some Gnome-crafted gadgety stuff I want to make available, but I don't want to make my players blow their Feats to enjoy them.
I had an idea for a Wizard (backup NPC for when one of my NPC spellcasters bites it). He has an Effigy (Complete Arcane pg 151), of himself, and he pilots it remotely via Divination. It can, somehow, cast his spells for him; I am not sure how to work that. It can also command his other minions, and converse with his allies for him. I am also not sure how far away he should be able to control it from, though anti-Divination effects would surely be a problem for him. The fact that he is a robot would be distracted from by his primary source of attack; an Iron Golem he built and possibly some other constructs, which he devotes his combat rounds to buffing and guiding tactically. (if he has to show up too soon he'll probably have something a little tamer).
I like the idea too of him teaming up with the team's Dread Necromancer; in the event another party member is killed they could put together a combo brain in a jar/effigy concept to bring them back as some sort of clockwork cyborg that is much more cooperative.
*note; if someone wants an exotic weapon at character creation they'll have to take the feat or otherwise obtain it normally, this would only be during gameplay.
Speaking of evil parties, the evil party is all CE/CN loners who do not like working in groups and have an automatic dislike for each other. What's a good physical class who could be their leader and keep them in line? Someone who can loom authority over wizards and rangers and vampire barbarians. For some reason I feel like a Rogue might work due to their skills and sneaky tactics, but I don't think anyone without a full BaB would intimidate these guys enough one-on-one.
-I'll note that this gentleman has been entrusted with a particularly nasty magic weapon that is probably a few notches above his pay grade.
Anyone know a good scythe build to go with my LA+4 Drow Vampire? I'd like to capitalize on that 4x crit, and also maybe get her Reach on that scythe. She's the epitome of Chaotic Evil; very intelligent, but bestially aggressive, delighting in terrifying and striking down... I was going to say 'her enemies', but that qualifier is not necessary. Anyone, anywhere, any time, is a valid target for intimidation, slaughter, or torture. This is not to say she has no self-control, no other interests, and no capacity to know when she needs to behave, just she is happy to let it all out on the battlefield. Some sort of crit-maxing melee-reaching barbarian-raging mashup would be nice but I really don't know where to start.
Is a Paladin of Tyranny a worthwhile avenue for an armored, mounted, front-line NPC combatant? Female Drow in service of Lolth, riding one of them big ol' tongue lizards from the Drow book. Is there a option? I might even consider Paladin of Tyranny and making her Lawful Evil, which breaks from the group but would give the boss someone he can actually count on.
Maybe somehow prestige it into Eye of Lolth? not sure how to get sneak attack on a knight, but I'm sure it can be done & I've seen in the past that heavy-armor strength-based rogues can actually be quite competent.
Speaking of Lolth, I need a deity for my evil Drow King. Lolth does not approve of his patriarchal shenanigans, so he needs a deity that suits him and is not afraid of Lolth. Conquest is the goal of the king, and shrouding the entire world in darkness is something he is willing to do in his goal of owning the surface.
If you were in a game would you rather see something that is anachronistic but balanced or something put together from source books that is more setting-appropriate but more powerful?
-In this case I have a Ranger dual-wielding wondrous items that function as 1d4 bludgeoning 5-shot 'pistols' with a range of 8 feet and a basic crit; I could replace these with light repeating crossbows powered by a permanent Ghostly Reload effect, and from there I could even make them the axe/crossbow combos from the Magic item Compendium. This would be an additional -2 to attack without an additional magic item slot used, but would really increase their usefulness. It would also be easy to enhance a clip so it holds 100 rounds or even produced infinite +1 rounds like a glove of daggers - but I'm going for style here, not optimization. Even without upgrades past the ghostly reload, it's a huge increase in damage, range, and critical.
So, would you rather have the crossbows because they 'fit' or would you rather be up against the 1d4 wondrous item tubes enchanted with Launch Bolt?
https://i.imgur.com/sk2jJOd.png
If I send my Good party on a quest to fetch a wayward soul from an infernal domain as part of the plot, what do you think the ramifications of that will be? I worry that they will think it is an option to solve other problems, even if I make it so they need a distinct NPC to get to Hell and back that is not interested in their problems but has an investment in the particular soul.
What's a good way to handle it when your plot relies on the players solving a riddle and your players just can't figure it out? My group is pretty sharp, but I still worry.
I have a map set up so it will be possible, and in one case likely, for my team to wander into the lair of a monster they are NOT equipped to defeat - in this case, a CR26 Mountain Giant named Gobo. Now, they are definitely equipped to solve the problem Gobo is causing with finesse, but if they try to attack Gobo we're talking a TPK since they'll probably be level 11 or 12 at the time. All they have to do is rescue some gnomes he kidnapped, which I figure should be easy enough to do with some stealth and planning.
How, though, can I make it very clear that a given monster is above their level? Like, short of speaking dm-to-player and stating DO NOT ENGAGE, what are some good storytelling and roleplaying ways to let the characters know that they're in over their head?
I mean, I feel Gobo should be obvious. He's 40 feet tall and his weapons are bigger than the characters' bodies - but nothing is ever obvious to players and if they go into KILL mode it's going to be unpleasant.
Thanks for anyone who takes the time to parse and read this crud.