Roderick_BR
2008-03-04, 10:30 AM
Suggestions for low magic campaign?
My current group is playing an all warrior party, so I decided to make a low magic campaign, with only NPCs being fullcasters.
I'm looking for suggestions for houserules or alternative rules.
The party has an elven ranger, a dwarven fighter, and an half-orc barbarian (yeah).
The current houserules:
The half-orc doesn't get the int penalty (having a charisma penalty and almost no racial ability is bad enough).
I was going to use StarWar Saga's variation of giving characters 2 ability points every 4 levels, or rather, 1 point every even level, but I could use Thinker's idea, instead. If it gets too confusing, I'll keep the 1 point every 2 levels.
In the same vein, I'll give characters 1 feat every odd level, instead of every 3 levels. I just think that it sucks when you need to wait 2 whole levels before being able to get a new feat, specially if it's part of a chain. Since my group doesn't optimize, it'll be alright. It'll be 3 more feats at level 19.
What I really need right now is something for HP. I saw some variations, but nothing I have liked much. The wounds/vitality one is close, but I don't like how it handles critical hits.
My idea for now is something copied from others games, like Gurps, that has an "extra HP" mechanic. Characters starts with a Vitality score equal to his Constitution score, and receives HP from class. Receiving damage reduces their HP, that is their "Heroic Resistance", you interpret it as you want. HP is easy to restore (normal rest and healing rules), and can even be healed with skill checks and special itens. When HP goes to 0, the character becomes stagered (similar to the normal zero hit point rule), and can only make partial actions.
Any further damage is applied then to his Vitality. When it reaches 0, he becomes unconcious and starts to die. Healing Vitality Points is harder, as it is actual wounds to a character's body. It may take days or weeks to fully heal. Magic healing can help, but won't fully heal a character in one go.
I'm thinking about using the wounds system for dying characters. I'll look into it.
The idea is that HP is a virtual resistance that higher level characters can attain, and can easily heal it. Vitality is actual damage that takes longer to heal, and spreads the "disabled" condition for several levels of damage. It'll keep let the characters heal their HP faster and keep them from dying at first level. On the other hand, they'll have to stay at their toes whenever they take damage to their VP, since it takes longer to heal, and some monsters will have a larger number of VP, making them harder to fight.
HP: Based on creature's base dice, class levels, and constitution modifiers, as normal.
HP Damage: As normal. If the character's HP is reduced to 0, he becomes staggered.
HP recovery:
Healing checks heal 1 HP for every 5 points of the check roll. A characte with 23 ranks, +4 from wisdom, and skill focus can heal 8 HP by taking 10. It can be use once every hour.
Resting allows a character to recover 1 HP for every level/HD he has.
Magic and itens heals HP as normal.
VP: VP is equal to the creature's Constitution score. Plants have 1 VP for every hit dice. Undead and constructs have 0.
VP damage: Any damage the creature takes after it's HP is reduced to 0 is applied directly to VP. When a creature's.
VP recovery:
Healing checks doesn't recover VP.
Resting recovers 1 VP a week.
Resting under care of a character making healing checks recovers 1 VP a day.
Magic healing, besides the normal ammount of HP, restores 1 VP for every type of spell (minor = none, light = 1VP, moderate = 2VPs, serious = 3VPs, critical = 4VPs, Heal = 1VP/2 caster levels).
When VP is down to 0, the character is dying. Every round he makes a check to see if he dies or becomes stable. If he receives HP, he'll remain unconcious and losing 1 HP every round till he stabilizes or loses his HP and go back to dying.
Any thoughts on it?
For NPCs, specially casters, I'm thinking about using variants, like using sorcerers instead of wizards, and using the cloistered cleric variant.
If anyone has suggestions for plots or NPCs, lemme know. Thanks in advance.
My current group is playing an all warrior party, so I decided to make a low magic campaign, with only NPCs being fullcasters.
I'm looking for suggestions for houserules or alternative rules.
The party has an elven ranger, a dwarven fighter, and an half-orc barbarian (yeah).
The current houserules:
The half-orc doesn't get the int penalty (having a charisma penalty and almost no racial ability is bad enough).
I was going to use StarWar Saga's variation of giving characters 2 ability points every 4 levels, or rather, 1 point every even level, but I could use Thinker's idea, instead. If it gets too confusing, I'll keep the 1 point every 2 levels.
In the same vein, I'll give characters 1 feat every odd level, instead of every 3 levels. I just think that it sucks when you need to wait 2 whole levels before being able to get a new feat, specially if it's part of a chain. Since my group doesn't optimize, it'll be alright. It'll be 3 more feats at level 19.
What I really need right now is something for HP. I saw some variations, but nothing I have liked much. The wounds/vitality one is close, but I don't like how it handles critical hits.
My idea for now is something copied from others games, like Gurps, that has an "extra HP" mechanic. Characters starts with a Vitality score equal to his Constitution score, and receives HP from class. Receiving damage reduces their HP, that is their "Heroic Resistance", you interpret it as you want. HP is easy to restore (normal rest and healing rules), and can even be healed with skill checks and special itens. When HP goes to 0, the character becomes stagered (similar to the normal zero hit point rule), and can only make partial actions.
Any further damage is applied then to his Vitality. When it reaches 0, he becomes unconcious and starts to die. Healing Vitality Points is harder, as it is actual wounds to a character's body. It may take days or weeks to fully heal. Magic healing can help, but won't fully heal a character in one go.
I'm thinking about using the wounds system for dying characters. I'll look into it.
The idea is that HP is a virtual resistance that higher level characters can attain, and can easily heal it. Vitality is actual damage that takes longer to heal, and spreads the "disabled" condition for several levels of damage. It'll keep let the characters heal their HP faster and keep them from dying at first level. On the other hand, they'll have to stay at their toes whenever they take damage to their VP, since it takes longer to heal, and some monsters will have a larger number of VP, making them harder to fight.
HP: Based on creature's base dice, class levels, and constitution modifiers, as normal.
HP Damage: As normal. If the character's HP is reduced to 0, he becomes staggered.
HP recovery:
Healing checks heal 1 HP for every 5 points of the check roll. A characte with 23 ranks, +4 from wisdom, and skill focus can heal 8 HP by taking 10. It can be use once every hour.
Resting allows a character to recover 1 HP for every level/HD he has.
Magic and itens heals HP as normal.
VP: VP is equal to the creature's Constitution score. Plants have 1 VP for every hit dice. Undead and constructs have 0.
VP damage: Any damage the creature takes after it's HP is reduced to 0 is applied directly to VP. When a creature's.
VP recovery:
Healing checks doesn't recover VP.
Resting recovers 1 VP a week.
Resting under care of a character making healing checks recovers 1 VP a day.
Magic healing, besides the normal ammount of HP, restores 1 VP for every type of spell (minor = none, light = 1VP, moderate = 2VPs, serious = 3VPs, critical = 4VPs, Heal = 1VP/2 caster levels).
When VP is down to 0, the character is dying. Every round he makes a check to see if he dies or becomes stable. If he receives HP, he'll remain unconcious and losing 1 HP every round till he stabilizes or loses his HP and go back to dying.
Any thoughts on it?
For NPCs, specially casters, I'm thinking about using variants, like using sorcerers instead of wizards, and using the cloistered cleric variant.
If anyone has suggestions for plots or NPCs, lemme know. Thanks in advance.