mabriss lethe
2008-08-30, 03:54 PM
So yeah. I'm looking at TOM for the first time in a few years. I'd forgotten just how insanely poorly done the Truespeaker is.
I've spent the past hour combing the forum for fixes, but I haven't found anything that really appeals to me. Lots of formula fixes that get more bizarre than the original and lots of attempts to list every single skill boosting trick in the book.
So far here's what I've got: ( didn't see this as a fix anywhere, but if it's already been done, kudos/etc. Hope someone tells me how it worked out for them.)
Add a class ability at 1st level. Call it something like "Linguistic focus." The ability gives you an unnamed bonus to truenaming checks equal to the character's level in Truespeaker. assuming a maxed skill, this would make the DC increase for higher hit dice and skill increases per level identical. This way, the base chance of success, before adding ability score improvement and skill boosts, remains the same throughout the level progression.
What does this mean? in dice terms, Assuming 18 int and max skills, you'll have to roll an 8 to get an utterance to succeed on an enemy, or a 6 on yourself. skill focus reduces that to a 5 for another target or a 3 for yourself. (+2 to the speech DC for using a personal true name, but +4 to the roll to do so because it's your own.)*Assumes that personal true names haven't been revamped.* Now, adding in skill boosts/ equipment means you can pretty much spam your utterances until someone breaks your jaw. That's why I've decided to keep the laws of resistance and sequence. To actually give you a chance at failure over time. Since none of the utterances, even the highest level ones are particularly powerful, I'd say that seems like a decent fix.
Knowing a target's true name: This whole mechanic needs to be reversed. Nix the improvement to caster level and utterance save DCs. Instead make it so that knowledge of a target's true name reduces the DC of the check to affect them with an utterance. This means that a skilled truenamer is a dangerous magician if he knows who you are. I have no idea how much it should reduce the DC, only that it should be harsh enough that trusting someone with your true name is a BIG deal and that most magicians, especially truespeakers, guard their names more violently than a wizard guards his spellbook. Note that a truespeaker already knows their own true name, so using this system would make self-buffs insanely reliable.(depending on what sort of bonus a true name actually provides)
I've spent the past hour combing the forum for fixes, but I haven't found anything that really appeals to me. Lots of formula fixes that get more bizarre than the original and lots of attempts to list every single skill boosting trick in the book.
So far here's what I've got: ( didn't see this as a fix anywhere, but if it's already been done, kudos/etc. Hope someone tells me how it worked out for them.)
Add a class ability at 1st level. Call it something like "Linguistic focus." The ability gives you an unnamed bonus to truenaming checks equal to the character's level in Truespeaker. assuming a maxed skill, this would make the DC increase for higher hit dice and skill increases per level identical. This way, the base chance of success, before adding ability score improvement and skill boosts, remains the same throughout the level progression.
What does this mean? in dice terms, Assuming 18 int and max skills, you'll have to roll an 8 to get an utterance to succeed on an enemy, or a 6 on yourself. skill focus reduces that to a 5 for another target or a 3 for yourself. (+2 to the speech DC for using a personal true name, but +4 to the roll to do so because it's your own.)*Assumes that personal true names haven't been revamped.* Now, adding in skill boosts/ equipment means you can pretty much spam your utterances until someone breaks your jaw. That's why I've decided to keep the laws of resistance and sequence. To actually give you a chance at failure over time. Since none of the utterances, even the highest level ones are particularly powerful, I'd say that seems like a decent fix.
Knowing a target's true name: This whole mechanic needs to be reversed. Nix the improvement to caster level and utterance save DCs. Instead make it so that knowledge of a target's true name reduces the DC of the check to affect them with an utterance. This means that a skilled truenamer is a dangerous magician if he knows who you are. I have no idea how much it should reduce the DC, only that it should be harsh enough that trusting someone with your true name is a BIG deal and that most magicians, especially truespeakers, guard their names more violently than a wizard guards his spellbook. Note that a truespeaker already knows their own true name, so using this system would make self-buffs insanely reliable.(depending on what sort of bonus a true name actually provides)