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late for dinner
2008-10-23, 06:58 PM
I am fairly new to gaming but I have always wanted to do a game like skies of Arcadia meets Treasure Planet. All the space ships are actually flying Pirate ships and the weaponry is really old school...kind of like the weaponry in the Anime "The Last Exile" There would be sea monsters flying around in the clouds but instead of sea monsters they would be Air monsters. Any Ideas on this...maybe system?, Characters, Should magic be included? I would have to kind of build it from the ground up...

BizzaroStormy
2008-10-23, 08:44 PM
You could simply go freeform. With proper moderation itd easy to get whatever you want.

Nerd-o-rama
2008-10-23, 08:51 PM
Well, there's rules for airships and the like in D&D (Eberron campaign setting and its expansions), and there used to be similar rules for magical spaceships (in the AD&D Spelljammer setting; you could easily pick up the books used for cheap and just use the flavor if you didn't want to play AD&D).

Other systems can model similar things fairly easily, such as Mutants & Masterminds or Big Eyes Small Mouth (which is just M&M with an anime bias...or maybe M&M is BESM with a western comics bias). Hell, you can adapt almost any system to such a setting if you're not too concerned with putting mechanics to ship movement and just keep all that stuff as part of the flavor and background.

However, the idea of a Skies of Arcadia game system (d20? Some other base?) does intrigue me...

AgentPaper
2008-10-23, 09:01 PM
*snip*

However, the idea of a Skies of Arcadia game system (d20? Some other base?) does intrigue me...

I would so help with that. Especially if it threw in some Last Exile flavor as above. Maybe we should get a team going on this? :smallbiggrin:

Maldraugedhen
2008-10-23, 09:52 PM
Funny you should mention that. Did it a couple of months ago, actually, as a sort of D&D Tumor. Well, the Skies base system, anyway. Kind of a rough system, I'll admit--needs some more fleshing out, but my players have already planehopped away, so it's backburner till I finish psynergy in D20 form. Feel free to pop more into it. I know the base power level of races is slightly stronger than core, but I don't think it's overpoweredly so. Got a few ships statted out, too. If I feel like transcribing them out of my notebook, you'll see 'em in this thread.

Also never got much of a chance to playtest the ship to ship system--tried it once and it seemed to work, but one playtest does not a stable system make. We'll see.

I will admit, the magic XP system requires a ridiculous amount of paperwork. Anybody who wants to work out an alternative system, I'd be thankful for it, especially if my players decide to retrace their steps to get their flying ninja pirate ship back. After a while, I just said, "Screw it, stop keeping track of it yourselves--I'll just tell you when you get a new rank."

Feel free to yoink what you like, of course, and--what the hell--why not PEACH.

Skies of Arcadia

Racial Traits

All races in Skies of Arcadia are human, and gain the bonus feat and skill point per level as normal for humans. However, there are regional differences in background. Take these in addition to the normal Human traits unless otherwise specified.

Valuan

Valuans are native to the wasteland under the Yellow Moon. They live in a highly polarized (economically-speaking) industrial society. All Valuans receive a +2 to skill checks involving technological devices, and firearms are considered martial weapons for Valuan characters. Valuan characters do not gain the bonus feat for being human, but in addition to traits common to all Valuans, they are either Upper or Lower Valuan. Valuans, being aligned with Yellow, are especially prone to Silver and Green, and take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Silver or Green source, and make saves versus Silver or Green effects at a -1.
Upper Valuan--+2 to Knowledge (Nobility) checks, Captaincy checks, and all Charisma-based skill checks, +20% starting gold. Profession is always cross-class for Upper Valuans. Upper Valuans are well-to-do, diplomatic, and knowledgeable about courtly affairs. Favored class: Bard.
Lower Valuan--+2 to Knowledge (Local) and Profession checks, one additional skill point per level (total of +2), -20% starting gold. Lower Valuans are hardworking and quick learners by necessity. Favored class: Rogue.

Valuan Racial Feats

Noble House Member
You are a member of one of the Valuan houses of nobility. As such, you were even more well-off than most Valuans are, and received a better education.
Requirements: Upper Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: An additional +10% starting gold, as well as +1 to Intelligence-based skill checks.

Street Pup
You’ve been living on your own for most of your life, and so know a thing or two about keeping yourself alive.
Requirements: Lower Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: +2 to Gather Information checks and gain Favored Environment (City) as per the Ranger variant.

Ascending House
One of your recent family members was something of an economic genius, and your ascension into the upper echelons of society was fairly recent. As such, your family still values hard work.
Requirements: Upper Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: Knowledge (Local) and all Profession skills are class skills regardless of what class is taken. This overrides the Upper Valuan racial penalty against Profession.

Descending House
One of your family members recently splurged somewhat and lost the family fortune, forcing you to move to the other side of the city. As rough as you’ve had it recently, you still keep your eyes on what’s going on above, unlike those around you, and are fairly well-spoken.
Requirements: Lower Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: +2 to Knowledge (Nobility) and +1 to all charisma-based skill checks.



Nasrean

Nasreans are native to the desert land under the Red Moon. Mercantilistic and somewhat antagonistic to the imperialistic Valuans. Nasreans get a +4 to Fortitude saves made to resist extreme heat, and have permanent Energy Resistance 2 to Fire. Nasreans gain a +2 to Sense Motive checks and Gunnery checks, and receive a +1 to hit with all explosive weapons. They either gain the bonus feat for being human OR the bonus skill points, but not both. Nasreans, being aligned with Red, are weak against Blue and Purple, and take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Blue or Purple source, and make saves versus Blue or Purple effects at a -1. Favored class: Fighter.

Nasrean Racial Feats

Desert Caravaneer
Your family was a trading family, moving spices, moonstones, and other commodities between the various desert cities—over land. This has served to make you rather hardy.
Requirements: Nasrean, character level 1st.
Benefit: Gain Endurance as a free feat, Favored Environment (Desert) as per the Ranger variant, and your maximum carrying capacity increases by 20 pounds.

Nasrean Gunner
You attended the prestigious Nasrean Gunnery Academy as a youth, and learned quite well how to work all kinds of firearms.
Requirements: Nasrean, character level 1st, Ranger or Fighter.
Benefit: You gain weapon proficiency with all Arcadian firearms, and make all Gunnery checks at a +4.

Family Trade
You were taught by experienced workers in your field of choice.
Requirements: Nasrean, character level 1st.
Benefit: +10% starting gold, +4 to one particular type of Profession check of your choice.


Arctican

Arcticans hail from small fishing villages fairly recently discovered on the fringes of the frozen Southern Continent, under the Purple Moon. They are an especially hardy people, and gain a +4 to Fortitude saves made to resist extreme cold, a +2 to Constitution, a +2 bonus to Survival, Spot, Listen, and Search checks, a -1 to Charisma-based skill checks and Knowledge (Nobility) Checks, and a –2 to Dexterity. They also receive a -1 to all skill checks involving technological devices. They do not gain the bonus skill points for being human, but do gain the bonus feat. Arcticans, being aligned with Purple, are weak against Red and Green. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Red or Green source, and make saves versus Red or Green effects at a -1. Favored class: Ranger.


Arctican Racial Feats

Sky Fisherman
You were one of a few to hunt fish in the air, rather than the ones beneath the ice.
Requirements: Arctican, character level 1st.
Benefit: You gain Favored Environment (Open Sky) as per the Ranger variant, +1 to Gunnery checks, and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Skyfishing Spear).

Hunting Spotter
Your especially keen eyesight was always a boon on hunting trips into the tundra.
Requirements: Arctican, character level 1st, 13 Wisdom.
Benefit: You gain a +2 to Spot and Search checks and a +2 to your Initiative rolls.

Unusually Hardy
You have been swimming in the arctic waters of your homeland for a good long time.
Requirements: Arctican, character level 1st, 15 Constitution.
Benefit: A number of times per day equal to your Constitution modifier, you may roll 2 d20 for a Fortitude save and choose the better result.


Yafutoman

Native to the isolated land under the Blue Moon, Yafutomans are used to a very different culture from the rest of the world. All Yafutoman weapons are considered martial rather than exotic, Yafutoman pilots provide a +1 bonus to ship AC if they are piloting, and Yafutomans gain a +2 bonus to Spot, Jump, Use Rope, Knowledge (Geography), and Swim checks. They gain either the bonus feat for being human OR the bonus skill points, but not both. Yafutomans, being aligned with Blue, are weak against Purple and Yellow. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Purple or Yellow source, and make saves versus Purple or Yellow effects at a -1. Favored class: Monk.


Yafutoman Racial Feats

Two Schools of Thought
You studied the Yafutoman approach to your trade, and now apply Western methods as well.
Requirements: Yafutoman, character level 1st, 4 ranks in Profession OR Perform OR Craft, Int 13
Benefit: When making a skill check in Profession, Perform, or Craft, you may add one quarter of your character level (rounded down) to the check result (minimum of 1).

Unorthodox Combat
You learned a different style of combat from much of the rest of the world. This takes some people by surprise.
Requirements: Yafutoman, character level 1st, BAB 1+
Benefit: During the first two rounds of combat, all non-Yafutoman opponents you threaten at a point during the round have a -1 penalty to their AC. Characters affected in such a way may choose to cancel this effect in respect to themselves, but doing so provokes an attack of opportunity.

A Different Angle
You attack people and problems in much the same way in respect to the rest of the world—namely, differently.
Requirements: Yafutoman, Int 15
Benefit: If a ship you are aboard fights at a disadvantage for three turns in a row, you may make a suggestion to the captain (Diplomacy check as if to improve his opinion, no penalty for time frame, move action). If he follows the suggestion, he makes his Captaincy check at a +4 for the next round, but the pilot makes his Piloting check at a -2. In addition, you may retry any Intelligence-based skill once, even if the skill normally does not allow it.


Ixa’takan

The natives of the newly discovered continent of Ixa’taka, these people are used to living in the jungles of their home under the Green Moon. They receive a -2 to skill checks involving technological devices, but gain a +2 to their Survival, Spot, Knowledge (Nature) and Listen checks, as well as Favored Environment (Jungle) as the Ranger variant and +1 to hit with simple weapons. Ixa’takans receive either the bonus feat for being human OR the bonus skill points, but not both. Ixa’takans, being aligned with Green, are weak against Red. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Red source, and make saves versus Red effects at a -1. Favored class: Ranger.



Ixa’takan Racial Feats

Green Attunement
You share an especially potent connection with the Green Moon.
Requirements: Ixa’takan, character level 1st, 15 Wisdom.
Benefit: You gain Fast Healing 1 and your Green Aptitude increases by one point.

Patient Hunter
You have lain in wait in uncomfortable conditions for many hours waiting for your prey to come by.
Requirements: Ixa’takan, character level 1st, 13 Constitution.
Benefit: Unrushed hide checks your character makes (hide checks made without the use of an accompanying distraction) are made at a +4. You take no penalties to your hide check while sleeping, although you may not make new hide checks while asleep (you aren’t moving).

Guerilla Fighter
You are quite adept at fighting in poor visibility conditions.
Requirements: Ixa’takan, 15 Dexterity, Stealthy.
Benefit: The penalty to Hide checks from sniping is reduced to a –5 penalty, but becomes a cumulative penalty for each Snipe attempt made at the same character or group of characters.


Silvite

Silvites are a rare sight, but becoming more and more common recently. They are members of the mysterious Silver Civilization, and are sworn to secrecy concerning from where they hail. Most of them seem to be explorers come to investigate these lands, with very little knowledge about how the world works, but extensive knowledge of its history. Silvites take a -2 penalty to Charisma, Sense Motive and Knowledge (Local, Nobility) checks, but gain a +2 to Wisdom and a +2 to Knowledge (History, Moons) checks. They also gain the bonus feat and skill points for being human—they are especially adaptive. Silvites, being aligned with Silver, are weak against Yellow. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Yellow source, and make saves versus Yellow effects at a -1. Favored class: Wizard.


Silvite Racial Feats

Grand Perspective
You are used to viewing things from an overhead perspective, and so make decisions and realize things based on a grander scheme than most.
Requirements: Silvite, 13 Intelligence, 15 Wisdom.
Benefit: When involved in a combat, you may make an automatic Spot check to detect additional enemies (and do so at a +4).


Unaligned

Drifters from any of the Oceans, unaligned people are often merchants, sailors, or pirates. They receive a +2 bonus to Knowledge (Local, Geography, Nature) checks, and a +2 bonus to Profession checks. They also gain the bonus feat for being human and the bonus skill point per level. Favored class: Any.



Arcadian Weaponry

Moon Stones

Moon stones are the basis for all Arcadian technology. Every stone is aligned with a different element—Yellow, Red, Purple, Blue, Green, or Silver—and has its own inherent effects.

Yellow—A weapon imbued with a Yellow stone adds 1d6 lightning damage, glows dimly providing 10 feet of dim illumination, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Blue or Silver weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Red— A weapon imbued with a Yellow stone adds 1d6 fire damage, glows dimly providing 10 feet of dim illumination, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Green or Purple weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Purple—A weapon imbued with a Purple stone adds 1d6 ice damage, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Blue or Red weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Blue—A weapon imbued with a Blue stone adds 1d6 force damage, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Red weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Green—A weapon imbued with a Green stone adds 1d6 terrestrial damage, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Purple or Yellow weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Silver—A weapon imbued with a Silver stone adds 1d6 aligned damage (either Good or Evil, whichever the character is leaning more towards), and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Yellow weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).

Multipliers from weapons are applied last—after damage reduction and any bonus damaging abilities such as Sneak Attack, and after critical damage has been applied.


Guns

All guns roll damage and to hit simultaneously. Before any enhanced damage effects are applied (including the elemental damage from the alignment of the gun, but after Weapon Specializations), and before determining if the shot is a miss, subtract one half (rounded down) of the rolled damage from the target’s armor bonus to AC for this shot only.

Handgun
Light exotic
1d10 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 15 feet

Rifle
Two-handed exotic
2d6 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 30 ft

Longrifle
Two-handed exotic
3d6 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 40 ft

Auto-load Handguns
One-handed exotic
1d10 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 15 ft

Rocket Pistol
Red Alignment Only
One-handed Exotic
1d8 damage + dexterity modifier primary, 1d6 damage splash
Crit threat x2
Range increment 10 ft

Blunderbuss Pistol
One-handed martial
1d8 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 5 ft
Can use improvised ammunition

Blunderbuss Rifle
Two-handed martial
2d8 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 20 ft
Can use improvised ammunition


Gun modifications

Double barreled
May attune each barrel with a different element, but count as wielding both for purposes of increased elemental weaknesses.

Double flints
Can reroll to hit on an unconfirmed critical miss. You must take the second result.

Breakdown Weapon
Can be disassembled into inconspicuous parts. When making the Breakdown modification, make a Craft (Gunsmithing) check at DC 5. The DC of the spot check to recognize the gun parts as gun parts is equal to the amount you beat the Craft check DC by. Disassembling the gun takes one minute, as does assembling the gun.

Magnum
Up the amount of moon powder you use per shot. Your shots now pierce an equal amount of armor to their damage, rather than one half. This weapon also now rolls a d8 for its elemental damage.

Bayonet
1d6 piercing melee attachment. -1 to hit while the bayonet is attached. Attaching the bayonet is a standard action, and removing it is a move action. May only be attached to two-handed guns. Enchantments to the gun and enchantments for the bayonet are performed separately.




Magic

All spells have somatic and verbal components and are short range.

Learning Skies of Arcadia magic

In order to learn a spell of a given level in a given color, one must amass sufficient elemental XP in that color with their aptitude to learn it. There are four levels of aptitude (Very Good, Good, Poor, and Very Poor) and six levels of spell in each element. A character gains two XP in an element for each enemy within short range that is defeated while they are wielding a weapon of that element, and one XP in an element for each ally that is wielding a weapon of that element within short range who is directly affecting the combat (essentially any participating ally). Refer to the below table in Elemental Aptitude for experience totals required for each level by each aptitude rating. Experience zeroes after gaining a level in an element. Spells are learned at the conclusion of the encounter, but magic experience resets mid encounter, and rank is gained mid encounter. Ranks above 6th do not grant new spells, but do increase the potency of spells in that element, and allow metamagics to be applied to higher level spells. Characters may obtain 7th or 8th level in an element only if they have an aptitude for that element, and, when a character obtains 8th level in an element, they are considered aligned with it—from that point onward, that character is considered to be wielding a weapon imbued with that element in addition to any other elemental attunement granted to it. This effect cannot be canceled.


Elemental Aptitude

Upon character creation, a character has 9 points to spend among the different elements to buy aptitude in that element. If a character is from a given elemental land, then they must have at least two points in the element of their land (one spent for Ixatakans plus the free point for being Ixatakan). It costs one point to improve one rank of aptitude, and all characters start at Very Poor aptitude in all elements. Aptitude may not be improved beyond Very Good.

{table]|Very Good|Good|Poor|Very Poor
1st Level|10|15|20|30
2nd Level|20|30|40|60
3rd Level|40|60|80|120
4th Level|60|90|120|180
5th Level|100|150|200|300
6th Level|150|200|300|450
7th Eff. Level*|200|300|--|--
8th Eff. Level*|300|--|--|--[/table]

Elemental Rank

In the below spell list, the color of spell is referenced as a statistic in its effect. This refers to the highest level of spell the character can cast in the color plus their aptitude level (3 for Very Good, 2 for Good, 1 for Poor and 0 for Very Poor).


Spells Per Day

A character has one overall spell pool with which to cast all Arcadian magic. They may cast a number of spells per day equal to their total Elemental Rank for all elements (not including their aptitude points), plus their wisdom or charisma modifier, whichever is higher.


Casting

When casting an Arcadian spell, for spells of rank 3 or lower, the caster must make a Fortitude or Will save (their choice) with a DC equal to 12 plus 2 times the rank. If they fail, they become fatigued. This check may be bypassed by becoming magically focused first, which requires a move action. A character may remain magically focused for multiple rounds by making a Concentration check with a DC equal to 10 plus the number of rounds the focus has been maintained already.

4th rank or higher spells are more draining. To cast such a spell unfocused automatically fatigues the character, and then the character must make the same check as above to see if they become exhausted. Casting a 4th rank or higher spell with focus is treated as casting a 3rd or lower rank spell without focus.

If casting a spell causes a character to become fatigued when they are already exhausted, they lose consciousness. There is, however, a 50% chance the spell succeeded anyway—the character makes a DC 11 untyped check to see if it succeeded. If it did, the spell’s effects are worked out before the character passes out.


Spell List

Green
Sacri—Channels 1d8 + Wis + Green rank points of green energy (neither positive nor negative) to restore health to a single target. Heals both living and undead.
Sacres—As Sacri, but 2d8 + Wis + Green rank.
Noxi—1d6 Green damage to all enemies in range, fortitude save vs. Constitution poison (1d4 initial, 1d4 secondary), fort save for half damage.
Sacrum—As Sacrum, but all chosen targets within range.
Noxum—As Noxi, but 2d8 Green damage and 2d4 initial and secondary Con poison, fort save for half damage.
Sacrulen—Fully heals a single target, including severed limbs.

Red
Pyri—1d4 + Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Pyres—1d6 + Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Increm--+25% damage (for every 4 damage dealt, add 1), + 25% to hit (for every 4 add 1), and 25% DR/- (for every 4, subtract 1) to a single target. Duration: ½ Red + ½ Cha.
Pyrum—2d6 + 2 x Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Pyrulen—3d8 + 2 x Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Incremus—As Increm, but targets all allies.

Blue
Wevli—1d6 + Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.
Slipara—Sleep, will save (subtract target’s HD from save DC), targets all, duration: Blue + Wis.
Wevles—2d4 + Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.
Quika--+1 attack in a full attack, +1 to hit and +1 to dexterity modifier, targets all allies duration: ½ Blue + ½ Wis.
Wevlen—3d6 + 2 x Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.
Wevulen—4d8 + 2 x Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.

Purple
Crystali—1d8 + Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.
Crystales—2d6 + Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.
Silenis—Cannot speak on failed Will save. Duration: Purple + Wis.
Panika—Confused on a failed Will save. Randomize target for declared action. Duration: ½ Purple + ½ Wis.
Crystalen—4d6 + 2 x Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.
Crystalum—6d6 + 2 x Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.

Yellow
Electri—1d6 + Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.
Electres—2d4 + Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.
Driln—Reverse of Increm, overrides Increm and Quika, duration Yellow + Cha or Wis (whichever is higher).
Electrum—3d6 + 2 x Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.
Drilnos—Reverse of Incremus, overrides Increm and Quika, duration ½ Yellow + ½ Cha or Wis (whichever is higher).
Electrulen—4d8 + 2 x Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.

Silver
Curia—Removes Driln, any magical debuffs (such as Doom), magical poisons. Opposed caster level check (subtract Silver from check DC). Targets all allies.
Eterni—Instant kill on 19-20 single target, Fort save (on the 17-20 result) for 1d10 damage that automatically overcomes all DR (including Epic).
Risem—Resurrects on DC 15 Silver check to ½ HP. Must have whole body.
Eternes—Instant kill on 17-20 single target, Fort save for 3d6 damage that automatically overcomes all DR.
Riselem—Resurrects without check, does not require entire body, restores body to correct form (reattaches limbs and such).
Eternum—Partywide instant kill on 17-20 (each makes the check, Fortitude save for 4d6).



Ship Combat

A ship combat round takes 24 seconds, and has two primary parts. First, there is the maneuvering phase. All captains involved pick a target ship for the round. This is the ship the gunners may fire upon. The captain makes a Captaincy check to try and predict what the other captain will do, and chooses a maneuvering difficulty for the pilot (Easy—DC 6, Medium—DC 10, Hard—DC 14, or Very Hard—DC 18). The pilot makes the Piloting check, adding one fifth (rounded down) of the damage the ship has sustained to the DC, subtracting 4 from the check result if the ship is operating with a skeleton crew, and adding the Maneuverability rating of the ship to the check result—if he beats the DC of the maneuver, he has successfully performed it, and the Captain’s Captaincy check is compared to the target’s Captaincy check. If the Captain has failed the Captaincy check, he is at a disadvantage in respect to his target. If the pilot fails by less than 5, but the Captain succeeded, treat the maneuver as a successful maneuver of one lower difficulty. If the Captain failed and the pilot failed by less than 5, treat the maneuver as a failed maneuver of one higher difficulty. If the pilot fails by more than 5, treat it as a pilot failure (below table).

{table]Difficulty|Advantage|Disadvantage
Easy|1 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-1 damage
Medium|2 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-2 damage, -1 to hit, opposing captain may change disadvantaged ship's presented facing by one face during one gunnery round
Hard|3 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-3 damage, -1 to hit, opposing captain may change disadvantaged ship's presented facing by one face during one gunnery round
Very Hard|4 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-4 damage, -2 to hit, opposing captain may change disadvantaged ship's presented facing by one face during two gunnery rounds[/table]

Pilot Failure: -5 damage, -5 to hit, AC = 10 – size modifier for the round.

Alternatively, the Captain can declare a boarding action. In this case, the pilots simply make opposed Piloting checks. Gunners cannot fire during a round in which their captain has attempted a boarding action. If the boarding action succeeds, the crew has 4 combat rounds to attempt to board the opposite ship before an additional opposed Piloting check must be made. Some weapons, such as grapples, affect further opposed piloting checks. These are noted in their weapon entries.

After the result of the piloting check has been determined, the captain chooses what facing he will present to the enemy ship in each gunnery round. The same face may not be presented two gunnery rounds in a row, nor may opposite faces be presented in consecutive rounds (port face and starboard face, as an example, or top and bottom face). The captain with the disadvantage chooses first, and the captain with the advantage may see for the first however many rounds he was granted by the maneuver which face his opponent will present him with before choosing his own facings.

In a gunnery round, each ship fires as many of its cannon as it can (being determined by crewing and what facing the gun can fire from) at its target ship simultaneously (with initiative affecting actual order of rolls), so long as each cannon has sufficient crew to operate it. The gunner rolls as an attack roll against an armor class equal to the target’s pilot’s maneuvering check minus the size modifier for the round. A cannon takes three gunnery rounds for the moon stones to be ready to fire again, but the act of reloading takes only the round after the firing, so crew can be allotted to multiple cannon. Subcannons can fire continuously for multiple rounds, up to a number of rounds stated in the gun characteristics. After this, they require one gunnery round to reload and a number of gunnery rounds equal to their cooldown before they may fire again. Torpedoes are fired in one gunnery round, and are rolled to hit and for damage just after the Maneuver check for the next Maneuvering round.

A round of ship combat takes four rounds of combat—a gunnery round takes one round of combat’s time, and the Maneuvering Round essentially happens before the first round, then between the fourth and fifth round, then between the eighth and ninth round and so on and so forth.

Crew can also repair damage to the ship. This takes four gunnery rounds, costs an amount of materials equal to the ship’s Repair Cost per hit point, and requires a number of crew equal to the Reparability value of the ship for five hit points. Crew who are neither on Gunnery nor Repair duty are assumed to be on watch, working on meals, working in the ship’s hospital, or any other action aboard the ship. The hit points from the repair action are restored at the end of the four rounds. It is assumed that crew repairing the ship are belowdecks, and so combat aboard the ship does not usually interfere.


Ships

Relevant Statistics:
Hull Sections
Hull Health
Rigging Sections
Rigging Health
Speed
Price—Purchase price on the open market.
Repair Cost—The GP value of repair materials required to restore one hit point.
Gun Slots—The number of guns of any kind this ship can hold.
Maneuverability—The relative maneuverability rating of the ship. This affects how easily a difficult maneuver can be pulled.
Size—The bulk of the ship. This affects how easy the ship is to hit.
Skeleton Crew—The minimum number of crew required to move the ship. These crewmen must all be working the engines or sails for the ship to move, or even stay in the air, unless drydocked.
Regular Crew—The number of crew required working the engines or sails for the ship to move without penalty.
Maximum Crew—The maximum comfortable crew capacity aboard the ship. More passengers can be fit in up to 1.5x the maximum, but doing so is demoralizing, especially on long journeys, and causes a -2 morale penalty so long as the crew has to live in overcrowded conditions.
Maximum Gunners—The number of crew this ship can assign to gunnery stations. This number is determined by how well laid-out the gunnery stations are.
Toughness—The relative armor value of the ship. This is how much damage is subtracted from each shot.
Capacity—The amount of cargo the ship can carry.
Reparability—How many crew are required to repair the ship five hitpoints over the course of the four gunnery rounds.

Equipment

Cannon
Type—Either primary, subcannon, or torpedo.
Damage—How much damage should be rolled on a successful hit.
Crit Threat—The critical threat range of the cannon.
Accuracy—Any inherent accuracy bonuses the cannon has.
Crew Needed—The number of crewmen required to reload the cannon in the following round.

5 hitpoints of repair materials always weighs 25 lbs. It can be bought in 5 lb units (1 hitpoint unit).
All ammunition and the supplies needed to fire weighs 10 lbs per shot. Subcannons fire their ten pounds over the course of the rounds they fire in.
Sailing equipment for one week—nonfood supplies such as moon stone, sail, and whatnot—weighs 20 lbs and costs 10 gp.

Ship’s Cook—Assuming the crew does not prepare their own food (which is usual aboard a sailing vessel), a cook has to work for one hour per meal for ten crewmen. This means that with roughly four hours of work at most between meals, one cook is needed per forty crewmen.

Primary Cannon Loadout (1 round)—2 gp.
Subcannon Loadout (enough to fire maximum duration)—3 gp.
Torpedo (1 torp)—15 gp.

Repairing a ship at a dock costs one half of the cost in repair materials that it would to repair in the air.

Ship and cannon can be resold at 4/5ths the purchase price.

TakeV
2008-10-24, 12:03 AM
Now there must be stats for the moonstone cannon. :)

sigurd
2008-10-24, 12:51 AM
Wow, you really really like spoiler tags.

Sigurd

I like it but there are so many hidden little paragraphs I can't really see it all at once.

late for dinner
2008-10-24, 09:54 AM
I would so help with that. Especially if it threw in some Last Exile flavor as above. Maybe we should get a team going on this? :smallbiggrin:

Sweet! I have really never run a game before. Like I said, I am still new to the rpg's. I have played in a bad group and I am playing in a good group now with a 4e D&D wizard. I love it. I do know some systems though. I have played Exalted(d10) and True 20/M&M and D&D/Starwars 3.5/4. I think that this would be a fun project. I dont know much about skies of arcadia except the concept, which I like. I tried to actually play the video game but turn based video game rpg's get boring to me after a while...so I stopped. I have seen the whole anime of Last Exile though, absolutly loved it. I want to see more like that. and I have seen treasure planet.

What I definitly want to incorporate for sure:
Flying Pirate Ships
Air Monsters (good/bad)
Supply and Demand of Water (I loved that clean drinking water was like gold in Last Exile)
Flying Battle ships
No Lasers, just Ballistic
I want there to be Magic, I just dont want the campaign to revolve around magic users being the most dangerous.


I think the True 20 system would be the best to use in this game because It is the most versitile of the systems I have seen so far. I have yet to play any game that uses the d6 so if that one is better please let me know.

Maldraugedhen
2008-10-25, 11:55 AM
I did that to try and organize it a bit. It's kind of a large document all at once. That keeps people from needing to scroll through the whole thing to get down further in the thread.

Here it is in one giant spoiler tag, though:

Racial Traits

All races in Skies of Arcadia are human, and gain the bonus feat and skill point per level as normal for humans. However, there are regional differences in background. Take these in addition to the normal Human traits unless otherwise specified.

Valuan

Valuans are native to the wasteland under the Yellow Moon. They live in a highly polarized (economically-speaking) industrial society. All Valuans receive a +2 to skill checks involving technological devices, and firearms are considered martial weapons for Valuan characters. Valuan characters do not gain the bonus feat for being human, but in addition to traits common to all Valuans, they are either Upper or Lower Valuan. Valuans, being aligned with Yellow, are especially prone to Silver and Green, and take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Silver or Green source, and make saves versus Silver or Green effects at a -1.
Upper Valuan--+2 to Knowledge (Nobility) checks, Captaincy checks, and all Charisma-based skill checks, +20% starting gold. Profession is always cross-class for Upper Valuans. Upper Valuans are well-to-do, diplomatic, and knowledgeable about courtly affairs. Favored class: Bard.
Lower Valuan--+2 to Knowledge (Local) and Profession checks, one additional skill point per level (total of +2), -20% starting gold. Lower Valuans are hardworking and quick learners by necessity. Favored class: Rogue.

Valuan Racial Feats

Noble House Member
You are a member of one of the Valuan houses of nobility. As such, you were even more well-off than most Valuans are, and received a better education.
Requirements: Upper Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: An additional +10% starting gold, as well as +1 to Intelligence-based skill checks.

Street Pup
You’ve been living on your own for most of your life, and so know a thing or two about keeping yourself alive.
Requirements: Lower Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: +2 to Gather Information checks and gain Favored Environment (City) as per the Ranger variant.

Ascending House
One of your recent family members was something of an economic genius, and your ascension into the upper echelons of society was fairly recent. As such, your family still values hard work.
Requirements: Upper Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: Knowledge (Local) and all Profession skills are class skills regardless of what class is taken. This overrides the Upper Valuan racial penalty against Profession.

Descending House
One of your family members recently splurged somewhat and lost the family fortune, forcing you to move to the other side of the city. As rough as you’ve had it recently, you still keep your eyes on what’s going on above, unlike those around you, and are fairly well-spoken.
Requirements: Lower Valuan, character level 1st.
Benefit: +2 to Knowledge (Nobility) and +1 to all charisma-based skill checks.



Nasrean

Nasreans are native to the desert land under the Red Moon. Mercantilistic and somewhat antagonistic to the imperialistic Valuans. Nasreans get a +4 to Fortitude saves made to resist extreme heat, and have permanent Energy Resistance 2 to Fire. Nasreans gain a +2 to Sense Motive checks and Gunnery checks, and receive a +1 to hit with all explosive weapons. They either gain the bonus feat for being human OR the bonus skill points, but not both. Nasreans, being aligned with Red, are weak against Blue and Purple, and take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Blue or Purple source, and make saves versus Blue or Purple effects at a -1. Favored class: Fighter.

Nasrean Racial Feats

Desert Caravaneer
Your family was a trading family, moving spices, moonstones, and other commodities between the various desert cities—over land. This has served to make you rather hardy.
Requirements: Nasrean, character level 1st.
Benefit: Gain Endurance as a free feat, Favored Environment (Desert) as per the Ranger variant, and your maximum carrying capacity increases by 20 pounds.

Nasrean Gunner
You attended the prestigious Nasrean Gunnery Academy as a youth, and learned quite well how to work all kinds of firearms.
Requirements: Nasrean, character level 1st, Ranger or Fighter.
Benefit: You gain weapon proficiency with all Arcadian firearms, and make all Gunnery checks at a +4.

Family Trade
You were taught by experienced workers in your field of choice.
Requirements: Nasrean, character level 1st.
Benefit: +10% starting gold, +4 to one particular type of Profession check of your choice.


Arctican

Arcticans hail from small fishing villages fairly recently discovered on the fringes of the frozen Southern Continent, under the Purple Moon. They are an especially hardy people, and gain a +4 to Fortitude saves made to resist extreme cold, a +2 to Constitution, a +2 bonus to Survival, Spot, Listen, and Search checks, a -1 to Charisma-based skill checks and Knowledge (Nobility) Checks, and a –2 to Dexterity. They also receive a -1 to all skill checks involving technological devices. They do not gain the bonus skill points for being human, but do gain the bonus feat. Arcticans, being aligned with Purple, are weak against Red and Green. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Red or Green source, and make saves versus Red or Green effects at a -1. Favored class: Ranger.


Arctican Racial Feats

Sky Fisherman
You were one of a few to hunt fish in the air, rather than the ones beneath the ice.
Requirements: Arctican, character level 1st.
Benefit: You gain Favored Environment (Open Sky) as per the Ranger variant, +1 to Gunnery checks, and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Skyfishing Spear).

Hunting Spotter
Your especially keen eyesight was always a boon on hunting trips into the tundra.
Requirements: Arctican, character level 1st, 13 Wisdom.
Benefit: You gain a +2 to Spot and Search checks and a +2 to your Initiative rolls.

Unusually Hardy
You have been swimming in the arctic waters of your homeland for a good long time.
Requirements: Arctican, character level 1st, 15 Constitution.
Benefit: A number of times per day equal to your Constitution modifier, you may roll 2 d20 for a Fortitude save and choose the better result.


Yafutoman

Native to the isolated land under the Blue Moon, Yafutomans are used to a very different culture from the rest of the world. All Yafutoman weapons are considered martial rather than exotic, Yafutoman pilots provide a +1 bonus to ship AC if they are piloting, and Yafutomans gain a +2 bonus to Spot, Jump, Use Rope, Knowledge (Geography), and Swim checks. They gain either the bonus feat for being human OR the bonus skill points, but not both. Yafutomans, being aligned with Blue, are weak against Purple and Yellow. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Purple or Yellow source, and make saves versus Purple or Yellow effects at a -1. Favored class: Monk.

Yafutoman Racial Feats

Two Schools of Thought
You studied the Yafutoman approach to your trade, and now apply Western methods as well.
Requirements: Yafutoman, character level 1st, 4 ranks in Profession OR Perform OR Craft, Int 13
Benefit: When making a skill check in Profession, Perform, or Craft, you may add one quarter of your character level (rounded down) to the check result (minimum of 1).

Unorthodox Combat
You learned a different style of combat from much of the rest of the world. This takes some people by surprise.
Requirements: Yafutoman, character level 1st, BAB 1+
Benefit: During the first two rounds of combat, all non-Yafutoman opponents you threaten at a point during the round have a -1 penalty to their AC. Characters affected in such a way may choose to cancel this effect in respect to themselves, but doing so provokes an attack of opportunity.

A Different Angle
You attack people and problems in much the same way in respect to the rest of the world—namely, differently.
Requirements: Yafutoman, Int 15
Benefit: If a ship you are aboard fights at a disadvantage for three turns in a row, you may make a suggestion to the captain (Diplomacy check as if to improve his opinion, no penalty for time frame, move action). If he follows the suggestion, he makes his Captaincy check at a +4 for the next round, but the pilot makes his Piloting check at a -2. In addition, you may retry any Intelligence-based skill once, even if the skill normally does not allow it.

Ixa’takan

The natives of the newly discovered continent of Ixa’taka, these people are used to living in the jungles of their home under the Green Moon. They receive a -2 to skill checks involving technological devices, but gain a +2 to their Survival, Spot, Knowledge (Nature) and Listen checks, as well as Favored Environment (Jungle) as the Ranger variant and +1 to hit with simple weapons. Ixa’takans receive either the bonus feat for being human OR the bonus skill points, but not both. Ixa’takans, being aligned with Green, are weak against Red. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Red source, and make saves versus Red effects at a -1. Favored class: Ranger.

Ixa’takan Racial Feats

Green Attunement
You share an especially potent connection with the Green Moon.
Requirements: Ixa’takan, character level 1st, 15 Wisdom.
Benefit: You gain Fast Healing 1 and your Green Aptitude increases by one point.

Patient Hunter
You have lain in wait in uncomfortable conditions for many hours waiting for your prey to come by.
Requirements: Ixa’takan, character level 1st, 13 Constitution.
Benefit: Unrushed hide checks your character makes (hide checks made without the use of an accompanying distraction) are made at a +4. You take no penalties to your hide check while sleeping, although you may not make new hide checks while asleep (you aren’t moving).

Guerilla Fighter
You are quite adept at fighting in poor visibility conditions.
Requirements: Ixa’takan, 15 Dexterity, Stealthy.
Benefit: The penalty to Hide checks from sniping is reduced to a –5 penalty, but becomes a cumulative penalty for each Snipe attempt made at the same character or group of characters.


Silvite

Silvites are a rare sight, but becoming more and more common recently. They are members of the mysterious Silver Civilization, and are sworn to secrecy concerning from where they hail. Most of them seem to be explorers come to investigate these lands, with very little knowledge about how the world works, but extensive knowledge of its history. Silvites take a -2 penalty to Charisma, Sense Motive and Knowledge (Local, Nobility) checks, but gain a +2 to Wisdom and a +2 to Knowledge (History, Moons) checks. They also gain the bonus feat and skill points for being human—they are especially adaptive. Silvites, being aligned with Silver, are weak against Yellow. They take 1 additional damage when it is dealt from a Yellow source, and make saves versus Yellow effects at a -1. Favored class: Wizard.


Silvite Racial Feats

Grand Perspective
You are used to viewing things from an overhead perspective, and so make decisions and realize things based on a grander scheme than most.
Requirements: Silvite, 13 Intelligence, 15 Wisdom.
Benefit: When involved in a combat, you may make an automatic Spot check to detect additional enemies (and do so at a +4).


Unaligned

Drifters from any of the Oceans, unaligned people are often merchants, sailors, or pirates. They receive a +2 bonus to Knowledge (Local, Geography, Nature) checks, and a +2 bonus to Profession checks. They also gain the bonus feat for being human and the bonus skill point per level. Favored class: Any.

Arcadian Weaponry

Moon Stones

Moon stones are the basis for all Arcadian technology. Every stone is aligned with a different element—Yellow, Red, Purple, Blue, Green, or Silver—and has its own inherent effects.

Yellow—A weapon imbued with a Yellow stone adds 1d6 lightning damage, glows dimly providing 10 feet of dim illumination, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Blue or Silver weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Red— A weapon imbued with a Yellow stone adds 1d6 fire damage, glows dimly providing 10 feet of dim illumination, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Green or Purple weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Purple—A weapon imbued with a Purple stone adds 1d6 ice damage, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Blue or Red weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Blue—A weapon imbued with a Blue stone adds 1d6 force damage, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Red weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Green—A weapon imbued with a Green stone adds 1d6 terrestrial damage, and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Purple or Yellow weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).
Silver—A weapon imbued with a Silver stone adds 1d6 aligned damage (either Good or Evil, whichever the character is leaning more towards), and deals one and a half times as much against characters wielding Yellow weapons (or monsters aligned with the same).

Multipliers from weapons are applied last—after damage reduction and any bonus damaging abilities such as Sneak Attack, and after critical damage has been applied.


Guns

All guns roll damage and to hit simultaneously. Before any enhanced damage effects are applied (including the elemental damage from the alignment of the gun, but after Weapon Specializations), and before determining if the shot is a miss, subtract one half (rounded down) of the rolled damage from the target’s armor bonus to AC for this shot only.

Handgun
Light exotic
1d10 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 15 feet

Rifle
Two-handed exotic
2d6 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 30 ft

Longrifle
Two-handed exotic
3d6 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 40 ft

Auto-load Handguns
One-handed exotic
1d10 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 15 ft

Rocket Pistol
Red Alignment Only
One-handed Exotic
1d8 damage + dexterity modifier primary, 1d6 damage splash
Crit threat x2
Range increment 10 ft

Blunderbuss Pistol
One-handed martial
1d8 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 5 ft
Can use improvised ammunition

Blunderbuss Rifle
Two-handed martial
2d8 damage + dexterity modifier
Crit threat x3
Range increment 20 ft
Can use improvised ammunition


Gun modifications

Double barreled
May attune each barrel with a different element, but count as wielding both for purposes of increased elemental weaknesses.

Double flints
Can reroll to hit on an unconfirmed critical miss. You must take the second result.

Breakdown Weapon
Can be disassembled into inconspicuous parts. When making the Breakdown modification, make a Craft (Gunsmithing) check at DC 5. The DC of the spot check to recognize the gun parts as gun parts is equal to the amount you beat the Craft check DC by. Disassembling the gun takes one minute, as does assembling the gun.

Magnum
Up the amount of moon powder you use per shot. Your shots now pierce an equal amount of armor to their damage, rather than one half. This weapon also now rolls a d8 for its elemental damage.

Bayonet
1d6 piercing melee attachment. -1 to hit while the bayonet is attached. Attaching the bayonet is a standard action, and removing it is a move action. May only be attached to two-handed guns. Enchantments to the gun and enchantments for the bayonet are performed separately.



Magic

All spells have somatic and verbal components and are short range.

Learning Skies of Arcadia magic

In order to learn a spell of a given level in a given color, one must amass sufficient elemental XP in that color with their aptitude to learn it. There are four levels of aptitude (Very Good, Good, Poor, and Very Poor) and six levels of spell in each element. A character gains two XP in an element for each enemy within short range that is defeated while they are wielding a weapon of that element, and one XP in an element for each ally that is wielding a weapon of that element within short range who is directly affecting the combat (essentially any participating ally). Refer to the below table in Elemental Aptitude for experience totals required for each level by each aptitude rating. Experience zeroes after gaining a level in an element. Spells are learned at the conclusion of the encounter, but magic experience resets mid encounter, and rank is gained mid encounter. Ranks above 6th do not grant new spells, but do increase the potency of spells in that element, and allow metamagics to be applied to higher level spells. Characters may obtain 7th or 8th level in an element only if they have an aptitude for that element, and, when a character obtains 8th level in an element, they are considered aligned with it—from that point onward, that character is considered to be wielding a weapon imbued with that element in addition to any other elemental attunement granted to it. This effect cannot be canceled.

Elemental Aptitude

Upon character creation, a character has 9 points to spend among the different elements to buy aptitude in that element. If a character is from a given elemental land, then they must have at least two points in the element of their land (one spent for Ixatakans plus the free point for being Ixatakan). It costs one point to improve one rank of aptitude, and all characters start at Very Poor aptitude in all elements. Aptitude may not be improved beyond Very Good.

{table]|Very Good|Good|Poor|Very Poor
1st Level|10|15|20|30
2nd Level|20|30|40|60
3rd Level|40|60|80|120
4th Level|60|90|120|180
5th Level|100|150|200|300
6th Level|150|200|300|450
7th Eff. Level*|200|300|--|--
8th Eff. Level*|300|--|--|--[/table]

Elemental Rank

In the below spell list, the color of spell is referenced as a statistic in its effect. This refers to the highest level of spell the character can cast in the color plus their aptitude level (3 for Very Good, 2 for Good, 1 for Poor and 0 for Very Poor).

Spells Per Day

A character has one overall spell pool with which to cast all Arcadian magic. They may cast a number of spells per day equal to their total Elemental Rank for all elements (not including their aptitude points), plus their wisdom or charisma modifier, whichever is higher.

Casting
When casting an Arcadian spell, for spells of rank 3 or lower, the caster must make a Fortitude or Will save (their choice) with a DC equal to 12 plus 2 times the rank. If they fail, they become fatigued. This check may be bypassed by becoming magically focused first, which requires a move action. A character may remain magically focused for multiple rounds by making a Concentration check with a DC equal to 10 plus the number of rounds the focus has been maintained already.

4th rank or higher spells are more draining. To cast such a spell unfocused automatically fatigues the character, and then the character must make the same check as above to see if they become exhausted. Casting a 4th rank or higher spell with focus is treated as casting a 3rd or lower rank spell without focus.

If casting a spell causes a character to become fatigued when they are already exhausted, they lose consciousness. There is, however, a 50% chance the spell succeeded anyway—the character makes a DC 11 untyped check to see if it succeeded. If it did, the spell’s effects are worked out before the character passes out.

Spell List
Green
Sacri—Channels 1d8 + Wis + Green rank points of green energy (neither positive nor negative) to restore health to a single target. Heals both living and undead.
Sacres—As Sacri, but 2d8 + Wis + Green rank.
Noxi—1d6 Green damage to all enemies in range, fortitude save vs. Constitution poison (1d4 initial, 1d4 secondary), fort save for half damage.
Sacrum—As Sacrum, but all chosen targets within range.
Noxum—As Noxi, but 2d8 Green damage and 2d4 initial and secondary Con poison, fort save for half damage.
Sacrulen—Fully heals a single target, including severed limbs.

Red
Pyri—1d4 + Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Pyres—1d6 + Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Increm--+25% damage (for every 4 damage dealt, add 1), + 25% to hit (for every 4 add 1), and 25% DR/- (for every 4, subtract 1) to a single target. Duration: ½ Red + ½ Cha.
Pyrum—2d6 + 2 x Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Pyrulen—3d8 + 2 x Cha + Red fire damage to all enemies within short range, reflex half.
Incremus—As Increm, but targets all allies.

Blue
Wevli—1d6 + Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.
Slipara—Sleep, will save (subtract target’s HD from save DC), targets all, duration: Blue + Wis.
Wevles—2d4 + Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.
Quika--+1 attack in a full attack, +1 to hit and +1 to dexterity modifier, targets all allies duration: ½ Blue + ½ Wis.
Wevlen—3d6 + 2 x Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.
Wevulen—4d8 + 2 x Wis + Blue water damage 10-ft burst centered on target, reflex half.

Purple
Crystali—1d8 + Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.
Crystales—2d6 + Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.
Silenis—Cannot speak on failed Will save. Duration: Purple + Wis.
Panika—Confused on a failed Will save. Randomize target for declared action. Duration: ½ Purple + ½ Wis.
Crystalen—4d6 + 2 x Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.
Crystalum—6d6 + 2 x Wis + Purple cold damage to a single target, reflex half.

Yellow
Electri—1d6 + Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.
Electres—2d4 + Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.
Driln—Reverse of Increm, overrides Increm and Quika, duration Yellow + Cha or Wis (whichever is higher).
Electrum—3d6 + 2 x Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.
Drilnos—Reverse of Incremus, overrides Increm and Quika, duration ½ Yellow + ½ Cha or Wis (whichever is higher).
Electrulen—4d8 + 2 x Cha or Wis (whichever is higher) + Yellow electric damage in a line, reflex half.

Silver
Curia—Removes Driln, any magical debuffs (such as Doom), magical poisons. Opposed caster level check (subtract Silver from check DC). Targets all allies.
Eterni—Instant kill on 19-20 single target, Fort save (on the 17-20 result) for 1d10 damage that automatically overcomes all DR (including Epic).
Risem—Resurrects on DC 15 Silver check to ½ HP. Must have whole body.
Eternes—Instant kill on 17-20 single target, Fort save for 3d6 damage that automatically overcomes all DR.
Riselem—Resurrects without check, does not require entire body, restores body to correct form (reattaches limbs and such).
Eternum—Partywide instant kill on 17-20 (each makes the check, Fortitude save for 4d6).

Ship Combat
A ship combat round takes 24 seconds, and has two primary parts. First, there is the maneuvering phase. All captains involved pick a target ship for the round. This is the ship the gunners may fire upon. The captain makes a Captaincy check to try and predict what the other captain will do, and chooses a maneuvering difficulty for the pilot (Easy—DC 6, Medium—DC 10, Hard—DC 14, or Very Hard—DC 18). The pilot makes the Piloting check, adding one fifth (rounded down) of the damage the ship has sustained to the DC, subtracting 4 from the check result if the ship is operating with a skeleton crew, and adding the Maneuverability rating of the ship to the check result—if he beats the DC of the maneuver, he has successfully performed it, and the Captain’s Captaincy check is compared to the target’s Captaincy check. If the Captain has failed the Captaincy check, he is at a disadvantage in respect to his target. If the pilot fails by less than 5, but the Captain succeeded, treat the maneuver as a successful maneuver of one lower difficulty. If the Captain failed and the pilot failed by less than 5, treat the maneuver as a failed maneuver of one higher difficulty. If the pilot fails by more than 5, treat it as a pilot failure (below table).

{table]Difficulty|Advantage|Disadvantage
Easy|1 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-1 damage
Medium|2 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-2 damage, -1 to hit, opposing captain may change disadvantaged ship's presented facing by one face during one gunnery round
Hard|3 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-3 damage, -1 to hit, opposing captain may change disadvantaged ship's presented facing by one face during one gunnery round
Very Hard|4 Gunnery Round foreknowledge|-4 damage, -2 to hit, opposing captain may change disadvantaged ship's presented facing by one face during two gunnery rounds[/table]

Pilot Failure: -5 damage, -5 to hit, AC = 10 – size modifier for the round.

Alternatively, the Captain can declare a boarding action. In this case, the pilots simply make opposed Piloting checks. Gunners cannot fire during a round in which their captain has attempted a boarding action. If the boarding action succeeds, the crew has 4 combat rounds to attempt to board the opposite ship before an additional opposed Piloting check must be made. Some weapons, such as grapples, affect further opposed piloting checks. These are noted in their weapon entries.

After the result of the piloting check has been determined, the captain chooses what facing he will present to the enemy ship in each gunnery round. The same face may not be presented two gunnery rounds in a row, nor may opposite faces be presented in consecutive rounds (port face and starboard face, as an example, or top and bottom face). The captain with the disadvantage chooses first, and the captain with the advantage may see for the first however many rounds he was granted by the maneuver which face his opponent will present him with before choosing his own facings.

In a gunnery round, each ship fires as many of its cannon as it can (being determined by crewing and what facing the gun can fire from) at its target ship simultaneously (with initiative affecting actual order of rolls), so long as each cannon has sufficient crew to operate it. The gunner rolls as an attack roll against an armor class equal to the target’s pilot’s maneuvering check minus the size modifier for the round. A cannon takes three gunnery rounds for the moon stones to be ready to fire again, but the act of reloading takes only the round after the firing, so crew can be allotted to multiple cannon. Subcannons can fire continuously for multiple rounds, up to a number of rounds stated in the gun characteristics. After this, they require one gunnery round to reload and a number of gunnery rounds equal to their cooldown before they may fire again. Torpedoes are fired in one gunnery round, and are rolled to hit and for damage just after the Maneuver check for the next Maneuvering round.

A round of ship combat takes four rounds of combat—a gunnery round takes one round of combat’s time, and the Maneuvering Round essentially happens before the first round, then between the fourth and fifth round, then between the eighth and ninth round and so on and so forth.

Crew can also repair damage to the ship. This takes four gunnery rounds, costs an amount of materials equal to the ship’s Repair Cost per hit point, and requires a number of crew equal to the Reparability value of the ship for five hit points. Crew who are neither on Gunnery nor Repair duty are assumed to be on watch, working on meals, working in the ship’s hospital, or any other action aboard the ship. The hit points from the repair action are restored at the end of the four rounds. It is assumed that crew repairing the ship are belowdecks, and so combat aboard the ship does not usually interfere.

Ships
Relevant Statistics:
Hull Sections
Hull Health
Rigging Sections
Rigging Health
Speed
Price—Purchase price on the open market.
Repair Cost—The GP value of repair materials required to restore one hit point.
Gun Slots—The number of guns of any kind this ship can hold.
Maneuverability—The relative maneuverability rating of the ship. This affects how easily a difficult maneuver can be pulled.
Size—The bulk of the ship. This affects how easy the ship is to hit.
Skeleton Crew—The minimum number of crew required to move the ship. These crewmen must all be working the engines or sails for the ship to move, or even stay in the air, unless drydocked.
Regular Crew—The number of crew required working the engines or sails for the ship to move without penalty.
Maximum Crew—The maximum comfortable crew capacity aboard the ship. More passengers can be fit in up to 1.5x the maximum, but doing so is demoralizing, especially on long journeys, and causes a -2 morale penalty so long as the crew has to live in overcrowded conditions.
Maximum Gunners—The number of crew this ship can assign to gunnery stations. This number is determined by how well laid-out the gunnery stations are.
Toughness—The relative armor value of the ship. This is how much damage is subtracted from each shot.
Capacity—The amount of cargo the ship can carry.
Reparability—How many crew are required to repair the ship five hitpoints over the course of the four gunnery rounds.

Equipment
Cannon
Type—Either primary, subcannon, or torpedo.
Damage—How much damage should be rolled on a successful hit.
Crit Threat—The critical threat range of the cannon.
Accuracy—Any inherent accuracy bonuses the cannon has.
Crew Needed—The number of crewmen required to reload the cannon in the following round.

5 hitpoints of repair materials always weighs 25 lbs. It can be bought in 5 lb units (1 hitpoint unit).
All ammunition and the supplies needed to fire weighs 10 lbs per shot. Subcannons fire their ten pounds over the course of the rounds they fire in.
Sailing equipment for one week—nonfood supplies such as moon stone, sail, and whatnot—weighs 20 lbs and costs 10 gp.

Ship’s Cook—Assuming the crew does not prepare their own food (which is usual aboard a sailing vessel), a cook has to work for one hour per meal for ten crewmen. This means that with roughly four hours of work at most between meals, one cook is needed per forty crewmen.

Primary Cannon Loadout (1 round)—2 gp.
Subcannon Loadout (enough to fire maximum duration)—3 gp.
Torpedo (1 torp)—15 gp.

Repairing a ship at a dock costs one half of the cost in repair materials that it would to repair in the air.

Ship and cannon can be resold at 4/5ths the purchase price.

sigurd
2008-10-25, 03:39 PM
Thanks Mal,

Personal preference only of course, but I prefer that approach a whole lot. I can understand the Spoiler makes it easy to navigate the thread but long posts?

Thats what browsers are for.


Sigurd

Thanks again.

Maldraugedhen
2008-10-28, 02:41 PM
So, any assessments?

Since it was asked for:

Moonstone Cannon
A gigantic energy-focusing cannon, based off of newer principles of projectile-less weaponry. Like the airship it is mounted on, it is an intricate blend of the magics of the moons and the technologies that harness them.

Type—Special. It demands a lot of moonstone powder to fire, but requires no actual iron round. It requires 100gp worth of moonstone powder per shot.
Damage—A moonstone cannon is designed to lance through ships. When it hits a ship section, draw a line that extends through the center of the ship from the exterior section. All sections within the line take 20d6 damage, and bordering sections take 10d6.
Crit Threat—The moonstone cannon is high-level magic in cannon form, and therefore has no critical threat range.
Accuracy—The moonstone cannon is a nose-slung gun, and so firing orders are actually issued by the pilot. If the pilot is at an advantage in the dogfight, the moonstone cannon may be fired and will hit a randomized hull section of the target ship. The pilot of the defending ship may make a Reflex save with a DC equal to the DC of the maneuver the pilot on the advantageous ship passed for this maneuvering round for half damage.
Reloading—A moonstone cannon requires one crewman to fire, but once fired, must be left to cool down for the next 3 gunnery rounds. Once the cannon has cooled, it may be reloaded with another barrel of processed moon powder. Reloading it requires pouring appropriate amounts of powder into each loading chamber of the cannon, which takes 8 full-round actions, divided among any number of gunners. A moonstone cannon may be preloaded before combat, and can actually be left loaded without attendance unlike regular cannon.

Moonstone cannons generally cannot be bought, as most ships cannot mount them.

Usually, a moonstone cannon is the central armament of the ship, and the rest of the ship is designed around the cannon's mounting. Its removal, therefore, would cause severe structural damage without the correct preparations. Removing a moonstone cannon is a lengthy process that takes a full week, during which the ship must be in dry dock. The Craft(shipwright, steel) minimum DC is 10, however, scoring less than 30 creates structural issues. For every 4 less than 30 in the result, every ship section takes 1d4 damage and has its maximum hitpoints reduced by 1d4-1 (roll once for the entire ship). A failed check causes damage to the ship calculated in the same way and fails to remove the moonstone cannon. A check failed by more than 5 destroys the cannon.

Installing a moonstone cannon into a preexisting ship requires a Craft(shipwright, steel) check, and, if the ship the moonstone cannon is being installed on is not a steel ship, also requires an appropriate Craft(shipwright, wood) or Craft(shipwright, clay) check. If the ship is steel, only one Craft(shipwright, steel) check need be made, and it has the same check details as outlined in removing a moonstone cannon. If the ship is not steel, the Craft(shipwright, steel) check is a flat check of DC 20 and the other Craft(shipwright, material) check follows the same check details as outlined in installing the moonstone cannon.

A moonstone cannon occupies six hull sections, has hardness 15 and 40 hitpoints per hull section. It is housed in either a one by six line of sections or a two by three block (with the three sections or the six sections oriented towards the nose of the ship). It can only be directly attacked by inside the ship, however, if any two sections that the moonstone cannon occupies is damaged below one quarter, it cannot fire until its housing is realigned with a DC 20 Craft(shipwright, steel) check.

AgentPaper
2008-10-28, 03:33 PM
Ok, first, do we want to make an entire world, or just a system that can be used for ship to ship combats in this style of game? At any rate, we should use one idea I had a while back about just this sort of thing. Basically, all airships work by using a certain chemical, (which I named Jel for lack of any good ideas on the name) which, when an electrical current is passed through it, does three things. First, it solidifies and becomes weightless. Second, it creates a strong anti-gravity field, and starts to create a large force opposite of gravity. Long ago, this property was discovered (in what would be about the equivalent of the period of ancient Greece and Rome on earth) and air-ships started to be made. The premise was simple. Gather a large amount of the liquid in the hull of a ship, send a charge through it, and suddenly your ship lifts off the ground and hovers in the air.

Over time, the technique has been refined, allowing larger ships and more cargo. Ships are still made of wood for weight reasons, but some few countries are testing ships covered in iron, or even made completely of iron, with more efficient engines that can get more lift from less Jel.

As well, in the last decade or so a new way of using Jel has been discovered. If an extremely high voltage of electricity is used, the Jel combusts, creating a much larger amount of thrust for the amount of Jel used. However, this consumes the Jel, unlike other systems that use lower voltage, so the time the system can be active is limited. Still, many new ship designs have come from this, such as short-range fighters operating from an airfield or larger carrier ship.

This technique is also used for torpedoes, which have a small supply of Jel in them. The torpedo is launched, and runs on low voltage until it's near the enemy ship. Then, it gets near the ship, it switches to high voltage and launches upwards with a burst of speed into the belly of the enemy ship. (The timing is either calibrated beforehand or triggers manually by wire)

Another thought, which kinda relates to Last Exile, is that instead of using generic Phlebotinum, we could have Jel actually just be pure water. (Or at least, look like water and be the equivalent of water for bodily processes in this world) With all the military and economic powers grabbing up the water to use, water would be at a premium, and pure water would be seen as better used in ships, while dirty water (which produces a far, far reduced effect) is seen as suitable for drinking. (after boiling, of course)

Edit: One thing I just thought of now, is that Jel, once charged, retains this charge indefinitely. (or at least longer than anyone would ever wait) This way, you don't need huge electric generators on ships, you just need them at the shipyards that give ships their first charge. Old wreckages can litter the sky, still held up by the Jel that first powered them.