Saliva becomes thick and foul-tasting; the tongue clings irritatingly to the teeth and the roof of the mouth .... A lump seems to form in the throat ... severe pain is felt in the head and neck. The face feels full due to the shrinking of the skin. Hearing is affected, and many people begin to hallucinate... then come the agonies of a mouth that has ceased to generate saliva. The tongue hardens into "a senseless weight, swinging on the still-soft root and striking foreignly against the teeth." Speech becomes impossible, although sufferers have been known to moan and bellow.
Next is the "blood sweats" phase, involving "a progressive mummification of the initially living body." The tongue swells to such proportions that it squeezes past the jaws. The eyelids crack and the eyeballs begin to weep tears of blood. The throat is so swollen that breathing becomes difficult, creating an incongruous yet terrifying sense of drowning.
Finally ... there is living death, crawling on your hands and knees: "your lips disappear as if amputated, leaving low edges of blackened tissue; your teeth and gums project like those of a skinned animal, but the flesh is black and dry as a hank of jerky; your nose withers and shrinks to half its length, and the nostril-lining showing black; your eyes set in a winkless stare, with surrounding skin so contracted as to expose the conjunctiva, itself as black as the gums...; your skin [had] generally turns a ghastly purplish yet ashen gray, with great livid blotches and streaks; your lower legs and feet ... are torn and scratched by contact with thorns and sharp rocks, yet even the freshest cuts were so many scratches in dry leather, without a trace of blood"
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Solarian: The Free
This is a write-up for a campaign that I ran based in a fantastical version of the Sahara desert. The customs and caste system outlined below are more or less based on the fascinating real-life Tuareg peoples, an amazing culture on whom Frank Herbert based the Fremen. The culture did not end up featuring as prominently as I had hoped, for reason that I will delve into in successive blogs.
The Free
We are known as the free. We are the favored people of the gods, created by Ivory Father to people the earth and be good. Ivory Father made the sky and the world, and had children. His children created the beasts of the sky and land to make the world more seemly. Ivory Father created mankind out of snakes, and told us that we are his finest creation --the other gods agreed. Eventually -and this is something the holy men discuss endlessly- Ivory Father died, leaving his children to care for us. His final instructions to mankind were to "Live free and be well."
The Desert
And indeed, your people live a free life of herding animals from one oasis to another, always following water and the seasons. There are many dangers in the desert, either from divine mistake or deliberate challenge to mankind. Each god or goddess has a favored desert tribe. Yours is Solarian, whose kindness warms the earth.
Your Ways
Your ways have been shaped by the gods and the needs of the desert. Your tribes are divided into castes with unique duties and privileges. The castes of your tribe are:
Ihsid (warrior-aristocrats, +2 Str, -2 Wis)
You are permitted to wield sacred Takoba swords, and even start out with one. You begin the game with the quick-draw feat. You also have a tribal enemy, against whom you have practiced fighting and deal +1 damage against.
Imhad (herdsman, +2 Con, -2 Int)
You begin the game with two bonus feats: Diehard and Toughness. You begin the game with an exceptional mount.
Ineden (blacksmith-wizards, +2 Dex, -2 Cha)
You may cast a number of 0th level spells each day equal to your Wis mod. You begin the game with three potions of random type.
It is considered spiritually unhealthy to touch iron unless you are a member of the third cast (Takoba swords have hilts of ivory or other, nonmetallic substances). Holy men are chosen for their blue eyes, while the Ineden have much darker skin than other castes.
Your men wear veils; it is considered shameful to show one's face (especially one's nose or mouth) to strangers, especially women to whom you are not married. These veils are always indigo, made by pounding plants into cotton cloth. This results in the blue dye rubbing off onto one's skin. After many years, one's skin is permanetly stained blue in the affected regions. In addition to protecting one from the dangers of the desert, veils protect from evil spirits and maintain one's dignity. Indigo and blue are holy colors.
The Old Evil and the First Men
The very first man, Banu Antania, was created as powerful and long-lived, and for whatever reason despised Ivory Father. After Banu deserted him, Ivory Father created a man and woman for each of his children, whose descendants form the tribes today. Eventually, Banu corrupted each of the first men and women, causing them to hate Ivory Father. As they grew more and more wicked, they slowly lost the gift of human form, becoming more similar to the serpents from which they were made. Their children feared them and, recognizing the wrath of Ivory Father, cast them out into the desert.
Eventually, Banu and the other first men murdered Ivory Father. The gods had by then all taken oaths not to kill Banu, and so they locked him and the first men away in chains beneath the earth where they could do no more harm.
The tribes now can live their lives without being tampered with by the Banu Antania.
Monday, July 13, 2009
My Mind, She Is Blown
A major complaint I have had about the d20 core rules is that the classes are largely boring and weak tea after five or six levels. For example, why would you ever want to continue as a pure barbarian after the first seven levels? Assuming you had the stomach to make it that far.
The reason for this is that Wizards of the Coast wants you to need to use prestige classes, thereby creating a demand that splatbooks fill. Although prestige classes (and feats) are obviously a selling point and half the point of splatbooks, it had not occurred to me that marketing concerns might have dictated the nuts and bolts of the basic classes.
The basic classes were intentionally made boring to generate sales for WOTC. Amazing!
The reason for this is that Wizards of the Coast wants you to need to use prestige classes, thereby creating a demand that splatbooks fill. Although prestige classes (and feats) are obviously a selling point and half the point of splatbooks, it had not occurred to me that marketing concerns might have dictated the nuts and bolts of the basic classes.
The basic classes were intentionally made boring to generate sales for WOTC. Amazing!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Affiliations: The Populace
This was for a game in which the PCs were fighting the rule of an evil band of knights. Affiliation rules were found in the PHB II (3e).
Criterion / Affiliation Score Modifier
Character level +1/2 PC's level
BAB +6 or higher +1
Helping kill a black knight +2
Killing a dangerous monster +1
Knight Class +1
Refuse a request for rescue -3
Intimidating the populace -1
3 or lower Nobody: No affiliation or junior member with no benefits.
4 - 10 Adventurer: A mayor or other personage presents you with a masterwork lance or other melee weapon. You have a -4 to defensive social checks against members of the peasantry.
11 - 17 Hero: A grateful commoner will present himself as your henchman so long as you do not have more henchmen than CHA MOD. If this henchman should perish, a new one will pledge himself next time you enter an appropriate town.
18 - 22: Champion: You gain the toughness feat. You must defeat an enemy of the populace each week or you will suffer a -4 to your affiliation.
23 - 29: Idol: You enjoy a +1 inherent bonus to an ability score of your choice. You cannot use non-masterwork/non-magic weapons or armor, or you suffer -1 affiliation per day of usage.
30 or higher Legend: Any henchmen, familiars, or mounts you have enjoy the toughness feat. You enjoy a second +1 inherent bonus to an ability score of your choice.
Criterion / Affiliation Score Modifier
Character level +1/2 PC's level
BAB +6 or higher +1
Helping kill a black knight +2
Killing a dangerous monster +1
Knight Class +1
Refuse a request for rescue -3
Intimidating the populace -1
3 or lower Nobody: No affiliation or junior member with no benefits.
4 - 10 Adventurer: A mayor or other personage presents you with a masterwork lance or other melee weapon. You have a -4 to defensive social checks against members of the peasantry.
11 - 17 Hero: A grateful commoner will present himself as your henchman so long as you do not have more henchmen than CHA MOD. If this henchman should perish, a new one will pledge himself next time you enter an appropriate town.
18 - 22: Champion: You gain the toughness feat. You must defeat an enemy of the populace each week or you will suffer a -4 to your affiliation.
23 - 29: Idol: You enjoy a +1 inherent bonus to an ability score of your choice. You cannot use non-masterwork/non-magic weapons or armor, or you suffer -1 affiliation per day of usage.
30 or higher Legend: Any henchmen, familiars, or mounts you have enjoy the toughness feat. You enjoy a second +1 inherent bonus to an ability score of your choice.
Monday, June 29, 2009
d20 Madness
I have never been very happy with the madness rules for roleplaying games, be they the "gotta catch them all" of the Cthulhu games, or White Wolf's terrible derangement system. They are neither horrible nor interesting, or are social penalty window dressing --always a poor game mechanic choice. Insanity ought to be macabre as fuck in most games.
Below is a short in the dark at what I'm more interested in. I would have these be caused by particular monsters or encounters if a saving throw is failed, or possibly arrange for a table of them. Though I hate the idea of insanities that are completely disconnected from their cause.
I also considered having a Willpower save version based on the disease rules from d&d 4e, but am essentially too lazy to stat that, though the mechanic would better suit insanity than disease -- the latter is too boring to be the focus of much of a game session, and therefore there is no need for such a sophisticated mechanic. The former, however, is interesting enough to have a sliding scale and so forth.
Hallucinations
These result in some constant penalty or semi-permanent effect.
Formication: You sense what feels like a swarm of writhing insects underneath your skin. You start each encounter at a maximum of half your maximum hit points because of self-inflicted wounds from scratching and attempts to dig them out.
Maliced Hand: Your hand does not obey your commands, but rather does its own thing. It cannot be used helpfully and, left unrestrained will use weapons or spells (as appropriate) to attempt to harm your friends. The hand can do anything you can do, and uses your skills and abilities (including make escape artist checks).
Otherworldly Nightmares: You suffer from torturous nightmares that subject you to alien locales and mindsets, and prevent you from effectively resting. You do not heal naturally, and if applicable, memorize one less spell of the highest level that you can cast.
Anhedonia: You cannot experience pleasure. This prevents you from benefiting from spells or effects that impart morale bonuses. Alas, you are all too capable of experiencing suffering, and penalties of that sort affect you normally.
Dark Urges
Each day that you do not indulge in these, you suffer -1 to attack rolls and spell DCs, until your bonuses reach 0.
Dark Hunger: You must feast upon your own kind. One average human-sized body will sustain a character with this madness for three days.
Morbid Fascination: You want to make art out of fresh human body parts, bathe in gallons of human blood, or otherwise indulge yourself at the expense of freshly dead enemies. One human will sustain a character with this madness for a day.
Alien Limb: You become convinced that one of your major limbs or body parts is not a part of you, and must be removed. Left to your own devices, you will take all appropriate measures to sever the limb or organ. Roll on the following chart (d6): 1-3: Leg, 4: Secondary Arm, 5: Eyes, 6: Primary Arm.
Compulsions
You follow some terrible rule, like never entering a sunlit area. A Willpower save may be attempted to temporarily suppress these for an encounter, with the DC of the effect being the same as the thing that caused the effect.
Clinical Lycanthropy: You believe that you are afflicted by lycanthropy. On nights when the moon is visible and not overly occluded, you will must make a Will save or enter a form of sleepwalking in which you will attempt to kill a member your own species. While in this state you will not respond to language and will especially brutally. If damaged while at less than half your maximum hit points, you may make a Willpower save to shake off the effect for the remainder of the night. In any case, you will remember nothing about your time spent sleepwalking.
Solar Horror: You cannot bear the light of the sun, and will not willingly enter a sunlit area. If you are forced to (or force yourself to), you suffer a -5 penalty to your attack rolls and spell DC. As a variant, one might have a lunar horror.
Dread of Magic: You cannot stand to have spells cast upon you, even beneficial spells. You automatically attempt saving throws against all spells, including things like cure spells.
Piquerism: You refuse to use a weapon that does not deal piercing damage because you crave causing piercing injuries. A successful willpower saves will only suppress this for a round.
Below is a short in the dark at what I'm more interested in. I would have these be caused by particular monsters or encounters if a saving throw is failed, or possibly arrange for a table of them. Though I hate the idea of insanities that are completely disconnected from their cause.
I also considered having a Willpower save version based on the disease rules from d&d 4e, but am essentially too lazy to stat that, though the mechanic would better suit insanity than disease -- the latter is too boring to be the focus of much of a game session, and therefore there is no need for such a sophisticated mechanic. The former, however, is interesting enough to have a sliding scale and so forth.
Hallucinations
These result in some constant penalty or semi-permanent effect.
Formication: You sense what feels like a swarm of writhing insects underneath your skin. You start each encounter at a maximum of half your maximum hit points because of self-inflicted wounds from scratching and attempts to dig them out.
Maliced Hand: Your hand does not obey your commands, but rather does its own thing. It cannot be used helpfully and, left unrestrained will use weapons or spells (as appropriate) to attempt to harm your friends. The hand can do anything you can do, and uses your skills and abilities (including make escape artist checks).
Otherworldly Nightmares: You suffer from torturous nightmares that subject you to alien locales and mindsets, and prevent you from effectively resting. You do not heal naturally, and if applicable, memorize one less spell of the highest level that you can cast.
Anhedonia: You cannot experience pleasure. This prevents you from benefiting from spells or effects that impart morale bonuses. Alas, you are all too capable of experiencing suffering, and penalties of that sort affect you normally.
Dark Urges
Each day that you do not indulge in these, you suffer -1 to attack rolls and spell DCs, until your bonuses reach 0.
Dark Hunger: You must feast upon your own kind. One average human-sized body will sustain a character with this madness for three days.
Morbid Fascination: You want to make art out of fresh human body parts, bathe in gallons of human blood, or otherwise indulge yourself at the expense of freshly dead enemies. One human will sustain a character with this madness for a day.
Alien Limb: You become convinced that one of your major limbs or body parts is not a part of you, and must be removed. Left to your own devices, you will take all appropriate measures to sever the limb or organ. Roll on the following chart (d6): 1-3: Leg, 4: Secondary Arm, 5: Eyes, 6: Primary Arm.
Compulsions
You follow some terrible rule, like never entering a sunlit area. A Willpower save may be attempted to temporarily suppress these for an encounter, with the DC of the effect being the same as the thing that caused the effect.
Clinical Lycanthropy: You believe that you are afflicted by lycanthropy. On nights when the moon is visible and not overly occluded, you will must make a Will save or enter a form of sleepwalking in which you will attempt to kill a member your own species. While in this state you will not respond to language and will especially brutally. If damaged while at less than half your maximum hit points, you may make a Willpower save to shake off the effect for the remainder of the night. In any case, you will remember nothing about your time spent sleepwalking.
Solar Horror: You cannot bear the light of the sun, and will not willingly enter a sunlit area. If you are forced to (or force yourself to), you suffer a -5 penalty to your attack rolls and spell DC. As a variant, one might have a lunar horror.
Dread of Magic: You cannot stand to have spells cast upon you, even beneficial spells. You automatically attempt saving throws against all spells, including things like cure spells.
Piquerism: You refuse to use a weapon that does not deal piercing damage because you crave causing piercing injuries. A successful willpower saves will only suppress this for a round.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Forums and So Forth
I've been reading the Brilliant Gameologists forums for inspiration. Not just the min/max stuff, though that has been helpful in reminding myself what it is players like out of their game mechanics. Their house rules section is pretty good, too. It's the best venue for 3(.5)e that I've found, since the Wizards forums are total abortions and entirely 4e anyway.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Negative Conditions
I'm a big fan of some of the changes made in 4e regarding conditions. Being paralyzed and stunned means waiting until it's your turn again, and maybe you can take an action if it wears off, or maybe not. Not being able to take an action isn't fun, nor is having to roll on a confusion table to see what action you'll take. Nor is ability damage fun: who wants to recalculate attack and damage every time a ghost hits you?
Far better to limit certain action choices, i.e. instead of having an effect cause -6 to strength, better to simply have the character deal half damage. Instead of stunning a character, have him fall prone --it doesn't prevent the player from making choices, but it does limit them.
Below are the common negative conditions (I omit Deafness and other tedious conditions) as I have been using them in my present game. I am particularly proud of how Diseased and Delirious work.
Common Conditions
Afraid: You suffer a -2 penalty to your attack rolls and spell DC for the remainder of the encounter. Additionally, you cannot benefit from leadership bonuses or morale bonuses (such as those granted by clerical spells). Characters that are immune to fear cannot be made afraid.
Blind: -5 penalty to attack rolls and spell DC. Cannot target ranged attacks or spells to farther away than ten feet.
Damaged: Some monster attacks disable magic items semi-permanently, but do not destroy them. These items may be repaired via arcane rituals, but until then they offer no benefit beyond a non-magical item, and cannot be used as normal.
Delirious: You cannot cast spells of the highest level that you are capable of casting, nor activate magic items other than potions. Nor may you cast spells that are affected by metamagic feats. Nor may you use per encounter maneuvers such as those gained by the warrior and rogue classes.
Diseased: Effects that restore lost hit points and grant temporary hit points have their effectiveness reduced by half (round down).
Prone: You suffer a -4 to your AC. Prone creatures have their speed reduced to 1. You may stand up as a move action.
Slow: Your speed is reduced to 2.
Surprised: You suffer -3 to your AC and saving throws. You are normally only surprised during the first round of combat before you have taken an action.
Weak: Your attacks and spells inflict half damage (round down).
Other Ideas
I want to have more negative conditions, but I'm struggling to come up with equally elegant mechanics. Some sort of "Rotting" condition might work, as might "Exhausted" or "Dehydrated". The drawbacks need to be significant, but not a pain in the ass to remember or deal with. I use poison as a damage type, so that's not really a venue for ideas.
All of the conditions listed above are non-trivial, and aside from prone require magic or time to end their effect. Some negative conditions that have non-trivial effects but are easily dismissed might be good, such as a Dehydrated condition that could be ended by drinking any magical potion.
I dunno, I'm still working on it.
Far better to limit certain action choices, i.e. instead of having an effect cause -6 to strength, better to simply have the character deal half damage. Instead of stunning a character, have him fall prone --it doesn't prevent the player from making choices, but it does limit them.
Below are the common negative conditions (I omit Deafness and other tedious conditions) as I have been using them in my present game. I am particularly proud of how Diseased and Delirious work.
Common Conditions
Afraid: You suffer a -2 penalty to your attack rolls and spell DC for the remainder of the encounter. Additionally, you cannot benefit from leadership bonuses or morale bonuses (such as those granted by clerical spells). Characters that are immune to fear cannot be made afraid.
Blind: -5 penalty to attack rolls and spell DC. Cannot target ranged attacks or spells to farther away than ten feet.
Damaged: Some monster attacks disable magic items semi-permanently, but do not destroy them. These items may be repaired via arcane rituals, but until then they offer no benefit beyond a non-magical item, and cannot be used as normal.
Delirious: You cannot cast spells of the highest level that you are capable of casting, nor activate magic items other than potions. Nor may you cast spells that are affected by metamagic feats. Nor may you use per encounter maneuvers such as those gained by the warrior and rogue classes.
Diseased: Effects that restore lost hit points and grant temporary hit points have their effectiveness reduced by half (round down).
Prone: You suffer a -4 to your AC. Prone creatures have their speed reduced to 1. You may stand up as a move action.
Slow: Your speed is reduced to 2.
Surprised: You suffer -3 to your AC and saving throws. You are normally only surprised during the first round of combat before you have taken an action.
Weak: Your attacks and spells inflict half damage (round down).
Other Ideas
I want to have more negative conditions, but I'm struggling to come up with equally elegant mechanics. Some sort of "Rotting" condition might work, as might "Exhausted" or "Dehydrated". The drawbacks need to be significant, but not a pain in the ass to remember or deal with. I use poison as a damage type, so that's not really a venue for ideas.
All of the conditions listed above are non-trivial, and aside from prone require magic or time to end their effect. Some negative conditions that have non-trivial effects but are easily dismissed might be good, such as a Dehydrated condition that could be ended by drinking any magical potion.
I dunno, I'm still working on it.
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