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Author Topic: Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: COBRA!!!  (Read 825288 times)

Rolan7

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8715 on: September 07, 2021, 06:47:25 pm »

Good point...  "I CAST FISTS" fixed it
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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8716 on: September 07, 2021, 06:57:45 pm »

Especially appropriate because one good use of magic missile is to hit an enemy magic user with a bunch of concentration checks. Just slap em with your magic fists until they forget what they were doing!
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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8717 on: September 10, 2021, 04:39:54 pm »

I am contemplating joining a local group, which includes a co-worker.  This is the first group in meatspace I have encountered.

I have floated the idea for a comically silly character, for the maximum chaos it will cause, and gotten a warm reception to the concept, but have been asked for an implementation of the concept.
(Specifically, I want to play as a misfit artificer, who by all rights and reason, should not be an artificer, but due to socio-political reasons and guild culture, MUST BE. )

I have made a simple write-up with the following suggested house-rules amended to the RAW for the 3.5e Artificer package found in the Eberron campaign setting splatbook:

Use of the Spell Storage Item infusion is doubled, (Each use counts as normal, and counts against your infusion number for the day. However, after that is depleted, you get an additional "bonus" (ahem) set of uses of this infusion...)  with caveats:

Using the "Bonus Infusions" for Spell Storage Item, results in 100% chance of the spell effect so stored having a deleterious effect added to it. Additionally, the first half of these bonus infusions produce results 1/2 the intended CL when possible, and produce "in line with intent, but not in form" effects if the resulting CL is insufficient for the effect when reduced to that new level. (EG, a fireball spell might not actually form a 'ball', but will still emit fire with say, a cone type area with greatly reduced distance, and reduced damage consistent with the reduced CL it is discharged at.) The second half of the bonus infusions operates at 1/4 the intended CL, in the same way.

Additionally, the "DC 20 + CL" check when creating an emulated spell effect to store in such items is amended like this:

The hard-cut point for true success remains the same-- DC20+CL, however, a "*ahem* 'success' *ahem*" margin of 10% is allotted, such that if you fall short of the required roll by this 10% margin, the attempt "succeeds", but is afflicted with an adverse effect that you wont know the specifics of until you use or discharge the stored spell.   Additionally, another 10% margin at the bottom (critical failure threshold, where a mishap would occur) is imposed, such that if you squeak by just above the critical failure mark-- you still "fail", but get a mostly harmless, but comical consequence for the failure. (Actual critical failure results in a real, painful-bad consequence, as normal.)

And finally---

Spell Storage Item itself has a slight amendment for this character--  Items intended to function for a short time when activated still peter out after the 1hr/lvl restriction, as per RAW-- but simply stored spell effects persist in the item until it is either discharged, or used to create a magical item through an item creation feat. (Since the artificer has no other real means of producing the requisite effects aside from spell emulation, and would be allowed to substitute the source of the spell in accordance with the dungeon master's guide.)   Stored spells that have a deleterious effect added to them, if used to fabricate actual general-use magic items (since spell storage items only work for the artificer, per RAW, and this is retained) transfer the deleterious effect into the finished item, and it cannot be removed.  The deleterious effect is not a rider, but instead represents a broken or twisted version of the spell effect itself.

To make up for the "can keep the items until discharged" amendment, the artificer can only keep track of so many such items per artificer level, making them function more-or-less like a spell slot, with slot number restrictions-- consistent with a sorc, (The artificer is CHA based, like a sorc) but hampered by the fact that you have to burn through your infusions to get stored spell items, that you must use this process to reload the stored spell items, and that you have the imposed failure mechanics mentioned above applied to this process, making a significant number of the "slots" dangerous to use.

Deleterious effects are decided by the "cursed item creation" rules in the dungeon master's guide.


I am putting this here for feedback before I actually submit the proposal.  Cut this shit up, and make it bleed.


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Cthulhu

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8718 on: September 13, 2021, 07:44:02 am »

Been looking at ACKS again, one of those perennial RPGs I want to play but it's hard to find a group that A. wants to play old-school high-lethality games and B. also has the staying power to reach the really interesting ACKS stuff like forming a realm and being a ruler and doing wars and stuff.

They've got a new(? if i haven't seen it it's new to me) heroic fantasy supplement that adds fate points and other mechanics for longevity, along with a bunch of cool new magic stuff, relegating most humans to ceremonial magic which is subtle and takes time to cast, while elves get song magic and some other races get regular spellcasting, to make magic still accessible but giving the feel of the old school magic is rare and special vibe.

My current PC I'd Like to Play Eventually is a necromancer, but not like the lame black-robes skeleton army necromancer.  More of a mad scientist vibe, like frankenstein but with souls.  The type of guy to put two bodies in a blender and cast true resurrection to see what happens.
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Telgin

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8719 on: September 13, 2021, 01:52:30 pm »

Mentioning becoming a ruler and controlling a realm reminds me that one of the things I've wanted for a while was a tabletop game that simulated kingdom or empire management as its main focus.  Something where a few people could play over months or whatever to have a set of empires evolve and compete with each other.  I'm not sure any RPG would really fit the bill, but I saw at least one PbTA inspired system that handled it.  I can't remember the name, but it was focused on post apocalyptic clans, where I'm more interested in either typical fantasy or space opera sci-fi.

I've considered trying to make a system of my own, but therein lies madness.
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Cthulhu

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8720 on: September 13, 2021, 03:11:17 pm »

Reign is like that, there's also Pendragon which is ancient and I'm not sure if it's actually any good.

ACKS isn't completely tied around that, but it's a big part.  It tries to recreate the old old Arneson stuff, the adventuring aspects of D&D were basically a way to generate context for wargame battles.  ACKS has really extensive kingdom stats stuff and all classes have some means of creating a larger organization once they hit level 11, attracting followers and soldiers and such.  The setting is late antiquity with a fantasy Roman empire in terminal decline and the idea is as you get to higher levels you'll band together and carve off a chunk of this empire, using your own resources and skills to protect it both from the imperial forces and the encroaching darkness.

I think it's important to start early so you have the full context for what you're doing but you could probably use it as a pure kingdom management game with modifications, the rules for that are very detailed.
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Kagus

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8721 on: September 14, 2021, 04:57:59 pm »

A Tempest Cleric 2/Scribe Wizard (lots) can, theoretically, change Meteor Swarm to all-lightning damage and then just set it to maximum damage at 240 (save for half).

...definitely not optimal/maximal damage values, the thought just occurred to me and I think it's kinda nifty.


EDIT: Why is there a Rogue subclass that Rangers better than a Ranger does?

ijub

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8722 on: September 15, 2021, 01:36:07 pm »

Spoiler: Druids (click to show/hide)
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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8723 on: September 16, 2021, 02:06:11 pm »

EDIT: Why is there a Rogue subclass that Rangers better than a Ranger does?
Because rangers and monks both live in the shelf for classes that are supposed to be jacks of all trades but actually end up being overly specialised whilst terrible at their specialisation. Whereas things like rogues and wizards are are supposed to be specialists but actually masters of all trades

Grim Portent

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8724 on: September 16, 2021, 05:51:36 pm »

I wouldn't say 5e rangers are terrible at their specialisation, it's just a really specific and boring specialty to have.

Shooting things, stabbing things, having a pet, spellcasting, being mobile, none of those are actually the ranger's shtick, their shtick is just 'is pretty handy in a few chosen environments.' Predictably this turns out to be rather dull in practice, and the same general character ideas can be better represented with another class or by a multiclass.

Nine times out of ten I'd rather be a rogue, fighter or bard even if I want to play a character who hangs out in forests and generally acts 'rangery'.
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MrRoboto75

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8725 on: September 16, 2021, 06:21:19 pm »

their shtick is just 'is pretty handy in a few chosen environments.'

>Ranger is the Aquaman of the party
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Rolan7

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8726 on: September 16, 2021, 06:32:32 pm »

Yeah but remember how cool Aragorn was when he duel-wielded bows though?

We never ended up using Rangers when we played 5e, so I don't remember how they work now.  In 3.5 my group constantly made jokes at the class's expense, but I eventually played a decently successful one once.  Sure their spell list is low-power and very limited... but they get full BAB.  They don't have the feat flexibility of a fighter, but they do get useful bonus feats specific to their chosen style.  Their animal companion is extremely fragile, but they don't lose experience points when it dies like a familiar.

Then uniquely they get Camouflage and hide-in-plain-sight, some flavorful and sometimes handy skills, and what my group mockingly called "hatred bonuses" against favored foes.  Of course it lacks the infinite flexibility and power of a full spellcaster like a druid, it's 3.5.  It just compares reasonably well to a fighter or rogue, with each of the three having different combat and out-of-combat niches.  Full BAB with *any* spellcasting is pretty sweet.  Low spells-per-day isn't so bad when wands and scrolls exist (and you don't need Use Magic Device for the Ranger spells, so get that wand of Cure Light Wounds and go nuts)

And unlike a Paladin you don't have to get in morality arguments unless you wanna :P

But yeah I don't know how they are in 5e.  I like 5e a lot, but most "martial" classes already feel like hybrid spellcasters already.  It's a choice I really enjoy, but I'm not sure where it leaves the ranger (or monk, for that matter).  I played 5e paladin for a while and had a blast, though I think I cast more spells as an arcane fighter heh.
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Kagus

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8727 on: September 17, 2021, 03:53:04 am »

Ranger was pretty great in Incursion though, as you could just start the game off with having a Night Hunter as your animal companion.

Flying, large (and rideable), and with a ludicrous 180' infravision that you got to share while riding the beast. Plus it had multiattack, and with some mounted feats giving it an auto-trip and AoOs on tripped enemies, it was actually pretty hilarious in combat in addition to being an incredible utility in the dark and craggy underground.

Loud Whispers

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8728 on: September 20, 2021, 04:38:58 am »

I wouldn't say 5e rangers are terrible at their specialisation, it's just a really specific and boring specialty to have.

Shooting things, stabbing things, having a pet, spellcasting, being mobile, none of those are actually the ranger's shtick, their shtick is just 'is pretty handy in a few chosen environments.' Predictably this turns out to be rather dull in practice, and the same general character ideas can be better represented with another class or by a multiclass.

Nine times out of ten I'd rather be a rogue, fighter or bard even if I want to play a character who hangs out in forests and generally acts 'rangery'.
I suppose there's also the problem of monks and rangers needing DM assistance to shine. Not much point being a ranger if your party always exclusively goes outside your favoured environments and you never even touch the wilderness. I will remember fondly the time where my monk character really got a rare chance to shine when our whole party was put in prison; suddenly unarmed fighting, catching arrows & fall damage negation came very in handy

scriver

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Re: Dungeons & Dragons / PNP games thread: The Barren Snowflake Wastes
« Reply #8729 on: September 20, 2021, 06:05:00 am »

fall damage negation came very in handy

Monk: I'm not taking the fall for this!
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