Well they are new to me.
D20 Dark Ages
http://d20darkages.blogspot.com/
D20 Dark Ages is run by Stelios a writer and historian. The blog mostly focuses on his one gaming exploits from the time period of 1989 to now. There is a strong old-school vibe to his blog and details on what really were the Dark Ages in my mind as well, the period of the death of TSR but before 3.0.
Interesting site and I hope to see a lot more.
Comiccritique
http://comiccritiqueblog.wordpress.com/
Coniccritique was turned on to me by an old friend. It's not an RPG blog, but as the name suggests, a comic review blog. There is quite a bit of good critical insight. It is a work in progress, but the writing is good.
I enjoyed his reviews of Batwoman and Justice League Dark and honestly he reminded me why I was reading two of the best New52 comics.
So go out read them, follow them. I am expecting them both to get bigger and better.
Showing posts with label d20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label d20. Show all posts
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Review: Rogue Mage (2012)
What if someone held an apocalypse and nobody came?
That is an over-simplification, but it is the jist of what I get from reading a little bit of the Rogue Mage series by Faith Hunter. Now I need to be upfront here about a few things.
1. I have never read the Rogue Mage books, but they are something I have been aware of and I have been meaning to check out.
2. I know Christina Stiles and have worked with her (somewhat) in the past.
That out of the way, lets look at this game.
Rogue Mage is a new RPG from Christina Stiles and Faith Hunter, published by Misfit Studios.
It is a modern supernatural game, so I am already inclined to like it, but also inclined to be critical of it. I will work to balance this for this review.
The game is a d20 based one, but not 100% d20. There is a list of changes for those of us that pick up a d20 game and try to go as we always have. So no attacks of opportunity, no hp, no classes, no levels and so on. Mostly this resembles Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed quite a bit. The damage tracker is similar, but simpler. There is a Toughness save (like M&M) and Combat is a skill (like other games). So mechanics wise this is really an elegant system, but it doesn't add a lot of new material.
So like M&M all you need is a d20 to play.
Also this is the Player's book only. The Game Master's Guide will be out later.
Chapter 1 covers the basic rules of the game. I thought this was a touch odd, since we have not rolled up any characters yet, but I think the reasoning is that the rules are so simple that leading off with them allows you to read them once and then easily refer back to them as needed.
Chapter 2 covers the setting. You don't need have read the Faith Hunter books to use this game, something I think is very important. The books look good and I am looking forward to reading them, but I have this book now. Briefly the world changed with the return of the Seraphs on June 12, 2011. Day before my birthday. The war that follows engulfs the world and leaves it in shambles; in fact it is known as the Last War. The present day is 2117 (or 105 PA, post ap). Given Rush is in concert as of this writing 2112 would have been cooler for me, but hey. Immediately I am drawn to the parallels between this game and Eden's Armageddon. Except in Armageddon the war is still going on and it's 2018 (that seemed SO far away back when I was playtesting the game). The world though in Rogue Mage is more messed up with the new Ice Age and all the plagues. Tech is all over the place with advanced technology in the regions away from the ice to steam powered retro-tech.
Chapter 3 is Character Creation. There are abilities and skills familiar to most d20 games. Characters though have points in which to buy these similar to many other non-d20 systems and M&M. In addition there are Talents, Drawbacks and Magic. First up are the character races; neomage, third-generation kylen, human, seraph-touched, rogue daywalker, and second unforeseen (mule). These are detailed in the book and fit into the cosmology of the game. Races can be bought with character points, or in the case of humans, character points are awarded back to you. Attributes and skills are bought with points. Talents can either be normal, special or supernatural and have varying point costs. Drawbacks give you back points. There are also Luck points (think Hero or Drama points) and a virtue/taint tracker which is a new twist.
There is a character creation walk-through and many sample characters.
Chapter 4 deals with abilities; Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom and so on and saves.
Chapter 5 deals with skills. The list is a familiar one for anyone that has played a d20 game in the last 12 years. Of note though, Combat is a skill now. I rather like that to be honest. A trainable skill instead of a built in aptitude.
Chapter 6 covers Talents. Think of these as something similar to Feats or Qualities, or most like the Powers in True 20. Many of these are Feats from the SRD, but that is fine because they still work here. As you can imagine there are a lot of them here, a little more than 30 pages worth. Then we also get the Drawbacks. These are like negative feats. They take something from you, but you get Character Points in return. We get 10 pages of those.
ASIDE: While this game diverts a bit from the d20 mainstream, there is enough here that is the same to make you wonder if your other d20 resources might work with it. For that answer I would have to say I see no reason why not. Sure you are deviating from the source material more, but mechanically speaking, unless it relates to levels, classes or HP I can't see why it wouldn't work.
Chapter 7 is Magic. There is a lot here, not just in terms of rules for magic, but the spells themselves. Over 46 pages. Again some spells from other games could be converted and used here. One would need to figure out the point cost for casting them. I wonder if the spells from the d20 Call of Cthulhu would be compatible? Or even BESM d20 Advanced Magic. If so, then this game would open up a wealth of playing options.
Chapter 8 details Virtue, Money and Luck. Virtue and Taint stand in for the basic alignment system, but this also has more in-game effects. Virtuous characters are more resilient to some magics for example.
Wealth is a score, rather than a track-able resource like gold pieces. And Luck Points, like I mentioned are like Hero or Drama points.
Chapter 9 discusses Secondary Characters, aka NPCS.
Chapter 10 has equipment. It is an interesting mix of future and past tech and high tech and magic.
Chapter 11 details combat. Combat normally gets it's own chapter, but I would have figured it a little closer to skills. No matter, it is here and it tells you what you need to know. Of importance here is the damage track and conditions rules. Remember, there are no HP here, so this is how you know if you are good or about to die. This combat makes this game a bit more deadly than your typical d20 game.
We end with some fiction from Faith Hunter (each chapter had some too) and an Index.
The layout is clean and easy to read. The art is really good as well and really captures the feel of the game well I think. It is all black and white so it won't kill your printer.
There is a lot I really like about this game. First it has so much potential with things I am already doing. Secondly the fact that is also seems to fit in mechanically with a bunch of books I already have is also great.
I think I would have loved to have seen this as a Unisystem game. But I know there are a lot of reasons why that could not have been done. Plus the rules from Mutants & Masterminds, as I have done in the past, can be tweaked to give you a Unisystem like experience. To be 100% honest if there is anyone out there that could be trusted to do that it is Christina Stiles and Misfit Studios.
Something though is keeping me from absolutely loving this game though. I think it is because I have not read the books it is based on yet. I also think there is not enough information here on how to run a game. That is not a big deal for me really, I have 100s of books that tell me that. I don't know how to run one in this universe.
But these are not the shortcomings of this book; only my understanding of the world of this book.
I do hope the Game Master's Guide comes with a sample adventure.
Here is what I do know. Misfit Studios has done a a great job in the past with Unisystem products and Mutants & Masterminds ones. This rule set seems to be a perfect middle ground for them and I hope that we get to see it for more games.
1. I have never read the Rogue Mage books, but they are something I have been aware of and I have been meaning to check out.
2. I know Christina Stiles and have worked with her (somewhat) in the past.
That out of the way, lets look at this game.
Rogue Mage is a new RPG from Christina Stiles and Faith Hunter, published by Misfit Studios.
It is a modern supernatural game, so I am already inclined to like it, but also inclined to be critical of it. I will work to balance this for this review.
The game is a d20 based one, but not 100% d20. There is a list of changes for those of us that pick up a d20 game and try to go as we always have. So no attacks of opportunity, no hp, no classes, no levels and so on. Mostly this resembles Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed quite a bit. The damage tracker is similar, but simpler. There is a Toughness save (like M&M) and Combat is a skill (like other games). So mechanics wise this is really an elegant system, but it doesn't add a lot of new material.
So like M&M all you need is a d20 to play.
Also this is the Player's book only. The Game Master's Guide will be out later.
Chapter 1 covers the basic rules of the game. I thought this was a touch odd, since we have not rolled up any characters yet, but I think the reasoning is that the rules are so simple that leading off with them allows you to read them once and then easily refer back to them as needed.
Chapter 2 covers the setting. You don't need have read the Faith Hunter books to use this game, something I think is very important. The books look good and I am looking forward to reading them, but I have this book now. Briefly the world changed with the return of the Seraphs on June 12, 2011. Day before my birthday. The war that follows engulfs the world and leaves it in shambles; in fact it is known as the Last War. The present day is 2117 (or 105 PA, post ap). Given Rush is in concert as of this writing 2112 would have been cooler for me, but hey. Immediately I am drawn to the parallels between this game and Eden's Armageddon. Except in Armageddon the war is still going on and it's 2018 (that seemed SO far away back when I was playtesting the game). The world though in Rogue Mage is more messed up with the new Ice Age and all the plagues. Tech is all over the place with advanced technology in the regions away from the ice to steam powered retro-tech.
Chapter 3 is Character Creation. There are abilities and skills familiar to most d20 games. Characters though have points in which to buy these similar to many other non-d20 systems and M&M. In addition there are Talents, Drawbacks and Magic. First up are the character races; neomage, third-generation kylen, human, seraph-touched, rogue daywalker, and second unforeseen (mule). These are detailed in the book and fit into the cosmology of the game. Races can be bought with character points, or in the case of humans, character points are awarded back to you. Attributes and skills are bought with points. Talents can either be normal, special or supernatural and have varying point costs. Drawbacks give you back points. There are also Luck points (think Hero or Drama points) and a virtue/taint tracker which is a new twist.
There is a character creation walk-through and many sample characters.
Chapter 4 deals with abilities; Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom and so on and saves.
Chapter 5 deals with skills. The list is a familiar one for anyone that has played a d20 game in the last 12 years. Of note though, Combat is a skill now. I rather like that to be honest. A trainable skill instead of a built in aptitude.
Chapter 6 covers Talents. Think of these as something similar to Feats or Qualities, or most like the Powers in True 20. Many of these are Feats from the SRD, but that is fine because they still work here. As you can imagine there are a lot of them here, a little more than 30 pages worth. Then we also get the Drawbacks. These are like negative feats. They take something from you, but you get Character Points in return. We get 10 pages of those.
ASIDE: While this game diverts a bit from the d20 mainstream, there is enough here that is the same to make you wonder if your other d20 resources might work with it. For that answer I would have to say I see no reason why not. Sure you are deviating from the source material more, but mechanically speaking, unless it relates to levels, classes or HP I can't see why it wouldn't work.
Chapter 7 is Magic. There is a lot here, not just in terms of rules for magic, but the spells themselves. Over 46 pages. Again some spells from other games could be converted and used here. One would need to figure out the point cost for casting them. I wonder if the spells from the d20 Call of Cthulhu would be compatible? Or even BESM d20 Advanced Magic. If so, then this game would open up a wealth of playing options.
Chapter 8 details Virtue, Money and Luck. Virtue and Taint stand in for the basic alignment system, but this also has more in-game effects. Virtuous characters are more resilient to some magics for example.
Wealth is a score, rather than a track-able resource like gold pieces. And Luck Points, like I mentioned are like Hero or Drama points.
Chapter 9 discusses Secondary Characters, aka NPCS.
Chapter 10 has equipment. It is an interesting mix of future and past tech and high tech and magic.
Chapter 11 details combat. Combat normally gets it's own chapter, but I would have figured it a little closer to skills. No matter, it is here and it tells you what you need to know. Of importance here is the damage track and conditions rules. Remember, there are no HP here, so this is how you know if you are good or about to die. This combat makes this game a bit more deadly than your typical d20 game.
We end with some fiction from Faith Hunter (each chapter had some too) and an Index.
The layout is clean and easy to read. The art is really good as well and really captures the feel of the game well I think. It is all black and white so it won't kill your printer.
There is a lot I really like about this game. First it has so much potential with things I am already doing. Secondly the fact that is also seems to fit in mechanically with a bunch of books I already have is also great.
I think I would have loved to have seen this as a Unisystem game. But I know there are a lot of reasons why that could not have been done. Plus the rules from Mutants & Masterminds, as I have done in the past, can be tweaked to give you a Unisystem like experience. To be 100% honest if there is anyone out there that could be trusted to do that it is Christina Stiles and Misfit Studios.
Something though is keeping me from absolutely loving this game though. I think it is because I have not read the books it is based on yet. I also think there is not enough information here on how to run a game. That is not a big deal for me really, I have 100s of books that tell me that. I don't know how to run one in this universe.
But these are not the shortcomings of this book; only my understanding of the world of this book.
I do hope the Game Master's Guide comes with a sample adventure.
Here is what I do know. Misfit Studios has done a a great job in the past with Unisystem products and Mutants & Masterminds ones. This rule set seems to be a perfect middle ground for them and I hope that we get to see it for more games.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Celtic-themed Games
I have really been reading a lot of games based on real world myths, and mostly Celtic myths. There are a lot of good ideas in these games, but none that felt perfect to me. I am still looking though!
Slaine the RPG of Celtic Heroes
Mongoose has released their 2002 OGL game, Slaine to PDF for what I think is the first time ever.
To begin with this is NOT a game of generic Celtic myths and heroes, this is a game for the 2000AD comic Slaine which borrows a lot from Celtic myth, but takes a number of liberties as well.
It also diverges from it's SRD/d20 3.0 (NOT 3.5) roots. So when reading, keep this in mind.
The book is very typical of a setting-type book.
We start with a number of classes. These have all be re-flavored to fit the mythos of the world better. So Tribal Warriors and Witches join the ranks of Druids and Thieves. Also we only have 3 races, Human, Dwarf and Warped-Ones (humans changed permanently by their interactions with the Beast Folk).
Next we come to skills and there are some differences here than the d20 norm.
We also get a new honor system. Enech: Honour and Reputation is used to tell the value of a warrior (his Sarhaed or Honor Price). It is also used when someone it wronged or challenged in a battle. In a lot ways it should be more important than XP. Tied to this are weirds (fate) and geas (taboos).
A strong collection of feats are presented. Including the fabled Warp Spasm and Salmon Leap.
Goods and Weapons is next and it deserves a careful read from the player. Afterall you might know that 3 gold piece is worth 3 cows, but that won't help you when all you have to barter for your new sword are chickens and pigs.
Combat is given special attention. In particular we get one on one combat, chariot combat and larger army combat. Useful for any d20 game in truth.
Magic and Spells are handled in a very different way. With each spell costing EP. Details are given about how gain and get EP for magical use.
We get some information on Slaine's world including the mythic version of the British Ilses (Albion, Alba, Cambria and Eriu or England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland respectively).
There is a section on adventures which includes some very interesting Prestige Classes.
We also get a run down on the Goddesses and Gods of the Tir Nan Og, and the bestiary of normal animals and more fantastic monsters.
Campaign ideas and notes.
All in all a good book if you are a fan of the comic or in Celtic myths in general. My only disappointments in this is some of the art is a low res scan and it looks very pixelated, the other is that there is no character sheet included. The character sheet for Slaine was one of the nicest ones from early in the d20 craze.
Bardic Lore: The Fachan
Celtic myth and lore is full of strange creatures. Some that don't quite have an analogue anywhere else. The Fachan is one such creature. Their might be similar creatures in other myths (I bet the Japanese or the myths of India have something like this) but none I can recall off the top of my head. This book gives us the background on the Fachan, 3.x style monster stats and some ideas to use it in your games. There is also a Fachan NPC and some notes on using the beastie as a character race. All in all not bad, and then when you consider the price then it is great.
Bardic Lore: Ogham
This is a well researched guide on Ogham, the written language of stones often seen near ancient Celtic settlements. This product blends historical findings with mythology to give us something very cool indeed. New ideas for Druids and Bards using Ogham are included along with a new feats, skill uses and revised spell lists. What is nice is the chart of the Ogham characters with sounds, English letter equivalents, and tree names. A lot of research went into all of this and the quality shows. Don't take it as a historical treatise on Ogham, but it is a great tool for a game. Nominally d20/3.5 but really the most of it can be used in any game.
Treasures of the Sidhe
Not a bad product. 45 new magic items of various degrees; most I thought were fine. It lacks art a lot of art, but for under 3.00 you are getting a lot of magic items and 1 new monster. Great if you are running a 3.x game bases around the Sidhe or the Seelie/Unseelie courts.
Slaine the RPG of Celtic Heroes
To begin with this is NOT a game of generic Celtic myths and heroes, this is a game for the 2000AD comic Slaine which borrows a lot from Celtic myth, but takes a number of liberties as well.
It also diverges from it's SRD/d20 3.0 (NOT 3.5) roots. So when reading, keep this in mind.
The book is very typical of a setting-type book.
We start with a number of classes. These have all be re-flavored to fit the mythos of the world better. So Tribal Warriors and Witches join the ranks of Druids and Thieves. Also we only have 3 races, Human, Dwarf and Warped-Ones (humans changed permanently by their interactions with the Beast Folk).
Next we come to skills and there are some differences here than the d20 norm.
We also get a new honor system. Enech: Honour and Reputation is used to tell the value of a warrior (his Sarhaed or Honor Price). It is also used when someone it wronged or challenged in a battle. In a lot ways it should be more important than XP. Tied to this are weirds (fate) and geas (taboos).
A strong collection of feats are presented. Including the fabled Warp Spasm and Salmon Leap.
Goods and Weapons is next and it deserves a careful read from the player. Afterall you might know that 3 gold piece is worth 3 cows, but that won't help you when all you have to barter for your new sword are chickens and pigs.
Combat is given special attention. In particular we get one on one combat, chariot combat and larger army combat. Useful for any d20 game in truth.
Magic and Spells are handled in a very different way. With each spell costing EP. Details are given about how gain and get EP for magical use.
We get some information on Slaine's world including the mythic version of the British Ilses (Albion, Alba, Cambria and Eriu or England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland respectively).
There is a section on adventures which includes some very interesting Prestige Classes.
We also get a run down on the Goddesses and Gods of the Tir Nan Og, and the bestiary of normal animals and more fantastic monsters.
Campaign ideas and notes.
All in all a good book if you are a fan of the comic or in Celtic myths in general. My only disappointments in this is some of the art is a low res scan and it looks very pixelated, the other is that there is no character sheet included. The character sheet for Slaine was one of the nicest ones from early in the d20 craze.
Bardic Lore: The Fachan
Celtic myth and lore is full of strange creatures. Some that don't quite have an analogue anywhere else. The Fachan is one such creature. Their might be similar creatures in other myths (I bet the Japanese or the myths of India have something like this) but none I can recall off the top of my head. This book gives us the background on the Fachan, 3.x style monster stats and some ideas to use it in your games. There is also a Fachan NPC and some notes on using the beastie as a character race. All in all not bad, and then when you consider the price then it is great.
Bardic Lore: Ogham
This is a well researched guide on Ogham, the written language of stones often seen near ancient Celtic settlements. This product blends historical findings with mythology to give us something very cool indeed. New ideas for Druids and Bards using Ogham are included along with a new feats, skill uses and revised spell lists. What is nice is the chart of the Ogham characters with sounds, English letter equivalents, and tree names. A lot of research went into all of this and the quality shows. Don't take it as a historical treatise on Ogham, but it is a great tool for a game. Nominally d20/3.5 but really the most of it can be used in any game.
Treasures of the Sidhe
Not a bad product. 45 new magic items of various degrees; most I thought were fine. It lacks art a lot of art, but for under 3.00 you are getting a lot of magic items and 1 new monster. Great if you are running a 3.x game bases around the Sidhe or the Seelie/Unseelie courts.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Witch Books, Part 2. d20 years
Continuing on my previous post on the witch classes for the D&D game. In this post I'll focus on the the early batch of d20 and later books.
DMG Witch
Let's not forget that the witch was a "sample" character in the 3.0 edition DMG. She was basically a Sorcerer that had a different spell list. Dropped some of the iconic damage spells of the Wizard in favor of some minor Cleric spells. I always considered this the baseline witch. Though since it was not in the SRD I avoided reading about it. When working on Liber Mysterium back in the day I was very, very strict about what I would read. In fact I have a spread sheet full of spells and I would have discussions on what was and was not a witch spell. In the end I ended up with a list that was not too unlike the witch spell list in the DMG, but I have tons of documentation of how I got it. We were more concerned back then that WotC was going to stomp out any d20 infraction they found. Still glad I did all the work though. I was able to go back to it for all my other witch books.
Relics & Rituals
While not a book about witches per se, there is a lot in this book to like.
This was one of the very first additional magic books available for the d20 game. It has a number of things that would be expected. There are a good number of Prestige Classes for starters and I particularly liked the Blood Witch and the Sea Witch. There are new feats and hundreds of new spells. But the real gem of this book and the reason why it is still good to have today are the ritual casting rules. There was a time that including a copy of these was mandatory in any new d20 book magic it seemed. They were frankly some of the best mutli-caster rules I had seen to that date and I have not seen anything else in the d20 world that has since come close. Throw in scads of magic items and the book is a steal at twice this price really.
The Quintessential Witch - Mongoose (Print) (PDF)
I am not a huge fan of the older Mongoose books. There are number of issues with the classes all over over the place, odd editing and art that runs the gambit. This book is not any different. The witch class is pretty typical of the time (early days of the d20 boom). There is a wide variety of Prestige classes, which is nice, but not all of them are usable. The book tends to be full of a lot cliches. Though the ones that are good (Occultist, Puppet Mistress) are very good. There is a good section on new uses for skills including telling fortunes and a good section of feats. There are new spells and new magic items, as expected, but the coolest thing might be the Places of Power. Some Times of Power ends the book (also a good section).
The Witch's Handbook - Green Ronin
Certainly a great effort. There is a lot I really like about this book. The gems of this book are the ideas for skills and of course the fantastic cover art by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. Like my own d20 book this witch uses Wisdom to cast Arcane spells. I still kinda like that to be honest. There are a lot of nice Prestige Classes here. There are new spells and like Way of the Witch below it uses the Ritual Casting rules from Relics & Rituals which were very much in vogue at the time.
There is no PDF of this I can buy which is disappointing really.
Way of the Witch - Citizen Games
Style-wise this is the best of the lot of the early witch books for d20. Hard cover, with some of the most beautiful art I have seen in a book. I mean look at that Thomas Denmark cover.
The witch is basic and has a lot a really nice features. The prestige classes are simple, but functional, dividing the witch into White, Black, Grey and Brown witches. There are some other nice ideas as well. The authors really took their time and care with this one and it really shows.
Alas, Citizen games did not make it out of the d20 boon alive. They were going to come out with a second witch book, Seasons of the Witch, and I had heard a little about it. I had high expectations really.
I am also disappointed that there is no pdf of this I can buy anywhere. It would be great to have all my witch books in one place on my hard drive(s).
Lions' Den Press: Classes of Legend: The Witch
This one is different enough from the Pathfinder or DMG versions of the witch class to merit it's own product. There are some new feats and spells. All 20 levels are presented as well as some "High Witchcraft" alternate levels. Some good ideas here and not bad for the price.
The Enduring: Witches and Shamans
This book gives us a Faery Witch and Shaman class. There is some natural overlap between the two. In addition there are also 3 new prestige classes and 22 new feats. There are a fair number of new magic items and a lot of new spells. There are also quite a few new monsters that are likely to exist in the same worlds as witches and shamans. The classes seem a bit overpowered for straight d20 ones, but might make good Pathfinder classes. The feats and spells are mixed bag. I have seen similar sorts of feats and spells in other books, some better, some worse. But for the price, this is a good deal. I am not a huge fan of the art, but it is not bad.
Unorthodox Witches
A lot of different types of witches built from the d20 rules. A few new ideas and a lot recycled art.
If you are looking for new ideas for witches, wizards or other types of spellcasters.
After going over this book again all these years later there is actually quite a bit more for your money. 55+ pages, and plenty of classes, there is a lot here that can use right out of the box or combine for something new. The key word that I was forgetting here was "Unorthodox" and these certainly fit. While I see this primarily as a GMs tool, there is likely to be a class in here that you will want to try if you are into witches. Just because it is called a Beguiler or Crescent flyer, doesn't matter, that is just to separate them all out from each other.
There is something good here if you like arcane classes. Or any class with a bit of mystery to it.
Actually I would not use them as classes, but edit them a bit for Prestige classes for the Witch.
Lost Classes: Chaos Witch
Some products you buy for the content, some for the art. This was both. I was working on the Chaos Witch for WitchCraft a while back and I wanted to see what is was all about. Plus the witch on the front looks like Raven from the Teen Titans. I didn't actually use anything here for the WitchCraft Chaos Magick, but I did enjoy this.
It is an interesting Prestige Class that adds a bit of randomness to her spell casting effects. She gains a few extra spell-like abilities and a random "hex" to curse people with.
A lot of fluff is given for the class, but the crunch does not quite match up. Still an interesting class for an NPC or a witch-themed game. Only 3 pages, but the price is low.
Dept. 7 Adv. Class Update: NeoWitch Guardian
An advanced class for d20 Modern. Has some nice features and powers. I particularly like the broom (Besom) attacks. Great for d20 modern with magic.
DMG Witch
Let's not forget that the witch was a "sample" character in the 3.0 edition DMG. She was basically a Sorcerer that had a different spell list. Dropped some of the iconic damage spells of the Wizard in favor of some minor Cleric spells. I always considered this the baseline witch. Though since it was not in the SRD I avoided reading about it. When working on Liber Mysterium back in the day I was very, very strict about what I would read. In fact I have a spread sheet full of spells and I would have discussions on what was and was not a witch spell. In the end I ended up with a list that was not too unlike the witch spell list in the DMG, but I have tons of documentation of how I got it. We were more concerned back then that WotC was going to stomp out any d20 infraction they found. Still glad I did all the work though. I was able to go back to it for all my other witch books.
Relics & Rituals
While not a book about witches per se, there is a lot in this book to like.
This was one of the very first additional magic books available for the d20 game. It has a number of things that would be expected. There are a good number of Prestige Classes for starters and I particularly liked the Blood Witch and the Sea Witch. There are new feats and hundreds of new spells. But the real gem of this book and the reason why it is still good to have today are the ritual casting rules. There was a time that including a copy of these was mandatory in any new d20 book magic it seemed. They were frankly some of the best mutli-caster rules I had seen to that date and I have not seen anything else in the d20 world that has since come close. Throw in scads of magic items and the book is a steal at twice this price really.
The Quintessential Witch - Mongoose (Print) (PDF)
I am not a huge fan of the older Mongoose books. There are number of issues with the classes all over over the place, odd editing and art that runs the gambit. This book is not any different. The witch class is pretty typical of the time (early days of the d20 boom). There is a wide variety of Prestige classes, which is nice, but not all of them are usable. The book tends to be full of a lot cliches. Though the ones that are good (Occultist, Puppet Mistress) are very good. There is a good section on new uses for skills including telling fortunes and a good section of feats. There are new spells and new magic items, as expected, but the coolest thing might be the Places of Power. Some Times of Power ends the book (also a good section).
The Witch's Handbook - Green Ronin
Certainly a great effort. There is a lot I really like about this book. The gems of this book are the ideas for skills and of course the fantastic cover art by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. Like my own d20 book this witch uses Wisdom to cast Arcane spells. I still kinda like that to be honest. There are a lot of nice Prestige Classes here. There are new spells and like Way of the Witch below it uses the Ritual Casting rules from Relics & Rituals which were very much in vogue at the time.
There is no PDF of this I can buy which is disappointing really.
Way of the Witch - Citizen Games
The witch is basic and has a lot a really nice features. The prestige classes are simple, but functional, dividing the witch into White, Black, Grey and Brown witches. There are some other nice ideas as well. The authors really took their time and care with this one and it really shows.
Alas, Citizen games did not make it out of the d20 boon alive. They were going to come out with a second witch book, Seasons of the Witch, and I had heard a little about it. I had high expectations really.
I am also disappointed that there is no pdf of this I can buy anywhere. It would be great to have all my witch books in one place on my hard drive(s).
Lions' Den Press: Classes of Legend: The Witch
This one is different enough from the Pathfinder or DMG versions of the witch class to merit it's own product. There are some new feats and spells. All 20 levels are presented as well as some "High Witchcraft" alternate levels. Some good ideas here and not bad for the price.
The Enduring: Witches and Shamans
This book gives us a Faery Witch and Shaman class. There is some natural overlap between the two. In addition there are also 3 new prestige classes and 22 new feats. There are a fair number of new magic items and a lot of new spells. There are also quite a few new monsters that are likely to exist in the same worlds as witches and shamans. The classes seem a bit overpowered for straight d20 ones, but might make good Pathfinder classes. The feats and spells are mixed bag. I have seen similar sorts of feats and spells in other books, some better, some worse. But for the price, this is a good deal. I am not a huge fan of the art, but it is not bad.
Unorthodox Witches
A lot of different types of witches built from the d20 rules. A few new ideas and a lot recycled art.
If you are looking for new ideas for witches, wizards or other types of spellcasters.
After going over this book again all these years later there is actually quite a bit more for your money. 55+ pages, and plenty of classes, there is a lot here that can use right out of the box or combine for something new. The key word that I was forgetting here was "Unorthodox" and these certainly fit. While I see this primarily as a GMs tool, there is likely to be a class in here that you will want to try if you are into witches. Just because it is called a Beguiler or Crescent flyer, doesn't matter, that is just to separate them all out from each other.
There is something good here if you like arcane classes. Or any class with a bit of mystery to it.
Actually I would not use them as classes, but edit them a bit for Prestige classes for the Witch.
Lost Classes: Chaos Witch
It is an interesting Prestige Class that adds a bit of randomness to her spell casting effects. She gains a few extra spell-like abilities and a random "hex" to curse people with.
A lot of fluff is given for the class, but the crunch does not quite match up. Still an interesting class for an NPC or a witch-themed game. Only 3 pages, but the price is low.
Dept. 7 Adv. Class Update: NeoWitch Guardian
An advanced class for d20 Modern. Has some nice features and powers. I particularly like the broom (Besom) attacks. Great for d20 modern with magic.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Castles & Crusades updates
I want to thank everyone that gave me advice on C&C recently.
Here is what I now have:
My son owns the physical copies, I bought PDFs. Because, well, I like reading on my tablet.
We are playing a C&C game at Gen Con and I am going to be playing around a bit with the PHB.
What I like so far is the ability to use 1st ed and 3rd ed material seamlessly. Yeah I do that now, but I do it with 3e and a lot of prep.
Not 100% what I am going to do yet. But it will be fun to figure it all out!
Here is what I now have:
- Castle Keepers Guide
- Tainted Lands
- Castles & Crusades Players Handbook (4th) (a PDF for me and a physical book for my son)
- Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure (a PDF for me and a physical book for my son)
- Castles & Crusades Classic Monsters The Manual (glad I got this)
- Castles & Crusades Of Gods & Monsters (glad I got this one too!)
My son owns the physical copies, I bought PDFs. Because, well, I like reading on my tablet.
We are playing a C&C game at Gen Con and I am going to be playing around a bit with the PHB.
What I like so far is the ability to use 1st ed and 3rd ed material seamlessly. Yeah I do that now, but I do it with 3e and a lot of prep.
Not 100% what I am going to do yet. But it will be fun to figure it all out!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
P is for Passages
I love Victorian Era games. There is so much going on in the Victorian age, both in history and literature (esp Horror) that it is ripe for all sorts of gaming opportunities. I also love being mix it all up; having Jules Verne and Capt. Nemo in the same world as Bram Stoker and Dracula. So when I find a game that will let me do that (and do it in a cool way) then I am happy.
Passages is a rather interesting game. First the premise is one that all the literature of the Victorian age is true...somewhere. These stories exist in multiple parallel worlds that can be accessed via the Passages. So in some ways it is like Victorian Age Sliders, or Stargate. The mechanism for trans-versing these worlds is one of the more clever ones and wholly compatible with Victorian Age ideas. This is my favorite part of the game; the magic of the Passages and the very clever means of how they can be employed.
The game itself is a Victorian Age one with the aforementioned twist. It covers the time between 1837 to 1901, so a full Victorian time line is presented. Though what it has in breadth it lacks in depth as compared to games that only focus on a few years or a decade of the Victorian era. That being said though, that information is easily found anywhere. Game Masters should instead focus on which tale they want to interact with. Is this an Alice in Wonderland game? Well then that is all you need plus this book. Dracula? Likewise.
Passages does spend some time on character creation in a Victorian Age and that is a very nice touch. In fact I found the character creation portion of this book my second favorite part.
The game system itself is a simple version of the d20 system, somewhere between d20 proper and True20. I think I might have liked it more as a True20 system, but this is a nice middle ground. The system does add Advantages and Disadvantages to the d20 character creation, but most everything else is skill based. There are no classes, but there is HP.
There is a great section on the known world and again is a bit broader than other Victorian era games. This is a game obviously about adventurers, since so many options of places to go and things to do are given.
I love the Sherlock Holmes and Prof. Moriarty sidebars. Gives the game a really nice touch.
This is great game all by itself and one I am happy to own both the PDF and Print versions of. Where I get the most use out of it though is as a means of going between different Victorian games. Create characters and use the rules outlined here so they can move from game to game.
The layout is clean and easy to read. The art is a nice mix of original work and select PD images from the time.
In truth the only way I would like this more is if it had been created for True20. The "feel" of the book screams True20 to me and I think it would be a fantastic choice of a system. Not that there is anything wrong with the system it is using now. This is just a personal thing.
I will probably not play Passages straight, but I will use just about everything in the book for my Victorian games. It has the mechanics to allow me to cross-over Ghosts of Albion to Cthulhu by Gaslight to Gaslight to Rippers to Victoriana and Victoria.
DriveThru RPG link
Noble Knight Games
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
I is for the Imperial Age
The Imperial Age from Adamant Entertainment (who also gave me last year's I for Icons) is a great collection of Victorian Age source books. Designed to support D20 Modern, they can be used with just about any Victorian RPG.
I have been using them with Ghosts of Albion, mostly the background information and some of the game-specific material. But I find that stylistically they tend to support games like Victoriana a little bit more.
I bought a lot of these books when they first came out, but "sat" on them while I was promoting Ghosts of Albion. I didn't want to get distracted.
Now Ghosts is out there doing it's own thing so I can talk more about the Victorian games I really enjoy.
All the Imperial Age books are all well written and features art from the age, either public domain art and paintings as well as some original art. In all cases the art is very evocative of the time and very well done.
The books are all easy to read, with clean layout and font sizes. They can be printed with ease without killing your printer cartridge.
The GameMaster's Guidebook to Victorian Adventure (31 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/50046/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
A fantastic guide for running a Victorian Age game. Plenty of background is given about societies, countries and people of the time. Quick overviews of Victorian thoughts on sex, the occult, and other countries can add plenty of flavor to any game. As well as Alternate-versions of the Victorian setting such as Steam-Punk, Horror, Supers and Alt-Reality.
On the d20 specific side of things, a number of feats are given to be used (but can easily become backgrounds or qualities, depending on what your game needs) and even some advise on converting "Thrilling Tales" Advanced Classes over to Imperial Age.
The advice given is quite good, but the book almost pays for itself in terms of the near complete list of weapons (in d20 format) used. There is a brief timeline and some references.
If you enjoy Victorian games like I do then this is a great product whether you play The Imperial Age, another d20 product or something else all-together.
Imperial Age Magick (36 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/23630/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
I love Victorian era games and I love games with magic in them. So this book was a no brainer for me to pick up. Using the vernacular "magick" this book present magick as seen through the eyes of the Victorian. There are rules to magick and there is heavy reliance of the lieks of Dee and Crowley. But that is what makes this book cool.
Magick is presented in three different styles; the common d20 magic, a skill based magick, and a school based magick where there are many different types of magick being used at the same time. The GM needs to decide how magick works and what level of magick is the game; everything from High (D&D like) Magic to Low or No magic at all.
Plenty of background is given for the various types of magic and the authors really did their homework in terms of reading Dee, Levi and Crowley (among others).
d20-wise there are new feats and new uses for skills. All easily adaptable.
There is a section on magickal gear which I would have liked to see more of to be honest.
The chapter on "Running a Magickal Campaign" bears special mention since it is above and beyong the Imperial Age normal game, but it also has plenty of ideas for all Victorian RPGS.
There are some very useful Appendices, including a Hermitic Scholar class (why it wasn't in the main text I am not sure).
This book is not the end-all be-all of magick in the Victorian age or games, but it is a solid resource full of great advice, ideas and tips. My only gripe is there could have been so much more added. But this is balanced with the cover price I guess.
The Imperial Age: Advanced Class - Alienist (12 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/27944/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
An Alienist is what we would call a psychiatrist today. But in the terms of the Imperial Age game, he is a psionic parapyschologist.
The archetypical Alienist would be Dr. Seward from Dracula (sans psionic powers) or maybe even Hannibal Lector for an evil one.
This book also deals with the psychologically disturbed and how some of them can manifest wild psionic powers. So not quite the crazy one sees in Cthulhu by Gaslight, but more so than Masque of the Red Death.
I give this book credit for coming up for something very original. I think it is more closely tied the to campaign than say some other Advanced Classes like the Monster Hunter, but I can see this working quite well in say a Rippers game.
The Imperial Age: Advanced Class - Monster Hunter (6 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/23185/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
A new advanced class for bumping back the things that go bump in the night. The monster hunter here is a combination of Van Helsing and Alan Quatermain.
There are some good ideas here, but nothing new or earth shaking. The class itself is solid and something any d20 character would take a level or two in.
I would have liked to see some monster hunting societies, but I am not complaining for the price.
The Imperial Age: Advanced Class - Scientific Detective (7 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/20900/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Playing Sherlock Holmes.
Having been re-reading a lot of Holmes lately I find this class spot-on. If the Monster Hunter class is for fighting monsters, then this class is designed to stop crime. The two work well together since they cover such different grounds.
There is a new feat and a repeated one from Monster Hunter (Gentry).
Again, great value for the price.
The Imperial Age: Advanced Class - Gentleman Scientist (13 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/58374/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
If the Scientific Detective book allows you make Holmes, and Monster Hunter make (a younger) Van Helsing, then this book allows you to make a Victorian fantasy Tesla.
If you are looking to turn The Imperial Age into a more Steam Punk style game, then you need to start with this book.
Plenty of new feats are included to allow your Victorian Weird Scientist to make their inventions.
Outside of the d20 realm this book is also a great guide for any sort of weird/super science for the Victorian Age. While specifically that, it is a great start.
The Imperial Age: Anarchism (11 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/51417/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
A little history is helpful here. Anarchism was a big deal to the Victorians. Not just in terms of a political movement, but in terms of what it meant. Society was everything to the Victorians, Anarchy was the opposite of that.
So first off, major kudos for the authors for recognizing this. It is an edited and thumbnail version, but this is a game book, not a textbook.
While this book is about anarchism, it is also full of things those other misfits of society might need: namely the adventurer.
The book has plot hooks, points of view and what anarchism means in a game world. So all of this (the first 3/4s of the book) can be used in any game.
The Anarchist Advanced class is pure d20. The new feats are a good, useful bunch that other character might want to take.
The Imperial Age: British India (67 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/51230/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Most Victorian Age games give a paragraph or two about India, which is too bad really. Victoria herself was known as the "Empress of India".
A good overview of the British involvement in India is given. Again, this is not a textbook, but a game book. There are plenty of places to get more detail, but I think what is here is a great start.
Since so much of the British involvement in India was political and military, overviews of the Government and Military, both in England and India is also given.
I like the authentic maps.
In an interesting addition, several Esoteric Societies are included. Obviously due to their ties with anything "Oriental".
A GM's section on running a campaign in India is presented covering Fantasy, Horror, Occult and Engine based game.
We don't get into any d20 specific information till about 46 pages into the book (almost 3/4ths through the book).
d20 specific info includes a section on creatures (wish there more, but this is good), weapons and feats.
The book ends with a set of reference books and films.
All in all I thought this was a great book for any Victorian-era game. I would love to see more, but I think the book did what is set out to do.
What I can't get from this book I can get from here: http://books.google.com/books?id=-kAuAAAAYAAJ
The Imperial Age: Engines (67 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/50458/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Rules and ideas to turn your Imperial Age game into a Steampunk or Gearpunk game. This book goes beyond what is presented in Gentleman Scientist and presents a new campaign model.
More so than the other books in the Imperial Age line this one has more d20 information. There is also less "history" than the other books.
Despite all of that, this is a good supplement to add all sorts of things to your game. If you are a fan of Steampunk/Gearpunk and your current Victorian Game of choice does not support it, then this is a good choice. If it does then this is a great source for more ideas.
The Imperial Age: Faeries (78 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/55203/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
The Victorians loved faeries. Even the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle loved them a believed they were real. This book help you do that for your game as well.
Plenty of faerie races are given along with their d20 stats for playing them as characters. These will work well in any d20 game regardless of the time period.
A new mechanic is introduced, Traits, but familiar if anyone has played Unisystem or GURPS. In fact it is because of this that makes this book more easily ported over to games like Ghosts of Albion or Victoriana.
Traits and Drawbacks can be bought to customize characters.
Rules for Fey-Touched characters are also given.
There are some monsters stated, mostly these are fey creature that would not work well as characters. Plenty of new feats and an advanced classes.
Advice is given on the Faerie lands and how to run games that involve the fey.
This might be my favorite of the Imperial Age books just in terms of material to be used. The organization of the material is kind of all over the place and the art is not quite a good as the other books, but that didn't matter to me since I was most interested in the words on the page.
The Imperial Age: Fantastical Races (70 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/59412/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
D&D style races in your Imperial Age game.
This book is a nice companion to Faeries in terms of expanding the fantastical elements of your game. Also with a little bit of work they could also expand it more into horror.
In addition to the expected Dwarf, Elf and halfling, we also get Beastfolk (similar to the ones found in Victoriana and Gaslight), Celestial Blooded, Demon Blooded, Dragon Blooded, and Lizard Folk.
There are plenty of Paragon Classes for each race as well as feats.
Some campaign ideas are presented, but I feel some of them are getting farther and farther away from the Victorian norm.
Though it is a very fun book and has some great ideas.
The Imperial Age: Fisticuffs & Swordplay (25 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/55763/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Fightclub for Imperial Age.
Information on Fisticuffs, Bartitsu, and swordplay. Plenty of background and history and bunch of new feats.
Very useful in a game where guns might be rare.
The Imperial Age: Grimoire (75 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/54275/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
This book picks up where Imperial Age Magick left off.
The Imperial Age: Grimoire covers grimoires, or magickal texts.
Included is information on how to find these books, how to read and use them and what must be done to unlock their secrets.
There are some sample grimoires detailed, with their spells and some secret societies. A lot of information is included here and could easily be adapted to any game. I am thinking of Cthulhu by Gaslight in particular.
Some new and many old OGC spells are also included. They are all by design d20, but can be converted. This makes up a lot of the book, but it is needed.
All in all a great book.
The Imperial Age: Hell Hath No Fury (35 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/54789/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Hell Hath No Fury is a "Penny Dreadful", an adventure for the Imperial Age Game. Designed for newer characters (2 to 4 1st level).
The author takes care to let you know that while the Imperial Age can cover a variety of Victorian game types, he had to make some assumptions to have a pre-written adventure work out, so this one is described as Occult Steam. I like that.
The adventure is presented in Three Acts and moves at a brisk pace.
The mystery reads like a "Penny Dreadful" and has the feel and atmosphere of a Victorian mystery. I don't want to spoil things, but this is a fun adventure for the first time players.
The Imperial Age: London (82 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/51552/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
A history and overview of the greatest city of the British Empire. What I liked were the inclusion of the real maps from the time, but improved over how they were presented in the India book.
There is even a brief description of some of the neighborhoods, Gentlemen's Clubs and important sites. Background on the Peelers is also included.
The book is an overview and doesn't go into great detail in any subject. Though it is not supposed to be a textbook or a history book, a little more would have been nice.
All in all though it is a fine book. Perfect for any Victorian game since the d20 content is minimal.
The Imperial Age: Spiritualism (17 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/25602/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Spiritualism was a big part of the late Victorian age. Not simply Occult, Spiritualism dealt specifically with the communication with those beyond death.
The first part of this book details this well. The second part discusses how all of this plays out in the Imperial Age game, including the different sorts of campaign modes one might choose.
We are also given a new Advanced Class, the Medium and plenty of new feats, magic.
Again, most of this book is "system free" so it can be used in any game. The d20 specific stuff is still quite useful.
The Imperial Age: The Price of Immortality (34 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/58698/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
Another Penny Dreadful for The Imperial Age.
This one takes advantage of the material found in the London book, so having that on hand is helpful.
It is obvious that the author(s) have learned more about adventure design since "Hell Hath No Fury" since this is a more complex plot and a more detailed adventure (despite being the same size).
A very entertaining adventure that plays to "The Imperial Age's" strengths well.
The Imperial Age: Victorian Monstrosities (89 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/50829/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
A monster book with more. Many of the most frightening creatures we know today have their roots in Victorian literature and history. Dracula, Carmilla, Jack the Ripper, Half-human mutants, cults. All can be found in the pages of Victorian origin.
More than just a monster book (though it is that as well), this presents some "history" behind the monster. I am reminded of some the more detailed Monster Hunter guides I have seen for other games.
There is so much here that it is difficult to quantify it all. But there is a lot and a lot of it is very, very good.
The stats are all d20, but the backgrounds work for any game.
The Imperial Age: Victorian Occupations (16 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/56646/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
This book has the distinction of being the first Imperial Age book I bought.
These are optional, alternate occupations for d20 Modern characters. Though the background works for any game.
Not a lot of detailed material, but a lot of material all the same.
If you need a list of professions then this a good place to go.
The Imperial Age: True20 Edition (271 pages with cover and OGL page)
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/63405/Portal-Jumper?affiliate_id=10748
True 20 is a perfect solution for all sorts of Modern d20 based games for me and Imperial Age shows why. The rules are adapted from the Imperial Age supplements for d20, so a lot here has been seen before, but all of it looks new through the lens of True 20.
All the Imperial Age products ooze style and this one is no different. There may be better Victorian Age games out there, but one can't deny that this is a great product and a welcome addition to any Victorian gaming library.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Prestige Class: Witch Priestess
Continuing with my new witch Prestige Classes for d20/3.x/Patherfinder.
Earlier I posted the Queen of Witches, today I want to post something I feel lacking in the Patherfinder witch; A connection to the divine.
One thing I felt the early batch of witch books for the d20 game did well was the inclusion of a good amount of Prestige Classes. There were all sorts really, but the ones I liked the best allowed the witch to take an aspect of what made her a witch and explore it in detail. The Witch Priestess is one such class. I suppose to fill out the mix I would also include an Arcane Witch, an Occult Witch, maybe some sort of expert on Charms and another on Potions. But that would be for another day.
Here is the Witch Priestess. All content below this point is consider Open.
Section 15: Witch Priestess, Copyright 2012, Timothy. S. Brannan.
OGC Declaration: The following text content is considered Open Content for term of the OGL.
Witch Priestess
To a witch religion and
witchcraft are the same thing and worship is a fairly private affair; it is
something she does with (or even without) her Patron in her own way.
To the Witch Priestess though,
religion, witchcraft and worship are far more important and she is considered
to be a leader in the witch’s religious community and life.
Not all witches are called to
become a Witch Priestess and the sacrifice is great one. The witch becomes more like a cleric in many
respects. She gives up advancing in her
arcane spellcasting and begins divine spell casting as a cleric of the same
level. The Witch Priestess does have healing
powers, but she cannot convert spell energy into healing energy as a cleric
can.
Hit Dice: d6
Requirements To qualify to become a Witch Priestess, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria:
Knowledge (Religion) 8 Ranks
Knowledge (Witchcraft): 10 Ranks
Feats: At least one Witch feat.
Special: A Witch Priestess must belong to a coven.
A Witch Priestess typically has a high wisdom.
Class Skills The Witch Priestess class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), (Int), Knowledge (witchcraft) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features All of the following are class features of The Witch Priestess prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Witch Priestess gains no proficiency with weapons or armor.
Special: The Witch Priestess gains special powers at each level of her progression.
Spells per Day: The Witch Priestess begins gaining Divine spells as a cleric of the same level. The Witch Priestess can though add her levels to levels of witch for determination of DCs or level based effects. Levels of witch do not however add to her levels of Witch Priestess when casting divine Witch Priestess spells. For example a character with 10 levels of Witch and 3 levels of Witch Priestess will cast witch spells as a 13th level witch, but Witch Priestess spells as a 3rd level caster. NOTE: A Witch Priestess with levels in a divine spellcasting class may opt to continue to progress with those spell levels, they will not however add to her casting of witch spells. So a character with 10 levels of Witch, 3 levels of cleric and 3 levels of Witch Priestess can cast as a 10th level witch and as a 6th level divine spell caster.
Divine Spells: The witch may cast spells as a cleric of the same level. She uses the same list of spells as does the cleric. She still cannot use spells that are contrary to her alignment or beliefs; that is no Raise Dead spells. Domain: The Witch Priestess gains access to a clerical domain of the appropriate type. They gain the spells and associated powers as a cleric with this domain. At 8th level the Witch Priestess gains a 2nd domain.
Occult Powers (Su): At 3rd level the Witch Priestess gains additional occult powers as if she were a witch of that Tradition. The Witch Priestess will choose occult powers form her own Tradition first always at 3rd level, then branching out to the other Traditions for her next Occult power. Note: Some witches call their Occult Powers “Hexes”. These witches may choose a new Witch Hex at these levels. The first Hex must be of the Minor sort. The second Hex may be Major or Grand as appropriate.
Bonus Feat: The Witch Priestess gains an additional feat. She may choose from Witch or Cleric/Divine feats if she meets the requirements.
Form Coven: The Witch Priestess can form a new coven. If she is part of a coven now she will leave, with no ill will, to form her own coven. The number of witches she gathers is equal to 1d6+ her Charisma modifier. These witches will be under 6th level for a total number of levels equal to the Witch Priestess level + her level as a Witch. For example a witch with a 17 Charisma can have a maximum of 9 (3 + 6) witches. If she is a 10th level witch and a 5th level Witch Priestess the she can have a maximum of 15 levels of witches in her coven. So possibly 8 1st level and 1 7th level or any combination thereof.
Drawing Down the Moon (Su): Once per day the witch priestess can recall a number of spell levels equal to half her level (witch and witch priestess combined) rounded down. The witch must complete a ritual to regain her spell levels that takes a full round. Once complete the witch regains the knowledge of the spells lost.
Charge of the Goddess (Su): The witch at this point is such a force for her Patron that she can summon the Goddess’ own power into herself. The witch radiates an aura of Fear at 15’ to all her enemies. She gains a bonus of +2 to all her saves and AC. She also gains +3 to all offensive attack forms, spells (spellcasting and DCs) or weapons. This charge lasts for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s Wisdom score. It may be performed only once per day and takes one full round to perform.
*A Witch Priestess may choose to continue advancing as any divine spellcasting class she also has.
Earlier I posted the Queen of Witches, today I want to post something I feel lacking in the Patherfinder witch; A connection to the divine.
One thing I felt the early batch of witch books for the d20 game did well was the inclusion of a good amount of Prestige Classes. There were all sorts really, but the ones I liked the best allowed the witch to take an aspect of what made her a witch and explore it in detail. The Witch Priestess is one such class. I suppose to fill out the mix I would also include an Arcane Witch, an Occult Witch, maybe some sort of expert on Charms and another on Potions. But that would be for another day.
Here is the Witch Priestess. All content below this point is consider Open.
Section 15: Witch Priestess, Copyright 2012, Timothy. S. Brannan.
OGC Declaration: The following text content is considered Open Content for term of the OGL.
Witch Priestess
Hit Dice: d6
Requirements To qualify to become a Witch Priestess, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria:
Knowledge (Religion) 8 Ranks
Knowledge (Witchcraft): 10 Ranks
Feats: At least one Witch feat.
Special: A Witch Priestess must belong to a coven.
A Witch Priestess typically has a high wisdom.
Class Skills The Witch Priestess class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), (Int), Knowledge (witchcraft) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features All of the following are class features of The Witch Priestess prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Witch Priestess gains no proficiency with weapons or armor.
Special: The Witch Priestess gains special powers at each level of her progression.
Spells per Day: The Witch Priestess begins gaining Divine spells as a cleric of the same level. The Witch Priestess can though add her levels to levels of witch for determination of DCs or level based effects. Levels of witch do not however add to her levels of Witch Priestess when casting divine Witch Priestess spells. For example a character with 10 levels of Witch and 3 levels of Witch Priestess will cast witch spells as a 13th level witch, but Witch Priestess spells as a 3rd level caster. NOTE: A Witch Priestess with levels in a divine spellcasting class may opt to continue to progress with those spell levels, they will not however add to her casting of witch spells. So a character with 10 levels of Witch, 3 levels of cleric and 3 levels of Witch Priestess can cast as a 10th level witch and as a 6th level divine spell caster.
Divine Spells: The witch may cast spells as a cleric of the same level. She uses the same list of spells as does the cleric. She still cannot use spells that are contrary to her alignment or beliefs; that is no Raise Dead spells. Domain: The Witch Priestess gains access to a clerical domain of the appropriate type. They gain the spells and associated powers as a cleric with this domain. At 8th level the Witch Priestess gains a 2nd domain.
Occult Powers (Su): At 3rd level the Witch Priestess gains additional occult powers as if she were a witch of that Tradition. The Witch Priestess will choose occult powers form her own Tradition first always at 3rd level, then branching out to the other Traditions for her next Occult power. Note: Some witches call their Occult Powers “Hexes”. These witches may choose a new Witch Hex at these levels. The first Hex must be of the Minor sort. The second Hex may be Major or Grand as appropriate.
Bonus Feat: The Witch Priestess gains an additional feat. She may choose from Witch or Cleric/Divine feats if she meets the requirements.
Form Coven: The Witch Priestess can form a new coven. If she is part of a coven now she will leave, with no ill will, to form her own coven. The number of witches she gathers is equal to 1d6+ her Charisma modifier. These witches will be under 6th level for a total number of levels equal to the Witch Priestess level + her level as a Witch. For example a witch with a 17 Charisma can have a maximum of 9 (3 + 6) witches. If she is a 10th level witch and a 5th level Witch Priestess the she can have a maximum of 15 levels of witches in her coven. So possibly 8 1st level and 1 7th level or any combination thereof.
Drawing Down the Moon (Su): Once per day the witch priestess can recall a number of spell levels equal to half her level (witch and witch priestess combined) rounded down. The witch must complete a ritual to regain her spell levels that takes a full round. Once complete the witch regains the knowledge of the spells lost.
Charge of the Goddess (Su): The witch at this point is such a force for her Patron that she can summon the Goddess’ own power into herself. The witch radiates an aura of Fear at 15’ to all her enemies. She gains a bonus of +2 to all her saves and AC. She also gains +3 to all offensive attack forms, spells (spellcasting and DCs) or weapons. This charge lasts for a number of rounds equal to the witch’s Wisdom score. It may be performed only once per day and takes one full round to perform.
| Level | BAB | Fort. | Ref. | Will | Special | Divine Spellcasting* | ||||
| Save | Save | Save | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Divine Spells, Healing | 1 | ||||
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Domain (1st Domain) | 1+1 | ||||
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Occult Power / Hex | 1+1 | 1 | |||
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Bonus Feat | 2+1 | 1+1 | |||
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Form Coven | 2+1 | 1+1 | 1 | ||
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Drawing Down the Moon | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | ||
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Occult Power / Hex | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | 1 | |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Domain (2nd Domain) | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Bonus Feat | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Charge of the Goddess | 5+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 |
*A Witch Priestess may choose to continue advancing as any divine spellcasting class she also has.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Prestige Class: Queen of Witches
While I enjoy the Pathfinder Witch there is a serious lack of good witchy prestige classes. Here is one based on my own Liber Mysterium witch and was going to appear in the 3.5 update. Some of the powers and ideas here are actually based on my playtests of my Basic Witch class.
Section 15: Queen of Witches, Copyright 2012, Timothy. S. Brannan.
OGC Declaration: The following content is considered Open Content for term of the OGL.
Queen of Witches
There are witches so dedicated to their path and to their Patron that they become not only the de-facto leaders of many covens, but of their traditions as well. They are considered to be the chief agent of the Patron’s will. Sometimes these witches can claim divine parentage, others are chosen by her peers for her deeds. In all cases the Queen of Witches is imbued with a spark of divine power.
Generally speaking there is only one Queen of Witches per Tradition, so only 13 (or less) in the world at any given time.
Hit Dice: d4
Requirements
To qualify as a Queen of Witches, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Knowledge (Religion) or Knowledge (Arcana): 7 Ranks
Knowledge (Witchcraft): 13 Ranks
Feats: At least one Witch feat.
Spell casting: Ability to cast 7th level spells
Special: the Queen of Witches must belong to a coven.
The Queen of Witches typically has a high wisdom.
Alignment: Any.
Class Skills
The Queen of Witches class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), (Int), Knowledge (witchcraft) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features
All of the following are class features of The Queen of Witches prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Queen of Witches gains no proficiency with weapons or armor.
Special: The Queen of Witches gains special powers at each level of her progression.
Spells per Day: The Queen of Witches continues to progress in spell casting as if she had gained another level as a witch. This does not include any special powers or benefits, such as extra feats or occult powers (except as noted below), she would normally receive for progressing as a witch.
Awesome Presence (Su): At first level, the Queen of Witches is infused with the power of her faith and by the faith her Coven has in her. This supernatural ability has two main effects. First all witches can “see” this presence as a bright aura. All witches will treat her with deference and respect. Secondly enemies can also detect this aura. Any morale checks made by enemies are at a –1 penalty.
Occult Powers (Su): At 2nd level the Queen of Witches gains additional occult powers as if she were a witch of that Tradition. The Queen of Witches will choose occult powers form her own Tradition first always at 2nd level, then branching out to the other Traditions for her next Occult power.
Note: Some witches call their Occult Powers “Hexes”. These witches may choose a new Witch Hex at these levels. The first Hex must be of the Minor sort. The second Hex may be Major or Grand as appropriate.
A Thousand Faces (Su): At 3rd level the witch gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the disguise self spell. This affects the witch’s body but not her possessions. It is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of the witch’s appearance, within the limits described for the spell.
Timeless Body (Su): At 5th level the witch no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties she may have already incurred, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the witch still dies of old age when her time is up.
Section 15: Queen of Witches, Copyright 2012, Timothy. S. Brannan.
OGC Declaration: The following content is considered Open Content for term of the OGL.
Queen of Witches
There are witches so dedicated to their path and to their Patron that they become not only the de-facto leaders of many covens, but of their traditions as well. They are considered to be the chief agent of the Patron’s will. Sometimes these witches can claim divine parentage, others are chosen by her peers for her deeds. In all cases the Queen of Witches is imbued with a spark of divine power.
Generally speaking there is only one Queen of Witches per Tradition, so only 13 (or less) in the world at any given time.
Hit Dice: d4
Requirements
To qualify as a Queen of Witches, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Knowledge (Religion) or Knowledge (Arcana): 7 Ranks
Knowledge (Witchcraft): 13 Ranks
Feats: At least one Witch feat.
Spell casting: Ability to cast 7th level spells
Special: the Queen of Witches must belong to a coven.
The Queen of Witches typically has a high wisdom.
Alignment: Any.
Class Skills
The Queen of Witches class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), (Int), Knowledge (witchcraft) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features
All of the following are class features of The Queen of Witches prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Queen of Witches gains no proficiency with weapons or armor.
Special: The Queen of Witches gains special powers at each level of her progression.
Spells per Day: The Queen of Witches continues to progress in spell casting as if she had gained another level as a witch. This does not include any special powers or benefits, such as extra feats or occult powers (except as noted below), she would normally receive for progressing as a witch.
Awesome Presence (Su): At first level, the Queen of Witches is infused with the power of her faith and by the faith her Coven has in her. This supernatural ability has two main effects. First all witches can “see” this presence as a bright aura. All witches will treat her with deference and respect. Secondly enemies can also detect this aura. Any morale checks made by enemies are at a –1 penalty.
Occult Powers (Su): At 2nd level the Queen of Witches gains additional occult powers as if she were a witch of that Tradition. The Queen of Witches will choose occult powers form her own Tradition first always at 2nd level, then branching out to the other Traditions for her next Occult power.
Note: Some witches call their Occult Powers “Hexes”. These witches may choose a new Witch Hex at these levels. The first Hex must be of the Minor sort. The second Hex may be Major or Grand as appropriate.
A Thousand Faces (Su): At 3rd level the witch gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the disguise self spell. This affects the witch’s body but not her possessions. It is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of the witch’s appearance, within the limits described for the spell.
Timeless Body (Su): At 5th level the witch no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties she may have already incurred, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the witch still dies of old age when her time is up.
| Class Level | Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +1 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Awesome Presence | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Occult Power / Hex | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | A Thousand Faces | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +2 | +2 | +2 | +4 | Occult Power / Hex | +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +4 | Timeless Body | +1 level of existing class |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Could WotC support ALL D&D?
There is an interesting post on Wizard's site today where Mike Mearls discusses (basically) gaming style and which version of D&D best fits that style.
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110614#74972
It is worth a read and reminds me a bit of the old GNS Theory that was so popular a few years back.
I am not going to get into whether or not X version of Y game fits where on Mearls grid or even Edward's GNS.
I don't particularly care about those sorts of things since they all take a back seat to the more important questions to me: "Is Game X fun? Will I have fun with Game X? Do I own Game X so I can find out on my own?"
Which gets me to my random though of the day.
Should WotC support ALL D&D?
As a business model it is a flawed one, the cost to produce physical products for a game that is 10, 20 or even 30 years out of print is pointless. But what about using their own electronic distribution?
Recently WotC has seemed open to print 1st and even 2nd and 3rd Edition related material. Why not take that that a step further and offer a "Classic D&D" subscription. You pay (or maybe it is part of the DDI) and get new material for your game.
Of course readers of this blog will see the error right away. There are a ton of blogs out there now, producing for free or very, very cheap, material for those older games. And thanks to the OGL WotC (unlike TSR in the past) is perfectly happy that we continue to do so.
But what WotC adds to the mix is something we as a group do not have. Brand recognition. I can say "my magic hats is for people that ply Basic Era games" (nudge nudge wink wink implied). Only WotC can say "this is for you people that still love to play Basic Dungeons & Dragons".
Obviously there is cost. Someone has to write and that someone has to be paid. Art is a very important part of what WotC can bring to the table that a simple blogger or one-man shop can't do as well or as cheaply. Of course art is still not cheap.
I am sure that a cost benefit analysis would need to be done. How much would it cost versus how much return they could get.
So let me throw it all out to you.
Would you pay WotC for regular content for your particular favorite Old School D&D product?
How much would you pay?
Per product or monthly?
What would you want to see to make you seriously consider this?
Now keep in mind this is NOT market research. You all are not a random sample. You are a sample that is used to get a lot of material free (if not her, then other places) but you are also a sample that is interested in this older games AND a sample that is open to other games. You read my blog afterall, I talk about a dozen or so different games here and about a half dozen on a regular basis. You answers are different than those of say the regular reader of Dragonsfoot or Grognardia or ENWorld.
Let me, and the world, know what you think.
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110614#74972
It is worth a read and reminds me a bit of the old GNS Theory that was so popular a few years back.
I am not going to get into whether or not X version of Y game fits where on Mearls grid or even Edward's GNS.
I don't particularly care about those sorts of things since they all take a back seat to the more important questions to me: "Is Game X fun? Will I have fun with Game X? Do I own Game X so I can find out on my own?"
Which gets me to my random though of the day.
Should WotC support ALL D&D?
As a business model it is a flawed one, the cost to produce physical products for a game that is 10, 20 or even 30 years out of print is pointless. But what about using their own electronic distribution?
Recently WotC has seemed open to print 1st and even 2nd and 3rd Edition related material. Why not take that that a step further and offer a "Classic D&D" subscription. You pay (or maybe it is part of the DDI) and get new material for your game.
Of course readers of this blog will see the error right away. There are a ton of blogs out there now, producing for free or very, very cheap, material for those older games. And thanks to the OGL WotC (unlike TSR in the past) is perfectly happy that we continue to do so.
But what WotC adds to the mix is something we as a group do not have. Brand recognition. I can say "my magic hats is for people that ply Basic Era games" (nudge nudge wink wink implied). Only WotC can say "this is for you people that still love to play Basic Dungeons & Dragons".
Obviously there is cost. Someone has to write and that someone has to be paid. Art is a very important part of what WotC can bring to the table that a simple blogger or one-man shop can't do as well or as cheaply. Of course art is still not cheap.
I am sure that a cost benefit analysis would need to be done. How much would it cost versus how much return they could get.
So let me throw it all out to you.
Would you pay WotC for regular content for your particular favorite Old School D&D product?
How much would you pay?
Per product or monthly?
What would you want to see to make you seriously consider this?
Now keep in mind this is NOT market research. You all are not a random sample. You are a sample that is used to get a lot of material free (if not her, then other places) but you are also a sample that is interested in this older games AND a sample that is open to other games. You read my blog afterall, I talk about a dozen or so different games here and about a half dozen on a regular basis. You answers are different than those of say the regular reader of Dragonsfoot or Grognardia or ENWorld.
Let me, and the world, know what you think.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
My First New Game of 2011: Mutants and Masterminds 3
Well, it's still 2010, but 2011 is starting off like 2010 did , with a new Supers game.
In this case the new supers game is Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition.
M&M 3rd Edition first off looks a lot like the DC Adventures RPG also from Green Ronin out earlier this year.
What are the big changes from 2nd Edition? Well GR is moving more and more away from the d20 3.0 standards and more into True20 land. That is the Abilities (and there are now 8 of them) are the pluses. So instead of Strength 18 (+4) like you see in other d20 games, M&M3 just uses Strength 4. Easy enough and a logical extension of their line of thought with True20.
I mentioned there are 8 abilities now; Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Stamina, Intellect, Awareness, Presence and Fighting. Agility and Fighting are the big new ones. Agility had been part of Dexterity and does some of the things Dex used to do. Agility relates more to "bodily dexterity" and dexterity is more like "hand-eye coordination". Fighting is now the close combat ability. Now while I rather see this more of a skill than an ability, this is a comic book world and it works here. There are "close combat" and "ranged combat" skills as well. So Fighting I suppose is more of a natural aptitude towards combat.
Skills are given greater coverage and are streamlined from the d20 3.0 base, but not quite as streamlined as say D&D 4. They are closer to Cinematic Unisystem in nature really. Skills are still linked to a specific ability like d20, but are also now detailed on what sort of action they are, move, standard or free. Much more detail is given for skills and how to use them in a variety of situations.
Feats have become more Unisystem/GURPS like and renamed Advantages. They are ranked and used very much like a Advantage or Quality would be used in another game. I can see the next evolution of True20 doing something like this too since they are organized in a similar manner to True20's powers.
Powers come next. Powers are similar to Advantages, but have a much greater effect on various game systems. An Advantage might boost a skill or change an aspect of combat. Powers go above an beyond that. In general the Powers are much more detailed than earlier editions. There are a lot of Extras and Flaws to add to Powers for a lot of customization. Gadgets and Gear are separated from Powers in this edition.
Damage is handled differently in this game. The Damage Track is gone replaced by a very Marvel Superheroes looking chart. The results are basically No Effect, some penalty all the way up to incapacitated. It is simple enough to use. I am of two minds on this. First, while I never really warmed to the damage track in M&M/True20 it was easy to use and innovative. The damage chart here is also very, very easy to use as well and works on similar principles. The chart has some Old School "feng shui" about it without it being an "endless chart".
Green Ronin has always produced top notch products. This one is no exception. I didn't notice much in the way of recycled text from earlier editions or even from DCA, but it very well could be there. I would be surprised if there wasn't really; I only really noticed one or two bits of recycled art and that was from their Magic book and Powers book for 2nd Ed. There were few other bits here and there and there might have been others, but if I didn't notice it that is the same as it not being there right?
All in all this looks like a great game and it might even be superior to M&M 2nd ed aka "The World's Greatest Superhero Game", which I notice M&M 3 does not say on the cover.
The big issues for me of course are conversions. How easy will it be to convert to/from M&M2 or Unisystem? Converting actually looks pretty easy. To/from M&M2 might even be trickier than Unisystem. I am going to have to give it a try in the next few days.
Well I just put away all my M&M 2 books. Looks like it was only to make room for my new cache of M&M 3/DCA books.
In this case the new supers game is Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition.
What are the big changes from 2nd Edition? Well GR is moving more and more away from the d20 3.0 standards and more into True20 land. That is the Abilities (and there are now 8 of them) are the pluses. So instead of Strength 18 (+4) like you see in other d20 games, M&M3 just uses Strength 4. Easy enough and a logical extension of their line of thought with True20.
I mentioned there are 8 abilities now; Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Stamina, Intellect, Awareness, Presence and Fighting. Agility and Fighting are the big new ones. Agility had been part of Dexterity and does some of the things Dex used to do. Agility relates more to "bodily dexterity" and dexterity is more like "hand-eye coordination". Fighting is now the close combat ability. Now while I rather see this more of a skill than an ability, this is a comic book world and it works here. There are "close combat" and "ranged combat" skills as well. So Fighting I suppose is more of a natural aptitude towards combat.
Skills are given greater coverage and are streamlined from the d20 3.0 base, but not quite as streamlined as say D&D 4. They are closer to Cinematic Unisystem in nature really. Skills are still linked to a specific ability like d20, but are also now detailed on what sort of action they are, move, standard or free. Much more detail is given for skills and how to use them in a variety of situations.
Feats have become more Unisystem/GURPS like and renamed Advantages. They are ranked and used very much like a Advantage or Quality would be used in another game. I can see the next evolution of True20 doing something like this too since they are organized in a similar manner to True20's powers.
Powers come next. Powers are similar to Advantages, but have a much greater effect on various game systems. An Advantage might boost a skill or change an aspect of combat. Powers go above an beyond that. In general the Powers are much more detailed than earlier editions. There are a lot of Extras and Flaws to add to Powers for a lot of customization. Gadgets and Gear are separated from Powers in this edition.
Damage is handled differently in this game. The Damage Track is gone replaced by a very Marvel Superheroes looking chart. The results are basically No Effect, some penalty all the way up to incapacitated. It is simple enough to use. I am of two minds on this. First, while I never really warmed to the damage track in M&M/True20 it was easy to use and innovative. The damage chart here is also very, very easy to use as well and works on similar principles. The chart has some Old School "feng shui" about it without it being an "endless chart".
Green Ronin has always produced top notch products. This one is no exception. I didn't notice much in the way of recycled text from earlier editions or even from DCA, but it very well could be there. I would be surprised if there wasn't really; I only really noticed one or two bits of recycled art and that was from their Magic book and Powers book for 2nd Ed. There were few other bits here and there and there might have been others, but if I didn't notice it that is the same as it not being there right?
All in all this looks like a great game and it might even be superior to M&M 2nd ed aka "The World's Greatest Superhero Game", which I notice M&M 3 does not say on the cover.
The big issues for me of course are conversions. How easy will it be to convert to/from M&M2 or Unisystem? Converting actually looks pretty easy. To/from M&M2 might even be trickier than Unisystem. I am going to have to give it a try in the next few days.
Well I just put away all my M&M 2 books. Looks like it was only to make room for my new cache of M&M 3/DCA books.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Why can't I find a good Sci-Fi game?
A post over at Grognardia, http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/09/sci-fi-goulash.html, has prompted a reoccurring thought in my head.
Why can't I find a good Sci-Fi game?
I have mentioned before that I have had a hit and miss, mostly miss, luck with Sci-Fi games. Every so often I am convinced I have the One, only to be ultimately disappointed in them.
I after I posted a reply to James' post I went back to the Star Frontiers book I have and online at http://starfrontiersman.com/downloads/remastered. I also went through all the Star Trek books I still have left.
In terms of Sci-Fi I like Trek the best, loved Star Wars as a kid, but got into Dune or the hard sci-fi of Asimov. I did like Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark a lot though. I loved Farescape when it was on and I even enjoyed LEXX. Never watched Space Above and Beyond, could not get into Babylon 5 or the new Galatica (though that is not really a reflection on them) and I thought Firefly was stupid.
For games I started out with Traveler, moved to Star Frontiers, Doctor Who (FASA), Star Trek (FASA), Alternity, Star Wars d20, d20 Future and others that I have forgotten. More recently I have used Unisystem (All Tomorrow's Zombies) and Doctor Who (Cubicle 7). Yet nothing seems to fit just right. I looked over Star Blazer Adventures, Rogue Trader and others and didn't really care for them. I don't like GURPS enough to honestly consider it, same for FUDGE and FATE.
What do I want?
That is a very question and one I don't have a good answer for. There are bits and pieces that I like from all the above games. I like the sandboxy feel of Star Frontiers and Traveler. I love the tech in Trek, the scope in Star Wars. I could get better buy-in from my Kids with Star Wars, even if my youngest says "I am not into Star Wars" and lightsabers are cool. I like some of the features of Alternity. I liked some of what I read in Dune.
And I don't want to spend a bunch of time figuring out a new system.
I suppose this points to two things. Unisystem and d20 3.x.
Why?
Well I have a bunch of d20 materials laying around including Star Wars, d20 Traveler (T20), Dragon Star, and d20 Future (which has material from Star Frontiers and Alternity). I like the idea of using the d20 Mod/Future classes. I am not thrilled with the idea of levels though, but multi-classing looks like it could be fun. Plus I have a metric ton of d20 material. Bring back mind flayers as an alien race. Baator? Now a planet; literary Planet Hell.
Unisystem is more flexible and I can do it better than d20, but despite how good All Tomorrow's Zombies is, I want something more. I am not big into mixing magic and SciFi. Psionics is ok (in fact I also don't like Psionics in fantasy games), weird I know. I think in the end, d20 might be the way for me to go, or this could be a thinly veiled attempt to do "D&D in Spaaaace!"
Star Wars, like I said, has a great scope and is full of aliens. Adding a Trek-like Federation to battle an Evil Empire is also very cool and a great backdrop. I'd make it more of a cold war, with hotter areas on the edges. Lots of room then for black markets and ops. Maybe even steal a page from Battlestar and make the evil Empire one of artificially intelligent machines. T20 has a lot of cool stuff too and the Imperium is neat and again lots of cool races.
What is lacking in all of this is unified narrative. Maybe I don't need one. D&D doesn't have one, never did. A lot of what I don't like about the various systems out there is I find their "fluff" to be restrictive. I don't want all the baggage that go with Jedi, or the Imperium, or Aslans, or Fraal. I guess say here is Oerth, here is Yavin, over there is Krynn and Vulcan and just let the universe take care of itself.
I guess until I find that perfect mix, I keep searching.
I have mentioned before that I have had a hit and miss, mostly miss, luck with Sci-Fi games. Every so often I am convinced I have the One, only to be ultimately disappointed in them.
I after I posted a reply to James' post I went back to the Star Frontiers book I have and online at http://starfrontiersman.com/downloads/remastered. I also went through all the Star Trek books I still have left.
In terms of Sci-Fi I like Trek the best, loved Star Wars as a kid, but got into Dune or the hard sci-fi of Asimov. I did like Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark a lot though. I loved Farescape when it was on and I even enjoyed LEXX. Never watched Space Above and Beyond, could not get into Babylon 5 or the new Galatica (though that is not really a reflection on them) and I thought Firefly was stupid.
For games I started out with Traveler, moved to Star Frontiers, Doctor Who (FASA), Star Trek (FASA), Alternity, Star Wars d20, d20 Future and others that I have forgotten. More recently I have used Unisystem (All Tomorrow's Zombies) and Doctor Who (Cubicle 7). Yet nothing seems to fit just right. I looked over Star Blazer Adventures, Rogue Trader and others and didn't really care for them. I don't like GURPS enough to honestly consider it, same for FUDGE and FATE.
What do I want?
That is a very question and one I don't have a good answer for. There are bits and pieces that I like from all the above games. I like the sandboxy feel of Star Frontiers and Traveler. I love the tech in Trek, the scope in Star Wars. I could get better buy-in from my Kids with Star Wars, even if my youngest says "I am not into Star Wars" and lightsabers are cool. I like some of the features of Alternity. I liked some of what I read in Dune.
And I don't want to spend a bunch of time figuring out a new system.
I suppose this points to two things. Unisystem and d20 3.x.
Why?
Well I have a bunch of d20 materials laying around including Star Wars, d20 Traveler (T20), Dragon Star, and d20 Future (which has material from Star Frontiers and Alternity). I like the idea of using the d20 Mod/Future classes. I am not thrilled with the idea of levels though, but multi-classing looks like it could be fun. Plus I have a metric ton of d20 material. Bring back mind flayers as an alien race. Baator? Now a planet; literary Planet Hell.
Star Wars, like I said, has a great scope and is full of aliens. Adding a Trek-like Federation to battle an Evil Empire is also very cool and a great backdrop. I'd make it more of a cold war, with hotter areas on the edges. Lots of room then for black markets and ops. Maybe even steal a page from Battlestar and make the evil Empire one of artificially intelligent machines. T20 has a lot of cool stuff too and the Imperium is neat and again lots of cool races.
What is lacking in all of this is unified narrative. Maybe I don't need one. D&D doesn't have one, never did. A lot of what I don't like about the various systems out there is I find their "fluff" to be restrictive. I don't want all the baggage that go with Jedi, or the Imperium, or Aslans, or Fraal. I guess say here is Oerth, here is Yavin, over there is Krynn and Vulcan and just let the universe take care of itself.
I guess until I find that perfect mix, I keep searching.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Revised Plan; Generational Mega Plots
I plan to come back to Cartoon Action Hour here in a bit, but I have something I want to get organized first.
So a while back I posted a plan for the adventures I wanted to run with my family using 4E.
Well since that time, some gaming has happened, some looking over various adventures and some tests on my part has brought me to the conclusion that I can't run some of those old school modules under 4E after all. Certainly I am still working on my current 3.x adventures with my kids.
Now mind you, this is not a bad thing nor is it reflective of the modules, 4e or "Old School".
But it has forced me to change my plans.
So for the "Dragon Slayers" game I am running I'll add some of those classic modules. The characters are all right around 13th level now, with one just on the verge of 10th. The ultimate goal of this game is to defeat Tiamat in the "Graveyard of Dragons". What can I say, my kids like the old D&D cartoon. The rules are under 3.x edition, which has an odd mix of D&D 3.0, with some 3.5, minor bits from Pathfinder, BESM d20 and Star Wars d20 (the revised one that came out after Attack of the Clones).
Also some of these modules are going to be played by me under Pathfinder in either my "Big Kids Group" or the "Little Kids Group". Currently the LKG is going through "B2 The Keep on the Borderlands". I have already used bits of "X1 Ilse of the Dread" and "B4 The Lost City". I know that in the one of the Pathfinder groups we will go through the GDQ series at some point, most likely the Little Kids Group. I will be running "C2 Ghost Tower" under the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space game.
After that those characters will retire and their descendants will complete a new Quest. The defeat of Orcus.
I'll run this one under D&D 4E and I do plan on it taking many years.
I am not 100% certain how the adventures will pan out, but I do want to use the D&D4 ones for ease.
Part of this is my desire to have them battle Orcus at the end. Plus I like to overall plot of involving the Raven Queen vs Orcus and Orcus getting a hold of some ancient artifact of Tharizdûn.
Those modules will get them from 1st to 30th level. But I might want to add a couple here and there. Not sure yet since I have not read them all in detail. I also know some people have had issues with these modules, both in terms of how they fit together, plot and playability. So I want to get things that are out now, and then tweak them as I need. Afterall, if this is about fighting Orcus who gets an artifact from ancient Tharizdûn then I can lay some ground work in my 3.x game now for that.
So after all that I have some modules left over.
Like the E series for D&D4, these send you to Orcus's layer to defeat him. Of the lot, H4 would be the best one to use, maybe as a buffer between E2 and E3. The others seem more suited for the Dragon Slayer's Pathfinder game. Of course, I could convert the H1-H4 Bloodstone series to feature Tiamat instead of Orcus. S4 and WG4 are linked and deal with Iggwilv, her Demonomicon and Tharizdûn. They are good to set up the history of Orcus and Tharizdûn. They can happen in either game. In the 4th Ed game I'd stick it in between H and P. CM2 Death's Ride has some cool stuff in it. Good to set up the whole Orcus wants to be a God thing in the 3.x game. Plus it would give me a good arch-nemesis for the characters to fight throughout.
The Ravenloft ones would be great for the Sunsword (a good weapon against the undead) but there is the Board Game coming out and I want it. Plus I'd rather run Ravenloft these days under True20. So I might have to find something similar. If I use the new Tomb of Horrors then I could place a good aligned sword there. There is a D&D4
There is a lot to do and figure out here. But I see this as a good thing. Look at all the time I have. I can plan out a mult-year arc of adventuring that would take my kids all the way to college. Wouldn't have died to have done something like that?
Though I do need to figure out a way to get more dragons into the 4th Ed game for my oldest.
Now this is my attempt to bring Old Schoolers and New Schoolers together.
NEW SCHOOLERS: What things should I be aware of when running the HPE series?
OLD SCHOOLERS: What classic, epic modules are a "must run" for a group of kids that were not even alive when Clinton was in office, let alone Carter. What memory of "D&D" is a must have? Barrier Peeks? Tomb of Horrors?
Clarifications on Games being Played
- "Dragon Slayers" is a 3.x game that I play with my two sons and sometimes my wife joins us. The goal of this game is to defeat Tiamat.
- "Big Kids Game/Group" is a Pathfinder game where I play a Paladin. In this group are my kids and the DM's kids (6 players, 1 DM)
- "Little Kids Game/Group" is a Pathfinder game where I play a Witch (same witch as I do in Dragon Slayers). This is the group with the Problem Player.
Both Pathfinder games have the same DM.
- "Untitled 4th Ed Game" is a 4e game where the players are the same as Dragon Slayers, but the characters are their children or descendants. The goal of this game is to defeat Orcus.
So a while back I posted a plan for the adventures I wanted to run with my family using 4E.
Now mind you, this is not a bad thing nor is it reflective of the modules, 4e or "Old School".
But it has forced me to change my plans.
So for the "Dragon Slayers" game I am running I'll add some of those classic modules. The characters are all right around 13th level now, with one just on the verge of 10th. The ultimate goal of this game is to defeat Tiamat in the "Graveyard of Dragons". What can I say, my kids like the old D&D cartoon. The rules are under 3.x edition, which has an odd mix of D&D 3.0, with some 3.5, minor bits from Pathfinder, BESM d20 and Star Wars d20 (the revised one that came out after Attack of the Clones).
Also some of these modules are going to be played by me under Pathfinder in either my "Big Kids Group" or the "Little Kids Group". Currently the LKG is going through "B2 The Keep on the Borderlands". I have already used bits of "X1 Ilse of the Dread" and "B4 The Lost City". I know that in the one of the Pathfinder groups we will go through the GDQ series at some point, most likely the Little Kids Group. I will be running "C2 Ghost Tower" under the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space game.
After that those characters will retire and their descendants will complete a new Quest. The defeat of Orcus.
I'll run this one under D&D 4E and I do plan on it taking many years.
I am not 100% certain how the adventures will pan out, but I do want to use the D&D4 ones for ease.
- H1 Keep on the Shadowfell
- H2 Thunderspire Labyrinth
- H3 Pyramid of Shadows
- P1 King of the Trollhaunt Warrens
- P2 Demon Queen's Enclave
- P3 Assault on Nightwrymn Fortress
- E1 Death's Reach
- E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls
- E3 Prince of Undeath
Part of this is my desire to have them battle Orcus at the end. Plus I like to overall plot of involving the Raven Queen vs Orcus and Orcus getting a hold of some ancient artifact of Tharizdûn.
Those modules will get them from 1st to 30th level. But I might want to add a couple here and there. Not sure yet since I have not read them all in detail. I also know some people have had issues with these modules, both in terms of how they fit together, plot and playability. So I want to get things that are out now, and then tweak them as I need. Afterall, if this is about fighting Orcus who gets an artifact from ancient Tharizdûn then I can lay some ground work in my 3.x game now for that.
So after all that I have some modules left over.
- B3 Palace of the Silver Princess, levels 1-3 (using bits from both the "Green" and "Orange" versions).
- L1 The Secret of Bone Hill, levels 2-4
- X2 Castle Amber, levels 3-6 (place it in the Shadowfell, which is the new Ravenloft anyway)
- I6 Ravenloft, levels 5-7. That is if I don't use it as a convert Ghosts of Albion adventure. Use some of the Ravenloft campaign/world setting stuff here too.
- S2 White Plume Mountain, levels 5-10
- I10 Ravenloft II, House on Gryphon Hill, levels 8-10.
- S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (with some of the info from the 3.5 update), levels 6-10
- WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, levels 5-10
- S1 Tomb of Horrors, levels 10-14 (though I might just wait for the new D&D4 version)
- S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, levels 8-12
- CM2 Death's Ride, levels 15-20.
Then there are these modules:
- H1 Bloodstone Pass, levels 15+
- H2 The Mines of Bloodstone, levels 16-18
- H3 The Bloodstone Wars, levels 17-20
- H4 The Throne of Bloodstone, levels 18-100
Like the E series for D&D4, these send you to Orcus's layer to defeat him. Of the lot, H4 would be the best one to use, maybe as a buffer between E2 and E3. The others seem more suited for the Dragon Slayer's Pathfinder game. Of course, I could convert the H1-H4 Bloodstone series to feature Tiamat instead of Orcus. S4 and WG4 are linked and deal with Iggwilv, her Demonomicon and Tharizdûn. They are good to set up the history of Orcus and Tharizdûn. They can happen in either game. In the 4th Ed game I'd stick it in between H and P. CM2 Death's Ride has some cool stuff in it. Good to set up the whole Orcus wants to be a God thing in the 3.x game. Plus it would give me a good arch-nemesis for the characters to fight throughout.
The Ravenloft ones would be great for the Sunsword (a good weapon against the undead) but there is the Board Game coming out and I want it. Plus I'd rather run Ravenloft these days under True20. So I might have to find something similar. If I use the new Tomb of Horrors then I could place a good aligned sword there. There is a D&D4
There is a lot to do and figure out here. But I see this as a good thing. Look at all the time I have. I can plan out a mult-year arc of adventuring that would take my kids all the way to college. Wouldn't have died to have done something like that?
Though I do need to figure out a way to get more dragons into the 4th Ed game for my oldest.
Now this is my attempt to bring Old Schoolers and New Schoolers together.
NEW SCHOOLERS: What things should I be aware of when running the HPE series?
OLD SCHOOLERS: What classic, epic modules are a "must run" for a group of kids that were not even alive when Clinton was in office, let alone Carter. What memory of "D&D" is a must have? Barrier Peeks? Tomb of Horrors?
Clarifications on Games being Played
- "Dragon Slayers" is a 3.x game that I play with my two sons and sometimes my wife joins us. The goal of this game is to defeat Tiamat.
- "Big Kids Game/Group" is a Pathfinder game where I play a Paladin. In this group are my kids and the DM's kids (6 players, 1 DM)
- "Little Kids Game/Group" is a Pathfinder game where I play a Witch (same witch as I do in Dragon Slayers). This is the group with the Problem Player.
Both Pathfinder games have the same DM.
- "Untitled 4th Ed Game" is a 4e game where the players are the same as Dragon Slayers, but the characters are their children or descendants. The goal of this game is to defeat Orcus.
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