You can still die, for the average person in multiple ways. You don’t have a healing potion. You’re out of surges. You fail your death save three times before you make two successes. [Going to disallow Quickdraw for this particular effect. It's hard to be quick and dying at the same time.]

Because it’s not a standard action you can’t Second Wind. Unless you’re a dwarf of course so this boosts the dwarf’s ability to Second Wind as a minor action. But then the only dwarf in the party is my wife and not killing one’s wife’s character off is probably a good idea if it can be helped. Although I’ve done it in the past.

If you have some other way to heal yourself with a minor action you’re also good.  So leaders or anyone multi-classing into a leader or hybridizing into a leader will be set up fairly well. The rest of them will need to keep a potion and a surge handy.

It makes use of a saving throw that’s already being made so there’s no extra rolls. It simulates a recovery into semi-consciousness. On the downside, any character that is feebly fumbling a potion out of their belt will be subject to discretionary attack by any adjacent hostile although ranged attackers unless they’re sentient and particularly vicious will probably ignore or not notice a prone dying opponent’s movements.

Anyway, thought I’d share.

Dying Condition-

Make a saving throw when you are dying.  If you fail you take one death strike.  Fail three times and you are dead.  If you succeed you can make a minor action.   If an desired result requires two minor actions then they must be made in succession typically.  Example:  Retrieving a potion and drinking it requires two minor actions typically.  If the character makes their save they retrieve the potion.  If they fail the subsequent save then they’re assumed to have dropped the potion and must now spend another minor action to retrieve it from the ground where it may have rolled.

As it stands, only one person in the group is actually trained in stealth and the other four have pretty low Dexterity all things considered so it makes it simply impossible aside from unusual luck to sneak anywhere as a group.

This train of thought was kicked off by something Chris Perkin’s did in the third Penny Arcade podcast Sept 25 section (I think, could be wrong).  I’d been up 38′ish hours without sleep at that point so I wasn’t tracking 100% but at one point he had one person make a stealth check and the rest just made Assist rolls.  I’m not sure if he did it by accident or what since he makes a lot of mistakes about the game’s rules during the sessions and not 5 minutes later he had them all roll individually again instead of as a group.   [For someone who apparently helped write the game he's not very familiar with the basic mechanics of the game.  I think he does a wonderful job as a DM please don't get me wrong.  But he's failed to correct a lot of mistakes the players have done like Aoefel forgetting to use his weapon proficiency bonus on attack rolls over and over and over.  Oman not getting his Wis bonus on any cleric power with the keyword healing in it.  Just basic game mechanic kind of things.  But then maybe he's not used to having players that don't know what they're doing.]

This started me thinking.  Every time I’ve heard on someone’s podcast about a stealth check being needed, invariably one or more people fail it.  This also has happened every time I’ve done it in my own games.  It gets worse if the group is having to roll against more than one perception check.  This devalues stealth completely except in those instances where the one guy with stealth essentially plays by himself for awhile.

I don’t like that.  I don’t like that the characters don’t have a stealth option, a viable one anyway and I don’t like splitting a party up because it reduces the fun for everyone.

Do I have an option?  Well just now in asking on the forums if someone else had come up with anything my fingers typed out something to the below and as I’m typing this I just came up with another two options which I’ll type down there when I get done typing this.

And this only applies when the game is not in initiative, i.e. out of combat.

Out of Initiative Stealth –

Note: This assumes the group is moving as a group.  If they split up then each group would need to use the appropriate option.  Individuals would be back to making individual checks of course.

Option 1 – Stealth Master – One person is designated the Stealth Leader and they make a stealth roll based on their abilities.  They suffer a -2 penalty on their roll for every untrained person in the group that’s moving with them.  This simulates the master stealther telling the others where to move, what to avoid, fixing their gear so it makes the least amount of noise etc.  Optional – Each untrained member of the group that’s involved other than the Stealth Master makes an Aid Another check.  If they succeed they add +2 to the master’s roll, if they fail the -2 still applies. A member trained in stealth would roll Aid Another and if they succeed they add +2 to the master’s score but if they fail they don’t add -2.

Option 2 – Mini Skill Challenge - Everyone in the party rolls their own stealth check.  As long as they have more successes than failures they succeed as a group.

Option 3 – Cumulative Totals - The party members each roll their own check and their rolls are added together.  If this number is higher than the opposing number they win the check.  The opposing number is generated by multiplying the number in the party by either a flat DC or totaling up all the opposed check rolls.

Thoughts –

The base part of Option 1 is fast, the total number of untrained people is going to be known so it’s one roll for the party, quick and easy.   If you add in the Aid Another then everyone has to roll but it allows each party member to contribute to the success of the endeavor, never a bad thing to promote.

With Option 2 I don’t feel it adds what I’m looking for.  At least in my situation.  With 4 untrained people with low dex in the group they’re going to fail the check more often than they’ll succeed.  I want it to be possible for the group as a whole to sneak onto the castle grounds, over the walls, and into the keep before they’re discovered.  Without just saying “Okay you managed to sneak into the grounds, up and over the walls and are now in the storage areas on the second floor.  Now make stealth checks to avoid getting seen.  Ooops Biminey you must of stumbled into a pile of broken glass, metal and loud noises piled precariously next to you.”

The problem with Option 3 it’s not much better than option 2 and you also have to do math.    But seriously, on the plus side it lets a high ‘overkill’ roll help a lower roll but by the same token a low roll pulls a high one down.

Anyway, that’s how I spent a bit of my afternoon while staring at progress bars.  Comments and thoughts welcome as usual.

[Edit Afterthoughts: The DMG I've been told suggests for a group roll having the lowest skilled person make the roll. While that might make sense, it simply means that we're back to the group not being able to stealth and that's not my point to all this.  So this is what I'm going to start with and work from there -

The party divides the party into groups as they wish each group has to contain at least two people and can contain the entire party.  One person in each group at the players’ choice makes an initial stealth roll.  The remaining members of the group impact this roll as follows – each character Untrained in stealth makes an Aid Another check.  If they fail, they add -2 to the initial roll.  Each character Trained in stealth makes an Aid Another check.  If they succeed they add +2 to the initial roll.   The group has to move as a unit or reasonably so.

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To offer an anecdote, I’m specifically working to avoid a recurrence of a scene in years past where a player, to get away from a particularly gruesome fight metagamed and said, “I can survive an 8 story fall, I jump out the window.”

So I’m making falling damage cumulative and discounting the first 10′.  So anyone can fall 10′ or less without an issue.  For every 10′ farther than that, that they fall, they take 1d10 damage cumulative.

So a 20′ fall deals 1d10 damage.  A 30′ fall deals 1d10+2d10 damage.  A 40′ fall deals 1d10+2d10+3d10 damage.  A 100′ fall deals 1d10+2d10+3d10+4d10+5d10+6d10+7d10+8d10+9d10.

Falling onto a hard surface adds 50% damage.  Falling into a soft surface reduces damage by 50%. An acrobatics roll versus DC 15 can reduce the distance fallen by 10′.

This will very quickly make long distance falling deadly even for high level characters.

[Edited]

Per the comment associated with this I offer up the following alternative which I’m consdering -

For every 10′ after the first 10′ falling damage costs a falling character a healing surge value in damage. So a fall of 50′ equals 40′ of ‘damaging’ fall and kills a healthy character.  This has the benefit (depending on your point of view) of removing level from the equation.   The downside is that this would greatly increase the lethality of even short falls.  Teleporting a creature 30′ up would cost it half it’s health with one power regardless of how much half it’s health is.   So this might end up being a player’s rule only.

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Barring dungeon crawls I don’t really do trivial encounters, that long progression of ‘gimmie’ fights that a DM puts a party through to do a slow drain on their resources to soften them up for the BBEG encounter at the end of the work day.  I certainly run multiple fights in one work day but typically they’re not quantified as ‘trivial’.  Each one has a chance to result in death for someone other than the NPC’s.

Let’s face it, the vast majority of us have limited play time and expending that playtime in fights that are ‘gimmies’ seems wasteful.  Many of these single type encounters can be done using Narrative rather than combat.  But there are times that you do need to show the wear and tear on the group as they go through a long series of encounters but breaking out the mini’s for each one just eats horribly into the time you have to play.

Lately I’ve been using skill challenges to drain surges from the group to simulate small but pointless fights as they flee pursuit through the swamps or try to hide from the hobgoblin tribes while making their way home. Â  But those seem rather flat.

So I’m considering something more combat encounter based and let the party use their combat values against some defensive value, kind of an abstract combat.

The key question is how, I like the 3 rounds and you’re out system I use for skill challenges (duh or I wouldn’t use it right?) rather than the three strikes and you’re out that is the official system. And right now three rounds of combat are close to typical for the group at the level it’s at and seems like a good place to start.

So primarily how to abstract something as tactical as 4th Edition combat is the big question.  I need to work in a way for the players to gain some benefit from the various level of powers, at-wills, encounters and dailies with the understanding that a daily used during an abstract combat encounter is a daily they will not have during that work day.  And we need a simplistic way to simulate buffage.

So my thinking is on any of the three rounds the players can elect to use an At-Will (base), Encounter (bonus), Daily (bigger bonus).  They will take their Attack value for that power, added the bonus for encounter/daily, and then roll against an abstract defense of their opponents.  This isn’t so much to abstract their ability to hit as it is to abstract their ability to do damage.  Encounters and Dailies = more damage output.

Enough failures and they will be forced to expend a surge for each round. Â  So the most they can cost themselves is 3(4) surges per A.C.E. which isn’t out of line with a trivial encounter.

But we also need a way to more equitably spread out the surges lost.  As we all know barring really hard fights it’s typical for some (defenders) to go through an asston of surges while classes that can remain out of harms way might spend none.

So as a first draft let’s see how this flies -

Abstract Combat Encounter System or ACES

Purpose:

To simulate resource drain for a fight the party is expected to win without much risk but without having to take the time to move to a tactical simulation.

Procedure:

The party will negotiate 3 rounds of abstract combat.  In each round each member of the party will pick one of the following, At-Will, Encounter, or Daily.  They will roll a d20, compute their attack roll and compare it to the appropriate DC for the encounter using the AC/F/R/W values as set by the DM.

On any round that there failed rolls are equal to or less than successes the members of the party will lose one surge.

On any encounter that the party does not garner at least one success they will be penalized an additional surge.

Details:

Characters /Attacks -

During each of the ACES rounds each member of the party will choose one of their powers to use.  If the power is an attack power that targets a defense, the character must roll against the appropriate DC/Defense as set by the DM.

If the power also enhances another member of the party then the player may grant/add a +2 bonus to another character’s roll using the Aid Other rules.  If the power does not make an attack against an AC/F/R/W attack but it grants a benefit to another character then the player rolls against a DC+encounter level.  If they succeed then it counts as a success and grants a +2 bonus to the other character’s roll.  [NOTE: Yes this grants higher 'value' to non-strikers in general but what the hell let's give them a time to shine.]

If the power is not an At-Will the character receives the following bonuses where appropriate:

• Encounter +5 to attack roll / Additional +2 bonus Aid Other.
• Daily +10 to attack roll / Additional +4 bonus Aid Other.

Monsters / Defenses / DCs –

The DM will determine the defenses / DC’s of the encounter using the average AC, Fortitude, Reflex, Willpower of the encounter creatures.  You can also use the following values as an overall average across all monster types

• AC = 14+Encounter Level
• F/R/W = 12+Encounter Level

All encounters are assumed to be at the Easy level.  If you wish to simulate a normal or harder fight then add +2 per increase in difficulty that you wish to portray.

Experience / Loot-

The party will earn loot for the encounter just like they would have if it had been played out tactically.

They will earn full experience of the encounter divided by 3 multiplied by the number of rounds they succeeded at with a minimum of 33%, even failure teaches us something.  i.e. if they only succeeded on two rounds then they get 2*33% or 66%.

If they win two out of three rounds they’ll also typically earn some mundane items of value.  By winnign three out of three rounds they’ll also earn some items of higher value or items of a magical nature.

Sacrifice –

One per encounter a character can elect to sacrifice a surge and take one for another member. Â  More than one character can sacrifice for a member but each character can only sacrifice once per encounter.

Major Failure / Death-

If the group fails all three rounds then one player determined randomly is assigned a Death Strike which counts toward their three death strikes for the day and as such can only be removed after an extended rest.

Long Term Usage / Wave Attacks -

Sometimes you might want to simulate a lot of minor attacks, wave situations for instance where the party might have to face 5-10-20… etc trivial fights.

In this case you could instead of each encounter being three rounds, you just decide how many rounds per wave you want simulate. Â  Each round rather than once per encounter a player may sacrifice a surge for another player.

If a character runs out of surges they’re considered out of the combat and the remaining characters incur a cumulative -2 penalty per out of commission character on their die rolls to simulate them being forced to ‘take up the slack’.  If all characters are reduced to 0 surges the encounter is considered lost.

High Level Example: Goblin Warrens for Level 1 Party

Setup: The party has been tasked with cleaning out a goblin warren on one of the caravan trails.  The creatures have been causing issues with the caravans, stealing things at night from the strong ones, attack and pillaging smaller ones after driving off or killing the guards.

Attacks against the goblins have proven of little use with only a few killed.  But now the location of the warren where they’re holed up has been found and the party has been sent to insure that one way or another the raids stop.

It’s assumed that trying to deal diplomatically has failed and there’s no point in talking to anyone but the leader of the goblins and the outside chaff won’t talk.

So the DM figures it’ll take 3 minor encounters to get to the inner sanctum of the goblins.  He chooses to do this with ACES to leave time for the big boss fight whether that turns tactical or roleplay.

The first two encounters are truly easy so the DC’s for those are going to be AC: 15, F/R/W 13 as they’re level 1 encounters.  The third one will see the goblin boss throwing in some of his personal bodyguards so he’s going to crank that difficulty up one notch and that fight will be at DC’s of AC: 17, F/R/W 15.

The final boss battle will be played out normally.

Encounter 1 – Party of 5:

• Round 1 – 4 successes – Result: No loss
• Round 2 – 4 successes – Result: No loss
• Round 3 – Only two success – Result: 1 lost surge

Total: 1 surge lost.  The paladin elects to sacrifice a surge for the cleric and loses two and the cleric loses none.  Experience gained equals 66% of the total.

Encounter 2:

1. Round 1 – 3 successes – Result: No loss
2. Round 2 – 4 successes – Result: No loss
3. Round 3 – 5 successes – Result: No loss

Total: No additonal surges lost. Full experience gained.

Encounter 3:

1. Round 1 – 2 successes – Result: 1 lost surge
2. Round 2 – 2 successes – Result: 1 lost surge
3. Round 3 – 3 successes – Result : No Loss

Total: 2 additional lost surges per party member.  The fighter sacrifices for the wizard and loses three surges while the wizard only loses 1.  The paladin does the same for the cleric losing three surges and the cleric loses 1. Â  Only 33% of the encounter experience gained.

ACES results –

• Wizard – Down 2 surges
• Paladin – Down 5 surges
• Fighter – Down 4 surges
• Cleric – Down 1 surge
• Ranger – Down 3 surges

Comments? Thoughts?

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One box reduces a creatures defenses by -1 per Tier.  Thus negating the need for Expertise which adds +1 per tier to attack bonuses for the PC’s.

The next box reduces a creature’s attack bonus by -1 per tier. Makes the PC’s harder to hit and helps reduce any need for masterwork.

Honestly after much deliberation I think the plan to separate +’s from magic items and give them natively to the PC’s by level progression works better but doesn’t work for some people.

If you missed the first post this app takes exported Monster files and manipulates them to match my house rules.  Then I import the modified creature into the MB and then print it out for use at the table.  Makes it very easy to apply my changes to as many creatures as I want at one time without having to modify them by hand or pencil in changes on their printouts.

New version – [Download not found]

Requires dot net 3.5′ish.  If you can run the WotC Monster Builder you can run this.

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I would like to admire my wife who picked up 5 brand new, no experience at all with them, classes and played them very well.  We did the entire fight in about an hour and a half playtime which given the options/powers she had to learn for each character for the first time and the numbers of monsters in the encounter (25) does her credit.

The map is flipped 180 degrees for anyone a bit lost from the last time. Â  Same opening sequence as the first play through, party moves up to investigate possible survivor and gets surprised and blasted with scream attack which hits 3 out of 3 this time and knocks them all backwards and prone. Â  The poor sorcerer gets pushed away from the rest of the group and spends a considerable amount of the fight locked in the embrace of the Steel Thewed Zombie (STZ) she was blown near who’s trying to drop her in the well but between being blinded and all that doesn’t get to.  The sorcerer was dropped to 2 hit points but managed to recover with both a second wind and the use of her Dilettante Inspiring Word daily healing in one round as well as the Shaman moving his Spirit over next to her and providing healing.

The monk’s close burst attack was a good minion clearer and the Warden’s daily Winter’s Grasp did away with 7 or 8 minions by itself.  The zone caused some issues with his own group though as they had to detour around it to avoid taking the damage.

The PC’s focused on the minions primarily at first overall then concentrated on the standards before going after the Elite. Â  The screamer made a couple of ‘mistakes’ using her Despairing Gaze on the warden even though he was already suffering from being Immobile and Weakened and not mixing her abilities up more like using them against the sorcerer while she was in the STZ’s grab power which granted CA.  But she was pissed at the Warden and focusing on him. Â  The focus of the STZ with the sorcerer to  drop them in the well also cost them a bit in total damage.

The minions did little damage, I would guess they got into position to hit and actually hit maybe 6-8 times.  Out of 20 minions that’s not great.  Ranged and AOE attacks destroy the poor minions.

Speaking of Range and AOE attacks.  There’s a Hurl Breath feat from Dragon that I had to scale back that the CB picked for the character for me.  It allows Dragonborne to use their breath attack as a Burst 2 within 10. Â  This COMPLETELY negates the Expanded Breath feat which turns the normal Blast 3 into a Blast 5. Â  A burst 2 IS a blast 5.  And has the option of centering it up to 10 squares away rather than adjacent to the character.  Why would a player EVER take the expanded breath feat over the toss it 10 squares away?  So I changed it to a Burst 1 within 10.  That seems like a pretty obvious change to me.  And leaves room for the character to take the expanded breath feat in addition and then get a blast 5 usable at range.

As this was another test of my current House Rules, I’m happy to say they’re working well.  Fewer misses (on both sides because missing a lot sucks) make for more exciting faster combats, the average damage for everything reduces dice rolling which speeds combat and eliminates the “Crap, I rolled a 1 on my damage dice” although it also removes the “I rolled max damage on my damage dice.” but I think disappointment trumps triumph in terms of emotional weight.  And you can still roll a critical and really boost the damage to get that emotional high.

Another thing that came out of this is I want to make another style of Initiative Board with perhaps the init cards held between two sheets of plexiglass and some kind of sliding flag in a slot to indicate the current player.

This thought train this morning was put into motion by the Tattoo’s and Piercing’s article over here.  My first ‘visual’ was one of the demons that escaped from Hell in the TV Show Reaper that had tattoo’s on his body that he could pull off and use.  A tattoo of barbed wire running up his arm became a very nasty garotte, a fire-burst and flame on his neck became a fireball he could throw.

Picture if you will an Assassin tasked with getting close enough to someone, the Duke, the brilliant general of the opposing side, the gray sorcereress who’s keeping the thieves guild from expanding due to threat of extinction, whatever.  She’s going in as an exotic courtesan, a ‘painted lady of the fiery south lands’ where they don’t wear much in the way of clothing but instead decorate their skin with ink.  One of her tattoos might be of a savage beast on her back with the clawed paws coming around to cup her breasts, the tips gleaming in green.  One of those claws when ‘pulled out’ becomes a poisoned weapon to which she’s built up an immunity. Â  She kills the target, stabs herself and lays near death for the guards to find in the morning with some story of some fell shadow assassin that attacked them both. This would require of course some means of preventing Raise Dead, perhaps RD only works when the brain is intact.  Or you could take a page from the Taltos series and certain weapons destroy whatever it is that makes people people and un-revivable.

Anyway, the article is a good read and IMO certainly a viable option if your world supports such things.

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But I can see where 1 in 20 attacks doing maximum damage + bonus damage might be less than appealing to some.  While the author of the post above forgot that a critical hit isn’t the same as rolling maximum damage because of the bonus damage (at least past level 1 when everyone should have a magic item of some kind) but I can see where even so it might not have a critical impact.

I’m not a fan of the Critical Hit charts, never really have been as they’re just too lethal for my tastes.  And  Fumbles on a 1 are just so Keystone Kops / slapstick comedy as to be ludicrous.  Even a novice fighter I don’t think is going to fling his sword away 5% of his swings or stab himself in the leg or whatever. Â  It’s not very heroic for a Demi-god to drop his sword 1 out of 20 times he tries to hit something with it.

But this particular thought on the subject doesn’t seem too atrocious to me.  I think in game play it’s going to tend to be more irritating for the players (DM’s roll a LOT more than players do) than enjoyable but with the right groups it might be a lot of fun.

The basis of this system is fairly simple, on a critical hit you roll a d20 and consult a chart and based on that chart result you apply an existing condition to the target (blind, dazed, weakened, slowed etc).

I’m recreating the chart portion below for my own perusual but I highly recommend you visit the site and peruse the items there.

Critical Hits Chart
(Assign Maximum Damage + Combat Effect as listed below)

This is the first draft and doesn’t include any ‘cursed’ cards.  I’ll most likely make those a separate page definitely and perhaps a separate download completely as they’re not everyone’s cup of tea.  I personally thing good luck should be tempered by bad or it’s not good luck, it’s a given.  So a 1 bad card for every X good card ratio I think would be more pleasing to me but I’m not you so you’ll have to make that decision yourself.

A lot of the cards are set up as Immediate Actions to add a bit of a twist to them since they then compete for the use of the one IA that a character can perform once per round.  You can eliminate that if you want.

You can download the cards here -Player Bonus Cards (82)

If you like them let me know.  I do like feedback.  I just noticed for example that my Quest Card has been downloaded 700+ times and no one’s had any comments on them so I don’t know if it was worth the time to put them up or not.

Also if you have any ideas for similar cards by all means share.

The set up was the party had been hired by a lord to track down and destroy a band of raiders that were destroying small villages with the usual results.  The lord had lost members of his family to this band and the PC’s were the fastest way to get after them while he raised a real fighting force to deal with them.

The party was closing in but at each village they trailed the raiders to they lost time searching for survivors and when they found them they had to deal with them.  This was the third such village they’d come to and they entered it to check for if there was anyone hurt but still alive.  Several huts were still burning or had collapsed into a pile of glowing embers.  Bodies were scattered everywhere, a large pile of them in the center of town where wagons and small stands cluttered up the area.  The town well’s walls had been collapsed into it and bodies thrown in.  It was not a pretty sight.  The smell of burning flesh filled the area as did a pall of choking smoke from the fires.

The ravens had already arrived and were pecking at some of the corpses, watching the party as they entered the town. Â  Some of the villagers had been strung up from the rafters gutted and left to die slowly.

As the fighter and bard led the group into the village they spotted movement among the pile of dead in the center and approached it, prepared to help or put out misery whoever was still alive.

Drawing closer they stopped as one of the prone figures stood and then turned to face them,  a woman, eyes put out and a jagged gash across her throat, her front covered with her blood.  She stared at the approaching party with sightless eyes and a savage rage filled expression contorted her face and she screamed, the sound a punishing blast of force that blasted the party backwards, hammering them with sound and knocking them down.

At the horrible cry bodies all around the village rose to their feet, hungry dead eyes lusting for revenge, fueled by rage and as one their heads swiveled toward the party.

The backstory is that the girl’s death, a warlock in life, turned her into a demi-lich of some kind and now she’s driven to protect the village against intruders, any intruders and has brought the other bodies back to un-life to help protect it.

Surprise round over we roll initiative and the combat is on.

The combatants included the five pc’s and one Tortured Remains, 2 x Steel Thewed Zombies, 2 x Hanged Ones and 20 x Pyre Dead. Â  This is obviously a seriously harsh encounter.  As a result I kept a fairly careful eye on things and the undead didn’t always use their most efficient abilities.  That’s part of my job as the DM, to keep things in check that way.  I would rather dump in an extra 10 minions at the start and finesse their combat output of the encounter as a whole and have them if I need them rather than run ‘light’ and have a boring fight.  Under normal circumstances this would have been a day ender anyway without a couple or three minor skirmishes leading up to with raider stragglers or wild life or some other natural hazard of the area.

The house rules that were in force consisted of these -

• -1/2 level to attack rolls and defenses and skills on both sides.
• +1/2 level in damage to one target of an attack and normal damage for the rest in the case of multiple targets
• +1/2 level to healing abilities like healing words, second winds and healing potions.
• +2 flat bonus to attack rolls
• And to try and reduce the impact of randomness, all attacks did average damage.
• PC’s at dying used the Mostly Dying rule (which came into effect once)

To cut to the chase, the end results were within acceptable ranges and added to the game IMO.  Yours might be different of course.

The fight went well, various AOE’s dealt well with the minions over the course of the adventure which I fully expected which is why I was about to dump 20 minions into this fight.  The Assassin’s Heart of Dust worked VERY well when used against the Tortured Remains which was surrounded by minions.  When the dot procc’ed it killed 5 minions.  Add in the Invoker’s Rebuke Undead and other multiple target attacks from the various characters and the poor minions died in droves the way they’re supposed to. Â  I did get more than a few hits on the player using the minions which worked well.  The 7 damage a pop slowly ate away at their resources.

All the characters bloodied and most were brought to single digits at least once, all of them used their Second Winds and 2 used Healing Potions, each character was assumed to have one.  The Bard used both his Majestic Words which since he had the Improved feat also granted 5 Temp HP’s.

The Tortured Remains was able to keep various characters controlled, either dazed, weakened or immobilized, but the players never really lost their full turn.  Even when the Invoker went down to 0 health she was able to use the Mostly Dying rule on her next turn to trigger her Second Wind and the turn after that was able to get back into the fight. Â  Without that rule in effect that character would most likely be dead. Â  The bard was trapped on the other side of the battlefield and would have most likely died from OA’s trying to get to her and since both his Majestic Word’s had been used the best he could have done was a Healing check to stabilize.

The Steel Thewed Zombies grab attack was successful a few times where they held a PC and granted CA for some of the other monsters and the Bard was tossed down the well once as a result.  The assassin was also thrown into the well from the Tortured Remains burst with push attack which was funny, at least to me.

The assassin knocked the last of the minions down into the well as well with a pushing power which was only fair I suppose. The Assassin as a whole wasn’t too impacting with the battle, he missed a lot but the one time he did manage a hit was with the daily and that cleared a big chunk of minions that would almost certainly have pulped the bard or the fighter on their next turn.

I believe in total the fight took 7-8 rounds and took an hour and 45 minutes.  That might seem long (or maybe it doesn’t) but this was an encounter with 30 total combatants and the characters were complete unknowns to my wife, she’d never played any of these classes before so she spent time looking them over each round to see what might be the best power.  Something that one would hope wouldn’t be the case with players who’d started with these characters and had played them up to this level.

Things that helped contribute to the pacing, hitting more often (10% more often due to the +2 static bonus), doing more damage per hit (an average of +3 damage per hit) and in all honesty not having to roll damage and using average damage for everything except critical hits (we only had one over the course of the fight) sped things up as well.

Although one test does not a conjecture prove, I would at this point be perfectly willing to continue with these changes in a real campaign, assuming I could find enough players to have a real ongoing campaign.

D

This is based on my thoughts on House Rules that are intended to make the game more fun (better hit rate for both sides), less draggy (increased damage), monsters are able to used at a broader range (less work making new ones).

It’s written in dot net so you’ll need dot net installed to run it. I would imagine that if you have the ability to run the Monster Builder then this should work just fine.

No I don’t intend to make it work on a Mac.  Unless you want to give me a Mac to do development on. Then we’ll talk about it.

If it’s not obvious this is a home grown app not designed to be pretty and you’ll see a lot of broken status messages flying through the text window, ignore them.

The file – [Download not found]  [Updated link to version 1.1]

The Read Me -

This app will make certain modifications to *.monster files as exported from the
Wizards of the Coast Adventure Tools Monster Builder application.

Your use of this program is an implicit contract that you will not hold me
responsible for anything it may do down to running away with your cat to
las vegas to get married.

This is designed to help mass facilitate certain fairly common house rules that
people are using.  You can pick and choose which ones you want to try.

To use:

In the Monster Builder, hereafter referred to as MB, export the monsters you
want to ‘house rule’.  For official monsters you’ll have to open them and save
them to get a custom variant.

Run the KOC_Nerfer application.

You can use the Path browse button to select a folder of files to work with or
the File browse button to work with an individual file.

Select the rules you want to implement.  These are designed to be implemented
for both PC and NPC identically.

Remove 1/2 from the creatures defenses.  This helps ‘flatten’ the curve of
monsters and allows for a wider range of usage.

Add 1/2 level to damage.  Helps shorten fights.

Remove 1/2 level from attacks.  This balances the Remove 1/2 level from defenses
and makes no ‘real’ change to the monster as a result.

Change Stuns to Dazes – I dislike stunning powers so I wanted a way to flip them
to dazes.

+/- to level – Does what it implies, boosts the monster level by X.  You have to
be careful with this as some powers in the MB are not based on level but are
hard coded into the text.  But it is a way to quickly drop or increase the level
of a group of monsters.

Multiple HP by .x – Use negative numbers to adust hitpoints downwards and
positive ones to increase it upwards.  -.20 would lower the creatures hit points
by 20%.

Static Attack Bonus – Can be used to boost the attack success rate.  Recommended
that this be applied to both sides obviously.

Tag Name – Let’s you put a suffix on the modified creature.  I use _HR for
instance so I know it’s a House Ruled creature.

After picking your options then hit Process and assuming no malformed monster
files you should get a new set of monster files.  The original files will be
renamed to something.monster.bak just in case.

Now import your new files back into the MB and select either Update Existing
or Create New creature during the process.

Now fold spindle mutilate as needed.

Known Issues -

This requires a properly formated MB file to work.  I haven’t had it fail on
any of the tests but there you go.

When you use the Attack modifier options (remove 1/2 and add static) for some
powers you’ll end up with a number in the text that equates to the modifier.
This is because the powers have keywords in them that my app recognizes as
an attack bonus and changes them even though it’s not a valid attack bonus
node.  I don’t plan on trying to fix that, it’s just not worth the time to me.

With the current iteration of the Monster Builder you have to have a custom version of any official monster in order to export it as XML which is slighly confusing but anyway.  You can edit a monster without any edits so you have a custom version.  Then you can export that as XML using the new feature just added which exports as a dot monster file.

My app parses the monster file (or files if you give it a folder path) and based on the check boxes massages the data.  It then renames the original file to .bak and writes the new file which can be imported back into the monster builder as either a new custom monster or as to update the original custom monster.

I’ve even got a rough level modifier which because most of the items in the creature file are based on level is pretty trivial to implement and unless you’re modifying a lot of creatures at once is kind of pointless since you can just change the level in the MB. Â  A lot of powers are not based on this and as a result modifying a creature’s level will have over or underpowered powers.  These are typically the “Deals +xdx damage when it has combat advantage” or the resistences/vulnerabilities.  But the standard attack and damage based powers level up and down pretty well.

So primarily the way I’ll be using it is I export the monsters I need, run them through the HR’ifier, then import them back into the MB and then print them out for my needs. Â  Should work out fine.

A more involved parser would check every power individually for tier appropriate special damages, force movement amounts and all that.

I think actually I’m going to add in a “convert Stun to Daze” checkbox since being stunned sucks as a player.

D

To award magic items you (the dm) either hand out the items per the guidelines OR you hand out some intangible value that’s equal to the gold value of the loot that equals magic items that the players can ‘spend’ to acquire magic gear.  The gear would then show up in the next adventure loot or they spend that value to enchant their existing gear by having rituals cast on it.

Anyway I just found this thread and it goes into considerable depth on it but the basic idea is sound in my opinion.  By separating world currency from magic currency you can avoid inflation, keep a small pouch of gold valuable across the character’s career and all that.  Really it avoids the “I’ve got 500,000,000 gold coins.” you might run into at Epic levels.

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IXP – Separating the sparklies from the tools

The encounter would be the party comes upon a destroyed hamlet (tiny bit of civilization) where the inhabitents were put to the sword and flame.  Heading toward the place they’d see signs of a large mounted force, probably barbaric from the trash strewn in their wake.  As they got closer to habitation they’d find one or two people hung from tree branches.  Then pyres of faintly smoking coals (maybe 12-24 hours earlier) and blackened bodies and bones.

The stench of roasting meat would be a sickening odor hanging like a pall over the area (fortitude check to avoid vomitus eruptus). Â  Once in the village they’d see the entire place had been slaughtered, the people hung from makeshift gallows or burned on pyres.

As they searched (or just passed through) some of the bodies would shift and rise, driven by their living pain, fear and anger to destroy any intruders.

This was a level 6′ish hard encounter (1600xp) and includes one screamer, 2 steel thewed zombies, 1 hanged man and 10 pyre undead (custom undead). Â  The pyre undead are minions with an encounter power “Memory of flame” where they do a close burst 1 psychic fire blast. Â  The steel thewed zombies are soldiers with the ability to grab their opponents or smack them around and while grabbed their target grants CA to everything and -2 defenses.  The screamer is an elite controller who’s screams and moans befuddle, weaken and outright blast the crap out of the party.  The hanged man is a skirmisher with reach, using the rope that he was killed with (by the neck till dead) he can trip, lash and grant bonuses to the other undead as he interferes with the players powers with Immediate Interupts.

The encounter is just a playtest I’m going to do so I can see the effect of a collection of house rules (remove +1/2 level to everyone’s attack rolls, defenses and skill levels, add +1/2 level to one damage roll per attack and healing powers, use average damage, add +2 back to all attack rolls) and see how the encounter plays out.

The removal of +1/2 level is a wash and has no effect for equal level and flattens the power curve the farther up or down the level difference. Technically at this point you’d want to adjust XP because creatures lower level just got a bit tougher and creatures higher level just got a bit easier, that’s lower and higher level than the party level that is.  But honestly unless you normally do add in monsters 4+ levels higher or lower than the party level it’s probably not enough to matter.   The average damage is primarily to help reduce the vagaries of randomization from the test. Â  The +1/2 level to damage and healing will reduce the number of rounds required by some amount.  The +2 to all attack rolls will also reduce the number of rounds by a marginal amount and in general make combat more dynamic, exciting, whatever.  (missing a lot sucks for both player and DM)

Interestingly with the update to the MB this month, I can easily write a little app that would let me run a bunch of exported files through it, adjust the various settings that I want to adjust and then I can import them all back in for saving. Â  So a list of check boxes or spinners [] Reduce Attack Rolls by 1/2 Level [] Add +X to Attack Rolls [] Reduce Defenses by 1/2 Level or X.

Actually with a bit more work it would be almost trivial to write an app that you could use to level/de-level an exported creature or to shift perhaps the MM1 creatures to MM2 build strategies.  Although trivial doesn’t mean quick mind you.

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D

I can see a draw, it certainly avoids the depressing damage rolls where people get 1′s on their damage dice which are arguably more emotionally impacting than maximum damage.  I think rolling a critical hit has a better ‘cool factor’ than rolling a regular hit and then rolling maximum damage.  But that might just be me.

After due consideration I think I’d be willing to give it a try and see how it goes.  Over time the players ARE going to end up with average damage unless they have non-uniform dice or simply don’t roll very often.

This reduces the rolling for each player to a (typically) single d20 to determine if they hit.

Monsters though typically roll very few times for their lifespan though so it’s quite possible that they’ll have very swingy results.  You might have a Solo who can’t seem to roll nothing but ones while another one is consistently hammering out big damage numbers.

Really at what point does one say let’s just do away with random? But in the interests of fairness and curiosity I suppose I could give it a shot.

What would be more interesting I think is simply boosting the attack chances combined with this damage.  Let’s face it, missing sucks ass.  I doubt if anyone will argue that point ever.

So perhaps a ‘mystic werewolf ability’ [Note: inside joke] bonus should be applied across the board?  Perhaps a flat +2 across the board?

Indeed, let’s consider these various house rules I’ve written up or about -

• Remove +1/2 level to all defenses, attack and skill rolls on both sides.  This is a wash and simply levels the playing field by quite a bit so that monsters are more viable outside a straight 1 to 1 level comparison.
• Add 1/2 level to the FIRST damage roll or the first target across the board.
• Add a flat+2 to attack rolls across the board to increase hit frequency.
• Compute the average dice per attack based on the above and use that instead of rolling for damage.

Might make for shorter combats that are more interesting (missing is not interesting).

What would happen if instead of dropping the PC’s at 0 hit points, we instead impose a new condition – ‘Mostly Dead’ and have to make ‘dying’ saving throws. While Mostly Dead they suffer a combination of Dazed, Slowed and Weakened.

Mostly Dead

• You grant combat advantage.
• You may take one action, standard, move, minor per turn.  You can’t take immediate actions or opportunity attacks.
• Your speed becomes the lower of 2 or your current movement rate.
• Your attacks deal half damage.
• You make a Dying saving throw every round.

Dying Saving Throws

When you are Mostly Dead you need to make a saving throw at the end of your turn each round.  The result of your saving throw determines how close to dying you are.
Lower than 10: You slip one step closer to dying. If you get this result three times before receiving healing you suffer the Dying condition.
10-19: No Change
20 or higher: Spend a healing surge and recover hit points as if you were at 0 hit points. If you have no healing surges left your condition doesn’t change.

In DnD that’s nigh impossible.  In 4th edition it pretty much is impossible unless it’s a striker and they unleash a good daily attack and get a critcal hit with some kind of ‘debuff’ effect that at the least stuns the target.  Or unless the sentry is a minion of course but if you make all the sentries minions then technically the hero can just bean them with a rock and they’ll die.  Not very epic.

Let’s take a look at the Coup De Grace rule – Make an attack against an adjacent helpless target if you hit you score a critical hit.  If you deal the targets bloodied value or greater you insta-gib them.  That’s just pretty hard to do.  And it precludes any ability of an archer taking out a watchmen.

So with that said I thought, what the hell, let’s see if we can make a ‘pseudo’ skill challenge out of a non-minion sentry take down.

So to avoid player ‘sploiting we’re going to set up some ground rules that have to be in place for this to work and of course it’s always going to be up to DM Fiat/Caveat.

1. The target must be unaware of the Hero OR be unknown to be hostile.
2. The target must not be ‘in combat’.

This means the Hero has to typically use some ability suited for the environment to get close enough to the target and that the target can’t be fighting or expecting to be attacked.  Again in any grey areas this is going to be the DM’s call.

Once the Hero gets close enough to attack they need to actually hit the target.  A miss is a miss regardless.  If they do hit the target they’ll hit for double their critical value.  If this value is greater than the target’s bloodied value they’re insta-gibbed much like a CdG and if its less then the target is stunned until the end of its next turn.  This means that this kind of sentry take out is best left to the damage dealers aka Strikers and they’d best use at least an encounter power of some kind.  As an easy alternative you could simply say that if the player gets within range to perform a  STD ( /juvenile chuckle ) and succeeds that you give it to them.  Personally I would lean toward the later since it falls into the rule of a) It’s Cool, b) players would enjoy it and c) it would only be of any real benefit where the DM set it up. It also means if you don’t kill it you have one move to get close enough to do a CDG.  So a double move/run + AP could work if you’re within that range.  Otherwise it’s going to start yelling for help or at least saying OUCH really damn loudly.

Now we’ll also have to define what is close enough to attack.  Obviously melee range is good.  Anything farther away and we quickly reach a point where it’s just not ‘fair’ to be able to one shot someone.  So do we decrease the range that it can be done or just apply an assload of penalties?  I think an assload of penalties fits my playstyle better.  So what about -4 at short range and -8 at long range?

So we have the basis of an idea of a system to allow the Heroes to take down a bad guy in one shot.  Now let’s work on the specifics.

To get into position the player is going to need to make some skill checks.  A good starting point for primary skill checks to allow someone to get within range might be something like this -

Urban environment – Stealth
Crowded environment – Thievery, Diplomacy
Natural environment -  Nature, Stealth

Since I like the three ‘phase’ skill challenge system, let’s break it down that way.

Phase 1: Approach unseen/unnoticed.

Phase 2: Make the attack.  This is a skill check using a standard attack roll.

Phase 3: Perform the Coup De Grace if needed.

So now we have a three phase skill challenge of sorts.  Phase 1 could require multiple skill checks depending on the circumstances or just one. Phase 2 is typically one ‘skill check’ aka attack roll.  Phase three is the finish up phase and could require more skill checks or be a ‘gimmie’.

So while it’s not a skill challenge per se, it does allow a way for the players to potentially perform a single shot take down.

Anyway it’s a start of an idea that may grow into something.  I’ll keep you posted if I come back to it.

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[Of course if you want it simple then temporarily turn your sentries into Minions.  If the take down attack hits they're dead.  If it doesn't then you can flip them back to standards, elites etc. for the ensuing battle.]

Kurt at GnomeStew has a similar idea for 4th Edition.  A deck of cards that are handed out at the start of session or after a long rest or whatever time interval seems appropriate to the DM.   Each player could be stuck with the card they draw or a more lenient DM might let them trade among theirselves and an even more lenient DM might just draw X cards and give it to the party as a group resource or let the party decide how to do it.  I’m not known for leniency myself but you play the way you want.

Snipped from article -

My previous article on rewards mentioned ‘rule-breaker cards’ (also known as ‘swash cards’ or ‘adventure cards’). Put simply, a rule-breaker card is a one-shot exception to the normal rules of the game. Some gamers find that they add a welcomed element of chaos and opportunity to the game, and provide everyone with a ‘spotlight moment’. But some gamers don’t like that they also mess with established tactics, and may apply to the NPCs as well.

And some sample ideas from his post on cards (copied here):

• Reroll one die roll of any kind (skill, attack, damage, save, etc). Use the higher roll.
• Regain an expended Encounter Power at any time as a free action.
• Regain an expended Daily Power after a short rest.
• Use an At-Will Power instead of a Basic Attack (such as at the end of a charge, or as an Opportunity Attack).
• Expend a Healing Surge on yourself as a minor action.
• Expend a Healing Surge on an adjacent ally as a move action. The ally uses his or her own Healing Surge amount, but you expend one of your Surges.
• Run for one round with no penalties to attacks or defenses for running.
• Ignore one successful Opportunity Attack.
• +5 to any attack roll or saving throw; must commit this card before rolling.
• +2 to any attack roll or saving throw; card may be used after the roll.
• For the duration of one encounter, give one Power the Reliable keyword.
• Shift as a minor action, even if it’s before or after a move.
• Your area attack or close attack does not hit one of your allies, even if he or she is in the target area.
• Reroll one failed Saving Throw.
• Take a ‘natural 20’ on any trained skill check.
• Your attack does 5/10/15 ongoing damage on a hit; save ends.  (Damage scales with tier.)
• For this encounter, and until the beginning of the next encounter or extended rest, consider yourself Trained in one additional skill.

Which is a pretty good start. A cruel DM could possibly add in cursed cards that the players HAVE to play during their first encounter…

• One successful attack misses.
• A critical hit is reduced to a normal hit.
• You suffer -4 defenses until the end of your next round.  Must be an active target of an enemy at the time this card is played.
• You trip and fall prone while charging at an enemy.
• Your primary weapon slips from your hand into an adjacent square.

I’d of course stack the deck with 5 or 6 good cards to 1 cursed card.  If I was mean enough to put in cursed cards.  Which I am.

The most memorable characters that aren’t memorable for what they did are the ones with really lopsided stats.  But for every single memorable character of such ilk, there are 50 that are remembered for their actions, not their stats. Â  And is that a great way to be remembered? “Remember that character of Temple’s the wizard who had a higher strength and constitution than the fighter did?  Haha he rolled crazy stats!”  As opposed to “Remember that character of Temple’s, the wizard? And when he kept falling and taking damage as he was running from the Headspiders down that sloped cavern and almost killed himself?  Man that was funny.”

I’m not saying that having an 18 strength or a 8 intelligence is a bad thing, just that it’s not necessarily the greatest way to own a memorable character per se.

For most characters, barring random roll, fixed placement oddballs, you’re going to have your three best scores where they do your class the most good.  That’s a given 99.9% of the time barring a player who just wants to create something lopsided for dramatic or comic reasons like the 8 strength fighter or the 9 wisdom cleric. Heck this whole thing coined the idea of the ‘dump stat’ which used to be Charisma for everyone except Paladins.  In the past editions characters were as a whole pretty average looking at best.

So the question at hand is what if we just did away with hard numeric stats and instead the player described their character’s abilities?

So if instead of – “Hi, I’m Bob the stereotyped big dumb fighter cause intelligence is a dump stat for fighters and this is Steve the highly intelligent but asthmatic wizard who as usual put his good stats in something other than constitution.”

We had something a little more prosaic and less ‘fixed’, “My character, Kel of Clan Finnan, approaches and asks you about joining your group.  He’s a fit but not overly muscled man dressed in well worn leather armour.  At first glance he appears unremarkable but there’s something about him that catches your eye on a second glance, the roguish twinkle in his eyes that might indicate a keen intellect and cutting wit.  You’ve heard of Kel, he’s known to be impetuous and leap in head first when perhaps he should have thought things through beforehand.”

As for the stats we simply give everyone the same +x across the board, or slightly more favorable to me, +x to their MAD abilities and +x-x to their other abilities.  So the big dumb fighter while he’s roleplayed dumb actually has a reasonable intelligence. Because honestly how long would a big dumb fighter really survive adventures?  Barring luck he’d quickly sucumb to the first riddle trap etc.  And the sickly wizard?  Dead the first winter. Â  And everything between those is generic already.

In other words make the game about the characters not the numbers.

I’m ambivilent on this whole idea personally.  On the one hand I see it has potential to make the people make the characters memorable and unique rather than the numbers.  It helps even out the MAD aka Multiple Attribute Dependency issues of classes like the Paladin (arguably the worst case of MADness). On the other I can hear it mooing and by the gods you’re supposed to have numbers for your stats and all characters will be generic.  But for the majority they’re already generic to the point where it’s unmemorable in terms of stats.

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This isn’t a “do you think these are stupid/awesome” post, just a post for those that are curious as to how I’ve changed or tweaked things for my own twisted Evil DM needs.

The tokens are to encourage the party to use dailies more often, let them pool resources and to have more non-at will spamminess. Â  I don’t think it will be a problem at all for my table, yours might not be so lucky if you have CharOP – Min/Maxers – Power Gamers.  If it turns out to boost the power output in a unbalancing way, then as the DM I’ll adjust the damage sinks as needed (duh).

The damage and health is to shorten combats a little primarily as far as the players are concerned but honestly it gives me a larger XP budget to play with which means more monsters which means bigger brougha’s.  One of the encounters I currently have planned has 25 monsters that will be facing the party.  Yes they’re mostly minions but I think it’ll make for an interesting fight because of the powers the creatures have.

Healing changes are to counteract the damage output of the players.  They can now ‘react’ with a healing word or whatever when a player is close to dying without having to wait for their turn.  I honestly don’t want to kill the players, I just want to give them enough resources that they can survive if they play smart, barring just asinine die rolls.  And frankly as a player it sucks to skip your turns because the healer is too busy to heal you. I try to avoid suckage where I can.

The resting is to encourage (force) the players to have at least two encounters a day. Â  I’ll admit in a CRPG like Balders Gate or Neverwinter Nights that I’d go into each encounter at full strength.  I think 4th edition lands in a great spot to encourage that not to happen.  I just want to reinforce that with the resting limitation and the recharge token gathering.

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House Rules

Recharge Tokens
At the end of each encounter a character earns a Recharge Token.  These can be used to recharge or ‘untap’ expended Encounter or Daily powers or gain a to-hit bonus on At-Will powers.  They can be accrued during the day but are reset to one at the end of an extended rest.  A player may transfer one token per extended rest to another player.  Multiple players may transfer one token to the same player. They are spent as such:

• 1 token to gain +4 to hit with a single attack roll for an At-Will power.  This can be done no more than twice per encounter and once per turn.
• 2 tokens to recharge one expended Encounter power.  This can be done no more than twice per encounter and once per turn.
• 4 tokens to recharge one expended Daily power. This can be done once per short rest.

Damage
All damage rolls for PC and NPC gain 1/2 level in damage.  This damage is added to the first damage roll only in the case of multiple attacks per power. 

Monster Hit Points
Monsters reduced in hit points by 25%.
Monster XP reduced by 25% including for encounter budget purposes.
(i.e. 25% more monsters that go down 25% faster, this of course does nothing to change the combat time since the total hit point sink remains the same but gives the DM (me) more resources and ups the body count.)

Healing
Healing powers, items and effects heal for an additional +1/2 level of the target of the healing. – (To balance the increased damage intake)
Healing powers in general become Immediate Reactions (Trigger: When you or an ally is wounded) and follow the normal limitations of Immediate Actions (once per combat round).

Resting
The party must reach a Milestone before taking an Extended Rest.  Milestones are reached after each two non-trivial encounters.  This rule can be superseded by DM fiat.

The downside is the system is more complex although he does have a nice worksheet.  More complex for the DM of course, as is usual for the players they simply get told the situation and roll their dice.

My current skill challenge looks something like this and is using a modified Obsidian System.  Three segments which are titled “Navigate the Swamps”, “Avoid the Dangers of the Swamps”, “Approach Undetected” and the whole SC is entitled “Find the Zizzor Lair”. My main modifications to Obsidian are the DM rolls an opposed check on each segment and that modifies the base DC for the segment.  I like rolling dice too.

The penalties for partial successes will be a cost of healing surges when the party reaches the lair (full success will of course find them there untaxed). Partial levels of failure will incur encounters with Zizzor patrols with the party down either 3 or 4 healing surges, or in the worst cases of failures they’ll take so long to get to the lair that this will have the end result that some of the kidnapped will be dead by the time the party gets to them.

All the results from perfect success to utter failure will result in the party reaching the lair, just the consequences or condition they arrive in will vary. They have to reach the lair eventually or it’ll be a very short adventure and there’s no real point in making them re-do the skill challenge in such a case.

Since I’m awarding experience by ‘quest turn in’ rather than by ‘monster killed’ the extra encounters will only serve to drain resources from the party and thus will be something to avoid rather than something seen as a ‘easy xp grinding’ by the party. Â  I’m leaning more and more heavily on awarding XP that way completely and using monster XP solely as an encounter budget and as a rough rule of thumb for the level up process.

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Anyway, I wanted to do something for at-will powers with the recharge tokens.  Right now my rule is 1 token at the start of the day, 1 token per successful encounter completed, tokens reset to 1 at the end of the day. Â  Day = between extended rests.

They’re spent, 1 token to recharge a encounter power, 3 tokens to recharge an expended dialy power that wasn’t used in the same encounter that it’s recharged in, and 1 token to gain a +4 on an at-will power.

This is a revised from the original thoughts I had in that you can recharge a daily power but can’t double nova them in one encounter and you could instead just try to insure you hit with ‘some’ damage in the form of an at-will.

Sorry no picture for this one, I’m working at the extreme edge of cell reception using my phone as a modem and getting something on the order of about 28.8k dialup speeds.

Anyway, along with Action Point tokens I’m going to hand out Recharge tokens.  You start the day after an extended rest with one Recharge Token (much like you start with one Action Point).  For each encounter you get another token (much like for each milestone you get another Action Point).  An encounter power takes 1 recharge token to recharge/untap, a daily power takes 3 tokens to recharge/untap.

This helps reduce the 15 minute work day or provides some incentive to do so, provides a way for the players to use an encounter power twice in one encounter (or more if they save up) and after their second encounter of the day they could use a Daily power twice. Â  Which is more valuable?  3 encounter powers or 1 daily power?  Depends on the situation I’m hoping.  Could the players just horde them and then nova on the boss?  Sure but at 1 token per encounter that’s a lot of fighting where they’re using up the Currency Of The Realm (aka Healing Surges) and is self limiting in my opinion.

Essentially you can use your second wind to recover an Daily power that’s not-reliable and does not have any effects on a miss if you missed with it.  So basically it adds Reliable to all daily powers that don’t have it but it costs you your second wind to do it.  I also tweaked the verbiage to clarify any possible questions (aka exploits).

So I’m modifying my house rule as below -

Second Wind: Standard Action

Spend a healing surge and gain your choice of one of the following two sets of benefits -

1. Healing/Defense – Regain hits points as normal for spending a healing surge and gain +2 to all defenses until the start of your next turn.
2. Attack/Offense – Recover an expended Encounter power and gain +2 untyped bonus to this attack until the end of your next turn or until its used whichever comes sooner for this recovered Encounter attack only or allow you to re-roll your attack roll on a Daily power that missed.

Addendum – The Improved Second Wind feat provides the following adjustments -

1. Healing/Defense – Gain an additional +5 health with excess health recovered being used as temporary hit points.
2. Attack/Offense – Gain an additional untyped +1 for the recovered power.

Second Wind: Standard Action

Spend a healing surge and gain your choice of one of the following two sets of benefits -

1. Healing/Defense – Regain hits points as normal for spending a healing surge and gain +2 to all defenses until the start of your next turn.
2. Attack/Offense – Use an expended Encounter power and gain +2 to this attack for this attack only.

Addendum – The Improved Second Wind feat provides the following adjustments -

1. Healing/Defense – Gain an additional +5 health.
2. Attack/Offense – Gain an addition +1 for this attack only.

Now an obvious ‘loophole’ and there may be others is this would allow Dwarf based characters a standard attack as a minor action once an encounter. But you know what? That doesn’t bother me. But it’s certainly something for you to consider depending on your player makeup.

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It wasn’t very long after I migrated to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons from the Basic set that I instituted a mana system to replace the Vancian system I believe it’s refered to, to-wit casters had to memorize the spells they wanted to use for the day in advance of knowing what they might need.  That always struck me as fairly not-fun.  Plus in using a mana system I could then add in Mana Crystals, rare and highly sought after that allowed casters to dump unused mana into them at the end of the day to use the next. Â  And no my casters didn’t overshadow the non-casters, it just made things more fun for everyone.

Anyway, I’m going to add this as a feat, yes yes, it’s a feat tax you might say but your game your rules, my game my rules.

Versatile Repetoire [Wizard]
Prerequisite: Wizard, Int 16
Benefit: You no longer need to memorize Daily or Utility spells out of your possible selections for the day but can instead choose which one(s) to choose at the time that you cast your spells.  This does not allow extra castings per day.

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Seems reasonable if you buy into the Paladin’s as charismatic warriors line of thinking.  I would see them, personally, as more Wisdom based as that defines their willpower and to be a paladin, a champion of a cause requires certain strength of will to ignore anything but what you believe in.  As I say, paladin’s know what they know and never let the facts get in their way…

Here’s the gist of Stalker0′s changes but visit the original posting to see any discussion on the idea.

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Crusader

Primary Ability Scores:
Charisma: Allows access to the Crusader’s raw divine power, granting him powerful attacks.
Wisdom: Allows a Crusader to channel his divine energies into healing and defensive powers to guard his allies.
Strength: A Crusader’s own natural strength can be used to augment the power of some divine attacks.

Armor/Weapon/Implement Proficiencies: Same as Paladin
HP/Defenses/Surges: Same as Paladin

Channel Divinity – The Crusader is not limited to one channel divinity use per encounter.

Interdiction (used to be Divine Mettle)
Same as Divine Mettle, but uses wisdom instead of charisma.

Divine Infusion (used to be Divine Challenge)
You channel the raw divine energies granted to you to enhance your own power or to increase the fortitude of your comrades.
At-will (once per turn) – Minor Action, Close Burst 10
Target: Special, see below.
Effect (ally): The target gains temporary hit points equal to 3 + your wisdom modifier (6+wis at paragon, 9+wisdom at epic). The temporary hitpoints last until they are used, the end of the encounter, or until Divine Infusion is placed on another target.
Effect (you): The target recharges the Crusader’s Smite power. The target remains under the effects of Divine Infusion until the end of the encounter, or until Divine Infusion is placed on another target. Divine Infusion must be reapplied for additional recharges of Crusader’s Smite.

Crusader’s Smite (used to be Divine Strength)
Same as Divine Strength, except:
Action: Free Action
Special: Can only be applied to melee attacks.
Effect: Damage done becomes radiant damage in addition to the bonus damage.

Healing Hands (used to be Lay on Hands)
Same as Lay on Hands

Crusader’s Weapon – A Crusader can use any weapon he wields as a holy symbol for purposes of implement powers he might use. He can apply the weapon’s enhancement modifier to attack and damage with implement attacks, but cannot use the weapon’s proficiency bonus. Further, if a Crusader is using an implement power from another class, he can use his weapon as if it were the proper implement, and can use his charisma modifier for attack rolls and damage rather than the ability score normally used.

Powers: All powers use Charisma for attack and damage. If the power originally used Charisma, and had a secondary affect that is based on wisdom; that is unchanged. If the power originally used Strength, its primary now uses Charisma and its secondary effect uses Strength.
If a power required that the target be marked, change the condition to say: “If the Crusader is under the effect of Divine Infusion.”

Example:
Righteous Fury (was Holy Strike).
Attack: Charisma vs AC
Hit: 1[w]+charisma modifier radiant damage. If you are under the effect of Divine Infusion, you gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to your Strength modifier.

IFAQ (Infrequently asked Questions)

Q: Why is the Crusader’s primary Charisma and not Strength?
A: Two reasons. First one was that the fighter and warlord already provide a good basis for a fighting strength based class, and the cleric I would change to be primarily wisdom. That leaves the paladin and bards as the charismatic meleers, which is a good mix to me. Second, I found it was far less work to make implement and weapon powers worked together if everything was charisma and not strength.

Q: With the way Crusader’s Smite works, is this class a Defender or a Striker?
A: A bit of both. How a Crusader builds his stats and play style helps determine if he is more striker or more defender/leader. Note though that even with a high strength he does not get a lot of the advantages that other strikers do. He doesn’t get extra attack bonuses, he has to apply his extra damage before he hits while strikers can apply it afterwards, he has to use a minor action every round to keep his damage going, and there’s no bonus on a crit.

Q: Doesn’t Divine Infusion steal the Swordmage’s Aegis of shielding mechanic?
A: Yes and no. I still think the Aegis of Shielding is the best defending mechanic so far. Monsters have low damage and lots of hp….so negating some of that low damage is a better defense than applying a little damage to the load of hp. That said; there are big differences. The Crusader gives less temp HP than the swordmage damage negation, but the Crusader’s temp hp can also apply to more kinds of damage and from multiple sources. The Crusader doesn’t apply a -2 to attack rolls (a big difference!), but doesn’t have to use immediate reactions to activate his ability. The Crusader’s power works if he and the target are attacked. And of course, the Crusader can apply a version of his power to himself, which creates a lot of tactical thinking about how and when to use the power.

Q: Why doesn’t the Crusader use a mark like all the other defenders?
A: Because I hate marks. There I said it, wow I feel better I love some of the game design in 4e, I hate marks with a passion. They are a pain to track on the board (especially because they are reapplied every round often to different monsters), and they provide too little benefit innately, it’s always about the secondary thing the defender does that makes the mark worthwhile (doing damage, negating damage, negating movement, etc). If I happen to make alternates to the fighter, swordmage, and warden…you can be guaranteed they won’t have marks either.

Q: What’s the purpose of the Crusader’s Weapon power?
A: The reason I called the class the Crusader (besides every other alternate Paladin out there called a Crusader, thank you very much B09S) is the Crusader’s Weapon magic item that counts as a weapon and an implement. I don’t think its right that some classes need one magic item for offense and others need two. It gets even worse with multiclassing. While WOTC fixed some of the multiclassing issues, this one is still left as a sore thumb. A cleric/wizard for example may need 3 magic items, weapon, holy symbol, and orb. The class ability was designed to fix that, something I would incorporate into nearly all classes should I ever get around to making alternatives. However, it’s an easy ability to drop if you don’t want to mess with multi classing too much.

So throw a bottle of holy water on orc and he just gets madder because you got him wet.  Throw that same holy water on a zombie and it takes 5 damage.

Thrown Holy Water
Standard Action Ranged 3/6
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 0 radiant damage

There are other thoughts on the thread worthy of consideration like Consecration rituals and higher powered holy waters that deal on-going damage.

The on-going damage idea I kind of like as that’s the way it works in ‘real aka movie/tv life.  Splash the undead with holy water and it’s usually depicted as one spike damage and then slowly it eats away at them.  But I worry that this might be too much value for the money.

But I’m definitely going to make holy water available if I ever get to play again.  Life’s been eating away my players lately with the last one half blind now from acquiring Type 2 diabetes, being involved in a car wreck and the damage to his eyes from the impact being aggravated from the damage caused by the diabetes to the point where he’s having to get laser surgery to try to restore his sight.  If you have a kind thought or put in a little nudge to any cosmic force/entity you happen to believe in on his behalf I’d certainly appreciate it, he’s been closer to me than family for the last 2 decades.  And he’s the kind of guy who’d help you bury a body without asking questions or hesitation and doesn’t deserve what Fate has put in his path.

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Why not let your players try their hand at being business moguls and selling large gelatinous cubes to cities as sewer cleaners or coming up with the next widget you can’t live without in a medieval society?

So my thoughts are, allow the use of Second Wind to regain the use of an encounter power.  This still impacts some a lot more than others but I think might be okay.  Trade off getting a flat set amount of healing for the possibility of doing a random amount of damage.  The healing plus defense bonus is a given, declare it and you get it.  The recharge an encounter power just grants you the chance to do some damage (typically).  But there are times that might be a good thing either way.

Allow the use of spending 3 action points to recharge a Daily Power that’s been used in a previous encounter.  This encourages a longer adventuring day and allows the party the ability to use their dailies on more encounters rather than ‘saving up’ for a potential boss fight. They’re giving up 3 standard attacks to recharge one daily which is roughly equivilent (or worse actually).

Anyway that was running around in my head and I thought I’d share it, aren’t you glad?

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How I Broke Up With Item Dependence and Bad Math

I find the idea little intriguing but the administration perhaps might make it annoying difficult to implement.  At least when you’re now used to using the DDI character builder to keep things semi-close to accurate.

Oh and this system would require that all 1/2 level bonuses be dropped across the board.  This has a unique bonus in that reduces the skill inflation which I’d like to see.

I’m honestly not sure if it plays out or not.  On the surface it’s certainly interesting to consider because it allows the DM a lot more flexibility in what gear they hand out without breaking the combat power curve.  If a character only has 4 magic items at level 5, if two of them have very limited combat applications or worse no combat applications at all then that character is working from a reduced power base.

With the +1 across the board of this proposed system every 5 levels then the PC’s could use a regular old sword and still have their Headband of Insight and be almost as combat powerful because they’re at +1 to hit, +1 damage, +1 to defenses and +1 to skills. Â  A magic longsword might grant them some encounter or daily bonus power but it wouldn’t break the bank so to speak in terms of power crafting.

Anyway here’s the original post

This is kinda like aiming at a low magic campaign, but not exactly. I don’t care if PCs glow in the dark from magical radiation. What I care is that if PCs don’t have their funny toys, they can still grab improvised weapons and face level-appropriate challenges.

The idea here is that skill matters more than enchantment. Joe kobold with a vorpal sword is still a kobold, and Jane super-adventurer with her bare hands is still a super-adventurer.

Also, I want to try decoupling the world economy (GP) from the magic item economy (+6 magic swords). And decoupling both from the cost paid for rituals. Not exactly getting rid of magic item markets, just making it clear that the value of a flaming weapon can’t be easially measured in bags of rice. Or castings of tenser’s floating disk.

So, 4 changes:

1) remove the 1/2 level bonus to everything, for both monsters and PCs It causes monsters to become prematurely obsolete, and I don’t like that. It also creates a “you must be this heroic to fight the dragon” effect, and I really don’t like that (Also, I blame it for the vast numbers of kobolds in 1st level adventures. Without the 1/2 level bonus to monsters, the are more monsters that a 1st level party can face)

2) Remove numeric magic item bonuses. ALL OF THEM (Yes, there will be compensation). Powers and effects still stay – Your vorpal sword still takes your on-crit damage to 1d12 instead of 1d6 (see later), and you still get exploding damage dice out of it, but it’s a +1 or a +6 weapon depending on who is actually using it.

3) Every level, (Including 1st), PCs may pick one of the following bonuses:
i) +1 to all attacks
ii) +1 AC
iii) +1 to Ref, Will and Fort
iv) +1 to damage, +1d6 extra damage on a crit
v) +1 to all skills
A PC can pick a given bonus no more than once every 5 levels – Equivalently, they must pick each bonus at least once every five levels.

Just to make sure that’s understood, there are five bonuses. You get each one *once* every five (5) levels.

For simplicity’s sake, when a power gives its attack bonus as Stat + n, but lacks the weapon/implement keywords, the +n overlaps with your to-hit bonus, rather than stacking.

When using a magic item with an effect that scales by enhancement bonus, the effect instead scales with the relevant character bonus (AC bonus for magic armor, Ref/Will/Fort for a magic cloak, Damage/crit for a weapon)

So, for instance, if a PC has a flaming sword, and is level 15, with a +3/+3d6 damage bonus, then their critical hits will do an extra 3d6 fire damage (instead of the regular 3d6 normal damage), and the weapon’s daily power will do 2d6 fire damage, ongoing 10.

4) Heroic bonus: : At levels 5, 15, 25, add +1 to all attacks, damage defenses and AC. Double this AC bonus in heavy armor.

This replaces masterworking, assorted “item bonuses to defense”, weapon expertise, Weapon focus, all those silly “+1 damage to two energy types (if you meet our random pre-requisites)” and may be expanded to cover anything else that turns out to not scale properly with levels.

(I want to replace weapon focus not so much because I’m hostile to PCs specializing in a favored weapon, but because it is a boring way to specialize. Compared to feats like Heavy Blade Opportunity, weapon focus is just dull.)

And while I’m at contemplating house rules, two wild ideas that I’ve had, but never gotten a chance to examine in detail:

1) Basic attacks are move actions, not standard. I miss full attacks and the idea that standing still has actual advantages. I have no idea how much benefit this gives monsters compared to PCs, and finding out would require careful contemplation of the monster manual.

2) Bell curve rolls. I’d need to do some serious number crunching on this one. But the basic idea: Roll 3d20, take middle.
For crits:
1 die showing a threat is minor crit: Triggers “on a critical” effects. (if the attack hits)
2 threats is a significant crit: As regular rule crits, max base damage and trigger “on-crit” effects.
3 threats is a major crit: Max base damage, Max “on-crit” damage, trigger on-crit effects.

(Minor crits are actually more common this way. I like this; Having weapons distinguished *only* by crit effect, which happens 1 attack roll in 20, and not necessarily the attack roll you want is, I feel, a bad idea. Having them happen more often helps a little.)

To that end here’s some zero level rules that would allow you to run something a little lower level.  Example: The players are early teens and from a small village so they all know each other and as summer is drawing to a close they’re out moving herd over to the winter pastures and encounter a small force of shikar who are on their name quest and are going to raid the herds.  Perhaps the players were shirking their duty on this day and before they knew it the sun was going down and they still had the herds to move.  They’re driving the cattle in the dim light of dusk when shrill yip yip cries blast from the darkness and arrows start to flit past their heads.

So armed with herding staves, belt knives, slings they defend the herds and drive them off.  As they celebrate they notice one of their friends is missing and a blood trail leads off into the now night.  Familiar with the shikar they know their friend is unlikely to survive an hour and it’s 2 hours back to the village and back even in daylight.  So a rescue attempt is made and our lowly herdboys track down the shikar and rescue their friend and run into a search and rescue party of villages that was formed after they didn’t show.  Now bloodied and having taken and saved lives our party of herders and villages are now level 1 adventures and out of those that were in on the herding the 5 players now have a taste for it, the trailing after the evil, the rush of the rescue, the thrill of the fight. Â  Little do they know that most adventuring consists of boredom, hardship and misery with interspersed moments of terror and life threatening danger and disfigurement.

Anyway the following is from a post which you can find here as well as a PDF file of these rules and thoughts.

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Creating 0-level rules for 4e.
In creating these rules, I looked at the different 0-level rules created for previous editions for inspiration. I didn’t like how, in all the rules I looked at, that the rules were a completely different set of rules used just for 0-level characters and that it didn’t feel like the D&D game from 1st Level and on.

I wanted to create rules that made 0-level characters play the same way as any other level characters in 4e just with more limitations, and without the DM having to keep track of an alignment table or which weapons you have swung and how many times you swung it.

Why play a 0-level character?
Because there are some great roleplaying opportunities with a 0-level character that you truly cannot have with 1st Level characters.

Here are a few reasons to start players at 0-level;

Extremely new player: This person has never played and RPG of any kind. They don’t even know what RPG stands for. By starting this player at 0-level you limit their choices in combat and don’t overflow them with multiple at-wills, encounters, and dailies. You teach them the basic a little bit at a time.

Backgrounds: Maybe you have some free time on your hands before the campaign starts but a player really wants to play. You can create his character as a 0-level and you guys go through his background getting him to the place he starts in the campaign. This will give him a whole lot more detailed background and might even spark a few other ideas for the campaign as you play.

Nostalgic “Feel”: Remember the days when the starting characters were so weak that a scratch from a housecat could kill them? Well 4e 0-level characters are not that weak but playing them will remind you of the days when your characters were truly scared to go into that dungeon.

What do the players get for playing a 0-level character?

The game usually starts players at 1st Level, as heroes ready to save the world. Starting out as 0-level will make the campaign longer, taking longer to reach 30th Level, gives the players less powers than if they had started normally. Not to mention that characters can die really easy as 0-level characters.

It is suggested that players willing to go through with the 0-level start should receive something a little extra upon reaching 1st Level. Fitting within the current guidelines of the character advancement table in the PHB, we will add to the 1st Level Ability Score section a +1 to all ability scores for reaching 1st Level.

Note: According to the PHB page 11, when you round down you must end up with a whole number. Now the smallest whole number you can have is 0. So the number that is half of 0-level is 0.

Creating a Character
You follow the same 9 steps listed in the PHB (page 14) when creating a 0-level character as you do when creating a 1st Level character. Though there are a few changes to the steps as listed below.

Character Creation Steps
1) When choosing your Race you gain all the abilities of that race. If an ability specifically states that the ability is gained at 1st Level then you will not get that racial ability until you reach 1st Level. For example; the half-elf’s Dilettante ability or the Human’s Bonus Feat ability.
2) When choosing your Class use the following Template to help figure your class traits;

3) Your ability scores are determined as normal or as you DM sees fit for his campaign.
4) You are only trained in skills listed in your Race (Eladrin Education) or predetermined skills for the Class you have chosen (Arcana for Wizards). You cannot choose training in any other class skills until you reach 1st Level.
5) Starting Characters only start with bonus feats given to them from their chosen Class. There is another Feat option listed in the Special 0-level Rules Section (see below) that can be taken if the player wishes.
6) 0-level characters start the game with one 1st level At-will power offered by their chosen Class. (Humans receive a second one).
7) Check with your DM to see how much starting money your character begins with to purchase equipment.
& 9) These two steps remain the same as described in the PHB.

Note: If you are playing with regional background bonuses you will receive this bonus at 0-level.

Character Advancement
Character Advancement works just like normal D&D except 0-level characters begin the game with -500 XP. When a 0-level character builds up his XP to 0, he advances to 1st Level.

0-level characters are not part of the Heroic Tier, they are part of the special Novice Tier. Mechanically the Novice Tier works as if it was the Heroic Tier when it comes to choosing feats and such. The separation is noted only for future reference incase I want to expand on these rules. (yes of course I have ideas filed away)

The Character Advancement Table from the PHB (page 29) is updated here:

Advancing to 1st Level
Once you become 1st Level you will gain the following:

• You now have access to your Classes Armor and Weapon Proficiencies.
• Your Classes Bonus to Defense will be as described for the class you have chosen.
• You will gain hit points as described under your Classes ‘Hit Points per Level Gained’.
• You are now able to choose training in Skills as described in the class you have chosen.
• Any Racial abilities that require you to be 1st Level are now accessible.
• You gain 1 Feat
• You gain one 1st level At-will attack power, one 1st level encounter attack power and one 1st level daily attack power.

 

Special 0-level Rules

1st Level At-will Powers: Any 0-level character with a 1st Level At-will power is able to use it while at 0-level.

Action Points: 0-level characters start with no action points. They can only gain action points by reaching a milestone. After taking an extended rest they lose any action points they haven’t spent and upon waking up, have 0 action points once again.

Second Wind: 0-level characters cannot perform the heroic Second Wind combat action. They must rely on other means to use their Healing Surges.

Fumbles: Since 0-level characters are not fully trained they are susceptible to the fumble rules detailed in the DMG page 189. Once they become 1st level they will no longer have this hindrance.

Rituals: Characters that have access to rituals at 1st level also have access to the rituals at 0-level. 0-level characters can cast 1st level rituals at twice the time it would take them to cast the spell at 1st level. Everything else, including the component cost, remains the same.

Cantrips: Characters with cantrips gain the use of all their cantrips at 0-level instead of 1st Level.

Retraining: While there is nothing different about retraining in the 0-level rules, I just wanted to indicate that it can be done at 1st Level.

Feat instead of At-will: The player has the option to choose a feat rather than choosing an at-will power from his class. If he takes this option he does not gain a new feat at 1st level, but instead gain two at-will powers at first level instead of one.

Class abilities that deal extra damage:
Some class abilities deal extra damage in certain situations, sneak attack for example. When a 0-level character uses these abilities, they are performed as if they were a 1st level character, but with the damage halved.

 

Running a 0-level adventure should be like running any other level adventure. There is no extra alignment charts to keep track of, no “testing” weapons and spells by counting the number of times a player uses them.

The main thing to remember when running 0-level characters is to avoid making it feel like a 1st level adventure. Players with 0-level characters want to feel as if there characters are learning the ropes, and while not quiet a hero yet, they want to slowly become heroes.

Some ideas for 0-level campaigns:

Apprenticeship: The characters are still learning their chosen profession. They have a mentor teaching them.

Adventure idea: The mentor sends the characters on a coming of the age quest, or the mentor is captured and needs the help of his students.

Peasants: The characters are farmers, herdsman, peasants who show great promise of making something of themselves.

Adventure idea: Their town/farm/sheep is under attack by some recently moved into the area monsters. With no real adventures around to help, these characters take to arming themselves and taking matters into their own hands.

Slaves: Born into slavery or peasants recently captured and turned into slaves. They usually start out with nothing.

Adventure idea: Either the characters escape their masters or are released; they must now fend for themselves.

Children: The characters are just reaching puberty and are now finding out what kind of trouble they can get themselves into.

Adventure idea: Finding themselves the target of a double-dog dare, the children leave their safe point of light and head into the darkness or a group of bandits came through their village killing all the adults, the adventurer children escape capture but now must figure out how to survive.

Finding Instructors: The characters are on the verge of becoming heroes but need to be trained.

Adventure idea: The entire 0-level portion of the campaign can be a hunt for someone skilled at the player’s class so that they can be trained into 1st Level.

Prisoners: The characters have or are spending years of time in a dungeon. They usually start out with nothing.

Adventure idea: The characters were framed for a crime they didn’t commit and now must escape and prove their innocence. Or maybe they did commit the crime but after escaping must live the life of an adventurer or face the consequences of their crime.

Actions the Rules Don’t Cover
The Actions the Rule Don’t Cover on page 42 of the DMG is very useful when dealing with things outside the printed rules, but it doesn’t include 0-level characters. Well here is the updated table for those actions.

0-level Monsters
Using the guidelines in the DMG page 174 you can turn a 1st Level monster into a 0-level monster by decreasing its level by one. You can also create your own 0-level monsters as described in the DMG page 184 (remember level equals 0 and zero times any number is zero.)

You can use the Normal Damage Expressions and Limited Damage Expressions tables above to determine damage dealt by the 0-level monster you’ve created.

Here is the XP values for the 0-level monsters you create.

Creating Encounters for 0-level parties:
For the most part you do things as normal. Here is a modified Target Encounter XP Total table from DMG page 57. It should help spending an XP budget for the encounter.

One more cool thing about 0-level encounters is that you can finally create easy encounters for your 1st level parties as well.

Treasure
1st Level characters begin the game with 100 gp to spend on equipment, weapons, and gear. They don’t start with any magical items or things of the sort. This puts a damper on handing out treasures for 0-level characters.

If we look at treasure in a slightly different way for 0-level characters, you can instead of having the players purchase their gear, use this unique opportunity to make the equipment, weapons, and gear BE the treasure the players find.

This means each 0-level character will have 100 gp worth of ‘treasure’ to acquire during their 0-level adventure.

For those partial to the parcel system here is the recommended parcels for one 0-level character.

The parcels listed above are total gold. You can break this up anyway you see fit. For example using parcel 6, the character gets a suit of chainmail armor (40 gp) and a short sword (10 gp) as gifts from his father before heading out on his adventuring life.

Additionally, you do not have to start players out with nothing. You can give them one of the parcels during character creation to purchase starting equipment. Of course this all depends on the DM and the starting 0-level campaign he has planed.

For each additional character you add one Parcel equal to 100 gp, so a group of 5 characters will have a total monetary treasure vale of 500 gp with 10 Parcels of treasure.

When coming up with ‘treasure’ for the 0-level characters, listen to what kind of characters the players want to play. Don’t give the rogue a suit of plate mail or the wizard a falchion. Wish lists are especially useful for 0-level characters.

Some DMs like to give out gifts or magical heirlooms to players before starting the game. This is of course outside the 100 gp Parcel system. 0-level games allow DMs to hand out these items during play without it feeling artificial.

Well here you go, my take on the 4e 0-level characters. Drop me a line if you like it, or even if you don’t. Suggestions are great as well. Attached is a PDF version of this blog for those who want to print out a copy of these homebrewed rules.

Thanks,
King Nate

Follow the link to see the thread in it’s entirety and read the discussion on it.

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Design Goals:

My goals in designing this system were as follows:

1. Create a system which is generic enough that it can be applied to just about any kind of business or market activity that PCs might want to engage in in a game. This means avoiding complicated rules about specific goods and services, and instead creating rules that can be applied to any good or service.

2. Make it so that all the choices in the system are fairly balanced, so for example, businesses mostly focused on sales won’t be systematically more profitable than businesses focused on crafting, or vice versa. While this can obviously be changed based on the needs of a particular scenario, we want to set up a starting “baseline” with no obviously superior choices, so that choices can be based on elements specific to the scenario.

3. The system should be a framework that it is easy to add elements onto, like “purchasable items” such as upgrades, special events like shortages of materials that affect prices, etc.

Overview:

In this system, there are three main categories of activities that players can engage in. They are:

Purchasing: Trying to purchase items, whether raw materials or finished products, and get the best price.

Production: Also known as “crafting” in some circles, this involves converting raw materials into finished products.

Sales: Selling your wares for money!

Damage – Add 1/2 level to damage rolls across the board to a single target per attack.  I had some initial thoughts about how to deal with blast, burst, single attacks that target one or more targets but aren’t AOE’s and in the end I think I’m going with this.  This applies to both PC and NPC  -

Damage: All powers that require an attack roll and deal damage gain a bonus damage of 1/2 level that is applied to the first target of the attack.
Special: The increased damage must apply to the closest target from either the center or starting square of  burst or blast attacks, when more than one target meets this requirement the character can choose which target to apply the extra damage.

Healing Surges – We need to re-balance healing so let’s start with the Surge mechanic.  This one is pretty simple really and there’s a direct counterbalance to the increase damage.

Healing Surges – When you spend a healing surge, regain 1/2 your level + 25% of your normal max hit points in hit points.

Wizard Problem: Wizards feel… lite.  They certainly don’t feel very controllery.  Hell the cleric with its Guardian of Flame is more controller than wizards and fighters are WAY more controller than wizards are.  Wizards primary ‘controller’  function seems to be killing minions, which if you don’t have many minions in a combat  isn’t that great a function.  Single target damage is subpar, AOE damage is subpar with smart targets which I typically do because bunching up is almost ALWAYS a bad idea and anyone who survives to adulthood will probably know that.  They don’t feel very controllery either in the much more accepted use of the term as applicable to online gaming.

Answers (more like things to think about) –

Bump Magic Missile to use d6′s not d4′s.  The d4′s feel like a holdover from the g.o.d. (good ol’ days) to keep it feeling like magic missile and frankly I just don’t like d4′s with their pointy little ass shape.  It also doesn’t increase in power till level 21?  WTF? That makes it less and less useful for 20 levels?!  An average of 5 + Int against a level 19 monster is a little… well you get the idea.  Also as a controller while every power doesn’t need mass controlling abilities I think a force based attack might have a little bit of impact to it.

Magic Missile (KOC Rewrite) –

Magic Missile
At-Will * Arcane, Force, Implement
Standard Action        Ranged 20
Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6+Intelligence modifier force damage; target of size medium or lower is pushed 1 square (save avoids). Increase damage to 3d6+Intelligence modifier at 11th level. Increase damage to 4d6+Intelligence modifier at 21st level.
Special: This power counts as a ranged basic attack.  When a power allows you to make a ranged basic attack, you can use this power.

Scorching Burst – Let’s make it more of a controlling spell rather than simply a minion killer. Have it create a 1 square  zone at center square that burns for a full round.  That lets the wizard keep a square of fire up as kind of minor wall of fire with really weak damage to damage creatures or more importantly force them to go around it or shift out of the way.

Scorching Burst (KOC Rewrite) –

Scorching Burst
At-Will * Arcane, Fire, Implement
Standard Action   Area burst 1 within 10 squares
Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6+Intelligence modifier fire damage.
Increase damage to 2d6+Intelligence modifier at 21st level.
Special: Creates a 1 square zone at the center of the blast that lasts till the end of the wizard’s next turn.  Any creature passing through or ending its turn in this zone takes fire damage equal to the wizard’s Intelligence modifier.
Increase zone damage to Intellgence modifier x 2 at 21st level.

Cloud of Daggers (KOC rewrite) – Add a sustain on it.  This would let the wizard have up to 3 of these up but at that point they’re not able to do anthing else.  If they ‘juggle’ the CoD’s they can then constantly keep bad guys moving around, forcing shifts which opens up OA’s and the like and makes them much more controllery than before.

Cloud of Daggers
At-Will * Arcane, Force, Implement
Standard Action    Area 1 square within 10 squares
Target: Each creature in square
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6+Intelligence modifier force damage
Increase damage to 2d6+Intelligence modifier at 21st level.
Effect: The power’s area is filled with sharp daggers of force. Any creature that enters the area or starts its turn there takes force damage equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).  The cloud remains in place until the end of your next turn (see special).  You can dispell it as a minor action.
Special: You can sustain the Effect as a minor action.

The whole purpose of these changes is to make the wizard more about control, if not the actual creatures at least their avenues of approach and direction of attack.  While yes there’s now some overlap with Scorching Burst and Cloud of Daggers,the fact that you can now sustain Cloud of Daggers with a minor makes it a different power niche IMO.  And to be honest Laura (Darta) doesn’t have CoD so it’s a moot point, I’m just adding it here for completeness.

Dailies – Allow the Wizard their normal uses per day but instead of memorizing from their selection set they get to choose at any time.  While the ‘have to memorize per day’ is yet another nod to the g.o.d. as a DM I’m just not really liking the flavor of it.  It requires way too much guess work and when you guess right then it’s just an “oh okay” feel but when you guess wrong it’s a “well fuck” feel and as a result not fun.

Word Spells (KOC rewrite) - To further add some re-balance to the adding +1/2 level to damage I’m going to change Healing Word and Inspiring Word (and any other word as such) and I’m making them Immediate Reactions – Triggered by damage, that I hope helps re-balances them versus the amount of damage that the players may be incurring from the 1/2 level bonus on the monster attacks.  I’m also boosting the number of them over the life of the character.  I may change the boost to 3 times per encounter though and reduce the need for healing potions as  a means to keep fighting and help remove a gold sink.

The reason I’m making them Immediate Reaction is the minor cost is really pretty pointless, how often does a healer not have a minor action to burn?  The immediate reaction is to allow them to more quickly get a ally back on their feet when needed.  Laying on the ground unable to do anything waiting for the healer’s turn is not fun and not fun is something we’re trying to avoid.

Healing Word
Encounter(Special) * Divine, Healing
Special: You can use this power two times per encounter, but only once per round.  At 11th level you can use this power three times per encounter, at 21st level you can use this power four times per encounter. 
Immediate Reaction Close Burst 5 (10 at 11th level, 15 at 21st level)
Trigger: When you or an ally is wounded.
Target: You or one ally
Effect: The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6+your Wisdom modifier hit points.
Increase the amount of additional hitpoints regained to 2d6at 6th level, 3d6l at 11th level, 4d6 at 16th level, 5d6 at 21st level, 6d6 at 26th level.  In addition the target will regain additional hit points equal to the cleric’s Wisdom score from Healer’s Lore.

Inspiring Word
Encounter(Special) * Martial, Healing
Special: You can use this power two times per encounter, but only once per round.  At 11th level you can use this power three times per encounter, at 21st level you can use this power four times per encounter.
Immediate Reaction Close Burst 5 (10 at 11th level, 15 at 21st level)
Trigger: When you or an ally is wounded.
Target: You or one ally
Effect: The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit points.
Increase the amount of additional hitpoints regained to 2d6at 6th level, 3d6l at 11th level, 4d6 at 16th level, 5d6 at 21st level, 6d6 at 26th level.

Lay on Hands
At-Will(Special) * Divine, Healing
Special: You can use this power a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1) but only once per round. 
Immediate Reaction Melee touch
Trigger: When you or an ally is wounded.
Target: One creature
Effect: You spend a healing surge but regain no hit points.  Instead the target regains hit points as if it had spent a healing surge+your Charisma modifier.  You must have at least one healing surge remaining to use this power.  You may use this power on yourself.

Paladin Marking (KoC Rewrite)- A simpler mechanic that incorporates the 1/2 level rule  Now the paladin merely challenges one target and as long as he doesn’t attack another target that target is marked and stays marked.  If the target attacks something else it takes damage from the paladin’s holy might.  Seems simpler by far than the original to me and scales better.

Divine Challenge
At-Will * Divine, Radiant
Minor Action      Close burst 5
Target: One creature in burst
Effect: You Mark the target.  The target remains marked until you use this power again or you attack another target. This mark overwrites other marking effects.
While the target is marked it suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls for any attack that does not include you as a target.  Also it takes radiant damage (minimum 1) equal to 1/2 your level + your Charisma modifier the first time it makes an attack that does not include you as a target. 
Special: This ability is based on a magical compulsion and does not require the target to have intelligence or an ability to understand your actions or words.

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People are still catching on that these two powers aren’t all they can be.  (Personally for now I’ve been making them +3 to hit rather than +2 just to make them semi-attractive but I think even at +4 they’re iffy).

I just saw a post that rather than making other changes, leave them as is and have them be +2 vs Reflex rather than the +2 vs. AC.  Now this in reality simply raises the bonus like I’ve done since Reflex typically always lags AC in targets.  But it has the subtle effect of given the players a choice of defenses.

Some folks say that this as a result steps on the toes of the rogue and in a fashion it does.  But honestly folks it’s not a competition…

So I think I’m going to modify my power card sets to do the +2 vs. Reflex.  It’s not so much to make it better than I had it but to further involve the players.  “I study the ogre, he looks slow, how slow though is he?”  Players makes a monster lore check to try and get an idea of the differences between defenses.

Involvement is never a bad thing.

So, the below at least gives them a chance to possibly take out a sentry without a sound.  The intent of course is to allow the ranger/warlock to snipe the sentry or the rogue to stealth up behind it and gank it. It only works for a single attack and never if the target is on alert much less in combat.  So I don’t think it’s going to be horribly exploitable and provides some incentive I think to try for the sneak attack.  We’ll see how it goes.

And yes I know you could just make all sentries Minions but that’s not necessarily the way I want this particular encounter to go, most of the minions will come in waves after the fight starts.

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Total Surprise – In the event that a character takes another character by complete surprise i.e. the target is unaware there is any danger,  then the first attack against it (includes attacks that have multiple attacks per power) automatically does critical damage on a successful hit. Â  In addition the target is stunned (save avoids). Â  If the target takes its bloodied value or more damage from the total surprise attack it suffers a -5 penalty to the save to avoid being stunned.

Combat speed –

+2 to hit for everyone. Easy simple way to speed combats up by 10% for everyone, reduces annoyance when encounters and dailies miss by 10%, etc. It also has a more subtle effect that it reduces the ‘value’ of high stats in a marginal way.  It seems like an easy way to add to the player and DM enjoyment (missing sucks) without drastically affecting the game. Â  It does mean on average the players will take more damage per round so healing becomes more of a concern.

Character Class/Race-

Racial stat bonus change. Non-Human races get +2 to any stat, +1 to a racial stat. (Based on) Humans get +2 to any stat and +1 to any stat, these cannot be used on the same stat.

Class powers. Paladins get the option of Divine Challenge or Sacred Warding.

Character backgrounds.  The players have the option to pick a general background and they then have knowledge of that background which can provide bonuses to skill checks.  i.e. a player can pick tanner and as a result have knowledge of animals, hides, certain chemicals etc.

Game Mechanics –

Exploding Dice for skill checks. Summation, roll 3d6 untrained, 4d6 trained, 5d6 trained+skill focus for a skill check.  Every time a six is rolled add 1d6 to the total.  DC’s run from 10 to 30 ignoring 1/2 per level as a pointless mechanic. Yes it means that barring stat mod increase or adding feats that a character’s skills don’t ‘grow’ but I’m good with that since the existing ‘growth’ mechanic is purely pretend, ignore the man behind the curtain.

Heroic Recovery.  Once per encounter a player may attempt to recover an Encounter power.  The attempt consumes two healing surges and requires a Fortitude vs DC 15 to succeed.  Upon success one encounter power is refreshed and able to be used again.  Upon failure the healing surges are lost and the player may not attempt to recover that power until an extended rest.

Extended Rests.  The party must have achieved at least one milestone before extended rests provide recovery of powers.  A milestone is determined as having had two non-trivial encounters.

Mooks.  A filler between Minions and Standards the Mook when it takes damage makes a standard saving throw.  If it fails the saving throw it dies.  If it succeeds it’s bloodied and upon taking any further damage of any kind it dies.

To sum up, use xd6 to do skill checks. Â  If you roll a six add another d6 to the total. Â  Keep doing this till you stop rolling six’s. Â  Base is 3d6 for untrained, 4d6 for trained, 5d6 for trained + skill focus.  This makes skill focus a better choice actually in my opinion than it was prior.  It adds considerably more than the +10% that it adds under the existing rules.

Rather than compute a formula, that kind of statistics is beyond me, I just computed 100,000,000 skill check rolls using this system with a base of 3d6 through 6d6 (maybe the DM gave a bonus d6 for pastry tribute or something). The average roll for each is 12.6, 16.8, 20.99, 25.20. The highest rolls for each set run from around 60 to around 80. Even with such a large sampling the high rolls varied by several points per run as long runs of sixs are erratic if you roll 300-500 million of them.

I just knocked up a quick javascript to do it, it’s simple enough it worked on the second time. Any programmers out there know what I mean by that.

I computed the odds of DC’s between 5 and 25 inclusive for the untrained, trained, trained+skill focused:

Untrained aka 3d6:
DC 5 success rate 98%
DC 8 success rate 83%
DC 10 success rate 66%
DC 12 success rate 49%
DC 15 success rate 30%
DC 18 success rate 16%
DC 20 success rate 11%
DC 22 success rate 6%
DC 25 success rate 3%

Trained aka 4d6
DC 5 success rate 99%
DC 8 success rate 97%
DC 10 success rate 90%
DC 12 success rate 78%
DC 15 success rate 57%
DC 18 success rate 38%
DC 20 success rate 28%
DC 22 success rate 17%
DC 25 success rate 12%

Trained + Skill Focus aka 5d6
DC 5 success rate 100%
DC 8 success rate 99%
DC 10 success rate 98%
DC 12 success rate 94%
DC 15 success rate 81%
DC 18 success rate 63%
DC 20 success rate 52%
DC 22 success rate 36%
DC 25 success rate 27%

Perhaps a simple rule of thumb would be DC 10 if you want the majority of the time for the skill to succeed. Add 5 if you want to make it primarily trained characters to succeed. Add another 5 if you want really want it made only by supremely trained characters.

The above though does NOT count any attribute bonuses.

If we assume an average of +2 to any skill check the numbers for the untrained change as shown below.

3d6 + 2 from attribute modifier
DC 5 success rate 100%
DC 8 success rate 95%
DC 10 success rate 83%
DC 12 success rate 66%
DC 15 success rate 42%
DC 18 success rate 25%
DC 20 success rate 17%
DC 22 success rate 9%
DC 25 success rate 6%

If it’s a skill that’s a primary stat for the character and they get a +4 then you have the below and a DC 10 is almost guaranteed for even the untrained character.

3d6+4 from stat mod
DC 5 success rate 100%
DC 8 success rate 99%
DC 10 success rate 95%
DC 12 success rate 83%
DC 15 success rate 57%
DC 18 success rate 35%
DC 20 success rate 25%
DC 22 success rate 13%
DC 25 success rate 9%

5d6+4 from stat mod
DC 5 success rate 100%
DC 8 success rate 100%
DC 10 success rate 99%
DC 12 success rate 99%
DC 15 success rate 96%
DC 18 success rate 86%
DC 20 success rate 76%
DC 22 success rate 58%
DC 25 success rate 46%

So as a more possibly accurate formula this might work out:

DC 10
Add 0 to 4 for stat bonuses.
Add 2 per tier over heroic.
Add 5 if you want trained characters to shine.
Add 5 if you want suprememly trained characters to shine.

So we end up with DC’s between 10 and 28 (let’s say 25 since I only computed dc 25). Again we toss out the 1/2 skill level since as a rough rule DC’s go up by 1/2 level so again it’s a wash and makes no difference.

At the low end even an untrained without a stat bonus is going to succeed 2/3rds of the time and at the high end the same character still has a 3% of success.

And with training, excess training for some and stat bonuses a character is going to make even that hard check at DC25 almost half the time.

Anyway, I like the rule, going to house rule it in definitely because I disliked the ‘sorry, you’re one point short of being able to possible do this.’ factor of the existing skill chance. It’s always possible someone could get lucky or have a brain blast or ‘play above their abilities’. We all know the feeling of ‘being in the zone’ sometimes and doing things we couldn’t ever do again. I once one night while trying to impress a girl back in my misspent youth, sank 108 balls straight on a pool table. That’s a real pool table, not wii pool. A feat I’ve never even remotely come close to doing before or since. To put it in these terms my dice exploded and I rolled six after six. Under the standard DnD skill system I could never have done that.

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Original concept, idea, thought etc. all credited to Stalker0 who’s idea I liked so much I had to make use it even if in the end I didn’t quite like the original workings of it.

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Paladin Class Features:

Choose either Sacred Warding or Divine Challenge as one of your class features.

Sacred Warding
Let my faith be your armour friend and you won’t be disappointed.
At-Will * Divine, Radiant
Minor Action                         Close Burst 5
Target: One ally in burst
Effect: You mark the target. The target remains marked until you use this power on another target or the target is subject to a successful attack. The creature can only be subject to one mark at a time. A new mark supersedes a mark that was already in place.
While the target is marked, attack rolls against that target suffer a -2 penalty. The first attack that damages the target removes the mark and the attacker suffers radiant damage of 3 + your charisma modifier. The damage increases to 6 + your charisma modifier at 11th and 9 + your charisma modifier at 21st level.

The original thread is here for further discussion.  I also like the mention of a possible option, you can’t mark a marking creature.  Helps prevent auto damage and the like from say two paladins marking each other to get essentially a free damage.  But definitely worthy of further consideration IMO.

New Paladin Mark: Sacred Ward

The biggest issue I guess I have is if you choose to be a dwarf wizard then you can never ever be as good as a Eladrin wizard.  While as a general rule that might be fine.  But as a specific rule I think a player’s dwarf wizard should have every bit as much potential.

Pigeon holes are a bad thing and just lead to restrictions and twinking/min-maxing.  I’d rather players choose to play a Eladrin or a Tiefling because they want to, not because it makes the best numeric choice for the wizard they also want to play.

And to be honest I’d like to reduce the emphasis on stats.  Anyone remember 1st edition where stats were kind of pointless unless you had them really high or low?

Racial Bonii:

• Dragonborne – +2 Str, +2 Cha
• Dwarf – +2 Con, +2 Wis
• Eladrin – +2 Dex, +2 Int
• Elf – +2 Dex, +2 Wis
• Gnoll – +2 Con, +2 Dex (non core)
• Half Elf – +2 Con, +2 Cha
• Halfling – +2 Dex, +2 Cha
• Human – +2 any
• Minotaur – +2 Str, +2 Con (non core)
• Tiefling – +2 Int, +2 Cha

• CHA bonuses – 4  (Can we say dump stat?)
• Str bonuses – 1(2)  (only one race with a bonus to strength?)
• Int bonuses – 2
• Wis bonuses – 2
• Dex bonuses – 3(4)
• Con bonuses – 2(4)

Well what to do about it you ask?  Good question to which I only have thoughts. The most obvious is turn all the races into +2 any x 2. Â  So you pick the race primarily to be that race and secondarily because of the racial power(s). Â  Or if you’re a munchkin then the opposite.  But you don’t pick it to get that +2 Wis.

But letting the players add +2 to any two stats is a bit powergamey, perhaps more than a bit.  Honestly though they get to add +2 to any stat of their choice right now just by picking race so it’s really that second stat bonus that’s causing some issues for me.

So I think perhaps as a test I might go with as an option,+2 to any one stat and a +1 to any stat that the race is genetically inclined toward. Â  So you could be a Dwarf with a +2 str and a +1 con. Â  Or a halfling with a +2 int and a +1 cha.

I’m sure my players would go for it, hell they almost always play humans anyway, but this would make the choices a little less attractive in the ‘this is the best race for the class” and more attractive to play simply because you want to be a half-orc.

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From the original thread here.

My take on the lizzies (I’m using Flash_Plasma’s racial traits as base)

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Another Lizardfolk (I loved those in 3.5)

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Lizardfolk feats

Heroic racial feats

STRONG TAIL
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk, Tail Slap power
Benefit: If you hit with your Tail Slap power, you can push the target 1 square.

ANKLEBITER
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk, small size
Benefit: Against large or larger creatures, you gain a +1 racial bonus on damage rolls.

CLAMPING JAWS
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk
Benefit: If you successfully grab a target, or sustain a grab (normally a minor action) against your target, you deal damage equal to either your Str or Dex Mod to your target.

MARSH STALKER
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk, Swamp Walk racial feature.
Benefit: You gain the benefit of concealment in difficult terrain related to your Swamp Walk racial feature.

REACTIVE SKIN
Prerequisite: Poison Dusk Lizardfolk
Benefit: When adjacent to a wall, you gain a +4 racial bonus to stealth checks.

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Paragon racial feats

GREENSCALE WARRIOR
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk, Tail Slap power
Benefit: Your Tail Slap power gains the Reliable keyword.

CLINGING POISON
Prerequisite: Lizardfolk, Poison Spittle power
Benefit: If a target is dealt extra damage from your Poison Spittle power, it also suffers ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).

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Channel Divinity feats

MARSH MYSTIC INITIATE
Prerequisite: Channel Divinity class feature, aquatic subtype or Swamp Walk racial feature.
Benefit: You can invoke the power of the marsh to use Swamp’s Grasp

POISON SHAMAN
Prerequisite: Channel Divinity class feature.
Benefit: You can invoke the power of nature to use Bog Cloud

Some parts of it I don’t care for but I don’t have any rules for firearms and every now and again I feel a little steampunky. Â  The obscuring of the squares around the shooter being obscured for instance.  While it’s a little realistic I suppose it’ll I feel just more exploited than anything else, to get rogues stealth or to hide behind, that kind of thing.  So I’d yoink that first off.

The more modern weapons, probably not so much.  Breech loaders and muskets fit but a machine gun, not so much.

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Firearms for D&D 4

Anyway, here you go, this is certainly a different take on it with the it’s an amorphous blob of energy or lifeforce or whatever rather than an actual black cat or snowy owl.

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Ritual of Binding
Level: 1
Category: Binding
Time: 1 hour
Duration: Permanent
Component Cost: 100gp
Market Price: 150gp
Key Skill: Arcana (no check)
This ritual calls a familiar, which is a magical being of arcane
origin with no true physical form, to the target of the ritual
and binds it to them. It usually takes the form of an animal of
some type that reflects the caster’s personality. However, it
can assume any shape of a natural animal of tiny size, at-will.
Regardless of form there is always some signifying mark that
makes it stand-out from other animals of its type and is unique
to it. The master also gains this mark on some part of their
body.
From that moment on, the familiar and caster share a hit point
total. Therefore, whatever damage one takes, they both take.
When together (sharing the same square), they are considered one
entity for the purpose of taking damage, and so do not suffer
double damage from an attack that would hit both of them at the
same time.
Whenever the familiar is targeted, use the caster’s defences. If
the familiar is required to attack, it does so at the expense of
the caster’s attack. The connection between the two is so
fundamental that the strain of combat forces one to be active
and the other to be passive.
The familiar has a +3 to hit with natural weapons in addition to
the normal level bonus and does 1d4 damage plus 1 damage every
two levels.
The familiar only acts as a separate entity when the master
wills it. There is no distance penalty for separation, however
if the familiar is destroyed, then the master is reduced to 0
health and must make death saves as normal or be stabilised.
At this point, the master loses all benefits associated with the
familiar, including any feats gained. They lose all healing
surges and regain them at the rate of one per day. After this,
they may gain another familiar through performing this ritual
again, at which time all benefits, including feats previously
gained, return.
The familiar can fly (hover) with a speed of 6 as long as it
assumes a form that can fly. It has the same type of vision as
the caster and uses the caster’s skills as its own, therefore if
the caster can Stealth, so can the familiar.
The familiar and caster share an empathic link. Only images,
sounds and feelings can be conveyed. There is no range limit on
this ability. The familiar can speak all tongues the master
knows.
It has the same Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom &
Charisma as the master, however it has a Strength of 3. It
shares many personality traits with its master, especially
dominant traits, however it is its own entity for the purposes
of personality. Despite this, the master can command it to do
what he wishes.
Multi-class Familiar
If an owner of a familiar wishes, they can enhance the
connection between themselves and their familiar by taking
feats.
This works almost exactly like the multi-classing rules. The
only difference is that the powers are chosen for you and you
have the option to upgrade them as you go up in level.
Whenever a level is gained where you have the choice to replace
a power, you can instead upgrade one of your familiar feats.
Each feat lists the benefit of upgrading and these benefits
stack with each other.
Familiar Attunement Heroic Feat
[Multiclass Familiar]
Prerequisite: Familiar, Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma 13.
Benefit: You gain a +1 to Perception and Stealth.
In addition to this, you can use your familiar to do the
following:
Sensory Attunement Familiar At-will Power 1
You attune your senses to that of the familiar’s, enabling you
to see, hear, smell, taste and touch everything the familiar
sees, hears, smells, tastes and touches.
At-will • Arcane
Standard Action Ranged 20
Effect: until the end of your next turn, you can command the
familiar to move to any square within range. Forgoing your own
sensory input (making you unable to see, hear, smell, taste or
touch through your own senses), you attune yourself to your
familiar. You do not need line of sight for this ability to
work.
Sustain Minor: you can sustain this power for up to one hour per
level with a minor action every round.
Upgrade: Add +1 to Perception and Stealth. Increase the range of
Sensory Attunement by 5.
Enhance Familiar I Heroic Feat
[Multiclass Familiar]
Prerequisite: Familiar Attunement, 4th-level.
Benefit: You gain a +3 hit points (does not stack with
Toughness).
In addition to this, replace your 3rd-level encounter power with
the following ability:
Sacrifice Familiar Familiar Encounter Attack 1
By merging its soul with your own the familiar can sacrifice its
physical form, protecting you from harm.
Encounter • Arcane
Immediate Interrupt Melee or Ranged special
Trigger: You are attacked by a creature.
Target: the attacking creature.
Attack: Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma vs. Reflex.
Hit: 1d8+Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma force damage and you
get to use your Second Wind ability after the target’s attack
has been resolved.
Special: the familiar cannot be used for the remainder of the
combat and reforms after a short rest. The familiar must be
within a range determined by the Sensory Attunement power for
this power to function.
Upgrade: Add +2 hit points (does not stack with Toughness). Add
+1 to hit with this power. Gain an extra 1d6 to the amount
healed by using Second Wind as a result of this power.
Enhance Familiar II Heroic Feat
[Multiclass Familiar]
Prerequisite: Familiar Attunement, 8th-level.
Benefit: Add +1 to damage when using this ability.
In addition to this, replace your 6th-level utility power with
the following ability:
Spell Conduit Familiar Utility Power 1
Any spell that you can cast can be cast as if from the
familiar’s location instead of your own.
Daily • Arcane
Minor Action Ranged special
Effect: cast a spell as if the point of origin is your familiar.
You must still have line of sight to the target unless also
using Sensory Attunement, in which case line of sight is
determined from the familiar’s position.
Special: the range at which the familiar can be away from the
master for this ability to still work is equal to the range of
Sensory Attunement.
Upgrade: Add +1 to damage when using this power and becomes an
encounter power. Each successive replacement ability used to
upgrade this power adds +1 to damage with this power and another
use per encounter.
Enhance Familiar III Heroic Feat
[Multiclass Familiar]
Prerequisite: Familiar Attunement, 10th-level.
Benefit: Add +1 to hit when using this power.
In addition to this, replace your 9th-level attack power with
the following ability:
Simulacrum Familiar Daily Attack 1
You divide your essence into two halves and imbue your familiar
with the other half, empowering it for a short period and making
it look exactly like you.
Daily • Arcane
Move Action Ranged special
Target: special
Attack: special
Hit: special
Effect: choose a square within range. The familiar moves to that
square and becomes an exact duplicate of you. You can then use
any power or ability you wish and both forms will produce the
same effect, targeted at the same area, using separate attack
and damage rolls (based on your own attack and damage
modifiers). You can flank an opponent using this power. Once the
power has been used, you can choose which square to ‘reform’ in,
either your own or the familiar’s.
Special: the range at which the familiar can be away from the
master for this ability to still work is equal to the range of
Sensory Attunement.
Upgrade: For each successive replacement ability used to upgrade
this feat, add +1 to hit and damage when using this power

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A Simple Algorithm for Generating DCs

As has become something of a habit for me lately, I wrote an adventure on the plane ride home from GenCon. Lately, it’s rare that I have 3 to 4 consecutive hours to do anything other than (sometimes) sleep.

I’m a big believer that laziness is the mother of insight. Many folk see a tendency toward sloth as a bad thing, but if not for sloth, we’d still be living in caves, hunting brontosauruses, and hiding from thunderstorms. It’s the human capacity for laziness that drives us to make short term sacrifices (inventing science was no easy feat) for long term pay offs (computers for everyone!).

Thus, I found myself writing an adventure while wedged into seat 24D with a pencil box, a notebook, and two Forgotten Realms sourcebooks (the new 4e one and the DM’s book from the old gray box). I had put my D&D books into my luggage because, frankly, I didn’t want to carry them around.

The monsters were pretty easy to generate for the adventure – I either remembered their levels, or I built them from scratch (the formulas are easy peasy to memorize, and again my commitment to laziness pays off – I don’t need to carry the DMG).

However, I was a little annoyed when working on traps, terrain features, and just general stuff that needed DCs. I couldn’t remember the DC progression. I puzzled over it for a few minutes, then realized that my laziness had saved me once again. In an insight so obvious that I feel like punching myself, here’s Dr. Mearls’ Patented, Super Easy, Instant DC Generator:

1. Start with 10.
2. Add half the trap, encounter, or challenge’s level.
3. Do you want only people trained in the skill to have a shot at success? If so, add 5.
4. Think of the stat a PC would need to have a 55% chance of success, assuming the PC is trained if you want only trained guys to have a chance of success. Add that stat’s modifier.

Voila! Instant DC.

Here’s an example:
In a dungeon aimed at 6th level PCs, there’s a locked door. It’s a really good lock, so only a rogue or someone trained in Thievery has a chance to open it, but someone who is trained doesn’t need much natural talent to open it.

So:
10
+ 3 (half of level 6)
+ 5 (assume training)
+ 1 (a Dex 13 character who is trained should be able to handle this one)

Is a total DC of 19. Voila! An untrained character with a good Dex still has a 30% chance to open the lock.

If you know the PCs’ stats, you can achieve a fine control of the DC by using the process above, plugging in the PC’s stat mod, then adding 1 to the DC for every 5% you want to drop the success chance.

The nice thing about this method is that it pushes you to think of what the PCs can do, and it’s simple enough (IMO) that you can use it on the fly.

OK, back to taking care of all the chores that have piled up since I’ve been away. I’ll talk about GenCon later this week.

Posted by Mike Mearls

Ever wondered why there aren’t more halfbreeds in typical Dungeons and Dragons?  You got your half-elf and your half-orc.  What about half halfling or half-gnome or… well you get the picture.

I suppose it’s because humans are so… virile?  Fecund?  Universal? that they get to knock boots with pretty much anything and either impregnate it or get impregnated by it.  Which makes little sense to be honest but hey it’s a land where dragons can fly and etc.  Who are we to argue over a little bit of biology?

To this end there’s the new Mul aka Half-Human and Half-Dwarf…

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Mül (Half-Dwarf)

Tough as a dwarf, and as stubborn as a human

RACIAL TRAITS
Average Height: 5’6″-6″2″
Average Weight: 160 – 230 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Normal

Languages: Common, Dwarven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Endurance, +2 Athletics
Dual Heritage: You can take feats that have either dwarf or human as a prerequisite (as well as those specifically for müls,) as long as you meet any other requirements.
Indomitable Defense: When you use your second wind, you gain an additional +2 bonus to all defenses until the start of your next turn.
Sterner Stuff: You gain a +5 racial bonus on saving throws against ongoing damage
Defiant Even Unto Death:You can use the Defiant Unto Death Encounter Power.

Defiant Even Unto Death Mül Racial Power
Your mixed heritage makes you tougher than either of your parents.
Encounter
Immediate Interrupt Personal
Effect: When you fail a death save, reroll that save. You are forced to take the second roll, even if it’s lower.

Very rarely do dwarves and humans mate. When they do, the couples are more often than not biologically incompatible to bear offspring. In the unlikely event that the parents are capable of produce a child the result, regardless of parentage, is always a mül.

Born to mixed couples they are often the subject of prejudice in both their native societies. Due to their inability to bear children many find solace in religious sects or in leadership positions where they can be a figurative father or mother. Their hardy physique makes them very capable fighters and warlords. Fortunately their natural toughness makes them apt candidates for adventuring.

Play a mül if you want . . .

• to be able to shrug off ruining pain, survive in the most unforgiving environments and stand firm against waves of enemies.
• to show a world its not who you were born to but what you do that determines your greatness.
• to be a member of a race that favors the fighter, warlord and cleric class.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES
Müls are as slightly shorter than their human parents and typically not as broad as their dwarven parents. They are born hairless and only grow eyebrows and eyelashes, along with nose & ear hair, within a few weeks of being born. That is all the hair they will ever grow. Skin tones and eye color run the typical gamut of human and dwarf norms.
Many villages frown upon the birth of a mül child as they are all sterile or barren and cannot produce offspring to help sustain a community. Thus, many are led to live violent and arduous lives of the second-class citizenry. Most of the relatively few müls to exist become warriors.
There is no commonality to mül society. One might say there isn’t one since there are so few of them in the world. On the off chance that two of these beings should ever meet they’re just as likely to rejoice in commonality as to manifest an instant dislike for the other because of what they represent, an outcast in a cruel and unfair world.
Müls don’t live any longer than their human parents but like their dwarven parents manage to stave off the effects of old-age right up until the last few months of life.

PLAYING A MüL
Inheriting the best parts of their mixed parentage müls are ideally suited to live the life of an adventurer. They typically see the world from the perspective of a victim as they are usually treated unfairly by a world that doesn’t want them. That is not to say that they are all anti-social misanthropes but most members of the mül race are at least cautious when first introduced to new people.
One trait that is universally shared by all müls is their almost iron built bodies. They are able to endure beyond the limits of any other humanoid race. They can perform grueling, intense labor for days at a time without rest, food and with very little water. This, unfortunately, makes them especially attractive to slavers and more than a few of these rare breed beings have been captured and sold into unwilling servitude.

Mül Characteristics: Angry,cautious, defiant, hard-nosed, lonely, uncouth

MÇ•L ADVENTURERS
Three sample mül adventurers are described below.
Rikus was born into slavery but his spirit was always free. Pitted to face horrible creatures for the amusement of a cruel king for most of his life he was at last able to secure his freedom when he helped over throw the corrupt monarch and slavery was outlawed. Now, Rikus uses his sword to lead mighty legions against slave owning nations in a bloody crusade to end slavery across the land. Negotiations, after all, are for more civilized races.
Ezekiel was abandoned at birth on the doorstep of a church dedicated to Moradin. He was raised as a ward of the church and trained in the holy texts of the creation god. Now a grown man, Ezekiel has begun a pilgrimage to preach the word of Moradin and do good deeds in his name. He ultimately hopes to create a great cathedral to his patron god and fill it with his converted followers. They will be his children and he their father.
Tulg was raised by the cruel world that rejected him. The streets were his home and from them he learned self-reliance, pride in himself and that the strong must do whatever it takes to survive; even take from the weak. Tulg resents his life and wonders what it would be like to live the charmed life of a noble. Perhaps when he accumulates enough wealth he will find out.

Racial Feats:

ARENA BRED
Heroic Tier
Prerequisite: Mül, Martial Class
Benefit: You gain proficiency with the Whip, the Bola, or the Net, and gain a +2 feat bonus to damage with your choice.

STUBBORN AS A MÃœL
Heroic Tier
Prerequisite: Mül, Defiant Even Unto Death racial power
Benefit: When you use your Defiant Even Unto Death power, you gain a +2 racial bonus to the reroll. In addition, any time you spend a healing surge because you rolled 20 or higher on a death saving throw, you gain a number of additional hp equal to your constitution score.

FireLance wrote:

I think someone once suggested using the disease track for tracking how drunk the characters get. Off the top of my head:

1. Each time a character takes a drink, he makes an Endurance check. The DC of the check depends on the potency of the drink, as set by the DM. Regular beer should probably be around DC 10 or so.

2. Each time a character fails an Endurance check, he moves one step down on the following track:

Normal ->
Inebriated (-2 to attack rolls, check rolls) ->
Woozy (slowed and -4 to attack rolls, check rolls) ->
Drunk (dazed, slowed and -6 to attack rolls, check rolls) ->
Passed Out (unconscious)

3. Once per day, a character may spend a healing surge and move one step up the track instead of recovering hit points.

4. The character recovers fully after an extended rest. Alternate hangover rule: a character who was Drunk or Passed Out takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks until he takes another extended rest. A character may spend a healing surge and remove this penalty instead of recovering hit points.

Original Thread

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Essentially (and the explanation is repeated below) you roll X dice to make a check.  If any die shows it’s maximum number you get to keep that number and reroll it and add the new roll to your total although I prefer simply letting the player have another die to roll so they’re all on the table when it’s time to do the counting.  This lets a player have a chance, admittedly slight sometimes of beating ANY DC roll if he gets enough exploding dice.  It’s a system that allows for some memorable checks like a puny mage chained to the wall of a slave galley breaking his chains on a strength check while the raging barbarian next to him can’t budge them.

Anyway it’s worthy of consideration I think.

Skills Get Sea’d

Frankly I like the concept enough I plan on using it the next time we roll characters up.  I’ll probably tweak it to some extent but I’m liking what I see here.

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Character Creation (4th edition)

The 4ed ruleset matches ADMC vision better than 3ed did, the only mandatory change is to make all player characters human. For this reason races are replaced with aptitudes. All other rules are used (at this moment) as written.

Aptitudes

Sets of human innate characteristics that correspond in game terms to fantasy races. The characters all look human and can be part of any of the myriad human cultures, only their spiritual or physical qualities set them apart. No more monocultural “races” that act like humans in funny costumes!

Brave

Courageous and determined character. Throws himself with abandon even to impossible seeming challenges, and will not willingly back off from the chosen path. The bravery could stem from irrational berserk fury, blind faith to higher powers, pure stubbornness, or tragic fatalism.

Disciplined

Character with better than average training, both because of innate wits and learning ability and tight self-discipline. Wants to continuously better his skills and abilities — goal is to become a master in his chosen speciality. Success is based more on spiritual than physical qualities.

Quick

Fast, alert, and agile character whose sharp senses help to focus on the task at hand regardless of distractions. Has better than average control of his movements, so is a natural dancer or acrobat.

Sinister

Aggressive and ruthless character, who is at risk to become vengeful and cruel. Does not hold society’s norms — customs, morality, or religion — in a high regard, which can lead to rebellion against (imagined) oppression, or a status of a criminal and outcast. Success is based on a no-holds-barred attitude towards own goals. Sometimes may have supernatural heritage.

Social

Open, talkative, and likeable character. Naturally curious, so gathers information and skills from many sources and seldom focuses on a single tight speciality. Communicates well and can quickly adapt to changing circumstances, but is also good at convincing others to adopt his view on things.

Tough

Solid and tenacious character, who can take more physical punishment than most. Willingly exerts himself in hard labor or training. Rugged and hardy, but can be brawny or wiry, short or tall.

All aptitudes

• Ability Scores: +2 to one ability score of your choice
• Size: Medium
• Vision: Normal

1. Mobile Retribution: shift 1 square before making basic attack triggered by Furious Retribution
2. Precision Weapon Training: proficiency with all spears, +2 feat bonus to damage when using a spear or light blade
3. Heavy Weapon Training: proficiency and +2 feat bonus to damage with axes, hammers, and maces

Skill Challenges like Grappling rules and Attacks of Opportunity in the old rules seem to be the most house ruled, most wtf, most wtt kind of system in the new edition.

With the original system impossible, the errata broken, the entire skill system inherantly flawed SC’s become a point of… enthusiastic debate if nothing else.

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Just to throw another wrench into things

Smilie

The skill DC mechanic is pretty close to 10 + 1/2 level of the challenge for an easy DC, 15 + 1/2 level of the challenge for a moderate and 20 + 1/2 level of the challenge for difficult.

The nice thing is that almost EVERYTHING else in 4th edition follows this rule. To Hits, Skills, etc. I find it much easier to just apply that rule to any skill DC and avoid looking up DCs in a table all together.

For skill Challenges, I simplified the rules. I only use the moderate DC and adjust the level of the challenge to suit my needs. So, If I want a fairly easy challenge, I would give my 10th level players an 8th level challenge which would have a 19 DC (15 + 1/2 * 8 = 19)

I also changed the complexity ratings. They are way out of whack even in the errata. I use the following rule of thumb. Player need 3 successes + the complexity rating before getting 3 failures. So, a complexity 1 challenge is 4 successes before 3 failures. Complexity 5 would be 8 successes before 3 failures.

I worked out all the math (its posted here somewhere) so that an 10th level, complexity 5 challenge has about the same difficulty to a 10th level party as a 10th level combat encounter. That way, I can effectively award 1 monsters worth of experience at the selected challenge level for each complexity level.

For example, a complexity 5, level 10 skill challenge is worth the same experience as a 10th level combat encounter.

It all works out pretty good and I think its what the original designers were shooting for anyway.

Rob

After a small amount of deliberation I thought it would be better to broaden the categories over the original idea. So to that end I offer the following thoughts.  Perhaps they’re dumb or genius but the big thing is are they workable and useful in any fashion. Â  For the people for whom they really miss crafting I think it might work well without ‘nerfing’ their characters badly which is always a risk one takes when you require a character to spend resources that could be applied to combat.

Crafting requires a Feat as such:

Crafting (Heroic Tier)
Prerequisite: Wis 10
Benefit: You can learn crafting of various items.

By spending a feat on the above this allows the character to learn any of a variety of crafting skills.  It has the restriction that at least a basic set of tools necessary to craft the items in question as well obviously the materials to do so and in some cases the area to do so.

Making it cost a feat is perhaps a bit of a penalty for some and of course a DM could do away with that but then they might end up with a party of crafting adventurer’s where everyone knows how to build something.  If nothing else making it a feat will separate the roleplayers from the rollplayers.  The latter would be unlikely to give up a feat that would empower their character in some fashion for something that is essentially fluff.

A character with Crafting can learn to craft any broad category of items both large and small subject to the DM’s discretion. This can range from the obvious most desirable things

Some general idea’s below:

Picking up any particular crafting skill requires one week of intensive training.  This isn’t realistic but hopefully you’re not playing 4th Edition in a simulationist style of play.  Typically each set of skills is set to 100 gold for training to cover the costs of the trainer’s time, materials used in the training etc.

Weapon Crafting, one for each category of weapon type (Axe, Bow, Crossbow, Flail, Hammer, Heavy Blade, Light Blade, Mace, Pick, Polearm, Sling, Spear, Staff) :

Craft [Weapon Category]

Time: 2-5 days
Component Cost: Cost of the weapon
Market Price: 100 gp

Armour Crafting, one for each category of armour type (Cloth, Leather, Hide, Chainmail, Scale, Plate, Shields):

Craft [Armour Category]

Time: 2 to 5 weeks
Component Cost: Cost of the armour
Market Price: 100 gp

This can be extended as far as you like obviously.

Craft Small Boats

Time: 2-5 weeks
Component Cost: Cost of the vehicle
Market Price: 100 gp

Craft Wagons

Time: 2-5 weeks
Component Cost: Cost of the vehicle
Market Price: 100 gp

Craft Wooden Building

Time: 1-3 months
Component Cost: Cost of the building
Market Price: 100 gp

And so on, the skies the limit.  You could even make a chain of dependencies and create a skill tree.  To craft a stone tower might require the knowledge of how to craft a wooden building etc.

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Basically every 1 hand weapon has a flat damage and proficiency.  If you want to adjust the special values of the weapon in some fashion you pay for those values either through moving to the next lower die or reducing it’s proficiency bonus.

Example:  A swashbuckling piratical type fighter wants a short sword custom forged for balance and design that turns into a short range throwing weapon as well.  The shorter blade works well on the cramped decks a ship and the throwing option gives him some variety just in case. Â  So he takes the +3, 1d8 base for a one handed and drops it to a +3, 1d6 Heavy Thrown weapon. Â  He could have gone the other way and kept it a 1d8 base but dropped the proficiency to +2.  Hits less, but for more damage versus hits more for less damage.

Another brutal warlord has created for him a wickedly barbed sword designed to render and tear flesh.  He takes the +3/1d8 and increases the damage potential to a 1d10 by lowering the proficiency to a +2.

These thoughts do beg the question how to deal with simple/military/superior ratings.  Perhaps something to the effect:

Lower  the prof and damage to get a simple weapon, increase the damage or give it a special property to get a military weapon, increase both damage and give it a special property to get a superior weapon?

Also obviously some changes aren’t as impacting as others.  Changing ‘down’ a 2d6 weapon to a 1d12 weapon is technically lowering it but by .5 damage (7 average versus 6.5 average) so I’d probably disallow that.

Then there’s the ‘cost’ of range.  Let’s just make that a -2 cost to fit the existing weapons and say that all ranged weapons are military.  Want a bow?  We start with a base of +3/2d6 and make it +2/1d10 (-2 costs) and we get our bow.  A shortbow?  -2 for the range and another -1 for the Small property and we now have a +2/1d8 bow. Â  But that begs the question what do small races get to make up for their limitations?

Hmmm the simple crossbow breaks this.  As do a lot of things now that I look at it.  Let’s take a dagger and try to build it.  +3/1d8 to start with, simple = +2/1d6, Increase +2 back to a +3 and get 1d4.  So we end up with our +3/1d4 weapon but it also has Off-hand and Light Thrown in there.

Yeah none of the simple weapons obey any kind of rules for building except club because all of them have a variety of optional traits.  It appears that essentially someone said, these are simple weapons and they’re going to do this much damage and worked up from there and gave them the ‘expected’ traits.

The spear breaks it as well, it’s only lost 1 point going from a +3/1d8 to a +2/1d8 and is classified as a simple weapon and has the versatile trait.

The quarterstaff should be a 1d10 weapon as well because it’s a -3, it loses 1 prof and 2 damage die sizes.  It kind of reeks actually.  A character would be much better off by taking a spear and using it as a quarterstaff until such a time as he wanted to jab someone with it two handed and gain the damage bonus.

Perhaps we just toss out simple weapons completely from being crafted by players?

Anyway the original post…

This is a real solution.

All 1-handed are Prof +3, 1d8 damage

Plus you have these options when forging/buying any 1-handed weapon

• Lower damage dice or Prof and make it heavy thrown
• Lower damage dice or Prof and make it Off-hand
• Lower damage dice or Prof and make it High crit
• Lower Prof to increase damage dice
• Increase its price (100%?) and make it Versatile

All 2-handed are Prof +2, 2d6 damage

Plus you have these options when forging/buying any 2-handed weapon

• Lower damage dice or Prof and make it High crit
• Lower damage dice or Prof and make it Reach
• Lower damage dice to increase Prof

Set all weapons’ weights according to taste (by the book?) and set the price according to type: Simple, Military, Superior, etc.

Cheers,

— John M.

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A snippet:

Creating A Memorable Familiar

The rules presented here for developing your familiar are very open-ended. Traditional, familiars are magical beasts that resemble tiny animals such as a cat, owl, or toad. However, your familiar’s appearance is completely up to you. Your familiar can be a fairy, an animated slime, a clockwork bird, or whatever else you can imagine. Use the lesser and greater abilities as a jumping point to further define your familiars. Several of the abilities alter your familiar’s origin or type to better mechanically reflect familiar types that are not necessarily magical beasts.

They are relatively fragile and have very limited combat tools. While there are a few abilities that can help your familiar have a presence on the battlefield, your familiar serves you best when as a scout, assistant you with skill checks, or acting as your proxy when your presence is not available.

Familiars are completely loyal to their masters and will normally act in the best interest of their masters. However, familiars are people too. They have their personalities and strengths and faults of character. They voice their thoughts, opinions, and disapprovals, and aren’t above having their own agendas outside of their master’s wishes. Familiars are as smart as a person, though not necessarily as smart as a smart person. In other words, familiars are just like any other NPC’s that your party interacts with. Depending on how you handle role playing in your group, the player may role play her own familiar, or leave the role playing up to the DM. The most important thing to remember when creating a personality for your familiar is that the PCs are still the stars of the show. Have fun with your familiar and make it a memorable part of the group’s dynamics, but be careful not to let your familiar take too much of the spotlight.

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And that’s great when they’re the good guys, but what about the bad guys?  How do you hold a caster prisoner without him simply teleporting away, killing all your guards, summoning deamons to rip open the jail doors, etc. ad naseum.

In some lands they resorted to blinding, ripping out the tounge, puncturing the ears and cutting off the fingers.  A bit drastic for the petty thief with some arcane knowledge and not guarenteed for the higher levels.

Well here in the Afar* labs I’m happy to say that we’ve developed a unique and in our opinion humane and most importantly nigh guarenteed way to keep those pesky casters in check until after their trial (or more likely the simple decision of whatever magistrate holds authority).

Our gifted dwarvish mage-smiths have devised shackles.  Not just any ordinary shackles these, they’re constructed of adamantine with layers of arcanaium crystals fused into them during the forging.  Pretty?  Yes, most certainly, but functional to boot.

But you’re saying, “Won’t they just ‘knock’ their way out of them or teleport away leaving the shackles behind?”

No sir, they will not and I’ll tell you why.  The CADS or Cast and Die shackles as we like to call them around the office turn any magical energy released in their vicinity into lightning which is carried immediately into the body of the wearer. The stronger the cast, the more powerful the lightning bolt. that’s generated.  Indeed it doesn’t take much of a spell before the caster has simply insured his own death.

But you’re asking, “Aren’t these expensive?  I’m just the headman of a small village, how am I going to afford something like this?”

And that’s a valid point but being made of adamantine as they are, which yes is very expensive, but its also very very strong and thus the shackles can be made of links so fine that many a noble lady would be envious as she looks at the large ungainly links of her own necklace.  And we offer special discounts on volume purchases and have a generous leasing and monthly payment system.  I see a lot of strong young boys and girls in the crowd, surely a few of those are simply extra mouths to feed and we could make some arrangements I can assure you, please stop by after the demonstration.

Arcatine Shackles -

The gleaming purplish golden metal of the shackles seem to glow with an inner light.

Level 4    -   1d6 per level, strength to break 22, 840 gp

Level 8    -   1d6 per level, strength to break 30, 3200 gp

Level 12  -   1d6 per level, strength to break 36, 13,000 gp

Property:  Channels the power of spells cast by the wearer or on the wearer or on the shackles into lightning damage that is discharged throughout the wearer’s body and prevents the original spell from working.  This affects all known caster types.  Higher level manacles are created using thicker links and are inherently stronger.  Some manacles are designed to generate only subdual damage and rarely kill their wearer, double market price for this variant.

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Not sure if you’re a fan or even aware of it but Obsidian, an alternate skill challenge system has been updated to verson 1.2.

This update expands on the combat challenges so that you can more easily use a skill challenge to supplement a combat challenge.

Well worth looking over if nothing else if the default system is leaving you flat.

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Of course at higher levels the recovery of the damage is going to be easy enough (+9 to heal check at level 1 for a high wisdom trained healer).  As levels go up so does the ease to recover.

I posted after thinking about it and I think perhaps the heal skill only adds to the character’s ability to recover their wounds rather than healing them directly.

In other news I’ve been making module and battlemat maps for my initial module.  I ended up using Photoshop after trying lots of things.  It’s a question of control and ease versus everything else.  Too many issues with Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 2 to use those and not quite happy with Dundjinni.

Wound System

---

So, this idea is not at all original. It came from Keith Baker. I just wrote it up in a slightly more “formal” way, and included the idea of players accepting wounds voluntarily (which I also stole, from the upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire RPG). Please let me know if these seem balanced, usable, etc.

– 77IM

Wounds
Some stories are more interesting if the protagonists suffer grievous wounds in the course of their quest, and must cope with broken arms, internal bleeding, and dizzying blows to the head. Because of the fast-paced action-oriented nature of D&D, these rules assume that wounds are a somewhat rare occurrence. A player facing a difficult encounter can choose to become crippled rather than face defeat, and it’s possible to deliberately wound someone, rather than slay them. Both options are meant to use wounds as interesting plot elements, not simulate tissue trauma in general (the hit point system already does a sufficient job of that).

Characters who are severely damaged can elect to take a wound instead of hit point damage. Wounds cause long-lasting penalties and may hamper the character’s performance over the course of many adventures. Wounds are similar to diseases in many ways, including the use of a “wound track,” but they are not diseases — immunity to disease does not protect against a wound, and the Cure Disease ritual does not affect wounds.

SUFFER WOUND: Free Action

• Negate Damage: Use this action when you take damage. You negate damage from a single source, up to your healing surge value. For example, if your healing surge value is 14, and you fall off a cliff for 19 damage, you would only suffer 5 damage for the fall.
• Stabilize When Dying: You can also use this action when you are dying. You heal an amount equal to your healing surge value (as though you had rolled a 20 on your dying save). You must use this action before you are actually dead (you can’t fail your final death save and then decide to suffer a wound).
• Costs a Healing Surge: Suffering a wound uses up a healing surge, but you don’t get the normal benefits of using a healing surge. You must have at least one healing surge available to suffer a wound.
• Gain a Wound of the DM’s Choice: You immediately gain a wound. The DM selects the type of wound based on manner in which you took damage. The level of the wound is equal to the level of the creature, trap, or hazard that inflicted the damage, or equal to the level of the encounter if it wasn’t inflicted by a creature, trap, or hazard. If you suffer a wound outside of an encounter, the DM selects the level of the wound.

INFLICT WOUND: Part of an attack

• Declare Before you Attack: You must declare your attempt to wound an opponent before making your attack roll. You must also specify what type of wound your attack will cause.
• Damage Penalty: Your attack takes a damage penalty equal to the victim’s healing surge value. Unlike most damage penalties, this can reduce the damage from your attack to 0 (but not below 0).
• Damage Causes the Wound: If your attack deals at least 1 point of damage (after applying the penalty), your victim suffers the wound you specified, in addition to the damage. If the damage was reduced to 0, the victim doesn’t suffer the wound — they are too tough, or they were able to evade your fancy maneuver.
• Wound Level: The wound’s level is equal to your level.

Wound Effects
Any sort of wound hampers your mobility a bit, imposing a -2 penalty on all Acrobatics, Athletics and Stealth checks. Each wound has additional penalties, based on the part of the body it affects.

• Head Wound: You suffer a -2 penalty on Perception and Insight checks, and on all attack rolls based upon Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. You can only suffer one head wound at a time.
• Arm Wound: You can no longer hold a shield in that arm, and take a -2 penalty on all attack rolls using a weapon held in that arm, and a -2 penalty on Thievery checks using that arm. You can have one arm wound per arm.
• Leg Wound: Your speed is decreased by 2. You can have one leg wound per leg.
• Vitals Wound: You take a -2 penalty to your Fortitude, Reflex, and Will defenses. There is no limit to the number of vitals wounds you can suffer.

Penalties from multiple wounds stack.

Curing Wounds
Wounds use a wound track, similar to the disease track. Unlike a disease, the penalties from the wound don’t get any better or worse at each stage in the track. You suffer the full penalties from the wound until you are cured.

Cured <- Initial <-> Worsening -> Permanent

After each extended rest, make an Endurance check.

Stable DC = 10 + 1/2 the wound’s level
Improve DC = 20 + 1/2 the wound’s level

If you beat the wound’s improve DC, your wound moves one step up the track. If you beat the wound’s stable DC, nothing happens. If you fail to hit the wound’s stable DC, you move one step down the track. Your wound starts in the initial state. When it moves into the cured state, you no longer suffer any effects from the wound. If it reaches the permanent state, you no longer make Endurance checks after extended rests.

Another character can use the Heal skill to treat a wound. This works exactly like using the Heal skill to treat disease.

There is also a ritual available, Cure Wound. This ritual is identical to Cure Disease in every way, except that it cures wounds instead of diseases. It is a separate ritual from Cure Disease (knowing one ritual does not mean you know the other — you must learn them both separately).

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Now that’s more power creep IMO but more options aren’t always a bad thing either.  But it does lead to situations where some actions just become a “Must Have” or “Must Use” situation and that’s a bad thing. For example, even if you have to roll a 20, why would you never not try to use Unwinded? Many of them come off that way which means more rolls which means slower combats.

But I offer it up for your amusement here and as always, visit the link to see the yin and yang of forum postings…

Skill Stunts

You’ll note I’ve tried a wide array of mechanics on different skills, both to differentiate them, and to see what kind of mechanics people like to see.

Stunts
Stunts are special skill uses that can be performed during an encounter. Each stunt has a set DC, and what type of action it can be performed as. The bonus from the same stunt does not stack with itself.

Multiple Stunts in an Encounter: Whether its fatigue, the chaos of combat, or the enemy just picking up on your tricks, it gets harder to perform multiple stunts of the same type in the same encounter. Whenever you perform a stunt from one skill type (like acrobatics), you suffer a -5 penalty to future stunts from that same skill type. The penalty is cumulative.

Example: A rogue performs the Easy Retreat stunt, and then later wants to perform the same stunt again. He suffers a -5 to his acrobatics check on the next stunt. Later, he then decides to use the run the walls stunt. He is now at a -10 penalty because of the two acrobatics stunts he has already done. However, should he try a thievery stunt, he would be at no penalty since he hasn’t used any thievery stunts yet.

Failing a Stunt: There are no penalties to failing a stunt. However, you still spend the action required without gaining a benefit, and it counts as if you had performed a stunt for the purpose of multiple stunts in the same encounter.

Acrobatics
Easy Retreat (DC 20, as part of a move action): You gain a +1 to AC against opportunity attacks made during your move action. DC 30: The bonus increases to +2.

Knock em Down (vs Ref Defense, used when an opponent rolls a natural 1 on a melee attack roll): You pull the opponent far off center, and he falls prone.

Run the Walls (DC 20, as part of a move action): You can move diagonally around corners during your move action.

Arcana
Alter Energy (DC 30, move action): Until the end of your next turn, you can change all spells used by you of one energy type into one other energy type. For example, a wizard casting fireball could have the spell do cold damage instead of fire.

Athletics
Scaling Attack (DC 20, move action, must be adjacent to a climbable surface): You scale the wall quickly and coming crashing down on your opponent in a powerful attack. You gain a +2 to damage rolls on your next attack this turn. DC 30: You gain a +4.

Leaping Charge (DC 20, part of a charge action): You gain +1 to your attack and damage rolls on the charge attack. DC 30: On a successful hit, you knock the target prone.

Aquatic Assault (Opposed check with Athletics, as part of a move action, useable only if you and your target are in water): You use your superior swimming skills to get the edge, and gain combat advantage against your target. You cannot use aquatic assault against a creature with a swim speed unless you also have a swim speed.

Bluff
Invoke Imbalance (vs Will defense, move action, must be adjacent to the target): Until the start of the target’s next action, if the creature is hit with a push, pull, or slide effect it moves 1 additional square.

Diplomacy
Inspiring Speech (DC 20, standard action): You rally your allies towards the cause, giving them renewed power and vigor. Each of your allies receives a +1 to attack rolls or +1 to skill checks until the end of their next turn. A character cannot receive the benefits of an inspiring speech more than once per encounter. DC 35: Your allies can spend a healing surge.

Dungeoneering
Trap Sense (DC 20, immediate interrupt-when attacked by a trap): Your knowledge of dungeon traps helps you to avoid them. You gain a +1 to defenses against the attack. DC 30: You gain a +2.

Stand Fearless (DC 20, immediate interrupt-when targeted by a fear effect): Your knowledge of the terrifying aberrant of the far realm has steeled your mind to fear. You gain a +1 to defenses against the fear effect. DC 30: You gain a +2.

Endurance
Sprint (DC 20, free action): Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +1 bonus to your speed. DC 30: You gain a +2 to your speed.

Burdenless Armor (DC 10, free action): You can ignore your armor check penalty for one skill check.

Unwinded (DC 30, immediate reaction: After you use your second wind): You do not expend your second wind, and can use second wind again in the same encounter. You still spend your healing surge as normal. You can only use unwinded once per day.

Beyond Limits (DC 30, no action, only usable when you have no healing surges left): You can use this check in place of spending a healing surge during an encounter. This cannot be used for healing during a short rest.

Heal
Restore Vitality (DC 30, special, used during a short rest): In order to use this stunt, you must care for the patient during the short rest, and cannot take one yourself. The target regains one spent healing surge. A target can only gain the benefit of restore vitality once per day. Since each use of restore vitality requires another short rest, it does not provide a penalty to future heal checks.

Self Medication (special): You can take a -5 to a heal check to apply the benefits of the heal check to yourself instead of an ally. This does not count as a stunt, and can be used without penalties to future heal checks.

History
Battle Insights (DC 10, standard action): An ally gains the benefit of the aid another action, but you do not need to be in melee range with the target. DC 30: You can provide the benefit as a move action.

Battle Tactics (DC 20, part of an aid another action): Your bonus from aid another increases by 1 as you inform your allies of tactics used in battles centuries old. DC 30: The bonus increases by 2.

Insight
Sense the Onslaught (DC 20, used during the second wind or total defense action): You survey the battlefield, sensing any attack that might come your way. You gain an extra +1 bonus to your defenses while using second wind or total defense. DC 30: You gain a +2 to your defenses.

Timed Attack (Opposed check with bluff, used when making a readied attack): Against one opponent who is the target of an attack you have readied, you gain a +1 to the attack roll.

Sense Weakness (vs Will Defense, standard action): One target has vulnerability 5 against your next attack. At paragon: Vulnerability 10. Epic: Vulnerability 15.

Intimidate
Howl of Terror (vs Will defense, standard action): You make a separate intimidate check against each opponent that can see and hear you. On a success, the opponent suffers a -1 to its attacks until the end of its next turn.

Nature
Woodland Stride (DC 20, as part of a move action): You can ignore one square of difficult terrain during your move action, as long as it is natural terrain. DC 30: You can ignore 2 squares of terrain. DC 35: You can completely ignore difficult terrain during your move action.

Woodland Cover (DC 20, free action, used when you have cover or concealment due to natural foliage): Your enemies suffer a -3 to attack rolls against you due to cover or concealment, instead of the normal -2. The benefits last until you leave the square you are in.

Religion
Channel the Holy Land (DC 20, minor action, usable only in an area of holy power or significance, like a temple). You gain a +1 to attack rolls, defenses, checks, and saving throws until the end of your next turn. If the area is dedicated to the primary god you worship, you gain a +2. If the area is dedicated to a god in opposition to yours, you receive no bonus. DC 30: You receive +2, or +3 if the area is dedicated to your primary god.

Divine Blessing (DC 30, standard action): You shout a prayer to your god, and your prayer is answered. You or one ally receives an action point. The action point can be spent in the same encounter even if one has already been spent. Divine Blessing can only be used once per day.

Streetwise
Call upon the people (DC 20, standard action, only useable in an urban setting friendly to you): You ask the city to lend you aid in a fight, and they gladly agree, throwing rocks, pots, or whatever they can to aid your cause. Each round right before your initiative, an aid another action (at a +5 attack) is made against one random target, with you gaining the benefits. Roll a saving throw with a +2 bonus each round, failure means the effect ends. DC 30: The aid another attacks are made at a +8, and there’s a +5 bonus to the saving throw. Call upon the People can only be used once per day per urban setting you are in.

Thievery
Disable Armor (vs Ref, standard action, target must be wearing armor): You are able to cut or undo bindings on a target’s armor, weakening its protection. An adjacent creature receives a -2 to AC (save ends).

So one of the encounters in the module has some lantern’s that are powered by essentially Continual Light spells so I had to include the ritual for those as well.

Anyway, for you amusement, bemusement or just to roll your eyes at, I give you the Light Everylasting ritual:

Light Everlasting Ritual
You infuse an item with the energies of the netherweb and it glows softly with a gentle light for the rest of eternity.

Level: 2     Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â          Component Cost: 75 gp
Category: Creation           Market Price: 100gp
Time: 1 hour     Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Key Skill: Arcana (no check)
Duration: Permanent

Through the use of this ritual you can imbue a small item of 3” in size or less and less than six ounces in mass with a glowing light effect.  This light can be adjusted during the ritual to generate light of various hues.  The brightness of the light can be determined through the use of the Arcana skill and can intentionally be set to a lower level if desired although the skill check must still be successful.

Arcana Check Result    Radius / Brightness
10 or lower                        3 squares dim light
11-15                               5 squares dim light
16-20                               5 squares bright light
21-25                               10 squares bright light
26+                                  15 squares bright light

And I have the same concerns about the inevitable power creep the new books are going to add in.But then that’s something that always seems to happen in the newer additions once Wizards took over.

Anyway here’s a tidbit from Stalker0′s idea, and as usual I recommend you go visit the thread as well to read and possibly participate in the discussion.

There has been a good deal of talk lately about adding the ability to recharge powers into the game. After the success of my Obsidian System, my group asked me to create a system for recharging powers. These were the tenants that the system should be founded on:

1) The system should have a lot of player control over how its used, but still contain a random element.
2) The system should encourage players to get back powers at “the right time.” Aka, during the fights that are the longest and most threatening to the group.
3) The math of the system should be clean and easy for our math impaired group members.
4) The system should not trade current resources to gain powers back. The idea is to lengthen the adventuring day.
5) The system should fit both players that like to blow their powers quickly and players that are more frugal with them.

With these in mind, I created the Acheron System, which I present below. My group is currently using it our game as a playtest, so any comments are welcome.

Acheron Power Recharge System

Gaining Recharge Points
A player gains 1 recharge point at the following times:
1) At the beginning of each session
2) After each encounter
3) After performing a heroic or “ultra cool” maneuver, DM’s discretion.

Recharge points reset to 1 after each extended rest.

Spending Recharge Points
Spending a recharge point requires no action, and can be done when a player is stunned or unconscious. The player rolls a d20 roll with a +5 bonus, with an additional +5 bonus for every extra recharge point he spends. On a 20 or better, the player gains an additional use of one encounter power he has. The extra use fades if not used by the end of the encounter.

Regaining Daily Powers
When making a recharge roll, the player can opt to take a -15 to his recharge roll. If he succeeds, he can gain an additional use of one daily power instead.

Spending 3 or more points
If a player spends 3 or more points on one recharge roll, he gains an additional boost of power. The player receives a +1 bonus to his next attack roll or to all defenses. The benefit lasts until the end of his next turn.

The Recharge Action
A player can choose to use the recharge action during an encounter to regain mental or physical power. The recharge action consumes a player’s standard, move, and minor action for the round. After performing the recharge action, the player can Take 10 on the next recharge roll. The player must use the benefit immediately after taking the recharge action.

Aid Another
When performing the aid another action, the player has the option of giving his allied target one of his recharge points. You can only give one recharge point per aid another action.

On Death’s Door
If a player is unconscious and not stabilized, he can spend a recharge point to add a +5 bonus to his death saving throw, with an additional +5 if more recharge points are spent.

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Runner up

[EDIT: Original image removed and replaced.]

Found this and it seems non-overpowered so it might be useful for people who play for flavor, concept and well where the point is not being the most optimized character.  And generally aren’t all optimized characters ending up pretty much identical in powers, stats, and races for each class? But to each his own.

Anyway if you’re tired of your warlocks always using a blade and especially if you’ve made a dwarf warlock which would be kinda cool from a flavor perspective then here’s a new pact item for them (original idea courtesy of zaxzilla):

Hex Hammer
This black iron hammer is covered in infernal script and smells of smoldering sulfur.
Lvl 3 +1 680 gp Lvl 18 +4 85,000 gp
Lvl 8 +2 3,400 gp Lvl 23 +5 425,000 gp
Lvl 13 +3 17,000 gp Lvl 28 +6 2,125,000 gp
Weapon: Hammers
Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1d6 fire damage per plus
Property: This hammer functions as a warlock implement, adding its enhancement bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls for warlock powers that use implements.
Property: When you succeed with a basic melee attack versus an enemy under your warlocks curse, you do extra damage equal to your Constitution modifier
Special: You do not gain your weapon proficiency bonus to the attack roll when using a hex hammer as an implement.

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Military Weapons

Sabre +3 1d8 12g 3lb. Heavy Blade Off-hand

Trident +2 1d10 15g 8lb. Spear Versatile

Bec de Corbin +2 1d10 25g 14lb. Hammer,polearm Reach

The sabre trades the versatility of the longsword for the ability to use it off hand.  Dual Wielding rangers get this ability anyway and no one else can gain a significant advantage off the top of my head with it so it just lets the characters who want to ‘dual wield’ aka have an option as to which weapon they use for an attack a heavier weapon to do so in the off hand.

The trident does render the spear, a simple weapon, pointless for people who want to use a one hand spear other than concept so that’s not a great thing.  But it is a military weapon as opposed to a simple so a bump in damage die seems feasible.  And getting hit with three jabby things at once like the head of a trident versus the one jabby thing on spear does seem to warrant increased damage.

The bec de corbin, really on brings to the table a reach weapon that’s hammer based.  Doesn’t seem all that overpowering to me.  YMMV of course and as always.

In this case it’s just like a ritual except you go buy training for a type of thing which takes gold and time.  Pretty realistic there.  Then it’s a matter of again spending gold and time to make the item. No skills (although personally I’d probably have a d20 roll where 1′s equal failures and 20′s equal superiour qualities as a throwback to Ultima Online’s crafting system).

So spend a feat, then go pick up ‘rituals’ in this case crafting rituals and start crafting away.

Crafting has been removed as a skill in 4e, and I agree with this. I am certain though that some kind of crafting mechanic will eventually appear in the official books. Until then, here is an idea:

I never liked the fact that a complex process like crafting a weapon, armour, etc could be resolved by a single roll. After all, success in such a case is a matter of pure expertise and not luck. The process of crafting is tedious, complicated and requires a great deal of knowledge. So, something came to my mind: RITUALS

A mechanic similar to the ritual mechanic would be ideal to re-incorporate crafting into the game. By taking a feat the PC will be able to learn various techniques (‘crafts’) that can perform similar to a ritual.

The differences to rituals:

• There is no level limit for crafting most mundane items. More complex and specialized items (such as clockwork contraptions) may require a certain level, but are the exception.
• There is no skill check involved. A character trained as a craftsman possesses the needed knowledge to preform the task successfully by definition.
• Item creation costs about 75% of the market price of the item (at DM’s discretion)

To acquire a Craft, you must seek a trainer and pay a training fee. The Craft is mastered after a period of training.

The feat:

CRAFTSMANSHIP
Prerequisite: Wis 12
Benefit: You can master Crafts, that allow you to create a variety of non-magical items.

Sample Craft:

FORGE LONGSWORD
Procedure cost: 12 gp
Procedure duration: 3 hrs
Training fee: 50 gp
Training time: 1 week

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The original system has been cleaned up a bit, removed some of the verbosity getting the actual rules down to 4 pages with 5 sample challenges.  It doesn’t explain everything since I assume a) people interested will already know what a skill challenge is for and b) the sample challenges might explain the rest.

I’m still playing with the idea of getting rid of the level/2 rise in skill.  It simply seems in many cases as a pointless mechanic with the inclusion of rising DC’s.  If you need to roll a 12 or higher on a level 1 challenge and a 12 or higher on a level 30 challenge, how is one any more cinematic than the other if the only thing that changes is the base skill level you have?

A flat skill system seems like a more workable system where the way to gain skills is to buy Skill Focus or increase your stats.  But that doesn’t ‘realistically’ show the growth of knowledge that the average person does in fact gain over time.  I know a lot more about virtually every possible subjects at 43 than I did at 23. Time doesn’t equate directly to levels but it’s a sound principle in my opinion.

I don’t know.  We’ll see.

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I think this could be a very cool idea for a party that’s short a player to help the DM with having to adjust difficulties.  The downside is if the players treat the pets as disposable.

But all in all, something worth your time to consider if you fall into that situation.

In other news it’s been a slow news day.

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Your biggest variance comes at level 1 where skills can vary from -2 to 15 at the extreme ends.  Typically a character will have a 0-2 in most skills and a 5-9 in others.  This makes Wizards current DC chart which starts at a DC of 5 almost a gimmie for most skill challenges as typically a character will have one of them with a value of 9. Â  Even the so called moderate on that chart at a DC 10 is guarenteed since the lowest you can roll is a 1 which added to 9 is a 10.  And the so called ‘hard’ DC has a 25% chance of failure at that level.

So easy skill challenges are automatic, moderate skill challenges are probably automatic leaving only hard skill challenges as a possible failure.

Part of it is the disparity in the minimum and maximum at that level.

Which brings up another point the whole level/2.  What’s the point when the recommended DC’s go up by an almost equivilent amount?  It means a skill challenge at level 30 is identical to a skill challenge at level 1 in terms of success or failure.

That kind of renders the whole thing moot except for stat gains to skill levels.

I’m half tempted to just use the characters starting skills as their skill values for the entirety of the characters career and just let them bump skills by feats and stat bonuses.  It seems to have no mechanical impact and certainly makes it simpler to create them over the life of the character.

Oh before I got off on my little rant here’s my next skill challenge system (NOTE: Updated with v2):

Synopsis: A skill challenge mechanic for 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Â  This system is based on a few thoughts:
•  Only count successes, this allows everyone to participate regardless of their skill levels.  In    fact only by not participating does a player fail.
•  Allow for a sliding scale as well as a binary scale of results.
•  Have the ability to have required skill checks when desired. 
•  Allow for time limit based challenges.
•  Allow for heroic effort and critical success.

Creating the Challenge –

In order to create a Skill Challenge you will need to answer the following questions:

I.  What is the purpose of the challenge?  What problem does it solve, information does it gain,
obstacle overcome, outcome influence?
II.  How much time does the party have to attempt the challenge before it is deemed over?  How much game time does each round of the challenge use up?
III.  What are the skills associated with the challenge?  Does it need a general pool, or a pool dividedinto primary, support, required sections?  (These explained later.)
IV.  What is the difficulty of the challenge?
V.  How many successful checks are needed to end the challenge as a complete success? What are the results of failure?  Do you need a variable set of results based on level of success?  Do you need a simple yes or no, pass or fail result?

A variety of thoughts have been posted many people suggest possibly having it simply cost x healing surges or action points.  My initial problem with that is, it promotes metagaming.  “I got plenty of surges left and we’re going to rest soon, boom baby, I want my daily back.”  It also helps, in my opinion, the ‘nova’ or as I call it, burn and sleep syndrome where the party uses everything and then wants to take an extended rest.

A good table rule is, “Unless you have hard information indicating you need to be at full strength then an extended rest can only occur after a milestone or when at least 1/3 of the party is low on total resources including health.  A good concept/rp group won’t be taking an 18 hour rest between encounters and any DM that let’s should be smacked, at least in something other than an overland adventure. But a lot of folks these days were raised on CRPG’s and MMOG’s where every encounter needs a full health or there’s no penalty for it.  Rarely even wandering monsters these days in CRPGS.

I’ve thought about it, considered the various posts and my first wording is this subject to playtesting:

Heroic Effort: Twice per day but limited to once per power type, you can choose to reach deep down inside yourself and regain the use of an expended power. Â  Doing so pushes your body, mind and energies to the utmost and such effort is not without costs and requires the utmost in willpower to force yourself beyond your limits.  Spend a healing surge and roll Will versus Fortitude on yourself. If you fail you cannot attempt this again without a short rest.  If you succeed then you regain the use of the power and suffer hit point damage in the amount of your healing surge + 1d20 per tier. Damage is suffered at the end of the character’s turn and if brought below 0 the character is set at a stabilized condition.

The purpose of this power is to allow for last ditch efforts when necessary.  It’s not to encourage blowing extra resources to get more power. Â  Having to make an attack on yourself, essentially using the power of your willpower to force your body to go further than it normally can, strikes me a cool.  The rending of your body’s health as a result also strikes me as cool.  As bone, I’m setting this so that it can’t ‘kill’ a player outright but instead takes them out of the fight if they take that much damage.

As an example which I do promise to put in there, just too busy at work today to do any non-work. Anyway a local tribe of goblins has kidnapped the farmer’s daughter. The party is hot pursuit and the DM has decreed a Skill Challenge is afoot. He quickly decides each round he wants a successful Stealth check and a successful Perception check.

On a round that there is no stealth check made the goblins are aware of the party trailing them and will lead the party to an ambush. He further decides that when this happens the party gets to make Insight checks outside the framework of the skill challenge to see if they figure that out. In addition any round that doesn’t have a successful Perception check the party will lose the goblins trail. To pick it up again in each succeeding round they’ll need to reaquire the trail but this will incur a cumulative +5 penalty to the DC. We can hope they pick it up quickly or the daughter may become cauldron bait.

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I’m reworking my Mook rule it’s a little wordy and probably unnecessarily complex but hey house rules are what help make a game system your own.  And if it doesn’t work out I can always fall back to the flawed glass minions.

Anyway, after reading a large number of threads that range from “Yeah I don’t like them either the 1 hit thing makes them seem ‘off’ to us in play” to “Oh FFS just use them as written and get over it.”, I’m going to be experimenting a bit more.

Essentially RAW Minions have this:

HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.

I’m going to change that to:

HP 5+1/2 level; Special: Any damage that does not kill the mook reduces it to one hit point.  Bloodied mook die upon taking any damage.

So a ‘healthy’ minion at level 1 must get hit with 5 or more damage to kill it with one blow.  And at first level against a level 1 mook that’s typically going to be a 1dx + 4 so one shot kills still.  Otherwise the minion goes to Bloodied and dies on taking any damage at all, including those attacks that do damage on a miss.

“But it adds more bookeeping!”  No, not really, the player grabs one of the bloodied chips and flags his mook as bloodied while I move on to the next one.

It’s a “Hey take a deep breath let’s experiment kind of” thing. Bonus points if you instantly recognize the quote.

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It’s a minor thing, will not come into play all that often but it’s the little things tha make a campaign yours.

And please no historical or technical reasons this shouldn’t work, no but height should give you more range not a bonus to hit, etc.  It’s a fantasy game and to me that means ‘fun’, ‘neat’, ‘cool’ wins out over realism.

Plus I want to line some cliffs with goblin archers and rain utter hell down on my players and make it tougher for them to fight back.  Remember, “Keyin’ cars since 1979.”, it’s not just a slogan it’s a way of life.  And yet they keep coming back. 

Oh and I’ve added smiles to the site to make it easier to add in the power icons to monster stat blocks. :d1:

The track needs to be extended out so it’s a 9 position track like so – total failure, failure 3, failure 2, failure 1, neutral, success 1, success 2, success 3, total success.

Now the various partial successes and failures can easily have the same result.  The extension is simply to make sure there’s enough steps for the average party to require a full round and thus most people’s participation to succeed. Â  i.e. four successes by primaries and the challenge is solved.

That eliminates a need for Inertia and does away with the percieved issue I had with early rounds meaning nothing.

You can adjust the difficulty of the challenge by setting the DC of course but another way is to shorten the failure side of the track,  Perhaps that leg is only 3 positions long, so now you have three straight failures without any successes and the challenge is failed.  Or even two failures.

And yet another way is to make the challenge a one round or two round maximum if it makes sense for there to be a time limit.  That gives them fewer chances of getting a complete success.

So we have three ways to adjust the DC.  Which should be enough for anyone.  Of course figuring out how much each way actually adjusts the odds and the inner synergy of the adjustments that’s up to someone with a lot more statistical analytics and probability theory left over from college than I have.

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That actually doesn’t sound as crazy as it might at first glance. I thought out about it a bit and posted a response. Now I’m going to think out loud a bit more here about it.  Note what follows hasn’t had any real testing and is more musing in text if you will, a free stream of thought kind of thing.

What sets this a little apart is it can makes more narrative sense, as each person participates they shift the mood of the challenge back and forth. With the way I’ve thought it through below, although the final person can decide the success or failure, with the use of Action Points and/or Inertia the worse they can do is drop a total success to a partial success.

The sliding track that this will use negates that, as they gain successes and failures it’s easier to narrate what’s happening from the DM’s perspective. Â  It provides, quite easily, for partial successes and failures, as many as you want. Â  It allows for a player to sit the challenge out and another to use a secondary skill to assist another player.

YASCS would work out like this:

The DM determines the ‘question’ that will be solved by the Skill Challenge.  It might be what happens whtn the players try to escape from combat, or how can they persuade the king to give them support in their attempt to prove the prince is part of the rebellion, or what are the results of their research toward finding a ritual that will close the gateway to the 8 and a half hells?

Each of these Skill Challenges will have a total failure and a total success answer and can also include ranked partial success and failure.

Participation is determined by the design of the specific Skill Challenge but recommended is no more than one player can ‘sit out’ the challenge and no more than one player can use Aid Other using Secondary Skills if the Challenge allows it.

The length of the challenge can range from 2 rounds to an open ended challenge that only ends on success or failure or the players elect to refuse the challenge.

The skill checks will result in Critical Failure, Failure, Sustain, Success, Major Success, Critical Success which more a ‘slider’ up or down the possible outcomes of the Challenge a varied amount.  At the end of the challenge the outcome the slider is on determines the resolution of the challenge.

It is possible to ‘snatch victory from the jaws of defeat’ with better than normal successes and once per round one player may spend an action point to turn upgrade a failure result one step higher.  Turning a critical failure to a failure, a failure to a sustain.

At the end of the Skill Challenge it may be allowed for one player to extend the challenge by one round by spending an action point.

This should allow for varied outcomes when desired and have a definite time limit that can be set in advance.  By adjusting the DC’s for the checks and adjusting the length of the ‘slider’ to the left and right the difficulty can be adjusted in to fairly granular degree.

The mechanics:

To use this version of Skill Challenges the DM will answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of the Skill Challenge?
2. What are the possible results of success and failure including partial success and failure?
3. Is it primarily a Mental, Physical or Social Skill Challenge?
4. If it has Secondary skills are those Physical, Mental or Social?
5. What is the DC for success for the Primary Skills and the DC for success for the Secondary Skills?
6. What is the maximum time limit in rounds the Challenge can take and how long in game time are the rounds?
7. How many players may use Secondary Skills per round? How many players may elect to not participate per round?

Details -

What is the purpose of the Challenge and the possible outcomes: These are the various success and failure results that will occur at the end of the challenge.  These can cover virtually an infinite array of possibilities from eluding pursuit to solving an intricate puzzle to resolving a dispute between nations.  Some examples will be listed at the end of the article.

These values are referred to as the Challenge Track.  The Track will typically have 9 positions on it arrayed like so:

Total Failure, Partial Failures, Neutral, Partial Successes, Total Success

The Partial’s might be broken down into three or more different possible outcomes of a lesser or greater partial success or failure like so where some failure or success positions are duplicates:

Total Failure, Partial Failure 2, Partial Failure 1, Partial Failure 1, Neutral and so on.

Primary and Secondary Skills: Determine the Primary set and Secondary set of skills for the challenge from the lists below.  For some challenges a secondary set of skills may not be desired or valid and not all skills associated with the three types of challenges may be desired or valid for a particular challenge.

• Mental Skills: Arcana, Dungeoneering, History, Insight, Nature, Perception, Religion
• Physical Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Stealth, Thievery
• Social Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Streetwise

Difficulty Class values: You can determine the DC of the challenge by using the formula below:

Success Result = Moderate Difficulty: 20+((Level-1/2)
Subtract 1to 5 to make it Easier, add 1 to 5 to make it Harder.

After determining the Success Difficulty Class of the skill checks for the challenge compute the Sustain and Major Success values by taking DC – 5 and DC +5 respectively. Typically if Secondary Skills are being used they will use Primary DC -5 if they’re closely related or helpful and DC if they’re not considered as useful to the challenge.

Example 1: A party of 7th level with a Moderate challenge.  The DC = 20+((7-1)/2) or 23.  That gives us a Sustain of 18 or higher, Success of 23 or higher and a Major Success of 28 or higher.

Example 2: A party of 14th level with a Easy Challenge. The DC = 20+((14-1)/2) -5 or 26 for an Easy challenge.  Sustain would be a 21 and Major Success would be a 31.

Skill Challenge length: Typically 1 to 3 rounds should be sufficient for a challenge.  For some challenges it can be set to open ended and are only resolved on a result of Total Success or Total Failure.

Participation: Players involved in the challenge will fall into three categories.  For a typical skill challenge there will generally be no more than one Observer and one Supporter, the rest will be Primary participants in the challenge.

• Observers do not participate and do not contribute to the success or failure of the challenge.
• Supporters roll skill checks using the secondary set of skills associated with the challenge and will generate bonuses to other players.
• Primaries roll skill checks using the primary set of skills associated with the challenge and directly affect the success or failure of the challenge.

Process:

Skill Checks: The party will determine the order in which roles and order the characters will participate in the skill Challenge.  This can change after each players roll but no player may go twice in one round.  Observers are simply passive participants and do not make rolls.  Secondary participants must go before a Primary participant in each round, they are not allowed to be last in the order and are not allowed to go successively if more than one Secondary is allowed by the specific Challenge.

Each Secondary will pick an appropriate skill from the secondary list and roll a d20 and add their skill level and compare that to the secondary DCs (which may be the same as the primary) to determine if they generated a Critical Failure, Success, Critical Success.  Note that Assistance will generally not hurt a Primary character barring a natural 1 being rolled. These will have the following results:

• Critical Failure: next primary skill check will be at -4
• Success: next primary skill check will be at +2
• Critical Success: next primary skill check will be at +4

Each Primary participant will pick an appropriate skill from the primary list and roll a d20 and add their skill level and compare that to the primary DCs to determine if they generated a Failure, Sustain, Success or Major Success. Â  A roll of a 1 is a Critical Failure and a roll of a natural 20 is a Critical Success.  A Major Success is determined by rolling 5 over the required Success roll. Each of these results, Critical Failure, Failure, Sustain, Success, Major Success, Critical Success will adjust the current Challenge Result up or down the challenge track as determined by the values below:

• Critical Failure: two positions left
• Failure: one position left
• Sustain: no change
• Success: one position right
• Major Success: two positions right
• Critical Success: two positions right

Failure Recovery: It is typically allowed, but not always, that one player per round can spend an Action point to upgrade a Failure by one position. In other words, they can turn a Critical Failure into a Failure and a Failure into a Sustain result. Â  This must be done at the time of the failed skill check. They can optionally spend an Action point to allow one player per round to re-roll their check at a -5 penalty and the second roll must be used.  This is to allow a minimum of tactical decisions for the players to help influence the results.

Challenge End: The Skill Challenge ends when the track hits either Total Failure or Total Success or the given time limit for the challenge has run out.  In the event of Total Failure the DM may have designed the Challenge so that the players can be allowed a single Sudden Death round to try and avert total failure.

Sudden Death: It is typically allowed, but not always, that one player per Challenge can spend an Action Point to extend a skill challenge by one round as a last ditch effort to turn Total Failure into another result.  This can only occur as long as the challenge has resulted in Total Failure and one player still has an Action Point renaming.  All successes only count toward moving the track one position.

Example 1 – The Big Chase:

1. The party needs to escape from a combat that they’re disastrously over-matched in.  The results of this challenge will determine their levels of success and failure.

2. The Challenge Track has the following possible results:

• Total Failure: The escape attempt is a complete failure and in attempting it the party grants all hostile forces one surprise round with automatic combat advantage.
• Partial Failure 1: The party manages to shift the fight by some distance but is caught up with by the hostiles and both sides roll for surprise.
• Neutral: The escape attempt merely changes the location of the current combat and it must now be resolved normally.
• Partial Success: The party’s escape has broken the hostiles up into smaller groups and they can now fight them in a series of waves rather than all at once.  The party gains automatic surprise on the first wave.  Each of the next waves will show up within 1d4+3 rounds after the last one.
• Total Success: The party has escaped and eluded all pursuit.  They have either fled the area or found a place of hiding that won’t be found for at least 24 hours at the player’s discretion.

3-4. The skill is Physical based with some Mental skills as secondaries.  The players may choose from the following primary and secondary skills:

• Primary: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Stealth
• Secondary: Dungeoneering, History, Insight, Nature, Perception

5. The skill is rated as a Moderate difficulty and as the party is level 2 that results in:

Sustain – 16+, Success- 21+, Major Success 26+

6. The challenge will take course over a maximum of 3 rounds each round will occupy 10-20 minutes of game time.

7. One player may elect take the role of Observer and one player may act as a Supporter.

The reality:

Over the next 3 rounds the party will determine the order of the remaining participants per round.  One player bow out and not make any rolls.  One player will roll using one of the mental skills listed to add bonuses to another player.

Lets say our party consists of Alma, Bever, Cartir, Deedra, Elma.  The players discuss it and Bever for whatever reason is not trained in any of the primary or secondary skills so he takes the role of Observer.  Elma has high skill levels for one of the secondary skills but her abilities in the primary skills are low so she assumes role of Supporter.

Round 1:

Example removed due to changes in the way the skill system works.  Will replace with other examples to reflect the changes.

Image Credits

So I went back and looked up some more threads on rituals and the Wizard in general and offer those links below.  Two of them add more Rituals for the wizard to choose from (please winnow through the chaff to get the balanced ones though) and there’s another thread that offers a lot of new ‘spells’ aka powers for the Wizard.  Again read through the comments to help you decide which ones are not good, which ones are overpowered and which ones are weak.  Weak I personally don’t have a problem with if it fits the concept.  But you’ll need to judge that part on your own ideals.

Perhaps this week at while I’m ‘working’ I’ll go through and pick out some obvious winners for my own usage.

Anyway:

• New Wizard spells
• New rituals
• 3.5 spells converted to rituals

Image Credits

But my players want a heavy crossbow. Not to use with ‘powers’ per se. So to that end I think I’m going to offer this. I’m keeping it Simple so it doesn’t require a feat to use. YMMV here tremendously. I’m going to up the base damage from the light crossbow of 1d8 to 2d4 it’s not a huge increase but then it’s not a Superior weapon either. I’m going to up the load cost from a Minor to a Move just for realism’s sake although reloading a heavy crossbow and shooting it in 6 seconds is a massive stretch. The biggest switch is I’m going to give it the High Crit ability.

So my Heavy Crossbow comes out a little like this:

Name Prof Damage Range Cost Weight Group Properties
Heavy Crossbow +2 2d4 15/30 50gp 8lbs Crossbow High crit, Load Move

And belongs in the Simple Ranged.  Because it costs a Move to use, I don’t necessarily think a highly mobile class like the Rogue is going to want it and frankly my players if they were playing a rogue wouldn’t take it because it didn’t fit the concept. Â  With the possible exception of my wife they’re not powergamers or ‘character optimizers’ to any significant degree.

I had thoughts of just allowing an arcane caster to take a familiar and give it the “I see through their eyes, they see through mine.” type of link, make them marginaly smarter perhaps on the order of a 2 year old.  Which in and of itself could have some interesting incidences during a campaign.

But Dragom has another take on them.  Making them essentially a Mage Hand kind of power in animal form with some special abilities.  The thread has a Hawk and a Snake statted out on it.  Not sure if I like the entire concept, the bonus power in a pocket kind of thing, but it does spark my interest.

Hawk Familiar: Wizard Attack 1
You Summon your trusty Hawk Familiar forth from a prepared familiars pocket.
Encounter : Arcane, Thunder
Minor Action
Effect: Your Hawk Familiar appears next to you.

The Hawk Familiar posses 1+Int Mod Resistance All, all Defenses are equal to 10 + 1/2 lvl + Int Mod, 1 HP and never takes damage on a miss.

The Hawk Familiar remains until the end of the Encounter or until it takes damage. If it takes damage it is Dismissed.

Move Action: You may have your Hawk Familiar fly up to 10 squares it provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.

Standard Action: Shock: One creature adjacent to the Hawk Familiar recieves a Int +2 vs Ref Attack that deals 1d8 + Int Mod thunder damage.

Standard Action: Ignition: All creatures adjacent to the Hawk Familiar recieves a Int +2 vs Ref Attack that deals 1d6 + Int Mod thunder damage and The Hawk Familiar is Dismissed.

Minior Action: Dismiss the Hawk Familiar

No image credits, if you know the artist please let me know.

But I also don’t like the way it leads players to not take roles other than their combat role.  So I do have a fix for my house which doesn’t ‘nerf’ a player that wants to roleplay by making them less powerful in combat.  Many MMOG’s well the good ones have completely separate combat and non-combat skill pools.  By picking up crafting of some kind you don’t have to give up your ability to do combat.

I’m not saying I’m going to put back in separate roleplaying skill sets with a separate system.

What I am going to do though is every character CAN pick a profession and they’ll automatically get a ‘trained’ level of skills in that profession and at the DM’s (aka me) discretion they’ll get untrained skill ranks in complimentary skills.  It’s optional a character could certainly have done nothing but train for the day they pick up sword, bow or wand to go adventuring.  But others might have stepped into the party late, perhaps they were a sailor or a blacksmith or a sign painter before they left their humdrum lives for the exciting and terrifying and grand and mostly terrifying life of the adventurer.

So let’s pick Sailor as a profession.  As a DM I’d give the player trained skill values for things like using ropes and knots, reading the weather, fishing, repairing boats.  If they were a navigator they could have skills of map reading or direction finding.  Etc.

So now our Dragonborn Paladin who for some reason known only to the Nine Who Watch started life as a cabin boy the dirty little nipper before he saw the light or dark or neutral shade of gray to become a paladin can now rest assured when he ties up a bad person that person is likely to stay pretty tied.

Image Credits (picture apropos of nothing but you find something that fits this post)

Rituals as you may or may not know are the ‘long’ non-combat spells now.  They generally take awhile to cast, they cost money and they usually aren’t combat oriented. If you’ve found yourself longing for non-combat magic this might help you out.  Frankly in my games I really don’t remember much non-combat magic, perhaps Detect Lie and Detect Alignment were the primary ones used out of combat. You might have different experiences though and some of these rituals might help fill that void.

Image Credits

These potential of these techniques as of yet are minor and have little real use in the world. But as with anything, someone will find a use for it. It is said that Sere Nevil of the Darkwaters first used this as a means of clearing his courtyard of leaves during the fall. It was long before the potency was increased and a more suitable means of releasing it was determined. Still minor there are high hopes, at least by certain military sects that the energies can be upped geometrically but that lays in the hands of the 9 Who Watch.

As of now, it is possible from some very select and high end suppliers of adventuring materials obtain Arcana Vials or Big Booms. These are constructs of high strength metal casings forged around very strong crystals that flicker and glimmer with trapped energies. The casings have been crafted so that each has several pyramidal points that are resting upon the crystal within and moderate force on the outside will cause the points to fracture and shatter the crystal. This releases the energy stored inside in a resounding booming noise much like thunder.

Each crystal glows, shedding dim light in a 5′ radius, the color of the light is completely random for each crystal, no one is sure yet as to why that is.

It is dangerous to have too many of the crystals in close proximity, between 2 and 3 feet, as unless manufactured with the utmost care a resonance starts to build causing the crystals to fracture and release their pent up energy unexpectedly. Poorly made crystals can usually be stored no more than 1 every 2 to 3 feet, better made ones can usually be kept up to 2 to 3 and the very best ones can be stored in quantities as high as 4 or 5 although doing so with any quantity over one there have been reports of failure of the containing crystal.

Arcana Vial (standard)

The small metal cage contains a crystal that glows with a faint light, each crystal having it’s own shade. When thrown or smashed down the metal cage is so designed to cause the crystal to break which releases the stored Arcana inside with significant force sending jagged crystal and metal bits to all sides as well as pushing against any objects.

Ranged 5/10 Blast 1; Basic Ranged vs Reflex against all creatures in area; 1d6+2 Force damage plus Push 2 and knocked Prone (save avoids).

Special: Arcana Vial can be used with a Sling.

With the use of the ‘big nuke’ aka Daily Powers in 4th edition this issue that was prevalent in earlier editions is certainly not taken care of.

Of course the point to this post is that yeah, someone’s got a possible alternate system.

One thing I was thinking of was creating ‘zones’ in an adventure and the players can only rest once in a zone and probably have a ‘floating holiday’ rest so that if bad things happened they could try and pull it out of the fire. Each zone would probably consist of a logical sectioning off of an adventure or consist of the BBEG fight.

Just a thought.

On the surface of it, it seems to make sense if both sides are boosted or nerfed equitably. But there’s a problem with it. For fights that are one on one, it makes no difference as as long as the change is applied to both sides. Whether you add a +5 to hit to both or a -5 Defense to both, no difference.

But players rarely fight one on one. Either it’s the group against a mob or a solo against the group, not too often do you have it break down into one on one fighting.

So increasing the hit to miss ratio is going to increase the damage the player takes between his rounds without affecting the number of mobs he kills as quickly.

I should do a spreadsheet or something to figure that out.

D

I’ve been pondering Fate Points from True 20. And while I never liked the term Fate points I do like the term Destiny Points.

I believe I’m going to try these out. What I intend to be for is a multitude of things that allow the characters to fulfill their destiny as Heroes as they’re destined (or fated if you like that word better) to be.

My initial thinking is a player will get one Destiny point for each + of their highest attribute. So an 18 Strength for example would give you 4 DP’s. On the ‘recycle’ time I’m still considering that. I believe they should refresh fully every level. So when you level you get them back. But that’s not quite heroic enough for me so I’m going to try also refreshing one DP when the characters kill a Solo mob aka Boss. That seems like a heroic thing to accomplish so they should be rewarded in their path to destiny. FYI Solo’s will also have destiny points equal to their Action Points.

Now what good are these you ask? Yeah I heard you in the back, you’re not exactly whispering there. Well I’m glad you asked. Some of the things I’ve got on the table for consideration are the following:

• Change any one die into the minimum die roll to succeed or to fail. The die roll does not have be one rolled by you. That hit that was going to kill the wizard? Didn’t happen. You really really needed to make a Heal check? You got it. Falling down a cliff and you have one shot at grabbing a handy branch to stop your plummet to the jagged rocks below? No problem.
• Re-roll a die, if it’s less than 10 then add 10. I only really see this as being a factor where a player really needed a natural 20 or there was a variable success result based on die roll as in perhaps a Skill or Knowledge check.
• Gain useful and pertinent knowledge from a plausible source about one question. Completely at a loss as to which way to go? A passerby knows the way, a scrap of paper flutters by, the cleric receives a inspiration from her god.

I really don’t see increasing the number of DP a character has at this time. 4 re-rolls or 4 failures turned into successes don’t really seem all that overpowering to me given the number of times a player will roll dice during their level. And refreshing a point for a Solo kill seems appropriate and frankly for me Solo kills will likely be perhaps one per level, two at the most.

Anyway, there you have my take on a character’s heroic Destiny in the world.

Anyway the concept is this, okay first let’s back up a bit. As a DM (and probably a player) when it’s the DM’s turn players tend to ‘turn off’ during combat. My wife knits for example when it’s not her turn. They only wake up when its their turn or you (the DM) say “Okay Bissae you take 9 points of damage” and most times they either say “What? From who?” or think about saying it but don’t want to let on how much they weren’t paying attention.

So this variant rule is designed to keep some small modicum of interaction going on between the players and the non-players even when it’s not their turn. It won’t help when it’s other player’s turns and the monster’s aren’t hitting on them directly but smaller breaks might help keep their attention from wandering too far.

Standard procedure is the DM rolls a d20 + bonuses to hit a fixed DC on the players. This used to be AC but under 4th it’s now Fortitude, Reflex and Will as well as Armour Class but that’s irrelevant.

What this variant does is reverse that system. The players will roll a d20 + bonuses to beat a fixed DC. In this case the DC is based on the monsters attack bonus with an attack.

If you’re familiar with True 20 it’s very similiar to that system’s Toughness roll but it’s only for the players although you could reverse it completely but the point of this is to keep the players interested not just swap jobs.

With the standard attack roll, the monster is using their offense to try and beat the player’s defense. Under the variant the Player is trying to use their defense to beat the monster’s offense.

Numerically and statistically it can be made so that both methods will yield identical results.

The mechanics of the system are as follows. For the player for their ‘defense roll’ when attacked they will get their base modifier for the defense plus any bonuses + a d20. What they won’t get is the base 10 that all defenses start with. So a player with a 17 AC under the standard rule will instead have a 7 AC under the reverse variant rule.

The monsters are the one that gets a base now and the number is 12. So a monster with an attack that reads something like “+8 vs AC” has a value of 20 (12+8). The player has to equal or beat that. A 1 rolled by the player indicates the monster got a critical.They critically fumbled their defense in other words.

This does take die rolls away from the DM and makes it very difficult to fudge so that has to be considered if it’s something that’s important to you. Your players will very quickly zero in on the number they need to roll to avoid an attack and at that point you can’t change it without it being obvious you are fudging things one way or another.

Example under both rules:

Petra has defense of AC: 18 (base 10 + mods+Armour Value), under the variant she has AC: 8 (mods + armour value).

Whosit has attack of 3, variant 15 (base 12+3)

Monster attacks under standard rules:

Monster rolls d20+3 versus 18.
Monster needs 15+ to hit, -14 misses.

15+ = 30% hit rate
-14 = 70% miss rate.

Monster attacks under variant rule:

Petra rolls d20+8 vs 15.
Petra needs to roll 7+ to BE missed, -6 to get hit.

7+ = 70% miss rate.
-6 = 30% hit rate.

As you can see the percentages are the same either way. The player will get hit just as often and missed just as often. But the variant might get your players back in the game when it’s not their turn to roll dice.

Post updated for new material and to fix wrong link to artist site although both links are damn cool – Dennis

No, not a guy who fixes your car but a system for allowing henchmen. In this case Splug from the Keep of the Shadowfell or whatever it’s called. KotS to keep it acronym’ie.

Anyway, this thread has what appears to be a pretty workable way to allow henchman. I’ve quoted the OP, 10_foot_pole below.

The image for this post is really appropos of not much, I could say it might be an apprentice who’s ‘henchin’ his way through life holding torches for the adventurer’s but I’d be lying. I was looking for a henchman image and came across this artist’s site actually this artist’s site and thought OMG those are just damn cool and after paging through the archives a bit I found this image and decided to use it.

It’s sites like that one that really make me wish I had artistic talent in the 2d realm.

My group managed to befriend Splug the Goblin during their time in the sub-levels of the keep, and I want to use him more often in encounters, without actually running him as a character or having one of the Players run him.

I’ve been thinking of a system that works a lot like Action Points (in this case Splug Points). The PCs will gain Splug Points for treating Splug well, buying him treats, and generally being nice to him. Right now, I’m thinking that each PC would gain 1 Splug Point after a Milestone or an Extended Rest. These points would allow the PC to use one of their actions to direct Splug to perform some feat or task. Right now, I’ve got 5 such abilities:

Splug’s Abilities

“Take That!”
Splug sees an opportunity to help you slay your foe and takes it.
At-Will, Minor Action, Command Point
Special: Splug may move up to his speed before making this attack.
Effect: Splug makes a basic attack against an enemy you just hit.

“Ooh, Sardines!”
You throw a sardine, Splug’s favorite treat, and he moves like lightning to gobble it down.
Encounter, Move Action, Command Point
Effect: Splug shifts up to twice his speed.

“Splug Will Save His Friend!”
Splug sees that you are on death’s door, and rushes to your aid.
Daily, Immediate Reaction, Command Point
Trigger: You fail a Death Saving Throw
Effect: Splug shifts his speed+4 and must end his movement adjacent to you. You spend two healing surges to gain the benefit of one.

“No, Stupid Human, Like This…”
You draw on Splug’s expertise to complete your task.
Daily, Minor Action, Command Point
Effect: You gain a +3 power bonus to your next untrained skill check when using a skill in which Splug is trained. (Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery).

“Screw You, Fat Man!”
Being the selfish, self-centered bastard that you are, you throw Splug between you and a devastating attack.
Daily, Immediate Interrupt, Command Point
Special: You must be adjacent to Splug to use this power.
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: Splug is hit by the attack instead, and takes damage as if the attack was a critical hit. You lose all remaining Splug Points, and cannot regain more until Splug forgives you for being such a crappy friend.

When Splug is not being used by the PCs, he will be using the Total Defense option, and trying to move out of melee. (I’m using the stats for a Goblin Blackblade for Splug, and he’ll stay 1 level behind the PCs).

Please let me know what you think of this system and the abilities. My goal is for the PCs to value Splug enough that they keep him around, but not so much that they use him more than their own abilities.

Say the fighter gets hit with enough damage that would put him down for the count, the cleric’s running for his life and the warlord’s fallen down a well and no Lassie for a hundred miles. So the fighter intentionally catches the incoming blow on his shield or weapon or whatever, knowing it’s going to destroy it but also knowing it’s going to soften that blow once it hits him. And what the heck he’s still got his dagger to fight with right?

Just tossing this around in my kanoodle I could see using this as a House Rule. I’d make it Defender only I believe and make it only usable with a weapon or a shield. But anyway thought it was interesting enough to record here for my future musings and ponderings.

WHAT IS “THE SACRIFICE”?
You’ve just taken a hit that will put you down and out of the fight. Considering your options, you offer the GM a “sacrifice” – you shield shatters under the blow, soaking up some of the damage. The GM takes a quick look at their notes, and names a ‘soak number’; the amount he’ll give you off the damage to blow off the shield. You take the deal, the shield shatters, and you fight on.

WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO THIS?
Item breakage rules are, for the most part, tacked-on extensions of the idea of a game as a physics engine, a simulation of another world. Sometimes, that’s not nearly as interesting and useful to a play group as treating such things as ‘last ditch’ saving graces would be.

WHAT CAN BE SACRIFICED?
Here are some guidelines on what can and can’t be sacrificed – note that these are not based on the idea of the physics of the matter, but the value-of-the-moment.

• The loss can be described by the player in a way that “fits”.

• The item is applicable to the situation; it’s something that is useful in the context of the fight or the situation immediately around it – in a dungeon, having the lantern blown out of your hand and shattered across the floor might or might not be very applicable to the situation, even if it’s not going to seriously alter to the fight itself.

• The character doesn’t have access to a duplicate of the item (or, if they do, they’re willing to have the loss treated as entirely trivial). Just ‘how close’ a stand-in can be is up to GM determination; if the magician has half a dozen ways to make light, that might count as ‘access to a duplicate’ for the lantern.

ONE SACRIFICE PER SESSION?
It may be desirable to set a limit on sacrifices, so that players aren’t constantly needing to replace battered and broken gear. Or, potentially, it might be desirable to have a mixed limit, say: One sacrifice per session, except shields (break as many as you want!). This is something you’ll need to consider based not only on player action, but the tone and details of the setting; the “break as many shields as you want” came out of a Viking Raider campaign, and fit well since the Norse considered shields to be disposable, and built them accordingly – a “three shield” fight in the campaign was an exercise in player lip-biting.

STEP ONE: DETERMINE A “BASIC SOAK”
A ‘basic soak’ is the minimum amount of damage that will be taken off the top when a player makes a sacrifice and has it accepted. This might be a flat number such as ‘one health box’, or a flexible guideline, like ‘3 + (Level / 3)’. This basic number should be a relatively small amount; with a big enough sacrifice, a character will be able to soak up to nine or ten times this amount.

STEP TWO: BUILD A “VALUE BLOCK”
When a player offers up a sacrifice, the GM will figure it’s value by how critical the item is to the character’s ‘stuff they do’, and by how long it will stay disabled. An example value block is shown below. Note that the ‘physics’ of item toughness and durability aren’t figured into the example at all, and neither is ‘how easy is it to hit’ – if a character relies on a special holy icon to use mystical powers, having it stop a bullet and break is just as valid to this kind of setup as having a shield fracture.

STEP THREE: WHAT ABOUT REPAIRS?
Many sets of game rules have “item repair” abilities that may get called upon if rules for sacrifice are put into use. If you anticipate this being likely, you may wish to set up your value block to take this into account, putting in repair times and difficulties, spell effectiveness, and the like. If player characters have these abilities, it’s more fun to take the extra time to give them another cool use for those abilities than it is to try and freeze such abilities out.

GOING FURTHER: SACRIFICE AND HIT LOCATION
The extreme application of sacrifice is using these same guidelines in place of hit location rules, allowing a player to lose a hand instead of their life. This, though, is a considerably more specific proposal to the game system in question, and will take a lot more tinkering. Applying such rules to both items and hit locations, and then reducing overall health (or increasing overall damage) can create some pretty grim and brutal fighting rules, as players get ugly decision set out for them in combat.

Or you can read it as a PDF by clicking here.

Thoughts?

The below reminds me I need to add some CSS for the block quotes as that’s just rather damn plain.   And FYI this is the kind of post I so very much prefer to read rather than the “OMGWTFBBQ!!11! there aren’t any potions in the game!  This is teh sux!  I’m going back to [insert preferred version of preferred game]!!!”

But people like this, the ones creating all the new monsters, races, classes, the ungodly number of people creating power card decks, and boxes to hold them etc, these are the ones that really make the community great.  The “The economy sux!” ones, *deep sigh*, just Change the Rules To Suit You!.

Here are ones that look pretty balance for play from 1st level. I wrote them up more as powers than as weapons. This makes sure that everything is spelled out. It also takes them out of the running as fodder for a Rogue or Ranger Exploit. That, and I goosed up the damage given the higher hit point levels.

Acid Vial – 10gp
You hurl a vial of acid onto your target. It shatters and showers them and creatures nearby in burbling, caustic liquid.
At Will • Splash Weapon
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 poison damage. Make a secondary attack.

Secondary Target: Each creature adjacent to the primary target Secondary Attack: +3 vs. ReflexHit: d4 poison damageMiss: Half damage.
Special: Attacks on targets further than 5 squares inflicts a -2 penalty on the attack roll.

Alchemists Fire Flask – 20gp
You hurl a flask of incendiary reagents onto you target, which bursts into flame.
At Will • Splash Weapon
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 fire damage, and ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends). Make a secondary attack.

Secondary Target: Each creature adjacent to the primary target Secondary Attack: +3 vs. Reflex Hit:d4 fire damageMiss: Half damage, and no ongoing damage.
Special: Attacks on targets further than 5 squares inflicts a -2 penalty on the attack roll.

Holy Water Flask – 25gp
You hurl a flask of water toward your target. The holy power of a deity courses into it, and creatures nearby.
At Will • Splash Weapon
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d8 radiant damage. Make a secondary attack.

Secondary Target: Each creature adjacent to the primary target Secondary Attack:+3 vs. ReflexHit:d6 radiant damageMiss: Half damage.
Special: This power can only do damage to undead and evil immortals.
Special : Attacks on targets further than 5 squares inflicts a -2 penalty on the attack roll.

Tanglefoot Bag – 50gp
You hurl a canvas bag full of reagents toward your target. On contact, it bursts into a sticky mass, anchoring them in place.
At Will • Ranged Weapon
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: Target is restrained (save ends).
Miss: Target’s speed is reduced by 2 (save ends).
Special: Attacks on targets further than 5 squares inflicts a -2 penalty on the attack roll.
Special: Tanglefoot bags have no effect on Huge or larger targets.

Thunderstone – 30gp
You hurl an alchemically treated stone at your target. On contact, it detonates with a tremendous report.
At Will • Splash Weapon
Standard Action Area Burst 1 within 10 squares
Target: All creatures in burst.
Attack: Dexterity vs. Fortitude
Hit: Target is Deafened(save ends).
Special: Attacks on targets further than 5 squares inflicts a -2 penalty on the attack roll.

Okay didn’t mean to go off like that. I’ll stop now.

Anyway some backstory, if you’re not familiar with True 20 they also have a Minion type, called coincidentally the Mook. Much like Minions, Mooks die if they take any damage. BUT in True 20 to ‘hit’ someone you have to roll a To-Hit roll and succeed. Then the target rolls a Toughness check to see if they take damage. So T20 Mooks have to fail at two rolls, they have to get hit first and then have to take damage. In 4th Edition it’s just one roll, if the player rolls a to-hit, boom Minion goes down.

luckybell on the forums is essentially proposing to bring in a Toughness roll although he’s coming into from Savage Worlds which apparently has the same thing to some extent although slightly expanded. Essentially luckybell is going to add in a split toughness check. One value to Immobilize and one value to Kill. Not sure if I’d add in that extra level of complexity.

I do like the idea of an upgraded Minion because I’m finding the Minion just a little too glass jawed for my tastes so I think I’ll add in luckybell’s Mooks or at least a variant of them by giving them a ‘toughness check’. This check would be a hair over an average damage of the players at will powers at the appropriate level. So when a Mook gets hit and damage is rolled against it, if that damage is greater than X then the Mook dies. If it’s not then the Mook doesn’t die. Pretty simple. We don’t record damage, so no increase in bookkeeping. If the players roll low damage then we have some tough minions, if they roll decent damage then the minions go down just like always.

So here’s the original post and a link to the thread:

Or tougher minions.

I really like the way that Toughness works in Savage Worlds. If you’ve never seen the books, it goes like this…

Your damage is compared to a Toughness score. If it’s equal, the target is Shaken (no actions besides making a Spirit roll to recover). If you beat the Toughness by four, you take the target down.

This could be easily applied to minion monsters to make them a little more interesting in a fight. The minion would have a damage score, and when you beat it, it inflicts a condition on the minion. I would want to set the damage score to the level of an average At Will to immobilize, and the average damage-focused Encounter/Daily to kill outright. It gets a save against its conditions just like any other monster.

The idea is to give the party some interesting choices. They can burn a damage power to have a good chance of killing the mook. They could immobilize it with a At Will, move past and mess up the controller or artillery. They could team up or spend an action point to put it out of commission in one round with two At Wills. A Rogue with combat advantage could possibly take it down in one round.

So the stat block would look something like this:

Vampire Spawn Fleshripper
Level 5 Mook
Medium natural humanoid
Initiative +6
Senses Perception +4; darkvision
Damage Score: 13, immobilized. 20, slain.
AC 20; Fortitude 17, Reflex 18, Will 17
Immune disease, poison; Resist 5 necrotic
Speed 7, climb 4 (spider climb)
Claws (standard, at-will) ✦ Necrotic
+11 vs. AC; 5 necrotic damage (7 necrotic damage against a bloodied target).

I’m assuming that characters of levels 5-7 will take this thing on. They’ve probably got +4 main stats, +1 or +2 weapons/implements, level 5 dailies, and maybe level 7 encounters.

I’ll make a wild-ass guess that the character’s good damaging powers will dish out between 15-25 damage. Their at-wills will be whacking around 13 damage. If they at-will a coup de grace while it’s immobilized, they’ll certainly hit the 20 they need to kill it.

Characters with damage type that matches a mook’s vulnerability would burn through them faster than the rest of the party, giving them a nice spotlight moment. I’d figure one mook would be worth two minions for purposes of encounter balance and XP.

So, poke some holes in this idea, find reasons it won’t be fun, kick the tires, etc. Thanks!