Planescape - The Great Modron March 5e D&D
A classic 2nd edition AD&D Planescape adventure converted into 5th Edition D&D rules.
Story: The Great Modron March is a huge event where the modrons march around the great ring, starting in Mechanus, the LN plane, and going to each plane in succession. They go from plane to gate town to gate town to plane, starting with the upper planes. The next march wasn't scheduled for another 189 years, but here they are, marching.
But our story does not begin here. We start a few days before the unexpected Modron March begins...
As you're walking through the streets of Sigil, you experience a massive headache. Walking in one direction makes the pain diminish slightly, going in another direction makes it worse. You stumble through the streets, going one step at a time trying to make the pain lessen. The further you travel, the lesser the pain becomes, until it the pain finally goes away - but the sensation of something between an interrupted sneeze and a tickle still remains in your brain-box.
You find yourself standing next to the front door to a small building. There are a handful of others here with you, whom you may or may not know, just as confused as you are. You get the feeling that you're supposed to enter the building.
I will be accpeting 4-6 players. Recruitment closes on July 3rd.
Good and neutral alignments only. Good alignments preferred.
Create a character that wants to be on this adventure where you're helping the modrons and the innocents affected by the modrons. Your character should also want to be with this group.
1st level, max HP (The end of this campaign is level 10).
You may choose between 27 PB or the standard Array
Books allowed: PHB, DMG (for the Aasimar Race), SCAG, PotA Players Guide races. Please read through this Player's Guide to 5e Planescape. Everything is acceptable in this book except the following: Rogue Modron, Genasi (Use PotA), Aasimar (Use DMG), Tiefling (Use PHB).
Backgrounds: you can pick any background, but factions are a big deal in Planescape. Therefore, please check out the Option 2 (Page 42) rules for faction backgrounds in the Planescape guide (same link as above).
Our submission should include your character build, your background (feature and traits), and at least a few sentences describing your character's personality or history (more is acceptable if you choose). Additionally, reading comprehension is important to me, so include the phrase "once more into the abyss" somewhere in your character submission post. Those who do this will have priority over those who do not.
Initiative: everyone rolls, which ever side gets the highest goes first, the other side goes second.
Inspiration: In addition to the normal inspiration rules, whenever you stay at an inn and pay extra for bath and good food, you'll have inspiration the next morning. Inspiration can be spent on yourself or any other person of your choice.
I am big on honesty and open communication, so please don't try to cheat or bend the rules - if you have a question or are concern with a ruling or don't like something I did or said, talk to me about it. I try to be a good listener and will work with you to resolve any issue for the betterment of the game. If you are going to be gone for a while or can't post for a few days, let me know and we can bot your character until you get back.
Reading comprehension is important to me. I get that we sometimes make mistakes, but if you're the type of person who consistently doesn't actually read what people write and react based on your misreading, it can get annoying for everyone. Due to this, I'm putting in a "catch" in the character creation rules. Please double check it to ensure you caught it when you submit your build.
I'm big on letting people play the character they want to play (within reason), rather than being forced into a role for group dynamics. If the party is missing a healer, you don't have to be forced into that role. I'll make sure the party has enough healing if no one wants that role. Likewise for any other traditional group roles. However, any character you create should want to be on this adventure and should want to be with this party - I don't like characters who spend most of their time trying to avoid the group or the adventure.
I'm currently a GM for an Out of the Abyss campaign and I publish a campaign log here on Paizo, so you can read that if you want to see my style. I'm also a player in a 5e homebrew PBP game here.
I have a full time job and two kids, so in combination with the above, this will not be a fast post game. I'd like to do a once a day game, but it will be flexible.
I really much prefer rolling (I generally roll six stats in order and let the numbers guide my PC choices, though occasionally I'll swap a pair).
Any chance I can do that instead of the two options you present? (I'll take crappy rolls and am happy to "adjust down" to wherever you think is fair if I happen to roll super high).
EDIT: although now I think of it, I suppose I could just randomly rank each stat and then allocate the standard array accordingly.
Count me in, I'll post a chracter concept in this coming week
I really much prefer rolling (I generally roll six stats in order and let the numbers guide my PC choices, though occasionally I'll swap a pair).
Any chance I can do that instead of the two options you present? (I'll take crappy rolls and am happy to "adjust down" to wherever you think is fair if I happen to roll super high).
EDIT: although now I think of it, I suppose I could just randomly rank each stat and then allocate the standard array accordingly.
Roll a d55 to see which array you use (they're all 27 point buy).
Then assign them 1-6.
Roll a d6 to see with one goes to strength.
Reassign them 1-5
Roll a d5 to see which goes to Dextwrity.
Etc..
:)
I really much prefer rolling (I generally roll six stats in order and let the numbers guide my PC choices, though occasionally I'll swap a pair).
Any chance I can do that instead of the two options you present? (I'll take crappy rolls and am happy to "adjust down" to wherever you think is fair if I happen to roll super high).
EDIT: although now I think of it, I suppose I could just randomly rank each stat and then allocate the standard array accordingly.
Roll a d55 to see which array you use (they're all 27 point buy).
Then assign them 1-6.
Roll a d6 to see with one goes to strength.
Reassign them 1-5
Roll a d5 to see which goes to Dextwrity.
Etc..
:)
Thanks.
15 15 12 11 9 9
= 11
= 15
= 9
= 9
= 12
Charisma = 15
Are you allowing "normal" races?
I was thinking a dragonborn fighter or sorcerer in the "Free League"
Yes. You can choose any of the races from the PHB.
I'll post a build later tonight (around ten hours from now). I'm thinking a wild magic sorceror (his magic recently awakened through being transported to sigil) or possibly a paladin.
Either way they'll be human, new to sigil and likely neutral good.
This is a dot. Character will follow shortly.
A question to boot, I think I would like a character who used to belong to a faction but turned away from them. Would it be okay to use the Proficiencies and starting equipment of the faction with a the feature of a normal background, like outlander or hermit or something like that?
Hi, dotting here as well.
This is a dot. Character will follow shortly.
A question to boot, I think I would like a character who used to belong to a faction but turned away from them. Would it be okay to use the Proficiencies and starting equipment of the faction with a the feature of a normal background, like outlander or hermit or something like that?
Yes. Please let me approve before finalizing. I'll also accept requests for custom backgrounds, as I'm the one who wrote the guide to designing background features. Just keep it reasonable.
Would playing a Mystic be allowed, or is it absolutely no UA? I have an interesting (I think) idea for an awakened mind assassin.
Otherwise, I'll probably go with some sort of wizard/rogue.
I've never read the mystic class. Let me look into it (give me a day or so), and I'll report back.
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Question regarding planetouched races. Older editions of D&D treated tieflings as a catch-all group for those with fiendish blood regardless of its plane of origin, but since 4E tieflings have been tied firmly to devils (baatezu) and their ilk. How much leeway do we have in reflavoring that?
I have a family of tieflings that I brainstormed years ago with the intent of using them in a Planescape game, and I'm considering using one of them as a starting point for my character submission, but they are descended from yugoloths rather than baatezu (an arcanaloth specifically; you can blame Shemeska and his Storyhours).
I'm perfectly ok with reflavoring a race (especially the plane-touched), so long as it's within either the 2e or 5e flavor and upon approval. Keep the statistics the same.
Another option - if you look in the Planescape document linked in the OP, you'll see there's options for variant looks for some of the plane touched races. Even though you're using the PHB stats for a tiefling, I'm ok with using that variant looks table. Or you can come up with something and show it to me to see if I'm ok with it.
Alright, I think I've settled on the character I want to be.
I might go with a thief-like awakened mind, steals to make a living, was attacked by gith(or possibly mindflayer) when he was a child, and is now very scared of psionics, including his own (which he is worried he cannot control).
The other one is a female storm sorceress, approximately 76 years old who made a deal with a kracken for power. I envision her as a sort of stereotypical sea witch.
So, acrobatics and athletics. Oddly nimble old lady who can fly? Sound fun.
Balec, looking over the mystic, I'm going approve it. I *think* the power level will be fine, and I wouldn't mind seeing it in play. I reserve the right to scale back on the class of it's too much, if your character is accepted.
EDIT: And I made a huge mistake on the character creation, so I will scrap the previous post and try again!
Dexterity 16
Constitution 13
Intelligence 16
Wisdom 10
Charisma 12
MYSTIC
Psionics
ORDER OF THE AWAKENED MIND
Mind Mastery
Awakened Expertise (stealth, athletics) (stealth)
HUMAN
Extra Skill (Deception)
Extra feat (Athlete)
Skills (trained)
Insight +2
Survival +2
Expert Stealth +7
Deception +3
Athletics +1
Arcana +5
Perception +2
Psionics: Save DC 13. Attack Bonus +5. 4pp
, limit 2.
Talents
Light Step
Thought Spear
Mind Meld
Level 1 Disciples
Psionic Weapon
Third Eye
Inspiration: Free Mind. If you gain a point of Inspiration for adhering to your faction philosophy, you may use it to automatically make one Wisdom save. Examples of activities that may award you Inspiration might include:
Refusing to join an organization or group that might provide you with benefits. Challenging the authority of another to make decisions for a whole group.
Accepting the fight for another's freedom to do as they please.
Restriction: A true Indep never gives away his or her independence, power, or truth to an outside authority, whether a faction, a king, or the powers of fate itself; should you betray your belief this way, you cannot gain Inspiration until you atone or otherwise prove yourself to your faction's cause.
Soolam is terrified of psionics, including his own. He was born in Sigil and raised by an old store owner, trained to steal, and his psionics were unlocked by a gith girl when he was about 16.
Oh god, I'm going to have to adventure, won't I? Those crazy people that the old hag always told me about, these are them! Ah well, so sense fightin it. Once more into the abyss.
Hopefully this is readable and proper. Sorry about the first post, I did ironically not see the part about reading comprehension. Says a lot about me, eh?
I actually did notice it the first time, but then totally forgot when I was actually making the character.
How does it work if the party belongs to several different factions? Is that an issue, or is it expected?
Being new to Planescape, my plan was to be recently arrived (and currently unaligned, faction-wise). Does that run the risk of missing some planescapiness?
I haven't typed it up yet, but my submission will be a human wild magic sorceror of the blasty, elementalist variety.
Factions are meant to be organizations that have their own philosophies and goals. Sometimes they work together, sometimes they fight each other. They are neither good guys or bad guys, just people with a common belief. Although some factions work better with each other than others, individuals from any given faction can work together with individuals from any other factions. So the differences in philosophies should only create some roleplaying frictions - they should not create inter-party combat.
You can think of it like this:
You've got local sheriffs, federal investigators, lawyers, forensic scientists, journalists, private detectives, criminals, religious leaders, and lawmakers. Each of them have their own goals, their own view points on life. They can work together, or they can be opposed to each other. Some of them are more likely to work together than others.
Now, imagine if pure belief is physically capable of changing the world around you. That's what factions are.
Here's a summary:
Athar - They believe the gods aren't really gods, but just people who gained a lot of power. "Gods" do not deserve worship. Somewhat akin to atheists or agnostics. They headquarter a shattered temple and do a lot of scribe work.
Believers of the Source - They believe the gods come from mortals, and that every person is capable of becoming a god by improving themselves enough. They run the great foundry, where all applicants must toil and sweat in their work before becoming true members.
Bleak Cabal - They believe that there's no grand scheme to anything. Sort of like a Nihilist. Unlike a nihilist, however, they believe the purpose of life is focusing on what you can do right now, rather than focusing on figuring it all out. They run the insane asylum in Sigil, as well as many soup kitchens for the poor around the city.
Doomsguard - These folk believe in entropy and that everything decays. Some believe they should help it along, others believe they should allow it to progress naturally and not inhibit it. They run the city's armory.
Dustmen - They believe that your currently life is just one path to the afterlife. That afterlife being "undead." We are all undead, some of us just haven't progressed to that state yet. These people take great care in treating the dead, whether they were blessed with undeath or not. They run the mortuary and control the catacombs.
The Fated - These guys believe you own whatever you can keep. If you're too weak to not keep your stuff, you don't deserve it. The strong and clever keep what they want. They run the Hall of Records, where the tax and property records are kept, and the training halls.
Fraternity of Order - these guys are a mix of lawyers and judges. The believe that there is order to the multiverse, and that by studying and understanding the laws of the multiverse, they can control it and gain power. This faction controls the legal system and city courts in Sigil.
The Free League - these folk believe that you can believe whatever you want to believe, so long as it's your belief and not something being forced upon you by someone else. They run the Grand Bazaar in the market district.
Harmonium - they believe in law and order, and will ensure that it happens if that have to kill every last one of you. They serve as the police force on Sigil. Those who lean towards goodness want to use the law to better society and help the misfortuned. Those who tend towards evil are more likely to engage in draconian punishments to see the law enforced. They control the city barracks.
Mercykillers - these guys believe in justice, in whatever form that it takes. Some of them want proper justice for the law, others want to deal out justice as they see fit. That justice could mean punishment for crimes or rewards for good/lawful deeds. This faction runs the prisons for Sigil.
The Revolutionary League - these guys are anarchists. They are also spies in other factions, sneaking in and pretending to belong to one of them, hoping to destroy them from the inside. They do not have their own headquarters or control any major component of the city.
The Sign of One - these folks believe that the entire multiverse exists in your own mind and that every bit of existence is just an extension of you. They run the Hall of Speakers, where lectures are given 24/7.
The Society of Sensation - They believe that the purpose to life is to experience as many different things as you can. The weaker members believe this just means the pleasures of life, while the more knowledgable understand that this means *all* sensations, including painful ones. The control the sensorium, a giant library of virtual sensations where you can literally experience what someone has recorded, down to the very last nerve cell.
Transcendent Order - these guys are most akin to a caricature of a Buddhist monk/martial artist. They believe in putting themselves in the exact spot at the exact moment the multiverse wants them. Train the body and mind to act as one, don't focus on the future or the past, only on the right now. They run the great gymnasium.
Xaositects - these guys believe in pure chaos. In whatever form that takes. They don't have their own headquarters - except when they do. They don't have any plans, except when they do. Sometimes they work alone, sometimes in groups. Sometimes they cause mayhem, sometimes they work together to create beautiful pieces of art as a mural across a city block.
Please note that it is not a requirement to randomly determine your stats. You may choose the standard array or 27 point buy.
Yeah, whoops. Sorry about that. Perhaps I should have spoilered it. :o
Please note that it is not a requirement to randomly determine your stats. You may choose the standard array or 27 point buy.Its all brand new to me, and fun to do. It will help decide the potential class for me
It's ok. It is a fun idea, and I really like it (Thanks Steve for the idea!). I just wanted to ensure that we didn't get it confused with a requirement.
So my idea so far is a fighter who once belonged to the Harmonium but left the faction because he disagreed with their tendency to violently push for peace and went into seclusion. I thought the Proficiencies and equipment of the faction with the Hermit's discovery feature would fit, though I need your input on what kind of discorey he might have made, since I don't really know what could be relevant to the campaign.
Bookrat,
This is perhaps a dumb question, but...I would love to play an air genasi Sensate sorcerer, but I see in the character creation rules that for genesis is says to refer to PotA. What is that resource?
Thanks
Bookrat,
This is perhaps a dumb question, but...I would love to play an air genasi Sensate sorcerer, but I see in the character creation rules that for genesis is says to refer to PotA. What is that resource?
Thanks
No worries! It's Princes of the Apocolypse (aka 5e Elemental Evil) Players Companion book. I linked to it in the OP. The PDF is free on Wizard's website.
Bookrat,
This is perhaps a dumb question, but...I would love to play an air genasi Sensate sorcerer, but I see in the character creation rules that for genesis is says to refer to PotA. What is that resource?
Thanks
No worries! It's Princes of the Apocolypse (aka 5e Elemental Evil) Players Companion book. I linked to it in the OP. The PDF is free on Wizard's website.
Fantastic, thanks much
Below is my background submission for Aerin, and air genasi sorcerer and new member of the Sensates.
Full disclosure: my experience with 5e is limited to a recent 4 hour game. However, I started on OD&D and have played 1E and 2E extensively and am very familiar with Planescape. I've pretty much stuck with 3.5 and Pathfinder primarily due the fact that I have more materials for those rule sets than I'll be able to use in a lifetime. However, if Aerin is accepted forth the game I will get up to speed on 5e.
Thanks for the consideration.
--Merc
An isolated upbringing, tramping the rugged mountains of his homeland virtually unsupervised…
Aerin's father was a rising djinni poet—his epic Once More Into the Abyss had enthralled audiences from Gehenna to Arborea to The cage-- when, in a fit of inspiration, he decided to journey to the Ysgard to begin an ode to the highest of peaks. In his long years there (for finding the highest mountain alone could take a lifetime) his poetry caught the notice of a sylph named Whisper. After a tumultuous courtship, Aerin was born on the craggy peaks of the Mindspins. Aerin's father soon despaired of ever finding the perfect mountain for his ode—finding the tallest mountain on an infinite plane being an impossible task-- and began declining rapidly, causing him to depart before Aerin could walk.
His childhood was simple if lonely, playing on the slopes near his mother's home, for she had little time for him. He wandered the craggy mountains, listening to the intricate patterns in the wind that constantly blew in the high altitudes. By the time he was five he had mastered the giant dragonflies that hunted the peaks, flying with them across the mountainsides. His extensive time alone taught him self-reliance and the intricate ways of the mountains, but it was the voice of the wind that he spent countless hours contemplating.
He left his home when he was 14, all but unnoticed by his mother. Her one contribution to his upbringing had been to teach him the rudimentary elements of magic, including rare and unusual spells only found amongst her people high on the peaks. Aerin is still learning to master his mother’s teachings and the proper use of his magical talents.
Wandering further a field, he began to chant in unison to the vagaries of the windsong in the mountains, unwittingly following his father’s life path. Soon he thought he began to an answering voice in the wind, melding its own song to his. So he discovered Shaundakul, the Rider of Winds. Something about the way the winds could be heard in his magical chants drew him to the god’s service.
Personality:
While Aerin has the ambivalence of a hermit towards others, though he does often view himself as superior in many ways. Nonetheless, his isolated upbringing makes him unsure in some social situations, tempering his arrogance considerably. His striking looks and the natural empathy from his genie and sylph heritage tend to draw people to him, despite his sometimes odd ways.
The enforced self-reliance he learned growing up in the virtual absence of parents was trying; however, he believes that everyone must fend for themselves. He despises evil creatures, though, and will happily fight along other good creatures. His father’s talent runs in his blood, and Aerin has begun to believe the path of a bard might be his future calling.
Appearance:
Aerin is rather tall (6'3") and somewhat thin, though he is quite hardy, developing lithe muscles ranging the slopes of his home in the rugged mountains on the first layer of Ysgard. His hair is a constantly disheveled cloud-white mop that seems to catch the breeze even when there is none, though it stands on end as if full of static electricity when he is angered. His skin is nearly translucent and his voice is light and airy, with a piping quality that lends a nearly clerical chant to his evocations. His clothing is rather garish, though it suffers from many patches and haphazard repair efforts--a deep blue shirt laced with bleached leather, a long kilt patterned like swirling clouds, high leather boots bleached bone-white, and a long deep blue and white cape.
A public service announcement for those who are new to 5e:
5e is a very different game than pathfinder. If you treat the games as similar, you may encounter rules differences that surprise you and make for a less pleasant experience. Due to this, several of us pathfinder fans wrote up some advice for those coming to 5e from pathfinder. You may benefit from reading it.
Good advice.
Goodness, one poster in that thread turned it from a good advice thread into a slog of a read. I couldn't help but picture a person pounding away on the keyboard because someone on the internet was wrong (little realizing that someone was him).
Sorry about that. I forgot about that guy.
Anyone have any questions? About character creation or the Planescape campaign setting or Sigil or 5th edition?
I'm happy to discuss.
I see that Steve Geddes has already proposed a elementalist sorcerer. I'm happy to switch Aerin to either bard or (though clearly stated that the party doesn't require one) a cleric. Both are broadly hinted at in his background.
I'd go with a 15,14,12,11,10,10 base array.
I have plenty of questions about 5th edition, only because I haven't looked at it, pending acceptance. I really can't imagine it will be problem though, I'm more interested in the RP opportunity. Mechanics should be relatively easy to pick up.
If I need an ace in the hole I'd be happy to post a pic of a game I played in earlier this month that Zeb Cook ran. :) Wasn't Planescape though, alas.
I see that Steve Geddes has already proposed a elementalist sorcerer. I'm happy to switch Aerin to either bard or (though clearly stated that the party doesn't require one)a cleric. Both are broadly hinted at in his background.
I'd go with a 15,14,12,11,10,10 array.
You don't have to. If you're both accepted, the. You'd be playing two different archetypes, which is a good enough mechanical difference.
Beyond that, even if two people played the exact same character, they'd be different in their personalities, which is enough to make a fun and interesting game.
What can change the nature of a man?Anyone have any questions? About character creation or the Planescape campaign setting or Sigil or 5th edition?
I'm happy to discuss.
Belief. :)
What I get from Planescape is that (correct me if I'm wrong):
An organisation settled in Sigil is in charge of doing things (good things, probably) in different Planes, with factions pursuing different personal agendas.
More or less?
Also: I guess you can belong to a faction without needing to take its background option.
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-Helps a lot, my friend. I thank you.
He stands up and reads over his friend's shoulder.
-"Once more unto the breach, dear friends...". What is that?
Closing his book, the other man rolls his eyes and finally answers.
-It is a phrase long ago spoken by a long ago living king. I think it suits the moment quite well, though I'd change it a bit in our case and declaim: "Once more into the abyss..."
Jereru, as Jesse described, an easy approach is to simply say that your character comes from a prime material plane (a "Prime", or less flatteringly, one of the "Clueless") but gets dumped in Sigil somehow. That way, he doesn't have to know a thing about Sigil or the Factions and you can pick it up just as your character does.
My proposed character is a Planar, but comes from a relatively remote location. He is familiar with the factions, but Sigil is pretty new to him. I would play him as somewhat naïve, like a country bumpkin going to the big city, whereas a Prime might be more like someone from a rudimentary society suddenly being transported to the middle of Tokyo.