Bwang's page

I am channeling whole tomes of potential storylines, but they will not make it into the next campaign. A bunch of body jumping immortals? Now that would make a most excellent mythos.

I'm just online for a bit 'cause my D&D group just made a food run. I just gotta say...again...this barbarian rage thing is really, really old.

Barbarian rage does not kill you. Ever. It never has. Are people so utterly incapable of doing basic rudimentary mathematics?

If you have 100 HP and raging grants you 20 Hp, then you have 120 Hp while raging (both current and max). If during the battle you take 119 HP and then proceed to end your rage, you die.

But here's the funny part. You were already dead. Get it? See, rage doesn't give you HP and then deal damage to you when it ends. You already have the damage. If coming out of your rage would kill you then you were already dead without the rage.

Seriously...this is really irking me. Stop saying this. It's stupid.

We had this in a local game back in 2000(?), but I scoped it out as the Barbie Dolls wanting first healing (I know, I know). After I healed others first, the Dolls backed off their suicide charges. 2 characters using up over half the healing in an 8-9 person party? Every session?

Son of the Veterinarian wrote:

145. You own cats you've named after characters from a fantasy novel.

D*mn. Got me there.

304. You've owned generations of cats named after characters from fantasy novels......

Whew! As long as its cats and not dogs, am I safe?

Several 3PPs have fleshed out some of the corners, there being a 'Fey' book on my 'gonna get' list. If there's enough interest, one of the evil lurkers might do a broader expansion to Shadow or another under-developed part.

Another vote.

Thanks!

Antipaladin: I already have morphed Paladins in to a catch-all 'Holy Warrior'. This does give ideas for my several kinds of HW.
Cavalier and the Orders: I like and had terrible substitutes for them in game, Still haven't had to deal with one in game.
Gunslinger: No
Inquisitor: meh...but I do like the Archetypes
Magus: Not what I really wanted, but the Archetypes hepl me with some campaign specific classes I'm working on.
Oracle: With both Curses and Mysteries, the clerical version of Sorcerer is enough it's own thing to stand on its own.
Summoner: I want to play one before I start running again. The Eidolon throws me.
Witch: Again, I like the archetypes.

Ninja/Samurai: I do not have monks either.

Generally I run semi-mature. While in school, we had a former Sealous (SP) Scout as a GM who got damn specific. When he came to play in my world, he wanted to continue, but was running a Wizard. After a few nights, he learned the basics of RP and table manners. Still not sure he ever got over the whole personal vs character knowledge conundrum.

It usually wanders in a campaign, as players push and pull the storyline. I've had a grim slash and hack group running on weekends and a Sunday afternoon 'tea party with cookies' for a friend's kids on Sunday after church. The beauty of the system is the elasticity of the rules in dealing with imagination.

{Maturity is a fleeting, complex concept that I don't think can be nailed down by "Do you? Y/N"} Agreed

Got it.

155. The Flaws of Metamagic Ywmidth - A thoroughly discredited tome by a real 'stick in the mud' mage from some time back. Ebony covers with gilded metal work and inexpensive gems set in silver settings, the book is as pompous and wrong headed as it is beautiful. Each chapter details Ywmithd's objections to research into a particular Metamagic. He picked at obviously flawed assumptions disproved an age ago. Nearly every page has at least one error, if not more. It is particularly galling reading to anyone using that particular Metamagic. The text is written on the left hand page, leaving the right blank.

This copy has a great deal of notes on the right hand side, in different hands, languages, inks, crayons, etc. Numerous drawings and casting notes abound.

Although the book is viewed by most as twaddle, a careful study using Kn (arcana) will reveal that (DC 20) Ywmidth was a stick in the mud (DC 25) Ywmidth was a cynic that constantly questioned the powers that be, which caused him to be censured on more than one occasion (DC 30) The notes on the right hand side are all 'answers' to the arguments and problems made by Ywmidth.

This was a book passed around among other wizards that opposed Ywmidth admitting there were flaws in their reasoning and working out corrections. Think of it as primitive peer review. After a few reads, a Wizard will realize that Ywmidth was the force that 'proofed' the early feats, compressing and tightening them. This is not an acceptable fact to many in the current power structure.

Due to factionalism and one-up-man-ship, differing groups of wizards will act to destroy the book or publicize them, all with differing rewards or punishments.

I have used this in my game, though this is a much more polished version.

In my game, I have a skeleton array of facts which includes the 'real origins of races, etc. Beyond that, I layer myths and such for the players to 'discover' as they play. At the 2004 Christmas party, I got tagged by players from 3 separate incarnations of my game on Elf origins. All 3 'knew' that elves came from 'X', but 'X' was different in each of their games. Oddly, 2 wound up in a later series of sessions and found a few more bits of elvish history that "don't jive". They also found that one of the collected stories they had was really attached to another race.

They threatened to both build Bards and pursue the mystery! It could be some awesome RP opportunities.

Blemmyes were a late Roman foe that lived where coastal Sudan is now. The dry climate allowed them to use more armor with their cavalry. Not sure about their infantry. I do know they were serious warriors, going up against the Romans a number of times. They wore Byzantine style armor in the later period.

The Medusa that ran the thieves' guild in one of my city campaigns wore a veil, disguising herself as a burn victim, a semi-transparent 'bonnet' hiding her 'hair while allowing them to peer through the vents in the fabric. After 18 months, the Paladin finally popped a detect evil and she didn't ping. Later, the player found out and a long, nasty debate began over alignments and changes.

My key argument was that in the entire time they dealt with her, she never did anything evil, a RP trait that was key to many issues.

How do I copy this from G.doc?

Back in the days of the three little white books in a box, the Wizards would tattoo their pages onto fresh skins. Engraved plates might also work.

DrDeth, are you trying to 'stealth' in a double post?

The later two, though I'd love to see the progression of the race.

Ack! ...and cheaper too! Ack!

Fitzbutton ran off 100 copies. They were individually numbered.

It makes it easier to convince rubes that it will increase in value.

WHAT!? He swore mine was a Limited Edition!

A 'Dip" should be Universalist unless you can come up a good reason for a Specialist, and they do exist.

Personally, I stink as a Wizard these days, but from my POV, Full casters need to stay single class to maximize their power level. The Sorcerer I play with has 6 levels, plus 4 in single dips. She fears a wet paper bag. My Cleric is a straight 8 levels of mean.

I used the Miraluka as a foundation to build an ancient and almost extinct race in my home campaign setting:

Could you post the race here?

It is always nice when mark changes are marked along with an explanation of the 'why'. It gives me a grip on your reasoning. My real gripe with Tieflings is that their 'Fiendish Sorcery' trait is a poor patch, only usable if you go into Sorcerer. Giving them an array of things to trade in would help.

Tap

No list from me, just keep a note pad with the spells you prepared, but didn't need to cast. after several sessions, sit down and review.

The sounds of a party are more to attitude and skill. In heavy armor, FE, most everything is tight for protective reasons and when I was SCAing, I could move real quietly with little effort...so long as I had no shield or long weapon. Compared to the 'lightly' equipped gamers that slop M:tG card boxes onto table beside the Subway bags. It's really more about the clutter and carried things.

I play a game (rarely) at a military post. Two of our players are 'scout types and a third is Armor. The noise level he generates dwarfs a 18 wheeler, while the first two are dang near ghosts.

Not having any exp. with this kind of witch, can the hair be sundered? How would you treat a Medusa with the archetype?

The dark and evil system I use is to list all spells in three groups: Core or common spells; restricted but available; and rare, forbidden, effectively unknown, etc. I set the book's user's level and set the spells per level.

D6: 1-5 common spell; 6 go to the restricted and roll again; another 6 puts you on the rare list. None of these lists currently exceed 20, so I just roll till I get 'X' spells.

I really need to learn enough programing to get this as a program, but the last program I wrote was in '78!

That siad, I strongly recommend Raging Swan's 'what's the spell book like anyway'

Strangely, that's how I finally 'got' statistics!

One of the first things I learned in Biology lab is life finds its own way. Just because we were breeding white mice didn't prevent throwbacks. Assuming M is as far above us as we to the mice (debatable) then given the complexity of running a nation would still trivialize the lab with a maximum of 100 mice. Remember, the people don't live in plastic boxes with the inability to eat sleep etc at their own pace. I guess the closest RW would be 'Nanny' Bloomberg in NYC, and half the ciy has begun to ignore his Papal Bulls.

61: The Inner Spark, being an introduction by the Hidden Master
A small primer on the basics of magic. A person with access can learn the simplest of spells (First level Wizard) over a period of time. Only a person with the possibility of becoming a Wizard can see the book for what it really is, while hiding from others (DC 40). Once they become a real Wizard, they find the book has disappeared. Already Classed mages cannot interact with it. The same applies to Sorcerers, although the text is different. Part of the enchantment allows even the illiterate to read the book.

The appearance is always of a small book, but other details vary. The one detail most recall is the inside of the covers are signed by those who have had the book before. Should a Wizard meet a fellow of the same book, they WILL recognize each other despite all efforts to hide. For this reason, it it known that there are at least a dozen of these.

The Hidden Master is an unknown Wizard that is believed dead.

SM can be tweeked a number of ways, so our guidelines are:

The SM attacks 1) the nearest enemy 2) the enemy currently attacking the Summoner.

Slain Monsters are deducted from the number summoned the next day. Now that you've brought this up, I'm going to rethink the for RP/flavor.

He He, Our party had a 'buff before combat' sequence that our GM treated as sacred. When most of the same folks played in my game, I had to keep them off balance (altered monster feats, etc) and one simple was to avoid a cookie cutter combat start. The second or third time the already moving foe moved out of encounter range, the calcification ended and the players got a lot sharper and more able to adjust to the chaos of combat.

By the book:

No, that would be Scanners...

I think it would work, but check with you GM

Interesting. Lets see your thoughts. And please show your work.

Because the book sez so? In my game your odd points would by nifty tweaks that I would love to work in!

Ah. That makes more sense.

Oops, Elosandi wrote it better, but yes. It allows character builds that need multiple Stats to be more viable. Multiple GMs I am in contact with either use this or plan to.

I'm surprised the pro-"Always Evil" crowd hasn't swarmed here to tell us how badwrong these ideas are.

As a charter member of the 'Orcs are always EVIL' club, I love having different takes on them. I have a tribe of Chaotic Evil Orcs that mimic a LE ethos. Customs are not really laws there, but they recognize hard natural 'laws' such as 'might makes right'. Most of the nearby tribes hate them for solid discipline and iron production (My orcs are just reaching the Iron Age). Their relations with the nearest Dwarf Hold are best seen as Ali vs Frazier press conferences.

I post so I'll filch the best ideas from here.

I'm setting up for 15 as a PC start, 10 for NPCs, with one point per level to buy stats up. This helps MACs who are the ones most hurt in the games I'm watching. SACs are still progressing as normal.

I would have to say female GMs are more likely to emphasize 'roleplay' over 'rollplayer'. This is a personal observation of perhaps a dozen female GMs, three belonging to a V:tM group and another sharing a game world with her fiancee/husband. None have been below average, primarily due to them either having lots of experience playing or asking advice.

Guys seem to hate asking directions or for help.

Well, that was ...strange. She sez the race is not hers originally so the name is not cool. I think it might be copyrighted, but she wouldn't say. So...

X
X are defined by class levels - they do not possess racial Hit Dice.
X have the following racial traits:
Ability Adjustments (0 RP) +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, and +4 Constitution, -2 to ALL Mental Stats!
Basic Senses are Normal.
Size may be either Small or Medium.
Speed X base speed is 20 or 30 feet, by size.
Evolution Mutations: A X has an evolution pool equal to total of Player Character Class total + Con modifier in points. Points from the pool can be reset when leveling up (see evolutions). X must conform to any limitations of the current evolutions. No evolution may be taken two levels in a row.
SR: 5 + bonus under individual evolutions (0 to 3).

Automatic Language X

She seems to have purchased a 3pp Eidolon evolution product or gotten a number of evolutions from other sources. Nearly all are physical mutations, although some incur penalties as well (Bug eyes give bonuses to sight Perception checks, but renders you vulnerable to Gaze attacks). Please note that you have to change evolutions EACH level.

The Rogue is at least a level behind!

Edited for a good luck wish.

Had this kinda Twit in a group years back. made a point of raking different people over the coals to satisfy his inner control freak. I am too old to let some life challenged loser to rip me like that again. I was too old at 8, but too stupid to realize 'till I was in my 20s.

Do you really need the hassle? Do you really need to feed these humanoid lamprey? Is your life better with soul suckers in it? I suspect your answer to be 'no', and advise you to cultivate a better grade of friends. Life is way too D**n short.

My previous Gm forbade any and all non-core for 3.5, but used such extensively against us. Bad form. He absolutely FEARED getting upstaged and that was his BAD solution.

I agree on the Leadership feat and have no solution. I want such a feat, but do not want what exists. The 'gift' of an extra combatant can truly irritate other players, not just the GM. A Fighter with a personal healbot, buffer, etc. can dominate a group. A game I'm not in has 2 Summoners and a Druid, all with Leadership feats, and I keep hearing horror stories about how little gets done in a game.

A friend has a 'chameleon' race that works in Eidolin evolutions as you do. Her take is that they are tough in order to survive the changes, but neither wise or smart. They also get SR, but it is based on the evolutions gained. The 'rogue' in our party has dull blue skin that glows dully in the dark (unnatural aura), enormous hands with sucker tips on the fingers (bonus to climb and other criminal activities) and a long fleshy mass of pseudo medusa hair (random side effect of the frog-like hands). At just under 7 foot with about 120 lbs of boney body, he is very noticeable and hard to disguise.

She has a list and you only start with one point per Con modifier. She also allows another point every level, but no stat bumps. This last is as best I can recall.

If I can get her approval and a copy, I'll post the race.

I used simple market acrylics for years, particularly on my Blood Bowl Figs. Cheap and easily replaceable...and re-matchable. Units are a good place to start with mass production, BB teams are also good. Keldan Marr's advice is great, but you do need to keep records of each bottle you mix so you can replicate.

Check and see if there is a local 'painting club' or what not. I have to admit that my lazy butt gets more finished when I have company...and pizza!

Ack!

'Fetchlings are (is!) misspelled... ' WRONG

Fetchlings are (is?) misspelled... Corrected

Love having these collected!

A friend's 'dm' has the adjustment for Sorcerers taking 'x' bloodline built in to his world flavor. Dwarves, fe, are able to function normally with Earth and Fire based bloodlines. I hate the world, the so-called dm and at least one player, but it is a workable solution.

Pacific Islander Tattoos were given, not merely purchased. Each tattoo MEANS something. EG, a friend participated in a cross-ocean voyage in a traditional canoe (1970s?). When they crew off loaded in Fiji (?), they had a big party and he woke with a Tattoo with stylized waves on his back. We were in a bar in Pearl City (near Honolulu) and the bouncer recognized the Tattoo and showed his. We got in and drank free that night and he and his wife got invited for lunch the next day. So a Paladin having Tattoos associated with advancement, etc. makes great flavor.

FR's Red Wizards have tattoos that help focus their powers, and a friend's 3.0 world expands that to ALL metamagic feats. Your taking a meta feat involves going under the needle.

On your ToC, Fetchlings are (is!) misspelled...

A GM (I would love to play in her world) has a list of Wish results,and the possible consequences, for the perusal of those who can actually CAST the spell and a much vaguer version for everyone else. Someone also posted a very similar system on these boards this year. Her 'list' had notes that wishing for 'X' would likely incur a drawback of some kind. The one 'feat' related 'chain' I can remember was that if you wished for a feat you didn't qualify for due to level was that it 1) went on your character sheet in ink, so no swapping it out afterwards and 2) it took your next available feat.

BTW, she has differing 'costs' for different feats and you got 'feat points by your levels. Look up the net book of feats for what she initially based off.

Having played a Eberron Changeling at a table as the only straight player, my toon was the only universal fit. Eight players of seven races, not counting the two elves as being compatible due to cultural differences. Amusingly, I got stuck with a chastity vow for about three levels.

In over 20 sessions, I think actual sex between characters occured 2-3 times.

Dot

interesting