Estril

Winterthorn's page

RPG Superstar 6 Season Star Voter. Organized Play Member. 183 posts (230 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 1 Organized Play character. 6 aliases.


Scarab Sages

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Maybe we'll see hints of a non-human empire somewhere? Perhaps a reptilian realm in the Arcadian subtropics that human Arcadian kingdoms trade with, or wage war against...? (Just brainstorming some wishes :-D)

Scarab Sages

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Oh yeah, that cover, placeholder or not, looks great! Well done.

Scarab Sages

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Well, for what it's worth, here is a quote direct from the WotC website concerning Mike Mearls role in this new edition of D&D.

"Mike Mearls is the senior manager for the D&D research and design team. He led the design for 5th Edition D&D." -Legends& Lore archive, May 27/14.

So while it's currently not marketed as 5th Edition, they have acknowledged it is the fifth edition of the game - even capitalized as one would do for a name or title.

:-D

Scarab Sages

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Auxmaulous wrote:
Thank you for posting some monster xp examples, I'll probably run this at 1/2 or even a 1/4 xp values when I run my game to get a slower pace.

You're welcome. I figure there are GMs here who want to see some numbers!

Scarab Sages

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For interest and making brief comparisons, here are some more monster XPs (found in Starter Set):

Commoner - 10 XP
Stirge, Twig Blight - 25 XP
Skeleton, Wolf, Zombie - 50 XP
Orc - 100 XP
Evil Mage (4th-lvl caster), Giant Spider, Ghoul - 200 XP
Grick, Ogre - 450 XP
Owlbear - 700 XP
Flame Skull - 1100 XP
Young Green Dragon - 3900 XP

:-)

Scarab Sages

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Chuck Wright wrote:
Quote:
- When the rules discuss exotic languages there is a table showing draconic spoken by dragons and... dragonborn. So are dragonborn a PC race to come?
Tieflings are also mentioned in an example in the Basic D&D PDF.

Your right, I missed that paragraph! Indeed gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, and even drow ("a fugitive from the subterranean expanse of the Underdark, trying to make his way in a world that fears his kind") are mentioned too. :-)

Scarab Sages

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I bought the Starter Set last night, read the combat rules and looked over the character sheets... IMO WotC did a respectable job of creating a version of D&D that is quite straightforward and playable for new players and kids. It currently appears to me like the kind of fantasy RPG one would cut their teeth on before advancing to the full suite of options and complexity many enjoy with Pathfinder. We'll see down the road how this new iteration develops.

Various things that caught my attention in the Starter set and the free Basic D&D PDF I downloaded today:

- Advantage (taking the best of result of two 1d20 rolls) and Disadvantage (taking the worst result of two 1d20 rolls). Interesting. I would like to see this in action as a player and as a GM to see if I like it. Example: Disadvantage is invoked if a PC tries a Dexterity (Stealth) check when wearing most armors.

- Many spells like Dispel Magic, Fly, Fireball, Cure Wounds incease in effect by spell "slot level" (and not caster level as in 3.0/3.5/PF) when cast at a higher level. So a spell like Flaming Sphere can be cast as a higher, more potent spell, thus ensuring it can be a useful spell for, say, a 17th level wizard, (9d6 damage)... I like this.

- Multiclassing requires prerequisites be met: "Without the full training that a beginning character receives, you must be a quick study in your new class, having a natural aptitude that is reflected by higher-than-average ability scores." Gory details to come in the Player's Handbook. Excellent news to me -- I've always had problems with some players multiclassing willy-nilly for the best combos without regard to character vermisimiltude. Granted I could make house rules, but I prefer it that the core rules themselves regulate things, but without prohibitions. In other words I prefer a character should merit certain complex options in order to access them.

- When the rules discuss exotic languages there is a table showing draconic spoken by dragons and... dragonborn. So are dragonborn a PC race to come?

- Backgrounds: and blend of RP fluff and crunch. Very interesting for a basic game, I think many people will derive roleplaying inspiration from it.

- A PC requires 300 XP to achieve 2nd level. A Goblin has is a Challenge at 1/4 (AC 15, 7 hp, 50 XP), a Hobgoblin is a Challenge at 1/2 (AC 18, 11 hp, 100XP), while Bugbear is a Challenge of 1 (AC 16, 27 hp, 200XP). A party of 4 well equipped, well rested PCs is expected to be able to dispatch the forementioned lonely Bugbear with little injury or loss, i.e. a 1st-lvl party of four should easily handle a total Challenge of 1. Thus said party of 4 needs 1200 for everyone to gain 2nd level, and therefore they will have to defeat in total (presumably over various encounters), say, 8 Goblins (400) + 2 Bugbears (400) + 4 Hobgoblins (400) = 14 goblinoids (1200). I think that's too generous, but the pace of PC levelling up is a very subjective topic...

Lots more interesting info to be found, of course... :-)

Scarab Sages

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Kelsey MacAilbert wrote:
Shifty wrote:
Anyhow, I have met a lot of GLB gamers, but not yet a T.
It sucks being a rarity.

Hmm. Well, one could turn that sad sense of rarity around, and consider oneself a bright gem!

Just thinkin' the positive :-D

Scarab Sages

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Shifty wrote:
Freehold DM wrote:
Shifty, must we be on opposite sides of every issue?!??!

Because you choose to be arbitrarily contrary?

It's true, I look forward to the day when the subject becomes a non-subject in the way we don't feel the need to converse about whether the sky is blue, and indeed it becomes a general day to day non-issue where the notion of where one puts ones private parts and with whom raises no eyebrows nor interest, and indeed no one really cares apart from those who might be interested in joining in.

I'm hoping for Sexuality threads to make about as much sense as a blue eyed thread, or 'people who drink water' thread.

Now if you are saying that you would like it to remain always a conversation piece where people feel the need to 'identify' (or worse, feel compelled to conceal) their sexuality, then I would suggest you are advocating that you are maintaining the status quo.

I'd personally like an end to the stupid 'politics' around the issue - you are suggesting you would like to maintain them.

In that case I welcome you to the opposition.

Won't be long now until the final hurdle of gay marriage gets crossed, and then thats pretty much the end of the battle won in this country.

Well good news: it'll be a non-subject once society at large has changed it's attitude. Until then, you'll just have to put with occasional public displays of LGBT people reaching out to each other in a sometimes very hostile world.

Oh, before I forget, your line about "private parts" wreaks of misunderstanding: by fixating upon physical intimacy you totally ignored the most important factor about same-sex relations, you ignored love.

Scarab Sages

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Just a general word from the The Great White North: up here in Canada we legalized same-sex marriage. Canadian society hasn't fallen apart despite shrill cries to the contrary. Only a small fraction of the population is gay or lesbian, and only a fraction of them actually married, so extending the same rights to homosexual couples has, logically speaking, no influence on heterosexually dominant society where the vast hordes of heterosexuals are getting married, and divorced, and married again, and divorced again, and so on...

Scarab Sages

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Aretas wrote:
houstonderek wrote:
Ion Raven wrote:
People are derailing all over the place in this thread. So has anyone actually given a reason why there should be a discrimination between heterosexual couples and homosexuals not fueled by a religious agenda?
Nope. Isn't going to happen, either. There are none.

Your an aggressive proponent of gay marriage. Here are some reasons....

{wall of text}...

Your wall of text is just that, a wall of text. Nothing of what you posted is persuasive if one were to examine the facts of history. While I don't have the time to respond to everything you wrote, I know one thing for certain: marriage, like the nuclear family, is nothing but a social construct that has zero to do with human nature. There is absolutely nothing "natural" about marriage -- what a utterly ridiculous notion!

It wasn't until the Victorian Era that marriage in the West stopped being a socio-economic construct and everyday people began to value romantic love as a reason to marry. For centuries beforehand, is was all about family wealth, social prestige, and money -- basically money and power for men. Plenty of romantic folklore about love, all a con job to keep the sorry masses happy, but the reality was very different. Before the 18-19th century, marriage was just a business deal -- one was lucky if attraction ever had anything to do with it. And, as a vehicle for child rearing? Pfffft! Weakest argument of all. If anything, progeny were part of business too.

In truth procreation does not, and never had, any need for social and/or political encouragement. Collectively, human beings *will* have sex, and will produce offspring regardless, like all Life on Earth does. Barring environmental disaster, humans will happily continue existence with or without any "church assistance".

And whatever is best for people, is typically the line of thinking of busy-bodies who stick their nose in everyone's business. People who want to "manage" society, demanding conformity, and assuming authority, are, as far I am concerned, people with major psychological problems regarding control and security. I mean the hubris of assuming one knows what is best for others? What appalling disrespect for the lives and privacy of one's peers!! (Never trust leaders who are desperate to lead...)

Oh and that bit about fathers being important... well since you deliberately didn't mention the value of mothers I take it then a gay male couple adopting kids is double the value? :-)

Honestly, if you don't want gay marriage, then don't have one.

Scarab Sages

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Lots of interesting ideas here! I like the idea of taking a core race and creating a modified version predicated upon a compelling back story. In this case I've created a variant of human stemming from this source: The Lost City. (Can be found in here too.) See also the D&D v.3.5 book "Elder Evils".

Cynidicean (Human)
The surviving descendents of the long lost and ill-fated kingdom of Cynidicea have arrived to start anew. With the horrors of Zargon finally behind them, this colony of survivors traversed many mysterious passage ways, crossed many dangerous realms, and have finally settled in dark lands vowing forever that, as they struggle to create a new civilization, they will bring light to the dark places of the "world". The pale-skinned Cynidiceans have actually changed over the generations of travel, and now they are determined to keep their dark history behind them.

Type: Humanoid (human) 0 RP

Size: Medium 0 RP

Base Speed: Normal 0 RP

Ability Score Modifiers: Human Heritage 0 RP

Languages: Standard 1 RP

Racial Abilities:
Illusion Resistance 1 RP (an adaptation from surviving many underground perils)
Poison Resistance 1 RP (an adaptation from rejecting their generations of drug use/exposure to mushroom spores)
Bonus feat 4 RP
Darkvision 60 ft. 2 RP (a mutation stemming from their generations of surviving in darkness)
Light sensitivity –1 RP (ditto)
Dreamspeaker 2 RP (also an adaptation relating to past drug use and their experience surviving the ravages of Zargon and his evil divine powers)

Total RP: 10

As an alternate, remove the darkvision and the light sensitivity, and add low-light vision. RP cost would remain at 10.

As another alternate, which would require more flexible guidelines, simply replace the darkvision with low-light vision. The RP cost would fall to 9, but this would fit the Cynidicean background better.

Edit: many small errors

Dark Archive

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Oh *that* is a most delightful map! Behold! We can now feast our eyes upon new lands to explore... and conquer!

Samnell wrote:
Eric Hinkle wrote:

I wonder, did something smash into the planet, or out of it?

Both. Long ago Rovagug broke free, tearing his way through a continent. He burst loose and finally saw the sun again just in time for a huge shadow to obscure it. He looked up, saw a giant meteor flying straight at him, and only had the time to lift a tiny parasol above his head before impact.

Rovagug's Parasol: Otherwise known as "The most cursed artifact in existence", it will automatically shrink or grow to be exactly two sizes smaller then it's wielder, and, within 1d6 rounds after it is opened, a cosmic-sized meteor shall plunge through the sky and inflict cataclysmic destruction to everything within a 1000 mile radius. There is no saving throw -- except for the parasol itself.