Rusalka

magdalena thiriet's page

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...now where did I put those Ars Magica and GURPS books? or WoD? And there are some nice new indie games I have been hearing about...

Dragon (and for last couple of years, Dungeon) has always been a big part of my D&D experience and seeing what is happening there...and even coaxing me to start playing the game again. And now they are no more. No, I don't subscribe to online magazines. Free online material is acceptable.
They were also a big reason to go more or less regularly to game store (I don't subscribe but I leaf through the magazines and buy them if there is interesting content) where I might also then buy some other material too...so good luck with that edition 4.0, WotC! It will probably be available only online! (I would use more expressive language but that would come out only as string of symbols...)

I will check Pathfinder when it comes to shops (if it comes to shops in Europe...new magazines always have bit of a problem in breaking ground).


"DMing for cheaters" thread made me wonder, what kind of rules not related to game mechanics do your group have?

On the other thread, I already mentioned one: players make the rolls into a box (when playing on a table). This is a habit coming from days of red box D&D but goes well today since the box provides flat surface so the rolls don't land tilted, they don't randomly fly all around the table, going under the books or knocking down miniatures or drop from the table and roll under the couch...the die which doesn't end in the box is rerolled, no matter what. This is especially important in board games we occasionally play, since even with this rule it hasn't been once or twice when a bouncing die had hit the board and troop tokens from Thailand end up in Egypt...or were the troops in Vietnam after all? Or China? And how many points did I have again?

All characters are campaign-specific. Players cannot import their characters from other DMs' campaigns to mine and if they go play their characters to some other DM's campaign, any experience, treasure etc. from that campaign won't come to mine.
If a new player likes his character so much that he wants to play it in our group, he is welcome to reuse the character concept and create that character, according to normal rules and procedure.
Usually DM keeps the character sheets among the other adventure notes between the sessions, so that nobody forgets to bring them to game...(Except for DM, but so far that hasn't happened).

Snacks are personal (unless otherwise agreed) and should be got before the game...delivered foods are exception. If for some reason someone hasn't been able to get snacks before the game, quick snack run can be done as there are quiet moments for all player (but better not make a habit of it).

These for starters, as unwritten rules which are followed unless otherwise noted.


I leafed through some past issues of Dungeon and...it's really hard to consider the illustrations at their own anymore, without thinking "Ooh, that's Kahoolin" or "Oh, Saern is in this adventure"...


...for I have sinned. After going through Eberron Campaign setting book...I rather like it. It includes many ideas I have been dabbling with or interested in.
Bigger role for non-core races, especially goblinoids, in civilized society: check.
Magic in industrial role: check.
Larger interest in making of magic items: check.
Exploration of unknown areas: check.
More loose use of alignments: check.
Larger role of politics: check.
Film noir ambience: check (I can ignore all the anime-wannabe-isms if I want to).

As far as high-magic campaign worlds go, Eberron is pretty interesting. Just thought to mention.


In Lords of the Boards thread I declared I am Enthusiast For Scurvy And Bubonic Plague, so accordingly here are some plans about houserules to make diseases more interesting.

The problem in RAW is that diseases have little storytelling value. One level 3 spell and it all goes away...few DMs even bother with such things because they are just so trivial or have to be some unique bizarre supernatural voodoo disease to which "Remove Disease does not work". Dull, considering how significant things they actually were in medieval times.

So here are some modifications to RAW (PHB and DMG with bit of Spell Compendium thrown in), and couple of new spells to cover midground (and bring fun flavor to that eeeevil villain priest of Nerull). In no way complete but look through. Comments and suggestions are more than welcome.
I'll be suggesting some new diseases and parasites too at some point, oh fun :)

Spells

Delay Disease
Level: Clr 1, Drd 1, Rgr 1
Otherwise like written in Spell Compendium 63

Resist Disease
Abjuration
Level: Clr 2, Drd 2, Rgr 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 2 hours/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

DC of Fortitude saving throws to prevent infection of disease (DMG 292) is lowered by half of the caster level of the caster. Since supernatural diseases are more susceptible to magical healing, their DC is lowered by caster level of the caster.
Even if the saving throw fails, length of incubation period is doubled.

Heal Disease
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Clr 3, Drd 3, Rgr 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: 24 hours
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

DC of Fortitude saving throws to prevent instance of repeated damage and to recover from disease (DMG 292) is lowered by half of the caster level of the caster. Since supernatural diseases (and diseases coming from Contagion spell) are more susceptible to magical healing, their DC is lowered by caster level of the caster.
Even if the saving throw fails, target takes no ability damage during that day.

Enhance Disease
Necromancy (Evil)
Level: Clr 3, Destruction 3, Drd 3, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: 24 hours
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

DC of Fortitude saving throws to prevent instance of repeated damage (DMG 292) is raised by half of the caster level of the caster. Since supernatural diseases (and diseases coming from Contagion spell) are more susceptible to magic, their DC is raised by caster level of the caster.
Successful saving throw is not counted for purpose of recovery.

Suppress Symptoms
Necromancy (Evil)
Level: Clr 4, Drd 4
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Special
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

Suppress symptoms cures all effects of one disease the subject is suffering from. The subject still makes daily Fortitude saving throws to recover from disease but on failed rolls takes no ability damage. The spell stays in effect until the disease is cured, and until then the subject is immune to reinfection by the same disease.
The subject is still carrier of the disease and can infect others. For his own recovery saving throws and infection, ability damage and recovery saving throws of the infected creatures DC of Fortitude save is raised by 5.
Both casting and being willing target of this spell are considered evil acts.

Remove Disease
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Clr 5, Drd 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)

Remove disease cures one disease the subject is suffering from. The spell also kills parasites, including green slime and others. Certain special diseases may not be countered by this spell.
Material component: Different for each disease

Contagion
Necromancy (Evil)
Level: Clr 5, Destruction 5, Drd 5, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The subject contracts a disease selected from the table below, which strikes immediately (no incubation period). The DC noted is for the subsequent saves (use Contagion's normal save DC for the initial saving throw). Diseases contracted by Contagion spell are considered supernatural for target but if disease spreads to further victims disease is considered natural for them.
(Table in PHB 213)
Material component: Different for each disease

Mass Contagion
Level: Clr 7, Drd 7, Sor/Wiz 8
Otherwise as written in SC 51 (with exceptions to Contagion spell, above).

Modifications to other rules

Destruction domain spells:
3 Blindness/Deafness
5 Contagion

Remove disease ability of paladin is changed to Heal disease ability (similar to the spell with paladin level instead of caster level).
Paladin gets Remove disease ability on levels 10, 14 and 18, but requires material component for using this ability.

Panacea (SC 152) no longer heals disease.

Disease spells and specific faiths

Priests of Nerull (and other sects who are considered applicable by DM) use their holy symbol as material component for both Remove Disease and Contagion. Holy Symbol is not consumed in the spellcasting. However, in most cases casting Remove Disease is considered violation of code of conduct and Suppress Symptoms is preferred.
Druids and priests of Obad-Hai (and other sects who are considered applicable by DM) use their holy symbol as material component for Remove Disease when targetting non-supernatural diseases. Holy Symbol is not consumed in the spellcasting. However, in some cases casting Remove Disease is considered violation of code of conduct (casting Suppress Symptoms is always a violation).

Material components for Remove Disease and Contagion

List of material components in other cases haven't been compiled yet, however most of them should be such that getting them requires bit of work but might also be readily available at least in larger towns, depending on wish of a DM. Piece of brown mold (DMG 76) freshly cut, an amethyst of certain size or heart of owlbear, that sort of thing.


...and we got TPK in second session. Not that it was difficult, considering that every character death is a TPK.
Owlbear in Land farm already proved out to be dangerous. While physical combat itself is not so dangerous on this level (with high AC and damage reduction), grapple is. No way could Brandi break free from that grapple, and as there was nobody else to help him...luckily satyrs do have that nifty headbutt natural attack, so he managed to kill owlbear while still being grappled.
Kullen's gang was easy for anyone with talking skills, so no problem there.

And then...Filge's tower.
First obstacle was the fact that the door was locked and Brandi was no lockpicker. Well, I guess it's time for climbing upstairs and sneaking in...straight into Filge's laboratory. Battle was rather long as nobody was particularly effective in doing anything ("12...that's not enough?" "Skeleton misses, owlbear zombie misses, miss, miss, ooh, a hit...stopped by damage reduction, and Filge casts a spell with no apparent effect. Next round."). I was slowly eroding my way through as Filge was not having much luck with his Ghoul Touch but he got lucky with Ray of Enfeeblement, slowing me enough for one of the zombies to finally kill (I managed to kill Filge though). DM commented that if that hadn't hit, I would most likely had won the battle.

So, will Age of Worms start now and Kyuss devour us all? Luckily Brandi kept Allustan updated on what he had been doing, so when Brandi didn't come back he went to look at the tower and found, besides pile of dead people (some of them still moving) also a scary-looking green worm, and now has informed couple of his old friends is they would like to give a hand...and Elanna, level 6 aasimar paladin has come to take a look at the matter. Part of the Whispering Cairn is still unexplored, or maybe it is time to go look at that Dourstone mine...

So, what should we learn from this sad tale?
This adventure was not best possible for character like Brandi, he might have done better in some other...groups of undead equal bad for him.
More ranged attacks. Both grapple and paralysis can be deadly when you are alone.
Ray of Enfeeblement is awful spell when you are alone, getting hit by one puts end to melee combat (no save, remember).
Fey racial levels are pretty bad too. Bad combat skills, no magic...sure, it gives nice defensive abilities and mobility is great but if you hit like a wet sock you are just waiting for the opponent to get lucky. As such, forcing satyrs to take five levels of them pretty much puts it out as usable character race except for campaigns concentrating on heavy roleplaying.
Exp is not that much...DM calculated that putting together all the encounters in Whispering Cairn isn't enough to take level 8 character to level 9. Money and other treasure is nice though when you don't have to share that with anyone.
Locks and traps are trouble. That first level of rogue might be a necessity...unless you have loads of extra cash to get bunch of scrolls of Knock (and can use them). And stone-to-whatever-soft spells are even more expensive but in many cases equally necessary (stone slab in Whispering Cairn is still waiting for a method to be moved).

Nevertheless, next I will try out how a paladin manages alone. Yes, I am sticking to rather basic stereotypes but I rarely play paladins and as there is no other party and thus intra-party relationships there is no immediate need to make any strange mixing of things...hmm, maybe I should have made that level 1 rogue/level 5 paladin. Well, we'll see what happens.


There are some supplements (and sometimes basic rulesets) out there that are so great, innovative and fun that you enjoy reading them even when you might not use the content in any game...
Name your favourites, not the most useful ones but the most fun to read.

Mine are at least:

RuneQuest Gods of Glorantha
GURPS Illuminati
GURPS Bunnies&Burrows
Planescape Factol's Manifesto.

What can I say, I like weird philosophies (and bunnies).


I noticed that with couple of magazines closing the messageboards were redesigned...however, now there is a separate categories for D&D and other RPGs. Does it mean that I should no longer discuss, say, my GURPS, Ars Magica, Cyberpunk 2020, RuneQuest, whatever experiences in D&D board? Even if they are relevant to the topic in question?


Inspired by White Toymaker in the starter campaign thread...

"You are ECL 1 character of choice with any equipment available in PHB (other equipment are negotiable if you stay reasonable). You enter a 10'*10' room and there is an orc who has a pie. Your goal is to get the pie from the orc. What do you do?"

How many ways can we think of for beating this adventure?

Toymaker mentioned already two: killing the orc and taking the pie, and casting Charm Person and talking orc into giving the pie.


Last night I started to think about magic and spells which normal people (instead of adventurers) would like to know. Going through the lists in PHB, I came up with following list for spells I'd be having if all of a sudden I was transformed into level 20 sorcerer, with CHA 19 of course, and if material components were not a problem (rather hard to get eyelashes of rakshasa in real world...).

0:
Daze
Detect Poison
Light
Mage hand
Mending
Open/close
Prestidigation
Ray of frost
Resistance

1:
Charm person
Comprehend languages
Disguise self
Expeditious retreat
Unseen servant

2:
Bear's strength
Detect thoughts
Fox's Cunning
Invisibility
Knock

3:
Clairaudience/clairvoyance
Haste
Suggestion
Tongues

4:
Greater invisibility
Lesser geas
Locate creature
Scrying

5:
Dominate person
Fabricate
Telekinesis
Teleport

6:
Disintegrate
Legend lore
Suggestion, mass

7:
Greater teleport
Limited wish
Phase door

8:
Clone
Moment of prescience
Polymorph any subject

9:
Foresight
Time stop
Wish

Yup, I am a weasel and would make really lousy adventurer :)
Couple of spells like Clone are not that great as sorcerer spells but hey, if you need it even once, it is worth it. And choices in level 2 was rather hard, as all the stat boosts would be great...
And of course I made an assumption that I would be the only spellcaster in the world and would like to keep all the flashy effects down (that's why I dropped Mount from the list). And I don't really have a need to kill anyone, so no phantasmal killers...