Being the odd duck that I am, I want my Pathfinder setting to be Northern Crown. I've always had an affinity for the era from the mid-1600s to the very early 1800's, and when I found NC, I knew that it was the setting for me!
If anyone else out there is familiar with NC, I'd like some input on my ideas for "Pathfinderizing" it. Here goes...
Dodging
You can take the Dodge feat up to 3 times. Each time past the first increases the dodge bonus by +2. Thus, the first instance of Dodge gives you a +1 dodge bonus, the next increases the bonus to +3, and the last increases the bonus to +5. You can swap out class-granted Armor Proficiency feats for the Dodge feat if you intend to not focus on armor. The Max Dex penalty for armor also applies to this dodge bonus.
(This is intended to decrease the reliance on magical armor and shields to boost one’s AC.)
Guns
Firearms do Ballistic damage, which is difficult to stop with manufactured armor. Against worn armor of any kind, an attack with a firearm is counted as a ranged touch attack. This does not apply to natural armor.
(This gives one a reason to not bother with heavy armor types, and gives guns a little more respect.)
Classes
The Agent.
Instead of the agent (pg. 78), use the rogue class. Add the following agent class abilities to the list of rogue talents: Blend In, Insight (can be taken 4 times), Slip Away, Undetectable Alignment. Add the following agent class abilities to the list of advanced rogue talents: Improved Critical (dagger), Hide in Plain Sight, Discreet Attack.
(The agent is basically the rogue with a few extra abilities, so I decided to just meld them.)
The Natural Philosopher.
Increase the hit dice type for the natural philosopher to d6. Otherwise, the class is unmodified except as needed based on the differences between core d20 and the Pathfinder rules.
(This one is a but short on class abilities, but I'm not sure what needs updating or what to add. This one will need some work, because I know that one of my players will likely use this entirely new class.)
The Raider.
Instead of the raider (pg. 90) use the barbarian class. Add the Quiet Movement raider class ability to the 3rd level barbarian class abilities.
(The raider is just a slightly tweaked barbarian. Most of the War Dance abilities have already been covered in the Pathfinder barbarian rage powers.)
The Rake.
Use the rake class unmodified except as needed based on the differences between core d20 and the Pathfinder rules.
(The rake is also a rogue variant, but with enough significant differences that I didn't want to just fold it into the rogue as well. The rake has a full set of class abilities, but as with the natural philosopher, I'm not sure if they're good enough to be balanced with Pathfinder.)
The Scout.
Instead of the scout (pg. 95), use the ranger class. Add the Sharpshooting Combat Style (2nd, 6th, and 11th level). A ranger who forgoes spells gains the Sneak Attack ability starting at 4th level (1d6 at 5th level, 2d6 at 8th level, 3d6 at 11th level, 4d6 at 14th level, 5d6 at 17th level, and 6d6 at 18th level). This ability functions in all ways like the rogue sneak attack ability, and stacks with the sneak attack ability of any class that provides it.
(Another only slightly tweaked class, the scout is a ranger without spells and with sneak attack. Is the option of dropping spells in favor of sneak attack at roughly the same level appropriate?)
The Soldier.
Instead of the soldier (pg. 98), use the fighter class. Add the Military Training class ability to the 1 level fighter class abilities.
(I'm not entirely sure why this is called a new class. It's basically a renamed fighter with a new class ability.)
The Witch.
Instead of the witch (pg. 100), use the witch class (Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide).
(I'm not sure about this one. I'll have to compare and contrast the two witches to see which I prefer.)
Good luck with this. Its a great under appreciated setting.
Sigurd
Check out Adamant's couple of expansions for it. Franklin's Almanac 1&2 they're not big but they're really good.
The group likes Pathfinder, and I love this kind of setting. If I can run my Pathfinder games in NC with a minimum of tweaking, it's win-win for players and DM alike! ^_^
About the only other updates I'll do to the setting is add about 120 years to the timeline.
It's only 1666, but it mentions Jefferson, Franklin, Burr, Hamilton, etc., and even earlier historical figures like Blackbeard. The latter wasn't even born until 1680, so the date for the setting is a bit off. If I add 120 years or so to it and add a few more generations of Carolingian kings in there, it fits a bit better.
I plan to re-work the timeline, rearranging it so that Jefferson declared Sophian independence in 1766, with official recognition coming from King Charles IV in... wait for it... 1776... ^_^
The current campaign year can then be 1786. General Odysseus Washington is in charge of the Sophian Army, keeping a close eye on the enemies to the north and south.
My updated history is thus:
Charles I was exiled to NC and named his kingdom in exile Carolingia. It included what would one day become Sophia.
Charles' forces repelled Cromwell in his attempt to take NC.
Charles II took regency when his father died, and began making harsh demands on his subjects in Sophia. This began a cycle of resentment and rebellion in the Sophians.
Charles III continued his father's policies, but relations between Sophia and Carolingia remained relatively stable.
The growing hostility between Sophia and Carolingia came to a head in 1770 when Charles III conscripted all forces, including those of Sophia, in an ill-advised attempt to retake Albion.
Jefferson refused outright, and declared Sophian Independence. In anger Charles III declared war on Sophia. The War for Sophian Independence began.
The war ended in 1776 with the surrender of Carolingian forces at Yorktown. Charles III went completely mad and abdicated his throne to his son, Charles IV. Charles III took a small force of loyalists and disappeared into the unknown west to found his own kingdom. He has not been heard from since.
Charles IV officially recognized Sophian independence and began repairing diplomatic relations with his neighbor to the north.
The current campaign year is 1786.
Note to self: I need to add 4 towns to the Commonwealth and Witchling lands...
Dunwich, Innsmouth, Kingsport, and, of course... Arkham... >:D
I'm a big fan of Northern Crown myself.
You might look at the Alternate Rules for Defense from Unearthed Arcana. That might work a little better than your Dodge feat tree. If you do decide to go with incremental increases to dodge you might put some level or BAB minimums to get the higher levels.
I curious how you are going to handle firearms. NC has one of the more realistic sets of firearms rules. Rather than a blanket "to hit touch AC", you might go with an AC penetration rating for each specific firearm. This reflects the poor penetrating ability of early muskets and such. If you are going to 1786 you are well into the period where rifling was being introduced...which gives you a crappier reload rate but greater penetration and range (until you get to breech loaders). I really loved using the multiple rounds of firearms use rules: perception goes out the window due to noise and smoke.
Good luck, I think that Pathfinder with NC is a good combo. When and if I ever get a campaign of my own going again this might be something that I utilize.
CJ
Hmm... I like that Defense bonus rule.
I ditched the idea of the increasing Dodge bonus and dug out my copy of Swashbuckling Adventures (the d20 version of 7th Sea). They have an Unarmored Defense feat tree that is also quite useful.
I'll compare my bodged together Defense feat tree and the Defense Bonus option to see which I like better.
As for guns, I've also already dropped the idea of a blanket ranged touch attack for guns. Since I've decided to adopt a defense bonus rule, most folks were probably not going to bother with buying armor anyway. Thus, the "touch attack" rule wouldn't often come into play.
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of that alternate Defense bonus rule. It's just what I was looking for!
You officially rock. ^_^
I have a player interested in being a Natural Philosopher, but I have concerns that the class won't be balanced against the updated Pathfinder classes.
Does anyone familiar with NC have any suggestions? Is the Nph ok as it is? If not, what should be changed and/or added?
You might look at the Alternate Rules for Defense from Unearthed Arcana.
Love this, but after doing a little number crunching the bonuses to AC at lower levels seem a bit too high, IMO. I've tweaked the table to give similar bonuses on the high end, but lower bonuses at the low end.
Another slight tweak I've made is that the defense bonus doesn't stack with armor bonus, but you still have your defense bonus if you wear armor. Also, anything that causes you to lose your Dex bonus to AC also causes you to lose your defense bonus. With this tweak, there is still some merit to wearing armor as it will increase your flat-footed AC.
Other than those things, I like it! Thanks again for pointing it out to me! ^_^
Never had a chance to see a Natural Philosopher in action, but first he needs the basic changes:
- Hit Die from d4 to d6.
- Remove Concentration and change Decipher Script to Linguistics.
- Use Natural Philosopher level + Intelligence modifier to make Concentration checks.
I think the Spell Resistance could be changed to: all Natural Philosophers have a Spell Resistance equal to 6 plus their Natural Philosopher levels.
What a coinkydink! I was just working on Pathfinderizing the natural philosopher and came here to post some of my ideas!
Here's what I've got so far...
Make the following changes to the natural philosopher core class to bring them up to the general power level of other Pathfinder core classes:
Hit Die: increase to d6
Class Skills: The natural philosopher’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (any) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Class Features: Make the following changes and additions to the natural philosopher’s class features:
Craft Invention: Make the Craft Invention feat a natural philosopher class ability automatically acquired at 3rd level. The remaining invention feats remain feats.
Continuing Education: A natural philosopher adds half his class level (minimum 1) to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Spell Resistance: Natural philosophers’ power of reason gives them protection from the effects of magic; all natural philosophers have spell resistance (SR) equal to 10 + 1/2 their natural philosopher levels (rounded down).
The Powers of Reason: A natural philosopher gains special powers derived from his intimate understanding of the forces of the universe. The following descriptions detail each degree and its corresponding powers.
Antimagic
Disbelief: A natural philosopher with a degree in Antimagic gains a +2 bonus to her SR.
Skepticism: A natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Antimagic can instill his skepticism in others. The natural philosopher can spent a swift action to name any single ally within 30 ft. of the natural philosopher. That ally gains SR equal to half that of the natural philosopher for 1 round. The natural philosopher can instill skepticism in one ally for each degree he holds in Antimagic past the first.
Life and Death
Physician: A natural philosopher with a degree in Life and Death gains a +2 insight bonus on Heal checks.
Surgeon: When a natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Life and Death succeeds on a Heal check to provide first aid, he automatically cures a number of hit points equal to 1/2 his natural philosopher levels plus the number of degrees he has in Life and Death. A single patient can only benefit from a natural philosopher’s skills once in a 24-hour period.
Magnetism
(Working on)
Matter
(Working on)
Mentalism
Mental Focus: A natural philosopher with a degree in Mentalism can tune out distractions, gaining a +2 insight bonus on Concentration checks.
Mesmeric Voice: A natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Mentalism gains an insight bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, and Diplomacy checks equal to the number of degrees he holds.
Physics
(Working on)
Basically, a natural philosopher gains a minor benefit when they first get a degree in a science, and the benefit increases as they take more degrees in that science.
I also boosted their SR and gave them their own version of the bardic knowledge ability.
Sound cool?
Surgeon: When a natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Life and Death succeeds on a Heal check to provide first aid, he automatically cures a number of hit points equal to 1/2 his natural philosopher levels plus the number of degrees he has in Life and Death. A single patient can only benefit from a natural philosopher’s skills once in a 24-hour period.
Note that Pathfinder's Heal skill already has something quite similar called Treat Deadly Wounds (although it takes 1 hour and requires two uses from a healer's kit). You might want to either change it to avoid duplication, or maybe make Surgeon a "super" Treat Deadly Wounds.
Note that Pathfinder's Heal skill already has something quite similar called Treat Deadly Wounds.
I've mentioned this to my GM and fellow players in the PF game I'm in. It's the *little* changes they made that sneak up on ya! lol
How about this for the Surgeon...
Surgeon: When a natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Life and Death uses the Heal skill to treat a deadly wound, he heals a number of additional hit points equal to twice the number of degrees he has in Life and Death.
Good fix, works well with the rules already in play?
Here's Physics...
Physics
Laws of Motion: A natural philosopher with a degree in Physics gains the Dodge feat for free as a bonus feat.
Advanced Trigonometry: A natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Physics is an expert at calculating angles of attack. When she successfully aids an ally on a ranged attack roll, she provides the normal +2 bonus plus an additional bonus equal to 1/2 the number of degrees she holds in Physics (rounded down).
And here's a slightly reworked Antimagic...
Antimagic
Disbelief: A natural philosopher with a degree in Antimagic gains a +2 bonus to her SR.
Skepticism: Once per day a natural philosopher with two or more degrees in Antimagic can instill his skepticism in others. The natural philosopher can spend a full round action to provide all allies within 30 ft. a bonus on Will saves equal to the number of degrees the natural philosopher holds in Antimagic. The Will save bonus lasts for 1 round, and the allies retain the bonus even if they move more than 30 ft. from the natural philosopher.
And I'm wondering if my "multiple degrees" abilities are good enough. You don't get 6 degrees until 20th level, and by then the benefits aren't all that great.
I guess what I also need is a good 20th level capstone ability like the other classes have. I'll have to think about that one.
Ehhh, ignore the tweaks I posted above. I'm working on better ideas. lol
Ok, here's my idea for the updated Nathral Philosopher. I'm stumped on additional abilities for the Magnetism and Matter sciences, but I'll come up with something.
I decided to drop the advanced abilities and just give one or two abilities that scale with the number of degress the NPH holds. The NPH is sort of like a wizard, so I was trying to scale the added abilities with the arcane school powers of the wizard. Then I realized that no other class gets Spell Resistance right off the bat. Not only that, but if the NPH holds more than one degree in a science, all phenomena they create (i.e. spells they cast) get a +1 boost to caster level per degree past the first. Those two benefits alone are impressive, so I backed off a bit on adding even more powerful abilities.
Here's what I've got so far...
1st Level
Apparatus: Add the following to the properties of a natural philosopher’s apparatus:
An apparatus can be used once per day to create any one phenomenon from its associated science and is capable of creating, even if the natural philosopher has not calibrated it to do so. This phenomenon is treated like any other phenomenon created by the natural philosopher, including casting time, duration, and other effects dependent on the natural philosopher’s level. (Borrowed from the wizard to tweak up the powers of the NPH's apparatus.)
Continuing Education: A natural philosopher adds half his class level (minimum 1) to all Knowledge skill checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained. (Borrowed from the bard to reflect the NPH's ongoing learning.)
Spell Resistance: Natural philosophers’ power of reason gives them protection from the effects of magic; all natural philosophers have spell resistance (SR) 5. The SR increases to 8 at 4th level, and increases by 3 every 4 levels after that (so SR 8 at 4th level, SR 11 at 8th level, SR 14 at 12th level, SR 17 at 16th level, and SR 20 at 20th level). (Boosted considerably from the original, which was SR = level. This way the SR starts out higher, but not imbalancingly so, at remains 20 at 20th level.)
Degrees: Add the following to the list of abilities granted by holding a degree in a given science. (These are the added scaling abilities I came up with for holding a degree in a science.)
Antimagic: The natural philosopher has increased confidence in the ability of reason to win out over magic. He gains a bonus to his SR equal to the number of degrees he holds in Antimagic.
Life and Death: The natural philosopher is an expert physician. She gains Skill Focus (Heal) for free as a bonus feat. She also gains an insight bonus on Heal checks equal to the number of degrees she holds in Life and Death. Patients under her care heal more quickly than normal; multiply hit points or ability score points healed by half the number of degrees she holds in Life and Death (round down, minimum 1).
Magnetism: ?
Matter: ?
Mentalism: The natural philosopher is skilled in the art of mesmerism. Bluff and Intimidate are class skills for him. Furthermore, he gains an insight bonus on Bluff, Intimidate, and Diplomacy checks equal to the number of degrees he holds in Mentalism.
Physics: The natural philosopher is a skilled mathematician who can perform complex trigonometry in her head. She gains a +1 bonus to hit with ranged attacks for every two degrees she holds in Physics. Furthermore, she can add her Intelligence modifier as well as her Dexterity modifier to a ranged attack roll by spending a full round action calculating the best trajectory for the attack. When she aids an ally on a ranged attack roll, the bonus she provides is +3 instead of the usual +2.
3rd Level
Craft Invention: Add the Craft Invention feat as a class ability automatically acquired at 3rd level. (Originally, a natural philosopher could take Craft Invention as a feat at 3rd level. I made it a class ability since only natural philosophers of 3rd level could take the feat anyway. Besides... bizarre inventions are what the NPH are all about. Why wouldn't one take that feat? Making it a class ability instead frees up a feat slot for something else.)
Turn Undead (Ex): The natural philosopher receives Turn Undead as a bonus feat. She can channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Intelligence modifier, but only to use Turn Undead. She can take other feats to add to this ability, such as Extra Channel and Improved Channel, but not feats that alter this ability, such as Elemental Channel and Alignment Channel. The DC to save against her Turn Undead ability is equal to 10 + 1/2 her natural philosopher level + her Charisma modifier. (This is just a conversion to Pathfinder rules for the turn undead ability that natural philosophers originally got. This was borrowed from the wizard as well; the necromancy school. It's modified to remove the Command Undead option, since the NPH gets this ability basically because of the power of reason over magic.)
Ok! I've finally come up with things for Magnetism and Matter.
Magnetism: The natural philosopher has trained himself to sense the Earth’s natural galvanic field, resulting in increased mobility. He gains an insight bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks equal to the number of degrees he holds in Magnetism. Furthermore, he gains a bonus of +5 ft. to his speed for every 2 degrees he holds in Magnetism. He can determine magnetic north without fail.
Matter: The natural philosopher has toughened her body through exposure to elemental forces. She gains a natural armor bonus equal to the degrees she holds in Matter.
I'm not really happy with the benefit for Matter. It needs a bit more work.
Cool! My group likes Pathfinder, and I like the era. It's win-win! ^_^
Whenever I present a new setting to my group, I like to use the TVTropes page to help describe it to them.
The whole concept is...
Alternate History: What if D&D style magic and monsters existed in a world otherwise like our own during the dawn of the age of reason? This age in our world was also known as...
The Cavalier Years: Muskets, rapiers, and swashbuckling haughty wit! Naturally, the presence of magic and whatnot leads to a big ol' heaping bowl of...
Anachronism Stew: The setting borrows from the years spanning the late 1600s to the late 1700s, and features technological developments well beyond that era; some inventions even surpass what we can do today! This makes Northern Crown one of the rare few D&D worlds that avoided what TVTropes calls "Medieval Stasis." Technology developed right along with magic. Because its a fantasy counterpart of historical Earth, there are many instances of...
Istanbul Not Constantinople: England is Albion, New York is (still) New Amsterdam, and so on. Since its set in the 1700s in a fantasy version of America, some of the available cultures for player-characters are...
Magical Native Americans: Cherokee, Mohawk, Ojibwa, and Shawnee are the available Native American cultures, and all of them start of with some sort of magical boon based on spirits or totemic magic. Of course, in such a setting one also can expect several...
Historical Domain Characters: Franklin, Jefferson, and other 18th-century figures are re-imagined with fantastic twists. They are different from reality in that Chiron (aka Benjamin) Franklin and Philathelias (aka Thomas) Jefferson, for example, are "natural philosophers" who can create...
Fantastic Science: This is a big part of the fun of the setting. This particular genre is called...
Clock Punk: Bizarre vehicles, automatons, and other creations of the astounding world of SCIENCE! The power of REASON! There are even...
Clockwork Creatures: Automaton servants, soldiers, and steeds. Of course, because there are wizards and natural philosophers and all that, there is a strong element of...
Magic Versus Science: Of the "Magic is an Ideology" variety mentioned on that tropes page. Magic-users and natural philosophers tend to rub each other the wrong way. However, natural philosophers are a bit more eager than wizards to share their secrets and fantastic inventions with the world at large, resulting in a...
Purely Aesthetic Era: There are some rather modern conveniences for a setting such as this. And, to be honest, of the things I like most about this era and games in settings similar to it, is the...
Gorgeous Period Dress: Long coats, buckled shoes, tricorn hats, and billowing dresses! Love it!
I've added Drive and Fly to the list of class skills for the natural philosopher. They can only take those skills if they have invented a vehicle of the appropriate type or have regular access to such a vehicle. They can also take ranks in Fly if the can calibrate their apparatus to create phenomena that enable them to fly.
Since I've added the Drive skill, I've also adapted the vehicle rules from d20 Modern to Pathfinder.
On a side note, I started this campaign yesterday. You can read the first entry in my session journal here:
http://www.cosmiccastle.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=772&start=0