Why have magic be fantastic? In Shadowrun UCLA teaches magic and a variety of magic courses. However,Shadowrun doesn't have a Wish spell either. I can see some powerful circle of wizards that monitor magic use, similar to Dragonlance.
I really don't know that much about Shadowrun. I went with fantastic because my idea here is to advance a medieval fantasy into a modern fantasy instead of adding magic to a modern setting. Essentially, the fantasy/magic elements were there first.
You mentioned magic before,I think the hurdles would be:
1: How magic affects travel? Why fly if you can Teleport?
I have covered this.
2: How magic affects medicine? Flesh eating virus? No problem!
If you're rich, magic is awesome. If you aren't, you better find some good drugs. Unfortunately, since rich people buy healing magic, there isn't as good of a market for drugs, so what is available isn't quite as good as IRL. Same with methods of surgery. There is less money to be made, so there are fewer surgeons of lower caliber.
3: How magic affects warfare? Do you want a Magic Missle to the groin maggot?
Spellcasters are used in war, but usually as battlefield control, not blasters. Battlefield control nets more benefits, as blasting can be done with lots of non-magical weapons and explosives commonly issued to soldiers, as well as armored fighting vehicles, aircraft, and artillery.
Also, there were optional rules for armor reducing damage taken, similar to Earthdawn. This might make more sense with guns. But this would change the whole "Touch AC" system.
I'll think on this.
I might be up for some assistance, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.
If I need help, I'll post in this thread.
'64 or '67 Chevy Impala Full-SS/Super-SS Metallic Black. Sweetest car ever made. 67 and 64 respectively remain in a repairable condition.
So you want a '50 and '60 era Golarion (that even sounds like a car), eh?
I really can help. Though can I throw in a little of the '20 and '40 eras?
I'd be happy to hear any ideas you have.
What I want in a fantasy campaign setting like Golarion that is culturally and artistically 50s and 60s and technologically modern. I won't argue against some inspiration from other decades, because I'm about as into period realism here as Golarion is to the 14th Century. If I think it looks cool and it doesn't clash with the overall retro-futuristic aesthetic, I'll use it happily, no matter what decade it came from.
Now, onto the subject of religion in my setting. I just have too hard a time rationizing how to have a world with direct divine intervention without having the gods micromanage every single situation, especially if their follower is losing. I'd rather they sat back and watched, letting humans think what they want to about what the gods are like and how they came about, just like the real world. I find it easier to rationalize.
Well WWI tech was used through WWII and all the way up til after Vietnam.
On Teleportation Stones and such. I was thinking of them being very costly and mostly for the rich.
Well getting a licensed and registering would be about the same.
Maybe make the Gods fall out of Popularity as people didn't need to rely on divine magic as much.
I can actually see druid or nature magic fitting in. A throw back to the days of shamans and witch doctors. Clerics could be done easier after you've done up the Planes (forgive me if I missed a post on that). They could just make bargains with powerful planar beings instead of Gods? Maybe put it off until you have more developed?
I can actually see druid or nature magic fitting in. A throw back to the days of shamans and witch doctors.They do fit in, it's just that, with Clerics getting their power in a Shamanistic way and Druids being limited in ranged combat, it made sense to me to fold the Druid into a Cleric archetype.
Clerics could be done easier after you've done up the Planes (forgive me if I missed a post on that). They could just make bargains with powerful planar beings instead of Gods? Maybe put it off until you have more developed?
Shamanistic Clerics work for me.
Well WWI tech was used through WWII and all the way up til after Vietnam.
Some stuff is still used. The Mills Bomb is rather similar to what we've got today.
Well getting a licensed and registering would be about the same.
If licenses are databased it would be.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Well WWI tech was used through WWII and all the way up til after Vietnam.Some stuff is still used. The Mills Bomb is rather similar to what we've got today.
Well getting a licensed and registering would be about the same.If licenses are databased it would be.
In America and most other countries they are.
Vietnam is where the military decommissioned any equipment pre-1945.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
They do fit in, it's just that, with Clerics getting their power in a Shamanistic way and Druids being limited in ranged combat, it made sense to me to fold the Druid into a Cleric archetype.
Another Idea I'll toss out there for you, from the old Al-Qadim setting. This could be used to separate Druids and Clerics, if you want. You could have Clerics, who worship or gain their power from some nature aspect, believe that their aspect is superior. Druids, on the other hand, believe that all nature works in unison.
Just a thought if you haven't got everything hashed out yet. Kind of out there, but I thought it was pretty clever when I saw it.
You know Kelsey you could always say that the reason the gods are still there for power but don't micromanage their followers is they use to do that, had a great fight, nearly destroyed the world and let the beast out of the planet and decided that in order to avoid this in the future, they would take a very hands off approach to their followers. They could grant spells, but no direct intervention.
Also (as my brain is skipping) teleportation circles and such would be the realm of the megawealthy, as a teleport spell is kind of a high level spell to cast.
You also need to consider how magic itself could actually limit the development of technology - how high powered and available is magic going to be in this world? If you have a society that develops for thousands of years into a modern era that also has regular, reliable access to high level magics, there are many technologies that will never have been developed or needed.
For example, health care might be fairly primitive, with most people going to their place of worship for divine healing as opposed to a doctor. There may be a base understanding of herbalism and first aid, but there may be no brain surgeons because magic makes there be no need of brain surgeons - why spend hours under a risky knife, risking scarring and other side effects, when you can get the same done in minutes through the prayers of a particularly faithful priest with no side effects (other than, perhaps, your Sundays spent in a pew)?
Firearms would still be a viable technology - after all, they are superior to bows and arrows, and usable with minimal training. But large scale demolitions would probably be easier handled by spells and wizardry.
Vehicles are similar - would a world where anyone of sufficient level could gain access to the magical ability to fly even need cars? I could see the need for vehicular advancement for large scale shipping - Eberron's lightning rails were an inspired idea - but would individuals need anything resembling a car? Perhaps a flying coach, or what not.
Just some things to think about - magic changes a lot of things in a modern setting!
I didn't read the thread all the way through, so apologies if this has been mentioned.
Have you ever read the Dragon article "Greyhawk 2000"? It seems to be exactly what you want and, even though it is kind of short, it provides some good guidelines on how to set up this kind of world. It's in Dragon 277 if you can get your hands on it.
I didn't read the thread all the way through, so apologies if this has been mentioned.
Have you ever read the Dragon article "Greyhawk 2000"? It seems to be exactly what you want and, even though it is kind of short, it provides some good guidelines on how to set up this kind of world. It's in Dragon 277 if you can get your hands on it.
I can get it for about 8.50 including shipping, and not only do I REALLY want this Greyhawk 2000, the Age of Steam, Unusual Bards; Wizards; and Sorcerers, and How Not to Play D&D articles look interesting,. I'll see about buying it later today.
It looks like I won't be able to get any of the PDFs I mentioned earlier. For some odd reason, DTRPG won't take my debit card, even though Amazon will.
I didn't read the thread all the way through, so apologies if this has been mentioned.
Have you ever read the Dragon article "Greyhawk 2000"? It seems to be exactly what you want and, even though it is kind of short, it provides some good guidelines on how to set up this kind of world. It's in Dragon 277 if you can get your hands on it.
I can get it for about 8.50 including shipping, and not only do I REALLY want this Greyhawk 2000, the Age of Steam and How Not to Play D&D articles look interesting. I'll see about buying it later today.
It looks like I won't be able to get any of the PDFs I mentioned earlier. For some odd reason, DTRPG won't take my debit card, even though Amazon will.
Yes.
I didn't read the thread all the way through, so apologies if this has been mentioned.
Have you ever read the Dragon article "Greyhawk 2000"? It seems to be exactly what you want and, even though it is kind of short, it provides some good guidelines on how to set up this kind of world. It's in Dragon 277 if you can get your hands on it.
I can get it for about 8.50 including shipping, and not only do I REALLY want this Greyhawk 2000, the Age of Steam and How Not to Play D&D articles look interesting. I'll see about buying it later today.
It looks like I won't be able to get any of the PDFs I mentioned earlier. For some odd reason, DTRPG won't take my debit card, even though Amazon will.
Yes.
Thanks. I'll probably buy the issue. Paizo's offering a PDF of issue 277 for $5, which I am less likely to accidentally destroy than a print magazine, is cheaper, and directly supports my favorite gaming company.
I didn't read the thread all the way through, so apologies if this has been mentioned.
Have you ever read the Dragon article "Greyhawk 2000"? It seems to be exactly what you want and, even though it is kind of short, it provides some good guidelines on how to set up this kind of world. It's in Dragon 277 if you can get your hands on it.
Thanks for bringing this up. After finding out I can buy the one from Paizo, I went looking for any other Dungeon issues that would be useful, and I found a few rather good ones.
I'll respond to the rest of the posts after dinner, as well as post my thoughts on Orcs.
You also need to consider how magic itself could actually limit the development of technology - how high powered and available is magic going to be in this world? If you have a society that develops for thousands of years into a modern era that also has regular, reliable access to high level magics, there are many technologies that will never have been developed or needed.
For example, health care might be fairly primitive, with most people going to their place of worship for divine healing as opposed to a doctor. There may be a base understanding of herbalism and first aid, but there may be no brain surgeons because magic makes there be no need of brain surgeons - why spend hours under a risky knife, risking scarring and other side effects, when you can get the same done in minutes through the prayers of a particularly faithful priest with no side effects (other than, perhaps, your Sundays spent in a pew)?
Firearms would still be a viable technology - after all, they are superior to bows and arrows, and usable with minimal training. But large scale demolitions would probably be easier handled by spells and wizardry.
Vehicles are similar - would a world where anyone of sufficient level could gain access to the magical ability to fly even need cars? I could see the need for vehicular advancement for large scale shipping - Eberron's lightning rails were an inspired idea - but would individuals need anything resembling a car? Perhaps a flying coach, or what not.
Just some things to think about - magic changes a lot of things in a modern setting!
I'm looking at magic being not particularly common, and it's uses only affordable by rich people. For everyone else, there is technology.
Regular cars and planes are the mainstay, and those who know or can afford magic prefer flying, as teleportation falls into the category of "The DM loathes this with a burning passion".
For the military, equipment is similar to the real world. The military employs spellcasters, but in special operations or battlefield control roles, not blasting roles, as an under-barrel grenade launcher or SAW (a type of machine gun that can be carried by one person) is just as effective as a fireball or lightning bolt.
Therefore all professional sportmen need to be high level NPC and it will end making the golf world champion an elite marksman, wrestler or gymnast...I don't see why Sport wouldn't be governed simply by movement speed, Swim, Acrobatics, AB and AC,depending on the sport.Agreed.
This can be solved. I am creating an ability called "combat training". If you have this ability, you may use your base attack bonus and class bonuses to armor class. If you do not have this ability, you may not use these things, though you can level up through non-combat tasks. All PCs get "combat training" for free at first level, as this system is for NPCs, not PCs.
If you want help I am more than willing. In fact I have the rights to a Setting designed for 3.5/d20 Modern that is easily modified to fit in with Pathfinders Firearms and CMB/CMD set-up.If this project is really something serious, and not just a chat, we should focus on the rules first.
Otherwise I understood my skills list is not offering a 100% compatibility with Pathfinder, so the solution is most probably just to add the needed skills without rethinking the whole system.
But maybe we can start designing the base classes/professions...
I could use some help thinking up traits. I consider the trait system important, but I haven't thought many traits up yet.
You know Kelsey you could always say that the reason the gods are still there for power but don't micromanage their followers is they use to do that, had a great fight, nearly destroyed the world and let the beast out of the planet and decided that in order to avoid this in the future, they would take a very hands off approach to their followers. They could grant spells, but no direct intervention.
Perhaps this could fold into my spirit idea. The Gods created spirits as sources of power, creating complex rituals that you have to use to get that power. This allowed the Gods to control who could have divine magic, as they placed a mental block on people's ability to share knowledge of the rituals with others, meaning in order to learn divine magic a god had to teach you. However, when the gods adopted their hands-off approach, they stopped sharing the rituals. The mental block on people sharing them died out at the same time, but most people didn't know it had died out, so most Clerics died without sharing their secrets. Some Clerics, however, did find out that it had died out and wrote down the rituals or shared them verbally. This means that, while knowledge of the rituals is very rare, it does exist, and if you can find it you can learn the rituals and get divine magic.
A have a second idea for magic: there is a rare talent that people can be born with or that can manifest later in life that allows them to understand how spells are cast. This talent in and of itself does not let you cast spells, but it does let you be a Wizard or divine caster (they get the talent free at their first class level). If you don't have the talent, you can't learn how spells are cast. You can see the effects, but you can't understand how it was done.
Sorcerers do not have this talent. They cast their spells through instinct, and gain there power through a bloodline that contains a source of magic such as a dragon, so they don't need the talent. This does mean, however, that they can't learn spells through study and have fewer spells. They are very good at metamagic, as they can reshape spells through simple instinct instead of studying how to do so. The thing about Sorcerers is that they do not understand how they do what they do. It just comes naturally to them.
A conversation on Giantitp led to a statement that I think explains what I'm trying to do perfectly:
"What I want to do is imagine what the end result would look like if I were to take an "average" medieval fantasy world and advance it to a modernish tech level over centuries of in-universe technological and social development."
There's a lot of levels of "modern", 18th century, 19th Century, 20th century... 21st century. Imagine what it would be like if you were a time traveler and you showed a member of Nixon's Secret Service your smartphone.
There are gradual levels, push firearms from emerging to advanced... For other ideas, mine the heck out of Eberron. Lightning Rails, identifacation cases, elemental airship travel, newspapers spread by wireless,
For far future, look up Dragonstar.
Dragonstar looks fun, but I want to put my cash toward the complete Neverwinter Nights PC game collection and a few useful Dragon magazine PDFs instead of a new campaign setting.
Technology is mostly today's technology, except medical technology is a few decades behind, computer technology is maybe five years behind, and space technology is a few decades ahead.
Vietnam is where the military decommissioned any equipment pre-1945.
We kept some of the basic designs, though. As I mentioned, a frag grenade today is pretty similar to what we had back then. Also, some special forces still like the 1911, even though it isn't standard issue. They generally use updated versions like the Kimber, though, not 80 year old weapons.
On to the subject of Orcs.
I think I'll start with something similar to Golarion for familiarity. As Human, Elven, and Dwarven technology gets more and more advanced, Orcs will have a hard time keeping up. Firearms technology, even smoothbore muskets, is not easy for a primitive culture with limited industry to replicate. Gunpower can be especially difficult to make. Orcs would most likely have to steal guns and powder or trade for them (and sources to trade with would most likely be limited to criminals and people who want Orcs to shoot at their rivals), so supplies would be limited. The armament gap will get larger and larger, until the battles against this brute savages that have plagued people so long end with most Orc warriors dead and the strongholds burned, and the survivors in the custody of Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. I'd think it more likely that these Orcs be either forcibly civilized or put to servitude (or put to "civilizing servitude" a la a certain large ethnic group's actions toward another certain large ethnic group IRL), and over time I could see Orc society losing it's brutality and assimilating into Human culture.
Honestly, this is the only option I see other than extinction. Orcs as written in Golarion pose a sizeable threat to humanity, and if Humans have a big enough technological edge, they will seek to end their problems with Orcs once and for all, and they will win. It's either wreck the society and kill everyone or wreck the society and try to civilize what's left.
Also, an Orc drill instructor would be cool. What better way to scare the crap out of a busload of fresh military recruits than an Orcish version of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman?
Maybe use something similar to my Civilized Orcs (Standard Orc with the Ability Mods changed to +2 STR, +2WIS, -2CHA).
Have them be like the Native Americans and such. Regulated to the point to where they are forced to comply.
Make Savage Orcs rare and hardly around.
R. Lee Ermey for the WIN!
Maybe use something similar to my Civilized Orcs (Standard Orc with the Ability Mods changed to +2 STR, +2WIS, -2CHA).
Have them be like the Native Americans and such. Regulated to the point to where they are forced to comply.
Make Savage Orcs rare and hardly around.
Works.
R. Lee Ermey for the WIN!
The best part is that he ad libbed Hartman based off his own experience as a drill instructor.
Great I know my next character...
Concept #169 added to the list.
I have an idea for a new class: The Mutant. When somebody is born with the talent necessary to learn magic, that talent will manifest itself somehow. Generally, this is by becoming a Wizard or Alchemist, or, if you find the information necessary, a Cleric. However, some people are unable or unwilling to go and study magic. If you have the talent and don't study magic, the talent will let itself out by mutating your body.
The Mutant is a full BAB class with no spellcasting. They gain abilities much like the Summoner's Eidolon, having a pool of evolutions to buy as they level up and a base form type.
I've purchased and downloaded the issue of Dragon magazine with the Greyhawk 2000 article that was mentioned earlier in the thread, along with five other useful looking issues of Dragon, The Genius Guide to Horrific Haunts, and The Tome of Horrors Complete: Unlimited Edition. I shall make good use of these resources.
Also, I have Psionics Unleashed and Psionics Expanded from Dreamscarred Press, and they will be used in this campaign setting.
Do you plan on sharing a final product?
I do. Right now I'm in the preliminary planning phase, and with work and college prep (I'm going in August, and I have to patch up some deficiencies in my schooling before that or I'll end up in remedial courses) it'll take me a while to put out a PDF, but I do eventually want to release one. Whether it's free or not will depend on how things are looking months down the road.
any thoughts on wildlife? hard to imagine colossal creatures and urban expansion meshing peacefully. hell maybe dragons, behemoths, giants are all considered endangered species and protected. hmmm maybe a large size "stunted" giant player race has evolved over time as well.
any thoughts on wildlife? hard to imagine colossal creatures and urban expansion meshing peacefully. hell maybe dragons, behemoths, giants are all considered endangered species and protected.
I have put zero thought into giants and behemoths, but I have considered dragons. The thing about dragons is that they are very dangerous, even to a modern society. They've been known to take out tanks and aircraft when sufficiently angry. They can be killed, it's just not easy. With something so dangerous and costly to fight, the general policy is to let it live on it's own in some isolated area of the world unless it proves to be a direct threat, in which case there is going to be a rather bloody battle.
hmmm maybe a large size "stunted" giant player race has evolved over time as well.
I'm not sure. I don't think about giants much.
Powerful Build is around a 4RP Racial Trait.
Oversized Weapons is around a 2RP Racial Trait.
A Pathfinder equivalent of D20 Modern has been brought up more than once on these boards, and, inspired by some pictures like this, this, this, this, and this, I've done some thinking on what I think would make a good modernized game based off of the Pathfinder system.
If you viewed the pictures I linked to, you have no doubt noticed what they all have in common: an example of magic or a fantasy trope in a modern environment. This brings us to my first thought on a modern Pathfinder: the fact that I think it needs to be a fantasy game. A big part of Pathfinder is the fantasy elements, and I've grown quite fond of them. I want to keep those elements for this project. Personally, I rather like the idea of elves in jeans and t-shirts and wizards keeping their spellbooks on touch screen tablets.
On to the class system, one of the biggest parts of how D20 works. I like the D20 Modern Advanced Class system, but not the basic class system. Rather than have basic classes for each stat, I'd like to go with Warrior, Expert, and Mage. Furthermore, I'd like to have a variety of archetypes for the advanced classes, allowing a large array of customization without having a whole mess of classes.
As for D20 Modern's background system, I'm looking towards a hybridization with the Pathfinder trait system. I'm looking towards making backgrounds a trait category and having players select one trait from each category at character creation. I want to tie class skills to this system rather than classes, so that how you grew up effects what skills you've developed. Each trait would have five associated skills, and you'd pick three from each trait you have....
I'm in. Let me remind you that most modern armor is designed to stop bullets. Armor can have a bullet resistance rating. A flack jacket might just stop 1 point of a bullets damage, while the vest stops the first 10 points, per bullet. You could just say +ac versus bullets, overruling the armor bypassing aspect.
Vampires and dragons could be behind a lot of the cities and corporations. The police might even be rounding up the vagrants to feedthem to predators. Humanoids might be lurking in the sewers, the undercity, and the underdark below. Since most medieval game worlds have half-Orcs and half-Dragons, there will be throwbacks. Not all of them will get to Hollywood or into professional sports.
There are a lot of different grades of explosives. A suitcase full of TNT would do more damage than one stick.
A Flak Jacket is Stronger than a Vest...
DR/Melee might work.
The vest, as in a bullet proof vest. Of course I have had no firsthand experience. I thought a flack jacket just had small pieces of metal sewn into it.
Someone more knowledgeable should draw up the chart.
A Flak Vest is a Bullet Proof Vest with Metal Plates that reinforce key areas of the body.
Just like an Anti-Stab Vest is glorified Chainmail covered in a couple layers of Kevlar.
Flak Vest can withstand up to a .50 Cal Pistol Round albeit you will be hurting afterwards. A Military Grade Bulletproof Vest can withstand up to a .45 Cal & .44 Cal. A Lesser Grade cane normally only go up to around a .40 or 9mm Round.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There is no such thing as a "Bullet Proof Vest".
That is a Myth.
Modern body armor is designed to stop/slow shrapnel.
If you don't believe that,
I will be happy to demonstrate the penetration capabilities of any modern firearm with whatever body armor you care to wear.
I used to spend months punching holes through every known type of body armor on this planet, for Uncle Sam.
Best summer I ever had.
Now with a Game you can have it provide DR or an Armor bonus.
You might also allow larger calibers to Bull Rush or Knock Down.
(I have not read through the Gunslinger or PF Firearms.)
We've been playing Pathfinder/MechWarrior for a few years now, mostly with D20 Modern & Star Wars Saga Ed.
Most everything is straight out of the book, very little modification needed.
We even use Vibro-swords as crude Light Sabers.
Hence why I stated it can only stop up to a certain size of round.
There is no such thing as a "Bullet Proof Vest".
That is a Myth.
Modern body armor is designed to stop/slow shrapnel.If you don't believe that,
I will be happy to demonstrate the penetration capabilities of any modern firearm with whatever body armor you care to wear.I used to spend months punching holes through every known type of body armor on this planet, for Uncle Sam.
Best summer I ever had.
Now with a Game you can have it provide DR or an Armor bonus.
I'd prefer DR, because modern body armor works by absorbing force, not deflecting it.
You might also allow larger calibers to Bull Rush or Knock Down.
(I have not read through the Gunslinger or PF Firearms.)
Maybe for a rifle powerful enough that it can't be fired unbraced, such as some anti-materiel rifles.
Most .50 Cal Rifles would at least knock the target on their Arsenal. A .44 Magnum Rifle (and the Pistol at close range) can knock the person down.
Vampires and dragons could be behind a lot of the cities and corporations. The police might even be rounding up the vagrants to feed them to predators.
Depends on the country. It's much more prevalent in the third world, because their governments have fewer mages to serve as guards for the government against this sort of thing.
The mention of vampires brings something up. There are a LOT of vampire myths IRL, and they have very different attributes. For example, a Filipino vampire looks absolutely nothing like a Stokerian vampire, and a Draugr is something else entirely. I want to take a similar position in my setting, with there being a lot of dramatically different types of vampire, united only by a thirst for blood or psionic energy.
Most .50 Cal Rifles would at least knock the target on their Arsenal. A .44 Magnum Rifle (and the Pistol at close range) can knock the person down.
I'd blame that more on biological reaction to the shock than the sheer power of the round, though. According to Newton's Third Law, any round that can knock a target down through sheer power will knock the shooter down, too (then again, most .50 rifles ARE quite capable of knocking the shooter down).
Granted, the target getting knocked over because of a biological reaction is still knocked over, so the suggestion of the attribute has merit. The source just needs to be taken into account, because some creatures, like zombies, will lack this biological reaction and not be knocked over.
You can't stay standing when fire a .50 Cal Sniper unless you are Lt. Armstrong from FMA and even then he would be knocked off balance.
It requires a Bi-Pod & a special Butt Stock.
The round can literally rip through a Brick Outhouse!
And that would have much more merit if I could find my Gunsmithing Buddy's Youtube Video of me firing a .50 Cal and it collapsing a 15x15x10 foot Brick Restroom used for Renaissance Faires. (it was mocked up as a Old Stone Building like an Armoury or such.)
We have yet to discover why it fell though... It should have just put a hole in it.
So far as the .50 rifle is concerned, it can do it through sheer force. High caliber pistols I'd blame on biology.
.44 Magnum Rifles can through the force that makes the rifle fire farther than a Pistol/Revolver. Though they can only do it in say their First 5 Range Increments. A Dirty Harry .44 Magnum Revolver would be the First Increment.
A .45 or 9mm would be Biiology.
And heaven forbid they got a hold of a .75 Punter. That wouldn't leave enough left of the person if it even passed within a foot of their outstretched Hand.