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When I first saw Sarcastic Jazz Hands’ The Decks of Harrowed Heroes project, I was intrigued. However, being completely ignorant of the harrow cards (beyond being able to figure out that they were the Golarion equivalent of Tarot cards), I was unable to participate in that project in any meaningful way. I recently purchased both The Harrow Handbook and the Deluxe Harrow Deck and conducted research. My research, however, has led me in a different direction than Sarcastic Jazz Hands’ project.
The Pardon Our Dust: What We Said (and Didn’t Say) About the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game at PaizoCon blog entry brought big news with the Pathfinder Tales, Hell’s Vengeance 1, Hell’s Vengeance 2, Occult Adventures 1, and Occult Adventures 2 character decks; and the Announcing Ultimate Add-On Decks! blog entry described the upcoming add-on decks for combat, magic, intrigue, and equipment. What I’m envisioning is a character deck with harrower characters dovetailing off of these other decks conceptually.
Since I’m not one of those in the know about the special tricks that the upcoming character decks will allow or how they'll work, I’m working on what the blog entries and discussions have provided, so I’m inferring a few things. First, the “Ultimate ~ Add-On” decks aren’t usable on their own – they must be added on to existing decks. Second, the Hell’s Vengeance and Occult character decks will be like other class/character decks. What I’m envisioning for this harrow-themed deck is a hybrid – it works as a standard class/character deck, but can also be added on to (specific) other class/character decks. This deck could be added to any AP to provide some harrow-based boons. It also has three different characters based on archetypes presented in The Harrow Handbook (more on that later). The reason it could be “added-on” to other class/character decks is because each of the characters is from a different class, so playing each purely from the harrow-themed character deck would make for very harrow-centric versions of each character whereas adding the deck to the corresponding class/character deck would make for more well-rounded, but still harrow-focused versions of the characters.
First things first, though – you can’t really have harrowers without a harrow deck. So I’ve built a foundation upon a new item (and it’s going to be pretty embarrassing if someone points out that a Harrow Deck card already exists in one of the APs and I’ve completely forgotten about it). Understanding how the base Harrow Deck item works is an important starting point because the rules for each of the harrow-themed characters have to work with the deck, making them better able to use the deck than non-harrower characters (i.e., any other character that might use the Harrow Deck). Without further ado, here’s an initial draft for your critique:
Type: Item
Deck Indicator: B
Traits: Object, Magic
Check to Acquire: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Craft 4
Powers:
“Display this card next to a character at your location. While displayed, that character may add 1 to her checks. Discard this card at the end of the turn.
Recharge this card to examine the top card of the deck of a character at your location, ignoring the Trigger trait; you may place the examined card at the bottom of the deck.”
This is a very abstract representation of the Harrow Deck, ignoring more specific use of suits and cards (as in the PFRPG) and simply either giving a minor bonus or allowing a character to better know what cards are coming up in her deck. To the untrained (i.e., non-harrower), this is much less useful than, say, a spyglass or an augury spell. And something that needs to be emphasized at this point is that the rules I’m developing for the Harrow Deck are intended to be for anyone using the deck, especially lay users. (It occurs to me that the folks at Lone Shark may have already been through this whole bit as they work on the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP.) The harrow-themed characters will be able to make better use of the Harrow Deck, but we need to start with the baseline.
The intent is that the owner of the Harrow Deck can play it during anyone’s turn on any character at their location. The first power is intended to represent a combination of the beneficiary having a vague idea of what challenges they will face, whether bane or boon, as well as an abstract representation of benefits by suit (for those that are familiar with the PFRPG Harrow Deck rules). At the end of the turn that the Harrow Deck is played (i.e., displayed), it is discarded. The second power, meanwhile, only uses a recharge cost because it’s looking at something less challenging – the individual (rather than external challenges). The concept is that the subject of the harrow reading is better able to reassess their needs, so a less desirable card (at that time) can be recharged in hopes that the new top card of their deck will be better suited to what they need for upcoming challenges.
I see two or three of these cards being included in the (purely hypothetical) Harrower Character Deck.
Please let me know how you think I can improve upon the rules for the Harrow Deck. Once those are finalized, I’ll move the discussion on to other elements (so far, additional harrow-themed items and spells for the deck, as well as three harrow-themed characters).
I'm on mobile, so I'll keep this short:
- Cool idea, I'm curious to what this will lead
- There is no harrowed deck item in any set, afaik
- The ultimate decks are hybrids as well: They can be played with the single character that comes with them, or somehow added to existing decks
- In case you did not already consider this: I would require the harrowed characters to have the harrowed deck in their decks (deckception) like Estra treats Honaire
Yes, mechanisms will be in place for each of the characters to have access to a Harrow Deck (or something "harrow") as base builds.
Okay, though it’s only been a little over 24 hours, I’ll take the lack of negative feedback to mean that the proposed rules for the Harrow Deck aren’t that objectionable and we can move forward. Even if we have to make minor tweaks to those rules later, the basic construct might remain intact enough that they won’t have a significant cascade effect on the characters.
General ideas for additional boons include more potent Harrow Decks (“Greater Harrow Deck” with small improvement at 1, “Deluxe Harrow Deck” with more improvement at 3, and a “Deck of Slivering Fate” at 5, so far), a Harrow Mat (B), and a Harrow Carrying Case (2), as well as some scaled Harrowing spells at B, 3, and 6. All of these are based on items described in The Harrow Handbook. I’m also considering some of the “lost” Harrow cards as potential boons, though those might take a little work.
Frankly, though, the boons are a bit boring, so I’m going to jump right into characters.
As I already mentioned, the Harrow Deck item card is sufficient for most normal uses of the Harrow in the game setting; and the spells probably cover down on more magical uses. The Harrow Handbook provides us with rules allowing use by a range of characters. What I wanted to focus on were the character types that make the most special uses of the Harrow Deck, especially in terms that would be distinct in the PACG (all of the rules presented work well enough in the PFRPG). So I’m focusing on the magus, summoner, and witch classes because each had an archetype that makes special use of the Harrow cards in the rules. The monk Harrow Warden archetype, the cavalier Order of the Hammer, the inquisitor Suit Seeker archetype, the oracle Solar Mystery, and the Harrow Bloodline (sorcerers and bloodragers) might come into play later as additional characters, but I found the witch Cartomancer archetype, the magus Card Caster archetype, and the summoner Story Summoner archetype to provide the more distinctive options. Also, The Harrow Handbook included images that helped me to work on each of the characters (the witch and magus inspired by the characters on the cover and the summoner inspired by the character on page 24).
First, the witch…
Female Half-Elf Witch
SKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2
-Perception: Wisdom +1
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Diplomacy: Charisma +2Powers
Hand Size 6 □7You may discard a spell (□ or a blessing) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before you act on a card you encounter.
When you examine 1 or more cards from a deck, you may recharge a spell (□ or a blessing) from your discard pile.
□ For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 and the Magic, Attack, and Piercing traits.
Cards List
Favored Card Type: SpellWeapon - □1
Spell 6 □7 □8 □9
Armor - □1
Item 4 □5 □6
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Consecrated Harrow Deck
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Maddela.”
So it’s also important to understand the cohort. For those that don’t have access to The Harrow Handbook, the cartomancer archetype is a witch that communes with her patron through a consecrated harrow deck rather than through a familiar. The cartomancer’s hexes also work through the Harrow Deck, and she has the Deadly Dealer feat (think of Gambit from the X-Men). So to fully understand the core character, you need to understand the cohort:
Traits: Harrow, Tool, Gambling, Magic
Owner: Maddela
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may recharge this card to draw a spell from your discard pile and put it into your hand.
While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may place this card on top of your deck to add 1d4 to your check to acquire or recharge a spell.
While displayed, you may recharge this card to add 1d4 to the noncombat check of another character at your location.
The intended focus of this character is the use of the Harrow Deck to examine and to buff other characters. She’s intended to be more of a support character. While the Consecrated Harrow Deck is a Harrow Deck, albeit with special powers for the cartomancer, I’ve left the normal Harrow Deck powers off that cohort. By allowing the character to take a Harrow Deck, the intent is that those “normal” uses of the cohort will be facilitated through the item, with the cohort having the special rules. This was a practical consideration driven by space on cards.
The power allowing the recharging of an item for combat is intended to represent the Deadly Dealer feat. Note that this same feat will also appear on the magus character, who also has that same feat in the PFRPG. The witch is focused on foretelling the future, though, so while the power looks the same on both characters, the magus will be able to make much better use of it (through his skills and additional feats, as well as the focus of his deck being different and better suited to the power).
Now, the roles.
MADDELA (CARTOMANCER)
”The cards say the sun will rise tomorrow, but not for you.”Powers
Hand Size 6 □7You may discard a spell (□ or a blessing) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before you act on a card you encounter.
When you examine 1 or more cards from a deck, you may recharge a spell (□ or a blessing) from your discard pile.
□ For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)( □ +3d4) and the Magic, Attack, and Piercing traits; (□ and you may discard a spell to add your Arcane skill (□ and the adventure deck level of the recharged spell)).
□ At the (□ start or) end of your turn, you may discard a spell; another character at your location may recharge their deck and then draw back up to their hand size.
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, add d12 instead of the normal die.
The focus with this role is the enhancement of the Deadly Dealer ability through power feats. This is a role that might be taken when the party composition needs more combat power. The role retains its competence at foretelling the future and buffing characters, especially with the power feat allowing another character to basically reset their hand during the witch character’s turn (good when that other character has lost cards off-turn, or when the other character doesn’t have the cards you or they need).
In contrast:
MADDELA (VATICINATOR)
”You make your own future, but the cards tell you how to do so.”Powers
Hand Size 6 7 □ 8You may discard a spell (□ or a blessing) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before (□ or after) you act on a card you (□ or another character) encounter.
When you examine 1 or more cards from a deck, (□ you may examine an additional card and) you may recharge a spell (□ or a blessing) from your discard pile.
□ For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4) and the Magic, Attack, and Piercing traits; (□ and you may discard a spell toyou’re your Arcane skill).
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it.
□ At the start of your turn, you may draw a card.
This role is much more focused on telling the future and would be good when the party needs a scout.
And “vaticinator” is a real word. I found it while looking for synonyms for “fortune teller.” ;)
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- There is no harrowed deck item in any set, afaik
Check back on this in a few weeks.
Hmmm...so perhaps I should put this one on hold until we get an official Harrow Deck.
I guess it's time to put the non-Gunslinger gunslingers out for critique. ;)
Okay, it has been a few weeks (and then some - technically, I guess twenty or so weeks might be loosely interpreted as "a few" ;) ) and my copy of the Occult Adventures Character Deck 2 arrived today. I was anxious for this one as I didn't find a Harrow Deck card in the first of the Occult Adventures character decks. The Occult Adventures Character Decks were the most likely places to look, given Mike's hint, though I was worried that I might have to wait for the Ultimate Magic Character Deck expected later this year. I was not disappointed.
So I'm going to have to re-design around the official Harrow Deck, which is much more potent than the one I had developed.
It's interesting that Erasmus is listed as the owner of this card. While the iconic image of him shows him holding a deck of cards, the background story doesn't imply that he's a harrower. Or maybe he's just one of those "incidental users" I mentioned and a true harrower can make even better use of the Harrow Deck...?
And with the innovations in the recent class/character decks, I might start fresh with the characters I was working on, incorporating similar ideas or variations into my harrowers.
More soon...
With the release of an official harrow deck card in the Occult Adventures 2 Character Deck (finally!), I revamped this whole project concept. The first change was that I’ve switched from creating a “Harrower Character Deck” concept to simply creating characters that use the harrow deck in different ways. A big part of this was the third character, the summoner, for reasons that I’ll go into when I present that character. Also, since the official harrow deck card works slightly differently from the unofficial version I had developed, I had to make some changes so that the characters work better with the official version. So now, each character comes with a recommended class/character deck (for the hypothetical situation of players using these characters in conjunction with the Organized Play rules, not likely, I know), and you simply add the harrow deck card from OA2.
You can see the official harrow deck card here.
The first character is the revamped witch, Maddela.
Female Half-Elf WitchSKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Diplomacy: Charisma +2POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7You may discard a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before you act on a card you encounter.
On your check against a spell, you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ You may discard an item to add 1d4 and the Magic trait to your combat check.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: SpellWeapon - □1
Spell 5 □6 □7 □8
Armor - □1
Item 5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Consecrated Harrow Deck
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Maddela.”
I changed the second power (you can see the original version above) because it conflicted too much with one of the powers on the consecrated harrow deck (see below). The new power is much more witch-like (i.e., an enhancing hex, similar to powers the official witch characters have). I also changed the third power. I wanted to play this power down compared to the magus harrower. So where the magus character’s power will be similar to other magus characters’ combat magic power in terms of potency, this witch character’s version is less potent. She can throw cards in combat, but she’s not as good at it as she is more focused on the harrowing aspects of her powers. I also reduced the initial number of spell cards by 1, increasing the item cards by 1.
The character concept is that she is of neutral good alignment, and associates with the suit of crowns in the harrow deck. She is the product of a tryst between her Varisian mother a wandering elf father. I haven’t developed much of a background beyond that simple concept.
A very important aspect of her core character is her familiar. As a harrower, she has a special familiar, a consecrated harrow deck. This works in a manner different from more typical animal familiars. Suffice to say that much of her power is channeled through the deck, which is a cohort.
Traits: Tool, Gambling, Magic, Mental
Owner: Maddela
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may recharge this card to draw a spell from your discard pile and put it into your hand.
While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may place this card on top of your deck to add 1d4 to your check to acquire or recharge a spell.
While displayed, you may recharge this card to add 1d4 to the noncombat check of another character at your location.
The only change was that I removed the Harrow trait that I’d made up and replaced it with the Mental trait, in line with the official harrow deck card’s traits.
Note that she has both the consecrated harrow deck (cohort) and the normal harrow deck (item). Conceptually, she has just the consecrated harrow deck, with the item harrow deck representing the use of her cohort in the typical harrow deck manner (rather than channeling her arcane powers).
Now, her roles. These aren’t changed much from what I’ve previously posted. The role concepts remain the same as before.
“The cards say the sun will rise tomorrow, but not for you.”POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8You may discard a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before you act on a card you encounter.
On your check against a spell (□ or a barrier), you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ You may discard (□ recharge) an item to add 1d4 (□ 2d4)( □ plus the adventure deck level of the item) and the Magic trait to your combat check.
□ At the (□ start or) end of your turn, you may discard a spell; another character at your location may recharge their hand and then draw back up to their hand size.
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, add d12 instead of the normal die.
This role still enhances the combat use of the cards, but I wanted to better distinguish her from the magus character that I’ll be presenting next. So I’ve given her powers elsewhere, adding powers against barriers. Conceptually, she uses the reading of the cards to figure out how to deal with challenges, or to enable those for whom she is reading to deal with challenges.
“You make your own future, but the cards tell you how to do so.”POWERS
Hand Size 6 7 □ 8You may discard (□ or recharge) a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before (□ or after) you act on a card you (□ or a character) encounter.
On your (□ or a character at your location’s) check against a spell, you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ You may discard an item to add 1d4 (□ 2d4) and the Magic trait to your combat check.
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it.
□ At the start of your turn, you may draw a card.
Not much changed on this role, other than what was already changed with the core character. The concept remains that this character is more focused on peering into the future and being prepared for what is in store, and she channels magic better.
Naturally, the recommended character deck for this character is the Witch Class Deck, and I imagine that many players will augment it with the Ultimate Magic Add-On Deck (when that deck becomes available). I don’t see the addition of the harrow deck card from OA2 as problematic because the Witch Class Deck is already reduced with a number of cohorts. Players could always use this character with decks other than the Witch CD, though, and I imagine that both of the Occult Adventures character decks would ready alternatives. Other players might look to the Wizard and Sorcerer CDs, too.
As always, your feedback is appreciated.
And now for the magus. This character was inspired by what I think is a magus on the cover of the Pathfinder Player Companion: The Harrow Handbook (the witch, Maddela, was inspired by the lass in the background). When I was developing these characters as part of a notional character deck, though, I didn’t want two humans, so I turned the witch into a half-elf and the magus into a halfling (three guesses on the race of the summoner ;) ). And then when I started playing around with alignments, I decided that I would have a good, an evil, and a neutral character. The witch took the good slot. The summoner is inspired by the image of the summoner in The Harrow Handbook, and that storykin looks kind of evil. That left the neutral slot for the halfling magus. And then I remembered the halfling brothers Lem and Meligaster, good and evil respectively. Now I’m not saying that this halfling is their (neutral) brother, but I’m not saying that he’s not. Nudge nudge wink wink. I even included the (necessary?) letters in his name.
Getting beyond all of that, this character is also a sort of myrmidarch. That’s a magus archetype that uses ranged weapons (for those not familiar with the RPG). He’s not great as a myrmidarch, which I would picture having plenty of weapons; but the rules mechanics are along the lines of what I would do for a true myrmidarch.
I had to do a little re-working of the character once I realized that the magus arcana cohort from the Magus Class Deck would work very well for him, allowing me to focus his powers elsewhere. The sharp-eyed among you will realize that this means that all of my harrower characters have cohorts.
This character also makes use of the “normal” harrow card, seen here.
I present Vraxelm.
Male Halfling MagusSKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Ranged: Dexterity +2
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of your location deck (□ or the deck of a character at your location); recharge the spell at the end of your turn.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4) and the Magic trait.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: ItemWeapon 2 □3
Spell 4 □5 □6
Armor 1 □2
Item 4 □5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 3 □4
Cohort: Magus Arcana
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Vraxelm.”
The first power is there to establish that this character is a harrower. I didn’t want to limit his examinations to requiring the harrow deck card. Thematically, he’s using his deck, but I figured recharging a spell would be sufficient (this is less potent than augury, and risky in any scenario in which the Trigger trait comes into play).
The magus combat power is less impressive than S&S Seltyiel, but that’s because he’s throwing cards (a la gambit) instead of swinging a sword. The magus arcana card increases the power to more respectable levels, and it gets better with the roles. From a thematic aspect, while he’s recharging items, the concept is that he’s throwing magically charged cards around (I imagine that anyone that has this power would have several decks of cards stashed about their person so that they don’t run out of “ammo”). While the myrmidarch aspect is there, I’ve downplayed it by having a lower weapon card count. He still has weapons, but the intent is that he’s throwing his magically charged cards as much as possible.
Now, his roles. The first role focuses on his use of charged cards in combat. This is the Pathfinder version of Gambit (from the X-Men, for those of you that aren’t geeky enough to know).
‘Card sharp’ has more than one meaning.POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of your location deck (□ or the deck of a character at your location)(□ and you may add the adventure deck level of the displayed spell to your checks against the examined card); recharge the spell at the end of your turn.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)(□ +3d4)(□ +4d4) and the Magic trait.
□ At the start of your turn, you may display any number of items. You may discard a displayed item to reduce combat (□ any) damage by 2. At the end of your turn, you may recharge any number of displayed items.
□ After you reset your hand, you may recharge a card with the Magic trait to recharge a spell (□ or an item) from your discard pile.
The feat for the examine power will only be useful in the Trigger scenarios. The concept is that he saw the threat coming and was better able to deal with it.
The progression of the card caster power is pretty straightforward.
The concept behind the “display items” power is that he is creating a swirling wall of enchanted cards to act as a sort of armor.
The last power is intended to balance both his low Arcane skill (d8+1, plus skill feats) and the “display items” power, which requires him to discard cards.
Overall, the theme of this role is using his cards in combat.
As with the witch character, the second role focuses more on peering into the future, but instead of dealing with banes more effectively the way the witch does, the magus rewrites the future...
Changing the future is as easy as shuffling the deck.POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of your location deck (□ or the deck of a character at your location); (□ and you may discard the spell to put the examined card on the bottom of the deck or) recharge the spell at the end of your turn.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)(□ +3d4) and the Magic trait.
□ At the start of your turn, you may display any number of items. When you (□ or a character at your location) would encounter a bane, you may discard a displayed item for the bane to be evaded. At the end of the turn, you may recharge any number of displayed items.
□ When you would fail at your check to defeat a bane, you may bury (□ or discard) a spell or an item; the bane is evaded (□ and you may put it on top of the deck).
As you can see, the focus on this one is evading banes, presumably by seeing them in the harrow readings. The last two powers are kind of in opposition. The concept with the first is that it represents a harrow reading and he is manipulating the future. In game play, you would likely use this option when you don’t have the right cards for banes so you’re hedging your bets. The second power is for when things don’t go as planned – maybe you got stuck with a really nasty bane or maybe the dice gods weren’t kind to you. Regardless, the magus uses his harrow abilities to rewrite events.
Unlike the witch character (who can be used with a number of class/character decks), this character can really only be used with one deck, the Magus Class Deck, so that you can use the magus arcana card. As for an Ultimate Add-On deck, I could easily see any of Combat, Magic, or Equipment being used easily (he likes items, after all). Intrigue and Wilderness are unknown quantities at this time, but each might provide interesting alternatives for very atypical variations of the character.
Again, your feedback is appreciated.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Okay! Maddela:
MADDELA
Female Half-Elf Witch
SKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Diplomacy: Charisma +2POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7
You may discard a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before you act on a card you encounter.
When you would be affected by a power on a card you encounter before you act or on a card you examine, you may discard a spell ([ ] or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore that power.[b]On your check
against[b]to acquire a spell, you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged. *Any check you make against a spell is going to be a check to acquire, so this can be specific.□
You may dDiscard an item to add 1d4 and the Magic trait to your combat check.CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: SpellWeapon - □1
Spell 5 □6 □7 □8
Armor - □1
Item 5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Consecrated Harrow Deck
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Maddela.”
CONSECRATED HARROW DECK
Traits: Divine, Tool, Gambling, Magic, Mental
Owner: Maddela
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may recharge this card to draw a spell from your discard pile
and put it into your hand. *Redundant, when you draw it always goes in your hand unless otherwise specified.While displayed,
if you have the Witch trait, you mayplace this card on top of your deck to add 1d4 to your check to acquire or recharge a spell. *I think this card needs a bit more that a non-Witch can use it for, so I suggest that this power be available to anyone.While displayed, you may recharge this card to add 1d4 to the noncombat check of another character at your location.
MADDELA (CARTOMANCER)
“The cards say the sun will rise tomorrow, but not for you.” *This sounds a little evil for the Good character of the group.
POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8You may discard a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before you act on a card you encounter.
On your check against a spell (□ or a barrier), you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□
You may dDiscard (□ or recharge) an item to add 1d4 (□ 2d4)( □ plus the adventure decklevelnumber of the item) and the Magic trait to your combat check.□ At the (□ start or) end of your turn, you may discard a spell; another character at your location may recharge then reset their hand.
and then draw back up to their hand size.□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, add d12 instead of the normal die.
MADDELA (VATICINATOR) *I'm not a fan of this name, it's real hard for me to parse. What's it mean?
“You make your own future, but the cards tell you how to do so.”
POWERS
Hand Size 6 7 □ 8You may discard (□ or recharge) a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore the Trigger trait on an examined card or effects that take place before (□ or after) you act on a card you (□ or a character at your location) encounter. *I think this might be too powerful if it's available to everyone. Having her save someone at her location from a trigger or a BYA power is already very good.
On your (□ or a character at your location’s) check against a spell, you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ You may discard an item to add 1d4 (□ 2d4) and the Magic trait to your combat check.
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it.
□ At the start of your turn, you may draw a card.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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VRAXELM
Male Halfling Magus
SKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Ranged: Dexterity +2
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of your location deck (□ or the deck of a character at your location); recharge the spell at the end of your turn. *I would recommend you switch the order of these... examine a character'd deck first, then power feat to examine the location. This is because the location examine is about 50 times as powerful as the character deck examine.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4) and the Magic trait.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: ItemWeapon 2 □3
Spell 4 □5 □6
Armor 1 □2
Item 4 □5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 3 □4
Cohort: Magus Arcana
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Vraxelm.”
VRAXELM (CARD CASTER)
‘Card sharp’ has more than one meaning.
POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of your location deck (□ or the deck of a character at your location)(□ and you may add the adventure deck level of the displayed spell to your checks against the examined card); recharge the spell at the end of your turn. *If you follow my advice on the order of the first two powers, you'll want to change this one to something like this:
You may display a spell to examine the top card of a character's deck at your location ([ ] or the top card of your location deck) ([ ] and you may add the displayed card's adventure deck number to checks against the examined card); at the end of your turn, recharge the displayed card.For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)(□ +3d4)(□ +4d4) and the Magic trait.
□ At the start of your turn, you may display any number of items. You may discard a displayed item to reduce combat (□ any) damage by 2. At the end of your turn, you may recharge any number of displayed items. [b]*This power is worded such that if you have an item displayed for any OTHER reason, you could also recharge it at the end of your turn. Instead, you'll want that third sentence to be something like: "At the end of your turn, you may recharge any numer of items displayed for this power."
□ After you reset your hand, you may recharge a card with the Magic trait to recharge a spell (□ or an item) from your discard pile.
VRAXELM (FORTUNE TWISTER)
Changing the future is as easy as shuffling the deck.
POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of your location deck (□ or the deck of a character at your location); (□ and you may discard the spell to put the examined card on the bottom of the deck or) recharge the spell at the end of your turn. *"You may display a spell to examine the top card of a character's deck at your location ([ ] or the top card of your location deck); ([ ] you may additionally discard the displayed spell to place the examined card on the bottom of its deck); at the end of your turn, recharge the displayed card.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)(□ +3d4) and the Magic trait.
□ At the start of your turn, you may display any number of items. When you (□ or a character at your location) would encounter a bane, you may discard a displayed item for the bane to be evaded. At the end of the turn, you may recharge any number of displayed items. *I feel like both roles having a "display any number of items" power makes the two roles feel pretty similar. Perhaps you could instead do a straight discard an item for this power instead?
□ When you would fail at your check to defeat a bane, you may bury (□ or discard) a spell or an item; the bane is evaded (□ and you may put it on top of the deck).
*This is one of those powers where it's not really clear to the player if you still take damage from the combat. I think if you change it to "If you fail a check to defeat a bane, after the check you may bury..."
Overall, I really like both of these characters. I do wonder if they will be too similar to run together in a single party, but perhaps the next character will fill in some of the gaps between them. I'd like to see one that has the Divine skill and one that uses Melee. Then again, you can always have Erasmus fill any gaps in any party, and he's harrow themed as well. :-D
I also realized that since you're using Magus Arcana with him, a power letting you draw the top card of your deck after you defeat a monster might be REALLY nice on one of the roles. What do you think?
Thanks for the feedback!
I'm short on time, so I'll only respond to the recommendations for Maddela right now. If there's a recommendation that I don't comment on, then it makes sense to me and I've incorporated it into the rules.
The second core power is intended to work when trying to both acquire and recharge a spell, so the "against" verbiage is appropriate. At least, I think that's the verbiage that has been used on other similar boons.
On the consecrated harrow deck cohort, why the addition of the Divine trait? Witches are arcane spellcasters (generally). Neither the (normal) harrow deck nor the witch cohorts that I've checked have the Divine trait. I could see a recommendation to add the Arcane trait, but the Divine trait has me stymied (unless you're deriving it from the use of the harrow cards to divine the future).
On the recommendation on the second power of the consecrated harrow deck cohort, my concern was that the character shouldn't be giving her familiar away to anyone else to use. The deck is Maddela's familiar and shouldn't be as effective for anyone else (unless I'm mistaking the PFRPG familiar functions). I'm not totally opposed to the recommendation, but I figured that the third power would be sufficient in case other characters somehow got their hands on the deck - using the cards to better predict and prepare for future challenges.
On the second of the cartomancer powers (another character resetting/recharging their hand), I'm fine with the recommended verbiage as long as it doesn't force the end of the other character's turn. I think I used verbiage found on another similar card/power, but I don't recall offhand exactly which model I used. If the recommended verbiage matches the template for the intended outcome, though, no problem. The concept is that Maddela is performing a harrowing and the other character is able to adjust in preparation for an upcoming challenge (very powerful when the location deck has been scouted appropriately, but only useful when either the character's current hand sucks for the anticipate challenge or the other character is low on/out of cards in his hand).
"Vaticinator" is some old-fashioned (Latin?) word for a fortune teller. I've been pronouncing it va-TI-si-nay-tor. If I can find a more thematic name for the role, I'll change it (I'm still working on that, but without success so far).
On the recommendation for the vaticinator role, the power to ignore Trigger/BYA only works for Maddela, but with the power feat, it will work when the Trigger/BYA is on a card that another character encounters. For example, if Maddela is at a location with another character and that character encounters Tef-Naju, Maddela would be the only one to ignore the BYA effects (if she performs the appropriate actions). If Maddela encountered Tef-Naju, meanwhile, the intent is that the other character(s) at the location would still suffer the BYA effects. This is based on my understanding of the rules for ignoring such effects, so if I need to adjust the wording, I'm open to changes.
One thing that wasn't mentioned was the fact that Maddela and Vraxelm have similar skills. I've adjusted Maddela's and will include those when I post the revised version of the character (which won't be until I respond to the Vraxelm recommendations and post the summoner and my responses to any recommendations on that character).
Thanks again.
The suggestions about the magus have caused me to re-think some things and might result in more extensive re-working of the character, so I'm not ready to provide responses. In the meantime, here's the first version of the summoner.
As with the other two harrowers I’ve worked on, this last character is based on a harrower archetype found in Pathfinder Player Companion: The Harrow Handbook. The story summoner is found on page 25 of that book, and this character is directly inspired by the image of what I think is a story summoner on page 24.
In addition, since I changed from this project as a “Harrower Character Deck” concept to three harrower characters that could be played with different decks; and since I decided that each of the three characters would be a different alignment along the good-neutral-evil axis, this character became the evil character. Much of that was because the aforementioned image shows a storykin (?) that looks diabolic.
As with the other characters, this character makes use of the harrow card, seen here. He’s not your typical Varisian-inspired harrower, though, and is envisioned as a merchant who has gained knowledge of the harrow and magic through study of items he has gained in his mercantile efforts. Now he uses magic and the harrow to further his profits (to the detriment of others). He might even be an Aspis agent of sorts.
Male Human SummonerSKILLS
Strength d4 □+1 □+2
Dexterity d6 □+1
Constitution d10 □+1 □+2 □+3
Intelligence d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Knowledge: Intelligence +2
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
Charisma d6 □+1POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start of your turn, you may discard an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the others.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: ItemWeapon 1 □2
Spell 4 □5 □6 □7
Armor - □1
Item 5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Bhayasarpa
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Kulvir.”
The “power” requiring you to bury a used spell with the Attack trait is pretty much boilerplate for summoners, so doesn’t require much explanation.
The second power isn’t much, but indicates that this character’s cohort will find its way into his deck/discard pile.
The third power reflects his merchant nature – he is adept at finding what he wants, and at getting it. The “others” verbiage doesn’t make sense grammatically, but is plural because of progression to the power in one of his roles (otherwise it would have just been “other”).
As you can see, there’s not much here. That’s because most of his real power is derived from how he uses his storykin cohort.
Traits: Outsider, Eidolon, Arcane, Veteran, Mental
Owner: Kulvir
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, at the start of your turn, you may draw a random monster from the box and display it next to this card. After doing so, if you have more than 2 monsters displayed, keep 2 and banish the others.
While displayed, if you have the Summoner trait, you may add any of the traits of monsters displayed next to this card to your checks against banes. Add 1d4 for each trait that shares a trait other than Basic or Elite with the card you are encountering.
While displayed, if you have the Summoner trait, for your combat check, you may use your Arcane skill plus the scenario’s adventure deck number and add the Magic and Slashing traits. If you fail the combat check, shuffle this card into your deck and banish any displayed monsters.
The first power reflects the story summoner’s ability to manipulate the abilities of the eidolon/storykin by drawing cards. Wise choices in the monsters he displays will give him effective traits.
The second power reflects how the first power can be effective. The 1d4 bonus for each matching trait isn’t hugely powerful because this character isn’t intended to be a frontline fighter. However, the matching traits work against “banes” which include barriers. Truthfully, there aren’t a lot of monsters that share traits with barriers. I’m considering rewording this so that it is a flat 1d4 bonus, plus 1d4 for each matching trait. This will make it more useful across the board.
The third power reflects how he uses the storykin in combat. It’s Arcane plus scenario adventure deck level, but the second power also comes into play. The last part of the power is how the cohort can end up in the character’s deck, which is why the character’s second power is useful. The banishment of displayed monsters means that it will take two turns to get the restored storykin back up to snuff with two displayed monsters later. Note that the shuffling of Bhayasarpa into the character’s deck and banishment of the displayed monsters is in addition to the normal damage. I may have to tweak the wording to make that more clear.
Each of the roles reflects a different path this twisted character might take.
(no nifty filler text yet)POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start (□ or end) of your turn, you may discard an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the others.
□ You may discard a spell (□ or an item) to use your Arcane and add the Mental trait instead of the normal check to acquire an ally (□ or an item).
□ You may banish (□ bury) an ally to shuffle 1d4 (□ +1) cards from your discard pile into your deck.
This guy gets a little better at his core powers, but the role is really reflected by his ability to acquire allies (and items) and to use them. This character has developed into a sort of psychic vampire that uses his mastery of magic to mesmerize others in order to get his way. As a merchant, he uses his magic to further his business deals. He then terrifies his allies (i.e., his caravan slaves) and feeds on their terror in order to regain health.
(no nifty filler text yet)POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start of your turn, you may discard (□ or recharge) an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon (□ 2 random boons) of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the others.
□ A character at your location may bury a spell (□ or a card with the Magic trait); if she does, shuffle 1d4 (□ +1) cards from your discard pile into your deck.
□ A character at your location may discard a card to subtract the card’s adventure deck number from your check (□ and if the card is a spell, you may take it from her discard pile and recharge it).
This role is more of a magic thief. He steals magical power from others to fuel and control his own magic and health. As with the characters in the Hell’s Vengeance Character Decks, the villain powers are worded in a way that allows Kulvir to be the character feeding his own powers (so he doesn’t *have* to be “evil”).
The last power is good for those adventures/scenarios where accuracy is important (i.e., anything that uses the Mummy’s Mask adventure path cards). If the overall character/role isn’t potent enough, this power might be adjusted to also allow the discarded card’s adventure deck number to be added to the check.
Each of the roles is designed to enhance the acquisition of something, either allies or spells (though both are good at acquiring all kinds of things); and using those to restore the health of the character. He’s not terribly good at combat, so the restoration of health is his way of cycling cards and remaining in the game.
Naturally, the recommended character deck for this character is the Summoner Class Deck, but I could see either of the Hell’s Vengeance Character Decks, 1 or 2, being viable alternatives. The Ultimate Magic Add-On Deck will probably be a good add-on choice, though the character’s use of items might also make the Equipment deck a good choice.
Again, your feedback is appreciated.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Thanks for the feedback!
I'm short on time, so I'll only respond to the recommendations for Maddela right now. If there's a recommendation that I don't comment on, then it makes sense to me and I've incorporated it into the rules.
The second core power is intended to work when trying to both acquire and recharge a spell, so the "against" verbiage is appropriate. At least, I think that's the verbiage that has been used on other similar boons. "Against" is generally used more for banes. In addition, I personally wouldn't think a check to recharge a spell is "against" that spell. I'd suggest instead having it be "to acquire or recharge a spell".
On the consecrated harrow deck cohort, why the addition of the Divine trait? Witches are arcane spellcasters (generally). Neither the (normal) harrow deck nor the witch cohorts that I've checked have the Divine trait. I could see a recommendation to add the Arcane trait, but the Divine trait has me stymied (unless you're deriving it from the use of the harrow cards to divine the future).
I was deriving this from the word "Consecrated", which I associate very strongly with a deity. If you weren't thinking this, I'd suggest instead something like "Ceremonial Harrow Deck" or even "Harrow Deck Familiar" or "Bonded Harrow Deck" to signify that she's got a unique bond with it.On the recommendation on the second power of the consecrated harrow deck cohort, my concern was that the character shouldn't be giving her familiar away to anyone else to use. The deck is Maddela's familiar and shouldn't be as effective for anyone else (unless I'm mistaking the PFRPG familiar functions). I'm not totally opposed to the recommendation, but I figured that the third power would be sufficient in case other characters somehow got their hands on the deck - using the cards to better predict and prepare for future challenges. That's fair, I was thinking of it as an Item instead of a Cohort when I wrote that, so instead perhaps you could have it be "If you are the owner of this card, X" for both of the firs two powers? That way you're definitely making it clear that the card is meant for her and her alone.
On the second of the cartomancer powers (another character resetting/recharging their hand), I'm fine with the recommended verbiage as long as it doesn't force the end of the other character's turn. I think I used verbiage found on another similar card/power, but I don't recall offhand exactly which model I used. If the recommended verbiage matches the template for the intended outcome, though, no problem. The concept is that Maddela is performing a harrowing and the other character is able to adjust in preparation for an upcoming challenge (very powerful when the location deck has been scouted appropriately, but only useful when either the character's current hand sucks for the anticipate challenge or the other character is low on/out of cards in his hand). Yep, I think my suggested wording fits what you're looking for.
"Vaticinator" is some old-fashioned (Latin?) word for a fortune teller. I've been pronouncing it va-TI-si-nay-tor. If I can find a more thematic name for the role, I'll change it (I'm still working on that, but without success so far). No problem, just a word I hadn't come across and the pronunciation wasn't obvious to me.
On the recommendation for the vaticinator role, the power to ignore Trigger/BYA only works for Maddela, but with the power feat, it will work when the Trigger/BYA is on a card that another character encounters. For example, if Maddela is at a location with another character and that character encounters Tef-Naju, Maddela would be the only one to ignore the BYA effects (if she performs the appropriate actions). If Maddela encountered Tef-Naju, meanwhile, the intent is that the other character(s) at the location would still suffer the BYA effects. This is based on my understanding of the rules for ignoring such effects, so if I need to adjust the wording, I'm open to changes. Yep, you're right I was reading it slightly incorrectly. Given that she is the only character that gets to ignore the power, I think it's fine.
One thing that wasn't mentioned was the fact that Maddela and Vraxelm have similar skills. I've adjusted Maddela's and will include those when I post the revised version of the character (which won't be until I respond to the Vraxelm recommendations and post the summoner and my responses to any recommendations on that character). Excellent. :)
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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KULVIR
Male Human Summoner
SKILLS
Strength d4 □+1 □+2
Dexterity d6 □+1
Constitution d10 □+1 □+2 □+3
Intelligence d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Knowledge: Intelligence +2
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
Charisma d6 □+1POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start of your turn, you may discard an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the other
s. *It's actually totally fine to have a power's wording change slightly in roles based on things like this. I'd leave it singular until you NEED it to be plural in the one role.CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: ItemWeapon 1 □2
Spell 4 □5 □6 □7
Armor - □1
Item 5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Bhayasarpa
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Kulvir.”No major suggestions here, seems solid.
Bhayasarpa
Traits: Outsider, Eidolon, Arcane, Veteran, Mental
Owner: Kulvir
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, at the start of your turn, you may draw a random monster from the box and display it next to this card. After doing so, if you have more than 2 monsters displayed, keep 2 and banish the others. *One possible issue here: I'm not entirely sure that you can use the Display this card power DURING the "Start of your turn" which means that you wouldn't be able to discard a card to draw him from your discard pile, then display him, then draw a monster all during the same start of turn phase. This could easily be solved by changing the power to: "Display this card. While displayed, after your move step you may draw a random monster from the box and display it next to this card. After doing so, if you have more than 2 monsters displayed, keep 2 and banish the others. EDIT: Confirmed my suspicions with Keith.
While displayed, if you have the Summoner trait, you may add any of the traits of monsters displayed next to this card to your checks against banes. Add 1d4 for each trait that shares a trait other than Basic or Elite with the card you are encountering. I agree that perhaps making it a base 1d4 plus another 1d4 per shared trait might be good. Would probably also call out Veteran along with Basic and Elite, since that shows up on way too many cards.
While displayed, if you have the Summoner trait, for your combat check, you may use your Arcane skill plus the scenario’s adventure deck number and add the Magic and Slashing traits. If you fail the combat check, shuffle this card into your deck and banish any displayed monsters. I worry that JUST adding the adventure deck number might not be enough. If you make the second power have a base 1d4, I think it would work out better.
KULVIR (NIGHTMARE WEAVER)
(no nifty filler text yet)
POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start (□ or end) of your turn, you may discard an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the other
s.□ You may discard a spell (□ or an item) to use your Arcane skill and add the Mental trait instead of the normal check to acquire an ally (□ or an item). *Instead of having this power include two different power feats that have exactly the same text but do different things, what about "([ ] You may replace any boon type listed in this power with an item.)" It's a non-standard wording but I think it would work and it would free up another power feat elsewhere. Just a thought, feel free to ignore this one. :)
□ You may banish (□ bury) an ally to shuffle 1d4 (□ +1) cards from your discard pile into your deck.
KULVIR (ARCANA COLLECTOR)
(no nifty filler text yet)
POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start of your turn, you may discard (□ or recharge) an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon (□ 2 random boons) of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the others.
□ A character at your location may bury a spell (□ or a card with the Magic trait); if she does, shuffle 1d4 (□ +1) cards from your discard pile into your deck. *Opening this up to all cards with the Magic trait might be a bit too powerful. Perhaps instead it can be a card with the Arcane trait (which means wands and staves, mostly)?
□ After you roll a check,
Aa character at your location may discard a card to subtract the card’s adventure deck number from your check (□ and if the card is a spell, you may take it from her discard pile and recharge it). *Love this power. Very thematic and interesting.
Thanks!
All of the recommendations for Kulvir have been incorporated pretty much as-is. With the change to the Arcana Collector's first role power, I'm working on a new power feat. Once I've figured that out, I'll present the second version.
I do wonder if they will be too similar to run together in a single party...
That's actually a great observation.
I'm taking another look at both Maddela and Vraxelm to see if I can tweak them in order to better distinguish them from each other in terms of party composition. While I don't see Kulvir adventuring with the other two (he can, but it wouldn't be a routine thing), I can definitely see it being thematic for the witch and the magus to adventure together. So those two characters, while similar in terms of being harrowers, should definitely fulfill different roles. That will be for version 2 of each character.
I’ve made some revisions to all three of the characters based on the input (and after being distracted by the compulsion to compose a goblin pirate sea chanty). Just to keep things neat and tidy, I’m going to post each revised character in a separate post. First, is the harrower witch, Maddela.
In general, acted on the majority of the recommendations, though a few were tweaked a little. The exceptions to this were: (recommendation in bold, my reasoning in normal font)
In the second core power, change “check against a spell” to “check to acquire a spell” – Nyctessa (Undead Master) from Hell’s Vengeance Character Deck 2 has a power with the “against” verbiage, and there are a number of allies and spells to which the power applies.
Change “Consecrated Harrow Deck” to something else, removing “consecrated” – I’ve followed the naming used in The Harrow Handbook.
Change the “…if you have the Witch trait…” verbiage on the cohort powers – I’ve followed the model for other familiars/cohorts such as Padrig, Jinfu, and Compsognathus. These cards either don’t limit which characters can use them (other than whether or not the cohort and character powers/skills synergize), or use the class trait to limit when powers cannot be used by just everyone. Granted, the verbiage on the familiar cohorts from the Witch Class Deck may have been driven by the requirement for them to work with multiple characters, but I think it sets a good precedent. And the usage in this instance will allow any of the Witch Class Deck witches to become harrower witches (in friendly play, not OP).
So here’s the revised version. I’ll explain some other changes afterwards.
Female Half-Elf WitchSKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d6 □+1 □+2 □+3
Constitution d8 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d6 □+1 □+2
Wisdom d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
-Perception: Wisdom +2
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Charisma +1
-Diplomacy: Charisma +2POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7When you would be affected by a power on a card you encounter before you act or on a card you examine, you may discard a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore that power.
On your check against a spell, you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ Discard an item to add 1d4 and the Magic trait to your combat check.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: SpellWeapon - □1
Spell 5 □6 □7 □8
Armor - □1
Item 5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Consecrated Harrow Deck
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Maddela.”
So those changes pretty much match cartmanbeck’s recommendations, minus the exceptions that I explained.
Traits: Tool, Gambling, Magic, Mental
Owner: Maddela
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may recharge this card to draw a spell from your discard pile.
While displayed, if you have the Witch trait, you may place this card on top of your deck to add 1d4 to your check to acquire or recharge a spell.
While displayed, you may recharge this card to add 1d4 to the noncombat check of another character at your location.
There was only the slight verbiage change to the first power.
Now, her roles. I changed the flavor text on the first role, giving the original "evil" one to Kulvir. The current one is temporary (it lacks the zing I’d like to see).
The cards are symbolic and can, in turn, channel arcane power.POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8When you would be affected by a power on a card you encounter before you act or on a card you examine, you may discard a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore that power.
On your check against a spell (□ or a barrier), you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ Discard (□ or recharge) an item to add 1d4 (□ 2d4)( □ plus the adventure deck level of the item) and the Magic trait to your combat check.
□ At the (□ start or) end of your turn, you may discard a spell; another character at your location may recharge then reset their hand.
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, add d12 instead of the normal die.
I changed the name of the second role. Since the spread of the harrow is commonly called a “tapestry,” I went with a simpler name that is more evocative of the character’s role. (And now I can’t get Carol King out of my head.)
“You make your own future, but the cards tell you how to do so.”POWERS
Hand Size 6 7 □ 8When you would be affected by a power on a card you (□ or a character at your location) encounter before (□ or after) you act or on a card you examine, you may discard (□ or recharge) a spell (□ or a card with the Mental trait) to ignore that power.
On your (□ or a character at your location’s) check against a spell, you may recharge any number of items to add 1 (□ 2) for each item recharged.
□ Discard an item to add 1d4 (□ 2d4) and the Magic trait to your combat check.
□ When you play a blessing with the Desna trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it.
□ At the start of your turn, you may draw a card.
I reversed the Dexterity and Constitution dice to better differentiate her from the magus.
I also shuffled Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma around. Since she’s more of an intuitive arcane caster (rather than one that has studied), I figured that her Arcane skill could be tied to Charisma, which was increased from d8 to d10 (and this also better represents her personality and persuasiveness in performing a harrow reading). Likewise, her Perception is now tied to her Wisdom, which was increased from d6 to d8. Her Intelligence was lowered from d10 to d6. The skill feats were shuffled around accordingly.
As always, your feedback is appreciated.
This character received the most extensive revision following the feedback. As with the witch character, I generally followed the recommendations given by cartmanbeck. The only real exceptions to this are where I revamped the character, rendering recommendations moot. Since the changes to this character are more extensive, he’ll need more scrutiny.
Male Halfing MagusSKILLS
Strength d4 □+1
Dexterity d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Ranged: Dexterity +2
Constitution d6 □+1 □+2
Intelligence d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1
Charisma d8 □+1 □+2 □+3POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of a character at your location’s deck (□ or the location deck); recharge the spell at the end of your turn.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4) and the Magic trait.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: Item
Weapon 1 □2
Spell 3 □4 □5
Armor - □1
Item 6 □7 □8 □9
Ally 2 □3 □4
Blessing 3 □4
Cohort: Magus Arcana
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Vraxelm.”
I changed his cards list dramatically. While I didn’t change the card feats, the initial cards were adjusted to put significantly more focus on items. This contrasts with the witch character’s higher number of spells. Weapons, Spells, and Armors were reduced (by 1 each), Items were increased by 2, Allies were increased by 1, and Blessings remained the same.
‘Card sharp’ has more than one meaning.POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of a character at your location’s deck (□ or the location deck)(□ and you may add the adventure deck level of the displayed spell to your checks against the examined card); recharge the spell at the end of your turn.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)(□ +3d4)(□ +4d4) and the Magic trait.
□ At the start of your turn, you may display any number of items. You may discard a displayed item to reduce combat (□ any) damage by 2 (□ to 0). At the end of your turn, you may recharge any number of displayed items.
□ When you defeat a monster on your turn, you may draw a card.
The original second role power was swapped for the drawing a card power, as suggested. This freed up a power feat, which I added to the damage reduction power above.
Changing the future is as easy as shuffling the deck.POWERS
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with □ Light Armors, WeaponsYou may display a spell to examine the top card of a character at your location’s deck (□ or the location deck); (□ and you may discard the spell to put the examined card on the bottom of the deck or) recharge the spell at the end of your turn.
For your combat check, you may recharge an item to use your Dexterity or Ranged skill +1d4 (□ +2d4)(□ +3d4) and the Magic trait.
□ You may discard a card to evade your encounter (□ or to allow a character at your location to evade her encounter); (□ and if it is your turn, you may immediately explore your location).
□ After you reset your hand, you may recharge an item to recharge a spell (□ or an item) from your discard pile.
The first role power was re-worked. It retains the concept of evading, but I’ve changed the mechanic to better differentiate it from the Card Caster role, as suggested. The second power was originally part of the Card Caster role, but I moved it to the Fortune Twister role when I added the “draw a card” power to the Card Caster role. It also supports the Fortune Twister role, which has the potential to discard a lot of items.
Once again, your feedback is appreciated.
The harrower summoner received a bit of re-working following the recommendations. As before, I generally incorporated cartmanbeck’s recommendations. The one exception to this is that I didn’t add the Veteran trait to the exceptions on the cohort, Bhayasarpa, because I was following the model of WotR Padrig.
Male Human SummonerSKILLS
Strength d6 □+1 □+2
Dexterity d6 □+1
Constitution d8 □+1 □+2 □+3
Intelligence d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Knowledge: Intelligence +2
-Perception: Intelligence +2
Wisdom d6 □+1 □+2
Charisma d6 □+1 □+2 □+3POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start of your turn, you may discard an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the other.
CARDS LIST
Favored Card Type: ItemWeapon 1 □2
Spell 4 □5 □6 □7
Armor - □1
Item 5 □6 □7
Ally 1 □2 □3
Blessing 4 □5
Cohort: Bhayasarpa
You may treat 1 copy of the item Harrow Deck as if it says “Owner: Kulvir.”
I reduced his Constitution from d10 to d8, and increased his Strength from d4 to d6. This increases the differences from the other two harrowers (both of which have d4 Strength). I also moved two of his skill feats from Wisdom to Charisma.
Traits: Outsider, Eidolon, Arcane, Veteran, Mental
Owner: Kulvir
Powers:Display this card. While displayed, after your move step, you may draw a random monster from the box and display it next to this card. After doing so, if you have more than 2 monsters displayed, keep 2 and banish the others.
While displayed, if you have the Summoner trait, you may add 1d4 and all of the traits of monsters displayed next to this card to your checks against banes. Add 1d4 for each trait that shares a trait other than Basic or Elite with the card you are encountering.
While displayed, if you have the Summoner trait, for your combat check, you may use your Arcane skill plus the scenario’s adventure deck number and add the Magic and Slashing traits. If you fail the combat check, shuffle this card into your deck and banish any displayed monsters.
The changes to the cohort were pretty much in line with the recommendations.
The only really noteworthy change to the Nightmare Weaver role was the addition of filler text, taking the original “evil” quote from one of the harrower witch roles and more appropriately giving it to this sleazeball. Oh, and the change of the first role power allowed me to add a power, the new second role power (that one might need some scrutiny).
“The cards say the sun will rise tomorrow, but not for you.”POWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start (□ or end) of your turn, you may discard an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the other.
□ You may discard a spell to use your Arcane skill and add the Mental trait instead of the normal check to acquire an ally. (□ You may replace any boon listed in this power with an item).
□ When you would discard a card with the Mental trait for its power, you may recharge it instead.
□ You may banish (□ bury) an ally to shuffle 1d4 (□ +1) cards from your discard pile into your deck.
There were no real changes to the Arcana Collector role, other than the addition of a lame-ish quote (I’m still working on it – my concept is something sounding like he’s conniving some magical power from someone).
Only the strong should wield magical powerPOWERS
Hand Size 6 □7 □8After you play a spell that has the Attack trait, bury it.
At the start of your turn, you may discard (□ or recharge) an item (□ or a spell) to search your deck or your discard pile for a cohort and put it into your hand.
When you encounter an item (□ or a weapon or an armor)(□ or a spell), you may draw 1 random boon (□ 2 random boons) of the same type from the box; encounter 1 and banish the others.
□ A character at your location may bury a spell (□ or a card with the Arcane trait); if she does, shuffle 1d4 (□ +1) cards from your discard pile into your deck.
□ After you roll a check, a character at your location may discard a card to subtract the card’s adventure deck number from your check (□ and if the card is a spell, you may take it from her discard pile and recharge it).
Again, your feedback is appreciated.
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It took me awhile, but I finally got some playtest materials completed and posted at the BGG for download. Thanks to cartmanbeck for the help.
Each character has their own file that includes all of the cards you need to playtest (character card, role card, and token) as well as their required boons (a Harrow Card and each character's cohort - luckily, both of the official cards have been shown in blogs). All you need to do is print them, cut them out, and put them in sleeves. Each file also includes a full character sheet, similar to the ones you can download for the official characters. I've used green instead of blue to help emphasize that these are homebrew characters.
The character images are just those I could find in the blogs and usable under the CUP. They're not exactly how I envision each character, but they're passable. And while I've tried to make the cards look decent, I was limited by the software available to me (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Paint, and Photoshop from 2002) and my limited expertise with each.
Main BGG discussion
Witch/Maddela
Magus/Vraxelm
Summoner/Kulvir
As always, any feedback you can provide is appreciated.
Some observations after very limited initial playtesting...
First, my playtesting method (so far). I'm using each character in a four-character party going through Rise of the Runelords. I'm using the classic party composition of Kyra, Merisiel, and Valeros, with the Harrowers taking the place of the Arcane spellcaster. The key limitation here is that I am using all six characters that the full AP can support. This limited initial deck composition a bit, but campaign progression reduces the impact over time. I'm starting with the B adventure, and will probably play one or two scenarios in each subsequent adventure.
Maddela/Witch - I basically kitted her out as an offensive spellcaster, though she had to share some Basic spells with Vraxelm. Her only real problem so far is that she isn't able to use/recharge her Harrow Deck (the item, not the cohort) as well as her character concept would imply. She is basically supposed to be the classic Harrower, so she should be able to recharge that deck much better. I'm on the fence about auto-recharge (a la Seoni/Valeros) or enhancing the mechanic driven by the cohort.
Vraxelm/Magus - I haven't observed any real problems with him so far, though I'm concerned that his offensive power won't scale well as the AP progresses.
Kulvir/Summoner - His main problem is that he is so slow. With limited allies and blessings, he typically only explores once per turn. I'm considering ways to speed him up a bit.