Resources - I accept everything by Paizo to date. I accept most things by WotC, however, Paizo always trumps. As long as Paizo didn't do a version of it, just clear WotC with me. Sources like Dragon and Dungeon are acceptable, if cleared. 3rd party are often unbalanced, but I'll consider them.
* Alignments - Are not used. Still list yours for guideline, but role-play the situation, not the alignment. See this link for a breakdown. This is not my system, but I loved it, so I am still learning it. :)
* Destiny points - Use these whenever you need to succeed...period. You will auto-confirm critical threats, max damage rolls, succeed skill checks and saving throws, break down a wall or door, jump a pit, pull down a star destroyer...you get the idea.
You get one per level.
Keep in mind, these are less effective on lieutenants and bosses. I will adjudicate all uses.
* Action points - Add a die to any roll.
You get four + your new class level per level. From 1st to 4th level, you get +1d6 to any roll, 5th to 8th you get +1d8, 9th to 12th you get +1d10, 13th to 16th you get +2d6, 17th to 20th you get +2d8. Spend two to gain an extra action in a round.
* Hero points - Add 8 to any d20 roll before it is rolled. Add 4 to any d20 roll after it is rolled. This is accomplished by announcing, ooc, that you are going to use a hero point in a post, and then posting the use in a separate post, if you want the +8. If they are in the same post, I will assume it was already "rolled".
Spend one to automatically stabilize, or give you an extra use of a daily power you have run out of (rage, stunning fist, etc.). Spend two to gain an extra action in a round.
You get five per level, but you can earn extra hero points with heroic actions. (See if you qualify today!)
* Luck points - Re-roll any roll. You may choose the best result.
You get your level + Charisma modifier + 1d6 per level. Bards, ninjas and rogues get 6 instead of 1d6.
If you pull of some amazingly lucky stunt (without the aid of points) you can gain luck points. For every natural 20 you roll, you gain one, and for every natural 1 you roll, you lose one. If you go into "negative" luck points, you stay at zero, but I get one bad luck point to use against you, subtracting my 1d20 roll from yours. These will likely appear as luck points, etc. for bosses and elites.
* AC - All defensive stats are active now, not a passive 10. So AC is your normal score, minus the 10, plus 1d20. This works for all defensive rolls; i.e. Defense, CMD, etc. If you roll a natural 20 on your AC/Defense roll, you gain a free retaliation attack, if you threaten the attacker.
* Defense - Your defense score is a measurement of how difficult it is to hit you with an attack. Your defense score is equal to your AC minus armor and natural armor bonuses.
* Armor - Your armor protects you from attacks that actually hit your body, providing Damage Reduction equal to the armor's armor bonus, +1 for every 5 class levels you possess. Both armor AC and NA AC provide DR. Adamantine weapons gain +5 to ignore DR. Magic armor gives a point of DR and a point of Defense score for each magical bonus.
Any augmentations from materials from Eberron are acceptable, as well as any from Dragon magazine #358 - Master crafting.
* Armor HP - For every point of damage your armor or shield absorbs, it takes a point of item HP damage. Items have ten times their listed HP in the CRB. Hardness only matters in Sunder attempts.
* Parry - When an opponent attacks you in melee range, you may attempt to parry a single attack from that opponent. This attempt is an attack of opportunity, which also means you may not attempt to parry while flat-footed. You must be wielding a weapon or using a natural weapon to make a parry attempt. You may only make parry attempts before your Defense roll.
When you choose to make a parry attempt, you make an attack roll at a -4 penalty as an opposed roll to your opponent's attack roll. If you beat your opponent's total, you have successfully parried his blow, causing him to fail to hit you. If you fail to parry the blow, you are treated as flat-footed for that attack. No other attack in that round treats you as being flat-footed due to failing a parry attempt.
You automatically fail to parry on a natural 1. If your opponent rolls a natural 20, and you successfully parry, he auto hits for max damage, but does not critical. If the attacker and defender both roll a natural 20, the attack still hits, but the critical hit check automatically fails.
You can not normally parry ranged attacks, magic, or Combat Maneuvers.
You can make a parry attempt against a Charge at a -6 penalty. You can not set an attack against a charge and parry at the same time.
You can attempt to parry a Disarm or Sunder attempt made on an item you wear that is not your weapon at a -6 penalty. Sunder and Disarm attempts against your weapon can not be parried.
You can attempt to parry a melee touch attack at a -10 penalty.
* Movement and 5 ft. steps - As you gain a tier; 5th level, 9th level, etc.; you gain an extra 5 ft step/ round. You can use these in between attacks.
If you move at least 5 ft in a round, your Defense score gets a +2. This is to encourage movement on the field of battle.
You cannot perform a FAA without a 5 ft. step.
*Hit points - You start with your constitution score + your max class HD (8 HP for rogues, etc.) +10, unless you are a monster, or a non-hero class i.e. Warrior, etc.). You gain hit points as per normal rules.
If you have the diehard feat, you continue fighting once you reach 0 HP's, and start taking damage into your WP's (-HP's). Diehard allows you to stay conscious and fighting with no staggered condition until your wound threshold (1/2 half your WP's). If a character or monster has ferocity, they can go straight to deaths door, only gaining the staggered condition from their wound threshold until death.
If you are permanently a size category, you may gain bonus HP's. double if you are Large, triple if you are Huge, etc.
* Vigor points - Equal to your hit points.
When wounded, you transfer one vigor point into your hit point pool per minute, until your hit point pool is full. You must heal these just like normal hit points. If you have run out of HP (you are 0 HP), you are doing damage to your WP, NOT your Vigor. If you have Vigor remaining, and you stabilize, your Vigor will replenish your HP like normal, and you may regain consciousness, however, Vigor does not replace your lost WP's.
Any non-lethal damage is applied directly to Vigor. When your armor absorbs damage, it is applied to vigor.
* Wound points - You start with your constitution score plus your max class HD. You gain WP per level depending on your Hit die, plus your Constitution modifier. d6 receives 1 WP/level, d8 receives 2, d10 receives 3, d12 receives 4.
You also have a wound threshold equal to your Clobbered score.
Wound points represent the amount of physical punishment you can take before you die. When your wound points drop to or below your wound threshold, you become wounded. When you are wounded, you gains the fatigued condition until you are no longer wounded. Furthermore, when you are wounded, if you take any standard or move action on your turn, your remaining wound points are reduced by 1 and you must make a DC 10 Constitution check. If you fail that check, you falls unconscious. This only comes into effect if you still have HP and/or VP.
When you reach 0 or fewer wound points, you are dead.
Critical Hits deal their regular damage to HP's or vigor points, but also deal damage equal to the minimum damage possible for the attack (1d6+4 damage=5 damage, 2d4+6=8 damage) directly to wound points, plus their critical modifier. This wound point damage bypasses all Damage Reduction.
* Condition track - Like Star Wars SAGA.
* Stabilize - Your stabilize percentage is equal to your WP. (If you have 34 WP, you stabilize 34% of the time). I use the percentage rule from 3.5, not the new rule from PF. I didn't even realize it had changed, lol.
* Staggered - You are staggered from 0 HP to -(Constitution modifier). So with a Con of 19, and 39 WP, you would be staggered from 0 to -4, and would bleed out from -5 to -39, stabilizing 39% per round.
* Dying - You may bleed into negatives equal to your Wound points, as your "life" bleeds away.
Essentially, You have HP's (representing your ability to stamina through battle and take a beating), Vigor (your ability to gain a second wind after having your tail handed to you without blowing all your healing resources, after a rest), and your WP's (your ability to take injuries and real wounds while fighting and in positive HP's, and also how far it takes your body to get to deaths door when you are in negatives bleeding out).
I am working on a condition track as you are dying.
* Massive damage - If you take more damage in one hit than your WP, your body goes into shock. You must make a stabilization roll, or immediately fall unconscious. You do not bleed out, but you do not become conscious until you succeed in a stabilization roll. You move two steps down the condition track if you succeed the roll.
* Clobbered - If you take more damage in one hit than half your WP, you are clobbered. You lose your next immediate action. If it is next round, you may choose between a Move Action or a Standard Action. If an enemy provokes an AoO that your could have reacted on, you lose that as your action. You also move one step down the condition track.
* Bloodied - You suffer a -5 to everything until your HP are above 50% again. This should promote fear of dying, and weakening of character as well, not the "as long as I survive with 1 HP I won" mentality.
* Initiative - Increases with your Reflex base save, +1/5 levels. At the end of a round, subtract 15, and go again. Each character may do another standard action, move action or swift action.
* Iterative attacks - For each additional attack in melee, you replace it with a combat maneuver. So a fighter knocks a sword out of a bandits hand, cutting his arm in the process when he has two attacks. Should make combat less stab him in the face, and more tactical, team oriented and cinematic. These attacks each subtract 5 from your original attack...you only roll once.
You may also Attempt a Martial knowledge check to add a maneuver onto an attack. This will function similar to adding Metamagic. I will expound later as I flesh it out.
* fatigued after 1/rnd/lvl in combat.
* Criticals and fumbles
When you score a critical, you do max damage on the first dice to HP's, and minimal damage plus the critical modifier to WP's. Used feats such as Power attack apply and can adjust this value. If you critical and confirm with two natural twenties, you do max damage on the second die as well to regular HP's, and minimum to WP's. Roll for a catastrophic critical. If you roll a third natural twenty, you do double the total damage for both HP and WP damage. Ignore anything but a third natural twenty.
When someone threatens a critical, they confirm against a characters critical defense (essentially what is the traditional full AC value).
When you roll a natural 1, you provoke an AoO, and must roll a Reflex save vs. DC 15, or roll on the fumble chart. ***(This needs to be re-worked under the Def/AC system)***
When a critical is scored against you, you move down the condition track a number of steps equal to the critical multiplier.
* Fumble chart (work in progress)
One-handed weapons
01-25% Lose your grip. -1 to attack next round.
26-30% Loose grip on your weapon. You cannot attack, but you may parry for 1 round.
31-40% You are dazed for one round.
41-50% Bad follow through. You do 1 HP damage to yourself.
51-60% You slip with grace and lose 1 Standard Action. Your next attack is at -2.
61-70% Drop your weapon.
71-80% Juggle your weapon for 1 round. You cannot parry. Next attack is at -2.
81-85% You lose an entire round of actions, as you are thinking about mince pies. Mmmmm...
86-90% Stunned for 1 round.
91-95% You stumble, and are stunned for 1 round. Next attack is at an additional -2.
96% You become fatigued for 1d6 rounds.
97% You do 1d6 damage to yourself.
98% You do 1 Wound damage to yourself.
99% You become exhausted for 1d4 rounds.
100% It's as if you slid your belly onto their weapon...they auto critical you.
* Initiative
Because this is a pbp, I am going to try something different that I saw in a recent RotRL campaign...average Initiative rolls.
As a player, I always loved when we got to combat, but it inevitably took two days to actually get there. So I will roll your initiatives, average them, and do the same for the baddies. When I say Combat! I will tell you who acts first, heroes, or bad guys. If it's bad guys, I'll tell you what they do. Then you go. Any player, any order. I'll adjudicate anything awkward. Lets see if this speeds things up.
* Terrain - I would like terrain to actually cause penalties, like negatives, not movement penalties.
First, everyone will move. Then I move the opponents. Then I will let everyone attack. Then they attack. This should [i]feel more visceral, and more random, less tactical.
* Feats, flaws and traits
I give one extra feat at first level for your history.
I allow two traits, and one campaign specific trait.
I allow up to two flaws, from either 3.5 or Paizo, which give you up to two extra feats.
Everyone starts with one teamwork feat, and gains one per four levels.
- Toughness gives you +3 HP and +3 VP and +3 WP, and +1 of each each level after that.
- Weapon focus, Spell focus and Dodge and any Greater variations are progressive feats. They get better as you do. They start out at +1, and gain an additional +1 at 5th level, 9th level, and so on, at each tier. So a 20th level Fighter with Weapon focus and Greater weapon focus will have a total of +12 to his attacks.
- Lightning reflexes (and other save basic feats): saves become good rather than poor progression. If they are already good, you gain a +3 and an extra save attempt 1/day.
- Skill groups:
Physical - Acrobatics, Climb, Disable device, Escape artist, Heal, Perception, Stealth, Use magic device
Mental - Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, engineering, geography, history, Nature, Nobility, Planes, Religion), Linguistics
Social - Knowledge (local), Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Handle animal, Intimidate, Sense motive, Perform, Perception
* Magic systems
Innate (Sorcerers)
Arcane (Wizards)
Prayer (Clerics)
Divine (Oracles)
Primal (Druids)
Psionic (Psionicists)
Bonded (Witches & Warlocks)
Elemental (Templars)
Ancestral (Wu Jens)
Bards are not PC's anymore...they are NPC's, meant to move story forward, and expand the history of the realm, and supply entertainment when the party is not in a fight somewhere. They are not meant to dandy around in a battle between armies or a dragon like a jack-booted idiot, singing stupid lyrics while they sing to the heroes about how cool they are. Or will be. If they survive. And protect his useless butt.
I've never once (correct me if I'm wrong, seen a good representation of a bard or cleric in a party roll in a movie that wasn't "D&D" based.
I am working on a rule that actually combines a cleric and a bard...The cleric gets the bard's counter song and perform abilities to inspire courage in combat and whatnot. This is her praying continually to bless the party with divine intervention. Focus on your Deity, or they don't focus on you. Fickle lot.
Please role-play accordingly. Psions use their mind, a druid may chant lowly, a cleric prays, sorcerers pulse with power just under their skin...play with it, but keep them separate, please. :)
* Sins
Everyone gets to sin. Enjoy. :) Choose one sin, and one ability from that sin.
- Pride
Choose either Dazzling blade (Dazzling blade, mass) or Delusional pride, or Hypnotism. You may use it once per day as a swift action, using your class level as the caster level.
- Gluttony
Choose one of the following: Whenever you drink a potion, increase its caster level by one, or all cure potions heal maximum hit points, or cast Goodberry 1/day as a swift action with your Character level acting as the Caster level.
- Greed
Choose either or Burning disarm (,Covetous aura), Sticky fingers (Dr323:65) or Certain grip (non-detection, Secret chest). You may use it once per day as a swift action, using your class level as the caster level. Change certain grip to one round per level.
- Wrath
Choose either Interrogation (Pain strike, Pain strike, mass), or True strike (Rage), or Rhino's rush (Dr323:65) You may use it once per day as a swift action, using your class level as the caster level.
- Lust
Choose either Seducer's eyes, Lock gaze or Charm person You may use it once per day as a swift action, using your class level as the caster level. Change Seducer's eyes to one round per level.
- Sloth
You gain either a +5 to d20 rolls till the beginning of your next turn if you willfully take only one action (move or standard) for your turn, or the ability to auto-confirm a critical, or auto-succeed on a roll once per day if you rest twelve hours rather than eight, or the ability to cast Touch of fatigue as a swift action 1/day using your Class level as the Caster level.
- Envy
Choose either Break (Dispel magic) or Disguise self. You may use it once per day as a swift action, using your class level as the caster level.
* Languages and spell languages - Enchantment (Tamil), Evocation (Bengali), Abjuration (Armenian), Transmutation (Georgian), Divination (Gujarati), Necromancy (Arabic), Aundair (French), Thrane (Spanish), Kaarnath (German), Cyre, Dwarven, Elven
* Saving throws
Saves are the same as fourth edition - Fortitude is based off Strength or Constitution, Reflex off Dexterity or Intelligence, and Will off Wisdom or Charisma.
* XP for journals
For every week you post at least one solid-sized journal entry, and link it to the discussion board, you will receive 5% of that levels needed XP.
* XP for attendance
I will give out bonuses for the leaders in posts in XP every week, and a bonus for anyone who hits a certain benchmark. Also, if everyone hits that benchmark, the whole party gains a bonus.
* NPC's and monsters
In order to bring a more cinematic feel, I am working a system I designed that has minions, elites and bosses.
Minions have one HP. If they have DR from armor, or some other source, the attacker must simply beat the DR to kill them in one hit. If a minion is hit, but the DR value is not beat, then they require one more hit to kill. (Two hits that do not beat the minimal DR of a minion still succeed in killing them.
Minions do not bleed out. They die.
Minions do minimal damage at all times. However, multiple hits do add up in a round. (If you have DR 4, and are hit by 5 minions who do 1 point of damage each, you'll take 1 point of damage that round). They do not get AoO.
Elites gain an extra feat, have a Trait, and have one hero point, one luck point and one action point. They also have double the normal HP's and Vigor, and 150 % the normal WP's. They are worth double XP, and have a treasure value of CR+1.
These differ from NPC's with the Elite array. Characters with the Elite array also gain 1 Hero point.
Bosses are nightmares. Good luck. They have two extra feats, get two Traits, five times the HP's and Vigor and double the WP's, treasure as CR+2, and two each of luck action and hero points. They will own you solo.
* Wizards need to choose three schools of magic...these are the only schools they may cast from. One is their focused school, the other two are not.
Wizards always seem too similar to me. Spellbooks are carbon copies. I want wizards to feel unique in their focuses, and different in mechanics from each other.
A Universalist can still exist, however they subtract 2 from the number of spells per level they can cast per day.
* Wizard spell memorization - if a wizard wishes to change his memorized spells, it takes 15 minutes of meditation and memorization, minus 1 minute per Intelligence bonus.
* Wizard focus items - They give you one virtual level per Class level + 1/4 not matching caster class + primary casting bonus to be able to spend per day to lower Casting time.
If you do not have your focus item on you, DC's become more difficult, and casting is not assumed to be auto-success. you also don't have the ability to MM quite as much at higher tiers.
* Anyone is able to cast a Metamagic feat. You must hit a Spellcraft DC of 10 + double the spell level + quadruple the Spell level cost of the Metamagic feats being used. Casting time is increased from 1SA to 1FR, and adding one additional round to the casting beyond that. You also automatically provoke an AoO if you have not taken the feat. You may only use each Metamagic feat for "free" once per day. After that, each additional use of a Metamagic feat that day increases the DC by 5. You pay for the feat with spell levels like normal, choosing which to use up.
If you take a Metamagic feat, you no longer automatically provoke an AoO, do not need to hit the DC's or fear losing the spell and spell slots, and may use it as often as you like.
For example, If you wish to cast an Empowered Maximized Fireball, and this is the second spell you've maximized for "free" today, the DC is 41. 10+6+12+8+5=41.
If you do not succeed in the DC, you cast the spell normally. If you fail the DC by 10 or more, you lose the spell and your turn, casting nothing. If you miss the DC by 15 you lose the spell levels you would have spent.
For every tier you level up to (5th, 9th, 13th, etc.) you are able to right off two MM spell levels per round, plus 1/tier for your spell focus item, when carrying it.
* Sorcerers may cast any spell on their spell list...their known spells are ones they have practice at making their blood obey, bending it to their will. If you want to cast a spell you don't know, it costs double the spell level in Spell levels (a third level spell costs 6 spell levels to cast if it isn't known to you.) It also takes 1 minute/spell level to cast. (3 minutes in the example.) This may be shortened by expending spell levels. If it is a spell above the level they can cast (i.e. a 3rd level spell for a 2nd level sorcerer), it's casting time is in hours.
* Counter-spelling - Untrained can counter the exact spell. The Counterspell feat allows you to counter from the school. Improved counterstpell feat allows you to Absorb 1/3 spell levels, minimum 1. Greater counterspell feat allows you to absorb, and immediately reflect as well, the basic (non-Metamagic) version of the spell.
Only Clerics may counter cleric prayers, with their deities faith.
* Scrolls -
- Sorcerers may add a spell to their known spells for 1 hour from a scroll. The process takes 1 minute. They may then cast it as if it on their list for the duration.
- Clerics may not cast from scrolls.
* Potions -
- Sorcerers get a bonus to any spells they have as a learned spell. i.e., if it is in their blood, they cast it stronger with a potion of the same spell. i.e., if a sorcerer knows mage armor, and drinks a potion of mage armor, they get a +5 AC/DR bonus. If it is not known by them, they get a +3, as potions are slightly weaker.
- Wizards can hold on to the potion in their body for 1 minute per wizard level they have. i.e., a 4th level wizard who drinks a potion of mage armor can hold it and cast it four minutes later as a swift action.
- Only Alchemists, witches can brew potions.
* Wands
I have decided to give this system a shot, after some discussion.
I have always felt wands and potions are bland and annoying. Wands especially...every wizard has four or five, with 30 to 50 charges, that they never use. Waste. So we're going to make them more fun and useful...I believe.
Anyone who wields a wand, or successfully activates a wand with a UMD check, may utilize it with metamagic feats. Using metamagic feats increases the UMD check by the number of levels the metamagic feat requires.
If you want to use your wand of fireball with the maximized, quickened and silenced metamagic feats (+3 spell levels, +1 and +4), you use 1 (for the normal) +9, +3, +12 (each tripled) for a total of 25 charges, and a UMD DC of 26. Which means you may use the wand twice before it is burnt out. It also is very expensive for just two attacks (or more, depending on how you play it), but you are more likely to use it.
