First, yes, take 200 for the hard work keeping folks alive, lol.
So the tough thing is qualifying what counts as casting a spell to further your ethos. Which is annoying because wizards just pretty much get 50/lvl for any spell that overcomes a challenge. Then thieves get 200 per successful use!
So yeah, I pretty much bonus those out when it seems appropriate. Either someone did something really cool/critical/whatever or when normal uses accrue enough, which is pretty much why I gave the 200 to Dis. Just sort of reached a point where it seemed time to give some for that.
It you want to keep it to "supporting/upholding ethos" that's fine too, clerics have a rapid advancement table so restricting their magic use xp bonus to only when they do stuff that advances their element is fine. I was just going by Priest heading on the table on p. 63 of the DS rules book.
Yeah, in the past we've tried a variety of solutions. I should have done what I used to do...and I may do it going forward, especially in Dales which I need to get some exp info on. The change is that all thief abilites, spells, etc grant (except pointless stuff like it mentions with climbing every wall in town) exp rewards on use, but drop a 0. So instead of 200/use or 100/spell level or whatever it would be 20/use or 10/spell level. What do you guys think about doing it that way?
Oh, and FYI, map is updated, but I have troubles over the weekends with work schedule and GF time updating the map easily...at least it's up!
Well, it's a longer game theory discussion... ah, screw it.
XP in D&D rewards the players for doing the things that you want them to do. That's why money gave you most of your xp in first edition (and there's a whole essay about that in the DMG!). In 2nd edition and especially in DARK SUN you want to encourage the players to use their special abilities and do things that fit the role of their class and character heritage, so you give xp for players who do those things in a way that is fun and good for the story. The concern about deforming player behaviors is valid - players should be encouraged to Climb Walls and Open Locks in the context of an adventure, in ways that fit their character using their abilities to achieve goals and advance, rather than just xp seeking.
In this context, a good cleric using healing magic on teammates is probably a behavior worth rewards, if it's contextually appropriate: For instance, there is no value in casting cure spells on party members who aren't wounded.
Ultimately it's the DM's call when a behavior is worth a reward, which is why I asked. To some degree, healing is its own reward; but the xp bonus is a nice reminder to priest players, "Use your spells to help the party! You get a bonus!"
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For now I've added 20 xp (+10% bonus for high Wisdom).
The thing that frustrates me is that warriors get a clean cut bonus: killing blow? +10/HD! Lol, easy to figure out, no mess. Reward them for doing what they do. Anyway, something to think on, I'm going to debate it a few before providing XPs for Dales. And now I want to dig out a copy of "HOL" just because of XP addiction...
Sooo I recently ran Black Flames for a home game, and I wanted to make sure you noticed a particular tripping point that can stall the game.
If you look at the map of the museum in the Player's Book, p. 10, you'll note that there are seven rooms shown. If you read the description of the museum in the DM's Book, part 2A, you'll find that there are eight rooms described, and the Orb is in room 8, which doesn't appear in the map.
Since we must have the Orb to advance the adventure you will probably want to figure out where it actually is. :)
Cheers!
Will not get a post up tonight, I will post after shabbat ends as I don't have enough time before sundown tonight. Sorry, holiday got in the way and I forgot to warn people.
No problem, weekends can be slow on the boards anyway!
Making sure I have this right. The gith are outside the building?
Exactly so, yes.
Oh, just so I don't forget, everyone can have 100 XP/each for a story goal reward. Yeah, the gem is what you're looking for.
So... pursue or let flee? Doesn't matter to me except I might need to update/fix the map, lol.
I don't mind letting them run if they are faster than most of us anyway; while I wouldn't want them to show up later when we are vulnerable, I also don't want to go picking fights that we don't have to.
With the halfling out I think everyone is faster than they are.
Not in my wheelhouse of weapons.
So I did not intend to rush into melee alone but did not realize that I was the only one doing so.
Eh, you'll be fine. Probably.
Hey all, a player from a different game approached me and asked if we want a replacement to get us back up to 6. I think right now we're just:
Me the water cleric
Ko the thri-kreen fighter
Jaryx the half-giant gladiator
Dismoon the elf thief
Ekee the half-elf gladiatrix
If we want a replacement/addition we could probably use a psionicist or preserver.
I'd be happy to allow another, but he or she might need to wait just a bit. I'm not sure I would have an easy write-in since this particular story is going to be moving pretty quickly now to the end.
Either a preserver or psion would be helpful and also give me some great potential options/hooks to setup whatever story comes next.
No worries. Depends on what the group says as well.
I'm good. We could use a 'cooler/thoughtful' voice. Ekee sees everything as a tactical problem to be overcome. And she has a big mouth.
This module originally is super problematic. Not only a massive railroad as written, but it includes a lot of deus ex type of things. Sure, Dark Sun characters should be aware that while there are no deities, there are some individuals who may as well be gods with the power they command. There are also a lot of extraneous encounters that would slow the pace of a lot of games down without any real need.
The worst is how cookie-cutter generic Farcluun originally was. This guy is really freakin' powerful. But they didn't give him a backstory, and his motivations were primitive. Power for power's sake.
All of this is to say that I am really enjoying how I have rewritten this and how I plan to use Farcluun in the future. Should you succeed, that is. You could die. Or you could run away, abandon the crazy powerful guy... Hopefully you all are enjoying it too. I know some of you are familiar with the original module. Hope I didn't cut some scene you were looking forward to!
Let's just fight our way out and see if we can make it back to the Black Water Oasis and lift the curse!
... incidentally, lifting the Curse would mean that Yaramuke's ruins would be habitable again, and a character might be inclined to stay and try to make a new home in a place with abundant water...
Hello everyone. I’m the player who contacted Sienna’s player to ask if this game had a spot free. It’s nice to meet you all. :)
I’ve looked over the initial recruitment post and I hope nobody minds me rolling for my first character here... just going to put the rolls in spoilers.
Well, that’s a stat spread.
Rolling for my wild talent using The Will and the Way tables:
Wild Talent Type: Psychokinesis
Wild Talent: Control Flames (with Telekinesis prerequisite)
I've thought this over, and I think my first character on my tree is going to be a human preserver.
So, how long do you suppose it'll be before he ends up dying horribly?
One of my 17s is going in CON...
Alright! Now to suss out his gear and background...
Welcome. Those are good stats. And that's what we really need, someone who 'rolls' well. : )
So the map should be fine for editing, but if you're trying to access from a phone or tablet you might not be able to really work it. I don't see an app to allow the functionality.
I can always use Roll20, but I'm open to suggestions to make maps easier for everyone.
My PC internet connection is dead and I don’t know when I will have it fixed. This will prevent me from participating in evenings.
No problem, this always seems to be a slowish time of year anyway. Kids getting out of school, finals in college, planning vacations, etc.
Okay, I'm having some difficulty putting all of my gear together--I know this is probably going to sound dumb, but I keep second-guessing myself when it comes to finding the costs of weapons.
How much does a bone short sword cost?
Metal short sword = 10 gp (= 1,000 ceramic pieces, which is the denomination of your starting currency)
Bone weapon = 30% cost
Bone short sword = 300 ceramic pieces
This is why I (and the levies of the city-states) typically use spears and clubs, which can be purchased at no markup as they're assumed to just be made out of wood and bits of bone or stone already!
Thank you. :)
Alright! Finally got my first character all put together!
Are you just waiting on Jaryx now?
Yeah, haven't nudged the J-dog yet because RL is being nutty.
Jaryx can't continue at this time, so as soon as I have a chance I will bot him and move ahead. Have to head into work now, so won't be able to update the map right off, but we will get back to a normal speed this week for sure... hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.
That's unfortunate. Here's hoping things work out for him soon.
Does this mean I'll be able to join in soon?
Presumably after we finish this horde of zombies scene. :)
Now that all the parties involved have agents on the field, very soon, lol.
It sounds like survivors are interested in possibly turning these ruins into a base of operations, which is great, I can totally roll with that. I'll have Jaryx head out after the battle, assuming he's alive (with those HPs, highly likely, but again, all parties now have their agents on the field...) I'm thinking he will head off to deal with the guilt from being controlled by the Banshee.
So I'll leave Cassiel's introduction up to you, for the most part. However I might PM you later this week with some stuff intended to be story seeds.
That sounds wonderful. :)
I'm always happy to work with story and adventure ideas.
Hey DM, since I need to replace a node on my character tree, how do you feel about the barbarian class (from the Complete Barbarian's Handbook) in DS? Personally I like the vibe of an adventurer from a tribal village that doesn't have the amenities of the big city-states, but not everyone likes how the class functions.
Yeah, barbarian is just fine. I would even consider it open to races other than human, but I don't know exactly which (other than halflings, which I would probably consider "U" for level cap, the class really fits them on Athas) or where I would look to cap levels for demihumans.
We will have some clean-up to do, but how about some critically important information?
Experience Awards
Everyone receives 4,668 exp/each (story awards and combat).
Ekee: +25
Ko: +60