Aubrielle's page

So in designing my own homebrew world, I decided to implement a few minor house rules. This idea snowballed and lead to me incorporating a great deal of alternate rules from various Pathfinder books, as well the Spheres of Power system. Right now, the alternate rules I'm using from Pathfinder supplements are:

Armor as damage reduction (Ultimate Combat)
Wound thresholds (Pathfinder Unchained)
Automatic bonus progression (Pathfinder Unchained)
Revised action economy (Pathfinder Unchained)

Now, I'm aware that adding all of these rules, in addition to the Spheres of Power system, changes the entire game. I will need to add or change minor things about all of these rules to make them fit together with one another. However, I'm worried that even after tweaking everything, there will still be some glaring problems with the system that I'm not seeing, or that the rules themselves will not mesh together the way I'd like them to.

What I'm asking is for anyone rules-savvy to tell me how a game like this would play, and to offer advice on how to fix any potentially major problems with such a system. For instance, using wound thresholds means that healing magic becomes more important, but is a party without a dedicated healer doomed? Armor as DR means that attacks will probably hit more frequently, and the revised action economy allows up to three attacks per round right at first level - does this mean melee combat will be too deadly? Will higher CR monsters be horribly unbalanced?

Please note that this is a work in progress, and I have not yet had the time to actually playtest any of this.

Your life began in the gnome town of Svenhus, larger than most gnome settlements of its kind, prosperous as it is due to its proximity to the human city of Dorlyn.

Your family are wealthy land-owning nobles, unusual for gnomes, but not unheard-of. They have used their social status to the best of their abilities, becoming active in the human politics of the region in an attempt to alleviate the presence of halfling slavery.

The current year is 1397 P.R., and you are 35 years old. You have lived a comfortable, protected life inside the natural hedge walls of Svenhus, with all of your basic needs provided by your parents. You have received basic tutoring on the subjects of language, etiquette and the like. Having taken on an interest in magic from an early age, your parents have told you about a school of magic learning in Dorlyn, which lies just a day's march north-east from town.

Your dreams of becoming a practiced magician, however, have always been daunted by the constant warnings of your elders to never leave the natural borders of the town until you are old enough. They never will say why, only that you must heed their command, especially at night. There is a strict curfew, and everyone must be indoors or leave the town until the next morning.

This seems especially strange to you, but young and carefree as you are, it never seems to be at the forefront of your mind. When you try to think of it, a vague, dark memory comes to your mind, but just as you are about to grasp it, something distracts you and the thought lies dormant.

In recent events, a neighboring family has taken a young halfling girl of about 12 years old into their care. She is an orphan, her parents having been killed by their slave masters in a fit of rage, or so you have heard. The girl seems quiet and troubled, and has not spoken to you in the couple of months since she arrived.

A couple of days ago, the legitimate son of the same neighboring family disappeared. This has caused a deep sense of trouble for the community, and folk speak of it only in hushed whispers. Just last evening, you spotted the halfling girl sneaking into the window of her home early in the morning, as if she had been out at night. You have not yet said anything of this to anyone, fearing for the girl's safety.

Your adventure begins on a late summer night. As you are lying in your bed and dozing off to sleep to the thoughts of magic and the amazing feats you will accomplish when someday you can attend the academy, you hear a faint disturbance at the window -- something is scratching from the outside. You are rudely jolted awake by this sound as it grows more aggressive.

On the great Wheel of The Year calender, today is the Turn of Lesus, the Spoke of Mata, the day of Agoraday, in the year of 1512 P.R. (Paphesidon Reckoning).

In the island kingdom of Lind, it is still in the midst of spring. A time of new beginnings, and for those familiar with the lore of the calendar, Mata is the spoke of money, and Agoraday is the day of trade and shopping. In the turn of Lesus, this is the national holiday of Freyday, which celebrates the legendary hero Frey who found a million gold pieces in one day and spent them all in one night.

Freyday is a day of merriment, excess, and most importantly, spending money. Therefore, marketplaces have been erected all over the Lindwyrme Isles, and places of business offer discounted prices and specialty wares to lure in customers.

In the village of Caedwall, one such marketplace has been established in the newly-constructed fairgrounds. It is a modest collection of tents and stalls, and most of the wares on display come from local sources, such as produce from the farms, beer and spirits from the Red House Tavern, and various forms of hand-made folk art such as jewelry, pottery, clothing and wooden toys for children. Spirits are high and the ring of cheer and celebration echo all across the Isles.

As if this were not enough, today is a very special Freyday indeed, for Caedwall has been chosen to host a tournament by none other than Belmont's Company of Heroes, who are seeking new recruits! Those who enter the tournament and win shall earn the chance to become a member of the Company, and be a true adventurer. Spectators may take part by placing bets on who they think will win each segment of the tourney.

Many people are coming from afar to witness this spectacle, and the town has spared no expense in making them feel welcome. Colored banners, streamers, flowers, and barkers and entertainers of all sorts wander the grassy dell. The sun sets the ocean and sky ablaze in brilliant light, emphasizing all the colors of nature. It is a splendid day in Caedwall, and it promises to be a herald of good things to come...

I'll begin the game as soon as you all are ready. Until then, happy gaming!

Greetings Templore players! This thread will provide us a place to discuss the game and create characters, since I already know all of you a recruitment thread would be unnecessary. I'm aware some of this may seem confusing, so please ask any and all questions you may have here or via private message. This thread will be used for my upcoming campaign, In Absentia Deorum, and probably for any other Templore games I run here as well.

Character Creation Information:
All characters may be of any base race or base class as described in the Pathfinder core, in addition to the Icho race described in the Templore campaign setting document. Options such as archetypes and traits are generally allowed by approval of the GM. All material, unless otherwise noted, must come from an official Pathfinder source. Third party material must be reviewed by the GM before being considered allowed in the game.

Players should be aware of the roleplay and mechanical differences of the races between the Pathfinder core and the Templore setting, as detailed in the campaign document.

Ability scores are to be generated via point buy method, as described on page 16 of the Pathfinder core rulebook. A character receives 15 points to spend, and all characters will begin at 1st level.

House rules, get your house rules here!

The following changes have been made to the rules to support the overall atmosphere of the game, as well as to help fix some balance issues (namely, the gap in power between melee fighters and arcane casters). These changes may be found in the Templore Player's Guide document, in addition to many less-significant house rules.

VARIANT: WOUNDS AND HIT POINTS

Light wound: When a character has less than half (50%) of their total hit points, rounded down, he is considered to have a light wound. He suffers a -1 fatigue penalty to attacks, damage, saves, AC, and all checks(including concentration checks), and to the save DC for all spells, spell-like abilities and supernatural abilities. Characters who suffer a light wound cannot take a 5-ft. step or move more than their base speed for the remainder of the round.

Heavy wound: When a character has less than one quarter (25%) of their total hit points, rounded down, he is considered to have a major wound. A character who is heavily wounded must make a DC 20 Fort save or be dazed for one round. Heavily wounded characters suffer a -3 fatigue penalty to attacks, damage, saves, AC, and all checks (including concentration checks), and to the save DC for all spells, spell-like abilities and supernatural abilities.
Creatures immune to fatigue (such as a barbarian using his Rage ability) are immune to these fatigue penalties. In addition, only creatures which are vulnerable to critical hits are affected by these penalties. The fatigue condition is separate from these penalties and both affects stack with each other.

ARCANE SPELL COMPONENTS

Starting components
Each spellcaster receives an amount of components when they begin a Templore campaign, regardless of level. They receive components for every spell they can cast that require them, as determined by the table below:

Spell Level Number of Components
0 2d10 +Int Mod
1 2d8 +Int Mod
2 2d6 +Int Mod
3 1d10 +Int Mod
4 1d8 +Int Mod
5 1d6 +Int Mod
6 1d4 +Int Mod
7 1d3 +Int Mod
8 1d2 +Int Mod
9 0 +Int Mod

A caster never begins play with any spell component with a GP cost listed in the Pathfinder Core rulebook.

VARIANT: COUNTERSPELLING
As per the Pathfinder core rules, a character may ready an action to counterspell another caster by specifically stating their intention.

If the target of the counterspell attempts to cast a spell, you may make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell's level) in order to successfully identify the spell. This check is a free action. If you succeed the check you identify the spell and may attempt to counter it. If you fail, you can do neither.
To complete the counterspell, you must then cast an appropriate spell. You may use any spell to counterspell, but success is automatic only if you use the same spell as the one being cast, or one of equal or greater level whose affects are the exact opposite (i.e. counterspelling haste with slow, or enlarge person with reduce person). Use of any other spell requires you to make a Spellcraft check with a special bonus equal to the spell you are using as a counterspell. The counterspelling DC is equal to 10 + caster level of the enemy caster + enemy spellcaster's spellcasting ability modifier + level of the spell you are attempting to counterspell. In addition, because spells in Templore are cast with words from mortal languages, any time you attempt to counter a spell being cast in a language you speak. you gain a +2 bonus to your Spellcraft check to counter that spell.

VARIANT: BONUS LANGUAGES
Language barriers are still very much an issue in Templore, as can be expected with so many different types of cultures existing beside one another. There has yet to be established a "common" or trade tongue, though certain languages are more prominent than others. Most humans, for example, speak Corinthian, the language of the Cathartan Empire. Characters in Templore do not receive bonus languages with their Intelligence Modifier as normal; rather, they begin play knowing the base languages for their race, as follows:

Dwarf: Dwarven
Elf: Elven
Gnome: Gnomish
Halfling: Birth region language
Half-elf: elvish and one human birth region language
Half-orc: orcish and one birth region language
Human: Birth region language
Icho: Tribe language (Deer, Wolf, Bear, Cougar, Boar, Shark, etc.)

Dwarves, elves, and gnomes have some variation in dialect from place to place, but most of their languages are similar enough that each member of their respective race can communicate with others of their kind. For instance, even though there are minor differences in their speech, dwarves from the Klaani mountains can communicate with dwarves from the Korangor mountains without much trouble. Human regions tend to have the most differences in language, and so each human begins play knowing the language of the region they were raised in. Half-breeds tend to speak only the language they were raised on, though most know at least some of both parent's languages. Halflings from human lands have long since forgotten their racial language, so they too speak only what their human masters teach them.
Additional languages may be learned by purchasing ranks in the Linguistics skill, as per the core rules. Also, characters do not begin play literate; a character who wishes to read and write the languages she knows must purchase a rank in Linguistics. Anyone wishing to learn a new language or to read and write must contact someone or seek the proper literature which already possesses such knowledge to learn it from, which may incur additional monetary costs or other compensation.
The list of human regional languages, (and the regions they are commonly spoke in), is as follows:

Corinthian (Catharta, Linovia, Sargosa)
Sargosian (Sargosa, Sangre Desert)
Fjorse (Brundholde, Drachmord)
Valecian (Valece)
Sheax [pronounced 'shay'] (Lyndwyrme Isles, Valece, Ostfield. Coreymont)
Linovese (Linovia)
Sargosan (Sargosa)
Hakhiri (Hakhir)

VARIANT: INTELLIGENCE AND WEAPON PROFICIENCIES
Fighters, paladins, and rangers may apply their Intelligence modifiers to learn new types of weapon proficiency as they would bonus languages. This bonus may be used to gain proficiency in one new weapon or shield type. For instance, a fighter with a +2 modifier may learn two new proficiencies of his choice. This variant can also be used to gain proficiency in exotic weapons, but not armor.