I'm feeling an RP jones kicking in and think I'd like to run one of the Gamemastery modules as a pbp on the forums with some mods and different settings.
I'm torn however between two interests and distinctly different flavors:
Option 1: Swords and Planet
A band of civil war veterans on their way home from the war are waylaid to a distant, savage world where dangers abound alongside the chance to become the masters of Illuthar!
Option 2: The Camelot Fallen
Arthur is dead, the remaining knights are on crusade atone for their part in the civil wars that followed. Now his nephew is on the throne and there are all new threats to the recovering kingdom.
Any preference? Discuss. Rules would either be vanilla 3.5 or PFRPG.
I've got a party heading toward an encounter in a dense forest, and one of the party members has recently stocked up on alchemist's fire ...so in the eventuality that one of his attacks misses and hits the grass I'm trying to figure out how long they'll have until a little splash becomes a true forest fire.
The SRD covers the speed of a moving forest fire, but not how long one takes to get going.
I needed a gang of fey without damage reduction, and instead of just dropping it from an existing breed in the SRD (which is all I had access to) I decided to come up with something new.
I wanted something I could drop on a small party of 3rd lvl characters for a fun encounter. Now I'm concerned I overdid the little buggers. Should I drop the pipes, or the poison?
I'd appreciate any input...
TUILÍ Small Fey Hit Dice: 2d6+3 (9 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (+1 size, +4 Dex, +1 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 12
BAB/Grapple: +1/-5
Attack: Head butt -1 melee (1d4-2), Quarterstaff -1 melee (1d4-2/19-20) or Blowgun +5 ranged (1 pt plus Poison)
Full: Head butt -1 melee (1d4-2), Quarterstaff -1 melee (1d4-2/19-20) or Blowgun +5 ranged (1 pt plus Poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Pipes, Poison, Spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Forest-born, low-light vision, wild empathy
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities: Str 7, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 11, Wis 15, Cha 16
Skills: Bluff +8, Climb +12, Hide +10, Jump +9, Listen +4, Move Silently +10, Ride +4, Sense Motive +4, Spot +8
Feats: Track
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Gang (2-4), band (6-11), or tribe (20-80)
Challenge Rating: 4 ? 5 with pipes??
Treasure: standard
Alignment: Always neutral evil
Advancement: 2-3 HD (Small)
Detail
Spoiler:
Tuilí
Tuilí are cruel race of forest-dwelling, nocturnal fey. Their appearance is that of small half-satyr elves, possessed of an otherworldly beauty. Tuilí are wholly corrupt, using the occasional captured traveler as food for their crop of witch trees, after 'playing' with him to their satisfaction. Tuilí spend their days sleeping and their evenings cultivating their crop, hunting for food and holding moonlight revels. Tuilí are unable to procreate, and propagate their kind by forcing ‘favored’ captives to eat the fruit of the witch tree, and undergoing transformation in to new Tuilí.
Forest-born (Ex): In a forested environment the tuilí can use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for the purposes of climb and jump checks, and suffer no penalties for their speed while doing so.
Pipes (Su): Tuilí can play a variety of magical tunes on their pan pipes. Usually, only one tuilí in a group carries pipes. The effects of the tuilí’s pipes continue only while the pipes are played. Playing the pipes is a standard action that requires concentration to maintain a tune, which means the tuilí playing the pipes must take a standard action each round to maintain a particular tune. A creature that successfully saves against any of the pipe’s effects cannot be affected by the same set of pipes for 24 hours.
Haunting Tune: When it plays, all creatures within a 60-foot spread (except tuilí) must succeed on a DC 12 Will save or become shaken, taking -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks while the tune is played.
Baffling Tune: When it plays, all creatures within a 60-foot spread (except tuilí) must succeed on a DC 13 Will save or become confused, as per the confusion spell while the tune is played.
Battle Tune: When it plays, all tuilí (and only tuilí) within a 60-foot spread gain a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves against fear effects, plus temporary hit points equal to 2d4 while the tune is played.
Poison (Ex): An opponent hit by a tuilí’s poisoned blowgun needle must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1 round. After 1 minute, the subject must succeed on another DC 13 Fortitude save or become nauseated for 1d4 rounds. A typical tuilí carries 1d4 specially prepared poisoned needles. Note that tuilí have no special ability to apply poison without risking being poisoned themselves. Since this poison is not a magical effect, tuilí are susceptible to it.
Spell-Like Abilities: - 1/day Longstrider, Pass without Trace, or Shillelagh
Wild Empathy (Ex): This ability works like the druid’s wild empathy class feature, except that tuilí have a +4 racial bonus on the check.
Skills: Tuilí have a +2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Perform, and Spot checks; as well as a +4 racial bonus on climb and jump checks made within a forest environment.
Witchtree Fruit
Any creature who takes a bite of a Witchtree Fruit must make a fortitude save against DC 15 or begin a slow transformation in to a tuilí.
(note: possibly modifying the rules for lycantropy for this...)
Blast Wand, Blast Rod & Blast Staff
I don’t know about you, but I hate it when my low-level wizard has depleted his offensive spells during the course of an adventure, and has to lug out a crossbow to be of any help during combat, or just to deter pesky vermin at range. It just doesn’t meld with my image of the wizard.
Here are a trio of ranged weapons, wand, rod and staff that are equivalent to some basic ranged weapons. I’ve factored in the cost of the equivalent of 50 rounds of ammo to each.
How'd I do with these, so far I've been told they're really under priced. ~ thanks in advance...
Feats
My thought is that ranged weapon feats such as Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Many Shot, Shot on the Run and Weapon Focus – but not weapon specialization would apply to these alchemical weapons.
Blast Wand
A blast wand can be made by a character with the Craft (alchemy) skill DC 15.
The physical qualities of a blast wand are the same as a magic wand.
A blast wand is an alchemical weapon that allows an arcane spell caster to fire raw arcane energy through it as bolts of magical force. Only arcane spell casters can use the blast wand’s magical force attack. The color and thematic appearance of these blasts are set by the player. Treat this attack as a ranged attack with a range increment of 50 feet. Each blast wand has 50 charges when created, and each bolt of force fired from it expends one charge. A blast wand that runs out of charges is just a stick. A blast wand can be re-charged by use of the Craft (Alchemy) skill, DC 12 at the expense of 5 gp in materials.
Attacks with a blast wand deal 1d4 points of force damage and deal double damage on a critical hit. It has a range increment of 50 feet. Even though blast wands use the spell trigger activation method, firing a bolt from a blast wand is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. A blast wand used as a melee weapon is treated as a light improvised weapon (-4 penalty on attack rolls) and deals 1d2 points of non-lethal damage. (1 lb., 5 gp) Equivalent weapon: Sling (Dmg 1d4, range: 50', Cost: 1sp/10 bullets)
Blast Rod
A blast staff can be made by a character with the Craft (alchemy) skill DC 20.
The physical qualities of a blast rod are the same as a magic rod.
A blast rod is an alchemical weapon that allows an arcane spell caster to fire raw arcane energy through it as bolts of magical force. Only arcane spell casters can use the blast rod’s magical force attack. The color and thematic appearance of these blasts are set by the player. Treat this attack as a ranged attack with a range increment of 80 feet. Each blast rod has 50 charges when created, and each bolt of force fired from it expends one charge. A rod that runs out of charges is just a smooth club. A blast rod can be re-charged by use of the Craft (Alchemy) skill, DC 12 at the expense of 10 gp in materials.
Attacks with a blast rod deal 1d8 points of force damage, with a threat range of 19-20 and deal double damage on a critical hit. It has a range increment of 80 feet. Even though blast rods use the spell trigger activation method, firing a bolt from a blast rod is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. A blast rod is treated as a club for the purposes of melee combat, and crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them. Magical enhancements to a blast rod only affect its ranged attack. Enhancements to the melee capabilities of the weapon must be made separately.
Normally, firing a blast rod requires two hands. However, you can fire a blast rod with one hand at a -4 penalty on attack rolls. You can fire a blast rod with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two one-handed weapons. This penalty is cumulative with the penalty for one-handed firing. (5 lbs., 80 gp) Equivalent weapon: L. Crossbow (Dmg 1d8, range: 80', Cost: 35gp + 1gp/10 bolts)
Blast Staff
A blast staff can be made by a character with the Craft (alchemy) skill DC 25.
The physical qualities of a blast staff are the same as a magic staff.
A blast staff is an alchemical weapon that allows an arcane spell caster to fire raw arcane energy through it as bolts of magical force. Only arcane spell casters can use the blast staff’s magical force attack. The color and thematic appearance of these blasts are set by the player. Treat this attack as a ranged attack with a range increment of 80 feet. Each blast staff has 50 charges when created, and each bolt of force fired from it expends one charge. A staff that runs out of charges is just a quarterstaff. A blast wand can be re-charged by use of the Craft (Alchemy) skill, DC 12 at the expense of 10 gp in materials.
Attacks with a blast staff deal 1d10 points of force damage, with a threat range of 19-20 and deal double damage on a critical hit. It has a range increment of 120 feet. Even though blast staffs use the spell trigger activation method, firing a bolt from a blast staff is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. A blast staff is treated as a quarterstaff for the purposes of melee combat, and crafting masterwork or otherwise special versions of them. Magical enhancements to a blast staff only affect its ranged attack. Enhancements to the melee capabilities of the weapon must be made separately.
Normally, firing a blast staff requires two hands. However, you can fire a blast staff with one hand at a -4 penalty on attack rolls. You can fire a blast staff with each hand, but you take a penalty on attack rolls as if attacking with two one-handed weapons. This penalty is cumulative with the penalty for one-handed firing. (6 lbs., 110 gp) Equivalent weapon: H. Crossbow (Dmg 1d10, range: 120', Cost: 50gp + 1gp/10 bolts)
Homebrew setting
This is a magic item for a low-magic homebrew where the Bard is the only arcane caster. The overarching plot of the homebrew has to do with the origins of magic and it’s impending re-emergence, and the idea is to have it possible for almost any one to stumble upon an ancient magic tome and use it's powers, albeit to limited extent and with some risk.
I would appreciate your thoughts on this in general, and specifically regarding any pitfalls I may come across.
Spoiler:
Ancient's Magic Tome:
Activation: To activate a spell from a spell tome, a spell caster must know the page of a desired spell and read the spell written on the given page. Doing so involves the following steps and conditions
To use a spell tome, the tome bearer must be able to read Elf.
The tome bearer must have an Intelligence or Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a tome spell is 13 + the spell level.
The tome bearer must also have a magic rating (see Magic Rating variant from Unearthed Arcana) equal to the wizard level normally required to cast the given spell. For example, a 5th level fighter has a Magic Rating of 1 (Unearthed Arcana Table: Magic Rating by Class) so he is limited to casting 1st level spells and 0-level cantrips from the spell tome. If fighter multi-classes to Bard, upon reaching 3rd level of Bard, his Magic Rating is 3 and he can now cast 2nd level spells from the spell tome.
Activating a spell from a tome requires no material components or focus. (The creator of the spell tome provided these when scribing the spell tome.) Note that some spells are effective only when cast on an item or items. In such a case, the spell tome user must provide the item when activating the spell. Activating a spell tome spell is subject to disruption just as casting a normally prepared spell would be. Using a spell tome is like casting a spell for purposes of arcane spell failure chance.
CASTING A SPELL FROM A SPELL TOME:
Step One: FIND THE DESIRED SPELL
The tome’s index is nearly as complex as a spell on the page and to learn its contents takes time and study. After examining the tome’s index, which takes a total of 48 hours over a minimum of six days, the tome’s bearer can discern four 0-level spells from the wizard/sorcerer spell-list plus three 1st-level spells chosen by the DM. For each point of Intelligence bonus the tome bearer has, she can discern one additional 1st-level spell chosen by the player. At each new character level, she can discern one new spell of any spell level that she can cast, based on her magic rating, (see Magic Rating variant from Unearthed Arcana) from her spell tome. These additional spells are also chosen by the player.
Step Two: ACTIVATE THE SPELL
Activating a spell requires reading the spell from the spell tome. This requires an intelligence check (DC 15 + spell level) The character must be able to see and read the writing on the page. Note: If the tome bearer is a bard, she can add her bard level to the intelligence check.
Step Three: DETERMINE EFFECT
A spell successfully activated from a spell tome works exactly like a spell prepared and cast the normal way. Assume the spell’s caster level is always the minimum level required to cast the spell for the character that scribed the spell tome (usually twice the spell’s level, minus 1).
If the spell activation fails due to a failed check or spell interruption (but not arcane failure due to armor) there is a 25% + spell level chance of a mishap from the failed attempt. See TOME MISHAPS below.
Whether the spell is successfully activated or not, the magic of that particular spell is temporarily drained from the spell tome and is not restored until 3 + spell level days have passed.
TOME MISHAPS: When a mishap occurs, the spell in the tome has a reversed or harmful effect. Possible mishaps are given below. Roll 1d8 to determine which mishap takes place.
1. A surge of uncontrolled magical energy deals 1d6 points of damage per spell level to the spell tome user.
2. Spell strikes the spell tome user or an ally instead of the intended target, or a random target nearby if the spell tome user was the intended recipient.
3. Spell takes effect at some random location within spell range.
4. Spell’s effect on the target is contrary to the spell’s normal effect.
5. The spell tome user suffers some minor but bizarre effect related to the spell in some way. Most such effects should last only as long as the original spell’s duration, or 2d10 minutes for instantaneous spells.
6. Some innocuous item or items appear in the spell’s area.
7. Spell has delayed effect. Sometime within the next 1d12 hours, the spell activates. If the spell tome user was the intended recipient, the spell takes effect normally. If the user was not the intended recipient, the spell goes off in the general direction of the original recipient or target, up to the spell’s maximum range, if the target has moved away.
8. A summon monster spell is cast, of equal level to the spell trying to be cast, the summoned monster appears beside the tome reader, but is not assumed to be under her control – although appropriate diplomacy, handle animal or wild empathy can function.
When an intelligent weapon has skill ranks as one of its lesser powers, say 10 Ranks in Bluff. The character wielding it attempts a feint...do those ranks get added to the Character's roll straight away?
Or are the ranks really the weapon's ranks and simply permit the weapon to 'aid' in the feint?
I've not been able to find anything specific in the SRD...
Also, this is the first time using Intelligent weapons in a campaign. Anyone have any caveats or suggestions for DM'ing a game with one of these in a character's hands?
I’d like to get the community’s thoughts on a variant I’m considering...I've been playing around with a variant sorcerer for my homebrew setting and I was thinking of having the sorcerer start-off with one of these abilities instead of a familiar: Spontaneous Dark Lightning (Su) or Dark Lightning (Su) which are detailed below. Can't decide which is better as far as balance and flavor. Other aspects of the variant are limited weapons proficiency (club, dagger, light crossbow, and quarterstaff) and possibly one or two spell-like abilities at mid and late level.
Spontaneous Dark Lightning (Su)
A sorcerer can channel stored spell energy in the form of raw arcane power, firing bolts of dark lightning that fill a cone-shaped burst from his eyes or fingertips. The sorcerer can “lose” a spell slot from his highest spell level available in order to fire bolts of dark lightining equivelent to the same spell level or lower. These dark lightning bolts travel a maximum of 90 ft. and deal 1d4 damage per Sorcerer level (maximum 10d4) to each creature within range. The sorcerer can choose to limit the damage of his bolts, by rolling less damage dice than he’s capable of. He must make this decision before he makes his attack. A succesful reflex save against DC 10 + 1⁄2 the sorcerer’s HD rounded down + his Cha modifier, reduces damage by half.
Dark lightining bolts do not emit heat or light, nor do they ignite combustible materials. If the dark bolt stikes an interposing barrier and causes enough damage to shatter or break through it, the bolt may continue beyond the barrier to its full range; otherwise, it stops at the barrier.
...Or...
Dark Lightning (Su)
A sorcerer is able to channel raw arcane power through his body, firing bolts of dark lightning that fill a cone-shaped burst from his eyes or fingertips. These dark lightning bolts travel a maximum of 90 ft. and deal 1d4 damage per Sorcerer level (maximum 10d4) to each creature within range. The sorcerer can choose to limit the damage of his bolts, by rolling less damage dice than he’s capable of. He must make this decision before he makes his attack. A succesful reflex save against DC 10 + 1⁄2 the sorcerer’s HD rounded down + his Cha modifier, reduces damage by half.
Dark lightining bolts do not emit heat or light, nor do they ignite combustible materials. If the dark bolt stikes an interposing barrier and causes enough damage to shatter or break through it, the bolt may continue beyond the barrier to its full range; otherwise, it stops at the barrier.
Dark lightning is physically draining for the sorcerer. Every time the sorcerer uses his dark lightning ability, a saving throw must be rolled to resist fatigue. This roll is a fortitude saving throw against DC 10 + ½ the number of damage dice rolled rounded down. If this saving throw is failed, the sorcerer immediately becomes fatigued. If the sorcerer is already fatigued, he becomes exhausted.
If the sorcerer becomes exhausted he will be unable to use his dark lightning until he is no longer exhausted. In addition, in order to cast spells while exhausted, the sorcerer must suceed on a fortitude saving throw against DC 10 + level of the spell. If the sorcerer fails his fortitude save, the spell fails and is lost, additionally, the sorcerer becomes stunned for 1 round. Recovery from fatigue and exhaustion are as normal.
I have a player, 2nd lvl. fighter in my campaign that carries a Lucern Hammer as his weapon of choice and a longsword as his back-up. Now to my understanding, the hammer is a reach weapon, meaning he can't use it against targets in adjacent squares.
Since he'll be carrying the hammer in his off-hand while using his longsword, he's pleading, however politely, to be able to use the polearm defensively while fighting with the sword...
My thought is that he'd need a Feat to pull that off, actually my first thought was 'Ah...no,' but since I'm a pretty green DM I thought I'd put it out there...tks.
