Fandael's page

I like it, thanks Set! :-)

I am working on a homebrew world, in which a race inspired by Fetchlings live in the Prime Plane near a portal to the Plane of Shadows. They use their racial abilities to run caravans into the Plane of Shadows and bring back goods, substances and items which they then sell in the Prime Plane (their town acting as a trading hub where races from the Prime Plane travel to barter for their goods).

My question is: What sort of goods, substances and items would they be bringing back with them? That can survive on the Prime Plane without decaying too quickly (or able to be preserved in some way)?

Oil of Shadow, Shadowweave Cloth and stuff sounds fun but also very generic. I am looking for inspiration for something a little more elaborate and intriguing.

If you can, please suggest:
1) name
2) its function or uses on the Prime Plane
3) what it comes from or how it is made on the Plane of Shadow (e.g. is it a body part, a local plant or mineral, a crafted item etc.)
4) approximate worth / volume or quantity

:-)

You could impose the rule that casting Teleport physically ages the caster 1d4 years...

In my current campaign, my GM has done away with Teleport and instead replaced it with the possibility of covering great distances by travelling through a shadowy, other-wordly realm, sort of like the Astral Plane mixed with the Plane of Shadow.

It is a realm populated by guardians and the longer you seek to travel in the "real world" the more fierce a guardian you are likely to encounter in the other world, which means a great risk of a dangerous fight. So every use of this short-cut becomes a case of weighing potential risk vs. potential gain - and in any case we are sure to have an adventure! :-)

What level is this apprentice? That'll determine a lot of what sorts of trials or tests will be appropriate.

Well, as I said, I am looking for trials/tests that are not level-specific but will make a good story no matter what level. Don't think in terms of having to 'defeat monster X' but rather 'defeat monster X because of Y' and it is the Y that is important to the story - tying the test to becoming a full member of the school of fire mages.

As I said, I am looking for fluff inspiration, not a game technical way of handling it :-)

In my game, the mage has been apprenticed to a local school of fire wizards. To advance from Ember (apprentice) to Flame (full mage), he needs to first complete The 5 Trials / The 5 Tests.

But what should they be? It should be low-level but not easy or without danger. And preferably something that requires more than simple attack rolls, skill rolls or casting of a spell or cantrip.

I am looking for something that will make it a good story but also will not side-treck the entire party for weeks. Something that we can say happen during Downtime but which will add to the character's story and give me a chance to interject some additional NPC's, quest clues, background stuff, plot lines etc.

The generic names would of course be something like:

The Test of Guile
The Test of Strength
The Test of Will
The Test of...?

But what sort of tasks would the apprentice be required to perform for the wizardly order? Something that would make them see him as fit to join them and be initiated into their secrets?

Congrats! Love what you are doing to give new designers and writers a chance in the industry! :-)

Thanks for the input. The party just reached level 4 in the last game session and they are low on magic items.

I had in mind that these monsters (I will make them myself due to the storyline) would have some sort of damage reduction necessitating siege weapons (something similar to siege weapons ignoring the hardness that buildings normally get against regular attacks).

The point is not really to penalize the PCs but to offer up a unique situation, where they get to fire "big guns" at "big monsters" during a desperate last stand :-)

In a few days, my PCs will find themselves in a fort assaulted by giant creatures akin to shambling mounds or earth elementals. I want to set up a fight in which the PCs help defend the walls using balistas or other siege weapons to prevent the assaulting force from smashing down the walls.

Any advice on how to spice up such a battle? I am a little worried that it will degenerate into reloading the balista a lot of times, so I was thinking about mixing groups of smaller creatures in with the giant ones. But what else can be done?

Basically, I want to do sort of a unique "mini-game" before it probably turns into all-out desperate melee when the fort is about to fall. I am inspired by lots of the online games out there, where you have different defensives and you need to use them correctly to prevent the opposing force reaching your base, if you know what I mean.

Any ideas? :-)

Always great to see new 3PP joining the community! :-)

Sounds great RJ Grady! My group is currently playing in Bruce Heard's fantasy world Calidar, which is full of flying ships and I have been looking for rules such as these.

I had actually set my heart on making a conversion of Fire As She Bears from Razor Coast into 3D vessels and combat, but I will absolutely give your product a thorough examination as well.

Looking forward to playtesting it! :-)

If the underwater activity is brief and you don't have access to Water Breathing magic, perhaps some Elemental Breath alchemical potions might be a good idea. They buy you 10 rounds where you don't have to breathe. IIRC they are from Advanced Races.