Iconoclast's page

In an attempt to break from the typical Dark Ages/European fantasy, I've decided to run a game loosely based on the mythology and history of India, China, Japan, the Middle East, and the indigenous people of New Zealand (the Maori). This exotic mish-mash, in my opinion, would inject some new and unique color into my usually Euro-centric fantasy games.

I've been stymied by two hurdles, though.

First, the campaign is low on magical items. Potions are not a dime a dozen, and things like "+5 Flaming Unholy Greataxe" are extremely rare. In this setting, owning a magical item is something that is normally reserved only for the most powerful, intrepid people.

Second, I'm not allowing sorcerers, wizards, bards, druids, and things like that. What I want to do, however, is to institute a shape-shifting class, something that allows the PC to choose a number of totem animals that they can change in to and draw abilities from. For example, someone aligned with tigers would be supernaturally adept at stalking and natural camouflage, while someone aligned with a hawk would have phenomenal speed and senses.

My questions to you are these:

1.) Would severely limiting the number of PC magical items unfairly impede their ability to survive?

2.) Are there any shape-shifting D&D variant classes close to what I'm looking for?

Any help would be appreciated.

The way I see it, a lot of adventurers wouldn't want to keep delving into dungeons when they're tenth level. Sure, it's good money, but there has to be more to life. As one of my jaded NPCs said to the party (he was an eighth level fighter who had been adventuring for fifteen years):

"Adventuring isn't all fame, glory, and scantily clad women - you don't bathe for weeks at a time, all kinds of bugs and diseases are everywhere, and after two months in the field, you can't tell whether someone started as a man or a woman. And do you know how many times I've sh*t myself? Drink some dirty water, get surprised by a monster in the swamp, don't have time to take a squat... that's what adventuring boils down to: dirt, disease, and diarrhea."

As such, I like to provide my PCs with the ability to do things that don't revolve around monster killing. I've had PCs start trade companies, build the Renaissance equivalent of the Job Corps, and even take up leadership of a country's most powerful organized crime family. There's something more fun about adventuring when you're doing it not to complete someone else's quest, but when you're doing it to secure the interest of your personal ambitions.

Now, D&D doesn't have many rules governing PC enterprises. There's the leadership feat, but other than that, everything is pretty much done through role play. But, because I don't want to give the PCs power they don't work for, and because I want them to be able to actually use what resources they have, I have devised a system for empire building that I would like people here to critique.

First, it starts with PC reputation, because PCs need to have a bit of oomph behind them before Joe Shmuckatelli will seek employment with them. Reputation is written on a 1-30 scale, and bonus reputation can be awarded through excellent role play or completing a quest in an original way. Before a PC can influence a certain organization in a "leadership" capacity, he must have reputation equal to the CR of the organization's most powerful leading member plus the organizations resources and connections.

For example: if the party wants to insinuate themselves as ranking members or allies of a thieves guild whose leader is a sixth-level beguiler and whose contacts span the entire city (as well as boasting total assets of 10,000 gp), they must first have reputation equal to 10 (6 for the leader, 2 for city-wide influence [if they work in an official capacity, this increases by another 2], and 2 for their assets). There are, however, different kinds of reputations, outlined below. For this kind of organization, the PCs would have to have the relevant [u]Local[/u] reputation.

The first kind of reputation is overall reputation - this is a party's notoriety/renown for their "adventuring" deeds.

Local: City, village, town, monastery, etc. Limited to a specific small area.

Regional: Country, kingdom, tribal network, expansive organization.

Legendary: Continent, world, empire.

Planar: Specific extra-planar entities, gods, otherworldly organizations.

Reputation can be received any number of ways. Helping the local healer may garner local reputation, and rolling particularly high on perform checks (using the guidelines in the PHB) will garner reputation. A series of Perform checks around 10 will give a bard a reputation of a "decent singer", and a series of perform checks over 30 made in many different locales may attract the attention of an erinyes flautist.

The second kind of reputation is specific reputation, which deals primarily with organizations and offices.

Local: A fisherman's guild, a seamstress, a group of lumberjacks or miners.

Regional: A knightly order, the military, local officials, small trade companies, a local church.

Legendary: A universally feared conclave of assassins, a far-reaching merchant organization, an entire faith, an emperor.

Planar: The curators of Boccob's library, The Lady of Pain, a roaming platoon of hound archon paladins, a council of devas.

So, two kinds of reputations. Every action the party takes that could increase their reputation may give them 1, possible two points in their category. Working for the local traders to help clear a road of bandits would give the party a +1 reputation with that organization. Traveling to Acheron to recover the blessed mace of a mythical cleric might give upwards of a +5 when dealing with every member of that faith.

Now, there's also notoriety in there as well. Doing something against the will of another organization will subtract reputation from that particular group or region. To use the previous example, allying with the bandits and running a protection racket against traders will make it less likely that the PCs will be able to get buddy-buddy with the local militia, but more likely that they will be welcomed by other local bands of brigands.

So, through the course of the adventure, the PCs get reputation. If they get high enough reputation, it ALLOWS them the ATTEMPT to start their own businesses and such. If the party has reputation with local trade guilds, for example (by working for them or paying extortionist licensing fees), they will be able to become licensed merchants, will be able to use their money to buy their own ships, and will be recognized in ports as traders, allowing them to buy, transport, and sell goods. If their deeds have been martially legendary, they may be able to assume ranking positions in a mercenary company, re-unite a fracture knightly order, or have enough renown to form their own military force (nothing too big, at first - a group of a couple hundred soldiers). If they are known as magically savvy, they will be able to receive authorization from the government to build their own wizard's academy. Quests then start to revolve around their personal dealings as well as trouncing bad guys, and having their businesses gives them bonuses that will give them more opportunities and better supplies to help them along the way.

Reputation only ALLOWS the players to role play as though they are trying to start a business. It does not just GIVE them stuff, but it lets them take the initiatve to do it.

So... what do you all think?