I am not going to allow it (I think) but wanted to share this latest attempt to rend the spirit of the rules for the benefit of PC power:
The proposed PC is a Druid 1/Ranger 6. He proposes to attract an animal companion as a Druid, then 'stack' his levels of Ranger to allow him that animal companion to be that of an druid 7. (I know, error #1, he only gets to stack Ranger-3 to his druid companion, or effective druid level 4 after adding his druid 1.)
Then he proposes to attract a second companion as a Ranger (levels 4-6) and interprets the rules to allow him to treat that companion as equal in power to his druid companion (or level 7, according to him).
I am of the opinion that such an interpretation does violence to the rules since the stacking ability exists to keep from gimping the animal companion of a multiclassed ranger/druid. I don't think it means that the PC gets to attract 2 animal companions. I find support by implication here in the 'beastmaster' archetype, which would be rendered completely pointless if this player's argument were valid. I further find support in my opinion in the fact that there is no 'Beastmaster' archetype in the druid class, implying that the nature priest's companion is a singular being and not just a upgraded pet.
Finally, and this is a pet peeve of mine, I am frustrated that my player proposed all of this BEFORE he presented anything close to a character concept. I have always run a role-playing intensive game in the Old School model, where players can have their characters do just about anything so long as it makes sense for the PC to try it and I can come up with some sort of a roll to adjudicate the outcome. In this case, my new player is thinking mechanics first and story second, and the mechanics he is thinking of is entirely designed to give his PC a gang of bodyguards and himself the fighting ability of a Ranger 6 to boot!
I would love to have the feedback of Paizonia on this situation.
I am an AD&D player and would like to apply the PFRPG ethos and the d20 mechanic to a game with an AD&D core conception. I think it could be fun to have your help in so doing.
Core Principles:
I. Classes are truly framework-only and a new class is needed ONLY if an existing class cannot be role-played into the role intended. (Example: The Magic-User class is necessary because no conception of the Fighter can be role-played into a wizard; the barbarian/illusionist classes, on the other hand may not be necessary since a barbarian reflects a culture's view on being a fighter while an illusionist is a kind of magic-user.)
II. Each Die size has an association with a class and only the D20 is universal to all classes.
III. Character class 'balance' exists over the whole course of a character's career, not at any given level, per se, and the game exists to foment role-playing, not roll-playing.
IV. The D20 objective of 'roll a d20, add some modifier you have developed over your PCs career' should be followed as much as possible; side games should be minimized.
First, races. I don't see how the PFRPG mangled anything in the races section and so don't see much work to do here. I do think that there should some slight development of a PC's talents through the game on the basis of race; perhaps something on the order of a racial talent every five levels amounting to the benefit of a feat? Weapon Focus, for example, seems like a good one to throw out there: warhammer/hand axe (dwarf), longbow, longsword (elf), sling, short sword (halfling) etc.
Second, classes. Here is where a lot can change.
Magic-User: d4 for HD, d4 spell damage, d4 damage for daggers and staves, remove damage cap for levels (fireballs are 1d4/level, no limit, for example); Sorcerer becomes a sub-class of Magic-User by surrendering school benefits and ability to learn any spell in exchange for bonus spells/day and spontaneous casting.
Rogue: d6 for HD, d6 for Sneak Attack, d6 for spell damge, d6 for damage for short swords and short bows; Bard and Thief become sub-classes by essentially allowing each to pick up spells/skill points/rogue talents as they advance.
Priest: d8 for HD, d8 for healing spells, d8 for spell damage, d8 for damage for maces, hammers, and crossbows; Cleric, Paladin, Monk, and Druid become sub-classes swapping in spells, animal companions, martial artist skills, and holy warrior abilities as they advance with those abilities showing up at each level.
Fighter: d10 for HD, d10 for damage for two handed swords, great axes, etc.; BAB +1/level, Warrior, Ranger, Barbarian, Cavalier as sub-classes all with special abilities every odd level to offset low skill points, combat feat every even level and balance high hit points.
If it went forward with those four archetypes, or classes, is there a major role I am missing?
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Note: This information is being developed for use in a 1-20 PFRPG campaign using the 1st 2 volumes of Legacy of Fire as a jumping off point. The information about the Legions of Geb was created by Set, some of the naming conventions were assimilated from Hamunaptra, and much of the remaining information is adapted from real world information about the Pharoahs of Meroe and the known history of ancient Egypt. The core conceit of the nation is that of a society frozen socially by undeath and rooted in the ideal of Egypt's Old Kingdom. I welcome feedback on this so I can deepen and develop it further and perhaps even help the Paizonauts in making Geb as glorious a Necropolis as possible.
Geb was founded immediately prior to Osirion's Age of the Black Sphinx, in -1550 AR. After the unification of Osirion's large empire under the Four Pharaohs of Ascension, Geb became a valuable breadbasket for the empire and a peaceful and verdant colony. It was said of Geb that neither conflict nor storm ever disturbed the peace of her amber fields. The Mwangi Expanse was kept safely isolated by the Barrier Mountains, raised up to immense beauty by the powerful magics of the Pharoah Djederet IV, who sent the first colony south to Geb. The land was colonized as the southernmost outpost of empire, sending food north through the grasslands of what are now Nex and Katapesh. The 'Drive to the South' was the program of the Djederet Dynasty, in direct contrast to the work of the An Dynasty which reached to the North and West and in response to the rising power of Taldor, successor state to Azlant. The Djederet Dynasty eventually collapsed under Djederet V 'The Pharoah of 3 Moons', who produced no heirs and whose dissolute ways caused Osirion to fragment into competing lines of self-proclaimed Pharoahs after a reign lasting only 3 months in -1515.
In -1498 AR, the Four Pharaohs of Ascension consolidated their rule of Osirion, bringing about the kingdom's second age. Their forces defeat the Tekritanin League in -1452 AR, incorporating a number of their city-states while destroying others. With the alliance complete, Osirion prospered, fueling its wealth with an enslaved underclass, sourced from its conquered neighbors. Each year the four pharaohs return inside a hidden pyramid known as Ahn’Selota and renew their mystic pact using an artifact known as the Pact Stone. Their pact caused the simultaneous death of the Four Pharoahs of Ascension in -1451 AR. In Geb, the locals believed that the visible pyramid of Ahn'Selota in Tumen was merely a gateway to the actual retreat of the Four Pharoahs of Ascension hidden somewhere in their peaceful land, far from the prying eyes of priests and aristocrats.
Osirion begin to decline around -1431 AR but remained the dominant power of Garund and fiercely independent of foreign influence.
Geb became independent of Osirion in -1206 AR, proclaiming a kingdom recognizing the Pharoah in Sothis as the source of his authority. An annual tribute of grain satisfied the Pharoah, whose power continued to recede to the North.
The necromancer now known as Geb was exiled from Osirion in -1189 and moved to Geb, installing himself as king after a brief period of struggle with the native nobility. He consolidated his power and took on the name Geb, proclaiming himself God-King in the Osirian tradition in -1180.
Geb and Nex first went to war in -892 AR.
Geb won the war of almost 1500 years in 576 AR when Nex disappeared during a magical attack on his capital of Quantium.
In 637 AR, Geb returned as a ghost to resume control over the land.
In 3890 AR, Geb stole the corpse of Arazni from the Knights of Ozem, and reanimated her as a lich. Nowadays, Geb rarely appears before his people. Arazni, the Harlot Queen of Geb, rules in his stead.
In 4606 AR, Aroden died and the Age of Lost Omens began. In Geb, Arazni proclaimed a year-long celebration of the end of Aroden. At the end of the festival year, trade resumed with Nex (for Onyx in exchange for food) and an ambassador was sent to Absalom for the first time in recorded history. The living ambassador has taken up residence but has sent no emissaries nor attended any functions. He has, however, been cultivating information about Osirion and the Pathfinder Society.
4710 AR, current year.
Current Summary:
Geb was once a beautiful verdant colony of a great nation called Osirion. Geb was eventually given over to a powerful wizard to protect and defend on behalf of the 4 Pharoahs. This wizard took on the name of this colony and his power was unquestioned. Eventually, however, a rival wizard called Nex took over the land dividing Geb from Osirion and a centuries-long conflict ensued between the two wizard-kings. The land was devastated and Geb resorted to using huge armies of undead, animated from his own subjects, to carry the fight to Nex. Geb fell into shadow and evil and became completely obsessed with killing Nex. When Nex ultimately disappeared, Geb went completely insane and committed ritual suicide because he was denied his ability to triumph over Nex. His death did not end his existence and his spirit arose as a ghost, continuing to rule over the ashes of Geb. Now, centuries later, the land is still governed by the ghost of Geb and his undead aristocracy. Your party of living adventurers have been raised in this land and seen the fate that awaits you when Geb's fleshforges take your corpses. One of you has been told that there is hope for Geb, that his ghost can be destroyed once and for all and the others of you have decided (out of belief, desperation, or resignation) to take up the path of the adventurer in the hopes of destroying the undead master of your land. To the West, the vast jungle of the Mwangi Expanse holds untold dangers and wealth. To the North, the Mana Wastes where magic does not function and the ironworks of Alkenstar turn out curious weapons and mechanical monstrosities and beyond that Nex, kingdom of magic, and Osirion, original home of Geb's people. Rumors abound of hidden pockets of othe resisters against Geb's tyranny within Geb and perhaps they would be inclined to work with you in your quest.
Warm winds from the Obari Ocean creates lush grassland in Geb, allowing crops to prosper. The fields are mainly worked by mindless undead, and foodstuffs is Geb’s major export. They trade food to Nex in return for rare components and luxury goods. They also trade food to Alkenstar, in return for the city state’s ice wine, which is a favourite of Geb’s nobility. The Axan Wood suffered badly in the war between Nex and Geb. The trees of this twisted forest are all either dead or undead, and it is home to many strange creatures. Some, such as deadwood dryads, nightwolves and twilight unicorns, are unique to this location. The Axanir river network rises in the Shattered Range in the Mwangi Expanse (where in some cases it forms a natural boundary with Geb). The various major tributaries meet up and flow south of the Axan Wood into the Obari Ocean. The ancient mountains of the Shattered Range in southeastern Garund stretch from the uninhabited lands south of Geb to the center of Nex's western border with the Mwangi Expanse. Between these nations, the city-state of Alkenstar stands tall atop the Hellfallen Cliffs on the banks of the Ustradi River, whose own headwaters are found in the mountains within the desolate Mana Wastes. Mysterious ruins of long-abandoned Mwangi cities lie strewn throughout the jungles of the forlorn mountains as well as at least one ruined flying city of legendary Shory.
Provinces of Geb and Osirion are known as Sepats. Names involve components like Meren 'beloved of', Mose 'son of', Neter 'god', Neb 'Lord', Ka 'spirt of life', Ba 'soul', and Aha 'fighter/warrior'. Gebbite vocabulary: Pir-Aa (Pharoah), Kandare (King), Sirdar (Count), Bashar (General), Pesedjer (Human), Anpur (Gnoll), Asari (Halfling), Esetiri (Elf), Peseshet (Half-Elf), Ptahmenu (Dwarf), Sutekhra (Gnome), Bahati (Monk), Beqenu (Fighter), Ghaffir (Paladin), Hekai (Sorceror), Kama'at (Druid), Khasti (Barbarian), Khebenti (Rogue), Kheri-Heb (Wizard), Shenu (Bard), Priest (Cleric), Heka (Magic).
In Geb, most of the citizenry are Pesedjer (80%). Esetiri (1%), Ptahmenu (1%), and Asari (1%) are exceedingly rare and almost exclusively slaves of Geb's undead aristocracy. Peseshet (2%) are very valuable slave stock, but are also never free citizens. Sutekhra (5%) are the most favored of demihumans, being the original servitors of Geb in his initial exile from Osirion. Today Sutekhra alone have direct contact with Geb's ghost and serve almost exclusively as his spies and covert agents. Anpur are not officially accorded citizen status in Geb but do acknowledge the power of Geb and do not raid the lands as they do in other realms. All the rest of the kingdomn are organized under the Blood Lords with Arazni as Queen.
The armies of Geb are divided into four Legions, the Legion of Ash, which is the only one composed of living warriors, the Crimson Legion, composed of zombies, ghouls, ghasts, wights and vampires, the Pale Legion, composed of shadows, wraiths, specters and ghosts, and the Ivory Legion, composed primarily of skeletons and liches.
At least, this is what is known to outsiders. In truth, the skeletons and liches represent only the two extremes of the ‘Ivory Legion,’ called in Geb the Ineb-Hedj, or ‘the White Wall.’ In between these mindless drudges and extraordinary skilled archwizards and high priests lies an entire rank of skeletal dead not commonly known outside of Geb, the ruthlessly efficient Bone Soldiers of the Ivory Legion.
A Bone Soldier is awakened into unlife through the use of create undead cast by an 11th level or higher level caster. Deep within the Mortuarium of Yled is an altar of obsidian and rusted iron, dedicated to Urgathoa, which casts this spell multiple times per night upon those who die slowly, impaled upon its six gruesome iron spikes, so long as it is attended by an 11th level or higher Cleric of Urgathoa. The animated corpses of sacred flesh-devouring beetles pour from hidden lairs within the altar itself to strip the dying sacrifices of their flesh, with the assistance of ghoul acolytes, while the magic of the altar keeps their skeletons intact as it fills them with necromantic energy. In eight hours time, the ritual is complete, and the six selected victims lift their now fleshless frames from the altars spikes to take up service in the Ivory Legion. Even without the power of this relic, the city of Yled has several necromancers and clergymen capable of creating new Bone Soldiers, and can easily field a dozen replacements in a single night.
The soldiers of the Ivory Legion are specialized skeletons, that retain some semblance of intellect, although, as with the shadows of memory left behind that can be contacted via speak with dead, the actual souls of the skeletons former living selves are not retained. Still, these kaybet, or ‘shadows on the soul,’ as they are called in Orisirion and Geb, can retain intellect and even some memories of the person that once walked in those bones. More importantly, from a military perspective, these shadow-souls retain enough intellectual capacity to be able to access some of the feats and skills of the original person, although PC class abilities are not retained.
Settlements: (Paaleq, Swenet, Pa-Sebek, Djeba, Nekhen, Djerty, Waset, Nebyet, Gebtu, Abedjou, Tjeny, Shashotep, Yenyet, Zawty, Hebenu, Hardai, Shedyet, Khem, Tanta, Avaris, Imet, Meroe)
Axan is at the headwaters of the Axanir River's northernmost arm, surrounded by the mountains of the Shattered Range. The small village of 500 is dominated by Lord Knucklebones, a ghast who was given this post by the Blood Lords 40 years ago after a long career as a living spy inside Nex. The valley village has one inn, run by a fat human Keleshite named Jonas and is the trade hub for caravans going into the Shattered Range and Alkenstar. Hidden somewhere in the mountains near Axan is a secret colony of halflings called Asar. Asar is the only known source of 'Desnaberries', a fruit that carries the power of gentle repose and is reputedly invisible except under certain mystical circumstances. Every 6 months, a caravan from Asar appears in Axan and unloads a shipment of Desnaberries in tribute to Geb and thereby obtaining their continued anonymity.
Greydirge is in the foothills of the Shattered Range, in the land of Geb. The normal custom of Geb is to re-animate its citizens as undead once they die. Greydirge is built out of the bones of those Gebbites who were unwilling or unable to be reanimated. Its inhabitants no doubt have their own reasons for living in a city-sized ossuary. Its one notable feature is the Empty Threshold, a temple of Zon-Kuthon.
Mechitar (pronounced meh-KEE-tar)[1] is the capital of the undead realm of Geb, and its second-largest city. The necromancer Geb, now a ghost, remains the head of state. He rarely manifests before the people, so the acting ruler is the lich Arazni, Harlot Queen of Geb. The country’s day-to-day affairs are managed by the Blood Lords, an aristocracy of powerful living and undead necromancers. The chief Blood Lord is the vampire Kemnebi, who holds the office of chancellor. Other Blood Lords include Kamose, Merenptah, Sinuhe, Ammit, Menkaure, Seti, and Horemheb.
Yled (pronounced EH-lehd) is the largest city in the land of Geb and also home to most of its undead legions. It can be found in the north-eastern part of the country, near the border with the Mana Wastes. The city is surrounded by the Bonewall, a curtain wall made entirely of bleached bones. In times of need, the Bonewall can be animated by one of the Blood Lords to defend the city. Yled is also home to a number of important necromantic colleges, the most well-known being the Mortuarium. The school's central tower sticks up like a withered claw, dominating the city's skyline.
I would love to know the perspective of other DMs who have worked with the Nine Hells as the source of menace in their campaigns. I am having a hard time settling on a roster of arch-devils to set up, because I don't like all the shifts made in the Top Nine as the game has progressed.
Here's the roster:
1st--Bel (was Triel, was Tiamat)
2nd--Dispater
3rd--Fierna (was Belial and Fierna, was Belial)
4th--Mammon
5th--Levistus or Leviathan (was Geryon was Levistus)
6th--Glasya (was Hag Countess was Moloch)
7th--Baalzebul
8th--Mephistopheles
9th--Asmodeus (was Lucifer was Ahriman)
Kobold Quarterly put out Jezebel in their latest issue and I find her a pretty compelling devil (as a Prime Material centered villain as opposed to Glasya who seems to be totally focused on the Nine Hells themselves).
I love the idea of Ahriman the fallen partner of Jazirian, the serpents of law, and that Asmodeus is an expression of Ahriman who is still healing in the pit.
I have the hardest time getting at all involved in Levistus and Fierna and Mammon, and I just don't like turning Baalzebul into a slug when he was already punished pretty well with the bug eyes and all.
So, what do you do with your Nine Hells?
Here is what I am doing with mine:
Agents of Asmodeus: 1st under Bel, who as a Pit Fiend is organizing the armies of Hell at his master's direction; 5th under Jezebel, daughter of Bel (after my PCs finish their 3.5 romp through A Paladin in Hell) who is seeking to become the consort of Asmodeus himself; and 6th under Glasya who has taken Geryon into her court as her Enforcer, using him to annihilate her enemies on the Hells. Asmodeus leads this group more directly than he did his Arch-Fiends prior to the Reckoning because he disliked the waste that the warfare of the Reckoning involved. He has also taken on the guise of Bane in the Forgotten Realms by having Iyachtu Xvim killed during the Time of Troubles and masterminding the whole Baneswar to make his assumption of the godhead easier.
Lords of Lies: Fierna (Belial), Mammon, and Baalzebul. Baalzebul leads this group with constant deception and has put Moloch into a position as a roving Inquisitor because he realized that he never knew the truth of his allies. Moloch's paranoia makes him into a pawn of Asmodeus because it erupts constantly into crusades against the lies that are woven by Belial, Fierna and Mammon constantly. Baalzebul would have fallen out of power entirely were it not for the fact that he and his allies have the most popular cults on the Prime Material plane. Their decadence and deception appeals powerfully to mortals and their soul harvests are rich indeed.
Hellfire and Damnation: Mephistopheles, Dispater, and Tiamat (away from Bel's legions) constantly acquire more raw power, believing that through this means they will overcome the systemic strength of Asmodeus and the deceit of Baalzebul. With his hellfire, Dispater's endless fortress, and Tiamat's rising divine standing, Mephistopheles has promised a New Order in the Hells, one based around the Trinity of Fire, Iron, and Blood. The pursuit of limitless power animates this group and by including Tiamat in the hierarchy, I think it makes my Nine Hells a much more diverse place. Not just fallen angels and devils but evil that contends for power in an organized way.
I exiled Set and the other LE gods to the adjacent plane, believing that the Nine Hells should be more like Nazi Germany where no one escapes the central storyline. I shunt them off to a neighboring plane so they can enjoy their own Fascist Italy without having the worry of arch devils interfering. This also allows me to make the arch-devils divine powers free of worshippers. They can seek them out (as the Lords of Lies do) but that is only one component of their power.
I would love your thoughts and tales of how you handled this, IMO, the most entertaining of the planes.
A few absolutes that make it hard to challenge a party of adventurers
(and the fixes for them in Pathfinder)
Paladin's Immunity to Fear
--So, the 1st level Sir Galahad, faced with the Queen of Dragons Tiamat, doesn't even feel a bit afraid, secure in his faith(and his immunity to fear). Tough to stomach as a DM, harder to role play properly as a character.
Fix: Add Paladin as a bonus to all STs v. Fear.
Death Happens at -10 HP
--So, a character who has hundreds of hit points, fights for hours against epic evil, and then drops down to 12 hp. He takes one solid blow taking him to -11 and he is dead? Automatically. As damage values for attacks get higher, the 'survivable buffer' necessary becomes larger when death is an absolute at -10.
Fix: Make Death the result of a failed Fortitude Save where the DC is equal to the # of negative HPs. That way, a heroic fighter has more survivability than his arch-mage companion and both have a fighting chance of staying alive after taking a blow from some epic opponent. (Note: This doesn't unbalance the game either, since even a 1st level character has a good chance of making the save from -1 through -10 HP.
Immunity to Energy
--So, a Fire Giant is so tough, he can stand in the center of the fires of Mount Doom, bathing calmly, while any character who even approaches the flames would find their skin melting like the Nazi in Raiders of the Lost Arc? Tough to accept that a Fire Giant is as immune to fire as a Red Dragon who is as immune as a Fire Elemental. After all, the Red Dragon is a creature of magic power as well as physical toughness and the Fire Elemental is actually made of Fire. Isn't this one abstraction too many?
Fix: Make Immunity to into Resistance 25, 35, or 50, depending on how much an aspect of the energy the creature is able to tap.
In each of these cases, the absolutes help make the D20 system tough to sustain at higher levels and against greater challenges.
I don't know if this made it into the Beta but as my playtest is now operating at levels 15+, I can vouch absolutely that these adjustments have proven necessary to keep my games compelling.
I strongly encourage bringing back Concentration and making it a class skill for all classes (like Craft and Profession). The reason is primarily to make role-playing a part of roll-playing and having the mechanic of the game impact and encourage using dice as an arbiter of player choices.
To that end, I also want to encourage keeping skill checks as the focus of role-playing action resolution rather than shifting to saving throws. The saving throw is designed to represent luck and conditioning, rather than a player's steady application of a character's time and energy to specific skills. As such, the progression is much more uniform across similarly situated characters (i.e. all 8th level dwarf fighters will only see a +/- 3 variance on Fort saves). Skills on the other hand are one of two places where the player can really personalize his character (every level giving him between 2 and 12 points to allocate; feats being the other, more rare, opportunity). As such, it is in skill choices that a player shows mechanically the role he wants his character to fill.
As a result of this, as a DM, it is in the skill roles that I find the most fertile ground to allow the player to impact the game regularly and in line with his character concept. Rather than arbitrarily ruling on success or failure (as I did in AD&D 1st) or being able to predict without specific reference to his character sheet (as I can do in 3.5 on anything involving a saving throw), I almost always conceive of a skill DC and then discover, with the player, whether or not his character's choices bear fruit in the game.
The skill system is terrific, especially if it is applied to support better role playing. It is one of the three big benefits of 3.5 (the ohters being the d20 resolution system and the simplification/rationalization of saving throws).
As for revising it, please keep in mind what happens when you adjust the skills list:
reducing skills disproportionately helps those classes that are skill point poor, reducing the advantage of skill-intensive classes (like the Rogue) and classes with the primary attribute of Intelligence (like the Wizard)
increasing the number of skills disproportionately disadvantages skill poor classes in the same way (like the Fighter)
Which class skills are consolidated has a similar impact:
Perception disproportionately helps Rangers and other scout-type classes
Acrobatics disproportionately helps Rogues
Reducing Spellcraft/Concentration disproportionately helps Wizards/Sorcerers
Given these realities, I strongly encourage the following in light of how Pathfinder spools up the rogue and sorcerer to where they are no longer splash classes:
1) Maintain the skill consolidations as they are needed to help the Fighter retain some competitiveness with the other classes.
2) Bring Concentration back as a class skill for all classes, dropping Spellcraft entirely (Knowledge Arcana fills the niche quite nicely)
3) Give Fighters the option of adding a couple of class skills like Acrobatics, Intimidate, Diplomacy, Knowledge (dungeoneering), as a class feature (perhaps at every 3 levels?)
4) Focus whenever possible on enhancing the role-playing application of skill checks as a DM training point.
Just an EP or two from an old grognard.
In general, I love the Pathfinder improvements (except for everyone getting a feat every other level--it takes too much distinction from the fighter class)
Death in 3.5 is rough, especially for high level characters where the killing blow could reduce a character to -20 in one strike.
I propose a new rule on death:
To die, a character must fail a Fortitude saving throw where the DC is equal to the negative hit points the character currently has.
This has the following beneficial gaming impacts:
1) Death itself becomes an opportunity for luck to take a hand.
2) A character's fortitude save (and by extension Constitution score) becomes terrifically relevant to survivability, favoring those characters who are traditionally considered hard to kill: dwarves, warriors, etc.
3) As a character increases in level, his ability to avoid death heroically also increases.
I have playtested this rule for 4 years and found it to be a much-appreciated and enjoyed house rule. (Initially I tried the standard DC mod of 10+, but found that it made death more common than desired and have adjusted it to this formulation with very good effects.)
It has not proven unbalancing at all.
Concentration as a skill has, I think, been seriously underutilized. When I started 3.5 as a DM, I didn't see the point of it. Then I read Quintessential Monk and started thinking about Concentration as a skill for flavoring in-game situations. Ultimately, I ended up realizing that it has a great application for each class. Here are my thoughts, harvested from playing 3.5 as a DM for the last several years (and as a veteran of Basic D&D and AD&D too, a grognard for sure):
Concentration should be a class skill for each base class. It is the only skill to use Constitution and thus provides a necessary additional reason not to treat it as a dump stat (HP bonus and Fort Saves are both good but why not feed it with a skill support too?) All classes have Craft as a class skill, some have Perform, and many have Profession. All of which seem logical to enjoy a synergy bonus from Concentration and would cement a PCs decision to develop a trade for in-character reasons. Why not roll a Concentration check rather than arbitrarily rule that the character is too distracted to 'take 10' or 'take 20'? A roll is always better than a ruling, from the gameplay perspective and it contributes to the idea that a PCs heroic focus can freeze time and achieve impossible things.
Barbarian: When attempting to accomplish a tribal rite of passage such as walking on fire or staring at the flame or the like, Concentration is the right skill to check.
Bard: To overcome hecklers, repair his instrument, and to cast his spells under difficult circumstances, concentration is the issue.
Cleric: Meditating and conducting precise rituals for in-game purposes is always a question of concentration.
Druid: Achieving the focus to communicate some fixed purpose through empathic connection while restrained or confined would seem to be a feat of Concentration.
Fighter: To see through sand kicked in the eye or with sweat or blood obscuring vision, to battle on despite the din around you in the midst of war, a fighter's concentration is often required for the greatest feats of combat. Similarly, why not use a concentration check to modify a particularly long-range shot where the range increment might otherwise impeded success? Not a huge difference, but something to let the player know the DM is considering the importance of the shot and the intensity with which the PC is lining up his action.
Monk: From board breaking to fire walking, meditating to feigning death, the monk has so many uses for concentration it is the source of this whole line of inquiry. Truly, the monk's need for effective concentration checks gives him a ton more die-rolling flavor when engaging in his kung fu.
Ranger: As the druid and the fighter, a ton of things fit the Ranger and Concentration. But how about the ability to sift out distracting and confusing details when tracking an opponent. A synergy bonus on survival checks to track seems appropriate when the Ranger focuses his concentration on a specific detail.
Rogue: This class thrives through strict attention to detail and focus. As so many other skills have situation-applicable synergy bonuses from a strong concentration, so too can the skill be directly applied for rogue situations. Disarming Devices should almost always have a concentration check influence, especially if the attempt is made in combat. Reducing it to just the roll of the die denies a rogue the chance to demonstrate his focus and excellence under pressure.
Wizard/Sorcerer: Far better than spellcraft (which I house ruled out of existence, substituting Knowledge (arcana) and concentration checks for all of spellcrafts uses) concentration reflects the arcane arts as applied in game. Casting a spell in combat has always been a fitting concentration check. Evaluating an enemy spell for counterspell seems much more a question of knowledge rather than 'spellcraft' so I use arcana here. Concentration furthermore comes into play for constructing items as a much better synergy issue with the applicable craft check rather than spellcraft. A dwarven mage forging a mighty sword seems not to fail in has task due to inferior 'spellcraft' but rather a lack of concentration that forced his focus to slip. For spells that take a long time to cast, or items that take an extended period to create, the concentration check makes a ton more in-game sense to see what the mage can do. Even better, I have occassionally allowed an extremely high DC concentration check to give a mage without access to rest or his spell book to attempt to recover a spell that can get him out of a tight pickle. This usage gives my PCs the chance to 'break the system' for reasons consistent with the plot.
In the end, I believe that Concentration serves a ton of great role-playing use, just as Craft and Profession do. Because it is such an all-purpose skill, I endorse applying it as a class skill for all base classes. Because it is driven by Constitution, it makes our dour, severe character races (dwarves for example) much more flavorful and effective at emphasizing the personalities of their races. Similarly, the flighty races (elves for example), taking a Con penalty, have a clearer game mechanic for expressing their easily distractible natures.
This then is my bid to scrap spellcraft and put Concentration back in the game. I have been playtesting this one for three years now and have yet to see a real downside to it.
Your thoughts or experiences?
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