Because attack and saving throw checks (more checks in PF2) always succeed on a d20 roll of'20' and always fail on '1', beyond a certain point further improvements to attacks, armor class, saves, and save DCs have no affect. I propose two solutions to operate beyond these limits using a lookup table and percentile dice OR an additional dice when '1' or '20's are rolled.
When the difference between a DC and a d20 roll bonus is '2' or less there is always a 95% change of success (i.e. AC=10 and attack=+8), and when the difference between the DC and bonus is '20' or greater there is always a 5% chance of success (i.e. AC=20 and attack=+0), with a linear gradient of success between '2' and '20'. This piecewise success function can be well approximated with a Conjugate Error Function or Erfc. I would present the plot comparing these functions (Erfc[(x-11)/10])/2, and Piecewise[{{0.95, x<2}, {(21-x)/20., 2<=x<=20}, {0.05,
x>20.0}}]), but I don't know how to place figures in forum posts. This Erfc function allows d20-like success rates without discontinuities and the limits imposed by piecewise functions. Probabilities of success could be determined by subtracting the bonus from the DC and comparing to the table below, followed by a percentile roll for success.
These values were rounded to the nearest whole percent numbers, resulting in some outcomes having 0 or 100 percent chance of success, indicating tasks that there is less than 0.5 percent change of success or greater than 99.5 percent chance of success, that is, tasks that will be consistently failed or completed practically every time.
For example, a DC 20 check with a bonus of 10 would have a 56% success chance (compared to 55% change on a d20), if the bonus was 5 then the success chance would be 29% (30% on d20), if the bonus was 0 then the success chance would be 10% (5% on d20), if the bonus was -5 then the success chance would be 2% (5% on d20), and if the bonus was -10 then the success chance would be 0% (5% on d20).
ALTERNATIVELY
The d20 system could also be maintained if, when a '1' or '20' is rolled, an additional d10 is then rolled to subtract (for '1' rolls) or add (for '20' rolls) 0-9 to the original value instead of guaranteeing failure or success. This method is less mathematically justifiable but doesn't require an Erfc function or lookup table, is easy and fast to remember and implement, and my players prefer it.
Why this was important to me:
The normal rules work well most of the time, but not when PCs deal with things that are MUCH lower or higher CR than themselves. I often have my PCs contend with armies, where they fight large numbers of MUCH lower CR opponents. At one point the PCs had reassembled the Shield of Aroden, and gave it to the party tank. I realized that her armor class was already so high that the Shield of Aroden wouldn't actually help her at all against the low ranking soldiers she was fighting, and I saw that as a problem that needed to be addressed.
As a GM that likes to keep a realistic feel to the game, I am concerned about the ease of obtaining Master and Legendary skill levels. For example, if there have only been a few individuals with Legendary Swim in history (like Beowulf) and only a few Masters of any given skill alive at a time (like metal winning Olympic athletes), then I will have to make the game a meat grinder to keep the PCs from unbalancing the skill economy of the world as they gain levels and skills, and make them restart at low level.
I do like the idea of quantized skill levels and abilities that unlock as skill levels are increased, but I'm uncomfortable with allowing actions that defy reality. Defying reality seems like the realm of magic, never mundane skill. I would NOT let my PCs swim like Beowulf because no one in human history ever has, which is to say that degree of skill is so rare that it has never been observed (lied about yes, but never done). This sounds like stuff from the 3rd edition Epic Level Handbook, which I would be more comfortable with since those were characters that had surpassed mortal limits.
This reminds me of the optimal Guess Who strategy.
For getting a name you could ask, is the first letter of the target's first/last name is from the fist half of the alphabet, and so on. You could determine a letter with 4-5 questions, perhaps fewer if someone in your group has a good Linguistics skill and can determine likely names from possible letter combinations. Another option would be to get a comprehensive list of likely/common names and ask if the target's name is on the list, then if it is on the first half of the list, and so on.
You could also try geography questions to determine the person. For example, Does the target living in this county? Do the target live in a more northern than southern region? Once you have the region identified you can start asking about the city they live in and at least narrow the area down to improve your search. If you know that the bad guy lives in the Baron's mansion then you have made some good progress in your search.
These days magic weapons deal half damage to incorporeal targets. Weapons with Arcane Strike are considered magic so they would deal half damage. Adamantine is NOT inherently magical, so it would have to be enchanted (+1 or better) in some way to harm a poltergeist. Force spell (like Magic Missile) deal full damage to incorporeal targets, of course you still need to knew where to aim, which can be tricky since poltergeist are naturally invisible.
If a poltergeist is dumb/arrogant enough to use its Frightener ability, then it regains invisibility the END of its turn, means it cannot move after using Frightener, so you will at least know were the aim, although your attacks will have a 50% miss change since you cannot see it.
I used a poltergeist against my players once and quickly regretted it. 2nd level players cannot reasonably combat something with natural invisibility, incorporealness, telekinesis at will (3d6 damage), flight, and undead immunities. Even if you do guess where it is and use Glitter Dust, it can retreat into the floor or solid wall until the Glitter Dust were off, then return and resume using telekinesis.
Rules are always written with certain assumptions in mind, and if you look long enough you can often find cases where those assumptions may not be valid. I would recommend doing what seems reasonable and in line with the spirit of the rules.
If you feel that Bleed shouldn't apply to Inevitables, then when the rogue sneak attacks an Inevitable just say that the Inevitable does bleed even though it was slashed where the rogue figured an artery would be if it had one. Alternatively it could leak oil, lawful-fluid, cheese whiz, or whatever, at least until it regenerates.
ALL of the classes rolled into one. We will call it the Omniclass. I want the omniclass to be so spread out that it can't be bad at anything or good at anything. It could be like that guys who stays in college for like 8 years full time without getting a degree because he keeps switching majors. They should have tons of highly circumstantial abilities that are used so rarely that they will be forgotten about when the right circumstance actually occurs. They should have a weird grab-bag of second-rate spells and a few mental abilities, but not enough to be very effective. They should have access to all skills as class skills, but only get about 4 skills points per level. They should be proficient with light and medium armor, but still have armor interfere with spell casting. And they should definitely be proficient with a random assortment of weapons that people don't actually use. O' ya they should also start out with less money than most of the other classes since they accrued a lot of student debt.
I don't know a lot of the features you reference, but I will take your word that they work. One of these features does give you the ability to cast 1st level ARCANE spells, right, because that is a requirement for Dragon Disciple.
You may want to build your character all the way and do some combat simulations to test how well he works. Use your character in a group with a few iconic characters fighting some tough typical enemies and see how well your group fares. Then you can make changes to your character, re-run the simulation and see if your group does better or worse. You will reach convergence faster if you use averages than than actually rolling dice, when possible. I have written functions to obtain the average results from attacks (assuming x2 damage from critical hit), savings throws, savings throws with improved evasion, two-weapon rend, sneak attack, and combat maneuvers. These are written for Mathematica and you are free to use them if you want to do simulations, although you may have to translate them into Microsoft Excel or some other language if you don't have Mathematica.
I have devised a method for giving each energy type a unique and balanced special effect so that it can be swapped in for an existing direct damage offensive spell (like Fireball). With the feedback I received from the Making Every Energy Type Unique thread I have simulated and updated each of the elements. Since there are many changes between my unique elements now and what I proposed before, I am creating this new thread for them. As a warning, this thread is written with an intermediate and advanced audience in mind.
Here is how they work. If you have a spell, such as Fireball, you could replace the standard effect (1d6 fire damage per level) with any of my elements, such as Incendiary which would deal 1d4 fire damage per level and set subjects on fire. There is no change to level, duration, area, etc., unless specifically stated, there is just a change to the damage (usually reduced) and a special affected added to compensate for the reduced damage. I wanted to make every element feel truly unique.
To balance each element I conducted simulations with two identical groups of icon characters fighting each other. Each group had 12th level Seoni, Merisiel, Seelah, and Valeros in identical starting formations. I used a number of variance reduction techniques as follows to accelerate convergence of results. Each character of the same name (such as Valeros 1 and Valeros2) shared the same d20 rolls, acted simultaneously, and performed the same actions (as much as possible), so that in a perfectly fair fight both groups would be defeated at the same time, every time. I used statistical averages when possible. For example, given Valeros' attack, damage, crit range, and his target's AC he may deal on average 15.3 damage for an attack. I recorded fractions of hit points and numeric affects when possible. The only difference between the groups was that Seoni 1 used my unique elements while Seoni 2 always used the standard damage. Both Seoni's always cast Chain Lightning, unless unable to do so. Between simulations I tweaked the effects of the unique elements and reran the simulation until both groups were defeated at approximately the same time. For this I assumed that ALL numeric effects from unique elements stack and that here is no lower limit to attributes, although you may choose to use different assumptions if you use these unique elements. I have also not associated elements to specific classes yet, so you will need to use your best judgment for that. Results from these simulations were sometimes surprising but the affects I am reporting are those that lead to a fair fight.
Some elements have been renamed to avoid confusion with mainstream energy types. I have also analyzed the Black Tentacles spell and generalized its affects into a new element.
Here is a list of the unique elements and summary of what they do:
Incendiary (evocation) - deals fire damage, reduces damage by one step (d6 -> 1d4), and every 5 points of damage causes targets to burn for that much damage every round for 4 rounds. Burning targets can attempt to extinguish the flames with a full round action and Ref check against the DC of the spell (+2 if rolling on the ground).
Freezing (evocation) - deals cold damage, reduces damage by one step (d6 -> 1d4), every 5 damage reduces Dex by 1 and every 2 Dex reduction reduces move by 5 feet and attacks by 1. Casting spells requires DC (10+ Dex penalty + spell level) Concentration. Movement cannot be reduced by more than half. Dex recovers at 1 per minutes. As the Dex penalty is reduced so are the movement and attack penalties.
Caustic (evocation) - deals acid damage, reduces damage by one step (d6 -> 1d4), and every 10 damage imposed -1 on attacks, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks and casting spells requires a DC (10 + penalty + spell level) Concentration check to cast. Penalties are reduced by 1 every 10 minutes.
Shock (evocation) - deals electricity damage, increased damage by one step (d6 -> d8). After any damage reduction (saving throws, electricity resistance, etc.) any remaining damage is split evenly between lethal and non-lethal damage (an odd extra point becomes non-lethal).
Annihilation (transmutation) - deals disintegration damage, increased damage by one step (d6 -> d8), overcomes hardness and regeneration, every 5 points of damage inflict one point of bleed, and damage can be reduced by half with a Fort save (in addition to any other save). Bleed can be ended with a full round action and a DC (15 + 1 per point of bleed) Heal check, or is reduced 1 for every 2 point of healing received.
High Momentum Material (conjuration) - deals bludgeoning, reduced damage by two steps (d6 -> d3), every 5 damage imposes -1 to attacks, AC, and -5 movement. If movement is reduced by half or more then subjects cannot run or charge. All penalties can be removed by taking a move action that provokes and attack of opportunity (getting up). Every casting also attempts a Bull Rush to push targets away from the source of the spell with CMB = spell damage. Bull Rushed subjects take 1d4 lethal/non-lethal damage per 4 feet of movement if they strike a hard/soft surface. Can count as a special material if a weapon of that material is used a focus during casting.
High Kinetic Energy Material (conjuration) - deals bludgeoning/slashing/piercing (casters choice) and can count as a special material if a weapon of that material is used a focus during casting.
High Momentum Force (evocation) - deals magical bludgeoning, reduced damage by two steps (d6 -> d3), has full effect on incorporeal targets, every 5 damage imposes -1 to attacks, AC, and -5 movement. If movement is reduced by half or more then subjects cannot run or charge. All penalties can be removed by taking a move action that provokes and attack of opportunity (getting up). Every casting also attempts a Bull Rush to push targets away from the source of the spell with CMB = spell damage. Bull Rushed subjects take 1d4 lethal/non-lethal damage per 4 feet of movement if they strike a hard/soft surface.
High Kinetic Energy Force (evocation) - deals magical bludgeoning/slashing/piercing (casters choice) and has full effect on incorporeal subjects.
Lux (illusion and evocation) - deals fire damage, reduced damage by two steps (d6 -> d3), every 2.5 points of damage imposes -1 to Dex and visually reliant skills, +5% spell failure chance (somatic spells only), and affected subjects must make a DC (5 + Dex penalty) Acrobatics check to move faster than half movement without falling prone. Subjects becomes vulnerable to Sneak Attack if their Dex penalty exceeds their Dex modifier (-2 penalty minimum). All penalties are removed after 1 full round or by effects that cure blindness.
Acoustics (illusion and evocation) - deal sonic damage, reduced damage by two steps (d6 -> d3), every 2.5 points of damage imposes -1 to Dex and audiologically reliant skills, +5% attack miss chance, and affected subjects must make a DC (5 + Dex penalty) Acrobatics check to move faster than half movement without falling prone. Subjects becomes vulnerable to Sneak Attack if their Dex penalty exceeds their Dex modifier (-2 penalty minimum). All penalties are removed after 1 full round or by effects that cure deafness.
Death (necromancy) - deals negative energy damage, reduces damage by one step (d6 -> d4), every 5 damage also inflicts 1 point of Str damage (even to creatures normally immune to ability damage). Creatures healed by genitive energy are healed by 50% of the damage deal and heal one point of physical ability damage per 5 points of healing, if they are already at full hit pints then they gain 25% of damage in temporary hit points for 1 minute per spell level. 0th level spell do not cause healing. And has full effect on incorporeal subjects.
Life (necromancy) - deals positive energy damage, reduces damage by one step (d6 -> d4), every 5 damage also inflicts 1 point of Str damage (even to creature normally immune to ability damage). Creatures healed by positive energy are healed by 50% of the damage deal and heal one point of physical ability damage per 5 points of healing, if they are already at full hit pints then they gain 25% of damage in temporary hit points for 1 minute per spell level. 0th level spell do not cause healing. And has full effect on incorporeal subjects.
Toxic (necromancy) - deals poison damage, reduces damage by two steps (d6 -> d3), deals 1 dice of Con damage per round for 1 round per dice of damage (any static bonuses to damage apply to the first round of damage only). Each round subjects can made a Fort save to negate the Con damage for that round. Counts as poison and can be treated as a poison, although using magic to dispel or suspend the poison requires a caster level check against the DC of the Toxic spell. And has no effect on incorporeal subjects.
Plague (necromancy) - deals disease damage, no damage dice, and caster inflicts a mundane disease with a DC equal to or less than the save of the Plague on subjects. If the disease has a lower DC than the DC of the Plague spell, the disease DC is raised to match the spell DC. Subjects immediately becomes infected with the chosen disease and must make a save or immediately suffer the effects of the disease. Subjects make daily saves to resist the effects of the disease for 1 day per spell level or until the required saving throws are made to end the disease, whichever is longer. Counts as a disease and can be treated as a disease, although using magic to dispel or suspend the disease requires a caster level check against the DC of the Plague spell. And has no effect on incorporeal subjects.
Distraction (divination) - No direct damage, imposes -1 per spell level to attacks, saves, skill checks, ability checks, spell/ability DCs, AC (Max equal to Dex bonus to AC), and casting spells requires a DC (10 + spell level) Concentration check (don’t forget the penalty to checks). Penalties last for 1 minute per caster level. And has full effect on incorporeal subjects.
Mind Blast (enchantment) - deal non-lethal mental damage, reduced damage by 1 step (d6 -> d4), every 5 point of damage deals 1 point of Wis and Dex damage (even to creatures normally immune to non-lethal and ability damage). Has full effect against incorporeal subjects. Has no effect on subjects with zero intelligence.
Curse (abjuration) - No direct damage, forces subjects to roll twice on attacks, saves, skill checks, and ability checks and take the lower roll, and casting spells requires a DC (10 + level of curse + spell level) Concentration check. If creatures save against a curse they only have a 50% change to be affected for each roll and casting attempt. Curse is fully affective against incorporeal subjects, and last for 1 minute per caster level.
Phantasmal (illusion) - deals mental damage, reduce damage by two steps (d6 -> d3), damage is split evenly between Wis and Dex, and damage can be negated by half with a Will save (in addition to any other save). Phantasmal is fully affective against incorporeal subjects, even if they are normally immune to ability damage. But it has no effect on creatures with zero intelligence.
Desiccation (transmutation) - deals non-lethal dehydration damage, reduces damage by one step (d6 -> d4), every 10 point of damage deals 1 point of Str damage, and cannot be healed through magical or mundane means until subjects have consumed a full day’s worth of water, or two days’ worth of water if they have suffered lethal damage. Alternatively Heal and Hydrate spells can be used to rehydrate subjects in place of water.
Tentacles (conjuration) - creates areas that attempt grapple checks and deal bludgeoning damage. Every creature within the area of a tentacle spell is the target of a combat maneuver made to grapple each round on the casters turn. The tentacles do not provoke attacks of opportunity and the area they cover is considered difficult terrain, but may be attacked and temporarily killed. Tentacles CMB = caster level (as BaB) + spell level (as Str bonus) + 1 size modifier per 2 spell levels above 1. CMD = 10 + CMB. If the tentacles succeed in grappling a target or maintaining a grapple, that target takes dice (1d3 for level 0, 1d4 for levels 1-2, 1d6 for levels 3-4, 1d8 for levels 5-6, 2d6 for levels 7-8, and 3d6 for level 9) + Str damage and gains the grappled condition. Grappled opponents cannot move without first breaking the grapple or having the tentacles in their area(s) killed. Tentacles receive a +5 bonus on grapple checks made against opponents they are already grappling, but cannot move or pin targets.
A 5 foot patch of tentacles has AC = 10 + CMB, 5 hit points per spell level, and saves (save are hard to print without a table, so ask me if you want them). Each round the patches of tentacles are all restored to full health, even if a patch was killed, as the injured tentacles are replaced by healthy tentacles. Tentacles are not affected by mind-affecting spells or abilities, flanking, or precision damage.
Tentacles spells last for 1 round per caster level. Single target tentacles spells remain in the square they targeted until the end of the spell and receive +2 Str. Tentacles’ are NOT affected by spell resistance and do NOT rely on saves or attacks to affect targets, they always rely on CMB to affect targets. They have no effect on incorporeal targets and their damage can be resisted by DR. At GM’s discretion, helpless targets and debris may be dragged away by the tentacles. Tentacles are NOT affected by Augment Summoning or similar feats.
For the sake of space I have not included every nuance of these unique elements, so feel free to ask for more details on any of the elements. I have determines environmental conditions that can enhance of reduce unique elements, but I have not included them here.
I would like to know what thoughts and constructive feedback people have. My next goal is to add small elemental affects onto spells when they are cast as a full round actions.
[NOTE: since these have already been simulated and found to be balanced, I will only believe that they are unbalanced if substantial evidence indicates such.]
You could use the slow character advancement experience track in conjunction with the staggered advancement rules from Pathfinder Unchained. That would make the characters feel like they are receiving small level ups about as often as they would normally be leveling if they followed the fast experience track.
I think the biggest problem you may have with just giving less benefit at every level would be that the players may not be able to keep up with monsters of their own challenge rating. For example, 20th level characters that function like 5th level character would be hopelessly out matched by a 20 challenge rating monster.
In the rules as written, there is no significant difference between energy types (fire, cold, etc.) and no reason to use one energy type over another unless you are fighting something with vulnerabilities or resistances. I wrote alternate mechanics for every energy type , giving every energy a unique effect. These alternate energy type can be swapped in for any existing direct damage spells (Fireball, Cone of Cold, etc.) with only minor modifications. The unique effect of each energy type is usually tied to the damage, so more powerful spells/abilities have more potent effects. I also made sure that every school of magic had at least one energy type, so that no specialists would be completely neglected.
I would love to hear any constructive ideas people have about my energy type effects.
Here is what I came up with for every energy type:
Fire (evocation): Deals damage and set subjects on fire. Reduce the damage dice by one step (d6->d4, etc.) and every 5 points of damage inflicted causes subjects to take 1 point of burn damage per round for 1 round per spell level. If desired, subjects can use a full-round action to attempt to extinguish the flames before taking additional damage. Extinguishing the flames requires a Reflex save against the DC of the spell. Rolling on the ground provides a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a lake or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire. Resisted by Ref.
Cold (evocation): Deals damage and reduces Dexterity and movement. Reduce damage by one step, every 5 points of cold damage deals 1 point of dexterity damage, and every 10 point of damage reduces movement by 5 feet per. Dexterity and movement cannot be reduced by more than half from cold damage. As subjects warm up, dexterity recovers at 1 point per minute, and move recovers at 5 feet per 2 minutes. Resisted by Ref.
Acid (evocation): Deals damage and sickens subjects. Reduce damage by one step and every 10 point of damage imposes a -1 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, savings throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Every 10 minutes, subjects can make a savings throw against the DC of the spell to reduce penalties by 1 until they recover. Resisted by Ref.
Electric (evocation): Deals half lethal and half non-lethal damage. Increase damage by one step (d6->d8, etc.) and after any damage reductions (savings throws, energy resistance, etc.) any remaining damage is split evenly between lethal and non-lethal damage. Resisted by Ref.
Disintegration (transmutation): Deals damage and inflicts bleed but can always be reduced by a Fort check. Every 5 point of damage inflicts 1 point of bleed damage. Bleed can be ended with a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity and a DC (15+1 per point of bleed) Heal check or by healing any damage. In addition to any other saves, a Fort save is always allowed to reduce damage by half. Resisted by Ref and Fort.
Force (evocation): Deals damage and can push subjects or knock them over. Decrease damage by one step and deal damage as a magical bludgeoning attack (DR does apply). The caster makes a Bull Rush or Trip attempt against all subjects of the spell. For these maneuvers the casters rolls a d20 + 1/3 point of damage +1 for Spell Focus Evocation and +1 for Greater Spell Focus: Evocation against each subject’s CMB. Low-level (0-3) force spell affect subjects with either Bull Rush OR Trip; mid-level (4-6) force spells affect subjects with either Bull Rush OR Trip and if the subjects are successfully affected by the first maneuver then the second maneuver is also attempted against them; high-level (7+) force spells affect subjects with Bull Rush AND Trip. Resisted by Ref.
Light (illusion or evocation): Deals damage and impairs sight. Decrease damage by one step and every 5 points of damage imposes -1 on attack rolls, armor class, Ref saves, and skill and ability checks that involves sight or hand-eye coordination). Subjects with -5 or more to rolls must make a DC 10 Acrobatics check to faster than half speed without tripping and becoming prone, and all opponents are considered to have concealment against the subject. Every round, penalties are reduced by 1 until the subject recovers. Any effects that cure blindness removes all penalties. Resisted by Ref.
Sonic (illusion or evocation): Deals damage, impairs hearing, and disorients. Decrease damage by one step and every 5 points of damage imposes -1 on Initiative, CMD, and skill and ability checks that involve hearing or speaking, and +5% change of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components (+50% maximum). Every round, penalties are reduced by 1 until the subject recovers. Any effects that cure deafness removes all penalties. Sonic spells only have a verbal component, NOT a sematic component. Resisted by Ref.
Death (necromancy): Harms the living and heals the undead. Decrease damage by one step and every 5 point of damage deals 1 point of strength damage to creatures harmed by negative energy. Creatures healed by negative energy are healed by half the damage dealt. Resisted by Will.
Life (necromancy): Harms undead and heals the living. Decrease damage by one step and every 5 point of damage deals 1 point of strength damage (even to undead, which are normally immune to ability damage) to creatures harmed by positive energy. Creatures healed by positive energy are healed by half the damage dealt. Resisted by Will.
(I never understood why death magic was necromancy and life magic was conjuration since they are opposite side of the same coin, like how fire and cold are both evocation, and repairing and disintegration are both transmutation. So I am calling life and death part of the necromancy school.)
Kinetic (Conjuration): Summons and throws objects that deal bludgeoning, cutting, or piercing damage, and may overcome certain material based damage reduction. Damage type (bludgeoning, cutting, or piercing damage) and material type (silver, cold iron, or adamantine) are selected at the time of casting. Selecting a special material requires a weapon (not ammunition) made of that material spell focus. Resisted by Ref.
Poison (necromancy): Deals constitution damage over time. Decrease damage by two steps (d6->d3, etc.). Deals one dice of constitution damage per round for 1 round per number of dice (any static bonuses to damage only apply to the first round of damage). For example, a 10d3 poison spells would deal 1d3 Con damage per round for 10 rounds. Each round, subjects can make a Fort save to negate the constitution damage for that round. The damage dice can be increased by one step if the poison effect is hourly instead of every round. Resisted by Fort.
Disease (necromancy): Infects with chosen disease which may spread to others. The casters picks a mundane disease (not mummy rot, lycanthropy, or anything like that) with a DC equal to or less that the DC of the spell. Subjects become immediately infected with the chosen disease and must make a Fort save against the spell’s DC or immediately suffer the effects of the disease. Subjects must make a daily save against the DC of the spell or suffer the daily effects of the chosen disease for 1 day per spell level or until the required saving throws are make to end the disease, whichever is longer. Infected subject are contagious. Resisted by Fort.
Distraction (divination): Unsettling visions or hypersensitivity prevent subjects of being able to focus. Imposes -1 per spell level and -1 per 3 caster levels on attacks, saves, checks, and skills, for 1 minute per level. Resisted by Will instead. Will to resist.
Mind Blast (enchantment): Mental trauma deals non-lethal damage as well as dexterity and wisdom damage. Reduce damage by one steps and every 5 point of non-lethal damage also deals 1 point of dexterity and wisdom damage. Resisted by Will.
Curse (abjuration): Inflicts bad luck, making subjects more prone to fail at anything they attempt. Forces subjects to roll twice on attacks, saves, checks, and skills and take the lower roll for 1 check per spell level + 1 check per 3 caster levels. The curse ends after the required number of checks, or 1 minute per caster level, whichever comes first. Resisted by Will.
(To abjure is a rebuke or renunciation, therefore I placed curse (which I see as a magical rebuke) as an abjuration effect rather than necromancy.)
Phantasmal (illusion): Traumatize subjects with visions of their greatest fears. Reduce damage by two steps and split the damage evenly between dexterity and wisdom damage. Subjects receive a Will save to disbelieve followed by a Fort save to reduce damage by half.
Desiccation (transmutation): Deals non-lethal and inflicts dehydration. Reduce damage by one step and every 10 point of non-lethal damage inflicts 1 point strength and dexterity damage. Desiccation damage cannot be healed through magical or non-magical means (including fast healing and regeneration) until subject have been successfully treated for dehydration, requiring 24 hours of long term care, double the normal amount of water per day, and a DC 15 Heal check (48 hours and a DC 20 Heal check if the subject sustained lethal desiccation damage). Resisted by Fort.
(I don’t see why removing water from a subject would be necromancy since it doesn’t deal with the subject of life energy, so I treat it as transmutation.)
(I am not completely satisfied with what I have for distraction, curse, or phantasmal spells, and I would appreciate any ideas to improve these energy types.)
If anyone wants a copy of my unabridged file, PM me with your email address and I will email the complete file to you.
@Relativemass Destroying unlooted items keeps the game from becoming a grind for super equipment. What you loose won't be a big deal.
Setting up a PvE server will completely undo most of the game they have proposed. Without at least some players engaging in PvP, you take away a lot of what a sandbox game is all about. Granted the game will still run great if most players stay away from it, but the whole purpose vanishes altogether if you form a PvE server.
It may be right that if items are frequently destroyed then people won't usually be suffering big losses, but that will mostly be because people won't be able to accumulate valuable stuff.
The ultimate sandbox MMO is Minecraft, and many players have fun just in their own world, requiring no PvP to run. And the open Minecraft servers have their own rules for PvP and griefing, which often include temporary or permanent bans. Therefore, PvP is not required for a sandbox game to be successful.
If Blaeringr is right that setting up a PvP server would completely undo most of the game, then I really see no reason for me to support a game that is going to be so intensely PvP focused.
I agree with Carlos Cabrera and OneBoot that destroying unlooted items is very concerning. It also encourages griefing, which needs no encouragement. I am also very concerned about the lack of spliting up PvP and PvE servers. Sure, killing players will give people an evil alignment, a bad reputation, and make the guards from some cities mad at them, but that isn't going to stop them. They will just spend time outside cities jumping players who venture out. Many PvPers would do this even if they didn't get anything for it, let alone being able to loot corpses. You could post a reward to kill a PvPer, but they are good at killing players, so you are really just sending more loot their way. The drain on the economy is unnecessary; resources will be consumed crafting, selling, building settlements, using consumables, etc., just like in other MMOs.
If being killed by another player means you are going to lose all your non-threaded stuff (unless they leave your husk alone)(and threads are very limited), then players are going to frequently lose most of what they own, except for the stuff they left in a bank because it wasn't worth bringing. This will result in most PvE players (the vast majority of players) becoming frustrated. The PvE players will either cower in town, be forced to only play with large enough groups that they can be protected most of the time, or leave for an MMO that divides PvP and PvE.
I really love Pathfinder, but I think that aggressiveness promoting griefing, and PvP, while discouraging solo play is the worst thing this MMO could possible do.
