After a one year absence from pen-and-paper RPG, due mostly to the devilish addiction called "World-of-Warcraft", i'm about to DM in a new campaign.
Having been a fan of Dungeon for many years now, i fell in love with the amazing Savage Tide AP.
Now, my players are all trying to re-abilitate from the a/m addiction, and i want to give them a special treat.
I remember one of the reasons we quitted DnD 3.5 was that we felt like our characters where too dependable on their magic items... this somewhat took away our "heroism" (how did we end up playing WoW it's still unexplainable to me...).
I've been looking for something DnD-compatible, so i can use "Savage Tide", and i think i found what i was looking for... IRON HEROES.
I had the book somewhere in my library, from the times i wanted to make a Lord of the Rings Campaign, and recently i found it back... and i think it ROCKS!
I don't want to start a long discussion about the advantages/disadvantages of the system, thus my question is aimed mostly at people that already know Iron Heroes:
(ok, finally we're there...)
"Do you think Savage Tide could work with the Iron Heroes system?"
i'm about to convert the first adventure (we play tomorrow!), thus i may also post my conversion notes in this thread...
i apologize for the length of this post, and look forward to read your comments
let the die roll!
I think it could definitely work. You'll need to adjust some of the monsters that force a party to rely heavily on magic, but otherwise the game should run fine. This is covered in the Campaigns and Conversions chapter starting on page 247. You'd need to decide on races as well, i.e. will everyone be human, with Traits, or are other races about. If the latter, do humans still get Traits? Should be a fun game, I'd think. If I weren't running the campaign in Mystara (which is fairly magic-heavy) I might have used IH...
well, i guess i'll give it a try, then... :)
i hope my conversions will improve once i have the "Bestiary" and "Mastering Iron Heroes"
There is no Honor (Dungeon 139)
General: Remove all magic items, unless noted otherwise.
Page 28 - Veldimar Krund is a Ghast (MM119)
Page 31 - P5.Treasure Vault - do not remove the earth elemental gem, but add following drawback: every day after the first you are in possession of the stone, you need to make a DC 15 Fortitude save of lose 2 points of Dex, as a thin layer of rock starts to cover your skin.
Page 32 - Nemien Roblach is a Thief 3
Page 35 - Kersh Reftun is a Executioner 3
Page 42 - Rowan Kellani is a Harrier 5
now i guess i'll have to write down some stats-blocks...
Remember that the disadvantages need to outwiegh the advantages. Keeping the DC static is IMHO not the best. The DC needs to go up by one for each sucessful save the possesor makes (eg. if the possesor makes 3 successful saves the DC should go to 18). If not a DC 15 really isn't that big of a problem after awhile.
since it is a one-shot item, i suppose they'll use it to escape... but i like your idea.
it won't really affect the adventure a lot, but it is more consistent.
i'll change it.
PS: strange... i can edit this post, but not my previous ones...
If I may, I would recommend removing most masterwork items too. Make them rarer.
i like this idea
As far as the elemental stone, there is another exit from those caves so you don't HAVE to leave it there. Make them swim for safety. Nearly all characters will have ranks in swim because of the skill groups anyway.
since it's a one-use item, i'm tempted to leave it there... so thye can get a "glimpse" of magic
consider making Kersh Reftun a Murderous Assassin Villain Class for simplicity (free fan material)
http://www.iron-league.com/displaycontent.cfm?iCatId=4&iConID=120
i like this NPC class, great work really! I may use it in the future, but for the moment i'd like to try some core class builds to get more aquainted with the rules
You will want to avoid having NPCs with tokens as much as possible as a DM.
i had this feeling... thx for the tip!
Nemien Roblach - Thief 3
Traits: Dexterous(twice): +2 Dex
Str 10, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14
Defense 20
DR 1d2
Atk - Dagger +2 th, 1d4 dmg
HP: 27
Skills (all at 6 ranks):
Agility, Athletics, Robbery, Social, Stealth, Theatrics
Ride, Listen, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Use Rope, Decipher Script
Feats:
Dodge1 (+1 Def, tokens), Overwhelming Presence1 (Cha bonus to Def), Overwhelming Presence2 (Browbeat)
Special:
Sneak Attack +1d6, Alias, Honor of Thieves
* * *
Kersh Reftun - Executioner 3
Traits: Wisdom(twice): +2 Wis
Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12
Defense 17
DR 1d2
Atk - Rapier +8 th, 1d6+4 dmg
HP: 24
Skills (all at 6 ranks):
Athletics, Perception Stealth
Bluff, Disable Device, Gather Information, Use Rope, Intimidate
Feats:
Weapon Finesse1, Weapon Focus (Rapier)1, Weapon Focus (Rapier)2
Special:
Sneak Attack +2d6, Execution Pool, Executioner Eye, Hindering Cut, Armor-Piercing Strike
* * *
Rowan Kellani - Harrier 5
Traits: Dexterous(twice): +2 Dex
Str 14, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
Defense 20
DR 1d2
Atk - Rapier +10 th, 1d6+2 dmg
HP: 45
Skills (all at 8 ranks):
Athletics, Agility
Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive, Swim, Sleight of Hand
Feats:
Mobility1, Weapon Finesse1, Dodge1, Mobility2
Special:
Combat Speed (+2sq/10 feet), Combat Mobility, Mobile Assault, Mobile Defense
Nemien Roblach - Thief 3
Traits: Dexterous(twice): +2 Dex
Str 10, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 14
Defense 20
DR 1d2
Atk - Dagger +2 th, 1d4 dmgHP: 27
Skills (all at 6 ranks):
Agility, Athletics, Robbery, Social, Stealth, Theatrics
Ride, Listen, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Use Rope, Decipher ScriptFeats:
Dodge1 (+1 Def, tokens), Overwhelming Presence1 (Cha bonus to Def), Overwhelming Presence2 (Browbeat)Special:
Sneak Attack +1d6, Alias, Honor of Thieves
How does he have a Defense of 20?(10+DEX(5)=15?)
Did anyone ever had trouble with the DR from Iron Heroes? Some people say that power attack becomes very efficient...?
Also: **Would you give other races(if you allow them in your game) 2 traits as well?
*** I really like the attack chalanges from Iron Heroes, and I was thinking of adding others to the list, maybe even specific chalanges for each of the classes?
**** What do you guys mean by saying that the npc classes from IH make the game easy? Where do I find them?
[
I think because he counted the +3 defense for the 3 levels of the thief class (IH characters have class defense bonus remember) and also counted the charisma to defense from Overwhelming presence.
That last part is a mistake since he needs to activate this ability by using a move action first.
indeed, that's what i did... and thx for pointing out the Overwhelming Presence mistake, i'll remember it during play.
i would correct it in the build, but apparently i cannot edit my old posts... anyone has the same problem?
[
I think because he counted the +3 defense for the 3 levels of the thief class (IH characters have class defense bonus remember) and also counted the charisma to defense from Overwhelming presence.
That last part is a mistake since he needs to activate this ability by using a move action first.indeed, that's what i did... and thx for pointing out the Overwhelming Presence mistake, i'll remember it during play.
i would correct it in the build, but apparently i cannot edit my old posts... anyone has the same problem?
Posts can only be edited for 1 hour.
Why this is so on this generally well behaved forum is beyond my ken.
Whats really most annoying regarding this is that so many of the posts are informative ones meant to be used by other members. It'd sure be nice if we could fix the mistakes we made in our posts after the fact. That way when the stat block is posted it can be fixed when another sharp eyed reader notices an error.
If you meet any Pazio staff at conventions or what not remember to harrasss them about this.
Sorry but what does overwhelming presence do? I couldn't find it in the book.
today we finally had our first session!
so, we have completed the part with the Vault, and i must say my players loved the "enigma" of the vault combination.
Iron heroes rules are working pretty fine so far, and, since i can never make my life complicated enough, i decided to set this campaign in Earwa!
what is Earwa?
It is the fantastic setting of "The Prince of Nothing", the trilogy of R. Scott Bakker!
I just finished the second book (third starting tomorrow) and i LOVE it!
Will i succeed in this crazy plan?
We will only know in the next episode... (i always end my playing session with this line, while i close the DMG...)
regarding planar travels, i think i'll solve it in one of two ways:
Dream Travel: thru drugs, hypnotism, illusion, whatever, the chars find themselves in "another world" where the dangers they face are REAL
Far away land (my favourite, rly): The "other planes" are simply a far away land with extreme weather/landscape conditions, where Demons live.
It comes to my mind the "Ring of Fire" (IIRC...) of the Dark Sun setting... it was like being in another world, but it was (just) a sea of silt away from civilization... :)
It was also they way i wanted to handle Khyber (and any plana travel) in a possible Eberron Campaign.
|
You are going to love "The Thousandfold Thought." I liked these books so much I've read them all three times (something I don't usually do). You need to reread the first two after you finish the third.
I've also thought about setting a campain in "The Prince of Nothing." It would be cool to see how spellcasting characters handle Trinkets.
You are going to love "The Thousandfold Thought." I liked these books so much I've read them all three times (something I don't usually do). You need to reread the first two after you finish the third.
I've also thought about setting a campain in "The Prince of Nothing." It would be cool to see how spellcasting characters handle Trinkets.
yeah, i see the path that lies ahead of me is full of danger and difficult "adaptation" choices... but i'll try to "come before"...:)
going partially out of topic
since Trinket affect high level casters more, i thought to rule that, when he comes in contact with one, a caster suffers 1d6 dmg for each of his casters lvl.
son for example, a Thief 5/Arcanist 5 would suffer 5d6, while an Arcanist 10 would suffer 10d6... but i'm not planning to intriduce Chorae or casters too soon
goes back to topic
The Bullywug Gambit (Dungeon 140)
*note: in the world we're playing this campaign, humanoid races other than humans are extremely rare, a real few exist (no elves and dwarves, and so on). Mostly other intelligent races are demonic in nature.
Magic is extremely rare, magic-users are considered damned, and their immortal soul doomed to go to hell by the mainstream religion of the world.
- As usual, remove all magic items.
- All Bullywugs are wild humans
Page 33 - Trub Glorp Hunters are Human Berserkers lvl 1
Page 38 - Huntress Lorb-Lorb Tub is a Human Berserker lvl 2/Hunter lvl 3
Page 41 - Chief Lorpth is a Human Berserker lvl 5
Page 44 - Drevoraz Kabran is a Human Man-at-Arms lvl 6
Page 44 - Bua Gorg is a Human Executioner lvl 6
(personally, i think i'll remove Bua Gorg, and make Drevoraz lvl 8, also because i noticed that in Iron Heroes Pc's can use their abilities better when they face one signle strong opponent, than many weak ones. But if you want to keep the "shaman" flavour of the barbarians tribe, i think Bua Gorg should be fine as an executioner)
The Jade Ravens
- Kaskus Kiel is a Man-at-Arms 3
- Tolin Kientai is a Hunter 3
- Zan Oldevin is a Thief 3
- Liamae Teslikaria is a Harrier 3
As a general note, i find that all the NPC's with no magical powers could be left as they are.
For example, Fighter NPC's could be left as they are, instead of re-made as Man-at-Arms.
PC's don't see stats blocks... they perceive what you tell them... :)