Greetings.
Well after largely being an observer here I have decide to try my own hand at running an online campaign to break in on a bit of the enjoyment I have witnessed in the many intriguing pbps that the talented Dms and players both have masterful woven. I am relatively new to 3.5 and this will be my first time acting as dm since 3x hit the gaming world so I expect to be a bit fuzzy on some details but don’t believe that will be a major obstacle.
This adventure will be set in late roman era earth, within the eastern empire, and thus will be low magic. Indeed I have a variant spell caster class I will be posting shortly that can limited fill either or both the roles of the traditional wizard/sorcerer and cleric.
Mainly I intend to run this using the classes in the phb not because of any prejudice but I think that they better represent the type of characters that would exist in such a would as well as a few of my own classes that I will be presenting both to test in game play and for your scrutiny. Otherwise I am a pretty lenient Dm and any thoughts or ideas you have about your characters creation let me know and we will probably be able to accommodate it in some way or another.
Specifics
- Four 1st level characters, with 250xp
-25pt buy plus 1d6.
- bonus starting feat either country born, city born from the raise of the runelords players guide or one of the feats in the discussion thread.
-Maxim hit points at first level.
-Death occurs at – your constitution score.
- The ability to menially post every other day at least.
- Sliver pieces are the standard currency and replace gold, bronze replaces sliver and copper remains the same.
-As a historical setting all characters are human and play as one of the peoples roman people or neighbouring tribes of the Eastern provinces. For example: Greek, Anatolian, Armenian, Hebrew, Syrian, Aegytian, Thracian, German, Slavic, Samaritan, Persian, Macedonian, Arab etc...
-Characters are not literate and recent no bonus languages. All characters must start knowing Koine (the Greek dialect language spoken in the roman east). In this campaign a character must place 1 rank in to speak language to speak a tongue and 2 ranks to become literate in a spoken language.
- Greek, Anatolians, Syrian, Aegytian and Thracian have all been very romanized by this point in history and largely have lost their indigenous forms of combat and many of their cultural and religious traditions. Armenians and Hebrew people have to a lesser degree as they both have a very strong sense of identity and with the cause of Armenian a remote homeland. German, Slavic, Samaritan, Persian, Arab can be wholly barbarian or outsiders some what aquatinted via military service, trade or marriage with Roman.
-The greatest form of armour available is banded mail. There are no heavy crossbows, lances, great swords, bastard swords, picks, maces (except for Persians), rapiers, exotic weapons other then the net and whip are available.
-Religion will be important within this campaign and each character must start play with the belief in a divinity or pantheon. Christianity is the major religion of Rome, pagans are persecuted within the empire while alternate forms of Christianity exist in the hinterlands along with indigenous tribal divinities. Zoroastrianism and Judaism are major non-Christian monotheistic organized religions.
- Don’t worry I don’t intend for everyone to be a history expert in order to play as this is just meant to be a flavourful and fun parody of the era.
NOTE* this campaign will be using various religions that exist modern day and while I don’t hold any ill will towards any faith they are most certainly are going to be individuals who are prejudice of particular religions and religious people depicted having a less then savoury nature. So I need people that can separate gaming experience from whatever real life convictions you may hold so no feathers are ruffled.
I have my list of background feats prepared which are available at first level only, but you my chose one for free when you created your character. Hopefully this will help spark some interest, as it has been pretty quiet here this far. I have plenty of other neat ideas I hope to reveal during the course of the campaign.
I truly enjoy history so many of my campaigns have a historical flavour like this one and it also makes for a favourable setting for sword and sorcery flavour of play which appeals to me.
Background Feats
Mighty and hulking
Prerequisites:13str and over ¾ the maximum weight for your race.
You are more massive then most and know how to throw your bulk around best to your advantage.
Benefits: You are considered one size larger when favourable like for grappling, against bull rushes, trip attempts and special abilities of creatures like improve grab and swallow whole. You are still medium in size and use the same space, reach and cannot use over sized objects.
Hail and hearty
Prerequisites: 13 con
Your have always taken your health as given, injures that would have laid other men up for days you have recovered from over night.
Benefits: Whenever you spend the whole days resting you add your constitution modifier to the amount you gain for resting.
Poised and stable
Prerequisites: 13 dex
You are able to traverse the must difficult terrains with the same grace as if you were walking on level ground.
Benefits: You retain your dex bonus modifier even when climbing and balancing.
Night eyes
Shadows hold no fears, your acute vision penetrates there depths..
Benefits: You gain low light vision.
Lonewolf - as in the rise of the runelords player’s guide, except you cannot have booth this feat and face in the crowd.
Part of the crowd (You cannot have booth this feat and lone wolf.)
You gain you are never seen without your cliché of friends or outside of bustling public places. It is second nature for you to fade into the background or to appear unexpectedly.
Benefit: You suffer only half the movement penalty for moving through a crowded places as well as +2 to hide checks. So is your intuition of the chaotic environments of masses humanity that Non combatants count as flanking partners for you when a foe is squeezing through a crowd..
Merchant house scion
You were born to one of the largest mercantile families in Rome. Painstakingly trade tries have been spun the length of the empire and beyond to carry provincial goods and foreign luxuries alike to the teaming and hungry markets of the cities.
Benefits: +2 to appraise checks and you gain an additional 10% on the value of object you sell
Trade apprenticeship
Some of your earliest recollections are of watching and listening to either your family or their friend’s lessons on the art and secrets of their craft.
Benefits: +2 to any one profession or craft skill and one masterwork tool associated with that trade or profession for free.
Tenement urchin
Surviving through youth in the most vile of neighbourhoods has given light fingers and fast feet.
Benefits: +2 to pick pockets and +5ft. to your movement rate.
Pupil of the learned
You have been introduced to the most profound thoughts of both past and present at the foot of a renowned Greek tutor.
Benefits: Because of your better then normal education you gain an additional sages talent if you are a non-spell casting class you must use this as a skill bonus (+2) and all knowledge skills become class skills.
City Born – as in the raise of the ruinlords players guide except Magnimar becomes Antioch or Thessalonica, Riddleport to Jerusalem or Tarsus and Korvosa is replaced by Constantinople or Alexandria.
Country born- as in the raise of the ruinlords player’s guide
Wildness born (you can not have this feat and city born, country born or Garrison born)
Benefits: Struggling for life in the wilderness has forged you into a silent and deadly predator easily providing for yourself the essentials of life in the harshest of environments.
+2 to survival checks and you can move silently are your normal speed without penalty.
Garrison born
In his duty to in the legions of Rome your father crisscrossed the empire bring you in your mother in tow. Wherever soldiers where need you have been giving you first hand experience of the most distant of places and the true scope of the variety of subjects within Rome’s territories. You made it a point to learn something of the character of all of these places as well as your father’s comrades in arms and this unusual classroom has severed your education well.
Benifits:+1 to knowledge: local and knowledge: geography checks. You also speak one additional language that does not count against you maxim learnable languages.
Is that 25 points plus 1d6 points
OR
25 points plus 1d6 ability ranks?
I'm guessing the former.
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Hi, Herald. This sounds a very interesting campaign indeed. I'm probably over-committed as it is and so can't take part, but best of luck with it.
If you want a bit more interest, maybe you should put up some details of the late Roman Empire - a sort of synopsis of the 'setting' - and what sort of adventures they can expect. Maybe also what sort of backgrounds the PCs might come from. If someone puts up 'Eberron campaign', everyone knows what to expect. If you put up 'late Roman Empire', that is less the case, so you probably need to explain and market a bit more.
Love the campaign title, by the way.
If someone puts up 'Eberron campaign', everyone knows what to expect. If you put up 'late Roman Empire', that is less the case, so you probably need to explain and market a bit more.
I'm sure wondering.
And some of your players are going to be spooked because you don't have too many posts. Are you pathological enough to stick it out on these boards?
Good to see you here Kruelaid and Radavel.
To answer your question Kruelaid that is 1d6 points. Largely why I didn’t just say 28 point buy is I find that often the numbers in point buy stay the same but the order is just shuffled around a bit. So I wanted to add a degree of randomness into character creation, not too much just a bit.
Thanks for the feedback Aurbery. I was debating that very thought when I posited whether I should provide introductory synopsis or to “withhold” that for the actual beginning of game play, the later won out but in retrospect your suggestion sounds better. I will see if I can post something to evoke the flavor of the period a little later today.
Are you using the Eternal Rome setting from Green Ronin?
BTW, I also noticed that you played with DMSnake aka KC.
No I don't own that product this is a homebrew campaign settling idea of mine. I am not sure if you are asking reference to owning it, but if you do and want to use any options in it just run them by me and I will more then likely give the go ahead as I imagine they are highly appropriate to the setting.
Obviously I need to a bit of clarifying. Thanks for your patients every one. Basically the late Roman Empire is much later then the period normal dramatized in movies. It is the period when Roman embraced Christianity, was divided into 2 administrative zones (the eastern and western empires) to better cope with administrative problem and the hostility of the natives beyond the Rhine/ Danube rivers and the growing might of the Sassanid Persian Empire both of which Rome had repeatedly fought with mixed results. It was something of a transition period where many old Rome institutions would loose there hold in society and things that would be predominate in the middle ages would have there foundation laid. Things like Christianity and the political role of priest, the increasing distribution of authority into the provinces and the decline of cities all began in this era. It was the long decline in which the dark age would result from about 100-150 years from the date of the campaign.
This is just in brief to hold you over untill I put my note togethers this evening.
No I don't own that product this is a homebrew campaign settling idea of mine. I am not sure if you are asking reference to owning it, but if you do and want to use any options in it just run them by me and I will more then likely give the go ahead as I imagine they are highly appropriate.
I am a relatively new paizoian and rather new to web forums in general. So I haven’t made a big splash among posters yet but I do regularly follow things and have from time to looked on your campains Radavel.
Yes that is me over at dm snake's as one of his pcs.
What Rome is
Rome is a vast and august empire stretching from the border of Scotland in the north to the Nile valley in the south, from Portugal in the west to Crimea and Armenia in the east. Its cities are massive with places like Rome and Constantinople holding several million people. All of this is possible via a highly developed infrastructure and well-maintained network of roads, which is unparalleled in the entire world.
While squalor exists, it cities are more developed, comfortable and uniform than any of past ages. Literacy is high. Vast stone aqueducts deliver water from rivers miles away to the houses and cisterns of urbanites. Underground sewers and storm drains carry effluent far away from homes or streets, as was the case till the modern era. Such is the bounty of Rome, that bread in its megatropolises is free for the taking of the urban poor.
Life in city and town alike centres around the forum; a public square, which is the heart and life of the community. Here markets, banks, brothels, baths, government and religious buildings all converged and public festivals are held and orators speak to the masses.
With such cities and so many people, it should be no surprise that entertainment is in such steep demand. Chariots races are held in huge racing tracks within the city limits, public execution via gladiatorial combats, displays of riding, athletics, spots, poetry, music and plays are all popular diversions.
As warranted for the greatest state of its day, Rome’s military is a crack group of professional career soldiers almost 200000 strong, supplemented by non-citizen auxiliaries. These days they mainly dwell in border citadels along the Rhine, Danube and eastern desert fringe of the empire, warding these predictable avenues of hostility.
The Roman legionnaire is drilled to value endurance, perseverance and the long haul over a single engagement and is as hard and tough as they come. While Rome’s generals are well read of past engagements, they model their strategies on tried and proven methods of victory.
But now is a time of turbulence, much is in decline, disrepair and uncertainty. Lands have been lost and reclaimed, coinage devalued, taxes repressively high and patriotism replaced by fear and ambition. To much is different and the tide threatens to sweep the empire away.
Rome was an epoch of man in the west, and the equal or better of the greatest civilizations of Asia. Much of what was lost with its fall (pumps, plumbing, central heating, architecture, the effectiveness of its bureaucrats and the amount and ease of trade) would not resurface until the 1800s. Indeed, much of the story of the Middle Ages and renaissance was just trying to recapture what already was.
History buff?
I love Rome and its history. I'd love to hop in. I am much like you in that I am fuzzy on mechanics, but I would love the challenge of making a believable Roman Empire character.
Knowledge: history +18 before synergy bonus says it all ;)
I love Rome and its history. I'd love to hop in. I am much like you in that I am fuzzy on mechanics, but I would love the challenge of making a believable Roman Empire character.
Glad to have you on board Patrick. I am heavily borrowing from the sword and socercy genre like mongoose conan for inspiration of the wizard/cleric class I am going to post a little later today. Also I should have a brief list of the character classes and how they fit into the era in a little bit.
Knowledge: history +18 before synergy bonus says it all ;)
Ok. I'm in.
I love Rome and its history. I'd love to hop in. I am much like you in that I am fuzzy on mechanics, but I would love the challenge of making a believable Roman Empire character.Glad to have you on board Patrick. I am heavily borrowing from the sword and socercy genre like mongoose conan for inspiration of the wizard/cleric class I am going to post a little later today. Also I should have a brief list of the character classes and how they fit into the era in a little bit.
You wouldn't be interested in using the Conan rules would you?
[ed]Nah, then we'd have to buy them. That would suck. Well, not really 'cuz I want to buy them anyway.
Is it past the conversion of Constantine? [whine]I wanna worship Sol Invictus! [/whine]
Since the game is set in the latter part of the Roman era when the Christians have taken over, gladiators are out of the question, right?
As an alternative I'd like to create a barbarian character in the mold of Bran Mak Morn.
No not at all. Gladiatorial matches are in decline but are still too popular to abolish completely. Indeed maybe the slackening off performances could provide an interesting motivation for a gladiator to seek at least temporary employment in other things.
The campaign is set 380 ce in the reign of Theodosius I, starting in Constantinople. Sorry Patrick.
We can still be pagans avoiding persecution from the cruel Christians.
lol
OR minority Christians, the guys who got wiped out by the Christians who suddenly found themselves in the Empire's favor.
Gnostics, Valentinians, (I can't remember the others)
OOOO. 380, right before the Goth invasions (or as the the Germans like to say, Folk migrations). Does anyone remember when Julian the Apostate has his turn as Emporer ...hmm ... to Wikipedia!
EDIT: Oops, the Goths were already on scene and had just pwned the Roman Empire at the battle of Adrianople in 378. LOL Thanks Wiki!
OR minority Christians, the guys who got wiped out by the Christians who suddenly found themselves in the Empire's favor.
Damn Councils of Nicea!
Nope I am not using conan rules. Basically the only influence will be:
Adept
An adept is a versatile class that can fill many roles both mundane to mystical. Scientists, sages, monks and magicians are all represented be member of this class.
The adept does not cast spells the same way as the casts in the player’s handbook, indeed many of the styles use of their talents are only limed by circumstances, cost and the duration of there affect.
The motivation behind the adept was to create a character that fills the role of a spellcaster in a world that cannot distinguish science and esoteric knowledge from sorcery and superstition. Indeed all of the talents this class possesses can be explained in a non-magical way if you so chose to or they can represent real magic depending on the campaign your running.
4 +int modifier x4 at first level, and 4 +int modifier every level after that.
Autohypnosis, Bluff, Concentration, craft, diplomacy, decipher script, heal, intimidate, knowledge (all), profession.
Guarded knowledge Astrology & Divination provides gather information as a class skill.
1d6 hp
+0 +0/+0/+2 Sages talent, Guarded knowledge, Command of the learned 1/day
+1 +0/+0/+3 Sages talent
+1 +1/+1/+3
+2 +1/+1/+4 Sages talent, Guarded knowledge
+2 +1/+1/+4 Sages talent, Command of the learned 2/day
+3 +2/+2/+5
+3 +2/+2/+5 Sages talent
+4 +2/+2/+6 Sages talent
+4 +3/+3/+6
+5 +3/+3/+7 Sages talent, Guarded knowledge
The adept is proficient in all simple weapons but not armours or shield and suffer standard penalties if he/she chose to use them without acquiring the proficiency.
Guarded knowledge: Each time a character gains guarded knowledge it means that the have gained significant enough insight to gain access to a new sorcery style. This doesn’t neglect any other requirements that school might require, i.e. skill ranks.
The character may instead of taking a new style of sorcery gain a bonus feat from the following list if he/she chooses.
Feats:
Sages talent: Each time a character gains the sages talent ability they may choose a talent from any sorcery style available to them as long as the meet its requirements.
A character may choose instead of taking a talent to gain two bonus skill points to any skill they have ranks in. This bonus may only be add to any skill once, any subsequent bonus skill points for sages talent must be added to a different skill.
Command of the learned: Each character must choose one of the following options when they gain their first level within the Adept class for the command of the learned ability, it may not be changed afterwards.
Valuable commodity- Your knowledge is highly esteemed by aristocrats and those that fancy themselves nobility to enhance there reputations among their peers by patronizing your skills and arts. By talking for at least minutes and make a successful diplomacy check opposed be the targets sense motive you may produce an affect similar to charm person. This only works on people of the upper class and has no effect intelligent or people of a lower social station. This attitude does not extend to companion and the affected individual may become unduly possessive of you as a consequence.
Prophet of doom- You may infuse your words with prophetic overtones promising disaster for your foes. All enemies able to hear you and provide they are able to understand must make a sense motive check opposed by your intimidation skill or be shaken for a number of rds equal to your level.
Logic of success- You can offer brilliant rationalization why any said act must succeed, even if you yourself don’t be that is the case. If you succeed an opposed bluff check opposed by the target’s sense motive check they gain a bonus equal to your charisma modifier or one which ever is higher one skill check or + 1 moral bonus to their armour and saving throws for a number of minitues equal to your level.
We can still be pagans avoiding persecution from the cruel Christians. A bit of role-reversal.
Yes. I very deliberately picked this time period both with the blood bath of Adrianople just next door and still fresh in the memories of people and for the interplay between christain vs christain vs pagan which will be very important.
But the way the adept (still wish I had thought of a better sounding name) and bard will be the only spell casting casts. Rangers and paladins are allowed but will be of a non-magical variant.
Rogues, fighters, barbarians, and even monks as a boxer or wrestler are all allow along with any sole martial or skill based class. A long with the adept I will be again a skill-based class called the charlatan.
Bards gain one sages talent from the Astrology & divination tree even second level starting at 2nd level. I will try to get the schools of magic provide by guarded knowledge this evening.
Here is a brief list for anybody feeling a still feeling a little lost and in need of a bit of inspiration or wondering on a particular class might fit in against the backdrop.
Adepts
Adepts come in as many flavours as there are thoughts in the heads of men. They are the people who teach and instruct other whether it be in faith or knowledge.
An extreme stoic philosopher deliberately seeking adversity to tough out in order prove his/her conviction to his/her ideals. A scientist who has lost their workshop and patron both in Adrianople and is try to generate enough funds to rebuild the all the research they lost or find a new patron to foot the expenses. An enthusiastic Christian priest raising funds to take himself to see the lands where Christ walked. A pagan priest might be seeking to win follower to seize power in a town or province and restore the old gods all the while ducking the establishment. A senior bureaucrat who side with the wrong fraction and lost everything and is desperately seeking win favour and regain the status they once possessed.
Barbarians
Barbarian peoples of many tribes dwell literally on the very doorstep of Rome often impoverished and hungry refugees in squalid camps from the numerous intertribal conflicts with a smattering of merchants seeking fine Roman crafts.
While the rugged forest of northern Europe are thick with even more rugged men and women. Glory for them lays to the south in the form of Roman plunder and just as importantly bragging rights to have faced Rome. As merit and true right rights of kingship has increasing come to be measured in conquest of roman lands.
But it is not only among the northerners that fierce and feral fighter lurk. Gladiators still hew men even if less then before for the enjoyment of the supposed civilized people, either for fame or as cruel punishment. While slaves chaffing for freedom might be tempted in a fit of rage to throttle their owner and take to the fields along with the growing number of displaced people from ravaged towns. And lastly the simple ubiquitous barroom rowdy and criminal strong-arm both are quite acceptable barbarians.
Bards
Orators are very important and influential people in societies were communication is largely dependant of the spoken word.
There is a high demand for state propagandist to help sooth people fears given the recent unrest and men with such skills often travel far. In past times they augured the future and claimed blood ties with the gods.
While among the barbarians such men and women travel from tribe to tribe as mediators and people especial in touch with the “other world”. It is by them and their special sight and honeyed tongues the blood feuds are avoided, hero’s live beyond their deaths, history remembered and confederations coerced and beguiled together for war.
Charlatans
A charlatan option are not limited to but could include a Sassanid persian spy masquerading under an assumed identity, a dishonest merchant hawking inferior goods, as which sparked the rebellion of Goths which destroyed fair Adrianople, or simply a confidences trickster plying their trade among the many desperate souls whom are too needy to question the motives of there would be benefactor.
Paladins
The paladin is a hard class to place as it embodies the ideals of a different age but nether the less there is a small window in which such a being could exist. Saint George had first been a soldier in the armies of roman and perhaps another such being either in imitation of his example or independently could walk such a path, being a beacon of Christian ideals and heroism embodied within a simple fighting man. Or perhaps he/she is the only sort of missionary though and brave enough to go forth among the barbarians and spread the good word.
Alternately he/she might be a Zoroastrian Persian and a devote believer in the maxim that evil only triumphs when good men do nothing, out to proving their goodness astride a sturdy Nicean steed.
Rogues
They are both parasites the feed on the detritus of society and the shadow cogs on which the establishment runs. In the shadows of back alleys or as the heads of the mercantile empires and noble patrician families, proliferate through all strata of Rome.
Interesting possibilities include nobles whom intrigue and backstab their ways through the corridors of power, servants that are “fixers” for their masters problems, a lost barbarian without concept of property rights erking out a living in a completely foreign environment or a Freeman who has abandoned his homes to escape begin enslaved in lieu of back taxes and turned to brigandry to survive.
Rangers
Both Roman and friendly native rangers perform reconnaissance on the movements and gatherings of the hordes across from Europe’s great rivers. They are the slavers roving the beyond Rome’s borders for fresh meat for the slave markets and catcher of those that have run away from their masters.
Fighters
There is no shortage of fighting men in this era. From the dutiful border guard of the empire, to civic watch men who attempt to maintain order among the urban sea, the strutting bodyguards of the rich, to tribal gothic champions and knightly Sassanid Persian ironman cavalry. All embodied the war like ethos of this time.
Monks
This is another class that really doesn’t fit taken in the context as how presented in the player’s handbook. But with a bit of creativity it makes a passable wrestler or boxer with where both popular sports with all people of this era.
So far we have Radavel leaning towards a barbarian of mercenary background, Kruelaid towards a greek wrestler/monk and Patrick interested leaving one place still open.
I'm not really sure about your custom class yet, I am really busy for a few days and will check it out carefully when I get the chance.
Right now I'm thinking Greek wrestler. Yes, a monk.
I think I should have all the new stuff ready by tomorrow.
Healing is going to be difficult to come by in a low magic setting that will be partly mitigated by the pace I set, but also ranks in healing, an adept with the medicine sorcery style and the hail and hardy feat will be of great boon.
My thoughts are for a veteran of the Roman Legions, perhaps someone who has served at Adrianople. I realize historically this might be a little hard to pull off (as the soldiers had a 20-year comittment {shudder}) but playing an angsty character who believes in old Roman values watching the Empire change into the Christianized version that lurched into the Dark Ages is what I'm coming up with. I am thinking fighter from an ancient Roman Plebian family, someone who has a time-honored name, but little else. Service in the army would be a good background, but perhaps if not logical, a trader who has had to fight on occasion, or was trained as a youth at the Campus Martius.
The first option sounds very interesting Patrick. It is great to see how you have immersed yourself into the feel of the era. Don’t worry if that is what you want to play I will accommodate it.
Even though Rome was hurting for military men, maybe your legion was disgrace and thus disbanded for some failure on the field through no fault of your own. It is easy to imagine several eagles being lost for example in the carnage of Adrianople.
This party is definitely looking very martial. Woe be to any that bare your path!
Just make sure that you pay close attention to how skill point are place as their is going to be plenty of non combat encounters and might put a lot of emphasis on Kruelaids character.
Finally the sorcery styles and traits are here!
Sorcery styles:
Requirements: craft alchemy 4 ranks, and 50sp worth of tools.
Limitations: time and cost.
You are talented at concocting elixirs and reagents of all sorts that are often in demanded by society whether it be to etch, beautify oneself, join metals, create pigments or the perpetual quests to transmute base metals to gold or discover an elixir of life.
Alchemy is an Adept exclusive class skill. Only adepts with the alchemy sorcery style can create can create the reagents produced by their talents. An adept trained in the alchemy style of sorcery when manufacture objects by the day work is measured in bronze pieces rather then copper pieces.
Produce blinding power
Requirements – craft alchemy 4 ranks and 2sp worth of ingredients
You produce a power which maybe thrown at adjacent foes using a ranged touch attack without producing and opportunity of attack. If successful the target must make a reflex saving throw dc 13 or be blinded for 1d4 rds or until it can dowse its face whichever comes first.
The difficulty for making blinding powder is dc12, and its market price is 5sp per pouch.
Produce irritant
Requirements – craft alchemy 4 ranks and 2sp worth of ingredients
You produce a power which maybe thrown at adjacent foes using a ranged touch attack without producing and opportunity of attack. If successful the target must make a reflex saving throw dc 13 or suffer –2 to their attack rolls and dexterity base skills and saves.
The difficulty for making an irritant is dc12, and its market price is 5sp per pouch.
Produce lubricant
Requirement – craft alchemy 4 ranks and 3sp worth of ingredients
You create a flask of lubricant that duplicates the affect of a grease spell except it is permanent until washes away or scrubbed of which require one turn for a 5ft. square or foe an object a full rd and a successful reflex save which provokes an opportunity of attack.
The difficulty for making a lubricant is dc12, and its market price is 8sp per pot.
Product extended fuel
Requirements – craft alchemy 5 ranks and 7sp worth of ingredients
Your produce a slow burning fuel which can be applied to a torch or lantern that burn four x the normal length. Also it is much more difficult to extinguish than and ordinary touch and only exceptional wind can blow it out.
The difficulty for making extended fuel is dc15, and its market price is 20sp per torch.
Produce acid
Requirements - craft alchemy 5 ranks and 5sp.
You produce a flask of acid as described in the player’s handbook.
The difficulty for making acid is dc15, and its market price is 15sp per flask.
Produce alchemists vapour
Requirements - craft alchemy 5 ranks and 7sp.
You produce the equivalent to a smoke stick as describe in the player’s handbook.
The difficulty for producing alchemist’s vapour is dc15, and its market price is 15sp per stick.
Produce bonding agent
Requirements craft alchemy 5 ranks and 17sp worth of ingredients
You produce the equivalent to a tanglefoot bag as describe as in the player’s handbook.
The difficultly for producing a bonding agent is dc 18 and its market price is 50sp per bag.
New alchemy list for the Eagle in Autumn campaign setting.
Lubricant pot 8sp, dc 12 to craft.
Blinding powder pouch 5sp, dc 12 to craft.
Irritant pouch 5sp, dc 12 to craft.
Acid flask 15sp, dc 15 to craft.
Smoke stick 20sp, dc 15 to craft.
Everburning fuel torch/pot 20sp, dc 15 to craft.
Alchemist’s fire flask 20sp, dc18 to craft.
Tanglefoot bag 5sp, dc18 to craft.
Anti toxin vial 50sp, dc 18 to craft.
You know how to alleviate common aliments of the era and cure the sick. Knowledge of surgery, sanitization, herbalist and nutrition are trademarks of your profession.
Requirements: heal 4 ranks
Limitations: Time and cost.
Nurture
Requirements: healing 2 ranks, one day
Our skill in observing and administrating the varying states of the ill can help speed their natural recovery.
When providing long term the patient regains the standard amount 2 hit points per level for 8 hours rest and 4 hit points per level for a complete days rest that then is multiplied by 1.5 on a successful check.
If the attended character is suffering from an illness or poison they may make use the results of the nurturer’s heal check + their constitution modifier in lieu of their fort saving throw if it is higher.
Diagnose
Requirements: heal 2 ranks, knowledge nature 2 ranks, 5 minutes.
You have accumulated
Buy making a heal check vs the dc of the poison or illness you can successfully identify it by name.
If you have 5 or more ranks in knowledge nature you gain a +2 synergy bonus on the heal check.
Nutrition
Requirements: knowledge heal 2 ranks, knowledge nature2 ranks and ration cost.
You understand that healthy eating allows the body to more effectively defend itself against maladies that would attack it.
By buying special rations or meals and consuming them continuously for 5 days your are able to provide anyone consuming them +2 resistance bonus against illnesses, fatigue and physical ability damage.
These special rations cost 2bps more or restaurant meals cost an addition 5bp.
Resuscitate
prerequisites: healing 5ranks
You are able to bring the fallen around quickly.
In addition to provide first aid as described in the player’s handbook you may once the recipient has stabilize attempt mend them and bring the injured partly back to consciousness. You may make a heal check dc 10 + their current hit point total each rd as a full rd action which provokes opportunities of attack, each success indicates that the patient recovers 1hp. You may do this as long as you succeed or until the patient reaches 1hp and gains consciousness.
Concoct anti venom
Requirement healing 4 ranks, profession herbalist 4 ranks, the diagnose talent and 17sp.
Your knowledge of venoms the bodies reactions to them and the detoxifying properties of various plants and how poison itself can be used as a catalyst against itself allows you to brew potent potions and poultices. This potion or poultice acts just as a vial of anti toxin as describe in the player’s handbook.
If you have 5 or more ranks in knowledge nature you gain a +2 synergy bonus to the roll against organic venoms.
Requirements knowledge cosmic 4ranks and knowledge nature 2 or know nature 4ranks and knowledge cosmic 2ranks.
Limitations: time, time of day and weather conditions,
Special: gather information is a class skill.
Part stage man, star charter and part oracle you have sight beyond the ken of most men into the will of the universe and how the heavens and gods move us.
Personal horoscope
Requirements - knowledge cosmic 2 ranks, knowledge nature 2ranks, a clear night sky. Duration: till the following nightfall or less
By reviewing calendars, recent omens, observing the night sky, auspicious advents surrounding your birth and import occasion within your life you are able to gain a limited understanding of what the future holds for you. What opportunities will yield success and what banes likely will afflict you.
Knowing future is not without risk. There is also a chance by knowing that you might precipitate the very events that lead to your downfall.
Make two knowledge cosmic checks dc 15, first for auspicious tidings discovered during your reading and the second for the inauspicious events forecast in your future. Matching the dc equals an average reading every five 5 the dc is surpassed up or down produces additional results as shown below.
Auspicious (poor reading =0(10), average reading =1(15), Good reading =2(20), phenomenal reading =3(25):
00-15Ventures (lesser): You gain +1 to all skill checks based on one random ability score.
16-30Battle (lesser): you gain +1 to hit in the first conflict you are engaged in.
31-45Health (lesser): you gain +1 to save to on randomly determined saving throw for the rest of the day.
46-60Fame: You gain discounts for all of your purchases for the rest of the day.
61-70Ventures: You gain +1 to all skill checks based on one ability score of your choice.
71-80Fortune: wealth comes your way.
81-85Life: you have 75% chance to stabilize.
86-90Battle: you gain +1 to hit in the all conflicts you are engaged in for the rest of the day.
91-93Love: Someone takes a particular liking for you, which manifests itself based on their character.
94-96Luck: reroll any one-die roll of you choice 1/day with +1 to the die roll.
97-100Health: + 1 to all saving throws for the rest of the day.
Inauspicious (favourable reading =0(20), average reading =1(15), ill reading =2(10), dire reading =3(5):
00-15Fame: your presence makes social interaction more difficult for the duration of the day.
16-30Fortune: You will risk losing something valuable.
31-45Health: you come into contact with a random disease.
46-60Love: someone for whatever reason will not like you, and reacts based on their character.
61-70Battle: the first critical blow against you is automatically confirmed.
71-80Ventures: climb, swim, tumble, balance, ride, craft, perform and jump checks if failed are considered 5 or more below the number required to succeed.
81-90Life: for the duration of the day anytime you are poisoned the result the results are rolled twice and you take the higher of the two.
91-100Luck for the duration of the day rolling 2 counts as if you have rolled a natural 1.
Discern omens
Requirements: knowledge cosmic 3 ranks, knowledge nature 3 ranks, spot 2 ranks and 10 minutes.
Subtleties that the untrained eye would miss or ignorantly dismiss such as the flight of birds and shapes of clouds, offer guidance to those the know the language of the fate.
After spending the required amount of time studying your surroundings there is a 40 percent chance + twice your level that there is some sign that hints at the right course of action. This check is made in secret and the diviner cannot grantee the accuracy of the results a particularly poor roll will produce false results.
This talent doesn’t give any hint of the outcome just that following it will more quickly carry you to your objective. Multiple tries will produce the same results unless in a different local or considerable time has passed.
Dream reading
Requirements: knowledge cosmic 4 ranks, a nights rest and 10 minutes.
After sleeping it is possible that your or another’s dreams have been particularly vivid and that agencies from beyond have opened a window to see happenings at distant locals, the dreams of other sleepers or glimpses of your karma.
There is a 30% chance that an individual has had such dreams. On the successful results of a successful knowledge cosmic check dc 15 you discover with some sort of useful information about the following day, which might not be readily apparent to you.
The recipient may gain a bonus equal to their armour class and reflects saves or to their attack rolls equal to +1/3 levels of the astrologer for a number of rounds equal to the Astrologers level place the recipients wisdom modifier.
Trace to the source
Requirements: knowledge cosmic 5 ranks, divination object (reflective surface, cards, casting object or sacrificial animal), the Discern omens talent and 1 hour.
By a personalize ritual based on your beliefs and customs you are able to determine whether an individual is under the influence of a curse. By consulting the subject of the reading and scrutinizing the divulged clues may also reveal the identity of the person who place it upon them. To do so the caster must makes a knowledge cosmic check against the difficult set by the curser skill, dc10 + half the cursers level + there wisdom modifier.
Failure gives no information. Failure by 5 or more gives wrongful information and failure by 10 or more indicates the wrong party. Success gives a few vague clues, success by more the 5 give some solid leads and success by more then 5 identifies the spells caster.
Outside advice
Prerequisites: knowledge cosmic 5 ranks, sense motive 2 ranks and a standard action.
Frequently you suffer flashes of insight, knowing action the instant before they are precipitated. This has lead you to believe that spirits, a guardian angel, god or a fiend from the darkest pits of ghenna has taken interest in your action for some unknowable reason. By extending your consciousness beyond yourself in communication with the beyond you gain the ability to react to events that perspire that no one with normal senses could.
In effect if you succeed a knowledge comic check dc18 (you gain a +2 synergy bonus if you have 5 or more ranks devoted to the sense motive skill) you my each round ready an action. If that action has doesn’t occur you may take your turn as normal at the end of the round and resume your place in the order of initiative the following either to act as normal or ready another action. This affect last for a number of rounds equal to your level plus your wisdom bonus.
On a failed knowledge cosmic check you suffer one rank in mental debilitation.
My adept class is very skill dependant for it magic/science use. The bard was a bit of the inspiration for the mechanic, while the scholar from the Conan setting is where it over all shape comes from though I have tried to make it more useful at lower levels and be less of an npc.
Personally I like classes that are very alterable so that any two examples can be hugely different. For example the adept could be a priest with most of their talents being of the Astrology style, and alchemist bristling with devices or be a philosophy that has spend all their talents and knowledge on feats and skill points. Not only the would their mechanics be very different but so would the roleplaying aspects.
How the styles break down is the alchemy is the direct damage/battle field controller style, the astrology & divination the buffer/diviner and odd stuff school, while medicine pretty obviously is all about healing.
This is but a partial list of talents available for the early levels of Adept.
Even though Rome was hurting for military men, maybe your legion was disgrace and thus disbanded for some failure on the field through no fault of your own. It is easy to imagine several eagles being lost for example in the carnage of Adrianople.
OOO. Losing the sacred eagles is bad ...I LIKE it!
Smells like angst for the fodder. I am cogitating my disgraced legionnaire, hope to have concept posted soon.
I am shying away from front line fighter because Patrick looks like he's going to be a legionnaire.
I looked at the Adept. Why don't we just call them Sage instead of Adept...?
Ugh, because he has little skills.
Better to just take a rogue, or a scout, I think we're really going to need some skills.
What do those classes who use magic get instead of spells and spell-like abilities?
Right now I'm thinking:
Hispanic - Swashbuckler
Vandal - Scout
Sicilian - Rogue
...
Hmmmmm.
Make all three then decide?
This sounds intriguing. History buff, great period. Are you still wrangling?
Warning. I'm very new to pbp and entirely new to 3/3.5 having only played 1E many years ago. If I'm going to be a pain to you, that's cool, I'll watch with interest from the sidelines.
He said 4. You're number 4. If you've got a rulebook you'll know it ain't rocket science.
Good enough. Reading now.
Persian adept (Zoroastrian) is the way I'm leaning at the moment. Working on it. Lovely set of specs Herald. Lots to play with.
There is a feat called 'Doctor' from 7th Sea: Swashbuckling Adventures by AEG.
Feat: Doctor
Pre: Profession (Doctor)
Benefit: Healing, Alchemy, Animal Handling, and Animal Empathy are class skills.
What do you think?