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Discussion for Ubermench's generic vanilla 4e game.
Genera, the City of Gold, stood gleaming on the banks of the lake Effluvia, its tall spires and minarets gleaming white and gold in the crisp autumn air. A strong wind whipped the pennants on the guild towers carrying mixed odors of incense and the faint sounds of chanting from the mall of gods over the lower city as the wind rushed out to sea. Genera filled the serpentine valley from the White Citadel at its apex to the Black Forts at its mouth. The White Citadel Stands tall at the valley head, its back to the glacier that gives the city life. The White Citadel was carved out the mountain itself forming an arch straddling the river Effluvia. A fortified wall with guard posts every few hundred feet split from the White Citadel and followed the valleys crest’s terminating in the Black Forts one on either side of the valley mouth, protecting the port inside. The city of Genera flowed down alongside the lake beginning with the Gables, home to the nobility and the rich. Next came the Guildhalls the merchant center, on the north bank and the Mall of Gods, home to the city temples and cloisters, to the south. The lower city sprawls across the rest of the valley ending at the Black Forts. Genera is the port of call for all ships traveling the Golden Coast bringing great wealth and exotic item and people to the city. Tall wide bridges of stone cross the river at regular spans that link both sides of the city into one, the bridges are built tall enough for all but the largest ships to sail to the docks that line both sides of the lake and wide enough for a column of soldiers to cross without breaking formation.
Genera is an ancient city thousands of years old but existing its current form for only a few hundred. Originally it was a dwarven mining outpost for a few hundred years before being conquered by orc raiders. The raiders held the valley until the fey drove them out. The Fey ceded the valley to the Empire of the North and when the Northern Empire collapsed the nobles fled to the secluded valley and Genera in its current form began. Each wave of new occupants built upon the ruins of the last and hidden tunnels, sewers and dwarven mining sites abound under the streets of the city above.
Folk tails tell of a primeval city lurking in the lightless depths of Lake Effluvia, where the deep ones lay in torpor awaiting an unknown sign to awake.
Genera is ruled by a triumvirate called the High Fane, the Guilds, the Temples and the Nobility each appoint a member. Three lower assemblies directed by the High Fane form the bureaucratic backbone of the city performing the day to day maintenance and governance of the city. The Assemblies are made of the Hoog Bevel, the Hauswirte and Gewöhnlicher. The Hoog Bevel commands the city garrisons, city watch and armies. The Hauswirte is in charge of the courts, prisons and taxes. The Gewöhnlicher is responsible for everything else.
Other information:
The city watch are called Red Caps because of their red caps and it is Illegal for any person who is not part of the watch to wear red headgear.
All gods are represented in the Mall of Gods even the evil ones but it is illegal for any group to worship or practice their religion out side of the Mall of Gods or private residence. Murder, human sacrifice and necromancy are still illegal even if they are part of religion rituals.
There are several thieves’ guilds but the Guild masters do not officially recognize them.
All business and trades must be sanctioned by the appropriate guild, must have and display the guild seal, or it is considered a criminal enterprise.
There are only two roads leading into the city, the West Road that heads west into the Dwarves Mountain Holds and the Silk Road that meanders south through the Eladrin forests and into the Tepid Swamps.
Slavery is illegal but a form of indentured servitude is common.
I have almost finished. Just need to add the benefits for being a member of the Guild, will be going with the bonus at will.
Sorry guys, Amarill will have to drop out. I just don't have the time that I thought I would have, so I won't be able to commit to a game.
As a guild member you get a +1 weapon with a power or an extra at-will not both, also did you add the bonus' to your bluff and perception.
I have the 2 at-wills that you get automatically, and an additional one from being human. Also, I have added the +2 to Bluff and Perception.
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As a guild member you get a +1 weapon with a power or an extra at-will not both, also did you add the bonus' to your bluff and perception.I have the 2 at-wills that you get automatically, and an additional one from being human. Also, I have added the +2 to Bluff and Perception.
My mistake I forgot the at-will power for humans.
Your bastard sword:
Bastard's Icy Embrace
Power (Daily): Free Action. Use this power when you hit
an enemy with this weapon. That enemy is immobilized
until the begining of your next turn.
Your opponent’s feet are frozen to the ground preventing him from moving.
This should fit into Isari's theme.
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Ubermench, what's the starting level again? Also to clarify we are using the standard 22 point buy presented in the PHB, right?1st level standard 22 point buy.
Gotcha. I posted part of the background of my character, Sunaj, in the gamer connection thread. But I'll repost that as part of Sunaj's profile later.
My stats are up on my profile.
Background to be completed soon.
TS
In the process of getting my character, Jonas Brightspell (partly inspired by Penny Arcade's/WOTC playtest podcast wizard Jim Darkmagic), statted up by using WOTC's Character Builder Beta; Most likely going with the Guild Rep. option.
Greetings. Sunaj Fellhand, sophomore member of the Commoners' Assembly, at your service.
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I going to use a 26x26 map for combat so use the grid references for movement, spells and opponents attacked.
I also want to try use a pre rolled initiative system. Roll ten initiative rolls and post them on your profile and use them sequence for the next ten combats then re-roll them. This way you can post your actions any time and I will sum up the round after every one has posted.
Any suggestions to make combat easier would be helpful.
I also want to try use a pre rolled initiative system. Roll ten initiative rolls and post them on your profile and use them sequence for the next ten combats then re-roll them. This way you can post your actions any time and I will sum up the round after every one has posted.
I'm not sure how this will work. As a character with a fair number of powers that let me shift folks into and out of position, it seems like it will be difficult for me to guess what the battlemap will look like on my turn, and that I will then lose out on some of the benefits of my powers. Also, giving people saves, etc. on my turn becomes a little hazy if I don't know who's suffering from what on my initiative count.
In short, although I like the initiative idea as a time-saving device, but I'm not sure it will make things easier in the long run. I could, maybe, change some powers to try to focus less on a precise knowledge of the battlemap at all times, but I think there will still be issues.
Finally, if we do decide to roll Initiative ahead of time, keep in mind that my allies (within 10 squares) get a +2 to their rolls.
O (aka Thewl Steelborn)
Yep, I'm still here. Nothing else to say, really.
Present as well.
*click* And my axe! errr, I mean I'm ready to go as well. *click*
*click* Just posted background info. It's relatively sparse right now, but let me know if you want more details, dark secrets, etc. *click*
Also, I hesitate to bring this up, but ...
WotC has ruled that minotaurs no longer use oversized weapons in Dragon 369. They do, however, get some other abilities in place of that lost one.
Of course, it's up to Ubermensch to rule on this, and I don't care one way or the other, but the balance issues involved in oversized weapons can be messy.
O
I am always happy to meet with members of the guilds and the citywatch.
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*click* And my axe! errr, I mean I'm ready to go as well. *click*
*click* Just posted background info. It's relatively sparse right now, but let me know if you want more details, dark secrets, etc. *click*
I like the history.
Some extra background about Warforged in Genera;
Warforged are called the Forged or just Forged.
The production of the Forged was halted when the High Court declared their production for use as labor, guards and soldiers was equivalent to slavery and therefore illegal.
The knowledge of how to make Forged is not forgotten but very expensive and requires high level rituals to complete.
To date only two Forged have been built after the military stopped producing them, one by the Mages guild as an experiment to create a mage Forged and the other was commissioned by a pair of ‘mated’ Forged who wanted a child.
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Also, I hesitate to bring this up, but ...
WotC has ruled that minotaurs no longer use oversized weapons in Dragon 369. They do, however, get some other abilities in place of that lost one.
Of course, it's up to Ubermensch to rule on this, and I don't care one way or the other, but the balance issues involved in oversized weapons can be messy.
O
I don't have a subscription to DDI so I don't have that article so we'll just stick with the PHB info.
After thinking about combat I think you are right and we will have to post turn by turn to stay true to 4e rules.
I going to use a 26x26 map for combat so use the grid references for movement, spells and opponents attacked.
I also want to try use a pre rolled initiative system. Roll ten initiative rolls and post them on your profile and use them sequence for the next ten combats then re-roll them. This way you can post your actions any time and I will sum up the round after every one has posted.
Any suggestions to make combat easier would be helpful.
Should we use an online roller for all the rolls- and if so, which one?
BTW, also am ready as well with my character. Wasn't entirely sure if there's an established institutionalized form of magical instruction in Genera, but going by the description that you've given of the governing bodies, it wouldn't be out of place to have such a thing (or many such things, as the case may be).
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I going to use a 26x26 map for combat so use the grid references for movement, spells and opponents attacked.
I also want to try use a pre rolled initiative system. Roll ten initiative rolls and post them on your profile and use them sequence for the next ten combats then re-roll them. This way you can post your actions any time and I will sum up the round after every one has posted.
Any suggestions to make combat easier would be helpful.
Should we use an online roller for all the rolls- and if so, which one?
BTW, also am ready as well with my character. Wasn't entirely sure if there's an established institutionalized form of magical instruction in Genera, but going by the description that you've given of the governing bodies, it wouldn't be out of place to have such a thing (or many such things, as the case may be).
The Mages guild runs several schools of study as does the Doctors guild and the Hoog Bevel has a training course for war magic. The Mages guild schools are the Keizer Magische Collage the oldest and most prestigious school known dating back over 400 years to the founding of the last human empire. During the fall of the empire the Keizer Magische moved its library and artifacts to its current location in the Gables. The Rictoven school of Thaumaturgy is the largest school and located in the upper city and last is the Genera City Archives, sort of a pay per lesson magic school open to everyone who can pay the fees it also doubles as the cities library. Apotheker Chirurgic Collage is run by the Doctors guild and specializes in potions and healing magic. Kriegmagie is the Hoog Bevel’s school of war magic and is only open to members of the army and city watch.
Use Invisible Castle for rolls if you can.
Also did you pick the at-will power or the +1/power item?
The Mages guild runs several schools of study as does the Doctors guild and the Hoog Bevel has a training course for war magic. The Mages guild schools are the Keizer Magische Collage the oldest and most prestigious school known dating back over 400 years to the founding of the last human empire. During the fall of the empire the Keizer Magische moved its library and artifacts to its current location in the Gables. The Rictoven school of Thaumaturgy is the largest school and located in the upper city and last is the Genera City Archives, sort of a pay per lesson magic school open to everyone who can pay the fees it also doubles as the cities library. Apotheker Chirurgic Collage is run by the Doctors guild and specializes in potions and healing magic. Kriegmagie is the Hoog Bevel’s school of war magic and is only open to members of the army and city watch.Use Invisible Castle for rolls if you can.
Also did you pick the at-will power or the +1/power item?
Thank you, I'll go and make the adjustments to his background then and add all those Invisible Castle rolls too.
Went with the extra at-will power for the guild rep choice; as an aside, one of the at-wills, the encounter power, and one of the daily powers were from the E-Dragon 364 and two of the chosen rituals from the E-Dragon 366- apparently they were included with the 4th ed Character builder beta program (it was for free, what can I say?)- I can substitute those three and the two rituals if necessary.
Between the choice of Keizer Magische Collage and the Genera City Archives, I ended up going with the Genera City Archives due to the fact that part of his "religious adherence" is to Ioun, who is portrayed as being all about the libraries and all that "bookwormery" stuff.
Edit: Also made certain to adjust for some other minor details.
Also, I hesitate to bring this up, but ...
WotC has ruled that minotaurs no longer use oversized weapons in Dragon 369. They do, however, get some other abilities in place of that lost one.
Of course, it's up to Ubermensch to rule on this, and I don't care one way or the other, but the balance issues involved in oversized weapons can be messy.
O
I don't mind making the change. Is the change listed in the character builder or someplace else?
I'm at work so I'll have to look it up later today.
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Also, I hesitate to bring this up, but ...
WotC has ruled that minotaurs no longer use oversized weapons in Dragon 369. They do, however, get some other abilities in place of that lost one.
Of course, it's up to Ubermensch to rule on this, and I don't care one way or the other, but the balance issues involved in oversized weapons can be messy.
O
I don't mind making the change. Is the change listed in the character builder or someplace else?
I'm at work so I'll have to look it up later today.
I managed to get a copy so go ahead and make the changes now so when the PHB II comes out you won't have to make changes then. This is where i got my copy Scribd.com
Thank you. I've made the changes.
The Game is set, the opening is posted, to see what happens follow the link.
In case anyone missed it the game has been set up in the PBP section listed under 'Genera the city of Gold PBP'. Above is the link to the game.
I added the intiative rolls to my profile.
At Invisible Castle it is under the character name and the Campaign listing of Genera, City of Gold.
I added my Initiative rolls.
I added the +2 for my Combat Leader class feature. Everyone else will still need to add this.
O
I added my Initiative rolls.
I added the +2 for my Combat Leader class feature. Everyone else will still need to add this.
O
Heh, forgot to do that m'self, so I might as well go and do so.
On an unrelated note, it does seem that Jonas has found his "inner voice", so to speak- interestingly enough, that voice seems to end up inside my head as being an unholy combination of Anthony Daniel's C-3PO and Lost in Space's Dr. Smith, soundwise. ;P
I added my Initiative rolls.
I added the +2 for my Combat Leader class feature. Everyone else will still need to add this.
O
Heh, forgot to do that m'self, so I might as well go and do so.
On an unrelated note, it does seem that Jonas has found his "inner voice", so to speak- interestingly enough, that voice seems to end up inside my head as being an unholy combination of Anthony Daniel's C-3PO and Lost in Space's Dr. Smith, soundwise. ;P
I'm not 100% sure how UberDM is planning to use the Init rolls, so I'm not sure whether you should add the +2 to the rolls now or if he should do it when it's time to fight. I suspect it should either be marked one way or the other on your profile or we should all do the same thing for consistency's sake. I went ahead and added mine, just because I always get the bonus ...
O
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I added my Initiative rolls.
I added the +2 for my Combat Leader class feature. Everyone else will still need to add this.
O
Heh, forgot to do that m'self, so I might as well go and do so.
On an unrelated note, it does seem that Jonas has found his "inner voice", so to speak- interestingly enough, that voice seems to end up inside my head as being an unholy combination of Anthony Daniel's C-3PO and Lost in Space's Dr. Smith, soundwise. ;P
I'm not 100% sure how UberDM is planning to use the Init rolls, so I'm not sure whether you should add the +2 to the rolls now or if he should do it when it's time to fight. I suspect it should either be marked one way or the other on your profile or we should all do the same thing for consistency's sake. I went ahead and added mine, just because I always get the bonus ...
O
Adding the +2 would be situational depending if Thewl is in the combat with the other characters.
Adding the +2 would be situational depending if Thewl is in the combat with the other characters.
Point well taken- will change the +2 to a different colored font to make it easy to distinguish the two scores
In my real-life game, one of the hardest things to keep track of are all the various conditions that can affect all the PCs and NPCs. (We use the Alea Tools magnets, btw, which are a god-send.)
It might be helpful if we all make clear any conditions that are affecting our characters (including bloodied status), as often as possible. Each player could mention his/her condition at the top of each post in combat and UberDMensch might copy & paste the initiative order and describe the NPCs' conditions there.
Just a thought.
O
In my real-life game, one of the hardest things to keep track of are all the various conditions that can affect all the PCs and NPCs. (We use the Alea Tools magnets, btw, which are a god-send.)
It might be helpful if we all make clear any conditions that are affecting our characters (including bloodied status), as often as possible. Each player could mention his/her condition at the top of each post in combat and UberDMensch might copy & paste the initiative order and describe the NPCs' conditions there.
Just a thought.
O
Great idea I will add the conditions in brackets beside the initiative order.
I use the Alea magnets for my tabletop games as well. The only problems I have with them is the magnets sometimes push/pull the minis out of the squares they are in.
Great idea I will add the conditions in brackets beside the initiative order.
I use the Alea magnets for my tabletop games as well. The only problems I have with them is the magnets sometimes push/pull the minis out of the squares they are in.
We found there are two things that help with this issue: 1) make sure all the magnets are facing the same way. Ie, make sure the logos are up on all the magnets.
2) We found a magnetic battlemat. This holds the magnets in place and keeps things from being pushed around by the Alea magnets.O
There's supposed to be a blizzard coming my way and I'll be offline for awhile. I'll be back as soon as I can.
Back now and will check on the thread.
How do you like the game so far? Would you like to see more combat, less rollplay or vice virsa?
Let me know how you feel about the game and where you want me to take it.
Sorry about missing this topic earlier- for my two cents, things seem to be going along well enough- the combination of rollplay and combat seem to be at a good ratio for me (can't really speak for anyone else).