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These rules should be implemented when a DM tries to stay away from “The Big Six” magic items, and wishes to grant only very rare access to magic items.
The Big Six: magic weapons and amulet of mighty fists, magic armors and bracers, attribute-enhancing items, rings of protection, amulets of natural armor, cloaks of resistance.
Other recent threads discussing this topic: Zen79's and LordGriffin's.
No access is normally granted to magic item crafting feats.
Defensive Training
+1 enhancement bonuses to armor: L3, L6, L9, L11, L13, L15, L17, L18, L19, L20;
+1 deflection: L4, L9, L12, L15, L19;
+1 enhancement bonuses to natural armor: L5, L10, L13, L16, L20.
Enhancement bonuses to armor can be used to imbue a suit of armor with special abilities, like Fortification. The decision can be changed every time a new enhancement bonus to armor is gained.
Enhancement bonuses to armor can also be extended to another set of armor, like a shield, at the cost of one bonus point (for example, at level 11, a character can have a +4 enhancement bonus to its armor, a +1 enhancement bonus and a Ghost touch ability, or a +3 enhancement bonus to both its armor and shield.
The maximum enhancement bonus to armor can only be +5, the rest must be taken special abilities.
Resistance Training
+1 Primary Save: L3, L5, L9, L15, L20
+1 Secondary Save: L6, L8, L12, L16, L20
+1 Tertiary Save: L7, L10, L14, L17, L20
Physical and Mental Training
A character picks a primary and secondary set of attributes from either the Physical and the Mental sets.
+2 Primary set of attributes: L7, L9, L11, L13, L15, L17, L18, L19, L20
+2 Secondary set of attributes: L10, L13, L16, L18, L20
Martial Training
+1 enhancement bonus to weapon: BAB +4, +7, +10, +12, +14, +16, +17, +18, +19, +20.
A character can apply this bonus to more than one weapon, used simultaneously, albeit the bonus is reduced by one for an additional weapon, and by two, for all additional weapons.
A character can also use his martial training bonuses to imbue his weapon, through a day long meditation, with special abilities like flaming.
Esoteric Training
Every day, a full spellcaster can recollect a number of spells, whose levels add up to half his caster level. For example, an 11th level cleric can recollect up to five levels of spells: one 1st, one 2nd and one 3rd, or a single 5th level spell, etc.
The spells thus recollected have a minimum casting time of ten minutes.
Spell Storing
Spellcasters can imbue special items to store their magic. Items must be wielded for the magic to be restored, as a standard action, or more if the casting time was longer. A caster can have spells of levels adding up to his caster level stored at any one time. Putting spells into items takes one hour of preparation per spell level and expends the spell on the caster list. Only the spellcaster can use the item.
Vast Knowledge
Spellcasters know one extra spell per spell level they can cast. For the wizard, it is spells he can add to his spellbook. For the bard or the sorcerer, it is spells known.
Skill Training
Skill training is only available to character who have levels in classes other than full spellcaster or full BAB classes. For each five levels in those classes, they can select a skill as their focus. They receive an enhancement bonus of +5 to that skill.
Basic Brewing Training
Characters can use their knowledge to craft potions, ointments, oils, perfumes, sniffing powders, balms, etc. that reproduce certain spells.
A character must have a minimum of three ranks in the following skills to be able to try and make a brew: craft (alchemy), heal, knowledge (engineering), knowledge (nature), profession (baker), profession (brewer), profession (cook), profession (herbalist).
A character knows a limited number of recipes. The sum of the recipes’ spell levels is equal or lower than his ranks in the appropriate skill. The rules for determining which spell can be translated to a magic potion also apply for brews.
The costs of crafting a brew are twice those for making magic potions. The DC for the skill is 10 + (2 x spell level). A character can only make brews of spells equal to half his ranks in the appropriate skill. The basic training only allows to make brews of spell level three and below. The feat Intermediate Brewing Training is needed for spells of level four to six and the feat Advanced Brewing Training is needed for spells of level seven to nine.
Each skill is treated separately to determine the number of recipes, the DC and the maximum spell level possible. DMs may wish to link certain skills with certain particular spells.
Marks
Characters can use feats to gain spell-like abilities. Those feats grant special marks that scale with the level of the character.
Benign marks give access to a spell of level 1 or less, twice per day. For every four levels beyond the first, the character gets another use of the spell.
Lesser marks give access to a spell of level 3 or less, once per day. For every four levels beyond the fifth, the character gets another use of the spell. Characters must have the least mark of the same family and have a related skill with 5 ranks.
Greater marks give access to a spell of level 5 or less, once per day. For every four levels beyond the ninth, the character gets another use of the spell. Characters must have the lesser mark of the same family and have a related skill with 9 ranks.
Supreme marks give access to a spell of level 8 or less, once per day. For every four levels beyond the fifteenth, the character gets another use of the spell. Characters must have the greater mark of the same family and have a related skill with 15 ranks.
The following families of marks are available:
- Binding: B(Animate Rope), L(Hold Person or Crushing Despair), G(Hold Monster or Forceful Hand), S(Binding);
- Cunning: B(Misdirection or Obscuring Mist), L(Nondetection or Obscure Object or Shrink Item), G(Mislead or Modify Memory), S(Phase Door or Screen);
- Death: B(Ray of Enfeeblement or Death Knell), L(Ray of Exhaustion or Speak with Dead), G(Harm or Waves of Fatigue), S(Waves of Exhaustion);
- Detection: B(Detect Magic at will or Detect Poison at will or Find Trap), L(See Invisibility or Arcane Sight or Detect Scrying), G(True Seeing), S(Moment of Prescience);
- Finding: B(Locate Object), L(Locate Creature or Scrying), G(Find the Path), S(Discern Location);
- Freedom: B(Grease), L(Fly or Freedom of Movement), G(Break Enchantment or Passwall), S(Ethereal Jaunt or Mind Blank);
- Hospitality: B(Purify Food and Drinks at will or Prestidigitation at will or Unseen Servant), L(Create Food and Water or Tiny Hut or Secure Shelter), G(Hero’s Feast or Magical Mansion), S(Refuge);
- Hustling: B(Expeditious Retreat or Mount or Dimension Leap (ECS)), L(Phantom Steed or Dimension Door), G(Overland Flight or Teleport), S(Greater Teleport or Plane Shift);
- Life: B(Cure Light Wounds or Lesser Restoration), L(Cure Serious Wounds or Remove Disease or Restoration), G(Heal), S(Mass Cure Critical Wounds or Regenerate);
- Making: B(Make Whole or Repair Light Damage (ECS)), L(Minor Creation or Repair Serious Damage (ECS)), G(Fabricate or Major Creation), S(True Creation);
- Protection: B(Mage Armor or Protection from Arrows or Shield of Faith), L(Protection from Energy or Lesser Globe of Invulnerability), G(Globe of Invulnerability or Repulsion), S(Spell Turning or Mind Blank);
- Relation: B(Arcane Mark at will or Comprehend Languages or Whispering Wind), L(Illusory Script or Secret Page or Tongues), G(Sending or Dreams), S(Demand or Power Word Stun);
- Secrets: B(Disguise Self or Minor Image), L(Clairaudience/Clairvoyance or Zone of Silence), G(Prying Eyes or Programmed Image), S(Greater Prying Eyes or Greater Scrying);
- Thunder: B(Endure Elements or Fog Cloud or Gust of Wind), L(Sleet Storm or Wind Wall or Wind’s Favor (ECS)), G(Control Winds or Control Weather), S(Storm of Vengeance or Whirlwind);
- Truth: B(Zone of Truth or Command or Comprehend Languages), L(Invisibility Purge or Discern Lies), G(Legend Lore or Telepathic Bond), S(Greater Arcane Sight);
- Warding: B(Alarm or Arcane Lock or Fire Trap), L(Explosive Runes or Glyph of Warding), G(Faithful Hound or Greater Glyph of Warding or Guards and Wards), S(Dimensional Lock or Telekinetic Sphere);
As this is obviously adapted from the Eberron Campaign Setting, DMs may want to associate marks with certain races.
DR/Magic
This requirement is replaced by DR/Mithril. Mithril still is equivalent to silver regarding DR, but not the other way around.
Incorporeal opponents
Normally, magic weapon had a 50 % reduction of their damage, while ghost touch weapons were doing full damage. Silver and Mithril give the same advantage than magic weapons against incorporeal creatures.
Please Let me know what you think.
Regards,
DW
Do you have a setting in mind to go with that low magic setting rules?
Would it be low-magic enough to restrict players from playing spellcaster classes? If so, any thoughts about the lack of readily available healing spells and potions?
Do you have a setting in mind to go with that low magic setting rules?
Would it be low-magic enough to restrict players from playing spellcaster classes? If so, any thoughts about the lack of readily available healing spells and potions?
No setting in particular, though, as strange as it may sound, the game I DM is in a homebrew version of Eberron. I still have some work to do on the fluff, especially with the Artificer, though I have some ideas...
I didn't have class restriction in mind, only access to crafting feats. The lack of scrolls, potions, wands and staves is somehow balanced by some elements like Esoteric training, Vast knowledge and Spell storing.
Also, access to some spells is now easier for all classes, with brews and marks.
For sure, though, spellcasters will need to be a lot more careful with their spellcasting, which is not, IMO and in my game, problematic.
Regards,
DW
Could you please explain the notation you've used here, and how characters go about gaining these bonuses? I like the idea but it's unclear how to implement it.
The bonuses are gained at different levels (L3 means a bonus is gained at character level 3). So some bonuses are gained according to character level, other according to BAB.
Thus, a 6th level fighter would gain +2 to armor, +1 to deflection and natural armor, +2 to his primary save, +1 to his secondary and +1 enhancement to his weapons.
The "acceleration" at higher level is meant to reflect the same "acceleration" in wealth by level.
Marks are gained through feats. The list of marks shows which is gained through the Benign (B), Least (L), Greater (G) and Supreme (S). Going all the way in a mark requires 4 feats out of the ten regular one.
I hope this makes it a bit clearer.
Regards,
DW
Could you please explain the notation you've used here, and how characters go about gaining these bonuses? I like the idea but it's unclear how to implement it.The bonuses are gained at different levels (L3 means a bonus is gained at character level 3). So some bonuses are gained according to character level, other according to BAB.
Thus, a 6th level fighter would gain +2 to armor, +1 to deflection and natural armor, +2 to his primary save, +1 to his secondary and +1 enhancement to his weapons.
The "acceleration" at higher level is meant to reflect the same "acceleration" in wealth by level.
Marks are gained through feats. The list of marks shows which is gained through the Benign (B), Least (L), Greater (G) and Supreme (S). Going all the way in a mark requires 4 feats out of the ten regular one.
I hope this makes it a bit clearer.
Regards,
DW
so they are not chosen like feats, they are simply obtained by all characters at the requisite level is that correct?
You've got some pretty exhaustive detail put into your progressions, but I find myself thinking that the characters using it will feel just as magical as fully christmas-tree'd characters in a high-magic campaign. I mean, inherent enhancement bonuses to every stat up to their maximums? Every level 20 character has a base +5 Armor, +5 natural, +5 deflection to AC, plus a full +6 to all (mental or physical) ability scores, plus a bunch of random abilities relating to more spells known and per day, plus extra spell-like abilities via marks...
Essentially, it feels like the same old pile-it-on magic system, including the bookkeeping, but without any interesting decisions to be made about what you use, or how.
Obviously it's a personal choice as to how magical you want a low magic campaign to be, and if you want to leave encounters as they normally are, this sort of thing works. Its just not really enough of a departure from the default system for my tastes.
so they are not chosen like feats, they are simply obtained by all characters at the requisite level is that correct?
That's right, except for beyond Basic brewing and Marks.
You've got some pretty exhaustive detail put into your progressions, but I find myself thinking that the characters using it will feel just as magical as fully christmas-tree'd characters in a high-magic campaign. I mean, inherent enhancement bonuses to every stat up to their maximums? Every level 20 character has a base +5 Armor, +5 natural, +5 deflection to AC, plus a full +6 to all (mental or physical) ability scores, plus a bunch of random abilities relating to more spells known and per day, plus extra spell-like abilities via marks...
Essentially, it feels like the same old pile-it-on magic system, including the bookkeeping, but without any interesting decisions to be made about what you use, or how.
Obviously it's a personal choice as to how magical you want a low magic campaign to be, and if you want to leave encounters as they normally are, this sort of thing works. Its just not really enough of a departure from the default system for my tastes.
I totally agree with you, but it's more different than you would think, because characters are not shopping for those, they simply get more heroic, without relying on items.
It's a change in the fact that the power comes from the character as he accomplishes something. It's not coming from buying something or looting someone. Power is internal, instead of external. True, the stat changes are essentially the same (that was the goal), but the "heroic feel" is completely different IMO.
As for the bookkeeping, since all characters get the same bonuses, AND you don't have to follow up on who has what item, my experience tells me it will be simpler. In our RotRL campaign, we use cards because there's so many, so that we can be certain nothing is on two character sheets at the same time because we forgot to erase it (we're only level 8; I can only guess how big our pile of cards will be by level 12...).
Again, I totally agree that it's apples for oranges, but if you prefer apples a lot, then it can be worthwhile.
DW
Bump from the graaaaaaaave!
Hi there, pretty new on these forums and so I cannot figure out how to send a message to the originator of this thread. But thats alright really because I had a question for everyone!
Has anyone utilized this system (or something based of it)? and if so what were the results?
I am going to be starting a fairly powerful homebrew campaign as the DM and I love this idea, as it leaves room for the more interesting but less statistically useful items to shine I would cut wealth by level to probably a third of what it is though if I used this system.