If you're going to include this feat, I suggest doing away with all half-breed classes, and call this "Half-blood". For the price of a feat, you're a mutt from one race and a racial ability from another. You can choose which basis you'd prefer, it would affect which parent race you favor, and eliminate a lot of the crap about half-orcs and half-elves. No arguing about how half-elves aren't as good as elves...they can be elves who blow a feat to gain more skill points (yeah, some nice half-elven potential there) or humans who don't want to have to sleep, or something.
That's not a bad suggestion at all. In fact, it's rather elegant. Lemme think on it.
... but I rewrote most of the game because I disagreed with the fundamental assumptions about how it should work.
Fair 'nuff. There's no time to incorporate your rules in my current campaign, but I'm looking forward to playtesting them in the future, if I can figure out all the errata posted since the 2.0 docs went up. :)
I'm looking forward to playtesting them in the future, if I can figure out all the errata posted since the 2.0 docs went up.
If you wait a year or so, v. 3.0 (with the current crop of bugs worked out) will hopefully be ready. I'll work with TOZ when he gets back to get those rules posted online.
If you wait a year or so, v. 3.0 (with the current crop of bugs worked out) will hopefully be ready. I'll work with TOZ when he gets back to get those rules posted online.
I guess I can wait. In the meantime I've picked up some of your combat rules for my gladiator campaign. All the best!
I am making a villain for my PCs to encounter and I am seeking some class choice/build advice:
So I am going for a scythe wielding, trickster, slight magic user.
He will most likely be crazy. Kind of like a scarecrow, joker, sith feeling guy.
I was thinking either Bard (skald), Inquisitor, cleric, or battle sorceror.
I want the spells to be flashy and his martial prowess to be pretty impressive (not fighter style but a force to at least be recognized)
The spells can be something of an illusion, enchantment, necromancy. Havent really thumbed a type of caster, just that I want it to have a dark feel to it.
Haven't decided on a race (though I think Hobgoblin might be a great candidate to ad extra malice)
what do you guys think? I haven't built a villain in Kirthfinder yet and I want to give my level 4 players a taste of the first Kirthfinder NPC I make. Just a little direction in method would be helpful
Thanks in advance.
I was thinking either Bard (skald), Inquisitor, cleric, or battle sorceror.
I'd go with battle sorcerer, and give him Innate Metamagic (Channel Spell) to channel his eldritch blast into his scythe attacks -- but only if he's up against mooks or forced into melee. He's far better off staying at a distance and using spells as long as possible. His high Cha, coupled with the Leadership feat, can give him some semi-tough bodyguards so that he doesn't get instantly totalled.
I was thinking either Bard (skald), Inquisitor, cleric, or battle sorceror.I'd go with battle sorcerer, and give him Innate Metamagic (Channel Spell) to channel his eldritch blast into his scythe attacks -- but only if he's up against mooks and forced into melee -- he's far better off staying at a distance and using spells as long as possible. His high Cha, coupled with the Leadership feat, can give him some semi-tough bodyguards so that he doesn't get instantly totalled.
School of choice Necromancy, Illusion or Enchantment you think?
And is there a feat mechanic for instilling fear and benefitting form such?
School of choice Necromancy, Illusion or Enchantment you think? And is there a feat mechanic for instilling fear and benefitting form such?
Look at the Staredown feat; with your Cha and maxing out Bluff, you should be able to intimidate any number of mooks. For bloodline (which would help determine school), you could go Undead and necromancy if you want to emphasize the scythe/death connection, but I'd lean towards wicked fey or whatever, or maybe take the Beguiler bloodline, and go for save-or-lose enchantments.
Make sure his bodyguards have the protect ally and movement blocking type feats. They hold off martials while he throws spells to weaken them, and when the remnants finally get close to him, he drops them with his blast-channeling scythe.
School of choice Necromancy, Illusion or Enchantment you think? And is there a feat mechanic for instilling fear and benefitting form such?Look at the Staredown feat; with your Cha and maxing out Bluff, you should be able to intimidate any number of mooks. For bloodline (which would help determine school), you could go Undead and necromancy if you want to emphasize the scythe/death connection, but I'd lean towards wicked fey or whatever, or maybe take the Beguiler bloodline, and go for save-or-lose enchantments.
Make sure his bodyguards have the protect ally and movement blocking type feats. They hold off martials while he throws spells to weaken them, and when the remnants finally get close to him, he drops them with his blast-channeling scythe.
GAHHHH!
I forgot you brought back the Beguiler.
My choice is set.
BTW thanks for that, was one of my favorite classes from the PH2. Made casters so much darker and interesting to me. Beguiler Battle Sorceror that uses a scythe.
EDIT:
Hey Kirth I dont know how you feel about this but I "Kirthfinder Villain database" wouldn't suck. I can that for me at least. A place to pull an NPC off the cuff whenever you want a decently challenging battle for your PCs without digging through a monster book.
I wouldn't mind posting Jack "The Grin" Raventear there when I am finished with him. (or here if people wanted) just a thought I guess.
Hey Kirth I don't know how you feel about this but a "Kirthfinder Villain database" wouldn't suck. I can that for me at least. A place to pull an NPC off the cuff whenever you want a decently challenging battle for your PCs without digging through a monster book. I wouldn't mind posting Jack "The Grin" Raventear there when I am finished with him. (or here if people wanted) just a thought I guess.
Can you start a new thread for it when you post him? I wouldn't mind seeing it. And I'll match you 1:1 when you do.
Merged the Sow Terror feat into the Bluff skill; you can attempt it if trained in Bluff and you have 5+ ranks in Stealth.
For people nostalgic for 1e, like houstonderek, and in honor of the highly-social-conscious Kingdom of Aviona in my homebrew world, I present two totally-optional "Secondary Stats" that people can use to flesh out their characters:
COMELINESS
Race ... Adjustment
Orc, half-orc ... -3
Hobgoblin ... -2
Dwarf, gnome ... -1
Halfling, human ... 0
Half-elf, wood elf ... +1
High elf, river-folk ... +2
A high comeliness therefore suggests a “classical” beauty as defined by elves, as appropriate for the Aviona campaign setting. Comeliness has no mechnical advantages or disadvantages unless you're trying to seduce someone, and I don't really care at present to work up rules for that.
SOCIAL CLASS
Social Class ... Civilian Status ... Military Status
3 or below ... Slave ... —
4 – 5 ... Outlaw ... —
6 – 7 ... Servant/field hand ... —
8 – 9 ... Tradesman ... Private
10 – 11 ... Professional ... Corporal
12 – 13 ... Skilled professional ... Sergeant
14 – 15 ... Land owner ... Lieutenant
16 – 17 ... Knight ... Captain
18 – 19 ... Baronet ... Major
20 – 21 ... Baron ... Colonel
22 – 23 ... Earl/count ... General
24 – 25 ... Marquis ... Supreme Warlord
26 – 27 ... Duke ... —
Depending on one’s kingdom of origin, race might also influence his or her starting social class. The Kingdom of Northwind is highly egalitarian, for example; no racial modifiers to Social Class apply there. For locations such as the Estren Frontier, social class receives no racial modifiers, but starting social class can generally be no higher than 15.
Race ... Aviona/Aramni
Dwarf, hill ... -1/-2
Dwarf, mountain* ... +1/-2
Elf, high ... +2/-4
Elf, wood* ... -1/-3
Elf, half- ... +1/-2
Gnome ... 0/-2
Halfling ... -2/-1
Hobgoblin ... -1/0
Human ... 0/+2
Orc ... -2/0
Orc, half- ... -2/+1
River-folk ... 0/-4
* Under normal circumstances, wood elves are never found outside of the Estren Territories, and mountain dwarves are not found above-ground at all. The modifiers shown apply to exceptional PCs of one of these races venturing beyond their typical borders.
It is important to note that social class should not be fixed at the starting value; it should rise and fall according to the ongoing events in the campaign. Also, there is generally only very limited reciprocity from one kingdom to another.
@ Christopher:
Sorry for the delay. I appreciate your extreme care and diligence in proofreading; anything I haven't specifically replied to, be assured I've read and am digesting. One quick reply while I'm thinking of it:
Did you merge the elven accuracy feat, and how many times a day can you reroll the miss chance?
Merged it into the +6 BAB function of Precise Shot. You get 1 reroll per miss due to full concealment.
Kirth, I have FTP access again. If you want to e-mail me updates, I can replace the files on the webspace now. May take some time, but I have nothing but that out here.
Sure, if it helps the day go by.
As a heads up, the races document linked has a new treatment of "half-races" like half-elves and half-orcs, with guidelines on making your own. There's also a section for a few "level adjusted" halfbreed races like the aasimar and feytouched.
The feats simply contain the errata discussed here and under the Egg of Coot.
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Kirth, do you have a list of all the sources that you used for the feats? I'm compiling my own set of rules for 2.0 version of my home brewed world, and it would made my life easier if I could know which sources to ignore, and which to pursue. My game will be slightly different, since the spontaneous casters will use mana points instead of spell slots, though, so I need to incorporate adequate feats into the mix.
Kirth, do you have a list of all the sources that you used for the feats?
Realms... hmmm. I borrowed the Incantatrix from Magic of Faerun and made it into a sorcerer bloodline... probably not too much past that, since I don't own any FR/Eberron supplements other than that one. (No guarantees on that though -- Silverhair had every supplement known to man, and I used to flip through whatever he brought every week).
Mostly, I hit the "Complete X" line pretty hard. And, of course, almost everything from the Tome of Battle ended up in there -- changed from their wonky spell-like mechanic into feats and class features instead.
I did borrow copies of Monte Cook's Book of Experimental Might and Mike Mearls' Iron Heroes from the group and used a few ideas from those, but ended up modifying them so much that they may not resemble the original material all that closely anymore. Really wasn't all that impressed with them, though.
You can check them out by clicking on my profile.
I will, thanks.
I think you did a great job with your new races document. Couple questions: For the high elf why do they not get martial proficiency with the smallsword but do get exotic weapon proficiency with it?
Very interesting how you changed the lightning reflexes feat, do you want to state "Elf paragons gain Lightning Reflexes as a bonus feat for this class." instead.
For elf paragon do you want to add (any) to the craft and profession skills? For the weapon focus bonus feat do you want it to include the smallsword; also for the wood elf's choice do you want it to include the spear (since they do not gain weapon familiarity with the spear)?
I will start looking through these documents for any errata as time permits.
I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but I'd just like to point out that the weapons list could still use some fact-checking on the real weapons they're meant to represent, especially weight wise.
A few specific cases-
1) Battle axe lists Dane axe as one of the weapons it represents, but a Dane axe is a two-handed weapon.
2) For falchion, weight is listed as 6 lbs., when 3 would be much better if you're going for kreigsmesser, etc.
There's plenty more, and I know it's not a high-priority issue, but I just thought I'd point it out.
1. Battle axe lists Dane axe as one of the weapons it represents, but a Dane axe is a two-handed weapon.
2. For falchion, weight is listed as 6 lbs., when 3 would be much better if you're going for kreigsmesser, etc.
1. The Danish Axe was one of those corner-cases, where for 90% of the populace it was 2-handed, but for a big enough, strong enough guy, he might be able to get away with it one-handed. In other words, it was what 3.5e would call a "war axe." When I merged the war axe in with the battleaxe, the Danish Axe sort of went along for the ride. I could see re-separating it, but I'd probably instead go with the following: a big enough Danish Axe would be a greataxe; one small enough to use in one hand would be a battleaxe.
2. Almost all of the 3e/PF weapon weights are roughly double what they should be. I went through and reduced a number of them, but there are probably quite a few that slipped past. Anyway, the falchion, historically, is more like the broadsword in these rules; the game "falchion" was called that only due to 3.X convention -- it's supposedly representing a two-handed scimitar, so I wanted it to weigh more than the 1-handed swords. The historical Kriegsmesser ranged in size from longsword-sized to some that were too big for actual use; I figure the game stats will reflect a fairly large model.
For elf paragon do you want to add (any) to the craft and profession skills?
Beat you to it! Thanks to your catches of all the previous instances, I was on the lookout for them, and fixed them -- unfortunately right after I emailed the document to TOZ.
Over the weekend, to give myself a break from working on my tax return, I statted a vampire class progression for people infected mid-game. Basically, you get one undead HD that carries all the vampire weaknesses (and almost none of the powers), and can then continue to advance using PC classes and/or in the vampire "class" (Savage Species-like, but with undead HD and skill points instead of HD-less "levels," which I despise). At 4th level in the latter, you're equal to a vampire-spawn (plus your previous class levels); at 8th you're equal to a full vampire (with 8 undead HD plus previous class HD); at 12th you're a full vampire lord.
1. Battle axe lists Dane axe as one of the weapons it represents, but a Dane axe is a two-handed weapon.
2. For falchion, weight is listed as 6 lbs., when 3 would be much better if you're going for kreigsmesser, etc.
1. The Danish Axe was one of those corner-cases, where for 90% of the populace it was 2-handed, but for a big enough, strong enough guy, he might be able to get away with it one-handed. In other words, it was what 3.5e would call a "war axe." When I merged the war axe in with the battleaxe, the Danish Axe sort of went along for the ride. I could see re-separating it, but I'd probably instead go with the following: a big enough Danish Axe would be a greataxe; one small enough to use in one hand would be a battleaxe.
2. Almost all of the 3e/PF weapon weights are roughly double what they should be. I went through and reduced a number of them, but there are probably quite a few that slipped past. Anyway, the falchion, historically, is more like the broadsword in these rules; the game "falchion" was called that only due to 3.X convention -- it's supposedly representing a two-handed scimitar, so I wanted it to weigh more than the 1-handed swords. The historical Kriegsmesser ranged in size from longsword-sized to some that were too big for actual use; I figure the game stats will reflect a fairly large model.
Oops- I didn't notice you included war axe in battle axe, so my bad. That's probably fine then, since I noticed you used greataxe for the really big stuff.
I understand why you used the falchion name there, too. 3-4 pounds still gets what you're going for though, as many scimitars are under 2 lbs.
Kirth,
What's your opinion on the alternate AC rules from Unearthed Arcana and the SRD? Namely the Defense Bonus (Here) and the Armor as damage Reduction (Here) alternate rules?
I don't like the defense bonus rules at all, because at the end of the day, while they might save a martial character a little bit of money in the long run, for the most part they basically give a huge free AC boost to casters. I attempted to get around that adding the canny defense trade-in for martial classes, which provides much smaller bonuses, encourages high mental stats, and specifically doesn't get handed out to sorcerers and wizards. Past that, monks also get agile dodge (and fighters can pick that as a talent), and there's a rage power for barbarians to get that same boost as well.
I agree that to some extent there's no reason anyone would ever take banded mail if full plate is available. I'd rationalized that as "some armors are just better than others," but on reflection it might be nice to give some love to plain leather armor. Either armor proficiencies would have to be drastically overhauled (ugh) or the max dex and armor check penalty system would need to be more extreme. Dunno.
Regarding armor as DR, that would entail reworking all of the DR options sprinkled liberally throughout the houserules (armor training talent, barbarian class feature, most 3rd level sorcerer bloodline powers...), which is something I'd hate to have to go back and undo.
I'm not sure if this has been brought up yet (there are a lot of posts in this thread...) but how many uses per day does the Feytouched get with each of it's spell-like abilities? Nothing is listed, which indicates probably either 1/day or at will (although the latter is probably only in my dreams...).
I like the revisions to the Races section, btw. Much more consistent and neatly incorporating a lot of the racial substitution features in a less-confusing manner.
I'm not sure if this has been brought up yet (there are a lot of posts in this thread...) but how many uses per day does the Feytouched get with each of it's spell-like abilities? Nothing is listed, which indicates probably either 1/day or at will (although the latter is probably only in my dreams...). I like the revisions to the Races section, btw. Much more consistent and neatly incorporating a lot of the racial substitution features in a less-confusing manner.
Thanks! Unless otherwise noted, all SLAs are 1/day.
Page 1 Under languages sylvan and wood elf are not in alphabetical order.
Page 2 Do you want the craft skill to be (Var) rather than (Int)? Do you want to add the smallsword to the weapon proficiencies for the elf paragon? For weapon focus do you want to change the wording to “apply to the rapier, long sword, short sword, short bow, or smallsword. Wood elf paragons must choose the hand axe, short bow, longbow, or spear.”?
Page 5 Under the Spellcasting entry for the human paragon do you want to change the wording to “He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, bard abilities, and so on).”? For hill dwarf do you want to say diverged from “their” mountain brethren?
Page 6+7 Under spell resistance do you want to change to 5 + “your” character level?
Page 8 Do you want to reword the sentence to gnomes are fey creatures “and” can be found? For gnome languages sylvan is in both the free and choice categories; also their language choices are not in alphabetical order.
Page 9 For goblin, you left the physical description blank. Also for goblin’s additional traits choices, which are the two additional choices they can gain, I would suspect that keen senses, sneaky, and wolf rider are optional if selected rather than free for all goblins.
Page 10 Under goblin paragon, the class skills do not have their (attribute) listed. Under weapon proficiency I believe you would like to say (“they” prefer spiked maces). Under intimidating prowess would you reword to “Add your Strength modifier to Bluff checks to browbeat in addition”? Finally, under attribute boost would you rather say “your height reaches seven feet”?
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Found another interesting collection of houserules.
Also, we're totally doing a credits page when we submit this to Lulu. Chris needs recognition.
Also, we're totally doing a credits page when we submit this to Lulu. Chris needs recognition.
I agree. I've added a Credits section to the main houserules master document, as follows (real names redacted here in favor of screen names):
for goblin’s additional traits choices, which are the two additional choices they can gain, I would suspect that keen senses, sneaky, and wolf rider are optional if selected rather than free for all goblins.
Goblins are Small (+1 trait), and give up a racial feat for 2 traits. That makes [2 traits base + 1 (small) + 2 (in exchange for feat)] = 5 total. Small size + five traits are listed, so there's little choice involved. If I can come up with some more options for them, then I'll separate out mandatory vs. optional (suggestions are welcome).
Found another interesting collection of houserules.
Some very nice stuff there. I'm just perusing the barbarian -- I love the way all the class features scale with level.
Do you want the craft skill to be (Var) rather than (Int)?
I'm actually getting rid of all those notations with regards to class skills -- they're listed prominently in the skills section, so repeating them simply drives up the word count and wastes ink.
I am growing ever more tempted to eliminate 'class level' as a rubric, instead having all class features/feats/etc use character level to determine uses/save DCs/damage/other level dependent effects.
Hmmm... I don't really want a bard 1/barbarian 1/druid 1/favored soul 1/fighter 1/monk 1/ranger 1/rogue 1/wizard 1 to have CL 9th, greater rage, sneak attack +5d6, a CL 9th animal companion, etc.
Until someone can think of a better "patch," I like the current multiclass features that give effective level A' = A + 1/2 B, and B' = 1/2 A + B.
Page 10 In the beginning Halfling description would you reword your sentence to “and have an unusually high incidence of being in servant positions, etc. vs. better jobs.”
Page 11 Under hard headed I think “gain Arcane Defense (illusions) as a bonus feat” would sound better. For sure footed do you need to add the descriptive clause after “gain skill synergy (physical prowess)”? Do you still want to give the + 1 bonus to Halflings to attack with thrown weapons and slings, you could just make it a racial trait choice. When you say any one sling of their choice for halflings, do you mean they can chose from the staff sling and sling or are there other types of slings?
Page 12 Under Halfling paragon class skills bluff is out of alphabetical order. Under you save bonus ability skittish does not grant any save bonus as written, do you want to remove the reference to it. Under skill synergy ninja do you need the clause that spells out what it does? Would you reword weapon training to “effects of the fighter’s Weapon Training talent with thrown weapons and slings.” Under the orc heading would you want to change “citizens” to “citizenship”? You spell out pounds so it does not need a period after the word. You left off any choices for the orc’s favored class bonus options though you mention they can gain some.
Page 13 Under intimidating prowess I believe you want to change the wording to “Add your Strength modifier to bluff checks to browbeat”. For orc weapon familiarity falchion alphabetically comes before great axe. I think your last orc paragraph should be reworded to “Some orcs have escaped from slavery and reforged the chains of their imprisonment into deadly weapons. Orcs with this background lose the proficiencies noted above, but gain Martial Weapon Proficiency (flails and whips) as a bonus feat. Those already proficient in all martial weapons from a class feature also gain Exotic proficiency with the heavy flail and the spiked chain.” Under orc paragon dwarves comes before elves alphabetically. I would reword a part in the rage section to “understand and draw upon the natural ferocity coursing through his blood.”
Page 14 Change hydrids to hybrids. Under languages gnome is not in alphabetical order. For the attribute modifiers, you spell the attributes out in the other sections so you should do it here also to be consistent; I would also place the attribute that gains a -2 penalty last to be consistent. Under racial traits delete the hyphen in feytouched to be consistent. Under quickling speed you want to still give the +1 to initiative along with the free feat?
Page 15 In the feytouched paragon class skills sense motive should be deleted. Under weapon and armor proficiency change river-folk to feytouched. Under Fey type “becomes” should be “become”. Under spell like abilities delete the 5 references to half-fey in this section and table, converting the references to feytouched. In the table disguise self comes before hypnotism alphabetically. Under the fey sorcery section I would change the wording to “you can choose to give up your entire feytouched paragon spell-like abilities.” Under fey immunity I would reword it to “This ability replaces the fey immunities racial feat in the feytouched base racial features.”
As an aside, I did not see an age, height, and weight table for your races, are you going to make one up? Also I have no doubt that goblins of golarian will have a few options to mine for alternate racial feats and traits for your goblins.
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I am growing ever more tempted to eliminate 'class level' as a rubric, instead having all class features/feats/etc use character level to determine uses/save DCs/damage/other level dependent effects.Hmmm... I don't really want a bard 1/barbarian 1/druid 1/favored soul 1/fighter 1/monk 1/ranger 1/rogue 1/wizard 1 to have CL 9th, greater rage, sneak attack +5d6, a CL 9th animal companion, etc.
Until someone can think of a better "patch," I like the current multiclass features that give effective level A' = A + 1/2 B, and B' = 1/2 A + B.
Caster level 9 with only 1st level spells. Sneak Attack isn't a level dependent benefit. Neither is rage. Animal companions aren't that special.
Sneak Attack isn't a level dependent benefit. Neither is rage.
As written, they both sort of are, so it would have to be spelled out VERY carefully what "counts" and what doesn't.
First, let me say bravo: your house rules are awesome.
I'm thinking about cribbing Battle Fatigue for my current game, but I have a couple of questions pertaining to how the mechanic interacts with "regular" fatigue.
- Do the fatigue descriptors for light wound and heavy wound replace the fatigued and exhausted conditions? If I cast touch of fatigue, does it impart penalties to attacks, damage, AC, saves, checks, spells, etc., or simply -2 to Str & Dex?
- Do these conditions stack with other fatigue effects? For example, if a barbarian is reduced to fewer than 50% of her hit points while raging (invoking battle fatigue, the effects of which are suppressed by the rage), and then ends the rage (becoming fatigued), does she immediately become exhausted?
- Does battle fatigue end if a character is brought back above the hit point threshold, or must it be dealt with like normal fatigue?
Thanks!
I'm thinking about cribbing Battle Fatigue for my current game, but I have a couple of questions pertaining to how the mechanic interacts with "regular" fatigue.
1. Do the fatigue descriptors for light wound and heavy wound replace the fatigued and exhausted conditions? If I cast touch of fatigue, does it impart penalties to attacks, damage, AC, saves, checks, spells, etc., or simply -2 to Str & Dex?
2. Do these conditions stack with other fatigue effects? For example, if a barbarian is reduced to fewer than 50% of her hit points while raging (invoking battle fatigue, the effects of which are suppressed by the rage), and then ends the rage (becoming fatigued), does she immediately become exhausted?
3. Does battle fatigue end if a character is brought back above the hit point threshold, or must it be dealt with like normal fatigue?
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Zac,
Glad you like them!In answer to your specific questions:
1. Yes, fatigue and exhaustion are somewhat expanded, intentionally, so that they affect casters as much as they do warriors.
2. Good question! Unless otherwise noted, like-named things overlap, rather than stack. For the barbarian, it is so noted in the rage description: "If you are already fatigued, you become exhausted instead (if already exhausted, you become unconscious)."
3. Yes -- and this is really the only real difference from "normal" fatigue. If a character is fatigued from exertion and damage, the fact that they overlap means that regaining lost hp ends one of the causes of the fatigue, but not the other, so you're still fatigues until you rest.