|
I'm working on a campaign at the moment that is a gothic horror type game and I want the setting to be in the style of old Victorian London. I want magic to be a little low and I want to combine it with a bit of science like having Tesla Coils, lots of Alchemy, mixing machines with magic etc...
Here are the classes that I am allowing: Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Ninja(Must be from the Far East), Alchemist, Gunslinger(Early Firearms), Witch, and Sorcerer. I thought about Inquisitors but I don't want any divine type characters in my game but I will give it a think.
I'm in two minds about races. I'm not sure if I want to go with all human or human, elf, and dwarf. If I decide to go elf and dwarf also then I have this idea about something happened long ago that caused elves and dwarves to lose their higher life span and gain one comparable to humans. I also want to make elves very Aristocratic and dwarves more merchants and craftsmen.
Now since I have limited healing classes in my line up, I'm kind of worried about will there be enough healing?
If you have any ideas about anything then please share it.
Dotting this and i'll add some suggestions when I get home
I would consider going with the bard instead of sorcerer as that lowers the casting some too (personally I think witch works as it's one of the most limited of the full casters). Summoner might be decent too as it allows for a bit of lovecraftian fun.
Personally I think you are falling into a bit of a mental trap requiring ninja's to be from the far east but hey your game.
I personally picked racial pairs for my campaign -- dwarves work well with ratfolk and elves and lizardfolk are allies in my current campaign world (they are also from more tropical instead of simply forest). Humans and catfolk are the plains people while gnolls and halflings are my roamers out of the desert.
|
|
I would consider going with the bard instead of sorcerer as that lowers the casting some too (personally I think witch works as it's one of the most limited of the full casters). Summoner might be decent too as it allows for a bit of lovecraftian fun.
Personally I think you are falling into a bit of a mental trap requiring ninja's to be from the far east but hey your game.
I personally picked racial pairs for my campaign -- dwarves work well with ratfolk and elves and lizardfolk are allies in my current campaign world (they are also from more tropical instead of simply forest). Humans and catfolk are the plains people while gnolls and halflings are my roamers out of the desert.
I agree with swapping Sorcerer for Bard.
I'm keeping Ninja's with the default theme because it works well with my game.
The racial relations are a big part of making the world work in my eyes -- I generally start small area and then angle out. For example I start with a town, but its economy why it is where it is how it works etc -- it doesn't have to be really specific, the players just want to know the place works not who the middle management is.
|
|
Well with my city just imagine London having been built on top of itself for several hundred years. The sewers are an absolute maze of catacombs, sewer tunnels, old sections of city that once housed old processing plants etc.. The rich live on the top level while the lower class live on the lower levels until you get to the bottom which houses the lowlife of society.
Do you have a couple of specific areas to work in? Places you have detailed out and some actual NPCs to boot? Do your players know what you are looking for and out of them, or are they going to set the tone?
|
|
Also I would allow Inquisitors, but insist they take Inquisitions (from Ultimate Combat) rather than domains.
As to the healing problem, I would recommend using the Vigor/Wounds system from Ultimate Combat, maybe adding a 15-minute refresh option once a day that allows PCs to recover all their Vigor (but not wounds). I'd also add "Battlefield surgery" as an option for the Heal skill, it takes 10 minutes and heals 1 hp/rank in the skill (or 1 wound/1 vigor per rank). DC 20, characters can take 20 but it takes 3 hours. Gives players a non-magic option for healing.
Well if we are doing London I would recommend ratfolk, at least for the lower levels. I would keep elves out of the most part, maybe a few in the upper sections and even fewer in the bottom but not much beyond that. Dwarves could probably be found at all levels if you wanted them. I wouldn't worry about healing options... there are plenty available already, especially if you are leaving the witch, inquisitor, alchemist and bard in there. Gilmen could make a nice choice around the lower waterways, and fetchlings are odd enough to fit too. A small area of kitsune could offer promise as your low end shapechangers -- I wouldn't make them known, but rumors of them should be enough. Vishkanyas as upper class could give a physical representation of just how poisonous society is as a whole (and could work as an 'elf substitute' for race of 'sophisticates').
I would divide the city up into subregions and but out from there personally, that way you can focus on an area at a time.
|
|
Also I would allow Inquisitors, but insist they take Inquisitions (from Ultimate Combat) rather than domains.
As to the healing problem, I would recommend using the Vigor/Wounds system from Ultimate Combat, maybe adding a 15-minute refresh option once a day that allows PCs to recover all their Vigor (but not wounds). I'd also add "Battlefield surgery" as an option for the Heal skill, it takes 10 minutes and heals 1 hp/rank in the skill (or 1 wound/1 vigor per rank). DC 20, characters can take 20 but it takes 3 hours. Gives players a non-magic option for healing.
Now that is fantastic! Thank you very much for the advice.
I'll give the Inquisitions a bit of a look over.
Fantastic starting place to bounce your own ideas off a fantastic campaign setting: Mask of Red Death d20
|
|
Fantastic starting place to bounce your own ideas off a fantastic campaign setting: Mask of Red Death d20
Thanks!
I had the old 2nd edition boxset and I loved it.