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Continuing the discussion about modifying spell mechanics, I'd like to discuss. In 3.x/PF, cantrips are level 0 arcane spells (with orisons being level 0 divine spells). Their main feature in Pathfinder is that they can be used at-will, which is fine and dandy.
However, there's been some discussion as to making cantrips a specific type of spell that doesn't require you to expend spell slots, merely have them available (similar to reserve magic in 3.5). Aratrok really enjoyed the idea of spells that were very minor for their level but could be used as at-will abilities in exchange for not being able to use that spell slot for something else.
Something I find intriguing about this idea is that it means that if desired, some spells such as detect magic don't need to be spammable even though they're level 0 spells (I know many players and GMs have lamented how convenient it is to keep spells like this up constantly when just wandering around). I'll probably do a few polls in the near future to see which level 0 spells should be made non-cantrips and thus subject to usual expenditure mechanics.
Something I find MORE interesting is that this opens up some great routes for incorporating a shadowcasting-esque mechanic into some spells, where they can be treated as cantrips if you're using spells X levels higher than them. This seems like a pretty solid framework for bridging the divide between casting and monster casting through SLAs.
For example, most outsiders have a few basic spells as at-will SLAs, and a few big guns as x/day. Since I want to make monsters share mechanics more closely with players (facilitating a less stressful creation process for monsters, or clear routes for monstrous progressions if someone wants to play a bugbear or succubus or something) this avenue has a certain appeal.
It also means that certain spells could be made cantrips via class features and the like at certain levels. For example, an abjurer might be able to gain magic missile as a cantrip as long as it's cast with a level X or lower slot (so at high levels, magic missile becomes a filler spell for when you've got nothing more pertinent to cast at the moment or when you want to conserve power).
EDIT: A variant to this idea would be to lock a spell slot to a cantrip when you cast the cantrip. The spell slot would be effectively expended for the purposes of casting any other spells but you could keep using the cantrip over and over until you recovered your spell slots.
I feel like this might make cantrips less of a no-brainer and more a conscious choice since you're investing a slot into its use. That means that cantrips don't simply exist as freebie abilities so much as they are gifts that keep on giving.
EDIT 2: At the moment I've gone with the investment route. I want the at-will uses of spells to be an investment, not a freebie. I feel it makes it more fair this way since doing things like getting at-will lower level spells means giving something up. I think that's better design and doesn't result in just giving casters free spells at certain levels.
Something I find intriguing about this idea is that it means that if desired, some spells such as detect magic don't need to be spammable even though they're level 0 spells (I know many players and GMs have lamented how convenient it is to keep spells like this up constantly when just wandering around). I'll probably do a few polls in the near future to see which level 0 spells should be made non-cantrips and thus subject to usual expenditure mechanics.
yeah, i'm also still not sure what to do about cantrips. i'm okay with some spells being spammable, so i think i'm going to end up altering the casting time on things like detect magic. though i do like that idea you brought up. something needs to make having/using them a meaningful choice.
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Something I find intriguing about this idea is that it means that if desired, some spells such as detect magic don't need to be spammable even though they're level 0 spells (I know many players and GMs have lamented how convenient it is to keep spells like this up constantly when just wandering around). I'll probably do a few polls in the near future to see which level 0 spells should be made non-cantrips and thus subject to usual expenditure mechanics.yeah, i'm also still not sure what to do about cantrips. i'm okay with some spells being spammable, so i think i'm going to end up altering the casting time on things like detect magic. though i do like that idea you brought up. something needs to make having/using them a meaningful choice.
Well, there are some spells we'd really like to see as being fairly spammable (which includes stuff like prestidigitation, ray of frost, dancing lights, etc). However, some spells might be a bit much to allow at-will spamming without some sort of restrictions or drawbacks, hence the ability to tag spells as cantrips or not cantrips (so if during playtests we find that some traditional 0-level spells need to cool it on the spamming, or if they would be fine spammed if it cost you a higher level spell slot) is a boon.
For example, I personally don't mind create water as a cantrip, but some people really dislike that it more or less negates difficulties of things like desert travel. We could make it so that you couldn't cast it at will unless you devoted a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level slot to it, otherwise it was just a level 0 spell that was expended normally.
One thing I've been considering to make detect magic more reasonable is making it unreliable against certain kinds of magic if a high enough spell level wasn't expended to use it. For example, if you were trying to detect illusions or transmutation magics, the spell fails unless the spell slot locked into the spell was at least as high as the level of the spell to be detected (so a level 0 detect magic wouldn't detect a level 1 disguise self or a level 2 alter self and so forth).
I honestly think if it's changed to work that way, there's great benefits for upping the spell level of certain things like disguise self, and also making players expend more potent spells to try to foil higher level tricks. It also makes spells like magic aura more useful.
You planning to give us a preview of all that stuff?
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Another thing to consider...
Background for this idea:
I've been playing EQ again for the last few weeks. One thing you notice right away is that the magic is pretty defined: there are schools of magic (Abjuration, Conjuration, Evocation, Divination, etc) and each spell fits in one of these. As you cast, you raise ranks in that school, so the more spells of one type you cast, the less chance of a "fizzle" (it not going off but you spending your mana anyway) and the more oompf you get out of it when it goes off successfully.
Then there's bards, which is the main part of my suggestion.
Bards in D20 are neat, in that they can give group wide buffs to various things, and cast arcane spells of a certain nature (no somatic compenents, sound based, etc.) but mostly come off as a nerfed rogue-caster whose buffs slowly (or quickly if your class buffs are morale based) get overridden by other classes.
In EQ, however, bard "magic" is composed (no pun intended) of songs, that act like spells, except that they have no duration as long as you concentrate on them (don't stop them). In place of conjuration, evocation, etc, they have singing, strings, percussion, and wind instrument skills. Each song falls into one of these things. Any song can be performed by singing as a default, but you get extra oompf if you use the correct instrument or method of delivery.
Instead of fascination (or rather in addition to it; bard songs can "mezz"), they have these song "spells" that give a variety of group and personal bonuses. Almost like D20, the song's effect continues after the bard stops playing the song for a bit, and allows him or her to begin a new one, and run them concurrently. This is known in EQ as "twisting", which is keeping up the maximum number of buffs/effects active as the bard can manage. The bard can change the song rotations to keep up with situational things that the group may be experiencing (drop a haste song and allow it to expire in order to play a song that greatly enhances movement to get the hell out of there, for example).
The payoff for this amazing ability is, they don't actually "cast" any spells. They have some songs that aren't group wide, and are damaging, but never compare to a true direct damage or damage over time spell from a wizard. Their combat skills never quite get up to the ability of a warrior, but can get close with buffs from their songs, but damage mitigation is a problem.
I bring this up because I would like to see a bard diverge a bit from being a pseudo rogue, pseudo caster, and have it's own unique play style. I also don't think it would be too difficult to mimic in a D20 game.
Thoughts?
You planning to give us a preview of all that stuff?
Sure. I just got done with the portion that explains the difference between spontaneous & prepared casters so I'm probably going to start uploading stuff soonish.
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Something I just made. I can't decide what the heck to do with her legs though (so most everything from the waist down is super unfinished). Maybe I should just find a cool pair of boots and strap some daggers to 'em or somethin'.
EDIT: Also, for Clara, I decided to restart the marilith picture because I have a different idea for it. Just haven't actually started the restart yet.
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Nice!
if i wasn't eliminating spell slots and trying to make wizards and sorcerers (who don't exist in my setting because they're replaced entirely by wilders) more differenty, the cantrip tag seems like a really good idea. but part of how I want to make wizards different is to have their spells not scale. as of now, they can cast any spell in their spellbook at any time, but they have to read it from their spell book. not sure if that'll work out, but it's difficult to tell now when i haven't redone the spell lists yet.
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They have some songs that aren't group wide, and are damaging, but never compare to a true direct damage or damage over time spell from a wizard. Their combat skills never quite get up to the ability of a warrior, but can get close with buffs from their songs, but damage mitigation is a problem.
I bring this up because I would like to see a bard diverge a bit from being a pseudo rogue, pseudo caster, and have it's own unique play style. I also don't think it would be too difficult to mimic in a D20 game.
Thoughts?
Well, I can't promise too much but I can say that it's possible to not really care about your spellcasting at all in D20 Legends as a bard, or trade it out for a currently undetermined non-casting option.
The defining features of bards in D20 Legends is the performance. Currently almost all of their positive buffs have been accounted for, but they are without a doubt the supreme buffmeisters of the game. Nothing else comes close to one of them in terms of sheer force multipliers if you specialize them in buffing. They have the ability to specialize each of their inspirations to make them stronger, and have the ability to sync them together into a single performance known as a "symphony of inspiration" at the cost of eating more rounds of bardic music (but it combos exceedingly well with the Lingering Performance feat if you don't mind spending a standard action to refresh it periodically).
Currently it's intended to give them other performance options, including offensive performances that debuff enemies or inflict status ailments but they haven't really been written out yet (because working on classes has been on the backest of burners for a while since I've been trying to get stuff like combat & magic ironed out).
While some of it might not make a whole lot of sense since the rules aren't available for reference (yet, I'm working on it, I promise :P) most of this should be pretty legible to those familiar with d20. This is the buff that the bard can provide at end-game levels.
Symphony of Inspiration [Epiphany of Courage, Epiphany of Greatness, Epiphany of Heroics]
Cost 3 rounds of bardic music / round
Effect: Grants affected creatures a +5 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls; immunity to fear (or fear effects reduced by 2 steps if immunity is lost); +5 dodge bonus to AC; +5 morale bonus to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will defenses; total penalty to attack rolls from multiple attacks reduced by 2 (effectively allowing a free extra attack); +25 temporary hit points each round (refreshes, does not stack); +5 effective character level when determining level-based effects (such as determining the special attack modifiers of abilities, the effective caster level of spells, and the scaling of features such as a rogue's bonus damage dice).
Requires the bard to invest 6/10 of their talents into doing this and be 16th+ level but dear god. If you're on the opposing team, KILL HIM FIRST.
Looks promising :)
Cantrips, detect magic and create water.
What I did in my system is something like detect magic isn't automatic, rather it simply opens options. For example, casting detect magic doesn't make magic items automatically detected, instead, it simply makes them detectable with a normal perception check, the strength of the magic affecting the perception dc. In some ways it is better, because no range limits, but the fact that it runs on a skill check also weakens it, of course the dcs set for seeing magic should be high enough to make passive detection more difficult (my system is easier there than d20, as you get a bonus when specifically looking for something, like when searching a room, as opposed to watching for anything, like when keeping watch or marching.)
Things like create water can be made to deal with desert travel by saying it takes from the materials nearby, and thus the appropriate materials are needed. I.E. create water can take water from the air or sand, but only if there is water to be taken.
Allows it to be easily spammable, yet it can be blocked at appropriate times.
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For a spell like Detect Magic, you might opt to have multiple methods of casting. For example, when it is in a spell slot, it might let you have a skill check to notice magic, but you can also spend 1 minute casting it to create a magical pulse, which let's you do what the current spell does after 3 rounds of study, but for all items in the AoE.
You could make it so the "passive" detect magic gives a penalty on checks vs magic of higher spell slots. Perhaps certain schools or subschools 9f magic have inherent resistance to detection magic. Like, most illusions might be harder to detect due to the nature of the magic, but so too might polymorph spells and the like.
As for the psionic/magic thing, let me clarify. You mentioned wariness about merging spells like Charm Person > Monster because it might step on the toes of psionics. But why? Why would you create whole new psionic versions of magic spells instead of just using the same version.
For example make a "Charm Spell" that, at first level, allows you to charm humanoids, like Charm Person does. Then, if you slot it in a higher level slot, it can be used to Charm creatures of any tupe, or be used to Dominate humanoids.
Then, for psionic, just put in a paragraph or two that says when a spell allows casting from a higher level slot, psionic can achieve the same effect by manifesting it at a higher level.
This helps lower the overall redundant page count by having multiple versions of, essentially, the same spell.
I mean, you could do something very similar for many elemental spells too. Like a generic 1st level firespell (Burning Hands) can be morphed into Flaming Sphere as a 2nd level spell, or Fireball as a 3rd level spell etc. Might be too massive a buff for spontaneous casters though.
Or just ok at how SW does it. It does powers but doesn't really earmark them as different kinds, instead it basically gives an effect, then how you achieve that effect is handled by something else entirely.
You can do the same here. Have the spell, then have how arcane/divine/psionic/etc casters can achieve effects. Manifesting vs casting vs praying, and how slots are regained, etc, can all be handled by the entries on those types of magic instead of the spells themselves.
To be quite honest, I never understood d20's tendency to replicate mechanics with new names. It isn't just magic, but the various forms of precision damage, "rogue tricks," and other class features get replicated with new names a lot.
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Incoming lightning bolt in...3...2...1...
This is Azara, the iconic sorceress from my campaign setting. She's an aasimar with a fiery temper who travels with a rather timid tiefling named Kimoi. Azara has a particular appreciation for spells like shocking grasp and lightning bolt as she relishes the way the energy feels coursing across her body body and the smell of sizzling ozone around her. That feeling that travels through the bolt when she feels the arc connect with her target, the sudden release and tense of muscle and sinew that seems almost material across the link just really gets her blood pumping.
Azara is the scariest of the two and while she's not a bad person she isn't very interested in acting righteous just because people seem to naturally expect it of her. Perhaps oddly, Kimoi, who has had to struggle to be more than people expect of her has been a surprisingly good influence on the aasimar and her timid nature seems pretty effective at calming Azara's wrath.
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As for the psionic/magic thing, let me clarify. You mentioned wariness about merging spells like Charm Person > Monster because it might step on the toes of psionics. But why? Why would you create whole new psionic versions of magic spells instead of just using the same version.
That's more or less the same conclusion I came to as well. One of my initial concerns was that one of the most defining features of the 3.5/PF psionics system was the ability to scale stuff, so I pondered on the ramifications of that. Having given it some thought, I realized it would be a problem. Especially since psionics still has the appeal of being point-based and often have multiple augmentation options.
Truly the biggest concern is balancing the number of spells you'll want/need with the number of spells you have available. If casting up improves the power of lower level spells significantly, unless certain careful steps were taken to ensure that there were big differences between the low and high level versions of things, a mage could very easily have the appropriate option for every situation with very few spells known / prepared invested (which is why by comparison to even sorcerers, psionic classes get few powers known over the course of their careers, since if you're wise about their usage, every power known gained over the course of your career could be a legitimate option to use).
I imagine that spells known/prepared will probably get tweaked more as the project enters alpha and then moves to beta to find the best balance. I'm already a little concerned that spontaneous casters as I have them set up might be a bit too strong (they get significantly larger numbers of known spells per spell level, before taking into account any class features granting bonus spells. The funny thing about spontaneous casting is it goes from near useless with few spells to amazing with several more spells because your round to round options explode in size) but that tuning's expected to be adjusted as it comes.
Unrelated Note
I'm about to begin hammering out the spells from 0th-5th level and I'm trying to decide on formatting options before I get knee deep into it. Everyone's familiar with the current spell format, but Aratrok noted (quite rightfully I believe) that the current spell format is unnecessarily large. So we were considering ways to make the format more efficient. At the moment we were thinking of using a format that looks like this.
Dancing Lights (Level 0) [Illusion (shadow)]
Descriptors [Light, Cantrip]
Casting Time 1 major action; Components V,S
Range Medium; Effect Up to four lights, all within a 10-ft.-radius area
Defense none; Magic Resist no
Duration 10 minutes (D)
When you cast this spell, you can choose to create up to five points of light, which shed light as a torch or lantern. Alternatively, you can form one faintly glowing, vaguely humanoid shape which casts light as a candle.
The appearance of the lights (or shape) is more or less up to the caster (such as appearing as small will o' wisps, or glowing skulls, or a glowing mist, or small swarms of fireflies, etc).
The dancing lights must stay within 30 ft. of one-another but otherwise may move as you desire with no concentration needed. The lights can move up to 100 ft. per round. A light vanishes if the distance between it and you exceeds the spell's range.
You can only have one dancing lights spell active at one time. Additional castings cause all previous castings to end.
Incoming lightning bolt in...3...2...1...
This is Azara, the iconic sorceress from my campaign setting. She's an aasimar with a fiery temper who travels with a rather timid tiefling named Kimoi. Azara has a particular appreciation for spells like shocking grasp and lightning bolt as she relishes the way the energy feels coursing across her body body and the smell of sizzling ozone around her. That feeling that travels through the bolt when she feels the arc connect with her target, the sudden release and tense of muscle and sinew that seems almost material across the link just really gets her blood pumping.
Azara is the scariest of the two and while she's not a bad person she isn't very interested in acting righteous just because people seem to naturally expect it of her. Perhaps oddly, Kimoi, who has had to struggle to be more than people expect of her has been a surprisingly good influence on the aasimar and her timid nature seems pretty effective at calming Azara's wrath.
I'm not sure what it is but I'm getting deep one hybrid vibes off the face. I think it's the wide eyes, sharp looking teeth with wide mouth and perhaps not enough shading to make the face seem properly proportionate? The rest looks really good though. I think it's the nose. The nose isn't defined quite enough I think.
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As for the psionic/magic thing, let me clarify. You mentioned wariness about merging spells like Charm Person > Monster because it might step on the toes of psionics. But why? Why would you create whole new psionic versions of magic spells instead of just using the same version.That's more or less the same conclusion I came to as well. One of my initial concerns was that one of the most defining features of the 3.5/PF psionics system was the ability to scale stuff, so I pondered on the ramifications of that. Having given it some thought, I realized it would be a problem. Especially since psionics still has the appeal of being point-based and often have multiple augmentation options.
Truly the biggest concern is balancing the number of spells you'll want/need with the number of spells you have available. If casting up improves the power of lower level spells significantly, unless certain careful steps were taken to ensure that there were big differences between the low and high level versions of things, a mage could very easily have the appropriate option for every situation with very few spells known / prepared invested (which is why by comparison to even sorcerers, psionic classes get few powers known over the course of their careers, since if you're wise about their usage, every power known gained over the course of your career could be a legitimate option to use).
I imagine that spells known/prepared will probably get tweaked more as the project enters alpha and then moves to beta to find the best balance. I'm already a little concerned that spontaneous casters as I have them set up might be a bit too strong (they get significantly larger numbers of known spells per spell level, before taking into account any class features granting bonus spells. The funny thing about spontaneous casting is it goes from near useless with few spells to amazing with several more spells because your round to round options explode in size) but that tuning's expected to be adjusted as it comes....
Well, I'm not sure a wizard (as in, prepared caster) would get as much benefit out of it. Because they would still need to prepare it in the appropriate slot. So if the prepare it in a 3rd level slot, they wouldn't be able to upcast it into Dominate Monster or Mass Charm Person. However, they only have to have the one spell in their book. Sorcerer would be able to adjust it on the fly.
It helps the Wizard because he now has more varied spells in his book, but it also helps the Sorcerer by not having to take a bunch of redundant spells that do the same thing.
If you include a few upcastable spells, it might help people get used to psionics who aren't familiar with it. It would also stand to reason that, despite being differed t magic, there would be some crossover between the two. As in, someone might develop a psionic power that has free scaling, but the majority still require more power points. However some wizards also developed some upcasting spells, to mimic some features of psionic manifesting. I dunno, it just seems to make sense that casters and manifested would try and learning from one another even if it only works for some abilities. Kind of like different martial artists studying each other to improve their skills.
[Edit] I swear, autocorrect can't make up its mind. "Psionics" was corrected into "avionics" "picnics" and "passions".
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I lol'd so hard at the auto-correct thing. :P
As to prepared vs spontaneous in terms of overall usefulness of scaling spells, that's not really an issue in D20-L. Spell slots are essentially a resource that you spend on any spells you know or have prepared.
Here's a hypothetical example.
Prepared Spellcaster
1. Has 3 1st level spell slots per day.
2. Can have up to 2 spells prepared + 1 bonus spell (from class feature).
3. Can spend their 1st level spell slots to cast from their 3 prepared spells in any combination desired.
4. Has fewer readied spells than a spontaneous caster but can change some of them out each time they recover all their slots. This gives them incentives to learn lots of unusual spells and create lots of scrolls.
Spontaneous Spellcaster
1. Has 3 1st level spell slots per day.
2. Can have up to 4 spells known + 1 bonus spell (from class feature).
3. Can spend their 1st level spell slots to cast from their 5 known spells in any combination desired.
4. Cannot ready new spells each day but has more spells available to choose from at any given time. The difference begins at +2 spells over a prepared caster and ends at +3 spells over the prepared caster. This gives them maximum flexibility "in the moment" but they'll want to pick spells they tend to use frequently, and thus are less inclined to learn spells "Fizzlewig's Faithful Dog Groomer".
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I'm not sure what it is but I'm getting deep one hybrid vibes off the face. I think it's the wide eyes, sharp looking teeth with wide mouth and perhaps not enough shading to make the face seem properly proportionate? The rest looks really good though. I think it's the nose. The nose isn't defined quite enough I think.Incoming lightning bolt in...3...2...1...
This is Azara, the iconic sorceress from my campaign setting. She's an aasimar with a fiery temper who travels with a rather timid tiefling named Kimoi. Azara has a particular appreciation for spells like shocking grasp and lightning bolt as she relishes the way the energy feels coursing across her body body and the smell of sizzling ozone around her. That feeling that travels through the bolt when she feels the arc connect with her target, the sudden release and tense of muscle and sinew that seems almost material across the link just really gets her blood pumping.
Azara is the scariest of the two and while she's not a bad person she isn't very interested in acting righteous just because people seem to naturally expect it of her. Perhaps oddly, Kimoi, who has had to struggle to be more than people expect of her has been a surprisingly good influence on the aasimar and her timid nature seems pretty effective at calming Azara's wrath.
Yeah, I feel like I'm still pretty ass at faces. ^~^"
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I thought the face was alright, except the wide eyes gives the feel of fear or pain. The pose strikes me as odd, but not really bad nor good, just odd. Makes it interesting.
For your format, I'd try this, (italic words would be replaced by what they describe. Bold words would stay as is.)
Name
Tags Level (school[subschool]) {other descriptors}
Casting Requires: action (components)
Target: target/area/etc At distance range
For: Duration
Defense/Resistance: Defense save and resistance dc
Target, range, and duration essentially become a sentence, which makes them easier to remember and understand. Also moved defenses to the bottom as it felt out of order, as tgt, rng, and dur are about the spell itself while def/res are about the enemy's ability to overcome it. Thus this groups those facets into who and when they are most wanted.
I moved level and school to tags as those are referenced as rarely, and generally at the same time as the other descriptive tags.
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Aratrok and I have been discussing the spell formatting thing some more, and here's some questions and concerns that cropped up during that conversation.
There's too much redundant information, IMO. It's better than the d20 format, but retains a few of its problems.
Listing stuff that is the same in the vast majority of spells when there's nothing special about it makes it much, much harder to search through spell lists for stuff that's unusual. For instance, you have to look through the components list of every spell and figure out whether it deviates from "V, S" mostly by looking at what's not there. It would be way easier if a spell like dimension door instead
1) Only listed components because they were abnormal; Dancing Lights and Magic Missile don't have components sections so you know they're just the same old Vocal + Somatic, but spells that actually have a listing immediately call attention to themselves.
or
2) Had a tag indicating their abnormality. Instead of just listing "Vocal", there'd be a tag that indicates "Doesn't require somatic components" (which is a little more searchable but also harder to read).
Components Discussion
So if we went with this, I would write it into the basic spellcasting rules that all spells default to V,S,M(inexpensive) components unless noted otherwise. So the component's part would only come up in a spell if the spell steps outside of the norm, such as lacking the need for vocals, or having an expensive component, or having a focus item, etc.Action Discussion
The same was also suggested for actions, setting the default action to 1 major action (akin to a standard action) and only listing actions if they were something other than a major action (such as a full action, swift action, reaction, etc).
About Targets
It was suggested that "Effect" and "Area" information on spells was redundant because everything should just fall under the Target header, such as...
Burning Hands
Target: Adjacent 15 foot coneMagic Missile
Target: 1 or more creaturesGrease
Target: 10-foot square surfaceFireball
Target: 20-foot burst
Which would require removing some targeting information from the magic section but this might be easier to read for most people. It seems pretty simple at first glance at least. The only thing that seems a bit odd under this variant would be stuff that doesn't have affect an area or creates something, such as in the case of summoning spells but then those would probably be "Target special" or something like a summoning target marker could be written in.
About School / Level / Desriptor Compression
Another suggestion was formatting the spells like this.
I think school and descriptors could be compressed onto one line by noting the school in place of 'level'. For example:
Dancing Lights (Illusion [shadow] 1) [Light, Cantrip]
Magic Missile (Evocation 1) [Force](edited)
I'd personally like to put descriptors on their own line, but I have to admit that placing them in the title of the spell (at least on the spell list) would make picking out certain types of spells for specializations more convenient (but I fear it might look pretty hideous in the actual spell descriptions).
If feedback is at least mostly positive and all of these adjustments were made, spells would generally look something like this.
Fireball (Conjuration [creation] 3) [Fire]
Range long; Target 20 ft. radius burst
Defense Reflex; Magic Resist No
Duration InstantaneousYou conjure a super-heated flame that spreads outward from the point you designate. Creatures and objects in the targeted area take 1d6 fire damage per level if your magic attack beats their defense (to a maximum of 10d6), or half that on a failed attack.
If your attack exceeds their defense by 5 points or greater, you apply a stack of the Burning condition for every 5 points that you beat their defense (the burning condition deals 1d6 fire damage each round at the end of that creature's turn, and multiple burning conditions stack). The Burning condition is non-magical and thus is not subject to being dispelled and continues to function inside areas where magic is suppressed (such as in an antimagic field spell).
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Could you use spell like True Strike to add +20 to your attack vs magic defense, thereby, essentially, guaranteeing you succeed and likely adding a truckload of burning stacks?
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Could you use spell like True Strike to add +20 to your attack vs magic defense, thereby, essentially, guaranteeing you succeed and likely adding a truckload of burning stacks?
Nope. A spell like true strike would apply to normal attack rolls. In D20-L, there are two types of attacks. Normal attacks (which target AC) and special/magic attacks that target your defenses (Fort/Ref/Will).
All special/magic attacks scale at a rate of +1/2 your character level + associated ability modifier, much like monster DCs do in Pathfinder. It's irreverent to the level of the spell or ability now, so less than full casters have lower level spells that remain potent even if they lack access to higher level spells (which means woes like the litanty paladin spells that are essentially useless if they allow a save doesn't exist).
So a 1st level character with a +2 mod would have a bonus of +2. A 20th level character with a +10 mod would have a bonus of +20. Ability scores in general scale more smoothly in D20-L (mostly because the inherent modifiers are now baked into your normal progression) and your defenses scale at the same speed as special attacks (so you'll generally see a spell's most impressive effects vs lower level foes).
For example, at 8th level, our caster (with a +5 ability mod) would have a +9 when throwing their fireball spell. Any other 8th level character has a base defense of 11 + 4 + associated stat (let's give them a +3, assuming it's not a favored ability). So their chance would look like this broken down. Rolling a natural 20 on a magic attack gives you an effective +5 bump for the effects of any kickers (kind of like special critical).
Magic Attack Results by d20 Roll
Reflex Defence = 18
20 = 3 stacks of burning
19 = 2 stacks of burning
14-18 = 1 stack of burning
9-13 = Normal damage
8 or less = half damage
Stacks of burning can be removed by soaking someone in water, or spending a full action trying to douse or otherwise smother the flames yourself (the difficulty increases if you're burning really hard).
This means our classic fireball has a tendency to either melt down mooks really fast (foes of a lower level have a noticeably lower defense score relative to your special attacks, so you're more likely to land kickers), or force creatures to choose between trying to stop burning effects or continue fighting (is losing your turn worth the xd6/round damage you're going to be taking?) so it's good for applying pressure.
The reverse is also true. Using special attacks against higher level foes is less reliable. This means that mooks spamming spells or special attacks aren't generally going to cause a party wipe. Since if we have a trio of 8th level mages all launching spells at a 14th level character (who counting +resistance modifiers is probably sporting a 27+ in their defense) is rarely going to take full damage and almost never actually catches on fire.
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Took a break from cleaning my house & working on writing to do a quick doodle of Korlax, the iconic hobgoblin fighting man from my campaign setting.
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Took a break from cleaning my house & working on writing to do a quick doodle of Korlax, the iconic hobgoblin fighting man from my campaign setting.
He eats soylent green, doesn't he?
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He eats soylent green, doesn't he?Took a break from cleaning my house & working on writing to do a quick doodle of Korlax, the iconic hobgoblin fighting man from my campaign setting.
Amusingly, hobgoblins in my campaign don't typically eat humanoids. Orcs might, but hobgoblins gotta be pretty desperate to start munchin' on folks.
They're big time slavers though. They have this strange assimilation tradition with their tribes. Slaves that prove themselves to be strong (more of a strength of will rather than physical muscle) end up getting promoted to "fellow hobgoblin" and made part of their tribe. They still don't get to leave freely until after some years have passed and their status as a true honorary hobgoblin has been established. Strangely, their lifestyle while harsh has a way of getting into the minds of those who climb out of slavery in their midsts and a surprising number of humanoids who live to see freedom are never quite satisfied with their old lives anymore, eventually returning to the tribe once more.
They also have this strange rivalry with dwarfs. Dwarfs and hobgoblins have been at each others' throats since time remembered, both have rich warrior cultures, and both species consider the other "worthy" of fighting. The two ancient enemies were the only ones with the combined military strength to hold the forces of hell at the great planar gateway during the worlds' apocalypse (though it nearly drove the hobgoblins to extinction). Their strange relations have been even stranger since.
Hobgoblins hate elves mostly on principle. They hate drow for betraying the world, and they hate gray elves for destroying it. They hate all other elves to a lesser extent but mostly dislike them by association with the former elf species. They strongly dislike wizardly magics due to the association with elves as well, and their "witches" live on the fringes of their society. Perhaps furthering this strangeness, their witches tend to favor taking elves as slaves and lovers.
Here's a short fluff bit from the dwarf entry of a campaign primer I was writing some years ago. It involves the iconic dwarf Gloing and Korlax.
Jaleene looked at Gloing as he tipped mugs with the hobgoblin they met earlier that day. A look of confusion upon her face. A ruffled brow, a mouth agape. “Not twenty minutes past those two were having a fist fight in the alleyway, and now they're laughing and drinking like they're best friends.” the elf said puzzled.
“That's just their way.” her human friend Jackson responded. “Sometimes I almost think I get it. Almost. It takes a special kind of man to sit down and drink with an enemy of your very people, or your average dwarf.” he mused.
“Ho-ho! Ye goblin fool, y'need not drink that swill! Try this dwarf brew, and you'll see what makes us so tough as to roll yer arses back down the mountainside every time ye try yer luck!” Gloing said to the hobgoblin across the table, drowning out the mumblings of elves and men.
“Hah, you wish we rolled half as well as you short little bastards. This is good ale though. What do you put in this stuff?” the hobgoblin responded with a toothy chortle.
“It's a secret recipe hairy beasty, but I've got it in good confidence that it's a special mixture of barley and the blood and bones of goblins!” Gloing chided pouring two more tankards.
“Damn strait. Figures you'd need us to make something this good! My name is Korlax by the way.” the hobgoblin said.
“Gloingson Durback Thunderhammer of the Ironguard Clan, but the softies just call me Gloing.” the dwarf responded.
“Heh, damn, that's going to be a lot to carve into my sword when I run you through someday.” Korlax responded, getting ready to pour down the next ale.
“Aye, but at least your name is short enough that I can fit it along with the rest of your long eared kin on the head of me hammer.” Gloing retorted before both of them laughed hysterically and poured more drinks.
“...Like I said...almost...” Jackson said looking to the entirely befuddled elf next to him.
Like much of hobgoblin culture, their romantic relations also seem very paradoxical to most humans. On one hand, their culture seems really open as male and female hobgoblins are capable of attaining anything the other has, both receive educations at the same rates, etc. Yet at the same time, their courting practices are nothing short of frightening barbarism as one will attempt to claim the other by force, which usually ends up in two hobgoblins locked in a desperate fight with lots of hitting, kicking, and biting, until one of them gives in. This tends to cause female hobgoblins of adult ages to be more experienced in fighting than their male counterparts (as they've already had to stomp more than a few "suitors"). Yet seemingly paradoxically, their culture is respecting of marriage (which is a rare but sacred ritual to them) and anyone who knows much about hobgoblin culture might claim marriage when captured to prevent hobgoblins from "courting" with them (because most hobgoblins simply won't even try, for to do so is to invite shame upon themselves for violating the sacred bond).
They're an odd lot.
Another piece of lore written a few years ago concerning hobgoblins.
Several generations after the demon wars, the dwarf Kingdom of Adaman fell under siege by an army of stone giants from the north, driven down to raid and pillage by a peculiarly harsh winter. Having waged a continuous war against the hobgoblins for most of that same year, the dwarfs were greatly outnumbered and short on supplies as the routes to other settlements were blocked by the hill giants. While the dwarfs valiantly held their ground, it looked as though the giants would war with them until they ran out of food and broke from lack of supplies.
When things looked blackest, an army of hobgoblins led by warlord Kahn'kalu who had waged the war against the dwarfs throughout the year broke through the stone-giant barricade and delivered fifteen oxen-led carts of packed meat, ale, and other supplies to the dwarf kingdom. The warlord and the dwarf king spoke privately for the better part of a day, then the hobgoblins marched back to their borders and the dwarfs held fast against the stone giants. Three months later the parties went back to waging war against each other; as if nothing had happened.
To an outsider, that is someone who is not a dwarf or hobgoblin, the story would seem insane. Despite their constant conflicts, the two races deeply understand one another. When asked about the odd move, Khan'kalu replied that the dwarfs would have done the same for them. Some suggest that the Khan did it out of respect for the dwarf spirit. Dwarfs likewise say they would have done the same. Some scholars propose that he may have done it because without dwarfs the only people they would find worth fighting was themselves.
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It's similar to way I portray hobgoblins. Mine also have a warlike tradition and a frenemy dynamic with dwarves. Also, slavery, although my dwarves also practice it. Hobgoblins are constantly training for war and warring because they are being prepared for war against "something", that they or even their shamans and oracles do not know what, but they train non the less.
They hate drow for betraying the world, and they hate gray elves for destroying it.
Who did drow betray the world to, and what did gray elves do?
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It's similar to way I portray hobgoblins. Mine also have a warlike tradition and a frenemy dynamic with dwarves. Also, slavery, although my dwarves also practice it. Hobgoblins are constantly training for war and warring because they are being prepared for war against "something", that they or even their shamans and oracles do not know what, but they train non the less.
They hate drow for betraying the world, and they hate gray elves for destroying it.Who did drow betray the world to, and what did gray elves do?
Basically the gray elves - aka high elves - were the most advanced humanoid species on the planet in terms of magic and technology, to the point that most of them didn't even live on the surface of the planet anymore, instead living on giant floating cities orbiting the planet at high altitudes (not quite in space but kept aloft by magic).
When the gods who created the world taught mortals magic, they advised against certain uses of that magic. However, that was ages ago, and the gray elves had either forgotten about it, chalked it up to fairy tales, or were arrogant enough to believe that the were simply too awesome to run into any real problems. So they started experimenting with certain planar magics and made contact with Hell (where both demons and devils reside in this setting, but the two are at constant conflict with one-another for dominance of the pit). The mortals of the world at the time weren't particularly familiar with fiendish creatures at the time (diabolism and demonology were fringe sciences and nothing more potent than a few low level fiends had ever been conjured into the world), and after making contact they began to establish communications.
Turns out, powerful ancient fiends tend to be very good at deceiving people, and biding their time. Arch demons and devils provided gifts, insights into the multiverse, and all sorts of useful aids to the gray elves, shared secrets of black magics, etc. Eventually, the elves grew so comfortable with their new "allies" that they constructed great planar gates leading directly to and from Hell itself. It was at this point that the fiends made their move, and invaded the world. Most of the sky cities fell from the sky, many sabotaged by their own people in a desperate attempt to destroy the gates and stop as many of the fiends as possible. The high elves were scattered to the earth as refugees, and as not all the Hellgates were successfully destroyed or sealed, the world felt the ripples as demons and devils flooded into the plane to take it for all it was worth.
The most powerful race on the planet cast down, literally, to homeless refugees, the rest of the world was ill prepared to deal with this fiendish invasion. The greatest human kingdom was taken over by a demon lord, and it became the seat of his power. The demon lord's wife, an equally powerful and terrible creature, sought out the next greatest leader in the world to undermine and that's where she found the drow.
The drow were less ambitious than the gray elves, but were held in great esteem by most. They rivaled the gray elves in their magical knowledge but had mostly isolated themselves inside dense forests and shimmering underground cities to avoid any conflicts with the outside world, doing most of their interactions with the surface through their ancient friends the dwarfs. Their royal bloodline bears the gift of immortality (or at least near immortality) and so their queen - or perhaps more accurately empress - was likewise among the wisest of rulers in the world, having been in her position for ages.
Well, such a perfect ruler made for such a perfect pawn. The demon slipped into their lands quite easily and possessed the drow queen, using her memories and authority to undermine the next race that would have the best chance of halting their advancement on the world. The queen, under the influence of the arch demon, declared that the best path for their people was not to rise up against the infernal invaders but to unite with them as their allies to ensure their continued prosperity alongside these deific beings as friends.
The drow queen's brother thought his sister gone mad, ordering that their people just welcome these invaders into the world with open arms. He confronted her about it, pleading she reconsider. Without hesitation, she banished him from their realm, which was most out of character given their love for one-another. Believing his sister to have lost her mind somehow, with his banishment he used his influence to form a rebellion. In essence, this may have tilted odds just enough to eventually end the demon wars since the civil war that broke out among the drow people kept them from ever entering the war as allies of the great demon lord. Today, even after the demon wars came to an end, the drow are still very isolated and still locked in civil war, as the queen is still possessed by the arch demoness, and the brother still desperate to find some way to put an end to his sister's madness.
The reasons the hobgoblins really, really super hate the drow is that the announcement that they were defecting came at the worst time. The hobgoblins, numerous and militant, were holding the lines at the largest hellgate still in existence. They were getting torn up but had received the promise that the drow would reinforce them. Of course, those reinforcements never came. The hobgoblin race itself was nearly wiped out of existence by the war, dwindling to only a few hundred left alive by the end. It was their ancient enemies the dwarfs who made good on the drow's pact, led by the sons and daughters of the late dwarf king.
The hobgoblins lost more than anyone in terms of sheer casualties during the demon wars. So they still hold a grudge for the gray elves setting the house on fire, and the drow for watching it burn down around them.
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That's a really good read. Thanks for posting that :)
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niiice. did you play Chrono Trigger btw? talk of floating cities always reminds me of Zeal (technically a floating kingdom with multiple cities) before Cloud City. there's a city like that in my setting, but it's mostly a giant school for the psionically talented.
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niiice. did you play Chrono Trigger btw? talk of floating cities always reminds me of Zeal (technically a floating kingdom with multiple cities) before Cloud City. there's a city like that in my setting, but it's mostly a giant school for the psionically talented.
I only played Chrono Trigger for about 20 minutes at a friend's house. I really need to go play it for real because I've heard nothing but how great and amazing it is and it's probably not a timeless classic for no reason. :)
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That's a really good read. Thanks for posting that :)
Hey, you're welcome. It's not that I don't like talking about my campaign. :P
Speaking of the dwarfs in the campaign, their society changed a lot after the demon wars. The dwarf lands used to be one massive kingdom run by the dwarf lord and his children. They, like their drow friends, were very isolated from the rest of the world and very keen on storing things away in great vaults and keepers of knowledge and treasures. However, two things drastically changed dwarfs after the war.
1. The king died and because of their mourning and the dire nature of the war (fighting for their very world) his sons and daughters decided to break tradition and not waste any time trying to determine who would be the next dwarf lord. Rather, each continued to govern their own regions as they had done under their father before them, and the dwarf kingdom split into smaller principalities governed by the children. This fracturing has has positive and negative consequences but overall it's been working well for them.
2. The dwarfs ceased being so isolated. Many of the dwarfs felt that they had squandered an opportunity, feeling that they had missed out on the wonders of the world. Previously content to horde knowledge and information gained by others, the dwarfs realized that many of the great wonders of the world were forever lost to them. The apocalypse had come and gone and a world they took for granted would never be there to see again.
Because of this, more dwarfs have ventured from their homeland to see the world. Intent on not missing this new world by sitting idly by in their massive fortresses of stone and metal. This has led dwarfs to go out into the world and discover new wonders and trades they had never really experienced in their home. Many dwarf adventurers have been born from the desire to see the starry desert skies on a sand elf pilgrimage, or build a great ship and sail it to the end of the world, or journey down the continent spanning river with their halfling guides.
They would not, could not, miss it for the world.
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Some gray elf leaders are kind of iffed with the dwarfs as well but they have no real leg to stand on when voicing their frustrations. See, those dwarfs still guard many of the secrets and knowledge of the old world, including (but not limited to) ancient libraries and arcane knowledge that came from the high elves before the demon wars set the world back so far. The elves have often asked for these treasures to be returned to them to rebuild their society, but the dwarfs have - for better or worse - turned them away each time.
It's possible that the dwarfs greedily wish to keep it for themselves, but in truth, many are uncertain that the gray elves have truly learned their lessons in humility and are concerned that they might screw something up again. Due to the long lives of these races, a large number of the gray elves (including their leaders) still have recent memory of the war that happened centuries ago. Some would say that to replace what they lost so easily would be to forever dull them to the consequences of their actions.
Admittedly, it sucks a lot for the young gray elves who were born as refugees. Most of the gray elves today have never even experienced their former homelands. None have gazed at the earth below from on high, or experienced the beauty and wonder of their magical cities and sparkling technology (the gray elves actually computer systems, sentient constructs, and all kinds of sweet stuff created using magic to power it). Many long for memories not their own, feeling empty and lost as a race with no proud legacy, no place to call their own. This drives many of them to become adventurers as well, because the best place to find fragments of their past...
Are in the great megadungeons buried in the earth's crust. The fallen sky cities themselves, where strange magics, constructs, trapped fiends, and stranger things wait to be unearthed.
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I love lore in all forms. I'm currently running a space game where I had to plot a race's history for the last 5000 years (political stuff between tribes and eventually nations) that led them into space flight and terra-forming, along with the pre-history of their galactic "empire" prior to their down fall to a tribal society...
I like coming up with this stuff, and hope that after being exposed to the players, it doesn't all get messed up :P
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I love lore in all forms. I'm currently running a space game where I had to plot a race's history for the last 5000 years (political stuff between tribes and eventually nations) that led them into space flight and terra-forming, along with the pre-history of their galactic "empire" prior to their down fall to a tribal society...
I like coming up with this stuff, and hope that after being exposed to the players, it doesn't all get messed up :P
Alvena has been structured as a relatively short-lived world that had lots of races that for the most part were pretty segregated, but then things changed and all of the world basically had to become one to survive. After the fall of civilization and the scorching of the world, recent memories were those of brothers and sisters of different races living, bleeding, and dying beside and for one-another. Long time enemies helping each other to their feet. Like a thousand dying embers coming together to flourish.
Because of this, the world has become very cosmopolitan. While not super common, it's common enough to see friends, lovers, or even families that extend across cultures and species. It's a world where you a human, an elf, a dwarf, a hobgoblin, a halfling, and a drider could walk into a bar and share a drink or travel together. A world where peasant villagers may be skittish or wary of scaled lizardfolk travelers venturing through their town, but would trade with them all the same.
Because deep down, most still remember that everyone needed each other and may yet still again. Blood can beget hatred easily, but hatred can be healed by blood. It wasn't until one man rallied the broken armies of many nations together under one flag that the inhabitants of the world were able to take their homes back and establish their rightful place in Alvena.
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Perhaps interestingly, I think the reason that the old gods who created the world didn't intercede to save their world from the fiends when they invaded was because they knew that the people of the world needed to do it. After the creation, all the species were more or less out for themselves, and in the early ages the strongest among them subjugated the weaker races (dragons ruled supreme, then giants called the shots, etc). Even when the gods taught the lesser races magic to even the score, they could not simply force their creations to love one-another.
The demon wars changed all of that. Through the fire, their hearts tempered, and now they are citizens of the world. And the gods smiled, for their children found each other, and they knew this was good.
EDIT: Though I'll make no promises the gods weren't up to some sneaky business to tip the scales in their childrens' favor. :3
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I only played Chrono Trigger for about 20 minutes at a friend's house. I really need to go play it for real because I've heard nothing but how great and amazing it is and it's probably not a timeless classic for no reason. :)
Oh to be chilling at your pad as you experience the sublime beauty of the game...
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The gods on this world are actually immortal members of their previous existence. They aren't gods themselves, but such powerful psionicists that they might as well be. Course, no one knows they really exist yet.
They only exist in the culture's psyche as allegories from stories told as oral history during tribal times, so some believe in them, some don't, but they do not grant spells nor require worship. They definitely have an agenda, though...
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I always wanted to play chrono trigger, but I'm a little worried that it may not "hold up" to its legacy and people are remembering it through rose tinted nostalgia glasses.
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I always wanted to play chrono trigger, but I'm a little worried that it may not "hold up" to its legacy and people are remembering it through rose tinted nostalgia glasses.
I actually have very little worry about that, honestly. I've gone back and played some old classics for the first time and I've consistently been pleased with the results. So much so that when I played FF9, I agonized for a while as to why this game was so much more somehow than anything I could recall playing in recent memory.
I've come to the conclusion that a lot of old games didn't have the luxury of, or perhaps weren't forced to have, graphics and voice acting to be the selling points of their game. That's not to say they didn't push boundaries but nobody was going to buy your RPG blockbuster if it had the best 16bit graphics but sucked and had no content.
I haven't myself played Chrono Trigger but it's my understanding that it has like 7 endings, and I think some are joke endings (based on my hearsay), and memorable characters and events. A lot of that is pretty special in today's world. I doubt I'll be disappointed, honestly.
I've also returned to play some old games with a critical mind (keeping aware of those nostalgia illusions), or even played games I didn't enjoy growing up (now being older and having a better grasp of what I was supposed to do) and found them to hold up just as well and in some cases better than they did by comparing them to more modern games.
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The gods on this world are actually immortal members of their previous existence. They aren't gods themselves, but such powerful psionicists that they might as well be. Course, no one knows they really exist yet.
They only exist in the culture's psyche as allegories from stories told as oral history during tribal times, so some believe in them, some don't, but they do not grant spells nor require worship. They definitely have an agenda, though...
The gods that created Alvena were mortal beings from a different world that ended up as planar refugees. They gained enough power and knowledge (as high level characters do) to attain immortality. They wandered the planes for a long time before eventually realizing they didn't have to wander but could create their own home. So they created the world and used magic to seed it with life. At first they kinda sucked as deities but learned better over their time. Most people don't even know much about them outside of ancient academia, and few believe they exist, but they're still out in the universe pulling strings and urging the next generations of heroes and events that they think will help the world.
My personal favorite among them is Akai'a. Akai'a is an undead goddess of the night. She form the stars and created Alvena's moons. She's also very nurturing and protective, and is the goddess who first taught magic to the mortal races. She was the one who warned them against experimenting with the infernal planes. She is sometimes seen as a nature goddess, especially since when she was known to the mortals of the world her dominions were filled with lush gardens, owls, and some ancient texts say she may have connections to lycanthropy (or that may be a speculation due to the unique effect the moons have on them).
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Mine started out as contemplatives of a normally peaceful, naturally psionic people. They all had minor to medium power psionic abilites, mostly used to help with day to day life. During their foray into the stars, they ran across a hostile race, and some asked how they could use their minds to fight. A think-tank and place of study was formed, and the most respected minds thought about and sought out different uses for mind powers. When people became to be able to alter themselves, and bend the will of other people, it was stopped, and declared taboo as it shocked the normally passive public to the core. So, a handful exiled themselves and continued to study what was taboo. Centuries later they came back, and entire fleets of starships could not stop them. There were 12, named themselves "Deitus" and took over, wanting to share their knowledge with others. Things went well for a while, until one of them attacked another, and the Psychic Wars started. Planets were laid waste as they and their followers fought amongst each other, and three of them perished before they saw the full picture of what they had done. Shamed, they went back into exile, living examples of power corrupting folks. Some time after that, the race was "degraded".
When one of the Deitus came looking for their people, they found they had been displaced, and left on a world not their own, living in tribal societies. All the advancement, the science, gone. They also had been tampered with as to no longer have the spark of psionics, but the latent genes were still there. The Deitus met, discussed the situation, and began a plan of restoration through selective breeding programs to reintroduce the psionic power to the race, and restore them to where they were before.
Just after these folks reached the industrial age, there began a push to understand and explore space. In 100 or so years, they had a base on the moon, and were contemplating how to terra form planets. Unbeknownst to the public at large, these "angels" that used to help and guide them, are still doing it, and are directly guiding them back to their rightful place in the stars...
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Niiiice.
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That's the Cliff Notes version. Each of the nine remaining Deitus are still individuals, and not all old grudges die, but for the time being, they are united in this.
The game starts just after FTL has been "invented" *cough*rediscovered*cough* and there is a viable space industry, with several careers in space for educated folks. The players will play a crew of a vessel who have just finished their obligatory term of service with the space navy, and are striking out on their own. They also happen to be the first of the culmination of the Deitus' breeding program, and have the attention of all nine of them.
There will be shenanigans.
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The game is in Palladium. The Deitus are basically very, very high level Mind Melters whose power unlocked them having the powers of Cosmo Knights.
They are not unkillable, but in an SDC world, they might as well be.
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I always wanted to play chrono trigger, but I'm a little worried that it may not "hold up" to its legacy and people are remembering it through rose tinted nostalgia glasses.I actually have very little worry about that, honestly. I've gone back and played some old classics for the first time and I've consistently been pleased with the results. So much so that when I played FF9, I agonized for a while as to why this game was so much more somehow than anything I could recall playing in recent memory.
I've come to the conclusion that a lot of old games didn't have the luxury of, or perhaps weren't forced to have, graphics and voice acting to be the selling points of their game. That's not to say they didn't push boundaries but nobody was going to buy your RPG blockbuster if it had the best 16bit graphics but sucked and had no content.
I haven't myself played Chrono Trigger but it's my understanding that it has like 7 endings, and I think some are joke endings (based on my hearsay), and memorable characters and events. A lot of that is pretty special in today's world. I doubt I'll be disappointed, honestly.
I've also returned to play some old games with a critical mind (keeping aware of those nostalgia illusions), or even played games I didn't enjoy growing up (now being older and having a better grasp of what I was supposed to do) and found them to hold up just as well and in some cases better than they did by comparing them to more modern games.
It holds up very well, and it has a lot of subtle little things in it that can affect other things. Some more obscure than others.
There are 12(13 in the ds) endings. One at least can only happen in New Game Plus though. A couple of these are indeed joke endings but most are not.
There are some games that aren't quite as good going back. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest isn't the greatest game in retrospect (though holy crap does it have a good soundtrack), though I'm always gonna be fond of it.
Other games like Final Fantasy 6 are a masterpiece that stand on their own very well. There's so much subtle stuff in that game's design. Many people who played it still don't realize why it's the way it is. I had to think about it awhile myself. Also had fantastic music. Celes theme still makes me tear up a bit. Damn you video game!
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Something I just made. I can't decide what the heck to do with her legs though (so most everything from the waist down is super unfinished). Maybe I should just find a cool pair of boots and strap some daggers to 'em or somethin'.
EDIT: Also, for Clara, I decided to restart the marilith picture because I have a different idea for it. Just haven't actually started the restart yet.
I wonder who this "Clara" person is. Certainly not me, since my name begins with a "K" :)
About Targets
It was suggested that "Effect" and "Area" information on spells was redundant because everything should just fall under the Target header, such as...Quote:
Burning Hands
Target: Adjacent 15 foot cone
Magic Missile
Target: 1 or more creatures
Grease
Target: 10-foot square surface
Fireball
Target: 20-foot burst
You know what you need? Pictures. Seriously. Add links to pictures, hosted on imgur, to all those area descriptors, in hex grid. Because to a newbie those don't say much-is 20-foot burst 20 feet in radius? In diameter? Is it the area in square feet? Is it a burst with the area equivalent to a 20 by 20 foot square?
Also, >Defense none; Magic Resist no
Suggestion:settle on one format, like "NaN" or something.
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The reason defense says "none" and magic resist "no" is because one is multiple choice and the other is binary.
As to pictures and stuff for AoEs, that's planned. Or do you mean each of the target section of each spell should be hyperlinks to the targeting section? :o
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I wonder who this "Clara" person is. Certainly not me, since my name begins with a "K" :)
Curses, I have an aunt that's Clara with a C and in my haste to edit, I typo'd. :[
EDIT: Woot, 3,000th. :D