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These Low Magic - Variant Combat Rules are used in my home campaign as a field test for a product I hope to publish later in 2016. The campaign setting can more accurately termed "D20 Fantasy" than "Pathfinder" and looks alot like setting seen in Lord of the Rings or HBO's "Game of Thrones", vs the ones seen in Greyhawk, Golarion, or Forgotten Realms. It is necessary to mention this is a low level / low magic setting where the hard cap is level 13 and the soft cap around 9th or 10th. 7th level magic is considered to be nearly "epic" (8th and 9th level magic is completely banned due to level restrictions) and anything over 4th level is limited to a specialist in that school or domain. Encounters will typically be against mundane foes vs ones with heavy magical spells and abilities, and magic items are virtually unheard of. Spell casters in this environment are very rare and only appear about 20% as commonly as what is found in most campaigns.
This variant of the combat rules focuses on the question of “How do I hit, or avoid getting hit, and thus dealing damage?” The second section (referenced at the bottom of this page) will focus on the question of “Now that I’ve taken damage how serious is it, and what can I do about it in an environment where healing magic is very rare and natural healing recovers much slower?”
I encourage the rules in this article to be used together, but caution they make for an extremely dangerous form of D20 combat. Simply rushing headlong into combat (the way you can in most D20 fantasy fights) will likely result in a TPK 90% of the time. Consider carefully before engaging your enemies, use any available buff spells, shield walls, group tactics etc and for God's sake: "Stay alert, stay alive!"
Attack rolls:
All attack rolls are modified by Dex. Melee Damage is modified by Strength for melee attacks. Ranged attacks use Dex for damage for bows and crossbows, composite bows also add Str modifiers to damage. Thrown weapons use Str (light thrown weapon such as a shuriken may use Dex instead). Weapon Finesse allows for Dex to modify damage for all Small / Light / Finesse weapons.
Effects of a Natural 20
A Natural 20 attack roll is an automatic hit which grants max damage from weapon. This rule allows the player to get something from a Natural 20 strike even if the crit is not confirmed.
Two Natural 20’s are as one would expect, max’d crit damage but with an additional +1 added to the crit multiplier.
Three Natural 20’s are an instant kill.
Natural 1 = Fumble All Natural 1’s must be declared as they are the property of the DM and typically result in dramatic effects.
Class Defense Bonus and Armor as DR
Armor as DR was added as a Straight AC 5 armor (ie chainmail) would give a flat 5 DR/armor.
The Class Defense Bonus is one of the primary sources for AC (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/defenseBonus.htm), the other being blocking & shields.
Some effects completely bypass the DR values of armor. Critical Hits, Magic, elemental attacks like fire, or smoke. Drowning, poison, disease, any attack which scores a Natural 20 and a spear which has been set vs charge (considered an automatic critical hit anyway). Likewise a Helpless Defender does not benefit from Armor DR nor Class Defense bonus, and a prone defender is reduced to 1/2 their normal values for both Defense bonus and Armor DR.
Shields
Let’s face it; shields have always sucked under the D20 system (both old and new), so under the LCM ruleset this has finally been addressed. Small Shields add + 1 AC, & + 1 to Ref Saves, medium shields add + 3/ + 3, and heavy shields add + 5/ + 5. Shield bonuses (a + 2 shield for example) applies its bonus to both categories (+ 3 / + 3 becomes + 5 / + 5). NOTE: the bonus to Ref Saves only applies to frontal attacks that the defender could have used the shield to block against. An explosion that goes off behind the defender would gain no such additional protection, nor would simply wearing the shield on your back. Shield use is an active defense, and only works against a frontal attack.
Note: In order of the bonus for Ref Saves to make sense it is necessary to know that Evasion has been overhauled and no longer guarantees automatic success / half success.
Blocking
You can sacrifice – 1 BAB and convert it to a + 2 “dodge” bonus for AC. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by –1 and the bonus to defense increases by +2. When used with a shield this ability scales at – 1 BAB to + 3 dodge AC bonus, and is otherwise the same. This ability scales the same as power attack. This stacks with the normal bonuses gained from shields and fighting defensively. This combat maneuver replaces Combat Expertise.
Blocking works against one target, if you have the dodge feat blocking works against two targets. The Dodge feat is stackable, but if you have more than one level of the feat it does not add additional targets that you can effectively block, but allows you get the stacked AC bonus against two targets.
Blocking with a shield allows the defender to add and additional target against whom they may effectively block when equipping a medium sized shield (3 with the dodge feat). With a large shield the protective arc of the shield at a full frontal 180*, thus allowing a medium sized defender with the Dodge feat to effectively block against four targets if they are all in front of him (without the dodge feat the defender is still limited to 3 medium sized targets).
EXAMPLE: a 10th level Paladin has the Dodge feat x2. He is fighting defensively and blocking with a + 2 heavy shield. He thus has a would be at – 7 attack roll penalty but an AC bonus of + 19 / + 5 Ref save against up to four targets.
NOTE: While the AC bonus in the example above is very high, it can be quickly offset by tactics such as having to defend against multiple attackers, being attacked from behind (no shield bonus), called shots (see below), grappling, being knocked prone, a natural 20 attack roll, being doused in oil and set on fire, sunder attacks against the shield, etc. Such a paladin is carrying very expensive gear that amounts to a huge amount of weight and is moving slowly under its burden. This the reason such warriors were historically part of a heavy cavalry unit (their horses were carrying the gear) and not simply a common foot soldier who is commonly encountered.
Fighting Multiple Opponents
Any time a target is attacked by multiple attackers they suffer a cumulative – 2 to AC for each additional attacker. This effect is similar to Aid Other. Example: Up to eight medium sized melee opponents can attack a single medium creature for a total bonus of a – 14 to AC, if there is a second rank of attackers with reach weapons they would also be taken into account. Only melee combatants are considered when determining the AC penalty, however ranged attackers still gain this bonus. Should the target actually be Flanked by attackers on opposite sides the effects from flanking are applied normally per D20 RAW.
EXAMPLE: two elves attack an orc applying the - 2 multiple attacker penalty to the orc’s AC. Then two more elves join them, each adding an additional - 2 (- 6 total). Next the elven archer joins the fight, and while he does not add additional bonuses for flanking considerations, he does however still benefit from the - 6 AC penalty to defense his friends flanking maneuver has already generated. The orc has the “Flanked Condition", and because he is “flanked” and thus denied his Dex bonus the archer may apply Sneak Attack damage as a standard action (per RAW for sneak attack). Like normal, when firing into melee it will still be advisable for the archer to have precise shot before attempting such a shot to avoid hitting his friends.
Flanking is a positional modifier that is triggered when two attackers are on either side of a target. The target loses their dex bonus to AC as a penalty when defending against both ranged and melee attackers, but the attacker does gain the additional + 2 bonus to attacks normally allowed under d20 RAW (it is already factored into these rules).
Heavy Armor and being Knocked Prone
Historically speaking, getting knocked prone was one of the worst fears of a heavily armored knight. Once they were flat on their backs it was nearly impossible to get up (a process which could take several minutes) and depending on the terrain could become impossible. Worse a heavily armored knight on foot is just as susceptible to charge / bull rush style attacks as anyone else. Should a heavily armored target be knocked prone they need to make an acrobatics check as though attempting to tumble through a threatened area (with armor check penalty from the armor of course).
Shield wall / Phalanx Formations
If the target is wearing heavy armor and part of a formation of densely packed troops such as a phalanx formation where there is a shield wall and a second rank of troops, then the second rank can actually hold the first rank and prevent them from falling prone (add a + 2 vs bull rush per each row deep of the formation). Further Phalanx formations typically made use of spears in the front row and pikes (long spears) from the second and third rows. Thus charging a such a formation from the front would require the attacker to enter a kill zone of dozens of spear points before ever reaching the shield wall itself. Phalanx formations are extremely effective for this reason.
As an added benefit, the phalanx formation also prevents the front line ranks from being surrounded or flanked. If it could be said that the phalanx has a major weakness it would be that while the frontal attack and defense are extremely strong, the sides and rear are much less so and the troops in the rear can find themselves very vulnerable to a sneak attack from the rear (no shield defense, no shield wall, no one behind them, etc). The other down side of the phalanx formation is one of maneuverability. With a densely packed formation of 100 + troops they do not maneuver or change facing easily.
Call Shots
Called Shot to Weak Point
By making a called shot, an attacker may choose to strike a target in areas where the armor is somewhat vulnerable. The attack check suffers a penalty equal to the Damage Reduction provided by the armour, but if the attack is successful the target’s armour provides only half its normal protection (round up).
Called Shot to Vital Spot
A character attacking a living being can specify he or she is aiming for a vital spot (heart, groin, spine, etc.) rather than simply taking any opening as usual. He or she suffers a -8 attack check penalty, but, if successful, the weapon inflicts double damage (bonuses are calculated as normal). Additionally, a target’s Massive Damage Threshold (MDT) Fort Save is increased by + 2 against all successful vital shots. Should the attack result in a critical hit, simply add + 1 to the crit multiplier. If the opponent is wearing armor the hit penalty is twice their Armor DR value, or the – 8 whichever is greater. Example: Because chainmail provides + 5 Armor DR, the penalty for this attack would be – 10. This attack bypasses armor DR.
Extra Aim
A character making a ranged attack may deliberately take extra time to aim. If a character takes no other action he may aim a ranged weapon for up to 3 consecutive rounds gaining a + 2 attack bonus for each round he has done so. This action effectively negates a range increment per each round spent focusing on the shot.
Touch Attacks
Melee and Ranged Touch attacks gain a +6 bonus to hit on the attack roll.
Pulling the Punch: player may declare they do not wish to kill the foe, and only wound them. In this case they have two options: the target only takes stun damage, or the attacker attacker stops just short of death as the target falls unconscious (first aid is probably a good idea at this point).
Types of actions and maneuvers
The Types of Actions have been simplified to the following 5 types: Standard Action, Move Action, Full Round Attack w/ 5ft Step, Abort to Dodge and Free Actions. Typically 1 free action allowed per round w/ a few exceptions such as Combat Reflexes. For conversion purposes: Swift Actions, Free Actions, Immediate Actions, etc are all now classified as a “Free Action”. “Attack actions” not otherwise specified are standard actions. Abort to Dodge is a 1/2 move that can be taken at any point in the combat round and consumes your entire action for your next turn. If you have already acted in the current round, you may still Abort to dodge but are thrown to the ground prone at the end of your 1/2 move. This maneuver grants a + 4 Ref Save, and + 6 AC vs melee, ranged and AOE attacks. An acrobatics check can be made to regain a standing position as a free action, and thus “roll out of it”, but still consumes the player’s entire action for their next turn.
Combat Maneuvers Only provoke an Attack of Opportunity on a failed Combat Maneuver. This is to encourage such maneuvers to be used more in order to create more dynamic battlefields.
Bushwhacking Rules
The bushwhack rule applies only when a target is flat-footed, completely unaware of an attack against him, and the attacker has 3 rounds to quietly prepare a single attack. If the attack is successful it is considered to be an automatic critical hit which bypasses armor DR. Due to the Massive Damage rules used in the campaign most low level NPCs would be instantly killed. Even mid-level characters could be seriously injured by such an attack. Creatures immune to critical hits or sneak attacks are immune to bushwhack attacks. NOTE: this attack can be used even at long range for tactical sniping from a rooftop, etc.
If the attacker has a class ability for sneak attack or precision damage determine the attack normally and then apply sneak / precision damage. This damage is still applied at long range for sniping. Bushwhacking can be surprisingly deadly with snipers or hidden rogues, especially when combined with the rules for Massive Damage, and adds a tremendous amount of combat realism. This is a good reason to level skills such as Perception, work as a team, have an Animal Companion or Familiar who can help you look for such things, etc.
Pass Through Damage
Pass Through Damage is the concept of an exceptionally hard hit that converts some of its attack result into direct damage similar to how power attack works. In effect any time that your attack roll exceeds the AC of the target by more than 10 you apply the excess amount towards HP damage. IE: If the target has an AC of 20, and you hit with a 33. 33 Hit – 20 AC – 10 = 3 points of additional damage that has penetrated their defenses. This additional damage is also generated on attacks which score a natural 20 (ie it is stacks with those rules). This damage is treated like damage from a power attack and is subject to critical hit multipliers.
Massive Damage Threshold (MDT) and Results
Massive damage: at 1/2 Con Score + (LvL x 2)
Fort Save: succeed on Fort Save with a DC 15 +1 / 3 pts dam taken or suffer the effects of massive damage
Fort Save Failure = unconscious and Bleeding Out at -1 HP for pcs. For generic (unnamed) NPCs however this results in instant death. Named “boss” NPCs are treated the same way that PCs are in this regard.
Fort Save Success = see above “Serious Injury”
Increase MDT by +10 for each size category larger than medium.
Toughness, Endurance and Die Hard feats modify the Massive Damage Threshold by +3 for each feat taken (see skills and feats)
The previous article on Death and Dying can be found here:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2t1jz?Rewrite-for-Injury-and-healing-rules#7
No thoughts on this? I'm looking to see what others have thought of it on the hopes they may catch something I've missed. You may notice some of these rules allow for a closer integration of Mass Combat and Melee / Skirmish combat more typical in D20 Fantasy games. This is not an oversight but rather speaks to some of the campaign setting (much like the natural healing rules do from the other article).
It's cool that you have taken the time clearly word your house rules, but I don't see what a lot of it has to do with low-magic. Do you have house rules addressing what your players will do when they encounter higer level monsters that basically require magic to defeat? Even a weak swarm at low-level is hellish.
Attack Rolls
This seems like a way to punish strong characters. There has been a lot arguments about using Dex for melee attack rolls, but usually the proponents want to give a choice betwen the two ability scores.
Shields
The hole I see in this one is that there are no rules covering what direction someone is facing. I assume your rules mean that the GM will decide if the character gets the Reflex bonus or not? Are bucklers addressed in your rules?
Fighting Multiple Opponents
Much like the "facing" issue, it falls to the GM here to decide if an enemy is "attacking" or not. Perhaps a less arbitrary approach would be that when a creature attacks an enemy, the creature gains an attack bonus equal to the number of other creatures that threaten the enemy. Flanking is still possible, and it can still lead to the higher attack bonuses you are looking for.
Heavy Armor / Prone
I think this is a bad idea. A high level paladin or fighter might not be trained in Acrobatics, but should have the strength and experience to get back up. Maybe an attack roll modified by ACP? Not a difficult DC though - this is meant to be a heroic game.
Gotta go to work. Maybe I'll drop in again later.
Heavy Armor and being Knocked Prone
Historically speaking, getting knocked prone was one of the worst fears of a heavily armored knight.
- Yes. because in a grapple it was possible to slip a dagger between the armor plates.
Once they were flat on their backs it was nearly impossible to get up
- No, no, no! Terrible historical misconception! You can do sommersaults in combat Fullplate!
Ceremonial over-heavy Jousting Plate, which was explicitly designed to be used in Tourneys, and only there, was that heavy, because it would never see real combat. It was only good for reducing the danger of being scewered by a lance when jousting. There you had your crane to get on your horse, and squires to help getting up.
Because they were so impressive and decorated they were the ones who had the best chance to survive the centuries. Not the relatively plain Knight's Armor Fullpalte that was designed for the actual battlefield.
[url]https://youtu.be/zvCvOC2VwDc?t=43[/url]
Those historical knights weren't characters in a fantasy game, and were probably low level compared to many PCs. They didn't have magic either.
Dotting for later.
I appreciate some of these rules, and may adapt them for my game.
Why are you granting a +6 bonus to touch attack rolls? A touch AC is already easier than normal AC, particularly as everyone goes up in level.
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Why are you granting a +6 bonus to touch attack rolls? A touch AC is already easier than normal AC, particularly as everyone goes up in level.
Because there is no Touch AC, Armor doesn't grant a bonus to AC, and you don't lose your level bonus to AC for touch.
Why are you granting a +6 bonus to touch attack rolls? A touch AC is already easier than normal AC, particularly as everyone goes up in level.
Can'tFindthePath is actually pretty close with this. The answer is the def bonus by level makes touch attacks more difficult vs the more typical AC based on armor. With these rules your AC simply scales with you class thus a guy who is naked is just as hard to hit as one wearing full plate.
In my opinion as the author of much of this doc that is simply not the way a touch attack was intended to be played, and thus why the bonus was included.
If you want to see the difference try it out yourself. 5 x 5 team over ten rounds and see if your findings are different. We have played these rules (and some other variants) for the past several months and when touch attacks are used it seemed to balance out about right.
Heavy Armor and being Knocked Prone
Historically speaking, getting knocked prone was one of the worst fears of a heavily armored knight.- Yes. because in a grapple it was possible to slip a dagger between the armor plates.
Once they were flat on their backs it was nearly impossible to get up
- No, no, no! Terrible historical misconception! You can do sommersaults in combat Fullplate!
Ceremonial over-heavy Jousting Plate, which was explicitly designed to be used in Tourneys, and only there, was that heavy, because it would never see real combat. It was only good for reducing the danger of being scewered by a lance when jousting. There you had your crane to get on your horse, and squires to help getting up.
Because they were so impressive and decorated they were the ones who had the best chance to survive the centuries. Not the relatively plain Knight's Armor Fullpalte that was designed for the actual battlefield.
[url]https://youtu.be/zvCvOC2VwDc?t=43[/url]
I wanted to thank you for this. Seriously. I've never seen the footage in this video and everything else I've seen on the subject of Knights getting up from a prone position told a tale of a nightmarish experience for the downed knight. That section of these rules will be rewritten within the next few days.
This is EXACTLY the level of feedback I was hoping to get. Thank you.
It's cool that you have taken the time clearly word your house rules, but I don't see what a lot of it has to do with low-magic. Do you have house rules addressing what your players will do when they encounter higher level monsters that basically require magic to defeat? Even a weak swarm at low-level is hellish.
Yep. For one swarms are relatively uncommon in the setting. They exist, but more commonly the players are attacked by several "things" vs a "swarm" and thus your typical vermin swarm would be less likely to occur. As for the higher level monsters that can only be hit by magic weapons, this falls under the low magic / low level restrictions addressed at the top of the article. In other words much like you see in LoTR / GOT (again referenced at the top of the article) such encounters are very rare. Even when such creatures are encountered in the campaign they have been rebalanced to allow a mundane, or readily available, resource to overcome their immunities (such as Fire with the LOTR Nazgul, or Obsidian glass with the GOT White Walkers, or a vampires infamous stake through the heart / holy water / sunlight vulnerabilities).
Attack Rolls
This seems like a way to punish strong characters. There has been a lot arguments about using Dex for melee attack rolls, but usually the proponents want to give a choice between the two ability scores.
You are correct in one regard, it forces players / characters to spread their available character points to more than 2 stats. Your typical Barbarian 2h + Power Attack Crusher only had to focus on two stats (which are maxed until your eyes bleed!!) which are Str and Con and racial choices would favor at least one of those stats. This rule (there is a similar one for Casters which I'll detail in another article) by default drives down the amount of Min / Maxing which a character can get away with before they start screwing themselves. A typical min / max build at this point would be closer to a 16/14/16/10/10/10 vs a 20/18/8/8/8/6. Again, this is not an oversight, it was a design choice and from what I can tell seems to be working exactly as it was intended to.
Shields
The hole I see in this one is that there are no rules covering what direction someone is facing. I assume your rules mean that the GM will decide if the character gets the Reflex bonus or not? Are bucklers addressed in your rules?
You are correct. Facing was not addressed in this article, however it is a consideration when using shields. Basically the simple ruling on it is to use the shield arc itself when determining facing. IE: once the player declares whom he is applying the shield bonus to that is now considered to be "forward". In a phalanx formation it is a little more obvious what "forward is because a phalanx shield wall only really works from the front or left side.
Fighting Multiple Opponents
Much like the "facing" issue, it falls to the GM here to decide if an enemy is "attacking" or not. Perhaps a less arbitrary approach would be that when a creature attacks an enemy, the creature gains an attack bonus equal to the number of other creatures that threaten the enemy. Flanking is still possible, and it can still lead to the higher attack bonuses you are looking for.
Actually not a bad idea. I like it and will give it a solid consideration. The way I'm currently doing it is a little more simplistic, if the foe has rolled to hit against you they are "attacking". However given issues of ones relative position in the initiative cycle the idea of using the number that threaten a defender may be a better choice. Honestly we have played with both at the table and I simply grabbed this version for discussion purposes.
Heavy Armor / Prone
I think this is a bad idea. A high level paladin or fighter might not be trained in Acrobatics, but should have the strength and experience to get back up. Maybe an attack roll modified by ACP? Not a difficult DC though - this is meant to be a heroic game.
Given the video I just watched on heavy armor and what can be done with it, I would have to agree. Those rules have been removed.
Gotta go to work. Maybe I'll drop in again later.
Please do. Honest, well thought out feed back is what these articles are about, even if I disagree with that feed back. It allows me to look at things from an angle I would have undoubtedly have missed on my own.
Lazlo
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I Like the idea of low magic settings(or more settings where magic is a rare and powerful thing that not every person can get-think thieves world). it forces more creative solutions to problems that normally magic could solve in a few seconds. Like using flasks of oil or alcohol to try and deal with swarms, or using a burning torch to cauterize a hydras regenerating stumps.
At the same time magic is one of those 'Not to be messed with' things that can severely cause trouble or destruction. sure casting magic is a lengthy process of rituals, chanting and specific ingredients, but when you can drop a bolt of lightning on a massive creature and kill it almost instantly, nobody is questioning that it gets results.
Your first paragraph is exactly what I'm going for in my "Low Magic D20 Fantasy" campaign (you'll notice I didn't use the phrase "D20 Pathfinder"). It focuses on the presence of magic as a rare thing, and spell casters only appear about 20% as often as that of a typical Pathfinder campaign, and the levels caps are much lower. There are some additional restrictions in place such as significant limitations on multiclassing, etc that all serve to keep the campaign levels capped out in the 9 - 11 range (with a campaign hard cap at 13th).
The problem with your lightning bolt in my campaign setting is that not everyone can cast them. Most folks that can cast such magic are fairly rare according to D20 RAW Demographics, and much more so in my campaign setting. Effective? Absolutely. The fact that you have such an individual in your party? Reason for the local Lord of those lands to want to speak with you. Even a relatively low level party (say 4th level) would stand out from the crowd. Yet that level of attention is the very drawing board upon which to create further adventures as both your enemies and admirers seek you out and you are drug into the local power play.
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Your first paragraph is exactly what I'm going for in my "Low Magic D20 Fantasy" campaign (you'll notice I didn't use the phrase "D20 Pathfinder"). It focuses on the presence of magic as a rare thing, and spell casters only appear about 20% as often as that of a typical Pathfinder campaign, and the levels caps are much lower. There are some additional restrictions in place such as significant limitations on multiclassing, etc that all serve to keep the campaign levels capped out in the 9 - 11 range (with a campaign hard cap at 13th).
The problem with your lightning bolt in my campaign setting is that not everyone can cast them. Most folks that can cast such magic are fairly rare according to D20 RAW Demographics, and much more so in my campaign setting. Effective? Absolutely. The fact that you have such an individual in your party? Reason for the local Lord of those lands to want to speak with you. Even a relatively low level party (say 4th level) would stand out from the crowd. Yet that level of attention is the very drawing board upon which to create further adventures as both your enemies and admirers seek you out and you are drug into the local power play.
Magic as rare isn't just a low magic concept. Even lord of the rings has only a handful of fairly powerful people being even remotely capable of using magic. the main detail however is the speed of the casting. In Lord of the rings, or some higher magic settings, magic is a fairly instantaneous affair-the wizard simply points his staff or says some words and a spell happens.
In settings like 'Conan', 'a song of ice and fire', and 'thieves world', Magic takes a lot longer, so while the spell is going to be powerful, a single arrow, thrown knife, or blow from a sword can disrupt the casting. Identifying a wizard is kind of a dependable affair. Most choose to us their powers as little as possible, because once you start casting a spell, you cannot stop until its completed to get it to work. Most wizards probably won't advertise being a wizard, since it tends to attract bandits, assassins, or more scrutiny. Same way that rouges DON'T advertise being thieves(As that tends to get more jail time, guard scrutiny, and threats of execution) , instead posing as trackers, hunters, or hired blades.
In a low magic setting, its some times good to hide your true colors until its a good time to strike. Because magic when its successfully cast can be devastating. And that is why People treat a magic caster as a big deal, because given enough time and resources, A single magic caster can do things that fall into 'acts of god' level material.
Magic isn't just done by wizards though, as there are possibly several different types of magic accessible to humans. in my opinion mainly 3 types. The Powers arcane(the Wizard type of magic, And the most easily bent to the will of mortals(or at least those blessed with the power to use the powers arcane)), The Natural Magics(Druid, shaman, and (sometimes)witch type magics. More coaxed to assist than directly controlled.), and finally the powers Divine(powers from the literal gods of the world, the main source for priests, oracles and Champions of their respective faiths, And the most out of the hands of humans. If the gods wont give you their blessing to do miracles, then you cannot do miracles. end of story. So most are simply praying (desperately in some cases) for the gods to give the power to heal people or other useful abilities.)
So while magic is rare and powerful, those that attempt to practice it vary from type to type. Sometime the 'magic' is a placebo effect, like a special ritual or dance to try and get the people to believe that it will enhance their powers. And other times its so real that most who hold its power will jealously guard its power or use it to hold vast control over a large number of people or territory.
Agreed. Taking your Divine Caster (Priest, Cleric, Druid, etc) for example. You have 1000 people every day crying out, "Save my son / wife / dad / etc from some dreaded affect (disease, injury, etc)." Yet they only cast a relatively few spells vs the needs of an entire community. This is why in campaigns like mine the locals are typically told, "Bring your loved one to the Temple of Healing / Hospital and they'll get the best care available." IE; what they get is the attentions of a medic / NPC Expert or in rare cases level 1 - 2 Cleric with a decent skill check. Magical healing is only rendered in the event of mortal injuries, and even then only targeted at life saving applications.
The reason for this was graphically illustrated in one particular session at my table when a group of Ninja had snuck into a large festival armed with Bow & Arrows that exploded per Fireball when they struck. Now this may not sound like a big deal to a mid to high level party, but these were not being fired at the party per se, rather they were being fired into a group of untrained civilians (NPC classes ranging level 1 - 3) and resulting in literally hundreds of people being killed or wounded. The local Hospital / Temple received the wounded and instantly became a military M.A.S.H. unit (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). While they were dealing with all of this mess, the members of noble houses who had been injured started showing up demanding special treatment and wanting magical aid be rendered to them above anyone else. "But this is the Lady Greytower, the wife of the Duke! Surely you are not suggesting this PEASANT (who is near death) is more worthy than she (who is barely injured)??"
Dealing with the clean up of the attack actually took more time at the table than fighting off the Ninjas themselves. There were Diplomacy checks which had to be made, and a ton of intrigue (and plot hooks to future adventures) which resulted from that night at the table. For my combat oriented player I put them on hunting down the Ninjas and their accomplices, for my RP players they got to deal with the politics and logistics of the care and healing of the wounded.
I am a big fan of using story driven plots such as this to remind the players that regardless of how powerful they are in the campaign, it is not always about their personal power but rather how that power is being used to shape the world around them. Commoners look to PC's as heroes who take on impossible odds to save the day, but when the players (and DMs) loose sight of what is at stake suddenly is it just another kill / smash / grab dungeon run.
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That sounds a lot like how I run my table. :) Combat as a last option. Intrigue. Real world situations, where you can't wave it away with magic. (Even though I run a high magic campaign.)
To this day, I think one of the best adventures published that accomplished that was Seven Days to the Grave, in the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path. They just did not have the available healing, through Clerical, wand or arcane, to be able to help the populace enough. The plague was deadly. Perhaps not to the heroes, but to the people they have community with.
I like several of these rules. Very nice! Fighting multiple opponents and Armor as DR (the last paragraph) specifically. They are slightly tighter versions of rules I already use, and I immediately added them to my House Rules document, to give them a shot.
It came up earlier that my rules are missing a section to deal with FACING concerning shield use. Anyone who has ever seen a shield (much less held one) knows they are an active defense and completely worthless to anyone attacking from behind.
Facing
Under D20 RAW facing is an aspect of the game which has been phased out over the years as an overly complex mechanic, and in most cases I tend to agree with this ruling, with the use of shields however it becomes more relevant. As such the general rule of thumb follows whoever you attack with your primary attack (the first attack with the highest bonus) is considered to be "forward". In the event that all attacks are sacrificed for a Full Defensive Round then simply pick your "primary foe" to defend against and all other rules for blocking apply normally from there. Because shields only apply their effect to forward facing foes (and the defender gets no bonus from foe at the rear) this designation is an important one for use with advanced shield / blocking considerations.
It came up earlier that my rules are missing a section to deal with FACING concerning shield use. Anyone who has ever seen a shield (much less held one) knows they are an active defense and completely worthless to anyone attacking from behind.
Facing
Under D20 RAW facing is an aspect of the game which has been phased out over the years as an overly complex mechanic, and in most cases I tend to agree with this ruling, with the use of shields however it becomes more relevant. As such the general rule of thumb follows whoever you attack with your primary attack (the first attack with the highest bonus) is considered to be "forward". In the event that all attacks are sacrificed for a Full Defensive Round then simply pick your "primary foe" to defend against and all other rules for blocking apply normally from there. Because shields only apply their effect to forward facing foes (and the defender gets no bonus from foe at the rear) this designation is an important one for use with advanced shield / blocking considerations.
Bucklers
The absence of Bucklers were an oversight earlier. They add a + 1 to AC but no additional defensive benefits (aside from magic, specialized feats, etc) due to their small size.
Let me know if I have overlooked anything else this obvious guys, and thank you for catching it!