The rules for shaping are left deliberately vague, so I thought it would be nice to have some mechanically sound guidelines for GMs who want to allow their players to use shaping when they visit the First World.
Does this sound reasonable? Did I forget anything important?
Has anybody made use of shaping in their game (as described in First World, Realms of the Fey)? If so, how did you handle it?
The rules for shaping are left deliberately vague, so I thought it would be nice to have some mechanically sound guidelines for GMs who want to allow their players to use shaping when they visit the First World.
Does this sound reasonable? Did I forget anything important?
This sounds very reasonable, but I think you might want to include:
1) Multiple people trying to create the same effect (everyone in the party trying to Shape a dangerous animal into a less dangerous one, for instance). Also whether or not multiple people could extend the range or duration of such Shaping. If the entire party wants to turn all the leaves in an area blue, exactly how would this work out? (How far would it go, how long would they stay blue, etc.)
2) Classes with magical abilities. Perhaps casters simply use their full level instead of 1/2. Maybe some classes that are closer to nature or the fey (Druids, Shamans, Bards, Witches, etc.) get some sort of bonus.
3) Single vs team someone with a lower level would lose in a game of opposed casting, but a single, higher-level character might win against multiple lower-level folks, particularly if the person is already a caster.
Thoughts?
Thank you for your feedback.
1) I tried to implement that by allowing aid another, and there is an option to increase the DC for an increased range/area/duration. The party would decide who makes the check, the other players would attempt a DC 10 Charisma check to aid the shaping character. The shaping character sets the duration and the area of effect. Admittedly, there is still a bit of GM call involved (turning the whole area blue might require multiple shapings or a single powerful one, which would be closer to, say, a 3rd- or higher-level spell. Also, some of the locals might take offense).
Separating base area from spell effect is tricky, I'm not sure this should be its own formula element.
2) I deliberately decided against that, because I think that shaping should be fundamentally different from spellcasting. A romantic swashbuckler will be better at this than a scholarly wizard. However, I would be okay with a bonus for characters that have a special fey connection.
3) I was thinking that the shaping effect could be limited by the character's level (similar to spells). That way, only high-level characters can achieve powerful effects (and fey usually do have a lot of HD for their CR). I think this is mostly a theoretical problem, though. After all, these rules are meant to offer toys to the PCs. I can totally see different fey factions using their shaping against each other in their struggle for dominance over a certain domain. But the system doesn't have to simulate that struggle perfectly.
I realize that I never took a look at the words of power system, which might be helpful for what I have in mind here.