
GM DarkLightHitomi |
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I'm planning on starting a game in a couple weeks if I can get enough players.
Premise: The players are "ordinary" kobolds (lvl 1 with non-elite stats, no special gear), with a company of kobolds to lead. Certain challenges come along that must be defeated creatively because they are too powerful to defeat head on.
There is a bit story here that will eventually lead to the PCs leading a group of kobolds into dungeons to recover things. This is the birth of a more capable kobold empire in a homebrew setting.
Rules: Heavily modified 3.5/pf1.
-Removed classes, more feats gained and class abilities can be taken as feats in feat trees.
-HP is similar to wounds/vitality except wounds are specific injuries with effects and causing injuries is the main way to kill living things, as hp amounts are larger but don't cover serious dmg.
-Magic is altered, now more flexible and skill based, with your check giving the the CL of the spell, no longer balanced by uses per day instead balanced by the action economy, consuming hp, and risk (you can spend a turn to attempt to cast a spell, the more powerful the spell, the higher the DC, and thus more likely that the spell will fizzle).
-Raw power is gained separate from versatility. Basically, the things that are normally based on HD or level are now based on a power stat, thus, you can gain several levels without moving from one "tier" of play into the next (i.e. lvls 1-5 are normally gritty fantasy, now, you gain 20 levels and still be in the gritty fantasy range, or the inverse, start out at the demi-gods fantasy range at lvl 1)
-Combat is now largely skills and works like other skill checks. i.e. Bab is replaced with skills in the various weapons.
-3d6 variant, instead of just always being 3d6, it is 3 dice based on stats, skill ranks, ability scores, decide dice sizes.
Seems like a massive shift, but the underlying foundation is basically the same and thus is generally still directly compatible with 3.5/pf1 resources.
Style: A grounded style. The rules are representative of the world, but not only are players not limited to mechanical solutions, if you limit yourself to the mechanics, you'll probably fail. Use the environment, and non-mechanical solutions.
The point of changing the mechanics is not balance or anything, but rather, to A) be more representative of the fictional world, and B) to make it easier to take a player's desired action that doesn't have an explicit rule/mechanic and to resolve it quickly, easily, and consistently, on the fly as needed without it being pure fiat.
The rules are about making play more consistent and communicating about things in shorthand, and not about defining "how to play."
This is particularly important for this game, since the whole challenge is to face mechanically superior problems, and to overcome them despite inferior stats.
You are kobolds, you don't win by being more powerful, because you're not, and rarely will be. Your only hope of being the more powerful creature is in facing things like goblins.
You have leadership over some kobolds, so use them.
Play Method: Discord voice chat live game. Don't know much of roll20, but if it can be done for free, I might be convinced to use it if enough players want that instead.
Playtime: Starts 23:00 on a weeknight according to central mountain time (middle of the US). The exact night can be chosen by the player consensus, mon through thur nights.
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I'm currently putting the exact rules together in a document, but feel free to ask any specific questions before I get that up.
This is still 2-3 weeks out from starting.
Feedback is always welcome.