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 STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)

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Chris24601
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Chris24601
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyWed Feb 13, 2019 6:03 pm

So, now for a completely different note from all the other stuff, its time to bring up something I've been mulling over because its something that has been bothering me for a while and I haven't found any good alternatives, nor have any of my real life friends.

Its also something you'll probably find completely silly, but I'm throwing it out there anyway.

I really don't like the name "Terrors & Tactics" anymore. I don't think it properly encompasses the themes and elements that have developed since I originally coined the name because TnT was both a pun (the "explosive" game system) and sounded a lot like "D&D."

Its bigger than just fighting terrors using tactics now. Its heroes holding the line to protect the flickering points of light from the darkness beyond.

I can live with Terrors & Tactics if I have to; there's way too much work to throw away just because the name doesn't quite match up in my head anymore. But I'm also hoping I can find something that better reflects what the world and the game is all about now too. Something more focused on who the PCs are and why you should pick this game of heroic fantasy over any of the many others... and maybe (though its a distant 3rd tier requirement) something that points back to 4th Edition D&D.

Some various names that have been thrown out there already ranging from pragmatic to way too flowery;

- Shield & Spell (this one came with a proposed oath for the guards of Blackspire... "By Shield and Spell I will defend the realms of Men."

- Heroes of the Fourth Earth (a.k.a. "Hot4E")

- Journeymen (with added focus on PCs as wandering problem solvers)

- Blackspire ("if it worked for Castle Greyhawk")

- A Light in the Darkness

- Order of Heroes

- Against the Shadows

* * * * * *

I'm not wedding to any of them.

I like the alliteration of Shield & Spell... one of the biggest appeals to me of Terrors & Tactics was similar alliteration.

I also like the play on both the Essential book titles ("Heroes of the...") and 4E in the name (Fourth Earth)... though Fourth Earth is a bit "eh."

The others are mediocre.

I'm not sure if anything could ever actually compete with Terrors & Tactics other than just the nagging feeling that there's a better name for it out there.

Sometimes its a pain being an artistic type... you're never sure whether your dissatisfaction is genuine or if its just because you're your own worst critic who sees flaws others never would.

Anyway, figured I'd throw it out there just because it is something that's been bugging me for awhile now.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 14, 2019 11:07 am

Mediocre ain't the word. Order of Heroes and Against the Shadows are about as generic as store-brand toilet paper, A Light In The Darkness is too flowery (like you were saying), Journeymen is going to be a pain to search for in various search engines, and it implies that PCs stay journeymen, Blackspire would only work for a supplement or campaign setting detailing Blackspire (Greyhawk only worked because the rules were under a different name).

Heroes of the Fourth Earth runs into the problem of being a little too close to the HotF Essentials naming pattern, and the Fourth Earth part doesn't make any sense, unless there were three previous Earths. Switching to Fourth Era is likewise a little too on the nose, and unless the pre-Demon Empire era is discounted, it doesn't even match up (Demon Empire, First Empire of Man, Praetoria, Current Era).

Of your suggestions, Shield and Spell and the accompanying oath are the best, even if it's a little generic (not nearly as much as Order of Heroes, good God).

I remember when you decided on T&T that you had an alternative that you were undecided about: Legends of the Fallen Earth. That might work well.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 14, 2019 11:36 am

I was being kind with mediocre. They were from people legitimately trying to help.

Like I said though, to date nothing works as well as Terrors & Tactics, but I can’t shake the feeling it’s not quite the right name for it. It’s not something I’m going to pause production over, but it is something kicking around in the back of my head.

On that production side, I’ve decided to go back to the drawing board on Emberfalls. It’s just too conflict free to be worth any page count. The Toria Tribes have their clan rivalries for territory/resources and tenuous ties to civilization in the Free Cities (and whether they want to strengthen those ties or pull back from more formal civilization) to keep them interesting.

So I think I’m going to run with a more general “haven for outcasts” approach and the idea that instead of dwindling numbers due to members breaking off and settling during the exodus, the malfeans instead picked up other outcasts on the route (say some dark elves tired of the bum rap they get because of El-Phara’s protectorate crap, people who just didn’t fit in with the Toria Tribes, some renegade avatars who “almost” get it in terms of the redemptive path, gnomes looking for new adventures, genuine outlaws who decided leaving the area was the safest course of action, etc.).

I’m still baking my noodle on particular issues for Emberfalls, but I’m leaning towards something of a “faction council” where the representatives of the various factions of outcasts has a seat and votes on issues involving the entire community (think the council of pirate captains in Pirates of the Caribbean only gangs of outcasts instead of pirate crews).
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 14, 2019 12:05 pm

I should have been gentler with my critique. My apologies.

***

I like your new Ember Falls idea better - things can actually get interesting here. I think that the faction council is a good idea, since the whole settlement is an informal collection of various factions. They're still working out the bugs, just like everybody else.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 14, 2019 1:18 pm

Well, they weren't MY suggestions; I just try to be polite overall to everyone who gives me ideas, even if they aren't what I end up going with.

I'm liking the idea for Emberfalls better too. I think there's a place for something like the idyllic hideaway, but it should probably be presented more like a Shangri-La (i.e. a mythic place rumored to be out there) than a place that deserves any real copy space directly.

* * * * *

Another fun section of the GM's Guide I'm working on is a sort of quick/random build for what I'm called "Adventure Sites." An Adventure Site is some point of civilization (a town or border fort or someplace the PCs could make a home base and rest and recover at... I'm calling it a Center for short) and a number of surrounding points of interest to adventurers (like ruins and monster lairs).

The idea is that the GM could quickly create their own area either by rolling randomly or picking some options from these tables.

* * * * *

Center Origin
1 Ancestral Land
2 Ancient Industry
3 Defensible Site
4 Species Isolationists
5 Innovators
6 Outcasts
7 Rebels
8 Religious Community
9 Survivors
10 Trading Hub

Center is Sustained by... (roll 1d4-1 times; min. 1)
1 Neutral Ground/Mediators
2 Raiding/Exploitation of Neighbors
3 Educational Tradition
4 Expert Artisans
5 Martial Tradition
6 Missionary Zeal
7 Mutual Defense
8 Production Center
9 Strong Cultural Traditions
10 Trade Route/Crossroads

Center's Obstacles (roll 1d4 times)
1 Bad Reputation
2 Class Hatred
3 Contaminated Land
4 Corrupt Leadership
5 Crushed Spirits
6 Demagogue
7 Demon Cult
8 Destructive Customs
9 Disunity
10 Ethnic Feuding
11 Exceptional Poverty
12 Flooding
13 Mercenary Populace
14 Monsters
15 Pervasive Hunger
16 Raiders
17 Recurrent Sickness
18 Riotous Thugs
19 Secret Society
20 Xenophobia

Resources near Center (roll 1d6 times)
1 Fertile Land
2 Good Fishing
3 Good Hunting
4 Good Mine
5 Good Timber
6 Lush Pasture
7 Magical Materials
8 Medicinal Plants
9 Old Industry
10 Rich Gathering

Obstacles to the Resources (roll 1/resource)
1 Bad Reputation
2 Contaminated Land
3 Covetous Polity
4 Failed Settlement
5 Flooding
6 Harsh Conditions
7 Hazardous Resource
8 Hostile Magics
9 Raiders
10 Inaccessible
11 Monsters
12 No Workers
13 Recalcitrant Locals
14 Recurrent Sickness
15 Relic Golems
16 Hostile Tribes
17 Taboo Land
18 Toxic Process
19 Undeveloped
20 Wasted Production

Ruins of Interest (roll 2d4 times)
1 Abandoned Town
2 Ancient Settlement
3 Broken Temple
4 Crumbled Fortress
5 Demon/First Empire Ruins
6 Dwarven Hold
7 Empty Tower
8 Failed Colony
9 Forsaken Outpost
10 Lost Mine
11 Plundered City
12 Shattered School

Ruin is Important Because... (roll 1/ruin)
1 Ancient Armory
2 Buried Treasure
3 Commanding Location
4 Forgotten Sorceries
5 Glorious Dead
6 Great Art
7 Lost Techniques
8 Pre-Cataclysm Relics
9 Rich Resources
10 Scattered Heirs
11 Seat of Legitimacy
12 Willing Recruits

Ruin Obstacles (roll 1 to 2 times per ruin)
1 Ancient Curse
2 Angry Dead
3 Barren Surroundings
4 Conquering Heirs
5 Dark Arcanists
6 Demon Cult
7 Demonspawn
8 Destructive Customs
9 Disputed Possession
10 Exiled Lord
11 Inaccessible
12 Monsters
13 Murderous Heirs
14 Raiders
15 Relic Golems
16 Severe Damage
17 Hostile Tribe
18 Sinister Cult
19 Taboo Land
20 Things From Below

Nearby Lairs (roll 2d6 times)
1 Ancient Evil
2 Ancient Fort
3 Aspiring Warlord
4 Bandit Camp
5 Undead Lair
6 Cult Shrine
7 Cursed Earth
8 Demonic Master
9 Demonspawn Infestation
10 Mad Arcanist
11 Magical Gate
12 Malevolent True Believers
13 Monster Nest
14 Outcasts
15 Renegade Outpost
16 School of Dark Sorcery
17 Barbarian Tribe
18 Splinter Group
19 Thieves' Stronghold
20 Vicious Humanoids

Regional Villains (often PC-Light or Full PC build NPCs)
- One Prime Evil (11-15th level)
- Two Lesser Evils (7-10th level)
- Four Perils (5-6th level)

Random Villain Motivations (Optional):
1 - Lust
2 - Gluttony
3 - Greed
4 - Sloth
5 - Wrath
6 - Envy
7 - Pride
8 - Roll twice and use both results.

* * * * *

Basically, if you don't want to use Blackspire and aren't feeling the desire to create your own region, you can use this for inspiration.

The Ruins and Lairs sections also prove useful if you want your community to have some type of "Bounty Board" for adventurers.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 14, 2019 4:54 pm

In the vein of the original alternate name, I got a suggestion that what really sets my world apart is that I broke it; literally blew it to smithereens beyond anything they’d ever seen in a fantasy setting and that my “big city” is only a few thousand people and built around a shattered skyscraper; so if I wanted to give it a different name I should be focusing on that... something about how absolutely broken the world was by the Cataclysm.

That’s probably the best suggestion I’ve had so far. “Fallen Earth” fit back when it was a more generalized collapse (akin to the fall of Rome), but it’s not just fallen, it’s destroyed and civilization is just barely crawling from the wreckage.

So... broken? shattered? ravaged? devastated? sundered? cataclysm? ... earth? world? realms? empires? kingdoms? Maybe with a “heroes of” “age of” “legends of” prefix?

I dunno... I certainly think something in that vein is better than “Shield & Spell (too generic without the oath thing)” which was probably the strongest of the suggestions I’d put up before. Whether some combo in there can beat out Terrors & Tactics is the real question though.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyFri Feb 15, 2019 8:40 am

One name that came to me in a brainwave was Anno Cataclysm, or the Year of the Cataclysm, based on Anno Domini. It also fits the Roman-inspired Praetoria.

Sundered Earth and Shattered Earth both have results in DuckDuckGo in gaming, and they both imply a world that's been literally split apart, like the planet was turned into an asteroid field. Devastated Earth doesn't flow as well, in my opinion, and Ravaged Earth and Broken Earth seem like grotesque understatements.

***
One random question I had; have you had anybody other than the summoner class take the summoned ally attack spell? Because if I'm reading the rules right, the abjurer and benedictor could do some serious damage by triggering their effects off of their summoned ally - the abjurer could trigger their wards when their ally is attacked, while the benedictor could buff the ally. Even the maledictor could do a reverse beastmaster, having the ally use the main action and the maledictor himself attacking with the minor action energy missile.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyFri Feb 15, 2019 10:13 am

While I’ve not seen the Summon Ally Abjurer, I have seen the Maledictor and Benedictor versions played and the Maledictor played exactly as you suggested; Ally uses the main action, Maledictor uses energy missile for their minor action.

I also saw an Interdictor use it combined with their ability to use enlarge spell as a free action or increase the size of the enlarge by spending focus. A large monster using a melee burst 2 that is enemies only can target 32 squares. Spend a focus when summoned and the large ally also drops a condition on each target hit.

Or you go with a medium ally who has an aura with a stackable condition and an AoE with the same stacking condition and inflict a moderate condition on everyone in a burst 1 (the danger is if the ally dropped you lose the surge, but while it lasts its quite potent).

The main advantage of the summoner is that it doesn’t cost it a surge if it’s summon is destroyed (and it can completely eliminate the damage taken as well with the summoning specialization) and that the Aspects give its summon roughly the value of two additional traits for free, but Summon Ally is still a valid power choice even without those extras.

* * * * *

Of the various combos of names I think I’d go “realms” over “earth” or “world.” It’s more evocative of fantasy and can relate to both the Realms of Men and to the broken Astral Realms (i.e. the reason elves and fetches are trapped in the world). Either that or “Age of...” for similar reasons.

Shattered Realms? Realms of Ruin? Age of Ruin? The Shattered Age? Cataclysm Age?

“Anno Cataclysm” is definitely going in the list too. Perhaps not directly, but the notion of taking some of these things and translating them to Latin is a good one.

One image in my head is a new cover that has more of a profile shot of the heroes on a ridge and looking out at a floating island with a ruin atop it... literally showing how the environment has been warped and broken by the Cataclysm. Even if the name stays Terrors & Tactics I think that’s a bit more evocative than four heroes with an undefined burning background.

One of my favorite things about 4E was the way it embraced the fantastic environments; Floating islands, castles sitting in the middle of huge active volcanos, thousand foot waterfalls, statue monuments hundreds of feet tall; these are things a 4E style world like my setting is better off for having them in it.

Which reminds me. I need to write up a section on fantastic terrain for the GMs Guide before I run out of room. I just put in spacers into the Player’s Guide for all the art I think it will need and so I have a rough final page count of 380 pages for the Player’s Guide (I was hoping for 360, but losing 20 pages of art would leave it looking way too spartan... I might be able to shift a few pages around between it and the GM’s Guide, but that book is already to the point where I’m having to cut out World fluff just to fit the crunch).
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 19, 2019 4:00 pm

Still no decision on any possible rename. For now its Terrors & Tactics until something can completely knock my socks off.

I've started into fantastic terrain; Gravity Springs (the opposite of a gravity well... causes object to float up into the air and are the cause of natural floating islands that remain stationary... also possible to ride the eddies that are weaker at the edges to reach any floating island and slow your fall if dropping off of one... unless you push out too far), Earthbergs (free floating islands that move with the air currents), Crossroads (rips between the Mortal world and Astral/Shadow Worlds) and Elemental Nodes (rather like the Avatar's environmental effects only unconnected from any intelligent control) being the main ones.

* * * * *

I've also gone and done a bit of a revamp on the Spellcasting Paths due to some feedback and general dissatisfaction with a few things.

The major change is that I split up Arcane into a Gadgeteering and a Wizardry Path. Each path then gained a couple of sub options.

Gadgeteers gained the following focus options;
Monkeywrencher (REF): Add your REF score to Engineering checks made to use the Disable Device action. You can use REF for melee weapon attacks.
Siege Engineer (STR): You gain proficiency with medium armor, expert proficiency in one weapon and with runic weapons.
Troubleshooter (WIT): Add your WIT score to Engineering checks made to use the Jury Rig or Repair actions. You can use INT for your Armor defense.

Basically, there are now Builders (with the typical WIT focus score), Breakers (Monkeywrenchers) and War Gadgeteers (better armor, weapon proficiency and can easily function as a STR primary melee build). While they all use Gadgeteering implements how they specifically express their gadgeteering now has a bigger range.

Wizards likewise gained the following options;
Social Caster (PRE): You gain proficiency with the staff, tome, wand and one-handed runic weapon implements. You also add your choice of Deceit, Intimidate or Persuade to your background skill list and may select Courtier utilities and the Cantrips utility from the Arcanist background.
Student of the Arcane (WIT): You gain proficiency with the staff, tome, wand and one-handed runic weapon implements. You also add Arcana to your background skill list and may select Arcanist utilities. If you are an Arcanist, the range of your utilities becomes a minimum of 5 paces.
War Mage (STR or REF): You gain basic proficiency with all weapons, expert proficiency with two weapon categories and with runic weapon implements. You can use REF for your melee weapon attacks and REF– 1 for your climb, jump and swim speeds and use your full STR for your Armor defense. You also add your choice of Fitness or Acrobatics to your background skill list and may select Physical Adept utilities. In addition, by holding a weapon for one hour, you bond with it until you use this ability again. A bonded weapons act as runic weapon and for 1 pace can teleport to your hand regardless of its distance from you.

The War Mage is essentially the runic options... but renamed because I realized that technically all the wizards use runic forms for their casting (even if they're only tracing them in the air as they invoke the proper words) so this makes the option it more about what they do, which is to be the classic Gish like a Swordmage or Bladesinger. The social caster is a new option for the more 'intrigue' focused mage... his courtier utilities are augmented by subtle magics rather than pure social grace; basically a stronger base archetype for an enchanter-style wizard.

Finally, Sorcerers were moved to the Primal Spellcasting Path as possessing an inborn connection to the Source (rather than "Arcane Web interface in your blood" which was rather undefined on how it got there and why all wizards didn't just create such connections in themselves) and have been made much more intuitive in terms of their casting (they get Insight added to their skill lists instead of Arcana and can use Insight for Sense Magic checks (but would still need Arcana for rituals and magic lore) and pick up Primal Utilities instead of Arcanist utilities by default. To better reflect that their magic is entirely inborn they now only get proficiency with their Innate Magic (by contrast, those whose primal connection are the Covenant Spirits get the full array of primal implements and the ability to speak with primal spirits).

This also makes it a lot easier to run the "You are your patron" options for the Avatars who go with primal spellcasting as they can also be their own implements.

I think this change will help make all the spellcasting paths more distinct from each other (particularly given the additional depth and focus with the Demonic and Shadow paths... the PCs need options at least as interesting).

It'll be in an update as soon as I can run through all the references to Arcane spellcasting (which Gadgeteering and Wizardry still are, even if the paths are mechanically separate) and make sure everything is presented accurately.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 19, 2019 5:57 pm

Now this is awesome!

The Gadgeteer just got some more depth; the old Int/Str Artificer from way back in the day is back and bearing heavier armor (taking the old Potent Runes' armor proficiency), and we get a new ninja-gadgeteer.

The Wizard also gets an expansion. The Social Caster's a neat addition that subverts the scholarly stereotype of wizards, and the war mage blends the runic casters back into the wizard's fluff, which they only differed from on a mechanical level. I do notice that you switched the strength-based war mage to full Strength in armor, like the primal classes, thus making the siege engineer the heaviest-armored arcane caster.

Moving the sorcerer over to primal casting makes sense, given the fluff points you brought up. I have to wonder how you justify the astral, force, and psychic damage types for the primal path, or if you prefer to leave that up to the players.

Just out of curiosity, have there been any revisions to the astral path?
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 19, 2019 6:48 pm

Astral has been pretty solid for awhile now so it’s not really changed. It’s got all the possible focus scores covered and each one has its thematic differences... zealous is avenger style who can do cloth armor and be super agile while also blasting with astral power. Militant has the medium armor and weapon training to pull off a paladin or armored cleric. Faithful lets you pull off the scholarly cloth armored blaster cleric with a shield of faith and letting you be good at Arcana, Culture and Insight regardless of whether INT or WIT is your focus score.

At the same time, the basic training utility and selecting armor instead of wards could make the faithful cleric into a lightly armored warrior and as long as PRE is your best score the militant and zealous can be as blaster-y as the faithful. There’s commonality and overlap you can use to tailor the build to perfectly match your concept.

By contrast, Arcane that was really spread taunt over far too many casting styles, each with their own implements and options, but also tied to just a single focus score each. If you were a gadgeteer or Wizard you were INT/WIT. Every Sorcerer was super smart and charismatic. That’s why it needed the split... so you could tailor your gadgeteer or wizard (and sorcerer) to the degree you could the astral casters.

As for the Sorcerer and the “atypical” energy types; psychic is easy... it’s there in the primal fear of predators and the affinity everyone feels for baby animals (and humans). It’s in the rippling illusion of a mirage drawing you towards water that isn’t there.

Astral is the reflected light of the Source and, as covered under the Fetches, there are legends saying the Grey Huntress is not an astral god at all, but the primal spirit of death and transition (an important part of the natural world). In short, that a primal Sorcerer might call on these energies hints that the world doesn’t quite fit together the way most think it does; that it is bigger and more interconnected than largely assumed.

Another element I like about the Sorcerer change is that it restores a bit more of the D&D sorcerer flavor as beings who are rather feared. Arcane power may require secret knowledge to wield, but it’s also fundamentally knowable. The formulas and implements are repeatable and their fundamentals can be studied. Even more, even with a innate connection to the Arcane Web, the caster must still learn the same spells as the wizard.

In short, having under Arcane just made it exotic, but not fearsome.

But Primal? Mankind rejected primal power when they turned to the Astral gods. Avatars and Primal Spirits are largely regarded as the kin to demons (which is true, but also completely missing the point)... and Sorcery is someone born with an innate connection to that primal power. No special knowledge needed, no implements to hint at their power or that can be taken to hinder them, maybe not even needing words or gestures to project their magic into the world.

Thus, the Sorcerer is someone to be feared by those who worship the astral gods or study the logical rules of arcane power... only those who honor the primal powers; barbarians, avatars and malfeans; are likely to see it as a gift from the Source instead of a curse.

That’s WAY more interesting than “somehow born with an internal wifi connection to the Arcane Web.”
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 19, 2019 7:09 pm

Edit is being weird on my phone so one other element I feel like adding is that by moving Sorcerers to Primal, even as its restoring some parts of the D&D feel, are also further distinguishing my world and mechanics from D&D (important since I’m foregoing the OGL).

It’s now in the same boat as my system’s Warlocks, who are Astral spellcasters because all Astrals gain their magic through pacts with Astral powers, be they gods of light/darkness or angels/devils. A Warlock is an Astral caster who has broken their part of the pact, but still uses the power (because that part of the pact can only be undone by the caster’s death.

A Warlock is therefore by definition a traitor to whoever granted them their power and so is treated with suspicion and fear... even if the god they turned from was from the Pantheon of Darkness and they’re now wielding dark power for good ends.

It’s the epitome of the D&D warlock and how they’re regarded in D&D settings, but because it’s under the Astral heading it’s also different enough that it’s distinct from the OGL material.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyWed Feb 20, 2019 11:03 am

Update is up (same link should work).

And in another unexpected case of getting closer 4E’s fluff while simultaneously getting further away... I ended up making a statement in the new intro to the spellcasting archetype on how Sorcerers are more common among avatars and their descendants (but the gift can turn up anywhere... technically even golems; though that should probably be a hook all on its own).

Makes sense... avatars ARE primal spirits after all. Even in exile they’re still connected to the power of thr Primal Source by nature of what they are. Sorcerers should be more common among them.

But in a case of lore convergence... what’s a particularly iconic type of avatar in my setting?

Dragons.

So a sorcerer with dragon blood in their veins is absolutely a thing in the Terrors & Tactics setting even though Sorcerers completely changed from arcane to primal casters... because dragons changed origins first.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 21, 2019 9:41 am

Morning update: I’ve been working on the “rewards” section of the GM’s Guide today and finally got the Artifacts rules done. In addition to bigger properties, they also have one or more allegiances which determine their attitude towards their user.

The gist is if you have no shared allegiances the artifact is neutral. Each shared allegiance bumps up the attitude (to friendly then helpful). Each opposed allegiance drops the attitude (to wary then hostile).

How these shake out is “The artifact will allow its properties to be used...”
- Neutral: if the action aligns with one of the artifacts allegiances.
- Friendly: if the action is not opposed to its allegiances.
- Helpful: if the action appears to oppose its allegiances (though if it doesn’t end up at least being neutral to its interests its attitude will drop to friendly).
- Wary: will not allow its properties to be used at all.
- Hostile: if the action is against the user’s interests (and if it can communicate will also feign friendship and give bad advice hoping to lead the user to ruin).

The user can try to improve the artifact’s attitude either by performing actions that are in line with the artifact’s allegiances or (in the short term) by making Persuade checks to temporarily improve its attitude.

* * * * *

Organization-wise I’ve also decided to move the major magic items to the GM’s Guide on the grounds they’re not something a PC can typically just buy outright (the closest to that would be adventuring to gather the dangerous components and then having it crafted).

This frees up about six pages in the Player’s Guide where I can put a little more depth into the religions and just a bit of world background details because those are fairly important parts of many character concepts (even if they don’t end up at the level of an allegiance) and I feel players need to be able to build PCs for the default setting using just the Player’s Guide (GM’s can obviously modify to taste, but a baseline gives a place to start.

* * * * *

I’ve also got guidelines for leveling up (the gist of which is “after a number of difficult conflicts equal to the PCs level, the PC gains a level.”... i.e. a 5th level PC overcomes five conflicts that require real effort to overcome in order to gain level 6).

But what I’m struggling with is balancing monetary rewards. Wealth by level isn’t really going to work since I’m building with an eye towards sandbox campaigns as well as event driven ones and if the players/GM feel like having the PCs plateau for a while by not pushing themselves with difficult challenges, it doesn’t make sense for their income to just dry up and for opponents to stop carrying anything of value.

So essentially what I need to work out is “what is a sufficient monetary reward for a challenge of X” and how do I ensure that the rewards are enough that PCs who hammer through the levels by always facing difficult conflicts to get the amount of gear expected while not letting the coasters build up enough to trivialize any encounter.

I’m aided a bit by the permanent item limits by level, but nailing down the precise numbers is a lot of guess work that I’d really prefer was more concrete.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 21, 2019 8:46 pm

Evening update: I think I’ve got the average treasure per level needed to reach my equipment baselines; current level x 1000c (£10) in money and 1 major magic item every four levels will hit the expected equipment expectations.

That puts you at £10 at level 2, £30 at level 3 and £60 at level 4... which is enough to afford all fine quality gear plus a £10-15 minor magic item.

Then it’s £100 at level 5, £150 at level 6, £210 at level 7, £280 at level 8, £360 at level 9, £450 at level 10 and £550 at level 11 (which is enough to replace all your gear with legendary quality items).

It finishes out with £660 at level 12, £780 at level 13, £910 at level 14 and £1050 at level 15.

The trick is going to be how to split that up across the level, because a level two opponent isn’t twice as tough as a level one (actually a level 6 is twice as tough as a level 1).

Treasure Parcels is the obvious solution if playing in a 4E style, but doesn’t translate well to a more sandbox style of play where GMs decide on encounter and treasure locations independent from player decisions.

My thinking right now is that the lowest practical level is going to be something like an “average wealth per encounter” and then tie the wealth per encounter to the CP budget in some fashion.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyFri Feb 22, 2019 9:13 am

Something that I've been wondering about - the Monkeywrencher and Troubleshooter can add their focus scores to certain engineering checks, but beyond proficiency in heavier armor that forces the use of Str-1, what does the Siege Engineer get?
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyFri Feb 22, 2019 10:52 am

The war gadgeteer gets better melee attacks, better base load and better climb/jump/swim speeds (because of higher STR), better weapon proficiency (expert proficiency so better accuracy/damage than the simple weapons the other gadgeteers are limited to) and the ability to use runic weapons (which means they can apply their attack spells to melee attacks and do considerably more damage than a battlefist will).

Note that the monkeywrencher does NOT get the “use REF-1 for climb/jump/swim” because of they get the rather significant skill bump instead. With their best score in INT and their next best in DEX that means STR is a tertiary stat at best (END is more likely to be tertiary due to the value of surges) so probably a score of 1 or 0 vs. a 3-4 for a war gadgeteer.

That’s the difference between needing a skill check to climb/jump/swim across challenging terrain (speed 2) or being able to do so automatically (speed 3-4). Its the difference between a base load of 60-80 lb. and 120-150 lb. when an adventurer’s kit alone weighs 40 lb. It’s the difference between a free strike that’s +3 vs. Armor for 1d8+2 damge and a free strike of +7 vs. Armor for 1d10+5 damage.

This makes the war gadgeteer the only really highly physical gadgeteer of the bunch. It would take several utilities/specializations for the other gadgeteers to get close to that degree of physical prowess and the war gadgeteer is still pretty good at engineering (it is an INT primary archetype... their ability to cast spells using INT is why they don’t get a buff to thrown weapons like the skilled classes do... they don’t need it) and can use artisan utilities to buff their performance there as well.

That’s my line of thinking anyway; that a high STR on its own is actually pretty valuable so a class that let’s you prioritize it as a secondary (or even primary if you want to focus on melee attacks... allowing your focus stat to do double duty at the cost of ranged attacks) stat is somewhat valuable all on its own.

Edit: compare what the War Gadgeteer gets to the Militant Astral, the War Mage (who uses STR) and the Potent Primal and you’ll see it’s pretty much in line with those.

* * * * *

On the topic of my last few posts, I think I’ve finally nailed down a sandbox solution to wealth. The trick is I need to adjust my leveling guidelines from X “difficult encounters” to X “adventures.” (defined as 5-7 encounters with some supplemental skill use).

I ended up looking at my optional XP rewards for guidance and it turns out if you just multiply those XP values by 5 you’ll hit the wealth targets. Since you earn 1 XP per CP of a threat (and 1 XP per 2 TN of a skill check you can’t take 10 to beat) that means a level 1 grunt has about 35c in treasure.

With the gear resale values that’d be about a suit of medium armor (resells for 20c), a couple of weapons (resells for about 5c each... so 10c) and about 5c in coins. For a wolf it’s probably a pelt worth about 35c.

Instead of locking down specific values though I’m going to establish the average per CP and include a line for “treasure type” with categories like gear (its treasure is its gear), body (its body parts are worth money... pelts and hides, but also magic item components for more exotic critters), coins (the opponent carries money on their person) and horde (the opponent collects wealth somewhere nearby).

So a human soldier would have Treasure: gear+coins. A dragon would have treasure: body+horde.

Perhaps I could also include some modifiers as well, like say + or - if it has multiple types (ex. Gear+, Coins - for the soldier to indicate that most of the treasure is gear with only a few coins while a spellcaster might be Coins+, Gear- since they’d have comparatively little gear, but more portable wealth in coins and alchemical reagents... which also suggest I need a “magic” or “consumables” type).

Another modifier might be “communal” where smaller critters horde their treasure collectively or in the hands of their leaders (i.e. the kobold chief has a big pouch of coins, but the rank and file kobolds do not) instead of individually.

It still needs some tweaking... hordes probably need a little extra value because unless you fight the monster in its lair you’re going to have to hunt down the lair if you’re going to get any of that treasure. Gear likewise is quite heavy for its value compared to coins or magical body parts (and body parts will probably need some type of skill to remove from the creature and retain its value or you’ll be lugging back entire corpses). Then there’s critters that just don’t have any inherent value... like animated corpses that probably don’t have any gear to speak of (rusty swords and rent armor doesn’t count).

Maybe the ones that don’t have value on their own need a type that amounts to “put something of value on another opponent in the fight or something else valuable nearby (ex. you’re likely to encounter animated dead in a tomb, so grave goods also being there would be sense... or they’re under the command of a death knight or lich so give extra treasure to the knight or lich).

So I’ve got a little more work to do on treasure, but it and the disease rules* are the last outstanding mechanical foundations left for the system. Everything else left is either fluff, bling** or specific expressions of mechanics (i.e. some additional monsters, NPC stats in the fluff section, a sample adventure). The end point is getting closer every day.

* the mechanics for diseases are going to be as close to 4E’s as I can manage without the OGL... probably with a CP value as well based on how difficult they are to overcome... ex. a “mummy” is just a bandage-wrapped wight carrying a rotting disease... because that disease can impact the PC for several encounters until it’s cured it gets a CP value because it makes those fights harder.

** Bling is my term for elements that aren’t actually mechanically necessary to run the game, but which still provide some value to the user. The random tables for points of light and surrounding threats I posted above or random encounter tables are two examples of “bling” that a GM might find useful if they’re ever struggling for ideas (or what I’ve found more common... life just doesn’t give you the time to prep to the degree you’d like).
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptySat Feb 23, 2019 9:22 am

Well, what good design giveth, it also takes away.

I was just remarking about how moving the major items to the GM’s Guide with the artifacts gave me some extra pages to work with in the player’s guide.

But we were playtesting some of the optional rules last night and a very good point was made (side-bar: I am definitely glad I was convinced to keep skill points as optional, they definitely add a level of complexity to the base game that doesn’t add as much as I was hoping it would... still good for those who want a more 3e experience).

That point was; while using them might be the GM’s call, a good chunk of the optional rules are going to need to be referenced by the players once they have been implemented (ex. what you need to do to build a 0-level character or how to calculate static free strikes)... so why are they hidden away in the GM’s Guide?

I have no good answer for that.

So, I think the logical choice for layout is to move the optional rules to a third Appendix section. That keeps it out of the way of the main rules, but is still in a place where people who only have the Player’s Guide (because low cost of buy-in is important) can reference them.

The other alternative would be to leave it in the GM’s Guide (since they’re the ones who decide which to use) and then also put the optional rules section up for free access on the website. That way the rules are preserved for posterity in a physical book, but also can be found easily enough by the players (and printed out easily enough too).
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptySun Feb 24, 2019 6:50 pm

Well, I didn't get much typing done this weekend, but I did get a half-dozen new pieces of art for the Player's Guide done.

In this case, its the half dozen pieces for for the Spellcasting Archetype section (plus one that doesn't count and I'm not even including in the linked pdf because its just a book meant to fill in the gap under the Wizard Path that was about the most basic position and render you could possible do).

Anyway, since its art not content, I'm posting a link anyone can look at and comment on.

Here's the Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=11KDEjFej8heO2CHQhUOl4Pr8RJBgLEY8

All of these use existing characters, but actually show them doing things (in this case casting spells).

The first piece is Kalla and goes opposite the introductory page.

The second is Ezra Ironfist firing off acidic oil from his projector who goes with the Spellcasting Archetype benefits page.

The third is Danai Kar-Taxsu looking all "Blood for the Blood God" next to the Abjurer class.

The fourth is Thermiolosus (and his summoned fire lion) appearing next to the Summoner class.

The fifth is Blackfeather blasting goblins with lightning opposite the Favors of the Astral Gods page.

The sixth is the cute golem Aranine going over some books and scrolls in the attack spells section.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 26, 2019 10:31 am

Sorry for my absence.

WRT war gadgeteer: I hadn't considered the inherent benefits of a high Strength score - I was comparing the war gadgeteer to the other two instead of to the other strength-based guys.

***
I would put the alternate rules in the third appendix as you stated - players may not always be able to access the internet, so having a physical copy could be a lifesaver.

***
The art looks cool as always.

Kalla looks cool, though her expression could be a little more intense. Blackfeather the crow Punisher (as I call him) looks appropriately badass, though the outfit makes him look rather feminine - did you change his gender and I missed it? As for Aranine, her posture's a little awkward, but that's probably got to do with the difficulty of making her research dynamic-looking.

Danai works. The only change I might make would be to give him clenched teeth, to emphasize the "blood for the blood god" attitude. I was wondering how Thermiolossus's class related to his entertainer background, then I saw the fire lion - that's perfect, that's absolutely perfect.

I initially thought that the blast coming out of Ezra's projector was a gas instead of a liquid - must be the fuzzy filter on it. Other than that, Ezra looks great.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 26, 2019 2:45 pm

Yeah, high strength on its own is pretty useful and with the way ability scores are determined, unless its your attack or focus stat, the odds of it being higher than a 2 are pretty slim.

For most it'll probably be a 1, 0 or even -1 though since if you don't need STR the benefits of putting the better score into END (more surges, regain surges faster, better fitness checks) are pretty strong.

* * * *

The intention with Kalla's expression is that she's halfway through speaking an incantation; one of the bits of fluff that I added to her description is that her father trained her in the basics of arcana and spell incantations/gestures to make it less obvious she's a sorceress (owing to primal magic being relatively distrusted).

Also because her power is innate she doesn't need to be as precise and focused as a wizard does. For sorcerers the description states that their magic is as easy for them as flight is for birds.

* * * * *

As for Blackfeather... D'OH!!!

The only model I could get for arm wings attached to a female base mesh. While that base mesh had morphs that could make it masculine, I was so busy building all the models I failed to note that Blackfeather was male. While I could just flip the gender in the Guide, I'd rather redo the model I think, because right now I have an even split between males and females for the sample PCs.

* * * * *

I'll see about tweaking Aranine a bit... or maybe add some extra FX to make clear that she's casting a spell/ritual by referencing the book.

As for Ezra, I envisioned it as a directed glowing green mist that congealed/condensed onto whatever surface it hit... kinda like spraying stuff out of a propellant can rather than a hose. Either version works... Signature Spells are a thing.

* * * * *

I also just completed five new pieces for the Skilled Archetype section... which I added to an updated art PDF (same link as for the previous six).

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11KDEjFej8heO2CHQhUOl4Pr8RJBgLEY8

-Jack Knave (formerly Callahan before I realized Kalla and Callahan are practically the same name) having a shipboard adventure. Opposite the Skilled Archetype intro page.

-Steelcoat and his men getting ready to throw down. Opposite the Skilled Archetype Benefits section.

- Sister Jadia about to take someone's head off (probably a wight). Opposite the Defender class page.

- Erin'yi taking wing in a forest. Opposite the Sidekick and Skirmisher class.

- Velox leading some guards on a wild goose chase across the rooftops.

Another couple pages of art for the start of the Species chapter and one for the start of the Archetypes & Classes chapter and those two chapters will have ALL their artwork complete.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 26, 2019 3:31 pm

For Kalla, I was thinking just giving her frowning eyebrows. She looks a bit bland right now. The bit about her father teaching her standard arcane incantations ti disguise her sorcery is damned interesting. It adds another layer to the adventurous noble.

I didn't even think about the propellant version, and I just spent my morning cleaning glass doors. That's sad.

***
Now onto the new characters.

Jack Knave's sword looks collapsible - is that a thing in this world?

Steelcoat looks cool, though I wonder about the lack of fur. Erin'ye and velox have the most dynamic artwork, though Jadia looks cool, too. Is she in heavy armor?
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyTue Feb 26, 2019 5:44 pm

I'll futz with Kalla a bit, but yes, layers are good. The way I envision sorcery is that most sorcerers use words and gestures the way a warrior would... You line a shot up along your arm or lob an effect like a baseball because it makes aiming easier and you yell out something the same way a warrior lets out a battle cry before charging... its about focusing and psyching yourself up rather than needing a specific set of incantations the way arcane spells need to be.

In Kalla's case, her father taught her to focus using words and gestures from arcane spells so people will presume she's a wizard like her dad instead of someone with a connection to primal magic like her mother (politics is a messy business).

Now, someone actually trained in Arcana who spent a lot of time studying her casting would probably figure it out eventually, but she's no slouch with Arcana herself (proficiency and +2 species bonus gives her +6 vs. INT 4 + proficiency being +7). Mainly it'd be when she's in a high stress situation and lets a syllable slip here and is sloppy with her gestures there because she's more concerned with firing off the effect quickly than getting it right.

That'd be fatal to a wizard because their spells would be failing left and right (INT is linked to Willpower defense so they're pretty solid with the precision though) and if anyone was actually paying precise attention they might catch it (though paying that close attention in a fight might also catch you an axe in the head from the opposing side).

* * * * *

Are collapsible swords a thing?

You can play a transformer if you want to so I'm gonna say collapsible swords (and weapons in general) are a thing. Mainly because they're cool. Very Happy

Also worth noting in Jack's case too; on his full character sheet (I have them for playtesting and will put them up on the website eventually) the sword is a fine quality cutlass (a.k.a. a long knife). So being 10x the usual cost (which admittedly in this case makes it only 100c or about twice what a longsword costs) can also be a reason for it to be more exotic in appearance.

Really, barring a mechanical advantage, being collapsible (vs. summoned items) is really just fluff. It still has to be stored on your person, drawn or sheathed as normal, and has the weight of a normal blade. It just looks cooler and, in this case, fits with Jack's general "I've been to exotic places" motif.

* * * *

Steelcoat technically has fur, its just grey (he's a mutant in that respect). I could probably make that a bit clearer too... one of the issues it has in the modelling program is that it tends to change tone to match the light source and since sunlight is slightly yellow tinted... it ends up looking a little bit flesh toned.

* * * *

Jadia is actually in Medium armor. She's got the Harrier option for the Defender class (+1 to armor defense in medium or lighter armor) which makes medium armor as good as heavy armor for her.

The distinction is that her upper legs and upper arms (beneath the shoulder) are not protected by metal. Jon Steele, Kalla's bodyguard also sports medium armor (protection on shoulders, chest, forearms and shins and a thick padded coat protecting the thighs) because he needs to not have his speed impaired if he's going to keep up with Kalla.

For heavy armor, check out Danai's armor. The arms and legs are completely encased in metal (he's got a tabbard over the upper arms, but you can see the plates go right up into that)

* * * * *

Also, I did a quick partial re-render for Blackfeather and re-uploaded the art pdf. He's now bare-chested with a more Egyptian themed eagle belt/skirt as befits the Bestian gods.

I tried to clean up Steelcoat a bit just before the upload... maybe make it a bit more like his "skin" is the semi-glossy fur its supposed to be (including stripping out the color to make it more grey-grey)... dunno if its 100% where it needs to be, but I think its a slight improvement.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyThu Feb 28, 2019 12:23 pm

Just because writing the rewards section is taking longer than I’d like and I need a break I thought I’d throw out a few more alternate names (complete and partial) that have been suggested to me.

“Something with the word Frontier in it.” Because the thing that connected with them in the description was the vast untamed wilderness.

“Age of Ruin” which led to the suggestion...

“Ruins & Reptiles” which, while said jokingly, did spark whether some combination of “ruins, raiders, relics, riddles or royals” might make a good name. Ruins & Raiders? Riddles & Relics?

Someone else liked “Bastions” and threw out “Besieged Bastions” “Bastions & Broadswords” “Bastions & Banes” “Bastions & Battles” “Bastions & Barbarians” and the less than serious “Bastions & Bastards” and “Bastions & Bikinis” which in turn led to the sublimely ridiculous “Bastion of Barbarian Bastards in Bikinis.”

To be fair, that last one would probably get more clicks than “Terrors & Tactics.” But no.

The only suggestions I’ve gotten that even approach T&T are “Shattered Realms” “Cataclysm Age” “Age of Ruin” and maybe “Ruins & Raiders.” None have truly popped out for me.

Now back to writing up the rewards section.
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PostSubject: Re: STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade)   STILL Not Dead (Terrors & Tactics Updade) - Page 14 EmptyMon Mar 04, 2019 11:48 am

So, the weekend playtest went pretty smooth, but I had an intriguing challenge from one of the playtesters (who is also a writer, though not of game systems) that I thought I'd share.

They suggested using a technique they used for world-building; that I try to cut a third of my species, classes and backgrounds from the system. The reason wasn't to ACTUALLY cut them, but to think about where your weakest elements are (i.e. things that need work) and whether you REALLY need them to make your setting work.

Adjusting remaining pieces afterwards was allowed and if you really CAN'T cut a third without losing something absolutely critical, that also tells you something. The idea of the thought experiment is to think about why you're making the choices you're making; kinda like a hoarder being given three things and telling them they have to throw one of them away.

So, for the sake of the challenge/experiment, here's what I came up with and my reasoning for each if I HAD to cut something.

Species Challenge: must cut 3 of 10

1 and 2) Elves and Gnomes: The rationale for cutting them if I had to is that, if I added a "Light/Astral" option to the Avatars (the Air/Fire hybrid, like Ice is Air/Water, Metal is Fire/Earth and Plant is Earth/Water... Animal/Feral is all four combined) the Elf/Gnome concept could be moved there. Elves and Avatars both share the "Earthbound" trait and reincarnate at death so there's already some physical overlap.

El-Phara could still exist, but the elves wouldn't be new arrivals, instead while other avatars went to offer aid to the survivors, the elves established their own kingdom on the grounds that the best way to aid humans would be to rule over them. The elven gods would still exist, but instead of astral spirits they'd be "physical gods"; extremely powerful avatars (akin to elder dragons) who rule the elven kingdoms.

3) Fetches: Not just because they're the late-comer, but because how I dealt with cutting the elves also suggested where the shadow would fit... as a type of malfean. I'd just give them the smallest possible horns and tail (only to their knees-ish) and they could still keep their devotion to the Grey Huntress and fighting the undead, although an interesting permutation here is that with Shadow an explicitly demonic echo, it means that undead could be regarded as explicitly demonic as well (basically demonic possession with a corpse as the tether instead of an inanimate object or a living body).

Species Conclusion: While it would "work" and could even make the world more coherent, I think the world would lose a lot of nuance if everything were as straight forward as "everything that wasn't created from/by men is an Avatar." It also really diminishes the concept of the Astral Gods to the point where keeping them at all doesn't make a lot of sense... you've taken away one of the strongest pillars for the Astral Gods with the elves being literal servitors of them and the Beastmen could have won instead by having the Primal Spirits not just stand aside, but actually switch their support from Men to their oppressed creations.

It would make the world tighter, which is good for fiction, but RPG settings aren't stories, they're places where a lot of different stories happen.

Skilled Class Challenge: must cut 3 of 10

1) Sidekick: The reasoning here is pretty simple; I'd already merged and split it off as an optional trait for the captain a couple of times and doing so again would keep me from having to cut something else that would be less hard to combine.

2) Beastmaster: The reasoning here is that I could could beef up the Loyal Steed utility from just a mount into a general "Beast Companion." The idea here would be that the "Beast Companion" would gain the ability to use certain class traits... so if you're a defender, the beast would help you defend, if you're a controller, it can help you control, etc. Essentially, do to it what I did when I moved Shift Form from the Shifter/Warden classes to a Utility.

3) Acrobat: The rationale here is that Skirmisher already does improved movement and that, from level 5 on, the Skirmisher can add stance effects to their minor action attack, creating a degree of control (and even AoE if you use dual strike for four half-damage attacks during your turn). Melee controller is a fun niche, but being able to ALMOST pull it off with the Skirmisher made it  the final one I'd cut if I had to.

Skilled Class Conclusions: The most telling aspect of this was that I made the sidekick choice specifically to avoid making harder choices. That tells me that my range of Skilled Classes is pretty tight. It also tells me that even though mechanically it COULD be folded into the Captain, the concept's FLUFF is important enough to warrant its own entry so the concept is easy to find.

The most Interesting choice to me though was the Beastmaster, because, like the change to Shift Form a while back, I think there's some real possibilities to explore there. The Beastmaster Defender, The Beastmaster Acrobat, The Beastmaster Captain... The Beastmaster Interdictor for that matter.

Those might be concepts worth exploring.

Spellcasting Class Challenge: must cut 2 of 6

1-2) Summoner and Empowered: This one was HARD, because I feel like the spellcasting classes have already been cut to the bone. It really came down to what I absolutely couldn't cut... The lone guardian class and the lone enabler class and of the remaining four Interdictor (controller) and Maledictor (slayer) were easily the stronger concepts.

I could probably salvage the summoner by beefing up the Summoning Specialization to provide the summoner's elements to someone with that specialization, but the other side-effect of removing those classes is that it would completely remove Aspects as well, since they were only used by those two classes. If I wanted to keep them, I'd need to add them as an option to the existing classes, perhaps as an alternative to "minor spells" for the Interdictor and Maledictor.

Also, if I followed through on dropping the races from the first part of the challenge, merging Astral and Primal together into a single "divine" path would probably make sense.

The only one of these elements that I think even deserves fractional consideration is Summoner as class versus as a Specialization... and even that's pretty slim pickings.

My conclusion is that I've already pared the Spellcasting classes to the bone... cutting anything more would be actively detrimental rather than constructive.

Background Challenge: must cut 3 of 11 (as with my ruleset I choose to always round down)

1) Courtier: This was an easy one. When given a choice, I've yet to see someone pick Courtier over Noble; why serve when you can rule? They already share a few utilities. So I'd cut the Courtier and rename the Noble background to "Aristocrat" which expands the field to cover nobles, courtiers and just the very wealthy and influential. The right utilities (ex. "Rank has its Privileges") would help determine whether you're actually nobility or just very wealthy and influential (which fits better for non-noble-based societies like the Free Cities).

2) Entertainer: This one was trickier, but given that until modern times Entertainers were often considered on the same par as prostitutes and criminals, you could fold the Entertainer and Outlaw together into a general "Outsider" background (distinct from Barbarians because Barbarians want to live in the wilds, Outsiders only live in the wilds when they have no choice because the law is after them). Both already have some focus on movement and deception related abilities so there's already some overlap there.

3) There is no Three: Every other combination I tried... like splitting up the Artisan between the Arcanist and Commoner or moving the Barbarian into the Outsider too or merging commoners and travelers... just felt really contrived.

Background Conclusions: I think there might be a decent case for merging Courier/Noble into an Aristocrat background. The only negative there is the "A" part is getting pretty packed with "Arcanist" and "Artisan" already there.

There's a WEAK case for merging Outlaws and Entertainers into Outsiders. The biggest hindrance being that not every culture feels the same way about actors and performers as many parts of the pre-modern world. This is a post-Cataclysm world where the ghost sound cantrip can provide any actor with background accompaniment and magic is real.

Everything else is pretty concise given the wide array of professions there are in the real world.

* * * * *

All in all, I think it was a productive avenue suggested by the playtester. It mostly confirmed for me that things are pretty solid and despite a lot of options there isn't too much fat (and you need some fat to be healthy). Species are in a good place, Spellcasting classes are as lean as could be, Skilled classes are also pretty tight with the fat they do have (the Sidekick class) being healthy rather than detrimental and, apart from perhaps the courtier, the Backgrounds are also pretty solid.

The two main takeaways for possible changes that I got from the endeavor were;

A) Looking at whether the Beastmaster might serve better as a background companion that works with your class instead of a class in its own right (the existing Beastmaster would be the utility linked to the Skirmisher class). Increasing options while reducing complexity is always something I like to explore. It could also smooth the action economy problems of the beastmaster that make background companions problematic (as their beast and the comps fight over the same actions).

B) Looking at merging the Courtier and Noble into an Aristocrat background that covers both concepts while also covering wealthy families and other types of politicians.
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