5e Content: Trade Aspect of Mael

For my 5e game, I nabbed a bunch of additional Domains from +Samwise Seven RPG.

http://samwise7rpg.blogspot.ca/2014/10/cleric-domains-for-dungeons-dragons-5e.html

http://samwise7rpg.blogspot.ca/2014/10/cleric-domains-for-5th-edition-dungeons_23.html

Personally, I feel like Gods having a single Domain is a bit too simplistic, and doesn't really reflect how gods were worshipped historically.  In the Greek/Roman religions, gods tended to have a lot of regional variation and different aspects, which were venerated depending on the location, season and activity that you were engaged in.

So in my campaign, most Gods have 1-3 different Aspects, and a player can choose which Domain they want to follow for that God.  The more powerful/popular a god is, the more aspects he/she/it has.

One of the players in our game is a priest of Mael.  Mael has 2 (and sometimes 3) aspects.  His primary aspects are Trade and the Sea.  Yes, I stole Mael from Steven Erikson.  Shameless theft is an Improvisational Building Block too.  Also Mael is one of the best characters in the books.

Some not-so-nice folks also worship Mael (or seek to placate him) in his aspect of the Storm.

My player worships Mael in his aspect of Trade.  Temples of Mael are all over the Colony, and Mael is one of the greater gods of the Empire, since it is a ship-based neo-colonial power.

I did encounter a couple of issues with the Trade Domain as presented by +Samwise Seven RPG, so here is my modified version:

Trade Domain

Priests of Mael in his aspect of Trade are one of the most important priesthoods of the Ruywick Empire.  Most cities of any size have a temple of Trade, where the priest provide legal advice, accounting and bookkeeping services, scribes and magical contracts.  They advise rulers and masters of business, and act as adjudicators with legal authority to resolve trade and contractual issues.

As you would expect, the Church of Mael is incredibly rich and powerful, with influence in all parts of the Colony and the Empire.

Priest of Mael in his less-fancy robes.

Cleric Level	1st Domain Spell	2nd Domain Spell
1st	Charm Person	Expeditious Retreat
3rd	Enhance Ability	Suggestion
5th	Calm Emotions	Protection from Energy
7th	Dimension Door	Guardian of Faith
9th	Dominate Person	Teleportation Circle

1st Level – Bonus Cantrip. You gain the Prestidigitation cantrip.

1st Level – Skills of the Trade. You can choose two of the following skills: Intimidation, Perception, Persuasion.

2nd Level – Channel Divinity: Barter. You gain advantage on all skill rolls associated with making a deal or trading.

This one was a little bit hard to adjudicate initially because the initial version contained "or getting yourself out of a “jam.”".  That meant quite a bit more leeway on what exactly you could use this skill on, but really, it adds too much flexibility.  Cutting it down to just deals and bartering makes it more manageable.

6th Level – Channel Divinity: Binding Contract. You can create a magical contract. Any intelligent creature that understands and willingly agrees to the terms laid out in the contract is effected by a Geas spell enforcing the terms of the contract until the conditions laid out in the contract are completed. The psychic damage dealt by this contract is non-fatal, but intensely painful, and can trigger up to 1/day.

The contract can be destroyed by the priest who created it, and if the contract is broken by any party (including the priest), then all parties are immediately aware that the contract has been broken, and by who.

This one is a complete replacement for the initial power, which was "create counterfeit coins" that disappear in a few hours.  How fucking up the economy and making people not trust currency is a God of Trade thing completely escapes me, so I yanked it and we replaced it with this, which is much more interesting and has a bunch of in-game ramifications.

8th Level – Words Are Greater Than the Sword. Once per Long Rest you can convince a creature not to attack you. You can do this twice at 14th level.

I'm probably going to have to replace this one too, but level advancement is slow in this game, so we'll get to that in a year or two.

Further Thoughts on the 5E Economy

Should I just call it 5Economy?

In any event, after being called out on my math, I settled down to think about the world-building ramifications of the crafting rules a bit more.

The basic math leads me to some conclusions which - fortunately I think - replicate (in a rule-of-thumb, simplified for gaming way) the sort of conditions you'd expect in a faux-medieval economy.

1) Limited Supply

This is the really big takeaway.  If, as a craftsman, you have to pay 50% of the cost of an item upfront in materials (or even 25%, really) the item represents a loss to you personally until it sells.  The bigger the ticket item, the more you'd have to plowed into it.  A suit of plate mail represents 2 YEARS of living expenses for a tradesperson in materials...

Plate mail is a bad example here, because it is, by it's nature, a very limited-demand item, but even something like a longsword (15 gp) represents a lost week's wages (at 1 gp/day) until it sells.  So only a well-established blacksmith can keep much inventory - it costs too much.

It also means that local blacksmiths, who presumably make their money just "practicing the craft" and maintaining a modest income, don't get many opportunities to sell big-ticket items like this, so they are unlikely to have much stock.  Sure, they'll make it - but only if somebody wants it.

The upshot here is that it doesn't make much sense to be able to get expensive equipment in small towns or villages unless there is some other reason for it to be available.  Sure, you can get it made, but there won't be much/any lying around.

2) Pay up front and expect to wait.

If it costs a smith 50% of the finished good (or even 25%) to make something, they are gonna want a deposit.  Probably for the entire materials cost.  Unless you're a local and he knows where you live and whatnot.  Transient murderhobos get no credit.

If the smith is solo, divide the cost by 10 to figure out how many days it will take.  If he is part of a team, multiply the team by 10, then divide by that.  Minimum 1 day.

Example:  Longsword - 15 gp.  Cost you 7 gp up front (15/10) - wait a day and a half.

3-man team for Plate Mail - 1500 gp - cost you 750 gp up front (1500/30) - wait about 2 months (50 days)

This math would break down differently if things are less than a gold piece, I think.  But unless the total cost of all the items exceeds 10 gp - the answer is "one day".

3) Some parts need houseruling/handwaving.

Darts.  They cost 5 cp, or 1/20th of a gp.  If you can make 5 gp worth of materials/day, then you can make 100 darts a day.  Again, if you are paying 50% of the cost as materials, maybe you are just gluing the fins on and screwing on the pointy bit?  Still seems fast.

There is some weirdness in the sense that a gold dart would presumably take much longer to make than a normal one, that sort of thing can mostly be handwaved (or not really worried about)

4) Any smith can forge anything.

There is only one "smith tools" set/skill, so technically speaking any smith can forge any item.  The materials cost is clearly a limitation, but presumably not if you are putting down a deposit.  Realistically (or as much realism as possible in elfgames) you might want to require larger cities for smiths with the skills to make highly specialized/expensive items, like spyglasses or plate armor. Even swords (heck, especially swords) had very specialized skills associated with making them.

5) Scale up for Art Objects.

Time/cost is determined by end value. If you want to make a really beautiful, valuable item, just pick how much you want it to be worth (or ask the DM), pay the materials cost (meteoric steel is pricey) and get to forging.

Hopefully the DMG will have some magic-item creation rules, but until then, requiring that you start with a very valuable item is pretty common.

Obviously, PC's won't be looking at using crafting to make money, but a PC (or ex-PC) with some capital, contacts in the sword-swinging community and knowledge of blacksmithing has a pretty good retirement plan available.

So the house rules I'm going to start with on crafting are "Pay anywhere from 10% to 50% for materials" and "You can make an item a work of art by paying more in materials/crafting time".

That's all for smithing, although it looks like performance might need a look, too.

The 5e Economy

In older versions of D&D, the economics were weird and often nonsensical.  Especially considering that PC’s do not inhabit the “normal” economic system.  They operate more like gold rush prospectors than shopkeepers.  High risk, occasional massive payout and long stretches of downtime.

And where do magic items (sale and purchase) fall into the economy?  3e just normalized it – you could buy/sell magic items, and were expected to.  4e ignored it, mostly.  You sell magic items for half their worth, buy them for full cost and just shut up and kill stuff.

And then there is crafting.  Where does it fall into the economy – it has to be less profitable to stay home and craft than to go on adventures – otherwise, who would go adventuring?

I think it should be useful/interesting to be able to do crafting.  Players like to have their characters build things, create things, to leave a mark on the world other than by killing.  Plus, as a DM, it’s nice to have an underlying economy that makes a bit of sense – that you can build off of in a consistent, interesting way.

I’m going to start digging into the 5e crafting economy, looking at its links to the larger economic structure implied by the lifestyle and hireling rules, and see if it all hangs together.

Hellz yah Ron Perlman

Case Study 1:  Blacksmithing.

Historically, Blacksmithing was a high-skill, high-prestige occupation.  Ideally, that will also be the case here.

According to the rules, it takes the average person 250 days to learn to use a Smith’s tools, and the cost is 1 gp per day to do so, assuming they can find a teacher.  The tools themselves cost 20 gp (I assume this is for a travelling blacksmith, rather than the cost of setting up a forge).

Based on the lifestyle expenses, this is a fairly expensive proposition – essentially it is the cost of a year of modest lifestyle, so a reasonably high barrier to entry, consistent with a high-skill occupation, and requiring an apprenticeship period.

Now, let’s assume that the blacksmith has the skills – the crafting rules state that they have to pay ½ the cost of the item in “raw materials”.  My initial thought is that this is too high a raw materials cost, but if we suppose it covers the overhead to set up and run the forge, or to use somebody else’s forge, it might be doable.

The example they use in the book is 3 people working on a suit of plate mail, so let’s look at the economics of that and see if crafting actually pays.

We’ll start with the numbers.  A suit of plate mail costs 1500 gp.  So it will cost 750 gp in raw materials.  Let’s assume that means all the leather, coal, metal, tools and facilities you need to build the suit of armor.  In practical terms, this means that only a well-established, experienced blacksmith could even attempt this – the materials cost is too high, unless you are being fronted by the client.  But let’s assume this is an experienced smith who has the resources to do this project.

The remaining 750 gp worth of labor needs to happen at 5 gp/day, or 150 days worth of labor.  Remember that the smith can maintain himself at Modest level (1gp/day) for that time period.  If he does it all himself and lives modestly, he makes 750 gp profit, plus the 150 gp in living expenses.

*Edit* I messed this up.  I assumed that the profit was all they got back - but it isn't - they recoup their initial investment as well.  So this part below is all wrong.

So here is a big problem – if he starts the same project over again, he’s back to 0 – making nothing but plate mail (or anything else, by extension) means he never makes profit.  He has to plow all his profits back into materials for the next set.  

Of course, he is paying for a modest living for himself, so that is something.

Now let’s assume he has 2 helpers.  The helpers also earn 1 gp/day while helping, and they cut the time down to 50 days of labor.  Great – 750 gp profit for 50 days of work, plus the "lifestyle income" of 150 gp.

If he has a family– let’s say 3 gp/day for a family of 4.  So it’s costing him 2 gp/day to work on this – if the kids are the helpers, then just the forge work pays for itself, and he's still making 750 gp in 50 days.  Which is pretty good.

So these rules work (sorta) for PC crafting, since I guess the raw materials (this is really just materials, not raw materials) cost assumes that the PC doesn't
want to do most of the work themselves, and has the scratch to pay for steel, chainmail, leather and soforth.

So blacksmithing – it’s a decent living, and it doesn't really seem to matter what you are building - the 5 gp/day structure ensures that you can make a pretty good living at it, assuming you start with the matching 5 gp for raw materials.

I would like to give it more flexibility though, so say that you can put in UP TO 50% in raw materials, with a 10% minimum.

Let's try that suit of plate again with these rules.

The blacksmith puts in 25% in raw materials cost - 375 gp.  He has to do 1125 gp worth of work, or 225 days of labor.  He has 2 helpers, who just get paid the 1 gp/day modest living salary.  That means 75 days of work for the three of them.  At the end of that time, they clear 1500 gp for the suit.  Takes longer, but the basic math is the same.

Of course, if I was being detailed, I'd modify the raw materials cost and final product cost based on material availability and technology levels in an area, but that's for another day.

Making Barbarians More Interesting

I was pretty critical of the Barbarian class in my high-level write-up.  Some of that is frustration, because it’s close to being really good.  All the pieces of something interesting are there – it’s just presented in a way doesn't do it justice.  Lots of potential.

This is how I’d do it:

Break the whole leveling set up into 2 discreet chunks:  Level 1-3 and everything else. I’ll talk about name-level thoughts in another post.

Next we identify what features are associated with those level ranges:

Levels 1-3:

Rage

+1 attack Bonus

+2 Rage damage bonus

Feral Instinct

Reckless Attack

1 Path/Path Feature

I’m OK with the concept that levels 1 through three are introductory levels, so I’m fine with keeping these 3 levels as-is.  You get to make quite a few interesting choices during character creation, 2^nd level comes very quickly, and you get to make a major choice at 3^rd level with your path.

However, I see no reason for the linear progression of the Path Features.  I’d allow players to pick a path feature from the list when they get a path feature.  The default progression (if you don’t want to make decisions) could still be as-written.

Path of the Berserker.  Fearless Rage and Mindless Rage should be automatic benefits to the path.  I would also give anyone that picked Path of the Berserker 1 additional use of rage right off the bat.  If they are berserkers, they should have more berserk in them.  I would also make Unlimited Rage a benefit of this only path at Lv 20.

Path of the Totem Warrior.  See – picking the totem spirit is EXACTLY the kind of interesting choice I like.  It is cool stuff, adds thematically to your character, all the benefits are neat and they AREN’T all combat benefits.  I like the idea of making Totem Spirit the default first choice here.  The rest, I'd just let the player pick which path feature they want when they get one.

For the rest of the levels, I would lay things out like so:

Level	Feature
4	Feat/Ability Upgrade
5	2 Class Features
6	Path Feature, Class Feature
7	Class Feature
8	Class Feature
9	Feat/Ability Upgrade
10	Path Feature, Class Feature
11	Class Feature
12	2 Class Features
13	Feat/Ability
14	Path Feature, Class Feature
15	Class Feature
16	2 Class Features
17	Path Feature, Class Feature
18	Feat/Ability
19	Class Feature
20	Lv 20 Path Benefit

If you don’t want to make choices, take the Class and Path Features in order – giving you basically the current progression.

The Class Feature List would look like this.  You could take each option once.

Brutal Critical

Fast Movement

+1 Attack Bonus

1 Extra Rage

Feral Reflexes

Two Attacks

+1 Attack Bonus, +1 Rage Damage

Relentless Rage

Furious Resilience

1 Extra Rage

+1 Attack Bonus

1 Extra Rage

Simmering Rage

Incite Rage

1 Extra Rage, +1 Rage Damage

Primal Might

Death-Defying Rage

Realistically, I’d add about 5 more features so that nobody could ever get all of them.  Scarcity is interesting.  Keep the number of rages and +1 attack bonus' limited, though.  I'm OK with players getting those lower on the level scale if it means they are sacrificing other benefits to get them, but adding more of them means that you are potentially messing with the "bounded accuracy" business.

Another benefit to this structure is that it makes it really easy to expand on the class.  Paths are self-contained, so they are simple to build and add, and adding class features is also relatively easy, although you want to go carefully there – too many and we’re right back in 3e country.

But notice – no feat chains.  No stat or level pre-reqs.  So if I want an accurate rager, I can spend my early features on extra rages and hit bonuses.   I haven’t really added anything to the class structure, just formalized what it is already doing and added choices, albeit bounded ones, at each level.

You could also turn this into a d20 chart pretty easily, if you wanted to do random-feature advancement.  I know some people like that.

Anywhoo, that's how I'd do this.  Same pieces, organized differently, with a default progression for those who want a simpler system.

Magic Items in D&D Next

I really like the new magic item implementation in D&D Next. The attunement mechanic, creator system, the natures, the minor properties, the quirks - all interesting stuff. It makes creating even relatively minor magical items fun, and gives the DM some neat foundations that they can build on.

For my part, I've done some work recently expanding the attunement mechanics, making attunement a more varied and challenging process, and linking it directly with the creator and nature system.

Goals:

I want to make Attunement a more time-consuming, expensive and potentially dangerous process. Since attunement is challenging, and the number of items that a character can be attuned to is limited, attunement should have some benefits. Most items will be more powerful when attuned, but breaking attunement carries some risks and penalties as well, which should discourage players from mindlessly seeking the "most plusses". Ideally, a player might retain their attuned items for much of their career, given the bounded accuracy structure of D&D Next.

Attunement House Rules:

Get em all as a handy PDF

Attuning an Item:

In order to attune an item, a player must succeed in one of the Attunement Options for the Type and Nature of the magic item. DM's should feel free to create unique Attunement Options (like visiting specific places, defeating major foes or acquiring other items) in addition to the standard options.
Max Number of Attuned Items:

A character may have a maximum of 2 OR their Charisma modifier, whichever is higher, items attuned at any one time. (Rational: Charisma is less likely to be a dump stat if it potentially translates into additional item attunements)

Attunement Frequency:

A character may attempt attunement once ever d6 days, -1 per point of charisma modifier, with a 1-day minimum. So a character with a +2 Charisma modifier would be able to attempt attunement every 1-4 days.
Ending Attunement:

If a character wishes to end attunement with an item, they must complete another of the Attunement Options for that item, which may include the destruction of the item. (Frodo was attuned to the One Ring by the end, as were Smeagol and Bilbo). Simply discarding an item does not end attunement, and for some items, multiple people can be attuned at the same time.

If a character successfully ends attunement on an item, they cannot become attuned to a different item for d4 weeks.

Attunement Options:

All magic items can be attuned using the Ritual or Test of Will attunement options. Other Attunement options are availabe based on the Creator and Nature of the item.
Magic Item Creators

In my campaign, powerful magical items (which all require attunement) aren't just created by different races - they are often powered by the spirits or elemental forces of those races. These spirits determine the general aspects of the magic items, and also inform how a character can become attuned to an item. Conversely, this makes certain items unattunable by specific races, or by characters who already have an antagonistic item attuned.

Abyssal - these items contain a bound demon. They cannot be attuned by Good-aligned characters, are antagonistic to Celestial and Fiendish items.
Attunement Options: Blood Sacrifice, Pact, Defeat Foe, Direct Combat
Foes: Devils, Celestials, Powerful Good creatures (Shedu, Coatl, etc.)

Ancient human - these items are powered by demi-gods, ancestral spirits or ancient heroes specific to the culture that created them. Roll randomly on this table for their antagonist item type, or select one that is appropriate to the culture that created the item.
Attunement Options: Roll randomly or pick appropriate for culture.
Foes: Generally other ancient humans, undead or humanoids.

Celestial - these items contain a bound holy spirit or lesser Celestial. They cannot be attuned by Evil-aligned characters, and are antagonistic to Abyssal and Fiendish items.
Attunement Options: Meditation, Pact, Defeat Foe
Foes: Devils, Demons, Undead, Necromancers

Draconic - these items contain ancient Draconic spirits. They are antagonistic to Elvish and Giantish items.
Attunement Options: Defeat Foe, Challenge, Direct Combat
Foes: Giants, Dragons of opposing types (metallic vs chromatic, for example)

Drow - these items are powered either by Llolth directly, or by a lesser demonic servitor of Llolth. They cannot be attuned by Good-aligned character or by non-Drow elves. They are antagonistic to Elven and Celestial items.
Attunement Options: Blood Sacrifice, Pact, Defeat Foe
Foes: Surface Elves, Deep Gnomes

Dwarven - these items are powered by dwarven ancestral spirits, by dwarven gods, or by earth elementals bound by the dwarves. They cannot be attuned by Elves, and are antagonistic to Draconic and Giantish items.
Attunement Options: Defeated Foe, Challenge, Direct Combat
Foes: Giants, Dragons

Elemental (air) - these items are powered by air elemental spirits. They are antagonistic to Elemental Earth items.

Elemental (earth) - these items are powered by earth elemental spirits. They are antagonistic to Elemental Air items.

Elemental (fire) - these items are powered by fire elemental spirits. They are antagonistic to Elemental Water items.

Elemental (water) - these items are powered by water elemental spirits. They are antagonistic to Elemental Fire items.
Attunement Options: Meditation, Challenge, Defeat Foe, Direct Combat
Foe: Oppositional Elemental

Elven - these items contain Elven ancestral spirits or powerful Fey spirits. They cannot be attuned by Drow Elves or Dwarves, and are antagonistic to Drow and Dwarven items.
Attunement Options: Pact, Meditation

Fey - these items contain Seelie or Unseelie fey spirits or bound Fomorian powers. They are antagonistic to Fiendish and Giantish items.
Attunement Options: Pact, Challenge

Fiendish - these items are powered by bound devils. They cannot be attuned by Good-aligned characters, and are antagonistic to Celestial and Abyssal items.
Attunement Options: Blood Sacrifice, Pact, Defeat Foe, Direct Combat
Foe: Demon, Celestial, Powerful good creatures.

Giant - these items are powered by giantish demi-gods or by the powers of the Giant-race patriarchs (Sutr, Thrym). They cannot be attuned by Dwarves or Dragon-kin, and are antagonistic to Dwarven and Draconic items. Roll a d6 to determine the giant race that created the item.

1. Cloud - antagonistic to Earth Elemental items.
2. Fire - antagonistic to Water Elemental items.
3. Frost - Antagonistic to Fire Elemental items.
4. Hill - Antagonistic to Gnomish items.
5. Stone - Antagonistic to Water Elemental items.
6. Storm - Antagonistic to Earth Elemental items.

Attunement Options: Test of Wills, Defeat Foe, Direct Combat
Foes: Dragons or Dragon-Kin, Antagonistic Elementals, Lesser Giant-Kin, Elves.

Gnome - these items are powered by spirits of glamour and illusion, or by fey spirits. They cannot by attuned by Lawful characters, but they are not antagonistic.
Attunement Options: Test of Wills, Challenge

Magic Item Nature

Arcane: Arcane objects can always be attuned via Meditation.

Bane: Bane objects can always be attuned by Defeating the Foe they are designed to counteract.

Legendary: Legendary items can always be attuned by the Challenge of locating the remains or place of power of the legendary hero.

Ornament: Ornamental items can always be attuned by the Challenge of using them in the special event they were designed for, or displaying them prominently for a specific period of time.

Prophecy: Prophecy items can always be attuned by the Challenge of fulfilling one of the steps of the prophecy they represent.

Religious icon: Religious Icons can always be attuned by Meditation.

Sinister: Sinister items can always be attuned by Blood Sacrifice, usually by recreation of the event they are associated with.

Symbol of power: Symbols of Power can always be attuned by the rightful heir of the power/authority they represent.

Attunement Options

Ritual

All items can be attuned by the means of a magical ritual, although the details of this ritual can be difficult and expensive to discover.

There are several ways for a character to discover the ritual required to attune a weapon.

Quest: The details of the attunement ritual can be the reward for a a quest or part of a treasure horde.

Research: With access to sufficient lore, a character can recreate the details of the ritual: Either an Int or Lore (Magic) check, DC 13 for Common, 15 for Uncommon, 17 for Rare, 19 for Very Rare, 21 for Legendary or 23 for Artifact.

Sage: A sage can likely discover the attunement ritual for an item, cost is d100 gp for Common, d100x5 gp for Uncommon, d100x25 for Rare, d100x50 for Very Rare, d100x100 for Legendary and d100x500 for Artifact.

Divination: Divination magic can expose the attunement ritual for the item. A cleric or wizard will generally charge the equivalent to the sage costs for the spell.

Material Cost: The material cost for the ritual is d10 gp for Common, d10x5 gp for Uncommon, d10x25 for Rare, d10x50 for Very Rare, d10x100 for Legendary and d10x500 for artifact.

Test of Wills

All items can also be attuned by a test of wills, essentially forcing the spirit of the item to accept you as a wielder, similar to Aragorn forcing the palantir or one of Elric's many mental tussles with Stormbringer.

The Test of Wills is a contested Wisdom, Constitution or Charisma check (depending on the type of item) against the spirit that binds the item. The initial test takes d4 hours. Whatever type of test is initiated, the spirit of the item has a modifier based on the power of the item. Common items, +0, Uncommon items +1, Rare items +2, Very Rare items +3, Legendary items +4 and Artifacts +6.

If the character wins, then the item is attuned to them. Some powerful or sentient items will periodically re-initiate a Test of Wills, based on their desires or the characters actions (Stormbringer is a dick that way).

If the character loses, they cannot attempt to attune the item via a test of wills for d4 weeks, and they suffer other ill effects based on how badly they lost the check:

Draw: No ill effect

-1 to -3: d6 hp damage.

-4 to -6: 2d6 hp damage and 1 point temporarily lost from check stat.

-7 to -9: 3d6 hp damage and weakness resulting in -1 to all checks for 1 day.

-10 or more: Permanent loss of 1 point from check stat.

Blood Sacrifice

Evil spirits often accept a blood sacrifice in order to accept attunement. The character must sacrifice one or more sentient beings using the item. The number of beings required for the sacrifice depends on the power of the item. 1 for Common, 1d4 for Uncommon, 1d6 for Rare, 1d10 for Very Rare, 1d12 for Legendary and 1d20 for Artifact.

Pact

Many items contain bound spirits with particular goals or ideologies, which resent or oppose being wielded for cross-purposes. Attuning Pact items involves negotiating with the spirit of the item and reaching an agreement with it. Generally, Pact will include pledges not to attack members of the race that created the item, and may also include quests on behalf of the spirit of the item.

Defeat Foe

Many items, especially weapons, are forged specifically to defeat great foes. Wielding the item while defeating one (or more) of these foes will will the approval of the spirits bound in the item and allow immediate attunement.

Meditation

The attunement secrets of some items can be discovered through extended periods of arcane or divine mediation and focus. The Mediation attunement option is only available to spell-casting classes. The Meditation process requires 24 uninterrupted hours of intense focus. As this process is both physically and mentally draining, the character must make 2 checks. One Con check with a DC of 13 to see if the character can withstand the physical effort, and one Int or Wis check with a DC based on the item's power.

Each additional hour over 24 that the character spends adds +1 to the Int/Wis check, but requires an additional DC 13 Con check.

DC 12 for Common, 14 for Uncommon, 16 for Rare, 18 for Very Rare, 20 for Legendary or 22 for Artifact.

Challenge

A Challenge is any quest, journey or additional item (magical or mundane) that is required to attune the item. A Challenge may be to bring the item to a specific holy location, to defeat the undead shade of the item's previous wielder, or to locate 9 cat's-eye-sapphires that used to be set in the magical necklace. Challenges are basically item-specific plot hooks.

Direct Combat

Some spirits and races value direct, physical power. The spirit inhabiting the item will manifest and physically battle to character. Outside assistance may or may not be allowed, depending on the spirit. The toughness of the spirit should be approximately based on the power of the item. You can also substitute spectral or spirit versions of the appropriate monster or creature, as appropriate.

1-3 HD for Common, 4-5 HD for Uncommon, 6-9 HD for Rare, 10-15 HD for Very Rare, 15+HD for Legendary and 20 HD for Artifacts.

Mapping in the Underdark

The new Dwarf-based Next playtest game we are starting is going to have a significant underground component to it - which means I've had to think about both above and below-ground mapping.

I'm pretty happy with how the aboveground map is turning out, and combining it with landscape/location shots on the tumlr is something that I think is really nice.  Great to give a visual feeling to the locations.  I'm also setting up a scaling world map, with nested hexes for increased detail.  All very nice and working well.

Underdark mapping is harder, though.  It doesn't lend itself well to a traditional hex or wilderness map, since your choices are limited to specific paths or routes.  This makes it inherently a node or path-based map.

As far as I'm concerned, there are about 4 critical features that I, as the DM, need to know on an underdark map.

1) Physical connections between locations.  Since you are limited to following tunnels or routes when underground, I need to know which routes go where, and what areas/locations they connect to.

2) How physically difficult the route is.  Underground travel is much more physically demanding and difficult than overland travel - similar to high mountains, but with added hazards.  A challenging route would potentially include serious climbs, narrow areas and water hazards.  Challenging routes mean slower travel.

3) How dangerous the route is.  Similar to how difficult the route is, but this measures likelihood of hostile random encounters.  It is also an indicator of how often the route is patrolled by friendly forces, or how well-guarded/secure it is.  Dangerous routes mean more random encounters, and more unpleasant encounters.

4) Connections up or down.  If a route or area goes to the surface, that's a big deal.  Technically, underdark maps should be fully 3d, but in practical terms, it's easier to design in z-levels, like Dwarf Fortress maps, so identifying various "levels" of the underdark and mapping what areas and routes go down or up is helpful.

Now, my feeling is that a good map needs to be able to transmit all important information quickly and in an intuitive fashion.

Underdark Starting Map

This version is a bit zoomed out, but the basics should be visible.  The locations are flagged and ID'ed by name using a gold-medallion icon.  For the tunnels themselves, I use the following key:

Line thickness indicates the physical difficulty.  The thicker a line is, the easier it is to traverse.  Bold black lines are the underdark equivalent of a paved road, down to the very thin lines, which are basically unimproved cavern, with all the hazards that implies.

In terms of travel time, I double it for each of the 3 line thicknesses.  So a 1-day journey would be 2 days on a mid-thickness line and 4 days on a thin line.

Line color indicates the danger level of the route.

Black – Safe. (roll d4 on encounter chart)

Green – Somewhat safe. (roll d6 on encounter chart)

Yellow – Unsafe. (roll d8 on encounter chart)
Orange - Hazardous. (roll d10 on encounter chart)

Red – Extremely dangerous. (roll d12 on encounter chart)

I'm going to use an expanding-dice encounter chart with this.  By scaling the dice you roll, you can use a large encounter chart for all areas, allowing the dice you use to filter out the encounters appropriate for each type of area.  Something like this:

1 Merchant with porters.  Probably friendly, likely inclined to swap stories or trade.

2 Paths Guild scouts/patrol.  Brisk, professional, curious about what you’re up to.

3 Lone prospector.  Roll d8 for reaction (1-4, coming in looking tired and beat.  5-6, going out looking rested and ready to go.  7-8, WTF are you looking at?  You’ll never find it.  NEVER.)

4 Kobold raiders – d6 skulking raiders looking for something to steal.

5 Giant Spiders – d4 Giant spiders with a hunger on.

6 Pechs –d6 pechs doing inscrutable things that probably make traversing the cavern more difficult

7 Goblin snatchers – d10 goblins looking for something to kill, eat or mate with.  They ain’t picky, either.

8 Duergar patrol – 1 fist (5 duergar) on patrol. They will kill to ensure they aren’t reported.

9 Basilisk – d2 Basilisks.  They like their meat with a thin crunchy coating…

10. Grey ooze.  Hard to tell it’s there until your boots start melting.  Oh, you were sitting down?

11. Earth Elemental.  Roll d8 for reaction (1-2 Passing through, didn’t see you.  Roll 1 attack an all party members as it rumbles through.  3-4 Curious.  Will examine the party to see if they are hostile.  5-6 Meat-things bother me.  Will likely attack unless placated or party flees.  7-8.  Goddamn, these things are everywhere!  Attacks immediately)

12. Something really weird from the special encounter list.

Locations generally will have connection up/down info included in the description.  For smaller sites, they are depicted with a circle.  White center means it connects to the surface.  Black center means it connects to a lower level.  Grey center means it connects to both.  Blue center means no connections.

Earthshatter & Ring of Feline Grace

Earthshatter

Earthshatter is a 2-handed Maul, forged from steel and meteoric iron, in the angular, geometric dwarven style.  The weapon strikes for 2d6+2 damage, is unbreakable, and once/day it’s wielder can unleash a blow that, if it lands on stone, throws shockwaves that do 2d6 damage to everyone within 10 feet of the wielder.   Engraved on one side of the hammer in dwarven runes are the words “Earthshatter am I.  Grungni made me to open the way.”  On the other is a network of finely carved, twisting lines with a small inlaid anvil set among them.

(Harley Stroh) If wielded by an ogre-kin, Earthshatter launches itself at the wielder, automatically inflicting a critical hit each round it is grasped. Earthshatter cannot distinguish between ogres and those simply wearing gauntlets of ogre power. 

(Zak S) Use of Earthshatter enrages the Lithic Gods. No elemental spell which calls on the earth will ever agree to aid the wielder of Earthshatter, even indirectly, and the wielder's save or armor class against any such attack will be at minus d6. Earth elementals, if called into the presence of Earthshatter for any reason, will not leave until the bearer of Earthshatter is destroyed. Stone giants can feel the shockwaves of Earthshatter and will scheme against the wielder.

Ring of Feline Grace

This simple ring appears to be carved from solid orangey stone, banded with black like a tortoiseshell cat.  If the wearer of the ring is struck by a critical hit, the black spots spread slightly and the critical is turned into a normal strike.  The ring will function d8+1 times before becoming useless.

 (Gus L) Upon exhaustion of the charges, the black spots will spread to the wearer, permanently disfiguring him with a leopard like pattern.  While this only reduces CHR by 1 point, it also causes animosity in all canine creatures (automatic -3 to reaction rolls).

(Zak S) Each time the ring functions, the wearer is seized by a wave of urbane apathy. S/he will immediately leave the party once combat ends and try to climb onto a nearby surface at least one foot above the head of the tallest party member and rest, licking his or her wounds until offered food.

Monstrous Monday: Chomp-munk!

What to do with all the heads?  It's a common problem for a necromancer.  It's easy to lose track of just how many political rivals and derring do-gooders you've had decapitated, and suddenly, the spare room of the tower is just packed full of disembodied heads!

Sure, the zombies can go through a few, and you can throw a couple of brains into jars for later, but that really only scratches the surface of the head problem.  Luckly, Maleficar the Maledificant came up with a solution!

Nuuuuuttttsssss.....

And it's so simple!  What is the only thing that seems even MORE common than those pesky body-free craniums?  Yes!  The answer is woodland animals.  They are all over the place!  Climbing in the trees, singing to princesses, conspiring with the swan down in the lake to turn her back into a "real" girl.  Just round them up, a few flicks of the cleaver, licks with a needle and twine and a reanimate dead spell or two, and the release the results into the surrounding forest!

Any animal will do, although small cute ones are really effective for that initial "WTF is THAT and WHY IS IS CHEWING ON ME" factor.

Chomp-Munks
# appearing: 1-20
HD 1-3 (depending on animal)
Size (S to L, depending on animal)
#att: 1
Dmj: d6 (bite)
Speed: about as quick as a squirrel with a human head sewn to it...

Anybody encountering Chomp-munks for the first time must make a save against mental attacks/horror or be paralyzed with fear and revulsion for 1 round.

Swarm:  if more than 5 Comp-munks attack a single enemy, all of them make only 1 attack roll.  If it hits, they swarm for 3d6 biting damage.

Happy Halloween!  Check out The Other Side blog for more Monstrous Monday.

Blingdenstone Enhanced: Chapter 2

Ah... Chapter 2.

I like a lot (but not alot) of things about this chapter.  I like that it presents a tunnel complex as a series of connected events without a specific map.  I like that it uses random encounters to build the structure, essentially making it play differently for each group.  I like that there are both positive and negative random encounters on the list.  These are good things.

But I also hate some things about it.  There are 2 kinds of kobold traps and some weak-ass ambushes.  The frequency of the crystals is also a bit of a bother.  The average number of crystals you'll find is 2 (1-3).  You have a 1 in 5 chance of finding crystals for each hour that you spend in the Wormwindings, and you need 6 crystals.  That means that you will likely have to roll at least 15 times on the random encounter tables to find said 6 crystals.

Since the encounter table only has about 6 entries on it, statistically you're going to see them a number of times, which is not ideal.  Makes the whole thing pretty repetitious, in fact.  Of course, I haven't actually played it yet, but I'm not really willing to run risks on that, so I modified the table to give a higher chance of finding crystals.  That way if the party wants to wander around looking for mineral/gem deposits, they can, but they are likely to find the crystals pretty fast.

I also don't really like the idea that the kobolds are going to be blocked off by collapsing the one passage.  These are KOBOLDS.  They get in places.  That's what they do.  So blocking the tunnel will provide a temporary relief from kobold incursions now, but not a permanent cessation.  Of course, blocking the tunnel does have the benefit of heading off some of the random events that I added in Blindenstone Enhanced, so it's a trade-off.

In this version, the only way to really get rid of the kobolds is either a) kill a bunch of em, a la the orcs, or b) track down the lair and kill a bunch of em.  Kobold tunnel rat work is not for sissies.

So this chapter of Blingdenstone Enhanced features a full kobold lair, along with a 5e conversion of the Otyugh.  Enjoy!

Chapter 2 Enhanced.

Since killing the little buggers is a standard method for control, here is a cheat sheet.

Kobold Cheat Sheet

If you are using a VTT, here is the warren map file.  Pretty sure I got it off Campaign Cartographer, but I went on a helluva downloading spree a while ago and didn't attribute everything.

Kobold Warren.

The Wargame DNA of the RPG

A few years ago, I helped out a family friend, Craig Besinque, in designing and playtesting a block-based wargames, which ended up being called Hellenes: Campaigns of the Ancient World.

Craig is pretty well-know in a certain element of the wargaming community - which is like being well-known in the RPG community, except that wargamers tend to be a bit more community-oriented than most RPGer's.  He's designed games like WestFront and EastFront for Columbia Games, so it was really interesting to learn about board game/wargame design from him.

In brief, here are the things I learned working with Craig.

1) Designing wargames is unlikely to make you rich.  You are working in a niche market, with a fairly small customer base (as customer bases go).  They are a reliable base, though - willing to spend money on quality product.  This is presumably also true for RPG's - something anyone wanting to design RPG's should heed.

2) You had best be good at math.  Craig has a Masters Degree in Mathematics from (I believe) UCLA.  He can do fairly complex probability in his head.  I suspect that it's a good thing he's not into gambling, or he would be cleaning up on Pokerstars.net.

3) Game balance is all-important.  Moreso in this context than some others, since Hellenes was designed to be a fairly short 1v1 wargame.  Balance in this context is very similar to what balance means in chess - there should be no sure, or even preferred, route to victory.  If there is, the game is "broken" and considered by most people to be unworthy of being played.  Which will kill your sales (or even your chances of being published) - see point 1.

4) You can design whatever you want, but if you stick to certain material constraints, there is a much better chance that your game will be published.  In this case, Columbia games had certain pre-packaged numbers of blocks and decks of cards.  If you used a different number of blocks in your game, it meant the game cost more, which would be a factor in the publisher deciding to release it.  Likewise, if you use cards, try to stick with the same number of cards as a standard deck of cards, for the same reasons.

To further explain this point, we should examine a different game - Railroad Tycoon.  This game has a ton of different blocks, tiles, markers, plastic trains and whatnot with it.  It's a pretty good game, but now out of print.  I think that's probably because all the bells and whistles (hehe) cost more that it's worth to produce the thing.

5) You must playtest.  Then, playtest more.  Then put it out there and get others to playtest it.  That is the only way to get good game balance - see point 3.

6) If you want to design a historical boardgame, you must start with the historical part.

It's nice if the game can reflect historical realities, but you should pick what realities you reflect - they should be ones that create interesting possibilities and trade-offs.  Guns or butter decisions are what make wargames interesting.

Ideally, players should be making decisions that reflect those that the actual historical sides would have made - in the case of Hellenes, the Athenians need to decide how much of their fleet to take out of the city, whether to focus on attacking Spartan coastal provinces, how much effort to spend putting down revolts, and how many resources to apply to land armies vs the fleet.

7) Limiting resources is a good thing.  When you can't do everything, you have to make decisions about where to allocate a very limited pool of resources.  This makes each decision a difficult one, requiring much deliberation.  Combined with point 6 - it means you can never do everything you want, and you're always making interesting decisions about what you can do.

Many RPG's use one or more of these design principles.  Interestingly, older versions of games like D&D tend to use less of them, despite the fact that they are closer, genetically-speaking to those old wargames.  Specifically issues like game balance, playtesting and limiting resources don't seem to have been foremost in the minds of the designers of say, 1e Dungeons and Dragons.  It's a hybrid game system, and the designers seem to be focused more on the overall experience than applying the lessons of wargame design to the new system.

In more recent years, things have swung back around.  4e, for all it's flaws, pays much more attention to 2, 3 and 7.  It would have been nice if they spent more time on 5, though.  Curiously, it's frequently panned by fans of the older editions - which is kinda weird, since it owes much more to the initial inspiration for D&D than many of those old editions did.

Ultimately, helping to design a boardgame was a great experience - it's really changed how I look at both RPG's and computer games.  I feel like I have a much better view of the decisions that were probably made in the design phase that resulted in the game I'm playing, which makes it easier to mod games, and strangely, easier to like each system for it's own merits/flaws.  To understand something is to lose the fear of it, after all.

Not Sure What All the Fuss is About

Well, looks like I'm going to be getting back into some regular gaming now that the summer is over.  My buddy Perry, who I have been playing DnD with since basically forever, is running a once a week, 1-hour Old-School Sandbox game.  We're playing with Rules Compendium R.A.W.  I rolled up an Elf.

Now, I'm normally a Dwarf guy myself - and I could have played a Dwarf no problem, I got a decent enough set of stats.  But I liked the idea of the elf.  Access to any weapons/armor and spellcasting?  You betcha.  So was born Fingolfin the Elf.

It's been a really long time since I read these rules, and I have to say, there is some seriously senseless shit in here.  I've gotten a little punchy in the past with Ole Trollsmythe about the preposterous "D&D is Always Right" garbage that some people spread about, and I see nothing in these rules that changes my mind.

First off - some spells are ridiculously overpowered.  Sleep, just for example.  I like the no saving throw aspect of that.  Light is handy - I'm particularly fond of how blinded people can't attack or move.  Saving throws are very difficult to make, so good luck on that.  Other spells are just absolutely fucking useless, and other stuff is just... so arbitrary.

Like... encumbrance.  This is a flat amount for all characters.  Over 800 cn, and you're at 3/4 move.  Over 1200 and you're at half.  Functionally, this means that my 130 lb elf can haul 119.9 lbs of gear around at 60' per whatever.  In real life, I weigh 230.  120 lbs of gear is fucking brutal.  Roman legionnaires didn't carry that much, and Caesar called them "human mules".

Plus, a 90 lb halfling with str 5 can carry THE SAME AMOUNT OF GEAR.  And my spellbook weighs 200 cn!  WTF?  Even my university collected works of John Milton textbook didn't weigh 20 lbs.  Also - I love the spell selection.  Everyone gets 2 spells, but one of them pretty much has to be "Read Magic", or you won't ever have more than 2 spells.  So why not just give everyone 1 spell and Read Magic?  We'll never, ever know.

I could really go on for hours here - but truth be told, I'm actually really stoked to play this game.  I know this style well - and the rules of the slog are pretty straightforward:
Thou shalt not open doors when you don't know what is behind them.
Thou shalt map like a motherfucker.
Thou shalt NOT get in any stand-up fights if you can help it.
Thou shalt talk first, then fight.
Thou shalt have the thief check EVERYTHING. (even though the rules give a lv 1 thief about a 1/8 chance of actually finding anything - how do they ever get to be high-level thieves?)

Also, we found the most amazing example of gamer OCD - the Vaults of Pandius.  http://www.pandius.com/index.html  If you ever want to run a Known World/Mystara sandbox - head over here - there is a generation of material available.