So; The Mongol China game DMed by Messr Fukes has been restarted now he has returned from canada and I am playing a completely different character from before - due to party makeup it was sensible to 'retire' Jin Re Sco, my Tempest/Dervish and play another character for a while until the party stabilises once again. This time it's a conjuration focused Druid who is so far out of the social loop that he seems to come back from the other side and fit in nicely. However I still want to continue playing Jin in the event he will return to join the party... So what has happened to him?
Jin Re Sco, a character of mine that I am currently playing in a campaign has recently come into contact with a flock of Dire Bats. Normally this would be cause for Exp. However thanks to some lucky rolls, Jin has managed to restrain the bat he was fighting with only a point of damage (to the bat!). The rest of the team would usually come over and finish it off but, this time around, I felt like doing something a little different. Jin is a Lv2 Ranger, among the clutter of multi-classing that makes up the rest of him, and I figured that he may as well make use of those two levels for something neat. Specifically; Wild Empathy.
While attached to the bat via grapple rules, I asked my DM if I could make a Wild empathy check to make the bat friendly towards me (bearing in mind this thing is 5ft bigger than me with a 15ft wingspan). He agreed and I took some ten minutes staring at it and nodding or whatever it is that Wild Empathy looks like and rolled. I allowed him to roll for it since it was an unusual situation and guess what came up... The Party so far:
Jin: Ranger 2/Fighter 3/Dervish 1 Xing: Ranger 6 Alice: Druid (Spirit Shaman homebrew) 6 Hung: Fighter 5 Zhu: Fighter 4 Soul: Bard 5 -------------------------------------------------- Alice, Soul, Hung, Zhu and Jin made their way outside, the latter shrugging of the last of the static charge imparted to him by one late Kobold sorcerer. The sun was out and in a prominent central position in the sky. It was midday and the five had to shield their eyes for a minute. The last three days spent excavating an Umber Hulk den had meant that with the exception of some breaks for meals and other functions they had been underground for almost three full days; their eyes, accustomed to the low light of torches, finding it hard to focus in the bright sunlight. Xing stood at the edge of the forest, frisking a corpse. As the rest of the party approached him, he held up what appeared to be some rabbit fur and a small crystal. “All that trouble from such little trinkets. How are you feeling Jin?” Like shit, if I’m honest. Jin took a moment to consider the situation. His chest was scorched and burned and felt very sore. He had glanced once at the damage while brushing off the remains of another Kobold who also took the full force of the blast and it had sickened him. The flesh under his shirt was blackened and some parts seemed to have started smoking. It would take a long time to heal but his natural fortitude should leave him without a scar, or at least one that was mostly unnoticeable. “I’m alive. That’s a good start.” “Good to hear. That’s more than can be said for this little guy.” Xing nudged the Kobold with his foot, rolling him over to reveal several arrow wounds. The Party so far:
Jin: Ranger 2/Fighter 3/Dervish 1 Xing: Ranger 6 Alice: Druid (Spirit Shaman homebrew) 6 Hung: Fighter 5 Zhu: Ranger 4 Soul: Bard 5 -------------------------------------------------- (This campaign has already started, therefore this log will continue from the events that occurred during this session. No retroactive logs from me, folks. Also, for the purpose of plot coherency, characters may be voicing lines that their players did not. You have been warned.) Author’s Note: I actually got quite into writing this. It was quite fun to describe it in detail. Apologies if it’s a little too long – it’s only 10 pages of A4 ;) *** After the small entertainment of the Wyvern, Jin found himself trudging along the mountain path after Xing. Once again the party was moving and he guessed it was a good idea to keep up and try to get back on their good sides. It may not have been clever to get the newbie to try sneaking up on what was effectively a huge flying scorpion but it was pretty damn funny. He suppressed a small chuckle as he glanced over to Hung, knowing full well that even the school of hard knocks is, in fact, a school. The path led up some ways and through the trees that covered this part of the mountain like a bad rash. Jin was no stranger to the wilderness but he did miss Min-ah - the only person right now that he really wanted to be around, especially with a bottle of wine. Smiling again at the memories of their last encounter, his thoughts were interrupted by a less-than-happy Hung; "Hey, the sky looks pretty dark ahead. Storm is coming, do you think?" Hung looked very average to Jin. Blessed with neither good looks nor quick wits himself, He tended to judge people by the way they moved. Well muscled people like Hung could hit like a carthorse kick but tended to be very slow in both mind and, in particular, dexterity - one of the few things Jin prided himself on. Most players of D&D 3.5 are satistfied with the official sheets - They're neat, effective and short. Only two pages rather then the 3 or 4 of other games. I am not one of those players. I *want* to describe my character, I *want* to add a back story to every one I create (which is usually the most laborous part of character creation). Were I to use the official sheets, I would have to put this information on a sheet of scrap paper and add it into the character's plastic wallet. It may never be read by the DM, who may only need mechanical information to build encounters. The easy solution was to put them on the back of my character sheet but to me this was cluttered and ugly. I went trawling the internet for a highly detailed character sheet that can potentially contain all the information that I care to jot down. Which is when I found this:
This is an 8 page sheet, of which you only 'need' the first three. All the information you need is, as it should be, on the first page with secondary information on the second and feats on the third. It is meant for experienced players with almost complete rules familiarity and, joy! page 2 has room for both a Character history/background and Description. Short though they are.
Page 4 Is for those Incarnum users, so it's rarely even glanced at with my groups. Page 5 is for Spellcasters. Page 6 is for Psionics. Page 7 is for Initiators (The broken shit from Tome of Battle?) and Page 8 holds all the Epic information. Download it, try it, love it. It's one of the nicest, neatest, cleanest and sensible sheets I have found so far. Why it's not on this site already, I have no idea. Recently I saw a blast from my past - A friend (another of the GMs on this site) had a printed copy of my Coinswitch system - something that he and I dreamt up over a coffee and that I subsequently statted. Below is the full text, for those who may not have their own copy. By Lord_Lemartes/KyraLaVos.
Dungeons and Dragons V3.5ed Coin Enhancement System. Fluff: The party sat in the shade of the forest, watching the creatures as they were summoned. "No doubt about it" whispered the Cleric, looking through his spyglass. "Devils, most definitely". "Are you sure?" The Rogue said in alarm. "I hear the skin of those critters can take a blade and simply shrug it off!” “Yes, they are resistant to normal weapons. Silver is far from normal though, that should give them grief” replied the Wizard. “But I have no Silvered weapons”. The party looked at each other in fear, all except the crossbow equipped Fighter - He was smiling. “What? Have YOU got Silvered bolts then?” The Rogue asked. Still smiling, the Fighter pulled out a small disk and slotted it into a groove on the side of his customised light crossbow. “...I have now” he murmured. =====+===== The Coin system is an idea dreamt up in order to give a small group of people some major versatility. In essence it is an upgrade/modular equipment setup that can be applied to weapons, armour and equipment – drastically increasing their combat effectiveness and abilities. For example the Fighter’s crossbow mentioned above has, let say, three Coin Slots. A Coin Slot is the grove that a PC would use to attach a “Coin” thus empowering the weapon with the coin’s ability. Each piece of equipment has a “Basic” slot and a “Support” slot allowing many variations of a single tool. Adding a Coin Slot to an item requires a relevant Craft check (DC20 – it’s tricky) and each additional Coin slot has +2 to that DC. The first (Basic) slot costs 300gp. The second and progressive (Support) slots cost 1000gp, +1000gp/existing support slot(s). To clarify, that’s 300gp for the basic, 1000gp for support slot A and 2000gp for support slot B if we’re using our Fighter’s crossbow for example. Each piece of equipment (or pair, in the case of boots, bracers and so forth) can only have 1 basic slot. This is quite critical and will cause massive confusion if not obeyed. Try it once, go on! :D The cap on Support slots is limited by the DM, though the average is 2 (for a total of three coin slots). A “Basic” coin will not function in a Support Slot, nor will a support coin have any effect in the Basic slot. It takes a Swift action to insert or remove a slotted coin and the item will be its original basic self if there are no coins augmenting it. Coin effects can be identified with a spellcraft check (DC = 15 +the spell’s Level, or 15+(2x equivalent enhancement bonus), whatever is higher. The Fighter’s crossbow (stats below) for example, makes all bolts fired by it +3 Silvered Bolts. Let’s take a look: Custom Light Crossbow (Masterwork/Enchanted) 35gp (M/work +300) +1 Enhancement Bonus 2,000gp Constant Ammunition (bolt) (Minor creation, CL7, Continuous effect) 28,000gp Custom Slot (Basic) 300gp Custom Slot (Support) 1,000gp Custom Slot (Support) 2,000gp Total: 33,635gp That’s the basic thing. Once a round you can fire it, and some poor goblin will take a magically generated bolt to the chest. (Light crossbow is 1D8, so you know). This particular Crossbow has +1 to hit and as additional damage due to its Enhancement bonus. The Fighter, now he knows that Devils are vulnerable to Silver has slotted his Silvering Coin into support slot A. His crossbow will now fire +1 Silvered Bolts. Which is nice. Good for him. However, since he needs a bit of power behind it for his crossbow to deal some real damage, our Fighter has also placed a +3 Enhancement Coin into the Basic Slot. Powering up his bow further and allowing it to launch +3 Silvered Bolts instead. (NOTE: as usual, enhancement bonuses do NOT stack). =====+===== Here is some Armour: Custom Studded Leather Armour (Masterwork) 25gp (M/work +150) Custom Slot (Basic) 300gp Custom Slot (Support) 1,000gp Custom Slot (Support) 2,000gp Custom Slot (Support) 3,000gp Total: 6,475gp Its stats read like this: Armour Bonus +3 Max. DEX +5 Armour Check Penalty -0 Spell Failure 15% Speed: 30ft (medium) Weight: 20lbs The first thing you see is that it’s completely non-magical. Just a nice suit of studded leather. No armour check penalty due to it being Masterwork. It also has 4 slots in it. We’ll argue that since it’s so much bigger than the crossbow, it has room for a third support slot. Now, that’s some expensive armour for providing such a relatively small bonus. Where’s my Coin Pouch... The Coins themselves are small, disk shaped objects with artistic engravings on both sides – similar to a standard Gold Piece, and are about the same size as one. A sample coin, say, the +3 Enhancement Coin from the Fighter’s bow would read like this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Enhancement Bonus +3 (BASIC) Base: 30gp Enhancement Bonus +3 18,000gp (Moderate Transmutation, Greater Magic Weapon CL12)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’ll explain this – the name of the coin is just that. Different coins will have different names. It’s pretty simple. The tag (BASIC) indicates that this particular coin is destined for the Basic Slot which all slotted items will have. The figure on the right is the Coin’s basic crafting cost. Metal isn’t too expensive, but the engravings take time and effort. (Similar to why a Gem costs a damn sight more after it’s been cut). In row 2, we start with the Coin’s effect, once it’s been slotted. In this case it provides a +3 enhancement bonus to whatever it’s equipped. You saw above in the crossbow that it gave our Fighter +3 on his attack roll and +3 damage, just like a standard enhancement bonus. This time, however, we’re placing it into some armour thus its effect will provide +3 Enhancement bonus to Armour Class instead. The price for the bonus is the most expensive value (for a weapon). The last line is the coin’s Aura, and Creation Prerequisites. Once we put that coin in, our armour looks like this: Custom Studded Leather Armour (Masterwork) 25gp (M/work +150) Custom Slot (Basic) +3 enhancement Coin 300gp +18,030gp Custom Slot (Support) 1,000gp Custom Slot (Support) 2,000gp Custom Slot (Support) 3,000gp Total: 6,475gp Its stats read like this: Armour Bonus +6 (3+3) Max. DEX +5 Armour Check Penalty -0 Spell Failure 15% Speed: 30ft (medium) Weight: 20lbs that’s a bit more potent. There’s certainly nothing preventing that first coin being +4, or even +5 for a total of +8 AC. Nor is anything preventing other types of armour being crafted that’s bigger, heavier and with go-faster stripes on one side. However, for the cost it still seems a bit weak. All will soon be rectified – I found the pouch! Take a look at these: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Acid, Lesser (SUPPORT) Base: 30gp +1D6 [acid] Damage (weapon), Resist Energy: [acid]/ 10 (armour) 6,000gp (Minor Conjuration, Melf’s Acid Arrow, CL3)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Ghostbane (SUPPORT) Base: 30gp Ghost Touch 9,000gp (Strong Transmutation, Etherealness CL15)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Scrybane (SUPPORT) Base: 30gp Nondetection (as the spell, continuous effect) (armour) 28,000gp (Moderate Abjuration, Nondetection CL7)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A bit varied perhaps, but that’s the beauty of the Coins – whatever you need; on demand. As you can see, these are a bit more complex. The first thing you will note is the tag – these little ones are Support Coins. They are in addition to your single basic coin. We’ll go back to the crossbow here – currently our Fighter is dishing out +3 Silvered Bolts. We’ll assume that even with the enhancement coin, our boy is just not doing enough damage quickly. We do know that his crossbow has three coin slots though, and only two are in use. The Fighter takes a swift action during combat to insert a third coin. Let’s say the Coin of Acid, Lesser. Since the crossbow is a weapon, it explains our next line – the weapon gains an additional 1D6 [acid] damage. We’re now devil-hunting with +3 Silvered Bolts of Acid which has a far better kick to it then the plain bolts of 2 pages back. However this can’t apply to armour. Were we to use the Coin of Acid, Lesser in our Studded leather, we would gain the (armour) benefit instead. Which is a neat 10 resistance to, you’ve guessed it, [acid] damage. Carrying on, the second coin is another multi-item augment coin, but like our Enhancement Coin, it has the same effect for any items it augments. The Ghost Touch property allows our weapon/armour/masterwork chamber pot to be just as useful, or just as deadly, to ethereal creatures too. The third coin, as you will note by its effect, is meant for an Armour based support slot. It will provide the armour’s wearer with Nondetection, which prevents him from being scryed. Y’all see how it works? If we augment our armour with the coins I’ve listed, we get this: Custom Studded Leather Armour (Masterwork) 25gp (M/work +150) Custom Slot (Basic) +3 enhancement Coin 300gp +18,030gp Custom Slot (Support) Coin of Acid, Lesser 1,000gp +6,030gp Custom Slot (Support) Ghostbane Coin 2,000gp +9,030gp Custom Slot (Support) Scrybane Coin 3,000gp +28,030gp Total: 6,475gp Its stats read like this: Armour Bonus +6 (3+3) Max. DEX +5 Armour Check Penalty -0 Spell Failure 15% Speed: 30ft (medium) Weight: 20lbs Energy Resist: Acid/10 Ghost Touch Invisible to divination, DC 18 to pierce. Much better. Our armour is much more fun now – and the key thing is that, when your environment changes, your coins can too. A Coin of Fire, Lesser in armour would protect the wearer from the ambient heat in say, a volcano. Conversely, a Coin of Cold, Greater in your war hammer will allow you utterly smash any pyromaniac patrons of such an environment. Visiting the Elemental Plane of Water? Equip your Favourite Full-Plate with a Coin of Freedom of Movement, along with a Coin of water Breathing. Realistically, since I can’t stat every effect to the way everyone would like it, any GMs using this Coin System must create their own coins. The ones listed above are just examples and can be made more powerful or weaker depending on the kind of campaign they’re running. I recommend any PC who wants to start crafting Coins to start with slotted equipment first – ranks in Craft: Weaponry and Craft: Armorsmithing are suitable. (you got to have something to put those coins in first, chum). Advanced Coin Uses: While the examples above are meant for descriptive purposes, they are fully functional. But where the real meat comes in is combining certain basic coins with synergistically compatible support coins. Take this coin for example: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Fireball (BASIC) (15 Charges) Base: 30gp On hit: Fireball (as the spell, CL5) 5D6 Damage, Reflex [DC14] Half 30,000gp (Moderate Evocation, Fireball CL5)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hold up a sec – Fireball, the spell? And it’s a BASIC coin? I’ll elaborate... The first thing you’ll see is charges. That’s it. After 15 shots the coin will disintegrate and will need to be replaced. Coins can only ever have a limit of 15 charges for the following reason... Custom Light Crossbow (Masterwork/Enchanted) 35gp (M/work +300) +1 Enhancement Bonus 2,000gp Constant Ammunition (bolt) (Minor creation, CL7, Continuous effect) 28,000gp Custom Slot (Basic) 300gp Custom Slot (Support) 1,000gp Custom Slot (Support) 2,000gp Total: 33,635gp Remember our crossbow? In our basic slot we put the +3 Enhancement Coin previously, and it superseded the normal magic on the bolts. Rather than the normal +1 Bolts, we got +3 Bolts. Let’s assume the Fighter has equipped his Crossbow with this new, elusive Coin – Is he now shooting a 5D6 Fireball once a round? Well yes, actually. However there are limitations. He can still only target one enemy. Therefore only one enemy takes the 5D6 [fire] damage. There’s no blast or splash radius, since the attack is treated as a bolt – a straight roll against one foe’s normal Armour Class. The target still gets the DC14 save for half, and he doesn’t take the additional +1 damage from the weapon’s enhancement bonus. In effect, the attacker (our Fighter) is choosing to deal 5D4 [fire] damage, rather than any number of benefits that could otherwise have been applied to his attack. Here’s another coin... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Flaming Burst (SUPPORT) Base: 30gp On Hit: +1D6 [fire] damage, additional 1D10 [fire] damage on a Critical hit. 30,000gp (Strong Evocation, Fireball CL12)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aaah, so that’s what he meant by compatible I hear you all say. If you have a Coin of Fireball equipped in the basic slot, AND the Coin of Flaming Burst supporting it, the attack from the crossbow is now dealing 6D6 [fire] damage, but get this – here’s where the synergy kicks in. Since both coins have the same prerequisite and have a similar effect, the GM can rule that the Burst effect, from the Flaming Burst property applies to every dice. Your single shot which did a potent 6D6 before, could deal a possible 7D10 on a critical hit. (Burst adds that extra 1D10, remember?) And we still have a slot left :D let’s see... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Augment Coin: Pyrotechnics (SUPPORT) Base: 30gp Blindness 1D4+1rds [DC15 Will Neg.], -4 STR & -4DEX 1d4+1rds [DC15 Fort Neg.] 6,000gp (Weak Transmutation, Pyrotechnics CL3)(Craft Wondrous Item) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YES! We have successfully made a cannon. I used the word “Elusive” above but you, as a GM, must set limits on what spells and abilities are put into coins – you can see how powerful they can get. Please bear in mind though, this crossbow is an example and has infinite ammunition. It can effectively fire anything. If you allow your players to create a Coin of Fireball with no charge limit, either panic, or gang up on them with Fire elementals. Happy Gaming. The first post in a new method of communication. Or should I say an old one that has been rediscovered in the effort to encourage people to use the damn forums.
Regardless, My name is Luke. I'm 26, at last count and this little blog is meant for me to vent my spleen and share whatever little fantasies that suit my own little world that I care to dream up. For those who like Humor, Cynicism and Creativity - I hope you'll stop by regularly. |
Luke Charles
...has been writing D&D 3.5 items and new game mechanics for nigh upon 6 years now. Most of which has only been played with his unwilling D&D test victims. Archives |