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I need an Opinion Part 4

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 8:31 pm
by Leema Har'gachi
Before I get started I would like to say I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and I hope the Lady Silverhair dances for us all during the up coming new year.

Now, unto business. The last few months I've been playing around with ideas for a few mechanics I've mentioned before but never had anything to show for. Save throws, a little bit more one the General skill system and I have been messing with a couple new ideas which I may or may not continue with. Since tables are kind of important here I've have a link to the document instead of just copying text here.

[url:3d1t0lej]https://www.scribd.com/document/3680909 ... cy-Bonuses[/url:3d1t0lej]

First of All I've actually cut down a few classes I had wanted to do and the barbarian (I've been having problems decided which version I want it to resemble, the Unearth arcana or the 3rd /3.5 edition version), so as it stands right now the table of classes and subclass are what will be in my final version.

Second on the subject of Save throw, save throw progression is split into three category the Idea being that if it is a save throw that your class is best at then they should rarely ever fail it especially at high levels. However, I would like to point out the ability score list for the Petrification and Polymorph is not final. I found it rather difficult to have two save using the save ability without combining them and written them in table in combined form like I did in a couple earlier version made it rather difficult to fit it in the tables. Though it would make comeliness more useful, the only explanation for why it could work for this say is that it is the wholeness of form after all, having a scar that cover half of your face would affect how people see you so maybe the effect that transform your body could too. I know it is a weak reason...

Third, the idea of a Favored Weapon bonus really came up after I realized that allowing the use of weapon proficiency slots like want to would mean many of the tradition weapons used by classes like the wizard would be completely unused except by those who really want to stick to the character's cleches. This kind of reward that, but doesn't really hinder players who like to use more unusual weapon and class combinations.

and Finally, I tried to test how the information should be displayed with the bard class, I should note that the exp progression list here is more of an idea. I am not sure how I want to handle it any more after I realize using the 1st/ 2nd edition method of multiclassing used by the demihuman race for any classes doesn't really work as well with a single exp progression table... So I still have some kinks to work out of it. Also I did some cleaning up of the Bardic music ability from the last version of the bard.

Re: I need an Opinion Part 4

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 4:08 pm
by Irennan
[quote="Leema Har'gachi":18r66zrs]Before I get started I would like to say I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and I hope the Lady Silverhair dances for us all during the up coming new year.

Now, unto business. The last few months I've been playing around with ideas for a few mechanics I've mentioned before but never had anything to show for. Save throws, a little bit more one the General skill system and I have been messing with a couple new ideas which I may or may not continue with. Since tables are kind of important here I've have a link to the document instead of just copying text here.

[url:18r66zrs]https://www.scribd.com/document/3680909 ... cy-Bonuses[/url:18r66zrs]

First of All I've actually cut down a few classes I had wanted to do and the barbarian (I've been having problems decided which version I want it to resemble, the Unearth arcana or the 3rd /3.5 edition version), so as it stands right now the table of classes and subclass are what will be in my final version.[/quote:18r66zrs]

May the Lady smile to you as well. I'll give you my opinion on each part of your document by replying to the part of your post that talks about it, as to avoid confusion. For the table of classes, I wanted to ask if you wrote it specifically to fit your setting, because there are some subclasses that have the potential to be added. For example, for the bard, you could have the standard song/poetry-focused bard, the dancer bard, and then add a 'spellpainter' of sorts, a spellcasting bard who specializes in illusions and has the ability to make them come real by painting them with a magical brush tool or something like that. Or a bard who specializes in shaping the environment around them through sculptures, or in creating artful statues that come to life and fight for him. The barbarian/berserker could simply be a fighter subclass, or stuff like that. If your world doesn't include that kind of concepts, I can see why you wrote the list like this, tho.

[quote:18r66zrs]Second on the subject of Save throw, save throw progression is split into three category the Idea being that if it is a save throw that your class is best at then they should rarely ever fail it especially at high levels. However, I would like to point out the ability score list for the Petrification and Polymorph is not final. I found it rather difficult to have two save using the save ability without combining them and written them in table in combined form like I did in a couple earlier version made it rather difficult to fit it in the tables. Though it would make comeliness more useful, the only explanation for why it could work for this say is that it is the wholeness of form after all, having a scar that cover half of your face would affect how people see you so maybe the effect that transform your body could too. I know it is a weak reason...[/quote:18r66zrs]

Sounds fine to me. I will only say that IMO the gap between best and good saving throw is too high (or that the gap between poor and good is too small). Taking a look at the save DCs, considering that the bonus to your roll is your save proficiency bonus+your stat bonus, it seems to me that maybe the DCs could be a tad higher.

As for comeliness, game mechanics don't have to fully have an in-world explanation IMO. They're not like a mathematical model of how the world works. It's a good idea to make comeliness more useful than just to say "I look amazing".

[quote:18r66zrs]Third, the idea of a Favored Weapon bonus really came up after I realized that allowing the use of weapon proficiency slots like want to would mean many of the tradition weapons used by classes like the wizard would be completely unused except by those who really want to stick to the character's cleches. This kind of reward that, but doesn't really hinder players who like to use more unusual weapon and class combinations.[/quote:18r66zrs]

I like the concept of a favored weapon, but I'd honestly only leave that to clerics (the favored weapon would be their deity's). While you may have not added any penalty for using an unusual weapon, but a character would essentially gimp themselves for not using one. When one option is clearly better than the other ones, people will generally flock to that.

[quote:18r66zrs]and Finally, I tried to test how the information should be displayed with the bard class, I should note that the exp progression list here is more of an idea. I am not sure how I want to handle it any more after I realize using the 1st/ 2nd edition method of multiclassing used by the demihuman race for any classes doesn't really work as well with a single exp progression table... So I still have some kinks to work out of it. Also I did some cleaning up of the Bardic music ability from the last version of the bard.[/quote:18r66zrs]

I like that bards can use their music to evoke certain effects. If it were up to me, tho, I'd entirely remove their spellcasting and replace it with the ability to evoke certain effects through song (similar to what you already have), and then give them the ability combine two (or even more, as they rise in levels) songs in a single action . Certain songs would give you a penalty to the roll, because they simply don't sound good together (for example, a sweet song to heal, and a harsh song to move air as to cut your enemies wouldn't mesh well, but a skilled musician could still do it, managing to heal their allies and make their enemies bleed at the same time. A song that heals your allies combined with a song that charms your enemies would be easier, tho), but a bard would feel drastically different from a wizard.

For example, a bard character might have learned the song of charm, a song of healing, a song of despair, a song of haste, and so on. They have a certain amount of uses of the bardic song per rest (it should be more than bard level/day, tho, given that they'll no longer have access to spellcasting), and different songs have different costs (some should cost 0, IMO, like the song of charm). The bard can use the "bardic song" points to cast one of those songs in their standard form. By expending extra uses they would be able to modify the song. For example, make it have an immediate effect rather than requiring to be played for 1 min, do more damage, heal more, and so on.

By expending the normal cost of two or more songs, plus maybe an additional "combine" cost, the bard can play two or songs at the same time, combining them into a single melody. That piece will apply the effects of its parts, so a song of haste+a song of healing will cost quite a lot, but will heal and buff your allies at the same time. The bard can also combine the immediate or empowered versions of two or more songs, as long as they spend the proper amount of bardic song uses. Basically, the bard's songs are their magic and main tool. Their magic might not be as powerful as a wizard's spell, but they'd have much more flexibility and creative potential.