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Halloween Jack posted:I went reading into this a long while back, and here is how I remember it: Two-weapon fighting was introduced in 1e, and rangers were one of the classes that could do it, by virtue of being a fighter subclass. This only became a signature Ranger Thing after Drizzt. I checked what my 2e PHB has to say. All warrior and rogue classes (so the fighter, paladin, ranger, thief, and bard) can dual-wield to gain a single bonus attack per round with their off-hand weapon, but at a penalty to all attack rolls: -2 for the main hand, -4 for the off-hand, modified by Dexterity. Rangers ignore this penalty as long as they're wearing studded leather armour or lighter. So by the time 2e came out, dual-wielding was something particularly associated with rangers, with mechanics to back it up. As far as I can see, they don't have any particular expertise at archery compared to the other warrior classes, but they did get the ability to hide in shadows and move silently (again, only in studded leather or lighter, and with a penalty when trying to do so in non-natural environments), and eventually access to low-level priest spells (starting at level 8, up to spell level 3 by level 12). Also, 2e rangers can fall just like paladins do and turn into fighters if they intentionally do evil, because 2e was the weirdest edition about alignment (although the rules for atonement are less strict than for paladins).
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Apr 19, 2018 04:41
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  The second chapter of the book, and the first regional chapter, covers the Crossroads. Each major region of the setting has a sort of theme going for it, and the Crossroads is "feudal European trading hub." A fair portion of this chapter focuses on Zobeck, given its relative prominence in the setting, and has a bit more pseudo-steampunk elements in its gearforged and clockwork overtones. The Crossroads trades with all its neighbors, although some of them such as the undead kingdoms to the north and the Mharoti dragons to the south aren't above trying to strike hard bargains at swordpoint. Before covering the countries and city-states we learn about the cultural customs in the form of great gatherings and celebrations. Daughter's Feast takes place in Perunalia and sometimes the god Perun himself and his divine family attend; the Dwarfmoot is a seasonal open forum/court in the Ironcrags where all matter of deals and disputes are resolved; Knight's Call is a social gathering of warriors from various lands seeking to test their martial prowess against each other; and the Queensmeet is a grand tournament where knights and vassals compete for a bejeweled helmet set with a gold band whose champion must compete yearly to defend their holding of it. Additionally the section talks about how Ironcrag dwarves make use of indentured servitude from prisoners of war. They usually ransom them back to villages, but when people are unwilling or unable to pay they are used as a labor force for 10 years. Although Ironcrag law forbids starvation and torture of thralls and a decade is not long in a dwarf's lifespan, the practice alternately breeds fear and resentment. The former is beneficial to the Ironcrags in that many mercenary companies are less willing to perform operations in dwarven territory, but the latter is detrimental in that it gives rise to vengeful warriors who feel their lives have been stolen from long captivity. The Free City of Zobeck  Zobeck was once a feudal realm whose people suffered under the nobility of House Stross. But a Great Revolt among the common folk overthrew the crown and instituted a new form of government. Consuls comprised of merchants and politically-connected people, serve 5-year terms, and from among their number they appoint a mayor of the city to serve a 10 year term. Many Zobeckers prize the way of mercantilism, an ideal where commerce and personal skill are the pathway to success rather than a royal bloodline. This ideal is far from realized; in spite of their participation in the revolution, Zobeck's sizable kobold minority are denied employment and living space in most of the city. Most of them live in the cramped confines of the Kobold Ghetto which may as well be its own world apart legally and culturally. Zobeck is separated into 5 main districts, with 6 smaller ones. The Citadel District is where the wealthiest burghers live and is home to the knightly Order of Griffon Riders who act as an aerial cavalry in wartime. This District also sports the Free Army and its famed Zobeck Hussars. The Collegium District caters to the famous Arcane Collegium and the needs of scribes, mages, and intelligentsia. The Collegium spares no expense in protecting its assets, from clockwork traps to gargoyle guardians. In spite of its small student body of 40 it has state-of-the-art laboratories and libraries. The Dock District sits along the city's river and is the busiest area of the city. It is home to the gnomish Blue Barbers of Wharf Street who have hair-restoring tonics, but are rumored to be spies for the Shadow Fey. The Gear District sees to the maintenance of clockwork and steam-powered devices and is where the gearforged congregate for repair and socialization. The city government pours considerable expense into continual creation of gearforged soldiers, about one a month in addition to creations made via private donations. The Kobold Ghetto is a warren of streets no more than six feet wide with interconnecting roofs keeping out the sun. During the age of House Stross the Ghetto was a giant labor camp, and in spite of terrible conditions it produced more than a few kobolds responsible for valuable inventions but whose names are lost to history. After the Great Revolt the kobolds re-purposed the camp to be more generic residential space even if living standards are still poor. An unofficial network of linked iron chains and barrels act as impromptu river bridges for smugglers and other never-do-wells. The most infamous den of ill repute is the Pit of the Fierce Lynx, an underground gladiatorial arena where the winner is treated like royalty in the Ghetto for a week and a day. Beyond this we have brief mentions of minor districts, such as Lower Zobeck where the poor working classes live, a series of old mining tunnels known as the Cartways once used by House Stross for private parties, the Merchant District which has all manner of mundane goods along with strange magical items brokered at the Shadow Fey Exchange, and Upper Zobeck which is home to the Free City's centers of administration and government. We end our time in Zobeck proper with Places of Interest, such as the Old Stross Public Bathhoue which is a favorite social gathering spot for rich and poor alike, a bar of scum and villainy known as the Weathsheaf which welcomes gangsters, diabolists, and and "legitimate businessmen" operating under a tense neutral space, and the Winter's Kiss Shadow Fey Embassy whose location on Alchemist's Folly street seems to shift every so often. METAPLOT: Lord Mayor Karillian Gluck was a relative non-entity in the 2012 edition, and after a threat on his life by the Shadow Fey a dwarven woman known as Constantia Olleck now fills his shoes. She made a small fortune off of mule trains, and is forging alliances with neighbors in the wake of the Mharoti Empire annexing the city-state of Illyria (which is in the Seven Cities region). The Shadow Fey originally did not have an open presence in Zobeck save among informal traders, but the adventure Courts of the Shadow Fey involved their attempt in taking over the city. I do not own this book so I can't speak much of specifics, but while they haven't been driven out for failing in this endeavor they are kept at arms' length by just about everyone in the city. Outside the city walls we get some information on nearby villages and fortresses. Most of them don't have anything of note to mention in this reivew besides the Freehold of Obertal. This military garrison is commanded by a pair of wedded Griffon Knights who are abusing their authority to extort "protection fees" from travelers. There are entries on the most common trade routes, the prominent trading houses both domestic and foreign, and the mercenary companies. The latter group has the most interesting people, such as the Black Brotherhood who purse war for the sake of Mavros the War God, the gnoll band Hrothgar's Marauders whose leader is possessed by a dormant demon suppressed deep within his mind, and the mostly-gearforged Clanking Legion whose recent military victories are due to miraculous magic of unknown origins. We do have a wordy section on people daring enough to trade with the shadow fey. These elves view haggling for gold as beneath them, and instead prefer to trade unique magical goods for a fraction of a mortal's memories, "just a sliver" of a year or day of life, or sex. The last part is because such an activity provides a brief sense of "warmth" and intimacy among an otherwise jaded people. A pair of merchants named Jabber and Tuck Marick grew immeasurably rich from their deals with the fey, but in recent years things changed. Now most trade goes through the Shadow Fey embassy or Exchange, and the market for moonsteel-forged weapons (shapechanger bane) dried up as every fey merchant makes a prospective buyer swear an oath to never utilize these armaments against their people. Not claimed by Zobeck but a stone's throw away, the Margreve Forest is a woodland realm which has existed since time immemorial. Although there is no proof, the forest seems to have a mind of its own and those who pay it proper respect find their travels within easier...and those who despoil its bounty find that the very natural world turns against them. Doting parents and jaded elders alike caution people to stay away, and among monstrous horrors it is also home to the feudal ruins of House Stross, bandits, and even the secret mines of kobolds. There is but one trade road cutting through it, but as that road leads into the undead-ruled kingdoms of the north, it too has a grim reputation. Although it has a brief entry in the World Book, the Margreve Forest is very much a Grimm's Fairy Tales style of deep, dark wood. The Tales of the Old Margreve adventure compilation expressed these themes very well. Free Cantons of the Ironcrags  The dwarves of the Ironcrags organize into socio-political units known as cantons which center around a major settlement which has existed for at least a century. Although there are 13 presently the number of cantons fluctuates throughout generations as old ones fall, incorporate their neighbors, or break up into smaller cantons. They are autonomous, with their own customs, laws, and coats of arms. Like Zobeck the dwarves choose their own rulers rather than an hereditary aristocracy. The Bundhausen canton is the most open to outsiders and home of the yearly Dwarfmoot, making it one of the most politically powerful. Grisal's territory is claimed by both the Duchies of Dornig and Morgau, although the devoutly-religious dwarves put up a good fight in keeping the undead at bay. The Gunnacks are born travelers and lack not for natural resources. Kubourg's territory centers around a well-defended castle with extensive underground chambers. Hammerfell is named for its peerless artisans who produce famed magical runic Hammershields. Tijino is a gathering point for mercenaries who broker deals with southern cities to march to war. Finally, Wintersheim is home to a famed ranger society, the Order of the White Wolf, and shares many cultural traits with its Northlander kin. They even have a resident friendly white dragon named Hrothvengr. We get a look at some minor cantons who each have a unique theme to set them apart. For example, Bareicks are impoverished berserkers, while the canton of Templeforge has a holy shrine where they create airships. Our section on the Cantons ends with talk about lost halls and ruins. The Magdar Kingdom The Magdar Kingdom is your stereotypical Goodly-Good Knightly Realm. The Toussaint to the Witcher's Temeria, the Minas Tirith to Tolkien's Mordor. It is a monarchy where two major knightly orders serve Khors, god of light, sun, and justice; Lada, goddess of healing, love, mercy, and dawn; and Perun, god of war and storms. It is a stable realm in spite of regular skirmishes with the Mharoti Empire. In fact it is due to this regular warfare that the Magdars perfected the creation of iron-reinforced war wagons capable of linking up to serve as mobile walls and fortresses. Its cities are glorious fortified affairs, from the beautiful capital of Cronepisht, to Khorsburg whose white-golden marble cathedral is the site of many pilgrimages. Wizards help local industry in the creation of region-famous wines and whose war-mages reinforce military regiments. We get detailed descriptions of cities (who tend to center around a single economic aspect like brewery or smithing) and reinforced castles and citadels. METAPLOT: King Stefanos and his eldest son Zsigismond died at the battle of Marroc's Stand. This was a joint operation between their country and Illyria against the Mharoti Empire. Unfortunately it failed, causing the Mharoti warbands to go south and conquer the latter country. Now Queen Dorytta sits upon the Madgar Throne, grieving at the loss of her family yet redoubled in her efforts to repel the draconic threat. We get detailed descriptions of the two knightly orders: the Order of the Undying Sun is a military regiment supplemented by divine spellcasters of Khors and Lada, and whose paladins of the former god comprise their most elite units. The Order of the Storm is a mostly-cavalry order who worship Perun and have a bit of a rivalry with the Undying Sun. Both knighthoods were allied to House Stross and as such are not well-liked in Zobeck. However a mutual defense pact between the kingdom and the Free City against the Mharoti Empire shelves these hostilities for now. Perunalia  Also known as the Duchy of Perun's Daughter, this nation controls land and trade routes on the shores of the Ruby Sea. It is also a matriarchal society ruled by the demigoddess Vasilka Soulay whose very father is the god of war and thunder. It is a major center of lore and education, and the royal palace's library is open to the public one day a week. The Duchy is also a matriarchal society, where men are viewed as too driven by emotion and baser urges to be trusted with government and defense. Manual labor is considered the only proper venue to temper their impulses, and they are limited in rights in education, property ownership, and handling of money. The rest of Midgard, which is mostly a patriarchal setting in government and social mores (the bulk of Mavros' clerics are men for instance), finds Perun a strange culture at best or "shameless women" to be carried away in war and taught their place at worst. Perunalia is also known for producing peerless archers, and virtually every girl is gifted a bow at age 14 as a rite of passage. Villages and cities alike host archery tournaments for them to test their skills. Personally, Perunalia rubs me the wrong way. Midgard has a tendency to write up cultures which have oppressive traditions yet whose inhabitants are not necessarily stereotypically evil: Zobeck segregates of kobolds as an example of their hypocrisy of self-determination, and in spite of some legal protections the Ironcrags' slavery system breeds a lot of resentment. But in this country's case the overwhelming majority of NPCs in government are good-aligned, and quite a few of them are paladins to boot! I am reminded of the debate over Paizo's handling of Erastil, a Lawful Good nature god who was fond of traditional gender roles for women. This ended sparked a most idiotic debate among players over whether systemic sexism can ever be "good." Although Perunalia does not have the same bad taste as Erastil in that almost every society IRL is patriarchal and thus does not commonly map to "lived experiences," it still feels weird. As for cities and towns, Perunalia was historically part of elven rule and much of its architecture preserves this style. In some cases cities still retain their elven names. The Storm Court of Perun is a floating fortress and literal home of said god which visits the city of Orkasa once a year. However its presence can no longer be commanded by the Duchess: theories as to why include divine disfavor to the god's distractions from other wars and prayers committing his time. The Summer Gardens of Queen Osilessi was once a planned elven city of arts which sat at a shadow road nexus, but during the Great Retreat it has now become a ruined city haunted by griffons, drakes, and various monsters of the briars. Even a detachment of Mharoti soldiers where unable to claim it, and the surrounding forest is guarded by a group of armed bandits led by an elven enchantress known as the Apple Baroness. METAPLOT: The Electoral Kingdom of Krakova, along with the Principalities of Morgau and Doresh and the Cloudwall Mountains, were once counted as being part of the Crossroads region. But after the former's invasion by the latter they are now one greater kingdom which is covered in the next chapter. Thoughts So Far: The Crossroads are perhaps my least favorite region. It is way too close to cliche fantasy tropes from Chivalric Knightly Realm to Dwarven Mountain Kingdoms. The regions I enjoy the most, Zobeck and the Margreve Forest, really shine in their own sourcebooks but whose entries here are too brief to show off their most unique features. Ironically, Zobeck's use of certain titles such as burghers for wealthy citizens and hussars for elite military units make it the most authentically Central/Eastern European realm in comparison to the other nations. At times the chapter reads like a medieval economics survey where there's more focus on common trade goods for companies and cities in lieu of interesting adventuring opportunities in said places. Fortunately things get a lot less bland in the next chapter where we cover the Dark Kingdoms! Vampires, ghouls, and gnomes, oh my! Libertad! fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 06:03
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Oh, hey, Midgard. I backed one of their Kickstarters and got to add an NPC to the Pirates of the Western Ocean book. Fun times.
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Apr 19, 2018 07:41
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 CONTENT WARNING: misogyny, dead children, torture GHAST, ASH The Teratic Tome posted:The ash ghast is a woman with mother-of-pearl skin whose body ripples with dark red flame. Her face is a skull with bright white lights deep in the eye sockets, and her fingers are tipped with short black talons. Naturally, her tits are perfect. Ash ghasts like fire and have a bunch of fire-based spell-likes, and if you ditch the misogyny they actually make for quite a thematic undead enemy. GHAST, CICATRIX An undead spirit which hunts murderers (including anything humanoid, like orcs and goblins, but specifically excluding intelligent nonhumanoids like centaurs) and appears to them in the form of their victim, shouting threats and accusations that only they can hear. Which is quite a cool haunt, and every adventurer is going to be a target for it. It has a breath weapon which inflicts a cumulative 1d3 penalty to all saving throws. It has no other attacks which target people's saving throws. GHOST, PALIMPSEST These are halflings which were so evil their soul jumped clean out of their bodies to become ghosts. They inflict permanent ability score drain. They can only be attacked by spells on the ethereal plane, but their touch does double drain there so gently caress you spellcasters. Despite being halflings in a previous life they are now 5 feet tall. Go figure. GHOUL, LESION This is a low-level undead which is nevertheless pretty cool. They seek out terminal losers who blame others for the state of their lives, then go around murdering everyone the loser blames for their own failures. It tortures its victims to death, because OSR, but I mainly like this creature because it has a strong visual which is followed through into its spell-like abilities and the built-in plot hook is 'some alt-right shitheel gets adopted by an abomination', which is a story with legs. GIANT, CHIASMIC Weird-looking giants who can see through illusions. Yawn. GIANT, OBSIDIAN Not a giant. Big punchy golem thing with a squishy elf centre. Feeds on magic but has no special resistance to it. Casts fire spells but not fire-resistant despite being made of obsidian. GNOLL, AQUATIC Not even remotely like a gnoll. These are eel-people. Medium-HD humanoid enemies, which it's nice to have more of, but as aquatic monsters no-one will ever encounter them unless it's a dedicated sea-based campaign. GOBLIN PRINCESS Like a goblin, but a sexy revolutionary! Really. It's a female goblin with a handful of spell-like abilities who joins and organises rebellions and resistance movements, then urges them on to full-blown violent uprisings and civil war. I mean, a goblin infiltrator who incites civil wars so that other goblins can take advantage of the chaos is a neat idea. Making it a sexy goblin woman is entirely unnecessary. HALFLING Halflings in this setting are super-evil. If you map all of halfling civilisation it spells out 'Elizabeth Lack-Heart', which is the name of their super-evil goddess. Who knows what will happen when it's finished! I only mention this because the evil fern in Lusus Naturae seems to be reusing the 'writing a secret sigil across the face of the world' schtick. HELL HOUND, ALPHA It's a hell hound, but big! Next Time: Were you missing monsters with elaborate and unworkable plans? Because I've got a couple coming right up... STATS SO FAR Monsters: 62 Female Monsters: 10 (I'm deliberately skipping unique female NPCs for this count) Female Monsters With Their Tits Out: 9 (I'm including unique female NPCs in this one though.) Anti-Theist Monsters: 2 Worm Monsters: 3 potatocubed fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 09:19
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potatocubed posted:Female Monsters With Their Tits Out: 9 (I'm including unique female NPCs in this one though.) Yes yes that's all well and good but how many of them are perfect?
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Apr 19, 2018 09:45
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gradenko_2000 posted:Yes yes that's all well and good but how many of them are perfect? Naturally, all of the tits are perfect.
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Apr 19, 2018 09:52
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Rigged Death Trap posted:Naturally, all of the tits are perfect. Clearly there's some nightmarish cthonic beastie that likes to curse horrific monsters to have perfect tits for some inexplicable, poorly-thought-out reason.
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Apr 19, 2018 10:48
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Ratoslov posted:Clearly there's some nightmarish cthonic beastie that likes to curse horrific monsters to have perfect tits for some inexplicable, poorly-thought-out reason. Unnaturally, her tits are perfect.
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Apr 19, 2018 11:08
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 Pathfinder Unchained Wild Magic This is a d100 table of effects that the DM can trigger to introduce some lolrandomness to spellcasting!    There are 34 entries in this list: * 12 of them are explicitly detrimental to the caster * 11 of them are situationally good or bad * 2 of them don't really do anything * 9 of them are explicitly beneficial to the caster If the result that you roll can't be applied because of the specific nature of the spell, then there's a Universal Surge Effect table: 1 to 20 means the caster takes 1d6 damage, 21 to 80 means the caster is affected by Faerie Fire (which is usually bad), and 81 to 100 means the caster gains 1d6 temp HP. When a Wild Magic roll happens is supposedly left deliberately vague so that the DM can use it at their discretion, but the book recommends the following triggers: * whenever the caster fails a concentration check * whenever a spell is dispelled or counterspelled * whenever a spell is cast inside a DM-determined "Wild Magic Zone" * whenever a caster wants to apply metamagic without spending a higher-level slot - they can make a caster level check with a DC equal to [10 + spell level + 5 for every one increased spell level caused by the metamagic]. If they succeed, they cast the spell successfully with the metamagic applied, plus they get to roll on the Wild Magic table. If they fail, they still get it, but the Wild Magic roll has a penalty equal to the margin of failure. The book also mentions that DMs can apply bonuses and penalties to the d100 Wild Magic rolls, since the table is weighted such that high rolls have the good results and low rolls have the bad results. Spell Fumbles If the target of a spell rolls a 20 on their saving throw, they might cause a spell fumble. They roll a second time to confirm. If the confirmation roll is still a successful save, then the spell is Fumbled, and the caster rolls a d10 to apply an effect based on the table below:  Personally, I don't like mechanics like these, and I can't see myself using them. When people get to thinking of applying "fumble" rules, it's usually the martial classes that get shafted because magic still goes off without a hitch, but the solution isn't necessarily to also give the spellcasters a random chance at loving up, it's to not use fumbles at all. Spell Criticals If the target of a spell rolls a 1 on their saving throw, they might get a spell critical. They roll a second time to confirm. If the confirmation roll is still a failed save, then the spell is a critical. Any numeric effect is doubled, and any effect that does not have a numeric effect, such as charm, instead has its duration doubled. Direct book quote posted:The GM is encouraged to apply other types of doubling where appropriate. For instance, a poison spell might afflict a target with 2 doses of poison on a critical hit instead of doubling the effect of the poison. I had forgotten to write this section at first and had to edit it in later, because this "rule" is such an afterthought that it barely takes up a paragraph and simply tells you to double-up on some stuff and make something up. It's so lazy. gradenko_2000 fucked around with this message at 11:58 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 11:51
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Thuryl posted:I checked what my 2e PHB has to say. All warrior and rogue classes (so the fighter, paladin, ranger, thief, and bard) can dual-wield to gain a single bonus attack per round with their off-hand weapon, but at a penalty to all attack rolls: -2 for the main hand, -4 for the off-hand, modified by Dexterity. Rangers ignore this penalty as long as they're wearing studded leather armour or lighter. So by the time 2e came out, dual-wielding was something particularly associated with rangers, with mechanics to back it up. As far as I can see, they don't have any particular expertise at archery compared to the other warrior classes, but they did get the ability to hide in shadows and move silently (again, only in studded leather or lighter, and with a penalty when trying to do so in non-natural environments), and eventually access to low-level priest spells (starting at level 8, up to spell level 3 by level 12). Also, 2e rangers can fall just like paladins do and turn into fighters if they intentionally do evil, because 2e was the weirdest edition about alignment (although the rules for atonement are less strict than for paladins). I think you're sort of missing the point here. It's the nature of D&D that elements of popular 60s to 80s fantasy were incorporated into the game through semi-official rule expansions to the, like, 3 different versions of D&D that were developing concurrently, and then later on became sacred cows slaughtered during edition wars. 2e was the first version of the end point of this cycle, where Basic and Advance were codified into a single, relatively coherent and standardized game. Then you get a decade of splatbooks and novels and people wanting to be like the characters in the novels, and 2e becomes the beginning of a cycle that ends with 3e. It's why gnomes and half orcs, monks and barbarians, and abilities like the clerics turn undead exist - they almost all started as a sop to some piece of media or myth, and ran through the conversion to and through RPG rules. It's also why those things being missing in 3e/4e/5e mattered. It's also how you start with Aragorn and end with Drizzit. Tibalt fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 12:53
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In 1st edition AD&D, dual-wielding was something anyone can do, but you could only use a hand axe or a dagger in your off hand. The ability to dual-wield two of the same weapons was a special drow racial ability, which is -probably- what led to Drizzt doing it, but given the timing, Drizzt doing it probably isn't why rangers could do it in 2nd ed.
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Apr 19, 2018 13:02
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On the D&D Ranger and dual-wielding: The Ranger first shows up in The Strategic Review, Vol 1 No 2, dated to "Summer 1975"   The class's abilities are, as has been said by other posters, oriented around emulating the persona of Aragorn, but they do not yet support dual-wielding. The Basic/Expert / Rules Cyclopedia line never had a Ranger class, but they had rules for dual-wielding: the character could make one additional attack per round, but the second attack always has a -4 penalty to the attack roll. AD&D 1e had the Ranger class, which mostly resembled the OD&D version, but with all the additional bits and bobs of rules that AD&D added. The class still does not specifically mention any particular predilection towards dual-wielding, though AD&D's DMG does have explicit rules for dual-wielding: The secondary weapon must be a dagger or a hand axe The primary weapon gets a -2 penalty, and the secondary weapon gets a -4 penalty If the wielder's Dexterity is 5 or lower, the "Reaction/Attacking Adjustment" penalty is added to the attack rolls of both weapons If the wielder's Dexterity is 16, the primary weapon penalty is -3, and the secondary weapon penalty is -1 If the wielder's Dexterity is 17, the penalties are -2 / 0, respectively If the wielder's Dexterity is 18, the penalties are -1 / 0, respectively AD&D 2e mostly preserved the dual-wielding rules: -2 penalty on the primary weapon, and then a -4 penalty on the secondary weapon. Dexterity's "Reaction adjustment" column was then made to apply as a modifier on these penalties: at 18 Dexterity, you'd have a +2 Reaction adjustment, so your penalties would become 0 / -2, respectively. You'd need 21 Dexterity to remove the penalties altogether, but you could only make them 0 / 0, never a bonus. This is also the edition of the game where the Ranger finally gets a dual-wield related ability: as long as they are wearing studded leather armor or lighter, they suffer no penalties for dual-wielding. EDIT: To unseenlibrarian's point, AD&D 1e's Unearthed Arcana does list the Dark Elves / Drow as being able to dual-wield with no penalty. gradenko_2000 fucked around with this message at 14:07 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 13:05
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Drizzt's first appearance was actually in The Icewind Dale trilogy in 1988- Homeland is just his backstory.
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Apr 19, 2018 13:19
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unseenlibrarian posted:Drizzt's first appearance was actually in The Icewind Dale trilogy in 1988- Homeland is just his backstory. So the timeline fits?
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Apr 19, 2018 13:48
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Well, it depends on how long they were planning the ranger dual-wield stuff in advance. Like I'm pretty sure the edition was in development for longer than a year, because I remember pamphlets announcing 2E in 87-88.
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Apr 19, 2018 14:01
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Thuryl posted:I checked what my 2e PHB has to say. All warrior and rogue classes (so the fighter, paladin, ranger, thief, and bard) can dual-wield to gain a single bonus attack per round with their off-hand weapon, but at a penalty to all attack rolls: -2 for the main hand, -4 for the off-hand, modified by Dexterity. Rangers ignore this penalty as long as they're wearing studded leather armour or lighter. So by the time 2e came out, dual-wielding was something particularly associated with rangers, with mechanics to back it up. As far as I can see, they don't have any particular expertise at archery compared to the other warrior classes, but they did get the ability to hide in shadows and move silently (again, only in studded leather or lighter, and with a penalty when trying to do so in non-natural environments), and eventually access to low-level priest spells (starting at level 8, up to spell level 3 by level 12). Also, 2e rangers can fall just like paladins do and turn into fighters if they intentionally do evil, because 2e was the weirdest edition about alignment (although the rules for atonement are less strict than for paladins).
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Apr 19, 2018 15:27
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Pathfinder Unchained Overclocked Spells This is a fairly simple rule: the spellcaster can take a Spellcraft check, with DC equal to [15 + spell level + minimum caster level needed for the spell]. If they succeed, then they can choose to increase the save DC of the spell by 2, or their effective caster level by 2 If they fail, nothing happens and they lose the spell slot If they fail by a lot, they suffer a Spell Fumble The main interaction of this rule seems to be to combo it with Limited Spells: if they succeed at overclocking, instead of a +2 to DC or caster level, they instead get to use the spell at their full caster level and full ability score, instead of the Limited Spells cap. To use this in an otherwise regular game is just another buff to casters who are likely taking lots of ranks in Spellcraft anyway, so largely redundant/unnecessary. Spell Attack Rolls This is a snippet of a rule originally in 3e's Unearthed Arcana, where you convert the spellcaster's passive DC into an attack roll, and then convert the target's saving throw roll into a passive Defense. In 3e, this was done as part of the "Players roll all the dice" rule. Here, it's supposed to be done so that the spellcaster's player is "more proactive" in casting their spells, as well as dovetailing with the Spell Criticals and Spell Fumbles rules by having the caster roll 20s for the former and 1s for the latter. The conversion to this system is: quote:Spell Attack Roll: [d20 + spell level + spellcasting ability modifier], or basically the same modifiers that you add onto the base DC of 10 Let's dig into the math of this. Assume a level 1 Wizard with 18 Intelligence casts Sleep against a level 1 Fighter with 12 Wisdom Under normal rules, the Sleep has a DC of [15 = 10 + 1 spell level + 4 Int mod], while the Fighter has a saving throw of [d20 + 2 base bonus + 1 Wis mod] If we plug [d20+3] into anydice ...  ... we find that the Fighter has a 45% chance of rolling a 15 or higher, and thus a 45% chance of not falling asleep. Let's then convert this to the Spell Attack Roll system. The Wizard would have a spell attack roll of [d20 + 1 spell level + 4 Int mod] The Fighter would have a spell defense of DC [14 = 11 + 2 base bonus + 1 Wis mod] If we plug [d20+5] into anydice ...  ... we find that the Wizard has a 60% chance of rolling a 14 or higher, and thus the Fighter has a 40% chance of not falling asleep. The conversion into a spell defense actually has to be 12 + modifiers in order to make it completely equivalent, or else the defender is losing 5% from their original stats. What I find irksome is that this same mistake gets repeated over and over and over! Unearthed Arcana (2004):  True20's Warrior's Handbook (2008):  Pathfinder Unchained (2015):  and nobody in those 11 years ever bothered to check the math, or perhaps to listen to the people who realized the mistake. And Paizo even ups the ante by including an example, but still gets the math wrong there anyway! To tell you the truth, I actually like this rule - it appeals to a certain sense of consistency to always have the attacker rolling, and to always have a passive target number for the defender. But the sheer laziness of the editing/proofreading is bothersome.
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Apr 19, 2018 16:21
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Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Rogue Trader Hic Svnt Draconis or whatever I'm not a huge fan of the Koronus Expanse as it is in the main book, but I understand why it is as it is and it gets filled in more in the add-ons. They had to spend a lot of page-space on the various new subsystems and the setting is a mostly unexplored, resource rich area on the fringes past the Calixis sector. By its very nature it isn't going to have more than a few colonies, some mentions of other power players, a naval dock, etc. It's a bit empty because it's supposed to be a blank map full of possibilities and hints of ancient, evil mysteries that your idiot space capitalists will poke with a stick in hopes of making money come out. By its nature as a setting it's going to be more suggestive than substantive. Koronus was inaccessible to the Imperium for centuries, with a massive set of persistent Warp Storms making further navigation of Calixis' boundaries impossible even after the success of the Angevin Crusade 2000 years ago. The Void Dancer's Roil and Screaming Vortex warp anomalies make transit further away from the galactic core very difficult, but the Imperium finally found a passage through about 800 years back, at the very end of the 40th Millennium. What they've found on the other side is worlds of tremendous value, but settling them is difficult with the difficult warp passage to and from the Expanse. Traders and Navigators are constantly seeking and charting new Warp Routes and paths through the Expanse, trying to make it feasible to exploit the massive potential wealth of expansion into the region, but standing in their way is more than just the Warp Storms. The Expanse was mostly untouched by human kind for ages, maybe housing a few fallen Dark Age colonies but little systematic exploration, and all kinds of unique xenos and strange horrors wait beyond the stars. Worse, Chaos Raiders occasionally spill out of the Screaming Vortex (It's the setting for the Chaos Game!) to cause trouble for both the fledgling worlds of the Expanse and the poorly-defended Calixis sector. Orks and Eldar ply the stars, Eldar for reasons no-one can say (later books will make clear an entire Craftworld has a significant interest in the area) and Orks because there's fightin' n' lootin' to be done. So, the setup is fine. The region has vast wealth but is hard to navigate and exploit, leading your explorers and traders to come in and try to make their family name establishing colonies, looting ruins, fighting aliens and pirates, and exploring ancient mysteries. On the Calixis side of the Koronus Passage you've got Port Wander, originally a minor naval waystation that blew up in popularity and population when the Koronus Passage opened up. It's here that the representatives of the navy, Inquisition, Imperium, etc all levy taxes on incoming goods, sell weapons and equipment to explorers and colonists, and generally organize things and let the PCs rest up a moment in 'civilized' space. It's a pretty unremarkable place without any real plot hooks beyond 'home base and link to the Calixis sector without having to actually go to Calixis, and I can understand why you wouldn't want to'. Similar for Footfall, a series of crime asteroids lashed together by crime on the Koronus side of the passage, which is a painfully cliched Hive of Scum and Villainy space frontier station that barely merits any mention. Footfall exists to have a seedy space pirate port for your space characters to recruit space scoundrels and fight the space mob; it's otherwise completely dull despite being a bunch of lashed together cathedrals and space rocks. Winterscale's Domain was first charted by one of the greatest explorers of the region, Sebestian Winterscale, and is notable for being one of the few places you can find maps and nav-charts to explore. Many of them are false or cursory, but there are an abundance of old journals and treasure maps from his voyages and that means Winterscale's Domain is one of the better-exploited regions of Koronus. If your PCs have an old map with an X marking a spot that's actually a 100,000 square kilometer stellar search zone, it's probably for this region. The apparently abundant wealth and relative ease of reaching worlds here also means there's more conventional fighting over the riches of the Domain than anywhere else in Koronus. The problem isn't so much finding a nice colony world as keeping it yours. You can see this in the fluff of the Murdered World, Jerazol. Formerly a fallen human colony, a more reasonable Rogue Trader found it and was developing its riches and missionarying to the locals with great success, when a rival Dynasty showed up with a treasure map saying that under the planet there was a huge stock of Archeotech. When the first Trader stood up to them in defense of the locals, they killed him and de-orbited his ship's debris onto the population centers of the locals to clear the way for strip-mining the planet for treasure. The story diverges; in some versions, the murderers found riches beyond their wildest dreams and now these wicked sinners are admirals and kings. In others, it was a dream of madness and the world burned for nothing. Both are a warning of what happens in a fringe land where every man has a treasure map and a starship with orbital bombardment capability. The Foundling Worlds are cursed. They have a tendency to localized warp storms, temporal distortion during warp travel, and sudden communication failures that seem too convenient to be simple bad luck; there is a strong suggestion that this region of Koronus is intentionally hostile the exploration and colonization, hiding something behind its navigational hazards and misfortunes. The storms are so localized and persistent that they almost seem to follow a schedule, and most Rogue Traders are the sort of people who respond to something trying to keep them out by wondering what fabulous prizes they might be hiding. Notable worlds here include a refuge for gangsters and heretics called Grace where the Rogue Trader who founded it stopped sending supplies after some of her ships were lost and the locals all resorted to cannibalism and space madness, or the world of Rain. Rain is a good example of the kind of adventure hook you get in RT: It's a wet, rainy planet where the locals were considering building an Agri-World, since the Imperium always needs more food. Then, one day, they found ancient structures deep in the forests, and reported that the rain 'made strange sounds' in that area. Then the Imperium received a garbled astropathic message about 'Them' and 'pale figures' lurking just beyond sight in the rain, and then nothing. What happened there? Could be Eldar, could be Chaos, could be an awful lot of things, but ancient ruins the locals couldn't understand implies ancient treasure, so maybe your heavily armed Explorers should go check it out. The region also houses Iniquity, a major asteroid and planetary mining system that serves as a drydock for Chaos raiders in realspace. If your PCs could help the Navy defeat it they could make all of Koronus much safer. The Accursed Demense is another region of danger and awful things, full of Chaos raiders, probably a Necron Tomb World at Lathimon's Death (I mean, a dead, quiet world full of cyclopean structures where explorers vanish without a trace? Could also be something more interesting, mind), and the Orks of the UNDRED UNDRED TEEF. The Processional of the Damned is a massive ship graveyard full of xenos vessels of a hundred races, all slowly twisting together into massive, hive-like space-hulks full of potential salvage and also space monsters. The real problem is definitely the Orks, though. Whole rich, mineral-wealthy worlds taken entirely by constantly warring Ork clans, with the means to construct massive ships and go off freebooting when they get sick of fighting other orks and want to fight somebody new. The region's wealth also produces large numbers of dashing, swashbuckling (insofar as you can swashbuckle with a massive two-handed chainsaw axe; orks find a way) Kaptins, out to make their bold fortunes in the stars and acquire fantastic new hats. By their side stand an unusual number of Flash Gitz, orks who live for adding loudeners and blinking red lights and tactical high speed low drag gubbins to their increasingly insane Snazguns to show off their wealth and make even more noise. Soon, a big enough ork will emerge, with a big enough hat, to control the whole Undred Undred Teef and lead them off to loot and pillage the rest of the expanse. The Heathen Stars are called such because there were a large number of Dark Age colony projects in the region, projects that survived until very recently with no knowledge of the God Emperor. There are great and ancient tech-treasures to be found here, as well as worlds with infrastructure and populations who could be made into Imperial subjects without needing to move millions of colonists. The lands await your daring missionaries and their tactical orbital Auto-Temple drops (The fluff here is the first mention of the mighty orbital-drop temples of the Imperium). Agusia is a huge planet-wide tomb, into which an old human culture used to inter its dead. All of them. It would send its dead across the stars to build great mausoleums and monuments on this specific, lifeless world near a dying sun, for reasons none can say. Nadeush is full of crumbling mega-hives and the human tribesmen who refuse to enter them, claiming they were cursed and that stories of the great, lost technology they no longer understand and now shun, for reasons Imperial explorers have not yet discovered. Zayth is a world where the former Dark Age inhabitants have forgotten everything but war, fighting an eternal stalemate in their massive, moving city-sized tanks and great titans, still producing wonders of military technology that they sell to offworlders for food and other non-war materials as they fight their endless, unwinnable battle across their planet's one continent. Raaktka is exactly like Nadeush. Like, literally the same hook: Fallen Dark Age Hive. Vaporius is still advanced and prosperous, but ruled by water-controlling Priest-Kings and strange lore, which means it's probably Chaos. It's always Chaos. In this region, you have lots of options for talking, fighting, trading, and exploring. The Unbeholden Reaches are mostly filled with stellar phenomena and kind of empty, except one specific, interesting planet. Illisk. The entire planet is a massive xenotech cogitator, a huge alien computer. In great furrows around the enormous computing and geothermal power towers you can find millions of dried, desiccated alien corpses, wired together by endless series of circuitry. Whether this planet represents an attempt to upload their race into a computer, some kind of alien experiment gone wrong, or an insane AM-like AI that decided it was going to inscribe HATE on each nanoangstrum of every living thing on its planet is unknown. Finally, we get to the Rifts of Hecaton and they're basically out of ideas by this point. It's another big, scary empty region in the far stars, mostly full of dead ruins of dead civilizations around dead stars. There's no real adventure hooks here. Next Time: The Things That Live In Space.
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Apr 19, 2018 16:46
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Yeah, as a spellcaster in a d20 game right now, there's a certain feeling of tossing your fate to the GM every time you force a saving throw. Pushing the roll to the player feels more "fair" on account of being more transparent. Granted, the risk is that the game inevitably provides some optional bonus to that roll, because any bonus basically becomes mandatory at that point.
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Apr 19, 2018 17:10
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You know I've been thinking a lot about the fundamental problems of the 40kRP system and I think the biggest one is that damage mitigation isn't consistent. At all. There's all kinds of optional ways to break someone's damage mitigation (none of which are as valuable as more straight damage, obviously, because Felling reducing Unnatural T or Pen reducing armor might not apply, while +1 Damage is always +1 Damage) such that to have a character who is 'tough', you have to make them with multiple sources of damage mitigation and they have to be high enough to ensure they keep some of it. Thus you end up with stuff like the seemingly-impressive d10+5 Pen4 Tearing Boltgun being basically unable to meaningfully hurt a Space Marine or anything equivalent. Which pushes the game even more towards everyone trying to carry weapons that can kill a Marine, because if it can kill a Marine or a Lictor or whatever it can sure as hell kill whatever else you pointed it at. Because so many 'lesser' weapons and items that had more reasonable scaling are 'useless' against the bigger threats (especially as the bigger threats start to get 100+ Wounds later on) you start seeing the level of damage everyone can put out scaling upwards rapidly. Similarly, you can't really meaningfully adjust the abilities on a lot of gear because the ability that matters most is pure damage, since that always gets used. A d10+4 Lasgun is going to be about as lovely against any 'real' threat as a d10+3 one, so it's not a real route for upgrading the weapon. In WHFRP, getting +1 damage on a weapon is a huge deal worthy of a magic weapon, since it means more chance you'll break through and do damage at all and 1 Wound stays significant enough to be worthwhile. Impact means more than Tearing solely because it's the only way to be rolling multiple damage dice and getting multiple chances to Fury (not to mention having a higher chance of doing better damage). Plus, the d10+X model works better when the X isn't higher than 10, so the d10 component stays relevant. But when you've got stuff rolling around with 18-30 DR, you need weapons that break that DR, so your scaling gets out of control or else those things will be invincible. Similarly, in Fantasy, that *almost never happens*. It is extremely rare for something to hit DR 11-12, so even a Damage 3 attack can still hurt them. The only stuff that scales out of that range is Greater Demons (who the rules clearly say you're not supposed to fight using the combat system), armored Exalted Lords of Chaos with some favorable mutations (Like Tauriel, our example Chaos Lord) and really jacked up Vampires who rolled high at base Toughness, whose Weaknesses can also let you get around all that toughness; stuff that won't be bothering fighting Damage 3 basic characters anyway. 40k just completely hosed its entire scaling system from the get-go and ensured a lot of weapons, items, and other things were never going to be 'viable' in the long run. And when a Bolter ends up being a supremely meh weapon that you don't bother with in favor of heavy weapons and AT weapons in a *40k* game something has gone wrong.
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Apr 19, 2018 18:51
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I think that's in large part an artifact of the system being designed around lovely ground-level inquisitorial acolytes who'd largely be fighting similarly lovely heretics. In that context sticking with something similar in scaling to the WFRP system makes sense, in a way it wouldn't have if they'd thought about long-term scaling of the RPG system to cover other areas of the universe. This issue is also exacerbated by not having a clear approach to how they'd handle the *extremely* wide gulf between the game's fluff and actual tabletop stats (i.e. tabletop marines are vastly shittier stat-wise than they "should" be). Choices that made sense in OG DH look a lot less sensible when you're trying to make Space Marines playable rather than the equivalent of a giant/vampire/demon your players might fight.
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Apr 19, 2018 19:09
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I think it's also a function of how differently stat variance and gear work in 40k and Fantasy. Fantasy characters often have higher Str and Tough than 'average' for their character type, for instance. 40k characters? There's very, very little variation in base stats and skills, with almost everything being determined by your gear. In Fantasy, to counter a monster you can throw a Lord at it and have this high skill high strength character try to take it on, which translates well to an RPG. In 40k, the high power of the officer or leader character mostly comes from having a Power Fist or whatever. E: What I mean is, 40kRP is made with the assumption that a Str 4 and Str 3 model on TT represent a gulf of ability that no training should ever be able to equal, hence Unnaturals. Meanwhile, a Questing Knight mook in Fantasy is a Str 4 model because he's a more elite, experienced knight compared to the Str 3 Knight of the Realm, so the game is designed on the idea that your fundamental hitting power and stuff can go up by becoming more heroic, on a scale that shifts you significantly upward. Meanwhile, even an Inquisitor or Guard Colonel or whatever is still S3 T3 and weaker than the average Tactical Marine because 40k assumes that's superhuman. Which also leads to a situation where, like in the RPG, your solution to that Tough 4 Marine is to hit him with an AT weapon. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 19:18
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Tibalt posted:I think you're sort of missing the point here. It's the nature of D&D that elements of popular 60s to 80s fantasy were incorporated into the game through semi-official rule expansions to the, like, 3 different versions of D&D that were developing concurrently, and then later on became sacred cows slaughtered during edition wars. I'm not sure what point I'm missing, which I suppose is further evidence that I'm probably missing it. I was mostly just intending to provide a data point on how the ranger class's abilities evolved over time.
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Apr 19, 2018 21:57
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LGD posted:I think that's in large part an artifact of the system being designed around lovely ground-level inquisitorial acolytes who'd largely be fighting similarly lovely heretics. In that context sticking with something similar in scaling to the WFRP system makes sense, in a way it wouldn't have if they'd thought about long-term scaling of the RPG system to cover other areas of the universe. This issue is also exacerbated by not having a clear approach to how they'd handle the *extremely* wide gulf between the game's fluff and actual tabletop stats (i.e. tabletop marines are vastly shittier stat-wise than they "should" be). Choices that made sense in OG DH look a lot less sensible when you're trying to make Space Marines playable rather than the equivalent of a giant/vampire/demon your players might fight. Yeah at some level Space Marines in Deathwatch are supposed to be able to trivially kill things that would be quite nasty opponents for ground-level inquisitorial acolytes. Like, a Termagant is the weakest Tyranid thing that's supposed to be fighting and a Dark Heresy team is probably going to get run right the hell over by an equal number of them. Or wrecked by some Boyz. Or shot to poo poo by Fire Warriors. And the actual truth is that those Spess Marines really AREN'T so much better than those inquisitorial mooks, and in fact die more easily than you'd expect to all those opponents in TT. But Deathwatch has to pretend they are because it's trying to hit the note of how strong lore makes them out to be, which means everything is terribly deformed.
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Apr 19, 2018 22:29
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I'd argue that Boyz and Gaunts and stuff should be fairly easy to put down if you're just going by fiction (since in a game where you're fighting those, you're doing it from the perspective of Imperials and whoever is the main character at the moment gets a huge boost in 40k), but 40k in general makes all the non-human opponents extremely nasty. Just wait until we get to the Rak'Gol. Like a dragon crossed with the xenomorph and given cybernetics and a .50 cal. Every last one of them is as tough as a Space Marine and they often have Toxic power weapons because they like radiation weaponry. E: One of the problems with all the non-humans being insanely dangerous is, say, you're fighting Eldar. They all have Unnatural Agi and strong weapons. They all go before you. This could be a very bad combination. You're fighting Orks: They're all insanely tough and good at melee. This just pushes you more towards fielding more heavy weapons and hiding behind your autocannon. Etc. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Apr 19, 2018 |
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Apr 19, 2018 22:37
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Shuriken weapons aren't even bolter tier. They're like, in between las and bolt weapons.
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Apr 20, 2018 00:13
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They do the same damage as a bolter while actually having full auto. They're straight superior to Boltguns in the RPG, especially as the lower range doesn't matter on a race that moves that goddamn fast. Heck, the Dire Avenger ones even have Tearing, still. Plus Pen 6. Though RT is one of the places where bolters are automatic again so they're better than usual in RT. The thing with Eldar is you're fighting someone who is at the same durability tier as RT PCs: You will both die pretty quickly if you actually get hit. Except they go first and have high Agi and good Dodge. I strongly suspect part of the reason it took awhile to have non-human PC options is because from the start non-humans are superior to humans in 40kRP. A Kroot gets Unnatural Str and other bonuses from their Kindred like 'can re-enter Stealth with a successful test as a free action every round and re-surprise their enemies' which is insane. An Ork has Unnatural Toughness and picks up Strength, too, in time, plus has very high base WS, S, and T (35+2d10). An Eldar (for some reason, the only eldar to ever get playable PC rules are *Dark Eldar*, the torture-murder elfs) has Unnatural Agi, high skills, and excellent exotic weaponry. Night10194 fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Apr 20, 2018 |
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Apr 20, 2018 00:17
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Thuryl posted:I'm not sure what point I'm missing, which I suppose is further evidence that I'm probably missing it. I was mostly just intending to provide a data point on how the ranger class's abilities evolved over time.  But honestly, the answer is probably " One of Gary's friends wanted to fight with two swords". The man was insanely willing to make up new rules, which... I guess isn't too surprising?
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Apr 20, 2018 01:31
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One of Gygax's greatest strengths as a game designer was that he was willing to make anything work in his game if his players wanted it. One of his greatest weaknesses was his tendency to come up with a completely new system for it instead of trying to reflavor existing rules.
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Apr 20, 2018 01:43
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 Northeast of the Free City of Zobeck and past the perilous woods of the Margreve Forest lies a realm of darkness. The twin Principalities of Morgau and Doresh were once feudal realms like so many others. But now an undead aristocracy of vampires rules over the land exacting taxes of blood and coin from an oppressed populace. Politically separate from them is the Ghoul Imperium, an underground kingdom stretching from beneath the Ironcrags up to the former Electoral Kingdom of Krakova. The new province of Krakovar was once a realm whose King was chosen by vote among the noble families, yet its government was overthrown by a joint effort between tunneling darakhul troops and the vampire kingdom's Order of the Knights Incorporeal. Temples to Marena the Red Goddess and evil gods abound, and the vampiric aristocratic structure is a hierarchical pyramid of sirers and their spawn. It is not unknown for enterprising slaves seeking undeath to hire assassins to kill their would-be master once the blood-draining's complete so they can be undead and free. We open this chapter discussing the power groups of the Blood Kingdom: King Lucan (formerly Prince Lucan) is the most powerful monarch and the one who masterminded the overthrow of the living rulers 300 years ago. After that we have various noble families favored by Lucan and/or sired directly by him who tend to be managers of armies and large fiefdoms. Below that are administrators of smaller territories, and some can be darakhul or even prominent humans in addition to vampires. The Order of the Knights Incorporeal is the elite military arm of the Blood Kingdom's armies. The noble titles use Slavic descriptors, such as "voivode" or "voivodina" for generals or governers, and "gospodar" or "gospoda" which is Slovenian for "lord" and "lady" respectively. The Church to Lucan's State is the priesthood of Marena the Red Goddess, who has an aspect as a deity of death as well as one of lust and fertility. Marena's church has various female-focused social orders collectively known as the Blood Sisters, such as the Cantri Abbey which safeguards pregnant women and the Temple of Aprostala which is a pilgrimage site home to many violent sacrifices. The Blood Sisters are spreading their influence beyond Morgau and Doresh by setting up secret temples in good-aligned cities posing as brothels, where they gradually gain new converts with members-only orgies. You know, between the Northlands' Trotheim chapter and this, I'm beginning to see a theme of fiendish prostitutes in gaming material. METAPLOT: Originally the vampires' relationship with Baba Yaga has been complex where the witch would sometimes aid them, but she mostly stayed away from their realms. However, the Greater Duchy of Morgau established friendly relations with the gnomes of Niemheim, who are enemies of Baba Yaga. As of now the witch has not acted openly, but the queen-in-exile of Krakova is seeking to align with her against the undead; nothing has come of it so far, as her chicken-legged hut is notoriously hard to find even for her spy network of "mice." Lay of the Land  The Blood Kingdom of Morgau is made up of three former kingdoms: Duchy of Morgau, the Barony of Doresh, and the newly-gained northern province of Krakovar (formerly the Electoral Kingdom of Krakova). The first two kingdoms are gifted with forested highlands, and the Cloudwall Mountains to the east and the Margreve Forest to the south serve as natural defenses. Mist is common at all times of year, and the fields are richly fertile and the woods abound with game. Bratislor is the capital whose grim castle has a no-living policy. This changes during each solstice, where 100 unlucky citizens are invited and only one person ever leaves alive with their eyes and tongue gouged out. Hengksburg meanwhile is the most stable city and center of the Blood Kingdom's slave trade. The cult of Mammon is growing among the merchant class, and its undead Lord Mayor Rodyan demands a blood tax from each trader. Rodyan is also infamous for having a thing for teenage girls, and has went through 300 wives as he invariably ends up killing them during sex. METAPLOT: Recently a vampiric hunting party captured Dajan Savirne of Clarsaya, a 15 year old girl of Perunalia who is already an accomplished archer. She is going to be presented to Rodyan as an "amazon bride." Enraged, the paladins of Perunalia mounted a failed rescue mission through the Cloudwall Mountains. After only one survivor came back, they instead are focusing on strengthening the borders against further vampire raids. So there's a recurring element in this chapter of sexually predatory people in power. Beyond just the above example there's an example of Koschei the Deathless who arrives at King Lucan's balls with a new frightened woman in each arm; a satyr King of Rags who marries the daughter of the Lord of the city of Twine on her 16th birthday each generation as part of a fairy-tale style pact and whose lord seeks an end to this tradition; additionally the satyr's own daughters are drunkards who angrily attack those who refuse their sexual advances; the High Priestess of the Temple of Aprostala imprisons and sacrifices pilgrims who refuse to have sex with her; and the Cloudwall Mountains is home to ogre warbands who kidnap travelers to take as slaves and mates. I'm not going to complain of just one example in a book, but when you have five or six within the very same chapter and two of them involve victimized adolescent girls, I can't help but picture this as lazy writing for shock value. Vallanoria is a military city which is home to Marena's warlike devotees in the Temple of the Scourging Goddess. The town brutally crushed several rebellions, and there are rumors that the crows who fly about are disguised secret police. The Wendestal Forest and the Stale Wood is administered by Lady Chemaya, a lich of dubious loyalties whose alliances among the vampires shifts as often as she changes robes. The Stale Wood is a dark, cold place where no sunlight pierces through. The only true authority here is the King in Rags, an 8 foot tall satyr whose very presence corrupts the surrounding land in rot. The Cloudwall Mountains is the private hunting grounds of King Lucan and his favored servants. It is home to many dangerous monsters from two-headed eagles and rocs to ogres and yeti. Criminals and unlucky people picked out as human prey to hunt are sometimes let loose in the mountain range. Any lucky enough to make it over to the Rothenian Plains to the east earn their lives and freedom, although precious few complete the harrowing journey.  We get a half-page sidebar discussing the Ghoul Imperium. The wide-ranging nation is a vast connection of tunnels and caverns whose geographic center hosts Darakhan, the White City. Many underdark races such as dark creepers/stalkers, drow, derro, dwarves, and svirfneblin are conquered subjects. They have either joined the undead legions of the darakhul ghouls or were spared so that they and their descendants can act as cattle. The undead immunity to exhaustion means that army legions can travel 48-72 miles a day on foot (depending on the weight of their armor), and unintelligent zombies are used as "army rations" instead of the delicate nature of living cattle. It is only due to the ghouls' aversion to sunlight that they have not made inroads into the surface world, save their alliance with Prince Lucan against Krakova. The 2012 edition of the setting treated the Empire of the Ghouls as its own country entry, with some brief detail on its cities. These aspects are excised, although the entry was one and a half pages long so it's not a big cut by any means. Castle Lengrove and the Great Necropolis house the last tombs of the pre-Lucan nobles, a testament to what has changed. There is a large cavern opening to the Ghoul Imperium nearby which both countries use as a trade network. Leander Stross (recognize that name?), the darakhul ambassador to Morgau, lives here. Before moving on to Krakovar we have some discussing on the Grisal Marches and the frequent wars against the dwarves of the same-named Canton; Cantri Abbey whose safeguarding and helping of pregnant mothers is perhaps the Red Goddess' only positive social service; Temple Aprostala and its pilgrimage rites; Fandorin Keep whose has a secret portal to the famous Stross Library in the ruined Castle Shadowcrag; and the Blood Vaults of Sister Alkava which is a published dungeon crawl whose new priestess found a novel yet gruesome way of preserving extracted blood. The Province of Krakovar once chose its own kings. But now Lucan appointed Princess Hristina, Grand Marshall of the Ghost Knights, as the ruler of the newly-occupied territory. The landholding nobles known as the Slahta are still living yet forced to tow Hristina's line after she made several bloody examples of those who resisted. The old temples of Wotan and Perun were razed and converted to shrines of Marena and Mavros. The Ghost Knights have their work cut out for them here: Krakova's old spy network known as the "mice" are active and making alliances to stymie their occupiers, and a group of reaver dwarves from the Northlands established a new territory known as the Wolfmark in its northern coast. What's more, Krakovar's population is 7 times that of Morgau and Doresh combined and all but young children remember the days before unliving tyranny. Trolls and Khazzaki raiders care not for the change in administration and raid the eastern border. Krakova, City of the Mermaid is still open to trade. Reminders of its past glory, from the Assembly Hall of Magnates to Mermaid's Island where each new king was voted in and crowned, fell into disrepair and were barred off-limits by Hristina. The World Tree Temple in the city of Varshava was razed to the ground, much to the dismay of many citizens yet whose burning fumes sparked magical gifts in those who breathed it. Gybick, City of Scribes, is famed for its book trade. Spymaster Velda Lupei of the Krakovan "mice" is hiding out here, having burned most of her organization's records to prevent from falling into enemy hands. Yet still she hid some precious volumes containing information about the most senior spies and rebel leaders in an extradimensional space. The vampires of Wallenbirg are fond of hunting fey in the nearby woodlands, which inevitably makes the peasants suffer as the fairies kidnap children and command swarms of mice to strip the granaries bare in revenge. The ruins of Yarosbirg Castle was home to a religious order of light and life dedicated to the goddess Sif. A shield maiden named Sister Adelind fought bravely against the Ghost Knights, managing to incinerate the vampire lord Otmar the Sallow with a shining spear. Although legions of ghouls killed her, she earned sainthood and martyrdom among Krakovans and others defiant of King Lucan's rule. Many secretly visit the castle to leave tiny wooden shields and white flowers as offerings. METAPLOT: The entire section of Krakovar is pretty much a metaplot change. In the 2012 edition it did not have much in the way of internal or external conflict besides nobles jockeying for kingship. Ironically, Wallenbirg's relationship with the fey was still poor due to logging and the kidnapping/grain destruction methods of punishment were still the same. This time however it's the vampires' fault. If anything, the metaplot made this country a lot less boring! Our final entry for this chapter are the Nine Cities of Neimheim. A long time ago the gnomes were friendly folk: they taught humans the art of magic, eager to discuss the finer points of mundane occupations, and traded with the people of Krakova. But 200 years ago things changed for the worse when a gnome prince betrayed an oath to Baba Yaga. One by one gnome villages disappeared overnight as night-haunts, strigoi, and other servants of the witch hunted them down. The adult's beards were used for pillow-stuffing and the children cooked in her stew pots. The gnomish people seemed destined for destruction, but then a smoldering horned gentleman made a very generous offer to the King of the Gnomes. Ever since the gnome kingdom of Neimheim has lived under a diabolic specter. Temples to the lords of Hell are everywhere and devils preside over their towns as wardens against Baba Yaga's forces. Niemheim's borders are protected by magical defenses known as glower stones: crude structures in the shape of hunching gnomes who smile at those allowed entry, but glower and in some cases unleash magical spells on those not permitted to enter the forest. Once a month the gnomes must make blood sacrifices; if no strangers come into their seemingly-comfy little towns, they must provide from among their own people. As a result gnome traders and illusionists visit roadside inns and taverns to trick people with rumors of wealth and glory beneath their pine boughs whose inhabitants seem harmless enough with their red caps and pointy-toed shoes. With every band of travelers or foreign raiders that disappears within their borders, the gnomes send out a new batch of high-quality knives, tallow candles, pottery, leather, vellum, and other goods their forest home is ordinarily incapable of creating on its own. Nobody questions its origins. King Redbeard lives in a hidden palace in the Great City of Holmgard. His castle is a well-warded structure which can only be found when one receives an invitation: if such a boon is granted, the person wanders the streets at dawn until they somehow find their way to the front gates. Although an amoral snake-in-the-grass, the fate of his people is a heavy burden on Redbeard's shoulders. His greatest hope is to somehow make peace with Baba Yaga and save his kingdom from diabolical influence. His people are divided between wanting to pretend to live as normal a life as possible, and the other half fully embrace their encouraged evil. METAPLOT: Redbeard's ace-in-the-hole is the Offering Bowl, a secret cauldron shrouded against devilish detection. Carved from the oldest trees, it is guarded by his most trusted and loyal servants and Unera, one of Baba Yaga's daughters who uses magic to hide its presence. Redbeard hopes that if the Bowl is filled with the blood of innocent mortals, this will make up for his ancestor's wrongdoing to the great witch. MORE METAPLOT:It's not just Redbeard who is seeking loopholes. The unique invention of the Red Cap hat can shroud a gnome from Baba Yaga's eyes outside the forest proper by taking a bit of the forest with them. Plants, lichen, and mushrooms are packed into a linen scarf tied under the wearer's chin. As long as the flora within is fed and kept alive it will work, but the fear of losing it or having said plants die keeps all but a handful of gnomes from venturing outside Neimheim. Additionally, a blind gnome warlock by the name of Halivimar the Charred perfected a means of expanding Neimheim's borders: the planting of seeds brewing with foul magic can grow as much as 5,000 square feet of "sproutings" in less than a day. He's hired a group of scouts to plant these seeds across the Rothenian Plains and establish small enclaves. As for specific areas, we have the corrupted World Tree of Suf, which is used by infernal travelers on business in Midgard and whose acorns can be brewed into a brimstone-infused liquor. The cities of Volvyagrad and Holmgard see a lot of trade from non-gnomes although said people rarely seek to stay long-term. There are brief mentions of lesser towns, such as Hexen rumored to be home to a college of witches and wizards or Königsheim which has a temple to Chernobog home to an order of anti-paladin cavalry known as the Hellspurs. Thoughts so far: The "evil kingdoms" of Midgard are interesting places full of story fodder. The many factions, from vampire nobles to dwarven reavers and Krakovan spies, provide ample factions for PCs to ally with or turn against each other. The gnomes of Neimheim have a twisted fairy tale aspect of malicious fey. Yet in spite of the influence of devils there's a significant portion of their populace privately unhappy with the state of affairs and can make for an interesting PC exile concept. My only real complaints with this chapter is the repetition of weird sex stuff. Join us next time on the Rothenian Plains, where we explore the oft-unused fantasy counterpart cultures of the Eurasian Steppes!
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Apr 20, 2018 01:48
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It was all an elaborate scheme to get you to read the... CONTENT WARNING: misogyny, dead children, torture INFILTRATOR A unique monster which finds criminal organisations, murders the big boss, takes their place, then plunges them into war with other organisations with the intent of destroying the organisation it originally co-opted. On the scale of 'weird and unworkable plans' this is actually pretty tame, but think of it as a way to ease in. The in-game justification for the Infiltrator is that it was originally created to infiltrate and destroy an organisation, and now it's just doing the same thing over and over where it sees the same pattern. As someone who's accidentally written exponential functions while copying files, I can sympathise. This would make a pretty good end-boss for a 'crime syndicate' style game -- either as an explanation for the weirdly aggressive guild forcing you on the defensive, or discovering you've been working for this thing all along and now everyone hates you. Can you get out of the city alive? Plenty of story fodder, which is what we're looking for in a bestiary. INGENUE Created by the same sorceress who made the eyeball-spider ambulators, ingenues are manic pixie girls who drink the blood of men and men only. They have blue skin and spikes. Naturally, their tits are perfect. INIMICUS Giant crab-things which have come 'from below' to test themselves against the surface. They challenge their targets to a fair fight -- to the death -- with no trickery, pointing out their huge pile of wealth as a prize for the victor. Naturally this is when the player characters gank the poo poo out of the thing. Unfortunately for them the real inimicus is a tiny worm that pilots the giant crab-thing around like a mecha suit. So if the PCs do cheat or fight dishonourably it's highly likely to survive, sneak out of the corpse once they've wandered off, and bring an even stronger body to properly gently caress them up later. I think these would make a decent addition to a random encounter table, but they're a little shallow to hang a whole planned encounter on. KARKINOS 2-HD crab-folk with a mild poison to make fighting them that much more of a chore. Not bad for low-level humanoid enemies but of course they're aquatic so you'll never encounter them. KINARSETTE A spider-centaur thing with no face (only mouth) and swords for hands. They find some washed-up loser with delusions of grandeur, then turn them into cult leaders. Quite why anyone would listen to a faceless, handless, spider-thing I don't know, but this implicit setting also contains people who listen to woman-face-in-mouth reptiles who urge them to literally tear their own body to pieces, so I guess it is at least consistent. KOBOLD MARAUDER They're kobolds. KRITARCH Three sisters, servants of the ancient goddess of retribution. Each is a mid-level, unique centauroid monster with the body of an insect (beetle, spider, scorpion) and a female human torso on top of that. Naturally, two of the three have perfect tits. Araniella has mouths for eyes Corinthian-style, and feeds off discovered treachery. She finds a village or town, disguises herself as a nun or other harmless religious figure, works herself into the confidence of everyone in town, then dispenses advice which turns people against one another until they finally snap and everyone in town breaks out the knives and murders each other. Quite what this has to do with retribution, since the whole goddamn mess is generated by Araniella in the first place, I don't know. A side note: I'm beginning to notice a general feeling in this book -- and perhaps in the OSR at large? -- that 'regular people' are credulous, easily led, and willing to break out in savage violence with only a little provocation. Anyway. I think this would actually make for quite a good plot: adventurers rock into town, turn up a secret or two, investigate further, and find that everyone hates everyone else and the whole place is about to go up like a barrel of gunpowder in a giblet factory. They may even have to use diplomacy and personal skills to undo the damage, since killing Araniella isn't even going to fix the underlying problems. Eriophora finds an adulterous man, kills his mistress and impersonates her, then once the boning has been performed she stalks and mutilates every other woman in his life. Then she fucks off. I find it interesting that as the only one of the three sisters who canonically fucks, Eriophora is the only one drawn without human breasts. Like, the art direction stuck tits on the serpent-crotched eremite, the always-on-fire-murder-ghost ash ghast, and the thoroughly bizarre chimaera queen -- so why not here? Remember the kritarch are supposed to serve the goddess of retribution -- so to get revenge on a man who is loving around, Eriophora takes a knife to every woman he knows. So if you want to gamify violence against women, this is the monster for you I guess. Thelacantha likes religious figures who pretend to be humble but really crave the adulation of their flock. She possesses them, lets them watch as she ruins their lives, then releases control and lets them deal with the fallout. Again: This has nothing to do with retribution. Thelacantha just shits all over someone's life because she sees them as possessing some moral failing. I suppose in this case false humility is at least an actual moral failing, rather than 'feeling lonely'. But the real joy of the kritarch is the art. Open these in order for maximum effect.  AraniellaEriophora ThelacanthaFurther side note: Each of the sisters is named after a genus of spider, despite having beetle, spider, and scorpion bodies. This annoys me far more than it should. STATS SO FAR Monsters: 71 Female Monsters: 11 (I'm deliberately skipping unique female NPCs for this count) Female Monsters With Their Tits Out: 12 (I'm including unique female NPCs in this one though.) Anti-Theist Monsters: 4 Worm Monsters: 4
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Apr 20, 2018 21:00
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Lol at Thelacantha's art after seeing the first two.
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Apr 21, 2018 00:14
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Someone's gonna have to be the anime little sister, I guess.
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Apr 21, 2018 00:30
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Did Steve Englehart work on this book, jesus.
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Apr 21, 2018 00:39
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 The Rothenian Plain is a huge open grassland of the east whose size dwarfs all but the largest of empires. The nomadic way of life is the norm here, and the only standing proper nation is the poor but proud Kingdom of Vidim. The steppes are the favorite stomping grounds of Baba Yaga, who plays the various factions against one another from year to year. And beyond are the mysterious lands of the Utter East who have yet to be detailed in any sourcebooks. Our first entry is not a nation or culture, but on Grandmother Baba Yaga herself. She's one of the major power players of Midgard, and although not a deity herself kings and gods alike treat her with a mixture of respect and fear. There is just as much fact known about her as folktales, and it's not uncommon for scholars compiling books about her to have the ink on their pages vanish or turn into paper-eating worms. But Baba Yaga's knowledge is boundless, from the last thoughts of the dying star Tovaya to the Words of Unfounding which can never be spoken lest they unseat the gods. She is willing to part with her unmatched knowledge for a high price, which usually takes the form of a fairy tale-style quest or sacrifice such one's own final breath. She lives in a mobile hut with enormous chicken legs capable of leaping in mile-long jaunts, and the interior is supernaturally large with all manner of rooms. Baba Yaga has an unknown amount of daughters, all beautiful fey known as vila. They too are powerful in the magical arts and have their own (albeit smaller) chicken-legged huts. It's not uncommon to see them cavorting in the halls and palaces of Midgard's nobility where some have the lord's ear. The less witting servants of the great witch are mystics who went mad from the knowledge imparted by her and who look for her influence in signs and portents. In addition to lore, Baba Yaga has a secret garden with unique ingredients capable of healing any affliction, tended to by mindless slaves who angered or failed her along with earth elemental guardians. But her most famous minion is perhaps Koschei the Deathless, a wicked immortal whose soul is embedded within an egg hidden inside a duck, which is nestled within a hare that rests within a goat. The egg's destruction means Koschei's destruction, and so Baba Yaga keeps the goat's location hidden to make Koschei do what she wants. METAPLOT: The kingdom of Domovogrod was the only other sedentary culture besides Vidim upon the plains. It was founded by Sivinvoya Vellaraya, a silver dragon who cared not for the Mharoti Empire's political goals and instead journeyed north to settle near a World Tree known as the Winter Tree. He taught the surrounding humans advanced farming and healing techniques to found the kingdom of Domovogrod. Although the dragon is long-gone, his human descendants ruled in his example. But now the kingdom's overrun by ogres, trolls, and giants of the Northlands, its capital city claimed by a gluttonous warlord unable to rise from his very throne. The Winter Tree now sits unattended beyond a small band of winterfolk druids and rangers. The last human bastion is a small town of fur-traders seeking vengeance against the giants. Khanate of the Khazzaki  The Khazzaki are a band of human and centaur nomads who live as horse and ox herders, warriors, and occasionally farmers. Their settlements are tent-like yurts, their leader is a Khan who has a military-like hierarchy of generals and soldiers spread among the clans. Although they have traditional lands, they are a far-flung people who can show up anywhere from the Crossroads to the Utter East. They warred against the Mharoti Empire, and Khan Bodhan Zenody is prepping for an all-out assault on either them or one of the greater nations for loot and glory. After successful raids and campaigns it is customary for Khazzaki to travel to the Red Mounds of Rhos Khurgan, a set of 32 burial mounds created by a forgotten race. One of the mounds is cursed and thus avoided. The Khazzaki treat them as sacred sites and pour wine on their soil as offered drink. For unknown reasons divine magic is warped and stymied around the mounds. The Khanate's closest thing to a proper city is Misto Kolis, which is more akin to a traveling carnival and has a sizable Kariv population. METAPLOT: One of the greatest scourges of the Khanate recently is not war but a disease afflicting their horses known as the Black Strangles. It spreads fast and affects even centaurs, and the Khan is hoping that a mysterious group of allied druids known as the Grassweavers of Perun may discover a cure. There's also individual tents of great fame, such as the Yurt Monasteries home to sorcerer-priests of obscure gods, the Black Wagon whose doom-saying oracle is a bad omen to encounter on the plains, and the Krasni Yurta whose wizard occupant enchanted its silk to be as strong as steel along with a pocket dimension only he and his guests can access. We finish this section with mention of the Khan's Three Great Treasures: Draugir the horse who only lets the true khan ride it and was won from Koschei over a riding contest; the An'Ducyr bow which was forged from the heartwood of a World Tree which grants magical sight to one who draws its bowstring; and the Dragoncoat, armor forged from the scales of a wind dragon which grants immunity to poison as well as enchantment and evocation spells of all kinds. We have a brief sidebar on Demon Mountain, a sulfurous place of foul reputation ruled over by a tiefling archmage known only as the Master. He claims to be the noble scion of Vale Turog and lives in a palace of bones he can never leave, but sends all manner of mortal and demonic minions to scour the lands. Fun fact: as he fathered dozens of tiefling children he sent out into the world in order to discover a way to undo his imprisonment. As such he was presented as a possible backstory for tiefling PCs Centaur Hordes of the Plain  The centaur clans are individually small yet possessed of a mighty reputation. They are mercenaries of great skill whose services have been purchased with meager oats and cheese. They are fiercely independent and although willing to work for others almost never acquiesce to assimilating into sedentary cities. They believe that true freedom is found via a nomadic lifestyle. The centaurs believe that their creation was by the god Perun after his previous creations failed. Humans had the ability to craft great tools but whose bodies were too slow and weak, while horses were fast and strong but too dumb and herd-like to produce cunning hunters and great heroes. It was the mocking of his wife that convinced Perun to give it his all and create the centaurs, combining the best traits of his earlier creations. We get a brief rundown of centaur culture: they herd goats and sheep and mark passage into adulthood when one can create and live in their own tent. They are nomadic but have favored locations to return to twice a year, and their mages are predominantly druids. Men are encouraged to be warriors and women are discouraged from journeying beyond the confines of their clan group. There is talk by the Chieftain of the Yendge Clan to unite the race under a single banner which the smaller tribes find amenable for strength in numbers. The Black Strangle disease is a growing plague among centaurs and known as the Long-Teeth among them. It causes their teeth to grow twice their normal size, makes the sensation of bright light painful, and causes excruciating pain to walk or stand. The final stage is the most dire, as it encourages the centaur to seek out others of their kind to bite and infect, now hardly better than a mindless cannibal. METAPLOT: The Grassweavers of Perun created a herbal poultice to prevent the disease from reaching this final stage, although centaur and Khazzaki both seek a true cure. There is rumor of a remedy in the city of Trombei. We finish this entry with a talk on centaur clan structure. They tend to be either steppe nomads, mercenary companies, or bandits, and all of them elect their Chieftains and war leaders via majority vote. The six clans listed here are the Dargit who are famed archers; Morav, whose bards' stirring odes strike inspiration into their allies and fear into their enemies; Ogol, a clan governed by druids who serve Perun and are on the hunt for the legendary spear Zonbol believed to be wielded by their god; Rhoet, a sadistic mercenary band with ties to Demon Mountain and the realm of Misto Cherno; Sarras, expert wine-makers; and Yengde, mercenaries and bandits who are famed for dual-wielding spears. Kingdom of Vidim Vidim's origins lie in a mutual defense pact between humans and huginn against dwarven and giant raiders. The kingdom makes the majority of its wealth through sea trade along the Nieder Straits, and most of its population are subsistence-based farmers known as serfs. Beyond the agricultural serfs are the boyars, nobles and vassals trusted with physical defense from foreign threats and local uprisings. Then there are the huggin, who act as a spy network who inhabit a rookery (impromptu ravenfolk neighborhood among a city's towers and multi-story structures) not far from the tsar's Scarlet Palace. The boyars and huginns do not trust each other, and the tsar is unable to quell the numerous duels and murders which crop up between both sides. The Tsar's judgment is unraveling due to his madness, which is kept secret by his inner circle to avoid the loss of national morale. Although they do their best to guide him to wise actions, this is not always possible. There are those suggesting the eldest Princess ascend the throne, although she's devoted to her father and brooks no talk of deposing him. His palace's major feature is the skull of a Thursir giant slain by the current tsar's father and is considered a good luck charm by many. We get brief descriptions of of three smaller cities of Vidim, as well as a natural feature of five pillars in the sea known as the Salt Fingers. The last one is so named because its foundations mysteriously bend and reform into new gestures on the eve of the winter solstice. Many astronomers, mages, and priests used to make pilgrimages here, but in recent times a group of violent merfolk sunk ships which get too close to the Fingers. Our time in Vidim ends with a talk of the capital's temple of Wotan which is a labyrinthine palace, and those huginn who live inside it experience a strange molting of feathers: blue-black hues are replaced with silver and gold, quite often followed by dreams of the Storm Court. Nobody knows for sure whether this is a gift from Wotan, trickery by Loki, or some other god's scheme. Wandering Realm of the Kariv  The Kariv are the other major nomadic ethnic group of the Rothenian Plains, although their travels take them to the Crossroads and other realms. They are more or less Hollywood Roma/Romani people: they dress in colorful clothes, are ruled by matriarchs who often have some form of magical talent, and are compelled to never put down stakes in a single location due to a curse afflicting their fertility if an individual stays in one place for more than several months at a time. The Kariv are divided into extended family units known as clans, although they have a king whose authority is weighed by every clan leader. METAPLOT:The current King Iqbal Lovari has recently gone missing for unknown reasons. Due to this many accusations are going about, particularly between the Lovari and Gallati families. There's also the King's would-be successor, Sanash, a young oracle who is skilled in divination and believed to be prophesied to unite the clans and redeem the Kalders. Ruling in Iqbal's place are Sanchari and Innessa, a pair of twins who are actually two souls sharing one body, but a third evil sister is currently asleep within and unknown to all. As for the curse affecting the Kariv, the Wander Curse is of unknown origins yet whose ultimate effects render the settler-to-be infertile. It takes place in stages, from a loss of creative arts and energy to having all their clothing and personal possessions fade into dull grey and brown colors. There is no known cure, and infertile Kariv are known as the Arrid who often resort to desperate measures such as dark magic to restore what they lost. METAPLOT: Oddly, the description of the Kariv has changed over publications. In the 2009 Dwarves of the Ironcrags sourcebook, the curse of the Kariv more or less forced them into a nomadic lifestyle, which in turn caused them to be heavily distrusted and vilified by more sedentary and dominant cultures. They suffered extreme systemic discrimination, which in turn caused the Kariv to be resentful of outsiders and thus feel less moral compulsion in cheating them for money or hurting them for slights: quote:Spat upon and insulted, their children beaten in open streets, their women violated with little recourse in the law—it is small wonder the Kariv hold together so tightly. Confl icts are handled internally and outsiders are rarely trusted. Aft er centuries of abuse, the Kariv feel no remorse for taking full advantage of dechas, or nonKariv, at every opportunity. Kariv believe their cons, swindles, and robberies balance the scales in a world where they are denied the opportunities and fortunes granted others. Every time a decha wonders why a Kariv commits murder, the Kariv merely point to any of their recently lynched people and shrug. Contrasted with the 2012/2018 description, the Kariv's anti-social relations are less due to institutional bigotry and more due to personal bitterness at their curse which causes them to lash out: quote:And yet, when the fires die down to embers and the shadows close in, the Kariv show their dark side. They drink and whore and gamble, the women as much as the men. They take chances that invariably lead to trouble; they cheat and lie to the Gadscho, their term for any who are not Kariv. And before the seasons turn, no matter how sweet the pastures or how warm the feather beds of a friendly host-town, they move on. Both examples play upon the "thieving gypsy" stereotype, although the 2009 had a much more plausible cycle of distrust and prejudice between oppressor and oppressed. It gives ample fodder for both sides to play off of each other's resentments and keep the status quo, while also making the Kariv's resentment understandable for what has been heaped upon them. The current Kariv primarily steal out of misplaced anger, and I don't feel that this is an improvement. We get a run-down of the eight largest Kariv clans: the Dakat, who are are horse traders rising up politically due to various shady dealings; the Galati, the closest the Kariv have to royalty and possess the best diviners; the Heph, who are patriarchal diabolists shunned by the other Karvis and allied with the Master of Demon Mountain; the Leanti, entertainers and bards who have a knack for thievery and castrate their prisoners...this last part is just thrown in their description with no context; the Lovari are the expert artisans and tinkers who are also prized as mercenaries; the Merceri, who are expert healers and worship angels, trusted for their hospitable demeanor and diplomatic skills; the Sergin, archers and trackers respected by others for their keen eyes and reflexes; and finally the Kalder, a mysterious clan who has many stories circling around them: some claim they were created in Baba Yaga's cauldron, others claim they are child-stealers and maiden-snatchers for Niemheim's gnomes, some say they are ruled by undead, etc. What is known is that they cannot produce diviners among their ranks, and their leader is a heartless man who exercises his power with violence and blackmail. The final pages of this chapter detail three locations: the Thin Trail which is the least traveled place in the Rothenian Plain and known to grant visions of monstrous leviathans moving upon charred wastelands. In order to find it you must follow mundane directions but must burn something precious between four trees on a specific hilltop to continue the search. The Cloud-soaked Cliff is in the northern reaches of the Plains, home to the sacred forge of the Lovari clan. It is said that the god Svarog himself blesses their work, woken up by the hammering smithies. The finest creations are sacrificed to the god by being thrown over the nearby cliffs, while the rest of the tools are either kept by the clan or sold to other people. Finally, the Wandering Bazaar is a mobile Kariv marketplace which stops by Ingot Lake. Anyone with enough gold may open a stall and sell anything which will not bring trouble to the community. The Bazaar often hosts an annually fishing competition with a healthy sum of gold as the grand prize. METAPLOT: The 2012 edition detailed the Windrunner elves, one of the three elven ethnic groups still present in Midgard. They are a nomadic people who broke off from the Arbonnese and organized into eight clans. They were known for the construction of windrunner kites, aerial gliders capable of lifting a human-sized rider into the air with a strong gust along with a trailing horse or oxen. Although not inherently magical, they are frequently blessed by priests of Ellel (one of Wotan's mask) for his association with the sky. The 2018 Worldbook mentions them here and there, but there's no in-depth write-up. Thoughts So Far: Baba Yaga could have very easily ended up as a Faerun-style mega NPC in that she's ultra-powerful and has her hands in all manner of affairs. But given that her motives are unpredictable and it's mostly her minions who intervene, I think that this keeps her as a more Lady of Pain style character who isn't likely to steal the PC's thunder. My favorite parts of this chapter were the write-ups of the Khazzaki clans and the specific locations. It's not often you have a Mongol-style fantasy culture in a game unless it's explicitly East Asian. The specific locations such as the Thin Trail and Wandering Bazaar are good adventure fodder, and the missing Kariv king and a proposed centaur nation make for good political conflict. I feel that the Kariv are racially problematic, and the centaurs do not have much to individualize themselves from the Khazzaki beyond being a monstrous race (there are even Khazzaki centaurs). I am a bit sad that the entry for Demon Mountain was excised to a sidebar in this book. Next time our travels leave the windswept plains for the grand cities of the Mharoti Empire, the most powerful nation in Midgard! Libertad! fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Apr 22, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 00:49
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marshmallow creep posted:Lol at Thelacantha's art after seeing the first two. I kind of wish all three had been in that style just because at least I can tell what the gently caress is even going on with Madame Anime Scorpion Titties. Like best case none of them would be illustrated because the book wouldn't exist but beggars can't be choosers.
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Apr 21, 2018 02:33
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 ODDS AND ENDS Or XP=Currency to A Logical Extreme Cerebral Coretech Thanks to advances in Alpha Complex technology and the fact that smart phones are a well-established way of life in the real world, PDCs are out and CC is in. What this basically amounts to is “your brain is a computer and you can message the GM via text or IM to speak with Friend Computer”. Friend Computer can speak right into your brain and you’re able to speak back with sub-vocalizations. Your eyes also function as cameras, letting you record directly to your grey matter if you let the GM know you want to. Cerebral Coretech also gives clones direct access to ordering catalogues, news updates, instant messaging, Alphapedia (translation: information in the player’s guide) and treason alerts. In lieu of the classic “security cameras are everywhere” atmosphere of past editions, everyone in Alpha Complex is always extremely online and doing all the surveillance Friend Computer needs. Except for those pesky dead zones. When you’re connected to the wireless network, a clone can see people’s names, XP total and treason stars floating over their head. Step into a dead zone and that goes away, working as a good indicator of where you’re no longer online. Things you’ve already downloaded to your brain will remain, but dead zones cut off the ability to order supplies, speak to the Computer or update their software. Most importantly: MemTech memory backup ceases functioning in a dead zone, cutting off immediately once one steps inside. Die in there and that knowledge is lost. There are enough dead zones that reporting them to Friend Computer nets a pretty good XP bonus.  Speaking of gamifying work instead of paying people a living wage because capitalism is a hellscape! XP XP is earned through working hard, through completing missions or through achievements (this came out before the Cyberpapacy revamp, I believe). Every clone earns 1 XP a day plus bonuses for good behavior in service of Alpha Complex. When you consider that Red clearance costs 500 XP and XP is also money, there’s only two ways to escape drudgery and toil before you die six times: missions or achievements  Mission XP is a big ol’ pool that gets dumped on the players by Friend Computer and is then divided out fairly (your experience may vary) by the Team Leader. The pool can be reduced by property damage, breaking/losing/misusing equipment, dying and having your clone delivered or the weather. Achievements are optional bonus objectives that can only be redeemed by one person per mission, not one group per mission. Feeling salty about having a character you don’t want and other players keep challenging your cards in combat? Let’s up the anxiety and discomfort by adding first-come-first-serve XP bonuses into a volatile environment! Every mission has its own bonus objective cheevos but these are some sample cheevos.  XP can be spent at any time by just focusing very hard on ordering things through your brain. Need more guns or grenades or pudding? Simply fork over the XP and it’ll be assembled and shipped to you ASAP. XP can also be exchanged to activate hormonal portions of the clone’s brain to make the body produce materials to enhance their skills, abilities or mental health. We’ve already mentioned that Moxie can be recovered for 50 XP a dot, but you can also permanently buy new Moxie slots if you burned them in chargen for 200 XP a slot (up to 8 max). Boosting a stat is 500 XP up to 3, skills are 200 XP up to +5 and specialist skills can be learned at 300 XP apiece. Of course, there are other ways to learn skills. Sometimes you’ll get a skill software package downloaded as part of a mission for “temporary use” only. You can also do favors for folks in secret societies and reap the rewards in the form of being taught skills. Thanks to XP being a nontransferable currency outside of paying into catalogues, some societies repay members with education or their own currency. The other big use of XP is to buy new clearances. New clearances can be achieved by sticking it out and working hard or you can just kill a bunch of terrorists and fast-track yourself. New clearances can be purchased at any time and resources inherent to your station (new gun, new uniform) will be delivered ASAP in a burst of confetti. In a touch I mildly enjoy, you can also request cake for the moment if you pay a bit extra.  Secret Societies This section is regrettably brief in this book. Most clones are recruited and don’t have to go looking for a secret society because pretty much everyone is desperate for help. Alternately make your own with the help of friends. Payment for helping further their goals is generally in in-house currency, equipment or knowledge. Thanks to the chaotic nature of Alpha Complex, you are most likely working with a splinter cell localized in a sector and you might not be able to lean on the help of your society in other sectors. Equipment  You always have a jumpsuit and a laser gun. Equipment adds bonuses to your NODE depending on the level of the equipment. You want that Orange laser pistol more than a Red for a +1 bonus if you’re using it in an appropriate way. For example: wedging the barrel of the gun between door handles to jam it probably won’t give that bonus.  Equipment has a weight as well: Small, Medium, Large or Oversize. Small items (grenades, laser pistols, chips) are negligibly sized and only really tracked if you’re trying to carry an unreasonable amount of stuff. Medium items are held in one/both hands and require an equipment strap or a backpack, limiting you to two on your body (both on your body, one in-hand and on your back). Large items need both hands and a special carrying case. They’re big enough you only get one before encumbrance is an issue. Oversized items basically need multiple people to carry and operate and take up your attention and strength as long as you’re lugging them around. Oversized items subtract 2 from all NODEs and juggling 3+ Medium/2+ Large items inflicts a -1 penalty. You may also be worried that you’re not starting with armor. Fortunately, your jumpsuits behave the same as Reflec does in other editions (which is to say it protects against lasers of that color or lower perfectly). Other forms of armor have armor ratings which mean they can take that much damage before falling to pieces. Finally, you can break equipment by attacking it and dealing successes equal to its size (1 for small, 4 for oversized, etc.) Let’s wrap this whole thing up by looking at what one can purchase with their fabulous cheevo-earned XP.      Thoughts I’m not a fan of the fact that equipment is pretty much limited to things one can find on a card. I like the always-online nature of a clone’s brain. It goes into the good parts of Eclipse Phase territory. Outside of that, it seems to be trying to have its cake and eat it too regarding spendable XP. It’s an intentionally obtuse and Friend Computer-designed system that has subtext of “a ton of people hate this” lining the writing. They are right to hate this because even if you make it work, it’s a bad system. I know you’re not “supposed to” go far with the same character in Paranoia and the optimal course of action is to just keep buying bouquets of grenades (or 15 highly shaken cans of Bouncy Bubble Beverage for the price of three grenades but tomato potato). It’s still putting a bad system that some people would (reasonably) want to interface with inside an unfitting environment. But hey, we’re officially done with the Player’s Handbook. Woo and also yay. What next? CARDS! Cards for everything, cards for days! I HOPE Y’ALL LIKE IMPROV!
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Apr 21, 2018 07:32
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The Scion writeup is interesting, but I'm wondering how the game actually plays in practice. Also, I'm wondering how easy it might be to reflavour it into a superhero game.
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Apr 21, 2018 09:00
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Paranoia Rebooted sounds incredibly unfun. Like, it's the RPG equivalent of Risk at Thanksgiving.
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Apr 21, 2018 11:09
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 13:33 |
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Ghost Leviathan posted:The Scion writeup is interesting, but I'm wondering how the game actually plays in practice. Also, I'm wondering how easy it might be to reflavour it into a superhero game. If you want supers, the Trinity stuff they're putting out might be more your speed.
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Apr 21, 2018 15:24
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