[AE] Campaign for Finish Players

[virgil]

So, I'll be running a Gatejammer in a few weeks. The intent is for this to last longer than the last few campaigns.



Books
+
Not literally, since I'm actually doing Gatejammer, but enough 3.X compatible material to cover the planar stuff. Yes, it's not Tome; I've learned that half the group is more emotionally involved with longer lists to tweak and build with, which Tome doesn't provide. The other half doesn't care enough regardless because they'll ask for me to build half the character either way. None of them mind DM Pity items, and understand that I can tweak the encounter difficulties up or down to match their competence readily.

House Rules of Note

• Stats are rolled by each, then each player chooses an array from that list.
• Iteratives never get worse than -5 after the first one (so it ends up at +20/+15/+15)
• Homebrew races will be added to cover the gaps on request.
• At every 4th level, every ability score gets a +1 inherent bonus, along with a floating +1 inherent to apply elsewhere; with the +5 cap remaining. This spreads out the Wish economy jump a bit.
• Spot and Listen are one skill, Perception
• Rapid Strike/Reload are an affront to Queen and country. The bonus attack is either half BAB or -5, whichever is better. It's also usable X/refresh, Refresh being 5 minutes of no attacking or being attacked.
• Cross-class only makes the ranks capped half, and doesn't double the cost of those ranks
• In the name of science, I'm reducing the market value of plain numerical bonuses (saves, ability scores, weapons, armor, etc) by 50% AND the cost for magic arms/armor enhancement is priced parallel with the special abilities. This makes the +2 flaming falchion cost 4kgp, for example (cost of the +2, halved, plus the cost of the +1 from flaming, not-halved). To keep people from just buying even bigger bonuses in response to the savings, they can only benefit up to the Tome scaling limit. So a level 1 PC with a +2 sword treats it as a +1 until level 4.
• Weapon Focus not only doesn't require proficiency in the chosen weapon, but grants it regardless of complexity; allowing a wizard to wield a dire devanian swordaxe with WF (swordaxe)
• Improved Shield Bash [Feat, +4 BAB] Allows use of shield bash maneuver without loss of AC, and can be considered a main-hand attack
• Enhancement bonuses to shields apply their bonus as weapons at no extra cost
• Ambidexterity and TWF are one feat
• Champion Modifications
  • Call/Imbue: At-will ability, type can be tailored to anything usable; from a buckler to an articulated shield w/blade, dagger to devanian swordaxe. Bonus can also be shifted around to include magic abilities. Material type can be silver or iron at 5th level, adamantine at 10th, whatever at 15th
  • Call Upon the Power: Change to unnamed bonus
  • Divine Grace: As per paladin, gained at 3rd level
  • Heartening Cry: Increase bonus to equal Charisma modifier, lasts for a minute, has a 10 minute cooldown.

[Avoraciopoctules]

What do you mean by "Finish Players"?

Do you have to live in Finland to play?
EDIT: Are the players speaking Finnish?

[virgil]

Players from Finland would be Finnish. Finish in this instance is characters who are native to Finality.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Ah. I was gonna ask if any of you had seen James Raggi. Sounds cool, I look forward to hearing how things go.

[virgil]

Well, all of that designing for a variant Totem Warrior just got wasted after reading Transcendence. There's a feat to grant a druid-style animal companion. With that and the Unfettered Blade Saint's Steel Tornado style (at no point is melee stated as a limit), we've got a potent mounted archer. I can readily enough reskin a cheetah and replace its trip ability with a 15' cone poison breath weapon (Fort negates, initial blindness 1 minute, secondary 1d4 Con) in order to get that spitting raptor effect.

Laser Rifle As per DMG in stats; currently operating on the assumption that it deals non-magical force damage, but there's an argument to be had that it deals untyped weapon damage

• Rifle Cost: 800gp
  Energy Cell: 50gp for fully charged cell, 10gp per recharge

Champion of Trickery
Special: The champion gains Bluff, Disguise, and Sleight of Hand as class skills.
1st Level - Charm (Sp): The champion can cast charm as a spell-like ability once per day per class level. At 3rd level, this becomes heightened charm
5th Level - Sorcerous Guise (Sp): The champion can cast sorcerous guise as a spell-like ability. At 7th level, this becomes heightened sorcerous guise.
10th Level - Sticky Fingers (Sp): Cast Alikaba's Gift/Theft as spell-like abilities. At level 12, they become heightened.

[hogarth]

Are you assuming that spellcasters automagically know all of the appropriate spells from the Spell Treasury?

How did you decide to use Arcana Evolved as a base: GM curiosity, player request, flipped a coin, other?

[virgil]

Are you assuming that spellcasters automagically know all of the appropriate spells from the Spell Treasury?

How did you decide to use Arcana Evolved as a base: GM curiosity, player request, flipped a coin, other?

It's not automagically, but it's close. They technically need to spend some time in a magic library, about a day per spell level per spell, and a Knowledge (Arcana) skill check (DC 15+Spell Level*2). It costs time and access to the facilities, but their backgrounds include some academic research and the cost is low enough to not be a hindrance. I am assuming the one they have access to can eventually unlock everything they can cast with their classes' complexity restrictions out of the AE core rules and the Spell Treasury, and a different library is necessary for stuff beyond that, which would be the subject of an adventure.

That does remind me, I need to include the house rule that we're using 3.5's knowledge skill list rather than the ridiculously long one proffered by AE; and I'll eventually work out a reasonable DC list for monsters that isn't CR based (dire bears live in caves?!).

As for how we came to the decision, it was part of a group discussion. The last campaign, Star Wars FATE, didn't work that well because advancement was glacial and the rules-lite system couldn't give them enough direction. So as to help them recover from that, going with something they were familiar with was ideal. Tome has issues of the power jumps being rather high, and the ease of making a very competent character actually discouraged investment. Once you chose race and class, the lists and design decisions were so narrow, character creation was quick for them and they would just not feel as invested in the game. AE flat out has bigger lists and more decisions to make, especially for spellcasters. This doesn't apply to Eir's player, but regardless of system, I was going to be asked to make the character under their direction; so creation complexity meant nothing to them, though I did my best to make sure the character used as little pure homebrew/house-rule as reasonable. AE was enough of an improvement from 3.5 to require less work on my part, combined with the fact that I know from personal experience that my players do not mind artifact swords and they trust my ability to scale the combats for their competence. As an example, I have run a level 14, minimal house-rule campaign of Iron Heroes while using legitimate EL 14-17 fights against them without any PC death; reasonable EL, that is, rather than Roy's retarded definition of reasonable.

[virgil]

DOUBLE POST

[echoVanguard]

Boy, it's really sad how well this sums up Planescape. And I say that as a huge, huge fan of Planescape.

echo

[virgil]

Boy, it's really sad how well this sums up Planescape. And I say that as a huge, huge fan of Planescape.

As an admitted, rose-goggled fanboy of Planescape, I'm very much in the same boat. Though I still defend the Lady To this day, I've yet to meet anyone besides me who can remember every single plane and faction without having to refer to the books.

[hogarth]

It's not automagically, but it's close. They technically need to spend some time in a magic library, about a day per spell level per spell, and a Knowledge (Arcana) skill check (DC 15+Spell Level*2). It costs time and access to the facilities, but their backgrounds include some academic research and the cost is low enough to not be a hindrance.

By "cost", do you mean that they still have to pay 100 gp per spell level (x2 for complex, x4 for unique)?

AE was enough of an improvement from 3.5 to require less work on my part, combined with the fact that I know from personal experience that my players do not mind artifact swords and they trust my ability to scale the combats for their competence.

What specifically are your favourite improvements?

[virgil]

It's not automagically, but it's close. They technically need to spend some time in a magic library, about a day per spell level per spell, and a Knowledge (Arcana) skill check (DC 15+Spell Level*2). It costs time and access to the facilities, but their backgrounds include some academic research and the cost is low enough to not be a hindrance.

By "cost", do you mean that they still have to pay 100 gp per spell level (x2 for complex, x4 for unique)?

Yes, they still need to pay that cost.

What specifically are your favourite improvements?

The magic item creation modifiers, the complexity/category tags for spells, evokers are more competent, the overall feats are a better selection than what you'd see in the 3.5 PHB (both obviously have their crap selections), enhancement spells from 3.0 are back along with a number of other similar spells which is a buff to fighters, better equipment for synergy. The muggle chassis themselves are about as bad as 3.5, but the better feats, gear, and buffing spells help.

For example, just one supplement (Transcendence) allowed me to make what will likely be a long-term competent archer, and the 'homebrew' laser rifle allows for someone other than muscular hulks to compete.

[virgil]

Spelljammer
The ship that counts as a single creature for spell purposes. Any who sit at the helm of the ship can cast spells as if the ship had the share spells & deliver touch spells as a familiar. More expensive models have plane shift power built in, as well as locomotion and environmental protections.

An additional, and significant, feature is that the weight restrictions for teleport are distributed as efficiently as possible without the cargo being required to be on the passengers to count as carried for what's carried through.