I'm doing some research online on how best to draw what these places look like for players; as well as trying to find shorthand symbols for the outer planes.
Alignments & Actions: Alignments are based on the Outer Plane that a character wishes to be Aligned with. Unaligned creatures are very rare, and usually end up in the Astral until they can decide where to go; or may move on at-random (decided between character actions).
I'm contemplating giving PCs Good, Evil, Law and Chaos points; as well as Points for using, or interacting, with things related to the Inner and/or Transitive Planes. Stuff like this is gained at a rate of +1/session.
I'm not sure how these Alignment Points will work though. Maybe as Action Points that are usable on a per/day|adventure basis, when used to commit more acts of the type of Action Point Alignment used. Good Action Points work for Good Things, but Not Evil things, or Non-Good, Non-Evil, things.
Players will have to notify the MC if they are trying to earn/spend Alignment Action Points. A random +1d6 before a Dice roll is confirmed/failed.
Critical Failures, DC Ranges, and Action Points:
Action Points should be... Actiony. Earned by action; and spent in "action" type scenes.
In stories, we like to see consistency in action.
Watching Conan critically fail; and miss with a sword; and possibly sprain a muscle from swinging and hitting the stone floor with his Adamantine sword is something people can expect, and understand.
Having Conan critically fail, and throw his sword across the room is... really lame. So lame in fact, that only assholes and idiots seriously use critical fumble rules.
Ideally, Action Points would be achieved when performing a task in an Active manner, well. Which can then be used on other checks. Having a PC build up action points at a rate of 1/Round is reasonable; but I actually prefer 1/Action that Supercedes DC, and Highest Attack Roll Difference/Round. So that performing many actions well in a scene has increasing benefits; and creatures with "attacks > reasonable (1-2 per BaB breakpoint)" don't rake in Action Points hand over fist.
The commando team breaking and entering into a location with clockwork rhythm; the Fighter who has found their stride and has found some advantage for this combat; the Mage whose spells have flared with power due to the winds of Magic. As well as penalties, like suddenly spraining a limb, or Magic going sideways all of a sudden.
Every +1 Beyond DC: One Action Point Dice per 1 over DC for all actions of this type for this Scene. Action Point Dice may be spent on any Dice Roll that supersedes a needed DC in a particular scene. This includes beating an opposed check.
Meet DC: Normal Success
Fail by >5, +2 to Next Check
Fail by 5, +1 To Next Check
Fail by <5, Lose an Action Point Dice, Earn a Negative Action Point Dice
Fail by 10< Cannot be an Action Point Check for the scene, Lose an Action Point Dice, if you have no APD, Earn a Negative Action Point Dice
Potentially, this could be an effective way to normalize dice results into something that resembles the action sequences we wish D&D could look like.
I'm not sure how it will work out though.
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PCs:
Tiny, Bugbear Assassin 10
Death Attack Every Round:
1. Layered Invisibility + Greater Invisibility (to remain Invisible; one gear slot is dedicated to an assortment of wands; Invisiblity is cast between fights, and G. Invis is cast 1/minute via Wand (we roll a pair of d10's to determine how much time is left on both spells at the start of an encounter if it's not immediately easy to adjucate when the encounter happens during the duration's cycle).
2. Analyse Targets seen; almost any target qualifies as being "Denied their Dexterity Modifier" due to being Invisible; Full Round Action
3. End of round: Attack of Opportunity on Analyzed target.
4. Remain Invisible,
5. Select next target.
6. If still Invisible. Go to 2. Else cast G. Invis (Combat Time) or Invis (Adventure Time).
Ignus
Fire Lich, Fire Mage 10
Shoots fire. I'll have to see how it all pans out in the end. So far, I know that they can blast stone walls apart. That helped the group create a hole in a wall through which the Golem they were trying to relocate was lured out.
Kanator, Human Fighter 10
Uses a Ruinous Chain to bypass DR, has a bunch of senses beyond most PCs, monster ID knowledge skills at +21 modifer before gear (2 slots left unused for skill boosting gear).
Feats:
Iron Will
Great Fort
Lighting Reflexes
Danger Sense
Elusive Target
Blindfighting
4 Offensive
Intelligent Fighter
Subtle Cut
Murderous Intent
Blitz
Which is a pretty typical Fighter feat spread; with so many feats, the Defensive feats that are actually good spring out at the Player to give their non-caster character better suvivability. Fighters get all three save-boost feats; because they can afford to; and they can't super specialize in say one save, like a Barbarian can. Nor can they say "f u" to enemy spells like some of the other classes can.
Geared for flying and underwater work, has blitz and sub. cut to keep their damage higher; can ID monsters, and has more than good enough saves (F 18, R 15 (Evasion), W 17 (Slippery Mind)).
Sensory Suite:
Darkvision 60
Blindsense 60
Tremorsense 30
See Invisibility
Very effective passive sensors imo.
The Kinhunter Bronze Red Dragon Dragon 10
Bronze Dragon, reskinned to red. Batcave with [some] Dragonscale Shirts. Is Large, hunts other Dragons. Sort of interesting, a Dragon Dragonhunter
Creature is based on the CR 9 Bronze Dragon, changed to have 10 HD (with appropriate changes to Saves, HP, Skill Ranks, BaB, etc.).
I'm going with the following idea: Dragons grow in power in one of two manners: sleeping, which leads to growing in physical size, and power; or adventuring, which increases power directly, but involves greater personal risk.
The Death Star, Cleric 5, Ogre Mage 5.
The Huge, Invisible, Flying, Bow cleric is pretty effective, on paper. I have yet to get this to the game, the most recent PC added to the campaign.
Wears Regalia of the Phoenix, has the ability to approach and accost Efreeti for Wishes; familiar is a large Pyro-Hydra. Cleric is one of Luck and Trickery; making the whole theme of "Looks like a Fire using cleric, what is really a fan Cold spells as well" very much in character. This character concept has many possible options.
Tactics are pretty simple, Hydra engages targets, Cleric fires arrows while Invisible.
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Adventure Ideas:
Character Based:
Explore the Planes that the PCs are related to.
Tiny, Bugbear Assassin: Having a powerful Bugbear assassin in the warparty can allow organizations to hire the group as Diplomats on Acheron. Of course, the PCs need to be able to appear too powerful to be challenged by random Bugbear bravos while amidst the Warcubes of Hruggek.
Ignus: Things related to Undead, Fire, being Skeletor. This is actually good and handy for me to know
The Huge Flying Archer-Cleric Death Star: Anything trying to get the rest of the group into the Wish Economy via Efreeti-beating, also hunting on the Plane of Fire; or Trickery/Luck related things.
Kinhunter Bronze Red Dragon: Anything to do with hunting Dragons, or prepping for a Dragonhunt.
Fighter: Anything pretty much anything that might lead to power gain. Also Murder, or NE. Not sure which NE plane fits the character best, so far.