Mystara

HP Boost

How do you increase your max hp's over the course of the campaign?

Wish?

Some other type of quest?

Any ideas for those that want to increase max hp's due to crappy rolls? Has this happened in any other game variations that we know? And if so, is it a bit munchkin or is it realistic enough to incorporate?

Level Frenzy!!!

Ever had a character tag along with a bunch of high levels, suck away their XP like a hungry hungry hippo, only to find that you've "bumped your head" at 1 below the next highest level?

The agony!

XP - one of the rarest commodities, more valuable than gold. What's more frightening than being killed, body lost? Being double level drained, that's what! Lose two levels in this game and you MAY AS WELL start again...

The proposed rule amendment is to the "training" optional rule that has been in place since the campaign started.

If you have time to spend out of the adventure - "downtime" as we call it - you can allocate some of that time to training for the next level threshold that you cross.

If you cross that xp amount during the adventure, then you will be able to level, so long as you have a safe place to meditate - an "extended rest" if you like (excuse the 4th ed. parlance).

You will need to spend the money on training also, just as you would normally.

This rule will be retrospective to a certain extent - if you currently have a character in the Temple, with potentially enough XP to level, AND you have enough "downtime" to spend, along with sufficient gold, then all you need now is an extended rest and you should be ready for new and improved challenges!

I should mention that the Temple challenges in the lower levels are now actually matched roughly to your levels. No more steam-rolling through with a strong front line and a flanking manouevre - this next phase is going to take tact, skill, diplomacy, and possibly a healthy dose of luck.

So if you have the opportunity to level, I'd say take it.

It could be your last.

Stronghold Building

UPDATE: Download CASTLE.zip - courtesy of wizards.com previous edition downloads.

This is now the benchmark set of rules on the topic.

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Well - the time has come where people are interested in building strongholds - castles, towers, keeps - all manner of big stone constructions that you know damn well are one day going to fall victim to trebuchet / cannon / siege of some sort!  But what the hey...you need to attract followers and govern all you survey and get rid of some of that excess gold!

So how do we do it?  There are some ideas in books and Dragon magazines about how it should work.  Basically you are going to convert gold into palacial grandeur.  But it's not really the sort of thing that can be bought from a list in the PHB.

Similar to how we do a wizards lab, this thing will have a GP value.  We have also started on a "business" rule-set, and if you have a manufacturing enterprise, this will have a GP value, and some ongoing running costs.  Where a lab helps you create spells and magic items more efficiently the more it's worth, your business capital investment (warehouse/factory/shop) helps you create better stuff more cheaply too.

So a stronghold will ultimately have a GP value and running costs, and serve you better at some point in time defensively, prestige wise, revenue raising from taxes, or maybe in attracting better followers.

The GP value will be what you actually put into it, plus some other aspects.  Like a wizards library, where you might be able to pump about 10,000gp into by just crossing it off your character sheet, you can also add to it by finding awesome stuff.  That Whitton library for example - it's got a special focus that you can't just buy.  You could incorporate it into your "generic" 10,000gp lab/library and increase it's value - noting it as say "15,000 gp lab, with specialty on xyz".

A stronghold will need to cross some preliminaries though.  Land will have to be acquired, and the process may be different for different regions.  You might be able to buy it privately.  You might need to get the acquiescence of a ruler/parliament to claim an interest in unsettled lands.  You might obtain it by conquest.  None of this will add to the value of the stronghold, but should form line 1 of it's description.

"King of Ierendi petitioned and spent 1000gp in getting assent to land as marked on map 1"

Next you will have construction, and this is the area that is a black hole right now.  How much should it cost?  How long should it take?  30,000gp? 120,000gp?

In part, this will be determined by what it looks like and how big it might be.  So some sort of architectural plan and a idea of the surrounding area should be developed as part of construction.  So line 2 will be:

"a mountain top keep with a solitary tower - refer to floor plans A, B, and C".

Some number crunching will ensue, and probably a spreadsheet setting out material costs and labour costs, including professional fees, and a time scale. Line 3:

"Construction costs as set out in sheet X to value of 60,000gp, taking 4 months."

So basically a cover sheet or character sheet entry of 3 lines, adding to them as the history builds.

Then maps, floor plans, construction notes, and maybe other historical appendices as time goes on:

Line 4: Local town militia (Riverton) train at keep 1 weekend a month.

(Sheet): Diplomatic ties formed when <PC> helped John Strong, militia leader, repel orc bandit attack.  Militia trains with home garrison on last weekend of month, improving ties, developing tactics, and helping their BR for War Machine calculations. (etc etc)

So there's a start...I really don't know too much about how we should deal with construction costs so we'll need to review what material we've got, and then it should be pretty straightforward from there!

Happy castle-building!

Gold Register

With the game heading towards some potentially big numbers in terms of gold, I'm thinking we should introduce some sort of GP tracking system, similar to the "Magic Item Registry".

On the horizon we have stronghold construction, magic spell and item research, and even a "manufacture engine" for those players wishing to get involved in small business ventures.

The party as a whole is also as tough as anyone has probably seen in a campaign setting.  This comes not just from levels and items, but also because everybody knows their higher level characters so well.  Opponents that would be considered very difficult are also being dealt with easily, with a modicum of preparation.  Consequently, the xp and gold rewards coming through are going to be bigger than anyone has ever seen.

So the system I'm proposing is going to be Excel based.  It will be a shared work arrangement between DM and players.  I'm happy to take feedback on a system that is easy and works for everyone.

The hub of the system will be a DM operated spreadsheet that will periodically enter adjustments to a characters GP worth.  It might include both actual gold, gems, and other items of capital value.

The player operated system will be a more finely tuned approach. Either via an Excel template or a pencil and paper version, you enter your spends and incomes as a "credit" or "debit", calculate running totals if you need to know your position, and at the end of a session/adventure/significant campaign element, you rule off and carry forward to a new sheet.

When you rule off, that information goes into the DM spreadsheet to give an update picture of the PC's position, and to allow the DM to see at a glance where you are as a group/party.

This will also help to tune the next episode of the campaign, as I currently have only a vague idea of how much gold is in the economy, and whether rewards are high or low.

As a part of this new system, we would not be tracking amounts of copper, silver, electrum etc.  It would all be in GP values, and if you were to spend a few silver on dinner at an inn, we would not need to track it.  These currencies are for "colour" only - but at this stage the PC's are all wealthy enough not to have to worry about a few silver coins.

The only stage you might have to worry about this sort of thing is if you have been robbed of your cash or are in some other challenge situation that sees you without any cash on hand.

Also, for gameplay purposes, we can make a standard rule that you can have say 100gp cash at all times, the rest is considered in a "stash".  The details of the stash we'll leave out - it's just there and you can access it unless there are particular circumstances that say you can't.

If you want to carry gems or other items of value, you will have to specifically note them on your character sheet.  These will convert to cash easily, but you run the risk of losing them during adventures.  To simplify it (given there are probably enough gems floating around) you can just elect to have "xx gp worth of gems" noted (up to a limit of how much "stash" cash you have).

We won't worry about transaction fees and conversion charges if you have (or know someone who has) that gem valuation ability.  No skill checks required - it just works.  If you don't have that ability, then on any transaction where you have to dip into your "gem" amount, you will lose a random small percentage on the deal.  This preserves the value of the appraisal skill, without bogging it down in too many details.  The appraisal skill might still be useful in specific challenge situations during the course of adventuring.

So here's the summary:

Player has separate balance sheet (paper or excel) for each PC;

PC keeps 100gp (base) and xx gp of gems recorded on main sheet.  You can refill/adjust from "stash" at any convenient time;

PC hands up balance sheet to DM to update the master register periodically;

All <1 gp transactions are for role-playing purposes only and don't have to be recorded;

If you don't have appraisal skills you will lose a small % on gem transactions.

This proposal is up for discussion - post away!

Character Development

I'm going to try to run some character development via emails/weblog for those that still have some months in the bank to spend.  I'm sure we'll have a face-to-face session at some stage in 2006 - it would be a shame to go a whole year with nothing!

So if you've got some months to spend, let me know and I'll try to resolve some stuff offline.

I think we could probably handle a few more NPC's involved in the game play - I've got a bit of a system for managing these now so I should be able to cope.  So if there are some important NPC's that have never been properly documented let me know also so I can add them to the database.

Inter-planar spell casting

If you go ethereal, can you cast spells that affect those on the prime material?

My first thought is that if you have moved to another plane that you can't cast spells back to your home plane.  But maybe you could cast charm or hold or something that is more a 'magic' effect on the victim, rather than a lightning bolt which would be magic causing a physical presence to impact on the victim.

My second thought is that you're not actually truly ethereal, you're on the border.  You are still linked back to your position on the prime material plane - if you were fully ethereal then you wouldn't even HAVE a prime plane wall to move through.

I'm thinking Graeme is gonna have something to say about this - given that Sahrim is a potential plane traveller extraordinaire.

Thief backstab

The question has been asked whether a thief can use a spear to backstab with.  The argument 'for' is that it's really a sneaky attack that relies on knowledge of the weak spots of the victim, and the stealth of the thief.

The argument against is based on the idea that it's reserved for weapons that a thief might be proficient in.  Baldur's Gate doesn't allow backstabs with non-thief weapons.

Happy to take further submissions on this, but here is a proposed rule change:

If you use a 'knife' to backstab with (any weapon that fits that general category) then you get the damage dice, plus an extra d6, PLUS your multiplier.

If you use a thief class weapon that is NOT a knife, you get the normal damage dice plus your multiplier.

If you want to use ANY weapon to backstab, then you might need to dream up some way of 'unlocking' that ability for your character - we can incorporate the 3rd ed style sneak attack rules in this way. It would have to be 'unlocked' in a similar way to how some characters have a 'spiritual balance' type of ability that can add to their rolls. So some major event or experience, or some path to be followed.

Streak xp bonus

Can't actually remember exactly what numbers I quoted last time, but I'm gonna throw this one out there anyway...

1 night in dungeon gets you 200xp/lvl bonus

2nd night is 400xp/level, 3rd night 600xp per level etc.

So if a level 7 does 3 nights in dungeon, there's 4200 bonus in it.

The low levels may bump, but given that it's per your level, they won't be gaining as much.  The 'catch-up' for low-levels comes through fights and treasure, and the nature of the xp table.

Front rank in a 10' corridor

How's about we let 2 humies fight front rank, but 3 shorties.  You could also do 1 human size in the middle, flanked by 2 shorties, as long as the shorties use piercing weapons.

And is it just me or does nobody fight 2nd rank with polearms? Or do we not have corridor fights anymore? Or does no one have pole arms? Or are they all dead before you need your 2nd rank attacks?