Friday, August 10, 2012
Describing Hit Point Loss
There's a very good article by Robin Laws on the Pelgrane website that offers suggestions on how to describe non-lethal hit point loss from lethal sources: Not A Significant Bullet.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Rats In the Sewer, and New 13th Age Monsters
First thing's first, I downloaded an excellent fan-made adventure for D&D Next called Rats in the Sewer (I'd ask that any of my players who reads this NOT look at the adventure, which I plan on running at some point). While I may run it for D&D Next, I was also thinking that it would work pretty well with 13th Age, since the simple-to-create-monsters in that system makes adventure conversions very easy. The adventure uses monsters from the Bestiary of the first D&D Next playtest packet, not all of which are currently available in the Escalation Edition of 13th Age. So I figured I'd write up some stat blocks for them.
Fire Beetle Level 1 Troop Initiative +2
M Bite +6 vs AC, 4 damage
AC 18 PD 15 MD 11 HP 26
Luminescent Glands: Fire Beetles emit their own source of dim light.
Giant Centipede Level 1 Mook Initiative +3
M Bite +5 vs AC, ongoing 3 poison damage
AC 16 PD 15 MD 11 HP 7 (to kill a single mook)
Grey Ooze Level 2 Wrecker Initiative +4
M Slam +7 vs AC, 8 acid damage; +4 damage and daze on a natural 16+
AC 15 PD 13 MD 10 HP 50
Resist 16+ cold and fire damage, Blindsight, can climb vertical surfaces at full speed
Gelatinous Cube Large Level 3 Troop Initiative +3
M Slam +8 vs AC, 20 acid damage and engulf (save ends) on a natural even hit
AC 18 PD 17 MD 13 HP 100
Engulf: Target takes 10 acid damage at the start of its turn; up to 3 creatures
Blindsight, Transparent (increase DC to spot it by +5)
Goblin King Level 2 Leader Initiative +6
M Short Sword +7 vs AC, 6 damage (9 if target is engaged with ally)
R Short Bow +7 vs AC, 6 damage, nearby allies can roll attacks twice against target and use better result
AC 18 PD 16 MD 13 HP 40
Disengage +5 (only needs to roll a 6+ to disengage)
Human Barbarian Warrior Level 2 Wrecker Init +5
M Longspear: +7 vs AC, 7 damage + Reach Tricks
OR M Greataxe: +6 vs AC, 10 damage
R Javelin +7 vs AC, 6 damage
AC 16 PD 17 MD 12 HP 40
Reach Tricks: If equipped with Longspear, 1/battle succeed at a normal save to use reach to your advantage (attack enemy you're not engaged with, OA vs enemy who disengaged + moved, OA vs enemy who engages, etc).
Comments and criticisms welcome. 13th Age is currently available for preorder.
EDIT: Changed stat blocks so that damage expressions are in line with EE3; removed goblin warrior since Goblin Grunt is now a troop instead of a mook.
Fire Beetle Level 1 Troop Initiative +2
M Bite +6 vs AC, 4 damage
AC 18 PD 15 MD 11 HP 26
Luminescent Glands: Fire Beetles emit their own source of dim light.
Giant Centipede Level 1 Mook Initiative +3
M Bite +5 vs AC, ongoing 3 poison damage
AC 16 PD 15 MD 11 HP 7 (to kill a single mook)
Grey Ooze Level 2 Wrecker Initiative +4
M Slam +7 vs AC, 8 acid damage; +4 damage and daze on a natural 16+
AC 15 PD 13 MD 10 HP 50
Resist 16+ cold and fire damage, Blindsight, can climb vertical surfaces at full speed
Gelatinous Cube Large Level 3 Troop Initiative +3
M Slam +8 vs AC, 20 acid damage and engulf (save ends) on a natural even hit
AC 18 PD 17 MD 13 HP 100
Engulf: Target takes 10 acid damage at the start of its turn; up to 3 creatures
Blindsight, Transparent (increase DC to spot it by +5)
Goblin King Level 2 Leader Initiative +6
M Short Sword +7 vs AC, 6 damage (9 if target is engaged with ally)
R Short Bow +7 vs AC, 6 damage, nearby allies can roll attacks twice against target and use better result
AC 18 PD 16 MD 13 HP 40
Disengage +5 (only needs to roll a 6+ to disengage)
Human Barbarian Warrior Level 2 Wrecker Init +5
M Longspear: +7 vs AC, 7 damage + Reach Tricks
OR M Greataxe: +6 vs AC, 10 damage
R Javelin +7 vs AC, 6 damage
AC 16 PD 17 MD 12 HP 40
Reach Tricks: If equipped with Longspear, 1/battle succeed at a normal save to use reach to your advantage (attack enemy you're not engaged with, OA vs enemy who disengaged + moved, OA vs enemy who engages, etc).
Comments and criticisms welcome. 13th Age is currently available for preorder.
EDIT: Changed stat blocks so that damage expressions are in line with EE3; removed goblin warrior since Goblin Grunt is now a troop instead of a mook.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Random Backgrounds Table!!!
I've put together a table of 100 backgrounds for 13th Age. Most are examples from the Escalation Edition, but I've also added a fair amount myself. Yes, 13th Age emphasizes creativity and unique characters, but a list like this can get the creative juices flowing, and may function as a jumping-off point. Many of these are generic, but there's plenty of room for specialization.
And of course those who prefer an element of randomness in character generation can simply roll a d% to choose their backgrounds.
And of course those who prefer an element of randomness in character generation can simply roll a d% to choose their backgrounds.
Combat Superiority
Yesterday's Legends and Lore article was quite possibly the best news about D&D Next that I've heard in a while. Feedback from the first playtest packet not surprisingly indicated that the Fighter was boring, and that the class needed its own unique mechanic instead of just having higher damage, HP, AC, etc. I personally wasn't terribly concerned because I knew that they had a more tactical package for Fighters in the works, though admittedly I wasn't sure how it would relate to the playtest Fighter (namely, what it would give up in order to avoid being flat-out better).
The answer is Combat Superiority. And boy oh boy is it a good answer. The basic idea is that a Fighter has a number of Combat Superiority dice that he can use on his turn. The most simple, basic application of these dice is to just roll them as extra damage. A more tanky Fighter, on the other hand, might roll them to reduce incoming damage. Some defender options might be to reduce the amount of damage an ally takes, or to use them to add to an ally's AC (or debuff an enemy's attack). Note that the dice don't need to represent a rolled value; for example, I can see this as a nifty way of replicating 4E powers on the fly. The basic model for a 4E power was damage + effect, so 3 different powers might look like this: 3[W] vs 2[W] + prone vs 1[W] + daze, the idea being that you trade out damage dice for effects, with stronger effects costing more dice.
See the potential here? DMs can be advised how "expensive" certain effects and actions are, using the published maneuvers (like the examples from the article) as a baseline, and they would be ready to deal with any improvisation that a Fighter's player might come up with!
Once the Fighter levels and gains 2+ CS dice the amount of potential choices during a turn could easily satisfy a more tactical player*, with the resolution remaining relatively simple. There wouldn't be as much choice paralysis as, for example, choosing from several encounter (or daily!) powers that you won't be able to use anymore this battle. And those who prefer simple "I hit with my sword" Fighters can easily just default to using those CS dice as extra damage.
Mearls and Co. stated that they wanted to have a "dial" built into classes so the level of complexity could be toggled, and on this point they definitely succeeded with the Fighter!
*I'm thinking along the lines of "I use one of my dice for defense, and one for extra damage, vs I'm going all in on damage vs I'm going all in on defense, multiplied by the possibilities that all of the different maneuvers add, and throw in some occasional improvisation for good measure!
The answer is Combat Superiority. And boy oh boy is it a good answer. The basic idea is that a Fighter has a number of Combat Superiority dice that he can use on his turn. The most simple, basic application of these dice is to just roll them as extra damage. A more tanky Fighter, on the other hand, might roll them to reduce incoming damage. Some defender options might be to reduce the amount of damage an ally takes, or to use them to add to an ally's AC (or debuff an enemy's attack). Note that the dice don't need to represent a rolled value; for example, I can see this as a nifty way of replicating 4E powers on the fly. The basic model for a 4E power was damage + effect, so 3 different powers might look like this: 3[W] vs 2[W] + prone vs 1[W] + daze, the idea being that you trade out damage dice for effects, with stronger effects costing more dice.
See the potential here? DMs can be advised how "expensive" certain effects and actions are, using the published maneuvers (like the examples from the article) as a baseline, and they would be ready to deal with any improvisation that a Fighter's player might come up with!
Once the Fighter levels and gains 2+ CS dice the amount of potential choices during a turn could easily satisfy a more tactical player*, with the resolution remaining relatively simple. There wouldn't be as much choice paralysis as, for example, choosing from several encounter (or daily!) powers that you won't be able to use anymore this battle. And those who prefer simple "I hit with my sword" Fighters can easily just default to using those CS dice as extra damage.
Mearls and Co. stated that they wanted to have a "dial" built into classes so the level of complexity could be toggled, and on this point they definitely succeeded with the Fighter!
*I'm thinking along the lines of "I use one of my dice for defense, and one for extra damage, vs I'm going all in on damage vs I'm going all in on defense, multiplied by the possibilities that all of the different maneuvers add, and throw in some occasional improvisation for good measure!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
13th Age "Solitaire" Playtest
I ran my first playtest of 13th Age combat, using the characters that I generated here. For this test I ran a standard 1st level fight pitting 3 kobold warriors and 5 archers (mooks) against the party. The fight took place in an open cavern where the archers had overturned tables to hide behind for cover. Tharis (Wood Elf Fighter) and Derndolfin (Dwarf Bard) emerged first into the room, with Beriogelir (Half Elf Ranger) just behind them and Brynna (Human Wizard) bringing up the rear.
General Comments
The most striking revelation was that accuracy in this game is pretty huge, which I'm not sure I like. The baseline AC for a level 1 monster is 17 (though the kobold warriors had 18). My characters either had a +4 or +5 attack bonus (depending on whether they started with 16 or 18 post-racial attack stat), which meant that in round 1 they needed a 12 or 13 to hit a baseline monster (and a 13 or 14 to hit the kobold warriors!). That's...too much. Even by round 4 when the Escalation Die has a pretty major affect (+3) they still needed a 9 or 10 (10 or 11 to hit the warrior), which is less accurate than the vast majority of current 4E characters without an escalation die. I say current because accuracy was balanced around 50% when the game was first released, but various fixes (most famously the Expertise feats and Superior Implement Training) boosted that because players didn't like missing so much. I'd make the same argument again; hitting is more fun than missing, so I'd personally prefer monster AC to be a point or two lower. As it stands, I fear that maxing your prime stat might become a bit too important, even despite the fact that 3 different ability scores determine each of your defenses.
Of course to keep things challenging monster attack bonuses are higher, while AC for many classes is actually a bit on the low side (Bard, I'm looking at you!). Baseline is +6 at level 1 according to the monster building table, but the kobolds were more accurate than most (the kobold archers were +7, while the warriors were +8). This made combat feel really dangerous, especially at the beginning, since enemies were constantly chipping away at your HP while nobody on team PC could seem to land a hit.
Perhaps this is because it was first level, but damage was also a bit on the low side. Maybe because level 1 HP is tripled? As levels are gained HP increases by 1 HP factor while damage also increases by 1 die per level, so damage might just seem low at 1st level because of the HP cushion.
Rounds go by fairly quickly, and this was with me drawing everything out on a paper map as it was happening so I could keep track of everyone. In an actual game the players would track their own characters, who they're engaged with, etc. Minis would probably be helpful (not necessarily on a grid, but just so enemies can be "based" with them to show who is engaged with whom).
Fighter
Poor Tharis spent so many rounds trying to intercept hits on Derndolfin, but he was often unable to pass the save to do so while engaged. And of course a Fighter is going to be engaged! Especially when the Fighter and his squishy ally are both engaged with the same enemy, there needs to be a stronger incentive for that enemy to NOT ignore the Fighter. The tools for squishy-protection are there, but they aren't terribly effective from what I've seen in play. I'd love it if Defensive Fighting could be applied to an ally instead, even at the price of an adventurer feat.
The maneuvers were fun, and I managed to trigger each of them once. It wasn't even immediately obvious which one I should use (well, that 18 made the choice of Precision Attack over Defensive Fighting pretty easy), especially given the difficulties of intercepting while engaged (which made Shield Bash really attractive). Unfortunately I never got to use Cleave or Tough as Iron (silly Bard was taking all the hits, and silly Wizard was taking all of the kills).
The Wood Elf racial ability is a really clever piece of game design. Every round you roll a die, and try to roll under whatever the Escalation Die is at. If you do, you get a free standard action. Each time you get a standard action, the die size increases by 1 (so after your first standard, which you got from rolling a d6, you start to roll a d8, and so on). Tharis managed to snag 1 free standard in 7 rounds of combat, which seems about right.
Bard
Derndolfin was the only character to go down in this fight, and to be fair I was playing the kobolds really smart and having them "go after the leader." I also figured that kobolds probably aren't too fond of Dwarves, so there was a bit of that at play as well. What soon became immediately obvious is that Bards are NOT frontline fighters. Engaged with 2 enemies for most of the fight, he was never really able to break free from both in order to launch a ranged spell, and I would have loved to use Soundburst or Befuddle. And yet, since those are daily spells most of the time the Bard will in on the frontline using his battle cries. With his below average HP and AC. His attack and damage isn't too hot either, since he has to split points between Strength and Charisma pretty equally in order to be effective with both attacks and spells.
As the target of many attacks, it would be really nice if Pull it Together! could be used on yourself. Derndolfin watched his HP steadily dwindle, and wasn't able to do much about it aside from using his standard action to rally. Surprisingly, a few times I wished I'd brought a Cleric to the party instead since they seem to be much sturdier frontliners. Maybe if the Bard had gotten an opportunity to bust out a daily spell I'd feel differently (they seem to be better than the Cleric's).
Ranger
This was NOT Beriogelir's day. He rolled about 5 natural 1's, which probably doesn't give me the best impression of the class's capabilities. He spent the beginning of the fight taking potshots with his bow, attacking a different enemy each time to try and trigger a crit via First Strike. Never happened, unfortunately. I think I was also only applying double attack to even hits at the beginning, when it should have been all even rolls. Or maybe I was just rolling a lot of odd numbers (coughonecough). In any case, it wasn't until the later rounds that I was actually throwing 2 attacks around.
Early on Beriogelir teleported behind one of the tables to engage 2 archers at once. This proved an effective strategy, as the archers lacked a melee attack and didn't risk taking OAs. They tended to fail their disengagement checks. It did draw the ire of the remaining archers, who all peppered him with arrows. Speaking of which, a bunch of mooks is more dangerous than a single monster. Taking mooks out early to reduce the sheer number of attacks they make is probably a good strategy.
Perhaps this is just because I didn't roll a 17+ the whole battle, but I'm considering replacing First Strike with Two-Weapon Mastery. This would make melee vs ranged more competitive (Rangers that use Dex for melee attacks still use Str for the damage, making ranged weapons more damaging, but with TWM at least the melee attacks would be more accurate). Then again, the odds are really stacked against PCs at the beginning of combat, and First Strike is a good way (albeit an unreliable one) of dishing out some alpha strike damage. Maybe I will keep First Strike since it's a unique tool in Beriogelir's arsenal, and I built him for versatility. Plus it fits with his geurilla commander background (striking first, fast, and hard).
Wizard
Brynna arguably saved the day in this fight, easily landing attacks most reliably. Yay for Energy Bolt targeting PD! At first level its damage is pretty impressive, too, although that'll get outstripped at 2nd (and become competitive again at 3rd, when it gets upgraded to a 3rd level spell). From a visual perspective choosing energy types also made it feel like she had more spells. That alone makes me favor this over Magic Missile.
Brynna opened the fight with Blur, when it became pretty obvious that Derndolfin was getting focus-fired. It prevented 2 or 3 attacks, which is ok I guess, but a 20% miss chance just isn't that much. My Command spell missed afterwards, too. I thought about blowing Sleep, but figured it would be unrealistic for a Wizard to blow 2 dailies in a baseline fight against some kobolds.
Remember back when I talked about how Fighters have a tough time protecting squishies? Yeah, Brynna got attacked near the end of the battle, after Derndolfin was down. Tharis couldn't intercept. She only took one attack before disengaging and hiding behind Tharis, but a Wizard engaged in melee that can't disengage will crumple like paper in just a round or two. And Brynna has Toughness!!! I think the key here will be to use free-form narrative to describe measures taken to set up a "safety net;" duck behind cover, climb a tree or a ledge, or use defensive spells on yourself. Control spells like Sleep will also ensure that there aren't many "spare" monsters that can go after you. Unlike 4E, Wizards can't scrounge up decent AC here, and perhaps that's as it should be.
General Comments
The most striking revelation was that accuracy in this game is pretty huge, which I'm not sure I like. The baseline AC for a level 1 monster is 17 (though the kobold warriors had 18). My characters either had a +4 or +5 attack bonus (depending on whether they started with 16 or 18 post-racial attack stat), which meant that in round 1 they needed a 12 or 13 to hit a baseline monster (and a 13 or 14 to hit the kobold warriors!). That's...too much. Even by round 4 when the Escalation Die has a pretty major affect (+3) they still needed a 9 or 10 (10 or 11 to hit the warrior), which is less accurate than the vast majority of current 4E characters without an escalation die. I say current because accuracy was balanced around 50% when the game was first released, but various fixes (most famously the Expertise feats and Superior Implement Training) boosted that because players didn't like missing so much. I'd make the same argument again; hitting is more fun than missing, so I'd personally prefer monster AC to be a point or two lower. As it stands, I fear that maxing your prime stat might become a bit too important, even despite the fact that 3 different ability scores determine each of your defenses.
Of course to keep things challenging monster attack bonuses are higher, while AC for many classes is actually a bit on the low side (Bard, I'm looking at you!). Baseline is +6 at level 1 according to the monster building table, but the kobolds were more accurate than most (the kobold archers were +7, while the warriors were +8). This made combat feel really dangerous, especially at the beginning, since enemies were constantly chipping away at your HP while nobody on team PC could seem to land a hit.
Perhaps this is because it was first level, but damage was also a bit on the low side. Maybe because level 1 HP is tripled? As levels are gained HP increases by 1 HP factor while damage also increases by 1 die per level, so damage might just seem low at 1st level because of the HP cushion.
Rounds go by fairly quickly, and this was with me drawing everything out on a paper map as it was happening so I could keep track of everyone. In an actual game the players would track their own characters, who they're engaged with, etc. Minis would probably be helpful (not necessarily on a grid, but just so enemies can be "based" with them to show who is engaged with whom).
Fighter
Poor Tharis spent so many rounds trying to intercept hits on Derndolfin, but he was often unable to pass the save to do so while engaged. And of course a Fighter is going to be engaged! Especially when the Fighter and his squishy ally are both engaged with the same enemy, there needs to be a stronger incentive for that enemy to NOT ignore the Fighter. The tools for squishy-protection are there, but they aren't terribly effective from what I've seen in play. I'd love it if Defensive Fighting could be applied to an ally instead, even at the price of an adventurer feat.
The maneuvers were fun, and I managed to trigger each of them once. It wasn't even immediately obvious which one I should use (well, that 18 made the choice of Precision Attack over Defensive Fighting pretty easy), especially given the difficulties of intercepting while engaged (which made Shield Bash really attractive). Unfortunately I never got to use Cleave or Tough as Iron (silly Bard was taking all the hits, and silly Wizard was taking all of the kills).
The Wood Elf racial ability is a really clever piece of game design. Every round you roll a die, and try to roll under whatever the Escalation Die is at. If you do, you get a free standard action. Each time you get a standard action, the die size increases by 1 (so after your first standard, which you got from rolling a d6, you start to roll a d8, and so on). Tharis managed to snag 1 free standard in 7 rounds of combat, which seems about right.
Bard
Derndolfin was the only character to go down in this fight, and to be fair I was playing the kobolds really smart and having them "go after the leader." I also figured that kobolds probably aren't too fond of Dwarves, so there was a bit of that at play as well. What soon became immediately obvious is that Bards are NOT frontline fighters. Engaged with 2 enemies for most of the fight, he was never really able to break free from both in order to launch a ranged spell, and I would have loved to use Soundburst or Befuddle. And yet, since those are daily spells most of the time the Bard will in on the frontline using his battle cries. With his below average HP and AC. His attack and damage isn't too hot either, since he has to split points between Strength and Charisma pretty equally in order to be effective with both attacks and spells.
As the target of many attacks, it would be really nice if Pull it Together! could be used on yourself. Derndolfin watched his HP steadily dwindle, and wasn't able to do much about it aside from using his standard action to rally. Surprisingly, a few times I wished I'd brought a Cleric to the party instead since they seem to be much sturdier frontliners. Maybe if the Bard had gotten an opportunity to bust out a daily spell I'd feel differently (they seem to be better than the Cleric's).
Ranger
This was NOT Beriogelir's day. He rolled about 5 natural 1's, which probably doesn't give me the best impression of the class's capabilities. He spent the beginning of the fight taking potshots with his bow, attacking a different enemy each time to try and trigger a crit via First Strike. Never happened, unfortunately. I think I was also only applying double attack to even hits at the beginning, when it should have been all even rolls. Or maybe I was just rolling a lot of odd numbers (coughonecough). In any case, it wasn't until the later rounds that I was actually throwing 2 attacks around.
Early on Beriogelir teleported behind one of the tables to engage 2 archers at once. This proved an effective strategy, as the archers lacked a melee attack and didn't risk taking OAs. They tended to fail their disengagement checks. It did draw the ire of the remaining archers, who all peppered him with arrows. Speaking of which, a bunch of mooks is more dangerous than a single monster. Taking mooks out early to reduce the sheer number of attacks they make is probably a good strategy.
Perhaps this is just because I didn't roll a 17+ the whole battle, but I'm considering replacing First Strike with Two-Weapon Mastery. This would make melee vs ranged more competitive (Rangers that use Dex for melee attacks still use Str for the damage, making ranged weapons more damaging, but with TWM at least the melee attacks would be more accurate). Then again, the odds are really stacked against PCs at the beginning of combat, and First Strike is a good way (albeit an unreliable one) of dishing out some alpha strike damage. Maybe I will keep First Strike since it's a unique tool in Beriogelir's arsenal, and I built him for versatility. Plus it fits with his geurilla commander background (striking first, fast, and hard).
Wizard
Brynna arguably saved the day in this fight, easily landing attacks most reliably. Yay for Energy Bolt targeting PD! At first level its damage is pretty impressive, too, although that'll get outstripped at 2nd (and become competitive again at 3rd, when it gets upgraded to a 3rd level spell). From a visual perspective choosing energy types also made it feel like she had more spells. That alone makes me favor this over Magic Missile.
Brynna opened the fight with Blur, when it became pretty obvious that Derndolfin was getting focus-fired. It prevented 2 or 3 attacks, which is ok I guess, but a 20% miss chance just isn't that much. My Command spell missed afterwards, too. I thought about blowing Sleep, but figured it would be unrealistic for a Wizard to blow 2 dailies in a baseline fight against some kobolds.
Remember back when I talked about how Fighters have a tough time protecting squishies? Yeah, Brynna got attacked near the end of the battle, after Derndolfin was down. Tharis couldn't intercept. She only took one attack before disengaging and hiding behind Tharis, but a Wizard engaged in melee that can't disengage will crumple like paper in just a round or two. And Brynna has Toughness!!! I think the key here will be to use free-form narrative to describe measures taken to set up a "safety net;" duck behind cover, climb a tree or a ledge, or use defensive spells on yourself. Control spells like Sleep will also ensure that there aren't many "spare" monsters that can go after you. Unlike 4E, Wizards can't scrounge up decent AC here, and perhaps that's as it should be.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
13th Age Character Generation
Over the last several days I've been slowly working on four 13th Age characters to get a better sense for how the system works. The mechanical bits that normally comprise most of character generation in other games can be rolled up very quickly. You buy (or roll) ability scores, and these (along with class) determine most of your combat stats. Since weapon and armor stats are class-based you don't have to weigh the pros and cons of leather vs studded leather vs hide or a rapier vs a longsword vs a battleaxe. All light armor and all one handed melee weapons are generally going to be the same statistically (but different based on class; for example, Rogues deal 1D8 damage with daggers, the same amount that Fighters deal with a longsword!). Then you choose 3 class talents and, if applicable, spells/maneuvers/powers. Much more time is spent on the "fluff," like your backgrounds, one unique thing, and icon relationships. To get a game moving quickly with first-timers, you can probably figure most of that stuff out later as the game plays out and everyone gets a better sense of their characters. Perhaps replace generic backgrounds with more specific, fleshed out options.
I'll go the route of "show, don't tell" and post all 4 of the characters I came up with. This should give people a good idea for what a 13th Age character actually looks like. Note: I house-ruled that everyone gains 8 background points to start out with, instead of the outdated system where they're tied to class.
Beriogelir Celebduin
Male Half-Elf Ranger
One Unique Thing: Only Half-Elf to ever manifest the Aspects of the Three Shards. He has a Wood Elf mother (and was raised as a Wood Elf), has the magical abilities of the High Elves (Highblood Teleport as racial power), and has a mystical connection to a Drow Living Sanctum, which most Drow can't even access.
Backgrounds:
Kirjani Tribesfolk (nomadic) +4
Circle of the Hunting Wolf guerilla commander +4
Sailor +3
Icon Relationships:
Elf Queen 1D conflicted
High Druid 2D positive
Feat: Further Backgrounding (3 extra background points)
Talents:
Double Melee Attack (the 13th Age version of Twin Strike)
Double Ranged Attack (as above)
Lethal Hunter - First Strike (high crits the first time you attack any given enemy)
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
14, 14, 18, 10, 14, 8
Defenses: AC 17, PD 13, MD 10
HP 27, Recovery d8
Escalation 2: Half-Elves now get their own racial power instead of choosing on the fly between human and elf powers. I elected to keep Highblood Teleport as Beriogelir's power simply because it fits his One Unique Thing.
Note: As you can tell based on my choice of talents, I'm going for the flexible generalist Ranger who can mix it up in melee just as well as he can pepper things with arrows. This is the first system where I haven't felt like I was being punished for going that route. Yeah, I gave up another talent I could specialize in for one style or the other, but I've arguably added some tactical depth onto what would normally be a pretty simple class. For example, if I anticipate the need to protect a squishy by intercepting, I can more easily do that if I'm not engaged with another enemy (i.e. shooting stuff). Once I take the hit for them, I can whip out my swords and kill things pretty much just as well. It's also interesting from an HP management perspective; do I open myself up to attacks in melee or stay safe? Do I wade into melee because the Fighter's taking too much damage? IMO the flexible style offers more meaningful choices than having an animal companion, which is the book's example of a slightly more complex Ranger.
Brynna Farglade
Female Human Wizard
One Unique Thing: Randomly hears voices of the dead, but cannot control it.
Backgrounds:
Arcane Academy of Axis Fellow +4
Archaeologist +4
Icon Relationships:
Lich King 2D negative
Archmage 1D conflicted
Feat: Toughness, Energy Bolt Adventurer feat
Class Features:
Cantrips
Ritual Magic
Talents:
Cantrip Mastery (cast more cantrips, and as quick action instead of standard)
High Arcana (faster rituals, 1/battle countermagic to cancel and enemy spell as a reaction)
Familiar - Screech Owl (can roam 1/day, grants +2 to perception related checks, can guard while you sleep, if unreliably).
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
10, 10, 12, 18, 16, 12
Defenses: AC 12, PD 10, MD 15, Saves +1
HP 21, Recovery d6
Spells:
Energy Bolt (at will)
Sleep
Acid Arrow
Command (echo spell, so it can only be used after a daily)
either Charm Person, Blur, or Utility, depending on the day
Note: In EE2 Humans get a bonus feat.
Tharis Evendim
Male Wood Elf Fighter
One Unique Thing: Can transform into a house cat at-will, and leads a network of feline spies in Axis as the Prince of Cats.
Backgrounds:
Famous Athlete (Kari, which is like soccer in the forest) +3
Cat-like +3
Silverleaf Knight +2
Icon Relationships:
Elf Queen 1D positive
Prince of Shadows 2D conflicted
Feat: Strong Recovery (can re-roll a recovery die whenever you use a recovery)
Talents:
Tough as Iron (Rally, which is basically second wind, as a quick action)
Intercept (Fighters are better at it if they choose this)
Cleave (extra attack 1/battle when you drop a non-mook)
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
16, 14, 16, 10, 12, 12
Defenses: AC 19, PD 13, MD 11
HP 30, Recovery d10
Maneuvers:
Defensive Fighting (AC bonus on natural even rolls)
Shield Bash (pop target off of you on natural even rolls)
Precision Attack (extra damage equal to Dex mod on hits of natural 16+)
Derndolfin Dwarrowhelm
Male Dwarf Bard
One Unique Thing: Neither he nor anything he's wearing can get wet (an homage to Tom Bombadil, whom I imagine Derndolfin being similar to in some ways).
Backgrounds:
Dwarven Drum Corps +4
Well-travelled +4
Quixotic +3
Icon Relationships:
Dwarf King 1D positive
The Three 2D negative
Feat: Further Backgrounding (3 extra background points)
Talents:
Jack of Spells (choose a spell from another class)
Spellsinger (choose another song or spell; doesn't count against your normal limit)
Storyteller (1/scene tell a brief story that allows an ally to re-roll their relationship dice).
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
16, 12, 10, 14, 12, 16
Defenses: AC 14, PD 11, MD 13
HP 24, Recovery d8
Battle Cries:
Break Off! (ally can disengage on your even rolls for a basic attack)
Pull It Together! (natural 11+ 2x/battle ally can heal w/ recovery)
Songs:
Song of Heroes (grants nearby allies a +1 to attack while it's sustained)
Spells:
Befuddle (confuse target on a hit, daze on a miss. Confuse is kinda like 4E's dominate, so it's good).
Soundburst (Area attack that also dazes)
Cure Wounds (Jacked from Cleric, you or an ally can use a recovery. Don't worry, this is a quick action).
Escalation 2: Clerics aren't the only healers now! The second revision of the EE rules added Pull It Together!, which is a battle cry reminiscent of the Cleric's "Heal" class feature. I'm surprised the designers didn't follow the 4E "2/enc heal" pattern right from the start for all leader-type classes.
On the Genius of Backgrounds
In case it wasn't obvious before, this should give you a good idea of how backgrounds work. It's completely open-ended, so the player can write down anything they can imagine. I'm listening to an actual-play podcast right now where the Barbarian's backgrounds are Force is Always the Answer, Disconcertingly Popular, and Right Place, Right Time.
Basically, if you can justify that an ability (skill) roll can make use of a relevant background, you get the bonus. So if the party needs some knots tied, Beriogelir can invoke his Sailor background to do it. Kirjani Tribesfolk would cover all of his Ranger-y skills like survival, natural lore, tracking, etc. since they're nomadic hunter-gatherers, and guerilla commander not only covers things like stealth and battle tactics, but also social checks if he's in charge of anything or in a position to be giving out orders.
Brynna can use Arcane Academy of Axis Fellow for any kind of magical lore, but can also leverage connections by name-dropping for dramatic effect, using their library, etc. I though archaeology would be cool because it could cover not only dungeoneering type stuff, but also anthropological lore. I could probably even make a case for pulling some Indiana Jones shenanigans (the game is all about being Big Damn Heroes, after all).
Tharis' Famous Athlete background can apply to any Cha check where people would recognize him, as well as most physical, kick-in-the-door or endurance type checks. Cat-like could cover things like stealth, perception, balance, and even certain types of animal lore. Silverleaf Knight is pretty much the same idea as the "Knight" background in the D&D 5E playtest, so it would provide bonuses to things like animal handling (knights tend to ride horses), diplomacy, heraldic lore, and possibly religious lore. Specifying that he's a Silverleaf Knight not only provides flavor, but gives him the option of using the specific organization's contacts and/or reputation to his advantage. This system is so cool!
For Derndolfin, Dwarven Drum Corps provides the all-important musical/performance background that Bards tend to use a lot, but it also incorporates military skills and knowledge. Well-traveled is a sort of folklore/Bardic knowledge catch-all, but it could also potentially apply to endurance checks to keep moving, or even situations where knowledge of boats, wagons, etc. might be useful. Quixotic is one that I figure would work like many traits in The One Ring. You get things like Generous, Gruff, Forthright, etc.; qualities that don't really represent active skills or knowledge, but still affect how you go about doing things nevertheless. Any time he wants to do something impulsive, irrational, or mildly insane I could justify adding this bonus to any checks he makes. Imagine a Barbarian with an Anger Management Issues background! Seriously, there is an infinite amount of fun to be had with this.
I'll go the route of "show, don't tell" and post all 4 of the characters I came up with. This should give people a good idea for what a 13th Age character actually looks like. Note: I house-ruled that everyone gains 8 background points to start out with, instead of the outdated system where they're tied to class.
Beriogelir Celebduin
Male Half-Elf Ranger
One Unique Thing: Only Half-Elf to ever manifest the Aspects of the Three Shards. He has a Wood Elf mother (and was raised as a Wood Elf), has the magical abilities of the High Elves (Highblood Teleport as racial power), and has a mystical connection to a Drow Living Sanctum, which most Drow can't even access.
Backgrounds:
Kirjani Tribesfolk (nomadic) +4
Circle of the Hunting Wolf guerilla commander +4
Sailor +3
Icon Relationships:
Elf Queen 1D conflicted
High Druid 2D positive
Feat: Further Backgrounding (3 extra background points)
Talents:
Double Melee Attack (the 13th Age version of Twin Strike)
Double Ranged Attack (as above)
Lethal Hunter - First Strike (high crits the first time you attack any given enemy)
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
14, 14, 18, 10, 14, 8
Defenses: AC 17, PD 13, MD 10
HP 27, Recovery d8
Escalation 2: Half-Elves now get their own racial power instead of choosing on the fly between human and elf powers. I elected to keep Highblood Teleport as Beriogelir's power simply because it fits his One Unique Thing.
Note: As you can tell based on my choice of talents, I'm going for the flexible generalist Ranger who can mix it up in melee just as well as he can pepper things with arrows. This is the first system where I haven't felt like I was being punished for going that route. Yeah, I gave up another talent I could specialize in for one style or the other, but I've arguably added some tactical depth onto what would normally be a pretty simple class. For example, if I anticipate the need to protect a squishy by intercepting, I can more easily do that if I'm not engaged with another enemy (i.e. shooting stuff). Once I take the hit for them, I can whip out my swords and kill things pretty much just as well. It's also interesting from an HP management perspective; do I open myself up to attacks in melee or stay safe? Do I wade into melee because the Fighter's taking too much damage? IMO the flexible style offers more meaningful choices than having an animal companion, which is the book's example of a slightly more complex Ranger.
Brynna Farglade
Female Human Wizard
One Unique Thing: Randomly hears voices of the dead, but cannot control it.
Backgrounds:
Arcane Academy of Axis Fellow +4
Archaeologist +4
Icon Relationships:
Lich King 2D negative
Archmage 1D conflicted
Feat: Toughness, Energy Bolt Adventurer feat
Class Features:
Cantrips
Ritual Magic
Talents:
Cantrip Mastery (cast more cantrips, and as quick action instead of standard)
High Arcana (faster rituals, 1/battle countermagic to cancel and enemy spell as a reaction)
Familiar - Screech Owl (can roam 1/day, grants +2 to perception related checks, can guard while you sleep, if unreliably).
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
10, 10, 12, 18, 16, 12
Defenses: AC 12, PD 10, MD 15, Saves +1
HP 21, Recovery d6
Spells:
Energy Bolt (at will)
Sleep
Acid Arrow
Command (echo spell, so it can only be used after a daily)
either Charm Person, Blur, or Utility, depending on the day
Note: In EE2 Humans get a bonus feat.
Tharis Evendim
Male Wood Elf Fighter
One Unique Thing: Can transform into a house cat at-will, and leads a network of feline spies in Axis as the Prince of Cats.
Backgrounds:
Famous Athlete (Kari, which is like soccer in the forest) +3
Cat-like +3
Silverleaf Knight +2
Icon Relationships:
Elf Queen 1D positive
Prince of Shadows 2D conflicted
Feat: Strong Recovery (can re-roll a recovery die whenever you use a recovery)
Talents:
Tough as Iron (Rally, which is basically second wind, as a quick action)
Intercept (Fighters are better at it if they choose this)
Cleave (extra attack 1/battle when you drop a non-mook)
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
16, 14, 16, 10, 12, 12
Defenses: AC 19, PD 13, MD 11
HP 30, Recovery d10
Maneuvers:
Defensive Fighting (AC bonus on natural even rolls)
Shield Bash (pop target off of you on natural even rolls)
Precision Attack (extra damage equal to Dex mod on hits of natural 16+)
Derndolfin Dwarrowhelm
Male Dwarf Bard
One Unique Thing: Neither he nor anything he's wearing can get wet (an homage to Tom Bombadil, whom I imagine Derndolfin being similar to in some ways).
Backgrounds:
Dwarven Drum Corps +4
Well-travelled +4
Quixotic +3
Icon Relationships:
Dwarf King 1D positive
The Three 2D negative
Feat: Further Backgrounding (3 extra background points)
Talents:
Jack of Spells (choose a spell from another class)
Spellsinger (choose another song or spell; doesn't count against your normal limit)
Storyteller (1/scene tell a brief story that allows an ally to re-roll their relationship dice).
Abilities (in order of Str, Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha)
16, 12, 10, 14, 12, 16
Defenses: AC 14, PD 11, MD 13
HP 24, Recovery d8
Battle Cries:
Break Off! (ally can disengage on your even rolls for a basic attack)
Pull It Together! (natural 11+ 2x/battle ally can heal w/ recovery)
Songs:
Song of Heroes (grants nearby allies a +1 to attack while it's sustained)
Spells:
Befuddle (confuse target on a hit, daze on a miss. Confuse is kinda like 4E's dominate, so it's good).
Soundburst (Area attack that also dazes)
Cure Wounds (Jacked from Cleric, you or an ally can use a recovery. Don't worry, this is a quick action).
Escalation 2: Clerics aren't the only healers now! The second revision of the EE rules added Pull It Together!, which is a battle cry reminiscent of the Cleric's "Heal" class feature. I'm surprised the designers didn't follow the 4E "2/enc heal" pattern right from the start for all leader-type classes.
On the Genius of Backgrounds
In case it wasn't obvious before, this should give you a good idea of how backgrounds work. It's completely open-ended, so the player can write down anything they can imagine. I'm listening to an actual-play podcast right now where the Barbarian's backgrounds are Force is Always the Answer, Disconcertingly Popular, and Right Place, Right Time.
Basically, if you can justify that an ability (skill) roll can make use of a relevant background, you get the bonus. So if the party needs some knots tied, Beriogelir can invoke his Sailor background to do it. Kirjani Tribesfolk would cover all of his Ranger-y skills like survival, natural lore, tracking, etc. since they're nomadic hunter-gatherers, and guerilla commander not only covers things like stealth and battle tactics, but also social checks if he's in charge of anything or in a position to be giving out orders.
Brynna can use Arcane Academy of Axis Fellow for any kind of magical lore, but can also leverage connections by name-dropping for dramatic effect, using their library, etc. I though archaeology would be cool because it could cover not only dungeoneering type stuff, but also anthropological lore. I could probably even make a case for pulling some Indiana Jones shenanigans (the game is all about being Big Damn Heroes, after all).
Tharis' Famous Athlete background can apply to any Cha check where people would recognize him, as well as most physical, kick-in-the-door or endurance type checks. Cat-like could cover things like stealth, perception, balance, and even certain types of animal lore. Silverleaf Knight is pretty much the same idea as the "Knight" background in the D&D 5E playtest, so it would provide bonuses to things like animal handling (knights tend to ride horses), diplomacy, heraldic lore, and possibly religious lore. Specifying that he's a Silverleaf Knight not only provides flavor, but gives him the option of using the specific organization's contacts and/or reputation to his advantage. This system is so cool!
For Derndolfin, Dwarven Drum Corps provides the all-important musical/performance background that Bards tend to use a lot, but it also incorporates military skills and knowledge. Well-traveled is a sort of folklore/Bardic knowledge catch-all, but it could also potentially apply to endurance checks to keep moving, or even situations where knowledge of boats, wagons, etc. might be useful. Quixotic is one that I figure would work like many traits in The One Ring. You get things like Generous, Gruff, Forthright, etc.; qualities that don't really represent active skills or knowledge, but still affect how you go about doing things nevertheless. Any time he wants to do something impulsive, irrational, or mildly insane I could justify adding this bonus to any checks he makes. Imagine a Barbarian with an Anger Management Issues background! Seriously, there is an infinite amount of fun to be had with this.
Monday, July 16, 2012
More Thoughts on 13th Age
I had a day off today, so I decided to mess around with character generation a little bit to better familiarize myself with the system. My Fighter (a Wood Elf named Tharis) went pretty much how I expected. For my second character I decided to finally work up a concept that I've had in my head for a while. Derndolfin Dwarrowhelm is a Dwarven Bard with a mildly quixotic personality. He arguably has too high an opinion of himself, but he's jovial, generous, and always has a good story to tell so most people don't mind. Plus his name just begs to be used in a work of alliterative meter. He looks fun mechanically, but Bard's are kind of all over the place and I'm not sure how effective he'll be.
In general character optimization (I'm assuming combat optimization here) is not intuitive, and it doesn't seem like there are any "easy answers." True, like with any game some choices are better than others, but the way abilities work encourages you to spread your points out instead of focusing them on one or two really high abilities. AC, PD, and MD are all based on the middle of 3 different scores (Con, Dex, and Wis for AC, Str, Con, and Dex for PD, and Int, Wis, and Cha for MD). While this theoretically makes each score less important and encourages more build variety, those with an eye toward optimization might feel restricted. Unless your class uses Int or Cha for something, any other score is probably a better choice to invest in. You could also make the argument that the system doesn't really cater to optimizers in the first place, which is actually fine by me but I can see some people not liking that.
The last thing I'll discuss is the Ranger, with the caveat that I'm looking at the class in a vacuum and there may be other variables that would reveal themselves in play. This point runs counter to my last point in some ways, because the Ranger (while simple) looks like it will emulate 4E's incarnation in that it's a huge damage monster. A Ranger with an Animal Companion and either Double Melee Attack or Double Ranged Attack will be pumping out 2 or 3 attacks each round. The animal companion gets its own attack (either before you or after you, depending on what kind you have), and then on natural even results you get to make a second attack via your Double Attack option. Given how 13th Age damage scales (each attack deals a number of damage dice equal to your level), this will add up quick. Especially since the difference between a two-hander and a bow or 1-handed sword is 1d10 vs 1d8, and both of the Ranger's attacks get to add Str/Dex to damage. Thankfully the Animal Companion's damage is lower, but it's still nothing to sneeze at.
The Animal Companion also shares healing when you spend a recovery and it's next to you, so combined with it's separate HP pool it's actually a very efficient damage sink as well. The Ranger's base AC in light armor is also only 1 less than the Fighter's in heavy (14 vs 15), so defensively he's in pretty good shape too. Things get even sillier when you bring the poor Barbarian into the mix, since he only has a base AC of 12 in light armor (though admittedly he does get to use shields without penalty), doesn't get the damage sink capacity of the animal companion, and for some reason has the same base HP factor as the Ranger (instead of a higher one like the Fighter and Paladin). At least his recovery die is bigger, but he's still behind the Ranger defensively. He also gets a talent that lets him use a recovery as a free action when he hits 1/battle, but the Ranger's HP efficiency is still better than this (not guaranteed, because you have to hit) self-heal and it comes with the animal companion's extra attack. And if you were wondering, no the Barbarian does not make up for it with better damage (as far as I can tell). They can cleave once per battle (if they're adjacent to a second enemy when they drop the first), compared to the Ranger making a second attack on EVERY even roll. They also have a few talents that add some damage dice to their attacks situationally, and one that lets them split damage between two foes (but each takes half of the original damage).
Perhaps Rage (which lets the Barbarian roll 2d20s for his attacks in the battle he uses it, and increases his crit range to boot) gives him enough spike damage to make him worthwhile, but as far as I can tell the class is noticeably weaker than the Ranger. I'm not sure which class is closer to the baseline of the others in the game (i.e. is the Ranger really strong, or is the Barbarian just weak). Part of the reason I focused on just these two is that they're the simplest classes in the game, after all. Perhaps most other classes lie between the two on the class balance spectrum, but it's still a noticeable problem since these two types of characters often have very similar combat niches.
In general character optimization (I'm assuming combat optimization here) is not intuitive, and it doesn't seem like there are any "easy answers." True, like with any game some choices are better than others, but the way abilities work encourages you to spread your points out instead of focusing them on one or two really high abilities. AC, PD, and MD are all based on the middle of 3 different scores (Con, Dex, and Wis for AC, Str, Con, and Dex for PD, and Int, Wis, and Cha for MD). While this theoretically makes each score less important and encourages more build variety, those with an eye toward optimization might feel restricted. Unless your class uses Int or Cha for something, any other score is probably a better choice to invest in. You could also make the argument that the system doesn't really cater to optimizers in the first place, which is actually fine by me but I can see some people not liking that.
The last thing I'll discuss is the Ranger, with the caveat that I'm looking at the class in a vacuum and there may be other variables that would reveal themselves in play. This point runs counter to my last point in some ways, because the Ranger (while simple) looks like it will emulate 4E's incarnation in that it's a huge damage monster. A Ranger with an Animal Companion and either Double Melee Attack or Double Ranged Attack will be pumping out 2 or 3 attacks each round. The animal companion gets its own attack (either before you or after you, depending on what kind you have), and then on natural even results you get to make a second attack via your Double Attack option. Given how 13th Age damage scales (each attack deals a number of damage dice equal to your level), this will add up quick. Especially since the difference between a two-hander and a bow or 1-handed sword is 1d10 vs 1d8, and both of the Ranger's attacks get to add Str/Dex to damage. Thankfully the Animal Companion's damage is lower, but it's still nothing to sneeze at.
The Animal Companion also shares healing when you spend a recovery and it's next to you, so combined with it's separate HP pool it's actually a very efficient damage sink as well. The Ranger's base AC in light armor is also only 1 less than the Fighter's in heavy (14 vs 15), so defensively he's in pretty good shape too. Things get even sillier when you bring the poor Barbarian into the mix, since he only has a base AC of 12 in light armor (though admittedly he does get to use shields without penalty), doesn't get the damage sink capacity of the animal companion, and for some reason has the same base HP factor as the Ranger (instead of a higher one like the Fighter and Paladin). At least his recovery die is bigger, but he's still behind the Ranger defensively. He also gets a talent that lets him use a recovery as a free action when he hits 1/battle, but the Ranger's HP efficiency is still better than this (not guaranteed, because you have to hit) self-heal and it comes with the animal companion's extra attack. And if you were wondering, no the Barbarian does not make up for it with better damage (as far as I can tell). They can cleave once per battle (if they're adjacent to a second enemy when they drop the first), compared to the Ranger making a second attack on EVERY even roll. They also have a few talents that add some damage dice to their attacks situationally, and one that lets them split damage between two foes (but each takes half of the original damage).
Perhaps Rage (which lets the Barbarian roll 2d20s for his attacks in the battle he uses it, and increases his crit range to boot) gives him enough spike damage to make him worthwhile, but as far as I can tell the class is noticeably weaker than the Ranger. I'm not sure which class is closer to the baseline of the others in the game (i.e. is the Ranger really strong, or is the Barbarian just weak). Part of the reason I focused on just these two is that they're the simplest classes in the game, after all. Perhaps most other classes lie between the two on the class balance spectrum, but it's still a noticeable problem since these two types of characters often have very similar combat niches.
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