This is the first article with the "Mazarbul Bestiary" tag. This series is pretty self-explanatory; I'll provide unique monsters, enemies, or NPCs for the various game systems that I cover. We'll kick things off with a custom creation for 13th Age.
I created the Iron Sea Lobster Behemoth to be a solo that isn't a solo. The main body of the creature is a Huge 5th level creature, but it has two claws that act as 4th level spoilers, as well as 6 tentacles that act as a group of 5th level mooks. So while it's mechanically multiple monsters, it's narratively just one. This solves the action economy problems of solos in D&D 4E, but it's admittedly not an elegant solution for every large creature. It works for a giant lobster because everybody's seen crabs walking around on the beach with missing claws, and it's feasible to say that even if the body is killed the claws might still reflexively attack (though I'd advise any GMs running this to just end the encounter when the body is killed, even if there are claws and/or tentacles left). Plus the tentacles are supposed to evoke a Cthulu-esque vibe. I certainly wouldn't use this option with a dragon, for example.
Iron Sea Lobster Behemoth Body
Huge 5th Level Troop Initiative +7
Fear Aura 24 HP
Stomping Scuttle + 10 vs AC (3 attacks) - 18 damage
R Acidic Brine (1d4 nearby enemies in a group) +10 vs PD - 15 acid damage and 5 ongoing.
Resist 16+ Fire
AC 20
PD 19 HP 220
MD 15
Claws x2
4th Level Spoiler Initiative +8
Special: the claws can intercept independently
Grabbing Claw +9 vs AC - 14 damage
Natural Even Hit: The target is grabbed (-5 to disengage checks unless the target hits the claw with an attack first, and the target cannot make opportunity attacks or ranged attacks)
AC 21
PD 19 HP 56
MD -
Tentacles x6
5th Level Mook Initiative +8
Special: the tentacles can intercept independently
Stinging Grasp + 10 vs PD - 8 damage
16+: The target is also Dazed.
AC 20
PD 18 HP 18, 36, 54, 72, 80, 98
MD -
Building Battles
By default an Iron Sea Lobster Behemoth is most likely going to be encountered on the rocky shores east of the Sea Wall. As a solo it's designed to work alone, and since it's a pretty mindless, hunger-driven monstrosity it's unlikely to have any allies. Perhaps it could pop up as a 3rd party during a conflict (drawn by the sounds of battle, or by the scent of blood). To increase the threat level have the encounter take place in shallow water (or have the tides rapidly flow in during the battle). This way the claws can hold a PC underwater after they're grabbed, changing the tactical landscape to "lop off that claw before Bob dies!" Also keep in mind the ability of the claws and tentacles to intercept melee PCs. The lobster behemoth will do all it can to protect its soft underbelly, and that means keeping potential threats at a distance (or at least Dazed). It will probably seek out the squishiest PC to make a meal of, softening them up with its acidic brine, but it won't foolishly consume an unconscious meal while being attacked (it may try to drag it underwater though!).
Icons
The Diabolist: While the origins of Iron Sea Lobster Behemoths are unknown (as is the case with most of the monsters that drag their hefty forms out of the Iron Sea), the tolerance that the creatures have for fire have led some to suspect that they're spawned in underwater Hellholes. The Diabolist probably knows whether or not that's true, but she's not letting anyone else in on her secret. Some whisper that that's because even though they're of demonic origin, she's failed to control them.
The High Druid: Her forces have been guarding the Dragon Empire (or perhaps more accurately, the Wild Wood) from anything that gets over the Sea Wall. That includes these creatures, if one were to ever venture far enough from the sea to be a threat. Oddly enough, smugglers have brought back rumors of druids and their agents going beyond the Sea Wall to take lobster behemoths out. Such tales lend credence to the "demonic origins" theories, or at the very least suggest that they're not natural. Or maybe the druids are harvesting body parts for some ritualistic reason...
The Lich King: Didn't expect his name on this list, did you? He definitely animates skeletons, and exoskeletons are skeletons too. He's the only icon to have exerted control over lobster behemoths, albeit after they were already dead.
Adventure Hooks
Sea Wall Ruins - A scholar from Horizon has been reading up on the history of the ruins along the Sea Wall, and has reason to believe a legendary weapon lies there, after its wielder was slain defending the doomed fortress. What he didn't know was that the Iron Sea has recently eroded the shoreline right up to the walls of the fortress, which a lobster behemoth has claimed as its lair.
Quest for Caviar - A druid from the Blood Wood has put a call out to adventurers to collect lobster behemoth eggs. Several groups have already been sent out, but none have returned yet. Are the PCs hired by the druid to do what others could not, or by someone else who wants to see what the druid is up to? Does the High Druid herself even approve of this quest?
Origin Story - A hellhole near the Iron Sea (perhaps the mapped one south of the Spider Wood) has started emanating a briny, sea-air smell. Has it become flooded? Is there a lobster behemoth spawning there? Is the Lich King using this as a staging area for the creation of (exo)Skeleton minions? What does the Crusader have to say about the prospect of hellholes beneath the surface of the Iron Sea itself? These are the types of questions you'd have the luxury of asking if your pay grade was higher. Too bad you're just the guy they hired to scout it out.
Retrieval - Imperial soldiers patrolling the area outside of the fort on Cape Thunder were attacked by a lobster behemoth. One of them was killed, dragged underwater, and presumably eaten. Sad as that was, he happened to be carrying something very valuable that his companions would like back. They're sure as hell not going after the beast themselves, though.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Asteroid Mine Ambush
Introduction
This is the first article with the new "set-pieces" tag. So what does this tag mean? Episode 11 of the Order 66 Podcast (titled "The GM Holocron") promotes the idea of GMs keeping a campaign binder filled with various "set pieces," which are generic scenarios that you can inject into your game for when your players go off the rails, or if you tend towards a more improvisational style of GMing. Each set piece has some enemies statted out that can be re-skinned to fit the current situation, as well as a dynamic environment with plenty of things for the PCs to interact with. In short, it lets you add "planned" encounters to your game when you're winging it, preventing the boring or unbalanced stuff that a GM may come up with on-the-fly if they're put on the spot and can't think of anything interesting.
Because I've already expanded the scope of this blog since its inception (which was to cover D&D 4E), I'm planning on supporting multiple systems with this tag, and hopefully the set pieces will be generic enough that they can be injected into any game of similar genre. But to kick things off, we'll keep in theme with Order 66 and do a Star Wars set piece. Since a common problem that some players have with the system is making space combat exciting, the PCs will be piloting starfighters.
System
FFG's Star Wars: Edge of the Empire (or Age of Rebellion), though it can be pretty easily adapted to any space opera or sci-fi setting.
Scene
The PCs are in a facility that's part of an asteroid mining complex when it's attacked by some capital ships or warships. There's a starfighter hangar attached, and the PCs need to fly fighters to the main hangar to either get to their own ship, or find a ship with hyperdrive capabilities and escape.
Complications
A defense array with many turrets will funnel the fighters below their scaffolding, forcing everyone to fly amongst pipes, support beams, and some geothermal vents. This is where all the dogfighting is taking place. A capital ship is bombarding the main hangar, so there's time pressure to get there before it's destroyed. Optionally depending on the situation, the facility's inhabitants as well as the attackers are both adversaries to the PCs (I used this in game where the PCs were imprisoned in the facility)
Area
The mining complex is sited on a large asteroid at the edge of an asteroid field. There are multiple buildings on its surface, but the two main ones that concern the PCs are the one that they're in (which contains a small fighter hangar), and the main hangar. These buildings are at opposite ends of the defense system; flying above it would be suicide, so the PCs will have to maneuver through the support structures. Going around the defense system will place them in the asteroid field (the turrets cover all of the clear space), which will not only take longer but may arguably be more dangerous.
Optionally, the PCs may have to fight their way through the starting building to get to the starfighter hangar. This may be because the attackers boarded the facility already, or the defending inhabitants are simply adversaries of the PCs. They'll have to make their way through a large warehouse room containing crates upon crates of whatever materials are being mined on the asteroid (the crates stop about 2/3 of the way to the hangar doors, at Medium range from them). A large pipe has fallen from the ceiling due to a heavy hit from one of the capital ships, and is now on the ground across the warehouse venting hot steam (at Long range from the hangar doors). A loader crane sits on one side of the room (near the wall left or right of where the PCs start from) just before the pipe, and at the other end of the room are the hangar doors (at Extreme range from the starting point), which can be opened via computer terminals on the walls to either side.
Once the PCs get into their fighters and exit the hangar, they'll need to make it to the main hangar. While traversing under the defense system, PCs should be faced with at least 3 "checkpoints" where they'll need to make rolls. The first should be Piloting checks (Normal or Hard) to test how well they're able to maneuver through the support structures (failure should result in a minor collision). They should also move through an area of heavy dogfighting and be engaged by enemy fighters (with any maneuver requiring a Piloting check while dogfighting amongst the beams and pipes; add setback dice to this), and the third checkpoint should be moving through the geothermal vents (or broken piping that's venting flaming gas). After making it through, they'll need to either deal with the capital ship, or make it in and out of the hangar before it's completely destroyed. Remember to lead each "checkpoint" with some colorful narrative description to paint a vivid picture of how these fighters are forced to weave around all of these obstacles.
Once the PCs are in a ship and flying out of the main hangar, they should make a Piloting check as the capital ship blasts half of the exit apart.
Threats
In the facility, the PCs should see the silhouettes of a minion group on the other side of the steaming pipe. They can sneak past them by using the crates for most of the way, or they might use the crane or computer terminals to their advantage somehow (reward creativity!). If they stop the steam at one of the terminals, their enemies will know someone's present (but if they don't, they'll need to make Resilience, Coordination, or some other appropriate physical check to resist being scalded when they pass through). If they give away their position a stronger foe joins the fight (this will probably happen once they leave the cover of the crates even if they successfully bypass the minions).
When I ran this, I used B2 super battle droids for the minions, and a droideka for the strong enemy. Other options from the core rule book are Apprentice Bounty Hunters and either a Journeyman or Master hunter, Stormtroopers and a Stormtrooper Sergeant, or Pirate Crew and a Pirate Captain. The Pirates in particular make good generic enemies that can be reskinned as almost anything. Note that unless the group is very combat-capable, they should probably try to get past the strong enemy as quickly as possible as opposed to killing it.
For the starfighters, make sure that the opposing forces have different types (this is really easy if the attackers are Imperial, as they were when I ran this for my group, since you can simply use TIEs). It's important that whatever is in the hangar available for the PCs is not hyperspace-capable (because that would defeat the purpose of getting to the main hangar). CloakShapes and Headhunters are both good options, but I also threw in a double-seater Y-Wing without an astromech to make potentially engaging with a capital ship (I used Nebulon B's) less suicidal. I've found that running starfighters in minion groups of 2 or 3 makes for more exciting starfighter combat. Also remember that if the PCs opt to take the asteroid field, you'll want to spice it up by having a squadron of enemy fighters chase them in there.
Triumph
If attacking or being pursued while in the starfighters, blow up some support beams, a pipe, or an asteroid (or fly close to them if just Piloting) such that debris hits enemy ships, causing a minor collision.
In the warehouse, an action that might reasonably cause one of the crates to topple spills crushed ore somewhere really inconvenient for the enemies (perhaps even on top of one of the minions).
Despair
While Piloting, you suffer a major collision after being struck by debris or clipping a structure or asteroid.
If flying through the geothermal vents, the heat causes your cockpit to fog up, impairing vision.
This is the first article with the new "set-pieces" tag. So what does this tag mean? Episode 11 of the Order 66 Podcast (titled "The GM Holocron") promotes the idea of GMs keeping a campaign binder filled with various "set pieces," which are generic scenarios that you can inject into your game for when your players go off the rails, or if you tend towards a more improvisational style of GMing. Each set piece has some enemies statted out that can be re-skinned to fit the current situation, as well as a dynamic environment with plenty of things for the PCs to interact with. In short, it lets you add "planned" encounters to your game when you're winging it, preventing the boring or unbalanced stuff that a GM may come up with on-the-fly if they're put on the spot and can't think of anything interesting.
Because I've already expanded the scope of this blog since its inception (which was to cover D&D 4E), I'm planning on supporting multiple systems with this tag, and hopefully the set pieces will be generic enough that they can be injected into any game of similar genre. But to kick things off, we'll keep in theme with Order 66 and do a Star Wars set piece. Since a common problem that some players have with the system is making space combat exciting, the PCs will be piloting starfighters.
System
FFG's Star Wars: Edge of the Empire (or Age of Rebellion), though it can be pretty easily adapted to any space opera or sci-fi setting.
Scene
The PCs are in a facility that's part of an asteroid mining complex when it's attacked by some capital ships or warships. There's a starfighter hangar attached, and the PCs need to fly fighters to the main hangar to either get to their own ship, or find a ship with hyperdrive capabilities and escape.
Complications
A defense array with many turrets will funnel the fighters below their scaffolding, forcing everyone to fly amongst pipes, support beams, and some geothermal vents. This is where all the dogfighting is taking place. A capital ship is bombarding the main hangar, so there's time pressure to get there before it's destroyed. Optionally depending on the situation, the facility's inhabitants as well as the attackers are both adversaries to the PCs (I used this in game where the PCs were imprisoned in the facility)
Area
The mining complex is sited on a large asteroid at the edge of an asteroid field. There are multiple buildings on its surface, but the two main ones that concern the PCs are the one that they're in (which contains a small fighter hangar), and the main hangar. These buildings are at opposite ends of the defense system; flying above it would be suicide, so the PCs will have to maneuver through the support structures. Going around the defense system will place them in the asteroid field (the turrets cover all of the clear space), which will not only take longer but may arguably be more dangerous.
Optionally, the PCs may have to fight their way through the starting building to get to the starfighter hangar. This may be because the attackers boarded the facility already, or the defending inhabitants are simply adversaries of the PCs. They'll have to make their way through a large warehouse room containing crates upon crates of whatever materials are being mined on the asteroid (the crates stop about 2/3 of the way to the hangar doors, at Medium range from them). A large pipe has fallen from the ceiling due to a heavy hit from one of the capital ships, and is now on the ground across the warehouse venting hot steam (at Long range from the hangar doors). A loader crane sits on one side of the room (near the wall left or right of where the PCs start from) just before the pipe, and at the other end of the room are the hangar doors (at Extreme range from the starting point), which can be opened via computer terminals on the walls to either side.
Once the PCs get into their fighters and exit the hangar, they'll need to make it to the main hangar. While traversing under the defense system, PCs should be faced with at least 3 "checkpoints" where they'll need to make rolls. The first should be Piloting checks (Normal or Hard) to test how well they're able to maneuver through the support structures (failure should result in a minor collision). They should also move through an area of heavy dogfighting and be engaged by enemy fighters (with any maneuver requiring a Piloting check while dogfighting amongst the beams and pipes; add setback dice to this), and the third checkpoint should be moving through the geothermal vents (or broken piping that's venting flaming gas). After making it through, they'll need to either deal with the capital ship, or make it in and out of the hangar before it's completely destroyed. Remember to lead each "checkpoint" with some colorful narrative description to paint a vivid picture of how these fighters are forced to weave around all of these obstacles.
Once the PCs are in a ship and flying out of the main hangar, they should make a Piloting check as the capital ship blasts half of the exit apart.
Threats
In the facility, the PCs should see the silhouettes of a minion group on the other side of the steaming pipe. They can sneak past them by using the crates for most of the way, or they might use the crane or computer terminals to their advantage somehow (reward creativity!). If they stop the steam at one of the terminals, their enemies will know someone's present (but if they don't, they'll need to make Resilience, Coordination, or some other appropriate physical check to resist being scalded when they pass through). If they give away their position a stronger foe joins the fight (this will probably happen once they leave the cover of the crates even if they successfully bypass the minions).
When I ran this, I used B2 super battle droids for the minions, and a droideka for the strong enemy. Other options from the core rule book are Apprentice Bounty Hunters and either a Journeyman or Master hunter, Stormtroopers and a Stormtrooper Sergeant, or Pirate Crew and a Pirate Captain. The Pirates in particular make good generic enemies that can be reskinned as almost anything. Note that unless the group is very combat-capable, they should probably try to get past the strong enemy as quickly as possible as opposed to killing it.
For the starfighters, make sure that the opposing forces have different types (this is really easy if the attackers are Imperial, as they were when I ran this for my group, since you can simply use TIEs). It's important that whatever is in the hangar available for the PCs is not hyperspace-capable (because that would defeat the purpose of getting to the main hangar). CloakShapes and Headhunters are both good options, but I also threw in a double-seater Y-Wing without an astromech to make potentially engaging with a capital ship (I used Nebulon B's) less suicidal. I've found that running starfighters in minion groups of 2 or 3 makes for more exciting starfighter combat. Also remember that if the PCs opt to take the asteroid field, you'll want to spice it up by having a squadron of enemy fighters chase them in there.
Triumph
If attacking or being pursued while in the starfighters, blow up some support beams, a pipe, or an asteroid (or fly close to them if just Piloting) such that debris hits enemy ships, causing a minor collision.
In the warehouse, an action that might reasonably cause one of the crates to topple spills crushed ore somewhere really inconvenient for the enemies (perhaps even on top of one of the minions).
Despair
While Piloting, you suffer a major collision after being struck by debris or clipping a structure or asteroid.
If flying through the geothermal vents, the heat causes your cockpit to fog up, impairing vision.
Monday, December 30, 2013
New Year, New Look
Retrospective
It's hard to believe that I started this blog way back in 2009! It's come a long way since then, as is apparent from reading my first post. I had spent the previous year across the country in WA volunteering full time through AmeriCorps. I was an individual placement as opposed to the more common field crew, and so I found myself living in a strange city far from anyone I knew, and without a car to fully take advantage of the recreational opportunities the area offers. D&D 4E was in full swing, and I dove into the online community, followed all the new releases, contributed to character optimization discussions, and took advantage of the system's tactical combat engine to stage "solitaire" playtests aplenty. In short, having an overabundance of free time and nothing else to do with it allowed me to delve more deeply into this hobby than I had before.
Back in those days, this blog was just another outlet. Once I returned home, between seasonal jobs again, I got a campaign going (the Talamhlar campaign) and used the Chamber of Mazarbul as a platform to keep a record of the sessions. This was more for myself and any players in the group who were interested than anything else.
Then I got another remote field job, and 2010 was a very lean year for posting. I did a little bit of writing on 4E mechanics sporadically, but a combination of poor internet accessibility at my site, a lot of overtime during fire season, and a close enough proximity that I could visit home or friends on most weekends meant that my "obsession" with TTRPGs waned.
2011 was a year when I had a lot of time "between jobs." While this wasn't that great for my bank account, I was at home playing D&D regularly. At this point the Chamber of Mazarbul was still mostly used to record my group's sessions, this time for our GM-rotating campaign called The Red Frogs.
2012 was a bit of a transitional year for the blog, with a notable spike in total post count. The D&D Next playtest was generating a lot of hype, and in addition to that The One Ring served as my second introduction to RPGs that weren't D&D (fun fact; I played a campaign of Vampire: The Masquerade in college, but outside of playing in that game I didn't really invest much time exploring the system). The Edition Wars heated up, but instead of being focused on 3.x vs 4E it was more of an every edition for itself free-for-all. I read arguments from OSR (old school renaissance) grognards, fans of non-d20 systems, and all manner of other people whose interest seemed to be piqued by the possibility of having some input in the direction of D&D's 5th edition. I became less steadfastly loyal to 4E myself even as I grew tired of the very concept of edition warring, and I began to focus my energies on exploring other systems and analyzing what a given game brings to the table, and how its rules make that happen.
In short, I feel that my posting developed more substance, and I began to view the blog as more than just something to record my game sessions with. 2013 followed suit, with more emphasis on 13th Age and Edge of the Empire, and more willingness to tweak mechanics and home brew. That, and it broke 2012's record for number of posts (though not by much).
Looking Ahead
I've slowly come to realize that I enjoy using this blog to contribute to the online community, and as a way to explore game mechanics and examine various game systems. I didn't use it to log game sessions for the13th Age game that I ran, nor the Edge of the Empire game that I play in (and will be wrapping up soon). I'm not usually much for New Year's resolutions, but my goal for 2014 is to post more consistently, and increase the readership for the Chamber of Mazarbul. I'm having a lot of fun with my 13th Age Options series, and I'd like to continue with that in addition to creating more regularly updated columns. The vague idea I have floating around in my head right now is a series on generic set-pieces in an effort to provide useful content for GMs. The side effect is that this will help to get my own creative juices flowing and hopefully make me better at coming up with well-crafted set-pieces when I run games. Hopefully my posting rate for 2014 will not only beat 2013, but ideally I'd like to average about 2 articles a week, at least one of which is useful content for GMs.
By the time you're reading this you'll have noticed that I decided to change the look of this blog as well. The old color scheme was becoming a bit off-putting, and I wanted something in a calming light blue, with the text on a white background for increased readability. The background picture was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but when I saw it I thought of the Misty Mountains, which fit well given the title of the blog (the Chamber of Mazarbul is the ancient Dwarven hall of records in Moria). So hopefully you all enjoy the new color scheme, and I look forward to seeing what 2014 will bring!
It's hard to believe that I started this blog way back in 2009! It's come a long way since then, as is apparent from reading my first post. I had spent the previous year across the country in WA volunteering full time through AmeriCorps. I was an individual placement as opposed to the more common field crew, and so I found myself living in a strange city far from anyone I knew, and without a car to fully take advantage of the recreational opportunities the area offers. D&D 4E was in full swing, and I dove into the online community, followed all the new releases, contributed to character optimization discussions, and took advantage of the system's tactical combat engine to stage "solitaire" playtests aplenty. In short, having an overabundance of free time and nothing else to do with it allowed me to delve more deeply into this hobby than I had before.
Back in those days, this blog was just another outlet. Once I returned home, between seasonal jobs again, I got a campaign going (the Talamhlar campaign) and used the Chamber of Mazarbul as a platform to keep a record of the sessions. This was more for myself and any players in the group who were interested than anything else.
Then I got another remote field job, and 2010 was a very lean year for posting. I did a little bit of writing on 4E mechanics sporadically, but a combination of poor internet accessibility at my site, a lot of overtime during fire season, and a close enough proximity that I could visit home or friends on most weekends meant that my "obsession" with TTRPGs waned.
2011 was a year when I had a lot of time "between jobs." While this wasn't that great for my bank account, I was at home playing D&D regularly. At this point the Chamber of Mazarbul was still mostly used to record my group's sessions, this time for our GM-rotating campaign called The Red Frogs.
2012 was a bit of a transitional year for the blog, with a notable spike in total post count. The D&D Next playtest was generating a lot of hype, and in addition to that The One Ring served as my second introduction to RPGs that weren't D&D (fun fact; I played a campaign of Vampire: The Masquerade in college, but outside of playing in that game I didn't really invest much time exploring the system). The Edition Wars heated up, but instead of being focused on 3.x vs 4E it was more of an every edition for itself free-for-all. I read arguments from OSR (old school renaissance) grognards, fans of non-d20 systems, and all manner of other people whose interest seemed to be piqued by the possibility of having some input in the direction of D&D's 5th edition. I became less steadfastly loyal to 4E myself even as I grew tired of the very concept of edition warring, and I began to focus my energies on exploring other systems and analyzing what a given game brings to the table, and how its rules make that happen.
In short, I feel that my posting developed more substance, and I began to view the blog as more than just something to record my game sessions with. 2013 followed suit, with more emphasis on 13th Age and Edge of the Empire, and more willingness to tweak mechanics and home brew. That, and it broke 2012's record for number of posts (though not by much).
Looking Ahead
I've slowly come to realize that I enjoy using this blog to contribute to the online community, and as a way to explore game mechanics and examine various game systems. I didn't use it to log game sessions for the13th Age game that I ran, nor the Edge of the Empire game that I play in (and will be wrapping up soon). I'm not usually much for New Year's resolutions, but my goal for 2014 is to post more consistently, and increase the readership for the Chamber of Mazarbul. I'm having a lot of fun with my 13th Age Options series, and I'd like to continue with that in addition to creating more regularly updated columns. The vague idea I have floating around in my head right now is a series on generic set-pieces in an effort to provide useful content for GMs. The side effect is that this will help to get my own creative juices flowing and hopefully make me better at coming up with well-crafted set-pieces when I run games. Hopefully my posting rate for 2014 will not only beat 2013, but ideally I'd like to average about 2 articles a week, at least one of which is useful content for GMs.
By the time you're reading this you'll have noticed that I decided to change the look of this blog as well. The old color scheme was becoming a bit off-putting, and I wanted something in a calming light blue, with the text on a white background for increased readability. The background picture was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but when I saw it I thought of the Misty Mountains, which fit well given the title of the blog (the Chamber of Mazarbul is the ancient Dwarven hall of records in Moria). So hopefully you all enjoy the new color scheme, and I look forward to seeing what 2014 will bring!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Making the Most out of Knowledge Checks
Knowledge checks can often fall flat in tabletop RPGs, or at least this happens a lot in my games. Either the GM has information that they'd planned on giving out anyways, in which case calling for a Knowledge check can be a formality (and a frustrating one if it's failed), or the player requests to roll a Knowledge check and, put on the spot, the GM can't think of anything particularly interesting or impactful on the fly. While it can be cool to play the know-it-all, sometimes you just can't help feeling that you're not getting as much bang for your buck as players who have invested in more "active" skills.
I was skimming through Dungeon World today, and one of the GM Principles stuck with me: "ask [the PCs] questions and use the answers." Combined with one of the three bullet points on the GM's Agenda, "Play to find out what happens," a GM can make Knowledge checks a lot more interesting and engaging by soliciting player involvement.
What this means is that when a PC asks to roll a Knowledge check and you don't already have something in mind, if they succeed you can ask them to tell you what their character knows about the subject. If it ends up taking things in a completely different direction than you'd planned, well that's a great embodiment of "play to find out what happens." As an "explorer" type player, I like to learn details about the fictional world even when I'm GMing, and (for me at least) these types of twists make GMing a lot more enjoyable.
All of the sudden players might be scrambling to pick up some Knowledge skills for the chance to influence the narrative. There's a real, tangible benefit from the character's knowledge instead of some half-formed "fact" that often ends up being fairly pointless, if not entirely uninteresting, when the GM is forced to come up with something on the spot. Obviously this could potentially be abusable by certain types of players, and the GM should counter that without devaluing the skill by building off of the player's suggestion to keep it in-line power-wise, and/or varying the difficulty based on the specificity of the information. And ultimately, a roll should only be made where it's dramatically appropriate; players should know that they can't just knowledge-spam in an attempt to power-game (most players probably wouldn't go for that anyways).
Here are a few examples:
I was skimming through Dungeon World today, and one of the GM Principles stuck with me: "ask [the PCs] questions and use the answers." Combined with one of the three bullet points on the GM's Agenda, "Play to find out what happens," a GM can make Knowledge checks a lot more interesting and engaging by soliciting player involvement.
What this means is that when a PC asks to roll a Knowledge check and you don't already have something in mind, if they succeed you can ask them to tell you what their character knows about the subject. If it ends up taking things in a completely different direction than you'd planned, well that's a great embodiment of "play to find out what happens." As an "explorer" type player, I like to learn details about the fictional world even when I'm GMing, and (for me at least) these types of twists make GMing a lot more enjoyable.
All of the sudden players might be scrambling to pick up some Knowledge skills for the chance to influence the narrative. There's a real, tangible benefit from the character's knowledge instead of some half-formed "fact" that often ends up being fairly pointless, if not entirely uninteresting, when the GM is forced to come up with something on the spot. Obviously this could potentially be abusable by certain types of players, and the GM should counter that without devaluing the skill by building off of the player's suggestion to keep it in-line power-wise, and/or varying the difficulty based on the specificity of the information. And ultimately, a roll should only be made where it's dramatically appropriate; players should know that they can't just knowledge-spam in an attempt to power-game (most players probably wouldn't go for that anyways).
Here are a few examples:
- The party finds an ancient religious text in some old ruins. Instead of the GM answering a successful Knowledge check with "it's a history of X deity," they ask the player "it refers to X deity, what interesting fact or legend have you heard regarding them?" If the fact is relevant to the current adventure in some way, all the better!
- When encountering a new type of creature a PC rolls a knowledge check to learn about any possible weaknesses. With a success, the GM says "ok, you can tell me a little-known weakness of this creature." This should be kept narratively interesting; answers like "uhhhh, it's vulnerable to swords because I'm carrying a sword" are pretty lame. As a GM, you can build on that by saying "oh yes, there are tales from ancient Akaras that say the beast is vulnerable to swords. Of course, all swords from that time were made from Akaran steel, so they felt no need to specify that an 'Akaran blade' was the beast's true weakness." Instant story hook, and now when the PCs seek out an Akaran blade they'll have a tangible mechanical advantage against this creature.
You can take this idea even further by employing a variant of the "fail forward" philosophy. That is to say, failure is not simply a dead end, but leads to a different approach that needs to be taken or a pseudo-success but with complications. Say a PC fails their Knowledge check (or in a system like Edge of the Empire, perhaps they even succeeded with Threat or Despair). You can provide one fact, and then ask the player to provide an additional fact. Alternatively, you can have another player at the table provide one of the facts. Then you roll randomly to determine which of those facts is true, and which is false. The player will know that one of the facts is false (just not which one), but the character will probably think that both are true. Acting on misinformation can provide interesting (and sometimes hilarious) results, but the player can't complain too much since they got something true out of the deal, too.
Alternatively, the complication might be that the player provides just one fact and the GM rolls randomly to determine whether it's true or false. This works especially well if nobody at the table can think of a second fact right away, and you want to keep the game moving at a fast pace. It's worth noting that the "is it true?" technique shouldn't be used for all failed Knowledge checks, because it has the potential to become frustrating. You definitely don't want PCs to be afraid to attempt Knowledge checks! What's "too much" will vary group to group, but once every few sessions might be a good baseline to start at.
When the GM rolls randomly any die roll that offers a 50/50 result should do just fine, but in some games it might be interesting to make a special type of roll. The Force Die in Edge of the Empire springs to mind (the GM notes one of the facts, and if a dark side result is rolled it's false, with perhaps more severe consequences if it's a double dark side pip). The "degrees of truth" idea can also be used with the feat die in The One Ring, making the d12 roll potentially more interesting than a 50/50 roll using a d6 (if the Eye of Sauron or Gandalf rune are rolled, up the stakes).
Thursday, December 19, 2013
13th Age Options: The Ranger
The Ranger is an odd class from a design standpoint. While it's generally grouped with the simple classes (alongside Barbarian and Paladin), it's arguably the most complex of the three with multiple options for nabbing spells, an improvisational terrain stunt talent, and access to an animal companion that gives you two creatures to control. It's also the only class without any class features, and it doesn't have any powers either. To compensate many of its talents are on the stronger side compared with other classes, it has the best AC in light armor, can use Dex for melee attacks, and in the case of the animal companion feats it sets a precedent that not all feats need to be taken progressively.
The no class feature thing kind of bugs me, but I'm not about to alter a class so radically as to give it a class feature where it had none. However, considering that the book invites players to swap talents if it suits the story (even going so far as using the Ranger's Animal Companion as an example), it can start to feel like the Ranger gets the shaft. With no powers or class features to make it stand out from the crowd, why not just swap Ranger talents with a Fighter or another class?
A minimally disruptive way to fix this would be to homebrew a list of new feats, since Rangers already have a precedent for feat flexibility. This is also a good opportunity to fill another gap in the Ranger's design, which is a lack of mobility from a class that's typically seen as a wilderness skirmisher. Restrict these new mobility feats to being useable only while wearing light or no armor, and all of the sudden the Ranger's looking pretty nice since it's hands-down the best with light armor!
New Ranger Feats
Distraction
Special: Requires Animal Companion (all) OR Ranger's Pet (Adventurer only); only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: Once per battle you can pop free from an enemy that your Animal Companion or Pet is also engaged with.
Champion: If you're intercepted by an enemy, roll a normal save. On a success your Animal Companion intercepts the enemy before they reach you, popping free from any enemies it's already engaged with. If you attempt this a second time during this battle, it becomes a hard save.
Fast Reactions
Special: Requires First Strike; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: You can take a free move action when you roll initiative.
Champion: If you're intercepted by an enemy that you haven't attacked yet roll a normal save. On a success you can continue to move past them, unhindered.
Hamstring Foe
Special: Requires Two Weapon Mastery; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: Once per battle you can turn an adjacent enemy's successful disengage check into a failure.
Champion: After turning an enemy's disengage check into a failure, that enemy is also Weakened until the start of its next turn.
Hobbling Shot
Special: Requires Archery
Adventurer: When you hit with a re-rolled ranged attack the target is Stuck until the end of your next turn.
Champion: Once per battle when you hit with a ranged attack you can choose to deal half damage and Weaken the target.
Nature's Wards
Special: Requires Ranger ex Cathedral
Adventurer: Once per battle when you miss with an attack the target pops free from you or a nearby ally.
Champion: If the target of your Nature's Wards power tries to re-engage with you or your ally on their next turn, they must succeed at a normal save or fail, wasting their movement.
Predictable Movement
Special: Requires Favored Enemy OR Lethal Hunter; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: You gain a bonus to disengage checks against your Favored Enemy or the target of your Lethal Hunter equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Champion: If your Favored Enemy or the target of your Lethal Hunter moves to engage one of your allies make a normal save. On a success you can intercept them even if you're already engaged.
Epic: Once per battle when you intercept your Favored Enemy or the target of your Lethal Hunter, make a free basic attack against them.
Quick Footwork
Special: Requires Double Melee or Double Ranged Attack; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: When your basic attack is a natural odd roll, gain a bonus to disengage checks equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Champion: Once per battle if you roll a natural 16+ you can take a free move action in addition to possibly triggering a second attack or a bonus to disengage checks.
Step of the Fey
Special: Requires Fey Queen's Enchantments
Adventurer: Recharge 11+. You can teleport to any nearby location that you can see.
Champion: Step of the Fey becomes a Recharge 6+ power. Once per day you can use it after it's been expended.
Epic: One battle per day Step of the Fey becomes an at-will power.
Terrain Step
Special: Requires Tracker; only useable in light or no armor
Adventurer: When your Terrain Stunt power triggers you gain a free move action that you can use at any point before the end of the battle. Narrate this as being related to the stunt in some way.
Champion: You can re-roll any rolls (skill checks or saves) you make to overcome the effects of difficult terrain, choosing the best result.
The no class feature thing kind of bugs me, but I'm not about to alter a class so radically as to give it a class feature where it had none. However, considering that the book invites players to swap talents if it suits the story (even going so far as using the Ranger's Animal Companion as an example), it can start to feel like the Ranger gets the shaft. With no powers or class features to make it stand out from the crowd, why not just swap Ranger talents with a Fighter or another class?
A minimally disruptive way to fix this would be to homebrew a list of new feats, since Rangers already have a precedent for feat flexibility. This is also a good opportunity to fill another gap in the Ranger's design, which is a lack of mobility from a class that's typically seen as a wilderness skirmisher. Restrict these new mobility feats to being useable only while wearing light or no armor, and all of the sudden the Ranger's looking pretty nice since it's hands-down the best with light armor!
New Ranger Feats
Distraction
Special: Requires Animal Companion (all) OR Ranger's Pet (Adventurer only); only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: Once per battle you can pop free from an enemy that your Animal Companion or Pet is also engaged with.
Champion: If you're intercepted by an enemy, roll a normal save. On a success your Animal Companion intercepts the enemy before they reach you, popping free from any enemies it's already engaged with. If you attempt this a second time during this battle, it becomes a hard save.
Fast Reactions
Special: Requires First Strike; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: You can take a free move action when you roll initiative.
Champion: If you're intercepted by an enemy that you haven't attacked yet roll a normal save. On a success you can continue to move past them, unhindered.
Hamstring Foe
Special: Requires Two Weapon Mastery; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: Once per battle you can turn an adjacent enemy's successful disengage check into a failure.
Champion: After turning an enemy's disengage check into a failure, that enemy is also Weakened until the start of its next turn.
Hobbling Shot
Special: Requires Archery
Adventurer: When you hit with a re-rolled ranged attack the target is Stuck until the end of your next turn.
Champion: Once per battle when you hit with a ranged attack you can choose to deal half damage and Weaken the target.
Nature's Wards
Special: Requires Ranger ex Cathedral
Adventurer: Once per battle when you miss with an attack the target pops free from you or a nearby ally.
Champion: If the target of your Nature's Wards power tries to re-engage with you or your ally on their next turn, they must succeed at a normal save or fail, wasting their movement.
Predictable Movement
Special: Requires Favored Enemy OR Lethal Hunter; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: You gain a bonus to disengage checks against your Favored Enemy or the target of your Lethal Hunter equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Champion: If your Favored Enemy or the target of your Lethal Hunter moves to engage one of your allies make a normal save. On a success you can intercept them even if you're already engaged.
Epic: Once per battle when you intercept your Favored Enemy or the target of your Lethal Hunter, make a free basic attack against them.
Quick Footwork
Special: Requires Double Melee or Double Ranged Attack; only useable in light or no armor.
Adventurer: When your basic attack is a natural odd roll, gain a bonus to disengage checks equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Champion: Once per battle if you roll a natural 16+ you can take a free move action in addition to possibly triggering a second attack or a bonus to disengage checks.
Step of the Fey
Special: Requires Fey Queen's Enchantments
Adventurer: Recharge 11+. You can teleport to any nearby location that you can see.
Champion: Step of the Fey becomes a Recharge 6+ power. Once per day you can use it after it's been expended.
Epic: One battle per day Step of the Fey becomes an at-will power.
Terrain Step
Special: Requires Tracker; only useable in light or no armor
Adventurer: When your Terrain Stunt power triggers you gain a free move action that you can use at any point before the end of the battle. Narrate this as being related to the stunt in some way.
Champion: You can re-roll any rolls (skill checks or saves) you make to overcome the effects of difficult terrain, choosing the best result.
Friday, December 13, 2013
13th Age Options: Paladin Domains
This installment of 13th Age Options will be a little bit different. Instead of designing new feats, talents, spells, etc., I'm going to explore some possible interpretations for one of the more open-ended class talents - the Paladin's Divine Domain. Specifically, the portion that reads "if the domain you choose is designed to help Cleric spells and attacks, reinterpret the talent to help your Paladin powers." This rule exemplifies the experimental, "rulings over rules" spirit of the game as a whole, but because it shows up at character creation in might be initially intimidating for players and GMs not used to that sort of thing. The list of options I present here are by no means meant to be concrete; if you think of something that suits your Paladin better, by all means use that! But hopefully this provides a solid starting point, as well as a general overview on the utility of the different Domains for Paladins.
Healing Domain
While you won't get as much mileage out of this domain's benefit as a Cleric (you simply don't have enough healing), it's by no means a waste. It provides a solid bonus to Lay on Hands, but it probably works best if you also have the Cleric Training talent and have chosen a healing spell. The Champion tier feat even gives you a couple uses of the Cleric's Heal spell, making this an excellent choice for a second Domain at 5th Level. The Invocation is pretty straightforward; you get a daily use of the Cleric's Heal.
You'll probably only pick up this Domain if you have a focus on healing. Either you don't have a leader-type in the party, or your leader simply focuses on buffs and action economy over healing (Bards and Commanders), so you're trying to supplement that.
Justice/Vengeance Domain
This domain works perfectly fine without any reinterpretation. It's actually a really thematic domain for a Paladin, too, and a powerful party support option.
Knowledge/Lore Domain
This is another domain that doesn't require any tweaking to be used by a Paladin. Most Paladins won't go for the "smart guy" concept, though, but perhaps the background points can be used to support a OUT or a backstory without using your normal allotment of backgrounds.
Life/Death Domain
This strikes me as one of the more limited domains in general (you don't want your allies making death saves in the first place!), even if the base benefits work fine for a Paladin. The Epic feat notably references the Cleric's Resurrection spell, but considering it provides a free use of the spell I don't see any reason why a Paladin taking the feat shouldn't simply get a free, single use Resurrection.
Love/Beauty Domain
This domain plays with the Icon relationship rules, and as such isn't tied specifically to Cleric abilities. Paladins, poach away! I'd also like to add that this one is a great way to add some mechanical depth to a knight in shining armor, trying to win the favor of a paramour, archetype.
Protection/Community Domain
The Invocation works fine for Paladins, but the base benefit modifies spells (specifically, those that can be cast for broad effect). While you could theoretically get some use out of this domain if you picked up a Cleric spell via Cleric Training, it wouldn't be worth it.
Instead, you might want to turn your Paladin abilities into broad-effect powers. For Bastion you can take half damage from attacks against up to three allies, provided you take these attacks in the same round. It's more straightforward if you're taking damage from an area attack that hit multiple targets, but that would likely be too situational. Lay On Hands might allow you to effect two or three allies with a single use, effectively turning it into a mass heal (GMs should keep in mind that a Paladin is sinking two talents into this, and talents are all that a Paladin's got, and so should be generous with the effects). For Paladin's Challenge, go ahead and have two active challenges at the same time. The Champion feat already allows this, you'll just get the benefit earlier (and for the cost of a Talent, why not?).
Some Paladins might have more than one talent that could reasonably affect additional allies. If the effect is minor, limited, or situational (Cleric Training and Paladin's Challenge come to mind here) this isn't a problem. The Bastion/Lay On Hands/Protection Domain combination, however, may need to be reigned in (allow them to affect only one additional ally each), but be sure to discuss your expectations with your player (or your GM, if you're the player).
As an alternative, generous GMs might allow a Paladin with this domain to simply pick up a Cleric spell that could be cast for broad effect, but rule that the spell only affects 2 allies (since the domain also provides an invocation, we don't want a straight-up power boost compared with a Paladin who picks up the same spell from Cleric Training; instead, we're representing what the domain would grant in addition to a base spell). Since most Clerics who benefit from this domain probably have more than just one broad effect spell, this should probably be in addition to a broad-effect Paladin talent or two. If the Paladin doesn't have any, then maybe giving them two broad-effect Cleric spells is in order.
Ultimately, each build is going to have a different combination of options that might be boosted here. My advice would be to aim low, and if the Paladin feels underwhelming give it a free broad effect Cleric spell (or two). If the player upholds the role-play aspects of the Protection/Community domain, that is. Not to the effect of being the role-play police, mind you; just be less generous with a Paladin who acts like a loner, and ask why they're really picking this domain.
Strength Domain
Obviously the invocation works fine for Paladins, but what to do about the domain's base benefit? Paladins already wield heavy/martial weapons without penalty, so where do you go from there? Some might be tempted to give the Paladin an additional boost to weapon die size, but letting Paladins use a d12 for a big two-hander doesn't really sit right with me considering that Barbarians can't even do that.
How else might you represent better proficiency with weapons? Why, giving the Paladin access to a Fighter maneuver, of course! Since the feats are already pretty much the same idea as Smite Evil you might consider offering some alternative feats as well (though a Paladin could do worse than gaining some more pseudo-Smites!). I'm thinking something along the lines of an Adventurer feat that grants you a second Fighter Maneuver, and a Champion feat that provides a third and opens up the Champion tier options (5th and 7th level Maneuvers). The Epic feat would follow suit, granting another Maneuver and opening up the 9th level pool.
This obviously has the additional effect of increasing the Paladin's complexity a little bit, which is attractive for those players who find the basic Paladin too simple.
Sun/Anti-Undead Domain
This time the base benefit works fine, but the Invocation could use some tweaking! In place of "daily spell," I'l allow a roll to recover any other daily ability the Paladin has access to. This could include a Cleric spell with Cleric Training, but Lay On Hands is also fair game. Any use of Smite Evil beyond the one you get per battle for "free" would also qualify. Ultimately it's a pretty straightforward conversion (and at minimum all Paladins will have Smite Evil, so it's a good general-use domain, especially for Paladins who can't get past the fluff of Way of Evil Bastards but still want to Smite a lot).
Trickery/Illusion Domain
While this domain might not fit the fluff of your archetypal Lawful-Good, Knight in Shining Armor, there's no denying that it's a powerful option for any Paladin. It's a good thing 13th Age doesn't shoehorn you into the goody-goody role ;)
The Trick Die is great as a party buffer (if you roll high) or enemy debuffer (if you roll low), both of which fit the Paladin's expected secondary role just fine. The Invocation will only serve to make you even harder to kill than you already are. Your GM won't be happy, but if you like being an impenetrable fortress with legs this'll help.
War/Leadership Domain
This is another great domain that requires no modification and can easily fit the flavor of almost any Paladin. You won't get a much more reliable party buff (every time you attack), and the Invocation is probably the strongest of all the Cleric Domains. Just make sure you time it right; certain classes don't like when you increase the Escalation Die before they get a chance to use an ability that keys off of its value (the Fighter's Counter-Attack when it's even, or the Wizard's Cyclic Spells).
Bonus: Arcana/Mysteries Domain
This domain (and the next one) are from my "13th Age Options: The Cleric" article. It seems a little harsh to make a Paladin first pick up the Cleric Training talent to get a Cleric spell, and then pick up Divine Domain to swap it for something else. That's effectively one talent for the price of two, and it's nowhere near as good as the Ranger's animal companion (the only talent so far that costs 2 talent slots).
It's an easy fix, though; just let the Paladin swap out one of its limited-use abilities. One use of Lay On Hands, or one of your daily uses of Smite Evil seems like a fair trade for most spells. Obviously there's potential to pick up an option that's much more powerful than what you gave up. If it seems like it'll be too game-breaking, forfeit two daily uses of Smite Evil for a single spell, or limit the spell to one that's 2 levels lower than you (like the Sorcerer's "Access to Wizardry"). Remember, this game isn't about power-gaming, and while it's pretty resistant to min-maxing that can go out the window when you start swapping options between classes. You don't want this to be a go-to option for any Paladin in your campaigns because it just happens to be that good. It should be a roughly-balanced tradeoff for a Paladin that legitimately has a connection to arcane magic as part of the character concept. Maybe they have a background "Former Bodyguard of the Archmage," or their OUT is "I'm the botched attempt at creating a super-soldier through powerful arcane magics." Let 'em take this domain to back that up!
Bonus: Focus/Fortitude Domain
Paladins don't have much in the way of spells that they can prepare multiple times. This domain is going to be a lot more niche than most even with tweaks, but for the Paladin who picks up Cleric Training, the Arcana/Mysteries domain, or Lay on Hands this can let them tweak which options they have access to each full heal up. For example, they can prepare an extra use of Lay On Hands by sacrificing a daily Cleric spell, or a spell gained from the Arcana/Mysteries domain. For Paladins that only have one such option (we'll use Lay On Hands for our example again, but this time the Paladin has no spells), swapping for those daily uses of Smite Evil is a good idea, just like in the above Arcana/Mysteries domain.
Healing Domain
While you won't get as much mileage out of this domain's benefit as a Cleric (you simply don't have enough healing), it's by no means a waste. It provides a solid bonus to Lay on Hands, but it probably works best if you also have the Cleric Training talent and have chosen a healing spell. The Champion tier feat even gives you a couple uses of the Cleric's Heal spell, making this an excellent choice for a second Domain at 5th Level. The Invocation is pretty straightforward; you get a daily use of the Cleric's Heal.
You'll probably only pick up this Domain if you have a focus on healing. Either you don't have a leader-type in the party, or your leader simply focuses on buffs and action economy over healing (Bards and Commanders), so you're trying to supplement that.
Justice/Vengeance Domain
This domain works perfectly fine without any reinterpretation. It's actually a really thematic domain for a Paladin, too, and a powerful party support option.
Knowledge/Lore Domain
This is another domain that doesn't require any tweaking to be used by a Paladin. Most Paladins won't go for the "smart guy" concept, though, but perhaps the background points can be used to support a OUT or a backstory without using your normal allotment of backgrounds.
Life/Death Domain
This strikes me as one of the more limited domains in general (you don't want your allies making death saves in the first place!), even if the base benefits work fine for a Paladin. The Epic feat notably references the Cleric's Resurrection spell, but considering it provides a free use of the spell I don't see any reason why a Paladin taking the feat shouldn't simply get a free, single use Resurrection.
Love/Beauty Domain
This domain plays with the Icon relationship rules, and as such isn't tied specifically to Cleric abilities. Paladins, poach away! I'd also like to add that this one is a great way to add some mechanical depth to a knight in shining armor, trying to win the favor of a paramour, archetype.
Protection/Community Domain
The Invocation works fine for Paladins, but the base benefit modifies spells (specifically, those that can be cast for broad effect). While you could theoretically get some use out of this domain if you picked up a Cleric spell via Cleric Training, it wouldn't be worth it.
Instead, you might want to turn your Paladin abilities into broad-effect powers. For Bastion you can take half damage from attacks against up to three allies, provided you take these attacks in the same round. It's more straightforward if you're taking damage from an area attack that hit multiple targets, but that would likely be too situational. Lay On Hands might allow you to effect two or three allies with a single use, effectively turning it into a mass heal (GMs should keep in mind that a Paladin is sinking two talents into this, and talents are all that a Paladin's got, and so should be generous with the effects). For Paladin's Challenge, go ahead and have two active challenges at the same time. The Champion feat already allows this, you'll just get the benefit earlier (and for the cost of a Talent, why not?).
Some Paladins might have more than one talent that could reasonably affect additional allies. If the effect is minor, limited, or situational (Cleric Training and Paladin's Challenge come to mind here) this isn't a problem. The Bastion/Lay On Hands/Protection Domain combination, however, may need to be reigned in (allow them to affect only one additional ally each), but be sure to discuss your expectations with your player (or your GM, if you're the player).
As an alternative, generous GMs might allow a Paladin with this domain to simply pick up a Cleric spell that could be cast for broad effect, but rule that the spell only affects 2 allies (since the domain also provides an invocation, we don't want a straight-up power boost compared with a Paladin who picks up the same spell from Cleric Training; instead, we're representing what the domain would grant in addition to a base spell). Since most Clerics who benefit from this domain probably have more than just one broad effect spell, this should probably be in addition to a broad-effect Paladin talent or two. If the Paladin doesn't have any, then maybe giving them two broad-effect Cleric spells is in order.
Ultimately, each build is going to have a different combination of options that might be boosted here. My advice would be to aim low, and if the Paladin feels underwhelming give it a free broad effect Cleric spell (or two). If the player upholds the role-play aspects of the Protection/Community domain, that is. Not to the effect of being the role-play police, mind you; just be less generous with a Paladin who acts like a loner, and ask why they're really picking this domain.
Strength Domain
Obviously the invocation works fine for Paladins, but what to do about the domain's base benefit? Paladins already wield heavy/martial weapons without penalty, so where do you go from there? Some might be tempted to give the Paladin an additional boost to weapon die size, but letting Paladins use a d12 for a big two-hander doesn't really sit right with me considering that Barbarians can't even do that.
How else might you represent better proficiency with weapons? Why, giving the Paladin access to a Fighter maneuver, of course! Since the feats are already pretty much the same idea as Smite Evil you might consider offering some alternative feats as well (though a Paladin could do worse than gaining some more pseudo-Smites!). I'm thinking something along the lines of an Adventurer feat that grants you a second Fighter Maneuver, and a Champion feat that provides a third and opens up the Champion tier options (5th and 7th level Maneuvers). The Epic feat would follow suit, granting another Maneuver and opening up the 9th level pool.
This obviously has the additional effect of increasing the Paladin's complexity a little bit, which is attractive for those players who find the basic Paladin too simple.
Sun/Anti-Undead Domain
This time the base benefit works fine, but the Invocation could use some tweaking! In place of "daily spell," I'l allow a roll to recover any other daily ability the Paladin has access to. This could include a Cleric spell with Cleric Training, but Lay On Hands is also fair game. Any use of Smite Evil beyond the one you get per battle for "free" would also qualify. Ultimately it's a pretty straightforward conversion (and at minimum all Paladins will have Smite Evil, so it's a good general-use domain, especially for Paladins who can't get past the fluff of Way of Evil Bastards but still want to Smite a lot).
Trickery/Illusion Domain
While this domain might not fit the fluff of your archetypal Lawful-Good, Knight in Shining Armor, there's no denying that it's a powerful option for any Paladin. It's a good thing 13th Age doesn't shoehorn you into the goody-goody role ;)
The Trick Die is great as a party buffer (if you roll high) or enemy debuffer (if you roll low), both of which fit the Paladin's expected secondary role just fine. The Invocation will only serve to make you even harder to kill than you already are. Your GM won't be happy, but if you like being an impenetrable fortress with legs this'll help.
War/Leadership Domain
This is another great domain that requires no modification and can easily fit the flavor of almost any Paladin. You won't get a much more reliable party buff (every time you attack), and the Invocation is probably the strongest of all the Cleric Domains. Just make sure you time it right; certain classes don't like when you increase the Escalation Die before they get a chance to use an ability that keys off of its value (the Fighter's Counter-Attack when it's even, or the Wizard's Cyclic Spells).
Bonus: Arcana/Mysteries Domain
This domain (and the next one) are from my "13th Age Options: The Cleric" article. It seems a little harsh to make a Paladin first pick up the Cleric Training talent to get a Cleric spell, and then pick up Divine Domain to swap it for something else. That's effectively one talent for the price of two, and it's nowhere near as good as the Ranger's animal companion (the only talent so far that costs 2 talent slots).
It's an easy fix, though; just let the Paladin swap out one of its limited-use abilities. One use of Lay On Hands, or one of your daily uses of Smite Evil seems like a fair trade for most spells. Obviously there's potential to pick up an option that's much more powerful than what you gave up. If it seems like it'll be too game-breaking, forfeit two daily uses of Smite Evil for a single spell, or limit the spell to one that's 2 levels lower than you (like the Sorcerer's "Access to Wizardry"). Remember, this game isn't about power-gaming, and while it's pretty resistant to min-maxing that can go out the window when you start swapping options between classes. You don't want this to be a go-to option for any Paladin in your campaigns because it just happens to be that good. It should be a roughly-balanced tradeoff for a Paladin that legitimately has a connection to arcane magic as part of the character concept. Maybe they have a background "Former Bodyguard of the Archmage," or their OUT is "I'm the botched attempt at creating a super-soldier through powerful arcane magics." Let 'em take this domain to back that up!
Bonus: Focus/Fortitude Domain
Paladins don't have much in the way of spells that they can prepare multiple times. This domain is going to be a lot more niche than most even with tweaks, but for the Paladin who picks up Cleric Training, the Arcana/Mysteries domain, or Lay on Hands this can let them tweak which options they have access to each full heal up. For example, they can prepare an extra use of Lay On Hands by sacrificing a daily Cleric spell, or a spell gained from the Arcana/Mysteries domain. For Paladins that only have one such option (we'll use Lay On Hands for our example again, but this time the Paladin has no spells), swapping for those daily uses of Smite Evil is a good idea, just like in the above Arcana/Mysteries domain.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Flexible Interpretations of Flexible Attacks - Battle Cries
There are a lot of directions you can go when portraying a Bard, especially given that the class is typically depicted as a jack-of-all-trades. In 13th Age, it's arguably the most complex class in the core book so there are a lot of ways you can customize your Bard mechanically, but Flexible Attacks are a surprisingly open-ended springboard for narratively differentiating your Bard's fighting style.
The most obvious interpretation to take is that Battle Cries are exactly that - your Bard shouts commands, and your allies follow them. The mechanical benefits represent the effectiveness of your commands. While this is certainly a valid take on these Flexible Attacks, today I was trying to think about ways to step on the toes of the upcoming Commander class less. Because ultimately, that's the Commander's main schtick, and in that sense it's a bit unfortunate that the default flavor for the Bard's attacks overlaps with it so much.
Another option is to play off the whole magic-from-music angle for as much as it's worth. Your Bard isn't shouting orders when he uses his battle cries, but singing, and the effects of the attacks are a direct result of the verses recited.
Some players don't like the "guy who sings when he's fighting" archetype, and admittedly in some settings and groups it can be a little out of place. It's no big leap to say that your Bard casts minor magics while fighting. "Pull It Together" isn't so different from the Cleric's "Heal" spell, though it's quicker, if less reliable. Maybe the reason why it's less reliable is that the somatic components of the spell are the jabs and slashes of your blade. If your enemy parries your sword at the wrong time, the spell fizzles out. Or maybe the blade itself holds the magic, and it's not released unless you strike properly with the weapon. Any of these explanations and more are perfectly well-supported by the flexible attack mechanics (you gain some benefit depending on the results of your melee attacks). You're a "gish," much like the Swordmage, Bladesinger, Hexblade, etc.
One particularly intriguing interpretation is that Battle Cries are not magical, but they're not literal shouts either. This type of Bard is a clever, flashy swordsman, adept at feinting, misdirection, and providing openings for allies. This could be your swashbuckler, or you could inject the performance elements back into your description but instead of song, go with dance. This is most appropriate for a Dex-based Bard (and most are anyways), and I like to visualize this fighting style as being like River Tam's fight scene from the end of Serenity. You use a dancer's grace to keep a foe busy enough to give an ally a breather or an opening, inspire allies with the sheer beauty of your movements, cause enemies to over-extend as they try to match your strokes with their substantially less flexible bodies, etc.
The point is, remember not to box yourself in when you create your character and see "Battle Cries" written in the book. During play, embellish the descriptions of your Flexible Attacks to make it clear to the other players what's going on. You don't have to do this every time you roll the d20, obviously (that would grow tiresome), but you should definitely embrace the fact that 13th Age is a narrative game, and note that the rules for Battle Cries leave them very open-ended (except for the name...).
The most obvious interpretation to take is that Battle Cries are exactly that - your Bard shouts commands, and your allies follow them. The mechanical benefits represent the effectiveness of your commands. While this is certainly a valid take on these Flexible Attacks, today I was trying to think about ways to step on the toes of the upcoming Commander class less. Because ultimately, that's the Commander's main schtick, and in that sense it's a bit unfortunate that the default flavor for the Bard's attacks overlaps with it so much.
Another option is to play off the whole magic-from-music angle for as much as it's worth. Your Bard isn't shouting orders when he uses his battle cries, but singing, and the effects of the attacks are a direct result of the verses recited.
Some players don't like the "guy who sings when he's fighting" archetype, and admittedly in some settings and groups it can be a little out of place. It's no big leap to say that your Bard casts minor magics while fighting. "Pull It Together" isn't so different from the Cleric's "Heal" spell, though it's quicker, if less reliable. Maybe the reason why it's less reliable is that the somatic components of the spell are the jabs and slashes of your blade. If your enemy parries your sword at the wrong time, the spell fizzles out. Or maybe the blade itself holds the magic, and it's not released unless you strike properly with the weapon. Any of these explanations and more are perfectly well-supported by the flexible attack mechanics (you gain some benefit depending on the results of your melee attacks). You're a "gish," much like the Swordmage, Bladesinger, Hexblade, etc.
One particularly intriguing interpretation is that Battle Cries are not magical, but they're not literal shouts either. This type of Bard is a clever, flashy swordsman, adept at feinting, misdirection, and providing openings for allies. This could be your swashbuckler, or you could inject the performance elements back into your description but instead of song, go with dance. This is most appropriate for a Dex-based Bard (and most are anyways), and I like to visualize this fighting style as being like River Tam's fight scene from the end of Serenity. You use a dancer's grace to keep a foe busy enough to give an ally a breather or an opening, inspire allies with the sheer beauty of your movements, cause enemies to over-extend as they try to match your strokes with their substantially less flexible bodies, etc.
The point is, remember not to box yourself in when you create your character and see "Battle Cries" written in the book. During play, embellish the descriptions of your Flexible Attacks to make it clear to the other players what's going on. You don't have to do this every time you roll the d20, obviously (that would grow tiresome), but you should definitely embrace the fact that 13th Age is a narrative game, and note that the rules for Battle Cries leave them very open-ended (except for the name...).
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