I should mention that this is only our fourth session, too.
[QUOTE=Jrose14;46444386]Its the only decent compass I can find that I can make transparent. I'll try and edit the colors tomorrow.[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://sdwhaven.deviantart.com/art/Compass-Rose-Photoshop-Brushes-281445661"]Try one of these.[/URL]
[QUOTE=Aperture fan;46444387]I should mention that this is only our fourth session, too.[/QUOTE]
And we are now comrades in arms, in the twist to end all twists, since the reason why the world is after us is also the reason why the BBEG is now [I]also[/I] labelled a traitor and is wanted dead or alive.
[QUOTE=Chronische;46442872]This isn't Arcanum.[/QUOTE]
it probably should be
[QUOTE=Smas;46445053]And we are now comrades in arms, in the twist to end all twists, since the reason why the world is after us is also the reason why the BBEG is now [I]also[/I] labelled a traitor and is wanted dead or alive.[/QUOTE]
He's still a cunt though.
I had a short session this morning with my group finally, we managed to make it to the nearby wizard's tower without incident, other than surprising and dispatching a couple of zombies en route to the place.
After searching the gardens, and disposing of a handful of undead creatures including a zombified manticore and several undead guards, the party made its way to the tower proper. I ruled that the negative plane's effect on the grandfather plaque placed to guard the door gave it increased hit dice and some spell powers, which led to a nice boss battle for the group. They prevailed against the modified plaque and forced an entry into the lower floors, which they busily explored for a time, gathering up some of the magical effects and hidden treasures of the tower's resident. However, the resident did not survive the cataclysm; he haunts the building in the guise of a Wizshade, keeping to the main tower and his old labs. The party also managed to befriend an air elemental that had been bound into servitude by the tower's master, which agreed to perform a service for them in exchange for freeing it. A stash of emergency scrolls and an emergency traveling spellbook were discovered, untrapped, and taken by the party's wizard, but they had to fight a couple of hamatula bound into service to guard the tome and scrolls.
The party are in two minds again; to explore the lower levels of the tower's dungeon complex first or to scour the upper levels in hopes of finding a survivor. Of course, they know nothing of the decease of the tower's occupant, but it may be that perhaps an apprentice or two might have survived.
[QUOTE=Aperture fan;46446545]He's still a cunt though.[/QUOTE]
It's funny, I was originally gonna have Kornev on your side, but I thought 'Nah, I want this game to pay homage to Zeta Gundam, not to rip off the entire plot.'
Then you steal a bunch of prototype meks, join sides with the rival from last game, and are working to stop a corrupt military agency. The only way we can take this further if we get Kornev to say this at one point
[video=youtube;I_aEjIfcoUk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_aEjIfcoUk[/video]
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;46443079]For races, perhaps you might think beyond just the fantasy staples of Human, Dwarf, Elves and Orc, being the most common. In mythology alone, there are hundreds of really great races just waiting to be picked. Maybe your world is animalistic, and human, satyrs, hobgoblins and yeti-like creatures are the most common races.
I've thought a lot about worldbuilding, and I have a few useful tips, outside of just races.
Consider adding something new to your fantasy setting, something that sets it apart. Dont downplay magic, have it something very unique, like ASOIAF, where very few people can actually practice it. (For high fantasy, your PC's could be among the few) Or if its relatively common, have it be very mundane. The Kingkiller Chronicle has a system where it takes a tremendous amount of effort do something relatively mundane, like light a candlewick. (For high fantasy, your PCs could be among the exceptionally talented)
Also, pick something that sets your setting apart. Consider changing the time period for example. Most fantasy universes take place in the equivalent medieval times, but it's super interesting to mix it up. Perhaps set it in the bronze age, or maybe something like the renaissance.
Basically, if your going to put in effort to make a whole universe, don't just have it be the same old same old. Do something that'll make your players invested simply on the basis of how unique the world is.[/QUOTE]
I decided to include the 'vanilla' races simply to give myself some room to work with. Magic itself is merely the tools the gods used to make reality, in their long dead language. Within the earth and folded into gaps in reality are their laboratories, where they wrote down their passages of text. These are very hard to find as they conceal themselves from suspicious eyes. As 'speakers' grow in power, they can gain a deeper insight into particular incantations, unearthing more power and finishing incantations. These can be as mundane as creating fire and adding a moving component to it, allowing for a standard fireball, to creating vast storms, pocket dimensions or even new life. Certain Incantations are relatively common, such as creating light are public ally available while passages of text to create sentient life are but myth, yet to be found be questing scholars.
It sounds like it'd need its own rule set, or some major homebrew. Some races wholeheartedly follow this quest for knowledge, while Orcs believe that the gods should be left well enough alone lest they invite their creators wrath. They instead worship their ancestors, who may grant their descendants a measure of the power they had in life. Giants are in high demand, theyre not smart, but they have an innate ability to find the gods laboratories, more often than not stumbling upon them by seemingly blind chance. Those foolish enough to try bartering with a Giant may well succeed, and have an expedition of 40+ linguists and wizards follow one about on its rampage in the hope that it stumbles upon a gap in reality. Ogres are more open to the idea, but they lack the same gift for finding these sites. Nobody knows this however, not even the Ogres, but it doesn't stop them selling their services for livestock, slaves and gold to wizards who know no better.
[QUOTE=cyclocius;46447942]I decided to include the 'vanilla' races simply to give myself some room to work with. Magic itself is merely the tools the gods used to make reality, in their long dead language. Within the earth and folded into gaps in reality are their laboratories, where they wrote down their passages of text. These are very hard to find as they conceal themselves from suspicious eyes. As 'speakers' grow in power, they can gain a deeper insight into particular incantations, unearthing more power and finishing incantations. These can be as mundane as creating fire and adding a moving component to it, allowing for a standard fireball, to creating vast storms, pocket dimensions or even new life. Certain Incantations are relatively common, such as creating light are public ally available while passages of text to create sentient life are but myth, yet to be found be questing scholars.
It sounds like it'd need its own rule set, or some major homebrew. Some races wholeheartedly follow this quest for knowledge, while Orcs believe that the gods should be left well enough alone lest they invite their creators wrath. They instead worship their ancestors, who may grant their descendants a measure of the power they had in life. Giants are in high demand, theyre not smart, but they have an innate ability to find the gods laboratories, more often than not stumbling upon them by seemingly blind chance. Those foolish enough to try bartering with a Giant may well succeed, and have an expedition of 40+ linguists and wizards follow one about on its rampage in the hope that it stumbles upon a gap in reality. Ogres are more open to the idea, but they lack the same gift for finding these sites. Nobody knows this however, not even the Ogres, but it doesn't stop them selling their services for livestock, slaves and gold to wizards who know no better.[/QUOTE]
Sounds like the words of power system that was in one of the supplements for 3.5 and Pathfinder.
I guess you could additionally remove somatic and material components from spells, and ban the silent spell metamagic feat completely, seems that'd make it fit better.
[QUOTE=elowin;46448381]Sounds like the words of power system that was in one of the supplements for 3.5 and Pathfinder.
I guess you could additionally remove somatic and material components from spells, and ban the silent spell metamagic feat completely, seems that'd make it fit better.[/QUOTE]
I just googled it for pathfinder, God dammit I thought it was a somewhat original idea.
[QUOTE=cyclocius;46448501]I just googled it for pathfinder, God dammit I thought it was a somewhat original idea.[/QUOTE]
There is basically no such thing as an original idea anymore.
Even if it isn't entirely original though, it's still a nice change of pace from your standard spell based magic systems, and it has a pretty damn cool flair to it.
[QUOTE=elowin;46448683]There is basically no such thing as an original idea anymore.
Even if it isn't entirely original though, it's still a nice change of pace from your standard spell based magic systems, and it has a pretty damn cool flair to it.[/QUOTE]
The trick to making it original will to be dissuading the players from hearing the "DA DA DA DYAH" from Skyrim when they find these words of power :v.
[QUOTE=elowin;46448683]There is basically no such thing as an original idea anymore.
Even if it isn't entirely original though, it's still a nice change of pace from your standard spell based magic systems, and it has a pretty damn cool flair to it.[/QUOTE]
As far as magic systems go, no you really wont be able to think of an original idea. I mean when it comes down to it, there are three types of magic.
Magic from the mind/will, magic from knowledge, magic from a power source.
Every single magic system will use one or a combination of them.
The thing that makes it interesting is how their implemented. In particular, the setting.
A unique concept does not make for a good concept.
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;46448977]As far as magic systems go, no you really wont be able to think of an original idea. I mean when it comes down to it, there are three types of magic.
Magic from the mind/will, magic from knowledge, magic from a power source.
Every single magic system will use one or a combination of them.
The thing that makes it interesting is how their implemented. In particular, the setting.[/QUOTE]
You're forgetting FIST WIZARDRY
[QUOTE=Oliolio;46449539]You're forgetting FIST WIZARDRY[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure that counts and magic from a power source, in this case massive muscles and often sweet mustaches
[t]http://i.cubeupload.com/nxPhE0.png[/t]
Changed the compass (thanks for the link), and added an island. I've got some ideas for the island (possibly the location of the phylactery), plus it adds something to fill the space because that big fish monster was ugly as fuck.
So I just died in Shadowrun.
And then the static spirit we made last week hopped out of the cybertroll's body and grabbed my ghost then dragged me with it into a nearby robot that had its batteries drained.
The rest of the party immediately started trying to kill me/it.
[editline]9th November 2014[/editline]
Also my death can basically be summarized as being blended by a robot's razor wing things.
[editline]9th November 2014[/editline]
Final verdict: The other mage killed the robot, then I became an incubus and the static spirit just disappeared.
The important part though is my black mage won at life.
[QUOTE=croguy;46449463]A unique concept does not make for a good concept.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, unique does not automatically equal good. In fact, most unique ideas are unique because their shit and nobody bothers with them. Many, many, many people forget that.
That said, if it's both unique AND good, then you got a winner!
This week in PTU!
[url=http://i.imgur.com/053rtj3.jpg]The Ducklett Hunt-themed battle commences, a merry fight through pop-up terrain in an underground base while the Countess (game girl) yells at us through a giant screen. She platinum mad because Tara beat her high score in the arcade.[/url]
We learn that Team Tesla has more money than sense or mid-level cohesion
- The Duckletts flying around were carrying presents with actual prize money inside. This angers the Countess, because they were supposed to be carrying bombs
- The Delibird that showed up partway through the fight at least remembered to have explosives in their presents... but still actual prize money too. This angers and confuses the Countess, who has no idea where they even came from
- A half-dozen teleportation pads were left fully functional, powered, and easily-hacked by our Tinkers back at base who proceeded to send in reinforcements for us throughout the fight. This angers and confuses the Countess. Who put those down there anyway?
- A gigantic robotic present rises from the ground in imposing boss fashion and is instantly wrecked by Tara's Flareon. The Countess has given up trying to understand what is happening.
- Bossy robotic caricatures of the Countess arrive to assist the plaid-wearing gunmen. The Countess activates the self-destruct and leaves in a huff.
We manage to find the missing girls who we'd been looking for (and they later move their cardboard hobo house into our adventurer's town).
[url=http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/217509/horse-drift-o.gif]Rapidash used Low Kick. It's super effective![/url]
Zed's Rotom manages to follow the wires and steal enough explosives to mitigate the collateral damage of the self-destruct to the town above (and picks up a Dynamite Form in the meantime, oh lord)
We level up! Twice!
We emerge from the arcade to find a massive fucking crowd, the Skaters proceed to interview us because apparently our friends were filming the whole thing to make us look like big damned heroes. It worked.
The city congratulates us and gives us some pretty sweet gear as reward (including giving Michael a fucking Regivine), and they unlock the gate to the next part of the island! (We'd been restricted to just this city and a stretch of beach until now because politics)
We explore a bit, meet the caretakers of an ancient grand library (remember this is post-post-apocalypse), do some reading.
- Tara hunts and kills a deer for brunch because we spend the night there
- We get a copy of what may or may not be the crafting manual for Regis.
- Michael and Josia chitchat about the various batshit factions we've run across and need to look out for
- Josia's Steelix discovers that the lower levels of the library are defying physics and constantly shifting- we'll have to look into that later
- Josia finds Michael's favorite napping spot- a lake with bioluminescent jellyfish and four ancient stone pillars in the middle
And then finally we ALL receive an invitation from the Shrine Princess of some major secretive city that we still aren't allowed to visit to a grand party at their embassy in Flowergate (the city we've been operating with up to this point.) [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU8eL2CjzHw]Everybody agrees that this sounds totally legitimate and not suspicious in the slightest[/url]
[QUOTE=Oliolio;46449539]You're forgetting FIST WIZARDRY[/QUOTE]
The best and most powerful kind of wizardry.
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;46448977]As far as magic systems go, no you really wont be able to think of an original idea. I mean when it comes down to it, there are three types of magic.
Magic from the mind/will, magic from knowledge, magic from a power source.
Every single magic system will use one or a combination of them.
The thing that makes it interesting is how their implemented. In particular, the setting.[/QUOTE]
well if you think about it like that, all magic is magic from a power source.
including magic from knowledge and magic from the mind.
[QUOTE=elowin;46454308]well if you think about it like that, all magic is magic from a power source.
including magic from knowledge and magic from the mind.[/QUOTE]
Pretty sure the power source is meant to be some form of physical object like a wand.
[QUOTE=UzumakaiPatch;46454412]Pretty sure the power source is meant to be some form of physical object like a wand.[/QUOTE]
If that's what he meant he's wrong.
Pretty sure it isn't what he meant, though.
[QUOTE=elowin;46454308]well if you think about it like that, all magic is magic from a power source.
including magic from knowledge and magic from the mind.[/QUOTE]
The power source in D&D of course, being generally assumed as coming from The Weave.
Foci, wands, and such are basically a means of accessing magical power more easily or storing it up for later use, in my knowledge I've never seen any setting where you couldn't use your magic without such objects. Even Harry Pothead's world had wandless magic, though it wasn't very common and could only be developed with a fair bit of practice.
There are, however, settings where magic isn't too readily accessible beyond certain levels without focus objects. The Septimus Heap series was a very good example of this, all the wizards were restricted to only a certain amount of power save for the ExtraOrdinary wizard, whose abilities were largely tied to the power of a magical artifact in the from of an amulet.
Exalted's got its own unique flavor of magic in which [I]everything[/I] is magic, it's just a matter of whether or not you can manipulate essence or not.
Which generally requires you to either be a god/demon/ghost/fae, an exalt, or a child/beneficiary of one of those things.
And then beyond that there's sorcery which is going beyond just manipulating essence into ritualistic shit that can, for example, create a glowing basketball that will explode and destroy like 1000+ square miles of the world.
The Exalted charm system is one of the more interesting variants of functional magic in tabletop rp gaming I feel, especially with its relative high power and certain fantastic nukes. I also like the nice touch with Sidereals having to undergo audits for the way in which they use their power, as well as Exalted being unable to crash a world's economy just because they feel like it.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;46454601]The power source in D&D of course, being generally assumed as coming from The Weave.
Foci, wands, and such are basically a means of accessing magical power more easily or storing it up for later use, in my knowledge I've never seen any setting where you couldn't use your magic without such objects. Even Harry Pothead's world had wandless magic, though it wasn't very common and could only be developed with a fair bit of practice.
There are, however, settings where magic isn't too readily accessible beyond certain levels without focus objects. The Septimus Heap series was a very good example of this, all the wizards were restricted to only a certain amount of power save for the ExtraOrdinary wizard, whose abilities were largely tied to the power of a magical artifact in the from of an amulet.[/QUOTE]
The weave is a thing specific to Forgotten Realms, not D&D as a whole.
Also, while wandless magic is technically canon in Harry Potter, to my knowledge it was literally just casually mentioned to be technically possible in the very first book, and then it was never mentioned ever again in the rest of the series.
Most settings don't really give a whole lot of information as to how exactly magic works, if at all. Much less what the source of magic is.
[QUOTE=Jackald;46454904]The way i've always understood wandless magic is it's like shooting water out of a water pistol. The wand focuses the magic into a single concentrated point, instead of just getting shot out everywhere. It's like the difference between compressing water and firing it out of a tiny hole and just stabbing holes everywhere in a bucket.
So maybe if you're powerful enough, you have enough raw magical energy to do some impressive magic without a wand, but it requires focus to make full use of it.[/QUOTE]
I still love how this guy exists in the movies.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/Oi4Qn.gif[/t]
He's doing wandless magic while reading a book about [I]science[/I].
[QUOTE=Rats808;46455461]I still love how this guy exists in the movies.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/Oi4Qn.gif[/t]
He's doing wandless magic while reading a book about [I]science[/I].[/QUOTE]
secretly the strongest wizard in the entire world
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