Looping the Hen Games

There is a post on death and dying on ENWorld today.

It reminds me that we need to have that discussion, fun as usually it is, this weekend. Personally, and y'all are welcome to disagree, because of the way Sphere is structured, there is no resurrection magic per se. At the same time, intelligent enemies (typically) will not kill you intentionally without trying to bind your soul, make you their servant, hold you for ransom, etc. (though the man-eating beetles likely won't be so discriminating)

Here's a random thought, and I wonder what y'all think. In Sphere, karma is very real, and not only the people, but the Sphere itself, has a long memory. Each player, based on their actions in-game, would be awarded karma points, mostly by the other party members, whenever they did something especially cool, heroic, or otherwise important.

Then, if at any point a player dies with a lot of karma points, could convert those karma points to coolness on his rebirth. For example, for 10 karma points, a player could come back as a previously restricted race (Drake, Gryphon, Djinn), for 5 karma points a player could come back with a chosen guild or order and the appropriate template without having to go through the in-game process of joining. Each 2 karma points might equal an extra attribute point, and 3 points might bring you back knowing one of the great secrets of Sphere (I am working on a list of 50 secrets that may be revealed at certain points in the game).

This would do a couple of things...first, let the dice fall where they may, and keep me from having to fudge or even worrying about whether fudging is important. Second, encourage good role-playing to earn karma. Third, remove some, even if not all, of the stress of losing a cool character. I won't reveal all now, but even death in Sphere is vitally important and your characters memories may outlive you. More on this Saturday, as I think I've come up with a way narratively to make it important for the party to work together (including bringing in new characters after one has died) instead of the usually forced method we normally have to rely on.

Of course, it would have to have some caveats. The method of a character's death might give a positive or negative karma bonus. Intentional death would automatically erase all karma; stupid death (Hey, I wonder if spider-climbing into the wyvern's lair is a good idea...) might be -5 karma, while non-intentional and heroic would be worth a bonus.

Just some thoughts!

Posted by at 2:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michael and others, some additional thoughts on character creation. There will be no more randomly rolled characters; the potential differences between character attributes doesn't justify the 'fun' the random factor gives.

Instead, each player will get 28 attribute points, and each ability score starts at 8. So, you could give yourself 6 scores (Str, Int, Wis, Dex, Con, Chr) of 14, 10, 10, 14, 16, 12. Additionally, based on my earlier research on 'Point-buy', I'm nerfing strength. Instead of getting a bonus to both to-hit and damage, the bonus will be split. For example, with an 18 strength, you would get a +2 hit/+2 damage, while with a 12 strength you could either have +1/hit or +1/damage. This will be somewhat balanced by many low-level creatures only having '1 hit' worth of HP's, meaning that any hit by anyone will kill them. I'm simply tired of the ridiculous bookkeeping requirements to run even slightly complex fights.

Additionally, if we are not going to use the point-buy system, you can also sacrifice an attribute point for either 8 skill points 2 feats, one special ability, one Force Level (max 5) or 10 Force Store. Special abilities will all draw on the 2 new sub-attributes, Force Level and Force Store.

Each player automatically starts with 1 Force Level and 5 Force Store. (so you can take powers later even if you don't at first level) Each player will automatically gain 5 more Force Store every 2 levels (3, 5, 7, 9, etc). Force Level is defined as the number of Force Store regained daily when under Spherelight. Force Store is vaguely related to the total power available for an ability, and is the equivalent of spell levels.

Special powers can be pretty much anything anyone wants (barring area-effect combat spells), and will be calculated according to its power level. A power will be equated to spell levels, and require a certain number of force store to use. The Force Store required for the power will be:

1st: 1
2nd: 3
3rd: 6
4th: 10
5th: 15
6th: 21
7th: 28
8th: 36
9th: 45

The reasoning is that special powers of 9th-level proportions are massively greater than just 9 times the power of a 1st-level spell. However, this also means you can take pretty much any power you like assuming you have the Force Store to use it. However, take note that if you give yourself 50 Force Store but only 2 Force Level, it will take a character 25 game days to regenerate their complete Force Store. I hope this will create a self-balancing, but completely open, system of making yourselves the coolest heroes around.

I'm curious what folks think of this whole system; I'm not attached to it and am willing to look at other ways of doing things. I do however, want folks to realize that every creature in Sphere has the potential to have special abilities, from the greatest Dragonlord to the lowliest farmer to the strangest creature. The farmer might not be able to swing a sword, but don't be surprised if he tosses off a couple of telekinetic bolts before attacking you with his rake. And the Giant Woodpecker might not look particularly menacing, until he charms the nearby hippopotomus and sends it your way.

Posted by at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check the previous post's comments for Michael's questions regarding types of character classes available.

Per previous posts, here are some obvious character choices:

Dragonkin - Mages, Samurai, or Brutes

Lizardfolk Spiritbinder

Eloin Forcebinder (Mage), Rocbinder (Ranger), or Wingjumper (Fighter/Mage)

General character info

Generally speaking, the world is a conglomeration of small populations except for the 3 main races (Humans, Dragonkith, and Eloin). Beyond that, however, you are free to make just about any type of character or race you like. There are Aztec-like lizardfolk who gain power through their dead ancestors souls that have been trapped in living crystal, pale-skinned Technomancers that fly steam and sphere-powered gliders and baloons, feline mentalists that can see seconds into the future making them nearly impossible to hit, ascetic humanoids that collect and control magical 'sparks' that are resonances of age-old spells and grant them longer lives, greater strength, control over fire and wind, among other abilities. Core-dwelling folk tend to be scrappers, or folks who make their lives collecting the discards of all the other civilizations, and might have weak attributes, but a Batman-like utility belt full with grapples, one-shot projectile cannons, and magic-sapping ironlike powder.

The classes I am creating, for example the Eloin, are going to be geared more toward role-players. Even though they have fewer overall abilities than your typical D&D character, they will be just as powerful. This allows me to have cool magical NPC's without having to worry about which 90 spells the wizard has. The same with the Dragonkith; they will have great, but few, powers. Dragonkith or Eloin really just have a variety of powers that can be broken down to flight, telekineses, energy bolt, and a couple of defensive abilities. Certain dragonkith also get benefits to their physical abilities, while the Eloin have lower-than-average physical attributes.

Overall, the game should have a non-western feel, meaning no knights, paladins, or traditional sorcerers. Whether that means Asian-like ninjas or samurai, Indian-myth-like Orangutan Mystics wielding slings and rods, or Meso-American jaguar or ocelot lycanthropes, I'll leave that up to each player. Of course, there is one fully human kingdom where one could be a 'typical' fighter, but even there the cooler classes would be a Spellsword (Arabian fighter with the powers of desert and wind), Gryphon-Rider, or Anti-Mage (Less cordially known as Spheresuckers).

Some things to note: spirits in the world are real, and folks can regularly (well, semi-regularly) expect to see the souls of dead people as they make their journey to wherever it is they go (hint: there's a mystery the characters can try to solve there). Instead of having balance in everything, which I used to try to do in my games, this game will have no balance. Instead of the four elements being equal, wind is dominant, earth second, and fire and water come in a weak 3rd and 4th.

Also to remember, the world is basically 'open'. People from other continents can literally watch you as you journey across a massive desert (glass, lenses, and telescopes are huge business), so ticking people off is likely to get them to pile on you when you least expect it, potentially parachuting, levitating, gliding, flying, floating, or teleporting in to either help or hinder you.

Magic in the world will be potent, but it shouldn't be spells that define your character, at least in terms of combat. If you want to be able to use the power of wind and earth to fling pebbles at high velocity at your opponent, great. However, there will be no 'throwing rock' spell per se, and if you are in a barren area with no loose rock, you're probably out of luck. But in some places you may be able to use that same ability to create a rock stair to ascend to an island that appears to have no way up.

There will be just as many cool friends and badguys as y'all and I can think up, and they will quite possibly be more powerful than yourselves. I anticipate three-dimensional battles where the flying, telekinetic monkey-shaman attempts to fling you off the edge of an island. However, even being thrown off a cliff doesn't mean you don't pull out the bat-glider wings and land gracefully (however disgraced) on the island of man-eating beetles 2000 feet below.

It is my intention that magic items will be rare, and those that do will not be your standard +3 doohicky. Instead, it might be a sword that only attacks once every 3 rounds but grants a cleave that means it can attack 4 times on the round it does attack. Also, magic items will not be used to grant bonses to your abilities per se. No rings of protection, no girdles of strength, or the like.

Instead, character will be able to grant themselves the same bonuses magic items used to do through their orders and guilds. For example, joining the Contemplation and completing the 7 Steps would grant you a higher wisdom, the ability to heal 15 damage once per combat, a bonus against mind-affecting abilities, free lodging and healing at any Contemplation shrine, and the ability to sense invisible spirits or creatures.

A more martial order of dragonkith might grant over time a +4 ac, higher physical attributes, a +2 in combat when fighting only one opponent, the chance to avoid attacks of opportunity, and a call to arms that once per week lets you summon all nearby drakes to your aid.

A magic order might grant an increasing spell-bolt like ability a la the warlock, the ability to levitate, increased charisma and dexterity, and the ability to barter with a Djinn for services once a month.

It will be like the prestige classes, with only the abilities being granted, instead of the spell progression, save bonuses, extra hp's and the like.

To be honest, I hope I am not painting myself into a corner and trying to build something that won't ever work, or that people won't like. I will definitely need a lot of folks help, as I have some grand ideas, but might need some help in translating them to a viable game.

Does that help?

Posted by at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It sounds like we might have enough support for a game! Please put your thinking caps on Saturday, 2pm if we can make it that early. I'm getting old and I'm not any good with late night games anymore.

I'd like to discuss a number of rule changes or potential rule changes.

Among them:

Luck is going away; it is going to be replaced by Action Points, something I mentioned in an earlier Sphere post.

I'm going back to the standard attributes: Comeliness will become a skill that modifies first reactions. Perception will become a skill that replaces search, spot and listen.

One rule that I'm thinking of but want to discuss is making basic monster (and NPC) HP's simpler. I'm thinking monsters will get 1 hit per HD. That way, weak humans and monsters are dead in a hit or two, and it kind of gives the 'Crouching Tiger' feel while making the bookkeeping easier for me. Boss Monsters or major NPC's will still have normal HP's.

We need to decide whether we will be trying a skill point system or sticking with standard character classes. I will be trying to maintain a 'semi-eastern' feel regardless, so no Paladins or Clerics, and more Spellswords, Monks, and Gryphon Riders.

No area of effect combat spells, and no direct damage combat spells. (No fireball, lightning bolt, cone of cold, etc) If we decide to keep character classes, mages and the like will be buffed to rogue range to compensate for their lack of direct damage.

All magical energy in this campaign will be powered by the Sphere. A new secondary attribute will determine how fast magical abilities and spells will regenerate. Be prepared for much slower refueling of magical energy, but a higher starting pool when fully charged.

Orders, guilds and covens: there will be dozens of possible 'templates' that will sit on top of your character (similar to the way you can add templates to creatures in 3.5), based on the factions that exist in Sphere. Over their career, each character will be able to be a member of up to two non-conflicting orders, one technological and one magical. Each template will give players bonuses to stats, skills, relationships, or give them unique abilities. I will need the players to help create these orders, as I perceive a world populated with them, but I don't have the brainpower to come up with all of them.

We will need to come up with a simple set of flying combat rules.

Also, be prepared to discuss any other things y'all are worried about or that didn't work in the last game. (I'd also like to know what did!)

One final note! I love games, and would really love if we rotated between D&D and something else every third week or so. I have a new European board game that is supposed to be cool, or we could play short-handed poker or somesuch.

I'm going to be adding something to the blog to help stop spam comments. If your note doesn't post right away, it's because it was caught in the filter. As soon as I have a fix in place I'll let you know!

Thanks!

Posted by at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)