Looping the Hen Games

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!