Out of Character General Chat

Thanks for the invite, Ironmonger! Excited to get going.

I'm reading through some of the character-creation rules, and using the "one unique thing" to really ground a character concept. Since I'm brand new to the game (and haven't played a d20 game in years), I'm leaning toward a Paladin inspired by Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) in Chinese folklore—albeit drastically reduced in power to suit the game's power level.

I have uniques in mind for a cleric or rogue, as well, that would be fun. But for now, I'm going to see where the paladin idea takes me.

Nov 2, 2023 8:58 pm

Sounds good. You can reflavor any of the races as a monkey race as long as you don't change any of the mechanics. For example you could use the half work as a base but just flavor it as a monkey person if you really wanted to. Flavor is free, mechanics have limits

You can even make your one unique thing related to your race. You might be the only monkey that has magically been turned into a humanoid for example

Nov 3, 2023 12:21 am

Howdy! I'm working out a character who's either a spellcaster or someone with an animal companion.

In a previous 13A game, I came up with this partly automated character sheet. It will probably need some more tweaking, but feel free to use.EDIT: I'll play a high elf wizard named Raphel Cassidor.

Last edited November 3, 2023 7:21 am

Nov 3, 2023 1:15 am

I'm not super familiar with how custom character sheets work on this website. I am new here and only know the default one the website gives.

Also, just a heads up that I am a bit of a rules lawyer DM, but that just means I enjoy learning rules and sticking to them. I pride myself on consistency. If I ever change a rule I will make it known before the issue occurs. If the issue happens first, I will research what was supposed to happen and make a ruling for any future instances. That said, I do still enjoy creativity and challenging combat, but try to put NPC interaction where I can

Nov 3, 2023 1:17 am

@Ironmonger42 What are your thoughts about this wizard talent? I think it will be great fun, but since it adds to the GM workload (coming up with bonus effects) I want to run it by you first. We can make it mostly a flavor thing too.

[ +- ] Polysyllabic Verbalizations

EDIT: Regarding custom character sheets, they're basically blank pages that you modify via BBCode. There's a bunch of templates created and shared by Gamersplane users for various games.

Last edited November 3, 2023 1:19 am

Nov 3, 2023 1:23 am

Let me throw it back at you. What are some examples of effects you would hope for? I will tell you if I would be ok with them, or what I would suggest instead, and based on my answer you can decide if it is worth it.

Nov 3, 2023 1:25 am

Regarding the character sheets, I'm generally ok with whatever sheet, but I would like to be able to see your sheet whenever I'd like so I can get an idea of what my players have access to so I can keep that in mind. If using the sheet means I wouldn't be able to see it then I'd suggest using the default. If I can, then it should be fine.

Nov 3, 2023 1:38 am

Good question. I mainly love the idea of renaming spells to be as extravagant as Worlds Without Number - The Jade Palanquin of the Faceless God (Floating Disk), Contingent Excision of Arcana (Dispel Magic), Obnubilation of the Will (Dominate Person).

In terms of mechanical advantages, Evocation can be a point of comparison since it also consumes a quick action to maximize damage dice. PV should be weaker than that since it affects all of the wizard's spells. Maybe things like changing spell targets from 1d4 to 1d3+1, dealing damage equal to wizard level on a miss and/or changing damage dice from 4d10 to 10d4?

EDIT: You shouldn't have any issue viewing Custom Sheets whenever you like as a GM.

Last edited November 3, 2023 1:39 am

Nov 3, 2023 2:25 am

I think it is fine to take that talent. Just understand that the idea is that the bonus isn't the same every time you cast it. When you want to use the talent, mention the name and maybe what you hope would happen. If I don't know what to do, I'll let the d20 roll influence the usefulness

Nov 3, 2023 2:39 am

Sounds good to me. Could you please modify the campaign so that custom sheets are allowed?

Nov 3, 2023 2:55 am

Ok I think I edited it to allow custom

SavageBob

Nov 3, 2023 3:47 am

Hmm. So there's potential narrative and niche overlap between Hrafe Strongheart and my character concept: a son-of-the-war-god unstoppable slayer, versus the cast-out-of-heaven, against-her-will paladin I've been working on.

It MAY work. Is it OK to have two divine-touched PCs who are both martially focused? It could make for some interesting RP, as I've been leaning toward my paladin being a reluctant servant to the gods, while Hrafe may have a more positive relationship.

Jomsviking

Nov 3, 2023 6:01 am

Hrafe:

"Of course it works. Heaven had to kick you out to make room for the myriad of souls I have sent there."

Nov 3, 2023 7:21 am

Raphel's character sheet should be good to go.

Nov 3, 2023 11:51 am

It should be ok as long as neither of you feel like your "one unique thing" overlaps enough that it isn't "unique" anymore. Just keep in mind that the gods in the default setting are meant to be not very defined. In fact, the book says that, to a degree, the 13 Icons are kind of meant to be the "gods" of the realm, and the gods are otherwise just refereed to as "the gods of light" (who the priestess helps the worship of) and the "gods of darkness" (who the crusader claims to kill in the name of).

Also, generally, if you are serving any dark gods, the game assumes that means you slay demons as the dark gods are not aligned with demons and view them as "the things trying to destroy the world we want to rule, so they must be exterminated"

Nov 3, 2023 12:46 pm

I encourage you to talk to each other about your icon relationships. There isn't a problem if it happens, but you may want to know if someone plans to put 3 positive relationship points with the great gold wyrm before you decide to have a conflicted relationship with the three. See the useful references threat for the list of icons and how many points you can put in them based on your relationship

Nov 3, 2023 1:34 pm

All three icon points of my elf wizard Raphel went into a conflicted relationship with the Archmage. His magical talent makes him quite in demand as an apprentice, while his arrogance has left a trail of ex-mentors behind him. So far, I don't see anything problematic arising from whatever icons the other party members have.

Nov 3, 2023 3:14 pm

So far it seems we have a Paladin, Barbarian, and Wizard.

SavageBob

Nov 3, 2023 3:37 pm