Jorune: general discussion

I'll be joining up tomorrow :)

A comment/question about Improvement:

This is interesting. When considering whether I would have Gythaar learn from success or from failure I realized that the skills I would like to improve (and so assigned as foci) are also those that I gave highest ranks. So learn by success then, right? Which brings me to: is there any point at all to putting focus on a skill that you are already ranked Seasoned in? What is there, if anything, beyond Seasoned?

If you choose to improve skills with high ranks/level, learning by success will be more likely to grant you improvement rolls, yes.

There's no level beyond Seasoned, but you will still improve ranks in the skill, which makes it more likely that you will succeed when you do have to roll a skill check.

I have a question about character background, in particular, Fascination: What are Skyrealms, and what are Warps? Apologies if this was explained in any of the setting info posts. I did read them all but I might've missed something.

About Racial Attitudes: I know we each need to think about our individual attitudes about other races, but what are some general cultural attitudes? From the setting information I've gotten that bronth and woffen tend to despise crugar, and that the iscin races are 2nd-class citizens (please correct me if I got any of that wrong). What else besides that? What do the human varieties think of each other? Would a crugar (or any other iscin for that matter) consent to being mounted or would that be demeaning? Would it perhaps make a difference if you've formed a bond with someone (example: Marik & Gythaar)?

Jorune the planet contains a lot of energetic crystal. That crystal energy - isho - flows in currents all over and through the planet, in seven varieties (corresponding to the seven moons). One color of isho - Ebba - has to do with force and gravity. Shifts in subterranean ebba flows will occasionally cause a section of the planet's crust to break off and float upwards. Such floating mountains/islands are called "skyrealms."

Another color of isho - white - is called Tra, which has to do with space. Using tra, portals can be opened that connect with some distant location. These portals or gates are called "warps."

Awesome! Thanks! I think Gythaar is ready. Maybe some backstory and relationship with fellow PC's, and my question above about racial attitudes, but I think I'm ready to jump into the game thread now. :-)

Waiting for more people to jump in before I start posting more in the game thread :)

About mounting PCs: a muadra riding a crugar would be pretty weird, but then, for most races, a lot of racial intermingling is weird, too. Ardoth is one of the only places on Jorune where two races choosing to spend time with each other wouldn't raise eyebrows. For most toth, each to his own. People from larger cities, as well as Drenn, would have no issues with it. Thriddle would find it fascinating; they seem to have few qualms themselves about freely interacting with anyone (though many people do have prejudice against thriddle - they are freaky monsters with bulging eyes on stalks, after all). Crugar tend to be prideful, and the affection and trust implicit in letting someone else ride you would be astonishing to crugar from the homeland of Temauntro.

On the other hand, some races are less alarming. The corastin - who are often relegated to menial labor as simpletons - are often bearers of others, for instance. But they're easily twice the mass of any other sentient race, and only a large bronth standing erect on hind legs would come close to the height of a corastin.

I got the 3rd edition rule book... the combat rules are REALLY complex, honestly not sure where to start lol

Yeah, I'm trying to shield you players from most of the heavy crunch. My friend Joe produced a bunch of material for the game right after 3rd edition was released, including the Sholari Pack, which does a good job of reorganizing and presenting the information in a more sensible way. I'm trying to leverage that and also streamline a little bit. I'm overdue in posting my thread on isho and dyshas.,,

Just to make sure... The aim bonus is added directly onto our ranks in ranged skills? Is this actually rank additions in the sense that they can raise us to the next level (Familiar to Experienced)? Or is it just a 'soft' increase that raises the number that we have to roll under?

The latter; the aim bonus alters the target number for a roll when firing a ranged weapon or launching a dysha.

That's what I thought, thanks for clarification :)

Sorry for all the mistakes...still learning the system :-D I think maybe I should get my character sheet better organized.

Gythaar just threw his only ranged weapon! Dysha time. I hope I get the rolls right! 5 ranks +1 Aim +1 STR +1 AGL = 8?

Did I do that right? How often do these advantage rolls happen?

Sorry, my previous post had been right before I turned in to bed last night, so I didn't see your question until just now.

A combat round is broken into three parts: Advantage, Actions, Damage (if any).
So you'll be rolling Advantage every round that you're in combat. That's 1d20 plus your advantage modifiers.
That determines what actions you can take:
1 - 5: you can evade.
6 - 10: you can defend, make a ranged attack, or evade.
11 - 15: you can defend or attack
16 - 19: you can defend and attack
20: You can defend and attack with +5 modifier to the target number

Aim bonus is added to the target number just as you've done.
You can also spend a round or more aiming, which will give you further modifiers to your target number. To aim in this way, you roll 1d20 vs your AIM characteristic.

Damage is always 2d6, as you've done. If you hit on an armored part of the opponent, I'll have you roll another 2d6 for armor penetration. You can choose to include that roll with your post, on the chance that it will be required, or wait for my prompt.

Thanks for the above, and sorry for all the questions! :-)

Now about those advantage rolls, you said in the game thread to roll "roll your Advantage rolls over again, using 1d20+5 (for your preparation as the dichandra noticed you), plus your other advantage bonuses." What is the +5 from? Gythaar's STR and AGL together give him +2 bonus to Advantage rolls so is that then 1d20+7?

How do we use a Dysha? Do we just roll vs our Dysha Skill in the ranged category? Do we roll vs our skill in that specific Dysha and THEN vs our Dysha Skill?

Also, I got my Isho costs for the dyshas out of the rule book, but everyone else might need them to if they don't have them already.

Jabes: The +5 was a bonus I gave to the party for round one, because they had effectively surprised the beasts. It is applied in addition to the STR and AGL modifiers you mention.

Naatkinson: To cast a dysha, tell me the level you have in that dysha (for example: "I'm going to use Healer/Experienced"). In many cases, that will be sufficient to succeed. If a roll is required for an attack dysha, it's actually two rolls: first, a roll to form the dysha (against that dysha's skill), and then a second roll to hit with the attack (against the dysha ranged attack skill). As you note, isho points are used with every dysha cast. The bundling and other multipliers are complex enough, I'm saving it for my isho article - it's complicated enough, I may split it into two articles: one for setting info, and one long one for the mechanics. Sorry it's taking me so long!

Hmm, very complex indeed. So I don't have to roll at all to use my dysha? Besides for damage?