User:Downzorz

User:Downzorz/Tome of Steel User:Downzorz/Broken Vow Discipline

Miscellaneous Rants

Here is where I write about stuff that one time I thought about, and then wrote down.

Aberrations

Aberrations, generally, are somewhat ill-defined. According to the SRD, they have “a bizarre anatomy, strange abilities, an alien mindset, or any combination of the three.” That is a somewhat difficult definition in the D&D world, as how are “strange abilities” their defining mark when we have dragons that breathe cones of magical light? And a “bizarre anatomy?” There are plants in the D&D world that strangle people with more dexterity than the average archer and people that transform into wolves- looking at the anatomy of the Beholder or Aboleth, nothing is so remarkable as to be shocking in the word of D&D. And as for the “alien mindset,” all the Aboleth have is vast racial memories, Beholders are crazy and xenophobic to an extreme, and Mind Flayers are just your garden variety sociopath, with a touch of “superior species” mindset thrown in. And in D&D, there is nothing so alien about that. Consider that in the world Elementals are supposed to be “natural,” and certainly Aberrations have more in common with Humanoid mindset than Elementals. So having determined that the standard description is insufficient, we need to figure out something else. But it is made easier by the de facto definition of Aberration- an excuse to use all your Lovecraft tropes in what is otherwise a non-cosmic-horror-fantasy. So they are evil creatures, with powers that extend beyond “hit it really hard,” and they all have tentacles or spider legs or something. And for some reason, they all seem to have some method for controlling others- Aboleth have their Skum, Beholders have Charm Person, Mind Flayers use mind control, Neogi just are straight-up slavers, so on and so forth. Another trend in Aberrations is to make them psionic somehow- not in huge numbers, but Mind Flayers and Aboleth are (IIRC) the only Core monsters to be psionic. So what we’ve got is tentacle-horror that acts simultaneously as a mastermind villain via mind control and a big piece of supernatural artillery. Really the only big difference between Magical Beasts and Aberrations is that Magical Beasts are brutes and Aberrations are the monster version of spellcasters. Now, obviously, there are exceptions. Some Nagas lack ability to charm or control, and Gricks and Carrion Crawlers are brutes with tentacles. So really there are some creatures, the aforementioned Gricks and Carrion Crawlers, that have no reason to be part of the Aberration type. Basically, what this whole giant rant is saying is that the Aberration type needs some fixing. I know some settings give them a common origin (like the Far Realms), which basically makes them like Elementals- extraplanars that for some reason are not Outsiders.

Creatures of Law and Chaos

Creatures of Law and Chaos are not as well-defined as the Good and Evil outsiders, probably because Lawful Neutral and Chaotic Neutral are the redheaded stepchildren of alignments. The creatures that represent Pure Law best are the Modrons, the dice-monsters of the early days. They are all following somebody else’s plan to the letter, and they are all as individualistic as the cogs they reside upon- that is, not at all. On the other side, there are “Creatures of Pure Chaos.” I put quotes around that because there are no creatures that represent Pure Chaos. Pure Chaos is a bumbling mess of energy that does not follow any fixed laws or have any fixed dimensions. You could fight Pure Chaos- but it wouldn't really be dead, or alive, or attacking you in any way. The closest you can get is fighting things like Chaos Beasts, but even those are not Pure Chaos. There can only ever be closer and closer approximations, because defining anything as a “creature” puts it in too much of a box to ever be of “pure chaos.”

Planes of Law and Chaos

The biggest problem of the planes of Law and Chaos is the same problem Frank and K wrestled with in the Tome of Fiends- how is Law depicted? For the purposes of this book, the “Laws of the Land” system will be used: Lawful means following laws, traditions, and systems. Chaos means less of that. And as for Chaotic societies, they basically are Objectivist paradises: as long as you aren’t brutally murdering people, you can do what you want.

So on to the planes. The planes are the physical embodiments of Law and Chaos, and as written they match it pretty well. Mechanus is all gears and cogs, working together in some great clockwork machine of unknown purpose. Basically, the whole plane is following the same “laws,” everything uniformly turning and shifting. Limbo, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. What is going on in one area of Limbo has absolutely no effect on another area, and there are no consistent “laws” governing Limbo. There are no “blueprints” for parts of Limbo, and maps don’t work for very long. There are some areas of stability, but these come from creatures that impose their will on the otherwise lawless chaos. The same holds for Mechanus; there are some areas of disorder and asymmetry, where the gears might not connect to each other, but this is because of living creatures coming in and messing up the otherwise perfect order.

This means that any meaningful adventures going on in Mechanus or Limbo are going to be involving incursions of relative neutrality into an otherwise strange place. In Limbo, the only areas with enough stability to adventure in will be stable structures brought in by outsiders, temporary law imposed on the chaos. After all, adventuring in a mess of unformed chaos is no fun. Mechanus, on the other hand, has two types of adventures: one where the players are trying to fix something that was broken, and one where the players are trying to break something. If they are trying to fix something, that something was probably good- celestial cogs or something. On the other hand, the gears can be dangerous or evil as well, and the players may very well desire to destroy them and stop what they might bring to pass.

My Take on Scaling Feats

My issue with the Races of War scaling feats is with the dilution of character it provides. A 15th-level fighter with Tome Combat Feats isn't just a master of any particular form of combat- he is a master of a huge variety of styles and techniques. And that is what I dislike- the fact that a single character can do anything. Now, I am aware that the Wizard can do all of that, which is why I think that the wizard, cleric, druid, etc. all need overhauls. As for feats, I prefer feat chains, but single feats that provide a scaling bonus (Weapon Focus granting a bonus equal to 1/2 BAB, for example) or one that remains useful across all levels (like Weapon Finesse).

Concepts

Stuff that I have not made stats for yet.

Sublime stuff that uses "points" that are regenerated over time- like the Psion to the Tome of Battle's wizards. Rewrites of Core and other feats to stick it all to the Rogue balance level, keeping away from the Tome scaling feats while still granting a boost in power. Making most major templates (half-dragon, celestial, lycanthrope) into classes instead of templates with LA.

Miscellaneous Crunchy Bits

Stuff that isn't fluff. Everything I make that fits nowhere else goes here.

Tribal Shaman Trappings (Tome Armor)

Not armor, +1 armor bonus, +8 Maximum Dexterity, -2 Armor Check Penalty, -1 Armor Stealth Penalty

150 gp

The trappings of a wild tribal shaman, complete with body paint, Owlbear-skin cloak, Roc-feather headdress, and the all-important loincloth.

Knowledge (Nature) Ranks: Benefit

4: You gain a +2 synergy bonus to Intimidate checks, and your Armor Check Penalty does not apply in natural environments.

8: You have an arbitrary knowledge of crafting items from sticks and stones, and can make any nonmagical item of 50 gp or less with 1 minute of time and a natural environment.

13: Animals and Magical Beasts with a CR of up to 4 less than yours are cowed by your presence. You can issue them basic commands and they will not attack you under any circumstances. This does not affect Animal Companions, Paladin Mounts, or other creatures that are compelled to do otherwise by a special bond.

18: The spirits of mighty beasts transform you, granting you 2 natural Claw attacks dealing 1d8 damage each. Any target struck by your claws must make a DC 20 Strength check to avoid being pushed back 5’.

Aural Blaster (Special Weapon)

Aural Blaster

Exotic Two-Handed Ranged

Cost: 230 gp

Damage: See text

Critical: none

Range Increment: special

Weight: 3 lbs

Type: Special

HP: 8

Hardness: 3

An Aural Blaster is a horn that is common among wild tribesmen for fighting animals. It takes a Constitution of at least 12 to blow loud enough to gain an effect. When blown as a standard action, all creatures in a 15’ cone in front of it must make a Fortitude Save (DC 12+Con modifier) or be Deafened for 1 hour. The blower of the horn takes 1 nonlethal damage from the exertion.

Screamer (Special Weapon)

Screamer

Exotic Two-Handed Ranged

Cost: 350 gp

Damage: 1d8 sonic

Critical: x2

Range Increment: 10’

Weight: 5 lbs

Type: Special

HP: 5

Hardness: 4

The Screamer amplifies natural sound waves to create a burst of damaging sound. Calibrating a screamer takes a move action; when calibrating, the wielder chooses a single range (to the nearest 5’, such as a range of 5’, 10’, etc.) to calibrate the weapon to, up to 50’. The screamer then is targeted to that that range, and can only be used to attack targets within that that range. Choosing another range to target takes another move action. After that, the Screamer can be used as an attack action with a ranged touch attack. Anyone hit by the Screamer must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or be deafened for 1 hour.

Flamebreath Blowgun (Special Weapon)

Flamebreath Blowgun

Exotic One-Handed Ranged

Cost: 500 gp

Damage: see text

Critical: none

Range Increment: Special

Weight: 2 lbs

Type: Special

HP: 8

Hardness: 2

The Flamebreath Blowgun uses a number of chambers and chutes to create a breath-powered fireblower. A Flamebreath Blowgun has two settings- a direct setting and a wide setting, which can be toggled between as a move action. The direct setting allows the user to spit fire at a single target as a ranged touch attack with a range increment of 10 feet, to a maximum of 30’. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 fire damage and must make a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid being lit on fire. The wide setting emits a 15’ cone of fire that does 1d6 fire damage to every target that fails a DC 15 Reflex save. These targets are at no risk of being lit on fire. Ammunition for the Flamebreath Blowgun costs 20 gp per shot, and can be reloaded as a move action.

High Adventure on the Upper Planes

Ysgard

Ysgard is a hack-and-slash dream; a place of endless warfare where death goes away the next day. It takes away all the messy moral complications of killing, and just lets people fight for the sake of fighting. This means that even the strictest of Paladins can slaughter each other all day and not suffer from messy ethical dilemmas. But it does leave one important question: what do we do with all the villains that we want to keep away? Permanent imprisonment is probably the only way to keep someone down, though some exotic (albeit morally shaky) methods such as a Soul Trap also work.

Campaign Seed- The Endless War You have been drafted to fight in one of the endless wars happening on Ysgard. Fight for glory, die heroically, and return the next day to do it all over again!

Arcadia

Arcadia is a pretty damn nice place to be. More lawful than good, Arcadia is a step away from the cogs of Mechanus, being more akin to the Garden of Eden- everything loves you and is good, but eat the fruit you are not supposed to and you will be banished. Lawful creatures, and maybe even subtle LE ones, will probably manage fine. CG characters might manage, though they will get quite the cold shoulder. CN or CE creatures are probably screwed, especially CE. They are probably going to get sent to camps for a pleasant “reeducation.” So adventurers can have a lot to do around here, freeing camps of chaotic captives, or fleeing captivity themselves.

Campaign Seed: Freedom Sure, you might have committed a few crimes in the past, but your intentions were good… mostly. Arcadia doesn’t really care though, and you are committed to “reeducation.” Find your way back to more understanding planes, or die trying.

Celestia

Celestia, like Arcadia, is great for lawful and good creatures. The particular attitudes of the plane make for a peaceable setting for outsiders to meditate and muster. However, there are still challenges. Aside from the classic ones (infernal invasions), there are still some reasons for good-aligned creatures to find conflict in the Mounting Heavens. Celestia is a LG plane, and the ethics of the plane match those of a paladin- do not compromise with evil. This is great if the world is mostly good, but a large part of the powers of the multiverse lie in the hands of evil creatures, and that power might be needed. So occasionally compromise with evil is required, and Celestia prevents that from happening.

Campaign Seed: Trading Trading prisoners is an age-old adage of warfare. Celestia doesn't allow the freeing of evil prisoners. So the players have a perfect opportunity to break into heavenly prisons, take some evil prisoners out with them, and sell them to secure the release of good prisoners. Morally ambiguous? Maybe. Effective? Definitely.

Bytopia

Bytopia has some built-in adventures, jumping from the relative safety of one side to the wilds on the other side. Dothion makes for good breaks and trading in town, while Shurrock makes for wilderness adventure and exploration. This is a good chance to use some of the wilderness exploration presented in the Feral Libram. Constant hunting, stresses of survival and the wrath of nature are all constant dangers to someone in Shurrock.

Campaign Seed: Lost in the Wilderness Shurrock is a damn big place, and pretty easy to get lost in. A good low-level campaign can involve players who are lost in the grand wilderness. Finding your way out by locating maps, paths, and landmarks can be a great series of adventures.

Elysium

Elysium presents a fairly common philosophical problem: if you could spend your whole life in infinite, yet meaningless bliss, would you choose to do so? Most people would say “no” on a theoretical basis, but practically there would probably be a lot of people wanting to go for it. And that is what Elysium offers to every resident. It’s a perfect land of perfectness with pretty flowers and trees where everyone is super-nice to each other and nobody wants to leave because people everywhere else are so mean. But then there is the reason someone would say “no” to eternal bliss, and it still applies when everyone is tripping on happiness- there is important stuff to do. And that is why Elysium is actually a fairly sinister plane, as far as heaven goes. Sometimes the world needs someone, and they can’t be sitting around in eternal bliss.

A special note on the resources of Elysium: just like Hades has souls and larvae, Elysium has Hope scattered about, condensed from the trippy daydreams that everyone has all day.

Campaign Seed: Finding the Lost Heroes Scattered throughout Elysium are small structures where old heroes reside in the eternal bliss. These warriors of lore and legend could be there by choice, going there in their old age to live in peace, or they could have been taken there with more sinister motives. Certainly, though, there are old secrets and treasures there that are unimaginable to modern heroes.