Like fighters, I always thought thieves got short changed when it came to their background and understanding what they were. Most think thieves are just that, those engaged in thievery, either raised on the streets or trained at a guild to be a pick pocket in a busy market.
But thieves don't strike me as that, in fact, I see them as the most appropriate class to be delving into ancient dungeons. Look at their abilities after all: Find/Remove Traps, Climb Walls, Read any Language, Read/Cast from Magic-User scrolls... these guys aren't thieves, they're tomb robbers! The thief class has much more in common with Indian Jones and Lara Croft then it does with the urchin pick pocket. These guys are build to enter old tombs, crypts, dungeons, and temples and not only survive the old traps left behind, but understand the old pictographs on the wall and know where to find the hidden treasure cache.
Guilds that train the adventuring thief class are probably full of old scholars, archeologists, and the plain old curious, people that want to know what had gone on before them (and score some loot along the way). I see these guilds as training "thieves" to delve these places for research, getting their hands on ancient artifacts, and just plain old testing of skills. These guilds also train in less savory things like Hiding in Shadows and Picking Pockets so that their employees can not only better survive, but gain valuable information. Someone knowing about secret entrances to old temples may not reveal such things in public, then there are those that hold the only remaining copy of that old key and won't give it up willingly. If some "thieves" happen to use those skills to relieve a well off noble of his coin purse, well, that's not the guild's fault is it?
In fact, most likely thieves, in terms of the adventuring class, are probably not called thieves in Bluestone. Though "tomb robber" sounds just as bad, hmm, what to name them... Any ideas?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Musing: Fighters
Fighters get a bit of the shaft when it comes to where they learned their trade and what they're all about. Most often this class is seen as something someone can just "decide to be" at one point in their live and that's all there is to it. A farmer decides to make a difference, picks up a sword and starts adventuring, now he's a fighter. Once you break down the class mechanics, the scenario of this class being organically grow as opposed to the specific training of say, a magic-user, simply doesn't make any sense.
Looking at the class, you can see that he can effectively use ALL weapons and armor. Indeed, over time, he is much more skilled in weapon use then most other classes and certainly more so then a standard city watchman or militia member. They also develop into one of the most physically fit and hardy classes (as evident by their hit dice and saving throw progression). This means they are not simply people how decided to be a fighter, nor someone with some experience in the city watch. These are trained individuals, and those specifically trained for excellence in combat. As stated before, they can use ALL weapons and armor very effectively, no easy task. Someone who spent years training how to use a staff properly, learning the techniques to trip an opponent, strike fast at vital areas, and parry blows directly at him couldn't then pick up a flail or battleaxe and be expected to use it just as well or suddenly be a crack shot with a long bow. He also couldn't throw on a suit of full plate mail for the first time and then be expected to be just as skilled with his weapon. Yet, fighters are those people, they can pick up a sword and use it just as well as a crossbow or throwing daggers or a flail, all weapons that handle very differently. These individuals must have spent years being trained in their use as well as trained physically.
The typical caravan guard or militia are nowhere near this level, nor could they possibly hope to be. In modern comparisons, the watch, militia, guards, etc. are similar to the police and the weekend warriors of the army reserve. They have some training, mostly in specifics dealing with aspects of their job, and they may be very good at that job, but they don't have a well rounded skill set in all weapons, tactics, and other combat aspects. The closest comparison to fighters may be career military, though the military still further breaks down their members into specialties, while a fighter is much more varied in his skill. In Bluestone, the government doesn't train all fighters, they don't have the resources nor manpower to do so, so instead they employ a War College, to train a few people to be fighters in which to lead militias, protect against threats too challenging for the common man, and handle "special projects" that may need to be attended to. The vast majority of fighters are, therefore, trained via private guilds. Like PMCs of today, these guilds attract those that want to make a difference or be the tough guy without having to fall into the government's program (or couldn't pass the requirements the war college has for entry). Guilds become like brotherhoods, those graduating from them will find themselves quickly befriended by past alumni. Rivalries between guilds is also common, mostly on a friendly level (especially when competing against one another in various guild sponsored tournaments) but sometimes things get personal and on rare occasions, deadly. However, the War College has stringent requirements for potential candidates and guilds can be quite expensive (though they are willing to work out loans, repayable with all that adventuring treasure a fighter is known to get), meaning not every citizen with the desire to pick up a sword and slay dragons is going to become a full fledged fighter. A city watchmen is just that, a man with a bit of training in basic weapons, armor, and apprehensions, a fighter, however, is something much more entirely.
Looking at the class, you can see that he can effectively use ALL weapons and armor. Indeed, over time, he is much more skilled in weapon use then most other classes and certainly more so then a standard city watchman or militia member. They also develop into one of the most physically fit and hardy classes (as evident by their hit dice and saving throw progression). This means they are not simply people how decided to be a fighter, nor someone with some experience in the city watch. These are trained individuals, and those specifically trained for excellence in combat. As stated before, they can use ALL weapons and armor very effectively, no easy task. Someone who spent years training how to use a staff properly, learning the techniques to trip an opponent, strike fast at vital areas, and parry blows directly at him couldn't then pick up a flail or battleaxe and be expected to use it just as well or suddenly be a crack shot with a long bow. He also couldn't throw on a suit of full plate mail for the first time and then be expected to be just as skilled with his weapon. Yet, fighters are those people, they can pick up a sword and use it just as well as a crossbow or throwing daggers or a flail, all weapons that handle very differently. These individuals must have spent years being trained in their use as well as trained physically.
The typical caravan guard or militia are nowhere near this level, nor could they possibly hope to be. In modern comparisons, the watch, militia, guards, etc. are similar to the police and the weekend warriors of the army reserve. They have some training, mostly in specifics dealing with aspects of their job, and they may be very good at that job, but they don't have a well rounded skill set in all weapons, tactics, and other combat aspects. The closest comparison to fighters may be career military, though the military still further breaks down their members into specialties, while a fighter is much more varied in his skill. In Bluestone, the government doesn't train all fighters, they don't have the resources nor manpower to do so, so instead they employ a War College, to train a few people to be fighters in which to lead militias, protect against threats too challenging for the common man, and handle "special projects" that may need to be attended to. The vast majority of fighters are, therefore, trained via private guilds. Like PMCs of today, these guilds attract those that want to make a difference or be the tough guy without having to fall into the government's program (or couldn't pass the requirements the war college has for entry). Guilds become like brotherhoods, those graduating from them will find themselves quickly befriended by past alumni. Rivalries between guilds is also common, mostly on a friendly level (especially when competing against one another in various guild sponsored tournaments) but sometimes things get personal and on rare occasions, deadly. However, the War College has stringent requirements for potential candidates and guilds can be quite expensive (though they are willing to work out loans, repayable with all that adventuring treasure a fighter is known to get), meaning not every citizen with the desire to pick up a sword and slay dragons is going to become a full fledged fighter. A city watchmen is just that, a man with a bit of training in basic weapons, armor, and apprehensions, a fighter, however, is something much more entirely.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Design and Development: Classes
With the species entries pretty much in the bag with Sean's gnomes coming in later this month or early next, it is time for me to look at the classes and their role in the Bluestone Isles. I'm not planning on rewriting, mechanically changing, or adding new classes like what was done with the species. Instead, these are going to be a few paragraphs spelling out how each class functions in Bluestone.
I've already done some preliminary work with both the clerics and paladins (I always go for divine type stuff first it seems) and am looking to continue it with the others. So, keep an eye out for that soon, but here are some general thoughts:
I've already done some preliminary work with both the clerics and paladins (I always go for divine type stuff first it seems) and am looking to continue it with the others. So, keep an eye out for that soon, but here are some general thoughts:
- Classes are trained: If you really look at a class that a player can choose and compare it to the "regular man" type entries in the monster section, you can see that these classes are a huge step above the common bandit or acolyte or pirate. That means that a fighter, someone who can use all weapons and armor without penalty and (especially as time goes one) has a much better chance successfully do damage with those weapons, is trained to use that stuff. A 1st level fighter (or any class) is just a farmer who just last season decided to be an adventurer after his family was killed by orcs, he was trained, he is lethal, and he is stronger, faster, and better then the average citizen.
- Adventurers are rare! If everyone was an adventurer or had a level or two in a class, then the ideal that the PC is special is gone. The blacksmith is not a 1st level fighter nor is the sage a 2nd level magic-user, they're normal men. If I had to stat them up, they'd use the 0 Level Human attack table and have a paltry amount of HP, someone who would be scared of a small handful of goblins.
- Just because they're all trained, doesn't mean they're all brothers. Like any business there are probably a competing number of guilds that train fighters, each one boasting they offer superior training and graduates from each guild are probably quite proud of their guild and like to show up those from other guilds. Save for paladins, of which I mentioned, are only trained from one Order and are usually quite content to point out that they're better then everyone else.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Design and Development: Kobolds Part 4
So we've looked at the nature of kobolds and then we looked at their abilities and we've defined what makes a kobold a kobold in a mechanical sense. So all that leaves now is to figure out what classes a kobold adventurer can be:
Their small hands give them a +10% to Pick Locks and Pick Pockets. They gain +05% to Find and Remove traps. They gain a +7% to Hide in Shadows and a +5% to Move Silently, these numbers would be higher based on their small size, but their inability to stay still or quiet at times means this bonus is negated by them being so fidgety. Their small size is a determent to Climb Walls (like it is for all smaller species choices in the AEC), but their claws also help negate some of that, giving them a total penalty of -10%.
And there you have it, the final step. I'll let this sit for a bit, see if my "Co-Developers" have any thoughts on it, and if this one also passes the test, then a final write up will follow.
- Assassin: Kobold assassins are scary, they're small, quick, can get in and out in an instant and don't hold the same moral values many of the other intelligent species do. A job is a job and they will do anything to anyone in order to get their target.
- Cleric: All kobolds worship Grebow, Lord of All Kobolds, though their worship is unique. The church has no doctrine, instead kobolds worship in whatever style of worship is predominant in the area they live. If the local churches use animal sacrifices under a full moon, so do the kobolds. If the local temple worships in several hour long chants relating to their god's deeds, so do the kobolds. However, all of the worship is given to Grebow, instead of the local religion. Grebow accepts whatever worship is given his way and will reward some kobold's with clerical powers for their dedication.
- Druid: Like the rats some claim them to be, kobolds are urban creatures and have no real understanding of the natural world. Likewise, they all pay reverence to their creator Grebow and have little time for ancestor or spirit worship. Because of that, no kobold has ever learned druidic secrets.
- Fighter: Many kobolds pick up martial abilities, either through emulation of local fighter's guilds or via training in jobs like militia, sewer guards, or other martial careers.
- Magic-Users and Illusionists: No arcane teacher would train a kobold, nor would any kobold maintain the patience and skill needed to become a trained acrane caster. And while some kobolds are born with innate magical abilities (a Wild Mage class may come of that), none will ever be fully trained casters.
- Monks, Paladins, and Rangers: There are no monastic orders in Bluestone and even if there were, much like arcane casters, few would train a kobold. Paladins on Bluestone are an exclusive human only brotherhood and, as mentioned above, kobolds do not have the respect for the natural world to learn to be a ranger.
- Thief: Like assassins, kobolds make dangerous thieves. Their size and speed give them many advantages to thieving abilities and skills and their unique sense of morals means they have little hold up about taking something belong to someone else.
Their small hands give them a +10% to Pick Locks and Pick Pockets. They gain +05% to Find and Remove traps. They gain a +7% to Hide in Shadows and a +5% to Move Silently, these numbers would be higher based on their small size, but their inability to stay still or quiet at times means this bonus is negated by them being so fidgety. Their small size is a determent to Climb Walls (like it is for all smaller species choices in the AEC), but their claws also help negate some of that, giving them a total penalty of -10%.
And there you have it, the final step. I'll let this sit for a bit, see if my "Co-Developers" have any thoughts on it, and if this one also passes the test, then a final write up will follow.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Design and Development: Kobolds Part 3
So we've taken a look at what makes a kobold tick as well as their ability modifiers and their min/maxs, so next up we need to start figuring out special abilities, things that make the species unique in a mechanical stand point.
We can already factor in that they have infravision, it is right there in their description as a monster entry and the red eyes are a staple of the kobold look. Next, they're small and fast, based on their size, thin frames, and unique locomotion, kobolds can move when they have to. At first I thought about some sort of rules for them being better jumpers, based on their locomotion, but there are no rules for jumping in LL (besides an off hand mention in the optional ability check section), and I'm not going to grant bonuses to something that is reserved for DM fiat. Instead, you'd assume that people would say that kobolds are better jumpers if it comes up in play, but there need not be a rule for it. So the best way to represent this would be to firstly take a page from the halfling write-up in the AEC. Halflings get a -2 AC against any creature larger then human sized, but kobolds are shifter then halflings, so, a proposed idea would be that they receive a -1 AC overall and a -2 AC against any creature larger then human sized. Also, to denote their quickness versus other PC species, they are able to move an additional 10 feet per encounter round. This makes kobolds great for quick hit and run style tactics, drawing enemy attention and running circles around them while the rest of the party dispatches them.
Next, kobolds are pretty resistant to magic, this is because many kobolds are born with the innate ability to fire off spells without any training (and with many disastrous results), because of that, the species as a whole has developed a keen ability to resist such magics. Couple this with their speed that would give them bonuses against Breath Attack (since that Saving Throw is really just a dodge roll when you break it apart) and you get the following Saving Throw Bonuses:
So, there we have their abilities and saving throw bonuses. Unless it is met with mass rejection, the next entry will look at just what type of classes kobolds can be.
We can already factor in that they have infravision, it is right there in their description as a monster entry and the red eyes are a staple of the kobold look. Next, they're small and fast, based on their size, thin frames, and unique locomotion, kobolds can move when they have to. At first I thought about some sort of rules for them being better jumpers, based on their locomotion, but there are no rules for jumping in LL (besides an off hand mention in the optional ability check section), and I'm not going to grant bonuses to something that is reserved for DM fiat. Instead, you'd assume that people would say that kobolds are better jumpers if it comes up in play, but there need not be a rule for it. So the best way to represent this would be to firstly take a page from the halfling write-up in the AEC. Halflings get a -2 AC against any creature larger then human sized, but kobolds are shifter then halflings, so, a proposed idea would be that they receive a -1 AC overall and a -2 AC against any creature larger then human sized. Also, to denote their quickness versus other PC species, they are able to move an additional 10 feet per encounter round. This makes kobolds great for quick hit and run style tactics, drawing enemy attention and running circles around them while the rest of the party dispatches them.
Next, kobolds are pretty resistant to magic, this is because many kobolds are born with the innate ability to fire off spells without any training (and with many disastrous results), because of that, the species as a whole has developed a keen ability to resist such magics. Couple this with their speed that would give them bonuses against Breath Attack (since that Saving Throw is really just a dodge roll when you break it apart) and you get the following Saving Throw Bonuses:
- +2 save vs. Breath Attacks
- +3 save vs. Wands
- +4 save vs. Spells and Spell-Like Devices
So, there we have their abilities and saving throw bonuses. Unless it is met with mass rejection, the next entry will look at just what type of classes kobolds can be.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Book Building: Status Update
So now that I've made my "come back" let's take a look where we are on the first book, shall we?
Using the already posted ToC as a guide:
Using the already posted ToC as a guide:
- Introduction: Written and done
- Chapter 1: Races & Classes of the Bluestone Isles: Of the proposed species, three are written, one needs to be figured out by myself (the kobolds) and one needs to have Sean's write-up (the gnomes). The classes I've had a few thoughts on, some of which I've already talked about. They'll be nothing but flavor explaining their place in Bluestone, so it won't require anything out of some creative writing.
- Chapter 2: Equipment & New Rules: We haven't really got into this section yet, mostly it will be a few rules on airships including some sample models as well as some steam punk inspired devices. The most crunchy of the book, it'll probably be looked at last.
- Chapter 3: History of the Bluestone Isles: I took a stab at this, didn't like, decided to change it to a narrative style and it requires a rewrite. But I know the basic timeline of the setting, so that'll be complete in no time.
- Map of the Bluestone Isle: Handled
- Chapter 4: Player's Gazetteer of the Bluestone Isles: This Sean and I worked out over several sessions and have pretty much finished.
- Chapter 5: Religion of the Bluestone Isles: The gods and their meddlings, domains, and going-ons have always been something I loved about world building (probably why I liked Planescape so much), so I've thought, and Sean and I have talked, at length about the gods and what they are all about. The real trouble will be narrowing down which gods we introduce in Bluestone and how much we reveal about each one. I will tell you one thing though, none of them will have stats.
- Chapter 6: X: X is one of the towns/villages on the map that will get a full write-up, including map, NPCs, building descriptions, etc. This can be used as a "home base" for starting characters and campaign launching points. This will probably be the second to last thing that gets written up, before we tackle the crunch of equipment and rules.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
On: Oh, THERE he is!
Well, I'm back!
In what I can only call "a thousand little distractions," I was caught up in several other things that kept my creativity away from this blog and the subsequent digital release that shall come from it. Part of the problem has been that our group hasn't managed to all get together and play in a few weeks which has cut off my "D&D mentality" that would help me focus.
However, I'm back in the saddle and ready to go. So, look for me to re-attack Kobolds in the near future and a full finish on the species write-ups soon after (once I recoordinate Gnomes with Sean as well) and of course my usual random thoughts, musings, and other bits of info that come across my brain.
I want to return to doing close to one post a day, so, let's see what happens!
In what I can only call "a thousand little distractions," I was caught up in several other things that kept my creativity away from this blog and the subsequent digital release that shall come from it. Part of the problem has been that our group hasn't managed to all get together and play in a few weeks which has cut off my "D&D mentality" that would help me focus.
However, I'm back in the saddle and ready to go. So, look for me to re-attack Kobolds in the near future and a full finish on the species write-ups soon after (once I recoordinate Gnomes with Sean as well) and of course my usual random thoughts, musings, and other bits of info that come across my brain.
I want to return to doing close to one post a day, so, let's see what happens!
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