Owen K.C. Stephens's Blog, page 71

Halidoms: Relics of the Unburned World for GammaFinder (Part 1)

I introduced GammaFinder, a post-apocalypse campaign hack for Starfinder, yesterday. The response was… positive.

GammaFinder — Simple PA rules for Starfinder

I am a huge fan of Post-Apocalypse games. That may be why I wrote for Sword and Sorcery’s Gamma World line, and d20 Apocalypse.

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Setting

The world ended. A few times. But for living memory, there were two Great Cities — Alpha, a land of ancient technology and highly-educated people living in a gentle, safe, totalitarian Bubble; and Beta — A huge, sprawling rough-and-tumble metroplex of rivers and bridges and canyons where mutants and rogues lived and traded and taught and sometime killed each other, but were free of most outside influences. Both had occasional visitors from a Third Great City — Gamma — but no one knew where ti was or what it was really like.

The Omega Invasion was unlike anything that had been seen in centuries. New horrors, new machines, new creatures, wiped out Alpha and Beta. The OI seemed poised to wipe out all life… until the Gamma Strike, which wrecked their bases and leaders, and left them in a scattered wreck of damaged robots and crazed ex-soldiers and experiments.

But there are Omega Invasion forces left, and they are trying to rebuild their armies. So heroes must seek out Gamma, and see if it can be convinced to once again save the world of the GammaFinders.

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Level

Characters start at 4th level. The GammaFinder World is a harsh place, so we start with more competent characters. And that means you are just one level of a nice ability score bump!

Starships

Not happening, don’t worry about them.

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Emphasis

Every character gets an emphasis. There are three available at the moment.

Mutations: Select one item of your character level -1, or two of your level -3. You gain the abilities of those items as mutations. If they use batteries or ammo, you can use the ability as often each day as one full load of ammo or batteries. As you gain levels, you can change these items. When you gain levels you can improve your mutations to higher-levels of the same thing, or switch to entirely different items your mutations emulate, to represent ongoing mutation.

Relic: Select one item of your character level +1 or less. You have an ancient piece of tech that does what that item does, though you can change its appearance. If it has batteries or ammo, you refill them each time you spend Resolve to regain SP following a 10-minute rest. If your relic is lost or destroyed, you get a replacement when you gain your next level. You can change your relic at each character level, to represent the shifting effects of this ancient technology.

Talent: You get one bonus feat at every odd level. You must meet the prerequisites. Alternatively, at each off level you can gain one additional spell slot of the highest-level spell you can cast at that level. If you select this latter choice, you are likely described as a “psionic” or “witch.”

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Items

You get one item of your level (Major Item), one of your level-1 (Moderate Item), one of your level -2 (Minor Item), and one of your level -3 (Incidental Item). If it’s a consumable item, you can replace it when used at the beginning of each day (you may be able to make a new one, or find a new one, or have something that produces refills for it once per day).

These items don’t go up in level automatically, and if lost are not replaced.

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Level Advancement and Treasure

You gain a level every 12 encounters. Over 6 encounters, you expect (on average) to get one Major, one Moderate, one Minor, and three Incidental items. If you have the ranks in a skill needed to make an item, you can convert an items of the same type into a different item, once. Every time after that you convert and item, it loses one item level.

That’s it! It’s otherwise just Starfinder as a quick-and-easy PA setting!

A Request

I now depend on my Patreon for more of my income and support than I ever expected to. If you find any value in my blog posts or videos, I could use help with the Patreon. If you can spare a few bucks a month, it’s a huge help. If not, even just sharing and linking to my blogs, videos, and the Patreon itself is a huge help that just takes a moment of your time.

Thanks, everyone.

Social Distance Thoughts. GM-less 5e Gaming: Part One – Skills

Pandemic changes things. For everyone’s sake, we need to adapt. For our own sakes, we need to stay sane.

At least for the next few weeks, a lot of us aren’t going out and doing the things we normally do. That leaves us with only online options to interact with friends.

RPGs are a great way to spend time with friends. And if you are willing to go theater-of-the-mind, it works great just via chat or video conference.

But, no one may be in the mood to act as GM.

So, a group of 2-4 friends sure CAN run through a pre-generated adventure without a GM, or a map. Just treat it as a board game, deal with one encounter at a time, roll targets of attacks randomly, and don’t get too hung up on things like tactics or worrying about player knowledge. One Facilitator reads each encounter as you run into it (and maybe that role rotates), and players agree to deal with things cooperatively.

You can even use these ideas to run yourself through adventures on your own, a kind of Gaming Solitaire.

But… it might be nice to have some guidelines for things like skill checks interacting with encounters, when you don’t have a GM to make rulings. So:

GM-less 5e Skill Rules

This is just the beginning of a potential ruleset for playing through a published 5e module with friends, likely online and without a virtual tabletop, and without a GM. This is a first set of thoughts—the beginning of this idea, rather than the end.

Group Skill Decisions

When you want to try something the text doesn’t give you guidance on, the group needs to decide on a DC for the effort. The player proposing the action suggests an ability and related skill, and describes how the action would work. The group then sees if they can agree that the thing being proposed would be Very Easy to accomplish, Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, or Nearly Impossible. The default DC of anything the group can’t decide on is 20 (Hard).

Ability Checks Table: Typical Difficulty Classes

Task Difficulty   (DC)

Very Easy (5)

Easy (10)

Medium (15)

Hard (20)

Very Hard (25)

Nearly Impossible (30)

Each ability score lists the skills associated with it, along with typical results for success and failure of skill checks that aren’t specifically outlines in the adventure. Have fun with these checks. Describe the attempts, discuss how the story plays out. It’s a different kind of roleplaying, but no less fun or effective for being more cooperative.

For example, the adventure says there is a locked door. Kyla suggests her barbarian should be able to shoulder the door open with a Strength (Athletics) check. The group agrees that’s possible, but given it’s a sturdy, well-maintained door, it’ll be Hard. Kyla attempts a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. If she succeeded, she could bypass the obstacle (forcing the door open). As it happens she fails. The typical failure for Strength Athletics) is to take Damage equal to DC -20 -2d6. That’s a base of 10 (DC 20 -10) hp of damage. Kyla rolls 2d6, and gets a 7, which she also subtracts. She ends up taking 3 (10 -7) points of damage, and the door is not open.

Strength

(Athletics) – Success: Overcome one obstacle. Cause one monster to be unable to act for 1d4 rounds. Failure: Take damage equal to task DC -10 -2d6 (minimum 0).

Dexterity

(Acrobatics) – Success: Overcome one obstacle. Cause one monster to be unable to affect you for 1d3 rounds. Failure: Take damage equal to task DC -10 -3d6 (minimum 0).

(Sleight of Hand) – Success: Take one item of fist-size or less from the encounter. Cause one monster to be unable to use an item for 1 round. Failure: Disadvantage on defensive rolls for 1 round.

(Stealth) – Success: Escape an encounter. Examine an encounter without triggering it. Failure: Trigger an encounter, lose turn failing to escape the encounter.

Constitution

Endure a hazard or circumstance for 1d4 rounds without taking additional damage or penalties.

Intelligence

(Arcana) – Learn the details of one magic creature, effect, trap, curse, or similar item. Failure: False information causes you to be at disadvantage for your next check against the magic examined.

(History) – Learn the details of one ruin or established settlement, or item pertaining to it. Failure: False information causes you to be at disadvantage for your next check against the place or related item examined.

(Investigation) – Learn the details of one location you can examine unhindered. Failure: False information causes you to be at disadvantage for your next check against the location or a related item examined.

(Nature) – Learn the details of one natural creature, effect, hazard, location, terrain, or similar item. Failure: False information causes you to be at disadvantage for your next check against the natural creature or phenomenon examined.

(Religion) – Learn the details of one religion or a related creature, effect, trap, curse, or similar item. This specifically includes angels, demons, devils, and undead. Failure: False information causes you to be at disadvantage for your next check against the religious subject examined.

Wisdom

(Animal Handling) – Success: Overcome one animal-based encounter that has not yet become a combat without it becoming one. Cause one animal to be unable to affect you for 1d3 rounds. Instruct a friendly animal to take a specific action. Failure: Bad interaction causes you to be at disadvantage with your next check with the relevant animal.

(Insight) – Success: Learn the true intentions of one intelligence creature. If the creature intends to attack you, you may take an action to begin the combat before the creature does. Failure: Bad conclusion causes you to be at disadvantage with your next check with the relevant creature.

(Medicine) – Success: Learn the nature of one disease or poison. Stabilize a dying creature. Prevent a disease, bleed, or poison from affecting its victim for 1 round. Failure: target takes 1 hp.

(Perception) – Success: Learn all elements of an encounter. Failure: No penalty.

(Survival) – Success: Live off the land without using up supplies for 1 day. Avoid one natural hazard. Locate a natural encounter and observe it without setting it off. Failure: One random party member takes 1 hp.

Charisma

(Deception) – Success: Overcome one non-combat encounter with intelligent creatures. Gain advantage on your next check with one creature in a combat encounter. Failure: You are at disadvantage on your next check with the creature you attempted to deceive.

(Intimidation) – Success: Overcome one non-combat encounter with intelligent creatures. Gain advantage on your next check with one creature in a combat encounter. Failure: Creature attacks you.

(Performance) – Success: Gain advantage for the next check a party member makes in a non-combat encounter with intelligent creatures. Failure: Suffer disadvantage for the next check a party member makes in a non-combat encounter with intelligent creatures.

(Persuasion) – Success: Overcome one non-combat encounter with nonhostile intelligent creatures. Failure: No penalty.

A Request

I now depend on my Patreon for more of my income and support than I ever expected to. If you find any value in my blog posts or videos, I could use help with the Patreon. If you can spare a few bucks a month, it’s a huge help. If not, even just sharing and linking to my blogs, videos, and the Patreon itself is a huge help that just takes a moment of your time.

Thanks, everyone.

Dark Solarian Revelations, 1

Yesterday we introduced the concept of Dark Solarians. Oft called lunarians, these offshoots focus on the power of gravitation without light, epitomized by the concept of Dark Matter.

The response was positive.

So, here are a few revelations to make them even more different from their more balanced brethren.

Lunarian Revelations

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2nd Level

Dark Path (Su)

You can create a path of dark matter which bends and twists as you command, sending you sensory data and allowing your small arms attacks to travel from you to a target not in your line of sight. You can add the guided weapon special property to small arms attacks you make, and as a standard action you can make a Perception check from any point within 60 feet to which you can trace a path (even if it is not a straight line of effect).

Gravitational Weapon (Su)

You can add the gravitation weapon special property to your lunar weapon, treating your class level as its item level. It allows you to move a target 5 feet, +5 feet for every 5 levels of solarian. If you are fully attuned, the save DC increase by +2, and you can move the target 5 more feet.

If you are 5th level or higher you can also add this special property to a small arm you are using, though the save DC is 2 lower and you move the target 5 fewer feet when used in this way.

PATREON

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Dark Solarians: The Lunarians

Solarians are empowered by a balance of gravity and photons, dark and light. But there are other traditions that eschew this balance. That seek to focus on the dark mass of the universe, and the power of lightless bodies and black holes.

Among these are the lunarians, those who believe the power of moons to block light, as represented by eclipse and penumbra, is a greater force than the few sparkling nuclear torches in the universe, and that to seek balance between the vast, untapped dark matter and the scant mass of stars is foolishness.

Lunarians’ powers are focused less on pure damage, and more on binding and slowing their foes, and augmenting common weapons with their gravitational powers.

Solarian Alternate Class: Lunarian

At 1st level a solarian character can choose to instead be a lunarian. Solarians that do this do not gain any photon powers or revelations, and do not suffer any penalty for having unbalanced revelations. Lunarians make choose Charisma or Dexterity as their key ability score. A lunarian does not gain a solar manifestation, instead developing a lunar weapon.

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Lunar Weapon

At 1st level, you gain a physical manifestation of your gravitational power. The base form of your lunar weapon, when not actively in use, is a mote of lightless dark matter slightly smaller than your fist that hovers near your head. Beyond the dark mote, your manifestation can take one additional form: a lunar weapon. Only you can interact with your lunar weapon, whether in mote or weapon form. No other creature or effect can affect your lunar weapon in any way, including disarming or sundering it.

Your lunar weapon functions as an advanced melee weapon with reach. It does only 1 point of bludgeoning damage, though this is increased by weapon specialization normally, and it can benefit from solarian weapon crystals as a solar weapon does.

A lunar weapon targets EAC, and has the knockdown critical hit effect. When you strike a foe with a lunar weapon it binds them with gravitational waves, causing them to be entangled for 1 round. If you exceed their EAC by 5 or more, they are entangled for 2 rounds. At 5th level, your lunar weapon gains the block weapon special property.  At 10th level, targets struck must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 +1/2 class level +key ability modifier) or be staggered for 1 round. At 15th level, they must make the save or be staggered for 1d4+1 rounds. At 20th level, your lunar weapon scores a critical hit on a 19-20, if the attack roll hits the target’s EAC.

You can also use your lunar weapon to increase the damage of small arm and operative weapon attacks you make that target KAC. You add your solarian level to such attacks. This is in addition to normal damage benefits from Weapon Specialization, once you gain it. You can wield a small arm or operative melee weapon in the same hand as your lunar weapon. The attack does not gain any other advantages of your lunar weapon.

PATREON

Enjoy this Starfinder content? Want to see more? Want to see something else? You can back my Patreon to encourage me to do more of the kind of work you want to see, and you can subscribe to the 52-in-52 program to get entire game supplements, one a week for every week of 20020, that are done in four versions for four game systems, including Starfinder!

 

More 5e Familiars

I was having a conversation with Jacob Blackmon (by social-distancing-approved web interface), and he mentioned an idea of playing with how familiars and concentration spells in 5e interact. I found it interesting, and that developed into these Upgraded Familiars.

You gain an Upgraded Familiar with the find familiar spell, but must add additional material components as listed for each upgraded familiar below. Each uses the base stats of the listed normal familiar, but also has one of more special abilities.

Chameleon

Material: 50 gp worth of opal

Base stats: lizard

Special: A chameleon gives you access to the alter self spell, which you can cast using appropriate spell slots as if it was a spell you knew. The chameleon can take its action each turn to concentrate on an alter self spell you cast, which frees you from its limitations of a concentration spell.

Firefly, Giant

Material: 50 gp worth of amber

Base stats: owl

Special: A giant firefly can make as much light as a candle at will. It also gives you access to the dancing lights cantrip, which you can cast as if it was a cantrip you knew. The firefly can take its action each turn to concentrate on a dancing lights cantrip you cast, which frees you from its limitations of a concentration spell.

Mongoose

Material: 50 gp worth of pearl

Base stats: weasel

Special: A mongoose gives you access to the blur spell, which you can cast using appropriate spell slots as if it was a spell you knew. The mongoose can take its action each turn to concentrate on a blur spell you cast, which frees you from its limitations of a concentration spell.

Nightingale

Material: 50 gp worth of onyx

Base stats: bat

Special: A nightingale gives you access to the darkness spell, which you can cast using appropriate spell slots as if it was a spell you knew. The nightingale can take its action each turn to concentrate on a darkness spell you cast, which frees you from its limitations of a concentration spell.

Spider, Orb Weaver

Material: 50 gp worth of jade

Base stats: spider

Special: An orb weaver gives you access to the web spell, which you can cast using appropriate spell slots as if it was a spell you knew. The orb weaver can take its action each turn to concentrate on a web spell you cast, which frees you from its limitations of a concentration spell.

PATREON

Enjoy this 5e content? Want to see more? Want to see something else? You can back my Patreon to encourage me to do more of the kind of work you want to see, and you can subscribe to the 52-in-52 program to get entire game supplements, one a week for every week of 20020, that are done in four versions for four game systems, including 5e!

Dash Cantrip, in Four Game Systems

Cantrips are interesting, in all 4 of the d20 game systems I work in regularly (PF1, PF2, StF, and 5e). You get unlimited uses of them, so they need to be useful enough to be worth tracking (even at mid- to high-levels), but can’t be so good that casting them endlessly can ruin a game.

And almost none of them impact movement.

Which lead me to wonder, CAN I design a cantrip that impacts movement? Something to give you a little edge when what you need to do is reposition yourself and just a double move (or dash, or triple move, or whatever the game’s equivalent is) won’t do.

Can I do in in four game systems?

Behold, the dash cantrip.

Pathfinder, 1e

Dash

School transmutation; Level Bard 0, Cleric 0, Druid 0, Inquisitor 0, Magus 0, Mesmerist 0, Psychic 0, Shaman 0, Witch 0, Sorcerer/Wizard 0]

Casting Time 1 standard action

Range personal

Target you

Duration 1 round

Your movement rate increases by an enhancement bonus equal to your current movement rate, +20 feet.

Pathfinder, 2e

Dash [Cantrip 1]

Traditions Arcane, Divine, Primal

Cast [three actions] Verbal

Duration until the start of your next turn

You move a distance equal to triple your speed +30 feet.

Starfinder

Dash  [Mystic 0, Witchwarper 0]

School transmutation

Casting Time 1 standard action

Range personal

Duration 1 round

You gain a +10 foot increase to your land speed until the beginning of your next turn. As part of casting this spell, you can move up to your land speed.

5e

Dash

Transmutation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: 1 round

You can move a number of feet this round equal to double your move, +20 feet.

Want More in Four?

If you enjoy seeing one concept done in 4 different game systems, check out the 52-in-52 subscription, where once a week, every week in 2020, you get a new game product which is released to you in four versions–for PF1, PF2, SF, and 5e.

 

 

Gamifying Friday the 13th in 4 Game Systems

It’s Friday the 13th, a day long associated with misfortune and evil spirits… and urban legends.

So, what would such a day look like in an RPG? Let’s examine 4 different ideas, in 4 different game systems–Pathfinder 1st and 2nd edition, Starfinder, and 5e.

PF1

Blood Night

On blood night, the moon takes on a dull reddish hue that lasts through the night. Blood night is always in autumn, but exactly what night it occurs is based on a complex set of rules only heirophants really seem to understand. What is known is that when a blood night occurs on the night of a full moon, the bad luck is far worse.

From sundown to sunup, any attack that normally only threatens a critical hit on a natural 20, or 19-20, instead threatens one on an 18-20. Additionally, attack rolls made to confirm critical hits gain a +8 circumstance bonus

PF2

Minotaur’s Moon

When the ancient Cyclops Calendar begins the month of Maze on the week of a new moon, that is the day of the Minotaur’s Moon, when the Bull Man works to kill the small and weak. Goblins, in particular, greatly fear this.

On the Minotaur’s Moon, everyone has Doomed 2.

Starfinder

Which Weird

The kasatha and shobad calendars do not normally line up, being from different worlds with different year durations. But both have a “wyrd” day that is observed in grim reserve, and every few years those days happen to overlap by a period of 11 to 17.5 hours.

During that “which weird,” all Reflex saving throws take a -4 penalty.

5e

Lichgate

When the Imperial Calendar gets a full day off from the Seasonal Calendar, a day must be added to adjust the beginning of Spring. This day is seen as a gate through which evil dead spirits can speak into the world to so discord for one say, and weaken the resolve of heroes, and is known as Lichgate.

On Lichgate, when making a Wisdom saving throw, you roll twice and use the lower result as if you had disadvantage. However, if your unused result is enough to resist the effect, you only suffer the consequences of the failed saving throw for 1 round. After that you shake off the evil spirits that weakened you, and are no longer effected. But if both die rolls are failures, the effect’s duration upon you is doubled.

Want More in Four?

If you enjoy seeing one concept done in 4 different game systems, check out the 52-in-52 subscription, where once a week, every week in 2020, you get a new game product which is released to you in four versions–for PF1, PF2, SF, and 5e.

Here’s a teaser of content yet to come this year in the 52-in-52 subscription!

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Science-Fantasy Curses

Starfinder has curses, but a lot of them feel surprisingly un-modern. Given the daily annoyances we all suffer, shouldn’t there be curse versions of the kinds of problems real-world people sometimes run into?

So, two new curses for Starfinder.

Credit Curse

Type Curse; Save Will DC 20

Effect The victim seems to have unreliable, unstable credit when any background check or monetary transaction takes place. the character has the level of equipment they can buy in any given location reduced by 1 item level, and must pay 10 credits more for any purchase of 100 credits or more, and 1 credit more for any purchase of 99 credits or less.

Cure the victim must buy credit fixing services, which cost 1 credit per level of the character. each time this is done, after 1 week the character is allowed a new saving throw.

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Pornado

Type Curse; Save Fortitude DC 15

Effect Whenever the victim uses a computer of any kind, including non-sapient robots and starship interfaces, they take a -2 penalty to all related skill checks and cannot take 10 on such skill checks, because the interface constantly suggests following a link to “free” pornographic entertainment options.

Cure The victim must succeed at a DC 15 Computers check to clear one computer system they use of all such links and offers, every day, for 7 days (or have the checks made for them). If any check fails, the 7 day timeline resets.

PATREON

Enjoy this Starfinder content? Want to see more? Want to see something else? You can back my Patreon to encourage me to do more of the kind of work you want to see, and you can subscribe to the 52-in-52 program to get entire game supplements, one a week for every week of 20020, that are done in four versions for four game systems, including Starfinder!

Legacy Bestiary: Hill Giant

Rogue Genius Games is currently running a Game On Tabletop crowdfunding campaign to try to fund the Legacy Bestiary, a Starfinder-compatible book of monsters from the fantasy-laden past of the Starfinder universe, but that haven’t been updated to SF yet (in any book we are aware of, including popular 3pp expansions).

But, you ask, as fantasy monsters really interesting in a scifi-with-magic game? Well, they are if you update them conceptually, as well as in rules.

Written and illustrated by fan-favorite Jacob Blackmon, the Legacy bestiary doesn’t assume legacy monsters stood still while the rest of the universe for plasma guns. Here’s a teaser example of a updated SF monster, the Hill Giant.

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Hill Giants are brutish creatures that serve as the front line grunts in the armies of the Giants’ Expanse. These near-mindless thugs are cybernetically enhanced upon reaching adulthood, and have their minds and bodies genetically altered to bring out their more aggressive traits as well as increase their already physically powerful bodies. Just one hill giant is known to tear through a unit of a dozen normal humanoid troopers in a matter of seconds! So an entire squad of these things, barreling towards one’s position on the field, is enough to make any trooper second-guess their service to the Empire.

The militant frost giants and ruling fire giants of the Expanse throw hill giants at their enemies as if they have an endless supply … which they seem to have!

Hill Giant Brute        CR 7 (Combatant)

XP 3,200

CE Large humanoid (giant)

Init -1; Senses low-light vision; Perception +19

DEFENSE      HP 105

EAC 19; KAC 21

Fort +9; Ref +9; Will +6

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Melee slam +17 (2d6+14B)

Ranged hurl debris +14 (2d8+7B plus 5-ft.-radius area of difficult terrain around the spot where the debris hit)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Offensive Abilities crush (2d6+14B), trample (2d6+14B, DC 15)

STATISTICS

Str +5; Dex -1; Con +4; Int -2; Wis +2; Cha -2

Skills Athletics +14, Intimidate +19, Survival +14

Languages Giant

ECOLOGY

Environment hills

Organization solitary, gang (2-5), band (6-8), or raiding party (9-12 plus 1d4 dire wolves)

The crowdfunding campaign runs through the end of the month and into early April, so please check it out!