Test-full Adventures, OOC(non player input also appreciated)

[BadgeAddict]

To give your the bard some flare (if it were to become a character), I would suggest that the bard is a caster of sorts (or even a unique class) and the bard can cast nearly any spell in existence, however, the kicker is, in order to cast a spell, he must come up with a ditty and sing it and it can never be used more than once. so, spells would be "word-associated", which could possibly (upon the roll of a d100) have a negative outcome.

Example:
Over water, over ice, helping horses, pigs and mice...made of Brick or stone or wood, join two sides like only you could (aka a bridge)

but to cast the same spell again, you would need to come up with a different ditty:

Swinging gently, in the breeze, twixt two towers, in lofty sky, I walk upon you because i cannot fly. (aka a bridge)

the above lines can both "normally" be interpreted as the same thing, though again, they could also "accidentally" be something else. Thus, you have a spellcaster who has an untold amount of power, but the power is limited because simple spells couldn't be re-used unless they were re-written. As well as a chance of a negative outcome if the user either 1. uses words or group of words that could be something else or 2. tries to cast the same thing twice.

The negative impact would be when trying to cast a spell and being "too vague" or even worse, when not giving enough "directions"

Powerful creatures of the night, crawl from the darkness into the light, come and find my enemies hearts and dine with joy upon their parts.

(so, this could be summon monster lvl X) and it might very well spawn such a creature, though after it rips your enemies to shreds what is keeping it from attacking you. This would be the possible negative outcome from having this kind of power.

that same phrase could be made more safe by adding a few more words onto it:

Powerful creatures of the night, crawl from the darkness into the light, come and find my enemies hearts and dine with joy upon their parts. When you've fed and when you're done, turn your back upon the sun.

so, this could be interpreted as a directive of, come and kill my enemies and then leave.

just a thought. (oh and yes, I would love to play what i just described)

edit: The other possibility, perhaps mixed with the above is (based on what LAYF said), how well you do depends on how strong the spell is. So first we would have to set some ground rules on what is exactly a "good ditty" (poetry, rhymes, etc). then, once you've posted your ditty, the gm decides how well you've done, and how well you've avoiding repeating yourself. or something.

edit2: If i knew how to start this, it would actually make an interesting random game topic in which you can cast any spell you want but must do so in a ditty of sorts.

[Borys]

For now we aren't even players.

[BeanDip]

That's a really awesome idea, Badge.

[LAYF]

It truly is...
Well... I might just add it.. or add it as a prestige class (lvl 4+ i think.. not sure)
Hmm...
what would you guys like the most:
A new class type (in addition to warrior, thief and caster)
or one new sub class in each of those class types?

[ThroughTheWell]

► Show Spoiler

To give your the bard some flare (if it were to become a character), I would suggest that the bard is a caster of sorts (or even a unique class) and the bard can cast nearly any spell in existence, however, the kicker is, in order to cast a spell, he must come up with a ditty and sing it and it can never be used more than once. so, spells would be "word-associated", which could possibly (upon the roll of a d100) have a negative outcome.

Example:
Over water, over ice, helping horses, pigs and mice...made of Brick or stone or wood, join two sides like only you could (aka a bridge)

but to cast the same spell again, you would need to come up with a different ditty:

Swinging gently, in the breeze, twixt two towers, in lofty sky, I walk upon you because i cannot fly. (aka a bridge)

the above lines can both "normally" be interpreted as the same thing, though again, they could also "accidentally" be something else. Thus, you have a spellcaster who has an untold amount of power, but the power is limited because simple spells couldn't be re-used unless they were re-written. As well as a chance of a negative outcome if the user either 1. uses words or group of words that could be something else or 2. tries to cast the same thing twice.

The negative impact would be when trying to cast a spell and being "too vague" or even worse, when not giving enough "directions"

Powerful creatures of the night, crawl from the darkness into the light, come and find my enemies hearts and dine with joy upon their parts.

(so, this could be summon monster lvl X) and it might very well spawn such a creature, though after it rips your enemies to shreds what is keeping it from attacking you. This would be the possible negative outcome from having this kind of power.

that same phrase could be made more safe by adding a few more words onto it:

Powerful creatures of the night, crawl from the darkness into the light, come and find my enemies hearts and dine with joy upon their parts. When you've fed and when you're done, turn your back upon the sun.

so, this could be interpreted as a directive of, come and kill my enemies and then leave.

just a thought. (oh and yes, I would love to play what i just described)

edit: The other possibility, perhaps mixed with the above is (based on what LAYF said), how well you do depends on how strong the spell is. So first we would have to set some ground rules on what is exactly a "good ditty" (poetry, rhymes, etc). then, once you've posted your ditty, the gm decides how well you've done, and how well you've avoiding repeating yourself. or something.

edit2: If i knew how to start this, it would actually make an interesting random game topic in which you can cast any spell you want but must do so in a ditty of sorts.

Storywise, that is an awesome idea. Gamewise, ... Is suspect it is too powerful. Not only is it supremely versatile, it also has raw power, such as creating a bridge ex nihilo. To stick that into any sort of low powered, starting adventurers story, the GM would have to be ruthless in limiting it to very simple effects, like staring a fire. And then I'd expect conflict between the player and the GM as the player stives to do more and understand the boundaries of their power and the GM has to keep reigning them in and making dificult descisions for every spell. I just don't see that working out well.

We talked earlier about reigning in spell casters to not overshadow melee types. This bard concept runs a high risk of overshadowing most spellcasters!

Again, it is cool, but way way overpowered IMHO.

It is caster subtype, as described so far.

Edit: Dlover just created a bard in the recruitment subforum. Compare this to that for a power comparison.

[BadgeAddict]

hmm, indeed, let me think....

well..a bard normally has a musical instrument, which normally takes up both hands. so, enter pan flutes, pipes or sitar of some sort and you now have a character who can only cast his magic while using both hands. (this greatly reduces his/her effectiveness in a battle), add to this an increased need of concentration in order to, while being swung at and shot at can still "cast" (this could in effect create a row of numbers/effects). Now, add in length of time to cast. depending on the length and complexity of the ditty, this could stretch from 1---> 10? full actions to cast said spell or "recite/sing" said ditty.

examples:

X = ditty score (how well it was done)
X = ditty originality (has it been used before)
X = concentration (effects of environment on casting)
(anything else?)

To cast the desired spell, the bard-caster must reach a certain threshold score to succeed, which gives a lot of power to the GM over whether something is successful or not. And, adding in a fun point here, when a Bard fails a casting check, the spell still happens, just with unintended consequences (imagine something like the shield of wonder) <---- this would force the Bard to not try anything overly powerful for fear of failing and having an equally powerful negative effect.

So i agree, yes, the character would be, supremely powerful, sometimes, but i think that could be balanced out...plus, every spell is basically a one-shot.

and furthermore i would add the following specifically worded rule. When performing a ditty, you are not allowed, in or out of character to say what you want the spell to be. In effect, the spell is exactly what your ditty describes it to be, which, based on your ability to wordcraft and the Gms ability to understand your desires could lead to some potentially hilarious situations. (and normally, the Bards eventual and timely death)

[LAYF]

I do see what you are saying TTW.. the way I'd handle it, would off cause limit it, compared to the suggestion above.. I know this is sad story wise.. but it is needed system wise.
Fast thinking about it, I'd do it like this:
Spells would cost less XP to learn. or maybe getting a level 2 spell would get him a free level 1 spell or something like that. (Now this gives the risk of OP'ing the "Bard")
So to lower the OP, the bard would have a throw in d6 besides the normal DC. on a 2 it fails and on a 1 it backfires according to the song... not this is a BIG drawback... so people must think over it.

But I'll still have to think about it

EDIY: Badge ninjade me... going to read his post now and edit accordingly...

[BadgeAddict]

based on the new update for the adventure.

The ghostly bard, stops strumming and singing for a moment as he watches brother Orc lose his head.

The bard begins to strum his sitar once again and sings with a hint of sadness in his voice.


Brother Orc i saw your head, skip across the floor,
And as I watched, before my eyes, it skipped out the door,
Rolling onward, down the hill, till it landed in the river,
As I watched, the dreadful sight, it gave me quite a shiver,

And thus, Brother Orc, now that you are dead.
I will always watch over you, as you sail ahead.

[Borys]

Maybe the good God of orcs have mercy in your souls orcs.
You will be always in our memories.

We were fighting till the end,
now our bodies are dead.
But our power will never bend,
no matter our our veins bled.

[ThroughTheWell]

Let me rephrase my earlier objection. The bard spell power is basicaly a wish, every time. Sure the GM could pervert it, but it has both the scope and the raw ability.

Now, one way to limit it is to say that the method of casting is this singing, but the effects are limited to a predefined spell list. That kills the versatility, and curbs the power, but it still sounds cool, and the GM has no incentive to pervert it. But I doubt BA will agree to this, because he, like me, likes the versatility and power, which just goes to show that it is the power that is the draw, and not the fluff.

Casting time, limited use of hands, subjective ditty judging, concentration, etc are poor attempts to reign in the wishiness.

[LAYF]

yea... that is true... and for that reason.. my limitation of it will be:
Give him lots of different spells (compared to the other casters)
raise DC and limit amount of uses per day (more that others have).
maybe add to the casting time two....

[LAYF]

Does anyone have some suggestions for 2nd level scrolls?

these are the current level 1 scrolls:
- Arcane shield: Add 2 to targets DEF for the current round, full round action. DC 5.
-Devine healing: Heals 1d3+1d(Lore Devine) from a target, minor action, DC 7.
- Fire spell: deal 1d2 damage on up to 1d4 targets. Major action. DC 4+1 per target.
-Healing hands: Heals 1d6 Damage from a target. Major action, DC 5.
- Ice magic: slows down up to 1 target/Level, the targets can only take one major action or a move action the current round. Major action DC = target AURA+1 per target.
-Identify: gives insight into the properties of magical objects. DC varies.
-Orb of light: Creates a small glowing orb that illuminates its surroundings and follows the mage around. Last 1 day or till dispelled. Full round action, Lowers POW by 1 as long as active.
-Sense magic: Detects the presence of magic. Minor action. DC individual.

[ThroughTheWell]

level 2 (out of 5): dispel magic, long strider, def debuffer?
level 3: haste?

Other than that you should take a look at the D&D SRD online and pick spells you think are appropriate, or any other game system you have easy access to.

[Theis2]

Axe attack the closest orc!

ATT: 1d6 + 1d4=5 JUST enough?
DAM: 1d5 + 1=2 goddammit
HIDE BEHIND HROC!: 1d6+1d5=3 (crap).

I'm not sure why, but this kinda reminds me of your luck in another game so far

[thinkslogically]

What can I say? Dice rollers hate me.

[LAYF]

What can I say? Dice rollers hate me.

Hehe.. you just be glad that the orcs are intimidated, (unless they break out of it) because they are wearing armor....

[thinkslogically]

Well that's some interesting tactical information to share

[LAYF]

Well that's some interesting tactical information to share

Well.. the rules does say that a medium creatures DEF is 4. and you can see they wear (padded) armor that's +1 = 5. so you'd need to roll 6 to hit.
but they are scared due to Hroc's intimidate. and that gives -1 to DEF among other things (told in the update) so their DEF is only 4, until they shake the fear off them...
(I think that's relevant and not secret info )

[thinkslogically]

Fair dos - I usually just let the players work that stuff out for themselves cos then they can make mistakes or wrong assumptions and I can laugh evilly from my DM's throne and confuse the hell out of them when their expectations aren't met

[LAYF]

Hmm... not a bad Idea.... will remember

[thinkslogically]

Especially because until you mentioned it, we didn't know they were wearing cloth armour

[LAYF]

Ah.. I thought I mentioned that in Hroc's miss description.. but apparently I with with the Anger as the reason instead...

level 2 (out of 5): dispel magic, long strider, def debuffer?
level 3: haste?

Other than that you should take a look at the D&D SRD online and pick spells you think are appropriate, or any other game system you have easy access to.

True.. And I will... but I'd like some user input

thanks


ah any way... update will be up later today...

[LAYF]

hehe.. I almost killed a player character today

That said... I think it looks like a good balance so far.. you get hits in, but so does the opponents, and you can survive it (a little tactics before entering new areas won't hurt )

but that's my opinions... what do you guys think?