Post by wum1ng on Dec 7, 2010 5:45:20 GMT 8
The game will restart (after FR) with everyone, including new charcters, at level 7. The players will all be given sponsorship by House Cannith to procure magic items. Existing PCs will be able to get one magic item of up to level 8 of their choice OR gold equivalent to such a level 8 item. New characters will still get the normal level 6, 7 and 8 magic items.
In the intervening time between the end of last session and the current arc, a couple of weeks have passed and the character can do things to influence the story before I officially begin to prep for the next arc. Additionally, I would like to try out some new mechanics to help foster roleplaying.
Goals. To provide some direction for RP, players should definte at least one short-term and one long-term goal for the character. This is a short sentence that would inform the DM specifically what the PC wishes to achieve. This will provide the skeleton that helps players flesh out their backstory. Achieveing goals will have some tangible benefits, not XP per se but boons, items, action points, Fate points etc. The reward will be comparable to the difficulty of the goal, as determined by the DM. This is a character building process that both helps the player and the DM improve the game experience.
Examples of short goals are things that can be achieved within an arc eg. Crafting a complex magic item of various components, discovering some clue that will uncover your long lost ancestors etc. Examples of long-term goals should be something that is either achieved within the tier, spanning many arcs, or perhaps even the entirety of the characters life. This would include things like crafting a world-changing artifact of immense power, gaining godhood, etc.
Alignment. In 4E there is not much emphasis on alignment, with everyone assumed to be some flavour of good. I am going to attempt to go back to the 9 alignment system, by having everyone describe their own alignment as according to Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic and Good / Neutral / Evil. At the beginning, everyone’s alignment will be self declared. However, the world judges the characters not on what they think are, but on what they actually do. This is the Perceived Alignment of the PC and affects how NPCs react. Additionally, the DM will also have a hidden alignment rating for the players that will be used to reward appropriate PC actions. The rewards will liekly be non-tangible as this is more of a framework to assist RP and not a straitjacket. Once per level, the PCs can opt to shift his/her alignment by one eg. Lawful Good to Neutral Good, or Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral. More drastic changes will only be reserved for life-changing events.
Fate Points. A new reward mechanic called Fate Points will be adopted as a trial. Players are heroes, and are capable of astounding feats. Fate Points turn misses into hits, hits into crits, and crit into devasting blows that utterly destroy the opposition. They let heroes turn luck to their advantage and achieve even greater things. FPs are personal victories, although can be used to assist other players should there be sufficient basis to do so. FPs are circumstantial bonuses that are in control of the hands of the players. If they want to really want to succeed at a skill check, attack roll, or achieve great things, they now can!
Boons. As described in DMG2, boons are a class of rewards that are similar to items, but do not occupy item slots. They are things like favours from patron gods, extensive training leading to special attacks, or additional feats. The first boon that players can opt for right now is training by House Cannith to use alchemical items. Any interaction with an alchemical item or weapon will be considered trained by such a character. Additionaly, the character will also get +2 to hit with alchemical items/weapons and +50% damage (for those items that are currently published). This is the boon of supporting Lady Jorlanna. Players that which to adopt this boon, please notify me.
In summary, I would like players to:
- Create short-term and long-term goals for your character
- Declare your character’s alignment
- Decide if you want to spend the couple of weeks of downtime training to pick up the boon
- Or anything else you might want to do during the downtime (retrieve the corpse and items, clear up loose ends etc).
In the intervening time between the end of last session and the current arc, a couple of weeks have passed and the character can do things to influence the story before I officially begin to prep for the next arc. Additionally, I would like to try out some new mechanics to help foster roleplaying.
Goals. To provide some direction for RP, players should definte at least one short-term and one long-term goal for the character. This is a short sentence that would inform the DM specifically what the PC wishes to achieve. This will provide the skeleton that helps players flesh out their backstory. Achieveing goals will have some tangible benefits, not XP per se but boons, items, action points, Fate points etc. The reward will be comparable to the difficulty of the goal, as determined by the DM. This is a character building process that both helps the player and the DM improve the game experience.
Examples of short goals are things that can be achieved within an arc eg. Crafting a complex magic item of various components, discovering some clue that will uncover your long lost ancestors etc. Examples of long-term goals should be something that is either achieved within the tier, spanning many arcs, or perhaps even the entirety of the characters life. This would include things like crafting a world-changing artifact of immense power, gaining godhood, etc.
Alignment. In 4E there is not much emphasis on alignment, with everyone assumed to be some flavour of good. I am going to attempt to go back to the 9 alignment system, by having everyone describe their own alignment as according to Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic and Good / Neutral / Evil. At the beginning, everyone’s alignment will be self declared. However, the world judges the characters not on what they think are, but on what they actually do. This is the Perceived Alignment of the PC and affects how NPCs react. Additionally, the DM will also have a hidden alignment rating for the players that will be used to reward appropriate PC actions. The rewards will liekly be non-tangible as this is more of a framework to assist RP and not a straitjacket. Once per level, the PCs can opt to shift his/her alignment by one eg. Lawful Good to Neutral Good, or Chaotic Evil to Chaotic Neutral. More drastic changes will only be reserved for life-changing events.
Fate Points. A new reward mechanic called Fate Points will be adopted as a trial. Players are heroes, and are capable of astounding feats. Fate Points turn misses into hits, hits into crits, and crit into devasting blows that utterly destroy the opposition. They let heroes turn luck to their advantage and achieve even greater things. FPs are personal victories, although can be used to assist other players should there be sufficient basis to do so. FPs are circumstantial bonuses that are in control of the hands of the players. If they want to really want to succeed at a skill check, attack roll, or achieve great things, they now can!
Boons. As described in DMG2, boons are a class of rewards that are similar to items, but do not occupy item slots. They are things like favours from patron gods, extensive training leading to special attacks, or additional feats. The first boon that players can opt for right now is training by House Cannith to use alchemical items. Any interaction with an alchemical item or weapon will be considered trained by such a character. Additionaly, the character will also get +2 to hit with alchemical items/weapons and +50% damage (for those items that are currently published). This is the boon of supporting Lady Jorlanna. Players that which to adopt this boon, please notify me.
In summary, I would like players to:
- Create short-term and long-term goals for your character
- Declare your character’s alignment
- Decide if you want to spend the couple of weeks of downtime training to pick up the boon
- Or anything else you might want to do during the downtime (retrieve the corpse and items, clear up loose ends etc).
