Tag: d20

July 11, 2007

d20: Mounted Combat

In the real world, cavalry makes a huge difference. In basic d20, you get better mobility and +1 on attack rolls vs. opponents on foot smaller than your mount. That’s okay for armies, I guess, but (without funky class abilities) it seems pointless for a PC to be mounted. The only PCs that I hear about who are largely mounted...

July 6, 2007

Full Circle

The Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords is growing on me. At first, I sort of thought it was an Exalted clone in D&D clothing. My first impression wasn’t wholly misplaced, but I think that the primary inspiration was a bit closer to home. Ultimately, my take on Bo9S is that it is an alternative magic system for D&D....

July 5, 2007

Many decks of things?

I hate the Deck of Many Things. OK. There are occasions when using it can be fun – usually when the GM puts his own interpretation onto the cards. I’ve seen a version of it show up in a Mage game where the the draws resulted in the start of a major campaign arc. Usually, though, the results of a...

July 2, 2007

WoAdWriMo: Day 32?

I has been a hell of a month. I mean, it would have to be in order to make it to day 32, right? As predicted, I didn’t finish my WoAdWriMo adventure. I have a good bit done with it, and I am fairly happy with what I do have (but I still need to add a couple of action...

June 15, 2007

NPC class: The Cutthroat

So, I’ve been frustrated with the current group of NPC classes. Mainly, the issue is that it is hard to make sneaky, combat-effective goblins without using PC classes. Warriors don’t have any stealthy skills on their skill lists. Experts aren’t that combat-effective. To fill the gap, I decided to create a new NPC class. I’ll eventually tweak it up and...

June 12, 2007

NPC classes

I’ve been toying with the idea of creating new NPC classes. Most of those I’ve thought about (such as the Bureaucrat) can be easily modeled with the Expert. Two that don’t fit, though: I’d like to see a Hedge Mage class that does for the Wizard what the Adept does for the Cleric. This class would also be good as...

June 7, 2007

A different kind of city book

I recently picked up Seven Cities, a book in the Penumbra d20 line that Atlas Games produced. I haven’t read the entire thing, but so far I like it. A lot. It has seven cities of various sizes – from thorp to large city. The detail is finer on the smaller towns, of course, but they did something rather smart...

June 5, 2007

Back to game stuff

What I need for d20 creature design: A software program where you plug in the stats of a monster and it runs a few tests (expected damage per attack vs various character types and things of that sort) and tells you what the suggested CR is. I would be perfectly happy with it flagging things it couldn’t factor in, but...

May 21, 2007

They come for your brain!

On Friday, Jeff asked an all-important question… what the heck is a Bathalian supposed to be? OK. Maybe the question isn’t that world-shattering, but the answer got me thinking. The answer, of course, is that a Bathalian is a non-copyright term used by miniature producers for something that looks an awful lot like a mind flayer. I don’t want to...

April 16, 2007

Class Creation Workshop Part II (Martial Artist)

Some refined thoughts on the Martial Artist (with some notes toward the Ascetic): HD: d10BAB: BestGood Fort and Reflex saves. Poor Will save.Skills: 4+ Int bonus/level (skill list unfinished, but close to the Monk’s) Weapon Proficiencies: Simple + Monk Armor Proficiencies: none Class features by level:1. Improved Unarmed Strike (bonus feat) Martial Focus Focused Strike +1d6 Unarmored AC bonus2. Martial...