A house rule i'm considering.... [Archive] - Wizards Community

A house rule i'm considering.... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Blackrazorblade
07-15-06, 06:22 PM I'm currently trying to make a campaign setting and looking at the number of base classess i'd it got rediculous (20) and that's without the cleric or paladin, (the gods, if they exist, don't grant powers).

I realized that 8 of them were arcane classes so i decided to make a rule that each of the PC races had a different arcane magic tradition and each got acess to a different class based on race and except for maybe a few exceptions (ie: no PCs or at least one if they have a good backstory) they cannot cross race with "wizard" equivilent. I was wondering what people thought of this idea, i've got the class/race combos below

humans--binder; for some reason the binder struck me a meshing well with humans and also they were the two leftovers....

shadow caster---drow (umbragen from eberron) The plane of shadow wa what corrupted the drow from normal elves in the first place

warlock---halfling: The halfling homeland has become overrun by demons and devils fighting the blood war there and the halflings had been enslaved for a few generations, now and then warlock pops up among them. If i had the PHII i might have chosen the beguiler, but i don't and i had planned on having the blood war being fought on an island on the prime matierial plane anyway

wizard---elf: Their long lives mean that they can spend long years studying magic and come out ahead.

sorcerer---kobold: The kobold's dragonblood makes the magic elves must study come naturally

truenamer----Dwarf: the truenamer and dwarven race seemed to fit well flavor wise, made sense to me that dwarves would like the puzzle-like truespeak

warmage---hobgoblin: Hobgoblins have a very disciplined very militaristic society and as such warmages are trained for war...again the flavors seemed to mesh well

orc----anagakok(varient wizard from Dragon that is adapted to wilderness magic): The barbaric tribes of the orc are led by the casters who are able to help them navigate the wilderness and survive while still being able to blow stuff up.

These are my combos, any comments are appriciated. Since i have no clerics, druids are the main healers and psion will be open to all races. To repalce the paladin i'm going to use one of the many samurai homebrews and change the flavor slightly (ok, a bunch)
Witch
07-15-06, 06:30 PM I don't see a particular reason to tie class in with race that heavily. Don't restrict - make it a favored class, in my opinion.
LordPendragon
07-15-06, 06:34 PM Looks good enough, and seems to make sense, as long as you stipulate that arcane magic isn't simply knowledge that allows spellcasting, but has to be an inborn ability. If arcane magic is knowledge and can be trained, then the classes should be open to anyone who works hard enough (like a Human who lived with Dwarves for several years, and could then take levels as a truenamer).

Other than that, the real test is whether or not your players will go for it. After all, you're not running this game for us, you're doing it for yourself and them.
Blackrazorblade
07-15-06, 06:40 PM Looks good enough, and seems to make sense, as long as you stipulate that arcane magic isn't simply knowledge that allows spellcasting, but has to be an inborn ability. If arcane magic is knowledge and can be trained, then the classes should be open to anyone who works hard enough (like a Human who lived with Dwarves for several years, and could then take levels as a truenamer).

Other than that, the real test is whether or not your players will go for it. After all, you're not running this game for us, you're doing it for yourself and them.

true, this is for them, but i wanted to make sure it wasn't totally unreasonable first.

Also i for the purposes of the truename PrCs i may allow non-dawrves to take levels, but the Truenamer class itself would be forbidden, maybe the lexicons would be ancient dwarven secrets no dwarf would EVER reveal to a non-dwarf, kinda like the druidic language.....
benstundze
07-15-06, 06:41 PM whut about other classes like fighter are you going to make it so that a halfling cant be a fighter becuse there ment for rogue ?
just a though kinda like the 2.0 rules relly?
Blackrazorblade
07-15-06, 06:51 PM No, i'm only doing this for the arcane (non-bard) classes, mainly because their were eight variations of a single theme, and psions, so i figured it would help increase flavor by making a halfling "mage" very different from a human "mage". nad it will allow me to give each culture a different unique feel
Witch
07-15-06, 07:01 PM I would suggest that you make one (or even a few) type(s) of magic more common in particular cultures, but be less restrictive about it. I strongly doubt it can be said that some secrets, like "truenaming" have been kept secret by an entire race for thousands of years.
allenchan
07-15-06, 07:12 PM you seem to be punishing certain races, because, lets face it, not all base classes are created equally. Truenamers are just down right terrible. Sorcerer's are also bad, though if you allow full use of races of the dragon I could see that working better for kobolds. And wizards still mop the floor with the rest of them.
benstundze
07-15-06, 07:13 PM if you make it so that there classes are riten in dna it whould stop all thease abstact questions hehe :P
BlaineTog
07-15-06, 07:15 PM Humans should be able to pick any magic class. Versatility's their thing.

Other than that, I think it would be far wise to talk to your players about this than us.
LordPendragon
07-15-06, 07:19 PM Witch is right... no matter how secretive they are, there are always other methods, like Zone of Truth and a little torture.
periscope
07-15-06, 11:29 PM Humans I would suggest could be any, and the others I would say that they should be able to learn of others but make it so that its really rare (You have to save a royal heir of the dwarven kingdoms to be allowed to speak truespeak for example or wipe out a whole village of gnomes for the sorceror from the kobolds).

However if your intent on doing this then may I suggest that humans be the only ones that could get into the duskblade class? Sorry I just hate @!#$ING! elves getting all the credit for every magic that there is.

You may also want to try this

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=370164

Its varients on the warlock from a celstial, elemental, and a who know what heritage or dealing.
Thelon Fairblade
07-18-06, 10:53 AM I was planning to do something similar in my next campaign, but make it regional more than racial. (Okay, my next campaign is all human-variants, so racial is not as big an issue.)

With that in mind, then, you could still do what you want, but allow for the aberrants. Perhaps one PC is a dwarven Wizard, which is part of his impetus for being an adventurer -- his fellow dwarves sneer (rightly or not) at his effette "elvish arts".

Perhaps the dwarves will teach anyone truespeak who can meet their requirements (game mechanics, like "Speak Dwarven, INT 15, etc.", or roleplaying like "don't get knocked down by Bartleby's charge, win a drinking contest against Redbeard, and single-handedly slay 5 goblins"). The elves will teach wizardry to anyone who (a) can find them, and (b) is willing to devote themselves to a 60-year apprenticeship. Kobolds eat all applicants, but anyone with a draconic bloodline can develop sorcery. And so on.

IMC, anyone can be an adept -- these are the hedge wizards and tribal shamen. The truly powerful ones "trade up" into Sorcerer. However, someone with sorcerous talent can attend the War College in Hephandon and become a Warmage or BattleSorcerer. Anyone can be a wizard, but wizardry is only taught at the Academy in the Kingdom of Ardelu (and a rogue wizard's tower guarded by gnolls).

Druids can only be created by a dedication ceremony that involves 7 other druids. Clerics and paladins are "made" through a ritual of investiture -- and you can bet the petitioner had better meet the Church's stringent requirements! Warlocks are the illegitimate children of warmages (campaign cosmology), or the soul-sold minions of the Far Realms. And so on.
Puca
07-18-06, 11:09 AM Flavor-wise, I dont see a problem. Tying magic to your race has a certain logic. I would definitely look at the favored class rules for the races too. Make sure youve got some consistency.

The only concern is that you might have a player who has his heart set on playing a elf warlock or something. They are the only ones you need to sell this concept to.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Blackrazorblade 07-15-06, 06:22 PM	I'm currently trying to make a campaign setting and looking at the number of base classess i'd it got rediculous (20) and that's without the cleric or paladin, (the gods, if they exist, don't grant powers). I realized that 8 of them were arcane classes so i decided to make a rule that each of the PC races had a different arcane magic tradition and each got acess to a different class based on race and except for maybe a few exceptions (ie: no PCs or at least one if they have a good backstory) they cannot cross race with "wizard" equivilent. I was wondering what people thought of this idea, i've got the class/race combos below humans--binder; for some reason the binder struck me a meshing well with humans and also they were the two leftovers.... shadow caster---drow (umbragen from eberron) The plane of shadow wa what corrupted the drow from normal elves in the first place warlock---halfling: The halfling homeland has become overrun by demons and devils fighting the blood war there and the halflings had been enslaved for a few generations, now and then warlock pops up among them. If i had the PHII i might have chosen the beguiler, but i don't and i had planned on having the blood war being fought on an island on the prime matierial plane anyway wizard---elf: Their long lives mean that they can spend long years studying magic and come out ahead. sorcerer---kobold: The kobold's dragonblood makes the magic elves must study come naturally truenamer----Dwarf: the truenamer and dwarven race seemed to fit well flavor wise, made sense to me that dwarves would like the puzzle-like truespeak warmage---hobgoblin: Hobgoblins have a very disciplined very militaristic society and as such warmages are trained for war...again the flavors seemed to mesh well orc----anagakok(varient wizard from Dragon that is adapted to wilderness magic): The barbaric tribes of the orc are led by the casters who are able to help them navigate the wilderness and survive while still being able to blow stuff up. These are my combos, any comments are appriciated. Since i have no clerics, druids are the main healers and psion will be open to all races. To repalce the paladin i'm going to use one of the many samurai homebrews and change the flavor slightly (ok, a bunch)
Witch 07-15-06, 06:30 PM	I don't see a particular reason to tie class in with race that heavily. Don't restrict - make it a favored class, in my opinion.
LordPendragon 07-15-06, 06:34 PM	Looks good enough, and seems to make sense, as long as you stipulate that arcane magic isn't simply knowledge that allows spellcasting, but has to be an inborn ability. If arcane magic is knowledge and can be trained, then the classes should be open to anyone who works hard enough (like a Human who lived with Dwarves for several years, and could then take levels as a truenamer). Other than that, the real test is whether or not your players will go for it. After all, you're not running this game for us, you're doing it for yourself and them.
Blackrazorblade 07-15-06, 06:40 PM	Looks good enough, and seems to make sense, as long as you stipulate that arcane magic isn't simply knowledge that allows spellcasting, but has to be an inborn ability. If arcane magic is knowledge and can be trained, then the classes should be open to anyone who works hard enough (like a Human who lived with Dwarves for several years, and could then take levels as a truenamer). Other than that, the real test is whether or not your players will go for it. After all, you're not running this game for us, you're doing it for yourself and them. true, this is for them, but i wanted to make sure it wasn't totally unreasonable first. Also i for the purposes of the truename PrCs i may allow non-dawrves to take levels, but the Truenamer class itself would be forbidden, maybe the lexicons would be ancient dwarven secrets no dwarf would EVER reveal to a non-dwarf, kinda like the druidic language.....
benstundze 07-15-06, 06:41 PM	whut about other classes like fighter are you going to make it so that a halfling cant be a fighter becuse there ment for rogue ? just a though kinda like the 2.0 rules relly?
Blackrazorblade 07-15-06, 06:51 PM	No, i'm only doing this for the arcane (non-bard) classes, mainly because their were eight variations of a single theme, and psions, so i figured it would help increase flavor by making a halfling "mage" very different from a human "mage". nad it will allow me to give each culture a different unique feel
Witch 07-15-06, 07:01 PM	I would suggest that you make one (or even a few) type(s) of magic more common in particular cultures, but be less restrictive about it. I strongly doubt it can be said that some secrets, like "truenaming" have been kept secret by an entire race for thousands of years.
allenchan 07-15-06, 07:12 PM	you seem to be punishing certain races, because, lets face it, not all base classes are created equally. Truenamers are just down right terrible. Sorcerer's are also bad, though if you allow full use of races of the dragon I could see that working better for kobolds. And wizards still mop the floor with the rest of them.
benstundze 07-15-06, 07:13 PM	if you make it so that there classes are riten in dna it whould stop all thease abstact questions hehe :P
BlaineTog 07-15-06, 07:15 PM	Humans should be able to pick any magic class. Versatility's their thing. Other than that, I think it would be far wise to talk to your players about this than us.
LordPendragon 07-15-06, 07:19 PM	Witch is right... no matter how secretive they are, there are always other methods, like Zone of Truth and a little torture.
periscope 07-15-06, 11:29 PM	Humans I would suggest could be any, and the others I would say that they should be able to learn of others but make it so that its really rare (You have to save a royal heir of the dwarven kingdoms to be allowed to speak truespeak for example or wipe out a whole village of gnomes for the sorceror from the kobolds). However if your intent on doing this then may I suggest that humans be the only ones that could get into the duskblade class? Sorry I just hate @!#$ING! elves getting all the credit for every magic that there is. You may also want to try this http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=370164 Its varients on the warlock from a celstial, elemental, and a who know what heritage or dealing.
Thelon Fairblade 07-18-06, 10:53 AM	I was planning to do something similar in my next campaign, but make it regional more than racial. (Okay, my next campaign is all human-variants, so racial is not as big an issue.) With that in mind, then, you could still do what you want, but allow for the aberrants. Perhaps one PC is a dwarven Wizard, which is part of his impetus for being an adventurer -- his fellow dwarves sneer (rightly or not) at his effette "elvish arts". Perhaps the dwarves will teach anyone truespeak who can meet their requirements (game mechanics, like "Speak Dwarven, INT 15, etc.", or roleplaying like "don't get knocked down by Bartleby's charge, win a drinking contest against Redbeard, and single-handedly slay 5 goblins"). The elves will teach wizardry to anyone who (a) can find them, and (b) is willing to devote themselves to a 60-year apprenticeship. Kobolds eat all applicants, but anyone with a draconic bloodline can develop sorcery. And so on. IMC, anyone can be an adept -- these are the hedge wizards and tribal shamen. The truly powerful ones "trade up" into Sorcerer. However, someone with sorcerous talent can attend the War College in Hephandon and become a Warmage or BattleSorcerer. Anyone can be a wizard, but wizardry is only taught at the Academy in the Kingdom of Ardelu (and a rogue wizard's tower guarded by gnolls). Druids can only be created by a dedication ceremony that involves 7 other druids. Clerics and paladins are "made" through a ritual of investiture -- and you can bet the petitioner had better meet the Church's stringent requirements! Warlocks are the illegitimate children of warmages (campaign cosmology), or the soul-sold minions of the Far Realms. And so on.
Puca 07-18-06, 11:09 AM	Flavor-wise, I dont see a problem. Tying magic to your race has a certain logic. I would definitely look at the favored class rules for the races too. Make sure youve got some consistency. The only concern is that you might have a player who has his heart set on playing a elf warlock or something. They are the only ones you need to sell this concept to.