Post/Author/DateTime	Post
chaz100 12-01-05, 02:18 PM	Well, I decided to do a Greek style campaign. I know that there is information in Deites and Demigods about the Greek Deites and which domains they get, and am borrowing this book from a kind friend. I was just wondering what kind of things I might need to change, I am considering modifying the Cleric to make it more like a wise man. Maybe I could create a Hoplite Prestige Class? And how long were those massive spears the Phalanxes used? I thought they were longer than Longspears, but I could be completely mistaken!! Please can you give me a hand.
Yak of Darkness 12-01-05, 02:24 PM	If you don't mind going non-core, pick up Sword and Sorcery's Relics and Rituals: Olympus. Plenty of "make D&D a Greek myth RPG" there. While there are some things that could use expanding (the monster section is nice, but it'd be cool if they had stats for great heroes, too) and some parts are questionable, balance-wise (PrCs . . . I'm looking at you), it's a good investment, if that's what you're going for.
chaz100 12-01-05, 02:35 PM	If you don't mind going non-core, pick up Sword and Sorcery's Relics and Rituals: Olympus. Plenty of "make D&D a Greek myth RPG" there. While there are some things that could use expanding (the monster section is nice, but it'd be cool if they had stats for great heroes, too) and some parts are questionable, balance-wise (PrCs . . . I'm looking at you), it's a good investment, if that's what you're going for. Thanks, but I can't really afford to buy any more books at the moment. lol. :weep:
hammer_hand 12-01-05, 02:39 PM	the giant spears would be long spears with a 20 ft reach, look into the original age of empires games for inspiration for PrC's
Chobemaster 12-01-05, 02:52 PM	I wouldn't create a hoplite prestige class, personally. They're just fighters with a set of equipment and training. And I wouldn't get too concerned with creating weaponry for them, either. Use longspear and move on. I'd be more concerned with what to remove. Like half-plate and plate and crossbows and longbows. If you want to get really picky, eliminate steel.
chaz100 12-01-05, 02:56 PM	Ok, no Hoplite prestige class but i like the idea of having spears as 20ft reach. Isn't there a fighting style feat in Complete Warrior for shield and spear, I own it but a friend has borrowed it..
Rocketboy13 12-01-05, 03:33 PM	Ok, no Hoplite prestige class but i like the idea of having spears as 20ft reach. Isn't there a fighting style feat in Complete Warrior for shield and spear, I own it but a friend has borrowed it.. It isn't in the weapon fighting styles section, but if you were to use Monkey grip, a fighter :fight!: could hold a longspear while at the same time holding a sheild, though they would lower their attack by 2. You might want to consider adding the Trojans and Crete, maybe even Atlantis to your map of a mythical greece, though the first two arn't mythical. Alterations to the player races might be necessary, for instance making satires or centaurs playable a mid levels, making demi god a template closer in power to the half dragon or planetouched races. Construct prestiege classes around flying mounts (though you would have to make the pegasus and griffons more common than a one of's), make contact with the gods more common, but still reserved for heroes. That sort of thing.
Yak of Darkness 12-01-05, 03:52 PM	It isn't in the weapon fighting styles section, but if you were to use Monkey grip, a fighter :fight!: could hold a longspear while at the same time holding a sheild, though they would lower their attack by 2.Monkey Grip doesn't work that way.
metamind 12-01-05, 03:58 PM	I believe the spear are called "Sarissias" (correct me if im wrong). Treat them as masterworked long spears. The arms and equipment guide has a guide for bronze age-greek time weapons.
FriendoftheDork 12-01-05, 04:56 PM	Nice idea. I myself have recently started a roman style campaign. That means I've downgraded tech quite a bit, but chainmails and longswords still exist. Eternal Rome by... mystic vistas have a set of roman gods, domains, alignments etc., use them to make greek equivalents. Or just guess them. For clerics, use the cloistered clerics of unearthed arcana, that's basically you're wise man. It's a cleric with light armor, wizard bab and saves, 6 skill points, d6 hp and bardic knowledge. If your're going to to enable hoplite style, you might want to change some rules. The greeks used spears of about 8-10' length, probably something like D&D longspears, but they also used them with large shields. I'd allow it, but reducing speed as if wearing medium armor and not allowing charges. The macedonians (alexander) used Sarissa pikes, which could be extremely long (perhaps 15' reach in D&D). They were used in both hands with a strapped small shield (use buckler, add -1 to hit). But phalanx fighting will only work for a bunch of soldiers. Perhaps use the phalanx fighting feat from complete warrior, allowing all spears to be used as well as light weapons? Id read up alot of greek ancient society, and let the gods be very important in your game as the ancient greeks certainly considered them.
Cathon 12-01-05, 06:01 PM	I'm running a Greek campaign set in a semi-mythical classical greece. Some changes I made: Breastplate is the strongest armor type, and it is heavy armor. Other armors are leather, studded leather, hide and padded. The weapons list is greatly reduced, technology for making steel is not very good so only shorter blades are made (no longswords or greatswords). No crossbows of course, and no longbows either. Bows are shortbows, and composite shortbows which are exotic weapons unless you are from an Eastern culture like the Scythians. The most common weapons are javelins, shortspears, and shortswords. Longer spears are more often used in warfare, less used in small parties. (I rule that phalanxes work in large groups but you can't use long spear and shield in a fight where you can be attacked from any side.) Sorcerors and the like aren't immediately available to PCs as classes since magic is feared and persecuted in civilized areas. Paladins and monks simply don't exist in this area and time period. Most magic except bardic magic is ritual in nature and therefore takes longer to cast, but spells can be stored in objects like bones, sticks or clay balls that can then be released as a standard action. Bardic magic officially doesn't exist and has to be disguised as bardic music effects (charming, confusing, etc). Oh yeah, evocation and energy spells in general are completely gone as well. So yeah, that's not everything, but I changed a whole lot, you may not want to go as overboard as me (I was going for simulating classical greece rather than just greek flavored) but a few changes can have a big effect on feel. I definitely recommend cutting down the equipment lists, and throwing out some character classes (perhaps putting in a few base classes from the complete books in return, I added swashbuckler and hexblade to my world, though the swashbuckler has less of a renaissance feel and more of an unarmored sailor feel)
fatal error 12-01-05, 06:33 PM	Yea, as already posted: Drop a lot of armors, drop swords bigger than shortswords. I'd advise against making a hoplite prestige class for two reasons, 1) hoplites were a mass-formation infantry, 2) they were the basic infantry, kind of like making a prestige class for a guy with a sword. Now, maybe a prestige class for something like a Spartan Hoplite or something, they might make a good adaptation of the dwarven defender, actually.
Rocketboy13 12-01-05, 07:26 PM	Monkey Grip doesn't work that way. It sort of did in 3.0, hence my confusion. Really if you look at the army of Alexander the Great, the premeir user of the Phalanx, originally they did not have sheilds, the just used long spears, depending on those behind them to protect them from a full charge. The Spartans used a different type of spear fighting, they used a short heavy spear over hand while protecting themselves with their sheilds. The fact that they were the greatest hand to hand fighters in the world until that time, and used the best armor and equipment of their time helped as well. I would suggest making the Heavy Shortspear a one handed martial weapon that does 1d8 and cant be thrown, with a crit of x3. That way it reflects the damage and use of its historical counterpart.
danielinthewolvesden 12-01-05, 08:36 PM	I'd allow longspear with a shield (as a two handed weapon) as a martial weapon.
WCH 12-01-05, 08:46 PM	One handed martial weapons are balanced with no abilities at d10 damage. Reach is an ability, as is x3 critical, etc, and each ability you add lowers damage dice by one. So a longspear would be a balanced martial weapon as one handed d8 damage 20/x2 crit 10 foot reach... or d6 if you made it x3.