Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Michael_Morris 04-28-06, 05:26 PM	I've been browsing the threads on this board for the last month or so trying to get a good handle on where everything currently is and where it's going, and trying to gauge how much (or little) I can help with the project. You see, just before 3e released I had become enamoured of Magic: The Gathering and wanted to capture some of it's spirit within my personal campaign world. I shelved the idea though when I realized it would mean, among other things, a considerable restructuring of the spell lists (in AD&D 2e cleric spells ran up to 7th level and priest spells where on a seperate list). When 3e was released the unified spell list made the possibility of doing a Magic/D&D world much easier. So I set about doing it on and off and after 5 years I think I've reached a result I'm happy with. Now the problem this presents is that this world, Dusk, is a completed project - insofar as campaign worlds are ever completed projects. The Player's Book covers some 300 pages long to give some idea of the size and scope of the world. That said, not much of the Dusk setting's core book talks about the places, peoples and monsters - instead it is, well, a Player's Guide and it outlines the changes necessary to the D&D game that allow the spirit of Magic to be contained within it. That said, materials from Dusk may well be co-opted for inclusion into this project at the discression of the project managers. I've been reading the threads here in the hopes of gaining some insights into doing the same. To keep from flooding this forum with materials about the world I will keep them contained to this thread. So, without further ado - here's an introduction http://www.nutkinland.com/images/duskintro.jpg As the first light of a newborn day spills onto the walls of an ivory white castle tower a prince dreams of taking his dying father’s throne – at any cost. As that light crosses to the west it drives away the shadows from a city whose nights have not passed without at least one victim from an ongoing war of thieves. Proceeding further it spills onto steppe plains with mineral wealth that have attracted generations of miners, and those who scavenge upon them. To the south that light reaches out to meet the ruins of a once mighty kingdom that has been ripped asunder by its warring nobles. Finally the dawn comes to a kingdom whose king is still a child and is yet to understand the dangerous world beyond the walls of his keep. These lands of Telzoa are home to over a five million souls from a dozen sentient races. I am but one of those souls and my name is Telsindria. During my life I have traveled throughout this land to places few if any other eyes have seen. I have witnessed the histories of nations unfold and yet I endure. I am as old as memory itself and even beyond its grasp I yet recall days that even my elven kindred no longer speak of. And still, I wait, and watch. Welcome to my world traveler. I share some of its many wonders with you here upon these pages that you might be prepared for the days to come. If you are wise you will learn. If you are not, you will still learn, but at a far higher price. ~ Telsindria
Michael_Morris 04-28-06, 05:41 PM	Dusk exists both as a setting backdrop for the homebrew set Dusk: Prelude and for the campaign setting Dusk proper. The card set - a 333 card stand alone set which may one day become a block in it's own right takes place in the past of the setting and through it's flavor text and art players are introduced to the setting. Events in the card set and events in the campaign are seperated by some 400 years. Once of the larger changes in Dusk is the removal of the Lawful/Chaotic/Evil/Good 9 point alignment system. Instead characters have an alignment of "color" If a character acts in a manner different from his alignment long enough he picks up a new color (becoming multicolored). While it is possible to be all five alignments, typically a character has one or two alignments. Classes which required specific alignments now have a color association as follows - Bards, Barbarians - Red Monks, Paladins - White Druids, Rangers - Green Assassins - Black Of these only the Paladin is charged with maintaining a "pure' alignment of white. Other classes may meander from color to color - but they need to maintain the one alignment associated with their class. For instance a scholarly "bard" may be blue / red - but he pursues knowledge with a passion and that passion is what drives his music and requires his red alignment. Races have favored alignments and gain small boons for playing to those alignments. Spells which worked around the old alignment system are reworded to work around colored alignments as follows (These are the PHB spells - spells from other sources aren't addressed): Blasphemy: Instead of affecting any non-evil creature, this spell affects any non-black aligned creature. Bless Weapon: Instead of granting an ability to strike evil creatures it grants the weapon the ability to strike outsiders native to Sodrea or Shun Chaos Hammer: This weapon affects any non-red aligned creature. It only deals half damage to and does not slow black and green aligned creatures. Cloak of Chaos: Where this spell would affect lawful creatures it instead affects white-aligned creatures. Contact Other Plane: Five versions of this spell exist, one in each color of magic. Each version can only contact the plane corresponding to it’s color – and that plane counts as an outer plane (Carthasana has no inner planes). All five versions can contact the æther plane. Detect Chaos, Detect Evil, Detect Good, Detect Law: These spells are removed from play and replaced by the second level spell Detect Alignment. Detect Magic: The colors of each aura become apparent on the third round and this knowledge is obtained automatically (no spellcraft check needed). Dictum: This spell is removed, its function being contained within the rewritten version of holy word. Dispel Chaos, Dispel Evil, Dispel Good, Dispel Law: These spells are removed and have equivalents titled Dispel White Magic, Dispel Blue Magic, Dispel Black Magic, Dispel Red Magic and Dispel Green Magic. These replacements are attuned to the alignments indicated in their names. All of them are white spells. Holy Aura: Where this spell would affect evil creatures it instead affects black aligned creatures. Holy Smite: This spell affects any non-white aligned creature. It only deals half damage and does not blind green or blue aligned creatures. Holy Weapon: Where this weapon would affect evil it instead effects red or black aligned creatures – caster’s choice at time of casting. Holy Word: Instead of affecting any non-good creature it affects any non-white aligned creature. Magic Circle against Chaos / Evil / Good / Law: These spells are removed and have equivalents titled Circle of Protection: White, Circle of Protection: Blue, Circle of Protection: Black, Circle of Protection: Red, Circle of Protection: Green. These replacements are attuned to the alignments indicated in their names. All of them are white spells. Planar Ally and Planar Binding spells: Each of these spells has five versions corresponding directly to the outer plane in question and the color of the spell matches the color of the plane from which the summoned creature appears. Plane Shift: This spell exists in five versions, one for each of the five outer planes. The metal rod is silver for Valrea, copper for Balcridan, lead for Sodrea, iron for Shunrea and a piece of wood made into ironwood by a druid for Aborea. Protection from Chaos / Evil / Good / Law: These spells are removed and have equivalents titled Protection from White, Protection from Blue, Protection from Black, Protection from Red and Protection from Green. These replacements are attuned to the alignments indicated in their names. All of them are white spells. Rage: The bonus is a rage bonus instead of a morale bonus. Shield of Law: Where this spell would affect chaotic creatures it instead affects red-aligned creatures. Unholy Aura: Where this spell would affect good creatures it instead affects white aligned creatures. Unholy Blight: The spell affects all non-black creatures. It only deals half damage to blue and red aligned creatures and they are not sickened. Word of Chaos: Instead of affecting any non-chaotically aligned individual this spell instead affects any non-red aligned individual.
Michael_Morris 04-28-06, 05:58 PM	The world of Carthsana is the focal point of five parallel planes seperated by AEther. Each outer plane represents a color of Magic. Each location in Material plane has an echo on all the outer planes - if something occurs on the material plane it's results are felt throughout the planes. This is why outerplaner denizens of all types are keen on trying to influence and control the material plane. For instance, a castle on the seashore on the material plane may be mirrored by a mighty oak on Aborea (the green plane), a shining citadel on a vast plain in Valrea (the white plane), a lone island in Balcridan (the blue plane) and so on. The natures of each plane affect the nature of the echo, and destructive influences on the prime aren't always carried over to the outer planes, but they are felt. Think the "Dark World" in Zelda III for some ideas on how this works. Aborea Aborea is the green plane, a vast and endless forest, though the types of vegetation do vary - in some areas Aborea is a snow conifered wilderness while in others it's a jungle morrass with enough water to make a swamp lover happy. Whether one is in Aborea though it is teaming with life unbound. Somewhere in Aborea exists every animal that is, has been, or will be... Balcridan The blue plane is mostly submerged until miles of water - it's topography is much the same as the material plane but it's sea level is about a mile higher, making many lands under water. Unlike the water of the material plane though it doesn't seem to compress or block light overmuch. Above the waves lies air of course and the islands that do appear upon Balcridan's surface are among the more pleasant places to live throughtout the multiverse. Shunria Shunria is the red plane. Where the material world has seas of water, Shunria has seas of lava - and it's clouds are made of soot and ash - not water. Shunria is in many ways similar to the elemental plane of fire in the main D&D mythose - but Shunria is also a plane of earth and rock and there are areas of it that are survivable by material worlders - but for how long is debatable since the only water that exists is brought in with some difficulty. Moutains on this plane are impossibly high and most of them are volcanic. Sodrea The "black" plane is one of eternal dusk to outright night. Many areas of it are unlit completely. Unlike popular misconception Sodrea doesn't seem to have any more or less swamps than any other plane - but without a source of light it's hard to say if this is true or not. Valrea Valrea is the the featureless, well, "plain" plane of them all. Echoes from the material plane such as cities are often very noticable here. Valrea is also known as a plane upon which light never fails, though there is no sun here - light is simply diffuse and everywhere.
the_one_true_shea 04-28-06, 09:36 PM	I like inspiration! Wow, havent gotten to much yet, but let me be the first "manager" :shifty: to say : Welcome! I see you have no fear of a bit of hard work! 300 pages you say, nice. One of the neat things you have already thrown out is the planer arangement - diffinitive M:tG Mana planes should probably replace the generic transitive/elemental planes. We might have to discuss Sodrea and Valrea... ;) On other matters - sounds like your a shoe-in for expert opionion on the "elemental spells thread" - and have you seen the dominaria d20 thing? I don't have the link handy, and if you've already seen it.. but its a M:tG->d20 conversion... in process I believe. I completely get that your already done - but as a matter of reflection? contrast?
Michael_Morris 04-29-06, 02:34 AM	Looked over the thread - haven't gotten much to add on directly. But that leads me to the first topic that may be of interest - where the spells go. Here's the Player's Handbook spells that are black (they gain the black descriptor) Acid Fog Acid Splash Animate Dead Antilife Shell Antipathy Antiplant Shell Bane Bestow Curse Blasphemy Blight Blindness/Deafness Cause Fear Chill Touch Circle of Death Clone Cloudkill Command Undead Contact Other Plane* Contagion Control Undead Create Greater Undead Create Undead Crushing Despair Curse Water Darkness Darkvision Death Knell Deathwatch Deeper Darkness Desecrate Destruction Doom Energy Drain Enervation Evard’s Black Tentacles Eyebite False Life Feeblemind Finger of Death Gate* Ghoul Touch Harm Horrid Wilting Implosion Imprisonment Inflict Critical Wounds Inflict Critical Wounds, Mass Inflict Light Wounds Inflict Light Wounds, Mass Inflict Minor Wounds Inflict Moderate Wounds Inflict Moderate Wounds, Mass Inflict Serious Wounds Inflict Serious Wounds, Mass Magic Jar Melf’s Acid Arrow Phantasmal Killer Planar Ally* Planar Ally, Greater* Planar Ally, Lesser* Plane Shift* Power Word: Blind Power Word: Kill Power Word: Stun Project Image Ray of Enfeeblement Ray of Exhaustion Scare Shades Shadow Conjuration Shadow Conjuration, Greater Shadow Evocation Shadow Evocation, Greater Shadow Walk Simulacrum Slay Living Song of Discord Soul Bind Speak with Dead Spectral Hand Stinking Cloud Summon Monster I † Summon Monster II † Summon Monster III † Summon Monster IV † Summon Monster IX † Summon Monster V † Summon Monster VI † Summon Monster VII † Summon Monster VIII † Symbol of Death Symbol of Fear Symbol of Pain Symbol of Weakness Touch of Fatigue Touch of Idiocy Trap the Soul Unhallow Unholy Aura Unholy Blight Vampiric Touch Wail of the Banshee Waves of Exhaustion Waves of Fatigue Weird A lot of black's personality is already present. Ability to create/control undead? check. Death magic? check. Black however comes off as a glorified necromancer if you look at the PHB lists alone. However spells that weaken a foe (Waves of Fatigue) without killing are also present, as is weakening and attacking the mind (Touch of Idiocy). Black also gets shadow magic though it's ally blue gets the lions share of illusion spells (which given blue's nature and personality isn't surprising). Still, if you are familiar with the card game there as some glaring holes present. Black can preempt enemy casters by pulling spells from their minds. Also, the death magic spells here don't start to 9th level, which makes a low level black mage a bit too reliant on other spell casters. So let's look briefly at a couple of new spells which begin to fill up these holes. First is an iconic black spell that becomes a bit more macabre and more in flavor than the original card, especially now that the card's effect has been moved to red. Dark Ritual Necromancy Level: (1), Clr 2 Components: V, S, DF Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Dying Creature Touched Duration: Until Discharged, Up to 1 round / level. Saving Throw: Fort Neg. Spell Resistance: Yes “If there is such a thing as too much power, I have never discovered it.” ~ Sirrom. You slay a sentient dying creature by touch (A dying creature has hit points between –1 and –9). When you cast your next spell your caster level will be increased by 3. Note a couple things from here. First - colors are presented as descriptors. This is so DM's who have no interest in colored magic can still use the spell. Second is the (1) next to the level - this is the spell's "base level" - the lowest level it is ever allowed to be. As you can see clerics use this spell as 2nd level, but dedicated casters may discover a way to have it as a 1st level spell. Third is the metamagic descriptor - the metamagic spells are a new class of spells which, like metamagic feats, enhance other spells. And what a mean spell this is - first off it's a death effect, so whoever is offed by it can't come back via raise dead (ressurection works though). And image following up with a level variant spell like, say, fireball. Dark Ritual has a reputation to keep as one of old school magic's perenial powerhouse spells - and I hope this translation does it justice. [b]Abandon Hope Abjuration (Ward) [Black] Level: (3), Sor/Wiz 4 Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Close (25' + 5' / 2 levels) Effect: All creatures in range Duration: 1 minute / level “It is easier to abandon hope than abandon fear.” ~ Elgrel III. This spell works like antimagic shell except that it only suppresses morale bonuses and any bonus against fear effects. This spell can be made permanent upon objects and areas by a 12th level caster at a cost of 2000 XP. As we get further into the list analysis you'll note that almost all morale boosting effects in D&D are green or white -- hence this spell is a nasty hose against the enemy colors. You'll get to see a lot of that - the structure of Magic gives reason for spells who's whole purpose is to mess over other casters of given schools. Well that's all for now, I'll leave with a card - also black to fit the color of the evening...
Mak 05-01-06, 05:06 AM	Lol, you've just made this forum obsolete. Congratulations.
Rny2 05-01-06, 07:39 PM	well, we could always :ahem: simply detail Carthasana more.
Michael_Morris 05-02-06, 04:56 AM	Lol, you've just made this forum obsolete. Congratulations. First off that wasn't my intent and second how? In any case discussions on Carthasana will be limited to this thread. Should it grow large enough then other arrangements might be made. well, we could always :ahem: simply detail Carthasana more. I would welcome help with that but given the smiley you chose am I same in assuming you see that as a bad thing? Anyway, I'm going to hold off the introduction of new materials until after the boards reload. EDIT: On second thought I'll go ahead and post some of the maps. Maps are fun.
Michael_Morris 05-02-06, 05:28 AM	I'm going to nest this map - the main map of Telzoa - in a spoiler block because it's kinda big both in area and filesize (nearly a meg). I'll be redoing this map over the summer in CC3 as soon as it becomes available and to bring it in line with my notes. The current map was done in CC2 then exported to Macromedia Fireworks for visual touching up. http://www.nutkinland.com/images/maps/telzoanstates.jpg
Mak 05-02-06, 08:53 AM	The WCP's original purpose was to create a shared world that could be translated to both D&D and Magic. Unfortunately no one was familiar enough with both games or cared enough about the setting as a whole(as opposed to just their own creations) to do so. Keep copies of the material you post, they won't carry over after the boards switch, I hear.
Lord_Tirian 05-02-06, 09:21 AM	The WCP's original purpose was to create a shared world that could be translated to both D&D and Magic. Unfortunately no one was familiar enough with both games or cared enough about the setting as a whole(as opposed to just their own creations) to do so. Keep copies of the material you post, they won't carry over after the boards switch, I hear. The Goblin Flectomancer knows everything about the swap... because he's doing them... ;) On the material: Have you done something about special properties of terrains, because they are saturated with a special type of mana, or do you restrict it on the planes?
Michael_Morris 05-02-06, 12:28 PM	The Goblin Flectomancer knows everything about the swap... because he's doing them... ;) On the material: Have you done something about special properties of terrains, because they are saturated with a special type of mana, or do you restrict it on the planes? Terrain effects on spells is something I considered for a long while and tried to make work several ways. In the end though I took a step back and considered the purpose of the land mechanic in Magic. That purpose is to provide a tempo to the play - spells become more powerful as the game progresses. D&D already has such a tempo meter in place - the level system. Adding a "tap the land for mana" mechanic formally adds another layer of complexity to an already complex game and magic system. So I decided to leave the lands out. Spell typing of instant/sorcery/enchantment was also left out for similar reasons. Capturing the flavor of Magic was my goal, not total emulation - and the key to that lies in the colors themselves. This doesn't mean that terrains don't *occasionally* have an affect on magic though. Certainly the outer planes of Carthasana express magic traits as outlined in the DMG and in Manual of the Planes. There are a few spots on the prime like this as well but they are few and far between.
the_one_true_shea 05-05-06, 03:52 AM	The Goblin Flectomancer knows everything about the swap... because he's doing them... ;) Hey! Your not supposed to tug on superman's cape... its rude. ;) Anyway - Flecto never mind Mak - he's our naysayer! ;):ahem:;) Everybody needs naysayers. They point out everythig you do wrong! ....and a little bit more for good measure :eek: Please to be making notes my good Mak (you came back! :D - this thread is to serve as "inspiration" for our world. Regardless of how in depth (and well developed) the world of Carthasana is... its not going to be our world. Maybe it will get worked in whole cloth somehow, but some of the solutions Flecto has come up with will probably simply not fit with all the other pieces we have so far. Similarly, Dominaria d20 is another source of inspiration. One that I should probably link into my summary for good measure. The key difference being that Dominaria d20 is .. Dominaria d20. Its a "port" like taking an xbox game and putting it on your computer. Great for what it is: not the wcp. Dusk as well - as the code monkey says - its mostly rules ("code"). Just enough world fluff to put some italic text on the cards... actually are there cards - or is dusk pure d20? edit: :doh: stupid question We are making a world. A unique world that we can describe with both M:tG rules and D20 rules ... from the ground up - world first. Setting first - Rules second. I mean, Flecto.. check the riz/ira thread. Not gonna be in dusk is it? Poly-elemental elves and gnomes? Not too likely. Was dusk once ruled by elder dragon kings? Prolly not. Flying blue thri-kreen? Brother trees....Ithawu? I really like the Ithawu. They are so... so... not .. human! Know what I mean?
Mak 05-05-06, 11:40 AM	Anyway - Flecto never mind Mak - he's our naysayer! ;):ahem:;) Everybody needs naysayers. They point out everythig you do wrong! ....and a little bit more for good measure :eek: ? I always thought I was the resident megalomaniac. Seriously, though, my issue with the project has always been, and I fear will always be, its integrity. Nothing more. I mean, Flecto.. check the riz/ira thread. Not gonna be in dusk is it? Poly-elemental elves and gnomes? Not too likely. Was dusk once ruled by elder dragon kings? Prolly not. Flying blue thri-kreen? Brother trees....Ithawu? I mean, honestly, how can you notice the discontinuity between his world and this one and not notice the discontinuity already present here? But I digress. Our goblin friend has already solved half of the problems the project has historically run into, all concerning compatibility between Magic and D&D. Dusk bypasses the other half, which concerns dreaded continuity, because it was made by one mind, and not many. I'm not advocating abandoning this world for his, no matter how tempting the prospect may be. I simply wanted to make the comparison- because anyone who sees both worlds will. And guess which setting will be more attractive? ...And now I've gone and tried to conquer the world again. I never intended to post here again, but both of you have given me very good reasons to do so. I'd rather see my name dragged through the mud(yet again) in my presence(or what passes for presence here on the boards) than when I'm away. And one more thing: Dusk as well - as the code monkey says - its mostly rules ("code"). Just enough world fluff to put some italic text on the cards... actually are there cards - or is dusk pure d20? edit: :doh: stupid question Flecto has not presented enough of his material yet. I would hesitate to prematurely judge it as "fluff".
Book5 05-05-06, 02:06 PM	I always thought I was the resident megalomaniac. .... Flecto has not presented enough of his material yet. I would hesitate to prematurely judge it as "fluff". I have seen work like the Flectomancer's piece here before. Never seen one completed .. now mind you ;) but I expect elegant symmetry and a jot by jot analysis of every necessary element. From planes to peoples, every pertinant question regarding using M:tG has been answered. However, the immpertinant questions may be somewhat overlooked. Like "why don't we like add like something like 10 new races?" further, That said, not much of the Dusk setting's core book talks about the places, peoples and monsters - instead it is, well, a Player's Guide and it outlines the changes necessary to the D&D game that allow the spirit of Magic to be contained within it. Thats why you get the dunce cap Mak, you are hostile without being observant or thurough. Also, your the only person who has ever redacted your posts, neh? If your gonna be hostile.. at least aim carefully. :tiphat:
Michael_Morris 05-05-06, 09:09 PM	I'm not trying to replace the WCP, what I am presenting is a sourcepoint for things you guys can borrow. I need to get back to work on prepping the new boards, but in the meanwhile here are some spells (some new, some converted magic cards) to discuss. When magic cards are converted they are linked to allow a comparison of D&D spell to card. Sometimes the tie is obvious, and other times it's more nebulous, still other times the only thing in common is the name and each game evokes the feel of that name in it's own way. Abundance Conjuration (Creation) [Green] Level: (3), Drd 3 Components: V, S, DF Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Container touched Duration: 1 round / level (D) Saving Throw: None (object) Spell Resistance: No (object) “If you feed an army, have you really saved anything?” ~ Geldasin. Whatever food or water that is in the container at the time you cast this spell cannot be exhausted. Each round whatever has been removed from the container is replaced. The container can’t have more than a one cubic foot volume per caster level. Befoul Necromancy [Black, Mind-Affecting] Level: (7), Clr 7 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Creature touched Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Fort Neg Spell Resistance: Yes “Nothing pure remains so long.” ~ Sirrom The touched creature is blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased (determine randomly), exhausted, feebleminded, insane, nauseated, sickened and poisoned. The spells heal and cleanse remove 1d4 of these conditions each time they are cast on the subject instead of dispelling all of these conditions as normal. Spells that counter individual conditions inflicted by befoul function normally. Not all creatures are subject to all of befoul’s effects. The confused, feebleminded, and insanity effects are mind-affecting – creatures immune to mind affecting spells are immune to this part of befoul but not to the other parts. Undead are immune to all aspects of befoul. Chill Transmutation [Blue, Metamagic] Level: (3) Components: V, S, M Range: Long (400' + 40' / level) Area: Circle extending to the limit of the range. Duration: 1 round / level (D) Saving Throw: No Spell Resistance: None “Slow down and have some patience sparky.” ~ Teresa Red spells take 1 round longer to cast in the area of effect. Material Component: A handful of snow, ice or white sand. Demystify Abjuration (Dispel) [White] Level: (1), Sor/Wiz 1 “To remove a mystery is often to remove a problem.” ~ Alblasker This spell works like dispel magic in the targeted dispel mode only except it only affects spells of up to 3rd level and the maximum caster level on dispel checks is +5. Earthbind Evocation [Force, Red] Level: (4), Drd 5, Sor/Wiz 6 Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Long (400' + 40' / level) Target: 1 creature Duration: 10 minutes / level (D) Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: Yes “Eventually all born of earth hear her call.” ~ Druidic teaching Tendrils of magical force reach out and pull the targeted creature to the ground with an effective strength of 30. The creature does not strike the ground hard enough to be harmed. While the creature is in contact with the ground the spell has no apparent effects. Any jump check made by the creature has a -20 circumstance penalty. A few creatures may possess the strength to resist this force, but until they land all their actions are hampered as if they where grappled by an unseen foe. Material Component: A small stitched web.
Michael_Morris 05-05-06, 09:37 PM	And the reverse - D&D things to Magic cards..
Mak 05-06-06, 10:16 AM	Thats why you get the dunce cap Mak, you are hostile without being observant or thurough. Also, your the only person who has ever redacted your posts, neh? If your gonna be hostile.. at least aim carefully. :tiphat: Redacted? If you're talking about my erasure of my own material... then you don't know what you're talking about. And I would hardly call defending someone else's work hostile. No, you haven't seen hostile yet, mup. As for his material... he did say that "Events in the card set and events in the campaign are separated by some 400 years." That suggests sufficient depth... and we will see, won't we?
the_one_true_shea 05-12-06, 05:46 PM	Where are you getting those pretty picture Flecto? ;)
Michael_Morris 05-14-06, 11:14 PM	Various areas Shea - and many I don't remember cause I didn't store the artist's name with the file. Ok, now onto the subject for this post - Dividing into Colors Both MtG and D&D are capacle of representing a wide variety of worlds. But Magic as a game is better at illustrating worlds than telling stories directly - a fact that Magic R&D finally realized and latched onto as of the Mirrodin set. D&D is capacle of telling stories but it has it's own quirks and idiosyncracies that players expect of it. In recasting Dusk as a "Magic" world I had to come to grips with what parts of MtG that D&D could express and which ones it couldn't. One of the first things to go was mana and land. D&D already has two strictures to the casting of spells - components and level. Pitching components can be done, but spell levels are a major component of how D&D works, controlling the pace of magic acquistion over the life of a campaign. Trying to place in a mana tapping system into D&D in every playtest slowed magic down - made the world seem low magic. While as MtG worlds Dusk isn't especially high-magic, it isn't grim fantasy either. Another problem with the tapping process was it added another layer of complexity to an already complex game system. If MtG has memory issues, D&D has REAL memory issues, especially once multiple short duration spells get going. After awhile though I realized that mana in MtG plays a role for the cardgame that the level system already fills in D&D -- it controls the pace of power for spells. Sometimes it does so even more elegantly than MtG does itself - consider counterspell and spellblast in their D&D expressions: Spell Blast Abjuration (Dispel) Level: (2) Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 immediate action Range: Medium (100'+10' / level) Target: A spell Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No You must expend a spell slot of equal or higher level than the target spell as an additional cost to cast this spell. The target spell is countered automatically. Counterspell Abjuration (Dispel) [Blue] Level: (4), Sor/Wiz 5 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 immediate action Range: Medium (100'+10' / level) Target: One spell in casting. Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: None Spell Resistance: No "Can one so strong be denied by one so weak? Yes, for strength is nothing - timing is all" ~ Telsindria. Counter target spell. In Magic no one would run Spellblast in place of Counterspell - in D&D while Counterspell is still preferable to Spellblast, it's also 2 levels higher. Hence the level system insures both spells get a niche and one doesn't become a "crap" spell, something that's harder to justify in D&D than in MtG. Magic's flavor key though is in color. D&D divides magic along the tried and true arcane / divine lines - a distinction which has never been entirely clear except in feel. Clerics heal and recover the party, wizards are artillery platforms. Druids are somewhere between and only get to really come into their own in the wilderness arena since they are a wilderness based class. So I set out to divide the spells by color and not really worry about mana costs since the levels the spells would be assigned would need to do - and if the spells were properly divied up there shouldn't be a problem. Now the trick becomes who get's what effects? D&D has a different pool of effects than MtG and the effects the two games do share often have vastly different implications. For example, life gain in Magic is kept intentionally weak since it only prolongs the game. Disdained for the most part by tournament players, I've seen some go so far as to say that white is weakened by it's need to devote some of it's card pool each set to damage prevention and lifegain. Over in D&D though gaining back hit points is critical to the success of a party. White will still be getting lifegain, but instead of being an albatross of its character it becomes something that by itself will drive players towards the color. I began my division of the spells before MtG R&D began the shift in Magic itself - so in Dusk you will see old spells like Disenchant being around instead of Naturalize. However, I don't think this is necessarily a problem - I embraced the ideas and principles of each color and dividing the PHB spells accordingly. I then designed new D&D spells to fill the gaps that each color had left that defined their character -- things like Blue's counterspelling and Black's abundance of death magic. The result is a ring of color spells that echo's but doesn't exactly mimic the CCG, but the feel is close enough that my playtest players have accepted it readily and I think they'll go over well here as well. So without further ado here are the colors of Magic as seen by D&D. [b]Red We'll start with red because it is the most straight-forward. Red blows stuff up. D&D & MtG actually have four canon overlapping spells in red - Chain Lightning, Disintegrate, Lightning Bolt and Fireball. Red picks up a multitude of hallowed damage dealing spells from the PHB- meteor swarm, magic missile and coming up with some new twists to fit the feel of such cards as Shower of Coals, Incinerate was difficult without threatening to overload the color. Another challenge was giving the dedicated red mage a 1st level damage dealing spell that was comparable (and in a few circumstances better) than the already vaunted and overpowered Magic Missile spell was no small task (that spell, Pyroclastic Burst, get's an article all it's own). Red was fated to be the beast of damage dealing among the colors and the closest to the classic battle wizard as a result, so coming up with new things for the color to do was a concern. Red is the color of passion - so this comes through in spells which encourage creatures to rage or lose control of their emotions and give into their passions. Outright charms though, even the limited ones seen in spells like threaten where not carried over though - Red respects freedom and does not hinder it in any way - and here I do not agree with the decision made by R&D for flavor reasons - these styles of spells remain in blue. Red's chaoticness is picked up by it's dominance of Wild magic - spells translated from D&D 2nd edition. Many of the spells that had the chaotic descriptor now have the red descriptor. Red isn't an especially defensive color - though it does have stoneskin and flameshield, two of the more popular defensive spells in D&D. Red retains it's ability to deal with magic directly and even loses it's shatter since destroying magic items (artifacts) can be done with the rest of it's arsenal anyway. Green Bringing green to D&D at first seems easy what with all the druid spells and the class around. However, a lot of druid offensive spells are, strictly speaking, red. Also the ability to summon creatures isn't especially useful in D&D so green's calling card is diminished considerably - and to add insult to injury most of the better creatures to summon in D&D are elementals and hence red or blue. To compensate green is once again allowed to do damage directly with it's spells. Green damage dealing though is weather or cold based. Green remains the best buffing color and gains a wide variety of spells to fill scrying holes created by the movement of most of the PHB versions of those spells over to blue. Green mana accelleration was a tricky thing to do, but a couple of new spells have a go at speeding up green's ability to play spells - Alacrity and Aluren being two of the biggest. Green dabbles in healing being able to remove most status effects like paralysis, blindness / deafness and it can heal damage indirectly through polymorphing. Green doesn't directly blast away at artifacts but has insidious little anti-technology spells like rusting grasp and the new rusting ray to get it's point across regarding steel artifacts (nature artifacts though don't bother green as much in D&D). White The challenge in white was *not* making another cleric. White has all the best cures, the ability to raise the dead, restore lost levels - basically white can remove effects quite readily. The key was matching white up with the most powerful abjuration magic in the game and the ability to set the rules of an encounter. White can therefore shield allies from being hurt most of the time, and recover damage that is dealt with them when it does get through. While white may not win an encounter on it's own it can tip the balance and make sure the party stays alive between encounters. White is able to act offensively sometimes, though not as well as red. The way this played out is that while red gets the best offensive spells overall, white got the spells that conditionally deal damage. White also got most (though not all) the spells with a 'good' or 'law' descriptor. White however does have some evil spells. White has a large compliment of compulsion spells where green gets the charms and blue gets the domination spells. White finally has banishment and the ability to readily knock out summoned creatures, though it's offensive options are otherwise limited -- even those offensive spells clerics do have often got moved to red. Black Skipping Blue a moment (I'm sure you thought it next) let's go to black (blue presented the trickiest design problems). Black was fun to design because I simply took an archetype players seem to want - the necromancer - and develop it freely. In D&D a good necromancer ends up divided between the cleric and wizard classes, but here black gets all the goodies and doesn't need to sure. Indeed, it created almost as big a character crisis for Black as Red had since I didn't want any color to become one dimensional. A lot of mind warping spells were written to symbolize discard and black also picked up shadow magic into it's arsenal. Black's other big problem in design was coining enough low level effects to keep the color fun and playable through all 20 levels of D&D. Black has some incredible high level necromantic stuff but the color actually has no PHB spells at 1st or 3rd level creating key holes that had to be filled by the Dusk spells. Black has fewer new high level spells than any color, but the ones it did get are fun. Black also gets most of the evil descriptored spells (though it has some good spells too). Before associating it as the color of evil though keep in mind that white came in #2 on the number of formally *evil* spells it has. In Dusk evil is not in the spell itself, it's how it's used, though admittedly some black spells have no good applications, or at least no moral ones if you're morals include respect for the dead. Blue Blue was a puzzle. From the PHB it inherits the almost the entire illusion roster as well as most all the divinations, but these aren't key traits played up in the card game. Indeed the things blue was known for in Magic simply aren't around in D&D - well at least not until 3e. 3e opened the door on the concept of counterspelling, so Blue getting a bevy of counterspells made sense. To keep the blue mage from being able to easily shut down foes though all the counterspells are medium range or shorter spells - by contrast most red spells are long range. Blue however does have the better mobility spells in the D&D game. Card drawing gets represented in various memory manipulation spells. Overall the color is still interesting and fun to play with, but not as dominating as it's heritage would otherwise indicate. I'll post the exact spell lists each color recieved from the PHB later.
Michael_Morris 05-15-06, 07:51 PM	The following table lists all the creatures of the Monster Manual sorted by the type and level of magic that summons them. In most cases the creature is identical to the entry in the Monster Manual, although some have added hit dice, templates or even class and level. At least 5 different creatures for each color and level are given. Note: Players intending to summon a creature that has changes from the base Monster Manual entry are required to prepare the creature before the session to speed up play. Green Summons 1st level: baboon, badger, elf, halfling, monstrous centipede (medium), monstrous scorpion (small), monstrous spider (small), snake (small viper). 2nd level: giant ant (worker), giant bee, gnoll, grig, hyena, monstrous centipede (large), monstrous scorpion (medium), monstrous spider, (medium), nixie, snake (medium viper), spider swarm, wolf. 3rd level: ape, black bear, bison, boar, cheetah, dire badger, dire weasel, giant ant (queen), giant ant (soldier), giant bombardier beetle, leopard, monitor lizard, monstrous centipede (huge), monstrous spider (large), satyr, snake (constrictor), snake (large viper), wolverine. 4th level: ankheg, assassin vine, brown bear, centipede swarm, centaur, dire boar, dire wolverine, dust mephit, ettercap, formian warrior, giant praying mantis, giant stag beetle, giant wasp, grick, locust swarm, monstrous scorpion (large), owlbear, pixie, polar bear, rhinoceros, rust monster, snake (huge viper), tiger, wereboar. 5th level: bralani, monstrous centipede (gargantuan), monstrous spider (huge), pixie, shambling mound, snake, giant constrictor, spider eater, troll, tendriculos, troll (scrag), werebear, weretiger, winter wolf. 6th level: dire bear, dire tiger, elephant, gynosphinx, monstrous scorpion (huge), monstrous spider, (gargantuan), nymph, treant, rust monster (large, 10 HD), rhinoceros (huge, 16 HD). 7th level: frost giant, monstrous centipede, (colossal), monstrous scorpion (gargantuan), wooly mammoth (Treat as a 15 HD elephant), winter wolf (huge, 11 HD), owlbear (huge, 11 HD), shambling mound (huge, 13 HD), snake (gargantuan constrictor, 25 HD), ankheg (huge, 9 HD), wood elf ranger, (10th level). 8th level: monstrous scorpion (colossal), monstrous spider (colossal), troll hunter (6th level ranger), dire bear (huge, 22 HD), praying mantis (huge, 12 HD), grig druid (9th level), spider eater (huge, 12 HD), tendriculous, (gargantuan, 18 HD), nymph bard (4th level), young adult green dragon. 9th level: ghaele, bralani (large, 14 HD), dire tiger (huge, 28 HD), human ranger (14th level), gynosphinx, (huge, 14 HD), pixie sorcerer (6th level), human druid (14th level), frost giant ranger (4th level), shambling mound (huge, 21 HD), snake (gargantuan constrictor, 33 HD) White Summons 1st level: aasimar, dog, eagle, hawk, celestial cat, celestial monkey. 2nd level: camel, riding dog, heavy horse, light horse, light warhorse, mule, human fighter (1st level), human cleric (1st level), celestial eagle, human paladin (1st level). 3rd level: lantern archon, blink dog, hippogriff, heavy warhorse, aasimar Paladin (1st level). 4th level: giant eagle, lion, pegasus, unicorn, aasimar Paladin (2nd level). 5th level: hound archon, celestial lion, dire lion, djinni, griffon, janni, ravid. 6th level: lillend, celestial unicorn, half celestial human fighter (3rd level), aasimar Paladin (6th level), hound archon barbarian (2nd level). 7th level: androsphinx, avoral, behir, djinni noble, lammasu, roc, zelekhut. 8th level: couatl, cloud giant, half-celestial human paladin (9th level), half-dragon celestial, lammasu, guardian naga. 9th level: celestial charger (unicorn), kolyarut, leonal, aasimar paladin (12th level), human cleric (13th level). Blue Summons 1st level: celestial owl, human adept, aquatic elf, human expert, porpoise. 2nd level: tiny animated object, formian worker, gnome, locathah, merfolk. 3rd level: small animated object, small air or water elemental, githyanki, svirfneblin gnome, homunculus, manta ray, octopus, medium shark, squid. 4th level: medium animated object, crocodile, kuo-toa, sahuagin, large shark, triton. 5th level: large animated object, juvenile arrowhawk, doppelganger, medium air or water elemental, ethereal filcher, ethereal marauder, air mephit, ice mephit, water mephit, ogre, merrow, giant owl, juvenile tojanida. 6th level: achaierai, huge animated object, adult arrowhawk, giant crocodile, displacer beast, large air or water elemental, gibbering mouther, mimic, orca, phase spider, sea cat, sea hag, huge shark, adult tojanida. 7th level: aboleth, gargantuan animated object, baleen whale, chuul, 6-headed cyrohydra, huge air or water elemental, formian, taskmaster, invisible stalker, water naga, phasm, remorhaz. 8th level: elder arrowhawk, 8-headed cyrohydra, dire shark, dragon turtle, greater air or water elemental, giant octopus, giant, shield guardian, giant squid, elder tojanida. 9th level: colossal animated object, 10-headed cyrohydra, elder air or water elemental, myrmarch formian, human wizard, (11th level). Black Summons 1st level: dire rat, skeleton (human warrior), zombie (kobold), zombie (goblin), zombie (dog). 2nd level: fiendish dire rat, tiefling, zombie (human commoner), orc zombie, skeletal eagle (magical flight). 3rd level: darkmantle, duergar, drow elf, ghoul, grimlock, lemure, lizardfolk, shrieker, wolf skeleton, troglodyte zombie. 4th level: bat swarm, choker, imp, dire bat, dretch, quasit, rat swarm, skeleton, owlbear, skum, vargouille, wererat, bugbear zombie. 5th level: allip, derro, dire ape, dire wolf, dryad, gelatinous cube, ghast, howler, ooze mephit, salt mephit, phantom fungus, shadow, troll skeleton, violet fungus, werewolf, wight, yeth hound, pureblood yuan-ti, ogre zombie. 6th level: aranea, barbazu, greater barghest, bearded devil, carrion crawler, cloaker, gray ooze, green hag, harpy, hieracosphinx, 6-headed hydra, mummy, nightmare, ochre jelly, otyugh, shadow mastiff, skeleton, chimera, skeleton, ettin, vampire spawn, wraith, half-blood yuan-ti, minotaur zombie, umberhulk zombie, wyvern zombie. 7th level: annis, babau (demon), belker, black pudding, cachalot whale, chain devil, chaos beast, digester, drider, gauth (beholder), human fighter ghost (5th level), flesh golem, half black dragon, human fighter (4th level), 8-headed hydra, lamia, medusa, advanced megaraptor skeleton, cloud giant skeleton, spectre, succubus (demon), umber hulk, vampire (5th level fighter), will o’ wisp, xill, yuan-ti abomination, gray render zombie. 8th level: bodak, bone devil, destrachan, erinyes, gray render, half fiend (7th level human cleric), hellwasp swarm, 10-headed hydra, mind flayer, mohrg, dark naga, spirit naga, night hag, green slaad. 9th level: barbed devil, bebilith, cauchemar (nightmare), devourer, harpy archer, 12-headed hydra, rakshasa, retriever, gray slaad, dread wraith. Red Summons 1st level: giant fire beetle, goblin, kobold, goblin adept, kobold expert. 2nd level: dwarf, hobgoblin, orc, stirge, kobold fighter. 3rd level: small earth or fire elemental, githzerai, krenshar, pseudodragon, troglodyte. 4th level: azer, bugbear, shocker lizard, thoqqua, worg. 5th level: cockatrice, deinonychus (dinosaur), medium earth or fire elemental, hell hound, magmin, earth mephit, fire mephit, magma mephit, steam mephit, ogre, flamebrother salamander, minor xorn. 6th level: basilisk, large earth or fire elemental, gargoyle, manticore, minotaur, rast. 7th level: bulette, chimera, criosphinx, dragonne, elasmosaurus (dinosaur), huge earth or fire elemental, ettin, hill giant, girallon, hellcat, megaraptor (dinosaur), ogre barbarian, 6-headed pyrohydra, average salamander, red slaad, wyvern, average xorn. 8th level: athach, delver, efreeti, greater fire or earth elemental, stone giant, gorgon, nessian warhound (hellhound), ogre mage, 8-headed pyrohydra, greater shadow, young adult red dragon, blue slaad, triceratops (dinosaur), tyrannosaurus rex, vrock (demon), elder xorn, yrthak. 9th level: elder fire or earth elemental, fire giant, clay golem, stone golem, hezrou, hill giant, dire wereboar, 10-headed pyrohydra, noble salamander.
the_one_true_shea 05-15-06, 10:04 PM	I like this summons list. Deffinitly something every setting needs to have locally defined. I am however curious at your inclusion of the "name-giver" races. I mean there are intelligent creatures on the summon monster/nature's ally list - but they are all outsiders or sprites. ;) Does have every monster in the SRD though! :D Psionics? Also - I take it these are used in place of the current summons? "Summon Green Ally (Sp)" "Summon Red Ally (Sp)" and etc? I am probably jumping the gun here - but which ones are on whose spell list? Green on Druids of course.. but clerics? wizards? Eh, thoughts and commentary - I am certain that when we see Dusk's classes we can get a better idea of how this list comes into play.
Michael_Morris 05-16-06, 10:22 AM	I like this summons list. Deffinitly something every setting needs to have locally defined. I am however curious at your inclusion of the "name-giver" races. I mean there are intelligent creatures on the summon monster/nature's ally list - but they are all outsiders or sprites. ;) Does have every monster in the SRD though! :D Psionics? Dusk had psionics in 2e but it used it's own system. I'm not sure if I want to drop the class entirely or adapt my own system to 3e - I don't like the base 3e psionic rules at all though. Also - I take it these are used in place of the current summons? "Summon Green Ally (Sp)" "Summon Red Ally (Sp)" and etc? I am probably jumping the gun here - but which ones are on whose spell list? Green on Druids of course.. but clerics? wizards? Eh, thoughts and commentary - I am certain that when we see Dusk's classes we can get a better idea of how this list comes into play. Actually, alignment rules are a better way to see how this plays, because a character's alignment determines which creatures they summon :D Also, I haven't even begun to touch on the summoning rules yet - wait for the Legendary summons rules (Can't have Magic without Legends now can we?) Dusk doesn't use the traditional alignment system at all - instead it uses it's own. For the D&D players out there unfamiliar with magic colors here's the section of the book that introduces the alignments... In the Dusk setting alignment is a link leading back to creation itself. The setting has not nine but five alignments, and those alignments not only describe what a character believes is important in his life but also how he responds to magic and how it responds to him. Each alignment is named for the outer plane it is linked to: Aborean, Balcridrean, Sodrean, Shunrean and Valrean, but most characters refer to the color each alignment presents under the scrutiny of a Know Alignment spell – green, blue, black, red and white. While the forces of alignment play an even more significant role in Dusk, they don’t interpret good and evil. Alignments are thoughts and natures – not actions. Only actions can be judged as good or evil, and this interpretation is rather left up to individuals who naturally interpret good and evil according to their own alignment. http://www.wizards.com/magic/images/mtgcom/fcpics/taste/mc3_pie.jpg Aborean (Green) “Everything begins and ends in life – for even as one passes on, they give life to the scavengers feeding upon them.” - Sashana, Grand Druid The aborean alignment is associated most strongly with life, nature, and green magic. Druids and rangers are required to have this alignment in order to receive their spells. The Aborean is an interesting and often misunderstood alignment. Sure, it’s about nature and the natural way, but what does that really mean? Well, to Aboreans life is the most important and powerful thing in the world. In life all things are possible. Life will overcome – it will find a way. To an Aborean death is a necessary part of life. To kill to acquire food is a part of life, for the strongest and most able will survive and life, as a whole, grows stronger. Killing for sport is another matter entirely, and a hideous evil in the Aborean mind. Aboreans are happiest watching things grow – be they grains or the cows grazing upon them. On an individual basis the Aborean belief is that everyone is born with potential, and it is best to let them live to see that potential. Aboreans look to nature to see cycles and they revere and adore them. Coexistance with these cycles is a source of strength. Coming to understand them is a source of wisdom. However, the Aborean doesn’t wish to take the world apart to figure out how it works – given time and observation the world will reveal its secrets to the Aborean on its own terms and in its own time. All the other alignments tend to want to reshape the world in some fashion to suit their desires, but the Aboreans want the world to remain exactly as it is and don’t want anyone to change it. Artificial change they feel is always for the worst and ultimately futile – for eventually nature takes back the land taken from her. Aboreans see in the Valrean mindset a fellow alignment that values community and coexistance. They each understand that there is order in the world, though the Aboreans don’t understand why Valreans seem to need laws for every conceivable thing – to the point of denying the emotions that are part of themselves much of the time. It is in the Shunreans that Aboreans find a fellow alignment that celebrates the power of emotions and instincts, though the Aboreans are sometimes amused by how blindly Shunreans will follow their feelings and disturbed by the destructive power their red magic can give them while in a rage. As for Balcridreans, Aboreans find them to be distasteful and idealistic fools at best and destructive scoundrels at the worst. Balcridreans too often get so caught up in esoteric theories and formulaes that they can’t see the truth in front of them. Though this can be tolerated, the attitude many Balcridreans have towards the world is offensive to Aboreans. The Balcridreans see the world as nothing more than resources with which to build machines and cities without any care to the destruction these things can cause to nature. Hence the Aboreans actively seek to keep their moves checked lest they recast the world in an artificial mockery of its current self. Aboreans view Sodreans as short-sighted, selfish morons. While Aboreans allow themselves to bend to nature’s will, Sodreans want nature (and everyone else for that matter) to bend to their will. Many Sodreans think nothing of hunting and killing for sport alone, a horrific concept to an Aborean. Hence the Sodreans must be stopped before they destroy anything in pursuit of their selfish desires. Balcridrean (Blue) “All actions have consequence, and often enough the less thought the more consequence.” - Alblasker of Granis Members of this alignment cherish thought and learning above all else. Balcridreans wish to know as much as possible about anything and everything. Endlessly curious, Balcridreans are equally fascinated by what is and what could be. Knowledge and the eternal quest for omniscience are the prime goals of the Balcridreans. Knowledge is everything to them, and when they aren’t learning they are developing plans and schemes to learn still more. This isn’t to say that all smart characters have this alignment though – it’s just that Balcridreans are preoccupied with learning before anything else – be that others, themselves, their emotions or the world around them. It’s not that they may not care about these things; it’s just that they are all secondary at best. The Balcridrean is an inquiring mind that has to know, and they don’t understand that the act of discovery itself can sometimes forever change what they have discovered. Balcridreans are happy curled around an old tome studying or sitting at a desk, writing. Slow to actually take action to a fault, most Balcrideans want to make sure everything is in place before proceeding. This puts them at a disadvantage when haste is necessary – for there is not always time to “sew the last button upon the last coat of the last soldier in the army.” Balcridreans feel that anything is possible if the right lessons are grasped and the right resources acquired. The world is nothing more to them but those resources – to aquire them, understand them and then use them. In the Valreans the Balcrideans find an alignment that shares their love of planning and thinking things through, but they can’t quite understand the importance of precedent and they certainly don’t understand the value Valreans place on living in peace with nature. Just go ahead and reshape it goes an old Balcridian sentiment, what could possibly go wrong? To the Balcridreans the Sodrean alignment is one that isn’t scared of the occasional ugliness of truth. Neither alignment understands the concept of passing judgement on knowledge, though unlike the Sodreans the Balcrideans understand that the application of some knowledge is dangerous no matter the perceived benefit. Balcrideans also can’t understand why Sodreans sometimes allow their selfishness to drive them to rash or reckless (in Balcridrean eyes) actions. Balcridreans find Aboreans fustrating because they accept the world as is. Balcridreans have a never-ending series of why’s and how’s on the world and resent the Aborean opposition to allowing them to ‘tinker” with nature in order to learn about it their way. Balcrideans think the best way to learn about something is to take it apart. While Aboreans insist that nature is more than the sum of its parts, the Balcrideans want to find out about those parts first and worry about the sum later. If the Aboreans won’t get out of the way, they’ll just have to be dealt with. Shunreans embrace everything Balcridreans pride themselves in shunning. Balcridreans believe knowledge paves the way to victory – Shunreans believe that passion does; Balcridreans prefer to think – Shunreans prefer to act; Balcridreans believe that rash actions are deadly – Shunreans believe waiting is deadly; Balcridreans are cold intellects – Shunreans are renowned for their hot tempers (and spells). Shunrean (Red) “So long as I am free I am alive.” - Trishdare, Elven Sorcerer Freedom is the most important thing to the Shunreans, and they pursue it with untamed passion. This alignment fully embraces emotions of all types and the Shunrean heart is guided by how it feels, never stopping to think about why. No alignment is as caring in love or deadly in fury than the Shunreans. Barbarians need to have the Shunrean alignment to tap into their hearts and use their rage ability. Bards require this alignment in order to be in touch with the passion that drives music. Unlike other alignments, Shunreans don’t set long term goals or plans, rather they live exclusively in the moment. Many of them are daredevils seeking to milk every ounce of adreniline they can out of existence by taking chances. This isn’t to say that they are incapacle of planning or setting goals, it’s just that these tend to be short term and their execution haphazard. Methodical is not a word to use to describe them. Shunreans enjoy freedom, including the freedom gained by living impulsively and without a plan. They are firm believers in the principle that life is a journey and not a destination. Despite the violence they and their spells are capacle of, friends are important to Shunreans. They enjoy sharing their feelings after all and enjoy personal relationships with a few others. Freedom is the principle underlying all other Shunrean thought. As long as they are free to act as they will when they will, they care little for other concerns. They also believe that freedom must be extended to everyone, and to this end they don’t interfere with the lives of strangers unless they present a threat. Shunreans find Sodreans to be kindred free spirits, though they don’t understand why the Sodreans are so insular and selfish, and they certainly don’t appreciate the Sodrean need to dominate others. In the Aboreans the Shunreans see fellow lovers of passion and emotion, though they don’t understand why the Aboreans sometimes restrain their emotion for the good of nature. Creatures in nature can act unfettered the Shunreans argue, so why can’t we. As to Valreans, Shunreans hate them and their uncountable laws. “Who gives others the right to tell me what to do?” is a question asked by many a Shunrean. Sure, you listen to your parents, your lovers, and your friends, but why give authority in your life to someone who doesn’t know you, doesn’t care for you. It’s not so much following orders that bother Shunreans – they can and do follow the orders of their peers. The problem lies in asking a Shunrean to follow orders from an organization or other faceless authority – they constantly balk at this concept. If the Shunreans are to be free to follow their destiny the Valreans must be defeated. And the Balcridreans? They are stupid and plodding philosophers scared to come out of their cloistered learning cells and live. What is life without passion? Without love? Without fury and all other emotions? These aren’t as the Balcridreans say “things which cloud the mind,” but rather they are things that make life worth living. A dangerous assumption though is that Shunreans can’t think or plan – they indeed can but when they do they, unlike the Balcridreans, put passion and creativity into their work; as opposed to the cold logic of the Balcridreans. If Shunreans are to be free to create they must stay clear of the banality of Balcridrean thought. Sodrean (Black) “There are two types of people in the world – those who use people and those who get used. I spent my time as a member of the latter society, now excuse me if I refuse to return to it.” - Markson of Altania Sodreans cherish three things: me, myself, and I. They view the world in this light as well – everyone is trying to get ahead in life so why pretend that it is different. While the opponents of this alignment call it selfish, Sodreans call it honest. Sodreans want to gain as much personal power as they can so as to further advance their own adjendas. Their ultimate goal is omnipotence. They have no qualms about taking what they need and what they want unless someone stronger is around to stop them, for isn’t the law of nature survival of the fittest? And Sodreans are intent on doing everything they can to insure they are the fittest. This said most Sodreans understand the value of restraint, for reckless power grabs can backfire. It’s useless to take something you don’t have the strength to keep ahold of. The term evil is used to describe Sodreans often enough, but this label is unfair. All the Dusk alignments have a capacity for evil actions in order to further their goals. Sodreans put themselves before others and believe that their own needs come before anyone else; but that attitude doesn’t preclude acts of kindness – though admittedly when a Sodrean is being nice to you chances are he wants something from you that he can’t steal for some reason. The “me first” attitude of Sodreans does mean that this alignment has the highest propensity to commit evil acts and it is also the alignment with the most infighting. But there is a difference between being inclined towards being evil and actually being evil. It should be noted that Sodrean selfishness isn’t entirely bad. The importance of the individual is a key concept in capitalism and modern democracy. Good implies, among other things, a respect for moral authority. Sodreans don’t believe in morality at all – they are amoral – but this isn’t the same as acting immorally. An immoral person actively seeks to be disruptive in society and to overturn morality. An amoral one simply believes that morality doesn’t mean anything. This having been said, Sodreans have no compulsions about acting in a moral fashion if this helps them get ahead. The problem is that Sodreans don’t usually have a problem with doing anything to get ahead. They don’t pass moral or ethical judgements on their actions, they just evaluate whether or not the action is a good idea. Stealing is a good idea only if you’re sure you can get away with it. Other Sodreans don’t feel that the problems created defying the local laws are worth their trouble. These are the types who will do everything they can within the law to get ahead. And these guys are no less Sodrean than their outlaw counterparts, though they do have more of an air of respectability. In Balcridreans the Sodreans have an ally who is willing to learn whatever is necessary to get ahead. Balcrideans aren’t afraid of the occasional ugliness of truth though they are sometimes afraid of the consequences of using that knowledge. Then again, to the Sodreans they seem to be afraid of taking any action at all without overplanning. The Shunreans earn Sodrean respect by acting in their own best interests most of the time. Unfortunately they are easily swayed that they can be tricked into doing things that, in the long run, aren’t in their best interest. Then again, that’s probably fortunate – it makes them more easily controlled. The Valreans make Sodreans sick. They believe in ludicrous concepts that defy the laws of nature (as Sodreans interpret them). Protect the weak from the strong? Bah, the weak should be culled from the earth. Equality for everyone? Bah, the best and brightest deserve to get ahead in life, and the weak and stupid deserve to eek out whatever lot they can. Valrean emphasis on morality is also repugnant to Sodreans – such idealism is meaningless in the end, and it has no value. Aboreans embrace a similar sort of idocy as the Sodreans see it. Life is important yes, but only if it can be used to serve you. If its existence doesn’t benefit you, why care? Valrean (White) “There is no value in being alone, serving oneself. Each of us are impermanent shadows in a greater play – and he who serves only himself serves a shadow that will pass away into nothing as a flower in the wind.” - Princess Anatole. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.” This sentiment is the key of the Valrean alignment, the alignment of peace, harmony, order and community. This is the alignment of paladins and monks, each of which follow and excersize rigid discipline in their training and in their lives. Global harmony for all people is the goal of the Valreans. To achieve this harmony, Valreans embrace and use law. Valreans also have the most extensively codified and developed religions, though gods exist in every alignment – there worship is strongest in the alignment were subservience is a virtue. It is easy to call the Valrean mindset the “good” alignment of Dusk, but this would be a mistake. True, Valreans thought espouses many of the moral laws most people would call good – The sanctity of human life, peace, harmony, and so on. But Valreans also believe that individuals can and must be sacrificed for the good of their society, though that sacrifice should be voluntary if it must be enforced, so be it. Valreans also believe that those outside the group have no rights whatsoever. Before calling Valrea good consider that facism is a very Valrean concept, and there are few among us that would call facism good. Valreans believe in a set of moral laws and that these laws should be followed at all times. Morality, to Valreans, is cut and dried – there are no shades of grey. In addition to this, Valreans have a highly developed sense of honor. Honor defines an individuals place in society, and a slight to a Valrean’s honor will provoke a fight. In the Aboreans the Valreans see an ally who shares their love of community and order, albeit natural order. If only the Aboreans would go by the book more instead of following their gut. In Balcridreans the Valreans find an ally who loves learning and order, though they are bit too inclined to delve into things best left alone for Valrean tastes. To the Valreans, the Sodreans are a blight. Their complete lack of moral sensibility and respect for moral authority makes them dangerous mavericks at best and enemies that must be destroyed at worst. If the Valreans are ever to have harmony, the Sodreans must be wiped out. And the Shunreans? The Valreans cannot and will not tolerate their constant disregard for civil authority and their attempts to drive the world into chaos and anarchy. If the world is to ever know peace the Shunreans must be put down. Alignment in Play Players begin play with one declared alignment. As time progresses their attunement to that alignment either grows stronger or they branch out and develop multiple alignments. Repeated use of spells of a given color can also taint a character's alignment. There is no harm in having multiple colors of alignment in and of itself, just be aware that your character counts for all the alignment colors he has. Some classes require that a character have a certain alignment be dominant – in other words most of the character's alignment history must fall in line with that of the class. The paladin class however requires its members to be purely Valrean with no deviation. Alignments never disappear from a character unless purged away with an atonement spell. For more research into the natures of the colors and also what happens when characters gain dual alignments read Mark Rosewater's articles on the subject. The most recent one is here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/daily/mr226) and the others are linked from that article.
the_one_true_shea 05-17-06, 05:15 PM	I'm not sure if I want to drop the class entirely or adapt my own system to 3e - I don't like the base 3e psionic rules at all though. The nice thing about 3e psi is that it is very modular - in that it can be dropped into things with minimal hassle. It would be very easy to say "if you want psi - its colorless.... that is all" ;) but that said - I think the 3e psi is overpowered in relation to the normal magic systems. Vigor vs Cure... vigor is better. Psi is more flexible (points vs levels) insomuch as augment is far more effective than meta magic. My solution to that has been to increase the flexibility of magic (step one - unlimited cantrips, step two - skill check based magic, step three - allow noncaster magic with increased DCs, and more), but that is in my own wacko settings. That article is very interesting. This weeks is about how to analyze the morale values of the blue/white... er I mean Aborean/Balcridrean! :D
Michael_Morris 05-18-06, 03:07 AM	The Simic would be Aborean / Balcridean. Ok, I just finished this part of the book - the list of spell brief descriptions for each class. Here are the bard spells (see how many magic card names you recognize)... Bard Spells 0-level Bard Spells Convince: Nudge a creature into performing an action they are hesitant to do but favor. Mask: Alter your facial appearance, gaining a +5 enhancement bonus to disguise checks. Meece's Cartomantic Flourish: Control objects of chance nearby you. Prepare Costume: Instantaneously clean your clothing. Reckless Dweomer: Create a mishap which might become a spell of level equal or less than that of an expended spell slot. Ward from Rain: Weak field of force blocks rainfall from touching you. Wink Out: Invisibility for one round only. 1st level Bard Spells Break Slumber: Dispel natural sleep, make a dispel check against magical sleep. Buoy: Creature or object floats easily in water. Still Touch: Touched creature moves without making vibrations or sounds. Switch Costumes: You transport all clothing you wear to a special location and simualtaneously the clothing in that location is transported upon you. Taunt: Target creature is compelled to attack you. Understand Unorthodoxy: Gain a mental picture of what an object looked like unbroken. 2nd level Bard Spells Alluring Scent: Touched creature gains a pleasant odor that suppresses nauseating spells such as stinking cloud. Animal Magnetism: Touched creature gains wild empathy. Delude Divination: Divination spell gives random nonsensical results. Evasion: Gain evasion as per the class ability Identify: Gain a +20 insight bonus on a spellcraft check. Jibber Jabba: Speech of subjects becomes unintelligable to those not affected by the spell. Pacifism: Target creature goes to total defense and can take no actions other than movement or speaking. Ray of Command: Dominate Person for one round. Song of Chaos: Each round you may spend a bardic music slot to attempt to confuse a foe. Song of Charm: Each round you may spend a bardic music slot to attempt to charm a foe. Sound Shell: Create a barrier through which sound doesn't pass. Surefoot: Subject gains a +10 enhancement bonus to balance and tumble checks. 3rd level Bard Spells Compulsion: Subject repeats an action each round if able. Song of Freedom: Song breaks down charms and compulsions. Song of Holding: Sing a song that holds foes fast. 4th level Bard Spells Blinding Light: Intense light blinds and dazzles foes. Bloodcurdling Scream: Target creatures gain a fading morale penalty to attack rolls. Catalogue: Know everything written in a library. Dirge of Dread: Song causes fear in all who hear. Discordant Dirge: Song causes spellcasters to lose prepared spells. Jinx: Target creature takes the lower of two d20 rolls. Rally: Creatures gain a fading morale bonus to attack rolls. 5th level Bard Spells Disenchant: Dispel one spell the caster could end. Reverent Mantra: Creatures gain a fading morale bonus to AC. 6th level Bard Spells Back to Basics: Antimagic shell that suppresses enhancement bonuses. Confiscate: Move a spell with a single target onto yourself. Greater Confusion: As confusion, but with an area of effect of a 30' radius burst. Mass Pacifism: As pacifism but affecting 1 creature / level. Shockwave: Deal 10d6 damage to creatures in area and possibly deafen them permanently. Song of Blood: Each round the song of blood is sung creatures gain a +1 cumulative morale bonus to attack.
the_one_true_shea 05-18-06, 04:14 AM	Yay! Bards! I wish I was a bard! :D Coulda been - I have the charisma for it :D Man, ... I bet those are all magic cards arnt they... I don't recognize a one of em! Course I am terrible with names..
Michael_Morris 05-18-06, 11:20 AM	Druid Spells 0-level Druid Spells Snag: A low branch or exposed root moves into position to trip a creature. 1st level Druid Spells Animal Weaponry: Your hands become animal claws that deal 1d6 damage. Buoy: Creature or object floats easily in water. Camouflage: Gain a +10 bonus to hide checks. Eternal Respite: Touched body can't be raised or animated. Familiar Eyes: See through the eyes of a familiar or animal companion. Hands of Fire: Encase your hands in flame dealing 1d6 fire damage. Life Burst: Cures 2d8 hit points per expended spell slot. Magnify Sight: See at great distance as if you used a spyglass. Sheltering Branches: The tree you touch arranges it's branches to block out all rain and wind. Snow Walk: Touched creature can walk on snow and other soft surfaces. Squirrel Growth: You enlarge multiple squirrels. 2nd level Druid Spells Animal Magnetism: Touched creature gains wild empathy. Bestow Trick: Instantaneously teach an animal a trick. Break Slumber: Dispel natural sleep, make a dispel check against magical sleep. Harden Snow: Harden snow so it will support the weight of most adventurers Reverse Damage: Reverse the damage of target spell so it cures. Scent: You gain the scent ability. Sonar: You can see using sound. Speaking Shape: Retain the ability to speak while in wildshape. Stampede: This spell compels a herd of animals to stampede in the direction you dictate. Stone Grasp: A stone hand comes from the ground and grapples creatures you designate. 3rd level Druid Spells Abundance: Container produces unlimited food. Accelerated Decay: Deal 2d8 damage / round to corporeal undead. Armor of Thorns: As barkskin, but those you grapple or attack you unarmed are dealt 1d6 damage. Avalanche of Squirrels: Summon 1d10 squirrels / level, up to 10d10 Lesser Bloodlust: Creature gains a +4 rage bonus to Strength and Constitution and a -4 rage penalty to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma (to a minimum of 3). Forest's Eyes: See anything that transpires within a forest. Honor the Fallen: Destroy all corpses in holy fire and be cured 2 points for each one, up to 20. Horse's Stamina: Target creature gains a +4 bonus to strength and constitution. Keen Ear: Subject gains a +20 enhancement bonus to listen checks. Keen Eye: Subject gains a +20 enhancement bonus to spot checks. Ring of Fire: Nearby creatures struck by flames dealing 1d4 damage. Squirrel Riot: As you are damaged squirrels form nearby. Survival of the Fittest: Creatures you summon have a +4 bonus to strength and hit points are max possible for their hit dice. Tendril Walker: You may attack using any vines or branches in range as if you wielded them as a weapon. Terix's Boon: Creature gains a random bonus to a random ability. Tiger's Prowess: Subject gains a +4 bonus to strength and dexterity. Venomous Vines: Entangle foes with poisonous vines. Vermin Shape: You may wildshape into a vermin. Wildshape: Use wildshape an extra time each day. Wolf's Tenacity: Subject gains a +4 bonus to constitution and dexterity. 4th level Druid Spells Carapace: Touched creature grows the tough exoskeleton of an insect gaining a +1 natural armor bonus per 2 caster levels (maximum +10). Disempower: Dispel target enhancement spell. Falling Timber: Fell a tree onto foes. Hollow Tree: Create an extradimensional pocket in a tree for storing belongings. Regression: Target dire animal becomes a normal animal. Renewal: As heal but on summoned creatures only. Root: Creature literally rooted to where they stand. Seclude: Spell conceals your campsite from intrustion. Supreme Reflexes: Subject can take any number of attacks of opportunity each round. Tiania's Blessing: Subject gains a +4 enhancement bonus to strength, dexterity and constitution. Tiania's Enlightenment: Subject gains a +4 enhancement bonus to intelligence, wisdom and charisma. 5th level Druid Spells Bask: Dispel a spell and gain 1d4 hit points per level of the dispelled spell. Bloodlust: Creature gains +8 rage bonus to Strength and Constitution and a -8 rage penalty to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma (to a minimum of 3). Buried Alive: Target creature buried alive 5’ + 1’ deep / caster level. Burrowing: Gain a Xorn’s ability to glide through earth and rock like a fish through water. Corroding Burst: Blast deals 1d6 damage / level, up to 15d6 to all non-undead constructs in the area including and especially golems otherwise immune to magic. Earthbind: Target creature driven towards the ground by unseen force. Form Lock: Target creature can't polymorph. Giant's Strength: Target creature gains a +6 enhancement bonus to strength. Magnetism: Magnetize the ground in the area, causing metal weapons and armor to be ineffective. Mobilize: All your summoned creatures take an extra full action this turn. Pixie's Grace: Target creature gains a +6 enhancement bonus to dexterity. Revive: As raise dead, but creature cannot have been dead for more than 1 round / caster level. Summer Bloom: Rapidly cast up to 3 spells 4th level or lower. Tranquil Domain: Antimagic field against magic items and their effects. Treant's Endurance: Subject gains a +6 enhancement bonus to constitution. 6th level Druid Spells Animal Scouts: Small creatures scout an area for you. Choking Vines: As entangle, but assassin vines are also summoned into the area of effect. Forest Maze: Cause creatures to become lost in the forest. Price of Progress: Creature is dealt 1d6 damage for each magic item they hold other than potions and scrolls. Rejuvenate: Dispel all penalty granting spells on target creature. Rise of the Meek: Tiny or larger creatures deal at least 1d6 damage per hit. Rusting Ray: As rusting grasp, but at medium range. Shattering Pulse: Destroy a magic item. Splinter: The touched construct or magic item must make a fortitude save or be destroyed. Tiania's Sanctuary: Creatures in the area of effect can't be targetted by spells. Tiania's Splendor: Subject gains a +4 enhancement bonus to all ability scores. 7th level Druid Spells Aluren: Cast summon monster’s ally as a swift action. Amok: Target creature attacks every creature within a move of his current position. Chaos Sphere: All spells in the area of effect mishap. Mass Horse's Stamina: As horse's stamina but on 1 creature / level. Mass Renewal: As renewal, but on up to 1 creature / level. Tiania's Endowment: Subject gains a +6 enhancement bonus to strength, dexterity and constitution. Tiania's Insight: Subject gains a +6 enhancement bonus to intelligence, wisdom and charisma. Mass Tiger's Prowess: As tiger's prowess but on 1 creature / level. Mass Wolf's Tenactiy: As wolf's tenacity but on 1 creature / level. 8th level Druid Spells Ball Lightning: Summon a ball lightning to deal 10d6 damage to nearby foes, then attack a single for 10d6 damage. Cocoon: Wrap a friend or foe in a cocoon which heals them. Fissure: You open a fissure in the ground which may swallow up foes and bury them alive. One With Nature: You may see and hear from the eyes and ears of any animal within 1 mile / level. Quickling's Grace: Target creature gains a +8 enhancement bonus to dexterity. Stone's Endurance: Target creature gains a +8 enhancement bonus to constitution. Mass Tiania's Blessing: As Tiania's Blessing on up to 1 creature / level. Mass Tiania's Enlightenment: As Tiania's Enlightenment on up to 1 creature / level. Titan's Strength: Subject gains a +8 enhancement bonus to strength. 9th level Druid Spells Creeping Mold: As creeping doom, but composed of animated mold and not deterred by damage reduction at all. Early Harvest: Field produces a year's harvest in one day. Mass Giant's Strength: As giant strength, but affecting 1 creature / level. Mythic Proportions: Creature grows to ten times normal size. Mass Pixie's Grace: As pixie's grace, but affecting 1 creature / level. Repurcussion: Damage dealt to summoned creatures is also dealt to summoners. Shatterstorm: Destroy many magic items. Swarmform: You change into a swarm of animals such as rats, doves etc. Tiania's Greater Splendor: Subject gains a +6 enhancement bonus on all ability scores. Tiania's Liege: Summon a creature born of pure life energy. Transmute Rock to Lava: Transform rock to lava dealing severe damage to those caught in the area. Mass Treant's Endurance: As treant's endurance, but affecting up to 1 creature / level.
Michael_Morris 05-18-06, 11:25 AM	Cleric Spells 0-level Cleric Spells Dancing Vermin: As animate dead, but on an animal or vermin which had only up to 3 hit points in life. 1st level Cleric Spells Animate Dead Animals and Vermin: Animates twice your level (up to 20) hit points of dead animals or vermin. Dampening Field: Gain damage reduction equal to an expended spell slot +1 Matacha's Will: Make a bolstered turning attempt by a bonus determined by an expended spell slot. 2nd level Cleric Spells Abeyance: Target creature can’t cast spells. Dark Ritual: Slay a dying creature by touch and boost caster level on next spell by 3. Decree: All persons who hear words off a scroll remember the words forever. Delude Divination: Divination spell gives random nonsensical results. Sadistic Glee: Creature gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage each time it kills a foe. Talisiasia's Insight: Gain a +20 insight bonus to heal checks. Telsindria's Spell Immunity: You are immune to a spell you expend a preparation of at casting. Vigilance: Creature gains +10 enhancement bonus to spot and listen checks while guarding an assigned area. 3rd level Cleric Spells Common Cause: Creatures gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls for each creature with a shared alignment within 5'. Crown of Awe: Undead have a -2 to all attack and damage rolls against you and you have a +2 holy bonus to your effective level when turning. Duress: Target creature can't use spells from highest two spell levels. Enlighten: Touched spellcast can spontaneously cast curing spells. Eternal Respite: Touched body can't be raised or animated. Greed: Target creature gains the compulsion of greed. Halt: Target creature can't cast spells. Hatred: Slay a creature you strike in combat although you may slay yourself in the process. Holy Missiles: As magic missles, but heal the living and harm undead. Infusion: Take damage and heal twice as much to target creature. Oathbind: Bind two creatures to an oath and know when it is broken. Pacifism: Target creature goes to total defense and can take no actions other than movement or speaking. Paranoia: Subject believes everyone is his enemy. Propaganda: You gain a +1 AC bonus against a creature for each prior attack they've made. Renounce: Sacrifice spells you have to gain hit points. Reverse Damage: Reverse the damage of target spell so it cures. Sound Shell: Create a barrier through which sound doesn't pass. Wave of Reckoning: Creatures are damaged by the weapons they wield. 4th level Cleric Spells Blinding Light: Intense light blinds and dazzles foes. Cleanse: Remove status effects that heal removes, but doesn’t heal damage. Conceal Lies: Guard lies from magical detection (non-magical detection still works). Contemplation: Be cured 1 hit point / level of each spell cast. Conviction: Charm person and the victim acts as if white aligned. First Strike: Foes entering your threatened space provoke an attack of opportunity from you. Light of Day: Holy light drives back undead. Malice: Weapon gains a +1 unholy bonus and deals extra damage to green and white foes. No Rest For the Wicked: Return to unlife a number of corpses up to twice your level in hit dice. Retribution: Creatures that strike you suffer the same damage. Revive: As raise dead, but creature cannot have been dead for more than 1 round / caster level. Sentinel: As vigilance but with several additional benefits. Spell Lodestone: Spells which can target you must target you. Spirit Link: As shield other but cure spells can pass through the link. Terix's Blessing: Target creature gains the wild spellcaster template. 5th level Cleric Spells Bright Circle: Create a barrier impassable to undead. Despondency: Target creature's strength is reduced to 3. Empyrial Armor: Target creature gains a +1 bonus for each other spell affecting it. Fortify: Ward a creature from sneak attacks. Nightshroud: As deeper darkness but you and undead see through it normally. Pestilence: Creatures are sickened and dealt 1d6 damage / round. Puppet Strings: Subject made charmed and inflicted with paranoia to all others but you. Recurring Nightmare: Subject unable to sleep and can't recover spells. Transferrance: The touched creature may deal it's melee damage to summoned creatures to their controller instead. Unquestioned Authority: Creatures sharing your alignment follow your orders. Wasting Curse: Bestow a curse that ages the subject a year every day. Weakness: Creature gains a 1 strength. 6th level Cleric Spells Agonizing Memories: Subject inflicted with nightmares that prevent sleep. Aura of Protection – Black / Blue / Green / Red / White: Against the chosen color you gain the following: Damage resistance 10/-, +4 deflection bonus to AC, +4 resistance bonus to saves, protection from possession or domination. Counterstrike: Melee attacks against you provoke an attack of opportunity. Dissention in the Ranks: Target creature attacks all nearby creatures as if it had the whirlwind attack feat. Magic Missive: As suggestion, but written on a surface and triggered when read. Necrology: Lose life instead of spell slots when spells are cast. Mass Shield Other: As shield other but affecting 1 creature / level White Fire: Conjure a fireball of positive energy which cures the living and damages the undead. 7th level Cleric Spells Befoul: Touched creature is blinded, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, feebleminded, insane, nauseated, sickened and poisoned. Chaos Sphere: All spells in the area of effect mishap. Greater Matacha's Will: As Matacha's will with a bonus to turning level in addition to the increased turning damage. Mass Pacifism: As pacifism but affecting 1 creature / level. Mass Paranoia: Subjects believe everyone is their enemy, including each other. Purge: As finger of death, but affecting undead. 8th level Cleric Spells Control Revocation: As spell turning except affects only enchantment (compulsion) spells. Greater Death Ward: As death ward, but turns death spells back upon their creators. Exsanguination: Subject bleeds from all wounds taking extra damage each round. Greater Hold Person: As hold person with a 1 minute / level duration and only 1 save is allowed. Prophecy: As divination but with the potential to see far into the future. Trancendence: Sources that would damage you cure you, but if you gain more than double your usual hit points you die. Virtue's Ruin: Deal 1d6 / level to white creatures and 1d6 / level to green creatures, max 10d6. 9th level Cleric Spells Circle of Hands: Allow multiple creatures to share spell effects together. Disanimation: Destroy a single target undead or multiple undead with a total of 100 or fewer hit points. Dispelling Screen: Field attempts to dispel any magic brought into the area. Grievance: Bolster a creature so they may seek revenge. Holy: Bolt of holy light deals massive damage to red and black foes and undead. Inviolability: Touched creature gains Damage Resistance 25/- Last Breath: Subject dies and immediately becomes a ghost. At spell's end the subject ressurects without level loss. Greater Light of Day: Holy light drives back and damages undead. Manifest Probability: Probable actions always occur. Greater Oathbind: As oathbind, and a spell is set on contingency to trigger when the oath is broken. Mass Puppet Strings: As puppet strings but affecting up to 1 creature per level. Purify: As Mordenkainen's Disjunction, except it does not affect antimagic shells and artifacts. Purify is also limited to the spells upon one creature. Sirrom's Impenetrable Darkness: Area of darkness leeches lifeforce from creatures within. Worship: Your hit point total remains 1 as long as you have devout followers or summoned creatures nearby.
Michael_Morris 05-18-06, 11:26 AM	Paladin Spells 1st level Paladin Spells Crusade: All white creatures gain +1 bonus to all rolls. Decree: All persons who hear words off a scroll remember the words forever. Holy Missiles: As magic missles, but heal the living and harm undead. Infusion: Take damage and heal twice as much to target creature. 2nd level Paladin Spells Conviction: Charm person and the victim acts as if white aligned. Oathbind: Bind two creatures to an oath and know when it is broken. Steadfast Heart: Creatures nearby are immune to fear. 3rd level Paladin Spells Light of Day: Holy light drives back undead. Spirit Link: As shield other but cure spells can pass through the link. 4th level Paladin Spells Spell Lodestone: Spells which can target you must target you. Unquestioned Authority: Creatures sharing your alignment follow your orders. Vindicate: Deal extra damage to foes on each attack equal to the amount they last dealt you.
Michael_Morris 05-18-06, 11:26 AM	Ranger Spells 1st level Ranger Spells Animal Magnetism: Touched creature gains wild empathy. Animal Weaponry: Your hands become animal claws that deal 1d6 damage. Bestow Trick: Instantaneously teach an animal a trick. Camouflage: Gain a +10 bonus to hide checks. Familiar Eyes: See through the eyes of a familiar or animal companion. Harden Snow: Harden snow so it will support the weight of most adventurers Lay of the Land: Spell aids you in navigating through unfamiliar territory. Scent: You gain the scent ability. Snow Walk: Touched creature can walk on snow and other soft surfaces. 2nd level Ranger Spells Armor of Thorns: As barkskin, but those you grapple or attack you unarmed are dealt 1d6 damage. Rampage: You can't be flanked by favored enemies and gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage them. Visualize: You touch a track and get a mental picture of the creature that left it. 3rd level Ranger Spells Carapace: Touched creature grows the tough exoskeleton of an insect gaining a +1 natural armor bonus per 2 caster levels (maximum +10). Sonar: You can see using sound. Venomous Vines: Entangle foes with poisonous vines. 4th level Ranger Spells Focus of Hatred: Total all favored enemy bonuses and apply them against favored enemy.
Michael_Morris 05-18-06, 11:27 AM	Have to put this one in a code block for it to remain legible. Sorcerer/Wizard Spells A few spells on this list are available only to sorcerers (marked with a *) or only to wizards (marked with a +). 0-level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Ward from Rain: Weak field of force blocks rainfall from touching you. Conj Div Displace Perspective: See as if your eyes where from a vantage point within 100' from your current position. Ench Convince: Nudge a creature into performing an action they are hesitant to do but favor. Evoc Douse: Extinguish a small fire or deal 1d6 damage to a fire creature. Ignite: Start a small fire or deal 1d3 fire damage. Zap: Deal 1d6 electricity damage. Illus Mask: Alter your facial appearance, gaining a +5 enhancement bonus to disguise checks. Necro Dancing Vermin: As animate dead, but on an animal or vermin which had only up to 3 hit points in life. Exterminate: Slay an animal or vermin with 3 or less hit points. Trans Dry: Drive all water out of an object or deal 1d6 damage to a water creature. Retrieve: Call to your hand an arcane marked object 25 lb. or less. Target Lock: Creature suffers a -4 AC penalty against the next ranged touch attack spell used against him. Univ Reckless Dweomer: Create a mishap which might become a spell of level equal or less than that of an expended spell slot. 1st level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Demystify: Dispel a spell up to 3rd level. Conj Div Ascertain Value: Gain a +20 insight bonus to appraise checks. Clearsight: See through vapors as if they were not there. Identify: Gain a +20 insight bonus on a spellcraft check. Understand Unorthodoxy: Gain a mental picture of what an object looked like unbroken. Ench Taunt: Target creature is compelled to attack you. Evoc Illus Deepen Shadows: All creatures gain a +10 circumstance bonus to hide in shadows in the area. Nadia's Spell Brush: Change the sensory signatures of your spells. Wink Out: Invisibility for one round only. Necro Trans Agression: Target creature gains +2 to attack and -2 to AC and is dealt 2 points of damage each round they don’t attack. Alacrity: Cast spells as a move equivalent action. Buoy: Creature or object floats easily in water. Fluctuation: Gain a +1 bonus or -1 penalty to spellcaster level. Mnuemonic Absorption~: Temporarily know a spell from a scroll. Quick: Change Target creature's initiative to match yours. 2nd level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Shift Aim: aim of targetting missiles and spells changes randomly. Conj Flicker: Target moves briefly into the aether plane. Div Familiar Eyes: See through the eyes of a familiar or animal companion. Magnify Sight: See at great distance as if you used a spyglass. Vigilance: Creature gains +10 enhancement bonus to spot and listen checks while guarding an assigned area. Ench Stupor: Enchanted creature is thrown into a drunken stupor. Evoc Chaos Bolt: Strike a foe with raw magic energy which may disrupt their spells on subsequent rounds. Lightning Lash: Create an electric whip which deals 1d6 damage per hit. Pyroclastic Burst: Deal 2d6 damage per expended spell slot to all creatures in a 10' radius burst. Reaching Weapon: Weapon gains 5' of reach. Shock: As lightning bolt but with only 1 target. Yarenic's Firebolts: As magic missile except dealing fire damage. Illus Still Touch: Touched creature moves without making vibrations or sounds. Necro Afflict: Touched creature gains a temporary negative energy level. Animate Dead Animals and Vermin: Animates twice your level (up to 20) hit points of dead animals or vermin. Foul Presence: Undead in the area gain turn resistance. Lesser Pain Touch: Subject suffers a -2 penalty to AC and is dealt 1d8 damage / level up to 5d8. Trans Brainstorm+: Switch up to two spell preparations with spells you have mastered with spell mastery. Browse+: Instantaneously prepare a spell from a spellbook but remove the preparation from the book. Flaming Weapon: Bestow the flaming weapon property on a weapon. Focus: Gain a +10 enhancement bonus to concentration checks. Frost Weapon: Bestow the frost weapon property on a weapon. Gambit: Double all damage dealt by an attack or prevent it. Halt: Target creature can't cast spells. Mystical Tutor+: Prepare a spell in a lower slot, then place it in a higher slot for casting later. Shocking Weapon: Bestow the shocking weapon property on a weapon. Snow Walk: Touched creature can walk on snow and other soft surfaces. Subjectional Gravity: Whatever surface your feet touches is down for you. Temporal Flux: All creatures re-roll initiative. Thundering Weapon: Bestow the thundering weapon property on target weapon. 3rd level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Mishap Shield: Counter the next mishapped spell targetting you. Restrain: Check creature's movement towards you. Greater Shield: As shield, but provides cover and reflects magic missiles back at their caster. Telsindria's Spell Immunity+: You are immune to a spell you expend a preparation of at casting. Conj Ishrala's Summons: Mimics Summon Monster I through VIII, depending on spell slot expended. Greater Mage Armor: As mage armor but with a +8 deflection bonus to AC. Stream of Acid: Conjure a damaging stream of acid dealing 1d4 damage / level (max 10d4) Div Oathbind: Bind two creatures to an oath and know when it is broken. Spell Scan: Know the spells a creature has prepared. Ench Greed: Target creature gains the compulsion of greed. Pacifism: Target creature goes to total defense and can take no actions other than movement or speaking. Ray of Command: Dominate Person for one round. Evoc Chaos Ball: As flamesphere, but random energy type each round. Deep Water: Water crushes submerged foes for 1d6 subdual damage / level (max 10d6). Surge: Bolster a target spell. Twincast~: Copy target spell. Illus Grasping Shadows: As web but strands of shadow rather than webs restrict movement. Necro Clutch of Undeath: +4 bonus to STR of undead, -4 penalty to STR of the living. Dregs of Sorrow: Target creature loses all morale bonuses and gains a -2 moral penalty to all attack, damage, skill rolls and saving throws Swat: Slay target 1HD creature. Trans Corrosive Weapon: Weapon deals +1d6 bonus acid damage on the round following each successful hit. Crown of Fire: Creature takes 1d6 damage / round and gains a like bonus on attack and damage rolls. Flaming Burst Weapon: Bestow the flaming burst weapon property on a weapon. Second Chance: Creature's player rerolls a die. Shocking Burst Weapon: Bestow the shocking burst property on a weapon. Soften: Target creature's next spell or spell like a ability has a caster level of 1. Spell Stealing~: Pull a spell from a foe into your spell's known list. Spelldraining Blade: Weapon causes spellcasters to lose spellcasting potential on each hit. Stone Grasp: A stone hand comes from the ground and grapples creatures you designate. Surefoot: Subject gains a +10 enhancement bonus to balance and tumble checks. Telsindria's Intuition+: Expend three spells to prepare one in it's place. Telsindria's Spell Crystal+: Place a spell into or remove a spell from a spell crystal. Thunderclapping Weapon: Bestow the thunderclapping property on a weapon. Whimsy: Target gains a random bonus or penalty to all attacks, damage rolls saving throws and caster level checks. 4th level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Abandon Hope: Antimagic field suppressing morale bonuses. Black Ward: Spell resistance against black spells. Blue Ward: Spell resistance against blue spells. Essense Filter: Dispel all effects with a descriptor or all effects without a descriptor. Force Void: Antimagic field against force effects. Green Ward: Spell resistance against green spells. Ivory Mask: Spells targetting you can't be cast. Red Ward: Spell resistance against red spells. Reflect Gaze: Subject gains a +4 bonus to saves against gaze attacks. White Ward: Spell resistance against white spells. Conj Acidic Blast: Coat creatures in a sticky black acid that deals 1d6 / per round. Serrin's Phase Step: You may teleport the distance of your normal move each round. Stone Rain: Stone rains down in the area dealing 1d6 / level (max 10d6) Div Sonar: You can see using sound. Ench Compulsion: Subject repeats an action each round if able. Evoc Blaze: Fire deals 1d12 / round spent in casting, max 10d12. Blinding Light: Intense light blinds and dazzles foes. Incinerate: 1d8 damage / level to single target - max 15d8. Power Wave: Create a shockwave in a straight line that damages foes and knocks them over. Illus Serrin's Phantasm: Create a major image existing in the mind of one subject / level. Serrin's Shadow Spy: Your shadow detaches from you and can spy for you. Necro Chaldulsul's Hex: Ensorcelled creature can't heal by any means. Death Burst: Slay target creature with equal or less hit dice than expended spell slot. Demonic Tutor+: Prepare a spell by paying XP. Leech Cunning: Foe loses 1d4+1 intelligence and you gain the same for duration. Leech Endurance: Foe loses 1d4+1 constitution and you gain the same for duration. Leech Grace: Foe loses 1d4+1 dexterity and you gain the same for duration. Leech Splendor: Foe loses 1d4+1 charisma and you gain the same for duration. Leech Strength: Foe loses 1d4+1 strength and you gain the same for duration. Leech Wisdom: Foe loses 1d4+1 wisdom and you gain the same for duration. Pain Touch: As lesser pain touch, but with a -4 penalty to AC, damage up to 10d8 and dodge and dexterity bonuses are lost. Pestilence: Creatures are sickened and dealt 1d6 damage / round. Trans Aggravated Assault: Target creature gains a full round’s actions. Attunement+: Rearrange your spell preparations. Clear Mind: Clear your mind to prepare more spells, but lose 1d8 points off your casting ability modifier, to a minimum of 1. Concentrate: Change the duration of a spell from concentrate to 1 round / level Corrosive Burst Weapon: As corrosive weapon with additional critical hit damage. Donate+: Grant a spontaneous caster the ability to cast a spell you've prepared. Freedom from the Masters: All summoned creatures in the area are freed from control. Icy Burst Weapon: Bestow the icy burst property on a weapon. Soar: As feather fall or fly depending on how fast it is cast. Solipsist Disillusionment: Objects have a 50% chance of existing each moment. Telsindria's Reflection: Send rays and magic missiles back at their hurlers. Terix's Blessing: Target creature gains the wild spellcaster template. Unsummon: Dispel a conjuration(summoning) spell. 5th level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Abolish: Dispel a spell with certainty but possibly take damage in the attempt. Circumvent: Counter a spell unless its controller expends an equal or higher level spell. Counterspell: Counter target spell. Delude Divination: Divination spell gives random nonsensical results. Disempower: Dispel target enhancement spell. Disenchant: Dispel one spell the caster could end. Dispersal Shield: Create a field that counters spells cast at you or in your vicinity. Energy Field: Damage dealing spells deal minimum damage. Flickering Ward: Ward provides random protection from spells. Forbid: Antimagic shell against one named spell. Sirrom's Foul Link: Half the damage transferred to you is sent to touched creature. Telsindria's Blessing: Spell resistance against a color of your choice. Conj Acid Rain: Corrosive Acid Rain strikes foes for 1d6 / level (max 15d6) Div Catalogue: Know everything written in a library. Ench Evoc Arc Lightning: Lightning discharge along a path you prescribe deals 1d6/level (max 15d6) Concussive Fireball: As fireball with damage up to 15d6 and half the damage is sonic. Rolling Thunder: Creatures dealt 1d6 damage per level (max 15d6) within 60' of you. Sirrom's Spite: Creatures who die in the area are treated as if killed by death magic. Telsindria's Trigger: Cause a spell to go off as if cast centered on the creature that has it prepared. Thunderbolt: As lightning bolt though half the damage is sonic and the max damage is 15d6. Illus Cloak Undead: Conceals the undead nature of undead creatures. Greater Mirror Image: As mirror image, but images range over a wider area and you may teleport between their locations. Sleight of Mind: Change the natures of spells and what they see. Necro Brittle Bone Curse: Victims bones disintegrate over a prolonged period. Death Stroke: Next creature critically hit by target weapon must make a fortitude save or die. No Rest For the Wicked: Return to unlife a number of corpses up to twice your level in hit dice. Pox: Target creature has Hit points, Attack bonus AC and spelllevel reduced by 1/3. Repel Death: Whenever you would die those nearby must save or die in your place. Trans Anarchy: White wards damage the creatures they affect. Boomerang: Switch the target of a spell that affects one creature to its caster. Corporeal Instability: Cause a subjects form to disolve into an amorphous gibbering mass. Delay: Target spell does not occur until this spell ends. Entropic Burst: Entropic energy deals 1d6 damage / level (up to 15d6) to creatures in the area. Flame Guide: You direct the path taken by burning flames. Meltdown: You melt a non-magical metal object, damaging those touching it. Refresh: Target spell has it's elapsed duration set to 0 Spell Lodestone: Spells which can target you must target you. Storm Weapon: Bestow the thundering and shocking properties to a weapon. Vampiric Blade: Bestow the vampiric property to a weapon. Zone of Chaos: Spell targets are determined randomly. 6th level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Aura of Protection – Black / Blue / Green / Red / White: Against the chosen color you gain the following: Damage resistance 10/-, +4 deflection bonus to AC, +4 resistance bonus to saves, protection from possession or domination. Bright Circle: Create a barrier impassable to undead. Desertion: Counter target spell. If it is a summons the creatures appear under your control. Differentiation: No spell can be cast that shares a school or descriptor with a prior spell. Limited Resources: All spells have their minimum effect. Surge Shield: Shimmering shield absorbs part or all of incoming spell effects. Tainted Aether: Creatures that teleport into or out of the area gain a negative level. Telsindria's Invulnerable Globe: As globe of invulnerability against spells up to the level of an expended spell slot. Conj Nadia's Brief Reprieve: Target is teleported away to a random location and returns at the spell's end. Div Ench Bedlam: Creatures make no attempts to dodge attacks, losing their dexterity modifiers to AC Evoc Backdraft: Agressor dealt damage by their own spell or supernatural ability. Cone of Flame: As cone of cold, d8 damage dice up to 15d8, and fire damage. Earthbind: Target creature driven towards the ground by unseen force. Firebreathing: Touched creature may breath fire for 1d6 damage / 2 levels once every 1d4 rounds. Force Hull: Create a wall of force along the outer contour of a ship. Incendiary: When touched creature dies it explodes damaging nearby foes. Lightning Rift: Lightning strikes whenever anyone casts a spell as directed by the spellcaster of those spells. Mind Burn: Deal 2 damage to subject for each copy of a named spell the subject has prepared. Pyrostatic Pillar: Spells 3rd level or less trigger damage upon their casters. Shower of Coals: As fireball but up to 15d6 and half the damage is impact damage. Illus Necro Diseased Weapon: Creatures struck by weapon suffer a contagion. Form Lock: Target creature can't polymorph. Recurring Nightmare: Subject unable to sleep and can't recover spells. Wasting Curse: Bestow a curse that ages the subject a year every day. Wilting Curse: Bestow a curse causing rapid weight loss and con loss. Trans Chaos Sphere: All spells in the area of effect mishap. Fluctuate: Instantly prepare a new spell allotement half of your current one. Mass Fly: As fly, targeting up to 1 creature / level. Gratuitous Violence: All attacks by and upon target creature are critical. Oppression: Spells cost an additional spell slot of equal or greater level to cast. Stoneform: Polymorph yourself into an earth elemental. Storm Blast Weapon: Bestow the shocking burst and thunder-clapping properties to a weapon. Time Twister: You phase in and out of time becoming immune to many attack forms. 7th level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Absolute Duty: Antimagic field against blue spells. Absolute Grace: Antimagic field against black spells. Absolute Law: Antimagic field against red spells. Absolute Reason: Antimagic field against green spells. Absolute Truth: Antimagic field against white spells. Aether Flash: Creatures that teleport into the warded area take 1d6 damage / caster level. Aether Slide: Touched creature goes aethereal whenever they would be struck by physical attacks. Back to Basics: Antimagic shell that suppresses enhancement bonuses. Control Revocation: As spell turning except affects only enchantment (compulsion) spells. Lull: Spells can't be cast in the area of effect. Power Sink: Counter target spell and cut off the caster from further spellcasting for a time. Conj Div Ench Greater Confusion: As confusion, but with an area of effect of a 30' radius burst. Mass Pacifism: As pacifism but affecting 1 creature / level. Evoc Fanning the Flames: Magnify and empower fire spells in the area. Wall of Lightning: Create a wall of lightning that deals 1d6 / level damage (max 20d6) to those attempting to pass through. Wildstroke: A bolt of wild energy strikes foes with 1d6 damage / level (max 20d6) and other unpredicatable effects. Illus Enhanced invisibility makes you all but undetectable. Necro Corpse Control: As magic jar, but on corpses and undead. Necrology: Lose life instead of spell slots when spells are cast. Greater Pain Touch: Victim sent into helpless convultions dealing 1d8 damage / round to a max of 20d8. Trans Battle Strain: Attacks that miss full AC but hit touch AC deal half damage. Confiscate: Move a spell with a single target onto yourself. Deflection: Change the targets of target spell. Hellfire Weapon: Bestow flaming, thundering and shocking properties on a weapon. Time Walk: Move forward through time. 8th level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Greater Abolish: Dispel a spell with certainty but possibly take damge in the attempt. Dispelling Screen: Field attempts to dispel any magic brought into the area. Dissipate: Counter target spell and possibly wipe all other preparations of that spell from the opponent's mind. Telsindria's Spelltrap: Create orbs which capture spells you can later release. Conj The Road Left Untaken: Move to two places at once and be in them at the same time. Div Ench Greater Hold Person: As hold person with a 1 minute / level duration and only 1 save is allowed. Evoc Capsize: Create a waterborne forcewave that can capsize ships. Pandemonium: Creatures are damaged with force attacks whenever other creatures complete normal attacks. Replenish: Restore all spells dispelled in the last minute. Illus Chaos in the Mind’s Eye: Subjects perceptions become completely nonsensical disorienting the subject and cause numerous effects. Terror: As phantasmal killer but with higher damage and a -4 saving throw penalty. Necro Dark Fate: Creature who deals destroying blow to target undead is affected by finger of death. Final Punishment: Creature dealt all damage suffered in the round a second time. Lycanthropic Curse: Bestow the curse of lycanthropy on a subject. Trans Brute Resolve: As feeblemind, but lost intellect is added to strength. Hellfire Blast Weapon: Bestow flaming burst, thunderclapping and shocking burst effects on a weapon. Mass Overland Flight: As overland flight but upon up to 1 creature / level. 9th level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells Abjur Greater Antimagic Field: Creates an antimagic field out to close range from you. Refutation: Counter target spell and subject loses the ability to cast it until restored. Telsindria's Radiance: Antimagic against a color of your choice. Conj Ball Lightning: Summon a ball lightning to deal 10d6 damage to nearby foes, then attack a single for 10d6 damage. Div Ench Evoc Chain Contingency: As Contingency, but links up to 3 spells together whose total levels can’t exceed your caster level. Greater Oathbind: As oathbind, and a spell is set on contingency to trigger when the oath is broken. Radiate: Target spell targets additional targets depending on the spell slots you drop at casting. Illus Shadow Killer: Target creature's shadow attacks it. Necro Disanimation: Destroy a single target undead or multiple undead with a total of 100 or fewer hit points. Sirrom's Impenetrable Darkness: Area of darkness leeches lifeforce from creatures within. Smother: Target creature begins to suffocate and will die if the spell isn't broken. Trans Entropic Wave: As entropic burst with a maximum damage of 25d6 and destroying objects as well. Mass Polymorph: As polymorph, but affecting 1 creature / level. Mass Refresh: As refresh, but affecting up to 1 spell / level. Repurcussion: Damage dealt to summoned creatures is also dealt to summoners. Trasmute Water to Acid: You turn water to acid dealing considerable damage to those entrapped in it. Volley of Boulders: You transmute pebbles to bolders midflight
Book5 05-19-06, 07:05 PM	Ok Mike... are you makin stuff up here? I mean those are not all Magic Cards. I see blaze, and I see unsummon, but I searched the gatherer for quite a number of them, and dissolving burst weapon!? Thats obviously derrivative of the epic weapon trait. Taunts picture is missing btw. Um, but "Convince" ... now your just making things up! You might appreciate this - since there is no more "spellcreation" rules in 3E - sub epic anyway. The "rule being" The player crafts a spell...then "checks" iit by the DM.. heh. SpellCraft [Trained Only] ... SpellCraft is a skill that is like ItemCraft, and StageCraft is a class of subject skills as opposed to a single skill. Depending on the cosmogony of your relm there may be differnt SpellCraft subjectss, however these SpellCrafts function with the core mechanical magic systems. .... Illusion - Magic of deception and appearence, pusuation and fear. Divination - Magic of understanding and awareness, thought and vision. .... Memorize Spell: Base DC 5+Spell Level Create or Modify Spell Durring Memorization: To Create DC 20+Spell Level To Modify DC 10+Spell Level * +5 to Hieghten the Spell one Level * +5 to Alter Dice One Step * +5 to Alter Targets by one increment * +10 to Alter Targeting Method * +20 to Imbalance spell level (including reducing the slot level) Record a Spell for Easy Memorization: Add an additional +15 to the DC to record a newly created or modified a spell. Note: An imbalanced spell may not be recorded for easy memorization. This stuff works better without metamagic (or having those feasts makes check auto succeed ). Oh and amp the skill points for wizards/sorcerers.. to 6+ ... leave the druid/clerics, theyre fine.
Michael_Morris 05-23-06, 10:17 AM	Ok Mike... are you makin stuff up here? I mean those are not all Magic Cards. I don't think I said at any point that all the new spells in the book would be based on Magic cards. Many (roughly 40%) are, but not all of them. Some are natural extensions of existing spells coined to fill in gaps in the current spell trees - horse's stamina, wolf's endurance, titan's strength are examples of this. A few come from Ryan Nook's Wild Spellcraft which present rules for wild magic in 3e. Although the class based lists above don't reveal it, each of the new spells are assigned a color and many where coined to balance out each of the colors and make sure they are interesting to play at all levels.
Michael_Morris 05-23-06, 10:38 AM	Dusk presents spell lists for the existing classes for DM's who wish to leave well enough alone and continue to use those classes, but Appendix 7 of the Player's Guide presents the Acquisition system, which allows players to build their own spell lists over the course of time. In this system the Bard, Paladin and Ranger become prestige classes using the Unearthed Arcana rules and the Druid is also promoted to prestige class status. A new core divine spellcaster class - the priest - is created to replace the cleric. This caster is greatly weakened from the cleric simply due to the fact that you can gain access to any spell you wish with the class. With the spell using classes equalized without respect to their spell selections players are free to create their own spell lists using the spell acquisition system. The system is fairly simple: Each spell has a base acquisition cost as indicated on the table in the book. These costs are expressed as a number and a symbol – :w: for Valrean or white magic, :U: for Balcridean or blue magic, :B: for Sodrean or black magic, :R: for Shunrian or red magic, and :g: for Aborean or Green magic. Acquisition costs are met using spell spheres. A character starts with two spheres. One of the spheres represents his alignment, the other represents his training. Each time a character gains access to a new level of spells he gains another sphere, so a character with 9th level spells has a total of 10 spheres. The spell spheres a character has must match up with the spell spheres a character has. For the acquisition cost 1R means 1 red sphere and 1 sphere of any color. This cost can be met by any character of at least 1st level with one red sphere. Note that although the term "cost" is used, the spheres are never actually spent. They simply must be present - i.e. they are prerequisite to learning the spell. Once the full list is published you will note that, by default, many spells have fairly serious commitments to a single color. That is because these costs represent the base acquisition cost of the spell – not it’s only acquisition cost. If you wish you can learn a spell as being a higher level than it actually is. For each level you add to the spell you can reduce it’s color commitment by 1. For example, Abolish is a 4th level spell that costs 2WWW. You can also choose to learn the spell as a 5th level spell costing 4WW or as a 6th level spell costing 6W. If you are using epic level rules with spell slots beyond 9th you can even learn spells that go directly into those slots. However, you cannot reduce the color commitment of a spell to completely colorless. Continuing the example above Abolish cannot be learned as a colorless 7th level spell costing 8. Another example. Say you're playing a 5th level wizard with spheres RRUG. You can learn 3rd level spells with acquisitions of 2RR, 3U, 3G, 3R, or 4 (yes there are a few "colorless" spells, but they are very rare - though it should be noted wish is one of them); 2nd level spells with costs 1RR, 2U, 2G, 2R or 3; 1st level spells with costs RR, 1U, 1G, 1R or 2; or cantrips of U, G, R, or 1. You can also learn a second level spell with acquisition 1UU as a 3rd level spell acquistion of 3U, and you can learn a second level green spell with acquisition 1GG as a 3rd level spell acquisition 3G. You can do a similar trick with a 2nd level red spell acquisition RRR, making it a 3rd level spell acquisition of 2RR. It is ultimately up to you how your character’s spell list will play out. That is an awesome amount of responsibility and challenge. Just remember that as a spell user you are tainted by the magic you know. If you know black magic spells which punish black creatures will hurt you even if you are the most kind and giving person in the world. Keep this in mind as well when choosing your selection of spells. When the master list was crafted it followed a basic pattern of costing based on the number of classes that could use the spell. From this basic pattern some spells where tweaked based on my personal experience as a DM and how available I wanted certain spells to be - for example cure spells are all fairly easily costed at W, 1W, 2W, 3W, 4W, 4WW, 5WW, 6WW, 7WW for each one in the series. Meanwhile devestation, one of the new spells is costed RRRRRRRRRR - meaning most of the time it will be learned as a 12th, 13th or even higher level spell in epic play - it will only *rarely* be seen at 9th level. This system also let's me deal with some problem spells that lie between levels. Magic Missile for instance is RR - it's *almost* too good to be a 1st level spell and for many low level casters it will be learned as a 2nd level spell (2R). Same with entangle (GG). Still I've made efforts to ensure that someone who does want to be a generalist and play with all types of magic will have plenty of spells to play with as well - and the above mark up system helps to insure this. Very few spells have more than a 5 sphere commitment to a single color. The list is being constructed with the expectation that most casters will go 5 to their favorite color, 3 to a second and 2 to a third. (A 20th level character has 10 spheres) Sample Acquisition costs for PHB spells-- Acid Fog 3BBBBB Acid Splash B Aid 1W Air Walk 3UU Alarm 1W Align Weapon WW Alter Self 2U Analyze Dweomer 5UU Animal Growth 4G Cure Light Wounds 1W Magic Missile RR Shield 1W As usual, comments and criticisms welcome.
the_one_true_shea 05-26-06, 07:18 PM	:thinks: hmmm, this is probably the first time I have to really look in askance. This is kinda complicated. Not that D&D isnt complicated, and there is a certain allure with the idea of syncronizing a mana sphere deal with the spell costs. I concure with the logical association of mana spheres with HD and .. well what if you (as you describe earlier) have multiple alignments. Do you get more spells known simply by virtue of having a dual associations. First level Black/Blue character = 3 spheres or 1 sphere? Wait, I think I just figured it out. This is a way to check a character's "access privalige" to a spell.. when they want to learn it. Does this mean a priest needs a prayer book or something? Like a wizard? And this prestige class thing, are you sure you don't want to keep cleric and make paladins a prestige class? Priest is obviously a weaker (more wizard like) version of the cleric. One of the coolest parts about a cleric is that they are an actual warrior. I think there should be a cleric class (combat) and a priest class (noncombat) and a paladin PrC. I guess the reason for using the unearthed rules comes from the idea of removing the non-nine level spell lists - so you have to put bard and ranger in there... but honestly the ranger class is rather nice as is.. I would rather replace the ranger's 4 level list with a periodic "+1 of existing divine spellcasting" instead. And just to make certain I am reading this right - wizards can now learn any spell as hightened without the feat? They just add it to their list at a higher level?
Michael_Morris 05-30-06, 10:34 AM	It's more complicated to write up than actually use. I've completed the list over the weekend and playtested it - it actually moves very smoothly. The playtesters looked over the listed, decided which spells the *wanted* to have, noted their costs and planned their sphere progression accordingly. Using the system is easy - breaking it (if it can be broken) if devilishly hard - but the attempt to min-max the list should make the game engaging for the Spikes of the D&D world (they do exist though Roleplayers look down their noses at them and call them munchkins). I've been revising the wording beyond the above - You are right in that the spheres are *prerequisites* - they aren't costs. They are never paid. Alignment and spheres are one and the same. This makes casters a little odd since they are more conscious of their alignment than non-casters as a result. Priests don't have a spellbook or prayer book - but they can only choose spheres which matches the alignment of their deity. I'll have to see how this plays out - if it turns out to be too weak (and it might since deities typically only have 2 alignments) then I'll increase the power of the class to bring it up to par with the wizard and sorcerer. As a group I have to watch the three and make sure they aren't dominating the game. I don't want to introduce too many changes though - I've learned that it is possible to have too many houserules.
the_one_true_shea 05-31-06, 05:58 PM	Looks like the work started eh? Just now, actually - the bullit changed. I know what your saying about house rules. :cool: at a certain point they boil over and just become plain ole rewrites. As far as the priests. I can what your saying about the sphere selection being too exclusive with only two alignments. Perhaps granting some sort of "additional alignment" instead of domains? That would give them potential access to four... but not five. Kinda makes sense. I could blather on about five pages worth of how it "makes sense" ala the metaphysics. Maybe add an effect for priests being able to double spheres. When alignment and domain spheres are the same you get some nifty metamagic effect on those spells or something.
Michael_Morris 07-23-06, 11:09 PM	Still working towards late August release - Stay tuned on this.
the_one_true_shea 07-24-06, 11:42 AM	busy like beaver eh Flecto? me? - working like a dog *pant *pant (cmon, august.. late august?) Is it safe to post yet? upgrades/etc?
Michael_Morris 07-24-06, 08:46 PM	Yes, safe to post. Another mirror will be made for the next try. At this time I have nothing further - the difficulties encountered where backend related - my expertise is on front end.
the_one_true_shea 07-24-06, 11:53 PM	Database.. :uh-huh: Encoding :nonono: Corruption!?! :censored: :tantrum: :banghead: I know how it goes, I do tech support for numerous creative products ;) bwahaha bst shall begin again! :plotting: :evillaugh (shortly)
Michael_Morris 07-31-06, 08:53 PM	Spell previews have begun. http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=677371
Michael_Morris 07-31-06, 09:12 PM	And here is the first of some card previews based on my current crop of victims -- er, player characters. http://boards1.wizards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4192&stc=1
Michael_Morris 08-14-06, 07:21 PM	The Magic brand team has decided to deny the request to allow the setting guide to be published and I have no choice but to accept that denial as I cannot endanger my freelance work with my setting. Therefore the re-release has been cancelled.
Book5 08-17-06, 12:28 AM	man, that blows horny goat toad. picky picky picky - what did they say? "not inclusive of the brand concepts" like phryxia and myr.. or the classic "no" ...thanks.. :( You've put allot of work into this, not to mention I have seen your website ;) Surely they didn't reject it "out of hand" eh? Psst - You should keep putting up the spell stuff - havent quite gotten the hang of how all the mana conversion stuff effects casting spells.... :D