Empire of 5000 suns - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Empire of 5000 suns

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
samwyz
May 05, 2009 21:59:24 I am proposing a work group for a dnd 4e Space opera. I have much of the background storywork already done. I am aiming for a story somewhere between Starship troopers and Dune. FTL travel is achieved by space/time folding. travel is not truly instantaneous, but very quick. one could travel from Earth' to the Eagle Nebula in 2 weeks and the edge of the empire in a year.

Primary weapons will be firearms, but melee will not have lost its place. There are many combat environments where a melee assault is faster and more effective than coming in with guns alone.

There is a system of mandatory government service for citizenship, but this does not always mean military enlistment. All teachers ( at public schools) are government employees and are subject to standards and merit pay like the military. Terms of Service range from 2years combat mil service, 4 years non combat military, 4 years Educational branch, 5 years Expeditionary core Explorer (that is about one cruise) 2-4 years medical branch depending on need of your skills. All terms subject to involuntary extension.

Education is very important in my setting. In order to graduate from "high school" you must demonstrate ability for use of : geometry, chemistry: biology, basic calculus, 3 artistic disciplines, basic combat training, Political Science, Physical Training, and History. Failure in any category prevents candidacy citizenship.
more to come later.
#2
ritreaude
May 05, 2009 22:11:44 What might be interesting is the massive libertarian and anarchist resistance movements that would arise as a backlash against such a large government.
#3
samwyz
May 05, 2009 22:31:21
What might be interesting is the massive libertarian and anarchist resistance movements that would arise as a backlash against such a large government.

There are other polities and one is perfectly welcome to move their. Citizenship is voluntary. But, moving is somewhat expensive.

Allow me to illustrate some of the other powers.

The Federation of Like Minded Communities. First and foremost they are not the Empire. They are not a government but and uncountable collection of them. Each government in the Federation has its own Sovereignty and Nationality. The political memes range from republican city states, to monarchies, to communist industrial complexes, there is even a notable group that is entirely cloistered. Basically the Feddies core belief system is that you are free to believe or do, whatever you want and no one can say or do anything about it unless it interferes with another individuals ability to do the same.

The Samnite League.
A stead fast technological timocracy, with a strong desire to be left alone, and a VERY strong military. If the empire is the US/EU then the League is Sparta and Athens all rolled into one painful pointy entity.

There are others but these are the cogent forces.
#4
Dreamstryder
May 05, 2009 23:21:29 I'd like to know how you might handle technological vehicles & devices not in the D&D rules, & if you (1) decide what races & monsters are indigenous to what planet(s) or (2) the environment is so heterogeneous one can hardly tell anymore or what. I know for my campaign I've currently decided on some middling of the two choices to give me more free reign in populating places.
#5
samwyz
May 06, 2009 23:18:09 mechanically vehicles should move as fast as they need to. By that I mean that any modern powered vehicle has a very high tactical movement speed. Mostly tho, you are either going really fast or you aren't. and if you are going fast speed is relative. The terrain becomes kinda randomized in a hurry, and you keep track of where things are by relative velocities, and acceleration.
For example there is a chase between 2 hover bikes in the woods. they start out going about the same speed and the one in the lead decides to floor it and accelerate, so the one behind has to try and match or beat his speed. the terrain is just going to kinda blur behind them as they attempt to navigate. say make it a challenging piloting test for the craft.

does this give you some of an Idea? DnD4 has some pretty far out things in it, and a nice baseline for adding new things. There is even a good place to start for explosives ect. I guess what I am asking is, what do you want to add? Computers are not that hard, treat them as they are. Its a system of data and communications.

more to come.,
#6
stompie5
May 07, 2009 10:52:23 I'm interested in reading more about this. I've always been a fan of reading about huge empires.
#7
samwyz
May 07, 2009 17:50:35
I'm interested in reading more about this. I've always been a fan of reading about huge empires.

What do you want to know?
I am working on a Clan system for some of the nobility. They are not formally part of the government, but factions within society that have their own holdings. (for example one house could control say 100 AgroBiz planets dividing its wealth along patrilineal lines)

Every Clan will have its own dueling school teaching a weapon and a method of warfare. any weapon CAN be allowed but there are general rules. Firearms are looked down upon generally.
#8
stompie5
May 08, 2009 14:51:06
What do you want to know?

What is the military like for each of the major powers, and how do they conduct warfare?
#9
samwyz
May 09, 2009 9:02:38
What is the military like for each of the major powers, and how do they conduct warfare?

I will give my answer in 3 parts. Firsty I will name all the major powers capable of fielding a major offense/defense.

The empire has 3 military arms. Fleet, MI, and EX Corps Protectors. Fleet is all about Control of the battle space. They fight by achieving tactical, strategical, and psychological control of the battle ground. Their preferred tools are orbital bombardment, Space to Ground Air strikes in assault fighters, and information warfare.

MI fights all phases of the ground war, by preference opened by a preparatory bombardment. They operate infantry, tanks, grav repulsion assault planes, mecha, power armor, Unmanned assault vehicles, and strike hovercraft. The primary tactics of MI are occupy valuable territory and eliminate resistance . continue this until the enemy controls no territory and/or can no longer exert influence enough to be a threat.

The Expeditionary corps forces have one function. Guard the explorers as the do their job. They don't have much in the way if heavy hardware to assist them, so they rely on hardcore training, and tactical flexibility.
#10
samwyz
May 09, 2009 9:27:42 The Samnite League's military interests are pretty simple Defend The Homelands. They are not very interested in expanding their territory base., if cared for the planets they own will last them another 4 thousand years or so.
They favor heavy infantry tactics and may occasionally deploy a block of spearmen in Schiltroms or Phalanx formations, supported by suppressive fire form iIFV. They possess some interesting technologies that the Empire would not mind acquiring. First among those are thier sub warp drives, which are the fastest in known space. Fast enough for them to not need Warp drives to patrol the space they own. Second is their Pythagaros Stellar tuning system, which allows them to slow down or accelerate the reactions in a star, tery by cooling or warming it. And lastly They posses the ability to park an object in a non orbital path it remain stationary.
#11
samnitex
May 09, 2009 21:37:38 When someone names a nation after my forum handle I pretty much have to post! :D

Anyway, in 3e there was a really sweet campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games called Dragonstar that combined traditional D&D with epic space opera. It sounds similar enough to what you're working on that it might be worth a look; it'll certainly give you a lot of cool ideas on how to work all the races and classes into a sci-fi setting.

Keep up the good work, though... this sounds pretty cool.
#12
samwyz
May 12, 2009 18:03:27
What is the military like for each of the major powers, and how do they conduct warfare?

Do you feel like I have answered you question?
#13
leowulf
May 17, 2009 2:10:47
I will give my answer in 3 parts. Firsty I will name all the major powers capable of fielding a major offense/defense.

The empire has 3 military arms. Fleet, MI, and EX Corps Protectors. Fleet is all about Control of the battle space. They fight by achieving tactical, strategical, and psychological control of the battle ground. Their preferred tools are orbital bombardment, Space to Ground Air strikes in assault fighters, and information warfare.

MI fights all phases of the ground war, by preference opened by a preparatory bombardment. They operate infantry, tanks, grav repulsion assault planes, mecha, power armor, Unmanned assault vehicles, and strike hovercraft. The primary tactics of MI are occupy valuable territory and eliminate resistance . continue this until the enemy controls no territory and/or can no longer exert influence enough to be a threat.

The Expeditionary corps forces have one function. Guard the explorers as the do their job. They don't have much in the way if heavy hardware to assist them, so they rely on hardcore training, and tactical flexibility.

Sounds like as usual, the Fleet does the flying, MI does the dying. :D Are there other branches? Psi-Corps, perhaps? An empire can always use mercs - are their mercenary companies regularly employed? What are they doing and how do they get along with the "real" military?

Is the Empire expanding? How? Are they finding and terraforming worlds? I could see the Ex Corps being detailed to "guard" colonies officially against Xenomorph threats or similar environmental hazards, but unofficially to keep them from getting unhealthy ideas about freedom and deciding to do something foolish like secede.

As we know, Service Guarantees Citizenship. But what proportion of the myriad worlds circling the 5000 suns actually has citizenship? It would be relatively easy to deny citizenship to someone for failing to pass an evaluation by their Political Science instructor (who should always either be or report to the Secret Police). This would easily keep subversive elements from being able to carry out their nefarious ends. But Citizenship should bring perks, and I'm sure the profit motive is alive and well. Black-market citizenship might be a thriving industry on many worlds.

What do the worlds look like? Is the Empire terraforming every rock they can get their greedy hands on? Do the Noble Houses have a say in what worlds go to whom and what these worlds places will be in the Imperial economy?
#14
samwyz
May 17, 2009 3:08:17 Is the Empire expanding? How? Are they finding and terraforming worlds? I could see the Ex Corps being detailed to "guard" colonies officially against Xenomorph threats or similar environmental hazards, but unofficially to keep them from getting unhealthy ideas about freedom and deciding to do something foolish like secede.

The primary function of the EX corps is Exploration and preparation for settlement. There are (offically ) no sentient aliens, but that does not stop there from being giant space octopi that like to drop out of trees.
#15
samwyz
May 17, 2009 3:08:47 sorry hit the button before I was ready to post.
#16
samwyz
May 17, 2009 3:18:01 Sounds like as usual, the Fleet does the flying, MI does the dying. :D Are there other branches? Psi-Corps, perhaps? An empire can always use mercs - are their mercenary companies regularly employed? What are they doing and how do they get along with the "real" military?

For the Mercs, Think Roman Auxillia. They do things well that the empire does not. Some of the Prime houses have their own merc units. One of the oldest are the Valkyries. They are HEAVY COMBAT drop medics. They drop deploy combat hospitals as a first strike, then deploy heavy strike hover cycles as a fast attack vehicle with a hover sled as a stretcher behind them. They are not afraid of dropping on the enemy to get to allies. The captains of the ships are traditionally women.

There is also a group of retired snipers. they deploy by space jumping to the target. they are a no support combat group, they drop with all they need for a 1 month assignment. for longer engagements they deploy a satellite that has drop pods for strategic reinforcement.

Overall the mainstream military tend to respect the mercs. they go places that MI doesn't dare go. The upside of being a merc is getting to say, thank you but we have had enough for today.
#17
samwyz
May 23, 2009 10:37:49 The Samnite League is ruled by 2 institutions a court of Honor (presided over by a chosen woman) and a military/ political seat occupied by a man. Beneath them are a privy council
#18
samwyz
May 27, 2009 19:12:26 Class ideas.

MI Infantryman

Skills:Endurance , Perception. Choose 2 from below
Athletics, Acrobatics, Biotechnology, Diplomacy, Pioneering, Stealth.
Armor Proficiencies: AECD (All Environment Combat Dress), Medium Powered, Heavy Powered.

Features
Choose Support tactics or Rifleman tactics.

Support Tactics focuses on a wide range of equipment to support the rifleman in his tasks by providing an added punch to fast infantry squads.
Choosing Support Tactics grants access to the support weapons list, Allows them to target using their Constitution Score. Choose Launchers or High Automatics, Gain +2 damage with that weapon AFTER Reduction is calculated. Recommended Feat: Sustained Fire.

The Rifleman is the backbone of the infantry. Providing in territory force projection, eyes on intelligence and recon, and a human face to the Empire. Every Legionnaire has his place, and for these young men and women it is the front line. Line Riflemen gain +1 initiative and +1 to hit with the Main Battle Rifle.

Powers
Shoot and Scoot
Level 1 At Will.
Standard Action. Movement.
Attack. Dex vs Ac.
1[W]+Dex
Effect:
Shift up to 2 squares
{end power]

Boot And Shoot
Level 1 At Will
Kick the target, knock it prone and light it up.
Two Attacks.
First attack.
STR Vs Ref
Hit: Effect: Knock Target prone and shift it 1 square away from you,
Second Attack:
Dex+2 VS Ac.
1[W]
{end power}

Aimed fire.
lvl 1 at will.
Standard Attack
Attack
Dex + 3 Vs AC
1 [W]
#19
Dreamstryder
May 29, 2009 15:05:28 If the vehicles go as fast as they need...yes, that answers me there. I guess dragons and aircraft won't fight often if you have an open area to zoom away, depending on how fast the craft can go, or you could fudge it so you must skill-challenge to outrun/outmaneuver it. That was part of my question (post #4).

Another is: will homunculi be explained as scientifically made constructs (say, spy robots), and wizards as code or tech manipulators with large mechanical staffs that fire "spells" out of them, or will you merely throw pulp fantasy and pulp sci-fi into one bag (which could get rather messy world-coherency-wise)? What about other power sources like Divine; are there spirits and gods, and how do you fit them into a sci-fi worldview, assuming you have one?
#20
samwyz
May 29, 2009 15:43:26 It is my intentiion to include a full arsenal of military grade combat and utlity robots. .
Ad to Divine classes, well they will be repurposed to suit my needs. I am more aiming toward a hard Science setting. There are still plenty of forms of "divine" healing IRL that work. But in terms of gameplay. we have to look at what is a Hit point, and what does it really measure? If it is structural integerty the whole system breaks fast. I tend to look at them as more of an overall abitly to keep fighting.

But if you want magic in your game, my recomendation is don't change how it works at all. That compenent is well tested and functional.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 samwyz May 05, 2009 21:59:24	I am proposing a work group for a dnd 4e Space opera. I have much of the background storywork already done. I am aiming for a story somewhere between Starship troopers and Dune. FTL travel is achieved by space/time folding. travel is not truly instantaneous, but very quick. one could travel from Earth' to the Eagle Nebula in 2 weeks and the edge of the empire in a year. Primary weapons will be firearms, but melee will not have lost its place. There are many combat environments where a melee assault is faster and more effective than coming in with guns alone. There is a system of mandatory government service for citizenship, but this does not always mean military enlistment. All teachers ( at public schools) are government employees and are subject to standards and merit pay like the military. Terms of Service range from 2years combat mil service, 4 years non combat military, 4 years Educational branch, 5 years Expeditionary core Explorer (that is about one cruise) 2-4 years medical branch depending on need of your skills. All terms subject to involuntary extension. Education is very important in my setting. In order to graduate from "high school" you must demonstrate ability for use of : geometry, chemistry: biology, basic calculus, 3 artistic disciplines, basic combat training, Political Science, Physical Training, and History. Failure in any category prevents candidacy citizenship. more to come later.
#2 ritreaude May 05, 2009 22:11:44	What might be interesting is the massive libertarian and anarchist resistance movements that would arise as a backlash against such a large government.
#3 samwyz May 05, 2009 22:31:21	What might be interesting is the massive libertarian and anarchist resistance movements that would arise as a backlash against such a large government. There are other polities and one is perfectly welcome to move their. Citizenship is voluntary. But, moving is somewhat expensive. Allow me to illustrate some of the other powers. The Federation of Like Minded Communities. First and foremost they are not the Empire. They are not a government but and uncountable collection of them. Each government in the Federation has its own Sovereignty and Nationality. The political memes range from republican city states, to monarchies, to communist industrial complexes, there is even a notable group that is entirely cloistered. Basically the Feddies core belief system is that you are free to believe or do, whatever you want and no one can say or do anything about it unless it interferes with another individuals ability to do the same. The Samnite League. A stead fast technological timocracy, with a strong desire to be left alone, and a VERY strong military. If the empire is the US/EU then the League is Sparta and Athens all rolled into one painful pointy entity. There are others but these are the cogent forces.
#4 Dreamstryder May 05, 2009 23:21:29	I'd like to know how you might handle technological vehicles & devices not in the D&D rules, & if you (1) decide what races & monsters are indigenous to what planet(s) or (2) the environment is so heterogeneous one can hardly tell anymore or what. I know for my campaign I've currently decided on some middling of the two choices to give me more free reign in populating places.
#5 samwyz May 06, 2009 23:18:09	mechanically vehicles should move as fast as they need to. By that I mean that any modern powered vehicle has a very high tactical movement speed. Mostly tho, you are either going really fast or you aren't. and if you are going fast speed is relative. The terrain becomes kinda randomized in a hurry, and you keep track of where things are by relative velocities, and acceleration. For example there is a chase between 2 hover bikes in the woods. they start out going about the same speed and the one in the lead decides to floor it and accelerate, so the one behind has to try and match or beat his speed. the terrain is just going to kinda blur behind them as they attempt to navigate. say make it a challenging piloting test for the craft. does this give you some of an Idea? DnD4 has some pretty far out things in it, and a nice baseline for adding new things. There is even a good place to start for explosives ect. I guess what I am asking is, what do you want to add? Computers are not that hard, treat them as they are. Its a system of data and communications. more to come.,
#6 stompie5 May 07, 2009 10:52:23	I'm interested in reading more about this. I've always been a fan of reading about huge empires.
#7 samwyz May 07, 2009 17:50:35	I'm interested in reading more about this. I've always been a fan of reading about huge empires. What do you want to know? I am working on a Clan system for some of the nobility. They are not formally part of the government, but factions within society that have their own holdings. (for example one house could control say 100 AgroBiz planets dividing its wealth along patrilineal lines) Every Clan will have its own dueling school teaching a weapon and a method of warfare. any weapon CAN be allowed but there are general rules. Firearms are looked down upon generally.
#8 stompie5 May 08, 2009 14:51:06	What do you want to know? What is the military like for each of the major powers, and how do they conduct warfare?
#9 samwyz May 09, 2009 9:02:38	What is the military like for each of the major powers, and how do they conduct warfare? I will give my answer in 3 parts. Firsty I will name all the major powers capable of fielding a major offense/defense. The empire has 3 military arms. Fleet, MI, and EX Corps Protectors. Fleet is all about Control of the battle space. They fight by achieving tactical, strategical, and psychological control of the battle ground. Their preferred tools are orbital bombardment, Space to Ground Air strikes in assault fighters, and information warfare. MI fights all phases of the ground war, by preference opened by a preparatory bombardment. They operate infantry, tanks, grav repulsion assault planes, mecha, power armor, Unmanned assault vehicles, and strike hovercraft. The primary tactics of MI are occupy valuable territory and eliminate resistance . continue this until the enemy controls no territory and/or can no longer exert influence enough to be a threat. The Expeditionary corps forces have one function. Guard the explorers as the do their job. They don't have much in the way if heavy hardware to assist them, so they rely on hardcore training, and tactical flexibility.
#10 samwyz May 09, 2009 9:27:42	The Samnite League's military interests are pretty simple Defend The Homelands. They are not very interested in expanding their territory base., if cared for the planets they own will last them another 4 thousand years or so. They favor heavy infantry tactics and may occasionally deploy a block of spearmen in Schiltroms or Phalanx formations, supported by suppressive fire form iIFV. They possess some interesting technologies that the Empire would not mind acquiring. First among those are thier sub warp drives, which are the fastest in known space. Fast enough for them to not need Warp drives to patrol the space they own. Second is their Pythagaros Stellar tuning system, which allows them to slow down or accelerate the reactions in a star, tery by cooling or warming it. And lastly They posses the ability to park an object in a non orbital path it remain stationary.
#11 samnitex May 09, 2009 21:37:38	When someone names a nation after my forum handle I pretty much have to post! :D Anyway, in 3e there was a really sweet campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games called Dragonstar that combined traditional D&D with epic space opera. It sounds similar enough to what you're working on that it might be worth a look; it'll certainly give you a lot of cool ideas on how to work all the races and classes into a sci-fi setting. Keep up the good work, though... this sounds pretty cool.
#12 samwyz May 12, 2009 18:03:27	What is the military like for each of the major powers, and how do they conduct warfare? Do you feel like I have answered you question?
#13 leowulf May 17, 2009 2:10:47	I will give my answer in 3 parts. Firsty I will name all the major powers capable of fielding a major offense/defense. The empire has 3 military arms. Fleet, MI, and EX Corps Protectors. Fleet is all about Control of the battle space. They fight by achieving tactical, strategical, and psychological control of the battle ground. Their preferred tools are orbital bombardment, Space to Ground Air strikes in assault fighters, and information warfare. MI fights all phases of the ground war, by preference opened by a preparatory bombardment. They operate infantry, tanks, grav repulsion assault planes, mecha, power armor, Unmanned assault vehicles, and strike hovercraft. The primary tactics of MI are occupy valuable territory and eliminate resistance . continue this until the enemy controls no territory and/or can no longer exert influence enough to be a threat. The Expeditionary corps forces have one function. Guard the explorers as the do their job. They don't have much in the way if heavy hardware to assist them, so they rely on hardcore training, and tactical flexibility. Sounds like as usual, the Fleet does the flying, MI does the dying. :D Are there other branches? Psi-Corps, perhaps? An empire can always use mercs - are their mercenary companies regularly employed? What are they doing and how do they get along with the "real" military? Is the Empire expanding? How? Are they finding and terraforming worlds? I could see the Ex Corps being detailed to "guard" colonies officially against Xenomorph threats or similar environmental hazards, but unofficially to keep them from getting unhealthy ideas about freedom and deciding to do something foolish like secede. As we know, Service Guarantees Citizenship. But what proportion of the myriad worlds circling the 5000 suns actually has citizenship? It would be relatively easy to deny citizenship to someone for failing to pass an evaluation by their Political Science instructor (who should always either be or report to the Secret Police). This would easily keep subversive elements from being able to carry out their nefarious ends. But Citizenship should bring perks, and I'm sure the profit motive is alive and well. Black-market citizenship might be a thriving industry on many worlds. What do the worlds look like? Is the Empire terraforming every rock they can get their greedy hands on? Do the Noble Houses have a say in what worlds go to whom and what these worlds places will be in the Imperial economy?
#14 samwyz May 17, 2009 3:08:17	Is the Empire expanding? How? Are they finding and terraforming worlds? I could see the Ex Corps being detailed to "guard" colonies officially against Xenomorph threats or similar environmental hazards, but unofficially to keep them from getting unhealthy ideas about freedom and deciding to do something foolish like secede. The primary function of the EX corps is Exploration and preparation for settlement. There are (offically ) no sentient aliens, but that does not stop there from being giant space octopi that like to drop out of trees.
#15 samwyz May 17, 2009 3:08:47	sorry hit the button before I was ready to post.
#16 samwyz May 17, 2009 3:18:01	Sounds like as usual, the Fleet does the flying, MI does the dying. :D Are there other branches? Psi-Corps, perhaps? An empire can always use mercs - are their mercenary companies regularly employed? What are they doing and how do they get along with the "real" military? For the Mercs, Think Roman Auxillia. They do things well that the empire does not. Some of the Prime houses have their own merc units. One of the oldest are the Valkyries. They are HEAVY COMBAT drop medics. They drop deploy combat hospitals as a first strike, then deploy heavy strike hover cycles as a fast attack vehicle with a hover sled as a stretcher behind them. They are not afraid of dropping on the enemy to get to allies. The captains of the ships are traditionally women. There is also a group of retired snipers. they deploy by space jumping to the target. they are a no support combat group, they drop with all they need for a 1 month assignment. for longer engagements they deploy a satellite that has drop pods for strategic reinforcement. Overall the mainstream military tend to respect the mercs. they go places that MI doesn't dare go. The upside of being a merc is getting to say, thank you but we have had enough for today.
#17 samwyz May 23, 2009 10:37:49	The Samnite League is ruled by 2 institutions a court of Honor (presided over by a chosen woman) and a military/ political seat occupied by a man. Beneath them are a privy council
#18 samwyz May 27, 2009 19:12:26	Class ideas. MI Infantryman Skills:Endurance , Perception. Choose 2 from below Athletics, Acrobatics, Biotechnology, Diplomacy, Pioneering, Stealth. Armor Proficiencies: AECD (All Environment Combat Dress), Medium Powered, Heavy Powered. Features Choose Support tactics or Rifleman tactics. Support Tactics focuses on a wide range of equipment to support the rifleman in his tasks by providing an added punch to fast infantry squads. Choosing Support Tactics grants access to the support weapons list, Allows them to target using their Constitution Score. Choose Launchers or High Automatics, Gain +2 damage with that weapon AFTER Reduction is calculated. Recommended Feat: Sustained Fire. The Rifleman is the backbone of the infantry. Providing in territory force projection, eyes on intelligence and recon, and a human face to the Empire. Every Legionnaire has his place, and for these young men and women it is the front line. Line Riflemen gain +1 initiative and +1 to hit with the Main Battle Rifle. Powers Shoot and Scoot Level 1 At Will. Standard Action. Movement. Attack. Dex vs Ac. 1[W]+Dex Effect: Shift up to 2 squares {end power] Boot And Shoot Level 1 At Will Kick the target, knock it prone and light it up. Two Attacks. First attack. STR Vs Ref Hit: Effect: Knock Target prone and shift it 1 square away from you, Second Attack: Dex+2 VS Ac. 1[W] {end power} Aimed fire. lvl 1 at will. Standard Attack Attack Dex + 3 Vs AC 1 [W]
#19 Dreamstryder May 29, 2009 15:05:28	If the vehicles go as fast as they need...yes, that answers me there. I guess dragons and aircraft won't fight often if you have an open area to zoom away, depending on how fast the craft can go, or you could fudge it so you must skill-challenge to outrun/outmaneuver it. That was part of my question (post #4). Another is: will homunculi be explained as scientifically made constructs (say, spy robots), and wizards as code or tech manipulators with large mechanical staffs that fire "spells" out of them, or will you merely throw pulp fantasy and pulp sci-fi into one bag (which could get rather messy world-coherency-wise)? What about other power sources like Divine; are there spirits and gods, and how do you fit them into a sci-fi worldview, assuming you have one?
#20 samwyz May 29, 2009 15:43:26	It is my intentiion to include a full arsenal of military grade combat and utlity robots. . Ad to Divine classes, well they will be repurposed to suit my needs. I am more aiming toward a hard Science setting. There are still plenty of forms of "divine" healing IRL that work. But in terms of gameplay. we have to look at what is a Hit point, and what does it really measure? If it is structural integerty the whole system breaks fast. I tend to look at them as more of an overall abitly to keep fighting. But if you want magic in your game, my recomendation is don't change how it works at all. That compenent is well tested and functional.