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Homebrewing or Horrifying?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Timmeh
Mar 07, 2011 15:25:15 I'm working on my campaign setting that I'm brewing up at the moment. In my setting, there is something special about Arcane and Divine power sources. Arcane is new in the world, some Arcane magic is learned, some of it is Innate (you're born with it), but either way, it's addictive and seems to have a life of its own. Divine power is different in that the gods are unknown. You worship domains and the Gods who own those domains tend to vie for your attention and service, while remaining discrete. In a sense, you're a man with multiple employers and you don't know those employer's motives.

For Arcane classes, this will take form in a free power (similar, but without as many negative consequences as Arcane Defiling from Dark Sun).
For Divine classes, this will take form in a free domain feat. (And perhaps being able to swap the domain Channel Divinity in for one of the starting CD's... *strokes chin*)

The problem comes in elsewhere; I haven't thought of anything special for Martial/Primal/Psionic classes (and I partly do not want to continue to add depth to the setting until I start to see what kind of players I might have). I'd like to have something equal (or near equal) for the rest of the group to make those classes appealing (though I'm likely going to try to get 3-4 people playing Arcane/Divine classes out of a 5 or 6 adventuring party).

Any advice? So far, the best idea I've come up with is to leave this as is and then later (once I've selected the players), collaborate with the player(s) who play these classes to make something special for them. But I would like some advice from people who may have done something similar.
#2
pluisjen
Mar 07, 2011 16:22:35 What will the level for the Arcane power be? What kind of power is it?
#3
Timmeh
Mar 07, 2011 17:46:46 The Arcane Power will likely be something like this. I plan on putting two versions depending on whether the user uses innate magic or learned magic; but I've not conceptualized a difference yet.

Encounter * Arcane * No Action
Trigger: You hit an enemy with an arcane attack.
Effect: The attack does 1d6 extra damage. You gain temporary hitpoints equal to your primary attribute modifer+ half your level. Your healing surge value is decreased by 1 until you take an extended rest.
Special: Your healing surge value cannot be reduced by more than half. If you cannot reduce your healing surge value any more, you cannot use this power.
Special: This power automatically triggers on critical hits, even if it has been used. If it hasn't been used, using it in this way does not expend it. It cannot trigger if your healing surge value cannot be lowered anymore (see above).
#4
rampant
Mar 07, 2011 18:06:34 I'd like to make an alternate suggestion.

Use the Defiling power from darksun (sans the whole plants and small animals dying horrid deaths), but instead of pulling HP from your allies, it burns one of your healing surges.
#5
alitain
Mar 10, 2011 2:01:54 To be honest, when I read you're post I thought you were going to do something where using Arcane powers becomes a drug addiction to the players, and thus brings about some withdrawal factors if say they go a day without using spells, or something.

What you haven't I don't think is a big deal, I think rampant's suggestion though is a little more solid since it requires little newly made stuff, just a little tweak on what's already there which is easier and balances game wise better, but eh what you posted isn't bad.

And I don't think a free domain is a big deal, so not bad.

I will say though, I wouldn't stress about not having something for the other power sources. I get you feel like you should balance it out so people don't feel slighted if they want to play a non-Arcane/Divine class but if your game is based on the concepts for those two sources you described then that's cool. You don't need to start making up some arbitrary powers and bonuses for the other sources to "balance" it out. People will play what they want to play and the "bonuses" you have aren't really...that big a deal.

Well a little more damage for the Arcane users sorta is but a 1d6 isn't a big deal especially since it's an encounter and costs a HS.

I honestly like the idea of Arcane magic being new and becoming an addiction for those using it, like a drug. Could have some wickedly fun potential in a game, good luck.
#6
barvas
Mar 10, 2011 14:15:29 It may be better to avoid the "reduce healing surge value by X until Y" mechanic because it adds another layer of bookkeeping to gameplay, and can thus lead to disputes ("You used it twice!" "No, I used it once! We had an extended rest between then and the last time.").

I like the reward/drawback aspect of it though, and the fact that it triggers automatically on a critical.

Perhaps:

Requisite: You must have at least one healing surge remaining.

Effect: You lose one healing surge and gain temporary hitpoints equal to your healing surge value.

This way, you are removing a limited resource (healing surges), and giving back something slightly less valuable than the resource (temporary hit points instead of real ones). Throwing in the extra damage to boot would turn this from something that gets done when the situation is desperate to something that arcane users would pretty much do all the time (good for your addiction theory).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Timmeh Mar 07, 2011 15:25:15	I'm working on my campaign setting that I'm brewing up at the moment. In my setting, there is something special about Arcane and Divine power sources. Arcane is new in the world, some Arcane magic is learned, some of it is Innate (you're born with it), but either way, it's addictive and seems to have a life of its own. Divine power is different in that the gods are unknown. You worship domains and the Gods who own those domains tend to vie for your attention and service, while remaining discrete. In a sense, you're a man with multiple employers and you don't know those employer's motives. For Arcane classes, this will take form in a free power (similar, but without as many negative consequences as Arcane Defiling from Dark Sun). For Divine classes, this will take form in a free domain feat. (And perhaps being able to swap the domain Channel Divinity in for one of the starting CD's... strokes chin) The problem comes in elsewhere; I haven't thought of anything special for Martial/Primal/Psionic classes (and I partly do not want to continue to add depth to the setting until I start to see what kind of players I might have). I'd like to have something equal (or near equal) for the rest of the group to make those classes appealing (though I'm likely going to try to get 3-4 people playing Arcane/Divine classes out of a 5 or 6 adventuring party). Any advice? So far, the best idea I've come up with is to leave this as is and then later (once I've selected the players), collaborate with the player(s) who play these classes to make something special for them. But I would like some advice from people who may have done something similar.
#2 pluisjen Mar 07, 2011 16:22:35	What will the level for the Arcane power be? What kind of power is it?
#3 Timmeh Mar 07, 2011 17:46:46	The Arcane Power will likely be something like this. I plan on putting two versions depending on whether the user uses innate magic or learned magic; but I've not conceptualized a difference yet. Encounter * Arcane * No Action Trigger: You hit an enemy with an arcane attack. Effect: The attack does 1d6 extra damage. You gain temporary hitpoints equal to your primary attribute modifer+ half your level. Your healing surge value is decreased by 1 until you take an extended rest. Special: Your healing surge value cannot be reduced by more than half. If you cannot reduce your healing surge value any more, you cannot use this power. Special: This power automatically triggers on critical hits, even if it has been used. If it hasn't been used, using it in this way does not expend it. It cannot trigger if your healing surge value cannot be lowered anymore (see above).
#4 rampant Mar 07, 2011 18:06:34	I'd like to make an alternate suggestion. Use the Defiling power from darksun (sans the whole plants and small animals dying horrid deaths), but instead of pulling HP from your allies, it burns one of your healing surges.
#5 alitain Mar 10, 2011 2:01:54	To be honest, when I read you're post I thought you were going to do something where using Arcane powers becomes a drug addiction to the players, and thus brings about some withdrawal factors if say they go a day without using spells, or something. What you haven't I don't think is a big deal, I think rampant's suggestion though is a little more solid since it requires little newly made stuff, just a little tweak on what's already there which is easier and balances game wise better, but eh what you posted isn't bad. And I don't think a free domain is a big deal, so not bad. I will say though, I wouldn't stress about not having something for the other power sources. I get you feel like you should balance it out so people don't feel slighted if they want to play a non-Arcane/Divine class but if your game is based on the concepts for those two sources you described then that's cool. You don't need to start making up some arbitrary powers and bonuses for the other sources to "balance" it out. People will play what they want to play and the "bonuses" you have aren't really...that big a deal. Well a little more damage for the Arcane users sorta is but a 1d6 isn't a big deal especially since it's an encounter and costs a HS. I honestly like the idea of Arcane magic being new and becoming an addiction for those using it, like a drug. Could have some wickedly fun potential in a game, good luck.
#6 barvas Mar 10, 2011 14:15:29	It may be better to avoid the "reduce healing surge value by X until Y" mechanic because it adds another layer of bookkeeping to gameplay, and can thus lead to disputes ("You used it twice!" "No, I used it once! We had an extended rest between then and the last time."). I like the reward/drawback aspect of it though, and the fact that it triggers automatically on a critical. Perhaps: Requisite: You must have at least one healing surge remaining. Effect: You lose one healing surge and gain temporary hitpoints equal to your healing surge value. This way, you are removing a limited resource (healing surges), and giving back something slightly less valuable than the resource (temporary hit points instead of real ones). Throwing in the extra damage to boot would turn this from something that gets done when the situation is desperate to something that arcane users would pretty much do all the time (good for your addiction theory).