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#1 araes Feb 07, 2009 15:20:16	“Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.” - Arthur C. Clark’s Third Law New Power Point based system for Powers / Abilities Quick(er) Summary This is a campaign setting where the premise is that all magic is technology that's simply beyond understanding for current people. As such, it could probably be considered high magic, since it assumes a level of underlying tech well beyond our current day standards: spontaneous energy conversion, instant matter transfer, and manipulation of the physical laws of the (remaining) universe. It is heavily influenced by concepts of transhumanism, but with an eventual regression to pre-modern levels. The world itself is a Dyson Sphere-esque world with multiple layers and vast diversity of terrains (and area). The Gods of the setting are actually transcendent organics who have moved on to AI existence (except for one). The ordinary people within the setting are the refuges of a collapsed universe within the only lifeboat to escape the destruction. The undead of the setting are a logical plague introduced by nano-viral reanimation of corpses, with each type of undead representing a distinct phase of the plague. Plus, there are robots, bio-mechanical augmentation, extra-dimensional elementals, conniving dragons, symbolically terrain linked fey, insane roaming supermages, and a bunch of other craziness. Preface This is a rebrew of a campaign setting which was originally posted to the old 3.5 campaign boards, and which has been archived over time. As it has been a rather long time, on the order of years since I last wrote for it, and most of the crunch developed for the setting has been invalidated by the transition to 4e, I felt it was time to begin a new phase of the setting’s life. This is that rebirth. The basic premise of this campaign setting has rolled around in my head for quite some time, probably before the days of the open campaign setting call. However, during that call, I was motivated to think about it more and codified some of the main ideas I had for it into a presentable form. Naturally, it wasn’t chosen by the committee, as it didn’t really fit the concepts I think they may have been looking for. From that time forward, I have worked on it off and on, and run several longer campaigns (using 3.5 and 4e), to see how the general mythos played out with characters. As mentioned, the first iteration of this setting existed on the 3.5 boards, and through the contribution of a number of members, I was able to make quite a bit of progress in fleshing out the world with cultures, unique attributes, and a lot of 3.5 applicable crunch. In particular, I should thank: Jeweler Turin Supadupaman DeeL MadApe19 ChimpMan Sliversun Eldritch_Lord stsword Kuriken who all contributed tons of ideas and content to the prior iteration of the thread, gave me some great jumping points for my own, and critiqued some of my more stupid ones into something reasonable. Shape of Things to Come With this first article I will cover the slightly revised history of the campaign world in a very brief sense, the general structure of the world, and the role/origins of "magic" within the world. This world is not a classic one in the sense of D&D or contemporary fantasy literature which tend to postulate a world imbued with a magical force that exist sometime near the middle ages or thereabouts. This concept differs in the fact that it is in fact a construct of a much more advanced civilization which fully understood the mechanisms of “magic”, but through a catastrophic disaster managed to bring about their own demise. Their final act before destruction was a desperate attempt to save as much of life as possible within an artificial sphere that could weather the destruction and possibly find a way to reinitiate diaspora after the cataclysm's passing. The general shape of the world is a classic design of super-engineering called a Dyson's Sphere, in which some or all of the population live on the inner surface of a huge sphere. To give an idea of scale, the outer shell of the Sphere is 1 Astronomical Unit (AU) in radius, or approximately the distance from the Earth to the Sun. However, in this particular design, there are actually several layers to the Sphere, as it is not a Dyson design in the classic sense. Each of the intermediary layers are akin to a series of "islands" which orbit a supermassive body at the core of the Sphere in a constantly crossing and recrossing dance of trajectories. All of these layered surfaces are inhabitable, although on different locations, and in some cases, at rather odd orientations to one another. The islands themselves are only rarely affixed to one another and exist in a constant state of free fall around the central planetary body. Each of the layers of islands operates something like a world unto itself, with the larger islands acting like ever-shifting continents. In a few specific cases, large superstructures form links between the layers of worlds, which can be used as transits between them, and in one location, a massive spire connects all the way from the central core to the outer shell. Layered Shells of the Sphere On the whole, the inhabitants on each of the layers of the sphere are completely unaware of the existence of other beings on the additional layers. In part, this is due to the technology level which exists throughout most of the Sphere. The universe may have been quite advanced at one point, but knowledge has collapsed along with the rest of creation. Secondly, there is also an obscuring fog like matter, which is dispersed across the spatial boundaries between layers that normally obscures them from each other's view. Occasionally, there are breaks in this cloud cover, but they are rare and the tools of observation in many of the societies are too primitive to be able to properly capture them. Light is provided to the sphere by massive bands of energy which orbit the space between layers, much like the layers themselves. The energy to these bands is provided by a massive generator (more on this later) located deep within the central core, which leeches energy away from the chaotic remains of the universe surrounding the Sphere and deposits it within the bands. For the intents and purposes of a role playing campaign, this is an infinite fountain of energy which will never run dry within the time frame of a normal game, but for epic struggles the generator is a machine which causes fundamental shifts in the energy states of the universe, transferring energy from one location to another. However, all of the energy for the machine is currently taken from outside the Sphere, where the rest of the universe resides in a destroyed state, and given enough time (billions/trillions/greater) of years, this source will be depleted and all the energy of the universe will be localized within the minor locale of the Sphere, supporting what life exists there and holding back the remains of the universe outside the Sphere. Naturally, as this is a work of super-engineering, a number of adjustments have been allowed for to create such a system which could otherwise not exist naturally. Artificial gravity exists within this setting and is used to affix the inhabitants of both the intermediate and outer layers to their landmasses. In the case of the outer layer, this is not completely accurate due to some peculiarities of the universe outside the sphere, but close enough for understanding. Also, the forms of the islands themselves would naturally be prone to massive stresses, wind shears, ect… and it has been assumed for the sake of play that these effects have been negated in some way to allow for the habitation of all layers of the sphere with equal ease. As with many kinds of sci-fi based concepts, there’s a lot of technobabble to swallow, and I argue with myself as to whether its better to try and explain things or whether I should simply let them lie. Possibly risk falling into the trap of "A sufficiently incompetent ScF author is indistinguishable from magic." However, in the interest of this particular concept I’ll at least give premises which are somewhat malleable/forgettable depending upon reception. One of the main points I'll be working on as I move farther with this work, is to try and convert over some of the setting specific details to 4e related concepts. Robots, AI, Symbolic Magic, Future Weapons, Cybernetics, Biotech, Nanocreatures, ect... I'll also see what I can do to address some of my personal issues with 4e and make it fit. First up though, a bit more fluff.
#2 araes Feb 07, 2009 15:54:35	The Machines of God Now that the basic shape of the world, lets move on to the real substance of the universe and how the cogs grind in the heavens. In essence, it is presumed that at some point a grand unified theory of everything is found which ties together all the aspects of physical existence within the universe. When this great theory is finally discovered, it is found that all of the major forces are not only related to one another, but in fact directly tied, as they exist within a higher super-state of reality. It can be visualized that all of our perceivable world, and its properties exist as two dimensional shapes on a supporting three-dimensional object (normally a membrane). Supposing that a society has found a way to interact with this higher dimension shape, it can change the organization, behavior, and properties of its own lower dimensional existence. Furthermore, this control is found to extend to all aspects of reality. For example, with a shift or tweak in one location, the expression of a property, such as the gravitational interactions between objects, may be modified in another location. In addition, it is also found that in many cases this shifting of properties actually requires very little energy input into the system, as it is a balanced equation in which shifts of energy or properties at one location may be compensated for by opposite/similar changes in the energy states or properties at another. In a sense, it holds something of a ying/yang duality. What this really means though, is that for many inhabitants of the universe, reshaping of the cosmos is possible on a very personal level, if they possess the understanding and tools. Still, this is not to say the reality manipulation is easy, and it is in fact quite difficult for a normal being to do without significant education, training, and access to resources. Education and training are necessary to accomplish great feats, because to accomplish extensive reshaping requires an inherent understanding of what is be done and an ability to visualize the task to its most minute degrees. I.E. To possess a mastery of gravity, you must first comprehend what gravity really is, how it operates between objects, and the physical laws that normally apply to it. However, in some cases, this caveat only partially applies, as the ability to clearly visualize a goal and explore it from every angle is often enough to accomplish a task, just not master the field. The understanding of the underlying forces simply aids the process and makes true mastery possible. In addition to training, at least some form of technology from beyond when the secret is discovered is necessary to access these higher realms. As a caveat, it is assumed that most of the necessary tools were eventually integrated into the genetic patterns of all the races which existed at the height of the universe, and are still being propagated in their descendants. However, while only these rudimentary tools are necessary to pursue control, for exceptionally advanced races (such as the creators of the Sphere), a number of enhancements to natural abilities exist which can fundamentally improve their connection with the world around them. Nearly all of the AI gods of the worlds are expected to have this level of control over reality, and there may still be subsets of the Sphere, or particular races like dragons, which have retained the necessary knowledge. Now, to discuss the ability itself, and the variety of ways it may be used by those who don't have possess the near god-like control of their ancestors. In its most simple sense, this ability can take shape as what many would call a twisting of fate, or in other lingo, "the power of pure thought." Imagine points in your life when you have concentrated your very being towards making some goal or vision of your future become reality, and over time, the world did slowly shape itself to your will and form. Now, in a world possessing this ability, much of this success would still be garnered simply due to the fact that your drive, resolve, and perseverance are multiplied manyfold in such situations. However, there would also be a secondary force at work due to the gentle tug of your mind, which would manipulate chance to make seemingly random good fortunes fall into your lap when you least expected them. A second, and more advanced way might be with warriors, who are trying to survive on the battlefield. As they strive to succeed, they would slowly learn that with training and discipline of spirit, they could strike faster, shrug of blows better, and run longer than any run of the mill drudge. Again, much of this would be due to training of their muscles and reflexes to levels beyond the normal ken, but underlying it would be a support layer of twisted physics in which their sword actually is fantastically sharp, the laws of gravity actually don't seem to apply, and the force of their limbs carries behind them the weight of a hundred others. Powers Outside of Normal Physics Moving on to the more common fantasy variants that are often covered, such as magic from sources like D&D, these applications would require significantly more training and a level of discipline beyond that gained innately. Some level of study would have to be undertaken to truly grasp the mechanics at work. However, the payoff would be a host of abilities which would allow their master to twist the bounds of reality in frightening ways. For example, fireballs would be a simple matter of increasing the kinetic energy of a region of space until they burst into spontaneous flame, possibly removing all gases from the area that weren't flammable as well. This application would require a significant exchange of energy, as would all manipulation of this level, and would demand either an opposite change in the physical world or a direct energy drain from an object or person close to the "caster", possibly even from themselves. Thankfully, this is actually a fairly common factor in many systems of magic and would work well with things like channelers, defilers, "magic" reservoirs, ect... Channeling the Inner Reservoir of Fire Using such levels of control over the environment, manipulation of directly observable properties would be possible. This would include concepts like kinetic energy, potential energy, gravitation force, and electromagnetic force. The primary ones which it would often exclude would be concepts that are not visible with the naked eye, like the strong and weak nuclear forces. Spells of flight, energy manipulation, and pure force would all be easily possible. Some which might be more tricky would be things like shape changing and teleportation, and these would require reshaping or movement of the building blocks of matter on a cellular or deeper level. However, depending on how free and loose one would want to play, even such goals might be within reach. Innate use of these features could lead to beings such as shapechanging druids, and dopplegangers, as creatures whose genetic memory includes the necessary skills. Other common powers from fantasy/sci-fi literature, such as the Force from Star Wars, could also be easily explained and realized. Force sight would simply be the personal attachment of one being to another within the universe, or possibly their attunement with the connection forces as a whole, and as these forces were shifted or modified, they would be able to feel the changes and know their path. Powers like Jedi leaping and speed are already covered as fairly basic concepts of mastering your body so that your limbs move faster than they theoretically should be able to and gravity's effect is heavily diminished in your vicinity. Force push would be a matter of imparting a large shock of kinetic energy to an object while simultaneously lowering gravity's hold on it to increase the effect. The only powers which would be difficult to explain would be things like Foretelling, which would require a linkage of this connecting force through all points in time and space. This could be possible, but would require huge concessions in terms of how changes could be applied across the time stream and whether time is an immutable thing. Best in my opinion to let them die or simply allow for sensing of changes at the very most. Perhaps major plot factors or sixth sense type of abilities would be a logical limit. Next up... How did we get here?
#3 araes Feb 07, 2009 16:21:58	History of the World Now, on to how this all came about. In the current state of things, the entirety of the universe has been reduced to a single celestial body, which holds no more size than that of a small solar system. This spherical enclosure was created by the most technologically advanced beings of the time just prior to the collapse of the universe in a shallow hope that someday it would either repair itself (a second big bang) or a similar event might be initiated from within the confines of the protective Sphere. However, the Sphere was also created partially in guilt for the part “humanity” had to play in the ultimate downfall of universal civilization. The End Of All Things Pundits and demagogues have always cried that eventually technology will be the death of us. We play with the toys of an insubstantial God, and when he sees what we have done, the payment for our crimes will be severe. Oddly enough, they were actually right to some degree. God never really made an appearance, but technology did manage to spell the end of everything. Using a combination of machines, which acted upon the fabric binding the reality of the universe, it was found that total energy subtraction and displacement was a possibility. In the blink of an eye, the energy of a single point in space could be reduced to nothing and the total of this energy could be shifted to another local and/or converted to an alternate form. For a number of decades, this concept was simply a fanciful dream of theoreticians, who conceived of a nearly limitless source of power for society. Whole regions of space could have their energy displaced and used to power the cogs of industry. However, as will happen with any advanced (and properly motivated) society, this idea could only stay a dream for so long. A prototype of the device was constructed, which would be used to remove the energy from a protected section of space, far from those inhabited by sentient beings. Naturally, there were concerns among the scientific community: would it be safe? What might the effects of an entirely dead section of space be on the surrounding universe? Would they be able to control and properly channel the resulting energy surge? The backers and heads of the research project assured their doubters that all of these concerns were natural, but also unwarranted, as their best theoreticians assured them that the technology would be no more dangerous than the time honored techniques of fusion and zero point energy. Unfortunately, they were proven wrong on not just one, but all counts. In a sense, you could say the project was a success. A massive success. The energy yield from the first instant of operation of the machine was enormous, far beyond the projected potentials, and it just seemed to keep growing. In fact, the energy yield was found to grow exponentially, and in a short time the reason was uncovered. Not only had the energy from the test region of space been absorbed completely, but as this energy was removed, further energy and matter from the surrounding space fell into the disturbance in an attempt to right the balance, and at an alarming rate. In the span of a day, the region of absorbed space was the size of a planet. By the end of a week, it was the size of a solar system. In under a month the inhabitants of the universe found themselves looking into the face of a phenomenon which could spell the end of the entire cosmos. As the disturbance continued to grow, it was reasoned by the leaders of a now frantic public, that the only way to stop the effect was to reintroduce the liberated energy from the disturbance back into it using the original machine. The machine itself could not simply be switched off at this point, as it had literally become wedged open, like a floodgate with the expanse of an ocean behind it. However, the surge could be shifted and repositioned, so that its destination would be the center of the ever growing disturbance, thereby replacing the lost energy, and setting the universe once again to equilibrium. Immediately, this plan was put into action, and the column was directed into the dead zone, with what seemed to be positive initial results. The expansion of the distortion slowed dramatically, and the output of the column diminished to an imperceptible quantity. Rejoicing went up from all corners of creation, as the problem seemed to be solved. The machine was switched off, the concept of total energy relocation was abandoned as a possible research avenue, and in general, the events of that time were forgotten but for a small group of researchers who continued to investigate the warped region of space caused by the machine. Nearly 1000 years later though, the phenomena once again came to the forefront of the universal consciousness. In a startling breakthrough, a team of independent researchers found that, what had been assumed to be a universal truth of endless universal expansion was apparently no longer valid. Imperceptibly at first, but with increasing velocity, the boundaries of the universe were beginning to contract, and the space between particles to shrink. All This Has Been Said Before, And All Will Be Said Again To recap, the universe is gone except for a tiny point of life. This pocket of life was created by a vastly evolved and advanced civilization with the power to shape the very building blocks of the universe. Within this pocket of life survives a small collection of that which used to exist in the prior universe. Remnants of civilizations, smatterings of populations, and all that which could be saved before the end. Over time, this collection of life has come to think of the Sphere as home, and in fact, to even forget that there was anything before. Due to the separated nature of the civilizations within the Sphere, communication has been limited at best. This loss of communication has been reinforced by the violent and somewhat sudden nature of the displacement of many of the races, which caused much of their sense of history and technology to be lost. Furthermore, due to problems of organization, planning, and execution on the part of the Sphere's creators, as well as unforeseen opponents emerging from their midst, this loss of technology has only been accelerated, since few have time to concentrate on much more than survival. Think that's all for the moment (today). Now to decide on the next topic. Perhaps some crunch.
#4 araes Feb 10, 2009 20:11:52	Missing the Captain Since I mentioned I'd be heading towards crunch, I should probably progress that way. First off, trying to organize a framework for the parts I'd need. Long term, I'll need to convert the rules for: Robots Freeform Races New Classes New Paragon Paths Technology Levels / Integration Supertech Items (Cybernetics, Bioware, Gene Modding, Nanotech, and better) Firearms & Force Projection Universal Magic Of these, I think one of the easier places to start will be with equipment, and particularly supertech items. As the intent is not to create detailed rules for every type of supertech that could possibly exist (as that would be a little large), the idea is instead to provide general types of items, and an overall rule for how they could be used with characters. To a modern day user, they may obviously be cybertech, or bioware, but to a person of that knowledge, they would just be powerful golemcraft, or amazing transmutations. As such, we can then lump benefits to characters by their effects, and where they are applied, rather than their source. Doing a quick overview of the current 4e items, the benefits usually accrued are: Always AC - Armor Attack and Damage Rolls - Class Specific Weapons Defenses - Neck (Fort,Reflex,Will) Often Defenses - Shoes (Reflex), Head (Will), Waist (Fort) Skills - Feet & Hands (Stealth, Athletics, Acrobatics), Neck (Varied), Rings (Varied), Head (Mental), Waist (Heal, Endurance) Resist - Arms, Neck, Ring, Armor Speed / Movement - Boots, Ring Bull Rush - Arms, Waist. In addition, if we examine Open Grave, we see that there are rules included there for Grafts that are normally meant to be used with NPCs. However, they do say that they can be put onto PCs, but it is intended for them to be removed. In a general sense, they usually provide a single extra ability / attack that can be used as part of a normal action. However, since multi-weapon fighting normally just gives a +1 dmg, then further arms could instead provide +1 for each additional arm, or perhaps a + to hit. Working off this known knowledge, then one route we could pursue would be to allow for either replacement or doubling up of bonuses based upon where they are taken. In the first, we could say that, for example: an arm enhancement can be taken either for a piece of equipment, or be made inherent to the person's arms themselves, but not both. If a person who has an arm enhancement tries to use a piece of arm equipment, then the equipment provides no benefit (or maybe they can choose to offer versatility). The main benefit of these internal items would be that it would be very difficult to take them away from you. In the second, which would be a significant increase in power, we could allow for double stacking. In practice, we could have both internal head enhancements, as well as some form of head item. Both enhancements would function properly, but the internal enhancements would have to be significantly more expensive. Within these options, upgrades like genetic modification, or internal nano-symbiots, might fall under wonderous items or rings. They could also be the one type of item which escapes the bounds of replacement under either system, and be a whole new "inherent" type. Both of these options would be rather easy, as we would simply base our internal items off of the existing ones, and then go by the applicable rule. However, a third option to pursue is instead to develop a whole new set of powers, abilities, and upgrades, which are instead based upon what would be most natural for internal enhancements. This would require some more thought, but would also not be as restrictive as the existing 4e system. For example, what happens when I want to replace my lower pelvis with a centaur immitation, or give myself two extra arms? In many ways, I think I'd prefer to pursue this option, even though its slightly more difficult, as it would not just be more of the same. If we pursue a system where body enhancements are a whole new style of equipment, then we need some way to restrict access to these items, and control their application. One way might be something similar to the usage in systems like Shadowrun, where each piece of internal equipment takes away from a necessary statistic. We could also just use one of a character's statistics as the natural cap for what can be done to a person. This was the old method used by d20 future, which made a good stab at it. A natural choice would be Constitution. However, in the spirit of 4e, we might also use a dual stat system with Con and something else (possibly Wis to represent mental Willpower?) Working down through a normal body, the portions we could modify / add would probably be: Head Neck / Spine Arms Hands Torso Pelvis / Waist Legs Feet Skin Mouth / Teeth Nose Fur / Hair / Spines Other Appendages Tails Horns Tentacles Wings Internal Skeleton Joints Organs / Systems Lungs / Respiratory Heart / Circulatory Brain / Nervous Digestive Tract Reproductive
#5 araes Feb 16, 2009 1:37:20	While I have been working steadily on the topic of cyberware out of the forums, and have a rather extensive list of items I would like to make rules for, I think that topic will have to wait for a little bit, as I've got another modification I'd like to put forward. Recently, I was reading a blog post, which argued some critiques of 4e, many of which I agreed with. One of their prime points was that combat in 4e can be quite repetitive. For most classes, there are obvious choices of how to proceed in any combat, and most usually follow a pattern of: Enc, Enc, spam At-Will, Daily if needed. There's a pretty strict logic to it which any tactician will note. Since the Enc and At-Will are fixed per-encounter, the only strategic choice in a fight is whether or not to use a Daily. Generally, the only two triggers for this action will be either an obvious BBEG, or dire straights which might cause TPK. Otherwise, its more tactically sound to open with Encounters to soften the enemy, and then proceed with At-Will's until they are dead. The other argument was that the choice of pre-cooked powers, particularly At-Wills, tends to reduce the strategic / creative aspects of the game, because when presented with a decision for actions, but given obvious easy options, players will often choose the given option rather than create their own. An analogy was the difference between asking the open ended "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and asking the leading "When you grow up do you want to be a fireman or an astronaut?" They noted that this could also lead to a mentality where actions aren't tried unless the power specifically says it can be done. "Guess I can't stab him in the leg, since there's already a power for that." Right now, I don't think I can answer the second question well, but I've been working on an option to try and improve the first. Class Deconstruction and Freedom The goal of this analysis is to examine how powers and abilities are gained / used in 4e, and then determine a free-form, power point based system (think 3.5 psionics) which allows for a more unrestrained application of those powers. Goals of this process were to: Increase flexibility of power use. Retain the same rate of powers known if similar powers are chosen. Determining Powers Usable per Day The first step in this process is analyzing how powers are gained. For this, I referred to the table "Character Advancement" on pg. 29 of the 4e Players Handbook. (Probably shouldn't reprint it here). This table provides how many powers of each type (At-Will, Encounter, Daily, Utility) are known by a player at each level. In addition, the power's known correlate to how many powers may be used within each Encounter, and by extension, each day. In making the calculation for days, several things were assumed. There will be two encounters per rest. A player will use approximately five At-Will powers per encounter. Action points and milestones were not considered yet. These statistics for advancement were then plotted to find rough analytical curve fits for each power's gain rate. The reason smooth advancement rates were desires is so that a continually increasing power-point system could be created. What was noted was the following: At-Will powers never increased in the number known, although they allow infinite uses (Approximating as 10 uses / day for this analysis.) Encounter powers known / usable per encounter increased sharply in the first 10 levels and then flatlined. Daily powers increased relatively smoothly and would be projected to hit 5 uses just beyond level 30 assuming a continuing progression. Utility powers increased almost perfectly linearly, although they began to show second order rolloff after level 15. To create smooth, second order curves of advancement, both Encounter and Daily powers required some shifting of the advancement levels. The final known / use rates can be seen within the enclosed sblock. The rates are for known abilities, which are modified for At-Will (assume 10 / day), and doubled for Encounter powers, to find uses (and total power points) per day. Calculated Power Uses Per Level
#6 araes Feb 16, 2009 23:42:41	Greater Pools of Power As a continuation of the previously published rules for Power Point based abilities, I'd like to offer the following addendum, which extends those rules to include the Powers given to characters by their races and equipment. Using either of these rules, the Power Points, and the Powers which are usable with them, would both go into the common Power list. Characters could fight using only Racial and Equipment Powers if they wanted to, and drain their whole Power Point pool with them. As these two groups of Powers are somewhat different in their application, we'll talk about each of them seperately. Racial Powers For the option rule of using Racial Powers with the Power Points pool, we first need to decide how much these Powers are worth. Generally, all races which have Powers should have those powers cost as much as a 1st level power of its type. For example, the Tiefling racial Power of "Infernal Wrath" is an Encounter Power, so it would cost 2 Power Points, since we're using it as a 1st level Power. However, the issue is then how to deal with Powers like the Dragonborn's "Dragon Breath" Power, which increase in effectiveness as the character levels. The solution to this is to require players to transition the Power to a higher cost version if they want to use it with the higher effectiveness. For example, since "Dragon Breath" is an Encounter Power, and has effectiveness breaks at Level 1, Level 11, and Level 21, it would cost 2 PP @ Level 1, 3 PP @ Level 11, and 4 PP at Level 21. The player wouldn't be required to up the effectiveness / cost, but would have the option to during off-time after any of the break points. The next hurdle with racial Powers is to determine how many Power Points a character should gain so that they can use them. There are two reasonable options. One, is to give each player additional Power Points based upon the cost of their Powers. If they have a static Power, then they get additional Power Points equal to its value at Level 1. If they have a growing Power, like "Dragon Breath", then they get the value of the Power at each break point, as additional Power Points. The Power Points from both types would then be multiplied vs the numbers of uses per day. The multipliers for uses / day for powers are assumed to be: At-Will = 5, Encounter = 2, Daily = 1. For example, with "Dragon Breath", they would have 2*2=4 additional PP @ Level 1, 3*2=6 additional PP @ Level 11, and 4*2=8 additional PP at Level 21. Unfortunately, this method of tracking Points is rather complicated, if accurate. My preference, instead, is to just give every character a flat bonus of 5 PP at Level 1. This allows those with Encounter Powers to use them twice for most races, and allows odd races, with At-Will Powers, to use them several times. You could perhaps give everyone an additional 2 PP at each tier as well to cover cost growth. Equipment Powers Using equipment with this system is quite a bit easier, as most of the approximations have already been done for us, and Levels are well calculated for the equipment. In addition, they don't grow with character Level, only with equipment Level. In general, an At-Will, Encounter, or Daily power from equipment costs whatever a power of its Level would cost. As an example, "Shadowflow Armor", which can be Levels 13/18/23/28, and has an Encounter Power, would give a character 6/8/8/10 Power Points, and its Encounter Power would cost 3/4/4/8 depending on the Shadowflow Armor's equipment Level. As a second example, "Gauntlets of Ogre Power", which are a Level 5 item with a Daily Power, would give their user 3 additional Power Points, and their Daily Power would cost 3 PP to use. The one big issue with equipment Powers is that they have powers given energy through Healing Surges. For now, I think the easiest way to deal with these items is to treat them as normal. They don't work off Power Points, and can only be used by giving up a Healing Surge. In the future, I may offer an optional rule for converting Healing Surges over to Power Points as well. As before, if anyone has an opportunity to try these optional rules out, tell me how they work, or any issues encountered with them.