Trillic Zellorgosz

Trillic Zellorgosz, the Tethyrian bard (here he is!)


returned home to the ranch in Longsaddle after a month away in the Spine of the World. A snake was lying across his path, sunning itself. It eyed him with contempt. He stabbed it. It became a serpent-looking humanoid (a Yuan-ti) and ran away. The next day he confronted an odd visitor at his ranch on that same road. The human tried to get away, but showed his true colors in trying to steal the bard's fabled drum. Battle ensued, and the man turned into a tiny viper, sliding away into the weeds. Later he assumed humanoid form again, this time showing his reptilian heritage. It died at the hands of Trill and his friends. It left behind several noteworthy items, one of which this magical sword (yay!):

3.5 Katana

Ok, so the danddwiki.com version of the 3.5 katana is a tad broken. But I like the spirit of the rules for it. It's a dynamic that allows multiple options to the wielder depending on their style of use (it can be finessed, wielded two handed, and the crit range and multiplier changes depending on training and use).

But it is perhaps the single most powerful mundane weapon if allowed to be used as written.

The problem with the standard 3.5 katana is that it's just a bastard sword. But would William Wallace and a samurai really use the same weapon?

Without some change, the only reason a player would pick up the katana for their character would be for role playing flavor. I wanna find a middle ground.

To the exasperated reader who stomped feet about a two-handed finesse-able weapon being stupid and without precedent: FAIL. It's already been done in 3.5. Please read the spiked chain entry.

How about this? Stats are for a medium katana.

Katana (Exotic One/Two-Hand Melee)

Cost: 150gp
Dmg 1h: d8
Dmg 2h: d10
Crit: 19-20/x2
Weight: 5lb

You can use your weapon finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier to attack rolls with a katana, but this may only be used while wielding the weapon one-handed.

Wielding the weapon with two hands increases the damage to d10 and adds 2 to damage when sundering.

Comparative notes on balance: When wielded one-handed, this weapon hangs in the balance between the longsword (d8 dmg, 19-20 crit, no finesse) and the elven thinblade (d8 dmg, 18-20 crit, finesse). Wielded with two hands, this weapon lies in between the greatclub (d10 dmg, 20 crit, no special feat required if 2h) and the bastard sword (d10 dmg, 19-20 crit, no special feat required if 2h).

So if this weapon lies in between existing weapons on the spectrum, why would you wield it? OPTIONS.

If your character is William Wallace, choose the bastard sword, or the greatsword. If your character is Elebros Moonblade, wispy loafer-light fighter, choose the thinblade. But if you have an above average dexterity, and want to have OPTIONS when fighting without changing weapons, wield the katana.

This katana is truly for the Asian-inspired martial artist character.

The more research I did on the katana the more I saw a similar thread. This blade was made for samurai to react suddenly to their foes. By sheathing it blade up, they could strike while drawing it. I couldn't find any 3.5 feats to this effect, so here's one I made.

NEW FEAT:

Draw Strike

Prerequisites: Base Attack +6, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Katana, Weapon Focus: Katana, Quick Draw

This feat allows the wielder to draw their katana and strike in the same motion. When drawing the katana, the wielder may make a single melee attack at his highest base attack bonus as a free action in conjunction with drawing the weapon. He may then 'complete' a full attack as a standard action, using any remaining attacks from his normal total number of attacks.

Example: Kao Kao, a tenth level fighter, walks into an ambush with his weapon sheathed. He notices his foes and gets to act during the surprise round. During the surprise round (assuming the ambushers were in melee range) he may draw his katana and strike in one motion using his highest base attack bonus (+10). As this is a free action, he may still take either a move action or standard action during this surprise round. He chooses to take a standard action to 'finish' his full attack, and attacks again using his next-highest base attack (+5). He could also take a single move after his draw strike.

Another Example: Kao Kao, now fifteenth level, is parlaying with a sinister feudal lord. Negotiations go sour, and the lord draws his blade and casts an abjuration on himself. Kao, seeing his opportunity, draws and strikes as a free action using his highest base attack bonus (+15). He now has options: finish his attack (two more attacks, using his progressively lower base attack bonuses (+10/+5) as a standard action then and a single move; or give up the full attack and make a sprint move, or plenty of other options.

Possible House Rule Change: 3.5 Weapon Enhancement and DR

I'm considering house ruling this option.

Monte Cook (original 3.0 and 3.5 designer) has some great thoughts on overcoming the the 'golf bag' syndrome and restoring the +5 sword to its once-fabled glory.

The rules (and eloquent explanation and design notes) are here.

I'm very close to house ruling this; I'm just giving players the chance to review it.

Steampunk Classes, Part I

After two playtest sessions (ridiculously adventurously fun sessions, by the way), I'm looking into some of the rules and assumptions I started out with in this Steampunk Campaign Setting I'm working on.

I've been using the Fantasy Flight Games book Sorcery and Steam as a jumping off point (it's 3e generic, but it's pretty in line with the way I want to run things).

The basic pathfinder classes I want to use are:

Barbarian
Bard
Fighter
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer

I'm also considering the Cavalier, which is a marshall/knight type of class if you're familiar with 3.5.

Today I'm mulling also over the Musketeer class, which is presented in S&S as a unique character class. It's fraught with dead levels, which is something Pathfinder doesn't take kindly to, so I've been thinking of how to modernize it for the system. But I was thinking, does the musketeer need his/her own class? Couldn't a fighter accomplish the same?

What about the artificer class? This is also in S&S and it's essentially a skilled (8 skill points per level like the rogue) character who gets craft-related special abilities. I think something like this class is essential in a technologically advanced setting. It's especially relevant (and appealing) in a gestalt game (which mine will be, if you recall) due to the fact that you can be a creator character without sacrificing pulpy action (by taking a fighter class or something similar in conjunction with the artificer class).

Any other thoughts? What classes would (or wouldn't) work well in a world where religion isn't (necessarily) relevant and magic is outlawed but existent?

My Foray into Steampunk

I am but an infant standing before an ocean when it comes to the genre of Steampunk, but I am quite excited about the gaming opportunities it extends. A gnome escaping from a train heist by sealing the dining car's door with a glue bomb would be amazing. Or a group of half-orc tribesmen that take down the zeppelin of the local oppressive duke with bows and arrows, yeah, that's the ticket!

I'm a long way from making this a true sustained campaign reality, but so far here's what I know.

The world will be my own (sort of).
The geography will match that of our Earth, but history shall be quite different.
The 'civilized' world at this point currently reside on the continent we call North America.
There are approximately 36 nation-states. The two most powerful of which are the Federated States of Ullera and the Sovereign Kingdom of Rausch, currently allies which share borders.

Ullera sits between what we know as the Mississippi River and the East Coast, going north to the shores of the Great Lakes and south to the Everglades. It is a technologically driven state which in many ways mirrors the U.S. in the 1860s. Magecraft has long been outlawed here, but it is rumored to exist.

West of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean spans the vast, sparsely populated Kingdom of Rausch. It's king rose from despondent orphanhood to a high position in the state church, eventually securing royal status by marrying ALL THREE of the prior king's daughters. He is highly respected and quite just.

Ulleran settlers, sick of coalsmoke-clogged cities, set east decades ago on all manner of craft (from dirigible to clipper to ship), but the harsh conditions and violent natives in the continents to the east have prevented Ullera from establishing meaningful colonies.

Gameplay will likely be limited to three player characters at a time. Pathfinder RPG rules will be used, augmented by third party steampunk expansions (mainly 3.0 books, actually). Players will all run gestalt characters (taking the best of any two classes).

Gameplay in the first campaign will include limited options. Greater options will be 'unlocked' as the world is explored (Example: once players encounter Knights of Rausch, the paladin class will become available.)

Players will start in Ullera (in game one), and race/class options will be limited to:

Races: Human, Half-elf, Elf, Gnome, Dwarf, Halfling.
Classes: Barbarian, Bard, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer.

Magic knowledge available to players will be limited to 3rd level spells until higher knowledge is unlocked.

Equipment: Modified black powder weapons exist. Reloading will take something like two full rounds (anything more will make it little fun for an RPG), which can be reduced by feats and class features.

There's plenty to flesh out here. Hit me up with questions. I'm sure there are aspects I haven't considered yet!

3.5 Sorcerer, I Can't Stop Myself

I really like the new feel of my sorcerer class, but I feel like it's missing the mark. I wanted sorcery to feel so different from wizardry (in execution, not in power or effect). I thought the pseudospell powers would do the trick, but I quickly learned (thanks to some friendly DMs) that it would be hard to adjudicate. So I scrapped it. But without it, I feel the whole point of my endeavor was unmet.

Something I have considered and am now reconsidering is treating sorcerer spells like psionic powers. Those unfamiliar with psionics...well, instead of spell slots and spells per day, the psionicist gets points which they spend to evoke powers, and they can spend more points to augment those powers as they see fit (increasing damage, extending duration, adding secondary effects, etc.)

In my experience, psionics come with their own set of pains, but (like many non-standard ideas) they work if used responsibly.

A spell point system truly opens up the caster to (near) complete freedom. He could throw everything he has into his fireball, augmenting it to max damage, but leaving himself spell-less until the next day.

Here is a good basic spell point concept. What it lacks is the complete freedom of augmentation (this one only allows for increasing of damage dice from the minimum).

Here's an example of a psionic power and the augmentation possibility: The first-level power force screen (the psionic equivalent to shield) allows this: "For every 4 additional power points you spend, the shield bonus to Armor Class improves by 1."

And another: This is found in the power energy bolt, a third-level Wilder power: "For every additional power point you spend, this power’s damage increases by one die (d6). For each extra two dice of damage, this power’s save DC increases by 1."

In summary, I'm considering changing sorcerer spell slots to spell points, using an amalgam of the variant spell point rules and psionic power augmentation. If I do that, I'll remove the bonus feats from the sorcerer.

Customized Paladin Code

One of the difficulties of playing a paladin (or DMing for a paladin, or being in a party with a paladin) is the strictness of the code of said paladin.

One of the more difficult things about most paladins I've seen played (and played myself) is the lack of a defined code. The gameplay is then reduced to presumption about what the paladin can and can't do.

One of the natural tendencies for most of us in the Western world is to assume that every paladin fits in the Knight Templar box. The reality is that in almost every D&D world, there are vast pantheons of deities that expect their followers to act very differently.

In Forgotten Realms, for example, a paladin of Sune should act a lot different than a paladin of Hoar. Heck, even two paladins of the same deity could (and usually should) have different codes, capturing their own emphasis on certain tenets of their patron deity (much like chosen domains of a cleric).

This then requires the characters to establish a code at character creation; this may be a daunting task (or your players might be lazy).

If you want to take a look at the option, hit me up and I'll send the doc to you (it's 15 pages!)

NOTE: I didn't create this and I have no idea where it comes from, but I like it!