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.

3.5 Sorcerer, v2.2 (or something)

3.5 Sorcerer, Beta Playtest

The new 3.5 sorcerer is finished.

I don't know how to post a PDF file here, so let me know if you want to take a look at it. Here's a summary:

Unchanged: Base Attack, Saves, Hit Points, Skills, Spell List, Spells Known, Spells Per Day, Proficiencies

Removed: Summon Familiar

Added:
Native Spellcasting (+4 to Spellcraft DC to determine your spells)
Arcane Source (Bloodline or Awakened, bloodline traits or bonus feats)
Eschew Materials bonus feat at level 1
Pseudospell Powers

3.5 Sorcerer: Bloodlines

I'm taking a little inspiration from some existing 3.5 books and the Pathfinder RPG on the last leg of my quest to revamp the 3.5 sorcerer. This time I'm talking bloodlines. For those not familiar with the idea, here goes:

The sorcerer, unlike the wizard, has inborn magical ability. When they cast a spell, they pour out innate energy that they shape into tangible effects. A wizard is simply an individual who studies the effects that sorcerers and their ilk (elementals, djinn, dragons, outsiders, etc.) and emulate them through study and ritual.

So, how does a sorcerer end up with the ability to cast spells? They have the magic of one of the aforementioned creatures in their blood.

I'm not quite sure how these bloodlines are going to manifest themselves in game terms, but I'm leaning towards periodic (ever few levels) powers or so.

Here are the bloodlines (and their sources) I'm going to allow:

Abyssal - demons
Celestial - good outsiders
Draconic
Elemental
Fey
Infernal - devils

I'm either going to give the sorcerer decent bloodline powers every 4 levels, or I'm going to give them the option to select from a slightly more powerful bloodline power or a bonus feat (from the Complete Mage reserve feats) every 5 levels.

Any suggestions?

3.5 Sorcerer: Pseudospell Powers

As sorcerers are simply conduits of raw magical power, it stands to reason that a limited number of spells is not the only way a sorcerer can manifest such power. These casters likely didn't first realize their prowess by casting a spell with verbal, somatic, and material components (that seems extremely silly, actually). Most sorcerers discover their talents as adolescents, as their desires or frustrations begin to shape the world around them (an angry boy accidentally sets his house on fire with his burning hands while throwing a tantrum, a scared girl magically illuminates her bedroom to ensure there are no monsters under her bed, etc). I think most people understand this idea and even subscribe to it (even the game developers), but it seems as though all of those 'pseudospell powers' go by the wayside once the first game session begins.

Not in my games, anymore.

Sorcerers now have the ability to evoke minor effects (less powerful than level 1 spells, but potentially as powerful as 0-level spells) as long as they have magic coursing through their veins.

The effects they have available rely largely upon the spells he/she has chosen as Spells Known. For every different type of spell known, more options are available.

The sorcerer must have at least one spell per day left uncast of the same level from which the pseudospell ability derives.

Examples:
If the sorcerer has light (a 0-level spell) in her Spells Known, and has at least one 0-level spell per day remaining, she may produce a light in her hand equivalent to candelight as long as she concentrates.

A sorcerer who knows alter self and hasn't cast all her level 2 spells may transmute a minor portion of herself for various effects (e.g., add/remove a tail or hair).

A sorcerer with burning hands (a level 1 spell) in his Spells Known, and has at least one level 1 spell per day remaining, he may set a torch or kindling (or similar highly flammable material) afire as a standard action.

Perhaps the same sorcerer above also has fireball known, and a remaining 3rd level spell per day uncast, he may also light a torch or kindling as a standard action, even if he has no 1st level spells available.

The sorcerer essentially draws upon the power that he uses for spells. As he become more powerful (i.e., gains more Spells Known), he will have more and more pseudospell powers available to him.

It is up to the DM and the player to police the use of these powers, but they exist for freedom and creativity.

Notes on balance: The sorcerer must maintain concentration for any non-instant effect (a minor altering of one's appearance, or a light, etc). Also, at no time may a pseudospell power damage a creature or object (not even unintentionally).

What are your thoughts? Do you have any examples of pseudospell powers?

3.5 Sorcerer: Native Spellcasting

I've decided that the 3.5 sorcerer in my games are going to be worth playing.



My first modification: All sorcerers will have an ability called Native Spellcasting:

"Complex spell recipes are for wizards, who merely study ways to emulate the power you were born with. You grew up finding your own way to evoke the magic in your blood, and your spellcasting traditions are unorthodox in nature. The Difficulty Class for someone to discern a spell you are casting increases by 4."

Also: I'm considering stripping away the familiar, adding eschew materials as abonus feat, adding bloodline abilities, and adding metamagic and pseudo-spell abilities.

Thoughts?

Retooling the 3.5 Sorcerer

I think most people agree that the 3.5 sorcerer needs retooling in order to keep up with the wizard. I want to make it a class people want to play.

I like the bloodlines introduced by Unearthed Arcana and championed by Pathfinder. I think these and their powers should be standard and not require feats or class feature substitutions (but perhaps feats to enhance the bloodlines would work).

One thing I think a sorcerer should have in her repertoire is the ability to produce quasi-spell effects. Variations on traditional spells should come as a standard power for sorcerors.

Example: a sorcerer with burning hands should be able to light a fire similar to the effect of a match without expending a spell slot.

I need to think about this more.