Month: October 2016

Wizards of the Coast and the OGL

 This is my response to this thread here. I was going to post it there but I took too long writing and got logged out or something.

These are my thoughts, written pretty much as I thought them.

So, why didn’t WotC look at the market, determine there was value in previous editions, and cater to those consumers?

WotC made the OGL to keep DnD alive and free from the corporate masters. Everyone seems to be in agreement about that.
That doesn’t mean that WotC couldn’t continue publishing official product for earlier editions. Or system neutral product. Or product for the current edition with conversion notes in the back. Before 3rd edition, they knew there were fans of 2nd edition that wouldn’t convert. They knew there were fans of 1st edition that wouldn’t convert. They knew there were fans of Basic/BECM/BX/whateverthefuck that wouldn’t convert.

That’s money. That’s money they willingly left on the table and turned their back on.

I mean, they tried to make money by what… pulling legal pdf copies of old product? Re-releasing the original books in crap-format for $300? Retconning and rewriting settings beloved by fans? Insulting the intelligence of DnD fans with the marketing of every new edition they’ve put out? Almost every thing they’ve done has pushed away customers towards competitors.

Honestly, what awesome must-have products has DnD of any edition put out in the last 20 years? Cause to me, it all seems like committee-written, bland, lowest common denominator, overpriced garbage. It’s the Black Eyed Peas of role playing games. The difference between a record company and Hasbro is that a record company uses the Black Eyed Peas’ commercial success to offset the smaller, more experimental, and groundbreaking artists they publish. Hasbro doesn’t do that. In fact, one could probably surmise that Hasbro uses more popular products to offset the cost of publishing DnD – which is really stupid, considering the previously stated, “committee-written, bland, lowest common denominator, overpriced garbage.”

It’s pretty obvious Hasbro cares mainly about the IP, not the product itself. If it did, WotC would have more than 3 full time employees in the DnD division. But that’s because there isn’t a whole lot of money to be made in RPGs. But with a classic brand, you can license out the IP for more financially lucrative endeavors like video games.

Thoughts on Shields Shall be Splintered

The original is at Trollsmyth’s page here.

It’s a wonderful rule and I’ve incorporated it into LotFP games in the past. I wrote a previous post about shields and armor, with different shield sizes and materials. Wood can be sacrificed once, metal can be sacrificed twice. I am thinking about changing that though. Both can be sacrificed once, but metal shields give a bonus of +2 melee AC and +2 ranged AC, as opposed to the +1/+2 of a wood shield. The idea being that a metal shield will allow fewer things to go through; much like leather armor and plate armor cover the same amount of body area, but the material of plate gives it a much higher armor class.

Anyway, back to Shields Shall be Splintered…

Looking through the comments though, I got some ideas.

  • Why can’t armor be sacrificed in the same way?
  • Can you use the rule to block damage from any attack? Like a giant throwing a huge boulder that would realistically squish you completely?
  • Since the shield already adds to your AC, why should it also block damage? 

So, to address the first point, allow armor to be sacrificed. That helps to get rid of the armor the player character has had for the last 10 years of game time through hundreds of battles and a half dozen levels. It makes armor more than just an after thought, same as it does for the shield.

The second point, is simple; GM fiat. That’s the GM’s job after all; to adjudicate situations. In the aforementioned example, I would say no, you can’t sacrifice your shield or armor to block that attack.

Third point is the trickiest and least likely to be incorporated; just an idea I’m bouncing in my head. Instead of simply blocking damage, a shield or armor can be sacrificed to turn a critical hit into a regular hit.  This would not be applicable to sneak attacks or backstabs, as the person being attacked is surprised.

Yon Ape Men Update and Addtitional Material

This is not only a revision of the previous post about the Yon Gorilla People, but has added content in the form of NPC stats, and a separate sub-class of cleric, exclusive to the species.

Yon, or Ape-men, are a species who have created their own civilization in the vast forest that bears their name, the Yonwood.

The yon live on platforms built high up in the trees; trees that grow 100+ feet high with trunks a dozen feet thick.

Physically, they are slightly larger on average than humans, with longer arms than legs, and a fur covered body. Some tribes shave parts of their body and put on body paint, some shave and cover their skin in tattoos. Generally, only warriors shave, and then only shave the parts that would be covered by armor.

Yon wear armor made of giant insect shells; namely beetles and mantis. Full suits of armor are too restrictive, hot, and unwieldy for the furred, tree dwelling species, so armor consists of breastplates, helms, bracers, and wooden shields. These are considered half-suits from the armor rules here.

Their largest export to human realms is honey cultivated from the hives of Giant Bees. Yon beekeepers are able to produce honey with incredible properties. The knowledge to do this is considered a gift from the Yon god, Oogam. Yon beekeepers are shamans with limited cleric powers.

The Yon worship, or at least recognize, a single god who they call Oogam. Oogam is benevelent and provided the Yon with gifts of knowledge and civilization. Oogam has a malevolent counterpart called Boogab, who is the god of the Carnivorous Apes – uncivilized, evil creatures who constantly war with the Yon.

Forged metal items are greatly prized, as the Yonwood is devoid of mines and forges. Favorite weapons are clubs, spears, and blowguns with poisoned darts.

Yon Player Characters use the following:

Warrior

  • Hit Points: d10 + Constitution modifier.
  • Encumbrance as Dwarf: five additional slots before taking an encumbrance point.
  • Combat Options: Same as Fighter.
  • Skill bonuses: +1 to Open Doors and Bushcraft, +2 Climb. An additional +1 to these three skills at levels 4, 8, 12, and 16.
  • Damage bonus: Yon are stronger than humans and in addition to their bonus to Open Doors, they have a +1 to melee damage.
  • Can wield giant-sized weapons two-handed, and Great Weapons one handed.  
  • Saves as Fighter
  • Experience Points and leveling up are the same as Dwarf. 
  • Alignment: Yon Warriors are Neutral

Shaman

  • Hit Points: d6 + Constitution
  • Encumbrance is standard.
  • Combat Options are standard for non-fighters.
  • Skill Bonuses: +2 Bushcraft, +2 Climb. Additional +1 at levels 4, 8, 12, and 16
  • Saves as Cleric
  • Choose or roll 3 level one spells from the Yon Spell list. Choose one additional spell every level of experience. Spells available are 1/2 the level of the Shaman, rounding up.
  • Spells cost 2 HP per level of the spell.
  • Wield giant-sized weapons two-handed, and Great Weapons one-handed.
  • Experience Points as Elf
  • Alignment: Yon Shamans are Lawful.

Non-Player Characters

Yon NPCs who follow Oogam use the following:

  • Armor Class: as leather with shield
  • Hit Dice/Hit Points: d8
  • Saves as 0 level Fighter
  • Number of Attacks: 1 with weapon
  • Combat bonus: +1 to hit, +1 damage in melee
  •  Size: Large (8ft tall)
  • Weapons: Great Club, Spear, Blowgun with Poison dart (1 HP dart, save vs petrification)
  • For every 8 Yon warriors, there will be a Captain of 3 HD.
  • For every 36 Yon warriors, there will be a Shaman of 4 HD (d6) with 4 spells from the Yon Shaman spell list. 

 NPCs who follow Boogab have the following changes

  • Patrols are a mixture of Yon Warriors and Carnivorous Apes in an equal ratio.
  • For every 8 Warriors/Apes, there will be one Shaman of 3 HD with 3 spells.
  • For every 36 Warriors/Apes, there will be one Shaman of 5 HD with 5 spells.
  • For every 64 Warriors/Apes, there will be one Shaman of 7 HD with 7 spells.

Spells of the Yon Gorilla People

Yon player characters have limited access to magic spells. These spells reflect their culture, religion, and environment.

Yon are gifted a single spell every level of experience from their god, Oogam. The exact spell is rolled randomly or chosen, but the maximum level of the spell is half the level of the caster, rounding up.

Yon magic costs 2 Hit Points per level of the spell. Magic is draining and tiring to the caster. A level 1 spell will cost 2 hit points, a level 2 spell will cost 4 hit points, and level 3 will cost 6 hit points, and so on. There is no limit to the number of times a day spells can be cast, other than hit points.

The following list contains the spells available to the Yon character. Spells with descriptions are new, spells without description are from the LotFP Rules & Magic book (Grindhouse edition). Yon have a close relationship with Giant Bees, using honey and wax for a variety of uses.

Spell Level One

  1. Melt Bee’s Wax: Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. The caster can instantly melt bee’s wax in their hand, or within a hand held container.
  2. Bee’s Wax Glue: Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. Turns bee’s wax into a powerful adhesive and sealant, able to glue together most types of material. 
  3. Bless
  4. Detect Evil/Good
  5. Protection from Evil/Good
  6. Purify/Spoil Food and Drink
  7. Light
  8. Comprehend Languages
  9. Feather Fall
  10. Mending
  11. Message
  12. Sleep

Spell Level Two

  1. Friend of Bees: Range: Self. Duration: One ten minute Turn per level of the caster. Bees of all types (but not wasps or other stinging insects) regard the caster as a friend and will not attack. They will allow the caster access to their hive and to remove wax and honey. 
  2. Create Candy: Range: Touch. Duration: Permanent. Caster can create hardened candy out of honey. Great for sore throats and a variety of other common ailments. Can turn up to one pound of honey into candy per level of experience.
  3. Cure Light Wounds
  4. Delay Poison
  5. Heroism
  6. Resist Cold
  7. Silence
  8. Detect Invisible
  9. Force of Forbidment
  10. Speak With Animals
  11. Wall of Fog
  12. Wizard Lock – uses bee’s wax as a component.

Spell Level Three

  1. Bless Food: Range: 10 feet. Duration: Permanent. Blessed food is impervious to spoiling magic and doubles the length of time that the food would spoil normally.
  2. Seal Wound: Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. The caster uses melted bee’s wax to seal open wounds. This will stop bleeding and stabilize a wounded individual. The wounded person also heals an additional hit point every 24 hours. 
  3.  Dispel Magic
  4. Magic Vestment
  5. Remove Curse
  6. Sacrifice
  7. Army of One
  8. Gust of Wind
  9.  Light, Continual
  10. Locate Object
  11. Speak With the Dead
  12. Turn Undead

Spell Level Four

  1. Honey Medicine: Range: Touch. Duration: Permanent. Turns honey candy (level 2 spell) into medicinal lozenges. Works the same as Cure Disease and heals d6 Hit Points.
  2. Detect Lie
  3. Divination
  4. Neutralize Poison
  5. Protection from Evil, 10ft radius
  6. Spell Immunity
  7. Charm Monster
  8. Protection from Normal Missiles

Spell Level Five

  1. Commune
  2. Cure Serious Wounds
  3. Dispel Evil
  4. Insect Plague
  5. True Seeing
  6. Hold Animal/Monster/Person

Spell Level Six

  1. Find/Lose the Path
  2. Heal
  3. Word of Recall
  4. Legend Lore
  5. Holy Word
  6. Control Weather
Art by Kolsga

    Yon: New Race/Species LotFP

    Yon, or Ape-men, are a species who have created their own civilization in the vast forest that bears their name, the Yonwood.

    The yon live on platforms built high up in the trees; trees that grow 100+ feet high with trunks a dozen feet thick.

    Physically, they are slightly larger on average than humans, with longer arms than legs, and a fur covered body. Some tribes shave parts of their body and put on body paint, some shave and cover their skin in tattoos. Generally, only warriors shave, and then only shave the parts that would be covered by armor.

    Yon wear armor made of giant insect shells. Full suits of armor are too restrictive, hot, and unwieldy for the furred, tree dwelling species, so armor consists of breastplates, helms, bracers, and wooden shields.

    Their largest export to human realms is honey cultivated from the hives of Giant Bees. Yon beekeepers are able to produce honey with incredible properties. The knowledge to do this is considered a gift from the Yon god, Oogam.

    The Yon worship, or at least recognize, a single god who they call Oogam. Oogam is benevelent and provided the Yon with gifts of knowledge and civilization. Oogam has a malevolent counterpart called Oogab, who is the god of the Carnivorous Apes – uncivilized, evil creatures who constantly war with the Yon.

    Forged metal items are greatly prized, as the Yonwood is devoid of mines and forges. Favorite weapons are clubs, spears, and blowguns with poisoned darts.

    Mechanically important information:

    • Hit Points: d10 + Constitution modifier.
    • Encumbrance as Dwarf: five additional slots before taking an encumbrance point.
    • Combat Options: Just standard attack, no others.
    • Skill bonuses: +1 to Open Doors and Bushcraft, +2 Climb. An additional +1 to these three skills at levels 4, 8, 12, and 16.
    • One first level spell. Yon are shamanistic and learn an additional spells as they grow in experience. They cannot be taught spells or learn them through research. These are considered gifts from Oogam. Every new level of experience, the Yon character learns a single spell of level equal to or less than their current level minus one. This spell can be randomly determined (yay) or chosen by the player (boo). Yon have their own spell list to choose from.
    • Damage bonus: Yon are stronger than humans and in addition to their bonus to Open Doors, they have a +1 to melee damage.
    • Can wield giant-sized weapons two-handed, and Great Weapons one handed.  
    • Saves as Fighter
    • Experience Points and leveling up are the same as Elves. 
    • Alignment: Yon are considered Lawful for alignment purposes.

     Here is a picture of a Yon with a human magic user.

    art by Brom