It Came From The Stars

A new/relaunched Kickstarter program for another Alternate Fantasy product.

It Came From The Stars

Looks like this could be some really nice material for a Spelljammer or Dragonstar based game. I will be keeping an eye on this. I would recommend anybody interested to follow the link & see what this project is all about. With people such as Colin McComb, Richard Pett, Michael Kortes, Clinton Boomer, and Scott Gable working on this, it makes for a great pedigree of designers for this.

A Different Approach to Spellcasting

I am working on a different take on magic for the Pathfinder RPG. Not really a new system, as a new approach. My approach assumes that some spells come more naturally to casters than others. To reflect this, I have divided the schools of magic by an associated casting stat, rather than spell lists by school. This approach has every caster with a prime stat for casting, which is used to determine bonus spells. Otherwise, his different stats determine the max level of spell that he can cast in a particular school. This leads to built in specialization. I know that this will have many screaming about MADS. That is true, but probably not as bad as some other classes. Also, there are many players out there that neglect certain schools to a greater or lesser extent anyway.

At the most basic form of implementation, you should just use wizards, bards, and magi as the casting classes. Implement archetypes for the various neglected classes. I would eliminate clerics as a class. Take a lesson from Monte Cook’s Arcana Evolved setting & have priest be a calling available to any class, not a class unto itself. All spells would be available to any that have the appropriate stats to cast them.

I am making a couple of classes that are built with this approach in mind. I am thinking of using a spell point system pretty much identical to psionic power points. Before I finish it, I think I will be running a few games with just the base use implemented.

The schools of magic & casting stats are as follows

• Abjuration (Intelligence) 
• Conjuration (Charisma or Wisdom) (This is a dual stat school. This represents 2 differing approaches to casting these spells, as well as making each stat able to draw from 3 schools apiece). 
• Divination (Wisdom) 
• Enchantment (Charisma) 
• Evocation (Intelligence) 
• Illusion (Charisma) 
• Necromancy (Wisdom) 
• Transmutation (Intelligence) 
• Universal (Any) 

I admit that this would basically create a different feel for any campaign that uses this. It is really a flavor mechanic, as much as a different approach to magic. I may work on posting the classes for this as I work this up.

Ramblings

Very interesting article at ENworld. apparently Pathfinder is once again the top selling RPG for another quarter.

Now, on to other thoughts. Getting exposure so that not only do I keep doing this blogging shtick, but so I can start getting feedback. I know I just started doing this. that said, I would like to keep doing it. Feedback is the bread & butter to anybody that tries doing this. The best I can do is to keep posting links & hope that someday, I start to get a few followers.

Let's talk about alternate fantasy settings. For a long time, I have been a fan of the mixed genre fantasy setting. Starting with early crossovers of taking Gamma World characters on a romp through Greyhawk, or my favorite of the early crossovers, Dragon Magazine #100: The City Beyond the Gate. Heroes travel through a portal into modern day, 1986 modern, London to retrieve the Mace of St. Cuthbert. Mages and cleric and SAS, oh my! Good times. It wasn't until later I got to read the Barrier Peaks adventure. I never got to play it, or run it. During that time, I was very interested in a new game, Space 1889. the only problem, nobody I knew wanted to play it. Before I got my feet really deep into alternate settings with Shadowrun, then Spelljammer. 1e Shadowrun was a little clunky to manage & I couldn't keep a group together to really make a good play out of it. I got out of the Navy about the time Spelljammer was out. I REALLY got my feet wet there. I loved all of it. Yes, even the walking hippos & giant space hamsters. Silly, but that was one of the things that gave the setting it's identity. It needed something, because otherwise it was just borrowing from other settings. I still love Spelljammer to this day. Maybe someday, somebody will make a reasonable substitute. Speaking of which, there was one that ALMOST did it, Dragonstar. This was Star Wars meets Spelljammer. Unfortunately, this setting seemed to run into its own set of problems. Of the D&D based settings, this has the most potential for somebody to acquire the rights & start producing it again for the Pathfinder RPG.

The main thing was to tell you a little about my experiences with alternate fantasy settings. This blog hasn't really morphed completely into a specific thing, YET. I think I may put snippets of different ideas & conversions I come up with for the setting I play with. I will try to do some reviews of various products as well. I have many Super Genius Games products that would lend themselves well to any Pathfinder setting. I may also give advice on incorporating any products into an alternate setting. I think I'll leave off for now. Be thinking if you would like to give feedback. As I go I will gain focus & get better & better.

The Nature & Use of Aether in a Fantasy Game

This is some thoughts I wrote on Spelljammer a little while back. This is meant as an explanation of the "science" of magic, as much as Spelljamming.

Jeff Grub mentioned in his blog that TSR made the decision not to use æther as an explanation for space travel in Spelljammer. He had his reasons at the time, but I see that using this would actually better explain many things in a fantasy based world. With that disclaimer, here we go.

Æther in Greek mythology is one of the Protogenoi, the first-born elemental gods. He is the personification of the upper sky, space, and heaven, and is the elemental god of the "Bright, Glowing, Upper Air." He is the pure upper air that the gods breathe, as opposed to the normal air mortals breathe. According to ancient and medieval science æther is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.

I propose this usage of æther be used to define magic. Æther is the medium of magic. As a medium used in this manner, magic is easier explained. Dead magic areas have somehow been purged of æther. Magic is the manipulation of this medium. Wizard use science, sorcerers use personal connection, clerics borrow from the gods, and psions manipulate it with the mind. Æther can be used by GMs, or ignored. Not all cultures need to be aware of the medium to use it.

How does this help Spelljammer? Helms are the device through which the medium of Æther is transformed to interact with the physical world. Using this model, we can change helms from a power source to a control device. Casters would not lose their spells. It would be a device for casters, but still allow those with Use Magic Device to attempt control. Helm use can impose fatigue and other conditions for usage, which in turn may limit spell usage. This can also enhance a spellcaster. Feats can be incorporated for magic use while using a helm, akin to natural spell for druids. One can be made for delivering touch spells to anyone touch the vessel. Not enhancing the spells, but allowing a shocking grasp to be delivered to a foe sneaking behind a friend. Or, casting a cure spell to a badly injured crewman.

Helms are the device through which the medium of æther is transformed to interact with the physical world. In what way, you ask? How is this accomplished? Let me start with how I plan to handle helms in my campaign. Helms are magic items. Some items require that the spells involved in the creation actually be on the spell list of the given class of spellcaster that plans to use the item. This is usually applied only to scrolls, wands, staves, and such. I say this is applied to helms. Why? Because I say it is required for a basic understanding of the principles involved for using the helm to interact with the vessel. This is why the helm is supposed to be used by a spellcaster. I do NOT propose to use the old 2e trope of draining spells from casters. 

This is a wondrous item, as such it is constant. I also propose 3 main types of helms, to fall in line with the naming conventions of spells and items in 3.Xe: Minor Helms, Helms, & Greater Helms. I say this also to include an expansion of the size classes, adding 3 classes beyond colossal. Also, since I plan of using a variation of Bastion Press’s Airships rules for construction, I will list tonnages for each size class. Airships uses air tons, which are defined as a 10’ x 10’ x 10’ cube, or 1000 ft3. This is a smaller ton that of SJ. Airships also caps construction at 100 tons, which is fine for their product, but not for Spelljamming. Minor Helms can move ships up to 100 tons, Helms up to 500 tons, and Greater Helms up to 1000 tons. Larger ships will need series Helms, and such, to move them. There are other prime movers, such as the dwarven forge, but these are beyond this post for now.

Since I will be working with the Pathfinder RPG rules, I plan on using the Fly skill to pilot a Helm. This cuts down on any skill point tax, as many casters will likely have some ranks in Fly to begin with.

Epic Words

I have been a member of Obsidian Portal for awhile now. The only thing is, I haven’t really used it. I have tinkered with it, but not too sure about it. Recently I came across EpicWords.com. They are like Obsidian Portal, but arranged a bit differently. The layout is simpler, but seems to be more robust. They have easy to use controls & features. The separation of a Campaign from having just a gaming group is a bonus. It comes as a boon to me, being the president of a gaming club. I plan on using this service to organize & keep track of my next campaign. Hopefully I can get all of the OGREs to get on there, too. I am still going to keep at it with Obsidian Portal. Maybe I will be able to do a side-by-side review of the two services.

Epic Words

Both have features that can be handy to any GM. I know that Obsidian Portal can be a boon to the Alternate Fantasy GMs out there. Plenty of home campaigns with some great material for you to explore.

Quantum RPG

For my first post that is not an introduction, let’s look at a promising project on Kickstarter.

My shiny new hobby: RPG Blogs

Hi there, I'm Dale Norman. Many may know me better from numerous message boards as Xorial. This is my delve into the world of RPG blogging. Here I will explore many aspects of the RPG world, with a concentration on the various Alternate Fantasy setting, hence the title. I have been in the hobby long enough to get somewhat bored with standard fantasy settings, so I decided to look more closely at those setting that break the mold. I will admit up front to a bias towards the Pathfinder RPG. That doesn't mean I won't look at other systems. Hey, there are more alternate settings that are not PFRPG than for.