====== Notes ====== ==== Arcane Colleges ==== **Abjuration**---The art of shielding and negating, turning aside spells, forces, and unwanted intrusions.\\ //"Nothing touches me but by my leave."// **Conjuration**---The calling of creatures and the creation of objects from nothing or elsewhere.\\ //"From emptiness, abundance; from elsewhere, allies."// **Dissolution**---The unmaking of form and order, eroding matter, magic, and structure into nothingness.\\ //"All things fall apart, and I hasten their end."// **Divination**---The uncovering of hidden truths, from distant sights to secret knowledge.\\ //"No veil can hide the truth from my sight."// **Force**---The shaping of raw arcane pressure into walls, weapons, or kinetic power.\\ //"Will given weight is the hand that shapes the world."// **Gates**---The mastery of thresholds, opening paths across distance, time, and worlds. //"Every barrier is but a door awaiting my key."// **Transformation**---The alteration of bodies and substances, reshaping them into new forms.\\ //"What is, can be otherwise---I make it so."// **Wards**---The anchoring of standing spells, barriers, and bindings to guard and contain.\\ //"I bind, I bar, I endure."// ==== Occult Studies ==== **Bloodcraft**--Manipulation of life’s essence through ritual, sacrifice, and the cipher of blood; healing, binding, and lethal exchange.\\ //"In each drop, a world entire."// **Charms**---Subtle enchantments that nudge emotion and will, from friendly persuasions to compulsions that stop just short of mind-control.\\ //"I move the soul with but a whisper."// **Covenants**---Calling, bargaining with, binding, and dismissing spirits, familiars, and other unseen agents.\\ //"Every bargain is a chain, for master and servant alike."// **Glamerie**---The crafting of illusions and glamours that reshape perception, memory, and sensory truth.\\ //"What the eye believes, the heart accepts."// **Jinxes**---Hexes and manipulations of luck and circumstance that sour fortunes and invite mishap.\\ //"A stumble at the wrong moment is death enough."// **Knowledge**---The pursuit and application of hidden lore, forbidden facts, and occult insight that change how the world is read.\\ //"The world is a book that bleeds when read."// **Necromancy**---Communion with and command of the dead: shades, memories, revenants, and the politics of undeath.\\ //"The living forget; the dead remember."// **Umbra**---Mastery of shadow and light as forces of concealment and revelation—veiling, revealing, blinding, and stepping through gloom.\\ //"In shadow, truth hides; in light, truth blinds."// ==== Primal Paths ==== **Air**---Mastery over wind, currents, and the breath of the world; shaping the invisible flows that sweep the land.\\ //"The wind whispers and I answer."// **Animal**---Communion with, command of, and understanding of beasts and their instincts; empathy and kinship with all creatures.\\ //"In fur, feather, and claw, I see the world."// **Earth**---Control over stone, soil, and mineral life; shaping the land and drawing strength from its stability.\\ //"What is rooted may endure forever."// **Fire**---Harnessing flame and heat, from the spark of life to the consuming blaze; creation and destruction in equal measure.\\ //"From spark to inferno, power burns through me."// **Plant**---The growth, movement, and subtle intelligence of vegetation; life, shelter, and slow persistence of nature.\\ //"In every leaf, a story takes root."// **Spirits**---Interaction with the unseen life forces of the world; guidance, blessing, and the power of ancestral or natural spirits.\\ //"The unseen walks beside me."// **Storms**---The fury and rhythm of weather, lightning, and tempests; commanding chaos and sudden change.\\ //"Thunder speaks, and I heed its voice."// **Water**---Mastery over rivers, seas, and the currents of life; fluidity, reflection, and the shaping of the world through motion.\\ //"I flow where the world allows, carving paths unseen."// ---- Rebalancing backgrounds in my Legacy RPG. Every background gets the following for free: * 10 points of stamina; * 2d4 recovery dice; * 2 training ranks in defences (Fortitude, Reflex, Will); * 100 silver coins; * 20 "customization points" (which must all be spent at design time). Customization points may be spent as follows: * 1 point for +2.5 stamina (rounded to convenient values); * 2 points to increase die size of all recovery dice; * 3 points to add an additional recovery die; * 2 points for +1 training rank in defences; * 1 point for a training rank in skills, but -1 point if two or more skills are assigned, rather than chosen; * 3 points for an assigned trait; * 4 points for a trait chosen from a list; * 1 point for +25 silver coins. Images are 720x960\\ Longbow max range is 120m. Tactician – A battlefield strategist who analyzes foes and strikes with calculated precision. Gets the Investigator trick and the Thaumaturge trick. Starting Attributes: |Ancestry | 50 | |Background | 20 | |Base Class | 8 | |Free Points | 30 | Looks like the amount of stamina a character gains should be about 1-3 points per level. When a character spends an hour to recover Stamina (which is one short rest or one of three hours of "personal time" on a long rest), they select, roll and consume one Recovery die. They recover Stamine equal to the amount rolled, plus their Strength modifier or Wisdom modifier (whichever is higher). When a character completes a Long Rest or a day of Down Time, they replenish two Recovery Dice of their choice. When a character completes a day of Complete Rest, they replenish all their Stamina and Recovery Dice. * Every character has the option to "Steel their Resolve." This has an encounter cool-down, takes six seconds (their entire turn!) and lets them recover Stamina as though they'd taken an hour of rest. * Certain traits allow a character to do this more frequently. * Healing magics allow the character to do this outside of their turn, usually using the caster's Spellcasting Skill in place of their attribute. Temporary Stamina is a thing as well, referred to as Rush. Rush is just a sump of damage above Stamina. It's strictly temporary, cannot be healed or recharged, and if you gain a second source of Rush, you have to pick which one to keep. It also often serves as a "clock" on some abilities; I'm thinking that the Skinturner Prestige Class will grant a Wisdom-based Rush when you change into an animal, but if your Rush is depleted, you transform back involuntarily. Similarly, for the Berserker, I am leaning towards the idea that when a Rage ends, you become Fatigued *unless you still have some Rush*. I am strongly leaning towards an "addiction" mechanic for alchemical brews as a balancing feature. "Tolerance" would become another good feature. Resting only. And really severe requirements at that. Recover from Injury requires three hours, which is all you get from a long rest. A day of Down Time gives you only two free hours, so you cannot Recover from Injury during Down Time. Only Bed Rest (a specific Down-Time Activity) helps, but even then, you recover only one point the first day (along with all your Stamina and Recovery Dice) and two points per day thereafter. "Gritty Realism" rule: Long Rests don't help with Injury. Only Bed Rest - and you need days of Bed Rest equal to your total current Injury to recover *one point*. "Gritty Realism" rules are those that make the game behave more like reality. Recovery from injury is slower, many conditions are harder to shake off, and many things have more lasting impact. "Light Fantasy" rules make things less dangerous. Instead of dying on failing a survival check, you simply have to wait until the party takes Down Time. Many environmental rules get nerfed, because in Light Fantasy, characters can often hold their breath for minutes, run across burning lava just by saying "ouch, ouch, ouch", and walk off falls from low Earth orbit. "Chunky Salsa" rules make things more dangerous! Doesn't affect combat damage, but includes rules for things like falling from ridiculous heights, being trapped in hazardous conditions, and the like. Poisons go straight to Injury, bypassing Stamina. Would include several "You're just dead" rules. "Epic Fantasy" rules allow for faster recovery, and non-combat related tests are often just easier or better. Characters who go into battle wearing just a loincloth can be as effective as those in full plate, if they are awesome enough. "Epic Fantasy" and "Gritty Realism" would be mutually exclusive, as would "Chunky Salsa" and "Light Fantasy". It's almost like an Alignment system for RPG settings! ===== Design Notes ===== Base speed 5m, a turn is 10s long, but a character gets to make 6s worth of choices across that time. Step (1m, 1s, Guarded, No Counterattack) → For careful, tactical positioning. Walk (Speed m, 2s, Unguarded, Counterattack) → Standard movement, risks a Counterattack. Run (2 × Speed m, 2s, Unguarded, Counterattack with Favour) → Fastest movement but makes you easy to punish. ===== XP Handouts ===== ^ Level ^ Minion ^ Regular ^ Elite ^ Solo ^ | -2 | 12 | 60 | 120 | 300 | | -1 | 16 | 80 | 160 | 400 | | 0 | 20 | 100 | 200 | 500 | | 1 | 24 | 120 | 240 | 600 | | 2 | 32 | 160 | 320 | 800 | | 3 | 40 | 200 | 400 | 1,000 | | 4 | 48 | 240 | 480 | 1,200 | | 5 | 64 | 320 | 640 | 1,600 | | 6 | 80 | 400 | 800 | 2,000 | | 7 | 96 | 480 | 960 | 2,400 | | 8 | 128 | 640 | 1,280 | 3,200 | | 9 | 160 | 800 | 1,600 | 4,000 | | 10 | 192 | 960 | 1,920 | 4,800 | | 11 | 256 | 1,280 | 2,560 | 6,400 | | 12 | 320 | 1,600 | 3,200 | 8,000 | | 13 | 384 | 1,920 | 3,840 | 9,600 | | 14 | 512 | 2,560 | 5,120 | 12,800 | | 15 | 640 | 3,200 | 6,400 | 16,000 | | 16 | 768 | 3,840 | 7,680 | 19,200 | | 17 | 1,024 | 5,120 | 10,240 | 25,600 | | 18 | 1,280 | 6,400 | 12,800 | 32,000 | | 19 | 1,536 | 7,680 | 15,360 | 38,400 | | 20 | 2,048 | 10,240 | 20,480 | 51,200 | | 21 | 2,560 | 12,800 | 25,600 | 64,000 | | 22 | 3,072 | 15,360 | 30,720 | 76,800 | | 23 | 4,096 | 20,480 | 40,960 | 102,400 | | 24 | 5,120 | 25,600 | 51,200 | 128,000 | | 25 | 6,144 | 30,720 | 61,440 | 153,600 | | 26 | 8,192 | 40,960 | 81,920 | 204,800 | | 27 | 10,240 | 51,200 | 102,400 | 256,000 | | 28 | 12,288 | 61,440 | 122,880 | 307,200 | | 29 | 16,384 | 81,920 | 163,840 | 409,600 | | 30 | 20,480 | 102,400 | 204,800 | 512,000 | | 31 | 24,576 | 122,880 | 245,760 | 614,400 | | 32 | 32,768 | 163,840 | 327,680 | 819,200 | | 33 | 40,960 | 204,800 | 409,600 | 1,024,000 | | 34 | 49,152 | 245,760 | 491,520 | 1,228,800 | | 35 | 65,536 | 327,680 | 655,360 | 1,638,400 |