Heck If I Know

So a long long time ago my buddy Tony and I were going to make a campaign together, we didn't. However, I used some of my ideas from our talks, along with a bunch of others with Shawn, to make Hekinoe.  I also raped Iron Kingdoms for ideas as well, because I am thieving word raper devoid of creativity. So, we've played Hekinoe in 4th Edition and Pathfinder, finished one campaign, aborted another, and started a third. I was looking over some older material from the campaign and kind of felt like posting a little about what started all this nonsense that became the campaign book. Originally I had no name for the campaign, just a folder of stuff called Heck If I Know. Heck If I Know. Said that before, just tickles me to reiterate it sometimes.

So looking at the Torem Primer document, which was going to be the name of the campaign world at one point I guess. However, there was another folder in my campaign folder called Torem, so I dunno what was going on there. The first thing I talk about is how alignment is stupid and I won't be using it, which is still consistent with the current Hekinoe. Next, I go on to armor, and as I said in a previous post, I intended to use armor as damage reduction from the Unearthed Arcana book. I even built tables converting every form of armor available in 3.5 at that time into damage reduction. Seriously, everything from coral armor to Mechanus gear armor. I also go on to talk about currency and languages, and those are unchanged in our current campaign. Except Orcunraytrel uses traditional DnD precious metal currency. Hit points remain unchanged from that initial document.

Classes in this primordial version of Hekinoe operated a little bit differently. I still kept the whole anti-religion theme of The Known World, no Clerics or Paladins or that sort of thing. However, I created four new classes: Armiger, Bard, Warden, and Witch Hunter. The Armiger was a class that wore a lot of armor and focused on being tough. Which in retrospect is really weird to put into a pseudo-Old West world where firearms have sort of made heavier armor semi-useless. The Bard is a Bard without the magic and more assassin type stuff. It was based on Bards being assassins in Dark Sun, something I decided had to be in Hekinoe because it was awesome. The Warden is a cop from Kusseth, kind of like a Rogue, but with more investigatory abilities and no sneak attack. The Witch Hunter is kind of like a Paladin mixed with a Ranger but no spells or spell-like abilities.

None of those classes remain in the current version of the world, obviously. The Wardens and Bards work better as affiliations while the Witch Hunter works better as a Psychic Warrior archetype. Armiger is just stupid now that I think about it, plus, several of the Pathfinder Fighter abilities kind of duplicate what I was trying to achieve with it.

Additionally, I did this thing where certain classes could only come from certain nations. For instance, folks from the Fell Peaks can start play as Binders, Fighters, Hexblades, Rogues, Shadowcasters, Sorcerers, and Warlocks. I'm not really sure why I determined that certain classes could only come from certain nations. I've done a lot of weird things in my time with DnD. Half the time I do shit because it is cool and I saw it somewhere else.

I was using the point buy ability score generation system back then, but I had changed it a bit. Everyone had 84 points to distribute between their six ability scores. It wasn't like a scaling buy system, one point equaled one point. So you had enough points for a fourteen in every ability or three eighteens and three tens, or some variation on that. We use the normal point buy system in our game nowadays, with the high fantasy setting which give you twenty points to buy stats. Buying all sixteens under this system would cost thirty points, and three eighteens and a three tens would have cost fifty-one points. Just a wee bit overpowered.

Firearms were still in the game back then, but they were more like the Iron Kingdoms firearms, older single shot firearms that required a Craft (Gunsmithing) check to reload and whatnot. I also altered the rules so pistols were kind of the average or normal firearm while rifles typically had a wider critical threat ranges and shotguns typically had larger critical multipliers. Firearms also penetrated armor based damage reduction to a degree based on their damage die. The base firearms were also modified by whatever race/company built them. Firearms built by the Abraxen fired rounds at a higher velocity, so they penetrated damage reduction to a higher degree while those built by Dwarves (?) had longer range and those built by Goblins (?) were more prone to misfires and tended to explode.

Healing was kind of a weird thing in this early version of the game. All divine spells were folded into the Sorcerer/Wizard spell lists, but since magic was so unreliable, sorcerous healing would degrade over time until you were healed by the Heal skill. I also decided that the Heal skill could restore hit points, which it could not do in 3.5 Edition. Pathfinder added the ability to treat major wounds with the Heal skill, so that eliminated some of the need for this alteration. I ended up removing the sorcerous healing degrading over time thing because I eliminated the folding in of spells, plus magic was so effed in the first place I didn't feel the need to punish the players any further.

Magic was still fucked up back then, but it kind of evolved into a horrific thing in Pathfinder, eventually including magic items just exploding when used. The current version consists of three separate tables of effects, plus one that determines what your misfire does. The extra tables consist of lingering effects, misfires, and overcharges. With misfires, the spell works but it does something additional like a lingering effect, there are critical misfires which make the spell not work and do only the misfire effect. The misfires do stuff like start the area on fire, blind everyone, turn everyone invisible, or completely suppress everyone's ability to heal, which turns every wound into a bleeding wound. The lingering effects are annoying effects that are based on the type of spell you cast. For instance, with Abjuration spells you can end up filling the area with planes of force that make it hard for everyone to move or lock every window or door in the area with a band of force. Fire spells can drain all the heat from your body or fill you with too much heat so that it incinerates the oxygen in the air as you draw into your lungs, which can end up suffocating you. Necromancy lingering effects have a chance of drawing the attention of The Bleak Tyrant himself. Overcharges are pretty simple, they apply metamagic effects to spells.

One rule that didn't carry over into the modern version of Hekinoe was a rule about weapon size and initiative. Basically, smaller and quicker weapons had a bonus to initiative checks, while bigger and heavier ones had a penalty. The bonus also increased or decreased based on the size category of the weapon in the case of weapons that were built for larger or smaller sized creatures.

I also had a few skills that didn't really end up joining the game because there was no real purpose for them. Craft (Mechanical) was in there for creating stuff like turbines and steam engines, but there is far less steampunk flavor in the current Hekinoe than there was when I was first writing stuff. Craft (Gunsmithing) is still in the game, but for some reason I gave it special rules instead of the normal Craft rules from 3.5. I also added in a Repair skill because d20 Modern did, which is dumb because Craft skills cover repairing the stuff relevant to that Craft skill. I also threw in Craft (Demolitions), but again, I gave it special rules instead of the normal Craft rules. Seriously, I don't know why I do half the things I do. 

I also had intended to include healing surges in the game when I learned about them from reading some 4th Edition material. Obviously, since we ended up using 4th Edition to play Hekinoe, they were included and when we switched to Pathfinder I kind of forgot about them. Plus, they don't really fit with Pathfinder the way they do with 4th Edition. Shocking, I know, must have something to do with the fact that 4th Edition healing and recovery was kind of completely 100% designed around them being a part of the game and Pathfinder was not. 

I was also going to include starting occupations from d20 Modern, I didn't end up doing that in 4th Edition or the Pathfinder version of the world. Both Pathfinder and 4th Edition have traits, so they kind of cover the intend of starting occupations.

One final absence was the fact that when I was writing this initial primer document I was still calling the Sereth, Vyanth, and Children of Volung Elves. The Abraxen races were still referred to as Orcs and the Dwenoren were still called Dwarves. I changed lots of that type of stuff to kind of make the campaign world more my own, there are still similarities, but I think I've made the races my own in Pathfinder. When we played 4th Edition, I ran into a problem though. It was a new system so I didn't understand it well enough to sort of guestimate at the balance of created races, so unfortunately I ended up renaming a bunch of 4th Edition races and using their stats. For instance, both Fallen and Soulless use the stats of the Warforged. Dwenoren used the stats of Dwarves, which is stupid because the Dwenoren don't really have a martial culture anymore and most of the Dwarf abilities focus on durability and combat. If anything, Children of Volung make far more sense as Dwarves. Oh well, hindsight.

So there you go, a little bit about the beginnings of the rules of Hekinoe.  

Alternate Rules: Armor As Damage Reduction

For most of my seventeen years of playing  variations of DnD, I have been a rules as written dude. I have always tended to avoid modifying the core of the game, aside from extrapolating the ability scores out to 50 back in 2nd Edition AD&D and starting bonuses at twelve (rather than  sixteen or seventeen) after I read some prerelease info in a Dragon magazine about 3rd Edition. Actually, that was when I started modifying my game. I raged against the release of a new edition, but I ganked little bits and pieces of it for my 2nd Edition games. 

Anyway, to continue. Back in 3.5, a book called Unearthed Arcana came out. There was a bunch of weird and interesting stuff in there, alternate classes and race ideas, different skill systems, flaws, traits, racial classes, sanity, reputation, taint, and so on. One of the systems introduced in the game is armor as damage reduction, rather than protection from being hit. So I read Unearthed Arcana and I really liked the concept behind armor as damage reduction. It made so much fucking sense. As I said once before, you don't put on fifty pounds of steel and heavy padding and leather to make yourself harder to hit (which isn't exactly what AC represents), you put it on so that that battle axe dulls its smile hacking through steel and leather before it gets a chance to let your rib cage see the light of day.

Anyway, so the concept boiled down to halve the AC of armor you wear (rounded down), that is your damage reduction from armor, subtract that from the armor's AC bonus, that is the new AC bonus of your armor. Do the same thing with natural armor, except divide by five (rounded down) instead of halving it. Magic enhancement bonuses increase the AC bonus, but not your damage reduction. 

Pathfinder has a book called Ultimate Combat that also introduces an optional system for armor as damage reduction. It is just a wee bit more complex than Unearthed Arcana's system. AC changes to Defense. It has the ability to transform critical hits into normal hits, so there is this thing called a critical defense check in as well. There are also variations to the type of damage reduction the armor grants based on the type of armor you are wearing, and particularly large creatures can ignore your damage reduction. Amorphous and swarm type creatures reduce your damage reduction, but don't automatically penetrate it. You also gain a bonus to your damage reduction based on your level. 

So Pathfinder's system is a little bit more fleshed out and comprehensive, but Unearthed Arcana's is a lot less annoyingly complex. I think if I were to implement a damage reduction system in Hekinoe, I'd use the simplified Unearthed Arcana version. I tend to like complexity (thus my love of GURPS), but my campaign book is already so full of subsystems (affiliations, traits, flaws, upgrades, magic misfire, and all my various alternate rules for the classes), that adding another fairly complicated system that alters a lot about combat seems somewhat abusive to my players. 

It was always my intent to use armor as damage reduction back when I first started working on Hekinoe. When we started playing it in 4th Edition, I opted out of doing so to simplify things, as we were learning a new system. Plus, the healing surge system and generally high hit points of everything in 4th Edition kind of made durability a baked in feature of 4th Edition. When we switched to Pathfinder, I left out armor as damage reduction for the same reason, we were learning a new system. 

As fond as I am of the concept of the armor as damage reduction system, I doubt my players care about it or need it as something to enhance their game, so it'll probably never appear in my games. Although, it would probably make Asosans easier to hit once in a while when Lance starts slinging kukris all over the place. With those long arms and two-weapon fighting feats, dude is like a gray-skinned Kali. 

Orcunraytrel 03: Goebleening Up

So we gamed a few hours ago. Unfortunately, Lance forgot what day the session would be and picked up a shift at work. He was going to Skype in from his phone if it was slow, but it was not and he didn't. Probably better for his continued employment that he did not, heh. We used roll20.net for the first time tonight, and we also were joined by our new player Cary for the first time. Both firsts went well I think. One of the kittens was also kind enough to turn off my computer in the middle of the session though. Such sweet little things. 


There were a few hiccups using roll20, but overall I think it is a great program. It also lets everyone draw dicks at their leisure. I think in the end I might end up just putting everything on the whiteboard, rather than use a background graphic to put the map on. It might take a wee bit longer to build maps and scenarios, but with the background and the tokens, it ends being a little cluttered. The white backing makes it much easier to see the token placement. Dunno, once we figure the next scenario I'll try and just draw the map and see what I can come up with. I'm willing to sacrifice fanciness for the sake of clarity if I need to. Plus, it would free me from having to use Campaign Cartographer. Campaign Cartographer is quite possibly the best mapping program ever, but it can be trying to use at times. 


I think Cary fit in with the group pretty well. Seems to know his DnD and did well with the obligatory dick and fart jokes that are a part of all my gaming sessions. Yay for like minded individuals!


The scenario only went on for three or so hours, the pace was quick and there was only a little mission set up that we got through quickly. The in between session emails are working quite well in freeing up the scenarios for action and adventure. I think we would have been able to start with the first adventure sequence almost immediately, but Eric and I were on vacation with our families this weekend, so that kind of limited our ability to respond quickly to emails and such. I was keeping daywalker hours this weekend, which just jacked me up hardcore, so it limited my ability to remain conscious and capable of typing on my phone. 


The scenario was composed of three fights, an ambush, an assault on a fortification that relied on subterfuge, and a kind of attempt to hold off attackers while important materiel escaped the scene. No one died, but Jason did say he was sweating once or twice, which I take as a good sign. 


A detour for a moment. The one thing I do not care for about the low levels is that it is hard to threaten a party in a real sense without killing them. Their hit points are so low that there is very little wiggle room between half hit points and dead, which makes it difficult to not just off a player in one thrust of a spear. I mean, if a player dies, a player dies, but with six hit points, no armor, and no weapons, and just his power points to undo damage, Cary is very vulnerable. 


Anyway, the first fight was an ambush, and they had over a dozen Goebleen archers supporting them, albeit with 1d4 damage arrows, rather than 1d6 damage guns or grenades. They did kill a war priest, huzzah! Unfortunately they did not get to see any of his battle magic, which at level one wouldn't have been that impressive anyway, so no big deal. 


The second fight involved them using stolen uniforms and a stolen cart to ride into a fortification and attack their enemies. That went fine. Eric did get smote by an Asosan war priest though.  They also managed to drop a portcullis and separate their enemies, which made it a little easier to take out the opposition. Then they stole a bunch of loot and burned down the fortress. Yay mayhem!


The final battle saw them being tracked by Asosans. So they set up an ambush of their own by running ahead of the cart that was laden with several hundred pounds of looted cash and armor. Some of them were picked out by their pursuers, but that just allowed Jason to hit harder by sneak attacking. 


Everything turned out well, they recovered a bunch of cash and cemented their relationship with the Goebleen. They even managed to raise their reputation with the Goebleen by adhering to the majority of their cultural rules and whatnot. 

Alternate Rules: The Nel

Or: Why Do I Do These Things To Myself? Also, this one is going to be long. 

To paraphrase a post from a while ago (February 2010 specifically), I once read this series called the Fey by  Kristine Kathryn Rusch about a warlike race of magical creatures. They had faeries and shapeshifters and sorcerers and so on. They were powerful and innately magical. Some of the concepts behind the race seemed based heavily on Celtic/Briton folklore, which I really like. At the time we were playing 2nd Edition in a phase I like to call "Power Level 9000!" or "Its Over Nine Thousaaaaaand!" in retrospect. Basically, I had no concept of balance and didn't care. Made my players happy, but left me confused as to why I could never challenge them. Ah youth. 

So, I created a bunch of super powerful magically inclined creatures that were immortal and had...well, let me look at my old info here. Trolls had a +25 to Consitution (I extrapolated the ability score charts to all scale up to 50 prior to this), while Daoine Sidhe had a +6 bonus overall to their stats. Mind you, this is 2nd Edition where normal races had a strict +1/-1 balance to ability scores. They were also immune to poison and disease, didn't need to eat or sleep or anything like that, and they all had innate resistance to magic. They could also be harmed by dispel magic and iron. The initial representation of the fey had a job system similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, which at that time I had never played. As the characters leveled, they gained elemental abilities or magical abilities based on their class. I won't go into specifics, but each class broke down into a tree of related classes with various bonus abilities and damage adjustments as they leveled in along that path. 

There were a couple variations on that theme as the editions progressed, more races were added. I eventually threw in a heavy dose of the Dresden files and broke them down into summer and winter fey ruled by Oberon and Mab. With 3rd Edition I tried making a vague skill system based on manipulating the elements/world around them via skill checks and also some bonus spells they could use X times per day. Most of this stuff was all based on their Charisma scores. Mind you, we really never ran any sort of campaign with any of this stuff. I mostly just did it for shits and giggles and because Eric liked them. 

I toyed with writing stories about the Fey, periodically working on something called The Last Blade about the creator of the Fey called Cromm Cruach (also known as Cenn Cruach, so for those of you that have adventured in The Known World before: wink), which was based on this sacrifical idol in Ireland. Interestingly, it is my thought that this idol in our real world is the Crom of Conan's Hyborian Age. Maybe some day I'll write a post about how neat I think it is that Robert E. Howard based all the nations and deities of his Hyborian Age on the myth and legend and ancient history of Earth.

As I wrote the story, it occurred to me that in the rare event that I potentially wanted to publish this mess, I probably couldn't use 90% of the names and places in it. So I hacked the fucker apart and changed a bunch of names and details, keeping the core concept of a super powerful magical race and the majority of the elemental ties, though there are still clear resemblances. However, it has gotten to the point where I can barely remember what anything used to be called, which is good I suppose. 

So, I recently purchased a pdf of the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide, which has rules on creating and balancing races, along with lots of new options (alternate traits, feats, spells, class archetypes, and equipment) for races currently in the game. It breaks down a shit ton of racial abilities and stat adjustments into a point buy system and for shits and giggles I started breaking down the Nel, which is what I renamed the Fey.  

So, to break things down quick, the Nel are broken into courts just like the Fey were. They are as follows:    

• Aubernel: Nel of summer, fire, and light ruled by Aubernach. A pile of fancy, aristocratic hedonists. Some of them have strong ties to nature.
• Feronel: Nel of battle, crude and primitive and rowdy, no elemental ties, and almost extinct. Their Gifts are much cruder, but definitely pack more punch than other Nel. Once ruled by Keoroen Skathos (formerly known as Cromm Cruach). 
• Loronel: Ex members of the Feronel that cut ties with their people and sort of became hunters and woodsmen. No elemental ties, still pretty crude and rowdy, but less primitive and less bloodthirsty than the Feronel. 
• Sarownel: Nel of storms and lightning, savage creatures that live kind of in a brutal tribal society where the strongest rules. Once ruled by Herowen, the imaginary friend of Merobel. Universally reviled by other Nel and possessing barely any Gifts. 
• Sokarnel: The restless dead of the Nel, because what is the point of immortality if someone can just lop off your head and end you? Nel that have been slain, but refuse to rest quietly in The White Halls of Oblivion. Creatures of rot and ruin and darkness, once the most loyal servants of Keroen Skathos, till he left Grenaldeen (which used to be called Avalon). Have no memory of who or what they were in life and have no elemental ties. Rule by the six Sleeping Kings and Nostathon. 
• Utenel: Nel of ice and cold, ruled by Merobel. A pile of dour and bitter warriors, though their lastborn are pretty hedonistic and aristocratic. The lastborn have a strong tendency for poetry and the arts. 

The courts used to be called the Seelie, Court of Blades, Common, Shadow, Sluagh, and Unseelie. There was also an Atlantean court that never really got written down, aside from some ideas from folklore as to who might be members of the court.. 

Additionally, the Nel are broken down into specific breeds. The appearance of each breed is dependent upon the kingdom that gave them life, as are some of their innate abilities. Nel are created by the Gifts of Keroen Skathos that he flung out into the world to be absorbed by shapeless phantoms that lingered in his homeland. The Gifts gave these phantoms the ability to animate/become one with elements of the world around them. They don't really breed, they just kind of spring into existence, its weird. The types of Nel are as follows: 

• Drake-kin: Nel with heavy lizard/dragon/snake elements. 
• Earth-kin: Nel made of dirt and clay and other kinds of earthy stuff. 
• Forest-kin: Nel made of plants and briars and trees and such.
• Lastborn: Ruling class of each kingdom, the most humanoid of the Nel, though they are more like tall elves with cat eyes than humans.
• Mountain-kin: Nel made of stone and metal ores. 
• Primordials: Nel that are basically uplifted animals. 

There also used to be shapeshifter and psionic varieties of the Nel, but I pulled them out because I didn't feel they fit with this re-imagining of the race.

So that is a quick and dirty primer to the Nel. If you let me, I could do a fucking An Evening With Kevin Smith length monologue on this stuff. You're getting off light here. 

Back to the Advanced Race Guide. On a whim one day when I needed a break from putting together the third scenario of our Pathfinder campaign I popped open some of my old material and started putting together some ideas for the Utenel Mountain-kin. Think of them as nine foot tall giants hammered out of rock  and sheathed in chunks of glacial ice. Building them, they stat out to 45 race points. The core Utenel attributes (darkvision, lack of need for sleep, food, and water, spell resistance, cold damage resistance, bonuses to saves vs. poison and disease, immunity to sleep, bonus to saves vs. enchantments) stat out to 15 points alone, so the ability scores and general toughness of the Mountain-Kin cost about 30.  

At this point, I feel I should mention that the story I wrote alters the nature of the Nel, severely weakening and limiting them in a variety of ways from their mighty past. So, that 15 + 30 = 45 race points is a weak Nel, fyi. 

The most powerful core race, the Dwarf, stats out at 11 race points. The weakest, the Half-Orc, stats out at 8 race points. Of the more uncommon races in the book, the Fetchling (think of a Tiefling [13] or Aasimar [15], but from the Plane of Shadow) stats out at 17 race points. Drow Nobles, by far the mightiest of the races in the Advanced Race Guide, stat out at 41 race points and are suggested to start play at one level lower than the rest of the party. Most of their points come from their innate per day/at-will spell abilities and their high ability score bonuses.

So that kind of gives you an idea where this Utenel Mountain-Kin stands in terms of power. Unfortunately this does not account for the Gifts of Keroen Skathos. The Gifts have always been hard to represent with DnD mechanics because it basically amounts to "do whatever the fuck you want," which is hard to represent in game rules. In this iteration I've given it more structure, basically making each Nel a Sorcerer with capabilities based on their Charisma score. Here goes:

• Charisma of 10 = Level 1 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 11-12 = Level 3 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 13-14 = Level 5 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 15-16 = Level 7 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 17-18 = Level 9 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 19-20 = Level 11 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 21-22 = Level 13 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 25-26 = Level 15 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 27-28 = Level 17 Sorcerer
• Charisma of 29-30 = Level 20 Sorcerer
• Gifts are based on the character's actual Charisma and are not increased by temporary increases to Charisma or external increases to Charisma such as magic items that boost stats when worn.
• Nel do not gain bonus spells per day for their sorcerer abilities based on their Charisma.
• Bloodline must be Boreal, Boreal (Rime-Blooded), or Elemental (Water/Cold).
• No Bloodline bonus feats, save increases, hit points, skill points, or attack bonus increases
• Are considered to have Eschew Materials, but do not actually have the feat except in the context of their innate Sorcerer spellcasting abilities.
• May only cast Sorcerer spells with components that can be covered by Eschew Materials (i.e. ones with components that cost 1 gp or less).
• May never take levels of Sorcerer.
• The Gifts make Nel spontaneous casters and do qualify them for feats, prestige classes, etc that have a spontaneous arcane spellcaster requirement for them.
• A Nel with more powerful Gifts than another Nel (i.e. higher Charisma and Sorcerer level) ignores the innate spell resistance of Nel when using their Gifts against them.

I have determined that The Gifts of Keroen Skathos cost 9000 race points.

Edit After The Fact: Wow, looking at this almost a year later, so much of this nonsense is irrelevant. I think I've finally figured out how to do the Nel with Pathfinder's rules and it works much better than the stuff I wrote in this post. It is still wildly unbalanced and powerful, but I think it is an easier system to work with and still uses an effective Sorcerer level, but it is based on the Nel's character level and not their Charisma score. Maybe I'll post it all on the blog once it is completed. I like it a lot better than any other way I've tried to represent the Nel/Fey using DnD rules. 

Alternate Rules: Sereth Rifleman

Alright, so I'm going to start simple with the Sereth Rifleman Gunslinger Archetype. I won't fill the post with background info about the archetype, just class info. This archetype is based off of the Musket Master archetype for the Gunslinger class found in Ultimate Combat. I considered using the Cavalier archetype Musketeer as the basis, as they gain a gifted firearm, which would fit better with the lore of the Sereth Long Rifle, but yeah. Actually, I think I'll start by listing the info for a the Sereth long rifle first.

The Sereth Long Rifle does 1d12 damage, crits on a 19-20 (most firearms crit only on a natural 20) and does x4 damage (the norm for most firearms when not using the scatter ability). It has a three round capacity, misfires on 1s, and has a 150 ft. range increment. It also has the advanced special quality along with the masterwork, sights, and scope upgrades. Basically it is a well made rifle with a long ass barrel that can only easily be wielded by races with long ass, multi-jointed arms like the Sereth. It requires the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Sereth Long Rifle) to wield without a penalty to attack rolls. 

Alright, like I said, this is basically the Musket Master archetype.

Weapon Proficiency: A Sereth Rifleman only gains proficiency with two-handed firearms, this includes the Sereth Long Rifle. He must take the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearm) feat to gain proficiency with one-handed firearms and firearm siege engines. 

Deeds: The Sereth Rifleman swaps a pair of deeds for the following.

Sniper Shot: At 1st level, when the Sereth Rifleman hits a target with a Sereth long rifle, he can spend 1 grit point to deal 1d8 points of extra damage on a hit. If he misses with the attack, he grazes the target, dealing half the extra damage anyway. He must choose to spend the grit point before he makes the attack roll. This is precision damage and is not multiplied if the attack is a critical hit. This precision damage increases to 2d8 at 5th level, to 3d8 at 10th level, to 4d8 at 15th level, and to 5d8 at 20th level. This precision damage stacks with sneak attack and other forms of precision damage. This deed replaces the Gunslinger's Dodge deed. 

Fast Rifleman: At 3rd level, as long as the Sereth Rifleman has 1 grit point, he can reload any two-handed firearm as if it were a one-handed firearm. This deed replaces the utility shot deed. 

Rapid Reloader: At 1st level, a Sereth Rifleman gains Rapid Reload (Rifles) as a bonus feat. 

Long Rifle Training: Starting at 1st level, a Sereth Rifleman increases his skill with Sereth long rifles. He gains a bonus on damage rolls equal to his Dexterity modifier, and when he misfires with a Sereth long rifle, the misfire value increases by 2 instead of 4. Every four level thereafter (5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th), the bonus on damage rolls increases by +1. At 13th level, a Sereth Rifleman never misfires with a Sereth long rifle. This replaces firearm training 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

Alright, nothing exactly game breaking there. I kept the majority of the Musket Master archetype in play, modified some stuff to match up with the Guns Everywhere rule we use. On that topic, it seems like a gross oversight that Paizo didn't include alterations that needed to be made to the various archetypes in the event the Guns Everywhere rule is used. Most of the Gunslinger archetypes have various effects tied to firearm training, the Gunsmithing feat, and battered firearms. The Guns Everywhere rule changes those a bit. 

Anyway, I kept Fast Rifleman from the Musket Master, but instead of using the Steady Aim ability, which would just further increase the massive range of the Sereth long rifle by a whopping ten feet, I used a variant of the Up Close and Deadly deed from the Pistolero archetype. I upped the damage on it to 1d8 from 1d6 to kind of go along with the increased punch of rifles over pistols, but I suppose keeping the d6s as the precision damage wouldn't hurt. You don't get bigger sneak attack die for using an axe instead of a dagger, so maybe when it enters the campaign book I'll make it d6s. 

Granted, most of the punch from this class comes from the weapon they wield. I mean, the sights make its long range much more attractive. I mean, you can shoot targets 1050 feet away with only a -5 to your attack roll (-6 for six range increments beyond the first, +1 for masterwork), so you can essentially reach out and touch anyone on any battlefield. The scope on the weapon isn't a big deal to me, it just increases the threat range by one, but if I remember correctly, you can't combine the keen weapon ability with improved critical feat, so I would think that carries over to the scope upgrade, as it is based on the keen weapon ability. The three round capacity isn't a big deal either, with metal casings and Quick Reload, most firearms can be reloaded as a free action. Gob does, which is why I only randomly mention he is reloading in combat. The Sereth long rifle would reload as a move action, but the Fast Rifleman deed takes care of that.

I dunno, I think I'm pleased with it. It gives the archetype a little flavor beyond that of the normal Gunslinger, but doesn't completely alter the way the class plays and functions. 

How neat is that?

Xein: Ultimate

Xein is a Fell Human Descendant standing almost six and a half feet tall. His large eyes are ice blue and bulge from his face. His hair is light brown and somewhat spiky. Though aging and in his early forties, Xein is physically fit from his life as an adventurer. Due to the frequent use of his mutagen, his body sometimes has flaps of hanging skin and stretch marks.

Xein Mac'fumos was born to a poor woman in Kusseth who did what she could to make ends meet. She thieved and whored herself for only a few marks a day, just to make sure she had a roof over her head and food in her stomach. In her early twenties she was with a Fell Human "client" who became violent, beating her relentlessly. She quit prostitution and started thieving heavily, targeting Fell Human males, most of which suffered some sort of disfigurement or another during her attacks. It was two months after the abuse when it became apparent that she was with child. With a mouth to feed on the way, she decided to break into a local mechanic shop owned by an Abraxen to steal what money she could to support the birth of her child and hopefully support them for a few years on one night’s earnings. This was not to happen. She was caught by an alarm and captured inside the building, all the doors locked from the inside, trapping her in.

She was taken by the wardens and as per certain regulations and the fact that the Abraxen knew the local senior warden, and was able to buy her as a slave. He told her that she was very talented at thieving and didn’t trip any of the alarms on the way in, he asked her how she did it and she elaborated that the designs could have been better, showing him while explaining. She asked about possibility of freedom due to being pregnant. He refused, saying it was punishment for trying to steal from him, but he did agree that the child would be born free and explained that they would have a better life under his roof anyway, also stating that he would educate the child in his shop if the he showed the same aptitude that his mother did for technology and its workings.

He was raised by his mother and the Abraxen, both teaching what they knew. Once old enough to work for an engineering firm he was constantly teased about his mother being a former whore and the fact that he was living with the Abraxen. Anytime anyone said anything about his mother’s former occupation, his anger would flare from his heritage and he would get into a physical fight, most of which he lost. But in the work gangs he was also noticed to be one of the smartest by his employers and not really delegated heavy lifting or laborious activities, but generally consulted on designs. (Secretly this was because he was living with an Abraxen and they figured the young one would have some insight to their Abraxen technology This further alienated him against the others in his gang.

In a few short years of this, he was eventually hired as an engineer consultant and field-tester for equipment. He did this for a good four years when (as one of their top testers) they gave him a particularly expensive steam powered backpack designed to assist in repairs and other various tasks. He had advised them on some simple design modifications for structural integrity. One of the senior engineers called him out on it and told him that he was strictly testing this one, not an adviser like previous projects. Dejected, Xein decided to just do his job and finish field-testing it. While working on a steam-wagon, the pack started to cough and sputter, finally just giving out. He looked at it and assessed the damage, seeing that he couldn’t repair the pack, he took it back to the firm and they were outraged. It was beyond anyone's ability to repair. The senior engineer was furious, and started to insult Mac, when the engineer called his mother a whore, Mac threw a devastating punch and knocked the man out cold. When he came to he called for the local warden and told him a lie about Mac stealing the pack. He was beaten and then thrown in jail for assault and thievery.

Xein escaped with a small bad of individuals from prison eight years after he was put there. Some went different ways, and a few became close friends. John Jo'nson was his best friend in The Robust Five (More Or Less) and during their travels, they would play tricks on each other at night to keep themselves entertained on boring nights. Prison made him a different man from the one he was before going in, he was killing without thought and in general causing mayhem where he never would have before. He even burned some people alive underground, something he would never like for his family back in Kusseth to know about.

They traveled to Hell to pull off a heist that got D'alton thrown in the prison mine in the first place. They pulled off the heist perfectly, but an old friend of Mr. Braun's turned them over to the bank's owner and backer, the Rebellion. It was led by Nakmander, and they were forced to work for him because they refused to turn over the money. The Robust Five (More Or Less) essentially became the strong arm for the Rebellion after quickly and efficiently defeating a dragon in the catacombs underneath Hell.

Xein, yet again feeling trapped/imprisoned, lost a bit of touch with reality, burning his hand in front of Nakmander and swearing allegiance to the Rebellion and it's cause, but seeming to forget that he did so even though his hand was covered in burn scars. He and his friend John went to an alchemist's shop at night to do some recon for Nakmander and destroy it, forgetting what happened after they set the “fuse” for the “bomb” (a backlash of magic). Just prior to this, though, they almost lost their lives to a single Fallen warrior in the basement of the establishment and Xien successfully used an unknown device and attracted the attention of some higher being.

In the next few months, his head cleared and he started to think closer to what he was like before Beltan. The work with his bar, The Tesla's Boil, was what helped him focus on calming down and recognized his blood lust. Just after defeating Nakmander and stopping the entire city of Kusseth from being wiped off the map, he started to meditate at least an hour a day, working to calm himself. For the misdeeds he had done, he helped the community in many different ways, from starting a fire department in his district to providing healthcare to all.

He was at odds with D'alton over the failure of the heist and some betrayal. His first act as a better person was to reconcile with his old friend, who was going through hard times from the death of his brother, Kethranmeer, who died in the battle with Nakmander. It seemed Kethranmeer was the glue that held their small band together, because Derf and John soon left the group.

Xein Mac'Fumos Level 20

Male Fell Descendant

Alchemist 20

Init: +6; Senses: None; Perception +26

Languages: Blacktongue, Citytongue, Guttertongue, Serevish, Vyanvish, Wretchtongue

AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18; (+8 armor, +2 Dex)

CMD 28

HP 144 (20 HD)

Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +9

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)

Melee +22 2d8+7 20/x3

Ranged +18 10d6+6 19-20/x2

Base Attack +15/+10/+5, CMB +17

Abilities Str 12, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 22, Wis 12, Cha 9

SQ Alchemy, Bombs (26/day, 10d6), Cold Resistance 10, Discovery (Elixir of Life, Explosive Bomb, Fast Bombs, Grand Mutagen, Greater Mutagen, Infusion, Preserve Organs x2, Spontaneous Healing), Fire Resistance 10, Grand Discovery (True Mutagen), Instant Alchemy, Mutagen, Persistent Mutagen, Poison Immunity, Poison Use, Swift Alchemy, Swift Poisoning

Favored Class Alchemist (+20 skill points)

Traits Inert Bloodline

Flaws Jargon Conversationalist

Feats Brew Potion, Bulging Eyes, Controlled Sorcery, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Savage Blade), Improved Critical (Savage Blade), Improved Initiative, Leadership, Iron Will, Medium Armor Proficiency, Skill Focus: Craft (Alchemy), Skill Focus: Profession (Inkeeper), Throw Anything, Weapon Focus (Bombs), Weapon Focus (Savage Blade)

Skills Craft (Alchemy) +37, Craft (Electrical) +31 Diplomacy +19, Disable Device +22, Heal +26, Knowledge (Arcana) +29, Knowledge (Nature) +17, Perception +26, Profession (Innkeeper) +35, Sleight of Hand +15, Spellcraft +24, Survival +14 Use Magic Device +22

Formula Book

1^st Level (7 slots): ant haul, bomber’s eye, comprehend languages, crafter’s fortune, cure light wounds, detect secret doors, detect undead, disguise self, endure elements, enlarge person, expeditious retreat, identify, jump, keen senses, negate aroma, reduce person, shield, stone fist, touch of the sea, true strike

2^nd Level (7 slots): aid, barkskin, bear’s endurance, blur, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds, detect thoughts, eagle’s splendor, elemental touch, fire breath, fox’s cunning, invisibility, owl’s wisdom, protection from arrows, resist energy, see invisibility

3^rd Level (6 slots): amplify elixir, cure serious wounds, displacement, draconic reservoir, elemental aura, gaseous form, haste, heroism, nondetection, protection from energy, remove blindness/deafness, remove disease, tongues, water breathing

4^th Level (6 slots): cure critical wounds, detonate, discern lies, dragon’s breath, elemental body I, fire shield, freedom of movement, invisibility (greater), neutralize poison, stoneskin, universal formula

5^th Level (6 slots): delayed consumption, dream, elemental body II, elude time, nightmare, polymorph, resurgent transformation, spell resistance

6th Level (4 slots): elemental body III, eyebite, giant form I, heal, transformation

Possessions Alchemist's Lab, Armored Duster (bulletproof +5, ceramic plating, custom fit, fur lined, masterwork, springsteel), Buckler (+3, 60% wolf-iron), Healer's Kit x3, Masterwork Artisan Tools, Masterwork Thieves' Tools, Savage Blade (+5/+5, blackstone teeth, counter-rotation, masterwork, more teeth, motorized, serrated teeth, wolf-iron teeth) 

This is Xein from the campaign book. He is the legit, real Xein, not a clone. What he is up to at the moment is really up to Eric, but likely it involves securing his businesses in the City-State of Meroteth. The formulas within his formula book are not complete. The listed formulas are just what he would get from leveling up. So there is Xein. 

Archetypes

So one of the things I really like about Pathfinder is Paizo's theme of stepping away from prestige classes and focusing on archetypes. If you look at 3.5 Edition, you find a dozen or two classes, and about a thousand prestige classes, probably more. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the specialization of prestige classes, I think they're neat. But I like archetypes a lot more. What an archetype does is take a class, remove a few features from it, and add others in to give it a theme. Basically it is a low power, level one prestige class. As you advance in your class, you don't get the class' normal features, you get the archetype features. So for instance, if you have a 1st level Fighter and want him to use the Unbreakable archetype (an archetype focusing on indomitable will and unstoppability) you lose proficiency with tower shields and your bonus first level combat feat, instead, you gain Endurance and Die Hard as bonus feats. At 2nd level, you lose Bravery and gain Unflinching, which gives you a +1 Will save bonus against mind affecting effects that increases to +5 over the course of twenty levels. just like Bravery would normally do. I feel that archetypes are superior to prestige classes because they allow you to tweak your class in a sometimes big way, but don't force you to step out of that class and lose advancement with things like sneak attack or spells per day or your animal companion's power level. Granted, they are not as powerful as stuff like the Assassin or Shadowdancer. I think this gives you more flexibility as a player as well and keeps the number of prestige classes down so the ones that are in the game remain... prestigious I guess.

One thing I've wanted to do with the campaign book is add in The Known World prestige classes, and I still may do that. I was going to add in ones for Witch Hunters, Blackcoats, Brasscoats, Serethnem Riflemen, and some sort of Monk/Psion one for The Old Empire.

Now Brasscoats and the Monk/Psion idea definitely need to be prestige classes due to the advanced abilities I'd want to give them. But Blackcoats, Kusseth's trench warfare and stealth specialists make much more sense as Rogue or Ranger archetypes. They keep the core concept of the class, but add specialty with explosives and dragonspitters and pitch black combat to it. Witch Hunters make a lot more sense as an archetype of Psychic Warrior focusing on combatting magic. Sereth Riflemen make more sense as Sereth Gunslingers focusing on utilizing the Sereth long rifle. I need to look at the campaign book, I'm not sure if I have the appropriate stats for that firearm in there at the moment.

I guess the archetype idea is easier to implement than prestige classes as well. I mean, all I really need to do is look at the archetypes already in the various books and make some tweaks to them to fit them in with the concepts behind Witch Hunters and Blackcoats and whatnot. Shouldn't be too hard to do. I am always leery of creating completely new stuff built out of nothing in the game, I have only a vague understanding of balance and assume there is at least some level of playtesting that occurs with every feat, class, and archetype in the Pathfinder books. Or at the very least some guidelines on what some of that stuff does. I'd love to see a feat/class/archetype book similar in style to the Advanced Race Guide that breaks everything down into a point system with guidelines on power levels and creation of feats and classes and such. 

I dunno, if I do end up making any of the above in the near future here, I'll post it here on the blog, probably. 

Derf: Ultimate

Born a witch hunter, son of Wulf Ranmel. Sorcerous powers manifested during a duel and scarred him with acid and killed his training partner, transported him to the Necropolis before he could be killed as an abomination. Went crazy, killed some people, ended up in Beltan. Worked with The Robust Five erratically, killed a bunch of people, fought against them in the final battle with Nakmander and went his own way.

Derf Relith Ranmel Level 20

Male Elduman

Psychic Warrior 1/Magus (Bladebound) 19

Init: +8; Senses: Darkvision 15'; Perception +0

Languages: Thoeleknair, Citytongue, Guttertongue

AC 27, touch 13, flat-footed 24; (+13 armor, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)

CMD 29

HP 159 (20 HD)

Fort +15, Ref +8, Will +13

Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)

Melee +19 1d8+10 19-20/x3

Melee +19/+14/+9 1d8+10/1d8+10/1d8+10 19-20/x3

Ranged

Base Attack +14, CMB +17

Abilities Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 21, Wis 14, Cha 8

SQ Arcane Pool (11), Black Blade, Cantrips, Cold Resistance 10, Counter Strike, Fighter Training, Improved Spell Combat, Improved Spell Recall, Greater Spell Access, Greater Spell Combat, Greater Knowledge Pool, Magus Arcana (Arcane Accuracy, Hasted Assault, Quickened Magic, Reflection, Spell Shield), Path (Mind Knight), Power Points (4), Resistance, Resillience, Repletion, Spell Combat, Spell Recall, Spellstrike

Favored Class Magus (+19 hit points)

Traits: Exile

Flaws Sadist, Too Intense For Talking

Feats Combat Casting, Dodge, Greater Weapon Focus (Saber), Improved Critical (Saber), Improved Initiative, Inhuman Vision, Leadership, Quicken Spell, Rubbery Hide, Silent Spell, Still Spell, Uncanny Concentration, Unnatural Vitality, Weapon Focus (Saber), Weapon Specialization (Saber), Warped Flesh (Bulging Eyes)

Skills Autohypnosis +20, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (Arcana) +23, Knowledge (Psionics) +18, Perception +27, Sense Motive +7, Spellcraft +28, Use Magic Device +22

Powers: 1^st Level: Call Weaponry, Inertial Armor

Spells: 0-Level (5 slots): acid splash, arcane mark, bleed dancing lights, daze, detect magic, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound,light, mage hand, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, spark

            1^st Level (7 slots): bungle, burning hands, chill touch, corrosive touch, expeditious retreat, magic missile, mirror strike, ray of enfeeblement, shield, shocking grasp, true strike, unprepared combatant

           2^nd Level (6 slots): acid arrow, blur, bull's strength, hideous laughter, invisibility, scorching ray, shatter, touch of idiocy

               3^rd Level (6 slots): burst of speed, displacement, fireball, force punch, haste, lightning bolt 2 Wiz

            4^th Level (6 slots): ball lightning, black tentacles, contagion, confusion, detonate, dimension door, hold person, phantasmal killer, slow, stoneskin

          5^th Level (6 slots): acidic spray, baleful polymorph, cloudkill, cone of cold, dominate person, feeblemind, flesh to stone, symbol of striking, teleport

           6^th Level (4 slots): acid fog, chain lightning, circle of death, disintegrate, shadow walk, sirocco, transformation, true seeing, walk through space

Possessions Eloise (+5/5, Int 19, Wis 15, Cha 15, Ego 24, Alertness, arcane pool [5], black blade strike, energy attunement, life drinker, spell defense, telepathy, teleport blade, transfer arcana, unbreakable), Full Plate (bulletproof +5, custom fit, fur lined, masterwork, 100% wolf-iron)

This is Derf from the campaign book. The background info is exceedingly light because Fred never really gave me much solid info on him, other than the paragraph or so listed above. This version of Derf takes into account his background in psionics with the Psychic Warrior level and utilizes the more appropriate Magus rules instead of the Battle Sorcerer Fred used for so long. It also uses the Bladebound Magus archetype which is a perfect representation of Derf's relationship with his sword. I have also determined that Derf uses a saber, not a scimitar. The spells in Derf's spellbook are likely not his complete collection, those are just the ones he would add to it based on his level and Intelligence. This is the true version of Def, not a Nakmander clone. He leads a small force of other sociopaths in The New Empire pillaging and causing general destruction in an attempt to destroy his father, Wulf Ranmel, the leader of the Witch Hunters. 

Next up on the list is Xein: Ultimate. 

Lamentations of a Shitty Writer

Its like 3:00 AM and I'm laying on my couch with my kitten crawling all over my back (thank goodness for the Blogger app) and it occurs to me that I haven't written anything at all in over a year. I dunno, I periodically say things like "I write stories." or "Writing is one of my hobbies." and stuff but I haven't written anything new, or even made edits to something previously created in well over a year and all of a sudden here at 3:00 AM, this fact distresses me enough that I need to post on it. Well, I suppose that is not entirely accurate. I did sit down several months ago and watch Apocalypse Now and took copious notes in an attempt to kind of gear up for writing the Hekinoe story about D'alton in Fresgulen that was going to kind of mimic Apocalypse Now. A haggard and burned out D'alton was going to go deep into Fresgulen to hunt down an AWOL Derf gone mad(der) with power and sorcery. I spent a half hour jotting down notes and quotes from the movie but that Dogdamn film is too damn good, sucked me in and I just lay there on my couch and experienced it. Reminds me that I need to watch Hearts of Darkness.

Hold a moment while I bring up Netflix and take care of that.

On a side note, when I reformatted my laptop I did not understand properly how PageFour saves and stores your writing, so my notes on Apocalypse Now, and my story about The Rebellion Arc are both lost to the ether. Though I can probably recover The Rebellion Arc from the blog here, I believe I posted the first chapter and prologue at some point. .

To continue: I really like writing.

Hold another moment while I procure whiskey and check my auctions on Diablo III and switch to the ole desktop, which I am now rocking a dual monitor set up on. Kitten got bored with kneading my back.

There is just something about watching my words scrawl across the screen at 80+ words a minute, letters popping out faster than the cursor can blink and my brain just flowing through my fingertips across a keyboard. That sensation of just completely zoning out to external stimuli and just being in it with the character experiencing their environment and reacting to it as they would. Just typing and not consciously thinking about anything or analyzing spelling or grammar and just creating a scene or dialogue or whatever. Fuck, I dunno, it is a great feeling I guess.

Don't get me wrong, it took me about fifteen seconds to figure out that I wouldn't ever professionally write anything and be paid for it, nor do I really have any desire to. I have a friend who has in fact been paid to write things, and I would not desire to ever experience his frustration over something I have enjoyed so much, nor would I want to feel the stress associated with meeting deadlines and word counts and that sort of thing in a set timeline. I just want to write and go, teehee, that was fun. Whatever shall I write next?

I like creating things, crafting them, and building them from the ground up. The majority of my current hobbies, and the hobbies in the past, have revolved around creating something. I used to draw a long long time ago, mostly goofy fantasy stuff with skulls and dragons and whatnot. I used to paint miniatures obsessively for a relatively short time. I've always played DnD as the GM, which is about as creative as it gets, building whole worlds for the guys to run around in (and more often than not burn to the ground, hehe). Reading isn't really creative, but I read so much fantasy and sci-fi, that is kind of exploratory in nature. Visualizing someone's story and the world they've built with their words and whatnot. I wouldn't call it creative, but I would call it closely linked to this nonsense that I am talking about. Minecraft is a wee bit creative too, as you've seen. 

Part of the problem is that my creativity cycle kind of alternates between DnD and actual creative writing. When I am not playing DnD or something similar, I tend to write a lot. When I am playing DnD and enjoying it, I tend to write very little. The amount of creative writing I do is inversely proportional to how much I am enjoying my current gaming. The clear correlation there is that I like to write things and when I am writing something a lot, I don't write other stuff so much. Right now, I am really enjoying my gaming. I feel I have a really good group where everyone kind of wants to do similar things and gets along with everyone else, so I am very satisfied with my gaming at the moment.

Just the same, there is a part of me that is frequently, "Man, I should really write something that is not campaign information about Hekinoe." but I just can't find it in me to sit down and write something when all I do is sit down and write stuff. I don't even know what I would write about at this point either. I'd have to stay in Hekinoe. The problem with my writing is that it naturally flows into DnD, so when I write a lot about the Nel/Fey from my single completed story, I create rules for them. That's why there are like six or seven versions of their rules spanning three different editions of the game. Plus some GURPS stuff I kicked around with them. If I start writing about a new world or characters, my thoughts will inevitably turn to "How would this look in DnD?" and I'd start to get that itch I get when I feel like creating a new world.

On a side note, the fact that I have remained tied to Hekinoe for multiple years, and finished a campaign set in it, is nothing short of miraculous for me. We've been playing for seventeen years and The Rebellion Arc is the first campaign we've completed, while the aborted Psychogenic Fugue Arc is one of dozens we've stopped mid stream. So, I guess I'd have to try and write something set in Hekinoe, but I don't know where to put it or who to make it about. I dunno, I'll figure something out.