Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix



First, the modified class:



Assume all items not specifically mentioned are exactly as written in the
Arcanist listing in Iron Heroes (IH). References to Elements of Magic (EoM)
refer to the revised edition.



Skill Groups: add the skill group Magica. Magica consists of Dispel Magic
(Cha), Divination (Wis), Scry (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). All four skills
are detailed in Elements of Magic.



Class Features by Level:



1: Spellcasting, Magic Points, Lesser Aspect of Power

3: Bonus Feat

4: Aspect of Power

5: Fast Casting (Spell Mastery)

7: Bonus Feat

8: Aspect of Power

9: Arcane Pact

10: Fast Casting (Spell Expertise)

12: Greater Aspect of Power

13: Bonus Feat

16: Greater Aspect of Power

17: Bonus Feat

20: Ultimate Aspect of Power



Descriptions of Class Features:



Spellcasting: This is per Elements of Magic, chapter 2, with the following
exceptions:

1) There are no signature spells.

2) Casting a spell (which takes 2 full rounds, per EoM) requires a
Spellcraft roll against a DC of 15+Mana Points (MP) spent. If the roll is
successful and beats the DC by 5, the appropriate Mana Points are subtracted
from the Mana Pool, and the spell is successful. If the roll is successful
by less than 5 points, the Arcanist also takes Strain, in the form of 1
point of non-lethal damage per MP spent. If the roll fails by 5 points or
less, MPs are spent, the Arcanist takes Strain, and the spell backfires out
of control. If the roll is fails by more than 6, the Strain is converted
from non-lethal to lethal damage. If the roll is unsuccessful by more than
10, the Arcanist takes 1 point of Constitution damage per 4 points of
Strain. All consequences of failure are cumulative (e.g. failing a 20 MP
spell by more than 10 points causes the Arcanist 20 points of lethal damage
and 5 points of Constitution damage, and the spell backfires out of control.

3) There is no daily limit on Cantrips.

4) Spell Mastery, in addition to the effects listed, reduces the cost of
affected spells by 1 MP. The effects of multiple Spell Expertises and Spell
Masteries stack (e.g. when casting Evoke Fire and you have Spell Mastery
Evoke [Element] and Spell Mastery Fire, you get all the benefits of Spell
Expertise and Spell Mastery twice)

5) An Arcanist may attempt Overcasting. Overcasting is the casting of a
spell with a cost beyond the casting threshold of 1 MP/Caster Level. Each
point by which the Arcanist exceeds this limit costs 1 MP *and* 1 point of
Overcast Strain, which is treated as normal Strain but is not eliminated by
a high Spellcraft roll. The Overcast Strain cost is in addition to any
normal Strain cost for spending the additional MP on Overcasting.
Furthermore, the Spellcraft DC is increased by 2 for every MP spent beyond
the casting threshold. The amount of MP by which the Arcanist may Overcast
is equal to half his CL.

6) An Arcanist may attempt an Emergency Casting, by substituting hit points
for MP. The Spellcraft DC is increased by 1 for every HP spent as a MP, in
addition to the normal cost of the spell.

7) Spell Lists Known is as described in Elements of Magic, Table 2.1. When
choosing Spell Lists, including at 1st level, choose one at a time. As you
choose new Spell Lists, each must have either an Action Type or an Effect
Category in common with a Spell List the Arcanist already knows.

8) The Arcanist may attempt Fast Casting spells, taking a full round action
rather than two full rounds, by adding 5 to the Spellcraft DC before
casting.



Magic Points: This is as described in Elements of Magic, Table 2.1



Lesser Aspect of Power: This will be a minor power that usually requires a
Concentration check of 15 to activate, and has minor consequences for
failure. This should be somewhat equivalent to an EoM Minor Magical Boon.



Bonus Feat: This is as described under the Arcanist entry in IH.



Aspect of Power: This will be a moderate power that usually requires a
Concentration check of 20 to activate, and has minor consequences for
failure. This should be somewhat equivalent to an EoM Moderate Magical
Boon.



Fast Casting (Spell Mastery): When Fast Casting spells in which you have
Spell Mastery, the spell takes a standard action, rather than a full round
action, to cast.



Arcane Pact: This is as described under the Arcanist entry in IH.



Fast Casting (Spell Expertise): When Fast Casting spells in which you have
Expertise, the spell takes a standard action, rather than a full round
action, to cast.



Greater Aspect of Power: This will be a major power that usually requires a
Concentration check of 25 to activate, and has minor consequences for
failure. This should be somewhat equivalent to an EoM Major Magical Boon.



Ultimate Aspect of Power: When Overcasting, the Spellcraft DC is now
increased by only 1 for every MP spent beyond the casting threshold, just as
with a normal spell. There is no limit to the amount of MP by which the
Arcanist may Overcast.



Other rules:



The skill bonuses from Shadow Born do not stack with those from Skill
Affinity.



Other issues:



I feel there need to be a number of traits to compete with Shadow Born. I
was thinking of interesting ideas like Flame Born, Dragon Born, Demon Born,
each of which would give something different. As it stands, Shadow Born is
a no-brainer.



The Spell Lists available need to be excised and/or altered. Some are too
powerful and/or not right for Iron Heroes.



Healing, if allowed, should be altered so that it does not compete with
Healing Lore.



That is all for now, but I am sure I missed something. Please offer your
critique. I am posting this in the Malhavoc forums, the ENWorld forums, the
Iron League forums, and on rec.games.frp.dnd. I would appreciate your
permission to re-post any good ideas/suggestions to the other forums, to
increase cross-pollination of ideas.



Shoot away!


--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Kaos <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:35:13 -0700, "Malachias Invictus"
><capt_malachias@hotmail.com> dared speak in front of ME:
>
>>Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix
>>
>>First, the modified class:
>>
>>Assume all items not specifically mentioned are exactly as written in the
>>Arcanist listing in Iron Heroes (IH). References to Elements of Magic (EoM)
>>refer to the revised edition.
>>
>>Skill Groups: add the skill group Magica. Magica consists of Dispel Magic
>>(Cha), Divination (Wis), Scry (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). All four skills
>>are detailed in Elements of Magic.
>
> I'm not entirely sure they should be skill-group skills. Spellcraft
> already exists in the Mysticism group, but the others are essentially
> spells that the EoM designer decided were best modelled as skills.

Bear in mind that EoM doesn't *have* skill groups. If the skills form a
reasonably cohesive group, it makes sense to have them as a group. Those
characters without levels in a seriously spellcasting class won't have
access to those groups, so this does give a benefit to those who choose
to pursue spellcasting rather than the more martial approaches.


Keith
--
Keith Davies "Trying to sway him from his current kook-
keith.davies@kjdavies.org rant with facts is like trying to create
keith.davies@gmail.com a vacuum in a room by pushing the air
http://www.kjdavies.org/ out with your hands." -- Matt Frisch

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

"Kaos" <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote in message
news:8sjvf1d5tt2alp1f73ih0q7a5r8718d64v@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:35:13 -0700, "Malachias Invictus"
> <capt_malachias@hotmail.com> dared speak in front of ME:
>
>>Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix
>>
>>First, the modified class:
>>
>>Assume all items not specifically mentioned are exactly as written in the
>>Arcanist listing in Iron Heroes (IH). References to Elements of Magic
>>(EoM)
>>refer to the revised edition.
>>
>>Skill Groups: add the skill group Magica. Magica consists of Dispel Magic
>>(Cha), Divination (Wis), Scry (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). All four
>>skills
>>are detailed in Elements of Magic.
>
> I'm not entirely sure they should be skill-group skills.

I really think they need to be, or else they will throw off the skill point
balance of the Arcanist.

> Spellcraft already exists in the Mysticism group,

I included it for a complete "what you need for spellcasting" group. Note
that other groups have similar overlaps.

> but the others are essentially spells that the EoM designer decided were
> best modelled as skills.

Sure. That is part of my reason for grouping them.

> <snip>
>>1) There are no signature spells.
>
> Presumably no prepared spells either?

Correct.

>>The skill bonuses from Shadow Born do not stack with those from Skill
>>Affinity.
>
> And presumably from Skill Focus.

By default, these stack. I do not see a problem with it. As far as I can
tell, Skill Focus and Skill Affinity stack.

>>The Spell Lists available need to be excised and/or altered. Some are too
>>powerful and/or not right for Iron Heroes.
>
> Indeed. Move (Space), for example, should be either excised entirely,
> or have the costs altered to cap teleportation distance to tactical
> ranges.
>
> Hrm. A flat rate of 1sp per five feet of teleport would limit it to
> about 200'

I am going to nix that one for sure.

>>Healing, if allowed, should be altered so that it does not compete with
>>Healing Lore.
>
> The common quickfix right now is that all magical healing draws from
> reserve points.

That sounds reasonable. I want to figure something out for folks at
negatives that is a bit more harsh, though. Perhaps 1 point of healing per
MP, with a 1D6 drain from Reserve Points for point healed. This would go
along with the suggested rule of removing the "per level" healing multiplier
when a character is healing from negatives. What about healing things like
damaged limbs? I suppose the latter is not a tremendous concern...

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:12:57 GMT, Keith Davies
<keith.davies@kjdavies.org> dared speak in front of ME:

>Kaos <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:35:13 -0700, "Malachias Invictus"
>><capt_malachias@hotmail.com> dared speak in front of ME:
>>
>>>Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix
>>>
>>>First, the modified class:
>>>
>>>Assume all items not specifically mentioned are exactly as written in the
>>>Arcanist listing in Iron Heroes (IH). References to Elements of Magic (EoM)
>>>refer to the revised edition.
>>>
>>>Skill Groups: add the skill group Magica. Magica consists of Dispel Magic
>>>(Cha), Divination (Wis), Scry (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). All four skills
>>>are detailed in Elements of Magic.
>>
>> I'm not entirely sure they should be skill-group skills. Spellcraft
>> already exists in the Mysticism group, but the others are essentially
>> spells that the EoM designer decided were best modelled as skills.
>
>Bear in mind that EoM doesn't *have* skill groups. If the skills form a
>reasonably cohesive group, it makes sense to have them as a group.

In truth, I don't see that much cohesion between them save for two
being spells that had skill (or pseudo-skill) based components in 3.0

(Scry was droppedi n 3.5, but Dispel always had the caster-level
differential for determining success.)

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"Kaos" <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote in message
newssk0g1hqshn5bnentaurbcffo8i94hvpo1@4ax.com...
> First, a few other note, that I missed the first time through:
>
> As written, Fast Casting (Spell Mastery) and Fast Casting (Spell
> Expertise) do the same thing. I presume you wanted some differential
> between the two?

No. One gives the bonus to Spell Lists you have Spell Mastery in, and the
other to spells you have Spell Expertise in.

> Also: EoM Magic Feats: yes, no, DM call? Presumably ban the Item
> Creation feats, Armored Casting and Extra Signature Spells have no
> purpose, but the rest may not be too bad. (A few I'll have to look at
> in greater detail, though.)

I think yes is fine. Armored Casting is fine as well. After all, you would
have to multiclass to get the benefits.

> This one seems a bit obvious, but I have to ask anyway: when choosing
> spell lists at first level, I presume the very first spell list chosen
> is not under the limitation? (Otherwise, there's no way to get that
> first list chosen; the solution is obvious, but you know how people
> are with needing the obvious spelled out.)

Quite.

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

"Malachias Invictus" <capt_malachias@hotmail.com> wrote in message
newsM6dna28KeomOJ3eRVn-uw@comcast.com...
>
> "Kaos" <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote in message
> news:s1e0g1pvfns8na5ad598ucfornqd78uucq@4ax.com...
> > On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:12:57 GMT, Keith Davies
> > <keith.davies@kjdavies.org> dared speak in front of ME:
> >
> >>Kaos <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote:
> >>> On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:35:13 -0700, "Malachias Invictus"
> >>><capt_malachias@hotmail.com> dared speak in front of ME:
> >>>
> >>>>Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix
> >>>>
> >>>>First, the modified class:
> >>>>
> >>>>Assume all items not specifically mentioned are exactly as written in
> >>>>the
> >>>>Arcanist listing in Iron Heroes (IH). References to Elements of Magic
> >>>>(EoM)
> >>>>refer to the revised edition.
> >>>>
> >>>>Skill Groups: add the skill group Magica. Magica consists of Dispel
> >>>>Magic
> >>>>(Cha), Divination (Wis), Scry (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). All four
> >>>>skills
> >>>>are detailed in Elements of Magic.
> >>>
> >>> I'm not entirely sure they should be skill-group skills. Spellcraft
> >>> already exists in the Mysticism group, but the others are essentially
> >>> spells that the EoM designer decided were best modelled as skills.
> >>
> >>Bear in mind that EoM doesn't *have* skill groups. If the skills form a
> >>reasonably cohesive group, it makes sense to have them as a group.
> >
> > In truth, I don't see that much cohesion between them save for two
> > being spells that had skill (or pseudo-skill) based components in 3.0
>
> The cohesion is that they are all "spellcasting skills".
>
The problem with making them a group is that every Arcanist will have
them at maximum ranks, and not every Arcanist should be a master
Diviner and Dispeller.

Geoff.

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 07:23:57 -0700, "Malachias Invictus"
<capt_malachias@hotmail.com> dared speak in front of ME:

>
>"Kaos" <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote in message
>newssk0g1hqshn5bnentaurbcffo8i94hvpo1@4ax.com...
>> First, a few other note, that I missed the first time through:
>>
>> As written, Fast Casting (Spell Mastery) and Fast Casting (Spell
>> Expertise) do the same thing. I presume you wanted some differential
>> between the two?
>
>No. One gives the bonus to Spell Lists you have Spell Mastery in, and the
>other to spells you have Spell Expertise in.

Yeah, see the response I made to myself. For some reason I got the
order-of-attainment backwards (thinking Spell Expertise was greater
knowledge than Spell Mastery.)
I blame the stag party I was at earlier that night... (one of the
quirks of my history, the friends I still have from when I lived as a
guy want me at their stags.)

>> Also: EoM Magic Feats: yes, no, DM call? Presumably ban the Item
>> Creation feats, Armored Casting and Extra Signature Spells have no
>> purpose, but the rest may not be too bad. (A few I'll have to look at
>> in greater detail, though.)
>
>I think yes is fine. Armored Casting is fine as well. After all, you would
>have to multiclass to get the benefits.

While EoM assumes spellcasting failure from armour, it makes a general
reference to 'd20 fantasy' for the chances - likely for legal reasons,
but it still implies that the rules for spellcasting failure come from
the base system you're using. And IH doesn't have any spellcasting
failure rules for armour.

>> This one seems a bit obvious, but I have to ask anyway: when choosing
>> spell lists at first level, I presume the very first spell list chosen
>> is not under the limitation? (Otherwise, there's no way to get that
>> first list chosen; the solution is obvious, but you know how people
>> are with needing the obvious spelled out.)
>
>Quite.

The other possibility, though far less likely, was the Grim Tales "you
take what the GM gives you" variant. Might be worth mentioning it
anyway, as an option for those looking for more control over
availability.

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"Geoff Watson" <geoffwatson@pacific.net.au> wrote in message
news:yX9Me.27239$Le2.214533@nasal.pacific.net.au...
>
> "Malachias Invictus" <capt_malachias@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> newsM6dna28KeomOJ3eRVn-uw@comcast.com...
>>
>> "Kaos" <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote in message
>> news:s1e0g1pvfns8na5ad598ucfornqd78uucq@4ax.com...
>> > On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 04:12:57 GMT, Keith Davies
>> > <keith.davies@kjdavies.org> dared speak in front of ME:
>> >
>> >>Kaos <kaos@invalid.xplornet.com> wrote:
>> >>> On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 00:35:13 -0700, "Malachias Invictus"
>> >>><capt_malachias@hotmail.com> dared speak in front of ME:
>> >>>
>> >>>>Iron Heroes/Elements of Magic Arcanist fix
>> >>>>
>> >>>>First, the modified class:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>Assume all items not specifically mentioned are exactly as written in
>> >>>>the
>> >>>>Arcanist listing in Iron Heroes (IH). References to Elements of
>> >>>>Magic
>> >>>>(EoM)
>> >>>>refer to the revised edition.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>Skill Groups: add the skill group Magica. Magica consists of Dispel
>> >>>>Magic
>> >>>>(Cha), Divination (Wis), Scry (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). All four
>> >>>>skills
>> >>>>are detailed in Elements of Magic.
>> >>>
>> >>> I'm not entirely sure they should be skill-group skills. Spellcraft
>> >>> already exists in the Mysticism group, but the others are essentially
>> >>> spells that the EoM designer decided were best modelled as skills.
>> >>
>> >>Bear in mind that EoM doesn't *have* skill groups. If the skills form
>> >>a
>> >>reasonably cohesive group, it makes sense to have them as a group.
>> >
>> > In truth, I don't see that much cohesion between them save for two
>> > being spells that had skill (or pseudo-skill) based components in 3.0
>>
>> The cohesion is that they are all "spellcasting skills".
>>
> The problem with making them a group is that every Arcanist will have
> them at maximum ranks, and not every Arcanist should be a master
> Diviner and Dispeller.

Putting max ranks in them by no means makes you a master of any sort. Max
ranks, a good attribute, and Skill Focus/Skill Affinity would go a ways
towards it, and there are specific Master "Foo" feats that approximate being
a master of these things. Max ranks by themselves merely makes you
competent, and I have no problem with that.

--
^v^v^Malachias Invictus^v^v^

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am the Master of my fate:
I am the Captain of my soul.

from _Invictus_, by William Ernest Henley