I’ve decided to present my readers with a challenge. Details below.
The Challenge
Lately I’ve noticed that my gaming table seems to be overwhelmed with snacks. The snacks are piled high which makes it difficult to draw out the maps of the various encounters. I need a workable solution that allows snacks to be at arms reach and yet out of the way. I will build the best suggestion and post a picture when it is complete.
Here is a walk-through of my gaming space
Here’s a sum up of the core classes that retain spell casting and those that don’t.
As a gamer and fantasy/sci-fi enthusiast, no television show’s cancellation caused as much heartbreak as Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Thankfully Mr. Whedon had enough hollywood clout to finish his short run series with a movie, Serenity. This isn’t often the case of TV shows that get cancelled. Sometimes fans are able to rally support around a show to get it to continue. Shows like the original Star Trek and the more resent Jericho we’re able to stay on the air at least one more season due to fan support. Not all shows are that fortunate. One such show was Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Mr. Sorkin is best known for his political show The West Wing, but I feel his best creation was Studio 60. This isn’t any different than any table top roleplaying game.
When I think about all the games I have run that have been cut short due to a variety of factors, I get a little sad. The game I have had to most recently cancel was my Call of Cthulhu game. I had been running the game, off and on, for over a year. Recently a player moved, creating a gap in the story, which caused the game to grind to a holt. Story based games often require a fixed cast of characters and any change in line up, just as with a television show, threatens to ruin the integrity of the game. Rather than attempt to carry on with the game, I cancelled it and removed it from the line up.
I like to think that the game is more like Firefly than Studio 60. I have been toying with the idea on how to wrap up the game with a long, one day game. This will require a visit from the missing player, but I’m hopeful. As with a show like Firefly, I won’t be able to tie up all the loose ends, but hopefully I’ll be able to end the story in such as way that when I look back on the game, I’ll feel a satisfied sense of closure, with that vague feeling of longing for a game that ended before its time.
Along the same line of thinking as healing spells, the Sorcerer, Bard, Wizard have many duplicate spells. If I want to make each class distinct and unique I need to get rid of duplicate spells. The bard was mentioned briefly in my other post, and I’m not ready to discuss them yet, so I will instead concentrate on the sorcerer and wizard.
It’s hard to imagine having both classes without having duplicate spells. Here’s my thinking. I’m combining the wizard and sorcerer into one class, the wizard. The wizard will select a certain number of spells from their spell book each day, and then be able to cast those spells as a spontaneous caster. Example:
A 1st level wizard can memorize 2 spells per a day and cast 1 spell per a day. The wizard has 4 spells in their spellbook and decides to memorize mage armor and magic missile. During the course of the day, the wizard can cast either mage armor or magic missile once, but not both. Wizards can also spend 10 minutes replacing an existing memorized spell with another one from their spellbook. This does not allow them to cast additional spells per a day, but does allow them to adjust to new situations with a little prep time.
So where does that leave the Sorcerer?
Well the sorcerer will now gain abilities similar to the Warlock from Complete Arcane. There will be several types of Sorcerer can player can choose, based off their class templates (more on that later). A sorcerer can have access to Draconic, Fey, Demonic, Angelic, etc power. They tap into the magic energies associate with each type of creature.
How is this different than the Pathfinder Sorcerer?
My sorcerer functions like a Warlock. They do not memorize spells, they gain a certain number of powers which they can use unlimitedly throughout the day. They will also gain a “blast” associate with their particular type of power. Each type of power will be different in its effect. A draconic sorcerer’s blast will mimic a dragon’s breath weapon. A demonic sorcerer will deal unholy damage. A fey sorcerer will deal confusion and bewilder targets.
Sorcerers will continue to use Charisma as a primary stat.
By separating these two classes, each one will now be unique. They will play differently, feel differently, and appeal to two different types of players. The wizard will continue to be the parties primary utility caster and the only class with access to magic missile, fire ball, and other iconic spells that they have traditionally be associated with.
I find the overlap of spells in D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder frustrating as both a DM and a player. I certainly understand the rationale for have spells listed in multiple spell lists. It makes sense to have more than one class have access to healing spells. In the 3.5 Player’s Handbook there are five classes (out of 11) with access to healing spells; the bard, the druid, the cleric, the ranger and the paladin. The Druid and Cleric are both primary healers with the bard, ranger and paladin as back up healers. Now I don’t mind there being multiple classes with access to healing, but what I don’t want is five classes with the exact same spell. In fact, I only want one class to have access to any particular spell.
Let’s go a little further in my thinking about healing spells. Assuming I keep the Druid as a class, I want them to have different types of spells than the cleric. The Druid should have healing spells based off of the “natural” healing of a creature, while the cleric should have spells that are drawn from the divine.
Here’s an example based on existing spells.
Cleric: Cure light wounds (positive energy)
Druid: Lesser Vigor (natural energy over time)
The Cleric’s spell can also damage undead since it’s positive energy, while the Druid’s cannot. The Druid taps into the “natural” healing of the target and speeds it up, while the Cleric taps into the energy of the gods. Both accomplish the same thing in different ways.
The paladin and the bard present different design issues. If I continue with the same line of thinking, I either need to develop new spells or change the ability of the classes. I lean toward the second option. I don’t like paladins, rangers and bards having spells, so I’ll give them special abilities that accomplish the same thing without duplicating another class. Since I’m still working on the Bard and ranger, I’ll concentrate on the Paladin.
Paladin’s get “Auras.” Auras function similarly to the Crusader’s stances in Tome of Battle. Here’s a example.
Healing Aura
Each time you successfully strike an opponent in combat, one ally within 30′ heals 4 hp.
10th Level: Increase healing to 8
15th Level: Increase healing to 12
Paladin’s will get multiple Auras over time and can switch between them as a swift action. These auras always have a radius and always heal, protect, inspire, etc, another character, but never themselves, since the nature of a Paladin is to lead others.
So now we have the Paladin not duplicating the cleric or druid, but still serving its roll as a back up healer for the party. Obviously they aren’t going to replace them as the primary party healer, but they are going to provide secondary healing support. Another Aura might help with other types of healing. For example:
Aura of Mending
Each time you successfully strike an opponent in combat, one ally within 30′ heals 1 point of ability score damage to one ability score.
10th Level: Increase healing to 2 points
15th Level: Increase healing to 4 points
The conversion of Paladin spells to Auras is a relatively simple process. It is only a matter of identifying those essential spells and re-creating them as Auras. By the time a Paladin reaches 20th level they will have 5 auras they can switch off and on to provide secondary support to other characters.
