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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 14, 2013 9:59:51 GMT -6
Thanks kindly. Sent the compiled Word document your way last night, along with a little intro. text to make it more like an article. Weirdly, I'm probably most pleased with the inclusion of the Gull entry. Given how common coastal seabirds are, it seems they'd be an obvious choice for many magicians and witches living near the sea, or from seafaring cultures. Besides, Herring Gulls and their kin and mean-looking things.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 17:35:56 GMT -6
And I think that's all finished now. 10 extra small critters/familiars statted up, giving folks a nice selection of 15 possibilities (2 of which are exotics normally only found as familiars among those of 7th level and greater).
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 17:25:30 GMT -6
PEGOMASTAX No. Appearing: 1 (1d6) Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 50 Dexterity: 12 Armour Class: 6 Hit Dice: ½ No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite) Damage: 1/1/1d3 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 5 Experience Points: 7 Treasure Class: —
A bipedal reptilian of ancient origins, the cat-sized pegomastax has a long neck and tail, hooked beak beweaponed with large upper and lower tusks, a pair of grasping forelimbs, and a pair of strong claw-tipped legs. Long, soft bristles cover the rear of its mottled brown head and back, and it feeds on tough leaves and other vegetation, using its impressive tusks and claws for defense.
The pegomastax inhabits arid regions such as the Diamond Desert, and like archaeopteryges, a few have been trained as familiars by magicians of 7th level or higher, and these also evidence a degree of empathy with their masters.
Special: * If both claw attacks hit one opponent, it uses its rear claws to rend, each causing an additional 1d2 hp damage.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 16:53:52 GMT -6
GULL No. Appearing: 4d8 (1d20x100) Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 0 (fly 80, swim 5) Dexterity: 12 Armour Class: 9 Hit Dice: ¼ No. of Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 5 Experience Points: 7 Treasure Class: —
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 16:20:57 GMT -6
HARE No. Appearing: 1d12 Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 60 Dexterity: 15 Armour Class: 7 Hit Dice: ½ No. of Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 4 Experience Points: 7 Treasure Class: — Special: * Only surprized on 1-in-6 chance due to keen senses and natural wariness.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 16:11:18 GMT -6
FOX No. Appearing: 1d2 Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 50 Dexterity: 15 Armour Class: 7 Hit Dice: ½ No. of Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 1d3 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 5 Experience Points: 5 Treasure Class: —
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 16:00:02 GMT -6
WEASEL No. Appearing: 1d2 Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 40 Dexterity: 16 Armour Class: 6 Hit Dice: ¼ No. of Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 5 Experience Points: 7 Treasure Class: — Special: * Can mesmerize small prey such as mice and rabbits by performing a continuous weaving dance on a 4-in-6 chance.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 13, 2013 15:37:26 GMT -6
TOAD No. Appearing: 1d2 Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 0 (hop 10) Dexterity: 10 Armour Class: 9 Hit Dice: ¼ No. of Attacks: — Damage: — Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 4 Experience Points: 9 Treasure Class: — Special: * If lying in wait, camouflage provides a 3-in-6 surprize chance. * If the toad is bitten or licked, a death (poison) save must be made or the victim suffers 1d4 hp damage. Normal toad toxin does not cause continuing damage. A toad produces enough toxin to coat a dagger when provoked, and enterprising magicians are known to use their toad familiars to envenom their blades or fill a vial with a single dose up to once per day. The toxin wears off the blade after a single successful strike.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 12, 2013 17:38:57 GMT -6
Feeling abysmal, so a quickie:
SQUIRREL No. Appearing: 1d6 Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 40 Dexterity: 16 Armour Class: 6 Hit Dice: ¼ No. of Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 4 Experience Points: 7 Treasure Class: — Special: * Able to climb and move in trees and on other rough climbing surfaces at normal MV.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 12, 2013 9:40:14 GMT -6
Good luck, Ian!
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 18:41:32 GMT -6
True, though I'd still stat it the same (1/2 HD, like the domestic cat, due to size, light weight, and fragile hollow-boned skeleton); the jump to a full HD would seem too much. Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 18:37:14 GMT -6
On my to-do list: Toad, Weasel, Fox, Lizard, Squirrel, Pegomastax
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 18:28:56 GMT -6
RAVEN No. Appearing: 4d8 Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 0 (fly 80) Dexterity: 12 Armour Class: 9 Hit Dice: ¼ No. of Attacks: 1 (bite) Damage: 1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 4 Experience Points: 9 Treasure Class: — Special: * A successful critical hit (AS&SH, Vol. III, p. 221) indicates that the raven has struck an eye and plucked it out.
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Note, tied the 1e-style 10% eye plucking into the critical hit system instead.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 17:41:05 GMT -6
But with the variety of owl species, which are we talking about? A snow owl is a pretty big raptor, whereas a mature saw-whet owl can fit in the palm of your hand. It has to be some type of boreal species, I would think. I envisioned it as the good old Barn Owl (relatively small and the most widespread owl there is). The larger species aren't what I think would necessarily fit the familiar model, just like I wouldn't permit a Golden Eagle as a familiar (and I've done falconry with one of those magnificent critters, among others). Familiar, yes: Familiar, yes: Familiar, no: Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 17:26:04 GMT -6
OWL No. Appearing: 1 (1d2) Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 0 (fly 80) Dexterity: 15 Armour Class: 7 Hit Dice: ½ No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite) Damage: 1/1/1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 4 Experience Points: 11 Treasure Class: — Special: * Dive bomb attack (claws only) from 50+ feet at +2 “to hit” and +2 damage. * Owls are silent fliers, able to surprize on a 5-in-6 chance.
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Note, I downgraded to 1e Owl to a 1/2 HD critter, and reduced its damage too. Essentially, it's now a slower-flying falcon, but with added stealth. I also removed the note that they can't be surprized, because if that would apply to owls on account of their hearing and night vision, it would apply to many other animals that don't have it too.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 17:06:15 GMT -6
Here's the domestic cat:
CAT No. Appearing: 1 (2d6) Alignment: Neutral Size: S Movement: 50 Dexterity: 15 Armour Class: 7 Hit Dice: ½ No. of Attacks: 2 (claw/claw) Damage: 1/1 Saving Throw: 17 Morale: 5 Experience Points: 7 Treasure Class: — Special: * Cats are superior stalkers, able to surprize on a 4-in-6 chance.
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Note, I removed the 1e-style rear claw rake from the cat; it was already bad enough that the domestic cat could make mincemeat of a commoner. I've only retained a pair of 1-damage claw attacks because ASSH seems to have kept such 1e nods in the likes of the archaeopteryx and falcon. I'd personally have given it a single attack doing 1 damage only, representing a flurry of claws and a bite. I gave the cat the same sort of stalking ability as the smilodon to represent its stealth. I'm not going to include descriptive text because frankly, you all know what such mundane animals are.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 16:59:31 GMT -6
Starting to put together a document of small animals suitable for familiar use. Will post as I go along.
Firstly, those already statted in the rules:
Archaeopteryx – at 7th level or greater, Vol IV: Bestiary, p. 9 Bat, Normal – Vol IV: Bestiary, p. 12 Falcon (Hawk) – Vol IV: Bestiary, p. 39 Rat, Normal – Vol IV: Bestiary, p. 80 Snake, Viper – Vol IV: Bestiary, p. 90
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 11, 2013 12:48:37 GMT -6
It's a good thing you came along! Two more gamers set on the right path. ;D Hear hear! One of my mates asked me back along why I really didn't like 4e or feel it was my kind of game. I pointed out it was waayyy too minis focused for my taste (to the point where they were no longer an optional means of visualization, but the focus of gameplay), gameplay was far too slow to be exciting (to me, pacing and swift resolution have always been the cornerstones of exciting play), and the power level had been amped up beyond anything I liked (and even looking at the art, where everything was glowing/sparkling and full of boob windows, simply reinforced that is was not my bag). Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 7, 2013 17:52:19 GMT -6
I've always loved multi-class fighter/thieves, fighter/magic-users and magic-user/thieves and have had a few players play them over the years. While I've never encountered anyone playing a cleric/ranger, I have encountered a ranger/druid.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Feb 7, 2013 16:32:11 GMT -6
Bizarrely, that's one reason I've never been a big fan of Fighter-Cleric combinations, because in my mind the Cleric already represented the martial arm of a faith (the templars, so to speak), and non-martial types (as represented by ASSH's Priest) the main part of the clergy. It's also something of an odd fish rpg-wise because you could also argue that the Paladin (and in some cases, its anti-paladin opposite) were also types of Fighter-Clerics already, and that's another reason I never really liked Paladins much. It all seemed too overlapping and too cluttered conceptually, so I usually went the route of:
Most clergy: non-fighting clerics ala Priest class Templars of the faith or martial clerics: Cleric class
Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 30, 2013 15:09:08 GMT -6
I wouldn't be overly worried, personally. If you didn't think anything was particularly out-of-whack class-wise in ASSH already, that should give you a pretty good idea of how solid a grasp Jeff has of such things. I see it all as amazing and inspirational, but that doesn't necessarily follow that such elements as great speed and accuracy would be represented in a particular way system-wise. Hell, you'd have master archers firing off 20 arrows in a 10-second combat round if you went the route of emulating it, and that'd clearly be mad in a game known for its abstract approach in combat generally. Not to mention boring as all hell for any but the archer who's rolling 20 individual attack and damage rolls (and has probably used all their arrows in a single round assuming you let them carry two full quivers, and so becomes largely useless thereafter).
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 30, 2013 14:57:03 GMT -6
I look forward to seeing how these blogs develop. Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 29, 2013 14:45:54 GMT -6
Oh, and you can apparently do stuff like richochet shots with bows too. Look at any of the vids featuring Byron Ferguson: he's hit an aspirin thrown in the air, shot through the middle of a wedding ring, ricocheted arrows off multiple surfaces (and still hit the target!). When you consider that an arrow flexes as it goes through the air, it's nothing short of astounding.
A master archer class would be utterly lethal, capable of firing at amazing rates or with jaw-dropping accuracy, as well as pulling off stunts most folks didn't know the bow could even achieve.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 29, 2013 14:33:32 GMT -6
The most sobering thing is that he's only been learning the age-old techniques for a comparatively short time; imagine then how much better someone who'd been learning them most of their adult life was... Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 28, 2013 17:31:28 GMT -6
I finished the Word document for this alt. class, by the way. If anyone wants an alt. paladin that stresses Law above all, encompasses Good and Evil, and is redesigned to move away from the mounted knight/cataphract and towards a heavily-armoured and armed relentless Chaos foe, just PM me.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 28, 2013 10:48:49 GMT -6
I'm going to modify the Arms of Hyperborea document to include the dart slinging stuff:
NEW ADVANCED COMBAT ACTION Dart Slinging: A master slinger (weapon mastery with sling required; see VOL. I, WEAPON SKILL, weapon mastery) can elect to fit a dart to his sling and use it instead of a stone or bullet. A slung dart does 1d6+1 damage, and has a range of 60/120/180.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 28, 2013 10:32:21 GMT -6
Fascinating. And what a serendipitous moment! Ever since we put together the "Cryomancer" class for AFS#2 I've been trying to work out a way to make a mater archer class, something that is not merely a fighter or ranger with weapon mastery in the bow, but something a different. Now you have my brain spinning! Thanks Colin! ~Jeff T. Impressive stuff, isn't it? Such an archer should also be a highly capable mounted archer too. Very much something I think would suit the Kimmerians (and K-Kelts). Another thing to possibly bear in mind is that firing forward from a charging mount imparts more penetration to the missile too (probably about +1 damage in game terms). Mythbusters proved it was the case (but that it wasn't doubling the kinetic energy like some people thought). Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 28, 2013 8:57:03 GMT -6
Just revised the links. Any better now?
Colin
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 28, 2013 8:49:11 GMT -6
So, how do we model this technique for master archers? www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zGnxeSbb3gBit fast, innit? I'm thinking it'd be limited in effective use to short compound bows. Also, the ancient greeks used darts in their slings sometimes (kestros): www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9SUw-DPW-8Do you think any slinger should be able to load and sling a dart, or just masters? I'm thinking 1d6+1 damage for a slung dart, and an increased sling range of 60/120/180 It's as effective as a light crossbow, but is obviously more costly (as the dart cost 1gp). Still, if you don't have a light crossbow, and have a few darts handy, it can be a useful technique/option.
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Post by Cthulhu Colin on Jan 24, 2013 16:41:14 GMT -6
"Divine Element" perhaps? With a little "- could be actual deific involvement, or something related to a religion or cult such as an icon, artefact, curse, cult plot, or vision" subheader.
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