30 réponses à ce sujet

[berelinde]

Lorien has expressed an interest in the possibility of specialization, and we agreed that it could be treated as a talent like the schools of magic are. But Laurelin isn't the only spellcaster, nor is she the only character who might conceivably learn a specialization. Do we want to include Spirit Healers, Templars, Assassins, Bards, or other specializations?

 

Let's use this as a scratch space to work out the details.

 

Just so you know, the spells included in the book are only the ones available to starting characters. As you gain levels, we can talk about converting some of the in-game spells to their PnP counterparts.

 

The same would go for warrior and rogue talents, I think.

[mysteriouspast]

Well, I'm obviously interested in a Bard specialization. XD

[ChachiBobinks]

Ooh, yes!! I like the idea of giving our characters a good path. I was going to figure out some bastardly backwards way to do that anyway, lol.

 

Etienne would obviously be going for spirit healer.  

[berelinde]

"A good path"? That implies that other paths are "bad paths". Maybe I've been spending too much time outside the PbP thread, but I'm not going to accept that. 

 

Or, by "good path," do you mean "career objectives"? If so, cool!

 

But yeah, the rules are scaffolding, not a cage. We've already got house rules for other things - fumbles, interpretation of some of the stunts, etc, so I don't have a problem with opening avenues that will let you build your character the way you want. So far, all of the fine-tuning we've done has been to expand the framework for roleplaying reasons. This is just adding a little more detail to the blueprints.

 

The way talents work, they aren't available until third level. That isn't to say that you can't use limited forms of the ability, even at first level, but the functionality may be limited. For example, Laurelin's specialization, shapechanger, would ordinarily allow her to change into a 3rd level-comparable animal at Novice rank and a 5th level-comparable animal at Journeyman rank. She can shapechange now if she wants, but she won't be able to transform into anything with combat abilities. But there are applications for that. She might be able to change into a ferret, for example, and sneak into places where an elf wouldn't fit.

 

For Spirit Healer, I would say that Novice level allows you to add your magic to your Heal die roll twice (spirit assistance!) and perhaps access to two spells: Rejuvenation(Mana Cost:1-3, TN?, success restores 1d6+1 mana for every mana point spent) and Revive(Mana Cost 6, TN?, success enables the caster to bring back a dying comrade whose timer expired up to 2+Recipient's Magic rounds ago). I'm thinking that a failed roll when using Spirit Healer talents might have the potential of dire consequences, i.e. a chance that something will come out of the Fade.

 

Note that all specialization talents would replace the talent you would ordinarily take at that level. So you could not take Shapechanger or Spirit Healer and a different mage talent that level, just one or the other.

 

Edit: And the new spells would replace the new spell you would ordinarily learn at that level, so you could not learn Rejuvenation plus Shock.

[ChachiBobinks]

"A good path"? That implies that other paths are "bad paths". Maybe I've been spending too much time outside the PbP thread, but I'm not going to accept that. 

 

Or, by "good path," do you mean "career objectives"? If so, cool!

 

For Spirit Healer, I would say that Novice level allows you to add your magic to your Heal die roll twice (spirit assistance!) and perhaps access to two spells: Rejuvenation(Mana Cost:1-3, TN?, success restores 1d6+1 mana for every mana point spent) and Revive(Mana Cost 6, TN?, success enables the caster to bring back a dying comrade whose timer expired up to 2+Recipient's Magic rounds ago). I'm thinking that a failed roll when using Spirit Healer talents might have the potential of dire consequences, i.e. a chance that something will come out of the Fade.

 

No, no implication at all! I just mean a "good path" as opposed to the "whatever path he takes, which may involve walking around in circles as he'd have no direction." XD

 

And the possible dire consequences just made me literally squee. Did you read Asunder? There's mention of healers pulling minor spirits from the fade to assist in healing. This sounds in line with that. And Etienne's worst fear is pulling over bad spirits, so that's perfect! 

[berelinde]

I read Asunder. Where do you think I got the idea? 

 

But yeah, I was thinking that there would be a chance in any spirit-assisted healing that if the mage failed to manage the communication channel properly, something might slip through. If there was a human or elven corpse nearby (something formerly inhabited by a Fade-based spirit), it might reanimate it. Otherwise, it could manifest as a shade or some other minor nuisance. If the mage was attempting a Revive at the time on a human or elven party member, the demon might be a little more formidable...

[BFace]

I really like the idea of specializations. And, of course, I would like to see Tessa eventually take the Templar spec.

BUT, anything that would involve templar *cough* "magic" *cough*, there'd have had to be a good reason for her to know it, ya know?  (I'm just thinking about lyrium and vows and things, honestly.)

 

If I'm not coherent sounding, tell me and I'll try to explain better. *grin* My brain is fuzzy this evening.

[berelinde]

Yeah, that's the issue I have with the templar specialization, too, and it's among the reasons I wasn't going to have Beldin take it despite his chantry background. At the moment, the party doesn't have access to a teacher, and I would definitely insist that anybody planning to use templar talents ingest lyrium.

 

If you were interested, I could plan an adventure around finding Tessa a teacher. The Fereldan branch of the order is a little less deeply corrupt than the Kirkwall branch, but even there, it would probably be possible to find a templar like that one in Redcliffe for the Mages' Collective quest (Greasing the Wheels?) who would pass on his knowledge in exchange for some help with a tricky problem or two... and a fix, of course. Lyrium would almost certainly have to change hands at some point, plus whatever the training required.

 

From what I've been able to gather, it takes years to become addicted, and while I would love to see the group last that long, I'm not sure that it would, so I doubt you'd have to deal with roleplaying withdrawal unless you really, really wanted to. So Tessa did become a templar and the lyrium supply dried up, the worst that would happen would be that she wouldn't be able to use those particular talents. The talents themselves only require traces in the blood, so it would not take much. Official templars get more, but that's because the Chantry wants them to become addicted. It's the leash they use to keep them in line.

 

As for Beldin... I don't think he'd take that particular specialization if it was offered. Maybe the reasons will come out in game, maybe not, but it isn't a good fit for him anymore. Berserker, maybe? He's usually pretty chill about most things, but Reaver is absolutely out of the question, and Champion is even more problematic than Templar.

[BFace]

*grin* I'm glad to see it sounds like we're of a similar mind about the Templar spec.  Right this second, Tessa wouldn't take it either, for a couple of reasons at least.  But on the other hand, this group gives Tess a reminder of one of the reasons she originally wanted to be a templar.  My big issue was the idea of having access to someone who'd teach Tess, and of having access to lyrium. Us being poor arsed adventurers and all.

 

I am, right now, content to see how things go, but maybe at some point, we could look into Tess finding a teacher, if she doesn't change her mind, or drink some dragon blood or something.  

[berelinde]

If she wants to drink the dragon blood, okay, but that's going to take a teacher *and* a dragon. I don't think they carry that flavor at the local blood bank.

[TreeHuggerHannah]

I would be interested in the possibility of specializations, although I don't have anything specific planned for Tempest. (She'd do Spirit Healer except that she generally avoids spirits whenever possible. ) I think in general having that option would be good, though.

[Mahumia]

I wouldn't really see Bartha specialize at the moment. Sure, she could pick one that would fit a taking-it-heads-on-rogue-with-anger-management-issues, but to be honest... That's not her call at the moment. I'd rather have her develop strict roleplay skills than fighting ones Of course things could change, she could totally fall in love with the life of an adventurer and so forth... we'll see. 

 

And +1 for templars being problematic. 

[berelinde]

I would be interested in the possibility of specializations, although I don't have anything specific planned for Tempest. (She'd do Spirit Healer except that she generally avoids spirits whenever possible. ) I think in general having that option would be good, though.

There's always Blood Mage... 

 

Seriously, though, we're building this playground, and we aren't strictly limited by the rule set. Maybe some kind of Buff Mage? Or she could become an expert in crafting lore or potions. All of the schools of magic are available as specializations already, so she could become an expert at the Creation School and not have to deal with spirits at all. Plus, that's already in the vanilla game, so no tweaking required.

 

I wouldn't really see Bartha specialize at the moment. Sure, she could pick one that would fit a taking-it-heads-on-rogue-with-anger-management-issues, but to be honest... That's not her call at the moment. I'd rather have her develop strict roleplay skills than fighting ones Of course things could change, she could totally fall in love with the life of an adventurer and so forth... we'll see. 

 

And +1 for templars being problematic. 

Ibid. There's still a lot of time to figure out her career direction, once you've decided which way you want to go with her. That's what I'm going to be doing with doofus.

[TreeHuggerHannah]

LOL!  Tempest would rather gnaw her own leg off than become a blood mage.

 

Specializing in Creation Magic, though, she would do.

[mysteriouspast]

Any ideas for bards???

[berelinde]

There's already some stuff on the performance side, but to be honest, I haven't looked too far into it. There's also the Set 2 material to consult, and it will be a while before Rael is ready to take actual talents in the field. I'd anticipate that eventual talents would include combat buffs (spend your first round of combat being inspirational and it acts as a slight buff for the party), enemy debuffs, and that kind of thing. There are already espionage talents to cover the more covert side of operations.

[Brian ofthe Dialogue Wheel]

What about for an Elven Mage looking to pick up a blade with some magical oomph?

[berelinde]

You're shooting for the Arcane Warrior specialization? I need to read up on it. It's possible, but that's going to take a teacher, too.

[berelinde]

Because certain people have been relentless about a certain specialization  , I uploaded the Set 2 Players' Guide. Yes, it does have info about Arcane Warriors, but NO specialization is available before 6th level. I'm posting it now in case there are any prerequisites that need filling at earlier levels. Keep in mind that this will DEFINITELY require a quest to find a teacher as undead elves aren't exactly commonplace. Fortunately, there's a little trip I've got planned as a third adventure, and I expect you'll all probably be approaching the appropriate level at about that time.

 

I'll be honest. I haven't read the Set 2 rules, neither the Players' Guide nor the Game Master's Guide, and I won't have time to do so for a while, so for now, we're going to restrict ourselves to the Set 1 rules. But when the time comes to level up to second level, the Set 2 focuses will be available.

 

And I'm going to say this now: Grey Warden is not a playable class in this campaign. If we were going to go that route, everyone would have to join, and I'm pretty sure we don't want to end our RP time together by dying at Ostagar.

[BFace]

What?! You're not going to let us Master the Taint?!

 

/ragequit

 

(Just kidding. Tess'd make a sh*tty Grey Warden. *grin* )

[berelinde]

Actually, I might reconsider, depending on where we go with the campaign. But it would definitely need to be something we decided to do as a group. I could see some characters embracing the role and others less keen on it. I can't imagine that Tempest would be too keen to say goodbye to her children and possibly never see them again, but I could see Beldin being okay with the idea of sacrifice for a purpose. As a GM, I would never impose a specific development path on anybody's player character... although the choices might not be limitless. Sorry, Bramble, Tessa's dreams of becoming a dragon tamer will never come to pass.

 

Speaking of Tessa, I've just had a thought about her potential specialization. Bartha may have left her dwarven merchant past behind, but it may not have forgotten her. She may know important people. People with lyrium...

[BFace]

Huh. This intrigues me.

[Mahumia]

*whistles innocently*

[TreeHuggerHannah]

What?! You're not going to let us Master the Taint?!

 

I believe that we were trying to keep this RP reasonably family-friendly, Brambleface.

 

Actually, I might reconsider, depending on where we go with the campaign. But it would definitely need to be something we decided to do as a group. I could see some characters embracing the role and others less keen on it. I can't imagine that Tempest would be too keen to say goodbye to her children and possibly never see them again, but I could see Beldin being okay with the idea of sacrifice for a purpose. As a GM, I would never impose a specific development path on anybody's player character... although the choices might not be limitless. Sorry, Bramble, Tessa's dreams of becoming a dragon tamer will never come to pass.

 

Yeah, Tempest would not become a Grey Warden. She respects what the Wardens do, but she has a family and she would feel it was wrong to abandon them even for a noble cause.

 

Should the campaign go in a Warden-focused direction, though, Tempest could either help out without taking the Joining or she could go home and I could bring in a different character.

[berelinde]

Let's see where it goes. That's a long way off, but if it did happen, I would try to find a solution that worked for everyone, even if I had to bend the rules a little. I seem to recall that not everyone in Vigil's Keep was a warden. The quartermaster and the enchanter certainly weren't, nor were Dworkin or Mistress Wo... the one who assigns the Blackmarsh quest. I forget her name. And I don't think that dwarf you run into during DA2's Finding Nathaniel quest is a Warden, either, and of the Origins crew, the only actual Wardens were the protagonist and Alistair. So chalk it up as "Wait and see."