tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post7775934928636491173..comments2024-03-27T23:28:19.341-07:00Comments on Telecanter's Receding Rules: Mysterious MiraclesTelecanterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-91720884230820082602017-05-30T06:40:34.828-07:002017-05-30T06:40:34.828-07:00Why not have a hybrid system?
For basic things l...Why not have a hybrid system? <br /><br />For basic things like turning undead and healing a cleric can just do it as a spell, their outstanding faith has granted them that ability. For big miracles though, like high-level spells (4th level and higher?) or situational one-off miracles, the player has to roleplay. <br /><br />Have them actually pray in-character at the table and describe any attendant ritual their character does in detail. If they do it well enough (solid roleplaying, accuracy of a predetermined ritual, etc), their god responds in a thematically appropriate and proportional way.<br /><br />That way they may not get exactly what they asked for. A poorly-executed ritual or lackluster prayer may irk their deity so they get a lower-power response. Or a poorly-crafted prayer may take an 'exact words' bizarre twist.Thriftomancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00069385425462777368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-63113776645511379172012-07-22T17:19:22.064-07:002012-07-22T17:19:22.064-07:00@Seth S.: Shifting the randomness to consequences ...@Seth S.: Shifting the randomness to consequences is definitely an option. Thanks.<br /><br />@John: Sounds fun. You might even abstract out the ingredients (liquid, powder, plant, symbol drawn) to make it easier on yourself when you list differences for the deities.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-23685966830294366432012-07-22T02:26:22.464-07:002012-07-22T02:26:22.464-07:00@Telecanter: I think the way I'll do it might ...@Telecanter: I think the way I'll do it might be to write just one ritual for each spell, basing the flavour of the ritual on the nature of the spell. Then a cleric of a specific god could have modifiers - e.g. a priest of Dionysus could use wine in place of blood or holy water. Since some components might be an in-game obstacle to acquire on short notice, there'd be pressure on the player to come up with plausible alternatives when they need them. At least that's what I hope.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090296806321882601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-21474858815006646312012-07-21T16:34:35.856-07:002012-07-21T16:34:35.856-07:00Maybe divine spells could also have side effects t...Maybe divine spells could also have side effects to represent the mysterious will of a deity. Something like, "okay you healed my wounds but why did my skin come back bright green?" or "my god sent lightning to vanquish my foe but now insects are constantly following me around, is this a test? am i meant to bring bugs to those around me?"<br /><br />Just some thoughts. A chart for each god of different side effects might suck but there could be some overlap and i'm not sure how often you'd want a side effect generated for each spell casting but that's up to you.Seth S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15420255267222005027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-55977873981262682232012-07-21T12:48:21.550-07:002012-07-21T12:48:21.550-07:00Thanks for your comments, folks. I went on a long...Thanks for your comments, folks. I went on a long hike after writing this post and realized even these ideas weren't satisfying for me: 1) spells already cover most of the kind of aid a player would want, to throw those specific solutions out and go more general seems counter productive, but 2) if I use the same spells and keep the chart I would just be giving players random spells which, along with the boon idea above, seems too random unless we're talking about a priest of chaos or a trickster shaman.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm leaning now toward just using a houseruled version of 2e's priests system with its domains. It was one way I thought 2e really improved on 1e.<br /><br />@John: That link points to some awesome, flavorful incantations. I think it would take a lot to provide that for different types of divine deities. As for the taboo idea, yeah, I was thinking of including vows that are particular to each power (as a bonus this can explain why clerics can't use edged weapons).<br /><br />@jbeltman: Extra help sounds cool. I was thinking maybe part of my system's problem was that I set the %s too low, 70% is not that great of odds. But even a 10% or 1% chance of failure will suck when it happens. Maybe I could give deities different holy days and give players bonuses to all their rolls on those days.<br /><br />@Brendan: Hmm, that's another possible approach, degrees of success, it might take a lot of little table for each spell though. I'll think more about that. Thanks.Telecanterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07238356788092725244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-90105431490165955262012-07-21T10:16:56.736-07:002012-07-21T10:16:56.736-07:00Perhaps you could repurpose the turning table? Ide...Perhaps you could repurpose the turning table? Identifiers like "smite enemies" or "escape" could be attached to the undead and/or turning levels. That would make all the cleric abilities feel of a kind, in terms of the mechanic, and also would be easy for new players to learn. You could limit by number of times per day, or if that feels to dissociated, maybe something like a saving throw or wisdom check after every miracle request to see if another might possibly be granted afterwards.Necropraxishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716340801054739658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-89872906459677546702012-07-21T05:34:00.421-07:002012-07-21T05:34:00.421-07:00The D&D standard is a spell caster who can cas...The D&D standard is a spell caster who can cast his spells he has memorised. If there is a chance they can't cast them then the class is worse than normal. How about you try to go below and ABOVE the normal power level. So sometimes the ancestors, spirits, Gods don't help you and sometimes they help you a lot. So instead of 30%, 70%, 100%, make the chances 30%, 70%, 100%, 130%, 170%, make it a nice bell curve maybe.jbeltmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02264520619277158883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6446461178381374626.post-72071750198798122182012-07-20T16:39:20.638-07:002012-07-20T16:39:20.638-07:00Here's my proposed solution: magic-user spells...Here's my proposed solution: magic-user spells use verbal or verbal and somatic components only. Cleric spells use material components.<br /><br />For the sorts of material components I have in mind, see <a href="http://www.satanservice.org/practice/coscurselvtn.txt" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />If you don't want petitions to always be answered, then use the Wu Jen taboo system from Oriental Adventures. If the cleric follows her taboos, her rituals will be answered. If she breaks them, the spirits won't aid her until she atones or makes sacrifice.<br /><br />Introducing uncertainty to the cleric's spells or taking them out of the player's hands and into the DM's or a random table are guaranteed to make the class less fun, I think.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090296806321882601noreply@blogger.com