Running 5e

Fifth Edition D&D is a giant pain in the ass.

It's just a thousand different things that I don't like. I could list them all (and I very nearly did), but you all know what I'm talking about. It's really not much of a game, and that's a big part of the reason why it works so well. There's enough of a combat minigame that you can break out the minis, even though it's not a very good minigame. Or a very deep one. But it doesn't last very long, so it's ok. And it turns out that your character's background is the last time you'll ever get the option to have any sort of link with the wider world, but that's ok because at least the bonus is pretty useful all the time.

And so on and so on. The monsters are overly complex but in actual play you mostly just use the two stats. And you can refluff them anyways, since they're just a bundle of stats with a power or two. If you describe the power differently, nobody will notice, and if you don't use it, then nobody will know it was ever there.

And it's like, that's all cool. I like a system that knows how to get out of the way- I'd been running D&D like that for years.

But there's so much to 5e, and there are some really significant parts that it doesn't want you to throw away.

Classes and races, obviously. Races change your attributes and sometimes give you powers. Classes give you health and attack bonii and combat powers, and sometimes even out of combat things you can do. At least, indirectly. Martial-type characters are mostly only good at fighting, for whatever reason. Unless you're the ranger, and then you're good at exploring.

The whole thing makes me just want to play Shadow of the Demon Lord instead. I wish that the name weren't so incredibly stupid- I think if it got somebody with an ounce of sense to redesign the branding and the interior layout it'd have a great shot of really being a common name in tabletop circles. I'd love to be able to find a bunch of SotDL players and run that instead of 5e, but alas.

Aaracokra

These guys are birdmen from a cold climate. Although the climate is barren, the birdmen have learned a lot of magic to manage the place. They have developed the use of magical ice equipment, which unfortunately weakens in warmer climates. This magical ice weakens in warmer climates. They will lance the heck out of things, and also like archery. Their culture highly prizes literacy and religiosity. They're sort of elitists, and they believe that their god is the best but that only birdmen are good enough to follow him, because he demands the best and challenges you all the time.

These Aarakocra form a proud and arrogant society based on literacy and, somewhat bizarrely, snow. Your typical Aarakocra is a member of a temple, the organization that dominates his life. Temple life is harsh and difficult. The only materials available are stone and snow, and so they build simple spires on which to roost. The temple, on the other hand, is dedicated to a local god, who can grow in strength as the Aarakocra help the god's multitude of needs. Gods have their own powers, as immortal and immutable beings, but require sustenance in this world. A god is sustained by a good, clean temple and supported by righteous acts. They are often off doing their own thing somewhere else, and only rarely return home. But the Aarakocra sacrifice their own food for the hope that even the smell might help in its own way, as little as it might be.

The Aarakocra are hopelessly devoted to their gods and to the ultimate goal: to cover the world in its sacred frost. The world was once cold and delightful. Food was plentiful then, and the skies chattered with life. The Aaracokra built high spires then, and lived in harmony with the world. There was then a singular god that was obviously the best but his people failed him in a critical moment and he was slain by invading gods. The gods of heat came and started wrecking the place, turning tundras into cancerous forests and lakes into fetid and pestilent swamps.

Their strength, magical ability, and daring is what got the Aaracokra this far, and they know it. As a result, they are nearly impossible to dissuade, and are willing to use betrayal and deception at any time.



Desert Aaracokra
The Aaracokra have decided to set up a desert outpost. They're extremely uncomfortable but suprisingly pleasant. They don't need much from the locals that they happen to live by, and are amenable to most agreements as long as the Aaracokra are given enough space. They first attempt to peacefully keep a respectful boundary between the two races and then defend their territory with spear and claw. They are led by a singular mage-priest commander.

Rogue Aaracokra
Some Aaracokra have abandoned the religion of their ancestors and have resigned themselves to surviving in the fetid filth of the rest of the world. They are still strongly attached to their insular culture, and continue to define themselves in terms of the main culture which they are avoiding.

These Rogue Aaracokra have no more loyalty for those around them than they have proven to have to their gods, and often take roles as mercenaries, messengers, and smugglers for the benefit of the terrestrial creatures they associate with.

Dwarfs

For posterity purposes, I have recorded this stage of the production.

I started this idea today, and it's coming along rather nicely. Or, at least, the formatting is. The game itself? We'll see. It's been a lot of fun to take this from zero to half-finished PDF in a single day, and I'm hoping that the framework is robust enough that I can get some real meaningful games out of it. Wish me luck!

Fantasy Race Brainstorm

There's a very tiny sliver of people who like sociology-flavored fantasy races for their tabletop games, but by god we like to write things too! So this is how I spent part of my morning.

Each race is internally consistent and has unique but recognizable cultural aspects. What do I mean by that? I mean that my dwarves only ever drink beer and it makes sense. Elves are all distant arrogant philosophers and their written culture reflects that.

Here, check out what I mean:

http://pastebin.com/h7pAyJ9m

Highlights, if you're on the fence:

"because they spend so much time looking at long-term patterns, they've become quite the masters at older techniques. a dwarf never abandons an idea, they just modify it and keep re-using it. as it turns out, that applies beautifully to plants and agriculture in general. dwarves have managed to produce a certain kind of barley that provides nearly all the nutrients that a dwarf-shaped omnivore might require. "

Another:

" goblins will co-exist with other races and can be found making a sprawling society even in the harshest lands. this means that in particularly barren places with excellent resources, goblins will sort of naturally collect and fill the available space. this means that other races, when expanding, often need to expel the local goblins to gain acccess to, for example, mines and groves. goblins also especially make their homes in abandoned places, and any place not kept closed and used actively quickly finds itself home to a goblin's ever-expanding brood."

OGRE DUST PDF

Warning: this is only half-finished.

Ogre Dust 9-23.pdf

I haven't had the motivation or the time to work on this like it probably deserves to be. It's sort of mostly finished, but there are a couple of things holding me back.

1) There really should be more monsters, at least more iconic monsters. I expect for GMs to create their own monsters as they see fit, but getting people in the right "spirit" should make things a little better for everybody.

2) Some of the classes are half-finished. I constantly rethink and revise the classes based on how I'd like overall combat flow to go with them. The social aspect of the game is underwhelming and the dungeoneering is basic. But it (hopefully) all flows in a satisfying way to create a combat that's engaging not just for its own sake, but for the sake of the story. My point is that as systems shift, sometimes classes' existing abilities no longer fit, so I have to rework what it is that a druid does, for example.

3) Formatting, art: I'm slow at both of these things. I don't make my own art, so that means scavenging google images and hoping the creator doesn't mind.

4) Magic items: Very important, and almost completely absent.

5) Dungoneering refocus: Right now, the game is combat heavy. There's a functional dungoneering section but it's scattered across a dozen pages and plus the exciting stuff on your character sheet doesn't interact with it.

But here it is, in its most finished state. So far.

I am the DUNGEONMASTER

I don't actually act like this when I DM, but I could. I do openly attempt to manipulate people by giving and removing horse points. They don't do anything, and it's no secret. But I've seen people trading horse points to win minor arguments, or bragging that they have more horse points.

They're a sort of ethereal wisp of a currency, but they're still a currency inside of my group, and I think that's wonderful.

(I may or may not actually own a cloak that looks like that)

Ogre Dust: Elementalists

Ogre Dust has 11 archetypes, which are basically classes. Each archetype has a theme and does a specific sort of set of things. Druids, for example, like to control terrain. Ninjas? They're opportunistic murderers. Elementalists, though, are evasive blasters. In Air form, they can zip around the battlefield. In Fire form, they are ranged damage dealers with a healthy attack. In Water form, they provide cover. In Earth form, they're (relatively) durable and can push people around. 

It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see different ways that an elementalist can be useful with just those abilities- if they need to, they can re-position using Air, and then settle down into Fire and deal some damage. If somebody needs space, they can Air into Earth and try to generate some. Water is a useful affinity for traveling while avoiding ranged damage (1), although it's not great (because Elementalists aren't great at affecting the battlefield in quite that way.)

Advanced moves for Elementalists make them better in one affinity or the other. Razor Shards gives the Elementalist a unique niche as durable artillery, and Water Jets lets the Elementalist get places a little more safely. Hurricane Gusts (not shown) lets the Elementalist take risks with spacing, by allowing a whirlwind-attack style action. If I didn't mention it before, there's no reason an Elementalist can't strike with a weapon- they don't get great weapon selections and they're not especially durable, but an Elementalist is no slouch in non-magical combat either.

The only Mastery ability I've written so far is "Ride the Lightning," which allows a charging Elementalist in Air affinity to get +10 to strike and 20M bonus damage, which is a good bit. Of course, the Elementalist will end their action next to an opponent who's probably very upset, so it's a risky maneuver that might need a little work to come out. But that's intentional! 

The Elementalist is a risky, glass-cannon class that needs a solid frontline and maybe a little support to truly shine. But in the right opportunity, they're the star of the battle, dealing solid damage and escaping without a scratch. 

(1) Water "feels" weak because it just gives a sort of pseudo-evasion, but not a huge amount. That'll need a bit of adjustment at some point.