Lost Realms House rules (Basic Fantasy)

Here is a few rules changes I made to Basic fantasy to get the feel I wanted for my lost realms game.

1. All characters start with hit points equal to their Con score plus their level. Fighters and Clerics gain a 5hp bonus.
At levels 5,10,15, & 20 fighters and clerics get a +2 hit point bonus.

2. Spells that scale. Spells like fireball that normally scale a die per level now scale a die + 1 per level of the caster.

3. Spell focus. A spell user can Choose a spell to cast, but instead choose to focus the spell delaying its effect. For every turn the spell is delayed add +1 to the damage and difficulty to save against when the spell does go off. If the caster is attacked or otherwise distracted during a focus they must make an Int save to maintain focus.

4. All characters can choose to make a defensive action. Adding +1 to their AC until the beginning of the characters next turn. 

5. Recovery roll. After a combat any character who receives triage, Small breather, stop bleeding, bandage wounds gains one hit die in hit points.

Tattoo Magic (Basic fantasy)

Tattoo magic is expensive and rare. Even in the southlands where it's more prevalent, finding a skilled Tattooist is no simple task.

Having a magic tattoo inscribed into your flesh cost 200g times the level of the spell. the tattoo takes one half hour per level to inscribe, and can't be used until it is healed for at least 2 days. No one can have a magical tattoo higher level than their own level. Inscribed can only have a number of tattoos equal to their own level -1.Magical tattoos act differently on magic users and non-magic users.

Magic users use of magic tattoos is easy. A magic user can burn any prepared spell of the spell inscribed level or higher to cast the inscribed spell.

All other classes have to rely on the magic stored in the tattoo. Once the spell is cast the tattoo is inert until the next day.

All magical tattoos can be powered by the inscribed persons life force. Any time a magical tattoo is cast the inscribed person can give up hit points equal to the spells level to cast it.

Mini review: Cross planes material for 5E D&D

I have been a long time follower of the cross planes blog and the plethora of work done by Mr. Mark craddock. His ability to grasp so many systems and make some of the most fun conversions always impresses me. I was glad to see he has made a few entries into the Dungeon master's guild.

These 5E character offerings are:
Dahmpires (race)
Goff (race)
Monster hunter (class)
The celestrial (warlock patron)
Mind mage (sorcerous Origin)
Tesseract (martial archetype)
Way of the Telekinetic (monk tradition)

Deities and Domains volumes 1&2, specialty priests of the forgotten realms (feats)

PDF's available here

I really enjoyed reading through them all, my favorite is the Dahmpire, but then I was pretty sure I would like that one.

The Giff, looks fun and different. Not often you hear of a hippopotami player race.

The monster hunter is perfect for my needs, will fit into my Ravenloft campaign nicely.

The celestial is now my favorite warlock patron, first time I ever thought a paladin warlock duel class could make sense to me.

I love that the mind mage, Tesseract, and Telekinetic are all psionis based characters, yet all three are distinct but feel very much part of the same psionic force. Each harnesess their power to their own abilities.

Though the two I think I will find the most useful are the Dieties and domains. Especially when using the sword coast's adventure guide. Nice to have the priests of the Faerünian pantheon laid out in usable feats. Or as I will, mine them for my own setting.

I look forward to seeing more from this very prolific author.

Cypher system initiative, Playing cards.

While I don't dislike the Cypher system's initiative roll, I love savage world's playing card method better.

So I have been Thinking of a way to use the best of both. Use cards but integrate them into the Cypher system smoothly.

Here is my core idea. Every player is issued a card at the start of combat. Adversaries are issued cards in groups, one card for all zombies ect.

Players act in the order from highest to lowest card.

At the top of any combat round any player can spend an effort to draw an extra card and act on the highest of the two cards. The player then discards the higher card and keeps the lower card for the rest of the combat. (yes there is risk of drawing an even lower card)

Option: surprised characters or adversaries draw two cards and act on the lower of the two for the turn. Discarding the lower card after and keeping the higher card for the rest of the combat.

More options coming.

Cyphers as power stunts

I've been toying with different ways to use cyphers in a game. Ways to explain them as a stunt rather than a device. Mainly for super hero games or more heroic games in general, so here is my cyphers as stunt idea.

All players draw cyphers equal to their class/level allowance as normal. Players describe how their power use causes the cyphers effect. At the beginning of every turn players draw new cyphers up to their max.

For example a group of thugs open fire with their pistols against a blaster character, all his abilities are energy attacks but he has a cypher giving him a temporary shield. He uses the cypher explains that he whips his energy around him creating a temporary shield. On his next turn the blaster chooses to use a cypher that allows him to teleport. He tells the Gm he plans to blast the ground and quickly tunnel up behind the thugs.

As usual the GM has the final say as to what uses is allowed.

Return of the healing surge (5E D&D)

Hit dice are a resource, something I want the players to have to manage, to weigh the pros and cons of every use. As is there is really only one choice that matters, and that is how many to use during a rest.

I propose a second option. Hit dice can be used during battle, but only a single use per battle, take what you roll that doesn't add Con mod to the roll. It's worse than a rested use, and it's a limited resourse. Great for when you don't know if you will live til the next rest. But something you might regret when the chips are down and you have burned through all your hit die.

Duel class, duel backgrounds, Batman (5E)

One of my players and I happen to be talking about backgrounds in 5E. How they add flavor even if they are pretty narrowly focused.

Somehow the conversation went the direction of playing more experienced characters who were not necessarily more skilled at their class. How two backgrounds might be even more fitting than a duel class. Or might even compliment a duel class.

As these conversations often do this one turned to comic books for a frame of reference. Specifically Batman. If batman at the start of his time as the man bat was a D&D character how would he be best represented?

So here is my quick and dirty conversation batman build. I would start him off as level 2: 1 Rogue, 1Fighter (fighter being his class) with both the Criminal and Noble backgrounds. While growing up with as a young noble the murder of his parents consumed him. Disguising himself he sought out those that could train him in the ways of stealthful fighting and ways of the underworld.