- Joined
- Oct 10, 2014
Well yeah, wizards will fucking kill you and they're very unstable from snorting ground up pixies. That's why Conan hates them stabs them right away.
Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)
- Thread starter Surtur
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- Sep 3, 2014
You do realize that I can still do the following with your own rule, right?:
Scry the guy who hates wizards' location
Teleport familiar to where they sleep
Baleful polymorph the strongest guy into earthworm and ensure it sticks with boosted stats
Can't fix that one chief
There's also variants where you permanently confuse them too by the way. Or permanently drop their INT to 1, then touch of idiocy them to make them into coma victims so you can then repeatedly coup de grace them.
Can't stab someone who uses teleportation to send familiars and spectral hands to casually yeet you dozens of miles away.
Wizards in the d20 system can very casually do this and I'm only just scratching the upper floors of the bullshit they can do.
Hell, they even have astral projections they can abuse to serve as their proxies. Send out ice copies of you to fucking kill you. Swap out your items with cursed variants designed to break you.
The problem is you guys want to do this with DnD; when you probably should pick another system that does what you want, like Modiphius' Conan.
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2020
Yes, if you're playing against your players and just using the wizards as death machines whose only purpose in life is to fuck your players over by using every single spell in the book along with GM knowledge and perfect motivation, you can do all that just fine. Just like the undead cleric the players would be defeating at level 15 could just receive an omen from their dark god and show up with his whole cult to kill the players at level 1. Or how the Level 16 warlord could just hire a hundred wizards to throw fireballs at the player characters at once. Everything is possible when you're just being an asshole GM.
I have played D&D campaigns in very low-magic settings where spellcasters were tremendously rare and most were restricted to level 3 spells max. But it was enough for spellcasters to be feared and wield those wonderful things that tends to make dungeons and encounters a lot more interesting: lots of minions and servants. In a world where being able to summon colorful, unnatural sparks (Prestidigitation, Cantrip) or use The Voice (Charm Person, Level 1) are awe-inspiring abilities that make people fear you, someone with enough charisma could assemble a whole army to stand between them and the adventurers trying to take them down.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2014
You're definitely right about that. I think DCC or some other OSR system might be good for it. I was also thinking Genesys might be good for it mostly because the magic rules aren't really necessary and I can throw them out the window for something more mysterious and awful. I'm definitely going to check out the Modiphius' Conan ruleset now though.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2017
There's also the fact that a wizard can have higher stats and AC than any warrior. Even low level spells can be used by a wizard to kill. Web in water is still one of my favourites.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2017
Has only happened to me when I deliberately go looking for fetish content disguised as something else, like Bellum Maga (lol).
Bluntly, I don't give a shit if an author inserts (to use the most infamous example from PF's oeuvre that made people shit their pants when it released) some lesbians where one of them used to be a man before getting their dick poofed into a snatch. Their whole tragic backstory arc is entirely optional and you have to actively hammer away at a pretty minimal part of the opening module of Wrath of the Righteous to find this out. It's not like this is some man in a dress trying to shove their girldick down anyone's throat.
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
It is perfectly viable to zone control and murder an entire party with a level 3 druid actually. Just get dire bats with greenbound template, and you can summon several 4hd flyers with 27 AC and the ability to put them in the cuck box that is wall of thorns since they get that as an ability due to their template.
That's the thing with casters; you can murk the party so long as you know what you're doing with them. I mean, hell, a wizard with shape spell Kelgore's firebolt can just hit people in a cylinder or a line of 120 ft with save or still take half of a 3d6 fire damage.
Oh hey, since you mentioned level 3 spells? Summon Storm Elemental, which does massive area wide damage. Also there's Haboob, which also murks everyone but the caster.
Oh wait, there's more! A level 3 Death Master doesn't even have to touch you since they can just sick their animated dead on you in waves. And each dead party member is new meat for the horde too.
If you want low magic, maybe consider not using DnD.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
A buddy of mine and I worked out a pretty decent low-magic system based on the Storyteller system, and is in fact loosely based on the Spheres from Ars Magica/Mage. Only instead of Spheres its Words of Power, and you combine somatic and verbal components with a focus of some sort in order to direct and focus your desires. Its worked out pretty well since like Mage/Ars Magica the effects are largely up to the GM/ST... including when things backfire. It also doesn't have Fireballs being thrown around (at least for our chars), so its lead itself to some more inventive, subtle uses of magic There are more ritualistic, safer spells, but they tend to be more utilitarian such as Messenger Swallow (no not Pigeon, because fuck you, Monty Python) that transmits a message or circles of protection and various enchantments. I can share some docs via convo if you'd like.
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kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2020
Trans person in a fantasy setting using existing magic to change their body to what they want it to be is perfectly fine. It's just taking something from real world and seeing how it would turn out within the rules of the fictional world.
Ars Magica doesn't lend itself to low power, since even starting mages can fuck up mundanes pretty thoroughly.
Flawless Magic+Cautious Sorcerer means you don't roll any botch dice on your formulaic spells unless you cast in level 5 or higher hostile aura. And not even most churches have Divine 5 except for maybe at the altar.
If you're willing to play more risky, replace Flawless Magic with Flexible Formulaic Magic and enjoy needing 10 less Lab Total to invent spells in one season or just upgrade all your Voice range spells to Sight range.
And just limiting things to spells level 15 or under from the core:
Agony of the Beast/Circle of Beast Warding fucks up anyone mounted.
Disguise of the New Visage is sufficient enough disguise to fool anyone.
The Wound That Weeps only inflicts a Light Wound, but if you stack it with Multicast Mastery, it's brutal.
Flexible Magic lets you do a lot of trolling with Lifting the Dangling Puppet and making it Diameter or Sun duration.
Trap of the Entwining Vines is Hold Person except it lasts until sunset/sunrise.
Shriek of the Impeding Shafts is immunity to missiles fired from more than 10 yards away and huge bonus against missiles fired from closer range (+9 in a system that uses d10 roll).
Pass the Unyielding Portal: No wooden door will ever keep you out.
Piercing Shaft of Wood is low damage, but easy to cast when sitting in a tree.
You can give Dance of the Staves a duration to have some free damage you don't need to control.
Transformation of the Thorny Staff+Tangle of Wood and Thorns is a single target Hold that does damage.
Forcelessly casting Blade of the Virulent Flame on enemy weapon and making it resistable with Parma. (Either by Fast-cast or Flexible)
Flash of the Scarlet Flame is Blindness that can be permanent if the target botches its roll.
Hornet Fire makes everyone roll extra botch dice and Flexible turns it into Diam duration.
Prying Eyes is perfect spying spell.
Disguise of Transformed Image is a component to perfect disguise.
Veil of Invisibility is level 20, but you can make it level 15 by making it Personal range instead of Touch.
Wizard's Sidestep: Immunity to first hit in combat and +9 to Defense afterwards. Use Flexible magic to buff all your henchmen with it.
Calm the Motion of the Heart: Erase a single emotion from the target until they have a chance to feel it again.
Loss of but a Moment's Memory: Mindwipe.
Call to Slumber: Instant Sleep with no way to resist. Can be made Sight range with flexible.
Crystal Dart is a low level damage staple.
Fist of Shattering: Bye bye, walls.
Rusted Decay of Ten-Score Years: Bye bye, metal weapons.
Trackless Step: self-explanatory
Hands of Grasping Earth: Another Hold spell.
And that's just spells from the Corebook. Transforming Mythic Europe, Hermetic Projects and Magi of Hermes has spells that are just as good or better. IIRC, you can get an okay teleport with level 15.
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- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
I'm well aware of the power level of Ars Magica, but I was saying that due to the narrative casting its easy for a GM to restrict things based entirely on what he wants the overall magic level to be. Fire magic could be anything from lighting oil or summoning a small flame for light to creating a fireball depending on how powerful the GM wants it. Similarly, its the difference between calming two guys before they start a brawl and calming a raging river, all with the same basic Words. Or for illusion magic, making a guy not remember what you looked like to forgetting the riot through the city center the PC's lead.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2018
I had to look this up, because I was like 'are you kidding, even 3.5E is not this retarded'.
No. It really is that retarded.
First, the shot: Greenbound Summoning (Lost Empires of Faerun). Any critter you summon using summon nature's ally gains the greenbound template for the duration. This, by the way, costs nothing. No 'expend a higher level spell slot', no 'use the chart one level down'. Nada.
The chaser is what it does. Now, summoned critters cannot use any innate summoning power it has, nor can it use any ability that would require an expensive material component. That being said, a greenbound creature gains:
+6 AC (natural armor bonus)
Spell like abilities: Entangle, pass without trace, speak with plants at will, and wall of thorns 1/day.
Damage reduction 10/magic and slashing, and its weapons are treated as magical for the purposes of overcoming DR.
Fast healing 3, so long as it has 1 hit point left.
+4 to grapple checks.
Resistance 10 vs cold and electricity
Tremorsense 60.
+6 Strength, +2 Dex, +4 Con, +4 Cha.
+16 to Hide/Move silently in forested areas.
What. The. Fucking. Fuck. This is why 'CoDzilla' is a fucking meme in RPG circles, folks.
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2014
There's a reason why adventurer's leagues limit you to two books. Mainly because if you know what you're doing you can wreck face as a caster.
Thing is that's not even the most bullshit template I can think of; I think Ice Beasts are up there too due to their innate breath of frost and aura of frostbite they got (-1d6 HP per round you're in 10 ft of them). They just aren't as BS due to the fact you can't maximize them like a greenbound template creature.
Oh, and I know of one more BS move: there's a feat called Precocious Apprentice: use Conjure Ice Beast with it and you got an Ice Crocodile that can wreck face with those abilities and bolstered stats and AC. At level 1.
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- Joined
- Sep 7, 2019
you're assuming they want to play out a role for kicks or deeper issues, not attention. the thing is, how many people with that legit issue exist? so how likely are you gonna meet one of those and not the attention whores?
worse, you'll also get simps trying to feed the attention, which usually produces characters like HI MY NAME IS TRANS AND I'M BOB OH NO I DEADNAMED MYSELF *giggle* where the only uncertainty is the degree of retardation. in official material even.
that's why most people smother that shit right at the start, it's simply not worth it.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2018
I'm just absolutely floored by who thought this was a good idea and put it in a book.
That template is ridiculously overpowered for its one-time feat cost.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2019
I was a bit bored this weekend so I decided to sit down and check the tasha's subclasses and dear god the comments by tasha are really cringe inducing, feels as if tasha was a 40 years old trying her damn hardest to be hip and trendy, makes me wonder who the fuck was in charge of writing those. How do you go from volo's little funny comments and elminster berating him to this crap? Having read one of the 2e van richten books I Really fear for the writing (and the art) in the upcoming book.
I get that little fluff text like this doesn't affect the mechanics or my enjoyment of the game, but it does drive down my enjoyment of the book, since I am a sucker for those supplements that tell a story inbetween chapters (like some of the dark sun books) or have small comments by the in-universe author.
She is the same bitch who was fired from arenanet (guild wars devs) for starting twitter drama and antagonizing players. The case was notorious, at least to me, since normally they don't fire employees over this and even less if they are women.
Surprised she hasn't reconsidered her life choices after being fired once.
I get that little fluff text like this doesn't affect the mechanics or my enjoyment of the game, but it does drive down my enjoyment of the book, since I am a sucker for those supplements that tell a story inbetween chapters (like some of the dark sun books) or have small comments by the in-universe author.
I noticed her twitter avatar was familiar and after a quick search I remembered
She is the same bitch who was fired from arenanet (guild wars devs) for starting twitter drama and antagonizing players. The case was notorious, at least to me, since normally they don't fire employees over this and even less if they are women.
Surprised she hasn't reconsidered her life choices after being fired once.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
She got fired because she went after a major streamer and content creator for GW2 (if not the top one then close) for misogyny when all he did was very respectfully provide some suggestions to improve the game. ArenaGateGate was blowing up fast and she was generating a lot of very bad PR thanks to some exceptionally poor takes even for SJW's which is why she got shitcanned.
DDBCAE CBAADCBE
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2019
If it helps I can tell you about this particular player. She’s playing a bard who lives the life of a spy for a secret government organisation. She’s normally very rules oriented and incredibly organized to neurotic levels but is overall a gossipy dor
On this same note i feel like they made Strahd bisexual in 5e. There’s the one vampire spawn that while the book doesn’t explicitly say he’s gay it heavily implies that he feels like he’s been abandoned by Strahd for his many vampire wives. I always found that a little wierd to have in the game.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2014
I agree. Tatyana was the only one for him so I find it odd for him to have other wives/husbands.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2018
That was kind of the whole point for Strahd, which is why this behavior is so strange.
But then, canon is just one more thing for woke activism to wipe their asses with.
DDBCAE CBAADCBE
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2019
I think they wanted to push it more towards just the common understanding of Dracula lore while adding in their own gay agenda.