Dragon Age

[Solidchaos]

Viladen, I recall you starting a Dragon Age system on your older forums, I planned on getting with friends to start one of our own and I was curious if you minded me using you work as a reference (it's still on the giantitp forums), and I'd be happy to take any advice you have. I'm also going to be using Isair's mass effect d20 as a basis for how talents/spells were going to be gained, as well as stamina/mana pools.

[Viladin]

Go for it.

[Solidchaos]

Awesome, then to start, what does everyone think of the idea of certain abilities have their damage output gauge by the number of talents devoted to the tree it belongs to? (Such as backstab for dual weapons and archer's lance for archery) this is to replace the per character level advancement for Mage spells and rogue sneak attack. (To compensate, the rogue gets to deal double weapon damage plus Dex mod AND Int mod against flanked foes)

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Sorry for double post, just wanted to say I already have rules for demon possession of mages and how blood magic makes it easier, I'll post them tomorrow since I'm about to go to work. Thanks in advance to any advice given on this thread

[Nihilarian]

Sounds interesting. can't say more until I see more of the system.

[Solidchaos]

Can understand that, so lets start with two of most important dragon age roleplay mechanics: demon possession first (easy really, Mage must make a will save equal to 10+1/2 demon HD+demon CHA mod+possible blood magic influence)
Second: The oh so deadly Murder Knife! Jk, that would be purely roleplay with player and open minded dm lol

[Solidchaos]

Now, I'll work on this system a bit at a time, I was going to need to get with my usual group and talk at length about how we could work this out. I'm going to keep you guys updated as frequently as I can, but to understand the direction I was going to take it, I'm going to incorporate the cooldown by number of actions rule in the mass effect d20 I mentioned. So to use the system I'm going to put together, you'll need to know what I'm working from.

http://masseffectd20.freeforums.org/index.php

This is the site where they STILL work on it as DLC for ME3 comes out. If you're a fan of Mass Effect, you could use the d20 as well.

[Solidchaos]

Sorry guys, dont knoe how to use spoilers to minimize this:

To Do List for Dragon Age d20:

Fighter Talent Trees:
Weapon and Shield: Shield Defense/Shield Wall-Perception-Safeguard, Shield Bash/Pummel-Assault/Battery, Scatter/Disperse
Two Handed: Mighty Blow/Killer Blow/Shattering Blow-Scythe/Reaper, Giants Reach-Whirlwind/Cyclone/Tornado, Sunder
Vanguard: Control/Command-Destroyer, Might/Muscle-Assail/Besiege, Cleave/Claymore-Massacre
Defender: Stonewall/Bulwark, Turn the Blade/Steady the Foot/Raise the Guard-Adamant, Elemental Aegis/Elemental Shroud-Resolute, Resilience
Warmonger:Taunt/Bellow-Bravery/Bravado/Bravura, Pommel Strike/Pommel Blow-Tremor/Aftershock/Quake
Battlemaster: Rally/Unite-Battle Synergy/Fearless Synergy/Hero's Synergy, Bolster-Deep Reserves, Second Wind/Deep Breath/Last Push

Fighter Specializations:
Templar (bonus damage vs characters with mana pool AND Fade creatures): Holy Smite/Righteous Smite/Staggering Smite, Cleanse/Cleansing Wave/Lasting Cleanse-Silence/Lingering Silence, Righteous Strike-Annulment
Reaver (increase damage from ALL sources): Devour/Voracious/Insatiable, Blood Frenzy-Sacrificial Frenzy/Sustained Frenzy, Aura of Pain/Torrent of Pain/Frenzy of Pain-Fervor
Berserker (increase stamina regeneration in battle): Berserk/Endless Berserk/Savage Berserk, Adrenaline/Adrenaline Rush/Adrenaline Rage, Barrage/Unrelenting Barrage/Resilient Barrage-Death Blow

Rogue Talent Trees:
Dual Weapon: Backstab/Perforate/Murder-Lacerate/Maim, Unforgiving Chain-Explosive Strike/Merciless Strike-Twin Fangs/Reversed Grip
Archery: Pinning Shot/Rapid Pinning Shot/Disorienting Shot, Bursting Arrow/Shattering Arrow/Smoking Arrow-Hail of Arrows/Storm of Arrows, Archer's Lance/Punishing Lance
Sabotage: Miasmic Flask/Improved Formula-Confusion/Chaos, Rush/Charge/Blitz-Fatiguing Fog/Impenetrable Fog/Overpowering Fog
Specialist: Power/Slashing Power/Stunning Power, Precision/Precise Attack/Precise Criticals, Speed/Lightning Speed/Energizing Speed-Harmony
Scoundrel: Blindside-Twist the Knife, Armistice/Truce-Goad/Corral, Back to Back/Invisible Friend-Follow Through, Brand
Subterfuge: Stealth/Silent Running/Camouflage-Ambush, Lingering Shroud, Evade/Tactical Withdrawal-Chameleon's Breath/Chameleon's Cloud, Subtlety

Rogue Specializations:
Shadow (percentage to enter combat stealth when damaged): Inconspicuous/Indiscernible/Imperceptible, Pinpoint Precision-Disorienting Criticals-Predator, Decoy/Sturdy Decoy/Rigged Decoy-Shadow Veil
Duelist (increase crit range): Throw the gauntlet/To the Death/Cutting Barbs-Sure Strikes, Parry/Riposte/En garde-Evasive Maneuvers, Vendetta/Blood Feud
Assassin (increase critical damage): Bloodlust, Mark of Death/Enduring Mark/Mark of Doom-Pinpoint Strikes/Relentless Strikes-Devious Harm, Assassinate/Overkill/Annihilate

Mage Spells:
Elemental: Fireball/Searing Fireball-Pyromancer, Firestorm/Apocalyptic Firestorm, Winter's Grasp/Winter's Blast, Cone of Cold/Deep Freeze-Elemental Mastery
Primal: Rock Armor, Chain Lightning/Chain Reaction-Tempest/Strikes Twice, Stonefist/Golem's Fist-Petrify/Desiccate-Galvanism
Spirit: Dispel Magic/Transmutation, Spirit Bolt/Spirit Strike-Walking Bomb/Corrosive Walking Bomb/Virulent Walking Bomb, Death Syphon/Death Vortex-Spirit Mastery
Arcane: Mind Blast/Stunning Blast-Barrier/Arcane Fortress, Crushing Prison/Paralyzing Prison, Elemental Weapons, Arcane Shield/Elemental Shield/Arcane Wall
Entropy: Horror/Despair-Sleep/Coma, Hex of Torment/Death Hex-Misdirection Hex/Shackling Hex-Entropic Cloud/Death Cloud
Creation: Heal/Greater Heal, Heroic Aura/Valiant Aura-Haste/Great Haste, Glyph of Paralysis/Glyph of Binding-Glyph of Repulsion/Glyph of Defiance

Mage Specializations:
Force Mage (improved knockback DCs for ALL spells w/ knockback): Fist of the Maker/Maker's Fury/Maker's Hammer-Unshakable, Telekinetic Burst/Telekinetic Blast-Pull of the Abyss/Edge of the Abyss-Gravitic Ring/Gravitic Sphere
Spirit Healer (increase mana pool): Healing Aura/Radiance/Faith, Group Heal/Unity-Vitality, Revival/Renewal/Refusal-Second Chance
Blood Mage (increase health): Blood Magic/Bloodlust, Grave Robber/One Foot In, Sacrifice/Grim Sacrifice, Hemorrhage/Paralyzing Hemorrhage-Blood Slave/Blood Spatter

Make Classes for:
Fighter
Rogue
Mage
Primarily to create a pace at which talent/spell are learned, and a pace for increased stamina/mana per level.

Make Weapon Rules:
Planning on taking ideas from the Final Fantasy Modern d20 for weapon speeds, ideas from Mass Effect d20 for strength/dexterity requisites for different tier/material weapons.

Make Rules for Stamina/Mana regeneration during battle outside of certain spells/talents.

Have Rules for Demon Possession:
Mage must make Will Save DC= 10+1/2 Demon's HD+Demon's CHA mod+Blood Points (the more dependant on Blood Magic the Mage, the easier it is to be possessed), failure results in Mage becoming Abomination and removed from player control (not permanent in some cases, GM discretion)

Blood Point Tracker:
Similar to Dark Side Points from Star Wars, gain one Blood Point for each use of blood magic, when point total equals/exceeds Wisdom score, Mage makes immediate Will Save vs Demonic Possession against Pride Demon (success buys Mage time to recover from experience, possibly reducing Blood Point score, failure results in Mage becoming Abomination and out of player control). Mage can reduce Blood Point score by refraining from Blood Magic use for 1 week per point to be removed.

[Nihilarian]

I cannot digest that much information right now.

Will try again later.

[Solidchaos]

That's just the to do list lol, the talents and spells of each class are my biggest obstacle, I've got a plan for the classes already: I'm thinking 2 talents (spells for mages) per level with an exclusive talent progression. You'll still get feats like pathfinder (tho I may create some specifically for this), character progression outside the class will be: feat every odd level, bonus talent every third, 'unique specialization' every fourth in addition to ability point increase. (Unique specialization at 4th level you can invest into a class spec like warrior going berserker or Templar, can also be used to gain access to another class talent tree. Unless you are a Mage you cannot pick a spell tree, at 12th lvl spec you can pick a second class specific spec.) More to post later when I get with friends.

[chaoticangel97]

If there is no Arcane Warrior Specialization then son, I will be disappoint.

[Solidchaos]

If there is no Arcane Warrior Specialization then son, I will be disappoint.

I completely understand, but I'm building straight from DA 2 where a number of origin specs were not carried over. That said, when I'm done making the base stuff, I fully intend to recreate those specs that were left out

[Solidchaos]

Now then, from the mass effect d20 cooldown is based on actions of the user rather than rounds (so if a ability has a cooldown of 1 action, you could use it fire your gun/move and the cooldown would be complete), I intend to use this for my system, as for stamina and mana: I'm thinking stamina will be Con mod x level, whereas mana is chosen casting mod x level.

With that established, I have a couple of sample talents/spells w/o a cooldown or cost (happy to take advice on what would seem appropriate since they're base talents) :

Mage spells:
Many mage spells call for a saving throw to reduce the effects, the DC is traditionally 10+1/2 Mage level+mage's chosen casting modifier (Int or Cha)

Elemental:

Fireball: user hits target 20 ft radius with a burst of fire dealing 1d6 per elemental talent possessed (reflex save for half)
Winter's grasp: user hurls a powerful cold blast at the target dealing 2d6 per elemental talent possessed, plus a chance to freeze the target. (Fortitude save negates freeze, ranged touch attack to hit)

Rogue talents:

Dual weapon:

Backstab: user instantly moves behind target and strikes with both weapons, dealing maximum weapon damage plus dexterity and intelligence modifiers, plus 1d6 per dual weapon talent possessed.

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As feats go: I also believe that with pathfinder feats, spell focus would apply to magic of a chosen talent tree (since they are their own schools) thoughts?

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And about the save DC for Mage spells: I'm considering replacing the 1/2 hd modifier and use the number of talents possessed in that spell tree (to represent the user's skill in the particular school over others he's neglected), opinions?

[Solidchaos]

Slight change in plans for unused Specializations from DAO to DA2, rather than create original talents trees for them, I believe I will make feats for them (such as the Arcane Warrior's combat magic allowing the Mage to use their chosen casting score in place of strength and dexterity for purposes of wielding weapons and armor meant for warriors or rogues, this would still require dedicating a single specialization point to start meeting the prerequisites for the feats).

Next: I shall keep skills as they are presented in pathfinder as shown here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills

Classes: beyond the warrior getting a d10 hit die, the rogue getting a d8, and Mage getting a d6, I have also determined skill progressions for each class.
Warrior: 2+Int mod
Mage: 4+Int mod
Rogue: 6+Int mod
All three classes can choose any 6 skills from pathfinder to serve as personal character skills that they treat as class skills. (This encourages individuality in skills)
Now I just need advice for save progression.

[Solidchaos]

IIRC, when a character completes the Joining in Origins, didn't they get an ability point and an extra talent? Speaking of Grey Wardens: we're talking about drinking darkspawn blood mixed with lyrium, magic and Archdemon blood, I'm thinking the joining fort DC would be 20 or higher.

On the note of save or die rules, I shall be using pathfinder's hero point rules, so that if you fail the save for the Joining (or anything else really), if you have two hero points to spare you can save yourself from death.

[Solidchaos]

And now starting the warrior talents (ill just post one tree and wait for opinions before continuing, so share your thoughts if you want me to continue!)

Two handed tree:



Mighty Blow: At a cost of 2 stamina points, as a standard action, the warrior leaps into the air, crashing down on foes with tremendous force. The warrior makes a standard attack at his highest attack bonus, if it hits, the warrior deals damage equal to double his weapon damage + Strength modifier against a foe within melee range and any other foes within 5 feet that are within the warrior's frontal arc.
Cooldown: 3 actions

Shattering Blow: Mighty Blow now has a 10% chance of destroying armor against a foe the warrior has targeted, but not the surrounding enemies. Can also shatter frozen enemies (Fort save DC equals 10+two handed tree talents+user STR modifier)
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow.

Killer Blow: Mighty Blow now deals a considerable more damage. It deals triple damage instead of double.
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow.

Giant's Reach: The warrior's two-handed attacks rip through the air with such power that each generates a shockwave past the point of impact, effectively extending the weapon's reach. This affects basic attacks, Whirlwind, Mighty Blow and Scythe. The warrior can attack enemies 5 feet farther with a two-handed weapon.

Sunder: The warrior's strikes carry such weight that critical hits gain a chance to stunned the victim. Creatures affected by the warrior's critical hit must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + number of two handed talents + Strength modifier) or be stunned for one round.

Scythe: At a cost of 4 stamina points, as a standard action, the warrior charges through enemy lines, attacking combatants in the way. The warrior makes a standard charge and is able to make a basic attack on any enemies within melee range along his charge route at his highest attack bonus.
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow.
Cooldown: 5 actions

Reaper: Scythe deals double damage to those who are dazed or stunned.
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow, Scythe.

Whirlwind: At a cost of 5 stamina points, as a standard action, the warrior cuts through foes, hitting all targets within melee range with a single sweeping arc. The warrior temporarily gains the ability to use Whirlwind Attack feat as a standard action instead of a full-round action.
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow, Giant's Reach.
Cooldown: 6 actions

Tornado: Whirlwind has a greater chance to land critical hits, increasing the warrior's critical threat range with any two-handed weapon by 1.
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow, Giant's Reach, Whirlwind.

Cyclone: Whirlwind becomes murderously effective and costs less Stamina to use. The warrior deals double the damage to those he hits and Whirlwind costs 2 less Stamina to use.
Prerequisite: Mighty Blow, Giant's Reach, Whirlwind.

Sorry in advance Viladin, these are your talents modified with my stamina system and cooldown periods, credit goes to you or these.

[Viladin]

Its alright

[Nihilarian]

Those talents are... I don't know. I have nothing to compare them to, I don't have the base classes or the system they come from. How will stamina work?

It's also a bit hard to read. Play around with some formatting options. Bolding, underlining, italicizing, things like that make it easier to cut into bite sized pieces.

[Solidchaos]

Sorry, the only time I seem to be able to post is from phone. As for stamina, I mentioned that both the rogue and warrior would gain an amount every level equal to their constitution modifier.

I'm currently toying with the idea to increase the talent costs to reflect the possibility of running out of stamina, and possibly removing or lessening cooldowns between talents/spells (it made since in game to wait between uses, prevents spamming, no real reason in PnP form)

And I will forget the idea of stamina/mana regen times, the only real time you regain either is through specific abilities and potion. That said, I've got a friend compiling a list of all the reagents used in crafting in DA Origins so to reflect what you actually need.

[Solidchaos]

For those of you who don't know what I'm referencing for stamina/mana costs and cooldowns, it's the mass effect d20 found here (this is a free download posted on the main forums themselves):
http://www.4shared.com/folder/leyxVE0M/M...t_d20.html

and the password to downloadalvationthroughdestruction
the file you want is ME d20

If you take the time to familiarize yourself with these rules, please let me know if I should stick with the cooldown rules for abilities and spells.

[Solidchaos]

Truth be told, my mind is all kinda of distracted of late, having a hard time full on converting game rules into PnP form is much harder than I thought, I was hoping to have more support from friends and shared ideas from you guys (mixed with my own ideas for rules), but then I did some looking around and found that a group on obsidian portal made short an concise changes to pathfinder that makes it work better than me making from scratch.

This does not mean I'm quitting this project, I just feel I should put more thought into what I make, in consolation I'll leave you with the address that I found these modified rules: http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/p.../main-page

I WILL continue to work on this and post more material as I think of it, promise.