How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

Keehnelf
Message
Author
User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#21 Post by Keehnelf »

Laboratory Equipment - A Reference Guide

Prices included below are base for these item types of laboratory quality, and can vary depending on quality and location of purchase.

An aludel, for condensing vapors - 50gp
A still, for refining and fermenting substances - 75gp
A selection of hermetically-sealed containers (4) - 25gp, 25gp, 50gp, 75gp based on size
An alembic, for distillation of liquids and essences - 250gp
A ceramic retort, for simple distillation of dry substances - 50gp
A mortar and pestle, for grinding dry substances - 25gp
A small crucible, for reducing substances by fire - 50gp
A large brazier, for heating larger substances and compounds, and reduction or large elements by fire (if used with an appropriate container) - 250gp

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#22 Post by Keehnelf »

Initiative Amendment:

New House Rule, because I think it will add to the game overall, though add slightly more bookkeeping for me, and also eliminate some of the initiative swinginess that can happen.

When team initiative rolls are tied, instead of the team with the highest-DEX member going first in its entirety (the method I had been using), each individual phase will resolve simultaneously.

So, all movement happens at the same time for both sides;
then all missile attacks take place at the same time;
then all spells are cast at the same time;
then all melee combat occurs simultaneously.

If someone is taken out of play in a phase prior to their action, they do not get to perform their action.

Most miscellaneous actions (binding wounds, etc.) will take place in the movement phase, but may occur later depending on their nature and complexity (tossing a rock to hit a lever to release the drawbridge would still be a missile attack, for example).

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#23 Post by Keehnelf »

Turning the Undead - Clarifying Rules

Once per day (measured sunrise to sunrise), a Cleric may attempt to turn a given undead or group of undead. This limit is strict regardless of success or failure of that attempt.

Attempting to turn undead takes a full combat round and may not be combined with other non-movement actions.

Turning undead attempts to use the force of the cleric's faith to protect him or her from harm. If the cleric combines a turning attempt with movement away from the undead they are attempting to turn, the effort automatically fails as their resolve falters.

Undead, when massed, are pack animals and rely on the most powerful among them as their champions and leaders--therefore, the difficulty to turn undead is always based on the most difficult-to-turn monsters in a given group.

If the cleric's level is higher than the highest HD of undead being turned, a modifier equal to the difference is added to the number of HD of undead turned (i.e., a ninth-level cleric turning a group of 6 HD undead would gain a +3 modifier to the roll to determine number of HD turned or destroyed).

If a cleric has been rebuked by his or her deity and is actively seeking atonement, the cleric turns undead as though they were half their current level (rounded up).

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#24 Post by Keehnelf »

On the Undead:

While Veles is the undisputed lord of the Underworld, all deities share to some extent in the responsibilities associated with the care of mortal souls. In some cases, manipulation of these souls is a primary part of a deity's agenda.

The complex pantheon of deities exist in a twisted and ever-changing network of alliances, rivalries and the like, but within their Domains they are undisputed lords and their authority on those grounds are respected absolutely by other deities (though control over domains can be contested or undermined indirectly, a story for another time).

When a mortal soul passes from the Material Plane into the Ether, it is their deity's responsibility and pleasure to usher the soul to its new resting spot on one of the many Demi-planes. However, when another deity has been affronted or its Domain has been violated by the deceased in some way, the deity may contest the soul and claim it. In these cases, it is rare for the soul to find a new resting place. Instead, the deity often turns it toward servitude in some way: either by forming the essence of an artifact of divine power, or by empowering one of the Undead.

This is the method by which all Undead and Greater Undead are created. Lesser Undead (skeletons and zombies) are the product of a deliberate arcane process and rarely associated with divinities except those that specifically are connected to death and evil.

Some types of Undead seem to be self-propagating, such as ghouls, wights and vampires. Clerical scholars still do not fully understand these processes, but they are aware that not all victims of these Undead are turned after death.

Though mortal souls are employed in the creation of undead, and in the case of Greater Undead many of the soul's memories are preserved, it would be a mistake to think it is the same individual. The nature of the type of Undead is what drives its actions, and once turned to undeath a soul may never be resurrected.

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#25 Post by Keehnelf »

Initiative:

Team initiative will be rolled, and then that total modified for each participant in the combat individually. Thus, faster individuals will act before their team, slower ones will act later, but all defined by a baseline initiative.

Individuals with tied initiative scores will engage in each phase of combat simultaneously.

For example: Jarvis (-1 init), Jonas (+1 init) and Jane (no init mod) are fighting a Bugbear (+1 init) and a Dragon (-1init).

If the PC team rolls a 4, and the NPC team rolls a 3, the following sequence will result:

5: Jonas
4: Jane and Bugbear simultaneous action
3: Jarvis
2: Dragon

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#26 Post by Keehnelf »

Unusual Magical Items - Intelligent, Evil, Cursed, and Heroic:

Magic, as formulaic as its application often is, is as much an art as a science, and there is always a lot of room for things to go not wrong but strange when it is harnessed. Apart from cataclysmic magical failure (as can happen with research of various kinds), there are three primary manifestations of these random happenstances: item intelligence, evil items, and cursed items.

Intelligent Items
Contrary to popular belief, it is not generally considered possibly by the most learned arcanists to intentionally construct intelligent items. It is more likely that an item will be imbued with intelligence by divine intervention, but it may also be the result of magical accident. The most common type of magical accident resulting in item intelligence is the death of an apprentice or creator in the process of making a magical item where something goes awry.

Intelligent items retain the entire consciousness of the individual trapped within, including their ego and goals. It is not always possible for the trapped intelligence to directly communicate, but often the intelligence is able to exert its will to some extent, either by rejecting users or insinuating goals, behaviors or responses to stimuli into their users unbidden. Intelligent items are often more powerful than traditional magical items as a result, with augmentation of latent magical abilities by the resident intelligence and made available to users that are considered worthy.

Evil Items
Items become evil for two reasons--one, a malevolent spirit might be nearby, guiding the production of an item without its creator being aware of it, twisting its intended purpose to something less savory. Alternatively, a deity might create an item for a specific purpose and its evil nature is bound to its existence for that purpose. In any case, an item that is evil will actively resist being used for noble purposes and may actually attempt to twist the intentions of its user toward more sinister ends--in worse situations, it may not reveal its purpose, recognizing that it can serve that purpose by remaining inert until such a time as it is in a position to best make a coup on its desired target, or to imperil its non-evil wielder in such a way to guarantee that it passes to someone that will share its sense of purpose. Evil items are generally not intelligent, as such (though intelligent items can be inhabited by evil intelligences, which is different), and do not communicate directly--they influence and they pursue goals based on the intent of whatever malign spirit shaped it.

Cursed Items
Cursed items are the result of incompetence or mistakes on the part of the creator, and do not involve direct intervention by outside forces. A cursed item results in the intended product, at least to most inspection, but with unintended (usually negative) side effects. These side-effects can range from the simply irritating or inconvenient (a suit of armor that takes twice as long to put on or remove, or that changes one's hair color) to the downright disastrous (whenever the weapon misses its intended target, it strikes an ally instead--or it only deals minimum damage--or makes the user easier to hit in combat--and so forth). These effects only become evident when the item is used for its intended purpose, and once they have been activated the items are exceedingly difficult to be rid of, requiring divine intervention to break the bonds they create with their wielders. A common secondary effect of cursed weapons, once they are used in combat, is to always spring to hand regardless of the weapon the wielder intends to use. Cursed armor is sometimes impossible to remove at all.

---

In addition to these three types of items that can experience altered creation processes, there is a final class of unusual items. Heroic weapons.

Heroic weapons are created from the fires of conflict. When a character of sufficient power wielding a weapon of high quality dies in battle, there is a chance that a portion of that individual's soul can transfer to the weapon at the moment of death. It works as follows:

If a suitable weapon has a name that has been invoked by the wielder, and the wielder dies in battle with the weapon, there is a 1% chance per level of experience that such a transfer can take place. If the weapon is already enchanted, there is an additional 1% chance per +1 enchantment bonus or secondary ability that this happens.

If successful, the weapon gains a new level of enhancement or secondary ability. The base level of enhancement cannot be increased above 1/3 of the wielding character's experience level. If possible, the weapon will always gain a +1 enhancement bonus first--otherwise, a secondary ability is granted based on the circumstances of the wielder's life and death, often surrounding major acts for which he or she gained renown while wielding the weapon.

If this transfer takes place, the chance of successfully resurrecting the slain individual is reduced by the % chance calculated above to improve the weapon. Even if such a resurrection is successful, the character loses one level of experience, being reduced in experience points to the bare minimum required to have attained the lower level and losing one die of hit points.

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#27 Post by Keehnelf »

Retainers vs. Hirelings

In LL RAW, the distinction is made between Retainers and Specialists/Mercenaries ("hirelings"). Basically, Retainers are fellow classed characters who can and/or will assist you in a very wide range of activities, while Hirelings do specific jobs, most commonly act as a larger-scale military force, attacking or defending a specific location on the hiring individual's behalf.

-Retainers are paid on a share basis or with wages vastly higher than those paid to Hirelings, and they will gain experience and take risks normally associated with Adventurer-types. I track all of these with their own character sheets, XP, etc.

-Hirelings are paid a monthly wage and basically try to get away with doing as little as possible. They do not have character sheets, do not gain experience points, and will not under any circumstances do anything that smacks of adventuring (high-risk, potentially low-reward activities).

An individual can have a set maximum number of Retainers in their employ at any given time based on their charisma score. This is immutable, unless the character happens to find an item that somehow grants a Charisma bonus. This is also true of Hirelings, but the number is equal to 5x the Charisma score instead. Essentially, this is the number of troops an individual can direct in the field or manage in various posts throughout an area over which they have dominion. Retainers have the same restrictions, and can have their own Retainers if they have the resources to acquire them, or their own hirelings. A Retainer can be assigned command of a group of the PC's hirelings up to 5x the Retainer's Charisma score, as well.

If a bunch of hirelings are left in a position without a PC or Retainer in command of them, they will follow their given orders unless they fail a Morale test, in which case they will abandon their duty and flee to safety if possible. Retainers will act according to the instructions given to the extent that their Morale, Loyalty, and personal motivations dictate.

In some cases, a Retainer may enter a period of indefinite employ of the PC, in which case they can gain the status of either a Henchman or a Vassal (depending on the nature of the relationship and the status of the hiring PC). These arrangements may take many shapes, but primarily will be negotiated within the story. Theoretically, the levels of Morale, Loyalty, and trust in these types of relationships is higher than that of a typical Retainer relationship, and the Retainer has more ability to operate independently according to the PC's instructions and goals.

---

In the environment of Vaul, taking on Henchmen, especially if either the PC or the Retainer has more than a handful of hirelings, can be politically tricky, since that could be seen as constituting a military force and hierarchy outside of the Duchy itself. The Duke does not want rivals to his authority over his territory. However, acquiring these resources, as well as property, are a good way to find yourself with some position within the noble hierarchy of the Duchy.

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#28 Post by Keehnelf »

Advancement of Service NPCs

For NPCs that provide services based on class abilities, I am adopting the following rule: The NPC will gain 1xp for each gold piece they earn in pursuit of their activities, not including materials cost. This XP gain will only apply to activities specifically predicated on their class's distinct abilities or roles (i.e. casting spells, scribing scrolls, and performing research, performing prayers or religious services, etc.)

This will allow the PCs to expend money on services and allow the services to expand over time without requiring NPC service providers to adventure to keep pace.

---

I am not extending this rule to PC service providers because of the possibility of manipulation, with PCs on both sides of a given transaction that creates value (i.e. each GP of loot spent on services becomes worth 2xp in total rather than just 1).

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#29 Post by Keehnelf »

I've decided to make a revision to the category of Heroic Weapons outlined in the post below, in order to provide a bit more individual control and choice:

viewtopic.php?f=163&t=3348&start=20#p170532

Basically consider everything in the final section of that post null and void, and replaced with the following.

---

As adventurers travel about, experiencing amazing things and surviving terrible encounters, the residue of their experiences clings about them, contributing not only to their reputation and eventual legend but also to their self-possession and the things that define them.

At the end of any expedition, each surviving character will receive a number of Item XP equal to the non-treasure-related XP they earned during that adventure. This Item XP can be distributed in any way the player likes among his or her current possessions (including non-magical items and animals). This represents the integral quality of that item to the identity of the individual and its association with his or her experiences. Each player will be responsible for reporting assignment of Item XP and tracking Item XP on the inventory line for a specific item on their character sheets. Any XP not assigned when the adventurer departs on another expedition is immediately forfeit. Magical items found will have a current XP total based on their overall power and enchantment level that will be revealed when they are identified as magical.

The following is the "level up" chart for items:

Basic Item: 0xp
First upgrade: 2001xp
Second upgrade: 4001xp
Third upgrade: 8001xp
Fourth upgrade: 16001xp
Fifth upgrade: 32001xp
Sixth upgrade: 64001xp
Seventh upgrade: 128001xp
Eighth upgrade: 256001xp
Ninth upgrade: 512001xp
Tenth upgrade: 1000000xp

Each time an item is capable of being upgraded, the possessor of the item selects either to enhance its basic function, provide it with an additional unusual trait or ability, or enhance the power of an existing unusual trait or ability.

Basic function upgrade:
Provides a +1 bonus to a relevant attribute/quality (for a weapon or armor this is equivalent to a straight +1 enhancement bonus, but for another item it could be an attribute modifier or a +1 to a specific kind of activity). No more than half of the total upgrades for an item can be of this kind.

Unusual Trait upgrade:
This can make an item lighter than usual, provide it with a kind of spell-like ability, or enhance a weapon or armor in new ways (like bonus damage types). The functioning of Boots of Elvenkind or Rings of Feather Falling fit into this category of ability.

Trait Enhancement:
There are limits to the power of a given enhancement--but once an item has an ability, that quality can grow and intensify. This could enhance elemental damage of a weapon, turn an item that stuns an enemy into an item that paralyzes or petrifies them, turn boots of jumping into boots of flying, and so forth.

Animals that gain experience points can gain unusual traits as negotiated with the DM, or upon gaining enough XP they can simply increase in hit dice, gaining additional hit points and to-hit ability as appropriate.

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#30 Post by Keehnelf »

Time-Keeping:

I'm making the following adjustments to how time is managed in the campaign effective immediately:

1. The date in town is the same for everyone.

2. The date in town will always be set to the most advanced date of any expedition in progress.

3. When the date in town advances, no one is charged any rent or stabling fees. This will effectively end rooming costs, which are piddly anyway and only discourage town-based activity.

4. Initiating construction, research, or other town-based activity does NOT advance the calendar for anyone. You get a date for when it's complete, but you have to wait until the town gets there naturally.

5. The ONE exception to this rule is when there are zero active expeditions. In that case, I will wait one real-time day (excepting weekends) before advancing the calendar to the next Open Court day, construction/research completion, or planned expedition departure. Then I will post a general update in Town Business for each settlement with the time passage.

6. Everyone will do their damnedest to ignore any potential problems this causes, but may PM me if they see something on the horizon I need to actively avoid. I believe they'll be few.

Basically, I'm hoping this will significantly reduce the number of logistical headaches we have, and speed the passage of time a bit. It's crazy that the game was passing at essentially 1/9 of real time over its lifespan.

Any questions? Post them in OOC.

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#31 Post by Keehnelf »

Advanced Construction:

If you want to build an edifice, you can just ask for a package deal of a given sum and I'll put something together for you. If you want to draw up a map, include extra fun details, etc., then we need to start itemizing things.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and I'll be listing costs for stone construction first, adding wood values in later. Costs may change as material becomes more readily available.

All prices listed are for sandstone or limestone construction. Technically, they have different limitations that would equate to different prices for different types of objects, but for the sake of everyone's sanity I'm going to lump them under the shared category of low quality construction material.

Walls (per 10' section):
Ground level, one level only: 10gp
Ground level, can support upper stories: 18gp
Upper level, top: 8gp
Upper level, can support further stories: 15gp
Underground (includes 10x10 excavation): 20gp at basement level, 30gp further down

Floors (per 10'x10' section): 5gp

Standard roof:
-Wood peaked: 2sp/SQFT
-Wood flat: 1sp/SQFT
-Stone peaked: 5sp/SQFT
-Stone flat: 1gp/SQFT

Vaulted ceilings/domes: the length of the shorter side of the chamber squared (so a 40x40 domed ceiling would cost 1600gp), but an 80x40 vaulted ceiling would cost the same (though the rest of the room would be more expensive).

Doors (each):
Standard wood: 5gp
Locked wood: 30gp
Standard iron/steel: 25gp
Locked iron/steel: 50gp
Secret: by specific request--typically a concealed door will be double the cost, but any additional features would be negotiated. This price is only good for initial construction. Adding secret doors to existing construction tends to be extremely expensive.
One-way: +5gp to door cost
Portcullis: 250gp per 10' width. Requires a 10x10 room for housing the operating mechanism, and controls must be placed within 20' of the portcullis (can be further based on specific request).

Furniture:
Wood chair: 1gp
Wood bed: 5gp
Iron sconce: 3gp
Window:
-Open: 5gp
-Glazed: 30gp
Wood dresser or cabinet: 8gp
Wood desk or table: 5gp
Impressive wood desk or table: 20gp
Very large wood table (mead hall or meeting hall): 50gp
Wood bench (seats 3): 2gp
Iron bench (seats 3): 15gp
Long wooden bench (seats 8): 10gp

User avatar
Keehnelf
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 9118
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:41 pm

Re: How This Works: Welcome to the Archduchy of Vaul

#32 Post by Keehnelf »

More detail on random encounters:

I periodically roll a D6 to determine if a random encounter will take place. A roll of 1 on the die always indicates an encounter, but the type of encounter and the frequency of the rolls are determined by a few factors:

I roll every turn (10 minutes) in a dungeon or equivalent which is actively occupied.
I roll every other turn (20 minutes) in a dungeon or equivalent which has reduced activity, has been depopulated, or is full of sedentary creatures.
I roll once every six turns (1 hour) in a dungeon or equivalent when the party is keeping a low profile while camping, or in an almost-empty dungeon while the party is active.
I roll twice per day and once at night while the party is traveling in wilderness with potential threats.
I roll once every 24 hours when the party is camping in the wilderness, with an additional roll if they are also hunting during that time.
I roll only once for an entire journey that takes place in safe and/or civilized territory, for the entirety of the journey that remains in such an area. If the party passes between safe and wild zones multiple times, I will roll once each time the party travels through a safe zone, meaning one long journey on a patrolled road is much safer than moving on and off that same road several times.

Once I've determined when an encounter will take place I roll 2d6 to determine the power level of the entity encountered. I used to keep fixed lists but I found that I had to reorganize them so regularly that I gave up on them--now I just know roughly who is likely to be encountered in an area. If the initial roll is unclear, I do the next step to get a sense of if something new and unexpected will be showing up,

After that, I roll a 2d6 reaction roll to determine the initial disposition of the encounter from the other side (the dragon's appearance, for example, was a random encounter of 12/7 (supreme power level, indiferrent disposition). A couple of times, a gap in the power level chart for current active agents and a hostile or friendly disposition have resulted in interesting new developments...

Post Reply

Return to “Labyrinth Lord West Marches Sandbox”