Character stat generation is Aces & Eights. In this hero-building system, you’ll start by rolling your favorite 4d6, 1d8, and 1d20 to determine your ability scores, ensuring none exceed 17. The unused dice form your bonus pool, which you can spend to adjust stats, gain starting gold, or establish useful contacts. This system emphasizes creating powerful and well-rounded heroes, ready to embark on epic adventures with unique abilities and influential allies.
In our campaign, we do not use the "favored class" rules. Race/class pairings are more determined by dominion than race and specializations are already built into some races, if they exist at all. Plus I like variety and see no need to reward already synergistic pairings.
In our campaign, we’ll be using the psionics system from Dreamscarred Press's "Psionics Unleashed" instead of Paizo’s Occult Adventures. This system emphasizes mental and psychic abilities, offering new classes, powers, and feats that focus on telepathy, telekinesis, and other mind-based phenomena. This will add a unique and intriguing counterbalance to magic.
In our campaign, we will be simplifying the spell resistance mechanics. Instead of using the standard Pathfinder RPG spell resistance rules, we will adopt a system similar to 3rd edition D&D’s magic resistance. When a creature has “Spell Resistance” (SR), you will roll a d%. If the result is equal to or less than the creature’s SR, the spell fails. This streamlined approach makes it easier to determine the outcome of spells against resistant creatures, ensuring a smoother and more intuitive game-play experience.
In our campaign, we will be discarding the Pathfinder RPG rules for grappling (which I despise), including CMD and CMB. Instead, grappling will be initiated with a successful melee touch attack, followed by a simple Strength contest between the attacker and defender. The only exception is the Trip maneuver, where the defender will use their Dexterity modifier instead of Strength. Creature with more than four legs cannot be tripped. Abilities and Feats that affect CMB or CMD will now provide bonuses to these Strength or Dexterity checks. These bonuses will be collected under the heading "Grapple Attack Bonus" if they add to CMB or "Grapple Defense Bonus" if they add to CMD. This streamlined approach aims to simplify grappling mechanics, making them more intuitive and easier to manage during game-play.
In our campaign, rolling a 1 on any check is always a failure. However, rolling a 1 on an attack roll might result in a critical failure. Similar to confirming a critical hit, you will roll again. If this second roll also misses, it is considered a critical miss, and something unfavorable will occur, as determined by the DM. This rule adds an element of risk and excitement to combat, making each attack roll more thrilling and unpredictable.
In the world of Alluria, the concept of Domains and Dominions has
replaced traditional Gods and Countries. Two centuries ago, the
Voidfury Incursion disrupted the divine fabric, creating a power
vacuum within the world’s religions. This event, combined with the
forces of imperialism and the peaceful unification of cultures, led to
a significant shift. The once numerous gods without blessings became
countless compared to the few remaining deities who could still bestow
powers upon their followers.
By the “Decree of Yorrok,” the powers of these
remaining gods were divided into distinct domains. As a result, modern
churches and temples are now dedicated to these Domains rather than
specific gods. Clerics choose two of these domains to devote
themselves to, while acknowledging deities that represent these
domains in a secondary manner, influenced by their race, culture, and
region. The customs and practices related to these religions vary
based on the worshiper’s background, but the source of their power
remains consistent.
In Alluria, gods are not explicitly listed,
allowing them to be drawn from nearly any appropriate culture or
mythos, making the world rich with diverse and adaptable religious
practices.
In our campaign, players who go above and beyond by maintaining detailed campaign journals, putting in extra effort during sessions, and contributing creatively to the story-line will be rewarded with experience points. This not only encourages active participation but also enriches the overall gaming experience for everyone involved. By documenting your adventures and immersing yourself in the world we’ve built together, you’ll find yourself gaining valuable insights and a deeper connection to your character’s journey. Keep up the great work, and let’s continue to create unforgettable stories together!
As gamers, you possess above-average intelligence and likely a good measure of wisdom. However, many of your characters exhibit exceptional intellects beyond the typical gamer's comprehension. To reflect this in gameplay, I have introduced a new mechanic called "Heroic Insight." If your character has an Intelligence or Wisdom score of 16 or higher, they can make a Heroic Insight roll to receive a hint in situations that require genius-level problem solving. This involves an Intelligence or Wisdom check (whichever is higher) with a DC of 15. Multiple qualified characters can make this roll simultaneously, but it represents a personal "stroke of genius," so no cooperative rolls are allowed. The highest successful roll that meets or exceeds the DC will obtain the hint. Intelligence hints are based on logical reasoning, while Wisdom hints rely on strong intuition. This roll is considered a full-round action (an "Aha! moment"). You can attempt another roll on the same subject, but regardless of who made the roll before, the DC increases by 2 with each subsequent attempt (17 on the second try, 19 on the third, etc.). You can make a new roll even if you got a hint before, you would simply receive a new and different hint.