ramza

I got the dvd version for 10 euros. Haven't played it yet... Is it as good as TLJ?

A very well done software that emulates the Lone Wolf books. I am currently in book II but I am also stuck because I cannot find a magical spear. http://www.projectaon.org/staff/david/download.php http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=32850

So, is this vaporware or not?

How so? The Paragon paths are quite different from prestige classes. Prestige feats may only be taken when a character gains a bonus feat. They do not add themselves to the usual class abilities one may get at level up. I have also attached the changes (not complete yet) I have done to the core classes. I mainly got my inspiration from the Pathfinder rules. ClassesI.rtf ClassesII.rtf

You are definitely right. The main problem with prestige classes is that they force you to multiclass. I have bee thinking for a while and I have come up with a new idea: As I have already said, where possible, I will replace the prestige classes with prestige feats as some of these just offer one or two new interesting abilities. I will create some templates as well with which my players may be able to play some type of combo-type characters (just as I had mentioned in a previous post). Among these templates, there will be fighter-wizard, monk-cleric (or wizard), bard-fighter and rogue-wizard (or cleric) combos. I won't bother making more than a dozen of those (half of them have already been made anyway). I just want to add more variety in the game Finally, I will keep some of the original prestige classes, since I cannot find how to implement them without making them too restrictive. I will have to go through every Complete book and take a look at what can be done for each prestige class. This will take some time and I believe I will be doing this during my summer vacation. I have attached to this post a sample of what I am doing. Beware, some stuff (feats) were copy-pasted from various websites and I haven't had the time to put some order in my notes. There are some unfinished builds as well... Adventurer__Arcane_Rogue__Favored_Soul.doc SCOUT_and_LIGHTNING_RUNNER.doc

I have played a bit of FO3 and I find the game to be as bland as Oblivion. Those 2 games are overhyped and overrated, in my opinion. No big deal... Ok, I was a bit provocative previously and I apologize for it...

Here's someone who has got sense!

I don't get it. You guys loved the original fallout games and praised BIS for it. And yet, you are all drooling over Fallout 3 whose only similarity is the title and the setting (but not the gameplay). I am not a fan of these games (I did like FOT though) but I would be pretty pissed off if people were telling me how great Fallout 3 is when I have already experienced the original fallout roleplaying experience. Beth's fallout game looks so bland to my eyes. Can someone explain to me what's so appealing about it? Souldn't guys be first among people to shout "blasphemy"?

I just checked GURPS and downloaded the lite version. I admit it has some interesting ideas, especially concerning skills (in case I wish to use the d20 system in a modern setting), but other than that, it will be too much hassle integrating its rules in the DnD system. I admit that DnD is not the best rules system out there and it is far from perfect. However, all my friends are familiar with it and have managed to understand all its intricacies. Moreover, despite its flaws, I have found the way it handles most things quite acceptable. I do not wish to make a major overhaul since this would break the whole system (I won't bother changing the monsters stats and abilities for example). So, I am just making some small changes to the character creation rules in the Phb: races, classes, skills and feats. I have also thought of keeping the concept of prestige classes but to make some changes: 1) their bab will progress just the same as that of their core class counterparts 2) spellcasting prestige classes should allow the player to keep progressing with their turn undead ability and should allow their familiars/animal companions to gain levels as well I will put some more thought into this and will post the results in this thread. Cheers.

I guess I will take the option of prestige feats. Making a new ruleset is too much hassle. I have been tempted at times to use the SPECIAL system but it would be hard to recreate all the possibilities available in DnD with it... For even more flexibility, many of the core classes' abilities will be turned into talents, feats, blessings with which the player may choose a special ability from a restricted list. For example, instead of automatically getting trap sense, a rogue will be able to choose between trap sense, acrobatics, slow fall, etc (but there will be some prerequisites for such abilities, but they won't be too demanding either)... Of course, for simplicity's sake, I will be including standard builds for players that don't know what to do with their characters... The optional rules will be made for advanced players.

Well, the Eu Parliament is against the principles of that law but the French will do everything in its power to convince the Parliament. In any case, the Parliament will have the last say on this matter. That is why, if you are a EU citizen, you must vote, during the June elections, in favor of candidates who are opposed to such a law.

The 3-step punishment will not prevent further criminal charges and the payment of damages to the "victims". The decision to freeze your internet connection will be taken in the form of a legal act from the administration. Of course, you can always contest that act before a Court. At the same time, there is a possibility that the prosecutor may parallelly press charges against you for copyright infringement. In other words, it will hurt A LOT if you ever get caught... There is another problem with that law that few people know. Aside from many legal inconsistencies, there has been word of some kind of device that will allow the average consumer to be "relieved" of any suspicions against him. That device is some kind of software that is recommended to be installed on your pc and that will be tracking your connections. In case of litigation, you just hand in your pc and the software will tell the new high authority that you are innocent. Otherwise, they have the right to punish you with just your IP address as proof of your infringement! There is no real way to prove your innocence in that case and you will have to go before a Court in order to achieve that. In the meantime, no internet connection and you still have to pay the fees to your ISP! Big Brother is watching you! Not even China has gone that far...

Exactly, one solution would be to transfom prestige classes into bases classes that go from lv 1 to lv 20. However, as I have already begun working on this path, it is a very time-consuming exercise and I am not even sure it will have a satisfactory result in the end. Here are some examples of prestige classes that I have already incorporated into base classes (with their own tables): Arcane archer: fighter with arcane spellcasting (spell progression is similar to a paladin's), 5 of the bonus feats are replaced with the arcane archer's special abilities. Arcane trickster: rogue with arcane spellcasting (spell progression is similar to a paladin's) who just has trapfinding, trap sense, sneak attack (up to 5d6) and the arcane trickster's special abilities. Spellsword: fighter with arcane spellcasting (spell progression is similar to a paladin's), 5 bonus feats (either fighter's feats or metamagic feats), progressive resistance to spellfailure, spell power (up to +5) and one special ability every 5 levels (channel spell, quick cast, etc) that can be chosen from a list. Arcane Duelist: fighter with arcane spellcasting (spell progression is similar to a paladin's), 5 of the bonus feats are replaced with the arcane duelist's special abilities. Duelist: fighter/rogue combo with d8 for Hitidie and 6 skill points per level, gets sneak attack (up to 5d6), 5 bonus feats and all of the duelist's special abilities. Warpriest: fighter/cleric combo, gets the spell progression of a cleric normally, gets only one domain (war), doesn't get turn undead, the 5 extra feats that a cleric gets in my house rules are replaced by some of the warpriest's special abilities, heavy armor, tower shield and martial weapon proficiencies (in my house rules, clerics only get medium armor proficiency). There is a problem however... Why make all these builds so specific? In other words, why do they have to be attached to a specific class? For example, my version of the arcane archer is some kind of fighter with limited spellcasting ability (making it a fighter kit), my version of the warpriest is some kind of fighter/cleric combo (making it a cleric kit), etc. When I made these sub-classes, I was trying to emulate the original prestige classes by combining the 11 core classes offered in the Phb (in the case of my variant arcane archer for example, it is something close to a fighter 10/wiz 10 combo more or less). However, what would happen if one of my players didn't want to play an arcane archer as a fighter-based class but rather as a bard-based class (it is possible to make a bard/arcane archer with the 3.5 rules)? Another player may wish to play a warpriest as druid-based or spirit shaman-based class instead of a cleric-based one... Under those circumstances, the variant classes I am proposing are quite restrictive in terms of creativity... I, thus, raise this question: How can I possibly make use of the prestige classes' cool features without having to burden my characters with useless abilities? To my eyes, even a cleric/warpriest character is a cripple: average turn undead ability, BAB not so different from a pure cleric, spellcasting ability limited to 8th level spells... Same for a wiz/arcane archer or bard/arcane archer: useless familiar and useless bard song and bardic knowledge abilities...No, seriously, I only see disadvantages in taking a prestige class under the current 3.5 rules. Even those prestige classes that are worth taking (arcane trickster, shadow adept, shadow dancer) are seriously overpowered compared to a pure base class... The answer for prestige classes that span on 5 levels or less is quite simple. Replace some of the base classes' abilities with those of the prestige classes in question. However, my objective becomes more difficult to complete with prestige classes that have 10 levels... Maybe I should return to my concept of prestige feats where any player may choose at some point to pick a special ability here and there (provided they meet the prerequisites, which shall be the same as those of the prestige classes)... Finally, there are even some prestige classes that cannot be put in any category. For example, the Harper scout/agent is some kind of hybrid prestige class that is open to all. It would be very restrictive to make it a bard-kit or a rogue-kit since basically even a fighter and a wizard can gain access to this prestige class. These issues have really been bothering me and I am not sure how to proceed in order to create my own house rules... any suggestions are welcome and thanks for the input!

Thanks for your suggestions! Actually, I have decided to remove any class abilities that get butchered up due to the multiclassing. For example, a wiz/cleric/mystic theurge combo will have a familiar and a turn undead ability worth of 5 class levels. It's better to get rid of those as there is not point of having a weak familiar or a weak turn undead. But when I think about it, a Wiz/Cleric/Mystic Theurge still gets spontaneous healing for each of his divine spell levels (even when he levels up as a theurge). So, it might be a good idea to give this ability to the variant Mystic Theurge I wish to create. I might as well give the Armored caster feat to the Mystic Theurge at first level. This should allow him to cast spells in light armor. Cheers.

Well, I will post the stats of the Mystic theurge class I am envisioning. For the purposes of comparison with your build, I will post the stats for a 20th level Mystic Theurge: BAB: 10/5 Saves: Fort 6 / Ref 6 / Will 12 HD: d4 Skill points: 2 per level Armor proficiency: light Weapon proficiency: simple Spells: 0- 6C, 4W 1- 5C, 4W 2- 5C, 4W 3- 5C, 4W 4- 5C, 4W 5- 5C, 4W 6- 4C, 4W 7- 4C, 4W 8- 4C, 4W 9- 4C, 4W So, no domain spells... The Mystic Theurge also needs a spellbook in order to cast spells, so no spontaneous casting and he also needs to copy all the spells he wished to cast from scrolls. Moreover, in order to cast 9th level spells, the Mystic Theurge base class needs at least 19 Int and Wis, while a Wiz/Cleric/Mystic Theurge combo just needs 17 Int and Wis. Just a note: in my house rules, all the core classes have received a moderate boost. More specifically, wizards get one bonus feat every 3 levels instead of every 5. Clerics get a bonus feat every 5 levels. In the light of these updates, I find it acceptable for a Mystic Theurge to be able to cast 9th level spells.

There is no official base class for the Mystic Theurge. You can find the prestige class in the SRD (you can make a google search). Concerning the spell progression tables, just copy paste the wizard's table and the cleric's table. My variant mystic theurge has 2 tables, but also has to spend points in both INT and WIS in order to keep casting spells.

Hi all, I have been trying to bring some more changes to the DnD rules and those concern the use of Prestige Classes. I have always disliked the concept as a whole because they usually interrupt the logical flow/development of your initial class (a wizard's familiar will stop progressing, a cleric's turn undead will stop progressing, a bard's song will stop getting better, a rogue's sneak attack will stay at low levels, etc) and because they tend to be overpowered. On the other hand, I have always liked the concept of kits from the 2nd edition rules where you switch some of the core classes' abilities with those of the specialty class (the kit). How would this be implemented in my house rules? For example, the shadowdancer isn't a prestige class anymore but just a kit. In other word, it's just a rogue who gets: - Progressive shadow jump (instead of Trap sense) - gets fewer sneak attack bonus (every 5 levels instead of every 3) but gets instead the various special abilities of the shadowdancer Another example, the dwarven defender is just a barbarian with defensive stance instead of barbarian rage. However, there are some classes that cannot be easily recreated, like the Arcane trickster, and this is where I use the concept of prestige feats. In this case, I have created two special feats inspired from the Arcane Trickster's abilities. Their requirements are similar to those needed in order to advance in the prestige class and can been taken anytime as feats. Thus, no need to disrupt the natural progression your wizard or bard just to get all these special features. Besides, I do think that some prestige classes like the Arcane Trickster, the dwarven defender or the Spellsword are way overpowered and grant way too many bonuses in the span of 10 levels (as an Arcane trickster allows the character to progress normally in his spellcasting class while getting cool abilities at the same time). Another problem I have encountered with the prestige classes is that they are useless when it comes to your base stats. The BAB you get from multiclassing your character between core classes will always be better than the BAB you will get from one prestige class added to your core one. The only exception is when you have a core class with low BAB (wiz, sorc) and you decide to take a class with a high BAB progression (El. Knight and Spellsword for example). The save bonuses can be given by other means, so I don't see much point in the concept of prestige classes as a whole. Finally, the only positive point I have found about prestige classes is that they add in variety. You can literally turn your character into anything. With my house rules though, you make a ranger/assassin or ranger/shadowdancer just as easily. However, this is more complicated with some other prestige classes. For example, I have thought of turning the spellsword into some kind of fighter kit which would have the Channel Spell and Avoid spell failure abilities as well as a small spell table similar to that of a Paladin's. The problem is that a Wiz 9/ Fighter 1/ Spellsword 10 combo would allow me easy access to 7th level spells, which isn't the case in my variant class. Moreover, why should the kit be similar to a wiz/fighter build? To my knowledge, even a bard can apply to be a spellsword. The same can be said for the Bladesinger prestige class. I was thinking of making it a bard kit, but I then told myself that wiz and sorcs could apply to be bladesingers as well. Why should I limit the choices of my players? Anyway, this is just food for thought. I am not sure yet about I should organize the class system in my house rules. I do like some of the prestige classes proposed but I do not like the implementation.

Mmmm, let's see... The version of the Mystic Theurge I am suggesting is just like a wizard in terms of base stats (with the addition of light armor proficiency). Instead of having bonus feats and a familiar, he will have one additional spell table (that of the cleric). Moreover, he will have to learn his divine spells just like a wiz, and he will also need to have a high Wis score (19 if he wishes to cast 9th level spells). He won't get spontaneous healing nor domains.

Ok, I have found a reasonable compromise: Hitdie d4, 2 skill points per level, low bab, high will save, simple weapon and light armor proficiencies, arcane spell failure applies normally. Gets 2 separate tables: that of the cleric and that of the wizard (with the same spell progressions). Each table is tied respectively to his Wis and Int ability scores. All spells are learned through scrolls and must be copied in a spellbook. The Mystic theurge doesn't get any other special abilities or features (no familiar, no bonus feats, no domains, etc).

Are there people still playing Pokemon???

Are all the mods for Rome compatible with each other or should I just install just one? I have found various "fixpacks" and AI enhancement mods but I do not know which to install and which are incompatible with EB... And I am wondering the exact same thing for Medieval II... There is the Stainless steel mod and some others... What to choose, what to choose...

I finally decided to buy the gold edition of rome for 5 cheap bucks. It was a real bargain and I was afraid someone would get the game from the shelves before me (it was a limited offer because they wanted to get rid of their stocks). I shall be looking for the Alexander expansion as well. I guess I have pretty much covered everything I need, no? I have also found shogun gold edition for 5 bucks on amazon. Should I even bother with it or is it simply too old to be playable/enjoyable?

I finally decided to buy Medieval II gold edition for 15 euros. It's really a bargain at that price. I thought it would be a waste of money if I also bought Medieval I gold edition since it's basically the same game but with lamer graphics. Now, should I get Shogun? From the gameplay videos I have seen on youtube, it DOES look old and primitive. Am I missing anything if I don't buy it (except for the setting)? I am also looking for Rome. I noticed that my local store sells the first gold edition (rome + barbarian invasions) for 5 euros. It's missing the alexander expansion though. I noticed there is some kind of ultimate compilation with the original game and both expansions. Should I rather look for it on the web or should I just buy the gold edition I have found? I have found both Shogun gold edition and Rome ultimate edition for 28 euros in total (shipping costs included) on amazon... If I don't get Shogun, I am saving 8 euros.

Yes, you can.

Bah, it will never get released anyway. It would have been an awesome game but I guess it's time to move on. I thought Sawyer was still working on it but with his last post, I have lost any hope to play this mod... At least, you can't say I haven't tried... These last posts of mine were an ultimate attempt to put some pressure for the release of TBH. I shall stop posting in this thread unless Sawyer himself gives us an update on his work. Cheers.