Been working on my Dyson Sphere campaign...

[Judge Hades]

Okay, I have been hard at work my DnD 3.5e Dyson Sphere campaign. And so far I am taken aback from what I want to do with this campaign and I thought I should share to get some feedback from you other folks.

 

First off I got 60 base classes, counting variants, from various sources that I am using. The sources are the Player's Handbook, Complete Arcane, Complete Divine, Complete Adventurer, Complete Warrior, Unearthed Arcana, Eberron Campaign Setting, and Book of Eldritch Might. I am considering putting in Psionics which would give it 64 classes and variants but that might be a bit over the top.

 

Also I am changing the hit point system from the baseline so combat would be a bit deadlier. Of course you gain maximum hit points at first level abut after 1st level the character gains 1/2 their hit die +1 + Constitution modifier. No more rolling hit points. Also the critters and the NPCs will gain hit points like this as well.

 

I am changing the Massive Damage Threshold as well. Normally it is 50 hit points from one hit then you have to make a DC 15 Fortitude save or die immediately. I am changing it that the Massive Damage Threshold is equal to the character's Constitution Score + Character level (Hit Die for critters). The Fortitude DC is 10 + Damage above the threshold. If the character fails the save he goes drops to Dying. If the save is successful the character is considered Clobbered, meaning he can only take a standard action next round.

 

Death and Dying has also been changed. A character is considered Disabled at 0 - Constitution Bonus. Dying starts at the Disabled score -1. Death occurs at 0 - Constitution Score.

 

For example a 4th level wizard with a 14 Constitution would have an 18 Massive Damage Threshold (14 + 4) and takes 30 points of damage from a trap so the DC would be 22 (10 + 12 points above MDT). He fails the save, rolling a measily 14 so he drops to -3 hit points immediately and starts to die.

 

Also I am going to use the Spell Point system from Unearthed Arcana for it fits with the backstory of the campaign, but all spell casters gain bonus Spell Points based on their Constitution score. It has to do with the way spells work. Lets just say Clark's Law applies very much in this campaign.

 

Next thing I am going to tackle is the Races that I will have available. I do know for a fact that underdark races do not exist because this setting has no underdark. Oh, when NWN 2 comes out I would like to make my first module in the setting. WIll need to tweak the sky a little and come up with scripts for the MDT and Hit points.

Edited April 9, 2006 by Judge Hades

[metadigital]

1. Do you need 60 (64) classes? If you are going to have that many I can't see why you would preclude psionics. You must be confident that they are all balanced with each other, of course; is that your concern?

 

2. What's Clark's Law? (Do you mean Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law which states that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguisable from magic?)

[Judge Hades]

Well, I am counting variants in that 60, which aren't really full classes of themselves. For example the Barbarian class is broken down into various tribes that follow totem beasts. Each totem beast gives the barbarian different abilities that are pretty balanced compared to other barbarians. On the same vein the Monks have variants based on the fighting style they were trained in at their monastary.

 

Some are full classes however such as Warlock, Spellthief, and Shaman.

 

Yeppers, Clarke's Third Law applies. The sphere is full of nanites, including the people. Spellcasters, through incantations, training, and will, invoke these advanced nanite system to produce "magical" effects.

 

Of course the people are quite ignorant of the nanite systems because it is a medieval setting in social development and overt technology.

[Kaftan Barlast]

So whats the background, some intergalactic fantasy nerd built a large Dyson Sphere just to muck around in?

[Judge Hades]

Backstory: The end of time was approaching. Entropy has reached its critical mass and destroying all life across the all of creation. The last humans was able to create a dimensional space off the side of collapsing reality and created an artificial sun as well a a Dyson Sphere surrounding it. Here they placed samples of life from across the known universe into it with hopes that it will survive the destruction of time and space.

 

Well, it did.

 

Anyway, that is the barebones of it. I am still fleshing out the backstory somewhat. I wanted to make sure the game mechanics were sound first.

[Llyranor]

I wanna join your campaign, Hades. Because you're awesome!!!

[Judge Hades]

 

If you say so.

 

Well, come to Ames, Iowa then when it is finished.

[Llyranor]

I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE!!!

[Judge Hades]

[metadigital]

Backstory:  The end of time was approaching.  Entropy has reached its critical mass and destroying all life across the all of creation.  The last humans was able to create a dimensional space off the side of collapsing reality and created an artificial sun as well a a Dyson Sphere surrounding it.  Here they placed samples of life from across the known universe into it with hopes that it will survive the destruction of time and space.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds good: the knowledge of how they came to be could quite easily be lost, and then the cultures would crete their own myths ... some might even have some scintilla of the truth buried deep in their rituals ...

[jaguars4ever]

I wanna join your campaign, Hades. Because you're awesome!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

^What he said!

 

---

 

Well, come to Ames, Iowa then when it is finished.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Damn - there's always a catch.

[Surreptishus]

Heh, ther's an AMes and a dyson's sphere in Freelancer. Freelancer is cool.

[jaguars4ever]

Heh, ther's an AMes and a dyson's sphere in Freelancer. Freelancer is cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Poor

Von Claussen

probably got sucked in by the impending worm hole.

 

Other wingmen would resort to chest banging trash talk against their opponents...but not this guy. He'd go all Friedrich Nietzsche on your ass. What a legend.

[jaguars4ever]

Heh, ther's an AMes and a dyson's sphere in Freelancer. Freelancer is cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Also: There's even a Hades. :D

[Judge Hades]

 

Well, I am going to work on the races tonight, both player and non-player. I am wondering which races I should include beyond humans. I do have a player who really wants to play a kolbold and I do have access to Races of the Dragon so I am thinking including them. That book has a 15 page detailed write up on kolbolds. It is insane.

[Llyranor]

Please keep up updated!!! :D :D :D :D

[Deraldin]

 

Well, I am going to work on the races tonight, both player and non-player.  I am wondering which races I should include beyond humans.  I do have a player who really wants to play a kolbold and I do have access to Races of the Dragon so I am thinking including them.  That book has a 15 page detailed write up on kolbolds.  It is insane.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Awesome article on Kobolds isn't it? I picked up Races of the Dragon a little while back so I'd have more info for my Kobold sorceror. It's come in handy a couple times when I needed to explain certain things to others in the group.

[Judge Hades]

It is a pretty cool book. :D

 

Okay, I went through the classes again and 60 is a bit ridiculous, especially since most of them are variants so I decided to go the Monte Cook route, he is a great designer, and make a base class and the player chooses the variant path he wants to progress in, nstead of making each class choice a separate class. This brings 60 classes down to 21.

 

I worked on 1 race which I call the Caiten. It is a feline like race that stands roughly 3 feet tall, with the females being taller, that tend to be somewhat extreme in their various behaviors.

 

Once I get them down in RTF format I will post them here for you guys take a full look. Also I was thinking about subraces and for the most part it would be time consuming to make a subrace for each primary race so I decided to go the template route. I plan to have about 10 ECL +1 templates which the player can choose from if he so chooses. The templates that I have so far are Angelikin, Aquan, Demokin, Dragonkin, Feykin, Highborn, Snakekin, and Spellborn.

 

If a player wants to play a wild elf he picks the Elf race out of the PHB then applies the Feralkin template. If a player wants to playa tiefling he picks human as his base race then apply the Demokin.

 

Like I said, once I get sections done in RTF I will post them in this thread so you guys can get a full read of them.

[Dark_Raven]

A race of monkeymen? Perhaps a race of bugbears?

[Judge Hades]

Race of monkey men? I already have humans in the game.

[Dark_Raven]

Well monkeymen would have hair all over them. Hopefully your humans are not like that.

[Judge Hades]

Well, I have hair all over me. I have a hairy back. A hairy chest. Hair under arm pits. Hair legs. Very very very hair legs. I even have hairy knuckles. And unlike the other males of my family I still have a full set of hair on my head and I am past 30 years of age.

 

Edited April 10, 2006 by Judge Hades

[metadigital]

Gromnir is moving to Ames?

[Dark_Raven]

Well, I have hair all over me.  I have a hairy back.  A hairy chest.  Hair under arm pits.  Hair legs.  Very very very hair legs.  I even have hairy knuckles.  And unlike the other males of my family I still have a full set of hair on my head and I am past 30 years of age.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Like eww!. Too much information.

[Judge Hades]

Well, you wanted monkeymen.