Mad Brew Labs

These feats are inspired by some ideas I have had about reach weapons (which probably are not new) and some feats I encountered while playing in my first Conan RPG game this last weekend (which was pretty fun I should add).

Infantry Tactics

You have been trained to fight in formation and function as a unit. Such training instructs combatants to protect the soldiers next to them and to move in unison.

Benefit: If you and an ally with this feat are adjacent to one another, you both receive a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC as well as to attack rolls. Multiple adjacent allies with this feat do not provide additional bonuses.

Improved Infantry Tactics

You have mastered the technique of fighting in formation.

Prerequisite: Infantry Tactics.

Benefit: The bonus gained from having adjacent allies with the Infantry Tactics feat improves to +2.

Pole & Shield

Elite phalanx units have been trained to control their shield while wielding polearms and spears.

Prerequisite: Str 13, Infantry Tactics, Shield Proficiency, Weapon Proficiency (chosen polearm).

Benefit: You may wear a heavy shield and gain half its shield bonus to your AC when wielding glaives, guisarmes, halberds, longspears, pikes, ranseurs, or spears.

Normal: Without this feat, you cannot wear shields while using a two-handed weapon.

Rebuffing Reach

You have learned to keep opponents from getting within the reach of your polearm.

Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (chosen polearm).

Benefit: Anytime you are wielding a glaive, guisarme, halberd, longspear, pike, ranseur, or spear and succeed with an Attack of Opportunity for an enemy moving through spaces you threaten, instead of dealing full damage, you may choose to deal half damage and push the target 5 feet away from you.

Listening to: Demons & Wizards – Touched by the Crimson King – Terror Train

I colored a bit outside the lines with this wondrous item for Pathfinder RPG.  It has some rather complex rules going on and I’m not sure how game breaking it is. It’s a risky item to introduce for sure, unless you don’t have any aspiring necromancers.

Obsidian Ossuary

Aura strong necromancy; CL 16th
Slot –; Price 180,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.

DESCRIPTION

This foot long cylinder is fashioned from the blackest obsidian about three inches in diameter and is capped by two small infernal skulls of silver. It is also embossed with intricate silver filigree that contains imagery of two skeletal hands gripping the cylinder from opposite directions. It is filled with the powdered remains of an osyluth (bone devil) skull.

The ossuary may be used as the focus to cast animate dead. When an animate dead spell is cast using the ossuary, the caster does not need the material component and there is no longer a 25 gold piece restriction per Hit Die limitation. The spell is also treated as if it were cast within an area affected by desecrate (doubling amount of Hit Dice worth of undead created).

Additionally, while the caster is in physical possession of the ossuary, the Hit Dice worth of undead he can control is doubled. However, the additional amount allowed may only be applied towards undead created with an animate dead cast with the ossuary as the focus. Furthermore, all undead under the control of someone physically possessing the ossuary gain a +2 profane bonus to attack rolls, damage roll, and saving throws as well as +2 hit points per Hit Die.

The ossuary gains its strength from those who possess it. Anyone in physical possession of the ossuary has his current and maximum Hit Points are reduced by half. Upon the moment someone gives up physical possession of the ossuary, their original maximum (but not current) Hit Points are restored.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, desecrate, unhallow; Cost 90,000 gp

Listening to: In Flames – A Sense of Purpose – Disconnected

I like simple magic items that enhance or change the way things are usually done during play.  The following wonderous item for Pathfinder RPG is fairly simple, and while fairly simple, doesn’t really change the game.  What I feel it does do is encourage players to perhaps take the road less travelled when it comes to interacting with NPCs for vital information.  In my group, we tend to steer clear of most sexual situations.  Well, maybe if I drop something like the following magic item into a campaign (after having it used on them), I can foster some more interesting roleplay.

Kohl of Seduction

Aura faint enchantment; CL 3rd
Slot –; Price 80 gp; Weight – lb.

DESCRIPTION

This jet black cosmetic made from soot and vegetable oil is contained in a small round tin.  When successfully (DC 15 Craft [appropriate craft] or Disguise check)  applied as mascara or decoration to the eyes and face, it imbues the wearer with enhanced sexual appeal.  The kohl provides a +3 enhancement bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks that involve sexual innuendo or seduction.  A fresh tin includes enough make-up for 5 applications.  If the check to apply the kohl is failed, the application is wasted.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, charm person; Cost 40 gp

Listening to: Lords of Acid - Voodoo-U - Voodo0-U

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I’m presenting another magical itme for use with the Pathfinder RPG.  This time I wanted to provide an item that was not combat orientated or groundbreaking, but something that emhanced something fairly mundane that usually is not even though about.  This elixer doubles the effectiveness of natural healing during an eight-hour rest period.

Elixer of Restful Slumber

Aura faint conjuration; CL 3rd
Slot –; Price 100 gp; Weight .5 lb.

DESCRIPTION

This potion come in many containers, but always has a midnight blue hue and appears to sparkle.  Imbibing the elixer will double the effectiveness of natural healing during a full night’s sleep (8 hour period) or complete bed rest for an entire day.  So a character who sleeps for 8 hours after drinking this elixer will recover twice his character level in hit points and two points of temporary ability damage per affect ability score.

A character must drink this elixer within an hour before resting.  If the proceeding rest period is interrupted before it is complete, the effects of the elixer end.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Brew Potion, sleep; Cost 50 gp

Listening to: Ministry – Psalm 69 – Jesus Built My Hotrod

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Wizards of the Coast

No doubt everyone has heard of the brash move Wizards of Coast made late Monday night (April 6th, 2009) when they decided to yank all PDF sales, without notice, from vendors like Paizo, DriveThruRPG, and RPGNow.  They say it was to fight piracy, which anyone with a lick of intelligence knows won’t put a dent in piracy.  So I imagine it is just a move in a much larger game.  I’ll not comment about the details, but if you haven’t caught some of the articles commenting on Wizards’ actions, here is a list of the ones I think are useful:

• RPG Blog II: Get WotC Files While You Can from Paizo
• Uncle Bear: Wizards, PDF Sales, and Hidden Agendas
• Stargazer’s World: Wizards of the Coast Stops All PDF Sales
• Chgowiz’s Old Guy RPG Blog: WotC Fumbles, End of World or Salvation Is Not Nigh
• Vulcan Stev’s Database: 10 Theories about WotC’s Boneheaded Decision
• Lamentations of the Flame Princess: You Know Who I Feel Sorry For?
• The Gamer Dome: WotC R&D To Go On Speaking Tour After Cancelling Print Products

Manufacturers Giving Some PDF Love

The thing is, I wasn’t even going to deign to comment about Wizards, because the internet has definitely been saturated with posts, threads, and comments about the stunt.  BUT, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  In response to Wizards’ actions (which has garnered itself the auspicious title of PDFgate), many other publishers decided to give hobbyists some love, PDF style.

I believe first out of the gate was Rogue Games, which made a pledge to continue PDF sales and treat the gamer with respect.  Its pledge can be seen at the Game Publishers Association site as well as on the Rogue’s blog.

Then I caught wind of White Wolf’s statement to continue producing PDFs and their offer for a free Exalted 2^nd Edition download as well as a onetime 10% discount on any White Wolf titles at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

The rest of these offers I actually lifted from Zachary Houghton of the RPG Blog II (I’m sure he won’t mind me spreading the word):

• Paizo is offering all Pathfinder PDFs for 35% off through the end of April.
• Adventure Games Publishing currently has 16 products on sale through May 23 as a sign of customer appreciation.
• One Bad Egg has every PDF product on sale for at least 10% off.
• Evil Hat’s Don’t Lose Your Mind has been marked down to $10.
• Green Ronin is offering their True 20 Roleplaying for only $9.99.
• Bards & Sages is offering their Karma Roleplaying System products for 10% off.
• Tabletop Adventures is discounting 20% off their products for the rest of this week (via Mark Gedak).
• Reality Deviant Production is also offering a sale for the occasion at RPGNow.
• The superhero RPG Hearts & Souls is marked down to only $5.
• As mentioned in the comments below, Flying Mice is also running specials at RPGNow.
• Eden Studios is running a PDF Lovers sale–all their pdfs are 50% off at RPGNow.

But why stop there?  Now that the old editions of Dungeons & Dragons are no longer available for legal download, I think now is an excellent time to mention all the stuff the Old School Renaissance is making that is available in what else? PDF!  Oh, and to boot, much of this F-R-E-E!

• Old School Index & Reference Compilation [OSRIC]
• Labyrinth Lord
• Basic Fantasy Role Playing Game
• Swords & Wizardry and Knockspell Magazine
• Fight On! Magazine
• Dungeon Slayers

As a community, I say we should show Wizards that we appreciate a publisher who is still in touch with the hobbyists and that is smart enough to know that yanking digital sales will not hinder the pirates (anyone hear of a scanner or advance dev copies?).

Listening to: The 69 Eyes - Motor City Resurrection - Science Gone Too Far

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I am presenting a new magical item below in Pathfinder RPG format, but I am sure the more mechanics savvy readers could adapt it to the system of their choice.  The wonderous item allows characters to make additional 5′ foot steps (or shifts, in 4th edition parlance) that becomes effective for maneuvering into a more effective combat position (think flank & charge).

Scoundrel’s Boots of Maneuver

Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th
Slot feet; Price 7,000; Weight 1 lb.

DESCRIPTION

When taking a 5′ step, the wearer of these multi-buckle leather boots, as a free action, may elect to move an additional 5′.  These boots may be  used to increase the distance of a 5′ step 3/day but may not be activated more than once per round.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, haste; Cost 3,500 gp

Listening to: Ministry - Psalm 69 - Jesus Built My Hotrod

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As a player, whenever I receive more healing than my character needs I get a little wistful knowing some of it was wasted. So I figured I would create a magic item that could alleviate this sadness, the talisman of false life.  Though I do provide an interesting twist on how it gains its hit points that may prove a hindrance in certain situations.

Talisman of False Life

Aura faint, moderate, or strong necromancy; CL 3rd (4 hp), 6th (8 hp), 9th (15 hp), 12th (12 hp), 15th (24 hp)
Slot neck; Price 1,000 gp (4 hp), 3,000 gp (8 hp), 9,000 gp (8 hp), 27,000 gp (12 hp), 81,000 gp (24 hp); Weight 0.5 lb.

DESCRIPTION

This ornate talisman consists of an eliptical gem set upon a golden sun.  The gem actually syphons energy from any healing energies directed at the wearer.  The talisman provides tempory hit points from this stored healing.

Whenever the person wearing the the talisman is the target of a spell or potion that restores hit points, the talisman receives the healing first.  Once the talisman has reached its hit point limit, the character then receives any remaining healing.

If the wearer of the talisman has temporary hit points from another source, he loses those temporary hit points first.  The talisman also loses stored hit points at the rate of 1 hit point per hour.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, false life; Cost 500 gp (4 hp), 1,500 gp (8 hp), 4,500 gp (12 hp), 13,500 gp (16 hp), 40,500 gp (24 hp)

Listening to: Rob Zombie – Educated Horses – Let It All Bleed Out

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Here is a pair of new wondrous items for use with the Pathfinder RPG.  I actually created them for a villain in one of my defunct D&D campaigns, but I wanted to revamp them for Pathfinder and release them upon the masses.

Marble of Arcane Abatement, Lesser

Aura moderate abjuration; CL 7th
Slot -; Price 21,000 gp; Weight 0.5 lb.

DESCRIPTION

Clouds of read smoke can be seen swirling inside these small glass marbles.  They are found in pouches usually containing three such marbles.  After speaking the command word, a marble may be thrown as a splash weapon with a range of 15 feet.  Upon impact, the marble shatters releasing a storm of energy that drains magical items.

A direct hit with a marble drains 1d8 charges from every magical item with charges possessed by the target.  Every creature within 5 feet of the impact lose 1d4 charges from every magical item with charges possessed.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, dispel magic; Cost 7,500 gp

Marble of Arcane Abatement, Greater

Aura strong abjuration; CL 16th
Slot -; Price 92,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.

DESCRIPTION

These marbles are much larger versions of their less powerful siblings. Greater Marbles of Arcane Abatement are found by themselves or in mixed in with a pouch of Lesser versions.  These marbles function just like a Lesser Marble of Arcane Abatement with the following except it affects any creature within 10 feet of the impact.

Also, every creature within 10 feet must make a DC 25 Reflex save or suffer 6d6+ the number of charges drained of magical damage.  Creature who successfully save only take half damage.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, explosive runes, greater dispel magic; Cost 46,000 gp

Listening to: Brain Storm - Downburst – Falling Spiral Down

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Today, Paizo announces the 32 finalists for their RPG Superstar 2009 contest.  The contest began with participants entering an original Wonderous Item that conformed to the Pathfinder RPG format and was no longer than 200 words long.

If you’ve been following me recently, you will know that I reviewed the “How Not to Make a Magic Item” chapter of Kobold’s Guide to Game Design II.  While I had already submitted my item by the time I reviewed the chapter, I think I didn’t make most of the mistakes mentioned.

One mistake I made was not revisiting the numbers before I submitted the item, because I think they could use some work, and while this is an improved version of item I submitted I am still struggling over a few issues:

• • I want the item available at a level low enough to where it is useful
• • I don’t want the item too powerful for the previously mentioned level
• • I’m not sure about which spells to use for the creation of the item

Drum of Feeble Flesh

Aura moderate necromancy; CL 10th
Slot -; Price 15,000 gp; Weight 1.5 lb.

DESCRIPTION

This small drum is about 6 inches in diameter, 6 inches deep, and is framed with the rib cage of some diminutive figure.  Leathery flesh has been drawn tight over the frame, providing a ghastly drumming surface.  It can be played as a normal drum, but once per day the command word can be spoken and the drummer makes a DC 20 Perform (percussion instruments) check.

Success means it creates a pulse of negative energy that fills a 20-foot-cone.  All living creatures caught in the cone become cursed for 1d4 rounds (a DC 16 Will save negates).  The curse maximizes any damage variables they are subject to for the curse’s duration.  The DC for the Will save to negate increases depending upon the result of the Perform check which is detailed below.

Failure on the Perform check results in the drummer being affected by the equivalent of a ray of enfeeblement spell (caster level 10).

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, bestow curse, ray of enfeeblement; Cost 7,500 gp

Listening to: In Flames – Clayman – Only for the Weak

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It has been a while since I have written anything about one of my original projects, the Echelon Gaming System.  A major reason for this is the fact that I was keeping the working document on a usb flash drive, so I could work on it wherever I went, and the flash drive got fried.  And when my drive died, so did my motivation to work on Echelon.

It must be my shoes, my clothes, or the carpet, but I always manage to build a store of static eletricity while sitting at my desk (perhaps a sign to not sit on my ass so much).  Well, I was about to get up and I reached for the drive and I felt that zap as I discharged some of that built up energy into the drive.  Then you could smell the pungent odor of burnt electronics.

Well, I decided to take the sucker apart and I saw some burn marks around what I would call electrodes (I’m not an electrical engineer by any means) on the PCB.  So I took a cotton swap dipped in rubbing alcohol and attempted to clean it.  Well, it must of worked, because the drive works intermittently, and I was able to recover some of my files!

I was so excited I decided to post my unfinished version of the Gnome race for Echelon.  My goal was to take a more feral approach to the race, making them a fey type and boosting their skill with illusion.  I don’t know if this version will make it into the final draft of Echelon, but it shows the general direction I want to take them.  Note that I have not created a table for their animal companion, but I do have some short descriptions of how a few powers work.

Gnomes

Misdirection – Swift action, your next ranged power does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Smoke & Mirrors – If an enemy misses you with a ranged or melee (non area) attack, you can force the enemy to attack another enemy adjacent to you.

Dazzle – Burst, enemies are blinded, save ends.

Listening to: Crematory - Revolution – Solitary Psycho

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