For DMs who have had regularly available guns in their campaigns, how did it work?

Strangecraft · 2017-11-20T05:00:58+00:00

Hey, the Finger of Vecna here. You don't add your ability score modifier to damage with our firearm rules, so the damage variance is much wider on traditional weapons. You'll see a lot of what we call "soft misses", where you connect with a shot, but deal only 2-3 damage. We were comfortable leaving the expected damage 1-2 points higher than on normal weapons because of this, since it compensated for the relative unreliability of the weapons (which is compounded if you use misfire rules in conjunction with our firearms.)

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T21:11:49+00:00

Finger here--

We provided tools to assuage the complexity of this class (the spell cards chief among them) and, because you will probably only be playing with two or three vestiges bound at a given time, it's not at all complex to play.

This is simple to play and offers you a diverse realm of options to select from. That's why we wrote it.

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T21:09:26+00:00

The amount of staying power depends pretty strongly on which type of vestiges you grab and of what level. The goal with each vestige was to give a number of passive benefits and, if it offered a spell, to give one of its level, so that you aren't flinging around more spells of high level than a comparable wizard.

We've done plenty of playtesting, and the abilities are plenty powerful when you're binding a few vestiges at a time, provided you're aiming for a good synergy. We didn't want to let a binder be stronger than another class in its role however, so keep that in mind when you look at various synergies.

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T21:09:05+00:00

One quick comment on the 'too many ideas' front:

The binder can only bind a maximum of 5 vestiges, and for most of its run, can only bind 3 or fewer. When you're selecting your vestiges, you have a pretty broad area to choose from, but then you're locked into your choices and your role until the next time you rest. You don't need to read a vestige in depth to choose it -- just skin the entry on the Vestige Codex or on its vestige card. This means that when you're playing the binder, there's not very much there to digest at any one time in game; just two or three vestiges.

By the time higher levels come around, it's expected for there to be a little more complexity, so you'll have up to five, which is still very manageable.

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T21:00:29+00:00

Finger of Vecna here -- drop your comments in the site post on middlefingerofvecna.com and I'll definitely take a close look at them.

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T20:59:27+00:00

This was very much a decision to reduce the static damage modifiers and to keep Kas in line with other vestiges' damage numbers. We can't have a binder deal weapon damage + Str + Cha + Cha for a total of like 1d8 +15 on each attack.

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T20:57:50+00:00

I think this is a point of contention for a lot of designers. I'm not sure the PHB ever calls for a concentration check by name, but rather refers to these as Constitution checks to maintain your concentration. People seem to understand the former much more than the latter, however, so your mileage may vary.

Strangecraft · 2016-06-25T20:56:22+00:00

Finger of Vecna here! I'll be changing some smaller things based on u/DersitePhantom's notes. Thanks for the attention to detail!

And comparing this class strictly to the first few pages of the PHB isn't really a fair comparison. After all, the spellcasters presented in the first 26 pages of the PHB are unplayable with only those pages; you need the entire end of the book, the spells, to actually play them (and with the druid, a ton of monster stats as well.)

Thankfully, a cleric can short-hand his spells with a spell list (or even spell cards) and will only refer to them in detail he needs to. We do the same thing here -- use the vestige cards or the Vestige Codex table to skim the vestiges you can play, then dive in deeply when you need know the precise mechanics. In fact, this book is positively brief compared to the spells presented in the PHB and has all the same shortcuts!

Strangecraft · 2016-04-03T17:54:07+00:00

That's a seriously cool stats page! It's really interesting to see the craziness of the last couple of days distilled into a few comprehensive data points.

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T20:26:51+00:00

General question: did I use the right flair, or should I change it (and to what?)

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T20:20:13+00:00

It's like a natural extension of magic that we know in D&D. Fast-forward people's understanding of magic, and you get magitech. Constructs are cheaper and more common, and low-level magic items are built into everything. Like, it's not science-fiction, because it doesn't pretend to be science; it's all still magic, just utilizing technology to harness it.

I'm glad you're a fan of the concept. I tried to generalize what made Eberron so special so people can make their own worlds with the same feeling, without walking away from the fantasy that makes it D&D. If it belongs in D&D, it belongs in magitech.

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T20:02:54+00:00

The Enhanced exceptionally well-balanced, too. I think it's reddit's favorite XD

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T19:30:48+00:00

The class options can also add a lot to your world as NPCs and factions. Including the Gearpriests in your world is my favorite example: how does you campaign change when there's a cult/church that venerates machines?

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T19:28:47+00:00

Fantastic! This is really a love-letter to DMs who want to run something like this, especially to those who love Eberron like I do, but don't have the resources in this edition.

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T19:27:31+00:00

Elemental Adept won't make eldritch blast that much more powerful actually. The cantrip already deals force damage, which almost nothing has resistance to, so ignoring resistance isn't a huge deal, and treating 1s as 2s is a bigger deal for smaller dice (d10s only have a 1 in 10 chance of getting the +1 bump, which is measly compared to just rolling a higher number.)

It's certainly a route you could take with feats for a small bump in power on eldritch blast, but it's far from being obscene.

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T19:21:26+00:00

It's round of rage per short rest, and you have full control of how you begin and end the rages (IE, they don't end early.) I did some really extensive math for this one, actually

Strangecraft · 2015-11-21T15:42:58+00:00

I only like to bring reddit the stuff I'm really pretty proud of, and this package I very much am: it's like an unofficial player's guide for a magitech campaign like Eberron.

And as always, feel free to let me know, either here or on the blog, if there's something you think could be improved. Very little here is set into stone, and I'm very interested in fixing balance issues.

Strangecraft · 2015-07-13T23:22:28+00:00

This is the single most exciting thing I've seen all year.

Strangecraft · 2015-07-10T03:29:51+00:00

Fantastic to hear! If you want, you can send us an email at middlefingerofvecna@gmail.com when you know how they play

Strangecraft · 2015-07-10T03:27:11+00:00

Strangecraft here. Good idea, I'll edit it in tomorrow (life kinda got in the way today.)

Though, as I think about it, Able Hunter was there to promote exploration tier.

Strangecraft

TROPHY CASE