Author: Maezar

“Backstab” question for Jason Lutes.

“When you use a hand weapon to attack a surprised or defenseless target, you can choose to deal your damage or roll +DEX: on a 10+, choose 2 from the list below; on a 7-9, choose 1…”

This implies that when you simply use a hand weapon, you can skip right to dealing damage before rolling anything.

Did you mean something like this?

When you Fight a surprised or defenseless target and are about to deal damage with a hand weapon, you can choose to deal your damage or roll +DEX: on a 10+, choose 2 from the list below; on a 7-9, choose 1…

So, after much ado and playtesting, here is our revisited and revised “Cleric 2.0” for Freebooters on the Frontier.

DISCIPLE (Remains unchanged, though we use my longer lists for Domain and Tenet)

PRAYER

Whenever and wherever you voice a request for the favor of your Deity, roll+WIS:

+ Gain 1d4 Favor.

= Gain 1 Favor.

— Mark XP. You are unable to Pray again until you perform a Ritual or Offering to gain Favor.

The maximum Favor you may hold at once is equal to your level +WIS, plus any Favor granted by items.

RITUAL

When you take the time to commune with your deity by performing a ritual of your faith, restore Favor to full. A Ritual must be performed without distraction or disturbance when you when you Make Camp or Recover.

OFFERING

When you make an appropriate offering to your deity, ask the GM how much favor you gain. 1 favor is roughly equivalent to your current level x10 in silver coins, or your current level x2 in HP. Offerings must be tithed, ritually destroyed, or given away according to the teachings of your faith.

INVOCATION

When you invoke the name of your Deity to empower, protect, hinder or afflict someone or something, explain how this represents the will of your deity and roll+WIS.

+ Hold 3.

= Hold 1.

— Lose 1 Favor. If you had none to lose, roll a Test of Faith.

Choose one from the list below and spend your hold 1-for-1 to:

o Grant +1 ongoing (Hold=Duration).

o Grant +1 armor, load, favor, mettle, cunning, spell power, etc. to

anyone/anything you touch. (Hold=Duration).

o Grant +1 to the damage inflicted by any weapon you touch. (Hold=Duration).

o Heal HP or ability damage in any creature you can touch. (Hold=Points healed).

o Deal touch damage to creatures whose alignment is opposite yours. (Hold=Points inflicted).

o Inflict a curse or condition. (Hold=Duration).

You may permanently burn 1 Wisdom to make a curse permanent.

* A cleric who attempts to touch an unwilling subject must Make a Saving Throw or Fight to do so. Failing the touch counts as spending one Hold. Beings that cannot be touched physically may still be touched spiritually. The cleric is not protected from harm caused by touching fire, acid, etc.

* Once the effect of an invocation takes place, any unspent hold is immediately lost.

* A cleric may maintain one ongoing Invocation effect per two levels of experience.

New Marketplace items:

Temple Incense: 10SP +1 forward to Pray. 3 Uses. Slow.

Prayer Symbol: 500 sp +1 ongoing to Pray.

So, last night, Kathug, priest of Thalangul, “fell from grace” and has been stripped of all Cleric moves until he proves himself worthy. What are your ideas on how Kathug might regain favor in the eyes of his deity? Here’s some background….

1. Thalangul is a god of “laughing chaos” whose worship prevents plague. His symbol is the toad.

2. While exploring a dungeon, the cleric Kathug successfully called upon Thalangul (throwing in ALL of his remaining Favor) to bless his weapon so it could deal damage to the incorporeal foe.

3. Soon after, Kathug failed miserably while asking his god for additional favor. (We use the 2d6 table for TEST OF FAITH, so this was in fact “snake eyes” on test of faith. Ugh!)

4. Kathug and his comrades fled the wraith. It was later destroyed by the “ghostly guardians” summoned through the statue of an ancient dwarf lord.

5. A city-state, days away, has a temple of Thalangul. The nearest town has a shrine to Thalangul. A nearby village is afflicted with plague.

So… what’s a fallen cleric to do?

What would you do for unarmed combat damage in FotF? I’d like to take +STR into account somehow…

In thinking about monster scaling, I wanted to get my head around hit point progression for players so I made this chart. It’s based on a party of four: Cleric, Fighter, Mage and Thief. (The spreadsheet can be re-configured with up to eight characters of any class.)

Something I’ve been looking at lately as I work on my “Old School Magic Items” project for Freebooters on the Frontier.

Originally shared by Maezar

Here’s a nifty visualization of how modifiers, bonuses or penalties affect your chances for success and failure in Dungeon World and other 2d6 PBTA games.

Consider this a public service announcement reminding you to NOT let your OSR gaming instincts anywhere near these games. Look at the differences between any two columns and you’ll see “there’s no such thing as a +1 sword” (because even if you created one, it’s effects on the math are greater than you would expect if your grandad’s d20 game set your expectations.