It has been a little while since I've last posted here, so I felt I should compile what I currently have for my campaign setting in progress for the interested parties here. I'm still working on it bit by bit, and have not finished classes or locations. There will be more than 14 PDF's on locations (One for each, and probably one for the major terrain features). Classes will involve:
*My Philosopher variant
*My Sorcerer variant
*My Druid variant
*My Witch variant
*My Fighter variant
*My Cleric variant
*Unmolested Complete Adventurer Scout
*Unmolested PHB Rogue
I would like to ask that those who DO download this .rar file read through everything and give me feed back. In particular, I am interested in:
* What do you think about the class variants?
* Which do you prefer: Double column or standard layout for locations?
* Is the fluff "neat" sounding? Does it need enhancement, embelishment?
* Is anything confusing? Misleading? Do certain things not make sense?
* Does it sound cheesy?
Note that the crafting variant is actually way out of date and will probably not appear in my setting the way it is presented.
Without further adeu: http://files.filefront.com/Vael+so+farrar/;13248462;/fileinfo.html
M.
I would like to read it but unfortunately there's something with my connection that gives me trouble with this sort of file... any chance you can post the stuff here?
It's multiple .pdf files inside of a single .rar; want me to email it to you?
M.
I'll take some time to read up on all this. No promises on when it will get to you.
i gave the pdfs a quick read. :) in general, i prefer a two column layout. it's hard to explain why, it just looks more "professional", if you know what i mean.
timeline:
- is it pantheist or panthiest?
- found quite a bunch of typos
- why is the master of the republic ruler of an empire?
i liked the timeline, it's realistically framed. a short glossary at the beginning would help understad the titles and names, though. :)
about vael:
- again, typos.
the cynning ritual is a great idea. did you base it on a real-world tradition or is it 100% yours? :)
you have a large amount of intelligent lifeforms. i know this is a matter of taste, but is their a reason for their existence (e.g. divine) or are they offshoots from a single species?
the passage on weapons and war is well written and fits nicely with the overarcing celtic/pre-medieval tone.
why is the murder of a woman twice as "expensive" in a patriarchal society?
i like how you portrayed the drakwere without pidgeonholing them into classic fantasy niches for "normal monster people".
the priest:
looks okay to me. any reason why the class only has six levels? in your fluff documents was only one sidenote concerning undead, so why does the priest have turn/rebuke as a standard class feature? lay on hands would fit better, in my opinion.
religion:
solid work, no redundant or illogical gods. i like it. :)
witch:
found a mistake in the class features list: familiar is gained at first level, but the description gives "second".
the wortcunning ability is a good choice. i always dislike spending XP on consumables (and it's not really believable as a job, either).
scholar:
the scholar has a lot of useful close combat abilities, but they are kind of wasted on someone with an already puny 1/2 BAB, if i read it right. also, weapon proficiency: sword? what sword?
how many theses can a scholar have active at any given time? does he have to study them every day, once for every casting or simply one time?
the countertheory is nice, but i don't see how it fits into your world's way magic works. when magic is real, how can you counter it by arguing against it?
sorcerer:
i like it, especially the arcane endurance. why is their a column for 4th level spells when he can not actually cast any?.
overall, i think you did a great job, the fluff is logical without any glaring breaks with tone or style. the only real point of critique is the frequency of spelling and grammatical errors, which is not too bad if this is a pre-final version. two thumbs up. :)
Thanks for the feedback! This is far from a final version, so hopefully I will be able to work out all of the kinks sometime soon. I don't often catch them unless they're fairly obvious; guess it's one of those "My own work is gold" scenarios?
In response to your questions:
Quote from: Scholari gave the pdfs a quick read. :) in general, i prefer a two column layout. it's hard to explain why, it just looks more "professional", if you know what i mean.
timeline:
- is it pantheist or panthiest?
[/quote]
- why is the master of the republic ruler of an empire?[/quote]
Probably a slip of mind. I used a random die-roll to determine their governmental organization, and it happened to be "Republic". As such I'm trying to avoid Rome references as best I can; must have been a mistype.
M.
Quote from: Scholari liked the timeline, it's realistically framed. a short glossary at the beginning would help understad the titles and names, though. :)
about vael:
- again, typos.[/quote]
the cynning ritual is a great idea. did you base it on a real-world tradition or is it 100% yours? :)[/quote] Mostly mine, but the beating idea is taken from the French knighting ceremony. At the very end you receive a "bofit", which is simply a single hard smack across your head -- the last blow you are to never return. The rest, however, is all me.
M.
Quote from: Scholaryou have a large amount of intelligent lifeforms. i know this is a matter of taste, but is their a reason for their existence (e.g. divine) or are they offshoots from a single species?
the passage on weapons and war is well written and fits nicely with the overarcing celtic/pre-medieval tone.[/quote]
why is the murder of a woman twice as "expensive" in a patriarchal society?[/quote]
I recall doing some research on Weregelds, and from what I recall there are some instances of women being considered more expensive because they represent the "future" of a clan. It makes sense; the Norse even forbade women from serving in combat because of their role in child rearing.
M.
Quote from: Scholari like how you portrayed the drakwere without pidgeonholing them into classic fantasy niches for "normal monster people".
the priest:
looks okay to me. any reason why the class only has six levels? in your fluff documents was only one sidenote concerning undead, so why does the priest have turn/rebuke as a standard class feature? lay on hands would fit better, in my opinion.[/quote]
religion:
solid work, no redundant or illogical gods. i like it. :)[/quote]
Thanks. I wanted something small but interconnected. I never understood the default gods, as they seemed like random beings for no apparent reason. As for explaining why they exist, I might stick with an older explanation: There are no gods by nature. The minds of mankind are so powerful, that the shear collection of faith makes a meta-being manifest, and reacts to ebbs and flows of faith. Not sure though.
M.
Quote from: Scholarwitch:
found a mistake in the class features list: familiar is gained at first level, but the description gives "second".
the wortcunning ability is a good choice. i always dislike spending XP on consumables (and it's not really believable as a job, either).
scholar:
the scholar has a lot of useful close combat abilities, but they are kind of wasted on someone with an already puny 1/2 BAB, if i read it right. [/quote]
also, weapon proficiency: sword? what sword?[/quote]
The generic arming sword that the "longsword" is supposed to represent in DnD 3.5 is just called "sword" on my weapon lists. It'll probably get a better name soon.
M.
Last part, I promise!
Quote from: Scholarhow many theses can a scholar have active at any given time? does he have to study them every day, once for every casting or simply one time?
the countertheory is nice, but i don't see how it fits into your world's way magic works. when magic is real, how can you counter it by arguing against it?[/quote]
sorcerer:
i like it, especially the arcane endurance. why is their a column for 4th level spells when he can not actually cast any?.[/quote]
overall, i think you did a great job, the fluff is logical without any glaring breaks with tone or style. the only real point of critique is the frequency of spelling and grammatical errors, which is not too bad if this is a pre-final version. two thumbs up. :)[/quote]
Thanks for taking the time to read through it. Hopefully it's also original enough to interest others, as I will be, when finished, distributing this over the 'net as a ready to play setting. As is, if all goes well, you *should* be able to play this as any NPC or PC class, including a commoner.
M.