The Campaign Builder's Guild

Here are a few ideas I'm throwing around for my Stone System set in Pinnacle:

Bloodstone

Determines total HP*Determines Strength*Affects Dexterity*Represented by red stones*PCs gain more when they defeat enemies in combat*

Magistone

Determines total MP*Determines Will*Affects Dexterity*Represented by blue stones*PCs gain more when they solve non-combat encounters including riddles,traps, and social interactions*

Strength

Determines how many hit die to use when attacking?*Affects PCs ability to lift,throw, and endurance?*

Dexterity(Not sure I need this?)

Will

Determines spell hit die*Determines PCs resistance to enemy spells*

Talents
    Talents will be a sort of feat system. The PCs gain talent points and assign them to a specific enhancemant. Talents could be things like an extra die on an attack or an increased percentage on a spell to do more damage. Talent points are 10% of total stone count. (It does not matter if the PC loses stones , its a count of total capacity. So if the PC takes damage losing some Bloodstone, it does not affect there talents. Maybe it should?)

Did the bloodstone idea come from Devil May Cry?

It seems interesting, but how are the stones used? Are they apportioned inside the categories? Is there a maximum that can be allocated to each sub-category?

I never played Devil May Cry. I was playing Mancala with my wife when the idea hit me. The stones are just a visual representation of the characters life/power. The are like an overall sum of the PCs abilities. The talent points are just a percentage of the stones count. If that makes sense.

Ah mancala- I enjoy that game.. although it seems a bit simple compared to dominoes, or even backgammon. Nice influence.

But as for my other question- I was more asking how the bloodstones were distributed in regards to the player's hitpoints, strength, and dexterity?


If a player has 10 bloodstones do they have 10 HP and 10 STR and 10 DEX? Or do they distribute the stones among those statistics?

Bloodstone is an actual real-world mineral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliotrope_(mineral)), so I'm really not surprised that it shows up independently in a variety of fiction settings.

I'm really more curious about whether these various stones and such are abstractions, or whether they are physically present in your game world. If I'm playing Sir Jim the Valorous in a Pinnacle game using your world and system, is Sir Jim actually picking up little rocks after battles and stuffing him in his pockets because they make him stronger? Are they commodities-- can you go down to the market and buy a half a pound of medium-grade bloodstones, in between the stalls for 20%-off zucchini and Unidentified Meat Onna Stick?

And if they're just abstractions that don't physically exist in your world, why go with the "stone" image-- the misleading image of a physical object? In that case, wouldn't "blood points" and "magipoints" (or whatever) reduce confusion?

Actually the stones are physically in the world. If you check out the Pinnacle page in Homebrews you'll see what I mean. Pinnacle itself is a dream world that is quite real to the player characters and NPCs alike. Nobody ever gets hungry or tired in Pinnacle. But everyone needs stones. The characters are carrying around pouches or boxes or whatever they find to hold the stones. Can stones be stolen? Yup. What happens when you run out of stones? Bloodstones send the NPC death and his Underblood minions to drag you to the sewers beneath the city. Where they grind you up into stones and recast you into the world.

That is... actually pretty remarkably creepy. Well done.

Lol. Thanks.

So the end-system will be pretty setting specific for Pinnacle's dreamworld i guess? This could probably involve some other interesting mechanics.
I'm thinking you have some qualities out of the dream, and you can rechoose different features when you enter a dream domain.

Quote from: Cataclysmic CrowSo the end-system will be pretty setting specific for Pinnacle's dreamworld i guess? This could probably involve some other interesting mechanics.
I'm thinking you have some qualities out of the dream, and you can rechoose different features when you enter a dream domain.

This gives me an idea, (thanks!) What if each of the Four Absolutes (Edict,Weaver,Raven,Fate) had a distinct 'realm' (or part of Pinnacle) that acted as a realm. Pc's might have to use stones to physically travel between the realms, and certain items would not be allowed to leave that realm. Also certain powers/abilities would only be available in those realms. Then again, I hate to restrict PC's in such a free-form sort of game. This gets tougher the more I dive into it.

 

Quote from: Light DragonAh mancala- I enjoy that game.. although it seems a bit simple compared to dominoes, or even backgammon. Nice influence.

But as for my other question- I was more asking how the bloodstones were distributed in regards to the player's hitpoints, strength, and dexterity?


If a player has 10 bloodstones do they have 10 HP and 10 STR and 10 DEX? Or do they distribute the stones among those statistics?

Totally missed this post my draconic friend.
  What I had originally written down in my notebook(s) was this:

 Players start with 10/10/10 (STR. DEX. WILL.) Those abilities are dependent on the stones , I.E. If the PC has 3 Bloodstone then the total Strenth will be 13. Simple right? Now what happens when the PC gets like 15 Bloodstone? 25 STR? No way... (I was hoping to keep this as close to the d20 realm as possible, as it's pretty much the only system I am familiar with. Plus rolling dice is just so much damn fun.)  Oh another thing , DEX would be based on both stones, just divide by two , and round down.

  An attack with a weapon would be : STR (10 base) + Bloodstone (ex. 3) + weapon modifier (ex. 3) vs. opposing Bloodstone count. (remember everything in Pinnacle has the stones, even the Absolutes).  Seems pretty simple . I don't really know how to continue from here except to start preparing for a 'test' session with my group. Skills will be another problem. Do I use a static DC vs. the Stats? That seems like it would be the simplest approach.

 I also like the idea of PCs giving up stones permanantly for 'feat' like payoffs. Like a permanant boost to a skill or somthing like that instead of just more HP. (You can't possibly have time to work out if your studying lockpicking can you?)

 I know this is a big jumble of well-mess right now. But honestly thats how my brain works. This is kind of a way to throw it out there and then pick at the pieces I like.

 As always, comments, suggestions, criticism welcome.

 

I'm thinking that whenever a human who is capable of entering Pinnacle falls asleep they are woven into a tale by one or more of the 4 Absolutes. You wake up in a new world. You are still your waking self, but you have your bloodstones and you take on a role depending on the dream. The land should probably have a dreamy, ethereal, fluctuating quality to it. You might wake up in a house and when you walk out the door and turn around you see the house is suddenly on a dark hilltop far away.
Alternatively you might have a sort of gateway part where the sleepers find themselves at the gate of Pinnacle talking to an Absolute or one of their servants. He hands them their pouch and lets them buy "feats" if they want to.  
Dunno, just ideas...

[spoiler=Creatures]All of these are creatures in the works. Some have already been mentioned in the Pinnacle Thread (see My bookshelf in sig) some not.

Obelisk Minotaur*Clockwork Architect*Paper Dragon*Underblood*Denizen*Tickers*Maggotmen*

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=places]

Urn of Inevitability*Times Square*Dream Theatre*The Coil(previously Sewers)*

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dangers]

Decaying Moss*Un-directional Ruins*Shadows*Glyphs*

[/spoiler]
[note]The character development can be likened to a tree with the foundation being a pile of stones. All aspects of the PC will be based on just the two stones. The key concept is: Stones--->Stat--->Skill--->Feat--->etc.[/note]
 

Players gain stones (experience) from each encounter/challenge. They can then allocate the stones to different aspects of their character from the main stone 'pool' (# of stones = total blood+mage stones)
including:
 Skills Which are dependent on Stats which in turn are dependent on a certain stone.(For instance one cannot use a stone to 'buy' a skill bonus that does not correlate to the relative stone. Stone--->Stat--->Skill
 
 Feats Again based on the above Stone--->Stat-->Feat
 relationship.

 Items Not sure about this one. Probably don't need it. I just liked the idea of a player having a weapon that they really like and literally putting themselves into it to empower it.

 Just a thought Perhap after each challenge, the Magistone that is lingering will be "up for grabs". Each PC could roll a d20 (or w/e) and add a modifier to it. The highest roll gains the Magistone. Then I thought well the only modifiers would all be based on stones (remember the Stone-->Stat-->etc. trickle down effect) and therefore eventually it would be impossible for a player with a bad luck streak to gain any MS. This is where the DM would have to put caches of MS to balance the overall parties strengths.  Just a thought.

 

Quote from: Cataclysmic CrowThe land should probably have a dreamy, ethereal, fluctuating quality to it. You might wake up in a house and when you walk out the door and turn around you see the house is suddenly on a dark hilltop far away.

Absolutely.  This is the atmosphere I hope to invoke.

 Thanks for the ideas CC. Everything is still up in the air.

Quote from: SarisaPaper Dragon

Is that like a paper tiger, but a with dragon instead :-p

Paper tiger?
 I thought a fire breathing monster should be paper in this setting for some reason.

The following are test powers I would like to see the PCs be able to use in Pinnacle. Where able I have tried to give some fluff. The powers like Draftspeak use an existing element (the Architects who write the world with stones) to help keep the whole vibe of the setting intact through a characters growth.


 [note=On Draftspeak]Draft speak allows a PC to view otherwise hidden places, (out of the line of sight) like through walls, buildings etc. Kind of like a sonar type deal.[/note]

[ic=Draft Speak]"A vision of your surroundings pops into your head after a moment of intense concentration and a gentle touch of your hand on the stone walls. Your epiphany helps guide you and your companions through the unknown."[/ic]
Draft Speak I Allows a PC to read the 'blue prints' of any building within 20ft.  <passive> Prequisite:Dreamspeak

 Draft Speak II Increases the range of Draftspeak to 40ft. <passive> Prequisite: Draftspeak I

 Draft Speak III Increases the range of Draftspeak to 50ft. and allows the PC to communicate with the Architects. <passive> Prequisite: Draftspeak II

[ic=Shapeworld]"You use your hard earned stones to shape your surroundings to your liking."[/ic]
 Shapeworld Allows the PC to modify! the surrounding environment up to 5 cubic feet. How long it lasts is still in question.<active> prequisite:Draftspeak II

 Shapeworld II Increases the strength of Shapeworld to 10 cubic feet. <active> Prequisites:Draftspeak III, Shapeworld.

 Stone Abacus Allows the PC to 'count' a creatures total Stones. (one creature per encounter)<active>

 Shadow Walker Allows a PC to use Pinnacles Shadows to travel to a distant location. <active> Prequisite:Fleet Footed

 Affinity for Blood Gives a bonus to Bloodstones earned from each encounter. (possibly a static#, or a die roll)<passive>

 Affinity for Mage Gives a bonus to Magistones earned from each encounter. (again possibly a static# or die roll)<passive>

 Fleet Footed Increases PCs movement speed. (pretty boring)

 Dream Speak Allows a PC to read within the Dream. (You know how it's impossible to read anything in dreams?) Otherwise any letters and numbers appear jumbled etc.

 Blood to Strength Increases PCs melee attack power.

 

Anyone have any ideas?

Paper Tiger means something that looks fierce but which is not really a threat. For example, the US' threat to nuke another country into oblivion was hollow, thus the US was a "paper tiger" according to Mao Zedong.

I'd like to get a discussion going on an idea I had for a mechanic in Pinnacle.

 It would be a stat called Lucidity, and it would basically be how much control you have over your actions in Pinnacle, or in the dream in general. How you achieve greater lucidity is still up in the air. I was thinking that you would lose control of your 'dream' through spell use, or the general loss of the blue magistone. The more frequent your spell use in an encounter, the less control you have over your other actions, walking, talking, moving etc.

what do you think?

Edit: This might be an inconvienent 'death' , for the PC certainly, but also for the Inevitables. When a player or denizen goes totally non-lucid, all that remains are a pile of crystal clear stones. (their former blood/magi stone). These are the very building blocks of all things in this world, so of course this is a disaster. Almost like a plague.

Quote from: Cataclysmic CrowI'm thinking that whenever a human who is capable of entering Pinnacle falls asleep they are woven into a tale by one or more of the 4 Absolutes. You wake up in a new world. You are still your waking self, but you have your bloodstones and you take on a role depending on the dream. The land should probably have a dreamy, ethereal, fluctuating quality to it. You might wake up in a house and when you walk out the door and turn around you see the house is suddenly on a dark hilltop far away.
Alternatively you might have a sort of gateway part where the sleepers find themselves at the gate of Pinnacle talking to an Absolute or one of their servants. He hands them their pouch and lets them buy "feats" if they want to.  
Dunno, just ideas...

I totally missed this. Sorry CC, your insights have been really helpful!
That would certainly give a wide variety of adventures. The only consistant location could be the city, where the Inevitables reside. Perhaps the PCs are characters working to achieve the goals of one Inevitable in one session, and then for another in the next. They might even face themselves as time is almost completely meaningless. The trouble I find, is figuring out the struggles of the characters. I think I should focus on who the PCs can 'be'. Although leaving it completely open to the players to figure this out could be tantalizing to get people to actually try the game.

[note=Absolutes/Inevitables] I changed Absolutes to Inevitables for some reason. For all intents and purposes they are synonomous.[/note]