The Campaign Builder's Guild

I have an idea for an adventure, which I would have it's theme loosely based apon the current hit ninja story's world, Naruto.

While I can create the adventure's events and plot twists, I'm still in the dark as to what D&D rule modifications I need to create so as to keep my players from creating save-or-die slingers or nova-routine performers, but still reflecting the awesome power the characters in Naruto display.

I have a basis. Psionics 3.5. This system reflects the chakra pool the characters have, as well as Sasuke's technique stealing abilities. Bad news is it performs poorly at reflecting at what an incredibly efficient chakra user like Sakura does, and some approximations don't work 'till the extremely high level, or are unimpressive, even at high level. Like Naruto's.


Resource: Psionic Naruto Builds
A project which translates Naruto-verse characters into halfway playable characters. If you look at the build for Hyuaga Neji, you'll notice that he performs a nova routine which does an average 254d6 damage at the expenditure of 15pp, modified by the occasional Nat1 and Nat20. I don't want that.

What I'll have for sure:
CORE 3.5, with the exception of all spellcasting. If somebody really wants a certain ability, I will create a psionic version wich they may use.
Psionic classes and rules with the exception of the Divine Mind.
Some material from the 'Mind's Eye' web articles.
Hyperconscious. A thrid party source book for psionic characters.
Frank and K's advanced combat rules from Races of War.

What I'll be tossing:
The entire wealth system and most of the magic item system. The characters get a standard set of 15 shurikens/needles, five daggers (kunai), a first aid kit, 30ft of wire, and a dozen fire tags each. This is on top of whatever gimmick equipment a player may request, and the stuff I'll just handout.


I'm out of ideas at this point. Help?

Quote from: the_takenWhat I'll be tossing:
The entire wealth system...

you mean the pp/gp/sp/cp system, or the wealth bonus system found in the D20 modern settings? Unfortunately, I probably won't be much more than the most basic of help to you, as I've never really had interest in that series.

To limit high powered finishing-move antics, you have to make them different from powers known. If a PC can use a high-level power every day at little to no risk, the power loses some of its mystique.

Here's an idea:
Assign PCs a resource similar to action points (refreshed whenever the PC gains a level, or possibly whenever something of dramatic importance happens.) A PC can spend one of these points to manifest a high-level power that he doesn't know. If the PC's manifester level is too low to use the power (which it probably will be,) the PC can burn his own hit points to increase his manifester level (as in the Overchannel power, only without any limit to how high it can go, and the PC can do this even if he doesn't have the Overchannel feat.) If the PC doesn't have enough power points, you could also let him burn his ability scores as with the Body Fuel feat. Let the PCs have fun with the aesthetics of what happens when they use this ability. I think this would make displays of great power possible, but dangerous and limited.

The basis of the entire wealth by level system in D&D is that each character must have an apropriate set of items tp stay competitive. Character wealth = character power.
Characters must have a +3 stick, a suit of armor +4, a +4 shield, a cloak of resistance +3, and +6 to two stats. Plus a pile of disposable items like potions, arrow, wine...
I come to agree with some people that it's pretty stupid to actualy have to have the non-disposalbes. So I'm just saying, screw it all; the only things that keeps your character competitive are his own skills and teammates. Sure, the occasional sword made out of pure angelic fire is neat, but it's not going to be any more powerfull than solid metal sword. It's just going to grant the weilder a different set of abilities. Like fire damage instead of stabbing damage, for instance.

Obviously, I'm going to have to scale back the power of some monsters (if I don't make my own), 'cause they're based apon the characters having nescesaties like the +3 stick of zombie stabbing.

Now, the d20 modern wealth point system. I'm only aware of. But from what I've heard, it's not a hard measurement of somebody's wealth, but also their ability to call in favors, and their ability to mannage their credit and banking.
A cute idea. There is chance that you can walk into a tavern and the manager will give you a discount from the "special menu" 'cause you know he's been cheating on his wife.
This will be a completely useless stat if I go Resident Evil 4 on the PCs and trap them in a gauntlet of zombie infested castles, caverns and villages. Not sure if I want to do that, but it's up there.

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Compare my PCs to Leon in RE4.
You start out as a simpleton with a popper and a butter knife. The popper can pick off zombies that try to run at you, and the dorks that actualy make it, you stab in the face and windmill kick.
Then you get swampped by zombies. So you grab the shotgun somebuddy hung up on the wall. From now you're a badass. And they have ammo for the thing lying around like it's candy. (Evn though they almost only ever use axes, Xbows and RPGs as ranged attacks)
I'm thinking of havng my ninja PCs work like this. They snoop around, and occasionaly beat something to death with their daggers. But when a serious threat shows up, they tap into their ninjistics.

Action point type system sounds like a good idea, but I'm unimpressed with the implementation in the official system. You have a cool idea with that.
"You get 1 combo point for each successful attack you make on an enemy, wich lasts for X number of rounds. This points give you tactical options, like a +4 bonus to tuble checks to move thru an occupied square.
You also get one finnishing move point per level. When you level up, you get another point. This point let's you do awesome things. Like rip out somebody's skull and beat them to death with it."

You make a good point about equipment. I'd let players design their own masterwork weapons and assign them the stats of any existing masterwork weapon in the PHB. If you have access to the Book of Exalted Deeds, there's a feat called Vow of Poverty that allows a PC to function at about the same power level without any magical equipment. You could modify someting like that and assign it to each PC instead of making all monsters weaker.

Another option is to let each starting PC design a personal weapon (or matched pair of weapons) that will level up along with him. Like a weapon of legacy, except it doesn't suck. At every even-numbered level, the player could give the weapon another +1 equivalent bonus, until 20th-level characters have +10 equivalent weapons, the maximum for non-epic items, but still the same weapons they started their training with. For weapon qualities that count as more than a +1 bonus, players could "trade in" points of normal enhancement bonus to make up the difference. For example, upon reaching 10th level, a PC could turn his +4 weapon into either a +5 weapon, a +4 flaming weapon, or a +3 holy weapon.

I found a simple solution to preventing nova-routines. Lower level.

Skills: Ninjas should be very skillful. But if you look at the psionic builds, you'll notice that most of the classes being used have a huge skill deficiency.

My first idea was to automatically gestalt every character with rogue. But then everybody gets sneak attack for free.
Then I considered expert, the NPC class, presetting stealth, athletics, acrobatics and detection as class skills.
I was at first satisfied, but this undermines the value of the few classes that grant additional skill points.

I'll just state: Add spot, listen, search, hide, move silently, tumble, jump, climb, swim, decipher script, disguise, bluff, sense motive, intimidate, diplomacy and forgery as class skills. Increase the number of skill points you get per level by 6 (24 at first).

Opinion?