Experimental System: Legendary Heroes

[Aequitas]

Overview

[note]Please do not post in this thread. I've created a discussion thread that can be found here .[/note] I've been experimenting with some ideas for a game system that I think has some unique aspects. The inspiration for this system comes from legends such as Achilles, Hercules, Beowulf, and even that 300 movie :) The underlying concept is that the character is of importance, not his or her "stuff" (aka magic items). Some of the highlights include:

Level-less / Skill-based

Okay, not really unique, but it's where I started from. The system will be skill-based, every action taken by a character is performed using a skill check (more later). Character creation and advancement is achieved through assigning experience points (XP) directly to skills. It's up to the GM whether XP is assigned to skills that are used (my preference), or whether a "pool" of XP is earned that can be assigned to any skill(s).

Multi-Ability Skills

Rather than skills being dictated by a single ability (e.g. Strength for Acrobatics), skills combine the effects of three abilities. The idea here is that abilities are not exclusive, but rather complement each other. Someone with a high Dexterity is just as able to climb a wall as someone with a high Strength score.

Stamina

Performing a skill requires stamina, training in a skill reduces the amount of stamina required. Stamina is dictated by all of the character's base abilities. A character is limited to the number of actions he/she can perform during events (e.g. combat, time critical scenarios, etc.) by the amount of stamina available and skill requirements.

Player-Dictated Skill Difficulties

For most skills, such as Armour and Weapon related skills, the player may choose what Difficulty Value (DV) he/she wishes to attempt. Generally, the higher the DV, the greater the effect that can be achieved, but the more stamina that will be required. The idea here is that the player can choose just how much stamina he/she is willing to put into a task (considering how much is left, the situation, etc.).

Minimal Dice-rolling

While playing D&D 3.5 I've found that my players have often been discouraged by low rolls while attempting "common" tasks. Yes, a character can "take 10" in that system, but my system takes this a step further. When a character has trained in a skill, the player is able to perform tasks (succeed vs. the task DV) without needing to roll dice. A die roll is generally only needed when the player wishes to attempt something "out of the ordinary" (push his/her limits).

(system mechanics to follow)

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Abilities

The system is based upon five base abilities. Ability scores range from 1 (very poor) to 10 (heroic).

Strength
This is a measure of one's ability to lift, push, pull, etc. anything that involves physical strength.  For example, the stronger the character is, the more weight they can carry until becoming encumbered (more later).

Dexterity
This is a measure of one's ability to perform minute tasks, general agility and balance, and overall skill in using their hands.  Someone with a high Dexterity score could be involved in craftwork (e.g. pottery) or be very stealthy (e.g. pick-pocketing).

Reason
This describes one's capacity to think through problems and consider multiple solutions, general awareness of their surroundings, and overall knowledge of the world. Someone with a high Reason score would be very knowledgeable and aware of everything happening around them.

Presence
This describes one's general strength of personality, confidence, and charisma. Someone with a high Presence score would likely be a great leader.

Constitution
Describes one's physical and mental 'toughness'; the ability to withstand attacks (Hit Points), tolerate environmental conditions, and endure straining tasks.

[Aequitas]

Stamina

Every action a player performs requires a certain amount of effort to be completed.  The amount of effort is related to the difficulty (DV) associated with the action; the more complex the action, the more effort that is required to complete it.

The amount of stamina a player has dictates how much effort he can apply to performing multiple actions.  During time critical situations such as combat, each player has a limited amount of stamina available to perform their actions.  The less stamina the player uses per action, the more actions (or more complex actions) he is able to complete.

A player may choose to specialize in various skills by training in them.  This allows her to complete those actions using less effort than those who have not specialized.  For example, a player with training in Perception would be able to find a hidden trap more quickly than a player who has focused on combat oriented skills.

In addition, by training in a skill, more complex versions of that skill become possible.  A player would be able to increase the damage she can cause with a weapon, be able to expand the area of effect when casting a spell, be able to speak with someone using an unfamiliar language, and other such improvements.

Energy Bursts

When an event unfolds, characters perform their actions by expending small bursts of energy which replenish every 15 seconds.  Characters involved in the event each begin with a specific amount of energy, or 'stamina', as dictated by their ability scores (see table below). During the energy burst they may perform whatever actions they wish as long as they have enough stamina remaining.

Stamina per Burst

The amount of stamina that a character has available per energy burst to perform actions is dictated by his abilities.  Stamina is determined by summing various Stamina Contributions for each of the character's five ability scores:

Ability Score	Stamina Contribution
1	2
2	3
3	4
4	5
5	6
6	8
7	10
8	12
9	15
10	20

For example, given the ability scores 6, 4, 3, 3, and 5 (for Strength, Dexterity, Reason, Presence, and Constitution respectively), according to the table above, these ability scores give him 27 stamina per energy burst (8 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 6).

[Aequitas]

Skill Checks

As stated above, every action that the players wish to make is carried out by performing a skill check.  A skill check is made by rolling a six sided die and adding the appropriate bonus values and comparing the result to a difficulty value (DV).  If the result is equal to or greater than the difficulty, the check succeeds; otherwise the check fails and the action cannot be performed (or in some cases, must be recovered from).

[spoiler=Basics]
Basics

There are three parts to a skill check: the amount of effort placed into the action, the number of skill points (or training) that has been committed to the skill, and a bonus effort for attempting skills that the player is not fully trained in.

Skill Check = Effort + Skill Points + 1d6

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[spoiler=Effort]
Effort

The effort applied to a skill check represents the mental and physical ability required to perform the action.  For example, to climb up a cliff one must have the strength to lift herself, the dexterity to reach for and grasp the next handhold, and the perception to know where best to reach next.

The amount of effort applied to a skill is the sum of three of the character's abilities; e.g. Strength, Dexterity, and Reason for the climbing example above.  Other skills may require a different set of three abilities (e.g. Dexterity, Reason, and Presence for the Tinker skill).

Effort = Ability 1 + Ability 2 + Ability 3

As an example, a player may wish to use the Tinker skill to open a lock that has difficulty value of 15 for the lock.  The character has a Dexterity of 5, Reason of 4, and Presence of 4.  The total amount of effort that the player can put into unlocking the chest becomes:

Effort = Dexterity + Reason + Presence = 5 + 4 + 4 = 13

Although the sum of the character's abilities does not equal or exceed 15 (the difficulty value of the lock), the player does have the opportunity to roll a 1d6 and add it as bonus effort (think of it as a 'lucky try').  In this case, if the player rolls as least a 2, then the check will be successful:

Effort = Dexterity + Reason + Presence + 1d6 = 13 + 4 = 17; which is >= 15

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[spoiler=Skill Points]
Skill Points

A player may choose to train in specific skills by assigning them skill points.  The more skills points added to a skill, the more easily the player will be able to perform the action (i.e. equal or exceed the difficulty value).

Continuing with the Tinker example above, the player had applied an ability effort of 13 to the action (Dexterity + Reason + Presence) and managed to roll a 4 for the bonus effort.  This results in a total effort of 17 for performing the action (13 + 4). If the player assigns 5 skill points to the Tinker skill, she would then be able to unlock the chest much more easily:

Skill Check = (Dexterity + Reason + Presence + 1d6) + 5 = 13 + 1d6 + 5 = 18 + 1d6

In this case, since the amount of effort plus skill points already exceeds the difficulty value of the lock (15); there is no need to roll the die-six for bonus effort.  The player has performed task often enough that it has become second nature to her.

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[spoiler=Stamina]
Stamina

By training in a skill, the player is able to reduce the overall amount of effort required to perform that action.  Continuing with the Tinker example above, the player was able to achieve at least an 18 for the skill check (a die-six roll was not required).  This is 3 more than required to successfully perform the action (difficulty of 15 for the lock).

This means that the player could have chosen to put less 'effort' into the action and yet still accomplish it.  Since the character has done some training in the skill, a lot of the task has become second nature to her and she is able to perform it with less strain on her mental and physical abilities.

Skill Check = 10 (effort) + 5 (skill points) = 15

This means that if the character had 25 stamina for her current energy burst, she would now have 15 stamina remaining (25 initially - 10 for Tinker).  She may choose to perform another action during that burst (as long as it requires less than 15 stamina) or 'bank' her remaining stamina for the next burst (25 for the new burst + 15 from previous = 40).  By banking stamina, the player is able to perform much more complex tasks than could typically be performed during a single energy burst.

A skill check requires a minimum of 1 stamina to perform.  Even if enough skill points are available to make the effort 0 for the task (e.g. a very simple task to perform) is still requires at least 1 stamina.

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[spoiler=Difficulty Values]
Difficulty Values

Skill checks are made against a difficulty value (DV) which represents the complexity of the action being attempted.  Generally, the more complex the task, the higher the difficulty value will be.

The difficulty value of a skill check can be determined by the GM when designing or running the game, or by the player (see below).  The table below can be used as a guide to determine a reasonable difficulty value for an action.
 

DV	Description
< 5	A trivial task, most intelligent beings would be able to perform
10	An easy to perform action, can be performed with little effort
15	A moderately complicated task, requiring some thought and planning
20	A difficult task, requiring special training to perform well
25	A complex task, often requiring considerable effort to complete
30	Very difficult task, only a highly trained character can perform
35	A truly heroic task, only the very best can perform

Some skills (mostly weapon, armour, and spell related) allow the player to decide what difficulty he wishes to attempt.  By striving for a more complex action, the player can achieve a greater effect.  For example, most spell skills allow the player to increase the amount of damage and casting range of the spell by increasing it's difficulty value.
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[Aequitas]

Skills

Currently skills are grouped into four categories: Basic, Trades, Weapons, Armour, and Spells. An attempt has been made to balance variety of skills with simplicity. In some cases several actions can be performed using one skill (Acrobatics) while others become more specific (spells).

The sections below describe some starting ideas for various skills.

[spoiler=Basic]
Basic

These skills are inherent to all characters and do not need to be learned to be used, but can still be improved upon through training. The DV's for these skills are generally dictated by the GM and situation the character is in (see Difficulty Values above).

Name	Abilities	Description
Acrobatics	Str, Dex, Rea	Jumping, climbing, balancing, etc.
Will Power	Rea, Pre, Con	Defense against coercion, mind control, fear, etc.
Perception	Dex, Rea, Pre	General awareness, use of senses, searching, listening, etc.
React	Dex, Rea, Pre	Instinctively react to a situation, reflexes, etc.
Endure	Str, Rea, Con	Tolerate physical stress or perform a physically taxing task for a long duration
Stealth	Dex, Rea, Pre	Move quietly, hide in shadows, etc.
Trek	Str, Rea, Con	Travel long distances across terrain

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Trades]
Trades

Generally, trade skills must be learned in order to be performed. The DV's for these skills are generally dictated by the GM and situation the character is in  (see Difficulty Values above).

Name	Abilities	Description
Appraise	Dex, Rea, Con	Determine the value of an item
Communicate	Dex, Rea, Pre	Communicate with someone having a foreign language.
Craft Item	Str, Dex, Rea	Create items (potions, metalwork, leatherwork, etc.)
Deceive	Dex, Rea, Pre	Disguises, forgeries, etc.
Mentour	Dex, Rea, Pre	Teach others your skills
Navigate	Dex, Rea, Con	Travel long distances using natural monuments, night stars, etc.
Ride	Str, Dex, Rea	Use an animal mount
Sail	Str, Dex, Rea	Operate a boat (row, sail, etc.)
Swim	Str, Dex, Con	Swim in water or other liquid
Tend	Str, Dex, Rea	Provide non-magical healing to another
Tinker	Dex, Rea, Pre	Open locks, modify mechanical devices, etc.
Track	Dex, Rea, Con	Track a person or creature
Train Animal	Str, Rea, Pre	Train an animal to perform tasks

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[spoiler=Weapons]
Weapons

Here are a few example weapons. The player may choose what ever DV he/she wishes to attempt, the higher the DV the greater the effect. Note that weapons have a minimum DV that must be achieved to be used at all. The Improvement column states how much the DV must be increased in order to increase the damage, range, etc. of the weapon.

Name	Abilities	Min DV	Min Dmg/Range	Improvement
Dagger	Str, Dex, Rea	5	1d6	+7 / +1d6
Short Sword	Str, Dex, Rea	10	2d6	+7 / +1d6
Long Sword	Str, Dex, Rea	15	3d6	+5 / +1d6
Great Sword	Str, Rea, Con	20	4d6	+3 / +1d6
Shortbow	Str, Dex, Rea	10	2d6; 30 ft.	+9 / +1d6; +3 / +10 ft.
Longbow	Str, Dex, Rea	15	2d6; 100 ft.	+7 / +1d6; +2 / +20 ft.

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[spoiler=Armour]
Amour

Armour absorbs damage caused by weapons, spells, environment, etc. The player may choose what ever DV he/she wishes to attempt, the higher the DV the greater the damage reduction. Note that armour has a minimum DV that must be achieved to be used at all. Some example armour:

Name	Abilities	Min DV	Min Reduction	Improvement
Leather	Str, Dex, Con	10	1d6	+7 / +1d6
Studded Leather	Str, Dex, Rea	15	2d6	+5 / +1d6
Plate	Str, Dex, Rea	15	3d6	+7 / +1d6
Full-plate	Str, Dex, Rea	20	4d6	+3 / +1d6
Buckler	Str, Dex, Con	5	1d6	+10 / +1d6
Wood Shield	Str, Dex, Rea	13	2d6	+6 / +1d6
Steel Shield	Str, Dex, Rea	17	3d6	+4 / +1d6

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[spoiler=Spells]
Spells

Like weapons, the player may choose what ever DV he/she wishes to attempt, the higher the DV the greater the spell's effect. Note that spells have a minimum DV that must be achieved to be used at all. The Improvement column states how much the DV must be increased in order to increase the damage, range, radius, etc. of the spell. Some example spells:

Name	Abilities	Min DV	Min Effect	Improvement
Acid Arrow	Str, Dex, Rea	10	1d6 acid damage; within 20 ft.	+5 / +1d6 damage; +3 / +10 ft.
Cure	Rea, Pre, Con	10	restore 1d6 HP; within 5 ft.	+5 / +1d6 restore; +3 / +5 ft.
Inferno	Str, Rea, Con	20	2d6 fire damage, 15 ft. radius; target within 30 ft.	+5 / +1d6 damage; +7 / +10 ft. radius; +5 / +10 ft. range

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[Aequitas]

Learning & Training

Experience points (XP) are periodically earned during adventures and can be "spent" to learn new skills, train in known skills (gain skill points), or improve ability scores. Every skill and ability has an amount of XP associated with it which indicates the amount of progress toward its improvement. Once the required amount of XP to improve a character aspect (see table below) has been reached the award is earned and the related XP resets to 0 (or the remainder of XP).

Award	XP Required
New Skill	50 XP
Skill Point	75 XP
Ability Point	200 XP

Learning Skills

A skill can not be used unless it has first been learned (with the exception of Basic skills). The GM could allow players to learn any skill available, however a more rich world could be created by limiting their access. Items such as scrolls, books, and mentours could all be used to provide players means to learn unique skills. Once a skill is known, it can then be used and further trained in.

Self-Training

The GM may wish to allow players to teach themselves new skills through experimentation and determination. The player would periodically practice the new skill (even though they don't truly "know" it yet) during her adventures to earn XP for it. Once the required 75 XP for learning the skill has been reached the player has completed her initial training and can now focus on refining the skill (skill points).

Mentours

Apprenticeship would likely be the primary means for players to learn skills, and would also allow them to train in those skills more quickly. An hour with a mentour earns the character a certain amount of XP which is then assigned to the skill of interest. The Mentour skill of the mentour dictates the rate at which he or she can train an individual.

For example, the mentour below can train player's in the use of Great Swords, Handaxes, and Battleaxes. Note however that his ability to train others is not the same for each of those skills.

Skill	XP / hour
Mentour (Great Sword)	3 XP
Mentour (Handaxe)	2 XP
Mentour (Battleaxe)	1 XP

For a character to learn how to effectively use a Great Sword from this mentour, he would need to spend 25 hours (75 XP / 3 XP/h) with him. This time would not need to be contiguous though, the player could periodically visit his mentour when convenient (for both).

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Basic Skills

Placeholder, coming soon

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Trade Skills

[spoiler=Craft]
Craft

The Craft skill allows characters to create items, assuming they have the necessary training. Every type of item (or perhaps groups of similar items) has a specialized form of the Craft skill (see table below). Each specialization is treated as a unique skill and is learned and trained in separately from other specializations.

Every item has an inherent "crafting time" that represents how many hours of work is required to create that item from scratch. Performing a Craft check has the character spend a day working on the item. However crafting time is stated in terms of an expert creating the item and therefore the average character will often take longer. As such, although the player may spend 8 hours a day on the item, he or she may actually only accomplished 2 hours worth of an expert's time.

As an example, say you want to create a healing potion that has a crafting time of 10 hours. A Craft Potion (healing) check (see table below) of DV 15 will allow you complete 4 hours of work per day for three days. However if you have more advanced training and can achieve a DV 18 (+1 / +2h * 3 = 6 additional hours) you can create the potion in a single day.

Craft Specializations

Some example specializations:

Name	Abilities	Min DV / Hours	Improvement	Failure	Types
Item	Str, Dex, Rea	10 / 2h	+1 / +2h	Time spent is lost, but the item remains intact	Basket, Glassware, etc.
Potion	Dex, Rea, Con	15 / 4h	+1 / +2h	Becomes unusable, raw materials lost	Poison, Healing, etc.
Metalwork	Str, Dex, Rea	15 / 4h	+1 / +2h	Item is damaged, repeat time to fix	Horseshoes, nails, etc.
Weapon	Str, Dex, Con	15 / 2h	+1 / +1h	Item is damaged, repeat time to fix	Dagger, Long Sword, etc.
Armour	Str, Dex, Con	15 / 2h	+1 / +1h	Item is damaged, repeat time to fix	Chainmain, Plate, etc.
Leatherwork	Str, Dex, Rea	15 / 2h	+1 / +2h	Item is damaged, repeat time to fix	Saddles, Reigns, etc.

Crafting Time

Some example craft times:

Name	Hours
Healing, minor	10
Healing, major	30
Saddle	10
Long Sword	60
Chainmail	150
Full-plate	300

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[spoiler=Mentour]
Mentour

The Mentour skill allows you to train another in a single skill that you know (separate Mentour specializations for each skill). Spending an hour with your apprentice allows you to impart a specific amount of knowledge (XP) depending on your adeptness at teaching that skill. The higher the DV of the Mentour skill achieved, the more XP per hour that the apprentice earns.

DV	Effect
10	Apprentice gains 1 XP per hour
+5	Increase hourly rate by 1 XP

A failed mentour check results in no productive hours. There is no loss of existing knowledge (the apprentice does not become confused), but the time spent together was not fruitful.

As time is spent with the mentour, the apprentice will earn XP leading to new skills and skill points. However, the mentour can not impart more knowledge (skill points) for a given skill than he has himself. For example, if the mentour has 4 skill points in the Great Sword skill, the apprentice can earn up to a maximum of 4 skill points from that mentour.
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[Aequitas]

Weapons

Detailed descriptions of various weapon skills.

Description Format

Abilities: The three abilities required to use the weapon
Area of Influence: The reach or range of the weapon
Description: A description of the type, style, and appearance of the weapon
Effects: The various effects possible with the weapon (e.g. damage caused) and the difficulty adjustments for each

DV	Effect
Minimum DV required	Basic effect
Increase to DV	Improved effect
...	...

Example Weapons

[spoiler=Details]
Long Sword

Abilities: Str, Dex, Rea
Area of Influence: 5 ft.
Description: Long swords are much heavier and more difficult to wield than short swords, but are capable of causing more damage.
Effects:

DV	Effect
15	3d6 damage to the target
+5	Wield the sword off-handed
+5	Increase the damage caused by an additional 1d6

Shortbow

Abilities: Str, Dex, Rea
Area of Influence: 30 ft.
Description: A short range bow in which the range and amount of damage caused by an arrow can be adjusted based on the amount of tension placed on the bow's string.
Effects:

DV	Effect
10	2d6 damage to the target
+3	Increase the attack range (AOI) by 10 ft.
+9	Increase the damage caused by an additional 1d6

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[Aequitas]

Armour

Detailed descriptions of various armour skills.

Description Format

Abilities: The three abilities required to use the armour
Description: A description of the type, style, and appearance of the armour
Effects: The various effects possible with the armour (e.g. damage reduction) and the difficulty adjustments for each

DV	Effect
Minimum DV required	Basic effect
Increase to DV	Improved effect
...	...

Example Armour

[spoiler=Details]
Leather

Abilities: Str, Dex, Con
Description: Although more constraining than regular clothing, leather armour provides more protection with only a some loss of mobility.
Effects:

DV	Effect
10	Reduce damage by 1d6
+7	Increase the damage reduction by an additional 1d6

Plate

Abilities: Str, Dex, Rea
Description: Half-plate armour is much lighter than chainmail, but the wearer must be careful to avoid attacks aimed at weak points of the armour.
Effects:

DV	Effect
15	Reduce damage by 3d6
+7	Increase the damage reduction by an additional 1d6

Full-Plate

Abilities: Str, Dex, Rea
Description: A more extensive form of half-plate mail; the entire body from head to foot is covered in armour.  Very heavy and difficult to manuover with.  Full plate armour ideally should be fitted to the individual, but with some effort you can wear any of an appropriate size.
Effects:

DV	Effect
20	Reduce damage by 4d6
+3	Increase the damage reduction by an additional 1d6
+7	Done armour when not properly fitted for the individual

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[Aequitas]

Spells

Detailed descriptions of various spell skills.

Description Format

Abilities: The three abilities required to invoke the spell.
Range: The maximum distance to the target creature or area.
Casting Time: The amount of time required to cast the spell. The spell does not take effect until this period has lapsed.
Maintainable: States whether the spell may be maintained for multiple rounds.
Counter: Lists any skills that may be used to counter or reduce the spell effect.
Description: Describes the basic effects of the spell.
Effects: The various effects possible with the spell and the difficulty adjustments for each

DV	Effect
Minimum DV required	Basic effect
Increase to DV	Improved effect
...	...

Example Spells

[spoiler=Details]
Acid Arrow

Abilities: Str, Dex, Rea
Range: 20 ft.
Casting Time: Instantaneous
Maintainable: No
Counter: Any Armour check reduces damage
Description: A shot of acid leaves your fingers and strikes a single target of your choice.
Effects:

DV	Effect
10	Cause 1d6 acid damage to the target
+3	Increase the range of the spell by 10 ft.
+5	Increase the acid damage by 1d6

Cure

Abilities: Rea, Pre, Con
Range: 5 ft.
Casting Time: Instantaneous
Maintainable: No
Counter: Will Power negates
Description: Restores HP of the targeted creature. Can not repair significant body damage such as dismemberment.
Effects:

DV	Effect
10	Restores 1d6 HP to the targeted creature
+3	Increase the range of the spell by 5 ft.
+5	Increase the HP restoration by 1d6

Inferno

Abilities: Str, Rea, Con
Range: 30 ft.
Casting Time: Instantaneous
Maintainable: No
Counter: Any Armour check reduces damage
Description: A rain of fire falls from above, all creatures in the area take fire damage.
Effects:

DV	Effect
20	Cause 2d6 fire damage to all targets within a 15 ft. radius of the targeted area
+5	Increase the range of the spell by 10 ft.
+5	Increase the fire damage by 1d6
+7	Increase the radius of the effect by 10 ft.

[/spoiler]