Blog not to be updated for two weeks

Do to an emergency of a personal nature my blog is on hold for two weeks.

Ritual of Links # 4 (Feats)

The Five Feats articles have become very popular, because everybody loves feats. Here are some feat links, to help you get started on a DM approved feat bible, if you don’t have one get started! And tell you DM “A feat per level!”

The Netbook of Feats has a really interesting way of ranking feats, I recommend checking it out, its part of my edited feat bible.

A way to really get started with a feat bible of your own is over at the crystal keep 3.5 index of feats.

Oh Charisma you are a the beaten and abused step-child of ability scores, How about we try and use you in, Gasp! Combat! Check out these Charisma Feats

Magical Item that give feats, how do you price that? What is a feat worth? Jonathan Drain takes and in-depth look at this important question that could re-shape the physics of your RPG world.

Never forget diamondthrone.com has feats ready made for your game, I recommend Truename feats and Hiding your Truename feats (Unbound hater that I am!)


Two asides

I normally don’t do this as I try to make something useful, but I higly recommend two books if your thinking about designing feats yourself

The Advanced Gamemaster’s Guide by Owen K. Stephens



The Book of Iron Might by Mike Mearls.

Five Feats (part IV)

UNERRING CRITICAL [Ceremonial]
You are skilled at landing deadly blows. You preform a ritual where you cleave the head of an animal clean off in one stroke.
Prerequisites: Truename Improved Critical, base attack bonus +10.
Benefit: When you threaten a critical hit using a weapon for which you have the Improved Critical feat, you gain a +4 bonus on the attack roll made to confirm a critical hit. If you roll a natural 20 on your attack roll, you automatically confirm the critical hit, with DM Adjudication and permission you use a critical hit chart in addition to the normal effect of a critical hit.

ARMORED CASTER [General]
You are skilled at wielding magic energies even while wearing armor.
Prerequisites: Proficiency with the armor,
Benefit: When wearing light armor, you reduce the chance for arcane spell failure by –15% (to a minimum of 5%). When wearing medium armor, you reduce the chance for arcane spell failure by –20% (to a minimum of 10%). When wearing heavy armor, you reduce the chance for arcane spell failure by –25% (to a minimum of 15%).

CRUSHING CHARGE [General]
You can grind your foes underfoot with your powerful charge attacks.
Prerequisites: Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, base attack bonus +10.
Benefit: If you hit a foe with your charge attack, you can immediately try to enter that foe’s square and attempt to overrun him (provided you have sufficient movement available). The overrun attempt is resolved normally (including allowing your opponent an attack of opportunity and a chance to step aside). If your opponent blocks and your overrun attempts knocks him prone, you deal damage according to your size:
Crushing Charge
Size ---------Damage
Fine -----------1
Diminutive ---1d2
Tiny ---------1d3
Small --------1d4
Medium -----1d6
Large--------1d8
Huge --------2d6
Gargantuan -2d8
Colossal -----4d6
If your charge attack drops your foe (by reducing his hit pints to 0 or lower, by knocking him prone, or by otherwise leaving him helpless) you can continue the straight line of your charge through your foe’s space (provided you have sufficient movement to do so). If your base attack bonus allows you to make multiple attacks, you can continue making attacks as you charge until you run out of attacks or movement.
Special: If you have the Mounted Combat feat, you can use Crushing Charge while making a mounted charge. Your mount makes the opposed Strength check to resolve the overrun, and if it knocks your foe prone, it deals damage

NIGHTWALKER’S STRIKE [Ceremonial]
You may perfom a devastating attack on those who are unaware of your position you must perform a special ceremony with a member of the nightwalker’s guild
Prerequisites: Truename, Sneak 6 ranks, Sneak attack +2d6
Benefit: Once per round when you beat an opponents spot or listen check by 10 or more, you may make a single attack against an opponent who is unaware of you. If you hit your target, you receive an automatic critical threat with your weapon. You then resolve the threat. If a critical hit results, you gain an additional +1d6 sneak attack damage in addition to the benefits of the critical hit.
Special: Spells or effects that reveal your presence or position prevent you from using this ability.

NEMISIS OF THE GREEN [Ceremonial]
You are gifted with the ability to defeat the servants of the green; you perform a special ceremony with a darkbond and a champion of darkness, on a moonless night.
Prerequisites: Truename A special ability that uses negative energy, or the ability to cast a negative energy spell.
Benefit: Anyone within 30’ of you who attempts to use a positive energy effect or spell (such as healing) must first succeed at a Concentration check (DC 5+ your character level). A failed check results in failed attempt the the ability is used, charge expended and/or the spell slot expended.

DRAMOJH PLAGUE BEARER [Talent]
The dramojh experimented upon your ancestors turning them into walking contagions, spreading disease and pestilence wherever you or they travel.
Prerequisite: 1st level character, Con 13
Benefit: when you take this feat, you and your DM choose a disease to which your ancestors have been designed to carry, you are immune to this particular disease. You carry this disease and may infect others if you meet the infection requirements. Hence diseases requiring contact need touching to transmit them, injury requires a wound, and inhaled requires the victim to breath your exhalations.
Special: This feat does not exclude magical diseases. If you know a creature’s truename you can choose to make them immune to infection from this feat, or you can make the disease difficult to heal requiring a power level check for a remove disease and restoration to be effective (DC 11+ your character level + your constitution modifier).

OGL link

Ritual of Links # 3 (Monsters Evolved)

Want a quick and easy way to change the stats on your monsters? check out the Monster Forge exel program by Heroforge. It is d20 3.5 witha good number of templates from WotC but I am sure you have gotten really good at conversion by now.

How about a step by step to bulilding your own monster? Check out the Kencyclopedia Creature Creator again a d20 3.5, and watch out for using weapons the multiple attacks are off.


Before you go making your monster, you might want to make sure your players don't make fun of it, read: Stupid Monsters


Want to throw you players off, check out the Creature Catalog, i really recomend the templates both for conversions and for new monsters, that way you keep something appropriate to AE and make it something completely new, perhaps a dramojh experiment, a new stage, or dead end in the creatures evolution.


Speaking of Evolution how about doing something different with all those magical beasts? Try the Bonus Chapter of the Monster Handbook by Will Upchurch

Akashic Evolved

Akashic: Today is all about the Akashic

By any other name: One of the big things I love about rpgs is language, the more archaic and imaginitive the better, I don't like made up languages, unless they really follow certain rules; so I tend to adapt existing langauges to fit my needs, in this case I took a concept I hate people saying "hey akashic get over here" and made it a strength adding several new ways to call someone an akashic and a few that are not so nice.

New Racial Names:
Shal Dahnam-----(verrik: artist of memory),
Dar Stina---------(Sennes: skill gifted),
Da-Lodzong------(giant: singer of songs),
Dhikanetyr ------(faen, godspeaker)
Tradocuir--------(draconic: enigma seeker),
Awnasi haal------(litorian: one gifted by the ancestors),
Wanawi-----------(sibeccai: artisan of the mind),

Common names: Savant, Intuitive, Recaller, Perceptive, Esoteric, Erudite, Sage, Mnemonist, Seer, Psychic, Psychometrist, Delver, Rogue Scholar, Historian

Disparaging names: "Mindthief,", "Trancer", "Mind-drinker",


The akashic special abilites are a treasure trove of niffty memory loving goodness that I just had to add too.

MINOR AKASHIC ABILITY

Recall Weakness: 1/day you may make a Delve the Collective Memory check (DC 15+Challenge Rating) as a standard action, to determine how to bypass a trap or defeat a foe. (Examples: A xaaer is vulnerable to undead effecting spells, thea trap cannot affect someone standing in the square just to right of the door, a magic weapon will harm an evolved gargoyle normally etc. )


LESSER AKASHIC ABILITY

Akashic Learning: When gaining a new feat or skill, you are guided by the course of history and able to predict what will benefit you most in the future. While this ability is far from perfect, it does give you a distinct edge. Each time you gain a feat or skill points, you may delay selecting them. Instead of spending them immediately, you may opt to select the feat or skill at any time in the future before you gain your next level. If you gain a level before making your delayed selection, you must make the delayed selection immediately, before applying the new level. This allows you to simulate having trained by the akashic memory rather than the traditional sense. It does not negate prerequisites for feats or allow you to take skills you do not qualify for. If a feat or skill requires special training or ceremony to be selected, those must have been available at some point between when it became available originally and at the point you make the selection (DM Adjudication).


GREATER AKASHIC ABILITY

Akashic Possession: When you die your experience take up permanent residence in the collective memory failing to merge with the rest, when an akashic attempts to delve the collective memory and examine one of your experiences (DM ajudicaiton) using any of his akashic abilities he makes a saving throw DC 10+1/2 your akashic level + your charisma modifier, a failed save results in the delver’s memories being shattered and destroyed and are replaced. (base creature loses all mental ability scores and class levels; replace them with yours at the time of death except you are one level lower, this level loss cannot be regained except through normal advancement). A successful save results in that creature being forever immune to your attempts to possess it.

Five Feats (Part III)

There are never enough feats, (expecially if you use the BoXM feat rules). This is the third article of 5 feats a week, from OGC sources, converting them to AE and editing the feats in an attempt to improve balance and avoid "feats that suck", the idea being "why take this feat when I can take power attack?

WILD BIRTHRIGHT [Talent]
You have a preternatural connection with nature.
Prerequisites: 1st level character, Wis 13.
Benefit: Select any three 0-level spells or diminished 1st level spells. You may cast these spells as spell-like abilities once per day, with a caster level equal to your character level. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.

WARDED FROM THE DARK [Ceremonial]
Your spirit is strongly attached to your body, making you resilient to energy draining attacks.
Prerequisite: Truename, Con 13.
Benefit: When you gain a negative level, you may immediately make a Fortitude save to shrug off the effects. If you fail the initial save, you may attempt a second save in 24 hours at a +4 bonus.
Undead that use enervating attacks that bestow negative levels gain only half the normal number of temporary hit points when attacking you (rounded down). As well, you can never be affected by an undead creature’s create spawn ability.
Normal: When you gain a negative level, you make a Fortitude save after 24 hours to determine whether the negative level results in permanent level loss.

EXPLOIT OPENING [General]
You take advantages of combat opportunities when they present themselves.
Prerequisites: Combat Reflexes, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: On the first attack of opportunity you make in any round, you deal an additional +1d6 points of damage.

HARDENED BY EXPERIANCE [Ceremonial]
You are particularly tough and difficult to kill
Prerequisites: Truename, Con 13, Sturdy. +2 Base Attack Bonus
Benefit: You possess a number of bonus hit points equal to your character level + your
Constitution score + your Constitution modifier.
You do not start dying until you reach your Constitution score in negative hit points, and you do no die until reaching a number of negative hitpoints equal to your character level + double your constitution score + your Consitution modifer

TOTEM ASPECT [Ceremonial]
You may assume the characteristics of your animal companion.
Prerequisites: Truename, Animal companion, ability to assume totem shape.
Benefit: By expending a use of your totem shape ability, you can gain the physical benefits (Str, Dex, Con, Natural Armor) bestowed by your animal companion for a number of rounds equal to your totem level. The nature of the benefits depends on your effective level (as per the benefits normally gained by your animal companion).
If you have taken an alternative animal companion, your effective level is reduced by the appropriate amount.
If you have multiple companions from different classes, your effective level is based on your most powerful animal companion.

OGL link

Ritual of Links #2 (Themes of AE)

Last time I was just grabbing links from my own personal list that I thought were cool, this time I went around looking for links that could help you develop the themes of arcana evolved within your game.

OATHS: We often talk about them having meaning in AE but in reality they have more, they have power, coupled with ritual something as ridiculous as Trial by Ordeal becomes something that could truly be real, and work in a fantasy world.

RITUALS: knights of the diamond, knights of the axe, and the honor guard of the protector, there are many military traditions in the land of the diamond throne, and even more unexplored amongst the dragons and the chorrim. What military rituals have yet to be discovered?

CHOICE: Make them choose: devil’s choices for PCs (Nuff said)

OPPOSITION: AE has no alignment so make your PC a villain as a protagonist, if you’re a gm let the players find the diary or writings of the villains point of view, let them see him as the protagonist. You need to show not just tell that the villain is not evil, he is the hero of his own story.

COMPLEXITY: Npcs this is how I make all my Npcs; it saves time, forget the stats, you always have what you need if you follow these rules.

EVOLUTION: You monsters must change or die so give them an edge beyond the norm with a template not seen before (more on this page)

DM EMPOWERMENT: Players make the choices, but you decide where they make them. So make a really cool where in as little time as possible. Instant world builder

CUSTOMIZATION: making the character you want is great just try and make something other than one of these Stereotypes.

Five Feats (part II)

There are never enough feats, (expecially if you use the BoXM feat rules). This is the second article of 5 feats a week, from OGC sources, converting them to AE and editing the feats in an attempt to improve balance and avoid "feats that suck", the idea being "why take this feat when I can take power attack?"

MYSTICAL HEALER [Ceremonial]
Your skills at magical healing are without peer.
Benefit: You add +2 to all heal checks and +1d6 to any form of healing you use (extraordinary abilities, magical items, spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities).

ESCAPE OF OPPORTUNITY [Ceremonial]
When an opponent gives you an opportunity, you take it.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Truename, Escape artist 5 ranks.
Benefit: Whenever an opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you even if your unarmed, you may forgo the attack of opportunity in order to immediately move away as far as possible from the opponent at your best speed, you skip you next turn. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent you move away from, but you do provoke attacks of opportunity as normal from other creatures.

SACRIFICIAL STRIKE [General]
You accept a critical hit in an attempt to make one of your own.
Prerequisites: Improved Critical, Base Attack Bonus +2
Benefit: You leave yourself helpless provoking an attack of opportunity which automatically hit and automatically confirms a critical hit, if you opponent takes this opening you may make an attack that automatically threats a critical hit. Your opponent can ignore this opportunity if he makes a successful sense motive check

SKILL SPECIALIST [Ceremonial]
You are focused in a particular area of study.
Prerequisite: Int 13, Truename
Benefit: Choose any two skills. These skills are considered class skill for you, and you gain a +1 bonus on all checks made with these skills.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you select this feat, it applies to a new set of skills.

TRAINED APTITUDE [Ceremonial]
Your skill with magic allows you greater flexibility with your known spells.
Prerequisites: Truename, Concetration 9 ranks, Knowledge (magic) 9 ranks, Spellcraft 9 ranks
Benefit: You may swap out one readied spell of each level you know once per day.

OGL link

Ritual of Links #1

I thought I would make a deep use of google and find all the some rarely used AE links I could.

The web enhancment for Legacy of the Dragons: The Unnameable

A favorite of mine are the Mad Irishman's self calculating charactersheets, he made two one in

A archive post at Giant in the Playground (forum for Order of the Stick) on converting AE to use in your Dnd game.

A classic article from diamondthrone.com, Crossroads trading

AE damage reduciton at the infinite library

I also wanted to add some solid Rpg links that are useful in any game.

AE is about the power of choice over desnity, in my own game I have a character being told he has no choice that its his destiny, but really it is his choice all along.
If you would like to exploit this trope I suggest reading Randy Madden's It Is Your Destiny.

Want to run the best campaign ever, and put very little work into it. then you need The Instant Campaign Builder.

if you know a hidden gem of a link that every AE lover should know about email me at stevendrussell at ritepublishing.com so I can post it next week.