Five Feats (part XI)

There are never enough feats, (expecially if you use the BoXM feat rules). This is the eleventh article of 5 feats a week (55 total feats!), 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? " *Balance Disclaimer: these feats have not been playtested. Skill Focus is a perfectly balanced feat, it is also boring. These feats are designed to be "cool" first and "balanced" second.

This week I looked at the idea of spelltouched feats and converting them to ceremonial feats.

GRASP THE GREEN [Ceremonial]
Your return from death has bound you closer to the Green.
Prerequisite: True name, Great Fortitude, Having risen from the dead after having been slain by exposure to a manifestation of the Dark (negative energy), you take a special oath in the service of the Green.
Benefit: Whenever a spell with the negative energy descriptor would result in your death, usually due to having failed the appropriate saving throw but also due to excessive damage, you do not die. Instead you suffer 1 point of Constitution drain and are reduced to zero hit points (even if you hit point total was lower).

OPEN TO THE GREEN [Ceremonial]
As a servant favored by the Green, its power to heal you is greater
Prerequisites: In a special ceremony, your own hand brings you near death (one hit point from death) you are then then fully healed though the powers of a greenbond.
Benefit: All positive energy descriptor spells and effects, affect you with the best possible result (maximized) or their result is increased by 50 % (your choice). You also suffer a -4 saving throw penalty against all positive energy descriptor spells and effects and always suffer any partial effects upon a successful save.

REFRACT RAY [Ceremonial]
You have the ability to change the direction of ray-based spells.
Prerequisite: Truename, Exposure to any spell whose effect is a ray. In a special ceremony, you embed a special crystal in the palm of your off-hand.
Benefit: You must have the hand with the embedded crystal free (holding nothing) to use this feat. You must be aware of the spell attack and not flat-footed. Once per round when you would normally be hit with a ray effect you may immediately attempt a Reflex saving throw to deflect the ray (ray spells do not normally allow saving throws to avoid the ray but may have saves against the ray’s effects). You make an opposed ranged touch attack if successful you deflect the ray and take no damage from it or otherwise suffer any effect, if you fail you suffer the standard effects of the ray. If you win by five or more you can direct the course of the ray to a new target, otherwise a deflected ray shoots off in a random direction. Roll 1d8 to determine the deflected direction of the ray (as if it were a splash weapon). A deflected ray travels until it hits another target or the spell runs out of range.

TEMPERED MIND [Ceremonial]
You have bound your emotions in the service of reason.
Prerequisite: Truename, Iron Will, Wis 13, In a special ceremony, you are stop yourself from committing an act against your nature while under the effect of a spell with the Compulsion descriptor
Benefit: You gain a permanent and continuous +4 bonus on all saving throws to ward off the effects of spells and spell-like effects with the compulsion or charm descriptor as well as supernatural and extraordinary abilities that influence your emotions. If those spells have, partial effects on a successful save you negate those effects instead.
You cannot voluntarily lower this resistance so that at the same time you are more difficult to affect with beneficial emotional spells and effects. Any attempt to affect you with such beneficial magic, including attempts by you to make use of emotion based extraordinary abilities to overcome your own calm emotional state, and you must succeed at a Charisma check (DC 15) in order for such a spell or effect to affect you.

ENERGY DEFLECTION [CEREMONIAL]
You can shunt part of some magical energy effects away from you.
Prerequisite: Truename, Lightning Reflexes, Energy Resistance, during a special ceremony, you expose yourself to a sorcerous blast without avoiding its effects. .
Benefit: When you take this feat chose an energy descriptor. Whenever you make a successful reflex save against a spell, spell-like effect, or supernatural ability with the chosen energy descriptor, the partial damage and/or effects you do not suffer instead affects a single target within your natural reach. If the target makes a reflex save (Same DC you have made) they suffer no damage or other effects from the use of this feat.

OGL link

Five Feats (part X) 50 Feats!

There are never enough feats, (expecially if you use the BoXM feat rules). This is the tenth article of 5 feats a week (50 total feats!), 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? " *Balance Disclaimer: these feats have not been playtested. Skill Focus is a perfectly balanced feat, it is also boring. These feats are designed to be "cool" first and "balanced" second.

ALLIED COHORT [Ceremonial]
You bond with a close friend who swears fealty to you.
Prerequisite: Truename, Cha 13, A companion swears an oath of service to you and you accept him into your service as part of a time honored ritual
Benefit: You can gain a cohort as if you had the Leadership feat.

ARMOR’S GAP [Ceremonial]
You can bypass a target’s armor with a weapon by searching for gaps and flaws.
Prerequisites: Truename, 5 ranks in search; you must perform a ritualized attack against a warmain in full plate or better.
Benefit: You can bypass a target’s armor and natural armor with a small weapon. A successful search check (DC equals AC of opponent, standard action, provokes an attack of opportunity). If successful, you strike the target’s touch AC. After that, you must perform another search check (+5 insight bonus if previously successful) in order to gain the benefit again.

ARROW ARMED [GENERAL]
You are experienced at turning an arrow or crossbow bolt into an effective melee weapon.
Prerequisites: Proficiency with any bow or crossbow.
Benefit: When pressed into melee combat you may fight with an arrow or crossbow bolt, treating the arrow or bolt as a Tiny weapon that inflicts 1d4 points of damage and has a x2 critical multiplier. You use your dex modifier for the attack roll instead of your strength as if you had the weapon finesse feat. You can draw an arrow as an immediate action and make an attack of opportunity. Against an opponent that has never observed this attack before you add your dexterity modifier to the attack roll and your character level to the damage roll, for the first attack only (if you fail to hit the bonuses are wasted

FORM OF THE DARK [Ceremonial]
You master the ability of abandoning a physical form and embracing The Dark.
Prerequisites: Truename, Knowledge (magic) 8, Corrupt Mage, must perform a four-hour ceremony involving the sacrifice of a living creature with an Intelligence of at least 3.
Benefit: Once per day you may assume gain the incorporeal undead template for the duration on one encounter.
Special: this affects all of your attended equipment when you assume you new form.

NIGHTWALKER LOOTER [Ceremonial]
You have a mystical sense for finding the most valuable items, gaining, and convincing others, they should be yours.
Prerequisites: Truename, Int 13, Appraise 5 ranks, Search 5 ranks; you perform a special ceremony where you must find a coin hidden by a nightwalker.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Appraise checks. Additionally, you can make an Appraise check (DC 15+ item’s caster level or the encounter level of the treasure) as a swift action to locate the item most valuable to you (DM Adjudication). Items protected from divination magic are immune to this ability, Items on your person or that of your allies are not counted unless you want them to be.
Once per day you can convince an ally that an item you have looted belongs to you, if the allies fail to make a successful Will Save (DC 10+1/2 your character level+ your Intelligence Modifier). Regardless of the result, the Player Characters do not know they were required to make a save.

OGL link

Rite Publishing Preview; Items Evolved: Rituals

Click to enlarge

Art by Richard Biggs Jr.

Weapon of Ceremonial Combat
Price (item level): +10,500 gp (13th)
Body slot: - (held)
Caster level: 9th
Aura: Moderate Divination (DC 16)
Activation: swift

Weight: -

This weapon is extremely beautiful, highly ornate, gilded and inlaid nearly to the point of being gaudy.

Lore: Delve Into Collective Memory, Knowledge(magic/verrik)
DC 15: A powerful mind witch gives these rare gifts. The most prominent was given to a blind verrik bat totem warrior, said to challenge anyone he encountered to a duel, the loser forfeiting his weapon. It is not known if the strange totem warrior still retains this weapon.

Abilities:
This weapon has 4 special abilities. It is a swift action to change which ability currently functions at the beginning of an encounter. After that, it cannot be changed until the beginning of the next encounter.

• First Blood: +6 to initiative,
• Do you Yield: +2d6 non-lethal damage and all damage dealt by weapon is nonlethal,
• One Shot: +5 insight bonus to your first attack roll in an encounter,
• To the Death: +4 bonus to confirm critical hits.
  

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor (lesser learn secret)
Cost to Create: 5,250 gp (420 xp),

OBJECT LORESIGHT

1. It was created 1 year ago.
2. The last person to touch the object was Xa-Marask, Master of the Hidden Fang Strike.
3. The last person to touch the object was a giant.
4. The name of the creator of the object was Lidousa.
5. The creator of the object was a medusa.
6. The purpose of the object is to help win formal duels between warriors.
7. The object is made of steel, gold and silver.
8. The object was created in Tarthalas within the Underforest beneath the Barrens of Serathis.
9. The most recent owner of this object was Morvesh.
10. The magical function of the object is (see above).

The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path (Hooks)

ADVENTURE HOOKS

The adventure hook will plunge the characters into the action from the very beginning. However, to keep with the themes of Arcana Evolved, let the PCs choose the reasons they joined together before placing them in the encounter. Below is a list of suggestions that both the GM and the players can agree on. This list is by no means all-inclusive, and GMs are encouraged to tailor these to their unique group of PCs.

The PCs are young and newly appointed agents of the Diamond Throne, The Dragon Conclave, or the Queen of Zalavat. (Vethkar’s various inquires for assistance from the PCs through his political connections have been answered)

The PCs have sworn to serve in the rebellion lead by the Order of the Ax. (Vethkar, having abandoned his queen to save his daughter, asks for the PCs through an old friend of a noble family that has joined the Order of the Ax)

The PCs are/were all wards of the same noble. (Vethkar is that noble, and he finally believes that the characters are ready to help him. They may be fully aware of the adventure background except the DC 40)

The PCs are all part of the same orphanage. (Vethkar discovers them and adopts them)

A benevolent patron buys the PCs as slaves and then frees them. (Vethkar is the benevolent patron, who offers to reward them for their assistance)

The PCs all share the same adoptive mother. (A women in Vethkar’s village, which is why he settled here. He offers rewards and the plight of his daughter‘s malady)

The PCs actually all attended the same school, and they are subject to indentured servitude for their education via the merchants’ guild who was their patron. (Vethkar buys the PC’s contract from the merchants’ guild, and offers them payment as well.)

The PCs are all the children of a retired heroic company, who ask their heirs apparent to stand in for them.

An ancient dragon who stayed in the Lands of the Diamond Throne is recruiting a group of independent agents (his last group disappeared), and the players will be oathbound to his service. (The dragon is intrigued by Vethkar’s dreams about the PCs and sends the players to assist him)

The PCs recruited each other, every PC member must recommend and have a connection to the next party member (not the same one) until you come to the last who has to give a connection to the first party member. (Vethkar asks the first member, who started recruiting the party, to recruit the other members for the quest).

Ritual of Links #8: Time Savers.

Your regularly scheduled AE session is in 30 minutes, but life got in the way with your prep, and you ran them through every published adventure you own. No worries, you now have Encounter-A-Day! (System Neutral)

Your player is going where you did not expect, fear not for you have a random generator for damn near everything.

The Fine Art of Winging (Nuff Said!)

I love Roleplayingtips.com, here is a great post from the website: Running Adventures with Little Preparation

So I am a lazy GM, that also makes me very efficient.

Zewthra (Female Verrick Kismet Witch) early rough sketch by Ryan Barger

A dwarfish woman with red-wine colored skin, her eyes; purple within black. Her long hair standing straight out like long black pine needles, her face contorted in a painfully blank expression. Her garb is like a patchwork of different colored pieces a different pattern on each piece (poke-a-dots, stripes, swirls, splotches, silhouettes, etc…) makes her look like some macabre doll.

Zewthra is autistic; her actions are always extreme, her facial expressions, mannerisms, and speech are usually in direct opposition to those actions. She was a gifted gambler and prankster in her youth before the autism imprisoned her, now she can perform only the most basic tasks except when in an extremely agitated state when her powers lash out at random. Zewthra registers only her father, witches, faen, humans and other verrik; with whom she is normally very compliant, she has a manic attack if confronted by non-witch litorians. She ignores almost all other creatures, unless they cause her harm, otherwise her mania comes at random. Zewthra values her father and the feeling of safety he has created around her, and fears her own power, but within her mind, she longs to be normal again. Though unable to express it, Zewthra understands her father’s finances even better than he does; she also still has friends at court. If cured she could become a powerful ally of the PCs.

History: (Delve Into Collective Memory, Gather Information or Knowledge verrik DC 15) all of Zewthra’s needs have been cared for by her father, ever since the accident, fearing being placed in the Haven of the Damned, they fled to Far-rough.

Secret: (Delve Into Collective Memory, Gather Information or Knowledge verrik DC 25) Zewthra killed a young litorian in a prank gone wrong; he was the son of a chieftain, and a runechild. Racked with guilt she chose to repress her power, rather than risk harming someone again, however this oppression of her powered cause unusual random changes in her thought patters resulting in her autism.

Talking Points: Rituals of Choice Adventure Path

Adventure Background and Delve Into Collective Memory/skill check DCs There is only one DC above 25 (A DC 25 is something a 1st level CAN make). The remaining is a DC 40, a first level character had better not make this DC, or something is seriously wrong. This secret is to be a grand reveal, something the player character learns later in the Path (See the DM giggling behind his screen because he is lousy at poker).

The adventure begins “In Media Res”

The first encounter transports you to the next encounter, so you can keep the game moving.

We take the “Choice” Theme of Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved a bit further than normal. The players choose as a group the adventure hook for their PCs. (We will post the suggested hooks next time).

All of the encounters advance the story. There are no “Random” encounters. We did this for efficiency, players now know they are advancing the story every encounter, it also means there is no frivolous information for DMs and PCs to keep track of.

Role-playing encounters in the rituals of choice are always capable of transforming into another type of encounter, encounters in disguise.

Every piece of treasure in the adventure is unique.

We have taken a site based linear road adventure and added non-linear event encounters. This creates choices for PCs and versatility for DMs.

The Big Finale is a Triggered Encounter, which gained from an amazing idea that came out of the play-test, and the concept that you use your best ideas first.

The environment of the diamond throne comes alive; we have gassar trees from the floating forest, storms, and high winds on the central plains, and at the end a mystical witching site!

Five Feats (part IX)

There are never enough feats, (expecially if you use the BoXM feat rules). This is the ninth article of 5 feats a week (45 total feats!), 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? " *Balance Disclaimer: these feats have not been playtested. Skill Focus is a perfectly balanced feat, it is also boring. These feats are designed to be "cool" first and "balanced" second.

GREENSWORN [Ceremonial]
Through a special ceremony and oath you possess the remarkable gift of spontaneous resurrection.
Prerequisites: Truename, Great Fortitude, Knowledge (nature) 9 ranks, A dark warden, must observe your oath of servitude in a special ceremony to the cause of the green.
Benefit: Whenever you are dead – either through massive damage, your hit point loss, Constitution reduced to 0, or by any other means – you may make a second Fort Save with the same DC as the effect that caused your dead (or DC equal to 10+half-damage dealt, in case of hit point loss). You return from death within 7 days. You awaken whole and untouched, with your abilities and hit points at their maximum level and any scars, missing limbs, bruises, or other ill effects that may have led to your death – or occurred after your death – totally erased. Each time you successfully return from the dead the DC of future Fortitude saves to return from the dead increases by +3. Once you fail the Fortitude save to return from death your soul is forever imprisoned in your corpse and, if your corpse is destroyed, your soul ceases to exist.
Special: You can be return from the death by standard means unless you fail your second Fort save.

THE DARK’S ECLIPSE [Ceremonial]
Once per day the power of you manipulate the dark to completely block the sun.
Prerequisites: Truename, Knowledge (Religion) 23 ranks, ability to create an effect or cast a spell with the darkness descriptor. A Ceremony where your soul is separated from your body and returned.
Benefit: Once per day, as a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, your force of will can manipulate The Dark to eclipse the sun, darkening the sun for all within a number of miles of your location equal to one-half your character level (round down) this eclipse lasts for one round per character level. For those in the affected area it is night and not day.

DISCERN ITEM [Ceremonial]
Your knowledge of magical items is so great that you can identify the nature and abilities of
such items at a glance.
Prerequisites: Truename, Knowledge (magic) 9 ranks, Any Item Creation feat, you spend a day meditating over an item you have created learning the subtle tell tale signs of its abilities.
Benefit: If you can directly observe a magical item (it is not concealed) and make a successful Knowledge (magic) check (DC 15+ item’s caster level) you know all of the item’s abilities as a free action. You also gain a +4 insight bonus to all saves vs. effects generated by a magical item you have successfully discerned.

OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS [General]
You react quickly to opportunity in battle, moving so fast that you can take advantage of situations by inflicting multiple attacks at blinding speed.
Prerequisites: Combat Reflexes, Dexterity 17+, Base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: You may make an additional attack of opportunity when one is provoked a number of timer per day equal to your dexterity modifier, though you can use this ability only once per round.

VARY POWER ATTACK [General]
Your physical combat prowess is finely tuned to the point that you can shift your muscles in order to deliver a more effective attack.
Prerequisite: Strength 17+, Power Attack, Base Attack Bonus +10
Benefit: You may change you power attack at any time before the attack roll is made, even if it is not your turn (Example: an attack of opportunity).

Ritual of Links # 7: Murder Most Foul!

So you have run Circle of Rites and now you want to design, you own murder mystery adventure.

Here is an excellent summary of the mystery genre

Well first you need to the learn the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories
By S.S. Van Dine

You should also read The Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction by Ronald A. Knox.

Often times in your design of murder mystery you will want a twist ending

Then there are mystery game tips for actually running the game you designed.

Five Feats (part VIII)

There are never enough feats, (expecially if you use the BoXM feat rules). This is the eighth article of 5 feats a week (40 total feats!), 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? " *Balance Disclaimer: these feats have not been playtested. Skill Focus is a perfectly balanced feat, it is also boring. These feats are designed to be "cool" first and "balanced" second.

Evolved Bear Totem Warrior

ASSUME TEMPLATE [Ceremonial]
You may temporarily affect your totem shape, transforming yourself into a different version of that creature.
Prerequisites: Truename, Shape of the Totem ability, additional totem power (gained after shape of the totem).
Benefit: Select a template appropriate to your totem with DM approval. The CR of the acquired template may not exceed one-sixth your character level rounded down (+1 at 6th level, +2 at 12th, etc.) .
When in your totem shape, as a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, you may apply this template to yourself gaining all its benefits and drawbacks. Its effects remain for the duration of one encounter.
Special: you may substitute this feat as your additional totem power that you gain after you have acquired your Shape of the Totem ability rather than taking it as a feat.

MIGHT LEAP [Ceremonial]
Your mighty legs allow you to clear great heights and distances while jumping.
Prerequisites: Truename, Str 13, in a special ceremony you leap over a special prepared pit.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to your Jump checks; only require 10 feet of movement in order to make a running jump; and are not limited by your speed in the distance you can cover in a single jump check.

OBEAH TOTEM [General]
You are capable of crafting an obeah totem or focus that can substitute for a creatures truename Prerequisites: Spellcraft 5 ranks, Knowledge magic 5 ranks, Obeah Totem (See below).
Benefit: You may enhance the effects of your magic by crafting a representation of your victim, such as a doll or a small carving, then adding scraps of hair or drops of blood from the specific individual creature being represented. Creating the obeah totem requires one full day of work and consumes material equivalent to 30 gold pieces, after which you must make a
Spellcraft check (DC 10 + hit dice of the target creature), failure results in this feat being useless against that specific individual until you gain another rank in Spellcraft and then you may attempt a retry.
If successful you can now use spells with the Truename descriptor without knowing that creatures truename (including unbound), The save DC of any spell you cast on the creature represented by the Obeah Totem is increased by +2. You can only have one functioning obeah totem at a time, if the obeah Totem is ever destroyed; you can never create another totem of that individual again (though another spellcaster with this feat could).
Special: When a creature is symbolized the next time it sleeps it has a dream about the obeah totem (a successful knowledge magic check DC 15 recognizes it as such). Along with an image of the individual who created it.

OATH OF LIFE [Ceremonial]
When wielding a blunt melee weapon, you can make an attack that leaves your opponent unconscious.
Prerequisites: Truename, Weapon Focus (any blunt weapon). Perform a special ceremony where you swear to preserve life, even that of your enemy, at any cost.
Benefit: When attacking with a blunt weapon you have weapon focus with you take no penalty when attempting to deal subdual damage. When you make a critical hit with this blunt weapon; or the subject is unaware of you attack (fails both spot and listen checks vs. your sneak.) and is flat-footed and is damaged by this weapon you opponent must make a successful Fort Save (DC 10 + half your character level + your strength modifier or dex modifier if you are using the weapon finesse feat) or be rendered unconscious.
Special: If any attempt is made to kill this helpless opponent, the opponent is awakened and takes his turn immediately as if it were his turn in the initiative order. If you break your oath (DM adjudication) or you do not prevent the murder of your captive, you lose all benefits of this feat. Creatures immune to critical hits are immune to this effect.

CUTTING INSULT [Ceremonial]
Your sharp tongue and quick wit are so brutal that you can actually harm an opponent with words alone.
Prerequisites: Truename. Intelligence 17, Charisma 13, Power of the Name
Benefit: Once per encounter you may insult an opponent if you known his truename as an immediate action with exceeding wit issuing a brutal slight. Your opponent must make a successful Will save (DC 10 + half the character’s level + her Charisma bonus) or suffer 1d6 points of nonlethal damage for every two levels you possess, a successful save negates the damage.
Special: You can only use this feat against the same opponent once.

OGL link