...of Mars

Watched John Carter. Liked it a lot, it didn’t deserve all the hate it got (it also deserved a better marketing campaign). While I’m curious about the books now, I have some quick ideas for a Barsoom-esque D&D game.

Humans are Fighters. Great strength and jumping ability because of Barsoom’s low gravity. Humans would be extremely rare, and would all be exceptional (no “I’m just an everyday guy”).

Red men are Clerics. They are decent warriors, and their technology is often light-based and helpful. An altered “spell list” would work.

Tharks are Rangers. Four arms accommodates two-weapon fighting and they make frequent use of primitive firearms (in place of archery).

Therns are Wizards. Mysterious figures who manipulate events, and seem to have amazing powers (probably advanced technology, based on the 9^th Beam).

No armor, so each class would get some type of defense bonus. High for Humans, medium for Reds and Tharks, and low for Therns.

I want to do something with the dog-creatures (Calots), but not sure how to do it.

Albion Classes

The short version:

Warrior

+2 hit points

If you roll a natural 1 on a damage roll you get a bonus depending on the weapon. 

You take less penalties when wearing heavy armor.

Berserker (Beadurofa)

Enter a rage to do +2 damage, but take -2 penalty to Armor Class. Entering a rage is an action, and lasts until the end of a fight. It takes a short rest to recover from a rage, until that time you are weakened.

Knight (Scildgebrodra / Scildmaegden)

Shield Wall: +2 bonus to AC

Wall of Iron: gain damage resistance 1 (in addition to any armor worn)

Rogue

Sneak Attack: +1d6 damage on attacks if you have advantage. (stealth and bluffing are useful for gaining advantage)

Skilled: Has advantage on checks for stealth, picking locks, disarming traps, acrobatics and bluffing.

Skirmisher: You can take an action in the middle of your move (allowing you to move, attack, and move away, for example). You can also move through an enemy's space. 

Wizard

You can cast one spell per day at first level. You know 3 spells.

Cantrips

Scinnleaeca (Shining One)  

Call of the Otherworld: call a phantom 

--advantage to checks to learn spells associated with phantoms and otherworldly forces.

Wicce (Wtich)

Familiar: Witches learn from an Otherworldly creature in the form of a small animal (something associated with night or death--crow, rat, black cat, owl, lizard, toad or snake). This creature is linked to you (up to 100 feet away). You can see through its eyes (as an action, during which you are blind), and you can cast a spell as if it came from your familiar. If its animal form is destroyed, it returns at nightfall.

--advantage on checks to learn spells associated with potions, curses, and scrying.

Druid

Druids learn through years of studying the earth and sky. You can identify natural plants and animals, tell whether water is safe to drink, and foretell weather to some degree. You can talk to animals, though whether they talk back (or even care) is up to them.

--advantage on checks to learn spells associated with glamour, wilderness, and shapeshifting.

Albion, session one

Crimona the druidess, Fea the Shieldmaiden, and Hürg Thürgen the berserker travelled to the ruined ringfort of Haleford. There they slew a dragon, as well as followers of the Drunes and hobgoblins from the Otherworld. It seems that someone is digging up secrets of Crom Cruach.

The Firedraca of Haleford
hit points 17, Armor Class 8, damage reduction 2, +3 bite 1d6, Fire Breath 2d6 (Dexterity check 13 for half damage)

Circe's Rune, campaign fail and wrap-up

This campaign got cut short due to personal reasons, but I wanted to summarize the other sessions we played.

The characters made their way to the nearest town Arrakhar and were given rooms by the suspicious townsfolk. They bought some equipment with the money taken from the tomb and picked character classes. The elf mage bought supplies and met Monbec the Magnificent, an illusionist. The eladrin star pact hexblade found out that the local lord Danlak the Falcon was asking around about the group. The dwarf slayer Princess Beyonce (my wife's PC, the only one whose name I remember) drank at the inn.

The group met with Danlak, who claimed he had revived them using a strange ritual he had access to. He also filled them in on the army of orcs and skeletons wielded by the witch Circe, which was besieging the lands of men. The Elf King lived in the nearby forest, but he hadn't sided with anyone. The PCs' bodies had been found on a battlefield by Danlak, and he wasn't sure if they had been fighting with or against Circe. 

They travelled into the forest to meet the Elf King, and were attacked by Ragramok the Runt, a dragon servant of Circe. They subdued him and presented him as a gift to the Elf King, who ruled over all the fey of the forest (he was actually an eladrin, "Elf King" was one of the dozens of titles he had and the one mostly used by humans). Turns out the Elf King was forbidden from attacking Circe because of an Oath he made. A ritual Oath made on one of the holy days of the year was magically binding, bringing sickness and death on those who broke it.

Ragramok knew of a way around the Oath--the black apple of the God-Tree would break any sickness. There was only one left in the world, and Circe's minions were on there way there now so she could break the pact and invade Elfland. The PCs set off to get there first, fighting orcs and skeletons on the cliff side road on the way there. They got to the tree to find the Nosferatu vampire and werewolf they had fought previously, assisted my magical lighting from Circe. They killed them both for good this time, only to discover that the werewolf was none other than Danlak the Falcon! 

They took the Black Apple so the Elf King could survive breaking his Oath and help the mortal armies fight against Circe. I had intended a few military-style battles, trying to get the Stannic Legion on their side, and a big battle against Circe herself to wrap up the game.

Unfortunately, some personal stuff came up and I doubt I'll return to this game. It was an interesting diversion and a welcome change of pace to the previous campaign. It was fairly railroaded, but it was meant to be a short game. I think whenever I can get a new game together it will be much more sandbox. 

Circe's Rune, session 1

I'm about to wrap up a mini-campaign based on Jeff Rients' one-issue campaign idea. Not just the concept (squeezing every creative drop out of one issue of Dragon as the basis of a D&D campaign), but actually stealing his ideas. 

It has also been an experiment with a different playing style for my group. Most of them are used to creating their PCs with the DDI character builder. I made them create their characters together, and used mostly random elements. 4d6-L for stats, straight down the line with no trading. I came up with a random chart for races available. They didn't get to pick a class right away, either.

The PCs woke up in coffins--an elf, an eladrin, and a dwarf. They had no memories and no abilities beyond their basic stats and racial traits. They broke out to find themselves in a mausoleum with something further in trying to beat the door down. Everyone noticed they had tattoos of a strange rune (the mark of Circe).  They escaped into a graveyard surrounded by an iron fence with a wolfsbane wreathe. A huge shaggy werewolf finally burst out of the mausoleum and they elected to fight instead of run--and they beat its ass. They realized he was dazed by the wolfsbane so they pinned it to his chest, so smart play and lucky dice helped three 0-level PCs take down a 4th-level monster. By then two vampires were approaching (one looked like Nosferatu, the other like the girl from the Ring) Did they flee? No! Back into the mausoleum!

They split up. The elf found some gold and a magic hammer in the family tomb. The eladrin ran into some underground catacombs and was chased by Nosferatu, with his hypnotic red eyes. He eventually clawed his way through dirt back above ground. The dwarf faced off against Ring-girl's spider and wounded it, then beheaded the vampire with a shovel. Finally, everyone escaped the graveyard and headed toward the lights of a nearby town.

I was expecting everyone to run, so I had to improv everything inside the mausoleum. I certainly didn't think they would defeat the werewolf so easily, but then I had given him a strong weakness (ideas stolen from here).

More sessions to follow...

Too Many Ideas...

Ok, I keep going back and forth between wanting to do something more Sword & Sorcery and something more authentic Medieval. I'm wondering how well I could blend the two. Let me describe stuff I think of with these terms:

Sword & Sorcery--Conan, Hyboria, decadent city states, mix of cultures, snake-men, bizarre Cthulhu gods, pulpy high adventure.

"Authentic" Medieval--Knights, vikings, omnipresent monotheistic Church, everything else is of the Devil, fairy tales, dirty.

The biggest thematic difference is that in a traditional Sword & Sorcery setting the gods are of little to no help to mankind. Adventurers overcome supernatural evil with strength, steel and wits. In a Medieval setting trying to capture the feel of how people thought of the world back then, the Church is the symbol of good and civilization against the evil. Also, modern people generally have a bad opinion of the medieval Church.

I think a Medieval setting would have to leave lots of leeway for weirdness to include a little of the S&S feel. One problem with modern D&D is that everything is defined and categorized a bit too much. There should be an otherworldly land of faerie, a heaven above the earth and a hell below it. There is lots of room for variation in these big areas. More fantastical beasts come from Faerie, unnatural and loathsome creatures come from Hell. Ghosts and undead can haunt places, but they don't need a specific plane.

Religion is a touchy subject. The holiness of the Church shouldn't conflict too much with the average PC's natural desire to be an alcoholic, lecherous rat-bastard. Rather than playing up any paganism vs. Church division I think it would be better to present the Church as generally accepted, with pagan practices remaining as folk beliefs. A witch would be tolerated in town as long as she didn't actively harm anyone. The Inquisition and witch hunts weren't until late in the medieval period, anyway. Clergy are mostly concerned with calling on a monotheistic God's blessings and cleansing the corrupting influence of evil.

Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword and Nancy Farmer's The Sea of Trolls are good examples of mixing viking pagan ideas with a Church-dominated world. Basically, just put them next to each other without worrying about the metaphysical significance. Elves and Aesir exist and are beyond mortal ken, but the power of the White is stronger still. Heroes still do what they do--fight trolls and dragons. Find magic treasure.

Celtic Game: Classes

The classes available had to have some house rules to establish the flavor of the setting. One thing noted with each class is their armor bonus; this was done because there just aren't that many different armors available. Most warriors go into battle almost naked, but chain mail is just being developed. So I gave each class an armor bonus that equals the armor they are proficient in normally, and let them describe their armor themselves. 


The campaign I ran had an infernal pact warlock (power granted by Crom Cruach), a druid (son of a bear spirit), a spot-on Slaine style barbarian, a viking fighter (who didn't scoff at heavy armor), and a ranger reskinned to fight unarmed like a monk. And a boar followed them around.

No Divine Classes—the celtic deities are natural forces that must be appeased through offerings and sacrifice; they are not benevolent higher powers

Fighter: Usually a noble born trained in heavy armor from a young age.  Your combat challenge and combat superiority show your control in the midst of battle.  The battlerage vigor build from Martial Power is a good option for this game.

--Light armor bonus +3 and Heavy  armor bonus +7. Can increase heavy armor bonus to +8 with a feat.

Ranger:  In many ways a typical Celtic warrior—fast and lightly armored.  Since bows are not often used in battle, a ranger can take the Slinger Fighting Style.  The beast master build from the Martial Power book is also very appropriate to this game.

--Slinger Fighting Style: When you wield a sling, the damage die increases one size (1d8 instead of 1d6).  You also gain the Defensive Mobility feat.

--Light armor bonus +3.

Rogue:  Warriors who use cunning, deception, and stealth are not considered dishonorable by the Celts.  As long as your enemy is dead and you are alive, little else matters.  Stealing is punishable by a fine, double if through stealth, but there is nothing inherently dishonorable about stealing, just as long as you’re not caught or can’t pay.

--Since shuriken aren’t available as weapons, rogues get a +1 bonus to attack rolls with slings.

--Light armor bonus +2. Can increase to +3 with a feat.

Warlock:  Unlike druids who train for years, warlocks gain their power through pacts with a powerful being or force.  The Fey Pact and the Dark Pact are especially appropriate to celtic warlocks, but any power can be interpreted easily to match the flavor of the setting.  Warlocks and witches are often associated with the Morrigan.

--Light armor bonus +2. Can increase to +3 with a feat.

--May take a Pact Weapon Channeling feat to use ranged attacks as melee attacks through a weapon.  This avoids opportunity attacks, and if using a named weapon allows you to use that weapon’s benefit on your warlock power.

Warlord:  Warlords are usually nobles who encourage their tribesmen in battle.  They fight wearing heavy armor.  Inspiring warlords are the most common, constantly yelling taunts and encouragement in the thick of battle, but a tactical warlord who uses cunning is valued as well.

--Light armor bonus +3 and heavy armor bonus +6. Can increase heavy armor bonus to +7 or +8 with one or two feats.

Wizard:  Wizards are the most mysterious branch of the druidic order, for they have devoted themselves to harnessing the magic of the world.  They sometimes refer to the Earth Dragon, spiral energy, or “the serpent” when describing arcane magic.  Wizards are masters of rituals, and know more ways to accomplish the impossible than anyone.

--Wizards can use a one ritual they know per day without paying the component cost. At paragon tier they can use two per day and at epic three per day.  

--No light armor bonus.  Can get a light armor bonus of +2 for a feat and increase to +3 with another.

Barbarian:  These represent the ultimate Celtic warrior, a raging madman.  More than just training, your rages are a gift from the earth goddess, allowing you to channel raw elemental energy through your body.  Legends tell of warriors caught in riastrad (battle-frenzy, or more accurately, warp-spasm) who twist around in their skin, their bodies burning the air around them.  Your rages manifest supernatural powers.

--Light armor bonus +3.  Barbarians often wear as little armor as possible so they don’t ruin it with a warp-spasm.

--Barbarian powers do not require a two-handed weapon.  They are also proficient with light shields.

Bard:  Bards are no mere wandering minstrels.  They are members of the druid order first and foremost, though their magic specializes in charms and deception.  They are valued as news-bringers, announcers of heroes, and tellers of legends.  Bards can also act as social equalizers, for they can spread the misdeeds of heroes and kings through song and satire.

--Light armor bonus +3 and heavy armor bonus +6.  Can increase heavy armor bonus to +7 or +8 with one or two feats.

Druid:  The druid order passes on the secrets of the universe through oral history, training its members for years.  Any class with the proper training can become a member of the order, but folk commonly associate the druids with controlling the weather and changing shape.  You are a natural force yourself, powerful like the storm and wild like an animal.

--Light armor bonus +3. 

Warden:  Though barbarians and fighters claim much of the battlefield glory, legends tell of one warrior who trained with the druids, learning some of their magic arts and becoming a great leader.  A warden combines great strength with earth magic, using the power of the elements around him to augment his attacks.  They also learn how to change shape, taking the form of animals and natural powers in combat.

--Light armor bonus +3.