Monday, September 21, 2015

[3.X] An Argument Against 5th Level Commoners

Fully fleshed NPC classes, such as the aristocrat or commoner, are a bad idea. This is obviously within the context of D&D 3.X, but the argument can feasibly be applicable to any level-based RPG.
By the nature of the beast, a level 3 Expert is better than a level 1 Fighter; more and better skills, higher base attack bonus, better saving throws, better gear, etc.
Games such as D&D posit that PCs are individuals who matter at the beginning of their career (level 1), and this is something that even ‘gritty’ settings do in practice if you look at the adventures described. This is something inherent in the genre.
This facet will be countered if you do not simultaneously posit that third level Experts are uncommon; and tenth level Commoners absolutely must be highly rare. If your typical man on the street is a plurality of levels higher than you, even with a sub-optimal class like the Expert, then your PC begins play as their cohort or squire. When orcs invade the town, you do not send out the PCs, you send out Billy the Roof Thatcher. The party of combines their martial training, bardic music, and mystic knowledge to augment the raw power of Dread Thatcher Billy.
Sure, your PCs will eventually be better than the majority of NPCs, at like level 6 or something. I strongly doubt your players are interested in roleplaying the years of apprenticeship and character building to be better than the guy who flips the switch for the Bat Signal (only it’s a guy with a trowel instead of Batman).
Now, rallying the peasants into a force that can fight back Team Evil is certainly cool, but that’s a completely different message from “Billy’s wife, Mary, can beat up your entire party with a wooden foot.”
What this means is that NPC classes need to exist on fewer levels. There is no reason for there to even be such a thing as a 10th level warriors or 6th level commoners. Simultaneously, NPC demographics need to be weighted strongly for the bottom levels.
In a personal plug for my own 3.X games, I have dumped the Warrior and Adept NPC classes as written for homebrew versions that are only five levels long and are implicitly faster to design than a PC class. The Commoner class doesn’t exist, and PC-races without class (hah!) get by with a single racial hit die and a simple list of ‘templates’ based on their livelihood. I will admit, due to time and such, I have not made a final decision on how to handle the replacement of Experts and Aristocrats.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

[3.X] How Not to Be Seen



This is a set of house-rules for stealth, which has traditionally been poorly written in d20 systems. Originally, this was designed for use in my Arcana Evolved campaign, but it remains applicable in regular 3.5, Pathfinder, etc. Please understand that I am not necessarily saying your game has bad stealth rules, but the official rules in your book are bad; which is a distinct difference not many notice, which itself is amusing in this context. The rules as written are bad, but it's essentially a guarantee that your campaign does not use them strictly as they are written, and in many cases you might not even realize house rules are in effect. This set up is technically the same process, but I feel having the caulking be clearly visible so consistency is better maintained.


Skill Changes

Hide & Move Silently are merged into one skill, Stealth. Spot & Listen are merged into one skill, Notice (Perception for Pathfinder). Modifiers originally tied to just Spot or Listen apply to Notice, using the greater of the two, so long as the sense can be used; so Spot bonuses do not apply against invisible targets, thunderstones negate Listen bonuses, etc.


Dice Resolution for Observer and Stealther

Stealth is rolled once for the entire scene. Taking a standard action gives the full result plus modifiers for one round. A move action gives the same result with a -5 penalty for the round. With just a free action, this penalty increases to -10. After a character is spotted from stealth, they are permitted a single reroll to their Stealth for the scene. 

Observers are presumed to be constantly taking a free action to "Take 0" on Notice, which gives a Notice result equal to their bonus. When they Observe, a move action, they get to roll normally for that round. An observer will only roll once for the entire scene, using the same result for all further Observe actions. They are permitted a single reroll to their Notice for the scene after they fail to beat the Stealth by 5 or less.


Compare results to the point-of-view of any potential observer. Stealth is impossible against someone directly observing you until line of sight is broken (or the Bluff check for a distraction to dive for cover). Changes to the DC based on the circumstances apply instantly, and can make a stealthy subject change to noticed by the observer. 


Effects of Stealth

Until the subject is noticed, the observer is unaware and flat-footed to the subject. If conditions change to make the observer aware, they remain flat-footed until the end of the action. Multiple attacks from a full-attack action do not all get the bonus (just the first); though if it's the start of combat for the observer, they remain flat-footed until their action as normal.



Modifiers

Notice ModifierObserver Status 
-1 per 10'Distance*
-10/1ft thicknessWall 
-5Closed door 
-5Distracted, full conversation or using standard action 
-5Intense sensory input (spotlight in face) 
-10In combat, Asleep 
-20Pinpoint subject with total concealment 
+10Observe, subject without cover or concealment 
+4Observe, knows who to look for 
-3Observe as swift action

*Distance
Modifier
Environment for Subject
x1/3Daylight
x1/2Bright Light
x2Darkness
x1/2Outdoor Terrain
x1/2Flat/Exposed Terrain

Stealth ModifierSubject Status 
-5Moving greater than half speed 
-20Attacking, running, charging 
-30Attacking observer 
+20Total concealment 
-20Carries light source, auto pinpoint 
+/-2Favorable/unfavorable conditions 

If a subject has total concealment, such as invisibility or no line of sight with the observer, then an observer can only roughly know their direction; pinpointing will give the precise square. If the subject is completely immobile, including no breathing, then the bonus from total concealment increases by +20 and the observer requires an observe action along with a 10 point penalty to their own stealth attempts. 

Use common sense applications toward sensory bonuses, such as bonuses to Spot not applying while asleep. 


Beyond Sight & Sound


Ripping off Pathfinder, Notice can be used for senses beyond Spot/Listen. However, the standards use a human baseline, which is rather abysmal and therefore doesn't require the level of detail the others do. If a sense is acute enough to be a special ability, like a bat's blindsense or a beast's scent; then they can use it as a normal sense (out to the range limit) with a +8 bonus. 

DCDetail 
-10Stench of rotting garbage 
0Smell smoke 
10Determine if food is spoiled 
25Sense a burrowing creature underneath you 
15+caster levelIdentify the powers of a potion through taste


Shadowrunning


Sometimes the entire party needs to infiltrate a location, and some of them are incompetent at this. With a -5 penalty, all allies within 30' who follow the stealth leader uses the leader's roll before situational modifiers (such as size, actions, etc). 


Alternatively, everyone can make individual Stealth checks as appropriate, and the leader reduces his own check to boost their allies. For every 1 point their result is lowered, every ally within 30' gains a +2 bonus. The recipient's check cannot exceed that of the person taking the penalty.