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James Orn Tyler’s Character
Traits and Powers/Fighting Styles
RULES CHANGES
Saving throws are equal to half your level instead of your full level.
Additional feats gained at levels 6, 12, and 18.
Races – look at the R&C page for Human and Half-elf. Other iconic races will most likely be of the 4E equivalent, i.e. the elf
Fighting style feats may be purchased with bonus feats you receive from your base class, i.e. Armigier, Archer, Weaponmaster etc. but you must meet the Mastery level requirements for them as usual, i.e. Whip Dancer requires finesse mastery so some classes will be out of luck.
Rule of Cool – To be expounded upon later
Regaining cool points – Performing cool things without the use of cool points, or giving interesting descriptions of your stunts while using points.
Fate Points – You have a number of Fate Points equal to your character level. Fate points can be used for a number of things, one commonly used ability is to be able to reroll any one roll, even hit points. However, once you use a fate point it’s gone, it doesn’t refresh, limited resource even. A Fate Point can also be expended to initiate dramatic action. Dramatic action essentially puts control in the players hand, letting him do very heroic things that the rules wouldn’t normally allow. Such as clamping onto the blade of a murderer giving time for your companions to escape, getting back up when you should already be dead, holding up a crumbling building, jumping into the mouth of a giant icewyrm and to rescue a friend, or delivering a rallying speech for citizens to fight for their freedom. There is a limit to dramatic action though, no amount of drama is going to help you grapple the tarrasque, bend adamantine bars with sub par strength scores, convince some happy citizens to rebel against a good king. Also, during dramatic action your minimum damage is equal to your level.
Motivation – If you’ve been looking over the R&C page then you’ve seen a lot of references to motivation. Motivation essentially describes your raison d’etre (reason for being). What is it that drives you, what caused you to become an adventurer and remain one. Motivation can be divided up into two parts, over arching goals (long term) and relative goals (short term or constants). I’ll give a few examples below which will hopefully give you a good idea of what to say for your character.
This will be useful for those of you familiar with the Order of the stick. Roy’s overarching goal is to fulfill the blood oath that his father made to slay the Lich Xykon. His current/short term goals tend to fluctuate but recently it was to stop the magical binding gates from being destroyed. In the past it has also been to stop the linear guild, protect his sister, and get his sword reforged. Your overarching goal should generally stay the same (unless of course you accomplish it), and your current/short term goal is very flexible and can change depending on what’s happening. However, your motivation should be noteworthy and not a simple task, no butter my toast in the morning or travel from point A to B.
Another example would be an NPC that I’d hope you’re somewhat familiar with, the elven ranger Train. His current goals are to defend the village of Neferander (which is about to be overrun by ogres) and also to keep you chumps alive (since you could be useful allies, especially when it comes to fighting an ogre army). His overarching goal deals with his backstory, it involves slaying a certain Arch demon. Crazy stuff huh? None of these three motivations are particularly easy (keeping you guys alive especially!) and probably won’t be fulfilled without some epic scenes. As a general rule of thumb, I’d say as a minimum have 1 current/short term goal and one overarching goal. More ambitious players may have many, but make sure you attend to them (and that they don’t conflict with each other).
Benefits to having motivations – Motivations contribute to dramatic effect. I’m much more likely to let someone at -6HP stand back up and keep fighting if his only relative left in the world is about to be eaten. There are also a number of abilities that will provide you with significant bonuses should you be acting in a way concurrent with your motivation, or would take you one step closer to fulfilling it. Motivation also gives the PC’s something to do. This driving force is especially potent since you’re not really forced to go anywhere in this upcoming campaign, if you want to head straight to the pinnacle of the center mountain and end the threat of raiding giants once and for all then by all means. If you want to go burn the beastman village to the ground after they ransack the northern continent go right ahead. The adventure should be about what the player’s and their characters want to do. It’ll be more fun that way y’know.
If you manage to actually complete a motivation, or reach an important milestone (for the especially hard to complete ones i.e. reach godhood status) you will be rewarded. Such as bonus experience, fate points (normally you receive one per level), and other permanent rewards. Possibly a bonus feat, magic item, stat increase, a fief of land, heck maybe even a kingdom.
One last thing though. It’s generally good to share your motivations OOC so that no ones motivation will come into direct conflict with another, not to say that they can’t struggle with each other (two players both wanting to become the new king of a kingdom is certainly interesting) but nothing that will alienate you from one another or cause you to clash head on. D&D is a game of teamwork after all.
Iron Heroes is made for a low to almost no magic world. So don’t expect magic items up the wazoo. So with the absence of magic items you’ll need something to spend that hoarde of cash on. And when people aren’t practicing alot of magic, that leaves..
Equipment material
{Magic of Faerun}
+1500GP:
Dark Steel (Gleaming purple luster) – +1 Electricity damage, Acid resistance 2 (+500GP for armor).
Ice Steel (Ivory) – +1 Frost damage, Fire resistance 2 (+500GP for armor) Cannot have Fire enchantments.
Fever Iron – +1 Fire damage, Fire resistance 2 (+500GP for armor) Cannot have frost enchantments.
+2000GP:
Arundur (blue green) – Sonic Resistance 2, Hardness 12 HP30, A weapon can be made keen for an additional cost of 8000GP
Mithril – As it stands Mithril is absolutely worthless as a weapons material, which is utter crap. Therefore we shall implement two things to make it worthwhile as well as continuing with it’s aesthetic appeal of lightweight and durable. Ability #1 One handed weapons made of mithril count as a light weapon for the purpose of Two weapon fighting. Ability #2 You may use a weapon one size category larger than you if it is made of mithril. You do however incur the standard -2 penalty.
+5000GP:
Alchemic Gold – Fire and Acid resist 2, double weight one size category larger
Alchemic Platinum – Cold and sonic resistance 2, double weight one size category larger
Hizagkuur (pale silvery) – Cold resistance 2, +1 Fire & Electricity damage
Dendritic Crystal (Heavy armor only)- DR becomes magic & adamantite, decrease max dex by 1, increase armor check by 1.
ALCHEMY
Meteorite Armband – +10 Initiative 50,000 gold pieces
Zombieslayer – +1d6 damage vs undead, 1750 GP
+Sword of Slumber – Fort save DC 15 vs falling asleep when struck
Crescent Moon Fan – +2 damage when used in first round of combat, can be swung to unleash various dust based spores in a cone of 15ft.
Impulse blades – These blades have a certain alchemically treated liquid metal that changes the weapons center of mass after a over exerted swing (a miss) which makes it much easier to twist the blade and make a recovery. Mechanics: +5 to hit if your previous attack in that round missed. 100,000 GP, or 150,000 for a matching set.
Alchemical Traps
Release a concentrated burst of elemental energy when triggered. Damage Xd6. Cost 300 * X, i.e. a 3d6 trap is 900 GP.
Camouflaged – they are convered in chameleon oil which makes them naturally blend in with their environment adding a +5 to the spot DC. Price: 500 * X.
Blast Orbs – Elements stored in glass balls. When thrown they deal 3d4 times the level of product. Cost: 150 * lvl of product.
Arms Alchemy
Alchemic Warriors – Wielders of Busou Renkin, or Arm’s Alchemy in the trade tongue. They were the first to notice the threat of Chaos, and the first to combat them. Their ranks are secret as well as the secret to the creation of Kakuganes the tool used for Arm’s Alchemy. An interesting thing to note, is that an Alchemic warrior always produces the same type of Arm’s Alchemy, even if borrowing another’s kakugane. For example instead of transforming into his/her Arm’s Alchemy “Cryorevolver” you instead create a duplicate or an improvement of your own.
{On a side note, the only people generally with magical weaponry from the get go, will be Arm’s Alchemists, Diviners, Forces of Nature & Kensei (They can empower their equipment), or owners of legacy items. Possibly Spirit Shamans as well.}
Legacy Weapons:
Legacy weapons are about as magical as a weapon can become without actually magical. Because of this they are also prime candidates for being enchanted, provided you can actually find an enchanter powerful enough to conduct the ritual and have the necessary ingredients and reagents. Mechanically speaking each legacy weapon has a unique ability that activates at certain times. Listed below are the legacy weapons that the party has accumulated so far. Any new characters entering the campaign are assumed to have at least one legacy weapon or item.
Aeon – Kaldabolg (Fever Iron Longsword), Joooooooovar (Solarian Truesteel Joovar)
Cyel Seadragon – Tranquil Haze (Rapier always emiting a light mist), Rusted Saber (Always a static shock when touching the pommel)
Train Reinhart – Glenn’s Sword (Enigmatic runes along the length of the blade being to glow in the heat of battle), Rusted Sword (exhibited no properties so far)
Ryu – Deathbringer (Unnaturally sharp curved sword)
Shylon Dunbrac – Shards of Moonlight (Glass-like shards that transform into burning streaks of moonlight when thrown)
Groups
Forces of Chaos – A cult dedicated to sowing the seeds of chaos across the island. Their primary targets are the elemental poles, yet no town is truly safe from their raids. The majority of the Chaos’s legions are composed of Dwarves which represent a minority on the surface. They make their homes deep in the underdark. With the underdark’s winding passages and general labryinth structure it is difficult to locate or track them down, however it does not stop the the addled, twisted mines of Chaos from popping up all over the isle. The forces of Chaos are known to have an exceptional knowledge of Alchemy and are the source of homunculi and other twisted experiments.
Currently Experimenting with:
Tactics = BAB + Int + Other
You may make a tactics role at the beginning of the encounter (Free action). Use your tactics roll against the enemy commanders, for every 10 points your role beats his you and your squad recieve a +1 to hit. If instead he beats your roll the plan backfire and he recieves a +1 for every 10 he beats you by. If the roll is beaten by 20 points or more you are considered to have Combat Advantage against the opposing team so sneak attack to your hearts content.
Misc modifier is given from circumstance bonuses (wet ground, firing arrows at people climbing up a mountain, dead end pass etc.), descriptive narration of what you’d like to do (other than just a roll), and certain classes get bonuses to this roll and sometimes other abilities i.e. Trapmaster, Psychic Warrior and Honorable Retort. Generally circumstance bonuses will be the largest modifier.
You may attempt to nullify the tactical advantage granted by an opponent via a tactics role as a full round action. HR and PsiWar can make the role as a standard action, while the trap master can make the roll as a move action (and eventually a swift).
Certain knowledges can give you a synergy bonus to the Tactics roll, such as history, geography, and other specific ones for specific areas.
Laying a Trap
Swift action: Opposed tactics roles each round, need 3 successes and they will be considered flatfooted against the attack and you deal an additional +1d6 damage. For each additional target (group for mass combat) beyond the first you take a -2 penalty to your tactics role.
Terrain Superiority
Air
Gain +1 to hit and defense for every maneuverability category you are above your targets.
i.e. You have a maneuverability of Good, they have poor, you have a +2 hit and defense against them.
Categories – poor, average, good, perfect