what book is the Belt of Magnificence in? I didn't see it in the Magic Item Compendium or the Dungeon Master's Guide so I am assuming it's in a different book?
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"As the size of an explosion increases, the number of social situations it is incapable of solving approaches zero." -- Varsuvius, Order of the Stick
@Halinn: I believe the technical answer is that you should break it down level by level for each save individually. I was suggesting sum up each save for the first 20 levels on each side and take the greater (for each individually) because it sounds like less work.
Btw, who's the fifth player? We've got DC, Halinn, Caex , me and ???
A secret mystery player from beyond this realm.
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Regarding Immortals handbook: The book streamlines the divine rank system to allow for wider range of deities or demideities. It ranges from prophets and disciples of a religion all the way to multiple-reality-encompassing cosmic entities. I figure that Halinn is more interested in the lower end of the spectrum, here.
In practice, it would allow a character to spend one side of their gestalt to get a divine rank amongst the lower levels, establishing him as a demigod of some level. Perhaps enough for a small cult, or something. Probably not to the point where'd be ruling over a realm in the skies and granting spells, though.
It is a sourcebook for D&D, and therefore yes, it is broken. Not more broken than PHB or DMG, but you can do some obscene stuff with it. Assuming that Halinn isn't in it to break it, it should be about fine, though, and opens up for some fairly interesting character concepts.
And no, level 20 creature isn't far away from godhood by the virtue of existing, either, considering that the lords of the abyss, read Demogorgon, Graz'zt, etc, are mostly along the range of CR 21-23. Barring their abundant servants most of those would be an easy (Read: Risk-free) encounter for a level 20 wizard, let alone a gestalt character of the same level.
I'd say that you can go ahead and allow it. The powers it grants are not beyond the league of characters at this level, and come with a reasonable price.
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Regarding the plot/storyline, am I to assume that our characters have met before or not? Because if we have, I might have my AbsolutelyMagnificentCraftingServices, with minimal profit margin, for rent. It comes with my "Almost-free of evil spirits and angry elementals."-quarantee. Just think about the savings. This way, you, too, can afford some quality itemization.
The Sage is occupied with the unspoken
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Tentative yes on Immortals Handbook. But I don't want to see anything naughty come out of it.
@Plot: Quite fuzzy at this point. I think the best thing will be to streamline things as much as possible so that we can get to the action already and everyone's happy. Assume that you know eachother (to varying degrees) and have at least recently been traveling together or otherwise aware that the others have been summoned to the same location.
@Caex: Good question. My answer is that it'll increase the damage dice in the same way because the reason the damage increases for melee weapons is not because the weapon actually gets bigger, it just uses the same rate. So too with ranged weapons. The increase in damage reflects your superior ability to inflict damage with the weapon. Spells/rays on the other hand seem a little too good with weapon specialization. Consequently, they'll keep the old bonus.
Edit: That above paragraph was a little confusing because I read your question wrong. The last two sentences apply to what you asked.
How heavy is the dragon and draconic creature presence in the game world? My character is kind of a wandering emissary of Io, and he can heavily influence dragon encounters since no dragon can attack or otherwise try to harm him voluntarily. Unless he attacks first, of course.
Just wondering for my bio and my character's personality. The heavier the dragon presence, the more clerical he'll act.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
I haven't really thought that far. As the campaign title suggests, you'll mostly be fighting eldritch abominations.
However, I also like to mold my campaigns to the abilities of the characters. So I'll try to incorporate things that make your features useful. That said, if anyone else has similar notes about their characters now would be a great time to bring it up so that I can plan on these details.
Re: Ravenloft. Dragons are rare, but rare things tend to show up more for epic characters.
Still haven't decided on the setting. A few people named Ravenloft, so it's the most distinct possibility. I don't really care, though I don't know that I'm up to a custom setting.
In regards to setting: You could always do what Jen did in the Godslayer game. Take an established world (Forgotten Realms, in Godslayer) and do whatever you want with it.
Replace entire towns with different ones, redo others so they're unrecognizable, keep some the same, invent new ones when needed, etc. Geography isn't that important in epic, I think. Not when you can teleport wherever you need to go and plane-hop on a moment's notice.
I'm not particularly familiar with Ravenloft, but it sound interesting and I've read a bit about it. I'd vote Ravenloft or Forgotten Realms.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
What is your policy on PrCs that give dual-class bonuses? Ultimate Magus, Daggerspell Mage, Spellsword, Enlightened Fist, ect. I'm considering an overhaul on my character, and that information would be helpful.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
The official ruling on dual prestige classes in gestalt is that they're not allowed.
My ruling is that you can use them if you either strip down their abilities (for example, ultimage magus on one side of the gestalt doesn't increase the caster level on the other side) or count the prestige class as taking up space on both sides in a given level. The first one involves modifying the prestige class which makes it custom material. The second means keeping the prestige class as is.
Benefit: You are treated as a Fighter 4 levels lower than your Monk level for the purpose of qualifying for Fighter-only feats. If you have Fighter levels, this bonus stacks (example: A 2nd level Fighter/8th level Monk would be treated as a 6th level Fighter for the purposes of qualifying for Fighter-only feats, allowing him to take Weapon Specalization).
Obviously I'm considering a Monk as my new character. I figure why shouldn't a Monk be able to have Greater Weapon Focus or Specialization? They specialize in unarmed combat just as much as a Fighter does with their chosen weapon. Probably more.
EDIT: Or, alternatively, could that be a class feature that replaces Abundant Step at 12th level?
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
what if all the classes are on the same side of the progression. i.e wizard\sorceror\um\\other side
Same thing. You can't use a prestige class to progress in the class abilities of two different classes in gestalt, even if they're classes on the same side.
Otherwise it would get pretty ridiculous pretty fast. The same is true for some of those feats that let you stack class levels for different abilities.
Benefit: You are treated as a Fighter 4 levels lower than your Monk level for the purpose of qualifying for Fighter-only feats. If you have Fighter levels, this bonus stacks (example: A 2nd level Fighter/8th level Monk would be treated as a 6th level Fighter for the purposes of qualifying for Fighter-only feats, allowing him to take Weapon Specalization).
Obviously I'm considering a Monk as my new character. I figure why shouldn't a Monk be able to have Greater Weapon Focus or Specialization? They specialize in unarmed combat just as much as a Fighter does with their chosen weapon. Probably more.
EDIT: Or, alternatively, could that be a class feature that replaces Abundant Step at 12th level?
That feat is fine, as is the ability exchange. At high levels the equivalent is better than the warblade ability with a similar effect, but it definitely doesn't break monk.
Well, he'll be a Wizard//Monk, so he'll be able to blast if he wants. I just wanted to play a different character than one I've already done before. Change being the essence of life and all.
I'm still not sure if I'll be changing or not. I'm still deciding. It is somewhat dependant on the setting. If it's Forgotten Realms, it'll probably be Caex. If Ravenloft, most likely the Wizard//Monk.
EDIT: Here is what I've got of the Monk so far. She's already infinitely more survivable than Caex, but is less versatile and can't cast True Resurrection.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Still a dragon hehe..We'll see how CG and LG go together.
Still a dragon, yes. I figure we basically get a free +3 LA, I might as well use it.
As for True Res...Well, I have Wish, but....I still deal more combat damage than you I think
EDIT: Wait...isn't Incantatrix banned or something?
Well, once my character gets Epic Spellcasting, the first thing I do is going to be to create an epic resurrection spell for her so the party can have a way to bring back the dead with no level-loss. Unless, of course, someone is going to play a Sage or some kind of divine caster who can bring back the dead.
I'm surprised your character doesn't have Arcane Strike. Any caster/melee character can benefit hugely from it. It's quite useful in gestalt because you can theoretically sacrifice lots of high-level spell slots to get some impressive melee bonuses. The only reason my character doesn't have it is because I'm building her up to take a bunch of powerful defensive and spellcasting epic feats.
Incantatrix isn't banned as far as I can tell. ASA hasn't specifically said it was banned or anything, so I assume I can take it. If not, I'll just have to go with something else.
I usually ban Incantatrix, but then again my campaigns are slightly lower-powered than ASA's (Read: not gestalt).
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Yeah, I know, not enough feats man. :-/I plan on taking it in a few levels, and after buying a couple of ring of wizardry.
Fortunately, our friendly DM has a record of giving out lots of loot, so I think you can safely bet on being able to buy a few epic rings of wizardry.
I don't have anything against the class. From what I've read, its seems there's a fear of it around here;) hehe
No more fear than there are for Swiftblades, I think. They're both pretty strong. Incantatrix gives you the benefits of an epic feat at level 9 of the class, which is very nice. Swiftblade makes a character into a melee combat engine of destruction. In the Godslayer game, Krashbot's Swiftblade was capable of dealing insane amount of damage when he used his abilities to their full potential.
I don't know about that...players seem to die a LOT in your campaigns...leastwise from what I've read...and your sig :p.
Well, I think the difference is that in ASA's campaigns, he flat-out tells you you're going to die. I try to lull players into a false sense of security before I spring the murder on them.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
Well, I think the difference is that in ASA's campaigns, he flat-out tells you you're going to die. I try to lull players into a false sense of security before I spring the murder on them.
I know im not supposed to post and all that but i just need to address something here, ASA's games arent just about you outright dying, there is also romance involved... case in point? Caex's Sig
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Call me old fashioned, but an evil ascension to power just isn't the same without someone chanting faux Latin in the background.
Oreo, Glazing people better than Dunkin' Donuts since 2009
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange eons even death may die.
You loved, you got loved to death by a throng of infernals, you got turned into an undead monstrosity by a lich who wanted in on the action, you got destroyed by a goody-two shoes (who wanted to take your magical sex toy as loot), and now a fisting Hecatoncheires is porking you in the seventh layer of hell (where the planar properties bestow infinitely malleable sphincters on inhabitants). All part of the cycle of life in D&D.
More survivability is good, but so is the ability to resurrect people. If there's not at least one divine caster or equivalent in the party I'm gonna have to declare you guys doomed.
It wouldn't be very nice of me to ban incantatrix when I'll be using worse against you.
Well the thing about wish is that you don't have infinite experience to give. Though I will start granting you guys reserve experience for such things.
And a cleric will just do it better. Not only true resurrection, but also greater restoration. Those two spells will be your bestest friends in this campaign.
Well, I could substitute Wizard with Sage fairly easily. They use the same ability for spellcasting and gain feats at the same pace. Unfortunately, they sacrifice a huge amount of versatility.
How quickly will we get to epic levels and be able to develop epic spells? Because once that happens, we will be able to compensate for lack of clerical magic.
If it turns out we have no divine caster, I'll switch classes. Hopefully I won't have to though.
Everything scares me... kitties scare me... squirrels scare me... corpses....corpses bring forth a pletora of confusing feeling which i prefer not to dwell on...:p
I would appreciate it
The feats are exactly the same as the old feats in all respects except for the benefits and some of the prerequisites, which I've described.
A secret mystery player from beyond this realm.
----------
Regarding Immortals handbook: The book streamlines the divine rank system to allow for wider range of deities or demideities. It ranges from prophets and disciples of a religion all the way to multiple-reality-encompassing cosmic entities. I figure that Halinn is more interested in the lower end of the spectrum, here.
In practice, it would allow a character to spend one side of their gestalt to get a divine rank amongst the lower levels, establishing him as a demigod of some level. Perhaps enough for a small cult, or something. Probably not to the point where'd be ruling over a realm in the skies and granting spells, though.
It is a sourcebook for D&D, and therefore yes, it is broken. Not more broken than PHB or DMG, but you can do some obscene stuff with it. Assuming that Halinn isn't in it to break it, it should be about fine, though, and opens up for some fairly interesting character concepts.
And no, level 20 creature isn't far away from godhood by the virtue of existing, either, considering that the lords of the abyss, read Demogorgon, Graz'zt, etc, are mostly along the range of CR 21-23. Barring their abundant servants most of those would be an easy (Read: Risk-free) encounter for a level 20 wizard, let alone a gestalt character of the same level.
I'd say that you can go ahead and allow it. The powers it grants are not beyond the league of characters at this level, and come with a reasonable price.
----------
Regarding the plot/storyline, am I to assume that our characters have met before or not? Because if we have, I might have my AbsolutelyMagnificentCraftingServices, with minimal profit margin, for rent. It comes with my "Almost-free of evil spirits and angry elementals."-quarantee. Just think about the savings. This way, you, too, can afford some quality itemization.
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
{Magic: The RPG}
@Plot: Quite fuzzy at this point. I think the best thing will be to streamline things as much as possible so that we can get to the action already and everyone's happy. Assume that you know eachother (to varying degrees) and have at least recently been traveling together or otherwise aware that the others have been summoned to the same location.
@Caex: Good question. My answer is that it'll increase the damage dice in the same way because the reason the damage increases for melee weapons is not because the weapon actually gets bigger, it just uses the same rate. So too with ranged weapons. The increase in damage reflects your superior ability to inflict damage with the weapon. Spells/rays on the other hand seem a little too good with weapon specialization. Consequently, they'll keep the old bonus.
Edit: That above paragraph was a little confusing because I read your question wrong. The last two sentences apply to what you asked.
How heavy is the dragon and draconic creature presence in the game world? My character is kind of a wandering emissary of Io, and he can heavily influence dragon encounters since no dragon can attack or otherwise try to harm him voluntarily. Unless he attacks first, of course.
Just wondering for my bio and my character's personality. The heavier the dragon presence, the more clerical he'll act.
{Magic: The RPG}
However, I also like to mold my campaigns to the abilities of the characters. So I'll try to incorporate things that make your features useful. That said, if anyone else has similar notes about their characters now would be a great time to bring it up so that I can plan on these details.
Re: Ravenloft. Dragons are rare, but rare things tend to show up more for epic characters.
So whatever everyone wants pretty much is fine.
Replace entire towns with different ones, redo others so they're unrecognizable, keep some the same, invent new ones when needed, etc. Geography isn't that important in epic, I think. Not when you can teleport wherever you need to go and plane-hop on a moment's notice.
I'm not particularly familiar with Ravenloft, but it sound interesting and I've read a bit about it. I'd vote Ravenloft or Forgotten Realms.
{Magic: The RPG}
{Magic: The RPG}
My ruling is that you can use them if you either strip down their abilities (for example, ultimage magus on one side of the gestalt doesn't increase the caster level on the other side) or count the prestige class as taking up space on both sides in a given level. The first one involves modifying the prestige class which makes it custom material. The second means keeping the prestige class as is.
Warrior Monk
Prerequisites: Monk level 8th, Weapon Focus-Unarmed Strike.
Benefit: You are treated as a Fighter 4 levels lower than your Monk level for the purpose of qualifying for Fighter-only feats. If you have Fighter levels, this bonus stacks (example: A 2nd level Fighter/8th level Monk would be treated as a 6th level Fighter for the purposes of qualifying for Fighter-only feats, allowing him to take Weapon Specalization).
Obviously I'm considering a Monk as my new character. I figure why shouldn't a Monk be able to have Greater Weapon Focus or Specialization? They specialize in unarmed combat just as much as a Fighter does with their chosen weapon. Probably more.
EDIT: Or, alternatively, could that be a class feature that replaces Abundant Step at 12th level?
{Magic: The RPG}
Same thing. You can't use a prestige class to progress in the class abilities of two different classes in gestalt, even if they're classes on the same side.
Otherwise it would get pretty ridiculous pretty fast. The same is true for some of those feats that let you stack class levels for different abilities.
That feat is fine, as is the ability exchange. At high levels the equivalent is better than the warblade ability with a similar effect, but it definitely doesn't break monk.
I'm still not sure if I'll be changing or not. I'm still deciding. It is somewhat dependant on the setting. If it's Forgotten Realms, it'll probably be Caex. If Ravenloft, most likely the Wizard//Monk.
EDIT: Here is what I've got of the Monk so far. She's already infinitely more survivable than Caex, but is less versatile and can't cast True Resurrection.
{Magic: The RPG}
Still a dragon, yes. I figure we basically get a free +3 LA, I might as well use it.
Well, once my character gets Epic Spellcasting, the first thing I do is going to be to create an epic resurrection spell for her so the party can have a way to bring back the dead with no level-loss. Unless, of course, someone is going to play a Sage or some kind of divine caster who can bring back the dead.
I'm surprised your character doesn't have Arcane Strike. Any caster/melee character can benefit hugely from it. It's quite useful in gestalt because you can theoretically sacrifice lots of high-level spell slots to get some impressive melee bonuses. The only reason my character doesn't have it is because I'm building her up to take a bunch of powerful defensive and spellcasting epic feats.
Incantatrix isn't banned as far as I can tell. ASA hasn't specifically said it was banned or anything, so I assume I can take it. If not, I'll just have to go with something else.
I usually ban Incantatrix, but then again my campaigns are slightly lower-powered than ASA's (Read: not gestalt).
{Magic: The RPG}
Fortunately, our friendly DM has a record of giving out lots of loot, so I think you can safely bet on being able to buy a few epic rings of wizardry.
No more fear than there are for Swiftblades, I think. They're both pretty strong. Incantatrix gives you the benefits of an epic feat at level 9 of the class, which is very nice. Swiftblade makes a character into a melee combat engine of destruction. In the Godslayer game, Krashbot's Swiftblade was capable of dealing insane amount of damage when he used his abilities to their full potential.
Well, I think the difference is that in ASA's campaigns, he flat-out tells you you're going to die. I try to lull players into a false sense of security before I spring the murder on them.
{Magic: The RPG}
I know im not supposed to post and all that but i just need to address something here, ASA's games arent just about you outright dying, there is also romance involved... case in point? Caex's Sig
More survivability is good, but so is the ability to resurrect people. If there's not at least one divine caster or equivalent in the party I'm gonna have to declare you guys doomed.
It wouldn't be very nice of me to ban incantatrix when I'll be using worse against you.
And a cleric will just do it better. Not only true resurrection, but also greater restoration. Those two spells will be your bestest friends in this campaign.
How quickly will we get to epic levels and be able to develop epic spells? Because once that happens, we will be able to compensate for lack of clerical magic.
If it turns out we have no divine caster, I'll switch classes. Hopefully I won't have to though.
{Magic: The RPG}