Category Archives: DnD

The Fate System

I was recently exposed to a rather interesting alternate RPG system written by the folks over at Evil Hat Productions. Traditionally, published roleplaying games will have an assumed setting built into its game mechanics. This is often in the form of a series of core attribute statistics that define how strong, nimble, smart, or persuasive a given character is, and reinforced through systems of character classes and pre-defined skills. Characters built within these parameters lend themselves, in theory, to the assumed setting. This is the case with World of Darkness system, Deadlands, or Dungeons & Dragons.

Others attempt to be universally-applicable. They do so by modifying an existing ruleset to include a preponderance of additional skills and rules tacked onto the older system (d20 Modern and Palladium strike me as good examples), or by creating an amorphous uber-system like GURPS.

Fate takes a third, higher road, by imposing a ruleset that revolves around types of attributes, not the specific definitions thereof. Characters have various Aspects and Skills, and some number of Fate Points. The nature of those Aspects, and the particulars of the definitions of those Skills are left to the gamemaster and players to work out, with an emphasis on relevance to the story instead of absolute quantities. For example, to create a brave sword-wielding adventure of prodigious strength, a D&D player may create a Fighter character with a high Strength score. He’ll also have Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma attributes, but none of these are key to the character concept; they’re present to satisfy the character-creation process. A similar character in the Fate system may have Aspects invested in “Prodigious Strength” and “Brave,” and Skills invested in swordsmanship.

The Aspects can be just about anything (the core ruleset has examples ranging from “intelligent” to “expendable”) , and frankly so can the skills (which can include supernatural skills such as psychic or magic powers). Lest this seem entirely too free-form, a great deal of the 90-page core document revolve around ways to narrow things down to suit the needs of your setting and your story.

Toward this end, I’m thinking of writing up an overlay of sorts for the Iron Kingdoms. Before I get too deep into it, I’ll need to decide how detailed I’ll want to get. If this is just some intellectual exercise, it can be as specific as the current campaign I’m running using d20. If it is to be more generally-applicable, skill sets and aspects need to be considered for aspects of the setting that I don’t intend to personally use.

Vanished Iosan Gods

Though I generally consider the presence of Iosans and Rhul-folk (Elves and Dwarves, respectively) to be unnecessary hold-overs from traditional Dungeons & Dragons, sacred cows that few d20 publishers are willing to disturb, they do have somewhat interesting implementations in the Iron Kingdoms setting from Privateer Press. In keeping with high fantasy tradition, the Dwarves are excellent stoneworkers that worship a variety of foundry, forge, and masonry-related deities that are considered the great grand-pappies of their species.

Also in keeping with tradition, the Elves are an ancient, noble, refined, and slowly dying race that has outlived its usefulness in the world. Towards in end, the pantheon of the Iosan Elves consists largely of deities that simply no longer exist. They vanished a few hundred years ago, with only one surviving, though sickly, and possibly comatose, tended to by a worried flock. This ailing survivor, Scyrah, is pretty well-described in the published material, but the others, being effectively defunct, have received little official treatment. The following descriptions are courtesy of Douglas Seacat, Privateer Press writer, on an unofficial basis (any details here are subject to change later on).
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Midfast

The Shield of Ord, Midfast is a city truly vital to the security of its nation. Situated at the most navigable pass between Merin and Khador, Midfast has spent centuries as a vital byway of trade and a critical choke-point denying northern aggression. This city has been the scene of numerous seiges, the most famous of which culminated with the ascencion of Markus, the Morrowan patron ascendant of soldiers. To this day, national defense is the primary concern of Midfast.

[Midfast & Environs]
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Ord – Handy Facts

[Welcome to Ord] File under “Ordic National Board of Tourism”

Nestled between Cygnar, Khador, and the Sea of a Thousand Souls, Ord has ever had a fine naval tradition. What many do not know, though, is the pastoral splendor of our inland valleys, hills, and moors. Though not endowed with the rich mineral deposits of some other lands, Ord is a country steeped in history and culture.

The six Gravs of Ord are ruled by Baird Cathor II, the Bandit King. He has led our country with a skillful hand for over thirty years now, navigating the treacherous waters of international diplomacy and internal politicking with grace and cunning. It is his tact, wit, and guile that have kept Ord both strong and well-clear of the conflicts that presently embroil the other nations of Immorren. Three Lord Castellans and three Moorgraves govern the Gravs of Ord directly, setting local policies as they see fit, with interference from the throne only when necessary.

It is said that the law has a different meaning in Ord, with a storied history of brigandry and piracy going back since before the Orgoth invasion. It could be said that Ordic folk treasure their freedom perhaps a bit too much. From Grav to Grav, and even from town to town, law enforcement varies greatly with the dilligence, competance, and corruption of its leaders. The city of Five Fingers is particularly noted for its lack of governmental oversight and prosperous black market, while the city of Midfast sees very little crime with its preponderance of military personnel. Justice is served by three-judge panels that convict by unanimous vote. Those accused of crimes are considered guilty unless they can prove otherwise, and judges are given a great deal of discretion regarding punishments, which often involves some degree of flogging, or forced labor. Capital crimes are traditionally dealt with by hanging, drowning, or gibbeting.

Ord is the site of several significant religious centers, including the monastery and tomb of Ascendant Markus, Ascendant Gordenn’s tomb, and the Mor Cathedral, built on the site where Ascendant Doleth is said to have departed on his last sea voyage. The church of Morrow is highly active in Ord, though a minority of folk still worship Menoth here.

Ocean trade is the life-blood of Ord on an international scale, with her fleets of skilled sailors and canny merchants. Trade gives rise to currency, and Ord mints its own in accordance with the Corvis Treaties:

The Blackpenny is roughly equivalent in value to the Cygnaran Farthing, and is struck in copper, and are thusly named due to the minting process leaving them darker in hue than other similar coins.
A Half-galleon is equal in value to five Blackpennies, and is literally a silver Galleon cut in half. Blackpennies and Half-galleons are the most commonly-used currency amongst the commoners of Ord.
The Galleon is struck in silver and is roughly the same in value as a Cygnaran Shield. The Galleon’s obverse has a vertical crease that makes chopping it in half quite easy.
A Silverweight is a large coin struck in silver, and worth two full Galleons.
The Royal is a coin struck in gold, equivalent to the Khadoran Talon or Cygnaran Crown.

Ordic coin has been plagued by a reputation for shaving, underweight castings, impurities, and counterfeiting, and as a result many merchants prefer Cygnaran currency for moderate and large-scale trade.

Prestige Everywhere

For years now, I’ve struggled with the existence of prestige classes in the d20 RPG system. I understand the desire to have them; they provide an underlying rule set to accompany a significant variation on the core character archetypes that are normal classes. They are “prestigious” in that there are necessary prerequisites to gaining entry into them. They are “classes” because progression in a PrC takes the place of the normal progression through a normal class.

Since the 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook was released in 2000, Wizards of the Coast has been on a fairly-steady schedule of monthly releases, putting out additional skills, feats, spells, classes, and prestige classes that can help mold their rule set to whatever setting you may wish to run it in. They’ve re-released the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk, as well as Eberron and a number of environment-type-based settings (Frostburn etc.).

All told, there are currently 652 prestige classes published by Wizards of the Coast for the d20 system. This doesn’t count the plethora of prestige classes present in OGL products like the Iron Kingdoms, Midnight, or Warcraft. Granted, many of these 652 PrCs are repeats (Archmage, Incantrix, and Wayfarer Guide are some that show up in two books), but this is a truly-obscene preponderance of customized character rules, and likely indicative of either a fundamental flaw in the system’s underlying mechanics or something far more insidious in their marketing department.

Martial Weapons of Ord

Though primarily known for its fine uiske, canny seafaring merchants, and cannier ruffians, the nation of Ord has a fine military tradition both on land and sea. Though poor in natural resources, Ord has always been able to call upon the tenacity and unfaltering bravery of her soldiers, most notably Ascendant Markus himself, who died defending that fortress city. Two major ethnicities dominate Ord, the Tordorans to the North dominate its politics and commerce, and make up the bulk of the population, and the Thurians to the South.

Tordoran Martial Weapons

Tordoran military prowess is largely found on the high sea and defending the mountain passes against Khadoran aggression and the dangerous inhabitants of the wild Thornwood and the Gnarls. They disdain polearms, preferring the use of longbows at range and swords or axes in close.

Short & Long Swords
Scimitars
Rapiers
Bastard & Great Swords
Caspian Battle Blades & Glaives
Battle & Great Axes
Long Bows
Pistols

Thurian Martial Weapons

A people split between Cygnar and Ord, the Thurians as a people are far better-treated than the Umbreans, who has a similar political divide in their traditional territory. Thurians do not enjoy all the privileges of a Tordoran in Ord, but many a renowned marine, sailor, and soldier have come from their number to serve Ord in its times of need.

Glaive, Guisarme, Halberd, Locharn, Ranseur, Fork
Short & Long Swords
Scimitars
Rapiers
Caspian Battle Blades & Glaives
Short Bows
Pistols

Martial Weapons of Khador

[Khardic] The northern regions of the Iron Kingdoms are home to the Khadoran empire. Comprized of an amalgam of Khardic, Kossite, Skirov, Umbrean, and the Ryn, the martial history of this region revolved primarily around the untamed woodsmen of Kos, the barbarians of Skirov, and the Khardic and Umbrean horselords. Though these cultures now share a single military, some traces of the old preferences are still present, as fathers teach their sons and mothers teach their daughters the traditions of their ancestry. Through the play-fighting of children and the prejudices of drill sergeants, Khadoran armsmen still present a variety of martial weapons.

In addition to limiting the availability of martial weapons that have no strong presence in the martial traditions of these cultures, I am also including many of the “exotic” weapons into their native cultures, and adding a handful of additional “simple” weapons.

Khardic Martial Weapons

The Khards are a proud, ancient people with a long tradition of mounted warfare. Through their incessant wars with the Umbrean, Kossites, and Skirov, they simultaneously imposed their will upon their neighbors and learned from them on the fields of battle. Rifles have become extremely popular over the past generation, as the Khadoran military has been modernized under Ayn Vanar.

Glaive, Guisarme, Halberd, Ranseur, Fork
Light & Heavy Lances
Short & Long Swords
Great Axes
Light & Heavy Horseman’s Axes
Rifles
Shortbows

Khardic Simple Weapons

Battle Axe
Khardic and Hunting Spears

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Martial Weapons in the IK

[Martial Weapons] One of the traditionally-awkward aspects of the Dungeons & Dragons game system, going back to AD&D is weapon proficiency. Quite simply defined, proficiency with a given weapon means that a proficient character knows how to properly use the weapon in combat. Using a weapon one is not proficient with will incur certain penalties, most notably a penalty on all attack rolls. The problem has always been in determining which weapons a given character knows how to use.

In AD&D, this was accomplished by giving the various character classes a fixed number of starting weapon proficiencies (and in some most cases a restricted list of allowable weapons), with additional proficiencies being granted as the character progressed. The main problem with this was that the Fighter character, master of arms that he is, would end up with a stupendously long list of weapons he could use competently, but would run across an enchanted Ranseur and be at a loss as to how to use the darned thing until the following character level. In time, the Fighter would reach a peak point after which new proficiencies were of no practical use.

Third edition D&D addressed this problem by creating three major groupings of weapon types, “simple” weapons that nearly anybody would know how to use, “martial” weapons that only skilled armsmen would master, and “exotic” weapons, which were simply not typically in use, and required specialized training or exotic origin in order to put to good use. Fighters are considered to be proficient in all simple and martial weapons. Quite tidily done for any reasonably-standard D&D world.

But with third edition Dungeons & Dragons came the d20 system, the OGL, and eventually Privateer Press and their Iron Kingdoms setting. The Iron Kingdoms has a significantly different technology level than traditional fantasy roleplaying games, and distinct ethnicities with different cultures and martial traditions. How does the d20 system’s weapon proficiency match up? A quick search for threads regarding firearm proficiency rules on their forum will tell you that it works a little less well than you might expect.

I’ll be following this introductory article with some suggested lists of weapons that should be considered “Martial,” “Simple,” or “Exotic” based upon the Iron Kingdoms cultural groups. Expect most Khadoran subcultures to favor Axes, Cygnarans to favor swords, and so forth.

Chibi Cryx

Fans of japanese animation have long been aware of a subgenre known as “super-deformed.” It originated, to the best of my knowledge, with the release of small-bodied, big-headed “cute” Gundam toys many years ago. Super-deformed versions of all many of popular products have come forth, from chibi-Dragonball to chibi-Evangelion. Well, a fellow calling himself JaggedToothGrin on the Privateer Press Fora has brought this deviant little tradition over to the world of WARMACHINE. Presented for your amusement, Chibi Cryx, the diabolically-evil, piratical, tyrranous, (and now cute) arch-villains of the Iron Kingdoms setting:

[So much huggable evil]

From left, these are the Warwitch Deneghra, the Iron Lich Asphyxious, Lich Lord Terminus, a Bane thrall, and Pirate Queen Skarre.

Unarmed Combat

[Old-fashioned Arse-whuppin] Ok, so Fighters in D&D have traditionally been pretty lousy at a wide variety of things, excelling only in pumelling, piercing, or hacking opponents into pulp. The d20 system did a lot to make the Fighter a more appealing character class, largely through the customization allowed by the class’s feat progression. This allows them to closely match the archery or two-weaponed fighting skills of a Ranger, the mounted combat skills of a Cavalier, the brutal attacking power of the Barbarian, or any suitable blend of the above. Alas, the d20 core rules don’t give them a viable means of beating the living snot out of their opponents with their bare hands.

For ease of reference, here are the d20 Modern unarmed combat feats, grouped by “feat tree.” They provide three separate ways that a Fighter could progress in unarmed combat prowess, and while they don’t make a Fighter the equal of a Monk for this purpose, it gives them some room to grow. Consider using them in your fantasy campaign.