Vedalken (BX Class)

A followup from my last post detailing Vedalken for 5e.

This is my first completed attempt at a BX race-class, please don't hate on it too much ;-)

Vedalken

Requirements: Minimum CON 9
Prime Requisite: INT
Hit Dice: 1d4
Maximum Level: 10
Allowed Armour: Leather, no shields
Allowed Weapons: Any
Languages: Alignment language, Common
Attacks as: Cleric/Thief
Saves as: Magic-User

Vedalken are four-armed demi-humans with slight amphibian features. They stand taller than humans at 6 to 6½ feet, but are typically slender weighing no more than 200 pounds. They require the use of special breathing helmets to walk on land for extended periods. Gifted at magic-use, they are ruthless and dispassionate in their quest for knowledge and perfection.

(click to enlarge)

Abilities

Combat: Vedalken are used to cumbersome breathing apparatus and may wear light armour. They possess some aptitude for swordplay.

Spell Casting: Vedalken cast arcane spells memorised from a spell book, as a magic-user. They have the spells per day of a magic-user and can learn spells from the magic-user list, with the exception of spells that directly damage or kill a creature. See below for a suggested list of disallowed spells.
 
Countermagic: Once per combat round, in addition to their regular action, a vedalken can attempt a counterspell. To do this the vedalken must not be surprised, and must be aware of the spell being cast. The vedalken must then expend prepared spells of a total spell level equal-or-greater-than the spell they wish to counter. If the referee is keeping the enemy's spell a secret, they may either require the player to ante prepared spells until they reach the unknown spell's level, or simply inform the player of the spell's level, at their discretion.
Once sufficient spell energy has been expended on the counterspell, the vedalken then rolls 1d6. Beginning vedalkens have a 2-in-6 chance of a successful counterspell. This increases to 3-in-6 at 4th level, 4-in-6 at 7th level, and 5-in-6 at 10th level.

Four-armed: Vedalken have four slender arms that can hold and manipulate objects, or be used to cast spells. This does not grant extra attacks.

Gills: Vedalken breathe water, and cannot breathe air. They can hold their breath for up to one hour (six turns) at a time.

Goofy Helmet: Vedalken begin play with a glass helmet that lets them breathe as though in water. When wearing it, they are immune to inhaled poisons, and their Reaction Adjustment is treated as two steps closer to (but not past) "None", as both potential friends and foes perceive them as less threatening or impressive. For example, a vedalken with CHA 18 has only +1 to reaction rolls when wearing the helmet, while one with CHA 6 would have +0 to reaction rolls.
Civilised areas with a significant vedalken population sell replacement helmets for 100 gp. Helmets may be more expensive or unavailable elsewhere. Crafting a helmet requires 50 gp in supplies and access to a furnace.

Technician: A vedalken can pick locks and remove traps as a thief of their level. However, they do not share the thief's aptitude for finding traps. The standard BX thief skills are reproduced in the table above, though the referee may prefer a different method of resolving thief skill rolls.

Magical Research and Using Magic Items: A vedalken of any level may spend time and money to research new spells to add to their spellbook. At the referee's discretion, the scope of the vedalken spell list may be expanded with illusionist spells or water/air-themed elementalist spells. A vedalken who has reached 9th level may create magic items and research other effects. A vedalken can use scrolls and other magic items as a magic-user, except for items which duplicate spells they may not cast.

Reaching 9th Level

A vedalken can establish a research institution upon reaching 9th level, attracting other vedalken, magic-users, various specialists such as alchemists, physicians and sages; and an assortment of students and other lackeys. The other researchers share a common interest in the prestige of the research institution, but otherwise owe no loyalty to the founding vedalken, and are likely to jockey for position and establish their own petty fiefdoms.

Verboten Vedalken Spells

1st magic missile
3rd fire ball, lightning bolt
4th wall of fire
5th cloudkill
6th death spell, disintegrate
(vedalken do not receive 6th-level spells unless the referee chooses to extend the level cap)


edit: some thoughts about the above:

• Balancing countermagic: I really wanted counterspelling to be a reaction, so the low odds of success is a way to balance that. High level enemy spellcasters can also outlast the vedalken in a spell duel, or hide before casting a spell. Ideas for tweaking:
  • Instead of a d6 roll, the enemy spellcaster must make a save vs spells, losing the spell if they fail. This means counterspelling gets worse as enemies have more Hit Dice, instead of improving with PC level.
  • A single spell of equal-or-greater level has to be expended, instead of making up the total spell level with "loose change".
  • Instead of expending spells, the vedalken must make a save vs. spells. Success indicates a successful counterspell. Failure means the vedalken takes backlash damage = 1d6 x spell level. If desired, you could have a "success at a cost" range of rolls where both happen.
  
  
• I'm considering a more customised spell list for these bois that really gets across "blue magic", drawing upon Labyrinth Lord AEC, Theorems & Thaumaturgy, and maybe some homebrew spells. If so, perhaps the counterspelling mechanic will simply become a spell. In any case I like that this is 100% playable with vanilla BX.
  
• Designing within the un-houseruled confines of BX was an interesting challenge. If I ever GMed an OSR game with vedalken the Goofy Helmet would function as the 5e version (disadvantage on rolls to intimidate) but I wouldn't have come up with the "adjust Reaction towards zero" idea if I'd allowed myself that freedom when writing the class.
  
• I also really love writing kinda handwavy mechanics with the expectation that the GM will make rulings they feel are appropriate. It certainly makes a change from when I used to homebrew stuff for 3.5 and Pathfinder. Parts of this class are still walls of text and up for revision to be terser.

Mirran Vedalken (5e PC Race)

So WotC dropped an Unearthed Arcana with some playtest material for their upcoming Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica campaign setting book, and one of the races detailed are the vedalken.

And the playtest rules are fine. But when I think of vedalken, I think of the goofy four-armed bois from their 2003 debut in the original Mirrodin set.

And yes, the Simic Hybrid race is also in the Unearthed Arcana document and it can get four arms, but "good at grappling" is not the feel I get from these dorks.

clockwise from top-left: Synod Artificer (Mark Zug), Vedalken Mastermind (Darrel Riche), Vigean Graftmage (Alan Pollack), Lumengrid Augur (rk post)

(see below the cut for 5e racial traits, a Blinkmoth Serum magic item, and discussion on how to canonically place Mirran vedalken in another setting, if you care at all about that sort of thing)

edit: here's a vedalken class for BX

Random BX Characters

Been tinkering more on the Python project mentioned in my last post. Now it'll roll up BX characters, including characters higher than 1st level.

My source for the BX rules is Necrotic Gnome's BX Essentials line, but it would be fairly straightforward to adapt this to a different game like AD&D or a close-ish retroclone like LotFP or Basic Fantasy.

I'm having issues with Gitlab right now so source code will have to wait, but example outputs are in my Drive folder

Features:

• rolls 3d6 in order, then chooses a class that would allow the biggest XP bonus for high Prime Requisites. This was an interesting inversion from the 5e script that picked a random class and assigned scores to fit.
• Override options for class & each ability score, if you want to quickly generate 100 magic-users for Mystaran Hogwarts.
• Finds the correct THAC0, saving throws, thief skills etc for character level.
• Determines max # of retainers, their morale, bonus languages known, literacy, optional initiative adjustment, etc, all according to BX rules.
• Determines spells prepared, if applicable. BX being strictly Vancian, it chooses spells with replacement.
• Class dictionary can be easily modified to include homebrew classes that use the shorthand of "save as dwarf, attack as magic-user, casts cleric spells with the spells/day of an elf" or whatever.

It doesn't do equipment, AC or to-hit adjustments yet, and I've just realised it doesn't properly handle reversible spells. A proper implementation would indicate clerics can reverse on-the-fly, while prepared MU/elf spells would be 'fixed' as either normal or reversed.

It also doesn't weight towards cure light wounds or other staples when selecting spells. If using this for pregen PCs, you might want to let clerics spontaneously convert prepared spells to cure spells, hand-edit some of them beforehand, or let your players choose to swap out some spells before the character begins play.

Nor does it produce pretty output. It would be trivial to get this script to output characters to a csv file, but coding the prettification script would take longer.

Again, hope someone gets some use out of this. :-)

A Python Script for Rolling Up Random Characters

I've been busy brushing up on basic Python programming skills, and for the past several days I've been working on a random generator for D&D characters.

e.g.

Jaden Starhammer
Rock Gnome
Folk Hero, Rogue 1
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 11
Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Perception, Persuasion, Survival
Expertise: Animal Handling, thieves' tools
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Appearance: Towering
Physical Detail: Hoarse voice
Clothing: Blood-stained
Personality: Grumpy
Mannerism: Breathy

Currently it only supports 1st-level, though some of the infrastructure is there for higher level.

I'd also like to write a script for generating BX characters, perhaps other systems.

You can get the source code here:

https://gitlab.com/wereoctopus/fantasy_character_generator

and I've uploaded two files of 1000 characters to my Google Drive folder

One uses the standard array to generate each character, the other rolls 4d6 and drops the lowest.

The generator uses some resources from:

• Ben Milton's Maze Rats 

• Janelle Shane's list of neural-network-generated D&D character names , here

• and this dictionary of medieval names from European sources

(naturally, adding lists of non-European names is high on my to-do list)

I had a lot of fun writing this. It was just the right level of difficulty for my depression-brain to get into a flow state. How I've missed that :-)

If you have any suggestions or bug reports, you can submit them via gitlab. You can also write a comment here, but it'll be easier to keep track of them there.

0th Level Characters in 5e

Note these 0th-level houserules are intended more for an adventure like the classic N4 Treasure Hunt, not a DCC-esque funnel game where every player controls multiple 0th-level PCs with the expectation most of them will die.

Waxing Lyrical About N4

(forgive this indulgence, skip down to the 0th level rules if you want)

My first attempt at DMing 5th edition was an adaptation of N4. I adore this module ever since I played in it under Pathfinder rules, though it certainly has its flaws. As-written it's a massive railroad -- my Pathfinder GM did a very good job of concealing that from us -- and it leans a little too much towards verisimilitude. There are two long-abandoned buildings whose room keys are largely iterations of "ruined furniture", "tatters of tapestries", and "chests of moldy garbage".

But the module has its cool moments, and playing at 0th level was my first real exposure to old-school paradigms of "avoid combat unless you can make it completely unfair in your favour", "emphasise player creativity over a long character sheet of class features", and "de-emphasise ~builds~, let characters grow organically based on their choices and mistakes".

I really recommend more new-ish players (I started playing in 2005 under 3.5 rules) give 0th-level play a try. After all, if you end up hating it, you'll soon be at 1st level, and you'll have some sense of the party dynamic so your GM will know what adventure material (official or homebrew) would be most fun to run for the group.

The Korinn Archipelago is also a great mini-setting that can be standalone, or segue into most of the official D&D hardcover campaigns. While the adventure doesn't mention the Realms, surviving PCs are canonically just a few days' longship travel (260 miles) from Waterdeep.

excerpt of "Map of Faerün", by Mike Schley

0th Level Rules

I've tried to explain my choices so that you can better decide what to keep/change.

For each ability score in order, roll 4d6 and drop the lowest. You may then swap one pair of scores, before applying racial adjustments. This is to discourage too much pre-planning about what your character will become. To completely minimise preplanning, I'd remove the ability to swap two scores, and run a game such as Swords & Wizardry or Whitehack where ability scores contribute very little to combat or spellcasting capability. Or a game where ability scores advance faster, e.g. The Black Hack and its various descendants. But this is for use with 5e, and I didn't want to completely remove customisation.

Choose a race and background, but no class. You get any corresponding features and proficiencies. However, if this would give you an at-will spell (e.g. high elf) it is only usable once per short rest. Once you reach 1st level, the spell becomes at-will. This is because N4 starts the characters in a shipwreck situation where they have to scavenge for weapons, and I didn't want to trivialise that with at-will magic attacks.

Starting HP = 6 + your Con modifier. You have no Hit Dice for short-rest healing.

Your proficiency bonus is +2. You have proficiency with simple weapons, but no armor or shields. Racial traits may give you extra proficiencies.

You start with the normal equipment for your background (i.e. no shopping from the equipment list) but a character with a variant/custom background might start with modified equipment, subject to GM approval.

Anyone can attempt to cast from a found spellbook, pray to deities for a miracle, or do other class-specific things, with a successful ability check. Attempting such class-specific things, or wearing armor & martial weapons in combat, is the key to leveling up into a class. Note that success/failure is not important, only whether you've tried in situations that have stakes.

The GM may decide to model characters slowly learning proficiency in something. Perhaps after two combats wielding a looted greatsword, you add half your proficiency bonus to attacks with it. Perhaps after enough study/experimentation with a spellbook, or immersion in the sacred poisonous waters of Lunulata Lake, you can cast a single cantrip.

You become 1st-level when the GM says so. They may restrict your class choices based on what you've attempted. GMs, be lenient with this. It's no fun saying "you can't be a wizard despite studying those spellbooks, because you also tried wearing gambeson and swung a longsword", though you could say "have you considered becoming a bard instead?". A character classing into druid might have to forsake metal armor from then on, but let a nature spirit appear and offer them that ultimatum. This might mean characters end up with an extra weapon proficiency pr something, but that can be their reward for reaching 1st level the hard way.

The GM might instead choose to start you at, say, negative 300 XP. But with combat so dicey at 0th level, this is only recommended if there's plenty of opportunities for non-combat XP.

When you reach 1st level, revise your HP to the "starting" HP for that class (and gain a Hit Die), note any new class features, choose some proficient skills. Your GM might let you choose skill proficiencies based on your actions, even if they're not on your class list. Your class's starting equipment doesn't pop into existence, so hopefully you found some neat stuff as a commoner :-)

Paring Down 5th Edition #2: Simplifying Spell Points, and a Dice-Based Variant

tl;dr:

idea 1: spells cost MP/mana/spell points equal to their spell level. This ends up being surprisingly close to the DMG costings.
idea 2: instead of having fixed MP/day, casters have spell dice/day. For each MP needed, casters roll a magic die (a d6). A natural 1 or 2 means the die is expended for the day. Different conditions, caster specialisation, or defiling/preserving may change these odds. Additional mechanics for particular results (doubles, triples, runs, etc) may be invented as desired.
See the Longwinded Explanation (after the cut) for reasoning and advice on which column to choose. Sorry for the lack of CSS.

Table 1: MP and Spell Dice by Level (with and without Arcane Recovery)

Level	MP	MP (+AR)	Spell Dice*	Spell Dice** (+ AR)
1st	2	3	1	1
2nd	3	4	2	1
3nd	8	10	4	3
4th	10	12	5	4
5th	16	19	8	6
6th	19	22	10	7
7th	23	27	12	9
8th	27	31	14	10
9th	36	41	18	14
10th	41	46	21	15
11th	47	53	24	18
12th	47	53	24	18
13th	54	61	27	20
14th	54	61	27	20
15th	62	70	31	23
16th	62	70	31	23
17th	71	80	36	27
18th	76	85	38	28
19th	82	92	41	31
20th	89	99	45	33

* Dice expire on a 3 or less
** Dice expire on a 2 or less

Flumph (5e PC race)

image credit: Agent Underdark

You know what flumphs are, so I'll skip the fluff. This write-up is as setting-agnostic as possible and avoids anything non-OGL (flumphs do not appear in the 5e SRD). So they "speak" via passing air through their bodies, not via telepathy, but this is easily changed if desired. I have left a minor nod to 5e's psionic take on them by giving them a small Int bonus.
 

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Age. Flumphs reach maturity quickly, around 10 years old, and live for a few hundred years. In settings where they are capable of interstellar travel, they enter a state of cryptobiosis (where they don’t age) to do so.

Alignment. Nearly all flumphs are lawful good. On worlds where this is common knowledge, the few evil and chaotic flumphs take great pleasure in exploiting people’s expectations.

Size. Small. Flumphs weigh approximately 15 lb, and their central saucer is approximately 2 feet wide and 4 inches thick. Their tendrils are also approx 2 feet long, and their eyestalks are about 4 inches long.

Aberration. You count as an aberration for determining what game effects can affect you. Despite your anatomy, you also count as a humanoid.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. 

Low Hover. You don't have a fly speed, but your saucer hovers above the ground a distance equal to 3 times your Constitution score, in inches, measured from the bottom of your saucer. You can temporarily exceed this height as per the standard jumping rules.

e.g. a flumph with Str 12 and Con 8 floats 2 feet above the ground, and can make a “running high jump” to briefly attain a height of 6 feet.

You ignore difficult terrain and other hazards (such as the grease spell) that are shorter than your hover height. You can hold your tendrils sideways so their contribution to your “thickness” is negligible. 

Alien Anatomy. At the GM’s discretion, you may be unable to wear various items of clothing (including, but not limited to: armor, boots, necklaces/amulets, rings) without custom fitting. Such items generally cost twice their listed price. Magic items may also require modifications, which risk destroying the item’s magical properties unless carried out by a master craftsperson in a well-appointed workshop.

Noxious Spray. Once per short rest, you can use your action to squirt fluid from an aperture on your body’s rim. Each creature in a 15 ft. cone must make a Dexterity saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. Creatures that fail their saves are covered in foul-smelling liquid, and have disadvantage on any ability check to interact socially with another creature. At the GM’s discretion, this may also apply to the morale of hirelings, and to the initial reactions of NPCs. 
 
Splat! When calculating falling damage, you treat the fall as half its actual distance, rounded down to the nearest 10 ft. While unarmored, you also confer this benefit to any creature who falls on you. However, if the creature still takes any falling damage, you take the same amount of damage.

Stinger. You have a natural weapon that inflicts 1d6 acid damage (no ability modifier) on a successful hit. This is a finesse weapon.
 
Tendrils. You have many (roughly two dozen) prehensile tendrils which can hold objects. However, you lack the coordination needed to manipulate more than two of them at any time. This means:

• You don’t get extra actions in combat, or more attacks than normal when using the Attack action.
• You must use both “active” tendrils to wield a weapon two-handed.
• You choose which two tendrils to use at the beginning of your turn (as a free action), and your choice applies until your next turn. i.e. you cannot attack with a greatsword, then switch to a held shield during other creature’s turns.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Undercommon and one other language of your choice.