This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Insight: 9
"Well, with that, I had probably best make my way to the city. But first -- are there any other books you would like or need? Or subjects? I can keep an eye out, or ask around."
- Levitate says target drops to ground slowly...how slowly...slower than the levitate spell (20'/action), faster?
- With levitate stone, how much of target does he need to see?
- The TK stone was being used to manipulate locks...is that still possible?
- The TK stone did not have a visible manifestation. Is that still true?
- Brand used to levitate and TK to move himself...I assume this is still possible, but would be tricky unless levitate also tended to reduce rotation. If not, no problem...the idea of spinning a victim very fast is quite appealing, which leads to...
- Mage Hand has a 10lb limit. I assume it can still move 10;b 30' in a round, so the limit is not purely derived from physics. Can it move lighter objects faster? Or is there just a specific weight limit due to the spell nature? In any case, what force can he exert? What speed can he achieve? I'm thinking of two things here:
o levitate and push would be limited to 30' per round (max speed of hand) o levitate and SPIN: should I do some sums based on, say, a 6' tall person with their head moving at 30'/round relative to their body centre of mass? What if it's a bigger object, say a fallen tree (500lb limit)? A spinning 10' pole could be a nasty weapon...I know I can't "make attacks" directly with the hand, but how does that line get drawn exactly?
Edit: just did a sum, I don't think there's much danger -- a 10' pole it would achieve 1 revolution per round (circumference is ~30'). However, a "dagger"...say 1' long (and maybe with a double-edged blade at each end...so not really a dagger)...would spin at 10 times per 'use', which might be half a 'round'....so maybe 3 revs/second...which would still not be very harmful. Biggest danger might be a heavy object (500lb) moving at 30'/action (1/2 round???), or 10'/second...which comes back to question how much force the hand can muster?
- (and adds another question) is the hand speed relative, or absolute? Pushing himself, can Brand go faster than 30'/action?
Edit: thinking about this, it should be possible to spin anything really fast: levitate, push on one end away from CofG. As speed increases, move point of pressure toward the centre -- a lot like the reverse of a child playing with a sling (short first then wider as it picks up speed). This just makes the the total force more interesting. And gives Brand a fun thing to do in his bedroom....levitate a sheathed dagger, then see how fast he can spin it. From a physics point of view, once spinning it will be very stable. Air resistance will of course slow it when he stops concentrating. Next he just needs to get a razor sharp double-ended, double-edged blade made up. Pity he can't be invisible at the same time...
[[One more character question: for a Rogue, 15 Wis is MUCH less sensible than 15 Dex...any chance we can swap them? If he was built from scratch as a rogue, the stats would be in a very different order]]
She simply seems relieved at having told Alaric her news.
"Well, with that, I had probably best make my way to the city. But first -- are there any other books you would like or need? Or subjects? I can keep an eye out, or ask around."
"No thank you, dear," she says. "It is kind of you to offer, but I don't want to waste your time. I have a standing order with the best book seller in the city already, and if he can't find the books that I want, no one can."
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"No thank you, dear," she says. "It is kind of you to offer, but I don't want to waste your time. I have a standing order with the best book seller in the city already, and if he can't find the books that I want, no one can."
"In that case, I shall take my leave, and head into the city. Any messages for Father?."
After the conversation, Alaric goes back to his room to collect his gear, then down to the stables to meet Mikkel, anxious to make a start.
[[Looking forward to knowing what the bookshop can find]]
[[The only stone that has a relevant DC is the Stone of Far Reaching, which has a DC of 15 for the Constitution save for the Ray of Sickness.]]
- Levitate says target drops to ground slowly...how slowly...slower than the levitate spell (20'/action), faster?
- With levitate stone, how much of target does he need to see?
[[The power of the levitate stone only works on the holder. I have amended the description to specify this.]]
- The TK stone was being used to manipulate locks...is that still possible?
[[Yes, and no lock picks are required to do so, which is not the case with the Mage Hand cantrip.]]
- The TK stone did not have a visible manifestation. Is that still true?
[[Yes.]]
- Brand used to levitate and TK to move himself...I assume this is still possible, but would be tricky unless levitate also tended to reduce rotation. If not, no problem...the idea of spinning a victim very fast is quite appealing, which leads to...
[[Brand can use the stone of far reaching and the stone of uplifting to move himself, horizontally, but not very fast. Note that the levitation stone only works on the holder of the stone. It was never intended to do otherwise and I have amended the description to specify this. I also seem to remember that Brand also built up speed running before taking to the air, so with this in mind he could start with a horizontal movement of 30'.]]
- Mage Hand has a 10lb limit. I assume it can still move 10;b 30' in a round, so the limit is not purely derived from physics. Can it move lighter objects faster? Or is there just a specific weight limit due to the spell nature? In any case, what force can he exert? What speed can he achieve? I'm thinking of two things here:
[No, the limitation is based on principles of magick (and game mechanic rules), not physics, the maximum speed the stone can moves things is 30'.]
o levitate and push would be limited to 30' per round (max speed of hand) o levitate and SPIN: should I do some sums based on, say, a 6' tall person with their head moving at 30'/round relative to their body centre of mass? What if it's a bigger object, say a fallen tree (500lb limit)? A spinning 10' pole could be a nasty weapon...I know I can't "make attacks" directly with the hand, but how does that line get drawn exactly?
Edit: just did a sum, I don't think there's much danger -- a 10' pole it would achieve 1 revolution per round (circumference is ~30'). However, a "dagger"...say 1' long (and maybe with a double-edged blade at each end...so not really a dagger)...would spin at 10 times per 'use', which might be half a 'round'....so maybe 3 revs/second...which would still not be very harmful. Biggest danger might be a heavy object (500lb) moving at 30'/action (1/2 round???), or 10'/second...which comes back to question how much force the hand can muster?
[[Taking into account the limitation that the stone of uplifting can only lift the user of the stone, then a lot of the above is moot. Attacking with the hand is supposed to be simulated by the Ray of Sickness (i.e., Brand reaching inside someone and squeezing their heart or brain). If you look at the 'Non-Player Characters' page in the 'Homebrew rules' category on the world site, you will see that 5/6 people Brand is going to meet will most likely be killed by an average roll with this attack. Being able to affect a combat with the lesser power of this stone is entirely situational, but I suspect moving and spinning a weapon would be an attack far less likely to hit than simply throwing a dagger.]]
- (and adds another question) is the hand speed relative, or absolute? Pushing himself, can Brand go faster than 30'/action?
[[With the running and levitating idea I mentioned above, I can see Brand being able to move faster through the air than his standard 30', but not much, maybe 35' if he made a successful roll and he would have to touch down and start running again very often. The use of the fly spell would give him a 60' speed.]]
]]
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[The only stone that has a relevant DC is the Stone of Far Reaching, which has a DC of 15 for the Constitution save for the Ray of Sickness.]] [[The power of the levitate stone only works on the holder. I have amended the description to specify this.]] [[Yes, and no lock picks are required to do so, which is not the case with the Mage Hand cantrip.]] - The TK stone did not have a visible manifestation. Is that still true? [[Yes.]] [[Brand can use the stone of far reaching and the stone of uplifting to move himself, horizontally, but not very fast. ... I also seem to remember that Brand also built up speed running before taking to the air, so with this in mind he could start with a horizontal movement of 30'.]] [No, the limitation is based on principles of magick (and game mechanic rules), not physics, the maximum speed the stone can moves things is 30'.] [[With the running and levitating idea I mentioned above, I can see Brand being able to move faster through the air than his standard 30', but not much, maybe 35' if he made a successful roll and he would have to touch down and start running again very often. The use of the fly spell would give him a 60' speed.]]
The above all seems fine and reasonable to me.
[[Attacking with the hand is supposed to be simulated by the Ray of Sickness (i.e., Brand reaching inside someone and squeezing their heart or brain). If you look at the 'Non-Player Characters' page in the 'Homebrew rules' category on the world site, you will see that 5/6 people Brand is going to meet will most likely be killed by an average roll with this attack.]]
It's not a question of being able to kill people he meets, but being able to kill people he wants to kill (eg. people who might attack him). As he levels, it would be nice if the stone levelled somehow as well, or his skill increased etc. Perhaps even add a 'stun' component: eg. damage + stun; save means no damage? Squeezing the heart of addling the brain is likely to give a person pause at least. The one/day limit means this is a very seldom used ability. Maybe it could be more often if the damage component was removed or reduced? Just mulling ideas.
Being able to affect a combat with the lesser power of this stone is entirely situational, but I suspect moving and spinning a weapon would be an attack far less likely to hit than simply throwing a dagger.]]
I agree. I envisage it being useful as a distraction...throw sand in a face, tap them on shoulder, make a sound behind them; perhaps trip someone, and possibly even deflect an attack (+1 AC when held and used for defence?). But not a regular sword wielding etc.
[[One more character question: for a Rogue, 15 Wis is MUCH less sensible than 15 Dex...any chance we can swap them? If he was built from scratch as a rogue, the stats would be in a very different order]]
[[In general, I actually disagree, seeing as Perception—the most used skill in D&D—is based on Wisdom, but I will change them if you want me to. That would mean taking a feat that increases your Dex by one when you can would give you a plus to all sorts of things. However, I'm just not sure what feat you'd take. There are feats from other source books that might do what you want.]]
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[One more character question: for a Rogue, 15 Wis is MUCH less sensible than 15 Dex...any chance we can swap them? If he was built from scratch as a rogue, the stats would be in a very different order]]
[[In general, I actually disagree, seeing as Perception—the most used skill in D&D—is based on Wisdom, but I will change them if you want me to. That would mean taking a feat that increases your Dex by one when you can would give you a plus to all sorts of things. However, I'm just not sure what feat you'd take. There are feats from other source books that might do what you want.]]
It's only a one point difference, which will not affect Wis-based skills but, as you say, will mean a single Dex point will help a lot. In tems of feats, if he does not get an option that plausibly gives him Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster (looking hopefully at the book shop or SooS), he would probably go with Weapons Master or Athlete. Depending on how you plan to make new weapon skills work, Weapons Master might be good for Hand Crossbow or some other unusual weapons, and Athlete is a good back stop. Both do +1 Dex.
Unless I've misunderstood something above, swapping seems good; Dex 15("soon" 16) also means he's as good in Leather + Dex Bonus (12+3 = 15) as he would be in Chain (13+2); of course he could also wear half plate for AC 17 if he wanted to give up evasion, sneaking etc etc. Or Breast Plate for AC16...but leather seems good.
[[Edit: though, looking at how few spells are "Ritual", makes me think "ritualist" may not really be that stunning, unless it played nicely with recharging items...]]
[[I think you mentioned I might be able to read/use stuff you owned in this site; does that include the PHB? I have a physical copy, but I can not read it at this site]]
"No thank you, dear," she says. "It is kind of you to offer, but I don't want to waste your time. I have a standing order with the best book seller in the city already, and if he can't find the books that I want, no one can."
"In that case, I shall take my leave, and head into the city. Any messages for Father?."
After the conversation, Alaric goes back to his room to collect his gear, then down to the stables to meet Mikkel, anxious to make a start.
[[Looking forward to knowing what the bookshop can find]]
When Alaric goes to leave, his mother gets to her feet saying, "I will write a letter for you, so they will know that they can give you the book. Come and see me before you leave so I can give it to you."
After checking his gear, Alaric heads towards his mother's room, where he finds her sealing a letter using her signet ring [OOC: The crest of which matches Brand's own signet ring].
"There you are," she says upon seeing him. She then hands him the letter and says, "It's all paid for. And this and your ring should prove to them that you are acting for me."
"Oh, and the name of the shop is the 'Compleat Sage'," she goes on to say. "It is somewhere near the School of Occult Studies, I believe, but I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to give you directions, I believe it is quite well known by scholars."
She gives Alaric a kiss goodbye and tells him to be careful on the road.
Alaric then leaves and after collecting his gear meets Mikkel in the courtyard.
Mikkel is carrying his own small pack of possession and has a serviceable dagger at his side.
"Are you expecting trouble, Master Alaric," he says, eyeing the various weapons Brand has attached to his armour.
[OOC: I have seen your list giving the disposition of his gear, but I would still like to know what Brand has done with his money (i.e., How much is in the bank? What is he carrying on his person? What has he left at home?]
When Alaric goes to leave, his mother gets to her feet saying, "I will write a letter for you, so they will know that they can give you the book. Come and see me before you leave so I can give it to you."
After checking his gear, Alaric heads towards his mother's room, where he finds her sealing a letter using her signet ring [OOC: The crest of which matches Brand's own signet ring].
"There you are," she says upon seeing him. She then hands him the letter and says, "It's all paid for. And this and your ring should prove to them that you are acting for me."
"Oh, and the name of the shop is the 'Compleat Sage'," she goes on to say. "It is somewhere near the School of Occult Studies, I believe, but I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to give you directions, I believe it is quite well known by scholars."
She gives Alaric a kiss goodbye and tells him to be careful on the road.
Alaric then leaves and after collecting his gear meets Mikkel in the courtyard.
Mikkel is carrying his own small pack of possession and has a serviceable dagger at his side.
"Are you expecting trouble, Master Alaric," he says, eyeing the various weapons Brand has attached to his armour.
[OOC: I have seen your list giving the disposition of his gear, but I would still like to know what Brand has done with his money (i.e., How much is in the bank? What is he carrying on his person? What has he left at home?]
"Always, Mikkel, always."
[[is there an equivalent to 'si vis pacem, para bellum'? He'd say it. Or 'The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.' Something like that from one of his teachers.]]".
"What I hope for is a relaxing ride, and some fresh air...and that the rain you predicted holds off!"
[[I Mikell armoured in any way? Also, from past experience, is he a man-servant, or a guard as well?]]
Alaric mounts and waits for Mikkel to do the same them smiles, pleased to be on the road again, if only briefly. "Let's be off!" he says, and nudges Actress into a canter, slowing as they reach the estate border.
[[Re: money; I think the char sheet says: Pouches of coins 10e in one (in satchel); 2e, 10c, 10l, 10cub inside pocket on belt. The bulk is banked, and he probably has 50-100 in his room, in a lock box.
In the 'Canon' revision I sent, I did ask about banking, property etc. Is there a "Bank of Sorendon"? How advanced does this go? Can he buy jewelry, propery or something else that is less (or more) portable?]]
[[Cute thought, brand heard wamzut say 'si Vis pacem, para bellum' once, and asked what it meant....]]
Edit:
In which case it might go:
"Are you expecting trouble, Master Alaric," he says, eyeing the various weapons Brand has attached to his armour.
"Always, Mikkel, always." Brand smiles, "Si vis pacem, para bellum. Wamzut said that once, he said if meant 'if you want peace, prepare for war'. Strange thing for a frail old man to say, but he had the last part worked out pretty well."
Brand sighs, "It's hard to believe he's dead."
"All I hope for today is a relaxing ride, and some fresh air...and that the rain you predicted holds off!"
Alaric mounts and waits for Mikkel to do the same them smiles, pleased to be on the road again, if only briefly. "Let's be off!" he says, and nudges Actress into a canter, slowing as they reach the estate border.
[[In general, I actually disagree, seeing as Perception—the most used skill in D&D—is based on Wisdom, but I will change them if you want me to. That would mean taking a feat that increases your Dex by one when you can would give you a plus to all sorts of things. However, I'm just not sure what feat you'd take. There are feats from other source books that might do what you want.]]
It's only a one point difference, which will not affect Wis-based skills but, as you say, will mean a single Dex point will help a lot. In tems of feats, if he does not get an option that plausibly gives him Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster (looking hopefully at the book shop or SooS), he would probably go with Weapons Master or Athlete. Depending on how you plan to make new weapon skills work, Weapons Master might be good for Hand Crossbow or some other unusual weapons, and Athlete is a good back stop. Both do +1 Dex.
Brand actually already has the 'Athlete' feat. I used it to represent some of his skills (i.e., quick climbing) and to explain his high stats, and because he is Sorian and they get a feat as part of their racial characteristics. You can find the details at the very bottom of the 'Features & Traits' tab. Weapons master might be the way to go, if he does want to use exotic weapons.
Unless I've misunderstood something above, swapping seems good; Dex 15("soon" 16) also means he's as good in Leather + Dex Bonus (12+3 = 15) as he would be in Chain (13+2); of course he could also wear half plate for AC 17 if he wanted to give up evasion, sneaking etc etc. Or Breast Plate for AC16...but leather seems good.
I have taken that as a yes and changed his character sheet appropriately.
[[Edit: though, looking at how few spells are "Ritual", makes me think "ritualist" may not really be that stunning, unless it played nicely with recharging items...]]
Rituals are the most common form of magic done in this version of the world as they don't require the practitioner to actually be magical in anyway (i.e., have spell slots). It does, however, require the character to take Ritual Caster as a feat, and because zeroth level characters in the campaign setting can have a feat you can find a number of such characters performing rituals as a profession, though generally only knowing a few of them. As to recharging of items, I'm not sure what you mean...
Actually, take a look at 'Arcane focuses' in the 'Homebrew rules' category. This is the mechanism that Dworkin and Melitta would have now used to create their wands of Magic Missiles (now called Arion's Arrows) in this version of the world. Perhaps that is what you mean.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand actually already has the 'Athlete' feat. I used it to represent some of his skills (i.e., quick climbing) and to explain his high stats, and because he is Sorian and they get a feat as part of their racial characteristics. You can find the details at the very bottom of the 'Features & Traits' tab. Weapons master might be the way to go, if he does want to use exotic weapons.
In that case, I reckon he should have +1 dex already; I kind of get the inability to get +2 dex from Sorian to start (Grumble), but cheating him of +1 from a feat seems a bit rude. I hadnt realized he'd already used a feat! If he must use a feat for skills, then maybe 'Skilled' would work. I'd prefer the +1 Dex already, and Athlete, but Skilled means he gets +1 next level at least.'
Edit: for reference his stats were generated by best 3 of 4 dice method, nothing special.
Brand actually already has the 'Athlete' feat. I used it to represent some of his skills (i.e., quick climbing) and to explain his high stats, and because he is Sorian and they get a feat as part of their racial characteristics. You can find the details at the very bottom of the 'Features & Traits' tab. Weapons master might be the way to go, if he does want to use exotic weapons.
In that case, I reckon he should have +1 dex already; I kind of get the inability to get +2 dex from Sorian to start (Grumble), but cheating him of +1 from a feat seems a bit rude. I hadnt realized he'd already used a feat! If he must use a feat for skills, then maybe 'Skilled' would work. I'd prefer the +1 Dex already, and Athlete, but Skilled means he gets +1 next level at least.'
The rules as written mean that Brand won't get an ability increase (aka feat) until he is fourth level in one of his classes, not his overall class.
Edit: for reference his stats were generated by best 3 of 4 dice method, nothing special. (for the time)
All other non-story-related characters that have a character class are generated using Standard Array and I can't even buy Brand's stats with the current point-buy system as a standard human (i.e., with +1 across the board). I'm happy for him to have the stats he has for historical reasons, but don't want to give him any more pluses to his ability scores for play balance. I already consider him to be somewhat over-powered for the scenario challenges he might meet in Constantine. Remember 5 out of 6 of the people he meets will have an average of 8 hit points.
On the other hand, if you want to change his feat to Skilled, what skills do you think he would have?
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
The rules as written mean that Brand won't get an ability increase (aka feat) until he is fourth level in one of his classes, not his overall class.
By that you mean house rules? The 5e stuff is character level for multi-class for feats etc. If not until 4th in class, then the Ftr1 is looking even more undesirable; would probably prefer Rog3 (swash) now and just go short-sword/dagger. The short-sword could be longer than usual given his family height (no game-effects).
On the other hand, if you want to change his feat to Skilled, what skills do you think he would have?
Probably Acrobatics/Insight/Deception (Preferred) or Acrobatics/Insight/Arcana (if plausible), or Acrobatics/Insight/Survival.
Edit: I think I lied. Proficiency goes with level, feats with class level.
Can we go back to Rog3? I am much too used to 3e...
Actually, take a look at 'Arcane focuses' in the 'Homebrew rules' category. This is the mechanism that Dworkin and Melitta would have now used to create their wands of Magic Missiles (now called Arion's Arrows) in this version of the world. Perhaps that is what you mean.
This is interesting; just going by PHB, Arions Arrows aren't even availble for rituals.
[[ I updated dialog in 220, in case it appeals: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/47916-engelian-adventures-2?comment=220 ]]
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Insight: 9
"Well, with that, I had probably best make my way to the city. But first -- are there any other books you would like or need? Or subjects? I can keep an eye out, or ask around."
[[Some unrelated technical questions:
- What are the DCs on his stones?
- Levitate says target drops to ground slowly...how slowly...slower than the levitate spell (20'/action), faster?
- With levitate stone, how much of target does he need to see?
- The TK stone was being used to manipulate locks...is that still possible?
- The TK stone did not have a visible manifestation. Is that still true?
- Brand used to levitate and TK to move himself...I assume this is still possible, but would be tricky unless levitate also tended to reduce rotation. If not, no problem...the idea of spinning a victim very fast is quite appealing, which leads to...
- Mage Hand has a 10lb limit. I assume it can still move 10;b 30' in a round, so the limit is not purely derived from physics. Can it move lighter objects faster? Or is there just a specific weight limit due to the spell nature? In any case, what force can he exert? What speed can he achieve? I'm thinking of two things here:
o levitate and push would be limited to 30' per round (max speed of hand)
o levitate and SPIN: should I do some sums based on, say, a 6' tall person with their head moving at 30'/round relative to their body centre of mass? What if it's a bigger object, say a fallen tree (500lb limit)? A spinning 10' pole could be a nasty weapon...I know I can't "make attacks" directly with the hand, but how does that line get drawn exactly?
Edit: just did a sum, I don't think there's much danger -- a 10' pole it would achieve 1 revolution per round (circumference is ~30'). However, a "dagger"...say 1' long (and maybe with a double-edged blade at each end...so not really a dagger)...would spin at 10 times per 'use', which might be half a 'round'....so maybe 3 revs/second...which would still not be very harmful. Biggest danger might be a heavy object (500lb) moving at 30'/action (1/2 round???), or 10'/second...which comes back to question how much force the hand can muster?
- (and adds another question) is the hand speed relative, or absolute? Pushing himself, can Brand go faster than 30'/action?
Edit: thinking about this, it should be possible to spin anything really fast: levitate, push on one end away from CofG. As speed increases, move point of pressure toward the centre -- a lot like the reverse of a child playing with a sling (short first then wider as it picks up speed). This just makes the the total force more interesting. And gives Brand a fun thing to do in his bedroom....levitate a sheathed dagger, then see how fast he can spin it. From a physics point of view, once spinning it will be very stable. Air resistance will of course slow it when he stops concentrating. Next he just needs to get a razor sharp double-ended, double-edged blade made up. Pity he can't be invisible at the same time...
]]
[[One more character question: for a Rogue, 15 Wis is MUCH less sensible than 15 Dex...any chance we can swap them? If he was built from scratch as a rogue, the stats would be in a very different order]]
"No thank you, dear," she says. "It is kind of you to offer, but I don't want to waste your time. I have a standing order with the best book seller in the city already, and if he can't find the books that I want, no one can."
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"No thank you, dear," she says. "It is kind of you to offer, but I don't want to waste your time. I have a standing order with the best book seller in the city already, and if he can't find the books that I want, no one can."
"In that case, I shall take my leave, and head into the city. Any messages for Father?."
After the conversation, Alaric goes back to his room to collect his gear, then down to the stables to meet Mikkel, anxious to make a start.
[[Looking forward to knowing what the bookshop can find]]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[The only stone that has a relevant DC is the Stone of Far Reaching, which has a DC of 15 for the Constitution save for the Ray of Sickness.]]
[[The power of the levitate stone only works on the holder. I have amended the description to specify this.]]
[[Yes, and no lock picks are required to do so, which is not the case with the Mage Hand cantrip.]]
- The TK stone did not have a visible manifestation. Is that still true?
[[Yes.]]
[[Brand can use the stone of far reaching and the stone of uplifting to move himself, horizontally, but not very fast. ... I also seem to remember that Brand also built up speed running before taking to the air, so with this in mind he could start with a horizontal movement of 30'.]]
[No, the limitation is based on principles of magick (and game mechanic rules), not physics, the maximum speed the stone can moves things is 30'.]
[[With the running and levitating idea I mentioned above, I can see Brand being able to move faster through the air than his standard 30', but not much, maybe 35' if he made a successful roll and he would have to touch down and start running again very often. The use of the fly spell would give him a 60' speed.]]
The above all seems fine and reasonable to me.
[[Attacking with the hand is supposed to be simulated by the Ray of Sickness (i.e., Brand reaching inside someone and squeezing their heart or brain). If you look at the 'Non-Player Characters' page in the 'Homebrew rules' category on the world site, you will see that 5/6 people Brand is going to meet will most likely be killed by an average roll with this attack.]]
It's not a question of being able to kill people he meets, but being able to kill people he wants to kill (eg. people who might attack him). As he levels, it would be nice if the stone levelled somehow as well, or his skill increased etc. Perhaps even add a 'stun' component: eg. damage + stun; save means no damage? Squeezing the heart of addling the brain is likely to give a person pause at least. The one/day limit means this is a very seldom used ability. Maybe it could be more often if the damage component was removed or reduced? Just mulling ideas.
Being able to affect a combat with the lesser power of this stone is entirely situational, but I suspect moving and spinning a weapon would be an attack far less likely to hit than simply throwing a dagger.]]
I agree. I envisage it being useful as a distraction...throw sand in a face, tap them on shoulder, make a sound behind them; perhaps trip someone, and possibly even deflect an attack (+1 AC when held and used for defence?). But not a regular sword wielding etc.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[One more character question: for a Rogue, 15 Wis is MUCH less sensible than 15 Dex...any chance we can swap them? If he was built from scratch as a rogue, the stats would be in a very different order]]
[[In general, I actually disagree, seeing as Perception—the most used skill in D&D—is based on Wisdom, but I will change them if you want me to. That would mean taking a feat that increases your Dex by one when you can would give you a plus to all sorts of things. However, I'm just not sure what feat you'd take. There are feats from other source books that might do what you want.]]
It's only a one point difference, which will not affect Wis-based skills but, as you say, will mean a single Dex point will help a lot. In tems of feats, if he does not get an option that plausibly gives him Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster (looking hopefully at the book shop or SooS), he would probably go with Weapons Master or Athlete. Depending on how you plan to make new weapon skills work, Weapons Master might be good for Hand Crossbow or some other unusual weapons, and Athlete is a good back stop. Both do +1 Dex.
Unless I've misunderstood something above, swapping seems good; Dex 15("soon" 16) also means he's as good in Leather + Dex Bonus (12+3 = 15) as he would be in Chain (13+2); of course he could also wear half plate for AC 17 if he wanted to give up evasion, sneaking etc etc. Or Breast Plate for AC16...but leather seems good.
[[Edit: though, looking at how few spells are "Ritual", makes me think "ritualist" may not really be that stunning, unless it played nicely with recharging items...]]
[[I think you mentioned I might be able to read/use stuff you owned in this site; does that include the PHB? I have a physical copy, but I can not read it at this site]]
When Alaric goes to leave, his mother gets to her feet saying, "I will write a letter for you, so they will know that they can give you the book. Come and see me before you leave so I can give it to you."
After checking his gear, Alaric heads towards his mother's room, where he finds her sealing a letter using her signet ring [OOC: The crest of which matches Brand's own signet ring].
"There you are," she says upon seeing him. She then hands him the letter and says, "It's all paid for. And this and your ring should prove to them that you are acting for me."
"Oh, and the name of the shop is the 'Compleat Sage'," she goes on to say. "It is somewhere near the School of Occult Studies, I believe, but I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to give you directions, I believe it is quite well known by scholars."
She gives Alaric a kiss goodbye and tells him to be careful on the road.
Alaric then leaves and after collecting his gear meets Mikkel in the courtyard.
Mikkel is carrying his own small pack of possession and has a serviceable dagger at his side.
"Are you expecting trouble, Master Alaric," he says, eyeing the various weapons Brand has attached to his armour.
[OOC: I have seen your list giving the disposition of his gear, but I would still like to know what Brand has done with his money (i.e., How much is in the bank? What is he carrying on his person? What has he left at home?]
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
When Alaric goes to leave, his mother gets to her feet saying, "I will write a letter for you, so they will know that they can give you the book. Come and see me before you leave so I can give it to you."
After checking his gear, Alaric heads towards his mother's room, where he finds her sealing a letter using her signet ring [OOC: The crest of which matches Brand's own signet ring].
"There you are," she says upon seeing him. She then hands him the letter and says, "It's all paid for. And this and your ring should prove to them that you are acting for me."
"Oh, and the name of the shop is the 'Compleat Sage'," she goes on to say. "It is somewhere near the School of Occult Studies, I believe, but I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to give you directions, I believe it is quite well known by scholars."
She gives Alaric a kiss goodbye and tells him to be careful on the road.
Alaric then leaves and after collecting his gear meets Mikkel in the courtyard.
Mikkel is carrying his own small pack of possession and has a serviceable dagger at his side.
"Are you expecting trouble, Master Alaric," he says, eyeing the various weapons Brand has attached to his armour.
[OOC: I have seen your list giving the disposition of his gear, but I would still like to know what Brand has done with his money (i.e., How much is in the bank? What is he carrying on his person? What has he left at home?]
"Always, Mikkel, always."
[[is there an equivalent to 'si vis pacem, para bellum'? He'd say it. Or 'The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.' Something like that from one of his teachers.]]".
"What I hope for is a relaxing ride, and some fresh air...and that the rain you predicted holds off!"
[[I Mikell armoured in any way? Also, from past experience, is he a man-servant, or a guard as well?]]
Alaric mounts and waits for Mikkel to do the same them smiles, pleased to be on the road again, if only briefly. "Let's be off!" he says, and nudges Actress into a canter, slowing as they reach the estate border.
[[Re: money; I think the char sheet says: Pouches of coins 10e in one (in satchel); 2e, 10c, 10l, 10cub inside pocket on belt. The bulk is banked, and he probably has 50-100 in his room, in a lock box.
In the 'Canon' revision I sent, I did ask about banking, property etc. Is there a "Bank of Sorendon"? How advanced does this go? Can he buy jewelry, propery or something else that is less (or more) portable?]]
[[Cute thought, brand heard wamzut say 'si Vis pacem, para bellum' once, and asked what it meant....]]
Edit:
In which case it might go:
"Are you expecting trouble, Master Alaric," he says, eyeing the various weapons Brand has attached to his armour.
"Always, Mikkel, always." Brand smiles, "Si vis pacem, para bellum. Wamzut said that once, he said if meant 'if you want peace, prepare for war'. Strange thing for a frail old man to say, but he had the last part worked out pretty well."
Brand sighs, "It's hard to believe he's dead."
"All I hope for today is a relaxing ride, and some fresh air...and that the rain you predicted holds off!"
Alaric mounts and waits for Mikkel to do the same them smiles, pleased to be on the road again, if only briefly. "Let's be off!" he says, and nudges Actress into a canter, slowing as they reach the estate border.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Will have a look at rituals etc.
Brand actually already has the 'Athlete' feat. I used it to represent some of his skills (i.e., quick climbing) and to explain his high stats, and because he is Sorian and they get a feat as part of their racial characteristics. You can find the details at the very bottom of the 'Features & Traits' tab. Weapons master might be the way to go, if he does want to use exotic weapons.
In that case, I reckon he should have +1 dex already; I kind of get the inability to get +2 dex from Sorian to start (Grumble), but cheating him of +1 from a feat seems a bit rude. I hadnt realized he'd already used a feat! If he must use a feat for skills, then maybe 'Skilled' would work. I'd prefer the +1 Dex already, and Athlete, but Skilled means he gets +1 next level at least.'
Edit: for reference his stats were generated by best 3 of 4 dice method, nothing special.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
The rules as written mean that Brand won't get an ability increase (aka feat) until he is fourth level in one of his classes, not his overall class.
By that you mean house rules? The 5e stuff is character level for multi-class for feats etc. If not until 4th in class, then the Ftr1 is looking even more undesirable; would probably prefer Rog3 (swash) now and just go short-sword/dagger. The short-sword could be longer than usual given his family height (no game-effects).
On the other hand, if you want to change his feat to Skilled, what skills do you think he would have?
Probably Acrobatics/Insight/Deception (Preferred) or Acrobatics/Insight/Arcana (if plausible), or Acrobatics/Insight/Survival.
Edit: I think I lied. Proficiency goes with level, feats with class level.
Can we go back to Rog3? I am much too used to 3e...
Actually, take a look at 'Arcane focuses' in the 'Homebrew rules' category. This is the mechanism that Dworkin and Melitta would have now used to create their wands of Magic Missiles (now called Arion's Arrows) in this version of the world. Perhaps that is what you mean.
This is interesting; just going by PHB, Arions Arrows aren't even availble for rituals.
[[ I updated dialog in 220, in case it appeals: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/47916-engelian-adventures-2?comment=220 ]]