Homebrew: The Masquerade

I’m working on this homebrew world, and the idea of masks has been floating around in my head for awhile. I really love the idea of masks representing different classes, and the idea that a character could change masks simply by taking one off and putting another on.

Art by: https://lovestruck2.deviantart.com/

Then today I fell down a youtube hole and spend three hours watching Kingdom Hearts videos. All I wanted to do was dump every other thing I’m working on, and jump into a Kingdom Hearts system... especially since there don’t appear to be any really great ones out there (if you know of one, point me in its direction!)

But I resisted. I’m already running three different games. I don’t need to pick up a forth. 

But then the idea of the masks came back to me, and a bunch of things fell together for me.

I really like it when settings have a way to control power. Not everyone should be a level 20 wizard like in Faerun.

So this is what I came up with. In my homebrew world there are three ways to access power (aka, class levels).

• Training
• Spellbinding
• Inheriting or calling a mask.

Training is available for all classes but Sorcerer, and maybe Warlock (depending on what I decide to do with patrons). However, without supernatural means, mortals can only access a certain amount of power. A character can train to a total of five class levels.

Spellbinding. In my world, spells are literal people. They are beings of chaos thrust from the elemental planes to land on the material realm. Sorcerers bind spells, and the different types of spells that they bind act as their origins. Binding one spell let's a Sorcerer train through 5 levels. But then it maxes out, and a sorcerer must bind a new spell. The first spell a Sorcerer binds is the only one that grants an origin, and binding a spell is an inherently evil act.

Inheriting a mask (or performing a masquerade) is the path to ultimate power. A mask allows you to train in any class, up to level 20. Once received, a mask is bound with your soul, and you can never have another. The mask grows along with you, so it starts at level one, and can level from there. Masks can also gain visages which grant them unique appearances and abilities (extra spells, feats, etc). Masks are not inherently good or evil, although many specific masks are associated with good or evil since they are generally handed down from master to apprentice.

In the end, masks ended up looking almost nothing like keyblades. But... that's pretty much where I started from. So, go figure!

Creating the Werewolf

Werewolves. They are an iconic part of the gothic horror mythos. They have been both feared and loved. They have been depicted as savage monsters with no claim to humanity, and normal people dealing with a terrible curse.

And yet, despite how iconic they are, there are no official statistics to create a playable character in Dungeons and Dragons. There have been many attempts online to create a homebrew version of them, but I'm not happy with any of them.

I have a player that really wants to play a werewolf character, and I am a big advocate for letting people play what they want. So this is going to be my stab at a homebrew Werewolf race.

May the gods of luck and fortune have pity on my soul for even trying.

But before I even begin jumping into statistics, we should look at the source material we do have. In the Monster Manual, there are some official rules for what happens when you get cursed with Lycanthropy.

The Curse of Lycanthropy

The Curse of Lycanthropy is contracted by being wounded by a lycanthrope. It can also be contracted if one (or both) of your parents are lycanthropes.

The actual statistics of the curse change depending on the type of lycanthropy a person contracts. For our purposes we'll be discussing werewolves, which gain the following:

• ·         A Strength score of 15 if their score isn't already higher.
• ·         The ability to use an action to polymorph into a wolf, or wolf-human hybrid.
• ·         A +1 bonus to AC while in wolf or hybrid form.
• ·         40 ft movement speed in wolf form
• ·         Damage Immunity to: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered.
• ·         Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
• ·         A 1d8 Bite Attack in wolf or hybrid form.
• ·         A 2d4 Claw Attack in wolf or hybrid form.

That's a crazy amount of power. It's no wonder that the Monster Manual says that, "The DM is free to decide that a change in alignment places the character under DM control until the curse of lycanthropy is removed. (207)"

But in addition to providing insane amounts of power, the Werewolf (and other lycanthropy) stat blocks from the Monster Manual also miss out on one of the most iconic abilities that werewolves have in almost every piece of fiction I've ever seen. The ability to heal quickly from wounds. The concept of a werewolf that doesn't have regeneration is ridiculous to me.

However, regeneration is another of those powers that are insanely over powered.

What is a werewolf?

Let's take a step back from statistics for a moment. Instead, let's take a second and think about what a werewolf actually is.

I was going to quote something from dictionary.com here. But their description of a werewolf is woefully unhelpful. So instead, let's make a list of things that I think are iconic to the werewolf mythos:

·         The change. Changing into a werewolf isn't an easy prospect. And there are two types of stories told about the change.

•           A person who doesn't care about the implications of the change, and what it means. They are monsters, willing to go out and spread the curse.
•            A person who sees the change as a curse, and does everything they can to prevent the wolf from wreaking havoc in the world. These stories often end in tragedy, with people they love getting infected with the curse.

Either way, the change always happens. It's an inevitable monthly change that can't be fought, only endured or embraced.

• ·         The Moon. The full moon is the cause of the change. Sometimes just a single night, or sometimes each night for a full three day period.
• ·         Spreading the curse. Werewolves might tear people to shreds and go on bloody rampages. But the true horror of the werewolf story is that anyone can become one. All that's required is to survive a werewolf attack.
• ·         Weakness to silver. Enough said.
• ·         Fast Healing. Werewolves almost always heal from wounds with the efficiency of Wolverine unless they are attacked by a silver bullet.

Those are a lot of abilities, and just like the ones from the monster manual, they are going to be both very powerful abilities, and very punishing abilities. Balanced werewolves are not.

So, where does that leave us? In previous editions of Dungeons and Dragons, I would have either created a monster class or slapped on a level adjustment. I actually think that a monster class is still the way to go.

But my player is interested in playing a Werewolf Blood Hunter. So slapping on a monster class doesn't allow my player to play what they want. And as I said, I'm a big advocate for letting people play what they want if it can be made to work.

So that leaves us with the last (and hardest) option. Creating a homebrew werewolf race that both reflects the concept of the creature, but maintains balance with the other race options available.

Let's take a deep breath, cross our fingers, and jump right in.

The Process

The first thing we need to do is make a decision about the change. Is it voluntary? Can a character hold off the change with a Constitution check? Can the character change while it isn't a full moon?

My first instinct is to say that a character must change during a full moon, and that during the full moon they hand their sheet over to the Dungeon Master. Being a werewolf is a curse above all else, and no Constitution or Wisdom save can hold it off when the moon calls.

But playing a werewolf is only fun if you do get to change while it isn't a full moon, and to have a modicum of control over that change. Still, in almost all werewolf stories, even changing when it isn't a full moon can end in disaster. Werewolves are fueled by rage more than anything else.

My first instinct here is to require a wisdom save while attempting to change into wolf or hybrid form outside the full moon. On a failed save, the character would hand their character over to the Dungeon Master. But having an ally that is constantly losing control and turning on the party is fun exactly one time. After that it gets punishing.

That idea isn't going to work. So, for now let's put the rage concept on the back burner. We'll simply add the following to the race:

• ·         A werewolf looses itself to the curse once a month during the full moon. During this period they have no control over their character, and hand it to the Dungeon Master.
• ·         A werewolf can spend an action to polymorph into either a wolf or wolf hybrid form.

The wolf and wolf hybrid forms are going to need some natural attacks. Elves get weapon training in Longswords, Shortswords, Shortbows, and Longbows. Let's use those weapons as damage guides and say that:

• ·         While in hybrid or wolf form, a werewolf gains a melee claw attack that deals 1d6 damage. Claw attacks count as light weapons.
• ·         While in hybrid of wolf form, a werewolf gains a melee bite attack that deals 1d8 damage. Bite attacks take a full attack action. If you have more than one attack per action, you can replace one (but not all) attack with a bite.

Having a claw attack does imply having light weapons in both hands, which leads to two weapon fighting. That might be fine, or it might be too powerful. We'll just keep that in mind for now.

The natural weapons do need to spread lycanthropy though. That's part of the mythos. So let's also add:

• ·         When a creature is hit by a werewolf's claw or bite attack, it must make a DC 12 constitution check, or be infected by the Curse of Lycanthropy.

That about covers the details of the change and the natural attacks. At least for now. Next we need to tackle how to deal with silver weapons, and how to deal with fast healing.

The obvious way to deal with silver weapons would to just add silver vulnerability to the statistics. But that is a very punishing mechanic. Instead, let's take another existing mechanic, and rework it a little bit.

Concentration checks are required when a spell caster takes damage while concentrating on a spell. The DC equals the higher of either 10, or half the damage the character takes. If we modify that just a bit we get:

• ·         Silver Weakness. If a werewolf is hit by a silvered weapon, they must make a constitution save equal to 10, or half the damage dealt by the weapon, whichever number is higher. If the werewolf fails this save, they have the poisoned condition until the end of their next turn.

So now we get to quick healing. Again, the solution seems logical. Let's just slap on some quick healing. Maybe the ability to heal 1 hit point at the beginning of each turn. After all, 1 hp isn't going to make or break a combat.

And that's somewhat true. But it does mean that a character jumps to full health between combats. And that's a major advantage. It means that they never have to spend hit dice to heal up during short rests. And hit dice should be a resource that gets worn down after time.

So instead let's play with the hit dice mechanic a bit. We could allow a werewolf to reroll ones when they use hit dice to regain hit points. That feels just a bit too weak though.

My other idea is to adopt the second level fighter ability, second wind. It allows a fighter to spend a bonus action to regain 1d10 + fighter level hit points each short rest.

We can't just throw a second level ability into racial stats though. So instead, what if we allow a werewolf to use a bonus action to restore 1d4 + their constitution modifier hit points as a bonus action once per short rest?

That feels like it might be okay. At least for now. So, let's put together all of these statistics, add a strength increase, and see where we are at.

The Werewolf

The werewolf has a variety of natural abilities.

Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2.

Speed: Your base speed is 30 ft. It increases to 40 ft. if you assume a full wolf form.

The Transformation: A werewolf is a humanoid cursed with lycanthropy. Once a month, when the full moon rises, they are forced into their wolf form. During this period they have no control over their characters, and hand them over to the Dungeon Master.

Controlling the Change: Some werewolves spend time learning to control the change when there is no full moon in the sky. Your character can take an action to polymorph into either a wolf, or wolf hybrid form.

Darkvision: A werewolf's eyes have been enhanced by their monstrous curse. While in wolf or wolf hybrid form you can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in Darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in Darkness, only shades of red.

Enhanced Smell: You have advantage on Perception checks that rely on scent.

Natural Attacks: When a werewolf is in its wolf, or wolf hybrid form it gains both claw attacks, and a bite attack. The claw attacks deal 1d6 damage and count as light weapons. The bite attack deals 1d8 damage. Bite attacks require a full attack action. If you have more than one attack per action, you can replace one (but not all) attack with a bite.

Lycanthrope's Curse: When a creature is hit by a werewolf's claw or bite attack, it must make a DC 12 constitution check, or be infected by the Curse of Lycanthropy.

Accelerated Healing: On a werewolf's turn, you can spend a bonus action and regain hit points equal to 1d4 + your constitution modifier. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Silver Weakness: A werewolf is especially susceptible to damage from silvered weapons. If a werewolf is hit by a silvered weapon, they must make a constitution save equal to 10, or half the damage dealt by the weapon, whichever number is higher. If they fail, they have the poisoned condition until the end of their next turn.

Tumblr Blog

Hey everyone!

I wanted to reach out and let people know that I've started a tumblr blog, you can find that here: https://mutebansheedice.tumblr.com/

I'm not switching everything over there, but it will be most of my stuff. I don't find Blogger super intuitive. However, this blog is much better suited to long form blog posts. So I'll still be updating here with that.

Names and Cultural Appropriation

I've been doing a lot of world building, and I'm worried that I've hit a bit of a moral wall. The situation goes like this:

• In the past, I used Google Translate to come up with cool sounding names.
• I picked a language that sounded decidedly non English, and then type words like 'forest' or 'fire' or 'star hope.'
• I looked at the translation, maybe modified it a bit to sound better to my ear, and capitalized the first letter.
• I wrote the name at the top of a character or NPC sheet.

Easy, right? A quick way to get an interesting sounding name. A way that doesn't require me to slam my head against a wall trying to come up with something interesting on the spot. But Google Translate can sometimes take a long time. I might type a word in, decide I don't like it, type another word in, and go through the cycle six or seven times before I find something I like. Or I might see something I like, but have to spend a minute deciding on the best way to alter it.

So the easier answer is name lists. Everyone loves name lists. And if, for example, I'm already translating names into something like Bengali, I might as well just grab a name list of Bengali names.

But this is where I start worrying about cultural appropriation. For anyone that doesn't know, cultural appropriation is:

"...a concept dealing with the adoption of the elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. Cultural elements which may have deep meaning to the original culture may be reduced to 'exotic' fashion or toys by those from the dominant culture."

So... what does that mean for names? I mean, I am a member of a dominant culture. I'm white, I live in a culture which is probably the most dominant, with the most privileges. And if I'm honest with myself, when I'm coming up with names from google translate or using name lists from other languages, I'm not often using those names for humans. Most of the time they are for Elves, or Living Spells, or Tabaxi. In fact, the thing that made me worry about this was looking at a Bengali name that meant "Lord Shiva."

That's a god, and I don't mean in the D&D sense of the word. Shiva is a real world deity with cultural importance for a whole mass of people. It's just not my culture, so it sounds like a name that would fit perfect with my kitty cat people who live in the desert.

That's almost exactly the definition of cultural appropriation.

When I was only running games for myself and other people, in the comfort of my own home, or even in roll20, it wasn't such a big deal. But now I'm designing stuff with the hopes that people other than me and my group will look at it. That they will like it. Eventually, that they will like it enough to buy it. That makes the homebrew that I design public, which changes the amount of responsibility that I have to be a good person and represent myself in ways that I want to have a reputation for. It means not casually appropriating a culture and hand waving the problem away with a thought like, well, it's not like anyone is going to make a fuss about it... most people won't even think about it.

But I've thought about it. And it's not a genie I can just stuff back into the bottle.

----------------------------------------

Citation:

Wikipedia. "Cultural Appropriation," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation

Game Formats: Live vs. Play by Post

This week on game formats I'm going to talk about the difference between live games and play by post games. The two formats are very different from each other, different enough that they almost feel like entirely different games. Running each style needs to be approached differently if they are going to work well. So join me as I break down each style...

Live Games:

These are the games that most people think about when you mention Dungeons and Dragons. They are the games that take place around tables covered in character sheets, pencils, and books. They are the games we play on Roll20, and the ones that are recorded by professionals like over at Critical Role.

These are the strengths of a live game:

• Pacing. You can get through much more game much more quickly than you can in play by post.
• Socializing. You get to talk or listen to each other all at the same time. Inside jokes develop as people become friends.
• Dice Rolling. Dice rolling happens live. If you are a person that worried about people cheating (something I tend to think is a waste of time), then you can see the dice either on the table, or in the game chat of whatever table top replacement program you are using. In addition, when dice rolling happens live, it adds weight to moments when everything relies on the dice. Critical hits are celebrated with others, and critical failures cause the rest of the table to empathize.

Pretty great, but here are some weaknesses of the live game:

• Scheduling. Everyone in the group needs to be free for several hours, all at the same time.
• Party Splitting. Splitting the party can cause major issues. The Dungeon Master has to think about not spending an entire session putting the spotlight on one of the split groups. Unless they decide to run the groups in different sessions, which can be hard to schedule and make the parties feel isolated from each other.
• Recording. Most of the time live games aren't recorded. The only record of them is in the notes of the Dungeon Master and players. When you invite someone new to the game, there's no way for them to catch up with the rest of the story except for it being told to them by someone else.

Now lets move onto the play by post game. But before we get into the strengths and weaknesses of this format, let me first explain what it is. I'm sure many people in the rp community have never participated in one of these.

The play by post game became popular as rp communities developed on the internet. They replaced the much older (and slower) play by mail games. Can you imagine playing Dungeons and Dragons by sending letters to people? I think I'd go insane.

Eventually the play by post game congregated around message boards. And this is where they get their name. The game would update with a player making a new post, and then the dungeon master would respond with the results. 

Now days these games are still found on message boards, but many have moved to places with active text chats like Skype and Discord. 

Now we're all on the same page, let's jump into the strengths and weaknesses of the format:

The Strengths:

• Participating in a play by post game is as close to writing as you can get while playing Dungeons and Dragons. Depending on the game, you might be crafting a story with expert writers who really know how to describe a scene and a situation. 
• Immersion. In most play by post games there is a rule not to post out of character information in the game chat. There is usually another chat or message board devoted to that sort of conversation. That leaves the game chat as a perfect record of what's happening, without any interruptions of people asking for clarification or permission to do things. 
• Scheduling. Play by post games usually have a set schedule to them, but nothing like a live game requires. Instead of everyone being free at the same time, there is a set expectation of how many times you will update. A slow game might be once a day (I even played a short lived game that tried a once a week schedule), and some games allow four, five, six, or even more posts a day. Either way, along with the expectation that you will update this much, there is also an expectation that you will allow others time to update as well. 
• Non contact gaming. With a play by post you never have to interact with another person face to face, or even voice to voice. This format works really well for people that deal with social anxiety, or just flat out don't like dealing with other people in person.
• Party Splitting. The format of a play by post game works really well for parties splitting up. In a live game, a split party requires the DM to split their attention. The group is only together for a few hours at a time, and the Dungeon Master has to deal with both groups, but can only deal with one group at a time. In a play by post game, the Dungeon Master has time to update both stories as they happen. 
• In character relationships. I don't mean romantic ones. But because play by post games move slower, there is often more time for people to spend forming the close ties that adventuring parties would form. This works especially well when a few members of the party move to a separate chat to play out a night story telling around the campfire, or hanging out in the common room of an inn. These scenes might not drive the plot of the game forward, but they can drive the relationships closer.

Like live games, play by posts have lots of advantages. But they also struggle with some major problems:

• System clutter. In a live game, if a player has a question, it's a moment of seconds for a Dungeon Master to answer it. But during a play by post game the player has to wait until the Dungeon Master checks the message board or chat log. And if the Dungeon Master needs to clarify something about the question, it has to wait again until the player checks in. This can lead to long segments where nothing is happening in game because a player and DM are hashing something out. The more complicated the system is, the more difficult this becomes to manage.
• Initiative. This fits in with system clutter, but deserves its own point. When you are playing with a strict initiative order, a game can really slow down. Out of combat posts can happen whenever a person logs on. Even if you are waiting for the whole group to respond, it doesn't matter what order people post in. But if you are running initiative, and you check the game at noon, only to find out that your turn isn't for another three turns, you have missed a chance to post. Initiative requires posts to be in a certain order, and that can suck big time.
• Pace. Play by post games move at a crawl. That can be nice in the sense that it gives a player or Dungeon Master time to think out what they want to do. But it can also be disheartening.
• Players (or Dungeon Masters) ghosting. This is starting to happen in live games too, especially when running on things like roll20. But this happens a lot in the play by post world. People will sign up for a game, and then a week or two in decide that they don't like it. In a live game that would likely be a single session, a matter of a few hours. But since it is drawn out longer in a play by post game, it can be a much bigger deal.

So what does this all mean? It means that the formats are very different, and what works well in one format doesn't in another. It means that thinking about the type of game you are running is important when developing what you want to accomplish in them.

Because play by post games can grind to a slog so easily, and because they move slower in general, it can be hard to get through and epic plot. Play by post games lend themselves much better to simple stories that can be tied together.

I also consider what system I'm using while running play by post games. Gritty systems like Dungeons and Dragons can get bogged down in initiative, skill rolls, attack rolls, saves, and all sorts of other situations. A play by post game can be much more effective with rules light systems like Fate Accelerated. 

And the biggest take away I have for people, is that the experience of each format is incredibly difficult. If you go into a play by post game expecting the same experience you get from a live game, you're going to be disappointing. But it works the other way as well. If you consider the format's strengths, you can play to them, and provide a much better experience for everyone. 

Game Formats: Theater of the Imagination vs Grided Combat

In this age of the internet, there are many ways to run a game. And the format you choose has a big impact on how the game will run. Each format has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and today I'm going to go over what I believe they are.

Theater of the Imagination

Theater of the imagination is a type of game the eschews any sort of battle map for Dungeon Master description. 

Strengths:

• Everything is in the imagination, so there's no need to invest in battlemaps, tokens, or anything else to keep track of things. All you need is a pad of paper, a pencil, and a Dungeon Master that is happy to describe things in gritty detail.
• Because everything is in the imagination, you get to picture everything in your mind. Distances don't matter as much, and it's easier to apply the 'rule of cool.'
• Because there's nothing to keep track of, it's easy to play a game anywhere you can find room to roll some dice.
• It stream lines combat by taking away all the time that players spend carefully plotting out movements on the map. They can simply ask, "am I within 30 ft of the kobold with the four forked tongue?" and the DM can say yes or no.

Weaknesses:

• It is much harder to track detailed combats. This makes it easier to run simple combats, but once you start dealing with eight or nine different monsters, it can be nearly impossible to keep things ordered.
• Players don't always understand things the way the DM intends. If the player and DM get on a different page, it can slow the game down while everyone gets back to the same mental map.
• The Dungeon Master will often have to describe the same thing multiple times, and will have to answer many questions about distances and available options.
• Players that have relied on maps in the past may feel helpless without a map to help them visualize things.

Should I use it?

If you are planning on running simple combats, and want to focus more on the cinematic action rather than the nitty gritty, this format is for you. Be prepared to hand hold players while they get used to picturing things in their head. 

Tactical Grid

A tactical grid is where you pull out a map on either graph or hex paper, and use it to track movement. Many online table top solutions like Roll20 or Table Top Simulator have a grid worked into their program. 

Strengths:

• Having a map on a grid makes tracking things super easy. No one has to wonder if they are within range to cast a spell or not. They can simply measure their distance and answer the question for themselves.
• Having a grid makes determining tactical situations easier. Instead of mentally trying to figure out who is flanking the twin headed drider, you can simply look and see.
• Having a grid makes things like movement speed much more important. With theater of the mind, movements and ranges are often lost in the action. On a grid it's very clear exactly where and where not your character can get to.
• Having a grid helps everyone stay on the same page. The Dungeon Master doesn't have to describe the same thing over and over, and can instead focus on describing the flow of combat.

Weaknesses:

• Using a grid often slows combat down. Players spend longer on their turn planning their actions, because they want to measure distances down to the inch. 
• Many people want to have tokens and miniatures to represent characters and monsters on a grid. This can get very expensive very fast.
• Playing on a grid can move a battle from a more cinematic scene to a slow slog without a good Dungeon Master to keep things moving, and to keep things fast paced.