Category Archives: System Design
Hit Points Yet Again
While working on the Red Dragon series I have discovered that the hit points tend to run somewhat lower than in Pathfinder, the base system. This is in large part because there are no longer Constitution bonuses (which add up fast). This might work if damage generally runs much lower, but I am not convinced this [...]
Finding a New Path
I’m moving from “D&D 3.x” to Pathfinder as my base. The material is much more accessible and better structured for my use. I don’t expect the changes to what I’m doing be all that big, really, since the differences between D&D 3.x and Pathfinder are generally smaller than the changes between either of them and [...]
How Fast is Too Fast?
I have to wonder, how much time, in game terms, should it take to become good at something you don’t already practice? One of the biggest sticking points for people when I describe Echelon is the ability for a character to go from ‘no casting’ to ‘decent casting’, and even ‘casting as powerful as someone [...]
Martial Training: Traditions, Combat Elements, and Styles
My original model of martial training was much as the model for caster training. A character could have a ‘Martial Training’ cornerstone talent (I was calling it “Warrior Born”) that provided half the possible Martial Training Bonus, and some generic combat-relevant benefits I never got around to defining. A character could also take a ‘Martial [...]
Spell Casting Rules: Traditions, Spell Knowledge, and Racial Magic
I had initially aimed to create a unified casting system where all casters follow the same rules and cast the same spells in the same way, then use talents to control spell access, secondary powers, and alternate casting methods. I realized while examining Knowledge skills that there is probably a better way, at least as [...]
What are Cornerstone Talents, and How Do I Make Some?
I suppose it really has been a couple of weeks since I looked at capstones, I’m way overdue looking into cornerstones. Where common talents are typically things a character can learn, and capstone talents often mark what a character has achieved, cornerstone talents often represent what a character is. In RSRD-based games race and creature [...]
More Task Resolution: Relative Gains
Some discussion in IRC about the merits of d20 versus 3d6 for task resolution led to some examination, and the examination led to some curious conclusions. A +1 bonus on a d20 is seen as a 5% improvement, because it opens one more die value (a 5% chance) to be used for success. A +1 [...]
Reconsidering Task Resolution
Okay, I don’t think I’ve posted on task resolution here beyond an expectation of being similar to Revised System Reference Document (RSRD) task resolution, but a post today on google+ got me thinking. That thinking was that I am not happy with how the skill system was working out. The shape of it is lovely [...]
Second Draft Character Creation
Okay, second draft for character creation. Nothing much has changed, really, just a couple little refinements and adding magic points (calculated in much the same way as hit points, but using Level Bonus instead of Level, and the modifier for Iron Will on magic points is smaller than the one for Great Fortitude on hit [...]
Apotheosis in Echelon
Ascension to godhood, apotheosis, is handled like other character development matters — using talents. The rules for this are inspired by those from Mongoose Press’ Classic Play: Book of Immortals. Talent selection in Echelon is generally pretty freeform. As far as the rules are concerned, apart from the distinction between ‘upgrading’ and ‘adding’ talents each level and [...]