I should just make a part 2 of this blog post, but instead will update it. Thinking about the sorcerer, in particular, I felt like gaining Divine Favor was simply too... pedestrian a reward. So, I've changed it.
Shit... I just realized that now the warrior class feels shortchanged. Damn it. Ok, I'll revise that, too. I want this page to be something we can all refer back to, so it's just going to become an ever-evolving mutant horrorshow.
Cha'alt season three begins a week from this Saturday, one-eleven. Can't fucking wait!
Same campaign, but different characters and story arcs. Every year, I'm going to try to hit 20 sessions per "season," which means the PCs cap-out at about level 10. That way the greater Cha'alt campaign keeps going, but still (hopefully) remains fresh and exciting for those interested in playing.
I was scrolling through X last night and stumbled upon a post by my good friend, gamer extraordinaire, and VENGER CON alumni... Lord Matteus.
He was asking for GMs to reveal a roleplaying incentive from their own game. For example, he gives extra XP to paladins for purging every living thing found in a goblin warren, gnoll pack, orc camp, etc., doubling it if they shot "Deus Vult!" while doing so.
Feeling inspired, I set myself a challenge to come up with four brand-new roleplaying incentives, one for each class in Advanced Crimson Dragon Slayer. I posted them last night and will set them before you here for examination.
Remember, these are roleplaying incentives that exist as incentives to award roleplaying! Qualification can be determined by the table majority; however, as with all things, subject to the GM's inviolable will and ultimate authority...
- Warriors get an Epic Deed point when they announce a particular fighting strategy, novel combat maneuver, or Leeroy Jenkins their way into battle.
- Sorcerers get a point of Arcana each time they take a break from adventuring in order to consult their zoth-writ parchments of forbidden lore, dark prophecies, and ancient parables. They may even consult with their sorcerous peers or travel to strange places in order to bolster their understanding of esoteric subjects.
- Thieves receive a point of luck every time they successfully burgle something of value.
- Priests earn a point of (religious) renown every time they gain a new follower, but would also lose that point if the follower was lost... unless he died a martyr.
Sleaze Points: A new metacurrency I created towards the end of the second season of our Cha'alt campaign. Basically, every point accumulated can be spent to boost or add onto another roll (doesn't affect critical failures, though).
Sidenote: I'm going to reserve the "jerk the milky white dice upon the centerfold" sublimation for when the PCs get their math-rocks off over something different, something special. Not just the usual roll in the hay, which will be rewarded with the standard sleaze-factor-5 bonus.
Luck: Just like sleaze points, except they have nothing to do with sleaze. Can other classes earn luck points? If so, for what? That remains to be seen.
Renown: The renown points metacurrency can be spent, narratively, to temporarily bolster renown; momentarily - or at least to whoever that PC is currently addressing - (re)casting the individual PC, including but not necessarily entailing his reputation, calling/vocation, racial differences, religion, god, noble house, family crest, cause de jour, etc. in a more favorable - or at the very least, formidable - light.
Renown isn't necessarily concerned with fame or infamy, individuals in the presence of greatness can decide that sort of thing for themselves. Renown, in this instance, is more a measure of having an impact on the world. Aside from priests making converts (new souls for the faith), adventurers can earn points of renown by making waves, putting themselves out a bit, and changing the course of their destiny and that of Cha'alt.
Arcana: Allows sorcerers to do what most magic-users aren't able to do... most of the time. They can alter their own spells, that of their opponents, or even forge new one's, create dimensions and domains, and alter the very fabric of reality.
Epic Deed: Warriors can spend an epic deed point to do something in the realm of combat which would normally be impossible - a feat of strength and agility and battle prowess which makes them a paragon of war.
Ok, I'm hoping this gives players something to contemplate as they decide what kind of character they want to create before the first session starts... or maybe we'll start playing and let character creation be part of the introductory scenario? Time will tell, hoss...
What else? PCs will start off at level 1 and will go up a level every other session, just like the previous seasons. Special abilities found in Cha'alt Ascended [now found in the Advanced Crimson Dragon Slayer rulebook (PDF and print-on-demand softcover available on Amazon) will be granted at levels 3 and 7. Upon reaching level 4, PCs will be expected to "prestige class" into some unique and idiosyncratic version of their base class, granting them a specialty within that particular sphere.
Happy New Year!
VS
p.s. Want the hardcover
Cha'alt trilogy?
here's how! Want to join the Kort'thalis mailing list to stay up-to-date on what's going on in the skinematic Vengerverse?
This is it!! Last but not least, I'm organizing a based-as-fuck RPG convention in Madison, WI this July. Grab your weekend badge for
VENGER CON IV: Post-Modern Apocalypse!!!
