Tuesday May 04, 2004

A Small Catalog of Way Too Much Work:

Character Sheet Template

What can I say?  I've looked all over the Internet for something like this, and found nothing to satisfy.  Thus, here is what might possibly the greatest character sheet template short of an actual boxed program (which I haven't found either).  It's in Microsoft Excel format, and chock full of lists, charts, formulae, and all the special tweaks of this campaign, including the special races and classes.  If something is calculated in the rulebooks, it's calculated for you on this sheet.  Enjoy!

If you don't have Microsoft Excel, it's a pity.  But to avoid totally discriminating against you, here the very same template as a "pdf" file.

The Miscellaneous Percentile Roll

An incredibly in-depth chart containing hundreds of possible ways to make your character stand out as unusual, whether hampered or helped.

Regional Benefits

The player and/or DM now choose from a map of the Flanaess (soon to be here) where the character was born and raised.  (The two are assumed to occur in the same region unless a Miscellaneous roll indicates otherwise.)  Various circumstances of birth, such as number of siblings, order and legitimacy of birth, etc. are developed as the player wishes, or the player can dice for all the various elements of a PC’s background according to the Hero Builder’s Guidebook.  (This is NOT required.)

The region of birth determines various regional feats, regional skills, regional languages, and starting equipment packages that the player may choose from to benefit his character at the start of the game.  (This idea came from The Forgotten Realms handbook and Wheel of Time RPG.)  The various regions are listed in the Greyhawk Gazetteer and are fairly visible on the map included in that book.  For a complete summary of the benefits of each region for the Lorenvale campaign, click here.  I have it from a good source, though, that WotC will soon be providing regional bennies for the Greyhawk setting, so I might be scrapping mine for theirs sometime in the future.  Depends on how much work it'll require of me.

The Pantheon of Deities

These are the known deities of the Flanaess.  The chart shows their domains, alignment, preferred weapon, mottos, typical followers, and anything else interesting without me completely re-writing the last chapter of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.  Currently, this page is under construction.

Aging Effects

Chapter Six of the Player's Handbook gives a tacit nod toward the idea of the effects of aging.  But I remain wholly dissatisfied with it.  Here I have expanded the notion of age having an affect on one's capabilities, for better or worse, and have also recognized the differences between men and women--without capping either nor mollifying the feminist crowd.

Alchemical Components and Items

The alchemist class enjoys the ability to make amazing concoctions and brew mixtures that bear near-magical qualities and strengths.  From the "elixirs" given in AEG's Mercenaries book, to the Philosopher's Stone and the true Elixir of Life as shown in Bastion Press' Alchemy & Herbalists book...this list has it all, plus a collection of noxious stuff from that most famous of alchemists, Clive Wurstadt.

The Many Uses of Gems

Gemologists and magicians across the Flanaess have recently made a ground-breaking discovery:  some gems contain a magical "resonance" that can be harnessed with a specially-crafted magic item--the socketed item.  This chart is the result of the combined efforts of Sam McReynolds and I (Sam should get most of the credit for this, actually), and will become standard fare in future adventures in the Lorenvale Campaign.

Weapon Abilities

I just couldn't stand it any longer, knowing that a weapon could have the "sharpness" ability...if only I could find the dang book it was in.  Well, search no longer, my friends.

Armor/Shield Abilities

And once I had started on the weapons, I knew it wouldn't be right to leave out the armor.  What have I started?

The Complete Guide to (In)Sanity

Long has it been that man values nothing more than his health, and the health of no organ is more important than that of the brain.  What lurks in the minds of men and contorts them into what they are?  Concerning the seven common attributes, lower scores inflict hindrances, but the character doesn't suffer too much and often gets by quite nicely.  With the Sanity attribute, life isn't so easy.  When the Sanity attribute is low, the character can quite easily become insane...and insanity is awful.

The Complete Guide to Sex

This page isn't finished yet.  But, so you won't think a whole lot of dirty thoughts, this appendix is NOT a medieval kamas sutra, nor is it pornographic.  Get your mind out of the gutter...  It IS a guide to what happens when two people have sex, whether they're married or not.  That is, are they racially compatible, will the intercourse lead to pregnancy, and if so, what will the child be like?  It's a bit "scientific" in places, and hopefully will be used to bring a little "realism" to romantic liaisons and one-night stands, and well as possibly granting children to married PCs.