[D&D 3.5] Mediterranean Plot-Luck: D&D in Ancient Greece

[dither]

For every 50 gold of your average starting wealth, you get 1 wealth point. (Clerics have 100 average, so 2) then, rolling 2d4 gave me 2 and 4, for a total of 8 wealth points.then i spent one on a bunch of rope. I think. Everything else on my character sheet was a freebie.

Depends -- was it hemp rope, or silk rope? If it's hemp, it's cheap enough not to matter. If it's silk, yeah, it cost you. 

[PhaedrusXY]

For every 50 gold of your average starting wealth, you get 1 wealth point. (Clerics have 100 average, so 2) then, rolling 2d4 gave me 2 and 4, for a total of 8 wealth points.then i spent one on a bunch of rope. I think. Everything else on my character sheet was a freebie.

And where is the 2d4 from? Everyone rolls that? Sorry... I've just never used this kind of system, and really just don't have time to go read up on a bunch of unfamiliar rules right now, but I would like to finish my character, so I don't hold everyone else up.

Edit: Looking through the modern SRD. So just putting a single rank in a profession skill gets you a +1 wealth bonus? That sounds like a no-brainer...

[dither]

For every 50 gold of your average starting wealth, you get 1 wealth point. (Clerics have 100 average, so 2) then, rolling 2d4 gave me 2 and 4, for a total of 8 wealth points.then i spent one on a bunch of rope. I think. Everything else on my character sheet was a freebie.

And where is the 2d4 from? Everyone rolls that? Sorry... I've just never used this kind of system, and really just don't have time to go read up on a bunch of unfamiliar rules right now, but I would like to finish my character, so I don't hold everyone else up.

Edit: Looking through the modern SRD. So just putting a single rank in a profession skill gets you a +1 wealth bonus? That sounds like a no-brainer...

Bits and pieces are scattered throughout the thread.

Each character begins with a Wealth bonus equal to 2d4 + various modifiers. Since we don't have "occupations" like d20 Modern, we're adding Wealth based on our character class (hence the +1 per 50 gp average starting gp). Profession nets you another +1, and is used when you advance in level to increase your Wealth gain per level.

Various encounters (whether social or combat) have a chance to increase your Wealth (which, since it's abstracted, could be everything from gold and silver or art pieces, as normal, or parcels of land, trade rights, favors, spell components, etc.), and your Wealth may increase when you advance in character level.

For starting equipment, which doesn't have to be purchased, you get two 1st-level items and two 1/2-level items, based on Item Levels as outlined in the Magic Item Compendium. Basic equipment (bedrolls, rations, firewood, water skins, etc.) with a cost of 5 gp or less may be acquired without rolling, within reason.

Sorry again if this is review. 

[Generic_PC]

Hehe. Didn't notice the single rank in Profession. Is it coincidence that almost every PHB class has profession as a class skill?

[dither]

Hehe. Didn't notice the single rank in Profession. Is it coincidence that almost every PHB class has profession as a class skill?

lol, is that a trick question?

There are plenty of good professions that a character may have began as before they became an adventurer.

Blacksmith has become a bit of a cliche, but there's also some fun ones that could be taken by a Greek character, such as brewer (for wine), guard/mercenary (there's always fighting to be done), weaver/dyer (togas abound!), and astologer/soothsayer, philosopher, and pedagogue (teacher).

...

edit: Oh, and I think someone suggested Profession (catamite) earlier.

[PhaedrusXY]

So the DC for items only increases by +2 per level? Doesn't that mean that we can actually get items several levels higher than us? For example, as long as I have a +5 wealth modifier, I could get a level 6 item (DC 25, worth up to 2300 gp) by taking 20. Heck, if I'm willing to give up several points off my wealth bonus, I could start out with several magic items above my level. Right?

[Generic_PC]

Would it not increase by +4? 1/2 -> 1 is only 1/2 a level.

He has a point that will probably become moot very quickly, though.

[PhaedrusXY]

He has a point that will probably become moot very quickly, though.

If not, I forsee a Healing Belt and pair of Steadfast Boots in my character's future.

The d20M SRD even has rules for using Aid Another on these checks. So in theory, we could all pitch in together and buy something really insane... Yeah, I think these rules are a bit odd and potentially unbalanced, if used as-is. I'm not saying I'm looking to abuse them. I'm just pointing out potential problems.

Maybe the increase in DC should be the square of the difference between the item level, and your own level. So an item 3 levels above you would increase the DC by 9, which might be doable, but 4 levels higher would be +16, which probably isn't, even if you take 20 (unless you use the Aid Another thing... which should just be thrown out...).

[dither]

So the DC for items only increases by +2 per level? Doesn't that mean that we can actually get items several levels higher than us? For example, as long as I have a +5 wealth modifier, I could get a level 6 item (DC 25, worth up to 2300 gp) by taking 20. Heck, if I'm willing to give up several points off my wealth bonus, I could start out with several magic items above my level. Right?

With a Wealth bonus of +6, you can buy any item of a DC 26 or less by taking 20.
15 > 17 > 19 > 21 > 23 > 25 = 6th-level item.

It's possible to pick up a +1 weapon in this way (or some nice +1 armor), but keep in mind that the Purchase DC is twenty above your Wealth bonus, meaning you stand to lose 2d6+2 points of Wealth from the purchase (2d6 for 16+ over your Wealth, +1 for over your means, and +1 for over 15), which means that you'll likely lose your entire Wealth bonus in the purchase (min. 4 points).

I'm at peace with this.

Besides, if you actually *try* to abuse the system, I'll drop rocks on your character's head. Fair enough?

The d20M SRD even has rules for using Aid Another on these checks. So in theory, we could all pitch in together and buy something really insane... Yeah, I think these rules are a bit odd and potentially unbalanced, if used as-is. I'm not saying I'm looking to abuse them. I'm just pointing out potential problems.

Maybe the increase in DC should be the square of the difference between the item level, and your own level. So an item 3 levels above you would increase the DC by 9, which might be doable, but 4 levels higher would be +16, which probably isn't, even if you take 20 (unless you use the Aid Another thing... which should just be thrown out...).

You're welcome to Aid Another in buying things, just don't *try* to break the system. I don't want to make it more difficult for your characters to acquire things. Think with your heads, and not with your munchkins. 

[PhaedrusXY]

Ah, ok, it's the difference between the wealth bonus and item DC that you compare. I noticed that earlier, but forgot it. So yeah, I guess that's ok. You could start out with one really nice item, and a bunch of mundane stuff, but you'd be poor for a while after that.

Grabbing a Healing Belt for the loss of one point of wealth bonus is still well worth it, though (or a 1st level wand, etc).

[dither]

Ah, ok, it's the difference between the wealth bonus and item DC that you compare. I noticed that earlier, but forgot it. So yeah, I guess that's ok. You could start out with one really nice item, and a bunch of mundane stuff, but you'd be poor for a while after that.

Grabbing a Healing Belt for the loss of one point of wealth bonus is still well worth it, though (or a 1st level wand, etc).

The Purchase DCs will scale with character level, if that wasn't already obvious, since the Wealth bonus is this variable thing that tends to fluctuate between +0 and +20, it didn't make sense to make retardedly high Purchase DCs like those in the d20 Moder/Future books (pDC 50+ for futuristic weapons and spaceships) since 3.5 came out with the Item Level system.

Essentially, anything that your character would easily be able to attain at your given level (let's say, 3rd), should put an obvious drain on your resources (-1 Wealth, min.) but not horribly impair your spending ability unless you've been managing your funds ... poorly. You'd be able to purchase 3rd-level items at DC 15, 2nd-level items at DC 13, and 1st-level items at DC 11. The wizard, who likely scribes scrolls on a regular basis, has to make a DC 9-11 Wealth check to scribe a 1st-level spell to a scroll (he still pays exp normally, but it's like, 1-5 exp, right? lol).

...

  Oh, and I heartily agree about purchasing a 1st-level wand. It gets easier if you buy a "used" wand, with only 10 charges or so. *shrug* Any magic item purchases have to go through me, though.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Do you know of any ways to get disguise as a class skill without taking a level of rogue or something similar?  

I really like the shifty spellcasting and shifty feat you get from chameleon 2, but I'm not so big on the disguise qualifications... with a bit of alteration, it seems like the class would work fairly well as someone who's inspired by a muse or something like that, but I'd prefer to avoid the overdone secret society flavor.

My current expected progression seems something like
Blu1: Able Learner/Versatile Spellcaster
Blu3: Endurance, leading into Power to Burn?  It might overlap too much with versatile spellcaster, though... possibly sculpt spell instead
Blu3/Rainbow Servant1 (to pick up good domain, which gives a backbone for my spells known)
Blu4/RS1/ Chameleon 1: Power To Burn, maybe.  If not, who knows?
Blu4/RS1/Chameleon 2: Adaptive bonus feat.  Scribe Scroll or similar in downtime, temporary Sapphire School Mastery when I need to learn something.  
After that, I'll probably be going straight Blue Mage until I get Turquoise Efficiency, just because it's so fun.  I figure that my flexible chameleon bonus feat should be enough to compensate for not getting Improved Azure Awareness.


That should only be three sources used - the Blue Mage class itself (which you'll probably end up tweaking), Races of Destiny (although you have the web enhancement available), and Complete Divine.


EDIT: And those bolded parts of your first post... are they to mark which lines Solid Snake would repeat if he were reading this?

[dither]

Do you know of any ways to get disguise as a class skill without taking a level of rogue or something similar? 

I really like the shifty spellcasting and shifty feat you get from chameleon 2, but I'm not so big on the disguise qualifications... with a bit of alteration, it seems like the class would work fairly well as someone who's inspired by a muse or something like that, but I'd prefer to avoid the overdone secret society flavor.

Sorry, I'll have to look at this and answer later. I took one look at the page for the chameleon and my eyes immediately started glazing over.

I might work on table-ing up the "Magician" class, which I worked so hard on. It looks virtually nothing like the blue mage, but I think it's cool (and that's all that matters ).

[Risada]

So let's see if I understand this...

Bard has starting wealth of 4d4x10, so that nets me +2 wealth modifier.

Rolling 2d4 nets me a 4 (damn, less than average  ), granting me a total of +6, without profession bonus...

While I'm at it, let me check if I'm doing it right: a chain shirt counts as a 1st level item, a longsword and a shortsword are 1/2 level, leaving me with one 1st level item left, plus the freebies, right?

 

[dither]

So let's see if I understand this...

Bard has starting wealth of 4d4x10, so that nets me +2 wealth modifier.

Rolling 2d4 nets me a 4 (damn, less than average), granting me a total of +6, without profession bonus...

While I'm at it, let me check if I'm doing it right: a chain shirt counts as a 1st level item, a longsword and a shortsword are 1/2 level, leaving me with one 1st level item left, plus the freebies, right?

Sounds good to me. I mean, except the rolling-below-average. My sympathies go out to you.

[PhaedrusXY]

Mind if I swap out Adrenaline Boost for Expansion in the Physical Power mantle? I might just go single-classed Ardent.

Got a 5 on my 2d4 roll (average) 2d4=5

Avg wealth for a starting ardent is 5d4x10, so 125, for another +2, and then +1 for Profession (Lawyer), for a total of +8.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Hot dog!

Roll for cash (2d4=8)


Anyone want me to subsidize something?


Anyway, I'm still a little unsure of the system...

I have what?  11=8(roll)+2(class)+1(prof)

[Generic_PC]

So let's see if I understand this...

Bard has starting wealth of 4d4x10, so that nets me +2 wealth modifier.

Rolling 2d4 nets me a 4 (damn, less than average  ), granting me a total of +6, without profession bonus...

While I'm at it, let me check if I'm doing it right: a chain shirt counts as a 1st level item, a longsword and a shortsword are 1/2 level, leaving me with one 1st level item left, plus the freebies, right?

 

As far as i can tell, those are your freebies. You have one free 51-100 gold item left or 2 1-50 gold items left that you can get without wealth points.

[PhaedrusXY]

As far as i can tell, those are your freebies. You have one free 51-100 gold item left or 2 1-50 gold items left that you can get without wealth points.

I think he meant "items worth 5 gp and under" when he said freebies. They are all free.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Three freebies
Scroll of first level spell (trapsmith arcane sight)
Scroll of first level spell (trapsmith dispel magic)
Wand of Lesser Vigor

So, with my +11, what would be the effect upon my wealth of buying:

Scroll of second level spell (trapsmith dimension door) (because even at CL 1 I get 440 feet)
Scroll of first level spell (bard's improvisation)
Scroll of first level spell (cleric's wieldskill)
Third level item (arcanist's gloves)