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Post by David on Nov 28, 2012 0:21:44 GMT -8
So with these new lighting rules, what determines the light level? Geographical region? There are hard rules to determine Bright light, Dim Light, and Total Darkness, so I'm curious what will determine our new lighting types. See the description of the World's day-night cycle in the "The World" thread. Generally Lux is present in direct sunlight and Umbra in total darkness. However, patches of each can occur independently. For instance, the second session featured a cave with a fungus-filled crevice lit by a pool of Lux.
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Post by David on Nov 28, 2012 0:28:17 GMT -8
I'm ashamed to admit, but I'm tripping over the light rules. The concept seems awesome, but how the system simulates may be escaping me. I'm guessing we're dealing with more than Bright Light, Dim Light, and Darkness; represented by rows 4, 5, and 6 (respectively) in the new table? Thus, beyond those 3, there are 3 degrees of brightness greater than Bright Light (rows 1-3, due to Lux) and 3 degrees of darkness greater than Darkness (rows 7-9, due to Umbra). Is this an accurate summary? Correct on the light end, but Darkness is still Darkness (Lighting -4, or a -5 penalty for Humans). This is as dark as it gets. (Lighting -1 is Dim Light.) It just happens that Umbral energies naturally collect where light is absent.
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Post by David on Nov 28, 2012 0:58:59 GMT -8
As for the alternate proposals, I'd be more inclined toward Phil's suggestion, simply because I can't conceptualized the pre- and post-Cataclysm world as described with a two-Sun system. (Stable orbits are a problem.)
I would point out though, that the "best" metagaming group with the current system is all Light or all Dark races so you could get the bonus.
The initial goal was to have a single number to describe the effects for all races, rather than an individualized collection of modifiers for each. It's getting complicated, though, so I'll keep thinking it over.
I agree that Sun Sickness is a good mechanic, and intend to implement it for long term exposure to antithetical lighting.
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Post by David on Nov 28, 2012 1:09:11 GMT -8
how exactly are Sorcerors treated? Essentially I can understand we are wanted, kind of like highlander (kind of like Dark sun where arcane is essentially banned), but what if a character had arcane powers? Could people tell? Would they assume first that it is a different power source, like Psionic, or Divine, possibly shadow? I am thinking of playing a sorceror but not if I cast an at-will and suddenly am hunted for the rest of the game. Untrained people couldn't tell Sorcerous from Divine (unless, say, it were a Dwarf doing the casting, since Dwarves can't have the Divine power source). Members of a Divine class could definitely tell. Remember that Sorcerers haven't been seen in a couple centuries, so most people wouldn't recognize arcane power except as `some strange power'. The assumptions about what the power is would generally be based in race, e.g. psionics for humans, primal for elves. The average person isn't suddenly going to hunt down someone revealed to be a Sorcerer (though a neighborhood tough may have a go). They will be wary, though, mostly that Sorcerers will bring trouble from people who _do_ want the power. Again, Sorcerers haven't been around for a while, so it's not like there's an active Inquisition.
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Post by David on Nov 28, 2012 1:25:02 GMT -8
I think it might be also pertinent to know how much adventuring will be done in either of the zones to help players decide their characters. IE if we're 90% of the time in Twilight... then I'd be more incline to play a twilight character. If it's an even 33% spread, then it might be better. Finally, this. The lighting conditions will vary greatly, and I would plan on giving each roughly equal time. That said, the lighting conditions are likely to come in streaks. We're currently in a Dwarven settlement, so we're spending a lot of time in Dwarf/Low light (-1), with some variation for darker caves (-3) or well lit caverns (e.g. near the aforementioned Lux pool (+1) or inside it (+3)). However, on the surface the Long Night is currently beginning, and surface conditions will move rapidly from the dark end of twilight (-2) to deep Umbra (-4) over the next few 'rests' (i.e. periods over which long rests are required, roughly 24 hrs.) A month of rests later, the Long Day will begin, and Lux will rule the surface. Meantime, Lux can be found in natural pools or be created by sunrods.
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Post by reiphil on Nov 28, 2012 8:18:39 GMT -8
Would a dwarf be able to mask arcane sorcery under the guise of Artificing? Like, wave a pretend wand just to throw a spell?
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Post by David on Nov 28, 2012 10:18:58 GMT -8
Artificers are a relatively new phenomenon and not widely known. It is more likely that an artificer will be mistaken for a sorcerer than the other way around. That said, I should mention that most of the party _will_ have some degree of sorcerous talent following last session, since the old sorcerer went kaboom. Whether you absorbed enough of that energy to make sorcerer your primary class is up to you.
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Post by frobones on Nov 28, 2012 11:33:42 GMT -8
Would the Dark Light ritual be accessible in our campaign? If so, would this 'normalize' the battlefield (i.e. everyone can see clearly in the radius of the Dark Light, so everyone is at +/- 0)?
Dark Light
Level: 4 Category: Exploration Time: 1 minute Duration: 1 day Key Skill: Arcana (no check)
Component Cost: 30 gp Market Price: 150 gp
You create a source of dim light that allows you and those around you to see without your being seen because of your light source. The Dark Light ritual creates a ball of shadow that floats with you as you walk. It sheds dim light within 6 squares around it. In its light, you can see everything clearly. Only creatures within the light’s radius can see the Dark Light ball or the dim light it creates. Vision within the Dark Light effect is in black-and-white, and color variations appear in shades of gray.
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Post by kore on Nov 29, 2012 22:10:08 GMT -8
David, is it accurate to say that LLs +4 through +2 represent a gradient of "Bright Light", +1 through -1 represent a gradient of "Dim Light", and -2 through -4 represent a gradient of "Darkness"?
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Post by David on Dec 1, 2012 0:08:46 GMT -8
Roughly speaking, yes.
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Post by kore on Dec 12, 2012 15:43:21 GMT -8
David, how do concealment rules work in the new lighting system? Is concealment now relative to each individual's bonus/penalty at the given LL? That is, a creature suffering a -2, whether due to the level of darkness or brightness, regards all other creatures as having partial concealment for mechanical purposes. By extension, does a -5 at a given LL confer total concealment to all other creatures?
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Post by kore on Dec 19, 2012 8:32:29 GMT -8
Primal: Berserker, Hunter, Scout, Seeker, Barbarian (Twilight races) or Warden (Dwarf) only. David, does the above indicate that all races may choose from these primal classes except for Barbarians and Warden, which have the noted limitations? Or does it mean only Twilight races may choose from those classes and Dwarves may choose Warden?
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Post by David on Dec 21, 2012 16:35:10 GMT -8
Primal: Berserker, Hunter, Scout, Seeker, Barbarian (Twilight races) or Warden (Dwarf) only. David, does the above indicate that all races may choose from these primal classes except for Barbarians and Warden, which have the noted limitations? Or does it mean only Twilight races may choose from those classes and Dwarves may choose Warden? All the listed primal classes are restricted to Twilight races, except for Warden, which is limited to Dwarves.
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Post by reiphil on Dec 21, 2012 17:09:10 GMT -8
have you checked my build i sent you? everything ok?
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Post by David on Dec 21, 2012 20:33:24 GMT -8
The backstory looks good, but I don't see a build.
Can you (and everyone else) do me a favor and generate some names associated with your backstory? In your case, for example, the name of the dwarf to whom you were apprenticed would be helpful.
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