Winter is Coming Part. 4

Previously I began this journey with discussing some of the optional rules and/or personal house rules I decided to implement for this game and the reason for these rules choices. This is the continuation of that blog which will take several blogs to cover as I plan to showcase these choices in small yet in-depth ways. As a warning I would like to preface this by informing you that this may contain some spoilers for the campaign and thus I give you the earnest of **SPOILER** warnings should you not want anything ruined for you in this amazing Adventure Path.

**SPOILER WARNING**TURN BACK NOW**SPOILER WARNING**

Healing: Potions, Scrolls, and Wands

The processes of brewing a potion can have the thematic potential to be varied in its potency on many levels. As such, all cure potions used will be rolled as per the Core Rulebook unlike any scrolls or wands containing Cure spells which will use averages as listed on the table below. 

Spell                                  Average

Cure Light Wounds            6 points of healing

Cure Moderate Wounds   13 points of healing

Cure Serious Wounds      20 points of healing

Cure Critical Wounds       27 points of healing

Note: 

Wands that have used their charges can be re-enchanted with the same type of magic (Arcane or Divine) at -10% of the cost. This is to capture the feeling that items that have already been affected by magic can take in magic easier. I felt it was a nice bit of flair that isn't unbalancing and can help out the part in a tight gp pinch. Plus, think of all the wasted wands from campaigns past...think of the WANDS!!!

Death and Dying

This concept was inspired by the way Mathew Mercer handles resurrection magic in his campaign setting of Tal'dorei on the Twitch Stream Critical Role. I prefer to think that Pharasma has a greater hold on her domain and the vessels that dwell within it in the Boneyard, rather than being cheated of her judgement on these souls by the divine magics granted by other deities. The standard spells in the game for bringing back someone from death are intended to be a sure thing when cast on a departed soul. I hope you enjoy the concept and the intended nature behind this inspiration of Matthew Mercers' design.

The aspect of death is not one to be trifled with even amongst experienced healers of the gods.  Three spells have been commonly used to cheat death: raise dead, reincarnation, and resurrection.  If a character is dead, and a Resurrection is attempted by a spell or spell effect with a 1 minute casting time or longer, a Fate Challenge is initiated.  Up to 3 members of the adventuring party can offer to contribute to the ritual through a series of skill challenges.  These skills can be any skill of relevance to the deceased character with the connection to the skill determining the DC of the skill check.  The relevance of the skill used varies based on each characters personal story and is classified as: Weak, Moderate, and Strong.

It is highly encouraged that each of the skill challenge checks be made with roleplay elements as the fate of your fellow adventurer is on the line.  Regardless if the spell succeeds or fails, any and all material components are consumed in the casting of the spell.  The table below provides a loose structure of how this process will work as well as modifiers to the overall DC.

Fate Save DC	DC starts at 12
Weak Skill DC	15 + double the deceased characters level
Moderate Skill DC	15+ the deceased characters level
Strong Skill DC	15

Fate Save Modifiers	DC Modifier
Death Related to Background	+2
Death Caused by a Loved One	+5
Previously affected by raise dead, reincarnation, or resurrection spells*	+5
Death blow attack was greater than 50 points of damage	+5
Death caused by a Necromantic spell	+2
Death involved charm,  mind-affecting, or possession effects	-2
Death from member of opposed faith	+2
Caster is of the same faith as deceased character	-2
Character has benefited from breath of life spell†	+2
The ritual is cast at a location significant to the fallen PC	-2
*apply this modifier for each time the PC has benefited from these spells †increase the DC modifier by 1 for every benefit of breath of life the PC has received past the first

Resurrection Magic requires a Skill Challenge by the party. The Fate DC starts at 12, as 3 checks set the final DC.

Successes lower the Fate Save DC by 3.

Failures increase the Fate Save DC by 1.

After all skill contributions are completed the DM rolls a single Resurrection check roll (straight d20) to signify if the player’s soul returns, or is lost for all time.

Example of Play:  
Garridan has recently fallen in combat and is at the temple of his deity for a resurrection spell.  Garridan is a 10th level fighter who has recently benefitted from the breath of life spell.  It is at this point when the GM calculates the Fate Save DC, yet this information is kept hidden from the players.  His Fate Save DC is 12 (+12 base, +2 breath of life, -2 same faith) which is only known to the GM.

 It is now when each member participating in the resurrection can make a skill challenge check to lower the DC of the Fate Save.  Player One decides to use Diplomacy (Moderate) to lure him back through reason and rolls a 27 decreasing the Fate Save DC by 3. Player Two uses Knowledge: Arcane (Weak) to assure him to trust in this magic and rolls a 31 which fails increasing the Fate Save DC by 1. Player Three relies on his Knowledge: Religion (Strong) to recant the passages of Calistria regarding vengeance.  The result is a 16 decreasing the Fate Save DC by 3.  Through the efforts of the entire party Garridan’s Fate Save DC lowers from a 12 down to 7.  When all the roleplaying has been done this is when the GM roles against the Fate Save DC needing a result of 7 or higher on the d20 roll.  On a 7 or higher the player is brought back from death. Should the roll fail the character remains in the Boneyard with his soul being lost for all time, and the spell is expended with the material components consumed.  

Only the strongest of magical incantations can bypass this resurrection challenge, in the form of true resurrection or wish spells.  These spells can also restore a character to life who was lost due to a failed resurrection ritual.

This system is more concept than mechanics and therefore DC’s and aspects may change based on various factors.  As such should a player be concerned that the fate of their character, whom they enjoy playing, may be bound for death then a petition may be made with the GM.  All factors will be considered and an open conversation of consequences will be discussed should Fate sentence the character to death and an outside source wish to bring the character back to life at a price (as an example).  Prior to the result of the Fate Save a player must have this discussion otherwise they are firmly bound by the result of the Fate Save.  A player cannot benefit from a petition more than once per campaign per character. 

Recovery: Any character benefiting from either raise dead, reincarnate, or resurrection still suffers the negative levels of those spells and are dealt with per each spells description.

This concludes the variant rules I planned on implementing into my Reign of Winter campaign. I hope you like this small series of blogs showcasing these rules and please stay tuned for more in depth looks into my current gaming group, custom designs, and my gm breakdowns in preparing to run the Reign of Winter Adventure Path. Thank you all for your time and stay awesome my friends!!  

Winter is Coming Part. 3

Previously I began this journey with discussing some of the optional rules and/or personal house rules I decided to implement for this game and the reason for these rules choices. This is the continuation of that blog which will take several blogs to cover as I plan to showcase these choices in small yet in-depth ways. As a warning I would like to preface this by informing you that this may contain some spoilers for the campaign and thus I give you the earnest of **SPOILER** warnings should you not want anything ruined for you in this amazing Adventure Path.

**SPOILER WARNING**TURN BACK NOW**SPOILER WARNING**

Passive Perception

The Perception skill is one of the most used skills in the game. I do feel there is a difference between actively looking for something versus passively coming across something.  As a test run I am introducing Passive Perception from previous editions of D&D.  A characters Passive Perception is 10+Perception skill bonus.  This is to introduce more atmosphere to the game as well as reduce the barrage of skill checks when certain characters are asked to make them.  This is a test run to see how it works even in Pathfinder and with our group dynamic.  At times I may outright roll for a players Perception check given the significance of the check or the source of the check.  

Innate Item Bonuses 

Pathfinder is written in part with the dynamic of a player character and the magical items they use to handle the ever increasing threats of the game. This can over time change the tone of the world when you have a a character decked out in floating order, gaudy armor, flaming weapons, etc.. One of my players refers to this as the Christmas tree dilemma. One of the ways I wanted to approach this issue was to try out the Innate Item Bonus rules from Pathfinder Unchained. This new rules set carries with it a tiered bonus (based on the item) which grants the wearer the ability to use other items they may not normally use while also increasing their character wealth worn without being decked out much like a "Christmas tree".I am having this new rules set only apply to items relating to the Neck Slot, the Shoulder Slot, and Rings as the system is new to us all and I wanted to try it out in parse before I would have to revamp the treasure of the entire Adventure Path. My players are excited and I am interested to see how this new rules set plays out in the game.

Sketch by Max Dunbar

**NOTE** One new option I have not implemented, but have been mulling over, was the alteration to the Spellcraft skill relating to discovering the properties of magical items. After several iterations and some difficult conversations with my players I am contemplating making only a slight change to the skill. Should a player fail a Spellcraft check to identify an item by 5 or less they may continue to examine the item for a number of rounds equal to twice the Caster Level (CL) of the item to know its properties. The original change was to be more focused on knowing the item after studying for a small period of time rather than one check per 24 hours. In the end I plan to present this option to my players soon to try and hash it out once more. If it is not well received then I will most likely drop the matter altogether.

That's it for now but please keep an eye out for the next blog (I promise it will be a much longer blog) as I continue to go over the options I decided upon for my upcoming Reign of Winter campaign. Thank you all for your time and stay awesome my friends!!