Constantine XI
Mongoose
This is my first post after some five years of quiet lurking. I was prompted to register following my renewed interest in the Slaine RPG, particulary the Horned God/Moon Sow campaign.
I first purchased the d20 version of Slaine more years ago than I care to remember, but have never been able to slip it into our game schedule. So it, and the supplements and adventures just sat there, gathering dust. For me and my group, 3E D&D came and went, and was considered, overall, and enjoyable, but ultimately unfulfilling experience. The best d20-based system we actually played was the Conan RPG , but even that suffered from much of the bloat of 3E which made it, for me, a headache to run. The stat blocks alone made my head spin, and so after a (very successful, albeit) short campaign, I packed that away.
My recent experience running 4E, and playing the barbarian class has inspired me to try to get a 4E-based Slaine game going. Obviously there are MANY 4E elements that simply will not fit well. As I'm really only interested in the Horned God/Moon Sow campaign, this will make my job somewhat easier. For example, I plan to limit all PCs to humans. No warped ones, no dwarves, just humans, specifically of the Fir Domain tribe, as recommended. PC Classes, likewise, will be limited: Barbarians to represent Tribal Warriors, Warlords (or Thaneborn Barbarians) to represent Noble Warriors, Rogues to represent Thieves, and Warlocks (fey and infernal pact only) to represent Witches.
Druids, Bards, etc are best left as NPCs, drivers of the story rather than PCs, I think, and since 4E's NPC/monster design philosophy eschews the slavish PC-based character building system, this should not prove too difficult; just convert appropriate spells as at-will, encounter, interrupt, or recharge powers, as appropriate.
Monsters are a snap to convert, especially since the arrival of the wonderful Monster Builder from DDI- just pick an existing 4E monster and reskin it in a matter of minutes.
Of course 4E presumes a certain amount of PC magic. This will be countered in a couple of ways. Firstly, PCs will get the NPC magic bonus (+1 per 5 levels), as per the 4E DMG. Secondly, most opponents will be 'defeated' (either unconscious, flee, or otherwise unable to take part in the combat) on the NEXT hit after they are rendered Bloodied; and finally, the pacing of encounters will be slowed a little (typically only one or two on any one day.
On the fip side, however, the very rapid rates of recovery in 4E will need to be addressed. While very cinematic, they are, I feel, rather...shall we say "generous" for my tastes. So what I propose is this: you can only spend healing surges until you are no longer Bloodied; you only get one Short Rest between encounters. After an Extended Rest, you recover any spent healing surges. You may THEN spend as many healing surges as you like, up to your full hit point total.
Earth Power's importance will need to be preserved (and so that WIS does not become the dump stat of choice), so here are a few thoughts: You cannot use a power whose level is higher than your Earth Power score (this will make the Sourlands very dangerous indeed, but will also encourage propitiation of the gods, with sacrifices of goods and victims by the PCs, something often overlooked by my players), and you may "spend" Earth Power to grant bonuses to attack rolls, damage rolls, or saves (1EP grants a +1 bonus). You cannot spend more than your WIS bonus + 1/2 level in this way .
So there you have my initial thoughts. I plan to tinker with and refine these as I continue to plan the campaign over the next few months, and, of course, I welcome feedback from those more familiar with the setting and campaign than me.
Regards,
N
I first purchased the d20 version of Slaine more years ago than I care to remember, but have never been able to slip it into our game schedule. So it, and the supplements and adventures just sat there, gathering dust. For me and my group, 3E D&D came and went, and was considered, overall, and enjoyable, but ultimately unfulfilling experience. The best d20-based system we actually played was the Conan RPG , but even that suffered from much of the bloat of 3E which made it, for me, a headache to run. The stat blocks alone made my head spin, and so after a (very successful, albeit) short campaign, I packed that away.
My recent experience running 4E, and playing the barbarian class has inspired me to try to get a 4E-based Slaine game going. Obviously there are MANY 4E elements that simply will not fit well. As I'm really only interested in the Horned God/Moon Sow campaign, this will make my job somewhat easier. For example, I plan to limit all PCs to humans. No warped ones, no dwarves, just humans, specifically of the Fir Domain tribe, as recommended. PC Classes, likewise, will be limited: Barbarians to represent Tribal Warriors, Warlords (or Thaneborn Barbarians) to represent Noble Warriors, Rogues to represent Thieves, and Warlocks (fey and infernal pact only) to represent Witches.
Druids, Bards, etc are best left as NPCs, drivers of the story rather than PCs, I think, and since 4E's NPC/monster design philosophy eschews the slavish PC-based character building system, this should not prove too difficult; just convert appropriate spells as at-will, encounter, interrupt, or recharge powers, as appropriate.
Monsters are a snap to convert, especially since the arrival of the wonderful Monster Builder from DDI- just pick an existing 4E monster and reskin it in a matter of minutes.
Of course 4E presumes a certain amount of PC magic. This will be countered in a couple of ways. Firstly, PCs will get the NPC magic bonus (+1 per 5 levels), as per the 4E DMG. Secondly, most opponents will be 'defeated' (either unconscious, flee, or otherwise unable to take part in the combat) on the NEXT hit after they are rendered Bloodied; and finally, the pacing of encounters will be slowed a little (typically only one or two on any one day.
On the fip side, however, the very rapid rates of recovery in 4E will need to be addressed. While very cinematic, they are, I feel, rather...shall we say "generous" for my tastes. So what I propose is this: you can only spend healing surges until you are no longer Bloodied; you only get one Short Rest between encounters. After an Extended Rest, you recover any spent healing surges. You may THEN spend as many healing surges as you like, up to your full hit point total.
Earth Power's importance will need to be preserved (and so that WIS does not become the dump stat of choice), so here are a few thoughts: You cannot use a power whose level is higher than your Earth Power score (this will make the Sourlands very dangerous indeed, but will also encourage propitiation of the gods, with sacrifices of goods and victims by the PCs, something often overlooked by my players), and you may "spend" Earth Power to grant bonuses to attack rolls, damage rolls, or saves (1EP grants a +1 bonus). You cannot spend more than your WIS bonus + 1/2 level in this way .
So there you have my initial thoughts. I plan to tinker with and refine these as I continue to plan the campaign over the next few months, and, of course, I welcome feedback from those more familiar with the setting and campaign than me.
Regards,
N