I see a lot of questions re: specialist training and spells, so I thought I would share those of our new Dungeon, Inc. campaign if it's of interest (and for comments):
Specialist Training
Gnorman's Unpredictable Explosions : if lobbed at an enemy, they cause d12 damage to a single target on a successful DEX roll, d4 otherwise. If set against an obstacle, they blast through it (within reason). If used in an instant fashion they cause an unexpected result on a 1-3 on the d12. If set to explode later, they cause an unexpected result on a 1-6. Unexpected effects are usually not in Gnorman's favour.
Zolark's Insanely Bureaucratic: when he uses the power, he finds a loophole in the company's regulations that get him off the hook. Using this power increases his suspicion score by 1 however. (This is very specific to Dungeon, Inc.)
Ssservalax's Malodorous Secretions: when she uses the power, everyone within a reasonable range becomes nauseous from the smell (except creatures with no sense of smell) and are at a disadvantage on all rolls. Lasts for D8 rounds. Ssservalax is not affected.
Toad's Shapeshifting: Toad takes the shape of a man wolf. He rips through his clothes and might damage his armour (roll armour dR as if defending from damage, if 1-3 comes up, the armour is damaged). He can still use melee weapons and does all such attacks as well as physical feats with an advantage. Any DEX, INT, WIS or CHA roll is at a disadvantage. Lasts until the power is used again to revert to human shape.
Spells
Gnorman's Grease: Makes all surfaces slippery in close proximity to Gnorman. Lasts d6 rounds. Cost: 3 hp.
Gnorman's Darkness: Plunges the area in close proximity to Gnorman in natural darkness. Lasts d6 rounds. Cost: 3 hp.
Nice examples - and good rules too!
ReplyDeleteRe: spells, are these the only uses you allow for each spell, or would you let Gnorman make a ball of darkness, for example?
I'll be flexible if it comes up. And Stuart Chaplin hopefully knows that.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, freeform magic helps players come up with interesting solutions to problems I have no idea how to solve :)
ReplyDeleteAnd that's one of the things I liked about MM for Dungeon, Inc: it's all about problem solving.
ReplyDeleteLast night in White Plume Mountain (a rather deadly AD&D aventure), a bunch of level 1-4 adventurers not only avoided fighting The Most Enormous Giant Crab Anyone's Ever Seen; they fenced it in with a wall of fire while teleporting the item that enslaved it; turned it into a friend; metamorphosed it into a normal sized lobster so that it could be taken out of the dungeon; and created salt water so that the lobster wouldn't die in the way out. With magic!
ReplyDeleteSo last Thursday's game, Michael Thomas and I realised that the way I'd designed his Malodorous power was absurd in regards to how the system works. I originally said "gives a disadvantage to all within smelling range", but since NPC don't roll, that's absurd. So instead I said (on the fly) gives advantage to you over all NPCs, but suddenly that's a lot less useful. I need to think about how I can reframe this one so that it's useful.
ReplyDeleteIt could just dissuade people from approaching Malodorous, or have them run away. It's a one-use effect, so I'd let it work automatically on all but the most powerful monsters (as long as they have a sense of smell).
ReplyDeleteMichael Thomas what do you think?
ReplyDelete