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Old 10-23-2012, 01:11 PM   #1
Sense of Duty (Kittens)
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

Why can't wizards have their own talent. Barbarians have Mr. Smash. Thieves have Cunning. Bards have Bard Lore, Talker, Allure and others. I'm not referring to Magery, but something like Elder's Gift. I am trying to retool this Talent so that it does not involve the Elder Things so much. I'm thinking about potential skill additions and an alternate benefit.

This is my first attempt. I wonder if it is too powerful.
Greybeard's Gift [5]
Thaumatology, Alchemy, Occultism, Hidden Lore, Hazardous Materials (Magical)
Reaction Bonus: Thaumatologists, casters, etc
Alternate Bonus: +1 per level of talent to spells you cast when they or their products resist other spells.
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Old 10-23-2012, 01:24 PM   #2
Nosforontu
 
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

Overall I rarely consider the skill bumps from Talents to be "too powerful" as they are essentially just skill points. The alternative benefit however does seem to be a bit too powerful and if it was allowed in game I suspect every wizard with Graybeard would take the alternative ability without a second glance.

Essentially it almost turns levels of the Greybeard Talent into other levels of magery and bumps up other skills as well.
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Old 10-23-2012, 01:39 PM   #3
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

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Originally Posted by Nosforontu View Post
Overall I rarely consider the skill bumps from Talents to be "too powerful" as they are essentially just skill points. The alternative benefit however does seem to be a bit too powerful and if it was allowed in game I suspect every wizard with Graybeard would take the alternative ability without a second glance.

Essentially it almost turns levels of the Greybeard Talent into other levels of magery and bumps up other skills as well.
It only is as good as Magery when your spells are resisting other spells. That seems like a relatively rare situation. It doesn't help with actually casting spells at all.
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Old 10-23-2012, 01:54 PM   #4
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

My apologies I misread the original alternate ability as giving a +1 per level on spells that are being resisted.
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Old 10-24-2012, 12:22 AM   #5
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

Magery (One College Only) is this entirely.

+1 per level of talent to spells you cast when they or their products resist other spells.
What, for all spells? For just 5 points? Nooooo...way.
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Last edited by Blood Legend; 10-24-2012 at 12:28 AM.
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Old 10-24-2012, 04:13 AM   #6
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sense of Duty (Kittens) View Post
Why can't wizards have their own talent. Barbarians have Mr. Smash. Thieves have Cunning. Bards have Bard Lore, Talker, Allure and others. I'm not referring to Magery, but something like Elder's Gift. I am trying to retool this Talent so that it does not involve the Elder Things so much. I'm thinking about potential skill additions and an alternate benefit.
I think it's a good idea, because it removes most, probably all, of the pressure on Wizard player characters to have high IQ. IQ is 20 CP/level. Magery is 10 CP/level, and your Talent is 5 CP/level and seems to cover all the wizardly skills. All the mental ones, anyway, and if you add the physical ones for aiming spells, you'll probably end up with it costing 10 CP/level.

But anyway, if you introduce such a Talent, then you shift the game so that Sages will be by far the highest IQ party members, and quite possibly with Bards and Thieves being higher IQ than Wizards on average. Which is not necessarily bad.

I like the idea of a scholarly wizard with a lot of knowledge skills, but that'd still be well supported by multiclassing Wizard and Sage.

Your concept does kinda step on the Dark Ones, or whatever they're called, having this Talent as one of their schticks, but that may not be a massive problem, and it'll be a non-problem if that species doesn't exist in your world at all.
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Old 10-24-2012, 08:27 AM   #7
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

In general, I think it's fine, although it would be overpowered in a campaign where magic vs magic was common (like a wizard school or magical dueling setting).
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Old 10-24-2012, 03:20 PM   #8
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

How about this (alternative) Alternative Benefit:
Roll at IQ-4 +1/level to notice magically significant or unusual items or events.
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Old 10-24-2012, 06:57 PM   #9
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

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Originally Posted by ULFGARD View Post
How about this (alternative) Alternative Benefit:
Roll at IQ-4 +1/level to notice magically significant or unusual items or events.
Wouldn't that overlap with the Magery roll for such things?
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Old 10-24-2012, 07:20 PM   #10
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Default Re: A less Eldritch Elder's Gift

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Originally Posted by Sense of Duty (Kittens) View Post
Wouldn't that overlap with the Magery roll for such things?
Actually having the talent might make such a roll worse if you don't have the talent at least level 4 or greater. Assuming of course the magical event is magical or the unusual item is magical.
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