Designer's Notes for the Dungeon Fantasy RPG bonus content

[PK]

I figured it couldn't hurt to share a little bit of behind-the-scenes info about the pieces of bonus content that you've seen (or will be seeing) in support of the Dungeon Fantasy RPG Kickstarter.

Feel free to discuss these either here or in the main DFRPG thread. All six designer's notes are listed (and linked) below.

1. Bonus Character #1: Lyndon Glibtongue (post #2)
2. Bonus Spell #1: Retribution (post #45)
3. Bonus Monster #1: Fae Reaver (post #55)
4. Bonus Character #2: Amira Tiro (post #58)
5. Bonus Monster #2: Squirrel-pion (post #62)
6. Bonus Spell #2: Land Mine (post #67)

These are not taken from the box set's books, but are instead little pieces of extra content exclusive to those participating in this Kickstarter. All characters are valid starting PCs, all spells are canonical, and all monsters are balanced for GM use.

[PK]

Bonus Character #1:
Lyndon Glibtongue

(Introduced in this Kickstarter update.)

Lyndon Glibtongue was my first Dungeon Fantasy PC, so this write-up is an homage to my disingenuous-but-likable bard (with notable differences, as bards received a bit of a revamp in these updated rules). It's important to realize that Compulsive Lying and Sense of Duty (Adventuring Companions) are not mutually exclusive; Lyndon won't lie to his friends about important tactical data that could get them hurt, but will otherwise find ways to cast himself as the hero. "We were attacked by a dire wolf while I was on watch, but I managed to drive it away without waking you. You all need your sleep, and it was no match for an archer like myself."

If I were playing this version of Lyndon, I'd use his earned character points to raise his ST to 11 and then to bump his Bow skill one or two levels. After that I'd take advantage of his Magery to learn a couple of Seek spells followed by Seeker, at which point the bard's mastery of Knowledge spells becomes a lot more fun. Or delve into the bard's Sound college for some useful ways to attack and misdirect.

His dream weapon is a ST 13, balanced, elven, composite bow (1d+3 imp, Acc 4, Range 260/325), which would be a 35-FP power item despite costing him "only" $17,010 (thanks to Elven Gear) before any enchantments like Penetrating Weapon and Puissance.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by PK

Or delve into the Sound college for some useful ways to attack and misdirect.

So Bards do get Sound now? Excellent.

[Ternas]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

So Bards do get Sound now? Excellent.

I was gonna be happy as well, but then I realized that he got Magery 0 from being a (wood) elf and is probably how he can now get Sound spells. Until I get confirmation that Bards naturally get access to the Sound college, I shall keep my jubilation restrained.

[PK]

Bards absolutely now have access to Knowledge and Sound spells; his Magery 0 just gives him a wider net to cast when it comes to choosing specific spells (like the various Seek [X] ones that I mentioned).

That's part of the reason for the increase in Bardic Talent. If you look carefully, you can see the other reason on Lyndon's sheet. Just like you can see how racial templates have changed in general.

[Ternas]

In that case, my jubilation now knows no bounds.

BOOOOOYAH!

Looks like the other reason happens to be an increase to musical skills similar to the Musical Ability talent which strokes my interest in Faun Bards even more.


I'll be honest and say I can't really see much difference in the Racial Lenses so far, but that's probably because I've always used GCS program and have it separated out from the class templates. Can't wait to see what all have changed though with the classes. Really hoping for a good Holy Warrior template as well.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by PK

Bards absolutely now have access to Knowledge and Sound spells; his Magery 0 just gives him a wider net to cast when it comes to choosing specific spells (like the various Seek [X] ones that I mentioned).

That's part of the reason for the increase in Bardic Talent. If you look carefully, you can see the other reason on Lyndon's sheet. Just like you can see how racial templates have changed in general.

Cool! Bardic Talent counts as magery for thier spells.
He has skill-15 [1] with IQ 14 and Bard talent 3

[Bruno]

I see both Musical Instrument and Public Speaking now have the Bardic Talent notation on them. I presume it still adds to Bard Song rolls.

Originally Posted by PK

Just like you can see how racial templates have changed in general.

I can see it's not listed as a monolithic line item - the parts have been added to the character "loose", so to speak.

[PK]

Bonus Spell #1:
Retribution

(Introduced in this Kickstarter update.)

When I was bouncing ideas off of my friends, two of them (Ben and Ben) suggested combat ideas that involved rewinding time or affecting a foe at range as a sort of curse. It got me to thinking about what sort of curses a holy god might approve of, and "you hurt my follower so I'll hurt you" seemed to fit a righteous-yet-lawful "eye for an eye" mentality.

In a way, Retribution is both underpowered and overpowered, depending on the situation. Against most foes, it's more spiteful than anything; a cleric is probably better off maintaining more directly useful buffs on his friends, so they don't get hit in the first place! But some foes are difficult to hurt, due to defenses, distance, Injury Tolerance, and so on. The fae reaver (don't worry, you'll see it soon) is a great example. With a barbarian or similarly beefy meat shield and healing spells at the ready, Retribution can make the bad guy do all of the work!

[JMason]

Hm, as GM I wonder if I'd let my players use this with a slam to get deal damage back based on the target's damage... Of course that's assuming slams still can damage the attacker.