#d&d5

Existem muitas magias poderosas, mas poucas realmente contornam os alicerces do jogo. Os feitiços listados a seguir foram pensados para D&D 5e, mas funcionam em sistemas d20 em geral e são capazes de alterar as regras básicas, por isso deve ser incluídos com cuidado.

Acredita-se que essas magias, se é que elas existem, são pronunciadas na língua da criação do multiverso. Elas não podem ser escritas ou representadas graficamente e ninguém sabe ao certo as consequências de tentar memoriza-las.

Para efeito de regras provisórias, são consideradas as seguintes características para todas as magias, a menos que se especifique diferente nas mesmas: sem nível ou escola; tempo de conjuração de 1 ação; alcance/área global; duração de 1 minuto; componentes apenas verbais.

 Conjuração 1: “Ymointh”

Efeito: Todo ataque de oportunidade é um sucesso.

  Conjuração 2: “Nuvintyg”

Efeito: O tempo de conjuração, alcance, quantidade de componentes, duração, número de alvos e tamanho da área de efeito de todos os feitiços lançados durante a duração dessa magia tem seus valores dobrados.

  Conjuração 3: “Bildrenth”

Efeito: Embaralhe 20 pedaços de papel com os números de 1 a 20 escritos neles. Toda vez que algum personagem precisar rolar um d20, ao invés disso ele deve pegar um pedaço de papel e usar o valor como resultado da sua rolagem. Descarte os papéis usados, recolocando-os no baralho apenas se todos os papéis já tenham sido usados.

  Conjuração 4: “Qandrei”

Efeito: Sempre que o turno de um personagem terminar, decida aleatoriamente qual será o próximo personagem a agir. Inclua o personagem que acabou de agir no sorteio também.  

  Conjuração 5: “Eimrule”

Alcance: Todos os personagens em um raio de 15m do conjurador.

Efeito: Os personagens afetados jogam 1d10. Pela duração da magia, todos os testes do personagem recebem o valor tirado como bônus modificador, substituindo qualquer outro valor que receberiam normalmente.

  Conjuração 6: “Paerolth”

In the first article in this series, I embarked on an ill-defined quest to figure out what, if anything, a town map is actually for in tabletop play.

In the second, I took a look at the common metaphor comparing towns to dungeons—unfavourably.

In the third, I proposed an alternate metaphor: that cities are more like forests than dungeons.

In the fourth, I looked at how forests are used in D&D to see what we could use when thinking about cities.

In the fifth, I got into to the nuts and bolts of designing cities for use in D&D.

Now, we're going to break out the Gimp (or, for you fancy folks, Photoshop) and make some maps.

I noticed the other day that there’s no background support for a concept that comes up in some D&D backgrounds: the heroic watch officer, the counterpart to the Criminal and Charlatan. Soldier does a reasonable job, but it’d be good to have something with a background feature that directly supports the kind of hero whose response to being mugged is actually to deliver the muggers to the authorities. Thus!

Constable

Law and order are the pillars society is built on, and your life has been spent serving them. You were trained to prevent crimes, find evidence (whether it’s a hidden knife wound on a body or an incriminating letter in a locked drawer), and to bring the perpetrators to justice. You might have been part of the close camaraderie of a city watch, the only student of a grizzled travelling peacekeeper, or an independent bounty-hunter catching outlaws for a pouch of gold, but now you use those same skills in the adventurer’s life.

 That’s not the only thing you learned on the line between law and crime, though. You know how to wear your authority like a cloak, but what you do with it is another question. Do you have a deep faith in the importance of integrity, even when nobody’s there to see? Did some injustice teach you that sometimes you need to bend the rules to do the right thing? Or did you see that the law is as corrupt as anything else, and learn to exploit your position to get what you want?

 Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Investigation

Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (land), thieves’ tools

Equipment: A symbol of your position (watch officer’s badge, etc.); a set of manacles; a hooded lantern; a handbell or whistle; common clothing; a belt pouch containing 10gp

 Feature: I Am The Law

As an adventurer, you work independently, but you’re still recognised as an officer of the law. You can invoke the right to investigate a crime, meaning law-abiding people will be inclined to answer your questions and cooperate in ways they would refuse to a stranger. You know local laws (at least the more straightforward ones - the subtleties of taxation or the details of magical-scroll regulations might be beyond anyone but a specialist), and you are familiar enough with the authorities that you can easily hand over the people you arrest to be tried as local law dictates; your accusations will be treated seriously, and your testimony is likely to be trusted when it contradicts other people’s claims.

 None of these features require that you be acting in good faith, but if a blatant abuse of your position is discovered and news spreads, you are likely to lose that trust. It may, however, open opportunities for bribery and corruption.

 In addition, you are supported at a poor-quality lifestyle, either in accommodation belonging to the organisation you work for or by the generosity of the more enthusiastically law-abiding common folk.

 Suggested Characteristics

Discipline, study of the law and exposure to the seedy side of society all combine to shape a constable’s worldview. The conflict between high ideals and the realities of life’s harsh edges leaves its mark on you.

 Personality Traits

1: Nothing breaks my gruff demeanour.

2: I quote subsection and paragraph of laws most people have never heard of.

3: I’m always wary and alert - I know how quickly a conversation can turn into a murder.

4: I feel more at home among criminals than among the people I’m sworn to protect.

5: I tell people what I’ve deduced about them from their appearance and behaviour.

6: I’m always trying to assert my authority.

7: I treat everyone with respect, even when I’m arresting them.

8: I try to build camaraderie with joking insults, but anyone outside the group who tries it on will regret it.

 Ideals

1: Protect And Serve: The law exists for the good of society - I serve the people first and the law second. (Good)

2: By The Book: It’s my duty to enforce the law; bending the rules opens the door to corruption, even if we do it for the right reasons. (Lawful)

3: Justice Justifies The Means: I’ll get whoever did this, whatever it takes. (Chaotic)

4: Power Corrupts: Everyone’s on the take, so I look out for myself first. (Evil)

5: Keep The Peace: If everyone goes home unhappy and unstabbed, I’ve done my job. (Neutral)

6: Respect Authority: The authorities are there for a reason - I trust them, even if what they say seems to bend the rules. (Lawful)

 Bonds

1: I’ll do anything to protect my home and its people.

2: My partner died on the job; I’m going to bring retribution to those responsible.

3: I’ll never do anything my old mentor would disapprove of.

4: Someone escaped justice through legal tricks and bribery - I’m going to see them pay for what they did.

5: I listen to the people who slip through the cracks - nobody else will.

6: I look after the families of people who lose them to this job - dead comrades and imprisoned criminals alike.

 Flaws

1: I won’t compromise on justice, even when it’s hurting people.

2: I can’t let anyone find out about my corrupt dealings.

3: I take out my frustrations on the other side when I get into fights, and it can go too far.

4: Once I’ve decided someone’s scum, they’re nothing to me and I won’t believe a word they say.

5: I’m a sucker for a sob story.

6: I’m swayed by status - I’d let a noble get away with things I’d see a commoner in chains for.

 Variations

So this entry isn't even one of the ones on the roster, but I did promise at least part of it a while back.

Nulara Rusene was always an adventurous, free-spirited sort - but sometimes too clever for her own good. A Waterdhavian street rat, she did what she needed to get by, and occasionally provide a bit for those around her. Until the day she met the Man. A nice outfit and a silver tongue, he made her suspicious at first, but he talked her around. She didn't really understand the deal he was offering, but two things stood out: He was offering her poIr and opportunity, a chance to get off the streets and perhaps change the world, and he asked nothing in this world.

It wasn't until much later - when she could actually see and plan for a future - that the significance of selling her soul hit her.

It was supposed to be impossible to break an infernal contract. But didn't adventurers do the impossible? And she had poIr, now, though probably not enough. So she set out, seeking to be the sort of adventurer that could break the chains of the Nine Hells.

She's come a long way since then, having fallen in with a group of traveling companions. They've amassed considerable Ialth and holdings, and her poIr has only grown. She's been testing herself against dragons, as they rush to stop an evil cult from summoning Tiamat herself into this realm. If they can pull this off, it'll be a sign that she's almost ready... she just needs one more thing.

Design notes: I'll be honest here. I didn't exactly have a character concept that was clicking for us when it came time to build (and didn't have enough book access to study in my own time), so I fell back on a default: Recreate Iron Man out of genre. (This is a long-running gag for me.) Nulara accomplishes that handily, capable of flying in full plate and packing an assortment of missiles, bombs, repulsor blasts, and a handful of utility spells. She never did click for me as a character, though, as you can probably tell from the rather sketchy background I've given her... until the session before last took her character arc in an unexpected direction.

In the absence of a Wizard or Sorcerer, Nulara became the Arcana expert and Identify caster by default. And after a particularly tough battle, we had some nice loot to identify. Including an Artifact!

The Eye of goddamn Vecna.

"Make a Wisdom check," said the DM, grinning. "DC 20." Of course, I'd been making an Iron Man expy - Wisdom was my dump stat. It was literally impossible. So Nulara gouged out her own eye on the spot and jammed the damn thing in. Of the rest of the party, inly the Cleric had any idea what was going on, and she's reserved judgement, for now.

The rest of the party has no idea that Nulara is suddenly evil.

She knows where the hand is, and is likely to try to talk the party into helping her get it once the current crisis is resolved. She also, of course, has the magical capability to conjure her own theme music. And if she overuses her newfound awesome, a literal Evil God will possess her body on the spot.