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[Let's Read] Historica Arcanum: The City of Crescent
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<blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 8970137" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p>Paladins gain additional abilities in regards to djinn. Lay on Hands can cure djinnstruck* effects, Divine Smite’s extra damage applies to djinn as well as fiends and undead, and they can sense creatures of the djinn type with Divine Sense.</p><p></p><p>*This is a new pseudo-condition that comes from coming into contact with djinnis and can be cured like a curse or via Lay on Hands. A djinnstruck creature loses control over basic music movements as well as their own speech, either talking in gibberish, Djinnspeak, or uttering the names of the djinn lords.</p><p></p><p><em>Oath of Silence</em> Paladins are aware of the necessity of secrets, particularly when it comes to the supernatural lurking in the shadows of humanity. Their tenets are very vague and more personality traits than moral conduct (“do not deny the facts, swallow the truth and accept it,” “do not jump to conclusions, think twice, walk once”) but their oath forbids them from verbally speaking.</p><p></p><p>Their oath spells tend towards divination and defense. Their channel divinity options include not suffering disadvantage from stealth due to armor for 10 minutes and silencing 3 creatures of your choice within 60 feet for 1 minute if they fail a Charisma save. They can also ignore the verbal components of any spells by substituting a somatic component if it doesn’t have one…<em>and</em> they can telepathically communicate with up to five other targets within 30 feet along with resistance to thunder damage. Wow, talk about a front-loaded subclass!</p><p></p><p>At higher levels they can cast the Silence spell once per short or long rest and they and allies within 10 feet can convert the damage of their weapon attacks to thunder damage, cause enemies who strike them to take thunder damage, and at 20th level their special form grants resistance to elemental damage types, immunity to thunder damage, deals additional thunder damage with weapon attacks, and can give their elemental resistances to an ally for 1 round as a reaction.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> The inability to speak is partially made up for via telepathy, although the text says that the words and images are “on a very primitive level” which can be a pretty big hindrance depending on how it’s role-played out. Substituting verbal for somatic components isn’t as good for a paladin on account that it’s likely for them to be using two-handed weapons or sword and board fighting styles, and their 7th level aura that does bonus thunder damage is rather weak in comparison to other subclasses such as Ancients or Crown. Being able to cast silence is a nice way to shut down spellcasters, and at 5th level they gain spirit guardians which is a very nice spell, but I don’t know if that makes up for other stuff.</p><p></p><p><em>The Secret Service</em> are Rogues who act as all-purpose spies and fixers. At 3rd level they gain proficiency in one skill of their choice, can substitute Intelligence for Wisdom on Perception checks, make an unarmed strike at 1d4 damage as a reaction to being attacked in melee, and can choose from 1 of 3 False Backgrounds representing their social circles: Underground Contacts gives them broad access to safe houses, half price on various criminal goods such as weapons and poisons, and access to forged documents; Secret Collector is extremely broad and vague, basically being “you can collect secrets on a character you direct your minions to research;” and Arcane Tracker places you in contact with spellcasters who can help identify magic items and curses and give half prices on such services. At 9th level they can select a second False Background, at 13th level once per long rest can treat an Insight roll as a 15 for detecting lies, and at 17th level can cast True Sight to 10 feet, Disguise Self, and Invisibility once per day each.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> This is one of those “role-play heavy” options in an RPG, where player skill and DM Fiat really determine this class’ effectiveness. But even overall, it’s pretty weak in that it doesn’t give you anything mechanically meaty for most of its progress. An unarmed strike as a reaction may be useful if it triggers Sneak Attack, but there many other ways for a Rogue to gain reaction-based Sneak Attack damage. The half price on goods and bonus skill are the only real explicit abilities you get for much of its career, and by 17th level the bonus spells are woefully underpowered for the level at which they’re gained.</p><p></p><p><em>Djinnpossessed</em> Sorcerers are perhaps the most unfortunate sorcerers of all: they are forced to share their body with a djinn! Most of the time the sorcerer is being hijacked by the djinn, with rare moments of the mortal soul regaining control. However, in terms of gameplay this is more for RP flavor as the player has full control of their PC. Their bonus spells are on the offensive debuff side, such as Hold Person, Bestow Curse, Black Tentacles, and Insect Plague. At 1st level they learn the language of djinnis (Djinnspeak) and can expend a 1st level spell slot to make a touch attack against an enemy to deliver one of three debuffs (cannot speak for an hour, gain a level of exhaustion, or suffer disadvantage on saves in dim light and darkness for an hour). At 6th level once per long rest the djinn can leave the sorcerer’s body as a summoned creature with the same stats as the sorcerer, although they’re more limited in the actions they can do. At 14th level they can lay a curse on a foe as a bonus action imposing disadvantage on their next saving throw a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus per long rest, and at 18th level can take the true form of a djinn for 1 minute once per long rest. In this form they can fly, have advantage on saves vs all spells and recover hit points when they resist a spell, and whenever they use a damaging spell they have a 50% chance to deal the maximum damage.</p><p></p><p>This class has an optional feature based on campaign appropriateness but fits in with the flavor of the subclass. The djinn’s presence is harmful to mortal bodies, as the two souls inside are constantly at war with each other. At certain points in a campaign, such as exorcism or the sorcerer winning the battle of wills, the PC can become a warlock with the Djinnmaster patron, although the DC for exorcism attempts increases by the number of levels you have in Sorcerer. At 6th level the sorcerer’s body begins to decay, imposing cumulative penalties over several weeks and after 1 month the body is at risk of dying with no chance of resurrection. A special ritual that is done on an unconscious humanoid body can transfer the PC to the new body. The CR of the humanoid must be half their level, so you can’t use this to gain the body of some of the more powerful PCs in this adventure path.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> Barring the Distant Spell metamagic option or multiclassing with a sturdier class, sorcerers shouldn’t be getting into melee combat by default, which makes their Djinntouch debuff more of a backup attack. The summoned djinn is a bit limited in that it has a rather middling default melee attack (2d6 psychic damage) and can’t do many actions. The higher-level abilities are more potent, although most campaigns aren’t going to go so high.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/aHGTLuf.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>There are Warlocks who pledge themselves to <em>Ancient Sages,</em> famed mortals whose works of wisdom persist far beyond their mortal lives. Their expanded spell lists are heavily divination-focused. At 1st level the warlock gains proficiency in two scholarly style skills as well as a talisman from their patron which can force a target to truthfully answer a question posed to them on a failed Wisdom save. At 6th level they can sense non-humanoids within 60 feet as a bonus action and also learn their creature type. Both this and the talisman can be used a number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency bonus. At 10th level they gain advantage on Wisdom saves vs spells and magical effects, and at 14th level they can call upon the cumulative knowledge of many mortal sages for a variety of effects: resistance to psychic damage, can speak to any “spectral undead” and advantage on Charisma checks to gather information from them, understand all spoken languages and creatures with Intelligence of 3 or higher can understand the warlock, and once per long rest can let the spirit of a sage possess their body for 1 minute that gives them advantage on spell attack rolls and imposes disadvantage on saves they make. This last part is pretty broad, as it reads “creatures that you force to make a saving throw have disadvantage on that roll.” This isn’t just spells, and can apply to all sorts of stuff such as a deadly poison the warlock used.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> The Ancient Sage warlock makes for a pretty good diviner via their expanded spells and recovering said spells on a short rest, and their creature detection is even broader than a paladin’s. Advantage on saves vs all spells is great, and the sage possession is a pretty strong capstone feature. The ability to force a creature to answer truthfully is pretty useful for investigation-related adventures, but of more nebulous use in other types of campaigns.</p><p></p><p>Warlocks whose patron is a <em>Djinnmaster</em> are playing a dangerous game. There are more things you should not do regarding genies than that which you should, and while the benefits can differ, the drawbacks are uniformly awful to those who displease them. But even so people throughout history still make deals with them.</p><p></p><p>Their expanded spell list is mostly debuffs with some divination. At 1st level they gain proficiency in Arcana or another Intelligence skill if already proficient, and once per short or long rest can gain a +10 bonus to checks about Al-Ghaib by asking their patron about it. Also at 1st level they can let their patron temporarily possess their body once per long rest as a bonus action for 1 minute, dealing bonus force damage on all melee and ranged damage rolls (ranging from 1d6 to 3d8 depending on their level). At 6th level a number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency bonus any caster using divination or enchantment on the warlock must make a Wisdom save or take 1d6 psychic damage for every level of the spell they used. And once per long rest the warlock can show a fraction of their patron’s true form as a multitarget ability that can impose the frightened condition. At 10th level the warlock can spend a spell slot or mystic arcanum use as a reaction to reduce the damage of an incoming attack by 2d8 or a number of d8s equal to the spell level of Mystic Arcanum. And finally at 14th level once per long rest the warlock can make their patron possess a humanoid body within 60 feet, being equivalent to a Dominate Person spell but can’t use their other subclass abilities while the effect lasts.</p><p></p><p>And just like the Djinnpossessed, this subclass comes with an optional feature where they must make a Charisma save every time they gain a level in warlock; if they fail three saves then the djinn takes control of their body, where they swap out their warlock levels for Djinnpossessed Sorcerer.</p><p></p><p>The Djinnmaster also has a unique pact boon, the Pact of the Eye. It grants +2 to Passive Perception, Blindsight out to 10 feet, and a number of times their proficiency bonus per short or long rest can gain choose from a list of enhanced sensory capabilities: 120 foot darkvision for 10 minutes, can detect curses, diseases, and unholy or holy places within 60 feet, can see invisible and shapechanging creatures for 1 minute, and can detect extraplanar influence from Al-Ghaib (or the Ethereal/Astral Plane in other settings).</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> The bonus force damage is so, so good, even if it’s limited use. It really enhances what the warlock is already good at in being a DPS machine. The higher level abilities are still fine but not as useful, and the 14th level capstone ability is rather underwhelming in that it’s a free use of a 5th level spell but at a heavy cost.</p><p></p><p>The Pact Boon is pretty good and open-ended; refreshing on short rest means that a djinnmaster warlock can afford to be liberal in its uses, and the list covers a broad variety of detection effects.</p><p></p><p>But that’s not all the Warlocky goodness we get! We also get 6 new invocations. Way of the Sage grants you proficiency in Arcana and History (ho-hum), Dead Spirits Abound lets you sense undead within 300 feet (highly contextual based on the campaign), Touch of the Eye lets you cast Nazar The Evil Eye* once per day without a spell slot (I’ve seen better), Voices of Al-Ghaib lets you a number of times per proficiency bonus per rest detect fiends, feys, and djinn within 30 feet and not behind total cover as a bonus action (also contextual), and Sense the Vile lets you cast Sense the Sinner once per day without a spell slot (another average one).</p><p></p><p>*the text reads it as just Nazar, so I presume it’s this spell and not the Bead cantrip.</p><p></p><p>But the last invocation, Maddening Blast, is really good. A number of times per proficiency bonus (doesn’t specify short or long rest) you can force a creature hit by your eldritch blast to suffer disadvantage on their next attack roll. Even if it’s long rest based this is good, because most warlocks are going to be reliably using eldritch blasts for most of their career.</p><p></p><p><em>Stargazers</em> are wizards who research the Zodiac constellations to learn about time and destiny. Initially they can weave one of twelve Zodiac signs on a creature within 60 feet a number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency bonus. The Zodiacs are a diverse array of positive benefits, such as making the target auto-succeed on their next save vs the frightened condition, resistance to one damage type from any source for 1 minute, or making the next melee attack against them suffer disadvantage. A Stargazer has access to all 12 Zodiacs initially, meaning they aren’t limited in which ones they can potentially use. They also automatically learn bonus spells as they level up which count as prepared spells for them, such as Augury and Legend Lore.</p><p></p><p>At 6th level during a long rest while watching the stars, they can choose from one of three effects: grant advantage to allies a number of times equal to half your Intelligence modifier (round up), cast certain divination spells once without expending a spell slot, or learn the intentions of a creature within 60 feet if they fail a Wisdom save. At 10th level they regain the use of making Zodiac signs if they have none remaining and roll for initiative, and at 14th level once per long rest they can call on the power of the stars for one minute. In this form they gain True Sight out to 30 feet, are resistant to radiant and psychic damage, and can throw up to 5 glowing orbs as damaging ranged attacks that dispel invisibility.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> Much like the default Wizard, the Stargazer subclass gives the player a diverse set of tools for all manner of occasions. The broadness of the Zodiacs are useful for most scenarios, along with bonus casting of divination spells. The 14th level star-throwing ability feels a bit out of left-field, being both overtly supernatural and offensive in comparison to the earlier class features.</p><p></p><p>Our new <strong>Feat</strong> options relate specifically to the 19th Century Near Eastern fantasy vibe the campaign is going for. Firearm Expert is basically Crossbow Expert but with handguns, the Fortune-Teller lets you cast a specialized version of Augury whose fortunes make a prediction about a target’s fate within 30 minutes via an obscure omen. Urban Hunter grants proficiency (or double proficiency) in Survival or Investigation as well as learning a creature’s type when searching, tracking, or analyzing clues about someone. Strong Breath gives your breath magical healing, being able to cast either Purifying Breath or Guidance as a cantrip and Exorcise Djinni or Remove Curse once per day. Djinn’s Foul Touch comes from those who made contact with a djinn, but it’s strangely worded.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Nazar the Evil Eye is a 2nd level spell, not a cantrip. I presume they mean Nazar the Bead. Also Nazar by itself I presume is meant to be the Evil Eye for the once per day spell. I should note that gaining Bestow Curse via a feat is really strong; if you’re a Variant Human you may be able to cast a 3rd level spell at 1st level!</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/OuHTova.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>The Profession System</strong> is our second sub-system for Historica Arcanum. They are basically super-Backgrounds, giving PCs special abilities as they increase in rank. Professions start at Rank 1, and performing activities in line with the Profession nets you PEX (Professional Experience) which increases your Rank and which can be spent to buy special abilities. Rank 4 is the maximum.</p><p></p><p>The Professions follow a universal system: Professional Experience lines up with the Challenge Rating of adversaries and tasks related to tasks for their furtherance, with the difficulty mostly determined by DM Fiat or existing tables based on the Profession at hand. During Downtime PCs can perform activities related to their profession, which either automatically grant them gold pieces or they can spend gold pieces to earn an equal number of PEX. Professions can only be taken at 3rd level, or at 1st level if a PC chooses from one of the new Backgrounds in line with said Professions. Each Profession has a Magnum Opus, an open-ended quest marking the pinnacle of their career and which is typically done once they are at Rank 4 (the maximum Rank). A Bounty Hunter’s Magnum Opus may involve them tracking down and capturing/killing a lifelong foe, while an Alchemist’s Magnum Opus may involve brewing a Philosopher’s Stone type potion that imparts some powerful effect. Completing a Magnum Opus grants a unique reward to the character, and at Rank 4 a Profession grants a unique ability for free related to them becoming well-respected among their peers, as well as Stories of the Past. This latter ability lets the character grant a number of free Inspiration equal to their proficiency bonus once per day to those who listen to their tales.</p><p></p><p>We’ve got six Professions for enterprising PCs.</p><p></p><p><strong>Bounty Hunters</strong> count all manner of men and monsters as their quarry, and in learning the hunt have a variety of tricks up their sleeve. They earn PEX for turning in bounties, and their purchasable abilities include proficiency in a certain skill related to tracking people, brewing and buying special potions such as granting darkvision or enhanced speed and endurance when out of combat, can buy equipment specialized for hunting monsters (such as cold iron and silver weapons) at half price, and gaining advantage vs various conditions and attack types against a target which they are currently hunting. Their more powerful abilities include being able to buy items such as Igniter Bombs and Antimagic Bolas, and their Rank 4 ability grants themselves and the group they’re traveling with immunities to various things such as being surprised and reduced speed in difficult terrain.</p><p></p><p><strong>Burglars</strong> are experts at breaking into secured places, often for the purposes of obtaining ill-gotten wealth. They gain PEX for each act of thievery they perform, and their purchasable abilities include automatically learning information about guards (when do they sleep, who can be bribed/blackmailed, etc) when scoping out an area for 24 hours, lowering lockpicking DCs by 5, obtaining special bags that increase carrying capacity, and advantage on certain skill checks when on a heist. Their more powerful abilities include being able to purchase magical talismans that can create poisons or swords that can break off in a target’s body to deal damage over time, and their Rank 4 ability makes them the leader of a thieves’ guild that comes with a variety of social benefits along with insurance for a resurrection spell (you’ll owe your guild a debt).</p><p></p><p><strong>Alchemists</strong> learn to combine various substances together to make almost-magical potions and chemical devices. They gain PEX for brewing potions based on their Rarity, and unlike other Professions this means of PEX earning costs you gold rather than something done for free or for profit. Their purchasable abilities include decreasing the cost to brew potions by certain percentages and being able to brew a large variety of potions and poisons: healing hit points, buffs of various kinds such as breathing underwater or Giant Strength equivalents, poison damage and debuffs such as blindness and unconsciousness, and so on. All of these abilities come with a base price for creation/buying. Their Rank 4 ability lets them be able to brew potions of Very Rare quality.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/DxX6knY.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p><strong>Antiquarians</strong> are historians who specialize in magical items. They, alongside burglars and archeologists, are the most likely types to delve into ruins and dungeon-type environments on the hunt for lost relics and knowledge. They gain PEX for each magical item they recover from such environments, with values based on the item rarity. Their purchasable abilities include being able to cast Detect Magic and Identify as rituals, can attune to magical items faster, gain advantage/double proficiency in History checks when spending at least 8 hours in a library, can keep an expended charge from a spell scroll if they make a successful Arcana check, and resistance against certain damage types from traps. Their most powerful features include being able to cast various divination spells once per day, and their Rank 4 ability lets them ignore any restrictions for attuning to an item.</p><p></p><p><strong>Archeologists</strong> delve into ruins like Antiquarians and Burglars, but they do so for knowledge rather than wealth and power. They gain PEX for artifacts (not the magic item type) they recover and restore from such places. The DM is the judge on the rarity of such artifacts, although there is a sample table that assigns PEX based on their age. Their purchasable abilities include advantage on Investigation and Survival checks for determining directions, learning Alarm or Comprehend Languages as a ritual spell, or gaining proficiency with the whip and advantage on climbing checks using a grappling hook.* Their more powerful features include being able to buy special talismans that can supernaturally restore broken and aged objects and communicate with non-hostile incorporeal undead. Their Rank 4 feature makes them a prestigious member of the Archeologists Association, providing them with a variety of contacts worldwide and free mundane transportation methods to any dig site.</p><p></p><p>*Indiana Jones, a century early!</p><p></p><p><strong>Spies</strong> are criminals legitimized by the power of their patron state. They operate in foreign territory, on the lookout for ways to destroy their nation’s enemies. They gain PEX based on the magnitude of secrets which they uncover and deliver, with a sample table. Their purchasable abilities include gaining proficiency in Thieves’ Tools or Disguise Kits, advantage on Persuasion checks against those belonging to high society (nobles, merchants) or low (criminals, pirates, guardsmen). Their more powerful features include gaining advantage on saving throws and skill checks to resist torture, divination, and enchantment spells, and can buy a special Talisman that can be used on a guardsman or government official to aid you during a time of crisis. Their rank 4 feature places them at the leader of a spy cell, gaining resurrection insurance like a Burglar along with safehouses and various social benefits.</p><p></p><p><em>Thoughts:</em> While I do appreciate the Professions being keyed to concepts that make for easy adventuring backgrounds, they are mixed in implementation which can determine their effectiveness in play. The City of Crescent default adventure isn’t heavy on dungeon crawls, being more geared towards urban intrigue, which hurts the Antiquarian and Archeologist. While the alchemist has access to some pretty powerful items, they have to spend a lot more gold than other Professions to even use their abilities. I can easily see a Burglar PC trying every opportunity they can to Sleight of Hand or justify looting the bodies of fallen opponents as an act of thievery, which can make their PEX gains far higher than the other Professions. The Antiquarian’s features are of much more situational use, and their resistance towards only certain damage types from traps is rather weak. However, their ability to potentially reuse spell scrolls provides a nifty way around Spell Rebounds, as that’s the only magic item that doesn’t generate Threshold for the user.</p><p></p><p>My favorite Profession is perhaps the Bounty Hunter. Ironically their abilities are perhaps the broadest use in the default City of Crescent adventure path, on account that a lot of them are broadly useful in both investigation and straight combat, along with broad-purpose “monster hunting” stuff.</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> This chapter leaves me with mixed feelings. I like how the spells and magic items help reinforce the urban fantasy themes of conspiracy and intrigue that the setting emphasizes. I feel that I cannot fully judge the Spell Rebound rules until I test them out in play, but they seem more a slight restriction than a crippling penalty.</p><p></p><p>The subclasses and professions make me rather iffy. Among the subclasses we have some strong options in the Urban Vagabond, Shadowactor Bard, Realitymender Cleric, Whirling Dervish Monk, Stargazer Wizard, and both Warlock patrons. The rest of them ranged from situationally useful based on campaign type or clever build, such as the Circle of Nazar Druid, while the Janissary Fighter and Secret Service Rogue left me the coldest. I already went into detail on the balance of the Professions. There’s also the fact that several areas could use another editing pass, such as the Ottoman Slap lacking a specific save type or the Maddening Blast Invocation not mentioning the refresh rate for rests.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we get an overview on urban fantasy Istanbul and the movers and shakers in the upcoming adventure path in Chapter 3: The City of Crescent!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8970137, member: 6750502"] Paladins gain additional abilities in regards to djinn. Lay on Hands can cure djinnstruck* effects, Divine Smite’s extra damage applies to djinn as well as fiends and undead, and they can sense creatures of the djinn type with Divine Sense. *This is a new pseudo-condition that comes from coming into contact with djinnis and can be cured like a curse or via Lay on Hands. A djinnstruck creature loses control over basic music movements as well as their own speech, either talking in gibberish, Djinnspeak, or uttering the names of the djinn lords. [I]Oath of Silence[/I] Paladins are aware of the necessity of secrets, particularly when it comes to the supernatural lurking in the shadows of humanity. Their tenets are very vague and more personality traits than moral conduct (“do not deny the facts, swallow the truth and accept it,” “do not jump to conclusions, think twice, walk once”) but their oath forbids them from verbally speaking. Their oath spells tend towards divination and defense. Their channel divinity options include not suffering disadvantage from stealth due to armor for 10 minutes and silencing 3 creatures of your choice within 60 feet for 1 minute if they fail a Charisma save. They can also ignore the verbal components of any spells by substituting a somatic component if it doesn’t have one…[I]and[/I] they can telepathically communicate with up to five other targets within 30 feet along with resistance to thunder damage. Wow, talk about a front-loaded subclass! At higher levels they can cast the Silence spell once per short or long rest and they and allies within 10 feet can convert the damage of their weapon attacks to thunder damage, cause enemies who strike them to take thunder damage, and at 20th level their special form grants resistance to elemental damage types, immunity to thunder damage, deals additional thunder damage with weapon attacks, and can give their elemental resistances to an ally for 1 round as a reaction. [I]Thoughts:[/I] The inability to speak is partially made up for via telepathy, although the text says that the words and images are “on a very primitive level” which can be a pretty big hindrance depending on how it’s role-played out. Substituting verbal for somatic components isn’t as good for a paladin on account that it’s likely for them to be using two-handed weapons or sword and board fighting styles, and their 7th level aura that does bonus thunder damage is rather weak in comparison to other subclasses such as Ancients or Crown. Being able to cast silence is a nice way to shut down spellcasters, and at 5th level they gain spirit guardians which is a very nice spell, but I don’t know if that makes up for other stuff. [I]The Secret Service[/I] are Rogues who act as all-purpose spies and fixers. At 3rd level they gain proficiency in one skill of their choice, can substitute Intelligence for Wisdom on Perception checks, make an unarmed strike at 1d4 damage as a reaction to being attacked in melee, and can choose from 1 of 3 False Backgrounds representing their social circles: Underground Contacts gives them broad access to safe houses, half price on various criminal goods such as weapons and poisons, and access to forged documents; Secret Collector is extremely broad and vague, basically being “you can collect secrets on a character you direct your minions to research;” and Arcane Tracker places you in contact with spellcasters who can help identify magic items and curses and give half prices on such services. At 9th level they can select a second False Background, at 13th level once per long rest can treat an Insight roll as a 15 for detecting lies, and at 17th level can cast True Sight to 10 feet, Disguise Self, and Invisibility once per day each. [I]Thoughts:[/I] This is one of those “role-play heavy” options in an RPG, where player skill and DM Fiat really determine this class’ effectiveness. But even overall, it’s pretty weak in that it doesn’t give you anything mechanically meaty for most of its progress. An unarmed strike as a reaction may be useful if it triggers Sneak Attack, but there many other ways for a Rogue to gain reaction-based Sneak Attack damage. The half price on goods and bonus skill are the only real explicit abilities you get for much of its career, and by 17th level the bonus spells are woefully underpowered for the level at which they’re gained. [I]Djinnpossessed[/I] Sorcerers are perhaps the most unfortunate sorcerers of all: they are forced to share their body with a djinn! Most of the time the sorcerer is being hijacked by the djinn, with rare moments of the mortal soul regaining control. However, in terms of gameplay this is more for RP flavor as the player has full control of their PC. Their bonus spells are on the offensive debuff side, such as Hold Person, Bestow Curse, Black Tentacles, and Insect Plague. At 1st level they learn the language of djinnis (Djinnspeak) and can expend a 1st level spell slot to make a touch attack against an enemy to deliver one of three debuffs (cannot speak for an hour, gain a level of exhaustion, or suffer disadvantage on saves in dim light and darkness for an hour). At 6th level once per long rest the djinn can leave the sorcerer’s body as a summoned creature with the same stats as the sorcerer, although they’re more limited in the actions they can do. At 14th level they can lay a curse on a foe as a bonus action imposing disadvantage on their next saving throw a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus per long rest, and at 18th level can take the true form of a djinn for 1 minute once per long rest. In this form they can fly, have advantage on saves vs all spells and recover hit points when they resist a spell, and whenever they use a damaging spell they have a 50% chance to deal the maximum damage. This class has an optional feature based on campaign appropriateness but fits in with the flavor of the subclass. The djinn’s presence is harmful to mortal bodies, as the two souls inside are constantly at war with each other. At certain points in a campaign, such as exorcism or the sorcerer winning the battle of wills, the PC can become a warlock with the Djinnmaster patron, although the DC for exorcism attempts increases by the number of levels you have in Sorcerer. At 6th level the sorcerer’s body begins to decay, imposing cumulative penalties over several weeks and after 1 month the body is at risk of dying with no chance of resurrection. A special ritual that is done on an unconscious humanoid body can transfer the PC to the new body. The CR of the humanoid must be half their level, so you can’t use this to gain the body of some of the more powerful PCs in this adventure path. [I]Thoughts:[/I] Barring the Distant Spell metamagic option or multiclassing with a sturdier class, sorcerers shouldn’t be getting into melee combat by default, which makes their Djinntouch debuff more of a backup attack. The summoned djinn is a bit limited in that it has a rather middling default melee attack (2d6 psychic damage) and can’t do many actions. The higher-level abilities are more potent, although most campaigns aren’t going to go so high. [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/aHGTLuf.png[/IMG][/CENTER] There are Warlocks who pledge themselves to [I]Ancient Sages,[/I] famed mortals whose works of wisdom persist far beyond their mortal lives. Their expanded spell lists are heavily divination-focused. At 1st level the warlock gains proficiency in two scholarly style skills as well as a talisman from their patron which can force a target to truthfully answer a question posed to them on a failed Wisdom save. At 6th level they can sense non-humanoids within 60 feet as a bonus action and also learn their creature type. Both this and the talisman can be used a number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency bonus. At 10th level they gain advantage on Wisdom saves vs spells and magical effects, and at 14th level they can call upon the cumulative knowledge of many mortal sages for a variety of effects: resistance to psychic damage, can speak to any “spectral undead” and advantage on Charisma checks to gather information from them, understand all spoken languages and creatures with Intelligence of 3 or higher can understand the warlock, and once per long rest can let the spirit of a sage possess their body for 1 minute that gives them advantage on spell attack rolls and imposes disadvantage on saves they make. This last part is pretty broad, as it reads “creatures that you force to make a saving throw have disadvantage on that roll.” This isn’t just spells, and can apply to all sorts of stuff such as a deadly poison the warlock used. [I]Thoughts:[/I] The Ancient Sage warlock makes for a pretty good diviner via their expanded spells and recovering said spells on a short rest, and their creature detection is even broader than a paladin’s. Advantage on saves vs all spells is great, and the sage possession is a pretty strong capstone feature. The ability to force a creature to answer truthfully is pretty useful for investigation-related adventures, but of more nebulous use in other types of campaigns. Warlocks whose patron is a [I]Djinnmaster[/I] are playing a dangerous game. There are more things you should not do regarding genies than that which you should, and while the benefits can differ, the drawbacks are uniformly awful to those who displease them. But even so people throughout history still make deals with them. Their expanded spell list is mostly debuffs with some divination. At 1st level they gain proficiency in Arcana or another Intelligence skill if already proficient, and once per short or long rest can gain a +10 bonus to checks about Al-Ghaib by asking their patron about it. Also at 1st level they can let their patron temporarily possess their body once per long rest as a bonus action for 1 minute, dealing bonus force damage on all melee and ranged damage rolls (ranging from 1d6 to 3d8 depending on their level). At 6th level a number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency bonus any caster using divination or enchantment on the warlock must make a Wisdom save or take 1d6 psychic damage for every level of the spell they used. And once per long rest the warlock can show a fraction of their patron’s true form as a multitarget ability that can impose the frightened condition. At 10th level the warlock can spend a spell slot or mystic arcanum use as a reaction to reduce the damage of an incoming attack by 2d8 or a number of d8s equal to the spell level of Mystic Arcanum. And finally at 14th level once per long rest the warlock can make their patron possess a humanoid body within 60 feet, being equivalent to a Dominate Person spell but can’t use their other subclass abilities while the effect lasts. And just like the Djinnpossessed, this subclass comes with an optional feature where they must make a Charisma save every time they gain a level in warlock; if they fail three saves then the djinn takes control of their body, where they swap out their warlock levels for Djinnpossessed Sorcerer. The Djinnmaster also has a unique pact boon, the Pact of the Eye. It grants +2 to Passive Perception, Blindsight out to 10 feet, and a number of times their proficiency bonus per short or long rest can gain choose from a list of enhanced sensory capabilities: 120 foot darkvision for 10 minutes, can detect curses, diseases, and unholy or holy places within 60 feet, can see invisible and shapechanging creatures for 1 minute, and can detect extraplanar influence from Al-Ghaib (or the Ethereal/Astral Plane in other settings). [I]Thoughts:[/I] The bonus force damage is so, so good, even if it’s limited use. It really enhances what the warlock is already good at in being a DPS machine. The higher level abilities are still fine but not as useful, and the 14th level capstone ability is rather underwhelming in that it’s a free use of a 5th level spell but at a heavy cost. The Pact Boon is pretty good and open-ended; refreshing on short rest means that a djinnmaster warlock can afford to be liberal in its uses, and the list covers a broad variety of detection effects. But that’s not all the Warlocky goodness we get! We also get 6 new invocations. Way of the Sage grants you proficiency in Arcana and History (ho-hum), Dead Spirits Abound lets you sense undead within 300 feet (highly contextual based on the campaign), Touch of the Eye lets you cast Nazar The Evil Eye* once per day without a spell slot (I’ve seen better), Voices of Al-Ghaib lets you a number of times per proficiency bonus per rest detect fiends, feys, and djinn within 30 feet and not behind total cover as a bonus action (also contextual), and Sense the Vile lets you cast Sense the Sinner once per day without a spell slot (another average one). *the text reads it as just Nazar, so I presume it’s this spell and not the Bead cantrip. But the last invocation, Maddening Blast, is really good. A number of times per proficiency bonus (doesn’t specify short or long rest) you can force a creature hit by your eldritch blast to suffer disadvantage on their next attack roll. Even if it’s long rest based this is good, because most warlocks are going to be reliably using eldritch blasts for most of their career. [I]Stargazers[/I] are wizards who research the Zodiac constellations to learn about time and destiny. Initially they can weave one of twelve Zodiac signs on a creature within 60 feet a number of times per long rest equal to their proficiency bonus. The Zodiacs are a diverse array of positive benefits, such as making the target auto-succeed on their next save vs the frightened condition, resistance to one damage type from any source for 1 minute, or making the next melee attack against them suffer disadvantage. A Stargazer has access to all 12 Zodiacs initially, meaning they aren’t limited in which ones they can potentially use. They also automatically learn bonus spells as they level up which count as prepared spells for them, such as Augury and Legend Lore. At 6th level during a long rest while watching the stars, they can choose from one of three effects: grant advantage to allies a number of times equal to half your Intelligence modifier (round up), cast certain divination spells once without expending a spell slot, or learn the intentions of a creature within 60 feet if they fail a Wisdom save. At 10th level they regain the use of making Zodiac signs if they have none remaining and roll for initiative, and at 14th level once per long rest they can call on the power of the stars for one minute. In this form they gain True Sight out to 30 feet, are resistant to radiant and psychic damage, and can throw up to 5 glowing orbs as damaging ranged attacks that dispel invisibility. [I]Thoughts:[/I] Much like the default Wizard, the Stargazer subclass gives the player a diverse set of tools for all manner of occasions. The broadness of the Zodiacs are useful for most scenarios, along with bonus casting of divination spells. The 14th level star-throwing ability feels a bit out of left-field, being both overtly supernatural and offensive in comparison to the earlier class features. Our new [B]Feat[/B] options relate specifically to the 19th Century Near Eastern fantasy vibe the campaign is going for. Firearm Expert is basically Crossbow Expert but with handguns, the Fortune-Teller lets you cast a specialized version of Augury whose fortunes make a prediction about a target’s fate within 30 minutes via an obscure omen. Urban Hunter grants proficiency (or double proficiency) in Survival or Investigation as well as learning a creature’s type when searching, tracking, or analyzing clues about someone. Strong Breath gives your breath magical healing, being able to cast either Purifying Breath or Guidance as a cantrip and Exorcise Djinni or Remove Curse once per day. Djinn’s Foul Touch comes from those who made contact with a djinn, but it’s strangely worded. Nazar the Evil Eye is a 2nd level spell, not a cantrip. I presume they mean Nazar the Bead. Also Nazar by itself I presume is meant to be the Evil Eye for the once per day spell. I should note that gaining Bestow Curse via a feat is really strong; if you’re a Variant Human you may be able to cast a 3rd level spell at 1st level! [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/OuHTova.png[/IMG][/CENTER] [B]The Profession System[/B] is our second sub-system for Historica Arcanum. They are basically super-Backgrounds, giving PCs special abilities as they increase in rank. Professions start at Rank 1, and performing activities in line with the Profession nets you PEX (Professional Experience) which increases your Rank and which can be spent to buy special abilities. Rank 4 is the maximum. The Professions follow a universal system: Professional Experience lines up with the Challenge Rating of adversaries and tasks related to tasks for their furtherance, with the difficulty mostly determined by DM Fiat or existing tables based on the Profession at hand. During Downtime PCs can perform activities related to their profession, which either automatically grant them gold pieces or they can spend gold pieces to earn an equal number of PEX. Professions can only be taken at 3rd level, or at 1st level if a PC chooses from one of the new Backgrounds in line with said Professions. Each Profession has a Magnum Opus, an open-ended quest marking the pinnacle of their career and which is typically done once they are at Rank 4 (the maximum Rank). A Bounty Hunter’s Magnum Opus may involve them tracking down and capturing/killing a lifelong foe, while an Alchemist’s Magnum Opus may involve brewing a Philosopher’s Stone type potion that imparts some powerful effect. Completing a Magnum Opus grants a unique reward to the character, and at Rank 4 a Profession grants a unique ability for free related to them becoming well-respected among their peers, as well as Stories of the Past. This latter ability lets the character grant a number of free Inspiration equal to their proficiency bonus once per day to those who listen to their tales. We’ve got six Professions for enterprising PCs. [B]Bounty Hunters[/B] count all manner of men and monsters as their quarry, and in learning the hunt have a variety of tricks up their sleeve. They earn PEX for turning in bounties, and their purchasable abilities include proficiency in a certain skill related to tracking people, brewing and buying special potions such as granting darkvision or enhanced speed and endurance when out of combat, can buy equipment specialized for hunting monsters (such as cold iron and silver weapons) at half price, and gaining advantage vs various conditions and attack types against a target which they are currently hunting. Their more powerful abilities include being able to buy items such as Igniter Bombs and Antimagic Bolas, and their Rank 4 ability grants themselves and the group they’re traveling with immunities to various things such as being surprised and reduced speed in difficult terrain. [B]Burglars[/B] are experts at breaking into secured places, often for the purposes of obtaining ill-gotten wealth. They gain PEX for each act of thievery they perform, and their purchasable abilities include automatically learning information about guards (when do they sleep, who can be bribed/blackmailed, etc) when scoping out an area for 24 hours, lowering lockpicking DCs by 5, obtaining special bags that increase carrying capacity, and advantage on certain skill checks when on a heist. Their more powerful abilities include being able to purchase magical talismans that can create poisons or swords that can break off in a target’s body to deal damage over time, and their Rank 4 ability makes them the leader of a thieves’ guild that comes with a variety of social benefits along with insurance for a resurrection spell (you’ll owe your guild a debt). [B]Alchemists[/B] learn to combine various substances together to make almost-magical potions and chemical devices. They gain PEX for brewing potions based on their Rarity, and unlike other Professions this means of PEX earning costs you gold rather than something done for free or for profit. Their purchasable abilities include decreasing the cost to brew potions by certain percentages and being able to brew a large variety of potions and poisons: healing hit points, buffs of various kinds such as breathing underwater or Giant Strength equivalents, poison damage and debuffs such as blindness and unconsciousness, and so on. All of these abilities come with a base price for creation/buying. Their Rank 4 ability lets them be able to brew potions of Very Rare quality. [CENTER][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/DxX6knY.png[/IMG][/CENTER] [B]Antiquarians[/B] are historians who specialize in magical items. They, alongside burglars and archeologists, are the most likely types to delve into ruins and dungeon-type environments on the hunt for lost relics and knowledge. They gain PEX for each magical item they recover from such environments, with values based on the item rarity. Their purchasable abilities include being able to cast Detect Magic and Identify as rituals, can attune to magical items faster, gain advantage/double proficiency in History checks when spending at least 8 hours in a library, can keep an expended charge from a spell scroll if they make a successful Arcana check, and resistance against certain damage types from traps. Their most powerful features include being able to cast various divination spells once per day, and their Rank 4 ability lets them ignore any restrictions for attuning to an item. [B]Archeologists[/B] delve into ruins like Antiquarians and Burglars, but they do so for knowledge rather than wealth and power. They gain PEX for artifacts (not the magic item type) they recover and restore from such places. The DM is the judge on the rarity of such artifacts, although there is a sample table that assigns PEX based on their age. Their purchasable abilities include advantage on Investigation and Survival checks for determining directions, learning Alarm or Comprehend Languages as a ritual spell, or gaining proficiency with the whip and advantage on climbing checks using a grappling hook.* Their more powerful features include being able to buy special talismans that can supernaturally restore broken and aged objects and communicate with non-hostile incorporeal undead. Their Rank 4 feature makes them a prestigious member of the Archeologists Association, providing them with a variety of contacts worldwide and free mundane transportation methods to any dig site. *Indiana Jones, a century early! [B]Spies[/B] are criminals legitimized by the power of their patron state. They operate in foreign territory, on the lookout for ways to destroy their nation’s enemies. They gain PEX based on the magnitude of secrets which they uncover and deliver, with a sample table. Their purchasable abilities include gaining proficiency in Thieves’ Tools or Disguise Kits, advantage on Persuasion checks against those belonging to high society (nobles, merchants) or low (criminals, pirates, guardsmen). Their more powerful features include gaining advantage on saving throws and skill checks to resist torture, divination, and enchantment spells, and can buy a special Talisman that can be used on a guardsman or government official to aid you during a time of crisis. Their rank 4 feature places them at the leader of a spy cell, gaining resurrection insurance like a Burglar along with safehouses and various social benefits. [I]Thoughts:[/I] While I do appreciate the Professions being keyed to concepts that make for easy adventuring backgrounds, they are mixed in implementation which can determine their effectiveness in play. The City of Crescent default adventure isn’t heavy on dungeon crawls, being more geared towards urban intrigue, which hurts the Antiquarian and Archeologist. While the alchemist has access to some pretty powerful items, they have to spend a lot more gold than other Professions to even use their abilities. I can easily see a Burglar PC trying every opportunity they can to Sleight of Hand or justify looting the bodies of fallen opponents as an act of thievery, which can make their PEX gains far higher than the other Professions. The Antiquarian’s features are of much more situational use, and their resistance towards only certain damage types from traps is rather weak. However, their ability to potentially reuse spell scrolls provides a nifty way around Spell Rebounds, as that’s the only magic item that doesn’t generate Threshold for the user. My favorite Profession is perhaps the Bounty Hunter. Ironically their abilities are perhaps the broadest use in the default City of Crescent adventure path, on account that a lot of them are broadly useful in both investigation and straight combat, along with broad-purpose “monster hunting” stuff. [B]Thoughts So Far:[/B] This chapter leaves me with mixed feelings. I like how the spells and magic items help reinforce the urban fantasy themes of conspiracy and intrigue that the setting emphasizes. I feel that I cannot fully judge the Spell Rebound rules until I test them out in play, but they seem more a slight restriction than a crippling penalty. The subclasses and professions make me rather iffy. Among the subclasses we have some strong options in the Urban Vagabond, Shadowactor Bard, Realitymender Cleric, Whirling Dervish Monk, Stargazer Wizard, and both Warlock patrons. The rest of them ranged from situationally useful based on campaign type or clever build, such as the Circle of Nazar Druid, while the Janissary Fighter and Secret Service Rogue left me the coldest. I already went into detail on the balance of the Professions. There’s also the fact that several areas could use another editing pass, such as the Ottoman Slap lacking a specific save type or the Maddening Blast Invocation not mentioning the refresh rate for rests. [B]Join us next time as we get an overview on urban fantasy Istanbul and the movers and shakers in the upcoming adventure path in Chapter 3: The City of Crescent![/B] [/QUOTE]
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[Let's Read] Historica Arcanum: The City of Crescent
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