The Green (discussion)

[Puck]

Phwew! Lots of new rules to ponder as I just received the BRP book. I was trying to think of how the actual BRP rules can be used with the Green.

The topic of magic is a big one and I have avoided it thus far do to the lack of having any rules at hand. Magic would be taught by traditions, brotherhoods, or cults, with each teaching particular skills and spells a la cults of RQ. Some traditions would be based on magic and others on sorcery. (I do not know whether both systems should be used by the same school of magic).

The first one I am thinking about is the magical traditions of the Tree children called Wealdling magic. I was thinking of using Sorcery and including variations of : Cloak of Night, Sorcerer’s Leap, Sorcerer’s Sureness, Several Characteristic and Combat spells, Unbreakable bonds, Ward, Brazier of Power, Heal and Sorcerer’s Ear and of course summon (tree) elemental.

I was also thinking of having a class of special Wealdling traditionalists or maybe initiates called Grove Guard or Gnarled hosts. These would be tree children who, in a ceremony, magically tattoo their bodies in bark-like patterns. They could then cast a spell while touching wood to absorb it around themselves in a wooden bark-skin or armor and become a kind of mini ent-like thing.

In the initial ceremony they would sacrifice permanent power points to create their armor. Cost would be:
1point for each +3 str and size, -1 dex.
1 pt for each +3 armor, -1 dex.
1pt for spiky boughs or thornsfists (damage bonus) or whip-like fingers.
1pt for shooty thorn or spikes.
1 point for shield boughs (thick Popeye-like forearm boughs that can be used to parry with.
Possibly countermagic, poison or regenerative abilities could be bought as well.

Gnarled Hosts could continue to add additions to his armor as they gain extra Pow.

Grove guard must learn athletic skills, including combat skills, separately for the grove guard armor form. This means that the Grove guard would probably need a whole different entry on the character sheet.

Spell: Embody tree (3)
Allows a tree child to encase his body in pre-prepared Gnarled host armor. In order to activate this spell the tree child must touch a tree or other amply large form of wood.


Grove Guard would begin quite weak with maybe skin showing through the bark, but as they grew in size and armor their tree form would grow and become quite huge, garled and nasty. Each Gnarled host would have distinctly shapes and bark patterns based on the tatoos and the type of tree sap used to make the tatooing ink.

Would this work? Would their be a better way to have the same effect through mutations or super powers?
Is +3 right for str and armor for each point of power sacrificed or should it be something different perhaps d6 or d4+1? Remember the Tree children are generally small weak and have no armor to begin with.

[rust]

Unfortunately I cannot give you much of a meaningful comment on this, be-
cause I almost never used magic in one of my settings. To me your ideas
look fine, but that does not mean much ...

[soltakss]

To tell the truth, I've tried to steer clear of describing magic for several reasons:
1. I don't have BRP Zero
2. BRP is not out yet
3. The SuperPowers rules in the BRP Playtest left me cold
4. I rather hoped that someone would incorporate a version of the RQ3 Magic System as an option for BRP

Superpowers/mutations are fine if you can come up with a rationale.

Inherent magic is also fine as is magic that is derived from a source.

As for the example, I like the idea of the Grove Guard. +3 STR/SIZ or +3 Armour for -1 DEX sounds OK, you could get good armour (9pts) for -3 DEX and RQ Troll SIZ (+15) for -5 DEX, so that makes you pretty big and tough for -8 DEX, so providing they start off with a high DEX then they should remain fairly useful rather than becoming tough but immobile. I think +6 STR/SIZ is too much as +18 STR/SIZ for -3 DEX seems too good to be true.

It also gives you a mutation of Were-Tree that allows someone to naturally take on Grove Guard form without the use of magic, depending on the mutations taken.

[Puck]

To tell the truth, I've tried to steer clear of describing magic for several reasons:
1. I don't have BRP Zero
2. BRP is not out yet

I kind of figured that we were in the same boat there. When I got my hands on the book my mind started racing a bit though.

3. The SuperPowers rules in the BRP Playtest left me cold

I have not really looked at the Superpowers yet as there is still plenty of other stuff to sort through but a post you made on the main forum made me think that maybe they could be used as a sort of legendary ability type of thing.

4. I rather hoped that someone would incorporate a version of the RQ3 Magic System as an option for BRP

I do not know why the RQ 3 magic book could not be used verbatum with BRP. I have not looked over things with a fine tooth comb but I have not read anything that prevents it from being used thus far. I was shocked to not see divine magic in the book. Without divine magic it seems as if people will be running around with mighty high pow after a while(I may still have stuff to read that may clear this up though). That is what made me think of the Grove Guard. The sacrifice of perminant pow into the tatoo/armor would kind of be like divine spells in that it is something to spend Pow on.

I was also thinking a little bit about legendary abilities again here. Instead of sacrificing for Spells as in RQ what about sacrificing pow for abilities, magical or otherwise. The same idea for the grove guard could be used for the trogod bestial shapechangers as well.

Anyway it seems as if I have run past the shallow waters and have splashed into the deep end without pausing to learn how to swim.

[Puck]

I just tried to throw in some stats for the tree children under the basic "the Green" entry in the wiki. I used the "code" option as that seemed to work the best at the moment. Is there another more useful or proper way to do this?

Any comments on the tree children? The powers section is just a placeholder now until I write up the Wealdling magic.

[soltakss]

The stats look fine. Physically and mentally they seem about right.

The skills look a bit high. Are they basic skills or are they for "normal" Tree Children?

Are the spells generic from the BRP Rulebook or are they spells that you have made up? The names of the spells don't really work for me. The spells don't really have any flavour, you couldn't tell they were Waelding or Forest Magic from the names. Even changing the names from "Sorcerer's" to "Forest" would be a start, so you'd have Cloak of Green, Forest Leap, Forest Sureness, Forest Speed, Forest Armor, Sharp flame, Make Fast, Forest Ear and Forest Eye.

As for having the stats in a Code section, it looks OK. I've also put them in tables but I'm not at all sure that it looks any better.

It would probably look better if the Weapons were pulled out to be below the stat block and above the skills, but that's the classic RQ layout. I've also included a sample Hit Location table, but I don't have the BRP rules so I haven't got the correct values. It's only an example after all.

[Trifletraxor]

Originally Posted by Puck

I just tried to throw in some stats for the tree children under the basic "the Green" entry in the wiki. I used the "code" option as that seemed to work the best at the moment. Is there another more useful or proper way to do this?

Any comments on the tree children? The powers section is just a placeholder now until I write up the Wealdling magic.

Using the table function might be the best. You can read about it in this article: http://basicroleplaying.com/forum/br...ki-manual.html (somewhere in the lower half of the article).

The tree children look great.

SGL.

[Puck]

The skills look a bit high. Are they basic skills or are they for "normal" Tree Children?

I used the skills for "elf" in BRP as a reference point. They do seem rather high though.

The names of the spells don't really work for me.

I agree. They do not work at all. They are simply the spells listed in BRP that could be construed to have woodland/tree magic effects. I will re-name these in the wealdling magic section. I very much like some of the examples you have listed and will probably pilfer them with your permission. The problem is that re-naming them may introduce confusion when people look them up in the rulebook. Would Something simple like this work?

"Cloak of Green (Cloak of Night)"

I've also included a sample Hit Location table

Cool, I meant to do this eventually.

Using the table function might be the best.

I'll look into this presently, Thanks.

[Puck]

I've also put them in tables but I'm not at all sure that it looks any better.

Are you kidding? It looks way better! Did you individually place the font and size in each entry? It seems like a lot of work.

[soltakss]

Originally Posted by Puck

I used the skills for "elf" in BRP as a reference point. They do seem rather high though.

They are fine for typical Forest Children, but you probably also need some basic chances for people who want Forest Children PCs.

Originally Posted by Puck

I agree. They do not work at all. They are simply the spells listed in BRP that could be construed to have woodland/tree magic effects. I will re-name these in the wealdling magic section. I very much like some of the examples you have listed and will probably pilfer them with your permission. The problem is that re-naming them may introduce confusion when people look them up in the rulebook. Would Something simple like this work?

"Cloak of Green (Cloak of Night)"

Sure, pilfer away. Anything I include in this, or any other forum, is freely available unless I say otherwise - and I very rarely say otherwise.

I'd include that kind of thing "Cloak of Green (Cloak of Night)" in the Magic Section but then just refer to the Waelding spell name everywhere else. That way people who don't know where the spell is described can look in the Magic Section and know what to look for in the rulebook.

I can't believe they have spells such as Sorcerer's Eye or Sorcerer's Speed. How ultra-generic is that?