Do y'all have a non-negotiable house rule for fantasy games, the little bit of weirdness that follows you from game to game?
Mine is that Potions are not identifiable. You'll find something of a particular color, scent, viscosity, etc. But you can't just cast a spell and know what it does.
Mine is that Potions are not identifiable. You'll find something of a particular color, scent, viscosity, etc. But you can't just cast a spell and know what it does.
Comments
Powers and miracles are there, but because of what I said above, different people can explain them differently
Until someone starts romancin'. Then the seals broken and all bets are off.
And yes, if they hit on them then they will hit right back.
Same goes for riddles.
But I get the frustration sometimes. Puzzles and traps can monopolize time in a way only surpassed by combat.
Finding a reason why a thing is there and making it more than just a cost to pay if you fail is key.
That and I've kept the Exalted (Amber, a little too) idea that the Fae are living fiction and the edges of Faery are unshaped reality.
Living fiction is a good way to rationalize the good neighbors...
This is incredibly cool.
Potions should not talk.
Throw it in the bag. We'll take it to the wizard.
The wizard:
You cast your spell and get a sullen silence, an absence, a formless weight.
So what are /you/ doing, fighter?
"Magic shops" sell common items and spell components. If you want a magic item with real power, have it custom-made or buy it at an auction.
Hahaha. "Consumer grade" magic is excellent.
also elf ears are long enough to emote with
Oh! That's neat. I'm an understated elf ears guy, but if I can indicate mood with them, I'm back onboard.
Love the elf ears!
contemporary potions have known effects, are easy to identify, and are usually labeled (because why the fuck wouldn't they be)
potions found in ruins of the old world look different, have different effects, and have no surviving labels, thus necessitating identification processes
But the old stuff. The powerful stuff. That's been down in the dark so long and forgotten. Their labels (when they survive) are illegible and flaking. Most of the stuff they're made from is extinct now.
It's just turn taking. It's arbitrary. Doesn't matter.
Very different personalities, races, classes etc, but they all knew each other once.
My companions aren't ready to meet tank Mother Superior 🤣
Navi famously brought Little SIster Kelli of the Order of the Immaculate Chainsaw to her first long-running game with me, so I might be biased.
When I saw Warrior Nun advertised on Netflix, I was like "They made a show SPECIFICALLY TO DELIGHT ME, PERSONALLY?"
If I ever ran games set in the same world, I'd try and do that. But I suck at that.
The nice thing is that once this sinks in, PCs start throwing money around in really amusing ways.
Come to think of it. My hedge game may be one that is free of bros
My public access game has not really reached full bro- ness yet but I have a plan for that.
Don't just cast identify at it.
It coats your tongue and then sublimates into a pleasant bubbling vapor. You cannot seem to swallow it. Also your tongue now feels lighter.
IDs via tasting, stashes for later
dies
other party finds potion
[repeat 8 times]
party finds half-empty potion bottle, keeps walking
But I think it was Blades that radicalized me.
Also lets you twist the knob on rarity. Everyone knows healing potions are red in steel vials. Smell like an abbatoir, too.
We used to live near a restaurant called Claim Jumpers, and my wife's ADHD always made her misremember it as Clam Diggers. Locked it in her brain with the wrong name. So almost all of my game include a restaurant named Clam Diggers.
"Dude cure disease is like a third level spell, and paladins can do it with Lay on Hands..."
-sigh-
Turning the Undead, however, I think is a matter of "positive energy" channeled to affect the "negative energy" of the undead. The particular deity doesn't much matter, just that there's a good-aligned deity. Unless you're controlling them.
Related, it's fun when "human" refers to all playable species and the big folk with roundish ears are "tallmen."
I agree though. Gravity is not your friend.
It'll define intent but not history or detail.
Everyone at the table EXCEPT the GM hands the stuff out.
"We do not like it when the line does not go up!" And here come the cops...
But if you're just three adventuring weirdos, either find a scientist or engage in risky science!
100% agree with you.