Blood, Death, Satan & Metal

Some Refs and players enjoy including downtime activities, such as spell research, carousing, domain management, and other stuff. Crafting and selling is one such type of downtime activity, and so why not make up a skill for players looking to earn silver, make items for enchantment, repair gear or whatever else? The Craft skill is a specialty skill. Characters do not possess a 1 in 6 chance by default: it is the class ability of  Dwarfs, for whom it replaces the Architecture skill and progresses at the same rate. Others may only gain the skill by allotting Specialist skill points or training in the skill.  Characters with the Craft skill are trained in making one type of good, such as different types of food, clothing, or art, armor, guns, or weapons. The Craft skill may be taken multiple times in different professions, which must be increased separately from one another. In order to craft, appropriate Specialist's tools and facilities are required. The amount...

Elves may suck, but there's no denying this is awesome. Under the rules of my Combat skill , Fighters gain unique combat options as they advance. Each time they gain a level of the skill, the Ref and the player collaborate to customize a maneuver that will be for that character only, reflecting their talents and combat experience. I gave several examples in the original post, but here are some more to help Referees flesh out NPC Fighters or roll on if a player would rather progress randomly. Details such as range and other variables have been intentionally omitted and are up to the Ref to determine based on any relevant factors such as distance, level, skill level, hit dice, or other circumstances. As combat is a major component of RPGs, it is advised that effects have a short duration, have limited or situational application, and do not adversely affect the actions of other PCs or rob enemies of actions in order to preserve player agency and the challenging elements of comba...

Under the rules of my Lore skill , Magic-Users gain unique mini-spells as they advance. Each time they gain a level of the skill, the Ref and the player collaborate to customize a cantrip that will be for that character only, reflecting their talents and discoveries of the occult. I gave several examples in the original post, but here are some more to help Referees flesh out NPC Magic-Users or roll on if a player would rather progress randomly. Details such as range, duration, and other variables have been intentionally omitted and are up to the Ref to determine based on any relevant factors such as distance, level, skill level, hit dice, or other circumstances. This table will be added to periodically, and readers are welcome to make their own suggestions as well. d20 Cantrips  1 Bond: Create a strong static bond between objects, causing them to resist gravity or attempts to separate them. A successful ability check can pull the objects apart, and the effect end on i...

I love LotFP's Weird Magic system. Vaginas Are Magic! changed the way I think about spells, and the way my players do too: they’re very, very thoughtful about the circumstances in which they want to use it and terrified of the possibility of spell failure. VAM's spells and the ones I’ve written in that style are grand in scale, horrific in effect, and dangerous in execution. The system’s greatest strength is that they’re bizarre, situational, and reflective of an unkind, fractured, deadly universe. In a way, it’s also its greatest weakness. What if you need a more “standard” spell effect? Should a Magic-User have Magic Missile as well as Wicked Fields Of Calm ? Will a character want to cast Holy Flames of the Fire Spitter if they can cast Fireball instead? How do more traditional spellcaster abilities like identifying, dispelling and enchanting work? To answer the first and second questions, well, I say that most traditional spells pale in comparison to wei...