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Author Topic: Maybe silly questions...
Icarus
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Member # 115159



posted November 21, 2002 08:25 AM      Profile for Icarus   Email Icarus    Edit/Delete Post
Hello all. New to the forum... recently began running a WOT game and someone i was talking with told me to check this place out.

Anyway... I had some questions for other people who have been playing/running WOT.
There are obvious differences in many places... I understand why many of them are there... some I don't fully understand just yet. So... what is it about the Rouge from D&D which does not fit in WOT?
Just too much sneakattack? I thought the Evasion and Uncanny Dodge would work very well.
I do see many issues with Monk... but... with a slight retooling... Monk might work very well for the Aiel, maybe even the Atha'an Miere, or a few scattered individuals elsewhere. It would either need the 'magic' parts of it tooled back and or... a WOT explanation, like... latent channelers who while they culd be taught to touch the One Power do not, they simply can feel and slightly direct it, like Chi.
Just throwing around ideas and wanted feedback from people who have more gaming experience with WOT.

Could the Algwai'disi (not home now so I know I spelled that wrong...) be available to other races? The Atha'an Miere could use an unarmored fighter on shipboard... maybe a different traditon of training but the same class.

Also... treasure and magic items... how have people been dealing with the treasure charts? Just roll standard out of the DMG? And if so... are there conversion rules for many of the magic items? The world kinda seems to be much lower magic than most D&D games so I assume there is a modified chart.

Monsters... we have some Shadowspawn... and the MM's and CC's provide monsters we can throw in or modify... I have been looking through them for things I can use.
But by and large... there are no monsters just roaming the land. So... the Blight, the Shadow Coast (the mention in a single line in the RPG that the Shadow Coast is feared and avoided for the strange beasts that dwell there), far away places and maybe areas around Steading or portal stones.
I imagine with portal stone use somethings may have over time come through by accident or on purpose. Also the Steadings grow huge trees... so... I'm also letting them grow huge animals, a slight break from the exact setting I belive, but... it makes sense and I like it.

Last... weaves... there is a very limited number of them... are there conversion rules for D&D spells... or places online to find new weaves? I have two channelers in the game and they are gonna be looking for stuff.

Lastly, at least for now, magic items... there is no Detect Magic and no Identify. Can Weavesight be used to recognize magic items... and the only way to identify is experiement, yes?

Oh... also... potions and scrolls? Are they just out of the game... or... are there ways peope have been working them in?
I cold see potions as rare things, gifts from the Alefin or Elfin, from mirrorworlds, left overs from the Age of Legends... some may even require the ability to touch the One Power to open them...
And scrolls could exist, maybe even of lost weaves (though VERY unlikely), but they would be so old as to be written in the Old Tounge and if they were recognized for what they were they would be kept and studdied rather than used up...

I am just looking at ideas to try and see what works and doesn't... brainstorming a bit. People with experience to get feedback from would likely save me alot of time and mistakes.

Well that's all for now I guess.

From: NYC | Registered: Nov 2002  |  IP: Logged
mrtauntaun
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Member # 96539



posted November 21, 2002 09:03 AM      Profile for mrtauntaun   Email mrtauntaun    Edit/Delete Post
I think you are trying to compare the games a little to closely. Have you read the WoT books? If so, great, we're on the same page, if not I recomend picking them up, great reading. The world of WoT is TOTALLY different from that of D&D. Channeling is not magic, and is not nessicarily something that can always be learned. Also, for magic items, these are primarily things from the Age of Legends and are VERY rare. My group has been playing for over a year and the whole group has only 2 wonderous items. Wonderous items are something to be given out very sparingly. It is not as prolific in WoT as in D&D where everyone and their mother has crazy weapons and magic items. As for monsters, shadowspawn is basically it. There are not monsters roaming around the world willy nilly for PCs to fight. A majority of enemies my players fight are other humans, seanchan, and the occasional foresaken. Shadowspawn still show up from time to time, but not they are not enarly the majority of enemies.
Basically, take a step back, and seperate WoT in your mind from D&D and don't try to compare them, it'll make your brain hurt [Smile]

Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged
LuciusT
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Member # 4474


posted November 21, 2002 09:09 AM      Profile for LuciusT      Edit/Delete Post
quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:

So... what is it about the Rouge from D&D which does not fit in WOT?

IMO, nothing. While the Wanderer plays a similar the classes are different enough that I have considered using D&D Rogues in WoT.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
I do see many issues with Monk... but... with a slight retooling... Monk might work very well for the Aiel, maybe even the Atha'an Miere, or a few scattered individuals elsewhere.

Ultimately, I don't think the Monk matches the "flavor" of WoT. Than again, I don't it matches the flavor of D&D either. [Smile]

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Could the Algwai'disi (not home now so I know I spelled that wrong...) be available to other races? The Atha'an Miere could use an unarmored fighter on shipboard... maybe a different traditon of training but the same class.

Personally, I don't like the class at all and we simply don't use it . However, I think with a little retooling, it could probably be used as a general "fast, unarmored fighter" class.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Also... treasure and magic items... how have people been dealing with the treasure charts?

Short answer is, we don't. In our campaign, treasure simiply doesn't play a big part and magic items are virtually non-existant. Characters generally get money to support themselves by earning it (or stealing it). Profession, Craft, and Perform (and Pick Pocket) checks support our group finacially. NPC patrons are helpful (wealthy nobles, the White Tower, etc) for the really expensive stuff.

Magic items simiply aren't something people run across, and if they do, they usually run the other way.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
But by and large... there are no monsters just roaming the land.

Just the most dangerous kind... humans. The vast majority of our adversaries are humans... bandits, mercanries, rival lords, Whitecloaks, Darkfriends and Aes Sedai.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Last... weaves... there is a very limited number of them... are there conversion rules for D&D spells... or places online to find new weaves? I have two channelers in the game and they are gonna be looking for stuff.

There are a few website's with new weaves, plus the ever popular Netbooks. I don't have the URLs handy unforunately, but I'm sure someone else will come through.

That said, IMO, you don't need many more. Sure, the ones that exist are limited but they are also quite sufficent to the need. I highly recommend using the ones that exist before adding more. You'll be surprised how effective they are.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Lastly, at least for now, magic items... there is no Detect Magic and no Identify. Can Weavesight be used to recognize magic items... and the only way to identify is experiement, yes?

Yes, IIRC, Weavesight can be used to "sense a resonance of the Power" in items... and yes, the only way to identify them is experimentation. Also, experimentation is usually a very a dangerous thing.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Oh... also... potions and scrolls?

Not a single thing like them in this setting... though some herbal creations (like Healer's Balm) are similar to potions.

quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
I am just looking at ideas to try and see what works and doesn't... brainstorming a bit. People with experience to get feedback from would likely save me alot of time and mistakes.

Well, I hope I helped a little. Continue brainstorming... and remember, in the end, the really important thing is for you and your players to enjoy the game. IMO, what works is what works for you. [Smile]
From: Lafayette IN | Registered: Mar 2001  |  IP: Logged
Heron_Marked_Blade
Member
Member # 110617



posted November 21, 2002 09:14 AM      Profile for Heron_Marked_Blade      Edit/Delete Post
quote:
Originally posted by Icarus:
Hello all. New to the forum... recently began running a WOT game and someone i was talking with told me to check this place out.

You're almost guaranteed of some feedback here. [Smile] Now whether it's any good is up for debate... [ROFL]

quote:
Could the Algwai'disi (not home now so I know I spelled that wrong...) be available to other races? The Atha'an Miere could use an unarmored fighter on shipboard... maybe a different traditon of training but the same class.
I'd use a different class for any Atha'an Miere fighter, probably make something up. Woodsmen don't work, Wanderers don't really reflect the ship people, Armsmen don't fit that well, nor do Nobles... I wouldn't use Algai'd'siswai for Atha'an Miere simply because the Aiel are a people unto themselves. They have become who they are as a result of the Three-Fold Land; I'd have difficulty justifying an Atha'an Miere Algai, personally.

I can see your dilemma, though; the solution (as with so much in the WoT RPG) seems to lie in adapting an existing class (perhaps similar to the Algai) or creating your own.

quote:
Also... treasure and magic items... how have people been dealing with the treasure charts? Just roll standard out of the DMG? And if so... are there conversion rules for many of the magic items? The world kinda seems to be much lower magic than most D&D games so I assume there is a modified chart.
I haven't used any charts, actually. The only "magic" items in WoT are *angreal of some sort (some of which don't require the OP -- that's where they shine in the eyes of the average PC) or Power-wrought weapons (limited "magic" abilities there). I tend to create whatever loot PCs find, generally ahead of time.

I like your ideas about the Shadow Coast. [Evil Smirk] Interesting take on Steddings, but I don't see why that wouldn't work.

quote:
Last... weaves... there is a very limited number of them... are there conversion rules for D&D spells... or places online to find new weaves? I have two channelers in the game and they are gonna be looking for stuff.
Check out the netbook Under the Dragon's Banner. There are many new weaves listed. Most of the webpages of people here have personal weaves as well. And as long as it fits with the whole idea of the One Power and Wheel of Time, there's no limit to what a channeler might be able to do with the appropriate combination of creativity, control, and desperation. [Devilish]

quote:
Lastly, at least for now, magic items... there is no Detect Magic and no Identify. Can Weavesight be used to recognize magic items... and the only way to identify is experiement, yes?
Elayne was able to sense what some ter'angreal did when she embraced the One Power and just held them in her hand, and Nynaeve got random but sharp impressions/emotions about ter'angreal the same way... I don't see why PCs couldn't do something similar, and a Weavesight check might be part of that. I would hesitate to make it failsafe (as Identify is), and experiment is not always reliable either (witness the Sisters who studied ter'angreal and burned themselves out). Could make for an... interesting session. [Devilish]

quote:
Oh... also... potions and scrolls? Are they just out of the game... or... are there ways peope have been working them in?
I have been working potions in, but sparingly. Nothing overtly "magical," but certainly things that help with headaches, healing faster, subdual damage in certain cases, alertness (+2 Spot/Listen for duration, -2 WIS related skills after duration until 4hrs sleep), etc. And who knows what certain herbs do? As the GM, I do, but my players certainly don't. [Big Grin]

quote:
And scrolls could exist, maybe even of lost weaves (though VERY unlikely), but they would be so old as to be written in the Old Tounge and if they were recognized for what they were they would be kept and studdied rather than used up...
I haven't implemented this at all. I don't know that scrolls would have the ability to "use" the One Power to do whatever weave is there, but I can see an Aes Sedai having written down how to cast a certain weave, and a channeler learning how to do it from the description (and a little experimentation). Someone created a ter'angreal (I forget who, or what it was called) that helped with learning a weave....the only thing the ter'angreal did was "guide" the student through casting the weave, and each ter'angreal only had one weave it could cast....anyone have any idea where/what that was?

My 2cp.

--------------------
"Suravye ninto manshima taishite."

Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
The Great Gray Skwid
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Member # 34606


posted November 21, 2002 09:24 AM      Profile for The Great Gray Skwid   Email The Great Gray Skwid    Edit/Delete Post
We can assume (but not be certain) that a weave can be described or depicted somehow on paper so that a channeler could weave it, because Moiraine learned Balefire sometime around when she was staying with Vandene and Adeleas. The most probable answer to how that happened is that she learned it from one of their books.

So I wouldn't rule out "scrolls" of a sort. They'd be [b]extremely[b] rare, but I think they're feasible

--------------------
Evan "Skwid" Langlinais
The Humblest Mollusk on the Net
http://www.thehumblest.net/
Ask me for information about the Texas Darkfriends!

From: The Big D | Registered: Jul 2001  |  IP: Logged
Shadowkiller
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posted November 21, 2002 09:28 AM      Profile for Shadowkiller      Edit/Delete Post
The others are mostly right. In my cast, I made a prestige class that was based off of monk for the Algai'di'siswai to take eventually. Its on my website along with many weaves, channeling feats, power wrought items(as I call them), and other things. There are a bunch of other sites out there and while my Swiss Cheese like brain would love to remember their names, it can't. One word though, if you think the world of WoT is anything like DnD, you are sadly mistaken.

--------------------
Children of the Dragon
^My Website^

From: Currently-Germany | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Eosin_the_Red
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Member # 30113


posted November 21, 2002 11:17 AM      Profile for Eosin_the_Red   Email Eosin_the_Red    Edit/Delete Post
There is not alot of cross-conversion stuff for D&D to WoT. People who come from D&D to WoT are usually at an advantage when it comes to rules and combat; they have a little bit of a disadvantage when it comes to expectaions.

Most stuff from D&D can be worked in with only a little work, if that is what you want for your game. Most spells work well except for the buffing & defensive variety. The defensive types can easily be used but it sorta the flavor of channelers.

I did an essay once on incorporating magic items from D&D and some other notes about conversion. I will see if I can find them.

--------------------
Call of the Horn
Visit the Tower Library for the latest version of the WOT RPG FAQ.

From: Norman, OK, USA | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
Harkael
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Member # 104966


posted November 21, 2002 03:40 PM      Profile for Harkael   Email Harkael    Edit/Delete Post
Well everyone seems to have some great input, but all in all I think your missing the major point, the reason to buy the WoT campaign setting is because it is different than dnd. There really isnt anything great about it otherwise. Not to mention that alot of it is unbalancing if you try and use it outside of the campaign world (ex: what balances channeling is that it is generally feared and reviled) I really dont see how the wanderer doesnt fit into the life of a sailor, i mean, theyre all about skill (profession:sailor) and bargaining skill and well, illicit barter anyone? not that its the best choice but it certainly fits well enough

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"What do you mean I missed?
but i rolled....an......18..."

Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged
Xythlord
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Member # 70903



posted November 21, 2002 03:43 PM      Profile for Xythlord   Email Xythlord    Edit/Delete Post
Hello all, been a while since I have poked my head into these boards. Its nice to see some more activity.

quote:
Heron-Marked-Blade
Someone created a ter'angreal (I forget who, or what it was called) that helped with learning a weave....the only thing the ter'angreal did was "guide" the student through casting the weave, and each ter'angreal only had one weave it could cast....anyone have any idea where/what that was?


I made that Ter'angreal which is called a Teaching Crystal as a submission for the netbook UtDB. It goes as follows

Teaching Crystals

Activation: Wield
Affinities: None
Size: Small
Weight: 1 lb.
Occurrence: Rare

While several sources in the hidden libraries at the White Tower mention teaching crystals, or Moilin a’tat in the old tongue, only one has been recently discovered in Rhuidean. These ter’angreal
were used to store knowledge of certain weaves and teach channelers how to cast those weaves. Each of these devices was attuned to either saidin or saidar, limiting who could learn from one.

The recovered crystal is a hand-sized blue crystal flame. It contains the following weaves; Delve, Heal, Heal the Mind, Renew, Cleanse, and Sever. It is attuned to saidar (DM’s discretion: This ter’angreal may contain any other weave, even lost weaves).

Each Crystal contains 1d6+1 weaves of one affinity. The channeler using it must have the affinity associated with these weaves, although he can use the Crystal to learn that affinity (In the case of Lost Affinities). The character must make a successful Weavesight check (pg 87), which takes 1d4 hours for each weave learned.

In my games my players are allowed a chance to create a weave or try to learn rare weaves from what they know (having seen it once but did not learn it, etc.) They even have a chance of learning Lost weaves if they have the Strong Talent feat. While I wouldn't allow scrolls in my game to actually "cast" a weave, I might give my players a bonus to their skill check: Arcana to determine how that weave would be cast.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

From: Denver, Co | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged
Eosin_the_Red
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Member # 30113


posted November 21, 2002 03:53 PM      Profile for Eosin_the_Red   Email Eosin_the_Red    Edit/Delete Post
quote:
Well everyone seems to have some great input, but all in all I think your missing the major point, the reason to buy the WoT campaign setting is because it is different than dnd. There really isnt anything great about it otherwise.
There are two parts to the game - rules and setting. Many people use the rules because they provide for a default lower magic setting. D&D then becomes a grab bag of great little things that the DM can incorpirate as desired.

Others use the setting because they like WoT and want to recreate or involve themselves in the world.

Some use both - but it is not required. Altering the rules to fit your vision of WoT does not damage the integrity of either the rules or the setting. All my d20 Fantasy games/settings* use WoT rules but I have thought about bastardizing d20 Modern.

*I have one Hero System game.

--------------------
Call of the Horn
Visit the Tower Library for the latest version of the WOT RPG FAQ.

From: Norman, OK, USA | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged


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