Sorrow in Haven V2 Updates

I haven'st posted in a while. Work and real life have been taking a front seat, with gaming driving from the back and blogging in a trunk in the driveway. C'est la vie.

Sorrow in Haven Update
The book is now separated into Parts, then into Chapters.

Part I: Introduction

• Primer for Players [being re-written]
• Action Resolution [done]
• Setting Overview [being reviewed]

Part II: Characters

• Character Creation [done]
• Class update [more or less done]
• Backgrounds [finish reviewing, add some new ones for those i removed]
• Memories & Details [done]
• Gear [probably done]

Part III: Magic

• Traditions of magic [needs to be fleshed out]
• Arcane Magic [done]
• Divine Chanting [done]
• Purge the Unclean [done]
• Familiars [done]
• Technomancy [in progress]

Part IV: Adventure

• Encounters [done]
• Evasion [done]
• Social Interactions [done]
• followers [done]
• Combat [mostly done]
• Rest and Recovery [in progress]
• Madness [in progress]
• Dungeoneering [in progress]
• Other Perils and Challenges [in progress]
• Identifying Loot [in progress]
• Labs and Libraries [in progress]
• Reward and Advancement [in progress]
• Between Adventures [in progress]

The GM sections are in progress but I don't know how I'm organizing them. Once Part IV is complete it is a viable player's handbook (with the exception of Crews and Wilderness stuff which are each going to be an appendix). PHEW!

Actual Play & the GigaDungeon Sorrow

We've had quite a few sessions since the last update. The crew are exploring Sorrow slowly and cautiously. THey've been poking about the Gauntlet and have just discovered the passage between The Gauntlet and the Lost Catacombs of St. Brigit. So that is exciting :) They know about more levels and think they've been in one or two briefly. We are also seeing characters advance and approach 5th level, which is very exciting. A few characters have died, protege and backup characters have been created; The last wizard got lost forever in The Gloom. 

The New gear rules have been interesting to watch. In short, stuff is far more expensive, but players can make it less expensive by adding options, which are all awful. Lester, for example, has an Unlucky Axe ... once per session it can just fail to do what it was designed for (GM fiat). He was able to get the axe and uses it, but it just seems to fail at inopportune moments.

We've also reached a point where the players are seeing the living dungeon actually means something. They haven't been back to the Catacombs for some time ... and things are different. With some of the faction leaders removed the remaining factions have rallied a bit. Politics have changed. Much exciting ;P

Some Rules Bits

After a lot of discussion about the Wizard casting rules, there was a dramatic change in the rules. When casting a spell, the most powerful aspect (target, duration, effect) determines the Chaos Index of a spell. This is the % chance that the spell causes Magical Chaos even if successful. Critical success negates this. The Pact of Blood (where wizards can bleed INTO their magic) can be used to lower the Chaos Index or Boots the power of the spell (increase the chance of success) or both.

Divine Invocations (templar spells) got a tweak with the Divine Displeasure rules. When they do dubious stuff they can gain DD points, but they can actually USE them, but this brings up the path of Shadow and potentially "Gifts of Darkness". SO now templar can go down a wicked path as well.

Additional Combat rulings (from play and discussion of possible events) have been added. Players are tricky and a GM has to keep coming up with ideas to mitigate and rule on crazy ideas ... which is awesome! The Combat Rulings section is really just ideas and guidelines, but more examples are good for those interested in such things.

The Book(s)
When Part IV is complete I may make that a seaprate book. the GM stuff I'll include in a "Master" book. so the players get the player stuff, the GM gets the GM stuff AND the player stuff. Or maybe a separate book?  We'll have to see how they look and feel. These are going to be much larger.

Here is a Magic Item
Wand of Bigby (Technomancy)
It has a metal handle with grooves and indentations that fit the human hand quite comfortably. From the end is a gnarled wooden branch of white birch, smooth except at the end that flares into 5 short twigs. Once imprinted on a user they may
  1) Summon an Astral hand to manipulate objects (lasts 1 turn)
  2) Summon a Patchwork hand to punch things super hard (ignores non-magical DR)
The distance of the target from the user determines the strength
  Close: STR +3, 5d6 damage
  Near: STR +1, 3d6 damage
  Far: STR -1, 1d6 damage
The uses are limited. Usage Die: d6, 1 Usage Roll each time the item is used

Technomancy Imprinting
Technomatic items must imprint on a user. This gives then the ability to activate the item, but not what necessarily what it does. The user must make a WIT Check.
  Legendary Failure: the item defenses kick in and the item uses itself against the character
  Critical Failure: the item will not imprint and will never imprint
  Failure: ya get nothin'
  Success: the character may use the item
  Critical Success: the character may use the item and knows basic abilities but not details
  Legendary Success: full use and knowledge of abilities

One important note is that knowledge of abilities doesn't mean the character actually understands what that means. They might get that the item is a portal generator, but the full knowledge that the user can open a conduit through the astral for immediate transportation across vast distances on the Realm of Light doesn't impart that the conduit is subject to attack from astral forces or that characters can still get "warp sickness". Those are details subject to research. Cursed items also don't reveal their curses. That also takes research ... the imprinting is the willingness of the item to with with the character.