#homebrew blog

[vajrapoet]

turning d&d 4e into a brutal xianxia game

i've always looked at D&D 4e as particularly amenable to the wuxia genre. in fact, it works as a spirit cultivation game. a problem with a lot of 4e (for me at least) is its disconnect of mechanics from the fiction. it is a game-first, player-first game, and that's a great genre in itself. but this post is looking at 4e through potential diegetic lens, with each game mechanic justified through spirit cultivation xianxia genre

as follows:

XP as Cultivation: exp serves great as cultivation. leveling up serves as cultivation progress. the three tiers work as "Man -> Earth -> Heaven" kinds of Cultivation Realm.

Powers as Techniques: each power works as a martial art technique that can be learned and mastered. this works better using the Alternative Rewards system found in the DMG, and getting powers from the world instead of getting it immediately on level up.

emphasize alternative rewards: instead of purely making level-ups the main way to get powers, have the powers be found in the world as alternative rewards. have them be of differing levels. if they find a level 14 fighter power from learning it from a bull God, they need to be a Level 14 PC with a Fighter Feat to be able to "equip" it.

Classes as Martial Arts schools: Fighters as the Fighter Sect, Wizards as the Eight School Magics Sect, etc. Subclasses or the Build Options work as School Specializations. this is the one that is least wuxia-esque to me, because wuxia is an inherently classless idea. you should be able to learn a strand of martial arts from one master and then learn a completely new and different one from another master that chooses to pick you up on.

every pc from a different school: to bridge this genre gap, when you make a PC, write the class they choose as a martial school. even if two PCs are two Sorcerers, they must come from different but perhaps similar schools. maybe one is from the Tantric Deity Sect and the other is from the Nine-Elements Yang Sect

Healing Surges as Qi: Qi is the breath or the life force. Similar ideas in other cultures are prana, ginhawa, ki, and kebatinan. You can only heal yourself as much as your inner reserves can heal you. If your Qi is tapped out, even healing potions will have a muted effect

Hit Points as Hit Protection: this one is stealing from NSR ideas. replace hit points with the idea of Hit Protection. Fighting in Wuxia/Xianxia etc. is a flurrious exchange of blows. when attacking a character, as long as they're not bloodied, they're actively fighting back, defending according to the targeted defense (blocking, parrying, ducking, weaving with AC, dodging and leaping with Reflex, resisting with Will, etc.) Hit Protection still includes personal vigor, which justifies attacks that poison or set them on fire as those attacks probably hit home to transmit those effects

xianxia lethality: xianxia and wuxia are surprisingly more brutal than one would think. it's bloody and arms are broken, legs are cut off. we move into homebrew-y territory here.

half HP, double damage: lean into this. power comes not from numbers but from techniques and traits for PCs. half HP and double damage not just for monsters, but for PCs as well. this will make fights less meat sack slogs and into tense, explosive engages.

move attack hit rate from 60% to 90%: this is something fft did well. most attacks have a 100% starting hit rate. enemy evasion values shifts that around. my idea is to raise attack hit rate to much higher. this makes defense-raising options much stronger as well and every attack becomes an important additional strike

make bloodied more potent: bloodied inflicts an injury. make this fiction oriented: a good enough attack might scar your face, or might render your arm useless and make you suffer disadvantage. this might not feel fun, but it will force creativity and the players must respect the world

improvisation: in wuxia and xianxia you actually will see more instances of the heroes using their environment to affect the outcome of the battle. throwing tables to distract, using roofs to provide cover, etc. here we move again into homebrew territory:

improvisation as default. this one is a large shift in the game. get rid of action economy. get rid of action types. you can move and do one thing. this is anything. most commonly it will be an attack. this includes even minor actions. there are no set actions you can do, no list to choose from. use your imagination. lean into the p 42 of the DMG. turn THAT into the core mechanic of the game

use essentials rules: this one is the least controversial but 4e essentials rules are the best consolidation of the rules. especially the item rarity stuff.

dare to be unbalanced: 4e's neo-golden cow is balance. don't care about the balancing. xianxia thrives on the unbalancedness of things to create tension and friction. the need to have revenge on a martial master that killed your master before, but they are a Level 28 Fighter and you're a measly Level 3 Wizard. You have to cultivate to get up to his level. You need 10,000 more years of training to get to him! now there's a reason for adventuring (collecting training manuals, finding masters, finding cultivation cores to gain XP). adopt an OSR mindset. become world-first: make the PCs rise to the challenge instead of tailoring everything to them. if they move into an area with level 8 monsters, they can choose to take those on, or just go back and go somewhere else, return at a later time when they have better equipment and better weaponry.

[chaotic-historian]

Ah yes....

The legendary game 'Tnb Bingngthilhb'

Say it after me now: runes are not a fun font for you to use at your leisure, they are their own alphabet

[lady-rosceline-hurst]

On mine Homeworld,

Greetings, fair Omninet. It doth occur to me that while I have been most active here, I have neglected the secondary purpose of mine blog: to spread the word of mine illustrious homeworld! The time hath come that I do regail thee with knowledge of the place!

Crossland, designated also as DS10, is called thus for its key location as a port between Gloria and San Simeon, and is the lone habitable world in its system. It doth revolve around a brilliant white dwarf star, which did catch the previously rogue planet in its orbit.

Said star doth cause our fair planet much tidal activity, which leadeth to a world steeped in volcanism and much seismic quaking. One may mistake that such activity would be detrimental to life, but tis in fact the contrary. Lavaflow is destructive, forsooth, but it bringeth also nutrient-filled soil as it doth burn away vegetation. As such, much of mine world is covered in vibrant jungle! As for the volcanic soot which is expelled into the air, much of our animal life hath evolved to feed upon these ashen clouds, not unlike a flighted parody of life near the hydrothermal vents upon Earth (or Cradle as the Earthlings do call it).

Another note upon our jungles is their wondrous hue! Radiation from our star is heavy, and the plant life hath evolved into an exquisite azure blue to reflect the excess. When volcanic ash doth darken the sky, their hue doth shift to a deep crimson to make up for the loss. Tis a most scenic spectacle!

As for governance, on the local scale, the planet is ruled by the Crosslandic Council of Thirteen. Upon this council doth sit a representative from each of the most prominent Minor Houses upon the planet: mine own father being one of them. This is a separate position from the Head of House, which is the title mine Mother doth hold.

Tis but an introduction to mine fair colony, and I will doubtless explain more in future. If any of thee hast specific queries, mine ask box is crowded at this time but nonetheless open to all!

[do-you-know-this-adhd-character]

Do you know this (noncanon) ADHD character?

Evidence below the cut!

can be pretty hyperactive, forgets things regularly (even important things, forgot he turned into a heartless in kh1), distractable, later on he seems to have some problems with emotional dysregulation. hes constantly called lazy by his friends but as soon as hes doing something he likes he has all the energy in the world, and also tends to dismiss his own intelligence despite actually being pretty smart, both of which are things that i think are decently common with undiagnosed adhd

[internetc00kie]

PSP GO ✍️

[roleplayrealms]

RoleplayRealms.Me

Looking for WorldBuilders • Lore Crafters • Roleplayers with Graphic Design Skills • And roleplayers who simply wish to do what they love doing best. 'ROLEPLAYING' We are not a Discord. We are not a dating/cybering site. We are Not a Group on some Social Media Website. We are a roleplay site Made by Roleplayers, Run by Roleplayers, Ad Free, For Roleplayers. Don't ask to Roleplay Anymore. SIMPLY post and others will post a rp reply right back. This is a Multi-Genre Roleplay Site for Roleplayers 18+ who simply want to Roleplay. Join Us Today.

[the-last-patch]

[Tuning In]

[Flipping to B-Side]

[Success]

[Now Playing - “Opossum”]

<The transmission begins with the sound of boots crunching on snow, the rythm is uneven as if the product of a limp. In addition, heavy footfalls reminiscent of a mechanized chassis follow behind.>

So, a lot has happened since I showed up on the omninet. A large mercenary company devoured itself from within, I’ve almost died twice, and I made what I’d like to call a friend out in the baronies and in constellar space. All are events I never could have expected, let alone imagined happening…that’s not necessarily a bad thing though. I mean the almost dying most certainly wasn’t ideal, but I know what I signed up for on this contract. That brings me to what I wanted to talk about today. I feel like I know so much about you all, and have shared nothing about myself. So that’s my goal for today! We’ll begin with modern day, since I’ve mentioned my past a few times previously. My name is “Opossum”, as you all know, sorry I’m having trouble finding a place to start. Ah, I know! I’ll describe where I am. Since TKG found our camp they know PMC is out here in the diaspora, there’s no harm in describing the planet! I have been deployed on the planet “Upsilon-XVII” as per my contract for about a month local time now, and I have no idea what that equates to in Union Standard to be honest. I haven’t kept track of the time in ages. Moving on, U-XVII is a cold, cold place, 85% of the planet is covered in a deep permafrost. The other 15 or so percent of the planet is being artificially thawed by a massive space station which works as what is essentially a giant heat lamp called “The Helios Station”. I’ve been told that the name references some old humanity literature or mythology, but I’m no expert on that.

<The quiet sounds of crunching snow are gradually replaced by a more pronounced sound of metal cleats digging into ice, and all sound begins to reverberate.>

I get the feeling that well before it was discovered, this place was truly beautiful. As I make my way through this natural tunnel, I can see trees perfectly preserved by ice. A whole forest’s worth actually, it’s amazing. It’s sights like these that remind me why I chose to be a mercenary in the first place, or rather why I accepted it so easily. I love traveling, seeing all these beautiful worlds each with their own unique scenery and life is simply worth dying for in my opinion. I suppose I’ve rambled long enough, I’ll leave you all with one last thing. I finally found the last of the “gifts” that lich pilot promised, but for the most part this one is quite pleasant. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

P.XV “Opossum”, taking in the scenery

[Loading Music Video…]

[Success]

[Now Playing - opossumtravellog.omif]

<A video begins, a camera is angled down to face a young man with his back turned. He appears to be shorter than average, and has a long metallic tail protruding from his waist dragging behind him. Suddenly a HUD appears in the camera’s viewport, one any mech pilot would recognize as a tactical display. It Identifies the young man as “Opossum”, and a small list of standard medical information appears. As this happens, “Opossum” turns around, carefully watching his steps on the ice. His tail slides effortlessly across the same ice, making a slight scratching sound as it does. “Opossum” raises his left arm and begins pressing buttons on his sleeve. As he does this the HUD disappears, and the camera’s color and video quality increase dramatically.>

There we go, that should make this a bit easier on all of your eyes. On behalf of the Patchwork Mercenary Company, I would like to welcome you all to Upsilon-XVII!

<As the quality improves, the background immediately comes to life. “Opossum” is standing triumphantly in front of a closed off wall of ice. Surrounding him, encased in the ice, are trees as far as the eye can see, frozen in time both figuratively and literally. A light pattern similar to an aurora dances across the walls of the cave, almost making it appear underwater. The camera focuses on “Opossum”, he is wearing a bomber jacket which appears to be made up of squares of fabric from different jackets, all in different colors and sizes, sewn together. Attached to its left sleeve is a small keyboard and screen on the forearm with wires creeping up the rest of the arm up to the shoulder where they then enter the inside of the coat. Where a shirt would normally be, a light hardsuit is visible, but as the suit makes its way down “Opossum’s” body it begins to be covered up by a thick pair of black cargo pants which pull close at the shins and tuck into a heavy pair of boots. Hon his right leg, there is a set of hydraulic supports starting from the upper thigh, meeting a circular plate parallel to the knee, then continuing down to his ankle. As he lowers his arm, the camera zooms into his face which after a moment of focus quickly becomes one of triumph. His eyes, which are a dark beady brown stay wide. His nose and cheeks are slightly pink from the cold, but a row of freckles span from cheek to cheek are slightly regardless. His mouth is curled into a toothy grin, revealing his rows of sharp teeth. His hair contrasts the rest of his outfit with its pure white pigment. The camera zooms back out to show the full area once again, and “Opossum” gives the camera a confident thumbs up before the feed abruptly ends.>

[Next Up - “Open Queue”]

[End Track]

[desmondhardscale]

[fels-fantasy-hoard]

Uuuh I just checked my followers here and found a literal Nazi and some Terfs so just a not so friendly reminder

FUCK NAZIS

FUCK TERFS

I support all Jewish and trans people. They have my love and I’ll never stop fighting for their right to live freely and happily.

I have zero tolerance for bigotry of any kind and if that makes you uncomfortable then unfollow me and fuck you

If I accidentally reblog some homebrew that is offensive - please tell me. I always want to learn and grow and I want everyone (except bigots) to feel welcome here

To all my trans siblings, Jewish friends, and poc that follow me, I love you and I hope you have an amazing day <3

[pennyschool]

I used to do parkour out in the city, jumping out of trees is probably safer

You know what... You're right.

[whats-on-your-mind-then]

Today's article by Goblin Punch is exactly as described. Lots of intriguing exploration of ideas and themes here. This is one of those articles where I not only recommend reading the text in its entirety but also scrounging through the comment section! Lots of interesting stuff there, both from Arnold exploring his thoughts and strangers writing essays of their own! Trans Rights are Dwarven Rights. I gotta write more stuff on Witches. I gotta write more stuff for the blog in general! Enjoy!

[krissiefox]

https://thesegasource.tumblr.com/ SEGA related art and gifs.

https://segacity.tumblr.com/ SEGA game gifs and art.

https://vgsceneries.tumblr.com/ Scenery and gifs from video games.

https://obscuritory.tumblr.com/ Lesser known PC and console games.

https://quirky-vg.tumblr.com/ Quirky and strange video games!

https://gamesasp.tumblr.com/ Assorted video game screenshots and photos.

https://l0stw0rlds.tumblr.com/ Video game scenery.

https://oldpcgads.tumblr.com/ PC Game ads from magazines. No longer active.

https://toiletsofbuild.tumblr.com/ Mods, screenshots and art involving Build Engine games.

https://www.tumblr.com/polygonal-coffee Coffee machines in video games.

https://puppetcombo.tumblr.com/ Cool indie horror game dev!

https://psxui.tumblr.com/ Menu screens from PS1 games.

https://crabsinvideogames.tumblr.com/ Crabs from video games.

https://ulan-bator.tumblr.com/ Screenshots, gifs, images from old computer and arcade games.

https://namco-retro.tumblr.com/ Blog about Namco games.

https://retrogamechampion.tumblr.com/ Video game preservation and lots of other fun things!

https://oldschoolgames.tumblr.com/ Gifs of 90s video games.

https://asobi-station.tumblr.com/ Gifs from PlayStation games.

https://tiny-design.tumblr.com/ Info about various video games.

https://indiegamesource.tumblr.com/ Blog about indie games.

https://vmudream.tumblr.com/ Blog about old SEGA games and such.

https://gamingcreatures.tumblr.com/ Animals from video games!

https://vgwater.tumblr.com/ Scenes of water from video games.

https://vgjunk.tumblr.com/ Video game screenshots & art.

https://www.tumblr.com/cats-in-video-games Cats from video games!

https://segacity.tumblr.com/ Art, gifs, and videos related to SEGA games.

https://www.tumblr.com/homebrew4you A blog about homebrew games.

https://places-in-games.tumblr.com/ Video game scenery.

https://mapstalgia.tumblr.com/ Video game maps drawn from memory.

https://www.tumblr.com/fucknovideogames Accountability for shitty people in the gaming community/industry. Currently inactive.

[nullkunst]

Ash doodles for ur viewing pleasure !!

So basically both the campaigns where I play as Ash and Epione have been dropped by the DM, however I still really want to continue their story. I'm not really sure how to go about it though, either I will play them in new campaigns my other DM does or I will just keep their story as a completely separate thing that just so happens to be D&D influenced. OR I will play them in campaigns but as a sort of alternate timeline thing just bc I love playing as them. I dunno yet ahhh

[ariswolfram]

Who the fuck am i?

Guess what, this post is here to explain that.

Side blog focused on TTRPG details: @karmasystem

As a reminder:

You can use my stories, species, and lore as long as you give credit to me.

Hello! I am Aris!

I am the writer and storyteller for a very extensive setting, which i like to call either the Singural Hyperion, or (most recently) Asterium Prima.

Every story, book, and other piece of media i make is intertwined into this story in one way or another. Always leading back the main crew you might find me talking about a lot.

I have over 600 characters (its a problem, i know), each with their own background and storyline.

Alongside that, i have hundreds of different factions/empires that interact with each other in different ways. And, just about 100 Deities in a self-made pantheon called the "Hyperion Astra" (including Athena, though she has a very different domain).

My setting works with possibilities and change a lot.

It has a fully functional timeline (with the current "present" year being in the 18,900's), with time travel being a common factor in everything.

Alongside that, i have made a planescape for factors determining how the "material plane" or "mortal coil" functions, and a Dimension system, for even more chaos cause why not :)

My setting is a mixture between Sci-fi and fantasy, while also heavily being Xenofiction in nature.

Most of the time, you will see the setting interacting with its self in space, across various different systems, sectors, galaxies, universes, and multiverses.

BUT WHY STOP THERE??

Ever heard of the omniverse theory?

Its effectively a group of space that is a collective of multiverses together.

Each Omniverse is inherently different than another, as if a different type of story all together. For instance: Singularity (the main omniverse i work with) is like our real world, only if it was heavily reliant on magic tech.

Meanwhile, Wylrin is effectively completely comprised of the Fae, and Fae entities.

Each omniverse is a different story medium.

If you cant tell, i like changing my stories up. I like writing different things.

Another thing that helps, is the timelines.

The main timeline which is considered "cannon" is called the "Major". This timeline is effectively the master branch for all others. Changes done to the Major changes all other timelines.

Every event done by every person creates a split in the timeline, one split being one result of their actions, and another split being a different result.

This can range from small things, like choosing between tea and coffee. Or large things, like choosing to betray someone or not.

This gives me infinite timelines, and infinite possibilities. Which i personally find a lot of fun exploring.

I like to expand on and build my story. And so you may see me posting a lot of random things based around it.

One thing you have to keep in mind though, is i love to take suggestions, and i love to use prompts. Ask me anything or give me a prompt, and i am sure to answer!

Anyways, that is all for now. Though i may update this in the future. Cya!

[lunar-butterfly-chaos]

@lonksadventures drew the starry boi for the campaign! so excited to play as a duskborn! gonna also do him in watercolour at some point

[solofighterblog]

House Rules: Character Advancement

I have been trying to create a more structured way to advance my Ironsworn characters. I will experiment with the following house rules:

Combat XP is earned by defeating opponents in combat. At the end of a fight, 1 to 5 points of Combat XP are awarded, depending upon the Difficulty of the fight. Earning 3 points of Combat XP allows the player to advance a Combat Path asset or gain a new Combat Path asset.

Quest XP is earned by Fulfilling an Iron Vow. The player earns one "tick" for every Successful or Partially Successful roll made while Undertaking a Journey or Delving the Depths to reach a goal. Once an iron vow is fulfilled, 1 to 5 points of Quest XP are awarded, depending upon the Difficulty of the vow. Earning 3 points of Quest XP allows the player to advance a Path or Ritual asset or gain a new Ritual or Path asset.

Note: Ritual assets used in combat can be advanced by Combat XP.

(I realize Combat XP can be earned exponentially faster than Quest XP. I may later adjust how many Combat XP points are required to advance a Combat Path asset. For now, I will keep this rule as-is because I think Combat Path assets should be earned more quickly than Path or Ritual assets).

If a Companion assists the player with a fight or task of Dangerous level or higher, at least one point of Combat XP or Quest XP must be given to the Companion when awarded. When a Companion earns 3 total points of Combat or Quest XP (all 3 points must come from the same source), the player may advance the Companion.