On the other hand, channelers are inherently hard to balance. One of the most common and simple, we're told, weaves in the books is arms of air. For a non channeler, it's insta-death. Not so good.
As always, your mileage may vary.
However bigger consern for me is that Robert Jordan author of the books is very ill and it's questionable if the series will ever see the end.
As I'm runing the campaign atm. I've found that channelers are best to be kept as a plot device or as Aes Sedai to keep things in control as bigest flaw with channeling is that there is no condition track for getting exhausted in D&D.
Well you people forget about the 3 oaths which limits the use of the one power considerably at least where Aes Sedai are conserned.
Which doesn't affect male channelers. Sure, it's more uncommon for a male channeler to have an affinity with air, but it's not impossible. Not only that, but with the male half cleansed, the "balancing" factor of madness is non-existant.
It also doesn't affect girls/women that are wilders and/or have no associations with the Aes Sedai. Seanchan damane, for example. Heck, the sul'dam can channel too, much as they deny it.
Does it apply to PCs? Maybe. I could certainly see channeler concepts that have nothing to do with the Aes Sedai. Depends on the campaign. My point was (and is) that channeling is inherently hard to balance.
However bigger consern for me is that Robert Jordan author of the books is very ill and it's questionable if the series will ever see the end.
I agree very much.
As I'm runing the campaign atm. I've found that channelers are best to be kept as a plot device or as Aes Sedai to keep things in control as bigest flaw with channeling is that there is no condition track for getting exhausted in D&D.
That's certainly a good idea. However, not everyone who wants to play in the setting is willing to be limited in such a fashion. Some of the foremost examples of cool characters in the setting are channelers. I would not be surprised if channelers are among the more popular characters of the series.
Maybe it's one voice out in left field, but I certainly wouldn't play in a game where channelers were limited to Aes Sedai and plot devices. I dislike playing female characters, and my character isn't going to be an NPC on loan from the GM.
There is an exception. If the GM said, "The time period we're playing in is 100 years before Rand an Co. I would prefer that people don't play channelers. If you ahve to play a channeler, I want it to be Aes Sedai." That's different. Setting it during the events of the books, not so much.
As always, your mileage may vary.
However bigger consern for me is that Robert Jordan author of the books is very ill and it's questionable if the series will ever see the end.
No worries there, The last book should be out by the end of next year. Jordan has stated no matter how long this book is (which I hear the proluge is about 200 pages) this next one will be the end. And if something happened (God Forbid) His wife would probably be the one that writes the ending (seeing as how she has pretty much co-wrote this books).
as for limiting players to non channelers only, no rule I set are set in stone if a player wants to play a channeler they can do so but i expect them to be played accordingly and channelres of the 3rd age are rare and feared in most cases.
Also a wilder who still has block realises they can do something strange that other people cannot and most are too afraid to admit even to them selves that they can channel as it's just as likely that they have lost their minds.
Book is also missing the part every 3th wilder dying on wasting sickness when they first channel on their own, which severely limits the amount of wilders, also as channeling goes by blood lines the ability has steadily thinned out though the centuries.
Two rivers has a relatively small genepool (intermarriage) due to being isolated hence there are more wilder then should be the case in an area of that size.
So perhaps a better rule would be only one or two channelers per group depending on the amount of players.
but for my current group which is all non channelers, Aes Sedai are a good plot device and a foe that can be a great challenge ib both combat and otherwise (we play a somewhat modified campaign from that prohesies of the dragon splat book).
Also a bit of a problem is that RJ has never had the time to fully flesh out of his world, this is left for the DM and even if i have managed reasonably on this I would really like to have an official stance about the general look about borderlands (aside from shienar) and other nations that heroes in the books haven't visited yet.
I'm a big fan of this series, and I own the two RPG books Wizards put out, but I just don't think this setting works enough to try it again. Just as my group had a hard time plaing LOTRs RPG a few years ago because we felt the storyline was nothing short of sacred, it's hard to play Wheel of Time. Players naturally want to think they're affecting something big in the world, and Jordan's expansive writing makes this increasingly difficult.
It makes it feel like the players are small fish in an ocean of whales. Sure they can affect things, but those effects just don't seem to tip any scales in the world at large.
I still love the flavor of the world. That's the best part. It is fantasy but doesn't feel like typical D&D at all. ;)
It is with great sadness that at 2:45 today, the writer known to us a The Dragon has passed on. He unfortuneatley lost his fight with the Disease he fought with great courage. It was recently posted on his Message Boards.
This is very sad news indeed. All my thoughts go out to his wife Harriet and his family and friends.
I am not sure if there was anywhere else on these boards I could have posted this to get it out for fans of his work fantasy to know. If there is, please paste this there with a new thread. Thank-you.
I thought that I would pass this on to the fans of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time books and RPG.
It is with great sadness that at 2:45 today, the writer known to us a The Dragon has passed on. He unfortuneatley lost his fight with the Disease he fought with great courage. It was recently posted on his Message Boards.
This is very sad news indeed. All my thoughts go out to his wife Harriet and his family and friends.
I am not sure if there was anywhere else on these boards I could have posted this to get it out for fans of his work fantasy to know. If there is, please paste this not there with a new thread. Thank-you.
Thanks for letting us know.
Sad news for us fans indeed.
Sad news indeed. I think it's safe to say he's one of the greatest fantasy writers of all time.
I hope to still see the 12th and final book, even if the ending is pieced together. He'll still get my money, in fond memory.
The Dragon is gone.
Long live the Dragon.
tia mi aven moridin isainde vadin
In deed, "a grave is no bar to my call".
