Darksun: Regional Traits - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Darksun: Regional Traits

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
joboo
Mar 22, 2005 12:26:25 Would Athas.org be interested in creating regional traits for Pc's?

I kind of liked the way Forgotten realms handled Region with a group of exclusive feats and bonus equipment.

I thought they way that Ebberon handled it, was better instead listing all of the skills and feats that most characters from that Region would likely have. In addition they also list the Classes and Races that are dominant or common.

(In Ebberon where Region is described)
I like to give my players as much option as possible (so they can play a class that is rare to the region, or choose skills and feats that are not on the Regional list). But I also like to reward them if they choose to follow the style of the region that they choose to be from.

If a player choses a class that is listed under a Region I give them four extra skill points. For each feat they choose that is listed under their Region, they get 2 extra skill points. ( I tell my players that it is easier to learn skills when you have been around them alot.)

Players get to feel like they are part of their culture without sacrificing much and this adds to the flavor Imo. If they want to be different or unique they can, and still be able to pick up free skill pts later when they pick up a feat listed under their Region.

I don't like to use "Regional feats" as they are listed in the forgotten realms. Because they are Exclusive to the other players that want to learn a feat but hail from a different Region.

In Ebberon its just a list of recommended Feats and Classes which I reward my players for choosing. This reward system is my own house rule that works nicely. I think it would be somthing to consider in the future. I call them "Regional Traits". This could also work for the other Races who have their own community, such as the Thri-kreen, The Elven tribes, and the Halflings.
#2
Pennarin
Mar 22, 2005 15:18:55 Eberron has no reward system of the genre you described, but the specific section on regionality is very good and would be useful for DS I believe.
Some cities like Balic and Draj desperatly need more definition, so that PCs coming from those regions won't look like generic DS characters since those cities are supposed to have strong unique personalities of their own.

Each entry in Eberron starts with a small paragraph describing the personality of the people of the region.
Then followed by a listing of Classes, Skills, Feats, and Prestige Classes usually taken by those people.
#3
Kamelion
Mar 22, 2005 21:53:09 I took the Greyhawk regional feats from Dragon #315 and #319 and adapted those to the Dark Sun setting and added those to the regional DS feats already described in the DS3e Core Rules. I don't have the Players Guide to Faerun so I dunno how it works in there, but the Greyhawk regional feats can also be learned by characters from other regions, depending on how many ranks they have in Knowledge (local) for the area. I'm still tweaking the regions (just got this finished yesterday as it happens) and trying to see how it all balances out but I'd be willing to share what I have so far with anyone who is interested. I also like the idea of fleshing out the "regional traits" that you guys mention. I use the favoured class system from the Conan game (this rule ignores idea of xp penalties for multiclassing outsied of your favoured class and instead rewards you for taking that class by granting a bonus feat at 1st, 5th and 10th level in your favoured class) and think that coming up with favoured classes based on region would be a good way to develop this for human characters. The thri-kreen entry in Terrors of Athas explores this idea for the kreen, giving each subspecies of kreen a different favoured class - something which could be done for the different elf tribes or halfling communities, for example. (Sorry if this is a bit rambling - it is rather late ;) )
#4
joboo
Mar 22, 2005 23:39:36 Sorry, I forgot to explain that the reward system was a house rule. In addition to what I had written above, if skills were listed under the description, my players could forgo the four skill points (that they would recieve if they chose the class that was listed for the region they chose) and chose two of those skills as class skills instead.

I apologize for not explaining that thoroughly.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 joboo Mar 22, 2005 12:26:25	Would Athas.org be interested in creating regional traits for Pc's? I kind of liked the way Forgotten realms handled Region with a group of exclusive feats and bonus equipment. I thought they way that Ebberon handled it, was better instead listing all of the skills and feats that most characters from that Region would likely have. In addition they also list the Classes and Races that are dominant or common. (In Ebberon where Region is described) I like to give my players as much option as possible (so they can play a class that is rare to the region, or choose skills and feats that are not on the Regional list). But I also like to reward them if they choose to follow the style of the region that they choose to be from. If a player choses a class that is listed under a Region I give them four extra skill points. For each feat they choose that is listed under their Region, they get 2 extra skill points. ( I tell my players that it is easier to learn skills when you have been around them alot.) Players get to feel like they are part of their culture without sacrificing much and this adds to the flavor Imo. If they want to be different or unique they can, and still be able to pick up free skill pts later when they pick up a feat listed under their Region. I don't like to use "Regional feats" as they are listed in the forgotten realms. Because they are Exclusive to the other players that want to learn a feat but hail from a different Region. In Ebberon its just a list of recommended Feats and Classes which I reward my players for choosing. This reward system is my own house rule that works nicely. I think it would be somthing to consider in the future. I call them "Regional Traits". This could also work for the other Races who have their own community, such as the Thri-kreen, The Elven tribes, and the Halflings.
#2 Pennarin Mar 22, 2005 15:18:55	Eberron has no reward system of the genre you described, but the specific section on regionality is very good and would be useful for DS I believe. Some cities like Balic and Draj desperatly need more definition, so that PCs coming from those regions won't look like generic DS characters since those cities are supposed to have strong unique personalities of their own. Each entry in Eberron starts with a small paragraph describing the personality of the people of the region. Then followed by a listing of Classes, Skills, Feats, and Prestige Classes usually taken by those people.
#3 Kamelion Mar 22, 2005 21:53:09	I took the Greyhawk regional feats from Dragon #315 and #319 and adapted those to the Dark Sun setting and added those to the regional DS feats already described in the DS3e Core Rules. I don't have the Players Guide to Faerun so I dunno how it works in there, but the Greyhawk regional feats can also be learned by characters from other regions, depending on how many ranks they have in Knowledge (local) for the area. I'm still tweaking the regions (just got this finished yesterday as it happens) and trying to see how it all balances out but I'd be willing to share what I have so far with anyone who is interested. I also like the idea of fleshing out the "regional traits" that you guys mention. I use the favoured class system from the Conan game (this rule ignores idea of xp penalties for multiclassing outsied of your favoured class and instead rewards you for taking that class by granting a bonus feat at 1st, 5th and 10th level in your favoured class) and think that coming up with favoured classes based on region would be a good way to develop this for human characters. The thri-kreen entry in Terrors of Athas explores this idea for the kreen, giving each subspecies of kreen a different favoured class - something which could be done for the different elf tribes or halfling communities, for example. (Sorry if this is a bit rambling - it is rather late ;) )
#4 joboo Mar 22, 2005 23:39:36	Sorry, I forgot to explain that the reward system was a house rule. In addition to what I had written above, if skills were listed under the description, my players could forgo the four skill points (that they would recieve if they chose the class that was listed for the region they chose) and chose two of those skills as class skills instead. I apologize for not explaining that thoroughly.