Turbiales
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Joined: Wed 03 Jul 2024, 12:51

Questions about Spirit Walk, and Elixirs.

Mon 09 Sep 2024, 16:42

Hi I'm Actually running two ROS Campaigns. And In one of them in the last session some questions were raised.


Spirit Walk. One of the players is a former cultist and as his first level spell picked "Spirit Walk" , at firt I considered "is no big deal, it's a ritual for interaction with the spirit world".

Oh Boy.

The player used this ritual to perform infiltrations and combat, as the spells states that he is invisible for creatures in the material world and can only be seen by creatures in the spiritual. (And he can see and interact with creatures in the material because is wasn't specified he can't) Is using the ritual as a Greater invibility spell that last 10 minutes and performed almost unlimited sneak attacks. He is the perfect assassin, indetectable and a bringer of death capable of ruin kingdoms.


At level 3.

I don't think the spell is balanced at this state. And I was considering removing the capability of see / interact creatures in the material realm.

The same player also argued that the Alchemy capability allowed him to create a minor/basic elixir every single day he was resting in Thistle Hold. He doesn't even has purchased the Alchemy Supplies because the rule doesn't state exactly that he has to have one to create the elixirs (It only states he can do it). Even argued that que rule doesn't state that he needs any components, he can simply "do it".

I zeroruled he can do it , but limited it to extended rests. But in order to limit this exploit he only can do it once every adventure (As per extender rest), in order to not create unlimited elixirs, thalers in value, for free.

This ruling has the consequence that everybody else in the party cannot have any extended rest more than once in the adventure. Even resting in Thistle Hold. This is less than ideal :/

Another player is Playing a proper Alchemist but she is an sporadic player. She asked if was able to do gathering the days she has not been adventuring. As the rules of Elixirs states that she has to pay half the cost in materials or "do 1 day of downtime gathering" . I think is incredibly imprecise, almost all of my players are exploiting this rule to get elixirs for free between adventures.

I have to rule that she cannot do more than one elixir this way. Because if she skipped for example a month, she can do easily 15 elixirs!!!

In concerned because the player's are relatively new to Symbaroum and they have the pontential to destabilize the economy of the kingdom.
 
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Jacob Rodgers
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Re: Questions about Spirit Walk, and Elixirs.

Mon 16 Sep 2024, 15:30

Alright, before I go into details on things, the most important rule is that you are the gamemaster, which means you set the rules for the story you're telling. Of course, you want to be fair and consistent, but you get to say what the rules mean, not the players.

For spirit walk, it is a 1st-level transmutation. It does have a long casting time (which can be extended even more by casting it as a ritual) and longer duration, but it also says "you become part of the spirit world". It does not say "you gain Incorporeal Movement but can still interact with the physical world". It also sets up a danger of being attacked by spirits.

I would suggest looking at Etherealness (a property of the OGL Ghost and others) and simply declaring that a 1st-level spell does not set up a master assassin situation. The character can go into the spirit world, have spooky interactions with the spirits there, but not interact with the physical world. Yeah, they might be able to use it to get the drop on a enemy, but they might also be attacked by a spirit and none of the rest of the party could do anything to help them.

As for Alchemy, the OGL rules for crafting still apply. That mean the player needs raw materials equal to half the elixir's cost. The Approach feature shortcuts some of the process, but also it is limited to one elixir per extended rest. I'm not sure if I'm misreading you, or there was some confusion about that. So at lower levels, that's 1 elixir per extended rest. And extended rests should signal a major break in the action. You PCs should not be taking extended rests during the middle of an adventure, they should be a reset between adventures, or maybe a major pause in a big adventure.

As for your sporadic player, you may want to work with her to set up a situation that allows her to join when she's available, but doesn't penalize or reward her for that. So perhaps the character joins an adventure when they can, but has lots of family responsibilities that prevent her from spending her time when not adventuring out hunting for supplies for elixirs.

And, perhaps, the section on page 180 should be read "at least 1 downtime day of gathering" – I know it doesn't as printed, but you always miss something when putting together a large product like this.

I hope this helps!
 
Turbiales
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Re: Questions about Spirit Walk, and Elixirs.

Sat 21 Sep 2024, 17:26

Thanks a lot Jacob, it answers all of my questions :)

I suggested the player to change the spell (As he is a kind of rules lawyer). And I suspected the extended rest to be used as you suggested.
 
Ugglefar
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Re: Questions about Spirit Walk, and Elixirs.

Thu 26 Sep 2024, 15:13

Thanks a lot Jacob, it answers all of my questions :)

I suggested the player to change the spell (As he is a kind of rules lawyer). And I suspected the extended rest to be used as you suggested.
To be honest it rather sounds like your player is a rules abuser than a rules lawyer. Just because a rule does not explicitly prohibits something does not mean that it is possible. I mean, the spell Fireball does not explicitly say that my character can’t grow a pair of wings and fly around, that doesn’t mean it allows me to grow a pair of wings.

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