Where I Am Now - a look at the current state of my design

Venturing further into the bizarre, I have here a more recent bit of design. It's the Sales check mechanic, originally from an issue of MODERNIZED. It is definitely not game-practical (as in, I cannot forsee any right-minded group implementing the mechanic) but it served as a fun exercise in putting mundane real-world tasks into d20 terms.


THE SALES CHECK
Salespeople of all kind exist to convince you to buy the products and services they have to offer. In d20 terms, this is accomplished by using the Sales check. Salespeople can be either honest or shifty; thus a Sales check is either a Diplomacy or a Bluff check. The DC for a Sales check is determined by adding the Purchase DC of the product or service to the target customer’s Will save modifier. This DC is further modified by the factors listed below. Success on a Sales check raises the target customer’s attitude towards the product or service by one step (most customers are assumed to begin at Indifferent towards any given product or service). For every 5 points above the DC, the customer’s attitude improves by an additional step, up to “Helpful,” which means the customer is enthusiastic and quite willing to buy the product. Failing the check fails to adjust the customer’s attitude towards the product. Rolling a critical failure (1) results in actually lowering the customer’s opinion of the product or service by one step. Note that a Sales check is different than making a Diplomacy check to raise a character’s attitude towards another character.

Using the Bluff skill to make a Sales check has its risks. Like any Bluff attempt, the customer is allowed to make an Sense Motive check (against the Sales check) to detect the dishonesty. The consequences of a successful Sense Motive check are up to the GM, but typically, the customer will gain a negative opinion of the Salesperson that renders any Sales checks useless.

One’s attitude towards a product or service is not a guarantee that one will purchase it. Thus, even the best Sales check doesn’t always result in a sale. Despite the seeming futility of salesmanship, some still strive to excel at it.

Factors That Affect Sales Checks DCs

Customer's attitude towards product
for each attitude level better than Indifferent: -2
for each attitude level worse than Indifferent: +2


Customer's attitude towards salesperson
for each attitude level better than Indifferent: -2
for each attitude level worse than Indifferent: +2

Customer's Wealth bonus is...
higher than the Purchase DC of the product: -2
1-10 points lower than the product's Purchase DC: +2
11-15 points lower than the product's Purchase DC: +4
16+ points lower than the product's Purchase DC: +6

Customer could not afford product even by taking 20 on the Wealth check: +8

Customer is in dire need of the product: -2 to -8 (GM's discretion)


FEATS FOR THE ENTERPRISING SALESPERSON

Product Knowledge
Benefit: Choose a Knowledge skill that the salesperson has at least 5 ranks in and is applicable to a product or service the salesperson sells. He or she receives a +2 synergy bonus on all Sales checks when selling products or services applicable to that Knowledge skill. This bonus only applies to Sales checks made using Diplomacy.
Special: This talent may be taken multiple times. Each time it applies to a new Knowledge skill.

Tailor the Sale
Benefit: By engaging in a brief bit of conversation, the salesperson can find out a bit of information about the target customer. Engaging in at least 1 minute of conversation and succeeding at a Gather Information check (DC 15) yields some very basic information about the customer: their interests, their lifestyle, and a general idea of their Wealth. Such information earns the salesperson a +1 insight bonus to Sales checks against that customer. The salesperson can opt to continue this information-gathering conversation; for each additional minute spent talking, the insight bonus for the successful Gather Information check increases by 1. This bonus can increase no higher than 5.

Aggrandizement
Benefit: The salesperson may attempt to make a product or service seem better than it actually is. Engaging in at least 1 minute of conversation with a customer and making a successful Bluff check grants the salesperson a +1 circumstance bonus on Sales checks against that customer for a particular product or service. The salesperson may use this ability several times in succession, each time increasing the circumstance bonus by 1, but never higher than 5.

Price Flubbing
Benefit: The salesperson is experienced with making prices seem lower than they actually are. When the salesperson uses Bluff to make a Sales check, he or she may "lower" the Purchase DC of the product by any amount(this in turn lowers the Sales DC). On a successful Sales check, the customer is thus mislead about the price of the product or service. The customer may gain a bonus on his or her Sense Motive check at the GM's discretion; this bonus is an amount equal to the difference between the actual Purchase DC of the product and the flubbed Purchase DC. Using this ability has its risks; while it may make Sales checks easier, the customer might be very surprised when confronted with the actual price.

The above game mechanics are open game content under the terms of the OGL.

Where I've Come From - a look at my early design work.

My first work in the industry was for a development group called The Brood. They're the crew responsible for E.N. Publishing's Crimson Contracts and Arcane Strife, as well as UKG Publishing's amazing Year of the Zombie. They were a hardcore group to start with, led by the force of nature known as Tim Willard. I wouldn't be here talking to you about game design if it weren't for his inspiration.

A lot of the material I provided The Brood has yet to be, and may never be, published. This may be a good thing, I think as I look back on that material. Want an example? Of course you don't. But this is my blog and I'm going to subject you to whatever I choose (it is at this point that I remind you of your ever-present free will and provide you with an easy escape to more interesting fare).

The following is a prestige class I cooked up during my kobold infatuation. Since I lack the know-how for effective table presentation in this venue, I will present the info as best I can.

SPEAR SKIRMISHER
In battle, the greatest weakness of the kobolds is their lack of hand-to-hand proficiency. Most other races, including gnomes, generally outmatch kobolds in a one on one melee. While kobolds employ clever traps and sorcery to compensate for this weakness, they know that their enemies will seek to take advantage of it. Ximnorgd, informal leader of the Kobold military forces, has constructed a system of training designed to make the common Kobold warrior a more effective fighter.

Hit die: d8

Requirements
To qualify to become a Spear Skirmisher, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Kobold
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Feats: Weapon Focus (shortspear)
Special: Sneak Attack +1d6

Class Skills
The Spear Skirmisher’s class skills (and the key abilities for each) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), and Spot (Wis).
Skill Points per level: 3 + Int modifier

Base Attack Bonus: as Fighter
Fort Save: Good
Ref Save: Good
Will Save: Poor

Class Features
All of the following are Class Features of the Spear Skirmisher prestige class.

Spear Defense (melee) (Ex): The kobold is taught to use the spear as a defensive weapon. While wielding a shortspear she may, as a standard action, gain a +1 deflection bonus to AC against melee attacks for the round. Doing so grants a +2 bonus to any attacker’s Sunder attack roll, since the kobold is practically holding her weapon out to be smashed. The deflection bonus increases by +1 at 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level. This ability may only be used while wearing light or no armor.

Sneak Attack: This is identical to the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 every three levels (2nd, 5th, and 8th). If a Spear Skirmisher receives Sneak Attack bonus damage from another class, those bonuses stack.

Bonus Feat: At 3rd and 7th level, the Spear Skirmisher may choose a bonus feat from the Bonus Fighter Feats list.

Spear Defense (ranged) (Ex): The Spear Skirmisher eventually becomes so adept at using her spear as a defensive weapon that she is able to swat incoming projectiles out of the sky. When using the Spear Defense ability, the Spear Skirmisher also gains a +1 deflection bonus against ranged attacks for the round. This deflection bonus increases to +2 at 8th level.

Reach Out and Hurt (Ex): Many opponents believe themselves safe when at distance from a Kobold. Spear Skirmishers become adept at exploiting this assumption. Once per round, as a standard action, the Spear Skirmisher may attack 10ft away as though her shortspear were a reach weapon.

Returning Spear (Su): Now bonded with her weapon, the Spear Skirmisher’s shortspear acts as though it had the returning property. This ability only functions for the wielder of the shortspear, though it applies to any shortspear the Spear Skirmisher wields.


As you can see, it was a focused enough idea for a prestige class - oriented to one race and one type of weapon. In retrospect, gaining a fighter BAB alongside all these abilities is probably too much. The Spear Defense abilities are kind of lame and don't really make up for AC disadvantage of using light or no armor. I really like the flavour of the class but I can't help but think I could have represented it better through the mechanics.

The game mechanics presented here are open content under the OGL. Ximnorgd and other proper nouns are Product Identity of David S. Gallant.

OGL for postMODERNIZED

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Spear Skirmisher Copyright 2007, postMODERNIZED; Author David S. Gallant

The Sales Check Copyright 2007, postMODERNIZED; Author David S. Gallant

Out Copyright 2007, postMODERNIZED; Author David S. Gallant

Samuel Sprinter Copyright 2008, postMODERNIZED; Author David S. Gallant

System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.

Star Wars Roleplaying Game Copyright 2000; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins and JD Wiker
(note - cited as reference only. contains no OGC)

Advanced Player’s Guide, Copyright 2004, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Blue Rose, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing; Authors Jeremy
Crawford, Dawn Elliot, Steve Kenson, Alejandro Melchoir, and John Snead.

Monte Cook Presents: Iron Heroes, Copyright 2005, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.

Mutants & Masterminds, Copyright 2002, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson.

The Psychic’s Handbook, Copyright 2004, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson.

Unearthed Arcana, Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, Rich Redman.

True20 Adventure Roleplaying, Copyright 2005, Green Ronin Publishing; Author Steve Kenson.

Caliphate Nights, Copyright 2006, Paradigm Concepts; Author Aaron Infante-Levy

Lux Aeternum, Copyright 2006, BlackWyrm Games; Author Ryan Wolfe, with Dave Mattingly, Aaron Sullivan, and Derrick Thomas.

Mecha vs. Kaiju, Copyright 2006, Big Finger Games; Author Johnathan Wright

Borrowed Time, Copyright 2006, Golden Elm Media; Authors Bruce Baugh and David Bolack

END OF LICENSE

Guns and Magic: a winning combination.

I just fired off an edited draft of Firearm Arcana off to the good folks at Expeditious Retreat Press in the hopes that they might find a use for it. I originally contacted them in regards to the Free Tip of the Day featured on the publisher's co-op, Your Games Now. I figured that a collection of spells could easily fill a couple weeks worth of tips, and I am eager to contribute to the success of YGN.

Firearm Arcana is a perfect representation of my writing style in a small package. It takes something I find cool (two things, actually: guns and spellslinging) and tries to find the most unconventional things to do with them. Or, it takes standard elements and does them in different ways. Take, for example, the 5th-level Acolyte spell LeSmith's Near-Complete Bulletproofing. It does two things. Number one, it converts ballistics damage to nonlethal damage, which isn't so bad under the standard d20 Modern nonlethal damage rules (it's a little worse for the caster if the game is being run, like so many d20 Modern games, with houserules in place making nonlethal damage similar to it's D&D counterpart). It therefore can turn a lethal gunshot into simply a knockout shot, or allow the caster to shrug off shots that would seriously wound him. Its second effect is to deal an equal amount of (lethal) ballistics damage back to any source that tries to deal ballistics damage to the caster. In short, when someone tries to shoot the caster, the gun gets shot back. This may not seem like an effective retaliation until you compare the amount of damage most guns do to their hardness and hit points. On a good damage roll, the attacker's gun will shatter in their hands, and the caster may be knocked unconscious or may just have a nasty bruise to show for it.

My favourite creation in the document isn't a spell at all; it is the Bullet Bug Swarm, a horde of chittering insect that resemble arachnoid ammunition. They attempt to bury into their victims and leave wounds that look remarkably similar to gunshots. I could see bullet bugs serving as an interesting introduction to the arcane in modern games. The players are tasked with investigating a "murder" where the apparent gunshot victim was alone in a room with no sign of ballistic penetration through the walls. There's evidence of an insect presence at the scene, but the victim appears to have died from multiple gunshots. Or did he?

An Apology To My Superiors

I cannot meet a deadline.

You all know this by now. Whether I've missed one scheduled submission, or whether I agreed to a project and then disappeared, I've done it all. You might be wondering why or you might not even care. You may have actually written me off by this time.

I procrastinate. Habitually. I will dive into a video game for hours, or get lost in the depths of Wikipedia, or (since I'm on an honest streak) indulge my taste for porn. I do it as a reaction against work. I boot up my word processor, get ready to hammer down some paragraphs, and then instinctively turn to a distraction. I have to practice great self control to keep myself on task.

I used to write a lot, back in high school and university. Back then writing was my procrastination; I would scribble notes during boring lectures and compose game mechanics during lab work. I thought my creative output would increase after university, but I can see now why it hasn't. Rather than being my escape from work, writing has become the work. It is now what I escape from, rather than the escape itself.

There really are no excuses for this. I am not expecting any understanding or pity. I do not have a condition. It is a character flaw that I am working to correct.

To those of you who have asked me for work and received nothing, I sincerely apologize. Today I begin to rectify these mistakes; today I finish what I've started.