7th Circle: Potential Iconics #1

Here are 5 potential iconic characters for the 7th Circle game- the equivalent of D&D iconics such as Redgar and Lidda, characters used in examples and anecdotes.

John Hallidae
World: Wild West equivalent of the Urban Arcana campaign setting.
Crunch: LG Elven Ranger/\Tough Hero\Gunslinger\Frontier Marshal
Supplements: d20 Past, Oriental Adventures
Special Bonus: Quick-Draw Attack (Uses the Iaujitsu Focus skill from Oriental Adventures, but with one-handed firearms instead of swords) and Lay Down the Law (Can Smite Chaos in the same manner as the Smite Evil ability of a paladin of his level).
Background/Personality: John's father was a half-elf veteran of the Mexican-American and Civil Wars, who came west with his wife and worked as the sheriff of a fierce frontier town for over a century. John wanted nothing more than a steady job as a ranch hand, but when his father was killed in a shootout with a troll bandit known as Ike Rothide, he felt obligated to take his father's place as lawman. In the eighty years that have followed, he has come to understand the reverence his father held for the law. Now that his home has become increasingly civilized, he welcomes the chance to more good elsewhere.
Abilities: John is a crack shot with two pistols (Two-weapon fighting combat style, Gunslinger), but is also experienced when it comes to nonviolent methods of conflict resolution (Field Marshal, Law Enforcement occupation). He is regarded by many as one of the toughest elves they've ever met (Tough Hero), a quality he usually credits to his human grandmother.

Takano Reeves
World: Modern-day gothic urban arcana.
Crunch: LN Human Warlock/\Dedicated Hero\Arcane Arranger
Supplements: Complete Arcane
Special Bonus: +2 save DC against chaotic outsiders and evil outsiders (Stacks against CE outsiders).
Background/Personality: Since the age of six, Takano has been a loyal earthly agent of Hell- or at least, one of its factions. Specifically, he served the devils in his world's equivalent of the Blood War- not an endless conflict, but a revolution by Lucifer and his demons that was only a few centuries old and fast coming to a close with the devils on the losing side. While the demons sought only to pursue their own sadistic inclinations, Takano's faction still sought to follow their assigned role in the grand cosmology, testing and strengthening humanity through trials instead of seeking to do them ill. At any rate, to make a long and complicated story short Takano's masters lost the war. In the warlock's own words, there's nothing left for him back home, only a life of revenge he'd rather not get sucked into.
Abilities: In addition to the formidable eldritch power he channels (Warlock) Mr. Reeves has a knack for dealing with supernatural communites- occult undergrounds and the like (Empathy talent, Arcane Arranger). In addition. he has an uncanny ability to sense trouble long before it arrives (Intuition talent tree).

Sir John Antonidus Cadderly
World: Victorian-Era Mild Supernatural
Crunch: Male Kalashtar Cleric/Psion/Elocator/\Fast Hero\Acolyte(Cleric)
Supplements: Eberron Campaign Setting, Expanded Psionics Handbook.
Special Bonus: Slippery Mind, can simultaneously cast spell an manifest power as metamagic feat (+2 spell level)
Background/Personality: A decade ago the man Sir John once was was attempting to conduct a séance together with other members of a gentleman's club dedicated to researching the occult. Rather than contacting the spirits of the deceased, they found themselves being plunged into the dream-world of Kadaath, where a group of benevolent spiritual entities had cried for aid. In the end Anton and his fellows decided to merge with a few of the dream-entities in order to defend them from the approaching Quorian horrors, resulting in beings who were the fusion of man and dream-entity.
Abilities: Anton was a young man with great psychic potential, while the quorian he merged with was a high priest of their kind. As such, even in the material realm the being resulting from their fusion possesses great reserves of both psionic and divine power (cleric and psion). The sight of him striding forwards through empty air with grim purpose is a frightening image indeed, especially when one of these steps can somehow bypass normal space and take him right to your side (Elocator).

Emily Adams
World: Modern Day Paranormal Conspiracy
Crunch: NG Halfling Scout/\Smart Hero\Spec Ops
Supplements: Complete Adventurer, Urban Arcana Web Enhancement
Special Bonus: Reduced price increase for future-era equipment, cover bonus to AC increases by 2
Background/Personality: Emily was a trained government operative, similar to the FBI agents of our world but with a more militaristic bent. Her career experienced an abrupt shift in direction when she not only witnessed but prevented an alien abduction. An agent that just wanted to do her job now found herself in the center of a mess of cloak-and-dagger politics. Life as an interloper agent has proven a welcome alternative.
Abilities: Though smaller than many of her compatriots, Emily has a knack for quickly navigating hostile terrain while remaining undetected (Scout, Spec Op) and is an expert in the field of demolitions and sabotage (Spec Ops, Smart Hero). In combat she tends to use her old pistol but is quite proficient with a sword as well; in either case she uses sound tactics, keeping behind cover and lashing out when her opponent's guard is down (Scout, Tactics talent tree).

Dawn Kedrickson
World: Dystopian Cyberpunk
Crunch: CG Human Rogue/Reaping Mauler/\Tough Hero\Thrasher
Supplements: Complete Warrior, Complete Scoundrel
Special Bonus: Cybernetic arm gives +2 strength and functions like brass knuckles, as well as being enchantable like any normal weapon.
Background/Personality: Although highly disillusioned and cynical, Dawn has an altruistic streak she can't seem to keep under control; it compels her to stand up for the underdog and, in her opinion, is much more trouble than it's worth. IN her homeworld she was an excellent arena fighter and did a more than a little detective work when money was tight, but neither occupation ever appealed to her as anything more than a way of making ends meet.
Abilities: Dawn is a surprisingly tenacious close-range combatant, able to take a hell of a beating (Tough hero and Thrasher) and give as good as she gets with an arsenal of dirty fighting moves (Improved Feint combined with Sneak Attack, Ambush feats and Knockout Punch). Though she tends to sell herself short, Dawn is also talented in the areas of infiltration, hacking and thievery (Rogue levels, Investigative occupation).

As always, your opinion would be highly appreciated. Which characters do you find interesting?

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d20 System Variant: Action Points

Here is an altered version of the action point rules found in products such as d20 Modern and the Eberron campaign setting, another of the variants I've been creating for the 7th Circle. If you wish to include them in a game that does not normally feature action points, I suggest having the number of action points player have at each level equal 5+half their character level.

Character Level - Action Point Dice Rolled - Maximum Points Per Turn
1st–4th - 1d6 - 1
5th–8th - 2d4 - 2
9th–12th - 2d6 - 2
13th-16th - 4d4 - 3
17th-20th - 3d6 - 3

Action points provide characters with the means to affect game play in significant ways. A character always has a limited amount of action points, but while the character replenishes this supply with every new level he or she attains, any unspent points from the previous level are lost. A character can spend 1 action point to do one of the following things:

* Add your action point dice to a single d20 roll used to make an attack, a skill check, an ability check, a level check, or a saving throw. A character can declare this use of an action point after the d20 roll is made, but only before the GM reveals the result of that roll (whether the attack or check or saving throw succeeded or failed).
* Use a class feature or special bonus ability during your turn for which the expenditure of 1 action point is required.
* Make a check with a trained-only skill as though it could be used untrained.
* For one round, gain the benefit of a feat for which you meet all the prerequisites.
* As an immediate action, gain your character level plus your action point dice in temporary hit points. These hit points last for one round per level.
* Add action point dice to the amount of hit points restored through natural healing, multiplying the number of dice rolled by the number of hit points restored per character level (so double the normal number of dice for a full day of rest and triple for a day of long-term medical care).
* With GM approval, use an ability in a way that is theoretically possible and dramatically appropriate but not normally possible under the given rules.

At first level, a character can spend a total of 1 action point per turn and adds 1d6 to the result when spending an action point in a way that adds action point dice to a result. At higher levels characters may spend additional action points (though not to add additional action point dice to the same result) and add more d6es to the result when adding action point dice, as listed on the table below.

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d20 Modern: Revised Base Classes

*Phew.* This pdf represents a fairly large investment of time and effort on my part. It contains revised versions of the 6 d20 Modern base classes, another part of d20 Modern I felt wasn't interesting enough, featuring changes and additions- each class is now 20 levels and features 6 or more new talents.

Much credit is owed here to the excellent Back to Basics supplement for the equally fantastic Spycraft rpg. If anyone would rather just have a straight pdf or word document rather than having to extract this file from .rar, let me know. The iconic characters featured in the pdf correspond to the 7th Circle, but they can be ignored if you just want to use these for a d20 modern game.

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d20 Modern: Revised Firearms Combat Rules

As a part of the 7th Circle project, I've started working on some variants for d20 modern to make its role in the game more interesting- no big alterations to the fundamental rules, just new material replacing the old. In this case I've attempted to revise firearms combat (and in a few cases, ranged combat in general) just by introducing two new combat maneuvers and revising a handful of feats. Credit for inspiration is due to the excellent Spycraft RPG and the Hero's Guide supplement to the d20 Star Wars game. The revised occupations list, base classes and action point rules can wait for another day.

NEW COMBAT ACTIONS
Suppressive Fire
As a full-round action, a character whose firearm has at least 5 shots remaining may expend 5 shots to target an unoccupied square. Until their next turn, that character is treated as threatening the square in question with that firearm and can make attacks of opportunity as normal.

Take Aim
As a standard action, a character can take aim with a ranged weapon. Have the character make a ranged touch attack as though it were with a ranged weapon that they are currently wielding. If the touch attack hits, the character gains a +2 competence bonus on all attack rolls against the target in question until the target moves more than 5 feet during a turn or leaves the attacker's line of sight. While aiming, the attacker cannot attack any other targets or use any other weapons, nor can they move, even to make a 5-foot step. Likewise, if the character’s concentration is disrupted, the character loses the benefit of aiming.

REVISED FEATS
Advanced Firearms Proficiency
In addition to negating the -4 penalty on a standard autofire attack, a character with this feat whose automatic firearm has 6 or more shots remaining may focus a stream of fire at a target. The character chooses a number of volleys up to 1/3 the remaining shots in his weapon (rounded down, maximum 10 volleys), expending 3 shots per volley fired. The character then makes 1 attack as a full-round action, suffering a –1 penalty per volley fired (in addition to all standard modifiers). With a hit, the target is struck by 1 shot + 1 additional shot for every 4 by which the character’s attack result exceeds the target’s Defense (to a maximum equal to the number of volleys fired). Regardless of the number of volleys the character fires, they apply precision-based damage only once. If they score a critical hit, only the first shot fired deals critical damage; all others deal regular damage.
Also, a character with this feat who uses an automatic firearm to take a Suppressive Fire action may target an unoccupied 5-foot-by-10-foot or 10-foot-by-10-foot area instead of a 5-foot-by-5-foot square.

Burst Fire
A character with this feat may also make a wide burst instead of a narrow one, foregoing the extra 2 dice of damage in exchange for a +2 circumstance bonus on the attack roll (as opposed to a -4 penalty).

Dead Aim
Prerequisites: Wisdom 13, Far Shot.
Benefits: The character may Take Aim as a move action and receives a +4 circumstance bonus to hit.
Normal: It takes a standard action to Take Aim and the character receives a +2 circumstance bonus.

Skip Shot
This feat does not apply a penalty to damage. It may be used with any ranged weapon, not just firearms. The GM has final ruling on which attacks will successfully bounce off which surfaces (requiring a reflective surface for a spell ray, for example).

Strafe
Prerequisites: Personal Firearms Proficiency, Advanced Firearms Proficiency.
Benefits: A character whose automatic firearm still has 9 or more shots remaining may spread a stream of ammunition across several targets. The character chooses a number of adjacent 5-ft. squares up to 1/3 the ammunition remaining in his weapon (rounded down, maximum 10 squares) and expends 3 shots for each square chosen this way. He may not skip any squares across the target area, nor may he target any square more than once or target any square directly behind another square already being strafed.
The character then makes a single attack roll against all of the opponents occupying the chosen squares. Each successive square (including the first) receives a cumulative +2 circumstance bonus to defense, starting with one end of the line of squares and moving along to the other. The character selects one square beforehand and applies any precision-based damage (including critical hits) to that target only. If the same target occupies multiple selected squares, each occupied square is handled as a separate target. The standard bonus to Defense applies, and damage is inflicted for each successful hit.
Alternately, the character may select only unoccupied squares and be treated as threatening those squares until the beginning of their next turn in the same manner as a Suppressive Fire action, taking a -1 penalty per square selected to each attack of opportunity made this way.

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7th Circle: Sample Character #1

The following is a sample 7th Circle character. I'm working on statting out her fellow team members; everyone in the group is ECL 12.

Sarah Aradayon, Female Fire Genasi
LG Swordsage 6/Bloodclaw Master 5/\Strong Hero 3\Martial Artist 8
Non-Core Material: Forgotten Realms, Tome of Battle

Once the heir apparent to a powerful medieval-era desert empire ruled by fire genasi, Sarah had no interest in the stifling, pampered court lifestyle. Disguising herself as a human commoner, the haughty but honorable girl began living a double life away from the palace as an adventurer in the service of the Seventh Order. When her aunt began to abuse the power she wielded as queen, the Seventh Order revealed its secrets to Sarah and asked her to sacrifice her place as queen-in-waiting in order to challenge her aunt's claim to the throne. They expected reluctance if not an outright refusal, but Sarah practically jumped at the opportunity- the offer of a new life as an Interloper was just icing on the cake.

It only takes a minute or two of conversation to see just how poorly cut out the young planetouched woman was for the politics of nobles, even if the nobles in question are all hot-tempered fire genasi themselves. Sarah is often blunt and brutally honest, with a talent for making a terrible first impression and no head for social niceties- though she does have an impressive aptitude for fitting in when she puts her mind to it. Her teammates have little trouble tolerating her rough manner, since they know that underneath is a good-natured young woman who means no offense by her actions and works fiercely to repay her debts (regardless of whether she's paying someone back for good or for ill).

Sarah's main contribution to her team is her proficiency for melee combat- she needs only her bare hands to rip an enemy to apart. Her training in martial arts has focused more on physical techniques than the spiritual discipline that usually accompanies such an advanced level of study. Though she still channels ki to devastating effect, the young fire genasi achieves this end not through inner tranquility but the powerful techniques of the Sublime Way and her own elemental heritage. The end result is a fighting style that, as one teammate puts it, tears into enemies “like a combination dire tiger and fireball spell.”

Statistics
Str 19 – (16+1 level+2 magic)
Dex 18 – (16+2 magic)
Con 15 – (13+2 magic)
Int 12 – (10+2 race)
Wis 17 – (15+1 level+2 magic)
Cha 6 – (8-2 race)

HD 5d8+5d12+30, Hit Points 85, Massive Damage Threshold 25
Defense 34 (10+8 base+4 dex+3 wis+1 monk+7 armor+1 deflection), Touch 27, Flat 26
Init +6
BAB +11, Grap +15
Speed 40 (light armor, 22/116 lbs)
Fort +9, Ref +13, Will +11 (+3 vs. fire spells and effects)

+16 Melee, Unarmed Strike, 2d6+4, 19-20/x2
+16/16/11/11/6/6 Unarmed Strikes, 2d6+4, 19-20/x2
+14/14/14/9/9/4/4 Flurry of Blows, 2d6+4, 19-20/x2
+15 Ranged

Medium Size, 6'1" tall, 162 lb, 27 yrs old
Blond hair, gold eyes, pale skin

Occupation: Cloistered (Knowledge (Society), Sense Motive, Improved Unarmed Strike)
Complete fluency in Common and Ignan, intermediate fluency in Draconic

+9 Balance (5)
+18 Hide (9+5 enhancement)
+27 Jump (14+4 speed+5 enhancement)
+7 Knowledge (Society) (5+1 occupation)
+18 Move Silently (9+5 enhancement)
+18 Sense Motive (14+1 occupation)
+7 Treat Injury (4)
+13 Tumble (9)
+12 Listen (9)
+3 Spot (0)

Feats
-Combat Martial Arts (O)
-Defensive Martial Arts (1)
-Power Attack(S2)
-Cleave (3)
-Elusive Target (M3)
-Advanced Combat Martial Arts(6)
-Unbalance Opponent (M6)
-Tiger Blooded (9)

Fire Genasi Traits
-Control Flame 1/day
-Darkvision 60 ft.
-Native Outsider

Swordsage Abilities
-Martial Maneuvers
-Quick to Act +2
-Discipline Weapon Focus: Tiger Strike
-AC Bonus
-Discipline Insightful Strike: Tiger Claw

Bloodclaw Master Abilities
-Shifting 6/day (6 rounds)
-Claws of the Beast
-Superior Two-Weapon Fighting
-Tiger Claw Synergy (Stance, Strike)
-Low-Light Vision
-Rending Claws
-Scent

Strong Hero Abilities
-Melee Smash +2

Martial Artist Abilities
-Living Weapon 1d10
-Flying Kick +8
-Iron Fist (One attack)
-Flury of Blows

Maneuvers Known
1st: Blistering Flourish, Charging Minotaur, Counter Charge (Wind Stride), Stone Bones, Sudden Leap
2nd: Baffling Defense (Flashing Sun), Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer
3rd: Devastating Throw (Fan the Flames), Feigned Opening (Zephyr Dance), Soaring Raptor Strike
4th: Bounding Assault
5th: Soaring Throw (Leaping Flame)
6th: Rabid Bear Strike

Stances Known: Blood In The Water, Leaping Dragon Stance, Stance of Clarity

Special Bonuses
(1st) Jane Doe: Sarah adds her character level to any bluff, disguise and/or hide checks made to pass herself off as a normal, nondescript citizen; though she's no master manipulator, Sarah has a talent for blending in that can be traced back to her childhood adventures disguised as a commoner.
(5th) Twin Disciplines I: Sarah is first and foremost a master of the Tiger Claw discipline, but she must often decide whether to fall back on the calm, controlled fighting style she was formally taught or the blistering speed and fury that is a natural part of her heritage. She cannot simultaneously ready Setting Sun and Desert Wind maneuvers. Every even-numbered level, she may select a Setting Sun maneuver she knows; for each maneuver selected this way, she may as a counterpart learn a free Desert Wind Maneuver of the same level for which she meets all the prerequisites.
(10th) Twin Disciplines II: While mortal bloodclaw masters embrace their inner animals, Sarah's heritage and inner division throws an additional wrinkle in the process. She may use her Shifting ability an additional number of times per day equal to her wisdom modifier, minimum 1. She can either shift in a Setting Sun style (which functions normally) or a Desert Wind style (which provides a +2 bonus to her dexterity instead of her strength). While shifting, she cannot use maneuvers of the opposing discipline but may substitute a maneuver for its counterpart (For example, if she shifts in the Setting Sun style she may not use a readied Leaping Flame maneuver but may expend it to use the Soaring Throw maneuver instead).

Equipment
Worn:
Amulet of Constitution +2
Boots of Striding and Springing
Cloak of Charisma +2
Gauntlets of Ogre Strength +2
Headband of Wisdom +2
+3 Mithral Chain Shirt of Shadow and Silent Moves
Monk's Belt
Ring of Protection +1
Ring of Sustenance

Carried:
Bag of Holding (Type I)
-2 Antitox Injections
-Aquaconverter
-40 Arrows
-Fast-Use Medkit
-Intellipicks
-Masterwork Composite Longbow
-Piercing Visor
-Grappling Tether
-Portable Glow Lamp

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The 7th Circle: Outline

It may be inaccurate to call the 7th Circle a D&D Variant and/or a campaign setting, but that will do for now. The project takes its name from the benevolent transuniversal organization which the PCs work for. You play as a member of an interloper team- professional adventurers who can come from almost any sort of setting or genre, and have had the opportunity to train (and equip) themselves in any other. Cyberpunk, bronze age sword & sorcery, lovecraftian horror- all of these are perfectly acceptable backgrounds to base a character around. An interloper team's greatest asset is the diverse array of experiences and abilities to be found in its members.

The concept for the setting was designed hand-in-hand with concept for the rules, which are intended for more experienced players. The short description is d20 Modern/D&D gestalt. A longer version is that at each level you choose a d20 modern class and a D&D class, then take the best from both (including all class features, so long as they are not identical.) The end result is a system with impressive flexibility; you can actually start with a detailed fluff concept and then still work within those lines to produce a statistically optimized character. If you have no background experience with d20 modern and/or the gestalt variant, that's perfectly acceptable; a decent amount of experience with D&D is enough to make the learning curve quite gentle. I'll be offering more info on character creation and details of the setting in the days to come.

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