The Lost Elements of Harmony

Stairc -Dan Felder wrote:

Love - Magic (This version, is, in fact, now my favorite)
For the remainder of the day, all of your assist checks are considered automatic successes. (Possibly also increase the amount to +3?)
Alternatively: Choose an ally, for the remainder of the day all assist checks made to help that ally are considered an automatic success that gives a +4 bonus.
(So kind of like generosity, but spread out a bit.)

Interesting.

I'll second that.

Though I also see some problems, gameplay-wise. To get the most benefit out of this talent, you're going to want to use it as early in the day as possible...which means basically being out of a Magic Point at all times. Magic Points generally provide dynamic, active benefits, rather than passive effects (and for the alternative version, you lose out if you pick an ally who ends up not doing much that particular session).

Like Dan, I offer criticism only because this idea actually kind of appeals to me, so here's one possible suggestion to overcome the problems I mentioned:
Love – Magic
Upon using this Element, you immediately gain three "Selfless Acts". These "Selfless Acts" do not expire. Whenever an ally makes a skill check and you roll to assist them, you may expend one of your "Selfless Acts", which causes the assist roll to be an automatic success, and provides a +4 bonus on top of the bonus you would normally give. You may have up to five "Selfless Acts" at one time.

The way this is worded, you can now spend your MP right before going to sleep at night (thus having access to it the entire day), while at the same time getting some effects that have no expiration date. It also become more active – you must actively choose to help someone at a particular juncture, rather than merely being a passive background effect. A +4 bonus three times a day adds up to +12, so it's between a normal MP and Generosity in terms of effectiveness, though you could also store up to 5 beforehand, thus giving you a potential +20 over the course of a day. You also no longer have to worry about using your MP every day to keep up the effect – if you don't use all your "Selfless Acts" one day, they'll be there for you the next. And the day after that, and the day after that. (Although they really need a better name. Ideas?)

Anyway, just a suggestion to help remedy some of what I see as potentially un-fun aspects of the design. Do with it what you like. It's definitely a neat idea.

But wouldn't that make any time skips result in the player gaining three selfless acts for each day passed?

Only up to a maximum of five... Though you'll then have your magic point on top of them, which is very odd.

The idea is interesting though. I much prefer the active benefits. Spending a Magic point is exciting and powerful, we want to encourage that.

At least we're getting closer.

Love - Magic
For the next 24 hours, all of your assist checks are considered automatic successes. (Possibly also increase the amount to +3?)
Alternatively: Choose an ally, for the next 24 hours all assist checks made to help that ally are considered an automatic success that gives a +4 bonus.
(So kind of like generosity, but spread out a bit.)

There, with an hourly duration the pressure isn't on to spend the points first thing in the morning. Or, alternatively:

Love – Magic
Upon using this Element, you immediately gain three "Gifts of Love". These "Gifts of Love" do not expire. Whenever an ally makes a skill check and you roll to assist them, you may expend one of your "Gifts of Love", which causes the assist roll to be an automatic success, and provides a +4 bonus on top of the bonus you would normally give. Spending additional gifts on a single roll increases the boost by 2 (3?) for each. You may have up to five "Gifts of Love" at one time.

This could probably also work reasonably well. The ability to spend extra uses for a more significant boost in case of emergency seems like an attractive prospect to me. While, with only getting +2 on extra uses, Generosity will not be overpowered. "Selfless Act" didn't really seem to fit for the title, so I renamed those "Gifts of Love." This last version certainly seems up to snuff for me; although this:

Love - Magic
Swap conditions with target willing ally. (This means MP, HP, curses and poisonings, etc.)

still has a certain appeal.

Doin' a campaign that uses these elements, and the element upgrade system at the same time, so I'd better come up with some upgrades:


Hope:
[7] Talent, Unique: The protection offered by Hope allows ANY roll that makes the DC to succeed (e.g. 14 athletics, DC 15, roll a 1, succeed anyway)
[9] Talent, Unique: Hope's protection extends to the triggering roll as well
[4] Passive, Stackable: every time you or an ally fails a skill check, that player can add a +1 to checks on that skill for the remainder of the day
[10] Alternative (Nothing is Impossible): DOUBLE the roll made for a check with a DC of 60 or higher
[1] Ability, Stackable: Once per day, gain a bonus equal to twice the number of times you have taken this ability for a check made to prevent a death.

Trust:
[5] Talent, Unique: An ally that Trust is used on may choose to NOT receive any of your utility talents that they do not desire.
[5] Talent, Unique: If you 'Trust' an ally who has training in a skill that you also have training in, they gain an additional +5 bonus to checks using that skill
[7] Alternative (Burden of Trust): Target helpless creature must act as your ally for the next 1d20-4 hours (if negative numbers result, creature betrays you causing...trouble)
[1] Passive, Stackable: You gain an additional +1 from an allies successful assist check made to help you, but suffer a -1 if they fail
[4] Ability, Stackable: Pass off an active effect of an ability you've used to an ally... Target ally uses the effect as if they had activated it themselves.

Love:
[5] Alternative: Swap all 'conditions' with a willing ally: This means HP, MP, any kind of Poisoning, etc.
[10] Talent, Stackable: Store up to three more 'Gifts of love'
[12] Talent, Unique: Each additional gift spent grants the full +4 bonus.
[6] Talent, Stackable: Gain an additional +1 if you spend only a single 'gift of love' on an assist.
[1] Talent, Stackable up to 12: when you spend a 'gift of love' on an ally, they may roll a d20. If they roll at least a 21-x (where x is the number of times you've taken this ability,) they also gain a 'gift of love' to spend.

My two bits:

The Element Of Faith - Magic
We'll make it through somehow!
You and up to seven allies are each surrounded by an impenetrable, invisible barrier. This barrier is selective (it will only keep unwanted things out) and completely indestructible. The barriers vanish after 1 hour.

These will be useful very soon:

Element of Sacrifice - Magic
Give up your magic points/hp/c-per-day abilities to restore the same for an ally. (A magic point need only be spent if you give a magic point) note: a 1/day ability must be sacrificed to restore a 1/day ability, no sacrificing a single charge of a 5/day teleport to repower dazzling wings, or the like.

Element of Progress - Magic
On your next skillcheck, you may roll three times, adding half the amount by which you missed the DC to each subsequent roll. (i.e. miss the DC by 50, get a +25, miss it by 30 the next roll and get a +15 on top of the 25)

Element of Inspiration - Magic
Define a 'goal'. The Ponyhandler must tell you the best action to undertake in the immediate future to accomplish that goal.

Obviously they are works in progress.

I'm considering changing Hope, since after seeing it implemented I realized that CRIT FAILS ARE TOO HILARIOUS TO LOSE.

So let's get feedback on:
Hope - Magic Reaction
Trigger: You or an ally roll a critical failure
Reaction: You may make a relevant/logical skillcheck to avoid the consequences of your failure once you know what they are, and my treat that skillcheck as an automatic CMC success.

The same 'make things better later' version, but with double the epic instead of none.

I like the current iterations of Love, Trust, and Sacrifice.

I think Inspiration is just not very fun. I don't really understand how Progress is supposed to work, could you show an example? If I'm reading Hope clearly you basically hilariously epic fail and then do something awesome to counter the drawbacks?

Where Trust mentions attributes, do you mean Brawn, Precision, Knowledge, and Sense? Or just Utilities, Racials, Destinies, and other custom stuff?

Hope is basically, This is Whining, but works for everything that rolls a nat 1, costs a magic point, and basically in character has the nat-1 event happen, only to be countered epically into some type of CMC-ish roll. Or that's what I believe is intended for it.

Might need some rewording since it took me a little for it to sink in but it seems like Inspiration is getting plot info from the GM but it's filtered through a specific topic as opposed to being general. These can be useful if handled right but can also be problematic if they give out too much info or if you find you never need it.

Ramsus wrote:I like the current iterations of Love, Trust, and Sacrifice.

I think Inspiration is just not very fun. I don't really understand how Progress is supposed to work, could you show an example? If I'm reading Hope clearly you basically hilariously epic fail and then do something awesome to counter the drawbacks?

Where Trust mentions attributes, do you mean Brawn, Precision, Knowledge, and Sense? Or just Utilities, Racials, Destinies, and other custom stuff?

Correct on hope.

Trust shares Utilities and Attributes; but not racials and destinies (the exception being racials used as a prerequisite for a purchased utility).
Progress is, appropriately enough, a work in progress: basically, you get to roll three times for your check, with each successive roll having greater bonuses... based on the learning experience of how bad you failed before. So, if you miss the DC by 20 with your first roll, your second and third rolls get a bonus of half that margin of failure (+10) and if you miss the second roll by a difference of 10, your third roll gets a bonus of half that as well... for a total of +15. It definitely needs the most modification, but the theory is that your character is getting closer to success on the impossible via trial and error... I had also hoped it would be an extra potent way of building drama around that final die roll.

To Ram and Zam, I say that Unspiration is the most fun of all! YOU, THE PLAYERS, define the goal. You can say: "How do I become an alicorn?" or "How do I get a date with Discord?" And the PH has to tell you at least where to start working for it. You aren't following rails, you're COMMISSIONING some.