Thera: Magical Basics

   Theran Magic involves three basic factors; raw mystical energy, the occult lore to forge and maintain psychic spell-constructs through which to channel it, and the skill to direct it properly. Since everyone uses magic to some extent in daily life, each class provides a contribution to a characters Base Caster Level, as listed under [...]

Thera: Channeling The Primal Powers

   On Thera, Channeling goes a bit beyond the ability to influence the Undead.    Channeling focuses primal energies through the user’s life – or unlife – force. It’s the oldest of all mystical techniques, by far the most erratic – and is the province of those who have the faith and will to open [...]

Thera: The Runelord Epic Class

The Theran Epic Hero:    Beyond Twentieth Level :    Theran characters may take a maximum of 20 “normal” class levels. Any levels beyond that must be taken in one of Thera’s two, mutually exclusive, high-level Classes – Epic Hero and Rune Lord. While it is possible – at least in exceptional cases – to [...]

Thera: Faiths and Religions

   The Great Powers of Thera come in at least three groups, and possibly four. There’s some debate on the subject.    The Primal Ennead are the personifications of cosmic elements and forces – entities that really don’t pay much attention to individual mortals. Each has a male and a female aspect. In reality what [...]

d20: Mystic Companion Prestige Class

Mystic Companion, A.K.A.; “Greater Familiar”   “You must anchor me, lest I be lost in the worlds beyond” “Join your mind with mine, your power with mine…” “I shall ward you as you work” “Igor! Fetch me a brain!” “What happens if I press this?”    The Mystic Companion is a spellcaster’s aide, roughly equivalent [...]

Battling The Balanced Encounter

   There’s always a certain tension in any role-playing game.    For the role-playing part you want characters who are firmly a part of the setting, who have histories and personal involvements there, and who – preferably – have personalities that are distinguishable from that of their player. They should be detailed, complex, and as [...]

Comparative Kristianity

   For today and tomorrow, I’ll be posting two versions of Kristin Stanwell – a favorite character of one of the usual players – in both the d20 version (using the rules from Eclipse: The Codex Persona) and the Champions version.  Why? Because (1) the player likes both, (2) its interesting to compare the two, [...]

Upcoming Material

   Today I’ve been working on getting a very old character ready to post. Raven goes back to the early days of first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and has been updated for each (2′nd, Players Option, 3.0, 3.5) edition since. He’s also a good example of using Eclipse: The Codex Persona to build exactly the [...]