Time Flies in Campaigns

​Time Flies Campaigns 

 

The Time Flies rule states that during a campaign, the timeline always advances between game sessions by a period of not less than twice the real-world time that has passed. If it has been a week since you last played, then two weeks passed in the game world; if it has been a month, then two months have passed. Just add the time to the game’s calendar, noting that it includes rest and recovery time or downtime or heroes-on-vacation time If the group is in a dungeon or on a highly time-sensitive mission, apply the additional time once they return to a suitable location. 

 

For campaigns that seek to emulate the storytelling rhythm of a long-form saga, consider increasing this modifier to at least two months of game time between sessions. As a result, characters can age at a noticeable rate (six game sessions equal one year of game time), and generational effects become more pronounced. In addition, this prevents the chronological oddity of heroes going from novice to archmage in only a year or two. 

 

Source: Midgard World Book (Open Design), pg. 13​

​GM Note

So how does this actually work when when a game has to stop in the middle of a combat, etc. you are probably wondering...? Well what happens behind the scene is that if a session stops due to time constraints, fatigue, etc.; the GM will record the amount of time passing and then add that in as downtime available to players at convenient points (while doing long overland travel a day here or there might be added; when resting in an urban area or sanctuary as much as a week or more will be added).

Feat: Ioun Bond

Ioun Bond

​You have chosen to link the power of your arcane bond to an ioun stone

Prerequisite: You must have chosen a bonded object as your arcane bond.

Benefit: Like the arcane discovery of the same name, you can form an arcane bond with an ioun stone. When you choose this feat, you gain a dull gray ioun stone as a bonded object at no cost. A bonded ioun stone must be orbiting your head to have effect. At 12th level, you can turn a bonded dull gray ioun stone into another kind of ioun stone as if you possessed the Craft Wondrous Item feat; if you die or replace a bonded ioun stone that has been transformed in this way, the stone reverts to a dull gray ioun stone.

The transformed ioun stone can have a value no greater than 10,000 gp/caster level.

Source: The Mage's Tower website

​GM Note

 

House Rule:  This feat duplicates the arcane discovery of the same name (People of the River 9).

Feat: Cooperative Research

Cooperative Research

​Your assistance makes spell research far more efficient.

Prerequisites: Spellcraft 1 rank, relevant Knowledge skill 1 rank

Benefit: You can assist another character in spell research. You must both possess Spellcraft and the the relevant Knowledge skill, but either one of you can fulfill any other prerequisites for researching the spell. You provide a +2 circumstance bonus on any Spellcraft or Knowledge checks related to the research, and your assistance increases the research progress by 1 day.

Normal:  Attempt a Spellcraft check and a Knowledge check (arcana for an arcane spell, religion for a divine spell) against the spell research DC; If both checks succeed, you make 1 day’s progress toward completing the spell. When your days of progress equal the total number of days needed, the spell is completed and added to your spellbook or list of spells known.

Special: Each additional researcher or assistance beyond the first adds another day's progress if successful.

Source: The Mage's Tower website

Feat: Adept of the Dark Duality

Adept of the Dark Duality

​You have discovered the secret of tapping into the Dark Duality of magic.

Prerequisite: Cha, Int or Wis +18, ability to cast 3rd level spells or hexes.

Benefit: Your magic is now partially powered by the Dark Duality. You can use magic items which draw their power from the Dark Duality without taking damage.

Spells from the Illusion and Necromancy are cast with increased power and efficiency. Add a +1 bonus to the DC for all saving throws of spells you cast from those schools. Spells with the darkness descriptor or the shadow subschool add a +1 to the effective level at which they are cast. These bonuses are cumulative, so that a spell from the Necromancy school that has the darkness descriptor would have both a +1 to saving throw DCs and a +1 to the level it was effectively cast at.

Tapping into the Dark Duality is not without its costs, however. Spells from the schools of Evocation and Transmutation have their effective caster level reduced by one (except spells with the darkness descriptor or from the shadow subschool).  The reduced caster level affects the spell’s range, duration, damage, and any other level-dependent variables the spell might have, including dispel checks against you. Spells with the light descriptor are weakened even more; their effective caster level is reduced by two.

Any attempt to identify spells cast by a Adept of the Dark Duality through Spellcraft have their DC increased by +5. Spells and items which automatically identify spells in effect function normally.

Any magic items you craft draw their power partially from the Dark Duality. Anyone attempting to use such items that has not been initiated into the mysteries of the Dark Duality must make a Use Magic Device check (DC 15 + the caster level of the item) or take damage (10 hit points + 1 hit point per caster level of the item). Use in this case is defined as activation for those items which require action, being worn or handled in the case of passive use items such arms and armor as well as rings, clothings, etc.

Special: The mysteries of the Dark Duality come with a price. When this feat is taken, you immediately lose one level. This penalty cannot be removed through the use of restorative magics such as restoration or greater restoration. The only way to remove this penalty is by mastering the power of the Dark Duality (taking the Master of the Dark Duality feat) or surviving passage through the Darkbridge (artifact); which confers the Master of the Dark Duality feat upon survivors.

Feat: Abjurant Caster

Abjurant Caster

Your abjuration spells are more powerful.

Prerequisites: Swift Abjuration class ability.

Benefit: The maximum level of spell you can quicken using the Swift Abjuration class ability is now equal to 1/2 your character level (rounded up).

Normal: The maximum level of spell you can quicken in this way is equal to 1/2 your (abjurant champion) class level (rounded up).

Source: The Mage's Tower website

Feat: Abbreviated Spellscript

Abbreviated Spellscript

You have learned an alternate method for recording your spells.

Prerequisites: Must record spells in a spellbook, Caster level 1+.

Benefit: Using a more efficient and compact script when writing spells into your spellbook, you record an entire spell on a single page. Doing so does require double the time it normally would.

Normal: A spell takes up one page of the spellbook per spell level. Even a 0-level spell (cantrip) takes one page. The process takes 1 hour per spell level. Cantrips (0 levels spells) take 30 minutes to record.

Source: The Mage's Tower

Feat: Master of the Threefold Path

Master of the Threefold Path

Prerequisites: Int 28+, Spell Mastery, Flexible Wizardry, Improved Flexible Wizardry, Initiate of the Threefold Path, Adept of the Threefold Path, wizard level 18th.

Benefit: When you use Adept of the Threefold Path to flexibly prepare spell slots, you can finalize one of these slots with a swift action instead of a move action.

Source: The Mage's Tower website
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