# Traditions



## The Laughing Man (Mar 24, 2005)

Okay this is a three part question.

First, has anyone else written some tradition feats?

Second, are there more then just the 2 books for the series?

Third, if traditions were meant to be limited by the groups that have access to them, why does the sample prestige class need so many and get so many?

Sorry if these get asked a million times.


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## Verequus (Mar 25, 2005)

The Laughing Man said:
			
		

> Okay this is a three part question.
> 
> First, has anyone else written some tradition feats?




I haven't done anything yet, but this is mainly, because RW did such a good job with the traditions in LA, that I'm hard pressed to invent new ones. Creating a tradition which is original seems to be difficult.



> Second, are there more then just the 2 books for the series?




 Yes, there are only two books available, but RW mentioned, that he wants to publish more books, also with traditions. Why this hasn't happened yet, I don't know.



> Third, if traditions were meant to be limited by the groups that have access to them, why does the sample prestige class need so many and get so many?




 Traditions aren't per se limited to the groups which invented them. You probably noticed, that there are feat chains, so it is probable, that the low layer of knowledge is freely accessible to attract more members for the group. Test it before you buy it! Another reason is that not every group needs to be reclusive and exclusive - I can imagine a solid core of a dozen members and the rest is only loosely associated. Even a marketing of knowledge could be created - a group which sells information for gold or gives it in exchange for other information. The Banking Guild prestige classes could be in good use there, but this group would be predestinated for being diviners. Interesting idea...



> Sorry if these get asked a million times.




No, I haven't seen these question before - no apologies needed.


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## Xorial (Mar 27, 2005)

I'm not that impressed with the traditions published. To me, they dont seem any different from a standard mage. I was thinking that maybe there could be magical boons that are available by tradition. I even toyed with using the class variant abilities out of _Unearthed Arcana_ as a system of boons available to specialization traditions, or as a basis to a tradition.


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## astriemer (Apr 2, 2005)

The Laughing Man said:
			
		

> Okay this is a three part question.
> 
> First, has anyone else written some tradition feats?
> 
> ...




I have a series of linked traditions that I've been working on. I've been out of communication recently due to the birth of my first child! But should be getting back to gaming shortly. When I get back to work (I'm on Easter break this week), I'll post what I've done so far (still in draft stage).


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## RangerWickett (Apr 3, 2005)

Congrats on the baby!

Looking back, yeah, the traditions probably did need their own boons.  I'll let you know that my next project after the Chainmail Bikini book will be another Elements of Magic book, and I may be looking for writers to do a monthly line of EOM or hybrid core rules/EOM magic books.


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## astriemer (Apr 5, 2005)

*Knights of Marvel Tradition Draft*

Here is what I've done so far on the Knights of Mar'vel traditions. It is blatently inspired by Dr. Strange and his ilk and is still a work in progress, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Hopefully it will also give Laughing Man some ideas on what tradition feats might look like.


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## Lord_Elrin (May 1, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Congrats on the baby!
> 
> Looking back, yeah, the traditions probably did need their own boons.  I'll let you know that my next project after the Chainmail Bikini book will be another Elements of Magic book, and I may be looking for writers to do a monthly line of EOM or hybrid core rules/EOM magic books.



 Pardon my ignorance but what Chainmail Bikini book are you referring to?  If you are talking about the company, I thought they went out of business a couple of years ago.  As far as I know, they only put out about three products or so.


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## John Q. Mayhem (May 1, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> I'll let you know that my next project after the Chainmail Bikini book will be another Elements of Magic book




*does a little dance*

Yay!



			
				Lord_Elrin said:
			
		

> Pardon my ignorance but what Chainmail Bikini book are you referring to? If you are talking about the company, I thought they went out of business a couple of years ago. As far as I know, they only put out about three products or so.




EN Armory: Chainmail Bikini.


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## RangerWickett (May 1, 2005)

Lord_Elrin said:
			
		

> Pardon my ignorance but what Chainmail Bikini book are you referring to?  If you are talking about the company, I thought they went out of business a couple of years ago.  As far as I know, they only put out about three products or so.




I mean a book I've written on Chainmail Bikinis.  It's a little humor book, with pretty pictures.  It's just been held up because a few of the people who work for us are in college, and finals has slowed things down.  But it's waiting for sale now.  In fact, click on the "Show" button in my sig to see a link to buy it.  It's not _quite_ validated for sale, but it should be by Monday.


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## DonTadow (May 12, 2005)

astriemer said:
			
		

> I have a series of linked traditions that I've been working on. I've been out of communication recently due to the birth of my first child! But should be getting back to gaming shortly. When I get back to work (I'm on Easter break this week), I'll post what I've done so far (still in draft stage).



I agree.  I wasn't really impressed with the tradition but the remainder of the book was useful.  I would have liked to see more detail put into converting traditional spellcasting classes to the system.  I think if you have an ongoing campaign and are switching in the middle, this is helpful.  It's easier to sell a product if you offer an easy transition to the new system.  A couple of times I nearly gave up incorporating it because my pcs really coudln't grasp it with their current characters right away.  

I really didnt see the argument the writers were making that there classes were better than the originals.  I love the book (again) but I felt that was self promotion I really didn't need.  

The traditions are interesting for prestige but were too specific for me to use any of them.  I did let my pcs use the feats as options though but none have chosen that.  Again I would love to see some spellbooks produced with optional enhancements.


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## Thomas5251212 (May 13, 2005)

DonTadow said:
			
		

> I agree. I wasn't really impressed with the tradition but the remainder of the book was useful. I would have liked to see more detail put into converting traditional spellcasting classes to the system. I think if you have an ongoing campaign and are switching in the middle, this is helpful. It's easier to sell a product if you offer an easy transition to the new system. A couple of times I nearly gave up incorporating it because my pcs really coudln't grasp it with their current characters right away.




Well, to be honest, I have my doubts incorporating EoM in mid-campaign is a good idea anyway; the flexibility of the magic is bound to have a noticeable impact on the dynamics of a campaign in a way that's unpredictable and likely undesireable.



> I really didnt see the argument the writers were making that there classes were better than the originals. I love the book (again) but I felt that was self promotion I really didn't need.




My reading of that is that what they're saying is that they're better balanced with the new magic.  Notice, for example, that its pretty defensible that the D&D cleric is already the overall most powerful class in the game in 3e; adding in the versitility of EoM magic probably tips it over the end (all the more since clerics weak spot (straight attack magic) is generally the area an EoM spellcaster loses ground on anyway; whereas their strong suits are actually enhanced by EoM magic.  This is likely true even with the attempt to rebalance them.

On the other hand when you do a class from the ground up with the magic system in mind, you can balance it accordingly.



> The traditions are interesting for prestige but were too specific for me to use any of them. I did let my pcs use the feats as options though but none have chosen that. Again I would love to see some spellbooks produced with optional enhancements.




The only complaint I had with them is that I'm not sure its not overly attractive to mostly avoid extent traditions altogether and be a maverick that can just chose its spell categories freely.


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