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[[Category:Epic Path]]
[[Category:Epic Path]]
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[[Image:Intro_1.jpg|500px|right|Dangerous foes abound. Will the heroes prevail?]]
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''Things weren't going the way they had planned. Lars looked up at the huge specter looming above him, its black, tattered cloak billowing inches above the uneven ground of the ancient necropolis, and he felt the blood drain from his face.  Its aura washed over his, and he knew in his heart that he and his companions could never defeat it.  Though the ghostly giant before him had no face within its deeply-shadowed hood, Lars could feel it gloating, hungrily anticipating his death.


''"Snap out of it, Lars!" yelled Tabriss, a silver glow surrounding her armor-clad body.  Tabriss moved her hands and chanted warmly, calling upon the blessings of her goddess.  As the spell completed, silver light washed toward Lars, settling over him like a mantle.  Lars felt a warm reassurance as the blessing filled his heart with courage, and the icy spikes of fear vanished.  Now that he could think clearly, Lars realized that the specter had messed with his mind, forcing him into despair and a loss of hope.  Lars lifted his shield higher, and glared ferociously at the specter, growling a challenge at it as he went into a high guard, then hacked his sword underhand into the monster's towering form. 


Is Epic Path supposed to be 'Epic Pathfinder'?
''The sword hit its target, but seemed to have little effect, passing through the incorporeal body with little resistance.  Only the tearing of a small rent in the cloak of the apparition indicated that his weapon had had any effect at all.  Despite this seemingly ineffective blow, the specter's attention, which had been drawn by Tabriss' use of divine energy, snapped back to Lars at his unusual strike.  Lars smiled a grim smile at this, knowing he was far more capable of absorbing the attacks of this monstrosity than his friend was.  His heavy armor, massive shield, sturdy magic items, and fighting expertise in brutal close-quarter combat made him unnaturally durable against attacks.  While Tabriss was no slouch in a fight, her defenses were nowhere near what Lars' were.


Well, yes and no. When we started on this little project, extending the very good Pathfinder rules into the 'epic' levels was certainly a goal we had in mindBut even from the very beginning, we wanted Epic Path to be much more than just 'Epic Pathfinder'.
''While all of this was happening, a small figure in dark leather dashed past Tabriss toward the specter, leaping at the last moment and kicking off of a nearby tombstone to gain some extra height. Arnsibel, a small figure with a fur-covered face and large incisors, twisted gracefully in the air to use his momentum to push his expensive and deadly bladesilver saber into the specter's exposed back.  Arnsibel made it look easy.  The saber slid into the specter, once again passing through its ghostly form a bit too easily, but this time a massive gash was torn into its form.  The specter let out an odd moan, like air leaving a rotted bellows, and stumbled forward from the force of the blowArnsibel, perched atop the horrifying fiend, paused a moment and quipped, "Hey, you know, I was thinking about buying a pony when we get back to town.  Or maybe a boat!"  The specter lurched, grabbing back at him, and Arnsibel promptly back-flipped off his perch.


Epic Path is a d20 system game, designed to be run on pen and paper, just like the good old days. Everything here is based upon the hard work and love of the game of thousands of players over decades.  We all love this hobby and have a ton of fun with it, and everything published here is with one goal in mind: Fun!
''He made it look annoyingly easy.


These rules are designed as enhancements and balance tweaks for the marvelous d20 engineThe 'core rules' of the d20 system are embodied in the d20 System Reference Document (SRD).  If there's anything unclear in these rules anywhere, it's probably because we've missed telling you something that's in the SRD. An excellent copy of the SRD can be [http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:System_Reference_Document found here].
''Arnsibel landed on his fuzzy little feet, smiling as he apparently thought fondly about his new boat, and hastily ducked under the specter's backswingIts massive arm, the size of a small tree, whipped through the air with alarming speed, passing just scant inches above Arnsibel's upstanding ears, but Arnsibel did not back away. "Or maybe we could get a dog!" he said.  Lars pressed in closer, keeping the pressure on the specter.


The spiritual successor to the 'D&D 3.5' game is [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/ Pathfinder].  We cannot praise Pathfinder enough, as we were developing, balancing, and re-tuning these rules, we were continually impressed by how much thought and hard work went into everything that Pathfinder didHuge sections of the game rules are untouched from Pathfinder, and that's because we found them to be spot on, just the way they are.
''It had taken weeks of searching for their troupe of adventurers to find the entrance to the valley, despite having purchased a map from a passing tinker. The Bone Garden was a bad place, it was as if the world itself was trying to forget it, but the graveyard could still be found if you tried hard enough. The cemetery stretched across the floor of the valley as far as the eye could see, dotted with headstones and mausoleums arrayed in no discernible order, clustered in groups like some hastily-organized granite slab conventionThe moonlight cast a wan light across the landscape, and the scuttling clouds slid their shadows over the ground like circling predators.  They had been attacked just moments after they had set foot inside the massive gates.


Many players and referees have commented on the balance issues in D&D 3.5 for decades.  Tremendous amounts of work went into D&D 4E to correct those imbalance issues, but in the process of doing so, the developers discarded the classic D&D spell-casting system and made all the classes feel very similar to each other. This created a mechanically sound game with excellent balance, but it threw away the 'soul' of the game in the processD&D 5.0 is the latest of the classic d20 games, and in that version, to address the imbalance issues the game designers chose to compress the dynamic range of the game to nearly the minimum possible.  Once again, this created a balanced game, but the compressed dynamic range means that a level 20 character really isn't much different from a level 1 characterWhether this is a good thing or not depends upon your philosophy on gaming, but suffice to say, we do not agree with this approach.  We feel that characters should grow and change as they advance through the levels, and they should feel heroic through each step of that journey.
''The fourth member of their troupe, cautiously trailing behind, was Llodwynn, a dour-looking sorcerer with onyx-colored skin the texture of stone. Llodwynn towered over them all, his size daunting, but his disposition was timorous and he detested combat. Instead, he finished a spell, its actinic blue light shuddering in rapid flickering arcs and reflecting off of his angled featuresThe spell shot toward the specter and, unlike the weapon attacks of his companions, dealt terrible damage to the undead titan, seemingly ignoring the specter's incorporealityLlodwyn spared a glance for Arnsibel, and rumbled, "What would you want a dog for? To ride?"


We began writing Epic Path to re-tune and re-balance the ENTIRE game, across all classes, to all levels, while still keeping the wild and crazy soul of the game completely intact. Epic Path extends the levels all the way to 35, and has systems in place to go even higher than that. So, yes, it is indeed epic Pathfinder, in a lot of ways. But we think we've made serious improvements at all levels of play.
''"No, silly. You don't ride dogs! You give them names with terrible puns in them and teach them tricks that serve no purpose." Arnsibel, for all his silly banter, was all business as he rolled around the huge specter to sandwich it between himself and Lars.


We've had to make some large changes, but we've run analyses of all of these changes and we think we're on the right track. This job was made much easier by the tremendous amounts of work Pathfinder put into the spellcasting system, the excellent ideas embodied in all the various d20 system games, and the thousands upon thousands of fans whose work we have built upon in working on these rules.  Nothing here would ever have been possible without the fans of the game and all those thousands of great, creative ideas.
''"Of what use is that?" Llodwynn inquired, as he started casting another spell.


So what's new?  First, we worked to make all the classes relevant in and out of combat at all levels. We used every mechanism we could think of to make all the classes interesting and unique.  We tried to make sure that for every main role (damage dealer, healer, buffer, and tank) there were multiple classes that could do the job either well or 'ok'.  No longer must every party have a cleric.  No longer must every party have an arcane spell-caster.  Obviously, it's still possible to make parties that won't work perfectly, but it's much harder to find a combination that simply can't function.
''"Well, not much I suppose. But they're much fluffier than a boat," said Arnsibel.


We worked very hard to make sure that the game stayed 'within a d20 roll' between the various classes and at all levelsThis means fewer cases of needing only a 20 to hit the monster, or fights where a strong tank makes the encounter completely trivial. Fewer fights where one class is singly made useless because the monster is immune to their brand of combat.
''"Hey! Here's an idea. Maybe you should pay attention to the fight," Lars suggested. His close press against the specter's space, combined with Arnisbel's move behind, successfully drew its next massive tree-trunk swipe his way. Lars almost smiled as the massive strike slammed off his shield, doing nothing to himIn response, he pressed the monster even harder.  He noted Tabriss swinging a bit wide, busy casting another blessed silver spell, this one aimed at Llodwynn. Good, keeping the sorcerer well-protected made most fights end quickly.


Many of the classes are radically different, although we tried very hard to preserve the 'feeling' of the old favoritesRangers are still rangers, although they are mechanically completely different than they've ever been before.
''Just as Arnisbel was about to respond with another quip, Lars noticed the little fuzzy scoundrel's ears prick up, and over Arnsibel's shoulder saw that three more specters were gliding toward the partyArnsibel shouted, "Flank to my rear!"  Lar's eyes widened.  Arnsibel was supposed to get away from flanks, but if the little guy did, Tabriss was the most likely one of them to draw the charging specters.  


As mentioned, to give that 'Epic Pathfinder' feeling, we've expanded character development all the way to level 35 and beyondBut we have not neglected the lower levels!  Indeed, far more development effort went into levels 1-20 than was expended on the epic stuff. We wanted EVERY player, at ANY level to feel like they could step into a high-fantasy story and hold their own right beside the characters of literature and screen. 
''Arnsibel caught Lar's eye, and his tiny grip on his saber tightened in readinessThe scrappy little Nagdyr wasn't going to budge, which meant that Lars was going to have to do some very stupid things to get this mess back under control. Things were about to get interesting!


Even at first level, an Epic Path character is already a person to be reckoned with, a budding hero (or heroine!) worthy of the greatest stories ever told.  We deliberately sought to create that larger-than-life swashbuckling heroism right from the start.  A first level Epic Path character isn't a delicate flower. It's a genuine hero, ready for heroic challenges!


==What's New?==
== What Is Epic Path? ==
To be blunt, everything is new.  It's a whole new game.  However, some of the highlights are:


* [[Epic_Path#Classes|All character classes]]: All classes in Epic Path have been written with an eye towards fun, flexibility, and balance. Each class plays uniquely and offers something useful to any party, whether in combat or out.  Furthermore, no one class is mandatory in an adventuring party.  No one is stuck playing the cleric anymore, unless they want to (and you should; our cleric is awesome).  
Epic Path is a tabletop Role-Playing Game based upon the tried-and-true D20 gaming mechanics. This means that players and the game master roll 20-sided dice to determine the success or failure of various game actions.  


* [[Epic_Path#Races|New Races]]: All playable races in Epic Path are viable for any class, and each race is distinct from its fellows. Creating custom races for your campaign is also simplified.
Now...that sounds like Dungeons and Dragons, doesn't it? Indeed, yes, Epic Path is very closely related to DnD (as it is affectionately known). Epic Path also takes a tremendous amount of inspiration from the game Pathfinder, which is also a D20 game. We also acknowledge influences from many other sources, not least of which is the classic game Champions (very much NOT a D20 game) as well as the spirit of numerous more obscure others, such as Amber, Runequest, Tekumel, and so many more that it is impossible to list them all. And no, despite the abundance of rules in Epic Path, Rolemaster was not one of our insipirations, even though it might feel like that sometimes.


* [[Skills]]:  All of the skills have been re-written with an eye towards making them more interesting, versatile and more clearly defined. Several skills have been combined: Craft is now part of Profession, while Swim, Climb and Fly were all merged into a single skill called 'Movement'. Bailiwick skills have been added to let each character class shine in their areas of expertise, even outside of combat.
Epic Path is part of the Open Gaming License, and we offer these rules on our website for free, to anyone who wants to have fun with their friends. But, Epic Path is NOT designed as a simple, easy, basic game for beginners. Epic Path can definitely be played as a beginner game, as the rules are organized so that you never need to look at too much stuff at one time, but Epic Path really shines when you have long, stable campaigns that tell big, complicated stories. Epic Path is designed for players who have tried easier, simpler games, and after playing them for a while, have reached the limits of those systems and want to try something a little deeper, wider, and higher. No matter if you are a fresh-faced beginner, or an experienced veteran gamer looking for a deep, rich system to grow into, we hope you enjoy your stay!


* [[Feats]]: We've re-written most feats, but the classics are still present. In most cases, feats were given a boost, particularly as characters gain higher levels.  A number of feats were removed for balance purposes.  If you don't see it here, there's probably a reason for that.


* [[Weapons]] and [[Weapon Qualities|Weapon Qualities]]: All weapons have been completely re-written and re-balanced from top to bottomDozens of new and interesting qualities have been added make sure every weapon has a unique blend of abilities. Even simple weapons are now 'good' and exotic weapons are truly excellent.
== Why You Should Play Epic Path ==
# Player characters feel like big damned heroes, even at level 1.  Low-level Epic Path characters are tough enough to survive a few hits, and can keep fighting meaningfully, even after they've exhausted all of their limited-use abilities (like spells).
# Every playable race (all 23 of them) is a good fit for every character class.  You can choose the race you think would be cool to play, instead of feeling foolish if you don't pick the race which gives the best stat bonus for your class.
# Every character class brings its own style to the table, and contributes meaningfully to every encounter, whether combat or role-playing.  While each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, no class is forced to sit on the sidelines because they're not good at fighting, or not useful when there's talking going on.
# Weapon classes remain competitive with spell caster classes, but without compromising either. Weapon combat smoothly integrates the skill and combat maneuver system into normal fighting, so much so that an important factor when making a weapon fighter is choosing the combat maneuver you like the best!  Weapon combatants always have tons of fun, exciting options in every fight. At the same time, there is incredible depth in the new spell system, with several completely new systems such as mana burning, charges, synergies, metamagic feats, and spell research so casters always have another option to explore. But don't worry, meleers are still meleers, and spell casters are still mighty!
# Characters can advance all the way to level 35 and beyond, meaning you can play the same character for years without reaching the end of the game's content.  Characters that reach the epic levels of play (levels 21+) have extraordinary abilities which put them on par with super-heroes.  Of course, the bad guys are similarly terrifying...
# The skill system has been thoroughly expanded and clarified. Every skill can be used multiple ways, and every skill is extremely useful.  Furthermore, each character can choose one skill to excel at, even if their ability scores don't normally allow that.  The low-charisma fighter can be great at diplomacy, despite foul manners, a terrifying appearance, and a propensity to blurt out the first thing that comes into their headThe "lovable oaf" is completely possible in Epic Path.
# Melee and ranged weapons are each unique and fun.  Instead of hundreds of nearly-identical weapons from decades of rules-bloat, each weapon in Epic Path has its own qualities that make it stand out from the others.  While even a simple club is a great weapon, there are also dozens of exotic weapons that can provide significant advantages for a character willing to master them.
# Spells have been completely re-written, with every spell providing a useful effect, and most spells remaining useful at any character level.  Coupled with mana-burning, metamagic feats, and magic items, casters can perform amazing amounts of damage and battlefield control.
# Magic Items! Oh my word, does Epic Path have magic items! There is something amazing available in every possible way, and every 'essential function' is now obtainable in a variety of ways. You can buy the items you want, to make your character the way you want. And as a bonus, every item now scales to the very highest levels of play!


* [[Armor and Shields]] have received a similar treatment.
== Why You Should GM Epic Path ==
# Monsters have been carefully balanced to provide a challenge for players equal to their CR. No more guesswork about what CR's will challenge your players.  Spend your prep time on your story and the game, instead of constantly customizing every encounter.
# All game mechanics are 'closed'. We have expended considerable effort to find and fix all cases of 'infinite scaling' in the rules. Every mechanic we could think of has a beginning, and an end. Now, this IS 'Epic Path' so the 'end point' is likely to be pretty darn high, but there should be no open-ended mechanics that can spin out of control. If you find one, let us know and we'll fix it!
# Encounters operate on the notion of one monster per player, meaning there's always enough danger on the table to keep everyone interested, and thinking about their next move.  In addition, encounters will last long enough for your monsters to actually do cool things before they die.  Monsters use tactics and have special abilities that make them different from other monsters, and especially different from player characters.  GM's should have fun, too.
# Split scaling of stats. Player Characters operate on different scaling rules than [[NPC]]'s (called 'constituents' in the bestiary) and monsters. This means that ALL NPC's and monsters can be represented by a 'quick and dirty' set of stats, making them fun and easy to play from behind the screen. If you want more detail in an NPC, you can certainly write them up using PC rules, but we find that having a basic set of numbers to work from is plenty.
# Status conditions have been re-written to reduce the chance of player elimination due to a single bad die roll.  It's no fun to be stunned for an entire hour-long fight, unable to interact or contribute.  There are usually multiple ways to remove a status condition, either by yourself, or with assistance from your allies, and the truly debilitating conditions usually require more than one failed saving throw.  In addition, conditions are typically more interesting than a simple penalty to a character's combat abilities.
# THE MILLION MONSTER MACHINE! The MMM is an automated script based on the Epicpath.org website, which allows you to automatically add up to five (or sometimes more!) Challenge Rating levels to any monster, remove up to two CR's, change any monster to use any Role you see fit, and add up to TWO Patterns to any monster, to custom-design the exact type of encounter you want to run. The name is no exaggeration. With the Million Monster Machine you can generate untold millions of unique monsters, and we're adding even more over time.
# Epic Path is super-flexible.  If you want a high-crunch, married to the battle-mat, min-max game that scales to the edges of god-hood, you can.  If you want to play a role-playing-heavy game, where player interaction is more important than the plusses on your longsword, you can.  Epic Path has mechanics to empower GM's to support the rules-lawyers, or the "explore your humanity within this dying world" table.  No path is "right" or "wrong", as long as your table of players is having fun.
# Epic Path includes an optional vehicle combat rules system, which is fully compatible with the standard combat rules.  Adventure on the high seas, race chariots in the Colosseum, or fly airships through the Aether.  Battle with other vehicles, or battle against monsters.


* [[Status Conditions]]: We've re-written all of the status conditions in the game, with an aim towards making each of them distinct and unusually hurtful.  Each status condition also lists how it can be cured, in addition to restoration spells or a Paladin's cleansing ability.
== How to Play ==
If you're new to role-playing games, here are a few links to get you started:
* [[What is a Role-Playing Game?]]
* [[Glossary of Terms]]
* [[Changelog]]
* [[Character Creation]]
* [[Combat]]
* [[Spells]]


* [[Bestiary|Monsters]]: Possibly the largest change in Epic Path is in the monsters you will face.  All monsters are completely new and improved.  Epic Path monsters are MUCH more challenging, not least because you will now fight many monsters at once.  But they're also easier for a GM to run.  Even tremendously large fights with dozens of bad guys are possible to finish quickly and satisfactorily. Even better, there are many different 'flavors' of monsters now, represented by giving some monsters [[Monster_Templates_and_Roles#Monster_Roles|Roles]].  Roles include such things as "heavy" monsters, "killer" monsters, "sneak" monsters, "shooter" monsters, and worst of all, "threat" monsters.  Threat monsters are so nasty they have their own henchmen to help them in combat, and are meant to be so tough they can face down an entire party by themselves.  After all, the real measure of a great hero is a great villain, and we are certainly providing plenty of those.
If you've played D&D or Pathfinder already, you are already familiar with the basic rules for Epic Path.  While Epic Path has changed a lot of things, the core rules remain (mostly) the same. You may want to jump straight to the good stuff:
 
* [[What is a Character Class?|Classes]]
* In addition, many rules have been modified or clarified (see table below). Please refer to the actual rules section for full details, as the synopsis provided here is not a complete picture of the rule change.
* [[What is a Fantastic Race?|Races]]
 
* [[Skills]]
===Quick Rule Change Overview===
* [[Feats]]
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" style="text-align:left"
! Rule Change || Synopsis
|-
| [[Character_Creation#Retraining|Retraining]] || When you level, you may swap out one non-prerequisite element of your character (feat, skill points, etc.) for something else.
|-
| [[Weapons|Weapon damage rules]] || Weapon base damage is doubled at 8th level, tripled at 15th level, quadrupled at 22nd level and quintupled at 29th level.
|-
| [[Character_Creation#Determine_Saving_Throws.2C_Initiative.2C_and_Attack_Values|Maneuver Offense and Maneuver Defense Score Calculation]] || CMB and CMD are replaced by Maneuver Offense and Maneuver Defense, and these scores are the sum of your character level, STR and DEX (instead of just BAB + STR). Casters may now calculate Maneuver Offense based on their Caster Stat for magical effects where noted.
|-
| [[Action_Points]] || Players get one action point per encounter, and may use it to gain a free standard action, reroll a die, or add a d6 to a result.
|-
| [[Injury,_Death_and_Dying|Injury and death rules]] || Heal checks restore character to 0 hit points, magical healing (including potions) restore starting from negative value.
|-
| [[Stance]]s || A new type of special ability, entered with a swift action, disrupted if knocked prone or denied actions.
|-
| [[Charge]] rules || Now a standard action with a single move. -2 AC penalty, no to-hit bonus. Movement path clarified and simplified.
|-
| [[Stealth|Stealth rules]] || Stealth is now a stance.  Rules expanded and clarified, to include rules for targeting stealthed or invisible enemies.
|-
| [[Types_of_Movement#Forced_Movement|Forced movement rules]] || Rules for "push", "pull" and "slide" forced move types. Forced movement never provokes attacks of opportunity.
|-
| [[Damage and Resistance]] || Clarified types of damage, removed the "Epic" damage type and added a "Primal" damage type.
|-
| [[Types_of_Movement#Distance.2C_Movement.2C_and_Area_of_Effect|Distance and movement rules]] || Diagonal movement only costs 5 feet of movement per square.
|-
| [[Types_of_Movement#Conversion_of_Areas_of_Effect|Areas of effect rules]] || AOE's are now all squares in shape, with rules on how those squares are placed.  Sizes of larger AOE's reduced.
|-
| [[Types_of_Movement#Three_Dimensional_Movement|Three-dimensional movement rules]] || Medium creatures occupy a 5'x5'x5' cube of space, diagonal vertical movement is still 5 feet of movement per square.
|-
| [[Sunder]] || Sunder is now used for ALL interactions with objects: Hardness and hit points of objects removed from the game.
|-
| [[#Rolling Damage|Rolling Damage]] || Players may always take average on any damage roll or even individual dice within the damage roll.
|}
 
==What Stayed The Same?==
* '''[[Character Creation]]''' - largely unchanged, but refer to the [[Character Creation]] page for details. Note that the Races and Classes are VERY different, but the PROCESS is the same.
* '''Combat rules''' - unchanged except for any changes listed above
* '''Spells''' - mostly. Note that any spell in the d20pfsrd that inflicts a status condition should be reviewed by the GM before use.  In particular, spells which inflict "staggered" and "sickened" will need review.
 
==What has been removed?==
* Any class not listed on this wiki is out of the game.
* Any feat not listed on this wiki is out of the game.  Any feat listed with a "removed from game" entry is, in particular, not available.  If you find a 3rd party feat you're interested in, talk it over with your GM, but expect the answer to be "no".
* Favored class bonuses are out of the game, except for the default ''+1 skill point or +1 hit point'' per level gained in your favored class.
* Multi-classing and dual-classing are out of the game.  These may be added back in after more play-testing has been done on the base classes.

Revision as of 14:27, 6 February 2022

Dangerous foes abound. Will the heroes prevail?

Things weren't going the way they had planned. Lars looked up at the huge specter looming above him, its black, tattered cloak billowing inches above the uneven ground of the ancient necropolis, and he felt the blood drain from his face. Its aura washed over his, and he knew in his heart that he and his companions could never defeat it. Though the ghostly giant before him had no face within its deeply-shadowed hood, Lars could feel it gloating, hungrily anticipating his death.

"Snap out of it, Lars!" yelled Tabriss, a silver glow surrounding her armor-clad body. Tabriss moved her hands and chanted warmly, calling upon the blessings of her goddess. As the spell completed, silver light washed toward Lars, settling over him like a mantle. Lars felt a warm reassurance as the blessing filled his heart with courage, and the icy spikes of fear vanished. Now that he could think clearly, Lars realized that the specter had messed with his mind, forcing him into despair and a loss of hope. Lars lifted his shield higher, and glared ferociously at the specter, growling a challenge at it as he went into a high guard, then hacked his sword underhand into the monster's towering form.

The sword hit its target, but seemed to have little effect, passing through the incorporeal body with little resistance. Only the tearing of a small rent in the cloak of the apparition indicated that his weapon had had any effect at all. Despite this seemingly ineffective blow, the specter's attention, which had been drawn by Tabriss' use of divine energy, snapped back to Lars at his unusual strike. Lars smiled a grim smile at this, knowing he was far more capable of absorbing the attacks of this monstrosity than his friend was. His heavy armor, massive shield, sturdy magic items, and fighting expertise in brutal close-quarter combat made him unnaturally durable against attacks. While Tabriss was no slouch in a fight, her defenses were nowhere near what Lars' were.

While all of this was happening, a small figure in dark leather dashed past Tabriss toward the specter, leaping at the last moment and kicking off of a nearby tombstone to gain some extra height. Arnsibel, a small figure with a fur-covered face and large incisors, twisted gracefully in the air to use his momentum to push his expensive and deadly bladesilver saber into the specter's exposed back. Arnsibel made it look easy. The saber slid into the specter, once again passing through its ghostly form a bit too easily, but this time a massive gash was torn into its form. The specter let out an odd moan, like air leaving a rotted bellows, and stumbled forward from the force of the blow. Arnsibel, perched atop the horrifying fiend, paused a moment and quipped, "Hey, you know, I was thinking about buying a pony when we get back to town. Or maybe a boat!" The specter lurched, grabbing back at him, and Arnsibel promptly back-flipped off his perch.

He made it look annoyingly easy.

Arnsibel landed on his fuzzy little feet, smiling as he apparently thought fondly about his new boat, and hastily ducked under the specter's backswing. Its massive arm, the size of a small tree, whipped through the air with alarming speed, passing just scant inches above Arnsibel's upstanding ears, but Arnsibel did not back away. "Or maybe we could get a dog!" he said. Lars pressed in closer, keeping the pressure on the specter.

It had taken weeks of searching for their troupe of adventurers to find the entrance to the valley, despite having purchased a map from a passing tinker. The Bone Garden was a bad place, it was as if the world itself was trying to forget it, but the graveyard could still be found if you tried hard enough. The cemetery stretched across the floor of the valley as far as the eye could see, dotted with headstones and mausoleums arrayed in no discernible order, clustered in groups like some hastily-organized granite slab convention. The moonlight cast a wan light across the landscape, and the scuttling clouds slid their shadows over the ground like circling predators. They had been attacked just moments after they had set foot inside the massive gates.

The fourth member of their troupe, cautiously trailing behind, was Llodwynn, a dour-looking sorcerer with onyx-colored skin the texture of stone. Llodwynn towered over them all, his size daunting, but his disposition was timorous and he detested combat. Instead, he finished a spell, its actinic blue light shuddering in rapid flickering arcs and reflecting off of his angled features. The spell shot toward the specter and, unlike the weapon attacks of his companions, dealt terrible damage to the undead titan, seemingly ignoring the specter's incorporeality. Llodwyn spared a glance for Arnsibel, and rumbled, "What would you want a dog for? To ride?"

"No, silly. You don't ride dogs! You give them names with terrible puns in them and teach them tricks that serve no purpose." Arnsibel, for all his silly banter, was all business as he rolled around the huge specter to sandwich it between himself and Lars.

"Of what use is that?" Llodwynn inquired, as he started casting another spell.

"Well, not much I suppose. But they're much fluffier than a boat," said Arnsibel.

"Hey! Here's an idea. Maybe you should pay attention to the fight," Lars suggested. His close press against the specter's space, combined with Arnisbel's move behind, successfully drew its next massive tree-trunk swipe his way. Lars almost smiled as the massive strike slammed off his shield, doing nothing to him. In response, he pressed the monster even harder. He noted Tabriss swinging a bit wide, busy casting another blessed silver spell, this one aimed at Llodwynn. Good, keeping the sorcerer well-protected made most fights end quickly.

Just as Arnisbel was about to respond with another quip, Lars noticed the little fuzzy scoundrel's ears prick up, and over Arnsibel's shoulder saw that three more specters were gliding toward the party. Arnsibel shouted, "Flank to my rear!" Lar's eyes widened. Arnsibel was supposed to get away from flanks, but if the little guy did, Tabriss was the most likely one of them to draw the charging specters.

Arnsibel caught Lar's eye, and his tiny grip on his saber tightened in readiness. The scrappy little Nagdyr wasn't going to budge, which meant that Lars was going to have to do some very stupid things to get this mess back under control. Things were about to get interesting!


What Is Epic Path?

Epic Path is a tabletop Role-Playing Game based upon the tried-and-true D20 gaming mechanics. This means that players and the game master roll 20-sided dice to determine the success or failure of various game actions.

Now...that sounds like Dungeons and Dragons, doesn't it? Indeed, yes, Epic Path is very closely related to DnD (as it is affectionately known). Epic Path also takes a tremendous amount of inspiration from the game Pathfinder, which is also a D20 game. We also acknowledge influences from many other sources, not least of which is the classic game Champions (very much NOT a D20 game) as well as the spirit of numerous more obscure others, such as Amber, Runequest, Tekumel, and so many more that it is impossible to list them all. And no, despite the abundance of rules in Epic Path, Rolemaster was not one of our insipirations, even though it might feel like that sometimes.

Epic Path is part of the Open Gaming License, and we offer these rules on our website for free, to anyone who wants to have fun with their friends. But, Epic Path is NOT designed as a simple, easy, basic game for beginners. Epic Path can definitely be played as a beginner game, as the rules are organized so that you never need to look at too much stuff at one time, but Epic Path really shines when you have long, stable campaigns that tell big, complicated stories. Epic Path is designed for players who have tried easier, simpler games, and after playing them for a while, have reached the limits of those systems and want to try something a little deeper, wider, and higher. No matter if you are a fresh-faced beginner, or an experienced veteran gamer looking for a deep, rich system to grow into, we hope you enjoy your stay!


Why You Should Play Epic Path

  1. Player characters feel like big damned heroes, even at level 1. Low-level Epic Path characters are tough enough to survive a few hits, and can keep fighting meaningfully, even after they've exhausted all of their limited-use abilities (like spells).
  2. Every playable race (all 23 of them) is a good fit for every character class. You can choose the race you think would be cool to play, instead of feeling foolish if you don't pick the race which gives the best stat bonus for your class.
  3. Every character class brings its own style to the table, and contributes meaningfully to every encounter, whether combat or role-playing. While each class has its own strengths and weaknesses, no class is forced to sit on the sidelines because they're not good at fighting, or not useful when there's talking going on.
  4. Weapon classes remain competitive with spell caster classes, but without compromising either. Weapon combat smoothly integrates the skill and combat maneuver system into normal fighting, so much so that an important factor when making a weapon fighter is choosing the combat maneuver you like the best! Weapon combatants always have tons of fun, exciting options in every fight. At the same time, there is incredible depth in the new spell system, with several completely new systems such as mana burning, charges, synergies, metamagic feats, and spell research so casters always have another option to explore. But don't worry, meleers are still meleers, and spell casters are still mighty!
  5. Characters can advance all the way to level 35 and beyond, meaning you can play the same character for years without reaching the end of the game's content. Characters that reach the epic levels of play (levels 21+) have extraordinary abilities which put them on par with super-heroes. Of course, the bad guys are similarly terrifying...
  6. The skill system has been thoroughly expanded and clarified. Every skill can be used multiple ways, and every skill is extremely useful. Furthermore, each character can choose one skill to excel at, even if their ability scores don't normally allow that. The low-charisma fighter can be great at diplomacy, despite foul manners, a terrifying appearance, and a propensity to blurt out the first thing that comes into their head. The "lovable oaf" is completely possible in Epic Path.
  7. Melee and ranged weapons are each unique and fun. Instead of hundreds of nearly-identical weapons from decades of rules-bloat, each weapon in Epic Path has its own qualities that make it stand out from the others. While even a simple club is a great weapon, there are also dozens of exotic weapons that can provide significant advantages for a character willing to master them.
  8. Spells have been completely re-written, with every spell providing a useful effect, and most spells remaining useful at any character level. Coupled with mana-burning, metamagic feats, and magic items, casters can perform amazing amounts of damage and battlefield control.
  9. Magic Items! Oh my word, does Epic Path have magic items! There is something amazing available in every possible way, and every 'essential function' is now obtainable in a variety of ways. You can buy the items you want, to make your character the way you want. And as a bonus, every item now scales to the very highest levels of play!

Why You Should GM Epic Path

  1. Monsters have been carefully balanced to provide a challenge for players equal to their CR. No more guesswork about what CR's will challenge your players. Spend your prep time on your story and the game, instead of constantly customizing every encounter.
  2. All game mechanics are 'closed'. We have expended considerable effort to find and fix all cases of 'infinite scaling' in the rules. Every mechanic we could think of has a beginning, and an end. Now, this IS 'Epic Path' so the 'end point' is likely to be pretty darn high, but there should be no open-ended mechanics that can spin out of control. If you find one, let us know and we'll fix it!
  3. Encounters operate on the notion of one monster per player, meaning there's always enough danger on the table to keep everyone interested, and thinking about their next move. In addition, encounters will last long enough for your monsters to actually do cool things before they die. Monsters use tactics and have special abilities that make them different from other monsters, and especially different from player characters. GM's should have fun, too.
  4. Split scaling of stats. Player Characters operate on different scaling rules than NPC's (called 'constituents' in the bestiary) and monsters. This means that ALL NPC's and monsters can be represented by a 'quick and dirty' set of stats, making them fun and easy to play from behind the screen. If you want more detail in an NPC, you can certainly write them up using PC rules, but we find that having a basic set of numbers to work from is plenty.
  5. Status conditions have been re-written to reduce the chance of player elimination due to a single bad die roll. It's no fun to be stunned for an entire hour-long fight, unable to interact or contribute. There are usually multiple ways to remove a status condition, either by yourself, or with assistance from your allies, and the truly debilitating conditions usually require more than one failed saving throw. In addition, conditions are typically more interesting than a simple penalty to a character's combat abilities.
  6. THE MILLION MONSTER MACHINE! The MMM is an automated script based on the Epicpath.org website, which allows you to automatically add up to five (or sometimes more!) Challenge Rating levels to any monster, remove up to two CR's, change any monster to use any Role you see fit, and add up to TWO Patterns to any monster, to custom-design the exact type of encounter you want to run. The name is no exaggeration. With the Million Monster Machine you can generate untold millions of unique monsters, and we're adding even more over time.
  7. Epic Path is super-flexible. If you want a high-crunch, married to the battle-mat, min-max game that scales to the edges of god-hood, you can. If you want to play a role-playing-heavy game, where player interaction is more important than the plusses on your longsword, you can. Epic Path has mechanics to empower GM's to support the rules-lawyers, or the "explore your humanity within this dying world" table. No path is "right" or "wrong", as long as your table of players is having fun.
  8. Epic Path includes an optional vehicle combat rules system, which is fully compatible with the standard combat rules. Adventure on the high seas, race chariots in the Colosseum, or fly airships through the Aether. Battle with other vehicles, or battle against monsters.

How to Play

If you're new to role-playing games, here are a few links to get you started:

If you've played D&D or Pathfinder already, you are already familiar with the basic rules for Epic Path. While Epic Path has changed a lot of things, the core rules remain (mostly) the same. You may want to jump straight to the good stuff: