Design & Development: Designing Your Own Vestige, Part 1

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Designing Your Own Vestige, Part 1

By Matthew Sernett

We're hoping this column becomes your window into roleplaying design and development -- or at least the way we approach these things here at Wizards of the Coast. We'll handle a wide range of topics in weeks to come, from frank discussions about over- or underpowered material, to the design goals of a certain supplement, to what we think are the next big ideas for the Dungeons & Dragons game. All of this comes bundled with a healthy look at the people and events that are roleplaying R&D. T his week, Matthew Sernett provides part 1 of a Tome of Magic web enhancement--explaining how you can design and develop your own unique vestiges.

Tome of Magic offers three new forms of magic for your D&D game: pact, shadow, and truename magic capitalize on a wealth of fantasy literature, D&D history, and real-world esoterica to give you new play options that fit seamlessly with your ongoing game. T his article focuses on pact magic, the supernatural summoning of otherworldly spirits to inhabit your body so that you can use their powers. If you havent read Tome on Magic yet, pick up a copy to familiarize yourself with pact magic and the nature of vestigesthe spirits that pact magic practitioners summon. In part 1, well go through the creation process for a new vestige so that you can then make your own. In part 2, Ill present the fully developed vestige well be introducing here today.

Should You Make a New Vestige?

Before creating a wholly new vestige, first consider whether or not you can customize an existing one. Vestige abilities present a tricky challenge for game balance. If you can keep the granted abilities of an existing vestige but change everything else to suit your needs, youll have put a new vestige in your game and saved yourself some work. Additionally, you might exchange an individual ability for one of your own choosing that grants a similar amount of power. Of course, if you find the challenge of making a vestige intriguing and you want to keep all the other vestiges in play, then read on to learn the techniques that will help you make a vestige thats fun and good for your game!

Designers Note: Vestiges are great for DMs, but they were designed with players in mind. More specifically, their legends are meant for player use. When designing the pact magic system, I wanted to put more ownership of the flavor of D&D into players hands and give them more material to roleplay with. T he DM owns most of the history of D&D settings and other flavorful details, but with pact magic, a binders player can be the one revealing and reveling in all of that. For this reason, players and DMs should work together on new vestiges or changing old ones.

Where to Begin
Start with an idea that inspires you. T his idea might be a game mechanic you find exciting, an element of background information from your campaign, an idea for a vestige that suits your view of what vestiges should be like, or whatever triggers your desire to make a new vestige. A vestiges legend often drives the rest of its description, so you might find that an interesting legendary figure from your campaign will strike a chord with you and the other players. In the home campaign Im planning to run for some friends, the gods left the creatures of the world to fend for themselves centuries ago. Since then, various monsters have risen to power as living deities like some of the pharaohs of Egypt and emperors of Rome. This presents a great environment for the use of binders and vestiges, because in my campaign, I can make the vestiges represent the deities that left. T hus I retain the taboo nature of pact magic as the current deific rulers want everyone to forget the old gods. For most of the vestiges, I can alter them to suit my needs or keep them the same. The mists of time and the mutability of legends can explain why the write-ups in Tome of Magic might not match the facts of these deities in my campaign. However, a departed deity of temptation and fear is important for the grand plot arc of my campaign, and looking at the vestiges, I find that nothing quite suits my needs. With that idea as inspiration, Im ready to begin making a new vestige.

Step 1: Choose the Vestiges Level

T he first step to create a vestige is deciding its vestige level. (Binders gain access to a vestige at a specific level and thereafter retain access to that vestige. See the binder class features chart in Tome of Magic for how this works.) Vestige level is a measure of the power of the vestiges abilities. Its best to pick a level first and design appropriate abilities rather than try to do the reverse. By first deciding the vestiges vestige level, you have a benchmark for the abilities you design and points for comparison. If you have a specific ability or two in mind, you might already have a good idea of what level the vestiges granted abilities should be assigned, but if not, choose based on the relative power or importance of the creature that became a vestige. For example, I want the vestige Im creating to be a deity very important to the others decision to leave mortals on their own, and thus very important to the campaign. A 7th- or 8th-level vestige seems most appropriate, as I want to save the revelation of the deity for high-level play. Ill pick 7th as my starting point and take it from there (well so how that goes next time). Note in Table 1-2: Vestiges by Level Vestiges appear in roughly similar numbers at the various levels except for 7th- and 8th-level vestiges. This keeps players new options relatively equal when they attain the ability to bind with vestiges of that level. Tome of Magic presented fewer 7th- and 8th-level vestiges because more players play D&D at lower levels. Plus at high levels, the binder has access to all the other vestiges of lower vestige level. When you make a vestige, dont worry about such concerns and create one you know you will soon use. If you need a higher-level vestige later, you can rough out the legend now and worry about the details of the game mechanics when you have a character that can use them.

Step 2: Devise the Vestiges Legend

Vestiges have legends to give them personality, create a jumping point for design of their abilities and influences, and set them apart from all the other fantastic elements of D&D. Ideally, a vestiges legend presents a fable of sorts thats interesting to read and to relate. It should make the vestige approachable but foreign. To fit with the taboo nature of pact magic, the story should present the vestige as flawed, alien, mysterious, repulsive or all four. Although no vestiges are diabolically evil in their intent, neither are any of them virtuous. All present magnified human flaws and fears. In your campaign, you might present vestiges differently, but regardless, your vestige needs a personality as well as game mechanics. A binder acts as host to a vestige, and a legend forms the basis of that foreign persona that the players interact with through the filter of the binder PC or NPC. T he vestiges in Tome of Magi c have legends that feel a bit like history, and in some cases they adopt and adapt elements of D&D history or real-world legends to strengthen that feeling. For the purposes of your game, a vestiges legend might all be true, be partially true, or be what the clerics and paladins fear: nothing but lies designed to lure souls away from the gods. Consider whether the legend you devise is true for your campaign and what affect that might have on the PCs adventures. For my campaign, I want the vestiges legend to be largely true, but I want the truth to remain concealed behind a veil of allegory. And so, the truth is as follows: Long ago, the gods battled the fiends in the roiling chaos of the cosmos, seeking dominion over existence. Whenever the gods sought to create a world for mortals, the fiends would appear to destroy it. After many attempts, the gods designed a special world. As expected, the fiends appeared, but the world was a trap. When the fiends arrived, the gods shut them up in part of the world, imprisoning them in the place the fiends sought to destroy. T he prison held, and the gods were pleased to populate the rest of the world with mortals. At first the gods carefully guarded the doors to the hell they had created, but over time, they grew more lax. What was once a sacred duty became an annoyance; thus, the task was given over to younger gods. T he deity named Vanus did not experience the terrible time before the doors were shut. He had heard stories of the evils of the fiends, but in the grand world the gods had created, Vanus could not believe their tales. After standing stoic watch over the sealed doors for a thousand years, Vanus at last grew curious about what lay behind them. Vanus lacked the power to open the doors, so he put his ear to them and listened. What he heard was the beginning of end. Through his actions, Vanus would set in motion the opening of the gates to hell and spur the gods into flight from the mortal world, leaving the unsuspecting mortals unprotected from a danger none but the gods can fathom. My new vestige will be Vanus. His legend will echo the ideas given above by presenting Vanus as a young prince who failed in the duty of guarding something. This way, when the PCs learn Vanuss legend they wont necessarily understand his role as a catalyst for the events in the overarching plot, but when they do theyll get a fun aha! moment if they consider Vanuss legend.

Step 3: Create the Vestiges Granted Abilities

T he vestige you create should grant four to six supernatural abilities to binders. It could grant more or less, but the vestige must be balanced with others of the same level, and that will be difficult if the number of abilities vary greatly from the norm. With that in mind, the granted abilities you create should also do the following: Follow Form: The granted abilities you create will work best if they follow the form of the others presented in Tome of Magic . T his means they should be supernatural in nature, not provoke attacks of opportunity, and either lack a use limitation or be not be useable after an initial use until after 5 rounds.

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Design & Development: Designing Your Own Vestige, Part 1

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Note that the standard use limitation means that a character will likely get one or two uses from the ability during a fight. Uses per day or similar limitations dont work well for binders as they can simply switch to another vestige to use its abilities. Avoid Duplication and Conflict: Each granted ability you create should be unique among the vestiges. If your ability duplicates or counters the benefit of the granted ability of another vestige, its likely one or the other will see less use. On the other hand, you might strategically create an ability that stacks with an ability granted by another vestige. T his way a clever player can get greater benefit when using both (at later levels, binders are able to make pacts with more than one vestige simultaneously). Also, you might consider creating your vestiges requirements such that it wont make a pact with a binder who hosts the vestige that has a similar power. Avoid Penalties: Granted abilities shouldnt penalize a PC. It might seem fun or flavorful, or it might seem to balance an ability, but a penalty on a game mechanic a player must choose to use is almost always a bad ideaoften because it simply leads players to choose a different mechanic. Support a Play Style: Binders function much like clerics or druids. T hey can use their special abilities from the back of the party, like a wizard or sorcerer, or they can bolster themselves and run into the thick of fighting. Also, a binder can take up a different role, such as being the stealthy scout, depending on the vestiges the binder chooses to make a pact with. When designing your granted abilities, consider what role youre offering to a binder player. At the same time, you dont want to steal all the thunder from a particular play style. T he vestige abilities you create should not make the binder a better melee combatant that the fighter, a better assassin than the rogue, a better artillery battery than the wizard, or a better healer than the cleric. Instead the binder should be a slightly weaker but more versatile actor in any one of those roles. Rem ain Useful: The granted abilities you design work best if theyre balanced for the vestige level but also remain tempting choices at higher level. Similarly, they work best if they dont negate choosing a vestige of lower level. For example, a vestige that grants bonuses to Hide and Move Silently for as long as it is bound ends up trumped if a later vestige grants the ability to cast silence and i nvi sibility at will. Express Legend or Personality: T he granted abilities of a vestige exist as an extension of its history and persona. Most of the abilities you create should thus express what youve created in the vestiges legend. T hese legends might be pure myths created to explain the abilities a binder gains, so most should fit the themes you present. For the vestige Im creating, Ill work with themes of listening, freedom from constraints, and panic. I considered creating abilities that deal with opening barriers, but Otiax (described on page 43 of Tome of Magic ) already covers that ground.

Step 4: Check for Game Balance

Once youve created some granted abilities, you should check them against those given by vestiges of the same vestige level. Consider if individual abilities seem too powerful or too weak, and then consider the whole package. If you can fix the problem by changing the vestige level, do so, but chances are that youll need to adjust individual abilities. Dont be afraid to abandon an ability that sticks out, and replace it. You can always save the idea for later use with another vestige or some other game element you create. More specifically: At-will or constant abilities a binder gains should be about as powerful as what a warlock of the same level can accomplish. (See Complete Arcane for a description of the warlock.) Abilities with the 5-round delay should be about as useful and powerful as the highest-level spell a wizard of the same level as the binder can cast (assuming the vestige grants just one such ability.) If the vestige grants more than one such ability, youll need to scale both powers down. A good rule of thumb is to lower the effective spell level by one for each additional 5-round-delay ability that the vestige grants. Abilities that grant a feature from another class, such as sneak attack or sudden strike, should be slightly behind what a character of that class gains.

Step 5: Create Everything Else

At this point, youve done all the hard work. What remains are the fun little details that will make playing with your new vestige fun and unique. As you design the rest of the vestige, you should keep the following pointers in mind: Influence: A vestiges influence should not be a game balance factor. Influences in Tome of Magic serve as fun flavor for players who like to roleplay that aspect of their binder character. A player who doesnt care to have his PCs actions controlled in that manner can manage his chances by choosing less difficult vestiges or picking game mechanics that will help the PC succeed at the binding check. A vestiges influence should be a unique expression of that vestiges personality and legend. Situations in which it becomes a major factor should come up rarely and be manageable if a player wishes to avoid them. Your vestiges influence should give a binder player a new aspect of personality to explore and offer some opportunity to put pact magic in the spotlight, but it should not be a nuisance to the other players at the table or be likely to derail adventures. As with granted abilities, try to make a vestiges influence not conflict with those of other vestiges. If your vestiges influence makes a character act happy and talkative, and another makes a character act morose and laconic, a player with a character under the influence of both wont know what to do. Binding DC: The binding DCs for vestiges in Tome of Magic are roughly set at 14 + the level at which you can bind the vestige. Binding DC should not be a game balance factor because a vestiges influence is not a game balance factor. Instead, think of binding DC as representative of how willful the vestige is and how often youd like the influence to come into play. Check the DCs of other vestiges of the same level to get an idea of the average, and then put your vestige above or below that depending on how willful you want it to seem. Special Requirem ent: Your vestige doesnt require a special requirement. T his optional feature of vestiges exists to add more flavor to a vestige and to control access to it. For example, if you know you dont want the powers of two vestiges to be used in conjunction, you can create a special requirement that prevents them from both being bound to a binder at the same time. Special requirements should not be game balance factors. T hey shouldnt cost a significant amount of gp or any XP. Such requirements will swiftly relegate your vestige to use only by NPCs. Manifestation: The vestiges manifestation is a players most visceral interaction with the spirit. The manifestation should thus be suitably impressive and expressive of the vestiges being. At the same time, a manifestation should show how the spirit has been twisted by its isolation from reality, and it should reinforce the disturbing, off-kilter nature of pact magic. If you read the manifestation of a vestige to the players and they cringe or look at you funny, youve nailed it. A vestiges manifestation is a supernatural figmentan illusion. Elements of the illusion created by the vestiges manifestation (such as wisps of fog) can extend beyond the seal up to 10 feet, but the vestige never leaves the seal. Noises from the vestige or the process of pact making can be heard normally. Seal: Your vestiges seal can be whatever you like, but it should occur in a circle, and it probably works best if its made of simple lines that you can draw for players, should you have need. Tome of Magic has many examples that you can use as inspiration. Sign: T he sign you create should be a unique expression of the vestige youve created. Be careful that it isnt too obtrusive. PCs should be able to hide the sign of a vestige under clothing or with the use of a disguise kit. T his allows for tense situations in which the binder disguises his association with a vestige, whereas an obvious sign makes discovery inevitable. Also, be sure that the sign doesnt cover the same ground as one already in play. For example, if a vestige makes a binders eyes red, creating a new one that makes a binders eyes yellow is less interesting and creates a conflict.

To see the full details of Vanus, check back next time (04/07) for Tome of Magic : Creating a Vestige, Part 2. In addition to revealing the final design for the vestige I discussed in this article and describing how I derived its vestige level, Ill discuss the sources of D&D legend used for the vestiges of Tome of Magi c and elsewhere.

About the Authors Once editor-in-chief of Dragon Magazine and now a game designer at Wizards of the Coast, Matthew Sernett was Lead Designer for Tome of Magic. He wrote in a Dragon editorial that there's nothing in D&D he likes better than when the adventurers flee through the dungeon, running pell-mell through traps and past monsters because what chases them is worse. When he wrote that, Matthew was thinking about Undermountain -- a feature that also appears on the official D&D website.

Recent Design & Developmen t

How to Make a Monster Manual, Part 2 How to Make a Monster Manual, Part 1 Dreamblade Minis in your D& D Game Magic Item Compendium, par t 3 Magic Item Compendium, par t 2 08/03/2007 07/27/2007 04/13/2007 03/16/2007 03/09/2007

Recen t Articles
This Month's Dr agon Magazine Chapter 2: Conflict Eastern Classes Crusaders, Swordsages, Warblades For tress of the Yuan-Ti 04/26/2007 09/24/2007 09/18/2007 09/11/2007 09/04/2007

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