Custom Mechanics & Ruleset - A Land Far Away

The ALFA: Sea of Swords servers use the D&D 3.5e ruleset. We are continuously tweaking and update our scripts and mechanics to more closely reflect the 3.5e rules.

This page details some of the custom mechanics and rules that go beyond what can be found in the 3.5e ruleset. We use these custom mechanics, which are always based off of 3.5e, because we are playing a videogame with real-time elements, as opposed to a tabletop D&D game.

We try to make sure that all the ruleset information you need is available to you in-game, so you don’t have to do any homework but can just dive straight in and start playing! So, this page is just a resource for those who want to read up on our mechanics outside of the game (use the emote ball).

Emote Ball – ALFA has custom-scripted player aids added onto an item called the Emote Ball that every PC starts with. You can right click and use this item to access the menu. You can also access this menu from a radial command by right clicking your character and finding the gear icon.

Rangers & Druids: Wild Empathy, companion training, and more

Rangers and druids in our Sea of Swords servers have additional abilities, as follows:

Animal companions

The Animal Companion feat in our game, uses the 3.5e rules – this means there is a very wide variety of animal companions to choose from!

Also, rangers can acquire an animal companion at level 4 (not level 6 as in the Neverwinter Nights singleplayer campaigns).

Rangers & druids automatically gain the Share Spell feat ability, which automatically allows any beneficial spell (buff) cast on the ranger/druid to also immediately be cast upon their companion, provided the companion is not too far away.

You do not get to choose an animal companion automatically on levelup. Instead, you must go out into the wilderness and seek for a companion.

Rangers & druids can also train their animal companions to learn ‘Advanced Tricks’ – see the Animal Companion Training section below.

Wild Empathy

Rangers & druids automatically gain the Wild Empathy feat ability (level 2 for druids; level 4 for rangers).

This ability allows them to gain any creature that they encounter which is of the animal, beast, magical beast (of lower intelligence), or vermin categories, as an additional animal companion.

The maximum number of additional ‘Wild Empathy companions’ the ranger/druid can acquire is the same as their Wisdom modifier.

Once aquired, Wild Empathy companions need to be trained with the ‘basic tricks’ in order to become useful allies of the ranger/druid. See the Animal Companion Training section below.

The Wild Empathy ability can be found on the radial menu in-game. Using this ability also requires points in the Animal Empathy skill.

It is usually best to use the Animal Empathy skill on a hostile creature first, before attempting Wild Empathy.

Using the ability on a creature begins a period of meditation for the ranger/druid, where they attempt to commune with nature and the target creature. There must be no interruptions during this time, or the attempt will fail.

At the end of the meditation period, an Animal Empathy skill check will occur. The DC depends on the type of creature in question, its number of hit dice (levels), and whether it is wounded. A successful roll means the animal joins the ranger/druid as a permanent companion. An unsuccessful roll could result in the creature attacking the ranger/druid. A critical failure results in the ranger/druid being stunned and the creature attacking.

There is an XP cost to gaining a Wild Empathy companion on a successful attempt.

See the Wild Empathy feat’s description in-game, for more information!

Training animal companions and Wild Empathy companions

Rangers and druids can attempt to train their animal companion, and any Wild Empathy companion they may have, to perform certain tasks or roles, called ‘tricks’.

The maximum number of tricks a companion can learn is limited by their Intelligence score.

To train a companion, the ranger/druid clicks on their companion to open the companion dialogue menu.

Trainig companions requires skill points in the Animal Empathy skill.

The Basic Tricks

Wild Empathy companions need to be trained with the ‘Basic Tricks’ before they can become useful allies of the ranger/druid. The Basic Tricks are: Attack, Defend, Down, Heel, and Stay.

Wild Empathy companions that have not been trained with the Basic Tricks may behave unpredictably when the ranger/druid tries to issue commands to them. In some circumstances the companion may even wander off and, after a time, permanently abandon the ranger/druid if not recalled quickly enough.

Wild Empathy companions that have learned all the Basic Tricks, can go on to learn Advanced Tricks.

The ranger/druid’s principal animal companion does not have to learn the Basic Tricks; the bond between them and their principal companion is so strong that the companion instinctively knows what the ranger/druid is asking of it when performing these basic tasks.

The Advanced Tricks

The Advanced Tricks are more complex tasks.

A ranger/druid’s principal animal companion can learn a number of Advanced Tricks equal to their Intelligence score.

Wild Empathy companions can learn a number of Advanced Tricks equal to their Intelligence score minus one.

The Advanced Tricks are as follows (with the Animal Empathy skill check DCs for training each trick):

Fetch – DC25 – the companion goes and gets something; if you do not point out a specific item, the animal fetches some random object.
Guard – DC28 – the companion stays in place and prevents others from approaching; anyone besides you who comes close to the companion is considered hostile and will be attacked, including those you may consider your allied.
Perform/Distract – DC28 – the companion performs a variety of simple tricks, such as sitting up, rolling over, roaring or barking. When used around hostiles, the companion may roll Charisma to attempt to distract enemies and draw them to its location.
Seek – DC30 – the companion moves in the direction you point them (by clicking on the ground), using Stealth if it has sufficient hide and move silently skills (4 points or greater in both skills) or Detect mode if not, and looks around for anything that is obviously alive or animate, then after a certain distance returns to you; a druid/ranger able to magically communicate with their companion can receive basic information from their companion as to what creatures the animal has seen.
Track – DC32 – companion with a keen sense of smell, and high-flying birds with keen sight, may be able to track a creature; for tracking by scent this requires something belonging to the creature or a part of the creature (or one of its species) to be presented to the companion first, and for birds tracking by sight the druid/ranger must be able to magically communicate with the bird to inform it of what creature they wish it to track.
Work – DC35 – companions with sufficient strength may be trained to carry a load of some form, but this usually requires Saddlebags to be placed on the companion, and many types of companion will simply refuse to perform this trick.

Rangers: Tracking

Rangers automatically gain the Track feat at level 2. Use of this feat requires points in the Search skill.

In wilderness areas, Track can be used to attempt to read tracks and look for other information from the ranger’s local area.

To attempt tracking, use the Track ability in the Radial Menu (submenu: Special Abilities – Ranger). This can also be assigned to a quickbar slot. Your character will make a Search roll and attempt tracking.
As with any Search attempt, if you are not in Detect Mode, your skill will be halved.

On a successful roll, the ranger may gain a variety of information, including:

whether any creatures are nearby
a rough sense of the likely distance of the creature or creatures (based on the apparent age of the tracks)
the number of any creatures
the identity of the creature or creatures
a rough sense of the direction of the creature or creatures

Following a successful roll, if the ranger remains in Detect mode (without coming out of the mode at any point) the tracking can continue as the ranger attempts to follow the tracks of the target creature or creatures. Every 10 metres of movement, a further tracking Search roll is performed.
Whilst tracking in this way, as the distance to the target creature decreases it becomes easier to gain a more accurate sense of the direction the creature went in.

Any tracking attempt requires a successful Search roll, and the amount and accuracy of information gained is determined by the roll. Rolling significantly above the DC gives access to more information.

The DC is determined by a variety of factors, including:

the distance of the creature that left the tracks (i.e. the age of the tracks)
the size of creature (larger creatures are easier to track)
the type of the creature
the alignment of the creature
whether the creature is stealthed
the number of the creatures (if more than one)

The Favoured Enemy feat grants a +7 bonus to the ranger’s tracking (Search roll) for the ranger’s chosen favoured enemy racial types.

Paladins: Summon Mount & Mounted Combat

Paladins automatically receive the Summon Mount feat at level 5.

Paladins also automatically receive the Mounted Combat feat at level 6.

Bards: Bonus skillpoints

Per the D&D 3.5e ruleset, Bards have receive a base number of 6 additional skillpoints at levelup (as opposed to 4 skillpoints per level up in the singleplayer Neverwinter Nights campaigns).