Patrons for non-wizards

[happyBurnLucky]

I'm new to DCC but I've loved what I have seen and purchased a lot of books. But one thing that bugs me is that it seems like wizards are getting all the fun with the whole Patron concept. It seems there should be a lot more use for Patron play with the other classes.

Am I missing something or is it just the DCC way to have only the Wizard (and maybe Elf) get most of all the fun Patron play?

[Jim Skach]

The Patron Bond spell does allow for other classes to be bonded. It requires the wizard be bonded first.

However, I could see a pretty clear path to using that spell as a model for some kind of right of passage/tome/book/etc that a Thief or Warrior could find in a dusty dry old tomb that would allow them to bond without the Wizard being involved....under the right circumstances, and so forth.

[GnomeBoy]

...is it just the DCC way to have only the Wizard (and maybe Elf) get most of all the fun Patron play?

1000 variants and options can't be fit under one cover. The "DCC way" is to bolt on any additional rules you like, or to change or eliminate any rules you don't like. You're meant to bend the game to your liking, using the tools presented as you see fit to do that.

[Raven_Crowking]

If you have access to DCC Lankhmar, there are rules for acting as the agent of a patron. These might be adapted to any campaign.

[BanjoJohn]

I've been working on a "non wizard" version of "patron bond" kind of system for a little while, mulling it in the back of my mind. Part of the idea requires that the patrons kind of be accessible living beings in the world you're playing in.

So far I have it that either you are invited to a feast by the patron, or you try and invite the patron to a feast. Or you interact with them in some way or another, perhaps specifically related to the power or personality of the patron. Like if you were using greek gods in your campaign, I could really see them being more like patrons mechanically than how gods are used mechanically in dcc. So maybe you're out hunting and run into the god of hunting, or whatever.

Then, I would have some laundry list of things that you might make up that the patron has as opinions based on, role play out the conversation and depending on if the player hits the right points or not as the patron asks them questions, you could either make a secret dice roll, or just have a certain threshold of positive/negative points, and decide if the patron wants to make an enemy, is neutral or uninterested, or friendly and interested in the player's character.

[GnomeBoy]

Sounds the a cool world to play in.

I did create a Patron that (in narrative terms) chooses the PC (of any Class, potentially), rather than the PC choosing the Patron, though I think it'd still be the player choosing the Patron in real-world terms...

[Starbeard]

My solution would probably allow anyone to seek out a temple or use a relic to attempt using the Patron Bond spell. Magic items are a great way to do that, since they can have their own in-game effect already, plus act as a relic that forces the owner to cast a bonding spell without necessarily realizing it at first. I like the idea of a PC being unknowingly bonded to a patron, and discovers this only when it becomes clear that whenever he burns Luck, he also casts Invoke Patron using the same Luck burn bonus, and whenever he fails certain rolls they increase his disapproval threshold as if he were a cleric.

[Raven_Crowking]

Another thing I would consider: Patron bond is for when the PC wants to get the patron's attention and prove their worth to the patron.

If a patron wants to select you, there is no need for a spell. Just roll or determine the spell result however you like.

[Starbeard]

Another thing I would consider: Patron bond is for when the PC wants to get the patron's attention and prove their worth to the patron.

If a patron wants to select you, there is no need for a spell. Just roll or determine the spell result however you like.

Good point. The spell is just a mechanic to determine how well you force the patron's attention and petition them with your case. Fail and they smite you for wasting their time, succeed and they accede to take you on. The spell itself holds no power over them other than to wrestle them to your place and time long enough to give your elevator pitch; and the patrons themselves have no use for the spell when determining their own interests.