Introduction

The world of Cindaros is a vibrant and expansive place, filled with all manner of deadly creatures and powerful allies. The following pages detail a variety of information related to options for players including new feats, skills, and equipment. Cindaros is in many ways a world of greater challenges which expand to the multiverse as a whole. Information listed below details explanations of major changes to standard game rules and concepts.

Level Cap and Challenge Ratings

The average level of all creatures and NPCs within the Multiverse of Cindaros (MC) has been set to a much higher difficulty. Players must navigate a world where the average Archmage is equal in power to a level 27 character and Dragon Emperors begin at CR 50. Players may reach a maximum of 70 levels in the world. Any point beyond this and players will cross the Divine Barrier (See Divinity in Cindaros) and no longer be able to adventure on the world of Cindaros. Gameplay on the world is broken into 5 tiers of play for understanding of challenges and difficulty of encounters:

• Adventuring Tier (1-10): Where all adventures generally begin their play. Players have little to no reputation and even less allies. This tier may have players hunting an assassin, challenging a rising necromancer, or holding off a minor demon incursion. Actions here often earn players their first taste of victory and set the groundwork for their progression on the continent.

• High Tier (11-20): Players begin to move beyond helping local mayors or barons and move onto acting as agents of a monarch or organization. Facing a Beholder or preventing a cities destruction is common place. Players now travel between countries on their continent or have potentially visited multiple continents (or even another Realm) by this point. Prestige classes often begin early here, culminating in a recognized role both in the party and the world.

• Epic Tier (21-50): The largest of the 5 tiers, Epic adventuring takes one from a person with reputation in only their country to that of a world or even realm known status. Thwarting a rogue Sapphire Order archmage, fighting a Dragon Emperor, defeating a countries armies; these are but a few things that epic tier can hold. Spellcasting Players begin to delve into the deepest levels of their magic, allowing access to epic spells and possibly uncovering one of the lost 10th, 11th, or 12th tier magics. Adventures take place across multiple realms and secrets about the foundations of the world are uncovered.

• Mythic Tier (51-60): Mythic adventuring is no longer measured in hours or days, but weeks of dedication. Experience gain is slower here and threats come less often. Players may have earned the ire of a being like Tiamat or Maltiok (See Lesser Powers) and must now plan and prepare to fight their enemies and the lesser power itself. Play at this tier is rare as leveling beyond 50 can take weeks or even months to achieve a single level.

• Power Tier (61-70): The highest tier of power on the world. Here, players begin to receive a near deity status in belief and attract entire groups wishing to align, worship, or challenge them. This tier may cause players to face deities or threats from the far realm, and actions here can change the face and power structure of the 12 realms in chaotic and dangerous ways.

Colonialism and Politics

Unlike some DnD worlds, Cindaros is built at a further period in time than traditional games. Built to resemble our world between the 1600s and 1700s, Cindaros is full of massive ships, firearms, and countries on the verge of imperial expansion. The continent of Synecia has begun to be populated by denizens of Verlani and Xai-Lau and it is only a matter of time before countries come to blows over who owns what space or resource.
Players involved in a Cindaros campaign can choose to engage or disregard politics as they wish, the world is large enough for all manner of adventures. However, politics does play a more critical role in the workings of the world, especially on the continent of Verlani. The political landscape and history of Verlani intertwine to create complex networks of conflicts and potential allies. A local Baron might also be a member of the Sapphire Order and have friends with the rival country across the river. Knowing how to navigate or inquire about this information can add depths to gameplay available.

House Rules / Creation Rules

Cindaros has several house rules available to individuals. The rules here also include information on the creation of characters in the world. If required, the DM can expand on a particular house rule in more detail. House rules are divided into 3 catagories (character rules, combat rules, other rules):

Character Rules

Heroic Statistics: Players have 2 options when it comes to generating their ability scores. Players may either use the Heroic Array (18, 16,14,14,10,7) or they may roll up to 3 sets of the standard dice method (4d6 drop the lowest) and pick one complete set to use.
Greater Starting Wealth: Players begin at level 1 and in addition to the starting equipment listed for their class also gain an additional 500 gp they may spend on non-magical equipment.
Heroic Start: All players begin the game with an additional feat (2 feats starting out, 3 feats if you are human, 4 if a human fighter)
Race/Alignment Restrictions: If a class/prestige class has a race or alignment restriction, those restrictions are removed (i.e. a human can become an Eye of Gruumsh, a good paladin can become a blackguard).
Race Limitations: While nearly every race exists somewhere on Cindaros, half-breeds of races are rare. A character could be a half-dragon or a half-giant, but cannot be a half-dragon giant. If a particular combination is unique or homebrew, consult with the DM.
Ressurection: Raising a character from the dead is a tricky order. Beyond whether a character wishes to return or not, some deities do not always want to see ressurection take place. A caster must make a Caster check (roll a d20 and add their caster level) to determine if they can successfully conduction the ressurection. Other players may assist this check through helping actions, decreasing the DC. The DC is determined by the DM and may change if a character has been brought back to life more than once. In addition, coming back from death is a harrowing and difficult experience for the individual, regardless of which side of the equation they landed. The DM will roll on the table below to determine 1 effect that occurs to the player (some effects the player may not be aware of). These effects can be quested to be removed.

D10	Result
1	Blood Rage. Death is never an easy transition and death in combat even less so. Each time you are in combat, there is a chance you will enter a rage (as the Barbarian rage feature) and attack either an enemy who has injured you or the closest creature to you (whichever is more applicable). You cannot choose to end this rage.
2	Longing Ache. Some part of you aches for the relaxation that is death. That final rest that allowed all burdens to slip away and all tasks out of your control. Whether this desire is small or large matters little, the effect is still the same.
3	The Greatest Redemption. You know the afterlife is not only real but your position within it is being tallied. You don't know where you might have ended up, but you do know there is only one way to find out. Your alignment changes to some form of good (determined by the DM) and you are now motivated to be more heroic and helpful to others.
4	Some Wounds Do Not Heal. Whether an arrow through the heart or a knife to the gut, some wounds just do not recover right. You have a symbol of the wound that killed you upon your body. This symbol permanently decreased your maximum HP by 10%. Touching this wound or receiving a further injury to this wound can cause flashbacks to the time of your death.
5	Invigorated by Life. Somehow, death and return has actually kick-started something in you. You have far more energy and vigor to your body than before and your senses feel more alert. You gain a +1 bonus to spot checks and you only require half as much sleep as normal to get a full rest and recover hit points.
6	Final Knowledge. You know exactly where you will end up when you die, because you have been there before. Whether the bliss of Elysia or the torment of the Abyss; you know to a T exactly where you were and exactly what you did to get there. Moreover, you know that very little you do now will change your destination.
7	Burdened By Purpose. You didn't cheat the system, you were allowed to come back. Some deity or powerful entity met you at the point of return, and bound something to your soul. You are now marked by this being and they will come to collect on the perceived debt you owe them for your return. Whether this debt is actual or not matters little. The being believes it is owed.
8	Barred From Rest. You have bypassed the natural order and a deity has taken slight with this. Your soul is now bound to the mortal plane and should you die once more, you become a wight doomed to haunt the location of your death for all time. You know which god you have angered by this action and feel a pull towards their temples in the hope of absolution.
9	New Lease on Life. You've been given a reprieve from your final resting place. A second chance. Whether you have escaped the Nine Hells or managed to slip past the angels of Elysias, doesnt matter. Your alignment changes to a form of neutral (DM's choice) and you are now more motivated by self interest to stay alive as long as possible.
10	Sight of the Dead. You are back, you are alive, but not all the way. Some part of you, whether big or small is tapped beyond the veil. You now see the souls of people within 60 feet of you. As well, anytime an individual dies you see their soul exit their body and whether it ascends or descends.

Combat Rules

Critical Hits: All players must still confirm their critical hits (roll a d20 and get a 10 or higher) as normal. However, critical hits now deal the maximum damage of the attack and then you may roll an additional dice (or multiple additional dice in the case of X3 or X4) to determine the final damage.
Cure Potion Drinking: Players drinking a cure potion have two options for consuming the potion. They may either drink a cure potion as a free action to roll the dice as normal OR players may take a full round action to drink the potion and regain the maximum possible benefit of that cure potion. This rule does not apply to other types of potions (Potions of Haste etc.).

Other Rules

I Know a Guy: Players coming to a city they have traveled to before can invoke the "I Know a Guy" rule, sketching out a rough detail of this individual to the DM. This individual then becomes an NPC the party may contact and deal with. The less detailed provided, the more I can work with the NPC.
Appraise Skill - Selling: You may role an appraisal check when you get a new or unique item to find out its value immediately. You may also use the Appraise skill to attempt to find a vendor to sell it, the DC determined by the DM to let you know how much of the total worth you can gain within the city you are currently in.
Curses and Negative Effects: Regardless of the nature of the curse or any other effect in place, the spellcaster attempting to remove the curse of negative effect must make a caster check (d20 + caster level) opposed by either the item providing the curse or the spellcaster DC of the caster who placed the curse. Failing this check results in being unable to remove the curse for 24 hours.

Greater Heroes/Greater Enemies

Adventuring the world of Cindaros is not meant for the faint of heart. However, it is important to remember that a victory feels the best when it is hard won. The world itself is set to a higher difficulty to allow individuals the chance for creative solutions and the feeling of greater power in their character. Often within DnD once a group of players passes level 17, they feel as if they are the biggest kids on the block and it becomes less challenging to see threats. The world of Cindaros is built in such a way as to not only reward players for the hard work they put in level, but to give them the feel that individuals in charge have power behind them. An powerful knight the fighter wishes to learn from can be a teacher for more than just 3 or 4 levels. Yet, the world is also large enough that players may carve out a stretch of land of their own should they desire.