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View Full Version : [4e] One shot/two shot oddity idea/game



Reinboom
2009-03-22, 03:51 AM
This idea recently spurred in my head:
Level 12.

Characters start with 18 to all stats. No racial bonuses are applied (ever).

Account for all possible (from all classes) nonclass feature specific powers, at each power group. So, all level 1 at wills, all levels 1 encounters, all level 2 utilities, etc.

Characters get their powers from the entirety of these pools. Randomly.
So, a character gets 2 random at will from all possible at wills from all classes, a random 1st level encounter from, etc.

Characters get 4 random trained skills.

The most average set of HP. (Haven't actively checked which that is)

Other than this, they get to choose their race, and after all the above is picked out, they get to pick out their own feats.

Currently, I'm having difficulty trying to figure out how to account for class features in this.

May I have any quick opinions and ideas in relation to this?

Kol Korran
2009-03-22, 04:28 AM
one quick question: why? why do you want this bizzare setting? what's the inspiration, or what are you trying to achieve?

as a DM i want fairly consistent characters, but also well defined ones, whose skills compliment each other. so i find no appeal in this, sorry.

as a player i seek to create a character concept, and ailor my abilities, powers, and so on to fit. alos, i like my role to be unique in the party. i fail to see how that could be accomplished with your setting, sorry.

i just don't realy see the point in it- why would it be fun?

Kol.

Neo
2009-03-22, 05:20 AM
As a one-shot it would be an interesting idea, as you'd not need fleshed out characters and 4e is mostly fantasy wargaming anyway.

You could always just scrap the classes, and make a big list of all the class features, and roll off that, say 2 per character, or more for the weaker class features, but with a one-shot long term balance probably isn't a concern.

Oracle_Hunter
2009-03-22, 05:28 AM
Feh, if you're going to chop up classes like this, you might as well give it the full Gygax treatment - 3d6 for Ability Scores (in order), random race, random alignment, random feats, random starting magic items. They get to assign their stat boosts as normal.

Give each player 3 Suicide Pills - if their character is completely borked, they can start over. Unused Suicide Pills are converted into "karma" points to be used in-game to avert disaster (ex: un-fail a final Death Save).

It'd probably be easier to do this pre-Paragon though - how do you go about chopping up Paragon Paths? But for Paragon, roll ability scores with 4d6 (straight, not best 3), skip Heroic Boosts but allow Paragon Boosts. Oh, and you should start at LV 16 if you're doing Paragon - gives 'em all their Path powers.

Fishy
2009-03-22, 05:31 AM
It's kinda cool how the modular 4E system makes this easy to do.

Of course, chances are *very* good that your characters are going to be running around with unrelated abilities with no synergy, and that might be annoying.

Why not do it 'booster draft' style? Instead of 2 random at-wills, how about your choice of 2 at wills from a pool of... 4ish? 5? 3?

Reinboom
2009-03-22, 09:20 AM
@Kol: It'd be fun because:
I already gained fast interest when I presented this idea to others.
It's nonpermanent, the characters will only be temporary.
It forces players to seek out different types of strange interactions.
It tests different sort of balance limits of the system.

@Oracle_Hunter:
Absolutely not. The idea wasn't to set characters at such base extreme differences in power. I want everyone to be effective, mechanically.
It's not an idea with the intent of "hah! random all around!", or at least, the sole intent, but rather to see what would happen if "I threw this in to it!". For science.

@Fishy:
So, a random group of 5 powers, they choose 2?
Make certain powers uncommon and rare, and get annoyed at those who are just grabbing rares?

Kol Korran
2009-03-22, 11:20 AM
@Kol: It'd be fun because:
I already gained fast interest when I presented this idea to others.
It's nonpermanent, the characters will only be temporary.
It forces players to seek out different types of strange interactions.
It tests different sort of balance limits of the system.


fair enough, as long as it works for you, i wish you all the best!

Izmir Stinger
2009-03-22, 06:09 PM
Currently, I'm having difficulty trying to figure out how to account for class features in this.

May I have any quick opinions and ideas in relation to this?

Sounds like a randomized version of a joke class I home brewed: The classless (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105761). They get their class features, and other starting stats like healing surges, HP per level, etc. via a point buy.

Its not balanced, but it wasn't supposed to be. It was supposed to be a snub at 4E haters who said all 4E classes are the same. If you can get some actually use out of anything I wrote in there, by all means...