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View Full Version : [d20] PrC-only system?



Rixx
2009-09-17, 06:15 PM
I have a somewhat whimsical sci-fi setting I use in a lot of my story / game ideas, and I wanted to have a shot at adapting it to the d20 system - I didn't want to use d20 Future, though, as my setting is extremely soft sci-fi. I also want to make it a little more streamlined and rules-light - probably based more on Pathfinder than 3.5e D&D. But I also had a somewhat interesting idea for the classes.

Every class in the game would be a flavor-light but mechanically specific 5-level Prestige Class. Players start at level 2, fully expected to pick two different classes, and high level characters can be expected to have many classes - some that synergize with each other, and some as brief dips for function or flavor.

For example, instead of a "Fighter" class, there'd be things like "Swordsman", "Brawler", an armor-wearing class (no offensive abilities - just armor-based ones), "Dual Weilder", "Weapon Specialist", "Arftul Dodger", "Gunslinger", "Rifleman", "Heavy Weapons Guy" - and those are just combat-based classes. There'd also be classes like "Tracker", "Scientist", "Engineer", "Socialite", "Diplomat", "Infiltrator", and the like that would grant primarily non-combat abilities. Each of these classes would be highly specialized, to the point that following one through for 5 levels leaves you as very good at that one thing, but poor at everything else unless you've multiclassed. (Keep in mind the above is not a complete list.)

This would allow players to make their own classes, esentially - if one wanted to play a D&D style TWF Ranger, they'd probably take a combination of "Swordsman", "Dual Weilder", and "Tracker". A D&D-style Rogue, by comparison, might also take "Swordsman", but in addition take levels in "Artful Dodger" and "Infiltrator" - and maybe a dip into "Socialite" or "Diplomat" if they're the party face.

Feats would be handled differently, too - each class has a list of bonus feats you can take for going into that class, but you can't take those feats unless you're taking a level in a class that provides them (there would be overlap - not every feat would be specific to only one class). Your non-class bonus feats for leveling are chosen from a list based on your race - non-human races get their own special racial feats in addition to a smattering of standard feats they have listed. Humans don't get their own special racial feats, but to compensate they can choose any other feat they qualify for. This way, if you wanted to fight with two weapons, you have to dip into "Dual Weilder", which is the only class that grants two-weapon fighting feats. (Unless you're a human, that is, in which case you can take the TWF feats as your "racial" bonus feats.)

Another idea about race - each of them have a laundry list of favored classes (maybe about 7 strong), while humans get only a few (maybe 4 or 5), though humans get to choose what the classes are.

Is this an idea worth pursuing? What sort of pitfalls might a system such as this have? Would the impact of character levels have to be dimished, or would characters be allowed to level more often, as a highly customized character is required to spread themselves thinner?

(Huh, maybe having to spread yourself thinner DOES lessen the impact of levels. Accidential balance, hurrah!)

I_Got_This_Name
2009-09-18, 12:00 AM
This has a few problems.
1) The big advantage of class-based systems is that you are able to ensure basic competency in things you're supposed to have that in, and level-appropriate competency in things that you're supposed to have that in. Your system gets rid of these advantages, which means that a class-based system would probably just be extra work.

2) D&D power scales very rapidly. There's only so much you can do to keep people on the same d20 as they keep gaining levels, and then there are hit points, so any world that does not include superheroes is not well-suited to d20 as written. If you get rid of or cap class-based BAB and don't scale HP overly much, and make similar changes, you can fix this problem, but that's another major overhaul to your core system.

What I would recommend is a point-based system, where instead of buying packages of abilities as character classes you just have a bunch of points (maybe multiple bunches of points, labelled A, B, and C*), and buy your abilities with them. This gets you the advantage you want where you buy your abilities in different areas separately, too. You can even pack them into bundles where you cannot just buy Ability A, you have to buy Bundle X, for x points, or Bundle Y, for y points, which simulates levels with the added advantage that you don't have to make all your levels balanced with eachother, since you can change the costs.

For your random number generator, you can even use d20 as long as you maintain strict bonus discipline, but a curved roll system (multiple dice) and much smaller bonuses can do something similar, as can a dicepool system (roll a bunch of dice, count how many meet or exceed a target number. Most keep the target number constant and allow no modifiers to the dice, with your skill determining how many dice you roll. Dicepools approximate exponential difficulty pretty well). It all depends on what you want to do; roll + modifiers scales well, so you can do superhuman and normal on the same scale just fine; dicepool does not cover as wide a range (rolling 20+ dice for every action is a pain), and keeps people from being able to autosucceed at things that others find impossible when rolls are called for (taking 10, or equivalent, you still can).

*If you do A, B, and C points, then each should have different abilities; A-abilities might be your abilities for use as major actions in every major scene, like spellcasting, fighting, and Tumble in D&D. B abilities might be your use-occasionally, minor effect abilities that you have to be well-rounded, like most D&D skills (Disable Device type stuff, along with minor skills like Spellcraft; also ). C abilities would be your things like Knowledge, Profession, and Use Rope, and minor, but flavorful, class abilities, like a Paladin's remove disease or the Endurance feat. This also lets you keep people from trading flavor abilities and well-roundedness for combat/dramatic effectiveness.

DracoDei
2009-09-18, 11:07 AM
If you do the original idea, make sure to use fractional saves and BAB.

Also, since, especially at low to mid levels 5 to 6 classes (the number of ones humans can have as favored +1 ) might be all a character has, that basically means that most humans will never have to give the slightest thought to multiclassing penalties. That might actually be fine, and in any case I do NOT recommend force those classes to be picked by the player at character creation.