Draz74
2010-02-08, 06:28 PM
My signature, for a year and a half, has stated that I planned to publish, at some point, a wonderful set of house rules that gets rid of the most annoying aspects of 3.5e and includes the best aspects of 4e (and any other system I can pillage for good ideas).
It's by all means still a work in progress, but I think I'm finally organized enough to present to public scrutiny some aspects of my system,
CRE8
Here are some highlights of the CRE8 system:
E8 rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141695) (i.e. based on E6 (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html)). This keeps the power spread of the game a fair bit narrower than in 3.5e, which IMHO makes the game feel a lot more genre-compatible with the best of fantasy literature.
Generic Classes. Tired of arguing about whether the Monk should be a front-liner, a skill-monkey, or a battlefield controller? Which class features besides Track truly should define the Ranger? Well, in CRE8, you can pick out whatever class gives you the balance you want of fighting ability, skillful ability, and magical ability; and then you can pick Feats and Talents that simulate whatever class features you feel your archetype should have.
Streamlining. Any rules-heavy system feels complicated at first, and CRE8 will certainly be no exception. But I use a few design principles that will, I hope, make it shape up as a streamlined and easy-to-use system. In particular, wherever possible, I am trying to avoid making players (or DMs) keep track of temporary or situational modifiers to die rolls.
Revised Combat System. Several simplifications from 4e make their way into the combat system; in particular, "full attacks" are gone. Beyond that, the Vitality-Injury system (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140536) that replaces Hit Points will be a key part of CRE8.
No Alignment rules. There will still be a Taint system, so Paladins can still experience the joy of being especially effective at smiting demons or undead. But moral ambiguity will still be possible for ordinary human beings; the Paladin can't Detect Taint on you if you just do "ordinary evil things like murder that have nothing to do with demons or necromancy."
A new set of Ability Scores (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141321).
Item Attunement Rules. The "Christmas Tree Effect" must die. "It's you, not your gear." Items will not generally give numerical bonuses, and characters generally will not be able to use dozens of magic items. Then maybe each magic item will feel special (especially if the DM does a good job working it into the story).
Magic: kind of like the 3.5e Psionics system. With a bit more per-encounter. And a bit of noun-verb system mixed in.
Momentum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7953658&posted=1#post7953658) and Exertion. I don't like when abilities are limited by "you can use this ability three times per day." It leads to "the 15-minute workday," where narcoleptic adventurers nova their way through a battle or two, then sit around waiting for nightfall for hours. Momentum and Exertion, by contrast, take some of the basic mechanics of 3.5e Psionic Focus and use them to limit special abilities in a way that is more or less per-encounter.
I'm working hard on a website that presents the CRE8 system in a heavily hyperlinked, intuitive way, but I'm not quite ready to unveil the website to the public yet. In the meantime, I hope this thread will serve as good advertisement. Feel free to post your reactions, hopes, suggestions, or requests.
It's by all means still a work in progress, but I think I'm finally organized enough to present to public scrutiny some aspects of my system,
CRE8
Here are some highlights of the CRE8 system:
E8 rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141695) (i.e. based on E6 (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html)). This keeps the power spread of the game a fair bit narrower than in 3.5e, which IMHO makes the game feel a lot more genre-compatible with the best of fantasy literature.
Generic Classes. Tired of arguing about whether the Monk should be a front-liner, a skill-monkey, or a battlefield controller? Which class features besides Track truly should define the Ranger? Well, in CRE8, you can pick out whatever class gives you the balance you want of fighting ability, skillful ability, and magical ability; and then you can pick Feats and Talents that simulate whatever class features you feel your archetype should have.
Streamlining. Any rules-heavy system feels complicated at first, and CRE8 will certainly be no exception. But I use a few design principles that will, I hope, make it shape up as a streamlined and easy-to-use system. In particular, wherever possible, I am trying to avoid making players (or DMs) keep track of temporary or situational modifiers to die rolls.
Revised Combat System. Several simplifications from 4e make their way into the combat system; in particular, "full attacks" are gone. Beyond that, the Vitality-Injury system (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140536) that replaces Hit Points will be a key part of CRE8.
No Alignment rules. There will still be a Taint system, so Paladins can still experience the joy of being especially effective at smiting demons or undead. But moral ambiguity will still be possible for ordinary human beings; the Paladin can't Detect Taint on you if you just do "ordinary evil things like murder that have nothing to do with demons or necromancy."
A new set of Ability Scores (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141321).
Item Attunement Rules. The "Christmas Tree Effect" must die. "It's you, not your gear." Items will not generally give numerical bonuses, and characters generally will not be able to use dozens of magic items. Then maybe each magic item will feel special (especially if the DM does a good job working it into the story).
Magic: kind of like the 3.5e Psionics system. With a bit more per-encounter. And a bit of noun-verb system mixed in.
Momentum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7953658&posted=1#post7953658) and Exertion. I don't like when abilities are limited by "you can use this ability three times per day." It leads to "the 15-minute workday," where narcoleptic adventurers nova their way through a battle or two, then sit around waiting for nightfall for hours. Momentum and Exertion, by contrast, take some of the basic mechanics of 3.5e Psionic Focus and use them to limit special abilities in a way that is more or less per-encounter.
I'm working hard on a website that presents the CRE8 system in a heavily hyperlinked, intuitive way, but I'm not quite ready to unveil the website to the public yet. In the meantime, I hope this thread will serve as good advertisement. Feel free to post your reactions, hopes, suggestions, or requests.