Giegue
2012-09-24, 01:27 PM
As the title says. I am rather discouraged about the lack of support for Team Rocket-type characters in pokemon table top adventures. While their are attempts at creating a criminal base class, I don't think that's the best way to go about things and as a result I got the idea to get a bunch of pokemon table top adventures homebrewers together and create the definitive Criminal trainer handbook. Once the homebrew is made I would compile everything as a pdf, complete with images and formatting to make everything look "official" and either release it ourselves, or send it to the creators of PTTAs to see if they want to release it themselves.
As far as the homebrew is concerned, I have general ideas in mind, but want people to work with me on actually making the crunch for said ideas. The basic idea about how "criminal" characters would work would be a different approach then the other attempts. Most attempts make them a trainer class, however, since organizations such as TR in, my mind would employ people of all different talents and skills, I would instead of making a criminal trainer class would create criminal-themed options for existing classes, mainly in the form of advance classes with a "criminal" bent, and also general trainer talents that anybody could take with a criminal fluff. Anyway, a list of my ideas are below.
Criminal-themed advance classes
Ace Trainer- Criminal Organization Soldier
Not sure what to call it. "Team Rocket Soldier" or "Grunt" would be a better name, but I don't want to limit it to just TR and the class can represent more then grunts, though the grunt is the archetypal member of the class. Basically, the Ace Trainer criminal class would be the standard pokemon training criminal team member you see in all the games. Not sure it's exact abilities, but I think that it would be neat for them to have an ability that gives a bonus to their pokemon when it's fighting with another one of it's kind, since evil team members often use the same pokemon. Maybe also something that gives you bonuses specific to types your evil team specializes in(such as rockets getting a bonus to poison and other types they commonly use ect...)
This class, though, unlike some other criminal classes, would require the Criminal Organization trainer tallent(which will be explained below)
Martial Artist- ????
Unsure about this one since Dirty Fighter already exsists. Maybe just make some evil-team specific feats for dirty fighters and call it a day? Not really sure what to do here since Dirty fighter already covers the "criminal" theme well...any ideas would be appreciated.
Ranger- Enslaver
In some of the ranger games there are ranger-esc trainers who hate and fear along with capture gloves and other such devices rather then using friendship along with a styler to gain the aid of pokemon. This concept would be a good way to make a corrupt ranger. The class would be able to enslave pokemon with their stylers and would have the option to upgrade their styler to either a super styler or a capture glove. Would be an evil-path for cha users, something sorely needed in PTTAs, and the enslaved pokemon would have a chance to go berserk too, as a balancing point and nice flavor addition.
Psychic- Mind Rapist
While both hex manic and influential both are good for "evil"-themed psychics, It's easy to step up the evil further and create a character who focuses on destroying the mind instead of simply manipulating it. They would get some kind of psychic powers that allow them to torture people mentally(think kinda like the Tsukyomi jutsu in Naruto) and perhaps some forms of mind control not much unlike the influential, but with a more evil bent(such as the "control" being more along the lines of turning them evil rather then outright dominating them...or something..not fully sure)
Coordinator- Investor/Merchant/Moneychanger
The Investor advance class which was a fun class was taken out of PTTAs with the newest addition. Thus, I think a criminal handbook would be a fine place to bring it back and re-flavor it with a more "criminal" flavor. A lot of the abilities of the old class can probably stay as is, though they would need some refluffing. There could of course be new abilities too, just to make it a tad different from it's parrent class. These abilities should probably extend the classes' usefulness beyond contests, allowing them to use money to influence people in other ways. No matter what I think that a class that lets you bribe your way to victory in contests and perhaps other fields seems like a good criminal take on the coordinator, and a lot of the work was done in older editions.
Researcher- Mad Scientist
This one is a no-brainer. With all the evil scientists that have worked for TR and other evil teams in the past, this is basically an auto-include. It would probably get abilities that allow it to alter pokemon in certain ways via experiments, since most evil scientists in pokemon liked to toy around with pokemon genetics. While researchers are wis-based, I think it would be a neat idea for the class to require minimal wisdom(So maximum of 14) and actually somehow decrease your wisdom to represent your slipping into "madness" as you delve deeper into mad scientist, and possibly have a way to use your abnormally low wisdom for a researcher to aid your mad science abilities.
Capture Specalist- Pokemon Thief
The name basicly says it all. The corrupt capture specialist, while we already have the snagger, would be a pokemon theif in the truest sense. Since the actual pokemon theft ability would be a general criminal ability, the pokemon thief would get bonuses to this ability, as well as ways to enhance stolen pokemon's power. Also may have the power to craft Dark Balls and other "criminal" technology.
Breeder- ???? or Corrupter
Not sure about this one either. Unlike martial artist it's not because the corrupt archtype of the class has already been made, but because I'm having trouble seeing how to corrupt this class into something criminal. The most I can think of is some kind of drug maker kind of class who uses knowladge of herbs and possibly chemicals to create illegal drugs that enhance pokemon at some kind of cost. However, drug/illegal serum making is kinda bordering into researcher/scientist .
However, IF we decide that we want to try and use the "dark pokemon" idea from the pokemon TCG, then this class is the easy choice to give the "dark pokemon making" class to. Such a class would focus on breeding pokemon in harsh ways that make them come out as ruthless "dark" pokemon who can learn special corrupt moves.
Mystic- Binder or Necrosage
While the enslaver would use technology and good old fashion force of personality to enslave pokemon, the Binder would use good old fashion dark magic. The "criminal" mystic would be one who could enslave and dominate linked pokemon, and possibly turn them into corrupt/"dark" pokemon as a result if we include "dark" pokemon.
Likewise, as an alternative we could have a mystic class that can link themselves with the corpses of dead pokemon and bring them back as "undead" or perhaps "ghosts"(as in the kind you find in that tower) under their command as long as the link lasts. Yes, I am talking about a pokemon necromancer. If we go this route we could also possibly give them abilities dealing with ghost pokemon
Excutive/Boss
Unlike the other advance classes, these classes would not be tied to any base class. Instead, members of any class could pick them up so long as they meet the prerequisites of the class. They would both give you your own personal flunkies and the ability to order around lesser members of your criminal organization. The boss class would require a vacant boss spot while the executive class could be gained even if your team has a sitting boss.
Other content-
- General trainer abilites that have a "criminal" flavor, such as an "criminal organization" ability that lets you be a member of a group such as Team Rocket, and possibly an ability that allows you to steal other trainer's pokemon. These abilites would be general "pokemon criminal" abilites that any criminal would possess.
- "Dark Pokemon," and not shadow pokemon. In the pokemon TCG team rocket had employed "dark pokemon" that where not dark type but rather had dark in front of their names. These pokemon where fluffed as being bread/trained to be ruthless and brutal, pokemon as evil as their criminal trainers. In later booster editions in the TCG they also actually gained the dark type in addition to their normal types, and could use darkness energies even if they where not dark type themselves. Thus, while this idea is not necessary to the handbook, if there was enough interest we could create rules and stats for "dark" versions of regular pokemon, possibly creating corrupt moves only they could learn based on moves they had in the TCG.
- Criminal-related items such as Dark Balls, Team Rocket pokeballs, Team Rocket machines ect..This is pretty self-explanatory.
IMPORTANT NOTE
These are all GENERAL IDEAS AND CONCEPTS and are NOT set in stone. Any and all of my ideas can be rejected and altered as you all see fit. I want all interested parties to be equal participants in this project, not just people working to make concepts I think of. Just wanted to make that clear.
Anyway, so...would any homebrewers out there be interested in creating a Criminal Handbook for PTTAs? If so, please post here!
As far as the homebrew is concerned, I have general ideas in mind, but want people to work with me on actually making the crunch for said ideas. The basic idea about how "criminal" characters would work would be a different approach then the other attempts. Most attempts make them a trainer class, however, since organizations such as TR in, my mind would employ people of all different talents and skills, I would instead of making a criminal trainer class would create criminal-themed options for existing classes, mainly in the form of advance classes with a "criminal" bent, and also general trainer talents that anybody could take with a criminal fluff. Anyway, a list of my ideas are below.
Criminal-themed advance classes
Ace Trainer- Criminal Organization Soldier
Not sure what to call it. "Team Rocket Soldier" or "Grunt" would be a better name, but I don't want to limit it to just TR and the class can represent more then grunts, though the grunt is the archetypal member of the class. Basically, the Ace Trainer criminal class would be the standard pokemon training criminal team member you see in all the games. Not sure it's exact abilities, but I think that it would be neat for them to have an ability that gives a bonus to their pokemon when it's fighting with another one of it's kind, since evil team members often use the same pokemon. Maybe also something that gives you bonuses specific to types your evil team specializes in(such as rockets getting a bonus to poison and other types they commonly use ect...)
This class, though, unlike some other criminal classes, would require the Criminal Organization trainer tallent(which will be explained below)
Martial Artist- ????
Unsure about this one since Dirty Fighter already exsists. Maybe just make some evil-team specific feats for dirty fighters and call it a day? Not really sure what to do here since Dirty fighter already covers the "criminal" theme well...any ideas would be appreciated.
Ranger- Enslaver
In some of the ranger games there are ranger-esc trainers who hate and fear along with capture gloves and other such devices rather then using friendship along with a styler to gain the aid of pokemon. This concept would be a good way to make a corrupt ranger. The class would be able to enslave pokemon with their stylers and would have the option to upgrade their styler to either a super styler or a capture glove. Would be an evil-path for cha users, something sorely needed in PTTAs, and the enslaved pokemon would have a chance to go berserk too, as a balancing point and nice flavor addition.
Psychic- Mind Rapist
While both hex manic and influential both are good for "evil"-themed psychics, It's easy to step up the evil further and create a character who focuses on destroying the mind instead of simply manipulating it. They would get some kind of psychic powers that allow them to torture people mentally(think kinda like the Tsukyomi jutsu in Naruto) and perhaps some forms of mind control not much unlike the influential, but with a more evil bent(such as the "control" being more along the lines of turning them evil rather then outright dominating them...or something..not fully sure)
Coordinator- Investor/Merchant/Moneychanger
The Investor advance class which was a fun class was taken out of PTTAs with the newest addition. Thus, I think a criminal handbook would be a fine place to bring it back and re-flavor it with a more "criminal" flavor. A lot of the abilities of the old class can probably stay as is, though they would need some refluffing. There could of course be new abilities too, just to make it a tad different from it's parrent class. These abilities should probably extend the classes' usefulness beyond contests, allowing them to use money to influence people in other ways. No matter what I think that a class that lets you bribe your way to victory in contests and perhaps other fields seems like a good criminal take on the coordinator, and a lot of the work was done in older editions.
Researcher- Mad Scientist
This one is a no-brainer. With all the evil scientists that have worked for TR and other evil teams in the past, this is basically an auto-include. It would probably get abilities that allow it to alter pokemon in certain ways via experiments, since most evil scientists in pokemon liked to toy around with pokemon genetics. While researchers are wis-based, I think it would be a neat idea for the class to require minimal wisdom(So maximum of 14) and actually somehow decrease your wisdom to represent your slipping into "madness" as you delve deeper into mad scientist, and possibly have a way to use your abnormally low wisdom for a researcher to aid your mad science abilities.
Capture Specalist- Pokemon Thief
The name basicly says it all. The corrupt capture specialist, while we already have the snagger, would be a pokemon theif in the truest sense. Since the actual pokemon theft ability would be a general criminal ability, the pokemon thief would get bonuses to this ability, as well as ways to enhance stolen pokemon's power. Also may have the power to craft Dark Balls and other "criminal" technology.
Breeder- ???? or Corrupter
Not sure about this one either. Unlike martial artist it's not because the corrupt archtype of the class has already been made, but because I'm having trouble seeing how to corrupt this class into something criminal. The most I can think of is some kind of drug maker kind of class who uses knowladge of herbs and possibly chemicals to create illegal drugs that enhance pokemon at some kind of cost. However, drug/illegal serum making is kinda bordering into researcher/scientist .
However, IF we decide that we want to try and use the "dark pokemon" idea from the pokemon TCG, then this class is the easy choice to give the "dark pokemon making" class to. Such a class would focus on breeding pokemon in harsh ways that make them come out as ruthless "dark" pokemon who can learn special corrupt moves.
Mystic- Binder or Necrosage
While the enslaver would use technology and good old fashion force of personality to enslave pokemon, the Binder would use good old fashion dark magic. The "criminal" mystic would be one who could enslave and dominate linked pokemon, and possibly turn them into corrupt/"dark" pokemon as a result if we include "dark" pokemon.
Likewise, as an alternative we could have a mystic class that can link themselves with the corpses of dead pokemon and bring them back as "undead" or perhaps "ghosts"(as in the kind you find in that tower) under their command as long as the link lasts. Yes, I am talking about a pokemon necromancer. If we go this route we could also possibly give them abilities dealing with ghost pokemon
Excutive/Boss
Unlike the other advance classes, these classes would not be tied to any base class. Instead, members of any class could pick them up so long as they meet the prerequisites of the class. They would both give you your own personal flunkies and the ability to order around lesser members of your criminal organization. The boss class would require a vacant boss spot while the executive class could be gained even if your team has a sitting boss.
Other content-
- General trainer abilites that have a "criminal" flavor, such as an "criminal organization" ability that lets you be a member of a group such as Team Rocket, and possibly an ability that allows you to steal other trainer's pokemon. These abilites would be general "pokemon criminal" abilites that any criminal would possess.
- "Dark Pokemon," and not shadow pokemon. In the pokemon TCG team rocket had employed "dark pokemon" that where not dark type but rather had dark in front of their names. These pokemon where fluffed as being bread/trained to be ruthless and brutal, pokemon as evil as their criminal trainers. In later booster editions in the TCG they also actually gained the dark type in addition to their normal types, and could use darkness energies even if they where not dark type themselves. Thus, while this idea is not necessary to the handbook, if there was enough interest we could create rules and stats for "dark" versions of regular pokemon, possibly creating corrupt moves only they could learn based on moves they had in the TCG.
- Criminal-related items such as Dark Balls, Team Rocket pokeballs, Team Rocket machines ect..This is pretty self-explanatory.
IMPORTANT NOTE
These are all GENERAL IDEAS AND CONCEPTS and are NOT set in stone. Any and all of my ideas can be rejected and altered as you all see fit. I want all interested parties to be equal participants in this project, not just people working to make concepts I think of. Just wanted to make that clear.
Anyway, so...would any homebrewers out there be interested in creating a Criminal Handbook for PTTAs? If so, please post here!