Considering an alternate class system

[alchemyprime]

So I was thinking to myself the other day, "Self, you know what I miss? d20 Modern. The game who's sourcebook is lost somewhere in my Dad's garage."

And I really liked d20 Modern's class system, but I was thinking about how it might apply to D&D 3.5/Pathfinder. A tiered, open class system, where you have basic classes, advanced classes and prestige classes.

I was wondering if anyone else had experience with this? I was thinking the base classes could be the Generic classes from Unearthed Arcana, the base classes becoming Advanced Classes (accessible at 4th, 10 level classes) and normal prestige classes would be 10th+, becoming new 5 level prestige classes.

Just some thoughts I've been kicking around. Anyone else ever try something similar?

[T.G. Oskar]

I've tried something along those lines - mostly merging d20 Modern/Future classes with D&D base classes (to an extent, all the classes in their respective SRDs, plus a few extra like Archivist which turned basically into a variant of the Occultist). Prestige Classes were relegated mostly to what's on both SRDs, if it fit; the Archmage and Hierophant, as well as the Thaumaturge and the Mystic Theurge (IIRC) remained as 5-level PrCs. The Fighter was removed, as the Soldier and the Archaic Weaponsmaster fill its niche, so they got a boost of bonus feats in exchange. The Barbarian and the Thrasher were thematically similar, so the Barb became a "Shadow" class or one meant for underdeveloped characters, whereas the Thrasher is the more modern version.

Working with the classes wasn't hard, but it required some rebalancing. Some of the base classes have abilities that the D&D base classes have (the most notorious example is the Rogue, which has Evasion and Uncanny Dodge, those being Fast Hero talents), but for the most part, the ones that required a tune-up were the d20 Modern classes, amping them up a bit. The Holy Knight became the basis for the Blackguard, Paladin and Justiciar adv. classes, but each was altered to the extent they're also distinct from each other. Spells use a format as per d20 Modern (5 being for full classes, 4 being for classes like Bard, 3 for half-casters like Paladin or Ranger), with Prestige Classes being required to access up to 7th level spells; Incantations would cover the 8th and 9th level spells, as well as any spell that would fit a ritual. Finally, most Future classes were removed because they didn't fit (the Dreadnaught was the one that hurt me the most, but the Helix Warrior and the Xenophile not so much). Psionics were also reworked towards 3.5 rules.

While I haven't playtested the idea, it might be a tad awkward to implement - in specific, the base classes. It's hard to deal with a "Strong Hero" concept while within a D&D mentality, where you already start within a class. It fits certain classes, like the Paladin or the Druid, while they cover their development process (the Paladin earns its spurs, the Cleric or Druid becomes ordained), on others it simply becomes strange (a Barbarian doesn't need specialized training to learn how to Rage, for example; a Sorcerer gains its powers very early, so it has to manifest that in some way, and being at least 3-4 levels without spells simply doesn't cut it). Balance-wise, you'd end up with d20 Modern-level characters, which are nowhere near as powerful as those from D&D/PF; using UA's fractional BAB/base saves is not merely optional, but a must (you'll be dealing with 2 classes at least, 3 more often than not, and potentially 4 if you add PrCs to the equation), and if using d20 Modern's Occupations, you're also looking at class skills being all over the scale.

Final notes if you're also planning to add Pathfinder - PF's skill system is better suited to this kind of mishmash, but its FCB not so much (you get nothing for the first few levels, then only 10 levels worth of bonuses from your favored class), and archetypes will be impractical to apply, as you're already relying on heavy multiclassing. The Gunslinger exists in d20 Modern, so you can use that as a basis. Finally, consider whether Hybrid Classes are worth turning into Adv. Classes or PrCs, as they already mingle things that could be done through basic multiclassing, making those Adv. Classes you reworked somewhat pointless, as you're looking for the highest amount of benefits on the lowest amount of levels (a Warpriest AdvC would achieve in 10 levels what a Fighter/Cleric combo would achieve in 15, without including choice of base classes). And, if you're considering translating the Fighter, consider looking at the Archaic Weaponsmaster and what it offers, and maybe a bit of Shadow Slayer as well; they're two very nice AdvCs that offer more than what the base Fighter would offer in both D&D and Pathfinder).