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BlackTalons
2018-05-01, 07:40 PM
Hello people, new poster here. I'm a long time reader of OoTS and forum stalker and I wanted to ask your help with something.

I'm working on a new setting/rule system inspired by D&D and I need help with a name or deciding on a name for a new player class. I will try to explain the important bits without going into hard rules or numbers, but if further detail is needed I will try to answer as best as I can.

In this setting I have done away with Charisma replacing it with Instinct. INS governs sensory perceptions, impulses, improvisnhe primal subconcious, and control and speed of physical reflexes. Some skills that use Instinct in this setting are Empathy (for animal handling and partly for diplomacy), Performance (as an artistic expresion or to decieve) and Perception (for tracking and finding stuff, like invisible enemies). It also governs the Wild aspect of magic of this world, which corresponds to the Nature/Divine D&D spellbook. It mostly uses spontaneous casting like Sorcerers, with a chance to succeed based of "caster" level and INS modifiers. This gives access to magic such as plant growth, metabolic control, poisons, anatomic enhancements, regeneration, summon spirits and animals, etc. In practice this is achieved not by the skill of the character, but through the intervention of allied nature spirits. Wild magic is usually complex and hard to achieve, so Wild Invokers "cheat" by petitioning it to nearby spirits, who are the actual magicians, having a much better insight of how natural magic works from their point of view. The chance to succeed in the invocation of Wild Magic corresponds both to the ability to summon the aid of the spirit as well as the skill to sincronize the invoker's own spirit with the actual caster, allowing magic to manifest in the physical plane. The prime class representing this is the Shaman, who has the best ability to summon spirits and enter in a trance becoming one with the spirit and cast magic as the spirits do. Other minor Invokers include Barbarians(Warrior/Invoker), Hunters(Rogue/Invokers, like Rangers but no good requirement), Sorcerers(Arcane Caster/Invoker), Druids(Divine Caster/Invoker) and... the class I have yet to name.

In this setting there's another mayor modification. Intelligence is primarilly used for inventions (leaving wisdom for arcane magic), and Inventors are another mayor class group. They are a mostly supportive/ranged class focused on utility and consumables to turn the tide of the battle. They aso have a mayor role outside of combat by maintaining, improving, adapting or even crafting the party's gear. What an inventor can craft depends of what sciences she has learnt and developed, Which are roughly divided into Hydraulics (Steam power and big, heavy costructions, like power armors or siege engines), Alchemy (limited to mineral, its chemistry by all means. Acids, explosives and other flamables), Magitek (Aplication of technology to simple/Arcane Magic), Clockwork (For gadgets and later on automatons), Medicine (Though it extends to the conections between the physical body and the spirit), an biotics (The study of life and its essence, allows selective breedings, creation of elixirs and plasmids). Similar to Invokers, Inventors come in one prime class, the Engineer, and derivate classes: Mechanic (Fighter-Hydraulics), Alchemist (Rogue-Alchemy), Artificer (Arcane Caster), Physcician (Divine Caster/Medicine), and... you guess it.


The Class I Have Yet To Name is the unlikely amalgamation of science and wilderness, master of evolution and bio-enhancement, but also a protector of nature and an enforcer of the Will of the Wild and the spirits that embody it, in a manner of speaking. She reconciles this dicotomy with a simple quirk in the behavior of nature spirits: Most of them believe species should compete and rise over eachother in a perpetual race to adapt to hostile enviroments. Under the spirits guidance, animals and plants alike become pioneers on new resistances, abilities and behaviors and further increase their chances to thrive in new habitats. If sentient or invasive species deal significant damage to the ecosystem, the spirits simply empower what survives to be just a vicious and overwhelming, restoring the balance of nature. Thus spirits percieve sentient species as the pinacle of the food chain and among them those with this profesion are catalysts of evolution. With them as their champion the Will of the Wild furthers its own agenda of constant improvement and diversification of any and all species. The adventurer embarks on its journey both to learn about the world and its inhabitants, to further his research with new species and materials and to witness with his own eyes, or realize by his own hands, the apex of evolution.

The name of this new class should refer to its role and abilities, if posible without much conflict. Among its class features, all Invokers have an animal companion that follows them by their own will to evolve. It meets with the Inventor by guidance of the spirits, and comunicates their will to the novice Inventor until she is strong enough to do it herself. Inventors in turn have their own focus project in which their invest most of their time and effort, and for this class its their companion. Through their journey they will strive on increase their companion abilities through elixirs and plasmids derived from other living beings and tested by experience or combat scenarios. If the companion has a short lifespan or dies in battle, they can also include selective breeding in the process. The companion can even be the queen of an eusocial swarm, allowing the enhancement of the workers and soldiers in a matter of weeks or days. The Class I Have Yet to Name would also have other abilities through the direct aplication of plants or animal parts in combat: Seeds that grow into poisonous thorns in a matter of seconds, a serrated tusk used as a sword or a scaled skin as armor, pheromone glands from various especies with disabling effects, fruit that temporarily raises atributes, refined venom or disease foci, etc. Their Invoker abilities would allow them to summon nearby creatures to her aid, but also enable harvesting new parts if they fall in battle. It would also help her or her companion to fight hand to hand against vicious monsters marked by the spirits as a target by adding to or enhancing their natural abilities. When this class is not outdoors tracking new species or collecting ingredients, they are usually found in their isolated laboratory where they distil their reagents into essensses which are then turned into elixirs, for temporal boosts in combat, and plasmids, for long term improvements for her companion, herself or her party. When on the move they usually carry what manner of portable laboratory they can, allowing them to conserve and distill their finds in the wilderness. The Class I Have Yet to Name could as easily found in an isolated district of a technologically advanced city, or in an ample haphazard laboratory among tribals. The class' knowledge of nature comes from observation of the enviroment and the behavior of wildlife, knowing that nothing is as it is without reason. Since the spirits guide her through her companion, she doesn't really need a formal education or a civilized background to thrive in her commitment, she could work as well with a refined laboratory set as with a primitve mortar and pestle, compensating comodities such a glass vases and bunsen burners with equivalents collected from her finds at expeditions, such as flamable resins and clear shells from an evolved mollusc.


Some names I have considered but don't really like for various reasons

Witch Doctor - I really would like it to be a single word, and it sounds more like someone else would call it that out of superstition, not the class itself. Definitively will be used as a (derogative) nickname from time to time though.
Biologist - Too scientific, cant imagine a tribal calling himself as such, and doesn't really cover the spiritual part.
Biotician - Same as above, and a mouthfull
Evolutionist - Too long and sciency but captures the essensse of the class well.
Simbioter - I'm working with this for now, but it puts too much enfasis on the relationship with creatures, and too little on the pursuit of knowledge. A beast tamer could be called as such if we are going for fancy names.

I'm open to suggestions and adjustments, thanks for reading.

Goaty14
2018-05-01, 11:07 PM
Hmmm, so the class is focused on taking a few select animals and "evolving" them to become better? Perhaps...

-Druid: Nature-y and stuff
-Beastmaster: Guy that has beasts, go figure.
-Spirit Guide/Master: Communitcating w/ spirits an' all

Kaskus
2018-05-02, 12:20 AM
Spitballing...
Biochymist
Transmogrifer
Shaper
Ameliorator

aimlessPolymath
2018-05-02, 01:56 AM
A scientific shaman, huh?

Naturalist, or the Applied Ecologist.

Gorum
2018-05-09, 11:06 PM
Hello people, new poster here. I'm a long time reader of OoTS and forum stalker and I wanted to ask your help with something.

I'm working on a new setting/rule system inspired by D&D and I need help with a name or deciding on a name for a new player class. I will try to explain the important bits without going into hard rules or numbers, but if further detail is needed I will try to answer as best as I can.

In this setting I have done away with Charisma replacing it with Instinct. INS governs sensory perceptions, impulses, improvisnhe primal subconcious, and control and speed of physical reflexes. Some skills that use Instinct in this setting are Empathy (for animal handling and partly for diplomacy), Performance (as an artistic expresion or to decieve) and Perception (for tracking and finding stuff, like invisible enemies). It also governs the Wild aspect of magic of this world, which corresponds to the Nature/Divine D&D spellbook. It mostly uses spontaneous casting like Sorcerers, with a chance to succeed based of "caster" level and INS modifiers. This gives access to magic such as plant growth, metabolic control, poisons, anatomic enhancements, regeneration, summon spirits and animals, etc. In practice this is achieved not by the skill of the character, but through the intervention of allied nature spirits. Wild magic is usually complex and hard to achieve, so Wild Invokers "cheat" by petitioning it to nearby spirits, who are the actual magicians, having a much better insight of how natural magic works from their point of view. The chance to succeed in the invocation of Wild Magic corresponds both to the ability to summon the aid of the spirit as well as the skill to sincronize the invoker's own spirit with the actual caster, allowing magic to manifest in the physical plane. The prime class representing this is the Shaman, who has the best ability to summon spirits and enter in a trance becoming one with the spirit and cast magic as the spirits do. Other minor Invokers include Barbarians(Warrior/Invoker), Hunters(Rogue/Invokers, like Rangers but no good requirement), Sorcerers(Arcane Caster/Invoker), Druids(Divine Caster/Invoker) and... the class I have yet to name.

In this setting there's another mayor modification. Intelligence is primarilly used for inventions (leaving wisdom for arcane magic), and Inventors are another mayor class group. They are a mostly supportive/ranged class focused on utility and consumables to turn the tide of the battle. They aso have a mayor role outside of combat by maintaining, improving, adapting or even crafting the party's gear. What an inventor can craft depends of what sciences she has learnt and developed, Which are roughly divided into Hydraulics (Steam power and big, heavy costructions, like power armors or siege engines), Alchemy (limited to mineral, its chemistry by all means. Acids, explosives and other flamables), Magitek (Aplication of technology to simple/Arcane Magic), Clockwork (For gadgets and later on automatons), Medicine (Though it extends to the conections between the physical body and the spirit), an biotics (The study of life and its essence, allows selective breedings, creation of elixirs and plasmids). Similar to Invokers, Inventors come in one prime class, the Engineer, and derivate classes: Mechanic (Fighter-Hydraulics), Alchemist (Rogue-Alchemy), Artificer (Arcane Caster), Physcician (Divine Caster/Medicine), and... you guess it.


The Class I Have Yet To Name is the unlikely amalgamation of science and wilderness, master of evolution and bio-enhancement, but also a protector of nature and an enforcer of the Will of the Wild and the spirits that embody it, in a manner of speaking. She reconciles this dicotomy with a simple quirk in the behavior of nature spirits: Most of them believe species should compete and rise over eachother in a perpetual race to adapt to hostile enviroments. Under the spirits guidance, animals and plants alike become pioneers on new resistances, abilities and behaviors and further increase their chances to thrive in new habitats. If sentient or invasive species deal significant damage to the ecosystem, the spirits simply empower what survives to be just a vicious and overwhelming, restoring the balance of nature. Thus spirits percieve sentient species as the pinacle of the food chain and among them those with this profesion are catalysts of evolution. With them as their champion the Will of the Wild furthers its own agenda of constant improvement and diversification of any and all species. The adventurer embarks on its journey both to learn about the world and its inhabitants, to further his research with new species and materials and to witness with his own eyes, or realize by his own hands, the apex of evolution.

The name of this new class should refer to its role and abilities, if posible without much conflict. Among its class features, all Invokers have an animal companion that follows them by their own will to evolve. It meets with the Inventor by guidance of the spirits, and comunicates their will to the novice Inventor until she is strong enough to do it herself. Inventors in turn have their own focus project in which their invest most of their time and effort, and for this class its their companion. Through their journey they will strive on increase their companion abilities through elixirs and plasmids derived from other living beings and tested by experience or combat scenarios. If the companion has a short lifespan or dies in battle, they can also include selective breeding in the process. The companion can even be the queen of an eusocial swarm, allowing the enhancement of the workers and soldiers in a matter of weeks or days. The Class I Have Yet to Name would also have other abilities through the direct aplication of plants or animal parts in combat: Seeds that grow into poisonous thorns in a matter of seconds, a serrated tusk used as a sword or a scaled skin as armor, pheromone glands from various especies with disabling effects, fruit that temporarily raises atributes, refined venom or disease foci, etc. Their Invoker abilities would allow them to summon nearby creatures to her aid, but also enable harvesting new parts if they fall in battle. It would also help her or her companion to fight hand to hand against vicious monsters marked by the spirits as a target by adding to or enhancing their natural abilities. When this class is not outdoors tracking new species or collecting ingredients, they are usually found in their isolated laboratory where they distil their reagents into essensses which are then turned into elixirs, for temporal boosts in combat, and plasmids, for long term improvements for her companion, herself or her party. When on the move they usually carry what manner of portable laboratory they can, allowing them to conserve and distill their finds in the wilderness. The Class I Have Yet to Name could as easily found in an isolated district of a technologically advanced city, or in an ample haphazard laboratory among tribals. The class' knowledge of nature comes from observation of the enviroment and the behavior of wildlife, knowing that nothing is as it is without reason. Since the spirits guide her through her companion, she doesn't really need a formal education or a civilized background to thrive in her commitment, she could work as well with a refined laboratory set as with a primitve mortar and pestle, compensating comodities such a glass vases and bunsen burners with equivalents collected from her finds at expeditions, such as flamable resins and clear shells from an evolved mollusc.


Some names I have considered but don't really like for various reasons

Witch Doctor - I really would like it to be a single word, and it sounds more like someone else would call it that out of superstition, not the class itself. Definitively will be used as a (derogative) nickname from time to time though.
Biologist - Too scientific, cant imagine a tribal calling himself as such, and doesn't really cover the spiritual part.
Biotician - Same as above, and a mouthfull
Evolutionist - Too long and sciency but captures the essensse of the class well.
Simbioter - I'm working with this for now, but it puts too much enfasis on the relationship with creatures, and too little on the pursuit of knowledge. A beast tamer could be called as such if we are going for fancy names.

I'm open to suggestions and adjustments, thanks for reading.

One PTA class was called a Watcher, and its role it its universe seems to reflect your class and universe. Groomer, Tutor, Artificer, Mystic, Conduit, Godspeaker (or Gaiaspeaker), Touched, Clairsentient, Empath, Survivalist, Evolver might be good names too.

As for the base stats, I'm partial to scrapping away D&D's mental stats altogether. Too many idiots that need to overcompensate, too many people using them as an excuse to restrict others or even themselves from participating.

Thus, Instinct sounds nice. So would Magic Affinity / Scientific Outlook. Plus, it'd make for an awesome wheel of balance where Science > Instinct > Magic > Science.

jqavins
2018-05-10, 02:56 PM
"Naturalist" was my first thought, but somehow seems too academic.

"Naturist" feels better, except for its real world meaning that will draw many a snicker.

"Biomancer" might be good; the "-mancer" root has unwanted arcane connotations, but perhaps it doesn't need to. And it's somewhat academic. On second thought, don't use "Biomancer". (But someone should use it for something else, 'cause it sounds cool.)

"Shaper". Of course, it should be "Nature Shaper", but you want one word, and the nature part will quickly be obvious to anybody who is acquainted with one.

Incidentally, steam power is pneumatics, not hydraulics. Hydraulics is when you move things using liquids (originally water, more often oil) and pneumatics is when you use gas (most often air, but steam too.) Steam power is easier to generate, but harder to use.