Kiero
2019-01-26, 12:19 PM
The title is the best summary I could figure for my collected "heresy" that takes significant liberties with ACKS as my starting point and base. I've used ACKS for historical games before, with some significant hacking and I keep coming back to the same thing: the core system is perfect for the level of pace and detail I want in an RPG for a historical game. The fact that it also easily plugs into Domains@War (for mass combat and military campaigning) is an added bonus.
I started with a game set in antiquity (circa 300BC), but I've also got in mind 18th or 19th century shenanigans (with Guns of War). The latter period makes armour mostly irrelevant, but adds guns. However, I see no reason why this couldn't work equally well for a medieval/Renaissance setting more akin to regular D&D's assumptions.
I should preface this by listing my assumptions, so that the objective is clearer:
There's no magic or monsters, this is for straight historical games. The closest to magic is retaining the prophecy-related Proficiencies, because that's always a source of amusement.
No XP. There's no giving or tracking it, characters level whenever is deemed appropriate. As such, all classes need to be balanced for the same XP progression.
Chargen is non-random; you pick from either a Standard Array (14, 13, 12, 10, 8, 7) or Elite Array (16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 8), assign as you like, then add 2 points.
All characters are assumed to "start" as a Normal Man, with a class level being an advancement on that. 1st level characters are more capable as a result. It also means there is the option to start a campaign at "0th level" and have the PCs choose their proper class later. I'm assuming three potential starting points for characters: 0th level, 1st level or 3rd level.
Level progression caps at 5th or 6th level (undecided which so far). There are no more levels after that point, so that even the most experienced character is not wildly divergent from a normal person. I'm musing on capping hit dice progression at 3rd level, so it's only +1/+2 hit points for the remaining ones (especially given level-based hit dice are in addition to the d6 from 0th level).
Instead of the proliferation of classes, where everyone picks just one for that character forever, there are only three: Warrior, Expert and Scholar, which are modular.
Multi-classing is available, I've got a good notion of how that will work from the way later editions do it. This is where the customisation comes, instead of choosing a class, you build your own as you go. You won't get all the features of a new class just by "dipping" a single level. Obviously this creates the Character Level/Class Level distinction.
Proficiencies drive a lot of the customisation, my list is revised. 0th level characters get 4 General or 2 General and 1 Class Proficiency - remember everyone starts at 0th level. Progression is also altered (in short odd numbered character levels give Class Proficiencies, even numbered give General). INT bonus applies to additional General Proficiencies at the start. Essentially, characters get a lot more of them.
Furthermore, thief skills are all codified as Proficiencies, either by expanding existing ones like Alertness (+Near Noise), Climbing (+Climb Walls), Skulking (+Hide in Shadows/Move Silently) or adding new ones for Pick Pockets and Disable Device (Open Locks/Find Traps/Remove Traps).
I'll need to rework Fighting Style Proficiencies somewhat, to make them broader, but also add some gunpowder-appropriate ones (things like Fusilier and Skirmisher). They're going to be the basis of my Feat-equivalents, though there won't be more than about ten in total.
I'm thinking Languages will be a General Proficiency with levels. First level gives one additional language, second gives three, third gives five, fourth (?) gives eight.
I'm using the 3.x-onward schema of saving throws - Fortitude, Reflex and Will, rather than the traditional five.
Gaining followers happens at 5th level, rather than 9th.
OK, so on to the meat of this. My primary concern is around how to construct those three classes. They are basically thus:
Warrior is the Fighter, that one's easy. Go-to for soldiers, marines, barbarians and so on.
Expert is a revised Thief, they lose all the thief skills, but get a host of Class and General Proficiencies which allow you to build a Thief or any skilled tradesman. It should be the go-to class if you want to play an engineer, criminal, sailor or artillerist; most NPCs who have a class level will be Experts.
Scholar is the wreckage of the Wizard, without any magic. They get Literacy, the option of taking the Thief skill Read Languages and Proficiencies related to learned professions. It's the class for lawyers, priests or scientists.
The issue is around balance. My difficulty is that the absence of magic and the weirder custom abilities makes it harder to make them equal, especially the Scholar. What do they get for even lower hit points and worse weapon and armour selection than the Expert?
Here's my mechanical musings on how each one is structured, which should help illustrate things (I've taken some license with the standard parameters in the Companion).
0th level
Hit Dice Value: d6
Attack Throws: 19
Weapon Selection: Narrow
Armour Selection: Narrow
Damage Bonus: None
Cleaves: None
Saving Throw progression: Starting save values (18+), modified by attributes
Additional Features: 4 General or 2 General + 1 Class Proficiency (any) + INT in additional General Proficiencies
Just to be clear, every character starts at 0th level, even if the game is starting 1st, so the features of the classes below are additional to 0th level, not instead.
Warrior
Hit Dice Value: d8 on odd/+2 on even levels
Attack Throws: +1 per level
Weapon Selection: Unrestricted
Armour Selection: Unrestricted
Damage Bonus: +1 on each odd level
Cleaves: 1 per level
Saving Throw progression: +1 to one save per level
Additional Features: Seasoned Campaigner, one Class Proficiency and one Fighting Style Proficiency as bonuses at 1st level. Battlefield Prowess at 3rd level.
Gain an additional Class Proficiency at every even-numbered level.
Expert
Hit Dice Value: d6 on odd/+1 on even levels
Attack Throws: +2 per 3 levels
Weapon Selection: Broad
Armour Selection: Broad
Damage Bonus: None
Cleaves: 1 per 2 levels
Saving Throw progression: +2 on saves per level
Additional Features: Experts are well-versed in a particular area of craft. They may choose any one of Animal Husbandry, Art, Craft, Engineering, Healing, Manual of Arms or Performance to represent this area of expertise, which begins at two ranks. Alternatively, they may choose a Thief skill.
Experts facility with their chosen area of expertise gives them a bonus to all Proficiency checks relating to that topic of +1 at first level. This increases by an additional +1 at 3rd and 5th level.
They add another 4 points of Proficiencies, which can be bought at the rate of 1 point per General and 2 points per Class. Their Class Proficiencies include the former Thief skills.
At every even-numbered level, gain an additional General Proficiency, on top of the normal progression.
Whenever you gain a Class Proficiency at odd-numbered levels, you may instead opt to take two General Proficiencies.
Scholar
Hit Dice Value: d4 on odd levels
Attack Throws: +1 per 3 levels
Weapon Selection: Narrow
Armour Selection: Narrow
Damage Bonus: None
Cleaves: None
Saving Throw progression: +1 to one save per level
Additional Features: All experts are literate and well-versed in a particular area of knowledge. They may choose any one of Art, Healing, Knowledge, Performance or Profession to represent this area of learning, which begins at two ranks. They start with the Literacy and Language Proficiencies for free.
Scholars facility with their chosen area of expertise gives them a bonus to all Proficiency checks relating to that topic of +1 at first level. This increases by an additional +1 at 3rd and 5th level. Furthermore, as their knowledge base grows, they gain a +1 bonus to another area of specialism at 3rd level, with an additional bonus to that at 5th level. Lastly, at 5th level they may add a third area of expertise, to which they gain a +1 bonus.
They add another 6 points of Proficiencies, which can be bought at the rate of 1 point per General and 2 points per Class.
Because of their study of ancient texts and contact with other specialists, Scholars possess loremastery. This knowledge allows them to decipher occult runes, remember ancient history, identify historic artifacts, and similar tasks. At 1st level, an expert must make a proficiency throw of 18+ on 1d20 to succeed in these tasks. The proficiency throw required reduces by 2 per level.
Upon attaining 3rd level, the Scholar gains the ability to read languages, including ciphers, treasure maps, and dead languages, but not magical writings. A proficiency throw of 5+ on 1d20 is required. If the roll does not succeed, the expert may not try to read that particular piece of writing until he reaches a higher level of experience.
At every level, gain an additional General Proficiency, on top of the normal progression.
Whenever you gain a Class Proficiency at odd-numbered levels, you may instead opt to take two General Proficiencies.
At 1st level, Scholars start with double the normal wealth value, and are assumed to be at least of middle/mercantile class.
Is the Scholar an artificial distinction from the Expert? Would they be better off being one class, with the option to trade down hit dice, attack throws, Cleaves and armour/weapon selections for additional Proficiencies and area of expertise bonuses? Or does that overcomplicate the Expert? I do like having the option of a genuinely non-combatant class.
Multliclassing is the other consideration. As above, you don't simply get all the facets of the new class by taking it on. So for example a Scholar picking up Warrior doesn't suddenly gain full access to all armour and weapons, and Cleaves equal to Character Level, and bonus Class Proficiencies all in one go. I'm thinking something like two of those features per Class Level. Yes, this is all more complex than standard ACKS, but still much simpler than 3.x onwards.
I'm also conscious that I haven't yet given much thought to what the level-demography looks like in this new system. While I don't subscribe to the "kings must be high level" idea in the original table, I do still think it's useful to consider what the spread amongst the population should be in terms of levels.
0th level: 75%
1st level: 15%
2nd level: 5%
3rd level: 2%
4th level: 1.5%
5th level: 1%
6th level: 0.5%
I'm about done for now, but I'll come back to this. Initial thoughts?
I started with a game set in antiquity (circa 300BC), but I've also got in mind 18th or 19th century shenanigans (with Guns of War). The latter period makes armour mostly irrelevant, but adds guns. However, I see no reason why this couldn't work equally well for a medieval/Renaissance setting more akin to regular D&D's assumptions.
I should preface this by listing my assumptions, so that the objective is clearer:
There's no magic or monsters, this is for straight historical games. The closest to magic is retaining the prophecy-related Proficiencies, because that's always a source of amusement.
No XP. There's no giving or tracking it, characters level whenever is deemed appropriate. As such, all classes need to be balanced for the same XP progression.
Chargen is non-random; you pick from either a Standard Array (14, 13, 12, 10, 8, 7) or Elite Array (16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 8), assign as you like, then add 2 points.
All characters are assumed to "start" as a Normal Man, with a class level being an advancement on that. 1st level characters are more capable as a result. It also means there is the option to start a campaign at "0th level" and have the PCs choose their proper class later. I'm assuming three potential starting points for characters: 0th level, 1st level or 3rd level.
Level progression caps at 5th or 6th level (undecided which so far). There are no more levels after that point, so that even the most experienced character is not wildly divergent from a normal person. I'm musing on capping hit dice progression at 3rd level, so it's only +1/+2 hit points for the remaining ones (especially given level-based hit dice are in addition to the d6 from 0th level).
Instead of the proliferation of classes, where everyone picks just one for that character forever, there are only three: Warrior, Expert and Scholar, which are modular.
Multi-classing is available, I've got a good notion of how that will work from the way later editions do it. This is where the customisation comes, instead of choosing a class, you build your own as you go. You won't get all the features of a new class just by "dipping" a single level. Obviously this creates the Character Level/Class Level distinction.
Proficiencies drive a lot of the customisation, my list is revised. 0th level characters get 4 General or 2 General and 1 Class Proficiency - remember everyone starts at 0th level. Progression is also altered (in short odd numbered character levels give Class Proficiencies, even numbered give General). INT bonus applies to additional General Proficiencies at the start. Essentially, characters get a lot more of them.
Furthermore, thief skills are all codified as Proficiencies, either by expanding existing ones like Alertness (+Near Noise), Climbing (+Climb Walls), Skulking (+Hide in Shadows/Move Silently) or adding new ones for Pick Pockets and Disable Device (Open Locks/Find Traps/Remove Traps).
I'll need to rework Fighting Style Proficiencies somewhat, to make them broader, but also add some gunpowder-appropriate ones (things like Fusilier and Skirmisher). They're going to be the basis of my Feat-equivalents, though there won't be more than about ten in total.
I'm thinking Languages will be a General Proficiency with levels. First level gives one additional language, second gives three, third gives five, fourth (?) gives eight.
I'm using the 3.x-onward schema of saving throws - Fortitude, Reflex and Will, rather than the traditional five.
Gaining followers happens at 5th level, rather than 9th.
OK, so on to the meat of this. My primary concern is around how to construct those three classes. They are basically thus:
Warrior is the Fighter, that one's easy. Go-to for soldiers, marines, barbarians and so on.
Expert is a revised Thief, they lose all the thief skills, but get a host of Class and General Proficiencies which allow you to build a Thief or any skilled tradesman. It should be the go-to class if you want to play an engineer, criminal, sailor or artillerist; most NPCs who have a class level will be Experts.
Scholar is the wreckage of the Wizard, without any magic. They get Literacy, the option of taking the Thief skill Read Languages and Proficiencies related to learned professions. It's the class for lawyers, priests or scientists.
The issue is around balance. My difficulty is that the absence of magic and the weirder custom abilities makes it harder to make them equal, especially the Scholar. What do they get for even lower hit points and worse weapon and armour selection than the Expert?
Here's my mechanical musings on how each one is structured, which should help illustrate things (I've taken some license with the standard parameters in the Companion).
0th level
Hit Dice Value: d6
Attack Throws: 19
Weapon Selection: Narrow
Armour Selection: Narrow
Damage Bonus: None
Cleaves: None
Saving Throw progression: Starting save values (18+), modified by attributes
Additional Features: 4 General or 2 General + 1 Class Proficiency (any) + INT in additional General Proficiencies
Just to be clear, every character starts at 0th level, even if the game is starting 1st, so the features of the classes below are additional to 0th level, not instead.
Warrior
Hit Dice Value: d8 on odd/+2 on even levels
Attack Throws: +1 per level
Weapon Selection: Unrestricted
Armour Selection: Unrestricted
Damage Bonus: +1 on each odd level
Cleaves: 1 per level
Saving Throw progression: +1 to one save per level
Additional Features: Seasoned Campaigner, one Class Proficiency and one Fighting Style Proficiency as bonuses at 1st level. Battlefield Prowess at 3rd level.
Gain an additional Class Proficiency at every even-numbered level.
Expert
Hit Dice Value: d6 on odd/+1 on even levels
Attack Throws: +2 per 3 levels
Weapon Selection: Broad
Armour Selection: Broad
Damage Bonus: None
Cleaves: 1 per 2 levels
Saving Throw progression: +2 on saves per level
Additional Features: Experts are well-versed in a particular area of craft. They may choose any one of Animal Husbandry, Art, Craft, Engineering, Healing, Manual of Arms or Performance to represent this area of expertise, which begins at two ranks. Alternatively, they may choose a Thief skill.
Experts facility with their chosen area of expertise gives them a bonus to all Proficiency checks relating to that topic of +1 at first level. This increases by an additional +1 at 3rd and 5th level.
They add another 4 points of Proficiencies, which can be bought at the rate of 1 point per General and 2 points per Class. Their Class Proficiencies include the former Thief skills.
At every even-numbered level, gain an additional General Proficiency, on top of the normal progression.
Whenever you gain a Class Proficiency at odd-numbered levels, you may instead opt to take two General Proficiencies.
Scholar
Hit Dice Value: d4 on odd levels
Attack Throws: +1 per 3 levels
Weapon Selection: Narrow
Armour Selection: Narrow
Damage Bonus: None
Cleaves: None
Saving Throw progression: +1 to one save per level
Additional Features: All experts are literate and well-versed in a particular area of knowledge. They may choose any one of Art, Healing, Knowledge, Performance or Profession to represent this area of learning, which begins at two ranks. They start with the Literacy and Language Proficiencies for free.
Scholars facility with their chosen area of expertise gives them a bonus to all Proficiency checks relating to that topic of +1 at first level. This increases by an additional +1 at 3rd and 5th level. Furthermore, as their knowledge base grows, they gain a +1 bonus to another area of specialism at 3rd level, with an additional bonus to that at 5th level. Lastly, at 5th level they may add a third area of expertise, to which they gain a +1 bonus.
They add another 6 points of Proficiencies, which can be bought at the rate of 1 point per General and 2 points per Class.
Because of their study of ancient texts and contact with other specialists, Scholars possess loremastery. This knowledge allows them to decipher occult runes, remember ancient history, identify historic artifacts, and similar tasks. At 1st level, an expert must make a proficiency throw of 18+ on 1d20 to succeed in these tasks. The proficiency throw required reduces by 2 per level.
Upon attaining 3rd level, the Scholar gains the ability to read languages, including ciphers, treasure maps, and dead languages, but not magical writings. A proficiency throw of 5+ on 1d20 is required. If the roll does not succeed, the expert may not try to read that particular piece of writing until he reaches a higher level of experience.
At every level, gain an additional General Proficiency, on top of the normal progression.
Whenever you gain a Class Proficiency at odd-numbered levels, you may instead opt to take two General Proficiencies.
At 1st level, Scholars start with double the normal wealth value, and are assumed to be at least of middle/mercantile class.
Is the Scholar an artificial distinction from the Expert? Would they be better off being one class, with the option to trade down hit dice, attack throws, Cleaves and armour/weapon selections for additional Proficiencies and area of expertise bonuses? Or does that overcomplicate the Expert? I do like having the option of a genuinely non-combatant class.
Multliclassing is the other consideration. As above, you don't simply get all the facets of the new class by taking it on. So for example a Scholar picking up Warrior doesn't suddenly gain full access to all armour and weapons, and Cleaves equal to Character Level, and bonus Class Proficiencies all in one go. I'm thinking something like two of those features per Class Level. Yes, this is all more complex than standard ACKS, but still much simpler than 3.x onwards.
I'm also conscious that I haven't yet given much thought to what the level-demography looks like in this new system. While I don't subscribe to the "kings must be high level" idea in the original table, I do still think it's useful to consider what the spread amongst the population should be in terms of levels.
0th level: 75%
1st level: 15%
2nd level: 5%
3rd level: 2%
4th level: 1.5%
5th level: 1%
6th level: 0.5%
I'm about done for now, but I'll come back to this. Initial thoughts?