[World] The Dustlands

[SilverClawShift]

RESERVED
For: Base Classes in the Dustlands
The status of PHB classes, brand spankin new classes, and how they all work together.

The Base classes of the dustlands are intended to augment existing classes. Both PHB classes and anything else a DM might wish to allow, and a player might wish to play. We're shooting for a full spectrum of base classes, enough options to make things interesting, and enough bases covered that every party roll could reasonably be filled with the Dustland classes. However, they're not intended as replacements to other base classes. Just additions.
A party in the dustlands could choose nothing but our base classes, nothing but PHB base classes, and any combination they wish.
Also, the core casters (wizard, sorcerer, cleric, and druid) are annoyingly powerful. But everyone knows that, I'll get into that later.

(also, as a side note, I'm not positive I like some of these names, but they serve their purpose for now).

Dustlands Base classes we definately want to exist
Concocter
Divine Leech (That's a working name, not a real name. It's meant to be changed)
Glyphcrafter
Grifter
Guardian
Gunslinger (Not sure about the name)
Spellslinger
Totem Ascendant

Dustlands classes we're currently considering, but aren't sure about yet.
Explorer
Preacher
Raindancer


PHB classes, and their place in the world.
Barbarian - Barbarians definately exist in the Dustlands. The Sliss and Wriek races are barbaric by default, and an isolated community of any race could degenerate into raging savages given time. As well, some people might simply feel the call of natural fury. No conflicts here. Barbarians with guns will be terrifying...
Bard - Bards have their place even in this savage land. They might serve as traveling entertainers, card sharks, or even 'reporters' who gather and catalogue information. As a recomended houserule, DMs hosting a Dustlands game should feel comfortable allowing lawful bards employed by the government for that very reason. We're toying with the idea of making a variant Bard based on the 'reporter' concept, one who loses their music and gains something else, but I don't see that going anywhere. Bards are very common in the city-state of Beltine.
Cleric - Clerics are less common here in the dustlands, and are more likely to follow a specific ideal (such as Goodness or Freedom) than a specific deity. Cleric players should get DM approval for chosen domain combinations, if they don't serve a deity. The vaguely unreligious nature of the Dustlands makes clerics feel a bit more like 'outcasts' when picking a class, but their selection doesn't have to be removed.
Druid - Druids are in pretty much the same vein as clerics. They don't really have a solid place in this world, but they aren't oddball enough to limit their selection. Freedom is a good thing.
Fighter - Fighter's are always there. There's no reason a fighter couldn't adopt the worlds 'gun' as their weapon of choice, and become a defacto gunslinger in their own right.
Monk - Monks feel akward in regular D&D, much less in the dustlands. The dustlands has two classes that can become unarmed fighters in their own right. You can still play a monk, but why would you? Personal choice I suppose. A monestary in the middle of nowhere is still always a cool idea though.
Paladin - Paladins definately have a place in the dustlands. The city of Beltine, which is heavy with bards and sorcerers, has a surprisingly strong respect for the nature and traditions of their paladins. Paladins make great legal enforcers, and can be a great addition to the flavor of the dustlands. The image of a paladin on a holy mount with a gleaming golden sixgun at their side is not an unpleasant one, to me.
Ranger - Rangers work wonderfully in the dustlands. Survivalists, trackers, guides, bounty hunters. The Loaman race has a strong Ranger vein running through it. Archery becomes Gunslinging if you want it to. Nothing wrong here at all.
Rogue - Rogues are everywhere, but in the Dustlands they have a sister class, the Grifter. While rogues more strongly represent the physical aspects of...roguery. The Grifters represent the social aspects of being a sneaky little thief. They work well together, they work well against each other... Rogues work. Card sharks are everywhere, rogues and bards can both be rambling gamblers along with the grifter.
Sorcerer - Pure casters... everyone's going to want to be one, but they sure are ridiculously strong. Such is life. Beltine, being a society that beleives they virtually all have dragon blood, has a lot of sorcerers and bards.
Wizard - Same as sorcerers. They exist, you'll find a lot of them (and a lot of necromancers) among the wasteling civilizations.

Dustland class summaries!
Concocter - Herbalists, Alchemists, Chemists... the fact of the matter is, they're all whipping up a batch of SOMETHING. Turning something into something else. mixing.... well you get the idea. The concocter is meant to be the mechanical benchmark for 'brewer' classes. Our intention is to create a fully playable 'caster' who focuses on making potions, oils, balms, powders, ect, ect, ect. We intend to leave the 'flavor' of the class slightly open ended, allowing the player to choose what exactly they are while using the classes mechanics to actually play. A witch making powders and poisons, a gnomeish chemist making acids and explosives... both can fit into the Concocters basic framework. Essentially, the Concocter is intended to be one of three new arcane caster systems featured in the Dustlands.
Maybe we'll add some feats, variants, or prestige classes for those concepts specifically, but the concocter at its core is a brewer. This class works great in other worlds too. We've played with 'alpha' edition concocters in eberron.
Divine Leech - When the world ended, and the planes were sealed, divine power still hung heavily in the air. Some scholars and sages say that Clerics, Paladins, and other divine casters aren't actually accessing their deities. That they are only channeling the remnants of that divine power in the same way they did when deities still answered our calls. The Divine Leech is a holy con man, tapping into that power with empty gestures and prayers, holy trinkets that are little more than steel toys to him.
Mechanically, this class isn't nailed down. But we're toying with giving him access to a handful of cleric domains, and letting him change them. Shifting allegiances and appearing as a cleric of anything he wants. This class would work in other campaign settings too, if the DM allowed someone to put on appearances and essentially leech off of deities. Infiltrating a church of an evil god by adopting their domains for the day? done and done.
Grifter - The grifter is a conman of the highest order, relying on his smooth talk and quick wits to stay in one peice. He is Diplomacy taken to horrifying levels for selfish purposes. To imagine a high level grifter, simply think of hannibal lector. While not useless in combat, the grifter is less a physically oriented class. They can affect the battlefield however, provided people around them start failing will saves.
Guardian - The Guardian is a defender. Sturdy, good saves, in combat is dedicated to survival and protection of others.
Gunslinger - The gunsligner is not simply a fighter, but is rather the classic image of an athletic 'cowboy' archetype. With a lot of physical skills and combat ability. Calling the class a "Gunslinger" doesn't really do him justice. The gunslinger class is meant to be a brash, reckless, quick witted fighter, always thinking on their toes and giving their all in every activity. Usually found one mile in the wrong direction, climbing shakily to their feet after trying to lasso a dragon...
Spellslinger - The spellslinger is the third of three new arcane caster systems. The spellslinger channels magic directly through their body (in playtesting he's gotten called the "Con based caster", but that's not entirely accurate). The fighter-without-a-weapon, the spellslinger uses his bare hands, arcane augmented strikes, temproary defensive boosts, and touch attacked. Class features include titles like "Livewire" and...and... (... I'm sorry, I'm petting my new wacom and crying happily).