Welcome!
RE impressions of the system so far, kind of difficult to say with just the few glimpses. Might help if I knew what your design goals are?
I'm aiming for a system with maximum flexibility and customization without getting tooooo bogged down in crunch or complicated.
Obviously [or perhaps not so], it is the World of Orea RPG...so whatever is offered/added/included should/ought to lend as much to flavor of the world/campaign setting as to the "system."...at least in my head. hahaha. So the fact that some other system or edition or RPG might do things a certain way is not of concepquence to me if it doesn't fit in with my vision of Orea. As the world and game's creator, I do take a certain amount of latitude in this respect...and obviously, people who are not familiar with the world as I am [though I'm hoping will/can become] will and should be able to play however they like...or take the system and go play in other settings...or if they like the setting, take their edition/system of choice and plop it into Orea...It is difficult to explain.
I am decidedly more interested in a "feeling" of older versions of D&D, by which I mean pre-3.x though as you note there are certainly some elements [those I felt added without becoming too intrusive/complicated] of both 3 and 4 and, yes, even 5 [the noted addition of "theme", though I think 2e's kits foreshadowed this well]. That is not to say the game is necessarily "gritty", but can certainly be played that way. Nor is it mandatory to be "high magic" though, again, can certainly be played that way/has the elements present to do so.
I am definitely more interested in fluff v. crunch..."rulings not rules"...rules that are/can be interpretive...the interest and imagination of "creating" PCs to match a player's concept vs. a "build" or [beyond a reasonable amount of] optimization. Can it be played with the latters in mind? I'm sure that it can. But that is not something I would put in/make decisions for the system to be based on.
I'm not sure if that explains better or muddies the waters further...as is often the case when I try to explain things. lol. Sorry if that isn't helpful.
I'll say that I rather like the themes (sort of a 5E thing there) for their added flexibility and customization potential. At first glance that seems an odd fit compared to the reduced weapon and armor options though (your gain in "feel" there is not quite clear to me?).
Thieves, and/or Rogue classes in general, should expect to be and play for speed and reflexes, agility and a good amount of skill-reliance. So they can put on a suit of plate...anyone could put on a suit of plate...but the class is not designed to be its most "useful" [maybe is the word I'm thinking?] by doing so.
Can they carry around and wield a battle axe? Of course they can. Anyone, any class, could. But they will not be at their best, for themselves or a group, by doing so.
A mage pick up a sword and use it/carry it around. Sure they can. But they are not trained in the use of such weapons. It is not part of their interest or training. Not part of their make up. They can try to make it so. There's a Weapon Proficiency skill that allows this and offsets the standard non-proficient penalty to trying to use it. There's at least one theme [that I can think of] that could also help. And if you want a "Gandalf" type wizard who goes around swinging a magic sword, you can do that. Will that require sacrificing other options? Yes. It will. Either in SP expenditure or a theme rank...but it can be done if that's what the player chooses.
The skills are equal to themselves in 3.5 - except that SPs apparently weight a lot more? - meaning I usually find them too granular/that there's too many of them (I tend to favor broad skill categories with the the ability to specialize if you want).
The skills are indeed, I think, fairly broad. And by all means, if the player comes up with a skill usable/application that the game hasn't thought of, it is certainly worth bringing up and the DM will be urged to allow it.
I'm guesssing that's so only Rogues and Wizards can truly shine in that department, forcing the others to focus down? (Not a requirement by any means, but I'd suggest adding a free "hobby/background" skill point for all classes nevertheless? Always a nice touch, I find
).
Mnyah. I don't think it's because of that. Though Rogues do gain SPs quicker than other classes. It's their 'thing." Warriors get fighting stuf, Wizard classes get arcane spells, Priest classes get channeling and spells (divine or nature)...rogues get [more] skills [than others].
RE other players, the board *is* remarkably calm this summer for some reason. I'll send out a few feelers and see if I get any nibbles.
Excellent! Thanks.
Right now I'm favoring Rogue class, Dual Wielder Theme, Parry maneuver, SP in Athletics plus Planar Knowledge and Common plus Fae as languages (does that work with his int? or not?). Meaning we're on to gear, right? How does that work?
Well, you're human right? So you get Common anyway...and a homeland tongue if appropriate. If you go for Freelander, then no. Faye would be "Sylvan", which also allows speech with faye creatures, satyrs and centaurs (and probably other sylvan critters I haven't though of yet.) Your intelligence is what? You gain room for as many additional languages as you have Intelligence modifiers. Of course, as a Freelander you don't have a "homeland tongue", so I'm should probably allow 1 freebie so they [as other human cultural choices] begin with 2 languages...and would help skew the game to have people begin in the rather traditionally sandboxy Freelands.
Question: how does drawing weapons work in this system? And, on a related note: what are the laws like re wearing weaponry for commoners? Since he's skirting the edge of the law, I figure he'd keep his short swords hidden, with just a dagger at his waist (one of the advantages of short vs long swords). Boot/calve sheats with subtly slashed garments maybe?
I....don't actually have a mechanic for that. Draw weapons would, I suppose to borrow from my limited understandign of modern terminology, be "free action." CHANGING weapons, from a bow to a drawn weapon or if you were carrying a spear but wanted to attack with the hand axe on your hip, for example, would take an action/"your turn"...as far as I've defined thus far. It is possible that too could be considered to not take any time...though to my mind, unless you're just dropping a bow to the floor, you can sheathe it in your quiver or throw it over your shoulder and draw a bladed weapon without some kind of action enough to "take your turn"...like I said, that's pretty mutable at the moment.
Can he use Sleight of Hand to draw hidden weapons/objects like regularly sheathed weapons? Might as well get some use out of that skill, right, since a pickpocket he is not.
If you wanted to do so without people noticing, then I would say yes, that's a use for Sleight of Hand. If, for example, you have your short swords hidden and while someone is speaking to the hobgoblin captain for your party, trying to avoid a confrontation, and you want to draw your weapons unseen because you have a hunch they are going to attack anyway...then yeah. Use SoH. Or put them back/away. Palm an object from a table while others are in the room. Do a "find the stone under the shell" scam. Dance a coin across your knuckles and make it disappear into your sleeve. GASP! You're MAGIC!? Those [and probably many more] are all covered with SoH.
I can send/give you a complete list of Skills, with their descriptions, in a PM if that's agreeable. (you haven't seen that yet, have you?)
Gear is simple...I'll give you a list of the "stuff" for sale...and your starting money as a Thief/Rogue...is 150gp, I believe...though most of the equip list is in silver pieces...but armor and weapons, mostly, are still going to cost gold. 10sp = 1 gp.
OR, I have a standardized "Rogue's Pack" that will cost you...something I can look up and/or send you that info as well. Weapons and Armor, of course, are not included in that. But your thieves tools, backpack, rations and random items you could find useful are.