D&D 5E Can mundane classes have a resource which powers abilities?

[Minigiant]

Mechanically yes. Doing so and maintaining the feel of D&D not so much. Calling magic something else and just labeling it as a power source is basically a transformation to the supers genre. Everyone just has these cool powers that work somehow and they form a team of crimefighters...err.. adventurers.

But maintaining the feel of D&D should not be so hard.
And it isn't.

Had Cantrips been 1st level spells that you cast and let you do something at will for an hour or two, few would have complained if you gave the caster a bonus spell slot to jam it in.

Same with mundane class.
If you take a bit of the fighter's power or rogue's skill, boost it a bit and tie it to a believable resource (rage, kill, focus, fatigue, etc), I doubt many would complain.

----

What about a roguish class that has Ideas. It thinks up ideas on how to trick the enemy or new approachee to skills. But of course, eventually the genius "runs out of Ideas".

"How about we... ummm.... I got nothing. Sorry. We're screwed."

 

[Lwaxy]

Am I the only one who thinks a saner option is dialing things back a bit towards traditional fantasy instead of pushing towards MOAR MOAR MOAR?

"Traditional" fantasy would mean to get rid of the Vancian nonsense altogether

But I was always quite happy with playing fighters who are just fighters.

 

[Arduin's]

"Traditional" fantasy would mean to get rid of the Vancian nonsense altogether

Correct. AND, getting rid of most casters. A spell caster being rarer than an 8 legged human. Well, almost more rare.

 

[Derren]

Do you think the D&D audience will accept a mundane (non-magical) class which has a resource that powers abilities?

If yes, will the D&D audience accept a resource which is unique to that class?

Resources are things like spell-points, spell slots, psi points, mana, energy/rage in videogames, etc. Abilities often generate or consume the resource, and the ability cannot be used if the resource cost cannot be paid.

You could start counting arrows for archers again.

Alternatively you could use the mentioned fatigue, but that has to be tracked for all classes and not just for a few just to give them a resource mechanic.

 

[Obryn]

You could start counting arrows for archers again.

Alternatively you could use the mentioned fatigue, but that has to be tracked for all classes and not just for a few just to give them a resource mechanic.

Why in the world can't Fighters and Rogues have resource management that matches their training?

Look at Iron Heroes, for example.

 

[Derren]

Why in the world can't Fighters and Rogues have resource management that matches their training?

How does that relate to what I said? Fighters and rogues can have fatigue as resource, but fatigue is not something limited to this class and I do not see why rangers, barbarians, wizards, clerics and all the others won't also be fatigued in combat, especially when they are doing the same stuff fighters do (hitting things with weapons).

 

[Obryn]

How does that relate to what I said? Fighters and rogues can have fatigue as resource, but fatigue is not something limited to this class and I do not see why rangers, barbarians, wizards, clerics and all the others won't also be fatigued in combat, especially when they are doing the same stuff fighters do (hitting things with weapons).

Okay, so fatigue is inadequate.

How about other resources? Those are all topical for this thread.

 

[Lwaxy]

Correct. AND, getting rid of most casters. A spell caster being rarer than an 8 legged human. Well, almost more rare.

Probably not quite as rare but yeah. Playing in worlds with low magic is usually more fun for me - the heroes about the only ones who even know what magic really is and not a magic mart at every corner.

 

[ambroseji]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Weaponmaster fighter yet.

It's not perfect, but it gives a fighter option that is clearly designed around mundane resource management. Superiority dice need work, balance wise, I feel they could be either stronger, or more pervasive, but they are certainly a mundane resource pool. I don't think that they have gotten too much hate, which makes me think that the community is able/willing to accept such a thing, at least as an option.

The Weaponmaster in my group really digs what he can do.

 

[Arduin's]

Probably not quite as rare but yeah. Playing in worlds with low magic is usually more fun for me - the heroes about the only ones who even know what magic really is and not a magic mart at every corner.

What I meant was that in CLASSIC fantasy the "heroes" (a la would be PC's) were NOT casters. In Greek fantasy you had Circe and the like. Conan and the like had casters mainly as rare antagonists. Etc., etc.