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Cleric design goals . Legends and Lore April 23
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<blockquote data-quote="pauljathome" data-source="post: 5889506" data-attributes="member: 21807"><p>Its not about exclusivity. Its about capability.</p><p></p><p>In my view, the main strength of a class based system is that it means that the class alone gives one a rough idea of what a character in that class is meant to be able to do. When you sit down at the table for a PFS session you can sum up your character with something like "I'm playing a cleric of Sarnarae" and that actually has significant meaning. It is NOT the entirety of the character or its capabilities but it is at least the larger portion of it.</p><p></p><p>So, a fighter hits things with pointy sticks. Really, really hard. Doesn't throw spells. </p><p></p><p>Personally, I actually prefer non class based systems because I love tinkering with characters. When I'm handed a class system I want a lot of flexibility.</p><p></p><p>But its not about my tastes. Its about what D&D is.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I love Prestige Classes as they were originally conceived and the way that they can elegantly handle exactly this scenario. The fighter visibly starts down the path to becoming a HolyFireWieldingWarrior by their feat and skill selection and they then become a HolyFireWieldingWarrior.</p><p></p><p>At that point, the quick summary is probably HolyFireWieldingWarrior. It may be Fighter/HolyFireWieldingWarrior depending on the prestige class.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, Prestige Classes changed into a mini-maxing tool where the flavour and exclusivity got completely lost. </p><p></p><p></p><p>It depends on how much themes and backgrounds affect the character. </p><p></p><p>If theme, background, race and character class all contribute roughly equal amounts to the character then I have to describe my character as Elf/Cleric/Lurker/Aristocrat. That probably leaves my fellow pick up players mystified as to exactly what my character can do <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That is overstating my position but isn't entirely wrong. It DOES bother me at some level if the purely vanilla fighter (the one who is NOT a HolyFireWieldingWarrior, who is NOT from a world where all characters are magical, etc) suddenly throws a fireball. It interferes with the versimilitude of the world.</p><p></p><p>That was a significant portion of the reason that 4th edition wasn't to my tastes. From various discussions, I think that I'm not alone in that opinion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pauljathome, post: 5889506, member: 21807"] Its not about exclusivity. Its about capability. In my view, the main strength of a class based system is that it means that the class alone gives one a rough idea of what a character in that class is meant to be able to do. When you sit down at the table for a PFS session you can sum up your character with something like "I'm playing a cleric of Sarnarae" and that actually has significant meaning. It is NOT the entirety of the character or its capabilities but it is at least the larger portion of it. So, a fighter hits things with pointy sticks. Really, really hard. Doesn't throw spells. Personally, I actually prefer non class based systems because I love tinkering with characters. When I'm handed a class system I want a lot of flexibility. But its not about my tastes. Its about what D&D is. I love Prestige Classes as they were originally conceived and the way that they can elegantly handle exactly this scenario. The fighter visibly starts down the path to becoming a HolyFireWieldingWarrior by their feat and skill selection and they then become a HolyFireWieldingWarrior. At that point, the quick summary is probably HolyFireWieldingWarrior. It may be Fighter/HolyFireWieldingWarrior depending on the prestige class. Unfortunately, Prestige Classes changed into a mini-maxing tool where the flavour and exclusivity got completely lost. It depends on how much themes and backgrounds affect the character. If theme, background, race and character class all contribute roughly equal amounts to the character then I have to describe my character as Elf/Cleric/Lurker/Aristocrat. That probably leaves my fellow pick up players mystified as to exactly what my character can do :-) That is overstating my position but isn't entirely wrong. It DOES bother me at some level if the purely vanilla fighter (the one who is NOT a HolyFireWieldingWarrior, who is NOT from a world where all characters are magical, etc) suddenly throws a fireball. It interferes with the versimilitude of the world. That was a significant portion of the reason that 4th edition wasn't to my tastes. From various discussions, I think that I'm not alone in that opinion. [/QUOTE]
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Cleric design goals . Legends and Lore April 23
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