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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
New 4E: Divorcing Class and Role (and what is a controller?)
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<blockquote data-quote="The Human Target" data-source="post: 7023858" data-attributes="member: 22574"><p>There are three main ways to open up class roles more.</p><p></p><p>Class and role are totally decoupled. You choose your class, then your role. All classes have powers suitable to each role. All characters of the same role use the same role enforcing mechanics. So there is one defender mechanic, one striker mechanic, etc etc shared by all classes. Simple.</p><p></p><p>Or</p><p></p><p>Classes have no role, but 4 subclasses each of which gives you a different role and a mechanic that is unique to the class. Which is neat, but a huge amount of work depending on the number of classes.</p><p></p><p>Or</p><p></p><p>Each class has a main role, with 4 subclasses that clearly define your secondary role and augment your class mechanic. For example, every fighter is a defender with a basic marking mechanic like the fighters combat challenge. A Guardian fighter (defender) doubles down on defending, with an increased potency mark, say -4 to hit anyone but them. A Slayer fighter (striker) gains bonus damage vs enemies it has marked. A Brawler (controller) fighter can reduce marked enemies AC and immobilize them. A Champion fighter (leader) can grant temp HP to allies attacked by a marked enemy.</p><p></p><p>If I was going to choose one, I'd go option 3.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Human Target, post: 7023858, member: 22574"] There are three main ways to open up class roles more. Class and role are totally decoupled. You choose your class, then your role. All classes have powers suitable to each role. All characters of the same role use the same role enforcing mechanics. So there is one defender mechanic, one striker mechanic, etc etc shared by all classes. Simple. Or Classes have no role, but 4 subclasses each of which gives you a different role and a mechanic that is unique to the class. Which is neat, but a huge amount of work depending on the number of classes. Or Each class has a main role, with 4 subclasses that clearly define your secondary role and augment your class mechanic. For example, every fighter is a defender with a basic marking mechanic like the fighters combat challenge. A Guardian fighter (defender) doubles down on defending, with an increased potency mark, say -4 to hit anyone but them. A Slayer fighter (striker) gains bonus damage vs enemies it has marked. A Brawler (controller) fighter can reduce marked enemies AC and immobilize them. A Champion fighter (leader) can grant temp HP to allies attacked by a marked enemy. If I was going to choose one, I'd go option 3. [/QUOTE]
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New 4E: Divorcing Class and Role (and what is a controller?)
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