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Rokugan RPG fantasy setting conversion for D&DNext (preliminary thoughts)
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<blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6289566" data-attributes="member: 1465"><p><strong>Preliminary thoughts: Classes</strong></p><p></p><p>As I mentioned in the previous post, I'll focus only on the 4 main classes of the game, and assume that there is no multiclassing between them (characters do multiclass into Monk at a certain age, but we can ignore that for now).</p><p></p><p><strong>Samurai</strong></p><p></p><p>Heavy focus on martial features and abilities, which means plenty of feats, and optionally maneuvers. HD and weapon/armor proficiencies can stay the same as in d20.</p><p></p><p>Significantly more skilled than Fighters, and definitely not just physical skills. But 5e PCs are all more skilled than in 3e, so just one class skill proficiency is probably enough.</p><p></p><p>The only unique feature in the d20 Samurai was the Ancestral Daisho, but it had an XP cost to increase its benefits, so it wasn't strictly required to. I think the best mechanical representation for this is to create a subclass: at every level where you get a subclass benefit, your Ancestral Daisho improves. The XP cost is removed, but it improves by level so in a sense it's quite the same, without the sour taste of reducing your XP.</p><p></p><p>"Service classes" of the Samurai in d20 were mainly the Fighter, Barbarian and (spell-less) Ranger. My favourite idea is to break down these classes, and turn them into subclasses of the Samurai. Some class features of the 5e Fighter might simply become class feature of the Samurai, but for instance Rage can be very much unique to a Berserker subclass, which in turn might be restricted to characters of the Unicorn clan or the Hida and Matsu families.</p><p></p><p>Battlemaster and Warrior subclasses are totally appropriate also as Samurai subclasses. Battlemaster's maneuvers however, seem perfect to be restricted by Clan.</p><p></p><p><strong>Monk</strong></p><p></p><p>Basically the core D&D Monk was used in d20 Rokugan, only with some more flexibility in the choice of class features. Very likely we can use the 5e Monk as-is, since that is also largely based on the 3e Monk.</p><p></p><p>The current 5e Monk subclasses Way of the Open Hand and Way of the Elements are also quite appropriate.</p><p></p><p>d20 Rokugan had another Monk-like class called Inkyo, to represent a more supernatural type of monks. This might be turned into a further subclass (it's not very "elemental" but more "void-oriented", but another option is to merge it with the Way of the Elements).</p><p></p><p>Finally, I never quite sorted out whether the Sohei is or isn't a proper Rokugan class. In d20 Oriental Adventures it's said it doesn't exist in Rokugan, while the d20 Rokugan Campaign Setting mentions it as a type of Monk. I would be positive about having the Sohei as a Monk subclass, but definitely without the spells it has in Oriental Adventures.</p><p></p><p><strong>Courtier</strong></p><p></p><p>This class is a hybrid between a Rogue and an Aristocrat, minus the combat sides of both. The basic math of the class can be replicated trivially, but the real "meat" is skills and special Courtier abilities.</p><p></p><p>This class in d20 is a skillful as a Rogue, but didn't have physical skills in its class list. In D&DNext skills are largely individual rather than derived from class, while skillful classes (Rogue, Bard and Ranger) get 2-3 more skill proficiencies than anybody else, therefore this seems a must-have for the Courtier as well (with appropriate choices for the bonus skills list).</p><p></p><p>There is a handful of Courtier class abilities in d20 but not all of them are essential: IMHO the most interesting one is Gossip, the others may be retained or replaced by something else. But besides those common Courtier abilities, there are also the "special Courtier abilities" which are chosen, i.e. different to each character, and which ones you can choose depend on your Clan. Because of this 'selectability' and the restrictions by Clan, special Courtier abilities play a role similar to the Samurai's technique feats (and eventually maneuvers) and the Shugenja's spells, which makes them a must-have. Luckily, because they are a separate system, they don't need to be converted, they can just stay as they are, provided that whichever of them breaks bounded accuracy is removed or adjusted.</p><p></p><p>As for subclasses, we might try to fit a Bard~ish idea under the Courtier, particularly for providing inspiration benefits, but it should probably not be magical.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shugenja</strong></p><p></p><p>Definitely the most difficult of the bunch to adapt to D&DNext! The class math and general structure is not an issue, but the spellcasting system is.</p><p></p><p>I am actually not familiar with the magic system of L5R other than its d20 adaptation, which according to many was not appropriate enough: the Shugenja was basically a 3e Sorcerer (daily slots, fixed number of spells known, no need for preparation), but there is no such character in 5e where every spellcaster has to prepare spells in advance, so it's probably even further away from how magic is supposed to work in Rokugan.</p><p></p><p>Nevertheless, it might work to just use 5e spellcasting system. The alternative is to port a system from any other edition of L5R, but this may or may not fit with the rest of D&DNext.</p><p></p><p><strong>Prestige Classes</strong></p><p></p><p>May not be needed for a "basic Rokugan campaign", but at least let's take a look forward... </p><p></p><p>There were lots of PrCls in Rokugan d20, the majority of which represented training with a specific group, and were therefore restricted by Clan, but usually there is a much stronger emphasis on the narrative of becoming a member of a PrCl compared to standard D&D.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, older d20 Rokugan prestige classes can be converted into D&DNext in at least the following ways:</p><p></p><p>- feat chains</p><p>- subclasses</p><p>- 3e-like prestige classes</p><p></p><p>These are the main implication of choosing each approach:</p><p></p><p>As a feat chain, this means</p><p>(a) it's generally available to all base classes, but some classes may advance faster than others</p><p>(b) minimum character level to enter is 4th</p><p>(c) benefits are scattered over distant (fixed) levels</p><p>(d) possible to pace advancement only more slowly</p><p>(e) possible to take multiple prestige classes</p><p></p><p>As a subclass, this means </p><p>(a) it's available only to one class</p><p>(b) it has to start when the subclass starts, usually 2nd or 3rd, not later</p><p>(c) benefits are scattered over distant (fixed) levels</p><p>(d) advancement is automatic, pace is fixed</p><p>(e) only one prestige class is possible (unless the option of mixing multiple subclasses is allowed)</p><p></p><p>As a 3e-like prestige class, this means </p><p>(a) it's available to whatever classes have access to the requirements</p><p>(b) there might be an implied minimum level, but otherwise can start at any level</p><p>(c) benefits are achieved quickly, at consecutive levels</p><p>(d) advancement is freely paced</p><p>(e) possible to take multiple prestige classes</p><p></p><p>I really think that there is no one-size-fits-all, therefore all three approaches should be used, the best one depends on the specific prestige class to convert.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Li Shenron, post: 6289566, member: 1465"] [B]Preliminary thoughts: Classes[/B] As I mentioned in the previous post, I'll focus only on the 4 main classes of the game, and assume that there is no multiclassing between them (characters do multiclass into Monk at a certain age, but we can ignore that for now). [B]Samurai[/B] Heavy focus on martial features and abilities, which means plenty of feats, and optionally maneuvers. HD and weapon/armor proficiencies can stay the same as in d20. Significantly more skilled than Fighters, and definitely not just physical skills. But 5e PCs are all more skilled than in 3e, so just one class skill proficiency is probably enough. The only unique feature in the d20 Samurai was the Ancestral Daisho, but it had an XP cost to increase its benefits, so it wasn't strictly required to. I think the best mechanical representation for this is to create a subclass: at every level where you get a subclass benefit, your Ancestral Daisho improves. The XP cost is removed, but it improves by level so in a sense it's quite the same, without the sour taste of reducing your XP. "Service classes" of the Samurai in d20 were mainly the Fighter, Barbarian and (spell-less) Ranger. My favourite idea is to break down these classes, and turn them into subclasses of the Samurai. Some class features of the 5e Fighter might simply become class feature of the Samurai, but for instance Rage can be very much unique to a Berserker subclass, which in turn might be restricted to characters of the Unicorn clan or the Hida and Matsu families. Battlemaster and Warrior subclasses are totally appropriate also as Samurai subclasses. Battlemaster's maneuvers however, seem perfect to be restricted by Clan. [B]Monk[/B] Basically the core D&D Monk was used in d20 Rokugan, only with some more flexibility in the choice of class features. Very likely we can use the 5e Monk as-is, since that is also largely based on the 3e Monk. The current 5e Monk subclasses Way of the Open Hand and Way of the Elements are also quite appropriate. d20 Rokugan had another Monk-like class called Inkyo, to represent a more supernatural type of monks. This might be turned into a further subclass (it's not very "elemental" but more "void-oriented", but another option is to merge it with the Way of the Elements). Finally, I never quite sorted out whether the Sohei is or isn't a proper Rokugan class. In d20 Oriental Adventures it's said it doesn't exist in Rokugan, while the d20 Rokugan Campaign Setting mentions it as a type of Monk. I would be positive about having the Sohei as a Monk subclass, but definitely without the spells it has in Oriental Adventures. [B]Courtier[/B] This class is a hybrid between a Rogue and an Aristocrat, minus the combat sides of both. The basic math of the class can be replicated trivially, but the real "meat" is skills and special Courtier abilities. This class in d20 is a skillful as a Rogue, but didn't have physical skills in its class list. In D&DNext skills are largely individual rather than derived from class, while skillful classes (Rogue, Bard and Ranger) get 2-3 more skill proficiencies than anybody else, therefore this seems a must-have for the Courtier as well (with appropriate choices for the bonus skills list). There is a handful of Courtier class abilities in d20 but not all of them are essential: IMHO the most interesting one is Gossip, the others may be retained or replaced by something else. But besides those common Courtier abilities, there are also the "special Courtier abilities" which are chosen, i.e. different to each character, and which ones you can choose depend on your Clan. Because of this 'selectability' and the restrictions by Clan, special Courtier abilities play a role similar to the Samurai's technique feats (and eventually maneuvers) and the Shugenja's spells, which makes them a must-have. Luckily, because they are a separate system, they don't need to be converted, they can just stay as they are, provided that whichever of them breaks bounded accuracy is removed or adjusted. As for subclasses, we might try to fit a Bard~ish idea under the Courtier, particularly for providing inspiration benefits, but it should probably not be magical. [B]Shugenja[/B] Definitely the most difficult of the bunch to adapt to D&DNext! The class math and general structure is not an issue, but the spellcasting system is. I am actually not familiar with the magic system of L5R other than its d20 adaptation, which according to many was not appropriate enough: the Shugenja was basically a 3e Sorcerer (daily slots, fixed number of spells known, no need for preparation), but there is no such character in 5e where every spellcaster has to prepare spells in advance, so it's probably even further away from how magic is supposed to work in Rokugan. Nevertheless, it might work to just use 5e spellcasting system. The alternative is to port a system from any other edition of L5R, but this may or may not fit with the rest of D&DNext. [B]Prestige Classes[/B] May not be needed for a "basic Rokugan campaign", but at least let's take a look forward... There were lots of PrCls in Rokugan d20, the majority of which represented training with a specific group, and were therefore restricted by Clan, but usually there is a much stronger emphasis on the narrative of becoming a member of a PrCl compared to standard D&D. Anyway, older d20 Rokugan prestige classes can be converted into D&DNext in at least the following ways: - feat chains - subclasses - 3e-like prestige classes These are the main implication of choosing each approach: As a feat chain, this means (a) it's generally available to all base classes, but some classes may advance faster than others (b) minimum character level to enter is 4th (c) benefits are scattered over distant (fixed) levels (d) possible to pace advancement only more slowly (e) possible to take multiple prestige classes As a subclass, this means (a) it's available only to one class (b) it has to start when the subclass starts, usually 2nd or 3rd, not later (c) benefits are scattered over distant (fixed) levels (d) advancement is automatic, pace is fixed (e) only one prestige class is possible (unless the option of mixing multiple subclasses is allowed) As a 3e-like prestige class, this means (a) it's available to whatever classes have access to the requirements (b) there might be an implied minimum level, but otherwise can start at any level (c) benefits are achieved quickly, at consecutive levels (d) advancement is freely paced (e) possible to take multiple prestige classes I really think that there is no one-size-fits-all, therefore all three approaches should be used, the best one depends on the specific prestige class to convert. 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