Playtest (A5E) Level Up Playtest Document #2: Fighter

Welcome to the second Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the first 10 levels of game’s fighter class, and our new combat maneuvers system.

This playtest document begins to address three issues which you said were important in the survey we posted last month:

• Meaningful character choices at each advancement level
• A fully fleshed out exploration pillar*
• A range of martial maneuvers to give non-spellcasters more options in combat

*Exploration knacks, as introduced in this playtest document, only form part of the exploration pillar.

Download the playtest document

What this is
This is a playtest document. We’d love you to try out the rules presented here, and then answer the follow-up survey in a few days.

What this is not
This is NOT the final game. It’s OK if you don’t like elements of these rules; that’s the purpose of a playtest document. Be sure to participate in the follow-up survey in a few days. All data, positive or negative is useful.

What we use this for
Your survey responses help form the direction of the game as it goes through the development process.

Don’t forget!
Sign up for the mailing list for notifications of playtests, surveys, and news, and to make sure you get notified on Kickstarter when the project launches in 2021.

Continue reading...

 

[Minigiant]

Yeah, but if D&D went that route back in the 70s we would not have Nystul, Mordekainen, Otiluke, Otto, Tasha and those - there were non generic names that were put into game mechanics to help flavor. I can see that some of the fighter traditions used were "extreme" with flavor, but a generic title just sits there. Give it some flavor.

Those are names of spell not schools. It's Evocation spells not Wrath's Purity spells or Tasha's spells of Destruction.

The techniques can have no generic names. I just don't think the tradition groupings should.

 

[tetrasodium]

Yeah, but if D&D went that route back in the 70s we would not have Nystul, Mordekainen, Otiluke, Otto, Tasha and those - there were non generic names that were put into game mechanics to help flavor. I can see that some of the fighter traditions used were "extreme" with flavor, but a generic title just sits there. Give it some flavor.

Hopefully they can avoid the senseless namedropping from Grreyhawk & FR. The use of names is not a problem in itself, the "This setting invented magic & all other settings learned from it" implication however is problematic when bob is trying to import lore from an incompatible setting because so&so did xyz in pzq with so&so's spell present saying that so&so or stories spreading the lorebaselines of Mystaras Chosen must have been there at some point

 

[Morrus]

We could always just call them "Style A", "Style B", "Style C" and so on. Unless people have a strong preference for "Style 1", "Style 2"....*

*No we won't do that! Tradition names are a super-subjective thing, though, so folks should be aware that what they like the next person will like the exact opposite. We're not currently worrying about tradition names, though. Busy hard at work on parsing survey results and prepping the rogue for release at the end of next week.

 

[Zaukrie]

We could always just call them "Style A", "Style B", "Style C" and so on. Unless people have a strong preference for "Style 1", "Style 2"....*

*No we won't do that! Tradition names are a super-subjective thing, though, so folks should be aware that what they like the next person will like the exact opposite. We're not currently worrying about tradition names, though. Busy hard at work on parsing survey results and prepping the rogue for release at the end of next week.

See, you should concentrate on the small rocks, the details, the things that don't really MATTER first. Then, you know, do the actual design.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Those are names of spell not schools. It's Evocation spells not Wrath's Purity spells or Tasha's spells of Destruction.

The techniques can have no generic names. I just don't think the tradition groupings should.

I can see that. I've played HERO for 35 years now, I know how to add flavor, but when i play D&D a like a little bit of implied setting, but just namedropping here and there would do it.

 

[Xethreau]

Well I for one hate the Grayhawk imposed schools of magic, and I'd really rather just stick to the six elements thank you.

(But I'm not joking)

 

[Quartz]

Well I for one hate the Grayhawk imposed schools of magic, and I'd really rather just stick to the six elements thank you.

A third option which might interest you is path magic - it's in one of the old Dragon magazines.

 

[Mike Myler]

Marquis of Queensbury Fearsome Strike!

~furiously taking notes~

 

[glass]

either allow some recovery of Exertion with "breathers" or just drop it...but don't mix it with hitdie spends.

I agree with this as a general principle, although I can think of a few exceptions that have worked OKish. This particular version has the issue that it is such terrible value - a hit die and a minute for a handful back, or you could wait a few more minutes and get them all back with no HD expenditure.

I'd also prefer if Dis/Advantage was a scale ranging like this: +/- 1 <-> 1d4 <-> 1d6 <-> 1d8 <-> 1d10 <->1d12 and each instance of Dis/Advantage moved the scale in a direction or the other.

This is more or less how Alternity worked (except IIRC Alternity is a roll-under system so subtracting dice is advantage). EDIT: Earthdawn was also similar IIRC, in this case will high=good, but without the base d20. The step dice as they were called were the whole of the roll.

_
glass.

 

[Solidor]

I had a pair of players arguing that Dangerous Aura would apply to every hostile creature for every round of combat. Reading it myself, I think the spirit of it is just that it applies to the first action of the day, or the first round of combat if they attack you unprovoked. Would I be correct in this?