A Watchman's Class?

[Maester Luwin]

I wish to start a game where the Pc's are members of Greyhawk's Watch (its Nightwatch & stationed in the Old City in fact). The problem I am having is they should be Fighters but the Fighter's class skills do not allow for a very playable Watchman. Spot, Listen, Search, & Knowledge (Local) all seem to be appropriate yet none are available to the Fighter. I could just say that the skills above are now Class skills for everyone. This one solution. Does anyone else have any suggestions that keep things balanced yet playable? Thanks in advance Maester Luwin

 

[smootrk]

A few houserule swaps to the skill list is all you really need... presto.

Or do something like create a Feat...

Watchman - Characters may only choose this feat at first level. Character comes from a trained militia, military unit, or city watch background. Add Spot, Listen, and Knowledge Local (one locale) to the class list for this character.

You could expand this into a sort of Feat tree so that specialized watchmen types can be established... for instance: Investigator/Inspector (add Search, Gather Info) and/or other appropriate ability.

 

[Phlebas]

option 1

make them Rogues instead - if you read pratchetts city watch books it seems much more appropriate as a base class for a watchman.... in fact most watchmen would be relying on skills more than combat ability so i'm not sure why you think Fighter is essential...?

option 2

Urban Ranger (possibly exchange Animal Companion for medium armour?)

(http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rangerVariantUrbanRanger)

option 3

start them as Fighter 1 then encourage them to multiclass into rogues, rangers or spell casters to end up with a balanced party (or start them all as Rogues / Experts and then multiclass)

option 4

create Watchman class mixing skills and combat abilities - not sure how to balance it but maybe a Rogue with Fighter bonus feats replacing some of their special abilities?

option 5

As you suggested - make them class skills for everyone (Edit: Feat seems a good idea to stay within the spirit of the rules...)

hope this gives you a few ideas

 

[Maester Luwin]

A few houserule swaps to the skill list is all you really need... presto.

Or do something like create a Feat...

Watchman - Characters may only choose this feat at first level. Character comes from a trained militia, military unit, or city watch background. Add Spot, Listen, and Knowledge Local (one locale) to the class list for this character.

You could expand this into a sort of Feat tree so that specialized watchmen types can be established... for instance: Investigator/Inspector (add Search, Gather Info) and/or other appropriate ability.

Hey smootrk! Thanks for the advice. I like the Feat idea. Especially the add on Feat tree. This feat could also add Alertness & Investigator Feats to the Fighter Bonus Feat selection. Thanks again Maester Luwin

 

[smootrk]

Glad I could help out... please share your resultant Feat Tree so that others might use this idea as well.

I think having all the characters, even other class types (mage/cleric/rogue) come from a common background is a great way to get a campaign off and running... if nothing else, gets the characters together initially and can give an initial set of goals to work together towards.

 

[Maester Luwin]

option 1

make them Rogues instead - if you read pratchetts city watch books it seems much more appropriate as a base class for a watchman.... in fact most watchmen would be relying on skills more than combat ability so i'm not sure why you think Fighter is essential...?

option 2

Urban Ranger (possibly exchange Animal Companion for medium armour?)

(http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rangerVariantUrbanRanger)

option 3

start them as Fighter 1 then encourage them to multiclass into rogues, rangers or spell casters to end up with a balanced party (or start them all as Rogues / Experts and then multiclass)

option 4

create Watchman class mixing skills and combat abilities - not sure how to balance it but maybe a Rogue with Fighter bonus feats replacing some of their special abilities?

option 5

As you suggested - make them class skills for everyone (Edit: Feat seems a good idea to stay within the spirit of the rules...)

hope this gives you a few ideas

Hey Phlebas! Thanks for your advice as well. The reason I was leaning toward the Fighter option was that the generic Watchman is listed as a fighter. Now I was thinking on making the Watch Commander (a Deputy Constable) a Urban Ranger so that was a good call. A Deputy Constable will have 2 Sgt-at-Arms, 6 Junior Stg's, & 30 Men-at-Arms underneath him/ at his command. I was thinking of the other player characters being the Sgt-at-Arms. One being a Watchman Fighter type & the other a Thug variant fighter (local hero who rose from the Slums of the Old City & made good). The latter would be useful as an enforcer/ good for local contacts. Now then that would give me three basic fighter types all with their pro's & con's.

The characters would be stationed at the Old City Watch station. One would be its Night commander or Deputy Constable, two more would be Sergeant-at- Arms under his command but leading their own patrols, & either a low level mage and/ or cleric on loan to the station from the Mage Guild or Temple of St Cuthbert who would aid the team with their magic. Each character would have his own contacts. This game would be heavy on roleplaying/ solving mysteries & lite on combat (though it will most definitely appear!).

So you see there is an option for a player to take on the role of a minor mage or cleric as well. If a player wanted to play a rouge (maybe even a spy for the Thieve's Guild or vice versa) they could do so (reformed thief or mayhaps a scout or guide that is useful in the twisting dark alleyways of the Slum Quarter!).

Just some general background the Thieve's Guild & Beggar's Guild are at odds (open fighting between them may erupt without the intervention of the Watch itself). Some refugees have shown up from the Wild Coast after being displaced by the raiding orcs of the Pomarj (these are being preyed upon by the wily residents of this Quarter & they come to the Watch for assistance/ the Thieve's Guild is putting pressure upon the Lord Mayor as many of the refugees have turned to petty crime themselves to survive). A few members of the Streetcleaners & Sewermen Guild have come up missing. Oh & did I mention the Commander of the Day Shift is the Mayor's own cousin (& quite incompetent!).

So thanks once again to all! Maester Luwin

 

[Nifft]

I like the idea of using the Thug with a different skill list.

So he'd have:
HD: d10
Proficiencies: Simple & Martial weapons, Light & Medium armor, Shields (not Tower)
Skills: 4 + Int -- Fighter list plus Kn(local), Listen, Sense Motive, Spot.

Class Features:
- Bonus Feat: Every even level, drawn from the Fighter bonus feat list.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Maester Luwin]

I like the idea of using the Thug with a different skill list.

So he'd have:
HD: d10
Proficiencies: Simple & Martial weapons, Light & Medium armor, Shields (not Tower)
Skills: 4 + Int -- Fighter list plus Kn(local), Listen, Sense Motive, Spot.

Class Features:
- Bonus Feat: Every even level, drawn from the Fighter bonus feat list.

Cheers, -- N

Yes! I like this as well! Thanks Nifft! I can just see a huge half orc filing his nails, leaning against the door way of the tavern now!!!!

Now however we should revisit our Watchman Feat. Looking at what all the others have to offer (Urban Ranger & Thug) we do not want our Fighter to be left behind. His only advantage is taking bonus feats so lets make this one count.

So the new & improved Watchman's Feat may look something like this:

Watchman - Characters may only choose this feat at first level. Character comes from a trained militia, military unit, or city watch background. Add +1 to Spot, Listen, and Knowledge Local (one locale) & these become class skills for this character. By taking this feat a fighter may add the following feats to those he may take as Fighter bonus feats: Investigator, Alertness, Hard to Fool, & Good Listener.

Well what do you all think? Thanks again for all of your great advice! Maester Luwin

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Before you go off willy-nilly and reinvent the wheel, take a look at some of FR's regional Feats- some might be just what you're looking for.

For example, the "Watchman" feat is similar in some ways to the "Militia" feat.

Also, don't think of your Watchmen as a monolithic group. Certain subgroups within the Watchmen might have very different features indeed, especially within larger cities. For example, patrolmen within a certain sector might typically be Rogues, but if things get out of control, they whip out their whistles and call up the Iron Guard- big, bruising, highly trained warriors- for crowd control/pacification. Undoubtedly, there would be some highly trained snipers, investigators, and even "community outreach" officers.

Depending upon the campaign, those last ones could be straight-up nice guy bards or corrupt leg-breakers shaking down the locals of the odd coinage.

 

[Maester Luwin]

Before you go off willy-nilly and reinvent the wheel, take a look at some of FR's regional Feats- some might be just what you're looking for.

For example, the "Watchman" feat is similar in some ways to the "Militia" feat.

Also, don't think of your Watchmen as a monolithic group. Certain subgroups within the Watchmen might have very different features indeed, especially within larger cities. For example, patrolmen within a certain sector might typically be Rogues, but if things get out of control, they whip out their whistles and call up the Iron Guard- big, bruising, highly trained warriors- for crowd control/pacification. Undoubtedly, there would be some highly trained snipers, investigators, and even "community outreach" officers.

Depending upon the campaign, those last ones could be straight-up nice guy bards or corrupt leg-breakers shaking down the locals of the odd coinage.

Thanks for your comments Dannyalcatraz! Yet sometimes its just a little fun to go wily- nily. I will leave other classes (as options for the players) open for the game. Thanks again Maester Luwin