Brainstorming a Mix of Editions

[CombatWombat51]

Here I plan on brainstorming the Real Ultimate Edition of D&D. Ok, not as ultimate as ninjae, but pretty ultimate. Yes, this is primarily for my use. So my work will be angled towards how I see things as opposed to making it "everyone" friendly. However, I figure someone might get some use out of this nonsense, or maybe even chip in!

Since I'm brainstorming, I'll just ramble, starting in no particular place.

3E/3.5 has too many options. Too much stuff.

1E doesn't have enough options. All characters of the same race and class were the same.

I want to strike a balance between the two. Oh, and 2E sucks for the most part, and for the other part, it's not different enough from 1E. So I'm going to mostly ignore it.

Let's look at things that 3E has added to the game, and why they're cool and why they suck:

Feats: Why they are Cool: Feats allow customization of your character. However, there's like 50 to pick from in the PHB, and it hurts my head when you think about all the other supplements.

Feats: Why they Suck: Feats can neatly fit into genres that could be classes (wait, I'm not suggesting 50 classes!) or are mandatory. Duelist types take Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm, Imp. Feint, etc. Tank types take Power Attack, Cleave, etc. All fighter types take Weapon Focus, and anything along those lines that we can get our hands on. Archers have their feats, and so do cavalry.

Skills: Why they're Cool: They define the bits that characters are good at.

Skills: Why they Suck: Even more than feats, certain skills for certain classes are just a given. Rogues learn Hide and Move Silently, and max out their ranks. Spellcasters do the same with Spellcraft. Rangers with Survival.

How was this stuff handled in 1E? Magic-users knew magical stuff. Rangers knew how to live in the woods. Thieves had different skills, but they all simply increased as the thief increased in level. 2E introduced skill points into thief skills, but they botched it. A naked elf could max out any two skills, like Hide and MS by level 4.

So for feats, why not just roll them into class abilities? Oh, because then all classes are the same again. But wait! I'll get back to that marvelous idea later.

Before I get too carried away, let's work on the skills. First, let's trim them down. I'll list the skills and put them in a category.

Appraise - Sounds like something specific to thief-types to me
Balance - Not a no-brainer, nor a class-specific skill. So we'll just label it "Athletic"
Bluff - Useful for all classes. Anyone who speaks lies.
Climb - Athletic
Concentration - No brainer for spellcasters, otherwise useless
Craft - Who fusking cares? This is one of those things that gets put in the DMG. You want your character to be an underwater basket weaver? Fine.
Decipher Script - Pfft. Rarely used, but obviously has a function. It does fit in with Forgery though.
Diplomacy - Personally, I think this skill is silly. Good ol' roleplaying and a touch of Charisma can carry this ability.
Disable Device - Mostly for thieves, but a keeper for now
Disguise - Could go with Bluff for that whole Deception thing
Escape Artist - Pfft. Straight Dex and size does the trick. No yoga fire! here, buddy.
Forgery - Can sit with Decipher Script for now.
Gather Info - Pfft. Charisma + Gold = loose mouths. Maybe it could go with Diplomacy for some kind of Nice Guy skill. We'll see.
Handle Animal - Sure thing, and useful for all in a fantasy world.
Heal - Binding wounds is a staple of D&D, and Zagyg knows it gets used a lot.
Hide - Can be rolled into that popular Stealth skill with MS.
Intimidate - Pfft. Big stick + big muscles = wet pants. For the talky kind of intimidation, I think Bluff can work. Same thing, after all.
Jump - Athletic
Knowledge Skills General Note: Having ranks in a skill granting knowledge of some rare fantastic creature just pisses me off. All that silliness goes away.
Know: Arcana - Rolls into Spellcraft and a no brainer for arcane casters
Know: Architecture - Pffffft. Your character designs baskets to be weaved underwater? You know this is a 13th century Spanglish outhouse? Good for you.
Know: Dungeoneering - Bah and pfft.
Know: Geography - Meh. Let's through it in a pile near Survival.
Know: History - Ok, this is one of those that's useful, but only when the DM says so. I say good ol' fashioned Int checks work.
Know: Local - Meh, pure RP here. If you're from a town, you know it. If not, you don't.
Know: Nature - Survival pile.
Know: Nobility - Same as history, but not as useful except for certain campaigns.
Know: Religion - Depends on the campaign. Obvious no-brainer for clerics. In a normal world, normal people know normal stuff about normal religions. That kinda stuff is just common sense. Who has more in-depth knowledge about the subject? ... the priests and scholars...
Know: Planar - This can get thrown to wizards and clerics as the situation calls for. A class ability
Listen - Oh, this can go to the evil twin of Stealth: Perception
Move Silently - Stealth.
Open Lock - This is just a specific use of Disable Device.
Perform - Pfft. Great, you can sing drinking songs or blow your flute.
Profession - Pfft. See Craft and Perform.
Ride - Certainly useful, and can be rolled into Handle Animal.
Search - Perception.
Sense Motive - Even this can go into Perception! Sense Motive is, by logic, a weaker skill than Bluff, since Bluff is the offensive skill.
Sleight of Hand - Another thiefy skill
Speak Language - Pfffffffffffft. Who honestly likes 2 skill points equaling fluency in a WHOLE FOREIGN LANGUAGE?! Languages can be handled by their own mechanic.
Spellcraft - Class ability for spellcasters. Duh.
Spot - Perception strikes again!
Survival - This is cool, plus the stuff rolled into it.
Swim - Athletics... maybe. While everyone can balance, climb, or jump, not everyone can swim. But a lone Swim skill is rather unappetizing even in normal 3E, let alone if we chop out so many skills. We'll throw it in with Athletics.
Tumble - Ok, let me be frank. Unless, you're a fricken court jester, you shouldn't be rolling and flipping around in my European fantasy. However, it is marginally useful, and can be thrown in with Athletics, as long as we cut down its already over inflated power.
Use Magic Device - Pffft. I didn't use this in 1E, I don't use it in 3E, and I won't use it here.
Use Rope - Pfft. As an amateur fisherman and professional sailor, I know a person can have great skill with knots. However, the skill has limited usefulness in D&D. It doesn't fit with anything else. Well, maybe with Disable Device, if we change the definition to something more like Tinker with Device. We'll see.

So, what does that leave use with?

Decipher Script and Forgery can be rolled into one mechanic. Either a class ability for thief types or incorporated with the general yet-to-be-invented Language mechanic.

The rest fit neatly into these piles:

Skills Rolled Into Classes
Appraise: Thief types
Concentration: Spellcasters of all flavors. General spellcasting mechanic, in fact.
Knowledge (Arcana): Arcane casters.
Knowledge (Religion): Divine casters.
Knowledge (Planar): Spellcasters with access to planar-type spells.
Sleight of Hand (Dex): Pulling quarters out of ears is the province of thieves and their ilk.
Spellcraft: Spellcasters of all flavors.

General Skills
Athletics (Str): Incorporates Balance, Climb, Jump, Tumble, and Swim. I choose Str over Dex cuz 3 out of 5 use Str, and other skills will use Dex.

Decieve (Cha): Incorporates Bluff and Disguise.

Handle Animal (Wis): Incorporates Handle Animal and Ride.

Heal (Wis): The Heal skill should be beefed up some so it can actually heal damage, but it's fine for now.

Perception (Wis): Incorporates Listen, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot. That's a lot of valuable skills, and is a no-brainer. However, without it, we wouldn't have a counter to the necessary Stealth skill, or Deception.

Stealth (Dex): Incorporates Hide and Move Silently.

Survival (Wis): Incorporates Knowledge (Nature) and Survival.

Tinker with Shiz (Int): Ok, I don't have a name for this. Engineering? Mechanics? Something. Help! Anyhow, it incorporates manipulating stuff: Disable Device, Open Lock, and Rope Use.

I typed about another paragraph, but I didn’t save that part before I tried to submit it while offline. It was lost, so I’ll type it some other time. If you read all this nonsense, I’ll give you a cookie

 

[scholz]

Here is a simplifying suggestion.
Get rid of skills entirely, by simply giving them to everyone in effect.

Make most skills just characteristic rolls but give class bonuses.
Class skills are used at a bonus of class level.
Cross class skills are used at a bonus of half the level
Class exclusive skills are only available to that class.
(adjust DCs appropriate)

Add a couple of Feats (I know you hate feats but bear with me)
Feats give bigger bonuses (Athletic Feat flat +5 (or maybe +character level) to all feats of athleticism), (Healer Feat (+5 bonus) - Cure Minor Wounds DC20+1 for each use per day per person)) etc..

Feats (like your general skills) would do more to distinguish characters and do so better than skills. If they gave a big bonus to "skill checks" then Feats would better reward players wanting to play against the type (the poor fighter who blows his 2 skill points every level to get a +5 Diplomancy roll is screwed), but if it were one Feat for that same +5 it might be worth it (especially if it grants bluff, etiquette, sense motive, etc..).

I think you could reduce the number of feats by making them all expandable (especially the Tree Feats). So you spend one feat on Dodge, and as you go up levels you get Mobility, Shot on the Run etc.., Spend one feat on Weapon Focus, get Specialization, etc.., spend one feat on a "Modify spell" (like AU) and get a number of meta-magic feats based on your level, Same for the craft items Feats, etc... Some mechanicsm might be implemented for getting feats at different levels, but that would not be too difficult.

That would cut back on the vast number of choices, but in reality the choices are more limited by the Trees, Pre-Requisites and such anyway. And with more utility in the Feats you again might encourage people to play against the type. A wizard is unlikely to take Dodge in 3.5, because they need to use their feats for spell stuff, but if that one feat would eventually give them all the other benefits of that tree they might.

You could cut back on the total number of Feats each character gets, but I if you add some of the more effective "General Skill Feats" I wouldn't think that was necessary. You could also add other Feats like "Attractive", "Animal Friend", "Swift" etc.. that might further distinguish characters.

Just some ideas.

 

[CombatWombat51]

Here is a simplifying suggestion.
Get rid of skills entirely, by simply giving them to everyone in effect.

Make most skills just characteristic rolls but give class bonuses.
Class skills are used at a bonus of class level.
Cross class skills are used at a bonus of half the level
Class exclusive skills are only available to that class.
(adjust DCs appropriate)

Add a couple of Feats (I know you hate feats but bear with me)
Feats give bigger bonuses (Athletic Feat flat +5 (or maybe +character level) to all feats of athleticism), (Healer Feat (+5 bonus) - Cure Minor Wounds DC20+1 for each use per day per person)) etc..

I don't mean to bash my first comment but I don't really want to give all the skills to everyone... I think while that would speed up character creation, it would also blur the line between characters too much, especially at lower levels. It would also lead to situations of "I can't pick it, so you're up next. Then Johnny Spear, then Father Joe, then Sir Willy."

I think you could reduce the number of feats by making them all expandable (especially the Tree Feats). So you spend one feat on Dodge, and as you go up levels you get Mobility, Shot on the Run etc.., Spend one feat on Weapon Focus, get Specialization, etc.., spend one feat on a "Modify spell" (like AU) and get a number of meta-magic feats based on your level, Same for the craft items Feats, etc... Some mechanicsm might be implemented for getting feats at different levels, but that would not be too difficult.

That would cut back on the vast number of choices, but in reality the choices are more limited by the Trees, Pre-Requisites and such anyway. And with more utility in the Feats you again might encourage people to play against the type. A wizard is unlikely to take Dodge in 3.5, because they need to use their feats for spell stuff, but if that one feat would eventually give them all the other benefits of that tree they might.

This is more the direction I was thinking of going, but working on feats themselves are still a bit in the future... I'll get back to the feats. Later today, I'll post some more stuff on skills. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[scholz]

I wasn't really suggesting giving everyone the skills so much as getting rid of them, and using instead just difficulty rolls for various things. Just stipulate that some people can't do certain things (only thieves can do it)

So, for example, suppose my Cleric 5th is trying to negotiate the release of hostages with the kobolds by pretending that he has the support of a big army.
In 3.5 you say it is a diplomacy and bluff.
In my version, I say this is a Charisma roll and it will be modified by +5 (my level) because clerics should be good at that sort of thing.

later I am trying to climb out of the Kobold Death Pit in my heavy armor.
in 3.5 this would be climb+str modified by armor check penalty.
In my version this would be strength modified by armor check penalties with +2 for my level (since clerics are not natural climbers).

later still, I try to pick the lock of my cage in kobold prison.
3.5 Disable Device+dex
My version Dex alone because lock picking is not a cleric thing to do​

Suppose though that my background is a prisoner who redeems himself and becomes a priest. I could spend lots of my precious skill points on that in 3.5 to reflect a minor diffference. Or, in my version, take a feat and get a +5 bonus right off the bat.

I would say the latter does more to differentiate my character from other clerics, and yet still keep me competitive with other clerics in the thigs we are expected to do. Would I be stepping on the toes of the party thief? Not for long since by 5th level the theif would be equal (assuming no difference in dex).

That was my thinking anyway.

 

[CombatWombat51]

First, get Use Rope out of Tinker with Shiz. Without an opposed skill (Escape Artist), tied up people are screwed. So we can just remove Use Rope since we removed Escape Artist.

Second, that paragraph I mentioned that was lost. Here’s the deal:

Skill acquisition can be simplified as well as the skills themselves. How? Well we have 8 skills. Different classes get a different amount of skills of their choice. At first level, a character chooses what skills he wants. Forever after, he gets better at those skills (+1 per level). Say rangers get 4 skill points. The ranger chooses Athletics, Perception, Stealth, and Survival. At first level, he gets plus 1 (plus his relevant ability modifier) to each of those skills. So if he has 14 Dex and is level 5, he gets +7 to his Stealth checks. Easy!
Now, I want to make feats and a few skills (listed above) into class abilities. So first, I need to figure out the classes. What classes should I have? Let’s make a big list! (Lists are fun! ) I’m also going to include quick idea notes about what I think about each theme (they’re not classes yet, just themes).

Warrior - Standard fighter, yet the word “fighter” is lame.
Knight - Knights are cavaliers of 1E, with more generic names. Knights are like fighters, but have a stick up their butts, and they like horses and armor.
Paladin - Paladins are going bye-bye. What we’ll do is hand their abilities away to clerics. I dunno, I just never fell in love with them.
Ranger - Rangers are way cool. They only thematic change I have in mind is finally ditching that 2-weapon nonsense. Oh, and ditching spells. Nonsense.
Duelist - Ah, the lightly armored fighter everyone has 4 different versions of on their hard drive. We all know that duelists go around with wimpy swords and flashing chest hairs. Also, they’ll have abilities related to talking smack, in addition to fancy swordplay.
Barbarian - Barbarians should be a race, not a class. Anyhow, they’re not here as a class.
Thief - Yes, I said thief dammit! Not rogue. And by thief, I mean thief. One who steals. Their abilities shall be related to cash, appraising, stealing, sneaking in, conning, and other such things. They’ll be stealers of money, goods, information, or hearts. However, they shall not be backstabbing machines. That’s for assassins.
Assassin - The murderous ally of the thief. Assassins would be more appropriately called “sneaky killers”, but that doesn’t have the same flair. They will be the backstabbing machines. And not necessarily evil, either.
Monk - Ok, I like martial arts. I like Asian culture. However, I don’t like it in my fantasy Europe. Get thee hence!
Cleric - Good ol’ fashioned clerics, but with more options (some stolen from paladins). No heavy armor though. Never did like that.
Druid - Good ol’ nature priests. The whole wild shape thing is gonna get neutered, though. Not totally removed, but it won’t be the main power of druids. More of an additional perk like in additions past.
Wizard - Wizards are getting the smallest changes of all, most likely. The biggest difference will be the major removal of spells that can be learned. As in, not 40 spells per level to pick from.
Sorcerer - In the gentle words of my sweet mother-in-law, “F--- all that noise!” Didn’t like it from day one, they don’t have a place, and they can go away.
Bard - Bards are going to get back some of their 1E flavor without the complexness, and become a better jack of all trades than ever by having options, options, and more options!

Whew, that was fun!

Now to make them a bit more concrete. I’m going to save the class ability progression thing for last, because that’ll be the hardest to balance. Time to bust out an old-school UA-style table.

CLASS		HD	BAB	BDB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills
Warrior		d12	1	1	1	3	3	1
Knight		d12	1	1	1	3	2	1
Ranger		d10	1	2	1	2	3	4
Duelist		d10	1	1	2	1	3	2
Thief		d8	2	2	3	1	3	4
Assassin	d10	1	2	2	1	3	2
Bard		d8	2	2	3	1	2	2
Wizard		d6	3	3	3	3	1	1
Cleric		d8	2	2	2	3	1	1
Druid		d8	2	2	1	3	1	4

Check out that sweetness Ok, now that you’re wondering what those numbers are and what the hell a BDB is. Here’s the lowdown:

BAB
“1” indicates a good progression, like fighters.
“2” indicates a medium progression, like rogues.
“3” indicates a poor progression, like sorcerers.

Saves
“1” indicates a good progression, like the Fortitude save of a fighter.
“2” indicates a medium progression, like nothing you’ve ever seen! A medium save progression goes like this:

Level		Value
1		+1
2		+2
3		+2
4		+2
5		+3
6		+3
7		+4
8		+4
9		+4
10		+5
11		+5
12		+6
13		+6
14		+6
15		+7
16		+7
17		+8
18		+8
19		+8
20		+9

And a “3” indicates a poor progression, like the Will save of a fighter.

BDB
BDB stands for Base Defense Bonus. It progresses just like saving throws, and the number is added to the AC of the character. The bonus represents actively fending off blows. It doesn’t apply when you’re flat-footed or otherwise denied your Dexterity bonus, excepting certain rare circumstances such as your feet being glued to the floor.

“But CW51, defense bonuses have nothing to do with any edition of D&D, and they don’t make things simpler!” True. But I like them. They add some simple realism IMO, and also offset the “low-magic” that is typical of my campaigns.

“1” indicates a good progression, just like a good saving throw.
“2” indicates a medium progression.
“3” indicates a poor progression.


Skills
The listed number is simply the amount of skills the character may choose.

A note on the hit die types. You’ll notice that everything has been bumped up a step. Well, that’s for the obvious effect of giving characters a slightly larger pool of hit points. This also helps offset the “low magic” typical of my campaigns.


Gee, let’s throw out another UA-style table!

CLASS		ALIGNMENT	WEAPONS			ARMOR		
Warrior		Any		Any				Any
Knight		Any Lawful	No ranged or two-handed	Chain mail, scale mail, plate mail, full plate mail, heavy shield
Ranger		Any		Any				Leather, studded leather
Duelist		Non Lawful	Light piercing or slashing, light	None
				crossbow, shortbow		
Thief		Non Lawful	Non two-handed, non-longbow, 	Leather, buckler
				non-heavy crossbow 		
Assassin	Non Good	Any				Leather, studded leather, chain shirt, buckler, light shield
Bard		Non Lawful	Non bludgeoning, non-longbow,	Buckler, light shield
				non-heavy crossbow		
Wizard		Any		Staff, dagger, club		None
Cleric		Any		1-handed or light bludgeoning,	Leather, studded leather, chain 					sling, dagger			shirt, chain mail, light shield, heavy shield
							
Druid		Any		Staff, spear, dagger, sling, club,	Leather
				shortbow

Damn that feels good, even if the table's off. Oh well. Now, I’ve obviously done away with simple, martial, and exotic weapon proficiencies. I’ve also changed armor and shields a bit. Take a look!

WEAPON		Damage	Critical		Range	Type	Size	
Axe, Battle		1d8		20/x3			S	M
Axe, Great		1d12		20/x3			S	L
Axe, Hand		1d6		20/x3		10’	S	S
Bow, Long*		1d8		19/x2		100’	P	L
Bow, Short*		1d6		19/x2		60’	P	M
Club			1d6		20/x2		10’	B	S
Crossbow, Hand*	1d4		20/x3		30’	P	T
Crossbow, Heavy*	1d12		19/x3		120’	P	L
Crossbow, Light*	1d8		19/x3		80’	P	M
Dagger*			1d4		19/x2		10’	S/P	T
Flail*			1d6		19/x2			B	M
Gauntlet		1d3		20/x2			B	T
Halberd*		1d10		20/x3			S/P	L
Javelin			1d6		20/x3		30’	P	S
Lance*			1d10		20/x3			P	M
Mace			1d8		20/x2			B	M
Maul			1d12		20/x3			B	L
Morningstar*		1d8		19/x2			P/B	M
Rapier*			1d6		18/x2			P	M
Sap			1d6$		20/x2			B	S
Sling*			1d4		20/x2		50’	B	T
Spear*			1d8		20/x3		20’	P	L
Spear, Long*		1d8		20/x3			P	L
Staff			1d6		20/x2			B	L
Stiletto			1d4		20/x3			P	T
Sword, Great		1d12		19/x2			S	L
Sword, Long		1d8		19/x2			S	M
Sword, Short		1d6		19/x2			P	S
Unarmed		1d2$		20/x2			B	T
War Hammer		1d6		20/x2		10’	B	M
Whip*			1d2$		18/x2			B	M

* See weapon description
$ This weapon deals nonlethal damage instead of normal damage.

Bow, Long and Short: Bows take two hands to fire despite their size. Drawing and loading an arrow is a free action.

Crossbow, Hand: Loading a hand crossbow takes a move action, and two hands.

Crossbow, Heavy: Heavy crossbows can be fired with one hand with a -4 penalty to attack. Loading a heavy crossbow takes a standard action, and two hands.

Crossbow, Light: Light crossbows can be fired with one hand with a -2 penalty to attack. Loading a light crossbow takes a move action, and two hands.

Dagger: Daggers can deal piercing or slashing damage at the discretion of the wielder.

Flail: Flails will give something to trips and disarms, but I’m going to work out those mechanics later.

Halberd: Halberds can deal piercing or slashing damage at the discretion of the wielder. If you ready an action against a charging character, you deal double damage on a successful hit, and the damage is piercing.

Lance: A lance has a reach of 10 feet.

Morningstar: Morningstars always deal bludgeoning and piercing damage.

Rapier: You may apply your Dexterity modifier when making attacks with a rapier.

Sling: Loading a sling takes a move action, and two hands.

Spear: If you ready an action against a charging character, you deal double damage on a successful hit.
Additionally, you can wield a spear one-handed with a -2 penalty to attack.

Spear, Long: A long spear has a reach of 10 feet. If you ready an action against a charging character, you deal double damage on a successful hit.

Whip: A whip has a reach of 10 feet, and you can attack opponents within 5 feet with a -2 penalty to attack. You may apply your Dexterity modifier when making attacks with a whip.

Gosh this is fun! I’ll worry about the price tags later. And making the table perfect, too. I may as well do armor and shields while I’m at it.

ARMOR		AC	ACP	Dex	Speed
Leather			+2	--	+6	--
Studded Leather	+3	-1	+5	--
Chain Shirt		+4	-2	+4	--
Chain Mail		+5	-3	+3	2/3
Scale Mail		+6	-4	+2	2/3
Plate Mail		+7	-5	+1	1/2
Full Plate		+8	-5	+1	1/2

Buckler			+1	--	--	--
Light Shield		+2	-1	--	--
Heavy Shield		+3	-2	--	--

The shield bonus to AC is also applied as a bonus to Reflex saves. Ya know, that big steel plate helps keep the fireballs out of your pants.

 

[CombatWombat51]

Installment III of Real Ultimate D&D

Wow, I’m on a roll. I think I actually work better like this, publicly. Kind of how the best way to learn is to teach ^_^

So, we’ve got the skeletons of the classes. Now lets work on the meat of them. I’ll start with… Knights!

	Knight		Warrior		Ranger		Duelist		Assassin
1	Honor		Ability		Track		Wit		SA +1d6
2	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability
3									
4									SA +2d6
5	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		
6									Ability
7									
8	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		SA +3d6
9									
10									Ability
11	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		
12									SA +4d6
13									
14	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability
15									
16									SA +5d6
17	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		
18									Ability
19									
20	Ability		Ability		Ability		Ability		SA +6d6

Knight Abilities
Honor: Knights start play with either a suit of chain mail, a heavy war horse, heavy shield, and a lance, or with plate mail and a heavy shield.
Knights are willingly bound by a strict code of honor and they are immensely proud of their steadfast will and their reputations as honorable men. If you break any of these codes or commit a chaotic act, you can't gain levels as a knight until you apologize, atone, and/or right the wrong that you committed. If you lose your lawful alignment, you become an ex-knight, but you retain all of your abilities.
Honor, to a knight, is defined as follows:
- Never deceive. This includes lying, ambushing, trickery, and misleading in any way. However, refusing to answer a question is perfectly fair.
- Never harbor cowardice. This includes declining a challenge or retreating from battle for mere self-preservation. Battling an opponent on unfair terms (in your favor) is also prohibited, and you must seek to battle your foe at an even level. Thus, people shouldn't be killed in their sleep, and an unarmed opponent shouldn't be slaughtered by the sword. However, you aren't stupid and don't consider creatures such as bears or dragons to be unarmed. Also, you're forbidden to use ranged attacks because an honorable man battles his opponents face-to-face.
- Remain ever vigilant. This means never ignoring a dishonorable deed, and always punishing those who deserve it. This doesn't necessarily mean charging an enemy kingdom, but it does mean doing anything that you can to right the offense.

Lancer: When you attack with a lance while mounted, you get a bonus to damage equal to half your class level on a successful hit.

Mounted Combat: As feat.

Trample: As feat.

Ride-by Attack: As feat.

Iron Will: As feat.

Indomitable Courage: You are immune to fear and fear-effects.

Strict Regimen: You gain a +1 bonus to Strength or Constitution.

Weapon Focus: As feat.

Block Missiles: While using a shield, you can attempt to block an incoming missile attack that would normally hit you by making a Reflex save with a DC of 20, or the attack roll, whichever is higher. If the shield has an enhancement modifier, you can apply that as a bonus to your roll.
To deflect an attack, you must be aware of it and not be flat-footed. You may block a number of missiles per round equal to your Dexterity modifier (a minimum of one missile per round).

Determined Soul: Add your Will save bonus to your hit points. Whenever your Will save bonus increases, your hit points increase by an equal amount.

Leadership: As feat.


Warrior Abilities

Weapon Focus: As feat.

Weapon Specialization: As feat.

Wary: When an opponent attempts to feint in combat, you get a +2 competence bonus to your Perception check, and may immediately make an attack of opportunity against him if his attempt fails.

Toughness: Add your Fort save bonus to your hit points. Whenever your Fort save bonus increases, your hit points increase by an equal amount.

Pugilist: When attacking unarmed, you count as armed and deal 1d4 real damage.

Devistating Charge: When you charge, you get a +2 bonus to damage and your critical threat range is doubled. This stacks with all other effects that increase your critical threat range.

Power Attack: As feat.

Cleave: As feat, except doesn’t require Power Attack.

Improved Critical: As feat.

Improved Grapple: As feat, but requires Pugilist and no Dex.

Great Fortitude: As feat.

Improved Shield Bash: As feat


Ranger Abilities

Track: As feat.

Point Blank Shot: As feat.

Rapid Shot: As feat.

Precise Shot: As feat.

Favored Enemy: As ranger ability.

Sneak Attack: You get +1d6 sneak attack damage.

Wild Empathy: As ranger ability, but uses Wisdom modifier.

Woodland Stride: As ranger ability.

Swift Tracker: As ranger ability.

Camouflage: As ranger ability.

Sniper: You can deal precision-based damage up to the full range increment of your weapons.


Duelist Abilities

Witty: You gain a dodge bonus to armor class equal to your Charisma modifier.

Weapon Focus: As feat.

Combat Expertise: As feat, except it adds a defense bonus.

Dodge: As feat.

Mobility: As feat.

Spring Attack: As feat.

Disarm: As the feat, except no +4 to your roll. Note that Disarming isn’t a standard option and is unique to duelists and bards.

Two Weapon Fighting: As feat.

Improved Two Weapon Fighting: As feat, except it allows unlimited off-hand attacks.

Two-Weapon Defense: As feat, except it adds a defense bonus.

Improved Feint: As feat.

Combat Reflexes: As feat.

Quickdraw: As feat.


Assassin Abilities

Concoct Poison: You can Craft poisons, and have no chance of poisoning yourself.

Backstab: When attacking a flat-footed opponent, you deal x3 damage.

Hamstring: As a standard action, your sneak attacks reduce the speed of your victim by half for a number of rounds equal to half your level. The victim doesn’t suffer any sneak attack damage, and they must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ level + Int mod) to prevent the loss in speed.

Sniper: You can deal precision-based damage up to the full range increment of your weapons.

Sneak Attack: You get +1d6 sneak attack damage.

Silencing Blow: As a standard action, your sneak attack renders normal speech impossible for a number of rounds equal to half your level. The victim doesn’t suffer any sneak attack damage, and they must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ level + Int mod) to prevent the loss of speech.

Accustomed Eyes: You gain low-light vision if you didn’t already have it. If you did, it’s effectiveness is doubled.

Precise Shot: As feat.

Quickdraw: As feat.


:breathe: Alright, even if I'm typing to a brick wall, I'm still entertaining myself

 

[the Jester]

This is cool stuff! I'm reading it all...

(encouraging nod)

 

[CombatWombat51]

This is cool stuff! I'm reading it all...

(encouraging nod)

Woohoo! Someone likes!

 

[Ssyleia]

I personally believe that playing D&D the rules should serve the game not the game should serve the rules!

Playing D&D is about fun! Fun for the DM because he gets to tell his stories to the players and funt for the players. Most male players I know take great pride in selecting a feat from among 200-odd available. Actually this is a no-brainer since fighters always take power attack, cleave, etc... while wizards take spell penetration, improved spell penetration, etc... Yet picking feats every while makes the players happy. They become more attached to their character because choosing "power attack" took them an hour...

Skills are likewise. If you play one of the skill-poor classes, skill points are a real tempter to take levels of classes with a high number of skill points. While less than 1/3 of all skills play a major role in a given role-playing session, distributing skill points still makes players happy because when they succeed in a skill check they are glad they spent the points...

In 2nd Edition, playing a Rogue/Thief was very frustrating. In 3e many players take a cross-class level of rogue for the skill points.

In 2nd Edition, level was an indicator to power. All 11th level mages were basically alike. In 3rd Edition there is a lot of player's choice in between.

The only thing I miss about the old editions are "kits". Otherwise I - being an enthusiastic D&D (pre 1st) as well as AD&D 1st and 2nd Edition player - recommend we continue alongside the path 3e and 3.5 lays out for us, perhaps it doesn't make the game more realistic, perhaps it doesn't make it better but it sure makes it more fun!!!

 

[Tuzenbach]

NICE THREAD! Especially for someone like me who went about learning and knowing and analyzing to death everything in 1E to the point of denying the eventual emergence and subsequent existence of 2E all the way to 1999 until FINALLY acknowledging 2E on the strength of the "Players Option" books. And so, from 1999 on I had to "relearn" all the rules of the game to be "up to par" with 2E only to have 3E foisted upon me at a point where I was nowhere close to having disgested the Players Option stuff.

All of a sudden, it's 2004, there's a D&D 3.5, there are at least two dozen gaming companies *other than* WotC who make source & rule books for D&D 3.0/3.5, and AT LEAST TWO HUNDRED BOOKS available for the game today whether they be from Mongoose, Green Ronin, Malhavoc, SSS, etc., etc., etc. It's mathematically impossible for me to keep up with all the literature unless I am employed to do so. I NEED A NEW BRAIN!!!


Threads like this help keep things in perspective. I like them.