Conversion to archetype mid-campaign

[Matthias]

I like the concept of Archetypes as an alternative to the proliferation of base classes. However, as a GM, I am not sure how I should handle the idea of building an NPC Ftr 7 / Rog 8 whose backstory has him starting out as a standard Fighter, then changing to a Fighter-Archer archetype with some Rogue levels added in for extra fun.

My difficulty--why should my NPC suddenly lose his accumulated Bravery bonus in favor of Hawkeye? It would be a mistake to actualize "Fighter-Archer" as a separate class from "straight Fighter" because multiclassing denies you upper-level abilities. One could attempt to answer this by letting these "subclasses" stack for purposes of class feature access but not BAB, saves, or skill ranks. For instance, Fighter(standard) 6 / Fighter(Archer) 6 could get you:

BAB +12, saves +8/+4/+4 (same as a standard Fighter 12)
Bravery (+2 to Will vs. fear)
Hawkeye (+2 to Perception, +10 ft to R.I.)
Armor Training 1
Trick Shot [1 trick shot]
Weapon Training 1
Expert Archer (+1)
8 fighter bonus feats

compared to Fighter(standard) 12:
BAB +12, saves +8/+4/+4
Bravery (+3)
Armor Training 3
Weapon Training 2
7 fighter bonus feats

compared to Fighter(Archer) 12:
BAB +12, saves +8/+4/+4
Hawkeye (+3/15 ft.)
Expert Archer (+2)
Safe Shot
7 fighter bonus feats

The "half-archetype" Fighter looks slightly better than the standard version or the Archer-Fighter, and there is added complexity.


On the other hand, simply "reskinning" one's class abilities--spontaneously dropping Bravery, Weapon and Armor Training for the Archetype's alternative class features creates the oddity of gaining a progression of abilities (Hawkeye-Expert Archer-Safe Shot) that seemingly appear out of nowhere. How did the NPC get so good with a bow?

Perhaps the changeover could be more gradual...I attempted to work out a process where a character would lose the highest-level class feature he had which would be replaced, for the lowest-level alternative feature from the archetype. (Upgrades to existing abilities, such as increases to Will saves from Bravery, were counted as separate class features). That method was rather messy.

So here is the best method I can come up with:

1. If a character wants to adopt an archetype, essentially changing over from the standard version to the archetype's alternative class features, he may begin replacing class features the next time he gains a level.

2. Upon gaining this level, he then chooses to exchange standard class features he currently has (including from the level just gained) that is replaceable, for alternative class features in the archetype. A character may exchange one class feature per level for every four levels he has in the class (rounded down), minimum one. The standard class feature to be given up must be a high-level one, while the alternative class feature picked up must be a low-level one (and need not be exact replacement for the sacrificed standard class feature, and does not have to be a replacement for a standard class feature, e.g. Cleric-Evangelist Public Speaker ability) until the character has run out of low-level class features to replace, and then may replace any remaining features he likes until none are left.

Quick Definitions:
"lower-level" = less than 1/2 (rounded down) of the character's class level
"upper-level" = at least 1/2 (rounded down) of the character's class level

3. Exception to #2: if the character chooses a standard-class feature which he has received level-based upgrades to (for example, Fighter's Bravery or Rogue's Trap sense) then he will lose the highest-level upgrade to his standard-class feature still remaining; for example, a standard 17th-level Fighter (Weapon Training 4--light blades, bows, polearms, thrown weapons) decides to convert to Fighter-Archer, and exchanges Weapon Training 1 for Expert Archer, then his existing Weapon Training 4 will downgrade to a 3 and he loses his AC bonus against whatever weapon group was his 4th choice). Next level, he can drop to Weapon Training 2 in exchange for Trick Shot. Or say he has Bravery +4; he can downgrade it to +3 in exchange for Trick Shot. A character does not have to replace all upgrades of an ability at the same time.

4. Another exception to #2: A character cannot choose as an alternative class feature, an upgrade to an alternative class feature he does not possess yet. For example, with the Ranger-Guide archetype, Ranger's Luck must come before Improved Ranger's Luck.

5. Converting to an archetype must be followed through (at least one replacement per class level) until the conversion is complete, or until the player elects to have the character begin to revert back to being a standard version of the class, or even convert to some other archetype altogether. (Treat the standard version as just another archetype in case of reversion.)

Still kind of messy, I guess, but it allows characters to "morph" at a pace and demeanor of their GM's/player's choosing, especially if the NPC becomes a 'fellow traveler' with the PCs and evolves into a different type of adventurer than you originally envisioned him to be (but still keeping within the bounds of the same class he started with). Of course there will be some overlap between the standard and alternative features for a few levels, perhaps bearing duplicating abilities that are not meant to coexist inside the same character; however, I would consider this natural and simply part of process of character growth and development, and in any case if there is ever a game-breaking combination of class features the GM has ultimate power to fix the problem. And certainly the GM always has the discretion to put a stop to deliberate minmaxing attempts by players if he is OK with them using "archetype polymorphing" for their own characters.