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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yesway Jose" data-source="post: 5616945" data-attributes="member: 6679265">Between threads about D&D lite, 5E, Mearl's core of D&D and discussions of sacred cows, I was wondering... What's with the core assumption in D&D that ties combat ability to hit dice/points? Must they be related? How do you model a massive clumsy brute that doesn't hit well, or a grizzled veteran ex-assassin that can be taken down with an arrow, or (in 3E) a 20th level blacksmith who is just as "weak" as a 1st level blacksmith? I wondered about decoupling hit points from combat skills from magic skills and other skills, and then allowing DMs and players to adjust the various "levers" for their ideal campaign in a modular way: 1) Choose your Race This defines your Level 0 base = your natural born abilities at the age of maturity for your chosen race. Intelligent humanoids can also advance in Paths... 2) Choose your Paths Hero Path = advance in hit points, saves, action pointsCombat Path = better to hit, higher defense, weapon/armor skills, combat maneuvers, etc.Rogue Path = skills/tricks for thievesArcane Warrior Path = combat wards, damage spells, fast casting timesArcane Mage Path = rituals and utility spells, slower casting timesDivine Warrior Path = divine spells for crusading clerics[Skills] Path = one category of apprenticeship, academics, or other life trainingetc. Each Path is like a talent tree. Some Paths are clearly intended for heroic NPCs and PCs, other Paths are intended primarily for NPCs or PC dabbling. You can mix and match Paths according to class builds and game-balancing rules. Each Path has its own Levels, ie:- Fighter NPC = 10 levels of Combat- Fighter PC = 10 levels of Hero + 10 levels of Combat- Apprentice Blacksmith NPC = 1 level of Blacksmithing- Maester Blacksmith NPC = 20 levels of Blacksmithing- Mage NPC = 10 levels of Arcane Mage- "4E style" Wizard PC = 10 levels of Hero + 1 level of Combat + 9 levels of Arcane Warrior- "3E style" Wizard PC = 10 levels of Hero + 10 levels of Arcane Warrior and/or Arcane Mage- "multiclassed" fighter/wizard = 10 levels of Hero + 5 levels of Combat + 5 levels of Arcane Warrior Hero levels (which can be fluffed as karma or destiny) is what primarily distinguishes PCs from everyone else, basically makes them harder to kill Hollywood-movie style. You could play a gritty or Cthulhuesque campaign (or 'Hard' difficulty), which sets a low cap on the Hero Path, so battles can be fast and furious and deadly. Or you could play a kids' campaign (or 'Easy' difficulty) which is more generous somehow with Hero levels. Other customizations could be a low magic campaign without any Arcane Paths, or an ultra magic campaign where every PC and NPC gets 1 free Arcane level. In advanced/mature games ONLY, you could have interesting concepts like a:- a mage or rogue who is less effective in real-time combat and has to play a management game of prepping spells or traps in advance- a fighter PC with only 5 levels of Hero and 15 levels of Combat, but you could flame out pretty quickly in a party where everyone else has higher Hero levels- a character with mostly Hero levels and not much else, has lots of luck and keeps cheating death, but not an expert at anything- a war captain with 0 levels of Hero and 20 levels of Combat (through old fashioned hard work and years of training), high defense, deadly attacks, but will only survive one or two or three hits, so not exactly a minion Again, those examples may be for mature/advanced games only, and maybe not "officially" supported for game balance. Lite/basic D&D:-Simplified Path options-Liberal use of "Page 42" on the fly Standard/core D&D-The full core Paths: Hero, Combat, Arcane, Divine, Rogue, etc. D&D supplement:-New Paths (Druidic, Monk, Elven, Dwarvish, Shadow, etc.) Campaign Settings:-Variations on existing Paths and new exclusive Paths I admit this is nothing revolutionary in that it's just another way to track and reorganize abilities. Renaming classes to Paths is just semantics to disentangle hits points/saves/etc (=path of heroism) from powers/feats/skills (=paths of experience). For most D&D players who are happy with the current feel or power level of D&D, it doesn't do much. I just see this as a modular way of allowing D&D to be more liquid and flexible, more customizable to be everything for everyone?</blockquote>

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