Design idea: focussing on power sources

[msherman]

It seems to me that the power sources aren't a very heavily used idea in class design, and the game could be richer thematically if they were. An idea I've been batting around for a while would be to refocus class design on the power sources.

- Each power source has a set of 3 ability scores. All classes in that power source use those three abilities for primary/secondary (in various combinations)

- Each power source has a unique type (or types) of implements. For example, martial classes use Magic Weapons. Divine classes use Holy Symbols. Etc.

- As required, various classes use the Ki Focus mechanic to apply their implement to weapon attacks -- for example, a Paladin would use a holy symbol to focus his greatsword attacks.

Does this kind of thing make sense? Could it be done with a reasonably sized set of house rules, or are we looking at a new edition here?

 

[the Jester]

As it stands, power sources have a strong thematic influence on the classes. There are a couple of things that I don't like about your idea here:

1. Making each power source "3 stats only" reduces variety. Besides, why should barbarians, shamans and druids all rely on the same three stats?

2. Reducing each power source to one implement also reduces variety. It completely invalidates (for example) all the other wizard builds that don't use the arcane implement. Not only that, but magic items found lose a lot of their value when fewer characters can use them. Even if each power source has multiple implements available to it, reducing overlap is a bad thing imho, because suddenly that staff is only useful to the party's divine pc, rather than to either the divine pc or the two arcane pcs.

I'd say increase the thematic richness through new options, not reduced options. If you want it to mean more that someone is martial or primal, maybe give some monsters "resist 5 arcane" or "vulnerable 5 primal". Or maybe make some magic items usable only by martial pcs, or powers that any arcane character can take.