E6: The Game Inside D&D (new revision)

[Shazman]

Your group must not be powergamers then. Lots of players would say I'll play a half-orc for the strength bonus. I can always get feats later.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Yeah. I'd rather set up a little fix so as not to give the powergamers an advantage.

 

[Ry]

That's a fair assessment; traditionally, my guys get their kicks being in-character commando/engineers rather than by tweaking stats. They still choose solid builds, but they don't, say, go to Wizards.com and look for 1337/m0zt br0k3n bildz. =)

 

[TheCrazyMuffinMan]

That's a fair assessment; traditionally, my guys get their kicks being in-character commando/engineers rather than by tweaking stats. They still choose solid builds, but they don't, say, go to Wizards.com and look for 1337/m0zt br0k3n bildz. =)

Ryan, which build do you prefer for E6? In general? I personally think a carefully-designed rogue would have my use, though Clerics (as they are in the classic game), are worthy of love for their Spellfeats, and the fact that they remain extremely useful in the service of their respective deities and functions (thanks to the above spellfeats).

 

[jonrog1]

I love this, and not just because I was thinking of some way to do this with spellcasting classes only, to create an adjustable "FX level" for a campaign. And you did it better and faster. @&^@^$%

This may work particularly well with True20, as character advancement is done solely with feats in that system. Only three classes, and you assemble feat chains to create heroic "paths" similar to D&D classes.

I still could use a little more clarification on converting creature abilites over to feats, but I'm going to post E6 up over at the True20 boards if you're okay with it. They're a canny, very positive bunch over there.

 

[Ry]

Favorite class: Right now I'm leaning towards Paladin; there's already great feats for Extra Smiting, Extra Turning, and lots of cool stuff to spend your turn attempts on.

 

[Koewn]

Your group must not be powergamers then. Lots of players would say I'll play a half-orc for the strength bonus. I can always get feats later.

I agree with that.

Consider the Half-Orc as a Fighter.

+2 STR
-2 INT
-2 CHA

It would take 20,000 XP (both ability feats for INT/CHA) to bring that up to +0, and then another 10000 XP for STR:

+4 STR
+0 INT
+0 CHA

whereas the Human can only get +2 STR, ever, with 10k XP.

(I'm ignoring the 4th level ability boost here)

Unless you're making a build with some serious multiple ability requirements, you're almost always better off choosing a race that has a +2 to a primary stat.

Heck, I'd go Dwarf for the extra 12 HP at 6th level from obtaining +4 CON. That's like an entire (good) hit die, for anybody that's not a CHA based caster.

For savvy gamers (I won't even go as far as saying power-gamers here; most players would not choose a Half-Orc for a bard, for example) optimal race/class selection isn't a mere afterthought in a game that's open to all the choices in the SRD. Add into that the fact you can "buy" your way out of the ability penalties (at least to +0), it starts becoming a no-brainer.

You don't see that in standard DND since the ability boosts are few and far between.

I don't know how it would be fixed, or if it needs fixed. Turning the notion that "human extra feat is the best!" (at least in my school of char-creation) is a bit of an odd thing.

Going "dwarf" makes CHA the ultimate dump stat. Who wouldn't give up -2 CHA for 12 HP, if you don't need CHA? It's only a -1 to CHA skills, for most people.

Anyway.

 

[joela]

True20

...but I'm going to post E6 up over at the True20 boards if you're okay with it. They're a canny, very positive bunch over there.

Could you post the link to the post when you do it? Thanks!

 

[DogBackward]

While not neccessarily a fix, per se, I use a different set of stats in my human only games. And I have lots of them... it seems to work really well. Instead of set stats, I like to model human diversity and adaptability by giving a set of options for all cultures and groups.

[sblock=Modified Humans]At first level, a human may choose any two of the following abilities. This replaces the normal Bonus Feat and Bonus Skill Points gained at each level. All other attributes of the human race remain the same.

Ability Points
The human gains +2 ability points to spread among their abilties, using the standard point-buy costs. This means that while you could shore up a low score with +2, you could only add +1 to a 14 or 15, and you can't add anything to a 16 or higher.

Bonus Feat
The human gains a bonus feat, which may be any single feat for which you meets the prerequisites. Alternately, you may choose to "save" this bonus feat, taking it at any level after 1st, using your increased abilieties to allow you to qualify for higher-power feats.

Diluted Blood
Choose elf or orc blood, or any other race that has a half-human version. You are considered to be a member of this race for the purposes of prerequisites for feats and abilities, prestige classes, magic items, and anything else that works only for the chosen race. While you do not have much blood, you have just enough in your distant past.

Skill Training
Choose any two skills that are not class skills for you. These skills are now considered class skills for all of your classes from now on.

Skill Points
You count your Intelligence bonus as 2 points higher for the purpose of determining your skill poitns at first level and beyond.

Environmental Focus
Choose one of the environments listed below. You gain a +4 bonus to Fortitude saves and Survival checks made to avoid environmental hazards in the chosen environment, such as inclement weather, heat or cold, or other natural dangers.

Favored Class
Choose any one class. This class is considered a favored class for you. This is in addition to the human's normal ability to ignore their highest level class when determining XP penalties, essentially giving you two favored classes; your highest class and the class you choose for this ability. If the favored class gained from this ability is also your highest-level class, then the next highest level class you have ceases to apply instead.[/sblock]

 

[Kunimatyu]

I still could use a little more clarification on converting creature abilites over to feats, but I'm going to post E6 up over at the True20 boards if you're okay with it. They're a canny, very positive bunch over there.

Why, thank you!

More seriously, E6 may tempt me from True20 into D&D again, as it fixes the problems I had with D&D, even if True20 is easier for sci-fi/modern settings.

(Oh, and in my opinion, the True20 boards are the place to be if you want to see people hashing out issues with d20 and trying to evolve it to the next level. I know that at least a few mechanics from Star Wars Saga Edition appear to have been cribbed from the board.)