I know they never would, but...

[Rechan]

Oh wow. I'm totally re-inventing that right now for D&D Saga.

, -- N

To rephrase, HERO is a system that is often used for superheros most often, but it's very bare bones - the powers have no flavor, just function, and you design your character around what they can do, that meets your theme. (They also have books out like Fantasy HERO and such to help adapt).

Power frameworks (how to buy your powers with your points more cost-effectively, each with their own limitation) come in three varieties:
-Mutli-power (What you just described).
-Elemental Control (Functions like what you described, except he doesn't have to move his eggs into any basket - all the powers are there. They All must be the same theme (Ice, fire, telekinesis) and cost more than the multi-power framework, but he can have his shield going and still use his TK blast, so to speak).
-Variant Power Pool, which are weaker, but you can do stuff on the fly and put adders on them (think having free metamagic and you know all the spells of your level, but they could only do, say, 2d6 points of damage + metamagic, versus 6d6 unmodified, versus casting Entangle that does 1d6 points of damage, versus draining someone's Strength).

When you use a power, you spend endurance. Endurace is a fixed stat (like Strength or Dex). Each power has a set endurance number (using your TK blast uses up 5 endurance). When you run out, you can't use your powers; you have to wait until they recharge (you get a x endurance back at the end of the combat round).

That's great and all, but I'm not switching systems just because of one class.

Hahaha. No, I would not suggest converting to HERO. It's a math nightmare. Just saying that "Hey, it's out there!"

 

[Aldarc]

D&D as one hardback, no greater than 200 pages (and no cheating by filling it full of eye-hurting squinty type with no art, either), priced at about $10-$15.
Drop Wisdom and Charisma, and replace at least Charisma with a feat or something similar.
Drop polyhedral dice and go with all six-siders.
Classes are Warrior, Spellcaster and Expert; everything else is done with talent tree/feat/class feature selections.
Either drop spells altogether or sharply curtail their number while broadening their power. A powers-with-variations system is a little too abstract, but there's no reason to have hundreds of spells that are basically tweaks of each other.

This also sounds somewhat similar to True20, except it dropped all die except d20 and it still has Wisdom and Charisma, though I have seen a number of house rules which got rid of Wisdom and Charisma, and instead split the difference between Intelligence and a new Willpower/Charisma stat called Spirit.

 

[Nifft]

This also sounds somewhat similar to True20, except it dropped all die except d20 and it still has Wisdom and Charisma, though I have seen a number of house rules which got rid of Wisdom and Charisma, and instead split the difference between Intelligence and a new Willpower/Charisma stat called Spirit.

I've been considering a four-stat system with derived stats, like so:

Physical - Strength, endurance
Agility - Acrobatics, manual dexterity
Mental - Intelligence, perception
Spirit - Magic

Fortitude = Physical + Spirit
Reflex = Mental + Agility
Will = Mental + Spirit
HP = Physical + Agility

... or something like that.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Aldarc]

Not bad. Mental is a good name for that. I am tempted to retain Constitution separate from Strength, but having them together might be a good inclusion to counterbalance the weight of the Agility stat.

 

[WayneLigon]

This also sounds somewhat similar to True20.

I know. I'd be just as happy if they reworked how you take damage a little bit and released that as 4E.

You should check out The Fantasy Trip. Grab some of the much-publicized house rules and it's relatively close to what you're describing, and excellent.

I have it. It was very much the pretext to what became GURPS; D&D could learn a lot from GURPS. I've been thinking of looking over TFT a little, and actually trying to run it when I'm done with my current D&D campaign, though it looks like Basic Roleplaying/Call of Cthulhu is going to win out in that.

 

[Gloombunny]

Then what would it be?

Well, okay, there's the magic that the priests teach the cultist in Tekumel. That's secular magic themed with religious dressing. Is that what you mean?

What I have in mind is a kind of magic that draws on power within the caster, sorta like psionics, but utilizing that power requires both lots of meditation and maintenance of ritual purity. It would be something more for monks than priests, if that makes any sense. It would be church lore, but theoretically usable by anyone... if they follow the proper ascetic practices.

What I like about this sort of religious magic is that it allows for questions of faith that aren't normally possible in a setting where clerics talk to and get powers from their deities all the time, and allows for priests who become corrupt but keep their magic.

Obviously not gonna happen in D&D, though.

 

[Rechan]

What I like about this sort of religious magic is that it allows for questions of faith that aren't normally possible in a setting where clerics talk to and get powers from their deities all the time, and allows for priests who become corrupt but keep their magic.

Obviously not gonna happen in D&D, though.

Eberron has that, to a degree.

The gods aren't present. In fact, their existance is up to the DM, given how ambiguous it is.

An Evil cleric also radiates an aura of Good (Under detect magic). As long as that evil cleric thinks that what he's doing is Good, and in the name of his god.