Playtest (A5E) Level Up Playtest Document #10: Adept

Welcome to the 10th Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the first 10 levels of the game’s adept class. The adept is a renaming of the monk of O5E, and allows us to portray a wide variety of unarmed combatants.

Level Up Playtest Document #10: Adept — Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

Welcome to the 10th Level Up playtest document. This playtest contains a candidate for the game’s adept class.

www.levelup5e.com

When you have absorbed the playtest document, please take the survey and let us know what you think!

Mailchimp Survey

us15.list-manage.com

 

[R_J_K75]

whatever we call the athlete type.

Just spit balling but how about Athlete? To me seems like one of those cases where that name sums it up perfectly.

 

[Morrus]

Just spit balling but how about Athlete? To me seems like one of those cases where that name sums it up perfectly.

It's in the mix, of course.

 

[GKEnialb]

I really liked this class - one of my favorites. Some questions and comments:

• Is a quarterstaff (or any other versatile simple weapon) considered an adept weapon? If so, is this true even when wielded with both hands?
• Focus Features are really good. They give a lot of customization without being complicated.
  • Closed Soul: Does the advantage apply to the saving throw you’re reacting to? If so, do you choose to use Closed Soul after you roll, after you roll but before you know if it was successful, or before the roll?
  • Deflect Spells and Distant Death Dance are awesome. Really all dances are great.
• Battlefield Etiquette - really like it: Is this for a particular creature or a type of creature? Hopefully the former. Is the effect permanent or only for a certain amount of time / uses? I think it's great that you can get this after fighting with someone (that's exactly what I'd expect from a nice barroom brawl that ends up with drinking with the person you fought). Overall it seems to work well for each of the archetypes, as the "respect earned from a good battle" is a staple of all three genres. The only downside is the name (perhaps that's why there were some negative comments)
• Bonus exertion is good. This does give more uses than O5E ki points, starting at 2nd level with 4 vs 2 and ending at 10th level with 12 vs 10.
• Like that exertion is from the same type of pool as fighters use as opposed to an independent concept such as O5E ki points.
• Being able to choose Adept Speed more than once is really fun. Flash, meet D&D.
• I don't have a problem with the name, but it's not great either.

 

[Dire Bare]

Just spit balling but how about Athlete? To me seems like one of those cases where that name sums it up perfectly.

In one of the several Greek Myth D&D books published in recent years, they did just that, reflavored the "monk" as the "athlete".

 

[dave2008]

Like Monte Cook did in 3.x......not a new game....new classes that weren't backward compatible with existing ones.

Not sure how long you have been following up, but per the survey's, backward compatibility was the #1 requirement from people interested in this project. So that ships has sailed in a big way. If they made classes that were not compatible it would a big slap in the face of everyone who has been a part of the process.

 

[dave2008]

Just spit balling but how about Athlete? To me seems like one of those cases where that name sums it up perfectly.

Is that a background or something in Theros? I was it in a UA?

 

[Zaukrie]

Not sure how long you have been following up, but per the survey's, backward compatibility was the #1 requirement from people interested in this project. So that ships has sailed in a big way. If they made classes that were not compatible it would a big slap in the face of everyone who has been a part of the process.

I am aware of that....I don't get it, and voted otherwise.

For me, compatible that is balanced with the existing is great.....but I feel the constraints of this decision on classes today for some reason. They have to work with archetypes.....and I'm feeling that constraint here, today, for some reason I didn't feel before.

I'm buying this, made that clear, it is more close to what I REALLY want than exactly......still going to be great, given what we've seen.

Now we are off topic....so I'll stop.

 

[Dire Bare]

Not sure how long you have been following up, but per the survey's, backward compatibility was the #1 requirement from people interested in this project. So that ships has sailed in a big way. If they made classes that were not compatible it would a big slap in the face of everyone who has been a part of the process.

That's not exactly what @Zaukrie is wishing for (not that I'm trying to speak for them, and I might be misunderstanding).

In the product @Zaukrie wants, we'd still be playing D&D 5E, but with new classes, like maybe a summoner class. You could still use the existing D&D classes alongside the "new" classes. It's not an issue of "backwards compatibility".

 

[Zaukrie]

That's not exactly what @Zaukrie is wishing for (not that I'm trying to speak for them, and I might be misunderstanding).

In the product @Zaukrie wants, we'd still be playing D&D 5E, but with new classes, like maybe a summoner class. You could still use the existing D&D classes alongside the "new" classes. It's not an issue of "backwards compatibility".

Correct. But I get why people voted otherwise.....

Monk is one of my favorite classes, I hope this is great

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

This is the first name change I personally find unnecessary. That's all.

The word Adept implies mystical. It's used for either magic or psionics in many settings from Shadowrun to Earthdawn to SF Harp and many other sources. To use it to mean a non-mystical kind of unarmed fighter character really just seems off to me, especially since the main reason to change the name is to do away with Ki Points that are linked to the Monk stereotype and replace it with a non-mystical equivalent.

If the class is a non-mystic class, then why not pick a non-mystic word to fit the class?