Well, the thing is, it doesn't have to be too involved. Just abstract the class a little bit, like the rest of the game is abstracted.
After all, despite their amazing variety, there are going to be certain shared techniqes...or at least techniques that have similar results.
So, lets say that most of the class' levels just provide typical benefits- improvements to BAB & saves, etc., but every 4 levels (or 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 15th & 20th, or whatever structure you choose), the player would have 5 abilities to choose from. If you so designed it, a PC could choose an ability from any level list equal to or lower than the PC's current special level.
To make things even more interesting, some of the abilities might have alignment prerequisites, or prerequisites of other class abilities (like feats do). For instance, if you had a class ability that allowed the PC to ignore a certain amount of damage from an energy type, they might have to have the lower level ability that grants DR.
The only thing that has to really get detailed is the list of "Martial Artist Weapons" that a PC can use with abilities like Flurry of Blows (or its equivalent). Some will have limitied lists, like Escrima. Others, like Shaolin Kung Fu may be quite extensive. In an alternative to generating specific weapon lists for a variety of martial arts, you might try making a general list for the players to choose from, like:
With a list like that, you should be able to simulate most martial arts weapons selections.
If not, you could even allow the class to add one of the weapon groups as a level-dependent benefit (IOW, one of the 4+ cafeteria line of choices at the special levels).
After all, despite their amazing variety, there are going to be certain shared techniqes...or at least techniques that have similar results.
So, lets say that most of the class' levels just provide typical benefits- improvements to BAB & saves, etc., but every 4 levels (or 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 15th & 20th, or whatever structure you choose), the player would have 5 abilities to choose from. If you so designed it, a PC could choose an ability from any level list equal to or lower than the PC's current special level.
To make things even more interesting, some of the abilities might have alignment prerequisites, or prerequisites of other class abilities (like feats do). For instance, if you had a class ability that allowed the PC to ignore a certain amount of damage from an energy type, they might have to have the lower level ability that grants DR.
The only thing that has to really get detailed is the list of "Martial Artist Weapons" that a PC can use with abilities like Flurry of Blows (or its equivalent). Some will have limitied lists, like Escrima. Others, like Shaolin Kung Fu may be quite extensive. In an alternative to generating specific weapon lists for a variety of martial arts, you might try making a general list for the players to choose from, like:
With a list like that, you should be able to simulate most martial arts weapons selections.
If not, you could even allow the class to add one of the weapon groups as a level-dependent benefit (IOW, one of the 4+ cafeteria line of choices at the special levels).
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