D&D 4E New 4e RPG to Fix 4e Problems (and Add Technology!)

Non-Combat Encounters

Okay, I'm sure this happens a lot in game development, but...I'm going in a completely different direction! I did some looking around, and with the help of dkyle's Conflex system and the comments made concerning it, I was inspired to create a non-combat system that functions the same way as combat!! It sounds crazy, but it might just be plausible.

Just like everybody can make basic attacks, everybody can make basic skill checks, right? Attack powers are a way to improve upon the basic attacks, so in this system, there are also skill powers, which improve upon the basic skills specifically for skill challenges!

In this freaky new kind of skill challenge, there are a number of goals to accomplish (like dkyle's Conflex system's conflicts). To accomplish a goal, you need to gain a certain amount of successes for that goal, kind of like the goal's hit points. The successes you earn do "damage" to the goal. When you "kill" a goal by reducing it to 0 successes needed, you complete that goal and it no longer poses a threat to you.

The goal's are like monsters; you can attack them, and they can attack back. They don't do damage like monsters, but they can inflict some sorts of effects on you, even going so far as to do damage. For example, the goal requiring you to endure the long journey can inflict penalties to physical skills due to fatigue.

Roles are transferable to skill challenges, too. A single class may have different roles in a combat encounter than they do in non-combat encounters. For example, I'd say the mechmage, while they are a defender in combat, are controllers in non-combat due to their ability to work at many goals at once. Fighters, however, are probably defenders in both instances.

This is a very rough idea right now, and requires lots of tweaking, fixing, structuring, detailing, and polishing.
 

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Hi, I too have a sci-fantasy world in my head that wants to get out onto the gaming table, though i haven't done much work on it for a little while now i should get back to it soon. I'd really like to see your soldier class when it's done. Though i'm wary of taking on the workload of changing the system too much; building classes takes time and i'd rather see my classes and races set out nicely first.

But anyway; i ramble. You asked about sci-fi races; I have three built so far, and one class (lvl1-20ish, incl paragon paths and feats), take a look and see if there's anything you could use or adapt to your setting ;) (if you fancy posting a bit of construtive on them, that would be cool too). I'll keep watchin this thread to see how your ideas develop; i'm quite curious :)

(Links in my signature)
 

Thanks! Basically, the only problem I have is coming up with good names for my new races...I tried random letter generating, but...well, I get things like Bitif and Kotbadonwu, which just sound wierd. If you just have good ideas for names, I'd love to steal...I mean, hear them!

The soldier is identical to the fighter except for what I'm adding. It's more of a world that used to be just like the D&D world, until technology was invented.

This skill challenge design is really tough too. I'm trying to make it analogical to combat, so that it would be viable to make an entire adventure of skill challenges, but it's tough coming up with believable anaglogies! If anyone has any ideas on how to make non-combat like combat, I would love to hear it. The only thing I've really got are "resource points" instead of hit points.
 

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