[ooc] Kore | Kingdom of Harmony [terminated]

[shurai]

The Fighter/Spellcaster thing would probably work in a world where magic actually works. It was standard practice for a samurai to retire to the life of a buddhist priest, after all. I think some samurai were shinto priests as well . . . but maybe that's all the tenchi muyo talking. : ]

As to the Fighter/Rogue: I think it actually works pretty well in some ways too. Some samurai were specially trained to be spies and assassins, remember. The high reflex save and Evasion makes perfect sense for the samurai too, because Japanese swordsmanship and other military arts emphasized agility and movement of the body. You can even make a case for Sneak attack in that it emulates the Japanese tendency to want to put everything into a surprisingly agressive attack.

Also, the rogue is remarkably flexible thanks to most of its power being in the skill points. It's true that the samurai didn't often go in for stealth, but Hide and Move Silently only account for a quarter of the rogue's skill points anyway. Say Shiro takes Diplomacy, Innuendo, Gather Information, Bluff, and perhaps either Tumble, Balance or some artsy skill like Perform or Craft. Now he's got three left over for Sense Motive, Spot, and Listen for the famous samurai awareness. Looks an awful lot like Shiro's a young retainer with a knack for high society and its intrigues, but assuming a couple levels of Fighter he's still got respectable skill with the sword, the all-important Ride skill, and a few feats to round things out.

Whoa, fighter/rogue seems to match that court-intrigue-style samurai really well, doesn't it?

-S

 

[doghead]

Thanks for your time on this. It is really helping me to get it sorted. Your work up of the Fighter/Rogue gestault as Samurai makes a lot of sence. Mobility was prized, particularly as armour was not generally worn on a day to day basis. And while the sword was their signiture weapon, they were quite capable with a range of "covert" weapons. The metal fan being my particular favourite.

What concerns me is the differentiation of the classes. The Fighter/Rogue Samurai kinda gets it all. I was wondering how you would distinguish the Ninja from the Samurai. The Rogue/Fighter gestault as Ninja would provide minimal difference. While the ninja was capable with as sword, he was not, in general, able to go toe-to-toe with a Samurai.

I was thinking that a Fighter/Aristocrat or Expert gestalt as Samurai would provide the skill base for the social (and bureaucratic) aspect of their lives. Other elements could be accounted for with Feats.

The ninja cultivated the belief that they had "magical" powers through trickery and deception. Slightly submerged rocks placed across a body of water allowed them to "run on water". "Flash bombs" and prepared hidy holes allowed them to "dissappear". The Rogue/Adept gestalt as Ninja would provide a neat analogue for a world in which magic does infact exist.

~ just thinking aloud here ~

Then there are the Priests. Monks? Clerics? Both?

Samurai > Fighter/Rogue
Ninja > Rogue/Sorcerer
Priest > Cleric/Monk

It could work but feels a little too condenced.

Samurai > Fighter/Aristocrat or Expert
Ninja > Rogue/Adept or Expert
Priest > Cleric/Aristocrat or Expert

I was thinking of including the Ranger as the martial arm of the Taoist (animalist) religion. The Toaist religion is in decline, having largely withdrawn to the mountains and forests. The Buddist's hold the sway in the cities. The two do not get along. Although they dislike each other, they don't dislike each other nearly as much as they dislike the different sects of their own faith. Conflict is common between sects.

Magic is the domain of the Emperor. All who weild it are bonded to him. I'm thinking of using Hong's "blood magic" for this - its very dark.

Gotta dash. Thanks again.

 

[doghead]

Ken Hood, author of the Grim n Gritty rules, has just posted up a revised edition. For more information go to the House Rules Forum.

You can access a copy of the Grim n Gritty Revised .pdf file here.

I haven't had a chance to look through them yet.

the head of the dog.

 

[shurai]

I was just wondering, do you have a copy of the 3rd Edition Oriental Adventures? It might just be exactly what you're looking for, although it sounds like you'll want to do some tweaking.

-S

 

[doghead]

I don't have access to it. I read a little about it. I wasn't particularly taken by it, but without a good read, I couldn't really say.

At the moment I'm not planning to invest in an additional source material. It will be fairly straight forward setting conversion using essentially the basic rules. All in all, its a fairly neat match.

But thanks for the heads-up. I'll have a look at it if it comes my way.

the heads-up dog

 

[rangerjohn]

Just how much do you plan on using non-humans? Those revised rules give zero chance vs. most monsters. They do more damage in one round than anyone can have, and thier DR is more than a character can dish out. This also means a high-level samurai has no chance vs. a high level ninja. Sneak attack doing 4d6 +2 points for each addtional dice.

 

[doghead]

Most of the main non-humans races wil be around - dwarves, elves, halflings as well as orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, and some giants. (As Ken's example shows, you don't want to go toe to toe with the big guys.) There will be some flavour variations to the races, but basically the same as in the SRD.

I've always had my doubts about Sneak Attack being used in open combat. If this were possible, then everybody who lives by the sword would learn how to do it. I'm not sure about this one, I deal with it if it comes up.

 

[rangerjohn]

Go toe to toe, thier only option is to run. So I guess the giant rule the game, no one can oppose them. Exept perhaps a mage if he got the drop on him.

 

[rangerjohn]

Matter of fact, samurai is starting to look pretty pathetic. Feats aren't near as powerful in this system. Accept possibly toughness, and that would get boring.

 

[doghead]

Actually, giants do rule in melee. Particularly if the smaller creatures approach a fight with larger ones with all the subtlety and sophistication of this particular group . Thats one of the underlying principles of the gng system. Its designed to work that way. The rest of the linked thread above goes into it in more detail.