Other possible power sources

[howandwhy99]

Each of the Eight magic schools could be separate power sources.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

Here's one I thought of earlier. We know that Divine power "comes from the gods." in 4e, but where does that leave the Druids? Their power, though divine, comes from nature. So what if Druids are one of the classes missing from the Corebook and will be introduced in the PHB2 as one of the "nature powered" characters; alongside perhaps a Shaman class?

 

[Zaukrie]

I hope there is some kind of way to bind/make pacts. Power granted not through belief/worship, but through making a deal. Thralls, pactmasters, etc. are great for the game in terms of fluff and story and roleplaying.

 

[Thurbane]

Where exactly do Rogues fit into the Arcane/Divine/Martial hierachy? Is Stealth a subset of Martial?

Also, how about Aura, for classes like the Marshal and Dragon Shaman.

 

[Scribble]

I hope there is some kind of way to bind/make pacts. Power granted not through belief/worship, but through making a deal. Thralls, pactmasters, etc. are great for the game in terms of fluff and story and roleplaying.

Something about the way they've been talking about design within the past year or so seems to indicate to me that stuff designed to give a penalty or bonus a long way off will not see much use...

The abilities will be quick to occur and see the effect type stuff.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here's one I thought of earlier. We know that Divine power "comes from the gods." in 4e, but where does that leave the Druids?

Hopefully, they'll just be Clerics of a nature religion.

In 3.X, a Cleric need not have a belief in a god in order to have a connection to the divine- he can believe in a philosophy.

A 4Ed Druid could simply be a priest devoted to a particular nature god or a philosophy of nature.

In order to do this and keep the Druidic flavor, however, they'll have to broaden the potential scope of a priesthood's powers. So we may also see Faith-specific Clerical abilities- for the Druid, that would be things like Wild Shape, etc.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One I'd like to see would be "Life-force."

It shows up somewhat in concepts like Ki, Essentia and Fatigue spell systems and could be linked to them. There was an element of that in DarkSun in the form of the Defilers, and as I recall, something like that in the Blood Magus.

Its just that I read so much legend and fiction about both good and evil spellcasters gaining mystical power from the life-forces of other beings that I'm surprised that you can't really model it well in D&D.

In Harry Turtledove's Darkness series, necromantic energy derived from the life forces of dying creatures could be used to recharge certain magic items and could be turned to other uses as well.

Both Druidic and Voodoun legends talk about using the spirits of nature and/or the dead to energize spellcasting. Without the aid of the spirits or some kind of sacrifice, the spellcaster is virtually powerless.

 

[Aloïsius]

Each of the Eight magic schools could be separate power sources.

The eight magic schools could be axed, too. At least in their current form.
I'm fine with necromancy (maybe remove the fear effects ?), divination, illusion (shadow is a problem however) and abjuration. However, alteration, conjuration and evocation should be redifined, so that one don't step upon another feet. And I guess healing should have its own school anyway.

So, looking for other possible sources... Hum, some people have already said it but :

* nature
* music (à la "music of the creation". It should be obviously supernatural, and somewhat restricted in style. Not the free "you can give bonus to your ally by playing with a drum or a saxophone, or by singing silly things")
* name
* pact
* mind
* technology (yup ! I don't mind sci-fi crossover if they are well done)
* far realm/madness/true reality powers maybe something like the infamous Kult RPG (yup ! I don't mind horror crossover if they are well done)

 

[paradox42]

It may be difficult to balance, but nobody has yet mentioned Time as a potential power source. This could be like a prophet or oracle at low levels, and somebody like the History Monks of Discworld or some other time-traveling thing at higher ones.

 

[cincinnati reds]

It may be difficult to balance, but nobody has yet mentioned Time as a potential power source. This could be like a prophet or oracle at low levels, and somebody like the History Monks of Discworld or some other time-traveling thing at higher ones.

It seems to me that most of you are describing effects, not power sources. For example, this one quoted above - does time itself give the PC their power? Or is time what the PC is able to effect through his power? How would time be a power source equivalent to martial or divine? "I draw upon the power of time?" That's not arcane or divine?

Anyway, my guesses: Psionic, Ki, and Social (Bard - music is rolled into this power source. Using wits, charm, subterfuge etc. the Social power source allows characters to manipulate the emotions, minds, and even the actions of her targets.)