Rewriting the Rules

[Raven Crowking]

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[Telas]

Best of luck to you; it's indeed a Herculean task.

Personally, I've looked at retooling all the core classes into more truly core classes, based largely on Hit Dice (feel free to use what you will):

d4 - Wizards, sedentary types
d6 - Rogues, commoners
d8 - Clerics (and Druids), light fighters (archers, martial artists, swashbucklers)
d10 - Fighters

Paladins, Rangers, Monks, and Barbarians aren't here, because they represent lifestyles, and shouldn't be core classes. Most of these classes can be "made" by the creative use of Feats, which will include class abilities (a la Monte Cook). Others (Paladins) should be Prestige Classes.

The Light Fighter is a dex-based fighter with a d8 hit die, free Weapon Finesse, light armor proficiency, and more skill points, but roughly the same feat progression as the Fighter.

Core class skills will remain the same, but each character can pick his INT modifier in additional class skills, to encourage custom character concepts.

After that, everything is a custom Prestige Class, to be determined by the player and DM.


Now, do I think all of that will happen? Sure, right after I win the lottery and can retire for life....

Seriously, I like your ideas, and wish I had the time to put my own ideas into play.

Telas

 

[glass]

Around the time that the 2nd Ed Player's Option books came out, I threw up my hands in despair and said, "I'm going to write my own system." Well, when 3.0 came out, it had most of the elements I was planning on using, except I was going to use a d30 rather than a d20, to allow for a greater range of potential rolls.

Are you still planning on using a d30?

* Finesse weapons automatically use DEX for attack roll bonuses; no Weapon Finesse feat required. I.e., STR is simply never as important as DEX with a rapier.

This has the potential to make Dex (already arguably the best stat in the game) even better. Have you considered moving other stat uses around too?

* Combat rules streamlined. I am thinking of limiting AoOs to the originals: polearms set against a charge and bare-handed attack against an armed foe.

Will you have any mechanic for interupting spellcasters? Personally, I'd keep AoO for spellcasting, but I can see the case for scrapping it for disarm, trip etc.

I'm also going back to D10 initiative (with bonuses) and simultaneous attacks to speed up combat.

How does using a d10 for iniative speed things up? If anything, I'd have thought reaching for a different die type would marginally slow things down, if anything.

* I'm substantially rewriting classes to reduce their power levels overall. By my calculations, a 3.5 1st level character is roughly equal to a 3rd level character in 1st Ed AD&D. I use 1/2 suggested XP, and still I often find that PCs gain new powers before they've even used all of the old ones. No more.

I think you are probably about right with your power level accessment, although the 'all or nothing' nature of earlier edition's low level spellcasters makes the comparison difficult.

I think it would be good to reduce the power (although not durability) or first and second level characters a little, but I wouldn't want to go back to the 1e/2e situation of a first level caster being unstoppable for one encounter then useless for the rest of the day.


glass.

 

[glass]

Continuing my reply to the OP

* Rewriting the magic system in relation to character classes. A lot. Examples:

* Wizards are all specialists. They begin by learning magical rituals, which later progress to spells. In other words, the spell you learn at 1st level takes longer to cast, but by 3rd level you've mastered it.

I like this idea in theory, but I'd say make sure 1st/2nd level caster can do something usefull in combat encounters.

* Clerics don't cast spells. They channel (un)holy energy, perform rites (whenever conditions are met, often with long-lasting results), and pray to their god(s). Prayer can reproduce many normal spell effects, but the cleric chooses how long to pray and what effect to ask for, then rolls to determine if the god answers. So long as the cleric succeeds in all her prayers, she can pray an unlimited number of times per day. Once a prayer fails, she's done until tomorrow.

This sounds great. EDIT: I don't like the current cleric shtick of 'wizards, only without any of the drawbacks'.

In short, my goal is to increase the non-combat complexity (gambling, debate, etc. rules resembling combat somewhat) while decreasing combat complexity. It is my intent to include in-game reasons to engage in romance, rest times, and even (god-forbid) politics. What I hope to achieve is something where the game creates not only the story of the adventurers, but also the stories of their families over time, and of the world as a whole.

A laudible aim. EDIT: If I ever get around to my own re-write, my intention will be similar.


glass.

 

[glass]

Material components of rituals are not consumed unless specifically described as being so.

Minor nitpick, but why not stick with the standard terminology of material components being consumed and foci not being?


glass.

 

[Raven Crowking]

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[Raven Crowking]

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[Cherub]

I am currently working on the "Races" section of my new worldbook, and have opened up some threads related thereunto:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=141007
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=137567
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=126046

Any commentary at all would be spifftacular.

RC

RC, I have read your articles and the teasers of what you are crafting for your home-brew system and I have to admit, I wish I possessed the creative talent and the wells of inspiration that you are tapping from...i would be grateful, if it is not too much of an imposition if you could perhaps provide me with a draft copy of your homebrew when it is complete...

you can email me at shadowspawn at xsmail dot com

Kudos and well done, thus far!!

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I'm afraid I've nought to offer but product recommendations

That said: Grim Tales, True20, and the Incantations system of UA might be helpful.

Also, DanMcS' "Weapons as Special Effects" thread.

 

[Raven Crowking]

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