Unearthed Arcana Variant Rules - Previews and Questions

[Aaron2]

Each time an enemy attacks a PC, the player rolls a defense check (1d20+character's AC modifiers) against the opponent's attack score (11+enemy's attack bonus). Any time a player casts a spell or uses a special attack that forces the enemy to make a saving throw, he rolls a magic check (1d20+ spell level + ability modifier + other modifiers) against the enemy's fortidude/reflex/will score (11 + enemy's save modifier).

Shouldn't that be 12+attack bonus and 12+save modifier?

An attacker with +0 will hit a defender with an AC of 10 on a 10-20. That is 11 out of the possible 20 rolls or 11/20 or 55%. When we reverse the rolls, the defender now wins the ties, but he should still only hit 45% (100%-55%) of the time. 45% is 9/20 or 12-20. So, the defender needs a 12 or better to avoid being hit.

That is, if your concerned about the probability being the same in the two methods.


Aaron

 

[Creamsteak]

"the defender now wins the ties"

I'd assume the person above didn't add that clause when they reversed the rolls. Then 11+modifier would be right.

 

[Ranger REG]

RE: Prestige Paladin

I know that. I just don't like it.

Then feel free to modify it. Even though the most common gamers associate paladin with knights, some uncommon gamers think it can exist in other time periods or cultures, even among the barbarian tribes.

 

[Ranger REG]

More than a few fans weren't exactly thrilled with UA's change to the Paladin at the time either.

I know. It became an uber-paladin at the time. Looking back, it was overpowering. But somehow it fits Gygax's vision.

 

[Tarril Wolfeye]

Feeling better. Now working down (page 1)

Dalamar:

Racial Paragon Classes - racial classes, "how to be more dwarf than any other dwarf"

Cloistered Cleric - the non-combat cleric: d6 HD, poor Base Attack, only light armor, more class skills, more skill points, knowledge as bonus domain, bardic knowledge, some more spells from other spell lists.

Thug - Fighter variant, more skills, only light armor

Wilderness Rogue - some other skills, some other class abilities

Magic Rating - taken instead of caster level, add together

Recharge Magic - your spell slots recharge over time and you can then use the same spell again


Felon/Mordane76:

Honor - there is mechanical honor, free-form honor (from OA), family honor, and some sample codes of honor.

Taint - Could be from Rokugan, it's much more elaborate than OA.

Mordane76:

Incantations - looks almost like d20 Modern / Epic rules

The racial variants seem to be taken from dragon


AFGNCAAP:

Reducing Level Adjustments - Per Three class levels you attain you may buy a reduction to your LA with XP

Bloodlines - lots of pages, seems to be some kind of multiclassing with bloodline traits.

PrC versions of the Paladin, Ranger, & Bard - these are 15-level Prestige classes.

gestalt characters - effectively taking two classes at once: just use all class features and the better of all variable features (for example Base Attack, Base Saves, # of skill points...)

...


Hecatæus:

the binding - seems ok to me, standard binding for 3e hardcover


(page 2)

Kai Lord:

Bloodlines (take 2) - Ancestors available: Celestial, Demon, Devil, Doppelganger, Black Dragon, Blue Dragon, Brass Dragon, Bronze Dragon, Copper Dragon, Gold Dragon, Green Dragon, Red Dragon, Silver Dragon, White Dragon, Air Elemental, Earth Elemental, Fire Elemental, Water Elemental, Fey, Djinni, Efreeti, Janni, Cloud Giant, Fire Giant, Frost Giant, Hill Giant, Stone Giant, Storm Giant, Githyanki, Githzerai, Hag, Lycanthrope, Minotaur, Ogre, Slaad, Titan, Troll, Vampire, Yuan-ti.
There are three bloodline strength - minor, intermediate, and major, giving 5, 10, or 20 special abilities.
All of that uses up 13 pages.


Swack-Iron:

I couldn't find anything called Damage Save. As I don't know about M&M, I can't correlate. Sorry.


buzz:

the pic is from D. Roach

Level Check Turning - allows you to affect Undead with more HD

Generic Classes - Just 3: The Expert, the Spellcaster, and the Warrior. (Expert and Warrior are NOT the NPC classes from DMG)

Hex Grid - looks goog, but the facing variant in hex scares me!

Bell Curve Rolls - 3d6 instead of 1d20 and what it entails.

Damage to Specific Areas - that's in the DMG


(page 3)

Gundark:

variant hit point systems -
-Injury System: No hp, just 6 conditions: hit, disabled, dying, nonlethal hit, staggered, unconscious.
-Vitality Points: Just like SW
Also: Reserve points, massive damage threshold, death and dying

defense bonus - a class defense bonus like SW or d20 Modern


Trainz: (I'm not a playtester, but I will try)

new ability scores generation methods - No

Paladin variant specs - There's a 15-level prestige class; P. o. Freedom: Chaotic Good variant; P. o. Slaughter: Chaotic Evil variant; P. o. Tyranny: Lawful Evil variant.

Players roll all the dice - It's mathematically the same as always, NPCs and monsters get an attack score, a Fortitude, Reflex, and Will score, and a Caster level score, PCs get a defense check, a magic check, and a spell resistance check.

Level independant XP awards - a flat XP award for a specific challenge rating, combined with another experience point progression for characters (more like 2e)


(page 4)

Frostmarrow:

Domain Wizard - domains as cleric domains, granted power: +1 caster level for domain spells.


That's all. Did I miss something?

 

[Ranger REG]

Unfortunately for me, I don't really like the Paladin PrC or the Totem Barbarian that are put up as samples.

The paladin PrC is too tied to both a specific theme and a very specific archetype required for entry. I was hoping to see something which was mechanically flavoured to represent the idea of "everyman made good". Instead, it strikes me as a class designed for characters who, in campaign, train specifically for the calling.

As I stated earlier, the prestige paladin class is nothing more than an adaptation of the core paladin class without one of the silly multiclassing restrictions. That is what posters here and on Wizards' messageboards have been asking for a long while, now it is a reality in the new Unearthed Arcana.

If you don't like it, you don't have to use it. In fact, Unearthed Arcana is just a big book of alternative rules OPTIONS. Feel free to use (as-is or modified) any of the options: all, some, or not (in this case, don't buy it).

The Totem Barbarian, on the other hand, strikes me as a good idea made really wimpy. A couple of the totem power lists are alright, but for the most part I wouldn't use them, since most of them don't give a good enough return for the mechanics sacrificed.

Again, feel free to modify it ... or wait for third-party publishers to use (and modify) the OGCs for their own flavored game products. An idea, even when poorly executed, is still an idea that can be useful ... unless it is a bad idea in the first place.

 

[buzz]

-Injury System: No hp, just 6 conditions: hit, disabled, dying, nonlethal hit, staggered, unconscious.

Man, I'm loving this book already. Danke, TW!

 

[Ranger REG]

-Injury System: No hp, just 6 conditions: hit, disabled, dying, nonlethal hit, staggered, unconscious.

This has better be -- or inspired by -- the Mutants & Masterminds Damage Saving Throw.

In fact, why didn't they just call it that?

 

[A'koss]

Tarril, could you give me a quick breakdown as to what Armor Damage Conversion entails? I just want to know whether it's similar to what I'm doing - converting real damage to subdual...

Thanks!

A'koss.

 

[Swack-Iron]

Feeling better.

Swack-Iron:

I couldn't find anything called Damage Save. As I don't know about M&M, I can't correlate. Sorry.

variant hit point systems -
-Injury System: No hp, just 6 conditions: hit, disabled, dying, nonlethal hit, staggered, unconscious.

Glad to hear you're feeling better!

The first variant hp system you mention could be it. Could you tell us how characters become hit, disabled, dying, etc.? Thanks!