Wanderer - Based on Stone Soup's Dungeon Crawl

[Camelot]

Has anyone tried to make a Wanderer class, based on the class of the same name in the roguelikes "Dungeon Crawl" by Stone Soup? This is the description of the class:

Wanderers are people who have not learned a specific trade. Instead, they've travelled around becoming "jacks-of-all-trades, masters of none." They start the game with a large assortment of skills and maybe some small items they picked up along the way, but, other than that, they're pretty much on their own.
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They're made out to be the most challenging class in the game, but I think they could be translated into a balanced 4e class. Here are my thoughts. Note that this isn't a complete class, just ideas for what I think it would have.

CLASS TRAITS

Role: Controller. You can adopt other roles as both primary and secondary roles.
Power Source: Martial. You can learn tricks from other power sources, though martial remains your prominent power source.
Key Attributes: Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma
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CLASS FEATURES

MASTER OF NONE
You gain the Jack of All Trades feat as a bonus feat at 1st level, whether you meet the prerequisites or not.

VERSATILE MULTICLASSING
You can choose as many multiclass feats as you want from any number of classes, like bards. You also choose a multiclass feat that you meet the prerequisites for at 1st level as a bonus feat. Your choice of multiclass feats defines your role in combat and skills out of combat.

Just some random ideas. Any thoughts? What would powers for this class look like?

 

[noodle fish mice]

I'm assuming most, if not all, skills are in class for a character like this. So the powers - or maybe the kickers for the powers - could be based on which skills the Wanderer is trained in. That would allow for extreme customization without the hassle of creating a new subsystem to keep track of. This is off the top of my head, so nitpick at will, but I'm imagining something like..

Battle Call Wanderer Attack 1
At-Will * Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength [or whatever] vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and select a benefit from one of your trained skills in the following list:
- Intimidate: The target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of your next turn.
- Diplomacy: An adjacent ally gains temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.
- Bluff: You gain a +2 bonus to a defense of your choice until the end of your next turn.

I suppose that would result in some very lengthy powers, or a very lengthy list of powers to choose from, but...there are no wrong answers in brainstorming, right?

 

[tyrlaan]

I really like the idea of riders based off trained skills. Heck, you could take it a step further and make wanderer attack powers that are effectively skill powers (I think this is how you'd build a good sci-fi 4e ruleset incidentally).

Other thoughts...

Look at how the multiclass power swap feats work or paragon multiclassing. Maybe one of their level 3 encounter powers is literally "pick a level 1 encounter from another class and that becomes your level 3 encounter power."

Bake in a way for them to alter a power from another class source so it works with their mental stat of choice.

Give them daily powers that let them support a class role for a period of time. Perhaps different "stances" so they can defend for a bit, strike for a bit, etc.

Some skills may lend themselves toward specific roles more than others (thinking diplomacy - leader, bluff - controller, and so on). Use these ideas to tailor powers.

 

[noodle fish mice]

Give them daily powers that let them support a class role for a period of time. Perhaps different "stances" so they can defend for a bit, strike for a bit, etc.

Wanderer's Challenge Wanderer Attack 1
Daily * Martial, Stance
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You enter the wanderer's challenge stance. Until this stance ends, whenever you target an enemy with an attack, that enemy is marked until the end of your next turn.
- Intimidate: In addition, once per round, you can use a minor action to pull an enemy within 5 squares of you a number of squares equal to your Charisma modifier. This also marks that enemy.

Wanderer's Slaughter Wanderer Attack 1
Daily * Martial, Stance
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You enter the wanderer's slaughter stance. Until this stance ends, once per round, when you hit an enemy with an attack, you can choose to deal an extra 2d6 damage to that enemy. In addition, select a benefit from one of your trained skills in the following list:
- Arcana: The extra damage can be your choice of fire, cold, lightning, thunder, force, or poison damage.
- Divine: The extra damage can be radiant damage.
- Perception: When you have combat advantage against the target of this extra damage, you can increase it to 2d10 damage.

Eh? Eh?

 

[Camelot]

Very cool ideas! That sounds like a good way to go.

Another thought is to make this a class similar to Spellscarred. Spellscarred powers can only be accessed through multiclassing; maybe a wanderer is always hybridized with something else?

 

[malcolm_n]

I hadn't read the dungeon crawl you speak of, but I do have Swashbuckling Adventures, which itself describes a wanderer class exactly like this. I wonder if they're the same.

In 3.5, the wanderer I speak of was able to choose 12 skills as class skills and got 8 + Int points per level. He also got free points in knowledge, craft, and profession for spending points elsewhere.

Assuming for a moment this is the same class, I have some suggestions I came up with when trying to translate it myself.

Ward of the Albatross Wanderer Utility 2
You are unpredictable in your approach to combat.
Daily * Martial
Free Action Personal
Trigger: You roll a natural 1
Effect: Your roll is a natural 20 instead.

I would also give them one knowledge skill of their choice trained at first level, plus 5 others of their choice (brings them to rogue level of skills trained). Consider also giving them Practiced Study (MP2 martial practices feat) to match the wizard's Ritual Caster.

As to key ability scores, I say give them Intelligence primary, with Wisdom and Charisma Secondary. They would probably have a secondary role of leader in most cases, even as a controller.

 

[noodle fish mice]

In order to be versatile, but not dominate every role all the time, they could have a class feature like so:

Master of Improvisation Wanderer Feature
Encounter * Martial
Minor Action Personal
Effect: Choose one of the following benefits. Its effects last until the end of the encounter.
- Once per round, you can deal an extra 1d6 damage with a melee attack.
- When you grant one of your allies temporary hit points with a wanderer power, you can choose to make them regular hit points instead.
- You mark an enemy you can see.
- Once per round, when you damage an enemy with a melee attack, you can slide it 1 square.

That way they could settle into a version of one role or the other without being able to switch around all the time and do everything.