What kind of game should D&D be?--Forked Thread: When did I stop being...

[ExploderWizard]

or

[select a "Primary" skill set (focused on class skills be they martial, divine or arcane), a "Secondary" skill set (focused on non-combat and character skills) and a "Special" skill set (any of the above or more)], then I think that would be cool.


Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

Ok thats just freaky. Are you spying on me. My own system (in development) uses skill sets divided into primary (performed at character level) secondary (performed at 1/2 level) and tertiary ( performed at 1/4 level)

This skill system is independent of core class abilities. Skills are grouped into skill sets with some individual skills belonging to multiple sets. For example stealth is part of the assassin, ranger, and thief sets. Primary skill set is chosen at 1st level, secondary at 6th, and tertiary at 12th. Every class has the same choice of skill sets.

Craft, profession and performance are background skills. Background skills are improved and new ones picked up as levels are gained. There are no skill points to track or manage and unclassed NPCs can simply have skill set X equivalent to a level X character.

I will hopefully have a functional draft to post by the end of the year.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Just curiosity: how is 3e a "hybrid" system? Just because you get to locate a few skill points and select a couple of feats (which are almost always related to your class)?

I voted class/level, but I don't want cookie-cut characters either. So I prefer class/level with a bit of customization.

Hybrid systems? WFRPG or Rolemaster come to mind (great games both of them - although I'd never run a RM game. Not for free, anyway).

First off, there was the skills thing. Second, and most important, there was a point buy system in 3E, and the units were levels. Each time you gained a level, you got to pick which class you spent it on. Taking levels in different classes achieved different ends, and built up different skills/abilities.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

I think class/level has to be part of the mix. Just a quick question though.

• Would it be possible to have both (that is a simple class/level system and a finer grain, skill set system) working side-by-side, and in synch?

For those that wished cleaner/easier/quicker, class/level could be picked straight out of the book (NPCs too). And for those that wished for greater detail/complexity/choices well they could get their fix as well with finer grain levelling. I don't think a point system would ever feel like D&D. However, if you had a choice of:

[select class]

or

[select a "Primary" skill set (focused on class skills be they martial, divine or arcane), a "Secondary" skill set (focused on non-combat and character skills) and a "Special" skill set (any of the above or more)], then I think that would be cool.

Just as the attribute increase in 4E goes to two different attributes (encouraging breadth rather than just depth), I think it would be cool if you could do this for levelling and combat/non-combat skill sets. Rather than reluctantly choosing a combat "skill/feat" because it is going to be more useful over a non-combat skill/feat that develops the character but is going to be less used, you get to choose one of each instead. A finer grained skill system would seem to support this. I suppose the question is, "Would this still feel like D&D"?

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

It doesn't sound bad, but it also doesn't sound like what most people would want out of D&D. The thing is, I'm sure it could be implemented in 4E through 3rd party material. 4E has largely divorced combat abilities from noncombat abilities, and a different noncombat system could probably be tacked on without disrupting the combat side one bit. The only thing the system wouldn't really allow would be sacrificing combat ability for noncombat ability.l

 

[Serendipity]

I went with the hybrid option because I love customizing characters and such - but at the end of the day classes/levels are part of what make D&D, well, D&D - if I want a total point buy system....I'll play something else.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Admit it. You just wanted to fork from the "When did I stop being..." thread like everyone else.

I admit nothing. This is actually the second time I've forked this thread. The first was the "Irreconcilable Differences" thread.

 

[Psion]

Hybrid systems? WFRPG or Rolemaster come to mind (great games both of them - although I'd never run a RM game. Not for free, anyway).

BESM D20 is what I think of when you say "hybrid class/point buy". You get a class that defines many of your abilities, and spend points to buy more.

I don't necessarily NEED skills to be point buy, but I do think they should have some means to select their potency. Most such solutions will be essentially point-buy, even if they don't require as much tracking as 3e.

 

[Fifth Element]

I admit nothing. This is actually the second time I've forked this thread. The first was the "Irreconcilable Differences" thread.

Ooh, so you're ahead of me now? I'll just have to find something else to fork out of that thread...

 

[joethelawyer]

i think the problem with the poll though is that everyone thinks the system they play is class/level, while some think 4e is not.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

i think the problem with the poll though is that everyone thinks the system they play is class/level, while some think 4e is not.

I'm curious to hear what 4E is if it isn't class/level.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Class/level, but that doesn't mean "ignore crafting," y'know?