What themes do you want in core?

[Blackwarder]

Perhaps, and I'm totally going off the cuff here, a combination of "Themes" (since I understand they will add some Skills to the PC) and a, sort of, kinda, maybe, "Talent trees" set up...built in?

At first level you would take, for example purposes only -I would recommend at lest 2 or 3 separate ones per base class (Cle/Fte/MU/Thf) or, at least, based on your base class (so a Druid could choose from Cle Themes, Rangers from Ftr, etc.)...

But let's say, for this lil' mental exercise I'm working out as I go, that a 1st level Magic-user takes the "Apprentice" theme.

At level 3 you would, automatically move on to:
Herbalist OR "Special [Arcane] Interest".

At level 5, the Herbalist theme transitions to "Potion-maker" or something like that or "Local Witch"...or can choose a separate starting (level 1) Theme.

The Specialist theme transitions to "Expert [Arcane Interest -whatever the PC chooses that to be], ...or, again, chooses some other level 1 theme to begin.

At 7th, the "Potion-maker" goes on to full-fledged "Alchemist." The "Local Witch" goes on to "Noted Oracle" or some such...

The "Expert" goes on to "Sage."

And that tops out your theme. You can start up a different one...or maybe, for an "epic level" supplement/expansion play you could develop "Master Alchemist" or "Sage-Savant" or some such.

They aren't things that you need to "take" or spend "feats"/"skill points"/resources on they just transition/increase in knowledge and power (additional skills) as the Player chooses as their PC increases in level.

Still and yes, we really need to know how they will work/what they will entail to come up with a plausible list of options.

But the more I read and think about them, the less I would want them to be additional/sub-/prestige class add-ons. Leave "class" abilities to increasing "Class" level. Themes should be separate, sometimes useful, skills (mostly "non-combat" oriented if I could chose) but not "character power" defining, per se.

Again, as per usual these days, just typin' out loud. haha.
Have fun and happy gaming, to all.
--SD

Having read your post (which i kinda agre with and kinda not) I realized what I want themes to be, I want them to help reinforce my PCs background and roles in the gameworld, I want them to give a set of guide lines on what being a noble translate to in the game world, I want them to be dynamic and changeable, I want them to be somthing the characters strive to be or thrust to be I want my players to start with a theme of Fereldan Refugees and half a year later one of them is a watch commander and one of them is the Hero of Kirkwell.

I want them to be as customizeable as can be by the group to suite each group needs on the one hand but on the other hand I want them to but as unobtrusive as possible for the groups who want to use them only as a starting point for flashing out background and then forgetting about it.

I don't want them to be linear in order to avoid min/maxing as much as possible I want them to reflect the social aspect of the game more fully.

For example, let say that we got the Noble theme, at it's most basic form it might merely mean that you got so and so skills and you start the game with extra cash, but the more complex version might add that as a noble, you are automatically get access to certain people in your birth town/barony/kingdom and you get a plus for diplomacy when dealing with authority figures in other places but due to your statues you get a minuse while dealing with commoners or the lower class.
It might also say that you can always get access to the familiy gold as long as you pay it back quickly enough etc etc.

Warder