Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wulffolk" data-source="post: 7372226" data-attributes="member: 6871450">I generally dislike classes. I would start with race, gender, and culture. I would then expand that with backgrounds, ability feats (not ability scores), skills and talents.Being a member of an organization (or having a mentor) would make learning specific things easier, but might come with restrictions or obligations. For example, a member of the local militia would be able to learn the basics of combat a little more easily than a farmer with no guidance, but would be required to serve his lord. An apprentice to a wizard might think his arcane studies are difficult, and his chores onerous, but without that mentor they would be nearly impossible to learn on his own. The man that seeks magical power without a mentor might bargain with a powerful entity for an easy path to power, but will pay a price later. There are many possible scenarios here.Priests of a specific churchKnights of certain ordersMembers of various criminal organizationsCovens of WitchesMembers of a tribal societyStudents of a collegeSailors of a particular navyPerformers in a famous troupeEtc. . . . .On the subject of ability scores, I have reached a point where I believe that the use of ability scores is almost pointless. Every Wizard ends up with 20 INT, every Fighter has 20 STR, every Rogue has 20 DEX, etc. Why even bother? Instead, I think that utilizing feats with flavorful abilities would work better. Players would pick descriptors of their character. Some possible examples of what I mean, without having worked out exact game mechanics:Massive Muscles (large bonus to strength and intimidation tests, but slower reflexes)Adrenaline Rush (short term boost to strength in critical situations, followed by fatigue)Athletic (medium bonus to strength, constitution and dexterity tests)Wiry (high bonus to dexterity tests, but not very tough)Logical (high bonus to intelligence skills, but difficulty with positive charisma skills)Leader (high bonus to positive charisma tests)Bully (high bonus to negative charisma tests)Tough (high bonus to resist damage, medium bonus to strength, slower reflexes)Etc . . .That part would require a lot more work, but gives the feel of what I would go for.But there we go again . . . Every time I start considering what I would change about D&D I end up going so far that the game becomes unrecognizable. D&D is built upon such a flawed foundation that the only way to significantly improve upon 5e is to tear it apart and start from scratch, but then you no longer have D&D. *sigh*</blockquote>

Verification