The Fighter is the Baseline
So I should balance the Professions and Specialists against this. From the looks of things I'm going to have to Defer a lot of Abilities and space them out.Specialized Abilities (like Fighting Style) need some notation. You'll notice [X-Y] notation. X is the level its available. If there is a Y this means its part of a set of options. I plan to make abilities like Fighting Style. A set of options. This set of rules is basically like Taking the Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue and making them into - something for more like fighting board game.
Note the following Changes on the Mechanics* You see Numbers in Parenthesis to mark Conditions and Effects. I don't normally read "prose" anymore I usually prefer reading Bulleted Items where Ideas are as Discrete as Possible so that less is left to interpretation and
2 weapon fighting[1-1]. (1) Roll both Weapon Damage Dice during attack rolls, (2) but choose one. (3) Roll effects Die, (4) on a Successful Effects Roll, the Character can keep both Damage dice results. (5) Note you don’t add a second strength damage modifier.
Great weapon fighting [1-2]. Damage advantage when using a 2-handed Weapon.
Protection[1-3]. (1) When wielding a Shield or Reach weapon. (2) On successful attack impose a disadvantage (3) on an Adversary’s attack against the adjacent Allies or Oneself. (4) On a Successful Ready against Attack (5) impose a Damage Disadvantage to the Adversary along with the Damage. (7) On a Successful Defend impose a Damage Disadvantage to the Adversaries affected.
Dueling [1-4]. On the Character’s turn choose an Adversary - Increase Proficiency modifier by 2 against that Adversary, reduce Proficiency modifier by 2 to all other adversaries (this lowers the character’s defense).
Ranged Speciality [1-5]. Increase Ranged Proficiency Modifier by 2.
Second Wind[1]. For this encounter, reduce the Wound Condition Penalty by 2. recover this ability after a Long Rest.
Action Surge [2]. Declare a second action, on a successful difficulty roll, include the outcome to the result.
Martial Archetype: Champion [3]. on a 16 to 18 check effects die for critical.
Attribute Increase [4].
Extra Attack [5]. check the effects die for secondary attacks hitting (allows dealing damage to a second target when facing superior numbers).
*Changes to Mechanics
- One-Side-Rolls. no interruptions. one roll per turn (Characters can simplify 1 roll for a Group; effects die determines how many additional attacks hit).
- Costly Failure means taking Damage threats.
- Defense = Lethality. which also means that Ranged Defense is your ability to avoid getting hit.
- Defense Margin. Defense = proficiency modifier. The amount of Failure that doesnt result into being hit. Regular Failure. Shields Increase this Value.
- Costly Success. On a Regular Failure the Option to have a Costly Success. the outcomes of the Success while taking damage.
- Trying to Simplify it to One action per turn, dealing with Actions and Effect as "added Scope" or added Effect.
- Successful Attack is defined as a Clean Hit. regular failure is missing, and a Costly Failure is taking damage.
- Bell Curve Random Number Generator. Using a 3d6 for Rolls (Less Wild Result).
- Using the Effects Die. Rolling a D20 along with the 3d6, and the d20 is used for various things like Confirming Criticals, Effecting Additional Targets, if Additional Attacks Hit. etc...
- Limited Modifiers. Dice + Proficiency Modifier + Stat Modifier + COndition
- Con Modifier Reduces Condition Penalty
- Difficulty (DCs) also have this Limitation: broken down to Scope and Odds.
- Odds is a Difficulty Modifier when facing Superior Numbers (or having Superior Numbers lowers the Difficulty IF you're rolling for a group).
- Armor Reduces Damage. about 50% their AC modifier.
- Defending has a Roll. Considering doubling Proficiency modifier when attempting a Defend action.
- Damage Advantage or Disadvantage. Rolling additional damage dice and getting the better or worse one.
- Simplified Modifier to Stat. Stat is 10+ modifier. So a +4 modifier is a 14 and not an 18-19.
- Condition Mechanics. Having death spiral effects in the game. Encumbrance and Wound Threshold
- Which ever is the worse puts the character at that Condition. A dwarf with +3 Con modifier and 13 for Wounds. A dwarf can carry more without penalty and take more damage without taking that much penalty. In a Death Spiral. Armors like Full Lamellar and Scale Armor (Armor 8) 60kg (with Armor as a Primary Proficiency this counts as 30kg)
- Mooks, Mobs, Minions - only take 1-3 levels of Wounds. Tougher foes have higher. Role-playing that Minions, Mooks and Mobs have more to lose (their life) and will give up after 1-3 levels of damage. While some Bosses and Mini-Bosses can afford to take more risk.
- Problem (WIP) Hit dice does not Increase. 4th level can take as much Damage as 1st level. Should high levels mean more damage?
Long-Lived Races Amnesia
I'm an Anki Users , I subscribe to the science regarding how memory works in Spaced Repetition (See also Supermemo's Articles about memory stabilization). I've also experienced it as an Multi-Media Artist and Wannabe Game designer going into the Family business. So its not far fetched for me to sometimes feel like I'm waking up in some kind of Amnesia where I can go into great detail about my Art Techniques and 3d Modeling, which was not so long ago (2005-2008).Imagining a more basic living and having learned to forget an irrelevant past is like forgetting I wanted and trained to be an Artist but because it was far harder than I could endure I chose to go into the family biz. A dwarf or Elf, or Half elf who was once some great Manor or Mine holder becoming an Adventurer or a homesteader in some distance frontier.
Resettling conquered peoples was a practice in Rome, and goes back to even before First Empires of Sargon (lessons from Ancient Empires before Alexander; the City States of Mesopotamia). If a character can live for hundreds of years I can imagine having been transformed every time (like the movie The Man from earth) what is immortality when our brains still pretty much the same brain from a hundred thousand years ago. Our sense of time is still distorted.
Elves and Dwarves are seemingly finding themselves in different lives. There is a lot of Tragic roleplaying there - forgotten lives (loves and losses) for Elves, and Long grudges for Dwarves. Especially if you get the "Man from Earth" type of migration where elves are moved around.
- Open Gaming License for D&D5E
