tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post3679977543119623711..comments2024-03-26T03:05:58.787-05:00Comments on Dragons Gonna Drag: LotFP and the Classic Trio - Possible House Rules for ClassesJustin Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-37263112401763018212017-02-28T07:36:03.474-05:002017-02-28T07:36:03.474-05:00Thanks. I shall read and comment soon. :)Thanks. I shall read and comment soon. :)Justin Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-15905229385463633712017-02-27T20:00:25.104-05:002017-02-27T20:00:25.104-05:00Oh, er, yes, here:
http://arsmagisterii.blogspot.c...Oh, er, yes, here:<br />http://arsmagisterii.blogspot.com/2017/02/whats-class.html<br /><br />(I guess I thought my name would link there, but I appear to have been mistaken. Oh well, I'm new here, haha.)Magushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04807974921087213718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-92130757482187797562017-02-27T03:27:57.387-05:002017-02-27T03:27:57.387-05:00Sure, I'd love to! Do you have a link handy?Sure, I'd love to! Do you have a link handy?Justin Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-25806064270707086332017-02-22T15:48:52.520-05:002017-02-22T15:48:52.520-05:00Hey man, I was finally struck with the inspiration...Hey man, I was finally struck with the inspiration to put out a post on what makes a class a class. (Spoiler alert: I change my mind and decide that the Cleric is a good class, haha.)<br /><br />Anyway, if you've got the time & inclination, it would be cool to see what you think.<br /><br />(I'm surprised I found this post again!)Magushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04807974921087213718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-237313243289350652017-02-20T01:22:56.154-05:002017-02-20T01:22:56.154-05:00Oh yeah, you can definitely go that route. The Lot...Oh yeah, you can definitely go that route. The LotFP Playtest Document does that, in fact. If you still want to have a class "in-between" the Fighter and Magic-User while excluding the Cleric, you could make the Thief/Specialist a separate class, or you could come up with something else. You could also just limit the classes to the Fighter and Magic-User and call it a day if you and your players are fine with that, although I bet a lot of people would prefer to have more than two class options available. I personally like having the Cleric class around under certain circumstances, so that's why I kept it here. I was sort of going for an OD&D-flavored thing, I guess.Justin Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-48556267961328096792017-02-17T17:47:24.442-05:002017-02-17T17:47:24.442-05:00the Cleric and Magic User could easily be fused in...the Cleric and Magic User could easily be fused into a single class. i mean, all Cleric happens to be is a flavor of magic. well, a specific type of magic user that also fights.Umbriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05462643029527360631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-35420868347473940712017-01-01T01:21:17.511-05:002017-01-01T01:21:17.511-05:00No need to be sorry about "rambling" her...No need to be sorry about "rambling" here. :)<br /><br />I think that the problem you mentioned of "What does a Cleric actually DO?" in comparison to the Fighter/Magic-User/Thief has been around as long as the Cleric has been around, which is to say as long as D&D itself has been an officially published product. Since this particular exercise in house rules is (in part) a deliberate throwback to the earliest period of D&D, I figure it's not a big deal in this particular case. But if you're talking about what makes the BEST OVERALL set of class-based house rules, rather than just what makes a good set of class rules within the parameters I set at the beginning of this post, then yeah, I can definitely see why many people would prefer to keep the Thief/Specialist and throw out the Cleric.<br /><br />Incidentally, the human classes in LotFP (and even the demihuman ones, to a lesser extent) are separated very thoroughly in terms of how they approach problem-solving and what their specialties are. They hardly overlap or "step on each others' toes" at all as far as class-based abilities are concerned. The art-free version of the rules are available for free online, if you're curious.<br /><br />I was also thinking it would be fairly simple to replace the Cleric in these house rules with another class while changing very little. Keep the d8 HD, combat options (maybe), and saving throws that are overall better than the Magic-User's and worse than the Fighter's, then just swap out the spellcasting/turning/holy water for some kind of different set of special powers/abilities. The class could be the Skinned Moon Daughter or the Doctor (both from The Undercroft #9) or a psionic sorcerer from "Carcosa" or a slightly-altered version of the Alice from "A Red and Pleasant Land" or whatever. You could even take away the "everybody gets skill points to spend" thing and turn the Cleric into the Specialist pretty much by swapping out Cleric powers for skill points. Just make sure the Fighter is better at fighting prowess/toughness and the Magic-User is better at spellcasting and magical research and such, so that those classes still have their own niches, and there you go.<br /><br />I'm fine with classless systems, and I'd like to try out such rules at some point, but I do find it interesting to see how different ideas can fit into the structure of classes, so I think about experimenting with these kinds of rules a lot. I can definitely appreciate both class systems and classless systems. I think one reason I write about classes a lot is because most OSR games seem to use them, so hopefully whatever I create will be easy to adapt to multiple systems if anyone wants to do so.Justin Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-2710036879357770552016-12-31T18:00:42.094-05:002016-12-31T18:00:42.094-05:00I can't speak regarding LotFP in particular (a...I can't speak regarding LotFP in particular (alas, haven't played), but in general, I'm in favor of having most skills available to all classes (or even going classless).<br /><br />However, if classes are going to be used, it's important to consider WHAT a class is. Personally, I think a class in tabletop RPGs a means or flavor of problem-solving: fighters use training and brute force, rogues use cunning and duplicity, wizards use knowledge and preparation. (This doesn't really hold for systems where you have race-as-class, but honestly, race-as-class can go boil itself. I do certainly agree with the aspect of your above proposal that abolishes race-as-class.)<br /><br />So, given the above, I have a number of points of response:<br />1) IF classes are used, I think keeping a class that uses cunning, stealth, and duplicity as its modus operandi is important. It doesn't have to use Specialist mechanics per se, but I think the archetype is to widespread and compelling to do away with.<br />2) I'm honestly not sure what the cleric's unique approach to problems is, or even whether it has one. It kind of seems to be a mish-mash of fighterly brute force plus wizardly knowledge, which fits with your schema; but I think having it be just a bastardization of those two classes is a BAD thing, haha. I personally find the cleric to be the least compelling of the core four classes, and definitely lean toward either dropping the class entirely or overhauling it so it has its own special approach to problem-solving.<br />3) I AM in favor of having some sort of universal skill system. If classes are kept, and one of those classes is the rogue/specialist/thief, that DOES mean either figuring out a set of rogue-specific class abilities, or at least giving them bonuses to roguish skills (the former being preferable).<br /><br />In short, if I were to pick a classic trio, it'd be fighter / rogue / magic-user. They are a diverse but common set of core approaches to problem-solving.<br /><br />Personally, I've done a fair amount of experimenting with classless systems, and have been generally pleased. It's all been homebrew stuff, though, as I feel like hacking class-based game systems into classless ones is a clumsy and inelegant process.<br /><br />Sorry for the ramble. I've been thinking about these issues for years, and still haven't decided on the best approach.Magushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04807974921087213718noreply@blogger.com