tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post3803858540140243673..comments2024-03-26T03:05:58.787-05:00Comments on Dragons Gonna Drag: Separate Race and Class in LotFP VERSION 2.0Justin Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-1725200815238882532017-01-17T10:03:16.824-05:002017-01-17T10:03:16.824-05:00Yeah that makes sense. And I kind of think every R...Yeah that makes sense. And I kind of think every RPG (that I've played anyway) kind of breaks down around level 8-10. It basically goes from the first Matrix to the 2nd; the threats aren't threatening anymore. <br />Giving all characters a skill point at level up isn't bad though. It's nice to have something to look forward to, and more than just another roll on the HP die and possibly better saves.Ahimsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05376285902328215363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-30287878679445796702017-01-17T00:47:58.928-05:002017-01-17T00:47:58.928-05:00Well, in the game I'm currently running, I'...Well, in the game I'm currently running, I'm using the "Myth" classes I've posted about before. There's basically a Fighter/Specialist, a Fighter/Cleric, a Dwarf/Halfling (with some bombing and engineering abilities added), and a Magic-User/Alice. (And more recently, a Fighter/Elf and a Goblin variation on the Dwarf, but they haven't seen much play.) The Magic-User/Alice is probably overpowered, but at least it's fun, both according to what my players have said and from my perspective as the DM. The Fighter/Cleric may be similarly overpowered at high levels (and this has been a VERY high-level game in LotFP terms), but I don't think it gets as ridiculous as soon, and again, feedback and results have been positive. The Fighter/Specialist, which is the closest to what I'm doing here with the separate race and class thing, actually hits the sweet spot pretty nicely, in my opinion, although your mileage may vary.<br /><br />Also, I've given a very small number of skill points (1 per even-numbered level) to all classes in addition to what they normally get (which is nothing for the F/C folks), and my players seem to really appreciate it. If the Specialist was its own class I probably wouldn't do that, because skill points are all the Specialist really gets to make them feel, you know, special (as a class, I mean). But since all my classes are basically hybrids I don't think it makes anybody LESS special. The F/S is still far and away the main person the party goes to for doing skill-based stuff, and the others only use their skills either for VERY specific tasks (like the Dwarf's unique, class-exclusive explosives-based tinkering) or for desperate situations in which the F/S isn't around or can't help. Well, and sometimes they like to give it a shot just to show off or because the F/S is being too slow or something, but THAT only happens what they actually have enough skill points to even compete with the F/S, which isn't that often.<br /><br />I guess my main worry with these separate race and class rules is that they'll lead to the same problem I have with the "Myth" classes, which is that it's hard to challenge the players in combat. Traps and curses and puzzles and strange magic still worry them, and they devote a lot of time and thought and effort to cleverly dealing with such problems, but combat is an absolute breeze for them. But to be fair, that is certainly not all because of the "Myth" classes - they are really smart and, in my opinion, good at the game, and on top of that they have a ton of absolutely ludicrous magic items at this point, and on top of THAT, I think LotFP as written gets very unbalanced in a lot of ways at high levels, at least in the magic department. So if I were to use these race and class rules, I would be willing to bet that they wouldn't be NEARLY as "broken" as my "Myth" classes as long as I stick to the LotFP philosophy of magic items more closely and become a little stingier with the XP awards.<br /><br />I mean, my current campaign was launched with the very premise of creating something broken and over-the-top in terms of what levels of power would be possible, so I don't really regret much of anything, but I'm not sure how valuable such a campaign would be for playtesting certain things, you know?Justin Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05885816572933013245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-664355878657420803.post-55880607359262789182017-01-16T13:39:27.273-05:002017-01-16T13:39:27.273-05:00I am interested in what you're doing, and this...I am interested in what you're doing, and this is definitely a better iteration, but taking out the specialist just feels wrong to me. On the other hand, you've just changed out specialists for humans, which is kind of cool. How have these changes looked in the game you're running?Ahimsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05376285902328215363noreply@blogger.com