Class: Adventurer

Adventurer

The adventurer is a completely open-ended class with limitless possibilities for customization. All of an adventurers potential comes from the placement of their ability scores; everything from the weapons they can use to the ability to make simple alchemical concoctions or cast spells. The adventurer is the jack-of-all-trades, relying on their varied knowledge and talents to seek out their greatest desires. Adventures can wear any armor and use shields. Traits: ·         Hit Die: d8 ·         Prime Ability Score: At least one 12 ·         Weapon Proficiency: Varies ·         Armor Proficiency: Any and shields Class Features Adventurers, because of their stat based design gain a 5% experience point increase with one score of 13, and 10% for one above 16. Adventurers gain a +1 skill XP bonus every time they complete a skill successfully. Saving Throws: An adventurers’ saving throws progress in the order, from highest to lowest, of their DEX, CON, and WIS scores. Weapon Proficiency:  With a STR from 3-13 can use light melee and missile weapons, STR between 14-16 allow for use of medium weapons, and adventurers with a STR from 17+ can use all weapons. Class Abilities 1st Level- Amateur Esoterics: Adventurers with an INT of 14 can either create 1st meridian alchemical concoctions as an alchemist, or 1st level spells as a magician of a single color. 1st Level- Apprentice: At level 1 an adventurer gains +2 to a single, favored skill   Advanced Abilities 3rd level – Journeyman: Adventurers gain another +1 class bonus to their beginning skills. This increases again at level 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15. Each time +1. 5th level- Advanced Esoterics: Adventurers with an INT of 14 can now read and create 2nd meridian concoctions or spells of a single color. 7th level- Professional Mastery: Gain another +2 to the favored beginning skill, not exceeding +20

Adventurer

Level	Experience	Hit Die	Saving Throw	AB	Skill Bonus	Notes
1	0	1	-	+0	+1°	Apprentice, Esoterics
2	1,800	2	-	+1
3	3,600	3	-	+1	+2	Journeyman
4	7,200	4	-	+2
5	14,400	5	-	+3	+3	Advanced Esoterics
6	28,800	6	-	+3
7	57,600	7	-	+4	+4	Specialist
8	115,200	8	-	+5		Professional Mastery
9	230,400	9	-	+5	+5	Expert
10	460,800	10	-	+6
11	921,600	10+2†	-	+7	+6	Master
12	1,843,200	10+4	-	+7
13	3,686,400	10+6	-	+8	+7	Grand Master
14	7,372,400	10+8	-	+9
15	14,745,600	10+10	-	+9	+8	Saint

†HP continues to increase by +2 from level 10 onward. CON Bonus no longer applies. 

° Only for skills chosen at level 1

Update and Question

Haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean I'm not working on the Dorms and Dragons rules. School is a bit hectic, and I recently got a job, so balance is the word. What progress I HAVE made on the rules has come through some playtesting and tweaking. I found that one of the archetypes (swashbuckler) mixed with the blade class and a high DEX score could produce a 1st level character with 19AC. Needless to say, I ended that shit real quick. All of the archetypes have changed a little and I've done a bit of tweaking to casting checks (CC = 20-INT+ Spell level) as well as adding some more talents and racial modifiers.

My question of the day, though, is in regards to Adventuring actions and Advantage/Disadvantage.

Adventuring actions are based on a 2 in 6 chance modified by ability scores and outside modifiers. They read as this:

ADVENTURING ACTIONS

Adventuring actions are standard actions that all classes can make outside of combat. These include: moving quietly, searching, and listening. Adventuring actions are based on a 2 in 6 chance of success, modified by ability score or traits. These numbers can never exceed 5 in 6.

·         Move quietly (DEX) - -1 per point of encumbrance, increases surprise chance by +1

·         Search (WIS) - 1 turn per attempt (modified by role play)

·         Listen (WIS) - takes 2 rounds per attempt (-1 if trying to listen through stone or metal)

This rule, although adequate, is kind of a step away from the d20 format that the rest of the document follows. So, I was thinking of revising this section to say that any thing that is a non-combat action in need of a chance of success or failure (that can't be considered a skill) such as searching, moving quietly, listening, jumping across a chasm, lifting a portcullis, etc., and should be listed as 20 - applicable ability score + difficulty of task (a la skill DC modifier chart). I was thinking of keeping move quietly, search, and listen as constants, and making everything else up to GM fiat. This can also be modified by advantage and disadvantage.

AND, speaking of advantage/disadvantage: I would like to incorporate it into the game more, but I am reluctant to replace all static modifiers to advantage/disadvantage. Especially in cases of spells, diseases, some conditions, and some class drawbacks.

So what do you guys think?

Progress

To be honest, other than formatting, I haven't made much. I'm trying to secure an editor for when I get back to school, and so far I'm not having any luck. Until I can get someone to edit this stuff, not a lot of progress can really be made.

So, here is to hoping I find one.

Rules: Sanity

The sanity rules are based off of the  original akratic wizardry design. There isn't much change between the two systems, other than the mind save vs. insanity. This particular rule can be useful in horror or swords and sorcery-heavy style adventures.

WISDOM & SANITY

Witnessing supernatural horrors and arcane secrets can drive adventurers mad. To simulate this, treat a character’s WIS as a sanity score. A character with high WIS has a Confucian grasp of the nature of reality, self-discipline, and remarkable strength of will. A character with a WIS of 3 is barely lucid, easily confuses reality with fantasy, and is on the border of lapsing into madness. Characters with WIS score of 2 or lower are insane, and must be treated as NPCs. (If this WIS loss is tempor­ary, the character is under GM control until they regain sanity.) If a character witnesses an unspeakable horror, the GM may require the player to make a Mind Save 15^+/- by the severity of the horror. If the character fails their saving throw, they lose points of temporary WIS. The exact amount should be determined by rolling 1d6. If a ‘6’ is rolled, the character also permanently loses one point of Wisdom (i.e., one permanent point of WIS and five temporary points). Temporarily lost points of WIS may be regained at a rate of one point per day of complete rest.

5th Edition fighter update

I know I said my next post would be about sanity, but I saw something today that bothered me. As I was browsing facebook this afternoon, I saw that the D&D Next team will be beefing up the fighter class due to playtester complaints that the fighter is a little too plain-Jane. Mike Mearls solution is an added mechanic called "Combat Superiority", an extra dice roll that you add to combat related actions for a little boost in power.  

"Combat superiority represents a fighter’s combat skill. On a fighter’s turn, the player receives a number of dice to represent that fighter’s skill at arms. For example, a 1st-level fighter might allow a player to use 1d4 and a 5th-level one could provide 2d6. A player can choose to spend these dice in a number of ways, depending on his or her character’s fighting style. The default combat superiority option that all fighters can use allows the player to spend the dice as bonus damage on a successful weapon attack. " 

Does that sound a little too much like DCC RPG's luck burning and attack die mechanic to you guys? And, supposedly this new mechanic will take away from something I somewhat praised, the "Themes" and "Background" mechanic. I liked how they worked and the archetypes in my game work similarly. 

Personally, I don't like rolling more dice than I should, and historically in versions 3.x and up modifiers spiral out of control. The fact that a player can add 2d6 to even damage at level 5 is ridiculous to me. It creates superhero characters that deal exorbitant amounts of damage. While static modifiers only grant a certain chance to be better at something, that doesn't mean it is a broken or poor mechanic. A fighter with an attack bonus of +3 and +3 for STR bonus may only have a 30% greater chance of damaging an opponent, but it is still better than say a magician with +0 to +1. D&D is largely a game of chance, you can tell because of the dice n' stuff.

Mike DOES mention that it could be used to perform feats of offensive and defensive awesomeness, but so far I've been neither swayed or impressed, I'll stick to Dorms and Dragons.

Idea?

So I was not intending to write blog posts on Sunday, but I was struck with an idea so here it goes:  I had originally intended for races to have no bonuses that made them different. The only differences were going to be solely cultural, each race based on a specific culture or blend of cultures. NOW, I'm thinking about giving each race some kind of mechanic that would grant them advantage. Insanity in Hsif, blood lust in Dvergar, and maybe an added race. I'm interested in a rat-folk halfling variant BUT, it doesn't exactly fit with my campaign. Lots of decisions. But I do like the advantage mechanics.

Saturday Caturday!

Off to Pierogi Fest!

Rules: Magic Mechanics

MAGIC

Dorms and Dragons uses a fatigue-based spell casting system with pre-memorized spells and a casting check. A magician can only have memorized a number of spells equal to their INT mod + a number based on level. Remembering the correct incantations and hand gestures when casting a spell requires a casting check with a margin of failure equal to 20 – INT. So, for example, a magician with an INT of 16 would have a 4 in 20 chance of failing at casting a spell. When casting, a player will roll 1d20 and, if the roll meet or exceeds the casting check the spell goes off. Spells that fail do not cause exhaustion, only spells that are successful.  Each spell causes fatigue for the caster, draining spell level x 2 HP. If a magician’s HP is drained to 0, the magician is exhausted and faints for 1d4 rounds, awakening with 1d3 HP recovered. If the drain from a spell causes the magician to drop below 0 HP, they will likewise faint and take 1d4 sanity damage. A good way to mark the ebb and flow of a magician’s HP is to use counters.

When learning a new spell, apply the same casting check formula but add the spell level to the target number.   Learning spells outside a magicians list increases the learning check by +1 per spell level and cost 1d3 additional HP drain to cast. A caster must always have their spell book to memorize spells at the beginning of the day. The magician can switch spells later, though, by spending 1 round x spell level each to rememorize new spells.

SCROLLS

Scrolls and most enchanted items don’t drain HP. PCs capable of using magic items and who are literate can use 1^st level scrolls. Magicians can use any scroll, regardless of color

RESEARCH & ASSISTANTS

When learning spells or formulae, a magician or alchemist can do research in a library worth 1000 go to add 1d4 to their comprehension check. For every 1000 go pieces in value, increase the die size by 1 Research assistants can be hired for 50 go each to add a cumulative +1 to the roll, at a maximum of 5.

Tomorrow, Wisdom and Sanity!

Rules: Combat #3

The final post about combat covers modifiers, optional combat maneuvers, weapons and armor restrictions, and different fighting styles. Weapon damage in Dorms and Dragons is variable, with a chart listed in the combat section of the core rules. Tomorrow, a post about the magic system used in Dorms and Dragons and my email correspondences with fellow blogger and tinkerer Gavin Norman at The City of Iron. 

COMBAT MODIFIERS

Stunned/Prone - +4 to hit, no DEX or shield AC bonus

Sleeping – Can be struck for maximum damage with no to-hit roll

Back/Flank Attack - +2 to hit, no DEX or Shield AC bonus

Concealed- Obscured ¼ (+1 AC) ½ (+2 AC) ¾ (+3 AC) ^9/10 (+4 AC)

Covered- Physically shielded ¼ (+2 AC) ½ (+4 AC) ¾ (+7 AC) ^9/10 (+10 AC)

COMBAT MANEUVERS

Combat maneuvers are major actions that can replace a normal melee attack. Maneuvers are normal unmodified attacks that carry special effects. Bonuses to hit can be added for talents and training. There are four different combat maneuvers with effects for each:

Trip – On success, enemy is prone. One cannot trip an enemy with more than two legs, or that flies

Disarm – On success, an enemy’s weapon is thrown one position away, requiring a major action to retrieve

Sunder – With a -2 to hit, success damages a foe’s armor -1D3 AC. Foe must wear armor for damage and a proper weapon must be used

Feint – Used to move behind or past an enemy, allowing for a back attack next round, or to escape by running away. +1 vs. giant sized enemies.

SUBDUAL DAMAGE

Damage from a melee attack may be halved to deal subdual damage that incapacitates foes at 0 HP for 1d4 turns Unarmed attacks deal 1d2+STR subdual damage.

WEAPON RESTRICTIONS

Each class has restrictions on which weapons they can use effectively due to their training. Weapons unusable by a class incur a -3 penalty to hit.

WEAPON RULES

Two weapon fighting- With 13+ DEX, one can use two weapons. When a successful attack is made, damage can be re-rolled with the second weapon, the second being the final result. Two weapons fighting is modified by DEX to-hit and STR for damage.

Two handed weapon- Two handed weapons deal an additional +1 damage but ties for initiative are lost.

Sword & Board- Shield bearers can try and block damage once per round. When incoming damage is dealt, roll to block, if the defender’s roll is greater, than incoming damage, it is negated. Magical shields increase die size for blocking.

Long weapon – Characters wielding ling weapons are able to attack from the second rank, hit mounted fighters, and win ties for initiative

Blunt weapon – Blunt weapons strike at a +1 to-hit vs. armored opponents and skeletons and are capable of sunder 

Piercing weapon – On a critical hit, piercing weapons add 1d4 extra damage.

CALCULATING ARMOR CLASS

Every character has a base armor class of 10 before modifiers are added. To calculate one’s armor class (AC) start with base 10 then add modifiers for DEX, armor, and/or a shield, taking into account penalties from low DEX, and the max DEX bonus for medium and heavy armors. Magic items and spells that grant bonuses to AC do not stack, only incurring the benefit of the most effective item. So an amulet of protection +1 would not stack with a ring of protection +3 to grant +4 to AC, only the ring would count. 

ARMOR RESTRICTIONS 

Each class has certain armor restrictions, and armor that is unusable by the class costs double encumbrance and grants no bonus for DEX.

DAMAGED ARMOR

Armor damaged from sundering can be repaired back to perfection for half the armor’s base cost.