Change Log [2017/01/25] (Beta 4)

Here's a list of some of the changes that have been made to the various classes, since the start of the holiday break:

• Archer can now Counter-attack against ranged; same Hunter ability re-worded
• Acrobat using d20 to Power Attack removed; specialty basic attacks are now Reliable; Martial Artist's prone ability now works on unsuccessful attacks; Archer's reroll ability now works on any ranged attack (not just ranged basic)
• Wizard's Magic Missile basic attack is now Reliable; Veritable Vision now grants Expertise to damage rolls
• Assassin now gets training in either AGIL or Infiltration, instead of defaulting to AGIL
• Rogue Tactics given archetype-specific effects; clarified how Disengaging works via Cloak & Dagger
• "Warrior" class renamed to "Adventurer"
• Adventurer's Defender ability changed to "1d10[exp] or 1d20[exp] for defense rolls"
• swapped some aspects of the Fighter and Adventurer TWF abilities
• Soldier archetype's power attack ability limited to attacks made as a standard action; Weapon Training's miss roll is now likewise limited; Weapon Training can no longer turn misses into crits
• Fighter's Protection style changed to "allies in your maelstrom" instead of "Nearby ally"
• changed some Guardian totem perks to require spirit manifestation; Blood Totem now does extra damage when you are bloodied
• Cleric regains some HP when spending reserves in combat
• Ranger mark damage changed to "advantage; stack if you already had advantage"
• Bard can now Power Attack using a basic roll
• Bard's "Leader" role renamed to "Support"
• Necromancer's Animate Dead changed to allow for multi-HD minions
• Warlock's minor action attack removed; Eldritch Blast iconic attack now targets a number of enemies based on the roll, rather than making a number of attacks based on the roll
• Mystic's trained skills corrected to fit current format (oops)
• Paladin's Holy Aura reworded, now grants defense bonus only on unsuccessful rolls
• Paladin now gets training in either STR or Influence skills, instead of both (still gets additional skill training from their Archetypes)
• Swordmage now gets training in both STR and Influence skills, instead of one or the other
• Hexblade's Beguiling Blade changed to "roll class die in place of d20 roll" rather than "double roll and stack in place of an unsuccessful attack roll"
• Changed the rules on stacking class dice onto d20 rolls, in the core rules; clarified mechanics of using a basic roll for a Trade-off

Separation of Powers (Beta 4)

As part of the process of polishing up the character classes, I took a look at the distribution of trained skills and skill expertise. Most classes end up with 2 trained skill "lists" (i.e. Skillsets or Basic Abilities) with particularly skillful classes getting 3 or 4. In addition, most classes get expertise with one skill list. I might look into adjusting some classes to fit more closely into these general guidelines.

Another thing I want to work on is making the structure of the classes more unified, in terms of their Iconic Abilities, Archetypes, and so forth. I want to see if classes can be broken into smaller chunks, beginning simpler and adding layers of complexity. This is not meant as a leveling system, per se, but as a way to ease newcomers into the game, rather than front-loading all of the character generation. This could also potentially shape the "starter classes" quite significantly.

The problem is that currently Archetypes do different things for different classes. For example, the Sage's archetypes are essentially two distinct sub-classes (Wizard and Monk) whereas the Barbarian's archetypes prescribe slightly different playstyles, but don't significantly modify the base class. Further to that, some classes have additional layers of customization that others don't, such as Roles, or the Cleric's domains, the Guardian's totems, and the Sage's disciplines. I might be able to remedy this disjointed nature by simply altering terminology in a few places, or it might require more significant changes. The path of least resistance might be to simply take each class and break its parts down on a case-by-case basis.

As was mentioned in my previous post, my intention is to add power sources to each class; knowledge skills would be tied to these power sources, helping to flesh out your character's background. Another part of the intention for adding this layer of customization, is so that there can be a rule allowing players to change their class at narratively appropriate times, but limited to classes that share at least one power source with your current class.

The challenge then, is ironing out which parts of the existing framework to hang power sources on. In particular, I think it makes sense to have the Sage gain one power source based on the discipline they take, whereas tying power sources to Cleric domains or Guardian totems doesn't work as well. It could also be made completely independent, but too much customization goes against the design intent to have quick and simple character generation. On the other hand, a simple character could conceivably start with nothing but a background/power source, and then buy into a class later on.

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Work on the "math pass" continues, along with other bigger and smaller edits as I go along; the 2nd slate (Magic & Shadow) is effectively done, though I may still take a hard look at the Sorcerer archetype. The 3rd slate (Wilderness) is probably done, particularly since most of its classes were completed/updated so recently, but I may give the Druid some closer scrutiny. The 1st slate (Martial & Divine) will get a once-over, but is probably mostly set; I've done considerable edits to the Acrobat already. Once I feel this iteration is "done," expect a long blog post with a log of all the changes.

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One major change: "The Warrior" has been renamed to "The Adventurer"
I think that Scout/Skald wasn't quite war-like enough to merit the title of "warrior" so I think the new name is a better fit; Scout having been a class from the book "Complete Adventurer" back in D&D 3.5 sort of cemented this change.

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Check back January 25th for the next post!

Turning the Page on 2016

I've been working on The Next Project for a while now, but I've only been blogging since this past August. In that time, the blog has received over 1000 views! Most posts have each gotten 30-40 views, but some have gone as high as 60-70.

Going forward, my intention is to post 3x per month. From January through June, I'll be posting on the 5th/15th/25th of every month; I'm going to take a break for a bit in July, so details for beyond then will be ironed out closer to the end of June.

Leading up to 2017, all 15 planned classes were completed, across the 3 slates: Heroes of Martial Might & Divine Power, Heroes of Magic & Shadow, and Heroes of the Wilderness. I'm hoping by the end of January to complete a "math pass," specifically focusing on the damage values for each class. To this end, I've worked out a few dice expressions that achieve the expected values; now it's just a matter of checking each class to make sure it fits within those guidelines. I'm also going to try and strip out excessive rolling if/when I can, and simplify things mechanically.


A few changes to player options will be forthcoming:

• Classes that have "Roles" will be able to change their role as part of their initiative check (currently includes Fighter, Bard, and Warrior.)
• Power Sources will be added to player-characters (Arcane, Divine, Martial, Primal, and Shadow); each character will have 2 Power Sources.
• Rules for changing your class/archetype between adventures; hybrid/dual-classing/multi-classing rules will be looked into.
• Knowledge Skills will be tied to Power Sources, helping to streamline these skills, and to give additional mechanical weight to Power Sources.
• Starter Classes will be finalized once the core classes are done; expect the text to be trimmed down and simplified as much as possible.

Beyond that, I will be seeking feedback on the writing/mechanics, hopefully getting a few extra sets of eyes on things. With this, I'll be looking to make sure the language is clear and there are no gaps in the rules, possibly resulting in an FAQ as well. I'm also going to try and get the formatting for classes into a more unified state.

The DM-side of the rules still need to be published, so that work may begin in parallel to the other revisions, or begin once those are completed.


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Next post: January 15th!