Sample file I’ve been playing role-playing games for over a quarter of small, oft overlooked sidebar in the DMG. It was a simple a century. It sounds so much longer and almost impressive system for creating your very own class. It presented all of when stated in portions rather than in actual numbers. I the abilities of the standard classes and allowed you to mix remember the halcyon days when Gary Gygax’s name was and match them to your hearts content until you achieved emblazoned across the masthead of every book and Larry exactly the kind of character class you wanted to portray. In Elmore, Jeff Easily, Bill Willingham and Erol Otus graced those long ago days, the players I grew up with and me used the covers with fantastical creatures, peoples and settings. that sidebar heavily. In all that time, across all those editions, systems, and rules- Th is product is an homage to that lonely sidebar of old. sets, not much has really changed for the hobby, at least Once again, you will be able to create just the right fl avor nothing fundamentally important. Th e groups of fellow of character, just the sort of hero or villain or something players around the world still gather at the designated in between that you want or need, one not bound by the meeting place toting along their books, their sacks of shiny strictures of the nine core classes. One that follows your polyhedral dice, their pens and paper, their soda pop and own rules. their snacks. Th ey sit down, they chat, they talk about what happened since the last time they played, and then they Enjoy, and make the best of it. It’s all on you now. get down to brass tacks and whip out the most important tool every gamer needs to have – they once again bring to Sean C. Frolich the fore their imaginations, their creativity. Each feeds off Developer, Author of the others to build up in their minds the images of the personas they will play and the worlds and environments in which these personas live, work, play, battle and sometimes die. What they create is something Sample file wonderful to see, but the only way to see it is to be in it, to play. Creativity is a wonderful thing since it is limitless. But role- playing games, by their very nature, have a need to reign in that facet of the players. A game, by defi nition, has rules, and these rules must be uniformly understood by all those playing, and these rules must apply equally to all those playing. Many people I have met and gamed with over the years have, at one time or another, expressed frustration concerning how the rules restrict their vision of how their character should behave. Th e “if only”-ies start coming up in the conversation: “If only this class didn’t have to do this”, or “If only I could do this”…”I’d give this up in a second if I could do this instead”. And so on. Before the arrival of certain shore dwelling sorcerers, in an earlier incarnation of Dungeons and Dragons, there was a 3 Who… Th e “Who” is the most important element of the class Th e Class Construction Kit allows players and GMs to build creation process; exactly what kind of class are you looking a unique character class by using a simple mathematical for? Are you looking for a highly skilled and diplomatic formula. By mixing and matching each of the abilities warrior, or perhaps a sword-saint, a holy man able to call presented in this book, players and GMs alike can create a upon the power of a deity and enforce his will through force class tailored for any design paradigm. of arms? Th e types of character that can be built are many and varied. Th e nine core classes form the root of the presented class abilities from which you can choose. Each choice, each ability, each facet of the class you build comes with an Designer’s Notes Th e original concept attached cost to maintain balance across the board. Th ere for this book was a “classless d20 system”, as in are certain design restrictions that are recommended, and one with no predetermined classes rather than these, as well as the reasons for them, will be discussed later. one without class. Under this paradigm, each and every character would be truly unique, with his Th roughout this book there will be several small Designer’s own set of abilities and skills. Th e idea has merit, Notes sidebars. Th ese will be used to illustrate the but it works just as well as an ancillary system, reasoning behind certain decisions. Th ese sidebars are as something to incorporate into a setting or game. much a part of the presented system as the heart of the mathematics; without knowing how a particular element Th ere is a need to stay focused at this stage; trying to create of the system was designed it would be very diffi cult for a a powerful warrior who can call down fi reballs on his foes, player to understand how to add to the system on his own. heal his wounded companions, demoralize his foes and open every locked chest and door to be found is a waste of time. Th e book is broken into four parts of varying size: Who, Th e idea itself is far too broad and open. Balance is always What, and How each goes into more detail concerningSample the filekey, and it is an inherent part of this system. the process of creating a new character class. Th e fourth section, called Th e Tool Box, provides the various tables and It would be best if you wrote down a few ideas as to the formulae. nature of the class you are trying to develop and then, once you delve into Th e Toolbox, you will be able to see if your creation can walk the fi ne line of usability. You may fi nd that it has already gone over the edge. What this book is NOT... Th is book is written around the concept of a base, What… core, 20-level player character class. Th e presented system will be of no assistance in creating Prestige Once you have determined the basics of what you want for your character class, you will need to look through the lists Classes or NPC classes, since the design paradigm of abilities and pick and choose the ones you will want. of both these other class types falls outside the Sometimes it is a good idea to just choose all the abilities parameters of a core class. without taking into account the related costs. Once you determine how far overboard you have gone you will then be able to pare it down into something much more usable. 4 5 Über Build Designer’s Notes Th is system is a tool that can be used by players and GM’s alike. An über build is one in which the GM sets the upper limit for class creation. With between 100 and 200 Other game designers who are looking for ways points, an incredibly powerful class can be built – some to create their own unique core classes and need might say insanely powerful. More then 200 points is not a bit of a hand can also use it. Th is system is recommended. not, however, the end all and be all as far as class creation goes. It should always be looked at as the Balance for an über build is created by altering the needed skeleton around which a class can be built; new experience points for each level. Spending 100 points will abilities can always be created and added to the allow you to use the normal Experience Point chart from lists. In fact, it is encouraged! By showing how the Player’s Handbook without alteration. Every point the core classes were used to build the system, spent above 100 increases the needed experience by a like you can take it and tweak it to your own liking. percentage. If you spent 130 points, you will need to accrue 130% of the needed experience points for each level. If you fi nd that what you want to create is very close to one Example: Getting to 2nd level means that you have garnered of the core classes, you may want to reconsider continuing. 1000 XP, while getting to 3rd means that you have 3000 XP. If Most of the core classes can be rebuilt using this system, your class build used 130 points, you would need 1300 XP and but there is no need for you to do so. If the core class is 3900 XP to get to 2nd and 3rd levels respectively. what you want use it. If a variant of a core class is what you are looking for, you should talk it over with your As the points continue to rise, it will become more diffi cult GM (or your players if you are the GM) and hash out the to gain levels, especially at the highest levels. 200-point minor alterations you wish to introduce. Th e Toolbox in build will require twice the XP per level, and core classes this book may help you understand the relative costs of will rapidly rise in power in comparison. various abilities, how they stack up against each other, and that would be a boon toward maintaining balance in your Designer’s Notes Über builds can be fun variant.