In the RPG we are creating, those artificial lines have been erased. Who is to say that a fighter wouldn't know a healing spell? Who's to say that a wizard wouldn't use a sword? In our game, the answer is - nobody. Any character can pursue any skill set so, for example, you could have a character that can cast a magical attack spell, move quietly, wear armor, and uses a bow. Such a jack-of-all trades character wouldn't have the mastery as a strongly focused character but it is possible. If you wished, you could select skills to build a traditional fighter or rogue or wizard or cleric. Or you can have a primary focus area but pick up one or two other abilities from what would be traditionally considered another class. A rogue that knows an invisibility spell? A fighter with Magic Missile? Look out!
Friday, September 23, 2011
RPG Crafting #5 - Character Definition
For our simple fantasy RPG for beginners, Sam and I wanted to stay away from most of the conventions of a traditional RPG. In most RPGs you define yourself by your class, "I'm a fighter," "I'm a wizard." Once you've selected a class, you are then restricted in what you're able to do. A rogue can backstab and move silently while a druid can commune with nature. What ends up happening is rogues all end up being very similar to one another and the same for fighters, wizards, and clerics.
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In the RPG we are creating, those artificial lines have been erased. Who is to say that a fighter wouldn't know a healing spell? Who's to say that a wizard wouldn't use a sword? In our game, the answer is - nobody. Any character can pursue any skill set so, for example, you could have a character that can cast a magical attack spell, move quietly, wear armor, and uses a bow. Such a jack-of-all trades character wouldn't have the mastery as a strongly focused character but it is possible. If you wished, you could select skills to build a traditional fighter or rogue or wizard or cleric. Or you can have a primary focus area but pick up one or two other abilities from what would be traditionally considered another class. A rogue that knows an invisibility spell? A fighter with Magic Missile? Look out!
But what about character advancement? I promised to address that issue in this post but I'll put that off until the next post... I promise!
In the RPG we are creating, those artificial lines have been erased. Who is to say that a fighter wouldn't know a healing spell? Who's to say that a wizard wouldn't use a sword? In our game, the answer is - nobody. Any character can pursue any skill set so, for example, you could have a character that can cast a magical attack spell, move quietly, wear armor, and uses a bow. Such a jack-of-all trades character wouldn't have the mastery as a strongly focused character but it is possible. If you wished, you could select skills to build a traditional fighter or rogue or wizard or cleric. Or you can have a primary focus area but pick up one or two other abilities from what would be traditionally considered another class. A rogue that knows an invisibility spell? A fighter with Magic Missile? Look out!
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