Post by DM Onesie Knight on Feb 16, 2018 6:00:03 GMT
Hey guys!
First time posting in the forums! (except for that one time I posted as an anonymous guest but shhhhh)
I was hoping you guys could help me refine a class I've been dying to build and play: the Explorer.
So this is an idea I've had for a while, and it grew out of a pretty basic seed of a thought: I want a class that takes the educated, scholarly flavor of a wizard, minus the magic.
I've always been more excited by resourcefulness under limitations than I have playing with high-powered magical F-you. One of my favorite characters I ever played was a high-INT Rogue/Bard who just had skills up to his eyeballs. So what I'm going for with this class is a sort of roguelike, high-skill support role which emphasizes intelligence and fighting with wits. Kind of an Indiana Jones feel, or maybe Sherlock Holmes as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.. Obviously, I want it to be strong enough that it's fun to play, but not so good that it overshadows other party members.
My first stab at writing this was a class with a d8 (or maybe d6) hit die, good FORT/REF saves, poor WILL saves, 8+INT skill points per level, light armor, simple weapons, hand axe, short sword, kukri, and whip. Whip because Indiana Jones, the other three martials because those are sensible forestry supplies. Of particular note on the Explorer's skill list are a broad range of knowledge skills (history, royalty, geography, dungeoneering, nature, the planes, arcana, local) and Speak Language (a good explorer learns to work with the natives directly). The rest of his skillset is similar to a scout or a ranger; mainly a survivalist feel.
Where I started getting iffy on this is on adding extra class features.
-I think he needs trapfinding and disable device like a rogue. It fits the Indiana Jones image, as well as the idea of what an Explorer might be getting into when delving some ancient ruin. I worry that on top of his skills and the other features I include, the Explorer becomes an objectively superior rogue, and that's not what I want.
-Fight Smarter Not Harder: the Explorer adds his INT modifier to (attack? damage? both?) rolls.
In particular, I've been struggling to come up with a solid core feature that scales all the way to level 20. I want something like Sneak Attack or Skirmish in terms of an ability that you can frame the character around throughout your adventuring career. This was my first idea, but I have some issues with it:
-Know Your Enemy: the Explorer gains bonuses and advantages in combat against creatures he can identify with an appropriate knowledge skill
I think flavor-wise that's perfect. Gameplay-wise, I think it could really slow things down and it brings up a lot of potential problems. If you identify one orc, do you get those bonuses against all future orcs? If you identify a drow, do you gain bonuses against a high elf? Can you try again on the same individual in the same encounter? Once per day? I could go on.
So, I guess, to sum this all up in a few direct questions:
-Is the concept interesting?
-Do the features I've listed fit the concept and seem reasonable?
-Do you have any suggestions for unique class features that can really tie this class together?
First time posting in the forums! (except for that one time I posted as an anonymous guest but shhhhh)
I was hoping you guys could help me refine a class I've been dying to build and play: the Explorer.
So this is an idea I've had for a while, and it grew out of a pretty basic seed of a thought: I want a class that takes the educated, scholarly flavor of a wizard, minus the magic.
I've always been more excited by resourcefulness under limitations than I have playing with high-powered magical F-you. One of my favorite characters I ever played was a high-INT Rogue/Bard who just had skills up to his eyeballs. So what I'm going for with this class is a sort of roguelike, high-skill support role which emphasizes intelligence and fighting with wits. Kind of an Indiana Jones feel, or maybe Sherlock Holmes as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.. Obviously, I want it to be strong enough that it's fun to play, but not so good that it overshadows other party members.
My first stab at writing this was a class with a d8 (or maybe d6) hit die, good FORT/REF saves, poor WILL saves, 8+INT skill points per level, light armor, simple weapons, hand axe, short sword, kukri, and whip. Whip because Indiana Jones, the other three martials because those are sensible forestry supplies. Of particular note on the Explorer's skill list are a broad range of knowledge skills (history, royalty, geography, dungeoneering, nature, the planes, arcana, local) and Speak Language (a good explorer learns to work with the natives directly). The rest of his skillset is similar to a scout or a ranger; mainly a survivalist feel.
Where I started getting iffy on this is on adding extra class features.
-I think he needs trapfinding and disable device like a rogue. It fits the Indiana Jones image, as well as the idea of what an Explorer might be getting into when delving some ancient ruin. I worry that on top of his skills and the other features I include, the Explorer becomes an objectively superior rogue, and that's not what I want.
-Fight Smarter Not Harder: the Explorer adds his INT modifier to (attack? damage? both?) rolls.
In particular, I've been struggling to come up with a solid core feature that scales all the way to level 20. I want something like Sneak Attack or Skirmish in terms of an ability that you can frame the character around throughout your adventuring career. This was my first idea, but I have some issues with it:
-Know Your Enemy: the Explorer gains bonuses and advantages in combat against creatures he can identify with an appropriate knowledge skill
I think flavor-wise that's perfect. Gameplay-wise, I think it could really slow things down and it brings up a lot of potential problems. If you identify one orc, do you get those bonuses against all future orcs? If you identify a drow, do you gain bonuses against a high elf? Can you try again on the same individual in the same encounter? Once per day? I could go on.
So, I guess, to sum this all up in a few direct questions:
-Is the concept interesting?
-Do the features I've listed fit the concept and seem reasonable?
-Do you have any suggestions for unique class features that can really tie this class together?