Like I posted earlier, Weird Fantasy comes together as you read the whole friggin' package. The rules themselves work best with the implied low magic / low fantasy setting.
That being said, there is room to tweak, and here are some of my first thoughts on the matter:
Specialists - Sneak Attack - The rules state each "pip" bought in the skill increases the damage multiplier by +1. It also states that putting any points into the skill gives a +2 bonus to the Sneak Attack. I'm leaning towards making that +2 per "pip" bought for the to hit bonus. Only Fighters increase in To Hit Bonus - I'd like to think a sneak attack at a higher level of expertise will actually hit.
Halflings - The implied class for Halflings is Fighter, as the descriptive text refers to "a chiseled, battle-scarred warrior Halfling." I'd rather see him default to a Specialist, but keep the Halfling Expo Advancement, so he will lag behind a Human Specialist.
Fighters - The only class to increase in combat ability. One problem, they may hit more often (if that isn't balanced out by decreasing AC in higher level opponents), but their damage won't be increasing - the Low Magic setting will make magic weapons vey rare - and forget about gauntlets or girdles of strength. My suggestion? Three attacks per two rounds starting at level 6, and two attacks per round at level 11. He still has to hit, but we've increased his damage potential. I foresee extremely long combats at higher levels otherwise.
Clerics and Wizards - On the fence on this one. Thinking of adding one level 1 spell for a +1 in the appropriate stat bonus, a level 2 spell for +2, and a level 3 spell for +3. Clerics aren't going to be going toe to toe in combat anymore, and Wizards are going to suffer from the lack of Christmas Tree goodies. This keeps the player in the game a bit longer before he has an empty spell battery. I don't think the balance issue is all that huge.
Dangerous what a day of driving - with most of that in the passenger seat as my son is getting his "driving time in" - leads one to think of ;)
Remember that MUs and to a lesser extent Clerics can easily (if at a decent monetary price) make their own magic items that effectively give them more spells to cast, and the INT or WIS mods already give the caster a bit of a bonus. Just something to look out for.
ReplyDeleteI see the Halfling's implied role as "avoids the Bad Stuff better than others" - a defensive class, basically. Bonus to Dex Mod, check out those saving throws, with the hiding ability.
Yeah, kinda see your point with the casters. That was part of the reason I was on the fence.
ReplyDeleteAs for halflings... I suspect the implied roll is "wish I could have avoided the buggers altogether" ;)
Once I had the "stays out of trouble" hook for halflings I was a lot more comfortable with them. Dwarfs are still a bit of a sticky point for me though since they are basically just another kind of fighter. No unique "hook" to them like the elves and halflings besides the fact that they have beards. How to make them better fighters without stepping on the Fighter? I gave them the d10 hit die but is that enough to justify needing more XP than the Fighter?
ReplyDeleteOne idea I've come up with lately is giving dwarfs a +1 Con modifier to enforce the "tough and tireless and solid as a rock" idea. Power creep for the next edition perhaps. ;)