Which classes
From RPGwiki
Can I also make another suggestion? I think we need to drop the bard. The travelling musician, with his guitar and little else, is a medieval archetype that might have lasted through to the early twentieth century, but doesn't seem to fit in an early twenty-first century milieu with mass-media and sedentary music corporations. Many of his abilities rely on the audience being present, so a talented musician (from the Expert NPC class) would be just as good in a recording and wouldn't need training in magic or thiefy skills. I'd also think about moving the Expert to PC class status, especially since it would give us a mechanic option that D&D can't provide.--Alex 12:25, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
- I've never liked the bard class much, so I wont be sad to see it go. As it happens, I think most of the classes would need some adjustments. I mean, what does heavy armour proficiency mean in the modern age? Even the bulkiest of kevlar/ceramic armour probably would be more than medium armour. If that's true, who would have pro. with it as standard? Probably no-one, it would be like learning to use an exotic weapon.
- Furthermore, if anyone deserves evasion in the modern age, its fighters as they are the ones most likely to be exposed to grenaid blasts and the like.
- I had been thinking something like that about the Expert class, but I was also considering creating an Academic class. It would kind of replace the bard, as it would grant a wide range of skills. I had also been toying with giving it modest spell casting abilities (Like the bard again.), mostly divinations and so one. That last rather depends on what we decide to do with magic. Andy 14:45, 17 November 2007 (UTC)
One thing they did in D20 Modern which I quite liked was to add occupations on top of the class system. These were things like Athlete, Blue Collar Worker, White Collar Worker, Law Enforcement, Military, Doctor and so on. Each occupation would give an extra 1-3 class skills, maybe a bonus feat or two and sometimes a bonus to Wealth (balanced out so it might be three extra class skills and a Wealth bonus or one extra class skill and two feats (usually weapon proficiencies and armour proficiencies), and so on).
So you could have a Military Fighter (obvious) or a Doctor Fighter (Army medical corps, gets Treat Injury as a class skill) or an Athlete Fighter (Olympics Judo champion). Or alternately you could have Academic Wizard (engaged in magical research at a university), Criminal Wizard (a magical hitman) or a Blue Collar Wizard (magical demolitions perhaps?). It expands the classes without too much difficulty, and allows for a party to have better cohesion while still having seperate classes (eg the Minas Tirith PD Blue campaign, where all the characters have the Law Enforcement occupation, with a Fighter (SWAT team guy), Rogue (either a detective, police sniper or a negotiator), Priest (negotiator or SWAT if a war god) and wizard (magical forensics).--Alex 11:56, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
- Something like that might work. I'll wait until you have had chance to look over your friends D20 modern and see what you have to say. Andy 15:43, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
Thoughts on two classes.
- Barbarian. On first glance, probably the first to be dropped from a modern era campaign. I'd like to keep him. I just have this idea of a Conan-style barbarian land that just keeps doing its own thing while the rest of the world develops around it. They trade with the outside world for what they want (including firearms) and since their land is so barren nobody can be bothered to take it off them. And the end result is a land of gun-toting nutcases, who look down on the rest of the world, just as the world looks down on them. Some nations have age-old alliances, a bit like the British and the Gurkhas, that mean they get used as troops in exchange for goods and weapons. Sound silly or usable?
- Bard. I said I don't think he's a valid 20th century archetype, so why not replace him with one who is. Enter the Agent. Imagine James Bond, minus gadgets, plus a little magic. He replaces the bard as the world traveller archetype, as well as being the group's Charisma man. A bit of fighting, a bit of sneaking. You just have to play around with the bard's singing abilities switching them for some other powers (probably nabbed from the D20 Modern Charismatic Hero's talents) and we have a replacement.
--Alex 11:56, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
Oh, one other thing. If we use the D20 Modern rules on automatic weapons then we'll definitely need to let Fighters take Evasion as a Class Bonus Feat. Autofire picks a 10' area, roll to hit that (AC10), and then anyone in that area rolls a Reflex save to take half damage. Obviously Evasion helps there...--Alex 11:59, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
