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View Full Version : [Free League] Symbaroum - 5E Playtest: Warrior Class



upho
2019-01-30, 09:00 PM
Hello Playgrounders!

I invite you all to participate in a Playground-exclusive alpha playtest of the Warrior class, the first in a series of unique classes based on the 5e rules for the critically acclaimed and award-winning Symbaroum RPG dark fantasy setting. And don't worry if you've never heard of Symbaroum before; you don't need any prior familiarity with the original Symbaroum RPG rules system or its setting to participate. Especially since the Warrior class is also intended to be a fully functional and great addition to your D&D games in other settings.

That said, there are a few things you should know before you start reading up on the class itself, along with a few minor rules for a setting specific phenomenon known as "corruption":

About the Warrior Class

Two Distinct Combat Functions The class' primary functions in combat, its "combat roles", are intended to have just as high priority as the methods used to fulfill those functions. And while the two sub-classes - the Duelist and the Knight - are both durable frontline melee combatants, they have quite different intended primary functions. The duelist is primarily intended to be a single-target damage dealer with some minor control abilities, while the knight is primarily intended to excel at protecting weaker party members from multiple opponents. It's worth noting this also means some of the class options available to both sub-classes may have quite different value depending on which function they best support. And of course, these options and those available to all classes (such as races, feats and backgrounds) also allows for the primary roles to be altered or further emphasized.
Melee Weapon Focus The warrior is intended to enable several different options for using melee weapons in combat, increasing the differences between weapon categories and their associated fighting styles.
Tactical Complexity The warrior in general, and the knight sub-class in particular, is intended to provide several distinctly different melee combat options allowing for a large number of tactically strong combinations for different results. It's worth noting this also means the class is primarily intended for those looking to play a dedicated melee combatant with a greater tactical depth and number of options than the corresponding core classes offer, and not as a class primarily intended for new players.
Not a Fighter Kind of Fighter As an armored frontline "weapons expert" and reliable damage dealer, the warrior shares many basic mechanics and much of its chassis with the 5e fighter class. There are however hopefully very distinct differences, so while comparisons to the fighter can be useful, I recommend you don't view the warrior as a fighter variant or as a class intended for the same games as the fighter.

About Corruption
You'll notice the warrior class lists three values related to corruption, and the duelist tradition (sub-class) has a feature which causes 1d4 corruption with each use. These values are used for the setting specific mechanics reflecting that using more distinctly magical powers (like spells), attuning magic items and some nastier "things" cause corruption in Symbaroum. In the case of the warrior, the only important rules are:

The more corruption a character suffers, the greater the risks for negative consequences.
Temporaty corruption disappears after a short or long rest.
Temporaty corruption exceeding the "Corruption Threshold" (typically 1 + Wisdom or Charisma modifier in the case of a warrior) causes permanent corruption, which is just as bad as it sounds.

And here's the class: The Warrior (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kpj0sE6Cy0D8ct-NxqJxN3OKdf0yYA56DKu9WBREyZk/edit?usp=sharing).

Please help me perfect the warrior, and let me know your impressions!


Explore the vast Forest of Davokar in the hunt for treasures, lost wisdoms and fame. Visit the barbarian clans to trade or to plunder their treasuries. Establish a base of power among princes, guilds or rebellious refugees in the capital city of Yndaros. Or survive encounters with Arch Trolls, dark-minded Blight Beasts and undead warlords. But whatever you do, never ignore the warnings spoken by the wardens of the forest: tread carefully and do not disturb the ruins of old, for the dark deep of Davokar is about to awaken.

More about Symbaroum. (http://frialigan.se/en/games/symbaroum/)

Free League
We are Free League Publishing (Fria Ligan in Swedish) – a Swedish publisher dedicated to speculative fiction. Being lifelong gamers and readers we started Free League Publishing in 2011 and published our first game the following year. Since then we have grown a bit, and have by now published several award-winning tabletop role-playing games and critically acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds.

More about Free League. (http://frialigan.se/en/startpage/)

utopus
2019-01-31, 12:51 PM
Looking at future classes, are symbaroum setting classes intended to have designs of greater complexity than the 5e TFR equivalents?

Looking at this class, it has

upho
2019-02-01, 08:39 AM
Looking at future classes, are symbaroum setting classes intended to have designs of greater complexity than the 5e TFR equivalents?No, certainly not all of them. And maybe not even the warrior, depending on the feedback. I do however have an ambition to offer classes which have a different level of complexity than comparable classes published by WotC, as well as a different kind of complexity. These differences will however most likely not be greater than it is for the knight tradition of the warrior in its current state.


Looking at this class, it hasYes, especially the knight tradition. I guess you could say I was aiming for a significantly greater complexity, or rather a significantly greater number of tactical options, than the core fighter, but no greater than that of a core full caster. Do you think the warrior currently is somewhere in that range? Do you this find that interesting and something you'd like to see in the game, or something you believe the game is better without?

battlebaby
2020-04-02, 09:29 PM
D&D hardcore fans might disagree with me but I think the Fighter is too flavorless.
Furious Assault give an insane damage burst, and 3 extra attacks is far more than ant other class (usually 2).
My suggestion is give a more consistent utility with q resource coat (i.e Stamina) where you can spend 1 or more resource points to do a special action:

Stamina: replaces Furious Assault. You start knowing four such features: Effort, Block, Tactician and Strike.

Effort
For each additional hour of Travel beyond 8 hours when using Forced March you can spend 1 stamina point when you are required to make a Constitution saving throw. You automatically succeed on this saving throw.

Block
You can spend 1 stamina point to use your Reaction to reduce the damage you take when you are hit by a physical Attack while holding a shield or a weapon. You gain resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage against the attack.

Strike
Immediately after you take the Attack action on your Turn, you can spend 1 stamina point to make one melee or ranged weapon Attack as a Bonus Action.

Tactician
You can spend 1 stamina point to use Disengage, Help, or Use Shield as a Bonus Action.

Resolve:
You can stamina points to fuel new abilities: Endure Pain, Conviction, and Endurance.

Endure Pain
You can spend 2 stamina points to ignore Incapacitated condition caused by pain.

Conviction
You can spend 2 stamina points to reroll a Strength or Constitution saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can't use this feature again until you finish a Short Rest.

Endurance
You can spend 2 stamina points to reduce exhaustion level by one. You can't use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.

:-)

aimlessPolymath
2020-04-03, 04:58 PM
One fighting style that seems deliberately absent is archery- possibly deliberate?

Weapon specialization seems to slighly favor the styles that describe handedness and properties, since they let you pick up new magic weapons more reliably. Unclear why some weapons are allowed but not others- I can't use the scimitar with the Sword Saint style, for example.

Steel Thrower: Would adjust 1st level benefit to "you can draw or stow a weapon as a free action, at any point in your turn."

Twin Attack: Unclear; can you spend a bonus action to make a further attack with your off-hand weapon?

Two-Handed Force's benefits feel uninteresting to me; both of them are essentially "more damage, plus a low-frequency effect".

Furious Assault: An extra action per short rest is very powerful- it's nearly an extra turn in a system where encounters last around 3-4 rounds.

Subclasses: Duelist and Knight feel like the same concept on first glance, writ two different ways; one hits a target and punishes them if they don't focus the player, while the other hits a target and makes it harder to do things other than focusing the player. Both of them enhance Wisdom saves, in slightly different ways.
Knight: A large number of features that interact with attacks of opportunity, but which blend together and are difficult to distinguish; I see that Drag and Detain, Halt, and Knight's Knockdown all act to impair movement in somewhat different ways, and I think this list could be pared down.