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Thread: Class Power Source
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2024-04-05, 11:54 PM (ISO 8601)
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Class Power Source
Are Class power sources mechanically important?
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2024-04-06, 02:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
Guide to the Magus, the Pathfinder Gish class.
"I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums. I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that." -- ChubbyRain
Crystal Shard Studios - Freeware games designed by Kurald and others!
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2024-04-06, 09:52 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Class Power Source
Usually not. Some, like Psionics, determined aspects of how your class was built.
The Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
*Mutant Dawn for Savage Worlds!
*The One Deck Engine: Gaming on a budget
Written by Me on DriveThru RPG
There are almost 400,000 threads on this site. If you need me to address a thread as a moderator, include a link.
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2024-04-06, 11:38 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Aug 2011
Re: Class Power Source
Yes, they are, but primarily for feat, PP, and ED prerequisites.
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2024-04-17, 03:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2007
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2024-04-17, 01:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2008
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- I'm on a boat!
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Re: Class Power Source
When 4e was new, they mentioned a "Ki" power source was coming. They later realized that they were starting to pigeonhole Ki as the "Asian" power source.
But ask yourself this about classes and power sources:
This class uses discipline to develop and harness an internal wellspring of power to accomplish things beyond the scope of most people.
Does that describe psions, monks, or both?Red Mage avatar by Aedilred.
Where do you fit in? (link fixed)
RedMage Prestige Class!
Best advice I've ever heard one DM give another:
"Remember that it is both a game and a story. If the two conflict, err on the side of cool, your players will thank you for it."
Second Eternal Foe of the Draconic Lord, battling him across the multiverse in whatever shapes and forms he may take.
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2024-04-17, 02:05 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2007
Guide to the Magus, the Pathfinder Gish class.
"I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums. I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that." -- ChubbyRain
Crystal Shard Studios - Freeware games designed by Kurald and others!
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2024-04-17, 06:13 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2013
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Re: Class Power Source
Discipline, not yelling until the magic comes out. There's a suggestion, at least, that a psion can exactingly instruct another psion in a predictable regimen, and likewise for a monk, whereas a sorcerer can only kind of coach another sorcerer, advising that other sorcerer to find what drives them and go with it to the hilt.
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2024-04-17, 06:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- May 2016
Re: Class Power Source
In a game where refluffing is officially encouraged, I think your flavour text may vary.
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2024-04-18, 01:45 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
Re: Class Power Source
Fine. Wizard and Swordmage, then.
The point is, there is absolutely zero difference in fluff between "arcane" and "psionic"; the only difference is mechanical (i.e. power points). Note that pretty much all classes in the PHB3 exist to show off a new mechanic, and only the monk represents a literary archetype that hadn't been covered by other existing classes.Guide to the Magus, the Pathfinder Gish class.
"I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums. I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that." -- ChubbyRain
Crystal Shard Studios - Freeware games designed by Kurald and others!
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2024-04-18, 02:12 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2013
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Re: Class Power Source
Not quite. 4e made psionics heavily tied to the Far Realm in a way that arcane source wasn't (it was presumably too busy hanging out in the Feywild). Also, Arcane and Divine tended to treat having an inborn potential as an exception rather than rule, like with the Sorcerer, whereas psionics tended to turn that on its ear - the monk was something that anyone could pick up, but the other psionic classes relied on some variety of strange, inborn potential. Also, the difference is very, very important if you're playing a game on Athas.
(Also, most classes in general exist to show off a particular mechanic. Avengers used to have the most "best of two d20 rolls", rogues have their advantage-dependent Sneak Attack, etc.)
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2024-04-18, 02:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jun 2007
Re: Class Power Source
Guide to the Magus, the Pathfinder Gish class.
"I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums. I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that." -- ChubbyRain
Crystal Shard Studios - Freeware games designed by Kurald and others!
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2024-04-18, 09:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2013
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Re: Class Power Source
That's a bit of a stretch, since, say, fighters haven't been a solid literary reference since after 2e. And even then, fighters would frequently fall short of their hype (Hercules indeed!). Also, the game goes out of its way to make the archetypes mechanically defined in particular ways, so you can't really take one from out of the other. The mechanics and the archetype tend to be stuck together.
As for avengers, they are, in fact, a literary archetype - two really. They're cloistered monastics who are also assassins. There are a lot of both types, and some do this better than others, but they're the only ones who are both in one as part of a single package deal. The monk, psion, and runepriest are also fairly well-established archetypes from out of PHB3 - monks are another type of monastic character, in this case one that draws from a lot of martial arts fiction (with a heavy weight on it from the apparent need to continue emulating Remo Williams), a psion is what everyone thinks of when you mention a character with psychic powers, and the runepriest is a kind of fang shi (Daoist practitioner).
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2024-04-19, 08:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2007
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- Australia
Re: Class Power Source
Thematically? Could be either. Or sorcerers as Kuruld noted
Mechanically:
Psion - Uses Psi points to enhance their powers
Battlemind - Uses Psi points to enhance their powers
Ardent - Uses Psi points to enhance their powers
Monk - Has the option to use one of their movement powers at the same time they use an attack power
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2024-04-19, 10:00 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2008
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Re: Class Power Source
Red Mage avatar by Aedilred.
Where do you fit in? (link fixed)
RedMage Prestige Class!
Best advice I've ever heard one DM give another:
"Remember that it is both a game and a story. If the two conflict, err on the side of cool, your players will thank you for it."
Second Eternal Foe of the Draconic Lord, battling him across the multiverse in whatever shapes and forms he may take.
-
2024-04-24, 01:46 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2011
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Re: Class Power Source
Martial and Arcane have more ways to be flexible, "borrow" (especially Wands) and outright recover powers, but they tend to have a lot more support in general.
Divine they kind of tried to bake that in with Channel Divinity at the cost of being more resource-heavy. Holy Symbols similarly have the "no slot, but look how many of them assume you are a Cleric"
Primal on the other hand seemed to go all in on "this is similar but not the same."
And then PHB3 went with "this is not like the others' which leaves Monks and Runepriests in particular to lack synergy with their own sources.
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Yesterday, 01:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2013
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Re: Class Power Source
Seems like maybe monks and runepriests should have had their implement and weapon use switched. Especially since monks using implement powers means that their monk unarmed strike tends to not get used as such most of the time. Meanwhile, runepriests using weapons for everything even when it seems like some kind of implement should factor in feels pretty weird.
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Today, 10:13 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2007
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- San Antonio, Texas
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Re: Class Power Source
I really wish they'd committed a bit more to symmetry... work on building good versions of the four roles for each of the power sources, rather than, say, including two martial strikers in the PH.
The Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
*Mutant Dawn for Savage Worlds!
*The One Deck Engine: Gaming on a budget
Written by Me on DriveThru RPG
There are almost 400,000 threads on this site. If you need me to address a thread as a moderator, include a link.