D&D 3e/3.5e/d20The forum for conversations specifically related to the rules and procedures of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, 3.5 Edition, or any fantasy game using the d20 system or a variant thereof (commercially published or not).
I'm planning our halloween campaign, as many are doing at this time. I wanted to make a system that will throw them off because it's not a traditional class system, something along the lines of the generic classes in UA.
Here's the basics; Everybody will choose three special abilities (the list will follow at the end of the post), Everyone will have d8 hp, Everyone will have one good save, one average save, and one poor save. They'll be effectively third level, having 3hd, saves that go +3/+2/+1 for good/avg/poor and have BAB based off of the abilities they choose.
I want it to be different than what they're used to so that they start out unsure of themselves to add to the horror theme.
Spoiler
Each Player Chooses Three of the following abilities. Abilities with a number after them indicate the number of times that ability can be taken. Sneak Attack (2):
Adds 1d6 Sneak Attack, choosing this ability a second time either gives you an additional 1d6 Sneak Attack damage, or changes the damage to 3d4. +3/4 AC Bonus (3):
Gives +2 Insight bonus to armor class, a second choosing allows you to add half you wisdom bonus to your AC, and a third choosing increases the bonus to +4 and allows your full wisdom bonus to your armor class. +1/2 Spellcasting (2):
You gain the ability to cast two 0-level spells three times per day. Choosing this ability a second time gives you the use of two 1st-level spells twice per day. The save DC's for your spells is 10+[mental stat of choice]+spell level. +1/2 Evasion (2):
You gain evasion, as per the monk ability, a second choice gives you the ability to re-roll a reflex save 2/day. +3/4 Tenacity (2):
You gain tenacity, which functions as evasion but for fortitude saves, a second choice gives you The ability to re-roll a fortitude save 2/day. +3/4 Conviction (2):
You gain conviction, which functions as evasion but for will saves, a second choice gives you the ability to re-roll a will save 2/day. +3/4 Fast Movement (3):
Your land speed increases by 10ft. Each time you take this, your speed bonus doubles (20ft, then 40ft). You lose this bonus if you carry a heavy load, but not in heavy armor. +3/4 Worldly Knowledge (2):
You can make untrained knowledge checks on three knowledge skills of your choice, and you gain a +2 bonus on the check. Taking this a second time lets you choose two more knowledge skills you can use, and increases the bonus to +4. +1/2 Extreme Courage (2):
You and all allies within 10 ft of you gain a +2 bonus against fear effects. If you take this ability again, the bonus increases to +3 and the aura reaches out to 20ft. +3/4 Extreme Rage (2):
You can enter a rage 2/day, gaining +2 Str, +2 Con, +1 Wil saves, and -1 AC. It lasts for 5 rounds after which you are fatigued for 2 minutes. If you take this ability again, the bonuses to Str and Con increase to +4, the Wil save bonus increases to +2, and the AC penalty raises to -2 but you are fatigued for 5 minutes. You face the normal restrictions for a rage. +1 Favored Enemy (3):
You gain a favored enemy like a ranger, gaining a +1 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Spot, Sense Motive, and Survival and on damage rolls. Taking this again gives you another favored enemy, and increases the bonuses you gain to +2, taking this a third time gives you yet another favored enemy and increases all bonuses to +3. +1 Trapsmith (2):
You gain trapfinding, and trap sense +2. Taking this an additional time gives you a +3 bonus on the search check and increases your trap sense to +4. +3/4 Healing Hands (2):
You can heal a number of hit points equal to one and a half times your max HP by using a move action and touching the creature. Taking this a second time increases the number to twice your HP, and you can use this from up to 10 ft away. +3/4 Guiding Spirit (2):
You gain a guiding spirit which warns you of danger, giving you a +2 on initiative checks. Taking this a second time increases the bonus to +3 and allows you to re-roll your initiative and take the better of the two rolls 1/day. +1 Elemental Sense (2):
You gain an ability that functions as the shujenga's Sense Elements ability, except it's maximum range is 20ft, and creatures show up only as water sources unless made mostly of another element, such as a stone golem for earth or an efreet for fire. +3/4 Turn/Rebuke Undead (2):
You gain the ability to turn or rebuke undead, according to your alignment. You can do this 3/day, and your cleric level is 4 levels lower for what type of undead you can effect. Taking this ability twice raises your cleric level -2 and allows you to use a turn attempt to shoot a ray of positive or negative energy, dealing 1d4 damage for each point of charisma bonus you have, at a range of 25ft. +1/2 Extreme Fortitude (2):
You gain a +4 bonus against poisons and a +2 against spells that effect your body and require a fortitude save. Taking this a second time increases the bonuses to +8 and +4 respectively. +1
The numbers at the end of the descriptions (+1, +3/4, +1/2) are the BAB bonus you gain from it, and we will be using the fractional BAB rules from UA.
So, what does the playground think? We play pretty low-op, so I'm not too worried about that, though I would like to hear your thoughts on the ability balance.
Last edited by XionUnborn01 : 10-13-2012 at 11:03 PM.
I'm simply lukewarm on the idea. There's nothing wrong with the changes, but I'm not sure I see the benefit over just using the generic classes at level 3 (adding whatever special ability options you want). It's slightly more customizable, I guess. I don't think it will have the effect of keeping them in the dark. I'm not sure how you arrived at the BAB values. Were they chosen arbitrarily or are they related to the classes from which the special abilities were taken?
Long story short, nothing wrong with this, just not sure about the point of the changes.
The point is just to start off the game with a different feel than normal.
The BAB values were decided based off of the class, but are basically just arbitrary. I know the changes aren't anything amazingly odd, but I was just trying something new, and my players agreed to go with something they've never done before.
The point is just to start off the game with a different feel than normal.
The BAB values were decided based off of the class, but are basically just arbitrary. I know the changes aren't anything amazingly odd, but I was just trying something new, and my players agreed to go with something they've never done before.
Yeah, like I said, nothing wrong with these changes. They'll still have the d20 feel and nothing there should be overpowered or worthless. I think for my group generic classes would already be a different feel, since we don't use them, so these changes wouldn't really impact that.
On the flip side, for my Halloween 1-shot session I'm breaking away from d20 altogether and doing a modified d6. So I'm going even more different.
RSS Feeds: 
Halloween Campaign Character Build Idea
