At this point it should be fairly
obvious that I enjoy making classes. I derive an odd amount of
enjoyment from making new avenues for my players to explore, and I
find the search for new archetypes and novel mechanics to be akin to
solving a puzzle. Classes to me are something than be generalized, or
extremely specific as the situation merit. As a result I've read a
lot of classes over the years, including many in the wider OSR
community and with this article I want to spotlight a few of my
favorites!
by
Bernie the Flumph
This
class is great - 1/2 Eugen Sandow, 1/2 Shaw Bros. Studio Protagonist,
all martial arts hijinx. At base the class gets a full attack bonus
as per fighter...as long as they're not wielding any weapons. This,
along with the fact that they add their Con to their AC, means that
you can effectively act as the unarmed and unarmored archetype that
the class is aspiring towards. The class also gains access to sets of
fighting techniques known as stances, which allow them to vary their
approach enough to still be useful when say, a flying enemy or a
golem shows up.
by
KingBrackish
I find
this class to be notable for a few reasons, the first is that it is
the inspiration for my own approach to classes (I use the same naming
structure for instance) and the second is that I am fascinated by the
idea of rolling the rest of your abilities on a table at character
creation. The Immolated is based around the idea that your character
has given themselves to the F L A M E S by literally lighting
themselves on fire before the game begins. The number of bonuses and
abilities they receive - as well as penalties - is based around this
roll at the beginning. The abilities themselves are quite neat, and
fit with the overall theme of self-sacrifice through flames.
by
The Lawful Neutral
I'm
not part of the GLOGsphere, but I will occasionally read classes that
I come across, and this one really stood out in how novel the central
mechanics are. The character is a slime! A yummy one! Which has a
distinct effect on game play, as your fellow party members can use
the potions, rations and scrolls (by taking some of your HP) on
themselves which have been stored in the slime's body. The slime
itself grows larger in tandem with it's HP pool, letting it split
that pool among various effects. I adore this class so much that I
want to try and adapt something similar for LotFP & B/X.
by
The Merry Mushmen
A sort
of potpourri of various abilities which all shake out to increased
survival and utility, the Ne'er-do-Well is aping one of my favorite
archetypes in all of fiction - the dirty scoundrel, lovable rogue or
dirty coward - all variations on a non-combat focused Specialist.
Charisma, being a largely forgotten stat outside of hirelings,
actually get some use in this class. It also has a fairly elegant and
low-impact luck mechanic which I could see being used without seeming
onerous.
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