User:Average/D&D/What's New

This homebrew version suggest many new ideas, none of them are there just to be different, but are based on new understandings and synthesis across all the realms of RPGs, literary and cinematic universes, as well as greater mystical and scientific knowledge.

Why is it radically different?

• Apart from fighters and wizards, D&D/Classes were not well-founded (undistinct from one another (5 different classes with spell-casting?) and arbitrary(bards and barbarians?), which is to say both vague and ambiguous), making it difficult for people to get started. Further, by themselves, they were not rich enough to be able to build the whole D&D world.
• D&D/Races, like classes, were a bit scattered, too. Some were weird, and for some players, no race seemed the right fit (human was just too generic). We're not grasping at straws anymore here, the research is done and the arena is now well-represented.
• New knowledge on the multi-universe allows a deeper and simplified cosmology to explain how the realms came to exist and how different races relate to themselves. A virtuous synthesis of Tolkein's view of the universe, D&D, and JKRowlings, combines all the realms though use of three Ages of the Realms. And how the source for life relates to polyhedrons, aka "dice" which should be seen as sources for divination.
• Dragons are no longer aligned along the good vs. evil axis, now that there world has expanded and there are dragonborn, they are aligned along the FEARED vs. fearful axis. They are, as have always been, despite the tellings of some, sexless.
• Leveling is changed; each class levels differently. OR looked at a different way, experience means something different for each class. Fighter may gain by fighting, but mages earn by using magic effectively -- regardless of any NPCs interaction. Ultimately, all Leveling could be redesigned around a more sophisticated XP-assignment system, but this version is a good start.
• Spellcasting is different. Instead of endless lists of spells from nowhere, there are spellbooks from guilds. One gets access depending on affiliation. Spells for defense, offense, and utility get more powerful as you LEVEL and sacrifice MANA. Standard-issue spellbooks are procured by the DM for different tiers.
• Psionics are unnecessary. The Mage Wars have ended and the matter is settled. Psionic power is simply mana churned by the will into power. This force is what allows mages to assemble forces for spell-casting, fighters to turn work into muscle, and clerics to spread their auric field towards allies. So what little use remains is incorporated in the ASM score and ability. Treated as a separate force, it confounds the multiverse with contradictions. NO more!
• Each PC gets 3 death saving throws where if their HP gets to 0, they can revive with (#Age) HP. There are other considerations...
• WISdom was too vague of an ability, and as a name should really represent experience turned into wisdom; i.e. something that grows. For clerics, it is called Piety. For Mages, it is calculated based on XP (and possibly the fulfillment of some other quests, like the taming or defeat of a dragon). Leaders, its called Power. They need a gold ring to hold this power. NOTE:: as before, and for clarity: CHR should be seen as a combination of Charm (appearances) and Sophistry (emotional affect/words).
• Real uses of the game for didactic, extra-curricular development of high-schoolers instead of sports.
• It's more realistic without reducing any of the fantasy. Mana is more realistic than spell-slots, for example. And HP, while everyone wants more, develops more slowly than prior versions -- players must acquire better armor (and other protection) as they progress -- the same thing as would be expected in real-life and develops player fab.
• Better understanding of economic theory, allows DM's to create value and give better equipment, the more they develop eXPerience and be part of the "meta-"game. Further some classes, can make objects and sell it to the DM and gain levels.
• People develop differently. Different classes level differently -- it's not all "cast and slash" at all. XP comes by building experience for your characters. Fighters may look for kills to gain XP, but not Clerics, nor pacifist Explorers.
• New arcane knowledge, hidden right in our language and its Latin roots, shows there was a forgotten realm (likely from the Druids) who counted 10 months to the year (October, November, December; 8, 9, 10-ember),
• Most gameplay grew linearly, despite the exponential XP gain needed to level because players generally went after harder targets. This made tiers rather useless, instead of motivating players to explore and risk more. New tiers are more epic. You might even become a god.
• DM's weren't using enough imagination to help pull the players into the imaginal realms. A new "godroll" forces them to develop their imagination into other dimensions of the game. Done right, you might just develop real magical ability.
• Spell-slots were too clumsy of a mechanism for spell-casting. Gone and replaced by a much more inclusive concept: mana.

Just what you need, right?

New features:

• Characters now have mana (or life force), which gets accumulated and expended during game play and provides the energy for wizards to cast spells, for healers to heal, and for warriors to turn work into muscle. There are no spell-slots.
• Two sweet new abilities to completely round out all classes and characters: Perceptivity (PER) and Assemblage (ASM), replaces "skills",
• New races: Dragonkind and Færy. Also, each receive bonus modifiers if players are typecast to their race,
• Revised and complete class system, offering a diverse yet solid set of classes, providing a strong foundation for complex and sophisticated multiclasses that are utterly distinct and unambiguous from each other -- so complete you could build a spaceship right in Forgotten Realms if you assembled all the materials and knowledge together. Different classes gain XP differently. Rogues by making things and how much they can sell them for. Clerics level by how many HP they heal from the wounded. Also included is a wild class for experimentation (gains XP and HP but does not level).
• Objects now have stat blocks, to make it much more sophisticated and easier to understand the terrain. A whole castle, for example, might be a level 15 object, with hitpoints in the 5000 range (if it's old and worn down). Sentient objects are represented by the mana stat. That means talking to a sentient object takes it's mana (and it will have to recover in some way).
• Dice-play changes to please the Gods: only platonic solids -- preferably with lead cores,
• Universe is now simplified and stronger: fewer planes, more alchemy,
• DM development: creates an economy by getting rewarded for leveling players. These rewards can be used to have get better equipment that can be placed in the game and offered players. Also, since player classes are expanded, DM can buy player-made items and put them in his/her inventory. These can then be reproduced, at will, by crafts-guilds and such.
• Quests: comprehensive puzzles that involve a wide-range of skills and genuine world development plus earn you real experience and booty. DMs can create adventures for other groups at dmsguild.com.
• Player Age gains a month for every 1-2 hours of game play, to encourage get-togethers. Elves, Færies, and Druids age differently. Age has an effect on Hit-Points.
• Hit-Points now a factor of player level. Players have to think about defensive armor/spells/divine protection, battle and exploration strategies, and such rather than accumulate arbitrary HP, perhaps carry herbal bundles and such.
• Character representation: simple, but configurable wood blocks represent player and character appearance, size, orientation, alignment, class, and race,
• Tier system more solid and complete: Underling (1-5), Hero (6-15), Paragon (16-30), Legendary (31-50), Epic (51-75), and Diety (76+)-- tiers which one can hardly imagine. Game mechanics can be simplified at earlier tiers. Underling rounds are simpler and easier, for example, while Epic could be intense with lots of dice to keep track of.
• Players can specialize or generalize, rolling either d20s or 3d6s for abilities, respectively. Lowest score is generally thrown out as every race has a preset PER score.
• New godroll for each round to develop world detail, attune DM creativity, and player imagination.

Other Changes:

• Sentient objects often seek a relationship with the right adventurer. The gods have to control any attunement issues which are mostly around finding the right alignment connections in all your XP. DMs have to incorporate the fact that the sentience may refuse to participate with the player if they are not aligned right.
• If you contract an infectious disease, you can gain permanent immunity for your lineage, adding to your CON. You may have to fight off some foe, but once done it adds a bit of strength to the realm which carried it.