I need alot of help. 3.5e

RobertBenton

I"ve started something rather larger than intended and now find myself in over my head. I've got a homebrew world, homebrew character sheets, and a good sized chunk of homebrew rules. But my players deserve everything I can give them though, right? I've made them custom characters before, but they still feel a little limited and hate feats. We have all the books and everyone spends hours going through the 500+ feats of 3.5e because they want the perfect feat for their character (not their class). They love the world which plays like Avatar:tlab by way of FFXII and Zelda. They love the simplified Char Sheets, and the open-ended rules, but how can I simplify classes and feats? I've been looking at the Skill Tree System from blizzard and the Sphere System from FFX. I want to steer away from flow breakers, and am looking for systems that incorperate skill and ability bonuses. If you have a system that you're working on, or that you perfected that is sort of what I'm looking for I would love to hear from you. Even if I don't use your system your way, I may like one or more ideas. Please help, and if I use even a small part of your system, or even change it, I will give you credit.

RobertBenton

Minor post script: I am looking for a way to get away from classes all-together, and prefer point systems, as do my players. Alot of what I have done is inspired by games I have played, so don't be afraid to point me to somewhere you pulled from. (I've pulled from MTG, Mass Effect, Diablo II, Hellboy, etc.)

JaymesBolton

Well there are a couple things I got that might help you:

1. "Chet's List":http://chet.kindredcircle.org/ which has the most complete list of feats, classes, etc. I have ever found. I use it constantly for any character creation for D&D.

2. "Avatar: Conquest of the Imperial Order":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/avatar_adventures was the featured campaign here on OP this month and uses a D20 system (which is really well made and is based on the seed system) to make benders of the different elements.

3, "Diablo 2 D20":http://www.wizards.com/dnd/main.asp?x=d2/diabloii,3 since you mentioned diablo 2 as a reference you could always "find a free" *cough, ahem cough* pdf online of the diablo 2 D20 system.

Ok now that is it for D20 system. If you do not want to do D20 and convert to point buy system you might want to take a look at the following systems:

Legends of the Five Rings: Roll and Keep d10 system that allows ranks based on the amount of skills and stats you bough with xp. Recomend looking at 1st, 3rd or 4th edition for reference.

(old) World of Darkness: D10 system that has a lot of different expansions (mage, changeling, hunter, etc.) that you could use to flesh out a world.

Warhammer 40k games (Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch): D100 system where you have to roll under your stat percentile to suceed. Uses a similar ranking system to L5R where you use xp to buy talents (feats) and skills and when you have spent enough xp you get to advance to the next rank which has more talents and skills. Uses a class system to determine avaliability of talents and skills.

Palladium Games (Rifts): A modified D20 system that is simple to use (although character creation is a headache) that has rules to convert ANYTHING over to it.

If you choose to pretty much abandon D20 system and make your own system it will be A LOT OF WORK but could prove really interesting and awarding. Would love to see a finished product at some point!

-Jaymes

"Changing History":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/l5r-changing-history

Echo3Bravo

I was in a similar boat, wanting to describe characters but feeling weighed down by system. The solution for me was to switch to True 20. It keeps the basics of 3.5 ect but opens up the game by reducing much of the game to a single die roll. Action goes much faster, and characters can be built as a combination of roles or with custom classes. It also allows for cross genre play similar to what you will see in final fantasy.

If you want more details, toss me a message and I will try and help.

nightstorm

If you want no classes then might I suggest two different systems. First there is Risus, the anything game. VERY simple.
For a little variety, try the storytelling system for the New world of darkness. No classes or levels yet has the feel of 3.5 by having merits (feats) that are not so difficult.

nightstorm

Oh didn't see the post about True 20. That was going to be my suggestion, but you said you didnt want levels and classes.

Baalshamon

If you truly want to get away from classes then check out the following, excellent skill based systems:

"Gurps":http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/
"Corps":http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=1098&it=1 (The best modern RPG I have ever seen but magic and powers tend to flounder under it's hyper-realism.)
"EABA":http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?filters=0_0_0_10030

If Sword and Sorcery is your thing the the original "7th Sea":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Sea_%28role-playing_game%29 is a great one too. Character design is under 20 minutes and you really dont need to modify anything for a truly cinematic adventure. Fast paced and real well done. The later d20 Swashbuckling adventure books still use the original stats as well as d20 stats.

I got away from the D&D Franchise along time ago because the class system in every version has been limitted and in many cases broken to various degrees. The feats system currently in place in so huge it makes every character feel inadequate, thus the reason everyone is running homebrewed rules.

Good Luck
-Steve

"Star Trek Late Night":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/star-trek-late-night

RobertBenton

Thank you guys so much for your help and input! I... I... I totally didn't use any of that. I kept trying, but it was hard to integrate 3.5. Even OWoD was a bit too much... work, I guess. Too much work. My prototype is up and working, and I'm throwing together a storybase to test it. If you're interested it plays like this:

*Characters have a "Class"(looking for a better word) that gets bonuses to things like BAB, Saves, & a/r, but have no set Abilities they inherently earn.

*Abilities have been moved over to the Feat category with certain abilites like a Barbarian's Rage or a Rouge's Sneak Attack being "Feats"(want a better word for that one too) that stack.

*Feats in the new "Feat Pool" have been seperated into three categories: Aggressive, which includes Feats such as Rage or Bullrush. Passive, which has Feats such as Quickdraw or Track. And Chakra, which has more "Metamagic" feel.

*Ability Scores have been seperated into two groups: Inward and Outward. Str, Dex, Con=Inward. Int, Wis, Cha=Outward.

*Characters who choose a "Class" such as a Combatant will have higher Fortitude, and a quicker progession of their BAB with their Ability Column progressing like this: Agressive Feat, Agressive Feat, N/A (bonust to Fort), Inward Ability Point, Feat, N/A, Agressive Feat, Ability Point, etc.

This, I think, will still limit my players from becoming to over powered while still allowing them just about anything. If you have any questions or comments I love hearing from you guys. Also, if anyone can teach me how to make a good looking campaign page, I need some serious help with that one.

Thank you guys so much. Jaymes and Stephen, thank you for the wealth of options available to me. Nightstorm and Echo3Bravo, you have my interest in True20. Any additional information would be fantastic, and thank you both for your help.

twiggyleaf

Hi RobertBenton

Seems like you have come up with just what you wanted! Bravo!


twiggyleaf
"Shimring - The Faces of Divinity":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shimring
(a multiplanar 3.5 D&D campaign)