The title this week is facetious. It really should be "build a different fighter." See, one of the big challenges with Arcana Unearthed is the idea of presenting a complete set of rules. That means filling all the traditional character roles.

To do this, I tried to step back and say, "What kind of characters do people want to play?" Well, there's the skillful guy, there's the guy who uses magic rather than physical force, and there's the big tough guy with a sword. D&D addresses these roles by providing the rogue, the wizard, and the fighter.

As an aside, although I know there are plenty of people who like to play clerics, I've seen that many players consider playing a cleric a "necessary evil," rather than their first choice. I think this is because, while D&D pretty much requires a cleric's presence, it's not one of the basic roles people like to play. (Cleric lovers, please don't send me angry emails! I like clerics! But we all know that cleric lovers are a minority.)

D&D also provides a number of variations on the roles, and even combines some of the roles, giving us bards, paladins, rangers, clerics, and so on. You might say, for example, that a bard is the "skillful guy" mixed with the "magic guy." The cleric is the "magic guy" mixed with the "tough guy." The barbarian is a variation on the "tough guy," and the sorcerer is a variation on the "magic guy."

I know, it sounds like I'm overgeneralizing. That's the point, though. That's where you've got to start.

In Arcana Unearthed, then, it was pretty easy to come up with some classes to fit the role of the "magic guy." As I've written before, while I like the D&D magic system, it's only one way of doing things. But what do I do with the other roles?
Well, when it comes to the "tough guy," I separated the role into parts.

I figured that people who want to play the "tough guy" might actually look at it in a few different ways. The general role, then, could be broken down into smaller, more specific bits. So what I came up with was this:

The Warmain: These extremely tactically minded warriors are interested in the best equipment for the job. They wear the heaviest armor they can get their hands on, and use big, massive weapons that take their foes out quickly. Combat's not pretty, and they do what they need to do to get the job done. They have lots of hit points -- they can take it, and they can dish it out. They get special bonuses for maneuvering in and wearing armor, and special abilities that allow them to make devastating attacks.

The Unfettered: The warmain's equal but opposite, these warriors forgo armor for agility. Their goal is to avoid taking damage altogether. Normally bored with elaborate plans and tactics, they leap into battle and use speed and skill to their advantage. They are swashbucklers -- dashing heroes and rogues who pay just as much attention to style and panache as they do to accomplishing their goal. They gain Armor Class bonuses as they advance in level when they wear Light or no armor. They gain evasion and even the ability to make sneak attacks, because they use their speed and wits in battle rather than just their strength.

The Champion: This is the archetypal hero. Every champion has a cause, and they gain supernatural abilities when defending or forwarding that cause. Every champion is different, however, since their abilities depend in part on their cause. There are champions of life, champions of death, champions of freedom, and so on. Some have far more specific causes, championing a certain race, locale, or even a person. The king's champion, for example, gains abilities in furthering the king's wishes, protecting the king, and so on.

The Totem Warrior: Although they don't cast spells, these characters are very supernatural. Each has a link with an animal spirit that grants him both information and power. They gain animal companions, the ability to speak with animals, and special wilderness abilities. Each totem warrior is different, depending on the totem animal he chooses: bear warriors, wolf warriors, hawk warriors, and so on. Even their Hit Dice, class skills, and other qualities are based on their totem animal. Arguably, the totem warrior is a combination of the "skillful guy" and the "tough guy."

The Oathsworn: It's likely that the oathsworn will be compared to the D&D monk. Both use unarmed combat and gain special abilities that allow them to use their bodies as weapons. In play, however, the oathsworn feels very different. An oathsworn swears to do something, sets a goal for himself, and then does it. And woe to anyone that stands between him and the completion of his goal. Even things like hunger, fatigue, and walls of iron can't stand in their way. They see weapons, armor, and even tools (to an extent) as a crutch. Like the totem warrior, the oathsworn is a combination of the "skillful guy" and the "tough guy."

Next time I'll get into the really weird thing I did with the "skillful guy" role, as well as some of the "magic guys" and the various combinations.

 

DESIGN DIARY PAST ENTRIES

* The Magic Balancing Act -- February 13, 2003
"In Arcana Unearthed I'm introducing a new method of magic item pricing. First, I streamlined the item creation feats..."

* More Magic -- January 23, 2003
"This week, I thought I'd talk more about the new magic system in Arcana Unearthed."

* Magic -- January 17, 2003
"As a designer, magic in Arcana Unearthed posed a huge challenge. I knew that I wanted to ditch the Vancian system...."

* Design Decisions, Part Two -- December 24, 2002
"Here's a bit more discussion of some of the general issues I faced as I began designing Arcana Unearthed...."

* Design Decisions, Part One -- December 19, 2002
"Before jumping into another big area of Arcana Unearthed's design, like classes or the magic system, I thought I'd discuss some of the general issues I faced as a designer starting the book...."

* Arcana Unearthed Races -- December 5, 2002
"I started with the races. While I knew that the game needed humans as a basis, I wanted all the other races to be new. I didn't want to just create dwarf and elf analogs with different names...."