weasel_fierce
Mongoose
Barbarian as a class is kinda daft, but in any event, its easily solved by the GM asking "so what does your barbarian do ?"
Beyond Professions
- Thread starter Utgardloki
- Start date
Dr. Halflight
Mongoose
Along the post about Keywords, I have a couple of Quick & Simple ideas on how to incorporate "Classes".
Note these are probably not very "RuneQuest".
Let each character pick a "Class". It confers a +20% Bonus on top of a skill, if its applicable (this is up to the player to bring up & the GM to approve, if the GM is iffy, he can allow a +10%).
Another direction, is inspired from GURPS 4E's Wild Cards or Bang Skills.
Basically, you select like 3 skills & bundle them under a Profession which has a base of say Average of 3 Attributes + 20%. All the skills in the Profession have that as their %. When you improve the Profession, you improve all of them. However, to improve them, require 2 successful Improvement rolls.
Doc
Note these are probably not very "RuneQuest".
Let each character pick a "Class". It confers a +20% Bonus on top of a skill, if its applicable (this is up to the player to bring up & the GM to approve, if the GM is iffy, he can allow a +10%).
Another direction, is inspired from GURPS 4E's Wild Cards or Bang Skills.
Basically, you select like 3 skills & bundle them under a Profession which has a base of say Average of 3 Attributes + 20%. All the skills in the Profession have that as their %. When you improve the Profession, you improve all of them. However, to improve them, require 2 successful Improvement rolls.
Doc
Utgardloki
Mongoose
I think the answer is to come up with a sheet defining "concepts" which are labels by which a character can know his place in the world. For example, for Iron Kingdoms you'd have: woodsman, warbard, priest, shaman, druid, antidruid, mercenary, officer, monk, paladin [could be a "paladin" of any deity in this setting], ranger, scoundral, wizard, etc.
Each concept would have instructions on how this fits into the society, and how to make a PC that matches this concept. Players may mix and match concepts without prejudice, except as contradictory (e.g., no Druid/Antidruid combos).
Each concept would have instructions on how this fits into the society, and how to make a PC that matches this concept. Players may mix and match concepts without prejudice, except as contradictory (e.g., no Druid/Antidruid combos).
CharlieMonster
Mongoose
I might be missing the point, but surely there is nothing stopping you being a single profession character. Just because the system gives you the freedom to diversify, by it's nature it also gives you the option not to.
If you continue to develop yourself as a Wizard and learn lots of spells and take all your improvement roles in relevant skills you effectively remain a Wizard and are presumably justfied to say "Hi, Im a Wizard"
Professions and culture are just how you're character fitted amd conformed to his society.
It is a starting point for the character not a straight-jacket, the character can in theory do the what the hell he wants with his life.
A Barbarian black smith might up root himself and joining a wandering band of adventurers (he has become an adventurer- detached himself from his traditional role in his society), he can contiune to study and work metal for the band, or stop and turn to healing or take up the sword.
To sum it up
A profession isn't a class - its just a starting point, if a player wants to keep being his profession he has to find a niche to perform that profession and keep those skills tied to that profession up to date.
If a character is an Inn keepr when he generated his character, if he spends 90% of his time wondering around ruins and the like, he isn't going to be much of a barman.
It is a starting point for the character not a straight-jacket, the character can in theory do the what the hell he wants with his life.
A Barbarian black smith might up root himself and joining a wandering band of adventurers (he has become an adventurer- detached himself from his traditional role in his society), he can contiune to study and work metal for the band, or stop and turn to healing or take up the sword.
To sum it up
A profession isn't a class - its just a starting point, if a player wants to keep being his profession he has to find a niche to perform that profession and keep those skills tied to that profession up to date.
If a character is an Inn keepr when he generated his character, if he spends 90% of his time wondering around ruins and the like, he isn't going to be much of a barman.
Utgardloki
Mongoose
Now I am getting an image of an adventurer who was a Bartender, and who continues to use his Bartending skills wherever remotely possible.
When camped out in the Forgotten Ruins of Rinqarador, he sets up a portable bar and starts pouring drinks for the other adventurers.
When battle starts, he mixes drinks and tells the combatants not to break the chairs.
I'd go on, but there are other things I should be doing with my time...
When camped out in the Forgotten Ruins of Rinqarador, he sets up a portable bar and starts pouring drinks for the other adventurers.
When battle starts, he mixes drinks and tells the combatants not to break the chairs.
I'd go on, but there are other things I should be doing with my time...
Ok bad example,Utgardloki said:
But the jist of what I was tring to say is that roleplaying should define the character not a stereotype.. if the player wants to stick with his old profession be it hunter, mercenary, farmer, or bartender then fine - but they're just titles.
Unless your playing a society based/organised campaign, generally speaking after character generantion the 'profession' label becomes defunct.
weasel_fierce
Mongoose
"broo brew", "aldryami ale" and "mostali martini" has a certain sound to it though..
ninthcouncil
Mongoose
But who'd drink it? Troll drinks are bad enough, but that stuff can give you an extra head! Or Wasting Disease...weasel_fierce said:
Ugh. It's got twigs floating in it.
This module is not specified for your work unit. Please report to Central Processing for correction. Do not stir. :wink:
weasel_fierce
Mongoose
"do not stir" Priceless 
If you wanted the equivalent of Character Classes in RuneQuest, you could use Legendary Abilities to give class-specific skills/abilities. You could also restrict learning of non-class related skills, making them harder to learn/increase (double cost) or just forbid them.
Not Gloranthan, but probably OK for RQ.
But, yes, you can stay in a profession and continue putting your points into profession skills. You don't have to think of it as "something I did before", which is what everyone seemed to be saying previously.
Not Gloranthan, but probably OK for RQ.
But, yes, you can stay in a profession and continue putting your points into profession skills. You don't have to think of it as "something I did before", which is what everyone seemed to be saying previously.
Utgardloki
Mongoose
I've started the work of converting a few of the D&D classes to Runequest: Barbarians, Bards, Clerics, and Druids. I'll post my results soon in another thread once I get them typed up.
(As you can guess, I'm working in alphabetical order.)
For Runequest Iron Kingdoms, I defined a new type of magic: Metapsychic Skills. On the one hand, metapsychic skills are designed to emulate D&D class abilities, but putting this into Runequest makes characters more flexible since new Metaphysic skills can easily be designed, and anybody who can gain the training can benefit from such skills.
Clerics were the easiest: these are simply people who cast divine spells, and divine magic is pretty well spelled out in the Runequest Companion. I decided to make Turn Undead a metaphysic skill. I should probably add Rebuke Infernal to the skill list.
So far Bards have required the most thought. Iron Kingdom bards a different from the bards of a "standard" D&D setting; in IK I made them runecasters who master the Rune of Music. This means I'll have to define the Rune of Music. I also made each of the possible effects of Bardic Music a separate metaphysical skill; it's easy enough to define others, and I'll probably steal the ones from the D&D Virtuoso PrC as well.
I have no intention of restricting abilities to classes, except for incompatible metaphysical skills. For example, I made "Berserk Rage" a skill that emulates the D&D class ability of Rage. But this kind of attitude is very incompatible with the outlook of certain deities, so a character with this skill loses the ability to use it if she does things like: become a worshipper of Cyriss (goddess of mechanical things); become a priest of Menoth or Morrow (lawful gods; merely being a worshipper is not a bar to using Berserk Rage but priests are expected to be more disciplined); join one of the orders of "monks"; learn one of the "paladin" metaphysic skills (one can be a "paladin" of any deity, however). The purpose is not to emulate D&D class restrictions; it is merely to prevent contradictions in a character.
I may go back to the concept of "professions" in that the players be given a budget of skill points to be spent on "profession" skills, no more than 1/3 of these spent on any one skill. This would be to ensure well-enough rounded characters, e.g., a "woodsman" should have enough skills to plausibly survive in the woods. The "profession" skills can be easily enough gleaned from the D&D class skill lists.
(As you can guess, I'm working in alphabetical order.)
For Runequest Iron Kingdoms, I defined a new type of magic: Metapsychic Skills. On the one hand, metapsychic skills are designed to emulate D&D class abilities, but putting this into Runequest makes characters more flexible since new Metaphysic skills can easily be designed, and anybody who can gain the training can benefit from such skills.
Clerics were the easiest: these are simply people who cast divine spells, and divine magic is pretty well spelled out in the Runequest Companion. I decided to make Turn Undead a metaphysic skill. I should probably add Rebuke Infernal to the skill list.
So far Bards have required the most thought. Iron Kingdom bards a different from the bards of a "standard" D&D setting; in IK I made them runecasters who master the Rune of Music. This means I'll have to define the Rune of Music. I also made each of the possible effects of Bardic Music a separate metaphysical skill; it's easy enough to define others, and I'll probably steal the ones from the D&D Virtuoso PrC as well.
I have no intention of restricting abilities to classes, except for incompatible metaphysical skills. For example, I made "Berserk Rage" a skill that emulates the D&D class ability of Rage. But this kind of attitude is very incompatible with the outlook of certain deities, so a character with this skill loses the ability to use it if she does things like: become a worshipper of Cyriss (goddess of mechanical things); become a priest of Menoth or Morrow (lawful gods; merely being a worshipper is not a bar to using Berserk Rage but priests are expected to be more disciplined); join one of the orders of "monks"; learn one of the "paladin" metaphysic skills (one can be a "paladin" of any deity, however). The purpose is not to emulate D&D class restrictions; it is merely to prevent contradictions in a character.
I may go back to the concept of "professions" in that the players be given a budget of skill points to be spent on "profession" skills, no more than 1/3 of these spent on any one skill. This would be to ensure well-enough rounded characters, e.g., a "woodsman" should have enough skills to plausibly survive in the woods. The "profession" skills can be easily enough gleaned from the D&D class skill lists.
Utgardloki said:
Yep, that's what I dislike about character classes and persistent 'concepts' that influence future character development as well. It locks the character onto a particular development track that may have no bearing whatsoever on the situation the character is in, or the actual activities they are engaged in.
RQ character development is interested in what your characters are doing now, not what they used to do.
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