Class Archetypes

A dozen or so archetypes of fighter type character as a skills base to start play are listed here.

Each archetype spends about 30points unless specialized. Each skill costs 3points unless noted.

This does not include the costs of other skills, hp, mp, spells or technique advances such as accuracy deflection or damage increases.

About 25-30 points equate to a level in level progression style engines but that assumes your hp skills and ability all increase evenly with that level.

How points are spent and how skills are used is much more important than how many points you have amassed. These are all powerful builds for first level fighter class characters.

Fighter Archetypes

Swordsman Classic

shield sword armor zoning

Counterstrike doubletap dash rush cover  dodge slayer

The Duelist 29bp

R-Increases8 goadattack disarm counterstrike acrobatics acrobaticstrike. Reverseattack. Surestrike

Shield and spear. Fighter

Shield spear armor counterstrike block

Reverseoff. RushAtt weaponthrow push doubletap

Two axes in hand

Axe shortaxe juke dodge wideswing shieldbreak Offhandweapon weaponthrow Offhanddef. Rushatt. lockedcombat

Great sword wielder

greatsword armor truestrike blindcombat cover weapon-break rushatt offhanddef. zoning

Knight and steed

Horseriding mountedCom spear armor shield block true-strike disarm  armor-break. Sentinel

The Swashbuckler

Juke dodge rush sprint shield trip disarm sword acrobatics acrobatic-strike.

The Archer

Bow dagger stealth concealment blindshot trueshot countershot snipespot slayer catch

The Ranger of wilds

Terrain-hiking  survivalskills swim climb stealth tracking sword bow blindsenses horseriding mounted-combat

The Houndsmaster.

Persuasion animal handling-animal training- beastlanguage staffweapon. Medic. Cover

Simple WarMonger types 32bp

Hammer dmg +2 acc+2 def +2

Specialist: the Battlemage. 26bp

magecraft8 sword dodge dash truestrike juke cower

Specialist: the Dual swordsman 28bp

DualWeapon8 sword offhanddef block offhand weapon SPRIncreases8

Specialist: Witch Hunter 30bp

Axe, shield, javelin, dispel themed magecraft

Dispel3 range5 duration1min @10bp

Specialist: Techno Mechrider 37bp

Magecraft8 horseriding  mechriding6  magitechstudies pistolgrip6 repair machining6 techrepair9

Magitech studies are a type of arcana skill

It is required to learn pistol grip weaponry just as repair is required to learn the specialized skill -machining.

Machining is required to learn tech repair. Repair costs three, machining twice that at six and tech repair triples the standard cost at nine points.

3+6+9=18 points to learn tech repair. 18pt is a common human achievement of experience over a lifetime. These are your level zero characters. Half the points easily of a lv1 or 2Pc.

This equates to 1Xp every 3yr. An active 24yr old should have about 8bp. Enough to competently choose one or two skills to base a profession on if they haven’t spent time building Hp instead.

I like to start players off at fifty Xp to give them the versatility to build an interesting character or a hundred or so points for strong and synergetic power players. To start players at lv zero I let them spend six to nine points in character creation and generously add to that through their formative experiences in adventuring. By session four they should be around twenty five Bp having gained five or six through adventuring and role playing awards each game.

Eight is a really high number gained per player per session but is not unheard of. if players know what roleplaying awards are available they could play into them to gain fast points as well as simply overcoming every encounter or engagement they come to. Sometimes they play hard, but I just love when players are looking for more opportunity to role play.

The twenty points that are leftover from a fifty point spread with these archetypes could be spent easily on one or two good spells and or few spare Hp.

The average npc has about 12Xp and 15Hp, the average boss has spent 200-250Xp with about 100 spent on Hp. The rest goes into stat increases, combat and magic skills.

Rogue Types-

Twin daggers       

Knife offhanddef  backstab hidden blindfight knifethrow ambush block offhandoff dash

'''Rope weaver. '''

Climb acrobatics acrobaticstrike ambush ropetrick blindsense covertracks knottying tightrope arrowcatcher

Invisible stalker  

Stealth dash ambush backstab covertracks tracking juke blindstrike doubletap conceal

Shadow sniper.

Longshot sureshot blindshot covertracks stealth conceal backstab dash snipespot countershot

Widow maker  

backstab sudden hidden misleading redirect truestroke doubletap disarm stealth conceal

Pickpocket.

catch presto stealth conceal falseintent surprisingstrike misleadstrike lockpick suddenattack juke

Trickster

Presto covertracks falseintent feintattack conceal animalhandling lockpick juke catch redirectattack

Scout

Dash run stealth conceal survival falseintent allterrain allweather tracking covertracks

Detective

Tracking presto conceal reverse surprise hidden run horseriding snipespot juke

Monk

Run dash jump climb martial-melee

Spradvance juke reverse blindfight acrobatics

Hermit recluse

Stealth conceal survival construction-craft itemcraft juke false-intent animal-handling tracking ambush

Demolition expert

ArchitectureLore3 miningcraft3 structurebuilding3 warhammer3, toolcrafting3, Conceal3, stealth3, dash3, climb3, leap3

A character is defined more by his skills than his armor and weapons.

Characters do not gain traditional levels but instead gain ability and capabilities. Blend the skills you’ve gained and act out amazing feats.

Proficiency grants a professional level of skill and ability under pressure.

If you’ve spent 3xp on a skill, you could probably do that thing for a living or even attempt it while engaged in active combat.

A player who starts a character with 40bp may gain another 60Xp over ten sessions of a campaign.

That’s the equivalent of growing from level two to four or five, except each time you spend points between sessions your rewards aren’t pre determined by class or archetype.

Get what you want to build your character up with. Just beware in choosing magecraft.

Spells are difficult to write and often expensive to learn and even to cast.

Magecraft is a general reference term. In game this may be a natural magical talent, special martial training or potion making. As long as the theme in game is consistent with the naming of the skill, then it’s ok to rename and re-skin magecraft to fit the character being played.

Spellcaster types

And a few samples

* Instead of giving spells to characters as rewards I prefer to give stipulations. This represents the pages of a spell book and the collection of stipulations for writing spells later can be as much or greater a reward than a magical item.

“Would you prefer a rod of lightning with three uses or the stipulations:

Elemental lightning

Range 1yd 2yd 3yd 4yd 5yd 6yd 7yd

Damage 1x 2x 3x 4x 5x

Target single

''So... ... ...?”''

That depends on which of these stipulations you already have in your Spell book!

I don’t require a  spellbook for magic users but any player who chooses one as a themed accent for their wizard can bet I’m dropping spell stipulations like special items. Whether as whole spells or just a scroll with magical notes, I tend to limit stipulations available to new or low level players and characters. Access to the entire magical weave shouldn’t be so easy.

Magicuser archetypes

Arcane Purist- focuses on simple low cost options

Verbal somatic material little else

Elemental- themes and tailors spells  to the elements for a discount

Range area damage target duration element

Trickster- skills and techniques magically

Persuasive illusions

Soul bond - spends points readily

SoulThunder multicast 2x6 elemental lightning hp and Hp cost

Healer- restorative

Restore target hp

Survivor- restore oneself first

Restore mp req.hpdamage target range damage mpeffect

Spellsword- fighter magic user

No somatic, no material, no problem

Enchanter- items potions charms,

durations, durations, durations

Enhancer- boosts buffs

Statraise duration target

Skillgain skillenhance skillmastery duration target

Summoner- summon beasts spirits monsters men robots etc

Hp duration handlingskill exchangeactions

Techmage- magitech and magical artifacts

Making constructs as a summoner, recharging ancient artifacts that can no longer be built. Summoned tech takes time and materials to cast, as if building from parts. It must have hp, duration, weight, and may possess skills or carry abilities. Think three days and offerings of wood iron and rubber to summon a small gyrocopter with an arm that is equivalent to summoning a crow familiar. All the while the familiar is present, the casting Mp cost remains consumed- decreasing the owners total Mp.

Countercaster

Dispel copy and counter spell and type resistance buffs

Wild shaper- form shift spells and spells that require specific shifted forms

Goblin Warcaster

Lizardfolk hunter

Gnoll captain

Skeleton wizard

Casting spells means writing spells -means doing math. In classic dnd terms, consider the wording of a wish spell. All spells are cast this way. Without spell levels, they are payed for with points. Bonus points are payed per line or stipulation of a spell to be learned. Once spent the spell is known as a skill proficiency would be. Any known spell is cast spending recoverable magic points or mp. Write the spell you want to cast... then purchase it with Xp and cast it with mp.

When the players or the narrator aren’t up to the math and matching of spellcraft, I just include magical items wands and weapons so that only approved spells enter the game.