[AD&D] Do You DM or Play with Flair?

Tequila Sunrise · July 20, 2017, 09:49:56 PM

I've been hankering for a homebrew campaign, and I've got a few ideas to add a new spin on the old classics. Gygax and Arneson put campaign-inspired flair into many classes as they appeared, and I think it'd be fun if every class had a bit of flair. Potential rules details which I may have overlooked aside — I can always make a ruling as questions come up — what do you think of my campaign-inspired ideas? Would you want to play in this campaign? If you ever DM, have you ever done anything like this?

The Bard

Spoiler

Bards are traveling minstrels and storytellers, transmitters of news, national history, and the cultural touchstones of legend and myth. As such, bards play an integral role in the fabric of their culture and society, and are welcomed as honored guests by all thanes, chieftains, chiefs, and kings. However, the life of a bard has its downsides — all bards take an oath to selflessly reject all titles and lands which they might otherwise be granted, and the bard's particular traveling lifestyle requires dedication to one's country. As such, a bard must be of Lawful alignment, and is furthermore barred from all Evil alignments. A bard who becomes Evil or non-Lawful can no long advance in bard levels. A renewal of her oath, a voluntary tax to her king of 500 gp, and a return to the Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good alignments allows a character to continue gaining bard levels.

The Cleric

Spoiler

Clerics are the ministers of communities, and each cleric is a messenger and vessel of all gods. Some clerics favor one god over others, but no cleric is foolish enough to exclude any god of recognized importance from his prayers and invocations, no matter how much he may find a particular god distasteful. As such, a cleric must be of Lawful alignment, and a cleric who becomes non-Lawful loses all cleric class features and spells. A return to any Lawful alignment and an atonement spell is sufficient to return these features and spells.

The Druid

Spoiler

Druids take an oath to protect not just their own kin, not just their own race, not just sentient life — but even the wild beasts and untamed foliage of nature. This oath, taken in the presence of the druidic order and the great nature spirits themselves, is a formalization of the highest form of altruism — a consideration of all actions within the context of all life, undistracted by the ideologies of Law or Chaos. As such, a druid must be of Neutral Good alignment, must not knowingly associate with Evil characters, and must never participate is the wholesale destruction of a plant or beast species. A druid who ceases to be Neutral Good or who violates her oath loses all of her druid class features. If her trespass was unintentional or coerced, a daily sacrifice of her own blood and a return to all requirements is sufficient to return her class features for 24 hours. This sacrifice reduces her hit points by one-tenth, and must be continued for one month before she permanently regains her class features.

The Fighter

Spoiler

Fighters are masters of battle, with expertise and resilience beyond that of other mortals, achieved through an utter and complete dedication to their art. This focus allows no distractions from ideological extremes or other arts. As such, a fighter must be of True Neutral alignment. A fighter who strays from True Neutrality loses all class features, and all benefits gained via his fighter levels. A return to True Neutrality is sufficient to regain these features and benefits. Furthermore, a non-fighter cannot gain fighter levels, and a fighter who gains a non-fighter level can never again gain fighter levels.

The Paladin

Spoiler

Paladins are paragons of honor and virtue, and must be Lawful Good as per D&D tradition.

The Ranger

Spoiler

Rangers form the military arm of the druidic order, and as such must maintain a universal concern for life, much like druids. Rangers are secondary servants of nature and are thus not required to take the druidic oath though, and are allowed to diffuse their concern with life with secondary ideologies. As such, a ranger can be of any Good alignment. A ranger who ceases to be Good loses all of his ranger class features. If his departure from Good was unintentional or coerced, a daily sacrifice of his own blood and a return to any Good alignment is sufficient to return his class features for 24 hours. This sacrifice reduces his hit points by one-tenth, and must be continued for one month before he permanently regains his class features.

The Thief

Spoiler

Thieves, while not all ruthless scoundrels as a rule, do practice a diverse skill set which violates the norms of honor and sincerity in favor of, at best, guile and dirty fighting. As such, a thief is barred from all Lawful alignments. A rogue who becomes lawful loses all class features, until and if she returns to a non-Lawful alignment.

The Wizard

Spoiler

Wizards must possess the utmost discipline and dedication to their craft in order to understand and master the arcane forces of magic. As such, a wizard must of Lawful Neutral alignment and must be ever-dedicated to her studies. As a result, a wizard must find or research a new spell at each level before she can advance to the next wizard level. Furthermore, a wizard who ceases to be Lawful Neutral or who takes a level in another class can never again gain another wizard level.

Tequila Sunrise · July 21, 2017, 12:42:32 PM

What, nobody's going to tell me that I'm a shit-wit wanker and that my ideas are a pile of SJW-addled forge-feces?

I am disappointed, rpgsite, supremely disappointed.

Willie the Duck · July 21, 2017, 12:50:40 PM

Quote from: Tequila Sunrise;977134What, nobody's going to tell me that I'm a shit-wit wanker and that my ideas are a pile of SJW-addled forge-feces?

I am disappointed, rpgsite, supremely disappointed.

You want to put campaign-specific flavor text on your classes in a homebrew (mostly amounting to alignment restrictions)? Why would anyone have a strong opinion? This stuff is... not particularly different than the same kind of restrictions that 1e AD&D has. It's not storygaming Forge-whatever or socially justice-y. I don't think anyone cares.

Next up on the nightly news, Wheaties changes their cereal box color from orange to yellow. TheRPGsite is similarly uninterested.

Madprofessor · July 21, 2017, 04:18:26 PM

Quote from: Willie the Duck;977136You want to put campaign-specific flavor text on your classes in a homebrew (mostly amounting to alignment restrictions)? Why would anyone have a strong opinion? This stuff is... not particularly different than the same kind of restrictions that 1e AD&D has. It's not storygaming Forge-whatever or socially justice-y. I don't think anyone cares.

Next up on the nightly news, Wheaties changes their cereal box color from orange to yellow. TheRPGsite is similarly uninterested.

Yup, nothing out of the ordinary or even all that interesting. Looks like he defined his classes for his setting. Cool beans. Have fun.

K Peterson · July 21, 2017, 04:58:40 PM

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1163[/ATTACH]

Tequila Sunrise · July 22, 2017, 01:50:16 PM

Quote from: K Peterson;977192[ATTACH=CONFIG]1163[/ATTACH]

lol, I've got to be more careful with my nouns.

Gronan of Simmerya · July 22, 2017, 02:40:46 PM

Quote from: K Peterson;977192[ATTACH=CONFIG]1163[/ATTACH]

Flawless victory.

Shawn Driscoll · July 23, 2017, 04:23:47 AM

Quote from: Tequila Sunrise;977134What, nobody's going to tell me that I'm a shit-wit wanker and that my ideas are a pile of SJW-addled forge-feces?

I am disappointed, rpgsite, supremely disappointed.

TL;DR

Btw, do 93% of Blacks in the U.S. still vote only Democrat? Or has their class been re-written?

Spike · July 23, 2017, 09:43:28 AM

Goddamnit! Scooped! Sigh.

Dumarest · July 24, 2017, 10:18:26 PM

You're a shit-wit wanker and your ideas are a pile of SJW-addled Forge-feces.

Black Vulmea · July 24, 2017, 10:39:47 PM

Quote from: Dumarest;977970You're a shit-wit wanker and your ideas are a pile of SJW-addled Forge-feces.

This.

More seriously, 'every Fighter is . . .,' 'every Wizard is . . .,' &c is a shiv to the kidney of player creativity and smacks of a referee who is intent on imposing Her Grand Vision^{Reg US Pat Off} on the players and doesn't want their messy ideas of what their characters could or should be sullying the campaign.

Dumarest · July 24, 2017, 10:45:35 PM

Quote from: Black Vulmea;977974This.

More seriously, 'every Fighter is . . .,' 'every Wizard is . . .,' &c is a shiv to the kidney of player creativity and smacks of a referee who is intent on imposing Her Grand Vision^{Reg US Pat Off} on the players and doesn't want their messy ideas of what their characters could or should be sullying the campaign.

Well, I was being facetious, but yes, I personally am not a fan of being told what my character is. Give me whatever attributes and abilities you like, I'll roll with that, but let me play the character however I see fit. A friend and I once got roped into a game where nearly every move we made, the Dungeon Master told us, "Your character wouldn't do that because..."

I'm not sure the OP intended his ideas to mean everybody just must be such a way, am I wrong? Can no bard accept a title and go against the grain? Maybe if it were "in general, bards are like so, but yours may be different, although the bard guild will blackball him..."

Kyle Aaron · July 24, 2017, 10:56:49 PM

I dunno, like others have said, seems like stuff players should be coming up with during play, not the DM before play.

Just let them roll 3d6 down the line and see what happens. I mean, why get all thespy anyway? They don't even need a name until they survive the first combat encounter.

Black Vulmea · July 24, 2017, 11:01:41 PM

Quote from: Dumarest;977978I'm not sure the OP intended his ideas to mean everybody just must be such a way, am I wrong?

'All fighters are this alignment,' 'all wizards are that alignment,' 'no bards yadda-yadda' - I'm just taking the OP at his word.

Elfdart · July 24, 2017, 11:37:55 PM

Quote from: Black Vulmea;977974This.

More seriously, 'every Fighter is . . .,' 'every Wizard is . . .,' &c is a shiv to the kidney of player creativity and smacks of a referee who is intent on imposing Her Grand Vision^{Reg US Pat Off} on the players and doesn't want their messy ideas of what their characters could or should be sullying the campaign.

Control freak DMs are always assholes and are seldom fun to play with. I see little point in playing in a campaign where I have no say in how I play my own character.