Simple and Complex Characters Together

My choice of classes for Nutshell doesn't really sit right with me. To be honest, if I'm doing a D&D-replacement, I think I'll feel strange offering anything other than the normal D&D set of classes (for some version of "normal D&D set") in the game. And yet, I don't particularly like the D&D set of classes all that much!

At the same time, I was struck by Captain Ric's comment that the game doesn't really need classes at all - it would work just as well with only feats and talents, and no classes at all.

And meanwhile, WotC have been talking a lot about their new modular game, in which it should be possible to run both simple and complex characters together and have it all work - something that has been doubted on the message boards, but which is eminently doable.

And so, despite not actually having gotten it close to finished, I find myself considering the possibilities...

See, the way to build such a system is to develop the most complex version of the characters first, even if you then present the simplest iteration in print. After all, it is in the complex version that you work out all the kinks.

So, the complex version...

First, you divide the mechanical representation of characters into "what they can do" and "the numbers they use to do it". So, if they attack with a sword at +5, the "attack with a sword" is one bit, while the +5 is the other.

Next, package up all the "number bits" into neat little packages (I'll call them feats). You can either break these into roughly equally-sized chunks at a fixed cost, or you can price each individual bonus separately, with different costs. It doesn't really matter.

At the same time, package up all the "what you can do" bits into packages (I'll call them talents). And, again, you can either make the packages roughly equal and at a fixed cost, or not.

For character creation, in the most complex version, you give a PC a budget to spend on feats and a budget to spend on talents, and let them run wild. (It's important that you don't allow them to trade points between the budgets, or else the power-gamers will pick one thing to do and then throw everything else into being the best at it.)

And then, when characters level up they get additional points to spend in each budget. (You'll need to put thresholds on the maximum bonus at each level, and minimum levels at which some talents can be bought, but that's not too tough.)

(That's for the 'levelled' version, of course. For the level-less version, just give them the additional points directly. The various thresholds get increased once they've spent a certain number of points in each area.)

So, that's the complex version. To build the simple version from this, you then start grouping up feats and talents into larger packages. For example, put together "low-light vision" with "proficient with bows" and "dexterity bonus", and you get the "Elf" race package. And so on.

(Similarly, the class packages wouldn't just include some level-1 stuff - they would also spend some or all of the character's "advancement budgets" as well.)

However, the key to this is that when you package up feats and talents in this way, the cost that you pay to buy the package should be less than the total cost of the various components bought separately. So, if "elf" contains 15 points of feats and 15 points of talents, you might charge 10 points of each when bought together.

There are two reasons for this:

1. When you buy a package, chances are it won't be exactly what you want; you'll be getting some stuff you probably wouldn't have chosen if you'd bought it from the menu. So, you get a price-break for that. (Conversely, it is very important that the game not allow the swapping of feats and talents in packages. If you want a modified version, you need to buy from the menu at full price!)
2. If you buy two packages (say race and class) you may well get duplicates. And if you can only benefit from one, then you've 'wasted' some points. So, again, you get a price-break to account for this inefficiency

Of course, once you've started packaging things up, there's no reason you should only do so once. For example, you could:

• Package up seven 'classes': (human) Fighter, (human) Rogue, (human) Wizard, (human) Cleric, Elf (fighter/wizard), Dwarf (fighter), and Halfling (fighter/rogue), spending the entire char-gen and advancement budgets, to get a very simple BD&D-like game.
• Package up seven races and twelve or so classes, spending the entire char-gen and advancement budgets between them, to get an AD&D-like game.
• Package up seven races and thirteen classes, but leave some of the budget behind for additional skills and feats, thus getting a 3e-like game.
• Package up seven races and eight classes, but leave lots of budget available for additional feats and talents, thus getting a 4e-like game

And, once you've done that, characters from all four of these could be used together - along with characters built using the most complex version where they pick from the raw menu of feats and talents!

What I'm Doing With Nutshell

For now, I'm not touching it. I really want to get the various other 'books' underway before I revisit the character book. Ultimately, though, I may well give some serious thought to adopting this model, or one quite like it.