I made a post last week about using the concept of kits for a BX game. And I’ve had some time to think more on it.
My first impression was to do the whole run of subclasses as kits. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then I put pen to paper, looked over some rule books and traveled deep into quagmire that is my brain. While the base classes are pretty standard across the board, the subclasses aren’t. There are many an interpretation as well as my own. So lots of options.
This all doesn’t mean I’m not working on a crunchier way of doing this. But I’ve got the quick ersatz way of doing it right now and like many good things it’s pretty simple.
If you’re running a game that only has the four basics and don’t really feel like adding in more classes. Start by talking to the players and negotiate a little. At first level, the characters would start off as the base class. Let’s face it. Most of the subclasses have pretty much the same abilities as the core classes plus some extra bennies. And after that bit haggling and discussion, the GM and the player should have some idea on what direction the character is headed. At second level, the character is headed down that special path then at third they start getting whatever cool stuff added in.
Now, I do want to make an exception for the so called specialist wizards. You want to be illusionist. Hunt out and learn illusion spells. Necromancer. Same thing. And there’s always spell research.
As far as clerics go, this should be something at first level. Because in my humble opinion, all of the cleric’s abilities derive from their faith. Now they may pick something cool based on divine quests.
So there you more rants and thoughts on another project that I’ve got on the fire. And more specifics are on the way.