A bit of history: I love D&D as much as the next
nerd. Of the myriad versions availabe, 3.5 is probably my favorite. However, I have two major problems with 3.5, nifty though
some parts of it might be. First, there's a bit of class imbalance between casters and melees. "Oh hey, the wizard has 60
different spells he can cast any round, while my options are basic attack, power attack and trip." Second, there's no "bread
crumb" progression. Aside from new items, character upgrades come only from levels/hit dice, which, while large, are generally
far apart. My friends and I prefer "bread crumb" systems that let you purchase smaller upgrades more frequently. So, nerdy
game designer that I am, I enlisted the aid of a few friends in putting together a "D&D mod."
The synopsis of the campaign is that the players are a new sub-type of demons (like Tanar'ri or Obyriths) that the Abyss
recently spit out. Each of them is a unique individual, and they are setting out to do, well, whatever it is they do. (These
rules could work just as easily with any type of Outsider. Indeed, they could be used with other monster types as well, but
with the default rules most monster HD other than Outsider and Dragon suck, so if you're doing this with Aberrations or something
you might want to bump their HD size/BAB/base saves up some. Or not, it's up to you.)
Due to the level discrepancy that might occur if some players keep buying hit dice while others prefer to buy other attributes
and have less hit dice, it is suggested that the fixed xp amount variant rule from Unearthed Arcana be used with these rules.
A disclaimer as well: Though a few other eyes have glanced over the rules, they have not yet been subject to either intense
scrutiny or rigorous playtesting, so I do not claim they are anywhere near perfect or balanced.
Feats are purchased at 1/10th the cost of a hit die
and follow the same progression. For example your first purchased feat costs 100XP, your second 200 and so on. I realize this
seems rather cheap, as it equates to a feat per level, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, the players
will be "leveling up" using straight hit dice, so won't get all the flashy class features that character class levels get,
and buy those with feats. Second, for simplicity (at least until the system is more fleshed out), I'm asking players to do
as much as possible with feats. For example, if a player wants more saves, I'll point them to Great Fortitude/Iron Will/Lightning
Reflexes, rather than buying those seperately. If they want more hp they can take Toughness. Once the system is more "complete"
and there are more options, allowing players to do those things without feats, then perhaps this cost will be scaled up to
compensate. Additionally, as they have no class levels, the players will not have weapon and armor proficiencies. Some may
prefer to stick with natural weapons and armor as monstrous demons, but others may choose to use items, which will require
taking proficiency feats.
Epic feats follow the same progression as feats, except they start at 2100xp (and the character must be 21st level).
Ability scores start at 1000xp each. Every 4 purchases, the cost goes up by 250. So:
1 1000
2 1000
3 1000
4 1000
5 1250
6 1250
Obviously, with this progression, players aren't expected to start buying extra ability score points until a few levels
in (unless someone really wants that extra point of CON). This is for a few reasons. First of all, they will have
their starting ability scores (and probably a few feats) to carry them early on. Second, the idea with this entire system
is for players to build something you'd find in a Monster Manual. If you look at the abilities for demons, low (1-3 or
so) HD demons have very low ability score modifiers. However, once you get further, high HD monsters have massive ability
score adjustments to help them "keep up" with appropriate level players, as compensation for the fact that players have a
wide array of abilities. Of course, the PC monsters here will also have some shiny tricks, so they wouldn't need quite as
many ability adjustments as an NPC monster of their HD, but some players may want to start buying a few to pad their
arsenal.
Additional skill ranks cost half as much as a feat
(50 XP for your first, 100XP for your second, etc.)
You can purchase caster levels of Sorceror, Wizard,
Druid or Cleric for half the cost of a normal level. Your caster level cannot exceed your Hit Dice. You can have caster levels
of multiple classes. You are only buying the caster levels and gain no other benefits of the class (familiars, turn undead
or animal companions, etc.)
For example, Eldreth Carthex is a demon who wants
to become a master of the arcane. He wants to cast spells without preparation and spends 500 XP to purchase one sorcerer casting
level and an additional 1000XP for the second casting level. However, he wants utility spells as well, but doesn't want to
use up his sorceror spell slots for non-combat spells, so he murders a mortal wizard, takes his spell book and spends 500
XP to get one level of wizard spells in addition to his sorceror spells.
Specific class features will be given an XP cost as
needed based on the lowest level it would be possible to acquire them.
Natural Armor:
+ XP Cost Cumulative Total
1 320 320
2 960 1280
3 1600 2880
4 2240 5120
5 2880 8000
6 3520 11520
These costs were extrapolated from the costs for skin grafts that boost natural armor. If they seem a bit cheap, keep
in mind that the players will not start with armor proficiency, and will likely rely primarily on natural armor.
