Zdanman wrote:smathis wrote:I'll say this - you just made me buy Transilvanian Adventures for 120%. This stuff really sounds badass and expands on DCC weird, gonzo vibe in a meaningful way. I love it. Bring on the options I say.
Also if the Half-Breed is modular my players will love this. I love options within a class - it makes the class each class unique and meaningful. I cannot wait to see the product.
Thanks, Zdanman. I'm hoping people enjoy the game. If you think what you've read expands on DCC's weird vibe, wait until you read the magic. I should post a spell or two in the near sometime. I wouldn't say TA is "gonzo" or, if it is, I'd say it's gonzo in a different way from DCC. Nobody is going to be having their head turned into a chicken head in TA. TA and TG definitely put more focus on the weird. There are gonzo elements. But they are more in-genre with Hammer Horror. I mean, I could see people spoofing on it and having a good time. But the emphasis is more on the players being able to create their own gonzo fun. As opposed to pointing that path out for them.
All the classes are "modular". At 1st level, most classes would be pretty much identical. Much like DCC, two 1st level Valiants would be differentiated by what they were at 0-Level. Their Occupations. As time goes on, players are able to choose more abilities for their characters and change them towards a different sort of Valiant than the other guy. I mean, they're still Valiants. But one might be more focused on combat, another might be focused more on a party leader type of role (with a focus on "healing" similar to what a Warlord might do in 4e) -- while another just continues on the lucky sort of route.
And as they progress, each class is capable of "upgrading" their chosen abilities. Such that, they are more divergent from one another over time. Like wildly so.
While two 1st level Valiants play pretty similarly, at 6th level they'd be completely different in play. That wouldn't be true for 2 Thieves in most versions of D&D.
The DCC approach is to give all the classes everything up front. In TA, it's a little different. There's a base from which all classes build. It's still very much rooted in OD&D. In fact, most of the classes are mechanical variations of the "Fighting Man". But the customizations. Well, I hope they go over well.
The Half-Breed is distinct because part of its customization can be random. And that's pretty awesome, IMO. A Half-Breed is like a box of chocolates...
I'd also like to add that this isn't any sort of 4e-ification. The writeups for almost all the classes in TA are actually shorter than the writeups for the classes in DCC. There's no section on Feats or Powers or anything. This is all done through an understanding of the game's underlying mechanics.
Barring a few rules modifications, most of these classes would be right at home in Swords & Wizardry.