4th Power Project: Playtest Recap & Wealth
4th Power is my attempt to mash-up 4e and d20 Modern into an RPG that I want to play and run campaigns in, leveraging the stuff I like from both, along with other elements that try to fix what annoyed me about both systems.
Well, on Halloween, I ran the first ever playtest. I designed all the characters, constructed a scenario, recruited members of my regular D&D group, and GMed the game.
I am definitely happy to report one thing: the game didn’t combust in on itself…
…but the scenario did end in near TPK, and a total objective failure for the PCs. [Read the rest of this article]
4th Power Project: First Level Characters
Well, I missed my first deadline by not posting feats last week. They ended up being more tricky than I thought. 4e and d20 feats all seem to be more combat-oriented, which was always my complaint with systems like Call of Cthulhu d20. Anyway, I had a hard time coming up with them, and it’s still something that’s going to require some thought on my part.
Tomorrow, though, is the big day: the very first playtest. To prepare, I had to come up with an adventure, character stories, and character sheets. In the process, I had to invent new powers and feats, which added some time. So posted here are 4 of the 5 characters that will be used tomorrow, sans backstories. Then next week, I’ll let you all know how it went. [Read the rest of this article]
4th Power Project: Skills
I’ve got some core classes (which are pending some revisions), some at-will powers, and some other powers. Next step is relatively simple (but not without some thought): skills.
While skills are not trivial in 4e, they play a much greater role in modern games, and have a greater variety. This is not just because of the need for modern skills that wouldn’t exist in D&D settings. It’s also because there is more of an emphasis on using skills, and possessing those skills differentiates characters. Especially in a game where not everyone is adapt in similar areas (i.e. combat) the choice and variety of skills can make a big difference.
My first step was to look at the skills that 4e characters possess and see what should be brought forward. It turns out: almost all of them, since they are a really well put together list of skills. There’s only one that outright I can’t see in a modern game, and that’s Dungeoneering. So that gets tossed. [Read the rest of this article]
4th Power Project: Classes, Part 3 (Other Powers)
The beginnings of some at-will powers were posted last week- not all of them by any means, but I figured it was a start.
Now as I mentioned then, at-will powers should come up fairly often, and be the stand-bys. The other powers are Per Scene (formerly Per Encounter) and Per Session (formerly Per Day.) In 4e, it’s a pretty easy scale: Dailies are better than Encounter are better than At-Wills, at least as far as damage goes. With modern powers, I don’t necessarily see that as being the case. The division is more based on the drama of the power: is this something the characters should be doing every scene (but not every round), or is this something that should only come up maybe once a session? Also unlike their equivalents, you wouldn’t necessarily try and burn through the modern powers as often as possible.
Additionally, I look at the powers as being closer to “spells” as far as interesting effects go. This does add the most challenging part, however: balancing them by level. Since you’re not just evaluating damage, conditions, area, and so forth, you’re trying to adjudicate the relative balance of less easily defined powers. Thus, when looking at these powers, please do keep in mind that they might need to be moved around in levels.
What you need to know: Per Scene and Per Session powers are specific to classes. I may also give them additional “kickers” based on build later, just like their 4e counterparts, but that will come later (hopefully after I have the builds nailed down.) [Read the rest of this article]
The 4th Power Project: Classes, Part 2 (At-Will Powers)
Last week I started in on the core classes, which garnered a lot of discussion. I’ll definitely be going back and revising them soon (they’re already in the works in my design document.)
So here’s what I think of as the next step, or at least a defining portion of the next step: at-wills. At-will powers accomplish a few important things in the game. They serve as the powers you will use the most, and throughout your entire career adventuring. They are the fall backs when you don’t want to use any of your encounter or dailies (expendable resources) and are more all-purpose.
But in 4e, those are also the powers you will be using every round in combat. They’re the go-to. You will probably use one of them at least once per combat. In a Modern game, that’s not necessarily the case. You rarely see the same move done in every scene. [Read the rest of this article]
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