I am a big proponent of the idea that the class doesn't make the character. In Dungeons and Dragons and the like, one very often picks a class, then builds the character concept around the class. I prefer the opposite approach: pick a character concept, then come up with classes to fit that concept. Because of this, the word "class" may not be the best one to describe what I mean. Perhaps "ability set" would work better. But for now I'm sticking with the term "class," because it makes things familiar to those who know D&D.
This is my first pass at creating a set of character classes for this game. Because it's the first pass, there are probably going to be character concepts that don't fit into these classes. I am open to suggestions. If you have a character idea that doesn't fit well, please, talk to me about it. I want there to be more than three classes.
We will be following the same basic tables that are in the 3rd edition D&D Player's Handbook in terms of level advancement. In case you don't have that on hand, they are:
| Character Level |
XP | Class Skill Max Ranks |
Feats | Ability Increases |
Base Save Bonus |
High Attack Bonus |
Medium Attack Bonus |
Low Attack Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 4 | 1st, 2nd | - | +0/+2 | +1 | +0 | +0 |
| 2 | 1,000 | 5 | - | - | +0/+3 | +2 | +1 | +1 |
| 3 | 3,000 | 6 | 3rd | - | +1/+3 | +3 | +2 | +1 |
| 4 | 6,000 | 7 | - | 1st | +1/+4 | +4 | +3 | +2 |
| 5 | 10,000 | 8 | - | - | +1/+4 | +5 | +3 | +2 |
| 6 | 15,000 | 9 | 4th | - | +2/+5 | +6/+1 | +4 | +3 |
| 7 | 21,000 | 10 | - | - | +2/+5 | +7/+2 | +5 | +3 |
| 8 | 28,000 | 11 | - | 2nd | +2/+6 | +8/+3 | +6/+1 | +4 |
| 9 | 36,000 | 12 | 5th | - | +3/+6 | +9/+4 | +6/+1 | +4 |
| 10 | 45,000 | 13 | - | - | +3/+7 | +10/+5 | +7/+2 | +5 |
| 11 | 55,000 | 14 | - | - | +3/+7 | +11/+6/+1 | +8/+3 | +5 |
| 12 | 66,000 | 15 | 6th | 3rd | +4/+8 | +12/+7/+2 | +9/+4 | +6/+1 |
... and that's when I got tired of typing these in. A few of these need a bit of explanation -- there are two numbers for base save bonuses because one of them is the "good" save and the other is the "not so good" save. Your character class will tell you which save (Fortitude, Reflex or Will) gets the "good" number and which two get the "not so good" number. Also, there are the base attack bonuses; the description of the class will tell you whether that class gets the High, Medium or Low bonus. (Yes, we do have combat rules -- this is a game, not just an exercise in collaborative storytelling, and games have rules, especially when we're simulating something that has fast, uncertain action that depends on factors that can improve over time.) When there is more than one number in the Base Attack Bonus column, that means that you are capable of launching more than one attack in a round, although this can only happen if you choose the Full Attack action for that round (which basically means you can't do much other than just attacking).
There is no such thing as a class skill or a cross-class skill; I consider that an unnecessary complication, especially in a world in which education is so accessible that anyone can learn more or less anything. Skill ranks are bought with skill points on a one-for-one basis. There will still have to be some storywise justification for acquiring ranks in any given skill. If you haven't touched the controls of a ship (or a simulator) since the last time you gained a level, you aren't getting any ranks in Pilot.
As with D&D, you get 4 levels' worth of skill points at first level, and the number of skill points you get at each level is affected by your Intelligence modifier.
Characters of every class have 8 hit points, plus or minus their Constitution modifiers, and that number of hit points does not increase with level. Being hit by a laser blast is just as deadly to a seasoned veteran as it is to a raw recruit. You are not playing an epic hero of legend. You are playing a regular person, although a person in a futuristic universe. Seasoned veterans, however, may know the value of either wearing some kind of concealed body armor or simply staying away from laser blasts.
The usual rules will apply to taking levels in more than one class:
There are no experience point penalties for having uneven levels in different classes; that's just stupid.
There are many military organizations you could be part of. Most planets have military forces; some have more than one, especially if there are several nations on the same planet. There are also police forces, militias and paramilitary forces to consider. You can also be part of the Federation Army, Navy or Marines. It is also quite possible to make a living as a mercenary inside or outside of the Federation.
Of course, the technological level of the organization you're soldiering in is going to affect the sort of weaponry you'll be proficient with.
The big advantage of taking levels in Military is the combat feats: you get one every second level. The attack bonuses aren't bad either.
This is a versatile class directly stolen from D&D on the rationale that there will always be rogues. What I had in mind here were the professions of detective, spy and scout, although criminal is also an option.
Private detective agencies in the Federation range from one-person outfits to giant multi-planetary corporations with thousands of agents. There are a lot of them; one could easily make one up with just about any parameters desired, and I'd be glad to help out. Police detective work can also be an option -- most planets have police forces of one kind or another, and there are multiple jurisdictions, from the town and city level on up to the Federation Police.
There are many intelligence organizations one could work for: most planetary governments have at least one, and of course some planets have multiple nations that spy on each other. Corporations, large and small, are also known to engage in espionage. Then, of course, there are Federation Intelligence, Space Scout Intelligence, Psychology Service Intelligence, and so forth. Other Federation agencies have been known to employ agents on an "unofficial" basis depending on the situation.
Although it is a branch of the Federation, the Scout Service does not train its personnel for combat per se, although there is some combat training; their goal is to train people to be able to think on their feet and handle themselves in a variety of situations, which is certainly what they will meet in the line of duty, from complex piloting tasks to negotiations with aliens whose languages are only sketchily known.
If you are a criminal, chances are that you are a criminal who has been caught and put through Rehabilitation, a process that involves the Psychology Service (there they are again) messing with your head and removing antisocial tendencies while leaving all knowledge, skills and abilities intact. You'd still be able to crack safes, for example, but you'd be more likely to go into locksmithing than burglary. Your former life seems like a dream, or as if it happened to someone else. From here, though, you can get employment in any area, meaning that, among other things, you could continue gaining levels in Rogue by pursuing one of the other Rogue-type professions above. Ex-con turned cop, for example.
The big advantage of taking levels in Rogue is the skill points. You get 8 per level, and if your first level is in Rogue you get a bunch to start with. This makes the Rogue the most customizable of the classes; rarely are two Rogues alike.
There are basically two ways to gain a level in Psi: to train oneself, and to be trained by others. One must first, of course, realize that one has latent psi potential before any training at all can commence. Training oneself takes a long time and usually involves making various mistakes that may be observed by those around you during the entire time involved -- a self-trained psi will probably be older than otherwise, and might well be a loner. Being trained by others is faster, especially if those others are able to use Telehypnosis to organize your mental structure, but there may be a price: they may install compulsions in your mind that you will be unaware of but will act upon anyway. If you are trained by the Psychology Service, your compulsions may be relatively benign -- act only for the good of civilization as a whole, etc. But if you are trained by an unscrupulous psi or group of psis, that is an entirely different matter; your compulsions will be in line with their agenda, whatever it is.
The big advantage in taking levels in Psi is obviously the psi powers, which make the game weird and interesting. For each level in Psi you can choose either a psi-related feat or an increase in level in one of your psi Fields.
When you first take a level in Psi, you get three levels to spend among the 18 psi Fields (see the document on psi abilities). You may put all three into the same Field if you wish, or put two into one Field and one in another, or one into each of three Fields. The only limitation at this point is that only one of the Fields you choose may be a fundamental Field (in other words, you can choose only one of Psi-Sensitivity, Telepathy and ESP initially). Nothing forces you to pick one of the fundamental Fields initially, although if you do, it more easily opens a wider range of choices for later advancement.