#Tarumbar's Doing the Weird Thing (5e14 Class Overhaul)

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chilly laurel
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Not breathing actually is useful, for spells and features like Cloudkill

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It's just more niche than straight-up resistance

placid phoenix
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True true

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I think Warforg have a version with that

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You don’t gain Exhaustion levels from dehydration, malnutrition, or suffocation.

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there's is worded like this

chilly laurel
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Yeah

chilly laurel
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Made some Undead invocations
Been busy with class lol

proud glen
chilly laurel
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Two week course has been rather intense

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But we persevere

proud glen
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One step at a time.

placid phoenix
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I quite like the geist one

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It’s essentially the one with shadows invocation except without having to actually cast invisibility on yourself

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Or more based on the 2014 version

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Either way I enjoy it greatly

chilly laurel
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Woo!

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Also, I'm adding a "so long as a creature doesn't see you" caveat
So you can't just BA Invis mid-combat... unless you're already hidden (yay rogue)

placid phoenix
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Thats a good change to

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It pairs well with rogues

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Though I feel like all stealth kinda is implicitly

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Good work 🙏 😁

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You know Im gonna appreciate it no matter what since you let shadows creep though inch wide spaces 😎

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Very fun for the shadow

proud glen
chilly laurel
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@eternal inlet if you're curious about my Warlock
I could always use feedback!

eternal inlet
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Ooh! ill give it a look!

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dark sign "choose one of the invocations you already know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level."

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Hm, whats the theory behind switching to half-caster progression rather than full progression, but keeping mystic arcanum mostly the same?

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also, no subclass features?

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ah!

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I see, Soul's Desire

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I fw that heavy actually

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making your subclass not what you made a pact with, but what you made a pact for is actually, really cool

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to the point of it making me mad base game warlock isnt like that, because it really helps distinguish it from the sorcerer

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effectively trading off what was in your pact boon for it

chilly laurel
eternal inlet
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Mm

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But yeah, a side effect is that, in terms of spellcasting, you will have a massic power jump at those levels

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going from 3rd levels to 6th levels is a big jump, putting you on par with fullcasters for what their best effect per day is from 10th level onwards

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So, mechanically, it kinda feels a bit almost like you have the first 10 levels being the first 10 levels of a half caster, since extra attack is base kit, and then the last 10 levels are the last 10 levels of a fullcasting class

chilly laurel
eternal inlet
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Hm, interesting take

chilly laurel
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looks at ranger

eternal inlet
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but, a take that immediately does explain a lot of the design

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Oh yeah.

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Though, when you say "Spells arent class features", I presume you mean "Just giving a spell is lazy design, when you could have given a feature" and not, "Gaining access to a spell isnt really equivilent to gaining a feature in power budget"

chilly laurel
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Both
Spells are immensely powerful, but they're a limited resource
"Class features" should provide an alternative benefit/way to play, though Warlock does break that atm because the concept of the class itself is so heavily based on borrowing power from a thing

eternal inlet
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I mean, class features too can be a limited resource. Something like a fighters Indomitable or Second Wind is a limited resource, and theyre still features.

chilly laurel
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Yes, but those are lv1-3 features usually

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Later features are almost entirely passives

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For example, if you look at my Druid
It has base class features at every odd level (except ASI levels)
But they all have to do with specific ritual spells or Wild Shape, because I determined that the class should be able to choose between "I am a pure caster with the most efficient spell list" and "I want to burn through my slots like a madman to Wild Shape more, and better," because Wild Shape is the Druid's most iconic feature, and thus should be a bigger focus of the class

eternal inlet
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You also, might have a lot of complexity in terms of feature variety, isnt necesserily a bad thing, but it is a definite factor. Base game, there are already, 54 invocations? Whereas you have a lot more invocations from the looks of it, especially assuming youll be writing a good bit more in future (I.e., Elementals!)
So, with 16 spells known, + 13 Invocations, + 3 mystic arcanums (Are these counted amongst your spells known?), thats a lot of complexity, being effectively 29-32 choices (not counting cantrips), contrast base game warlock with 24, its going to be amongst the more complex classes in the game

chilly laurel
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Correct, and I will be looking to do some trimming when it's more complete

eternal inlet
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I wonder, how necessary even is, casting?

chilly laurel
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That is also something I'm considering lol

eternal inlet
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Traditional warlock way back in 3.5 didnt have it, after all

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and, any spells you think are necessary could be given through invocations too

chilly laurel
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But for the purposes of my current rewrite, Warlock is currently listed as a half-caster, half-specialist
Where it has half-caster access to spells, but the main focus of the class is on the Invocations as a way to modify the playstyle

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In the same way that Paladin is a half-caster, half martial that has half-caster access to spells, but the main focus of the class is on burning through slots to Smite for more damage

eternal inlet
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hm, in that case, honestly I think it might be better to lean away from the mystic arcanum and bump up its hit die size?

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Since, I think, youre having it at d6 to offset the casting, but the d6 die limits your martial ability enough that it kinda puts it in a sorta, awkward spot?

chilly laurel
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I'm thinking that, too
Making it more of Caster/Martial to justify a d8, in exchange for removing the Mystic Arcana features
I just... need something to replace them

eternal inlet
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I think you absolutely should do that

chilly laurel
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Yes, but with what XD
I don't want to further modify Twisted Offering as a lv13-15 thing, it's in a really good spot as it is

eternal inlet
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I mean, worst case scenario, you can just give a feature thats decent and give it extra uses with level, i.e. the way fighter does with indomitable at 9/13/17

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though, yeah avoiding "limited use per day" stuff and sticking to mostly passives in design is a bit of a rough limit to put on yourself

chilly laurel
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Shockingly, not really

eternal inlet
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Well, I mean in terms of avoiding too much complexity

chilly laurel
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Oh, yeah

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Keeping it simple has definitely been the most interesting thing to remember

eternal inlet
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theres an elagance in filling out 3 or 4 levels with a single feature in terms of how much a player needs to balance

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Yeah

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because remember! A class thats really good, but a player cant keep track of all their stuff, will do worse than one thats middling, but a player can consistently always make use of!

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Remember that the player you write for is always going to have far less experience with your class than you do

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So try to keep that newbie in mind :>

chilly laurel
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Yup yup

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My brewing style is definitely "word vomit, then clean up, then trim" XD

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For Warlock invocations, I am considering getting rid of the lv6 invocations, and just keeping the major tiers at lv1, lv11, and lv17

eternal inlet
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Byeah
IMO, I think if I were to focus on something, itd probably be communicating to a player what they actually want to be doing with this class, since, I think thatd be very helpful. On a first viewing, its not very clear what role you want people to take with it.

I.e.

"I have a d6 hit die, so I should be a backline caster like a wizard!"
vs
"Oh, I have half casting from level 1, so I should midline like an artificer?"
vs
"Oh, Ive got extra attack! So i should be frontlining?"
vs
"Wait, 6th level spells? So Im a fullcaster!"

Which, art and flavor text will definitely help evoke the fantasy later on, but I think if you can find a way to communicate in features, design, and etc exactly what they should be building, then the rest should fall in more easily. If players can go "Ah! Im a half caster that does XYZ! My baseline role in a party is ABC!" It'll help :]

Its one of the tricks the devs did with pact of the blade. The class can have extra attack, but because you have to opt into it, it means you likely look at the class and think about how it plays as a casting class, and look at things like agonizing blast and get an idea for it real quick! (Especially because agonizing blast will be top of the feature list due to alphabeticization!)

chilly laurel
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Considering I got rid of the EB invocations XD
But yeah, I definitely think making it a d8 class, trimming down the invocation trees to ~21 instead of ~28, and finding actual base features for lv11+ will be better

eternal inlet
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Mhm!

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Actually yeah, half casting starting at 1 instead of 2?
If you want to lean into invocations, dropping them down to starting at 1st level, why not make spellcasting start at 2 actually? Itd help people know that the invocations are what theyre supposed to focus on

Same way with rangers/artificer/paladin, the fact they dont immediately get casting means that, when you build your character initially, you wont be thinking about casting at first, its just a power you get later.

Meanwhile with artificer, since its out the gate, youre always thinking of what spells you have.

chilly laurel
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Tbf, being any sort of caster but not getting spells until after 1st just feels all sorts of awful

eternal inlet
eternal inlet
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Paladin and Ranger you dont tend to mind it, because you're a competent, d10 martial class after all. You could feasibly play a paladin / ranger casting very few spells in your day to day

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but absolutely not with a wizard or artificer

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its the matter of "Do they need spells?"

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a ranger and paladin? they can live without them, hence the delay

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so, can your class live without spells?

chilly laurel
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It would be nice to have another martial/specialist to keep Ranger company
And the invocations do cover a lot of combat and utility features

eternal inlet
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Ill be looking forward to seeing that then :]

chilly laurel
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I tried to keep it suitably mild since invocations are a big part of the power budget

eternal inlet
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hm

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i do kinda miss being able to summon a pact weapon

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its, kinda really middling at 2nd level to be honest?

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You get, effectively, a single weapon proficiency, and dont gain any additional features till 6th

calm kettle
eternal inlet
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eldritch curse is also a little bit underpowered too

chilly laurel
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Oh right, I can give it stuff now that I got rid of spells XD

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Huzzah

eternal inlet
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yup!

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eldritch curse being a reaction needs something to trigger it too actually

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reactions and 3.5 immediate actions fill the same role, but work differently, you cant take a reaction till triggered after all

calm kettle
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It just feels easier to throw everything on the page first then cut back and organize from there

chilly laurel
eternal inlet
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oh wait i just smooth brained it

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sorry about that

calm kettle
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I mean you can make a reaction with no specific trigger or have one with zero trigger and it's just something you can eat your reaction for

eternal inlet
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I think you could use some paragraph breaks to help clean up some features

chilly laurel
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Yep yep

eternal inlet
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since it helps make it less wordswordswords

chilly laurel
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But I like swordsordsords!

eternal inlet
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Yeah

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but you want it to be

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WORDS

WORDSWORDSWORDSWORDS

WORDSWORDSWORDS

chilly laurel
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I was bein' silly lol

eternal inlet
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not

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WORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDS
WORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDSWORDS
WORDSWORDSWORDSWORDS

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~w~

chilly laurel
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Swords all day every day

eternal inlet
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true!!!

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also life drinker has weird unintended tech that, since the curse can be cast infinitely, for free, you can just do it on allies to have them as perma teleport targets so long as you shilellegh tech it

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but yeah

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the thing to remember is that, in subclass or class design

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you kinda have to frontload it

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And, while you want to spread the power evenly

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mechanically, your identity should be available from the start

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if I pick, say, Thief rogue, I should feel like a thief from level 3, and not have to wait till 9 to actually start thieving around

chilly laurel
eternal inlet
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though, also, pact of strength feels a bit more like "pact of curses" / "hexblade lite", I dont think much of the features really give much in the way of evoking the feel of "selling your soul for strength", since, you dont actually feel all that much stronger?

chilly laurel
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True
The original intent was to be more gish-y
But also, the features are almost exactly the same as Hexblade

eternal inlet
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though, also

chilly laurel
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People just forget that Hexblade is actually fairly balanced when you get rid of Hexblade Curse

eternal inlet
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theres not really a need for a gish archetype on a class that has extra attack innately

chilly laurel
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Yeah

eternal inlet
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since, the point of gish archetypes is that they well, tend to give you it, or something near enough

chilly laurel
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Which leaves me in need of a new sub orcthink

eternal inlet
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tbh, hexblade is probably one of the most messily designed subclasses in 5e, id avoid using it as your baseline

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I'd say start with this question

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"I sole my soul for strength"

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"what then would be the features that I would wish to recieve in exchange for my soul?"

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If I sold my soul for strength, I want to be stronger, faster, better

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what does it mean to be stronger?

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What desire does strength entail?

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and then repeat that for each of your subclasses

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but also, find a role for each of them

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more than just "Strength, love, beauty, health"

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but also a unique mechanical identity that serves as a strong foundation to build up from

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a mechanical foundation is the core of all good design i think

chilly laurel
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Strength is probably more barb

eternal inlet
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well, true, but it doesnt have to be

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a barbarian is strong, as is a fighter, as is a monk

chilly laurel
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I just mean for mechanics inspiration off the top of my head

eternal inlet
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but what does it mean to be strong? And why would someone want to be strong?

eternal inlet
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whats the feeling you want to evoke in gameplay?

chilly laurel
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As a character, you would say "I wish for the strength to defeat my enemies/to protect my loved ones"

But because this is warlock and not Paladin, your wish gets twisted into something "negative"/evil

So overwhelming strength yadda yadda, but no survival tools - you asked for strength, not durability

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And if I take away the spellcasting, then the subclass gets a lot of wiggle room to add stuff in, because Warlocks usually have the most combat-focused self-buff spells

eternal inlet
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Perfect :]

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So yeah, make me feel like that when I'm reading / building a character of that subclass, and you've got it golden

chilly laurel
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More thonks about what I should do with Warlock
"Eldritch Curse," while ported directly from Hexblade, ultimately feels more like a "Domination" thing than a "Strength" thing
I'm contemplating having the lv10 feature be a further modifier to Twisted Offering, where you can choose to - once per turn - increase your critical threshold/crit range by 1 for every X Hit Die spent (yes, I know ct/cr isn't an official wording in 5e, but that's functionally what it is).

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So, using that as a start, Strength will increase crit range for every X hit die
Domination will increase your Invocation DCs for every X HD
And Knowledge will increase your AC for every X HD
I'm wondering if I should make Knowledge the half-caster sub? thinkingAku

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(Because I hate 1/3rd casters, it's so beyond awful)

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So Strength will be more about melee combat and passive benefits
Domination will be about turning killed enemies into your fuel/pets (like Yorick?)
And Knowledge will be more like the 5e blaster caster with some ritual/spell school focus

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And I also now wonder whether Knowledge should have "when you reach a level in this class that would allow you to learn a Warlock invocation, you can choose to instead learn a spell from the Warlock spell list," so I don't have to worry about making a whole table (I hate making tables in homebrewery LOL)

Which also means you can still grab the invocations you want from the lists (especially the amped-up lv17 ones), so there's still lots of options thinkingAku

chilly laurel
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I don't need to screw with crit rate, that's what Marauder does

civic kestrel
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So, burning hit dice is effectively burning hit points, especially for a melee person. So having the class be heavy on the hit dice and melee means they will be asking for a long rest way sooner

chilly laurel
civic kestrel
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I'm down for them having a class resource "KI/SP" style meowsip

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that's often how I imagine "blood casters" would work best

chilly laurel
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What if the point pool allowed it to "cast" Warlock slots as purely innate spells? At least, for the caster subclass
In addition to being used for the other features

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And I can have more features require this point expenditure

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I don't want to tie any resource to invocations, though
Then it would just be a bad "evil" druid lol

calm kettle
chilly laurel
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Technically would be closer to innate spellcasting

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A chance to be better than Four Elements Monk lol

calm kettle
calm kettle
placid phoenix
chilly laurel
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XD

placid phoenix
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As you said, I could definitely see a caster subclass having that

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The one way to activate my sleeper agent trait is by mentioning resourceless design

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I wake up like the winter soldier

chilly laurel
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I believe it

civic kestrel
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Its always fun making stuff somewhat resourceless but still attrition-able

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what is rogue's attrition? Go long enough and your fighter that's giving you sneak attack dies and you don't have free sneak attack anymore meowsip

chilly laurel
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Rogue is a hilarious offtank, how dare

placid phoenix
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Rogues also kinda work off of a per round resource expenditure

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Which is interesting compared to traditional uses per short or long rest

chilly laurel
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I try to apply it to my HB stuff, but it's funny how many people try to say 5e doesn't have it or doesn't use it well

placid phoenix
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I think that it’s more of a homogeneous decision, rather than one that is completely unexplored

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I mean if every inhuman ability had to be resource dependent

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You’d be able to use darkvision for 1 minute a number is uses per long rest

placid phoenix
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They only have wings for like a minute a day

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So I just kept imagining this Aasimar posing for a camera before his 59 seconds of wings expires

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"Take the picture! Take the picture"

chilly laurel
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I'm sure it's supposed to be spectral
Like a dim halo, and then they become solid when they do the thing

placid phoenix
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Oh I know, I just had that funny thought

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though is the one on the left supposed to be an aasimar

chilly laurel
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I'm going to assume half-aasimar half-orc bc glowing eyes
They just haven't grown into their wings yet

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Imagine they have little cherub wings XD

chilly laurel
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Now I'm actually considering giving the Warlock a pool of "Exaltation Points" (Eldritch Power?) to let you "pick" your invocations on a round-by-round basis
So you can Action attack, do your weapon swipes, then spend X EP to, say, perform a Confounding Ray Attack (if you chose Fiend as your Dark Sign Patron)

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And the Tome (caster) subclass can give you actual spells to spend EP on

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And it would let me put back a lot of the old damage-boosting invocations (Agonizing Blast, Eldritch Smite, etc.)

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At least, I'd feel more comfortable adding them back in that way

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Or
Twisted Offering (3rd level feature) gives you [ChaMod] EP/SR, and you can spend those EP to get the benefits that used to be tied to burning hit die

placid phoenix
placid phoenix
chilly laurel
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'cause that would also determine how I should value each thingy

chilly laurel
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Still in the midst of mathing out Warlock points vs no points, spells vs no spells 😩

chilly laurel
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Putting points makes it too unwieldy? I want to hone in on Invocations as the really important thing thinkingAku

placid phoenix
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I agree honestly

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I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before

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But I always hate points as a term

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Like I get it’s a game

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But it takes me out a little

chilly laurel
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It also necessitates a very different playstyle with features

proud glen
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Yeah points as a resource or term for dnd is kinda weird for me as well.

chilly laurel
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It's fine for a couple classes (Sorc, Paladin)
But yeah, it gets weird lol

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Why I tried using hit dice, but apparently that's verboten

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Ignoring the fact that most DMs probably don't run their parties through the wringer XD

chilly laurel
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Heart of Darkness
Starting at 3rd level, the strength your patron provides you manifests as a pool of eldritch power that replenishes on a short or long rest. That pool has an amount of power equal to Charisma modifier, and you can use that power to push yourself beyond your body's limits.

As a bonus action, expend any amount of power from the pool and choose one of the following benefits, which last for 1 minute or until you fall unconscious:

- You have Advantage on ability checks and saving throws you make using an ability score of your choice. You can choose an additional ability score for each point spent beyond the first.
- Your Warlock spells and Invocations gain a +1 bonus to their damage rolls equal to twice the amount spent.
- Your Warlock spells and Invocations gain a +1 bonus to their attack rolls equal to the amount spent.
- Your Warlock spells and Invocations gain a +1 bonus to their saving throws equal to half the amount spent (rounded up).

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Reads more like a pick-your-own (Paladin's) Channel Divinity, but can be reused like a Cleric's

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Which... works? (for warlock)

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And it gets around "EB Machine Gun" being the #1 build by letting the bonuses apply to your Invocations in general

chilly laurel
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Orrrrr should I just tear this into pieces and give each subclass a different piece?

chilly laurel
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Detour to make a weapon from a webnovel I like:

Sin of Solace

Legendary, Requires attunement
-# Greatsword, Light, Two-Handed, 2d6 slashing

This blade is a whisper of Ariel, the Demon of Dread, who turned a beautiful monster into a queen and gave her a sinister gift of forbidden knowledge. A faint remnant of Ariel's presence lingers on this blade, striking terror in the hearts of all beings.

Dormant
While Sin of Solace is dormant, you gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon as well as the following benefits:

  • You gain a +1 bonus to saving throws you make while afflicted with madness.
  • Whenever you damage a creature with Sin of Solace, that creature must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw or take 2d4 psychic damage, half as much on a success. Whenever a creature fails this saving throw, the DC of the next saving throw it makes against this effect increases by 1, and the psychic damage it takes increases by 2d4.

Awakened
When Sin of Solace reaches an awakened state, you gain the following benefits:

  • The weapon's bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2.
  • You gain a +2 bonus to saving throws you make while afflicted with madness.
  • The psychic damage a creature takes from Sin of Solace becomes d6s instead of d4s. If you have at least 2 types of Indefinite Madness, this damage becomes d8s.

Exalted
When Sin of Solace reaches an awakened state, you gain the following benefits:

  • The weapon's bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +3.
  • You gain a +3 bonus to saving throws you make while afflicted with madness.
  • The psychic damage a creature takes from Sin of Solace becomes d8s instead of d4s. If you have at least 4 types of Indefinite Madness, this damage becomes d10s.
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Sentience.
Sin of Solace is a sentient weapon with an Intelligence of 17, a Wisdom of 10, and a Charisma of 19. It has hearing and tremorsense out to a range of 120 feet.
The weapon can speak, read, and understand Common and Abyssal, and can communicate with its wielder telepathically. Its voice is a distorted echo of its current wielder. While you are attuned to it, Sin of Solace also understands every language you know.

If the wielder is of a good alignment, Sin of Solace is evil; if the wielder is evil, Sin of Solace is good; and if the wielder is neutral, they automatically fail the Intelligence saving throw they make to avoid becoming afflicted with madness by this weapon.

Personality
Sin of Solace is a dark mirror of its wielder: it rejects the bonds they cherish, refuses the ideals they hold dear, and attempts to demoralize and deride them over every little action. It knows only what its wielder knows, and its sole desire is to drive creatures utterly insane.

Cursed.
As a weapon of the Demon of Dread, a creature attuned to Sin of Solace must make a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw whenever they finish a long rest, becoming afflicted with indefinite madness and gaining a new character flaw from the Indefinite Madness table that lasts until cured. Whenever a creature gains a flaw from the Indefinite Madness table, the DC of this curse increases by 1. A Remove Curse spell cast at 5th level or higher can remove a single flaw and reduce the DC by 1, and a Wish spell can remove all madness gained and reset the DC to 15. A creature cannot end attunement to Sin of Solace unless they are targeted by the Remove Curse spell cast at 5th level while they have no madness.

If a creature attuned to Sin of Solace has all possible flaws from the Indefinite Madness table, they die at the start of their next long rest.

fair peak
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One of the few Memories worth adapting from there, fair enough

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Only thing I'm not sure about is the INT save for self/enemies

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Why INT over WIS, might I ask?

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Mostly bc SoS targets the mind?

chilly laurel
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Yes
It very explicitly attacks the mind, not the spirit, soul, Will or anything else

fair peak
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Fair enough

chilly laurel
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Free from classes for a week, maybe I can actually finish Warlock this time

chilly laurel
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Apparently, my creative fever has decided to just end rather abruptly T.T

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I was making such good progress

civic kestrel
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Mood

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Ride the tides, sometimes it goes and sometimes it comes. Better to wait for the waves than try to lasso the ocean

chilly laurel
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I know
It's just annoying when it happens
I got six classes done in a month, and now

civic kestrel
chilly laurel
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Reviving mah thread by posting a thonk I had about mechanics a few years back:

Action Points

While in combat scenarios, the stakes are high, and it's not feasible (nor perfectly intelligent) to stand still and watch as an enemy attacks you or throws a Fireball your way. To remedy the 5e tendency to stand still in fear of incurring opportunity attacks, Action Points are a possible alternative.

To start: everyone has Action Points (AP for short), some more than others. AP, much like a class feature (i.e. Action Surge), are a limited-use resource that are fully recovered after a successful long rest.

Player Character AP
Classes with a d10 or d12 hit have an amount of AP equal to their hit die's maximum value + their Constitution modifier, and once per long rest can forgo regaining any hit points while taking a short rest to instead regain an amount of AP equal to a roll of their hit die (no modifiers). Classes with a d8 hit die have an amount of AP equal to their hit die's maximum value, and regain two AP when they roll a natural 20 on an attack roll or saving throw during combat. Classes with a d6 hit die have an amount of AP equal to half of their proficiency bonus, rounded up (minimum 1), but cannot naturally regain AP except by finishing a long rest. A creature suffering from exhaustion or strife that attempted to regain AP has a penalty to the amount recovered equal to the combined levels of exhaustion and strife (AP recovered cannot be less than 0).

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Enemy AP
Enemies can also have AP, depending on the intended difficulty of an encounter. Minions that are meant to be an average, recurring type of foe have an amount of AP equal to half of their CR rating, rounded up (minimum 1). Elites and other lesser unique enemies (generally ones that don't have a special name, title or story relevance) have an amount of AP equal to their CR rating. Important and named NPCs or other leader-type creatures (such as Alpha Werewolves) all have an amount of AP equal to their CR, and can use a bonus action on their turns to regain an amount of AP equal to half their proficiency bonus (rounded down). Legendary creatures have no AP, as Legendary Actions are generally more useful or impactful than the Special Actions that can be performed with AP; however, such a creature can take any Special Actions without expending a Legendary Action if the DM wishes to increase the difficulty of an encounter.

Special Actions
The list of Special Actions and their AP cost is as follows:

Reposition (1 AP): A creature that has unused movement can spend 1 AP to move without incurring attacks of opportunity when it's not their turn. If the creature has no unused movement, it cannot take the Reposition Special Action.

Intercept (2 AP): A creature can make an attack of opportunity against a creature that has taken the Intercept Special Action.

Analyze (2 AP): A creature can make a Perception check to find out what the target is doing, whether that is targeting an ally, casting a Fireball, or throwing an explosive. If the target does not take the Obfuscate Special Action, the DC is equal to the target's passive Sleight of Hand.

Obfuscate (1 AP): A creature can make a Sleight of Hand check in response to another creature's Analyze.

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Interrupt (3 AP): A creature within 5 feet of an allied creature can use the Interrupt Special Action to step into its space when that ally would take damage or a negative effect that targets only them (not an area), causing the Interrupting creature to take the damage/effect instead.

Player characters with multiple classes follow the AP rules of the hit die category they have the most levels in (6 barbarian/8 artificer has 8 AP and only regains AP on nat 20s or after a long rest).

A creature can only use one Special Action at a time, and Special Actions can only be used once per turn.

civic kestrel
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Question, have you played Pathfinder (either one)?

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Alternatively, do you enjoy AP based video games, like XCom, Divinity Original Sin, etc.

chilly laurel
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Never played any of them, heard things about them

chilly laurel
civic kestrel
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One of Pathfinder's big things is their AP system

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everyone's got 3 actions, everything you do takes 1-3 actions

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Instead of certain PCs getting more actions, they get more "efficient" variants of existing actions. Like, for 1 AP you can attack, or for the martial PC they can get a feature that lets them attack 3x for 2 AP