#The Exemplar (WIP) - Levels 1-3 of a new DS class.

32 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

humble sinew
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Hey team, I wanted to take a stab at designing something close to a typical Fighter in other systems.

What makes the Exemplar different in my head is that they are person that trains really hard to be a hero. They are Hawkeye in the Avengers. Technically just a dude, but who has perfected their craft to the point that they can be on the same team as Captain America (Tactician), Hulk (Fury), Thor (Conduit/Censor), and Black Panther (Shadow) without it being jarring.

Some other inspirations were Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli, generic anime character, samurai, roman centurions, basic medieval knight, Robin Hood.

The pdf is missing most of the fancy formatting, because everything is subject to change. Especially flavor text and names of abilities.

I'd love any and all feedback you have on the class as it currently stands!

https://discordapp.com/channels/332362513368875008/1434949978547032207/1435107856725835847

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I also never plan on making any money from this, so the names of some abilities will be very familiar.

still birch
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im a bit confused on the themeing of the class. or maybe, the vibe is just a bit too vague for me to grasp

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perhaps this is in part to do with the limited scope, or the frame of reference

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im curious if you took a look at the other "Martial" classes in the homebrew space and found them lacking in an aspect or two, and what those were

humble sinew
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The theme is "guy is on the team because he's the best at his chosen weapon/thing" I layered on the prophecy bit because it's mild flavor that can be largely ignored, or played into depending on the person. It's easier to ignore the prophecy than it is the fact that you're filled by rage, have formal training to be an assassin-esque character, or are a tactical genius.

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It's meant to play as a damage class, that can tank or debuff as a secondary piece.

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There's also options at Signature, 3-cost, and 5-cost that are "deal big damage" and nothing else. I have a player who shows up slightly more than half the time and is an audience member. They are there because they want to turn their brain off, hang out with friends, and fight monsters. These simplified options allow for him to do the cool thing of BIG DAMAGE, without him feeling like he's not as cool as the other classes.

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When I looked at the other martial/fighter classes in the discord they were often just as complicated if not-more complicated than the core classes and I wanted to make something simpler.

still birch
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if thats the concept i understand the design premise. its not one i agree with, and is tailored to your group, but i understand.

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is the comparison being made to hawkeye? any other media touchstones?

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i guess im just not seeing the vision, maybe this is a skill issue

humble sinew
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Some other references are generic anime character, a samurai, roman legionnaire, Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli from LotR.

still birch
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another thing im also seeing while looking through these abilities is theyre quite similar to abilities or features fulfilled by other classes already. if ur fine with that, thats chill, but just wanted to point it out

humble sinew
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Oh yeah. That was on purpose. A lot of the things I wanted the class to have the option of doing was found spread across many of the other classes.

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I guess the big thing about the class is also their maneuver, Quick Strike. And I think that helps seperate it from the other classes.

still birch
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it sorta enfringes on the class identity and tactical niche of other classes, is moreso my point. if u think thats fine it is what it is, but just wanted to point it out

humble sinew
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I was worried about that when I was "borrowing abilities," so I made basically all of them weaker than the version found elsewhere. But I should probably revisit them.

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The problem I was having was there's only so many conditions to inflict and so if I wanted an attack that slows the target I borrowed the ability from the other class to make sure I wasn't breaking any math.

still birch
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thats the juice for ability design, imo

humble sinew
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That might be my issue. I was more concerned with class design than ability design. I liked the things that the other classes could do, but didn't like that they come packaged separately. The class is a chimera of other classes.

still birch
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i think the thesis of draw steel class design is dont be too afraid of interclass balance

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just keep the math on par

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theres no multiclassing

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go wild

crisp cloak
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Something about prophecies speaks to me, either as subclasses or as a class feature. I don't know if this will help, but the class might benefit from a direction: some weirdness that makes the Exemplar an Exemplar

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It doesn't have to be magic, but maybe you could lean into kits like the Tactician does with Field Arsenal

humble sinew
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I'm also changing the 2nd level feature to augment the Quick Strike maneuver based on the subclass. I think I want to lean into the manuever more.

humble sinew
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The feedback has been super helpful! I've actually stripped the Prophecy away entirely and changed the class introduction text to better reflect the theming of the class.

I do think the idea is cool, but it was muddying what I wanted the class to be.

I've also updated quite a few of the Hunter abilities to make them cooler and more useful. Along with completely changing the 2nd level features to augment the Quick Strike maneuver.