Thursday, June 4, 2020

GLOG/Mountain: Fighters and Rogues

So, we know ordinary PCs can't be a Fighter or a Rogue on the Mountain, because all of those people are 1) less interesting than Paladins and Witches and 2) probably busy getting rich back in the Civilized Lands.

But what if somebody really wants to play one? What if the party improves the economy and success of one of the Cities on the Mountain to the point where those people start to show up? What if you want an NPC that is good at fighting or stealing and isn't a Paladin, Gutter Knight, or Witch (true or false)?

Well, I guess that means I have to write a Fighter and Rogue class on a similar (high) power level to the other classes.

I also wanted to try adding resource pools kind of like a Wizard's MD to the other 'core' classes. We'll see how that went. I wanted Fighters to use Coins (Blood Money), but couldn't figure out a way to do it good, so they have Violence Dice instead. So it goes, on the Mountain.

GAMBLER (Class: Rogue)

This is a Rogue. Not a Thief, that's different. 

sort of like this, but a hobgoblin

or like this, but an orc

You will need: A deck of standard playing cards. Take the jokers out, but keep them around. Aces count as 1 or 11 depending on which is most advantageous to you, face cards count as 10.

If you have the opportunity to cheat, do it. If the GM catches you cheating, though...
  • your ability has no effect
  • you lose all the cards in your hand, "up your sleeve", and they're allowed to check under your character sheet and make you shake out your actual pockets and sleeves and take all those cards too
  • you suffer a Complication (if you're cheating at Blackjack) or the effects of a critical miss (if you're cheating at Dirty Poker) immediately

1/A: Blackjack, Cat-Eyed, Rover
2/B: Dirty Poker, Card Sharp
3/C: Card Up Your Sleeve, Honor Among Thieves
4/D: Joker In The Pack, Stacking The Deck

A: Blackjack
Whenever you make a d20 roll to do thief stuff (climbing, squeezing, balancing, sneaking, conning, stealing, actually playing cards, et cetera), you may pull a card. If it would be advantageous, you can use the card's value in place of your roll. You don't have to pull a card if you don't want to (for example if you've got a high hand already and think failing the roll will be better for you than whatever your GM will pick as a Complication).

If drawing would put five or more cards in your hand, you can subtract the card drawn from your roll (add, if using a roll-over system) instead of using it in the roll's place. 

If the card you draw brings you to exactly 21, you automatically succeed at this roll and lose all the cards in your hand.

If the cards in your hand total higher than 21, you've gone bust. You lose all cards in your hand (including the one drawn) and a Complication occurs, decided by your GM. The normal effect (replacing/subtracting) still happens.

Potential Complications:
  • Knock something over or step on something, making noise.
  • You're slipping and need to leap ("dyno" in actual climbing parlance, apparently) to somewhere else right now.
  • You've mentioned something you shouldn't have and your mark is uncomfortable, if not necessarily onto your game.
  • etc.

You can't use this ability on attack rolls or combat maneuver checks - that's what Dirty Poker is for. You lose all the cards in your Blackjack hand when you enter combat or the scene ends. If you start doing thief stuff while in combat, keep your Blackjack and Dirty Poker hands separate.

A: Cat-Eyed
You suffer no penalties from acting in dim light. You still take normal penalties from total or near-total darkness.

A: Rover
You're well-traveled, and have a storied past. You get 2 additional Skills/Backgrounds. However, you also have only 6 + STR HP at first level and gain only 1d6 + STR at each level thereafter on account of your generally poor health.

B: Dirty Poker
Whenever you make a successful attack roll or combat maneuver check, draw a card. You can hold up to five cards in your hand at once - if you draw an additional card while you have five in your hand, you can choose to replace a card in your hand with the card you drew, or discard it.

You can play poker hands to perform a Finishing Move. Doing so empties your hand. Performing a Finishing Move doesn't take an action, and can target anyone within your reach or about 30' if you have a ranged weapon or something to throw.

You don't have to show anyone the faces of the cards in your hand (even the GM) until you play them.

Finishing Moves:
  • Pair - Expose - Apply a number of notches to your opponent's armor equal to the value of the card you have a pair of (e.g. a pair of 5s applies 5 notches).
  • Two Pair - Mutilate - Deal damage to one target equal to the value of the highest card you have a pair of, and a second target equal to the value of the lowest card you have a pair of.
  • Three Of A Kind - Exsanguinate - Deal damage to one target equal to the value of the card you have three of. If they have a circulatory system, they bleed for that much damage at the start of your turn until they spend an action staunching the flow.
  • Straight or Flush - Eviscerate - Deal 11 damage to one target. They roll Strength or die.
  • Straight Flush - Execute - Kill a target.

B: Card Sharp
When attacking a surprised enemy or flanking, you can use the value of the card you pull for Dirty Poker instead of rolling damage for your weapon. You have to decide to do this before rolling damage.

C: Card Up Your Sleeve
Whenever you draw a card, you can hold it face-down on the table instead of putting it into your hand. If you have a card held this way, when you draw another card you can choose which one of them goes into your hand and which one stays "up your sleeve".

You lose the card up your sleeve whenever you take a long rest.

C: Honor Among Thieves
Whenever anyone in your party and present in the scene scores a critical success, you can draw a card or discard one from your hand.

D: Joker In The Pack
Shuffle the jokers back into your deck of cards. They're wild - they count as whatever card you want them to.

D: Stacking The Deck
Your critical success range doubles (i.e. you now score critical successes on rolls of 19 or 20, not just 20). Whenever you score a critical success and would draw a card, draw two instead and pick one to keep and one to discard.

FIGHTMASTER (Class: Fighter)

This is a Fighter. Not a Knight, not a Soldier, but one who has above all else dedicated themselves to mastering the Fight.

like this
a Blademaster from Warcraft would have also worked here but probably not shirtless

or this but with less magic and more sideburns

1/A: Person of Violence, Training, +1 School, +1 Technique
2/B: Guard Ally, Embarrass, +1 Technique
3/C: Steel Tide, Swordwife, +1 School, +2 Techniques
4/D: Posse Comitatus, Weapon Mastery, +2 Techniques

A: Person of Violence
You have a pool of Violence Dice equal to your level. A Violence Die is the same die you roll for weapon damage. If you're holding multiple weapons, you can pick which die you use as your Violence Die. If a weapon does multiple dice of damage, its damage die is one of those dice, not all of them.

You can roll and expend a Violence Die to do one of the following:
  • Perform a free combat maneuver with a [sum] bonus.
  • Add [sum] to an attack roll.
  • When you are hit by an attack, make an attack roll. Subtract [sum] from the damage you take if you succeed.

Whenever you roll a Violence Die in connection with an attack roll or combat maneuver check, you also deal [sum] damage to any target within a reasonable distance that your attack roll or combat maneuver check would have succeeded against. You have to narrate how you're doing this.

You regain all Violence Dice whenever you roll initiative or take a long rest, or one Violence Die whenever you roll maximum damage on an attack. When you regain a Violence Die as a result of rolling maximum damage, it is the same die size as you rolled maximum damage on. You can never have more Violence Dice in your pool than your level.

A: Training
A lifetime of martial training and athleticism allows you to shrug off blows that would fell a lesser person, and strike true more often in combat. You get 2 additional HP at every Fightmaster level including first, and +1 to Attack at first level.

B: Guard Ally
You serve as a guardian for your allies in combat, steering the Fight into yourself just as surely you steer yourself into it. Once per round, you can cause an enemy melee attack made against an adjacent ally to target you instead.

B: Embarrass
When you successfully strike a target, you can forgo dealing damage in order to make said target roll Charisma, opposed by the damage you would have dealt if they're of equal or lower HD than you. If they fail, they back down (treat as a failed Morale check in combat). Narrate what you did to them - maybe you carved a Zorro-like symbol into their chest, or cut their belt so their pants fall down like they're the defendant in some sort of Stalinesque show trial. Regardless, your martial superiority is evident. This is perfectly legal in most places on the Mountain.

C: Steel Tide
Weapons become (figuratively) weightless in your hands, allowing you to overwhelm your enemies with a ceaseless flurry of blows. You can make one additional attack per round with no additional difficulty for making multiple attacks.

C: Swordwife
Pick a specific weapon - "this sword" or "that rifle", not "swords" or "rifles". When wielding that weapon, count your Attack as 1 higher, and deal 1 additional damage. You can wield it as if it were a light, medium or heavy weapon, and throw it with a range of 10' per level.

You can reassign your chosen weapon by practicing with the new weapon for 1 week and using it to slay a sapient creature.

D: Posse Comitatus
You acquire a column of 2d6 students, squires, and camp followers. The lower die are camp followers, with useful skills or backgrounds, improvised weapons, and light armor. The higher die are students or squires, with useless skills or backgrounds, military swords, and medium armor. Treat these as hirelings that don't count towards your hireling limit. Students and squires are willing to stand in combat with you, and all will follow your orders within reason. You must spend at least 8 hours per week teaching your students and squires, but don't have to pay them. Camp followers demand pay of 1 gp or 10 sp per day.

Lost students, squires, or camp followers can be replaced in any settlement of reasonable size with one day of effort each. Losing too many may result in you getting a bad reputation and your followers suffering Morale penalties or taking longer to replace.

D: Weapon Mystery
Choose a mystery. You gain the associated bonus and never critically fail an attack roll with weapons of the associated type.

You can reassign your chosen mystery by practicing with a weapon of the new type for 1 week and using it to slay a sapient creature.

Weapon Mysteries:
  • Blunt or Crushing - Ignore AC. When you deal maximum damage or critically hit, your opponent is stunned for one round.
  • Bow, Crossbow, or Firearm - Automatically hit vs. inanimate targets within range. Your attacks pierce targets - whenever you score a hit, you can make a free attack with the same weapon against something behind your target without using additional ammunition.
  • Throatcutter or Close Quarter - Automatically critically hit surprised targets and deal damage each round in a grapple in addition to whatever grapple action you take.
  • Brace - You have +5' reach. You and all adjacent allies get +1 AC.
  • Chain - You have +5' reach. When you deal maximum damage or critically hit, your opponent is knocked prone.
  • Headsplitter or heavy melee weapon - You cleave through opponents in great, sweeping blows - whenever you score a hit, make a free attack against an adjacent enemy that you have not attacked yet this turn. Keep making free attacks until you run out of targets or miss.
  • Finesse - Add INT to your damage and AC. Treat all non-warblade finesse weapons as warblades.
  • Warblade - Count your Attack as 1 higher. You can throw your weapon with a range of 10'.

Schools and Techniques

You learn techniques by learning them from a teacher over the course of a month of training, or leveling up as a FIGHTMASTER. Teachers will usually charge you 3,000 sp per technique taught, but might very well charge more or require you to complete some sort of task first to prove your worthiness.

A school is a grouping of techniques, like "Manus" or "Sacerd". When a FIGHTMASTER levels up and learns new techniques, they can only pick ones from schools they already know. A FIGHTMASTER automatically learns a new school at levels and 3. Learning a technique from a teacher means you know that school now.

Anyone who isn't a FIGHTMASTER can know a number of techniques equal to their level. FIGHTMASTERs can know a number of techniques equal to double their FIGHTMASTER level. If you learn a technique beyond your limit, you can replace an existing technique with the new one. Techniques don't have to be learned in order.

Techniques can be found here and here.

1 comment:

  1. I love the card mechanics. Might be the most unique GLOG class I've seen yet.

    About the first ability, if you draw a card that takes you over 21, do you go bust immediately or only if you choose not to play it?

    I also really love the IRL cheating rule. However I do think there needs to be a punishment for cheating beyond losing your cards– given that you can go bust, that's not even a punishment under some circumstances. So maybe add HP damage, or taking a level of fatigue or stun or lose all card-related abilities for the scene.