A discussion on the Dragon Age forums over at green roning got me thinking about how the Dragon Age RPG could be made classless and some comments were also about making it levelless as well.
Taking a page from the Warhammer book it shows us how this a levelless system can be done.
I personaly like the idea of a levelless system.
A simple method of making Dragon Age classless is to make the inherrant class abilities of the three classes talents, that can then be taken like any others given. Once that is done it is a simple step to make things level less from there by adding experience costs to the various aspects the classes advance in.
The three basic aspects of the characters are Ability Scores, Talents and Focuses.
The warrior is simple it doesnt need any work since all of its class abilities are already talents, with the exception of health, though that is easily changed into a talent as well.
The rogue has basically 3 aspects to it that I can see sneaky attacks (ie backstab), precision attacks (armour piercing) and the underhanded attacks.
While the mage has its spell casting and arcane lance abilities.
So this is the package at this stage I have come up with.
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Health A starting character begins the game with 25 + Constitution + Willpower. Anytime a character increases constitution or willpower thereafter it also increases their health totals.
Talents Each talent rank is listed with a set of requirements given in parenthesis after the listed rank. Journeyman talents must meet the requirements of Novice and Journeyman while Master ranks must meet the requirements for all their previous ranks.
Arcane Lance Mages learn to focus magical power through a staff or wand.
Novice (Magister Talent)
You are able to make a special ranged attack that damages foes with magical energy. The mage makes a normal ranged attack roll however they use Willpower (Arcane Lance) instead of dexterity to determine the attack test result. Your Arcane Lance has a range of 16 yards and deals 1d6 + Magic in damage.
Journeyman (Willpower 2+)
Your Arcane Lance range is now 24 yards.
Master (Willpower 3+)
You are able to add extra power to your Arcane Lance, by spending 2 mana points you can add an additional 1d6 damage to the damage of your arcane lance (making it 2d6 + Magic in damage).
Dirty Tricks A character with the dirty tricks talents pulls out all the stops in combat, using any means to gain an edge in battle. Dirty tricks can only be used in melee combat.
Novice (Cunning 2+)
You are able to quickly and efficiently knock your opponents feet out from under them. The Knock Prone stunt costs you one stunt point instead of the usual two.
Journeyman (Cunning 3+)
You deliver a swift unsportsmanlike like attack to your opponent. If you hit, instead of doing damage the opponent must make a Constitution(stamina) test vs a target number of 15, or suffers a -2 penalty to movement and defence. Each round thereafter the opponent can make another Constitution(stamina) test to recover from the blow.
Master (Cunning 4+)
You deliver a sharp underhanded attack to your opponent stunning them. If you hit, instead of doing damage the opponent must make a Constitution (stamina) test vs a target number of 15, or becomes stunned. Each round thereafter the opponent can make another Constitution(stamina) test to recover from being stunned.
Durability Durability adds to a characters health pool at the time it is taken. Constitution and Willpower bonuses are not retroactive, and each further rank stacks with the previous one.
Novice (None)
You gain an additional 5 + constitution + willpower to your health.
Journeyman (Constitution 2+ or Willpower 2+)
You gain an additional 10 + consitiution + willpower to your health.
Master (Constitution 4+ or Willpower 4+)
You gain an additional 10 + constitution + willpower to your health.
Magister You have a connection to the fade and have been trained in the use of magic. (Magic and willpower bonuses are not retroactive).
Novice (Magic 2+)
You are able to select any 3 spells (provided you meet the requirements) and have 10 + magic + willpower mana points.
Journeyman (Magic 3+)
You are able to select two additional spells and gain an additional 10 + magic + willpower mana points.
Master (Magic 4+)
You are able to select two additional spells and gain an additional 10 + magic + willpower mana points.
Precision A character skilled in the Precision talent is adept at precise strikes and exploiting weaknesses in a targets defences.
Novice (Perception 2+)
You are adept at making precise attacks that exploit the weak points of armour. As such the pierce armour stunt costs you 1 stunt point instead of the usual 2.
Journeyman (Cunning 2+)
You use your wits and skills to hit an opponent where it hurts. You are able to use your wits to land precision blows enabling you to add your cunning to damage instead of strength.
Master (Cunning and Perception 3+)
Using your wits and precision you are able to strike at the weakest points of an opponents defences. You reduce an opponents armour by 2 points (after any other modifiers). You need to be close to a target to achieve the precision required so are unable to use this ability with ranged weapons beyond short range.
Surprise Strike A character skilled in surprise strikes is able to attack from unexpected directions or hidden locations. Surprise strikes can only be used with light blades.
Novice (Dexterity 2+)
You have the ability to strike a deadly accurate melee attack against an opponent that is completely unaware of you. You approach your opponent making a Dexterity(Stealth) test vs your target's Perception(Seeing or Hearing). If successful you gain +2 to the attack roll and +2d6 damage if the attack is successful.
Journeyman (Dexterity 3+)
You can inflict extra damage with a melee attack if you can strike an opponent from an unexpected direction. You must approach your opponent with a move action and win an opposed test of your Dexterity (Stealth) vs. your target’s Perception (Seeing). If you win the test, you can use your major action this round to attack from an unexpected direction. This is a melee attack with a +2 bonus to the attack roll that inflicts +1d6 extra damage. You cannot surprise attack an enemy that you begin your turn adjacent to.
Master (Dexterity 4+)
You can try to attack an opponent that you begin your turn adjacent to. You must first use a minor action to try to deceive him. This is an opposed test of your Communication (Deception) vs. your opponent’s Willpower (Self-Discipline). If you win, you have wrong-footed your opponent and can attack him. You make a melee attack with a +2 bonus and inflict +1d6 extra damage if you hit.
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More to come
