Hello all.
This is not a rant, though it might seem so at times, so please, be overbearing ;)
The opening statement: I have grown tired of, and a little bit disillusioned with, the massive system of classes, races, rules, weapons and last but not at least spells. Pathfinder is a great system, with all of it's options, and possibilities, but it seems to me that it has somehow lost it's innocence over the years.
We have gotten Alchymists, Summoners, Gunslingers and so many spells and feats that some of my players has given up on using anything but the core book out of pure fear that they will have to trawl through 50 pages of feats to get the one that's - maybe not perfect, but then at least fairly good for their character/concept.
I must admit that I agree. So from the start of our next campaign anything outside the core book will be on an "ask for permission" state.
The Rant: But I'm still not happy. Magic is still a boggled down swamp that swings wildly between the user crying at the lower levels and laughing manically at the higher ones, We still have 3 different arcane casters, 4 divine casters, 3 warriors, 1 skill monkey and a monk. The monk gets honorable mention because nobody actually played one. And none of the prestige classes really support mixed builds very well, though several of them makes a nice try. Skills are basically glorified traits that requires ranks to be useful - which they can be in very limited ways, and feats are either cookie cutter or not worth having.
What I propose: I want to go back to basics, while going forward as well. The classes will be cut down to a Warrior, a Specialist and a Spellcaster. At various levels these classes will gain ability "points" that they can use on various pools within their class; for instance, if you are a Specialist, you will be able to invest them in improved speed, sneak attack or uncanny dodge, or other such abilities.
Spells will be mostly replaced, some of them rewritten, some of it just chucked out with the rest. Casting will likewise be getting an overhaul, making it possible for a Spellcaster to cast a (weakened) damage spell as his standard action, but also casting a minor buff or healing spell as a move action. So spellcasters will get more versatility within the group, but more will be expected of them in return.
Warriors and Specialists will of course also get a boost. So a Warrior may charge in and make a full attack on his turn, or make a disarm, followed by a trip and then make an attack on his (hopefully) prone target. Specialists will be masters of positioning, getting free aiding actions and improved flanking options.
Skills will get a massive overhaul and be made easier to understand and more relevant. Knowledges will still be mostly about monsters, but social skills will have a simple (I hope) challenge system that decides succes instead of just a DC.
Lastly, feats will of course be revisioned, though not much. Most of the combat feats will stay as they are, though some chains will be hammered into a single feat - like Two-weapon fighting, and will scale with level.
The races will get and overhaul too. First I plan to cut them down to Dwarves, Elves and Humans. Each race will have a large impact on how their class functions and will add benefits to certain combat styles that fit the Racial Archetype.
Example: Elves are known to be fast, agile Warriors, so they have advantages when using a single sword, or dual-wielding. Human Spellcasters are known for their flashy, destructive magic, so they have advantages on damage spells and elemental magic. Dwarves are devoted to the stone and constantly has to battle foes from below, so Dwarven Specialists are a lot tougher and has more staying power in melee.
There will be 3 prestige classes; Bard, Mage Warrior and Ranger. The Bard is a Spellcaster/Specialist, the Mage Warrior is of course a Warrior/Spellcaster and the Ranger is a Warrior/Specialist.
So my question is: Is this completely bonkers? Or would anyone be interested, anyone at all? :)
I wouldn't say it's bonkers. It just wouldn't be Pathfinder. I mean if you strip all the things that you speak of, you have the basic d20 system in a nutshell. Pathfinder is all those options laid on top of the d20 system and bound with the OGL.
The "pools" idea was used extensively a few years back by the Iron Heroes (a variant 3.5 handbook). It works well but for IH got complicated as the moment you multiclassed you could have a half-dozen different pools. Keeping them to one class as you suggest would help.
Actually, some of what you are saying is stuff I have seen in ENworld's intell on 5e or D&D next or whatever it is going to be called. Stop by there and check it out.
Also if you want to strip down to basics, you might want to try starting with one of the Retro-style gaimes out there like Basic Fantasy Roleplaying, or OSIRIC. They are out there-usually free-on the net and you can use their bare bones to build upon. Most only have 4 classes, and are deliberately thin on features, so you could easily build up your ideas on top of them.
Actually, some of what you are saying is stuff I have seen in ENworld's intell on 5e or D&D next or whatever it is going to be called. Stop by there and check it out.
I did ;) It was the large glass of creative juice that rekindled this idea.
The basic idea is a mix of 3.5, 4.0, Burning Wheel (small indie game), the 5.0 notes and some rather old ideas of my own. The point of it isn't to make a better system, it's to make a system without all the filler that's come into Pathfinder, a more innocent RPG, with less focus on stats and more focus on simple, strong, concepts.
I looked at Green Ronin during the 3.something 3. ppl printing frenzy and they never really worked for me, their products are too mecanical, too cold - I mean "True D20", it sounds like it should be printed on high polish steel... ;)
Anyway. I'll post a better overview of my ideas later - even if nobody want to read it! ;)