Me? Well, I'm just a great fan of the game and can't stop playing it with the misses. We just love the game so much and have played through RotR three times and are almost done with S&S now. Also, with the new box coming right around the corner, we can not wait for it to start shipping!
Now, since I'm such a fanatic, I started to develop some of my own characters. Granted, they are still under construction and need to be playtested. But I would love some user feedback.
I will post more when time goes by, but for now, here is my first shot!
Please, feel free to try this character at home and give my your feedback, positive and negative!
Kilmar:
Male Half-Elf Fighter
Strength d8 []+1 []+2 []+3
- Melee: Strength +2
Dexterity d8 []+1 []+2 []+3
Constitution d6 []+1 []+2 []+3
- Fortitude: Constitution +1
Intelligence d4 []+1
Wisdom d10 []+1 []+2 []+3 []+4
-Survival: Wisdom +2
Charisma d4 []+1
Favored Card Type: Weapon
Weapon: 5 []6 []7 []8
Spell: -
Armor: 3 []4 []5 []6
Item: 2 []3
Ally: 2 []3 []4
Blessing: 3 []4
Powers:
Hand Size: 4 []5 []6
Proficient with: Light Armors Heavy Armors Weapons
When you discard a weapon for its power, you may recharge it ([] or shuffle it into your deck) instead.
For your combat check that the knife or spear trait, you may use your Melee skill instead.
Add 1d4 ([]+1) to another character’s combat check at your location
Master-at-arms:
Hand Size: 4 []5 []6
Proficient with: Light Armors Heavy Armors Weapons
When you discard a weapon for its power, you may recharge it ([] or shuffle it into your deck) instead.
For your combat check that the knife or spear ([]or any weapon) trait, you may use your Melee skill instead.
Add 1d4 ([]+1) ([]+2) to another character’s combat check at your location.
[] Add 2 ([]4) to your check to acquire a weapon.
[] Add the number of the adventure deck to your check to defeat a bane with the Veteran trait ([]or a Henchman or Villain)
[] When you encounter a spell, you may banish it and immediately explore again.
[] When you would bury a boon with the Light Armor or Heavy Armor trait, succeed at Fortitude 6 check to recharge it instead.
Blade Dancer:
Hand Size: 4 []5 []6 []7
Proficient with: Light Armors Heavy Armors Weapons
When you discard a weapon for its power, you may recharge it ([] or shuffle it into your deck) instead.
For your combat check that the knife or spear trait, you may use your Melee skill instead.
Add 1d4 ([]+1) ([]+2) to another character’s combat check at your location
[] When playing a weapon with the Finesse trait, add 1d6 ([]+1) ([]+2) to that check.
[] You gain the skill Acrobatics: Dexterity +3
[] You may recharge a card ([] or shuffle it into your deck) to add the Finesse trait to your combat check.
Looks good! It's a nice little card for a first post. Let me just get the obligatory disclaimer out of the way and we'll dig into the details.
(Obligatory Note: I'm not a game designer. As long as you're having fun, it doesn't matter what I think. Until it's actually playtested this is just speculation, so take it with a big grain of salt)
Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's dig in. First note, that is not a great melee ability for a fighter. It could lead to some tough combats, though looking ahead at things, my guess is that it was intentional. Also, your dice only add up to 40. The standard is 42, and I don't get the impression that this needs to be below that. 5 points in secondary skills is standard for a fighter, so that looks good. You can probably even up the fort to a +2, since several skills are attached to smaller dice than a comparable fighter.
The card feat list is, I believe, identical to RotR Valeros. I think I'm going to declare 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' here, as I think it's suitable for the character. Only change I might consider is dropping an armor for something else, since this doesn't seem to be a big bulky fighter archetype.
Now to get into powers, where it's really interesting. First note, if you were to only look at the powers, and no other part of the card, it is identical to S&S Valeros, but with an additional power. I'm guessing you already figured that, and that's why there's a weaker overall melee ability and smaller dice in the skill section. That being said, I have another thought. Since this is a finesse fighter (as indicated by the knife power and one roles getting bonuses with finesse), I'd consider removing Heavy Armor from the baseline. Make it require a power feat, removing either the shuffle ability or one hand size increase. That makes the powers section more balanced, so there's less stress on the skills section to keep the character in check.
As to the new power itself, I think it works well. One change I would make is instead of allowing you to use your melee (which is pretty unclear wording), give him ranged equal to his melee skill for the check. That should do basically the same thing, and is much more clear. Here's how I'd word it:
If your combat check has the knife or spear trait, you gain Ranged equal to your melee skill for the duration of that check.
The master at arms ability to use it with any weapon is a bit trickier this way, but you could just do this:
If your combat check has the knife or spear trait ([]or for any combat check), you gain Ranged equal to your melee skill for the duration of that check.
I really like the adding the AD number to checks against veterans, and I don't think adding it to henchmen and villains is too strong, though that is probably something you'll have to test, as +6 is a big number.
The banish spell to explore again seems inspired by a similar power Oloch has. One difference I potentially see there is that Allies, if you acquire them, will normally let you explore, while spells almost never do. This has the potential to make it a much more powerful effect, though it's probably not too strong. Keep an eye on it.
No complaints on this power. The numbers seem about right (I think I saw similar in Sajan's drunken master power), and the power level is probably just right. One question, though: why are you using the Light Armor or Heavy armor trait, instead of just saying Armor?
I like getting Acrobatics here. I'm not sure if +3 or +2 is the right number, but +3 is probably reasonable since it's such an underused skill.
I like the ability to get a bonus on your finesse combat checks. It's a good bonus, and the power feels about the right level, given that you have to use weaker weapons. That being said, it does make me a bit concerned when you're combining that ability with the recharge to add finesse power. Is it too powerful to add d6 to a check with (for example) Mokmurian's Club just by discarding a card? In this case, I think it's okay, since it requires multiple power feats to get there, and until you get the second, the first is much weaker if you're intending to use them together.
As I said, it's really good for a first design. I do think you played it a bit safe, as there's no real WOW ability (with the possible exception of the anti-veteran power), but I think that's probably a better starting point than going too wacky from the get-go. Good luck, and I hope he's a ton of fun!
Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's dig in. First note, that is not a great melee ability for a fighter. It could lead to some tough combats, though looking ahead at things, my guess is that it was intentional. Also, your dice only add up to 40. The standard is 42, and I don't get the impression that this needs to be below that. 5 points in secondary skills is standard for a fighter, so that looks good. You can probably even up the fort to a +2, since several skills are attached to smaller dice than a comparable fighter.
Fixed and fixed. Thank you.
The card feat list is, I believe, identical to RotR Valeros. I think I'm going to declare 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' here, as I think it's suitable for the character. Only change I might consider is dropping an armor for something else, since this doesn't seem to be a big bulky fighter archetype.
I tried to drop an Armor, since you’re probably right. But I really feel like having 3 Armors fits a character who is proficient with Heavy Armors on his own.
Now to get into powers, where it's really interesting. First note, if you were to only look at the powers, and no other part of the card, it is identical to S&S Valeros, but with an additional power. I'm guessing you already figured that, and that's why there's a weaker overall melee ability and smaller dice in the skill section. That being said, I have another thought. Since this is a finesse fighter (as indicated by the knife power and one roles getting bonuses with finesse), I'd consider removing Heavy Armor from the baseline. Make it require a power feat, removing either the shuffle ability or one hand size increase. That makes the powers section more balanced, so there's less stress on the skills section to keep the character in check.
Hmph. You’re probably right. But this would require me to shuffle some powers in the Role cards. This also gives me a reason to drop an Armor to an Ally. Hm. I’ll change this and I’ll see what I can do in the Powers for the Roles. I’ve dropped the Hand Size to a maximum of 5.
As to the new power itself, I think it works well. One change I would make is instead of allowing you to use your melee (which is pretty unclear wording), give him ranged equal to his melee skill for the check. That should do basically the same thing, and is much more clear. Here's how I'd word it:
If your combat check has the knife or spear trait, you gain Ranged equal to your melee skill for the duration of that check.
Fixed.
The master at arms ability to use it with any weapon is a bit trickier this way, but you could just do this:
If your combat check has the knife or spear trait ([]or for any combat check), you gain Ranged equal to your melee skill for the duration of that check.
Fixed.
I really like the adding the AD number to checks against veterans, and I don't think adding it to henchmen and villains is too strong, though that is probably something you'll have to test, as +6 is a big number.
Since I needed to remove a Power Feat, because of the Heavy Armor, I decided to remove it from the Villain and Henchman-power. I feel like all the powers are really thematic to what this character is supposed to represent and having this power was already just a gapfiller.
The banish spell to explore again seems inspired by a similar power Oloch has. One difference I potentially see there is that Allies, if you acquire them, will normally let you explore, while spells almost never do. This has the potential to make it a much more powerful effect, though it's probably not too strong. Keep an eye on it.
Well, I see where you’re coming from. But Spells on the other hand give me the option to heal myself or give me more dice for certain rolls, which this characters lacks. So having this as the only option to explore out of his own, doesn’t come off to me as too strong.
No complaints on this power. The numbers seem about right (I think I saw similar in Sajan's drunken master power), and the power level is probably just right. One question, though: why are you using the Light Armor or Heavy armor trait, instead of just saying Armor?
Because all armors have either the Light Armor or Heavy Armor trait. I thought it might be a rule that Armor doesn’t count for either of those, but for now: Fixed.
I like getting Acrobatics here. I'm not sure if +3 or +2 is the right number, but +3 is probably reasonable since it's such an underused skill.
Thank you.
I like the ability to get a bonus on your finesse combat checks. It's a good bonus, and the power feels about the right level, given that you have to use weaker weapons. That being said, it does make me a bit concerned when you're combining that ability with the recharge to add finesse power. Is it too powerful to add d6 to a check with (for example) Mokmurian's Club just by discarding a card? In this case, I think it's okay, since it requires multiple power feats to get there, and until you get the second, the first is much weaker if you're intending to use them together.
Hm. There is indeed something wrong here. In S&S adding Swashbuckler to your check was actually a positive sometime. My intention for this character was to make a Swashbuckler in RotR. Since I really like weapons such as the Spiked Chain and the Scythe, but I feel like they are underused. That being said: I think I will scratch these 2 powers and make them in to something new, for a couple of reasons:
1. Heavy Armor is now a power feat instead of innate.
2. Adding a Finesse trait to a check is useless. You would never NEVER do this unless you would have the above power.
3. I really want this character to have an emphasis on Finesse. So I think I can word it better.
As I said, it's really good for a first design. I do think you played it a bit safe, as there's no real WOW ability (with the possible exception of the anti-veteran power), but I think that's probably a better starting point than going too wacky from the get-go. Good luck, and I hope he's a ton of fun!
I would like to present the new Blade Dancer now that we’re here:
Blade Dancer:Hand Size: 4 []5 []6 []7
Proficient with: Light Armors []Heavy Armors Weapons
When you discard a weapon for its power, you may recharge it ([] or shuffle it into your deck) instead.
For your combat check that the Knife or Spear ([]or Finesse) trait, you may use your Melee skill instead.
Add 1d4 ([]+1) ([]+2) to another character’s combat check at your location
[] You gain the skill Acrobatics: Dexterity +3
[] Add 1d8 to your checks with the Finesse trait.
[] When you play a blessing on any check that has the Finesse ([]or Dexterity) trait, add a d12 instead of the normal die.
Main changes or highlighted in bold.
So now, every Finesse weapon is a d10+2+bonuses.
Getting the second power feat even adds a 1d8, therefore trying to force the player in to playing Finesse Weapons (be it melee or ranged).
And lastly, because the Blade Dance is nimble, she gets bonuses when people play blessings on her for Finesse and later Dexterity. Finesse already is a d10, which then comes a d12. Later in the game she can even dodge certain traps and enemies better with blessings, like Acrobatics and a blessing become: 1d8 + 1d12 +3.
Looking good. One note, hopefully to ease your mind, is that S&S Valeros has Heavy Armor proficiency, but only 2 armor, so the 3 armor thing is not a hard-and-fast rule if the character otherwise doesn't fit (in this case, because you don't want to wear too much armor on a ship).
I'm a little sad to see the Henchman/Villain power feat go, as I'm worried that a power feat that just adds vs veterans is not strong enough on its own. Then again, there are so many more veterans in S&S than RotR that it probably is more useful going forward than I'm giving it credit for.
Now to the Blade Dancer itself. First, and this is a genuine question, since I can't look it up at the moment, how often is adding the Finesse power to your melee ability going to be relevant. Essentially, it allows you to use Finesse ranged weapons other than knives. Are there enough of those for this to be worthwhile (I can't think of any off-hand, though I'm sure they exist). There may be a better use for that power.
As to adding to checks with the finesse trait, this is interesting. Essentially, it reads to me that you get a bonus d8 in exchange for not using the really powerful 2-handed weapons available. d8 feels like a big boost to what will essentially be every combat check you make, but I don't think it's unreasonable. The right number is either d6 or d8, and I'm right in the middle. Another consideration is if you want to drop the finesse power feat above, you can change this power to be add 1d4 ([]2d4), which feels a bit more finessey, but could be a bit weaker (the way this game works, 2d4 is generally much preferred over 1d8, but I don't think it's 1 power feat better. 1d6([]2d6) is probably a good power level, but doesn't have that rapier-feel of using d4's).
A couple comments on the blessing power. First, as written, it works on anyone's finesse ([] or dexterity), not just yours. Is this intended? If so, I think it does work, and I actually like the subtle encouragement of party synchronization that may occur. However, if I remember the similar powers in RotR, it was only yourself. Those powers were terrible, but they did set a precedent to consider. If it is intended to only affect yourself, I'm a bit worried it's on the weak side. Upgrading a d10 (and later a d8) to a d12 doesn't seem like a massive enough upgrade for one (or two) power feat(s).
I like where you're headed with this, and I'm glad to hear you're taking the time to playtest with them. I wish you luck and tons of fun!
Now to the Blade Dancer itself. First, and this is a genuine question, since I can't look it up at the moment, how often is adding the Finesse power to your melee ability going to be relevant. Essentially, it allows you to use Finesse ranged weapons other than knives. Are there enough of those for this to be worthwhile (I can't think of any off-hand, though I'm sure they exist). There may be a better use for that power.
I think the power you're referring to has been removed already. Look at the bottom of my previous post. Or am I wrong with the mentioned power?
As to adding to checks with the finesse trait, this is interesting. Essentially, it reads to me that you get a bonus d8 in exchange for not using the really powerful 2-handed weapons available. d8 feels like a big boost to what will essentially be every combat check you make, but I don't think it's unreasonable. The right number is either d6 or d8, and I'm right in the middle. Another consideration is if you want to drop the finesse power feat above, you can change this power to be add 1d4 ([]2d4), which feels a bit more finessey, but could be a bit weaker (the way this game works, 2d4 is generally much preferred over 1d8, but I don't think it's 1 power feat better. 1d6([]2d6) is probably a good power level, but doesn't have that rapier-feel of using d4's).
Hm. You're right. I made it a bit more Finesse-y now. I changed it to:
"Add 1d4 ([]or 2d4) to your checks with the Finesse trait. If any d4 was rolled on this check is a 4, count it as 5."A couple comments on the blessing power. First, as written, it works on anyone's finesse ([] or dexterity), not just yours. Is this intended? If so, I think it does work, and I actually like the subtle encouragement of party synchronization that may occur. However, if...
Should be the other way around: When someone plays a blessing on your check. Fixed it!
isaic16 seems to have you all covered here. I've got nothing to add really other than to say thanks for sharing all your ideas.