[Everyman Gaming LLC] Who Are Your Childhood Heroes?

[Alexander Augunas]

Hello, customers and potential customers alike!

One time a few years back, I was perusing my Facebook when I stumbled into a Facebook thread started by none other than Owen K.C. Stephens. The thread asked a simple question—what got you into fantasy gaming? What was your "gateway drug," so to speak.

Many of Mr. Stephen's friends at the time were esteemed "classical folk" when it came to answering the question. Most responses were things like, "Lord of the Rings" or Elric of Melnibone or the Dark Tower or the Last Unicorn. Arguably the classics of the Fantasy genre, the stuff that our hobby itself was crafted to emulate.

But its 2016 now, and Pathfinder is far from the only "fantasy" to exist. When I answered Owen's question, my answers included things like "the Harry Potter series" and "World of Warcraft." I don't think that anyone will disagree with me when I say that we live in a golden age for fantasy inspiration.

But when you stop and look at the rules that most companies are writing, ask yourself, "Do the crazy things we come up with really reflect well on the surge of new fantasy worlds that exist now?"

Rather than try and fault anyone, I want to try to do something about it. In early 2017, I am planning on releasing a product that is tentatively called "Everyman Options: Childhood Heroes." Its an expansion product to Childhood Adventures in the same vein as "Everyman Options: Paranormal Classes" was to "Paranormal Adventures." Now, I know a lot of what inspires me that doesn't currently exist in the game. Things like:

—A new base class called the sentai that's a mix between Power Rangers and Sailor Moon. Where the vigilante represents an individual who takes part in polite societal while acting in the shadows, the sentai is an ordinary-but-good-hearted-citizen who gains access to mystical powers that empower her to fight evil.

—A "spelless bard" archetype themed after Mable Pines of Gravity Falls.

—Rules for giant mechs that can be used to fight macrosized creatures from Microsized Adventures, so you can have proper Voltron / Megazord vs. Monsters battles.

And more.

BUT...
One thing that became clear to me was that I started outlining options from my OWN childhood—not childhood in general. I want to try and hit as many different popular "kid fantasies" as I can. Specifically, fantasies that can't be done well with Pathfinder currently.

So tell me, what comprised YOUR childhood fantasy that you can't do well in Pathfinder? For...research reasons. ;-)

[Lathiira]

Until Pathfinder will let me give the order to "Transform and roll out!" and see my troops do it, my favorite fantasy will remain unfulfilled :)

[Alexander Augunas]

Lathiira wrote:

Until Pathfinder will let me give the order to "Transform and roll out!" and see my troops do it, my favorite fantasy will remain unfulfilled :)

I *think* I can modify the mecha rules to do that. But making them PCs could be tricky. Unless....

[Kim Hall]

Being able to build things out of magic bricks that can do just about anything could be fun... Everything else is pretty coveted from my childhood.

[Alexander Augunas]

Kim Hall wrote:

Being able to build things out of magic bricks that can do just about anything could be fun... Everything else is pretty coveted from my childhood.

Referencing the nanobots from Big Hero 6, or Legos in general?

[Kim Hall]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Kim Hall wrote:

Being able to build things out of magic bricks that can do just about anything could be fun... Everything else is pretty coveted from my childhood.

Referencing the nanobots from Big Hero 6, or Legos in general?

Legos were the inspiration, primarily the Lego games.

[Zilfrel Findadur]

Naruto, DBZ, Saint seiya and anime in general. Games i liked are general fantasy or Steampunk like Chrono Trigger.

[Bardess]

Cyborg 009. EVERY ONE of them.
-I want a Psychic baby needing long rests everytime he uses his powers.
-I want a flying Rogue/Swashbuckler with a very sharp tongue.
-I want a dancing Bard with supernatural sensory abilities and danger sense.
-I want a Fighter/Gunslinger tank able to switch between a myriad of weapons in no time.
-I want the strongest Ranger in the world that can hear the voices of shamanic spirits.
-I want a high-spirited, fire-breathing dwarf Chef.
-I want a Bard master spy who chants Shakespearian quotes out loud and can transform into anything, objects included, for extended periods of time.
-I want an underwater Ranger/Druid guerrilla expert.
-I want the fastest NG Monk in the world who also has the purest heart, the most strategic mind and Paladin/Samurai abilities.

Hope it's enough. ^_^ The transforming Bard is the hardest part until now. I created myself some Archetypes for them, but...

[sepik121]

I think they've been slightly done (path of war is the closest), but I love the Final Fantasy series overall. Cloud was a huge hero of mine, and watching any of those limit breaks was amazing. Giant lasers, whipping up a storm of meteors, etc.

Tactics was especially amazing to me though (ps1). Ramza, Agrias, Ovelia, TG Cid (Orlandeau) were all heroes to me. I loved the sword skills of their special classes (Holy Knight / Sword Saint), throwing out ranged abilities with no charge time (magic needed time to charge, these were instant use) that had solid damage and a potential debuff. Just having a dude who could fight at melee range with the best of them, but hit people at range with moves too.

The dark knight from the FF4 (cecil) was super cool to me too. You drain your hp and deal lots of damage to do so. The move ate away at your hp, but you murdered your opponents pretty quickly. If you were able to keep up the HP, it'd end any basic fight almost asap.

The biggest thing from Final Fantasy that I miss though are the summons. Summoning an incredibly powerful monster for a brief moment that uses a single attack, devastating the enemy. You don't get to use it as often as any regular spell (MP costs were always bigger than a plain fireball), but they were potent things regardless.

edit: time mages from FFT too! They were super dope.

[Alexander Augunas]

Bardess wrote:

Cyborg 009. EVERY ONE of them.

-I want a Psychic baby needing long rests everytime he uses his powers.
-I want a flying Rogue/Swashbuckler with a very sharp tongue.
-I want a dancing Bard with supernatural sensory abilities and danger sense.
-I want a Fighter/Gunslinger tank able to switch between a myriad of weapons in no time.
-I want the strongest Ranger in the world that can hear the voices of shamanic spirits.
-I want a high-spirited, fire-breathing dwarf Chef.
-I want a Bard master spy who chants Shakespearian quotes out loud and can transform into anything, objects included, for extended periods of time.
-I want an underwater Ranger/Druid guerrilla expert.
-I want the fastest NG Monk in the world who also has the purest heart, the most strategic mind and Paladin/Samurai abilities.

Hope it's enough. ^_^ The transforming Bard is the hardest part until now. I created myself some Archetypes for them, but...

This is super helpful because its specific.

[Alexander Augunas]

Zilfrel Findadur wrote:

Naruto, DBZ, Saint seiya and anime in general. Games i liked are general fantasy or Steampunk like Chrono Trigger.

Are you referring to Naruto Uzumaki specifically, or Naruto characters in general? I put a LOT of energy into making Naruto-themed ninja archetypes when I updated Everyman Unchained: Unchained Cunning back in August, so are there any Naruto characters in particular that you don't think can be easily built using Pathfinder rules?

Dragonball Z Sayians are super tough to do without mythic rules, but at the very least there should be a Krillian / Tien-style monk. Someone who can fly around and attack with a customized energy blast. Oh! And having a third eye as a monk would be pretty cool too. Are there any other DBZ-style options that you think are missing from the game currently?

Can you give me some more specific research points from Chrono Trigger. I didn't have that game growing up. :(

[Alexander Augunas]

sepik121 wrote:

I think they've been slightly done (path of war is the closest), but I love the Final Fantasy series overall. Cloud was a huge hero of mine, and watching any of those limit breaks was amazing. Giant lasers, whipping up a storm of meteors, etc.

Tactics was especially amazing to me though (ps1). Ramza, Agrias, Ovelia, TG Cid (Orlandeau) were all heroes to me. I loved the sword skills of their special classes (Holy Knight / Sword Saint), throwing out ranged abilities with no charge time (magic needed time to charge, these were instant use) that had solid damage and a potential debuff. Just having a dude who could fight at melee range with the best of them, but hit people at range with moves too.

I never played the PS version of tactics, but I owned all of the "Advanced Tactics" games on the GameBoy.

Were Holy Knights and Sword Saints paladin-like?

Quote:

The dark knight from the FF4 (cecil) was super cool to me too. You drain your hp and deal lots of damage to do so. The move ate away at your hp, but you murdered your opponents pretty quickly. If you were able to keep up the HP, it'd end any basic fight almost asap.

So it was the precursor to the FFX Dark Knight dress sphere? The obvious answer would be to make it an antipaladin archetype, but none of the Final Fantasy heroes strike me as "antipaladin material." Maybe some sort of crazy, supernatural fighter or cavalier archetype....

Quote:

The biggest thing from Final Fantasy that I miss though are the summons. Summoning an incredibly powerful monster for a brief moment that uses a single attack, devastating the enemy. You don't get to use it as often as any regular spell (MP costs were always bigger than a plain fireball), but they were potent things regardless.

That sounds like a pretty awesome summoner archetype. It almost strikes me as a summon that was basically a sorcerer/wizard spell with a metamagic feat attached to it. I would need additional sketch time—the spell thing might not work well, because from what I remember from FFTA summons hit everyone on the board as their gimmick.

Quote:

edit: time mages from FFT too! They were super dope.

CHRONOMANCY! Sounds perfect for an arcanist.

[sepik121]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Were Holy Knights and Sword Saints paladin-like?

Holy Knights and Sword Saints were similar-ish to paladins I guess. I'd actually say they're closer towards the PF Magus overall though. They're not really defensive characters, don't help out others through buffs or anything like that. They're damage dealers to their core. If we're comparing them to Tactics Advance, the closest would be the Bangaa Gladiator. If you had the DS FF Tactics Advance 2, the Viera Spellblade was also similar (just add the fact they could do it at range, no MP)

So in FFT there were 3 classes that used "sword skills", powers with instant speed action and had some range to them (never that much, but enough). They were all on plot/story characters and regular characters didn't have access to the classes:

1. Fell Knight - they had 2 powers. 1 that drained HP, another that drained MP.

2. Holy Knight - 5 different powers, every ability had some kind of debuff attached to it.

3. Divine Knight (Knight Templar) - 4 powers, every ability sundered a piece of equipment on an enemy.

Sword Saints (there was only 1 in the game) got access to every ability in all 3 of the classes. That character was pretty much the best character in the game, bar none.

Alexander Augunas wrote:

So it was the precursor to the FFX Dark Knight dress sphere?

Pretty much. Antipaladins seem close-ish, but it's not a divine power so much as it is one that eats your own soul up with every use. Supernatural seems the way to go.

Alexander Augunas wrote:

That sounds like a pretty awesome summoner archetype. It almost strikes me as a summon that was basically a sorcerer/wizard spell with a metamagic feat attached to it. I would need additional sketch time—the spell thing might not work well, because from what I remember from FFTA summons hit everyone on the board as their gimmick.

How summons worked in FFTA was similar to the previous one: Huge AoE compared to any regular spell, lots of damage, high mana cost. You're thinking of the illusionist who hit everyone on the board with some damage.

I'd love to see it as a summoner archetype, but I think summoners are kinda attached to the eidolons. Final Fantasy summoners never had them out for long periods of time until later in the series. Again, kinda like one super duper awesome spell.

[Luthorne]

Hmm, an interesting question. My route to fantasy gaming was primarily literary, though some video games were certainly influential, especially D&D inspired ones like the Baldur's Game series and the sublime Planescape: Torment.

That said, there aren't too many that are hard to do in Pathfinder...and of those that are, I think they would require a new magic system...and in all honesty, many of the ones in books only work in a narrative setting, not in a game that's trying to be at least a little balanced. What I think would be needed the most would be new set pieces, mechanics to represent things like:

A rightful ruler that is accepted by the land as the proper heir, or someone who becomes a ruler by establishing a connection to the land and being accepted by the land itself.

Spells, rituals, and other methods to cross between alternate worlds or call people from another world to your own...this varies a lot, sometimes it's due to an immensely powerful artifact, while in others it's not done lightly but is certainly possible, in some it's a cheap enough magical device or spell that practically everyone has access to, and in some settings almost anyone with the magical power and who knows the secret can simply walk from one world to the next...or follow someone walking between worlds. Or even do so by accident at times...perhaps with rules with gaining special powers when summoned by certain entities or rituals into a fantastical world, but only while in that world. Usually different worlds operate by different rules, as well...some things that normally work might not work, or vice versa.

Ways to reflect 'the sight' that some people may have, allowing them to see past glamer, or see the hidden worlds that are present around us for those who have the eyes to see, or spy supernatural creatures that are normally invisible...

For that matter, just strange powers anyone might have a little of, some sort of supernatural innate ability, generally, a magical talent...perhaps creating small fires, making little golems out of dirt the size of rats for a short time, the ability to heal others...and suggestions for settings where everyone has a minor magical talent.

Also, minor rituals anyone can pull off that have low-level effects, like keeping evil at bay, helping the crops grow without disease, making the food taste a little better, giving better odds for safe travel. Minor magic that represent superstitions that are real.

Strange and wondrous trees, creatures, and other oddities that aren't monsters to kill, like trees that grow fruits that can explode, or ones that can heal you to someone who knows which is which. Maybe even ones that would willingly give something to aid someone who's simply polite or invokes some other secret.

More magic items or spells that can benefit a larger segment of the population instead of being ludicrously expensive or short-lived. Household spells beyond prestidigitation and unseen servant, cheaper animated brooms, magical upgrades for rooms and towns...

More advanced use of mindscapes, such as being able to travel into someone's mind and defeat a curse which takes on the form of a monster, help cure their madness by questing to stitch together the lost pieces of their mind, or even redeem a seemingly invincible villain by finding what sent them down this path and helping them back to their humanity...even if it means they have to finally pass on (in the case of an undead).

Though one thing that could stand to be a class option would probably be something like a spell-less summoner. Someone who has a unicorn friend, someone who rides a dragon, someone who has a genie, someone who hangs out with a talking panther or wolf, someone who rides a magical intelligent horse who chooses them, and so on and so forth. Usually people like these are more like tricky scoundrels or scouts and soldiers for a military than spellcasters...any supernatural abilities almost always belong to their partner.

One concept from video games I think would be neat, though, would be Golden Sun and its adept and their djinn. In that, adepts are each aligned to a particular element (Jupiter for Wind, Venus for Earth, Mars for Fire, Mercury for Water), and can bind with various djinn they discover, finding them over the course of the game. Each djinn is a spirit that has its own element, and if they match the adept's nature, they become more powerful, but if they don't, they grant some more versatile combination abilities. And, of course, some djinn are more potent than others. Overall, it sounds kind of like a combination of medium and kineticist...or perhaps even pactmaker and kineticist.

Other things are more a matter of thematics...less evil outsiders and demons that might just be from a different world, less powerful deities, more talking animals, etc.

Anyways, I in no means expect much of this to make it in, but it was definitely interesting to work on a list and consider what was in those books and games that Pathfinder doesn't have...for better or for worse.

[GeraintElberion]

My childhood inspiration was mostly King Arthur, Robin Hood, Greek & Norse Myths.

I am still waiting for,
You are on 0 hit points. Your true love swears their devotion to you: you receive an instant heal, haste and any weapon you wield for the next hour acquires the vorpal property.
(Geraint & Enid)

Hair of literal woven gold
(Freya)

Decapitated giants who live on
(Green Knight)

Kingdoms guarded by dead giants' heads
(Bendigeidfran)

The Pinner class
(Pinner of Wakefield)

The arcane truesmith
(Wayland Smith)

[Bardess]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Bardess wrote:

Cyborg 009. EVERY ONE of them.

-I want a Psychic baby needing long rests everytime he uses his powers.
-I want a flying Rogue/Swashbuckler with a very sharp tongue.
-I want a dancing Bard with supernatural sensory abilities and danger sense.
-I want a Fighter/Gunslinger tank able to switch between a myriad of weapons in no time.
-I want the strongest Ranger in the world that can hear the voices of shamanic spirits.
-I want a high-spirited, fire-breathing dwarf Chef.
-I want a Bard master spy who chants Shakespearian quotes out loud and can transform into anything, objects included, for extended periods of time.
-I want an underwater Ranger/Druid guerrilla expert.
-I want the fastest NG Monk in the world who also has the purest heart, the most strategic mind and Paladin/Samurai abilities.

Hope it's enough. ^_^ The transforming Bard is the hardest part until now. I created myself some Archetypes for them, but...

This is super helpful because its specific.

Hire ME to write them! I have some archetypes ready and some hybrid classes in mind! :D

[Oceanshieldwolf]

I always like to see Margherita's freelance work...

[Alexander Augunas]

Sure, let's have a conversation Bardess. Go to http://www.everymangaming.com and fill out the contact us page.

[GarnathFrostmantle]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Now, I know a lot of what inspires me that doesn't currently exist in the game. Things like:

—A new base class called the sentai that's a mix between Power Rangers and Sailor Moon. Where the vigilante represents an individual who takes part in polite societal while acting in the shadows, the sentai is an ordinary-but-good-hearted-citizen who gains access to mystical powers that empower her to fight evil.

So there are two Sentai like classes that I have come across.

1.Black Flame Studios - Sentai
2. Little Red Goblin Games - Gonzo 2 (can't remember the class name)

There is another one I ran into that was....not good, but its really not worth mentioning.

On Topic:
I found growing up, and even now with my current projects, that all types of anime and kung-fu movies really inspire me.

And video games: Any type of Final Fantasy or even the old game Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, really set up a good world.

The original introduction for me to "fantasy" was the Dragon Lance books, and The Rose Sea which is more swashbuckler style fantasy.

[Bardess]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Sure, let's have a conversation Bardess. Go to http://www.everymangaming.com and fill out the contact us page.

Filled out.

I was actually half joking with that line (only "half"), but... wow. I could REALLY get to work for Everyman Games? Just... wow.
*goes to put head under freezing water before it explodes*

[Eric Hinkle]

Reading this makes me fell odd. My introductions to fantasy (aside from fairy tales and the like) were mostly Robert E. Howard's old Ace Conans with the Frazetta covers, the Hobbit, the Narnia books, and Greek and Norse Mythology. And even some of ERB's Barsoom and Venus books.

[Luthorne]

Eric Hinkle wrote:

Reading this makes me fell odd. My introductions to fantasy (aside from fairy tales and the like) were mostly Robert E. Howard's old Ace Conans with the Frazetta covers, the Hobbit, the Narnia books, and Greek and Norse Mythology. And even some of ERB's Barsoom and Venus books.

Yeah, I felt old too...C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia are the first books I can remember reading as a child. Frank L. Baum's Oz series, Roald Dahl's many surrealistic tales for children, J. R. R. Tolkein's The Hobbit, even P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins books...and of course, lots of other stuff, ranging from 1,001 Arabian Nights, faerie tales, and myths and legends from around the world. Not to say that I didn't love many any authors, especially when we moved to places with more robust libraries...L. Sprague de Camp's The Fallible Fiend, Harold Shea series, The Incorporated Knight, The Reluctant King...John DeChancie's Castle Perilous series...Terry Pratchett's Discworld books...Gordon R. Dickson's Dragon Knight series...practically everything by Diane Wynne Jones...Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles and Magic and Malice...Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, A Night in the Lonesome October, Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming, and Lord Demon...Robert Asprin's MythAdventures series, Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover series, Neil Gaiman's Sandman and The Books of Magic, Lawrence Watt-Evans' Legends of Ethshar series, The Annals of the Chosen trilogy, Brian Jacques Redwall books, Diane Duane's Young Wizard series...and man, I could go on forever, feels like.

Still enjoy trying new fantasy books when I can, though don't have as much time as I did as a child or a teenager, alas!

[Ambrosia Slaad]

It wasn't my childhood inspiration (because I am now An Old), but the protagonist of this summer's Kubo and the Two Strings movie would make a darn good bard + summoner hybrid.

[Lord Mhoram]

My introduction to Fantasy was Oz and Narnia. Hobbit/LOTR. I was more into SF than fantasy after that - Larry Niven's Known Space, the Flinx books by Alan Dean Foster. When I came back to fantasy it was Zelazny's Amber and Donaldson's Thomas Covenant*. Those two aren't really good for kids.

* Yeah, I know big surprise given my username. :)

[Lindley Court]

Calvin. From Calvin and Hobbes. I want to play Calvinball, have a "stuffed" pet, become whoever my imagination demands (from Spaceman Spiff to Stupendous Man to Tracer Bullet), adventure with a transmogrifier/time machine/cloning booth, and more.

And in a totally different style, literally any of the characters from Rave Master. I want a weapon that unlocks other forms as I level. I want to shape a specific special material. I want to have a pet of unknowable power that is commonly underestimated.

Relatedly, super senses on a weird level, a la Toriko.

[Alexander Augunas]

Dude, I forgot about Rave Master! That was such a neat anime.

[Lindley Court]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Dude, I forgot about Rave Master! That was such a neat anime.

The manga went on for several times longer. Was a lot darker towards the end, too. The creator went on to make Fairy Tail, hence the presence of Plue in that one.