Introduction for experienced 5e gamers
I’m keeping most of the core mechanics of the game intact, but I’m changing around most things related to race and class. Basically, old school games were harder than new school games, the classes were very distinct and didn’t overlap in their abilities as much, and it took longer to level up than in new school games.
Perhaps the most important thing to realize is that this is not a game where you min/max out a PC and plot your course from level 1 to 20. Most abilities are front loaded. There aren’t many options to choose from as you level. There is no multiclassing, except for Demi-humans in limited circumstances.
Some classes may seem more powerful than others, but that’s only if you look at them from the POV of what they can do in combat. This is not a game designed around combat, combat, combat. There are many abilities that classes and races can utilize that have no mechanics whatsoever, and certainly nothing related to combat. It’s up to the GM and player to hash out what can be done with them on the spot. Class protection is key in this game. Each class has a role to play. Not every adventure or game session is based on combat.
People who are used to 20th level fighters going toe-to-toe with ancient red dragons will be disappointed, as will people who are used to a Thief (rogue) being a godlike sneak attack damage dealer, like in video games. At high levels, the spell casting classes are still powerful versus creatures toe-to-toe. However, the strength of a Fighter and Thief at high levels comes from the fact that a Fighter at 20th level likely rules a country or empire, and a Thief likely rules the most powerful thieves guild in the world and runs many things in his city, region or country behind the scenes. While a Wizard is dropping meteor swarms, a Fighter has an army of 20,000 men in the field of battle. Who’s more powerful? While a Cleric is gating in demons, a Thief is sending out spies and assassins and robbing the treasury of the opposing nation. Who’s more powerful?
One big change is there are no “social” skills. You can’t roll to see if someone is lying to you. Why would I as a GM engage in two hours of roleplaying with a shifty NPC just for you as a player to say “I roll to see if he’s lying”. Fuck that. Figure it out yourself as a player.
Setting first, always
This isn’t just a game, it is an RPG with a setting component. Many times, you’ll be wondering why a certain class or race can or cannot do something. The answer: Because that’s how it works in this world. Setting comes first, always, in every situation. I designed the world—the cultures, conflicts, tone, and what play is about—before or in conjunction with the writing of the rules. The mechanics were picked or built to serve the world, not vice-versa.
My game world’s, lore, atmosphere, themes, and narrative elements are prioritized and developed as the foundational core. The mechanical rules were selected, adapted, or created specifically to support, enhance, and evoke the setting, ensuring the gameplay mechanics align closely with the intended experience and immersion without feeling generic or mismatched.
I like this approach because it emphasizes immersion through verisimilitude, and I focus on long-term campaign play for deep character development and world exploration.
There are elements of my setting scattered throughout this RPG. You can ignore them, of course, but they do influence my game.
At some point I will be publishing the setting for you.
The playable classes are listed below.
As written, the rules of the game assume there is a war between the Gods and their followers, and the followers of Mother, who is basically Mother Nature, the spirit of the world. You can ignore that if you want to in your own games, but in my campaign that is a central core dynamic that is baked into the rules. This is further detailed in the class descriptions below.
General Classes
Fighter: Fighters kick ass and take names. They wear any armor, use any weapon, and plow into their enemies with swords and shields. They have no magical or superhuman abilities whatsoever, but they often turn into conquerors, kings and emperors.
Thief: Someone who steals for a living. They don’t fight unless they must. They aren’t “Rogues” like in video games, or in newer RPG’s, where they engage in melee and do ridiculous damage. If they get into extended melee fights, they will most likely die. While dexterous, they also have no magical or superhuman abilities whatsoever. They often grow in power to be the shadow rulers of many realms and head up assassin and spying organizations that pull strings and manipulate events from behind the scenes.
Fortune Hunter: A Fighter/Thief basically, with some Indiana Jones-style flair and abilities.
Barbarian: A savage uncivilized force of nature. Primitive tribal beliefs and superstitions combined with toughness and savagery in combat. These people are a race as well as a class. To be a Barbarian you are born into it. A man born in a city can never be a barbarian. It is not something you can train in.
Gods-based Classes
Cleric/Priest: They are mostly based in cities and towns. They tend to their flocks and try to grow their congregation. Some like to go out and adventure to gain money, magic, glory for their god, and power for themselves. A Cleric is a Priest of the Pantheon, while a Priest is devoted to a specific God of that Pantheon.
Holy Warrior/Paladin: Certain priesthoods train warriors to further the interests of the church. They have good fighting ability, and at later levels can cast spells and use some deity-related special abilities, like turning undead. Not every deity has Holy Warriors. Only a handful do. One god’s Holy Warrior is called a Paladin.
Mother-based Classes
Druid: Based in Henges across the lands, they tend to the needs of their followers, most of whom live in agricultural communities far from cities. Some take up the adventuring life to take the fight to the enemies of the Circle and the followers of Mother.
Ranger: Protectors of the followers of Mother. Lightly armored stealthy woodsmen who head out into the wilds to protect the followers and settlements of Mother from any and all threats.
Hunter: Hunters exist to destroy the enemies of Mother. These enemies are collectively called “Straken,” and are detailed further under the Hunter class description.
Magic-based Classes
Wizard: Wizards use their minds to unlock the magical secrets of the cosmos. They spend at least 7 years of their lives intensively studying just to figure out how to cast first level spells. After that their progress is up to them. There are two schools they can belong to, detailed in the Class description. One school is based on the beliefs of Mother, and one based on the beliefs of the Gods.
A Note on Holy Warriors/Paladins, Clerics/Priests, Druids, Rangers, Hunters, and Alignment
While I don’t care about specific alignment in general, for Holy Warriors/Paladins and Clerics/Priests and the Mother based classes it’s a different story. They must adhere to their beliefs and principles in everyday life, and that puts restrictions on what they can or cannot do.
One example is the Paladin of Arden. They are the true classic Paladin-type Holy Warrior in the game world. Paladins of Arden are “Lawful Good” in the classic sense. They aren’t stupid, and don’t have to blindly charge in when it means instant death, and do dumb shit all the time, but they won’t be able to operate in the moral grey zone either. They won’t have a personal story arc where they must reconcile their moral code and strict religious beliefs with reality of living in the morally decadent world and make compromises. No, they are paragons of all things considered to be knightly virtues. This may make it difficult, but not impossible, for a good role-player to play one. They are also devoted to their God and focus on their God’s ethos. If they stray from knightly acts and do not act as their god’s sword and shield in the world, they lose all Paladin abilities.
Clerics and Priests are also devoted to their god’s ethos and beliefs, but while Holy Warriors like Paladins try to get converts by virtue of example, Clerics and Priests do it by recruitment and service to the followers of their God. They serve local communities, and as they get higher in level, they may get a bigger church in a bigger community.
Some go out and have adventures. They love the excitement and aren’t really suited to live in a small town and living a boring life. They also do it to put a public face on their church and to get their church money via tithing. Mainly though, the goal is to carry out their god’s will in the world. While Holy Warriors are considered the sword arm of their gods, Clerics and Priests are the eyes, ears, mouth, will and wisdom of their god made manifest.
This is important, because to be a Cleric or Priest in this game, you can’t be just a “heal bot.” You’re there to make your god’s will manifest in the world, just as a Paladin does. But your acts in an adventuring group aren’t just to loot a tomb and get rich and level up. You don’t join a group for that purpose. You’d be joining a group that has goals that don’t go against the ethos of your god, and you hope to use the group to better serve your god and help make his will manifest in the world. You’re also always considering your place in the pecking order of the church. There’s always church politics.
Druids, Rangers and Hunters are special cases. Druids are the chief Priests of Mother. Rangers are protectors of the worshippers of Mother against all things. Hunters destroy the enemies of Mother, which include Clerics, Priests, and Holy Warriors like Paladins, as well as other things like Demons, Devils, etc. They are based in part on the Witcher. As such, PC of these classes will have certain restrictions and goals they must strive to attain within the context of the campaign.
A brief overview of the broad strokes of the changes from 5e
Feats: Gone. Incorporated some into the classes. Feats were meant to be optional in 5e, but I’ve never met anyone who ran 5e that way.
Ability score increase every 4 levels: Gone. In fact, some ability scores are capped by race.
XP: Much higher for each level. But, you get XP for the GP value of stuff you drag out of the dungeons and bring safely into towns now.
Playable Races: Big changes here. I rewrote them and eliminated many that weren’t in the OG games. Demi-Humans are radically changed, with a very different set of abilities and skills at first level. You can only play the classic types: Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Half Elves, Half orcs, and Gnomes.
Classes: Most of the changes are here. I front loaded the classes with most everything they will get.
Multiclassing: Gone, except for demi-humans. Even then, there are limitations. Class protection is the key here. There are no Rogues, they are Thieves, and only Thieves can do thiefy stuff, for the most part.
Skills: I made my own skill system from scratch. No passive skills, and no social encounter skills like persuasion and intuition. Not everyone can do every skill. The ability to do most skills is determined by your class now. Not everyone can Move Silently, for example. And yes, I broke out Stealth into Move Silently and Hide. You get to distribute skill points as you level up.
Spells: Had to change man. Some are more powerful, some are nerfed. I completely changed which class can cast which spells. While there may be some overlap, it is as minimal as I could make it. A Priest of a fire god can’t cast fireball, damnit. Fireball is an iconic Wizard spell. Stuff like that. Also, there are no concentration spells or ritual spells. The casters have more spell slots at higher levels, but they don’t have any offensive cantrips. In fact, Cantrips have been completely changed. They can also prepare more spells per day.
Darkvision: Does not exist. There is no way to see in the dark for any race or class unless you bring a light source.
Gear: Sometimes costs more. Some deleted. Some new stuff added. Weight and encumbrance matter. Counting arrows and rations definitely matters.
Bonus Actions and Reactions: Gone and gone.
Hit Dice: are reduced by one each. Fighters are d8, Wizards are d4, etc. There are no more Hit Point rolls after 10th level. You just get a fixed amount of HP, with or without your Con bonus, depending on class. Like in 1e.
Ability Scores: Less of a bonus. 18 is +3, 16 and 17 is +2. Charisma is not a dump stat, it goes to loyalty and morale, which are now important, and saves for willpower type stuff, instead of Wisdom.
Saving Throws: I made my own saving throw system from scratch. You get points to distribute as you level up.
Harvesting: is now a skill for gleaning valuable items from those you kill.