So I’m working on my first base class, and before I start in on the advanced moves and the gear I figured I’d post what I have so far to see if it’s any good.
It’s meant to be an officer from an army, assigned as a sort of liason for the heroes. He’s a charisma-based “leader” class whose main mechanic is grouping everyone into battle formations that grant cooperative bonuses and group maneuvers.
http://www.mediafire.com/view/q8a3txx4c04yew6/soldiertrial.pdf
It’s incomplete, it’s my first class, and I clearly have no idea what I’m doing. I’d welcome feedback.
http://www.mediafire.com/view/q8a3txx4c04yew6/soldiertrial.pdf
What kind of role does this guy play in an adventuring party? By their very nature, such parties tend to be very independant-minded. I’m not sure that some of these moves would be well-received by other characters.
When you’re writing a new class, you have to have a clear concept for the role that it will play. What will he bring to the table that no one else can? I think you need to answer this question first.
New classes should minimize overlap with existing classes; the more overlap, the more closely they are compared to one another. If class A fulfills the same role as class B, but B is mechanically stronger, then why would anyone play class A?
What I had in mind was a more grounded alternative to the Bard, a class whose position I always liked but whose fiction always seemed too fluffy and fey. I want someone who can get the party out of trouble with a town by flashing his rank and muscling people down and who buffs the party through battlefield oorah-ness instead of magic or music. A lot of the time when a party is facing down a pissed-off captain of the guards I’ve wished we had some kind of position of power to deal from. That’s sort of what I want from this guy.
You’re definitely right about the moves. It’s probably a bad idea to make a central mechanic hijack other people’s characters! What about some sort of “Tactician” kind of thing where he helps people get to better positions or focuses on opening up opportunities for his teammates somehow?
Have you seen the Templar from Jacob Randolph’s Alternative Playbooks? http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/108623/Dungeon-World-Alternative-Playbooks
For a Tactician, you can add a few more questions to the list for Discern Realities.
I haven’t, but anything Jacob does has to be impressive. Is his Templar like what I was looking for?
What about a move like this instead of “Hold The Line”?
Battlefield Commander (INT)
When you and your comrades take a moment to come up with a tactical plan, describe it and roll +INT. On a 10+, select 2 Tactical Edges, to be used at any point in the plan. On a 7-9, select 1. You must decide the Edges at the beginning of the plan, and cannot change them once you’ve committed. The Edges can be performed by any one of your comrades at any time in the plan.
–Capture a monster’s attention for a few moments (Yell out defiance, throw a rock)
–Change a feature of the environment to your favor (Start a rockslide, cut a rope bridge)
–Get yourself or your comrade to a hard-to-reach place (throw a rope, give a boost)
–Take meaningful action before an otherwise unavoidable attack (Warn of a sneak attack, Brace for a charge)
–Reveal a hidden ace (Pull a knife from a boot, spring from an ambush)
It moves him into a more INT place than I thought he’d had, but I like that a little better than giving him the stats to get bulky. Now he’s mostly CHA and INT.
I think it’s more along the lines for what you’re looking for. With regards to move design, try to keep things simple. You’ve got a long block of text up there. What would the mechanical effect of all of those things be?