The Valpine Campaign: Classes

This is the second in a series of posts about forming a new campaign. Basically, humans are attempting to retake a continent lost to Chaos and the monsters generations ago. 

Classes

• Fighters
• Brawlers
• Magic-Users
• Illusionists
• Druids
• Rogues
• Scout
• Nightblade

Brawlers are mainly an NPC class, employing Old Worlde fighting styles such as Welsh or Greek wrestling, savate, and bartitsu. Though brawlers favor empty hand techniques and non-lethal fighting, they do have a specialized weapon selection and can be effective fighters with these arms.

Illusionists & Druids are (more or less) their OD&D equivalents. Druids as in Eldritch Wizardry and Illusionists from the pages of Dragon magazine. Illusionists are recommended for experienced or highly creative players.

Rogues are the adventuring arm of the Thieves Guild which is otherwise composed of petty criminals, pickpockets, and similar riffraff. Rogue skills are equivalent to those of the GH Thief class but combined with either Fighters (giving us Scouts) or Magic-Users (Nightblades). It is considered an insult to call a Rogue a thief.

As a class Rogues (both types) can use any one-handed melee weapon, both types have a single exception (see below). Rogues can also use light missile weapons including slings, short bows, light crossbows; but not longbows or heavy crossbows. Rogues are stealthy and adept at recon and infiltration and are able to sneak attack for additional damage. Rogues save a Magic-Users of equivalent level.

Scouts are second tier fighters, adept at missile fire, stealth, and infiltration. They can wear leather and most light armors and use bucklers and are able to use spears in addition to the standard Rogue weapons. Rogues have the hit dice and fight as Clerics of equivalent level. Scouts can split-move and fire if in light or no armor, and missile fire twice per round if stationary. Scouts can use any magic item a fighter or cleric can use.

Nightblades are second tier magic-users, using magic both to augment their stealth abilities and in lieu of martial attack. They may not wear armor, their exception to the one-handed weapon rules are staves, any type (magical or melee). Nightblades can use any magic item magic-users can use.

There are no Clerics. Spell-casters will have access to healing spells and can channel arcane energy in an attempt to turn undead (think Glorfindel in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring). This is tiring and will diminish their ability to cast spells for that day. Many of the Cleric’s spells are now usable by Magic-Users and Druids