Looking for a new level and class based game

[DukeVincent]

Hi, i'm new to the forum. I'm looking for a new game to start playing and couldn't find a good database on the internet. So i hope someone here can help me.

I'm looking for a level and class based game (similar to D&D, where characters choose and advance in different classes as they level up).


I like the sense of progression the level system gives (and how it helps in choosing enemies with a power level similar to characters, as opposed to system like WoD, where characters in the group with the roughly the same quantity of experience points are too strong or too weak for the monsters and enemies of the story).

I like too how the class system helps in defining roles for each character (particularly if characters can advance or specialize within the class initially chosen) (another problem that seems to arise in World of Darkness-type games is that players end up designating points for almost every attribute and skill and their roles in the game kind of blend).


One last thing, i would prefer if the game or last-edition of it is relatively new, with no more than 5-10 years.

I know some of the things i listed as "failures" of the WoD system just mean that i don't know how to properly play those games; but i like the level and class system better and could't explain why without those examples.

Thanks for the help (and sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, english isn't my first language).

[griffonwing]

You might want to give HackMaster a go. It has one foot firmly rooted in the Old-Style or the original D&D, and one foot firmly planted in the present, blending many of the current innovations of gameplay. The game has been built from scratch, so everything plays very well together. The designers of the company are the brains behind the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting as well as the Knights of the Dinner Table comic/magazine.

There are over a dozen classes and a dozen races (6 of which are human variants). Every cleric is its own class, meaning the level bonusus, abilities, perks, and even spell lists for the Cleric of the Caregiver (healing) is greatly different than a Cleric of the Bear (druid-type). In the HM book, there are 13 clerics, but in future publications there will be a cleric class for each of the 53 gods.

The combat system is very fast flowing and runs on a second-by-seconds basis, so every player is always doing something. Combat is very simple. Most every roll is opposed. Attacker rolls 1d20+Bonus, Defender rolls 1d20-4+Bonus. Ties goes to defender. There are over a dozen optional advanced combat rules which, even if yo include them all, combat still get only takes less than a quarter of the time in most other round-/turn-based games.

Skills are percentage based. Mage spells use spell points. Non-memorized spells cost double, so regardless of the circumstance, a mage will always have access to his library of spells, unless he blows all of his points in the first battle.

It's a very low-magic setting, which you can ramp up is you so desire. The game world takes place on Tellene, which is the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting. 95% of the Fluff for Kalamar can be used for HM, so you can get books online cheap for this new game. Currently out, there is the Hacklopedia of Beasts (396 page Monster Guide) available in leather-bound full colour hardback (59.99) or PDF (39.99) as well as the Player's Handbook pre-order (400-page) for the same price. However, for a VERY limited time, if you preorder the HC book you get the PDF for free. The PDF is unavailable on its own right now. But trust me, it is gorgeous.

Any questions, just ask, or head over to the KenzerCo forums and check for yourself.

[Briski]

If you are interested in Fantasy role-playing games that use D&D-like classes and levels (but is not D&D), the obvious one is Pathfinder. True20 Fantasy and Fantasy Craft are two other possibilities. I think all of these are (at least loosely) based on a d20 system.

I would also recommend mining the rich list of retro-clones, which try to re-capture the D&D experience of past editions. OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Myth & Magic, Castles & Crusades, and Adventurer Conqueror King are just some of the D&D-like game systems out there, and several of them are free (no-cost) downloads. If you want to go retro in a completely different direction, I think The Dark Eye is still being published.

[RakshaGC]

Spycraft 2.0--It's a d20 modern system centered around espionage tropes; classes include the "Intruder," "Wheelman," "Hacker". Standard character range is 1-20. It isn't built for high-fantasy, though there is an expansive supplement/system made by the same company "Fantasy Craft" that fills in the gaps quite nicely.