Sunday, January 7, 2024

Building an A5E Library, Part 3

Class options, subclasses, new classes, and other player options bits are a very fiddly part of any 5E game. Overall, I am happy with what I have in the basic Level Up A5E book, and I can homebrew my options as I see the need.

You start introducing books like a hypothetical "101 Classes for 5E," and you will get a lot of junk and worthless options in your game. And some introduce concepts or professions you don't want in a game. If I get a book with gunslingers or steampunk classes, and I am not using that, I start to have books with more I ignore than use.

I also like fewer classes in a game. I am okay with the default A5E set; these are the classics, and most worlds don't need hundreds of different character classes. New magic and subclasses are fine. New classes have a much higher bar to get over, and it can't be a slightly altered version of something I already have. Trying to sell me a "battle pit fighter" character class when a barbarian or fighter works just as well is not enough for me to muddle class selection any more than it already is in 5E. A5E also has a gladiator archetype under the fighter, so I have that covered.

Most specialized classes should be archetypes. Instead of adding a few dozen classes, work within the established archetype system and do it as a class variant.

I am okay with race options since there is always a need for a unique character background or NPC.

Level Up A5E uses its heritage, background, and culture system to create characters. Other ones in more 5E-style books may not be compatible, and only really good for ideas if A5E can't do them already (or can be tweaked to cover a new area).

Kobold Press makes a bunch of good player options books, some of which are targeted toward their Midgard setting. These are primarily the 5E era, so I feel they will work better with a set of rules closer aligned with the 5E core, and they will likely be updated for Tales of the Valiant later. These are pick and choose for me; if I find something I like, I will use it; otherwise, the books are more a nice-to-have than a core option.

Almost every 5E book will have these player options; they are everywhere in 5E books. I don't need to go out of my way for player options.

Any setting book you have gives you more player options. I have player options flowing out of my ears, and I do not have one book from Wizards in my new collection of de-colonized material. Again, with A5E's heritage, background, and culture system - many of these are already there, and the very few I want, I will need to convert and slot them somewhere in the triad of background options.

I have 3rd party books with feats, too, but you must be careful since many of them can throw balance out of whack. A5E has character feats linked to their systems supporting the pillars of play, so be careful adding feats that bypass established procedures in the game. The exploration and survival mechanics in A5E are well-established, so adding a "survival expert" feat from a more 5E-focused book will likely break some of the rules you came to A5E for.

Monsters, spells, magic items, and equipment primarily work as-is. When you get into player options, you will need to convert these. With many options, you need to decide if they fit in your world. Some will be world-specific. New classes have a higher bar but still work well with the game.

With Wizards' D&D, you get players who only stick to the official books and optimize inside that framework. They want to play in that sandbox and beat the game given what they can call official. Nothing outside can be used since it breaks their strategy.

Outside of that world, I am more concerned with story, worldbuilding, and seeing how things fit in.

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