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You got [Mass Effect] in my [D&D 4e]!
Lord Palington
he.him.hisHistory-loving pal!Registered User regular
he.him.hisHistory-loving pal!Registered User regular
So some of you guys may have seen the recent discussions about making a Mass Effect -> D&D 4e conversion in the 4e thread, but now we're moving on up to our own thread!
So what's Dungeons and Dragons 4e?
You can check out the official page/forums here.
What about Mass Effect?
It's a really cool video game trilogy put out by Bioware set in 2183. Humanity has achieved FTL space travel, and they have become a major player on the galactic stage. You can find their page here.
So what's one got to do with the other?
Plenty of people are fans of both, and I particularly wanted to do a tactical pen'n'paper game of Mass Effect after playing the multiplayer mode in Mass Effect 3 (Lord Palington on the XBox 360, if you want to throw down some games!), and I think D&D 4e is one of the best tactical roleplaying systems out there (that I've played, anyway). I've found a couple of versions out there on the internet, but they are mostly incomplete, with little thought given to balance (one, for instance, had an Asari racial ability giving +2 to attack and damage with all biotic attacks, which is way above what any official 4e race gets).
But don't worry, I'm not alone in this galaxy! Others in the 4e thread were quick to give suggestions, and TiamatZ dusted his alpha version of the same project off to once again see the light of day.
So what do we have so far?
You can check out the discussion that begins here in the 4e thread.
You can check out what TiamatZ has already done here.
You can even check out the blog I've started for my own version of things here.
So what do we need?
A lot. We'll do what we can, but we'd love some help, even if it is just to remind me that a minor action at-will attack power might be difficult to balance.
So what's Dungeons and Dragons 4e?
You can check out the official page/forums here.
What about Mass Effect?
It's a really cool video game trilogy put out by Bioware set in 2183. Humanity has achieved FTL space travel, and they have become a major player on the galactic stage. You can find their page here.
So what's one got to do with the other?
Plenty of people are fans of both, and I particularly wanted to do a tactical pen'n'paper game of Mass Effect after playing the multiplayer mode in Mass Effect 3 (Lord Palington on the XBox 360, if you want to throw down some games!), and I think D&D 4e is one of the best tactical roleplaying systems out there (that I've played, anyway). I've found a couple of versions out there on the internet, but they are mostly incomplete, with little thought given to balance (one, for instance, had an Asari racial ability giving +2 to attack and damage with all biotic attacks, which is way above what any official 4e race gets).
But don't worry, I'm not alone in this galaxy! Others in the 4e thread were quick to give suggestions, and TiamatZ dusted his alpha version of the same project off to once again see the light of day.
So what do we have so far?
You can check out the discussion that begins here in the 4e thread.
You can check out what TiamatZ has already done here.
You can even check out the blog I've started for my own version of things here.
So what do we need?
A lot. We'll do what we can, but we'd love some help, even if it is just to remind me that a minor action at-will attack power might be difficult to balance.
Lord Palington on
+1
Posts
TiamatZ's Alpha Build:
Races
Asari
Batarian
Drell
Geth
Human
Krogan
Quarian
Salarian
Turian
Vorcha
Classes
Engineer (levels 1-3)
Soldier (levels 1-3)
Developer's Notes
Regarding the classes: When I was designing the classes, I had decided that each class had to be mechanically unique to one another (i.e. the engineer was designed to be supportive with drones and tech abilities, whereas the soldier focused on martial prowess (e.g. stances) and was also the only class at the time that could choose ammo powers as it's unique feature. Charging would be the Vanguard's forte (gaining class features that would enhance a player's charge powers, thus encouraging them to keep charging in the field), and Adepts would have used Augmentation Points ala the Psion).
Regarding Vorcha: Design decisions were based upon the Dragonborn and Shifter racial features. Also, I figured the ability to re roll death saves (and taking the second result even if lower) would counter balance their immunity to diseases (though I might later replace this with a saving throw vs poisons, radiation and diseases instead, but that's the magic of Alpha testing: write down all the ideas down first, then fix it during the Beta stages.
Regarding Batarian and Drell: I won't lie, the Batarian was probably the hardest to stat up, not because that their one of the least popular, but because... well, let's face it: Batarians rarely stuck out in the ME universe before they appeared in Mutliplayer. When you saw a Vorcha, you knew they were going to regenerate if you gave them a breather. A krogan? WATCH OUT FOR THAT CHARGE! And even an asari? HERE COME THEM BIOTICS! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!
As for batarians? Umm... well... they got 4 eyes! Reaaaalll scary. To be honest, their pretty much just humans with literally 4 eyes. And terrorists. And Space Korea or something...
So I figured I'd stat them up to be perfect candidates for PCs who want to play a ruthless character. Their also the only race with Blade armor in the Multiplayer, so I decided to use that as their racial power (consider it illegal techs they pillaged from former victims or pirates, fits well with the ME canon ) Their probably the most unique race with some unique racial features compared to older 4th ed. races (with the exception of the power; long time 4th ed. fans may recognize it as the Razor storm power from the planar Bladelings). And yes, some merchants and vendors will get some unique keywords to give the GM (and the PCs) some idea on how to barter/negotiate/trade/extort/threaten to sell and buy goods. Another example of a merchant keyword would be Fearless, meaning the merchant is immune to being intimidated, and could even INCREASE his prices should PCs go that route.
Lord Pallington's Notes:
Vanguard:
Speaking of abilities, the vanguard runs off of Charisma, with both Constitution and Wisdom being the back up stats. A Constitution secondary will be able to tank well (looking at you, krogan battlemasters), and a Wisdom secondary will focus more on the biotic aspect (drell and asari).
I need help with a lot of things, such as converting the rest of the multiplayer vanguard abilities to at-wills, getting more class features (would prime shot be good for vanguards?), and coming up with some original daily powers.
If by some crazy chance you manage to playtest this, I want to know how it went! Keep an eye out for updates to this post.
VANGUARD
Class Traits
Role: Striker. You are extremely mobile, and your biotics allow you to deal massive damage as well as control the battlefield. Depending on your choice of class features and powers, you lean toward a defender or a controller as your secondary class role.
Power Source: Biotic (Psionic). You are a biotic powerhouse.
Key Abilities: Charisma, Wisdom, Constitution
Armor Proficiencies: Light, Medium
Armor Type: Barrier
Weapon Proficiencies: Pistol, Shotgun
Implement Proficiencies: Biotic Implants
Bonus to Defense: +2 Fortitude
Hit Points at First Level: 12 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 5
Healing Surges per Day: 7 + Constitution modifier
Trained Skills: From the class skills below, choose 4 trained skills at 1st level.
Build Options: Brash, Tactical
Class Features: Biotic Charge,
Biotic Charge - Vanguard Attack 1
At-Will * Augmentable, Biotic, Biotic Detonator, Implement
Minor Action Melee 1
Target: One creature
Effect: You teleport up to 5 squares adjacent to the target and regain Con modifier barrier. This attack is modified by any feat, item, or ability that modifies a charge attack.
The target takes Wisdom modifier damage
Augment 1
Effect: You teleport up to 10 squares adjacent to the target and regain double your Con modifier barrier.
Augment 2
Attack Type: Close burst 1
Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
Nova - Vanguard Attack 1
At-Will * Augmentable, Biotic, Implement
Standard Action Close Burst 1
Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
Effect: Lose all of your barrier. If you have no barrier, this attack cannot be made.
Attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target grants CA for the next attack made against it.
Augment 1
Effect: Lose half your barrier (rounded down). If you have no barrier, this attack cannot be made.
Augment 2
Hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target is knocked prone.
Shockwave - Vanguard Attack 1
At-Will * Augmentable, Biotic, Biotic Detonator, Implement
Standard Action Close Line 4
Target: Each enemy in line
Attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d6 + Charisma modifier force damage
Augment 1
Effect: Increase range to Line 6
Augment 2
Hit: 2d6 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target is restrained until the end of your next turn.
Nova Charge - Vanguard Attack 1
Daily * Biotic, Implement
Standard Action Close Burst 1
Target: Each enemy in burst you can see
Effect: Teleport up to 10 squares, then deal your Wisdom modifier in damage to each enemy in the burst
Attack: Charisma vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage, and the target grants CA against the next attack against it.
The Classes
Class - Role - Primary Ability
Adept - Controller - WIS
Engineer - Leader - INT
Infiltrator - Striker - DEX
Sentinel - Defender - CON
Soldier - Defender - STR
Vanguard - Striker - CHA
So, six classes, six ability scores - why not base each class off one? Adept and Engineer were easy, as I think science smarts (Engineer) as intelligence, and biotic smarts (Adept) as wisdom line up nicely.
Infiltrator and Soldier were likewise pretty easy, just like Rogues and Fighters in 4e. Vanguard and Sentinel I wasn’t too sure on, but here’s my reasoning. Vanguards must have an incredible confidence in themselves to fire off into a biotic charge time and again, so I went with Charisma. In Mass Effect, the Sentinel is the most durable of all the builds, and your system needs to be strong to handle both your biotic amps and your omni-tool.
I don’t have secondary ability scores or roles sorted out. I figure the different power evolutions will give me clues as I go, but I’m open to suggestions.
The Races
Race - Ability Boosts - Racial Ability
Human - as 4e - as 4e
Asari - CHA; WIS/CON - Tiefling
Turian - STR; DEX/CON - Elf
Salarian - INT; DEX/CON - Gnome
Krogan - STR; CHA/CON - Minotaur
Quarian - DEX; INT/CHA - Half-Elf
Drell - WIS; DEX/CHA - Halfling
Geth - INT; DEX/STR - Deva
Vorcha - CON; STR/DEX - Dwarf
Batarian - STR; CON/CHA - Half-Orc
All of the playable races in ME3 multiplayer. I didn’t feel the need to come up with new racials for each, as 4e has plenty of balanced ones to choose from. With a little reskinning (Infernal Wrath -> Biotic Wrath), these should work just fine. I will be doing a little mixing and matching of the other traits (Krogan, for example, should get the resistance to forced movement/prone that dwarves get, while the Vorcha will be taking the minor action second wind).
The Weapons
This will be a little more difficult, but here are some very basic ideas of how the different types of guns will work.
Type - Typical ranges - Typical damage
Pistols - 10-20 - d4
SMG - 5-10 - d6
Assault Rifles - 10-20 - d8
Shotguns - 5-10 - d10
Sniper Rifles - 10-20 - d12
edit: so that being said, i'll need more classes built... *hint*
Thanks for putting TiamatZ's stuff up front, I'm always nervous about making the OP too long. As for your playtest, I put together an early alpha build of a sample human vanguard. I want to make an asari adept, salarian engineer, turian soldier, krogan sentinel, and a quarian infiltrator. How many people are in your tabletop, and what would they like to play?
Speaking of the human vanguard:
Str 10, Con 15, Dex 11, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 18
AC: 15 Fort: 15 Ref: 11 Will: 15
(+2 class bonus to Fort, +3 AC from medium armor, replace dex with con mod for AC)
HP 27 (12+Con) Surges: 9 (7+Con mod) Surge Value: 6 Barrier (max): 10
(HP/Surges based off Monk, Barrier is treated as Temp hp that has the Barrier keyword)
Trained Skills: Arcana (Biotics) +4, Athletics +5, Endurance +7, Intimidate +9
Feats:
Level 1: Vanguard Expertise (+1 attack to pistols, shotguns, and biotic attacks made using an L5n amp)
Human: Improved Biotic Charge (+2 to damage and barrier regen after a biotic charge)
Powers:
At-will Class Feature: Biotic Charge
At-Will * Augmentable, Biotic, Biotic Detonator, Implement
Minor Action Melee 1
Target: One creature
Effect: You teleport up to 5 squares adjacent to the target and regain Con modifier barrier. This attack is modified by any feat, item, or ability that modifies a charge attack.
The target takes Wisdom modifier damage
Augment 1
Effect: You teleport up to 10 squares adjacent to the target and regain double your Con modifier barrier.
Augment 2
Attack Type: Close burst 1
Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
At-Will * Augmentable, Biotic, Implement
Standard Action Close Burst 1
Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
Effect: Lose all of your barrier. If you have no barrier, this attack cannot be made.
Attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target grants CA for the next attack made against it.
Augment 1
Effect: Lose half your barrier (rounded down). If you have no barrier, this attack cannot be made.
Augment 2
Hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target is knocked prone.
At-Will * Augmentable, Biotic, Biotic Detonator, Implement
Standard Action Close Line 4
Target: Each enemy in line
Attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d6 + Charisma modifier force damage
Augment 1
Effect: Increase range to Line 6
Augment 2
Hit: 2d6 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target is restrained until the end of your next turn.
Daily * Biotic, Implement
Standard Action Close Burst 1
Target: Each enemy in burst you can see
Effect: Teleport up to 10 squares, then deal your Wisdom modifier in damage to each enemy in the burst
Attack: Charisma vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and the target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage, and the target grants CA against the next attack against it.
+7 vs. AC, Hit 1d4+4, Range 5-15, Reload Minor (reload after five 'shots')
Ranged Basic: Katana Shotgun
+6 vs. AC, Hit 1d10+4, Range 5-10, Reload Move (reload after four 'shots')
Like the psionics, biotics get 2 power points at level 1, and regain them during a short rest. Would a couple more characters like this allow you to playtest with your group?
when i said 'tonight', i meant i would talk to them tonight about playtesting in the future. which they are down for.
- The races (Drell and Batarians are the only ones that need a stat-up. I'll worry about the other races later).
- The classes (I think it's best to keep the playtest with the classes between level 1-3, then expand on them once their sorta balanced).
- Guns and Melee weapons (we need to decide how weapons function within the Tabletop version, and how much will range and melee combat affect the battlefield [e.g. Most weapons in DnD 4th Ed. were melee-oriented, with the exceptions of Range weapons like crossbows and Reach weapons; Maybe we should invert the chart, and have more range than melee weapons? Or perhaps replace melee weapons with add-ons for your weapons, giving you a bonus to basic melee attack rolls?)
- Encounter design (How easy/hard will encounters be for players? Since I decided that a party of 4 players is the default, encounters would have to be tailored for such a party. Not to mention how will cover and elevation play a role in an encounter map).
- Action types (New actions like covering and aiming need to be taken into consideration, since its a staple of the PC game).
- Monster designs (We'll need to design some sample monsters for the PCs to fight. I was thinking some Mercenaries and Mech templates (i.e. like some Blue Suns grunts and some LOKI mechs) for players to test their abilities on during the playtest).
Thoughts/Ideas?
Edit: And as Lord said, this is a collaboration project, so anyone can join in and help out. So feel free to drop by and offer some of your thoughts and ideas on the project.
* Races - we're going to need to be flexible on race stat boosts until we've finalized the classes' main and secondary stats.
* Classes - completely agree on starting at 1-3.
* Guns - I was thinking about taking hints from ME3 - modding weapons to increase melee (shotgun blade, assault rifle omni-blade, pistol stunner, etc), 'heavy' melee triggering off biotic amps or omni tools (implements) or the rare melee weapons in the universe (a few swords, krogan headbutt, etc).
* Encounter design - I think slightly bigger numbers (hp) with more damage potential (biotic/tech explosions, barrier/shield stripping abilities, etc) would fit ME
* Action types - for cover and aiming, why not basic stances available to anyone that could be specialized by classes?
Cover: Free Action (only 1 free per turn, remember, so part of the action economy); take cover behind low or full cover. Low cover = concealment, full cover = full concealment.
Aimed in: Free Action; gain proficiency modifier for the weapon you are wielding, lower speed by 1?
* Monster designs - Mercs/mechs would be fine, but we've also got some great enemies from the multiplayer.
Geth Rocket Trooper (artillery), Geth Hunter (stalker), Geth Trooper (soldier), Geth Pyro (brute?), Geth Prime (Elite soldier, spawns drone/turret minions), and if you want a solo, Geth Colossus.
A few other things that would be unique to the setting:
* Biotic/Tech explosions - maybe give powers 'primer' and 'detonator' keywords, and when a power is detonated, there is an immediate area burst 1 that does a set amount of damage - maybe average level of the two powers used? Maybe bonuses if it's two different characters instead of one? Also some good fodder for class abilities/feats.
* Consumables - Multiplayer has 4 - rocket launcher, tac ops pack (healing potions?), ammo refill/buff (instant reload?), and medi-gel. This seems like a good way to port over potions.
* Heavy Weapons - The Cain. Area Blast 20, xdy, where x = the number of dice the DM has, and y = the sides of said dice.
* Balance - are we trying to balance this within 4e, or is this more standalone?
-races: theres no turians statted yet.. at least, there are no pdf's of turians. turians, drell and batarians are the only combat important missing races.
-classes: 1-3 of the 6(? adept, soldier, vanguard, engineer, infiltrator, sentinel, right? no others?) should be fine for playtesting
-weapons: i think that if every gun had 2 slots for upgrades, and you made the upgrades rare, you could get a very good system going. also, there should be lots of different guns of each class of gun, but i'll let someone with more experience with all the different guns figure that out. for a playtest, one or two basic guns from each category should be plenty. as for melee, there should be a gun upgrade for +melee, there should also exist the melee weapons from ME3 MP - the swords, the electric whips, krogan headbutt. i think you could mimic the pace of the MP by making basic melee as a minor doing just str damage, and heavy melee as a standard doing much more (maybe triple damage?). the more i think about it, the more i think that the pace and feel is a little better emulated with the RoF stats I posted in the other thread: each gun has a rate of fire, standard action to fire that many shots, each hit does damage. would work also with higher hp/shield/barriers, and make melee a bit more dangerous.
-biotic/tech explosions: i think this is a great idea; even better if not every power has both keywords. it would force a bit of tactics to set up and trigger them. i also think that the reward should be higher then just the average level of the power. maybe there is something in the idea of chain explosions - detonating one explodes a burst which detonates any other triggered power in the burst.
-balance: i think that this is a standalone balance, just using the basic mechanics of 4e to hold the game in
-consumables: yeah, missiles, ammo packs, medi gel and ops packs; i think also encounter consumables: ammo powers. warp/cryo/fire/etc as a one use item that lasts for the whole encounter.
we also need to think hard about skills. i dont think this is going to be just a combat game, it needs to hold up as a P&P RPG which means skills outside of combat.
i personally am terrible at statting enemies, but if i could get help with that, i would gladly write up a scenario to take 4 pc's from level 1 to 3 as a sort of 3-5 session playtest guide. what era would you want to see it take place in? rachni wars, krogan rebellion, geth war, first contact war, ME1, 2, 3, post 3? there is really a lot of material here to work with. i find it crazy that this setting is not currently being developed as a licensed rpg.
my personal feeling would be to set it in the time between 1 & 2 - or, i guess, like during the 2 years that Shepard is in project Lazarus. meaning geth, collectors, mercs of all races, cerberus: all viable enemies. probably not reapers though.
I do think RoF should have something to do with the guns, but dropping 3 attack/damage rolls every time you shoot the Vindicator would get hard to deal with, I think.
Maybe something like: Single shot -> Semi-Auto -> Burst -> Full auto keywords that interact with powers/defenses? I don't know, that seems a little complicated.
Anyway, I'll try my hand at some enemies. Drell should have ability mods that let them do well at infiltrator, adept, and vanguard. I thought Drell should get the halfling's Second Chance power (except call it something like Acrobatic Dodge), where they can force a reroll of an opponent's attack once per encounter. It's not luck for them, it's agility.
Batarians should be able to do Soldier and Sentinel, don't know what else would work for them. I wanted to give them the Half-Orc +1[W] damage to an attack once per encounter.
I thought I remember seeing a turian write up from TiamatZ, and we both had them pegged with the Elven Accuracy power (re-roll one attack once per encounter).
You underestimate the power of fanwank.
Not a bad idea.
Yeah. Since the PCs are much more powerful than their Fantasy 4th Ed. counterparts, it makes sense to make the enemies much more powerful. One idea I had was to keep the DnD Encounter design, but keep the party limit to 4 PCs (eg. designing an encounter as for 5 P
The series itself has given rise to many foes for PCs to fight.
From ME1: Geth, Pirates and Terrorist Cells, Thorians, Rachni (pre-ME3)
From ME2: More Geth, Mercenaries (Blood Pack, Eclipse and Blue Suns), the Mechs and the Collectors
And from ME3: Reaper forces (including Rachni ME3 vesion), Even more Geth, Cerberus forces
Awesome idea. It helps create synergy between the PCs, and allows them to create combos, further encouraging teamwork.
Not a bad idea, though I'm a bit concerned about PCs having early access to the Rocket Launcher so early in their career (from a Campaign perspective). As a one shot fight I don't mind. I was thinking on medi-gel being a quick way for PCs to stabilize the dying and getting them back into a fight. I'd probably limit the use of Medi-gels and Missiles in a fight (like maybe 1 missile/2 medi-gels per encounter).
We'll worry about heavy weapons later. Let's focus on the basics first.
Well, we'll be using 4th Ed. as the framework, so the game rules have to follow the same rules as 4th Edition naturally. As for the actual license of the system, I don't really know to be honest. I don't know what Wizards' stance on the OGL (Open Game License) is on 4th edition. If anyone knows, give us a holler. Otherwise, I'd rather consider this to be PART of 4th edition (as in, you need to have DnD 4th edition Players Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide to understand the game) just to avoid potential lawsuits (although this is a non-profit project, I'd just like to be on the safe side nonetheless).
My bad, had them uploaded with the others, but forgot to post a link to them. Here you go (though they might need some 'calibrations')!
Only those 6. They will be considered the 'Basic' classes during character creation. Once PCs hit level 11 (AKA the Paragon tier), they'll get to choose Advance classes, such as Justicars, Battlemasters, and even the N7 program (such as the Human characters that was released in the Earth DLC package). I was considering adding in Spectres here as well, but that's still early days.
I like this idea as well.
This could be useful. This would allow soldiers to gain permanent access to them (kind of their 'thing' compared to other classes), but still allow other PCs to use them during fights (though they would be less powerful than their Soldier counterparts for balance purposes).
I was thinking on implementing Star Wars Saga's range of skills. It kinda fits with ME's world.
The neat thing about the Project, is that the Game Masters Guide would allow the GM to set their campaigns and story lines whenever they want to. For the playtest though, we should probably keep it simple for now, and use something akin to ME3's Multiplayer (e.g. Allow PCs [a team of operatives] to investigate a seemingly abandoned research facility on [Insert Planet name here], only to discover it being overrun by Geth or Cerberus forces bent on capturing the data. The PCs would then have to escape the facility, contact HQ for a shuttle, then reach the pad and hold the line for extraction. Or give PCs the option of setting the self-destruct on the facilities' Generators.)
imagine firing a shotgun or sniper rifle. one shot, big damage.
now imagine firing a pistol or smg. one shot. 1d6? 1d4? why would i ever not fire a shotgun instead?
adding RoF and accuracy gives different playstyles a bit of chance to shine. taking the table i posted there:
Weapon - Effective Range - Damage Die - Clip - Rate of fire - Accuracy (From Hip/Aimed)
Pistols - 5-15 - d4 - ~15 ammo/clip - RoF: 3 shots - Accuracy: -1/+2
SMG - 5-10 - d6 - ~40 ammo/clip - RoF: 10 Shots - Accuracy: -2/-2
Assault Rifles - 10-20 - d8 - ~30 ammo/clip - RoF: 5 Shots - Accuracy: -1/+1
Shotguns - 5-10 - d10 - ~5 ammo/clip - RoF: 1 Shot - Accuracy: 0/+2
Sniper Rifles - 15-25 - d12 - ~1 ammo/clip - RoF: 1 Shot - Accuracy: -2/+4
now, i could aim and fire with a pistol for a much better chance to hit, but do less damage
or i could spray and pray with the smg with a low damage per shot, but lots of shots
or i could use my assault rifle and get some range and aim for some good accuracy
or i could use my shotgun at close and have good damage
or i could snipe
i also think that with this proposed setup, pistols are still shit and would never be used. im tempted to try and work weight in, but that is for sure taking it too far.
the other cool thing about a RoF system is that you can then add variety to each weapon category. for example (im not well versed on the in game guns, so please forgive me) you could have a revolver type gun that could look like this:
Revolver (Pistol)
Range: 5-15
Damage: d8
Clip: 6 Shots
RoF: 1 Shot
Accuracy: 0/+2
or
Typhoon (Assault Rifle)
Range: 10-15
Damage: d6
Clip: 100 Shots
RoF: 20 Shots
Accuracy: -1/0
and make interesting weapon choices inside each category, but it could all be balanced.
The Typhoon would be a fully auto AR, probably with Armor Piercing capabilities and a once per encounter ability to fire off a basic ranged as a free action. The Saber, on the other hand, would be a semi-auto AR with an increase to accuracy or some such. I just don't know if I want to deal with 4-5 (or more) attack rolls per player per turn.
I definitely get what you're saying about why would anyone ever take a pistol over a shotgun, and there should be clearly defined roles for each gun. It'll take a brain more awake than mine at the moment to figure it out, so I'll get back to you on that (or anyone else could chime in with their ideas).
Now that I think about it, I might have to remove the Soldier's feature to choose specific Ammo powers at character creation, if only to balance out the fact that Soldiers get proficiency in every weapon and armor. That way, Ammo powers can become more universal.
Edit: Also, the OP needs this:
@Psolms: Regarding weapons: I was also thinking to add Weapon Weight and Reload Speed in there as well. A weapon's weight would either be classified as Light or Heavy, and both this and RoF would determine what action would be needed to reload the weapon. An example would be a sniper rifle (let's saw a Widow). It would have a Low RoF (say 1 RoF), low clip size (say 1), but has a high damage output to compensate (say 2d12) and would be classified as a heavy weapon. Therefore, a PC would have to use a standard action to reload the weapon once the clip is expended.
Ah. Posted before I read the entire thread. Sounds like a great idea and something that people could really get into!
With those two options, I doubt anyone will complain about samey guns.
I guess you could swap healing skill with first aid/medi-gel skill
But that system of being down seems to work pretty well.
Based on the games, some of those things take forever and a half to reload. Since a turn of combat for everyone is considered to be 5-10 seconds of a fight, it seems to fit pretty well. Shoot, reload, should be about 4 or 5 seconds for your sniper character
I won't lie, the Batarian was probably the hardest to stat up, not because that their one of the least popular, but because... well, let's face it: Batarians rarely stuck out in the ME universe before they appeared in Mutliplayer. When you saw a Vorcha, you knew they were going to regenerate if you gave them a breather. A krogan? WATCH OUT FOR THAT CHARGE! And even an asari? HERE COME THEM BIOTICS! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!
As for batarians? Umm... well... they got 4 eyes! Reaaaalll scary. To be honest, their pretty much just humans with literally 4 eyes. And terrorists. And Space Korea or something...
So I figured I'd stat them up to be perfect candidates for PCs who want to play a ruthless character. Their also the only race with Blade armor in the Multiplayer, so I decided to use that as their racial power (consider it illegal techs they pillaged from former victims or pirates, fits well with the ME canon :P) Their probably the most unique race with some unique racial features compared to older 4th ed. races (with the exception of the power; long time 4th ed. fans may recognize it as the Razor storm power from the planar Bladelings). And yes, some merchants and vendors will get some unique keywords to give the GM (and the PCs) some idea on how to barter/negotiate/trade/extort/threaten to sell and buy goods. Another example of a merchant keyword would be Fearless, meaning the merchant is immune to being intimidated, and could even INCREASE his prices should PCs go that route.
Edit: also, I updated the Krogans a bit as well, replacing the old Krogan Rage with the classic Krogan Headbutt! I decided to replace Krogan Rage, mostly cause its statistically the same power as the Vorcha now have.
I was thinking engineers would be the leader class, as two of the multi classes have burst healing (Geth Engineer's turret and the N7's pylon), as well as plenty of debuffs between them. They could work kind of like the shaman's totems, maybe?
I like the heavy - light weapons, and classes that have a 'choice' (like infiltrators, some work better with shotties, some with sniper rifle) could have that as part of their class feature choices.
For the infiltrator, at level 1 choose "close quarters" or "sniper," gain proficiency with shotguns or sniper rifles, then some powers could have specific riders for each (like a rogue's artful dodger vs. ruthless ruffian).
Oh, another thing I completely forgot to ever bring up - but do we want to default the setting to inherent bonuses, like Dark Sun? That way, we don't have to worry about +1 - +5 versions of everything.
Speaking of some roughly done monsters (liberally borrowed/modified from existing material, using post-MM3 math)
Geth Trooper - Level 1 Soldier
HP 28 Bloodied 14 Shields 10 Init +3
AC 17, Fort 14, Ref 13, Will 12 Perception +0
Speed 6 Low-light vision
Traits
Geth Consensus
While adjacent to a geth ally, the trooper’s attacks deal 2 extra damage.
Standard Actions
Assault (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Range 10 (one creature); +6 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8+3 damage, may shift 1 space closer to the target
Melee (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +6 vs. AC
Hit: 1d8+5 damage, push the target 1 square, shift into it.
Geth Hunter - Level 2 Lurker
HP 37 Bloodied 18 Shields 10 Init +10
AC 16, Fort 14, Ref 15, Will 13 Perception +8
Speed 6 Low-light vision
Traits
Geth Consensus
While adjacent to a geth ally, the hunter’s attacks deal 2 extra damage
Standard Actions
Geth Cloak * At-Will
The hunter turns invisible until he attacks or reaches 0 hit points.
Geth Plasma Shotgun (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Range 5 (one creature); +7 vs AC
Hit: 1d10+7, or 2d10+14 if the hunter was invisible at the start of its turn.
Miss: Half damage
Melee (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +7 vs AC
Hit: 1d10+7, push the target 1 square.
Geth Rocket Trooper - Level 3 Artillery
HP 38 Bloodied 19 Shields 10 Init +5
AC 17 Fort 15, Ref 16, Will 14 Perc +8
Speed 6 Low-light vision
Traits
Geth Consensus
While adjacent to a geth ally, the hunter’s attacks deal 2 extra damage
Standard Actions
Melee (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +7 vs AC
Hit: 1d6+7, push the target 1 square.
Rocket (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Range 10 (one creature); +8 vs Reflex
Hit: 1d12+6
Effect: If the target is bloodied, knock it prone.
Geth Pyro - Level 3 Brute
Medium synthetic humanoid XP 150
HP 56 Bloodied 28 Shields 10 Init +1
AC 15 Fort 16, Ref 14, Will 15 Perc +2
Speed 6 Low-light vision
Traits
Geth Consensus
While adjacent to a geth ally, the pyro’s attacks deal 2 extra damage
Standard Actions
Melee (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +8 vs AC
Hit: 1d8+7, push the target 1 square.
Flame Thrower (weapon) * At-Will
Attack: Close blast 2 (enemies); +8 vs AC, this attack ignores low cover.
Hit: 1d6+7, ongoing 5 (fire) (save ends)
Geth Prime - Level 3 Elite Skirmisher
HP 98 Bloodied 49 Shields 15 Init +5
AC 19 Fort 18 Reflex 15 Will 17 Perc +5
Speed 5 Low-light vision
Traits
Geth Consensus
While adjacent to a geth ally, the prime’s attacks deal 2 extra damage
Minor Actions
Prime Combat Drone * Encounter - Recharge when Drone is destroyed.
Summon a combat drone in an adjacent square. Combat drone is a minion with the same defenses as the prime. Aura 1: Geth in the aura regain 2 shields at the start of their turn.
Prime Turret * Encounter - Recharge when Turret is destroyed.
Summon a prime turret within 5 squares. Prime turret is a minion with the same defenses as the prime. Aura 2: Enemies within the aura take 3 damage at the start of their turn.
Standard Actions
Pulse Blast (weapon) * At-will
Attack: Ranged 10 (one creature); +8 vs AC
Hit: 1d10+3
Double Blast (weapon) * Recharge 4-5-6
Use pulse blast twice, either against the same target or two different ones.
Melee (weapon) * At-will
Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +8 vs AC
Hit: 1d10+7, push the target up to two squares
Triggered Actions
Unstable End * Encounter
Trigger: Geth Prime is reduced to 0 hit points
Effect: Creatures adjacent to Geth Prime take 10 electric damage.
Regarding the Infiltrator, I was thinking these features when choosing one?
Operative
When choosing an Infiltrator, choose one of the following features:
Assassin:
You gain a proficiency in Sniper Rifles. In addition, your reload speed with sniper rifles is reduced (Sniper rifles that take a standard action to reload now takes a Minor Action, and Sniper rifles that take a Minor Action to reload now take a Free Action). You must be behind cover for this to take effect.
Commando
You gain a proficiency in shotguns. Whenever you hit a target successfully with the shotgun, it gains a -2 to attack rolls until the end of your turn.
Tech Cloak:
Infiltrators gain the tech cloak power (Encounter power). When activated, they gain invisibility. They would need to use a minor action to sustain it. Whenever they do any action that does not involve moving, the Cloak dissipates. While in this cloaked form, you gain a +X bonus to attack rolls, where X is your dexterity or intelligence modifier, whichever one is highest. (Thanks Road Virus)
I'll think of more tonight when I get home.
Thoughts/Ideas?
Edit: regarding the Geth Prime: Maybe you should stipulate what the maximum limit is for summoning minions? Reading that stat block, it seems a GM could abuse that ability every turn, summoning minions everywhere!
Maybe Dexterity or Intelligence rather, whichever is highest for the PC?
Make him a minion
Good catch, TiamatZ. It's an overlook, not a feature of the enemy.
As for infiltrator, just a couple of suggestions:
Assassin - all fine, except I'd say move a standard reload to a move reload, a move to a minor, etc.
Commando - I was leery of this, but then I remembered the Rattling keyword Ruthless Ruffian rogues get which does basically the same thing, so I think it at least makes it into the playtest that way.
Here's how I statted up Tactical Cloak:
Tactical Cloak - Infiltrator Utility
At Will * High Tech, Illusion
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You gain concealment until the end of your next turn, or until you attack, whichever comes first. If you are behind cover or did not move this turn, you have full concealment.
Then I was going to combine it with rogue sneak attack. This way, enemies have a chance of spotting you, especially if you are running around outside of cover. But if you are behind cover or motionless, you'd get sneak attack dice.
I think I like your minor sustain better, as it would let an infiltrator stealth better. Maybe max 3 turns or something? I didn't want to give an at-will invisibility, because it seemed a little strong, but maybe an at-will full concealment? The main difference is that enemies can see through full conceal easier, and if you are adjacent to an enemy you only have partial conceal. The rest is the same: -5 to attacks against you, CA against creatures that can't see you, etc. I know in ME3 if you try and stealth right by enemies they'll take a swing at you.