Classless Skills & Powers
An AD&D Variant
Ernest Mueller
February 16, 1999
Classless Skills & Powers
An AD&D variant
Introduction
This is a classless character generation method for use with the AD&D Player's and DM's Option rules. It covers the Skills & Powers, Combat & Tactics, Spells & Magic, and High-Level Campaigns rulebooks. It is a supplement for, not a replacement of, those rules. Many details of individual skills, including descriptions and relevant tables, are not reproduced here.
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Principles
This system was designed according to the following principles:
1)Maximize compatibility with both Skills & Powers and the AD&D 2nd edition core rules.
2)Promote in-game character growth.
3)Maintain game balance, internal to this system and vs. AD&D 2nd edition core rules.
4)Generate characters of the standard AD&D 2nd edition types with the system as well as custom ones.
Assumptions
This system is based on the following assumptions:
1)Ability skill costs are proportional to both the ability's usefulness and how difficult it should be to learn.
2)Classes as they exist in standard AD&D 2nd edition core rules are fairly well balanced with respect to each other.
Rationale
This system was created to address the following shortcomings of the character creation system in Skills & Powers and the other Player's and DM's Option rules:
1)Unequal point allocation across classes and races for skill customization.
2)Rule incompatibility among the various Player's and DM's Option rulebooks.
3)In-game skill advancement is very slow. Though many skills improve with level (like spells, THAC0, and thief skills), characters grow in other areas very slowly (1 NWP and 1 WP every 3 to 4 levels). First-level characters have 90% of the skills they are ever going to have.
4)First-level characters have become too powerful. The conception of a first-level fighter used to be a 16-year-old novice right out of their first battle. It quickly grew to the point that a L1 warrior could have multiple weapon specializations and other powerful abilities.
General Approach:
All skills formerly known as "class abilities", “race abilities,” “nonweapon proficiencies” and “weapon proficiencies," which currently all operate under different rules, are all skills or abilities which a character would learn during their lives. This system makes the acquisition of those skills uniform.
All the race, class, and weapon/nonweapon proficiencies are combined into one set of skills organized into skill trees. Characters buy all these abilities out of their single pool of character points.
There are no longer character classes in this system. Players are free to define their characters as they wish, according to their desired skills and personality. Multi-classing and dual-classing rules are conveniently removed thereby. Levels are retained, but are more loosely tied to individual skills than in standard AD&D. Most kits are no longer necessary, as all their component parts can be purchased individually. There is room in this system for very specific kits - ones that are not just a different collection of standard abilities (like the swashbuckler), but instead include specific abilities with their own rules and drawbacks (like the Limbant ranger). Races exist as usual but are a little more flexible.
This system also attempts to reconcile the many and varied skills presented in the various Player’s Option and DM’s Option books. It tries to maintain a high level of compatibility with those books except where the approaches of those sourcebooks clearly differ.
Starting characters may find themselves a little weaker at first level using this scheme, but they will grow in skill at a much faster rate. As characters increase in level, they get more character points, which can be used to buy more abilities or to improve current ones.
If, as a character develops, they wish to spend more effort learning skills traditionally termed “nonweapon proficiencies” rather than ones traditionally termed “class abilities,” or vice versa, that is a valid decision this system supports.
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Credits and Legal Notice
Credits
I’d like to give credit to all those people who contributed to this work. Many people from my gaming group and the rec.games.frp.dnd newsgroup had many helpful ideas on this system’s genesis. I’d especially like to thank the following people:
System Design -David Callander
Mike Miller
Travis Pearce
Playtesting -Jason Cox
Hal Phillips
Tim Dowden
Kevin King
Mike Wallace
Feedback - Lance Dooly
Don McKinney
Pete Blake
Mark Hall
Legal Notice
This document is Copyright 1999, Ernest Mueller. It is based on a number of works copyrighted by TSR, Inc., and is not meant to challenge any of those copyrights. It is meant as a free supplement to the works already published by TSR, Inc.
Ability Score Generation
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Roll up ability scores as usual using any of the methods in the Skills & Powers handbook (pp.12-21). Use subability scores, or not, as you desire. Since there are no classes, any character may have exceptional strength. Only roll percentile for strength if the primary strength score is 18. Split subability scores can not exceed 18 unless the primary score is itself 18 or better.
Optionally, you can provide for character ability growth if using methods V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, or X. You have the player hold back some ability score points that are then applied as the character goes up in level later in play. The exact mechanic differs by generation method, but the DM should target about 9 “growth points” such that the character reaches his or her full potential around name level.
Method V (4d6 drop lowest): Roll the first 3d6 and note that score. Then roll the additional d6. If the 4d6 drop lowest score is higher, that number is the character’s eventual potential in that score, but he starts at the 3d6 number. Each time the character levels, the DM allows the player to have one “growth point” to add to any of the character’s ability scores that is below its maximum. If the character has more than 9 points allocated to growth, allow them to add growth points to their 3d6 scores during character generation until they only have 9 growth points left.
Method VI (All scores start at 8 and 7d6 points are divided between them): Hold back one d6 of the 7d6 (before rolling) as “growth points” to be allotted at one per level, assigned to any score the player desires (up to racial maximums).
Method VII (75 points, divide as you want): Hold back 4-9 (1d6+3) points out of the 75 as “growth points,” assigned one per level to any score as above.
Method VIII (24d6, assign as desired): Hold back 2 of the d6 (before rolling) as “growth points,” assigned one per level to any score as above.
Method IX (2d6 on the chart for number of points): Hold back 4-9 points, just as in Method VII. Assign one point by level as above.
Method X (75 points): Hold back 4-9 points, just as in Method VII. Assign one point by level as above.
Note that in Method V the scores that can grow during play are predetermined, but are not in methods VI-X. If you want all these methods to generate predetermined maximum scores, you can have the player pre-assign his growth points to get a set of maximum values just as in Method V.
These optional “growth methods” allow characters to begin as young, slightly above average people, and grow into their full power as they advance. This avoids making starting characters into ultra-powerful 16 year olds, while allowing players to customize the character according to their unique experiences and needs as the campaign progresses.
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Character Points, Skills, and Skill Trees Introduction
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Character Points
A character begins life with 200 character points (CPs). These points are used to purchase all the character’s skills, whether they stem from race, class, weapon/nonweapon proficiency, or any other source. As characters rise in level they are awarded more character points to spend on additional skills as desired. Characters receive 20 character points for each experience level advanced. All new skills gained and advances in current skills are paid for using CPs. CPs also have all the secondary uses detailed in the Skills & Powers rulebook (pp.6-7).
Optionally, for those very fond of random generation, you can start out characters with 170+3d20 CP, and as they advance in level they should be awarded a base of 16 CP, plus 1-6 CP based either on random roll or DM assignation for character role-playing.
Skills
This is the technical term for all the specific abilities at a character’s disposal. In this system, very few skills are obtained for free. Every aspect of a character’s abilities are explicitly bought using CP. Theoretically, all skills are available to all characters, though the CP cost may be prohibitive. Many skills from Skills & Powers are retained intact, with the same point costs, in this system. Some have been changed to balance the system, those changes are noted as they appear.
Skill Trees
Skills are arranged into skill trees. A skill tree is a collection of related skills. Most trees have an initial cost to “buy into” the tree, and thereafter a character may purchase skills from the tree. Some skills have costs other than CP, such as prerequisite skills or special conditions. Skill trees reflect the benefit of related skills - if you have learned a lot about combat, for example, it is easier to learn more about combat than to learn about flower arrangement.
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Racial Abilities
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Racial abilities are skills that can be purchased only at character generation time. These reflect skills that are either inborn or taught from a very early age. Each major PC race has its own racial skill tree.
S&P Traits and Disadvantages all fall into the Racial Abilities category as well, though any race may choose Traits and Disadvantages.
To buy racial skills, you first choose a racial skill tree. Thereafter you may purchase as many racial abilities from that skill tree as you wish.
Mixed races, like half-elves, must choose both skill trees (human and elf, in this case), and they are only allowed to buy skills from the racial trees costing 5 CPs or less, unless the same ability appears in both races’ skill tree and cost 10 CPs or less. Under any circumstance, such mixed-race characters do not have access to racial skills costing more than 10 CP. DMs are free to allow any combinations they wish using these rules that are appropriate to their campaign - half gnome/half dwarves, for example, would use both those racial trees and buy skills at the listed cost. The DM may be required to devise the base description for that new race combination, however. The DM may also create new racial skills that the hybrid race only may buy.
Players should target spending no more than 45 points (and usually less) for racial abilities, traits, and disadvantages here - you can spend more, but you will be unable to buy much in the way of other abilities later.
The character's ability scores must qualify for a race according to Table 14, S&P p.22 in order to buy into that race tree.
Other racial abilities derived from the Complete Handbook series or other sources may be added to these lists. Note that demihumans by default have limited level advancement as described in the core AD&D rules, but also can advance further if they have a high Prime Requisite (Table 17, S&P p.23). Demihumans may also spend character points to further buy out of that restriction, giving the ability to ascend to higher levels (but at an XP penalty). Determining which class to use on the level advancement table (Table 16, S&P p.23) will be covered in the “Reconciling Classes” chapter.
Race Bundles
A player can buy a bundled set of abilities for the “generic” demihuman of a specific type as described in S&P. This forgoes any customization of the character’s abilities.
DM Note: You are free to require that players take racial bundles rather than a la carte skills if you do not allow this much variety in demihuman races in your campaign world.
Latent Racial Abilities
A player may purchase some racial abilities as latent abilities. These abilities initially cost half the CP cost (rounded up), and then later in the character’s life the player may pay the full cost to have the ability “awaken.” For example, a half-elf character purchases latent 60’ infravision for 5 CP, and later in play pays 10 CP for the latent ability to become active. Which abilities may be purchased latently are at the DM’s discretion.
Racial Skill Trees
Elves
For free, elves get their ability score adjustments (Table 15, S&P p.23), long life, pointy ears, and other generic racial distinctives as described in the various rulebooks for their elf subtype (dark elves are black, aquatic elves breathe water, etc.).
Table 1: Elven Abilities
Skill / Cost (CP) / Ability / SourceBow bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Cold resistance / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Dagger bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Infravision (30’) / 5 / N/A / New
Heat resistance / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Javelin Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Less Sleep / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Secret Doors / 5 / N/A / S&P p.29
Spear Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.30
Sword Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.30
Trident Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.30
Aim bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Balance bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Companion / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Confer water breathing / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Infravision (60’) / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Magic Identification / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Reason Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Resistance / 10 / N/A / S&P p.29
Speak With Plants / 10 / N/A / S&P p.30
Stealth / 10 / N/A / S&P p.30
Unlimited Advancement at 25% XP Penalty / 10 / N/A / New
Spell Abilities / 15 / N/A / S&P p.30
Infravision (120’) / 15 / N/A / S&P p.29
Unlimited Advancement at 10% XP Penalty / 15 / N/A / New
Elf Bundle Costs:
Aquatic Elves: 40 CP (S&P p.27)
Dark Elves: 45 CP (S&P p.28)
Gray Elves: 45 CP (S&P p.28)
High Elves: 40 CP (S&P p.28)
Sylvan Elves: 40 CP (S&P p.29)
New Elven Abilities:
Infravision (30’):
Infravision like a normal elf, but only with a 30` range.
Unlimited Advancement at 25% XP Penalty:
The character can advance to unlimited level, but suffers a 25% penalty to all experience gained.
Infravision (120’):
Infravision like a normal elf, but extending out to a 120’ range.
Unlimited Advancement at 10% XP Penalty:
The character can advance to unlimited level, but suffers a 10% penalty to all experience gained.
Dwarves
Dwarves obtain, for free, racial ability adjustments as per Table 15 in S&P, grumpiness, beards, and the 20% chance of magical item malfunction common to all dwarves.
Table 2: Dwarven Abilities
Skill / Cost (CP) / Ability / SourceAxe Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.25
Brewing / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Close to the Earth / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Crossbow Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Determine Stability / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Determine Age / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Detect Poison / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Evaluate Gems / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Expert Haggler / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Illusion Resistant / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Infravision (30’) / 5 / N/A / New
Mace Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Pick Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Shortsword Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Warhammer Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.26
Better Balance / 10 / N/A / S&P p.25
Health Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Dense Skin / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Hit Point Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Improved Stamina / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Infravision (60’) / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Meld Into Stone / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Melee Combat / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Mining Detection Abilities / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
More Muscles / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Saving Throw Bonuses / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Stealth / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Stone Tell / 10 / N/A / S&P p.26
Unlimited Advancement at 25% XP Penalty / 10 / N/A / New
Infravision (120’) / 15 / N/A / New
Unlimited Advancement at 10% XP Penalty / 15 / N/A / New
Dwarf Bundle Costs:
Deep Dwarves: 45 CP (S&P p.24)
Gray Dwarves: 45 CP (S&P p.25)
Hill Dwarves: 40 CP (S&P p.25)
Mountain Dwarves: 40 CP (S&P p.25)
New Dwarven Abilities:
See the New Elven Abilities section for descriptions of the Infravision and Unlimited Advancement skills.
Gnomes
Gnomes automatically get long lives, big noses, bizarre senses of humor, racial ability adjustments, and the 20% chance of magical item malfunction they all share.
Table 3: Gnomish Abilities
Skill / Cost (CP) / Ability / SourceDagger Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.31
Dart Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.31
Defensive Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.31
Engineering Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.31
Infravision (30’) / 5 / N/A / New
Potion Identification / 5 / N/A / S&P p.32
Saving Throw Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.31
Shortsword Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.31
Sling Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.32
Animal Friendship / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Melee Combat Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Forest Movement / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Freeze / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Hide / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Infravision (60’) / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Mining Detection Abilities / 10 / N/A / S&P p.31
Reason Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.32
Stealth / 10 / N/A / S&P p.32
Unlimited Advancement at 25% XP Penalty / 10 / N/A / New
Infravision (120’) / 15 / N/A / New
Unlimited Advancement at 10% XP Penalty / 15 / N/A / New
Gnome Bundle Costs:
Deep Gnomes: 45 CP (S&P p.30)
Forest Gnomes: 45 CP (S&P p.30)
Rock Gnomes: 40 CP (S&P p.31)
New Gnomish Abilities:
See the New Elven Abilities section for descriptions of the Infravision and Unlimited Advancement skills.
Halflings
Halflings, by default, are short and slightly more long-lived than humans. They get their racial ability score modifications.
Table 4: Halfling Abilities
Skill / Cost (CP) / Ability / SourceAttack Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.33
Detect Evil / 5 / N/A / S&P p.33
Detect Secret Doors / 5 / N/A / S&P p.33
Infravision (30’) / 5 / N/A / New
Mining Detection Abilities / 5 / N/A / S&P p.33
Reaction Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.33
Taunt / 5 / N/A / S&P p.34
Aim Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.33
Balance Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.33
Hide / 10 / N/A / S&P p.33
Health Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.33
Infravision (60’) / 10 / N/A / New
Saving Throw Bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.33
Stealth / 10 / N/A / S&P p.34
Unlimited Advancement at 25% XP Penalty / 10 / N/A / New
Unlimited Advancement at 10% XP Penalty / 15 / N/A / New
Halfling Bundle Costs:
Hairfoot Halflings: 30 CP (S&P p.32)
Stout Halflings: 35 CP (S&P p.32)
Tallfellow Halflings: 35 CP (S&P p.32)
New Halfling Abilities:
See the New Elven Abilities section for descriptions of the Infravision and Unlimited Advancement skills.
Humans
Humans all have unlimited advancement in level. They are also sexier than demihumans (in the author's opinion).
Table 5: Human Abilities
Skill / Cost (CP) / Ability / SourceAttack Bonus / 5 / N/A / S&P p.36
Experience Bonus (5%) / 5 / N/A / S&P p.36
Balance bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.36
Experience bonus (10%) / 10 / N/A / S&P p.36
Health bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.36
Hit point bonus / 10 / N/A / S&P p.36
Infravision 30’ / 10 / N/A / New
Secret doors / 10 / N/A / S&P p.36
Tough hide / 10 / N/A / S&P p.36
Second Sight / 15 / N/A / New
Human Bundle Costs:
Normal Human: 0 CP
DMs are free to create other human bundles for specific people groups in their campaign world (e.g. the Rhennee in Greyhawk).
New Human Abilities:
See Elven description for the Infravision 30’ skill.
Experience Bonus (10%) - like Experience Bonus (5%), but 10%.
Second Sight - Some humans are attuned to the faerie realm from birth, and are able to see faeries when they are invisible or shapechanged into other forms. If a human with this ability is in a position to see such a faerie, they receive a WIS check to realize that there are faeries around (if invisible) or know that someone or something is a shapechanged faerie. It does not allow the human to see the faerie clearly or determine the type of faerie.