I'm looking for people interested in testing a D&D 4e-inspired retroclone which I've been writing since I moved away from my last gaming group. It started out as a set of houserules and homebrewed content that we used in that group, and I eventually sat down and rewrote them from the ground up as a system of its own. I ran a first playtest of this system here on Roll20 in November. I received mildly positive feedback, and I plan on running sessions about once a month moving forward. The next planned session will be Wednesday, February 6, at 7PM Pacific/10PM Eastern time. This is a pickup game and will probably have a rotating cast of players based on who shows up each time. This session's adventure is titled The Relic of Father Gregory : Our heroes are hired to investigate an art theft from the church of a small, remote village. But what should have been a simple job turns south, as one of the stolen objects is revealed to possess dangerous magical powers... System Features: Unified System: All character classes have powers which use the same framework, even though they do very different things. No Numerical Advancement: As characters gain levels, they become more powerful by learning to do new things or use existing powers in new ways, not by getting ever-increasing numerical bonuses. The same goblin warriors that are a threat at level 1 remain relevant at level 10, in sufficient numbers. Sandbox Character Creation: All martial classes have access to the same list of martial techniques. All arcane classes have access to the same list of spells. Some may synergize better or worse with a particular class, but you have the freedom to build unorthodox characters: a burly but uncoordinated rogue who can't pick a lock or throw a knife to save their life, or a sorcerer capable of wading into combat with sword and shield. Freeform Roleplay: When roleplaying, skills and perks provide a foundation to build on, not a wall to hold you back. Decide what your character does, then see whether it works. Tactical Combat: Fight scenes are dynamic and cinematic. Throw foes around the battlefield, set fire to the scenery, or collapse structures on your opponents' heads. Use suppressing fire (or actual fire) to keep enemies' heads down, or charge in and start hacking away. Setting Features: A world recently recovered from a devastating war: The known world is at peace, but old rivalries and new tensions simmer beneath the surface. Conflict has merely moved off of the battlefield, into the halls of government and the boardrooms of mercantile concerns. A world torn between enlightenment and romanticism: Dwarven master-smiths compete for business with human-run industrial foundries. Warlocks empowered by eldritch entities compare notes with artificers whose magic is engineered using scientific knowledge. Gun-mages face off against arcane archers. Throughout the known world, ancient traditions are at odds with new ideas. A world filled with secrets both ancient and modern: Delve into ancient ruins from the first age of civilization. Infiltrate secret laboratories to disable terrifying superweapons. Foil the plots of foreign agents and plan the downfall of corrupt politicians. A wider world not seen by mortal eyes: Push back the frontier and sail beyond the known world. Travel into the remote reaches of Faerie, follow the River Styx into the depths of the Underworld, or carve out stable, habitable pockets in the Elemental Roil. If you're interested in testing this with me, pick a sample character you're interested in, or build one on your own using the Core Rulebook and Character Sheets (available in both PDF and Excel versions). I apologize in advance for the fact that the Core Rulebook is a lot of text. Your character should be: At least vaguely heroic: No evil or callously self-interested characters need apply. At least somewhat cooperative: Lone wolves and party-killers will be left behind. (No PvP.) Willing to kick in the door, take risks, face danger, and reap the rewards. You should be: Able to provide feedback about the system and how it could be improved. If interested, join the game using the following link .
