Well, I made Vault Hunter a class. Then I had this bad idea, which is the kind of bad idea that's actually a quite good idea so long as you never explicitly acknowledge that fact (or at least do so in an appropriately sarcastic way). Anyway, if the classic D&D experience is based on the core of fighting-man/thief/magic-user, and a Vault Hunter is a kind of thief, what's the fighter equivalent for shooter protagonists? The answer is self-evident.
(oh, and the magic-user equivalent is a Warframe)
Doom Guy
Rip and tear, until it is done.
Level 1: Lock and Load, Rockets For Feet
Level 2: Rip and Tear, +HD
Level 3: Huge Guts, +HD
Level 4: Rampage, +HD
Hit Die: d6
Starting Equipment: Flak vest (counts as leather gambeson), helmet, basic pistol, chainsaw w/ 3 doses of gasoline, bad attitude (Chainsaw: as Club when unpowered, consumes dose of gasoline to count as a Greataxe that wounds as if it dealt double damage. Dose lasts 1 attack.)
Skills (d6)
1. Animal Handling
2. Brawling
3. Demonslaying
4. Gladiation
5. Soldiering
6. Violence
Lock and Load: You acquire guns from killing enemies as a Vault Hunter does (drop chance of (level+1)-in-6 from enemies, roll (Doom Guy level)d10 for traits), up to (level+1) per day, but they all disappear at the end of the day. The first one you get each day is a pistol or SMG, the next is an AR or shotgun, the third is a sniper rifle or rocket launcher, the fourth+ is a legendary gun of any type.
Rockets For Feet: You move twice as fast, dodge twice as far, and can jump up to two times (once midair) as part of any movement action. Attacks made on turns you move your full speed (without doubling back) can't be dodged, only Taken or Parried.
Rip and Tear: When you kill an enemy with a melee attack, it detonates in a shower of gore and healthpacks. Restore HP equal to the number of HD it had.
Huge Guts: Enemies have a 1-in-6 chance of dropping a Power-Up. Roll on the Power-Up table. Power-Ups last 1d4 rounds.
Power-Ups
1. Berzerk. Can't make attacks besides unarmed melee attacks. Can make 3 of those attacks per turn, with a stepped up damage die. Must attack each round.
2. Invincibility. You get an extra STR save against all attacks. If you succeed, ignore it.
3. Quad Damage. Your attacks deal quadruple damage.
4. Haste. You go first in initiative, in addition to your normal initiative count.
5. Telefragger. Instead of moving your speed, you can teleport up your move distance to any point in line of sight. Anyone you share a destination with must DEX save or take firearm damage equal to your current HP (minimum 1).
6. Ghost Mode. You can move through walls and your attacks hurt ghosts as if the ghosts weren't ghosts.
7. Alchemixer. Your attacks deal three additional random elemental damage types.
8. Jetpack. You get a jetpack. It lets you move in any direction, and doubles your speed (stacks with Rockets for Feet). Enemies you collide with this way take d6 bludgeoning damage for every 30' you've moved this turn.
Rampage: You're too angry to die. Whenever you damage an enemy, ignore all wounds that you suffer in the next round. Your HP still decreases (and can go below -10), but with no negative repercussions. All the wounds come rushing back after your Rampage ends. Every third Rampage kill gives you a random Power-Up.
As I stride knee deep through the dead, all is clear. I know what must be done.
ReplyDeleteMust you pick up the powerup, or can you leave it there? Can anybody grab them?
ReplyDeleteIt's balanced around only you getting them, but if you're all playing bonkers video game classes or the party has multiple Doom Guys, I'd say sharing power-ups is totally fine
DeleteNow, whether enemies or other NPCs can take them if you don't get there fast enough is an interesting question, and smth I'd definitely think on if it became relevant in a game.