First draft of rules:
1. Choose your character's race. You have all racial benefits.
2. Choose your abilities from the normal array and apply racial modifiers.
3. Choose a feat (two if you are human).
4. You are trained in one Skill of your choice.
5. You have proficiency in dagger and quarterstaff only.
6. You have Hit Points equal to your Constitution score.
7. You have Healing Surges equal to 3 plus your Constitution Modifier.
8. Pick one At Will power from any class. You may use this as an Encounter power.
9. You begin the game with the clothes on your back and a personal item (toy or memento).
Goals:
1. To accurately portray a weak, apprentice-level character not yet trained in combat.
2. To have enough survivability that, if played intelligently, four of these characters have a reasonable chance to fight and defeat a single level 1 enemy, or 2 level 1 minions.
3. To easily transfer into a first level character by choosing and applying a character class.
Thoughts?
Basically as an "apprentice" i would give full class benefits (armour, proficiencies, ect), 1 at will, and second at-will as an encounter power.
Eventually, we figured out that level one baddies function as Elites and Minions function as easy encounters. If you halve a level one monster's HP and give it -1 or -2 to all defenses its acts as a standard enemy; dangerous, but not incredibly lethal.
Details on mechanics, the results, and random fun here:
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1147387
My inventory from that game was thus:
Warhammer (toy)
Shield (toy)
Leather armor/clothes
Rock Collection
Pointy stick
I poked things I killed with the stick to make sure they were dead.
That was a fun, fun night.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13864432/DD-4th-0Level-Characters-ruleset
Lists full rules for Level 0 characters.
I'd take a look at it. It tries to preserve the same feel and flow of normal play so that entering 1st level isn't overcomplicated while at the same time keeping it simple.
EDIT:
Let me mention that this not only provides rules for easy level 0 to level 1 transition but also provides everything you'll need to make appropriate level 0 encounters and rewards.
It's all put together nice and neat. I'd use these if I ever made a level 0 adventure.
I think that instead of gaining full class features, they should instead get the benefits of a multiclass feat for the class.
Excellent idea! Either that or the Hybrid benefits...
I think that instead of gaining full class features, they should instead get the benefits of a multiclass feat for the class.
Sounds good for an apprentice.
As long as the battle schematics go according to what you had hoped or if the players can manage being Level 0 characters, I think that WotC might find a place for you in the future (If you ever go that way). :D
I've always though that you couldn't be a level 0 character- or else you would die. But in this case, it makes the impossible seem possible...
Yea. And you can also have level 0 magic items. They cost 200 gp in case your wondering
. And no I didn't make that figure up there is a price formula that magic items follow and if you enter 0 for item level into it you get 200 gp.Yea. And you can also have level 0 magic items. They cost 200 gp in case your wondering
Huh- where did you find this helpful formula in? Is there a book that has Lv. 0 Items in it?
Go Go Gadget Calculator! (I'll be back)
Level X item's price = (Level X + 5) / 5
Therefore, to find the price of a level 0 item, we take the price of a level 5 item (1000) and divide by 5 (getting 200).
Annnd I figured it out.
Level X item's price = (Level X + 5) / 5
Therefore, to find the price of a level 0 item, we take the price of a level 5 item (1000) and divide by 5 (getting 200).
Ah! Pure genius!
The prices all follow a predictable pattern. The formula can be reverse engineered.
Go Go Gadget Calculator! (I'll be back)
Annnd I figured it out.
Level X item's price = (Level X + 5) / 5
Therefore, to find the price of a level 0 item, we take the price of a level 5 item (1000) and divide by 5 (getting 200).
That is true it is a predictable pattern but the equation is a bit more complex then that. After all that method requires looking up the price of other items in the book.
I was able to come up with the formula which I use in Excel to calculate the value of items.
=(200+(160*MOD(A1,5)))*5^ROUNDDOWN((A1/5),0)
I could see a kid wielding a club, sharp long stick (spear), sling, or a rock tied to a stick.
For weapon profs..
I could see a kid wielding a club, sharp long stick (spear), sling, or a rock tied to a stick.
Yea but the question is can they wield it effectively in real combat. After all that's why the prof bonus is for and why you need a feat. Because honestly I can see a kid wielding a sword, dagger, bow, and pretty much any other weapon listed. As long as they are strong enough and it's not to big since I'd say kids fall in the small size category they shouldn't have a problem wielding it if all you mean is holding it.
Because those weapons you listed are easy enough to carry around but the sling is not like a sling shot most kids might play with now a days. The sling was weapon that required a lot of skill to use properly. And unlike the sling shot toys kids use today the sling weapon was quite deadly in a skilled users hands, as one hit to the head often killed.
If anything since these characters are suppose to not be combat trained and they are suppose to have trouble with a level 1 monster I'd say that they are not prof in any weapons. But even go a step further so that they don't simply pick the weapon with the highest damage then but to say what ever the weapon prof is -3 off it and that's the prof bonus they get for the weapon. This way +2 prof weapons are a -1 to them while +3 prof weapons have no bonus/penalty.
This will effectively reduce the player's combat level for attacking by 3 levels which should put any level 1 monster fairly on the hard to hit side of things unless they use tactics to get combat advantage.
It also has the benefit of the players still being able to choose any weapon they want so it's like they are learning to use it the way real apprentices would. And don't have to bother explaining why the lost weapon prof when they do pick a class or why the sword and shield fighter spent his apprentice years fighting monsters with a staff.
To balance things out you might wanna also give all implement powers a -2 or -3 penalty. And even though they suffer these attack penalties leave their defenses as is since they are already taking a hit to HP. In fact with only CON as their HP most characters will go down in 2 hits. And if you look at how many HP they gain per level you'll notice it's often 2 times more then the bonus they get per level in HP. So they are effectively losing 2 levels worth of HP by having only CON if not more.
Maybe not as effectively as a fully trained adult in the arts of slinging tiny rocks with a strip of leather, but if the kid was say.. A troublemaker, you cannot tell me that the kid couldn't look at a strip of leather and a rock and go "Hey, I know! I'll use this leather strip to throw the rock faster!"
If you really want to get nit picky about it, make a set of mundane children items. Like Sharp Stick, Wooden Sword, Big Stick (club), childs Sling, then put a lower prof bonus on it and perhaps reduce the damage die.
that happened once- some kid threw a snowball at a police man (This was for D&D- in someone's campaign), and got a 20- 20- 20 on the guy! ... And the kid was like 10 years old!
Talk about snowball overkill!!!
