Guild Wars 2

Here’s an idea I’m toying with for some potential tabletop fun, which could also have made an interesting alternate design route for the digital game.

Instead of bundling a predetermined set of concepts in a static profession, they could have made a series of building blocks which players fit together as they desire.

Certain aspects would have to be chosen at character creation:

• Class (Soldier, Adventurer, Scholar)
  • Determines armor type, weapon stances, and Endurance regen
• Primary Mechanic
• First Weapon

The universal dodge mechanic would be replaced with a pair of reaction skills determined respectively by your primary mechanic and off-hand/two-handed weapon. (e.g. Dodge, block, parry, barrier, shadowstep, etc.) Reaction skills all cost Endurance, which lighter armor classes acquire faster.

Multiple stances are available for each weapon, changing its skill bar entirely, (including the reaction skill). Each armor class has its own set of stances, for balancing purposes. Your secondary weapon set may be the same as your primary, but with a different stance, if you so desire.

Utility skills, (including healing and elite), would be divided into a number of equally broad sets, such as signet, shout, or trap. Unlocking a set lets you buy and use those skills. Each primary mechanic and race has its own unique utility set, which you start with. Instead of having specific elite skills, any utility skill can be put in the elite slot – giving it an appropriate boost, but increasing its cooldown.

A handful of additional weapons and utility sets would be unlocked during character progression. Orders could each have a utility set, but only if order selection occurred much earlier in the personal story.

Trait lines would be customizable. Each line would be bound to a primary attribute, (including one related to your chosen primary mechanic). You can choose which secondary attribute and non-racial utility set to assign to which line. These three aspects determine the minor and major traits available.

Alternately, they could have combined pre-made professions with generic skill groups as I’ve outlined here, unlocking each weapon/stance and utility set for just two or three professions. It thus becomes the mixture of skills that is unique to each profession, instead of the individual skills themselves. (Sets bound to primary mechanics, however, would be profession-specific, and racial sets would still be available to all professions.)

Random tabletop-specific notes: Utility sets should mostly be accessed one at a time and when out of aggro, as they would represent a sort of “kit” that requires hands and/or attention. Weapon stances might contain passive effects. Each order and racial subgroup, (college, legion, etc.), would have their own utility set, and these would not be excluded from trait lines. Lionguard and Zaishen would be additional orders.

Systems like that are notoriously tough to balance. The chances of a particular combination being overpowered compared to the rest is highly likely even though the individual powers seem balance.

Behellagh.1468:

Systems like that are notoriously tough to balance. The chances of a particular combination being overpowered compared to the rest is highly likely even though the individual powers seem balance.

I’ve seen ones that are both harder and easier to balance. Anyway, I didn’t claim it was a “better” system, but just one that’s fun to muck around with as a concept. I’m a big fan of breaking things into modular pieces.

I’m not clear about all that’s posted but it sounds like an interesting setup for a new profession though.

As fate would have it, I have just today started outlining fundamental RPG rules which are supposed to be the basic rule set for exchangeable tabletop and WH rule expansions.

I think ability “blocks” offer freedom and choice, but are easier to handle than just a truckload of unrelated traits and abilities (like path of exile or gw2 to some extend). However, I’m not sure about traitlines and related attributes. Handleing traits the way we are used makes them a little redundant, imo. All they offer is another option to set a focus on X. The result is simply more specialization (pigeonholing of non specialized aspects) without adding any new build aspects. You don’t need traits to enforce a choice between aspects.
Instead, I’d go for long-term progession unrelated to your current block combination or utility sets. Something that defines your character regardless of his current outfit.