I like Narwhal. This isn't a replacement. I just wanted to jot down some thoughts on 5e.

5e:

• Not enough customization. What was wrong with feats and skills? Multiclassing?
• I'm annoyed by stats. Could they work more like PbtA? Could starting stats + race be the end somehow? Focus on proficiency bonus for 5e compat?
• It would be cool if a warlock-type could take a feat and gain Darkvision, or Levitate, or Resist (Fire)
• Some PCs love the wizard build (pick 2 spells/level). Some hate it, and would rather have open-ended spellcasting, even at the cost of some randomness
• 5e's challenge is completely off its rocker. Working within the d20 and Bounded Accuracy, is there a way to keep the monsters as-is, and make PC builds interesting, and make the game actually harder?
  • Probably start with something simple and universal, like Damage Threshold
  • If we don't buff damage beyond 5eA standard, at-CR enemies will have oppressive HP. That's good! Maybe we don't need to assume at-CR is the only conceivable challenge!
  • Everything in 5e does HP damage, so just lower PC HP. Could possibly use this to justify higher offensive capability.
    • If existing classes are allowed, they need a template to nerf HP and buff capability (AP?)
• Action Points / Reflex was more fun than current Initiative
  • Were Aurora and co. OP because of AP? Or was it because high-level spells suck ass and they had a huge party?
• PbtA / S8 compatibility:
  • Cap stats at +3, up to +5 with monstrousness / epicness?
  • Prof bonus set to +5?
  • Should be able to go toe-to-toe with most medium monsters, even at high level
  • Super-sized monsters will always overpower medium PCs (duh)
  • All 20s are critical, not just natural
    • This is a crazy idea...
    • If your result > 20, it's a crit. No nat required.
    • If opposed, higher check still wins, natch
    • Otherwise, success is success. Should diminish the idea that PCs "need" to be able to regularly hit 20+ DCs.
    • Monsters with high numbers are really scary (ooh!)
• Classes?
  • Classless == too freeform? Need something to cling to?
  • Classes: fighter, hybrid, spellcaster, enhanced.
  • Fighter gets maneuvers, damage dice
  • Spellcaster gets 2 spells/level, 2 Mana/level, damage dice
  • Skills still do what they do. But a spell is something you "just know" and can use without failure chance by spending mana
  • Fighters get 2 things/level: maneuvers or fighting styles. The latter are boring mechanical nonsense from 5e
    • Fighting styles allow Fighters to become rogues, barbarians, rangers, etc (without magic; ofc Spellcaster gives them the magic)
  • Hybrids get half caster, half fighter (natch)
  • Enhanced get a cool-ass talent every level (levitate, resist fire, darkvision, +1 to a stat (max 5), etc)
• House Rules
  • Crit dmg: maximize dice instead of rolling. Mathematically identical, but doesn't bog down the game as much
• Stamina and HP
  • I already know I want HP nerfed to the ground. We could remove class from the equation entirely and make HP a function of level and Con (maybe just level + Con?)
  • Stamina could be a Fighter's version of Mana: it powers abilities, but can also absorb damage instead of HP?
  • Not liking where this is going...maneuvers aren't spells, and the numbers probably won't line up.
  • Really, I'm not sure I need Mana at all (see Llama / Narwhal / etc)
  • Maybe HP is how much damage it takes to cause one "hit", with overkill wasted.
    • One hit: disadvantaged
    • Two hits: disabled
    • Three hits: dying
• Skill levels:
  • Proficient: you get Proficiency Bonus to rolls
  • Expertise: requires level 5, gain advantage to rolls
  • Mastery: requires level 10, roll 2d20, add together, max 20 (counts as crit)

Character Creation

Ability scores:

• Choose 8 points to divide between the six ability scores as you see fit
• Max for each score is 3, minimum is -1

Background:

• Basically a profession. Does some things races do, but shouldn't be combat-focused.
• This is where you should get basic skills like Investigate a Mystery, Medicine, Survival, etc
• TBI
• Notes: fuck race. It's a fascist concept that just muddies the waters.

Class:

• 3e style multiclassing. Class list:
  • Fighter
  • Spellcaster
  • Hybrid
  • Enhanced

How rolls work:

• Like 5e, everything is an ability score check, with a possible Proficiency bonus if applicable
• Unlike 5e, Proficiency Bonus is always +5, regardless of level
• A "check" is when you roll 2d6 + ability score, where 7-9 is mixed success, 10-12 is perfect success, and 2-6 causes a consequence or price to pay.
• A "challenge" is when you roll 1d20 + ability score + (sometimes) proficiency, vs. an opponent who rolled a similar check. Higher roll wins; on a tie, defender wins.

Classes

Fighter

• HP/level: 3

Each level, choose two Maneuvers. Maneuvers can be "cashed in" for Fighting Styles.

Maneuvers

Stuff like Cleave, Power Charge, etc

Fighting Styles: see 5e fighter, rogue, ranger, but more and deeper trees.

Spellcasters

• HP/level: 1
• Mana/level: 2

Each level, choose two Spells. Spells can be "cashed in" for Upgrades and Bindings.

You can also cast Ad Hoc. When you do so, describe the effect you're going for. It can differ from your established abilities in one of three ways:

• Outside the capability of your existing spells: Int challenge
• More damage or higher DC: Cha challenge
• Larger, longer-lasting, wider area, or just plain "higher Mana cost": Wis challenge

Enhanced

• (HP + Mana) / level = 3 (you decide)

Each level, choose one Feat. Examples:

• +1 to any ability score (max +5)
• Spider Climb: gain Climb speed equal to Dex bonus squares / rd
• Fast Movement: gain +10-ft of movement per Dex bonus
• Super Strength: adv to melee dmg rolls, lift 5x off the ground, use as an Ad Hoc skill
• Thick Skin: gain +2 natural armor bonus per Con bonus
• Healing Factor: gain Fast Healing 1 / Con / rd, heal Hits in short rest, not long (must select an aggravated damage type)
• something Int
• Blindsense: Gain Blindsense in a 1 square radius per Wis bonus
• something else Wis
• something Cha
• You Wouldn't Hurt This Face: gain a chance for enemies to choose a different target based on your Cha
• Resist (major damage type)
• Unarmed weapon does more damage, strikes as magical, etc
• At-will versions of Spells (like limited Polymorph, Gaseous Form, etc)
• Super Saiyan abilities (Stormborn, Devil Trigger, etc)

observations so far

is there a role for skills? they seem unnecessary, but how do you unlock higher level maneuvers and spells? class level maybe?

how to handle bindings without Mana? maybe 2 spells = 1 binding of approximate power level

building a non first level PC from scratch has never been a beginner's game. maybe build one level at a time until you're an expert?

HP = 10 + level + con. when you run out, you're disadvantaged, and you start over. next time you're disabled. finally, dying/dead. not necessarily less hp than 5e, but quicker to suffer meaningful consequences. hits heal slow obv (long rest might remove one, definitely not three)

check = no failure penalty, no reroll. boring. challenge = pbta. contest = opposed check. always try to make each roll the latter two if possible.

useful background skills:

• medicine, investigate, engineer, animals/plants, persuasion
• pop cultural knowledge, underworld, mercantilism, linguistics, creativity, archaeology, research,