• start with d20
• instead of levels, use a tier system (hero, paragon, epic)
• add talents on top of tier
• use core skill system?

Tiers

Think of tiers kind of like system 6, wherein each tier is like the core abilities a class grants at a level. Which level? In s6 terms, something like 1/5/10. In 3e, more like 3/8/13.

Every member of class X has the core abilities of that class. The rest should be talents. Consider an s6 warlock:

• All: summon, spells, etc
• Summoner: better summons and summon abilities
• Caster: pure caster power
• Bladebound: fighting abilities

Talents aren't too different from s6 paths, except hybrids shouldn't get nearly so much spellcasting power.

What's the difference between talents and levels? Well, talents aren't scaled by level; the same talents are available whether you start at tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3.

What if you level all the way through a tier? That's not something you can "just do" in the rules. It has to happen via narrative--i.e. a large amount of downtime for your character to grow and evolve. But in that case, you would just gain a tier, keep your old talents, and keep gaining new ones.

Power Knowledge

Think MoP-era WoW. Base tier abilities should give you all the basics you need, with self-balancing rules. To gain more powers, spend talents. Hybrids should find the hybrid talents more attractive than most pure-caster ones, in general.

Tier-based powers do improve as tier improves, natch.

Tiers can be flavored, e.g. Fey Warlock vs Infernal Warlock. If you want more flavor, you can spend talents.

General

General tactical feats like:

• Cleave
• Power Charge
• Aim
• Taunt
• Shield Cover
• Chain Spell
• Focus Spell

Should be available to all and be self-balancing. For instance:

• Charge: must move in a straight line at least 10 ft, gain adv to hit
• Power Attack: melee attack provokes but does bonus damage
• Cleave: Melee becomes chain 1/3, but inflicts reduced damage (d12 -> d8, d8 -> d4)
• Widen: double area, reduce damage
• Focus: halve area, increase damage

Non-Class Abilities

Attributes

20 unweighted point buy with tier bonus.

Skills

3e style. Talents provide a huge boost.

Hit Points, Saves, etc

Class-based? Either way, HP do not increase very much since there's no level. Even if it does, there might be a Damage Threshold system to make the game deadlier.

Damage

Tier based.

Spell Slots / Mana

None. Determined entirely by class abilities. Examples:

• Taint
• Vitae
• Arcana
• Focus

Current Character Builds

• Audrey: Tier 1 Vampire with skills in investigation, light melee, etc
• Dragon Sorcerer: Tier 1 Dragon with talents in magic, charm
• Prism: Tier 2 Invoker (Fey) with a few talents specific to Norns
• Beryl: Tier 2 Psion (Autokinetic) with lots of combat talents
• Lane: Tier 2 Rogue (Spellthief)
• Penny: Tier 2 Artificer (???)
• Kaine: Tier 2 Tiefling/Invoker (Infernal) with a couple talents in Witchcraft, lots of combat talents

Musings

Obviously the intersection of class/tier/flavor is similar to, say, a level or 3 in a 5e class/path intersection. And those classes without flavors, while they work fine in this system, might cause jealously of classes with them. And, we also need a dependable system for crossing over into other flavors.

What is the currency for crossing over? We don't want levels. We don't want something to compete with talents, or god forbid ability scores and skills.

What's the talent cost for cross-flavor abilities, though?

Alternate Build System

Current:

• One class/tier/flavor intersection per tier.
  • All included abilities free.
• n talents, determined by DM.
• Buying other flavor abilities costs: ???

Proposed:

• Rework all basic abilities to be just shopping carts full of skills and talents.
• Rework all flavor-baskets to be regular talents.
• Classes are just categories now. The only thing that matters is tier and talent #.
• Think of talent # like power level in Mutants&Masterminds. You'd never start at 0/1, nor expect to level all the way from min to max. You pick a starting point appropriate to the campaign concept, and have some room to grow.

In other words:

• Things you don't spend points on:
  • Ability scores
  • Skills
  • Base combat values
  • HP/Mana/etc
  • Gear
• Things you spend points on:
  • Spells
  • Spell Augments
  • Bindings
  • Cool supernatural abilities (hybrid stuff, racial abilities)