I know I am new to LARPing, however there are a few questions I have about these two classes. What their original inspiration was, and a few suggestions on what may make them a bit more distinct.
I have been under the impression from the start that the Savage was set up as a strong offensive jugernuat meant to do great damage to many foes, however is also chaotic and sometimes a danger to himself and the party. The Warrior on the other hand is a tactical fighter more like a roman soldger, a well oiled machine that knows more about his weapon, the battlefield, and the best way to take on the task of battle. Am I correct in this? And if so I Have a few suggestions that I have brought up to Nick but would like to put down here in the forums for more people to see and comment about.
First off, for the Savage to show its great strength that is more superior then other classes, maybe allow them to take one rank more in brawn then other classes of their lvl would be able to. Also to show more the recklass side of them I believe that they should lose their guard actions, after all why would a savage care about taking a defensive action? Now I understand that this was to show a savages ability to shake off pain, however it does give the savage a distinct advantage over a warrior of comparable lvl.
As for the Warrior, I believe that they are considered the defensive style melee class, more like a tank for all you WoW players. To show more their superior ability to take more damage then other classes maybe allow them one rank more fort then other classes. Also give them the savages guard ability as more of a defensive way of fighting. This would show their knowledge of the battlefield and how to place themselves in the best fighting position. To take it further you could make the extra damage actions a warior now gets slightly higher lvl abilities so that if you want your character to do damage then you should go savage not warrior.
These are the few ideas I have about these classes. Please feel free to comment.
I did vote no, but some possible additions could be an affinity for Discipline, Ranged Weapon Combat, Two weapon Combat, and Unarmed combat. Also increase Parry every other level deflect one strike, deflect two strike, deflect three strike... Maybe, when the warrior weapon specializes(higher affinity maybe) he can increase in all weapons call it Master of Arms. I like the shield bash thing too. Maybe add a leaping ability kind of like teleport but shorter range.
Okay, so I have good news and bad news. First, the bad news. Because I try to keep actions as discrete as possible for marshalling purposes, there's no such thing as a multi-use counter. Thus, a multi-use Deflect is out.
The good news is that an infinite-use Deflect buff is perfectly acceptable. Take a gander at the new Fortress of Steel action, which allows 7th-level warriors to become utterly immune to anything that they can block or parry for one encounter. You walk into a fight, declare "Deflect All," and proceed to block absolutely anything that comes your way. Based on its rating, it can be used as an adventure ability from 7th to 10th and becomes an encounter ability at 11th.
What does everyone think? Badass? Overpowered? Not good enough?
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz
That sounds really nice, and I also liked the pierce idea. That would take into account a warriors study of most all armor types and defenses allowing him to bypass them with his know how. These are both great Ideas, however I still like the guard ability. Maybe something similiar to it but make it like a stance where as long as the warrior stays in one spot his armor is increased by a certain amount. The higher the lvl the higher the armor is increased. However In my opinon it should be higher then the guard ability of a savage at the same lvl. For instance at 3rd lvl a savage gets Guard 10 and a warrior would get defensive stance 15. The savage could move through combat where as the warrior has to stay put. what you all think of that for the lower lvl boosts to a warrior which is where they are really underpowered anyways.
Hey Tom. You hit the nail on the head with the design intentions of the two classes. Savages are combat brutes. Warriors are tactical fighters. Since the beginning, I always felt that they deserved to be separate, although it's pretty easy to tell that they and monks share common underpinnings.
However, sort of like the old disciple and sorcerer debate, I wouldn't focus solely on offense or defense. To me, what defines a class is its flavor and play style. From that perspective, what defines a savage is not just its damage-dealing ability, but also its ability to withstand punishment. As you described, savages are juggernauts designed to wade into the fray recklessly. To me, a major part of that is the ability to shrug off the punishment you're receiving and keep going.
Now, I do admit that savages have the advantage over warriors. Right now, I feel that pretty much every other class does. Nick and I have been brainstorming this for awhile, which is why we introduced the Parry action awhile ago. It reinforces the warrior's defensive and tactical flavor, and gives the class a much-needed boost.
That's not to say we're done improving warriors. In cases like this, I favor an incremental approach. Much like we did with non-human races, we made one change, then measured the response in play, then considered additional changes. Last game, we got to see savages become a truly scary class with their whirlwind abilities, and the warrior playtesting the Parry action noted that it really came in handy (thank you Jonathan).
It was a step in the right direction. What I'd like to do now is hear other ideas about improving warriors. Some things that we've been considering include Pierce attacks that can't be parried or blocked and Retort-like shield bashes. I'm certainly open to other ideas as well.
That being said, do try and stay within the system when you do this. Giving classes special bonuses like the ability to buy more ranks than usual may sound great, but it tends to make the game less intuitive to new players. New actions, new skills, new action components... heck, even brand new classes are all great. Just try to avoid new rules. ;)
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz