Website regulars have probably already taken note of the fact that I’ve annihilated the old dMetric section of the website. This was for various reasons; the most obvious one being that we haven’t touched the game outline for nearly a year. Sometimes my thoughts still wander to the game though, and last weekend I sat down and attempted to devise a simplified combat system for the...
The campaign setting for dMetric is something we’ve been developing under the radar for some time now. You’ve seen hints of it in the class overviews, but we’ve yet to reveal solid information about the world of dMetric and the people who inhabit it. Today I’m happy to reveal one of the regions of dMetric, The Shining Coast. This area includes three of The Seven Kingdoms of the Freeman empire...
The Engineer, Eclectic Genius Engineers are complicated. Few roleplaying games attempt to tackle the engineer archetype due to the muddiness that results from blending technology with high fantasy. Instead, guns and explosives are either implemented as toys belonging to a tertiary trade skill or ignored entirely. The question is, how do you balance a class that relies entirely on crafted items to...
The Knight, Master of Arms Let’s not dawdle here. The knight is likely the most straightforward class in dMetric, and its simplicity is not something I’m ashamed of. They are heavily armored frontline fighters – no more, no less. Every game needs a class to directly engage the opponent and keep his squishier comrades from getting aggressed. The champion can manage this feat, but it’s really the...
The Champion, Hero of the Masses Finally, a tank! Melee classes are actually a lot tougher to design than caster or hybrid classes. I could sit here for hours rattling off ideas for spellcasters – druids, necromancers, conjurers, enchanters, red mages, blue mages, calculators, etc. Since magic users are only a peripheral participant of the healer/tank/damage holy trinity, they can get away with...
The Alchemist, Practical Magician One of the more divergent aspects of the dMetric campaign setting is our complete kibosh on traditional arcane magic. There is no wizard class that uses a spellbook, components, wands or scrolls to cast spells. While the sorcerer is certainly capable of lobbing fireballs and lightning bolts, his powers are tapped from his aberrant heritage rather than studious...
The Hunter, Cunning Marksman Archers are a bit of an anomaly in pen and paper games. While they are a lionized archetype in fantasy literature, they are rarely the basis for a dedicated class. Proficiency in bows and crossbows is generally considered a secondary asset, likely due to the prevalence of arcane spell blasting. Even when a ranger class exists, seemingly to fill this role, their...
The Oracle, Mysterious Gatekeeper The oracle was the last class we conceived for dMetric. The timing is ironic considering the class fills the role of primary healer – widely considered to be the most integral role in any party-based game. The cause of the delay was a disagreement between my me and my brother. I debated that dedicated healers were inherently boring to play. My experiences in...