I am going to start this off by saying one thing I hate to admit, I lied. I tell people all the time that NovArchaic is a classless tabletop, but like, there are classes, they just are not done the same way. In a class tabletop system, like the Dragon game, your character starts with a class and a lot of benefits that the class gives the character to allow them to interact with the game world in their unique way. That is not how NovArchaic does it! NovArchaic has things called Specializations, which can be "bought" with a character's improvement points (or IP) to gain access to the benefits of the specialization and any traits that they would get them.

Could you make a character without any classes then? Yes. Are those without classes less powerful? The jury is still out on that, but with classes, you got more options and better synergies. So, in a sort of way, NovArchaic does have classes, but they are optional on the character on if they want to take them or not. I am sorry for lying to you all, please forgive me.

Ok, that bit is getting a bit stale. I am not going to change any of my wording when I describe the system; while one could argue that specializations are just classes with a different tint, they don't have some of the same design principles, and I feel they are different enough to not worry about their whole thing. So, let's get more into specializations specifically.

Specializations are all (currently) going to cost 5 IP, which is how much IP a 1/4th of a level would have. There are three "types" of specializations, within my design notes.

First, there are what I call basic specializations. These are specializations that introduce a basic synergy for a character build, and normally interact with one other mechanic, like a secondary attribute, relationships, or sometimes even conditions. These specializations are built to be stepping blocks and introduce some of the main concepts for the character's powerset. 

Basic Specializations Examples

  • Focus Casters, or casters with an arcane focus to help them cast spells.
    • Arcane Dice Enthusiast - Cast spells through dice!
    • Arcane Musician - Cast spells through an instrument
    • Arcane Researcher - Cast spells through notes and applying magic theory
    • Arcane Warrior - Cast spells through weapons
  • Source Caster, or casters with an arcane source they tap into to help cast spells
    • Druid - Sourcing Nature
    • Elementalist - Sourcing Elemental Energies
    • Leyline Caster (name in progress) - Sourcing Leylines
    • Zodiac Caster (name in progress) - Sourcing The Stars
  • Creatives - specializations tied to creating or other creative endeavors
    • Chef - Yum, food
    • Graphic Artist - Pretty digital art
    • Mechanist - Beep beep, honk honk
    • Musician - Make Music
    • Programmer - Make programs
    • Traditional Artist - Make pretty non-digital art
  • Gun Slingers - For those who want to shoot guns and chew bubblegum
    • Pistol Trickshot (name in progress) - Use precision to perform trick shots
    • Sniper - Use precision to do heavy damage attacks
  • Martial Artists - Throw punches, catch hands
    • Brutalist - Being brutal or rather more offensive increases your Chi/Ki
    • Drunken Fist - Gain more Chi/ki the drunker you are
    • Zen Fist - Being defensive increases your Chi/Ki
  • Team Unifiers - Teamwork is hard, these people make it easier.
    • Squad Leader - Unites people by strategy

Next would be advanced specializations. These are major specializations that change core mechanics around but have a high amount of building that they require to be able to use properly or even access.

Advanced Specializations Examples:

  • Casters - More magic specializations!
    • Aeromancer - Magic that does air-based effects
    • Chloromancer - Magic that does plant-based effects
    • Geomancer - Magic that does earth-based effects
    • Hydromancer - Magic that does water-based effects
    • Necromancer - Magic that deals with life and unlife
    • Pyromancer - Magic that does fire-based effects
    • Technomancer - Magic that deals with technology

Finally, hybrid specializations are used to "merge" two other specializations together in a more unique build. These are kind of like a subset of advanced specializations, but sometimes they are not as in-depth rule changes, as just ways to make the two specializations "work better together".

Hybrid Specializations Examples

  • Gun-o-manne - Merge magic with gun
  • Gun-fu Practitioner - Mix Guns with Martial Arts

I need more specializations in all of them, but especially in hybrid and advanced areas. They just take time to figure out and style. What would be some cool ones you might want to see? Does what I have so far make you want to make any interesting character build? I know I am interested in doing some dice-casting shenanigans or even gun-o-mancy! 

-Technomancer Kyle