On GLOG Classes and My Classes

     For those who are unfamiliar with it, GLOG (Goblin Laws of Gaming) is very hacky OSR system that was created over on the Goblin Punch blog. It isn't exactly a complete system, but it is functional and easily hacked together to be runnable. The catch, however, is that you sort of need to have a different OSR system to patch in the gaps. 

    I do like the system, though I haven't run it, and it is very popular in the OSRsphere. Partially, this is because of how the system handles classes and levelling. GLOG takes the view that low-level play is the best play, and basically caps advancement at 4th level. Past 4th level, characters can marginally improve their hit points, attack bonus, and saving throws, but that is it. For their first four levels, in contrast, they gain all of that in addition to "Templates" or abilities. Every class comes with 4 tiers of templates (A, B, C, & D) and you just take the next letter whenever you advance in a class. Multiclassing just starts you with the A template of the other class. 

    The system is surprisingly elegant, intuitive, and adaptable which is why the single most common form of GLOG content is custom classes. All it takes to make a class are an evocative name, four fitting abilities, and maybe skills or starting equipment. I find it absolutely wonderful, and think it is something that I may want to steal for my own RPG. 

    I might not though.

    GLOG classes come with several very fundamental assumptions in them. Among these, the most important is that the power curve is meant to flatten after level 4. The difference between a level 1 and level 2 GLOG character can be significant, but the difference between a level 5 and a level 10 character is barely so. I understand why this was done, but I am not sure I am a fan of it.

    Another RPG that has greatly inspired me is ACKS (Adventurer Conqueror King System). The thing that sets ACKS apart from other systems is that it focuses on the politics, base building, and kingdom building that other games sort of just handwave as starting around level 8. The design that kingdom building begins at 8th level is nearly completely at odds with the design that 4th level is basically the peak. 

    I could easily just pick a class system, whether GLOG, ACKS, or another system, and run with it, but that isn't how I want to create my RPG. I want to craft this carefully, and classes in an RPG (and anything else involved in character creation) fundamentally sets constraints on how the rest of the system will turn out. 

    In my hazy imagining of my RPG, I want there to be a wide selection of classes, with both normal ones like Fighter or Magic-User and stranger ones like Psions, Astrologers, and Zealots. Also, I want character creation to be simple enough that you can complete it with someone new in under 30 minutes without them necessarily needing the rulebook.

    So, lets begin turning that into more concrete requirements.

    1. Classes advance up to 12th level

    I have made it clear that I want there to be play beyond low levels, but I also do want to limit things. I picked 12th level to be the cap for a few reasons. First, I just like the number and plan to make more use of d12s in my system, so this will be a nice parallel. However, it also is a very nice and easily divisible number. Dividing play into tiers isn't too difficult with 12 levels. Currently, I imagine tiers starting at levels 1, 5, and 9, though they could also be at 1, 4, 7, and 10. Either way, this leaves a lot of options open. 

    2. Different classes can run on different sub-systems

    I mentioned that I wanted a variety of systems, but I want to enable all of these classes to run in different methods. While basic Magic-Users may run on spell slots, I want different magic classes to be able to have different systems for their casting. I can imagine this getting out of hand, however, if every class ends up with a different system for casting and managing spells. That would be insane for the DM to manage. I believe, however, that if classes are kept simple enough that this could be mitigated. Like, if everyone uses the same spells but the way each character spends resources is different, that would massively cut down on the mental book-keeping for the DM. They would know the end-space of what could be done, but might need to keep special track of how their players are able to project into it. 

    3. Choosing a class at level 1 should involve only one choice past that

    This one sounds a little weird, but I am putting this in place to restrict the number of choices involved in character creation. The basic idea, is that choosing a class is one choice, but I am leaving open the possibility that one more choice might need to be made. Something like a specialty, subclass, or specific bonus would count as that additional choice. If I don't cap this now I just worry that eventually things will get out of hand, causing character creation to massively bloat.

    4. Classes will have a Major Feature and a Minor Feature

    Of all these requirements, this is the one that I have spent the most time thinking about. I honestly may come back to change this one, but for now it is what I am going with. So, the way I am thinking about this is that classes will have two things going for them, other than minor differences that are mostly inconsequential. Things like arcane spellcasting or divine spellcasting would be perfect examples of a major feature. This is the thing that defines the class. A minor feature would be something like unarmed combat, innate armor, or ritual casting. They are meant to be more flavorful, but still impactful. I imagine minor features could be turned into something like subclasses or specializations to help differentiate different members of the class.