Old School Stylish - Classless¸ Discovery-Based Advancement
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Let your journey define you!
Old School Stylish is a supplement for Old-School Essentials that helps you build a campaign where players "unlock" new abilities through play¸ and optionally switch abilities in and out like Final Fantasy jobs. Inspired in equal parts by Wuxia stories¸ Hong Kong action cinema and Japanese RPGs¸ this supplement will help you put a very different spin on your old school fantasy RPG campaigns!
With Old School Stylish¸ players don't choose classes on character creation. Instead¸ the GM places "styles" across the game world for the players to discover. They can learn the way of the drunken fist from a martial arts master¸ mutate telepathic abilities by drinking dubious potions¸ or invent an entirely new style in the heat of battle. These tools emphasize what happens in the game world rather than what was pre-determined at character generation.
Old School Stylish contains write-ups for dozens of styles¸ each of which contains its own thematic abilities and can be used in conjunction with other styles to make for unique and multifaceted characters. It also helps you distribute them throughout the game world.
This supplement is designed for use with Old-School Essentials¸ which you can find for free here. A small number of spells reference the Advanced Fantasy Genre Rules.
Included in this 28-page zine:
Basic mechanics for creating characters¸ equipping styles and generating game statistics. A magic point-based casting system to replace Vancian casting¸ making it easier to track your resources when you're switching between style abilities. Some brief guidelines on how to design new styles. An optional system for using this supplement without level-based advancement¸ relying entirely on style discovery. Tips on how to how to seed the styles in your world¸ including sample ideas. Tables for generating martial arts masters your players could seek out to learn new styles from. Sample mechanics for players who want to invent styles rather than discover them. A list of 28 "starting" styles¸ indicating what characters did before becoming adventurers¸ each with a unique ability. Descriptions and game abilities for 44 "Advanced" and "Secret" styles¸ which are the ones players will try to discover in your campaign. These write ups also serve as templates for creating your own. Each comes with a suggestion for how players might discover it.
Print currently available at Exalted Funeral.