Nimble TTRPG: An Overview, Part Two
Heroes
Dibs on Masi Oka … okay, fine, I’ll be Greg Grunberg again
Okay, I lied. I was going to move on to the GM’s Guide, but controversy erupted after my review of the Core Rules. So let’s start in on the Heroes (classes) book instead, after which my agenda for this switch will become clear.
Berserker
These guys are just pure DPS. Their whole schtick is killing bad guys before they have a chance to kill them, or raise their weapons, or blink. They get the highest starting HP (20) and Hit Dice (d12) in the game, which is good, since they have no armor proficiency. Berserkers’ Key Stats are STR and DEX, and they get advantage on STR saves and disadvantage on INT saves.
At the cost of one action per turn, they can Rage: roll 1d4 (the “Fury Die”) and add that as a damage bonus to every STR-based attack. They can have as many Fury Dice active as the higher of their STR and DEX, and lose them all if they don’t attack in a turn or drop to 0 HP. They can also expend an active Fury Die to reduce an incoming attack by STR + DEX. At level 2, they roll a Fury Die for free each turn if they’re already Raging. At level 5, they roll two dice at the start of their Rage. Fury Dice slowly increase in size as they gain levels, up to d12s at level 17.
At level 3, a Berserker can choose a subclass. The basic rules list two subclasses for each class, which each add new abilities at levels 3, 7, 11, and 15. The Berserker’s are Path of the Mountainheart, which increases their Fury/Rage Dice defense by the amount on the sacrificed die, among other resilience features; and Path of the Red Mist, which maxes out their Fury Dice when they crit or kill something, allows them to do opportunity attack Reactions the moment an enemy enters their range coming or going, and just makes them better at all that kill maim murder business.
Every two levels from 4 through 16, Berserkers get to pick one ability from their Savage Arsenal. This list of special moves include Mighty Endurance, which increases Wounds to 10 (!); Whirlwind, which lets them attack every enemy within the reach of their weapon at once; or Rampage, which allows them to apply the same damage from one attack to a second target without Disadvantage for the cost of one action. There are 12 Savage Arsenal abilities, but a character will only have seven slots by the end.
If they find that their current setup isn’t quite working for them, they can invoke Wrath & Ruin. Perform a notable act of destruction or epic feat of strength during a Safe Rest and they can change their Savage Arsenal choices for free. Most classes have this option with a different name and trigger condition.
The Cheat
Wait, I mean
These are the rogues, the thieves, the lonesome liars, the midnight riders, the ramblers, the gamblers, the backbiters. Cheats start with 10 HP and d6 Hit Dice, with proficiency with leather armor and DEX weapons. They have advantage on DEX saves and disadvantage on WIL. Key Stats are DEX and INT.
A large percentage of The Cheat’s abilities involve structured cheating. Like, meta-game, dice-related cheating. One of the level 1 abilities they gain is Vicious Opportunist, which lets them change the Primary Die while attacking a distracted opponent to whatever they want, once per turn. If they change it to the max, it even crits. (So why wouldn’t you?) Pair The Cheat with someone good at taunting and watch those enemies melt away.
If they pick the standard loadout, The Cheat begins the game with two daggers (1d4+DEX and throwable). This gives them advantage on one attack per turn. It doesn’t have to be the first attack either, so they could attack twice and use this advantage to cancel the disadvantage of their second attack.
One of the interesting things about d4 weapons is how they have the highest probability to both fail AND crit. Now they do have to crit several times to reach the damage potential of something like a Greataxe, but there are abilities, particularly spells, that confer special effects on a crit. So who would a hypothetical Mage rather cast that spell on, the 10%-critting Berserker, or the 25%-critting Cheat? On the other hand, could they possibly be wasting their mana on the 75%-hitting Cheat versus the 90%-hitting Berserker? Decisions, decisions.
On top of all that, any time The Cheat crits, they add 1d6 to the attack’s damage in Nimble’s version of Sneak Attack. Sneak Attack damage increases every few levels, up to +3d20 sneak damage at level 17.
At level 2, The Cheat really comes into their own. Once per round, they can either Move once or Hide for free; rolling less than 10 on Initiative becomes a 10; they can change one skill check, of any type, to 10+INT once per day; and they have advantage on checks involving betting or games of chance. Just don’t get caught.
The Cheat selects their subclass at level 3. One choice is Tools of the Silent Blade, with abilities like turning effectively invisible when an enemy dies from a Sneak Attack, gaining advantage on all Sneak Attacks when at full health, and (at level 15) straight killing anything that has fewer max HP than them on a crit. The other choice is Tools of the Scoundrel, which has Pocket Sand. There are more abilities, sure, but … Pocket Sand.
Scoundrels get other stuff too, I guess. Low Blow has them spend two extra actions to incapacitate an enemy for a turn, and taunt them to boot. Sweet Talk gives advantage on all rolls to influence NPCs until they meet them a second time, at which point they have disadvantage on all influence rolls.
The Cheat’s special moves, which they get every even level from 4 to 18, are called Underhanded Abilities. “Creative” Accounting lets them steal up to INT actions from their next turn, every other turn. How’d YOU Get Here?! lets them “teleport” up to four spaces to a spot adjacent to a Distracted enemy and hit ‘em. If they crit, they can “teleport” another four spaces in any direction. Trickshot makes thrown weapons return to their hand at the end of the turn; on a hit, it will travel up to two more squares to strike a second enemy for half damage.
During a Safe Rest, they can Talk Shop, spending a night swapping stories with other thugs, thieves, and rogues, and switch in different Underhanded Abilities for free.
Commander
Commanders bonk people on the head while inspiring other people to also bonk people on the head. They have d10 Hit Dice and start with 17 HP, tying with Oathsworn for second place. Commanders gain proficiency with all martial weapon types and mail armors, advantage on STR checks and disadvantage on DEX, and STR and WIL as their Key Stats.
These guys have one big list of Combat Abilities divided into two medium-sized lists, Commander’s Orders and Combat Tactics. The main difference is that Combat Tactics take advantage of Combat Dice, a Rage-like ability Commanders start receiving every even level from level 4 to 14. They begin each combat with [STR] number of these dice and expend them to perform Tactics. Many Combat Tactics add extra damage to maneuvers equal to what they roll on a Combat Die, but some just require them to give a die up to trigger the action.
The first Order they receive is Coordinated Strike! at level 1. This gives them and one nearby ally a free attack, up to [INT] times per Safe Rest. As they level, they’ll continue to accumulate Combat Abilities, including things like I Can Do This All Day! (once per encounter, if they drop to 0 HP, expend one Hit Die immediately and regain that many HP), Commanding Presence (spend a Combat Die to shout a one- or two-word command at a monster, who will [if they understand it and fail a WIL save] obey it until the end of their next turn), and Move It! Move It! (give themselves and one ally advantage on the Initiative roll and +3 movement for the first round).
Every few levels, Commanders gain Weapon Mastery for one type of weapon, like slashing or bludgeoning. This usually involves reducing or eliminating the effectiveness of enemy armor while using that type of weapon.
They choose their subclass at level 3, either Champion of the Bulwark or Champion of the Vanguard. Bulwarks get proficiency with plate armor, can Defend twice with a shield, do extra damage equal to their armor score when they do a Coordinated Strike!, and tank the hell out of everything. Vanguards get unique upgrades to Coordinated Strike!, like extra participants, extra movement, more uses per Safe Rest, and permanent advantage on their strikes.
A Commander can engage in Rigorous Training with other soldier-types during a Safe Rest to rearrange their abilities, like the other classes.
Hunter
Red in tooth and claw (and short sword and arrow), Hunters are the ultimate nature boys. Maybe even more so than Stormshifters, who at least get magic powers for all their rolling around in the mud. Hunters start with 13 HP, which feels slightly low, and d8 Hit Dice. They have proficiency with leather armor and DEX-based weapons. Key Stats are DEX and WIL, with advantage on DEX saves and disadvantage on INT.
Right off the bat at level 1, a Hunter gains Hunter’s Mark, which marks someone as their quarry for up to a day or until they mark someone else. Attacking their quarry gains either advantage or +their level in damage.
Next level, they pick up two Thrill of the Hunt abilities. Now having a quarry becomes more interesting, since attacking them in melee, critting them at range, or having them die gains charges which can be spent to activate these abilities. They include Addling Arrow (attack a target at range; its next attack must be against the closest creature, chosen at random); Hail of Arrows (two actions to shoot all creatures in a 3×3 area, also halving their movement for a turn); and Pinning Shot (spend three actions shooting their quarry, restraining them until they can save to escape). Best of all, Thrill of the Hunt abilities never miss. Just spend a charge and make it happen.
If they don’t care for their current setup, they can Remember the Wild during a Safe Rest. Spend a day alone in the wilderness and come back with all new skills.
A Hunter’s choices for subclass are Keeper of the Shadowpath and Keeper of the Wild Heart. Shadowpathers can use Hunter’s Mark without spending an action at the beginning of a fight, have advantage on tracking, never get lost, and at higher levels can mark two creatures at once. Wild Hearters get +5 HP and d10 Hit Dice (that’s more like it, I say), are better herbalists and healers, and gain the ability Ha! I’m Over Here! which, if they would drop to 0 HP, instead lets them move away for free and take no damage, once per Safe Rest.
Next time: No! No martials! Only magic!