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Scaffolds & Dragons: Class/Training/Advancement

For the Kid's Game, I've decided to ditch Class in favor of á la carte Training Levels. This is blatantly derived from +Daniel Sell's "Adventurer" rules.



Level     XP              Saving Throw
0             0                         16
1             100                     15
2             2000                   15
3             4000                   14
4             8000                   14
5             16000                 13
6             32000                 13
7             64000                 12
8             120000               12
9             240000               12

Each time you gain a new level, pick the type of training you receive: Fighting, Spells, or Skills.

Fighting
+1 to hit in melee and ranged attacks
+1d6 Hit Points
+1 to Save vs. Paralysis
At Fighting Level 1: wear Medium Armor without penalty
At Fighting Level 3: wear Heavy Armor without penalty

Spells
Cast one spell per day per Spell Level.
+1d4 Hit Points
+1 to Save vs. Spells
To determine new spells:
Pick one new spell from the spell list;
or
Randomly roll two spells from the spell list;
or
If you have found spells you want to learn during your adventures, or have researched any new spells, you may learn one of these.

Skills
+1 to one Attribute
+1d4 Hit Points
+1 to Save vs. Area Attacks

To receive training, characters will need to find trainer. Some Trainers may offer special options, such as:

Religion
+1d6 Hit Points
Turn Undead
+1 to Save vs. Death Magic

Beast Wrangler
+1d4 Hit Points
Animal Companion
+1 to Save vs. Poisons

Notes
This set of house-rules grew out of playing by-the-book Holmes. Holmes-as-written was easier to stick to due to the fact that no thieves are represented in the party. I don't think there's any original edition where I  could resist houseruling the thief.

Without thieves, I haven't had to contend with skill specializations. Instead, I've been using attribute checks to model nearly everything. This works much more intuitively for a kid's game, and puts fewer restraints on the delightful hare-brained schemes that kids come up with. Of course your griffon can knit a blanket out of fifty feet of rope. And he can sneak past the ogre. And play the mandolin. Just roll that icosahedron.

So, skill training is represented by increasing Attribute scores. It's a pretty big departure from what you can expect from advancement in standard D&D, so this gets away from my intention to scaffold the skills needed to play any-edition D&D. It means that archers are also great pickpockets, and clerics are astounding detectives. But what the heck. Playability requires sacrifices.
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