Rounding out Your Characters

This is sort of connected to my character creation essay. However, this is a response to some balance arguments. How can someone with a varied talent ever lose against a relatively normal guy? Well, first of all, you have Diversification vs. Specialization problems, but there are also ways of rounding out characters.

This can be a very easy and logical process. Let's take a very simple character class: the Monk-style grappler. Well, first of all, a major problem with grappler characters is that they get shot before they can do damage. So it is in the interest of any such character to develop some speed. There are different ways one could buy some time: improve running speed, get a teleport move, master a technique of distraction, and so on. They also tend to be vulnerable to snipers, so they might want to learn a a meditative clairvoyance to detect enemies. Similarly, a sniper will want perception enhancements, an anatomy sense so they can get better criticals, and so on.

Many of these fit as perks, but I'd recommend looking at the Diablo II manual for some real advice. The Diablo II designers take very simple classes (Barbarian, Amazon, Paladin) and extrapolate all sorts of abilities using logic. For instance, Barbarians have Leap and Leap Attack so they can reach their enemies quickly and efficiently. They have Find Potion and Find Item because of their hard life on the steppes. They master all sorts of war cries, due to their need to quickly organize to protect against invaders, and to their need to intimidate the invaders when they arrive. Through this process, all 5 classes get 30 abilities. That is the sort of logic that people can use to get abilities for deceptively simple character classes.