Topic: Is there a reason that the Harper and Ranger got worse in Harp 2nd Ed?

[Uriel]

Hey there Nicholas,

Every other Profession either stayed the same or got some added bonus, or versatility in their Bonus Talent choices,etc...

The Ranger's only change was his bonus to outdoor skill went from every 5th to every 7th level...
 Scholar)
the Harper lost both of their Bonus Talents (Enhanced Senses and Scholar).

Were these Professions deemed too powerful?

-Uriel

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

We costed all the professions - number and nature of favoured categories, magic spheres, abilities, level bonuses, etc - and analysed the spread of costs. Then we went through the professions to reduce the variation in total costs and to remove "sameness" (typically talents granting bonuses to an entire category, i.e. all Thieves getting the Subtle Talent, etc.). Harpers and Rangers were coming out too high (lots of good cats and spells) and the Harper had some sameness issues.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[Sean Barley]

Nicholas, I was wondering the same thing as Uriel. Your answer makes sense, would it be possible to have the "formula's" for creating/balancing character classes and races?

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

Nicholas, I was wondering the same thing as Uriel. Your answer makes sense, would it be possible to have the "formula's" for creating/balancing character classes and races?

Eventually, yes. Like the monster creation system, we need to develop a wider spectrum of talents / monster abilities etc., so that we're confident that we have covered enough of the potential range that we can GMs good advice on what to do and what to avoid. then we can make this and the other building block systems available.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[Ecthelion]

Harpers and Rangers were coming out too high (lots of good cats and spells) and the Harper had some sameness issues.

Interesting. In our group both professions were deemed rather weak, with professional bonuses for not-so-interesting categories and rather weak spells. I guess with the new version they will hardly be used at all. But we play a bit more combat-oriented. Perhaps that is the reason.

[WoeRie]

Yes, same here.
It's strange, but my players always choose the Rogue (more favoured categories) and selected an Arcane Power if they wanted to cast more than the Universal sphere, which happened very seldom.