Re: hps of classes

[Simon McIntosh-Smith <Simon.N.Smith@cm.cf.ac.uk>]

Well, I think that a move to choosing a RACE, and then having a SKILLs
system would be great, and an answer to all the problems we've been
discussing. I think the game would benefit greatly from this idea.
Rather than CLASS bonuses we would have RACIAL bonuses - halflings
better at thiefy things, with a better DEX etc but lower STRENGTH.
Humans would be the all-rounders. Dwarves would get a good CON but
lower CHARISMA, while Elves might have higher DEX and CHAR but lower
CON? The system would allow for specialisation in a single skill, while
at the same time permiting multi-skilled characters to exist. As long
as a little care is taken about the balance, this should work very well.
I think there should be severe penalties for wearing armour on spell-
casting ability too - wizards happily running around in +4 plate mail,
a +2 full shield and +2 full helmet, plus boots, girdles etc, and
this not affecting their spell-casting ability much - it's not on!
Multi-skilled characters should naturally advance more slowly then
specialized counterparts to preserve balance - so EXP going into
the different skills for performing different acts should serve to 
solve this problem.

Sy