For starters, I should point you at another version of this job, the "Character Class Engine" (CCE) by Khepri of Shadowcraft Studios. I came across this after completing version 1.0 of my own system. It is similar in its structure to the official class pointing system from the 2ed DMG (which was also a starting point for my efforts in this direction). The CCE is for DnD 3.0 and I'm now updating my version to 3.5 but the differences for this purpose are not that radical. You can find it here (you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to use it - it is in .pdf format). Sadly, Khepri now (April 2003 and since) seems to be uncontactable, and ShadowCraft dropped off the map, so I've been unable to discuss the CCE with its author.
It is excellent stuff, well thought-out, thoroughly done, very usable and admirably well-presented. Even though I've nicked several ideas from it, I'd be pleased to do half as well. I'm emphasising all this praise because I disagree with several points of it and, in the spirit of open source, I'm posting in detail my critiques here. Don't think that any of it lessens my admiration.
So, here's my own effort:
I'm aiming here to develop a system which will enable me (and any other GM who wants to use the system) to put a value, in "Character Points" (CP), on the abilities and powers granted by character classes. One of the reasons I orginally did this was to look at whether the official classes are balanced in power compared to each other. Therefore it should be noted that I do not assume that the official classes are all exactly balanced, and because of this I don't necessarily adjust the CP ratings for the various class features to make the classes come out with the same points totals.
The playing style of different groups will affect the balance between classes, as will campaign environment considerations such as how much magic is around, the typical setting of adventures, etc. I've tried to pitch this system at what I would deem to be the average campaign, but your idea of that might be very different to mine.
I'd be very pleased to hear from anyone with feedback, ideas, variants, etc. on this system. You can email me on dndrules at ianewilliamson dot co dot uk.
I have assigned a rating in CP to every attribute gain, power or ability granted by a character class. When I
say every attribute gain I count each level's advance individually, so the Cleric class is rated for +1 BAB at second, third, fourth,
sixth, etc. levels. So you end up with a total character point rating for all the abilities and advances granted by a certain level
in a certain class. For levels above first, there is then applied a multiplier of less than one, reducing the cost of abilities
gained at higher levels. For illustrations see the links to the specific class tables at the bottom of this page.
Once you have determined the CP cost (I call it a cost because you can use this system to construct new classes by "buying" aiblities
at an appropriate cost - if you "spend" the right number of CPs you should have a class of the right power) of every level from one to
20 in the class progression, you then simply add them all up to determine the total CP value of all the advances, powers and
abilities granted by that class. If you want to know the CP value for levels up to less than 20, you simply add up the costs
for whichever levels you are interested in.
The CP cost of each of the standard variables common to several classes is as follows:
Hit points Each hit point costs 5 CP. For the basic pricing of PC classes, I price the first level assuming maximum hp for the die, as PCs and elite NPCs get at first level. For levels 2 and up, I use the average result for the die - ie 2.5hp for d4, 3.5hp for d6, etc. There is no charge to the character class for bonus hp that may be granted due to Constitution or other reasons not connected with character class. The final (levels 1-20 with discount as described below) pricing of the PC class hit dice is then: 194 CP for d4, 273 CP for d6, 353 CP for d8, 432 CP for d10 and 512 CP for d12.
Attacks and hit bonus There is separate pricing for the first attack and BAB (more expensive because
it is used more often) and for iterative attacks and their bonuses (used only in the full attack action). The first attack
costs 40 CP, but since every normal character gains this, it is not charged to any class. Every step of BAB costs 20 CP.
Each iterative attack costs 25 CP, charged at the level at which it is gained - eg at 6th, 11th and 16th levels for Fighters.
Additionally, characters are charged 10 CP for each point of iterative attack bonus - eg a Fighter, upon gaining 12th level,
gets an additional +1 to each of two iterative attacks, so pays 20 CP at that level before discount.
The final pricing for attacks and attack bonuses by the various classes are:
Sorcerer and Wizard 195 CP, Bard, Cleric, Druid and Rogue 350, Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin and Ranger 546, Monk 596 (the Monk
price includes the Flurry of Blows ability, as it is without penalty at higher levels and becomes part of the normal full attack
routine).
Saves Every point of save bonus costs 15 CP. The final pricing for the save progressions of the PC classes is therefore: Mediocre saves (Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard) 273 CP. Good saves (Bard, Cleric, Druid) 347 CP. Excellent saves (Monk) 420 CP.
Feats No class is charged for the universal initial feat nor the basic one per three levels. Where a class
has additional feat slots that can be filled with reasonable freedom (eg Fighter, Wizard), each slot costs 50 CP.
Where a class has the option to fill a feat slot, be it base or bonus, with a metamagic or item creation feat, there is an additional
charge based on caster level, from 10 at caster level 1 up to a maximum of 42 at caster level 20. The additional cost is reduced
in some cases, which will be explained in detail on the class pages.
Barbarians, Monks and Rogues therefore pay nothing for feats as they have no additional slots or magical feats. For spellcasters,
the final prices for the magical option are: Paladin/Ranger 27, Bard 88, Cleric/Druid 101, Sorcerer 122, and Wizard (including 4 extra
slots) 361. Fighters pay a final price of 417 for their 11 extra slots.
Skills Every skill point costs 3 CP. The first level of each class is assumed in this summary of the system to be the first level of a character and is charged for quadruple the usual number of skill points. Also, every class skill costs 2 CP, charged at first level when the skill becomes accessible. I count "all Knowledge skills taken individually" as 5. Therefore, the final price of skills for each class is: Sorcerer 119, Fighter 121, Cleric/Paladin/Wizard 127, Barbarian 233, Druid 241, Monk 251, Ranger 360, Bard 380 and Rogue 488.
Weapon and armour proficiencies These are granted at first level, so they are only charged for at first level. Armour proficiency is charged at 40 points per category, and 20 points for shield. So that is: Monk, Sorcerer and Wizard 0 CP, Rogue 40 CP, Barbarian, Bard and Ranger 100 CP, and Cleric and Paladin 140 CP. Druid I deem to be equivalent to Rogue in the end and charge 40 CP, and Fighter pays a few points extra for the tower shield - total 144 CP.
Weapon proficiency is easiest dealt with by simply assigning points values to the various selections based on an estimation of their utility. I am using: Wizard 48 CP, Druid 96, all simple weapons (Cleric, Sorcerer) 120, with Monk likewise 120, Rogue 144, Bard 160, and finally all simple and martial weapons (Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger) 200.
Spellcasting I charge for spells castable each day per spell level, at the character level when use of
that spell is granted. I count 0-level spells as 0.5 for this purpose. So a first-level wizard has 3x0.5 for 0-level spells
and 1 for a 1st-level spell, for a total of 2.5 spell levels. A second-level wizard gains one more 0-level and one 1st-level spell
for a total of 1.5 spell levels gained. And so on. I disregard bonus spells due to high ability score, which means that there
is no per-spell-level charge for the 0 spells per day access that Bards, Paladins and Rangers get at certain points of their
spells per day table. The charge per spell level varies by class; I will detail the prices in the individual class pages, but
the factors taken into account are the versatility and effectiveness of the class's spell repertoire, whether spells are prepared
or cast spontaneously (spontaneous is more expensive) and whether a failure chance applies to spells with somatic components
cast in armour. Modifiers for these factors are applied to the base charge of 4.5 CP per spell level.
The final prices for spell levels are: Paladin and Ranger 33 CP, Bard 215 CP, Druid 444 CP, Wizard 547 CP, Cleric 548 CP
(including domain spells), and Sorcerer 967 CP.
Spells usable by an individual character are charged at the level that access is gained to them. For Wizards, the number must be
a guess at the effects in a given campaign of research and of discovery of spell texts as treasure, as well as the base two spells
when gaining a level. I have chosen 5 spells per level (with additional cantrips for characters who start as Wizards). For
Bards and Sorcerers, the number of spells known is given by table and worked out in the
same way as spells per day. For divine casters, every spell on the list is accessible according to level and ability score,
so I charge for the whole spell list at a given level when the first spell of that level is granted in the spells per day table.
I disregard the effect of ability scores, since most characters will have the required score if and by the time they reach the
relevant level. Each spell thus known costs 1 CP before discount.
The final pricing of spell access is: Bard 27 CP, Sorcerer 33, Paladin 34, Ranger 40, Wizard 89, Druid 139 and Cleric 179.
Since there are some abilities, such as magic item use, dependent on having a spell on the class list, I make a charge for
the size of the class list. However, since this is a minor ability, I charge only 0.1 CP per spell - final prices Paladin 4 CP,
Ranger 5, Bard 16, Druid 17, Cleric 22 and Sorcerer/Wizard 36.
There is a charge of 5 CP for every caster level gained. This comes to a final price of 36 CP for Paladins and Rangers and
75 for other PC class spellcasters. Finally, there is a charge for the maximum level of spells castable. This charge is made
at each level at which a new spell level is accessed, and it is made not just per single level gained each time, but per level
of the new level accessed. That is to say, wizards are charged for one at first
level, for two at third level, for three at fifth and so on up to nine at 17th level. This increasing charge is to reflect the
accelerating gains in power of major casters as they gain access to higher spell levels. Each class has the charge for spell
level (base 10) modified by the factor for repertoire power and versatility, as detailed in the individual class pages.
The final pricing for this charge is: Paladin and Ranger 29 CP, Bard 102, Cleric and Druid 238, Sorcerer 278 and Wizard 318.
The trickiest part of the points system as far as calculation goes is to place a value on each and every special ability that is granted to just one or a few classes. I acknowledge that many of these are fairly arbitrary and, like the rest of the CP values, they are very much open to modification in the light of ongoing playtesting. As a general note, many of the abilities are priced on the basis that they are similar to a spell of a certain level, or similar to a feat (or in fact are a feat or feat variant). Changes that I or you may make in those basic parameters should have commensurate effects on values in this section.
I will deal with the abilities of the official classes on a class-by-class basis, in the specific pages for each class. These pages are linked from the bottom of this page.
The notes above enable the construction of a table for each class, showing the powers gained at each level and the basic CP cost of each of those powers, with a total basic CP cost for each level. The final stage is to apply a discounting multiplier to each level, and then to add up the discounted totals for levels 1 to 20 to give a final price for all of the abilities and powers of the class.
The discounting factor is 0.97 at level 2, 0.94 at level 3 and so on down to 0.7 at level 11. Then it goes 0.68 at level 12 down to 0.62 at level 15. And 0.61 at level 16 down to 0.57 at level 20.
The clearest way to demonstrate further is to show the tables themselves for each class.
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Wizard