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Phil Masters · 03-07-2017, 05:53 AM

Further Occupational Templates

In the best tradition of these things, there have been a number of new character cla... occupational templates published in various places, most of which could probably be dropped into Discworld-located dungeoneering games - but some would work better than others.

Dungeon Fantasy 4 - Sages: There's no obvious reason not to use Artificers or Scholars. Flaky engineers and obsessive bookworms fit the Discworld mood just fine.

Dungeon Fantasy 7 - Clerics: Having re-jigged the approach to clerics in previous posts, this one really has to be pushed aside - though it might give people a few interesting ideas for variant Dungeon Saints.

Dungeon Fantasy 9 - Summoners: Demonologists, Elementalists, and Necromancers fit here about as well as baseline wizards do. They might be Unseen University graduates who fell into obsessive (and in some cases, slightly sordid) specialisation, or they might be the products of eccentric provincial colleges or specialist personal instruction. The Disc certainly has demons and undead; the novels don't mention elemental theory much, but it fits the early-novels sword-and-sorcery mood okay. The Disc also has Shamans, so that template is probably good for use, to, though to fit the brief treatment given them in the novels, Addiction (Weird Mushrooms) should be a very popular choice from the disadvantages options, and Flashbacks and Phantom Voices should be added to the list of possibilities.

Dungeon Fantasy 10 - Taverns: The Innkeeper template is of course a bit of a joke - so it could fit the Discworld okay.

Dungeon Fantasy 12 - Ninja: Ninja are definitely present on the Disc; the Agatean Empire replaces the Forbidden (or Mysterious) East as their region of origin, of course. This book also provides an Assassin template, which may seem to fit the Disc a little less well, in that most Discworld readers will be expecting Assassins to be suave gentlemen rather than just stealthy killers - but that stereotype largely postdates the novels' sword-and-sorcery phase, and anyway, one can always use the template for a generic pragmatic dungeoneering killer, while avoiding using the word "assassin" in the earshot of the wrong people.

Dungeon Fantasy 14 - Psi: Psionics as such aren't really a feature of the Discworld, although the powers displayed by various creatures, notably elves, could be classed that way; however, those are mostly seen in-setting as either a form of magic or a monster thing. Probably best leave this book aside.

Pyramid 3/10: The Justiciar has few outright metaphysical features to cause problems with the mood of Discworld games, and one could image some past Patricians of Ankh-Morpork, among other rulers, employing such people. Imagine Commander Vimes if the Disc had remained stuck in sword-and-sorcery mode...

Pyramid 3/36: This issue has two different templates that both depend on the (limited) availability of gunpowder, or something analogous, which habitual Discworld readers will know is problematic. Actually, though, there are at least hints of the presence of explosives throughout the novels; it's only hand-held guns which should cause heavy quibbling. Hence, the Demolisher needn't be ruled out; it would need some tweaking to fit the slightly different treatment of dwarfs in Discworld stories (a topic to which this thread will return later), and the options involving guns would have to be scrubbed, but it could be playable. In addition, deep-delving Discworld dwarfs may not carrying guns, but they do sometimes carry flamethrowers, so patching in Liquid Projector skill and appropriate weapons from GURPS Low-Tech (and an incendiary analogous to Greek Fire) would be fine. The Musketeer, on the other hand, probably has to be ruled out.

Pyramid 3/47: One can somehow imagine a Discworld-Dungeon campaign built around the Monster Slaver, complete with aggravatingly accelerating market demand for more, weirder, and bigger monsters.

Pyramid 3/76: Like the Mentalist (see above), the Psychic Slayer probably doesn't really fit on the Disc.

Next Up: Nonhuman Races

03-07-2017, 05:53 AM	#50
Phil Masters Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: U.K.	Re: Discworld, Dungeonworld Further Occupational Templates In the best tradition of these things, there have been a number of new character cla... occupational templates published in various places, most of which could probably be dropped into Discworld-located dungeoneering games - but some would work better than others. *Dungeon Fantasy 4 - Sages:* There's no obvious reason not to use Artificers or Scholars. Flaky engineers and obsessive bookworms fit the Discworld mood just fine. *Dungeon Fantasy 7 - Clerics:* Having re-jigged the approach to clerics in previous posts, this one really has to be pushed aside - though it might give people a few interesting ideas for variant Dungeon Saints. *Dungeon Fantasy 9 - Summoners:* Demonologists, Elementalists, and Necromancers fit here about as well as baseline wizards do. They might be Unseen University graduates who fell into obsessive (and in some cases, slightly sordid) specialisation, or they might be the products of eccentric provincial colleges or specialist personal instruction. The Disc certainly has demons and undead; the novels don't mention elemental theory much, but it fits the early-novels sword-and-sorcery mood okay. The Disc also has Shamans, so that template is probably good for use, to, though to fit the brief treatment given them in the novels, Addiction (Weird Mushrooms) should be a very popular choice from the disadvantages options, and Flashbacks and Phantom Voices should be added to the list of possibilities. *Dungeon Fantasy 10 - Taverns:* The Innkeeper template is of course a bit of a joke - so it could fit the Discworld okay. *Dungeon Fantasy 12 - Ninja:* Ninja are definitely present on the Disc; the Agatean Empire replaces the Forbidden (or Mysterious) East as their region of origin, of course. This book also provides an Assassin template, which may seem to fit the Disc a little less well, in that most Discworld readers will be expecting Assassins to be suave gentlemen rather than just stealthy killers - but that stereotype largely postdates the novels' sword-and-sorcery phase, and anyway, one can always use the template for a generic pragmatic dungeoneering killer, while avoiding using the word "assassin" in the earshot of the wrong people. *Dungeon Fantasy 14 - Psi:* Psionics as such aren't really a feature of the Discworld, although the powers displayed by various creatures, notably elves, could be classed that way; however, those are mostly seen in-setting as either a form of magic or a monster thing. Probably best leave this book aside. *Pyramid 3/10:* The Justiciar has few outright metaphysical features to cause problems with the mood of Discworld games, and one could image some past Patricians of Ankh-Morpork, among other rulers, employing such people. Imagine Commander Vimes if the Disc had remained stuck in sword-and-sorcery mode... *Pyramid 3/36:* This issue has two different templates that both depend on the (limited) availability of gunpowder, or something analogous, which habitual Discworld readers will know is problematic. Actually, though, there are at least hints of the presence of explosives throughout the novels; it's only hand-held guns which should cause heavy quibbling. Hence, the Demolisher needn't be ruled out; it would need some tweaking to fit the slightly different treatment of dwarfs in Discworld stories (a topic to which this thread will return later), and the options involving guns would have to be scrubbed, but it could be playable. In addition, deep-delving Discworld dwarfs may not carrying guns, but they do sometimes carry flamethrowers, so patching in Liquid Projector skill and appropriate weapons from *GURPS Low-Tech* (and an incendiary analogous to Greek Fire) would be fine. The Musketeer, on the other hand, probably has to be ruled out. *Pyramid 3/47:* One can somehow imagine a Discworld-Dungeon campaign built around the Monster Slaver, complete with aggravatingly accelerating market demand for more, weirder, and bigger monsters. *Pyramid 3/76:* Like the Mentalist (see above), the Psychic Slayer probably doesn't really fit on the Disc. Next Up: Nonhuman Races __________________ -- Phil Masters My Home Page. My Self-Publications: On Warehouse 23 and On DriveThruRPG.