I'm pondring converting the Archer class for the Might & Magic games into an
AD&D Class using 100 Character Points and the books from Player's Option of
Skills & Powers and Spells and Magic.  Got any suggestions, or any conversions
of your own?

31 responses total.

Hmm . . . that took a lot less than 100 points to modify, but I may need to
spend a few more to make it a full fledged class.  Of course, for this class
the Prime Req. are Dexterity/Aim, and Intelligence/Knowledge.

also ranger spells
or actually, bard style spell progression
criticall hit like the monk with ranged weapons.
maybe attacks increase like preist, but like a fighter with bows?

nope, M&M Archers are elemental mages . . . all four elements at that.

i meant they can use elemental spells but get them early on instead of way down
the road

O.  Well, Might & Magic's Archer's start with access to Air spells and of
course, bow proficiency.  But can eventually learn the the other three
elemental magics, even starting with another one of them.  I guess you were
thinking of a different ranger than I.

the standard AD&D ranger doesn't get spells untill like 10th level or so
but i havn't actually played the game in years.
in the latest series they start with whatever elemental magic you wnt
or none even, they are just capable of useing it

You must be thinking of the Rangers from Dark Sun who still don't get magick
until 10th level.  Unless Rangers from Birthright get something special.

Anyway, I think I may go back on how I'm building this class and start with
the wizard template rather than the fighter template.  The destruction booklet
for Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven says Archers are a hybrid of the
Knight and Sorcerer classes.

Archers's are allowed to use any weapon they want (and have
proficiency/famility with), and as I said before, starting with 1 proficiency
slot already spent for bow.  They can't use Plate type armor nor shields.
Yep, it looks like basing this on the wizard template would be the best. 
Except for the little matter of multiple specialization . . .

yha, sounds much better

And as for the Archer's oposition schools - everything nonelemental, excluding
Universal Magick (formerly known as lesser divination).
Well, I'll see how it turns out after I continue the war to clean my room.

Based on the promotions within the Might & Magic Knight class (Knight->
Cavalier -> Champion), perhaps it would be better to base the warrior aspect
of the archer on the 1st Edition AD&D Cavalier (since they must have served
at least a year as a knight before they can become that class).

possibly.

Well, anyway, I'll put that on hold while I go improve Might & Magic stuff
in Might & Magic, like buying my party more spells, after I make the cleric
into an expert shieldswoman.
She's the only one left who isn't an expert in something yet.

Well . . . I can't use response 12's clause as excuse to procrastinate on this
anymore, as my cleric is now an expert shieldswoman.  Though perhaps I should
go get the quest I've nearly completed, since it's kind of silly to accept
a quest that you're already done with - but it gets things done with that
person faster.

I guess I better get ahold of someone's first edition books - well, actually,
just the Unearthed Arcana I think.

Let me dig through my box-of-old-gaming-stuff, I may have that one still.

Alrighty then.  O, I just earned 3,000 + xp in MM6, Just for giving a scroll
to some guy.  To think, all it took to get the party to level 8 was to kill
a few lizardmen and dig up some poop on an illegal thieves guild.

Let's see, if I instead use the Alternity Rules;
Profession - Free Agent
Career - Archer

Skill Package;
Armor Operation: Combat Armor (STR Skill), Primitive Ranged Weapons: Bow &
Crossbow (DEX), Melee Weapons Blade & Bludgeon (STR), Arcane Magic: Conjure
(FX),  2 other specific skills of choice, plus whatever racial free skills,
and however many skill points are left over.

So the cost for that skill package would be Combat Armor 3 SP, On second
thought take out the Melee weapon stuff as it's not part of the package,
Arcane Magic 15 SP, Bow 4 SP, Crosbow 3 SP for a grand total of 25 Skill
Points.

Forget the 2 skills of choice as one is take up by the Armor, and throw in
some Melee Weapon broad skill - weapon can be chosen later.  Since it's a
broad skill, it doesn't count against the Skill Point Cost of the Skill
Package.

Required Abilities: Since it's a free agent, it needs an 11 Dexterity, and
a 9 Will Power.  Since normal range is 4-14 I think that's good enough on Dex,
but Intelligence should probaly be at least 8.

Signature (starting, that is) Equipment:
Crossbow (1 Action, Clip Size 10, Clip Cost 15, Hide -, Mass 2, Controlled
Weapon, Weapon Cost 400), Leather Armor [PL2] (Action Penalty 0, Type
Ordinary, Light Impact d6-2/High Impact d6-4/Energy d6-4, Hide +2, Available
to anyone, Mass 7, Armor Cost 250) [In Alternity, Armor absorbs damage,
instead of preventing it] or Leather Coat (Skill N/A [forgot that on Leather
Armor, but it is the same] Action Penalty 0, Type Ordinary, Low Impact
d6-3/High Impact d4-3/Energy  d4-2, Hide +3, Available to Anyone, Mass 5,
Armor Cost 500) [That one is from Progress Level 3: The Age of Reason, PL2
is The Middle Ages], Suit of Clothes, and a Primitive Melee Weapon of choice
after some Melee skill has been taken.

It's just occured to me that since neithr of the above armors require a
specific skill, Armor Op and Combat armor can go away.  Though an Archer will
need Armor Op for the best armor he can use: Chain Mail, and may never use
a shield.  So getting rid of combat armor frees up 3 SP, reducing SP cost for
skill package to 22, and perhaps giving enough SP for a simple spelll.  Or
to merely add to your total SP allotment.  Humans get 5 extra SP from the
listed value for starting skill points.  Perhaps you'd like to buy yourself
Psionic wild talents?  Archers may also never learn Faith magic.

As a Free Agent, starting funds are 5d8x10 or 5d8x100 depending on the GM's
whim.

facinating, armor works like it does in witchcraft, armageddon and
con x.
though....
Archer:
        influence: knight
        Professionall skills: Melee weapon, ranged weapon ( bow), occult: 
taoism (motion/will based magic, mainly kata's and zen type mysticism),
martial arts (incorperating the bow), meditation, fletching.
        Professional trainings: awareness, Bow (df reduced by one, ROF
        increased
by one).
 REquirements: Dex 4, influence 1 (must be a freeman).
        Pulling strings: most archers are valuable, as such, influence only
        costs
10 cp per point, because advancment and accolades are easy to come by. 
        also veteran costs 5 cp less.  May not by scholor.
        
        Influence should be: man at arms.

Actually, I should take away the armor skill and the melee weapons skill if
I haven't already nulled the melee skill since in the Might & Magic computer
games Archers start with Bow skill (Bows & Crossbows), and Elemental Air Magic
plus two spells Wizard Eye, and Static Charge.

yes, but if you select the third skill being earth or whatever, you get
two spells for each starting wizard/cleric skills.

All that would be is another heading under Arcane Magic: Conjure.
Priest Magic in Alternity is the Faith FX skill (FX - Effects skill which have
no skill they're based on).  I don't like it that a character has to take the
FX Skill Super Power for every single magic item he wants to use and/or every
magical racial ability or whatever he wants to use.

I suppose I could exchange Melee Weapons and Armor skills for 2 ranks of
Unarmed Combat.

I forgot the Alternity Crossbow COMBAT Stats in my descrip, so here they are:
Skill to Use: Prim-bow, Accuracy Modifier: 0, Mode: F (Single shot per phase),
Range (in Meters) 50/100/250, Type: Light Impact/Ordinary, Damage: 2d4+2 wound
(ordinary success)/d6+2w (good success)/d4+1 mortal (amazing success).

Well, now that I have all that mostly figured out, I should compile it into
one location (i.e. paragraph or set of paragraphs), so that it will be easier
to insert a slip of paper into my Alternity Player's Handbook and Gamemaster's
Guide.

Let's add one rank of Unarmed Attack Brawl for a total skill package cost of
25 SP.  I just read that a character can never have more than one FX broad
skill so we can forget about specifically restricting Faith and Super Power
(which I also learned IS NOT magickal items) FX skills.  Then the archer gets
the freebies for his race and whatever SP is left over.

Human?  How about buying a mutation package?

Now let's see if I can compile that into a more compact form.  Here goes.

Profession: Free Agent
Career: Archer
Skill Package: Armor Operation, Primitive Ranged Weapons - bow, Unarmed Attack
- brawl, Arcane Magic - Conjure.  Package cost: 25 Skill Points.
Signature Equipment: Crossbow, Leather Armor or Leather Coat, Suit of Clothes,
Melee Weapon of choice after a melee skill is choosen.

Archers may not use shields nor the heaviest of armors.  (Therefore, it is
perfectly reasonable, that an Archer transposed into a future or far future
campaign could learn to use the lighter armors of the time).  Archers may
learn to use any melee or ranged weapon they want (also giving the ability
for an archer to learn to use such things as star swords and mass launchers),
but their specialty are the bow and crossbow.

That seems to have worked well.

Here's why I plan to convert AD&D to the Alternity system at least for
PlaneScape and SpellJammer: There is a picture in the Player's Handbook of
some spacefariers coming across an "alien" portal which is much akin to the
portals of PlaneScape AD&D.  I'll just have to bend the magickal ability with
per level effect locked at level of conversion to Alternity rule to make it
fair for the Plane-touched and other magickal species.

Now I need to figure out how to work with the promotions.  Might & Magic VI's
promotions result in +1 HP and SP per level, then for the second promotion
brings it to +2 HP and SP.  Hit points don't exist in Alternity, but Spell
Points kind of do (In the a-PHB there is Psionic Energy and in the GMG there
is FX Energy which is what is used for magic).  So what I need to find is a
skill that either increases the amount of fatigue/stun/wound/mortal a
character can take OR say that it results in a one *rank* increase in the
armor specialty skill of choice.  Then again, I could just hand out extra
Acheivement Points (which are the same as Skill Points) for the promotions
to Battle Mage and, if it comes that far, to Warrior Mage.

ap's or armor increases work

Alternity also puts high limits on magic since it is an SF game, but since
magic never really costs that much, the max FX energy cap is okay.  I'll just
have to think of a different increase for promotions rather than FX energy.

Let's see Heroic reality level on the FX, which means they start with 10 FX
energy, can get a max of 20, and 1 FX energy costs 10 skill points.

Whoops.  I need to add 5 points to Skill package cost rasing it to 30.  Spells
cost skill points to learn (well, most of them) and Static Charge would cost
5 skill points to learn.  Wizard eye doesn't cost any.

Whoops, looks like I read the wrong thing when I was tailoring FX.  Wizard
Eye also costs 5 SP (to begin with), raising package cost to 35 sp.

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