Help needed in creating a roleplaying-traits for warrior based classes

Hello there.

The thing is that I am trying to create a setting for a roleplaying game and am looking for some ideas what kind of passive and active traits can belong to warrior-based classes. Like one class is based upon western barbarian faction in the Classica era plus the Viking age, and the other upon the Hellenic/Roman factions. The thing about systems like dungeons and dragons is that that the combat feats are too mathematical and somewhat simpleton alike (like see the feats in Neverwinter night). But I am not looking for some civic traits like general in EB have.

Since many of you are learned men about this time then I would appreciate some new ideas.


Here is an example about feats:

Berserk (based upon the Icelandic sagas and Scandinavian sagas): When the Player acivates this ability the he will fall into frenzy, which will give him inhuman strength when attacking his enemies in melee and make him immune to normal fire and metal weapons. But he will be uncontrollable in the process and attack everything in his sight (both enemies and allies). But take note that he is vulnerable toward bludgeoning damage from wodden clubs and such weapons alike. (The roleplaying game will have a magical element in it).

Naked fanatic (passive): The Player has accustomed himself in fighting naked and using special herbs which makes gives him no sense of any pain. He receives bonus to his armour class in evading attacks while having no armour, will not receive any distraction penalty from physical wounds (critical hits). His appearance has a chance of frightening his nearby enemies, along with giving a bonus to attack and defense to his allies.

Shield bash (Roman): The Player knows how to use his shield for offensive and can bash his enemies with it, which will knock them back and give the player the first hit.

Beserkers wouldn't be immune to weapons, only immune to pain. So they would keep fighting until they are killed, while a normal warrior would keep fighting only until he is badly wounded. Also Berserkers would be very poor at defence, armour class would be very low, since they are in too much of a blood frenzy to care about protecting themselves. Instead they would be very good at attack, and might get an extra attack per round, since they would be striking more often instead of cautiously parrying blows from the enemy. The only defence a beserker has is to kill his enemy before his enemy can kill him. The fear effect of a beserker might give him a higher chance to get in the first blow as well.

Naked fanatic would have a dexterity based boost to his armour class, able to dodge better since he is not weighed down by heavy armour. But that might not fully counter the drawback of not having heavy armour. He also will probably get in the first blow.

Shield bashing - all warriors know how to do this, not just Romans. But warriors with short swords have a chance at combining a shield bash with a quick sword thrust in the same attack round, which warriors with hacking long swords can't do. Although a hack with a long sword will generally do more damage than a thrust from a short sword.

Long swords can do bludgeoning impact crushing damage (like a mace) as well as cutting damage if they penetrate enemy armour. While a thrusting short sword does not do crushing damage, and thus will do no damage at all if it doesn't penetrate the enemy armour. So you can batter an enemy into unconciousness with a long sword even if his armour is too good to penetrate (after a great many blows), you can't do this with a short thrusting sword.

traits does not allow you unit specific specialities, like special attack (elephants, berserkers, cavalry in vanilla RTW)
on the other hand via traits you can increase morale (most important thing in EB!), command I find it useless but like seeing them, also replenishment affects (doctor, healer).
For your perspective traits would be in name only, with no real effect.

I am not referring to the traits which exist in the EB mod but I am referring to passive and active abilities which belong to roleplaying games. You can call it feats (nwn), perks (fallout), or some combat abilities in Diablo 2.

I am creating a setting for a roleplaying game which emphasis upon combat classes, rogue classes, and spellcaster classes.

The reason why I posted this thread is because I wanna implement some abilities to warrior classes which take the best and most interesting things from history.

I already have received ideas from EB about barbarians charges, woad paint, impetuous effects, coal paint (like sweboz units), berserk, naked fanatics, herbs which create no sense of pain, what kind of weapons and armour the barbarians used, longsword momentum, and such issues.

But I am curious of discovering more issues which can be found in some historical sources, for I have mostly just read the books from Herodotus all the way to Ammenius Mercellinus but I have no knowledge about sources which can belong to some barbarian cultures.

I agree with scato on the example traits in PnP RP games I know berserks may get extras like: ignoring effects of wounds, higher initiative(attack first), more attack force/higher hit percentage, when everybody has 2 actions(attack and parade) a berserk may not parray but attack twice instead, a berserk may not preform complex manouvers(like feint, aimed stab etc)
naked fanatics could get 1, 2, a higher hit percentage, bonus on parade but it's an active trait that can only be activated when consuming drugs and beeing naked plus enemies must pass a bravery test to attack him(with some complex exeptions ;) )

what about:

Spartan - may ignore bravery tests(maybe only if he passes an other test like selfcontrol or directly on "spartan"), can always choose the least expensive accomodation/menu availible independant of social standing and budget gets mali on social skills and poetrs etc. whatever you use there
- availible to everyone yet far more common for spartans actually^^

*naked women overseer-trait from EB* - gets marginal boni on whatever you use for wooing/undersanding women, does not have to take bravery tests because of naked fanatics

I´d also make the religous aspect the difference between "Berserker" and "Naked Fanatics" skills, and also the availability of it for a character: while to bekome a Berserker/get the skill you might need a certain degree of natural energy/vitality + bravery, you´d need to be religious man/not faithless at least to enter the circle of the naked dudes.

I thank you for the info/suggestions about the abilties in question, and have alraedy made proper changes to their description.

But lets move past them and try to discover some new ones.

1. Did not the germanic warrior value long-term chastity as some kind of great prowess or renown? Maybe it could consist in bonus to endurance points (not hitpoints) and its regeneration rate?

2. What about the warrior dance like the pyrrhic one or maybe description of the the Lusotana unit (Calleachi medium infantry)? Was it not supposed to be a sign of great agility and endurance? Maybe bonus to these stats and speed?

3. What about the noble Celtic/Sweboz warriors whom could afford medium armour (chainmail) and such? Was there any special tradition or requirement of achievement which belonged to that social class?

4. Were horned helmet ever used in bull-rushing some enemies? If such helmets ever existed

5. Are there any noteworthy issues in regard to Lusotana and Getai units which are NOT Armour-piercing related (including javelins)?

6. Celts sacrificed some beautiful human victims to their gods and human heads were collected. I wonder if there are any religious customs which could really be practical in defining some warrior based abilities.

7. What were Celts/Sweboz abilities in regard to the woods? Like did they track steps from enemies like American natives, or use some kind of smoke signals? Are not druids supposed to be come kind of ultra-nature worship?

Can't think of more at the moment, although these issues may seem not in any direct connection to warrior based abilities.