July Update

It's been a few weeks since my last post and wanted to give a quick update of the conversion.

The website is up to date enough to start playing in the world of Tamriel. My group of adventurers are currently at Shetcombe Farm, outside of Kvatch, solving the murder of a farmhand. The adventuring team chose to play the following:

Lokra Gro-Kash - Orc Barbarian

Kiara - Redguard Monk

Fire-Breath - Khajiit Rogue

Sephiroth - Altmer Conjuration Mage

Isabelle Guelleck - Breton Bard

So far, everything is going well, and the classes and spells are working out. I made some last minute updates to their classes before they received their character sheets. The Barbarian and Rogue updates have already been put up on the blog. The Mage received very minor changes, and the Bard and Monk remained untouched.

After a year of playing D&D and becoming a lot more familiar with the game, I've started to understand some of the nuances of 5th edition and how it has changed from 4th and Pathfinder. With those considerations in mind, I've started to go back and look through the classes I've created to put them more in line with the philosophy of D&D 5E. A big part of this is also making the Elder Scrolls classes more in line with their D&D analogues, so that the conversion is more balanced and easier to follow.

While the 10 classes in the Player's Handbook feel unique to each other, there aren't direct copies of each class in Elder Scrolls. The lore and existing classes create some barriers. There isn't a lot of lore surrounding Druidic classes in Elder Scrolls, although the Bosmer most likely have strong connections to nature magic. So there might still be some holes in the conversion that need to be filled.

Thief & Warrior Versions 1.1

With the review of the player's classes, I've begun going through the other classes and making updates along the way. The Thief and the Warrior have been completed and just need to be put on to the website.

The Warrior was updated with the exciting Dragon Knight class, which feels a lot like the Eldritch Fighter. Although, it seems a bit true-lore breaking to me, it is definitely a missing play style from the current cast of classes.

The Thief update felt minor, but actually had some pretty decent overall changes. Mostly, it was removing the gamey feels, poorly written and clunky mechanics, and piggy backed off of the Rogue changes.

Ranger Version 1.1

I'm currently working through the Ranger updates, which include removing magic from the Scout and Archer sub-classes and replacing it with appropriate Fighter Maneuver type skills. The Ranger class, as a whole, is starting to look a lot like the D&D Unearthed Arcana magic-less class.

Sorcerer & Templar Version 1.1

Next, I plan on reworking the Sorcerer slightly, and then finally making a major rework to the Crusader class, to make it feel a little more like the Paladin class, while maintaining the Elder Scrolls lore of a Knight of the Divines.

The Templar class will be added in this revision, a Sunlight wielding knight of Stendarr, as well as the Pilgrim. I'm also considering ditching the Healer, or making a major rework so that the healer remains. I'd love to make a Daedric version of the class, including a Meridia version, and a Tribunal version.

Magicka System Overhaul

After all of that is complete, my long term plans include a re-look at the magic system for this conversion. The short version of this is to make it less of a conversion, and more in tune with the 5E magic system. I think doing this would make it a lot easier for DM's and players to make the switch, without having to relearn too much.

I'd like to stick with the magicka point system, but increase the cost to match the magic point system from the DMG. With that, I'd add the Spell levels back as the progression, instead of using the Elder Scrolls progression of Novice, Apprentice, etc. These terms of progression might stick around in another way, or become more or a role playing term, rather than a mechanic guide.

The other magic system revision I'm considering is removing the Schools of Magic as proficiencies, and giving each of the classes their own spell lists to choose from, rather than the entire school of magic. This change would affect the Mage class the most, but most likely in a balanced way.

I'm really exited about these changes and revisions and hoping to get around to them soon.