disciplines beyond the player book

[Panda]

[Marceli]

[Swingwombat]

So my group had been playing an ED campaign for almost 2 years before we recently took a break to play something different, we are thinking of starting up again and would like to move our characters over, the only one with a problem is me, as I play a Windscout. She has been my favourite character ever to play and I want to be able to keep those differences going forward.

As there has been some discussion here about the additional Discipline I thought I would share what the GM and I have put together as a possible set of talents going forward

Windscout

Free
Navigation

1st
Scent Weaving
Tracking
Wilderness Survival
Awareness
Avoid Blow

2nd
Evidence Analysis

3rd
Scent Identifier

4th
Danger Sense

5th
Bird Song

6th Air speak

Novice
Missile Weapons
Surprise Strike
Speak Language
Creature Analysis
Throwing Weapons
Air Dance
Eagle Eye
Read Write Language

7th Safe Path

That is as far as we have so far.

The reason for Throwing rather than Melee is really just for my particular character, she is an alchemist and her favourite thing in the world was to use poisoned arrows and nets (Kessra - Such fun) disabling her opponents leaving them for the front line guys to clean up later. This was an agreement with my GM when the character was set up.

Happy to be overwritten and would love to hear others opinions, will continue to look at it myself.

Swingwombat
-yes I'm from Australia

[Panda]

Offering advice on this is difficult since you have established this is a custom discipline, rather than something which is intended to be broadly applicable. Moving forward with the premise Scout with a minor change (switch the positions of Avoid Blow and Climbing) isn't going to work, I will see what I can do to help.

To begin, there availability various talents does not follow the 4E guidelines (though it's there is no particular reason to expect you to know this). Specifically, Evidence Analysis is a Journeyman talent, Air Dance is Journeyman for everyone who isn't a Warrior, and both Eagle Eye and Scent Identifier are Warden - Master talents.

Bird Song is better served replaced by Animal Talk, though it should probably be pushed to Warden tier so as to not tread heavily on Beastmaster and Cavalryman.

There are two reasons Air Dance should be removed from the list of Novice talent options. The first is it is a very potent talent and the disciplines which gain access to it are rather limited. The second, and more important reason, is it only works in melee combat and this discipline doesn't have any melee combat talents. Mystic Aim and/or Anticipate Blow are going to be significantly more useful.

The list of Novice talent options, without removing Air Dance and Eagle Eye, is also two options light. It may be tempting to put Tiger Spring in there as a clear replacement for Air Dance, but I recommend putting it at Journeyman since the only disciplines which gain access to it at Novice are Swordmaster and Warrior. Also, the scouting theme still needs more development (e.g. Direction Arrow, Stealthy Stride, etc.) before focusing too much on combat talents.

Those are my preliminary thoughts and recommendations, though you are free to do with them as you see fit.

[Swingwombat]

[Panda]

You will get the initiative benefit regardless of if you are in melee combat or not - you are correct in this reading. However the talent now costs 2 Strain to account for how powerful it is. Tiger Spring will have the same net effect (initiative improvement) for only 1 Strain.

[Swingwombat]

[Panda]

In the end it is your discipline, though Scent Identifier is in the Companion, not part of the Player's Guide. The same goes for Eagle Eye and the functions of both talents are beyond the expectations for a Novice and Journeyman talent.

I have mixed opinions regarding the various discipline write-ups. Many are more confrontational than contrasting and don't present a clear distinction of how the disciplines are functionally different. Since each is written in-character, it is but one take on the philosophy of the discipline and at times a very strange one. Windscout is a good example of where things go awry, in my opinion, particularly when contrasted with the philosophy of Windmaster. These should be complementary and exist to show more of how windlings approach the world, but they go in contrary directions. One values stealth, while the other does not (though claims they can be stealthy as required). There are so many problems here, not the least of which is there isn't a good, objective look at what the disciplines are about, just how each is better than everyone else. While there are a few notations from other practitioners who have a different opinion, they are presented as the definitive perspective while in truth they are simply one perspective.

This is particularly relevant in comparing Scout and Windscout. I don't think there is a good argument for why Evidence Analysis is more core to one of them than the other. Beyond some minor philosophical differences from the single perspective presented for each discipline, they are essentially the same discipline (alterations made for basic physiology aside). Each of those perspectives may have a different opinion on the best way to accomplish the same task, but they are both vested in the same end goal.

[Roth]

Can always go back to the 1e name givers book and fiddle with all of them to come to what you think will work for your group

[Marceli]