To further illustrate my point, every Final Fantasy game after FFV is dead to me, since they moved away from high fantasy, and into magepunk. Hell, they started FFVI off with people in fragging MECHAS!
Hey now, I love Final Fantasy, and I don't think it's wrong for a game to change its feel, or for a game to be magepunk. I mean, after all, what really
is Shadowrun anyway? Not high fantasy, that's certain.
But anyway, I do agree with you in that it is
Dungeons & Dragons, not
Mechs and Monsters, or something other comparable alliterative title referencing the magepunk nature of Eberron.
Over all, I can't wait for playtesting to begin, and I already have ideas where you could range from nearly classless, like Shadowrun, to uber-classed and tiered like 4e, depending on your style of campaign, or even your individual character. It might make it a little too easy to Mary Sue, and it could be hard to keep track of, but I have months to iron it out and make it public, so people can help me make it better.
Basically, it would involve a point-buy system, like Shadowrun, and your points would be portioned off for ability points, skills, feats, "level adjustments", and "features", what would have been class features. You would have available to you "class packages", which would allow you to take what would have been a level in a class, and certain restrictions will come with that. If you don't take a class package, you could spend your feature points on saving throw progressions (might want to lock that as a one-time thing to prevent powergaming based on what kind of saving throw comes up most in your campaign), weapon and armor proficiencies, combat maneuvers, spells, bonus feats, and other class abilities. Sound feasible, or too complicated? I think DMs could restrict newer players to buying class packages at every level.
I wouldn't have it be a karma-based system or anything like that; I think XP should be kept, and levels should be recorded, but you may, depending on your campaign, never hear "I'm a level 12 Paladin!" I think that this flexibility could be what everyone wants in D&D, but at the same time, be what no one wants, because it offers "too many" choices to PCs, makes the DM's job a bit harder, and would make the books significantly larger (and more expensive). But I do think this makes it customizable while keeping the D&D feel, which is the goal of this "edition", is it not?
