13th Age

The 13th Age
RPG published by Pelgrane Publishing
Authors	Rob Heinsoo Jonathan Tweet
First Publication	2013
Essential Books	Core Rulebook Bestiary 13 True Ways Lions & Tigers & Owlbears: Bestiary 2

The 13th Age is an RPG written by one of the lead writers of 4E, but with less of the jank in rules and without the legendary IP behind it. It still rolls with d20, but in some different ways compared to both 4E and 3.X. Among the top of the differences is a bigger focus on narrative, with all PCs having ties to iconic figures in the setting mythos and each PC having a single detail that makes them unique among all others like the special snowflakes they are.

Gameplay

A lot of the basic d20 rules still apply here. Six key stats, roll high for good things, the whole shebang. Then things start diverging from the mold in key ways...

Divergences from D&D

• The level progression is slashed to ten levels rather than the typical 20 or 4E's 30-level slog. To compensate for this shorter development, feats are given at each level.
  • That said however, the power-level tiering from 4E still exists in a sense. Level 1-4 is Adventurer, Level 5-7 is Champion, and Level 8-10 is Epic. The big significance is really which feats are available and how powerful attacks are.
  • Feats are also considerably gutted. Rather than the obscene sprawl, now all feats directly influence a specific ability the PC has, from spells to class talents and racial abilities. The only non-class feats are a small list of Adventurer-tier ones, and none of them are really any powerful.
• In a way to diverge from the mandatory and oftentimes silly bloated list of skills, all skills are instead abolished. Instead, all PCs gain Background Points which they can invest into a job that would pertain to the character's history. Then, whenever a certain task would fit within a certain background's purview (like a blacksmith making weapons, a debater chatting with folks, or a spy sneaking around), the test is instead d20 + Background Ranks + Whatever relevant stat applies.
• NAD's are kept as a holdover from 4E, though remarkably changed, Now there's only Physical and Mental attribute defenses, with each being keyed off the middle stat between the physical and mental stats. This allows for all character to need to keep an eye on at least 4 stats.
  • Similarly, AC is made to key off the middle stat between Con, Wis, and Dex.
• Ranges are done away with. In order to be more narrativist, all abilities are now set between generalized ranges, from adjacent/engaged to close to far. At the very least, it does away with forcing everyone to grab their goddamn ruler so they can measure exact feet or meters.
• Combat also has a resource called an Escalation Die to track. On each turn after the first, the die goes up by 1, and the PC's gain a boost to all attack rolls. While meant to show the dramatic pitch of ongoing combat, it's clear that this is here to prevent long drawn-out battles.
• Like 4E, all HP is set at a static value that's only modified by Con. There are also Recoveries, which restore HP via a healing surge-styled dice-roll (a feature that, while not quite existent, would later be the basis of 5E's recovery die).
• There's a big focus on what you roll, with certain abilities only triggering on a natural odd or even roll.
• The inventory is also remarkably watered down, with the main differences in gear being the price-points and classes. This is because each class actually tells what the starting AC is for characters wearing specific armor types while also telling how much damage each weapon deals.

Character Creation

Rather than deal with all the bonuses here and there or whatever, each race and class grants a +2 bonus to one of two key stats, with each bonus being on a different stat.

Races

Similar to 4E, all races have some sort of racial power.

• Dark Elf: +2 Dex/Cha. Dark Elves can deal ongoing damage, and have a feat that boosts damage with swords.
• Dwarf: +2 Con/Wis. Their power gives them a heal if they take a hit.
• Gnome: +2 Dex/Int. They're small, they make illusions, and they can daze an enemy.
• Half-Elf: +2 Con/Cha. Their power modifies a natural die roll by subtracting 1. This can definitely be enough if you have to trigger a certain power.
• Half-Orc: +2 Str/Dex. They can re-roll one attack.
• Halfling: +2 Con/Cha. They're also small and they can force an enemy to re-roll an attack.
• High Elf: +2 Int/Cha. Their power is the Eladrin Fey Step.
• Human: +2 to any stat. They gain a free feat and a re-roll on the initiative.
• Wood Elf: +2 Dex/Wis. They have a chance to gain extra actions as the battle goes on using the power of speed.

Classes

Each class is customized using Talents. While primary casters are locked into only having three talents, others can potentially gain talents as they tier up. Spells are not only class-specific (without a particular talent or ability to poach a few spells at most) but they also scale up with level.This is because a caster's limited spellslots get allocated to higher levels while abandoning lower levels as they advance.

• Barbarian: +2 Str/Con. All barbarians can rage, which lets them roll 2d20 for all attacks with crits registering if both die roll 11+ and hitting. While normally only a daily ability, if the barbarian rolls 1d20+Con after a battle and scores a 16+, they can do it again that day. Their talents focus on either dealing more damage, be it on one enemy or hitting multiple at the same time, or being even tankier, either by finding ways to heal themselves or finding ways to bolster their defenses.
• Bard: +2 Dex/Cha. Bards have three resources to track: Songs, which aren't spells but can be prolonged via a sustain test but can end for some special boosts, Battle Cries, which trigger based on the Bard's attacks and benefit others, and spells. Their talents either change the main stat from Cha to Int/Wis, gain a spare battle cry or spell/song, or find ways to use their singing to influence how the icons impact the story.
• Chaos Mage: +2 Int/Cha. A true oddball of a class, all their spells are only picked via random rolls, while critting them makes all sorts of weird (not necessarily good) things happen, which can be dispelled by wasting a turn. Their talents allow them to poach one random spell from any of the main casting classes (Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric) or finding a random boon based on what kind of spell they pick up. Their spells are split into Attack, Defense, and Iconic (A catch-all group of spells influenced by particular pantheons of Icons).
• Cleric: +2 Str/Wis. While all clerics can heal allies in combat and use spells that can either be cast over several targets or focused on one, the talents they pick (Which are pretty much Domains) can make them dedicate to being either an armored warpriest or a backline supporter.
• Commander: +2 Str/Cha. A Warlord with a new coat of paint. They have Commands and Tactics to use up, with the former costing Command Points (a resource which the Commander keeps can gain during combat) and the latter being triggered by attack rolls. Their talents also can turn them from Cha-focused to Int-or-Wis-focused, grand new ways to support allies, or give them additional proficiences since they can only use simple weapons and light armor.
• Druid: +2 Str/Dex/Wis. Another major oddball, all their talents can either give them limited access in one discipline or spend two talents to give advanced proficiency in one discipline. The disciplines are: Animal Companion (Lifted from Ranger, though spending one talent means it'll get lost half the time since they're summoned and spending two gives constant access and special spells), Elemental Casting (Spells based on the elements, which include summoning elementals), Shifter (Your Wildshaping which allows for either benefits in combat or turning into something small to help with recon and gain some perks in the coming battle), Terrain Caster (Spells themed around the terrain they're in, with feats giving spells usable anywhere), Warrior Druid (Which gives special abilities that tie into attacks), and Wild Healer (Spells for being a healer)
• Fighter: +2 Str/Con. Fighters are the sticky bothers they were in 4E, though talents can focus on either being tanky or being more painful. Additionally, all fighters have an extra recovery die and penalizes any attempts to disengage from them. Their big resource is in Maneuvers, which are special effects and attacks that are triggered by things that happen in the battle (but mostly dice rolls).
• Monk: +2 Str/Dex/Wis. Monks still use Ki and still fight unarmed with Jab, Punch, and Kick attacks (Though some talents prefer weapon use). Monks use Forms, which give a sort of combo chain with Openers, Flows (chaining attacks) and Finishers like some sorta fighting game. Their talents also give a Ki Power.
• Necromancer:+2 Int/Cha. Rather than most games, Necromancers here aren't necessarily evil, though they'll always have some sort of relationship with a necromantic icon. All necros can summon the undead and actually benefit a bit less from a good Con. Their talents cover quite a few fields, with Wizard Spells, abilities about Iconic influence, an undead minion, and a hilariously cheesy one which involves wasting an entire goddamn turn to cast a spell and do bad-guy things like laughing or monologues to gain some thematic benefit.
• Occultist: +2 Int/Wis. A less oddball class, they still have spells to work with, but their healing comes a turn after getting the spell cast on them, while their spells all seem to focus upon gaining and expending Psychic Focus, such as the mandatory spell. Their talents tend to tie either to their Iconic ties or their spells.
• Paladin: +2 Str/Cha. Unlike D&D, paladins here aren't divine casters by default. Their only default feature is Smite Evil, which deals a bonus damage on one attack each battle. Their talents can grant limited access to a Cleric's spell list and domains, while others center upon being the biggest tank you can possibly tank.
• Ranger: +2 Str/Dex. Like the paladin, these guys are also not default casters. Their talents can give them spells from the cleric or sorcerer, while others are spent on finding extra ways to bring the hurt. Spending two talents can also bring an animal companion to fight as a partner.
• Rogue: +2 Dex/Cha. These guys still get Sneak Attacks and can sense out traps, while also gaining a resource called Momentum, which is gained from hitting and lost by being hit. They have powers which focus upon having momentum, but some also need to spend it. Their talents all rely upon having some sort of sneakiness involved, like thievery or walking into shadows to teleport around.
• Sorcerer: +2 Cha/Con. These guys have a reliance upon the random, ranging from spells that can recharge during the battle to spells that deal randomly-typed damage. They also can poach some of the wizard's spells, though always at a lower level (unless you spend a talent on that). Sorcerer Talents are mostly about Heritages, not-bloodlines which grant some sort of benefit, with others being either a slightly weaker familiar or being an up-close spellslinger.