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. Similarly to 4E, non-casting classes have things like Tactics they can use to compete with spells.