Originally published at: High and Mighty — Advanced Old School Revival — OSR+
What Mighty Brings to the Table
Mighty affects a character in several different ways. Besides allowing a character to either steel oneself or just use brute strength to overcome obstacles, it has several mechanical applications which lend themselves to greater durability. Not only does Mighty give a character more base HP, but it also allows access to higher tiers of armor, and to a slightly lesser extent, shields.
From a utility standpoint, Mighty allows characters to manipulate the world around them through acts of strength, push agendas via persuasion, endure the rigors of a cruel world, and allow more items to be carried upon their person. But it is in combat where Mighty truly shines. In addition to the aforementioned "tankiness" that it can bring, Mighty lends itself to powerful weapons and even unarmed attacks, and the type of magic called Psionics.
Using Skills
There are three non-weapon skills used in exploration and social play associated with Mighty: Athletics, Influence, Survival; one Arcana skill for spellcasting: Psionics; and a whopping six weapon skills: Blunt, Edged, Heavy, Flexible, Reach, and Hand-to-Hand.
In-Combat Uses
When a character is skilled in a weapon, they not only get to add a +2 to their attack roll when using said weapon, but are also able to unlock its tactic. Tactics have many strategic applications, but that will be a topic for another article.
Much like weapons, the use of the Psionics skill in combat is pretty cut and dry in that it also adds a +2 to both offensive and defensive rolls involving Psionic magic. However, it might not be readily apparent that it can also be used to add a +2 when attacking or parrying with your maleficence, since you use your Smart attribute to do so.
As for the three non-weapon skills, although they will most likely get more mileage out-of-combat, they can still be useful once initiative is rolled. Some examples include:
- Wall jumping to reach a lofty enemy (Athletics)
- Commanding an opposing force to stand down (Influence)
- Stabilizing a downed comrade (Survival).
Athletics in particular can be extremely useful in combat, as it adds a +2 when parrying with your shield.
Out-of-Combat Uses
The three non-weapon Mighty skills are very obvious in their uses when in comes to actions made out-of-combat: Athletics aids a character in performing death-defying stunts and acts of superhuman strength; Influence bends opponents wills and rallies your compatriots' spirits; Survival allows for greater outcomes when faced with the harsh realities of the natural world. In a similar vein, the skill Psionics bolsters a psychic spellcaster as they try to manipulate reality to their will.
But what of weapon skills? How can they be applied to situations outside of the purview of battle? Here things get a bit trickier. Players can work with their GM to imagine how such skills could be used to accomplish certain goals outside of skirmishes. I fully intend to dig into this topic in the future, but in the meantime, here are out-of-combat usage ideas for each of the six weapon skills:
- Blunt: Slamming a metal object to create a loud noise as a distraction.
- Edged: Clearing obstructions such as vines, thick webbing, or cables.
- Flexible: Crossing chasms a la Indiana Jones.
- Heavy: Opening locked doors or felling trees.
- Reach: Knocking down an object suspended from above.
- Unarmed: Restraining a target without causing physical harm.
Building Mighty Heroes
Now that we've established that Mighty is for more than just smashing, let's look at a few character concepts revolving around all things Mighty. (But mostly smashing.)
Each of these builds will focus on one specific allocation of attributes, as well as represent each of the seven classes that gain extra benefits through Mighty. Skills are for the most part chosen with a consideration for combat, unless otherwise stated.
Ultimately, the purpose of these examples is to stir the imagination by offering templates for character concepts. The following builds were compiled by not only looking for synergies between origins, classes, kits, skills, and gear loadouts, but to showcase a diverse representation within each of these categories.
In most cases, thematic decisions outweigh those that would lead to more optimization. Would The Warlord be better suited as a Fighter that can make two attacks, than a Paladin? Possibly. But is it cooler to think of a terrifying figure on the field of battle wielding a gigantic weapon crackling with a maleficence? Most definitely.