A while ago, I picked up a copy of the AD&D 2e book “Player’s Option: Skills and Powers” and it set off some kind of explosion in my brain in terms of designing a modular, kit-based game. I had already been sketching a heartbreaker-style document of old-school, OSR-ish procedures I wanted to use, so this became “Heartbreaker 2e.”

This thing is, like technically playable I think? There’s no monsters, and not really a functional combat mechanic. It’s basically a skill system I guess? I may or may not keep playing with this, but in the spirit of the Year of the Beta, here it is:

Heartbreaker 2e

Goals:

Three classes – Warrior (Fighter, Paladin, Dwarf, etc), Specialist (Rogue, Ranger, Halfling, etc), Scholar (Wizard, Cleric, Elf etc.)

Pick your class, then three kits from that class or one from your own and one from another. You can pick a kit more than once. If you acquire a skill from more than one source, it starts at the highest given rank and goes up by one for each extra source. You also get a free trait. Traits rank up in the same way as skills.

There are no races — these can be replicated using traits.

Skills work on a 2d6, roll-under system. This does mean you’re really bad at a lot of your skills at low levels, but it’s roughly in line with most of the thief ability percentages in D&D Basic so there you go. If I were to run this, I’d save skill rolls for truly exceptional feats. Don’t as for a Bend Bars, Lift Gates roll at every mundane door, save it for the big, dramatic moments.

Maria the Warrior chooses the Tough kit twice and the Soldier kit once. She’ll have a +2 to all saves, +2 DT to her HD, a bend bar/lift gates skill of 5, and the specialties that come with the soldier kit. She chooses the Tunnel Vision trait to represent her gnomish ancestry.

Warrior

Tough (Defensive, Resilience, bend bars/lift gates 4)

Guerilla (Hide in shadows 4, move silently 4, Detect Noise 3, detect traps 3, Tracking 4, Sneak Attack)

Soldier (Weapon specialization, armor specialization, shield specialization)

Medic (Cure disease 4, Healing [rank 2])

Monster Hunter (Detection, Special Enemy, Tracking 4, Cure disease 3)

Warpriest (Choose a sphere of influence. Each day, you can choose an invocation from the sphere and cast it once that day)

Battlemage (You gain one Spell of your choice, which you can cast once each day.)

Sergeant  (Leader [rank 2], supervisor, rally friends, )

Sapper (Tunneling 4, set trap 4, find trap 3, disable device 3, Detect new construction 4)

Crypt Keeper (Turn Undead, Protection from Evil, History 3, Obscure knowledge 3)

Specialist

Sneak (Escaping Bonds 4, detect Noise 3, hide in shadows 4, move silently 4)

Thief (climb walls 3, hide in shadows 3, move silently 3, tunneling 2, thief’s cant, open locks 4)

Spy (Bribe 4, hide in shadows 3, move silently 3, Read languages 2, Alter Moods 3, History)

Assassin (Backstab, climb walls 3, detect noise 3, hide in shadows 3, move silently 3, open locks 3, bribe 3)

Bard (read languages 3, scroll use 3, counter effects, history 4, Alter moods 4)

Swashbuckler (Maneuvers, Tightrope walking 4, rally friends)

Artificer (Scroll use 3, read languages 3, detect magic 3, disable device 4, use magic item 4)

Acrobat (Tightrope walking 4, jumping 4, tumbling 4, climb walls 4)

Arcanist (Detect illusion 4, detect magic 4, read languages 4, scroll use 3, one Spell, cast 1/day.)

Brawler (Unarmed Fighting, tumbling 4, climb walls 4, Combat Maneuvers)

Scholar

Wizard (choose a spell, and add it to your spellbook. You can cast it once per day. You can learn spells by copying them into your spellbook from scrolls or other spellbooks during downtime. You can prepare 1 spell/day/level.)

Invoker (Choose a sphere of influence. Each day, you can choose one invocation from the sphere per level and cast it once that day. You can swap your spell with an hour-long ritual, so long as you haven’t used it yet.)

Elementalist (1 spell/level, you can cast it once per day. You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls with all spells of your chosen element.)

Healer (Healing, Cure disease 3, Counter effects, +1 bonus to healing from any spells/invocations)

Shapechanger (Choose an alternate form — animal, mineral, or vegetable. Assume a form of this type 1/day)

Seer (Detect magic 4, know alignment 4, read languages 3, detect secret doors 4, Detection )

Historian (History 4, read languages 3, scroll use 3, Identify 4, Obscure Knowledge 4)

Field researcher (may wear up to chain armor and one handed weapons. +1 DT for hit points)

Diplomat (bribe 4, history 3, rally friends, followers get morale bonus, Alter moods)

Engineer (Tunneling 3, disable device 4, detect slopes 3, detect new construction 3, detect secret doors 3)

Traits

Tunnel vision (Precious metals and gemstones within 60 feet seem to you to glow, even in complete darkness).

Chosen Enemy (gain a +1 to hit against a chosen kind of creature)

Talented swimmer (You can swim as well as you can walk)

Hedge Mage (You learn one cantrip spell, which you can cast once per day)

Rally friends (You can inspire your allies once per day/rank. Anyone nearby who hears your rally call gets +1 on attacks and saves for 1 turn)

Leader (followers get +1 morale bonus/rank)

Healing (You can heal 1d6 hit points/rank/day)

Unarmed fighting (unarmed attacks deal +1DT damage/rank. If the target takes the maneuver, deal damage = rank)

Maneuvers (You can attempt to initiate combat maneuvers. Whatever those are.)

Backstab (Deal double damage when striking an unsuspecting foe)

Counter Effects (You can attempt to dispel magical effects on yourself or nearby allies with a save vs Spells)

Defensive (+1 to all saves)

Resilience (+1 DT for HD)

Weapon specialty (+1 attack with the chosen weapon type)

Armor specialty (gain a +1 to AC when wearing your chosen type of armor)

Shield Specialty (Gain +1 to your DR, W, and DB saves while wielding a shield)

Detection (1/day/rank you can focus your senses to detect unnatural creatures within 60 ft)

Turn Undead (Present a symbol to turn undead creatures with HD equal to or less than your own. Useable 1/day/rank)

Proficiency (gain the ability to use one type of armor or weapon not usually allowed by your class)

Skill (Gain your choice of skill at rank 4)

Protection from Evil (+1 to all saves vs evil creatures)

Supervisor (followers under your command work as a well-oiled machine and never need to check morale 

Skills

1. Hide in shadows – conceal your presence while remaining still, especially for an extended period of time. 
2. move silently – traversing space undetected
3. climb walls – scaling difficult surfaces, or scaling normal surfaces quickly 
4. detect noise – detecting the presence of movement or creatures, especially useful on the other side of a door 
5. detect traps – detecting harmful devices like pitfalls or pressure plates
6. Disable device – rendering mechanical devices inert
7. Tracking – following traces left by a quarry
8. tunneling – digging safe passage through loose earth or stone 
9. detect slopes – detecting changes in elevation underground
10. detect new construction – detecting changes in construction 
11. detect secret doors – detecting concealed portals
12. Escaping bonds – freeing ones self from chains or ropes
13. Open locks – quickly and quietly unlocking doors or containers
14. Bribe – offering coinage or other valuables in exchange for a certain course of action 
15. read languages – deciphering unknown scripts
16. history – recalling useful information or lore about the past
17. scroll use – activating a scroll to cast a spell or invocation without being of the proper class
18. detect magic – detecting magical effects
19. use magic item – activating magic items not normally allowed to ones class 
20. tightrope walking – balancing on thin surfaces while in motion
21. jumping – covering great vertical or horizontal distances
22. tumbling – traversing an area in an unexpected way, perhaps to avoid tripwires or enemy attacks
23. Set trap – create harmful tricks or traps like pits and snares
24. know alignment – decipher a creature’s cosmic allegiances 
25. Identify – determine the origin and purpose of magical artifacts 
26. Obscure knowledge – know strange facts about unusual topics
27. Bend bars/Lift gates – perform superhuman feats of strength 
28. Cure disease – remove or delay the spread of a disease 
29. Alter Moods – sway the disposition of other beings, modifying their initial reaction to you 

Sample characters

Bertram the Cleric

Scholar – (Invoker, Field Researcher, Seer, plus Turn Undead)

Traits:

Skills:

Maria the Warrior 

Fighter – (Tough x2, Soldier plus Tunnel Vision)

Traits:

Skills:

Theobald the Filch

Specialist (Thief, Sneak, Acrobat)

Traits:

Skills: