Some thoughts towards character class and party mix.

Now that the Creature Compendium and Expanded Petty Gods are out, I've been turning my attention back to the Basic Psionics Handbook. The things I've been been giving particular concern as of late are: 1) how the mystic and monk classes (as I've envisioned them) fit into the party mix, 2) which (possibly new) character classes compliment them, and 3) what is the setting like that supports the concpt (particularly of a mystic that comes from the Indian/Hindu template, and a monk of the Chinese Shao Lin tradition). There's always the possiblity the mystic comes across as a magic-user with his hair in a bun; so in the possible absence of traditional magic-users and clerics (since the mystics abilities seem to cover both grounds), what does a well-rounded party mix look like without feeling stale (as classes) and seeming appropriate to accompany the mystic.

The beastmaster class I developed a while back seems to fit, and in combination with the mystic seems to evoke a feeling more out of the Conan tradition than Tolkien. To flesh out those, I've been considering the following classes:

The Wenwet. This is a priest that comes out of the Egyptian tradition, combining elements of astrologer and necromancer, with a pinch of traditional cleric.
(I'm not sure who drew the picture above, but it came from cliparts.co.)

The Varlet. (pron. värlət) This is the first of two different "thief-inspired" classes. But the varlet is really about being a dastard and deceiver, with some of the skills you might see a spy having. This is a class about manual dexterity rather than agility, with the following types of skills: sleight of hand, picking pockets, picking locks, using disguises, etc. In turn, they don't specialize in the agility-based skills, so they don't have abilities like Move Silently or Hide in Shadows. Those are left to the...

Acrobat. This is more of a pure acrobat, without the dexterous skills possessed by thieves. They have abilities like: moving silently, hiding in shadows, climbing, tumbling, and stealth; and (maybe) at higher levels, abilities like contortion. I also see them having AC bonuses in combat (from evasive maneuvers).

Savant. This is sort of an alchemist/sage/scribe/medic. With abilities like potion-making, forgery, and the fantasy equivalents of paramedicine (and surgery?).

These thoughts are all I really have right now. So I'll leave it like this, knowing I'd like to start a campaign with this kind of class mix and see how it plays out.