So this will take a bit to 'splain.. In 2e, the various splatbooks had lots and lots of "kits", different takes on classes that sometimes had alternate features. BECMI was much the same. In 3e, there were a lot of variant renditions of the various classes, as well as "substitution levels" and such. In Pathfinder, there were a number of variants and archetypes, as well as "alternative class features" (ACF's), where a player could choose something to replace a standard feature.
I know C&C has class-plus and class-and-a-half; but those require an XP fee. I've also read that it's allowable to exchange class features if what you're replacing is about the same "potency" as what you're giving up.
I'm curious: what sorts of variants, alternatives, kits, feature-swaps, etc. have you seen or used? What was the rationale, and what effect did they have on the game?
Has there been anywhere online that folks have been posting such things?
Gratzi!