Kalaska'Agathas
2011-05-11, 01:23 PM
The Rage Prophet (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/rage-prophet). A cool concept, to be sure, but poorly executed - it suffers from the Theurge Problem turned up to eleven. So, how can we fix it?
The most obvious problem, to me, and the one most indicative of the larger "Theurge Problem" is that this class makes you worse both as an Oracle and as a Barbarian. It loses three caster levels, which alone would deny a spontaneous caster their ninth level spells, and to top it off requires at least two levels of Barbarian, bringing your total caster level loss to a minimum of five. This limits you, in what I would consider the archetypal Rage Prophet build (Barbarian 2/Oracle 8/Rage Prophet 10) to seventh level spells. On top of the massive CL loss, you find that the RP loses out entirely on new Rage Powers, more rounds of Rage per day (as an aside, does anyone have even the slightest idea of what possessed Paizo to needlessly nerf Rage and Bardic Music as they have?) and most of the improvements to Rage a Barb gets. And, in the archetypal build, you end up losing five BAB.
So, as I said before, the Rage Prophet actively makes you a worse Barbarian (failing to upgrade Rage, medium BAB, etc.) and makes you a worse Oracle to boot (lost caster levels, lost caster levels, and lost caster levels. Oh, and maybe lost mystery progression, etc.) - there is literally no reason to take this class. Comparing a Barbarian 2/Oracle 18 to the archetypal build, one finds that the RPless build ends up with roughly comparable Rage (yes, you lose out on Greater Rage, but not much else) and significantly better spellcasting, the same BAB, slightly worse hit dice (partially offset by taking the +1 HP/level favored class bonus, though if you're Human, better to take +1 Spell Known/level) and greater benefits from Oracle class features. Another build we might compare to is Barbarian 5/Oracle 15 - which gets the same loss of CLs but gets better BAB, Uncanny Dodge, etc. Either of these is more effective a build than the archetypal Rage Prophet build, casting serious doubt upon the Rage Prophet as a valid character option.
The question becomes, what can be done to fix it? First, I might give it Full BAB and full caster level progression. Yes, I know, that seems powerful, but considering you're still losing two points of BAB (when compared to a full Barbarian) and two caster levels (therefore only getting nines at level 20) I think this is a fair trade. Next comes the harder question of class features, and the adjustment thereof. The Rage Prophet, as it stands, gains a Spirit Guide, which would be great if it actually had any effective abilities rather than Guidance and some low level SLAs. In addition, the RP gains some bonus spells known, the ability to cast a very limited set of spells on his- or herself while raging, and some other ancillary benefits (mainly adding their Con mod to spell DCs and such).
What of these features can be salvaged? What need to be scrapped? What new features might be appropriate to the class? Any suggestions are welcome.
The most obvious problem, to me, and the one most indicative of the larger "Theurge Problem" is that this class makes you worse both as an Oracle and as a Barbarian. It loses three caster levels, which alone would deny a spontaneous caster their ninth level spells, and to top it off requires at least two levels of Barbarian, bringing your total caster level loss to a minimum of five. This limits you, in what I would consider the archetypal Rage Prophet build (Barbarian 2/Oracle 8/Rage Prophet 10) to seventh level spells. On top of the massive CL loss, you find that the RP loses out entirely on new Rage Powers, more rounds of Rage per day (as an aside, does anyone have even the slightest idea of what possessed Paizo to needlessly nerf Rage and Bardic Music as they have?) and most of the improvements to Rage a Barb gets. And, in the archetypal build, you end up losing five BAB.
So, as I said before, the Rage Prophet actively makes you a worse Barbarian (failing to upgrade Rage, medium BAB, etc.) and makes you a worse Oracle to boot (lost caster levels, lost caster levels, and lost caster levels. Oh, and maybe lost mystery progression, etc.) - there is literally no reason to take this class. Comparing a Barbarian 2/Oracle 18 to the archetypal build, one finds that the RPless build ends up with roughly comparable Rage (yes, you lose out on Greater Rage, but not much else) and significantly better spellcasting, the same BAB, slightly worse hit dice (partially offset by taking the +1 HP/level favored class bonus, though if you're Human, better to take +1 Spell Known/level) and greater benefits from Oracle class features. Another build we might compare to is Barbarian 5/Oracle 15 - which gets the same loss of CLs but gets better BAB, Uncanny Dodge, etc. Either of these is more effective a build than the archetypal Rage Prophet build, casting serious doubt upon the Rage Prophet as a valid character option.
The question becomes, what can be done to fix it? First, I might give it Full BAB and full caster level progression. Yes, I know, that seems powerful, but considering you're still losing two points of BAB (when compared to a full Barbarian) and two caster levels (therefore only getting nines at level 20) I think this is a fair trade. Next comes the harder question of class features, and the adjustment thereof. The Rage Prophet, as it stands, gains a Spirit Guide, which would be great if it actually had any effective abilities rather than Guidance and some low level SLAs. In addition, the RP gains some bonus spells known, the ability to cast a very limited set of spells on his- or herself while raging, and some other ancillary benefits (mainly adding their Con mod to spell DCs and such).
What of these features can be salvaged? What need to be scrapped? What new features might be appropriate to the class? Any suggestions are welcome.