zlefin
2011-12-19, 09:14 PM
I've been developing a 3.5 rework for balance. I don't expect to succeed, but the journey should be fun.
Goals: balance, between the classes. Will try to get everything to tier 3; though casters will probably still be tier 2.
Philosophy: having martial classes go beyond what a human can do in our world. e.g. one piece, naruto; this seems necessary given what high level casters can do.
Baseline: this will work off the 3.5 srd WITHOUT SPLATBOOKS. as alot of splatbook material was made to compensate for issues with the underlying system.
Prime problem: linear warriors quadratic wizards.
I note that technically, based on the cr formulae; growth on a per level basis is supposed to be exponential; with power ~ 1.414 ^ level; though how to assess actual growth rates of a class mathematically is difficult.
Core Solution: give classes a variety of bonuses that will be based off of BAB.
For instance, this system might be used: all classes receive the following bonuses for their BAB: damage bonus on attacks = BAB; init bonus = half BAB; dodge bonus = half BAB; move speed bonus = 2*BAB; DR/- = BAB/5;
monks and rogues have their init and dodge bonuses = BAB instead of half BAB;
Cleric and Druid BAB would go down to 10 @ lvl 20.
This is just one possibility;
Reasoning: to solve linear warriors they need better scaling; there's already quite a few different numbers to keep track of in the game; i didnt' want to add new progressions for each class's bonuses; that just makes it confusing for people trying to adopt this system. It's much easier to just tie abilities to BAB, and use a few tweaks; like the monk and rogue having better init/dodge per BAB because of the nature of their classes.
Also some classes BAB progressions might need to be changed since its' now a much more powerful stat; like not letting clerics get 9th level spells and +15bab @ 20.
Finally, one would simply expect a high level fighter/combat class to be better at dodging, and initiative and such; regardless of any specific feats/emphasis.
Other changes: thematically, i'm moving clerics from the 3.5 archetype, to something more like cloistered cleric/ white mage/ the priest lines from dragon warrior.
This is for straight up balance, you don't get max spellcasting and strong fighting. You get weak fighter/strong caster, an even mix, and you get mostly fighter with a bit of casting (which would be paladin).
This is where I am so far; the next steps are quite daunting; as the BAB changes alone radically change the balance of everything; though it should at least bring the classes a little closer; and cause fighting types to scale alot better into high levels.
So, let me know your thoughts, especially about what bonuses/BAB are best.
Goals: balance, between the classes. Will try to get everything to tier 3; though casters will probably still be tier 2.
Philosophy: having martial classes go beyond what a human can do in our world. e.g. one piece, naruto; this seems necessary given what high level casters can do.
Baseline: this will work off the 3.5 srd WITHOUT SPLATBOOKS. as alot of splatbook material was made to compensate for issues with the underlying system.
Prime problem: linear warriors quadratic wizards.
I note that technically, based on the cr formulae; growth on a per level basis is supposed to be exponential; with power ~ 1.414 ^ level; though how to assess actual growth rates of a class mathematically is difficult.
Core Solution: give classes a variety of bonuses that will be based off of BAB.
For instance, this system might be used: all classes receive the following bonuses for their BAB: damage bonus on attacks = BAB; init bonus = half BAB; dodge bonus = half BAB; move speed bonus = 2*BAB; DR/- = BAB/5;
monks and rogues have their init and dodge bonuses = BAB instead of half BAB;
Cleric and Druid BAB would go down to 10 @ lvl 20.
This is just one possibility;
Reasoning: to solve linear warriors they need better scaling; there's already quite a few different numbers to keep track of in the game; i didnt' want to add new progressions for each class's bonuses; that just makes it confusing for people trying to adopt this system. It's much easier to just tie abilities to BAB, and use a few tweaks; like the monk and rogue having better init/dodge per BAB because of the nature of their classes.
Also some classes BAB progressions might need to be changed since its' now a much more powerful stat; like not letting clerics get 9th level spells and +15bab @ 20.
Finally, one would simply expect a high level fighter/combat class to be better at dodging, and initiative and such; regardless of any specific feats/emphasis.
Other changes: thematically, i'm moving clerics from the 3.5 archetype, to something more like cloistered cleric/ white mage/ the priest lines from dragon warrior.
This is for straight up balance, you don't get max spellcasting and strong fighting. You get weak fighter/strong caster, an even mix, and you get mostly fighter with a bit of casting (which would be paladin).
This is where I am so far; the next steps are quite daunting; as the BAB changes alone radically change the balance of everything; though it should at least bring the classes a little closer; and cause fighting types to scale alot better into high levels.
So, let me know your thoughts, especially about what bonuses/BAB are best.