Charecter class designs and a well rounded party

[avakeiya]

Hi, long time reader, first time poster in this forum, so feel free to correct me for my noobishness if i make an error.

First off, I'm trying to create a custom classes for some of my characters that fits in with my world. For simplicity sake, lets assume a mid-magic/tech level d&d world, with core classes and all the standard stuff.

First is that i want to design a healer class for my team's second in command, but I'm tired of having of the divine caster's monopoly on curing the sick and whatnot. I'm picturing kind of a mystic-thuerge offshoot that focuses on abjuration, herbalism, and positive energy/life energy manipulation instead of divine intervention.

Second is a class I call the Spell-Breaker, a class specifically designed in combating casters using low-tech firearms and anti-magic. The groundwork is a ranger class with magic users as its favored enemies.

Any ideas on level progression and class features as well as role-play material would be greatly appreciated.


Finally, I'm having trouble rounding off my party. So far it includes:


A chaotic good tiefling swashbuckler (leader/main fighter)
A neutral good elven (healer/defense)
A true neutral female human ninja (rogue)
A chaotic good female gnome wizard (offensive caster)
And a lawful-neutral half-drow spellbreaker (long range damage)


I'm looking to add a sixth male member, preferably a magic user of some kind to round it off.

Any suggestions?

EDIT: Please ignore the part about party optimization and focus on suggestions about brewing up the healer and spell-breaker classes.

[Dragon Star]

Hrrmm...

Well, you don't have a real tank, so you could add a BSF. But if you really want a spellcaster, then you have only a few options. Illusion and enchantment are OK, but both would overlap annoyingly with the ninja. You have a "blaster" (I don't know if that is exactly what you meant, but still), and a healer. So at this point, if the healer/defense is more healer, you could go battlefield controller and it wouldn't overshadow the healer much. If not, then some kind of a minionmancer might be good. Necromancer, summoner, you know. That could end up more powerful then the attack characters though. Honestly, you have pretty much everything possible without some characters clashing, and if you had for example a utility caster it would screw over the rogue. Although if the rogue is more of an assassin, then Utility Caster is probably best.

Hope this has been helpful.


EDIT: Oh, yeah, this probably should have been in Roleplaying Games, not Homebrew. And while I assumed you were talking about 3.5, you didn't specify, which you should have. Nothing big, just a few tips on proper posting.

[avakeiya]

My bad, i probably should have kept this post on helping with the homebrew healer and spell-breaker classes and left the party adjustment for the other forum. Just ignore that part and focus on the first half.

And yes, i was talking about 3.5, thanks for pointing that out.

So, Any suggestions on those classes?

[Yitzi]

Taking these points one at a time:

-For the healer class, what you're looking for seems mechanically very similar to the cleric. Just limit the spell list to healing spells and abjuration spells (plus any other important protective spells such as Death Ward), remove the domains (of course), give a substantial bonus on heal checks (that's the herbalism aspect), and give him a few boosts to compensate (I'd suggest either the ability to add his WIS modifier to every die of healing, or similarly with his target's CON score, as well as the ability to quicken spells cast on himself for free.)
-For the spell-breaker, give him full BAB, all good saves plus evasion and mettle (and eventually improved versions thereof). Weapon proficiency is firearms and simple weapons, armor proficiency is none, but he gets an AC bonus when unarmored and unencumbered equal to his INT bonus plus 1/5th his class level (i.e. just like a monk, except he uses INT instead of WIS). Give him full spellcasting with unlimited uses/day, but a very limited spell list (dispel magic/greater dispel, antimagic field, maybe some other spell-countering ones, definitely nothing offensive), a bonus on dispel checks (I'd say equal to half his level), immunity to illusions, and his attacks are entitled to spell resistance to ignore defensive buffs. Also, each of his attacks carries a targeted dispel if it hits.
-For the sixth member, some possibilities (although they might be covered with others) are (1) Party face, (2) Survival expert/tracker (assuming the spell-breaker isn't sufficiently ranger-like to take that role), (3) Utility caster (probably also a wizard). If all of those are covered, I think you've got everything and the last can be whatever you feel like.

[avakeiya]

For the spell-breaker, give him full BAB, all good saves plus evasion and mettle (and eventually improved versions thereof). Weapon proficiency is firearms and simple weapons, armor proficiency is none, but he gets an AC bonus when unarmored and unencumbered equal to his INT bonus plus 1/5th his class level (i.e. just like a monk, except he uses INT instead of WIS). Give him full spellcasting with unlimited uses/day, but a very limited spell list (dispel magic/greater dispel, antimagic field, maybe some other spell-countering ones, definitely nothing offensive), a bonus on dispel checks (I'd say equal to half his level), immunity to illusions, and his attacks are entitled to spell resistance to ignore defensive buffs. Also, each of his attacks carries a targeted dispel if it hits.
Love this suggestion, especially the limited spell list. I was originally thinking of having anti-magic bullets or something, but this sounds more appealing and less of a hassle.

Do you have any ideas that could distance the healer further from being a watered down cleric? Maybe specific class features or something, anything to make him look less like a watered down cleric?

[Yitzi]

Do you have any ideas that could distance the healer further from being a watered down cleric? Maybe specific class features or something, anything to make him look less like a watered down cleric?

Part of the problem with that is that the basic idea (healing, status restoration, and protection) is one of the major foci of the cleric, so all you can do is remove everything else (you might want to keep or even strengthen turning undead, though, as that fits nicely with the idea of being powered by life energies) and strengthen what he has left, and of course change the fluff. Perhaps also find some interesting Dread Necromancer abilities and reverse them.

[avakeiya]

Ok, how about reworking the cleric's role in this world then. Maybe turn them into historian/politician/planar traveler who act as god's messengers on earth or something. Make 'em rare, replace healing with divination and planar ally, etc...

What do you think?

also, where can i find info on dread necromancers?

[Yitzi]

Ok, how about reworking the cleric's role in this world then. Maybe turn them into historian/politician/planar traveler who act as god's messengers on earth or something. Make 'em rare, replace healing with divination and planar ally, etc...

What do you think?

Could work.


also, where can i find info on dread necromancers?

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20060627a

[avakeiya]

-For the healer class, what you're looking for seems mechanically very similar to the cleric. Just limit the spell list to healing spells and abjuration spells (plus any other important protective spells such as Death Ward), remove the domains (of course), give a substantial bonus on heal checks (that's the herbalism aspect), and give him a few boosts to compensate (I'd suggest either the ability to add his WIS modifier to every die of healing, or similarly with his target's CON score, as well as the ability to quicken spells cast on himself for free.)

How about do this for the healer + positive energy versions of Charnel Touch, Negative Energy Burst, and Mental Bastion. Make clerics domain specialists depending on their deities who can communicate with gods and their followers from the afterlife. That way i can keep theme useful, lighten their monopoly on healing, and add some roleplaying elements for my characters by having them search for the right clerics for their purposes.

[Yitzi]

Sounds good. Mental Bastion would probably just stay as is.