Mystic Savant - base class - PEACH

[8wGremlin]

I'm toying with creating a homebrew class similar to Beguiler, Duskblade, Dread Necromancer and Warmage

But I'd like it to have a bit more choice in initial set up

Mystic Savant

Base Concept:

Select if you are a Divine or Arcane caster
Select a School of Magic (Necromantic, Conjuration, Illusion etc)
Gain all Sorcerer/Wizard, Cleric and Druid spells of that type on your spells known list at the appropriate level
Caster stat is Charisma


Spells per day would be as per Beguiler.
Class features would be simple as the school mechanic is powerful
HD: 1d6
Armour: none
Weapons: simple

1st level: bonus feat: Spell Focus (School)
At later levels: Greater Spell Focus (School)

Questions

Is this too powerful?
What can be done to balance it?
What other class features would be good?
What should the level progression be like?


thoughts?

[toapat]

the problem area is pretty much that Conjuration and Transmutation each alone are more powerful then the other schools.

then, there is the problem that you dont have class features

and you are using the most powerful attribute on average

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

the problem area is pretty much that Conjuration and Transmutation each alone are more powerful then the other schools.

Generally true, yes.


then, there is the problem that you don't have class features

This is a big issue. Players will probably find this class less than appealing, because it doesn't have an identity beyond spells, and it has a very restricted spell list.

It's also hard to suggest abilities without knowing what you intend this class to be. What sort of flavor are we looking at here?


and you are using the most powerful attribute on average

...this is where you lose me. Charisma is the most common dump stat for a reason: unless you intend to be delving into social skills heavily (which I would imagine unlikely: this things class skill list seems more likely to mirror the Wizard's list) it is, quite frankly, fairly useless.

Both Intelligence and Wisdom are better stats for the majority of characters.

[toapat]

...this is where you lose me. Charisma is the most common dump stat for a reason: unless you intend to be delving into social skills heavily (which I would imagine unlikely: this things class skill list seems more likely to mirror the Wizard's list) it is, quite frankly, fairly useless.

Both Intelligence and Wisdom are better stats for the majority of characters.

actually, Wisdom is the weakest of the three, you cant get wisdom with published material to a large portion of your things.

on the other hand, you can easily get everything EXCEPT skill points from Charisma, while Int comes a close second with the requirement of Dragon material to get it to everything, although getting Int to HP is hilarious

[Zman]

Conjuration and Atransmutation are extremely powerful schools and much more attractive than the others. Toapat is right about this. Also, other Focused Specialists have access to two schools, ie the Beguiler with Illusion and Enchantment.

You will need a set of class features, something to attract player and keep them interested. Also, D4 is incredibly weak and should be higher, or at least have other abilities for defense. No armor, no Mage Armor, no Shield makes for a pretty squishy character if you don't choose conjuration or abjuration.

I believe Toapat says Charisma is the most powerful stat because it is the easiest to get added to practically everything.

Edit: Faerie Mysteries Initiate, now that is hilarity few sane DMs allow. My lvl 12 Wizard with 200+HP... Gotta love relics from 3.0.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

actually, Wisdom is the weakest of the three, you cant get wisdom with published material to a large portion of your things.

The X stat to Y bonus thread begs to differ. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125732) There are numerous ways to get all the stats.

However, those are unassociated costs, and that's assuming you have the entirety of D&D (including outdated material in some cases, and Dragon Magazine in other cases) at your disposal. It also assumes you're prepared to jump your build through hoops to access those things. Not a good assumption for judging general balance.


on the other hand, you can easily get everything EXCEPT skill points from Charisma, while Int comes a close second with the requirement of Dragon material to get it to everything, although getting Int to HP is hilarious

And, at the thread linked above, you can get most of those to most things. Again, still not a good argument for one stat being outright better.

Intelligence and Wisdom get you better benefits for no additional cost, and can easily duplicate most of the functions of the additional benefits you can get out of Charisma. Remember: for every thing you've added Charisma to via a feat or class feature, I can either A: possibly (in many cases probably) do the same with Int and/or Wisdom, or B: take something equally strong, but different.

That's WHY there are more "+Charisma to things" abilities: it's a worse ability, so it's generally safer.

Either way, we're disrupting the thread with this argument. Let's get the OP back to flesh out his idea a bit more.

[toapat]

Edit: Faerie Mysteries Initiate, now that is hilarity few sane DMs allow. My lvl 12 Wizard with 200+HP... Gotta love relics from 3.0.

I enjoy the fact that it is a published feat that:

A: Confirms Perform (Sexual Acts) as canon
B: Requires Elf on Elf to function.

Also, the point was later extrapolated, you need only first party content for Cha, while Wis and Int need second party material.

Edit: oh, and Wis to HP is not caster friendly

[8wGremlin]

Thanks for the feedback!
I'll amend the original post, anything else?