3.5 Homebrew fixes for base classes (Wrong forum, can this be moved to homebrew?)

[Eslin]

I wrote this stuff down and posted it long enough ago that it's archived (and on an account I've forgotten the password to =P), adding to it now that I've a little more experience with the game.

ALL CLASSES
Any class that gains 2+ int skill points per level and does not gain the ability to cast spells of fifth level or more now instead gains 4+ skill points per level.

MONK

Stunning fist may be used an additional number of times per day equal to your wisdom modifier.

Full BAB instead of 3/4

Flurry of blows can also be used on a standard action attack.

Slow fall does not require presence of a wall, and monks can run on water or up walls for a distance equal to the distance they can ignore with slow fall, though they must end their action on solid ground.

Quivering palm may be used once per day, and can be reused by sacrificing 5 uses of stunning fist.

Abundant Step can also be used as Plane Shift by sacrificing 3 uses of stunning fist, and can be reused by sacrificing 2 uses of stunning fist.

Imbue body: Beginning at second level a monk may, by sacrificing the same amount of experience and gold the relevant enchant would cost on an item and meditating for one day per +1 enchanted, enchant his unarmed strikes or body as one would a physical weapon or suit of armour (respectively). The monk can only do this to her own unarmed strikes or body and can only have a total bonus equal to her half her character level per enchant. This effect is considered supernatural and can be dispelled in the same manner as one would dispel an item, returning after 1d4 rounds.

Focused Strike: Beginning at third level a monk may opt to use his wisdom modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage with monk weapons.

RANGER

Rangers have a caster level equal to their class level.

A ranger's effective druid level for determining animal companion's abilities is her ranger level -3.

Natural Skill: Once per day at fourth level and once more per 4 ranger levels the ranger possesses she may choose to take 15 on any wisdom, strength or dexterity based check or skill check.

Wild Strike: At twelfth level a ranger adds his wisdom modifier to damage rolls made with a manufactured or natural weapon.

The feat Battle Blessing now also applies to ranger spells.

BARBARIAN

Damage reduction: The barbarian's damage reduction is doubled.

Mettle: At sixth level a barbarian gains mettle.

Sweeping Rage: At 6th level any time a barbarian in a rage deals damage with a melee attack she can apply half of the damage done to up to two enemies she threatens that are within 5 feet of the target. The barbarian does not make a new attack roll- She takes the result of the original attack roll and applies that to the enemies she wishes to damage, and if it that attack roll would hit the creatures take damage. This skill does not work in conjunction with Whirlwind Attack or similar abilities, but does work in conjunction with Cleave and Great Cleave.

Imposing Physique: At 8th level a barbarian may add his strength modifier to any intimidate check he makes.

Improved sweeping rage: At 12th level the barbarian can now apply full damage rather than half damage.

Greater Sweeping Rage: At 18th level the enemies attacked can be any distance up to the barbarian's weapon's reach from the original target.

PALADIN

Paladins have a caster level equal to their class level.

Remove disease also removes poisons and curses and is usable per day, not per week.

Divine Training: At third level and every four levels thereafter a paladin receives a bonus feat, which must have the [Divine] descriptor. In addition, the paladin may use any divine feat that is listed as requiring a standard action to use as a free action.

Purity of purpose: At sixth level and again at twelfth level the paladin gains her choice of the Good Devotion, War Devotion, Healing Devotion and Law Devotion feats.

Divine Ascension: At twentieth level the paladin gains the Saint template, incurring all benefits but retaining her current ECL.

ROGUE

Improved Sneak Attack: At sixth level the rogue can deal half damage with sneak attack to a creature immune to critical hits instead of none.

Unstoppable Sneak Attack: At fourteenth level the rogue can do full damage with sneak attack to any creature.

Master of shadows: At twentieth level the rogue gains the Dark template, incurring all the benefits but retaining her current ECL.

Special Ability: Also gained at level four and seven. At any level, +1 dexterity may be chosen as an option.

FIGHTER

Adaptability: Adaptable in skills as well as feats, the fighter may choose any three skills to become class skills. In addition, the fighter always has spot, listen and knowledge (history) as class skills.

Bonus feats: Beginning at fourth level the fighter can now treat mettle (fortitude), mettle (will), evasion, poison use, any general incarnum feat, hidden talent, bind vestige, improved bind vestige, practised binder and any devotion feat (the fighter may fuel devotion feats by sacrificing BAB for the rest of the day equal to the turn undead attempts required) as fighter bonus feats.

At level three, and every four levels thereafter, a fighter may choose any non supernatural feat as a bonus feat as long as she meets the pre-requisites.

At level five, and every four levels thereafter, a fighter may select a feat from the list of fighter bonus feats. Any or all of the feats selected in this way may be retrained for any other fighter bonus feats the fighter is qualified for as a standard action.

[Eslin]

HEXBLADE

Adding the fixes Mike Mearls (lead D&D designer) suggested (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19547530/Contacting_Wizards_of_the_Coast_about_Hex_Blades?p ost_id=332210466#332210466).

Hexblades have a caster level equal to their class level.

Hexblades no longer have an alignment restriction and the feat Battle Blessing now also applies to Hexblade spells.

Hexblades are now proficient with shields and with medium armour and have a good fortitude save as well as will.

Hexblade's curse is now castable as a swift action, is usable an additional number of times per day equal to his charisma modifier and does not count against his uses per day if it has no effect.

Summon Familiar: The hexblade is treated as a sorcerer of his hexblade level when determining his familiar's abilities and qualities, and does not pay an experience cost when the familiar dies, instead losing the ability to cast spells for the rest of the day. A familiar can be brought back to life by using a number of spell slots equal to the hexblade's class level.

Light Shield Casting: At third level the hexblade does not suffer arcane spell failure when wearing a light shield.

Augmented Attack: Beginning at sixth level, a hexblade may choose to use his charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier as a bonus to attack rolls with melee weapons.

Medium Armour Casting: At seventh level the hexblade does not suffer arcane spell failure when wearing medium armour.

Intimidating Familiar: Beginning at eighth level any enemy adjacent to the hexblade's familiar takes a -2 penalty to saves and armour class.

Heavy Shield Casting: At eleventh level the hexblade does not suffer arcane spell failure when wearing a heavy shield.

SWASHBUCKLER

Insightful Strike: A swashbuckler's insightful strike works against all enemies, regardless of their immunity to critical hits or sneak attack.

Precise Strike: At fourth level and every four levels thereafter a swashbuckler increases the damage she deals with a weapon to which she can apply weapon finesse increases by two.

Dodge Bonus: The dodge bonus class feature applies to all attacks against the swashbuckler, not just those by one enemy. The bonus increases by one and the swashbuckler is treated as having the Dodge feat.

Agile Athletics: Beginning at sixth level a swashbuckler can add her dexterity modifier to her swim, jump and climb skill checks.

Enhanced Mobility: Beginning at ninth level a swashbuckler gains +4 to AC against attacks of opportunity caused when she moves out of a threatened square. This stacks with the mobility feat, and counts as the mobility feat for meeting other pre-requisites.

Agile Parry: At tenth level, a swashbuckler not wearing medium or heavy armour and wielding only light weapons (or a rapier) may choose to sacrifice the ability to make attacks of opportunity in order to parry the attacks directed at her. At the end of her turn the swashbuckler can choose to parry instead of making attacks of opportunity until the start of her next turn. She is still treated as threatening nearby squares for purposes of flanking.

A swashbuckler can choose to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack directed at her by making an attack roll at her highest base attack bonus, with a bonus equal to her dodge bonus class feature. You may then use the result as your AC against the incoming attack, and can choose to use the higher of the result and your normal AC. A swashbuckler cannot parry under conditions in which she would not be able to make an attack of opportunity and can parry as many times as she wishes, though each round each parry attempt after the first takes a successive -5 penalty. If she is only wielding one weapon and that weapon is a light weapon or rapier the successive penalty is only -2.

Enhanced Spring Attack: Beginning at level 13 a swashbuckler may make a full attack action and move her speed, but can only attack a target once during the action. She may make her attacks at any points before, during and after the move. A swashbuckler cannot take a 5 foot step in addition to an enhanced spring attack, and takes attacks of opportunity as normal. This can be combined with the spring attack feat in order to avoid some attacks of opportunity and counts as the spring attack feat in terms of meeting other pre-requisites.

Riposte: At 16th level a swashbuckler's skill at parrying increases. She may now make both attacks of opportunity and parry attempts. She can choose to once again relinquish her ability to make attacks of opportunity in exchange for the ability to riposte. When this feature is activated whenever she successfully parries an attack she may make a melee attack against the enemy that attacked her, providing this enemy is within reach. This attack is performed at the bonus at which she made the parry, and provides an attack of opportunity from the enemy who attacked her and she in turn is attacking. This can cause an infinite loop of attacks, but keep in mind she takes a successive penalty to parry checks.

DRAGON SHAMAN

A dragon shaman whose alignment changes too far away from their dedicated dragon they can align themselves with an appropriate type of dragon by meditating for one day.

Blindsense: At tenth level the dragon shaman gains blindsense out to 30'.
At eighteenth level the range of the dragon shaman's blindsense increases to 60'.

Ability boost: At second level and every three levels afterwards, the dragon shaman gains a +2 bonus to the one ability score. She may increase strength up to three times over the course of her career and may choose constitution, intelligence, wisdom and charisma once each.

MARSHAL

Auras known: The marshal knows every single aura from the marshal aura list.

Extra Minor Aura: Beginning at sixth level a marshal may have two different minor auras activated at once. The marshal gains the ability to have a third minor going at twelfth level and a fourth minor aura at eighteenth level. The marshal may give up the effects of one or more minor auras in order to increase the power of an already present minor aura, gaining an increase to ane aura of your choice of 3. If a second aura is relinquished the bonus increases to 5, and if a third is relinquished the bonus increases to 6. A relinquished aura can be resumed as normal, but the benefit gained from relinquishing it is negated.

Extra Major Aura: Beginning at tenth level a marshal may have two different major auras activated at once. The marshal may give up the effect of the second aura in order to gain a +2 bonus to the first. A relinquished aura can be resumed as normal, but the benefit gained from relinquishing it is negated.

Grant Standard Action: Beginning at eleventh level a marshal may instead of granting his party a move action grant a single party member within 30 feet a standard action. A character can take only one extra standard action per round.

Unstoppable Command: Beginning at nineteenth level a marshal who has an ally that he is commanding within 60' cannot become dazed, unconscious, stunned, silenced or paralyzed. Abilities that cause such effects may still target the marshal but are considered supressed until the marshal no longer has an ally within 60' that he is commanding.

SAMURAI/NINJA

Haha, no. Both classes suck and have no actual interesting mechanics behind them - go play a warblade/fighter/knight or rogue/monk/swordsage respectively and refluff slightly. Why do these classes even exist?

[T.G. Oskar]

I wrote this stuff down and posted it long enough ago that it's archived (and on an account I've forgotten the password to =P), adding to it now that I've a little more experience with the game.

MONK

Stunning fist may be used an additional number of times per day equal to your wisdom modifier.

Full BAB instead of 3/4

Flurry of blows can also be used on a standard action attack.

Slow fall does not require presence of a wall, and monks can run on water for a distance equal to the distance they can ignore with slow fall.

Quivering palm may be used once per day, and can be reused by sacrificing 5 uses of stunning fist.

Abundant Step can also be used as Plane Shift by sacrificing 3 uses of stunning fist, and can be reused by sacrificing 2 uses of stunning fist.

Imbue body: Beginning at second level a monk may, by sacrificing the same amount of experience and gold the relevant enchant would cost on an item and meditating for one day per +1 enchanted, enchant his unarmed strikes or body as one would a physical weapon or suit of armour (respectively). The monk can only do this to her own unarmed strikes or body and can only have a total bonus equal to her half her level per enchant. This effect is considered supernatural and can be dispelled in the same manner as one would dispel an item, returning after 1d4 rounds.

Focused Strike: Beginning at fifth level a monk may opt to use his wisdom modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage with monk weapons.

Good moves. Usually the ones that are recommended, but they're nonetheless reasonable enough.

I'd drop the recharge rate of Abundant Step to 2 uses of SF and Quivering Palm to 3 uses, because while you'll have a LOT of them (Monk level + Wis modifier; basically, you're applying the ki mechanic from Pathfinder but using an already existing method), these two (and specifically Quivering Palm) will eat through your uses real fast.

Focused Strike comes a bit too late. 3rd level is fair enough, as the class features there aren't so impressive (Still Mind is boring), and works at the same rate as the Swashbuckler's Insightful Strike.

Why you didn't allow Wholeness of Body to refresh? Making it recharge at a rate of your Monk level per use of SF is decent enough.

Nice to see how Slow Fall allows you to cross through water. Now, if it does something similar about air...


RANGER

Natural Skill: Once per day at fourth level and once more per 4 ranger levels the ranger possesses she may choose to take 15 on any wisdom, strength or dexterity based check or skill check.

Wild Strike: At twelfth level a ranger adds his wisdom modifier to damage rolls made with a manufactured or natural weapon.

The feat Battle Blessing now also applies to ranger spells.

Eh...not so amazed. The only thing I find worthwhile is Battle Blessing applied to Ranger spells. It feels like you haven't played that many Rangers to figure out what they're missing; considering that they're pretty good right from the box (at least better than most classes), they only need a wee bit more to work.

I find no appeal for Natural Skill. While it allows you to "take 15" on a grapple or trip check, it's too little otherwise. Also, it doesn't seem to relate that much to the Ranger.

Wild Strike comes TOO late, and at much it only offers a slight bonus to damage rolls. Favored Enemy offers much more.

[
B]BARBARIAN[/B]

Imposing Physique: At 7th level a barbarian may add his strength modifier to any intimidate check he makes.

Sweeping Rage: At 12th level any time a barbarian in a rage deals damage with a melee attack she can apply half of the damage done to up to two enemies she threatens that are within 5 feet of the target. The barbarian does not make a new attack roll- She takes the result of the original attack roll and applies that to the enemies she wishes to damage, and if it that attack roll would hit the creatures take damage. This skill does not work in conjunction with Whirlwind Attack or similar abilities, but does work in conjunction with Cleave and Great Cleave.

Greater Sweeping Rage: At 18th level the enemies attacked can be any distance up to the barbarian's weapon's reach from the original target.

Good abilities, but they come a wee bit too late. They also come at very irregular levels.

Imposing Physique is pretty little and comes too late. Something like 3rd/4th level works wonders. Also, you may want to let it apply to Leadership, in the odd case it applies.

Sweeping Rage and Greater Sweeping Rage are excellent moves, but they're gained too late. 5 levels in War Mind net you ALL benefits of GSR, plus more, without entering into a Rage, for full damage (even if you don't automatically hit them). Sweeping Rage at 6th level is fair enough, but Greater Sweeping Rage has to do something MUCH better AND reach low levels for it to work properly. Waiting for 18th level for it feels insulting to a Barbarian.


FIGHTER

Parry: At tenth level, the fighter may choose to take this class feature instead of a fighter bonus feat. A fighter who does so may choose to sacrifice the ability to make attacks of opportunity in order to parry the attacks directed at him. At the end of his turn the fighter can choose to parry instead of making attacks of opportunity until the start of his next turn.

A fighter can choose to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack directed at her by making an attack roll at her highest base attack bonus. You may then use the result as your AC against the incoming attack, and can choose to use the higher of the result and your normal AC. You cannot parry under conditions in which you would not be able to make an attack of opportunity and can parry as many times as you wish, though each round each parry attempt after the first takes a successive -5 penalty. You may apply your shield bonus to a parry attempt. Attempting to parry a ranged attack takes a -5 penalty if you use a weapon and gains a +5 bonus if you use a shield.


Weapon Style:
At 5th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:

Sword and Board:
A fighter with this class feature wielding a shield can take any feat that applies to two-weapon fighting and ignore any dexterity pre-requisites, but those feats can only be applied when the fighter is wielding a shield (or shield spikes) as one of those weapons. The fighter no longer takes a -2 penalty to attacks for wielding a tower shield, but still cannot use one to make a shield bash attack.

Deft Grip:
A fighter with this class feature can treat any one handed melee weapon as a light weapon.

Scattering Strike:
When wielding one melee weapon and no shield a fighter with this class feature may make a bull rush attempt whenever she hits with an attack and does not provoke an attack of opportunity for doing so. She resolves the bull rush normally but does not move into the opponent's square if she succeeds. If her strength check is high enough she can move her target more than 5 feet, but she does not follow the target unless the strike was used as part of a charge. If she has a spare hand she can choose to initiate a grappling attempt instead of a bull rush, acting as if she had the Improved Grab ability.

Powerful Blow: When wielding a two handed melee weapon and using the power attack feat the fighter with this class feature may choose to ignore damage reduction equal to the attack sacrificed as part of the power attack.

Hand to Hand:
A fighter with this class feature who selects this style deals unarmed damage as if she were a monk equal to her fighter level -4. This does not confer flurry of blows or any other monk class ability, just unarmed damage. Fighter levels and monk levels stack for determining unarmed damage and a fighter with this style can multiclass between monk and fighter without being barred from further advancing in the monk class.

Weapon Tossing:
The fighter with this class feature gains the Throw Anything feat even if she does not meet the pre-requisites. She can throw her weapon at a nearby foe and command it to immediately bounce back to her grasp. Any time she makes a ranged attack with a thrown weapon on her turn, the weapon immediately returns to her, and she can catch it as a free action. This ability allows her to make a full attack entirely with thrown weapon attacks, or with a mix of thrown
and melee attacks. She can also take any two-weapon fighting feat without the dexterity requirements, but can only apply it to thrown weapon attacks.

Marksmanship:
A fighter with this class feature wielding a ranged weapon can add half her dexterity modifier to damage dealt. This stacks with the Crossbow Fighter feat.


Armour Style:
At 9th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:

Unarmoured:
An unarmoured fighter with this class feature can make a full attack on a charge attack and gains a bonus to her AC equal to her fighter class level/4.

Light Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing light armour may make two attacks per weapon instead of one when using a standard action to attack. All these attacks take a -5 penalty.

Medium Armour:
When a fighter with this class feature is wearing medium armour it is treated as having the medium fortification property.

Heavy Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing heavy armour reduces the armour check penalty by 2 and increases the maximum dexterity bonus to AC by 2.


Improved Weapon Style:
At 13th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles, or a selection from the Weapon Style list:

Dual Wield Mastery: A fighter with this class feature gains +2 to damage and attack rolls when wielding two weapons and can treat any feat or class feature that applies to one of her wielded weapons (such as Weapon Focus or Weapon Perfection) as applying to her other weapon, even if the other weapon is not of that type.

Powerful Grip: A fighter with this class feature wielding a weapon in two hands now deals twice her strength modifier as bonus damage and gains a +4 bonus to using and defending against disarm and sunder attacks.

Unarmed Deadliness: A fighter with this class feature gains a bonus to damage on her unarmed strikes equal to her dexterity modifier or her strength modifier, whichever is higher. She can also choose to use her dexterity modifier in place of her strength modifier on grapple checks and her strength modifier place of her dexterity modifier on armour class.

Amazing Grace: A fighter with this class feature who is wielding a light weapon in her main hand and no weapon in her off hand gains a +6 bonus to dexterity and the benefits of evasion feat. If she already has the evasion feat she gains the benefits of the improved evasion feat.

Shielding Ally: A fighter with this class feature gains a +2 bonus to AC when wielding a shield and can use her shield to protect others. When an ally that is within reach of the fighter is targeted by a melee or ranged weapon attack the fighter can choose to redirect the attack, acting as if the attack instead targeted the fighter. She cannot use this feature when she is incapable of either parrying or making opportunity attacks.

Weapon Hurricane: A fighter with this class feature can choose to treat her ranged attack rolls with thrown weapons as melee attacks. She can use melee attack bonus, including Strength bonus, feats, and so forth, to determine her attack bonus for each attack as normal, but she applies the standard modifiers for range penalties. Attacking into melee, through cover, and so forth incurs the standard penalties. As such, you can apply 1.5 times your Strength bonus to damage if you wield the thrown weapon with two hands, and you can use Power Attack with your thrown weapon attacks (adding two times the number subtracted from attack rolls as a bonus on damage rolls when throwing a two handed weapon). You can also, as a full attack action, attack one enemy per four fighter levels with a thrown weapon at your highest attack bonus.

Close quarters archery: A fighter with this class feature's ranged weapon attacks do not provoke attacks of opportunity and you now threaten nearby squares with a ranged weapon, allowing you to make attacks of opportunity. You threaten squares within a range equal to one tenth of a ranged increment of your weapon, rounded down to the nearest five feet to a minimum of five feet.

Sniper: A fighter with this class feature can now make precision long distance attacks with a ranged weapon. If you spend three rounds preparing a shot you can make a ranged weapon attack, ignoring the penalties for range increments, though you still cannot attack further than the weapon's normal maximum range. This attack automatically threatens a critical regardless of the weapon's actual threat range and is treated as having a critical damage multiplier of 5x.

Improved Armour Style:
At 17th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:

Unarmoured:
An unarmoured fighter with this class feature gains a bonus to her AC equal to her constitution modifier and gains a 20' bonus to movement speed.

Light Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing light armour gains the benefit of the evasion and uncanny dodge feats.

Medium Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing medium armour no longer takes a penalty to movement.

Heavy Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing heavy armour reduces the armour check penalty by a further 2 and gains DR 5/- which stacks with other sources.

Weapon Perfection: At level 20 a fighter with this class feature may choose a type of weapon. When wielding a weapon of this type the threat range increases by two and the critical damage multiplier increases by one.

This is obviously the longest of the fixes. Yet, it's also the most unorganized.

I'm not surprised by parry, particularly since you can only parry one attack per round. You need Combat Reflexes to make it work, which means more Dexterity. Speaking of which: why not increase the amount of attacks of opportunity? If you're thinking on keeping parry, might as well pull that off...

On the weapon styles: it feels like the normal weapon strikes are far better than the improved versions. To compare: S&B gets a decent, but not truly spectacular, boost (you get to choose TWF, but only with shields, and nothing else), WF builds can now use any one-handed melee weapon (yet you mention nothing of leaving the other hand free, if only to balance it), free bull rushes, a boost to ranged damage (which is always a plus) and the ability to punch through DR with PA...and the throwing ability which automatically grants returning, but that doesn't really surprise me. However, when you see abilities for 13th level, very few are surprising: Amazing Grace is pretty much the closest one, and only because you get +6 to Dexterity by having nothing on the other hand, not to mention evasion. Shielding Ally feels right at home at 5th level, because Shield Other did this much later, and the Knight gets Shield Ally at 6th level in comparison. The "Improved" Weapon Styles don't really feel like improvements, but rather as features that only tangentially relate to others (for example, Close Combat Archery is tangentially related to any archery or throwing build, but by that moment you've probably learned to remain real, real far away).

Also, it's a fix that, like many others, focuses a lot on combat. They could get some love on the skills, you know...


PALADIN

Remove disease also removes poisons and curses and is usable per day, not per week.

Divine Training: At third level and every four levels thereafter a paladin receives a bonus feat, which must have the [Divine] descriptor. In addition, the paladin may use any divine feat that is listed as requiring a standard action to use as a free action.

Purity of purpose: At sixth level the paladin gains her choice of the Good Devotion and Law Devotion feats. At twelfth level the paladin gains the feat she did not pick at level six.

Divine Ascension: At twentieth level the paladin gains the Saint template, incurring all benefits but retaining her current ECL.

It pains my heart to see free feats so limited. They're martial characters, darnit! Why not allow them to choose martial feats as well? You get 5 feats, all of which have to be divine feats: those 5 feats could easily buff their martial prowess and let them use general feats for the few divine feats that are worthwhile. Please, please, PLEASE let them get martial feats as well. They need them.

Remove Disease still doesn't convince me, even if it can be used now daily. At least it's not so weak anymore, particularly because it works like Remove Curse now, but it still covers very few things.

As for Purity of Purpose...not that amazed with the free domain feats. Could have also taken benefit of the War Devotion feat, IMO, as they're warriors first and foremost. Poorly scaling DR doesn't compare, so most people will gladly go for Law and then probably drop from Paladin.

Also, it still doesn't address (and this goes for Ranger too) their poor CL. Do something for that CL: it hurts to see it. Seeing them still MAD also hurts.


ROGUE

Improved Sneak Attack: At sixth level the rogue can deal half damage with sneak attack to a creature immune to critical hits instead of none.

Unstoppable Sneak Attack: At fourteenth level the rogue can do full damage with sneak attack to any creature.

Master of shadows: At twentieth level the rogue gains the Shadow template, incurring all the benefits but retaining her current ECL.

Special Ability: Also gained at level seven. At any level, +1 dexterity may be chosen as an option.

I like the idea of getting special abilities at 7th level; I'd dare to drop them at 4th level and add much more options. Rogues need them; a bonus feat at 4th level is almost heaven-sent.

The other three are VERY useful, but they seem to break suspension of disbelief REAL fast. At 14th level you can SA everything, which alongside splash weapons and a permanent ability to hide means you can deal exorbitant amounts of damage EVERY TURN. That's not funny.

Also: "Shadow" template? Is that the one from Lords of Madness? If so...eww... I'd have preferred the Dark creature template, but it can be pretty broken. I mean, all you need is some shadows, and you get a 50% miss chance, no questions asked. You also get up to 5 abilities, which include fast healing, cold resistance, Plane Shift to the plane of Shadow, amongst others. Oh, and an increase to speed that not only stacks, but modifies any improvement to base speed: a typical barbarian would get 40 feet worth of speed, a rogue that dips 2 levels in barbarian gets 60 ft. (40 ft. from normal speed + fast movement, times 1.5 from the shadow template). And, you STILL can add the Dark creature template from a permanent Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis....*shudder*

P.S. Will do others later. However: shouldn't this go in Homebrew Design? I thought this was there...and it's on the general 3.5 discussion thread...

[Eslin]

Lots of stuff!

Thanks for the feedback, I'll incorporate it - but would shadow really be overpowered? This is at twentieth level, everyone else is pulling much crazier ****.

Fighter wise, thanks - I was already working on skills as an edit when you were posting, can you give some feedback on the new version? I'll try to edit the weapon/armour style stuff to be better organised and a little more even now that I've had a few years experience.