Planning an avatar: the last airbender dnd 3.5 e6-8 campaign: what classes allowed?

[lycantrope]

Hey playground, help a DM out. I'm getting ready to retire a campaign and begin a new one with the avatar setting, and need to finalize what base classes are going to be allowed based on the fluff of the setting.

First, the e6-e8 mechanic that were going to play means that after a certain amount of feats (undecided thus far), the players will eventually be able to reach levels 7 and 8, so prestige class ideas are also welcome here.

Second, for the various benders I am leaning towards a homebrew variant of cleric/sorcerer, where they'll have domain spells and access to a limited, mostly elemental spell list. Otherwise, no tier 1 or tier 2 classes, though if anyone has a less homebrew, less potentially unwieldy a suggestion toward this end, it's much appreciated.

Fluff is extremely important, so please include a fluffy justification or explanation for why or how this class appears in this universe. For instance, I just don't see dread necromancers making an appearance, but maybe I'm just not creative enough to see it work.

[Fouredged Sword]

I would suggest you look at this. Is avatar D20 (https://sites.google.com/site/avatard20/).

[Icewraith]

Have everyone be swordsages and swap the elemental damage that desert wind does for each bender type. Steal some appropriate spell effects (consider the Shujenga list) and add em to the maneuver pool for each type.

Done. :p

[Chronos]

Swordsage works very well for firebending (Desert Wind), and reasonably well for earthbending (Stone Dragon). But water and air feel to me like they'd be a better match for psionics. Of course, you'd also need to enforce that people could take maneuvers from the wrong discipline (so any given bendersage could take Desert Wind maneuvers or Stone Dragon, but not both).

Psionics could also represent Explodey Boom Guy, though I think canonically he was supposed to be some sort of nonstandard firebender.

You'd also want one or two mundane fighting styles for Sokka and for the Kyoshi Warriors, plus something to represent Ty Li's ability to paralyze people or temporarily shut down their bending.

And maybe an artificer-like class (though not artificer, unless you're heavily nerfing it) for that inventor guy and his people who moved into the abandoned air temple.

[Madara]

I would suggest you look at this. Is avatar D20 (https://sites.google.com/site/avatard20/).

Seconded, the system is actually what my group is planning on using. Being very well made and playtested, in fact, I think it works better than standard casting and allows for the flexibility a bender character would have, while being well balanced(and fun)

[DMVerdandi]

Hey playground, help a DM out. I'm getting ready to retire a campaign and begin a new one with the avatar setting, and need to finalize what base classes are going to be allowed based on the fluff of the setting.

First, the e6-e8 mechanic that were going to play means that after a certain amount of feats (undecided thus far), the players will eventually be able to reach levels 7 and 8, so prestige class ideas are also welcome here.

Second, for the various benders I am leaning towards a homebrew variant of cleric/sorcerer, where they'll have domain spells and access to a limited, mostly elemental spell list. Otherwise, no tier 1 or tier 2 classes, though if anyone has a less homebrew, less potentially unwieldy a suggestion toward this end, it's much appreciated.

Fluff is extremely important, so please include a fluffy justification or explanation for why or how this class appears in this universe. For instance, I just don't see dread necromancers making an appearance, but maybe I'm just not creative enough to see it work.


As far as classes that we have seen in setting, good ones would be Rogue(and martial variant),fighterBarbarian, scout, factotum, TOB adepts, and monk. (Outside of benders of course)


For the homebrew thing, why don't you use shugenja as benders instead?
They all have elemental based divine casting, full lists, and if I remember correctly are precisely earth, air, water, and fire.
Simply make it so that they are locked into one element.
Give everyone smiting spell, and you are good.

Perhaps make the strong ones ruby knight vindicators (Like the DAI LI).

[lycantrope]

I seriously considered shugenja, but the modified cleric sorcerer route allows for bending specialization through homebrew domains without much effort, as in, a fire bender also being a lightning bender by taking the lightning and fire domains, instead of fire and something else.

I'm glad you mentioned factotum though. What would the fluff be for the SLA? Would the player actually be bending, or does a simulation make more sense? Like, black powder and a match! I'm a fire bender! High pressure squirt cannon! I'm a water bender! Rocks! Etc.

[Maginomicon]

My cabbages!!

(couldn't resist)

There's a druid variant called "Aspect of Nature" (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/classFeatureVariants.htm#wildShapeVariantAspectOfN ature) that may interest you.

[Maginomicon]

There's elemental ninja variants in Dragon Magazine #354 page 86-87 for fire/water/earth ninjas (the default ninja is a "air" ninja).

There's also Elemental Mantles (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a) for ardents and other classes that gain mantles (there are mantled variants for most of the other psionic classes).

[Maginomicon]

Then there's the "Warrior of Air/Earth/Fire/Water" elemental fighter variants.

[Maginomicon]

Also, the "Master of the Nine" PrC from TOB would be a good fluff fit for the avatar hirself.