Proven_Paradox
2006-12-25, 12:32 AM
These are just a few things I've been thinking about house-ruling into my games to balance things out a bit. As I see it, Clerics and Druids are the most powerful classes in the game (I don't plan to ever go into Epic levels as is, so don't start talking about epic spell; I know). And with races, the Half-Elves and Half-Orcs really get the shaft. So, tell me what you think about these alterations.
First off, everyone, including non-spellcasters get to use wands and scrolls. The Use Magic Device skill vanishes. This gives pure-fighters a bit of a leg up, and diminishes the relative power of casters and UMD rogues.
Next, for the cleric:
Lose heavy armor
Downgrade to bad fort save progression
Lose Knowledge (History) CS*
Gain Sense Motive CS*
Divine Power: Add a material cost of 250 gp worth of a rare wine imbibed during casting. This wine does not cause intoxication when used to cast this spell.
Righteous Might: Add a material cost of a 300 gp divine focus carved from a rare stone that shatters during the casting. This focus is the same no matter what deity one follows: a disc with a runic symbol that means "strength" carved into it.
*I did this simply because I think Sense Motive fits the cleric flavor better than Knowledge (History). I didn't like that change from 3.0 to 3.5, so I get rid of it.
Now, for Druids:
Lose medium armor, shield, and scimitar proficiency
Lose venom immunity
Lose A Thousand Faces
Wild Shape: Gain only the natural attacks of the assumed form, not the improved physical ability scores
Bad fort save progression
To make half-elves a little more attractive to my players, I think it'd be enough to add the skill point bonuses of a human. 4 extra skill points at level one, and an extra skill point at every additional level, inherited from their human parent.
To make humans still useful in face of the half-elves getting one of thier abilities, they may choose one skill. This skill is considered a class skill, regardless of thier class(es).
Lastly, I hate half-orcs as written. Just completely hate them. So, this is just a complete redo of that race. In my campaign, I think I'm just going to use this as orcs and make them a player race, rather than half-orcs.
+2 Strength, -2 Intelligence orcs/half-orcs are naturally strong, but tends to be duller than other races.
-2 racial penalty to bluff, diplomacy, gather information, and +2 racial bonus to intimidate, due to their beastly and ugly appearance. This does not apply to other orcs/half-orcs.
+2 racial bonus to spot, search, and listen due to keen eyes and ears.
Bonus feat: Toughness. Orcs/half-orcs are naturally hardy, and it takes more to bring most orcs/half-orcs down.
Weapon familiarity: Orcish maul. Orcs/half-orcs may treat orcish mauls (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1736318#post1736318) as martial weapons rather than exotic.
[edit]
All right, I've got a few more things I want to add here. Mostly a few goodies for melee classes.
Fighter gains the following--
Lesser Fighting Stances (Ex):
At 5th level, a fighter has learned how to change their focus in battle, shifting between defensive, offensive, and strategic fighting stances. During combat, the fighter my choose to use one of the following fighting stances:
Lesser Fighting stances
{table=head]Name|Benifit|Penalty
Defensive |+1 AC, +1 to damage rolls|-1 to attack rolls
Offensive |+1 to damage rolls, +1 to attack rolls|-1 AC
Strategic |+1 AC, +1 to attack rolls|-1 to damage rolls[/table]
These stances last until they are changed. The fighter may change their fighting style as a free action during their turn. S/he may also choose to use no fighting style as a free action during their turn. A fighter may not maintain these stances outside of combat.
Greater Fighting Stances (Ex):
At 13th level, a fighter has reached a new level of combat prowess, and may choose from any of the following fighting stances.
Greater Fighting Stances
{table=head]Name|Benifit|Penalty
Balanced |+1 AC, +1 to attack rolls, +1 to damage rolls|None
Greater Defensive |+2 AC, +2 to damage rolls|-1 to attack rolls
Greater Offensive |+2 to damage rolls, +2 to attack rolls|-1 AC
Greater Strategic |+2 AC, +2 to attack rolls|-1 to damage rolls[/table]
These stances last until they are changed. The fighter may change their fighting style as a free action during their turn. S/he may also choose to use no fighting style as a free action during their turn. A fighter may not maintain these stances outside of combat. Greater fighting stances supercede and replace lesser fighting stances.
Superior Fighting Stances (Ex):
At 20th level, the fighter has become a master of armed combat of all kinds, and knows how to adapt to different circumstances on the battlefield in ways that can astound lesser combatants.
Superior Fighting Stances
{table=head]Name|Benifit
Superior Balanced |+2 AC, +2 to damage rolls, +2 to attack rolls
Superior Defensive |+3 AC, +3 to damage rolls
Superior Offensive |+3 to damage rolls, +3 to attack rolls
Superior Strategic |+3 AC, +3 to attack rolls[/table]
These stances last until they are changed. The fighter may change their fighting style as a free action during their turn. S/he may also choose to use no fighting style as a free action during their turn. A fighter may not maintain these stances outside of combat. Superior fighting stances supercedes and replaces greater fighting stances.
**The fighter bonuses I've listed here are modified from Roderick's Combat Tactics (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30456) feat tree.
Barbarians will gain the following--
Heedless rage (Ex):
At 9th level, a barbarian becomes so focused while raging that their bodies simply fail to notice damage. While raging, the barbarian gains an additional 3/- DR which stacks with the damage reduction they normally have. This improves to 4/- DR at 13th level and to 5/- DR at 18th level.
Monks will gain the following--
Ki Charges (Su):
A monk gains a number of Ki charges equal to half of his/her monk level multiplied by his/her wisdom mod (minimum 1/two levels, round UP instead of down). If s/he runs out of ki charges, s/he loses his/her wisdom bonus to AC. Ki charges recharge after a full night's sleep (or in the case of characters who do not need to sleep, at least six hours of rest).
Ki Reach (Su):
A monk can use ki charges to make his/her unarmed strikes ranged. When a monk attacks, s/he may use ki charges to increase his/her reach. Each charge used increases his/her reach by 10 feet. This improves to 30 ft/charge at level 9th level. These ranged attacks may be full-attacks, but cannot benefit from flurry of blows. Skills such as stunning fist and quivering palm may be delivered with ki reach.
Ki Step (Su):
At 12th level, a monk may use two ki charges to use dimension door as the spell. This ability replaces Abundant Step.
Ki Form (Su):
At 19th level, a monk may use three ki charges to assume an ethereal state, as though using the spell etherealness. Each round spent in this state costs the monk one ki charge, and if s/he runs out of charges this ability immediately ends.
Rangers get--
Animal Companion (Ex):
Rangers may have an animal companion at first level, and ranger animal companions improve to be the same level as that of a druid of the same level. Ranger and druid levels stack for determining the level of a character's animal companion.
Combat Style Supremacy (Ex):
At 19th level, Rangers have attained a mastery of their combat style that borders on perfection.
If they choose the archery combat style at second level, they gain the following benefits. The ranger may now use rapid-shot with no penalty. S/he may also use two many-shots in one round as a full-action, shooting no more than three on each shot (though applying the cumulative penalty separately to each shot). Both shots need-not have the same target.
If they choose the two-weapon fighting combat style at second level, they instead gain the following benefits. The ranger no longer applies any penalty for using two weapons to his primary weapon. If his/her off-hand weapon is light, it also receives no penalty. If his/her off-hand weapon is one-handed, his/her penalty is reduced to -2.
Rogues receive--
Poison Use:
At 12th level, the rogue gains poison use, which functions as the assassin feature of the same name.
Hide in Plain Sight:
At 14th level, the rogue gains hide in plain sight, as the Shadowdancer feature of the same name.
I'm not done with rogue quite yet... They need a capstone really badly.
Paladin, I will probably replace with one of the variants that comes out of the "Paladin Capstone" thread, though I can't be sure until I see all of the results of those great minds' work.
So, yeah. What do you guys think of these changes?
First off, everyone, including non-spellcasters get to use wands and scrolls. The Use Magic Device skill vanishes. This gives pure-fighters a bit of a leg up, and diminishes the relative power of casters and UMD rogues.
Next, for the cleric:
Lose heavy armor
Downgrade to bad fort save progression
Lose Knowledge (History) CS*
Gain Sense Motive CS*
Divine Power: Add a material cost of 250 gp worth of a rare wine imbibed during casting. This wine does not cause intoxication when used to cast this spell.
Righteous Might: Add a material cost of a 300 gp divine focus carved from a rare stone that shatters during the casting. This focus is the same no matter what deity one follows: a disc with a runic symbol that means "strength" carved into it.
*I did this simply because I think Sense Motive fits the cleric flavor better than Knowledge (History). I didn't like that change from 3.0 to 3.5, so I get rid of it.
Now, for Druids:
Lose medium armor, shield, and scimitar proficiency
Lose venom immunity
Lose A Thousand Faces
Wild Shape: Gain only the natural attacks of the assumed form, not the improved physical ability scores
Bad fort save progression
To make half-elves a little more attractive to my players, I think it'd be enough to add the skill point bonuses of a human. 4 extra skill points at level one, and an extra skill point at every additional level, inherited from their human parent.
To make humans still useful in face of the half-elves getting one of thier abilities, they may choose one skill. This skill is considered a class skill, regardless of thier class(es).
Lastly, I hate half-orcs as written. Just completely hate them. So, this is just a complete redo of that race. In my campaign, I think I'm just going to use this as orcs and make them a player race, rather than half-orcs.
+2 Strength, -2 Intelligence orcs/half-orcs are naturally strong, but tends to be duller than other races.
-2 racial penalty to bluff, diplomacy, gather information, and +2 racial bonus to intimidate, due to their beastly and ugly appearance. This does not apply to other orcs/half-orcs.
+2 racial bonus to spot, search, and listen due to keen eyes and ears.
Bonus feat: Toughness. Orcs/half-orcs are naturally hardy, and it takes more to bring most orcs/half-orcs down.
Weapon familiarity: Orcish maul. Orcs/half-orcs may treat orcish mauls (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1736318#post1736318) as martial weapons rather than exotic.
[edit]
All right, I've got a few more things I want to add here. Mostly a few goodies for melee classes.
Fighter gains the following--
Lesser Fighting Stances (Ex):
At 5th level, a fighter has learned how to change their focus in battle, shifting between defensive, offensive, and strategic fighting stances. During combat, the fighter my choose to use one of the following fighting stances:
Lesser Fighting stances
{table=head]Name|Benifit|Penalty
Defensive |+1 AC, +1 to damage rolls|-1 to attack rolls
Offensive |+1 to damage rolls, +1 to attack rolls|-1 AC
Strategic |+1 AC, +1 to attack rolls|-1 to damage rolls[/table]
These stances last until they are changed. The fighter may change their fighting style as a free action during their turn. S/he may also choose to use no fighting style as a free action during their turn. A fighter may not maintain these stances outside of combat.
Greater Fighting Stances (Ex):
At 13th level, a fighter has reached a new level of combat prowess, and may choose from any of the following fighting stances.
Greater Fighting Stances
{table=head]Name|Benifit|Penalty
Balanced |+1 AC, +1 to attack rolls, +1 to damage rolls|None
Greater Defensive |+2 AC, +2 to damage rolls|-1 to attack rolls
Greater Offensive |+2 to damage rolls, +2 to attack rolls|-1 AC
Greater Strategic |+2 AC, +2 to attack rolls|-1 to damage rolls[/table]
These stances last until they are changed. The fighter may change their fighting style as a free action during their turn. S/he may also choose to use no fighting style as a free action during their turn. A fighter may not maintain these stances outside of combat. Greater fighting stances supercede and replace lesser fighting stances.
Superior Fighting Stances (Ex):
At 20th level, the fighter has become a master of armed combat of all kinds, and knows how to adapt to different circumstances on the battlefield in ways that can astound lesser combatants.
Superior Fighting Stances
{table=head]Name|Benifit
Superior Balanced |+2 AC, +2 to damage rolls, +2 to attack rolls
Superior Defensive |+3 AC, +3 to damage rolls
Superior Offensive |+3 to damage rolls, +3 to attack rolls
Superior Strategic |+3 AC, +3 to attack rolls[/table]
These stances last until they are changed. The fighter may change their fighting style as a free action during their turn. S/he may also choose to use no fighting style as a free action during their turn. A fighter may not maintain these stances outside of combat. Superior fighting stances supercedes and replaces greater fighting stances.
**The fighter bonuses I've listed here are modified from Roderick's Combat Tactics (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30456) feat tree.
Barbarians will gain the following--
Heedless rage (Ex):
At 9th level, a barbarian becomes so focused while raging that their bodies simply fail to notice damage. While raging, the barbarian gains an additional 3/- DR which stacks with the damage reduction they normally have. This improves to 4/- DR at 13th level and to 5/- DR at 18th level.
Monks will gain the following--
Ki Charges (Su):
A monk gains a number of Ki charges equal to half of his/her monk level multiplied by his/her wisdom mod (minimum 1/two levels, round UP instead of down). If s/he runs out of ki charges, s/he loses his/her wisdom bonus to AC. Ki charges recharge after a full night's sleep (or in the case of characters who do not need to sleep, at least six hours of rest).
Ki Reach (Su):
A monk can use ki charges to make his/her unarmed strikes ranged. When a monk attacks, s/he may use ki charges to increase his/her reach. Each charge used increases his/her reach by 10 feet. This improves to 30 ft/charge at level 9th level. These ranged attacks may be full-attacks, but cannot benefit from flurry of blows. Skills such as stunning fist and quivering palm may be delivered with ki reach.
Ki Step (Su):
At 12th level, a monk may use two ki charges to use dimension door as the spell. This ability replaces Abundant Step.
Ki Form (Su):
At 19th level, a monk may use three ki charges to assume an ethereal state, as though using the spell etherealness. Each round spent in this state costs the monk one ki charge, and if s/he runs out of charges this ability immediately ends.
Rangers get--
Animal Companion (Ex):
Rangers may have an animal companion at first level, and ranger animal companions improve to be the same level as that of a druid of the same level. Ranger and druid levels stack for determining the level of a character's animal companion.
Combat Style Supremacy (Ex):
At 19th level, Rangers have attained a mastery of their combat style that borders on perfection.
If they choose the archery combat style at second level, they gain the following benefits. The ranger may now use rapid-shot with no penalty. S/he may also use two many-shots in one round as a full-action, shooting no more than three on each shot (though applying the cumulative penalty separately to each shot). Both shots need-not have the same target.
If they choose the two-weapon fighting combat style at second level, they instead gain the following benefits. The ranger no longer applies any penalty for using two weapons to his primary weapon. If his/her off-hand weapon is light, it also receives no penalty. If his/her off-hand weapon is one-handed, his/her penalty is reduced to -2.
Rogues receive--
Poison Use:
At 12th level, the rogue gains poison use, which functions as the assassin feature of the same name.
Hide in Plain Sight:
At 14th level, the rogue gains hide in plain sight, as the Shadowdancer feature of the same name.
I'm not done with rogue quite yet... They need a capstone really badly.
Paladin, I will probably replace with one of the variants that comes out of the "Paladin Capstone" thread, though I can't be sure until I see all of the results of those great minds' work.
So, yeah. What do you guys think of these changes?