Draz74
2007-01-19, 12:44 AM
Yeah, I know, it's been done before, many times, but I thought I'd take a shot at it anyway ...
What are the minimum, simplest changes we could make to balance out the base classes of D&D? I'm assuming Core-Only classes and abilities except where otherwise stated, because that leaves us with a lot fewer abuses to worry about (as well as a lot fewer classes!). I'm also avoiding making any changes to the underlying system, in this post, even though I hate Vancian magic and would love a simple, balanced way to convert spellcasters to something else.
I guess at high levels melee classes will still be noticably lame compared to casters, but hopefully this will take the make the differential less painful.
Barbarian: Relatively well-balanced, and keeps getting abilities through all 20 levels. No changes seem very needed.
Bard: Consensus seems to be that the Bard is underpowered, but only a tiny bit. (Except for people who don't realize that he can keep using Bard Song while doing other things, as long as he takes a standard action to initiate the song. They think the Bard is very underpowered.) Also that, if he is supposed to be a jack-of-all-trades, he fails rather miserably at the "tank" role, and he is also rather lacking in defenses overall. Therefore I suggest bumping his Hit Die up to d8.
Cleric: Remove proficiency with heavy armor. (It can still be added to the War domain, I suppose.)
Nerf the spell Divine Power. Instead of granting extra BAB, it now adds a +1 luck bonus to attack rolls for every 4 caster levels the Cleric has. (This means that it no longer stacks with Divine Favor, and no longer grants iterative attacks.)
The DCs of Cleric spells are now based on the Cleric's Charisma instead of his Wisdom. This should give him a little more MAD to deal with, like the Favored Soul.
Druid: Use the Shapechange variant from the PHBII.
Since the Animal Companion is good flavor, let's add it back in, but weakened: it now works the same as the Ranger's Animal Companion in the standard rules. (Effective druid level = 1/2 druid level; ability starts at 4th level.)
Druid Hit Die is reduced to d6.
Fighter: All feats from the PHBII that are designated Bonus Fighter Feats are allowed, even though non-Core feats are mostly not allowed. (Other characters can take these feats, too, if they qualify for them. But this will benefit Fighters more than anyone else.)
Monk: The main thing needed to fix the monk is to introduce magic Gloves that allow the monk to enchant its unarmed strike with all the normal enchantments that weapons can have (including enhancement bonuses), while still letting them keep their special unarmed damage values.
Monks also now gain 6+Int skill points per level.
The Monk's multiclassing restriction is removed.
Paladin: The paladin's Detect Evil ability now only detects evil auras of Strong or Overwhelming power. It can be extended to detect Moderate auras if the paladin concentrates on it for 1 full minute. If the Paladin wants to detect evil rapidly, he must use it in spell form (the unmodified Detect Evil spell is added to the Paladin spell list).
The Paladin is not penalized for associating with those who violate his principles, as long as he does not condone their offensive actions.
The Paladin's Bonus Spells and Spell save DCs are now based on Charisma. A Wisdom score of (10+spell level) is still required. (Unlike other MAD-inducing house rules, this one is actually meant to be benficial, as most paladins have higher Charisma than Wisdom.)
The Paladin's multiclassing restriction is removed.
Ranger: The Ranger's Combat Style feats are replaced by any bonus feats from the Fighter list for which the Ranger qualifies. These feats still only function if the ranger is not under a medium or heavy load.
The Ranger's Animal Companion is determined as if his effective druid level were (Ranger Level -2) instead of 1/2-Ranger Level.
Rogue: The Rogue is unchanged. It's unfortunate that this leaves him with two "dead levels," but hey ...
Sorcerer: The Sorcerer gains Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at first level.
The Sorcerer's spell DCs are now based on Intelligence rather than Charisma. Bring on the MAD for full casters.
The Sorcerer gains 4+Int skill points per level. He adds the following to his list of class skills: Disguise, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes), Knowledge (religion), Sense Motive.
The Sorcerer does not lose any XP if his familiar is killed.
(Note: Flavor-wise, the Sorcerer should be very similar to what the Warlock is like in a non-Core-only game. I never did feel comfortable with the "dragon heritage" flavor, which isn't supported mechanically in Core anyway.)
Wizard: The Wizard's spell DCs are now based on Wisdom instead of Intelligence.
The Wizard does not gain a familiar.
How does that sound? Does anything seem majorly lacking? Is it unfair for the Druid to avoid MAD casting when every other full caster has to deal with it? (I would have given the Druid MAD too, but flavor-wise, it doesn't seem appropriate to require either Int or Cha for him.) Do Wizards still "win" too badly?
What are the minimum, simplest changes we could make to balance out the base classes of D&D? I'm assuming Core-Only classes and abilities except where otherwise stated, because that leaves us with a lot fewer abuses to worry about (as well as a lot fewer classes!). I'm also avoiding making any changes to the underlying system, in this post, even though I hate Vancian magic and would love a simple, balanced way to convert spellcasters to something else.
I guess at high levels melee classes will still be noticably lame compared to casters, but hopefully this will take the make the differential less painful.
Barbarian: Relatively well-balanced, and keeps getting abilities through all 20 levels. No changes seem very needed.
Bard: Consensus seems to be that the Bard is underpowered, but only a tiny bit. (Except for people who don't realize that he can keep using Bard Song while doing other things, as long as he takes a standard action to initiate the song. They think the Bard is very underpowered.) Also that, if he is supposed to be a jack-of-all-trades, he fails rather miserably at the "tank" role, and he is also rather lacking in defenses overall. Therefore I suggest bumping his Hit Die up to d8.
Cleric: Remove proficiency with heavy armor. (It can still be added to the War domain, I suppose.)
Nerf the spell Divine Power. Instead of granting extra BAB, it now adds a +1 luck bonus to attack rolls for every 4 caster levels the Cleric has. (This means that it no longer stacks with Divine Favor, and no longer grants iterative attacks.)
The DCs of Cleric spells are now based on the Cleric's Charisma instead of his Wisdom. This should give him a little more MAD to deal with, like the Favored Soul.
Druid: Use the Shapechange variant from the PHBII.
Since the Animal Companion is good flavor, let's add it back in, but weakened: it now works the same as the Ranger's Animal Companion in the standard rules. (Effective druid level = 1/2 druid level; ability starts at 4th level.)
Druid Hit Die is reduced to d6.
Fighter: All feats from the PHBII that are designated Bonus Fighter Feats are allowed, even though non-Core feats are mostly not allowed. (Other characters can take these feats, too, if they qualify for them. But this will benefit Fighters more than anyone else.)
Monk: The main thing needed to fix the monk is to introduce magic Gloves that allow the monk to enchant its unarmed strike with all the normal enchantments that weapons can have (including enhancement bonuses), while still letting them keep their special unarmed damage values.
Monks also now gain 6+Int skill points per level.
The Monk's multiclassing restriction is removed.
Paladin: The paladin's Detect Evil ability now only detects evil auras of Strong or Overwhelming power. It can be extended to detect Moderate auras if the paladin concentrates on it for 1 full minute. If the Paladin wants to detect evil rapidly, he must use it in spell form (the unmodified Detect Evil spell is added to the Paladin spell list).
The Paladin is not penalized for associating with those who violate his principles, as long as he does not condone their offensive actions.
The Paladin's Bonus Spells and Spell save DCs are now based on Charisma. A Wisdom score of (10+spell level) is still required. (Unlike other MAD-inducing house rules, this one is actually meant to be benficial, as most paladins have higher Charisma than Wisdom.)
The Paladin's multiclassing restriction is removed.
Ranger: The Ranger's Combat Style feats are replaced by any bonus feats from the Fighter list for which the Ranger qualifies. These feats still only function if the ranger is not under a medium or heavy load.
The Ranger's Animal Companion is determined as if his effective druid level were (Ranger Level -2) instead of 1/2-Ranger Level.
Rogue: The Rogue is unchanged. It's unfortunate that this leaves him with two "dead levels," but hey ...
Sorcerer: The Sorcerer gains Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at first level.
The Sorcerer's spell DCs are now based on Intelligence rather than Charisma. Bring on the MAD for full casters.
The Sorcerer gains 4+Int skill points per level. He adds the following to his list of class skills: Disguise, Intimidate, Knowledge (the planes), Knowledge (religion), Sense Motive.
The Sorcerer does not lose any XP if his familiar is killed.
(Note: Flavor-wise, the Sorcerer should be very similar to what the Warlock is like in a non-Core-only game. I never did feel comfortable with the "dragon heritage" flavor, which isn't supported mechanically in Core anyway.)
Wizard: The Wizard's spell DCs are now based on Wisdom instead of Intelligence.
The Wizard does not gain a familiar.
How does that sound? Does anything seem majorly lacking? Is it unfair for the Druid to avoid MAD casting when every other full caster has to deal with it? (I would have given the Druid MAD too, but flavor-wise, it doesn't seem appropriate to require either Int or Cha for him.) Do Wizards still "win" too badly?