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Teapot Salty
2014-03-31, 05:52 PM
Hey guys. Anyone have any changes to classes, feats, skills etc. that are quick, easy and simple? Then post away. No long winded responses, no LINKS to long winded responses, just, as I said before, quick, easy and simple. Some from me are:

Fighter: Gets +1 to attack and damage rolls per level.
Ranger: +2 damage/level
Monk: Flurry of blows as a standard action.
Rogue: If attack roll exceeds targets ac by 5, gets sneak attack. (Includes crits)
Paladin: Smite does 2x cha damage and can target anything.
EDIT
Barbarian: Rage at level 10+ is str goes up by 1/level

What are yours? And as always, go nuts.

Seerow
2014-03-31, 05:54 PM
Quick fixes tend to be mostly ineffective, unless you have a big enough pile of them that they no longer count as "quick"

Teapot Salty
2014-03-31, 06:03 PM
Quick fixes tend to be mostly ineffective, unless you have a big enough pile of them that they no longer count as "quick" Very true, however they can't hurt, after all, giving the fighter more damage won't make it tier 1, but it will certainly improve it. I suppose my point is though (even though I didn't even reference it there) is that these are things that can be quickly added to the game as well. Oh the fighter gets the bonus, as opposed to "here is a totally different table for the fighter"

Cloud
2014-03-31, 09:15 PM
While in general I agree that quick fixes don't work (you need so many they're no longer quick, or some classes are so badly designed they can't be fixed like that), still I feel the urge to drop some.

Classes
Rogue: d8 hitdie, sneak attack works on undead, plants, and constructs that aren't amorphous, give a special ability at 8th level and every 2 levels after.
Sorcerer: d6 hitdie, have them gain new spell levels at the same rate as wizards, give them bonus feats like a wizard, make quicken spell work in core.
Truenamer: Truespeak DC to say an utterance is 15 + 2*utterance level + CR, the law of sequence no longer exists, give them skill focus truespeak as a bonus feat.
Dread Necromancer: Tomb Tainted Soul as a bonus feat at 1st level, let them take eclectic learning (see the warmage, PH2).
Soulbourn: 4+ int skill mods per level, meldshaping at 1st level and meldshaping level = class level, level - 2 (minimum 1) essentia pool, level/4 +1 soulmelds.

Feats
Weapon Focus: Make the bonus +2/+3/+4 and grant 1/2/3 attack rerolls with the selected weapon at BAB 0/9/17. Counts as greater weapon focus for prerequisites.
Weapon Specialization: Make the bonus damage equal to 1/2 BAB. Counts as greater weapon specialization for prerequisites.

I'd like to note that I don't think any of these changes are perfect, or in any case adequate (particularly the truenamer or soulbourn), but I think the idea of quick changes for classes are interesting when I've had 3 DMs tell me my suggested changes for classes are long winded, so it was a challenge to try and fit the most important things into a single line.

Grod_The_Giant
2014-03-31, 10:07 PM
What can be quickly improved... hmm...


Cleric: Become a spontaneous caster, with a "spells known" list composed of 5 of your deity's domains.
Dragonfire Adept: Breath weapon deals (2/3 level, minimum 1)d6+ Con mod damage, and metabreath feats may be applied as though it had a recharge time of 0 rounds.
Druid: Use the Shapeshift and Spontaneous Divine Caster variants
Favored Soul: All casting based on Charisma; add Knowledge (Religion) to the list of class skills.
Fighter: Gestalt with Marshal and gain 6+Int skill points/level.
Ranger: Gestalt with Scout.
Rogue: Gain Darkstalker as a bonus feat at 6th level and Hide in Plain Sight at 9th.
Truenamer: Utterances may be used at-will. The whole skill check mechanic dies in a fire. Grant Speak Unto the Masses at 4th level, allowing you to affect (1/4 level) extra targets with each utterance.
Warlock: Add your Charisma modifier to Eldrich Blast damage, allow full attacks with your Blast, and learn 1 free Blast Shape or Eldrich Essence invocation every 3 levels.
Wilder: 1+level powers known, and Psychic Eneveration doesn't daze you.

Vadskye
2014-03-31, 10:09 PM
The vast majority of "quick fixes" like this make no sense with regards to the actual math or balance of the game. If you give fighter ridiculous bonuses attack bonuses, all you will have done is render barbarians and most rangers and paladins irrelevant while increasing the already ridiculous rocket tag nature of the game.

The core numbers behind D&D work well in 80% of situations. They are, in fact, one of the few things about the game that consistently does a decent job. Trying to quick-fix D&D by altering core combat numbers is like cleaning your house by vacuuming the dust out of the air. Yes, technically it could help. But you're ignoring everything that's actually wrong, and you'll probably make things worse rather than better.

Grod's quick fixes are a much better way to do it, because they change the dynamics of how the game is played (or rather, how those classes are played). That's not to say that I necessarily agree with them, but that's the right way to think about the problem.

Dienekes
2014-03-31, 10:17 PM
Very true, however they can't hurt, after all, giving the fighter more damage won't make it tier 1, but it will certainly improve it. I suppose my point is though (even though I didn't even reference it there) is that these are things that can be quickly added to the game as well. Oh the fighter gets the bonus, as opposed to "here is a totally different table for the fighter"

Alright, this really depends on the style of game you play at. Honestly, if you know what you're doing in terms of feats to take, damage is the one thing that the Fighter does that does not need to be improved. But that involves some optimization that is not universal for all gaming groups. At +20 attack and damage, the Fighter probably moves to a low tier 4, it would now out damage a barbarian (well, assuming he gets Pounce somewhere). But honestly that doesn't solve the problems of a fighter for mid to high optimization play.

But, if when your group plays the game, and the only problem that the fighter player has is that he's not dealing enough damage and missing too much, well I'm certain this would fix that.

If you want to solve what's really wrong with the fighter, you need to look at abilities. Specifically, the fighter has 11. 11 feats (not including skills for now, since honestly his skill list is pathetic and he only gets 2+Int per level anyway, everything in skills he can do It's pretty certain a different member of the party could do better) these abilities need to serve the fighter for every single situation he comes across over the course of an entire game. Compare that to a wizard, who gets at minimum 41 abilities, and can buy whatever more he needs. Now, to be honest I think the wizard has too many abilities, that's why they're so powerful. I think a well-constructed class could probably make do with 20-30, assuming these abilities are scaled right for the level you get them. Here also, the fighter fails. Most of his best feats are balanced around level 6-8. After that, he has to go back and get prerequisites for additional level 6-8 level abilities, and a lot of those prerequisite feats are pretty much worthless (Dodge, being example one that is a frequent prerequisite but is not worth getting).

So, honestly, if you want to fix the fighter you need to give it abilities, and make those abilities worth getting. If you want the fighter to still look like a fighter, just say it gets a feat per level. Then comes the hard part, feats themselves would have to be fixed. Which would take a long time and be a bit of work.

Or, you can go the easier way and just rebuild the class. Notably, WotC themselves did this with the Warblade class. A similar thing can be said about the Monk class. While the monk gets a decent number of abilities (around 20 I think), they mostly just suck. A worse version of feather fall, low damage, a lot of flavorful but ultimately useless abilities all make this class lackluster. Being able to punch a lot of weak hits as a standard action will not be a real benefit. Maybe giving them Pounce would benefit them more. But that still leaves them with very little to do.

I hope this was somehow helpful and I see some more homebrew from you in the future.

Drako_Beoulve
2014-04-01, 04:31 PM
Fighter:


- Add Armor Mastery +1 (+1 mastery bonus to AC while armored; DEX penalty lessens by1, min. 1; armor check penalty lessens by 5%, min. 0%) at Level 3rd and every 4 levels thereafter (7th,11th,15th,19th), Armor Mastery +2 (+2 AC;-1 Dex Penalty; -5% Armor Check Penalty), Armor Mastery +3, and so on.
- Add Pounce at Level 5th
- Add Evasion at Level 9th
- Add Mettle at Level 13th
- Add Improved Evasion at Level 17th
- Skills to 4 x Int and give more class skills
- Fighter's bonus feats can be taken without meeting the prerequisites, except Epic Fighter Feats.(Yes, sounds crazy but it actually gives Fighter that versatility he needs)




Paladin:


- HD to 1d12
- Remove Disease: Becomes per day instead per week, also add Poison, Compulsion, Charm, Paralysis, Blindness/Deafness, Curse or Fear every time you get an additional use per day
- Smite Evil: Damage bonus should be CHA Mod + Paladin Level; add Aligned Weapon, Banishment effect or other cool effects every time you get an additional use per day
- Add Bonus feat at 2nd level and every 4 levels thereafter (6th, 10th, 14th, 18th). It can be Exalted, Divine or Fighter feats (still needs to meet prerequisites)
- Add Mettle somewhere after level 5th
- Add Holy template to your Mount somewhere after level 10th
- Add 1/DR evil at level 3rd and increase to +1 every four levels (7th,11th,15th,19th)
*Done this on some campaigns and my litte Paly shined with the party*