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DracoKnight
2015-07-03, 03:41 PM
The other day, I decided I really wanted to see someone play a wizard in heavy armor, but then I looked at how many feats it would take to do so, and I decided that with all the other awesome feats for wizards, that it just wasn't worth it. So, I decided to build a class that had the potential to do just that, and I created the War Mage (before I realized that there was already a class in a previous edition called the War Mage).

This is the first time I've ever made a class that was a full caster, so please let me know if there's anything too crazy here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B66RprYE6_HHUFR0YUZBZGtRTEk/view?usp=sharing

harveyslayer
2015-07-03, 03:50 PM
With the Soul's Endurance feature the math needs parentheses and it seems a little too powerful of a heal. At 10th level and having 16 Con you would heal (10x5) +3 hit points if you expended your highest spell slot. This is basically a free 53 hit point recover and you can do that twice. With just a d8 hit die this is basically a full heal. What would be more balanced is say healing for 1d10 for each level of spell slot expended + your constitution modifier. That way you are not healing yourself for well over 300 hit points at max level with a 2nd level feature.

DracoKnight
2015-07-03, 03:55 PM
With the Soul's Endurance feature the math needs parentheses and it seems a little too powerful of a heal. At 10th level and having 16 Con you would heal (10x5) +3 hit points if you expended your highest spell slot. This is basically a free 53 hit point recover and you can do that twice. With just a d8 hit die this is basically a full heal. What would be more balanced is say healing for 1d10 for each level of spell slot expended + your constitution modifier. That way you are not healing yourself for well over 300 hit points at max level with a 2nd level feature.

Hmmmmm....duly noted....

Did anything else stand out at you?

harveyslayer
2015-07-03, 04:05 PM
All the capstone does is lets you fly, Sorcerers get that ability at 14th level and at that point it is still underwhelming of an ability. I would try to think of a better one. Also the spell storing ability seems a little too good. Maybe allow just 1 spell of 3rd level or lower to be stored and then increase the level as the class advances. Also I just find it weird that constitution is the spell casting ability when it is a physical stat. Since the idea is order or chaos, you probably could use Either Wisdom or Charisma to fit that theme.

DracoKnight
2015-07-03, 04:10 PM
All the capstone does is lets you fly, Sorcerers get that ability at 14th level and at that point it is still underwhelming of an ability. I would try to think of a better one. Also the spell storing ability seems a little too good. Maybe allow just 1 spell of 3rd level or lower to be stored and then increase the level as the class advances. Also I just find it weird that constitution is the spell casting ability when it is a physical stat. Since the idea is order or chaos, you probably could use Either Wisdom or Charisma to fit that theme.

Flight is really powerful in 5e. The Aarakocra breaks the game in most people's opinions, with a Fly speed of 50 at level 1. This capstone grants you a Fly speed = to twice your current movement speed. The only other capstone that grants flight is the Vengeance Paladin, which gives you a flat Fly speed of 60 for 1 hour.

So, for a 20th level ability, it's actually not underwhelming, especially since Fly isn't on the War Mage's spell list. It's equal to twice your movement speed, whenever you want it. It's not underpowered.

And I went with Constitution, because the way I've flavored it, they're born with the abilities, without any outside power contributing their powers to a War Mage. They just *are* magical. They serve Order and Chaos, but that's not where they draw their power from.

harveyslayer
2015-07-03, 04:14 PM
Understandable, Sorcerers also have the same spell origin and they use Charisma. Moving on from that I feel that Extra Attack should just be a class thing and not exclusive to the Chaos Archtype. Another suggestion would be to give each of the subtypes a small list of their own unique spells that fit that archtypes role, similar to what the Domains do for clerics.

DracoKnight
2015-07-03, 04:28 PM
Understandable, Sorcerers also have the same spell origin and they use Charisma. Moving on from that I feel that Extra Attack should just be a class thing and not exclusive to the Chaos Archtype. Another suggestion would be to give each of the subtypes a small list of their own unique spells that fit that archtypes role, similar to what the Domains do for clerics.

I'm gonna keep it CON for now, at least. Extra Attack is a Chaos only thing, mainly because they're the more Fighter-y ones. They have proficiency with all weapons, while the Order Mages have proficiency in all armor and shields. Chaos Mages are the soldiers, and Order Mages are the guardians, basically.

I thought about doing domain-esque spells. I'll get to working on that :)

DracoKnight
2015-07-03, 04:31 PM
Understandable, Sorcerers also have the same spell origin and they use Charisma.

Sorcerer's are given their magical abilities either through a Draconic Bloodline, a Divine Bloodline, an Elemental Bloodline, or being affected by a Fey in some way. War Mages are born at random. There is no explanation for their magic. It just comes from inside them. It's not generated by their personality, a gift or a lineage.

DracoKnight
2015-07-04, 12:18 AM
Are there any other problems that people have with this class?

harveyslayer
2015-07-04, 12:20 AM
Some more advice on the Capstone. I think maybe giving them a super mode similar to what Paladins get would work nicely. After all, they are warriors who have magic as a part of their being, so it would make sense that they could unleash a huge amount of power at 20th level and take the form of some kind of avatar that can fly. Also, just make the wings able to form on top of armor as well for the sake of convenience and the fact the wings are magical in nature.

DracoKnight
2015-07-04, 03:19 AM
Some more advice on the Capstone. I think maybe giving them a super mode similar to what Paladins get would work nicely. After all, they are warriors who have magic as a part of their being, so it would make sense that they could unleash a huge amount of power at 20th level and take the form of some kind of avatar that can fly. Also, just make the wings able to form on top of armor as well for the sake of convenience and the fact the wings are magical in nature.

Paladins also have a time limit on theirs. This is literally whenever you want as a bonus action, at a speed that is double your movement. Frankly, I'm worried about it being too powerful as is. All wings in the game, magical or not, cannot be created or used unless your armor is made to accommodate them. That's just how it is in 5e.

To the entire forum: is there any problem with the features as they are right now, that hasn't been mentioned? And is the capstone too powerful?

harveyslayer
2015-07-04, 09:27 AM
btw how do you add that dnd next id to your thread title?

PotatoGolem
2015-07-04, 11:09 AM
Well of Chaos is worded very strangely. Roll against the DM? Do you mean you each roll a d20 and see who rolls higher? Also, "good for you" and "bad for you" is far too vague (and in many cases incompatible with the wild magic table- you get polymorphed into a sheep, but in a good way?). The biggest problem with WM Sorc is that it's too DM dependent and requires the DM to police your class too much. That's not a good design space to copy.

DracoKnight
2015-07-04, 03:26 PM
Well of Chaos is worded very strangely. Roll against the DM? Do you mean you each roll a d20 and see who rolls higher? Also, "good for you" and "bad for you" is far too vague (and in many cases incompatible with the wild magic table- you get polymorphed into a sheep, but in a good way?). The biggest problem with WM Sorc is that it's too DM dependent and requires the DM to police your class too much. That's not a good design space to copy.

What would you give it to replace it? It's the feature I like the least :P

ImSAMazing
2015-07-05, 04:36 AM
btw how do you add that dnd next id to your thread title?

When you make a thread, there is a button....

harveyslayer
2015-07-05, 11:23 AM
When you make a thread, there is a button....

Ok thank you