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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Fool - A Shadow Spire player class for all campaigns!



MaddHadda_|106|
2015-07-12, 11:35 PM
Hi everyone, MaddHadda here presenting a new player class made for the Shadow Spire campaign settings! But don't fret, it's perfectly compatible and this version specifically made to be usable in any and all 5e based campaign settings.

So with out further ado, ladies and gentlemen the Fool player class!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9qeZI3GmpHPRXo1aHo1aVRLZDQ/view?usp=sharing

Or if you prefer not to leave the page, a forum version (though I highly recommend the much nicer laid out and designed pdf);


The Fool
A crowd bursts in laughter as the fumbling jester trips over his own legs, some how miraculously catching his balance at the last moment. Nervously he paces forward on the stage, face to the ground as he mumbles some inaudible words. A loosed pebble soars through the air, just as the jester drops the cards from his pocket and bends over to retrieve them.

An ill-prepared girl pouts to herself only to stop in wonder at the odd object that someone managed its way into her pocket. She swears it wasn't in there just five minutes ago. But oh dear, she must be mistaken. What would Danih think if she heard her prattling on about bottles magically appearing? She must be going mad.

A man happily hikes through the woods, following a route set to deliver a package. But he's not alone. A wolf pounces from the brush, but the unlucky man stumbles over a root and the wolf goes tumbling unbeknownst to the man over the steep hill. He makes his delivery with a smile still on his face, never knowing how close he came to death.

The fool is simple yet often have the most complex adventures. While the fool goes along his or her humble way they often almost fall into trouble, but there always seems to be something or someone looking out for them to even the odds. A missed step here or an oddly placed object there, things tend to fall into the favor of the fool one way or another.

Unluckily Lucky
Some people might see the fool as unlucky. They seem to fumble about and even fall in to danger at times. But the nature of the fool is a complex thing. A seemingly unlucky occurrence might place the heroes right in the spot they needed to be or help the fool to avoid what certainly would have been a fatal event.

Enjoy The Little Things
The fool is an easy-going kind of person. An adventuring fool might not even realize he or she is on an adventure at all. They can stumble through the world admiring all it's wonders even when darkness surrounds. Their amazing ability to see the best in all situations can keep a party driving forward even in the harshest of conditions. They are a beacon of hope, and never give up.

Creating a Fool
When creating a fool, it's good to think about why you're adventuring. Are you a hopeful fool, on a journey to save your village from a dark force? Have you gone of your own accord or been forced or stumbled into the journey? Perhaps you never intended on going on an adventure at all, but you just can't manage to find your way back on the road home. Or you became lost and wandered your way into a great labyrinth somehow.
Perhaps one of the most important factors in creating a fool may be the reason your character is a fool or how. Are they a curious young mind that has seen little of the world? Where you always treated as a fool and so came to embrace it? Or maybe it was a comedians life that you were simply born for? It could be that you are not even truly that much of a fool at all, but fall into the role or act as one.

Quick Build
When making a fool consider the following suggestions to help make character building quicker. Firstly your highest ability score should usually be Dexterity. For a secondary ability score choose either charisma or wisdom. Good backgrounds include the entertainer and the folk hero.

Class Features
The following are the class features for the fool.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d6 per Fool level
Hit Points at 1st level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (or 4) + your Constitution modifier per Fool level after 1st

Proficiencies
Armor: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, rapiers and hand firearms/pistols (if an available option)
Tools: Choose either gaming set or musical instrument
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Pick 3; Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, History, Investigation, Nature, Animal Handling, Insight, Survival, Deception, Performance, Persuasion

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
(a) a rapier or (b) a simple weapon
Two Daggers
(a) entertainer's pack or (b) scholar's pack

Invincible Incompetence
At 1st level the fool may use an action to roll a d4 on invincible incompetence. You make take this action twice per long rest. The DM may decide to roll an invincible incompetence for your fool (sparingly) as well at a relevant time without abusing the ability or harming the character or its current pursuit. This does not use the players invincible incompetence rolls.
At 6th level the die increases to a d6 and then again at level 10 to a d8.
Roll Effect
1 Trip, Stumble, or Fall
2 Random Non-Magic Generic Item
3 Recall Relevant Past Situation or Knowledge
4 Perfect Timed Simple Action (Duck, Turn, Ect)
5 Wandering Helpful NPC
6 Fool Starts Random Chain of Events
7 Instant Back Door
8 Unnoticeable for 1 round
Keep in mind that this chart is a guide, and the actual effects of the said action are heavily dependent on the situation you are in and your DM.

Play Dead
Starting at 1st level when you are at or below 1/4 of your health you can fall to the ground and play dead. This ability relies on your Dexterity (Stealth) skill to deceive your enemies. When you play dead any enemies within 10 feet make a passive perception check. If they succeed they are aware that you are still alive, though you might not be aware that they know.
At 6th level you can use it as a reaction if you are at or below 5 hp.

Whatever is at Hand
At 2nd level you are proficient in the use of improvised weapons, such as a fish picked up off a market stand or a branch from the ground.

Fool's Tale
At 3rd level choose your fool's tale.

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Invisible Man
At 5th level you gain an unarmored bonus allowing you to add your charisma modifier as well as your dexterity modifier to your armor class when not wearing any armor.

Lucky Dodge
Starting at 9th level, whenever you are attacked by a creature you can not see you can use your reaction to halve the damage.

Zero to Hero
At 11th level you have managed to reach a point very few fools ever do and have become a true experienced hero. You gain an extra attack and may pick one of your proficient abilities and gain expertise in it as well as with all improvised weapons.

Improvisational Master
At 14th level you have mastered the art of using random objects in battle. You have advantage on any attacks made with an improvised weapon.

King for a Day
At 15th level you gain the ability to make a casual command to any one non-hostile creature and they will have the strangest urge to help you. Make a Charisma (Persuasion) check; If successful the creature completes your command to the best of their abilities, but will not break alignment, ideals or harm themselves. If you fail the ability check then the creature becomes aware that you are trying to command them, though you yourself may not be aware. You may use this ability once per day.

Insanity Immunity
At 18th level you have seen so much and are so oblivious that nothing catches you off guard. You are immune to insanity and confusion, though you can still be feared.

Tumbling Buffoon
By 20th level you have become prone to tumbling about the battlefield when not wearing armor. Oddly enough this makes you extremely hard to hit as well as predict; add your proficiency bonus to your AC as well to attack rolls with improvised weapons.

Fool's Tale
Stories across the world speak of fools and the facetious adventures they have. Among them several certain qualities stick out in the tales of various fools, and so it comes time to decide which path your fool's tale will tell.

Tale of the Serendipitous Fool
As a serendipitous fool you have an amazing knack for being at the right place at the right time. A class suiting someone who is always a good person, and so always gets good things in return.

There's Always Something
No matter where you are, you for some reason can always seem to find an item worthy of being an improvised weapon and all improvised weapons do at least 1d6 damage (such as ranged weapon melee attacks and items not similar to weapons).

What's That?
When choosing this tale at 3rd level, you gain the ability to roughly assess the value of an item and/or can sense if there is something strange or different about it, though not what that might be per se. You can not tell the value of a magic item.

Frying Pans, Who Knew Right?
At 7th level the first time you attack with a specific improvised weapon to a creature with an Intelligence of 3 or higher you may add double your charisma modifier to both your hit and damage rolls.

Armor of Serendipity
By 13th level your unluckily lucky nature has grown in amazing measures. Once per battle you can negate any one attacks damage due to sheer luck.

Anything Will Do
At 17th level you have become extremely versatile with improvising weapons, and because of that all improvised weapons deal one die higher damage than they normally would do, and are considered magical for purposes of damage immunity and resistances.

Tale of the Silly Fool
The silly fool pushes forward with little care or worry, always confident in the path laid before them. Forever optimistic and hopeful and often overbearingly unmovable in their pursuits. They can be the driving force in an adventuring party as well as keep them on their toes.

Defend the Strong
You gain proficiency in shields. Once per short or long rest if you are within 5 feet of a friendly creature that is being attacked, you can use your reaction to defend the player with your shield. Add your shield bonus to his or her AC. If the attack still hits you take half the damage rounded down and the ally you were defending takes the remainder.

Just Keep Moving
Upon choosing this tale at 3rd level, you gain the ability to persevere through hard times, needing only half the amount of food and water as a normal person of your race.

Gag Gift
Upon reaching 7th level, you may rig any generic, non-magical item to perform a comedic and/or ironic simple function. The function itself can not do any damage or real harm, but can be useful for being a distraction, laying oil or bearings, or just genuinely be an awesomely funny gag gift.
Upon giving this gift to someone the recipient of the gift makes a Wisdom (insight) savings throw. On a failed save the gag goes off successfully and the creature becomes stunned for 1 turn (7 seconds). If they succeed, the gag still goes off but it fails to distract the recipient.

Sir Jenkin's First Stand
Upon reaching 13th level you have somehow learned to run head long into battle screaming as you shield bash the closest enemy and any enemy within 5 feet for 3d6 damage each. You end your movement next to the last creature you hit. This ability can be used at the beginning of any battle before initiative is rolled (or to start a battle).

Strength of Will
At 17th level you can convince any intelligent creature (Int 3+) to aid you in your cause and follow your instructions. Every hour the creature may make a wisdom savings throw. If successful they will begin to realize what a fool they have been and upon 3 successful attempts will return back to whence they came. However, if they fail this roll three times, they no longer get to make a savings throw. The creature will follow you until it breaks your sway or you dismiss them. You may use this ability once a day.

Tale of the Wise Fool
The wise fool is one of the most commonplace tales of an adventuring fool. The wise fool relies on wit and and an outspoken charismatic attitude. Applying social tact and wisdom to triumph over the predicaments life sets upon you.

Fighting Style
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Protection
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Witty Banter
Upon choosing this tale at 3rd level, while attacking you have become quite skilled at knowing just the right things to say to aid in your attempt. This allows you to add your charisma modifier as well as your normal modifiers to hit when attacking.

Part of the Crowd
Upon reaching 7th level, you have become adept in hiding in plain sight, and gain advantage on stealth checks by walking into a crowd a people, tripping into a bush or perhaps stumbling into an open door.

Outspoken
At 13th level you are not bound by what others would call normal socializing habits. You tend to speak your mind, and frequently at that. You now have advantage on all ability checks and saving throws dealing with charisma in social aspects, except for when using the deception ability.

Double Trouble
Upon reaching 17th level whenever you attack with an improvised weapon and then attack with a normal weapon you gain advantage on your normal weapons attack and a +3 damage bonus.


I would also like to give a shoot out to Zak S. who's Alice class from A Red and Pleasant Land was a big inspiration for the class.

Belac93
2015-07-13, 12:15 PM
This seems like a good class. A couple things I noticed were in invincible incompetence it says: At 1st level the fool may use an action to roll a d6 on invincible incompetence. However later it says: At 6th level the die increases to a d6 and then again at level 10 to a d8.
Also the silly fools advantage on defending others ability doesn't make sense, is it that he has advantage on attack rolls against people harming his friends? And if so that is overpowered

AuraTwilight
2015-07-13, 01:27 PM
I was literally about to ask if you'd heard of Zak S.'s work before I finished the post, hehe. It's pretty good work.

Prince Zahn
2015-07-13, 02:42 PM
First of all, much applause for having your class written on this site even though you offered a link to Google drive. For people like me (assuming I'm not the only one) I don't want to click on links or be directed to another site just to understand what somebody is telling me.

Pros:

The class appears to have plenty of neat defensive options to keep the Fool alive in interesting ways.
The mastery over improvised weapons is a boon, and can even afford to be given more love, since it is a central damage function for the class.
It is a very humorous concept with a lot of creativity put into it, +1 like.


Cons: advice

A lot of the features don't seem to clear, such as invincible incompetence. Where effects like "perfect timing" and "random chain of events" go unexplained. performing such stunts in a session often requires some work, preparation of thought to pull, though there's nothing to go by here, not even guidelines to follow. Another example is defend the strong - I'm unfamiliar with making checks to defend other creatures, what is it exactly that you gain advantage on? Also, I do not understand gag gift.
Refined character feels out of place in the class and it's Fool tales. I don't feel that you need another ability score improvement beyond what is already given.
some features (Zero to Hero, Anything will do, Outspoken, Witty Banter, I might have missed something else idk) offer effects that would be better at lower levels, except for Outspoken which would be better suited for a slightly higher level. I suggest you try to compare these features with classes in the PHB and see what's a good ability to get at what level, or alternatively you can change these abilities to be balanced compared to what other classes offer at these levels.
King for a Day: when an ability like this comes into the hands of a Fool, I expect that there should be room for shenanigans.:smalltongue: the words "it will not do something it wouldn't do otherwise" kind of dampers it a little, would I have written it, I would've replaced that line with " it will not engage in any action that it clearly harmful to it. " this would give you a lot of freedom to issue commands like hopping on one leg or whatever the player could come up with :smalltongue: also, I don't think you need to limit yourself to one creature at this level for what is essentially suggestion:smallwink:
Likewise, strength of will does not need to be limited by having an intelligence of 3+ AND wisdom 10 or lower AND wisdom save every hour 10 times. I suggest you pick two of these at most - though two wisdom based requirements are redundant and 10 rounds is killing your own ability ( try 3 failures if you must)


Overall I really like what you did with this class. I like it a lot, which is why I had a lot to say. Best of luck! This is really a class I'd like to see in action after a little refinement!

MaddHadda_|106|
2015-07-13, 03:06 PM
This seems like a good class. A couple things I noticed were in invincible incompetence it says: At 1st level the fool may use an action to roll a d6 on invincible incompetence. However later it says: At 6th level the die increases to a d6 and then again at level 10 to a d8.
Also the silly fools advantage on defending others ability doesn't make sense, is it that he has advantage on attack rolls against people harming his friends? And if so that is overpowered

Thanks for pointing that out, got theses both fixed up. One was just a minor error from when I was changing up the ability. The other was due to my lack of defensive knowledge in 5e, and have made it much more suitable and understandable now.

Zhan thank you for your review, I will certainly be getting to your advice after work tonight. As you might be able to tell the class itself has yet to be play tested at all, but was following the rogue class as a base example to start with and balance. Look forward to an update reflecting your advice later tonight or tomorrow.

MaddHadda_|106|
2015-07-14, 06:42 AM
First of all, much applause for having your class written on this site even though you offered a link to Google drive. For people like me (assuming I'm not the only one) I don't want to click on links or be directed to another site just to understand what somebody is telling me.

Pros:

The class appears to have plenty of neat defensive options to keep the Fool alive in interesting ways.
The mastery over improvised weapons is a boon, and can even afford to be given more love, since it is a central damage function for the class.
It is a very humorous concept with a lot of creativity put into it, +1 like.


Cons: advice

A lot of the features don't seem to clear, such as invincible incompetence. Where effects like "perfect timing" and "random chain of events" go unexplained. performing such stunts in a session often requires some work, preparation of thought to pull, though there's nothing to go by here, not even guidelines to follow. Another example is defend the strong - I'm unfamiliar with making checks to defend other creatures, what is it exactly that you gain advantage on? Also, I do not understand gag gift.
Refined character feels out of place in the class and it's Fool tales. I don't feel that you need another ability score improvement beyond what is already given.
some features (Zero to Hero, Anything will do, Outspoken, Witty Banter, I might have missed something else idk) offer effects that would be better at lower levels, except for Outspoken which would be better suited for a slightly higher level. I suggest you try to compare these features with classes in the PHB and see what's a good ability to get at what level, or alternatively you can change these abilities to be balanced compared to what other classes offer at these levels.
King for a Day: when an ability like this comes into the hands of a Fool, I expect that there should be room for shenanigans.:smalltongue: the words "it will not do something it wouldn't do otherwise" kind of dampers it a little, would I have written it, I would've replaced that line with " it will not engage in any action that it clearly harmful to it. " this would give you a lot of freedom to issue commands like hopping on one leg or whatever the player could come up with :smalltongue: also, I don't think you need to limit yourself to one creature at this level for what is essentially suggestion:smallwink:
Likewise, strength of will does not need to be limited by having an intelligence of 3+ AND wisdom 10 or lower AND wisdom save every hour 10 times. I suggest you pick two of these at most - though two wisdom based requirements are redundant and 10 rounds is killing your own ability ( try 3 failures if you must)


Overall I really like what you did with this class. I like it a lot, which is why I had a lot to say. Best of luck! This is really a class I'd like to see in action after a little refinement!

Got the new update up, thanks for all the advice, it was very helpful. I tried to balance the abilities more, as well added some new ones to replace the refined characters, which was something I wasn't sure about in the first place. Tried to refine explanations more, all that jazz. Any more advice on getting the class more balanced is always appreciated.

MaddHadda_|106|
2015-07-16, 06:14 PM
Just wanted to give this a bump to try and get some more c&c on the class and it's balance after the first revision, any thoughts?

Prince Zahn
2015-07-20, 02:42 AM
First of all, thank you for listening to my advice :) I really appreciate that you value my opinions.:smallsmile:

Alright, there's a lot to cover, so here's round two:

The Fool seems like he will be a little underpowered at early levels, because while his defense/survival is certainly invested in, his overall contribution to combat will be rather lacking. Here's a thought: giving him a d8 hit die (the Fool won't survive a d6 hit die if he doesn't have spells), a fighting mechanic inspired by pathfinder's dirty trick combat maneuver to go alongside attack damage, and an extra attack at level 5.
Fool Tales: some of the Fool tales feel similar in what you could do with them, personally, I think what Unearthed Arcana said about modifying the rogue class may apply here too:

ROGUE
•The class features granted by the roguish archetypesFool's tales at 3rd level should fundamentally alter the way the class plays, just as the cleric’s Divine Domain features do. (http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/modifying-classes)With that in mind, try to pick two or three key aspects/features that define the Fool, and devote a subclass to expanding each of them, as well as dip a little versatility from a different direction (Combat/interaction/exploration) finally, it's important that different subclasses feel unique from each other just as much as it is to keep them balanced.
Zero to Hero is essentially expertise and an extra attack., isn't it? Not that I'm complaining, these are good features, I'm just pointing this out.
Tumbling Fool will get your armorless AC through the roof, but even then it is not a very exciting capstone ability. Try thinking about what should be the very pinnacle of the Fool's capabilities - what would the ultimate Fool do? :smalltongue:
Frying pans, who knew, right?: I think it could be reworded, and maybe not only apply to a "specific" improvised weapon - there's more than one way to slapstick comedy.:smallsmile: try zis:
frying pans, who knew, right?
Starting at 7th level, whenever a creature enters your reach by moving in a straight line and you are wielding an improvised weapon, You can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack with the improvised weapon, dealing an extra +2d6 damage with the attack and ending the creature's movement on a successful hit until the beginning of it's next turn. Once you use this ability successfully on a creature, you can not harm the same creature again using this feature until you complete a short or long rest.
Anything Will Do: this Is all fine and dandy, but I think at some point, some Fools should be able to wield weapons of impractical size as improvised weapons with ease :smalltongue: even if just to allow giant mallets. ^_^
Tale of the silly fool: you already have a subclass that focuses on melee fighting - the one above with the improvised weapons should fulfill that role if you make him good at that role. Consider changing the Silly Fool to weaponize humor - making people laugh uncontrollably, raising moralle in a variety of situations, humiliating the opponent, et cetera. perhaps make some of these abilities dependant on a Charisma (Performance) check instead of an attack roll.
Tale of the Wise Fool: perhaps the combat style would be more suited for a more "fight-y" Fool. This one appears more roguish than the others - taking advantage of the freedom of not being taken seriously, and keeping a low profile despite appearing before the masses, and somehow coaxing the attention or aid of others when he needs it.abilities that would help him hide, manipulate others, offer himself as competent bait, prevent combat... And perhaps use their strengths against them? I dunno, but I don't argue with the idea that the Wise Fool benefits from having a back up plan for when things get ugly.


on topics previously mentioned:

Invincible Incompetence: I think it might be better if you could go one by one on these charts and explain how they work - shortcuts are not always beneficial. If it helps presentation, you can keep the chart as-is, but start by explaining outcomes 1-4 and guidelines of their use, then move to outcomes 5-6 at 6th level, and outcomes 7-8 at 10th level. There's nothing wrong with leaving things open to imagination, all I'm saying is provide general guidelines on how to use this key feature.:smallsmile:
Thank you for gettin' rid of Refined character. I like the abilities you replaced them with better. Nevertheless consider my suggestion on making the different subclasses more distinct.
Outspoken is a little too high a level now, I'd swap it with Part of the crowd (which may as well specify that you could hide even while being observed, if you're already talking about Hide in Plain Sight :3)
Strength Of will (and anything else that is "per day") should be recharged by rests instead. Short rests for anything that would be acceptable 2-3 times a session, and long rest of rarer.



Do with that what you Will, and we'll see how we could advance the fool further:smallsmile: you're doing great!