Vattic Zero
2015-10-13, 12:30 AM
Hey everyone; Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I'm trying to put together a homebrew campaign setting where I am doing away with Tier 1 and Tier 2 classes, and this largely removes the most notable of casters. For both story and mechanics reasons, I am looking to adapt the Beguiler(and Warmage) class into a handful of separate classes to fill similar roles.
The initial basis of the concept is to divide the schools of magic into these handful of classes with minimal overlap. Also considering doing away with Arcane vs Divine.
To start, I would change the spell list of Beguiler to all of Enchantment and Illusion, likely excepting Illusion(Shadow.) I am unsure if I should allow access to all of the spell list as Beguiler currently does, or limit it to a spell selection as Sorcerer or greater.
Continuing from there, here are my starting ideas for these classes:
Beguiler - Int - Enchantment, Illusion(minus Shadow)
Warmage - Int - Evocation, Conjuration(Creation and Healing), Illusion(Shadow)
Oracle - Wis - Divination, Abjuration
Shaper - Cha - Transmutation, Necromancy
Summoner - Cha - Conjuration(Summon, Call, Teleportation, Healing)
Ideally I would like to find a way to balance these classes without using a cookie-cutter design and giving them some special abilities fitting of their schools and flavor(Beguiler has cloaked casting and Warmage has Warmage Edge.)
Does anyone have any ideas for special, thematic abilities for the other three classes? Suggestions for re-assigning the schools between the classes? Thoughts on inherent imbalances between the grouping of schools? Suggestions for how to balance through Hit Die, Skill Points, Saves, or Class Skills? Thoughts on whether any of these risk falling far from Tier 3? A better name for the 'Shaper' class?
I'm trying to put together a homebrew campaign setting where I am doing away with Tier 1 and Tier 2 classes, and this largely removes the most notable of casters. For both story and mechanics reasons, I am looking to adapt the Beguiler(and Warmage) class into a handful of separate classes to fill similar roles.
The initial basis of the concept is to divide the schools of magic into these handful of classes with minimal overlap. Also considering doing away with Arcane vs Divine.
To start, I would change the spell list of Beguiler to all of Enchantment and Illusion, likely excepting Illusion(Shadow.) I am unsure if I should allow access to all of the spell list as Beguiler currently does, or limit it to a spell selection as Sorcerer or greater.
Continuing from there, here are my starting ideas for these classes:
Beguiler - Int - Enchantment, Illusion(minus Shadow)
Warmage - Int - Evocation, Conjuration(Creation and Healing), Illusion(Shadow)
Oracle - Wis - Divination, Abjuration
Shaper - Cha - Transmutation, Necromancy
Summoner - Cha - Conjuration(Summon, Call, Teleportation, Healing)
Ideally I would like to find a way to balance these classes without using a cookie-cutter design and giving them some special abilities fitting of their schools and flavor(Beguiler has cloaked casting and Warmage has Warmage Edge.)
Does anyone have any ideas for special, thematic abilities for the other three classes? Suggestions for re-assigning the schools between the classes? Thoughts on inherent imbalances between the grouping of schools? Suggestions for how to balance through Hit Die, Skill Points, Saves, or Class Skills? Thoughts on whether any of these risk falling far from Tier 3? A better name for the 'Shaper' class?