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Axorfett12
2016-06-28, 11:40 AM
Hello Playgrounders. I've been working on a couple conversions of classes from the Book of Exalted Deeds and Book of Vile Darkness (3rd edition versions) to 5e. One of those conversions is the Warrior of Darkness, a fighter type that uses black magic to craft elixirs and oils that enhance their power. Upon completion of the subclass, which is currently a Martial Archetype, something felt off. I believe it to be too powerful, but can't quite place what needs to be done to balance it out. And so i turn to the Playground.

Here is the class:

Fighter: Warrior of Darkness

The warrior of darkness, sometimes called the demon knight, is a practitioner of black magic. He studies the dark arts and learns the terrible secrets involved with evil rituals and spells. However, he does not cast spells himself. Instead, he uses his arcane knowledge to make himself a more formidable combatant. Warriors of darkness often keep to themselves, although they sometimes employ small groups of evil humanoids such as orcs, gnolls, and bugbears to aid them and guard their dark sanctums. They dream of power and conquest through violence and bloodshed.
A warrior of darkness is not usually subtle, nor is he barbaric. Instead, he is a chilling compromise of physical might and intelligent sophistication. A fighter must be evil to select this archetype.

Black Magic Oil
When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you learn to use your forbidden arcane knowledge to create magic oils that you anoint yourself with. These oils work only for you, and you can only make one dose of each oil when you learn it. You learn to make one oil of your choice at 3rd level. You learn a new Oil at 7th, 10th, and 15th level. If an oil has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the oil at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.

Black Magic Oils


Oil+Level Prerequisites
Oil Effects


Dweller In Darkness: 3rd Level
You can see normally in darkness, both magical and non magical, out to a distance of 60 feet. If you have darkvision, you can see out to a distance of 120 feet.


Demonic Celerity: 3rd Level
You cannot be surprised, and you have advantage on initiative rolls.


Rapid Step: 7th Level
Your speed increases by 15 feet.


Cloak of Shadows: 7th Level
You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while within an area of dim light or darkness.


Hellpower: 10th Level
You gain a +1 bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws.


Encorcelled Flesh: 10th level
You have resistance to poison damage, and cannot be poisoned


Unholy Strike: 15th Level
When you hit with a melee weapon attack, you may choose to deal an additional 2d8 necrotic damage on that hit. You may use this ability 3 times per day. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.


Malign Fury: 15th Level
When you use your Action Surge, you can take an additional bonus action on top of your regular bonus action.




Darkling Weapon
Starting at 7th level, you learn a dark ritual to imbue a weapon with unholy power. You may spend a short rest bonding with a weapon, turning it into your Darkling weapon. Your Darkling weapon becomes a magic weapon and gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. If the weapon is already a magic weapon with a bonus to attack and damage rolls, that bonus increases by 1, to a maximum of +3. This bonus applies only while you wield the weapon.

Black Magic Elixir
Starting at 10th level, you learn to use your alchemy to create magic elixirs that you then imbibe. These elixirs work only for you, and you can only make one dose of each elixir when you learn it. You learn to make one elixir of your choice at 10th level. You learn an additional elixir at 15th level. If an elixir has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the oil at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in this class.



Elixir+Level Prerequisites
Elixir Effects


Aura of Evil: 10th Level
You gain a +1 bonus to AC


Inner Hellpower: 10th Level
You gain a +1 bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws


Dark Senses: 15th Level
You gain Tremorsense with a radius of 60 feet


Demonic Wings: 15th Level
You can use a bonus action to sprout a pair of bat-like wings from your back, gaining a fly speed equal to your current speed. These wings last until you dismiss them as another bonus action. You can’t manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them.




Unholy Flesh
Starting at 15th level, through obscene ritual scarification and tattooing, you gain the following benefits:
You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidate) checks
You have advantage on saving throws against spells that target you
When you are hit by a non-magical weapon that is not silvered, you take 3 points less damage


I feel like the subclass is too powerful, but I can't think of how to balance it while retaining the flavor. Any help you can offer is appreciated.

sajro
2016-06-28, 01:36 PM
I remember this class fondly very fondly as a matter of fact, so seeing someone trying to convert it makes me happy. :)
But as you have seen and said yourself, it seems too strong. I took a look at some of the oils for a start, and they don't seem balanced against each other.

As an example of the first 4, Demonic Celerity seems by far the most powerful. If not the most powerful of all the options.

And Demonic Celerity's power points to the problem of this class. Demonic Celerity is strong enough to be a single feature on its own, but here it is part of another feature. Actually here you gain a total of 4 features and one of those will probably be Demonic Celerity.

I believe a solution would be to make all oils be at the power level of Demonic Celerity and then limit the subclass to get only 1 oil, instead of 4.

Also I feel like this class has too many static bonuses to statistics. especially the +1 to saves. This was a concept mostly abandoned in 5E, so maybe for those it would be better to grant proficiency in one save instead?

Axorfett12
2016-06-28, 02:23 PM
Thanks for the feedback. I too, have fond memories of the class, hence my desire to convert it.

I think Dweller in Darkness is plenty good, provided that the Warrior has some way of producing magical Darkness. As such, what if I changed "Cloak of Shadows" to allow a 1/short rest Darkness?

For the static bonuses, I'm going to leave Aura of Evil alone for now. That one mimics the Defense Fighting Style. Thoughts on changing Hellpower to give proficiency in Dexterity saves and Inner Hellpower to give proficiency in Wisdom saves?

Will probably also change Ensorcelled Flesh to give resistance to Necrotic as well as Poison.

If I changed all these abilities to be more powerful, what if I then limited it so that you only get 2 Oils total, and have the ability to swap oils when you gain a level? That way the class gets 2 Oils and 2 Elixirs, for a total of 4 variable abilities, 2 of which only come online late game.

Those are the changes I propose. Before I implement them and change the original post accordingly, thoughts?