Help Me Balance These Abilities!

[GreatDane]

Nuil, Selokash, and Sera: STAY OUT.

Heya, Playground. At the end of each "book" of my campaigns, I like to give my players a bonus ability based on the way they played in that book, or their most memorable moment. Since the party is 18th level (19th when they receive these abilities at the close of the book), I'm having some trouble keeping the abilities in the same ballpark of power.

This is the ability I want to balance the other two around:

Character: Sorcerer/swiftblade
Speed Force
The sheer rapidity of your spellcasting generates a magical field around you that enhances your arcane abilities. For each spell you cast in a round after the first, you gain a cumulative +1 bonus to your caster level. Spells cast while under the effects of your innervated speed ability are treated as having been cast in one round. For example, if you cast haste as a swift action, then use innervated speed to stop time for one round and cast two more spells, your fourth spell (cast after you exit your innervated speed) would have a +4 bonus to its caster level.

I like this ability very much - it's thematic, and not TOO strong, since it requires the character to burn a half-dozen spell slots to get a major benefit from it, and spell slots are always in short supply for this character. I also am not sure how to make it stronger or weaker, so I've decided to balance around it.

Character: Crusader/warblade/eternal blade
Superior Combatant
Your blows are practiced and sure, guided by centuries of experience and training. Whenever you roll a natural 1, you do not automatically fail.
Make it stronger: Make the 1 count as a 2 (or higher!).
Make it weaker: Treat the1 as a 0, -2, -5, etc.

Character: Spirit shaman/warlock/eldritch disciple (some house-ruling involved to make it work)
Precognition
The spirits whisper to you events yet to come, and your knowledge of the future guides your actions. Once per minute, you may decide whether to make a die roll after the result has been determined. For example, if you cast a spell and fail to penetrate a creature's spell resistance, you may choose not to have cast that spell; you retain the spell slot, and may take another action, such as casting a different spell or even directing the same spell at a different target. Another example would be missing one attack in a full attack action, and choosing to direct that particular attack toward another enemy.
Make it stronger: Make it at-will.
Make it weaker: Reduce the frequency of use to several times per day (or even once), or make it cost a swift action.

So, are these abilities already on par with each other? If not, what can I do to bring them all in line?

[Name1]

I'd say give the first ability a cap. I don't care what it is, but let's say half his regular caster level, similar to Consumptive Field. You know, just in case.

The second ability... I'd say you should give him a reroll and have it apply to his attack rolls only. Basically, whenever he rolls a 1, he get's to reroll. This isn't limited to once per dice, but it's as many as he needs.

The final one is powerful. As in, there is a 9th level power that costs XP that does that. How about giving him an effect similar to the "Forced Dream"-power? Allows him to redo his turn. Maybe limit it to 3/encounter. If an encounter lasts longer than 30 rounds, something probably went wrong to the point a single turn won't fix it either.

[Bakkan]

The first ability looks very fun. As I'm sure you're aware, this ability will encourage the character to nova-solve an encounter in the first round if he can. If that's the style of game you play and the other players appreciate it, then it seems perfect. The second potential problem is, as Name1 mentioned, the possibility of truly ridiculous caster level increases if the character uses some kind of infinite-casting engine. However, since you mention that spell slots are an issue the character currently has to deal with, it doesn't sound like he's using such tricks. Hence it doesn't seem that you are in much danger from that.

The second ability feel (to me) fairly lackluster compared to the other two. The first ability lets the swiftblade cast spells with a power beyond anything he could do before, while the third ability grants the eldritch disciple a unique ability that redefines how he plays. On the other hand, the second ability simply lets the eternal blade to what he could do before but with slightly higher chance of success. You mention that these abilities are designed around how the character has acted in the campaign so far so I'm not sure about what other abilities would be appropriate, but I encourage you to think about giving him something that either lets him break former limits or do something unique. I would be happy to brainstorm some abilities if you would give us some background on his character or general notions about what kind of abilities you would like to see on him.

As I alluded to in my last paragraph, I adore the third ability. There are some details I would like ironed out with this ability, including how different the new action has to be compared to the previous one. For instance, if the eldritch disciple cast an area spell that allows spell resistance and fail to pierce the SR of one of the targets, can I shift the center of the area of effect 5 feet but still keep that target in the area and get another chance? I suggest adding in language to the effect of "if you attempt to affect the same creature with the same ability again, all previous rolls related to that creature continue to apply to the second attempt." I feel like 1/minute is appropriate in power compared to the first one, but it could perhaps be strengthened in one of two ways. The first way is to allow the character to redo any action after seeing the effects, even if those effects didn't involve a die roll by the eldritch disciple; for instance, it could be used to cast a different spell after seeing that the target made its saving throw against it. The second way this could be strengthened is to make it usable 2 or 3 times per encounter, and at-will outside of combat. For myself, I would strengthen it using the first method.

[GreatDane]

All righty, then. Responses by ability.


I'd say give the first ability a cap. I don't care what it is, but let's say half his regular caster level, similar to Consumptive Field. You know, just in case.

The first ability looks very fun. As I'm sure you're aware, this ability will encourage the character to nova-solve an encounter in the first round if he can. If that's the style of game you play and the other players appreciate it, then it seems perfect. The second potential problem is, as Name1 mentioned, the possibility of truly ridiculous caster level increases if the character uses some kind of infinite-casting engine. However, since you mention that spell slots are an issue the character currently has to deal with, it doesn't sound like he's using such tricks. Hence it doesn't seem that you are in much danger from that.
I'm not overly worried about abuse of any of these abilities. All of us (players and DM) respect that broken toys aren't fun, so we make an effort to keep everyone's characters equally useful/powerful. We won't be seeing any infinite spell engines, celerity, etc. - this player already knows he's pushing the limits of the action economy by playing a swiftblade.

I did think of the nova potential, but this player loves the rocket tag side of high-level D&D, so it's perfect for him. He's all about using obliterative force when he can, and I've long since figured out how to manage it (mostly by making sure he can't do it all the time).



The second ability... I'd say you should give him a reroll and have it apply to his attack rolls only. Basically, whenever he rolls a 1, he get's to reroll. This isn't limited to once per dice, but it's as many as he needs.
Is this intended to improve the ability or weaken it? I am unsure - a reroll is definitely better than just having a 1, but making it only apply to attack rolls keeps him from losing his gear to failed saves. It also means he doesn't get to apply the benefit to the immortal fortitude stance, which was a big reason I wanted to give him this effect.


The second ability feel (to me) fairly lackluster compared to the other two. The first ability lets the swiftblade cast spells with a power beyond anything he could do before, while the third ability grants the eldritch disciple a unique ability that redefines how he plays. On the other hand, the second ability simply lets the eternal blade to what he could do before but with slightly higher chance of success. You mention that these abilities are designed around how the character has acted in the campaign so far so I'm not sure about what other abilities would be appropriate, but I encourage you to think about giving him something that either lets him break former limits or do something unique. I would be happy to brainstorm some abilities if you would give us some background on his character or general notions about what kind of abilities you would like to see on him.
I too cringe at the...boringness...of the ability. My main reasons for picking it, though, are:

This player passionately hates the natural 1 rule, a by-product of a previous horror-story-DM who would enforce random and excessive fumble rules.
This player has miserable luck; he will reliably roll at least one natural 1 every combat, even if he only full-attacks once.
The player keeps whiffing awesome moments like finishing move.
The big one (as mentioned above): the character knows immortal fortitude, a stance which keeps him from dying (regardless of his hit points) as long as he can keep making increasingly tough Fortitude saves. Removing the threat of natural 1s from this process makes the stance a lot more reliable.

However! I will never turn down brainstorming assistance. Here's the short version of the character's bio: Nuil is a warforged, the only one of his kind in the world. He was fashioned by the arcane knowledge of his elven "mother," and carries within himself the martial skills of his elven father. Nuil was created to be a protector and guardian of all who are Good (see the Player's Guide to the Guardians (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3StYlsEub5ea0JLYWxWeFlIUFk/view) for more on that). He has long outlived his "parents," but thanks to the Eternal Blade's class features, he continues to learn and fight beside his father. Nuil now journies to fulfill his destiny of destroying the campaign's major villain. Along the way, he has lived over a thousand years, and acquired the faithful avenger (one of the Nine Swords) to aid him in his quest.

Nuil pretty much fights through maneuvers (and full attacks, when he needs to recover his maneuvers), but there is a strong theme of defending others in his story. A previous end-of-book bonus granted him the ability to take any attack for an adjacent ally (once per day; he keeps intercepting disintegrates aimed at his fragile allies :smallcool: ). I feel like his ability to defend others would be the main space in which a new bonus could be crafted.



The final one is powerful. As in, there is a 9th level power that costs XP that does that. How about giving him an effect similar to the "Forced Dream"-power? Allows him to redo his turn. Maybe limit it to 3/encounter. If an encounter lasts longer than 30 rounds, something probably went wrong to the point a single turn won't fix it either.
I'm not familiar with this spell. Which one is it? I am avoiding a complete redo here, since that is just a huge pain to track, especially at this level. These abilities are, by design, not intended to greatly slow down gameplay.

As I alluded to in my last paragraph, I adore the third ability. There are some details I would like ironed out with this ability, including how different the new action has to be compared to the previous one. For instance, if the eldritch disciple cast an area spell that allows spell resistance and fail to pierce the SR of one of the targets, can I shift the center of the area of effect 5 feet but still keep that target in the area and get another chance? I suggest adding in language to the effect of "if you attempt to affect the same creature with the same ability again, all previous rolls related to that creature continue to apply to the second attempt." I feel like 1/minute is appropriate in power compared to the first one, but it could perhaps be strengthened in one of two ways. The first way is to allow the character to redo any action after seeing the effects, even if those effects didn't involve a die roll by the eldritch disciple; for instance, it could be used to cast a different spell after seeing that the target made its saving throw against it. The second way this could be strengthened is to make it usable 2 or 3 times per encounter, and at-will outside of combat. For myself, I would strengthen it using the first method.
I hadn't considered area effects; I agree that if the same action is taken in a different way, the initial outcome will hold wherever it can. My hesitation with strengthening it the first way is that rerolling saves means that I have to make a bunch of extra rolls, and one of the first rules of efficient gaming at high levels is to offload tasks from the DM, since he/she tends to become a chokepoint.

Thank you both for your input! This is helping greatly.

[Name1]

I'm not overly worried about abuse of any of these abilities. All of us (players and DM) respect that broken toys aren't fun, so we make an effort to keep everyone's characters equally useful/powerful. We won't be seeing any infinite spell engines, celerity, etc. - this player already knows he's pushing the limits of the action economy by playing a swiftblade.

Well, this changes everything. I sorta figured balance meant with the overall game, not each other. In that case, yeah, this is fine as long as no one actively tries to break it, cap or not. In that way, it is reasonably restricted to... maybe a +30 CL bonus, which is not actually as big of a deal as it seems, since most Red Mages reach that without trouble.


Is this intended to improve the ability or weaken it? I am unsure - a reroll is definitely better than just having a 1, but making it only apply to attack rolls keeps him from losing his gear to failed saves. It also means he doesn't get to apply the benefit to the immortal fortitude stance, which was a big reason I wanted to give him this effect.

Well, I figured it was supposed to only work on attack rolls ("Your blows are practiced and sure"), but allowing that on saves... how about this: He gains access to the Pride Domain (reroll on any saving throw which comes up as a 1) and give him the ability to always have the Stance "Aura of Perfect Order" active, in addition to all other stances he can have active. That stance allows him to "Take 11" instead of actually rolling a d20 and works 1/round. As a Crusader, he'll probably use a Maneuver instead of a full-attack anyway, so one attack roll should be all he needs.


I'm not familiar with this spell. Which one is it? I am avoiding a complete redo here, since that is just a huge pain to track, especially at this level. These abilities are, by design, not intended to greatly slow down gameplay.

You wouldn't be familiar with that spell, since it's a power. If I said it's a spell, then I'm sorry for confusing you on that. But yes, redoing a round in equivalent to the Nomad-Power "Time Regression", which costs 1000 XP to use.
However, if you just want him to be able to redo his own turn instead of negating the entire last round, "Forced Dream" is a 4th level power that does exactly that. It is, however, a swift action (and you technically don't keep your memories of the event, meaning you have to lay out your actions, connect said actions to a specific amount of PP left and then check your current PP to see which actions you will take...).
I'd say run it similar to "Forced Dream", but have him keep his memories and let him do that 3/encounter.