Antioch
2016-10-04, 11:59 AM
Hey, all. I approached the campaign I was running this fall with the intent of having my players build their character concepts from scratch, following up afterwards by designing a custom class for each of them.
It's my first foray into 5th Edition, and I almost certainly have some biases and preconceptions associated with my six-odd years prior working with the Pathfinder system, so I'm dead certain that these classes are unbalanced, erring towards the overpowered side.
For the time being, I'm alright with that -- the characters are strong relative to the core 5e classes, but are (hopefully) roughly equitable with each other, so I've just been handling the power level of encounters by bumping up the CR by a decent bit. That being said, I'd very much so like to handle these classes on a case-by-case basis and bring them down to a more sensible level in a vacuum.
I'd also be very happy to hear your feedback.
Here are the extant classes:
Steam Artillerist (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KeAyiUQLPygNX0fXG_Mr8Uk0TG7WTQXjM8GkLj-rMHA/edit): One of my players is Rax Gr'wal, a goblin lugging around a coal-powered pressure boiler that accumulates pressurized steam to operate an automatic crossbow. The class operates off of a "Pressure" mechanic that passively accumulates every round. It can be expended to improve attacks or purchase additional attacks, or it can be stockpiled to passively improve attacks. If the Pressure accumulated exceeds the character's Intelligence modifier, the boiler has a chance of overpressurizing and rupturing, reflected by the critical failure threshold of the weapon ticking up bit by bit for every unit of excess Pressure. I tried to go for a blend of risk and resource management for this class.
Reliquary Chemist (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QF7ff2qZvWRR35dO1ZEjUoebqOqUYEaIe07vzY6pc D4): Another player is Maeryn Torinal, a former explorer of ruins and apothecary. This is rather close to the Alchemist Pathfinder class, with an emphasis on area-of-effect battlefield control and buffs or damage mitigation for allies. I hoped to stress utility over firepower for this class, and attempted to provide a variety of options.
Techmaturge (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aAB1sAieSEmYUIFGStA-EmWevZhSOqW5Rdn1bibTF-E/edit): The ubiquitous "Magitech" class makes its appearance here, drawing inspiration from the third-party Machinesmith class from Pathfinder. In practice, the class performs like a more constrained Magus, emphasizing specialization over versatility. The character, Anders Mastersen, is very research-driven, and I wanted to reflect his progress by going for more depth rather than more breadth, in the context of his tinkerings and creations. As of the latest session, he has lost his arm to a disintegration curse and is attempting to create a prosthetic that doubles as a weapon with the assistance of a fellow party member.
Blitzmage: There's little to be said here -- this class isn't really in need of a link or a personal page. It's functionally the Storm Sorcerer archetype from Unearthed Arcana with a more lightning/thunder focused spell list, as well as an emphasis on mobility and evasion. I believe I also granted him the ability to add Charisma damage to his lightning/thunder-typed spell casts, to keep his damage output competitive with his allies (which is pretty indicative of the power curve for these custom classes that I'm hoping to eventually address). Though the class doesn't have quite the same spark of originality, my player really wowed me with backstory and RP, particularly as he tied his character's history to an extant lightning sorcerer that serves as one of the antagonists to this campaign.
Qianshou (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J-pbtLFbc3G7kpJ6xQochqmRDL1OqFIJu4QT2yHlvOk/edit): This was a fun character concept to discuss with my player, which I think can best be summed up by the three words "Mage Hands Monk". Of all the classes, I feel like this one is particularly flavorful, but also the candidate for the most overpowered. Thanks to the action economy of 5e, the character can only do so much per turn, but even so, being able to provide top-of-the-line damage, healing, and damage mitigation (albeit not all at once) has singlehandedly (many-handedly?) saved a few reckless party members from a grisly and foolish demise.
Blade Exemplar (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-wdInl_XJXOdGeE5bWayxKEKV3zAeEPrJNT1JIWxlCM/edit): This was actually a class I designed for a middle-tier NPC boss fight, which is slated to go down this upcoming Saturday. The premise is that of a Fighter who's specialized in a variety of weapons, gaining the benefits of each corresponding fighting style as they change their stance and wielded weapon. This evolved from a throwaway NPC who had a cool weapon (an oversized greatsword where the blade was detachable and functioned as a tower shield, and the hilt and tang was a dueling longsword that could be locked in place).
Mechanus (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1neGCQ2D8aQhA8h-Ni1g61M6Ov3euIW-pLOzm4mMxRcI/edit): One of my players really wanted to play Warhammer 40K, presenting me with the concept of a character called Gaius pyr Arturius. I did my best to oblige him with this class, which is a mechanically powered suit of plate armor with a roaring furnace mounted on the back. The class was built with the intent of being the party tank by dint of the fact that it's difficult to ignore a screaming man in a smoke-belching, scalding suit of armor right up in your face, and operates on an Overheat mechanic. Rather than a finite resource that is spent, Overheat can be taken repeatedly to the user's detriment, stacking exhaustion on the user after a certain threshold. More risk than resource management with this one, but I find this class is well-equipped to have its moments of glory -- he has leapt in the way of a scorching ray intended for the rest of the party, cranking up his Overheat to painfully high levels, and linebackered a hapless brigand into the wall of a cave, pinning him there with his tower shield and then firing point-blank with the shield-mounted cannon.
Spellgrafted (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wW59gWFPZB5HrFGoDWx2ujXH6bLbdzYX9l5Ul5eSxYM/edit): Before you continue down this list and look at the ten-odd classes I've concocted, I want to assure you that I'm not running what would undoubtedly be the bed of chaos that is a ten-man campaign. Rather, I run two parties of five on two separate days of the week. On occasion, they interact, and on occasion, one cleans up the others' messes. This upcoming Saturday is an exception to the rule, and I've managed to herd the majority of those cats into what I hope is a gruesome meat-grinder of an encounter. Bearing that in mind, the Spellgrafted here, Torrhen Vanidier, is the primary tank for the second party. A blacksmith and enchanter by trade with a vested interest in curtailing the lycanthropy epidemic in his home city, he has gone to great lengths to graft a full-body suit of armor to his skin. As he levels, he gains his choice of upgrades to both his armor and weapon of choice, as well as an 'Investiture' mechanic that mimics the Barbarian's Rage with a handful of differences. The damage increase is lessened, there is no resistance to damage, but there is a minor benefit to accuracy and the defensive bonus is instead directed towards AC. In addition, at cost of exhaustion, he can make use of multiple 'stacks' of Investiture at once, for a nova round that renders him unassailable under ideal circumstances, and then completely worthless after the fact.
Lucky Shot (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ddRdusBmIYTwuQb9LZu-wyZUc5u1516Ou5O1qebpEhw/edit): I've approached the majority of my faith-based classes on the premise that most of the deities in my setting are particularly stingy with the boons they bestow, with the exception of two which have their own classes I've not yet tackled. In this particular case, the deity that governs the domain of Luck would like to stress that the only luck you make for yourself is in the dice you load, and is happy to grant their favor to those who understand this fact. For readers of Erfworld, you may be familiar with the analogy that likens Fate and Destiny to the whims of a railroading GM, and I tried to address that analogy in this class. Is the GM fudging dice? (Is a certain destiny predetermined?) Call their bluff and proceed through the narrative on your own terms. I admit I'm a huge fan of the flavor of this class, but I also have no idea if it's in any way balanced whatsoever.
Magnificent Bastard (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yH7jwMuyIiV-7bVEvzeVrbzXM-hzzzUrvq7oktQ8iTU/edit): This, too, is intended for an NPC boss. The NPC is a former player character from two years ago with their own custom Pathfinder class, and I tried to port it over to 5th Edition to the best of my ability. A tactician with the ability to inspire allies and at later levels grant action surges to them, the class nevertheless hinges on insults, as per the Cutting Words ability of the Lore Bard and slinging provocation, attempting to perform the role of a tank by active taunting effects and a parry-riposte mechanic.
Vanguard (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lGh0uyJxvWyBfjA-yC3a7hQ9Q8JCZ2UDphIEYYEELhE/edit#): I may reskin this into a more Saboteur class. My player wanted a military deserter with an expertise in firearms, improvised explosives, and guerilla warfare, and I drew inspiration from the Pathfinder class Slayer. Very much so sniper-lying-in-wait, benefiting primarily from Rogue Sneak Attack and Alchemist Bomb damage.
Warden (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1psoGRtj7-EVAwJbGyjnnZ87h7_D6p2Jk5fOLMFfPaII/edit): One player wanted to be a government-sanctioned assassin, and I couldn't resist the potential story implications later on down the line. Or, y'know, PK later on down the line. Either's good. Regardless, this is essentially an Assassin Rogue with some minor tricks and treats. I ported a portion of it over from an extant Pathfinder rogue-based custom class, but I have to admit it doesn't have the same uniqueness as, say, the Qianshou does.
I have a few more custom classes in the works, either prestige classes for interested players, or classes for major NPCs. You can take a glance at them here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sBWwCU9NbQzBAo8FmAd0VJO_uuY_1P05nwcEFzZRKMw/edit), and I'd definitely love anyone's thoughts on which ones seem thematically strong.
It's my first foray into 5th Edition, and I almost certainly have some biases and preconceptions associated with my six-odd years prior working with the Pathfinder system, so I'm dead certain that these classes are unbalanced, erring towards the overpowered side.
For the time being, I'm alright with that -- the characters are strong relative to the core 5e classes, but are (hopefully) roughly equitable with each other, so I've just been handling the power level of encounters by bumping up the CR by a decent bit. That being said, I'd very much so like to handle these classes on a case-by-case basis and bring them down to a more sensible level in a vacuum.
I'd also be very happy to hear your feedback.
Here are the extant classes:
Steam Artillerist (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KeAyiUQLPygNX0fXG_Mr8Uk0TG7WTQXjM8GkLj-rMHA/edit): One of my players is Rax Gr'wal, a goblin lugging around a coal-powered pressure boiler that accumulates pressurized steam to operate an automatic crossbow. The class operates off of a "Pressure" mechanic that passively accumulates every round. It can be expended to improve attacks or purchase additional attacks, or it can be stockpiled to passively improve attacks. If the Pressure accumulated exceeds the character's Intelligence modifier, the boiler has a chance of overpressurizing and rupturing, reflected by the critical failure threshold of the weapon ticking up bit by bit for every unit of excess Pressure. I tried to go for a blend of risk and resource management for this class.
Reliquary Chemist (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QF7ff2qZvWRR35dO1ZEjUoebqOqUYEaIe07vzY6pc D4): Another player is Maeryn Torinal, a former explorer of ruins and apothecary. This is rather close to the Alchemist Pathfinder class, with an emphasis on area-of-effect battlefield control and buffs or damage mitigation for allies. I hoped to stress utility over firepower for this class, and attempted to provide a variety of options.
Techmaturge (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aAB1sAieSEmYUIFGStA-EmWevZhSOqW5Rdn1bibTF-E/edit): The ubiquitous "Magitech" class makes its appearance here, drawing inspiration from the third-party Machinesmith class from Pathfinder. In practice, the class performs like a more constrained Magus, emphasizing specialization over versatility. The character, Anders Mastersen, is very research-driven, and I wanted to reflect his progress by going for more depth rather than more breadth, in the context of his tinkerings and creations. As of the latest session, he has lost his arm to a disintegration curse and is attempting to create a prosthetic that doubles as a weapon with the assistance of a fellow party member.
Blitzmage: There's little to be said here -- this class isn't really in need of a link or a personal page. It's functionally the Storm Sorcerer archetype from Unearthed Arcana with a more lightning/thunder focused spell list, as well as an emphasis on mobility and evasion. I believe I also granted him the ability to add Charisma damage to his lightning/thunder-typed spell casts, to keep his damage output competitive with his allies (which is pretty indicative of the power curve for these custom classes that I'm hoping to eventually address). Though the class doesn't have quite the same spark of originality, my player really wowed me with backstory and RP, particularly as he tied his character's history to an extant lightning sorcerer that serves as one of the antagonists to this campaign.
Qianshou (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J-pbtLFbc3G7kpJ6xQochqmRDL1OqFIJu4QT2yHlvOk/edit): This was a fun character concept to discuss with my player, which I think can best be summed up by the three words "Mage Hands Monk". Of all the classes, I feel like this one is particularly flavorful, but also the candidate for the most overpowered. Thanks to the action economy of 5e, the character can only do so much per turn, but even so, being able to provide top-of-the-line damage, healing, and damage mitigation (albeit not all at once) has singlehandedly (many-handedly?) saved a few reckless party members from a grisly and foolish demise.
Blade Exemplar (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-wdInl_XJXOdGeE5bWayxKEKV3zAeEPrJNT1JIWxlCM/edit): This was actually a class I designed for a middle-tier NPC boss fight, which is slated to go down this upcoming Saturday. The premise is that of a Fighter who's specialized in a variety of weapons, gaining the benefits of each corresponding fighting style as they change their stance and wielded weapon. This evolved from a throwaway NPC who had a cool weapon (an oversized greatsword where the blade was detachable and functioned as a tower shield, and the hilt and tang was a dueling longsword that could be locked in place).
Mechanus (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1neGCQ2D8aQhA8h-Ni1g61M6Ov3euIW-pLOzm4mMxRcI/edit): One of my players really wanted to play Warhammer 40K, presenting me with the concept of a character called Gaius pyr Arturius. I did my best to oblige him with this class, which is a mechanically powered suit of plate armor with a roaring furnace mounted on the back. The class was built with the intent of being the party tank by dint of the fact that it's difficult to ignore a screaming man in a smoke-belching, scalding suit of armor right up in your face, and operates on an Overheat mechanic. Rather than a finite resource that is spent, Overheat can be taken repeatedly to the user's detriment, stacking exhaustion on the user after a certain threshold. More risk than resource management with this one, but I find this class is well-equipped to have its moments of glory -- he has leapt in the way of a scorching ray intended for the rest of the party, cranking up his Overheat to painfully high levels, and linebackered a hapless brigand into the wall of a cave, pinning him there with his tower shield and then firing point-blank with the shield-mounted cannon.
Spellgrafted (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wW59gWFPZB5HrFGoDWx2ujXH6bLbdzYX9l5Ul5eSxYM/edit): Before you continue down this list and look at the ten-odd classes I've concocted, I want to assure you that I'm not running what would undoubtedly be the bed of chaos that is a ten-man campaign. Rather, I run two parties of five on two separate days of the week. On occasion, they interact, and on occasion, one cleans up the others' messes. This upcoming Saturday is an exception to the rule, and I've managed to herd the majority of those cats into what I hope is a gruesome meat-grinder of an encounter. Bearing that in mind, the Spellgrafted here, Torrhen Vanidier, is the primary tank for the second party. A blacksmith and enchanter by trade with a vested interest in curtailing the lycanthropy epidemic in his home city, he has gone to great lengths to graft a full-body suit of armor to his skin. As he levels, he gains his choice of upgrades to both his armor and weapon of choice, as well as an 'Investiture' mechanic that mimics the Barbarian's Rage with a handful of differences. The damage increase is lessened, there is no resistance to damage, but there is a minor benefit to accuracy and the defensive bonus is instead directed towards AC. In addition, at cost of exhaustion, he can make use of multiple 'stacks' of Investiture at once, for a nova round that renders him unassailable under ideal circumstances, and then completely worthless after the fact.
Lucky Shot (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ddRdusBmIYTwuQb9LZu-wyZUc5u1516Ou5O1qebpEhw/edit): I've approached the majority of my faith-based classes on the premise that most of the deities in my setting are particularly stingy with the boons they bestow, with the exception of two which have their own classes I've not yet tackled. In this particular case, the deity that governs the domain of Luck would like to stress that the only luck you make for yourself is in the dice you load, and is happy to grant their favor to those who understand this fact. For readers of Erfworld, you may be familiar with the analogy that likens Fate and Destiny to the whims of a railroading GM, and I tried to address that analogy in this class. Is the GM fudging dice? (Is a certain destiny predetermined?) Call their bluff and proceed through the narrative on your own terms. I admit I'm a huge fan of the flavor of this class, but I also have no idea if it's in any way balanced whatsoever.
Magnificent Bastard (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yH7jwMuyIiV-7bVEvzeVrbzXM-hzzzUrvq7oktQ8iTU/edit): This, too, is intended for an NPC boss. The NPC is a former player character from two years ago with their own custom Pathfinder class, and I tried to port it over to 5th Edition to the best of my ability. A tactician with the ability to inspire allies and at later levels grant action surges to them, the class nevertheless hinges on insults, as per the Cutting Words ability of the Lore Bard and slinging provocation, attempting to perform the role of a tank by active taunting effects and a parry-riposte mechanic.
Vanguard (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lGh0uyJxvWyBfjA-yC3a7hQ9Q8JCZ2UDphIEYYEELhE/edit#): I may reskin this into a more Saboteur class. My player wanted a military deserter with an expertise in firearms, improvised explosives, and guerilla warfare, and I drew inspiration from the Pathfinder class Slayer. Very much so sniper-lying-in-wait, benefiting primarily from Rogue Sneak Attack and Alchemist Bomb damage.
Warden (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1psoGRtj7-EVAwJbGyjnnZ87h7_D6p2Jk5fOLMFfPaII/edit): One player wanted to be a government-sanctioned assassin, and I couldn't resist the potential story implications later on down the line. Or, y'know, PK later on down the line. Either's good. Regardless, this is essentially an Assassin Rogue with some minor tricks and treats. I ported a portion of it over from an extant Pathfinder rogue-based custom class, but I have to admit it doesn't have the same uniqueness as, say, the Qianshou does.
I have a few more custom classes in the works, either prestige classes for interested players, or classes for major NPCs. You can take a glance at them here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sBWwCU9NbQzBAo8FmAd0VJO_uuY_1P05nwcEFzZRKMw/edit), and I'd definitely love anyone's thoughts on which ones seem thematically strong.