Morphic tide
2016-12-26, 01:53 AM
So, I've seen several complaints that Eldritch Knight is not a good enough gish subclass to work with. Let's see if my try at fixing this is workably balanced.
The things I'm using as a basis here are the 3.5 Arcane Archer, the 3.5 Duskblade and the 5e Fighter.
As for why I'm calling it a frame... Well, you should understand with the first level bracket.
Mystic Warrior
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Mystic Warrior level
Hit Points at 1st level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Mystic Warrior level
Armor: Light armor, medium armor and shields
Weapons: Simple Weapons, two Martial Weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, and Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment given by your background:
(a) Scale Mail or (b) Leather Armor, a bow and 20 arrows
(a) Any Martial weapon or (b) a Light shield and any Simple weapon
(a) Adventuring Gear or (b) an Explorer's Kit
Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
1st
+2
Mysticism, Mystic Strike
2nd
+2
3rd
+2
Ability Score Improvement
4th
+2
Fighting Style
5th
+3
6th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
7th
+3
Extra Attack
8th
+3
9th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
10th
+4
Mysticism Feature
11th
+4
12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
13th
+5
14th
+5
Extra Attack(2)
15th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
16th
+5
17th
+6
Mysticism Feature
18th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
19th
+6
20th
+6
Mysticism Feature
Mysticism
At first level, a Mystic Warrior chooses their Mysticism, the source or purpose of their mystical power. At levels 10, 17 and 20 they gain additional Mysticism features.
Mystic Strike
At first level, when a Mystic Warrior makes an attack, they may choose to use an ability defined by their Mysticism at the same time. This ability must have the same target as the target of the attack. If the attack hits, then the ability automatically hits and any save DCs are increased by the Mystic Warrior's proficiency bonus.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 3rd level, and again at 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 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.
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.
-Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
-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.
-Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
-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. You must be wielding a shield.
-Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 7th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. The number of attacks increase to three when you reach 14th level in this class.
Mysticisms
Mystic Warriors are not a coherent group, but practitioners of a rather general style of merging mystic forces with mundane combat. As a result, many of their abilities are defined by the type of mystic power they draw from.
As those who look at the example Mysticism below can tell, the idea is to copy the source class at reduced progression. But that's only for Mysticisms directly based on an existing class. For the Mysticisms representing general use of another class's mystic stuff, you want to follow the source class basically directly and get something useful, but thematic as the capstone ability. For Warlocks, it's spending a Pact Magic spell slot for a near literal mad minute. For Druids, it could be a Wildshape based power boost, or something else. Go with something the class you draw from has being used as a fuel for a melee ability, or alter something the source class already has to be more melee friendly.
But that's for the directly-based-on-other-classes Mysticisms. For more narrow Mysticisms, like a Duskblade or Arcane Archer port, you can do whatever, so long as you keep the partial casting restriction. Warlocks got 1/3 progression because they honestly don't have much to offer a melee character who's spending almost all their actions on at-will boosted attacks. Like getting Eltritch Blast on every hit...
More precisely, for the direct class based ones, the level 1 Mysticism features are two or three extra skill proficiency options, possibly an extra equipment choice and/or save proficiency, what you can use Mystic Strike with and the class features you get from the source class with the specified progression rate. For the level 10 feature, a class feature or archetype feature from the class you are basing the Mysticism on, with the feature to be gotten being based on the Mystic Warrior's equivalent level in the source class, with class features adjusted to be more useful for the Mystic Warrior. For example, if the Mystic Warrior has 1/2 progression in the source class's features, then they get a level 4 to 7 class or archetype feature. For level 17, it's either a class or archetype feature, whichever the level 10 Mysticism feature wasn't. Going back to the 1/2 progression example, you can grab any feature at level 8 to level 11 in the source class, but it should be an archetype feature if the level ten Mysticism feature was a general class feature, or a general class feature if the level 10 Mysticism feature was an archetype feature.
To give a more direct example, a general Sorcerer based Mysticism at 1/2 progression would get Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin and Font of Power at 1st level, advancing Spellcasting and Font of Power as if they were a Sorcerer of 1/2 their Mystic Warrior level, along with the ability to use Mystic Strike to apply Sorcerer spells. At level 10, they would get the level 6 Sorcerous Origin feature of whatever Origin they chose at 1st level, because there are nor Sorcerer features in the available range. At level 17, they would get Metamagic, because they got an archetype feature at level 10 and Metamagic is the closest fit to the Mystic Warrior's equivalent Sorcerer level of 8.5. For the level 20 Mysticism feature, they get to use something the Sorcerer has, either spell points or spell slots, to buff melee attacks in some massive way that can handily screw over most level appropriate threats.
For Mysticisms based on ways of using power, there are several ways I'd accept, but always remember to include the Mystic Strike options, what abilities are being used and extra Proficiency options. Those are vital to the class working because it is the frame of a gish, not a proper gish itself.
The way of doing Mysticisms based on ways of using the power rather than the source of the power that I'll work with myself (eventually) is to look to 3.5, 4e and Pathfinder for classes that are a close fit and base things off of them. For example, if you want a more archery or assassination focused Mysticism, you can grab 2/3 or even full Ranger casting for the relatively high concentration of relevant spells and base the Mysticism features on Arcane Archer, one of the PRCs that 3.5 and PF share.
Pact Warrior
You have made a pact with an otherworldly being, but sacrificed much of the power you would have gained for skills with weapons and how to wield your power with them. You may choose to be proficient in Arcana, Intimidation or Religion instead of one of your normal skill proficiencies.
Eldritch Might
At first level, a Mystic Warrior with the Pact Warrior Mysticism may use Warlock cantrips and Invocations with their Mystic Strikes and gain Pact Magic and Eldritch Invocations, as the Warlock features. Treat their Warlock level as 1/3 their Mystic Warrior level for the purposes of Pact Magic and Eldritch Invocations. They also choose a Warlock Otherworldly Patron as the source of their mystic power.
Pact Offering
At tenth level, a Pact Warrior may choose a boon offered by their patron for their services.
-Offering of the Bow You can use your action to create a ranged pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. You can transform one ranged magic weapon into your pact weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
-Offering of the Shield You can use your action to create a pact armor if you are not currently wearing armor. You can choose the form that this armor takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wear it. This armor counts as magical for all purposes. Your pact armor disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. You can transform one magic armor into your pact armor by performing a special ritual while you wear the armor. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the armor, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient armor in this way. The armor ceases being your pact armor if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different armor, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The armor appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
-Offering of the BladeYou can use your action to create a pair of pact weapons in your empty hands. You can choose the form that these melee weapons takes each time you create them. You are proficient with them while you wield it. These weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your pact weapons disappear if they are more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. They also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapons (no action required), or if you die. You can transform up to two magic weapons into your pact weapons by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapons. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapons, shunting them into an extradimensional space, and they appear whenever you create your pact weapons thereafter. You can’t affect artifact or a sentient weapons in this way. The weapons cease being your pact weapons if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on different weapons, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to them The weapons appear at your feet if they are in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
Patron's Power
At seventeenth level, a Pact Warrior gains a small measure of the power their patron would grant a Warlock. They gain the level six Otherworldly Patron feature of their chosen Patron.
Eldritch Burst
At twentieth level, a Pact Warrior may spend a Pact Magic spell slot to use three Invocations or Cantrips they know in one use of Mystic Strike for one minute. (This is an encounter winning effect. You effectively get off nine Invocations or Cantrips in Attack action with this. You going for a full load of Eldritch Blast? Have fun with 36d10 Force damage on a full hit. This is a capstone, by the way)
The things I'm using as a basis here are the 3.5 Arcane Archer, the 3.5 Duskblade and the 5e Fighter.
As for why I'm calling it a frame... Well, you should understand with the first level bracket.
Mystic Warrior
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per Mystic Warrior level
Hit Points at 1st level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Mystic Warrior level
Armor: Light armor, medium armor and shields
Weapons: Simple Weapons, two Martial Weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Insight, and Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment given by your background:
(a) Scale Mail or (b) Leather Armor, a bow and 20 arrows
(a) Any Martial weapon or (b) a Light shield and any Simple weapon
(a) Adventuring Gear or (b) an Explorer's Kit
Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
1st
+2
Mysticism, Mystic Strike
2nd
+2
3rd
+2
Ability Score Improvement
4th
+2
Fighting Style
5th
+3
6th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
7th
+3
Extra Attack
8th
+3
9th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
10th
+4
Mysticism Feature
11th
+4
12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
13th
+5
14th
+5
Extra Attack(2)
15th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
16th
+5
17th
+6
Mysticism Feature
18th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
19th
+6
20th
+6
Mysticism Feature
Mysticism
At first level, a Mystic Warrior chooses their Mysticism, the source or purpose of their mystical power. At levels 10, 17 and 20 they gain additional Mysticism features.
Mystic Strike
At first level, when a Mystic Warrior makes an attack, they may choose to use an ability defined by their Mysticism at the same time. This ability must have the same target as the target of the attack. If the attack hits, then the ability automatically hits and any save DCs are increased by the Mystic Warrior's proficiency bonus.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 3rd level, and again at 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 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.
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.
-Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
-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.
-Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
-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. You must be wielding a shield.
-Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 7th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. The number of attacks increase to three when you reach 14th level in this class.
Mysticisms
Mystic Warriors are not a coherent group, but practitioners of a rather general style of merging mystic forces with mundane combat. As a result, many of their abilities are defined by the type of mystic power they draw from.
As those who look at the example Mysticism below can tell, the idea is to copy the source class at reduced progression. But that's only for Mysticisms directly based on an existing class. For the Mysticisms representing general use of another class's mystic stuff, you want to follow the source class basically directly and get something useful, but thematic as the capstone ability. For Warlocks, it's spending a Pact Magic spell slot for a near literal mad minute. For Druids, it could be a Wildshape based power boost, or something else. Go with something the class you draw from has being used as a fuel for a melee ability, or alter something the source class already has to be more melee friendly.
But that's for the directly-based-on-other-classes Mysticisms. For more narrow Mysticisms, like a Duskblade or Arcane Archer port, you can do whatever, so long as you keep the partial casting restriction. Warlocks got 1/3 progression because they honestly don't have much to offer a melee character who's spending almost all their actions on at-will boosted attacks. Like getting Eltritch Blast on every hit...
More precisely, for the direct class based ones, the level 1 Mysticism features are two or three extra skill proficiency options, possibly an extra equipment choice and/or save proficiency, what you can use Mystic Strike with and the class features you get from the source class with the specified progression rate. For the level 10 feature, a class feature or archetype feature from the class you are basing the Mysticism on, with the feature to be gotten being based on the Mystic Warrior's equivalent level in the source class, with class features adjusted to be more useful for the Mystic Warrior. For example, if the Mystic Warrior has 1/2 progression in the source class's features, then they get a level 4 to 7 class or archetype feature. For level 17, it's either a class or archetype feature, whichever the level 10 Mysticism feature wasn't. Going back to the 1/2 progression example, you can grab any feature at level 8 to level 11 in the source class, but it should be an archetype feature if the level ten Mysticism feature was a general class feature, or a general class feature if the level 10 Mysticism feature was an archetype feature.
To give a more direct example, a general Sorcerer based Mysticism at 1/2 progression would get Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin and Font of Power at 1st level, advancing Spellcasting and Font of Power as if they were a Sorcerer of 1/2 their Mystic Warrior level, along with the ability to use Mystic Strike to apply Sorcerer spells. At level 10, they would get the level 6 Sorcerous Origin feature of whatever Origin they chose at 1st level, because there are nor Sorcerer features in the available range. At level 17, they would get Metamagic, because they got an archetype feature at level 10 and Metamagic is the closest fit to the Mystic Warrior's equivalent Sorcerer level of 8.5. For the level 20 Mysticism feature, they get to use something the Sorcerer has, either spell points or spell slots, to buff melee attacks in some massive way that can handily screw over most level appropriate threats.
For Mysticisms based on ways of using power, there are several ways I'd accept, but always remember to include the Mystic Strike options, what abilities are being used and extra Proficiency options. Those are vital to the class working because it is the frame of a gish, not a proper gish itself.
The way of doing Mysticisms based on ways of using the power rather than the source of the power that I'll work with myself (eventually) is to look to 3.5, 4e and Pathfinder for classes that are a close fit and base things off of them. For example, if you want a more archery or assassination focused Mysticism, you can grab 2/3 or even full Ranger casting for the relatively high concentration of relevant spells and base the Mysticism features on Arcane Archer, one of the PRCs that 3.5 and PF share.
Pact Warrior
You have made a pact with an otherworldly being, but sacrificed much of the power you would have gained for skills with weapons and how to wield your power with them. You may choose to be proficient in Arcana, Intimidation or Religion instead of one of your normal skill proficiencies.
Eldritch Might
At first level, a Mystic Warrior with the Pact Warrior Mysticism may use Warlock cantrips and Invocations with their Mystic Strikes and gain Pact Magic and Eldritch Invocations, as the Warlock features. Treat their Warlock level as 1/3 their Mystic Warrior level for the purposes of Pact Magic and Eldritch Invocations. They also choose a Warlock Otherworldly Patron as the source of their mystic power.
Pact Offering
At tenth level, a Pact Warrior may choose a boon offered by their patron for their services.
-Offering of the Bow You can use your action to create a ranged pact weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this weapon takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wield it. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your pact weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. You can transform one ranged magic weapon into your pact weapon by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your pact weapon if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
-Offering of the Shield You can use your action to create a pact armor if you are not currently wearing armor. You can choose the form that this armor takes each time you create it. You are proficient with it while you wear it. This armor counts as magical for all purposes. Your pact armor disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. You can transform one magic armor into your pact armor by performing a special ritual while you wear the armor. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the armor, shunting it into an extradimensional space, and it appears whenever you create your pact weapon thereafter. You can’t affect an artifact or a sentient armor in this way. The armor ceases being your pact armor if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on a different armor, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to it. The armor appears at your feet if it is in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
-Offering of the BladeYou can use your action to create a pair of pact weapons in your empty hands. You can choose the form that these melee weapons takes each time you create them. You are proficient with them while you wield it. These weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your pact weapons disappear if they are more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. They also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapons (no action required), or if you die. You can transform up to two magic weapons into your pact weapons by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapons. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapons, shunting them into an extradimensional space, and they appear whenever you create your pact weapons thereafter. You can’t affect artifact or a sentient weapons in this way. The weapons cease being your pact weapons if you die, if you perform the 1-hour ritual on different weapons, or if you use a 1-hour ritual to break your bond to them The weapons appear at your feet if they are in the extradimensional space when the bond breaks.
Patron's Power
At seventeenth level, a Pact Warrior gains a small measure of the power their patron would grant a Warlock. They gain the level six Otherworldly Patron feature of their chosen Patron.
Eldritch Burst
At twentieth level, a Pact Warrior may spend a Pact Magic spell slot to use three Invocations or Cantrips they know in one use of Mystic Strike for one minute. (This is an encounter winning effect. You effectively get off nine Invocations or Cantrips in Attack action with this. You going for a full load of Eldritch Blast? Have fun with 36d10 Force damage on a full hit. This is a capstone, by the way)