Warblade Variant Question: Valuing the Class Features?

[Nifft]

I'm trying to balance a variant request, and to do that, I want to ask for consensus on the relative value of some class features:

- Battle Clarity / Ardor / Cunning / Skill / Mastery (add Int bonus to various things, some rather situational)

- Bonus Feats (from a short but fairly decent list) at levels 5 / 7 / 13 / 17

How good are these two features?

Thanks, -N

[Cosi]

What do people want in exchange? That's easier to asses than "how good is this".

The Battle Whatever abilities are mostly very niche (bonus to damage against flat footed enemies? bonus to oppose trip checks?), and they make you more MAD. The only good one is the bonus to Reflex saves, but you get something that replaces Reflex saves.

The Bonus Feats seem worse than Fighter Bonus Feats. You get less of them and it's a smaller list (maybe a strict subset, not going to check).

It should also be pointed out that Warblades aren't exactly breaking anything. If the party has a couple of full casters in it, you could toss them a free refresh every combat and +level to discipline skills without breaking anything.

[Nifft]

Thanks, that's about what I was thinking.

Anyone else?

[John Longarrow]

Warblades, like casters, have something other than just "Class features" that drive how good they are; maneuvers.

So long as your not changing how maneuvers work, how many they get or can have readied, or how they refresh you should be fine to swap around the other class features for similar benefits.

[Troacctid]

Bonus feats are good, Int to whatever varies depending on the whatever. What are you replacing them with?