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yarrowdeathbloo
2017-09-21, 04:17 PM
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zpCoRBTe9yj2p0l3B4W2v3YtnRMdTE3oWpqDLkMgl WE

So I made a class based on the aberration feats from 3.5e could you guys help me balance it?

Lalliman
2017-09-22, 07:42 AM
Cool concept, but very difficult to balance. It doesn't work like any other class, because its damage boosts come solely from Aberrant Traits, not from Extra Attack or any such thing, so there's nothing to compare it to. There's not gonna be an easy way to balance this. You'll just have to make a bunch of sample builds and calculate their damage output and defenses at various levels, to see if anything stands out as broken.

Here are a bunch of concerns that stood out to me though.

1. Getting only one martial weapon is needlessly restrictive. It's not a nerf, just a big inconvenience. A martial weapon is a martial weapon: give them all or give them none. A rogue and monk get only some of the martial weapons, but that's because their class features don't allow them to use the other ones. That logic doesn't apply here.

2. Unarmored Defense should be 10 + Dex + Con. Base 8 doesn't make sense, only saving throw DCs work that way.

3. Starspawn is level 1 flight with no significant restriction. The limited duration is too long to matter in combat. It's perhaps not very game-breaking on this class due to limited ranged abilities, but it is if taken as a one-level dip on any other class, especially a powerful ranged attacker. It's also pretty hard to justify taking Corespawn or Deepspawn unless you know the campaign is going to be largely undergound or underwater.

I would significantly postpone the actual flight ability. Maybe the first traits gives you the effect of Feather Fall + the Eagle Barbarian's during-your-turn-only flight. The second trait (3rd level) gives you flight for a few rounds at a time, and the third (7th level) gives you unlimited flight. Still powerful, but much more reasonable.

4. At the eye beam you say "you may add your intelligence modifier and proficiency bonus to your attack roll". This is misleading: it sounds like you can add your intelligence modifier in addition to your Dexterity. Call it a ranged spell attack instead. See the wording of Scorching Ray.

5. Spit is really powerful when one-level-dipped by a class with many attacks, like fighter or monk. The numbers are also weird. Why four turn duration and three turn poison? 5e doesn't use arbitrary numbers like that. It should be a convenient number (1 round or 1 minute) or based on one of your stats. Conditions that last multiple turns also usually allow a recurring save.

6. Restraining Tentacle: What if you have expertise? Do you add your proficiency bonus three times?

7. Tentacle Rush: Adding double your Strength to an attack roll shouldn't be a thing. It's awkward to balance and opposes 5e's core design. Maybe just increase the damage die, or allow two tentacle attacks per turn.

8. Mind Munch / Dementia Venom: Ability damage doesn't exist in 5e. If you want to use it, you'll need to provide house rules for how it works.

9. Gaze of Stone lets you cast three 6th level spells (Flesh to Stone) with one action. In fact, it's way better than that, because Flesh to Stone allows two saving throws, requires concentration, and has a duration of 1 minute. This allows only 1 saving throw and is indefinite. By comparison, wizards never even learn to cast Flesh to Stone more than twice per day.

yarrowdeathbloo
2017-09-22, 05:14 PM
Cool concept, but very difficult to balance. It doesn't work like any other class, because its damage boosts come solely from Aberrant Traits, not from Extra Attack or any such thing, so there's nothing to compare it to. There's not gonna be an easy way to balance this. You'll just have to make a bunch of sample builds and calculate their damage output and defenses at various levels, to see if anything stands out as broken.

Here are a bunch of concerns that stood out to me though.

1. Getting only one martial weapon is needlessly restrictive. It's not a nerf, just a big inconvenience. A martial weapon is a martial weapon: give them all or give them none. A rogue and monk get only some of the martial weapons, but that's because their class features don't allow them to use the other ones. That logic doesn't apply here.

2. Unarmored Defense should be 10 + Dex + Con. Base 8 doesn't make sense, only saving throw DCs work that way.

3. Starspawn is level 1 flight with no significant restriction. The limited duration is too long to matter in combat. It's perhaps not very game-breaking on this class due to limited ranged abilities, but it is if taken as a one-level dip on any other class, especially a powerful ranged attacker. It's also pretty hard to justify taking Corespawn or Deepspawn unless you know the campaign is going to be largely undergound or underwater.

I would significantly postpone the actual flight ability. Maybe the first traits gives you the effect of Feather Fall + the Eagle Barbarian's during-your-turn-only flight. The second trait (3rd level) gives you flight for a few rounds at a time, and the third (7th level) gives you unlimited flight. Still powerful, but much more reasonable.

4. At the eye beam you say "you may add your intelligence modifier and proficiency bonus to your attack roll". This is misleading: it sounds like you can add your intelligence modifier in addition to your Dexterity. Call it a ranged spell attack instead. See the wording of Scorching Ray.

5. Spit is really powerful when one-level-dipped by a class with many attacks, like fighter or monk. The numbers are also weird. Why four turn duration and three turn poison? 5e doesn't use arbitrary numbers like that. It should be a convenient number (1 round or 1 minute) or based on one of your stats. Conditions that last multiple turns also usually allow a recurring save.

6. Restraining Tentacle: What if you have expertise? Do you add your proficiency bonus three times?

7. Tentacle Rush: Adding double your Strength to an attack roll shouldn't be a thing. It's awkward to balance and opposes 5e's core design. Maybe just increase the damage die, or allow two tentacle attacks per turn.

8. Mind Munch / Dementia Venom: Ability damage doesn't exist in 5e. If you want to use it, you'll need to provide house rules for how it works.

9. Gaze of Stone lets you cast three 6th level spells (Flesh to Stone) with one action. In fact, it's way better than that, because Flesh to Stone allows two saving throws, requires concentration, and has a duration of 1 minute. This allows only 1 saving throw and is indefinite. By comparison, wizards never even learn to cast Flesh to Stone more than twice per day.


1. I suppose that's true so I'll just remove the martial.

2. That was a mistake will fix immediately.

3. I think that's actually a pretty good fix as well.

4 and 9. I've been thinking of reworking eye to be mostly utility for a while now so after I fix the wording on the eye beam I think I'll do that.

5. Probably gonna reduce spit's damage to be your con modifier.

6. Yes the idea is to enable grapplers.

7. That could be where I branch off for another tree maybe, 1 for grappling and one for beating the crap out of people with multiple tentacles.

8. Is it seriously not a thing? Damn guess I need to come up with something else.

Devcon1
2017-09-24, 02:27 AM
(Actually, if I may, ability damage does exist in 5e. Look at the Shadow, its attacks lower constitution)

Lalliman
2017-09-24, 02:56 AM
(Actually, if I may, ability damage does exist in 5e. Look at the Shadow, its attacks lower constitution)
It doesn't exist as a standardised mechanic, that's why the Shadow provides rules on how long it lasts and what happens when you hit 0. Yarrow can use it too, but she'll similarly have to provide that info.

yarrowdeathbloo
2017-09-29, 11:06 PM
Alright I made a few tweaks, so this should be more in line, with the classes from the phb. I added the upchuck trait tree as well.