Starting new campaign, is this balanced?

[MichielHagen]

Hi,
i am going to start a new campaign (will take about a year before it begins, but might as well start working on it).
I have only worked out some basics and would like some opinions.

It will be E6, with maybe some classes changed (for example, Druid will be Shapeshift Druid).
28 point buy

The (five) players will start out as a commoner, who has just died. They will arrive in purgatory (is that the right name?) where they are met by an Angel or God or something. I haven't worked out details of the next part yet, so if you have ideas on it, shoot ;)
On earth there is some kind of war (or other bad thing) going on, but the gods/angels are for some reason not allowed to intervene. Due to a loophole however, they are able to send the five commoners back onto earth, reincarnated as an ancient hero.

The players will be allowed to pick something (i am thinking of items) which will give them the powers of that ancient hero. The players will be allowed to build the Ancient Hero themselves, given a bonus and maybe some restrictions.

I want at least 10 Heroes, and thus, 10 special bonuses.

1. Point-buy 38 instead of 28
2. You can gestalt with a NPC class
3. You are level 7 instead of 6 (with restrictions, you cant get to level 4 spells or maneuvers)
4. You have a legendary Sword (+4 weapon)
5. You have a legendary Shield and Armor (+4 shield/+4 Armor)
6. You can cast a level 1, 2 and 3 spell 1/day. The spell has to be from the Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric of Druid list, and you need the specific ability to cast it.
7. You can choose a LA+2 race for free
8. You get twice wealth (26k instead of 13k)
9. You get 4 bonus feats
10. ???

this is what i have so far, i have a feeling some are better than others, but i don't want to influence anyone. If you could point out which are weaker or stronger, please do. If you can also point out a fix and maybe new special bonuses, both are appreciated.

[Kobold Esq]

Out of curiosity is there a specific reason for going to level 7, if players can't get level 4 spells or maneuvers?

[Crake]

Out of curiosity is there a specific reason for going to level 7, if players can't get level 4 spells or maneuvers?

Presumably because it's e6, who's major selling point is cutting the power curve off at level 3 spells. Misread what you said, in which case it would be for an extra level's worth of class features. Either multiclass for something front loaded, or get a 7th level class feature not normally available to e6 games.

Speaking of which, the default point buy for e6 is 32 points, not 28 points.

[Jack_Simth]

The thing about balance:
It only matters between members of the same party. It's the Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFuMpYTyRjw) issue. A party full of BMX Bandits isn't a problem - the DM can scale opponent power to party power, and a good time can be had by all. A party full of Angel Summoners isn't a problem - the DM can scale opponent power to party power, and a good time can be had by all. It's when you've got both an Angel Summoner and a BMX Bandit at the same gaming table that there's a problem: If the DM throws things at the party that are a good challege for the BMX Bandit... the Angel Summoner trivializes all the encounters. If the DM throws things at the party that are a good challenge for the Angel Summoner... then the BMX Bandit gets pasted. There are ways to get around this... but they're tricky to pull off, and tend to stretch credulity pretty quickly.

So really, the answer is "Yes, as long as you and your players can adapt well and keep the party on an even keel"

[Jack_Simth]

I just want to give something extra, but i think level 4 spells would be too much.
As long as:

1) Everyone at the table gets the same boosts
2) Everyone at the table uses about the same skill in building and using characters
3) You adapt the opponents to about match the party
4) Everyone remembers the goal is to have fun

... everything will be fine.

[MichielHagen]

Out of curiosity is there a specific reason for going to level 7, if players can't get level 4 spells or maneuvers?

I think 4th level spells or maneuvers might be too much, but there is a lot of things one can do with the extra level. And besides an extra ability, there is still HP, BAB, skills.



Speaking of which, the default point buy for e6 is 32 points, not 28 points.

Good point, but would it be problematic to use 28 points? The reason i went with 28 is because then, the first bonus becomes less problematic (at point-buy 42 the extra points become less usefull).


The thing about balance:
**truth**
So really, the answer is "Yes, as long as you and your players can adapt well and keep the party on an even keel"

Altough you are obviously right, i have at least one player who would complain if those "extras" are not somewhat balanced.