(3.5) - Storm Trooper : Tanky Martial Class

[Wargamer]

Wargamer, I have to say, I find it hard to believe anybody would every consider +1 AC to be huge (even at low levels), DR 1/- to be a relevant 19th level ability, or an attack that's only slightly better than a vanilla charge to be overpowered. Hell, at faster movement speeds, charge has greater range, no minimum range, and the obvious feat support, so there's no real problem with it. Given your suggestions, you'd strip the class of most everything but a minor amount of fighter bonus feats, uncanny dodge, mettle, and fortification, which would honestly be weaker than a fighter.

Not all of us believe D&D is about trying to produce the most obscenely overpowered build possible, using every possible splatbook to munchkin one's build.

Compared to the Fighter, which is a CORE class, this class is vastly superior in every way. In terms of raw combat potential, I'd argue this class beats out the Ranger and Barbarian, especially if you play as Human and take the right Feats.

My suggestions were based on a very reliable rule of homebrew; nobody complains about underpowered house rules. Better to make it too weak and power it up than make it overpowered and have to compromise.

On the DR front, the Barbarian gets DR earlier, but they are a class limited in terms of available armour. The Storm Trooper is a tank; someone who is meant to be packing epic AC from the get-go. Throwing DR on top of a character who is supposedly hard to hit in the first place is less balanced; DR is inherently more valuable to a class that has other means of avoiding or negating damage.

So yes, I do not buy the notion that "Balanced" means "should be able to pump out the same DPS as a 20th level optimised Wizard." Balanced means that it should be as useful as the nearest equivalent official classes. That means the Fighter.