The Infantryman, homebrew class

[lavitz]

hi everyone,

this is my first time posting. my friends and i are about to start a fresh campaign at lvl 1. the DM thought it would be fun for everyone to make up some classes and have us pick from them. so here is my class and i was wondering if i could get some feedback on it. mostly if anything about it seems overpowered or underpowered or just plain stupid because it can be easily achieved by another class.


Infantryman

simple and martial weapons, light and medium armor, light and heavy shields

Level	BAB		Fort		Ref		Will		Special
1st	+1		+2		+2		+0		Combat Tactics
2nd	+2		+3		+3		+0		
3rd	+3		+3		+3		+1		Combat Tactics
4th	+4		+4		+4		+1		Stabitlity
5th	+5		+4		+4		+1		Sergant
6th	+6/+1		+5		+5		+2		Combat Tactics
7th	+7/+2		+5		+5		+2		
8th	+8/+3		+6		+6		+2		
9th	+9/+4		+6		+6		+3		Combat Tactics
10th	+10/+5		+7		+7		+3		Luetenant
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7		+7		+3		Adaptive Tactics
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8		+8		+4		Combat Tactics
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8		+8		+4		
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9		+9		+4		
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9		+9		+5		Commander, Combat Tactics
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10		+10		+5		
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10		+10		+5		
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11		+11		+6		Combat Tactics
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11		+11		+6		
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12		+12		+6		General

Alignment: Any
Hit Die: 1d10

Class Skills:
Class Skills
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Tactical Training
An Infantryman is a warrior specialized in a specific combat style.
At level 1, 3 and every 3 levels thereafter, an infantryman may choose to excell further as a phalanx fighter, spearman, grunt, or archer.
An Infantryman that has taken one combat style four times recives both the combat tactics of that style 4 and 4.5.

Stability
at level 4 an infantryman gains the ability of stability.
infantryman are exceptionally stable on thier feet. an infantry man gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist
being bull rushed or tripped when standing on solid ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing
firmly on the ground). if the infantryman already has the ability of stability (i.e. a dwarf) the bonus increases to +6.

Adaptive Tactics
an infantryman who has attained 11 level is no longer bound by the restrictions of weapons.
unless specifically mentioned in the combat tactic, the infantryman can now use all his/her combat tactics with any weapon.
(i.e. turtle sting when weilding a greatsword, peircing charge with a warhammer, ect...)
NOTE: archer combat tactics still require a ranged weapon, but that may be any ranged weapon.

Sargent
an infantryman who has attained 5th level has gained enough knowledge of combat tactics to lend thier benefit to other allies.
an infantryman who has the ability of Sargent can grant one Combat Tactic to an ally within 60' who can both see and hear him for one round.

Leutenant
an infantryman who has attained 10th level has gained enough knowledge of combat tactics to lend thier benefit to other allies.
an infantryman who has the ability of Leutenant can grant two Combat Tactics to an ally within 60' who can both see and hear him for one round.
These Combat Tactics can be the same tactic to different targets or two different Combat Tactics to the same target.
The Infantryman is unable to grant the same Combat Tactic to the same target twice.

Commander
an infantryman who has attained 15th level has gained enough knowledge of combat tactics to lend thier benefit to other allies.
an infantryman who has the ability of Commander can grant three Combat Tactics to an ally within 60' who can both see and hear him for one round.
These Combat Tactics can be given to up any combination of three allies. The infantryman can grant the same ally multiple Combat Tactics.
The Infantryman is unable to grant the same Combat Tactic to the same target twice.

General
an infantryman who has attained 20th level has gained enough knowledge of combat tactics to lend thier benefit to other allies.
an infantryman who has the ability of General can grant four Combat Tactics to an ally within 60' who can both see and hear him for one round.
These Combat Tactics can be given to up any combination of four allies. The infantryman can grant the same ally multiple Combat Tactics.
The Infantryman is unable to grant the same Combat Tactic to the same target twice.

Combat Tactics

Phalanx fighter
A Phalanx fighter exells in the use of a shield.
all phalanx fighter abilities can only be used when weilding a shield and a longsword, battleaxe, or warhammer until the infantryman has obtained Adaptive tactics.
1. a Phalanx fighter gains the bonus feats Shield Profiency (Tower Shields) and Armor Proficiency (Heavy).
2. hold the line
(if a phalanx fighter does not move during his/her turn, he/she recieves a +2 misc bonus to ac
this ability will stack each round up to the infantryman's level. min of +2)
3.brothers in arms
(a phalanx fighter can now add his shield bonus to all adjacent allies. this ability can only stack with other phalanx fighters twice.)
4. turtle sting
(When fighting defensively a phalanx fighter may make one attack without the fighting defensive penalty.)
4.5.turn the tide
(when a phalanx fighter hits an enemy while fighting defensivly, he will retain his fighting defensive bonus through the next round.)


Spearman
a spearman is a soldier specialized in the use of polearms.
all spearman abilities can only be used when weilding a spear, longspear, or halberd until the infantryman has obtained Adaptive tactics.
1.peircing charge.
(when making a charge attack a spearman can double the weapon damage)
2. versitile striker
(a spearman may inflict Piercing, slashing, or blunt damage. Also, a spearman may make trip attempts with a weapon.)
3. onlsaught of blows.
(when making a full attack, the spearman gains an additional attack at his full BAB.)
4. longstrike
(the spearman now gains the ability of reach when using a two handed weapon but still threatens adjacent squares.)
4.5.to be determined any ideas would be great



Grunt
a grunt is the brute force on the battlefield.
all grunt abilities can only be used when weilding a greatsword, greataxe, or greathammer until the infantryman has obtained Adaptive tactics.
1. overpower
(the grunt recieves a +4 bonus on all trip and bullrush attempts made.)
2. forceful critical
(when the grunt score's a critical hit, he may attempt a free trip or bullrush attempt on the enemy.)
3. unrelenting charge
(the grunt may make turns and hurdle low obsticals when charging.)
4. hardened critical
(the crit multiplyer of the grunt's weapon is increased by 1. e.g. a greatsword becomes X3, or a greataxe becomes x4.)
4.5.keen critical
(the crit range of the grunt's weapon is increased by 1. e.g. a greatsword becomes 18-20, or a greataxe becomes 19-20.)



archer
the archer is able engage the entire enemy force single handedly.
all archer abilities can only be used when weilding a shortbow or longbow.
1. fire the first shot.
(the archer recieves a +1 to inititive for every 2 levels of infantryman. min +1)
2. insight barrage.
(the archer gives all adjacent allies a +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons this includes the archer.)
3. steady aim.
(the archer may sacrifice any amount of attacks in a full attack to recieve an additional +5 to attack and damage rolls and +1 to threat range for that round.)
4. penetrating shots
(the archer's shots will penetrate through enemies up to 1/2 of the range of the current weapon used.
the penetrating attacks use the same attack and damage rolls as the main target.)
4.5.rain of splinters
(the archer may halve thier damage on one enemy, to hit all enemies adjacent to thier target for one quarter damage.
this choice must be made before the attack is rolled.
only one attack and damage roll is made, but is applied seperately to all enemies.)




long post :). but hey if you read this far thanks and i look forward to any input you might have.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

http://pifro.com/dnd/NEW/

Use that to make a nice, readable chart. Set "Format" to "GITP."

[Razanir]

1) Martial weapons not marshal weapons
2) You still need to choose which skills are class skills

[Grod_The_Giant]

First off, welcome to the playground!

Infantryman
str, con, dex
d10
skills - 2+int

light and med armor, light and heavy shields, simple and marshal weapons

What's the skill list? Also, 2+Int skill points/level isn't really enough. Maybe bump this up to 4?

table

Let me pretty that up for you:

Spoiler

Show

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special
1|1|2|2|0|Tactical Training
2|2|3|3|0|
3|3|3|3|1|Tactical Training
4|4|4|4|1|Stability
5|5|4|4|1|Sergeant
6|6/1|5|5|2|Tactical Training
7|7/2|5|5|2|
8|8/3|6|6|2|
9|9/4|6|6|3|Tactical Training
10|10/5|7|7|3|Lieutenant
11|11/6/1|7|7|3|Adaptive Tactics
12|12/7/2|8|8|4|Tactical Training
13|13/8/3|8|8|4|
14|14/9/4|9|9|4|
15|15/10/5|9|9|5|Tactical Training, Commander
16|16/11/6/1|10|10|5|
17|17/12/7/2|10|10|5|
18|18/13/8/3|11|11|6|Tactical Training
19|19/14/9/4|11|11|6|
20|20/15/10/5|12|12|6|General[/table]

(Quote my post here to get the formatting)

Tactical Training
An Infantryman is a warrior specialized in a specific combat style.
At level 1, 3 and every 3 levels thereafter, an infantryman may choose to excell further as a phalanx fighter, spearman, grunt, or archer.
An Infantryman that has taken one combat style four times recives both the combat tactics of that style 4 and 4.5.

Nice. Customization is always a plus.

Stability
at level 4 an infantryman gains the ability of stability.
infantryman are exceptionally stable on thier feet. an infantry man gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist
being bull rushed or tripped when standing on solid ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing
firmly on the ground). if the infantryman already has the ability of stability (i.e. a dwarf) the bonus increases to +6.

Eh... useful, I guess? You might expand it into a (scaling) bonus to resist any combat maneuver. That'd be nice.

Adaptive Tactics
an infantryman who has attained 11 level is no longer bound by the restrictions of weapons.
unless specifically mentioned in the combat tactic, the infantryman can now use all his/her combat tactics with any weapon.
(i.e. turtle sting when weilding a greatsword, peircing charge with a warhammer, ect...)
NOTE: archer combat tactics still require a ranged weapon, but that may be any ranged weapon.

Useful.

Sargent
an infantryman who has attained 5th level has gained enough knowledge of combat tactics to lend thier benefit to other allies.
an infantryman who has the ability of Sargent can grant one Combat Tactic to an ally within 60' who can both see and hear him for one round.

What kind of action does this take to initiate it, and how long does the granted ability last? Otherwise, very nice. I like it.

Leutenant/Commander/General

Upgrades, aye.

Combat Tactics

Phalanx fighter
A Phalanx fighter exells in the use of a shield.
all phalanx fighter abilities can only be used when weilding a shield and a longsword, battleaxe, or warhammer until the infantryman has obtained Adaptive tactics.

OK.

1. a Phalanx fighter gains the bonus feats Shield Profiency (Tower Shields) and Armor Proficiency (Heavy).

Meh, solid.

2. hold the line
(if a phalanx fighter does not move during his/her turn, he/she recieves a +2 misc bonus to ac
this ability will stack each round up to the infantryman's level. min of +2)

Interesting. It certainly fits the theme, but I don't know how useful it is without an ability to bring targets to you.

3. brothers in arms
(a phalanx fighter can now add his shield bonus to all adjacent allies. this ability can only stack with other phalanx fighters twice.)

Does this granted bonus stack with any shield bonuses the adjacent ally might have had? Otherwise, quite nice.

4. turtle sting
(When fighting defensively a phalanx fighter may make one attack without the fighting defensive penalty.)

I actually had to go look up what fighting defensively does, and quite frankly, even with this bonus, it's not enough. (It's only a +2 AC bonus.) To replace this, how 'bout the ability to substitute an attack roll of some sort (d20 + BAB + strength + shield bonus) for your AC?

4.5.turn the tide
(when a phalanx fighter hits an enemy while fighting defensivly, he will retain his fighting defensive bonus through the next round.)

See above. Also, why not 5?

Spearman
a spearman is a soldier specialized in the use of polearms.
all spearman abilities can only be used when weilding a spear, longspear, or halberd until the infantryman has obtained Adaptive tactics.

What about glaives, guisarms, and all that stuff?

1. peircing charge.
(when making a charge attack a spearman can double the weapon damage)

Eek. Significantly too good. Unless you just mean the weapon damage die, in which case it's OK. Also, polearms and charges don't... really go together?

2. versitile striker
(a spearman may inflict Piercing, slashing, or blunt damage. Also, a spearman may make trip attempts with a weapon.)

Eh. The first part rarely matters, and a would-be tripper will just use a halberd or spiked chain or something already.

3. onlsaught of blows.
(when making a full attack, the spearman gains an additional attack at his full BAB.)

A nice bonus.

4. longstrike
(the spearman now gains the ability of reach when using a two handed weapon but still threatens adjacent squares.)

Useful, but probably could have been granted many levels ago.

Grunt
a grunt is the brute force on the battlefield.
all grunt abilities can only be used when weilding a greatsword, greataxe, or greathammer until the infantryman has obtained Adaptive tactics.

OK.

1. overpower
(the grunt recieves a +4 bonus on all trip and bullrush attempts made.)

Useful, I guess, but it would be nice if it scaled with level.

2. forceful critical
(when the grunt score's a critical hit, he may attempt a free trip or bullrush attempt on the enemy.)

Useful... though a free bull rush on any hit would be nicer. And none of the weapons mentioned can be used to trip.

3. unrelenting charge
(the grunt may make turns and hurdle low obsticals when charging.)

How much of a turn? How low an obstacle?

4. hardened critical
(the crit multiplyer of the grunt's weapon is increased by 1. e.g. a greatsword becomes X3, or a greataxe becomes x4.)

Eesh. Nice.

4.5.keen critical
(the crit range of the grunt's weapon is increased by 1. e.g. a greatsword becomes 18-20, or a greataxe becomes 19-20.)

So... Improved Critical? Useful if it stacks, I suppose, but a bit underwhelming. I dunno.

archer
the archer is able engage the entire enemy force single handedly.
all archer abilities can only be used when weilding a shortbow or longbow.

No crossbows?

1. fire the first shot.
(the archer recieves a +1 to inititive for every 2 levels of infantryman. min +1)

Nice.

2. insight barrage.
(the archer gives all adjacent allies a +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons this includes the archer.)

This is pretty weak, and, probably, not relevant in most any situation. Instead, I suggest a form of ranged power attack.

3. steady aim.
(the archer may sacrifice any amount of attacks in a full attack to recieve an additional +5 to attack and damage rolls and +1 to threat range for that round.)

Cool.

4. penetrating shots
(the archer's shots will penetrate through enemies up to 1/2 of the range of the current weapon used.
the penetrating attacks use the same attack and damage rolls as the main target.)

A very cool idea, but it needs clarification. What does it mean if the show penetrates through enemies? Line area damage?

4.5.rain of splinters
(the archer may halve thier damage on one enemy, to hit all enemies adjacent to thier target for one quarter damage.
this choice must be made before the attack is rolled.
only one attack and damage roll is made, but is applied seperately to all enemies.)

Nifty... but pretty underwhelming at the level it's being granted.



Overall, it's a pretty decent class, and an excellent first-time effort. It's good through middle levels, but lags behind towards the top end of things. (apart from that one hideous double-charge-damage ability). Beyond my comments above... maybe grant some fighter bonus feats? A second, partial fighting style? Try to fill up some of those dead levels.

(Edit: Also... I suggest bolding ability names and such, and running things through a spell check. Presentation does count for something, as the first two comments would evidence)

[lavitz]

wow thanks for the detailed feedback.

Quote:
Sargent
an infantryman who has attained 5th level has gained enough knowledge of combat tactics to lend their benefit to other allies.
an infantryman who has the ability of Sargent can grant one Combat Tactic to an ally within 60' who can both see and hear him for one round.
What kind of action does this take to initiate it, and how long does the granted ability last? Otherwise, very nice. I like it.

the thought was for it to be initiated on a swift action and for it to last 1 round. thanks for the catch there.

Quote:
3. brothers in arms
(a phalanx fighter can now add his shield bonus to all adjacent allies. this ability can only stack with other phalanx fighters twice.)
Does this granted bonus stack with any shield bonuses the adjacent ally might have had? Otherwise, quite nice.

yes

Quote:
1. piercing charge.
(when making a charge attack a spearman can double the weapon damage)
Eek. Significantly too good. Unless you just mean the weapon damage die, in which case it's OK. Also, polearms and charges don't... really go together?

yes i tried to imply only the weapon damage. and as far as the charges i was thinking of trying to duplicate the readied effect they have against charges into their own charge.

Quote:
2. insight barrage.
(the archer gives all adjacent allies a +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons this includes the archer.)
This is pretty weak, and, probably, not relevant in most any situation. Instead, I suggest a form of ranged power attack.

i didn't want this one to get out of control once you start giving to the adjacent allies and stacking it all together.

Quote:
4. penetrating shots
(the archer's shots will penetrate through enemies up to 1/2 of the range of the current weapon used.
the penetrating attacks use the same attack and damage rolls as the main target.)
A very cool idea, but it needs clarification. What does it mean if the show penetrates through enemies? Line area damage?

correct line area damage


thanks again for the details and advice

[Grod_The_Giant]

i didn't want this one to get out of control once you start giving to the adjacent allies and stacking it all together.

It could be nasty in a group of NPCs, but as far as PCs go? You probably won't have more than one useful target for this ability to begin with. And you're almost certainly not going to get the maximum potential +8/+8 from it, outside of Leadership shenanigans.