Base Class Design Challenge: "Face" and "Brains"

[Ashtagon]

Class build challenge.

This is actually two class build challenges, but both are lacking in functional ways to play them in D&D.

The first is essentially a "spell-less bard". How do you create a party face / entertainer / loquateur, without resorting to magic-using classes? Equally, note that this guy, while he may well be able to buff his allies, is not himself a strong combatant by any stretch of the imagination. This class should also be a viable aristocrat base, for certain aristocrat concepts.

The final class must look at feel like a "face", without resorting to anything that looks or feels like magic.

The second half of the challenge is to create a "brains" class. This guy does for Intelligence what the "face" does for Charisma. Again, he is not a front-line combatant. Role-playing concepts that are covered by this would include artisans, "heroic" merchants, scholars, certain aristocrat concepts. Basically, being well-educated is his power source.

These two concepts could be made as two separate paths on a single class, or as two distinct classes.

Note that common spell use is right out for these concepts. Incarnum also has too much of a magical feel, as does psionics.

It is conceivable that one of more Tome of Battle disciplines could be created to cover these character concepts. However, this will almost certainly require a new base class to be created in addition, as the three base classes in ToM are entirely too martial in their core structure to work for the central character concepts being built in this challenge.

Edit: Classes must aim for tier 3.

[Xaotiq1]

Noble (Dragonlance Campaign Setting) covers the "Face" role.

Master (War of the Lance), Can cover all three with the Performer, Professional, and Sage Foci. No homebrew required; though your DM may balk at WoL being 3rd party material.

[Ashtagon]

Noble (Dragonlance Campaign Setting) covers the "Face" role.

Master (War of the Lance), Can cover all three with the Performer, Professional, and Sage Foci. No homebrew required; though your DM may balk at WoL being 3rd party material.

Forgot one last part (but very important) of the challenge: Aim for tier 3.

[Rakoa]

Forgot one last part (but very important) of the challenge: Aim for tier 3.

You should probably edit that into the original post as well.

Great idea, I have to say. I always wanted to play an incredibly intelligent character that didn't need to wuss out and use spells, but given that I suck at homebrew I never made on myself. I look forward to seeing what comes out of this thread.

[Jormengand]

Forgot one last part (but very important) of the challenge: Aim for tier 3.

Uh... well-built Honour Guard Path of the Antimagus might work as a face, with his The Mouth ability bumping up all his face skills (and K(N) too), but the others probably fall way short of T3.

[sirpercival]

For the first one, how about DonQuixote's Jester?

Also, is being a martial adept allowed?

[Ashtagon]

Uh... well-built Honour Guard Path of the Antimagus might work as a face, with his The Mouth ability bumping up all his face skills (and K(N) too), but the others probably fall way short of T3.

What what of the what is where online?

Edit: Found it. Full BAB instantly disqualifies it for this challenge, quite apart from the majority of those class features being martial rather than face in nature.

For the first one, how about DonQuixote's Jester?

Had a quick look. The mechanics seem to favour someone who entertains by means of slapstick. This should be the guy who talks his way into the lair, not the guy who makes a show of slipping on a banana skin while his mates sneak in.

Also, is being a martial adept allowed?

Martial adept mechanics are allowed. However, taking this route would certainly require one (probably two or more) disciplines to cover both face and brains, and would probably also require a new base class, as the existing ToB base classes are extremely martial in nature, and don't really work for the tropes here.

[sirpercival]

Sublime Rogue could help, maybe.

[Ashtagon]

Sublime Rogue could help, maybe.

Link

Sneak attack don't fit at all. Neither does trapfinding (that'd be a better fit for brains than face tbh).

Evasion and uncanny dodge are marginal. These guys are supposed to be good for their mind and personality, not their bodies.

Honestly, I think this is going to require an entirely new class.

[Batpope Scott]

You're setting the bar pretty high here. The closest thing I can think of in D&D (ideas of homebrew notwithstanding) would be a factotum with knowledge devotion as a feat. His brains are helping him out to classify and defeat monsters as well as his inspiration points. Preeetty sure he's not tier 3 though.

EDIT: The factotum has very minor spellcasting and positive energy channeling ability, so if somebody homebrewed that away and gave it social abilities instead it might be what you're looking for.

[Ashtagon]

You're setting the bar pretty high here. The closest thing I can think of in D&D (ideas of homebrew notwithstanding) would be a factotum with knowledge devotion as a feat. His brains are helping him out to classify and defeat monsters as well as his inspiration points. Preeetty sure he's not tier 3 though.

Well, yeah, the bar is high. And I fully expect this will require some homebrewing and not just looking for existing official material. That's why I put this in the homebrew forum

[lt_murgen]

I have a great craftsman class that I shamelessly took from Fraternity of Shadows and reforged to suit my purposes. Make an excellent set of brains.

I'll have to format it out of Word and into forum-code, though.

[Frathe]

I'll have to format it out of Word and into forum-code, though.

There's an easy way to do that! Link.