Base Class Challenge XVI Voting Thread

[Temotei]

Welcome to the voting thread for Base Class Challenge XVI, Doing What We Must Because We Can! Voting will consist of each voter giving a first, second, and third place vote for three separate base classes. Anyone can vote.

A first place vote is worth three points, a second place vote is worth two points, and a third place vote is worth one point. You may not vote for your own class.

You are encouraged to include reason with your votes, though this is not absolutely required.

The class that ends up with the most points wins the challenge contest. Voting starts now and will continue until 23:59 (Central Standard Time USA/Canada) on March 31st.

1st Place: Astronomer, by sirpercival.
2nd Place: Arcane engineer, by malonkey1.
3rd Place: Deiologist, by Quellian-dyrae.

{table=head]Base Class|Author|1st|2nd|3rd|Total Points
Astronomer (Phenomena)|sirpercival|7|3|1|28
Deiologist|Quellian-dyrae|3|5|2|21
Arcane Engineer (Gadgets)|malonkey1|4|4|2|22
Genophage Adept (New Spells and Feats)|sengmeng|0|2|3|7
Saint of Zarus|Ra_Va|0|0|6|6[/table]

Unfortunately, the visitor, aperturer, savant, alchemist, weaver of life, and test subject are ineligible for voting.

[Quellian-dyrae]

1st: Arcane Engineer.
2nd: Astronomer.
3rd: Genophage Adept.

[Scholar23]

1st: Astronomer.
2nd: Arcane Engineer.
3rd: Genophage Adept.

[Temotei]

Votes tallied.

[Tanuki Tales]

1st Place: Astronomer.
2nd Place: Arcane Engineer.
3rd Place: Saint of Zarus.

[Temotei]

Votes tallied.

[malonkey1]

1. Deiologist
Adaptable, with interesting flavor. Feels a little like a Warlock.
2. Astronomer
An interesting concept with decent excecution.
3. Saint of Zarus
An interesting idea, but it feels like a Gestalt of variant Ranger/Rogue.

[sirpercival]

1. Deiologist by Quellian-dyrae. I really like the flavor here, and the mechanics seem well-designed, though I have no idea how the spellcasting mechanic will work in practice.

2. Arcane Engineer by malonkey1. Very nice approach, and the list of gadgets is impressive. I think the class features could be edited a little for clarity, and most of the gadget descriptions are missing EP costs (cross-referencing is kind of annoying).

3. Saint of Zarus by Ra_Va. Very interesting, but I think the connection to the theme is a little weaker than some of the other entries, and the CFs need some cleaning up.

[Ra_Va]

1. Deiologist: Well thought out and the spellcasting system is interesting, though its work in practice might be a little iffy but props to something I haven't seen before.

2. Astronomer: Love the concept and the way its implemented to your class.

3. Arcane Engineer: Certain things could use some clarification but I could easily see myself playing this class.

[Temotei]

Votes tallied.

[Xhosant]

1. Arcane Engineer: Great room for creativity, if maybe a pain to GM (wizards, hur-dur). Solid concept.

2. Deiologist: Smart twist in the typical science vs. religion concept, especially since religion is scientific fact in most D&D settings.

3. Astronomer: A bit stretchy on suspension of disbelief, since, for some reason, his presence is inexplicably followed by an extreme increase in the appearance of dangerous and not exactly subtle phenomena which he allegedly only observes. Less stretchy than the last 2 entries though.

Mostly graded on fluff and concept, but i think that's my overall rating either way.

[FireInTheSky]

1st: Astronomer, by sirpercival
2nd: Deiologist, by Quellian-dyrae
3rd: Saint of Zarus, by Ra_Va

[MetroMagic]

In reverse order:
3rd - Deiologist. Very entertaining idea and interesting mechanics, especially opening up higher level spells. I feel like I know real people like this.
2nd - Genophage Adept. The hilarity in the writeup kept it from being too creepy, and the mechanics seem like they actually could be playable. It gets the entertainment vote.
Drumroll....1st - Astronomer. Very entertaining too, a high degree of hilarity in the names, great mechanics, and I want to play one. That gets a vote automatically! The idea of creating phenomena by observing them... quantum physics *IS* RL magic. If you don't already think that's true, here's just one example: read about Josephson junctions, found in electronic devices. Great!
Honorable Mention: Arcane Engineer. Good execution but not as entertaining as the other three.
Too creepy to vote for: Saint of Zarus. Sorry. It may be consistent with its own milieu, but I wouldn't want to roleplay in it.

[Temotei]

Votes tallied.

[Octopusapult]

In reverse order (for fun)

And the reason why is in the spoilers. (In case you do or don't care.)

3. The Genophage Adept

Spoiler

Show

I like the idea of a class who devours in a pursuit to gain knowledge. And the idea that they have somehow found a way to simply acquire knowledge by way of ingestion. The only thing that keeps this class from going higher in my vote is that I feel like more could have been done with a mad scientist / cannibal theme than one class feature and spellcasting abilities. The new feats and spells aside.

2. Arcane Engineer

Spoiler

Show

I actually really like the premise of the Arcane Engineer. The use of gadgets to assist in adventuring is almost like a D&D Batman or Ironman. And the sheer amount of gadgets adds enough diversity in creation and planning that you can play it a few times over and have a different take each time. I really like the Arcane Engineer, and it was so close to my number 1 spot, except that I had the feeling it's just been done before by the Artificer. And while it is a welcome re-imagining of the class (if that is the direction that was intended) it is still just that.

1. Astronomer

Spoiler

Show

The Astronomer is the best example of a unique and creative class that I've seen in this competition, and with an amazing take on the scientific understanding of a medieval age. Unique and interesting class abilities almost every level, Astrolabe and Phenomena abilities (for extra diversity) and nothing really struck me as superfluous. All of it fits in well together and I really have almost nothing negative to say regarding it. The only possible con I can come up with is that it's really a class for veteran players. If this were introduced to a book and shown to inexperienced players, they'd be easily overwhelmed. But I say, that's not a bad problem to have.

The Astronomer striking me as an original and well developed take, with amazingly detailed abilities, options, and fitting the theme so well, really easily stole 1st place for me.

I hope I wasn't too harsh in my criticism. And if I was that you'll forgive me. XD

[Temotei]

Votes tallied.

[Pesimismrocks]

1.Astronomer

2.Geniphage adept

3.Deiologist

[Morph Bark]

1. Arcane Engineer. This is simply very, very well-made. As said before though, a little wording clear-up here and there would make it even better.

2. Deiologist. Is... is this deism-based? Nuts, man, that's great. I love how you put a philosophical spin on it.

3. Saint of Zarus. Very nice, and I love how you actually used Zarus for something.


I actually had like a double-tie for first and second, both in a theme/mechanics split. It's a shame more than half the entries were unfinished, as that would have made my choices probably even more challenging!

[Temotei]

Votes tallied.

[Bozwevial]

whoops how did i miss the thread

1st: sirpercival's Astronomer. Genuinely fun stuff, and I'm not surprised. This is your home turf, after all. Science at its most pure - starts with staring at stuff, ends with explosions.
2nd: Quellian-dyrae's Deiologist. You have no idea how nice it is to see this kind of a take on science-meets-gods.
3rd: malonkey1's Arcane Engineer. I am a sucker for gadget-based classes. Conceptually, it's not too far from one of my original ideas for this competition (mechanically it's quite different), but since that one never saw the light of day, you've cornered the market on that angle.

[Temotei]

Votes tallied. Also, point totals rechecked and fixed. Sorry, Q. I must have forgotten to change your total after giving you a third-place vote. The deiologist is tied with the arcane engineer for second.

Thanks, good Sir P.

[Temotei]

Only one day left, everyone. Anyone can vote, remember.

[Silva Stormrage]

1st: Arcane Engineer
2nd: Deiologist
3rd: Saint of Zarus

[Morph Bark]

Only one day left, everyone. Anyone can vote, remember.

I don't think a lot of votes will still be coming in though, especially considering it's Easter today (and tomorrow as well, at least where I live).

[Temotei]

Votes tallied and winners declared.

Congratulations everyone; you all made great classes.