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Messages - Maat Mons

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1
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 3 Melee Warlocks
« on: May 20, 2018, 03:21:33 AM »
New versions of all 5 3 classes are up! 

Please give Infiltrator, Sawbones, and Stalwart a look, and tell me what you think.  Especially Sawbones, because I really need to brainstorm some more class features for that one. 

I'm trying to set Sawbones up to be able to handle the most common healy-type stuff.  But I'm also trying not to make the class too much about that.  How have I done?  Bear in mind, I'm not planning on creating any healy invocations.  I want the class to just incidentally gain basic healing competence, and then use the invocations for fun stuff. 

2
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Fallen Water Goddess
« on: May 20, 2018, 12:06:46 AM »
If you want her to gain magical abilities related to water as she levels up, one option is a spellcaster that chooses water-related spells.  Amorphous form (Spell Compendium, p. 9) and gaseous form might suit your needs. 

I have to say, I'd just go with aventi (Stormwrack, p. 34) over half-water elemental.  Aventi get water breathing and a swim speed at 1st level.  Half-water elemental doesn't give that until 3rd level. 

3
I'd like to point out that you can have levels without having classes

One of the things that always bugged me about class-based systems is that they sometimes make catching up impossible. 

What do I mean by "catching up?"  Skills are an example of a mechanic that does allow catching up.  You could go the first 10 levels not putting a single point into a skill.  Later, if you change your priorities, you can start putting two points in each level.  You'll eventually wind up with the same number of skill ranks you would have had if you'd been maxing it out all along.  You've caught up. 

Base attack bonus does not allow catching up.  If you ever fall 1 point behind, you'll remain 1 point behind.  Casting is another thing that mostly doesn't allow catching up.  If you get one caster level behind, you will forever after be one caster level behind.  Ur Priest and Sublime Chord are two very rare exceptions. 

4
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: May 14, 2018, 02:53:04 AM »
Okay, so here's the first draft of another class. 

Sawbones

Hit Die: d8
LevelAttackFortRefWillSpecialInvocation LevelInvocations Known
10202favored weapon (+1 attack)Least1
21303immunity to diseaseLeast2
32313touch of healingLeast2
43414Least3
53414favored weapon (+2 attack)Least3
64525lesser restorationLesser4
75525Lesser4
86626panacea (but no healing)Lesser5
96636favored weapon (+3 attack)Lesser5
107737favored weapon (double threat range)Lesser6
118737Greater7
129848break enchantmentGreater7
139848favored weapon (+4 attack)Greater8
1410949restorationGreater8
1511959Greater9
161210510healing touch regenerates limbsDark10
171210510favored weapon (+5 attack)Dark10
181311611greater restorationDark11
191411611Dark11
201512612favored weapon (triple threat range)Dark12

Class Skills (4 + int per level x4 at 1st level): Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), Listen, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Swim

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
all simple weapons
one martial weapon (player's choice)
medium armor
shields (except tower shields)

Invocations
ignore spell failure for medium armor and shields (except tower shields)

Favored Weapon:
choose any type of weapon you are proficient with
it is now your "favored weapon"
doesn't have to be deity's favored weapon, but certainly can be
scaling bonus on attacks with that type of weapon
10th: double threat range with that type of weapon (doesn't stack with keen/imp crit)
20th: threat range with that type of weapon is tripled
counts as weapon focus for prerequisites
at 10th, also counts as improved critical for prerequisites

Immunity to Disease

Touch of Healing:
heal 2d8 damage (up to half max HP)
usable at will
+1d8 healing every odd-numbered level

Restoration
6th: lesser restoration at will
14th: restoration at will (no cost)
18th: greater restoration at will (still no cost)

Panacea
cast panacea at will, except it doesn't heal damage

Break Enchantment
cast break enchantment at will
[this can fix stone to flesh, right?]

Regenerate
at 16th level, touch of healing also restores limbs etc
works like regeneration spell (except the healing part)
still heals 1d8/2 levels (rounded up), to a maximum of half HP

5
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Sniper [3.5 Base Class]
« on: April 16, 2018, 03:27:07 AM »
The examples imply you use the d10 instead but the phasing of the ability says you add both.

I meant for the d10s to be in addition to the d6s.  Sorry if I worded that wrong.  Actually, I was copying the wording of Flaming Burst.  Does that weapon quality not give both the +1d6 and the +d10 on a critical hit? 

And here I was only worrying I'd screw up the interaction with that feat that converts sneak attack dice to d8s. 



Also imagine Karoti Resin turning 10d6 SA into 30d10 (165 avg) on something like a Keen Scimitar which has a 30% chance to Crit.

Kaorti resin has no market price, so I'm not sure how to reliably get a weapon made of it. 



Snag some levels in Disciple of Dispater to really pump your Crit chance

Disciple of Dispater only boosts the crit chance of weapons made of iron or steel. 



and a level of Rogue to bypass SA immunity

I may have worded it incorrectly, but I meant it to work such that the halving of your dice pool from Penetrating Strike would carry over to this feat as well.  So, for example, if you have sneak attack +10d6, and Penetrating Strike is cutting that down to +5d6, the feat would only add +5d10 (for a weapon with a x2 multiplier), not +10d10. 

Also, I endeavored to word the feat such that, in order to get the extra damage, you not only needed the capacity to deal sneak attack damage, but also the capacity to deal extra damage with a critical hit.  Penetrating Strikes only takes care of half of that. 

6
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Sniper [3.5 Base Class]
« on: April 12, 2018, 05:32:26 PM »
Okay, I'm rehashing a 3-year-old argument here, but the rule is that bonus damage expressed as dice is not multiplied on a critical hit, but other bonus damage is.  Whether or not it's precision damage has nothing to do with it. 

I don't really object to making an exception.  But it should probably say "Unlike other bonus dice of damage above and beyond a weapon's base damage, the extra damage from this ability is multiplied on a critical hit." 

You can keep the bit about it not being revision damage if you like.  People would tend to assume it is, and there are lots of restrictions on precision damage. 

If you want create an ability that also allows sneak attacks and such to be multiplied on a critical hit, you could model it after the "burst" weapon abilities. 

Critical Precision

Prerequisite: Sneak attack, sudden strike, or skirmish class feature. 

Benefit: When you score a critical hit when using sneak attack, sudden strike, or skirmish, you deal even more damage.  For each extra +1d6 damage the ability normally adds, you add an additional +1d10 on a critical hit.  If the weapon's critical multiplier is x3, the extra damage is instead +2d10 per +1d6 the ability normally adds.  If the weapon's critical multiplier is x4, the extra damage is instead +3d10 per +1d6 the ability normally adds.  (And so on, for higher critical multipliers.) 

Normal: The extra damage from sneak attack, sudden strike, and skirmish is not improved on a critical hit. 

Special: This extra damage does not apply to any creature that is immune to the base ability (sneak attack, sudden strike, or skirmish), unless you have some means of bypassing that immunity.  Likewise, creatures immune to extra damage from critical hits do not take this extra damage either, unless you have some means of bypassing their immunity to critical hits. 

7
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: The Buccaneer (3.5 Base Class)
« on: March 09, 2018, 04:10:19 PM »
Bonus Feats: At 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels the buccaneer gains a bonus feat from the following list: Alertness, Combat Expertise (Improved Disarm, Improved Feint, Improved Trip), Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows (Snatch Arrows), Dodge (Mobility), Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot (Far Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot), Power Attack (Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Sunder), Quick Draw, Toughness, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus. The buccaneer must meet all prerequisites for the chosen feat.

I'm not too big a fan of generic bonus feats.  Maybe you could give bonus feats that relate in some fashion to what the class does?  Stormwrack had a feat that negates the double movement penalty for walking on a slippery deck, a feat that lets you swim faster (without a swim speed), and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. 



Seamanship (Ex): At 1st level, the buccaneer gains a +1 competence bonus to Balance, Climb, and Profession (Sailor) checks. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th, +3 at 9th, +4 at 13th, and +5 at 17th level.

A small, scaling bonus doesn't seem very interesting.  It might also be nice to let people choose which skills they'd like to focus of.  You could give the ability to take 10 on certain skill checks even in combat.  You could negate the -5 penalty to balance for moving at your full speed.  allowing people to climb and swim faster could also be useful. 



Buccaneer Bravery (Ex): At 1st level, a buccaneer gains a +1 competence bonus to his Armor Class. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level, and +5 at 20th level. However, this bonus can never be greater than the buccaneer's Charisma modifier.

I'd just give a bonus to AC equal to charisma, and limit it to light armor/no armor.  I don't think there ought to be a cap based on class level, let alone one that's so low.  Also, I question the choice of charisma over intelligence. 



Dirty Fighting (Ex): At 2nd level, the buccaneer may use a standard action to make a single weapon attack that does an extra +1d4. This extra damage increases to +2d4 at 6th, +3d4 at 10th, +4d4 at 14th, and +5d4 at 18th. This ability counts as sneak attack for purposes of qualification for feats, prestige classes, and other abilities that require sneak attack.

I've never even remotely been a fan of the dirty fighting ability.  Why not a slow-ish sneak attack progression?  Or something more interesting.  You could give bonuses that apply when your foe is in difficult terrain or balancing, as would be the case on a ship deck. 



Horseplay (Su): A 9th-level buccaneer with 12 or more ranks in Perform (comedy) can caper and dance to distract his opponents in battle. The buccaneer's outrageous actions distract his foe, leaving it unable to effectively defend itself. The buccaneer can choose a single target within 30 feet to whom he has line of sight. The target must be able to see and hear the buccaneer, and gets a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 buccaneer level + buccaneer's Cha modifier). If the target fails this save, it loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to its Armor Class. The target gains a new save each round the buccaneer maintains horseplay (a swift action). If the target makes a successful Will save the effect ends and the target becomes immune to that buccaneer’s horseplay for 24 hours. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the buccaneer's Charisma modifier.

Using a swift action to potentially remove an opponent's dexterity bonus to AC for one round is fairly reasonable.  Actually, several people have done feint-related abilities that culminate at this same thing.  It seems unnecessary to have limited uses per day.  And it seems downright punitive that one failed attempt at using this ability makes that enemy immune for the rest of the day. 



Mocking Shout (Su): A 12th-level buccaneer with 15 or more ranks in Perform (comedy) can mock his opponents with such vicious, cutting humor that they lose confidence in their fighting ability. Every opponent within 60 feet of the buccaneer who can hear and understand him must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 buccaneer level + buccaneer's Cha modifier). Creatures that fail this save suffer a -2 luck penalty on attack rolls, skill and ability checks, and saving throws for as long as the buccaneer continues to perform (as a move action), up to a maximum number of rounds equal to the buccaneer's class level. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the buccaneer's Charisma modifier.

You know, +/-2 in an area seems more on par with a martial or dragon shaman's aura than a 12th-level, "must fail a will save" kind of thing. 



Sailor Talk (Su): A 15th-level buccaneer with 18 or more ranks in Perform (comedy) can create a running series of jokes, observations, and insults that breaks a single target's ability to concentrate. When the buccaneer uses this ability, his target must make a Concentration check opposed by the buccaneer's Perform (comedy) check to cast a spell, use a supernatural ability, or otherwise perform an act that would require a Concentration check to complete if the target suffered damage while attempting it. The buccaneer can use this ability against a given target once per encounter. This is a mind-affecting, language- dependent effect. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the buccaneer's Charisma modifier.

What action is it to use this ability?  How long do the effects last?  You could probably just give an ability that continuously impairs the concentration of nearby enemies. 



Wit of the Damned (Su): An 18th-level buccaneer with 21 or more ranks in Perform (comedy) can leave his target a dispirited, demoralized shell with a few choice, cutting remarks. The target can make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 buccaneer level + buccaneer's Cha modifier). If the save fails, the target suffers a morale penalty equal to the buccaneer's Charisma bonus on attack rolls and saving throws. This penalty lasts for as long as the buccaneer performs (a move action), for a maximum number of rounds equal to half the buccaneer's class level. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent effect. The target must be able to see and clearly hear the buccaneer. This ability is useable as a swift action. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the buccaneer's Charisma modifier.

If I'm taking a move action each round to maintain this effect, I'm hindering myself pretty severely in exchange for hindering one opponent.  You know, spellcasters, by this point, can take an enemy out of combat entirely if he fails a saving throw.  And the spellcaster is then free to deal with other enemies.  This ability ties the user up for the remainder of combat to deal with one enemy, and it doesn't even get rid of that enemy. 

If all you're going to do is assign some numerical penalties to enemies, why not just make some sort of aura ability?  Apply a penalty to all enemies within a given range, with no action required. 

8
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Digiarmor because...yeah
« on: February 02, 2018, 08:36:00 PM »
Well, I think you're really doubling up on some concepts.  Courage/hope, friendship/love/kindness, and knowledge/light all seem ripe for consolidation. 



Courage: Immunity to fear for yourself.  Later, immunity to fear for your allies.  Charging always struck me as kind of valiant, so you could give bonuses to that. 

Friendship: Bonuses that scale with the number of allies within a certain distance?  Flanking stuff? 

Knowledge: The ability to make knowledge checks of any difficulty untrained would be good.  Bonuses on knowledge checks too.  Scrying, of course.  Maybe bonuses to personal attack/defense, like the precognition effects. 

Reliability: Taking 10 on rolls, I guess?  You could also give bonuses that apply whenever failing would cause you to violate a promise.  Or when the well being of others is on the line.  I could maybe even see effects that force enemies to attack you instead of allies. 

Love: Love seems like the best place for healing.  Also, a good place for effects that protect others. 

Sincerity: Sense motive and spells that compel truth are the only things that come to mind. 

Hope: I'd probably go with granting allies morale bonuses on various things.  Bard, martial, and dragon shaman, would all be places to look for inspiration.  Second chances also seem pretty hope-ish, so I'd probably save the reroll-granting stuff for this. 

Light: There's anything with the light descriptor, of course.  Also, anything anti-darkness stuff.  (But that probably all has the light descriptor anyway.)  Dispelling invisibility and penetrating illusions would be another good addition.  There's also anti-undead stuff. 

Kindness: Diplomacy, nonlethal damage, and otherwise ending conflicts without doing lasting harm seem to fit.  Spells that compel creatures to not attack would also be good.  I think Book of Exalted Deeds might have had some stuff that lets you forcibly change an enemy’s alignment change to good? 



Off the top of my head, here are some things that would be good themes: mercy, protection, truth, valor. 

If you want to go classical, you could take the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, courage), plus the three theological virtues (faith. hope, charity).  Alternately, there are the seven heavenly virtues (chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, humility).  But those always struck me as having a lot of overlap.  (Chastity/temperance, charity/kindness, diligence/patience.) 

Of course, you could always construct you own list of seven virtues from a combination of the ideas on both of those other lists of seven.  I kind of like: Wisdom, Compassion, Justice, Courage, Purity, Diligence, and Humility. 

9
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: January 16, 2018, 06:26:15 PM »
Okay, I'm working on a new version of Bastion, but I've got a couple of that worry me about the current draft.  First, am I pushing the spear and shield angle too hard?  Second, does giving bastion mind-affecting immunity steel the thunder of untamed? 

LevelAttackFortRefWillSpecialInvocation LevelInvocations Known
11202Somatic weaponryLeast1
22303Special abilityLeast2
33313Dauntless (fear)Least2
44414Least3
55414Special abilityLeast3
66525Tenacity (fatigue)Lesser4
77525Second skin (1 category)Lesser4
88626Special abilityLesser5
99636Dauntless (charms and compulsions)Lesser5
1010737MettleLesser6
1111737Special abilityGreater7
1212848Tenacity (nonlethal damage)Greater7
1313848Second skin (2 categories)Greater8
1414949Special abilityGreater8
1515959Dauntless (all mind-affecting)Greater9
161610510Dark10
171710510Special abilityDark10
181811611Tenacity (stunning)Dark11
191911611Dark11
202012612Improved mettle, special abilityDark12

Somatic Weaponry:
You gain somatic weaponry as a bonus feat. 

Special Ability (Ex):
At 2nd level, and every 3 levels thereafter, you gain a special ability, chosen from the list below. 

Bonus Feat: You gain a bonus feat, chosen from the fighter bonus feat list.  You must meet all the prerequisites of the feat you choose. 

Eldritch Toughness: You can use your charisma modifier instead of your constitution modifier to determine you hit point total.  You must be at least 9th level in [this class] to select this special ability. 

Pole Sweep: You gain improved trip as a bonus feat.  (Even if you do not meet the prerequisites.)  Additionally, you can make trip attempts using any sort of polearm, not just those that can normally be used for tripping.  (When making a trip with one of these weapons, you can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped in return.) 

Retaliation: You can make an attack of opportunity against an enemy that successfully strikes you with a melee attack.  If you also have the karmic strike feat, you may still only make one attack of opportunity per enemy attack.  You must have at least 5 levels in [this class] in order to select this special ability. 

Shield Warrior: When you use a shield, all your melee weapons deal damage as if you were wielding them in two hands.  You may not utilize two-weapon fighting in any round in which you apply this benefit.  (You can still make a shield bash, but you must make it using one of your normal allotment of attacks.)   

Skewer: You can wield a spear or longspear (sized for you) as a 1-handed weapon.  This benefit does not apply to any other weapons. 

Sliding Grip: When using a polarm that provides reach, you also threaten adjacent squares.  Unlike the short haft feat, you continuously threaten both areas, rather than needing to switch between them. 

Dauntless (Ex):
At 3rd level, you gain immunity to fear effects.  At 9th level, you gain immunity to charms and compusions.  Finally, at 15th level, you gain immunity to all mind-affecting effects (but you may still choose to benefit from helpful mind-affecting effects). 

Tenacity (Ex):
At 6th level, you gain immunity to fatigue and exhaustion.  At 12th level, you gain immunity to nonlethal damage.  Finally, at 18th level, you gain immunity to stunning. 

Second Skin (Ex):
Beginning at 7th level, you treat any armor you wear as if it were 1 category lighter for purposes of determining your speed.  Beginning at 13th level, you may treat armor as 2 categories lighter. 

Mettle (Ex):

Improved Mettle (Ex):

10
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: January 08, 2018, 05:23:30 PM »
Okay, I'm going to post a revised Infiltrator, so I'll put the old version here for comparison. 

(click to show/hide)

Edit: Okay, the new Infiltrator is posted. 

11
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: December 30, 2017, 03:23:22 PM »
I have a few questions on potential invocations. 

When I put in teleport and plane shift invocations, should I combine both into a single invocation, or not?  I feel like there should be some kind of limitation.  Should it have a long casting time?  Or what?  I'm also considering working it as some sort of portal.  I feel like, if enemies can potentially follow you, it doesn't subvert the tension of combat as much.  Any ideas on how that would work? 

When I add invocations that attack ability scores, should it be ability drain, ability damage, or just a penalty?  Penalties that don't stack would prevent spamming. 

I'm not sure what to do about a silence invocation for Infiltrator.  If I want the class to be able to put silence on someone with a melee attack, then I have to make an invocation especially for that (the way I'm working it now).  If I want the class to have the a silence aura, but not the ability to produce arbitrarily-many silencing stones (or whatever) that they can carry around, I need to make it an emenation.  But buff invocations tend to have a duration of 24 hours, and I'm not sure anyone would actually want to radiate silence for that long. 

Should I put in a channeled version of Vampiric Strike?  Or a copy of Psychic Warrior's Vampiric Blade?  Should it have that "only up to 1/2" limitation that the at-will healing abilities tend to? 

Edit: Oh, and the new invocations are up. 

12
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: December 30, 2017, 02:32:25 PM »
Okay, I'm going to put the current invocations in a spoiler here.  Soon, I'll post a (mostly) new selection.  (I just kind of want to keep the old one for comparison.) 

(click to show/hide)

13
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: December 20, 2017, 06:18:00 PM »
Are there many other things these classes are going to be doing with their swift actions?

Well, I was considering giving the classes a hustle invocation, some sort of swift-action teleport, and maybe one or more immediate-action invocation to help against a single attack.  But I guess none of those are really essential.  And, I guess, the good ones can stay and exist alongside channeling. 



and then when you would get a full attack, the charging just doesn't discharge when you hit, but stays till the end of your turn?

Well, I'm not completely sure how I want to work swift-action channeling.  The options I can think of are:
  • Charge the weapon as a swift action.  The next attack (before the start of your next turn) gains a special effect. 
  • Charge the weapon as a swift action.  Every enemy you hit before the start of your next turn suffers a special effect.  (But hitting a single enemy multiple times in the same turn still only causes the effect on it once.) 
  • Charge the weapon as a swift action.  All attacks until the start of your next turn carry a special effect. 

One nice thing about the swift-action idea is, it doesn't actually need to be a class feature.  I can just write swift-action invocations that have these effect.  So, I could potentially make one invocation work one way, and another work a different way. 

14
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: December 20, 2017, 02:34:37 AM »
I'm working on new, improved versions of bastion, infiltrator, and untamed.  I'm not quite ready to post them yet, but I want to get feedback on an idea I've written into the new drafts. 

So, I was thinking about arcane channeling.  Specifically, about how it's only compatible with a regular attack and, later, a full attack.  I was considering adding compatibility with making a charge.  But, you know, you're allowed to charge as a standard action if you're affected by slow, or something similar.  And then there are things like spring attack, decisive blow, and maneuvers. 

How about if I make channeling a swift action?  Charge the weapon up with an effect that discharges on the next successful hit?  (And, you know, fades at the start of your next turn, if it hasn't been discharged by then.) 

15
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: November 16, 2017, 03:51:02 AM »
All right, well, I'll stick with different classes then.  I wasn't sure how I was going to work skill points with only one clan really equated to a skill monkey anyway. 

And now for some  more musings. 



Bastion

Okay, so I was trying to give this class some shield-related abilities.  And it might also be nice to play up the spear-and-shield angle.  So how about this, when armed with a shield in one hand, and a polearm in the other, the class can attack with either one interchangeably, with no two-weapon fighting penalties?  (This would be mutually exclusive with gaining extra attacks by two-weapon fighting.)  Also, maybe when so armed (and not two-weapon fighting, the class can get 1.5x str to damage with both spear and shield, and treat both as two-handed for purposes of power attack? 

Ultimately, this would work out a lot like wielding a single weapon that can strike both near and far, but it would be thematically different. 

In support of attacks of opportunity, should I give the class some swift-action/1-round invocations that add a movement-stopping effect to all attacks?  Or maybe rip off knight's ability to turn all your threatened squares into difficult terrain, as far as your enemies are concerned? 



Infiltrator

I gave this class a swift-action invocation to gain sneak attack for one round.  But I feel like it only favorably compares to the other swift-action invocations if you're two-weapon fighting.  Should I try to offer more support for the two-weapon fighting angle?  If I'm going to encourage people to do twf sneak attacks, should I make sneak attack an actual class feature?  If I do, I could add sneak-attack-supporting class features/invocations. 

I feel like "pouncing from the shadows" fits this class pretty well.  Should I add in pounce and acrobatic charge?  For acrobatic charge, I figure, there might not always be an unobstructed path from "the shadows" to your target.  If I make a hustle-style invocation, this could work out to be pretty powerful.  Pounce from hiding, full attack, then swift action to move and hide again. 



Reaper

Should I add some polymorph-style invocations?  I'd implement them as bonuses/penalties to stats, rather than stat-replacements.  And maybe some class features to support it, like that one prestige class that let the magical properties of absorbed weapons apply to your claws?  Or some version of the form-mixing ability of master transmorgifist? 

Kind of a random thought here, but if I do a shape-shifting class, should I do something other than animal?  Like maybe the forms the class can take are all aberrations/pseudonatural creatures? 



Untamed

Should I give the class some power-attack tie ins?  Maybe even rip off frenzied berserker, and improve the rate of returns? 

Do you feel like this class should have some sort of mechanic for making one big attack, instead of several small ones?  I was originally thinking something like decisive strike.  But how about something closer to manyshot?  A standard-action attack that deals multiplied damage, but at a penalty?  And the multiplier/penalty depend on your base attack bonus? 



Youxia

You know, I figured "monk's unarmed strike may be a poorly-thought-out mechanic, but throwing it in can't really hurt anything."  But then I got to weapon proficiencies, and I realized that no one would ever use unarmed strike or monk weapons if the class had any of the standard weapon proficiencies. 

So then I was slashing the weapons the class gets, and I realized that even including that small piece of monk rippled out and screwed things up.  Now the class has no weapons that deal more than 1d6 damage, so anyone who's not two-weapon fighting is lagging behind in damage until 12th level. 

Should I just ditch the standard unarmed damage progression and make up a new system for encouraging those specific weapons?  Since they all deal around 1d6 damage, the simplest way to even the damage out with other classes would be to give the two-weapon fighting feats.  Maybe the free two-weapon-fighting feats would only function if all attacks are made with monk weapons and/or unarmed strikes? 



Consolidation

On the subject of merging some of these classes together, how about the rogue and monk ones?  Honestly, I was kind of splitting some ideas between them that I thought would have worked well on one class. 

16
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: November 13, 2017, 09:47:14 PM »
My indecisiveness is manifesting again.  I need some advice.  Do the ideas I've written up here really warrant five different classes?  Or should I go back and take another shot at doing this as one class that can be played several different ways? 

My most recent idea for giving the single class, multiple style approach an interesting spin is to rip off Oriental Adventures.  Each style would be themed after (and named after) one of the clans.  (But a campaign without those clans can instead associate the styles with who-, or what-ever the DM likes.) 

If you guys aren't fed up with my dithering, here's a very rough idea of how the single class might look. 

(click to show/hide)

17
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Initiative
« on: November 13, 2017, 06:06:37 PM »
Wouldn't that be better suited to dexterity?

No, dexterity should not mitigate the penalties associated with extra weight. 

High dexterity could reduce the base delay.  But it shouldn't have any effect on the extra delay imposed by really heavy weapons/armor. 

The whole idea her is, light weapons and armor let you move faster.  Heavy weapons and armor slow you down, unless you're really strong, in which case you don't really feel all that extra metal you're lugging around. 

18
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: 5 Melee Warlocks
« on: November 08, 2017, 08:13:03 PM »
Okay, well, I've taken the notes I had and put them into a semi-presentable form.  Now let's see how long it takes me to put together my thoughts on the sticking points I'm encountering in designing these classes. 

19
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Initiative
« on: November 05, 2017, 04:16:51 AM »
I'd much rather ditch strength bonus then extending combat time with lookup tables or math more intricate then simple addition.

Well, how about this then.  Strength no longer gives bonus damage.  Instead, for each point of strength you have beyond 10, you treat all weapon delay modifiers as 1 point lower (to a minimum delay modifier of +2). 

If you're going with a base delay of 10, and giving daggers, short swords, longswords, bastard swords, and greatswords delay modifiers of +2, +4, +6, +8, and +10, respectively, then you're kind of treating +1 delay as being worth +0.5 damage.  Roughly speaking, +1 strength is also worth +0.5 damage, so that should work out reasonably well. 

Incidentally, those figures also mean that someone with average strength deals 50% better DPS with a greatsword than he would with a dagger, which is probably reasonable compensation for being almost twice as slow. 

20
Homebrew and House Rules (D&D) / Re: Initiative
« on: November 03, 2017, 09:28:19 PM »
… daggers are +2, massive hammers are +8, & casting is +10.

Hmm, daggers hitting 4x as often as hammers would work if hammers deal 4x as much damage as daggers.  (Well, actually they should deal better DPS than daggers to make up for the lost flexibility.)  But D&D adds strength to weapon damage rather than applying some sort of str-based % multiplier. 

So you'd be choosing between dealing str-mod points of damage 4 times, or 1.5*str-mod damage once, in the same time period.  Regardless of how much base damage each one deals, for a sufficiently high-strength character, 4x str is going to be better than 1.5x str. 

You could fix that by replacing the current hand-based str multipliers with something inherently connected to weapon speed.  All the fast weapons could add 0.5x str to damage.  All the average weapons could add 1.0x str to damage.  And all the slow weapons could add 1.5x str to damage.  Make it so fast weapons attack 2x as fast as average weapons and 3x as fast as slow weapons, and you've got DPS that has the same relationship to strength across all the weapon categories. 

Alternately, you could have the delay for each weapon vary based on your strength score.  So, if you're strong enough, the extra weight doesn't slow you down.  If you set it up right, it could work out such that low-str characters are best off with light-weight weapons, and high-str characters are best off with heavy weapons. 

As yet another option, you could redo how strength boosts damage.  For example, your strength score could give you +X% damage.  Using some sort of formula or lookup table to figure out what X is. 

I should probably also note that, if you're rewriting everything about how often characters get to attack, you should probably account for two-weapon fighting somehow.  In the current system, twf lets you attack twice as often.  If that's not going to be the case anymore, it will need something else.  Maybe one "attack" hits with both weapons, and the resultant delay is somehow based on the delay of the two weapons you're using. 

… base delay is 10 …

Oops, base delay.  Well, it changes some numbers, but I think the same basic considerations apply. 

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