I find this class way overpowered.
It has:
Full BAB
Highest Hit Die
2 good saves
lots of skills
Well, the base attack bonus isn't really going anywhere. I've always been flabbergasted by melee-centric classes without a full attack bonus--the worst offender being the Incarnate.
The Hit Die could be dropped to d10s, but I'd have to adjust some other things. Plus, it messes with part of the intended functionality of shaper's focus.
I could lower one of the saves, but--again--I'm not exactly sure of the extent to which two good saves is horribly broken. Monk has
three good saves, and I've never heard anyone call it overpowered.
In terms of skill points, I will never build a non-Intelligence based class that has fewer than four skill points per level. Characters should be able to do things other than just combat without being masterminds. With four skill points, you can Concentrate, Hide, Jump, and Sense Motive. Not exactly breaking the bank, here.
Spellshape channeling is no liability. It gives you free extra damage. Similarly to sneak attack, but with no conditions. Manevours and Duskblade ability are similar, but they require to have only 1 attack (full attack for Duskblade on higher levels)
Actually, formulae also must be made with only a single attack, so you're operating on the same level as a martial adept. Simply channeling a spellshape attack and doing nothing else only changes the damage type of your attack.
Daunting presence is nothing more than free stance Iron guard glare, however, you do not have to choose between your numen and this. Basically, you get free Stance Mastery of Warblade, but limited to 2 stances (which are both very good).
Well, if you have a numen at all, you either spent a feat on it or you took an alternative class feature that restricts you to using only one circle. I don't actually think that the interplay between the two abilities is truly problematic.
The penalty from daunting presence itself could be dropped to a -2, but I'm still not sure it's a problem. Enemies are aware of it, so they can choose to just attack you rather than the ally in question--suffering no penalty if they do so.
Champion's resolves bonus to AC is simply too big. The class already has good saves and great hit dice.
Well, part of the interplay of Shaper's Focus is that, to an extent, you
want to be taking some damage--but not too much. A spellshape champion who normally has slightly below average AC takes some damage, which grants him a bonus to his shaper level. His AC goes up, though, meaning that he eventually gets hit less. The increasing defense allows you to use your hit points as a bit of a resource--an aspect of the design that would suffer if the Hit Die were to be lowered.
There's more, but I don't have time now... anyway... this class is not only way more powerful than any tanky class I saw, but also is very good at dealing damage and crowd control. It's too good in too many fields.
Basically, if I understand your objections, your problem with the class is that it can tank efficiently without necessarily being built around it. Having seen the class played a bit, I can say that it did not seem to stand head-and-shoulders above the other player characters. He was on the front line, distracting the enemy, while still remaining relevant in terms of fighting it. This was always the intent--I do not agree with a design philosophy in which a character must choose between tanking and dealing damage.
I'm not necessarily saying that the class is
not overpowered--I don't trust my sense of balance anywhere near enough to make statements like that. However, I'm not going to throw everything to the side based on one person's statements.
What do other people think about these points? Is the spellshape champion too good, or are these elements a necessary part of its functionality?
