Brodiggan Gale's page

Now that the final rules are available I'm finding that I'm just not 100% happy with some of the classes. It's all much, much better than 3.5, and more balanced than Beta (for the most part), but there are a few spots here and there that I still feel could use some work (Or at least use some homebrewing). I'm going to go through each of the core classes here, break down which parts I'm not happy with and why, and then try and put together a few homebrewed changes that fix it all for me (and yes I do have too much free time, thanks). First up is Barbarian, then Bard, etc.

Part I: The Barbarian
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/classes/barbarian.html#barbarian

For the most part the Barbarian works, and works well. Fast movement is as good as it's ever been and doesn't need a change. The number of rounds of Rage seems quite low at first, but some quick math on the number of rounds a 3.5 barbarian could rage shows it's roughly equivalent to a 3.5 barbarian with a +5 Con modifier (8 rounds every 4 levels, vs 3+con mod rounds every 4 levels), which is fairly reasonable. Uncanny Dodge, Damage Reduction, Greater Rage, Tireless Rage, and Mighty Rage are all fine. Trap Sense I feel could use some work, but since it's shared across several classes, I'll offer alternate rules for it on it's own later.

Ok, so now for the parts I feel could really use a change.

First, Rage Powers. A lot of rage powers just feel very, very weak (especially compared to some other class powers, like the Paladin's smite). Guarded Stance, Intimidating Glare, Knockback, Low-Light Vision, Moment of Clarity, Night Vision, Powerful Blow, Quick Reflexes, Raging Climber/Leaper/Swimmer, Renewed Vigor, Rolling Dodge, Surprise Accuracy, and Swift Foot all have problems.

One of the problems that runs throughout the various Rage Powers is opportunity costs that are far too high; powers that require a move or a standard action, but provide such a small benefit that the loss of a full attack is almost always going to be more of a negative than the positive benefits of the power.

Guarded Stance and Rolling Dodge are a perfect example, they offer too little benefit (+1 to +3 AC for most levels, and only vs. certain attacks) for their cost (a move equivalent action, making it impossible to make a full attack, or move to attack a foe that is outside melee). Rolling Dodge in particular is a pain. If you're worried about ranged attacks, it's going to almost always a better idea to simply charge the foe firing at you from range. Putting the foe in melee will hinder their attacks, and you've got the extra damage dealt by attacking, compared to a slight bump in AC and moving half the distance. The one time it might be a decent idea to use rolling dodge would be facing a caster opponent that is using ray/orb/ranged touch spells, but most casters are going to have lots of non-ranged touch options they can simply switch to once you've used Rolling dodge.

Intimidating Glare suffers the same problem. At low levels it might be fine, but as soon as you hit level 6, it's near useless. By choosing to use Intimidating Glare (a move equivalent action) you're giving up the chance to just attack that same target for damage. I can't think of many times that giving someone a -2 to their attacks and saves for a few rounds (shaken) is going to be preferable to hitting them for considerable damage.

Knockback has a fairly drastic cost (All the damage from one attack) vs. knocking back a single foe. It's not completely useless, there are times it might be useful, fighting a super high AC opponent with a low CMD for example, or situational uses like knocking someone off a cliff. It just doesn't feel terribly interesting compared to some of the better rage powers though, like Unexpected Strike.

Low Light Vision and Night Vision are just.. crap. Compare either of these to No Escape, Unexpected Strike, Mighty Swing, they're just.. terrible. Both of these could be rolled into one power along with scent and it wouldn't be broken.

Moment of Clarity is.. arguably useful, from time to time, but just negating all the benefits and penalties of rage for one round, once per rage, doesn't seem quite worth spending a rage power on. At least it doesn't cost an action to use.

Powerful Blow and Surprise Accuracy, a small boost to damage (half or a third of the boost from power attack) once per rage to one attack compared to, for instance, a paladin's smite, also a swift action, which adds the paladin's Cha mod to the attack roll and up to twice the paladin's level in damage against one opponent forever. Now smite is definitely a bit over the top, I'm not arguing these two should be ramped up to that level, for one thing a barbarian has these on top of raging, but Powerful Blow and Surprise Accuracy definitely need to either be less restricted in their use or provide more of a benefit.

Quick Reflexes isn't terrible, but it just doesn't provide enough of a benefit, unless you happen to have a very low Dexterity, it's usually going to be a better idea to just take a different rage power and the Combat Reflexes feat.

Raging Climber/Leaper/Swimmer.. yikes.. do I really have to explain why these are just bad? Roll all three into one rage power and you're starting to talk about a decent ability. If the benefits were constant it might be one thing, but since they only function while raging (which generally means during combat) you're only going to use any of them once in a blue moon, and it's probably not going to provide a huge benefit. Raging leaper might see more use than the others, but only just a bit more.

Renewed Vigor is just crap. The amount of damage healed is just nowhere near enough to make it worth giving up a whole rounds worth of attacks. At level 16, it's only 18 + Con mod, at a level when most attacks are going to be dealing 20 or 30 damage at minimum.

Swift foot is another one that seems.. ok, but just lackluster. Spending 2 or 3 of your 10 rage powers for an extra 10 to 15 ft. of movement is generally a bad deal.

Also, I really feel like Indomitable Will ought to be a rage power, not a base ability. Thematically it fits perfectly with the rest, and sort of stands out as an odd one-off ability for all barbarians to get. If anyone has a suggestion for a better iconic ability to replace it with, I'm all ears, for now I'm just moving it to the rage power list.

Ok, so enough about what's wrong, now for how I'd like to fix it (and please check the pdf, much easier to read in my opinion)...

Barbarian (http://comp.uark.edu/~nlord/Barbarian.pdf)
For some, there is only rage. In the ways of their people, in the fury of their passion, in the howl of battle, conflict is all these brutal souls know. Savages, hired muscle, masters of vicious martial techniques, they are not soldiers or professional warriors—they are the battle possessed, creatures of slaughter and spirits of war. Known as barbarians, these warmongers know little of training, preparation, or the rules of warfare; for them, only the moment exists, with the foes that stand before them and the knowledge that the next moment might hold their death. They possess a sixth sense in regard to danger and the endurance to weather all that might entail. These brutal warriors might rise from all walks of life, both civilized and savage, though whole societies embracing such philosophies roam the wild places of the world. Within barbarians storms the primal spirit of battle, and woe to those who face their rage.

Role: Barbarians excel in combat, possessing the martial prowess and fortitude to take on foes seemingly far superior to themselves. With rage granting them boldness and daring beyond that of most other warriors, barbarians charge furiously into battle and ruin all who would stand in their way.
Alignment: Any nonlawful.
Hit Die: d12.

Class Skills
The barbarian’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the barbarian.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A barbarian is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).
Fast Movement (Ex): A barbarian’s land speed is faster than the norm for her race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when she is wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the barbarian’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn.
Rage (Ex): A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear’s endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.
While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While in a rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.
A barbarian can end her rage at any time as a free action. After raging, a barbarian is fatigued for two rounds for every round she spent raging. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.
Rage Powers (Ex): As a barbarian gains levels, she learns to use her rage in new ways. Starting at 2nd level, a barbarian gains one rage power. She gains another rage power for every two levels of barbarian attained after 2nd level.
Unless otherwise noted, a barbarian gains the benefits of rage powers only while raging, and cannot select an individual power more than once.
Animal Fury (Ex): While raging, the barbarian gains a bite attack. This bite may be used as part of a full attack action at the barbarian’s full base attack bonus –5. The barbarian may also deal their bite damage automatically after any successful grapple check (either to maintain or escape a grapple). The bite deals 1d4 points of damage (assuming the barbarian is Medium; 1d3 points of damage if Small) plus half the barbarian’s Strength modifier.
Clear Mind (Ex): As a free action, the barbarian may reroll a single failed Will save. This power is used after the first save has been attempted, but before the results are revealed by the GM. The barbarian must take the second result, even if it is worse. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this power. This power can only be used once per rage.
Fearless Rage (Ex): While raging, the barbarian is immune to the shaken and frightened conditions. A barbarian must be at least 12th level before selecting this rage power.
Focus (Ex): While raging, the barbarian adds her level as an enhancement bonus on all Climb and Swim skill checks as well as Acrobatics skill checks made to jump. When making a jump in this way, the barbarian is always considered to have a running start.
Frenzied Blows (Ex): The barbarian gains a +1 morale bonus to all melee attack and damage rolls for one round. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 levels the barbarian has attained. This power is used as a swift action and can only be used once per rage.
Increased Damage Reduction (Ex): The barbarian’s damage reduction increases by 1/—. This increase is always active while the barbarian is raging. A barbarian can select this rage power up to three times. Its effects stack. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this rage power.
Indomitable Will (Ex): While raging, the barbarian gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to resist enchantment spells. This bonus stacks with all other modifiers, including the morale bonus on Will saves she also receives during her rage. A barbarian must be at least 12th level before selecting this rage power.
Internal Fortitude (Ex): While raging, the barbarian is immune to the sickened and nauseated conditions. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this rage power.
Intimidating Glare (Ex): After scoring a critical hit or dealing lethal damage to a foe, the barbarian may make an Intimidate check against one adjacent foe as an immediate action. If the barbarian successfully demoralizes her opponent, the foe is shaken for 1d4 rounds + 1 round for every 5 points by which the barbarian’s check exceeds the DC.
Knockback (Ex): The barbarian can make a bull rush attempt against one target in place of a melee attack. If successful, the target takes damage equal to the barbarian’s Strength modifier and is moved back as normal. Using this ability does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Mighty Swing (Ex): The barbarian automatically confirms a critical hit. This power is used as an immediate action once a critical threat has been determined. A barbarian must be at least 12th level before selecting this power. This power can only be used once per rage.
Moment of Clarity (Ex): The barbarian does not take any of the penalties from rage for 1 round. This includes the penalty to Armor Class and the restriction on what actions can be performed. This round still counts against her total number of rounds of rage per day. This power is used as a swift action and can only be used once per rage.
No Escape (Ex): As an immediate action, the barbarian can move up to double her normal speed when an adjacent foe moves away from her. She must end her movement adjacent to that enemy. The barbarian provokes attacks of opportunity as normal during this movement. This power can only be used once per rage.
Renewed Vigor (Su): As a move action, the barbarian heals 2 points of damage per barbarian level, and gains fast healing 2 for a number of rounds equal to the barbarian’s current Constitution modifier (minimum 1). A barbarian must be at least 4th level before selecting this power. This power can be used only once per day and only while raging.
Roused Anger (Ex): The barbarian may enter a rage even if fatigued. While raging after using this ability, the barbarian is immune to the fatigued condition. Once this rage ends, the barbarian is exhausted for 10 minutes per round spent raging.
Sharpened Senses (Ex): While raging, the barbarian gains Low Light Vision, Scent, and receives a +2 bonus on all Perception checks. If the barbarian already has Low Light Vision, this ability grants Darkvision instead.
Strength Surge (Ex): The barbarian adds her barbarian level on one Strength check or combat maneuver check, or to her Combat Maneuver Defense when an opponent attempts a maneuver against her. This power is used as an immediate action and can only be used once per rage.
Superstition (Ex): The barbarian gains a +2 morale bonus on saving throws made to resist spells, supernatural abilities, and spell-like abilities. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 levels the barbarian has attained. While raging, the barbarian cannot be a willing target of any spell and must make saving throws to resist all spells, even those cast by allies.
Swift Foot (Ex): The barbarian gains a 10-foot enhancement bonus to her speed. This increase is always active while the barbarian is raging.
Terrifying Howl (Ex): The barbarian unleashes a terrifying howl as a standard action. All shaken enemies within 30 feet must make a Will save (DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the barbarian’s level + the barbarian’s Strength modifier) or be panicked for 1d4+1 rounds. Once an enemy has made a save versus terrifying howl (successful or not), it is immune to this power for 24 hours. A barbarian must have the intimidating glare rage power to select this rage power. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this power.
Unnatural Reflexes (Ex): While raging, the barbarian can make two additional attacks of opportunity per round and receives a +2 bonus to Reflex saves.
Unexpected Strike (Ex): The barbarian can make an attack of opportunity against a foe that moves into any square threatened by the barbarian, regardless of whether or not that movement would normally provoke an attack of opportunity. This power can only be used once per rage. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this power.
Whirling Frenzy (Ex): The barbarian gains a +1 dodge bonus to her Armor Class for a number of rounds equal to the barbarian’s current Constitution modifier (minimum 1). This bonus increases by +1 for every 6 levels the barbarian has attained. Activating this ability is a move action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. This power can only be used once per rage.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 2nd level, a barbarian gains the ability to react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She cannot be caught flat-footed, even if the attacker is invisible. She still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. A barbarian with this ability can still lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against her. If a barbarian already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.
Trap Sense (Ex): At 3rd level, a barbarian gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses increase by +1 every three barbarian levels thereafter (6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th level). Trap sense bonuses gained from multiple classes stack.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a barbarian can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the barbarian by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has barbarian levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 7th level, a barbarian gains damage reduction. Subtract 1 from the damage the barbarian takes each time she is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. At 10th level, and every three barbarian levels thereafter (13th, 16th, and 19th level), this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Greater Rage (Ex): At 11th level, when a barbarian enters rage, the morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution increases to +6 and the morale bonus on her Will saves increases to +3.
Tireless Rage (Ex): Starting at 17th level, a barbarian no longer becomes fatigued at the end of her rage.
Mighty Rage (Ex): At 20th level, when a barbarian enters rage, the morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution increases to +8 and the morale bonus on her Will saves increases to +4.

Stay tuned for the Bard! (Ok don't stay that tuned, likely to be at least a day or so, maybe two, takes longer than you might think...)

During my last playtest session we came across a serious problem with Bards. The Dirge of Doom bardic music ability makes all foes within 30 ft. shaken, with no save, and with the duration only limited by how long the bard is willing to maintain it.

By itself, this isn't so bad, -2 to ability checks, skills, attacks and saves is nice, but not gamebreaking. The problem is in the way shaken stacks. A creature that is already shaken will become frightened, fleeing as quickly as possible from the scene, and there are a lot of other ways to make an opponent shaken at that level, Intimidate, Fear, Cause Fear, Doom, etc.

Even worse, several fear effects (including Fear, which a bard has access to around the same level they get Dirge of Doom) can make one or more opponents shaken even on a successful save. The combination of Fear and Dirge of Doom can trivialize almost any encounter with foes that are affected by fear.

Dirge of Doom really needs to either have a save and a limited duration, or it needs to just inflict the penalties without the shaken condition.

Oh, and a quick edit, even after a creature flees, and the effect wears off, there's nothing in the wording of Dirge of Doom that would prevent a bard from just inflicting it again as soon as the opponent closes to with 30 ft. One of the fairly standard "Cannot be affected by dirge of doom again for 24 hours" lines would be nice.

I'm running a mid to high level game in the hopes of testing some of the issues that really made 3.5 painful to DM past a certain level, I can already see that a lot of the spell changes have helped balance classes considerably without dropping the overall power level of the game or ruining anyone's fun. The game is starting at 12th level, and I'm going to try and run it up to at least 17th or 18th level, to get a good feel for how balance holds up.

We're using 20 point buy, and only the items/feats/spells in the Pathfinder beta book and Web Enhancement are allowed. No Prestige classes or other WotC material is in at this point.

Week One, Character Creation:
My players decided to make a fairly standard group, the one exception being the lack of a dedicated Rogue. Originally one of the players was planning on making a Fighter/Rogue archer that leaned heavily rogue, but in the end he went almost straight fighter with 1 level of rogue to get the class skill bonuses.

They ended up settling on an Archer (Fighter 11/Rogue 1), Cleric, Bard, Druid, and a Wizard.

A couple immediate observations, Combat Maneuver DCs are way, way too hard by default, even the nearly full BAB Fighter has no reason to attempt them, as he can generally do far, far better simply attacking.

The bonus to Stealth from Invisibility needs to be either toned down, or specifically limited to being spotted visually. A flat +40 to all stealth checks while immobile and a +20 while moving is way, way too good. Anyone that can afford a ring of invisibility or cast the spell themselves becomes a nearly perfect scout. The problem here seems to be the combination of Spot and Listen into Perception, making even the most clumsy fighter in full plate perfectly silent once he's invisible. At level 12, the fighter/rogue had a stealth check of +72 if he stood still, and +52 the rest of the time. In Full Plate. (+12 ranks, +3 class skill, +5 shadowed armor, +6 dex, +6 skill focus, +40 invisibility)

The spells being split between the main book and the web enhancement is a pain, I can understand the issue with having a limited number of pages in the print version, but would it be possible to get an electronic only version with the full list?

Also, some of the spells that were left in the enhancement are really surprising to me. Antimagic Field, Atonement, Astral Projection, Blasphemy/Dictum/Holy Word/Word of Chaos, Consecrate/Desecrate, Ethereal Jaunt/Etherealness, Fabricate, Gate, Hallow/Unhallow, Magic Jar, Permanency, Symbol of X, Telekinesis, and Veil are all spells that are either referenced in important game text (For example, Demon/Devil stat blocks) or are core spells that I see used very, very often. Leaving these in a web enhancement that someone using the print edition may not have could be really frustrating for them, as they'll have to break out their 3.5 books (if they have them) to look up the old spells, which may or may not be identical to those in the web enhancement.

Really, I'd rather have all the spells in a small font with trimmed down flavor text than have some of these really needed spells cut from the main book. In fact, you could probably save enough space to include several other spells just by removing the Casting/Effect/Description header bars, which.. my apologies to whoever is doing the page layout, are really visually jarring anyways, and seem out of place. The same goes for the Description/Construction block headers on magic items, I consistently quote the wrong price because it's so easy to look down to the Construction prices when you're scanning quickly over an item. Losing these headers and putting the construction details in an italicized font, or even just using a lighter font weight would really do a lot to save space, and to make them more readable.

Roles
Roles determine a creatures HD, BAB, base saving throws, and skill points per HD. The also include a list of suggested skills for use in creating new creatures of that role.

Adept
Fragile foes that rely on special abilities to survive.
HD: d6
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to 1/2 total Hit Dice (as Wizard).
Saves: Good Willpower
Skills: 2 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Knowledge, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device

Agile
Fast moving foes that are particularly skilled at avoiding direct combat.
HD: d6
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to 1/2 total Hit Dice (as Wizard).
Saves: Good Reflex and Willpower
Skills: 4 skill points per HD
Suggested Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Disguise, Escape Artist, Fly, Perception, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Use Magic Device

Brawler
Basic foes capable of withstanding the rigors of combat.
HD: d10
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (as fighter).
Saves: Good Fortitude
Skills: 2 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Intimidate

Elite
Unique and powerful foes, likely to be a challenge for even a prepared group of adventurers.
HD: d10
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (as fighter).
Saves: All Good
Skills: 8 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: All

Scout
Skilled foes able to avoid detection and perform reasonably in combat.
HD: d8
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to 3/4 total Hit Dice (as cleric).
Saves: Good Reflex
Skills: 6 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Linguistics, Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival, Swim, Use Magic Device

Skirmisher
Fast moving foes that prefer to attack from range or while moving.
HD: d10
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (as fighter).
Saves: Good Reflex
Skills: 4 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Handle Animal, Perception, Ride

Strategist
Stealthy foes capable of attacking from ambush, while still holding their own in open combat.
HD: d10
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (as fighter).
Saves: Good Fortitude and Reflex
Skills: 4 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Escape Artist, Perception, Stealth, Survival

Socialite
Talkative foes that are capable of outthinking their enemies.
HD: d8
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to 3/4 total Hit Dice (as cleric).
Saves: Good Willpower
Skills: 4 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Linguistics, Perform, Sense Motive

Specialist
Highly skilled foes that are out of their element in a direct confrontation.
HD: d6
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to 1/2 total Hit Dice (as Wizard).
Saves: Good Fortitude
Skills: 4 skill points per HD
Suggested Skills: Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Disable Device, Handle Animal, Knowledge, Linguistics, Profession, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device

Support
Generalist foes that fill in the gaps and provide useful abilities.
HD: d8
BAB: Base attack bonus equal to 3/4 total Hit Dice (as cleric).
Saves: Good Fortitude and Willpower
Skills: 4 skill points per HD
Suggested skills: Climb, Craft, Heal, Knowledge, Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Stealth, Survival, Swim

Skills
Concentration is back in. I cleaned up the rules for acting defensively, dropped spellcraft, and split it's effects between Knowledge (Arcana) for arcane spells and Knowledge (Religion) for divine. Knowledge (Arcana) is now much more specifically tied to information relating to magic, it's effects, and it's creations.

While I was at it, I removed Knowledge (Dungeoneering) because it's the silliest skill to ever grace a character sheet, and Knowledge (Local) because it overlaps too much with Geography, History, and Nobility, and because it can either be useless or ridiculous in play, depending on whether or not the person running the game rules that it works only for the "local" you consider your home or every "local" area you happen to be in.

In their place I've added Knowledge (Lore), which covers aberrations, ancient mysteries, dragons, legends, and oozes, and Knowledge (Warfare), which covers giants, humanoids, military history, monstrous humanoids, tactics.

Knowledge Nobility I considered removing, but I'm trying very hard to only make the changes I feel are either needed for balance, or that provide a significant benefit in terms of flavor or ease of use. Knowledge Nobility does overlap a lot with what you would expect from Knowledge History, but unlike Knowledge Local, it's pretty clear exactly what checks it covers and how, and it's not as silly/immersion breaking as knowledge dungeoneering. In the end I decided it wasn't worth removing it.

Knowledge Lore was an easy choice for a new Knowledge. I added it because I needed to move some abilities out of Knowledge Arcana to make up for what it was gaining from Spellcraft, and I needed a skill to allow identification of oozes and aberrations with Dungeoneering gone.
Knowledge Warfare came together for three reasons, I needed a good knowledge skill to allow the identification of Humanoids (I considered history for a while), I wanted to add a skill that could add some flavor to the martial classes, and with the emphasis on Acting Defensively (as opposed to Casting Defensively) I wanted melee types to have access to a knowledge skill that could provide the same synergy bonuses to concentration as arcane casters have with Knowledge Arcana (Of course, that part is assuming you're using Synergy bonuses). Moving Giants and Monstrous Humanoids in felt right, it fit with the same theme as identifying humanoids, and it gives Fighters another useful role in a party.
Part of the reason I added two knowledge skills after taking away two knowledge skills was that it forces Bards, Wizards, and other Knowledge (All) classes to invest the same number of skill ranks to max out knowledges. It's minor, but it's there, eliminating knowledges would effectively free up more skill points for those classes.

Upped the minimum skill points per level to 4.

2 per level is terrible for pretty much everyone but Wizard, and especially for -2 Int races. 4 per keeps low Int from hitting rock bottom so fast, and it's not especially game breaking that Clerics and Fighters can afford to buy a few ranks in some extra skills now.

Ok, so on with the changes...

Upped the minimum skill points per level to 4, 2 per level is terrible for pretty much everyone but Wizard, and especially for -2 Int races. 4 per keeps low Int from hitting rock bottom so fast, and it's not especially game breaking that Clerics and Fighters can afford to buy a few ranks in some extra skills now.

General Combat Changes
Combat Maneuvers use a DC of 10 + your opponents CMB instead of 15+, and you may use either Dex or Str on your CMB. I left that bit out of the PDF on accident, but I'll throw a new version together later that includes it and a custom character sheet with the new skills, more room for modifiers on saves/stats, and just a few quality of life tweaks here and there.

Cover
Reverted mostly to the cover rules from 3.5, but with a few tweaks to handle creatures with reach/size without making things too complicated.

Flat Footed/Touch Attacks
Changed both of these to a flat AC penalty/attack bonus, more in line with Prone, Stunned, etc. I can definitely see this one drawing some flack, but work out the math on it first. Most of the time it's not too far off the old values, and when it does make an attack considerably harder, it's not that the new way of doing it is far too difficult, it's that the old Flat Footed/Touch Attack rules would turn certain attack rolls into essentially an automatic hit.

The intent in making the change was to speed up combat a bit and keep certain spells and abilities from being way, way too good against larger creatures. Wizard/Sorc get a boost to touch attacks, to help them keep up with rising ACs (and to provide some interesting room for creative use of multiclassing/racial abilities), while Clerics/Druids do not, which helps bring CoDzillas a little more in line with other classes.

Saving throws also got a bit of work, again, with the intent of bringing high level casters more in line with other classes. In standard 3.5 and Pathfinder, spell DCs scaled far too well in comparison to weak saves. Even against good saves, spell DCs kept up, and then some. Even mid level casters could easily get saves on spells like Glitterdust high enough to become game breaking in most situations.

So, here's the new idea, all saves work off a common progression based on total character level. +0 at 1st level, +1 at 3rd, and then another +1 every odd level afterwards. Each class also has one or more Trained saves, that work in pretty much the same manner as Trained Class Skills in Pathfinder. That is, if you have a Trained save, you add a +3 bonus to that save. Training doesn't stack from multiple classes, again, just like Class skills in pathfinder. This helps to stop some of the foolishness with multiclassing hurting some saves terribly, and ramping others up far too high.

For example, under the old system, a level 4 Fighter/Barbarian would have a +6 to his Fort save, but a +0 to both Reflex and Willpower saves, putting him nearly double the base fort of a straight Barbarian, but absolutely no progression at all in either of his other saves.

Under the new system, a level 4 Fighter/Barbarian would have a +4 to Fort, and a +1 to Reflex and Will, which is exactly the same set of base saves a straight Barbarian or Fighter would have.

With a common progression on saves, the feats for improving your base save become far more useful. In standard, you were probably either already good enough at a save, if you had a good progression, or if you had a poor progression you were so bad at it there was very little point in even taking the feat.

More about classes to follow...