ClemulusRex's page

I would have to support Set's suggestion near the beginning of the thread to use something like the AU Magic Rating. It sounds a lot like what the d20 Conan game did by giving ALL classes a "Magic Attack Bonus" in addition to a BAB, even though there were only one and a half spellcasting classes.

I like the idea that if a Sorcerer or Wizard gives half it's level in BAB, that a Fighter should give half his level in MAB/effective CL. The complaint was made that the Fighter is not a spellcasting class and that it shouldn't contribute to the effective CL at all, but I say just chalk it up the character's inherent "heroicness" for being someone of X level. In the aforementioned example of the Fighter 19/Wizard 1, the character in question may not know a lot of arcane theory (spellcraft, arcana, access to spell levels), but he's probably been healed, zapped, charmed, incinerated, bolstered, and beguiled by magic more times than he cares to remember and therefore could very reasonably have developed an intuitive feel for it.

On the flip side, I don't see a multiclass character's Fighter levels contributing to actual spells known, however. The Wizard levels aren't contributing to the number of Fighter bonus feats, are they? However, Fighter bonus feats (and Rogue talents, and Barbarian rage powers...) progress at the same rate that an A-level caster gets spell levels--once every two character levels. How about then just implementing a feat that bumps your "spells per day" up two notches on the chart for one class each time you take it (limited, of course, but your total effective caster level)?

This would, in effect, create more of a piecemeal, "pay-as-you-go" alternative to the MT,AT, or EK, but would by no means obsolete them, I think.

I don't know about perfect in the sense of optimized, but the party I really want play is Team Arcane Research - the all-wizard party. There would probably be significant multi-classing, but everyone would be primarily a wizard. We would solve all our problems through the use of intelligence and magic.

I was going to chime in with something similar. My friends and I have often mused over the idea of "theme" parties like this. For example, a group of knight-errant paladins, all from different backgrounds (i.e. having taken 1-3 levels of other classes before joining the order.)

Another concept I loved for a more "fairy tale" style of game was that of traveling circus performers. You could have your "Strong Man" (Fighter, Barbarian, or Monk), "Animal-Tamer" (Ranger or Druid), "Acrobat" (Rogue, Monk, Bard), "Illusionist" (er, Illusionist. Or Bard), "Fortune-Teller/Seer" (Diviner, Cleric, Rogue, or Bard depending on if the fortune-telling is genuine or not), and "Ringmaster" (Bard), to name a few. It'd be great for episodic adventures, as the troupe would be forever on the move. You could do it as sort of a "Scooby-Doo" campaign with the carnival wagon as the "Mystery Machine" and the do-gooding characters constantly getting dragged into the mysteries and troubles of whatever town they happened to roll into that week. Combat would probably be far less frequent, and then you'd probably have to use some optional or home brew rules to compensate for the lack of armor and weapons, especially if you wanted to preserve the more light-hearted fairy-tale feel of the game.

One "theme" party a few of us did get to play in 3.5 was the "Masters of the Wild" (after the 3.0 class supplement)--a Druid, Ranger, and Barbarian. Our DM was running old "Isle of Dread" module and converting it on the fly. We didn't consciously make the party based on the module, but we got a couple of hours into the first session and had a "forehead slap" moment where we realized we had already "won" the adventure. All three characters trained in Survival, Tracking, Hold/Charm animal spells, Ranger with favored enemy of Animals...It was a thing of beauty. In the end, I really felt like my Barbarian was kind of the weak link.