Galen Brightblade's page

See the above.

I mean, why is it that they simplified some things, and made the rest awfully more complicated?

The 11 classes alone take up way more space than they used to. This also means that there are a LOT more rules you have to read through. I for one could do with a sorcerer with just maybe 3 bloodlines (maybe leave infernal to the warlock for example), or a standard barbarian with just a few changed abilities.

As it stays the amount of stuff for the classes are overkill.

I love how the combat rules and skill rules and feats are simplified. I playtested with the new combat rules (it rox), but none of my players were willing to read so much crunch to playtest the classes themselves.

Please continue in that vein for the classes please, keep it to 3 pages per class...

Please make them viable alternatives to needing a Cleric in a party. As it stands now, you are trying to give more incentives for every party to have a cleric; I propose that the Druid and Bard can be made viable healers as well. Probably not as well as the cleric, but at least well enough that the party isn't gimped if one of them took a druid / bard instead.

I think the cleric can use a think tank approach too.

I love the change to turning (now Channel positive energy). I'm quite sure the majority are in favor of the change.

However the new domain powers are quite.. bleah.
1. They don't do much. They completely fail to alleviate the old problem of having clerics look pretty much alike. The powers are too minor to make a difference.
2. They introduce a whole new dimension to book-keeping for cleric. I think we now have to track a lot more special abilities, along with the spells, than any other caster (save the druid)

(replicated from previous post)
IMO, the domain powers should really:
1. Be a significant factor in distinguishing between clerics (rather than just being a she-bang of abilities)

Basically envision them as powers that are at-will (like orisons) or allow spontaneous conversion of certain spells.

2. Kept simple, usually 1-liners abilities that can be written clearly and concisely like most of the old domain powers.

E.g Glory Domain
Lvl 1 Power - Positive channeling adds +3 damage vs. UD
Lvl 4 Power - At-will: Disrupt Undead
Lvl 8 Power - Spontaneously convert any lvl 3 or higher spell to Searing Light.
Lvl 12 Power - Spontaneously convert any lvl 5 spell or higher spell to Holy Sword
Lvl 16 Power - Grow wings
Lvl 20 Power - Become outsider

E.g 2 War Domain
Lvl 1 Power - Smite 1/day
lvl 4 Power - At-will: Magic Stone
lvl 8 Power - Spontaneously convert lvl 4 or higher spell to Divine Power
lvl 12 Power - Smite 3/day
lvl 16 Power - Spontaneously convvert lvl 7 or higher spell to Powerword: Blind
lvl 20 Power - Permanent +3 to hit and dmg?

More suggestions?

Hmmm no one's a fan of clerics?

Eh, while it's an interesting twist, I seriously think the feats are not exactly very usable atm.

Power attack is currently very low-utility for PCs (pretty much only a all-out focus on STR like fighter and barbarian will use it, paladins and rangers can't), while auto-hit monsters like giants/dragons (who miss only about 10% of the time even with the current power attack changes) lose very little.

I think I like the compromise in Neverwinter Nights, that the +/- be a flat 3. i.e. -3 attack for +3 damage(+6 for 2h)/ +3AC. The feats would nerfed from the 3.5 versions, but would still be highly useful.

Got cut off. Wonder why.

Anyway to continue:

Arcane Strike is also missing a statement, I think it should be a statement that it is a swift/free action too?

I'm sure we're all aware that 3.0 D&D had a problem with casters multi-classing (restricted mainly to PRCs), while generally the melee / skill classes could do whatever they want.

Hope that Paizo will remember to do something about it.

I do have a suggestion, to integrate the spellcasting levels into the base classes.

i.e. if you multi-class from a wizard/cleric into another class, you get +1 caster level and spell progression (but no other benefits) at each 2nd or third level of another class. This cannot exceed the no. of levels that you actually take in your nominated spellcasting class.

e.g

Fighter
lvl BAB, etc, Caster lvl & Spell progression
1 +1 ... -
2 +2 ... -
3 +3 ... +1 to one existing class
4 +4 ... -
5 +5 ... -
6 +6 ... +1 to one existing class
7 +7 ... -
8 +8 ... -
9 +9 ... +1 to one existing class
10 +10 ... -
11 +11 ... -
12 +12 ... +1 to one existing class
and so on.

-> This will hopefully remove partially the need for 'band-aid' Prcs like Eldritch Knight / Mystic Theulage, and allows a fighter/mage hybrid to be more feasible at early levels. But maybe better fixes are possible?

I believe a pet peeve of mine for D&D 3.5, is that players can never keep an accurate count of the modifers in combat with all the buffs / magical effects / racial bonuses etc.

I would suggest to keep the number of stacking named bonuses and things like damage types down.

1. Dmg types
Just 8 will do pls - Holy, Unholy, Fire, Acid, Lightning, Cold, Physical, Force, and re-classify everything else into those types.

2. Named Bonuses
- Rather than the she-bang of Enhancement/Magic/Luck/Morale/Sacred/Deflection/Competence/Whatever crap;
- reduce it to just, say, Competence/Magic/Luck. Reclassify everything into those categories. Allows less things to stack, which is good IMO as it allows for better balancing.

3. Racial Modifiers
- Do we really need to keep track of so many racial abilities?
- Can we keep it to, say, 4 abilities max per race? Make them significant, but reduce the number. I really don't think bonuses vs. racial enemies are neccessary, esp. if the characters are a non-martial type anyway.
- Would like to see something clean like
e.g. Dwarf
Bonus 1: +2 CON, +2 WIS -2 DEX
Bonus 2: Darkvision 60'
Bonus 3: Hardy; +2 to all saving throws vs. Magic and Poison
Bonus 4: Can pick 1 dwarf racial feat at lvls 1, 5, 10(which allows proficiencies in axes, etc, dwarf-like things the player actually wants his dwarf to have)

But ya, imo book-keeping must go down if possible. Having less mods flying around would be a good place to start.