Matthew Vickrey's page

Since the ancient days of role-playing games, the Bard has been one of my favorite classes. The unparalleled ability to aid and buff allies, along with a unique blend of talents make this a highly appealing class.

However, Bard's have become somewhat of a joke in D&D 3.5, with mediocre combat prowess, virtually no offensive abilities, and pitiful spell-casting. The myriad of bonuses from Bardic music are insignificant at higher levels of play.

These things in mind, this class has a lot of potential. The Bard's true strength has been in the class's inherit versatility, and the correct way to make this a more viable class is to emphasize versatility.

Without further ado, here are a few suggestions to improve the Bard's versatility:

Skills- Increasing the Bard from 6+ to 8+ skills per level not only puts this class on par with the rogue, but allows the bard to fully utilize Bardic music without losing other valuable skills.

Bonus Feats- Perhaps a few bonus feats will help this class realize it's potential as a jack-of-all-trades.

Spells Known- The Bard's list of spells packs a limited variety of utility and support magic, without encroaching what either a cleric or wizard can do. However, with such a limited number of spells known, the strength of the spell-casting ability (especially with the laughable spells per day)this list is almost irrelevant.

Now this one is going to come under heavy fire. What if, perhaps, the Bard were granted a spellbook (much like a wizard's) without losing his ability to cast spontaneously? Not only does this fit into the role-playing aspect that maintains that Bards are keepers of forgotten lore, but it also allows the class to utilize its spell list to the fullest potential.

Look over the list of Bard spells in the Player's Handbook, and heck, every other supplement and you'll see that even if a Bard were to know all the spells on his class list, he still wouldn't be able to touch a Wizard's spell-casting power.

But if the spellbook suggestion isn't viable then a simple increase in the Bard's number of spells known should suffice.

It appears that Jason agrees with the multitude of players that feel that the Blackguard shouldve been made a base class.

Perhaps the only viable way to do this without using up the precious, limited space is to add an option for paladins who may choose to follow this path.

I can't see anyone in my campaign ever using it. A handful of the abilities are nice, but this seems less appealing than a Bard.

Most of the abilities have very little combat utility, with the exception of the 2 abilities that summon barbarians.

As far as roleplaying purposes go along, it's difficult for me to distinguish this class from the Loremaster.

Thoughts?

Half-elves in 3e and 3.5e were a joke. They were basically humans without the bonus feat, and with low-light vision and crappy skill bonuses.

In PFRPG they've become more like their elven ancestors in terms of skill bonuses, and gained the +2 to any one attribute like humans. They only real other addition is the Skill Focus feat, which seems to be of questionable merit.

Does anyone else feel the half-elf is comparable to the other basic races or is some sort of adjustment in order?

Greetings, before I delve into the "meat" of my post I would like to state that I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons since first edition and have always been dissappointed with the way these two classes played out.

Also, I would like to commend Paizo for its work with these, and the other 9 featured classes. They have done a phenomenal job in regards to addressing many balance issues. Because of their somewhat similar roles, I felt it necessary to address my balance concerns in a single thread. Plus, after detailing my paladin changes, I'll need to post suggested fighter changes to help the class maintain its original flavor.

Without further exposition: my suggestion.

Paladin- I've always found this class somewhat lacking as a defensive martial class. Also, it's damage output (even against evil creatures) is pitiful at best. With the release of 3.0 some of these concerns were addressed, but they carried a hidden defect: in order to be an adequate paladin, a character had to have exceptional stats in almost all areas. My following suggestions will address these concerns.

Basics- Bump hit die up to d12 and gain a good will save. These changes bear a similarity to the Knight class in the PH2 and reflect the intended, defensive nature of the class.

Proficiencies- Add tower shield proficiency. See previous rationale.

Smite Evil- This is what many consider to be the signature feature of the class. But, many feel that it lacks the offensive punch. First, I would recommend that when smiting evil that the attack be considered good-aligned. Second, I would increase the extra damage from 1x paladin level to 2x.

Lay on Hands- This ability is easy to fix: increase the amount of HP restored with each use to 2x the paladin's class level. Before you begin thinking that this will overshadow the cleric's role as the primary healer, continue to read on.

Divine Health- Why not add an immunity to poisons as well? Monks receive something similar.

Spellcasting- Now, this will be by far the most controversial part of this post. With the paladin's many immunities, ability to heal HP and adverse effects with lay on hands, ability to channel energy, and the ability to deal significant damage to evil creatures why have spells at all? Of the 11 base classes listed, 7 are spellcasters. If the previous changes I've suggested are made then the paladin has little use for spellcasting. I feel that this will not only emphasize the martial element of the class, but will prevent encroachment on the territory of clerics and druids.

Mettle- I never understood why paladins didn't get this class feature.

Now for the fighter changes-
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Fighter- Though most players have optimized their PC fighters by investing solely in Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, this class was not meant to be the feral warrior. That role falls to barbarian.

What (ideally) separates the fighter and barbarian is that the fighter's combat prowess is the result of discipline and training, where as (as I mentioned earlier) the barbarian is a fierce, feral savage. The following changes will emphasize the fighter as the master of the battlefield, increase the number of attributes the class will benefit from, and re-establish its tactical flavor:

Proficiencies- Same, except as noted below.

"At 1st level, a fighter may choose one exotic weapon proficiency per point of Intelligence bonus he has (if any). Once these choices have been made they cannot be changed. If the fighter’s Intelligence bonus increases at a later time, it does not entitle him to an additional choice."

New Class features:

Combat Initiative (Ex): At 1th level, the fighter receives a +1 competence bonus to all initiative checks. This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level, and by an additional +1 every five levels thereafter (10, 15, 20).

Combat Tactician (Ex): A fighter’s knowledge of battle tactics is unmatched, perfected through years of practice. Beginning at 4th level, the fighter adds his Intelligence bonus (if any) to bull-rush, disarm, grapple and trip attempts and to all rolls made to resist those maneuvers.

Veteran’s Eye (Ex): Countless battles have taught the fighter how to better strike his enemies’ weak points. Starting at 8th level, a fighter adds his Intelligence bonus to rolls made to confirm critical hits and also adds this bonus to the damage dealt by critical hits. This bonus damage is not multiplied. Creatures with no discernable weak points (abberations, constructs, and some undead) are not effected by this ability.

Critical Opportunity (Ex): At 12th level, a fighter can employ a quick maneuver to gain the upper hand in an engagement after dealing a powerful blow. After dealing a successful critical hit to an opponent, the fighter can make a free disarm or trip attempt. Regardless of the choice made, this action does not provoke an attack of opportunity. This ability may not be used against the same opponent more than once per encounter.
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Please evaluate these suggestions and give any constructive feedback.