Pyrurge's page

This thread is largely inspired by WhiteShark's
Condensed Ability Scores.

Alternative Ability Scores presented in GMG are a very interesting concept of rebalancing the classic 6 ability scores by fundamentally changing them. However, it does have some issues - mainly, Strength becomes the new God Stat, while Dexterity becomes functionally useless. Refusing to split Dex into Agi and Dex fixes some problems, but Intelligence still needs a significant buff, and Wisdom is left slightly underpowered. So let's go one step further, and merge the mental stats too.

I propose reducing the number of attributes from 6 to 4, leaving ability scores very similar to those of Shadow of the Demon Lord - Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Willpower:

• Strength does everything that both Strength and Constitution do;
• Dexterity is mostly unchanged, but can be added to damage rolls with finesse attacks (if better than Strength);
• Intelligence does everything both Intelligence and Wisdom do, with the exception of Will saves;
• Willpower does everything Charisma does, and also applies to Will saves;
• Backgrounds only give one boost;
• The free boosts at 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 are reduced in number from 4 to 3.

Constitution apex items become Strength apex items, Headband of Inspired Wisdom becomes Intelligence apex item, and Sage's Lash becomes Willpower apex item. Clerics, Druids, Monks, and Rangers can choose Intelligence or Willpower as their spellcasting attribute at the character creation. Thief racket can be reconceptualized as a skill-monkey racket, perhaps allowing you to reroll critically failed skill checks twice per day and giving trainings in Stealth and Thievery. Given that Strength-based characters now only need to concentrate on a single attribute, Bulwark trait can be removed from the game.

Sample Ability Scores through level 20 (Default Ability Scores)
10 10 10 10 10 10 base
12 12 10 10 10 10 ancestry
14 14 10 10 10 10 background
16 14 10 10 10 10 class
18 16 12 12 10 10 free
19 18 14 14 10 10 level 5
20 19 16 16 10 10 level 10
21 20 18 18 10 10 level 15
22 20 18 18 12 10 level 20

Sample Ability Scores through level 20 (SotDL-style Ability Scores)
10 10 10 10 base
12 12 10 10 ancestry
14 12 10 10 background
16 12 10 10 class
18 14 12 10 free
19 16 14 10 level 5
20 18 16 10 level 10
21 19 18 10 level 15
22 20 18 12 level 20

All in all, these new ability scores look remarkably balanced. Strength is important for HP and Fortitude saves, Dexterity is important for Reflex saves and several practically useful skills, Intelligence is important for Perception and utility skills, and Willpower is important for Will saves and social situations. Thoughts?

Can you use Aid action (aiding during the whole ritual) on Ritual checks? That's basically the question.

I've recently noticed that casting rituals is actually ridiculously hard even for a character perfectly equipped to cast them. Very hard DC for a level that’s twice the ritual’s spell level usually means that a character with the highest available proficiency, a biggest available item bonus, and maxed out relevant stat is still more likely to fail on the primary check than to succeed on it, and secondary casters, even optimized ones, often make things worse. You can mitigate that, taking Ritualist archetype and gaining +2 circumstance bonus to primary checks, and also convincing an Alchemist to supply you with skill-boosting mutagens of 11+ level while you cast rituals in a hour thanks to Speedy Rituals (which means that even this strategy only becomes available at 14th level, and only for 1-day casting time rituals). Allowing Aid to work on Ritual checks would allow for another slight bonus; disallowing it would leave them brutally difficult.

Also, are there any spells that give status bonus to skill checks and last for an hour or longer? I don't think there are any.

Witch is a class that's considered underwhelming by many. It can be built well in a right campaign, but can also be disastrously weak in different circumstances due to its focus on hexes (which can be too situational) and familiar (which is not something an entire class should depend on). Compared to the likes of Bard, Cleric, or Druid, Witch sacrifices its durability (with 6 HP per level and no armor proficiency); compared to Sorcerer and Wizard, Witch sacrifices its spellcasting (getting 3 spells per level like non-specialized spellcasters instead of their 4). All these classes have their own additional tools, often as powerful as what Witch gets to compensate for its weaknesses. Most homebrewers try to buff Witch's strong side, the Hexes and ability to Sustain Spells with Cackle. That's a valid path, but I prefer another one.

The Playtest Witch was a specialized spellcaster, getting 4 spells slots per level, and wasn't very different from its finalized form. The most meaningful change, besides losing one fourth of its spells, was that Basic Lesson got separated into a feat and Patron Themes, with focus spells converted into very powered-down one-action cantrips. It was a positive change, but I don't consider it to be that overwhelming. Hexes are no Compositions, being much more situational, and, in current form, are not something that a class should be built on.

Thus, I propose a buff in two steps:

1) Make Witch a specialized 4-slots-per-level spellcaster like in Playtest.

2) Remove some unnecessary restrictions from the weaker Hexes, with Shroud of Night affecting all creatures without Greater Darkvision, and Wilding Word affecting every creature type.

While that's a powerful buff, I don't think it to be overwhelming. There are five points of comparison:

1) Fervor Witch and Cloistered Cleric are both prepared Divine casters. Witch gains more slots, Stoke the Heart, a familiar, and a bigger selection of focus spells. Cleric gains Divine Font (which I consider to be comparable to the expanded spellcasting, maybe even better with investment in Charisma), more HP, a domain, better Will saving throws, possibility of specializing in Heal/Harm, and, most importantly, access to the entire divine list without needing to Learn any Spells. Overall, I think they are equal, with each having their own niche, instead of Cleric being overwhelmingly superior.

2) Primal Witches and Druid are both prepared Primal spellcasters, but Druid gains much better defense, having access to Hide armor and more HP, better Will saving throws, much better focus spells (or comparable ones, if Witch has access to Glacial Heart), order benefits like an animal companion, and, again, access to their entire spell list instead of a small slice of learned spells. Again, in my opinion, the buffed spellcasting evens those odds.

3) Occult Witches were clearly inferior to Bards in almost every respect. Inspire Courage and Dirge of Doom are much more powerful than Hexes, and Bards also have 8 HP per level and access to light armor. This way, at least, Witch is better at actual spellcasting.

4) Wizard is a harder sell. They now have similar spellcasting (with specialist wizards trading the restrictions on prepared spells for one more versatile spell of the highest level, and universalists being straight up more versatile with their slots), Patron Familiar is slightly inferior to Arcane Thesis, because Wizard can actually choose theirs, and Spell Substitution/Blending is no joke, and, finally, the school spell is put against Discern Secrets. The Hex wins, because Witch can get actually good focus spells, but Wizard has access to Clever Counterspell and Spell Penetration too. Overall, I'd say that Buffed Witch may be slightly more powerful, but Wizard still has a niche in other Arcane Theses.

5) Sorcerer puts spontaneous spellcasting, blood spells, and Blood Magic against prepared spellcasting, Hexes, and Patron Familiar. Blood Magic is unique, while a familiar is not, but the same can be said about Hexes. Still, spontaneous spellcasting will always have its niche, and Charisma is a stronger key stat due to Demoralize and Bon Mot existing.

By and large, the buff seems to make Witch more or less as powerful as other spellcasters without the need to comprehensively alter every Hex or class feature, which is a win in my book. I'm open to your opinions on the matter.