RPG Superstar 2013
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Some of these seem out of balance to me, while some seem completely useless. I write about this under the pretext of playtest, because my character in Rob McCreary's Iskandria PBM disdains his own first-level ability. In looking over the other abilities (I have dreams of playing a high-powered Malconvoker one day), I have some questions and concernes about these abilities. Others are welcome to chime in or disagree with me here. Hopefully there will be some comments that Paizo's team find helpful as they continue to design the future World's Most Popular Role-playing Game.
Hey - confirm for me that most of these abilities ahouls be based on wizard level and not caster level. Otherwise, we are really rewarding the multiclass wizard a lot. The inevitable mystic theurge will bring the house down.
Abjurers: First level ability is no good. A standard action for an ability that lasts one round, and likely duplicates a benefit for your party that can't stack? I can't see this getting much use. I think most wizards would rather cast spells. Perhaps if it were a swift or immediate action, or lsated one round per (wizard) or (caster) level.
The rest of the Abjurer's abilities seems fun and balanced. That dude is taking no energy damage though, so it might be a little strong. I'll join a 20th level playtest to find out!
Conjurers are studs. I fear the 20th level ability might be too much. I know it has me licking my chops over the 20 level playtest and thinking 'malconvoker'. Maybe a party of 6 wizards in this playtest. Mmm.
DivinersThe diviner's first-level ability lasts three rounds, and provides a bonus equal to caster level on an ability, attack or other check. Stronger than the abjurer. After 4th level, I fear diviners with Quickened Spell-like Ability: Truestrike. That's hard. As a DM, I am going to frustrate a lot of Diviners by squirreling my wauy out of their 20th level ability. Campaigns must have secrets.
Enchanters Strong bonus for cross-classers! And permanent dominate monster[/b] is STRONG! I'll look up whether this spell has a HD limitation on it, but currently, this SLA makes a strong answer to the debate in that other thread about Cha or Int being used for DCs. Clearly this ability rocks the house, and skying your Int bonus would be a big priority.
Evocation Suck it, warmage! So, meteor swarm deals 24d6+120 points of damage? Sudden Empower, anyone? I think +1/die is sufficient, since at higher levels you deal more dice. I shudder at the thought of quickened magic missiles dealing out 5d4+30 points of force damage. This guy is an even beter argument for keeping SLAs as is, since nothing takes the bad guys to the woodshed like free [i]chain lightnings, prismatic sprays, and meteor swarms The elemental power ability is neat, and not overpowered. Just maybe the rest of him.
Illusionist The specialist ability is clever, useful, and balanced. It also motivates the character to be a real illusionist, instead of a battery of invisibility and phantasmal killer spells. The 20th level ability is fun and not over-powered. I would think we need a rule about bonuses to disguise checks. People often believe their eyes, but some wizards are terrible actors.
Necromancers Hoochi mama! 8 HD/level! Your 7th level wizard can animate 9 troll skeletons (make sure they go on their own initiative!) I played this game before: it's called Diablo 2. And, yes, your screen will also slow down and you'll be dead before you get back up to your normal processing speed. I am not sure how I would fix this. A HD cap just means more humans skeletons to tie up turns. As an NPC, this guy is great. As a PC, I worry about the sanity of players who surround themselves withmore NPC skeletons than actual friends. And anyone who knows me will now accuse me of being that guy, but oh well.
Moving on, grave touch is awesome. Not too powerful, but definitely mean-spirited. I don't like the 20th lvl ability much. I think players should be able to choose humanity despite their crimes against it, and I think anyone that chooses undeath deserves to be vulnerable to positive energy just like the rest of his kin. Also, I have always thought the deck was kind of stacked against undead, so I think of this ability as much a penalty as I do a bonus. But we can have that discussion later.
Tranmuters Another big reward for multiclassers, but then should transmuters be multiclassers? Hmmm. Telekinetic fist is cool..a little untyped damage to throw in, plus it rocks cinematically. Like the staff fight in Fellowship of the Ring. I'd like it to be stated somewhere that these abilities you can use for non-consecutive rounds per day are usable as free or swift actions. Fluid form is boss, just remember that if we're using caster levels and not wizard levels, this class rewards the wizard/fighter type like no other. ("I charge 240 feet with Spring Attack and Two-Weapon Rend.")
Universalists I never had much use for these guys, but having a None of the Above category is reasonable, and the revised abilities I think capture good flavor. Most of your world's wizards might be specialists, but then a few will not. They have no restrictions on spells, and gain awesome bonuses at higher level. The first level ability seems weak, until you realize that the wizard can move away from his target and cease concentrating after he picks a better spot. Also, you don't have to fight. You might just need to have a mage hand handy at will. I question the wish spells. Nothing sees unuse like a 5000 xp component.
Those are my thoughts on the balances of the specialist abilities. Mostly, they refer to beginning or ending abilities. The middle abilities - for the most part - all seem balancd, and to be expected of a wizard with that specialty.
I do think the added abilities are fun and awesome in concept. I think more people might play wizards and clerics, and if you changed 'caster level' to 'wizard level' a few times, they would ride the wizard class all the way up more often. Otherwise, I fear some very verypowerful characters could pick their way through different classes and always outshine their companions.
But I am just me, and I haven't playtested any of this. Tell me what you think.