The 3.0 Ranger had the Favored Enemy class feature laid out like so: Whatever your first Favored Enemy is, the bonus against that creature type goes up by 1 at your next Favored Enemy selection, even if you now realize (or the campaign has changed to the extent) that your second Favored Enemy should’ve been the one picked first. They changed it in 3.5 to where you could pick which Favored Enemy got the additional bonus.
The Pathfinder Fighter, IMO, is making the same mistake. “Well, I started my Fighter thinking we’d be facing the same skeletons that the campaign started with, so my first Weapon Training was with Hammers. Now, I’m stuck with (eventually) +5 to all my Hammer weapons when I’d rather be swinging blades” (since the campaign has moved away from smash-vulnerable creatures).
I’d say make his additional bonuses function the same way as the Ranger’s additional Favored Enemy bonuses.
I agree, good idea.
Good call.
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When I build a 1st level fighter, I tend to do so based on how I envision him developing over his career. His beginning weapon feats will suggest what kinds of weapons I'm expecting to specialize in. I wouldn't see myself building a fighter specifically to fight skeletons simply because I think the first scenario will have them. And if I need an off weapon I have no bonus with (to fight an ooze, skeleton, whatever), it will still do damage. Higher level creatures usually don't have DR based on weapon shape, either. So I wouldn't consider the fighter's method for early weapon choice nearly as risky as a 3.0 ranger's favored enemy choices.
That said, if this is changed to allow distributing bonuses on a per level basis, I certainly wouldn't argue against it.
So how does one go about making it an official suggestion. Put it in that product review section in My Account? Post another thread in the New Threads forum? Or have I already done it just with this thread (I've never posted threads on fixing a game still in the development stages before)?
So how does one go about making it an official suggestion. Put it in that product review section in My Account? Post another thread in the New Threads forum? Or have I already done it just with this thread (I've never posted threads on fixing a game still in the development stages before)?
From what I've seen so far, your thread will probably be noticed by the design team. Whether it survives their benevolent dictatorship and makes it into a post-Beta version (the beta is printed) is up to the merit of the suggestion. In this case, I think it's solid.
Paizo really seems to do a good job sorting the wheat from the chaff. Here's hoping they never incorporate one of my suggestions. ;)
This one's pretty cut and dried, though. The ranger comparison shows good sense, and there's not much reason not to offer more flexible choices. Especially not in such a new rule, which doesn't seriously threaten backward compatibility.