Hi. In the main thread I could write only one of these points. Here I'm writing the others too.
-Make easier to accomplish combat maneuvers. DC=10+CMB. Even a combatant without the relative feat should be able to try a maneuver. By now, he's simply hopeless...and so? attack, attack and still attack. BOOORING!
-Casters doesn't REALLY need the ability to cast into a grapple.
-Spellcraft to cast defensively...sigh... Ok, but at least the DC should be 10+spell level+CMB of threatening opponents.
-Vancian casting? I can live with it... but please make possible (even via feat or class ability, your decision) to exchange N levels of spells memorized in order to cast an higher level spell memorized and viceversa (similar to monte kook's arcana evolved magic system)
-Adjust damage spells, so they become a viable option in combat. Actually they aren't, especially with the many hit point boons...
-Every class should have at least 4 skill points per level. Skill points ARE AN INFINITE ROLEPLAYING SOURCE.
-Trapfinding should be a feat, like 3.5 Track
-There has to be a high level feat that grants pounce or similar ability. What's the point in having a zillion of attacks if you can't use them?
-Social skills should be totally functional against PCs. The party's rogue with Bluff +30 MUST REALLY be able to persuade the party's paladin about his innocence, even if the rogue's player never finds decent arguments. No stupid metagaming among players.
-Make possible for fighters to improve their will save...bravery isn't enough
-Assassins should cast their spells, now they're really ineffective assassins, at least in the archetypical magic world.
-Adjust schools, domains and bloodlines power level.
Thanks an good luck for your amazing work.
Well, if we've got another thread for our 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. things we'd change, then here I go.
Alignment restrictions in general: Take them out (this was a very close 2nd).
Favored Class: Take it out. At minimum, make it cost a feat (so that stereotypical race/class combinations aren't being given extra stuff for nothing while non-stereotypical race/class combinations get nothing extra and should be grateful they get to exist at all).
Attack and Save Progressions: Make it fractional (a la Unearthed Arcana), so that multiclass characters don't fall behind on saves and attacks just because the book did the rounding down before the class was put in print.
Skills: Minimum 4 + Int skill points in any class.
Skills: Make it like 3.5, except you buy both class skills and cross-class skills at a cost of 1 point per rank, and the maximum for cross-class skills is your level and the maximum for class skills is your level + 3.
-Make easier to accomplish combat maneuvers. DC=10+CMB. Even a combatant without the relative feat should be able to try a maneuver. By now, he's simply hopeless...and so? attack, attack and still attack. BOOORING!
Check out this thread. It's a simple way to make CMB DCs easier, and it's a little closer statistically to 3.5.
It also got multiple votes for "One thing we'd Change." If 10 is the average Dex (globally) then using Touch AC makes maneuvers as easy as you're requesting on average, and harder for maneuvers against more dexterous characters.
Thanks toyrobot... it's a nice idea, but I'm afraid that it could help only at low levels, where touch AC aren't so good... At high level touch AC it makes maneuvers really too hard.
Anyway, I agree... your rule makes sense.
PS. Ah, I forgot. Please make the pounce ability available to every high skilled combatant that wants to purchase it... an high level feat maybe, that requires an high BAB or whatever. There's no point in having a zillion of attacks if you can't use them. Otherwise this feat could grant a full round action at the expense of a standard one.
-Spellcraft to cast defensively
I don't expect this to be around in the final game.
-Vancian casting? I can live with it... but please make possible (even via feat or class ability, your decision) to exchange N levels of spells memorized in order to cast an higher level spell memorized and viceversa (similar to monte kook's arcana evolved magic system)
In other words: Spell points. Not going to happen.
Just houserule it.
-Every class should have at least 4 skill points per level.
You're just barking your voice out. This one has been ruled out.
This issue is a lot less pressing now with the consolidated skill lists.
-Trapfinding should be a feat, like 3.5 Track
Nah.
Trapfinding (as it is now) should be part of the perception and disable device skills. No extra ability whatsoever needed to find traps past an arbitrary DC.
Trapfinding (the rogue class ability) should work like elven "door sense" instead.
-There has to be a high level feat that grants pounce or similar ability. What's the point in having a zillion of attacks if you can't use them?
I strongly suspect that there will be something like that in the final rules. Might be a pounce feat, might be something else that grants you more than one attack with a standard action, or a "partial move action" you can use in addition to the full attack option. Or something.
-Social skills should be totally functional against PCs. The party's rogue with Bluff +30 MUST REALLY be able to persuade the party's paladin about his innocence, even if the rogue's player never finds decent arguments. No stupid metagaming among players.
This is a tricky one. I'd say the game should explicitly state that this is the GM's call, and that it's best if the players and GM discuss this.
-Make possible for fighters to improve their will save...bravery isn't enough
Iron Will. Higher Wisdom
Beyond that, it's the same for rogues and fort, wizards and ref, bards and fort....
-Assassins should cast their spells, now they're really ineffective assassins, at least in the archetypical magic world.
I liked the spellcasting PrC-Assassin. If you don't want spells, just play a rogue and call yourself "assassin".
Come to think of it, the game should make it clear that titles and class names do not have to be the same.
If the assassin doesn't get his spellcasting back, he should at least get something that really makes it worthwhile for someone to choose this class over rogue.
Alignment restrictions in general: Take them out (this was a very close 2nd).
Flat out against it. Not in general. I might see some specific cases changed (though PF already made a really good job of this), but alignment should stay in, and should stay part of the actual game mechanics.
Easy enough to house rule out...
Favored Class: Take it out.
Nah, leave it in. I'd personally nix the extra HP option (doesn't make sense to me), but that's an easy enough house rule.
Those archetypes are there for a reason. It's good that the archetypal dwarf is a fighter. That way, your exceptional dwarf ranger with a heavy crossbow as favourite weapon gets to be exceptional.
It also makes sense that different races and cultures are known to be best in something (elves being the best wizards and so on) with long histories of producing capable members of those professions. It means that their teaching institutions have an edge over that of other races, that there are more fellow race members to give you extra pointers, and so on.
Again, laughably easy to houserule.
Attack and Save Progressions: Make it fractional
While those lags can be a real problem, I think fractional bonuses are too complicated as standard rules.
I guess something similar to PrC save progressions would be better.
Or basically say that the +2 bonus for a strong save is only granted once for each score, no matter how often you start in a class that has that save as a strong save, and thöen state that if you multiclass, you get to treat your save bonus for the second class as if you were one level higher in it.
Would probably accomplish pretty much the same without having to juggle around 1/4ths and 1/6ths.
Skills: Make it like 3.5, except you buy both class skills and cross-class skills at a cost of 1 point per rank, and the maximum for cross-class skills is your level and the maximum for class skills is your level + 3.
No! The old x4 at first level exception needs to stay dead. It needs to be staked through the heart, its head cut off, its mouth filled with holy wafers, the body quartered, the remains burned, and buried at different crossroads spread to all corners of the compass, under running water, on consecrated sites.
Two identical twin fighter1/rogue1 characters should have the same amount of skill points (and HP), even if one started as rogue and the other as fighter!
Trapfinding (as it is now) should be part of the perception and disable device skills. No extra ability whatsoever needed to find traps past an arbitrary DC.Trapfinding (the rogue class ability) should work like elven "door sense" instead.
Fine for me. :)
I strongly suspect that there will be something like that in the final rules. Might be a pounce feat, might be something else that grants you more than one attack with a standard action, or a "partial move action" you can use in addition to the full attack option. Or something.
Excellent.
This is a tricky one. I'd say the game should explicitly state that this is the GM's call, and that it's best if the players and GM discuss this.
Yes, I only hope that the new skills support it. Conflict resolution is the answer to many problems.
KaeYoss
I agree with mostly every thing you argued here, except move with full attack action, there is a lot of tactic related to it right now, otherwise it won't matter whether you are standing still or spending a move trying to run. If it is allowed, it should be limited.
Those tactics that rely on preventing someone from making full attacks are, frankly, weird, and feel artificial.
While I don't mind someone getting a small bonus for point defense, I think it shouldn't be as big a difference as it it now - at least for those who rely on mundane attacks, as those who attack with spells will not have that problem.
Maybe make attacking a standard action with one or more attacks, depending on your BAB. At BAB +9 or something like that, you'll get an additional attack. You can also use two-weapon fighting, which adds another attack at the cost of some accuracy (and of course, you don't get to add as much strength as a two-handed fighter, and your weapon is smaller, and so on).
And then you can take the "full attack" action, which allows only little movement (5 foot step, maybe more with high-level feats) but grants you one extra attack at your highest attack bonus, maybe more for two-weapon fighters.
Favored Class: Take it out. At minimum, make it cost a feat (so that stereotypical race/class combinations aren't being given extra stuff for nothing while non-stereotypical race/class combinations get nothing extra and should be grateful they get to exist at all).
This also appears like one of the most awkward mechanics of the whole system, and one that could easily just disappear without affecting the game whatsoever.
Admittedly, it is also one of the mechanics that has the least impact on the game. So while I find it superfluous, I don't think it breaks the game down.
So my last thoughts on that would be to leave it out of the system, and add a sidebar with two or three suggestions on how to deal with favored classes and racial background training/incentive.
Same goes for racial exotic weapons familiarity.
'findel
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My last thoughts:
Split Paladins Lay on Hands and Channel energy, the combination of these seperate skills nerfs any paladin attempting to use divine feats.
Make smite evil grant an extra attack at your highest bonus instead of lasting longer at higher levels starting at level one, this will mitigate the wiff factor at low levels and prevent the always smiting that is a curent problem at high levels.
Monks need something that makes them better at manuevers instead of being as good as the fighter. Give them a new class feature so that they can shine instead of always being almost as good as the fighter.
Get rid of the ranged touch attacks for divine spellcasters domain powers, ranged touch attacks should be the realm of the arcane, switch any ranged touch powers in the clerics domains to straight up touch attacks instead.
make poisons better, right now high fort types have no fear of poison.
no bonus hp at first level, the boost in hp from standardizing hp to BAB was enough.
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Favored Class: Take it out. At minimum, make it cost a feat (so that stereotypical race/class combinations aren't being given extra stuff for nothing while non-stereotypical race/class combinations get nothing extra and should be grateful they get to exist at all).
As far as I read from Jason's blog this is already done - you chose now any one class to be your favored, half-elves get to chose two classes (a nod to their "multiclassery" from previous editions).
Where is this blog?