I like what they did with paladin, but I'm curious what people think about this. What if smite evil worked on a rounds a day system like rage and bardic music? I like the idea of a paladin channeling divine energy when they use it, and perhaps being able to affect any enemy he strikes while smiting. I haven't given it a lot of thought yet. Just thought I'd through it out there.
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It would fit what they've already done with Rage and Bardic Performance, so it's certainly an option to consider.
Giving it the same basic rounds as Barbarian Rage (complete with an Extra Smite conversion to act like Extra Rage) would work, although I'd rule that if you attempt to activate it against a target that can't be Smited (not Evil), you *do not* lose a round of the ability.
Generally, you activate a round of Rage, you get the bonuses for a round of Rage, so it seems like it would be 'fairer' if you don't lose a round of Rage if you attempt it against something that turns out not be as naughty as you have thought.
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Rounds per day is a terrible mechanic, though. (Bookkeeping yey.)
Really? I'm running a rogue1/barbarian2 right now, and in the top left of my character sheet I have a note that looks something like this:
Rage rounds used: |||
7 rounds/day
Those are tally marks, by the way. It's certainly no more bookkeeping than hit point loss or spellcasting.
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Really? I'm running a rogue1/barbarian2 right now, and in the top left of my character sheet I have a note that looks something like this:Rage rounds used: |||
7 rounds/dayThose are tally marks, by the way. It's certainly no more bookkeeping than hit point loss or spellcasting.
Sure at low levels works fine but try this instead:
Rage rounds used: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
42 rounds/day (Brbn15, Con 26)
After a while of this the character sheet starts looking a little abused. Of course you will be using cross hash-marks in groups of 5 but that will be a lot of pencil marking after each round when you have some 40+ rounds of combat each day and then just erase them after a rest period and start all over again.
Of course, even at high levels I don't see how this many rounds of combat ever occur in an adventuring day so I can see groups not even bothering to count the rounds at all. *shrug* You really have to ask yourself, if it comes to a point where gamers don't even bother using a game mechanic, is that mechanic really worthwhile?
I like what they did with paladin, but I'm curious what people think about this. What if smite evil worked on a rounds a day system like rage and bardic music? I like the idea of a paladin channeling divine energy when they use it, and perhaps being able to affect any enemy he strikes while smiting. I haven't given it a lot of thought yet. Just thought I'd through it out there.
In contrast with all their other abilities, I think a rounds/day method would provide better over-all class balance. The tough part would be settling on how many rounds. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking 2 rounds/level + CHA modifier per day.
Really? I'm running a rogue1/barbarian2 right now, and in the top left of my character sheet I have a note that looks something like this:Rage rounds used: |||
7 rounds/dayThose are tally marks, by the way. It's certainly no more bookkeeping than hit point loss or spellcasting.
Not to mention: "I only have to keep track of 3 rages/day (8th levl Brb)...let's see...rage number one! |...then...first round |, second round ||"....see my point?
Besides, the rounds per day is so much cleaner and much more flexible. I think this idea rocks.
Sure at low levels works fine but try this instead:
Rage rounds used: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
42 rounds/day (Brbn15, Con 26)After a while of this the character sheet starts looking a little abused. Of course you will be using cross hash-marks in groups of 5 but that will be a lot of pencil marking after each round when you have some 40+ rounds of combat each day and then just erase them after a rest period and start all over again.
Of course, even at high levels I don't see how this many rounds of combat ever occur in an adventuring day so I can see groups not even bothering to count the rounds at all. *shrug* You really have to ask yourself, if it comes to a point where gamers don't even bother using a game mechanic, is that mechanic really worthwhile?
So use scratch paper like we all do for hit points spells etc.
I like what they did with paladin, but I'm curious what people think about this. What if smite evil worked on a rounds a day system like rage and bardic music? I like the idea of a paladin channeling divine energy when they use it, and perhaps being able to affect any enemy he strikes while smiting. I haven't given it a lot of thought yet. Just thought I'd through it out there.It would be fins at low levels, but what about high levels?
Imagine if the Paladin has 20 rounds/day of smite? How many rounds of combat do you encounter in a day? I noticed that Bards and Barb's stopped needing to worry about when to use music or rage, since they have more rounds then they could spend.
With 20+ rounds, the Pally could smite ANYONE who was evil. The ability changes from a "save to target the BBEG" to a "all evil before me, repent or despare" kind of thing.
It would overpower the Pally in short order. Smite would have to be nerfed to make this workable.
This is completely true. I was remiss in giving my support without my misgivings. I think Smite Evil is totally broken as is. I therefore was assuming that we were talking about a complete rework of the mechanic, namely the amount of bonus damage.