Playtest results for Samurai
(I won’t bother posting the build for the first Samurai player...see reason below)
Human Samurai 3/Fighter 5
Str 16
Dex 18
Con 15
Int 12
Wis 15
Cha 13
Order: Lion
Resolve: Determined
Feats: Dodge, Double Slice, Improved Initiative, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Mobility, Quick Draw, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting
Human Samurai 8
Str 13
Dex 17
Con 14
Int 11
Wis 14
Cha 12
Order: Dragon
Resolve: Determined
Feats: Manyshot, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow)
Human Samurai 8
Str 18
Dex 15
Con 16
Int 12
Wis 11
Cha 14
Order: Lion
Resolve: Determined
Feats: Alertness, Combat Expertise, Cleave, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (Katana)
Pros:
-The Challenge ability my players enjoyed and got great use out of.
-The Resolves were good as well. My players both chose Determined; none of them were sure why Resolute was an option, but I can see the benefit of it myself.
-The Samurai was on par with the fighter in our party in terms of damage output.
-For the level of the test, Banner wasn’t that powerful, but certainly at higher levels, it can be useful to have.
-It was good that the Samurai didn’t need to be Lawful by default. That went over rather well with my table. Although, one player did call BS on that. Wasn't sure if that was a typo or not.
Cons:
-The biggest question I got asked by all my players was, “why does he have a mount?” or, “can we swap this out for something else?” and, “so I have to spend feats on two-weapon fighting instead of just having it instead of mounted archery? Why can’t I play a Samurai that dual-wields?” I spent about two hours explaining that this was a more historical samurai and that’s why he gained mounted archery and a horse. And also said that you can dual-wield; you would just need to spend the feats to do so. I had to bribe my players with items and money before someone finally volunteered to play it for me after I told them the mount was not optional.
-We all do agree that the Samurai should have something in addition to Fortitude as a good save. Either Reflex or Will; preferably Will because of the mental training and discipline of the Samurai.
-Not sure why the base Samurai does not have Acrobatics as a class skill; it was suggested at the table to add it.
About half way through, I had to stop the playtest with the player that volunteered to play the first Samurai, because he kept trying intentionally to get his horse killed. At that point, I said I need someone else to play a Samurai for me to test it. Thankfully, someone else did step up but only took three levels of Samurai and the rest as Fighter. I had to ask him if he would *not* do that, but he insisted because he wanted to be a Master of Dual-Wielding since it was not part of the class normally. I asked if anyone was *willing* to play the Samurai as is, mount, archery and all. I did have one player that (thankfully) stepped up and played the Samurai as was. The Mounted Archery ability felt clunky to him when he used it in combat. Granted, he said he wasn’t accustomed to fighting on horseback to begin with, however. He could see practical use for it in combat, but said he would have to play more mounted combat characters to fully grade it better.
I actually ran an option after the first two successful playthroughs. I gave them the option for either the mount or the bonded item. My third player took the bonded item instead of the mount, which actually worked pretty well for the Samurai. I personally wasn’t crazy about it at first, but I must admit, it worked good for the Samurai. I’d consider using it as an alternative to the mount feature.
Although all my players were excited at the addition of the Samurai, they were disappointed to hear that the Samurai was mounted. My players have never liked mounts of any type; I don't know why, but the two paladin players I’ve had both chose bonded weapon and I had someone consider the Cavalier, until he saw that it was a mounted class. Would you mind please consider making the mount optional? You could give them the Paladin’s bonded item ability, which makes the Samurai more desirable at my table.
Now....as for the Gunslinger:
Human Gunslinger 8
Str 11
Dex 16
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 17
Cha 13
Feats: Dodge, Extra Grit x2, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload (firearm), Secret Stash
Pros:
-Making Grit based off of Wisdom was good; it might not hurt though to give them like a base of 2 + Wis modifier per day in points, though.
-Targeting was used a lot by my Gunslinger player. He liked making them become confused or forcing them to drop their weapon.
Cons:
-Deadeye is a bit broken. Sure, you can empty your Grit pool for one awesome shot, but a lot of times, my player just moved within the standard range increment and used Deadeye. Maybe give them a bigger penalty to their AC instead of -2?
-The Gunslinger doesn’t do quite as much damage over the long run. Compared to a fighter of the same level, the fighter is doing more damage. Granted, the Gunslinger can add his Dex modifier to damage rolls, but to be on par with the fighter, something needs to be corrected with the damage output.
I was wrong when it came to the Gunslinger; it does need some improvement. I’m not sure how I feel exactly about the misfire function of firearms. On one hand, our table has never been fans of the random mishap chart. However, I also can argue that the style these guns are modeled after would have such a flaw in them and it makes sense. So, in the end, I’m neutral at best when it comes to that. I’d reconsider giving the gunslinger either two guns or a musket; only having one or the other would work instead. Giving the Gunslinger the Fighter’s weapon training for guns was good. Although, unless there’s more guns offered in Ultimate Combat (which I’m sure there will be), we’re not sure of the point of Weapon Training for Guns alone. 11 gp/shot? That’s a bit expensive and that needs to be fixed.
Deft Shootist Deed is a nice way to fire at point blank range. However, I’d make it an ability at level 9 or 10 perhaps. Secret stash is good for it you’re running low on bullets and powder and can’t or don’t want to engage in melee combat. But again...11 gp/shot? Ouch...
