I know at the current time Dreamscarred Press isn't done with Path of War (3.5's Tome of Battle for Pathfinder) and this particular thread question should belong on their boards. However, I didn't want to post it up there because I didn't want them to worry about balancing their mechanics for the sake of a popular set of homebrew rules. But for anyone who understands the Martial Maneuver mechanic (in either PoW or ToB) and the versatility it gives non-caster builds, I have this question:
Are the base classes from PoW(/ToB) strong enough to keep up with wizards and clerics casting 4th level spells if they are in an e8 campaign? In other words, are they not completely overshadowed classes despite the party being able to possibly cover all role-playing and combat roles needed by level 6 with epic feats?
The type of campaign I want to run is one that is not as gritty as e6 inherently is but crazy enough to introduce creatures stronger than CR 12 and maybe even mythic rules. An anime style campaign to be more frank. Which leads me to this other question:
How do I factor in mythic feats alongside with epic feats?
I understand in normal e6 the approximate cap for the number feats able to interact with one another in one encounter is 20ish. Thus, letting the players be treated as if they were CR 10 creatures individually (or a party of 4 as APL 10) given that they are properly geared.
Link to Dreamscarred Press's thread on Path of War
Thoughts?
Are the base classes from PoW(/ToB) strong enough to keep up with wizards and clerics casting 4th level spells if they are in an e8 campaign?
In my 3.5 experience, TOB is still beneath spell casting. Swordsage or Warblades were more fun and a more useful alternative to rogue or fighter, but they were still weaker than full casters. I however haven't done E6 or used epic feats nor looked at path of war myself to give much in depth detail.
Design Manager
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The Path of War classes are all solid Tier 3 classes, so they won't be completely eclipsed in e6 / e8 play. It actually favors them a bit since they share the same action economy as a spellcaster, if not the versatility. Bo9S classes have a bit more swing to them than DS' PoW classes, but their power, versatility, and capabilities still hold up very well. Swordsage is actually probably the most heavily impacted in e6/e8 since he's both more MAD than the other initiator classes, and doesn't see some of his best abilities until after that cap. The feat gains favor the other classes more, as Bo9S has some amazing feats for the Warblade, and there currently aren't many feats with high level reqs in PoW.
The Stalker from PoW may see some of the same issues as the Swordsage, as they're both fairly reliant on "nova" and doing so effectively as an initiator isn't super easy at those lower levels, feats or no feats. The Warder, Warlord, Crusader, and Warblade should all hold up well.