A Version of Practiced Spellcaster for BAB instead of CL

[Emparawr]

I have seen some other threads where this idea came up but I am curious as to what others think of this idea. Basically a feat, that raises your BAB, but never past your HD similar to Practiced Spellcaster from 3.5 or any of the other multiclass helper feats. I'm thinking +2 to your BAB, never past your HD though. This eliminates any potential for BAB higher than HD Uber Fighter nonsense but allows for a multiclasser to sacrifice some feat slots in order to take the BAB loss sting off a bit. I look forward to opinions.

[RumpinRufus]

First thoughts: you're giving away the martial character's goodies. If the druid or oracle can out-fighter the fighter AND get full casting, why would anyone ever play a martial character?

[Eltacolibre]

even +2 Bab changes the dynamic a lot. Medium Bab classes basically never loses bab, Clerics and Magi would be very happy of essentially having full bab at every levels.

[wraithstrike]

I would not allow this. The thing with practiced spellcaster is that the CL did not really come into play as often as BAB would. As a melee focused Druid, inquisitor, bard, etc etc this would be a "will take this all the time" feat, and push them past the martials(full BAB) in combat ability.

A 3/4 BAB character with their abilities to boost BAB would be better than the fighters and likely the barbarian also, not just as an overall class, but at their own jobs.

If you really want to help them just give them a bonus to the attack roll, but not actual BAB. BAB gives extra attacks, improves the to-hit roll, and helps qualify for feats faster.

PS: That +2 is all that is need to keep a 3/4 character having the same BAB as a full BAB character all the way up to level 9, and by the separation is so slow after that, it becomes a nonfactor.

PS2: Personally I would not give them a bonus at.

[Helcack]

I would allows it if you put a restriction on it that the character could not learn magic or gain SLA's. Call it something like Prowess of the Faithless or Martial Focus.

[Azten]

That would still let Alchemists take it.

[Tryn]

I'm thinking of changing Weapon Focus so that the bonus count as BAB bonus as long as BAB is below the character level.

This would allow players to spezialize 3/4 classes more on martial if they want or allow 1/2 classes to get some melee/ranged bonus if they aim for it (e.g. arcane archer).

At the moment WF is only a Tax-Feat for fighters to get weapon spec or for some prestige classes, this change would make WF more intressting for non-fighter.

[BigDTBone]

I would allow it but with the restriction that is would only increase BAB upto your highest progression. So, if you were a straight bard then it wouldn't help you, but if you multiclassed bard/rogue then you could use it to pick up the fractional BAB you left on the table.

At the same time, if a bard multiclassed with a full BAB class then they could get their BAB upto 1:1 but they would be giving up a bunch by multiclassing.

[wraithstrike]

Helcack wrote:

I would allows it if you put a restriction on it that the character could not learn magic or gain SLA's. Call it something like Prowess of the Faithless or Martial Focus.

I dont think any magical class is going to trade magic away for 2 BAB unless it is an archetype that has already traded magic away.

[Tryn]

BigDTBone wrote:

I would allow it but with the restriction that is would only increase BAB upto your highest progression. So, if you were a straight bard then it wouldn't help you, but if you multiclassed bard/rogue then you could use it to pick up the fractional BAB you left on the table.

At the same time, if a bard multiclassed with a full BAB class then they could get their BAB upto 1:1 but they would be giving up a bunch by multiclassing.

Good Idea: The Mulit-Class BAB/Save Rules always bothered me. As a houserule we don't adding BAB of same progression classes. We simply calculate the BAB by the total levels of classes with the same BAB-Progression.

E.g. a Level 2/2 (Rog/Cleric) would have a BAB of 3 (4 levels on 3/4 BAB classes) instead of 2

[kestral287]

What Wraithstrike said. To expound upon one point though, your caster level matters in pretty much three instances:

1. Dispel Checks
2. Penetrating SR
3. Spell variables, which are by far at their most significant for direct-damage magic (often considered to be inferior to other options)

If one really likes, it's entirely possible to make use of a great many spells without worrying about these. Buff spells don't care about SR (unless your allies have it) and often only care about variables for durations-- and once you get your duration up to "as long as the fight lasts" everything after that is useless anyway, so extra caster levels don't mean much. That means that for a significant sample of very useful spells, you only ever care about Caster Level for Dispel Checks. Battlefield control options often work in much the same way; Fog Cloud doesn't care overly much if you're first or tenth level.

And, even more on point, it's very likely that a great many fights will go by where not one of those comes up.

But BAB... that's something that will come into play in every fight you are in, if you have even the slightest reason to care about it. I could honestly see some ninth-level casters investing in this feat for their early game, it'd be that good (Up to level 4, you get to be a full BAB class... that can help cover you until your spells are totally set; by fifth level you don't need the weaponry anymore so you either retrain out of the feat or hang onto it for use with the occasional touch/ranged touch spell).

For others? Cleric, Druid, Magus? It's an automatic grab and it does way too much. With this feat I can't think of a reason to play any non-archer Fighter, and precious few reasons to even do that. Very few reasons to run Ranger over Druid. Etc, etc.

[Emparawr]

Well I guess its nix to that idea as it is clearly universally loathed lol. No way to increase bab it is.

[Cyrad]

I honestly don't see the point of it. Excluding the cleric and summoner, 3/4 BAB spellcaster classes strike me as the most balanced classes in the game. Less BAB is a meaningful trade off for their versatility. It wouldn't be fair to let them take feats as early as a full BAB martial. Many of them have ways to augment their attack rolls anyway.

The feat would be okay for the rogue and monk, but those classes should have full BABs anyway. And they will be when Pathfinder Unchained comes out.