Is it ever possible to add more than one effect from Blade Ally to your weapon, or does using any level lock you out from using every other level?
Do any other classes obsolete their choices like that?
Do any other classes obsolete their choices like that?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Is it ever possible to add more than one effect from Blade Ally to your weapon, or does using any level lock you out from using every other level?
Do any other classes obsolete their choices like that?
No. You only ever benefit from a single property at a given time for Blade Ally. The additional feats (Radiant Blade Spirit and Radiant Blade Master) only add to the list of properties to choose from for each daily preparation.
Rogues do have a similar conundrum when Debilitating Strikes comes online, where feats simply add to the list of things you can apply with Debilitating Strikes. There is the Double Debilitation feature, but it's still a case of adjudicating choices.
Ah, so it is like Familiar abilities. Once you level up enough to pick Spellcasting, then it takes up one of the familiar ability slots and you can't pick a different one for that slot.
Or maybe like prepared spellcasting where you only get one choice to put a spell in and you have to pick carefully during daily preparations.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
But yeah, Champion's Blade Ally rune effect is a bit more flexible than most classes get. Most classes don't get to pick each morning what their ability does. Monk for example can only change what stances they can use by retraining.
Ah, so it is like Familiar abilities. Once you level up enough to pick Spellcasting, then it takes up one of the familiar ability slots and you can't pick a different one for that slot.
Or maybe like prepared spellcasting where you only get one choice to put a spell in and you have to pick carefully during daily preparations.
Exactly like that, where taking Enhanced Familiar doesn't actually double your familiar's number of master abilities each day, and you have to spend feats to learn new spells while being restricted to preparing the same spell in every slot.
I really don't understand why anyone plays a Wizard when they're that poorly designed.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Combat Flexibility. Again, you have to choose one at the start of the day and stick with it.
Though there is Ultimate Flexibility that gives you 3 slots instead of 1. But that is a level 20 feat.
But yeah, Champion's Blade Ally rune effect is a bit more flexible than most classes get. Most classes don't get to pick each morning what their ability does. Monk for example can only change what stances they can use by retraining.
It seems spectacularly less flexible to me.
A monk who learns more styles can adapt as the days fights call for. He doesn't have to decide 'today I'm going to use Tiger' and get locked out of Wild Winds until tomorrow. A rogue can decide which debilitation to apply on the fly, and won't have much trouble rolling through their whole selection on one target.Yeah the upgrades give you more options. You can train out of feats if you plan to use one rune all the time. Blade Ally is pretty handy considering that it doesn't count as a rune, just adds the "effects" of a rune. Effectively giving you an extra one to use. At least that's what I gathered from the text.
It's a flexibility which is only really useful if you know what you're going to be fighting every day, and is very easy to end up with something you'll get no benefit from. And you can't train out of your level 10 feat if you want to use your level 20 feat. It's a prereq. You just can't use it.
Combat Flexibility. Again, you have to choose one at the start of the day and stick with it.
Though there is Ultimate Flexibility that gives you 3 slots instead of 1. But that is a level 20 feat.
Again, not comparable. Neither of those prevent you from using your other class abilities, and the capstone doesn't lock you out of its own prerequisite.
It'd be a suitable comparison if I was complaining that Radiant Blade Spirit doesn't let you make your weapon Flaming and Good.(I don't have a problem with a feat which says 'choose between this or that', I have a problem with a feat which says 'choose between this or that, and you also can't use that other stuff either')
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Yeah, there may not be anything else that is exactly identical, but the flexibility of choosing anew each morning is more powerful than most classes get for their choices. I don't think there is a balance problem here.
And the rules are clear enough.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Exactly like that, where taking Enhanced Familiar doesn't actually double your familiar's number of master abilities each day,...
I don't understand what you're trying to say. If I have a familiar with two Master Abilities and I take Enhanced Familiar, my familiar can now have four Master Abilities. The capacity literally doubles.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Divine ally blade is imo already too good.
1) Allows the champion to benefit from a free rune by lvl 3 ( you can go with ghost touch or disrupting if you know you'd be against undeads, or shifting just to change the weapon depends what maneuver you need or what physical DR the enemy has ).
2) Allows the champion to get the weapon critical specialization by lvl 3 ( rather than lvl 5 ).
3) by lvl 10, allows the champion to get a flaming rune in addition to any other rune the champion may have, resulting in double the elemental damage compared to any other class ( assuming 2 elemental runes ) or 50% extra elemental damage compared to any other class ( assuming 3 elemental runes ). Extremely powerful.
For an average extra 3.5 damage on a normal hit. With all the resistance problems of additional damage. Its good, its flexible, but its not anything too special. Seems about right for a good feat.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Exactly like that, where taking Enhanced Familiar doesn't actually double your familiar's number of master abilities each day,...I don't understand what you're trying to say. If I have a familiar with two Master Abilities and I take Enhanced Familiar, my familiar can now have four Master Abilities. The capacity literally doubles.
I think what Throne is trying to say is that Radiant Blade Spirit only gives new abilities but doesn't give any additional ability slots to put them in. Enhanced Familiar does give new ability slots.
Which is completely ignoring the fact that Enhanced Familiar only gives the additional ability slots but doesn't give any new abilities to put in them.
The Cleric's Emblazon Armaments line of feats also carries the restriction of applying just a single effect. Later feats expand the choices that can be made for this ability but the limit of one remains.
That's a good example.
Another is Oracle's Divine Access: You get new spells to put in your spell slots, but don't get any new spell slots to put them in.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The base options are a 150gp, a 75gp, a 55gp, and a 225gp rune. The level 12 options are a 500gp and at least one 1400gp rune. The level 20 options are a 2700gp, a 3000gp, and a 4300gp rune.
If it turns out that you're going to want to use ghost touch every day, you can just buy it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
@HumbleGamer
I believe PossibleCabbage's point is that by the time the level 12 options unlock you should already be able to easily afford the earlier options like ghost touch.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I fail to see how this is a rule question. "But other classes/feat work this way" isn't really a compelling argument when blade ally's language is clear. You make your decision during daily preparations.
"A feat saves potentially saves you a bunch of money, and it increases your versatility" seems to be compelling enough for a feat, but it's not a "you must take it" feat.
That your choice of divine ally doesn't silo you into taking all or most of the subsequent feats that require that choice (like a druid/ranger who has an animal companion, or a barbarian's instinct choice) is not exactly a bad thing.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oracle feats quite often result in additional focus spells without increasing your focus points.