Azmodeous
Apprentice
I'm realizing that I'm late to the party here, I just joined this group so I haven't read through all of the previous posts. Still, I wanted to throw some of my ideas into the ring even if someone might have already proposed them.
I play Bjorn the fighter in the Seattle chapter. I have reviewed your proposed new rules and I have some suggestions for balancing the classes and new skills.
First off, I want you to know I have noticed some of the balancing that has been done with some of the classes such as the with the rogue having alchemy and create trap as rogue skills, I think that and the addition of thrown traps really gives them a boost that they dearly needed. I'm also a fan of the Hearty and Resolute skills for fighter though I think that maybe hearty should be 5 body and cost 3, but that's just me dreaming. The intercept skill also seemed neat, I can certainly see its usefulness. Anyhow, onto my suggestions.
Now, I know what I'm going to say will sound biased, please bear with me and hear me out. Scholars and other casters have a huge advantage over non-casters, Fighters in particular. Now, I know that you're thinking that this is wholly in my own interest. . . and it is. But the fact of the matter is that after roughly level 5, a fresh fighter vs a fresh caster of the same level, the caster always wins. I'm talking off the block, no magic items, no protectives other than what they could cast on themselves, and mundane gear. The caster pins/bind/webs/etc. the fighter and kills them at their leisure. The power gap only increases with the addition of high magic. I know that Fighters get to swing a weapon an infinite number of times at the same elevated damage, but from what I've seen in the game, burst damage (like from dragon's breath or a slay) wins.
So, with that in mind, here are my ideas:
Well, those were just some of my ideas, but they're the ones I thought worth sharing. I haven't seen any new rules since May, so some of these ideas might already be in the revisions, but I hope you find the my ideas helpful. Thank you for taking the time to review my ideas for the upcoming rules change.
I play Bjorn the fighter in the Seattle chapter. I have reviewed your proposed new rules and I have some suggestions for balancing the classes and new skills.
First off, I want you to know I have noticed some of the balancing that has been done with some of the classes such as the with the rogue having alchemy and create trap as rogue skills, I think that and the addition of thrown traps really gives them a boost that they dearly needed. I'm also a fan of the Hearty and Resolute skills for fighter though I think that maybe hearty should be 5 body and cost 3, but that's just me dreaming. The intercept skill also seemed neat, I can certainly see its usefulness. Anyhow, onto my suggestions.
Now, I know what I'm going to say will sound biased, please bear with me and hear me out. Scholars and other casters have a huge advantage over non-casters, Fighters in particular. Now, I know that you're thinking that this is wholly in my own interest. . . and it is. But the fact of the matter is that after roughly level 5, a fresh fighter vs a fresh caster of the same level, the caster always wins. I'm talking off the block, no magic items, no protectives other than what they could cast on themselves, and mundane gear. The caster pins/bind/webs/etc. the fighter and kills them at their leisure. The power gap only increases with the addition of high magic. I know that Fighters get to swing a weapon an infinite number of times at the same elevated damage, but from what I've seen in the game, burst damage (like from dragon's breath or a slay) wins.
So, with that in mind, here are my ideas:
- Disarm should cost the same as it does for casters. Disarm should cost the same for a fighter as for a caster. A caster gets all level one spells to choose from (providing they have the spell in their book) for one build, it seems that a fighter should be able to disarm an opponent with the same amount of study.
- Hamstring (New skill). Once per day per time purchased, this skill immobilizes one enemy hit with a melee, thrown, or packet attack following the call “weapon, hamstring.” If hit the target cannot move from that spot for 10 minutes or until they receive a “restore” spell. The target can still fight, cast spells, and otherwise defend themselves but cannot move without aid. Unlike a pin, it cannot be ripped out of which makes it worth, in my opinion, 4 possibly even 5 build and it should require 50-60 build in fighter skills for each rank.
- Throat punch (new skill, couldn't think of a better name.) Once per day per time purchased, this skill silences one enemy hit with a melee, thrown, or packet attack followed by the call “weapon, silence.” The target cannot scream, incant spells, or even speak for 10 minutes or until they receive a “restore” spell. The target can still fight, cast innate magic, and run away. This skill, I believe, would be huge step towards class balance and I can honestly say that I think it would be balanced at 3 build every 40 points in fighter/rogue skills.
- Toughness (new skill.) For each rank purchased, this skill provides 1 point of damage reduction. That means that if a character had 3 ranks of toughness and was hit with any melee, thrown, or packet attack for 9 damage, they would instead take 6 points of damage. Toughness puts into game terms a veteran combatant’s innate ability to take a blow. I'm unsure of what the build cost or prerequisites should be, so I leave it to you.
- Mighty blow (new skill.) Once per day per time purchased, this skill allows the character to swing for massive damage. This skill can be combined with other skills such as critical attack, slay, and evicerate. This is a pinnacle of fighter skills, and as such, can only be bought one time per 100 build spent on fighter skills for 4 build.
- Cloak is one of the most useful defenses in the game, but it's one that without magic items, a fighter can't have. Rogues get dodge, formalist get cloaks and banes, fighters do have parry and riposte, but nothing that works against spells. Yes, there is spell parry, but that requires both a magic item and the expenditure of a daily skill. I propose that either spell parry be made a skill or that there be a way that a fighter is able to gain cloaks much as formal casters can. I think that the cost should be the same as regular parry and that it should be a separate skill from regular parry. It could easily be explained by staying that by purchasing this skill the fighter has learned how to take the brunt of a magical attack on his weapon. The prerequisite should be about equal to what a scholar would have to invest to obtain a cloak.
Well, those were just some of my ideas, but they're the ones I thought worth sharing. I haven't seen any new rules since May, so some of these ideas might already be in the revisions, but I hope you find the my ideas helpful. Thank you for taking the time to review my ideas for the upcoming rules change.
