Difference between revisions of "Class (archived)"

From Hökaland Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 32: Line 32:
*Cunning Sneak Attack
*Cunning Sneak Attack
**When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, you may attempt one free trip, steal, or dirty trick combat maneuver on the same opponent with a +1 bonus. This extra combat maneuver can only be attempted once a round. This bonus increase by +1 at level 3 and every 2 levels after.
**When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, you may attempt one free trip, steal, or dirty trick combat maneuver on the same opponent with a +1 bonus. This extra combat maneuver can only be attempted once a round. This bonus increase by +1 at level 3 and every 2 levels after.




Line 39: Line 46:
[[Category:House rules]]
[[Category:House rules]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
The World Is Square
The World Is Square
A blog about game design, nerd culture, nostalgia, and media.
You can learn more about the two fellows who run this odd little website right here.
Unearthed Tracker
Enemy Placement
Next: Map Sprites
Projects & Categories
    HyperBound
    Unearthed
    Features
    Pathfinder
    World of Ruin
    Reviews
Nonchalant Thuggery: How to Fix the Pathfinder Rogue
By Mathew in Pathfinder
October 4, 2013 0 Comment
Pathfinder Rogue
There’s a general consensus on the Paizo message boards that the two classes with the most problems are the monk and the rogue. While the monk has received a lot of love through the addition of various archetypes and combat style feats, the rogue has been been left out in the cold.
Part of this has to do with a dilution of the rogue’s role in a group. Why play a rogue, many ask, when I could play an vivisectionist, lore master, archaeologist, or urban ranger? Paizo has been extremely bad at keeping what makes a rogue unique – a wide skill pool, sneak attack dice, and trap finding – unique to the rogue.
Power creep has also seemed to skim over the class in many regards. Rogues still rely on sneak attack to remain competitive in combat, and there hasn’t been much done to make flanking or surprising foes any easier.
Arguably, the addition of tieflings (with their prime attribute bonuses and darkness powers) to organized play has been the biggest boon. But what class hasn’t benefited from that one?
I’d like to propose a few measures to make the rogue a more competitive class. Unlike my post on feat taxes, these measures will be additions to the core class, not revisions. This means no existing feature will be tweaked and that everything in this post could potentially be added in a future splatbook.
Here goes!
thief2
Variant Sneak Attack
Clerics received a small boon in Ultimate Magic in the form of variant channeling. Variant channeling halves the amount of damage a cleric heals or harms with their channel energy ability, but grants a beneficial secondary effect.
Given that channel energy and sneak attack operate off of the same ubiquitous d6 mechanic, variant sneak attacks seem like a natural move. Many rogues would be eager to sacrifice damage for greater party utility, and the number of options are limitless.
Examples
Courageous Sneak Attack
When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, all allies within 30 feet of you gain a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls for one round. This bonus increases by +1 at level 5 and every 4 levels after.
Cunning Sneak Attack
When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, you may attempt one free trip, steal, or dirty trick combat maneuver on the same opponent with a +1 bonus. This extra combat maneuver can only be attempted once a round. This bonus increase by +1 at level 3 and every 2 levels after.
thief3
Better Rogue Talents
Whenever a discussion on rogue talents is stirred, I inevitably make the following comparison.
Alchemists, witches, and oracles generally swap a good portion of their feats for bonus class features – discoveries, hexes, and mysteries respectively. Rogues tend to do the opposite, swapping as many rogue talents for feats as possible.
Frankly, many rogue talents are weak, poorly thought out, or terminally situational. Rogues need talents that help them deal with their most common issues – lack of combat options, the fickle nature of two-weapon fighting, and the decay of their group role.
Examples
Two Weapon Focus
Whenever you make an attack with both a main hand weapon and an off-hand weapon in a single round, you gain +1 to hit with each weapon. This bonus does not stack with Weapon Focus.
Quick Strike
Req: Two Weapon Focus
Whenever you make an attack with a main hand weapon as a standard action, you may make a second attack with an off-hand weapon at your full BAB.
Powerful Sneak Attack
You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all melee attack rolls per sneak attack die you possess to roll d8s instead of d6s on your sneak attack damage. The damage dice increase to d10s if you are making an attack with a two-handed weapon, a one handed weapon using two hands, or a primary natural weapon that adds 1-1/2 times your strength modifier on damage rolls.
Efficient Sniper
The time required for you to reload any type of crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the type of crossbow used. You can fire a crossbow as many times in a full attack action as you could if you were using a bow.
Precision Sniper
You gain a circumstance bonus equal to your number of sneak attack dice to confirm critical hits with any type of crossbow. This talent does not stack with Critical Focus.
Staggering Bolt
Whenever you confirm a critical hit with any type of crossbow, you may choose to stagger your opponent for a single round.
Skill Monkey
A rogue that selects this talent gains Skill Focus as a bonus feat, although it must be applied to one of his class skills. This rogue talent can be taken multiple times.
Eye for Magic
Req: Minor Magic
A rogue with this talent gains the ability to cast detect magic at will as a spell-like ability, using his rogue level as his caster level. However, he can only use this ability to detect magical traps and abjuration and illusion auras.
thief4
Variant Trapfinding
Not all campaigns have traps. The notion that every party would require a dedicated trapfinder is a relic from the Gygaxian era of improbable mega-dungeons, where every individual floor tile triggered its own unique and deadly mechanism.
Many archetypes already replace trapfinding with another class ability, but I think giving alternatives outside of the archetype system would allow for less rigid customization.
Examples
Shrewd Negotiation
A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Sense Motive skill checks and to Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate skill checks against creatures who have lied to him in the past 24 hours (minimum +1).
Monster Hunting
A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Survival skill checks to follow tracks and to Sense Motive and all Knowledge skill checks against a creature he has tracked in the past 24 hours (minimum +1).
Treasure Hunting
A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Perception skill checks to locate valuables or hidden objects and to his Appraise skill checks (minimum +1). An Appraise skill check that succeeds by 5 or more also allows him to discern if an item is magical.
Mercantilism
A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Diplomacy checks to gather information and to a skill checks in a single Profession or Craft skill of his choice (minimum +1). He may gather information in 1d2 hours rather than 1d4.
Tags Game DesignRandom ThoughtsYavmir: Russian Folklore Campaign Setting
Unearthed Update: October 2nd (Sprite Conversion)
Unearthed Update: October 7th (Sprite Conversion II)
Related Articles.
Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Complete
03 Sep, 2015
OPS & An Inclusive Gaming Environment
26 Oct, 2014
Infinite Builds: Create Pit
02 Oct, 2014
THAC0 to Pathfinder BAB Conversion
14 Aug, 2014
Pathfinder Organized Play: New Races, 2014
06 Aug, 2014
Leave a Comment.
Name *
Email *
Website
Comment
Featured Posts
Pathfinder Round-up
•••••
Recent Posts
    Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Complete September 3, 2015
    Vector Map Pack: Trees August 8, 2015
    Unearthed Update: Sporeways & Text June 30, 2015
    SummerBound Twitch Stream: Archive June 25, 2015
    SummerBound Twitch Stream: Wednesday June 24 June 19, 2015
Game Hacking
    Game Hacking
Pen and Paper
    Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Complete
    September 3, 2015
    Vector Map Pack: Trees
    August 8, 2015
    One Page Dungeon Contest 2015: 3rd Place!
    June 2, 2015
    Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Mountains
    April 13, 2015
    Vector Map Pack: Mountains
    March 13, 2015
Video Games
    SummerBound Twitch Stream: Archive
    June 25, 2015
    SummerBound Twitch Stream: Wednesday June 24
    June 19, 2015
    The Extinction of the MMORPG
    December 30, 2014
    The Cave Review
    December 20, 2014
    First Impressions – Transistor
    July 4, 2014
Features and Analysis
    One Page Dungeon Contest 2015: Vesna’s Refuge
    April 28, 2015
    Local Nerd Quoted In Campus Newspaper
    April 17, 2015
    Nerd Map of Toronto: Version 1.0
    February 4, 2015
    Outclassed: Hybrid & Specialist Classes
    July 31, 2014
    Outclassed: Classes by Alignment
    July 2, 2014
    Tweets
    YouTube
Proudly powered by WordPress. Theme: DW Minion by DesignWall.

Revision as of 03:43, 7 September 2015

This article relates to Pathfinder classes and some house rules for minor tweaks that are aimed at making them a little bit more balanced. Mainly it is about buffing slightly weaker classes to get a buff up to that of other classes.

Unless otherwise specified, these changes are in addition to the original class features.



Fighter

  • Something to be decided.


Monk

  • Something to be decided.


Rogue

The rogue class especially needs some love, considering it's younger brother the Ninja is generally better and that Hökaland generally doesn't include that many traps. They of course exist where it is apropriate, but many locales are not hundreds of year old crypts guarded by automatic systems, but places where soldiers or other walk on a daily basis and can't be so actively trapped. Since trapfinding is the main defining feature of a rogue compared to, for instance, the Ninja, a few minor tweaks are in order.

Level 1

  • Rogues gain 9 skills per level instead of 8.
  • Weapon and Armor Proficiency - Add all weapons with the 'crossbow' type to the list, including exotic crossbows such as repeating crossbows.
  • Finesse Sneak - The rogue gains the ability to use her Dexterity bonus in place of Strength bonus for attack rolls as if she had the Weapon Finesse feat. In addition, she adds 1 point of Dexterity bonus (if any) per rogue class level to all of her damage rolls. This counts as precision damage and is not multiplied if using a two-handed weapon (or similar).

Level 2

  • Combat Escapist - Escape grapples or pins as a move action. If successful, the agressor of the pin is flat-footed.
  • Rogue Talent - Additional talents to choose from.

Level 3

  • Skillfull Insight - Twice per day, the rogue can add her rogue class level as a bonus to any one skill check. This ability can be used once more per day for every 3 levels after up to a total of 7 times at level 18.

Additional These seem like interesting ideas but need tome though before implementation. Variant sneak attacks:

  • Courageous Sneak Attack
    • When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, all allies within 30 feet of you gain a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls for one round. This bonus increases by +1 at level 5 and every 4 levels after.
  • Cunning Sneak Attack
    • When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, you may attempt one free trip, steal, or dirty trick combat maneuver on the same opponent with a +1 bonus. This extra combat maneuver can only be attempted once a round. This bonus increase by +1 at level 3 and every 2 levels after.



The World Is Square

The World Is Square A blog about game design, nerd culture, nostalgia, and media.

You can learn more about the two fellows who run this odd little website right here. Unearthed Tracker Enemy Placement

Next: Map Sprites Projects & Categories

   HyperBound
   Unearthed
   Features
   Pathfinder
   World of Ruin
   Reviews

Nonchalant Thuggery: How to Fix the Pathfinder Rogue By Mathew in Pathfinder October 4, 2013 0 Comment

Pathfinder Rogue

There’s a general consensus on the Paizo message boards that the two classes with the most problems are the monk and the rogue. While the monk has received a lot of love through the addition of various archetypes and combat style feats, the rogue has been been left out in the cold.

Part of this has to do with a dilution of the rogue’s role in a group. Why play a rogue, many ask, when I could play an vivisectionist, lore master, archaeologist, or urban ranger? Paizo has been extremely bad at keeping what makes a rogue unique – a wide skill pool, sneak attack dice, and trap finding – unique to the rogue.

Power creep has also seemed to skim over the class in many regards. Rogues still rely on sneak attack to remain competitive in combat, and there hasn’t been much done to make flanking or surprising foes any easier.

Arguably, the addition of tieflings (with their prime attribute bonuses and darkness powers) to organized play has been the biggest boon. But what class hasn’t benefited from that one?

I’d like to propose a few measures to make the rogue a more competitive class. Unlike my post on feat taxes, these measures will be additions to the core class, not revisions. This means no existing feature will be tweaked and that everything in this post could potentially be added in a future splatbook.

Here goes!

thief2 Variant Sneak Attack

Clerics received a small boon in Ultimate Magic in the form of variant channeling. Variant channeling halves the amount of damage a cleric heals or harms with their channel energy ability, but grants a beneficial secondary effect.

Given that channel energy and sneak attack operate off of the same ubiquitous d6 mechanic, variant sneak attacks seem like a natural move. Many rogues would be eager to sacrifice damage for greater party utility, and the number of options are limitless.

Examples

Courageous Sneak Attack When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, all allies within 30 feet of you gain a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls for one round. This bonus increases by +1 at level 5 and every 4 levels after.

Cunning Sneak Attack When you successfully deal sneak attack damage, you may attempt one free trip, steal, or dirty trick combat maneuver on the same opponent with a +1 bonus. This extra combat maneuver can only be attempted once a round. This bonus increase by +1 at level 3 and every 2 levels after.

thief3 Better Rogue Talents

Whenever a discussion on rogue talents is stirred, I inevitably make the following comparison.

Alchemists, witches, and oracles generally swap a good portion of their feats for bonus class features – discoveries, hexes, and mysteries respectively. Rogues tend to do the opposite, swapping as many rogue talents for feats as possible.

Frankly, many rogue talents are weak, poorly thought out, or terminally situational. Rogues need talents that help them deal with their most common issues – lack of combat options, the fickle nature of two-weapon fighting, and the decay of their group role.

Examples

Two Weapon Focus Whenever you make an attack with both a main hand weapon and an off-hand weapon in a single round, you gain +1 to hit with each weapon. This bonus does not stack with Weapon Focus.

Quick Strike Req: Two Weapon Focus Whenever you make an attack with a main hand weapon as a standard action, you may make a second attack with an off-hand weapon at your full BAB.

Powerful Sneak Attack You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all melee attack rolls per sneak attack die you possess to roll d8s instead of d6s on your sneak attack damage. The damage dice increase to d10s if you are making an attack with a two-handed weapon, a one handed weapon using two hands, or a primary natural weapon that adds 1-1/2 times your strength modifier on damage rolls.

Efficient Sniper The time required for you to reload any type of crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the type of crossbow used. You can fire a crossbow as many times in a full attack action as you could if you were using a bow.

Precision Sniper You gain a circumstance bonus equal to your number of sneak attack dice to confirm critical hits with any type of crossbow. This talent does not stack with Critical Focus.

Staggering Bolt Whenever you confirm a critical hit with any type of crossbow, you may choose to stagger your opponent for a single round.

Skill Monkey A rogue that selects this talent gains Skill Focus as a bonus feat, although it must be applied to one of his class skills. This rogue talent can be taken multiple times.

Eye for Magic Req: Minor Magic A rogue with this talent gains the ability to cast detect magic at will as a spell-like ability, using his rogue level as his caster level. However, he can only use this ability to detect magical traps and abjuration and illusion auras.

thief4 Variant Trapfinding

Not all campaigns have traps. The notion that every party would require a dedicated trapfinder is a relic from the Gygaxian era of improbable mega-dungeons, where every individual floor tile triggered its own unique and deadly mechanism.

Many archetypes already replace trapfinding with another class ability, but I think giving alternatives outside of the archetype system would allow for less rigid customization.

Examples

Shrewd Negotiation A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Sense Motive skill checks and to Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate skill checks against creatures who have lied to him in the past 24 hours (minimum +1).

Monster Hunting A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Survival skill checks to follow tracks and to Sense Motive and all Knowledge skill checks against a creature he has tracked in the past 24 hours (minimum +1).

Treasure Hunting A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Perception skill checks to locate valuables or hidden objects and to his Appraise skill checks (minimum +1). An Appraise skill check that succeeds by 5 or more also allows him to discern if an item is magical.

Mercantilism A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Diplomacy checks to gather information and to a skill checks in a single Profession or Craft skill of his choice (minimum +1). He may gather information in 1d2 hours rather than 1d4. Tags Game DesignRandom ThoughtsYavmir: Russian Folklore Campaign Setting Unearthed Update: October 2nd (Sprite Conversion) Unearthed Update: October 7th (Sprite Conversion II) Related Articles. Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Complete 03 Sep, 2015 OPS & An Inclusive Gaming Environment 26 Oct, 2014 Infinite Builds: Create Pit 02 Oct, 2014 THAC0 to Pathfinder BAB Conversion 14 Aug, 2014 Pathfinder Organized Play: New Races, 2014 06 Aug, 2014 Leave a Comment.

Name *

Email *

Website

Comment

Featured Posts Pathfinder Round-up ••••• Recent Posts

   Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Complete September 3, 2015
   Vector Map Pack: Trees August 8, 2015
   Unearthed Update: Sporeways & Text June 30, 2015
   SummerBound Twitch Stream: Archive June 25, 2015
   SummerBound Twitch Stream: Wednesday June 24 June 19, 2015

Game Hacking

   Game Hacking

Pen and Paper

   Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Complete
   September 3, 2015
   Vector Map Pack: Trees
   August 8, 2015
   One Page Dungeon Contest 2015: 3rd Place!
   June 2, 2015
   Yavmir Map Reconstruction: Mountains
   April 13, 2015
   Vector Map Pack: Mountains
   March 13, 2015

Video Games

   SummerBound Twitch Stream: Archive
   June 25, 2015
   SummerBound Twitch Stream: Wednesday June 24
   June 19, 2015
   The Extinction of the MMORPG
   December 30, 2014
   The Cave Review
   December 20, 2014
   First Impressions – Transistor
   July 4, 2014

Features and Analysis

   One Page Dungeon Contest 2015: Vesna’s Refuge
   April 28, 2015
   Local Nerd Quoted In Campus Newspaper
   April 17, 2015
   Nerd Map of Toronto: Version 1.0
   February 4, 2015
   Outclassed: Hybrid & Specialist Classes
   July 31, 2014
   Outclassed: Classes by Alignment
   July 2, 2014
   Tweets
   YouTube

Proudly powered by WordPress. Theme: DW Minion by DesignWall.