Balancing out a campaign

[Dandu]

Discussed this with the DM and he agreed that the elite array is a better choice than his original example/plan. It seems that there was something of a mix-up earlier as I am sure he said "1000gc to reach level 2" while the system he'll be using is actually what was described here. Which reminds me: [destination ECL -1] = [current ECL]. This seems quite promising, to be frank.

Then again, now we're armwrestling over how much does it cost to become an entrepreneur and can players be allowed to spend an effort to gain more than 50% of the listed value of goods they find. I'm thinking of making a Dwarven Artificer whose family has lost it's actual status due to financial trouble yet remains exalted in name. (Dwarves will be a magocracy and magic is limited to the highborn.) Since we have so much downtime due to leveling requirements and money plays an important role in advancing, I'm trying to convince him that with a 10-20% guild tax and the need for an initial investment as well as upkeep, merchant characters will not be game breakers.

The problem's quite much solved, though. The last one was simply a remark on how the debates continue. I'm enjoying them, though. Thanks for your effort on this one.

Artificer is a tier 1 class. Are you sure your DM will be ok with it?

 

[VariSami]

Artificer is a tier 1 class. Are you sure your DM will be ok with it?

Yup, I managed to sneak it in his world-building by lending him Eberron Campaign Setting when he came to me for material. Besides, Artificers thrive on resources. We will start at level 1 and probably be starved for them for quite some time. I'm not optimizing either: it'll be a Dwarf who'll probably do double duty as a trapfinder and he'll also need Appraise for his capitalistic ambitions. There won't be Action Points so Infusions will always take their full time to use. And I'll try to avoid making items that are bonkers - it's harder to avoid über versatility with Wizards and especially Clerics.