Do you modify classes?

[Plane Sailing]

My view on the wizard who wants to open really difficult locks but doesn't want to sacrifice a level of spellcasting..? Hard cheese. You can't have your cake and eat it too. d20 is class-based, and class-based it shall remain.

...

Some of the PHB2 ideas may find their way into my next campaign, though, if my guys like them. It's a great book which seems very much in the spirit of D&D so I have no problem incorporating some of its suggestions.

It looks as if you are considering this class-modification changes to be something that was introduced in PHB2; just out of interest did you notice the suggestions in the standard 3.0/3.5e PHB and DMG about modifying classes to better suit someone's interests?

After all, 3.0 basically 'wrote the book' on d20, and it specifically includes ideas on how to modify classes. It would be more accurate to say "d20 is class based, with suggestions about how to modify classes to better fit a players requirements, and so it shall remain"!

Cheers,

 

[taliesin15]

Yes I do, and always have, as have many since 1st edition. This might be one of the reasons all the non-PHB core classes seem pretty silly to me (that and all the skills and feats)--but I guess the point of Unearthed Arcana and other books with variations on the same thing is for people less eager to invent on their own, to put it nicely

 

[Crothian]

but I guess the point of Unearthed Arcana and other books with variations on the same thing is for people less eager to invent on their own, to put it nicely

I think a lot of people have families and work at least 40 hours a week and just don't have the time to create these things.

 

[EvilGM]

I have modified every class to add abilities at every level (some flavor, some very useful). I have modified all races as well, including giving them powerups they can select when they qualify.
As a result, I don't see much multiclassing going on whatsoever. The players are generally very happy with gaining abilities every level. Some of the abilities have been generated by player feedback as well, giving them a hand in the creation process (always a good thing).

 

[Nyeshet]

Yes. Sometimes it is due to the setting - changing the flavor of the classes or perhaps adjusting a class to better fit the background of a character (PC or NPC). Other times it is due to a PC wanting to take his character in a certain direction. If they seem quite certain about what they want, I'm often willing to make adjustments as necessary on a give / take basis. The many dual-class style classes (duskblade, warmage, beguiler, etc) and patch-PrCs (eldritch knight, mystic theurge, etc) have made this less necessary in recent years, but there are still times where, rather than have a PC multiclass into 3-5 classes, I'll just sit them down, talk with them about what they want for their character, what I will allow, what limits I may insist upon, and together work out a 20 level class (usually strongly based upon a normal class, but trading out some abilities / skill pts / etc for those of other classes) that closely fits their character concept. Although if I go that far I'll likely speak with the others about the class design to make certain that 1) no one thinks the overall setup is unbalanced, and 2) if they don't mind this creation of a semi-new class I might end up using it for NPCs.

Of course, this pattern does through the usefulness of 'Any' favored class out the window, so I typically ignore multiclass penalties anyway.

 

[greywulf]

Oh yes, especially to make the classes fit into the campaign.

I've even dramatically changed the bard without changing a thing.

 

[Psion]

Oh yes, especially to make the classes fit into the campaign.

I've even dramatically changed the bard without changing a thing.

I like it. Of course, I always felt the bard could be a more generally applicable class if you gave it some selectable abilities to make it a sort of oral historian of other cultures. To this end, I use the alternate bard abilities (updated to 3.5) in FFG's Path of Magic.

 

[Malcor Sylverwood]

Some great ideas here, a few I'm intending to steal. Esp love the ranger swapping spellcasting for full animal companion...

Thanks!

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I think a lot of people have families and work at least 40 hours a week and just don't have the time to create these things.

Like me, for example. I've got no shortage of creativity. I have a shortage of time. Often a shortage of sleep. Sometimes a shortage of food because I have no time to eat anything. Sitting down to write a bunch of optional rules is not a priority--not when I can just pick and choose from existing supplements.

 

[Stormborn]

Oh yes, especially to make the classes fit into the campaign.

I've even dramatically changed the bard without changing a thing.

In a thread about modifying classes you make a good point. Sometimes the change in the class has nothing to do with mechanics, its just how you look at it. For example, I had a player who always looked down on the Paladin - until I played one in her game that was a scruffy looking member of a declining and disfavored order who had very clear rules, and goals, but had long ago dropped the image of the romantic knightly figure for one closer to that of an ex-Confederate gun fighter in the old west.