Generalized Favored Class

[HoboGod]

A thread popped up on a suggestion to change favored class. The suggestion presents a highly realistic reason one's favored class might be different and offers it in a cautious way (as a feat) that would counterbalance the potential of causing players to become too strong. Problems with favored class isn't a new topic and many people I know have some complaint on it.

Favored Class is one of the most poorly executed concepts in D&D. Even some of the things that never worked in the first place like Challenge Ratings and Level Adjustments still act as benchmarks that can be applied to new content. Favored Class is just a giant "deal with it" banner held above every new race and class that gets added to the game. A wood elf wants to take a few levels in Scout, but the favored class is Ranger, deal with it. A halfling wants to take a level in Ninja, but the favored class is Rogue, deal with it. A dwarf wants to have Knight levels, but the favored class is Fighter, just deal with it. It's outrageous.

So I say forget needing a feat to change a favored class, if they're picking a class that fills the same role as their favored class, let them choose that one class instead. Change all favored class entries to reflect the common roles in your games: Any Warrior, Any Divine Caster, Any Arcane Caster, Any Backstabber, Any Wilderness Skiller, Any Urban Skiller, and so forth. Should Human and Half-elf really be two of the only races that allows the flexibility of designing a unique character?

 

[Dandu]

I'd just ditch favored class altogether.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And in other news, I like Favored Classes.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think "outrageous" might be a little strong. There's definitely an argument for loosening things up a bit, but making it so general tosses out most of the racial flavor. Better instead, I think, to specifically declare that scouts are the same as rangers, as far as racial class, and so on, in a case by case basis.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Agreed. I've expanded racial FC lists a bit in my last few campaigns. No issues arose.

 

[HoboGod]

I think "outrageous" might be a little strong. There's definitely an argument for loosening things up a bit, but making it so general tosses out most of the racial flavor. Better instead, I think, to specifically declare that scouts are the same as rangers, as far as racial class, and so on, in a case by case basis.

I initially thought that, but it makes a lot more work for any DM that allows a vast collection of books. Said DM would either have to go through every book and make a decision on the equivalent class it would be declared or inevitably let their players ask "can this be considered a . . . ?" That's a trick question, by the way, you run the risk of sounding like a jerk by saying no or being seen as playing favorites by saying yes.

I think general favored class keeps to the flavor if you have the right outlook. If players are unaware of their class levels, then the name of their class is an arbitrary title for the thing they do. A Paladin may call herself a Knight, a Knight may call herself a Samurai. A Samurai may call herself a Dualist. A race of Halflings aren't raised to be good Rogues, they're raised to be good at what rogues do.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

...Halflings are raised to ride dinosaurs.

I really do not like the idea of racial favored classes.

Even if one would buy into the idea that, in general, races are inclined towards particular styles, PCs, who are all to often heroic, break the mold, think outside the box individuals, are often different then the average member of their species. The Half-Orc who is a barbarian can stay home, but the Half-Orc that becomes a Paladin, he's going to be wandering the world homeless, looking for the kind of life that the role of Adventurer fills.

And what if an Elf, living in the woods, surrounded by nature, doesn't want to be a Ranger or a Druid, he wants to study Wizardry, like those in organized civilization, surrounded by tomes and intellectualism? You know, a class totally not Elf-like?
...wait, Elves have Wizard as their favored class? Who decided that made sense???

 

[Li Shenron]

Favored Class is one of the most poorly executed concepts in D&D. Even some of the things that never worked in the first place like Challenge Ratings and Level Adjustments still act as benchmarks that can be applied to new content. Favored Class is just a giant "deal with it" banner held above every new race and class that gets added to the game. A wood elf wants to take a few levels in Scout, but the favored class is Ranger, deal with it. A halfling wants to take a level in Ninja, but the favored class is Rogue, deal with it. A dwarf wants to have Knight levels, but the favored class is Fighter, just deal with it. It's outrageous.

This is not a problem with the core rules, it's a problem with the supplements. It is not PHB's responsibility to foresee what kind of material supplements will carry because the game can take unexpected publishing directions (for isntance in 3ed there were no base classes in supplements for a few years - except some settings sourcebooks - there were only prestige classes). It should be instead the responsibility of the book providing new classes to say how to adapt core characters to them, so in this case it should have been the designers of the Scout book to tell the players that every race who has Ranger as favoured class also has Scout, or can swap one for the other.

That said, I think that the concept of favoured classes was not nice in 3ed because (a) it removed a penalty rather than providing an incentive and (b) it applied to multiclassing which is very odd, considering that a "favoured" class should probably mean that people of that race actually prefer that class including being totally devoted to it.

The problem with (a) is that if you do provide bonuses to characters of a race taking its favoured class, then you can't go very far with such bonuses or everybody else feels penalized (you are encouraging stereotypes and penalizing more creative character concepts). But if bonuses are too small then it feels like a joke. Furthermore, if bonuses are generic (like +1 skill points) then it feel bland because your Elf Wizard is hardly "more wizard" than a Dwarf Wizard, it's just 1 skill point ahead.

What to do? How about instead of giving a bonus, give it some unique options? For instance, how about having a bunch of good feats (or even spells if appropriate) that can only be taken when levelling up in your favoured class? So only the Dwarf Fighter can learn feat X and only Elf Wizard can learn spell Y, but it's not automatic (you still have the same number of feats or spells than everyone else).

 

[Empirate]

While I generally like multiclassing in 3.x, the whole XP penalty thing was a really bad idea to begin with. Why restrict multiclassing in the same breath you finally ditched its horrible ramifications from earlier editions? I don't get it. The designers were probably just afraid of letting some genie out of some bottle, without having the slightest idea about game balance, as usual.

Who needs multiclassing most? Warrior guys and skillmonkeys. If you can't alter reality, at least cherrypick from some of the nicer class features helping your role.
Who doesn't present a game balance problem? Warrior guys and skillmonkeys.

Also, so few casters actually have any reason to multiclass several base classes...


Result: ditching XP penalties (and favored class, by extension) is a good and sane thing to do, if you don't want to unnecessarily cramp the mundanes' style even more.
Also, favored class was done rather well in Pathfinder IMO.

 

[Sekhmet]

I ditched favored classes a while ago, but there was another idea that was equally as useful on the table at the time.
Consider making four generalized categories for favored classes. "Skill Monkey", "Arcane", "Divine", and "Fighter".
Half Orcs become "Fighter", which includes any class that is a warrior theme that is not a full Arcane or Divine caster.
Halflings become "Skill Monkey", which includes any class with 6 or more base skill points/level that is not a full Arcane or Divine caster.

You get the idea. Some races might be hard to choose for, (Elves come to mind) but you'll be able to figure something out. This method doesn't remove the racial identity flavor of favoured classes, but it does reduce the penalty on the player for choosing nonstandard roleplaying options.