New Dwarven Favoured Class?

[Mycanid]

You know ... I think that the best choice would be the artificer, but of a specialized sort. The image of the dwarves as warriors is just as valid, but does not to my mind express the "essence" of the race.

I mean the essence of the dwarves is that they are craftsmen, right? They take the treasures of the earth that they love so well and make them into even more beautiful, glorious AND useful things! Isn't this one of the main things that makes a dwarf a dwarf? It is to me at least.

Tolkien termed it "the desire of the hearts of dwarves" in The Hobbit, and Gimli articulates it beautifully in The Two Towers when describing what he and his people would do with the caverns beneath Helm's Deep if they were given a chance.

 

[Nyeshet]

I chose Fighter, although personally I think their favored class has yet to be crafted.

For a dwarf I would expect a favored class to have: high BAB, good Fort and Will, 4 + Int skill points, Craft, Know (arch / engin, dungeoneering), and Perform as class skills - along with the normal Fighter class skills and perhaps a few others. Thus, the Savage Bard was almost the choice I made for this poll. It lacks, however, in both being illiterate and in having such a large spell casting motif. Four levels of casting at higher levels - focusing on runic type magic: transformations, maybe abjurations, perhaps conjurations (and not on illusions nor enchantments) would be better for dwarves. I tend to recall the items crafted by dwarves in Norse mythos - golden hair that attached and grew, a ship that could fold up to fit in a pocket, a hammer that once thrown returned to the hand that threw it, etc. But they were also notable warrior types - suggesting to me that the spellcasting should be kept to a minimum and perhaps delayed until early-mid levels.

I second the comment on having the source of the class listed, perhaps something like: "Rogue (PHB)". Otherwise, I tend to like the setup.

As for Gnomes, Halflings, etc - expect many to choose the canon favored class out of reaction rather than consideration. For the dwarves there really isn't a true favored class as of yet. The Fighter is the closest, but it lacks the skill points for it, really. Gnomes and Halflings, however, have several potential favored classes, but I expect many will choose Bard and Rogue without really considering other options - simply because that is what they are used to thinking of in terms of those races' favored classes.

 

[arscott]

No need to get mean, Nyeshet. The folks who choose bards and rogues for the halfling will have good reasons for doing so. After all, there are good reasons why those classes are favored classes in the first place.

As far as the dwarf, I'd be inclined to go with Artificer for how I see dwarves, but it's not a good enough fit with the Dwarf in the PHB. So fighter it is.

And I cast another vote for "Show your Sources". Fortunately I've got UA and recognize most of the class variants, but still don't know what a bunch of those classes are.

 

[Herobizkit]

I voted "Barbarian".

I envision Dwarves as short Norsemen, and the Vikings were about as barbaric as they come. They get a good array of skills and skill points. They don't get literacy; one could argue that the use of runes cancels that out, but I like to think of Dwarves as passing down their history by word rather than writ. Plus, Dwarves are always fighting to protect their homeland, and their fierce loyalty to home and hearth brings upon them a berserker rage.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

Kudos on typing out all those chaices. It must have taken forever.

I went withte boring fighter, becasue that is what i see dwarves as being. I would tend to change most of the other basic raaces favored classes, but not dwarves.

Edit: There were a few classes I did not know the names of, but not many, which means i read these boards too much.

 

[Nyaricus]

Geez, what a lousy poll. There's somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 choices. Overkill much?

That's because WotC has published somewhere in the neighborhood of 60+ (68, by my count) classes. "Don't shoot the messanger..." and all that. I'm just being thorough

In future polls, I'll include sourcebook, but really, WotC has all the Classes (and PrCs, and feats, and spells, and monsters) already availiable for veiwing on their site, right here.

I don't know why more people don't use those...

Anyways, I'm glad most are enjoying this first poll; I have 5 more to come outta the core races - dwarves, elves, gnomes, halfling, half-elves and half-orcs.

Hmmm, I think I should add one an option for 'any', though. Dang, too bad I didn't think of that before...

anyways, cheers,
--N

 

[JustKim]

What kind of favored class is eidolon?
"Dwarves are good at being dead. A dwarf's favored class is eidolon."
Or maybe..
"The only good dwarf is a dead dwarf. A dwarf's favored class is eidolon."

 

[Nyaricus]

Kudos on typing out all those chaices. It must have taken forever.

Actually, having all the classes saved in a word doc and ctrl+c and ctrl+v-ing into the poll page, it was fairly easy

 

[Aus_Snow]

I have 5 more to come outta the core races - dwarves, elves, gnomes, halfling, half-elves and half-orcs.

Hmmm, I think I should add one an option for 'any', though.

Personally, I think they'd be better if they were like this one. However, you might want to skip half-elf ("favoured class: any" in the core rules). That is, if you do decide to make them like this one.

Unless some people think they should have a favoured class? That would surprise me, considering most seem to believe that they are underpowered if anything.

 

[TheBladeOfEilistraee]

I ussually see dwarves as either Clerics or Fighters.

But making a Rouge Dwarf is not out of the question. A sneak attacking dwarf to giants and other bonus beasts is rather nice.