New FR Prestige Class Free Download

[monboesen]

Though I have not read through the entire document the two dark elf minded prestige classes sets alarms of in my head. They are both (IMO) far to good. That gladiatory thingie will do 3d6 damage with blades mouted on his boots ! Ermm thats more than a greatsword, seems far out.

That and bleeding attacks with each strike makes the class to good.

The other one is a two weapon expert with a too good martial weapon who does 2 con damage with each strike if they flank an opponent. Thats easily one of the most powerfull abilities I have ever seen on any class. It could amount to 6-10 con damage a round and on top of that sneak damage ? An isn't sneak attack damage precision based damage already. I would think that SA itself represents going for arteries and such.

 

[Spatula]

The other one is a two weapon expert with a too good martial weapon who does 2 con damage with each strike if they flank an opponent. Thats easily one of the most powerfull abilities I have ever seen on any class.

I think it was based on the rogue ability Crippling Strike, which does 2 Str damage with each sneak attack. Con damage is much better, of course. And that class does look very over the top.

 

[BlackFalconKY]

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Mr. Costa,

Thank you for so generously sharing such a wealth of valuable gaming material. There are dedicated gamers all over the world who have built hoards of gaming goodness like this that will never be seen outside of their gaming group. Thank you for taking the time to do the work, organize it, and share it so openly with the rest of us. Although I've not read through the entire document, I've already found elements that I'll pull directly into my campaign. For the nay-sayers, if you find just one piece of the whole document you want to use, wasn't it worth the price (FREE) that you paid for it?

I love the design notes. I did something similar in MEG's Dogs of War series, and it was very well received. The limitation of how rules are presented prevents authors from being able to explain why they made things a certain way. Often, when explained, new rules make even more sense and become all the more valuable. Again, kudos.

Charles Plemons

 

[TomCosta]

Thanks again everybody for comments both complimentary and constructive. Here's a few replies.

Regarding the notes, I find a lot of folks ask why things are done in such and such a fashion, and I've also found that without them, I'm more likely to see an editor miss the reasons why I may have done something and change it. So expect to continue to see red design notes like those in the Bestiary of the Realms and Prestige in the Realms from me in the future. (They'll still be at the end of the entries to minimize distraction.)

Regarding the battledancer requirements, I didn't want to foist 2 Perform requirements on them and felt the tumbling was a better approximation than dance for the class (having seen and tried it a few times), but you could easily add a second Perform requirement.

Regarding the kyorlin velve. I did hem and haw about the power level. I decided in the end it wasn't too powerful. You lose the versatility of an assassin with the loss of spells in exchange for some more combat-oriented abilities. Bleeding damage is generally represented by Con damage (see various monster write-ups and if memory serves the wounding ability). And while I see the point on the possible Con damage, I think its okay for characters of at least 11th level. That said, feel free to up the requirements so you have to be higher level to qualify (maybe I should've done that, uping the level by 1 or 2) or make the Con damage Str damage instead or only 1 point of Con damage instead of 2.

Regarding the varde elgg gladiator. I also disagree, a Shou disciple's damage goes up by 1 die type almost every 4 levels, the varde elgg every two levels, plus they lack the flurry of blow of a monk and versatility of being able to use one of several types of weapons (much easier to find magical monk weapons than magical blade boots). But if you're still uncertain put an equal level monk or fighter against the varde elgg and see who wins. My guess (I did test most of the classes in mock battles), it's fairly close.

Nevertheless, thanks for challenging me and making me think about it again. I'll be the first to admit I benefit from a good editor or several.

Oh, and I almost cut the reference to Davey Jones' Locker. My aplogies.

Lastly, thanks to Morrus for noting the posting of the articles and providing all of us with such a great outlet for d20 information. I appreciate it.

 

[TomCosta]

Oh, and while they've all been my favorites at one time or another , my favorites post publication are the despot, gallant, primate, and tunnel warder.

 

[Paragon]

thanks again tom. your work in the realms has been some of the best there is.