Jaerom Darkwind
First Post
Mirror threads on the WotC boards:
Unearthed Arcana board
Races board
This thread was originally posted at Dicefreaks. Many thanks to Kain Darkwind, Bane, and all the others who contributed ideas. And to those of you who merely lurked in the shadows, watching but never giving advice: Curse you all!!!
--JD
I love the concept of racial paragons presented in Unearthed Arcana. The flavor is great, and the concept is one that had never occurred to me, but that I liked from the start. There are a few problems in its implementation, but still, I’d like to make the classes workable. I’d love to be able to create low-level NPCs (or even PCs) who aren’t members of any specific class, but just "average" members of their races. I’m reworking the classes to include 5 levels, and am paying specific attention to making them A) playable from 1st level, and B) worth taking for all 5 levels. These versions, then, are based on both the core race and the racial paragon mechanics and patterns already established. I’ve tried to change as little as possible while fulfilling my own vision of how they should be.
One addition to the racial paragon that is 100% original is the Racial Prestige feature. This allows a character who advances 5 levels in her racial paragon class to gain special advantages in qualifying for the prestige class that best represents her race, designed to allow her to qualify for a class at 6th level when it normally wouldn't be possible. This serves as something of an extension of the paragon class itself, allowing a character to continue improving her racial strengths and fulfilling her race's ideals.
Note that paragon classes are considered to be racially favored in addition to any other favored class, and thus never cause experience penalties.
All of the PHB races are now complete, as well as the Aasimar, Orc, and Teifling.
A warning: These classes use medium saves extensively—if you’re not a fan of the medium save, you’ll need to do some conversion.
THE MEDIUM SAVE
____________________
The Paragon Human is cool because of its sheer versatility—truly fitting of the race. It can be anything, depending on how you build. You want a psionic human? Take psionic skills and begin advancing in manifester levels as a psion. An arcane warrior? You’ve got the skills and feats, just advance in sorcerer spellcasting, etc.
The problem with the human was its first level. 4 SP and an ability that doesn’t even take effect until you leave the class? I advanced them to 6 SP per level (since the half-humans already get 4), and gave them a free skill focus and medium armor. I think it looks a lot better now. I also gave them all medium saves, rather than some high and some low, since it fits more with the jack-of-all-trades nature of the human.
This is the best time to point out a major change I’ve added to the paragon classes—that of spellcasting. The fact that some characters get spells in these classes and others don’t, with no compensation, bugs me a lot. Either the class is balanced with the spellcasting, or it isn’t. If it is, then it’s underpowered without it. If it isn’t, then spellcasters become overpowered with it. I’ll give Andy Collins et al the benefit of the doubt, and say that the material they published isn’t overpowered, so subtracting the casting really hurts the classes. My solution is that a character with no spellcasting that enters one of these classes can begin advancing, beginning at caster level 1. Humans can choose which class they want. I think it looks fine, but if it becomes a problem, I’m also considering giving these characters apprentice-level casting at level 2, and full 1st-level casting at 3 (with 2nd-level casting coming at 5, as normal). But I’d like opinions first.
HUMAN PARAGON (Human)
Alignment: Any.
HD: d8.
Class Skills
The human paragon can choose any 12 skills to be class skills (Knowledge skills must be selected individually).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Higher Levels: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the human paragon.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Human paragons are proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armor, and with bucklers. In addition, they are proficient with any one martial weapon of their choice. Human paragons not already proficient with all martial weapons may forgo their martial weapon proficiency and gain instead the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat.
Spells Per Day: At 2nd, 3rd, and 5th level, a human paragon gains new spells per day (and spells known is applicable) as if she had gained a level in a previous spellcasting class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds these levels of human paragon to her levels in the spellcasting class, and then determines known spells and spells per day accordingly. However, the human paragon adds her entire class level to her levels in the spellcasting class to determine her caster level.
For example, a clr4/human3 would have the spell per day of a 6th-level cleric, but would resolve the effects of these spells as a 7th-level caster. A human5 who chose to study wizardry would have the spells per day of a 3rd-level wizard, but would cast these spells as a 5th-level caster.
If the human paragon has levels in more than one spellcasting class, she must choose which class to apply the effective caster level increase to at each level. If she has no levels in a spellcasting class, she may choose one and begin gaining spellcasting ability from that class (she is considered to have a class level of 0, to which she adds these bonus levels). The human paragon may similarly choose to advance in psionic ability, and receive bonus manifester levels at these levels in place of caster levels.
A human paragon must meet any campaign-specific prerequisites for entering and advancing in a chosen spellcasting class normally.
Adaptive Learning (Ex): At 1st level, a human paragon can designate any one of her selected class skills as an adaptive skill. This skill is treated as a class skill in all respects for all classes of that character, both current and future. For example, a human paragon who chooses Spot as an adaptive skill can treat Spot as a class skill for all future class levels, even if it is not normally a class skill for these classes.
Skill Focus: At 1st level, a human paragon gains a bonus Skill Focus feat. This feat must apply to her selected adaptive skill.
Bonus feat: At 2nd and 4th level, a human paragon gains a bonus feat. She must meet the prerequisites for the bonus feat normally.
Ability Boost: At 3rd level, and again at 5th level, a human paragon gains a +2 racial bonus to an ability score of her choice.
Human Prestige: A 5th-level human paragon may qualify to enter certain prestige classes even if she doesn't meet all of the prerequisites. She qualifies as though her base attack bonus were two points higher, as though she had two additional ranks in her adaptive skill, as though she could cast spells one level higher than her highest-level spell, and as though she were proficient with all martial weapons and heavy armor. Popular choices for adventuring human paragons are the extreme explorer and harper scout prestige classes.
____________________
The standard human paragon assumes at least a moderate level of magic in a campaign world, and that magic is readily available (and desirable) to all who wish to study it. Thus, a paragon human would jump at the chance to add magic to her already considerable array of abilities. However, in a more nitty-gritty world, where magic isn't as open or available, a human needs to rely more on her own natural abilities and leave supernatural gifts to the other more fantastic races. Under these circumstances, an alternate human paragon can be used, one that allows a human to focus more on strengths that are uniquely human, without relying on outside powers. I've created this alternative human paragon for those who believe that humanity needs no magic to excel. I added a virtual bonus to CL only, as Kain suggested, and upped the BAB and HD. All other abilities remain as they were, but I think that the class stacks up nicely next to the other full BAB classes. (Although I think that Batman would use magic in D&D, because he uses anything that furthers his crusade.)
HUMAN PARAGON (Human)
Alignment: Any.
HD: d8.
Class Skills
The human paragon can choose any 12 skills to be class skills (knowledge skills must be selected individually).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Higher Levels: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the human paragon.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Human paragons are proficient with all simple weapons and with light and medium armor. In addition, they are proficient with any one martial weapon of their choice. Human paragons not already proficient with all martial weapons may forgo their martial weapon proficiency and gain instead the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat.
Spellcasting: A human paragon gains no additional spells per day, but may add her class level to her caster level to determine the effects of her spells (regardless of the class that grants the spellcasting ability). She may likewise add her class level to her manifester level to determine the effects of her powers.
This increased caster level affects only the spells that the character can cast. It does not give her access to higher-level spells or more spells per day.
Adaptive Learning (Ex): At 1st level, a human paragon can designate any one of her selected class skills as an adaptive skill. This skill is treated as a class skill in all respects for all classes of that character, both current and future. For example, a human paragon who chooses Spot as an adaptive skill can treat Spot as a class skill for all future class levels, even if it is not normally a class skill for these classes.
Skill Focus: At 1st level, a human paragon gains a bonus Skill Focus feat. This feat must apply to her selected adaptive skill.
Bonus feat: At 2nd and 4th level, a human paragon gains a bonus feat. She must meet the prerequisites for the bonus feat normally.
Ability Boost: At 3rd level, and again at 5th level, a human paragon gains a +2 racial bonus to an ability score of her choice.
Human Prestige: A 5th-level human paragon may qualify to enter certain prestige classes even if she doesn't meet all of the prerequisites. She qualifies as though her base attack bonus were two points higher, as though she had two additional ranks in her adaptive skill, and as though she were proficient with all martial weapons and heavy armor. Popular choices for adventuring human paragons are the extreme explorer and harper scout prestige classes.
The harper scout prestige class is found in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Information on the Extreme Explorer prestige class was released by WotC in connection with the Eberron Campaign Setting. The full class can be found in the link above, but here is an overview:
Unearthed Arcana board
Races board
This thread was originally posted at Dicefreaks. Many thanks to Kain Darkwind, Bane, and all the others who contributed ideas. And to those of you who merely lurked in the shadows, watching but never giving advice: Curse you all!!!
--JDI love the concept of racial paragons presented in Unearthed Arcana. The flavor is great, and the concept is one that had never occurred to me, but that I liked from the start. There are a few problems in its implementation, but still, I’d like to make the classes workable. I’d love to be able to create low-level NPCs (or even PCs) who aren’t members of any specific class, but just "average" members of their races. I’m reworking the classes to include 5 levels, and am paying specific attention to making them A) playable from 1st level, and B) worth taking for all 5 levels. These versions, then, are based on both the core race and the racial paragon mechanics and patterns already established. I’ve tried to change as little as possible while fulfilling my own vision of how they should be.
One addition to the racial paragon that is 100% original is the Racial Prestige feature. This allows a character who advances 5 levels in her racial paragon class to gain special advantages in qualifying for the prestige class that best represents her race, designed to allow her to qualify for a class at 6th level when it normally wouldn't be possible. This serves as something of an extension of the paragon class itself, allowing a character to continue improving her racial strengths and fulfilling her race's ideals.
Note that paragon classes are considered to be racially favored in addition to any other favored class, and thus never cause experience penalties.
All of the PHB races are now complete, as well as the Aasimar, Orc, and Teifling.
A warning: These classes use medium saves extensively—if you’re not a fan of the medium save, you’ll need to do some conversion.
THE MEDIUM SAVE
Code:
[size=2][b]Formula:[/b] 1 1/5 + 2/5 class level
[b] Med Fracc
[u]Lvl Save Save [/u][/b]
1st +1 +1 3/5
2nd +2 +2
3rd +2 +2 2/5
4th +2 +2 4/5
5th +3 +3 1/5
6th +3 +3 3/5
7th +4 +4
8th +4 +4 2/5
9th +4 +4 4/5
10th +5 +5 1/5
11th +5 +5 3/5
12th +6 +6
13th +6 +6 2/5
14th +6 +6 4/5
15th +7 +7 1/5
16th +7 +7 3/5
17th +8 +8
18th +8 +8 2/5
19th +8 +8 4/5
20th +9 +9 1/5[/size]____________________
The Paragon Human is cool because of its sheer versatility—truly fitting of the race. It can be anything, depending on how you build. You want a psionic human? Take psionic skills and begin advancing in manifester levels as a psion. An arcane warrior? You’ve got the skills and feats, just advance in sorcerer spellcasting, etc.
The problem with the human was its first level. 4 SP and an ability that doesn’t even take effect until you leave the class? I advanced them to 6 SP per level (since the half-humans already get 4), and gave them a free skill focus and medium armor. I think it looks a lot better now. I also gave them all medium saves, rather than some high and some low, since it fits more with the jack-of-all-trades nature of the human.
This is the best time to point out a major change I’ve added to the paragon classes—that of spellcasting. The fact that some characters get spells in these classes and others don’t, with no compensation, bugs me a lot. Either the class is balanced with the spellcasting, or it isn’t. If it is, then it’s underpowered without it. If it isn’t, then spellcasters become overpowered with it. I’ll give Andy Collins et al the benefit of the doubt, and say that the material they published isn’t overpowered, so subtracting the casting really hurts the classes. My solution is that a character with no spellcasting that enters one of these classes can begin advancing, beginning at caster level 1. Humans can choose which class they want. I think it looks fine, but if it becomes a problem, I’m also considering giving these characters apprentice-level casting at level 2, and full 1st-level casting at 3 (with 2nd-level casting coming at 5, as normal). But I’d like opinions first.
HUMAN PARAGON (Human)
Alignment: Any.
HD: d8.
Code:
[size=2][b] Fort Ref Will
[u]Lvl BAB Save Save Save Special Spells Per Day [/u][/b]
1st +0 +1 +1 +1 Adaptive learning, skill focus --
2nd +1 +2 +2 +2 Bonus feat +1 level in existing class
3rd +2 +2 +2 +2 Ability boost (+2) +1 level in existing class
4th +3 +2 +2 +2 Bonus feat --
5th +3 +3 +3 +3 Ability boost (+2) +1 level in existing class[/size]The human paragon can choose any 12 skills to be class skills (Knowledge skills must be selected individually).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Higher Levels: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the human paragon.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Human paragons are proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armor, and with bucklers. In addition, they are proficient with any one martial weapon of their choice. Human paragons not already proficient with all martial weapons may forgo their martial weapon proficiency and gain instead the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat.
Spells Per Day: At 2nd, 3rd, and 5th level, a human paragon gains new spells per day (and spells known is applicable) as if she had gained a level in a previous spellcasting class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds these levels of human paragon to her levels in the spellcasting class, and then determines known spells and spells per day accordingly. However, the human paragon adds her entire class level to her levels in the spellcasting class to determine her caster level.
For example, a clr4/human3 would have the spell per day of a 6th-level cleric, but would resolve the effects of these spells as a 7th-level caster. A human5 who chose to study wizardry would have the spells per day of a 3rd-level wizard, but would cast these spells as a 5th-level caster.
If the human paragon has levels in more than one spellcasting class, she must choose which class to apply the effective caster level increase to at each level. If she has no levels in a spellcasting class, she may choose one and begin gaining spellcasting ability from that class (she is considered to have a class level of 0, to which she adds these bonus levels). The human paragon may similarly choose to advance in psionic ability, and receive bonus manifester levels at these levels in place of caster levels.
A human paragon must meet any campaign-specific prerequisites for entering and advancing in a chosen spellcasting class normally.
Adaptive Learning (Ex): At 1st level, a human paragon can designate any one of her selected class skills as an adaptive skill. This skill is treated as a class skill in all respects for all classes of that character, both current and future. For example, a human paragon who chooses Spot as an adaptive skill can treat Spot as a class skill for all future class levels, even if it is not normally a class skill for these classes.
Skill Focus: At 1st level, a human paragon gains a bonus Skill Focus feat. This feat must apply to her selected adaptive skill.
Bonus feat: At 2nd and 4th level, a human paragon gains a bonus feat. She must meet the prerequisites for the bonus feat normally.
Ability Boost: At 3rd level, and again at 5th level, a human paragon gains a +2 racial bonus to an ability score of her choice.
Human Prestige: A 5th-level human paragon may qualify to enter certain prestige classes even if she doesn't meet all of the prerequisites. She qualifies as though her base attack bonus were two points higher, as though she had two additional ranks in her adaptive skill, as though she could cast spells one level higher than her highest-level spell, and as though she were proficient with all martial weapons and heavy armor. Popular choices for adventuring human paragons are the extreme explorer and harper scout prestige classes.
____________________
The standard human paragon assumes at least a moderate level of magic in a campaign world, and that magic is readily available (and desirable) to all who wish to study it. Thus, a paragon human would jump at the chance to add magic to her already considerable array of abilities. However, in a more nitty-gritty world, where magic isn't as open or available, a human needs to rely more on her own natural abilities and leave supernatural gifts to the other more fantastic races. Under these circumstances, an alternate human paragon can be used, one that allows a human to focus more on strengths that are uniquely human, without relying on outside powers. I've created this alternative human paragon for those who believe that humanity needs no magic to excel. I added a virtual bonus to CL only, as Kain suggested, and upped the BAB and HD. All other abilities remain as they were, but I think that the class stacks up nicely next to the other full BAB classes. (Although I think that Batman would use magic in D&D, because he uses anything that furthers his crusade.)
HUMAN PARAGON (Human)
Alignment: Any.
HD: d8.
Code:
[size=2][b] Fort Ref Will
[u]Lvl BAB Save Save Save Special [/u][/b]
1st +1 +2 +2 +2 Adaptive learning, skill focus
2nd +2 +3 +3 +3 Bonus feat
3rd +3 +3 +3 +3 Ability boost (+2)
4th +4 +4 +4 +4 Bonus feat
5th +5 +4 +4 +4 Ability boost (+2)[/size]The human paragon can choose any 12 skills to be class skills (knowledge skills must be selected individually).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Higher Levels: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the human paragon.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Human paragons are proficient with all simple weapons and with light and medium armor. In addition, they are proficient with any one martial weapon of their choice. Human paragons not already proficient with all martial weapons may forgo their martial weapon proficiency and gain instead the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat.
Spellcasting: A human paragon gains no additional spells per day, but may add her class level to her caster level to determine the effects of her spells (regardless of the class that grants the spellcasting ability). She may likewise add her class level to her manifester level to determine the effects of her powers.
This increased caster level affects only the spells that the character can cast. It does not give her access to higher-level spells or more spells per day.
Adaptive Learning (Ex): At 1st level, a human paragon can designate any one of her selected class skills as an adaptive skill. This skill is treated as a class skill in all respects for all classes of that character, both current and future. For example, a human paragon who chooses Spot as an adaptive skill can treat Spot as a class skill for all future class levels, even if it is not normally a class skill for these classes.
Skill Focus: At 1st level, a human paragon gains a bonus Skill Focus feat. This feat must apply to her selected adaptive skill.
Bonus feat: At 2nd and 4th level, a human paragon gains a bonus feat. She must meet the prerequisites for the bonus feat normally.
Ability Boost: At 3rd level, and again at 5th level, a human paragon gains a +2 racial bonus to an ability score of her choice.
Human Prestige: A 5th-level human paragon may qualify to enter certain prestige classes even if she doesn't meet all of the prerequisites. She qualifies as though her base attack bonus were two points higher, as though she had two additional ranks in her adaptive skill, and as though she were proficient with all martial weapons and heavy armor. Popular choices for adventuring human paragons are the extreme explorer and harper scout prestige classes.
The harper scout prestige class is found in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Information on the Extreme Explorer prestige class was released by WotC in connection with the Eberron Campaign Setting. The full class can be found in the link above, but here is an overview:
Code:
[size=2][b] Fort Ref Will
[u]Lvl BAB Save Save Save Special [/u][/b]
1st +0 +1 +1 +1 Additional action points, trap sense +1
2nd +1 +2 +2 +2 Dodge bonus +1, evasion, extreme hustle
3rd +2 +2 +2 +2 Bonus action feat, trap sense +2
4th +3 +2 +2 +2 Dodge bonus +2, extreme action
5th +3 +3 +3 +3 Bonus action feat, trap sense +3[/size]
