So, how about them Hexblades?

[malien]

Something of a Recap

Definately some good ideas I've gleaned from this thread, and the other two earlier pointed out for reference.

Some notions I've gotten, and I'd love to hear everyone chime in on them;

Trade the Familiar for Arcane Strike feat. (It's outside of regular requirements, but I can so see how this feat was /made/ for the Hexblade)

Save for half, rather than save-or-fail. So the curse always has /some/ effect.

Possibly increase the Fort Save of the Hexblade, to bring it more in line with a melee character.

Possibly include some higher level medium armor proficency/medium armor no-arcane-spell-failure abilities for the Hexblade.

Allow feats like Extra Curse... and open up the Hexblade's bonus feat options slightly.

... Now, I'm not saying /all/ those should be done. Though most aren't very drastic (even the Arcane Strike isn't a huge deal... how many spells do you have to waste, anyways?) they aren't likely all necessary. Especially the whole idea of the medium armor. That's the most out there idea, IMHO.

What do you all think?

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I don't know why every one says the Hexblade has weak fort saves. Sure, his base is poor, but arcane resistance makes the fort saves almost as good as a paladin's. Also, while it lacks shield proficiency, a masterwork buckler combined with a greatsword works just fine, especially with the improved buckler defense feat. ^_^

And many people have complained the hexblade's spellcasting is as bad as a paladin or ranger's, but it's actually worse. Same # per day, but they also have a limited amount known and have to worry about ASF. I definitely think their casting power should be closer to the bard's.

While I have never played one, I wrote up a 7th level half-elven hexblade for a one-shot I ran. The character survived quite well in melee, but also contributed little to the party.

I also have entertained the thought of going hex 3 / monk 2 / ftr 1 / kensai X, gaining massive saves as well as mettle and evasion. Combined with feats like hold the line and defensive throw, I was hoping to make the ultimate "I'll just stand here and laugh as you maim yourself trying to kill me" character. Then I saw you couldn't make attacks of opportunity on a round you used full defense and dropped the idea out of disgust.

But, yeah, to summarize: their spells aren't good enough (notable exception for "phantom threat" if there's a rogue in the party), the curse should get more useful than just -6, and they seem as much of a "dip in for a few levels and get out" kind of class as 3.0 paladin was and fighter will always be.