Which PHBII classes would you adopt?

[Question]

All, and why the hell not? The duskblade in particular looks excellent. The knight however, looks rather underpowered(bonuses too low, abilities too situational), but if one of my players wants to play it, eh i will let them.

 

[rgard]

I am really tempted to buy PHB II. Although I don't plan to run D&D 3e again, I have the vague prospect of a D&D3.5 Elric/Melnibone campaign as a player. I guess that one of the class would be fine for an innovative character... Can see well the Dragon Shaman as some Melnibonean in charge of the dragons of Melnibone; or Duskblade as a champion of Melnibone. Now, as a DM I would allow all classes. Even dragon shamans would find a place in my campaign, as dragons are an important part of it (they guard ley-line magic nexuses, which popular ignorance has translated into dragons slumbering on treasure).

For a Melnibone campaign, you might want to check out the Fiendblade core class from Lion's Den Press. It's a PDF download here on Enworld. It's playable and draws inspiration from the Elric series of stories.

I bought it. I like it.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Odhanan]

All of them.

If I was to choose as a player, though, I would choose Knight or Beguiler. These two classes spark my imagination. I would prefer a Mage Blade (Arcana Evolved) to a Duskblade, and the Dragon Shaman doesn't do much for me.

 

[Aaron L]

Duskblade Ive been waiting a long time for. Knight looks excellent. Beguiler looks ok. Dragon Shaman is just WAY to bizzare to be a full class. I dont even really like dragons, and an entire class based on worshipping them or whatever just doesnt hold any interest for me whatsoever.

It would be a fine prestige class, but its a seriously questionable base class.

 

[shaylon]

I voted all of them. I don't like to discourage players from playing what they want.

-Shay

 

[Beckett]

I voted for all. The duskblade really appeals to me as a good fighter/mage- good BAB and spells to complement his melee. The knight I like because I have a fondness for nonmagical warrior types. The beguiler really doesn't fit my style, but it could work for a creative player, and it'd be nice to see an arcane caster not focused on blasting.

The dragon shaman comes close to treading on my campaign sepparation of dragons and humans (no, your paladin can't worship Bahamut- there are plenty of human gods to worship), but I see them as a more distant connection, like sorcerers. An adventuring party will probably welcome a dragon shaman, but most communities will look at them oddly.

 

[Kunimatyu]

I'd allow all of them, but I'm mildly worried about the duskblade, mainly because it's got good Fort/Will, full BAB, and (limited) casting, plus the ability to use a touch spell on every hit of a full attack (one touch spell expended for the whole sequence, not one spell for one attack) once they reach 13th level. I'm not worried about it overshadowing magic-users, but I am worried about how powerful it is compared to the other full BAB melee classes, particularly fighters and paladins.

 

[Felon]

I'd allow all of them, but I'm mildly worried about the duskblade, mainly because it's got good Fort/Will, full BAB, and (limited) casting, plus the ability to use a touch spell on every hit of a full attack (one touch spell expended for the whole sequence, not one spell for one attack) once they reach 13th level. I'm not worried about it overshadowing magic-users, but I am worried about how powerful it is compared to the other full BAB melee classes, particularly fighters and paladins.

I think duskblades seem quite powerful because previous attempts at creating spellcasting warriors (paladins, rangers, hexblades) focused heavily on the warrior part, with spelllcasting just being the side gimmick. Same goes for the spellsword PrC. It outshines the eldritch knight, but that was always a rubbishy PrC to begin with IMO.

Duskblades concentrate on effective spellcasting. If you look at the class as a warrior, it's not so hot--starts with light armor only, d8 hit dice, and no class features that improve their martial ability. No bonus feats, no special defenses. They're spellcasters that can kind of fight, rather than warriros that can kind of cast spells.

 

[Jdvn1]

I'm surprised the Knight is leading. It's, arguably, the weakest class in the book.

 

[hong]

I'm surprised the Knight is leading. It's, arguably, the weakest class in the book.

That might be why people are allowing it in their games.