Which PHBII classes would you adopt?

[mhacdebhandia]

Why would that have an unfavorable bearing on its place in the poll? I suspect the most overpowered classes would be the least likely for a DM to adopt.

Moreover, I'd also wager that a lot of folks are of the opinion that base classes should exist for the sake of representing traditional fantasy archetypes, not as a playground for designers to experiment with new class feature combinations. Only one out of the four is more the former than the latter.

Yeah, the duskblade is pretty damn good.

. . . what?

 

[EyeontheMountain]

I would allow all of them as a DM, and I would be willing to play three of them as a player. I jsut think Dragon Shaman is too weak to be an effective class.

I keep thinking of what I am missing about Dragon Shaman that makes it at least viable, but i do not see it. Sure, it can breathe time after time after time, but after the first break, energy resistance comes up and there goes their main trick.

And they ain't got a second one.

 

[MarkB]

I would allow all of them as a DM, and I would be willing to play three of them as a player. I jsut think Dragon Shaman is too weak to be an effective class.

I keep thinking of what I am missing about Dragon Shaman that makes it at least viable, but i do not see it. Sure, it can breathe time after time after time, but after the first break, energy resistance comes up and there goes their main trick.

And they ain't got a second one.

They do seem to be primarily a support class, a secondary healer, and I'm not sure they have the power required for that. But their Fast Healing aura can auto-stabilise other party members, and will save a lot of healing expense after a tough battle (even bringing the party up to half HPs is a cost saving), and their ability, at higher levels, to effectively provide spontaneous effects similar to the Restoration spells and other condition-curing Cleric spells could be very valuable in keeping a party mobile.

 

[Felon]

I keep thinking of what I am missing about Dragon Shaman that makes it at least viable, but i do not see it. Sure, it can breathe time after time after time, but after the first break, energy resistance comes up and there goes their main trick.

And they ain't got a second one.

Not every class has to have major offense. Some play supporting roles and just smack things with a mace.

Like I said, if anything, the dragon shaman steps all over the marshal class and is probably a little too good at the support role.

 

[Shade]

I'd allow them all, but I find the dragon shaman the least appealing and would probably never use it as an NPC.

 

[shadowthorn]

I would allow all but the Dragon Shaman; am I the only one who thinks it's overpowered? Unless I'm reading it wrong, he can grant all party members w/in 30' a Fire Shield that does 2 damage / round to melee opponents. That's at 1st level, and it can remain active all the time. The type of damage will vary depending on the dragon type, of course.

At 5th level, the damage jumps to 4 hp / round, then to 6 hp / round at 10th, etc.

Have I missed something?

 

[Pseudonym]

Have you considered associating them with the draconist sect of the Sovereign Host faith?

Honesty, I hadn't considered that option. I've only recently finished The Shattered Land. Are they detailed elsewhere?

 

[GQuail]

I would let all four classes into my game pretty much straight away. The Knight and the Beguiler would probably be the easiest to add in, the Dragon Shaman is perfect for adding to my evil Cult of the Dragon sub-plot to make some funky NPCs, and the Duskblade is a really funky melee/caster combo that looks like it could be a lot of fun to play.

Of course, having just bought the book yesterday I've yet to try them out to see how they balance. The fact the Duskblade gets so many low level spells at high levels (up to 10, versus the usual cap of 6) is funky but I dunno if it would actually be all that effective at that level: though the fact he gets to drop touch spells straight into melee via his weapon probably helps a lot. I also think that if Beguiler was added toa list of allowed classes that included Warmage and Dread Necromancer, the Sorcerer really would seem a bit redundant: the only niche I can see him filling then is a summoner. The Knight's lack of good Fort save did not fill me with the rage that it some other people, though the Dragon Shaman only having simple weapon proficiency made me pause: for a supposedly melee class, it seemed a bit odd at first. (Though I guess that's 'cause he's noted as being a faux cleric, and the D10 HD and breath weapon means he ought not to begrudge using a mace rather than a greataxe)

The only thing that caught my eye was that the Duskblade is mentioned as having martial but not simple weapon proficiency. I assume that's a typo or someone forgot that all other classes specify simple even if they have martial as well.... but if the intention is that learning to use a sword and spells makes one forget how to use a dagger or a crossbow, I'll probly be houseruling that one. ;-)

 

[Kurotowa]

At 5th level, the damage jumps to 4 hp / round, then to 6 hp / round at 10th, etc.

Have I missed something?

Those numbers assume the party member is being hit exactly once each round. At 5th level, the damage will often vary from 0 to 12, as an attacker either misses or hits with all three of its natural attacks. Is that strong? Well, it's weaker than Fire Shield, and I've never seen that spell get much use. Generally if you're being hit three times and doing 12 damage back, you're coming off far the worse for the exchange. Remember that it only deals damage when you're hit, not when you're attacked.

Just to add my own two cents. Dragon Shaman with the Black, Bronze, or Gold totem + Shifter with the Truedive trait = Aquaman! Or at least one of the best aquatic fighters around. If I ever end up in a high seas adventure campaign, I'm definately going to try that character out.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Honesty, I hadn't considered that option. I've only recently finished The Shattered Land. Are they detailed elsewhere?

Not in any great detail. One can hope that Faiths of Eberron will look at them.