D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5] The New Blackguard

[AuraSeer]

WOTC has posted the updated blackguard on their website. I suppose this is intended to get us excited about the changes, but AFAICT this is practically the same as the old one.

The only changes I see in the new version are:

• Requirement of 2 ranks in Knowledge (religion)
• Requirement of Power Attack (which is redundant, since that's a prereq of the required Cleave)
• Charisma bonus to saving throws, as paladin
• Eagle's splendor added to spell list

Other than that it seems identical. It has the same spell progression, the same saves, the same list of class skills, the same everything. (Okay, the fiendish servant abilities aren't listed, so those might have changed. Big deal.)

They didn't list the special rules for fallen paladins, but that might be just to save space. Or perhaps they're eliminating that special case-- and if they're doing that, why try to encourage interest by posting a class that has had features removed?

Have I missed something, or is the new blackguard really this boring?

 

[smetzger]

...why try to encourage interest by posting a class that has had features removed?

Have I missed something, or is the new blackguard really this boring?

Perhaps they want to show how _little_ has changed.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The blackguard always had the Cha-bonus to saving throws ability.

What changes were you expecting? The blackguard was not an outright broken prestige class, and doesn't really need much change.

IMC the changes are for flavor, and are minor (to avoid balance problems).

 

[shilsen]

The only changes I see in the new version are:

• Requirement of 2 ranks in Knowledge (religion)

• 
  
  This is already a requirement in the 3e blackguard.

 

[BeauNiddle]

Other changes:

Hide is now on the Blackguards class list

Aura of evil explicitely states how the Blackguard is shown in detect evil (as per evil cleric)

Smite good multiple times a day

 

[Destil]

Also: FAR better art.

 

[AuraSeer]

What changes were you expecting?

Actually, if they had made no changes at all, I wouldn't have complained. I just expected more of the web blurb. When the site bills something as "fun and useful", and says "check out THIS excerpt!" with capitals and an exclamation point, I thought it'd be at least mildyl interesting. One new spell and one class skill doesn't exactly have me drooling for the new books.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

The multiple smite good caught my eye. I would hazard a guess that paladins will get multiple smite evils, perhaps one more at 5, 10, 15, and 20.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Actually, if they had made no changes at all, I wouldn't have complained. I just expected more of the web blurb. When the site bills something as "fun and useful", and says "check out THIS excerpt!" with capitals and an exclamation point, I thought it'd be at least mildyl interesting. One new spell and one class skill doesn't exactly have me drooling for the new books.

So they don't give us any information, we complain. And if they do give us information, we complain. This is just getting annoying.
While they had shown the art before, I love it. And it is good to see the class hasn't changed much. It seems to me this is a good way of easing the fears that everything is being destroyed with the revision.

 

[MerricB]

To collect together all the changes:

Requirements: explicitly lists "Power Attack" (used to just list "Cleave")

Class Skills: added Hide (makes sense, it being a pre-req for the class and all! )

Class Features:
added Aura of Evil
gained extra uses of Smite Good at 5th and 10th level.
Aura of Despair doesn't say "morale" penalty (?-typo-?)

Spells:
2nd: added Eagle's Splendour (this also means it's been added to the 3.5E spell lists in the PHB)

Cheers!