D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5] Things I wish they would have fixed

[Kae'Yoss]

It's even in the word: divination and divine spell.

Also, in 2e the clerics were little more than healers and not much fun at all. They were good for cohorts, not for player characters. I have seen it several times that they made the newblood play cleric.

The 2e-cleric is good for nothing but a NPC class.

In 3e, clerics can actually do more for the groop than reducing the weight carried (since you need less healing potions). I like that.

 

[blakwind]

It's a minor quibble but it irks me.

The Teleport table is still backwards. It's the only table in the game where a low result is better than a high result.

 

[Fedifensor]

Would it have been so frickin' unbalancing to give Sorcerers Eschew Materials for free, considering all the bonus feats Wizards get?

 

[Kae'Yoss]

It's a minor quibble but it irks me.

The Teleport table is still backwards. It's the only table in the game where a low result is better than a high result.

Hm... that's right. It's not world-shattering, but they could change the table so it fits with the D&D-philosophy. I think they just never saw that one and thus didn't change it (I haven't noticed that one, and haven't heard a single complaint about it)

But - here it is:

Teleport

Fimiliarity / Mishap / Similar Area / Off Target / On Target
Very Familiar / - / 01 / 02-03 / 04-100
Studied Carefully /100 / 02-03 / 04-06 / 07-100
Seen casually /01-02 / 03-06 / 07-12 / 13-100
Viewed once /01-04 / 05-12 / 13- 24 / 25-100
False Destination (1d20) /1-8 /9-20

Would it have been so frickin' unbalancing to give Sorcerers Eschew Materials for free, considering all the bonus feats Wizards get?

You can houserule it very easily.

In the Return of the Archwizards trilogy, the hero was a sorcerer. He studied on an academy of magic, but instead of learning spells the hard way he just mimicked the other wizards, including the materials. Such a sorcerer would not eschew the materials. (On the other hand, he could use the materials even though he doesn't need them, and if he ever forgets to use the materials and the spell works nonetheless, he will learn about that). They did sorcerers a service in that they made EM a general feat (and personally, I'll use the houserule that sorcerers get EM as a bonus feat at 1st level)

[edit - nevermind]

 

[Hjorimir]

I like percentages being low in general. If you have a 30% chance to do something it is easier to just roll precent and see if you got in the first 30%. Yeah, subtracting 30 from 100 is 70 and that isn't hard to do. But I'm just an advocate of removing every last calculation you can in favor of speed.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

Wow, that came across as if you have a real problem with clerics being anything but band-aid factories and second-rate fighters.

no, I have a problem with them making a class insanely overpowered just because people didn't play them in a previous edition.


going onto my next and related compaint they din't fix the spell lists enough. already mentioned SR spell, but deeper darkenss still not on the sor/wiz list. Other than the previous edition card this spell doesn't fit on the cleric list more than the wiz/sor list. Something the designers would of known if they had bothered to read their own descriptions of what the spellcasting classes are good at when making the spell lists.

Hey that's a good change for 4.0. Actually read your own stuff about what a class should be when making the dang class.

 

[totoro]

Edit: What I mentioned was fixed in 3.5

 

[Spyritwind]

Hmmmm I think the cleric needed help exactly for the reason that no one wanted to play them and I'm not sure they are too uber now. Don't get me wrong, they are a good class now, but before they sucked.

Fighters usually still fight better and once a Wiz or Sorc gets high enough level they still out damage a cleric with spells by far. The cleric still ends up being a support fighter, healer and some times a support offensive spell chucker at high levels. A very versitle class yes, but master of none with the exception of defensive spells which may be an issue in regards to the defensiveness of arcane casters.

I'm sure I can think of more later, but the one thing I'm shocked that they didn't change (and I know this has been an old argument from the begining of 3.0 that has been rehashed and argued about many times) is the 'Toughness' feat which isn't very tough.

I've always gone with + 1 hp per level on a continuing basis. By the time you are a low to mid level character 3 hps don't mean squat any more. It's a great feat for the begining arcane spell chucker, but it'll bite you in the A$$ later when you think of the feat you wasted at first level that doesn't do much of any thing for you any more. Granted, they confessed that not all feats were created equal ... and that is apparent.

I'malso surprised they didn't flesh out the half orc, or perhaps I should say I wish they had not that I'm actualy surprised that they didn't. Since strength is such an important component of many, but not all, character classes it's not that they are not powerful enough it's that they are borring as a race over all.

When all you get is +2 Str and darkvision and you have communication penalties (-2 CHA) and less skill points (-2 INT) what kind of players/classes would pick such a race? Only hack and slash min max fighters (not that they aren't fun to play some times) because there is no other reason to take the class. Sure, sure there is the exceptional player that chooses a half orc for a non fighter class for actual 'role' playing purposes, but it is just that ... an exception.

Look at the dwarf for instance. Bonus CON, which is probably the second most important stat for most fighters unless you are a dex based fighter, you don't lose a skill point (no negative to INT) and you get a lot of other benifits as well, including dark vision. Depending on how one looks at it the min/maxing might be from the player that picks the dwarf.

The half orc from a game mechanic perspective is only good for 'Grond smash' characters.

I't's not that the half orc isn't powerful enough for the fighter class it just needs some flavor or fleshing out IMO. I'm not sure what the fix is, but some thing would be better than nothing.

 

[Anubis the Doomseer]

Originally posted by Spyritwind
Hmmmm I think the cleric needed help exactly for the reason that no one wanted to play them

Because they were only used as walking medics?

Fighters usually still fight better and once a Wiz or Sorc gets high enough level they still out damage a cleric with spells by far.

That's why they are fighters and wizards, not clerics. Rogues are more agile and do traps better - are you going to ask for trap sense and more skill points now?

The cleric still ends up being a support fighter, healer and some times a support offensive spell chucker at high levels.

That's it's role!
Best armor, good saving throws, wide range of spells, no dependency on having to research spells, the only character in the game able to recover hit points right from the start (level 1).

In 2e they could have Fighter level HD, extra proficencies, powers, a ton of spells, martial weapons, etc. In 2.5 Skills and Powers they were the basis of every munchkin build imaginable.

In 1e they had a tons of spells, still heavy weapons and armor.

In OD&D they still held their own, despite having their spells deferred to 2nd level.

Yeah, a 'useless' class. Whatever.

 

[smetzger]

I think they should have fixed the magic item creation feats.