D&D 5E Adept class

77IM

Explorer!!!
Supporter
I have just uploaded Adept class to the downloads area.

The Adept is an arcane half-caster who focusses on increasing their personal power and facing challenges that others think impossible.

I haven't play-tested this yet, so any balancing feedback would be welcome.

Flavor-wise, I really like where the subclasses (Callings) wound up, but the main class flavor is a little bit weak. The adept's story basically revolves around being awesome and getting XP. I guess at least there isn't already a class like that. ;)

You can find the file here in the downloads section. Please use this thread for comments.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Okay, a stream of conciousness as I read through.

Interesting fluff, but I don't really have an idea from it how they play besides beign "fighters with magic". At the table, how do they play different than paladins, eldritch knights, etc. What's their niche mechanically?

d10 HD and half casting - keep in mind if they obsolete the Eldritch Knight

Int based features/casting - good, and also not too easy to abuse with multiclassing.

Arcane Sense - sure. No ritual casting which is how others sometimes do this.

Supernatural Prowess - this is very similar to the first kicker for the Samurai fighter subclass in UA, but when they published it in XGtE, it's now a bonus action to use and only lasts for the current turn. Having this as a free action that lasts for two turns is out of line with that. If this is their only major power boost it's probably okay, but considering that they also get half casting that's likely not the case.

Spellcasting - spells known is about the same as a sorcerer of the same level, which seems like too many options of a half caster. I'd suggest moving to the same spells known progression as the Ranger. (Note, I'm saying this before seeing the spell list - these are thoughts as I read through.)

Empowered Weapon vs. Hex/Hunters mark - better action economy in not needing a bonus action to change targets. Level increases damage instead of duration. Damage starts lower, and only affects one weapon (so doesn't boost offhand weapon or spell attack damage). Gives a good reason to be in melee. Doesn't take up your concentration slot - this is a biggie. Seems fine, though the damage with high level slots may be too low to make them used.

Hmm, looking at Divine Smite plus the new Warlock invocation, total damage bonus for a slot is around d8+d8/level. With extra attack assume one hit per round and four round of attacks. So a 3rd for you is 4d8, right on target. 4th is 4d10 vs. 5d8 - good. 4d12 vs. 6d8. Okay. They get better nova, you get more hits then I suggest (about 65% on average, before Supernatual Prowess). So I take it back, the damage looks good.

Magic Resistance - very reasonable for the single defensive power.

Use Magic Device - this is fairly unique in 5e, and something that seems a bit out thematically - why are you a master of magic items?

Master Prowess - very powerful, but hey, capstones are supposed to be. This is basically advantage on all attacks all day at most tables.

Calling of the Spellblade:

Duelist's Prowess - again, reminds me of the UA Samurai ability grantign disadvantage, and the final XGtE version the defensive aspects are just 5 temp HPs (10 at 10th, 15 at 15th). I'd drop it down to that. Also, granting both advantage AND increasing crit range works too well together. Extra attack, 2 rounds, and a 19% chance to crit per attack. Often with extra weapon dice due to Empowered Weapon which also double. Just drop the crit range boost.

Spell Channelling - Full casting and a weapon attack. Eldritch Knights get a spell and a bonus action attack at 18th, and a cantrip and a weapon attack at 7th. Granting this at 3rd is a great deal more powerful, even if limited to single target spells. This really ups the damage per round, and you're already doing that with Empowered Weapon. Plus you can hit more with Supernatual Prowess. It feels like there are too many things that stack - each might be fine in isolation but taken together are too much.

Improved Spell Channelling - okay, use the weapon attack roll for the spell attack roll - good by me in a vaccuum. But in practice it's more powerful when you consider Supernatural Prowess.

Superior Spell Channelling - a free reroll ... when you can already get advantage very easily. And it's delivering a weapon attack, and a spell, and possibly Empowered Weapon rider damage. It's just too good at delivering hits and increasing the damage for them.

The whole spell channeling section: It's too much with some other aspects of the class. I'd rebalance it. Here's one suggestion on how to do it: Change Spell Channelling to be INT times per long rest and cap the spell level used to your current Empower Weapon slot used. Change Superior Spell Channelling to only reroll a single d20, not "the attack" which if used with advantage is 2d20.

While Calling of the Vigilante is next, I have only a limited time right now so I'm going to jump to spells and then some conclusions.

Spell List - seems good. I was worried about it being really long. It is a greatest hits of damage and self-buff, but you want to use your magic to do those for how you described the thematics.

Conclusion:
Looking at how WotC nerfed the Samurai's ability that was very similar to Supernatual Prowess, I'd strongly suggest the same thing - bonus action to activate and only lasts for the current round. You've got all of the casting as well, the fact that you are just "on par" with a Fighter - the standard for melee combat - seems reasonable. WotC changed it for a reason.

I mentioned several changes for Spellblade, I think they hold up.

All in all, this is still more powerful that then Eldritch Knight - they get features like the main parts of fighter subclasses AND casting, while the EK gives up Superiority Dice or Crit Range (or the Samurai ability) in order to get casting, and that casting is inferior. To balance the greater arcane focus I'd suggest dropping the HP/hit dice down from d10s to d8s.

I look forward to finish reading the other Callings, the class seems flavorable.
 

Thanks for the feedback! This is great stuff.

One clarification:

Looking at how WotC nerfed the Samurai's ability that was very similar to Supernatual Prowess, I'd strongly suggest the same thing - bonus action to activate and only lasts for the current round.

That... is exactly how it already is. "As a bonus action, you can channel mystical energy into yourself, enhancing your abilities briefly. Until the start of your next turn..." It's intentionally modeled after the Samurai ability, although stronger (because of the duration) and usable less often. It's until the start of your next turn so that defensive improvements granted by subclasses can have some time to work.

My intention between Prowess and Empowered Weapon was to invert the paladin's mechanics. Paladin's Smite lets them nova using spell slots; Empowered Weapon also burns spell slots, but it's a slow burn over the course of the encounter (I worry this makes it too much of a "no-brainer," becoming a "spell-slot tax"). Meanwhile the paladin and ranger both have tons of weaker abilities that work continuously, like auras and stuff. Supernatural Prowess is the opposite: most of the adept's class powers are part of a sudden 1-round burst. So you really have to try hard to use it strategically.

You make some really great points about the stacking of abilities in this class. That's somewhat intentional, as I like it when class features synergize well, but maybe I overdid it in places. I have some ideas for how to reign this back in.
 

OK, I made a bunch of subtle revisions based on [MENTION=20564]Blue[/MENTION]'s feedback and my own dissatisfaction with the class.

First, I finally found a flavor angle that I like, although I'm not sure I've articulated it well in the class write-up. I took one of the headers, "Master Your Own Destiny," and interpreted it literally.

Role-wise, if a paladin is a "holy warrior with divine power," then we mostly think of an anti-paladin as "unholy warrior with demonic power." But the adept is sort of an a-paladin: "atheist warrior with scientific power." (In 5e, magic is often treated like a science, especially the wizard's approach with textbooks and formulae. This explains why the adept is an Int-caster like the wizard, and not a Cha-caster like the sorcerer.) So unlike the paladin, who follows an external power (even if it's not a god, it's a cosmic force like Justice), or the ranger, who has all this stuff about nature and balance and harmony, the adept is internally driven and wants to impose their own will on the world around them. At a metafictional level, the adept is trying to break free of the longstanding D&D tradition that fighters and mages are somehow "opposites."

Ability-wise, the adept now has several powers that seem to flout fate, although it is not the main focus of the class, mechanically. Notably, they get a level 1 "ribbon" that they are immune to having their actions predicted by divination magic. And at 11th level they get a powerful, but expensive, way to affect their own luck (Destiny Surge). I ditched Arcane Sense because it was boring and unnecessary.

I've had trouble with making a good 11th level power for this class. Classes are supposed to get a damage boost at 11th. Fighter gets a third Extra Attack, paladin gets the ridiculous Improved Divine Smite, spellcasters get an additional cantrip damage die, etc. Originally I had the adept getting an extra use of Power Surge at 11th, but I think that's too powerful. So I replaced it with Destiny Surge, which is not strictly a damage boost, but effectively becomes a damage boost when combined with the class's other abilities. This also let me think up a much better and more interesting capstone.

"Supernatural Prowess" was renamed to Power Surge because I like that name better and it is a clearer analog to the fighter's Action Surge. The two abilities usages increase at roughly the same rate, and are about as powerful (taking an extra action vs. just getting advantage on your one action).

Finally, I moved some abilities around. Magic Resistance is pushed back to 15th, and at 10th is Concentration Focus which improves the spellcasting story a little bit. All subclasses had their powers shuffled around. The Spellblade loses Superior Spell Channelling and gets their awesome Duelist's Surge split into two abilities. The Vigilante's Skill Training is weakened and split in half also, and their Empowered Attack is a little weaker, too. The Warder's Spiritual Bond no longer works on unwilling subjects; their Prescience no longer boosts allies; and their Warding Aegis was moved to later (but made into an unlimited-use power).

These changes let me clean up the layout somewhat, too, which I'm pretty happy about.
 

Remove ads

Top