Aura Classes and Shields

[dvvega]

Greetings,

I was having a discussion with a member of my playgroup this evening and we somehow found ourselves talking about Shield Brothers and Auras.

The first query would be: how much could someone abuse Aura classes? For example if a party consisted of 4 separate Aura using characters such as: Marshall, Dragon Shaman, The Psionic Version, and another (is there another?). Would this be balanced? Broken?

The second query revolved around Shield abuse (extracting the most AC out of a shield) and also using the feats that give you extra AC to help others (name eludes us). Is this feasible? Broken? Balanced?

We aren't looking for a perfect build or tweak, just some opinions on what would happen in these situations and how it would affect a game.

TIA,
D

 

[blargney the second]

Auras are fun. Be aware that they tend to leave you in fireball formation. It's not really a big deal having a bunch of stacking auras, because those classes usually have 3/4 BAB and no significant spellcasting.

Btw, if one of you plays a druid, good things happen.
-blarg

 

[Patlin]

I have a pretty long thread somewhere called "Aura Party in Play" that you might want to take a look at.

 

[FreeXenon]

Link for ya..

Aura Party in Play

 

[Darklone]

Marshal, Dragon Shaman, Divine Mind (the psio thing) and BARD. Everyone go archer (Maaany attacks).

The feats you're talking about: Shieldmate and Imp Shieldmate, use a tower shield. MiniHB.

Check out the dragonfire adept, he might be interesting with some aura feats.

 

[blargney the second]

Stacking becomes a concern with multiple aurors. Divine Minds and Bards both give morale bonuses, as does the Bolstering Voice stance from White Raven.

 

[dvvega]

So this concept could be broken if people try to break it but would make for an interesting concept otherwise?

What I was thinking about was a core command group of 4 "heroes" surrounded by mooks in their army or unit. All their auras stacking and helping out weak mooks etc. Of course they would work for each other as well.

@blargney the second - what do you mean about druids and all good?

@darklone - are there any prestige classes or feat combinations that work with the shield stuff?

 

[Bagpuss]

Marshal, Dragon Shaman, Divine Mind (the psio thing) and BARD. Everyone go archer (Maaany attacks).

The feats you're talking about: Shieldmate and Imp Shieldmate, use a tower shield. MiniHB.

Check out the dragonfire adept, he might be interesting with some aura feats.

Might have problems using the bows with shields.

Shield Wall - +2 AC if your adjacent ally is using a shield is handy as well.

The only problem with these Aura type classes and shield type feats is when you are facing opponents that can drop template attacks, because they ignore your great AC and they hit more characters because you tend to be bunched together.

I'm currently playing a Knight, and have done a good job of keeping other characters on their feat by rarely being hit myself (great AC) and using my Shield Ally abilities to use my hit points as a pool for other characters. But the other week we were facing a dragon and hell hounds so we split to avoid the templates and I wasn't so useful. Thinking of getting a Torc of Heroic Sacrifice for those occasions.

 

[blargney the second]

So this concept could be broken if people try to break it but would make for an interesting concept otherwise?

What I was thinking about was a core command group of 4 "heroes" surrounded by mooks in their army or unit. All their auras stacking and helping out weak mooks etc. Of course they would work for each other as well.

@blargney the second - what do you mean about druids and all good?

Auras get better the more allies you have that are benefiting from them. Druids tend to have large numbers of useful allies, with easily replaceable animal companions and excellent access to summons.

I don't think that having multiple stacking auras is a problem. Because they're usually class-based abilities, it means the PCs are missing out on the benefits other classes could bring to the party. It all evens out in the end.

As for the mooks, fighting enemies with vastly higher CRs will be a demonstration in survival of the fittest...

 

[Nifft]

I do not think this is a particularly broken concept. But I think you need to work on force multipliers. What level will you be playing?

Here's a concept party I've been toying with:

Psion: Nomad 5 / Thrallherd -- He brings mobility to the core 4 members, particularly with dimension swap. He also brings disposable minions. He can take astral construct with a feat if more disposable minions are needed, though the constructs won't benefit from morale effects, I don't think.

Druid: Pure Druid -- He brings disposable minions and battlefield control. Also, some healing. Starting at level 5 he's the primary melee dude if bad guys get close to the core 4.

Dragon Shaman: Pure Dragon Shaman -- Auras + area damage + primary healer. He'll be the front melee dude until 5th level, when he takes second tier. His only required feat is Double Draconic Aura at 12th level.

Skald: Warblade / Bard -- He does archery, he stands in a White Raven stance, and he Inspires Courage like a ... gentleman who knows your family quite well. He wants at least 7 levels of Bard for haste; 8 levels is probably perfect. All the rest should be Warblade. His first level should be Warblade, in fact -- the 12 HP + 4 skill points are better than the Bard's 6 HP + 6 skill points. He'll be a front-liner until the minions start showing up in full force (level 6 or so). Feats required: Song of the White Raven for sure, anything else that boosts Inspire Courage too.

Cheers, -- N