Complete Champion excerpts

[Pants]

All kinds. It's really nifty as a full Druid (though I agree that it moves Druids from "Druids win, thanks for playing" to merely "Druids are hardcore awesome and will probably win"), but it also makes the Druid more modular. With a Wild Shape Druid, you're generally punished if you multiclass because your Animal Companion stops advancing and your Wild Shape stays limited ("punished" = "better than other party members, but no longer better than all other party members combined"). With Shapeshift, Druid becomes a very viable dip class. ("Hey guys, my Halfling in Dragonhide Full Plate can go from 15 feet per round to 50 feet per round as a Swift action, at will, and I lose all of the massive Armor Check Penalties from my Full Plate + Tower Shield, thus making me a tank-ninja, and all it took was a single level of Druid!") They're also more useful for taking a little farther then moving out of (infinite flight at level 5, etc.) and, while I doubt you personally care, changing form and appearance at will is a freaking sweet thing from a fluff perspective. (And an infiltration perspective.)

Yeah, the Shapeshifting variant rocks. I'm thinking of making it mandatory for any druids in my games, because Wild Shape is such a big headache at times...

 

[Nyeshet]

For some reason, I really really like that both the Paladin and the Bard, possibly the two most diametrically opposed base classes in terms of flavor and function, have on their spell lists:

Moral Facade: Divination spells give a false alignment reading.

I think that's keen!

Wouldn't the use of such a spell break a Paladin's code of conduct? (truth over falsehood, and all that)? I see no problem with a Bard having use of it, of course, or even a non-lawful cleric, actually, but a Paladin? That just seems odd . . . .

As for the Healing Touch reserve feat, I've been expecting it. Not quite sure what to think of it, although I like the idea of a Bard or Ranger taking it, thus allowing a party to adventure without the need of a class partially devoted to healing (Cleric). I wouldn't mind a feat that allowed non-Rogues to search for and disarm magic traps more than DC 20, in fact. Something like that probably already exists in a third party book or pdf somewhere, but seeing it from WotC would sort of put the final nail in that coffin (the many WotC new base classes and PrCs that get that roguish ability already have partially nailed that coffin shut).

The healing reserve feat is perfectly balanced for "typical" RaW / core D&D games as WotC views them, but it is a bit strong for many gaming groups - my own included. I might allow it, but I'd likely weaken it to 1 hp per level of spell, limit it to use only once per 1d4 rounds, and perhaps set a daily limit equal to the user's total hp (or perhaps double that). That would be for a normal hp type game. For a wounds and vitality type game it would heal the surface damage, but not the deeper core damage. Oh, and it would keep to the 1 hp per level. That would be enough for balancing, I think.


[Edit]

So it limits you to only half total hp? It seems this is little more than a way to gain the major benfit of Dragon Shaman without level dipping, then. Still not bad, however, especially if the party lacks a cleric. I might still limit it to 1 hp per spell level, however - if only to firmly push it out of combat time and into recovery time. I would treat it like a cleric aiding a wounded for a few minutes after combat, their divine empowerment allowing them a type of faith healing as it were. Hmm, if it were more limited (to 1 hp per spell level per minute of continuous contact) it would far closer mimic the idea of a cleric slowly faith healing a wounded individual between combats. I would even consider taking off the half total hp limit for that, considering how long it would take to heal up an entire party that is terribly injured.

Hmm, or perhaps the clerics (or Paladins or perhaps a few other divine classes and PrCs) could get the 1 hp per minute of contact as a new form of Lay on Hands. At lower levels that would heal up most NPCs after just a minute or three. At higher levels the cleric or Paladin could take a feat to empower that to 1 hp per spell level per round, to a total of half hp - a major boost as it were, certainly worthy of a feat. However, if a character without the faith healing (but with healing spells) took the feat they would just get what the healers normally have: 1 hp per minute, but limited to half total hp to reflect their lack of divine connection compared to clerics, etc.

An interesting idea. I'll have to work with it a bit more, however. I've played with the idea of clerics having Lay on Hands before (instead of spontaneous casting), and even the idea of clerics being able to use Lay on Hands points towards greater healings (ability damage, blindness, curses, diseases, poisons, etc), and even the idea of clerics being able to curse 'non believers' and apostates / heretics of their faith by a a type of reverse healing using lay on hands points, but this idea (unlimited healing, albeit far slower) is a bit new. I'll have to work with it a bit more to see how well it could work out.

[/edit]

 

[Aus_Snow]

Half HP, eh?

Well. In that case, I'll just lump it in with other reserve feats so far - equally broken and (IMNSHO) incompatible with D&D [as I prefer to have it, and as I see it], and hence never to be used in my games. Also, never to be chosen by me for a character.

Maybe I'll give the rest of the book a chance though. . .

Hm.

 

[Perun]

Naw, just my group and I come from the "ooh-ahh" school of attitude towards magical items, not the "ho-hum" one.

Buy and selling of magical items is almost unheard of. Magical items are mostly gifts, rewards, heirlooms or plunder.

I'm curious, are you playing in a home-made setting, or are you using one of the published ones? How do you regulate PC access to item creation feats? Do you just make it difficult to pick them, or is it the players themselves who don't take them (for whatever reasons)?

I'm asking because, while I do miss the days od 2e when a magic item was something special and not merely a tool to be sold at the first opportunity, I don't see such rules being viable in current D&D without some heavy modifications.

Regards.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

No, it isn't. Mostly better, perhaps. Strictly better? No.

Being able to get someone up to half-hp and then use a wand on them is a good use of resources; especially at very high levels.

Cheers!

At very high levels, wands are *candy*. 750 gp is what you spend on your room at the Rock of Bral Ritz or the Sigil Hilton.

Cleric feats, on the other hand, are an incredibly precious resource even up to 20th level.

The only time I can see taking this feat is in a meatgrinder one-shot beginning and ending at the earliest level it becomes available.

You're correct that it's not strictly better in the formal sense, which would require it to be better at all times and all places and require no more resources - but for all practical purposes, going by the RAW, the wand will be a better choice at *least* 9 times out of 10, and probably closer to 99 out of 100.

 

[el-remmen]

I'm curious, are you playing in a home-made setting, or are you using one of the published ones? How do you regulate PC access to item creation feats? Do you just make it difficult to pick them, or is it the players themselves who don't take them (for whatever reasons)?

I'm asking because, while I do miss the days od 2e when a magic item was something special and not merely a tool to be sold at the first opportunity, I don't see such rules being viable in current D&D without some heavy modifications.

Regards.

I am using a homebrew (see link to wiki in sig).

There are a variety of ways I regulate stuff, though mostly through having a pretty strong consensus among my group of that is how we want to play. Of the six current players, two would probably prefer slightly less magic, two would prefer slightly more and two are just fine. . . so it averages out and everyone is having fun, which is the important part.

As for the rules I have implemented, it would probably take its own thread to get into detail (which I might be convinced to create in House Rules if anyone is interested), but among them are:

• Limit the number of spells wizards learn as they advance in level (1 every 2 levels instead of 2 every 1 level)
• Giving each priesthood its own custom spell list
• Required training for certain class abilities, feat and skills
• Magical item creation requires power components and special "recipes" - when you learn an item creation feat you are learning how to make something specific - which then can be applied to create other things with more research/time (this applie mostly to wonderous items, rings, staves)
• Certain kinds of magical items can only be made by certain magic types (i.e. wands are only arcane)
• Base Defense that improves AC for all classes as they advance (depending on class) to make up for lack of magic armor
• A general reinforcement of the setting's view on magic. both in terms of character background, but the consequences of public abuse of magic

 

[Kunimatyu]

Honestly I feel this is still not enough of a limitation. IMV its still very much a powerful feat and furthermore its leading to changes in the game play to something I don't care for. I am not purchasing this book and have cancelled by order with Amazon for it. Perhaps it is a over reaction, but truthfully I feel this is the only way that I can inform WOTC that I don't care for the way the development and design of D&D is headed with some of their latest releases.

From an outside perspective....it's an overreaction.

In fact, the fact that the reserve feat only fills HP up to half makes it pretty crappy compared to wands of lesser vigor or even wands of CLWs.

I think I'm going to alter this one for my Savage Tide game to work past half HP, just to tempt the cleric into wasting a feat.

 

[Pazu]

The book is out at my FLGS.

Touch of Healing won't let you bring a character above half their max HP.

Would you perchance be able/willing to provide the full text of the feat?

 

[AllisterH]

Oh, it is a blast if you like playing a half orc druid from level one. A noticable powerdown if you knew how to [ab]use wilshape and natural spell to stat dump for your 9th level gnome druid.

This is one of the things I think WOTC tries but gets ignored. People scream the game is being powered up but nerfs like these ALWAYS seem to get ignored...

 

[Henry]

I think I'm going to alter this one for my Savage Tide game to work past half HP, just to tempt the cleric into wasting a feat.

Wow! If I were playing a Bard, Cleric, or Druid, I'd LEAP at that version of the feat. The entire party would be healed from any hit point injury at zero cost inside of 5 minutes, assuming the caster reserved his highest level curing spell.