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<blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 3455477" data-attributes="member: 13966"><p>Well, firstly, welcome to the boards.</p><p></p><p>Secondly, I have to say it, your class gives way too much for very little cost (even only a minor opportunity cost).</p><p></p><p>Thirdly, some of the wording is wierd or confusing; for example, you list 'level 2 spells' as a prerequisite, but the Spellcasting entry says that he/she advances the spellcasting of the class that gave them 'level 3 spells'. And in the same paragraph you mention 'level 2 spells'. For reference, they should be referred to as 0-level, 1st-level, 2nd-level, 3rd-level, or 4th-level spells, etc., not 'level 2' or the like.</p><p></p><p></p><p>As for specific problems/clarification issues......</p><p></p><p>Requirements: What is Weapon Focus (melee)? I don't know if any book has that kind of variation on the Weapon Focus feat, though I understand Warblades in the Tome of Battle might have something similar (haven't actually looked at the Warblade yet myself). If you mean Weapon Focus (any one melee weapon), then make it clear.</p><p></p><p>Also, is Mobile Spellcasting a feat from some non-Core book, like PH2, CA, or something else? I don't recognize it, but then I only have occasional contact with any 3.5 books (I almost exclusively play/DM 3.0). I don't need to know what MS does, just what the gist of it is; is it basically like Spring Attack or Shot On The Run, but for casting standard-action spells or somesuch? I just don't know if it has some particular relevance or synergy with this prestige class.</p><p></p><p>From the requirements, this class could easily be taken by a 10th-level Wizard or Sorcerer, or a 7th-level Bard (if human at least; others may need to wait longer for the fourth required feat). Don't know if that's intentional or not, don't much care, since this class is obviously focused on mixing it up in melee, so the pure-Wiz or pure-Sorc route is a bad idea (too few HP and low BAB). So I'm just guessing Fighter 4/Wizard 3 or Fighter 2/Wizard 5 as the standard route, depending on the spellcasting prerequisite.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Assuming your Combat Weaver requires 2nd-level arcane spells; he basically gives up 2 points of Base Attack Bonus and a small handful of hit points to enter this class (from multiclassing 3 levels into Wizard, most likely). If the requirement is 3rd-level arcane spells, tehn the Fighter gives up 3 BAB and a few more HP to enter (the 5 Wizard levels in that case are still secondary). Then he loses out on a few more hit points (but not too many) by advancing in the prestige class, and misses out on 3 bonus feats, and gets 1 or 2 Wizard bonus feats instead of 1 or 2 Fighter feats he would have otherwise gained.</p><p></p><p>Either way, not a very big price to be casting spells freely while full-attacking at a high Base Attack Bonus with decent hit points and a decent or good AC (start out with leather armor, move on to magical mithral breastplate with magical mithral buckler......).</p><p></p><p>Considering that this class seems to demand and emphasize being a very nimble, very dextrous person with amazing capacity to multitask and go through delicate motions/invocations at the same time as they execute a full-on barrage of strikes in close combat...... I would think the class requires Combat Expertise at the very least, but somehow it does not. Just think about exactly how many complicated, careful things this guy is going to be doing all at the same time. Also, considering the prerequisites and all, I would think this class would get some mobile skills as well, not just barebones Fighter + Wizard skills. It seems as though it ought to have Balance, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble as class skills, yet it does not.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Note how you give the class basically Fighter stats, but with a slightly lower hit die and slightly better class skills, and 3 bonus feats replaced with: strong Will saves, 5 levels of spellcasting ability, 15% arcane spell failure reduction, the ability to strike really hard and accurately with what would normally be his weakest and least-accurate attack each round, and the ability to cast spells pretty easily at the same time as he attacks away.</p><p></p><p></p><p>In the list of class features, you put Bonus Feats first, even though they aren't gained until after reaching 2nd-level. Just a minor bit of cognitive dissonance there or something. I assume this class does not count towards effective Fighter level for purposes of gaining special Fighter feats? It does not seem to count, and I sure hope it does not, but I don't know if that's your intent or not.</p><p></p><p>Improvised Casting: Fix the 'level 1 and 2' spells thing as I mentioned above. And the action is a full-attack action, not a full-round attack, for reference. Also, you do not specify what casting time the spell needs to have. Does the spell have to possess a casting time of 1 action to cast in this manner? Does it just have to be a casting time of 1 full round or less? Or can he basically, somehow, cast a spell that normally requires 1 minute or more to cast, but in only a Swift action this way? <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" /> I recommend limiting it to spells that have a casting time of 1 action or less (meaning, spells that normally could be cast within the space of a standard action or less).</p><p></p><p>Furthermore, you say 'a spell that he has memorized' or somesuch. That is an invalid definition in 3rd Edition D&D; casters do not 'memorize' their spells, not exactly. Do you mean for this only to work with prepared (that's the term that replaces it) spells, like a Wizard's spells, or do you want this class to be useable by spontaneous (non-prepared) casters as well, like Bards and Sorcerers? If you do want all three Core arcane casters to use the class, you need to word that sentence better.</p><p></p><p>Instead of saying "substituting his last attack to cast a spell of spell level 1 and 2 that he has memorized as part of that action."</p><p>you should probably word it as "substituting his last attack to cast a spell of 2nd-level or lower as part of that action. This must be a spell from the class that Combat Weavers advance spellcasting with, and it uses a spell slot as normal. If the Combat Weaver prepares spells, as a wizard does, then this must be a spell prepared in that slot."</p><p></p><p>Also, the Concentration DC isn't tough at all, for reference. Assuming for a moment that the character has a 10 Constitution and doesn't take any feats that boost his Concentration checks (besides Combat Casting, which only applies to casting defensively), he can easily have 11 ranks in Concentration at 1st-level in this prestige class (max rank equals 3 + character level, and he'll need to be at least 7th-level beforehand, so 8th-level once he actually enters this PrC).</p><p></p><p>The DC for a 2nd-level spell at that point is a mere 14, or 22 if it somehow has all four of the modifiers you give a DC increase for. With 11 ranks, that means he needs either a roll of 3, or 11 at most (and I don't know if there are any 2nd-level spells with an Experience Point cost, besides maybe Continual Flame, which is only a utility light spell anyway and wouldn't be cast in battle).</p><p></p><p>By the time a Combat Weaver reaches 10th-level in the PrC, he'll have 20 ranks in Concentration (Ftr 4/Wiz 3/CW 10 means CL 17, max skill rank of 20). To cast a 6th-level spell with Improvised Casting, his DC is 22 if it only has somatic components (yeah right!), or a maximum of 30 if it has all the components you listed. That means a natural roll of only 10 or higher is needed.</p><p></p><p>Yet a Ftr4/Wiz3/CW10 couldn't cast 6th-level spells; he'd have to advance another 3 levels in Wizard first, reaching his 20th character level, and a max Concentration rank of 23. So a natural roll of 7 or higher would be needed instead, for his highest-level spells. A Ftr 4/Wiz 3/CW 10 is an 8th-level caster, but slap on those 3 extra Wizard levels at the end and you've got an 11th-level caster, just barely acquiring 6th-level spells (a bard or sorcerer multiclass wouldn't be able to reach that; they'd only get something like 3rd or 4th level spells as a bard, or 5th level spells as a sorcerer).</p><p></p><p>And again, this is not considering any Constitution bonus or Skill Focus in the Concentration skill (though the latter is unlikely; the class already has to spend a feat on Combat Casting). The 10th-level ability to cast low-level spells with a standard action has a DC about the same as casting a 5th or 6th level spell with a full-attack for this class.</p><p></p><p>And note that skill checks don't auto-fail on a natural roll of 1 (unless your DM is mean and houserules it otherwise); a high-level Combat Weaver will always succeed at casting low-level spells during a full-attack action. Just for reference. So the DCs for your Concentration checks are rather easy to match or exceed.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Additionally....... You have a wierd clause at the end of the Improvised Casting ability's description. You say the spell is cast as a melee touch spell, but that can raise all kinds of problems. If the spell normally has a range beyond Touch, and normally affects multiple targets, then this is a problem. If the spell normally has an area of effect, then this is a problem. Etc. You <strong>seriously</strong> need to clarify or remove this clause about melee touch spells. I have no idea if this means a Fireball would only affect the target he touches, or explode right then and there, or what, for example. And that's just the first, most obvious problem with the melee touch spell clause.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm not quite sure about the 10th-level ability's balance anyway, in general. Also, regarding the Empowered Strike, my only beef with it is twofold: firstly, a 0-level spell would give way too big a boost for such a puny cost, and secondly, I don't get why the Empowered Strike makes the last attack of the round use the character's highest Base Attack Bonus instead of his lowest as normal (it's not called his total BAB, it's called his highest BAB, for reference; another terminology error in the class).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Arkhandus, post: 3455477, member: 13966"] Well, firstly, welcome to the boards. Secondly, I have to say it, your class gives way too much for very little cost (even only a minor opportunity cost). Thirdly, some of the wording is wierd or confusing; for example, you list 'level 2 spells' as a prerequisite, but the Spellcasting entry says that he/she advances the spellcasting of the class that gave them 'level 3 spells'. And in the same paragraph you mention 'level 2 spells'. For reference, they should be referred to as 0-level, 1st-level, 2nd-level, 3rd-level, or 4th-level spells, etc., not 'level 2' or the like. As for specific problems/clarification issues...... Requirements: What is Weapon Focus (melee)? I don't know if any book has that kind of variation on the Weapon Focus feat, though I understand Warblades in the Tome of Battle might have something similar (haven't actually looked at the Warblade yet myself). If you mean Weapon Focus (any one melee weapon), then make it clear. Also, is Mobile Spellcasting a feat from some non-Core book, like PH2, CA, or something else? I don't recognize it, but then I only have occasional contact with any 3.5 books (I almost exclusively play/DM 3.0). I don't need to know what MS does, just what the gist of it is; is it basically like Spring Attack or Shot On The Run, but for casting standard-action spells or somesuch? I just don't know if it has some particular relevance or synergy with this prestige class. From the requirements, this class could easily be taken by a 10th-level Wizard or Sorcerer, or a 7th-level Bard (if human at least; others may need to wait longer for the fourth required feat). Don't know if that's intentional or not, don't much care, since this class is obviously focused on mixing it up in melee, so the pure-Wiz or pure-Sorc route is a bad idea (too few HP and low BAB). So I'm just guessing Fighter 4/Wizard 3 or Fighter 2/Wizard 5 as the standard route, depending on the spellcasting prerequisite. Assuming your Combat Weaver requires 2nd-level arcane spells; he basically gives up 2 points of Base Attack Bonus and a small handful of hit points to enter this class (from multiclassing 3 levels into Wizard, most likely). If the requirement is 3rd-level arcane spells, tehn the Fighter gives up 3 BAB and a few more HP to enter (the 5 Wizard levels in that case are still secondary). Then he loses out on a few more hit points (but not too many) by advancing in the prestige class, and misses out on 3 bonus feats, and gets 1 or 2 Wizard bonus feats instead of 1 or 2 Fighter feats he would have otherwise gained. Either way, not a very big price to be casting spells freely while full-attacking at a high Base Attack Bonus with decent hit points and a decent or good AC (start out with leather armor, move on to magical mithral breastplate with magical mithral buckler......). Considering that this class seems to demand and emphasize being a very nimble, very dextrous person with amazing capacity to multitask and go through delicate motions/invocations at the same time as they execute a full-on barrage of strikes in close combat...... I would think the class requires Combat Expertise at the very least, but somehow it does not. Just think about exactly how many complicated, careful things this guy is going to be doing all at the same time. Also, considering the prerequisites and all, I would think this class would get some mobile skills as well, not just barebones Fighter + Wizard skills. It seems as though it ought to have Balance, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble as class skills, yet it does not. Note how you give the class basically Fighter stats, but with a slightly lower hit die and slightly better class skills, and 3 bonus feats replaced with: strong Will saves, 5 levels of spellcasting ability, 15% arcane spell failure reduction, the ability to strike really hard and accurately with what would normally be his weakest and least-accurate attack each round, and the ability to cast spells pretty easily at the same time as he attacks away. In the list of class features, you put Bonus Feats first, even though they aren't gained until after reaching 2nd-level. Just a minor bit of cognitive dissonance there or something. I assume this class does not count towards effective Fighter level for purposes of gaining special Fighter feats? It does not seem to count, and I sure hope it does not, but I don't know if that's your intent or not. Improvised Casting: Fix the 'level 1 and 2' spells thing as I mentioned above. And the action is a full-attack action, not a full-round attack, for reference. Also, you do not specify what casting time the spell needs to have. Does the spell have to possess a casting time of 1 action to cast in this manner? Does it just have to be a casting time of 1 full round or less? Or can he basically, somehow, cast a spell that normally requires 1 minute or more to cast, but in only a Swift action this way? :uhoh: I recommend limiting it to spells that have a casting time of 1 action or less (meaning, spells that normally could be cast within the space of a standard action or less). Furthermore, you say 'a spell that he has memorized' or somesuch. That is an invalid definition in 3rd Edition D&D; casters do not 'memorize' their spells, not exactly. Do you mean for this only to work with prepared (that's the term that replaces it) spells, like a Wizard's spells, or do you want this class to be useable by spontaneous (non-prepared) casters as well, like Bards and Sorcerers? If you do want all three Core arcane casters to use the class, you need to word that sentence better. Instead of saying "substituting his last attack to cast a spell of spell level 1 and 2 that he has memorized as part of that action." you should probably word it as "substituting his last attack to cast a spell of 2nd-level or lower as part of that action. This must be a spell from the class that Combat Weavers advance spellcasting with, and it uses a spell slot as normal. If the Combat Weaver prepares spells, as a wizard does, then this must be a spell prepared in that slot." Also, the Concentration DC isn't tough at all, for reference. Assuming for a moment that the character has a 10 Constitution and doesn't take any feats that boost his Concentration checks (besides Combat Casting, which only applies to casting defensively), he can easily have 11 ranks in Concentration at 1st-level in this prestige class (max rank equals 3 + character level, and he'll need to be at least 7th-level beforehand, so 8th-level once he actually enters this PrC). The DC for a 2nd-level spell at that point is a mere 14, or 22 if it somehow has all four of the modifiers you give a DC increase for. With 11 ranks, that means he needs either a roll of 3, or 11 at most (and I don't know if there are any 2nd-level spells with an Experience Point cost, besides maybe Continual Flame, which is only a utility light spell anyway and wouldn't be cast in battle). By the time a Combat Weaver reaches 10th-level in the PrC, he'll have 20 ranks in Concentration (Ftr 4/Wiz 3/CW 10 means CL 17, max skill rank of 20). To cast a 6th-level spell with Improvised Casting, his DC is 22 if it only has somatic components (yeah right!), or a maximum of 30 if it has all the components you listed. That means a natural roll of only 10 or higher is needed. Yet a Ftr4/Wiz3/CW10 couldn't cast 6th-level spells; he'd have to advance another 3 levels in Wizard first, reaching his 20th character level, and a max Concentration rank of 23. So a natural roll of 7 or higher would be needed instead, for his highest-level spells. A Ftr 4/Wiz 3/CW 10 is an 8th-level caster, but slap on those 3 extra Wizard levels at the end and you've got an 11th-level caster, just barely acquiring 6th-level spells (a bard or sorcerer multiclass wouldn't be able to reach that; they'd only get something like 3rd or 4th level spells as a bard, or 5th level spells as a sorcerer). And again, this is not considering any Constitution bonus or Skill Focus in the Concentration skill (though the latter is unlikely; the class already has to spend a feat on Combat Casting). The 10th-level ability to cast low-level spells with a standard action has a DC about the same as casting a 5th or 6th level spell with a full-attack for this class. And note that skill checks don't auto-fail on a natural roll of 1 (unless your DM is mean and houserules it otherwise); a high-level Combat Weaver will always succeed at casting low-level spells during a full-attack action. Just for reference. So the DCs for your Concentration checks are rather easy to match or exceed. Additionally....... You have a wierd clause at the end of the Improvised Casting ability's description. You say the spell is cast as a melee touch spell, but that can raise all kinds of problems. If the spell normally has a range beyond Touch, and normally affects multiple targets, then this is a problem. If the spell normally has an area of effect, then this is a problem. Etc. You [B]seriously[/B] need to clarify or remove this clause about melee touch spells. I have no idea if this means a Fireball would only affect the target he touches, or explode right then and there, or what, for example. And that's just the first, most obvious problem with the melee touch spell clause. I'm not quite sure about the 10th-level ability's balance anyway, in general. Also, regarding the Empowered Strike, my only beef with it is twofold: firstly, a 0-level spell would give way too big a boost for such a puny cost, and secondly, I don't get why the Empowered Strike makes the last attack of the round use the character's highest Base Attack Bonus instead of his lowest as normal (it's not called his total BAB, it's called his highest BAB, for reference; another terminology error in the class). [/QUOTE]
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