Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
D&D 6e ala Steampunkette: Structural thoughts
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 9755826" data-attributes="member: 6796468"><p>Cool. So we're coming at class design from wildly different angles. </p><p></p><p>Heavy Armor Proficiency, d10 hit dice, full weapon and shield proficiency. Take Paladin 1, then Warlock a few levels, then Paladin the rest of the way in order to always have short-rest recovery smites on hand even if you run out of Paladin spell slots for your long rest. Makes a strong "Death Knight" vibe.</p><p></p><p>And Sorcadin is fun! Because it ignores the identity of the character in favor of maximizing gameplay functionality. It's playing the game as a spreadsheet for maximum value.</p><p></p><p>Now that's not the WORST thing, obviously, lots of people enjoy it. I'd just prefer it to be more narrative and identity focused, personally. Which is why multiclass feats granting class abilities works better in my mind than just multiclassing straight up.</p><p></p><p>I mean... no. Not really. The answer remains pretty consistent once you've decided to play D&D as a path to maximum efficiency: Whatever hits hardest is the most important thing to do. And that will typically be smites since eliminating one target from the encounter, entirely, is better than damaging a bunch of targets that will remain in the encounter after your turn.</p><p></p><p>You even acknowledge that, here. Smites vs Fireballs is pretty much the gold standard of Sorcadin tactical evaluation. AoE vs ST damage.</p><p></p><p>But even a straight Paladin has to make the "Smites vs Utility" assessment. Which is why some PalPlayers prefer to smite only on Crits or when their target is low enough on health that the smite guarantees they go down, rather than doing it as often as they can.</p><p></p><p>Sorcadins use the larger spell slot availability to REDUCE that issue so they can smite more often without considering the utility question quite as much. And use Sorcery Points to make it even less of an issue.</p><p></p><p>Eh. No. Not really.</p><p></p><p>It's Str 13, Cha 13, and then whatever the other class's requirement is. (hint, it's not a 15 for any class!) Sure, it's easier to multiclass as a Paladin/Sorcerer or Paladin/Warlock, but someone could multiclass into Wizard, Druid, or Cleric by having a 13 Int or Wis. </p><p></p><p>But let's go for "It's just easier".... so why is Bardadin not as popular as Sorcadin or Lockadin? You just need a Charisma of 13 and as a Paladin multiclassing you already have that. And since a Bard is a full caster you get "Just as Many" spell slots as a Sorcerer... Right?</p><p></p><p>It's because of the Sorcery Points. And for Warlocks the short-rest slots. Hell, Sorlock/Coffeelock is popular because it breaks the Short/Long rest dichotomy by giving the Sorcerer more sorcery points every short rest. Bard can't do that.</p><p></p><p>But it isn't a popular pairing. Because the class mechanics don't line up, just like the Bard. It's the Sorcery Points that make Sorcerers more attractive, and the Pact Magic that makes Warlock attractive. In both cases it provides more resources beyond the game's standard values for smiting.</p><p></p><p>I'm literally talking about setting up Multiclass Feats to take Class Features without Multiclassing. That would include the Sorcerer or Warlock picking up Paladin Smiting for themselves. That doesn't "Remove/Nerf Sorcadins" it just makes it unneeded to take 2 levels of Paladin to access and doesn't grant the armor proficiencies or increased hit points.</p><p></p><p>A different way to achieve the same overall goal which is meant to be less obstructive to class designs themselves.</p><p></p><p>Definitely a way to go about it, sure. If I were hewing closer to 5e's level structure I might even go for it. Though it would GUT the Sorcadin in the same way that the Eldritch Knight got Warlock-Nerfed. </p><p></p><p>And to me that screams of bad game design. If you have a "Loophole" which allows people to play in a way you didn't anticipate and your response in the revamp is to close that loophole to stop people from playing what they're enjoying, you've gone the wrong way.</p><p></p><p>WotC should've embraced people wanting to multiclass Warlock-Fighter by making the Eldritch Knight -more- of a Warlock-Fighter, not less of one, while reining in the damage values to expectations. (Or altering expectations)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steampunkette, post: 9755826, member: 6796468"] Cool. So we're coming at class design from wildly different angles. Heavy Armor Proficiency, d10 hit dice, full weapon and shield proficiency. Take Paladin 1, then Warlock a few levels, then Paladin the rest of the way in order to always have short-rest recovery smites on hand even if you run out of Paladin spell slots for your long rest. Makes a strong "Death Knight" vibe. And Sorcadin is fun! Because it ignores the identity of the character in favor of maximizing gameplay functionality. It's playing the game as a spreadsheet for maximum value. Now that's not the WORST thing, obviously, lots of people enjoy it. I'd just prefer it to be more narrative and identity focused, personally. Which is why multiclass feats granting class abilities works better in my mind than just multiclassing straight up. I mean... no. Not really. The answer remains pretty consistent once you've decided to play D&D as a path to maximum efficiency: Whatever hits hardest is the most important thing to do. And that will typically be smites since eliminating one target from the encounter, entirely, is better than damaging a bunch of targets that will remain in the encounter after your turn. You even acknowledge that, here. Smites vs Fireballs is pretty much the gold standard of Sorcadin tactical evaluation. AoE vs ST damage. But even a straight Paladin has to make the "Smites vs Utility" assessment. Which is why some PalPlayers prefer to smite only on Crits or when their target is low enough on health that the smite guarantees they go down, rather than doing it as often as they can. Sorcadins use the larger spell slot availability to REDUCE that issue so they can smite more often without considering the utility question quite as much. And use Sorcery Points to make it even less of an issue. Eh. No. Not really. It's Str 13, Cha 13, and then whatever the other class's requirement is. (hint, it's not a 15 for any class!) Sure, it's easier to multiclass as a Paladin/Sorcerer or Paladin/Warlock, but someone could multiclass into Wizard, Druid, or Cleric by having a 13 Int or Wis. But let's go for "It's just easier".... so why is Bardadin not as popular as Sorcadin or Lockadin? You just need a Charisma of 13 and as a Paladin multiclassing you already have that. And since a Bard is a full caster you get "Just as Many" spell slots as a Sorcerer... Right? It's because of the Sorcery Points. And for Warlocks the short-rest slots. Hell, Sorlock/Coffeelock is popular because it breaks the Short/Long rest dichotomy by giving the Sorcerer more sorcery points every short rest. Bard can't do that. But it isn't a popular pairing. Because the class mechanics don't line up, just like the Bard. It's the Sorcery Points that make Sorcerers more attractive, and the Pact Magic that makes Warlock attractive. In both cases it provides more resources beyond the game's standard values for smiting. I'm literally talking about setting up Multiclass Feats to take Class Features without Multiclassing. That would include the Sorcerer or Warlock picking up Paladin Smiting for themselves. That doesn't "Remove/Nerf Sorcadins" it just makes it unneeded to take 2 levels of Paladin to access and doesn't grant the armor proficiencies or increased hit points. A different way to achieve the same overall goal which is meant to be less obstructive to class designs themselves. Definitely a way to go about it, sure. If I were hewing closer to 5e's level structure I might even go for it. Though it would GUT the Sorcadin in the same way that the Eldritch Knight got Warlock-Nerfed. And to me that screams of bad game design. If you have a "Loophole" which allows people to play in a way you didn't anticipate and your response in the revamp is to close that loophole to stop people from playing what they're enjoying, you've gone the wrong way. WotC should've embraced people wanting to multiclass Warlock-Fighter by making the Eldritch Knight -more- of a Warlock-Fighter, not less of one, while reining in the damage values to expectations. (Or altering expectations) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
D&D 6e ala Steampunkette: Structural thoughts
Top