Do you modify classes?

[FnordBear]

In campaigns I run, absolutley Ill mess with something to fit the setting flavor.

Some examples of my Chronicles of the Arcanist tweaks:

Soulknives (with some abilitiy tweaks) are an Incarnum class and not psionic.

Paladins can be any good or any evil (the the abilities appropriately tweaked for good or evil) and giving the players the option of not having the pokemount and instead having an item familiar that is usable only for weapons. (good ole 2e paladin swords!)

Rangers get no spellcasting, instead they get a full progression animal companion.

Fighters I give an option of every odd-numbered fighter level after 3rd if they would get at least 5 skill points at the time of leveling up they can choose to spend a those skill points on a bonus fighter feat.

I have found these work out pretty good.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Yes of course, but not willy-nilly. It's my natural inclination to trust the system in hand. But if a player comes to me with a specific charater idea, or something doesn't quite fit my campaign themes, or if something is obviously and truly messed up as-written, yeah I'll definitely make some changes.

 

[Stormborn]

All the time, to fit the campaign world and to fit what the players want. Sometimes I use other sources, like Dragon or Arcana Unearthed, to do so and sometimes I figure it out on my own. Its not a matter of, as someone else suggested, having a class that does everything. Its about having a class that does exaclty what I, or a player, wants it to do. I am even willing to do this when I have two players playing the same class, not that it happens in my small group, to represent different backgrounds or training.

The most common change is taking out skills that wont/dont see much use and swapping it for something that seems a little more appropriate (a Fighter that was a guard gets Listen/Spot/Sense Motive but not Ride/Handle Animal/Jump) but another common one is to make class features from other classes available as Cross-Training Feats when you don't want to muli-class but want to indicate you have studied their techniques a little. Sneak Attack and Favored Enemy are good ones for that.

 

[Sejs]

Yes.

Class to fit character, not character to fit class.

 

[Nyaricus]

Oh yeah; I've done some extensive changes and add-ons for classes.

For my homebrew, for example:

• Barbarians are now Bezerker PrCs, and have different abilities.
• Bards are a PrC, but with vastly different abilities than the core bard
• Clerics are Priests, and have a d6 HD, a 1/2 BAB, and a few more special abilities.
• Druids are Shamans (and are a work-in-progress) and will be combinding elements of the druid class, the shaman class (OA), and the spirit shaman class (ComDiv).
• Fighters are Warriors and have a floating bonus feat for their 6th level feat (and every 6 levels after that) which they can change every day.
• Monks are not featured in my CS; however Dr. Awkwards brawler class from the En World boards here (re-named the Pugilist) fills the niche for an unarmed brawler.
• Paladins are Crusaders (although I've been considering the name Champions for a bit) and are more adaptable depending on the church they are tied too. There are also specific PrCs for each church which Crusaders can easily enter, and Warrior/Priests can enter, with a bit mroe difficulty.
• Rangers are a PrC and closely resemble Aragorn and his ranger companions from LotR. A base class, under the working name of Scout, combines the elements of the ranger class, the scout class, and a bunch of variantions from here on the boards to give something new and outdoorsy.
• Rogues are split into two classes: the Cut-throat (a proto-assassin base class) and the Thief (a sneaky base class). One is more skillsy, the other is more martial. I felt this to be the most necessary, since the "assassin-rogue" archetype isn't quite martial enough by itself, IMO, or even done properly with multi-classing.
• Sorcerers and Wizards are simply called Wizards and are a bit different than core.
• Biggest change is using a Spell Point system for the spells (EoM-R, by Ranger Wickett).
• There's also a Noble class.

I'm also considering adding in a Psychic class (somewhat like the psion), a Duelist class (lightly-armoured fighter-type) and a Battlemage class (like the duskblade class from PHBII)

Note that these are for a hmebrew which differs signifigantly from core D&D, so there are some major differences.

cheers,
--N

 

[Kristivas]

I like doing the following:

1. Bard and Paladin aren't core classes, but are PrC's from Unearthed Arcana.
2. I offer 2 different Rangers. The standard, and the one without spells who gets a druid-equiv. pet and a bonus feat every 4 levels (starting at 4).
3. I've changed Monk to Martial Artist and removed alignment restriction.
4. I allow the Mystic from the Dragonlance book, which is basically a cleric's version of a sorcerer.
5. Every class gets an additional 2 sp at first level and +1 per level after.
6. Everyone gets full hp for the first 3 levels. After that, they have to roll over half on die rolls (ex: 6 or more on a d10, 4 or more on a d6, 3 or more on a d4, ect).

 

[Aus_Snow]

So, do people alter the classes?

Yes.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I initially assumed my answer would be "no." By that I mean that I do not make house rule changes to the classes.

I do use class variants as found in the CM and PHB II. I use Unearthed Arcana quite often. But I consider those official alterations rather than house rule changes.

I don't trust homebrew fixes of character classes and try not to play in games with them. I like the challenge of being creative within a system I trust rather than having to mold everything to match my own ideal.

 

[Odhanan]

So, do people alter the classes?

I do as a player and propose it to the players when I am the DM and it seems like the most painless or logical or constructive option for a character concept.

 

[arscott]

Not in the skill-swapping sense that the DMG describes. I think skills are an important part of a character and should require some investment. Just saying "Well, I learned to pick locks at wizard school" isn't going to cut it for me. (Of course, I also primarily DM d20 Modern, where there's already a mechanic that lets characters customise their skill lists a bit.)

I've also done some switching out of abilities, but that's usually when the specific ability isn't apropriate to the campaign world, not when a player just doesn't feel that their character's ability is that cool.