Favored Class? Why Use it?

[Sylrae]

I was okay with the 3.5 and PFBeta way of thought where Favored Classes were tied to a race or culture, and could get behind that.

I wouldn't mind the idea that favored class be determined culturally, so humans from different places or walks of life would have different favored classes, and elves form different walks of life and places, etc.

Possibly make them 'Predisposition Traits' or something. They'd have limited selection for favored class, but they would have anywhere from 2 to 4 options maybe.

Why I don't get, is if everyone gets to have any class they want as their favored class, why bother having it?

In my last PF game I ran, I simply said no favored class mechanics. I'm looking at starting a new PF game in the fall, but I don't like the favored class as is.

Any thoughts on why it's good as is?
What do you think of my Idea of having Predisposition Traits?

I look forward to reading any responses.

 

[Malachei]

I don't use it. Actually, I haven't been using multiclassing XP penalties since back in 3.0. I want my players to come up with a convincing character concept (flavor-wise!), and I don't want the rules to stand in the way. I don't have powergamers, and they will rather go a less optimal path for the sake of flavor, so I really don't feel the need to penalize them. If I catch them class-dipping, I might change the ruling, but for now, we've never had any problems (on a side note, we've never had any problems with a lot of things that people experience as problematic, including the polymorph issue. My players simply would not turn an ally into something nasty. We've just said that polymorph other is very, very unpleasant, so noone ever uses it on an ally).

No, I don't want my players to optimize class/race combinations to receive the best boni. I want them to play the character they have in mind. I don't want every wizard to be an elf, and I don't want to be every multiclass character to be a half-elf.

I really like Pathfinder, but regarding the races, I'm not completely happy. Half-orcs with +2 INT? -- oh, no, please!

 

[Sylrae]

Hmm.

TBH I wasn't so much concerned about powergaming, as another issue. But I'm going to respond to your post before I elaborate.

I'm not a fan of XP Penalties. I won't let my players pick up a new class unless I approve it anyways, so if they can't explain why they have it, they can't have it. I have no problem disallowing any given combination I choose either, but if I allow a class (which I usually allow if it makes sense from a character point, and if I don't have any objections about the class in particular), I don't think I should Penalize them XP-Wise. I use Fractional BAB and Save Increases, so they won't get free save boosts by +3 or anything like that anyways. I didn't like them in 3.0, and didn't use them then, and don't plan on picking them back up.

I like the new reward system for Favored Class. I like the +1 HP, or +1 Skill Point. After reading a post by someone else, I'm inclined to add +0.5 to a Saving throw to that list of choices too. I like reward more than penalty. I also like that the new system doesn't throw off party-leveling speeds. But, if your favored class can be whatever you want it to be, why bother having it at all?

I like the new mechanic, I just don't understand why the model of having a favored class for every race was dropped, or some sort of system to replace it. I can see having a couple options for each character for favored class maybe, but not all of them. I also think classes from secondary books like the APG and whatnot should be on the list.

I'm also inclined to take the "Any" away from humans, and instead just make the individual lists for different human cultures give a couple more options than the demihumans.

 

[Gorbacz]

The APG will contain race-specific favoured class bonuses. Eg. a different bonus for a human wizard, and a different one for elven.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

For me the current favored class system actually encourages 'flavor' play rather than optimization. I can build a 'sub-optimal' character for flavor purposes and use the favored class to make it not quite as . . . sub-optimal.

It's not a huge boost, but it actually makes me OK with playing that Dwarven Sorcerer I've been itching to try out!

 

[IronWolf]

For me the current favored class system actually encourages 'flavor' play rather than optimization. I can build a 'sub-optimal' character for flavor purposes and use the favored class to make it not quite as . . . sub-optimal.

Yeah - this. The favored class helps add just a little bit of a bonus to help out. Also, the Advanced Player's Guide appears to be adding more favored class options for various races and such.

It's not a huge boost, but it actually makes me OK with playing that Dwarven Sorcerer I've been itching to try out!

Speaking of which... Have you seen the human sorcerer favored class boost?

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

Speaking of which... Have you seen the human sorcerer favored class boost?

Yeah, I've been following that discussion - but steering clear of putting in my two coppers. I'll wait for the final product so I can get the whole picture.

 

[IronWolf]

Yeah, I've been following that discussion - but steering clear of putting in my two coppers. I'll wait for the final product so I can get the whole picture.

Yeah, I think the real discussions will start once the final product has been released. It is hard to make any accurate judgments based on a approximately 250+ word preview. Hardly a scratch in the surface of what the book holds.

 

[pawsplay]

Essentially, favored class was put in place to discourage light dipping. Secondarily, it puts a single-classed character on strong footing against any character with a prestige class.

I'm not sure I like it. There's something a little weird to me about a human wizard with effectively d8s for hit dice.

 

[Philosopher]

Why I don't get, is if everyone gets to have any class they want as their favored class, why bother having it?

The idea of a favored class need not be racial or cultural. It could be more individual. Someone primarily trained as a fighter, say, gets a little extra out of being a fighter.

But it's very easy to houserule back to the 3.x favored classes while still using the PFRPG mechanics.