Impressions of the classes so far

[Waylander the Slayer]

I am going to play in an AU campaign and was wondering what everyones opinions are of the classes that they have played so far. How balanced do they feel? Do they seem to work well with others in the group (not in an RP sense). How effective does the character seem in combat/ Outside combat?

I am especially interested in the Giant Greenbond and the Witch class. Opinions on all classes are welcome.

 

[FullTinCan]

I am going to play in an AU campaign and was wondering what everyones opinions are of the classes that they have played so far. How balanced do they feel? Do they seem to work well with others in the group (not in an RP sense). How effective does the character seem in combat/ Outside combat?

I am especially interested in the Giant Greenbond and the Witch class. Opinions on all classes are welcome.

I would say that the classes look exceptionally well balanced over the entire level advancement. None of the classes appear front-loaded (although a few of the witch powers are stronger earlier rather than later), that is to say "I'll just grab one level of a 3E Ranger" and I have Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting. Also at later levels the classes appear to gain power at the same speed. One of the true tests of the classes is looking at each of them and seeing that yes I could very easily see a character taking all 20 levels and truly having incentive to do so.

On a person note, I feel that the Oathsworn is initially weak due to his lack of armor at earlier levels (perhaps something akin to the Unfettered parry would be appropriate, but then you'd have to pull something else).

 

[Mistwell]

Actually I would say that several of the Totem warriors are front loaded.

A single level of Snake Totem gets you a +1 dodge bonus, a +2 init bonus, the Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Agile feat, and a +1 Reflex save.

I'd say that is a bit front loaded.

 

[Hammerhead]

I've found that in a Unfettered-Warmain matchup, the Unfettered is very outclassed in both protection and damage-dealing ability. You can argue that the Unfettered's mobility compensates for this, but the mobility only applies in specific situations; the Warmain kicks butt most of the time.

 

[Berandor]

I've found that in a Unfettered-Warmain matchup, the Unfettered is very outclassed in both protection and damage-dealing ability. You can argue that the Unfettered's mobility compensates for this, but the mobility only applies in specific situations; the Warmain kicks butt most of the time.

Which is the job of the Warmain.
The Unfettered has better skills, and doesn't get slowed down or encumbranced by armor, so he can usually jump, climb, swim, tumble, etc. better than the Warmain.
If you want to hurt badly, however, Warmain is the way to go.
Even though a Champion can be majorly dangerous as well, especially since Weapon Specialization is available to all classes.

 

[ForceUser]

I don't like the Oathsworn. Of all the classes, he's the only one who could lose his powers forever because he fails to complete missions. If he fails to achieve his sworn oath three times he's finished. Over the course of a campaign from 1st to 20th, such a restriction is dicy and, in my opinion, unfair to the Oathsworn player. No other AU class operates under any remotely similar restrictions. And it's not as if his powers are stunningly cool or powerful - he's less powerful than some and about as powerful as others.

No, not a fan of the Oathsworn at all.

 

[Merlion]

/disclaimer I havent actualy gotten to play AU yet, sadly/disclaimer

If I was going to RUN AU I would change the name of the Oathsworn and divorce it from the whole oath thing entirly. Its kind of a neat idea but the restriction is to much, and I also see it as being a little to flavor specfic. I'd do much the same thing with the Monk in DnD. Call it the Adept or something and say there abilities come from extreme training, focus and determination.
Once I do get to play, I am seriously considering playing a Witch. Some of there powers are better(or worse) at some levels than others, but the bulk of them scale one way or another. The trouble is choosing witch witch to be...
If not that than probably a Magister or Mageblade...it looks like the Mageblade may actualy be a decent rendering of the warrior-mage archtype(finaly).

 

[Mistwell]

Mmmmm. Akashicy goodness. Now, if only I could choose some skills to focus my powers into, I'd be a happy man.

 

[Victim]

Which is the job of the Warmain.
The Unfettered has better skills, and doesn't get slowed down or encumbranced by armor, so he can usually jump, climb, swim, tumble, etc. better than the Warmain.
If you want to hurt badly, however, Warmain is the way to go.
Even though a Champion can be majorly dangerous as well, especially since Weapon Specialization is available to all classes.

While the Unfettered has more skills, most of those skills go into the mobility skills, since they need them to swashbuckle. Unfortunately, mobility skills aren't very good. Tumble is weak and there is no spring attack. And magic can skill easily override those skills.

The Oathsworn seems weak as well. I'd change it to use the 3.5 flurry progression instead of the 3.0 flurry of misses iterative attack rate.

 

[Mistwell]

Tumble is weak?

Wow. Is the sky a color other than blue in your world also? Because clearly we are not playing the same game, if you think tumble is weak.