Is this character "balanced?" Discuss...

[Storminator]

It looks like a no-brainer for me, i.e. I think it gains to much. Saying he has lost 5 feats is stretching it, because 1) a familiar can be killed and 2) those are 'weak' feats to begin with and don't really stack up in utility for the wizard relative to a range of others; three feats is enough to max this spellcaster. Skill points are mostly not an issue, because there are only 2 or three skills which a wizard or cleric could really need to max out. The only real loss from the combat perspective is the caster level.

On the other hand, almost everything it gains are more substantial and have a good deal of damage avoidance/damage dealing capability.

Looks pretty straight forward to me too. I'll take your guy, not the wizard (nor the 6th level cleric, for that matter). Any time you're turning down a cleric for a new "class," you have think it's pretty powerful.

PS

 

[Voadam]

In xp buy situations one trap to watch out for is that low level class powers will be cheap to buy compared to higher level powers so a high level character can buy several low level powers while only giving up a level or two of their main class function. In your example that is the necromancer who picks up lots for giving up a spellcasting level and some skills and feats.

 

[andargor]

What do you do if the character loses the items to sundering attacks etc., or runs out of charges? Now you have a character who has earned x amount of xp, but no longer has the power of x amount of xp.

I would double the XP cost for any "innate" abilities, since they cannot get "lost", but maybe can be "suppressed".

I doubt however that the whole system could be implemented, say in a spreadsheet. So many feats are overpowered or underpowered, or some abilities are innocuous until combined with two or three other elements, making the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

Don't get me wrong, I like the system, but DM validation for such a system is a must.

Andargor

 

[jmucchiello]

Sigil,
I have no comments on the listed character but if you are doing a full XP = character ability, you should probably throw out the +1 ability increase ever 4 levels and extra feat every 3 levels. Since a character can buy feats anytime they want, there's no reason to give them any for free. This totally divorces feats from Hit Dice and eliminates level.

Characters have to keep track of total XP earned and XP spent separately. Then you can create a ECL table based on total XP earned.

Have you worked out +x ECL races yet?

 

[The Sigil]

Sigil,
I have no comments on the listed character but if you are doing a full XP = character ability, you should probably throw out the +1 ability increase ever 4 levels and extra feat every 3 levels. Since a character can buy feats anytime they want, there's no reason to give them any for free. This totally divorces feats from Hit Dice and eliminates level.

*Smiles*

I did. The +1 attribute boost? Purchased. The Feats? Purchased.

Characters get nothing for free. Everything must be bought.

Characters have to keep track of total XP earned and XP spent separately. Then you can create a ECL table based on total XP earned.

Bingo.

Have you worked out +x ECL races yet?

Not yet - have been trying to get "Class Abilities" tweaked into line before I start going after racial stuff.

--The Sigil

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I'm not sure if this is rude or something (I'm reletively new to ENWorld and noone else has asked this), but can I see your system? I'd like to look at it and construct some characters before deciding what I think about balanced/not balanced based on one character. Thanks!

 

[BSF]

Very interesting. I am intrigued!

OK, here is my take on this.

If I were going to play in a one-shot type of game, I would take your guy hands down. Light armor isn't a big deal for what this guy could do, unless he can get some magical armor. However, being able to use a shield is a nice bonus! Carry it until you have used up your Arcane offense spells. The improved HP and flexibility of spells is far too appealing! We are talking about the same average HP as a 6th level Cleric. He does have a lower BAB, but no worse than a 6th level Wizard. The lower skills isn't that big a deal.

If I were going to play this guy in a campaign, it might be a little harder decision. It looks like there are some nice entry level costs, but I am guessing that at "12th level" it isn't just as simple as assuming he will have the spell casting ability of a 10th level wizard and a 10th level cleric. That might make the concept viable (and even quite strong) at 6th level, but untenable at a higher level.

I would say that this guy is unbalanced vs 6th level. But, is that a bad thing? Does this reflect an "easy path to power" that will come back with a cost at 8th level? 10th level? If the long term costs for this character is steep enough, I would be happy to let a player take this route. There are a few weaknesses in this particular build. Sleep and Daze might give this guy fits while a 6th level character wouldn't be bothered at all. At higher levels, something like Holy Word might be really nasty! Anything that grants Con bonuses does not scale very well with decreased HD. So, for a campaign environment, I will say that this character _might_ be unbalanced. I would need to see the bigger picture to give you my opinion on that though!

Conceptually, I like this build. It would be nice to use as a villian. It would probably give players the fits if they are still using core classes!