Knight Phantom from Five Nations

[cmanos]

Entry Requirements

Feats: Still Spell.
Skills: Ride 4 ranks.
Special: Proficiency in all martial weapons.
Special: Ability to cast phantom steed.
Special: Citizen of Aundair, member of the Order of the Knights Arcane.

That in and of itself could be a seriously limiting factor. The DM has TOTAL control over that. If a player wants to be a KP, he's going to have to prove to the DM, the Knights Arcane, and probably the Aundarian Court that he is worthy of the honor. If a DM just allows the character to take the class without any kind opf serious roleplaying, its the DM's own fault, not the player's fault. It's not broken unless entry into the OotKA is like becoming a member of the Democratic Party.

"Sign this please. Welcome to the Order. Here is your Brilliant Energy weapon."

 

[Nightfall]

Yeah well some of us, me on occasion, don't think a rp reason always works IF said order's pr-class is that power.

That said, we'll see.

 

[jasin]

That in and of itself could be a seriously limiting factor. The DM has TOTAL control over that.

It's a limiting factor, but not a balancing factor.

It will limit the number of knights phantom, since some warrior-mage types will be Karrnathi, or hate Queen Aurala, or have a problem with authority and dislike the military... but it will not, in any way, limit the power of those that do become knights phantom. They will still all be better than an eldritch knight of equal level.

Imagine a swordmaster PrC that gave a bonus feat at each odd level, and +2 to damage with swords at each even level. It has requirements "feats: Weapon Focus (any), special: must be inducted into the super secret swordmaster order which only takes applicants once per generation". Is the PC who gets the class anywhere near balanced against a fighter of equal level?

 

[Arkhandus]

Roleplaying requirements do not balance obscene power. The paladin's player isn't getting obscene power for his roleplaying requirements, which aren't substantially less than the Knight Phantom's. Hell, the Knight Phantom can be an evil, scheming SOB who just worms his way into the Knights Arcane or whatever it is and then, once he has the power, go rampant whenever he's not being watched by the order (and he wouldn't be watched most of the time). Long as he's fighting goblinoids and Karrnathi and whatnot, what does the order care? The other PCs though are going to see this guy wading into battle like a full-blown Fighter and kicking arse, after opening every battle with a fireball and another, quickened fireball, because he gets near-full spellcasting too. And then between battles he'll be buffing himself up like mad because, again, near-full spellcasting progression. And still be able to scry and put foes to sleep and sneak around invisibly and such. While still kicking arse like a Fighter.

The Knight Phantom is ridiculous. Full base attack bonus, d8 hit dice, all but 1 level of spellcasting (and only needing to sacrifice 1 level beforehand as a Fighter or something to meet the all-martial-weapon-proficiency requirement), ability to cast unhindered in light armor (including a mithral breastplate for instance), and a couple of other magical abilities to boot. The waste of 1 feat isn't too significant. He's a Fighter with 9/10ths spellcasting ability in light armor, slightly fewer feats (as if the Fighter even needs all of those!), and a few other magical abilities.

 

[demiurge1138]

Since I didn't read much further into it, demi, care to elaborate on how its broken/wrong? (The sample NPC mind you not the class)

Very simply. The listed NPC is a Wizard X/Knight Phantom X. The class requires proficiency in all martial weapons, so he'd have to have, at least, a level in fighter/paladin/ranger.

Demiurge out.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Sure, it looks like a lot. Until you put it in context.

To cast phantom steed, a wizard has to be 5th level. A sorcerer has to be 6th. A bard has to be 7th. For the sake of our example, we'll use wizard.

Let's assume you want to be as powerful a spellcaster as possible, while still taking the knight phantom PrC. By the time you're 20th level, you're likely a fighter 1/wizard 9/knight 10. You've got 1d10 (average 4.5, we'll say 5) + 9d4 (average 22.5, we'll say 23) + 10d8 (average 45) hp, for a rough total of 73. Your BAB is 15. You cast spells as an 18th-level caster. Your saves are Fort +9/Ref +6/Will +9. You can cast spells in light armor. You have a few nifty class abilities; they're cool, but they're not amazingly potent.

Now, let's compare you to a 20th-level cleric. The cleric has 20d8 hp (average 90), beating you by 17. The cleric has the same BAB you do. He's a 20th-level caster, not 18th. His saves are +12/+6/+12, putting him 3 ahead in Fort and Will, and equal to you in Reflex. He can cast spells in all armor, plus shields. He, too, has a few nifty class abilities (turn undead, two domain powers).

(Yes, I'm ignoring the fact that you get max HP at 1st level, because that's going to change based on which class you take first. But it's only going to shift the numbers by a couple of points at most; not enough to change the conclusion.)

Compare you to a 20th-level wizard. Sure, you've got him beat on BAB, HP, and one save. But you cast at two levels lower, your Will save isn't as good, and you're a whole mess of feats behind him.

The balance of a PrC isn't just in what it gives you; it's in how a total progression compares to other characters. The knight phantom sacrifices power for flexibility. Is it more flexible than a "normal" multiclass? Sure, but let's be honest. Some multiclass combinations--fighter/wizard among them--simply suck. Is it better than eldritch knight? Yeah, probably, but I'll happily argue (if you really want to) that EK is under-powered.

Is it overpowered? Unbalancing? Not even remotely. In fact, this is really a very cool PrC from both a play and design perspective, and I'd happily allow it not only in an Eberron campaign, but in most others.