Hawk Diesel
Adventurer
So in another thread I engaged in a discussion with another poster about the fighter's capstone ability. Personally, I feel like the capstone abilities should be unique, fun, and most of all, powerful. However, I feel like some of the level 20 abilities granted by a class does not live up to these standards. Some are quite powerful (Hellooooo Archdruid!), while other are seriously lackluster (Super. I get one more inspiration. Yipee). Personally, I feel like capstone abilities should add new options to your character whenever possible. I also feel like they should be able to be used either at will, or at most recharge after a short rest. I don't know if I would necessarily stress balance with capstone abilities, at least not in regards to potential challenges you may encounter as a level 20 character. However, I would like a general feel of balance between the classes.
So here are some suggestions I have regarding improving the capstone abilities of each class. I would love to know everyone's thoughts. And if your interested about the changes I discussed regarding the fighter, you can check that out over here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?475253-Replacement-level-20-ability-for-Fighters
Barbarian
Overall, I like the level 20 Barbarian ability. It's simple, elegant, and really gets at what the class is about. Only thing I might add is this:
Primal Champion
At 20th level, you embody the power of the wilds. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24. In addition, while raging, if something would normally deal piercing, bludgeoning, or slashing damage to you, you can use your reaction to ignore it and to no damage.
Bard
This one is so dumb. If you have run out of inspiration, you get to get one more. How is this considered worthy of a level 20 ability? Especially in comparison to something like Signature Spell or Archdruid? Here's how I would change it:
Superior Inspiration
Whenever you roll an inspiration die, you use 3d6 rather than a d12. In addition, when you roll initiative and have no uses of Bardic Inspiration left, you regain one use.
This way, it increase the die (if progression continues every 5 levels, it was due for a bump anyway), and it raises the die while increasing the minimum bonus you would gain from the inspiration (how much does it suck to roll that d12 and still pull a 1 or 2). Meanwhile, it keeps the ability to ensure the bard always has at least one for each encounter.
Cleric
Once every 7 days you can ask God for a favor, and he listens. This is the epitome of what a capstone ability should be.
Druid
Unlimited Wild Shapes, with each change giving you an effectively unlimited supply of temp HP... yea. This is also fine as is.
Fighter
See the thread I linked above to get a look at my thoughts on that one.
Monk
This one gets it pretty close. A monk should always be able to get access to his ki points. But similarly to the above Bard capstone ability, only getting 4 ki points for a battle if you are tapped is not going to get very far. A monk (from my stance) should be able to use many of their earlier abilities at will as they have trained to be a perfect martial arts machine. So, here is my suggested change:
Perfect Self
At 20th level, Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind no longer cost Ki points to use. In addition, when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points.
This way their higher level Ki point abilities (Stunning Strike, Diamond Soul, ect) continue to rely on Ki, but the monk has better ability to manage some of these resources.
Paladin
I think the Paladin gets pretty close to the right idea. Each Oath gives something unique, and these abilities actually transform you into an aspect of the living embodiment of that Oath. It's really cool. However, as I mentioned previously, I feel a capstone ability should be available at least after a short rest, so I changed that. In addition, I rebalanced some of them as seen below:
Holy Nimbus
At 20th level, as an action, you can emanate an aura of sunlight. For 1 minute, bright light shines from you in a 30-foot radius, and dim light shines 30 feet beyond that.
Whenever an enemy creature starts its turn in the bright light, the creature takes 10 radiant damage. Fiends and undead within the bright light become vulnerable to radiant damage, even if they normally are not vulnerable.
In addition, for the duration, you have advantage on saving throws against spells cast by fiends or undead.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Elder Champion
At 20th level, you can assume the form of an ancient force of nature, taking on an appearance you choose. For example, your skin might turn green or take on a bark-like texture, your hair might become leafy or mosslike, or you might sprout antlers or a lion-like mane.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Avenging Angel
At 20th level, you can assume the form of an angelic avenger.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Ranger
What a goddamn disappointment this ability is. Not only does it only apply to your favored enemy (which is supposed to be a ribbon ability! Why base a powerful capstone ability of a freaking ribbon?!?!) but in scale it is fairly weak. Also, it's a little boring, as it does not add anything new to the class, mostly just a mechanical bump. I still don't know quite how to address this one...
Any help you guys could provide would be nice!
EDIT: Here's one way I've been toying with adjusting foe slayer. Not sure how I feel about it exactly, though.
Foe Slayer
At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter of your enemies. You can add your Wisdom modifier to any weapon attack rolls and weapon damage rolls.
Rogue
Stroke of luck is nice. It ensures that nearly once per encounter, you'll get a guaranteed hit or skill check. But in light of the cleric and druid, I thought this could use a bump.
Stroke of Luck
At 20th level, you have an uncanny knack for succeeding when you need to. Once per short of long rest, if your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit.
In addition, once per short or long rest, you can maximize your sneak attack damage.
Finally, once per short or long rest, if you fail an ability check or saving throw, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20.
Sorcerer
This one seemed similar to the Bard and Monk in the lameness of the ability. I especially wanted a capstone sorcerer ability in the vein of Spell Mastery or Signature Spell. So this is what I got:
Limitless Font of Magic
At 20th level, whenever you begin your turn with 0 sorcery points, you immediately gain 3 sorcery points.
This way, the sorcerer will always have enough spell points to cast a 1st or 2nd level spell (and will always need to use their bonus action to do so). And they'll always have a little bit for some metamagic.
Warlock
This one perhaps pissed me off the most. Warlocks already regain their spell slots after a short rest. Making this ability take a whole minute means it would be useless in combat, and most situations when you can spend a minute regaining spells, you can also spend a short rest doing the same so the rest of the party can benefit. Also, they missed a great opportunity to do something similar to the Paladin, where the capstone is based on your particular patron. So here is my adjustment.
Aspect of the Archfey
You assume the form and some of the abilities of your patron. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following abilities:
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Aspect of the Fiend
You assume the form and some of the abilities of your patron. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following abilities:
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Aspect of the Great Old One
You assume the form and some of the abilities of your patron. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following abilities:
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Please let me know what you think? I really value feedback.
So here are some suggestions I have regarding improving the capstone abilities of each class. I would love to know everyone's thoughts. And if your interested about the changes I discussed regarding the fighter, you can check that out over here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?475253-Replacement-level-20-ability-for-Fighters
Barbarian
Overall, I like the level 20 Barbarian ability. It's simple, elegant, and really gets at what the class is about. Only thing I might add is this:
Primal Champion
At 20th level, you embody the power of the wilds. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24. In addition, while raging, if something would normally deal piercing, bludgeoning, or slashing damage to you, you can use your reaction to ignore it and to no damage.
Bard
This one is so dumb. If you have run out of inspiration, you get to get one more. How is this considered worthy of a level 20 ability? Especially in comparison to something like Signature Spell or Archdruid? Here's how I would change it:
Superior Inspiration
Whenever you roll an inspiration die, you use 3d6 rather than a d12. In addition, when you roll initiative and have no uses of Bardic Inspiration left, you regain one use.
This way, it increase the die (if progression continues every 5 levels, it was due for a bump anyway), and it raises the die while increasing the minimum bonus you would gain from the inspiration (how much does it suck to roll that d12 and still pull a 1 or 2). Meanwhile, it keeps the ability to ensure the bard always has at least one for each encounter.
Cleric
Once every 7 days you can ask God for a favor, and he listens. This is the epitome of what a capstone ability should be.
Druid
Unlimited Wild Shapes, with each change giving you an effectively unlimited supply of temp HP... yea. This is also fine as is.
Fighter
See the thread I linked above to get a look at my thoughts on that one.
Monk
This one gets it pretty close. A monk should always be able to get access to his ki points. But similarly to the above Bard capstone ability, only getting 4 ki points for a battle if you are tapped is not going to get very far. A monk (from my stance) should be able to use many of their earlier abilities at will as they have trained to be a perfect martial arts machine. So, here is my suggested change:
Perfect Self
At 20th level, Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind no longer cost Ki points to use. In addition, when you roll for initiative and have no ki points remaining, you regain 4 ki points.
This way their higher level Ki point abilities (Stunning Strike, Diamond Soul, ect) continue to rely on Ki, but the monk has better ability to manage some of these resources.
Paladin
I think the Paladin gets pretty close to the right idea. Each Oath gives something unique, and these abilities actually transform you into an aspect of the living embodiment of that Oath. It's really cool. However, as I mentioned previously, I feel a capstone ability should be available at least after a short rest, so I changed that. In addition, I rebalanced some of them as seen below:
Holy Nimbus
At 20th level, as an action, you can emanate an aura of sunlight. For 1 minute, bright light shines from you in a 30-foot radius, and dim light shines 30 feet beyond that.
Whenever an enemy creature starts its turn in the bright light, the creature takes 10 radiant damage. Fiends and undead within the bright light become vulnerable to radiant damage, even if they normally are not vulnerable.
In addition, for the duration, you have advantage on saving throws against spells cast by fiends or undead.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Elder Champion
At 20th level, you can assume the form of an ancient force of nature, taking on an appearance you choose. For example, your skin might turn green or take on a bark-like texture, your hair might become leafy or mosslike, or you might sprout antlers or a lion-like mane.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
- At the start of each of your turns, you regain 10 hit points.
- Whenever you cast a paladin spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can cast it using a bonus action instead.
- Enemy creatures within 10 feet of you have disadvantage on saving throws against your paladin spells and Channel Divinity options.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Avenging Angel
At 20th level, you can assume the form of an angelic avenger.
Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For 1 minute, you gain the following benefits:
- Wings sprout from your back and grant you a flying speed of 60 feet.
- Your menacing visage instills doubt and hesitation in your foes, while your divine sight allows you to hone in on their fear. Any enemy creature that can see you during a battle must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw before attacking you. If they fail the saving throw, their attack is made with disadvantage. In addition, if any creature has failed their saving throw against your aura of menace, your attacks against them are made with advantage.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Ranger
What a goddamn disappointment this ability is. Not only does it only apply to your favored enemy (which is supposed to be a ribbon ability! Why base a powerful capstone ability of a freaking ribbon?!?!) but in scale it is fairly weak. Also, it's a little boring, as it does not add anything new to the class, mostly just a mechanical bump. I still don't know quite how to address this one...
Any help you guys could provide would be nice!
EDIT: Here's one way I've been toying with adjusting foe slayer. Not sure how I feel about it exactly, though.
Foe Slayer
At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter of your enemies. You can add your Wisdom modifier to any weapon attack rolls and weapon damage rolls.
Rogue
Stroke of luck is nice. It ensures that nearly once per encounter, you'll get a guaranteed hit or skill check. But in light of the cleric and druid, I thought this could use a bump.
Stroke of Luck
At 20th level, you have an uncanny knack for succeeding when you need to. Once per short of long rest, if your attack misses a target within range, you can turn the miss into a hit.
In addition, once per short or long rest, you can maximize your sneak attack damage.
Finally, once per short or long rest, if you fail an ability check or saving throw, you can treat the d20 roll as a 20.
Sorcerer
This one seemed similar to the Bard and Monk in the lameness of the ability. I especially wanted a capstone sorcerer ability in the vein of Spell Mastery or Signature Spell. So this is what I got:
Limitless Font of Magic
At 20th level, whenever you begin your turn with 0 sorcery points, you immediately gain 3 sorcery points.
This way, the sorcerer will always have enough spell points to cast a 1st or 2nd level spell (and will always need to use their bonus action to do so). And they'll always have a little bit for some metamagic.
Warlock
This one perhaps pissed me off the most. Warlocks already regain their spell slots after a short rest. Making this ability take a whole minute means it would be useless in combat, and most situations when you can spend a minute regaining spells, you can also spend a short rest doing the same so the rest of the party can benefit. Also, they missed a great opportunity to do something similar to the Paladin, where the capstone is based on your particular patron. So here is my adjustment.
Aspect of the Archfey
You assume the form and some of the abilities of your patron. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following abilities:
- As a bonus action, you can teleport up to 60 feet.
- As a bonus action, you can turn invisible. This invisibility lasts until you attack, cast a spell, or your Aspect of the Archfey ability ends.
- You gain advantage on saving throws against spells and resistance to spell damage.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Aspect of the Fiend
You assume the form and some of the abilities of your patron. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following abilities:
- As an action, you can summon a Balgura or a Barbed Devil. These creatures act on their own initiative. You cannot command these fiends, but they will work to protect you and attack any creatures hostile to you. They will not directly attack your allies, but they are also not concerned with their safety or well-being. You can only summon one creature at a time using this ability. The fiend remains until it is reduced to 0 HP, your Aspect of the Fiend ability ends, or you are no longer in danger, after which they disappear.
- The damage type selected for your Fiendish Resilience ability is treated as immunity rather than resistance, and this resistance is unaffected by magical weapons or silvered weapons.
- Whenever you are damaged by an attack, you may use your reaction to swap places with your summoned fiend.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Aspect of the Great Old One
You assume the form and some of the abilities of your patron. Using your action, you undergo a transformation. For one minute, you gain the following abilities:
- You exude an aura of madness that poisons the minds of your enemies. This aura extends in a radius 30 feet around you. Any enemies that begin their turn within this aura must succeed a Wisdom saving throw or be affected as by the confusion spell.
- You may use your Entropic Ward ability once per round.
- You do not take additional damage from critical hits. In addition, you are immune to psychic damage. Anytime a creature would deal you psychic damage, it is instead reflected back to the attacker.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Please let me know what you think? I really value feedback.
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