New class (sort of) - The Ronin

[Frypanman08]

[FONT=&quot]Hi all,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I've been working with a friend who had a specific idea for a character to develop a class based around his backstory. It's really a mixture of quite a few classes with some of my own unique ideas thrown in. Normally when making a new class I would include archetypes however because this was made to support a specific idea I haven't done that[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I'd love some feedback on how it looks, any comments would be greatly appreciated. It's still a work in progress, I aim to add more Kenjutsu techniques and work on including extra late level class features. Mostly I'm just worried this will either be completely overpowered or underpowered (or boring?).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Let me know what you guys think![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/SkXodIGqOV[/FONT]

 

[DEFCON 1]

Haven't done a full breakdown of comparing your Ronin to either the Rogue or the Fighter... but the best way to tell if it is overpowered would be to create a standard multiclass Fighter/Rogue (which this class appears to essentially be) and then at the levels the multiclass gets things, do a similar feature swap.

So based on your Ronin getting Sneak Attack at 1st level (Rogue 1) and Extra Attack at 6th (Fighter 5)... those 6 levels has you taking the Dueling fighting style at 2nd (which would come from your 1st Fighter level), you are taking essentially Battlemaster techniques a level earlier (since you'd be a Rogue 1 / Fighter 3 before the Fighter's subclass would kick in) and you are swapping out Second Wind and Action Surge for what I guess is continuing to raise up your Sneak Attack dice even though you aren't taking more Rogue levels? Not sure about that one. I would also say that adding in Unassuming Strike (whose mechanics are more of a Samurai subclass feature) and Shadowstep (a Shadow Monk subclass feature) seem a bit out of place. This class does not strike me as one that should be having access to shadow magic, especially considering its a subclass feature completely different than the two classes you are building on.

My initial instinct was to say "What, Sneak Attack dice that get better *and* Extra Attack? No way!" I don't know if that's completely fair since you are losing Second Wind and Action Surge... but really I'd just say go back to the Rogue 1 / Fighter 5 build for a 6th level character to start and then just do feature swaps for those abilities you don't want. That's your best way to balance your Ronin.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I do agree. It is way over the top. You should at least tobe down sneak attack progression. I'd say sneak attack increase at half rate seems appropriate.
So at level five it is 2d6 sneak attack on a single attack and you have bushido.
I do consider a rogue/fighter multiclass viable at level 5. Wielding two weapons with two weapon fighting style and sneak attack 1d6 and battle master maneuvers will allow you to be relevant. Then at level 6 you have 2d6 sneak attack and at level 8 you have 2 attacks. That's what I would aim for in damage output.
Note that 1 per encounter is not a thing in 5e. There are a few things that recharge when you roll initiative.

 

[Frypanman08]

I appreciate the responses guys!

This is my first time homebreweing something like this so keeping an eye on just how much a class is capable of is tricky

Just to clarify, the class loses sneak attack when raging, this was to add a strategic dimension to fights, deciding between extra damage and the utility that comes with the rage

Because of this I do agree there's abit of a mismatch in the classes flavour. It was a combination of lots of ideas and I think it shows. I'll discuss it with my player and work to narrow down a more precise class focus

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[aco175]

My first thought is to decide if the class is fighter first or thief first. If you think if him as a fighter-type over a thief-type, then 2 attacks works over more sneak attack damage. Thief first gets more SA damage, but no 2nd attack. Otherwise either way can be a 3rd level path over a whole new class.

 

[Ancalagon]

My problem is with the concept of ronin as a class. A ronin is a samurai that no longer has a master. That is it. Having a class for a life event is a bit strange. You don't start as a ronin, it happens to you.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I appreciate the responses guys!

This is my first time homebreweing something like this so keeping an eye on just how much a class is capable of is tricky

Just to clarify, the class loses sneak attack when raging, this was to add a strategic dimension to fights, deciding between extra damage and the utility that comes with the rage

Because of this I do agree there's abit of a mismatch in the classes flavour. It was a combination of lots of ideas and I think it shows. I'll discuss it with my player and work to narrow down a more precise class focus

Thanks again for the advice!

Hey. I didn't notice that you can't use sneak attack with bushido soul. Sneak attack is a feature from the rogue so I didn't expect to find something new there. Better to put the restriction in the Bishido soul entry. Otherwise its unclear if you multiclass with rogue if you could use the rogue sneak attack with bishido soul.
Better to put the exceptions into the unique features.

I'd still say the ronin is over the top but that makes it quite a bit better. The main offender though is still extra attack + 3d6 sneak attack. You could link extra attack to bushido in some way. So you either strike with deadly precission or more often with special abilities.