Paragon Path names revealed by Jonathan Tweet!

[Andor]

Battle Captain and Battle Archer. Really?

As opposed to the Fast Food Shift Captain and the Formal Gala Archer?

 

[bramadan]

What worries me is just how "single class" these names sound. I really do not see Ranger ever taking "Battle Commander" or "Iron Vanguard" or really any other combination other then the one they have listed (except maybe fighter going into warlord's PP and vice versa)
Now if this is so and each class leads to its own Paragon Paths then how many Paragon Paths are there going to be to give characters meaningful choice ? 20 ? I am skeptical that they can suddenly drop that many distinct things onto the game at level 11 and have them all be balanced but I guess I may be mistaken.

 

[Mostlyjoe]

I can live with it. I'm more worried about mechanics at this point.

 

[Plane Sailing]

"Battle Archer"? Sounds like he's been demoted to the groups of grunts who fire volleys of arrows arching up through the sky in the general direction of his foes :-(

I would hope that by the time he was a paragon character he would be more like a sniper than a volley-er

 

[LightPhoenix]

What worries me is just how "single class" these names sound. I really do not see Ranger ever taking "Battle Commander" or "Iron Vanguard" or really any other combination other then the one they have listed (except maybe fighter going into warlord's PP and vice versa)
Now if this is so and each class leads to its own Paragon Paths then how many Paragon Paths are there going to be to give characters meaningful choice ? 20 ? I am skeptical that they can suddenly drop that many distinct things onto the game at level 11 and have them all be balanced but I guess I may be mistaken.

If I recall correctly, they've said that each paragon path is really only apt for a couple of classes. So IV might be apt for Fighters and Paladins, whereas BC might be more apt for Clerics and Warlords. You probably wouldn't, and may be prevented by the rules, from taking either class with Ranger.

As an aside, I'm not saying all Paths are by role. It just so happens these two I imagine are.

 

[Matthan]

I actually like the names. I liked the names that I saw in 1st edition too (I only had the DL Adventures hardback and we used it with 2nd). We played a ton, and I always loved the extra name you would get each level, but we never used them in game. But I remember being a young guy and reading those names and wanting to get that level and that name. They grabbed my imagination. I could see young me getting excited over these names too. As for us older, jaded folks, well, what's D&D without a few houserules?

 

[MaelStorm]

Clearly the ranger has the best paragon path name. And clearly, the paladin has the worst. Everything else falls in the middle.

Yes I agree. Astral Weapon?!? lol

DM: You are a 12th level Astral Weapon now.
Player: OK I am throwing myself in the astral sea, what do I see?
DM: You see a giant octopus!

 

[Cactot]

Spellstorm mage > this one is okay depending on actual class abilities

Iron vanguard > Iron Knight / Knight of the Shield / Shield Bearer

Battle Archer > Commando / Bowmaster / Fell Sniper

Battle Captain > Great General / Field Marshal

Astral Weapon > Hand of ____ / Knight Errant / Knight of the Order of ____ / Astral Warrior

 

[hong]

If I recall correctly, they've said that each paragon path is really only apt for a couple of classes. So IV might be apt for Fighters and Paladins, whereas BC might be more apt for Clerics and Warlords. You probably wouldn't, and may be prevented by the rules, from taking either class with Ranger.

As an aside, I'm not saying all Paths are by role. It just so happens these two I imagine are.

Paragon paths will be the new prestige class. You heard it here first!

 

[Carnivorous_Bean]

Much as I'm anticipating 4th edition, I don't like the naming conventions for these paragon paths.

I also have an intense dislike for the use of the word "warlord" for a class. A warlord is basically a regional military dictator, and I've never seen it applied to anyone who didn't have political power backed by force. And it's generally perjorative -- it basically means "tyrant." It's basically just as bad as naming the class "emperor." Yes, you can have a warlord who's a tactical leader. You can have an emperor who comes to the battlefield. But not every tactician is a warlord, an emperor, a king, a khan, or what have you. They should have stuck with "marshal."

As for the paragon path names, I would have preferred something along the lines of --

-- master of spells
-- deadly warrior
-- mighty archer
-- high tactician
-- holy champion

A bit understated, perhaps, but no doubt that these are powerful and important people. While "astral weapon" is just plain weird, and "battle archer" and "battle captain" sound like demotions. "Iron vanguard" sounds like a unit name -- "The Iron Vanguard of Foofadoofia" -- and "spellstorm mage" sounds like a weather wizard. Not a bad name, just not generic enough.