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Please step away from the 4th edition "effect everything" abilities.
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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 5914752" data-attributes="member: 3424"><p>I think base class features should be as generic as possible, but players should have the option to specialize their characters through alternate class features or other character customization options.</p><p></p><p>For example, the base ranger ability could be Hunter's Quarry, but a player could choose to swap that out for Favored Enemy if he wants to. </p><p></p><p>By doing that, the option to specialize becomes a deliberate decision on the part of the player (and maybe the DM, for allowing that option). </p><p></p><p>For those who care about such things (I know some of you don't, but i hope you have enough empathy to accept that it matters to some people even if it doesn't matter to you), having characters that are generically useful against all monsters makes it easier to balance encounters. That doesn't mean that all encounters are of the same difficulty. It just means that if the DM wants an easier encounter, he picks a lower level monster instead of a monster that the player's class ability is more effective against. </p><p></p><p>That said, back in 3e, I occasionally toyed with the idea of making Favored Enemy something that the ranger could change around on a daily basis (at a lower bonus, of course, to balance the flexibility). So, like a wizard, a prepared ranger is better able to deal with the challenges he expects to face. If he knows he is going to face giants, he adopts the giant-killing stance. If he will be fighting animals, he uses the beast-slayer technique. And so on. That puts the bonus more in the hands of the player, but still allowed for the possibility of the ranger facing an opponent that he isn't completely optimized to deal with.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 5914752, member: 3424"] I think base class features should be as generic as possible, but players should have the option to specialize their characters through alternate class features or other character customization options. For example, the base ranger ability could be Hunter's Quarry, but a player could choose to swap that out for Favored Enemy if he wants to. By doing that, the option to specialize becomes a deliberate decision on the part of the player (and maybe the DM, for allowing that option). For those who care about such things (I know some of you don't, but i hope you have enough empathy to accept that it matters to some people even if it doesn't matter to you), having characters that are generically useful against all monsters makes it easier to balance encounters. That doesn't mean that all encounters are of the same difficulty. It just means that if the DM wants an easier encounter, he picks a lower level monster instead of a monster that the player's class ability is more effective against. That said, back in 3e, I occasionally toyed with the idea of making Favored Enemy something that the ranger could change around on a daily basis (at a lower bonus, of course, to balance the flexibility). So, like a wizard, a prepared ranger is better able to deal with the challenges he expects to face. If he knows he is going to face giants, he adopts the giant-killing stance. If he will be fighting animals, he uses the beast-slayer technique. And so on. That puts the bonus more in the hands of the player, but still allowed for the possibility of the ranger facing an opponent that he isn't completely optimized to deal with. [/QUOTE]
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Please step away from the 4th edition "effect everything" abilities.
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