Saeviomagy said:
Problems:
Why would I NOT take a level of gladiator for a fighter who intends on picking up an exotic weapon proficiency?
Because you're giving up a bonus feat (any) for a specific one? Because taking it at lower levels means you're either locking yourself in to using that weapon forever or else it's useless if you lose the weapon or find a better magical one? Even if you do have access to good magical weapons and know that at 5th level you'll have a +3 dwarven waraxe lying around you're putting off access to weapon specialization (a superior feat).
At higher levels as a fighter you're giving up access to a wide range of powerful feats you've been working on getting access to.
At super-high levels you can get an item that gives you proficency easily and you're slowing your access to epic progression.
I could see complaining about the class for other reasons, but not for an exotic weapon proficiency.
One gladiator balance comment:
They should get a flat +2 to hit and damage when being watched by a non-hostile crowd. The number of spectators giving a bonus creates a lot of weird and unessessarily math. It's also dependent upon how populous your world is, and can lead to lots of bickering (PC: You said there were 1000s of people watching from the bluff... that's +20-30! DM: I said you feel thousands of eyes upon you, there are about 800 people watching. PC: Nya!)
+2 is in line with the recommendations in the books for a circumstance bonus. It's a strong bonus at lower levels, and with iterative attacks remains useful as you advance as well. Instead of a really powerful ability that turns up very rarely a more moderate power which might turn up once every few game sessions is more interesting.
I like the idea that a flavor class requires a year or so of game time, not impossible to get during a long campaign, but not something you can pick up from fighting in an arena for a few hours.
Re: Librarian
Read magic is either something a class already has, or something it doesn't need. For that matter it means that a knowledgable person needs to know how to cast magical spells, which odd.
I would instead suggest that a Librarian can re-roll a failed or incomplete knowledge check, with a +2 bonus, for every day spent researching the topic at a library.
It re-enforces that they are dependent on libraries to be effective and gives a DM a good out if a PC has failed a crucial knowledge check but needs to give the group more information.
Re: Pirate. Too powerful, make ambitious attack 1/day. There are plenty of times when a character knows 1. they won't be attacked the following round or 2. they will almost certainly be hit anyway so they might as well take the hit and move on.
So if someone doesn't know his reputation why does he/she get a +4 bonus. (Rascally? the little rascals were not the most terrifying bunch). What has the 1st level pirate done he done to make his twice as terrifying as as a barbarian of 1st level? Or a necromancer? Sorry. It's a big bonus with little justification.
Court mage: A
quickenedspell is already
still and
silent. Which leaves aside why the court mage would get this power....
This is a really good thread by the way (and apparently Morrus agrees with me).
[edits: spelling, clarity, morrus' name]
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