Tell me if you think this class is balanced.

[Kyramus]

Swashbuckling.... -thinks-

Somehow it seems just a tad bland to be ala musketeer feel.

suggestions:
prereq: skill focus (tumble)

Abilities...
here's where we see that they are fighter like with feat like abilities.
But since you wanted any class to be able to take this how about....

Other suggestions:
1) Level up as one of your existing class (this option makes the Golden Falcon more of a title than actual class. Porthos vs Aramis vs Athos. Porthos took more rogue. Aramis took a little Cleric and then went with fighter/paladin. Athos took a few levels in aristocrat then fighter. This also covers the spell casting progression)
2) I've heard some of my own players ask this question. "Can I Parry?" And because the rules of combat doesn't really put Parry as an action they can do, maybe give them the Parry as a feat. This allows them to use an AOO against one attacker to attempt a deflection of the blow. DC is the attacker's attack roll. If they succeed the attack was deflected. They cannot do an AOO in that round after the Parry unless they have combat reflexes and only to someone else.
3) We are talking about the Queen's Bodyguards right? Ummm Is there a King? Is the King a jealous man? Would they need to be Eunuchs?
4) Maybe give them access to a particular weapon for free? ala a free exotic weapon?

just random thoughts. Hope any of it helps.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Maybe offer +1 spell caster level as an ability at 1 3 5. This way if someone truly wants to cast only they can take 1 level without losing anything, btu still have some of the PrC.

I tried to give the class some spellcasting ability by adding Force of Mind and Improved Force of Mind. That way, though they don't gain new spells, their spells do become more powerful. A spellcaster taking 4 levels in the PrC can gain a +2 to their DCs, that stacks with Spell Focus, even though they lose 4 levels of spell progression.

What if I allowed Falcon levels to add to caster level? This means that a spellcaster would still lose spell progression, but the spells he does have would increase in power. Or would that be too much? The class does offer full BAB and a nice skill selection, after all.

Essentially, it outfights the fighter at no cost.

The class does provide a fighter's BAB, and a special ability at each level, rather than the fighter's bonus feat every other level. On the other hand, the falcon abilities are very specific, while a fighter bonus feat can be used for a broader number of possibilities. Or at least that is what I was thinking when designing the class. Also, I don't mind if the class is somewhat more powerful than a straight fighter, just not so much as to be game-breaking.

Its first level ability Wily is like the epic feat Epic Prowess, and Falcon Assimilation is twice as good.

Wily was patterned after the decidedly non-epic Loremaster secret, Weapon Trick. And Falcon Assimilation as an "improved" version thereof.

Falcon Parry is better than Dodge,

In my game I use a House Rule where Dodge applies to all targets (I don't care to remember which foe is being dodged each round,) so at least IMC Falcon Parry isn't any better than Dodge. It's exactly the same as Dodge, with the caveat that it can stack with Dodge, if the character has both.

and Force of Mind is better than Spell Focus.

I hadn't realized it when writing the ability, but I can see what you're saying now. Spell Focus only applies to a single school, whereas Force of Mind is a blanket +1. However, others have pointed out that the class as a whole is not optimal for a spellcaster, so it may be that this ability is fine as-is. A character will still have to give up 2 spellcasting levels to get it.

Comraderie is better than non-epic skill increasing feats, but worse than Epic Reputation.

True.

The class grants abilities that are, in general, between the power of a standard feat and an epic feat -- and it grants them every level! The fighter grants a bonus feat at every other level... this class is definitely an increase in power for fighter-types.

So the question is, is it too much of an increase in power for fighter-types?

The class is obviously weak for spellcasters, but that may be a design point rather than a flaw or mistake. Since you know your own setting better than I do, I'll assume it's good in that respect.

The issue I have with spellcasters is that if I boost the spellcasting more, it becomes too appealing. It offers +5 BAB, as well as more skill points and a more non-spellcasting type class skills than a spellcaster would otherwise have access to. Is there a middle-ground, where I can make it good for spellcasters, but not too good? If I made the class levels add to caster level? Or took the advice of other posters here and added the option of taking a spellcasting level at every odd level?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

1) Level up as one of your existing class (this option makes the Golden Falcon more of a title than actual class. Porthos vs Aramis vs Athos. Porthos took more rogue. Aramis took a little Cleric and then went with fighter/paladin. Athos took a few levels in aristocrat then fighter. This also covers the spell casting progression)

I apologize if I was unclear in my original post. All of the PCs are currently members of the Golden Falcons, and will not be required to take levels in the PrC. Indeed, several of them already have other PrCs in mind. The Golden Falcon PrC is meant to represent the body of knowledge and tradition that has developed over the 200+ years of the Royal Guard's charter. I will give all of my PCs the -option- of taking levels in the PrC, as they have access to that knowledge. They will not be required to do so.

2) I've heard some of my own players ask this question. "Can I Parry?" And because the rules of combat doesn't really put Parry as an action they can do, maybe give them the Parry as a feat. This allows them to use an AOO against one attacker to attempt a deflection of the blow. DC is the attacker's attack roll. If they succeed the attack was deflected. They cannot do an AOO in that round after the Parry unless they have combat reflexes and only to someone else.

I don't really want to add new combat mechanics into the game if I can help it.

3) We are talking about the Queen's Bodyguards right? Ummm Is there a King? Is the King a jealous man? Would they need to be Eunuchs?

The Queen is the reigning monarch. Her Prince Consort died some years ago, though none of the PCs have delved into that incident thus far. When there is a king on the throne, the Golden Falcons are the King's Guard.

4) Maybe give them access to a particular weapon for free? ala a free exotic weapon?

An interesting idea. When the game started, one of my players asked if the Guard had a standard weapon which all or many of the guard used. My answer was no. I wanted the players to have the freedom to choose whatever weapon they fancied their characters to use. Also, as the Guard recruits members who are already accomplished to a degree, it makes more sense that they would accept men and women of many different kinds of combat prowess.

So a specific weapon proficiency doesn't really make sense, in the context of what I've already set up. That's one of the reasons I wrote Wily as I did, so that it would apply to any weapon--included unarmed strikes--that the character might choose to focus in.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Wily was patterned after the decidedly non-epic Loremaster secret, Weapon Trick. And Falcon Assimilation as an "improved" version thereof.

Yeah, but weapon trick is from a 1/2 BAB class so it's not as bad. As it stands, the class gives out the equivilent of 5-6 feats over 5 levels, where fighter would grant 2-3. Is that balanced enough for you? I don't know. You said that being better was OK, but being unbalanced wasn't...

Generally, I'd rate 5 levels of this class the same as about 7 levels of fighter -- better attack, roughly the same abilities (3 abilities not including wily and falcon assimilation vs. 3-4 feats), slightly better skills (20+5I vs. 14+7I points, but better list for the GF) but worse hit points (11+2C fewer).

Is that an OK deviation from the standard power curve, knowing that you want it more powerful?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Is that an OK deviation from the standard power curve, knowing that you want it more powerful?

That is the question, isn't it?

Currently players are shooting for PrCs such as the Weapon Master, Candle Caster, and Sacred Fist, so I don't mind if the Golden Falcon is on-par with those PrCs. However, I'd rather it not be significantly stronger.

One of your main points seems to be the combination of a full BAB with Wily and Falcon Assimilation, which could allow a character to gain a +8 to attack over 5 levels, with 3 extra abilities thrown in. How would the class look if I lowered Falcon Assimilation to +1, stackable with Wily, or removed the ability altogether?

My thoughts during the design process were that for a fighter-type, a +3 bonus to attack was a fair trade-off, when you consider that the PC would give up fighter bonus feats that can be used for skills such as Improved Trip, Improved Critical, and Superior Weapon Specialization. Likewise Falcon Training II and III were meant to be somewhat suboptimal for a pure fighter-type. The AC bonus ability relies on Charisma, and Falcon Power provides a small bonus only a few times a day.

Your comments make me wonder if perhaps I have misvalued the +3 to attack a fighter could gain from the class. It does occur to me that if he had Power Attack he could shift these points into damage without any net loss to his attack roll...

 

[CRGreathouse]

CRGreathouse thinks long and hard.

Yes, I believe that halving the Falcon Assimilation bonus (and the Falcon Physique bonus?) puts the class on par with the powerful *book PrCs.