TOB: Stance progression: problems for crusader

[blargney the second]

"Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one you already know."

It's in the Stances Known description of the crusader's class abilities.

 

[Eloi]

Ah, drat.

Well, then, perhaps that takes us to a house-rule. *shrug*

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I'd have to check my book to see how master of nine would affect it, but off hand I'd say that's a very rare prestige choice for the crusader. You need to know a manuever from five or six disciplines, and the crusader only has access to three, requiring you to take Martial Study two or three times as a feat.

With the 5 other feats that you have to take to get into Master of Nine, a single-classed human crusader could get there as his 19th level (assuming three Martial Study feat purchases). That seems suboptimal.

Burning the one feat is easiest; you get them at 15 and 18, and by the time you get there, your schtick is probably already fully-formed. I wouldn't have an issue delaying purchase of the stance, or even switching it out, either.

Brad

 

[Seeten]

The way gaining maneuvers/stances is done is extremely shoddy, and thus, I always play either more than one ToB class multiclassed, or, go rogue/monk/something else and lead into swordsage/crusader.

If you take 4 levels of monk, then go swordsage, your IL is 3, allowing you to take level 1 and 2 stances and maneuvers, and since you get like 6 and 2, thats a huge power boost. If you go to level 10 as a Crusader, then take 4 levels of Warblade, not only do you wildly increase your power level for NO good reason, you get all your stances without wasting feats.

The design for much of ToB seems half-cooked. I love the book, but it desperately needed some sanity checks and rewrites for not just overpowered options, but for poorly built ones.