Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Modifying Classes & Spell-less Rangers

WotC's Rodney Thompson takes a look at how to customize and modify character classes in the latest Unearthed Arcana article, including an example of a spell-less ranger similar to Lord of the Rings' Strider (an often asked-for class option). There are aslo notes about each of the other classes, discussing what to be careful about changing.

The article is here.

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[Jester David]

Well, there are some points you should take into account.
Sorcerer is a full caster, but it is about the weakest full caster. Less hp (notice this) no ritual casting, and a limited spell list. Overpowering one is like overpowering a 3e bard, or a 3.x healer.

This list overlooks the strengths of the sorcerer, such as their sorcerery points and metamagic, which are pretty potent.


(Ritual casting would also be wasted on the sorcerer. )

Low HP!

This does seem to be the failing of the class. A small boost to hitpoints wouldn't be a bad idea. An extra 1 hp each level would not be out of line.

They do provide the disclaimer than the Unearthed Arcana articles are untested.

Only one domain includes healing, and it is the one that allows the sorcerer to be a surrogate cleric, one with less hp, no divine interrvention nor channel divinity. (and bards already do this) This is no better than starting with a bard dip.

The other domains have mostly wizard spells the sorcerer didn't get otherwise. Being mostly divinations (knowledge), Evocations (light), plant and animal stuff (nature), more evocations (tempest) and a few utilities the sorcerer wouldn't get otherwise (trickery)

I like that the favoured soul, the chosen of a god, is not just locked into the healing role, and even the chosen of other gods gets some neat spells.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Considering how poorly shields combine with spellcasting even in good conditions, and that the Favoured Soul misses out on Dragon Sorcerer's +1 hp per level, it doesn't seem out of line to me. Armour proficiencies are nothing that the sorcerer couldn't get by dipping a single level into cleric, fighter or some other class.

The extra attack is also available to bards and warlocks. Given that the Favoured Soul's only other boost to melee damage output is going to come from spells, and therefore be subject to action/concentration economy, that extra attack is just an alternative to cantrips for sustained damage. As usual, cantrips will eventually win out as the better option at high levels, anyway.

In a game where MCing is not allowed (like mine), getting full armour proficiency is a big deal though. I agree that if you allow MCing, Favored Soul probably isn't OP, since you can pick up full armour etc and more with a single level dip into fighter, war cleric, etc.

 

[Ace]

Ranger without spells? Thank you Rodney Thompson.

 

[Bacon Bits]

Article was awesome.

My only complaint is that every time I use WotC's website, I'm infuriated at how absurdly awful the interface is. I keep asking myself, "How is anybody supposed to find the same thing twice? Or anything once?" and "Why do I always feel like I'm missing content?"

For example, this article has a PDF attached called "UA3_ClassDesignVariants.pdf". "UA3," huh? So, I have UA_Eberron_v1.1.pdf from two months ago. Where's UA2?

So I scroll to the top of the page. I click on the "Unearthed Arcana" subtitle to see more articles in the group. Except that's not a link. Okay, click "Article." No, that's not a link, either. Neither is "By Rodney Thompson" so I couldn't find articles by the same author. So I go to the menu at the top of the screen. And look through drop down menus. It turns out that website content like articles is under the "Media" menu. Christ, that's a horrible name for a menu. Everything on the web is "Media"! Why aren't articles their own menu? Aren't they a primary draw to the site? I just click "All Article" because at this point I have no clue if WotC's going to think the article I want is "News", "Event," "Feature," or "Interview" since none of those categories is listed on the article I'm reading.

So, now I'm at All Articles. Narrow by types. Ok, here's the actual list of article types. Why is this menu not the same as the on one the site menu? The four categories above are there, but there's also all the rest that I expect to see, too, like "Legends and Lore," "Sage Advice," and, thankfully, "Unearthed Arcana." And why isn't this drop down at least alphabetized? It's completely random. So I click "Unearthed Arcana." And only one article shows up. It's the Unearthed Arcana: Eberron article from February that doesn't even have the subtitle of "Unearthed Arcana". So... where's today's article? And where's March's article? Isn't "Unearthed Arcana" a monthly series? What the hell, WotC.

So I go back to the full list of All Articles. I happen to know WotC releases content on a fixed schedule. So, I check my calendar, and the first Monday of March was March 2. I scroll down the full list of articles to March 2, 2015, loading new articles half a dozen times, and I finally find Unearthed Arcana: When Armies Clash. What the hell, WotC. And, of course, the name of the file is "UA_Battlesystem.pdf". Not "UA2_Battlesystem.pdf".

I have seen SharePoint intranet sites that are more usable that this PoS. Goddamn web 3.0 "mobile optimized" that's so busy displaying images and background that it can't be bothered to display the content that people come to your website for in the first place! Fire your website designers, WotC. You're headquartered basically in ing Seattle, WA. Don't tell me you can't find anybody. You can't throw a scone in Renton without hitting a web designer. And no, that wasn't a typo.

 

[asorel]

Also, with just a d6 hit die, what favored soul is going to want to wade into melee, medium armor or no? It would've been nice if they'd at least gotten the hit point boost that a dragon sorcerer gets.

Instead of a slightly bigger hit die, they get a bunch of extra spells. That's not a bad deal at all, more so when you take into account how much of a boost that is on a relative scale compared to the Sorcerer's 15 spell limit.

 

[Remathilis]

Hmm looking at those domains...

Knowledge: some good divination spells like identify, augury, and legend lore. Good if you want some utility magic.
Life: yeah baby! Cure wounds, lesser restoration, revivify, and raise dead to replace your need for a cleric, plus bless for buffing.
Light: Pyromancers will love this. Save slots on fireball and wall of fire for other stuff now.
Nature: a few good druid spells. Spike growth and grasping vine makes good battlefield control.
Tempest: A few great thunder and lightning spells, which you can augment with spells like lightning bolt.
Trickery: lots of good utility magic, like charm and dispel magic for free.
War: this almost makes you want to go into melee. Shield of faith raises that AC, stoneskin will reduce that damage taken. Tack on a few more buffs for allies and you'll be real poplar.
Death: if allowed, animate dead is potent but few others match you normal should spells. Worst of the bunch.

Really, the hp issue is a feat away, and this gives the sorcerer more versatility then you can imagine. This almost allows them to replace a wizard or cleric, depending on the domain.

 

[pukunui]

Instead of a slightly bigger hit die, they get a bunch of extra spells. That's not a bad deal at all, more so when you take into account how much of a boost that is on a relative scale compared to the Sorcerer's 15 spell limit.

Perhaps not, but is it in keeping with the theme? I would say no. The previous version of the favored soul did not get a whole bunch of arcane spells.

Plus, access to extra spells isn't going to make me want to get any closer to the enemy, whereas more hit points would.

I think what I would prefer is if, instead of getting extra spells, the favored soul instead swapped out the sorcerer's spell list for the cleric's and then got an extra hit point per level on top of that. That would make it more like the favored soul from 3e.

 

[ppaladin123]

Isn't the favored soul just better than the sorcerer then? It gets everything the sorcerer gets plus medium armor/shields, two attacks and 10 more spells. Or does it not get metamagic?

 

[asorel]

Isn't the favored soul just better than the sorcerer then? It gets everything the sorcerer gets plus medium armor/shields, two attacks and 10 more spells. Or does it not get metamagic?

Metamagic's a Sorcerer feature. It gets to choose from the list like any other archetype. The proposed alteration is definitely more powerful than the default Sorcerer options. Whether or not this is a result of it being overpowered, or the current bloodlines being underpowered, however, is another matter.

EDIT: In terms of better balance, I think the previous suggestion of swapping out the Sorcerer list for the Cleric's may be a good start. I haven't taken a real in-depth look at the Cleric's list to be certain, however.

 

[Henry]

Fire your website designers, WotC. You're headquartered basically in ing Seattle, WA. Don't tell me you can't find anybody.

they can't fire their web designer - in between web design, typesetting, warehouse fulfillment, and proofing, he also runs the mailroom and payroll.