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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Felix" data-source="post: 1343713" data-attributes="member: 3929">[candid]Fighter's BAB2 good saves8 sp/leveld8 HDDamn good class skill list. (Why are some of those on there?) Knowledge(arcane) and Tumble?I got this far and thought that the class' special abilities need to be on the weaker side for this to be balanced.Weapon Domain... you give the player 8 quickened spells. After all, it's the weapon who casts the spells so it's not like the player has to waste an action to cast them. These spells go up to 8th level. That isn't shabby.Alertness... a free but defined feat. Not as powerful as a Fighter Feat, but isn't shabby either considering what else you get at that level.Improved Evasion... you're giving a 6th level melee character that which takes a rogue at least 10 levels to get? Way too powerful.Spell Resistance... Not as strong as a monk's (lvl+10), but this guy gets it 3 levels earlier. Too strong.Lost & Destroyed weapons... if this is (Ex) then not even anti-magic field can hide this damn weapon. And if it's destroyed, the PC is out what... 1000gp and 2,500xp. That's peanuts. And the new weapon is just as strong as the old one. This actually was a bit unclear... do they get all of the abilities automatically, or do they miss out on the 3rd level domain spell and only get a 4th level domain spell if the new weapon comes in at PrC level 3? Either way, there is easy recovery from a destroyed weapon.Smart Weapons... the Ego checks designed in the DMG under Intellegent Weapons is a much more elegant way to deal with the issue of control. It also pisses players off to not be able to act like they want to for a whole level. You'll see a lot of PCs taking Craft: Weapon and this little problem will go away completely. This is either way too harsh or too little of a drawback... What will end up happening is it will become too little of a drawback.---ConclusionThis PrC takes the motto "Put all your eggs in one basket, and GUARD THAT BASKET" to its final form. All of the PrC abilities derrive from having the weapon in hand. When the PC doesn't have the weapon, he loses almost all of his combat effectiveness, with the exception of being the most powerful base class (HD+skills+saves+etc.).I would not want to run this PrC as a DM or a player.Why not DM?--The tactics to remove a PC's uber weapon are plentiful and effective. There is no reason why every combat every intelligent baddie would not seek to nick the weapon. But if I did that, I would be crushing a PC... because of the flaws in a PrC that I allowed... and nobody likes to be a meanine all the time (maybe I'm wrong about you <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />). So I don't have my intelligent NPCs go after the weapon to exploit the glaringly obvious weakness of the class. So I lose verisimillitude in my game, and that is important to me.Why not a player?--I like gritty games. I don't like kid gloves. I don't want to be run by a cushy DM (and you arn't, that's why I liked your game. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />) But I also don't like being made weak everytime I drop my weapon, it's taken from me, or it's busted up. This PrC's weapon is a sign saying "To Render Useless, Take This". There are too many ways to attack me that I can't defend against without completely neglecting my offensive capabilities. What changes would I make? Make the PrC designed around being badass with a type of weapon (longsword, q-staff,...). Give him Weapon Spec, Gr. Weap Focus, Gr. Weap Spec, Imp Crit, and those kinds of feats so that the PC isn't totally out of luck when his bonded sword is buggered. Then power down the abilities you give the sword. You could turn it into a weapon-ish familiar or paladin's mount or animal companion. Familiars et al are designed to be a) cool, and b) utility. Don't make the sword too powerful... make the sword useful. Abilities like Discern Lies for a Lawful weapon, or a bonus to Bluff for a Chaotic weapon will make the weapon less attractive for NPC's to destroy or remove, it will reduce the combat utility of the weapon and dependance of the PC upon the weapon. Do that, and change the (HD, BAB, saves, skills) stuff to something less ridiculously powerful, and you've got yourself something I'd look at to play.Oh, one last thing. This PrC as written has no purpose. It just says "there are guys out there who kick butt with a weapon that is part of them. they have these abilities..." Dragon Disciples serve a purpose; they want to become one, and so further the goals of dragonkind. Loremasters are the arcanists that love books, and if you're looking for research, go to these guys. Blackguards command evil armies against the forces of Good. Weapon Kin... kick butt with swords? So does a paladin. So does a Fighter. So does a Ranger (using 2 swords!). Answer the question "what sets this PrC apart when it comes to filling a unique role in the world" and you will have a PrC that is flavorly equal to your Wearers of Black.[/candid]Good start though! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />[EDIT]: Grammar & all that noise.</blockquote>

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