When Splat Classes are Neglected... OR... What Happened with the Spellthief!?

I would have liked to see Tome of Magic supported more than it was. It contained some concepts I really liked (some of which lent names to 4E concepts,) but it always felt as though there was more that could have been done with it.
 

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I mean, they made the Healer (minis handbook) a subpar choice, even compared to a cleric from PHB. It was, in all ways, worse. So who would play it? I imagine, if they had strengthened the class a bit, there would have been a significant number of players who would've enjoyed the class (it is, after all, a great "girlfriend class").

Warmage casting. All their spells do the same thing, right? So let them do their thing.

I'd look to Pathfinder for inspiration. Replace all their upper level 1/day condition heals with the PF Paladin's lay on hands and Mercies, and give them the Cleric's Channel Energy but only the heal living version. (Or, to really turn it on its head, only the heal living and the heal undead versions.)

I'd do something like this, but with my houserules any Cleric with the Healing Domain serves the exact same function.
 

My favorite forgotten class!

Factotum.

No one's mentioned it, and I know why it got forgotten -- it was a class included in one of the last 3.5 books to be released before bookstores were ordered to return all 3.5 books so they could be destroyed.

Anyhow ... it's from Dungeonscape, and it's REALLY fun to play. You can do a little bit of everything, but not have to dip into the Chameleon PrC.

-- Want to cast a really neat arcane spell, just once? Done.
-- Want to be able to heal yourself or a party member with a touch? You can.
-- Got some ooky undead to turn, and no party cleric? Present your symbol.
-- Got someone flat-footed? Backstab 'em!
-- Crazy DR and/or SR getting you down? Ignore it for one round.
-- You already know a lot of skills, but do you REALLY need to pass this particular [insert skill name here] check? Add your class level to your modifier ... and then roll d20.

In any event, there are so many different ways you can build a character with this class. I went with a D&D superhero, because that seemed fun. I could have gone at least a couple other ways...
 


I think it would tough to do a PC spellthief well in 4e because of the differtent tiers of monsters. Stealing a spell from a solo is going to be way more powerful than stealing a spell from a minion. It would also be tough to squeeze into 4e power design, because monster powers are built around the recharge mechanic while players are based around the encounter/daily mechanic.

However theres nothing stopping you from statting up the spellthief as a monster block.
 


Well, the spellthief was weak, and even in what ways it wasn't, it was kind of dependent on fighting arcane casters to really be at full strength. It really should have been a Prestige Class, something to build onto a sold rogue/caster core. Even with its own limited casting and decent sneak attack progression, it just remained behind the curve. It's also one of those classes that brings to mind the musical question: "Could this be a feat chain?"

I don't think the Marshal and Hexblade really got more love, except insofar as they had longevity on their side. The Marshal is slightly weak, but resides in its own niche, much like the Fighter or Barbarian. The Hexblade... as long as you understand what the class was, it could hold its own against most of the core classes. The spellthief fared better than the Swashbuckler, everyone's favorite half-assed fusion of fighter, rogue, and low damage output, and the Samurai, the class for people who like fighters but don't want useful abilities.

The Scout... hardly needed support. It came out of the gate quite strong and versatile, with many fun ways to play it. Since its skirmish ability first appeared in the Highlands Stalker Prestige Class, it had a decent prestige option before it was even born.

The Ninja... slightly weak Rogue. But invisibility is nice, so yeah. It's the Beguiler of Rogues.
 




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