Why are Favoured Souls so Popular?

[Nonlethal Force]

Dunno whether this qualifies as house rule or variant core interpretation, but I always figured that mithril full plate (as an example) still required Armor Prof (Heavy) to wear w/o penalty, but all the movement, feat req, class req (ranger twf), etc. penalties were as though it was medium.

Yes, by the RAW this is a houserule. Although in spirit I agree with you, technically Mithril (anything heavy) is actually a medium armor. This is why I don't consider the loss of armor prof (Heavy) as a big deal. It's only a loss till you can plunk down the significant price for mithril (Heavy).

The wings are a deal-breaker for me. When I first saw it, I kinda liked it until I saw the wings. Whoever came up with that idea just isn't trying for the same genre I am. Haven't bothered trying to adapt it because I've assumed that it would be unbalanced w/o the wings and I'd be just as well off to create my own class.

It might work, though, to pluck the wings and give it domain spells.

You know, I went flipping through my set of Complete bookstrying to find a 5 level PrC (or a PrC I could dip into for 4 levels minimum) so that I could have something to take and avoid the wings. I found one that I think I like. Its in the DMG. Thaumaturgist. Can you imagine an FS/Thaumaturgist whose spell list is has all (or most) of the healing spells, remove _____ spells (and/or restoration spells), summoning spells, and planar ally spels. That FS could still be a decent front line melee person because none of those spells would require a decent WIS because they don't require saves. So you could jack up CHA and STR and let the rest of the stats fall as they may. You could summon one combat, heal when you felt like it, and still swing around that deity's favored weapon.

I like it. I've sat on it for 24 hours and I still like it. Alot.

 

[Mercule]

Can you imagine an FS/Thaumaturgist whose spell list is has all (or most) of the healing spells, remove _____ spells (and/or restoration spells), summoning spells, and planar ally spels.

I think you may have just sold yourself one favored soul. I need a pawn for a new deity that I'm adding to my setting. Using a unique class like this might be quite nice.

 

[frankthedm]

The wings are a deal-breaker for me. When I first saw it, I kinda liked it until I saw the wings. Whoever came up with that idea just isn't trying for the same genre I am. Haven't bothered trying to adapt it because I've assumed that it would be unbalanced w/o the wings and I'd be just as well off to create my own class.

Wotc's D&D is prety much a deal breaker after 10th or so as the charaters are more of point buy [in GP value of magic items] Super Heroes rather than Fantasy Heroes.

 

[Felon]

But which problem? A problem whenever they are used by anyone, a problem if clerics also cast them, a problem if a favored soul could pick them, a problem if a favored soul did pick them?

This doesn't strike me as requiring a great deal of clarification, but I'll clarify nonetheless: a sorcerer hasn't got any edge over a favored soul in terms of BAB, skill points, saving throws, hit dice, weapon/armor proficiency, spells per day, or spells known. The sorcerer at best breaks even, and in most cases the scales tip heavily onto the FS's side. If anyone feels it's necessary, I suppose we could delve into whether or not a sorcerer's familiar is equal compensation to the favored soul's weapon feats and energy resistances, but hopefully it can go without saying that it's not. Acknowledging that, we have a clear-cut balance problem if a favored soul could dip into spells from the sorcer/wizard list because access to the sorcerer/wizard list is the only thing that wizards and sorcerers have going for them.

A mild problem that Clerics get them at all.
A major problem if a Cleric-type could cast one of them "all day long" (instead of 1/day). Particularly with the mobility spells.

Well-put.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Wotc's D&D is prety much a deal breaker after 10th or so as the charaters are more of point buy [in GP value of magic items] Super Heroes rather than Fantasy Heroes.

As opposed to the wonderfully built game that TSR's post-10 AD&D was? I think its far better now.

 

[MerricB]

Making the mystic a better class choice is one thing we've been working on trying to accomplish for a while. Among the various options include removing the longer duration of metamagic on a mystic's spontaneous casting time, adding another domain later (although we have PrCs for that), and giving them more skill points and/or different class skills. Because the mystic is essentially a divine energy channeler, with the divine energy being the ambient magic of the living world channeled through the mystic's beliefs rather than the blessing of the gods, some customization would allow "mystic druids" and "mystic warriors" etc also.

Cheers,
Cam

It'd be good to see, Cam. We had a mystic in the party for Key of Destiny, and by the end of it the player had switched across to cleric. (The less said about the original Mariner the better!)

Cheers!

 

[Felon]

As opposed to the wonderfully built game that TSR's post-10 AD&D was?

No, as opposed to how powerful heroes are in the sword-and-sorcery genre that is supposed to be D&D's source of inspiration. Conan, King Arthur, Gandalf--these guys don't hold a candle to a 10th-level D&D character.

 

[ThirdWizard]

No, as opposed to how powerful heroes are in the sword-and-sorcery genre that is supposed to be D&D's source of inspiration. Conan, King Arthur, Gandalf--these guys don't hold a candle to a 10th-level D&D character.

Oh, I'm just saying that it isn't something singular to "WotC's D&D" ie 3e. It's always been like that.

 

[Hussar]

No, as opposed to how powerful heroes are in the sword-and-sorcery genre that is supposed to be D&D's source of inspiration. Conan, King Arthur, Gandalf--these guys don't hold a candle to a 10th-level D&D character.

Gandalf takes on a Balor by himself.

And wins.

He's not a superhero? Now, my Tolkein-fu is a bit rusty, but, isn't Gandalf like pretty much immortal and extra-planar? An angel of some sort? Wields an artifact level sword? Is in the top ten of most powerful beings in Middle Earth? Or, am I completely misremembering.

Then again, I guess we should ignore mythology, and any writing that isn't between about 1910 and 1950 when looking for inspiration.

DND is NOT SWORD AND SORCERY ONLY!!

Hell, King Arthur isn't Sword and Sorcery fantasy either.

How many S&S stories feature Beholders, Githyanki, Drow, or any of the whole host of D&D only creatures that have been around since 1e? Why do people have this idea that D&D has ever been about S&S fantasy? Sure, it drew on S&S fantasy, but, it also drew on a host of other sources as well as completely invented sources.

Take the FS's wings. Hrm, a chosen of a god gets wings? Who'd have thunk it? I mean, this is an individual that is hand picked by a diety to be his servant on the mortal plane. Wings? Damn, there's a stretch. Not like other classes become outsiders or elemental templates or whatever. Yup, wings are so far outside the realm of stories for servants of gods. No servant of a god should EVER have wings.

Or a harp.

 

[Drowbane]

Gandalf takes on a Balor by himself.

And wins.

He's not a superhero? Now, my Tolkein-fu is a bit rusty, but, isn't Gandalf like pretty much immortal and extra-planar? An angel of some sort? Wields an artifact level sword? Is in the top ten of most powerful beings in Middle Earth? Or, am I completely misremembering.
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QFT