Post/Author/DateTime

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maikeru333 03-07-07, 02:21 AM

Has there been any discussion about how to adapt the devoted defender to 3.5 dnd in here previously? If the thread already exists, I would like to look at it before posting, perhaps continue discussion. Otherwise, perhaps other people wouldn't mind discussing it again. People I know have talked about how it is broken, in that the dd can do 'harm's way' unlimited numbers of times, etc, so two devoted defenders together can basically deflect all attacks and step in the way of each other or something. I think that was the argument. I was thinking a new dd could use attacks of opportunity to limit this, but as a class feature, get more attacks of opportunity a round. Karmic strike combined with a 'deflecting strike' ability/feat, where you can attempt to deflect an attack that would otherwise strike true while striking simultaneously at the opponent (orginally a technique epitomized in some samurai kenjitsu I think). I could see dd getting evasion and uncanny dodge or mettle like abilities, and the ability to 'share' that, ie like he makes a save, if it's successful shoves his charge out of the way, as if protectee had evasion or whatever, but perhaps sacrificing it himself. Hmm one particularly unique thing I thought would be useful, but might be game unbalancing, was an ability akin to dwarves of Arcanis somewhat: being able to be raised or resurrected without losing a level, or even to be able to be healed from extreme negative hp's to positive hp again without actually dying. Anyways, I could see the usefulness of the devoted defender in all sorts of situations and campaigns, but the truth is, if you're stepping in front of attacks instead of out of the way, you're probably going to die a lot. Maybe some kind of Die Harder feat, that is like the frenzied barbarian's immunity to death and neg hp while raging could help this, or something like a limited ability, as like trolls, where hp damage becomes considered subdual instead of lethal for a time or something. Some of the luck feats in the complete scoundrel may work, too. I was thinking of making the level entry a bit high, and making the class start off non-epic, but to continue past a certain level maybe would require being epic, or certain abilities wouldn't come in, or would be upgradeable with a characters normal progression feats, once they've achieved epic. If a lot of entries were made possible for the class, then some of the abilities should be 'stackable', ie someone with uncanny dodge gets improved uncanny dodge, someone with endurance already might get diehard, so basically there would be different 'streams' of abilities, mostly defensive, that could be accessed with free feats, or unlocked to higher levels depending on previous abilities. I was also thinking that instead of picking an individual, the dd would possibly defend an area... reach and size would influence the size and distance the area would have to be that you could defend, and instead of the dd and protectee switching places, assuming they are close enough, etc, two mediums would be considered one large creature in the area containing both of them, etc, and the dd could choose whether or not to 'intercept' physical attacks meant for the target. I would love to make a way that paladins could get this class, too, since a devoted defender totally seems to fit the paladin archetype, even if the dd plclass didn't continue any of the paladin abilities at all. It seems like there could be an entire order of paladins that also train to protect people with their lives, etc. I don't know what alignment restrictions would make sense, but it is hard to imagine an evil creature defending and protecting someone/thing else with it's life in a selfless, altruistic manner, although it doesn't seem impossible that there could be zealots and the like who might. Maybe there could be a distinction in the class, like for dread pirates, depending on whether the character was good or evil aligned. It already sounds pretty complicated, but I like to have more ideas first, and whittle down later.