Bard Variant: The Eclectic [Archive] - Wizards Community

Bard Variant: The Eclectic [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
kouryuu_the_leviathan
01-28-07, 03:50 AM For a little bit of background on this idea I was talking with a friend the other day and I mentioned how I like the idea of the bard as a jack of all trades, but would like to see a varient that used the skeleton of the bard but dropped the music and added something more...generic. I had thought about giving the bard a bonus feat progression and fairly open-ended feat list to choose from to make it more of a Jack of All Trades. My friend thought it was a litle weak and suggested that he liked the idea of a bard being able choose different class abilities from various classes to simulate a jack of all trades. So it led me to come up with this: the Eclectic, a person who has learned a wide and strange assortment of skills and abilities.

After doing a quick perusal of the first 6 or 7 pages of this forum I came across Rudiger Smith's Definitive Bard (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=780538) which, while similar in approach, is different enough from the feel I was trying to accomplish with this variant that it didn't deter me from still posting it. So please, avoid referencing me to this other thread for I am quite well aware of it.

Now that that's all out of the way here it is, and also, any comments, complaints, tweaks, and especially additional Eclectic Learnings you may have ideas for feel free to post them.

The Eclectic
HD: as Bard
BAB: as Bard
Saves: as Bard
Skill Points: as Bard
Class Skills: as Bard
Proficiencies: as Bard
Spellcasting: as Bard
Keeps: Bardic Knowledge
Loses: All Bardic music features, any spell that involves music in any way from their spell list, and their alignment restriction
Gains: Eclectic Learning (see below)

Eclectic Learning:
An Eclectic learns a wide variety of skills and abilities in his life and these manifest as the Eclectic Learning ability. At 1st, 4th and every four levels afterward, the Eclectic gains a new ability chosen from the list below. Some of them have minimum levels that the Eclectic must before they can be chosen, but most don’t and thus can be chosen any time a new Eclectic Learning would be gained. Some of the abilities scale with the Eclectic’s class level, and if the Eclectic chooses such an ability after the minimum level, they gain the full benefit of the ability an Eclectic of their level would have. For example, if the Eclectic were to choose the Rage ability at 8th level they would receive two uses of the ability per day, or if the same Eclectic were to take Trap Sense at 12th level, their bonus from the ability would be +3 and continue to improve as describe in the ability.
When an ability mentions that an Eclectic may now take certain types of feats as bonus feats that means that the list from which they can select bonus feats increases to include those types of feats for which they must still meet all prerequisites. Also, if an ability says that an Eclectic may qualify a PrC that requires a certain ability they must still meet any other prerequisites the prestige class may have. While most likely obvious, these are just clarifiers to say that the Eclectic does not let one ignore requirements for feats or Prc.

(Abilities in sblock)

Bonus Feat:
The Eclectic may select a feat from the following list and must meet all prerequisites for the feat taken. The feats available for them are any feat a fighter could take as a bonus feat, any metamagic feat, and any feat which affects skills in some way (DM’s discretion here). Additionally, the following feats are available for the Eclectic to select as a bonus feat:

Armor Proficiency (Medium), Battle Caster, Bind Vestige, Improved Bind Vestige,
Improved Familiar, Martial Weapon Proficiency, Obtain Familiar, Practiced Binder,
Shape Soulmeld, Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)

Damage Reduction:
Minimum level: 8th. The Eclectic gains Damage reduction 1/-. The amount of damage reduction increases depending upon the Eclectic’s level. 2/- at 12th, 3/- at 16th, and 4/- at 20th.

Evasion:
Minimum Level: 4th. The Eclectic gains the evasion ability as a Rogue.

Fast Movement:
The Eclectic gains a +10 foot enhancement bonus to one of their movement modes. An Eclectic may select this ability more than once. The ability does not stack, but rather affects another movement mode of the Eclectic’s choice.

Favored Enemy:
As the Ranger ability. The Eclectic may choose the ability multiple times, each time they do they may either gain a new favored enemy at a +2 bonus or instead choose to improve an existing favored enemy bonus by +2. The Eclectic may now select feats that require Favored Enemy as a prerequisite as bonus feats, and also can take levels in PrC requiring Favored Enemy.

Improved Evasion:
Minimum Level: 12th. The Eclectic gains improved evasion as the Rogue special ability. To be able to take this ability the Eclectic must already have evasion from any other source.

Improved Uncanny Dodge:
Minimum Level: 8th. The Eclectic gains Improved Uncanny Dodge as a Barbarian. Levels of Eclectic stack as normal with other classes that provide Improved Uncanny Dodge for determining the level a Rogue needs to be to flank the character. Choosing this ability requires the eclectic to have Uncanny Dodge from any other source.

Rage:
As the Barbarian ability with the following exceptions. The Eclectic never gains Greater or Mighty rage and has once use available at 1st level, 2 at 8th, and 3 at 16th. Also, an Eclectic adds half their class levels to any Barbarian levels they may have to determine if their Barbarian levels would grant them Greater, Mighty, and Tireless Rage. The Eclectic now qualifies for feats and PrC requiring Rage.

Smite Attack:
The Eclectic gains a smite attack that functions identically to a Paladin’s with the following differences. The Eclectic picks one alignment axis that is opposed to one component of their own alignment for their smite attack to apply and once the choice is made it can never be changed. The only exception to this being if the Eclectic’s alignment shifts to include a component to which they have their smite attack apply in which case the alignment to which their smite applies switches to the opposed component. For example, if a Lawful Good Eclectic selects Smite Chaos, and later becomes Chaotic Good their smite attack shifts to become Smite Law. In the case of Eclectics with a neutral component to their alignment, they must choose a smite attack of the alignment that opposed the non-neutral part of their alignment. True Neutral Eclectics may not choose this ability. Eclectics gain one use of Smite Attack at 1st, 2 at 10th, and 3 at 20th. Eclectics may choose this ability a second time as long as the alignment they choose to be able to smite opposes another non-neutral part of their alignment. Keep track of uses for each Site attack separately.

Sneak Attack:
The Eclectic gains +1d6 of Sneak attack damage. The Eclectic may choose this ability more than once, each time gaining one more dice of sneak attack damage. Sneak attack dice gained from this ability stacks with itself and any other source of sneak attack dice as normal. The Eclectic may now select feats that require Sneak Attack as a prerequisite as bonus feats, and may also take levels in PrC that require Sneak Attack.

Trapfinding:
As the Rogue ability. Taking this ability also makes Search and Disable Device class skills for the Eclectic.

Trap Sense:
Minimum Level: 4th. As the Barbarian ability with the following change. The Trap Sense bonus starts at +1 at 4th level, +2 at 8th, +3 at 12th, +4 at 16th, and +5 at 20th.

Turn or Rebuke Undead:
As the Cleric ability, but using the Eclectic’s class levels instead. Levels in Eclectic stack with Cleric levels to determine the character’s turning or rebuking ability. The Eclectic may now also select feats that require Turn or Rebuke Undead as a prerequisite as bonus feats, and can also qualify for PrC requiring Turn or Rebuke Undead as well.

Uncanny Dodge:
Minimum Level: 4th. The Eclectic gains Uncanny Dodge as a Barbarian. If the Eclectic has Uncanny Dodge from another source, taking this ability automatically gives them Improved uncanny Dodge.

Wild Empathy:
As the druid ability using Eclectic levels instead. Eclectic levels stack with other class levels that have Wild Empathy as well.
kouryuu_the_leviathan
01-28-07, 03:50 AM NOTE: When determining what to turn into an Eclectic Learning I stuck to the PHB classes for now for simplicity. I tried to accommodate some of the new systems out there by including in the bonus feat list those feats which allowed a character to dabble in a new system such as Shape Soulmeld or Bind Vestige.

I tried to gauge the powers of the Eclectic Learnings based on whether an ability could be given whole sale without it being too powerful and if it would be, trying to scale it back and power it down a bit so as to not step on other classes' toes too much.

If you feel any one ability is too powerful or should be changed in some manner, just let me know and give a good explanation and alternative and I'll look into fixing it.
Cade_Shadowfox
01-28-07, 08:57 AM XD I really don't mean any offense, honest, but what do you suppose the word "bard" entails? It suggests that there is supposed to be some sort of performance involved in the whole thing. If you are going to take away its very point of existence, you might as well change the name of the class.
kouryuu_the_leviathan
01-28-07, 03:21 PM Which...I did. Perhaps I didn't make it clear, but I did rename the class "Eclectic". It you read all the abilities they can choose they mention "Eclectic levels". I am very well aware that the name bard implies some sort of performance which is why I did decide to rename the class. I suppose that calling it a bard variant might not have been the most accurate term, but I just wanted to give people a sense of where I was starting with this idea.

Anyway, sorry if that comes off sounding a little rude, I mean nothing by it. Also, anyone else have any thoughts, comments, etc.?
Cade_Shadowfox
01-29-07, 02:39 PM Oh! ^^" Sorry...
kouryuu_the_leviathan
02-02-07, 10:43 PM Hey, don't worry about, I'm just glad we could get past the misunderstanding.

Anyway, thought I'd give this one last shot before I let it die. So, does anyone have anything to say on about what I propose here?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
kouryuu_the_leviathan 01-28-07, 03:50 AM	For a little bit of background on this idea I was talking with a friend the other day and I mentioned how I like the idea of the bard as a jack of all trades, but would like to see a varient that used the skeleton of the bard but dropped the music and added something more...generic. I had thought about giving the bard a bonus feat progression and fairly open-ended feat list to choose from to make it more of a Jack of All Trades. My friend thought it was a litle weak and suggested that he liked the idea of a bard being able choose different class abilities from various classes to simulate a jack of all trades. So it led me to come up with this: the Eclectic, a person who has learned a wide and strange assortment of skills and abilities. After doing a quick perusal of the first 6 or 7 pages of this forum I came across Rudiger Smith's Definitive Bard (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=780538) which, while similar in approach, is different enough from the feel I was trying to accomplish with this variant that it didn't deter me from still posting it. So please, avoid referencing me to this other thread for I am quite well aware of it. Now that that's all out of the way here it is, and also, any comments, complaints, tweaks, and especially additional Eclectic Learnings you may have ideas for feel free to post them. The Eclectic HD: as Bard BAB: as Bard Saves: as Bard Skill Points: as Bard Class Skills: as Bard Proficiencies: as Bard Spellcasting: as Bard Keeps: Bardic Knowledge Loses: All Bardic music features, any spell that involves music in any way from their spell list, and their alignment restriction Gains: Eclectic Learning (see below) Eclectic Learning: An Eclectic learns a wide variety of skills and abilities in his life and these manifest as the Eclectic Learning ability. At 1st, 4th and every four levels afterward, the Eclectic gains a new ability chosen from the list below. Some of them have minimum levels that the Eclectic must before they can be chosen, but most don’t and thus can be chosen any time a new Eclectic Learning would be gained. Some of the abilities scale with the Eclectic’s class level, and if the Eclectic chooses such an ability after the minimum level, they gain the full benefit of the ability an Eclectic of their level would have. For example, if the Eclectic were to choose the Rage ability at 8th level they would receive two uses of the ability per day, or if the same Eclectic were to take Trap Sense at 12th level, their bonus from the ability would be +3 and continue to improve as describe in the ability. When an ability mentions that an Eclectic may now take certain types of feats as bonus feats that means that the list from which they can select bonus feats increases to include those types of feats for which they must still meet all prerequisites. Also, if an ability says that an Eclectic may qualify a PrC that requires a certain ability they must still meet any other prerequisites the prestige class may have. While most likely obvious, these are just clarifiers to say that the Eclectic does not let one ignore requirements for feats or Prc. (Abilities in sblock) Bonus Feat: The Eclectic may select a feat from the following list and must meet all prerequisites for the feat taken. The feats available for them are any feat a fighter could take as a bonus feat, any metamagic feat, and any feat which affects skills in some way (DM’s discretion here). Additionally, the following feats are available for the Eclectic to select as a bonus feat: Armor Proficiency (Medium), Battle Caster, Bind Vestige, Improved Bind Vestige, Improved Familiar, Martial Weapon Proficiency, Obtain Familiar, Practiced Binder, Shape Soulmeld, Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) Damage Reduction: Minimum level: 8th. The Eclectic gains Damage reduction 1/-. The amount of damage reduction increases depending upon the Eclectic’s level. 2/- at 12th, 3/- at 16th, and 4/- at 20th. Evasion: Minimum Level: 4th. The Eclectic gains the evasion ability as a Rogue. Fast Movement: The Eclectic gains a +10 foot enhancement bonus to one of their movement modes. An Eclectic may select this ability more than once. The ability does not stack, but rather affects another movement mode of the Eclectic’s choice. Favored Enemy: As the Ranger ability. The Eclectic may choose the ability multiple times, each time they do they may either gain a new favored enemy at a +2 bonus or instead choose to improve an existing favored enemy bonus by +2. The Eclectic may now select feats that require Favored Enemy as a prerequisite as bonus feats, and also can take levels in PrC requiring Favored Enemy. Improved Evasion: Minimum Level: 12th. The Eclectic gains improved evasion as the Rogue special ability. To be able to take this ability the Eclectic must already have evasion from any other source. Improved Uncanny Dodge: Minimum Level: 8th. The Eclectic gains Improved Uncanny Dodge as a Barbarian. Levels of Eclectic stack as normal with other classes that provide Improved Uncanny Dodge for determining the level a Rogue needs to be to flank the character. Choosing this ability requires the eclectic to have Uncanny Dodge from any other source. Rage: As the Barbarian ability with the following exceptions. The Eclectic never gains Greater or Mighty rage and has once use available at 1st level, 2 at 8th, and 3 at 16th. Also, an Eclectic adds half their class levels to any Barbarian levels they may have to determine if their Barbarian levels would grant them Greater, Mighty, and Tireless Rage. The Eclectic now qualifies for feats and PrC requiring Rage. Smite Attack: The Eclectic gains a smite attack that functions identically to a Paladin’s with the following differences. The Eclectic picks one alignment axis that is opposed to one component of their own alignment for their smite attack to apply and once the choice is made it can never be changed. The only exception to this being if the Eclectic’s alignment shifts to include a component to which they have their smite attack apply in which case the alignment to which their smite applies switches to the opposed component. For example, if a Lawful Good Eclectic selects Smite Chaos, and later becomes Chaotic Good their smite attack shifts to become Smite Law. In the case of Eclectics with a neutral component to their alignment, they must choose a smite attack of the alignment that opposed the non-neutral part of their alignment. True Neutral Eclectics may not choose this ability. Eclectics gain one use of Smite Attack at 1st, 2 at 10th, and 3 at 20th. Eclectics may choose this ability a second time as long as the alignment they choose to be able to smite opposes another non-neutral part of their alignment. Keep track of uses for each Site attack separately. Sneak Attack: The Eclectic gains +1d6 of Sneak attack damage. The Eclectic may choose this ability more than once, each time gaining one more dice of sneak attack damage. Sneak attack dice gained from this ability stacks with itself and any other source of sneak attack dice as normal. The Eclectic may now select feats that require Sneak Attack as a prerequisite as bonus feats, and may also take levels in PrC that require Sneak Attack. Trapfinding: As the Rogue ability. Taking this ability also makes Search and Disable Device class skills for the Eclectic. Trap Sense: Minimum Level: 4th. As the Barbarian ability with the following change. The Trap Sense bonus starts at +1 at 4th level, +2 at 8th, +3 at 12th, +4 at 16th, and +5 at 20th. Turn or Rebuke Undead: As the Cleric ability, but using the Eclectic’s class levels instead. Levels in Eclectic stack with Cleric levels to determine the character’s turning or rebuking ability. The Eclectic may now also select feats that require Turn or Rebuke Undead as a prerequisite as bonus feats, and can also qualify for PrC requiring Turn or Rebuke Undead as well. Uncanny Dodge: Minimum Level: 4th. The Eclectic gains Uncanny Dodge as a Barbarian. If the Eclectic has Uncanny Dodge from another source, taking this ability automatically gives them Improved uncanny Dodge. Wild Empathy: As the druid ability using Eclectic levels instead. Eclectic levels stack with other class levels that have Wild Empathy as well.
kouryuu_the_leviathan 01-28-07, 03:50 AM	NOTE: When determining what to turn into an Eclectic Learning I stuck to the PHB classes for now for simplicity. I tried to accommodate some of the new systems out there by including in the bonus feat list those feats which allowed a character to dabble in a new system such as Shape Soulmeld or Bind Vestige. I tried to gauge the powers of the Eclectic Learnings based on whether an ability could be given whole sale without it being too powerful and if it would be, trying to scale it back and power it down a bit so as to not step on other classes' toes too much. If you feel any one ability is too powerful or should be changed in some manner, just let me know and give a good explanation and alternative and I'll look into fixing it.
Cade_Shadowfox 01-28-07, 08:57 AM	XD I really don't mean any offense, honest, but what do you suppose the word "bard" entails? It suggests that there is supposed to be some sort of performance involved in the whole thing. If you are going to take away its very point of existence, you might as well change the name of the class.
kouryuu_the_leviathan 01-28-07, 03:21 PM	Which...I did. Perhaps I didn't make it clear, but I did rename the class "Eclectic". It you read all the abilities they can choose they mention "Eclectic levels". I am very well aware that the name bard implies some sort of performance which is why I did decide to rename the class. I suppose that calling it a bard variant might not have been the most accurate term, but I just wanted to give people a sense of where I was starting with this idea. Anyway, sorry if that comes off sounding a little rude, I mean nothing by it. Also, anyone else have any thoughts, comments, etc.?
Cade_Shadowfox 01-29-07, 02:39 PM	Oh! ^^" Sorry...
kouryuu_the_leviathan 02-02-07, 10:43 PM	Hey, don't worry about, I'm just glad we could get past the misunderstanding. Anyway, thought I'd give this one last shot before I let it die. So, does anyone have anything to say on about what I propose here?