Class Review Please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Class Review Please [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
DeLoungeville
09-01-04, 04:34 PM In my home campain there exists an acadamy that was created by a bunch of adventurers (Read as old PCs from our varied groups). The Academy was created to train "Special Troops" for various countries. When we were setting this up we decided that we wanted to train people to be sort of jacks of all trades like a bard but without the inspire courage etc. . I realize that this idea is neither original nor probably very powerful but it fits well in or little world. I finally have gotten around to creating a class to represent the training recieved at the academy and was wondering what you all thought of it. Any comments or suggestions woudl be greatly appreciated.

Academy Student
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills
The Academy Students class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device(Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha),Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (8 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Level BAB Fort Ref Wil Special
1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Weapons Training, Hand to Hand
2 +1 +0 +3 +3
3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Specialty
4 +3 +1 +4 +4
5 +3 +1 +4 +4 AIT

Spell per Day
0 1st 2nd 3rd
2 1 — —
3 1 — —
3 1 0 —
3 1 1 —
3 1 1 0

Table: Academy Student Spells Known
Level Spells Known
0 1st 2nd 3rd
1 3 2 — —
2 4 3 — —
3 4 3 21 —
4 4 4 3 —
5 4 4 3 21
1 Provided the Academy Student has a high enough Inteligence score to have a bonus spell of this level.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Academy Student.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An Academy Student is proficient with all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields).

Spells: An Academy Student casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the Academy Student spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a Academy Student must have a Inteligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Academy Student’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Academy Student’s Inteligence modifier.
Like other spellcasters, an Academy Student can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Academy Student. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Inteligence score. When Table: Academy Student indicates that the Academy Student gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Inteligence score for that spell level.
The Academy Student’s selection of spells is extremely limited. An Academy Student begins play knowing two 0-level and one 1st-level spell of your choice. At most new Academy Student levels, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Academy Student Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a Academy Student knows is not affected by his Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Academy Student Spells Known are fixed.)
As noted above, a Academy Student need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.

Weapons Training: All students at the academy learn how to use advanced weaponry. Choose two martial weapons one ranged and one melee. You gain the appropriate Martial Weapon Proficiency for those weapons.

Hand To Hand: Having woken up stripped of all possession one to many times the instructors at the academy decided that all students should be taught the basics of unarmed combat in case they are ever weaponless. You gain the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat

Specialty: You finally get to do a little customization of your training. At this point of your education you are allowed to begin your focus. Pick any one feat you qualify for and gain it as a bonus feat.

AIT: All students at the Academy receive advanced individual training before graduation. Upon reaching 5th level a student may choose any one of the following abilities:

Arcane Aptitude: Gifted with a talent for the arcane arts you spend many of your final days at the academy cloistered with the mages learning every trick you can. You gain the ability to cast one extra 1st level spell per day. This extra spell is applied to your Academy Student spells per day only.

Blessed by the Gods: Your endless hours of devout prayer and many good deeds have been rewarded by the Gods. You gain a +1 bonus to Caster Level on all cure spells you cast. This bonus only applies only to Cure spells cast using the Academy Student spells per day (i.e. a Student/Cleric would not apply this bonus to a cure light wounds cast from his cleric daily spell allotment)

Combat Tactics: Everyone can use one more dirty little trick in a fight. You may choose one feat from the fighter bonus feat list that you currently meet the requirements for. You Gain that feat as a bonus feat.

Unseen: Hours of practice have honed your skills to the point you make no more sound than the ghost king who lives at the Academy and you can be harder to see than your instructors’ smiles. You gain the Stealthy feat as a bonus feat.

Silver Tongued: You have become so accomplished at persuasion you could sell a Troll a barrel of alchemist fire and convince a Dragon that you were “Just looking at that diamond not stealing it!” You gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks.

Way of the Fist: While you couldn’t bring yourself to commit to their way of life the local monks none the less took a great liking to you and imparted as much knowledge to you as possible. Add a +2 bonus to damage on all unarmed attacks

Academy Student Spell List
Academy Students choose their spells from the following list:
0 Level: Detect Magic, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation,
1st Level: Alarm, Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Disguise Self, Identify, Magic Missle, Endure Elements
2nd Level: Alter Self, Bear’s Endurance, Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace, Cure Moderate Wounds, Fox’s Cunning, Tongues, Owls Wisdom
3rd Level: Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Fly, Haste, Invisibility, Lightning Bolt, Major Image

If you have actually read and made sense of all of this I am both impressed and greatly thankful :)
amethal
09-03-04, 10:07 PM This is an interesting idea.

If it was me, I'd make the following changes :-

As it is an academy, I'd make intelligence the basis for spellcasting rather than charisma. Seems to me these spells are something that is learned rather than an innate power.

I'd reduce the skill points from 8 to 6 so it compares with the other jack of all trades, the bard (especially since this class has d8 instead of d6 hit dice).

I'd cut down the list of available skills, but I'd include an "open" slot allowing the character to choose any skill he liked and have it as a class skill.

I'd take out the flashy fireball spells and replace them with spells better suited to infiltration and stealth. Also, with a limited spell selection, I suggest you include as many flexible spells as possible. However, it might be that one of your key initial ideas was to have someone other than a wizard / sorcerer with fireballs.

Rather than having a +2 to unarmed damage, I suggest you just scale up the unarmed damage like happens to the monk (d6 becomes d8 etc.)
Rurik "The Silent"
09-03-04, 11:14 PM i like the sound of it. I read through all the abilities but i generally over looked the spell casting. I quickly glanced at the numbers...they seem ok. But i didnt look at the spell list. The only change i woudl make woudl be to move one or 2 of the weapon profiencie to either 2nd or thrid level to even out the levels. Or just add in a bonus feat at 3rd. Ide do the latter, becasue when i read your class its seemed great, if not a little underpowered. Ide add a bonus feat or something new at third level. im sure you can think up some other cool flavor thing :)
DeLoungeville
09-10-04, 09:07 AM Thanks For the input guys. I think i will definitely change the stat for spellcasting to Int. I didn't think that one through very well. Cutting down the skill points probably makes sense but the massive number of points is one of hte key things i wanted. I will probably take the suggstion of cutting out some skills and leaving one or two "open" class skills. The fireball and LB are probably going to stay. I admit that looking at the other spells they seem kinda out of place but knowing the characters that are the instructors these would be a must have from thier point of view (one of the instructor's most memorable moments was the day he cas LB on a blue dragon on the same init that it breathed on him) Thanks again for the input.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DeLoungeville 09-01-04, 04:34 PM	In my home campain there exists an acadamy that was created by a bunch of adventurers (Read as old PCs from our varied groups). The Academy was created to train "Special Troops" for various countries. When we were setting this up we decided that we wanted to train people to be sort of jacks of all trades like a bard but without the inspire courage etc. . I realize that this idea is neither original nor probably very powerful but it fits well in or little world. I finally have gotten around to creating a class to represent the training recieved at the academy and was wondering what you all thought of it. Any comments or suggestions woudl be greatly appreciated. Academy Student Alignment: Any Hit Die: d8. Class Skills The Academy Students class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device(Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha),Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex). Skill Points at 1st Level: (8 + Int modifier) x4. Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int modifier. Level BAB Fort Ref Wil Special 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Weapons Training, Hand to Hand 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Specialty 4 +3 +1 +4 +4 5 +3 +1 +4 +4 AIT Spell per Day 0 1st 2nd 3rd 2 1 — — 3 1 — — 3 1 0 — 3 1 1 — 3 1 1 0 Table: Academy Student Spells Known Level Spells Known 0 1st 2nd 3rd 1 3 2 — — 2 4 3 — — 3 4 3 21 — 4 4 4 3 — 5 4 4 3 21 1 Provided the Academy Student has a high enough Inteligence score to have a bonus spell of this level. Class Features All of the following are class features of the Academy Student. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An Academy Student is proficient with all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields). Spells: An Academy Student casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the Academy Student spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a Academy Student must have a Inteligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Academy Student’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Academy Student’s Inteligence modifier. Like other spellcasters, an Academy Student can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Academy Student. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Inteligence score. When Table: Academy Student indicates that the Academy Student gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Inteligence score for that spell level. The Academy Student’s selection of spells is extremely limited. An Academy Student begins play knowing two 0-level and one 1st-level spell of your choice. At most new Academy Student levels, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Academy Student Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a Academy Student knows is not affected by his Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Academy Student Spells Known are fixed.) As noted above, a Academy Student need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level. Weapons Training: All students at the academy learn how to use advanced weaponry. Choose two martial weapons one ranged and one melee. You gain the appropriate Martial Weapon Proficiency for those weapons. Hand To Hand: Having woken up stripped of all possession one to many times the instructors at the academy decided that all students should be taught the basics of unarmed combat in case they are ever weaponless. You gain the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat Specialty: You finally get to do a little customization of your training. At this point of your education you are allowed to begin your focus. Pick any one feat you qualify for and gain it as a bonus feat. AIT: All students at the Academy receive advanced individual training before graduation. Upon reaching 5th level a student may choose any one of the following abilities: Arcane Aptitude: Gifted with a talent for the arcane arts you spend many of your final days at the academy cloistered with the mages learning every trick you can. You gain the ability to cast one extra 1st level spell per day. This extra spell is applied to your Academy Student spells per day only. Blessed by the Gods: Your endless hours of devout prayer and many good deeds have been rewarded by the Gods. You gain a +1 bonus to Caster Level on all cure spells you cast. This bonus only applies only to Cure spells cast using the Academy Student spells per day (i.e. a Student/Cleric would not apply this bonus to a cure light wounds cast from his cleric daily spell allotment) Combat Tactics: Everyone can use one more dirty little trick in a fight. You may choose one feat from the fighter bonus feat list that you currently meet the requirements for. You Gain that feat as a bonus feat. Unseen: Hours of practice have honed your skills to the point you make no more sound than the ghost king who lives at the Academy and you can be harder to see than your instructors’ smiles. You gain the Stealthy feat as a bonus feat. Silver Tongued: You have become so accomplished at persuasion you could sell a Troll a barrel of alchemist fire and convince a Dragon that you were “Just looking at that diamond not stealing it!” You gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. Way of the Fist: While you couldn’t bring yourself to commit to their way of life the local monks none the less took a great liking to you and imparted as much knowledge to you as possible. Add a +2 bonus to damage on all unarmed attacks Academy Student Spell List Academy Students choose their spells from the following list: 0 Level: Detect Magic, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation, 1st Level: Alarm, Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Disguise Self, Identify, Magic Missle, Endure Elements 2nd Level: Alter Self, Bear’s Endurance, Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace, Cure Moderate Wounds, Fox’s Cunning, Tongues, Owls Wisdom 3rd Level: Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Fireball, Fly, Haste, Invisibility, Lightning Bolt, Major Image If you have actually read and made sense of all of this I am both impressed and greatly thankful :)
amethal 09-03-04, 10:07 PM	This is an interesting idea. If it was me, I'd make the following changes :- As it is an academy, I'd make intelligence the basis for spellcasting rather than charisma. Seems to me these spells are something that is learned rather than an innate power. I'd reduce the skill points from 8 to 6 so it compares with the other jack of all trades, the bard (especially since this class has d8 instead of d6 hit dice). I'd cut down the list of available skills, but I'd include an "open" slot allowing the character to choose any skill he liked and have it as a class skill. I'd take out the flashy fireball spells and replace them with spells better suited to infiltration and stealth. Also, with a limited spell selection, I suggest you include as many flexible spells as possible. However, it might be that one of your key initial ideas was to have someone other than a wizard / sorcerer with fireballs. Rather than having a +2 to unarmed damage, I suggest you just scale up the unarmed damage like happens to the monk (d6 becomes d8 etc.)
Rurik "The Silent" 09-03-04, 11:14 PM	i like the sound of it. I read through all the abilities but i generally over looked the spell casting. I quickly glanced at the numbers...they seem ok. But i didnt look at the spell list. The only change i woudl make woudl be to move one or 2 of the weapon profiencie to either 2nd or thrid level to even out the levels. Or just add in a bonus feat at 3rd. Ide do the latter, becasue when i read your class its seemed great, if not a little underpowered. Ide add a bonus feat or something new at third level. im sure you can think up some other cool flavor thing :)
DeLoungeville 09-10-04, 09:07 AM	Thanks For the input guys. I think i will definitely change the stat for spellcasting to Int. I didn't think that one through very well. Cutting down the skill points probably makes sense but the massive number of points is one of hte key things i wanted. I will probably take the suggstion of cutting out some skills and leaving one or two "open" class skills. The fireball and LB are probably going to stay. I admit that looking at the other spells they seem kinda out of place but knowing the characters that are the instructors these would be a must have from thier point of view (one of the instructor's most memorable moments was the day he cas LB on a blue dragon on the same init that it breathed on him) Thanks again for the input.