'Orc Blooded' question [Archive] - Wizards Community

'Orc Blooded' question [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
blackjackg
02-19-07, 06:27 PM I'm considering a character who begins with the Orc-Blooded feat. I'm confused, however, about the favoured class. Does the feat add an additional favoured class, or replace the existing one? I've seen it printed both ways.
blackjackg
02-20-07, 08:37 PM I'm just going to bump this guy once. I must admit, I'm surprised I haven't gotten a reply... is it because no one knows the answer or because the answer is easily available someplace obvious?

In case there's any confusion, Orc-Blooded is a regional feat that can only be selected at first level. And in case there's confusion about my question, I'm confused as to whether, say, an Orc-Blooded human has "Favoured Class: Barbarian" or "Favoured Class: Barbarian and whichever class is highest-level."

If I've made some sort of horrible faux-pas, please let me know. I'd hate to repeat the error elsewhere in these boards. Thanks again.
Jay_Ibero_911
02-20-07, 10:12 PM I'm just going to bump this guy once. I must admit, I'm surprised I haven't gotten a reply... is it because no one knows the answer or because the answer is easily available someplace obvious?

In case there's any confusion, Orc-Blooded is a regional feat that can only be selected at first level. And in case there's confusion about my question, I'm confused as to whether, say, an Orc-Blooded human has "Favoured Class: Barbarian" or "Favoured Class: Barbarian and whichever class is highest-level."

If I've made some sort of horrible faux-pas, please let me know. I'd hate to repeat the error elsewhere in these boards. Thanks again.

Might get an answer faster if you mentioned where the feat can be found....
bhale187
02-20-07, 10:27 PM I am pretty sure it is out of dragon magazine, and as I recall it says "barbarian is a favored class for you" which leads to the semantics debate since it says 'a' instead of 'the'.
blackjackg
02-20-07, 11:37 PM Sorry, wasn't thinking. I'm not entirely sure where the feat came from originally, though I expect it is from Dragon #315 or 319. I found it in the list of regional feats in the updated LGCS and, lacking access to back issues of Dragon, I just googled it. I turned up a couple of different descriptions on pdf files, but this is where my confusion originates. One source says something like "Your favoured class is now Barbarian" and another was (approximately) "Barbarian is now a favoured class for you."

I rather assumed that it added an additional favoured class since I haven't encountered a feat yet that actually limits your options rather than expanding them. Furthermore, I think there's some precedent for adding new favoured classes (there's a half-elf-only feat from RoD, and the Dragonborn template from RotD), and I can't think of any such precedent for narrowing down a human's or half-elf's choices.

The main reason I posted here rather than just trusting my gut is that I was hoping there was some definitive source I could look to. Thank you for your reply, bhale. If that's the wording from the original article, it's the most authoritative source so far.
jstorrie
02-21-07, 02:40 AM It adds an additional favoured class. If you're a human or half-elf, your favoured classes become barbarian and the class in which you have the most levels. If you're a dwarf, gnome, elf, asherati, halfling, or centaur, you keep your favoured class and also have barbarian. If you're a half-orc, there's no change.
blackjackg
02-21-07, 01:49 PM Beautiful, jstorrie, thank you. Do you have a source for that?
jstorrie
02-21-07, 04:28 PM Dragon #315, page 54. "Barbarian is considered a favoured class for you."

There's nothing that says you lose your normal favoured class, and there are precedents for having more than one favoured class, viz. Diverse Background (Races of Destiny, page 152.)

If the feat were worded "Barbarian is considered your favoured class," you might have had a problem. But it's not.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
blackjackg 02-19-07, 06:27 PM	I'm considering a character who begins with the Orc-Blooded feat. I'm confused, however, about the favoured class. Does the feat add an additional favoured class, or replace the existing one? I've seen it printed both ways.
blackjackg 02-20-07, 08:37 PM	I'm just going to bump this guy once. I must admit, I'm surprised I haven't gotten a reply... is it because no one knows the answer or because the answer is easily available someplace obvious? In case there's any confusion, Orc-Blooded is a regional feat that can only be selected at first level. And in case there's confusion about my question, I'm confused as to whether, say, an Orc-Blooded human has "Favoured Class: Barbarian" or "Favoured Class: Barbarian and whichever class is highest-level." If I've made some sort of horrible faux-pas, please let me know. I'd hate to repeat the error elsewhere in these boards. Thanks again.
Jay_Ibero_911 02-20-07, 10:12 PM	I'm just going to bump this guy once. I must admit, I'm surprised I haven't gotten a reply... is it because no one knows the answer or because the answer is easily available someplace obvious? In case there's any confusion, Orc-Blooded is a regional feat that can only be selected at first level. And in case there's confusion about my question, I'm confused as to whether, say, an Orc-Blooded human has "Favoured Class: Barbarian" or "Favoured Class: Barbarian and whichever class is highest-level." If I've made some sort of horrible faux-pas, please let me know. I'd hate to repeat the error elsewhere in these boards. Thanks again. Might get an answer faster if you mentioned where the feat can be found....
bhale187 02-20-07, 10:27 PM	I am pretty sure it is out of dragon magazine, and as I recall it says "barbarian is a favored class for you" which leads to the semantics debate since it says 'a' instead of 'the'.
blackjackg 02-20-07, 11:37 PM	Sorry, wasn't thinking. I'm not entirely sure where the feat came from originally, though I expect it is from Dragon #315 or 319. I found it in the list of regional feats in the updated LGCS and, lacking access to back issues of Dragon, I just googled it. I turned up a couple of different descriptions on pdf files, but this is where my confusion originates. One source says something like "Your favoured class is now Barbarian" and another was (approximately) "Barbarian is now a favoured class for you." I rather assumed that it added an additional favoured class since I haven't encountered a feat yet that actually limits your options rather than expanding them. Furthermore, I think there's some precedent for adding new favoured classes (there's a half-elf-only feat from RoD, and the Dragonborn template from RotD), and I can't think of any such precedent for narrowing down a human's or half-elf's choices. The main reason I posted here rather than just trusting my gut is that I was hoping there was some definitive source I could look to. Thank you for your reply, bhale. If that's the wording from the original article, it's the most authoritative source so far.
jstorrie 02-21-07, 02:40 AM	It adds an additional favoured class. If you're a human or half-elf, your favoured classes become barbarian and the class in which you have the most levels. If you're a dwarf, gnome, elf, asherati, halfling, or centaur, you keep your favoured class and also have barbarian. If you're a half-orc, there's no change.
blackjackg 02-21-07, 01:49 PM	Beautiful, jstorrie, thank you. Do you have a source for that?
jstorrie 02-21-07, 04:28 PM	Dragon #315, page 54. "Barbarian is considered a favoured class for you." There's nothing that says you lose your normal favoured class, and there are precedents for having more than one favoured class, viz. Diverse Background (Races of Destiny, page 152.) If the feat were worded "Barbarian is considered your favoured class," you might have had a problem. But it's not.