Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 copycatzero Nov 24, 2008 20:04:05	I've been thinking about homebrewing a beastmaster-ranger multiclass feat (working title, Call of the Wild), since Martial Power doesn't include one (for good reason, perhaps), but I can't quite figure out how it would work... Here's the problem I'm currently grappling with: BM rangers have to give up both fighting styles and Prime Shot in order to get the feature. To make the equivalent of Archery Fighting Style and Prime Shot while multiclassing, you have to spend 6 feats: Warrior of the Wild (for the multiclass itself more than the Hunter's Quarry ability); Defensive Mobility; Novice Power, Acolyte Power, and Adept Power (to qualify for paragon multiclassing); and Courageous Shooter. To make the equivalent with Two-Blade Fighting Style, 6 feats like above, but with Two-Blade Warrior and Toughness instead. In both cases, you have to give up access to a paragon path, because Courageous Shooter requires you to paragon multiclass into ranger. Since you only get 7 feats by level 11 (unless you're human, of course), you're also using up almost every feat you get just to get what a ranger gives up by choosing Beast Mastery. (Slight consolation: You're gaining the equivalent of the Skill Training feat when you do that, giving you two feats for the price of one. The multiclass feats, when you think about it, are superior to Skill Training in almost every way...) So, obviously, "you pick the Call of the Wild feat at 1st level -- congrats, you have a beast companion!" isn't going to work. Even putting aside the "cost" of getting fighting styles and Prime Shot for a ranger, just the fact that, with a feat, you're gaining an ability they have to give up two abilities to get seems a little unbalanced. That's not to say, of course, that if the feat existed at level 1, everyone would choose it rather than becoming a ranger. Being a ranger gives you access to the powers that support being BM. However, I find it hard to imagine that people would refuse such a feat, regardless of their class. That leaves one of two fates for Call of the Wild, it seems: 1. Make it a 1st-level feat that gives Beast Mastery, but hit its version of BM with the nerf bat until it's balanced with the other 1st-level multiclass feats; or 2. Make it a paragon-tier multiclass feat, like Courageous Shooter. Thoughts?
#2 copycatzero Nov 25, 2008 22:02:42	Part of the reason I bring it up is because of an earlier thread of mine. I just went back and re-read some of that discussion, and realized I had ended it with saying that I got my co-DM to begin thinking about flavorful, nonmechanical perks for each of the characters involved. I completely forgot I said that. Shows how much he's done for it since then. So, thanks to the Schneizel-effort my co-DM is putting into his own idea, it's once again down to me to make sure that this particular move of his doesn't get embarrassingly swept under the carpet (and so that I don't have to go into the campaign history and remove all references to the Yggdrasil seeds). I've so-far decided that the easiest, least game-breaking solution (short of thinking up the promised-but-not-delivered nonmechanical bonuses) would be to give them each a multiclass feat for free. This would give them a power, a feat, and a skill (which is what we were going to give them with the seed benefit -- although, admittedly, the feat in this case doesn't "do" anything). My warlock would get one of the rogue ones (since his seed powers were stealth/rogue based), my co-DM's artificer would get the wizard one (since it's thematically appropriate), the swordmage would get one of the fighter ones (since his seed powers don't really work for ANY of them, and it matches his role), and the cleric... ...the cleric is the reason I'm trying to get a multiclass version of Beast Mastery. Her special thing was supposed to have been her henchgirl turning into a white lion to defend her in combat (since, in 3E, she was always having to make the choice between hitting poorly and casting a spell). So, I wanted to give her an animal companion (okay, well, it's still her henchgirl transforming...) to keep the flavor of that benefit. Now, there are inevitable issues even if I do hammer out a multiclass feat, but, first things first, I suppose.