Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Calantyr Jan 18, 2015 2:56:44	Hi,   First post blah, blah, blah.   It's been about 10 years since I last played D&D but I may soon be running a game. Always the DM, never the player. Anyway, I felt the Eldritch Knight archetype wasbrilliant but not really what some of my players wanted in a fighter/wizard hybrid. I decided to make my own but I would like the opinions of others on whether it is unbalanced or not. Too powerful? Not powerful enough? Good mix of combat and out-of-combat ability?   Constructive comments MORE than welcome.   As for the name? I felt Spellblade, Battlemage, and similar, were overdone. But I'm deffinitely not wedded to 'Archblade' as a replacement. I kinda like it though.   https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxu2tfDDnULHbjJJSzd2T0hwMHc&authuser=0   Cheers.
#2 cowleymen Jan 18, 2015 21:32:40	looks ok with a first glance. I will roll a charcter up with it and see if any problems become more apparnent. Take notes from Paladin class on how to adjust when you start playing with it.
#3 mellored Jan 20, 2015 10:07:44	Nice formatting.   I would drop both arcane alacrity and bonded finess.  Don't forget to count spells as a feature.
#4 rampant Jan 20, 2015 22:46:47	I like the idea but you have some serious issues to address.   1.) The powers based on having spell slots unused need to be reconsidered. The initiative bonus doesn't even do anything at the level you get it because you don't have 2nd levels spell slots. I think in that case it would be alright ot make the bonus equal to the level of the highest unused spell. The ac bonus is probably ok, for now. The attack bonus is just ouright a bad idea. I mean 4 attacks or spell and an attack with more potential accuracy than a freaking fighter? No, just no. Damage maybe but not attack bonus. Furthermore I have to advise against basing so much of a casting class, on not actually casting spells, especially the extra attacks. You've created a situation where the class is very impressive at the start of the adventuring day, but burns out very quickly compared to other classes unless it hoards its spells. Yes you should husband resources carefully, but this guy is really taking it in the nards here.    2.) Weapon bond, It's a nice trick, but you make it the cornerstone of so many features that It feels like you're trapping them, especially the extra attack features because it means they cant use the extra attacks to shove or grab or whatnot like the other classes do. I could see getitng a bonus action attack out of it like the monk's martial arts ability, but the other extra attack(s) (should the class have any when revised), and the initial attack, need to be based on the normal action system. (note this doesn't apply to battlemagic) Additionally I'd advise opening the class up to a wider array of weapons, full martial melee, and maybe ranged, not sure about ranged.   3.) Arcane denial doens't really match up to it's fluff well. What if you simply put that any time you make a save vs. an effect that would otherwise have a partial or reduced effect on somoene who makes their save you can ignore it completely. Allowing the use of int mod for saves would be a seperate ability. Really you've got this dexterity theme running through the class that I'd advise you drop or move to a sub-class. It'd be good for a blade-dancer type, not so much for a rune-knight. (really think about modding the sub-class options while you're at it, the warrior mage has enough sub-archetypes that martial focused and magic focused sub-classes feel like you're missing the point of a gish class, maybe settign it up soyou get the first ability at level 1 and that determiens your approach to armor, blade dancers get the ward, rune-knights or spell-gaurds get heavy armor and shields, mage hunters get medium armor and a little something to make up the difference, think about it).   4.) This class suffers for using the wizard list, the wizard no longer gets almost all the spells just because he's a wizard, you need to look thorugh the book and pick out a custom spell list that fits the class, avoid spells that are too iconically divine like bless, but otherwise feel free to lift or re-skin anything that looks like it would fit, just try to keep the number of spells on the list manageable I'd suggest a number of spells on the class list about on par with the ranger or pally. Another thign is that cantrips aside this class is gonna suck at the blasty spells because they scale with spell slot used, not caster level. One option is to embrace this, orient the spell list towards support and quick cast spells that don't require a lot of up-casting, or don't suffer much from a lack of upcasting. Alternatively you can look to spells like lightning arrow and swift quiver and make the spells intertwine with the martial aspects of the class (although you'll probably end up making custom spells if you use that approach because there aren't as many spells like SQ and LA as I'd like). FInally You could simply pick the spells you like and provide alternative means of cashing them into damage/offensive effects similar to a paladin (although maybe you could offer up some stuff that instead of or in addition to just upfront damage the spells channeled into the attack allow you to inflict necrotic weeping wounds, slowing cold, dispell magic they've got going on them, deafen, etc.).   5.) 4 attacks is too many for a gish class.
(Reply to #4) Shimnlornien_Elru	rampant wrote: