| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| martynq |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 20:17:20
Is anybody using any of the new base classes (Hexblade, etc.) from the four "Complete" sourcebooks in their FR campaign?
Any feelings about how well they fit?
Cheers,
Martyn |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 17:46:37
quote:
Originally posted by Xysma
Jeremy Jarvis, who has quickly become one of my all time favorite D&D artists
Thank you Xysma. I'll have to see if he has a web site.
SB |
| Xysma |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 17:43:28
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Who is the artist for the piece you refer to?
Jeremy Jarvis, who has quickly become one of my all time favorite D&D artists |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 17:23:03
quote:
Originally posted by Xysma
quote:
Originally posted by Rudar Dimble
Yep, Scout is one of my favorites aswell.
It really stands out, the artwork doesn't hurt either. That's one of my favorite elf pics ever.
Who is the artist for the piece you refer to? |
| Xysma |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 17:15:09
quote:
Originally posted by Rudar Dimble
Yep, Scout is one of my favorites aswell.
It really stands out, the artwork doesn't hurt either. That's one of my favorite elf pics ever. |
| Rudar Dimble |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 16:46:31
quote:
Originally posted by Xysma
One of the guys in my group has played a Hexblade, a Warlock, and a ninja, all of them fit well into the Realms. My rogue/battle sorcerer/arcane trickster has a favored soul cohort, and I really like the class. As a cohort, he's leveling up slowly, but he is very effective even though he is several levels lower thant the rest of the group. The Scout is probably my favorite of the new classes, it fits well into any area of Faerun, and is an extremely well crafted class.
Yep, Scout is one of my favorites aswell. |
| Xysma |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 16:44:12
One of the guys in my group has played a Hexblade, a Warlock, and a ninja, all of them fit well into the Realms. My rogue/battle sorcerer/arcane trickster has a favored soul cohort, and I really like the class. As a cohort, he's leveling up slowly, but he is very effective even though he is several levels lower thant the rest of the group. The Scout is probably my favorite of the new classes, it fits well into any area of Faerun, and is an extremely well crafted class. |
| Rudar Dimble |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 08:31:01
quote:
Originally posted by Tanyn Midrain
I played a Swashbuckler from lvl 5-15 and found him quite effective, and very funny to play. It was very funny to play a duelist-type, vaulting over tables and such in barfights.
I've heard it's a really cool class to play. Better than the duelist PrC, right?
A player in my group is playing a Hexblade atm and he's quite effective. I'm really looking forward to play a Warlock soon  |
| SirUrza |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 07:33:00
New classes? I thought they were all classes from other Wizards of the Coast D20 products or classes clearly stolen from D20 publishers. 
No, not using any of them. |
| SiriusBlack |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 05:24:29
quote:
Originally posted by Tanyn Midrain
I played a Swashbuckler from lvl 5-15 and found him quite effective, and very funny to play. It was very funny to play a duelist-type, vaulting over tables and such in barfights.
The Dread Pirate Roberts lives on.  |
| Tanyn Midrain |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 05:17:07
I played a Swashbuckler from lvl 5-15 and found him quite effective, and very funny to play. It was very funny to play a duelist-type, vaulting over tables and such in barfights. |
| SomeDude |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 04:16:44
I forgot to mention before, but doesn't Hexblade just screem "Paladin" of Beshaba? |
| SomeDude |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 04:12:36
I would agree with what seems to be the general idea behind most of the replys here: The new base classes fit in some areas but not in others. This shouldn't be too big of a supprise, however, as some of the core classes don't always fit in a particular area of Faerun (Ever met a Red Tiger tribe Wizard?). So it's not so much a question of if they fit in but where they fit in. Sometimes it's not just a regional question. It's hard to fit a warlock into almost any region without explaining where their power comes from. Tieflings and Aasamars seem like exelent choises as mentioned before doe to their heritage. Mostly I think the new base classes were a way to give your character a more PrC feel without actually having a PrC (like the 2ed kits, so I'm told). |
| Jindael |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 01:07:43
quote:
Originally posted by DDH_101
Jindael, I believe you are talking about Halruaa.
I agree with you on that, because I know a person at my school who played a Spellthief character in a Halruaa campaign and he's quite effective.
Thanks it. I loved those books, and new it began with an H, but couldn't remember the name for the life of me. Thanks.
I briefly considered playing a Spelltheif, but the game I play in (which, sadly, isn't realms) has very few spell casters to nip spells from. :( |
| DDH_101 |
Posted - 02 May 2005 : 00:59:06
quote:
Originally posted by Jindael
The SpellTheif. I've never used one before and I really have no plans to, really. I can't see why they wouldn't fit in though, especially from highly magical communities (Like that place that Elaine Cunningham wrote about, the name escapes me) where thieves have to be more than just clever and quick to survive.
Jindael, I believe you are talking about Halruaa.
I agree with you on that, because I know a person at my school who played a Spellthief character in a Halruaa campaign and he's quite effective. |
| Jindael |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 23:54:34
Now, to answer your question
The swashbuckler is a natural for fighters on boats and in large cities. They fit right into the realms with no problems what so ever.
The Samurai, to me, just doesn't fit in (western) Faerun. I once had a player who wanted to just use a Katana (Game started in Baldur's Gate.). I asked him how many Spanish Conquistadors had Katana's when they went to South America. He decided to go with Bastard Sword instead. But, that might just be me. Maybe a Samurai that was in the Great Dale..but I don't play that far east, so it hasn't really come up for me.
The Hexblade: I've always wanted a class that is a really good fighter with just a dash of magical help instead of the standard feat progression. However, I just wish it wasn't the "Evil" hexblade. However, it is not at all difficult to see Zentarim as making liberal use of the class. I haven't yet, but I've been toying with the idea, since my game is taking place north of the Lake of Steam, and the Zhents are strong in the area.
The Spirit Shaman mixes very well with standard druids, and should slip into the Realms very nicely. It's a Shaman, after all, and it fills that niche in barbarian cultures very well.
Despite the Shugenja's eastern flavor, it can easily replace clerics who worship the elemental lords or other semi-elemental gods. The mechanics add to the flavor quite a bit.
The Favored Soul seems to indicate a character that has been hand picked by a god, rather than someone who followed the path out of choice. This probably works very well for people (or their children) who were exposed to certain divine events (Myrkul's essence over Waterdeep, for example) of just someone who's been tapped for (Insert Campaign Plot Here). I haven't used one yet, but I don't see a reason why they wouldn't fill a niche in the realms at all.
The Wu Jen works very well if you remove a lot of the eastern flavor text, and make them the wizard equivalent in barbarian tribes. I've used this once, and while the players had no real clue that their opponent was a Wu Jen, not a standard Wizard, it at least fit the continuity in my head better than having an actual book studying wizard hanging out with barbarians.
The Warmage is an excellent addition to the Realms. You can easily see any major city having a warmage college (sponsored by the ruling government, more than likely). The War Wizards certainly have more than a few Warmages in their ranks. (Although Warmages do not make good investigators at all, leaving most of the warmages in barracks alongside soldiers.)
The Warlock is just nifty, so, yes, I've used them in the realms, and I like them a lot. I tend to have them be teiflings or people with exotic bloodlines. (I use the LA0 Teifling and Aasimar from the Players Guide To Faerun). They just have so much more of that innately magical feel than the sorcerer to me. Like the Favored Soul, I use the Warlock also as people who's parents were somehow involved in large magical events. A lot of these people are just hitting puberty were conceived during the time of troubles, adding to the number of Warlocks in the realm.
The SpellTheif. I've never used one before and I really have no plans to, really. I can't see why they wouldn't fit in though, especially from highly magical communities (Like that place that Elaine Cunningham wrote about, the name escapes me) where thieves have to be more than just clever and quick to survive.
The Scout fits in perfectly. There shouldn't be a single problem with having wilderness rogues all over Faerun, from actually scouts to organized bandits. Mercenaries who don't have at least some scouts (who isn't as divinely tied to nature as a ranger) are seriously missing out
Last, the Ninja. Despite the eastern flavor, Ninja work astoundingly well anywhere. I have a group of six Ninja that operate out of Silverymoon and take their orders directly from Alustriel herself, and no one else. While Alustriel regrets having to have this force, she realizes the necessity of having a surgical strike team to maintain peace in the world around her. The group of ninja (2 elves, 1 halfling and 3 humans who are all cousins) briefly flirted with using the name "The ShadowTears" but eventually decided that a name would just call attention to them; something they don't want to do.
I used the ShadowTears when the players planned on ambushing a caravan that was carrying the corpse of a Zhent priest of Bane to be resurrected. The Zhent's, however, were blended in with a normal trading caravan. The players let slip that they were going after the caravan while staying in Silverymoon for the winter. However, the failed to mention to anyone as to Why, so the Shadowtears were dispatched to discover the truth, and potentially stop the party.
It was great fun seeing the players freak out when they realized they were surrounded by Ninja in the High Forest. ^_^
It probably doesn’t need to be said that the eastern flavored classes work perfectly in Kara-Tur, but since I don't have much interest in the far east of Faerun, I don't have much comment on that.
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| Jindael |
Posted - 01 May 2005 : 23:53:29
Just in case some people don't have the books, I'll write out the classes in very brief:
Complete Adventurer:
Ninja:
The CV's version of the Ninja is a acrobatic rogue with a variety of ki powers that allow stealth and some bonus to jumping, climbing, and at later levels, popping in and out of the ethereal plane.
Scout:
A wilderness rogue, not that unique, but class skill selection and abilities granted as you level are much more about, well, scouting, rather than any sort of thieving.
SpellTheif
A rather interesting idea that involved stealing spells from other spellcasters for your own use. They also get sneak attack and all the thief skills, including trapfinding. (unlike the scout.) Mostly, a rogue without evasion but potential spellcasting. Fun, but seems a little complicated to me.
Complete Arcane:
The Warlock
This will be hard for me to look at objectively, because I feel that the Warlock is what the sorcerer should have been. A warlock has no spells, per say, instead using powers called incantations that give the warlock constant powers. (Such as darkvision, the ability to see invisible creatures, or spiderwalking.) However, the CA decided to lightly tie in the Warlock to material printed in the Book of Vile Darkness, somewhat tainting the flavor. (and apparently making it a requirement that every warlock has a goatee.) Easily fixable, though.
The Warmage:
The warmage is basically a sorcerer who only has damage causing spells, but has a d6 hit die and can wear progressively heavy armors as they level up. A player in my group was playing one (until a dragon killed up last session) and while he was astoundingly effective in combat, outside of it, he was a little screwed. (much like a fighter)
The Wu Jen
There are a few class differences between the Wu Jen and the wizards, but it really is just a wizard with a shamanic/elemental flavor.
Complete Divine
Favored Soul:
This is basically the sorcerer version of the cleric, except with great saves and a few perks along the way.
The Shugenja
Another spontaneous divine caster, this time with an elemental focus. Essentially a cleric that has elemental focus rather then turning undead. Also, a really crappy BAB.
Spirit Shaman:
An alternate druid that focus a lot more on "Spirit" powers, rather than wildshaping. A very nice alternative to the standard "I turn into a bear and bite him". And odd method of gaining spells, but it boils down to the same thing.
Complete Warrior
The Hexblade:
A fighter type that gets some small spell casting abilities and some unique powers focused mainly on cursing (hexing) your opponents. They have a great ability called "Mettle" that is the same thing as Evasion, except for Will or Fort saves. However, a Hexblade must be "any nongood".
Samurai
A rather generic Samurai. Nothing special, really. Most of the abilities that are granted from leveling could easily be feats.
Swashbuckler
A finesse fighter. Some decent class abilities, but oddly has a poor reflex save and no evasion, which I would think should have been added. Insightful Strike, which adds your intelligence modifier to damage, is nonsensical, but nice.
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