Ateam Pu K I Spired Drawer Pulls

Cont.

As it stands, this class is more battle-capable and battle-centric than the Fighter, and we have yet to consider the subclasses.

Augmented Targeting System: The Champion's 3rd level Improved Critical, eh? At this late a level, this is fine balance-wise, but it serves to further entrench the notion that this class is a more versatile Fighter in all but name.

H.A.R.M.: O_o A direct increase to offensive power in the form of an at-will burst attack? Two levels prior to Extra Attack and a subclass feature at 11th level? How does one justify this on a class with the same martial base as the Ranger?

It is as if we took an improved version of the Fighter's 9th level Indomitable, renamed it Mechanistic Opportunity and then moved it down to 1st level, and then we took an improved version of the Hunter Ranger's 11th level Multi-attack and moved it down to 9th.

The ameliorating effect is akin to the Barbarian's Reckless Attack, but it is more than compensated for by this class' AC potential and Mechanistic Opportunity. In contrast, the Barbarian's comparatively lower average AC and melee-centrism virtually guarantees being hit, which is only ameliorated by the Barbarian's Rage.

Yet H.A.R.M.: includes a ranged option which nigh completely renders impotent the penalty against attack rolls and saving throws. Low is the risk of becoming overwhelmed by attacks if one is firing arrows from a hundred feet away.

Further still, the ranged option is a more powerful version of the Hunter Ranger's Volley.

The melee option, too, is more potent and flexible than the Hunter Ranger's Whirlwind Attack. With the free movement gained from the Action used to make the attack, you're left with all of your normal movement to move out of range of retaliation by melee opponents, thus dramatically reducing the risks of granting advantage to enemy attacks. A simple pick up of the Mobile Feat or a two level dip in Rogue would completely eliminate the risk of opportunity attacks.

Just how is such a feature warranted?

Mechanical Twitch: A variant of the Great Weapon Master feat's first bullet point. It is odd how much of a better fighter a Mechanist is than a Fighter.

Mechanical Perfection: The Monk's 15th level Timeless Body. Seemingly innocuous, if not for the fact that we also gain two Minor Modifications. At this point, we'd have a total of five modifications, from a list of thirteen, and some mods can be chosen twice. However, these choices are modular - we can choose new ones every day.

If we wanted to swap out all 5, we have to make a Tinkerer (Int) check against a DC 20. At this point, we'd necessarily have a +11 bonus. Yet rare is the circumstance in which all 5 would need swapping at once. Some mods, like the stacking AC bonus, would be kept indefinitely. So the check is ultimately largely superfluous.

Static Overload: In terms of Damage, AoE, and frequency, it is comparable to the 9th level spell Meteor Swarm. However, the range is much worse than Meteor Storm and there is no self-damage. Yet the damage types are much less commonly resisted. All considered, it works.

Augmentation Archetypes

Juggernaut (bitch)

Quadribrachial: Wait, what!? The Monk's Flurry of Blows on an at-will basis? And then permanent advantage on grapple checks, which synergies immensely with Grasping Servos? Then further still, the Monk's ki-empowered strikes on a non-subclass level!?

I... must seriously question the math you conducted. Sure, the damage die does not scale like the Monk's, but the Monk has a 1d8 hit die, its weapon damage die size is heavily restricted, the monk has to spend ki points to Flurry of Blows, and finally the Monk does not gain Extra Attack at 11th level.

This one feature is several features combined, in addition to being an at-will version of a resource-gated feature.

Deflective Defense: An improved version of the Defensive Duelist feat!? It's like if we mashed the Shield spell with Defensive Duelist. It has a half int-mod per short rest restriction, which effectively makes it like a comparatively leveled Wizard spending all of its 1st and 2nd level slots on casting shield. As it stands it's much too strong. Recommendation: Once per short rest, or AC bonus only applies for the one attack, not until the start of your next turn.

Spark Bot: Free action is not a meaningful mechanical term in 5e. Say instead, "No action required by you."

Cost and time is dictated by DM? So one DM could say it costs 5 gold and 1 hour, and another DM could say 1000 gold and a week? that kind of vague disparity is OK?

A Part of the Machine: I do not understand how the two statements here interact with each other. A Spark Bot does not take damage if attached to its creator, yet it has half cover while attached to its creator and will only take damage if specifically targeted?

I do not understand how the Spark Bot can fulfill some of the functions as described. For example, Guarding. Guarding would perhaps entail making an opportunity attack against anyone trying to walk past. But it doesn't actually have a defined melee attack.

ANd how do Limited Use interact with "continues to follow orders until its task is complete"? Say you order it to Spark anyone that attacks X party member. Does Sparking once count as one use of its Limited Use, or is a Limited Use only used up when it completes its task?

Lastly, how do you justify granting this feature alongside Extra Attack? At 11th level, A Juggernaut can attack 5 times every round forever - how do you justify stacking even more damage on top of these attacks through the Spark Bot, even if it's just 5 times every short rest?

Charged Up: So...

On a class that can attack 5 times every round forever by 11th level...

You want to stack even more damage every round forever? Or alternatively potentially stun a target every round forever? First it was Flurry of Blows, now it's an unlimited version of Stunning Strike?

Recommendations for the Juggernaut and the Mechanist in general: Reduce unarmed strike to 1 per bonus action. Delete 11th level Extra Attack. Come up with something entirely different for 15th level - do not grant an at-will resource-free Stunning Strike.

Deadeye

Mechanical Advantage: On a class with two Extra Attacks and the Hunter Ranger's Multiattacks!!!??? What the heck is going on here? This is adding 2.5 damage to every attack this subclass makes forever. Contrast this with the Hunter Ranger who through Colossus Slayer will only ever add 4.5 damage at-will once per round forever. And don't you bring up Hunter's Mark - that consumes a resource, unlike the first bullet of Mechanical Advantage.

Your arms augmented speed allow you to make one additional ranged attack as a bonus action when you take the attack action on your turn.

...

This is obscene. Not only are we adding a damage die to every attack forever, but we are also granting a ranged, unrestricted version of the Martial Arts bonus action attack. A Longbow wielding Deadeye is dealing 2 x (1d8 + 1d4 + Dex mod) every round at 3rd level. On top of that, Deadeye will have Archery Fighting Style, too.

At 5th level, this will increase to 3 x (1d8 + 1d4 + Dex mod). A 5th level Deadeye Mechanist is dealing more damage every round forever than an 11th level Archer Fighter. An 11th level Deadeye Mechanist is dealing more damage every round forever than a 20th level Archer Fighter, even taking into account the Battlemaster's maneuver dice.

... Just what kind of math did you do?

Then, adding insult to injury, we gain permanent advantage on all investigation and perception checks that rely on sight. Perma-advantage on Perception, the most useful and frequently used skill in the game.

... and Ki-empowered Strikes for all ranged attacks on a non-subclass level...

Recommendations: Delete the first two bullets and come up with something else. It is difficult to suggest something, due to how much combat prowess is already baked into this class, what with Extra Attacks and Multiattack.

For the last bullet, consider swapping with Eagle Sight, a first level feature I made for my first homebrew class, "The Bowmaster"

Defense Drones: A variant Deflective Defense. Rather uninspired; they're effectively the same thing. The core difference would be that while Deflective Defense applies to anyone that attacks you, Defense Drones can prevent things like crits coming from a single target. Same problem as Deflective Defense, same recommendation.

Clockwork Spotter: Similar problems as Spark Bot.

Launch: So this is just a way to get your spotter to move 120 ft. in one turn?

Spot: So a variant Spark of Opportunity? Kind of depressing to see what amounts to be the same features over and over again.

Charged Ammunition: Heavens to Betsy. Not only are we adding an additional 1d4 damage, but we're double modding. We're double modding damage on a class that has 2 Extra Attacks and a bonus action ranged weapon attack. At 15th level, we're making 4 attacks every round. We get +7.5 damage for each of those attacks. That's 30 additional damage every round forever.

Further still, in lieu of doing extra damage, you can instead at-will threaten to blind and push the target. And what does Blind do? Force disadvantage on the target's attack rolls, and grant advantage to all attacks against the target.

So. On a subclass that makes 4 attacks per round by 11th level and stacks damage dice and damage mods that makes the 20th level Foe Slayer Ranger cry, on a class and subclass that stacks bonuses to hit like no other, we are going to grant an at-will means to

to be cont.

Ateam Pu K I Spired Drawer Pulls

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/4sfxe0/class5ethe_mechanist_a_steampunk_inspired_classv3/

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