I'm a relatively new GM, having been GMing for about 3-4 months, and I'm making a homebrew class unique to the country in which our alternate campaign will be set in. It's meant to be a sort-of Men-in-Black kind of thing with a religious flare, kind of like demon hunters or more generally, hunters of evil. I've tried to make it more specific to demons and monstrosities because I don't want people to feel constricted by alignment when picking this class. The campaign takes place in a setting where fiends roam the wilds and so are not all that uncommon, and also I wanted another class to implement firearms in a unique way. Mechanically they're akin to a more combat-focused Warlock, and at max level will have access to 5th level spells outside of the final feature gained at level 20. I welcome input, and this is before I've made any official spell list for the class, so suggestions for what the class could do is also more than welcome because it'll take a lot of time to compile a spell list, lol.
Sidenote, I have a player wanting to make a really weird variant of this class, that is one armed and uses muskets. I cannot fathom why you would want to make a one-armed musket wielder, but I figure if he has the Mage Hand cantrip he could make it work, and mechanically keep all the functions the same, just apply it to using a two-handed weapon instead of dual wielding, since the character can't really dual wield to begin with if he/she has one arm. I think it's kind of a stupid idea, but if a player is passionate about their character it'll be better for the game in the long run, so I'm trying to find a way to make it work.
The concept is interesting, and although I see the reasoning in making it separate, why not make this a subclass for the Warlock? You would need to exchange CHA for WIS as the spellcasting characteristic, but that could also make the character more useful in social situations (Intimidation is something I can see an Inquisitor do A LOT).
It could be a more combat-focused version of the Celestial lock, granting an expanded spell list and additional proficiencies much like a Hexblade, and I think most of the features can work within the current subclass system.
On the features themselves:
if I get it right Mark of the Condemned basically doubles the proficiency bonus to attack and adds half proficiency to damage against fiends and undeads, no limitation on how many targets as long as you have charges for it; this seems extremely powerful considering it doesn't seem to be a concentration feature, allow a save from the target or otherwise have any other limitation other than the number of uses (which is also pretty high imho); if I may suggest, I would advice to make this a festure on-self (meaning the target is the Inquisitor themselves), once per short rest feature, with duration up to one minute, that grants proficiency bonus to damage and increased critical range, and when attacking a fiend or undead grants advantage to the attack(s) and adds full proficiency to the damage inflicted.
This would make it a bit more in line with other similar features like the Hex from the Hexblade, but still keep it interesting and valid in most situations (the current wording seems a bit obscure on what the feature should do on non-fiend-or-undead other than brand their forehead).
Flick of the wrist feels extremely powerful as well, and if coupled with either the current or the above version of the Mark becomes ovewhelmingly powerful against fiends and undeads, even with the disadvantage. This is mostly due to not having any real restriction. I would probably suggest to make this use the Reaction action and become a cone-AoE effect in from of the Inquisitor, allowing Dex save against 8+Dex+proficiency for half damage, and causing normal weapon attack damage (so weapon+Dex+whatever else). This could be either once every short or long rest, I'd say.
The other features would be fine as they are, and should you decide to make this a Warlock subclass, they could be reworked as secondary features at the appropriate levels.
In general I would suggest you to review the wording here and there (I know the pain and the struggle), and to maybe clarify the level requirement for Trained Hands, Holy Symbol and Mark. I understand these would be at level 1, but it customary to include the level each feature is granted in its description. Also, in Defence of the Stalwart, you might want to make it last 5 rounds, rather than 30 seconds, as it makes it easier to track (most combats do not get longer than 10 rounds, but many can get very close or slightly above 5, hence the difference in duration expression).
Hope the above can even remotely be of help to you :)
Yeah you're right, continuity is a finicky beast to tackle, particularly since it's my first time. And I did wonder about using the Mark in addition to the Flick of the Wrist to try to bypass the numbers disadvantage imposed on players by the... well, disadvantage. I think I'll make both of them consume a bonus action so that you can use one or the other but not both.
And I did consider making it a Warlock subclass, but I really wanted to highlight the fact that it's a semi-divine "occupation" that is unique to the country and has respect from the community, rather than a "ew gross, warlock, you guys are evil" vibe.
I'm in the same mind as LeK on this that it is an interesting concept for a character archetype that isn't completely covered with a straight class or subclass combination. As a class as a whole however, I'm seeing that it lacks a lot of features to make it feel like an entire class and not a subclass of something.
To break down why my initial impression is that, let's look at the warlock that you mentioned this follows. As a base class, the warlock gets access to their Otherworldly Patron (Additional Features at levels 6, 10, and 14), Pact Magic, Eldritch Invocations (starts with 2 and learn up to 8 invocations,), Pack Boon, Ability Score Improvements (5 total), Mystic Arcanum (4 total), and Eldritch Master. This totals at 17 improvements from 1 to 20.
Assuming the Inquisitor has the same number of Ability Score Improvements, we have a total of 13 (Spellcasting, Trained Hands Trained Minds, Holy Symbols, Mark of the Condemned, Exorcism, Celestial Might, Righteous Flick of the Wrist, Defense of the Stalwart, and Harbinger of Atonement). Even then I would count it at 12 because Holy Symbols is more of a clarification of how they use their holy symbols for spellcasting.
Pre-post Edit* - I did the same style counting of all the official class improvements as I've listed above and it ranges from 13 to 27, so this is not meant to show the number disparity, but more that it lacks features. The lowest was Wizard with 13, which makes sense due to their ability to learn more spells than any class, and monk with 27 that is all of the small incremental improvements that class receives over time.
The biggest factor in making this class is how you deal with spellcasting. You mentioned it will max out at 5th level spells with the exception of the 20th level feature, but how many spell slots do they have? Is it standard number of spell slots akin to a Wizard or Cleric, or limited number like the Warlock that regains on short rest? If the class stops at 5th level, is it a half caster like a paladin or a full caster? These are questions I would have before evaluating everything as a whole. Wording is also an important thing to look at as it makes it more clear in how features work, and I'd avoid using proficiency modifiers as damage bonuses just because it makes things a bit wonky in my experience. I've made two full classes myself and it is a lot of work to do and have it be balanced with the rest of the game, and neither were spellcasters so this is quite the project!
All that said, if you plan on using this just for you and your friends at the table, then all the little nitpick details like wording and what not isn't something I would worry about. To make sure the class is fun, make sure it has enough features to have the player of that character still feel like they are contributing.
I'm in the same mind as LeK on this that it is an interesting concept for a character archetype that isn't completely covered with a straight class or subclass combination. As a class as a whole however, I'm seeing that it lacks a lot of features to make it feel like an entire class and not a subclass of something.
To break down why my initial impression is that, let's look at the warlock that you mentioned this follows. As a base class, the warlock gets access to their Otherworldly Patron (Additional Features at levels 6, 10, and 14), Pact Magic, Eldritch Invocations (starts with 2 and learn up to 8 invocations,), Pack Boon, Ability Score Improvements (5 total), Mystic Arcanum (4 total), and Eldritch Master. This totals at 17 improvements from 1 to 20.
That's a lot of food for thought, and I find myself in agreement with that. Also in regards to the questions on casting, I think I'll change max spell level known from 5 to 7, which is kind of weird but it's a weird class. I think I'll give them more roleplay-centric abilities, since most of what they currently has is, for the most part, combat-oriented.
In regards to whether or not anyone else uses it, I'll probably put it out there when it's actually done but for the most part it's unique to my campaign setting which is not Faerun, and I have my own rules on casting that I've kept in mind whilst picking out spells, so I don't really know how well it'd translate into other people's games. It's really more of a passion project for me, because we're about to start alternating campaigns, one being a more lighthearted one in a traditional fantasy setting, kings and castles and dragons and stuff. The one this class takes place in is a much more dense, serious, and dangerous setting, which is another thing I am keeping in mind making it.
I'm in the same mind as LeK on this that it is an interesting concept for a character archetype that isn't completely covered with a straight class or subclass combination. As a class as a whole however, I'm seeing that it lacks a lot of features to make it feel like an entire class and not a subclass of something.
To break down why my initial impression is that, let's look at the warlock that you mentioned this follows. As a base class, the warlock gets access to their Otherworldly Patron (Additional Features at levels 6, 10, and 14), Pact Magic, Eldritch Invocations (starts with 2 and learn up to 8 invocations,), Pack Boon, Ability Score Improvements (5 total), Mystic Arcanum (4 total), and Eldritch Master. This totals at 17 improvements from 1 to 20.
That's a lot of food for thought, and I find myself in agreement with that. Also in regards to the questions on casting, I think I'll change max spell level known from 5 to 7, which is kind of weird but it's a weird class. I think I'll give them more roleplay-centric abilities, since most of what they currently has is, for the most part, combat-oriented.
In regards to whether or not anyone else uses it, I'll probably put it out there when it's actually done but for the most part it's unique to my campaign setting which is not Faerun, and I have my own rules on casting that I've kept in mind whilst picking out spells, so I don't really know how well it'd translate into other people's games. It's really more of a passion project for me, because we're about to start alternating campaigns, one being a more lighthearted one in a traditional fantasy setting, kings and castles and dragons and stuff. The one this class takes place in is a much more dense, serious, and dangerous setting, which is another thing I am keeping in mind making it.
Some roleplay "ribbon" features would be great, and once you figure out the spellcasting that you want to do for the class I think you'll be in a good spot since spells make up a huge portion of a classes power and utility. I'd like to see your updated page when you get a bit more into it! One thing I've found is to not rush these things, and go at a pace that gives you a solid idea of what you want to do with it, even more so since it will be tied to your setting and casting rules.
I think it's done for all intents and purposes. 3 new feats added adding about 7 new abilities to the class, formatting looks a bit prettier, and spell list added. Themes for the spells I picked were: charm/guile, tracking, damage, utility/healing. I went with that theme for spells because I want it to be a reasonably strong and independent caster but I also think the spells should play a mostly supplemental role to their weapons, and as such they never really have more than one or two choices for a damaging spell per level. I'm also not too worried about them using too many offensive spells in combat, since they are pretty limited by the fact that they will generally have both hands full and are limited on how many somatic spells they can cast. I also tweaked some pre-existing features a little.
I have a player using this class, and I'll be excited to see how it goes. The setting is in a heavily Oriental inspired empire that (unwillingly) has to coexist with demons and devils that prowl the lands, remnants from a bygone age so long ago no one really knows why they have the fiend plague, which is why this class has such a heavy fiend on dealing with fiends and unholy sorts.
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I'm a relatively new GM, having been GMing for about 3-4 months, and I'm making a homebrew class unique to the country in which our alternate campaign will be set in. It's meant to be a sort-of Men-in-Black kind of thing with a religious flare, kind of like demon hunters or more generally, hunters of evil. I've tried to make it more specific to demons and monstrosities because I don't want people to feel constricted by alignment when picking this class. The campaign takes place in a setting where fiends roam the wilds and so are not all that uncommon, and also I wanted another class to implement firearms in a unique way. Mechanically they're akin to a more combat-focused Warlock, and at max level will have access to 5th level spells outside of the final feature gained at level 20. I welcome input, and this is before I've made any official spell list for the class, so suggestions for what the class could do is also more than welcome because it'll take a lot of time to compile a spell list, lol.
Sidenote, I have a player wanting to make a really weird variant of this class, that is one armed and uses muskets. I cannot fathom why you would want to make a one-armed musket wielder, but I figure if he has the Mage Hand cantrip he could make it work, and mechanically keep all the functions the same, just apply it to using a two-handed weapon instead of dual wielding, since the character can't really dual wield to begin with if he/she has one arm. I think it's kind of a stupid idea, but if a player is passionate about their character it'll be better for the game in the long run, so I'm trying to find a way to make it work.
The concept is interesting, and although I see the reasoning in making it separate, why not make this a subclass for the Warlock? You would need to exchange CHA for WIS as the spellcasting characteristic, but that could also make the character more useful in social situations (Intimidation is something I can see an Inquisitor do A LOT).
It could be a more combat-focused version of the Celestial lock, granting an expanded spell list and additional proficiencies much like a Hexblade, and I think most of the features can work within the current subclass system.
On the features themselves:
if I get it right Mark of the Condemned basically doubles the proficiency bonus to attack and adds half proficiency to damage against fiends and undeads, no limitation on how many targets as long as you have charges for it; this seems extremely powerful considering it doesn't seem to be a concentration feature, allow a save from the target or otherwise have any other limitation other than the number of uses (which is also pretty high imho); if I may suggest, I would advice to make this a festure on-self (meaning the target is the Inquisitor themselves), once per short rest feature, with duration up to one minute, that grants proficiency bonus to damage and increased critical range, and when attacking a fiend or undead grants advantage to the attack(s) and adds full proficiency to the damage inflicted.
This would make it a bit more in line with other similar features like the Hex from the Hexblade, but still keep it interesting and valid in most situations (the current wording seems a bit obscure on what the feature should do on non-fiend-or-undead other than brand their forehead).
Flick of the wrist feels extremely powerful as well, and if coupled with either the current or the above version of the Mark becomes ovewhelmingly powerful against fiends and undeads, even with the disadvantage. This is mostly due to not having any real restriction. I would probably suggest to make this use the Reaction action and become a cone-AoE effect in from of the Inquisitor, allowing Dex save against 8+Dex+proficiency for half damage, and causing normal weapon attack damage (so weapon+Dex+whatever else). This could be either once every short or long rest, I'd say.
The other features would be fine as they are, and should you decide to make this a Warlock subclass, they could be reworked as secondary features at the appropriate levels.
In general I would suggest you to review the wording here and there (I know the pain and the struggle), and to maybe clarify the level requirement for Trained Hands, Holy Symbol and Mark. I understand these would be at level 1, but it customary to include the level each feature is granted in its description. Also, in Defence of the Stalwart, you might want to make it last 5 rounds, rather than 30 seconds, as it makes it easier to track (most combats do not get longer than 10 rounds, but many can get very close or slightly above 5, hence the difference in duration expression).
Hope the above can even remotely be of help to you :)
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
Yeah you're right, continuity is a finicky beast to tackle, particularly since it's my first time. And I did wonder about using the Mark in addition to the Flick of the Wrist to try to bypass the numbers disadvantage imposed on players by the... well, disadvantage. I think I'll make both of them consume a bonus action so that you can use one or the other but not both.
And I did consider making it a Warlock subclass, but I really wanted to highlight the fact that it's a semi-divine "occupation" that is unique to the country and has respect from the community, rather than a "ew gross, warlock, you guys are evil" vibe.
I'm in the same mind as LeK on this that it is an interesting concept for a character archetype that isn't completely covered with a straight class or subclass combination. As a class as a whole however, I'm seeing that it lacks a lot of features to make it feel like an entire class and not a subclass of something.
To break down why my initial impression is that, let's look at the warlock that you mentioned this follows. As a base class, the warlock gets access to their Otherworldly Patron (Additional Features at levels 6, 10, and 14), Pact Magic, Eldritch Invocations (starts with 2 and learn up to 8 invocations,), Pack Boon, Ability Score Improvements (5 total), Mystic Arcanum (4 total), and Eldritch Master. This totals at 17 improvements from 1 to 20.
Assuming the Inquisitor has the same number of Ability Score Improvements, we have a total of 13 (Spellcasting, Trained Hands Trained Minds, Holy Symbols, Mark of the Condemned, Exorcism, Celestial Might, Righteous Flick of the Wrist, Defense of the Stalwart, and Harbinger of Atonement). Even then I would count it at 12 because Holy Symbols is more of a clarification of how they use their holy symbols for spellcasting.
Pre-post Edit* - I did the same style counting of all the official class improvements as I've listed above and it ranges from 13 to 27, so this is not meant to show the number disparity, but more that it lacks features. The lowest was Wizard with 13, which makes sense due to their ability to learn more spells than any class, and monk with 27 that is all of the small incremental improvements that class receives over time.
The biggest factor in making this class is how you deal with spellcasting. You mentioned it will max out at 5th level spells with the exception of the 20th level feature, but how many spell slots do they have? Is it standard number of spell slots akin to a Wizard or Cleric, or limited number like the Warlock that regains on short rest? If the class stops at 5th level, is it a half caster like a paladin or a full caster? These are questions I would have before evaluating everything as a whole. Wording is also an important thing to look at as it makes it more clear in how features work, and I'd avoid using proficiency modifiers as damage bonuses just because it makes things a bit wonky in my experience. I've made two full classes myself and it is a lot of work to do and have it be balanced with the rest of the game, and neither were spellcasters so this is quite the project!
All that said, if you plan on using this just for you and your friends at the table, then all the little nitpick details like wording and what not isn't something I would worry about. To make sure the class is fun, make sure it has enough features to have the player of that character still feel like they are contributing.
AdmiralChry's Homebrew Compendium - A collection of all my classes, subclasses, magic items, and etc.
AdmiralChry's Homebrew Compendium - A collection of all my classes, subclasses, magic items, and etc.
I think it's done for all intents and purposes. 3 new feats added adding about 7 new abilities to the class, formatting looks a bit prettier, and spell list added. Themes for the spells I picked were: charm/guile, tracking, damage, utility/healing. I went with that theme for spells because I want it to be a reasonably strong and independent caster but I also think the spells should play a mostly supplemental role to their weapons, and as such they never really have more than one or two choices for a damaging spell per level. I'm also not too worried about them using too many offensive spells in combat, since they are pretty limited by the fact that they will generally have both hands full and are limited on how many somatic spells they can cast. I also tweaked some pre-existing features a little.
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I have a player using this class, and I'll be excited to see how it goes. The setting is in a heavily Oriental inspired empire that (unwillingly) has to coexist with demons and devils that prowl the lands, remnants from a bygone age so long ago no one really knows why they have the fiend plague, which is why this class has such a heavy fiend on dealing with fiends and unholy sorts.