What’s wrong with them? I mean, the barbarian worked fine... As did Undead. The Mystic was misdone - if it were formed closer to the Warlock class, it would be fine.
What’s wrong with them? I mean, the barbarian worked fine... As did Undead. The Mystic was misdone - if it were formed closer to the Warlock class, it would be fine.
I'm not saying flavor, all of them are flavorful enough, but they are incredibly unbalanced. I was using UA as an example why the first draft of anything won't be balanced.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
What’s wrong with them? I mean, the barbarian worked fine... As did Undead. The Mystic was misdone - if it were formed closer to the Warlock class, it would be fine.
Undead warlock doubled the damage of Eldritch Blast. I don't think I have to say anything more.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
What’s wrong with them? I mean, the barbarian worked fine... As did Undead. The Mystic was misdone - if it were formed closer to the Warlock class, it would be fine.
Undead warlock doubled the damage of Eldritch Blast. I don't think I have to say anything more.
and allowed necrotic damage but also there was revived rouge that was insane, the new replacement for it is good though
What’s wrong with them? I mean, the barbarian worked fine... As did Undead. The Mystic was misdone - if it were formed closer to the Warlock class, it would be fine.
they are pretty unblaenced, but i always let my players use them.
Here's my feature-by-feature review of the gish class.
Starting features- Health is 1d10, so a little eon the higher side. On par with Paladin and Ranger.
Eldritch Ward- Similar to Lay on Hands, but weaker. I suggested earlier that making the person who posses these temporary hit points not make concentration saves could makes this more interesting.
Imbued Weapon- Similar to the Hex Warrior feature, but capped on intelligence modifier. You are probably always going to have this running every fight, and this makes Gish very SAD. I don't think that the class needs this feature, it already around as good or better than the Paladin, and Paladin depends on two stats.
Fighting Style- Standard stuff, but no archery means ranged build are less viable.
Spellcasting- normal half-caster spellcasting
Okay, now for the big one- Spell strike. This is the core feature, and I think it is very well done. I think it is balanced, since you have to spend actions and keep concentration for the spell to work. The interaction with thrown weapons is really cool; if you get can an artificer to put returning weapon on a hammer, you can chuck lightning bolts like Thor.
Subclasses- will review at end of post.
Magic Sense is pretty potent. If you think someone is going to be charmed, or if you want to threat asses someone, this ability works for you. Not broken, but a powerful exploration and combat ability.
Recall Magic- This is powerful, but it ultimately just ends up being extra spell slots. I don't think this class just needs more spell slots.
Extra Attack-It's an extra attack.
Arcane Protection- A powerful defensive ability. A free passed save can does have some variance. It is much better against boss enemies than minions, so hordes of enemies might be a counter to this.
Magic Resistance- Another consistently powerful ability.
Improved Spell strike- Now you don't have to worry about concentration, you can store spells as a bonus action, and you deal 1d8 extra force damage. An improvement on the classes signature ability.
War Mage- This ability is powerful, but doesn't really fit with the class. If you use your action to cast, you get to make one weapon attack. The class encourages spell-striking rather than outright casting, so this ability feels strange. Still, it is yet another very good ability.
Master of Gish- A good 20th level ability. No changes needed.
Overall, this is too powerful. While one ability doesn't stand out, you just get very good feature after very good feature. You'll have excellent defense against magic, and very good DPS and some CC. And once you run out of spell slots, you have many ways to get them back.
Next, subclasses.
Arcane Striker-
Imbued Striking- A solid starting ability. It gives you some extra damage, but not enough to break the feature.
Strike Sustainer- Double your spell strikes! I really like this, it is very good.
Strike Master- Max out 5 of the damage dice of your strikes. This will boost your damage considerably, but this whole sub so far requires you to be striking constantly. I hope this resource drain balances out the raw power.
Striker- What limitations are their on striking that the first ability refers to? The second two abilities just provide damage boosts.
While I like the overall focus on striking with this subclass, almost all of the abilities boost your damage. Once you hit 20, you are going to be stacking a ton of damage buffs.
That is my full overview of the class. I feel that it needs to be toned down in power considerably, with some abilities outright removed and others nerfed. Here are the problem abilities:
Recall magic- this just gives you a ton of extra spell slots. I don't feel like it provides much that is mechanically unique or interesting.
Arcane Protection- Auto-passing saves is a considerable buff to survivability, and be able to use it 1-3 times is very good.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
HP, Saves- Good. On par with other frontline warriors.
Eldritch Ward- I actually agree with Joel. That would be a pretty good feature.
Imbued Weapon- Remove the int to attack, and add in a situational ability. Maybe if you have a weapon imbued, it is automatically attuned, if it requires attunement, and you meet the requirements to do so.
Fighting Style- Good. The choices are pretty limited, but you have what you want for a melee build.
Spellcasting- The spell list looks like it would be really fun to use, honestly.
Spell strike- for all my nattering, I actually think this is fine. It is balanced, and I think it could comfortably fit in any official 5e handbook
Magic Sense- I am getting divine sense vibes here. It is better than divine sense, but it is third level.
Recall Magic- More spell slots? you are a half caster for a reason. If you want the same flavour, maybe once per long rest, he can cast a ritual that is on the wizard spell list, that is of a level he is able to cast.
Extra Attack- Hello! Hi! Yes! I would like to double my DPR please!
Arcane Protection- This is just insane. I would have an Improved eldritch ward at this level, not legendary resistances.
Magic Resistance- At this point, the written class is a better tank than a barbarian when facing a spellcaster, and this is without the spell bastion subclass...
Improved Spell strike- fine honestly. It will be usually better than a pally's smite at this level, but that is fine.
War Mage- I mean it is the cherry on the top of useless. You want to cast the spell into your weapon as a BA THEN attack. Not this......
Master of Gish- FIne. I like the features
100% agree with Joel. This is just too many good abilities. They are all well thought out, but this is like....two classes worth of signatures.
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“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Starting features- Health is 1d10, so a little eon the higher side. On par with Paladin and Ranger.
Yep, meant to be. Martial-Halfcasters have d10 hit dice, spell based half-casters (artificer) have d8s.
Eldritch Ward- Similar to Lay on Hands, but weaker. I suggested earlier that making the person who posses these temporary hit points not make concentration saves could makes this more interesting.
Yeah. I think that could be cool. Give me some time to think it over and find a way to word it correctly. I can make something like that work, somehow. Maybe I could change it to be even more like the lay on hands ability so it scales different from Inspiring Leader? I could have it give temporary hit points equal to 5 x your arcane gish level, and you can choose who to give them to? I'll decide which, maybe with some more feedback.
Imbued Weapon- Similar to the Hex Warrior feature, but capped on intelligence modifier. You are probably always going to have this running every fight, and this makes Gish very SAD. I don't think that the class needs this feature, it already around as good or better than the Paladin, and Paladin depends on two stats.
Yeah, I'll change this. The class needs to be more MAD to balance them out. I'm getting rid of the Intelligence to hit and for damage, and could use some ideas for replacements.
Fighting Style- Standard stuff, but no archery means ranged build are less viable.
Yep. They're mostly meant to be melee, even if they can use thrown weapons. If they want to be truly ranged, they're probably going to focus on Strength using Spears, Tridents, Javelins, with Returning Weapon, or a Dwarven Thrower.
Okay, now for the big one- Spell strike. This is the core feature, and I think it is very well done. I think it is balanced, since you have to spend actions and keep concentration for the spell to work. The interaction with thrown weapons is really cool; if you get can an artificer to put returning weapon on a hammer, you can chuck lightning bolts like Thor.
Yeah. There are some cool combos you can get with multiclassing or team support. It's a powerful ability that is really nice, and is to this class what Divine Smite is to the Paladin. Chuck a lightning bolt with a dwarven thrower, imbue a spear with a fireball, make a cone of cold with a maul, a greatsword with acid arrows, or a greataxe with bigby's hand.
Magic Sense is pretty potent. If you think someone is going to be charmed, or if you want to threat asses someone, this ability works for you. Not broken, but a powerful exploration and combat ability.
It is powerful, but I think it's a fine ability. It might be tweaked a bit, but I think I'm keeping the concept for now.
Recall Magic- This is powerful, but it ultimately just ends up being extra spell slots. I don't think this class just needs more spell slots.
I might change this up a bit, or get rid of it entirely if that's necessary. With TCoE, paladins will be able to get back a 1st level spell slot on a short rest, so I might want to mirror that a bit.
Arcane Protection- A powerful defensive ability. A free passed save can does have some variance. It is much better against boss enemies than minions, so hordes of enemies might be a counter to this.
Yeah, this is changing. I might move it to a later level ability for the Eldritch Bastion.
Improved Spell strike- Now you don't have to worry about concentration, you can store spells as a bonus action, and you deal 1d8 extra force damage. An improvement on the classes signature ability.
I think I'm going to get rid of the extra 1d8 force damage. That will scale back the brute power of this class a bit. Do you think that would be a good change?
War Mage- This ability is powerful, but doesn't really fit with the class. If you use your action to cast, you get to make one weapon attack. The class encourages spell-striking rather than outright casting, so this ability feels strange. Still, it is yet another very good ability.
Yeah, I wasn't sure about this when I was adding it. On one hand, they don't really need it, but it is still useful for certain niche circumstances (i.e. wall of force as an action, attack as a bonus action, etc). Any ideas for a replacement?
Overall, this is too powerful. While one ability doesn't stand out, you just get very good feature after very good feature. You'll have excellent defense against magic, and very good DPS and some CC. And once you run out of spell slots, you have many ways to get them back.
I agree. This needs changing. I'll fix most of it in the next draft.
Next, subclasses.
Thanks for the review, but if you have comments on any of the other subclasses, I'd appreciate it.
Striker- What limitations are their on striking that the first ability refers to? The second two abilities just provide damage boosts.
Ah, that's a bug. I'll fix it in the next draft.
While I like the overall focus on striking with this subclass, almost all of the abilities boost your damage. Once you hit 20, you are going to be stacking a ton of damage buffs.
That was originally my intent with this subclass. Any ideas to fix it a bit if you don't like the uber-damage focus?
That is my full overview of the class. I feel that it needs to be toned down in power considerably, with some abilities outright removed and others nerfed. Here are the problem abilities:
Recall magic- this just gives you a ton of extra spell slots. I don't feel like it provides much that is mechanically unique or interesting.
Arcane Protection- Auto-passing saves is a considerable buff to survivability, and be able to use it 1-3 times is very good.
Okay, I will change those and other features a bit. Thanks again for the review.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Eldritch Ward- I actually agree with Joel. That would be a pretty good feature.
Okay. I'll tinker around with some things mentally, and then make a decision before the next draft.
Imbued Weapon- Remove the int to attack, and add in a situational ability. Maybe if you have a weapon imbued, it is automatically attuned, if it requires attunement, and you meet the requirements to do so.
Yep. Already said I was going to remove the Int to attack and damage awhile ago. I can give some benefit so that weapons you're holding are automatically attuned, and it doesn't take away from the amount of attunement slots you have. Thanks for that idea!
Fighting Style- Good. The choices are pretty limited, but you have what you want for a melee build.
Yep. They're meant to be limited, like the other martial half-casters.
Spellcasting- The spell list looks like it would be really fun to use, honestly.
Yeah. I might expand it a bit, with spells like Jim's Magic Missile and a few others, but overall I think it's mostly good.
Spell strike- for all my nattering, I actually think this is fine. It is balanced, and I think it could comfortably fit in any official 5e handbook
Thank you for the "nattering," Goodbovine. It really helped me iron it out. It still might need a bit of tweaking here and there, but overall I think it's good.
Magic Sense- I am getting divine sense vibes here. It is better than divine sense, but it is third level.
Yeah, kind of the point of the feature tbh.
Recall Magic- More spell slots? you are a half caster for a reason. If you want the same flavour, maybe once per long rest, he can cast a ritual that is on the wizard spell list, that is of a level he is able to cast.
Yeah. I'm changing this. Maybe an extra spell slot each short rest, but this feature needs to go overall.
Extra Attack- Hello! Hi! Yes! I would like to double my DPR please!
(Not really damage if you're two-weapon fighting, polearm mastering, or other spell striking, but yes.)
Arcane Protection- This is just insane. I would have an Improved eldritch ward at this level, not legendary resistances.
Yeah. I'm changing this.
Magic Resistance- At this point, the written class is a better tank than a barbarian when facing a spellcaster, and this is without the spell bastion subclass...
Yeah, it is. I think the main class is going to be dialed back with the magic protection theme a bit.
Improved Spell strike- fine honestly. It will be usually better than a pally's smite at this level, but that is fine.
Yeah. I'll get rid of the extra 1d8 force damage, but otherwise I think this feature is good to go.
War Mage- I mean it is the cherry on the top of useless. You want to cast the spell into your weapon as a BA THEN attack. Not this......
Most of the time, that is true, but it has its uses (magic missile as an action, bonus action attack, wall of force action attack as a bonus action.)
100% agree with Joel. This is just too many good abilities. They are all well thought out, but this is like....two classes worth of signatures.
And I agree completely, too. If you have any comments on the subclasses, I'd love to have them.
Thanks for the review, and I'll start working on the new draft in the foreseeable future.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Okay, it's been awhile. I've been busy with other stuff and had my mind elsewhere for the past while, but I should be more active in this thread now. I will also start working on my next revision of the Occultist class soon. The "gish" has now been renamed to the Arcknight, which is still just a placeholder and will be replaced if I think of a better name.
Arcknight
The Arcknight
Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
1st
+2
Eldritch Ward, Imbued Weapon
—
—
—
—
—
2nd
+2
Fighting Style, Spell Strike
2
—
—
—
—
3rd
+2
Arcane Study, Magic Sense
3
—
—
—
—
4th
+2
Ability Score Improvement
3
—
—
—
—
5th
+3
Extra Attack
4
2
—
—
—
6th
+3
Arcane Protection
4
2
—
—
—
7th
+3
Arcane Study feature
4
3
2
—
—
8th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
4
3
2
—
—
9th
+4
—
4
3
2
—
—
10th
+4
Magic Resistance
4
3
2
—
—
11th
+4
Improved Spell Strike, Arcane Study feature
4
3
3
1
—
12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
4
3
3
1
—
13th
+5
—
4
3
3
2
—
14th
+5
Spell Siphon
4
3
3
2
—
15th
+5
Arcane Study feature
4
3
3
2
—
16th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
4
3
3
2
—
17th
+6
—
4
3
3
2
1
18th
+6
Battle Caster
4
3
3
2
1
19th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
4
3
3
3
2
20th
+6
Master of Battle Magic
4
3
3
3
2
Class Features
As an arcknight, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per arcknight level
Hit Points at 1st-Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per arcknight level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throw: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, History, Insight, and Nature
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
(a) studded leather armor or (b) scale mail or (c) chainmail
(a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
(a) five spears or (b) any simple melee weapon
(a) dungeoneer's pack or (b) explorer's pack
an arcane focus of your choice
Eldritch Ward
At 1st level, your arcane power allows for you to protect you with a magic shield. As an action, you can give yourself or a creature you touch an amount of temporary hit points equal to your Intelligence modifier plus your arcknight level (minimum of one temporary hit point). While a creature has these temporary hit points, they do not make Concentration checks against damage, as long as they still have at least one temporary hit point after all the damage is dealt.
You may use this feature an amount of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Imbued Weapon
Starting at level 1, your combat magic causes you to have a semi-permanent bond with a melee weapon you are holding. When you finish a long rest, you can form an arcane connection with a melee weapon of your choice that you are holding. This bond lasts until you transfer the effect to another weapon as an action, the weapon is destroyed, or until you finish a long rest.
An imbued weapon cannot leave your hand without you being willing, it counts as a magic weapon for the purposes of ignoring damage resistances and immunities, if it wasn't already, and counts as a spellcasting focus for your arcknight spells. Additionally, if the weapon was a magic weapon that required attunement, you automatically are attuned to it, not counting against the total amount of items you may be attuned to.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose one again.
Arcane Warrior
You learn two cantrips of your choice from the wizard spell list. They count as arcknight spells for you, and Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the wizard spell list.
Blind Fighting
You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn’t behind total cover, even if you’re blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.
Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage dice for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the dice and must use the new roll. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Interception
When a creature you can see hits a target, other than you, within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon to use this reaction.
Thrown Weapon Fighting
You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon.
In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Spellcasting
By 2nd level, you have learned how to draw on arcane magic through studying and training in the arcane art, gaining the ability to cast spells. You can channel your spells through magical items, and use your weapons to focus your arcane spells.
Preparing and Casting Spells
The Arcknight table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your arcknight spells of 1st-level or higher. You regain all spells slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of arcknight spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the arcknight spell list. When you do so, choose a number of arcknight spells equal to your Intelligence modifier + half your arcknight level, rounded down (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 5th-level arcknight, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 14, your list of prepared spells can include four spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell burning hands, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spell.
You can change your list of prepared spell when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of arcknight spells requires time spent in study: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting Ability
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your arcknight spells, since their power derives from the devotion to your arcane training. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a arcknight spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 _ your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Arcknight Spell List
Here's the list of spells you consult when you learn a arcknight spell. The list is organized by spell level, not by character level.
These spells are from the Player's Handbook. If a spell's name is followed by an asterisk, the spell is instead Xanathar's Guide to Everything.
At level 2, you can imbue magic weapons you hold with your spells. When you cast a arcknight spell that has a casting time of an action that targets another creature with a harmful effect or creates an area of effect, you can trap it in your weapon instead of instantly releasing it as you normally would. This temporarily delays the spell's effects, trapping them inside one magical melee weapon you are holding. The effects of the spell are unleashed the next time you hit a creature with the weapon. The spell remains inside the weapon for 1 minute, until you lose concentration, or until you hit a creature with this melee weapon, whereupon the spell is released and come it comes into effect. Once you attack with a weapon that has a spell stored in it this way, if the spell has not been released by the end of your next turn, the spell is lost and is wasted. If you store a cantrip in the weapon, if the attack would deal extra damage due to this attack, its damage does not scale when you reach higher levels as it normally would.
If the spell required a saving throw, the creature you hit with this magical melee weapon while the spell is trapped inside automatically fails its saving throw. If the spell required an attack roll, if you hit a creature with the initial attack, you do not have to attack that creature again, and it becomes the target of one of the spell's attacks. If the spell required more than one attack roll, one of these attacks must be targeting the hit creature, and the others come into effect as normal. If the spell creates an area of effect, you can designate your weapon or the hit creature (your choice) as the origin of the area of effect.
If the spell would immediately cause damage when you cast it, this damage is added to the weapon attack's damage. Additionally, if you must use an action or bonus action on further turns to maintain the effects of the spell, you may continue to keep the spell inside your magic weapon, continuing this effect until the duration of the spell ends.
Arcane Study
When you reach 3rd level, you solidify which archetype of arcane combat you will practice. Up to this point, you have been training, practicing, and preparing for this choice, and now it is cemented as part of you. Now, choose the Eldritch Striker, Arcane Bastion, or Spell Herald. This is your subclass, and grants you certain benefits at 3rd, 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
Magic Sense
At 3rd level, your arcane power is attuned to detecting the power in others. As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You learn if they can cast any spells, and if they can, you learn what level spellcaster they are if they have any levels as a spellcaster, and you learn how many spell slots they have left if they have any.
You may use this feature an amount of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), regaining all uses at the end of a long rest.
Arcane Recovery
At level 3, you have learned to regain some of your magical energy by your blending arcane and martial power. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than one-fourth your arcknight level (rounded up).
For example, if you’re a 7th-level arcknight, you can recover up to two levels worth of spell slots. You can recover either a 2nd-level spell slot or two 1st-level spell slots.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Magic Guard
Starting at level 6, when you use your Eldritch Ward feature, you may expend a spell slot of 2nd-level or higher to use the feature, instead of spending one use of the ability,.
Magic Resistance
At level 10, you have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Improved Spell Strike
When you reach 11th level, when you cast a spell into your weapon that has a casting time of an action, you can instead cast it as a bonus action. Additionally, you no longer have to maintain concentration on your Spell Strike feature due to a spell being stored inside of your Imbued Weapon.
Arcane Fighting Style
At level 12, you are able to perfectly blend your arcane magic with your mastery over martial fighting to enhance your chosen style even more. You gain an additional benefit dependent on the Fighting Style you gained from this class.
Arcane Warrior
When you take the Attack action, you may forgo one of the attacks to cast a cantrip you know.
Blind Fighting
You gain truesight out to a range of 10 feet.
Defense
You may don any armor as an action by touching it, as long as you are not wearing armor already.
Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls with that weapon.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage dice for a spell that was unleashed through your Spell Strike through a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the dice and must use the new roll. The weapon that caused the spell to be unleashed must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Interception
When you use your reaction to reduce the damage dealt by an attack using your Interception Fighting Style, you may deal an amount of force damage to the creature that attacked equal to the damage that is reduced.
Thrown Weapon Fighting
While you are not wielding your Imbued Weapon, you may use your reaction to summon it back to your hand.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, the same bonus action you use to attack may also be used to cast a spell into your weapon using the Spell Strike feature.
Spell Siphon
Starting at level 14, when you hit a spellcaster with a magical attack from a melee weapon, you can steal and absorb some of their magical power. As a reaction, if the hit creature is a spellcaster that has spell slots, you can force them to expend a spell slot of a level that you can cast, and regain a spell slot of the expended level or lower.
You may use this feature an amount of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of once), and regain all uses after a long rest.
Battle Caster
When you gain this feature at 18th level, your concentration cannot be broken unless you become unconscious.
Master of Battle Magic
At level 20, you have mastered the art of combat magic, empowering you further. You gain the following benefits:
All weapons you are wielding automatically gain the benefit of being your Imbued Weapon, no longer requiring a long rest or action in order to bestow the benefit upon them.
When you roll a 20 for an attack roll you make with a magic melee weapon against a creature, you regain a spell slot of your lowest expended level.
You automatically take no damage from spells that you cast that create an area of effect.
Okay, the major changes are to Imbued Weapon, Fighting Styles, Spell Casting/Spell List, Spell Recall --> Arcane Recovery, Battle Caster, and some other more minor tweaks and changes.
Sorry that it has taken so long, but I would love feedback and thoughts here, as well as this survey. Tomorrow I will hopefully be able to update the subclasses for this class, as well as add more subclasses (Swordmage, Duskblade, Element Master).
(cough,mystic,wildmagicbarbarian,undeadwarlock,cough)
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What’s wrong with them? I mean, the barbarian worked fine... As did Undead. The Mystic was misdone - if it were formed closer to the Warlock class, it would be fine.
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Luz Noceda would like to remind you that you're worth loving!
I'm not saying flavor, all of them are flavorful enough, but they are incredibly unbalanced. I was using UA as an example why the first draft of anything won't be balanced.
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Undead warlock doubled the damage of Eldritch Blast. I don't think I have to say anything more.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
and allowed necrotic damage but also there was revived rouge that was insane, the new replacement for it is good though
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they are pretty unblaenced, but i always let my players use them.
I am an average mathematics enjoyer.
>Extended Signature<
Here's my feature-by-feature review of the gish class.
Starting features- Health is 1d10, so a little eon the higher side. On par with Paladin and Ranger.
Eldritch Ward- Similar to Lay on Hands, but weaker. I suggested earlier that making the person who posses these temporary hit points not make concentration saves could makes this more interesting.
Imbued Weapon- Similar to the Hex Warrior feature, but capped on intelligence modifier. You are probably always going to have this running every fight, and this makes Gish very SAD. I don't think that the class needs this feature, it already around as good or better than the Paladin, and Paladin depends on two stats.
Fighting Style- Standard stuff, but no archery means ranged build are less viable.
Spellcasting- normal half-caster spellcasting
Okay, now for the big one- Spell strike. This is the core feature, and I think it is very well done. I think it is balanced, since you have to spend actions and keep concentration for the spell to work. The interaction with thrown weapons is really cool; if you get can an artificer to put returning weapon on a hammer, you can chuck lightning bolts like Thor.
Subclasses- will review at end of post.
Magic Sense is pretty potent. If you think someone is going to be charmed, or if you want to threat asses someone, this ability works for you. Not broken, but a powerful exploration and combat ability.
Recall Magic- This is powerful, but it ultimately just ends up being extra spell slots. I don't think this class just needs more spell slots.
Extra Attack-It's an extra attack.
Arcane Protection- A powerful defensive ability. A free passed save can does have some variance. It is much better against boss enemies than minions, so hordes of enemies might be a counter to this.
Magic Resistance- Another consistently powerful ability.
Improved Spell strike- Now you don't have to worry about concentration, you can store spells as a bonus action, and you deal 1d8 extra force damage. An improvement on the classes signature ability.
War Mage- This ability is powerful, but doesn't really fit with the class. If you use your action to cast, you get to make one weapon attack. The class encourages spell-striking rather than outright casting, so this ability feels strange. Still, it is yet another very good ability.
Master of Gish- A good 20th level ability. No changes needed.
Overall, this is too powerful. While one ability doesn't stand out, you just get very good feature after very good feature. You'll have excellent defense against magic, and very good DPS and some CC. And once you run out of spell slots, you have many ways to get them back.
Next, subclasses.
Arcane Striker-
That is my full overview of the class. I feel that it needs to be toned down in power considerably, with some abilities outright removed and others nerfed. Here are the problem abilities:
Recall magic- this just gives you a ton of extra spell slots. I don't feel like it provides much that is mechanically unique or interesting.
Arcane Protection- Auto-passing saves is a considerable buff to survivability, and be able to use it 1-3 times is very good.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
I....literally had a whole review written, then I closed the page before it posted. LETS GOOOO
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
I feel you. I did that two days ago, but with a quiz from school.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
that is even worse lol.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
HP, Saves- Good. On par with other frontline warriors.
Eldritch Ward- I actually agree with Joel. That would be a pretty good feature.
Imbued Weapon- Remove the int to attack, and add in a situational ability. Maybe if you have a weapon imbued, it is automatically attuned, if it requires attunement, and you meet the requirements to do so.
Fighting Style- Good. The choices are pretty limited, but you have what you want for a melee build.
Spellcasting- The spell list looks like it would be really fun to use, honestly.
Spell strike- for all my nattering, I actually think this is fine. It is balanced, and I think it could comfortably fit in any official 5e handbook
Magic Sense- I am getting divine sense vibes here. It is better than divine sense, but it is third level.
Recall Magic- More spell slots? you are a half caster for a reason. If you want the same flavour, maybe once per long rest, he can cast a ritual that is on the wizard spell list, that is of a level he is able to cast.
Extra Attack- Hello! Hi! Yes! I would like to double my DPR please!
Arcane Protection- This is just insane. I would have an Improved eldritch ward at this level, not legendary resistances.
Magic Resistance- At this point, the written class is a better tank than a barbarian when facing a spellcaster, and this is without the spell bastion subclass...
Improved Spell strike- fine honestly. It will be usually better than a pally's smite at this level, but that is fine.
War Mage- I mean it is the cherry on the top of useless. You want to cast the spell into your weapon as a BA THEN attack. Not this......
Master of Gish- FIne. I like the features
100% agree with Joel. This is just too many good abilities. They are all well thought out, but this is like....two classes worth of signatures.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Okay, thanks for the review, Joel. Here's my reply to that:
Yep, meant to be. Martial-Halfcasters have d10 hit dice, spell based half-casters (artificer) have d8s.
Yeah. I think that could be cool. Give me some time to think it over and find a way to word it correctly. I can make something like that work, somehow. Maybe I could change it to be even more like the lay on hands ability so it scales different from Inspiring Leader? I could have it give temporary hit points equal to 5 x your arcane gish level, and you can choose who to give them to? I'll decide which, maybe with some more feedback.
Yeah, I'll change this. The class needs to be more MAD to balance them out. I'm getting rid of the Intelligence to hit and for damage, and could use some ideas for replacements.
Yep. They're mostly meant to be melee, even if they can use thrown weapons. If they want to be truly ranged, they're probably going to focus on Strength using Spears, Tridents, Javelins, with Returning Weapon, or a Dwarven Thrower.
Yeah. There are some cool combos you can get with multiclassing or team support. It's a powerful ability that is really nice, and is to this class what Divine Smite is to the Paladin. Chuck a lightning bolt with a dwarven thrower, imbue a spear with a fireball, make a cone of cold with a maul, a greatsword with acid arrows, or a greataxe with bigby's hand.
It is powerful, but I think it's a fine ability. It might be tweaked a bit, but I think I'm keeping the concept for now.
I might change this up a bit, or get rid of it entirely if that's necessary. With TCoE, paladins will be able to get back a 1st level spell slot on a short rest, so I might want to mirror that a bit.
Yeah, this is changing. I might move it to a later level ability for the Eldritch Bastion.
I think I'm going to get rid of the extra 1d8 force damage. That will scale back the brute power of this class a bit. Do you think that would be a good change?
Yeah, I wasn't sure about this when I was adding it. On one hand, they don't really need it, but it is still useful for certain niche circumstances (i.e. wall of force as an action, attack as a bonus action, etc). Any ideas for a replacement?
I agree. This needs changing. I'll fix most of it in the next draft.
Thanks for the review, but if you have comments on any of the other subclasses, I'd appreciate it.
Ah, that's a bug. I'll fix it in the next draft.
That was originally my intent with this subclass. Any ideas to fix it a bit if you don't like the uber-damage focus?
Okay, I will change those and other features a bit. Thanks again for the review.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Okay. I'll tinker around with some things mentally, and then make a decision before the next draft.
Yep. Already said I was going to remove the Int to attack and damage awhile ago. I can give some benefit so that weapons you're holding are automatically attuned, and it doesn't take away from the amount of attunement slots you have. Thanks for that idea!
Yep. They're meant to be limited, like the other martial half-casters.
Yeah. I might expand it a bit, with spells like Jim's Magic Missile and a few others, but overall I think it's mostly good.
Thank you for the "nattering," Goodbovine. It really helped me iron it out. It still might need a bit of tweaking here and there, but overall I think it's good.
Yeah, kind of the point of the feature tbh.
Yeah. I'm changing this. Maybe an extra spell slot each short rest, but this feature needs to go overall.
(Not really damage if you're two-weapon fighting, polearm mastering, or other spell striking, but yes.)
Yeah. I'm changing this.
Yeah, it is. I think the main class is going to be dialed back with the magic protection theme a bit.
Yeah. I'll get rid of the extra 1d8 force damage, but otherwise I think this feature is good to go.
Most of the time, that is true, but it has its uses (magic missile as an action, bonus action attack, wall of force action attack as a bonus action.)
And I agree completely, too. If you have any comments on the subclasses, I'd love to have them.
Thanks for the review, and I'll start working on the new draft in the foreseeable future.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Okay, it's been awhile. I've been busy with other stuff and had my mind elsewhere for the past while, but I should be more active in this thread now. I will also start working on my next revision of the Occultist class soon. The "gish" has now been renamed to the Arcknight, which is still just a placeholder and will be replaced if I think of a better name.
Okay, the major changes are to Imbued Weapon, Fighting Styles, Spell Casting/Spell List, Spell Recall --> Arcane Recovery, Battle Caster, and some other more minor tweaks and changes.
Sorry that it has taken so long, but I would love feedback and thoughts here, as well as this survey. Tomorrow I will hopefully be able to update the subclasses for this class, as well as add more subclasses (Swordmage, Duskblade, Element Master).
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
So, anyone have any thoughts before I do the subclasses?
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
truesight is too powerful for level 12
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Even if its just 10 feet? If it is too powerful, I could limit it to 5 feet, or maybe change it to seeing into the Ethereal Plane?
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maybe both but not at 12th level because ability score improvement
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Truesight lets you see into the Ethereal Plane, so that would be redundant. What level would you recommend moving this to?
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i am not sure but what level are the subclass features and i did not realize that the first blind fighting was better than a 15th level ability
i meant a 5 foot range into ethereal plane
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