All Questions
84
questions
8
votes
1
answer
149
views
How would these buffs to underpowered prerequisite feats affect game balance?
Like many people who enjoy 3.5, I find that the issue of "feat tax" is incredibly pervasive - which is to say, there are a lot of feats that just feel like dead weight on a character sheet. ...
- 1,775
3
votes
1
answer
163
views
Improved Metamagic feat (epic) clarification
I wonder if I am interpreting this feat wrongly or not. Reading the epic feat "Improved Metamagic" it seems to me that, if taken multiple times it considerably outshines the other epic feats ...
- 2,243
1
vote
1
answer
889
views
How can I allow my player to be a Doppelganger without excessive HD/LA?
A player character who is a Doppelganger has four levels of Monstrous Humanoid and LA +4:
Racial Hit Dice: A doppelganger begins with four levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 4d8 Hit Dice, a ...
- 8,061
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can a Doppelganger buy Changeling racial feats?
The Changeling race in D&D 3.5 has a history defined as
They evolved through the union of doppelgangers and humans, eventually becoming a separate race distinct from either ancestral tree.
In D&...
- 8,061
1
vote
1
answer
90
views
Child of the Warren, slightly tweaked version of Child of the Shadow
I want to use Child of the Shadow (Savage Tide Player's Guide, p.12), but the flavor doesn't work.
Altering it to be based on a crowded hobgoblin warren instead, I came up with this:
Child of the ...
- 14k
7
votes
1
answer
266
views
What if the rules for corporeal creatures and incorporeal were symmetrical?
I previously asked this question in regards to the asymmetry between corporeals attacking incorporeals (having a miss chance of 50%) and incorporeals attacking corporeals (no miss chance) as per the ...
- 2,243
2
votes
1
answer
684
views
What is the cost of making a custom armor Celestial?
I'm trying to reverse engineer the Celestial part of the Celestial Armor in the Dungeon Master's Guide (page 220).
Celestial Armor: This bright silver or gold +3 chainmail is so fine
and light that ...
- 1,165
5
votes
1
answer
259
views
Is adjusting damage type an appropriate power level for bestow curse?
A rather creative cleric in my game's party has presented with a new curse they want to use. The new curse is:
All damage the target creature takes is treated as the damage type to which the creature ...
- 6,834
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why is prepared casting considered to always be superior to spontaneous? [closed]
Many times, I've seen the case made for a specific prepared caster class being superior to its spontaneous equivalent (e.g. Wizard vs Sorcerer, Cleric vs Favored Soul, anything vs its Uneathered ...
- 6,364
20
votes
7
answers
6k
views
As a DM, how do you adjust the difficulty to create challenging encounters when your party is well constructed (aka Power Players)
I am a newbie DM and started DMing because our current DM was not bringing a nice and engaging story.
I am doing really good on the role playing and storytelling, but my encounters had been nothing ...
- 311
2
votes
1
answer
165
views
implementation of a ranged grapple attack for an artifact weapon
I have created a new artifact as part of a campaign I am running, with properties that seem a perfect match for the campaign, the items history and our party in general. I expect our dim-witted ...
- 1,239
7
votes
1
answer
241
views
Is this “Obsessive” trait balanced?
I've decided to homebrew a trait like Unearthed Arcana talks about but I'd like another opinion on whether it's balanced. The idea is someone who works themselves to the point of harm in order to gain ...
- 1,175
8
votes
1
answer
747
views
What's a reasonable temperature of a dungeon in the Underdark, maintaining balance with a character built to keep the environment cold?
I have a player who will be changing the temperature in a large radius and most of the campaign will be in a large underground dungeon. The player's build is built around him using magic & keeping ...
- 3,197
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is this change to how XP works in D&D 3.5 unbalanced?
I have been concerned for a while about how to treat experience totals in D&D 3.5 when a character gains or loses Level Adjustments (LA). Gaining/losing LA in play is too punitive and is ...
- 14k
2
votes
2
answers
436
views
Animal companion: roll additional HDs or not?
When a druid reaches level 3, his animal companion earns two hit dice. Do I have to roll them to give him more hp or is it only a number to use, for example, for spell effects? The manual also says ...
- 334
1
vote
1
answer
285
views
Can a bone knight summon a skeleton version of a steed other than a warhorse or war pony?
Paladins becoming a Bone Knight lose the services of their paladin mount and gain a skeletal mount instead. The wording seems to restrict the type of mount, allowing only a skeletal warhorse or pony (...
- 1,239
4
votes
1
answer
614
views
What is the consensus on which books should be banned due to either exploitability, lack of balance, or poor editing? [closed]
At first this may seem to be a largely opinion-based question, but the more that I read the more that there appears to be a consensus. For example, in something resembling decreasing order of the ...
- 6,364
-1
votes
1
answer
252
views
Before high levels, can Salient Divine Abilities be balanced for players? [closed]
I've become interested in Salient Divine Abilities. This answer details some of the ways in which they can become absurdly imbalanced (even in comparison to an Epic level party). However, when I look ...
- 6,364
2
votes
1
answer
530
views
Is the 3.0 Druid a lower tier than the 3.5e Druid?
When looking at comparisons between 3.0 edition and 3.5, I've noticed something interesting. In some cases, for example here and here, I've seen it commented that the Druid was not playable in 3.0 and ...
- 6,364
3
votes
1
answer
251
views
How much benefit can an Evil Truenamer give to a low level party via lazy sacrificing?
The Truenamer Handbook gives the following interesting piece of advice under "Hear My Words, O Dark Master!":
Pop open the Book of Vile Darkness and read the rules for sacrifices. Then remember ...
- 6,364
5
votes
3
answers
334
views
Would giving dwarves specific racial proficiencies instead of Weapon Familiarity be unbalanced?
I have a player that wants to play a dwarven druid. He’s flavoring the class as a loner that wander the tunnels protecting his settlement from the monsters that lurk in caves. However he is slightly ...
- 1,564
5
votes
1
answer
793
views
Will a spellthief break Pathfinder?
My Pathfinder PC died recently, and the GM is allowing me to pick also from D&D 3.5 classes for my next PC. I'm considering the class spellthief, and my DM has approved this pick, but I'm worried ...
- 21.7k
4
votes
3
answers
704
views
Will a level 10 pixie druid be unbalanced—either overpowered or underpowered—in a group of otherwise typical level 14 PCs?
A friend of mine wants to reenter the level 14 group in my campaign. She describes her ideal character thus:
nature-loving, woodland home, spiritual, rather eccentric, small and nimble
The other ...
- 5,256
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is the wings of flurry spell broken, when compared to other strong 4th level spells?
Relevant parts of the spell.
Evocation [Force]
Level: Sorcerer 4,
Range: 30 ft.
Area: 30-ft.-radius burst
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes
wings that strike at ...
- 3,197
24
votes
7
answers
10k
views
How can I prevent casters from stealing the spotlight from non-casters?
I have been running a game of D&D and the group is split with two non magic users (Fighter, Barbarian), one quarter-caster (Paladin), one half-caster (Bard), and two full casters (Cleric, Wizard). ...
- 21.7k
0
votes
1
answer
681
views
What unbalancing system effects would a DPR by character level damage cap have?
My players have asked me to come up with a Damage Per Round cap for each level. They want me to help them set up a DPR by level limit so they can do optimal damage, but not be overpowered.
In this ...
- 3,197
4
votes
4
answers
830
views
Was the old version of the maiming weapon enchantment unbalanced?
This question asks about the maiming weapon enchantment, which was updated in Magic Item Compendium:
Miniatures Handbook:
If the weapon normally has a ×2 critical multiplier, roll 1d4 each time ...
- 90.4k
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why is the cleric class declared to be unpopular in a published game document? [closed]
In the Player's Handbook 2 it says:
The divine spellcaster is the element most commonly missing from a party. Many players prefer to go for the spotlight with a fighter or wizard...
This seems ...
- 3,191
3
votes
0
answers
78
views
Rebalancing Ice Claw as a 7th level spell [closed]
The Ice Claw spell from the Spell compendium is very weak for a 7th level spell.
It does a grapple but the damage is very weak for its level how would you go about balancing the spell to be more in ...
- 527
18
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is allowing Shot On The Run with a net to bag and drag a target in one turn overpowered?
So I am running a 9th-level 3.5e campaign for a mix of new and old players. Since not everyone has a handbook, I've been keeping generally to the SRD rule base, since all my players can look them up. ...
- 183
7
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is the Saint, from Book of Exalted Deeds, broken?
An answer to this question: Protecting NPC's from Emissary of Barachiel claims that the Saint, from Book of Exalted Deeds, is pretty broken.
Curious, I went and websearched for it. It looks like ...
- 90.4k
7
votes
3
answers
653
views
How does the Blind-Fight feat interact with the Murky Eyed flaw?
I am creating a character for a game where Feats and Flaws are permitted and when I finished my character background I came to the conclusion that both the Blind-Fight feat and the Murky Eyed flaw are ...
- 1,239
4
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What is the challenge rating of an NPC?
The one-shot I am working on has the party primarily rolling against basic NPC's, however I have difficulty figuring out how tough a 3d4 amount of lvl 1 warriors would be for four lvl 3 PC's.
Can ...
4
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Can a spellcaster (learn to) cast while polymorphed into non-humanoid form capable of spellcasting?
Some non-humanoid creatures, for example the naga guardian, are capable of spellcasting (either innately or via class levels) despite not apparently being to provide the normal somatic component of ...
- 3,621
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Would crafting magical items from a single scroll be balanced?
Disclaimer: prompted by Sorcerer with item crafting of a warlock?.
In D&D, crafting a magical item generally requires a specific spell (or several), which must be cast every day the crafting ...
- 9,532
0
votes
2
answers
214
views
Why are level adjustments necessary?
If in 3.5 a monster's CR is intended to be the level at which one PC has a 50% chance of winning the fight, why isn't a monster's CR used as the starting effective character level for a monstrous ...
- 3
2
votes
1
answer
436
views
At which level adjustment would becoming a Lich be a good option for a Wizard? [closed]
I think the general consensus around here is that giving up four levels of Spellcasting (plus the XP an gold cost) to become a Lich wouldn't be a good choice for a Wizard (or Cleric for that matter).
...
- 973
14
votes
3
answers
295
views
How opponents buffing affects encounter difficulty
My dear PCs have defeated an evil king without taking out his elite guards, so they're planning retribution.
The guards will scry+teleport an elite squad, all buffed and stuffed for this fight. They ...
- 285
-3
votes
2
answers
581
views
Jumble mini-flail: is this balanced?
The jumble mini-flail is a mix of materials that:
All-together causes 1d2 lethal damage & 1d2 non-lethal damage (yes you read that right).
For every 2 hours searching a warzone or battleground or ...
- 765
-1
votes
3
answers
639
views
Is this homebrewed Double Whip balanced?
The double whip is a 6-inch bar with a whip lash on each end of the bar. The damage is 1d4/1d4 slashing non-lethal, critical 18–20/×5, its range is 10 feet and it can't be used against a foe ...
- 765
0
votes
1
answer
670
views
Is "Mass Aid" spell level balanced, especially when compared to other "Mass" spells? [closed]
Mass Aid is a level 3 spell (it can be found in Spell Compendium page 8) and the base (non-mass) spell Aid is a level 2 spell. This is just a +1 difference.
All other Mass spells have about +4 levels ...
- 2,282
-4
votes
4
answers
861
views
Are these stats balanced for a Pellet Bow?
The pellet bow is a real-world weapon. It's basically to the sling what the crossbow is to the bow and arrow & thusly should be a simple weapon. (Pull back the bow and release.)
I believe the ...
- 765
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
New weapon (cat o'nine flails) stats balanced? [closed]
A cat o'nine flails, a new weapon of my devising, is a 9 headed flail similar to an Ochsenherde. Note that this is not to be confused with a cat o'nine tails.
Artist's impression - Original image ...
- 765
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Balance issues for gestalt melee (or other lower Tier) characters
An idea I had for balancing higher level play is to allow characters who are not tier 1 spellcasters to gestalt. The worries I have are
What is the cutoff where a character becomes tier 1? generally ...
- 675
4
votes
5
answers
4k
views
how to balance a character with the half-ogre template (or the party)
I have a party of 6 or 7 players all currently level 2 and one of them has just created a new character: a half-ogre (Savage Species p218) barbarian. we just played one session and it feels as if this ...
- 1,239
11
votes
3
answers
3k
views
My character is more powerful than the others in the party
Background:
DnD 3.5 Homebrew campaign.
Level 5 party.
Warblade (me).
Bard.
Warlock.
Paladin.
Rogue.
The dilemma: my character completely outshines the others in almost every single combat ...
- 8,856
11
votes
1
answer
551
views
What "tier" are Thieves' World casters?
Having never been satisfied with the way the core magic system works, either for player fun, thematically, or even logically, I began looking for alternatives. What I have become enamoured with is the ...
user28753
4
votes
1
answer
334
views
What LA should this custom template be?
Trying my hand at making a custom template. I wanted to make a vampire-ish character, but both the vampire and half-vampire templates were kind of sucky. After some googling I found the Dhampir (...
- 3,589
2
votes
2
answers
784
views
Recommendations for Party Balancing? [closed]
We're running a low-powered campaign. We currently have five characters, with the indicated tiers (as outlined by the Tier System for Classes):
Bard - Tier 3
Warblade - Tier 3
Rogue - Tier 4
Warlock -...
- 4,415
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Houserule: All cantrips/orisons on spell list cast spontaneously, limited per day. Broken?
I'm a new-ish 3.5/Pathfinder frankenstein-hybrid DM (CMB and CMD exist in my game, Death rules from Pathfinder, the rest is 3.5) and now I'm thinking about tweaking Level 0 spells.
However I'm not ...
- 983