All Questions
84
questions
80
votes
2
answers
80k
views
What are "tiers", and what tier is each class?
I tend to play Wizards, almost exclusively, though I have branched out and played Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, and, at some point each other core class. I would like to play something different for my ...
- 1,129
69
votes
8
answers
21k
views
How are Fighters Linear but Wizards Quadratic?
The phrase "Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards" gets bandied about a lot, but I've found I don't have a good way to explain it to newer players.
The tier system post has some examples of how wizards ...
- 90.4k
38
votes
11
answers
58k
views
What makes clerics so strong in D&D 3.5?
I'm just starting a campaign for the first time with a couple of friends, and I've been told that certain classes like cleric are really strong; some people even say they're overpowered. What is it ...
- 389
32
votes
5
answers
13k
views
Are psionics overpowered or especially exploitable?
My DM is very picky about what materials we're allowed to use, pretty much PHB only, and we can't multiclass until level 6. I really like psionics, and would especially like to play a psionic warrior ...
- 419
31
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Does Pathfinder have the character imbalance problem that D&D 3.X has?
Many agree that D&D 3.X has a tier "problem" (or system or classification, depending upon your preference). I enjoy the basic rule set of 3.X but have a hard time having fun with a system that is ...
- 3,543
28
votes
11
answers
12k
views
What can I do to prevent a player from breaking the game?
Several of my friends are starting a game pretty soon, and one of the players is a great guy, and fun to play with EXCEPT, he plays with the objective of optimization, while everyone else plays much ...
- 568
27
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Balancing Spellcasters; Spontaneous Casters versus Prepared Casters
So ask any optimizer and they'll almost always tell you the same thing: in 3.5 classes that prepare spells are better than spontaneous spellcasters. It's generally not thought of as even a contest. ...
- 2,820
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
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
19
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Should I allow a Wondrous Item on level 1 character creation?
I'm starting a new 3.5 campaign, using only the 3 core books for character creation, and starting all my players off at level 1. One of my players has written a (rather good) backstory for his ...
- 527
18
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How can I offer players a balanced opportunity to take powerful races, without adjusting their level?
I'm planning to run a Planescape game in 3.5 and want to offer players the opportunity to play unusual characters within the system. Ideally power level wouldn't be a concern, but some players might ...
- 8,191
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
18
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Is the Cancer Mage overpowered?
I am running a D&D 3.5 campaign, and a player wants to go for the Cancer Mage prestige class in the Book of Vile Darkness. Is this prestige class overpowered, as defined in this question?
- 1,030
17
votes
10
answers
11k
views
What is the best way to prevent abuse of the gate spell?
The gate spell may be used for calling a extraplanar creature up to 39 HD for your service, e.g. Solar. That creature may be commanded to use wish spell for raising your attributes or for creating a ...
- 1,724
17
votes
7
answers
6k
views
How to help my low-level spellcaster PCs feel more useful
My party right now consists of a pair of incredibly optimized characters (a half-orc fighter and a ranger/scout), one fairly well optimized character (a swashbuckler who's thinking about mutliclassing ...
- 2,820