Talk:Boneshaper (3.5e Class)

Looks pretty good. Its a cool concept, although it appears similar (if more gruesome than) a mindblade and I fear in practice it will suffer from the same problems. I do have some questions and concerns though:
a) Does shaped armor effect Max Dex and Speed? Those are functions of form not of weight so it would seem they might... although I can see arguments for them not having an effect. Either way you should specifically mention it in the text. Come to think of it, all that extra bone probably weighs quite a bit too... you might want to address that as well for people who actually care about weight burden.
b) Is the two-handed shaped weapon truly two-handed? Ie, are both hands permanently used in the shaping, or is one hand shaped and the other hand free to be used or not? You should add some guidance on this.
c) Does the Greater Boneshaping ability stack with enhancement bonuses from arcane skeleton? By the time you get this you already have a +3 enhancement bonus... seems kinda... underwhelming.
d) Although these are 'manufactured' weapons, are they not also natural weapons since they are an extension of the shapers body? For example, would they qualify for the Improved Natural Attack feat in the same way a monk does?
e) How would armor spikes work? Or a quarterstaff?
f) As a suggestion on how you might improve the utility of the class think about its concept beyond the ability to fight. In what other way can you shape your bones? The ability to move/alter your physical substructure could give amazing bonuses to grapple checks and skills(think about disguise, escape artist, intimidate, open lock, slight of hand, swim, and tumble). What about the ability to do simple shaping as a standard or move action at higher levels or This character could make an unparalleled assassin. I might also suggest that the boneshaping perhaps does con damage of some sort in addition to/instead of/as an alternative to HP damage. This will make the abilities less limiting at lower levels and more limiting at higher levels.
Jtpurdom 10:41, 4 March 2011 (MST)

I think I covered everything. thanks for the constructive criticism. though I'm not sure if I like the Con cost or the HP cost I'll just have to play test it some time and work out which one is better

Rating

Power - 0/5 I give this class a 0 out of 5 because 'You are a class that gets awesome equipment for free. And, you can still wear normal armor and weapons to compliment it. This saves you thousands of gold while your team-mates must still pay for it. Thus, you buy magical items instead, becoming a god. Without a vow of poverty, this class is doomed to break your game.' --Jay Freedman 03:59, 4 July 2011 (MDT)

i think you need to reread it. it says that shaped armor takes up the same slot a normal suit of armor would and that if you attempt to shape armor while wearing armor it will ruin the armor your wearing. and sure you can shape a weapon and wield another one same as the soul knife. i fail to see how that is game breaking

Wording - 3/5 I give this class a 3 out of 5 because 'Spelling and grammer were noticeable. Also, the lack of paragraphs was too. Break it up son.' --Jay Freedman 03:59, 4 July 2011 (MDT)

Formatting - 0/5 I give this class a 0 out of 5 because 'The Formatting was incomplete.' --Jay Freedman 03:59, 4 July 2011 (MDT)

of course its incomplete. i even said its still under construction

Flavor - 3/5 I give this class a 3 out of 5 because 'Interesting idea, bad execution. Don't build a bridge around a road. Don't build a class around a detail.' --Jay Freedman 03:59, 4 July 2011 (MDT)

you're an idiot. that's like saying a sorcerer is a bad idea because she is built around the idea of spontaneously casting or the fighter is a bad idea because he is built around the idea of mastering a specific style of combat

Couple of errors / semi-rating.

The greater boneshaping ability is worthless, since by that point you already have arcane skeleton.

Masterwork +1 to hit doesn't stack with a +1 Enchantment +1 to hit.

Also, this class seems kind of boring. All you can really do is grow weapons and armor out of yourself at the cost of CON. The free equipment is kind of cool I guess but overall the class just seems really underwhelming.

Umm what about undead

Well this is bugging me what if you are an undead using this class and your Constiturion is 0, it will bug me what will i not be able to or will i bypass the need to care about my constitution points? I kinda want to find out since im planning on playing an undead character.

Suggestions

This class has a lot of promise. I found it while I was messing around with the Homebrew Feats, and decided to check it out. After reading it, it seems like the class has a small problem. The ability to make your own armor and weapons, while considered powerful, is not very good as the only class feature for a class. I suggest adding some other offensive options, like the trusty "I deal Xd6 damage when i fulfill this condition" (e.g. rogue, scout), or something similar (e.g. paladin, the Dragoon, my own Rellit's Reaper). If you were to do this, it would require you to downgrade the current shaping ability, but the trade-off would be worth it. As it stands, this class has a limited allure (great for dipping but not for staying), compared to some other things that your character could do. However, adding something else (like the examples above) would make this an amazing class. Will rate soon, but not right now. --Salasay Δ 16:00, 12 February 2013 (MST)

Rating

Power - <<<3>>>/5 I give this class a <<<Insert Your Rating Here>>> out of 5 because <<<Well i Really like the look and flavor just wish he was more powerful all together instead of just at like level 15 and up :)>>> --97.72.232.122 03:40, 19 March 2013 (MDT)

Wording - <<<5>>>/5 I give this class a <<<Insert Your Rating Here>>> out of 5 because <<<insert why you gave the rating and how to improve it>>> --97.72.232.122 03:40, 19 March 2013 (MDT)

Formatting - <<<5>>>/5 I give this class a <<<Insert Your Rating Here>>> out of 5 because <<<insert why you gave the rating and how to improve it>>> --97.72.232.122 03:40, 19 March 2013 (MDT)

Flavor - <<<Insert Your Rating Here>>>/5 I give this class a <<<5>>> out of 5 because <<<insert why you gave the rating and how to improve it>>> --97.72.232.122 03:40, 19 March 2013 (MDT)

Confusion

We have been using this class for a not-so-serious campaign, and there are a lot of things that confuse us First off, Finger Bullets, are they considered shaped weapons, and do they count for things like Arcane Skeleton or Firey Spirit and such?

Second, how does the Arcane Skeleton's enchanting work? Do you have to go up to an enchanter and say "Hey, enchant my bones"? (Our group made it similar to the Soulknife's Mind Blade Enchantment, where you have to concentrate 8 hours to change the enchantment, and allowing access to the feats that speed this up)

Third, the Jagged Edge feat at level 8, you can take the feat at character creation (and is even in the recommended starting package) but you get it here? What if you have taken that feat already? Can you swap it out for another boneshaper feat or are you just out of luck?

4th, the Natural AC bonus, where does it come from, I've noticed the Arcane Skeleton says nothing about Armor, so is that where it comes from? If so, can you drop some of the AC to enchant your armor?

5th, the DR. What bypasses it? RAW, everything does, but if thats the case, then why have it? [We said it was bludgeoning and magic] And does it only apply if you have the bone armor on or does it stem from the Natural AC?

6th, Shaping's Concentration Check, what is it? Is it just 10+Damage Dealt?