Talk:Chiseled Warrior (3.5e Prestige Class)

Power: 3.75 out of 5 - I would rate this class a 3.75 because while not immediately overpowering, the class can essentially become "immune to physical damage". I say this because with the right set up, the DR can be outstandingly high while the Natural Armor boost of x1.5 at later levels can be tremendous. It is not unheard of for a character to have a +10 Strength Modifier. You only need Level 30 Strength, and if you start off with a Race that gives, say, a +12 Strength Bonus and you take a +17 on your Strength Ability Roll, you are already at +29 Strength as a 1st Level character. For the DR, if a character starts off as a Barbarian, depending on their Class Level before Prestige their DR can be pretty high. Even higher Still with the Scaled Feat; Pit Fighter. Epic characters who want to Prestige again into something else with DR could, in theory, have well into DR20/- on top of their already massive Nat Armor. This being stated, it would be partial fault to the DM to not set restrictions or acquire more powerful enemies. The actual amount of work, time, and effort to get to this outstanding DR and Nat AC is a daunting task, and those who don't look for it won't possess it, however for seasoned players this class may be a bit overkill.

If I could make a suggestion, replace the Natural Armor boost of x1.5 Strength Modifier to Constitution Modifier; After all this is your body that has grown to become steel; Your vitality, not your strength. This will help take the edge off a bit more as it divides this character among two Ability Scores, and not just one.

Also perhaps the DR can be reduced from +3, +6, +9 to +1, +3, +5?

Wording: 4.5 out of 5 - While the follow is easy enough and the concept is very clear, there are continuous grammatical and spelling errors. Not to sound like a Grammar Nazi (No offense), but a little more effort could have been put in to reduce the choppiness of the posts. I don't feel comfortable enough with giving this a "3" or a "3.5" because it is not polite to judge someone on their typed grammar, and since it is not that bad I only docked it 0.5 points.

Formatting: 5 out of 5 - Everything seems to be in order except for a picture, but hey leaving something to the imagination is occasionally better than telling us how to imagine it outright.

Flavor: 2.5 out of 5 - Unfortunately this is clearly just a super powered tank. With the right Feats and the right Class, anything can become a tank. We don't need a massive DR or intense Nat AC to do so. A tank is yes, someone who can take the brunt of the blows, but also someone who can deliver them too. High Dodge AC, keen Dexterity, and an outstanding Strength does this well enough. If a Race with Powerful Build is chosen (Medium considered Large, for example) with the Feat Gigantic Weapon is taken, a Medium character is now wielding a Huge weapon. Get two of these with a little Two Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Focus, Weapon Focus, and Greater Weapon Focus and suddenly you have a Medium character who can dual wield Huge weapons at no penalty. Throw in Feats such as Weapon Specialization and Greater Weapon Specialization and BOOM! you've got yourself a +4 bonus to all Damage Rolls. Pepper with Power Critical, Improved Critical, and Greater Critical and suddenly the game has become nothing more than your personal slaughterhouse. The thing is, building a character like this takes time, focus, and dedication. This Prestige Class basically gives it to you, while allowing you the Bonus Feats you naturally get anyway as you Level. It's not that I don't like the class (I'm currently using a 5th Level Barbarian and Prestigeing into this very class next Level), but realistically unless your DM is running campaigns meant for 12th Level characters while you're 6th Level, it's just an overpowered tank.