Talk:Cosmic Swordsman (5e Class)

Hello! This class is really interesting and I wanted to test it out, so after talking with some DM friends, Here's some questions for you that we'd like answers to in regards to balancing and mechanics~!

1) In regards to Rapid Deflection, why so many reactions? Reactions are meant to be a limited form of extra defense, which is why everyone typically only gets one per round. Even if you specify that these are only usable against projectile attacks, you still stated that "If you are attacked with multiple projectiles on the same turn, you can still deflect them, but if you fail the first check to deflect, you immediately fail the rest of the checks as well." By having one reaction be able to deflect "as many projectiles in one reaction equivalent to 2 x your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier", you would essentially allow a player character to deflect anything that comes their way, making them practically untouchable by ranged enemies.

2) About Stardust Step: How does a jump attack work mechanically? Also, by saying "there is no limit to how many times you can do this before touching the ground", you've allowed a Level 2 character to completely negate fall damage. There should be a limit to this feature, especially since the player can essentially gain a wingsuit later on. --Mitternacht (talk) 18:06, 7 April 2020 (MDT)

In response to Mitternacht

1) The idea I had for this class was that they were moderately limited to melee range, so they had to have some sort of defense from ranged enemies, however looking back on it, this does seem quite good even at low levels, so I'm thinking that the way I could fix this is making the checks incrementally harder depending on how many projectiles that character has to deflect.

2) Honestly, jumping attacks to me would just be a normal attack in the air, its just a flying character without wings after all, and people do flying combat quite frequently (at least in my group). And there is actually already a limit to the feature, the character would have to continually have to attack either objects in the air or enemies in the air to gain height, and the only way they negate fall damage is by doing that ability before they hit the ground, so if theres a scripted event where the party falls a huge distance, the only way the character could use that ability is by attacking their teammate, which would definitely cause some party conflict. 10:09, 16 April 2020 (CDT)

Editing this class

Please refrain from editing this class and any of its abilities, I feel like the class has been balanced properly and fully, and if there are any changes to be done to it, I will do it myself. Thank you. -Creator

Balance issues

I'm concerned about the power level of this page. This class has the above-average d10 hit die and two good saves, this combined with the Unarmored Defense feature makes a level 1 cosmic swordsman with 16 Dex and 16 Wis (which is easily achievable with a wood elf or other +2 dex/+1 wis race) the best defensive character at level 1. Unarmored Defense is also outright better than the monk's version. Cosmic Katana is the best weapon in the game, being a one-handed finesse weapon dealing 1d12 damage, and it isn't even heavy. The rapier only deals 1d8, and the greataxe is both heavy and two-handed, and doesn't have finesse. These two factors combined mean that a CS is as good at defending as a sword-and-board strength fighter, without the disadvantage of poor stealth, is as good at dealing damage as a two-handed fighter, and is better at evading than a rogue due to also having wis save proficiency.

The Rapid Reflection feature doesn't state what ability score is used for the ability check it requires, but regardless of which score is used it is a superb defensive ability. While it avoids being a direct upgrade to the monk's Deflect Missiles ability, due to this trait having a limited use per encounter while Deflect Missiles can be used every turn regardless of how long the encounter takes, Rapid Reflection still exacerbates the issues I laid out above by giving the character another defensive option.

Stardust Step is somewhat poorly worded; is it meant to work similarly to the eagle Totem Barbarian's ability granting limited flight?

Baryon Bullet is probably fine, although the "pierces enemies" level 8 upgrade is poorly defined, and the ability to regain charges on a kill gives a CS access to a similar exploit to the Bag of Rats Fighter.

While Extra Attack and Evasion are in line with the levels that the monk gets those traits, I feel they further exacerbate the issues I raised above, especially when you combine Extra Attack with the damage upgrades gained by the cosmic katana at later levels, which makes the CS's damage output comparable to the champion fighter while still having a massive advantage over the champion in the area of mobility thanks to Stardust Step and later Gravitational Grapple and Slowed Descent, and a defensive advantage in the form of proficiency in two very common saving throws plus Elusive later on.

Strength of the Chosen gives access to massive burst damage, especially when you take into account that Universal Katana triple's the katana's critical hit rate, but I'm not too concerned about it given that the paladin also has access to massive burst damage. It is worth noting, though, that the paladin needs to expend many resources to deal that burst damage, while the CS doesn't.

Sea of Life is somewhat poorly worded, but doesn't seem especially problematic, nor do any of the other Terran traits.

Haywire Hydrogen gives an effect similar to haste, but 2 levels before any first-party character has access to it. Haywire Hydrogen also doesn't have any limits on what you can do with its initial action, unlike haste.

Neutralizing Neon defines "negative condition" rather vaguely, and could potentially lead to issues similar to those of the infamous Iron Heart Surge.

Eye of the Storm basically gives a constant blur effect without the CS needing to expend any resources, exacerbating the defensive issues raised above.

Flash Freeze basically gives a constant, stronger elemental weapon, again without needing to expend any resources, exacerbating the offensive issues raised above.

Are you able to use Sub Zero Suit on yourself? This could potentially exacerbate the defensive issues raised above.

Solar Flare and Planetary Heating both exacerbate the offensive issues raised above.

It's pretty clear that this class is able to at least stand toe-to-toe with, if not surpass, many first-party classes in their area of specialty while still being much stronger than them in other areas, both from the sheer number of traits and the power of some of those traits. A concerted effort will need to be made to bring this class to a power level where it is more in line with the first-party classes. — Geodude (talk | contribs | email)‎‎ . . 01:25, 28 July 2020 (MDT)

Class rework

I have finished my unannounced rework of the class and I would like to keep it as it is. Thank you to whoever uses my class in the future. -Creator

Re-balance

I have done some touch ups on this class. Removed a few ASI's that were basically just filler features that could be removed without affecting the more original features, and ended up unbalancing the class. Also, changed some features of order, to make the DPR progression of this class be equivalent to that of official classes, putting the Planetary Katana at 11th level, a level in which most classes have a boost in damage.

Also did some rewording to make some features clearer to use or more consistent, such as the block feature. Also on the block feature, changed the progression of the deflection points, since the points recharge with every combat. Anastacio (talk) 23:08, 7 May 2022 (MDT)

I’m slightly confused. When do the charges for Spiraling Sulfur reset? On a long rest I assume?