Talk:Orcish Blood Warrior (3.5e Prestige Class)

Rating - 5/10

On the scale of the balance system, I rate this class a 5. Technically, this class is fine. It builds on its pre-requisites. Yet on the power-curve, this class fails to perform. Defenses are great, but orcs aren't generally know for their defenses. Barbarian's won't trade this for their rage improvements. Fighters won't give up their feats. The class doesn't have the punch for a good villain class. There's nothing to make one a memorable encounter. I think that the last criticism is the most important. Evil classes should make memorable villains. --Dmilewski 07:43, 8 December 2006 (MST)

I've decided to revisit this. The class represents the "tough-guy" archetype, able to outlast a normal Fighter or Barbarian in combat (and would therefore make a good "meat-shield" for a spellcaster to hide behind: it isn't really intended as a "primary villain" class), but as you point out, is lacking abilities for dishing out damage to the enemy. Also, the powers beyond 5th level are somewhat limited: by 5th, the character no longer needs healing between battles (due to Fast Healing) and any cures he's given in combat are twice as effective, but there's not a big incentive to continue with the class. It seems to me that the simplest fix is to start awarding bonus Fighter feats at higher levels: I've already provided a "1 feat per 4 levels" Epic progression, so I'll let him get started early, with a feat at 6th and 10th. --Findail 09:12, 15 December 2006 (MST)

BTW, would it be appropriate to remove the old balance-rating, as the class has been modified since? This was done to another class of mine, the Skyclad Practitioner, which went from 7 to not-rated after I increased the spellcraft requirement: is this normal? --Findail 09:58, 17 January 2007 (MST)

I just removed it. Thanks for bringing it up that the rating above was for an old version of this class. --Green Dragon 14:56, 17 January 2007 (MST)

Rating 6/10

Nice build, but I would put some sort of ritual or of initation quest in order to gain access to it and thus explain some not so common benefit...

Third Eye —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.221.198.36 (talk • contribs) 17:34, 25 January 2007 (MST). Please sign your posts.

Ritual

How bout soemthign involving a troll, seeing as regenration and primal behavior are involved? Would soem sort of mystical ritual involving drinking a troll's blood or eating its heart or soemthign be appropriate? Jsut a though. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Theophenes (talk • contribs) 17:53, 21 February 2007 (MST). Please sign your posts.

Yes, I think a special ritual would be appropriate, but I'd rather make it specifically "Orcish" rather than having them drink the blood of another race. --Findail 10:22, 22 February 2007 (MST)

Balance 7/10

The class mostly works; I think the entry requirements are fine. Special requirements can be added my individual DMs as they see fit. The class should not grant a Con bonus; this is highly unorthodox and is equivalent to the benefits of a 9th level spell (Wish), which is overpowered. Further, there are slightly more abilities than neatly fit within the levels, and so the class ends up being slightly overpowered. It also builds upon itself fairly nicely, and is only slightly more overpowered than the barbarian (though it looses several abilities to the barbarian, notably rage, it also becomes even more unstoppable in terms of hit points than the barbarian does, which seems a little excessive). Overall, though, a nearly balanced class (8 is as balanced as most SRD classes). 7/10 --EldritchNumen 23:17, 21 February 2007 (MST)

Well, a raging Barbarian would have even more hitpoints (albeit temporarily), and so would a Dwarven Defender in a defensive stance. A Dragon Disciple would have the same hitpoints permanently (they get a +2 Con bonus). I'm envisaging a physiological change here, they're becoming unnaturally resilient. --Findail 10:20, 22 February 2007 (MST)

Resiliency is encompassed in the idea of damage reduction. The point is not necessarily that their maximum hit points are always the highest, but that they can retain their hit points the best: damage reduction, fast healing, extra HP after sleep, double healing from spells, and immunity to nonlethal damage, poison, and disease make this class better at staying in the positives after being hit than any other class (the Dwarven Defender, obviously, instead tries not to get hit). I still dislike the Con bonus; you have already (with the other abilities listed) shown increased physiological constitution; the only reason to increase the Con bonus is if the Warrior is actually changing race (and it seemed that the point was not that the Warrior was becoming half-demonic or something, but rather than he was only accepting the feral and savage nature of the orcs; in effect, becoming an orc paragon and embracing his orcish heritage, not renouncing it). --EldritchNumen 11:15, 22 February 2007 (MST)

I agree that giving classes a bonus to an attribute is bad game design, even though it seems fashionable at the moment. The only way to permanently raise an ability score should be racial Paragon classes, racial templates and the attribute bonus every 4 levels. Note that the Wish spell does not raise the score, it merely gives a permanent enhancement bonus. (The difference is that an enhancement bonus does not stack with everything). --Mkill 23:58, 18 June 2007 (MDT)