Talk:Scalekin (5e Class)

Balance

The easiest way to judge a class is HP, AC, and damage output, so I'll start with those. Assuming the standard array is used for ability scores on a human, no magic items are used, and feats are not used, here's how the Paladin subclass breaks down:

• Hit points and damage resistance are standard for a warrior-like class. Some subclasses have potent boons, but overall I think defenses are perfectly balanced throughout.
• At 6th level, your AC while transformed will be at least 16 (18 Str, 15 Con), which isn't bad. You can make two attacks per turn with the standard chance to hit, each of which deals an average of 17 (2d6+10) slashing damage, for a total of 34. That is pretty high—higher than any SRD class can do in one turn at this level, except for a very specific paladin build that burns two or three of its highest spell slots for one attack.
• At 16th level, your AC while transformed will be at least 21 (20 Str, 19 Con) which is borderline bad. Except for a fighter which took the Defense fighting style, is wearing plate, and is wielding a shield, no SRD class can get an AC this high without feats, magic items, or hitting level 20. That's a pretty specific setup. By now this class deals an average of 58 ([3d6+18]*2) slashing damage per turn, assuming both attacks hit. Honestly this is better than I feared it would be, but it is still quite high. It's more than a barbarian can do at this level while in rage, but not by a huge margin. I suppose it's fitting for the class and the subclass; not game-breaking.
• At 19th level, this class and subclass reaches a fair apex in damage output. By now, it will have 20 Str and 20 Con. It's AC will be 22, which can only be matched by a 20th level barbarian which also maxed Str and Con, but is also wielding a shield (whereas this class needs no shield). Average damage per turn is 73 ([3d10+20]*2), while transformed, which I fear is exceptionally high for something that can be done for every turn of practically any combat. A fighter of this level could at most deal ~80 at this point, if it used Action Surge, and it could only do this a couple times per day. At 20th level it could climb to almost 110 or so, but it would still be only two turns out of the entire day—and it wouldn't have as high of an AC, advantage against CE creatures, maxed crit damage, or some of the other benefits this class has.
• At 20th level, things get a little crazy. The subclass can add its Strength modifier to each of its alt form attacks twice over, on top of the normal +10 bonus to damage. Compared to the previous level, this increases that 73 to 83—at least, as we're ignoring magic items.

This is clearly a combat-oriented class, with some subclasses and spells to give it some other options. Overall, I think a combat-optimized version of this class is easily better than a combat-optimized barbarian, which is easily the most similar SRD class. That said, it should be far from game-breaking. It might outperform a barbarian in a per-combat basis, but I imagine the rough power level is less than ×1.5 that of a barbarian. The totem warrior barbarian notably gets several benefits this class lacks, including a higher likelihood to hit, wider damage resistance, and more daily uses of its rage.

...One final thing, is that I fear paladin's Aegis is simply too strong as a single feature. It grants such a huge boon to the entire party constantly, with little to no drawback except against AoEs—which even at such high levels are quite rare. If it had a more limited use, or something, I believe it would be alright. - Guy (talk) 21:33, 29 June 2018 (MDT)