DragoonWraith wrote:
As for your experiences, thanks for the feedback! I'm not familiar with that Soulknife, but yeah, I'm not terribly surprised by the Warblades - this is supposed to be balanced with them, but I don't think I've found the mark yet. In particular, the number of readied Incantations is very high, and refreshing them is relatively easy. That definitely needs work. Tell your players that I encourage them to share their experiences! I'm still thinking about how best to bring down the power a bit.
Killbray wrote:DragonWraith, I need some clarifications about the mechanics of incantations. One of my friends is playing the swordmage in our current campaign and our opinions differ in several points. Hence I'm looking for the creator's word to settle the matter.
Killbray wrote:1) How many (offensive) incantations can be used per round?
My opinion is that you can only conjure one and then you must use that very same incantation for the whole duration of the round, my friend however insist that you can conjure as many incantations as the number of attacks you can make. Basically our opinions differ on the concept of "attack action", which I believe differs from "attack". My pov also assumes that AoO will be made with the last incantation conjured and no AoO can be made if the swordmage is unarmed and doesn't have any incantation in his hand, since the use of an incantation requires an attack action and you can't make such action outside of your turn.
Killbray wrote:1) How does this work in conjunction with Iaijutsu focus?
Does conjuring an incantation qualify as "drawing" a weapon? If multiple incantations can be used at the same round then, does that means the bonus of Iaijutsu focus can be multiplied for as many incantations you can conjure in that round? Isn't that a bit overpowered, especially considering that a swordmage already relies on charisma for damage?
Killbray wrote:2) Can Two-weapon fighting be used in conjunction with incantations?
Suppose a character has TWF and he's wielding a normal weapon in his off hand. Can he, as a full attack action, conjure an incantation in his main hand and at the same time use the normal weapon in his off-hand? My take on this is no, especially because of fellfrost cross.
Killbray wrote:3) How does fellfrost cross work?
The description doesn't specify that this attack includes two-weapon fighting, even so I think it is implied by the -2 penalty. However without a proper confirmation questions arise about its correct use. The fact that only one attack action is needed for this, suggests that the swordmage can move and then attack with both shortswords in the same round. This is however something you can't normally do with two-weapon fighting, since you need a full-round attack in order to get the extra attack from your off hand.
So does that mean that you should treat the 2x attack as a single attack? Does that mean that you get the 2x attack as many times as the number of your iterative attacks in a full-round attack? I'll make an example to better explain how I see this working and how my friend sees this working:
Suppose we have a lv20 swordmage using fellfrost cross as a full-round attack (penalties and bonuses omitted).
My opinion: +20/+20/+15/+10/+5 (four attacks plus one extra off hand attack)
My friend's opinion: +20/+20/+15/+15/+10/+10/+5/+5 (four 2x strikes with the two shortswords)
DragoonWraith wrote:One: The desired balance level of the Swordmage is to be in line with Swordmages and Crusaders - but I don't think I've quite hit that sweet spot yet. I'm working on it.
Two: The Scourge issue is interesting; in theory you should have had to spend half your actions Recovering the maneuver between uses of it, but this I blame partly on my misunderstanding of how the Turn Undead ability actually worked. If this continues to be an issue in your campaign, perhaps make it so that it Turns only the Undead struck with the mace?
Three: I'd argue that Icy Burst is overpriced (by a lot) as a +2 weapon enhancement, but you're still right, it's probably too much for 3rd level. Plus there's the TWF advantage. OK, how about a pair of +1 Shortswords, the second of which deals Cold damage instead of the usual Slashing/Piercing damage, and if both hit, the target takes an additional 1d6 Cold damage and must save against the hypothermia/frostbite. If either sword crits, the "rend" damage increases to 1d10; if both crit, it becomes 2d6. Does that sound more balanced; did I nerf too hard? Thoughts are appreciated.
DragoonWraith wrote:I was planning on some day getting around to doing just that, but never did. I'd certainly take a look at yours (and in any case would never stop you). Just make yourself a thread and I'll take a look!
Matar wrote:So I've been playing in a very combat heavy game recently and we've come to the conclusion that this class is way too powerful, at least at level one. So here are some things that I came up with that might help balance the first level incantations more. Thoughts?
Also note, we are at this moment level one. And I am rather crazy compared to everyone else.
DragoonWraith wrote:Counter commentary (not necessarily sufficient to counter your points, but this is my thought-process): It's personal-only (a very big deal later), and the Warlock gains the same at 6th rather than 5th, but it literally is all day, every day, without any refreshing or action usage.
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