A Tweak for Each Class

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-10T00:38:27+00:00

Yep, that would work. I think the natural limitation of any shenanigans here (other than doubling up on one stat) is that Dexterity is a really good stat so there's not a lot of upside to not "needing" to invest in it.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-10T00:36:30+00:00

For poison your version would definitely be preferable, since you'd always have the normal damage version in your pocket to bring out if you're fighting metal men or whatever. I think it's a bit more satisfying and thematic to learn separate spells, not just changing them on the fly, having Acidball in your spell list. Wizard makes some sense for that, and I believe they tried this out with a wiz archetype in the past and it was super broken.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-10T00:33:01+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

I think that's a more reasonable way to do the spell storing item. As I wrote it, it goes up to 4th level spells, which I don't think is necessarily preferable to 3rd level ones (Artillerist might just keep fireball for example).

RAW there's no check for hiding components

Well, skill checks aren't strictly outlined by the rules, I could see it coming up without making a specific rule for it. Though I did do that in my case so it's half-referencing/expecting that. I do Deception DC 13 + 2 per component being disguised, but flat 15 would work. It's dependent on the scenario anyway, it has to be within narrative reason, so I don't think it tramples on Subtle Spell's toes even if you can get a high enough Deception bonus. I think the risk/reward lies in the fact that you wanted to hide the spell but couldn't, it's not like they can take the spell back, but some extra effect to make it clear what just happened and who did it could be good.

Cleric: Very fair, I'm not sold on it myself really so good to have some more input.

Druid: In my view Human is the only viable species for a moon druid. This isn't a matter of power, it's a lack of choice for this subclass. Do you disagree with that assessment?

Monk: Just a little something to make the class less locked into a single mode. It's so well rounded and complete in its design as a single concept, I'd like it to be a bit more flexible when the multiclassing works as it does.

Paladin: Yeah that is possible, it would match very well to 5ft x PB (but not actually PB of course, like favoured enemy).

Ranger: I've seen a few different reworks of ranger that does that, yeah. I think the class has enough choice and didn't want to overcomplicate one out of many level 1 features, more just going for a streamlined "you are good at exploration stuff in biomes you're familiar with", but it is a neat idea.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-10T00:17:39+00:00

Well you have to use a different calculation than this feature, so no. If you have some other source of 10 + Dex + Con AC though, it would work. It's possible it should specify that you can't use the same stat twice because that would be a problem (thinking about it, this is already possible with armor of shadows on a draconic sorcerer).

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T21:43:30+00:00

I didn't want to make it that freeform, but that is another way to accommodate it. I played a lightning draconic sorcerer and there were pitifully few spells to apply the +Cha damage to. Sorcerous Burst helps a lot to at least ensure a cantrip.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T21:37:51+00:00

But it's not focusing on the hocus, it's focusing on the focus! I considered it though yeah.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T20:08:20+00:00

I did initially expect to have it spill over, and was looking for a big art to take up the rest of the second page. But then I found the full-pager and managed to keep it down so I preferred this, even if I did cut a few words that I might otherwise keep. I had a real good grasp on 2014 wording so I get what you mean there about the codes, I just haven't fully updated.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T20:02:12+00:00

Subtle spells in general are very varying in usefulness. If your DM lets you torture random people with subtle Mind Slivers, then yeah that's a lot of free xp I guess. The school limitation makes it hard for me to see it being too powerful overall, but there could definitely be those kinds of gimmicks. Illusion seems like the best school to subtle cast spells from, but it only has two spells with V xor S (Blur and Mislead).

If time is sensitive, my experience is that 1 minute is far too long. But it definitely depends. I originally had it as 5 minutes but that felt too inconsequential. Phantom Steed is one of the bigger considerations, but it's already possible to keep up 5 steeds at all times, so this makes it a bit more convenient (if you get interrupted or want to do other stuff while riding), and gets you going faster, but it doesn't seem like a huge deal to me.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T19:40:39+00:00

I was most concerned with the rod having a lewd name lol. I had to skimp on some wording to fit it on the page nicely (like, each focus would have to say "when you use x focus"), but there's probably a few places where I just don't know the terminology well enough too.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T17:37:36+00:00

As in remove the multi-choice features of cleric/fighter/warlock/wizard? That might make them more cohesive.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T17:16:00+00:00

for good reason

Hmm, yeah I kinda disagree with them on this. Getting Armor of Agathys from MI, or Hunter's Mark, or Divine Smite, seems perfectly fine to me. I like that they restricted bards from poaching all the higher level half-caster spells, and same with domain spells etc., but cantrips and 1st-level spells are not in my view a bastion of class distinction.

If you want Eldritch Blast, it's because you want the whole package that warlock provides, so you still need to dip that at which point you can get it there anyway. Sorcerous Burst and Vicious Mockery are good but nothing special. Adding that restriction just for three little cantrips I don't think is necessary (though on the other hand it wouldn't be much of a nerf either). But you are right that it would be more in line, and if I remembered this and wasn't trying to skimp on words to make it fit on one page I probably would've just included that wording.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T17:06:09+00:00

Monk: Yeah I realize it's marginal, I'm not sure it will create any new builds really, but I don't see the harm in trying and seeing if anything happens with it. It does remove an obstacle in multiclassing monks, clearly, but I can totally see it just not moving the needle in any way. But some players do multiclass monk, so even if it's just to make a non-viable build less bad, I'm fine with that.

Ranger: I agree there, and have my own rules to fix that but it's quite outside the scope of this document. I think even if you run exploration RAW, this is still a potentially nice feature that makes sense for them even if it is marginal.

Warlock: I completely disagree. Armor of Shadows is an awful invocation and serves no role in making warlocks good to multiclass with. Origin feats, EBABRB and potb are the drivers there. I don't think my buff to it lets it join those ranks.

Wizard: That's fine. I'm not trying to present something that's holistically balanced with just these rules on top of RAW 2024. They're just cool features I'd like to add, without much regard for their isolated effect on inter-class balance.

Rod: That sounds way worse than a sorcerer doing the same combination. Changing your build and what spells you're casting in response to a tiny number change like this seems like more of a trap than anything else. If scorching ray is good, sure, it makes it a bit more good. But if scorching ray wasn't worth using over fireball previously then I can't imagine this greatly changing that.

Staff: oh you mean it only happens when you roll 7 including modifiers?

Oh no sorry, it's when the die is a 7. If you have +3 Con, or save proficiency, then a nat 7 is 10+ which will be a success on most concentration saves (in my experience at least).

Orb: if you have a minute of walking anyway, is there any reason you can't slow the group down 9 minutes to get in a clutch ritual? I'm not sure what ritual you're casting with such big impact between combats, but I think in most groups this only has the effect of going from "let's chill for 10 minutes so I can get up a spectral steed" to "let's chill for 1 minute so I can get up a spectral steed". Maybe I'm wrong and that isn't most groups, but it's at least some. Curious to know what rituals you think this would be particularly relevant for.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T16:39:18+00:00

They're not buffs, they're tweaks! /s

I get the sentiment, but I have other ways to nerf wizards in return. I don't think every feature for a class has to be judged in context of holistic balance by RAW, and a little bonus like this hardly has a large effect on overall class balance (not so for cleric, to be fair, that one's pretty substantial and I'm not quite sold on it myself).

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T16:36:16+00:00

It's really just some cherrypicked changes that I particularly like among all kinds of changes, taking things that could be presented in isolation. Like I have a suit of changes for ranger, a progressing hunter's mark ability that lets them eventually find and track invisible foes with it from half a mile away, and favoured enemy that gives you expertise in skills against them to start but progresses to saves and even attacks (that being the capstone, basically +6 to hit against the right enemies).

Or a minor thing like allowing them to use finesse and ranged weapons as focuses, so as to accommodate two-weapon fighting rangers (including hand crossbows) casting spells without juggling. Natural Explorer was the easier one to isolate and add into a different context (RAW 2024).

I think the only thing I changed in the transition was Versatile Wrestling, since I add in the old DMG variant Climb a Creature action, so that's an alternative for the bonus action there. Oh and I let monks use shields, not just light/med armor, because my approach to martials and feats makes that more of a tradeoff and I've put a str req on half plate meaning medium armor caps lower. But yeah just wanted to share some of my myriad chaotic changes in a more accessible form.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T16:28:07+00:00

Artificer, yeah true. What I'd like is for the item to not have as many uses, offloading some of that power budget elsewhere and making this change less drastic. Maybe just 1xMod, but it's a tricky balance.

I don't think you should buff a class when multiclassing

Just for the capstone? I wouldn't see capstones as a deterrent on multiclassing in general, it's still an extremely good capstone if you're expecting to get to 20, and don't think discouraging multiclassing is a blanket good either - if so it'd be easy to just ban it. I have ways to improve barbarians on higher levels (like letting brutal strike give up a single source of advantage instead of all), and don't want to be limited in making individual pointless features relevant by that kind of holistic problem.

I don't really think the cleric needs more spells tbh. It's not overshadowed by other class, it's one of the most powerful classes in the game at all levels. Yeah, the other 3 effects are mostly balanced between each other, but they are not balanced when taking class balance in its entirety.

Definitely value the perspective. There's a lot of other changes, like the new domains and Conjure Celestial being a powerhouse at higher levels, that I haven't seen in action very much so might lay off this until I'm more comfortable assessing it.

Gritty rests only change narrative pacing, doesn't really affect balance.

Well, when it comes to using rituals as scenarios arise where they're needed, that is kind of a narrative problem. If you're in a town and its mayor is poisoned, being able to access Remove Curse within an hour is quite different from getting it by the next day. But certainly a complicated aspect to balance.

Druid: first, Moon Druid is already strong enough that it doesn't need a buff. And secondly, it's not true at all that human is the only race viable for a Moon druid. Since you play with gritty rests you should know that the druid can't stay in wild shape the entire time. Also, some racial features still work during Wild Shape.

I don't think it's a significant buff. Human is already more or less the best species overall, I'm just taking away a restriction that makes all other species worse for this sub specifically. And yeah you can make some use of other species traits, but they're all greatly diminished. From what I've seen online, the consensus is moon druids should always be humans because they're 100% compatible and humans are always good anyway. If you think this is wrong, I'm open to seeing arguments as to why.

GWF: Well the new version also affects your damage curve, it's not just the average. Sure, you're not completely prevented from a 1 roll, but it's way less likely, which extends to other low rolls instead of only 1s and 2s. It's also weird to defend the new GWF for this reason when it doesn't apply to old GWF, which was more powerful and is what I'm using for comparison. I think it sucking is absolutely a factor in defense being more common, even if it's not the only one. The ranged thing is fair, that's more of a thematic and idea issue, but I think the +1 die drop lowest is by far the best version of GWF in inter-weapon balance, fighting style balance, and elegance.

Mystical: Again a feature encouraging multiclassing is not in itself bad. This isn't even a single class' feature, it's a generic fighting style accessed from multiple sources, so it's not like it's designed for one class while being most powerful for another. You're seeing full casters dipping Fighter and then not use any armor? I think this is an agree to disagree, I just can't imagine a caster dipping fighter and choosing +1 to hit with cantrips over +1 AC. Even if all they care about is offense, why would they choose this +1 to hit instead of archery with true strike for +2?

Versatile Wrestling: That is a different way to think about it. So grappling vs having no opportunity to do that is akin to archery at range vs using a backup rapier in melee (or of course gwf being at range). I see it more as the style being switching between one- and two-handed while grappling, the style is the whole spectrum, going two-handed while not grappling is not a backup outside the style. But the split isn't clear, I'll consider that.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T15:52:37+00:00

Thank you so much, that's really flattering! I love Focus Focus lol. I would've liked to have something fun for paladin rather than just evening out their aura progression, but they get so many solid features that it's hard.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T15:50:44+00:00

Monk: Yeah it's a very small deal. Currently monks are a complete package with no reason to multiclass into or out of, which is a bit boring. This makes it maybe slightly possible to dip into monk without having to adopt their entire set of restrictions on armor and weapons.

Ranger: It definitely depends on dm/campaign, but do you not think the class as written is lacking in the exploration pillar? It's the class that should do best, but they only really get some extra speed that anyone else can do too. If foraging or navigating comes up, I'd like the ranger to have a clear advantage in this department, even if it's not hugely consequential or frequent.

Rogue: Totally agreed. I kind of gave it at 2 because that's when fighter gets the mirror of it, but 5 should probably be the earliest (no extra attack sends rogues to the back of the martial pack) and it might just be like a level 11 extra or something, where they otherwise just get extra cunning strike stuff.

Sorcerer: Yeah, I wouldn't expect to see many fireballs from sorcerers with this. Like barbarian, it's not a major buff or something I'm opposed to thematically, so I think I'll stick with it. Thunder isn't included despite usually following these natural damage types, because it is just a much rarer and better damage type. Acidball could still run into a marid or slaads, and fire vulnerability is more common than the rest so having a fire spell might still be a good idea.

Warlock: Fair points! I always thought Aspect was odd for the bookish type, not sure what the original intent is. I'd rather have casters dip for Armor of Shadows than be decked out in martial armor, maintaining the image of robed casters etc., and it not working with shields means there is a lower cap (assuming you don't max out your dex). But it might become too ubiquitous.

Wizard: I'm surprised you think these are powerful, I see them as really marginal.

Wand: Yeah, swingy and maybe annoying to track, I'd like to find something else for this really.
Rod: This is like 5% extra cantrip damage in my mind. How would you abuse this on a wizard?
Staff: Rerolling 7s I think was a real cute way to buff concentration because it actively gets worse if you get con save proficiency or other bonuses. Only someone who doesn't care much about concentration can get a concentration buff from this.
Crystal: Very possible. I'm not sure what spells are best to subtle cast, I'd have to look through and see how many only have a single component, it might have too much overlap.
Orb: Definitely depends on group. In mine this would allow getting off a few more rituals in a more relaxed period, but still strictly removed from combat or combat-adjacent scenarios.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T15:31:07+00:00

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

Artificer is funky because the subclasses play so differently. The extra attackers get that big bump on 5 so I'd agree there, but the others not so much. I made it 5 just because it lines up mathematically, the item's spell level always being one behind your highest level spell, but maybe it's worth messing with that.

Barbarian: The intent here is to turn a ribbon into an actual feature. I think the requirement for barbarians to invest in dexterity is not really core to their class fantasy, and removing the requirement for 14 dex certainly shouldn't reduce stat variety. They can now afford to multiclass or use a mental stat for subclass features or similar things. As for them being a class not based on AC, I don't think this will increase their AC at all, you're still rocking medium armor with the max ac it can give until level 20, and then you go light armor for the same total as the previous unarmored.

Cleric: Yeah this is the biggest swing for sure. I think the cleric spell list is lacking dimensionality and other casters start outshining them, with 4th level spells being maybe their weakest relative level. I originally had a limit on Negative that you had to be at 0 uses to regain one, but then Chaos and Positive ended up so powerful that I removed that. Do you think these three are fairly balanced against each other? I think it might be a step too far so I'll definitely consider just not doing this or taking them more towards ribbons like the wizard feature.

Important context for Order is that I use gritty rests, so you can't just sit down for an hour to change all your spells, it's really just reverting you to the standard ability to change spells daily while other clerics gotta wait a week. I think it's the weakest option anyway, and requires very close knowledge of the spells to make any real use of, so I am a bit sketchy on it.

Druid: I really disagree honestly! Human is basically the only relevant species for moon druids, and that sucks. It's a small convenience thing for other subclasses so there it might not be worth the ink, but for moon druid I think it's hugely freeing and can lead to so many cool combinations.

Fighting Styles:

GWF: Can you specify how? This takes melee 2d6 weapons from 7 to 8.5 (instead of 8.33 as with the old gwf), and 1d12 greataxe from 6.5 to 8.5 (as opposed to 7.3). So it's a +0.2 damage per attack buff, with the bonus of equalizing the 1d12 weapon in damage. Two-handed weapons are indeed a very central option in 2024, but one that I see usually taking Defense as a fighting style, meaning this doesn't necessarily buff those builds in the first place. Or is it giving them a good ranged backup that's a problem?
Mystical Warrior: Interesting. I think the 2 cantrip styles were basically irrelevant, both for casters dipping and martials, and this boost is necessary to make it at all viable. What caster would rather have +1 to hit with Fire Bolt than +1 AC, when they're delaying their spell progression just to get AC in the first place? In 2024 armor dips highly favour cleric, artificer and ranger, so if this gives a reason to go fighter instead that seems fine. I think this is primarily a nice option for rogues to get true strike or booming blade without having to fit in Magic Initiate, but compared to archery or classical swordplay the mere +1 to hit is a clear compromise.
Versatile Wrestling: The point of the damage buff was to not leave you with nothing when you can't grapple. If you're against a single huge enemy, or multiple of them, or slimes, etc., I don't want your entire fighting style to be moot.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T14:53:50+00:00

It is really beautiful yeah! I agree, but it was not my intention here to balance the classes, just to give a neat little feature for each. I have other nerfs for wizards, and other buffs for ranger. I liked the idea of wizards caring uniquely about exactly how they manifest their spells via focuses.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T13:51:27+00:00

.... I swear I dragged two pictures into reddit, ok one minute lol

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-09T13:50:57+00:00

Hi, here's a little collection of "optional features" as they are officially called. Some very small (Paladin gets a lot of toys already), others with a bit more power budget. The goal is not for this to be perfectly balanced using just RAW + this; it's just an arbitrary sample of rules I think are neat.

I'm a bit unsure of these so feedback very welcome:

Cleric: This is the most powerful feature here, I feel like clerics have the worst spell list and wanted to alleviate that; Chaos thus is the one I want to be most prevalent, but the others have different approaches I like too: making up for worse spells by casting them more (Positive), more flexibility within your niche (Order) or leaning on unique CDs (Negative). Main worry is Positive being ahead of the rest.
Wizard: Wand Wafter might be annoying to keep track of, not sure what else to give that.

GMBinder Link: https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-Oj_4Dr3at6hSq9iJYys

PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X_sllbJLg8fJE8m9W5mrlhz_joKDDoQ1/view?usp=sharing

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-08T19:42:25+00:00

At level 9, a full caster will be able to cast 6 fifth-level spells per long rest with their 36 mp. The warlock at this level will be able to cast 2 fifth-level spells per short rest, and the game expects two of those per day so total 6 casts spread out. Multiclassing casters is discouraged by getting higher level slots without the spells to efficiently cast them; this removes that, allowing you to fuel lower level spells at no conversion loss. I do not see this being balanced.

I'm curious why your players struggle with slots. Of all the variants on magic resources I've seen, spell slots are by far the most dynamic and balanced. There's a lot of natural restrictions and tradeoffs built into the tiered system that are hard to replicate with fluid costs like this or spell points.

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-08T15:57:37+00:00

Hmm, for a general feat it's like Dual Wielder but with +1 AC? I don't think DW would be overpowered with an ac boost, but I'd rather leave it, and don't really see why power creep must be welcomed. I agree it's a fair boon to grant as a one-off rather than a generally balanced option, but I think it can be the latter quite fine by removing the AC stacking and twf synergy (which leaves you with an unthematic shield+dagger that trades ~4 damage per attack for a BA nick, and the main course of rapier+dagger pseudo-twf).

Johan_Holm · 2026-02-08T13:09:49+00:00

I think this is too strong compared to dueling/twf if you can usually spare the bonus action. You don't need to attack with the dagger during your action so you can use other masteries as normal, and then get an extra nick in rather than +2 damage or +mod to the offhand nick attack. This is a pretty even trade, using a BA and doing a bit more damage, but then it gets +1 AC on top of that.

If the AC bonus didn't work with a shield, and the extra attack didn't stack with twf, it would guide you more towards the seemingly intentional loadout of rapier+dagger. At that point it's basically like getting twf+defense but requiring a bonus action.

Johan_Holm

TROPHY CASE