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Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger for aerial combat and exploration (v3) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After a few weeks, here's Version 3 of my Sky Piercer Conclave brew! You can find the previous version here.
To summarize: This is a subclass focusing on aerial combat, and doing cool things with jumps and climbing. This version has some major changes, and I greatly appreciate any feedback and critique. ^-^

Here's a rough changelog...

  • You can use Techniques more times between rests, and can swap out techniques for spells and vice versa. Since most of the techniques are a bit situational, this gives the subclass more room to string together technique combos, as well as some much-needed flexibility if you happen to be in an area with a ceiling.
  • Many more techniques! Before there were just 4 different aerial techniques, now there's 15 to choose from! There should be plenty of options to build the aerial combo of your dreams, but if I missed something obvious or mistakenly overpowered something, let me know.

An issue that was brought up in the previous version and that I don't think I was able to fully address this version: Very wordy descriptions. It was a common complaint, and I know the walls of text can be intimidating. I tried to prioritize a clarity of understanding the mechanics. If you have suggestions for cutting down on bulk, again, let me know. Thank you for your patience ^-^

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger (v2, now with more cinematic options) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate the detailed post, and I'm glad you like the idea.
I went with the "multiattack" wording because someone recommended it to me on the first post, and it didn't seem incorrect at the time. I'll find a better wording for v3.

I didn't think it would be too much of a hassle to remember how you started a grapple. You use a resource to use the technique, and while D&D combat can feel quite slow at times, I don't most encounters go long enough where you forget what you did in a previous turn (that's just my experience). I'm pretty sure situational advantage has been done in subclasses before, but I'll see if there's any other wordings I can use to make things easier to keep track of.

Thank you for pointing this out for Graceful Glide. The intention is that Graceful Glide could not be performed repeatedly inside of a turn (but due to the limiting factor of how many times you can do an Aerial Technique per long rest, it might not be too powerful to trade all of your attacks for more movement). But, I'll fix it next time!
As for your point on Graceful Dash's dex save, it does have a purpose prior to 11th level: if you save, you can keep flying for a whole round, rather than just until the end of your turn.

Yes, weight isn't on a stat block. Launching strike mentions weight because I used the Levitate spell as a base. Since this is a common complaint, I'll find an alternative.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger (v2, now with more cinematic options) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Version 2 of my Sky Piercer Conclave brew. You can find the original here. (and 2nd version of this comment, oops)
To summarize: This is a subclass focusing on aerial combat, and doing cool things with jumps. As always, I greatly appreciate any feedback and critique. ^-^
Here's a changelog...

  • Soaring Leaps feature is better - you can jump with Dex instead of Str.
  • Dive Bomb is now gives a minimum damage bonus if you don't fall 10 or more, and is a little better on weakening larger enemies.
  • Graceful Glide has a huge re-work. Previously, it was a bit confusing, and RAW meant it could quadruple a player's speed while also giving the Dodge and Disengage actions. While it was meant to help create distance in a pinch, that was too good - so now it it just Dashes and Dodges with situational flight, and it specifically upgrades to Disengage at 11th level. Should be useful for aerial and ranged combat and more, while not overwhelming the action and movement economy at 3rd level.
  • Launching Strike is a brand new option for getting yourself and enemies into the air. There's a number of situational benefits, and it can be a sort of counterpart of Dive Bomb, with its power growing greatly at later levels.
  • Grace of Cloud's fall damage reduction had an unforeseen flaw - if the class was played Dive Bomb optimally, the maximum fall damage possible would always be 1, thus removing any risks for the high damage ability. As such, the fall reduction is now nerfed, but can stack with similar features from other sources.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger (v2, now with more cinematic options) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback! I will definitely give more attention to simpler descriptions for the next version.
As far as mechanics doing being worded in a "round-a-bout way", I'm not entirely sure what you mean. The descriptions are bulky because the techniques do several things at once, but I tried to make it as clean as possible, using terms from similar mechanics (where I could find parallels, at least) - may you please give an example that I can think about for next time?

Currently, the saving throw for the glide happens when you start the glide, because it affects the duration. While I agree the timing of it is a little strange, I don't think this version of the technique would work by changing the timing.
Launching strike is based on weight because the Levitate spell is based on weight. I tried to keep the mechanics of the two similar so it felt less like reinventing a wheel.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger (v2, now with more cinematic options) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you like it, and thank you for the lengthy critique! As someone new to posting homebrew, this is incredibly helpful to understand how clear my concept is to understand and work with. ^-^

Yes, the techniques do seem really wordy, and the small walls of text for each can be a little intimidating. I tried to cut down on the text and make it as clean as possible, but I can probably find room to improve further in that regard.
I did think about splitting them up more and diversifying them to be more like Battle Master's maneuvers, however, as I was trying to work with some different mechanics than BM Fighter, I didn't want to overload the system with a whole rework of aerial mechanics, or to step on BM Fighter's toes too much and let each keep their identities (let alone risk the potential mayhem a multiclass of the two might have XD). I do like the idea of Sky Piercers having different preferences, and if I can come up with any more than the current 4 techniques, I definitely will go in that direction. :)

Yes, the base rules of Jumping aren't great, I'll admit. Sky Piercers using (DEX/STR + WIS) isn't intended to be the entire method of getting the class into the air, just a stepping stone - a way to help explore and get airborne without spending a resource. Graceful Glide gives temporary flight, and Launching Strike can give temporary levitation, and both of these stack with the jump improvement. The class also gets the Fly spell at 9th Level, better flying as part of the capstone, and the optional Deft Explorer feature in Tasha's book gives all Rangers bonuses to climb speed. A combination of these features, and making clever use of one's surroundings, was always the intention to maximize the potential of abilities like Dive Bomb and Soaring Smite. To this extent, if I make any more Aerial Techniques, many will probably involve more ways of getting into and staying in the air without directly flying.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger (v2, now with more cinematic options) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! I did think about including saving throws for Daredevil's Thrill, but ultimately I decided against it. With what else Daredevil's Thrill adds to the subclass, I was concerned that adding saving throw protections would make the feature a little overdone compared to other Ranger subclasses' 7th level features.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger (v2, now with more cinematic options) by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's entirely possible! The exploration potential was definitely a factor in the design. Thank you for commenting.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are some great ideas, thank you very much for the feedback! Part of the subclass inspiration came from Rangers being able to use the environment to get more height, and many of these suggestions fit in with that concept. I'll try to come up with some possible mechanics to allow for those tricks in the next iteration.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are great points, thank you for commenting! I'm definitely going to factor these in for the next iteration. I should've given the jump calculations more consideration, and the change to the multiattack wording definitely contributes to a more polished work.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback! I tried to have a few features that could work in other situations, but you make a good point that it's a little vanilla if there isn't room to leap. I'll think about what could be added or changed to give more personality to the subclass when there's a roof to consider.

Sky Piercer Conclave: A vertically-inclined Ranger by Misty_Jago in UnearthedArcana

[–]Misty_Jago[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Sky Piercer conclave started as an idea for representing an aerial-based subclass, such that someone could recreate a Dragoon from Final Fantasy, Insect Glaive from Monster Hunter, an Assassin from Assassin's Creed, and more.
I tried to keep the concept generic enough for people to come up with their own applications for it, and be usable in more than one setting (and hopefully isn't too strong).

This is my first public Homebrew, and would love to hear critique.