Pathfinder 1E The Pathfinder Dragon Shaman: A Conversion by Master Arminas

master arminas

First Post
Hello. Master Arminas here once again, and I’ve got another class conversion for you good folks. Today we are taking a look at the Dragon Shaman. This class was originally presented in the 3.5 Player’s Handbook II and it offered a different take on the paths of power. Not capable of casting spells, it had a number of really neat tricks—called auras—that presented an experienced player with a means to customize his character even in the midst of combat. Now, I had a number of problems with the class and some of the abilities.

I mean, I didn’t realize that dragons are so altruistic! I mean, I can see the aura affecting the Dragon Shaman himself, but being able to affect his allies within 30’? The designers at Wizards said they wanted an alternative to the bard, but it made little sense. And touch of vitality? Another head-scratcher. Thematically, that power isn’t based on any dragon ability I have ever heard of. And it made 3.5 paladins want to cry with their sorely underpowered lay on hands.

I have also ditched the alignment restrictions: if a good player wants to play a chromatic dragon shaman, then more power to them! Why shouldn’t we have more options to choose from?

With this conversion I have tried to keep to what the core of the class fluff described it as: a character who covets the power of dragons and how has dedicated himself to garnering that power for himself. There are some who will not like what I have done, and that is ok. I know that not all people will be happy with losing the auras, and that too is ok. Like with all conversion, this is only a starting point, not the finish line.

As always, folks, I would value any comments, critiques, and suggestions that you care to make. And above all else, remember it is a just a game and we are only here to have fun. So have fun taking a look at the revised Dragon Shaman as I have always imagined it to be.

A Pathfinder Dragon Shaman

There are many who covet the power and majesty of true dragons, but it is only the Dragon Shaman who has managed to unearth the ancient rites and rituals to manifest that power. Driven by the promise of becoming closely bound to ancient dragon spirits that yearn once more for the semblance of life, the Dragon Shaman bonds himself to a totem dragon spirit. Through this totem, the newly christened Dragon Shaman slowly gains many of the powers of a true dragon. Few understand these warriors and their ravenous quest for power, but none can deny the results which they have achieved.

Role: The dragon shaman is a powerful warrior who possesses an array of special abilities and attacks. His area of effect breath weapon allows him to wreak havoc among his opponents and his draconic auras and totem provide him with defensive and utility options. He is not a true spellcaster, but over time he gains a limited number of spell-like abilities that provide him with an array of options. And while he may not possess the raw combat ability of a fighter or barbarian, he is more than capable of holding his own in melee and assisting a party with his unique range of abilities.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d10.

BAB: Medium.

Good Saves: Fort and Will.

Class Skills: Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (All) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Dragon shamans are proficient with simple and martial weapons, with their natural weapons (see below), with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Claws (Ex): A dragon shaman can grow claws as a free action. These claws are treated as natural weapons, allowing the character to make two claw attacks as a full attack action using his full base attack bonus. If the dragon shaman wields a light or one-handed weapon and has his second hand free, he may make a single claw attack in addition to his normal attacks when using the full attack action. This secondary claw attack is made at the dragon shaman’s highest base attack bonus -5. Each of these attacks deals 1d4 points of damage plus the dragon shaman's Strength modifier (1d3 points of damage if the dragon shaman is a Small character).
At 4th level, the dragon shaman gains a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls with his claws and his claws are now considered to be magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming DR. At 8th level, and every four levels gained thereafter as a dragon shaman, the bonus on attack and damage rolls increases by +1 to a maximum bonus of +5 at 20th level.
At 10th level, the damage inflicted by the dragon shaman’s claws increases to 1d6 (1d4 for medium creatures).

Draconic Aura (Su): A dragon shaman gains access to a variety of different powers that enhance his own abilities. A dragon shaman may activate an aura as a swift action; the aura then remains in effect until the dragon shaman dismisses the aura, activates a second aura, falls asleep, or is rendered unconscious. A draconic aura affects only the dragon shaman.
The bonus granted by these auras begins at +1. At 5th level, and every four dragon shaman levels gained thereafter, the bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level.
At 1st level, a dragon shaman knows three of the following auras. At fourth level, and every three levels gained thereafter as a dragon shaman, he learns one additional aura selected from the list below.

Agility: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all Dexterity based ability checks (but not skill checks) and Reflex saves equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Energy: The dragon shaman gains a bonus equal to his draconic aura bonus on the DC of any spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities with the energy type of his totem dragon.

Insight: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all Knowledge and Spellcraft skill checks equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Power: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all melee damage rolls equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Presence: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skill checks equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Prowess: The dragon shaman gains a bonus on all Acrobatics, Climb, or Swim skill checks equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Resistance: The dragon shaman gains energy resistance equal to 5 x his draconic aura bonus. The dragon shaman chooses one of the following energy types each time he activates this power: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. This resistance does not stack with the draconic resistance ability (see below).
Resolve: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all Wisdom based ability checks (but not skill checks) and Will saves equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Senses: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all Perception skill checks and Initiative rolls equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Shield: Any creature that strikes the dragon shaman with a natural attack or a non-reach melee weapon is dealt 2 points of energy damage for every point of the dragon shaman's draconic aura bonus. The energy type is that of the dragon shaman's totem dragon.

Stamina: The dragon shaman receives a bonus on all Constitution based ability checks (but not skill checks) and Fortitude saves equal to his draconic aura bonus.

Swiftness: The dragon shaman increases his base speed (including climb, fly, and swim speeds) by 5 x his draconic aura bonus (in other words +5 feet for a +1 bonus; +10 feet for a +2 bonus; etc.). The aura does not grant a fly or swim speed, but provides a bonus if the dragon shaman otherwise has one.

Toughness: The dragon shaman gains DR 1/magic for each point of his draconic aura bonus.

Vigor: If the dragon shaman is currently below one-half his full normal hit points, he gains Fast Healing 1 for each point of his draconic aura bonus.

Totem Dragon: The dragon shaman must select a totem dragon from one of the following true dragons. The totem dragon determines the energy type of his draconic resistances and breath weapon and provides the dragon shaman with a special ability. The dragon shaman bonds for life with the spirit of his totem dragon. While the spirit cannot force the dragon shaman to perform an action, it does influence his personality and character over the passage of time. All dragon shamans eventually begin to reflect the personality and nature of their totem dragon spirit as they grow in power. The spirit urges them towards acts appropriate for the alignment of particular type of totem dragon, but the dragon shaman ultimately chooses his own alignment. For example, a red dragon shaman will often feel driven towards using chaotic or evil means to achieve his goals but it is up to the individual player if they give in to these supernatural urges. Over time, many dragon shamans will eventually change their alignment to meet that of their totem dragon spirit, but this is not mandatory.
Dragon shamans are also extremely loath to part their ‘hoard’ of accumulated treasure as they advance in levels. Each piece of acquired treasure brings a specific memory to the dragon shaman, and selling such heirlooms goes against every instinct of their totem dragon spirit.

Black: A black dragon shaman is resistant to acid and can breathe acid in a line. The dragon shaman can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use his breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged. He may also move through bogs and quicksand without penalty at his normal speed. The dragon shaman gains a swim speed equal to his normal base movement.

Blue: A blue dragon shaman is resistant to electricity and can breathe electricity in a line. The dragon shaman may use ventriloquism as a spell-like ability at will. He is also under the constant effect of an endure elements spell.

Brass: A brass dragon shaman is resistant to fire and can breathe fire in a line. The dragon shaman can use jump as a spell-like ability at will. He is also under the constant effect of an endure elements spell.

Bronze: A bronze dragon shaman is resistant to electricity and can breathe electricity in a line. The dragon shaman can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use his breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged. The dragon can also use disguise self as a spell-like ability at will. The dragon shaman gains a swim speed equal to his normal base movement.

Copper: A copper dragon shaman is resistant to acid and can breathe acid in a line. The dragon shaman may use spider climb as a spell-like ability at will. He also possess uncanny dodge as a rogue and cannot be caught flat-footed.

Gold: A gold dragon shaman is resistant to fire and can breathe fire in a cone. Once per day, the dragon shaman may choose to reroll a single attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw. He must accept the second roll even if it is worse than the first roll. The dragon shaman gains a second daily use of this ability at 10th level and a third daily use of this ability at 20th level.

Green: A green dragon shaman is resistant to acid and can breathe acid in a cone. The dragon shaman can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use his breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged. He may also use Stealth to hide in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain does not grant cover or concealment. The dragon shaman gains a swim speed equal to his normal base movement

Red: A red dragon shaman is resistant to fire and can breathe fire in a cone. The dragon shaman can see perfectly in smoky conditions (such as that produced by pyrotechnics or the environment instead a volcano’s caldera) and does not suffer any penalties to Perception checks while in such conditions. He may use detect magic as a spell-like ability at will. The dragon shaman gains a bonus on all Appraise skill checks equal to one-half his dragon shaman level (minimum 1).

Silver: A silver dragon shaman is resistant to cold and can breathe cold in a cone. The dragon shaman can see perfectly in fog, clouds, and mist and does not suffer any penalties to Perception checks while in such conditions. He may use feather fall as a spell-like ability at will. Further, when the dragon shaman gains draconic wings (see below), his maneuverability class is step better than normal. This maneuverability bonus also applies when the dragon shaman is using his form of the dragon ability (see below).

White: A white dragon shaman is resistant to cold and can breathe cold in a cone. The dragon shaman can see perfectly in snowy conditions and does not suffer any penalties to Perception checks while in such conditions. He may also move across icy surfaces without penalty and does not need to make acrobatics checks to run or charge on ice. He is also under the constant effects of a spider climb spell, but this only applies to icy surfaces. The dragon shaman is also under the constant effects of an endure elements spell.

Breath Weapon (Su): At 2nd level, a dragon shaman gains a breath weapon corresponding to his totem dragon (see below). Regardless of the totem dragon, type of energy, or shape of the breath weapon, the dragon shaman deals 2d8 points of damage each time he breathes. Creatures and objects caught in the area of effect can make a Reflex save to instead take half the damage rolled. The DC for this save is 10 + one-half the dragon shaman's level + the dragon shaman's Constitution modifier. At 4th level, and every two levels gained thereafter, a dragon shaman's breath weapon increases by +1d8, to a maximum of 11d8 at 20th level. Like true dragons, the dragon shaman must wait 1d4 rounds before he can use his breath weapon again.
Cone shaped breath weapons have a range of 15 feet at 1st level. This extends to 30 feet at 7th level, 45 feet at 13th level, and 60 feet at 19th level.
Line shaped breath weapons have a range of 30 feet at 1st level. This extends to 60 feet at 7th level, 90 feet at 13th level, and 120 feet at 19th level.

Draconic Magic (Sp): At 2nd level, the dragon shaman may select two 0-level sorcerer/wizard spells. He may cast these spells (in any combination) a total of three times per day as a spell-like ability. For the purpose of this ability, a dragon shaman has a caster level equal to his dragon shaman level -1. The DC to save versus these spell-like abilities is 10 + the level of the spell-like ability + the dragon shaman’s Cha modifier.
At 5th level, and every three levels gained as a dragon shaman thereafter, the dragon shaman may select two more spells of the next highest spell level (1st-level spells at 5th level, 2nd-level spells at 8th level, etc), to a maximum of 6th-level spells at 20th level.
In order to gain these spell-like abilities, a dragon shaman must have Charisma score equal to 10 + the level of the spell-like ability. If the dragon shamans Charisma score is not high enough to qualify for a certain level of spell-like abilities, he forfeits those abilities.

Draconic Resistance (Ex): At 3rd level, the dragon shaman gains resistance 5 against the energy type associated with his totem dragon and a +1 bonus to his natural armor class. At 8th level, and every five levels gained thereafter as a dragon shaman, the energy resistance granted by this ability increases by 5 and the bonus on natural armor increases by +1, to a maximum energy resistance of 20 and +4 natural armor bonus at 18th level.

Draconic Resolve (Ex): At 3rd level, the dragon shaman becomes immune to the frightful presence of dragons and gains a +2 bonus on all other saves against fear.

Draconic Senses (Low-light) (Ex): At 4th level, the dragon shaman gains low-light vision. If he already possesses low-light vision than the distance that he can see in low-light conditions doubles.

Draconic Consciousness (Ex): At 5th level, the dragon shaman gains a +2 bonus on all saves against paralysis and sleep effects. At 10th level, and again at 15th level, this bonus increases by +2, to a total bonus of +6 at 15th level.

Draconic Stamina (Ex): At 6th level, the dragon shaman gains Endurance as a bonus feat.

Draconic Senses (Darkvision) (Ex): At 7th level, the dragon shaman gains darkvision out to a distance of 30 feet. If he already possessed darkvision, his range extends by 30 feet.
At 15th level, the dragon shaman's darkvision extends by another 30 feet.

Improved Draconic Aura (Su): At 10th level, the dragon shaman may have two of his draconic auras active at the same time. If the dragon shaman activates a third aura, he must choose which of the two currently active is dismissed.

Draconic Senses (Scent) (Ex): At 11th level, the dragon shaman gains the scent special quality.
Frightful Presence (Ex): At 14th level, the dragon shaman can, as a free action, activate this ability as a standard action or as part of a charge or an attack. Creatures within 30 feet who witness the action may become shaken. This ability only affects creatures with fewer Hit Dice or levels than the dragon shaman’s class levels. An affected creature can resist the effects with a successful Will save (DC 10 + one-half the dragon shaman’s class level + the dragon shaman’s Cha modifier). A creature that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the dragon shaman’s frightful presence for 24 hours. This ability is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Draconic Wings (Su): At 15th level, the dragon shaman can grow leathery dragon wings from his back as a standard action. He can fly at a speed of 60 feet with average maneuverability. The dragon shaman can dismiss the wings as a standard action. If the dragon shaman is wearing armor when he grows the wings, his armor magically reforms to accommodate them. Wearing medium or heavy armor, or carrying a medium or heavy load reduces the dragon shaman’s flying speed to 40 feet.

Draconic Longevity (Su): At 17th level, the dragon shaman gains a measure of the long life-spans of a true dragon. His age categories and maximum age are increased by 50%. He no longer takes penalties to his physical ability scores for aging and any penalties previously accrued are removed.

Form of the Dragon (Sp): At 19th level, the dragon shaman can assume the form of his totem dragon as if using Form of the Dragon I or II, as per the spells. The dragon shaman gains all of the abilities listed in the spells, except that he uses his own breath weapon instead of the version presented in the spell. The dragon shaman may remain in dragon form for up to one minute per dragon shaman class level each day. He may enter dragon form as a standard action and can use this ability multiple times per day, so long as he does not exceed his total allocated duration. Resuming his standard form is a free action.
Each use of this ability consumes a minimum of one minute of the total allocated duration, even if the dragon shaman remains in dragon form for a shorter amount of time. For example, a dragon shaman assumes form of the dragon for two rounds and then becomes humanoid again. He has used one minute of the nineteen he can spend in dragon form. Two rounds later, he assumes dragon form again and remains in dragon form for eleven more rounds before he reverts to his natural state. He has now used a total of three minutes (one from the first transformation and two more from the second) and has sixteen minutes remaining that he can spend in dragon form that day.

Power of Wyrms (Su): At 20th level, the dragon shaman's desire to become one with dragons becomes manifest. He gains immunity to paralysis, sleep, and the energy damage associated with his totem dragon. He also gains blindsense 60 feet. When using his form of the dragon ability, a Dragon Shaman may now become a Huge Dragon, as per the spell form of the dragon III, using the ability score modifiers presented in that spell description. His breath weapon while in dragon form inflicts 12d8 damage instead of his normal 11d8. He may remain in dragon from for up to 10 minutes per dragon shaman level each day. He may have three of his draconic auras active at the same time. If the dragon shaman activates a fourth aura, he must choose which of the three currently active is dismissed. Finally, the dragon shaman’s age categories and maximum age are doubled from their original values (this replaces the ability draconic longevity).
 
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Check math on claw enhancement.
does energy resist from aura stack with the static resist?
Change name of auras since most of them aren't actually auras.
The purpose of the dragon shaman was to bring the power of the dragon to the whole tribe. What is this class gonna do it can sorta fight, sort of cast, and has a breathweapon, needs to get a clearer picture of its battlefield role.
 

Check math on claw enhancement.
does energy resist from aura stack with the static resist?
Change name of auras since most of them aren't actually auras.
The purpose of the dragon shaman was to bring the power of the dragon to the whole tribe. What is this class gonna do it can sorta fight, sort of cast, and has a breathweapon, needs to get a clearer picture of its battlefield role.

1. Fixed. Oops, should have been +5 at 20th level.

2. Nope and it says so in the aura description.

3. What would you recommend instead of aura? I've been racking my brain but haven't come up with something I like. But I acknowledge it needs fixing.

4. As written, the 3.5 Dragon Shaman is exactly that--which completely contradicts the fluff text for the same class. That aspect of the DS being a party buffer and supporter has never sat well with me, which I why I eliminated it. As I see it, the Dragon Shaman should be more of a personal augmentor, almost like the Binder (from Tome of Magic). Rather than binding with vestiges, the DS (in this version of the class) instead binds himself to the spirit of a dragon--his totem. It is the totem that bestows to the character his abilities, in exchange for once again having a semblance of life (lived through the DS's eyes and body).

The totem dragon spirit can enjoy food, combat, the sun on its (hosts) skin, the sound of raindrops falling--and in exchange he gives the character a measure of his former power from when he was living.

Now, I did originally plan to go more faithfully by the PBH2 version, but then I started asking why is the fluff and the mechanics so disconnected? And why is someone who is after power for themselves suddenly augmenting every ally around them? Thematically it made little sense (to me at least). So, I sat down and said what would happen if I eliminated that team spirit from the DS? He didn't need Touch of Vitality either, because that is another power that I never agreed with. It made him a backup cleric and was far better than the 3.5 paladins lay on hands (but about on par with the Pathfinder version).

Instead, I went with giving him powers that augment him along draconic lines and keep the class as selfish. That is my reasoning behind this revision, at least.

But like all character class designs, this is merely a starting point, not the finish line. And I do appreciate any critiques or suggestions you might have to offer to make it workable.

I do realize that sometimes I get carried away, and it is at those moments that I need a lone voice in the wilderness telling me put down the stylus and step away from the computer. LOL

Anyway, Rampant, enough of my rambling and thank you for pointing those out. And for asking questions. Asking questions is, after all, the first step on the road to wisdom.

Master Arminas
 

Ok then why bother with the energy resist .... option. If the preset resistance doesn't stack?

Ok the aura abilities need to be reworked as totem powers or something. They were balanced for the shaman to power up the group so its an underpowered system for a singleton.

My advice would be to either update the dragonfire adept instead, or change the fluff. That the dragon shaman is a selfish being doesn'tmake sense since the role or the shaman is to provide magical asistance to the tribe.

What do you want this class to do while the team fights, what does he do that makes him unique?
 
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Unlike the original, the DS is not limited to his totem dragon's energy type for his resistance. He can put up the other three types as a defense by using the aura.

I thought about the Dragonfire Adept and I might wind up doing just that. I just didn't really like the meta-breath stuff they got and Warlock style invocations plus the auras.

I understand--and it is a problem. People see the title, expect one thing and get something different. I'll work on it.

He fights. These are the rules. Everybody fights, nobody quits. If you don't do your job I'll kill you myself. Welcome to the Roughnecks!

Ahem, sorry about that, went into Starship Troopers mode for a second. Seriously though he fights. He breathes, he uses his spell-like abilities, he uses his skills. Sure, he isn't as capable as a fighter or ranger or barbarian on the front line and he can't cast the sheer quantity and quality of spells as a cleric, druid, sorcerer, and wizard. In many ways he is like a monk, rather than a bard. His abilities help him, and he then helps the party.

I'll be sure to think about what you said, Rampant.

MA
 


Aww, I LOVED the Starship Troopers movie! It didn't have anything at ALL to do with the books, but I went in assuming that it wouldn't (because I already knew it was a preexisting screenplay that the studio made Verhoeven shoehorn the Starship Troopers name into.) I went into it expecting a parody, and I was extremely happy with it. I still break it out for a good laugh and to watch some cool fight scenes when I'm in a bad mood.

Anyway...

Yeah, the Dragon Shaman always left a bad taste in my mouth, too. What the Hell did it have to do with dragons? It was just a name they slapped onto it and wrote some dodgy fluff text to support it. It would have been much better if they'd just called it the Elemental Shaman or something. Since when did revering/worshiping dragons give you powers like that, and how was it even possible? It was really the low point of a book that otherwise I loved to death (the Duskblade, the new high-level Fighter feats, and the combat focus feats were some of the best stuff for 3.5E, and even the Beguiler was rad.) From the very first time I read it it smelled like MMORPG game design philosophy; a collection of game mechanics slapped together to fill a role in a party, with flimsy flavor text to support it. There was never any literary or mythological basis for the class, which to me means it was doomed from conception. A solution looking for a problem. In retrospect I should have started worrying, and if I had known that 4th Edition was being developed by the same designers responsible for that class I would have.

Bundles of mechanics with lame supporting flavor text is kinda one of the hallmarks of 4E in my eyes :p Mix that together with no literary or mythological basis and nothing to justify the class other than the purely game mechanics reason of being a support class to fill an open slot in a party makes the Dragon Shaman the lamest class they ever made for 3.5, even worse than the totally lame interpretation of the Samurai as a dual-wielding freak that had nothing to do with any samurai I ever heard of... cheezus cripes, the whole Complete Warrior book just makes my skin crawl... thank God for Paizo and Pathfinder. Anyway...

Sorry I can't comment on the class, as I'm horrible at judging game balance and mechanics, but I fully applaud your reason for remaking the class. It was a real lame duck.
 

The main issue here is a lack of role defineing abilities. The claws are ok, but they replace standard combat rather then enhancing it. The breath weapon is ok but the class doesn't do anything impressive with it, not even bonus meta-breath feats. The totem aura things are just rotating meh without the ability to boost allies, and without the touch of vitality the class is just overall objectively weaker than the 3e model.

Ok thought what if we take out the aura powers entirely, rename it as the dracomancer, or the mortal dragon, or whatever. Then we install abilities based on the dragon totem you choose. So for silver we filch a few pally powers, a couple of flame buffs for red, maybe blue gets tactical powers, etc. Maybe toss on a bonus feat progression. Also consider changing the claws to a bite attack since that's more generally useful to people who don't wanna specialize in natural attacks.
 
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Bundles of mechanics with lame supporting flavor text is kinda one of the hallmarks of 4E in my eyes :p Mix that together with no literary or mythological basis and nothing to justify the class other than the purely game mechanics reason of being a support class to fill an open slot in a party makes the Dragon Shaman the lamest class they ever made for 3.5, even worse than the totally lame interpretation of the Samurai as a dual-wielding freak that had nothing to do with any samurai I ever heard of... cheezus cripes, the whole Complete Warrior book just makes my skin crawl... thank God for Paizo and Pathfinder. Anyway...

Complete Warrior wasn't a bad book. The base classes in it (especially the samurai) were pretty underpowered, but the rest of the book had all kinds of good stuff. The feats (especially the tactical feats) and prestige classes were mostly pretty good.
 

It wasn't a matter of power or mechanical effect that made me dislike the book. It was bad, BAD flavor, or "fluff" ( a term I don't really like.) One of the Samurai's main defining characteristics and powers is the ability to dual wield swords? What? Why? And the horrible shouting thing? And then the Kensai. What the heck was that? Loaning out his attack bonuses to other people? What kind if sword master was that and where did it come from? What was the basis for the class? Or was it something someone just though up and felt was cool? I really get the impression that most of the classes from that book were designed mechanics-first with the supporting text just a vague afterthought. I don't care HOW good the mechanics are, when the flavor text is stupid or bent, I don't like it.

I think it comes down to a matter of perspective; for me, the rules support the setting, and the mechanics support the theme of a class. I think, for a lot of other people, it's the other way around. Which is fine if you want a game like that... but I don't. I'm a role-player first and foremost. I don't want a package of cool abilities with some passable flavor text to give justify the mechanics of a class. I want a good character concept or archetype, preferably with precedent from history, mythology, or literature, supported by cool game mechanics. It's a matter of which is more important to you.
 

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