De-Suckifying Purple Dragon Knight

[Voice of Kerensky]

This class is horrible.

Now that I have that out of the way, it's a shame that such a special class to the setting is so utterly bad--especially compared to the much more interesting and viable War Wizard.

Pros:

Full BAB.
Good HP.

Cons:

Low skills.
One high save.
Almost every ability it has is godawful (little effect, small duration, limited use).
The worst capstone ability that has ever existed ever.


Proposed Changes:

Heroic Shield: This one is sort of interesting, as you can effectively spam it on an ally to give them a +4 dodge AC bonus. In the right situations, this could help a tank tank, but on the other hand you're removing the offensive capabilities of an entire character for +4 AC. Still, it at least has a niche. I wouldn't mind boosting the duration of the buff to 2 rounds, as at least in that case the buffing character can attack or perform another action half the time.

Rallying Cry: The default 1 round duration is laughable. There are two ways you can go with this, I think.

1) Change the duration to 1 turn per class level (so 3x/day, 1x turn/level duration, +1 AB and 20% speed boost to party).
2) Change the duration to 1 turn, and increase the AB boost to something like +2 or +3.

Inspire Courage: Another one that has two courses it could take, in my opinion.

1) Change the duration to something like 10 turns instead of 10 rounds, maybe boost the AB + damage bonus to something like +2 or +3.
2) Increase the AB and damage bonus to something like +3 or +4, change the +2 mind affecting bonus to a temporary mind spell immunity (at a duration of only 10 rounds 2x/day, what's this compared to mind blank?)

Fear: Change it to an aura with DC 10 + 1/2 character level, duration of maybe 1 round per character level?. While at Level 20 this is only a DC 20 aura, something that will likely be resisted by anything near-level (if they aren't outright immune, which they often are), if nothing else it'd be hilarious from a roleplay perspective to see a high level PDK make goblins and orcs and the like flee in terror.

Oath of Wrath: This one is fairly decent, though with a max duration of 10 rounds and only +2 bonuses, and only vs a single target, I wouldn't mind seeing this upgraded to something like 3x/day uses.

Final Stand: So bad I'm not even 100% certain how to fix it. Big shot of temporary HP + damage resistances? With such a short duration, 1x/day usage, and such an awesome name, this needs to be a pretty exciting "OH MY GOD WE'RE HOSED" emergency button. With PDK level + cha modifier being the duration (so let's say an average duration of 5-7 rounds), something like a 100-150 hp temporary hit point boost and 10/- flat damage resistance could make this interesting.


Remove the ride skill and feat requirements, as ride is useless here.

In fact, all of the default skill requirements are rather silly: Spot 2 ranks, Intimidate 1 rank, Listen 2 ranks, Persuade 1 rank, Ride 2 ranks. -- Seriously, what's the point?

Something like this, maybe

BAB: +4
Discipline 8 ranks, Persuade 5 ranks, Concentration 5 ranks

Would also suggest making Concentration, Heal, Sense Motive, and Taunt class skills.

[tenorgeneral]

Or alternatively:  Keep the ride and feat requirements and re-enable Mounted Combat, even if it's just as something simple but flavorful, as knights were (and in Cormyr are) horsemen first, with combat ability being a close and important second.

That being said, some of the abilities are a bit lackluster, and could do with some changes.

[threeguesses]

Heroic Shield activates instantaneously, without using the action queue, so you should be able to cast it for free in the middle of other PC actions.

At least, such is how it worked on other PCs I've played that were on other servers without modification.

[Voice of Kerensky]

Dec 27, 2014 10:58:55 GMT -5 tenorgeneral said:

Or alternatively:  Keep the ride and feat requirements and re-enable Mounted Combat, even if it's just as something simple but flavorful, as knights were (and in Cormyr are) horsemen first, with combat ability being a close and important second.

That being said, some of the abilities are a bit lackluster, and could do with some changes.

While I would personally favor such, the mounted combat AC bonuses can get a little out of hand and arguably need to be adjusted. It also relies on an OnHeartbeat script, and depending on latency issues it may not fire properly in a live environment (similar to the problems with the cloud-type AoEs), though that one may not be as much of a worry.

threeguesses Avatar
Dec 27, 2014 9:00:27 GMT -7 threeguesses said:
Heroic Shield activates instantaneously, without using the action queue, so you should be able to cast it for free in the middle of other PC actions.

At least, such is how it worked on other PCs I've played that were on other servers without modification.

In that case, at least, it's the one decent ability the class has by default.

[tenorgeneral]

Oh I meant like just enable extra hitpoints while mounted with mounted combat (to avoid combat engine work arounds).  I do agree that the AC is a bit over the top, however.

One could even give mounted combat as giving a flat AC boost based on ranks in ride, rather than making it a check each round.  It would likely be reasonable if say, 1 AC was given for every 5 or 6 ranks in ride, meaning you would (while mounted only) be getting a max of 4 or 3 to your AC pre-epic.  And given that people aren't mounted in dungeons except for the Moonsea exteriors really, it shouldn't be a huge balance changer.

[Vincent07]

I will not be re-enabling the mounted content.  It's unbalanced and causes lag issues due to the heartbeats involved.  I will consider some of these other changes though, as I agree the class is rather lackluster.

[tenorgeneral]

The heartbeat scripts are no bueno, which is why the suggestion wasn't to reenable the feat as-is, but to replace them with something thematic and more balanced.

[nightmother]

I know this is a pretty old post, and such, don't know much about scripting, or balance issues. But here's another's idea on PDK, perhaps you'll find it interesting, or flat out retarded for this sort of module.

The Purple Dragon Knight no longer exists on Amia, and has been replaced by the Knight Commander class; a party support specialist whose abilities focus on increasing ally strength and weakening enemies via auras. As with Purple Dragon Knight, the maximum level for this class is 5.

Knight Commander

"Whether it is leading the charge on a group of regal knights or cutting down fleeing victims, the Knight Commander stands forefront with a mastery over leadership, co-ordination and discipline. The Knight Commander is a shining example of why a handful of well-organised soldiers can best an army of rabble, gaining abilities to bolster his troops and control the battlefield with expert prowess. While such commanders come from many walks of life, all possess natural talent at direction and tactical supremacy."

Hit die: d10
Proficiencies: All types of armor, shields, simple and martial weapons
Skill points: 2 + int modifier
Base attack bonus: +1 levels
Primary saving throw(s): Fortitude, Will
Class skills: Concentration, Craft Armor, Craft Weapon, Craft Trap, Discipline, Heal, Listen, Lore, Parry, Persuade, Ride and Taunt

Requirements

BAB: +5
Feats: Skill Focus: Discipline, Toughness
Skills: Persuade 4 ranks, Taunt 4 ranks, Discipline 8 ranks and Lore 4 ranks

Abilities

Level 1:
Barricade of Swords: Defensive Aura: Barricade of Swords creates a damage shield around all allies within the aura and allows them to shrug off a minor amount of physical damage. The shields damage is 1d10 slashing damage, +2 per Knight Commander level, +1 per Charisma modifier, to a maximum of Knight Commander level. They also gain 5% damage immunity to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage, +1% per Charisma modifier, to a maximum of Knight Commander level.
Entreatment: Ability which can be used once per Knight Commander level. If they fail a Will save versus the Knight Commander's Taunt, the enemies change targets to instead attack the Knight Commander. Where used against other player characters, this feat simply causes the target to break their action queue and become flat-footed. Enemies failing their Will save are also inflicted with a -2 Attack Bonus penalty for five rounds.
Stand down: This is an unlimited feat which allows the Knight Commander to dismiss all of their auras instantly.

Level 2: Bulwark of Vigilance: Offensive Aura: Upon entering this aura, enemies lose 8% movement speed per Knight Commander level, and receive a -5 Tumble penalty multiplied by their Charisma modifier, to a maximum of Knight Commander level. The Tumble decrease does not lower AC.

Level 3: Medicant: Defensive Aura: All allies within this aura gain +2 regeneration, which improves to +3 at 5th Knight Commander level. Allies also gain +5 Heal skill per Charisma modifier, to a maximum of Knight Commander level.

Level 4: Ordnance Support: Offensive Aura: All enemies within this aura suffer a 3% immunity decrease to acid/cold/fire/sonic/electricity per Knight Commander level. Additionally all enemies gain -2 penalty to their spell resistance per Charisma modifier, to a maximum of Knight Commander level.

Level 5:
Vehement Charge: Defensive Aura: All allies within this aura gain immunity to blindness, charm, confusion, deafness, fear, daze, sleep, slow and stun. Allies also gain 3% movement speed increase per Charisma modifier, to a maximum of Knight Commander level. This aura also inflicts a penalty of -10 discipline to all allies.
Shield Ally: Knight Commander can shield one ally within 20 foot, giving him +4 dodge AC, while doing so the Knight Commander receives -4 to his attack. This ability may be used unlimited times per day; the Knight Commander cannot use it on himself.

NOTE: You can only have one defensive and one offensive aura active at the same time. All defensive auras have a radius of 30 foot, while offensive auras have a radius of 10 foot. All auras are infinite use with an unlimited duration.

[nightmother]

The server did have it capped at 5 levels.

[Vincent07]

That's an interesting idea.  I do particularly like the Entreatment power.  However, impacting what happens on a Taunt event requires a bit of NWNX work that I'm unfamiliar with.  Forcing a creature to target swap is also not something I've figured out yet.

Either way, such massive changes to the class, whichever way I end up going, will require hak work.

[nightmother]

*Nods nods.* I just thought it would be an interesting thought put towards the suggestions. I know nothing of script work, or that part of the game. So you've got props from me on everything you do

[threeguesses]

One note: friendly speed boosting doesn't play especially well with limited range auras, as friendlies may lapse in and out suddenly from the aura repeatedly.

Also, while I understand the "tactical nature" of having to position to get an aura's benefits, I would sooner have them be a little larger, if possible, so they can be used without having to constantly try to measure out the perfect position at all times.

[Vincent07]

May 12, 2015 20:21:04 GMT -5 threeguesses said:

One note: friendly speed boosting doesn't play especially well with limited range auras, as friendlies may lapse in and out suddenly from the aura repeatedly.

It does not. Not to mention it would screw with things like Longstrider etc.   I'd probably do something else.


Damage immunity decreases are also a bit problematic, as due to how NWN calculates such things, a creature that is normally immune to a certain damage type, would then suddenly start taking damage from said damage type.  Still, some interesting ideas here.