Brother of the Crystal Star class

[Srehtorc]

Hey guys,
Having recently getting Heroes Of Magnamund, I have to admit I am a tad disappointed with the Brother of the Crystal star class.

Don't get me wrong, I can see why changes have been made to the class, and Willpower is introduced because spells have become more costly in order to work better in an rpg form (as compared to Banedon in the Magnamund Companion)

What I am disappointed with is the feeling that the Brotherhood are becoming PHYSICALLY weaker. Sommerlund is a nation trained for battle, which is why Banedon and Lone Wolf had the same abilities on a base level, but their powers worked in different ways to make them very differently abled from each other. Now it seems the Brotherhood are leaning more towards the generic fantasy stereotype of wizards being physically weak but "strong of spirit".

Sadly for my preferences, I am unsure on how I could adapt the class (using houserules, obviously) to fit in better with my vision of the Brotherhood without a risk of drastically upsetting the balance of the game.
Can anyone offer any advice? Or even give me some information that might help me accept the new version of the Crystal Star Brother?

 

[Xex]

If you intend for your brother of the crystal star to get into melee combat, select the Vigor spell at char gen. If this is not enough to satisfy you then you can consider houseruling the Borther's starting Combat Skill and Endurance.

Keep in mind that in the books Banedon always fought using his spells, rather than with a sword. The adventure in the Magnamund Companion appears to be an exception to the rule. Even in that short adventure, Banedon only got nto combat a bare minimum of times.

 

[Zager Krahl]

Banedon != Elminster

 

[Srehtorc]

My desire probably wouldn't be to make a BotCS who is a melee combat character per se, as there would be little point to that when it would be simpler to make a Knight or something else to serve that purpose. I just kinda miss the option for a BotCS to stand with his comrades with his back to the wall when his magical reserves are exhausted, and probably not turn the tide of the battle (after all, melee classes exist for a reason) but survive the fight without being slaughtered by a giak and having to roll up a new character, which was something I felt that the Banedon in Magnamund Companion was capable of.

I am trusting that there is a reason I have missed for wizards becoming physically weaker. Maybe I've just got a different vision of Magnamund in my head than other people, I don't know.

I apologise if I'm repeating myself, despite the amount of sleep I've been getting I'm feeling rather tired at the moment

 

[beowuuf]

Remember that the original BCS in Magnamund companion meant when their magical reserves were gone, they were basically dead (about to keel over from exhaustion, almost dead). With Willlpower used, you can assume that when their magical reserves are gone, their lower CS and Endurance represent this fatigue without the severe penalties the Endurance cost would have been.

Wizards have to be weaker. Any combat class is assumed to get their CS from having trained with martial weapons and physically to the exclusion of all else. Wizards, even if they maintain a physical fitness regime and practise weaponery as all Sommlending children do, have to devote far more time to studying. It's the same reason you don't get professional athlete who, at the same time, also holds a top research position at a university. If you think a gap of 5 is too much, houserule it smaller, but don't be surprised if our BCS becomes a combat monster. Net spell then Vigor? Instant slaughter!

Having wizard be able to obliterate a battlefield and THEN fight normally? If the BCS were that powerful, the Kai Lords being wiped out would not be a big deal, the Kai Lords would not be leading Sommerlund's armies, and the Kai Lords would not be Kai's chosen champions.

A Kai Lord's prowess carries on throughout a battle, a brotherhood mage can hold off an army for a while, but will die when creatures get too close.

Game mechanic wise you know why it is pithced this way, and you can easily find a way to justify it narratively (general stamina penalties, lack of refined finesse with weapons) without making them weaklings or non-combatants.

 

[Ghuntar]

Two things strikes me when I look at the BCS :

- Their poor CS made it difficult to do real damage with "Lightning hand" and worse, difficult to ensnare an enemy with the "Net". Giving a better CS to the BCS would unbalance the game, so I think give a "Weapon Skill" (+2) bonus to these spells when they are chosen could be a good idea.

- No "Crystal Star Pendant" in the Starting Equipment ?

 

[Srehtorc]

thanks for your replies guys.
I'm better accepting the changes to the BotCS now, after I checked the stats of the Szall again (it was the closest thing I could imagine to what an average merchant might have the stats of)
I can also easily see that with the BotCS spells being what they are now the average Brother would be something of a game breaker.
I think I'll playtest the class thoroughly and at most give a small increase to CS.