D&D 5e Homebrew Class/Background: Steelshaper/Adept (Feedback Wanted!)

Update: I made a custom background to go along with the class, and threw it all into Homebrewery which I just discovered and spent way too much time messing around when I should have been sleeping.

Some of you may remember earlier in the year when GBer @joystick_hero was recruiting for his D&D campaign and I was one of the lucky few who managed to join. Well we've been playing for... almost half-a-year? So we're taking a break in the action to run a short interlude campaign and he was magnanimous enough to let me build out a custom class.

Which is here: http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/Sk8ZYC40

Steelshapers! Originally I was trying to design this as a 4e class which was a nightmare and I quickly gave up. Now I think I've pretty much made a complete class. The core concept is to have a melee class that's light on damage, but high on utility and crowd control. If any of you would like to give this a read and offer feedback, I'd be very appreciative. I'll try not to be too precious about my ideas.

Without getting into the number crunching, I feel as if you should better clarify why the shaper steel doesn't count as magical for "detect magic" and "dispel magic" when it is clearly magical in it's creation and use, such as "Vortex of Steel." :) As an example; if your party enters some sort of DM invented anti-magic alarm/field/area and other arcane spells or items no longer work, yet the shaper steel is unaffected, that seems a little iffy. Maybe work those immunities into later level perks if you're married to them.

Also being able to summon back the steel not unlike a Blink enchantment or "X of Returning" from 1st level without a cost associated with it is a little much imo. I would at least have that use a bonus action. Just a suggestion.

I'm running a large table right now with 3 custom classes, and from my experience, they can create a sense of unwelcome toxicity to the table since the other players might feel as if they're being cheated by the player, and the DM for allowing it. Talk at length with the DM about it, be willing to make changes as you play if it's becoming apparent that it's OP, and try not to incorporate traits so nebulous that only you understand how they work with the rules. I've had to pump the breaks numerous times on a home brew Witcher at our table and it's been a little taxing, as it can distract from the actual adventure and narrative when I have to refamiliarize myself with his 10 pages of class ability descriptions AND alchemy buffs AND monster trophy mutagen buffs and blahb-blah-bBLAH.

All in all though, pretty interesting concept. Very MacGuyver. I dig it.

@brother_sazerac: I've been developing this class in conjunction with the DM and the table so they're all aware of what's being built here. As to your points:

I describe the steel as being bonded to your essence. Without putting to fine a point on it, I'm basically saying it is powered by a fragment of your soul. The process to imbue it with your soul is magical, but the actual steel is not (unless souls are magical?). It's much more akin to telekinesis. I need to add some text to the uh, feature that lets you drain a +mod from a magic item that states that while your steel is not magical, the enchantment is and would register as such.

The main reason to be able to summon the steel back to your hand without requiring an action is to make it functional as a ranged attack with a thrown weapon. I am curious to know why you consider it to be a little much, however.

Thanks for the input. Definitely food for thought.

Weapons that have a blink/returning property on them are pretty rare and desirable by themselves, and when it works without cost in conjunction with the extra attack at 5th and the Unerring throw at 6th (barring any feats from the expanded list, if you guys are using that) it read as if it could get a little spammy at range if you use the Imagination Path + Magnified Weapon on a weapon that does more than 1d8 by default, essentially giving you a damage (and ostensibly crit range from my admittedly cursory look at the stat blocks) that surpasses most ranged weapons for other classes. Though, I probably missed something, and that may be the whole idea for the class heh. I read it more as a tank with the +2 AC with the shaper steel etc etc.

@brother_sazerac: Ah, good catch, I need to change Magnified Weapon to only apply to melee attacks actually. I'll have to take a closer look at a dedicated ranged playstyle though. You may be right although I do worry that one ranged attack per turn max might be too limiting since no other class would be under that sort of restriction.

EDIT: Although with the changed to magnified weapon, just getting two 1d8 ranged attacks per turn seems fine? Imagination path is kinda bunk for extra damage beyond that. Or you could go Inspiration path and get two 1d6+2 attacks per turn instead which also seems fine.

You could still attack twice with it being a bonus action, you would just have to decide if you want to burn it on being range focused for that round, and not get to use it for anything else. As long as there's some pool you're drawing from that prevents you from multi tasking too much, it all balances out usually. Extra attacks are just for when you use your action "as" an attack. Attacks as bonus actions usually only come in play when duel wielding.

@brother_sazerac: No to be clear, if you have to use your bonus to call it back each time, that means one throw then bonus to call it back then you can't throw it again because you can't call it back a second time.

Eh, you could still throw it a second time and have it sticking out the target until your next turn to summon it back for that round. Just think of doing a giant over head throw with a claymore that was made "Light" with the Imagination path. Risk/reward and all that. And it makes for a pretty cool visual heh.

Anyway, GLHB :)

Well, there's a system for supernatural shit in DnD, and it's magic. As a DM I would probably not accept a personal power source like non-magical soul essence for someone's custom class. Just saying it's magically bound to your soul would make more sense. Bards and their music are magical, Druids and their nature stuff are magical... even Totem Warrior Barbarians are magical.

Either the steel itself has to be magical or the manipulations of the steel have to be magical, ie. either your steel can be detected as magic or you need to 'cast spells' to do anything with it. Probably not both. The former makes your particular slab of steel very personal and the latter would make it possible to manipulate any steel/metal.

Just my two cents... as always with dnd, do whatever works for you and your group. But I'd really recommend trying to work within the existing systems and rules. Custom classes are complex enough.

@clush: That makes sense. I was thinking of it more in line with a monk's Ki which I don't think counts as a magical effect? Maybe I'm mistaken. Unless they're elemental monks of course. Like when a monk makes themselves invisible, does that count as magic?

@starvinggamer said:

I'm playing in a campaign wherein there is a sort of magical inquisition going on where magic and the use thereof is illegal except in very limited cases by the shady priests currently in power. So yeah, this discussion of whether Ki counts as magic has come up with my DM, and we don't know? Or like, Ki is definitely magic, but it is "magic energy in every living body in the universe" or something close to that according to the Player's Handbook, which I feel like makes some kind of weird implication that the act of your body functioning at all is already some kind of magic, and monks are just better at it than usual?

We decided the magical inquisition wouldn't really care if my monk just punched things really good with Ki, but it would be a giveaway if he was an elemental monk or if used the variety of invisibility/sneaky magic that the Path of Shadows or whatever gives.

In general, everything in the game is pretty much magic, even if it isn't explicitly in the spell appendix of the Player's Handbook.

Also, on an unrelated style note, I'm sure WotC's style consistency people would absolutely hate sentences like "As a bonus action on your turn, you can expend 2 d4 magnitude shaper die to recover 1 expended d6 magnitude shaper die" because at a glance, based on every other class in D&D, your eye might read that as "expend 2d4 magnitude shaper die", and you'd be like "Waaaaa that's a lot of dice if I roll a 4 and a 4." I guarantee those style consistency people would move heaven and earth to rework the steelshaper into something resembling the Bard or the Fighter's Battle Master subclass (with superiority dice that all have one value, which increases at certain levels) instead of printing the aforementioned sentence I highlighted. They seem to really like that the bardic inspiration dice or the superiority dice all have one fixed die at any given moment. I appreciate that you expect most players probably don't need their hands held that much, because frankly your shaper dice are no more or less confusing than how many spellcasters have 9 different magnitudes of spell slots to keep track of by 20th level.

On the other hand, "Starting at 18th level, when you roll initiative and have no d4 magnitude shaper dice remaining, you regain 2 d4 magnitude shaper die" is just the kind of 18th level ability that is consistent with how all of the other classes with weird point pools tend to work, including the part where I feel like at 18th level I would be very underwhelmed to get such a low amount of points back. Seriously, at 20th level, monks get back 4 Ki if they roll initiative without any Ki left. 4? That's almost completely useless, especially for the elemental monk for whom every ability is overpriced.

@starvinggamer: Monk's Ki is very much magical, but they don't cast spells. But there's a big difference between magic and spellcasting, which is why I put that in quotation marks earlier... it was really for want of a better word. I think the monk's Ki is an excellent comparison.

But yeah, a monk's invisibility is a magical effect. But unlike mages who wield arcane magic, monks wield the magic of life. Which has some weird implications that you'll need to work out on a per game basis. Like what does that mean for spell like antimagic field?

@bisonhero: Yup, pretty much that. They never specify how Ki interacts with The Weave. I like how you handled it. I guess what matters most is how your trickery is perceived by the powers that be, rather than how it technically works.

@bisonhero: I originally had that written out as two d4 for one d6 etc, maybe changing back to that would add clarity. Not gonna change the resource system tho. Anyone can instantly translate d4 d6 d8 to lvl 1 2 3 spell slots in their head.

@clush: It makes me wonder if I should just... avoid talking about the steel being magical at all...? Leave it up to interpretation or something. Maybe this is a situation were specific is not better.

This is coming from someone who hasn't played a high level character in 5th ed. at all, but just based on feel, you could probably buff Bulwark a little bit? I like how you've made a modified Evasion, but Bulwark doesn't seem impactful enough. Evasion ends up being scary for DMs because the 3 classes with access to it (Monks, Rogues, some Rangers) are pretty much the 3 very Dexterity focused classes, and Evasion works an unlimited number of times, so they can become near immune to a lot of AoE. I get that Mental Fortitude means steelshapers always get their Intelligence modifier on all saving throws (that is maybe too insane or should be at a higher level than 13), and by 15th level your proficiency bonus will be pretty decent so having that added to the Dexterity saving throw is a nice bonus, but Bulwark only activating the one time just seems kinda dull, even if you do get so many bonuses that it's nearly a guaranteed pass. This is my long-winded version of saying that maybe make Bulwark useable again after a short rest instead of a long rest, because it seems much less impressive than Evasion, which is a skill that works endlessly and is also a 7th level skill for everyone who has it except Rangers. Also, Intelligence modifier on all saving throws, when Intelligence is the stat that you're pretty much going to max to 20 ASAP hopefully by level 8 or 12, seems maybe too good.

Speaking of saving throws and "resistances" in general, the steelshaper seems like the kind of class that at some arbitrary level should gain some immunity to poison and/or disease? Also, maybe gains immunity to being charmed or frightened by golems and other magical constructs, since the class is so capable of magically manipulating metal? Not sure how many golems and magical constructs actually use those effects since they mostly seem like the type to just bash you.

I like the shaper arts, and wish more 5th ed. classes/subclasses had that amount of originality, instead of a lot of them being "hey, we're going to give you access to a specific themed set of spells from the wizard spell list, but also we're going to make you look them up individually instead of printing those spell effects in this class' description." That being said, and again coming from someone who hasn't played a high level character in 5th ed. at all, I think the d8 shaper arts might all be too powerful to have access to at level 11? Just speaking relatively to what other classes have access to at that level. I'd almost say to hold off on them until level 16 or 17, instead of "they increase in power at 17th level." Using the other classes as a benchmark, they just seem like really powerful abilities for a melee class to have access to in the 11-15th level range.

• Grasping Field deals the least insane damage, and I'm glad the steelshaper basically can't move or use its shaper steel while concentrating on the field. The continuous "damage every 5 feet of movement" is in line with something like the spell Spike Growth, but the constant saving throws to get knocked prone/restrained, keeping the target in the field, is maybe too effective of a feedback loop? So reasonable damage, but the crowd control might be too insanely effective for that level. I see what you're going for, and maybe I'm glossing over some spell available at that level that is similarly good at restraining and consistent, un-saving-throwable damage, but it seems really really good for 11th level.
• Vortex of Steel I guess isn't that different from just casting Fireball on yourself, but it doesn't deal damage to you or to your allies (pro) and if enemies pass the saving throw they take no damage at all (con). The 6d8 + whatever your regular shaper steel weapon damage ends up being a little higher than a fireball would be, plus you have advantage so your critical odds go up a bit, but overall this is probably the only one that I think is kind of reasonable as is, since some melee classes could know Fireball around that level (Monk at 11, Fighter at 13).
• Eviscerate is comparable to like, a pretty good 5th or 6th or 7th level single target damage spell, like Disintegrate or Finger of Death (which granted, some spellcasters have access to 1-2 spell slots' worth at level 11), or it's not that much worse than the Monk's Quivering Palm, a 17th level class feature. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but wizards get 1-2 copies of those sorts of spells because spells is all they got; they aren't just spending every turn hitting fools with a greatsword. If you want to look at any other class like the steelshaper that is competent with consistently using melee weapons (with a bunch of related class features) on the frontline of a fight, none of them have a spell or spell-like feature at 11th level that deals 10d8 if it all the way works. At best, some melee classes can learn like, a few 2nd or 3rd level spells at 11th level, but Eviscerate is dramatically better than that, even considering you can only do it a single time.
• While I'm crying "OP", Danger Zone might be a little too good at any level because unlimited opportunity attacks is pretty abuseable if you make your shaper steel either into a weapon that naturally has reach, or you use the Shifting Weapon thing to give your weapon reach if it doesn't already have it. Not to mention that it's even more broken with Leashing Strike or Vortex of Steel. There are feats and class features that are meant to make you a "really good counterattacker", and none of them are nearly as good as "unlimited opportunity attacks and also everything near you counts as difficult terrain." There's nothing inherently wrong with that, and I know this kind of ability is the whole point of the class, but relative to the existing classes and feats in the Player's Handbook, Danger Zone would be a 20th level skill. Most of the other classes and feats that allow special opportunity attacks just let you use your reaction to opportunity attack as a reaction to something other than "guy walks away from you", or in the case of Polearm Master it works like Danger Zone where you opportunity attack someone who enters your melee range and spend your reaction to do so. For example: "At 17th level, you can exploit a creature's momentary distraction when it is hit by an attack. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack made by a creature other than you, you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature." That's a 17th level Monk class feature, for some godforsaken reason. Hooray, your party is now slightly better at dogpiling/flanking one dude.
  By all means, Danger Zone should give you some super buff, like you spend your reaction to attack one guy who enters your melee range, and you get advantage and if it hits the guy he is knocked prone and stunned until your next turn. Go nuts. But I feel like no other ability in the game says "you can make anywhere from 2-20 attacks in the same round, none of which cost an action, bonus action, or reaction." It has to cost something. The most I'd be willing to budge is that when something enters your melee range, you may spend your reaction to do an opportunity attack on that creature as well as any other enemies currently within your melee range as part of the same reaction, rolling separately for each one. At least that feels like you unleash a sweet spin attack at one specific moment that feels like a single reaction, instead of getting a dozen separate reactions in a single round.

That being said, great work on coming up with all the class features! I find your class a lot more interesting than a lot of the other "weird alternate points pool" classes in 5th ed.

@starvinggamer said:

Yeah, that's fair, the resource system itself is fine. It just gets a little wordy/overly mechanical when each tier of spell/resource is literally called a d4-, d6-, or d8-magnitude. I get that they each incorporate their respective magnitude die in a specific way, but the system also amounts to basically a custom spell list of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level steelshaper-only spells, and I just wonder if there's a more concise way to present/categorize all that, for readability's sake. Fwiw, maybe I'm just picky about this sort of thing; I also absolutely hate the formatting in the elemental monk section of the Player's Handbook, where they list off a bunch of "monk elemental disciplines" that are just renamed wizard spells, and they're ordered in alphabetical order according to their fanciful monk name. No actual spell description, not arranged in alphabetical order according to actual spell name in the spells chapter, not arranged in order of what level you gain access to them.

@bisonhero: Thanks for the very detailed post. Let me go through this bit by bit.

• I think Bulwark might still be ok? I guess more than anything, it's pretty unremarkable for a lvl 15 feature. Once per short rest might be good, or 2x per long rest. It's not exactly in a Steelshaper's wheelhouse so I'm ok with it being a mostly shittier version of a feature other classes get earlier.
• For Mental Fortitude, I rationalized it based on the fact that Pallies get the same with with their Cha modifier at lvl 6 and they get to give to everyone in an aura around them. As another tankier focused class I wanted to have something similar but not as strong. Also Str and Con are super important for Shapers so it's a tough balance with Int as well. Most of their arts key off of hitting so Str is needed and most of the coolest shit they do is tied to concentration so, especially as a melee class, high Con is also super important.
• Well the class specifically can only manipulate the steel they've basically put a bit of themselves into. I was thinking about making immunity to poison and disease a part of their weird lvl 20 feature though. Might need to revisit that thought.
• For the arts in general, the real problem is with only 3 spell slots, it's tough figuring out what to give when. Yes the d8 arts are real strong, but they also only get 1 per long rest from 11-13 and 2 from 14-16. I'm mostly trying to balance them off of level 6 spells since those also come at 11. Steelshapers suck a lot without resources, and they get fewer resource than other caster classes and fewer damage features than other melee classes.
• For Grasping Field, I did overpower it a little because it basically disables the Steelshaper for the duration and also traps them in close proximity to any creatures effected. Something worth mentioning is they don't even get their shield equivalent feature bonus so their AC takes a big hit as well. So either they get restrained which takes them out of action for the bit along the Steelshaper and they get hurt a little each turn, or they break free and either escape where they can't be chased or they close the distance, take a little more damage, and whack the Shaper ending the effect immediately. I added the Int mod damage recently but I might remove that after all. Something to definitely think about.
• For Vortex of Steel it's higher than Fireball cast as a 3rd level spell, but if I'm keeping to the 6th level slot comparison it's 11d6 which is closer to even. So yeah pros and cons, Fireballs just do their damage with one point of failure for half. Mine does the damage with two points of failure for none. I think that's a fair tradeoff for not hitting allies? Maybe?
• You're right about the Disintegrate comparison for Eviscerate, but that spell does an average of 75 on hit. Even with a maul and max Str, Eviscerate does around 61, with the same pentalty for failure as Disintegrate. Also it requires additional action to even trigger the big damage, providing another potential point of failure if it's poorly planned. By comparison, even it comes at 17, Monk's quivering palm does average 55 damage on a failed save or kills outright and they get to do 6 per short rest so... The thing is Shapers are such shitty frontline fighters otherwise, I think of them more as casters in melee. One path gets max +4 damage per turn and the other path gets nothing without expending slots. Sans resources, they probably deal the least damage out of any class?
• Yeah danger zone is a weird one. Level wise it comes later than a level 3 spell slot for casters AKA a Fireball. Again since it's concentration and it sorta locks you to it, I'm guessing in most situations you won't be getting very many bonus AoOs before it gets knocked out of you. Having only one AoO would make it incredibly easy for enemies to just dogpile you, which is kinda the purpose? But then it feels like there's no real penalty. Like yay I burned my second highest tier of spell slot to... AoO one guy and then get hit a bunch. You're right that most features that give you a reaction in weird situations still uses your reaction, but they don't also consume one of your long-rest resources. It's a potentially strong ability that can also fizzle out and net you almost no benefit as-is, and you can only do it 2x per day at 6 at the cost of not using other cool skills.

Lots to think about though. Designing the arts was tough because of how weird the resource pool is so basically this is all my fault. THanks for all the input!

@starvinggamer: Yeah, a lot of my balance concerns are less of an issue if I think of the steelshaper as a melee spellcaster that can decently tank, and has a flexible-but-unimpressive-damage weapon. It's not unlike one of the Warlock variants where his deity gives him a pact weapon, which he can summon at any time, but it kinda doesn't do much other than let him attack twice (like just about any melee class at level 5) and eventually the pact weapon deals Charisma modifier as bonus damage.

Regarding whether all your steelshaper shit is magic or not: if it were magic, steelshapers could learn the War Caster feat, the relevant part being: "You have advantage on Constitution saving throws that you make to maintain your concentration on a spell when you take damage." Which seems useful, though I guess the level 20 class feature is supposed to help you with concentration by boosting your Constitution?

@bisonhero: You might be seeing an older version for some reason, you don't get the Con boost at 20 any more. I also tacked on immunity to poison and disease at 20 and made Bulwark a short rest feature. I do put a little * at the bottom to clarify that arts do not count as spells for any purposes. With +Int to Con saves and proficiency they're already in a pretty good spot for concentration.

Cool class! My thoughts.

Arcana doesn't seem like an appropriate skill, since this isn't a magical class.

I don't know about being skilled at any tool you can create. Seems like it could step on other players tool proficiencies.

I don't know about Shaper Defense at 1st level. Maybe just drop the +2 ac, or move it to a higher level.

What happens if someone takes your steel and goes farther away than 90ft? If you don't have a fragment can you ever make another one?

@jaycrockett: Thanks for the input.

• The rituals used to transform the steel into an extension of the Steelshaper's body are arcane in nature and would require years of intense study to perform, hence Arcana
• You can only be skilled at mundane tools you create, which doesn't apply to tool proficiencies, just Althletic checks to use a pickaxe for example. To be skilled at artisan tools you need to A) take the imagination path and B) already have the tool proficiency. The feature just allows you to make the tools out of your steel instead of carrying them around with you
• Shaper Defense is basically just giving you an option to have a shield without a shield. As a class that's supposed to be on the tankier side this is key.
• If your steel leaves your sphere of influence it becomes a 2"x2"x9" steel bar weighing 10 lbs. If it gets completely obliterated then you're SoL unless you go through the months or rituals again. I should add something to describe that.

Updated the OP for the homebrew background I just made plus the Homebrewery link. What a cool site!