Category Archives: Underpowered

Underpowered: Zodar

Really, the issue isn’t that the zodar is underpowered. I mean, it is, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that the zodar is boring. It doesn’t fit into any setting, it doesn’t provide interesting hooks to the players, … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Kenku

I’ve said before that the power level of racial powers can be ranked roughly like this: The dwarf Minor action encounter powers that attack enemies Immediate-speed powers Minor action encounter powers that affect enemies without an attack roll Minor action … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Healer

It’s been said that the most important resource in D&D is actions. This is mostly, but not entirely, true, and not just because this belief happened to pop up around the same time the 3.5E warlock was published and it … Continue reading

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Designing Interesting Classes (or, Why Nobody Plays a Samurai)

As I look at races, classes, prestige classes, and other things (but mostly classes, since they’re the biggest deal) for Underpowered, I’ve found myself wondering more and more why I think these options need help. It’s true that I don’t … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Samurai (3.5E)

The samurai has been ranked by very smart people as perhaps the least-powerful PC class in D&D 3.5. Apparently it’s on par with the expert, the adept, and other NPC classes. I think it’s common knowledge that non-spellcasting classes are … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Duergar (4E)

Generally I’m not the kind of person who ranks things by power level. I tend to leave that to the experts. But I do talk with people and I see a lot of gameplay. One of the big benefits of … Continue reading

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Underpowered: Bullywug (4E)

D&D has lots of options, and it’s fairly obvious that they’re not all equally powerful. I’ve ranted about this, but over time I’ve also been doing something about it. Rarely, it’s a house rule to limit to power of a … Continue reading

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