Balancing 3.5: Martials as Anti-Magic?

[Venger]

Okay, I wasn't trying to tackle the whole system all at once, I was just throwing an idea out there to see how it could be made to work, and possibly seeing how to build on it, but if you're going to be like that, then fine, let's get started on your points.

1. This foes not make it easier for mundanes to kill enemies
   A: I would argue that not the purpose of this change in the first place, we're looking at defense here, not offense, you're trying to change the subject.
2. This does not like mundanes fly/teleport
   A: I've found flight to be over-rated on this forum, and the few times it's been used in a campaign I was part of, the players have had ranged weapons sufficient to deal with the threat.
3. This does not help mundanes overcome damage reduction
   A: Again, I'm just working on defense here, not offense, and I don't see why the idea of martial characters being able to negate spells somehow means they can't use magic weapons still.

How dare I offer you useful feedback. What exactly was your goal with this thread if you didn't want input on your houserule?

Defense does not help a character accrue xp by killing enemies. Monks may be annoying to kill, but their defensive capabilities (good saves, sr, evasion, etc) do not help them kill enemies, which is part of why they are a weak class.

Your anecdote about not needing to fly in your games doesn't somehow change the fact that flight is very important in the game past level 7 or so.

The "etc" means this is a nonexhaustive list, citing a few common things characters both magical and mundane need to be able to do to meaningfully contribute throughout the course of the game.

Be like what exactly?

There are many other interesting points to discuss regarding your houserule that may help you to improve it, but if you're going to be snotty and ungrateful, then I'm not going to bother explaining them to you.

There's no need to make martial PCs anti-magic. Phrasing it in that way invites the exact problems that Venger brings up.

Instead, consider removing some of the special dispensation that magic gets. For example:

- Magic attacks can be deflected and parried just like weapon attacks. That Monk with Deflect Arrow can also deflect melf's acid arrow or Bob's magic missile (... well the first one at least).

Now you just need some more rules for deflecting & parrying attacks on yourself and allies, and then a martial character can contribute by negating magical attacks on her friends, and can credibly protect them from legitimate threats at mid-level and up.

The hypothetical deflection-based character isn't anti-magic, she's anti-attack (including magical attacks).

This is definitely a good suggestion. Giving non-initiating mundanes access to a wall of blades-like effect will really help them out defensively