Classes of Amar

The continent of Amar is home to members of all classes and most prestige classes. There are some classes that are different on Amar, however. These changes are meant to increase the power and/or flexibility of classes generally seen as "lower-powered" and work as quality of life changes for classes that seem to be clunky. Some changes however, are merely for flavor reasons. Below is a list of these changes and the reasoning behind each.

Alternate class features are allowed to be taken.

There are no cross-class experience penalties for Amaran characters. Cross-class XP penalties often limit flexibility, especially among non-spellcasting classes.

Barbarian Cleric Dragon Shaman Favored Soul Fighter Hexblade Knight Monk Ninja Ranger Scout Shadowcaster Sorcerer
 * While raging, a barbarian can make a full attack after charging. This ability functions identically to pounce.  Barbarians, much like other mundane classes, often lack damage when moving.
 * You may chose any domains you would like within reason, rather than having your deity determine your domains.
 * At fifth, tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth level, you gain a Metabreath feat or Ability Focus (breath weapon) as a bonus feat.
 * Wisdom determines the DC to resist your spells. Wisdom also determines the highest level spell you can cast.  You gain bonus spells based on a higher wisdom.  Favored souls are not typically any more powerful than a cleric, and splitting their casting between two separate scores further puts them behind.
 * Add Listen, Spot, and Tumble to the fighter list of class skills. Her skill points are equal to 4 + your intelligence modifier per level (x4 at first).  Fighters are often the class used for bodyguards, watchmen, and sentinels.  Such characters should be given the skills to sense their enemies.
 * When a fighter's base attack bonus reaches +10 and while making a full attack, a fighter may take a single five foot step between each attack she makes. Fighters, as a non-spellcasting class, also lack mobility.  This change gives fighters more tactical choices while in combat.
 * Hexblades have a good fortitude save, as a fighter. Hexblades are supposed to be strong fighters, and thus should have good defenses against poison, disease, and other such ailments.
 * Your curse ability is usable a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Cha modifier. Using your curse ability is a swift action.  A use is not expended if your target succeeds on their saving throw.  The curse ability is the signature class feature of the Hexblade, and it tends to be quite weak.  Requiring you to waste your turn along to use an ability that was relatively easily resisted made it feel very underwhelming.
 * Hexblades ignore arcane spell failure while in light or medium armor and while using a light shield or buckler. The difference between medium armor and light armor is relatively small, but allows Hexblades to wade into melee much more safely.
 * At 6th level, the hexblade can cast one hexblade spell per day as a swift action, as long as its original casting time is a standard action or less. She gains an additional use of this power at levels 8, 11, 14, and 18. Many other caster-melee hybrids have abilities that allow them to cast spells while fighting in melee.  The hexblade spell list is relatively tame and this allows them to fill the class fantasy of a fighter/mage.
 * Knights have a good fortitude save, as a fighter. Knights are supposed to be strong fighters, and thus should have good defenses against poison, disease, and other such ailments.
 * Your knight's challenge abilities are not limited by enemy's intelligence or language, and these abilities are not mind-affecting.
 * Add Diplomacy to your list of class skills.
 * At fifth, tenth and fifteenth level, you may choose a fighter bonus feat in place of the knight bonus feat.
 * You have a full base attack bonus like a fighter. Monks often tend to be less effective at melee combat than other classes like fighter and barbarian, mostly due to their lack of attack bonus, especially when using flurry of blows.  This allows a monk to deal with melee combat as effectively as other mundane classes.
 * When your base attack bonus reaches +6, you may make two attacks with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons as a standard action. When your base attack bonus reaches +12 you may make three attacks with unarmed strikes or special monk weapons as a standard action.  Doing so incurs the same penalties as you would when you use your flurry of blows.  Monk's mobility is often useless in combat due to not being able to attack while moving.
 * Sudden Strike works identically to sneak attack. Sudden strike functioned as a direct downgrade to sneak attack, which made ninjas a much weaker class than rogue.
 * Your skill points are equal to 8 + your intelligence modifier (x4 at first). Ninjas learn a skill trick for which they meet the prerequisites at fifth level, along with every third level thereafter.  Ninjas are supposed to be able to pull of cool stunts, and this allows them to do so without sacrificing their role as the "skill monkey" character archetype.
 * Add the following combat styles to the standard ranger choices. These additional fighting styles allow rangers to be more diverse, allowing ranger levels to fit better into different character builds:
 * Demolisher: At second level, a demolisher ranger gains Power Attack as a bonus feat.  At sixth level, a demolisher ranger gains Favored Power Attack as a bonus feat.  At 11th level, a demolisher ranger gains Brutal Strike as a bonus feat, and she may use the feat with non-bludgeoning two-handed weapons.
 * Einhander: At second level, while fighting with a light or one-handed slashing or piercing weapon and nothing in their off hand, an einhander ranger may use the combat reflexes and combat expertise feats, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. At sixth level, an einhander ranger wielding a light or one-handing slashing or piercing weapon and nothing in their off hand, they gain a +1 dodge bonus to their AC and reflex saves. At 11th level while wielding a light or one-handed slashing or piercing weapon and nothing in their off hand, they may make an extra attack using their highest base attack bonus when using the full attack action.
 * Feral: At second level, a feral ranger gains Multiattack as a bonus feat. At sixth level a feral ranger gains Improved Natural Attack as a bonus feat.  At 11th level, a feral ranger gains Rapidstrike as a bonus feat, even if she doesn't meet the prerequisites
 * Mage Hunter: At 1st level, you do not select a favored enemy from Table 3-14 in the Player's Handbook. At 5th, 10th, 15th,and 20th level, you can choose favored enemies as normal. You gain favored enemy (arcanists). This feature works just like the favored enemy ability (PH 47). The bonuses granted apply to any character capable of casting arcane spells or using invocations (but not other spell-like abilities). At second level you gain Stand Still as a bonus feat.  At sixth level you gain Mage Slayer as a bonus feat.  At 11th level you gain Pierce Magical Protection as a bonus feat.
 * Warder: At second level, a warder ranger gains the Shield Specialization feat as a bonus feat.  At sixth level, a warder ranger gains Shield Ward as a bonus feat.  At 11th level, a warder ranger may apply his shield bonus to a single adjacent ally until the end of his next turn as a swift action, in addition to applying it to his own AC.  That ally also gains the benefit of the Shield Ward feat.
 * Add Disable Device to the scout list of class skills. This skill was added to the scout class skill list in an official update.  A class that has trapfinding should be able to disable such traps.  Your skill points are equal to 8 + your intelligence bonus (x4 at first).
 * The skirmish ability counts as sneak attack for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites of feats and prestige classes, and any effects that would increase or otherwise improve or change sneak attacks apply to your skirmish damage. There are many fun prestige classes and feats that scouts couldn't take advantage of, making them a generally weaker choice than rogue.
 * Intelligence determines the DC to resist your mysteries. Intelligence also determines the highest level mystery you can cast.  You gain bonus mysteries based on a higher intelligence just as a wizard gains bonus spells.  Shadowcaster's spells are generally weaker than those of other classes, and the added penalty of having their spellcasting tied to two different ability scores made them a very weak choice.
 * You no longer have to take mysteries in a given Path in order. This change makes shadowcasters more flexible like other spellcasters.
 * Within a category—Apprentice, Initiate, Master—you must have at least two mysteries of any given level before you can take any mysteries of the next higher level. For instance, you must have two 1st-level mysteries before you can take any 2nds, and at least two 2nds before you can take any 3rds.
 * You no longer get a bonus feat equal to half the number of paths you have access to. Instead, you get a bonus feat equal to the total number of Paths you complete. This gives an incentive and bonus to Shadowcasters that decide to specialize in a path.
 * You may “swap out” mysteries, just as a warlock does invocations. If you “un-complete” a Path in this way, however, you lose access to the bonus feat you gained from completing that Path. (You can regain access by re-completing the Path, completing a different Path and choosing that feat as your new bonus, or selecting that feat as a normal feat at your next opportunity.) This allows the shadowcaster to give up under preforming spells.
 * Once your Apprentice Mysteries become supernatural abilities, change the save DC from 10 + equivalent spell level + Cha to 10 + 1/2 caster level + Int. This is to make Shadowcaster supernatural mysteries tied to their main spellcasting stat.

Truenamer
 * At first, fifth, tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth level, you gain a heritage feat for which you meet the prerequisites as a bonus feat. Sorcerer's magic is generally derived from having a magic relative in their bloodline, this allows them to express their character's background.
 * Sorcerers may apply the Quickened Spell feat to their spells. Normally, casting a metamagic spell takes a full-round action for sorcerers, making it impossible for them to quicken their spells.
 * The base DC to affect a creature with an Utterance is 15 + The targets CR. This makes it so that Utterances are not any harder to use at higher levels against equally-leveled enemies.