In this series, I’ll be slowly tackling a rework of one of our favorite classes, the Binder. The class was originally a straight update of the class of the same name from D&D 3.5’s Tome of Magic, including most of the original vestiges, but as we revisit this class, we’d like to examine its mechanics and its concepts with fresh eyes, improve upon them, and write a whole new list of vestiges.
Perhaps the most important thing we need to get right is the number of vestiges; this single number makes or breaks the entire class. Too many and the class becomes daunting to read/play/DM. Too few and players don’t feel like they have enough options.
In this article, we’ll be discussing what the right number of vestiges is, as well as what each level of vestiges should be all about.
Simple Arithmetic
Last time we visited the binder, we eliminated some of the vestiges from the original class, added a few of our own based on D&D lore, and ultimately ended up with a similar number to the original, 30+ vestiges. There’s no question that this was too many vestiges. The class was full of interesting options, but too many people skipped it on principle, and I don’t blame them. I also don’t like allowing packs of options at my table before I fully understand all of the options available.
Arriving at the right number of vestiges will be a difficult balancing act.
First, we need to consider how many options players will accept when they gain a new level. One is obviously too few. Two vestiges might be better, but presenting a binary option can seem frustrating if neither option happens to appeal. Three strikes me as a good number.
However, early levels are going to need more vestiges to get the class off the ground, especially since you begin the class with the ability to only bind to one vestige at a time. So, let’s increase the first level of vestiges to 4-5 vestiges.
Later levels, by contrast, probably won’t need as many options. By 15th level, players will have an abundance of other vestiges to mix and match. And, in keeping with the design trend of higher level spellcasters, a fewer number of high-level options, which are all more powerful, should convey a sense of arcane might without rocking the boat. So, 7th, 8th, and 9th level vestiges should have 2 each.
That leaves us at 25 vestiges. Sadly, this only cuts 5 off the total, but perhaps this is the right number?
Vestige Level Themes
When you take a close look at class abilities and spell levels in D&D, lots of trends emerge. For example, 1st level simply doesn’t have a lot of damage potential, whereas 3rd level spells and 5th level class abilities all contain a significant damage spike. Vestiges should be designed to reflect similar trends in their levels, so as to give a more consistent flow to the class as a player levels up.
Note: vestige levels arrive at the same level as their corresponding spell levels.
1st Level
First level vestiges are critical to getting the class right. Vestige features need to be useful enough for a 1st level binder to feel like they’re getting a good deal only being able to bind one vestige at a time, but not so powerful that taking a one level dip into binder is unreasonably attractive for other classes. This is a great place for vestiges that are all about social interaction or other non-combat related functions.
The Simple Passive ability here can be weapon proficiencies and cantrips, but can’t be extraordinarily strong. The Passive needs to be useful all the time; this probably isn’t a point to give strictly defensive features. The Active needs to feel worth it at lower levels, but not useless at higher levels. It’s going to be a tough thing to balance.
Moreover, at least one first-level feature needs to be dedicated to being useful for higher level characters, in order to make this level of vestiges attractive for a longer period of time. For example, a passive that becomes more powerful with the number of vestiges a character binds at one time, or an ability that makes high-level abilities (such as teleportation) more useful are great additions.
2nd Level
This vestige level arrives at 3rd level, when all the classes have been given archetype features and many have been given slightly more powerful abilities, as they dig further into their important class features. We’re beyond the level of a small dip at this point, so we can look to giving out some more substantial features.
Specifically, at 2nd level, I want to start giving out vestiges which define a particular type of combat. We’re looking at fighting styles, as well as other options which give a relative +1 or +2 damage to potential damage output, but which must be used in a certain way. So for example, an unarmed fighting vestige might fit well at this level, since it can improve damage potential a small amount, but forces you to emulate a specific type of fighting.
If we include a spellcasting vestige at this level, it should be focused on utility and exploration, since very few 2nd level spells are substantially focused on damage. This /might/ be the place to include a simple healing vestige, but there’s a lot of competition for these three vestige slots.
3rd Level
Boom! This level is the first big power spike. At the same level, fighters get Extra Attack, wizards get fireball, and binders should get some big options as well. This is probably a level to emphasize damage output: blasty magic and Extra Attack. And if there was a level to give out very defensive options, such as heavy armor or high HP, this would be a great level to get it out there.
<3h>4th Level
Like 2nd level, 4th level spells are focused more on interaction, exploration, and crowd control than they are strictly in dealing more damage, so vestiges at this level should do the same. I’d go so far as to say that vestiges at this level should apply no substantial increases to damage per round. However, since we’re looking at a higher level than 2nd, we can tackle more interesting and powerful mechanics, such as debuffing and thorns.
5th Level
Spells at 5th level are all over the place, but they definitely represent a power bump. Impressive damage spells, like cone of cold and flame strike live at this level, but so do critical interaction spells like dominate person, geas, and telekinesis, as well as exploration spells, like teleportation circle and passwall. That said, we have a bit of a free-for-all on our hands in terms of spellcasting, whereas martial classes can’t expect a big damage buff (theirs drops at class level 11th, spell level 6th).
This could be a great level to tackle more ambitious vestiges, such as a necromancy vestige with animate dead, a vestige which offers flight, etc. Alternatively, we can wait until 6th for necromancy, since create undead comes online at that level.
6th Level
This level is huge for martial characters and spellcasters. We’re looking at another level focused largely on damage increases. Importantly, we shouldn’t give out a third weapon attack to binders (that’s very much the fighter’s thing), but we should look at options which improve damage output by the same amount as a third attack would. Rangers accomplished this by giving more attacks against more targets, paladins managed it by adding a bonus 1d8 to each hit, and we’ll need at least one solution here.
We should also look adding another evocation vestige at this level to keep up the class’s damage curve for binders that want to emulate a full spellcaster.
7th and 8th Level
By 7th level, we’re officially into high level vestiges and high level spells. Vestiges at this level should be more exhaustible than in earlier levels, so it might be wise to trade out the Passive for a second Active occasionally from here on out.
It seems hard to nail down a separate mechanical theme for 7th level and 8th. Both include spells that deal impressive damage and have plenty of reality-warping effects that can shift the tide of combat completely. Perhaps 7th focuses more on damage, whereas 8th focuses more on those titanic effects which aren’t quite big enough to earn 9th level, but this is hard to generalize to vestiges. These vestiges are going to need strong themes, and we’ll have a lot of room to play with them, but it also doesn’t seem like the time to mess with emulating other classes or providing new ways of fighting; that seems too small-time for a vestige at this level.
It’s clear I need to think about these more, and it might be that we need a whole article down the line to sort them out.
9th Level
Obviously 9th level is huge. I have a few ideas for the vestiges to go here, but they’re going to be mostly big, single-use effects. Both of these vestiges are a huge investment, but by their limited nature, are not mandatory picks for high-level binders.
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This week isn’t a huge community design week, but I’m happy to hear your thoughts on which vestiges should go where. Next week, I’ll have a trial list of vestiges by level for us to debate about.
