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[coaster]

I guess it makes more sense RP-wise to restrict it to saves vs paralyse/death since these are most closely associated with the hardiness of the character (eg the immunities & high CON). I haven't played it through yet with a Vagrant though so I don't have a particularly strong view.

Incidentally, I'd like to play a Vagrant through from BG Tutu (as I do with all my BG characters); if I install IA on top of a Tutu installation to create a level 1 Vagrant, will it cause other problems? If so, would it be possible to have a standalone Vagrant mod for Tutu only? Thanks.

[lroumen]

If you play Elf Vagrant then you're restricted to a final constitution of 18, which only matters in hitpoints compared to a constitution of 17 (which elves are normally restricted to). So I think that if you're not certain on how the +saves is handled by the engine (or by player choice), then a hard +2 bonus would be better.

[Sikret]

Final description of the kit for IA v4.3:

VAGRANT: Vagrants do not stay in a place for long. They spend most of their time exploring new wilderness areas and enjoying the beauties of nature. Woodlands and lakes are the most favorite places for vagrants. They are very healthy characters with exceptional stamina. Vagrants can develop a special kind of friendship with swanmays. Swanmays are very rare and special kind of lycanthrope rangers living at lakesides in woodlands and in remote temperate wetlands. High level vagrants can call for swanmays' help.

Advantages:

1- +1 bonus to Constitution
2- Immunity to disease and poison
3- +2 bonus to save vs. Paralyze/Death
4- 15% resistance to elemental damage for every 6 levels of experience
5- Gians the ability to summon Swanmay at levels 13 and 16.
6- Gains the ability to summon Greater Swanmay at levels 19 and 22.
7- Gains the ability to summon 'Swanmay Queen' at level 25.
The swanmays will loyally fight at the vagrant's side for 20 rounds.

Disadvantages:

1- May not wear armor greater than studded leather
2- Cannot specialize in ranged weapons
3- Requires 12 Charisma
4- Cannot dual class

[Earnest]

"Swanmays are very rare and special kind of lycanthrope rangers living at lakesides in woodlands and in remote temperate wetlands".

This sentence needs to be adjusted or re-phrased:

'Swanmays are a very rare and special kind of...' [inclusion of article 'a' as 'kind' is singular]

Alternatively: 'Swanmays are very rare: a special kind of...'

Also 'rangers' could perhaps be singular here ('ranger'), which works better to my ears.

( is lycanthropic a word? :)

[Zarathustra]

Actually, since 'lycanthrope' literally means 'wolf-man' / 'werewolf', maybe 'shapechanger' would be more fitting; alternatively, the general term for 'beast-man' is 'therianthrope', by the way.

[Sikret]

"Lycanthrope rangers" is actually the description used in the 2nd edition Monster Manual to make reference to swanmays.

[Sikret]

When this kit appeared in IA v4 for the first time, I received many comments from players telling me that the kit was too weak and needed some boost and improvements.

I improved the kit in v5; many players were satisfied, but then I started to receive comments from some other players telling me that the kit is overpowered. The number of these players were of course smaller than the number of players who had asked me to improve the v4 version of the kit. Nonetheless, I thought that this kit should be tested more accurately and thoroughly. So, I asked a few of my testers to play with this kit and evaluate it.

The result was clear: The kit is powerful but by no means overpowered for IA.

This was reassuring. One of my testers clearly wrote that the vagrant kit is actually even weaker than the other IA specific kits (Riskbreaker and Protector) and that all IA kits are certainly weaker than the wild mage which is a kit of the unmodded game.

Add to this the fact that vagrant ranger has plenty of additional content and additional powerful enemies to face and defeat. One big quest is added for them in v6 which has very difficult battles. The point is that if vagrants are powerful, this is adequately compensated with the powerful enemies they have to face.

A satistical survey I made about players who complain about the vagrant kit and call it "overpowered" had interesting results. Most of players who complain about IA kits (and particularly about the vagrant kit) are those who didn't like the ranger class even before playing IA; it's not the new kits that they have problem with, it's the ranger class that they dislike (this is a very interesting and illuminating point).

Ironically, the reason they didn't like the ranger class was that in their opinion rangers were too weak compared to other warriors such as fighters and paladins. After the appearance of the vagrant kit and improving it in v5, the natural reaction one would expect of these players was that they say "Hurrah! At last we have a better ranger to play with". But as ironic as it may sound, some of these players didn't welcome a powerful ranger kit, because they were addicted to the belief that a ranger is weak (or at least weaker than other warriors).

All in all, the criticisms and comments I had received about the allegged overpoweredness of the vagrant kit, practically wasted some of our time in testing the kit over and over again; and now I'm glad to say that I'm satisfied with the results of these tests and do not believe that the vagrant kit is overpowered in IA's atmosphere and for the tough enemies he has to confront.

I can understand the psychological impact of some old beliefs about the weakness of rangers compared to other warriors, but those old days have gone. If you play IA, you know that the ranger class is no longer a weaker version of other warrior classes. Not only the vagrant kit, but also the Protector kit (in v6) are both added to the game to put an end to those old-fashioned beliefs about the weakness of rangers (as men of woods who didn't know how to fight effectively) as opposed to the awesomeness of the kensai or berserker kits. Don't get me wrong though; the Kensai and the berserker still have their advantages over rangers (they have bonuses and abilities the rangers lack), but that unfair equation is now balanced by new abilities rangers have and those other warriors lack. Justice is preserved.