New capstone suggestions

[FuzzyDuck81]

Not as outright replacements for existing ones, but since rogues have a choice of 2 different capstones based around flavours of their different focus as a skilled assassin & a skilled survivor, I think it'd be nice if there were additional choices for other classes, partly for flavour & partly for function. Not thought it through for all classes, but here are some:

Barbarian: Being based around pure damage output & having very high HP to make them very durable (not counting the whole 0AC healing sponge aspect), since the current capstone is DPS based i think a 2nd choice of capstone could be something along the lines of "Barbarian Hardiness: your constitution is not merely ox-like but puts some giants to shame. This grants a stacking +4 bonus to constitution & additional DR 5/- that stacks with those granted on level-ups & from enhancements" I think this could be good for solo-oriented players particularly, as well as being being thematically sound for the whole "mighty barbarian, fighting hard & shrugging off damage from lesser blows" thing. The extra could also potentially be replaced with something that reduced incoming damage by a set %, a la shield mastery, except not requiring a shield?

Bard: kinda hard to think of one TBH, the existing one is pretty tasty.

Cleric: The current capstone is based around making absolutely sure a targeted ally (or the cleric themselves) will not die. Clerics are more than just healers though, able to cast offensive spells, buff allies & boost themselves into respectable melees. Hence a 2nd capstone option could be "Divine Glory: by spending 100 SP & 50 HP you channel the power of your faith to empower yourself or a champion, granting full BAB, proficiency in all martial weapons & a stacking +4 sacred bonus to strength, constitution, charisma & wisdom for 3 minutes. Cooldown 5mins". This would be a pretty powerful single-target buff for raids, or as a way to make the melee-based, divine-might using cleric an attractive option too.

Favoured Soul: Current capstone is a great boost regardless of build, so cant really think of any viable alternatives.

Fighter: The current capstone boosts doublestrike chance & attack speed.. all good for boosting pure dps. However, another big strength of fighters is their ability to use combat tactics, hence a 2nd capstone option could be "Fighter master tactician: you are a veteran fighter, aware of the battlefield at all times & master in the use of combat tactics, gaining +5 to the DCs of all combat-related feats & a +4 bonus to all saves." Some pretty high numbers i know, but would IMO be a good trade-off for the dps increase as you'd be more capable of disabling/wakening enemies through the use of stunning blows, trips etc. as well as being more durable against the same kind of thing.

Monk: Current capstone is basically what PnP level 20 monks got with a couple of variations... cant really think of any particular improvements that can be made to it or alternatives that could be as valuable.

Paladin: Fighting the classic evil monsters & shielding others is what paladins are all about. The current capstone is utterly awesome, massively boosting dps & frankly cant think of anything thatd be a viable alternative for the other side of their focus, unless there was to be some extremely powerful & probably unbalanced defensive ability that lets them buff self or an ally with like 60% damage resistance, extra saves etc. or was to boost their aura to grant, say, 20% damage resistance & +5 to extra inherent elemental resistances (maybe 10% absorbtion?) to anyone under its effect.

Ranger: They've always been themed more around being skirmishers than outright up-front fighters, either taking enemies down from range which the current capstone caters for, or by fighting in melee around the outside of a battle instead of in the middle as the focus (even though they can take that role effectively). A good 2nd capstone IMO would be "Skirmisher: specialised in quick, darting attacks, you gain a +25% resistance to glancing blows, +10% increase to base movement speed. In addition, when tumbling you gain an additional +4 AC & 20% reduction of incoming melee damage". I think this would fit quite well with the theme & be useful to many players without being overpowered, particularly tempest builds.

Sorcerer: The vast majority of their abilities are based around being able to blast stuff. However, dragon-touched heritage could also manifest itself in other ways? Suggestion for second capstone choice "Bloodline of Influence: The majesty & might of your dragontouched ancestry is manifest, granting +4 charisma & +4 constitution" ok not as exciting as even higher numbers, but the boost to DCs for more save-based spells & the extra toughness for survivability could be valuable.

Wizard: The current capstone is a great one, essentially giving you a chunk of extra SP in addition to the increased DCs & is very much in keeping with the theme of a master whos learned to make the most of the power at their command. Still, I've always rather liked the "grand vizier" concept of a mage too, one whos subtle & skilled at the manipulation of others while staying away from outright danger themselve - a potential alternative could be something like "Subtle Master: whether the shadowy advisor or a reclusive hermit, you are skilled at simply fading into the background. Your spells generate 40% less hate than they normally would & you gain a 10% miss chance vs. any melee attacks"

Ok, that post was a lot longer & more time consuming than i'd originally planned! Any comments, suggestions for missing ones etc.?

[Musouka]

Not as outright replacements for existing ones, but since rogues have a choice of 2 different capstones based around flavours of their different focus as a skilled assassin & a skilled survivor, I think it'd be nice if there were additional choices for other classes, partly for flavour & partly for function. Not thought it through for all classes, but here are some:

Barbarian: Being based around pure damage output & having very high HP to make them very durable (not counting the whole 0AC healing sponge aspect), since the current capstone is DPS based i think a 2nd choice of capstone could be something along the lines of "Barbarian Hardiness: your constitution is not merely ox-like but puts some giants to shame. This grants a stacking +4 bonus to constitution & additional DR 5/- that stacks with those granted on level-ups & from enhancements" I think this could be good for solo-oriented players particularly, as well as being being thematically sound for the whole "mighty barbarian, fighting hard & shrugging off damage from lesser blows" thing. The extra could also potentially be replaced with something that reduced incoming damage by a set %, a la shield mastery, except not requiring a shield?
I like this one, especially if it's about 5% damage reduction.
Bard: kinda hard to think of one TBH, the existing one is pretty tasty.

Cleric: The current capstone is based around making absolutely sure a targeted ally (or the cleric themselves) will not die. Clerics are more than just healers though, able to cast offensive spells, buff allies & boost themselves into respectable melees. Hence a 2nd capstone option could be "Divine Glory: by spending 100 SP & 50 HP you channel the power of your faith to empower yourself or a champion, granting full BAB, proficiency in all martial weapons & a stacking +4 sacred bonus to strength, constitution, charisma & wisdom for 3 minutes. Cooldown 5mins". This would be a pretty powerful single-target buff for raids, or as a way to make the melee-based, divine-might using cleric an attractive option too.
I don't like full BAB and proficiency in all martial weapons. I believe it should be faith based. So it should be the chosen weapon of your faith.
Favoured Soul: Current capstone is a great boost regardless of build, so cant really think of any viable alternatives.

Fighter: The current capstone boosts doublestrike chance & attack speed.. all good for boosting pure dps. However, another big strength of fighters is their ability to use combat tactics, hence a 2nd capstone option could be "Fighter master tactician: you are a veteran fighter, aware of the battlefield at all times & master in the use of combat tactics, gaining +5 to the DCs of all combat-related feats & a +4 bonus to all saves." Some pretty high numbers i know, but would IMO be a good trade-off for the dps increase as you'd be more capable of disabling/wakening enemies through the use of stunning blows, trips etc. as well as being more durable against the same kind of thing.
Those numbers are very high, because Stuns are very powerful in the hands of a high DPS fighter even after the update. I would recommend lowering both to +2.
Monk: Current capstone is basically what PnP level 20 monks got with a couple of variations... cant really think of any particular improvements that can be made to it or alternatives that could be as valuable.

Paladin: Fighting the classic evil monsters & shielding others is what paladins are all about. The current capstone is utterly awesome, massively boosting dps & frankly cant think of anything thatd be a viable alternative for the other side of their focus, unless there was to be some extremely powerful & probably unbalanced defensive ability that lets them buff self or an ally with like 60% damage resistance, extra saves etc. or was to boost their aura to grant, say, 20% damage resistance & +5 to extra inherent elemental resistances (maybe 10% absorbtion?) to anyone under its effect.
20% damage resistance might be too much, as it would shirk the shield mastery feat. Perhaps an extra 10%, and maybe 5% energy absorption.
Ranger: They've always been themed more around being skirmishers than outright up-front fighters, either taking enemies down from range which the current capstone caters for, or by fighting in melee around the outside of a battle instead of in the middle as the focus (even though they can take that role effectively). A good 2nd capstone IMO would be "Skirmisher: specialised in quick, darting attacks, you gain a +25% resistance to glancing blows, +10% increase to base movement speed. In addition, when tumbling you gain an additional +4 AC & 20% reduction of incoming melee damage". I think this would fit quite well with the theme & be useful to many players without being overpowered, particularly tempest builds.
Way too many bonuses for a capstone IMO. Take away the 20% reduction while tumbling... or rather take away the bonus while tumbling and give an extra 2 to AC while wielding two weapons in addition to the 25% resistance of glancing blows and 10% movement speed.
Sorcerer: The vast majority of their abilities are based around being able to blast stuff. However, dragon-touched heritage could also manifest itself in other ways? Suggestion for second capstone choice "Bloodline of Influence: The majesty & might of your dragontouched ancestry is manifest, granting +4 charisma & +4 constitution" ok not as exciting as even higher numbers, but the boost to DCs for more save-based spells & the extra toughness for survivability could be valuable.
I could see +2 and +2, which would give a total of +1 DC to the savant ability and Spell DC. +4 is pretty high. Wizards get +2 intelligence and a reduction of SP cost on metamagics.
Wizard: The current capstone is a great one, essentially giving you a chunk of extra SP in addition to the increased DCs & is very much in keeping with the theme of a master whos learned to make the most of the power at their command. Still, I've always rather liked the "grand vizier" concept of a mage too, one whos subtle & skilled at the manipulation of others while staying away from outright danger themselve - a potential alternative could be something like "Subtle Master: whether the shadowy advisor or a reclusive hermit, you are skilled at simply fading into the background. Your spells generate 40% less hate than they normally would & you gain a 10% miss chance vs. any melee attacks"
I like the subtle master suggestion.
Ok, that post was a lot longer & more time consuming than i'd originally planned! Any comments, suggestions for missing ones etc.?

My responses are in red.

Keep in mind, you want to make the capstones equal to the current ones, not outdo them even if you're going to a different playstyle. Don't make people want to give up the ranged alacrity, because you just made TWF rangers 10x better than ranged rangers.

[FuzzyDuck81]

They all seem fair enough, i thought the numbers would be too high for them & need adjusting downwards but im not particularly great at figuring out the maths, especially with some of the min-maxers around & was thinking more generalists since thats my own approach.

The sorcerer one i forgot that CON also effects the special ability DC.. maybe the +2s as u suggested & 20 stacking HP instead then, as i was thinking more about making them durable & making their more control-based spells effective instead of cannons that the current capstone gives.

[Zachski]

Bard:

Warrior-Skald
"Your tales of battle and your own battle experience have blurred together, as you are now an accomplished warrior yourself, much like the tales you sing of. This experience gives you an additional +1 to damage and attack for Inspire Courage"

Sorcerer:

Voice of the Dragon
"Your draconic heritage manifests in the form of a subtle domination. Each enchantment and illusion spell cast forces the target to make an additional save or suffer the effects of the spell"

Wizard:

Elemental Scholar
"Your study into elemental spells has given you insight into them. You gain 5 resistance to each element, and a 10% increase in elemental damage. In addition, your maximize and empower cost 10 and 5 less spellpoints, respectively, when used with elemental spells."

Just my thoughts.

[Aashrym]

Adapting the song of the heart feat from Eberron would make a decent bard alternate capstone. It boils down to a bonus to any song ability.

[TheDjinnFor]

Here's what I think. I took what you did and added or refined a little bit.

Barbarian Hardiness: your constitution is not merely ox-like but puts some giants to shame. This grants a stacking +2 bonus to constitution & additional DR 5/- that stacks with those granted on level-ups & from enhancements.

Bard Heroic Cheer: You rally your allies to the cause, granting a +1 stacking bonus to attacks, damage, saves, skills, and AC for 2 minutes. Cooldown 5 minutes.

Cleric Divine Glory: By spending 100 SP & 50 HP you channel the power of your faith to empower yourself or a champion, granting full BAB, proficiency in your racial deities martial weapon of choice & a +4 sacred bonus to strength, constitution, charisma & wisdom for 2 minutes. Cooldown 5mins.

Fighter Master Tactician: You are a veteran fighter, aware of the battlefield at all times & master in the use of combat tactics. You gain +2 to the DCs of all combat-related feats & a +4 bonus to AC and all saves."

Monk Master of the Arts: Your unarmed fighting skill is unparalleled: you gain an additional increase to the hit-dice of your unarmed attacks, and a +1 bonus to the DCs of your special fist attacks (Stunning Fist, Quivering Palm, and Shining Star).

Paladin Heroic Defender of Justice: Your inspiring aura grants those around you a universal 5% damage absorption (to all attacks and spells).

"Ranger Master Skirmisher: Your experiences in the wilderness has made you one with nature itself. You gain +10% movement speed, +2 AC while two-weapon fighting, and a +5 bonus to hide and move silently skills."

Sorceror Draconic Heritage: The majesty & might of your Dragontouched Ancestry is manifest, granting +2 charisma & +2 constitution, DR 5/-, and +1 Inherent Natural Armor.

Wizard Master of Subtlety: Whether the shadowy advisor or a reclusive hermit, you are skilled at simply fading into the background. Your spells generate 30% less hate than they normally would & you gain a 10% miss chance vs. any melee attacks.

Remember that players can generally respec between capstones if they want to; one week they might to X content where they need one capstone, and the next week they can switch back. Capstones don't necessarily have to be equal as long as they are useful.