Ritual Binding Ritual - Martial Transformation

[malcolm_n]

This started as an idea to make a new type of ritual, Transmutation. I realized, recently, that it's just as easily explained with binding instead, since that would utilize existing rules. So, I've updated this to include that and changed the name of the thread so the ritual is the main focus instead.

I'm working to use this ritual for a real project I'm doing, so I need feedback from fans or this won't be able to go anywhere. Please, let me know whether it's something you would use or not, or if you have any suggestions or comments, I'd appreciate them to help move this forward.

Thank you for any replies I can get.

MARTIAL TRANSFORMATION

Realizing now would not be a good time to walk around in cloth, you change yourself into a more combat ready warrior.

Level: 4 Component Cost: 165 gp
Category: Binding Market Price: 800 gp
Time: 5 minutes Key Skill: Arcana
Duration: until you take a short rest. If you have cast the ritual once today, you can cast it again as part of your short rest.
You call upon the spirit of a great war hero to become stronger, faster, and more martially adept, but in doing so, you sacrifice your ability to cast spells appropriately until you return to normal.
When you learn this ritual, it comes with one martial utility power, one at-will, one encounter, and one daily martial attack power from one class of your choice. The powers you choose cannot be changed later. You would have to learn a new Martial Transformation ritual.
The component cost of the ritual includes a 65 gp focus which is not expended in the casting. The focus is a suit of scale armor, a longsword, and a light shield
When you cast Martial Transformation, you channel magic through your focus. Upon completing the ritual, wispy armor takes shape around you and solidifies into the semblance of scale, though this provides you no real benefit.
The martial powers you chose above are swapped for powers you have of the same level or higher.
Your implement takes on the appearance of a longsword. Until the duration is up, you can make weapon attacks with your implement. It deals d8 damage as a one-handed heavy blade and you get a +3 proficiency bonus to weapon attacks with it.
When you complete the ritual, make an arcana check. The result of that check determines how many of the following abilities you gain for the duration of the ritual. You can choose to take a lower result than you roll, and you can perform the ritual more than once in a 24 hour period, if you have the time and resources to do so.



Arcana Check Result Number of Benefits Gained
19 or lower........1
20-29...............2
30-39...............3
40 or higher.......4

Armored Hero: Benefit – You gain a +1 power bonus to AC in cloth or leather armor and have proficiency in light shields.
Cost – You take a -1 penalty to attacks without the weapon keyword.
Brilliant Tactician: Benefit – You and your allies gain a +1 power bonus to Initiative.
Cost – You take a -1 penalty to speed.
Mighty Defender: Benefit – Once per round, when you hit an enemy with a weapon attack, you can mark the target until the end of your next turn.
Cost – Your blast powers become ranged 3 and target only one creature instead.
Dangerous Combatant: Benefit – Choose Intelligence or Charisma. You add the chosen ability modifier to weapon attacks and damage instead of any other stat.
Cost – you don’t add the chosen ability modifier to the damage you deal with implement attack powers.

[malcolm_n]

Updated post to request fan feedback on this so that I can decide to push forward with the idea or scrap it.

[CapnZapp]

Frankly, getting to use your ranged arcane powers in melee is a wet dream for Wizards, and should stay that way. A dream, that is. (Limited transfer is okay, and probably exists already. This wholesale transfer is simply broken, tbh. As is the way you get to wear Scale without taking a pile of feats)

I can't find any negatives that correspond to "you sacrifice your ability to cast spells appropriately". I might be mistaken, but I sure hope you don't consider ranged and area spells turning into melee and close powers to be disadvantages?

Btw, you mean "don" and not "dawn", right?

Sorry for the harsh feedback, but if you decide to push forward with this idea you need to either tone down the benefits or add plenty of disadvantages...

...either that, or go ahead anyway - without any pretense of the ritual being balanced (perhaps making it into some kind of ritual-based Gestalt rule option?)

[DanmarLOK]

In most cases I'm not seeing much downside to this ritual which means why wouldn't I want do it all the time? As a warlock for instances I now have good armour and my damage output hasn't gone down and I can mark. Yes my range as gone down but with the armour do I really care and I can have a broader range of options item boosts rather than just my implement. I could for instance borrow that +x sword from the fighter in case his weapon has a higher bonus. In addition the inclusion of multiple feats makes it nice, heavy armour, shield, toughness, longsword.

Right now other than the range decrease (which could a big issue for some players/groups but perhaps not so much for others like a ranged striker heavy group) why would I not want to spend 5 minutes every morning and 'suit up'?

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just falling on the adage if it's good enough to want all the time then perhaps it needs to be re-examined.

[CapnZapp]

Oh, one more thing: what prevents any of the light armor melee classes (ranger, rogue, etc) from using this ritual to get both a kind of marking as well as "free" Scale without giving up pretty much anything?

[malcolm_n]

Cool, thank you for the feedback on this.

You're right, i was under the impression that turning area/range spells into close/melee would be a disadvantage. I'll go back to the drawing board and see what I can do.

[Quickleaf]

I agree with CapnZapp and DanmarLOK - it just don't work.

However, I think the *idea* of a transmutation ritual has tons of potential, with emphasis on the "mutation" side. Such transformations should be like a mini-template with an up and a down side. You could incorporate such rituals in a bunch of ways depending on your campaign...

* Race-based transmutation rituals (following in the footsteps of Oathbound & Arcana Evolved)

* Witcher-esque rituals which are based on imbibing alchemical mixtures to induce a change in your physiology (arguably potions do this already)

* A "dark choice" situation where you can gain great power at the cost of your soul or sanity

Just a couple of thoughts. I think it's an idea worth exploring more!

[Fieari]

It might also be a good opportunity to put some fairytale weaknesses into the mix as well, such as making it so that throwing water on a transmuted person would revert them to normal.

[malcolm_n]

Originally Posted by Quickleaf

I agree with CapnZapp and DanmarLOK - it just don't work.

However, I think the *idea* of a transmutation ritual has tons of potential, with emphasis on the "mutation" side. Such transformations should be like a mini-template with an up and a down side. You could incorporate such rituals in a bunch of ways depending on your campaign...

* Race-based transmutation rituals (following in the footsteps of Oathbound & Arcana Evolved)

* Witcher-esque rituals which are based on imbibing alchemical mixtures to induce a change in your physiology (arguably potions do this already)

* A "dark choice" situation where you can gain great power at the cost of your soul or sanity

Just a couple of thoughts. I think it's an idea worth exploring more!

I like those ideas, and I'll totally keep them in mind as I work on this.

I'm looking over it now. I don't want to be so prohibitive that it becomes useless, though. As with all things in balancing, I'll aim low and build up if necessary (my first draft notwithstanding).

[malcolm_n]

Okay, updated with better wording and cost/benefits. Does it feel any more balanced this way?

[malcolm_n]

Now that I'm rewording this a little more clearly, I can probably better define it as a binding ritual. This would benefit it because I wouldn't have to define a new term (transmutation) and I can just change the flavor to say you call upon a martial spirit and use its knowledge to your own benefit.

Does that sound a little more feasible?

[CapnZapp]

I'd first scale it back. Only then adding back further advantages until your feedback tells you it's about right.

Mainly, changing the ritual to last an encounter (it doesn't take longer than a short rest to cast anyway), and ditching the Benefits. And most importantly, restricting your choices of exploits to one single class only (being able to cherry-pick the entire martial contents PHB+PHB2 would be hugely overpowered).

[malcolm_n]

Good catch on the one class. I had meant to include it, but hadn't. It's fixed now.

As to the benefits, they're included to keep up with getting no features the class would normally have. The ultimate goal of the ritual is to let the elderly wizard be a martial warrior for a short time with just the use of magic; so he doesn't have to have amazing strength (Dangerous Combatant), heavy armor (Armored Hero), training in how to mark (Mighty Defender), or a superior dexterity (brilliant tactician).
I've also better defined what you lose in exchange for gaining them; powerful spells, accuracy, most areas of effect, and mobility respectively. Are they balanced enough to keep them? Without them, you're casting the ritual to gain 4 attack powers you can't use effectively, which makes the ritual ultimately useless without practically dedicating like a multiclass character.

The ritual is meant to let the caster become kind of a fighter (or other martial class) for a time. I agree about bringing it down to last only one encounter. I'll bring that down as well.