Three new class options
I want to post the new feats & soulmelds I came up with for Ultimate Campaign rules, but before I do I should really post some of the other stuff I've come up with since my last posted updates on the classes. Among other things, I did eventually figure out an Archetype for the True Necrocarnate that I liked which is more martial than the base class (called the Necrocarnum Thug); later, I also came up with a new Archetype for the Soulborn which sort of merges it with the Cavalier (called the Soulknight).
The second one particularly is directly linked to the existence of a new Cavalier Order designed to interface with Incarnum; it's designed to look sort of like the Pentifex Order mentioned in MoI itself (and in particular, taking inspiration from the "Azure Monolith" which is intended to refer to the Wellspring monument also mentioned in MoI). Although the Order of the Azure Monolith is not for any Incarnum class on its own, it's worth posting in this thread for the obvious reason that it helps integrate Incarnum with previously existing classes. And that's far from the only options for other classes I've come up with- I'll only put the Order into this post, but I do plan to post other things later (such as the new Alchemist Discoveries and Archetype called the Soulfuser).
When I get to the Ultimate Campaign stuff in light of these new posts, I don't know yet, but I'll do it eventually.
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Necrocarnum Thug: In most cities where True Necrocarnate Guilds have established themselves, the Guildmasters are careful to fully train only the most promising students. For one reason or another, some of the Guild apprentices prove unsatisfactory to the masters, and are not given a complete training regimen; they therefore never become fully versed in the craft of Necrocarnum and never gain some of the more fearsome powers that True Necrocarnates typically have (such as the Necrotic Touch). Because they must learn how to fight to survive, however, and remain members of the Guild (even if lessers of the "True brethren"), these deprived students pick up extra skills and talents in order to survive and prosper (as far as they can).
Typically, these lesser students are used as "heavies" and cannon fodder by the Guild's masters, but occasionally one of them manages to gain enough skill and prowess to be useful beyond that "dumb brute" role. One alternate role in which these lessers often find themselves is that of a messenger, or other public "face" of the Guild; this is because their lesser meldshaping ability leads to a lesser Aura (making them more difficult for hostile agencies such as Inquisitors or Paladins to detect and track). Because of this tendency to be used as mundane cannon fodder for their meldshaping-trained betters, these lesser students are most often called Thugs by other Guild members- and thus, Necrocarnum Thugs by people outside the Guild who are aware of them (and the difference between them and other Guild members) at all.
Class Features:
All of the following are class features of the Necrocarnum Thug.
- Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Necrocarnum Thugs gain proficiency with the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, and short sword. Many Thugs also choose to become proficient in Firearms, but they do not gain proficiency automatically.
- Meldshaping: A Necrocarnum Thug has a soulmeld limit one less than normal- thus, a 5th-level Necrocarnum Thug can shape at most 3 soulmelds, rather than 4.
Also, a Necrocarnum Thug has a personal pool of essentia, unlike most True Necrocarnates; a Necrocarnum Thug's essentia pool is the same size as the Essentia Limit of a standard True Necrocarnate of the same level (for example, a 5th-level Thug has an essentia pool of 5 from class levels). Any essentia gained from a character's race or feat selections add to this essentia pool as normal. A Necrocarnum Thug need not (in fact, never gains the ability to) drain essentia from other creatures to power his or her Incarnum receptacles.
This ability otherwise functions as and replaces the standard True Necrocarnate Meldshaping class feature.
- Poison Use (Ex): A Necrocarnum Thug never risks poisoning himself or herself when applying poison to a weapon.
This ability replaces Aura of Evil.
- Sneak Attack (Ex): A Necrocarnum Thug gains the Sneak Attack ability as a Rogue of the same level. If the character already has Sneak Attack from another class, the levels from the classes that grant Sneak Attack stack to determine the effective Rogue level for the Sneak Attack’s extra damage dice (so a Rogue 1/True Necrocarnate 1 has a +1d6 Sneak Attack like a 2nd-level Rogue, a Rogue 1/True Necrocarnate 2 has a +2d6 Sneak Attack like a 3rd-level Rogue, and so on).
This ability replaces Necrotic Touch.
- Rogue Talents: At 4th level and every 4th level thereafter, a Necrocarnum Thug gains a Rogue Talent of his or her choice. Beginning at 12th level, the Thug can take one Advanced Rogue Talent in place of a Rogue Talent.
This ability replaces Essentia Drain.
- Lingering Death (Su): Although a Necrocarnum Thug does not gain the ability to cause necrotic damage, the character does have some ability to prevent a soul from coming back to life. If the Thug kills a living creature using a Coup de Grace or Sneak Attack while he or she has at least one soulmeld shaped that has the Necrocarnum descriptor, then the creature killed becomes more difficult to bring back from the dead. Spellcasters attempting to bring the creature back to life using Raise Dead or similar effects must make a caster level check (DC 10 + half the Necrocarnum Thug's level + the Necrocarnum Thug's CHA modifier) or the spell fails and any material components spent on the casting are wasted.
This effect is detectable on the corpse as a Faint Necromancy aura, and can be removed via Remove Curse (or other effect capable of removing Curse effects). The DC to remove the Lingering Death equals the Necrocarnum Thug's level. The Lingering Death effect stays on the corpse for 1 day per class level of the Thug, and then fades (allowing the creature to be brought back normally).
This ability replaces Soul Trap.
- Doom Strike (Su): Once per day, a Necrocarnum Thug of 18th or higher level can use a standard action to charge his or her weapon with necrotic power. The charge lasts for 10 minutes per level of the character if not discharged before then. Upon striking a living or Undead creature, the Thug can use an immediate action to discharge it into the creature struck; this inflicts a terrible curse upon the target. Treat the effect as a Bestow Curse upon that creature, with the save DC being 10 + ½ the Necrocarnum Thug's level + the Thug's CHA modifier; the Necrocarnum Thug decides what type of curse to inflict when the power is discharged into the target. Removing the Doom Strike is more difficult than removing a normal curse; the DC to remove the Doom Strike is 5 higher than the original save DC.
This ability replaces Essentia Storm.
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Soulknight: The knightly order dedicated to policing Incarnum use, the Order of the Azure Monolith, primarily attracts members who are dedicated to knighthood and its trappings first (and thus, are best represented by the Cavalier class using that Order). However, some who join the Order are dedicated more towards Incarnum than the basic tenets and tactics of knighthood and knightly combat, and instead gain abilities more closely represented by the Soulborn class. These few "Soulknights" are essentially a mirror image of the Cavaliers of the Azure Monolith, in that rather than approaching Incarnum from knighthood, they instead approach knighthood from Incarnum; they advance as Soulborns, but gain class features approximating Cavaliers more than other Soulborns.
In addition, some who become Soulknights are not actually dedicated to the Order of the Azure Monolith at all, but instead go their own way in the world; some seek to found orders of their own someday, others seek to blend their Incarnum powers with a Cavalier lifestyle of a different Order than the Azure Monolith, and still others (primarily Chaotic Evil Soulknights) actually become Soulknights in order to specifically
oppose the Order of the Azure Monolith and its doings by fighting fire with fire (so to speak). But whatever the reason for an individual's dedication to the principles of knighthood, Soulknights are a force to be reckoned with wherever they go.
Class Features:
All of the following are class features of the Soulknight.
- Alignment: A Soulknight can be of any alignment, though most tend to be Lawful or Good because those tenets best match the edicts of the Order of the Azure Monolith (which, as described above, most Soulknights join). A Soulknight who is of a Neutral alignment is considered to be also using the Purist Archetype, in addition to the Soulknight Archetype, and gains powers as noted for Purist as noted there. Purist class features are therefore not duplicated within this Archetype, even though many Soulknights actually use them.
- Aura (Ex): As MoI with no changes. A Soulknight loses the ability to invest essentia into his or her Aura, and does not gain abilities with a radius affected by essentia invested in the Aura the way normal Soulborns do.
- Bonus feats: Soulknights can choose any Incarnum, Combat, or Teamwork feat to fill their bonus feat slots, and count as Fighters of level (Soulborn - 2) for the purpose of qualifying for Combat feats (even when taking those feats using regular feat slots as opposed to class-granted bonus feat slots).
- Tactician (Ex): At 1st level, the Soulknight receives a Teamwork feat as a bonus feat. He or she must meet the prerequisites for this feat. As a standard action, the Soulknight can grant this feat to all allies within 30 feet who can see and hear the character. Allies retain the use of this bonus feat for 3 rounds, plus 1 round for every two Soulborn levels the Soulknight possesses. Allies do not need to meet the prerequisites of these bonus feats. The Soulknight can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day at 5th level and for every 5 levels thereafter.
Should the Soulknight also have levels in another class that grants the Tactician ability (such as Cavalier), then levels in those classes stack for the purposes of using this ability.
- Soulbound Mount (Sp): At 5th level, the Soulknight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve him or her in the crusade for his or her ideals. This mount is usually a Heavy Horse (for Medium Soulknights) or a Pony (for Small Soulknights), although more exotic mounts such as a Boar, Camel, or Dog are also suitable. This mount functions as a Druid's Animal Companion using the Soulknight level as the effective Druid level. Soulbound Mounts have an INT score of at least 6.
Once per day, as a full-round action, the Soulknight may magically call the mount to his or her side; the creature remains with the character for up to 2 hours per Soulknight level before vanishing back to the realms from whence it came (but may be dismissed at any time before then, should the Soulknight desire, as a free action). This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Soulknight's level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Soulknight. A Soulknight can use this ability once per day at 5th level, and one additional time per day for every 4 levels thereafter.
At 11th level, the mount gains an alignment-based Simple Template matching the Soulknight's own alignment (for example, a Chaotic Good Soulknight could get a Celestial mount or an Entropic mount); a True Neutral Soulknight instead gains a mount with the Advanced Creature template. Once the template granted to a mount is selected, it is forever set, and may not be changed later. Regardless of the specific template granted at this level, however, the mount also becomes a Magical Beast for the purposes of determining which spells and effects affect it. At 15th level, the Soulbound Mount gains SR equal to the Soulknight's level + 11.
Should the Soulbound Mount die, the Soulknight may not summon another for 30 days or until he or she gains another Soulknight level, whichever comes first. During this 30-day period, the Soulknight takes a -1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.
This ability replaces Share Incarnum Defense.
- Soul Tactician (Su): At 6th level, the Soulknight gains the ability to grant the current effect of any Incarnum feat he or she has to allies, using his or her Tactician ability. Allies need not meet the prerequisites of any feat granted to them this way, but the specific effect of the feat that is granted to them depends upon the amount of essentia the Soulknight had invested in the feat at the time it was granted; for example, if the Soulknight has 2 points of essentia invested in Cobalt Power and uses Tactician to grant that feat to allies, then the allies gain a +2 insight bonus on CMB and CMD for Bull Rush, Drag, Overrun, or Sunder combat maneuvers, and a +2 insight bonus on weapon damage rolls if they have and use the basic Power Attack feat themselves. The Soulknight is still able to grant the original Teamwork feat gained with the Tactician ability at 1st level, in addition to his or her Incarnum feats.
This ability replaces Aura of Resolve.
- Greater Tactician (Ex): At 12th level, the Soulknight receives an additional Teamwork feat as a bonus feat. He or she must meet the prerequisites for this feat. The Soulknight can grant this feat to his or her allies using the Tactician ability. Finally, using the Tactician ability becomes a swift action instead of a standard action, regardless of which feat it is used to grant.
This ability replaces Aura of Conviction.
- Master Tactician (Ex): At 18th level, the Soulknight receives an additional Teamwork feat as a bonus feat. He or she must meet the prerequisites for this feat. Whenever the Soulknight uses the Tactician ability, he or she can grant allies the use of any two Teamwork or Incarnum feats he or she knows, not just the bonus feats granted by the Tactician class features.
This ability replaces Aura of Inevitability.
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Order of the Azure Monolith
As Incarnum has gained prominence and force in the world, so have arisen organizations dedicated to understanding and controlling it. Made up mostly (but not entirely) of knights born to races with natural Incarnum talent, and named for the mysterious monument called the Wellspring, the Order of the Azure Monolith is one such organization- specifically dedicated to policing the use of Incarnum and ensuring that it is not
misused. Necrocarnates are a special focus and sworn enemies of the Order (specifically, those who take the prestige class in MoI, though many order members apply this to True Necrocarnates as well). The Lost are a similar focus of Order wrath, though many Order members more commonly try to capture (rather than kill) them so that they can be transported and possibly cured someday (and in the meantime, experimented upon in hopes of discovering a cure).
Other Incarnum-related threats (for example, powerful Incarnum Dragons, or meldshapers who use their powers to oppress and enslave common people) may not draw focused opposition from the entire Order, but usually do attract at least some Order opponents along the way. Whenever the next soul-related threat or power arises, one can be sure the Order of the Azure Monolith will be there to watch it, guide it, and if necessary destroy it.
- Edicts: An Order of the Azure Monolith Cavalier must protect people without Incarnum talent or meldshaping skill from Incarnum-related threats, especially Necrocarnates and the Lost. (Note that "Necrocarnates" is defined for this purpose as the prestige class, but an individual Azure Monolith Cavalier might also interpret it to mean True Necrocarnates without drawing too many questions from other Order members or losing class abilities.) Necrocarnates should be killed or at least given no quarter or mercy, but the Lost might not be beyond saving- so every reasonable effort should be made to capture a Lost and transport it for curing the condition, and killing a Lost should be a last-resort option. Defend against other Incarnum threats that arise, as necessary, and report all such activities to other members of the Order whenever possible/convenient so that knowledge of new threats spreads quickly and is not forgotten.
- Challenge: Whenever a Cavalier of the Order of the Azure Monolith issues a Challenge, he or she receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against soulmelds, Incarnum abilities, or spells or psionic powers with the Incarnum descriptor that come from/are used by the subject of the Challenge. This bonus increases by +1 for every four Cavalier levels the character possesses.
- Skills: A Cavalier of the Order of the Azure Monolith adds Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Planes), and Spellcraft to his or her list of class skills. An Azure Monolith Cavalier can make Knowledge (Arcana) and Knowledge (Planes) checks untrained. If the Cavalier has ranks in either (or both) Knowledge subskill, he or she receives a competence bonus equal to half his or her Cavalier level (minimum +1) on checks involving Incarnum.
- Order Abilities: Cavaliers of the Order of the Azure Monolith gain the following abilities as they increase in level.
- Essentia Pool: At 2nd level, the Order of the Azure Monolith Cavalier begins gaining essentia based on his or her Cavalier level. The amount of essentia gained from Cavalier levels equals half the character's Cavalier level. If the Cavalier previously had an essentia pool, this ability adds essentia to that pool; if the character did not previously have an essentia pool, this ability grants one that begins with a single point of essentia (and increases appropriately).
- Cerulean Challenge (Su): At 8th level, whenever the Azure Monolith Cavalier issues a Challenge, he or she gains 3 temporary points of essentia which can be immediately invested into soulmelds, items, or other incarnum receptacles (including Incarnum feats and abilities which work like Incarnum feats for the purposes of essentia investment, as an explicit exception to standard rules) as a free action. This temporary essentia lasts until the end of the Challenge, however long that may be, and is treated just like other essentia the character possesses during that time. If the Cavalier takes any essentia damage while holding temporary essentia gained from this ability, then temporary essentia is subtracted before real essentia. For every four levels above 8th the Cavalier possesses, the amount of temporary essentia gained increases by 1 (thus, at 16th level, the Cavalier gains 5 points).
Note that the Azure Challenge feat does nothing in conjunction with this ability, even though it triggers when the Cavalier issues a Challenge- since it does not grant a "bonus" in the standard sense.
- Monolithic Toughness (Ex): At 15th level, an Azure Monolith Cavalier can take inspiration from the icon of the Order, and become far more resistant to damage. Once per combat, the Cavalier can activate this ability as a standard action, gaining 2 temporary hit points per Cavalier level and DR /- equal to his or her CHA modifier (minimum 1/-). These bonuses last for 1 minute.