D&D 3E/3.5 BoVD 3.5e: Hellbound!

Nifft · Sep 5, 2004

Hey Dingo,

In that case, I'd allow her to Word of Recall to any "hallowed" temple.

Also, why shouldn't she plane hop? Just 'cause her Master is trapped, that has no effect on her. In fact, as an emissary, she may be one of his most valuable servitors, thanks to her mobility when mounted on a Nightmare.

-- N

The Amazing Dingo · Sep 5, 2004

I hate it when other people are right...

...Just kidding.

Actually, in the setting and with the political relations of her master, that actually would make a good amount of sense and help her boss out a lot. It could definately work very well. Thank you for mentioning that notion.

I would still be willing to give up the Sneak Attack and the Planar Power for the Word of Recall.

Nifft · Sep 5, 2004

The Amazing Dingo said:
I would still be willing to give up the Sneak Attack and the Planar Power for the Word of Recall.

Dingo, glad to help!

I'd suggest that you can simply replace plane shift with word of recall, and keep the Sneak Attack & Planar Power as-is. After all, she can already go ethereal at will, and she's probably got a Nightmare servitor who can Astrally Project her anywhere at will. It's not a very big functional difference.

-- N

The Amazing Dingo · Sep 5, 2004

Sounds good to me!

I do appreciate the help. That class advancement was very well done. Thank you again.

Nifft · Sep 5, 2004

Well, it's benefited me as well

-- now I've got an idea for a "planar champion" type class for outsiders, with different abilities by plane.

-- N

Nifft · Nov 29, 2004

Summoner of the Skin

Role: Niche Spellcaster

Prerequisites:
Alignment: Evil (any)
Skill Ranks: Concentration 8+, Knowlege(Arcana, Planes) 8+ each
Feats: Evil Brand, Great Fortitude
Spells or Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 5th
Special: Must make peaceful contact with an evil outsider and undergo the Ritual of Amalgamation

Benefits:
HD: d8
BAB: 3/4 (as Cleric)
Good Save: Fort, Will
Skill Points: 4 + Int bonus
Class Skills: Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowlege (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis) and Swim (Str).

Code:

[u]
Level   BAB   F/R/W	Special Abilities [/u]
1	+0   +2/0/2	Fiend-Skin, Evil Aura
2	+1   +3/0/3	Con +2, Blazing Glare
3	+2   +3/1/3	Natural Armor +2, Favored Binding
4	+3   +4/1/4	Str +2, Enhanced Skin
5	+3   +4/1/4	Natural Armor +3, Dex +2, Super-Amalgamation

Special Abilities:

Fiend-Skin (Ex): The mage bonds his skin with a lesser Fiend -- Diabolic, Demonic, or of some other [Evil] lineage. The horror of the Ritual of Amalgamation causes the mage to permanently lose two points of Wisdom, but his new skin grants him several benefits:
- +4 to all Fort saves vs. Poison and Disease
- +2 Dexterity
- +1 Natural Armor
- +4 to all Intimidate checks
- Fire Resistance 5
- -10 to all Disguise checks
Evil Aura (Su): The Summoner gains the [Evil] descriptor, and radiates evil (for the purpose of Detect Evil and the like) as though he were a Cleric of equal HD. He may never again cast spells with the [Good] descriptor.
Blazing Glare (Su): The Summoner gains the ability to shoot rays of hellfire from his eyes, which manifests specificially in one of the following ways, depending on how he gained access to the Skin. In either case, using this ability is a standard action that draws an attack of opportunity.
- If he used Spellcaster (Sorcerer or Wizard) levels to qualify, he gains the ability to sacrifice a prepared spell or unused spell-slot to shoot two rays of fire (one from each eye). Each ray deals 1d6/spell level + 1d6/Summoner level of fire damage, and the rays may be directed at different targets or the same target.
- If he used Warlock levels to qualify, he instead gains the ability to shoot a single beam from his eyes, which deals damage equal to his Eldrich Blast. However, this beam deals fire damage, and is supernatural in nature (rather than spell-like).
Favored Binding (Sp): The Summoner gains access to his namesake ability: the ability to summon fiends. For the purpose of this ability only, the Summoner's caster level equals his spellcaster level + his Summoner level. (Note that the Practiced Spellcaster feat cannot cause Summoner levels to be counted twice, though it could be used to offset other non-caster levels.) The exact power depends on the Summoner's total caster level:
- 8-10: [Evil] outsider up to 6 HD
- 11-14: [Evil] outsider up to 12 HD
- 15-20: [Evil] outsider up to 18 HD
Fiends may be summoned as though called via (Lesser/Greater) Planar Binding, except that they are favorably pre-disposed towards their summoner, and generally willing to work for lower prices than usual. Alternately, one may be summoned at no cost to serve for no more than 10 minutes/Summoner level, as though called through a Summon Monster spell.
In either case, this spell-like ability may be used once per day.
Enhanced Skin (Ex): His Skin's fiendish toughness increases. The Summoner gains fire and cold resistance 10.
Natural Armor (Ex): The Summoner's skin becomes tougher. His innate natural armor increases by the number indicated. This replaces (does not stack with) the bonus provided by his Fiend-Skin ability gained at 1st level.
Ability Increase: His fiendish symbiot grants the Summoner supernatural strength, speed and toughness. Over five levels, he gains a total of +4 Dex, +2 Str and +2 Con. These ability increases are gained as though through level advancement.
Super-Amalgamation (Ex): The Summoner has bonded totally with his Fiend-Skin. His type changes to Outsider, and he gains the following benefits:
- DR 5/magic and good
- Darkvision 60 ft.
- Claw natural attacks (1d6/1d6 if Medium, 1d4/1d4 if Small), which are considered magic and evil for the purpose of penetrating damage reduction.
- Black bat wings, which grant him natural flight (at base speed +10 ft, maneuverability average).

-- N

the Lorax · Apr 14, 2005

Nice job - interesting idea to pull the 'fiend' stuff out of Acolyte of the Skin, so that the character can choose which is more important, spell casting or gaining more fiendish power. The one change I would make would be to give Full BAB, consistant with outsider BAB gain rate, and when combined with a Wizard/Sorcerer 1/2 BAB, equates out to the 3/4 BAB of the original.
Acolyte of the Skin is a touch on the weak side with 1/2 spell casting progression, but I dont see a good way to add any spell casting to this class. Full BAB + everything makes a pretty darn meaty 5 level class.

I started a (not particularly popular) thread here about Worlocks and the Thrall of Grazzt, but wouldn't mind doing a 3.5 revised version here...

Nifft · Apr 14, 2005

Hey Lorax! Glad you like.

IMHO it would be too strong to give full BAB and a bunch of stat increases. The Summoner gets +2 Str (+1 to attack & damage), and +4 Dex (+2 to many attacks, or +2 to all attacks if you're a finesse guy).

So, I think that's balanced as-is. The benefits are pretty sweet all around.

As to the Thrall of Grazzt, I'll take a look at my BoVD when I get home. It's a PrC I've been wanting to update, but haven't had time or motivation -- he's not a big player in my campaign just now.

Thanks, -- N

the Lorax · Apr 14, 2005

It is, no doubt, very heavy, as a class even without Full BAB advancement, or even one level of spell casting. I will, however, point out that you most likely have a character who is a wizard who is gaining phyisical stats and good BAB, in other words, the character is gaining things that, while nice, are not anywhere near as strong as they would be for a warrior-type.

Nifft · Apr 15, 2005

the Lorax said:
I will, however, point out that you most likely have a character who is a wizard

Weeeeeeeelllll.... I don't think that's entirely true. "Caster level 5" leaves the door open to Warlocks, Bards, Battle Sorcerers (an excellent variant) Fighter/Sorcerers, Hexblades, etc. -- much like the Dragon Disciple, it's a Fighter PrC with an arcane spellcaster pre-req.

Dragon Disciples are balanced around ONE level of Sorcerer thrown in to a Fighter or Paladin build. This PrC is not quite Paladin-ready, but otherwise I'd ask that it be rated against the Dragon Disciple rather than a caster-oriented PrC.

-- N

PS: Home now, going to look up Thrall of Grazzt.