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<blockquote data-quote="paradox42" data-source="post: 5324546" data-attributes="member: 29746"><p><strong>The Totemist</strong></p><p></p><p>This was the hardest for us to get a handle on, because none of us had ever played one in 3.5, and also because my world allowed them but my other friend's did not. So, aside from the essentia upgrade, we had no idea how to proceed. Eventually, I came up with some ideas on my own after noticing that the original Totemist had the best version of Wild Empathy for any class in 3.5 (at any rate, for WotC-only books). So, I came up with some powers based on that, and also slightly inspired by the "wild boy" character Gau from Final Fantasy VI (whose shtick is that he learns the powers of monsters because he was raised by them). But I'm getting ahead of myself.</p><p></p><p><strong>Hit Die:</strong> d8</p><p><strong>Class Skills:</strong> Craft (INT), Fly (DEX), Handle Animal (CHA), Knowledge (Arcana) (INT), Knowledge (Nature) (INT), Knowledge (Planes) (INT), Perception (WIS), Profession (WIS), Ride (DEX), Spellcraft (INT), Survival (WIS), and Swim (STR).</p><p></p><p>(Once again, apologies for the poor formatting in the class table.)</p><p></p><p><strong>The Totemist</strong></p><p>Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Soulmelds Essentia Binds</p><p>1st +0 +2 +2 +0 Wild Empathy, Totem Chakra Bind 2 1 1</p><p>2nd +1 +3 +3 +0 Chakra Bind (Crown), Totem Chakra Bind (+1 capacity) 3 2 2</p><p>3rd +2 +3 +3 +1 Totem's Protection 3 2 2</p><p>4th +3 +4 +4 +1 Totem's Empathy 4 3 2</p><p>5th +3 +4 +4 +1 Chakra Binds (Feet, Hands) 4 5 2</p><p>6th +4 +5 +5 +2 Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Meldshaper Level) 4 6 3</p><p>7th +5 +5 +5 +2 Improved Totem's Empathy 5 7 3</p><p>8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +2 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 1/day 5 7 3</p><p>9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +3 Chakra Binds (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) 5 8 3</p><p>10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +3 Totem's Lore 6 11 4</p><p>11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +3 Totem Chakra Bind (Double Bind) 6 12 4</p><p>12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 2/day 6 13 4</p><p>13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Greater Totem's Empathy 7 14 4</p><p>14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +4 Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist) 7 15 5</p><p>15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +9 +5 Totem Chakra Bind (+2 capacity) 7 18 5</p><p>16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 3/day 8 19 5</p><p>17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Chakra Bind (Heart) 8 20 5</p><p>18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +6 (nothing, but essentia cap increases here) 8 22 6</p><p>19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +6 Perfect Totem's Empathy 9 24 6</p><p>20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +6 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 4/day, Totem Embodiment 9 28 6</p><p></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Wild Empathy (Ex):</strong> A Totemist can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The Totemist rolls 1d20 and adds his Totemist level and his CHA modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.</p><p></p><p>The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.</p><p></p><p>To use Wild Empathy, the Totemist and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.</p><p></p><p>A Totemist can also use this ability to influence a Magical Beast with an INT score of 1 or 2, but takes a –4 penalty on the check. However, unlike other classes with the Wild Empathy ability, a Totemist can gain a bonus to offset this penalty: if the character is specifically trying to influence a Magical Beast associated with the soulmeld that he has bound to his Totem chakra (for example, the character has a Basilisk Mask bound to his Totem, and tries to use Wild Empathy on a Basilisk), he gains a +4 bonus on the check (and thus effectively takes no penalty).</p><p></p><p><strong>Totem's Empathy (Ex):</strong> At 4th level, the Totemist gains a +4 on Wild Empathy checks made to influence the attitude of a beast associated with any of his shaped soulmelds, not just the one bound to his Totem chakra. If the beast is specifically the one associated with the soulmeld bound to the Totemist's Totem chakra, then the character receives a further +4 bonus, granting him (in most cases) a total +4 bonus rather than the usual -4 penalty associated with trying to influence a Magical Beast.</p><p></p><p><strong>Improved Totem's Empathy (Ex):</strong> At 7th level, the Totemist gains a +4 bonus on Wild Empathy checks made to influence the attitude of any Magical Beast, regardless of which soulmelds he has shaped. He still gains a +4 bonus if the beast is associated with the soulmeld bound to his Totem chakra.</p><p></p><p>Furthermore, the Totemist is no longer limited to influencing creatures with an INT score of 1 or 2 with Wild Empathy checks; any creature of the Animal or Magical Beast type is a legal target for his Wild Empathy from 7th level onward. If the Totemist uses Wild Empathy on a creature with an INT score above 2, it is treated as a Diplomacy check in every way, including allowing for the possibility of the Totemist using the Aid Another action to help an ally's Diplomacy check on the same target, or an ally using Diplomacy to Aid the Totemist's Wild Empathy check.</p><p></p><p><strong>Totem's Lore (Su):</strong> At 10th level, a Totemist can use his connection with the souls of nature to learn things about creatures with some connection to it, even if he has no appropriate Knowledge ranks. As a standard action, the Totemist can target a creature of the Animal, Dragon, Magical Beast, or Ooze type within 30 feet to learn about its abilities and weaknesses. With a successful ranged touch attack, the character gains information as if he made the appropriate Knowledge skill check with a result equal to 20 + his Totemist level + his WIS modifier. The character may also target creatures which are templated versions of creatures of an appropriate type, even if the template changes the creature type to a disallowed type (for example, a Half-Dragon Lich would be a legal target, even though it is of the Undead creature type, because it was type Dragon before it became a Lich).</p><p></p><p><strong>Greater Totem's Empathy (Su):</strong> At 13th level, the souls of beasts are such a part of the Totemist that animals and beasts of any kind become loath to attack him.</p><p></p><p>The character is now allowed to use Wild Empathy not only on Animals and Magical Beasts, but also upon Oozes- even Oozes which have no INT score. If the character tries to influence an Ooze, he takes a -4 penalty on the check, and Oozes typically start with an attitude of Unfriendly (if intelligent) or Hostile (if unintelligent).</p><p></p><p>Creatures of the Animal type are now more inclined to respect the Totemist, and automatically begin encounters with the character one step friendlier than the standard (i.e. domesticated animals start as Friendly, while wild animals start as Indifferent).</p><p></p><p>Finally, the Totemist is able to make any Wild Empathy check with just one full-round action, in contrast to the usual required time of 1 minute.</p><p></p><p><strong>Perfect Totem's Empathy (Su):</strong> At 19th level, the Totemist's Wild Empathy ability improves one more time. The character is now allowed to use Wild Empathy on creatures of the Animal, Dragon, Magical Beast, or Ooze types, regardless of the target's INT score (or lack thereof). The character is also able to target creatures of other types, as long as those creatures are templated versions of base creatures with an appropriate type (for example, a Manticore Skeleton would be an allowed target, because the skeleton was once a Manticore- a Magical Beast).</p><p></p><p>A Wild Empathy check can now be made with a standard action.</p><p></p><p>The Totemist takes no penalty on the Wild Empathy check for any creature type, but a creature without an INT score is more difficult to influence and thus the character takes a -4 penalty to influence those. Creatures of the Animal type, as well as Dragons and Magical Beasts with INT scores above 2, treat the character with greater respect than normal, and begin encounters one step friendlier than they otherwise would have (for Animals, this does not change from the effect of Greater Totem's Empathy, above, but it now affects other types of creatures as well).</p><p></p><p>This ability to connect with the souls of beasts is so powerful that the Totemist is even able to affect summoned creatures, as long as they are of appropriate types. If the Totemist desires, he can try to break the bond between a summoned creature and its caster, as long as the creature is of an appropriate creature type. This special check is not a standard Wild Empathy check, but is instead an attempt to overcome the caster's control over the target creature; the Totemist makes a roll of 1d20 + his Totemist level + his CHA modifier against a DC of (11 + the spell's caster level). If the check is successful, the caster loses all control over the summoned creature, which is now free to act as it pleases; the typical starting attitude of a freed summoned creature is Unfriendly towards its caster or any allies of that caster, Friendly toward the Totemist who freed it, and Indifferent to any allies of the Totemist. The caster is no longer allowed to dismiss the spell, or even end it by any means other than resorting to use of <em>Dispel Magic</em> on his own creature, and in the latter case must make a Dispel check just as if trying to dispel another caster's spell rather than one of his own. Once the creature is freed from the control of its caster, the Totemist is allowed to attempt to influence it further using a Wild Empathy check as normal.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="paradox42, post: 5324546, member: 29746"] [b]The Totemist[/b] This was the hardest for us to get a handle on, because none of us had ever played one in 3.5, and also because my world allowed them but my other friend's did not. So, aside from the essentia upgrade, we had no idea how to proceed. Eventually, I came up with some ideas on my own after noticing that the original Totemist had the best version of Wild Empathy for any class in 3.5 (at any rate, for WotC-only books). So, I came up with some powers based on that, and also slightly inspired by the "wild boy" character Gau from Final Fantasy VI (whose shtick is that he learns the powers of monsters because he was raised by them). But I'm getting ahead of myself. [B]Hit Die:[/B] d8 [B]Class Skills:[/B] Craft (INT), Fly (DEX), Handle Animal (CHA), Knowledge (Arcana) (INT), Knowledge (Nature) (INT), Knowledge (Planes) (INT), Perception (WIS), Profession (WIS), Ride (DEX), Spellcraft (INT), Survival (WIS), and Swim (STR). (Once again, apologies for the poor formatting in the class table.) [B]The Totemist[/B] Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Soulmelds Essentia Binds 1st +0 +2 +2 +0 Wild Empathy, Totem Chakra Bind 2 1 1 2nd +1 +3 +3 +0 Chakra Bind (Crown), Totem Chakra Bind (+1 capacity) 3 2 2 3rd +2 +3 +3 +1 Totem's Protection 3 2 2 4th +3 +4 +4 +1 Totem's Empathy 4 3 2 5th +3 +4 +4 +1 Chakra Binds (Feet, Hands) 4 5 2 6th +4 +5 +5 +2 Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Meldshaper Level) 4 6 3 7th +5 +5 +5 +2 Improved Totem's Empathy 5 7 3 8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +2 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 1/day 5 7 3 9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +3 Chakra Binds (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) 5 8 3 10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +3 Totem's Lore 6 11 4 11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +3 Totem Chakra Bind (Double Bind) 6 12 4 12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 2/day 6 13 4 13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Greater Totem's Empathy 7 14 4 14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +4 Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist) 7 15 5 15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +9 +5 Totem Chakra Bind (+2 capacity) 7 18 5 16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 3/day 8 19 5 17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Chakra Bind (Heart) 8 20 5 18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +6 (nothing, but essentia cap increases here) 8 22 6 19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +6 Perfect Totem's Empathy 9 24 6 20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +6 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 4/day, Totem Embodiment 9 28 6 [B]Wild Empathy (Ex):[/B] A Totemist can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The Totemist rolls 1d20 and adds his Totemist level and his CHA modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly. To use Wild Empathy, the Totemist and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. A Totemist can also use this ability to influence a Magical Beast with an INT score of 1 or 2, but takes a –4 penalty on the check. However, unlike other classes with the Wild Empathy ability, a Totemist can gain a bonus to offset this penalty: if the character is specifically trying to influence a Magical Beast associated with the soulmeld that he has bound to his Totem chakra (for example, the character has a Basilisk Mask bound to his Totem, and tries to use Wild Empathy on a Basilisk), he gains a +4 bonus on the check (and thus effectively takes no penalty). [B]Totem's Empathy (Ex):[/B] At 4th level, the Totemist gains a +4 on Wild Empathy checks made to influence the attitude of a beast associated with any of his shaped soulmelds, not just the one bound to his Totem chakra. If the beast is specifically the one associated with the soulmeld bound to the Totemist's Totem chakra, then the character receives a further +4 bonus, granting him (in most cases) a total +4 bonus rather than the usual -4 penalty associated with trying to influence a Magical Beast. [B]Improved Totem's Empathy (Ex):[/B] At 7th level, the Totemist gains a +4 bonus on Wild Empathy checks made to influence the attitude of any Magical Beast, regardless of which soulmelds he has shaped. He still gains a +4 bonus if the beast is associated with the soulmeld bound to his Totem chakra. Furthermore, the Totemist is no longer limited to influencing creatures with an INT score of 1 or 2 with Wild Empathy checks; any creature of the Animal or Magical Beast type is a legal target for his Wild Empathy from 7th level onward. If the Totemist uses Wild Empathy on a creature with an INT score above 2, it is treated as a Diplomacy check in every way, including allowing for the possibility of the Totemist using the Aid Another action to help an ally's Diplomacy check on the same target, or an ally using Diplomacy to Aid the Totemist's Wild Empathy check. [B]Totem's Lore (Su):[/B] At 10th level, a Totemist can use his connection with the souls of nature to learn things about creatures with some connection to it, even if he has no appropriate Knowledge ranks. As a standard action, the Totemist can target a creature of the Animal, Dragon, Magical Beast, or Ooze type within 30 feet to learn about its abilities and weaknesses. With a successful ranged touch attack, the character gains information as if he made the appropriate Knowledge skill check with a result equal to 20 + his Totemist level + his WIS modifier. The character may also target creatures which are templated versions of creatures of an appropriate type, even if the template changes the creature type to a disallowed type (for example, a Half-Dragon Lich would be a legal target, even though it is of the Undead creature type, because it was type Dragon before it became a Lich). [B]Greater Totem's Empathy (Su):[/B] At 13th level, the souls of beasts are such a part of the Totemist that animals and beasts of any kind become loath to attack him. The character is now allowed to use Wild Empathy not only on Animals and Magical Beasts, but also upon Oozes- even Oozes which have no INT score. If the character tries to influence an Ooze, he takes a -4 penalty on the check, and Oozes typically start with an attitude of Unfriendly (if intelligent) or Hostile (if unintelligent). Creatures of the Animal type are now more inclined to respect the Totemist, and automatically begin encounters with the character one step friendlier than the standard (i.e. domesticated animals start as Friendly, while wild animals start as Indifferent). Finally, the Totemist is able to make any Wild Empathy check with just one full-round action, in contrast to the usual required time of 1 minute. [B]Perfect Totem's Empathy (Su):[/B] At 19th level, the Totemist's Wild Empathy ability improves one more time. The character is now allowed to use Wild Empathy on creatures of the Animal, Dragon, Magical Beast, or Ooze types, regardless of the target's INT score (or lack thereof). The character is also able to target creatures of other types, as long as those creatures are templated versions of base creatures with an appropriate type (for example, a Manticore Skeleton would be an allowed target, because the skeleton was once a Manticore- a Magical Beast). A Wild Empathy check can now be made with a standard action. The Totemist takes no penalty on the Wild Empathy check for any creature type, but a creature without an INT score is more difficult to influence and thus the character takes a -4 penalty to influence those. Creatures of the Animal type, as well as Dragons and Magical Beasts with INT scores above 2, treat the character with greater respect than normal, and begin encounters one step friendlier than they otherwise would have (for Animals, this does not change from the effect of Greater Totem's Empathy, above, but it now affects other types of creatures as well). This ability to connect with the souls of beasts is so powerful that the Totemist is even able to affect summoned creatures, as long as they are of appropriate types. If the Totemist desires, he can try to break the bond between a summoned creature and its caster, as long as the creature is of an appropriate creature type. This special check is not a standard Wild Empathy check, but is instead an attempt to overcome the caster's control over the target creature; the Totemist makes a roll of 1d20 + his Totemist level + his CHA modifier against a DC of (11 + the spell's caster level). If the check is successful, the caster loses all control over the summoned creature, which is now free to act as it pleases; the typical starting attitude of a freed summoned creature is Unfriendly towards its caster or any allies of that caster, Friendly toward the Totemist who freed it, and Indifferent to any allies of the Totemist. The caster is no longer allowed to dismiss the spell, or even end it by any means other than resorting to use of [I]Dispel Magic[/I] on his own creature, and in the latter case must make a Dispel check just as if trying to dispel another caster's spell rather than one of his own. Once the creature is freed from the control of its caster, the Totemist is allowed to attempt to influence it further using a Wild Empathy check as normal. [/QUOTE]
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