OskarOisinson Random Posts

[BozzNugg]

These are just all the posts I wanted to save, first is my suggestions for 5e mystic playtest
Suggestions for 5e mystic:

Psion as major psionic CLASS consisting of 8 sub-classes: 1 for Wilder/Generalist and 1 each that specializes in a single Psionic Displine (in traditional sense, not in sense of the UA playtest and not to the exclusion of all other Displines)

Ardent = Cleric/Paladin/Bard Subclass or maybe combine with the Wilder subclass mentioned above to play more on the 'empathic' side of that archtype (Empath or Wilder are preferred names though)

PsychicWarrior/Battlemind = Fighter Subclass

Soulknife/Blade Mystic = Monk Subclass

Add other sub-classes as desired


Torn on whether PP should refill at Short or Long rest, though I lean toward short because it would subtley reinforce the connection of monks and psionics.

Conflicted about only being able to concentrate on one Power at a time currently given the need to switch to use an ability from another Power. I think you should be able to eventually gain constant access to one or more Power as kind of a 'Signature Power' to alleviate this tension, perhaps even from first level.

Would like to see more interaction via Mind-scapes and the Plane of Dream, would like to have the plane of dreams as the primry agonistic force in opposition to the far realm, with psionics arising from both planes.


Auto-Hypnosis as a skill should make a return.

I really prefer the traditional names of most psionic abilities, items, classes, etc. I like the pseudo-science, it sounds exactly what someone trying to describe these abilities would probably call them in reality, so why wouldn't it work in the game? Psychokinesis/Telekinesis, Metapsionics, I have zero problem with terms like these. I do not mind things like Intellect Fortress but I don't think it's appreciably better than the others. In fact, I really wouldn't mind if Psi Powers used a kind of binomial nomeclature.

Finally, Psionic Powers should be called 'Powers,' not 'Discplines,' it's confusing to older players (I'm confused just writing this post) who think of Psionic Disciplines as the seven Psionic Disciplines of editions past (Telekinesis, Apportation, Psychometabolism, Metacreativity, Telepathy, Clairsentience, and Metapsionics). Each of these disciplines should be keyed to a 'chakra' with some sort of mechanic backing this up. Psion's should be called Psions, not Mystics. Mystic as a term would be better left to the Psionic Monk subclass I think.


Finally, don't rail-road with sub-classes, I don't think you will, but obviously, just don't.

 

[BozzNugg]

What is Magic?
I'm not sure there's ever been a consensus on the relationship between arcane magic and psionics - about half the players treat them as being basically the same and the other half as something different. I'm thinking of all the "types" of magic though - Arcane, Divine, Psionics... what else? Primal, Shadow... whatever. Are they all just different expressions of one thing, or are they all completely separate?

The way I see it, magic is something more-or-less tangible. Kind of like gravity or an electromagnetic field. It exists in the game, and different class abilities let you tap into it in different ways. BUT, irrespective of how you "tap" into magic, the fundamental power source is identical. The manner in which you access that power has an influence over what you can do with it - sort of like how a plane and a helicopter both allow you to fly, but the experience is different. That's like arcane vs divine (or whatever) magic: Same power being channeled in a different way.

Or am I wrong and there's actually lots of different types of magic that truly have nothing to do with each other?

My take on the nature of magic/psionics/what have you. It is adapted to my Dark Sun campaign somewhat, but I think much of it could be applied to other settings, I have removed most of the specific references to setting/campaign materials. It loosely follows the 'Power Source' model of 4e but is actually simplified quite a bit to 4 primary sources/interfaces.

Secrets of Power

Martial Power - Produced by the individual body/Material Plane. Focused by Will
Practice: Martial Arts - Martial power is the most diverse power source on Athas and the most common. There are countless martial arts, weapons, and approaches to the Martial Power source.

Arcane Power - Produced by ritual interface with life-force (Mana, which can be pulled from Plants, Animals, and possibly the Sun). Focused by chromatic lenses of glass.
Practice: Arcane Magick - The power of Arcane Magick is the rarest source of power on Athas and arises from the vital energy (Mana) of life itself, which can be drawn from other living beings, such as Animals and Plants. Arcane Magick is tied to all planes of existence, but it is difficult to use in the Gloaming (ethereal) and Gloom (shadowfell/negative energy plane) because of the lack of Mana to draw from in those places. Normally, one can only draw Mana from Plants to cast spells since they lack individuated wills, which would otherwise resist its use. With the aid of certain magical materials though, one can eventually draw on the Mana of Animals and possibly even the Sun as well. Arcane Magick is divided into 10 Schools, each with an associated colour:

Evocation (Red)
Abjuration (White)
Enchantment (Orange)
Transmutation (Yellow)
Augmentation/Metamagick (Grey)
Conjuration (Green)
Illusion (Blue)
Necromancy (Black)
Divination (Purple)
Universal/Artifice/Alchemy (Brown)

Patronal Power - Produced by divine/spiritual/elemental ‘grace’ or patronage given in exchange for faith/piety. Focused by Symbols of Power.
Practice: Patronal Magick - The power of Patronal Magick arises from the dedication of one’s soul to a patron or ideal.

Divine Magick/Ur-Magick (Extinct as such/Gloaming) Ethereal Energy
Primal Magick
- Light/Shadow Magick (Lands within the Wind/Gloom) Positive Energy/Negative Energy
- Elemental Magick (Elemental Planes) Elemental Energy

Psionic Power - Produced by a confluence of the body, mind, and soul. Focused by certain Gems.
Practice: Psionics - The power of psionics arises from a balance between body, mind, and soul. Psionics is guided by will like Martial power, but is shaped by the mind, like Arcane power, and is given potency by the soul, like Patronal power. Psionics interacts with the Region of Dreams (Dal Quor) and the Netheregion of Nightmares (Xoriat) because it makes the unreal, real (and in some cases, the real, unreal). It is the second most common source of power on Athas, but perhaps the least understood. It is divided into 7 Psionic Disciplines, each is associated with a focal point in the body called a chakra. Chakras begin at the base of the spine, and travel up to the front of the head:

Psychokinesis (Ruby/Red/Root Chakra) = Soul
Psychoportation (Garnet/Orange/Sacral Chakra)
Psychometabolism (Topaz/Yellow/Center Chakra) = Body
Metacreativity (Emerald/Green/Heart Chakra)
Telepathy (Sapphire/Blue/Throat Chakra) = Mind
Metapsionics (Amethyst/Purple/Crown Chakra)

Clairsentience (Diamond/Clear/Third Eye Chakra)

 

[BozzNugg]

I see it as this:



Arcane Magic is "legal magic". The world is written in SQL, and if you know the formulas you can edit them, declare that object to weigh ten pounds instead of five thousand, declare that bridge to be longer or that one to have a hole in it, declare Ulgrok the Butcher is a duck. It's very cerebral magic, and is completely unsuited to flashy effects like fireballs, magic missiles, or conjuring things out of thin air without them being an expansion of a nearby thing. It must also be used with care, as living creatures naturally reject changes made to them over time, and will regain their original form. Wizards can also use their superior minds to make tiny edits to how other creatures perceive their words, less likely to be noticed by the world than physical changes, and depending on the skill and intellect of the wizard this can make other creatures their puppets.



Divine Magic is "creation magic". With the infinite power of the deities that created the world from nothing, you can create energy and matter alike. Conjuring objects, conjuring new flesh where once there was a wound, conjuring strikes of divine fire, divine magic is all about the power of creation and regeneration. Being connected to a higher being also allows those who use divine magic to request knowledge, giving them sight beyond sight through the eyes of a god. The most obviously "good" type of magic, divine magic can nontheless be used for evil by those who serve dark gods. After all, one does not have to summon forth angels from heaven, and a fireball will burn a man to death just as easily as it will a zombie.



Psionic Power is "mind magic". Psions care absolutely nothing for the physical: their powers cannot start fires or conjure objects, or indeed harm your body in any way. Why should they, when they can control every aspect of the way the physical is perceived, when they can make you truly believe you are mortally wounded, or that you have always been their best friend, or simply drive you to gibbering madness? Psions, unsurprisingly, tend to be kind of a bunch of jerks. Expanding their own senses is, of course, also within the realm of psionics.



Primal Magic is "life magic", the external version of martial power. You can adjust the life essence of another creature, to heal them, to strengthen them, or to change them, for good or ill. You can also conjure new life...or give life to something that should not yet live.



Elemental Magic is "power magic". This is the power of dragons, creatures of such raw elemental power that their very breath can call forth floods of elemental energy. This is where the classic "blaster mage" is found, not the wizard. Sorcerers with their elemental magic can unleash fireballs, lightning bolts, waves of frost and acid. They can also remove energy, like the kinetic energy behind the swing of a sword, the magical energy that makes up a spell, or the energy that keeps your atoms bound together so that you don't dissolve into a pile of dust. When they warp objects the way the wizard does, it's through raw force rather than manipulating the object's internal properties, and the mana within living creatures shrugs off such brutish attempts.



Shadow Magic is "entropic magic", the power to make reality break down. The dead are not supposed to walk, so you crack the rule that says they can't. You break down a creature's senses, make them see what you want them to see, or simply drive them to madness, though such a breaking down of the senses is obvious and unsuited for the subtlety of enchantment magic. You make magic, and creatures who oppose you even in the face of your illusions and hordes, cease to be. This is easily the most villainous type of magic, but a hero might find themselves burdened with it and the responsibility of determining what should and should not be destroyed.



Martial Power is "internal magic", though after seeing it in other places I might refer to it as "King's Magic". Every creature has a flow of magical energy through them. It is what allows dragons to fly, what allows giants to support their own weight, what allows creatures like the troll to possess their exotic powers. Martial power comes from the understanding that you are a magical beast, just as much as all other creatures, but one that can understand itself and the magic within it. With understanding comes control, and the ability to fight with speed, strength, and endurance far beyond that of those who do not understand what they are truly capable of the way that you do. As you grow in strength, the amount of mana within yourself grows, until you are every bit the physical match of a mighty creature such as a dragon or a storm giant, one who can cut the mountain a cleric of an evil god might summon to drop upon you, or shrug off a necromancer's illusions because you, more than any other, know who you are. You are a legendary beast in the shape of a man.




Bravissimo!

I specially loved King's Magic. That's some food for though and roleplaying gold right there folks.

Thank you, TrueMallowman.

Maybe I should elaborate more I'd like to see the following-

Arcane Power is associated with the mind and similar to Truemallow's legal magic, I think it should be based on some sort of coding analogue - divine law, weave of fate, or maybe the unity of life-force/mana/lifusuturimu (negentropy). Anyway, you can use magic to essentially short-cut these rules, the manner in which you do so determines your class to a large extent: Wizards deal with scholarly systems of belief to alter the current paradigm of reality, sorerers utilize the potency of their blood/heritage to forge a new world (an inborn connection to the 'weave' or whatever), artificers imbue items with such abilities via runes and alchemy, etc. In short, Arcane Power comes from tricking all observers (including fate itself) into believing the impossible. I like this approach because you can take a psychological (inner world), realistic (is it magic or is it just tricks?), or high fantasy (outer world) approach. I also like it, because it lends well to arcane power being tricky and potentially dangerous due to the world attempting to compensate for its use, a very common trope in most fantasy (though easily discarded if you just wanna do something where magic is commonplace and 'free' like Harry Potter). Mechanically, you can rely more on this kind of magic for powerful effects with relatively little cost, but as with any sort of 'easy' power, most users come to rely on it overmuch, forsaking other trepidations and usually unabalncing them in some way (to account for the whole 'no armour' thing, and the classic 'pinch-hitter' role arcane as typically played in the past).

Patronic Power is associated with the soul and covers power granted by another being, its effects may be varied and can potentially overlap with all other power sources to some extent, but the individual Patron determines the adherent's breadth of ability, while the adherent's faith/piety determines their potency. This would obviously include traditional Divine classes, but also Primal ones like the Druid, and the sort of inverted divinity of the Primordials (Shugenjas, Sohei, Yamabushi, etc.), it could also include mortal (Sorcerer-Kings, Fey Court, etc.), dead (Atropals, Dead Gods, etc.) or dormant/immanent powers (Far Realm beings, Egregore, etc.) that are either served via Pact (Warlocks, Templars), or taken through treachery (Ur-Priests). I like this approach because it's very open but also self-limiting. You can include all kinds of mystical characters from different traditions, be they Judeo-Christian, Vedic, Buddhist, Animist, Mystery, Cthonic, or otherwise and again, you don't necessarily have to write them into the game in such a way as to stick out as a weeaboo or 'exotic' class or something. Mechanically, I could see mostly encounter level effects, with some sort of sacrifice being needed to get either more power effects of the same level, or access to higher level powers. I think as long as one can perform these Prayers/Rites/Invocations (at-will/encounter/daily), they are less limited in when and how they 'cast' them. This accounts for the 'armoured' mid-line most such characters have occupied but allows for all sorts of variety depending on Patron, from Cloistered Cleric, to Skulking Warlock, to Imperious Templar, to Predatory Druid.

Martial Power... is self-explanatory and associated with the body.

Psionic Power arises from a balance of the 3 other sources (mind, body, soul) and serves to 'augment' them in various ways. The effects of psionics are more malleable but less powerful at base, though they can contend with the other sources when combined with natural ability in one of the those areas of influence... in this way, one might call Psionics the power of Synergy but, because psionics is, by its nature, synergistic (combing body, mind, and soul), by expending more resources, oe can temporarily bring their Psionic Power up to the same level of potency as the other power sources as well. I'd like to see a chakra system implemented for channeling Psionics, it could be optional, but as a default it wouldn't be bad either. 7 Chakras = 7 Discplines (including Metapsionics), again, this allows for 'eastern' archetypes without resorting to orientalist stereotypes. It also allows us to reconcile the 4e 'psionic monk' with more traditional versions, while opening up flavourful new options for Psioncs, Ardents, SoulBlades, etc. Mechanically, I'd like to see power points come back but with the chakra system being more developed to differentiate sub-builds of classes via features. For a Psion, say, perhaps if they are a Psychokineticist, when they channel power points through their root chakra to manifest psychokinetic powers, they do so at an advantage, with their points counting for more, allowing easier augmentation. Likewise, if the Root Chakra is keyed to the Soul (Patronic Power), perhaps there could be powers that augment your own or other's Prayers/Rites/etc.?

Now, I think Shadow could exist, but it's defined by the absence of the above. However, the actual classes of shadow could still be folded into the above as their complement, so a Necromancer or a Shadow Binder could be Arcane Shadow class, while an Ur-Priest something could be a Patronic Shadow class?

I will write more tomorrow, hope to conversation doesn't move too fast. I just work too much to devote anymore time right now.

By Interfaces I meant how one interacts with 'Sources' to create 'Power.' Rituals, Pacts, Meditation, etc. come to mind as examples but as I think of it more, perhaps one could consider the trinity of mind, body, and soul, to be the Prime Interfaces, with rituals and pacts could simply be methodologies? Sources might be broader and include the longer list that Truemallow provided (Elemental, Shadow, Ki, etc.) I was wondering if I should keep some or all of these elements (Sources, Power, Interfaces [Methods]) hard-wired to each other or break them apart so we could model them as game components/mechanics... and how.

I thought 'fluff' was a better place to start when conceptualizing mechanics, because it has to be inclusive. If we could come up with an easy plug-and-play conceptual system that still indicates solid mechanical direction or inspiration, then the crunch will be that much easier to develop.

Aha, now we're talking. This is (yet another) one of the most fascinating parts of D&D to me. The wizard doesn't get his spells back by sleeping, or waiting 8 seconds for the little loading shadow to make a full circuit on his fireblast icon. He gets to cast his spells after spending a minute on each one, memorizing it and mentally preparing himself to perform the casting. That's the sort of emphasis on 'downtime' action you don't see in modern games, and it might as well be called the interface.

Does the ability to cast arcane spells require you to get a full night's rest and spend minutes on end memorizing them? Is that a trait of casting arcane spells, or a trait of being a wizard? It's a good question.

I tentatively suggest (as I am not convinced one way or the other) that the interface is hard-coded into the power list. If you cast spells, you have to deal with saving them throughout the entire day and preparing them, no matter who you are. On top of this, you can attach class-based augments to the standard interface. Wizards, Sorcerers and Clerics (just for example) all get to prepare spells, but only Wizards get a voluminous spellbook, only Sorcerers can hurt themselves in exchange for overchanneling the spell, and only Clerics can aim their harmful spells at allies and deliver domain-based buffs instead of pain. (I'm not saying that's how divine magic should work necessarily.)

And while we're near the subject, and before I forget, Warlocks need to bargain with their patron(s) for more power every short rest. THAT'S why invocations are commonly agreed to be encounter powers. Take a leaf straight from Tome of Magic and make those guys break mirrors, burn goat heads and draw squigglies on the ground, that's what I say. The new interaction mechanics proposed in the latest L&L are a perfect fit for this.

Yes I thought the new L&L article put forth some interestin ideas and seems like they definitely processed quite few of the suggestions made when they last asked about these pillars.

So as I understand it:

Sources can be various and might include:
Martial, Mana/Negentropy, Weave of Fate, Divine, Elemental, Primal, Synergy/Ki, and Shadow/Entropy (and maybe others)

Interfaces are much more limited being mind, body, soul, balance (and imbalance?), which lay down the basic mechanics for Power(s) to be differentiated (Martial, Arcane, Patronic, Psionic) but within each Interface (MAPP), there are various Methods, which connote classes (A Wizard's Spell Book, A Druid's Rites, a Cleric's Prayers, a Psion's Meditation, a Monk's Forms, etc.)

Powers then contain the specifics of use, e.g You must spend 1 hour burning an albino goat's head at sunrise to gain the use/effect of this Spell/Prayer/Power/Invocation...

Well I like the hard-wiring of Powers to Methods, but I kind of think Sources and Interfaces should be somewhat more hard-wired in some cases: obviously Martial and Martial and maybe Psionic with Psionic/Syngergy/Ki. Arcane and Patronic could be a bit more broad I think.

As I understand it, it is the mechanical limitation, or gateway, to a list of powers. The spell list is a list of powers, and they're balanced (ostensibly) to function as daily powers. A wizard's 'interface' with the spell list is his spellbook, his ability to learn spells, and his ability to prepare spells known for use during the day.

Say, for instance, a rogue had tricks that let him use his skill die in unique ways. The tricks themselves are powers, the skill die is the resource, and the rogue's class feature that gave him access tricks is his interface. What's interesting about this example is its utter simplicity compared to the wizard, as a skill die can't be expended and these powers are essentially always available. An interface could literally be 'you choose x powers at x level', and that would be that. This is in part dependent on the frequency of the resource.

It is worth noting that as far as I'm concerned, a source is just fluff and has no bearing on the other elements of the design--though you can certainly take mechanical cues from the story of arcane magic or divine magic or what have you. If you decide all interfaces of the arcane source have to do with preparation after a long rest, then that's an arbitrary decision, but a valid one.

And I have no idea what methods are. A specific interface, it looks like, but I don't think the additional term is necessary.

So why go to the trouble? What's the good of defining interfaces if all they do is let you use your powers?

Well for one thing, it's interesting. For another, it is a distinct unit of character design--a unit that can be isolated, understood, and is in fact absolutely vital and irreplaceable; there just has to be one there, no matter how simple it is.

Now that we know what it is, we can play with it. Maybe a warlock's interface is a social interaction challenge. Every short rest, they have to bargain more magical favors from their patron, and that carries with it all the attendant risks and requirements you'd expect from the hypothetical interaction rules.

In a case like that, of course, you'd have to balance the powers and the resource such that it's worth the risk bargaining, and probably ensure something interesting happens even if the warlock bombs his interaction.

As I understand it, It is the mechanical limitation, or gateway, to a list of powers. The spell list is a list of powers, and they're balanced (ostensibly) to function as daily powers. A wizard's 'interface' with the spell list is his spellbook, his ability to learn spells, and his ability to prepare spells known for use during the day.

So, arbitrary implementation of vague flavor?


It is the exact definition of arbitrary, but that doesn't make it any less vital. Prepared, memorized, bargained or simply granted, there has to be some sort of interface.

I get where your head's at, and I dislike overly specialized verbiage as much as the next shade of blue, but here it fills a hole that's always been in every class, so there's a utility to defining the hole.

But then, I'm the kind of guy who thinks there is (or rather, there can and should be) a distinct and very discernable demarcation between a class feature, a feat, and a trait, so I might be a little too anal-retentive to hold much of a popular opinion on this issue of terminology.

A Little List might be useful here. I've added a '?' for classes I could see being integrated into others or Methods that I'm unsure of:

Arcane Classes: Interface with Sources via 'reality hacking.' Utilize various Methods to do so.
Artificer/Alchemist/Runesmith - Crafting
Bard - Performance
Gish?
Sorcerer - Bloodline
Wizard - Spellbook/School

Patronic Classes: Interface with Sources via 'pacts/patronage.' Utilize various Methods to do so.
Cleric - Divine Domains
Druid - Circle Initiation
Paladin/Warden/Blackguard/Sohei - Vows (I think these are more suitable than 'Oaths,' which just strike me as too secular-seeming.
Ranger - Totems
Shugenja - Elemental Spheres
Templar? - Obviously needed for DS but I honestly think if we could reconcile it, this would be the best name for the Paladin/Warden/Blackguard/etc class with those names being used for sub-classes.
Ur-Priest - Ethereal Manipulation (needs better name, essentially, they steal power from other patronic sources via the Ethereal Plane) could be arcane?
Warlock - Pact

Psionic Classes: (Though I think we should focus our efforts on Arcane and Patronic first).
Monk - Style
Psion - Disciplines
Soulknife?
Wilder - Surging

Feel free to let me know if I've missed any, or argue for one's inclusion in another list.

 

[BozzNugg]

4e HB Necromancer:

Jeez... so many things.

Shadowcraft Mage
Arcane Theuge and other dual-caster prestige classes.
Daelkyr Half-Blood
Symbionts
Companion creatures (which they've already talked about as a module, where you either play with them or not).
A TRUE Necromancer
SPELL-THIEF/UR-PRIEST
Soulknife (as the psionic defender/striker)

Beyond that, I'd like to see the initial theme power or something from 4e come back in 5e Specialties, right now they feel kind of arbitrary, being little more than suggested feat trees with a name.... which isn't innovative, they have always had suggested feats for beginning characters.... meh.

Thinking about this problem with summoned hordes, I was looking at a Necromancer homebrew class that I had worked on pretty thoroughly in 4e that could provide some insights.

Allow me to quote some of the mechanics I implemented. Please note that I had intended to play this class myself and thus, knowing it inside out, I would've been able to act much more quickly than someone who just saw it for the first time. I will admit the minion mechanic is a little complex, but complexity could easily be pared back a bit and introduced in a more graduated fashion. At the time, I was designing it for the 'Shadow Done Right' 4e shadow source wiki, which was rejecting WotC's treatment of the Shadow Power Source as an Essentialized pseudo-power source. Thus, all the Class Traits had to be granted up front (level 1).

I will admit that it probably made my design a bit over-powered, but since they opted to use a different build, I was never able to get feedback, and, to this day, have not been able to playtest it myelf. Still, as a jumping off point, I think it does provide some options, particularly the reciprocal relationship between the caster and the minions (caster takes damage from minion death, yet minions are a bit more durable than 4e 'monster' minions), the limitations of the minions themselves (action dependent on the caster, cannot benefit from items, cannot go out of line of sight/effect of the caster as they are conjurations), and the way I attempted to circumvent power-spikes/action over-use by using very careful wording in he 'Target' line of 'Undead' attack powers (basically, you roll one attack roll with a power for multiple creatures, similar to a burst or blast spell but within range X of your minions, the 'Target' line limits how many creatures you can hit, regardless of your number of minions OR it allows all minions to hit, but it must be against separate targets). Their dailies were based off of 'Summon Demon' Wizard Daily Attack Powers, which I believe were from a dragon article... i.e. that typically had an intrinsic nature that could potentially hurt allies or the caster as well as enemies if not occasionally attended to or planned for.

Anyway, here is my draft with some selected powers for your perusal:

Hide
Necromancer
"I am where life and death converge. I bring life to the dead and death to the living."

Class Traits

Role: Controller. Your undead minions spread across the battlefield, acting as your hands and letting you control the pace of battle, though at times you may affect your foes with more direct shadow attacks. Depending on your choice of class features and powers, you might lean toward defender or leader as a secondary role.
Power Source: Shadow. You have gained your powers by surrendering a portion of your own life and replacing it with pure shadow energy.
Key Abilities: Constitution, Intelligence, Charisma

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather
Weapon Proficiencies: simple melee, military flail, simple ranged
Implement Proficiencies: fetishes, tomes, weapons with which you're proficient
Bonus to Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will

Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 4
Healing Surges per Day: 6 + Constitution modifier

Trained Skills: Arcana or Religion (your choice). From the class skills list below, choose three more trained skills at 1st level.
Class Skills: Arcana, Bluff, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Heal, History, Intimidate, Religion, Stealth.

Build Options: Blight Necromancer, Dread Necromancer, Horde Necromancer.
Class Features: Aspect of Death, Dark Knowledge, Death’s Scholar.


Class Features

Necromancers have the following class features.

Aspect of Death
You command death in all its forms but you are naturally inclined toward a particular Aspect of Death. You gain the create undead and undead sentinel powers. Additionally, after each extended rest, choose one of the following aspects as your active Aspect of Death. Your undead minions gain the benefit of your chosen aspect. Your active Aspect of Death also provides bonuses to certain necromancer powers. Individual powers detail the effects your active Aspect of Death has on them.

Aspect of the Grasping Corpse: Your gaze deadens and your skin takes on a deathly pallor causing you to resemble a corpse. Undead minions created using your create undead power become zombies. Though slow-moving, their brute strength and infectious nature allows you to wreak havoc upon your enemies with blunt force and determination. When you move your zombie minions, you may move them as if they had a speed of 1 + 1 square per tier. Additionally, while you are not wearing heavy armor, you can use your Constitution modifier instead of your Strength modifier when making melee basic attacks with weapons you are proficient with.

Aspect of the Skeletal Warrior: Your eyes become sunken and hollow and your flesh tightens causing you to resemble a skeleton. Undead minions created using your create undead power become skeletons. Though weaker than zombies and less evasive than shades, their nimble bones and variety of magical attacks allow you to adapt quickly to any situation. When you move your skeleton minions, you may move them as if they had a speed of 3 + 1 square per tier. Additionally, while you are not wearing heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to speed.

Aspect of the Looming Shade: Your eyes darken and your body becomes enveloped in shadows causing you to resemble a geist. Undead minions created using your create undead power become shades. Though weak, their ability to haunt and evade enemies allows you to dominate your foes by strategically debilitating them. When you move your shade minions, you may move them as if they had a fly speed of 2 + 1 square per tier (hover) and phasing. Additionally, while you are not wearing heavy armor, you gain a bonus to all defenses equal to 1/2 your Charisma modifier against opportunity attacks.

Dark Knowledge
Your studies in ancient texts of anatomy, medicine, virology, and various other topics related to death and suffering have left your mind full of knowledge which others can only dream of. You have wandered to the edge of a dark precipice and stared into the abyss, and the abyss stared back, into the uttermost depths of your soul. You now command knowledge which would wither a normal mortal, using arts others would consider evil and profane to further your own agenda.

At 1st level you choose three at-will attack powers. At least one, but no more than two, of those powers must have the undead keyword. In addition, choose one of the following disciplines for your Necromancer to specialize in:

Necrophagy: Your necromantic studies have gone far beyond the mere reanimation of tissues or the vagaries of soul enslavement. You have delved into the darkest annals of necromantic lore and come away with incredible power. You do not destroy life, you consume death. You gain Toughness as a bonus feat and a +2 bonus to attacks and damage rolls made against undead and shadow creatures. Additionally, you gain the Leech Life encounter power.

Nethermancy: You have studied intensively the profane arts of Nethermancy until the world of death was opened to you. You can call up the spirits of those who have passed on and compel them to your service. You gain resistance to necrotic damage equal to 5 + 1/2 your level and your attacks against undead creatures ignore resistance or immunity to necrotic damage. Additionally, you gain the Netherstep encounter power.

Plague Engineering: Your have studies have included herbs, toxins, and diseases which can kill or maim hundreds at a time. Your dark hexes spread curses and contagion which torment your enemies and bring them to Death’s welcoming door. You gain resistance to poison equal to 5 + 1/2 your level and your attacks against undead creatures ignore resistance or immunity to poison. Additionally, you gain the Blight Bringer encounter power.

Death’s Scholar
You have long pursued rituals of great power and forbidden knowledge. You gain a +5 bonus to Religion checks made to identify undead and shadow creatures. You also gain the Ritual Caster feat as a bonus feat and gain the Gentle Repose and Speak with Dead rituals at 1st level (see Players Handbook, pp. 306 and 312). Once per day, you may spend a healing surge to ignore the component cost when performing either of these rituals.


Necromancer Powers

New Keyword: Undead
Many necromancer powers have the undead keyword. An undead minion must be present when you use such a power. If an undead power includes “undead” in its range, you determine line of sight and line of effect from your undead minion’s space, which is also the power’s origin square.

Class Features

All necromancers gain the create undead and undead sentinel powers. Individual necromancers gain either the Blight Bringer, Leech Life, or Netherstep encounter power depending on their choice of Dark Knowledge.

Using Undead Minions:

Undead minions are a unique kind of conjuration created when a necromancer uses their own life energy to give material form to spirits of the deceased which are called forth from the Shadowfell. The being created from this process is in some ways similar to a real creature, though far less independent. Because of this, minions affect and are affected by terrain and the environment as if they were corporeal creatures unless some effect causes them to behave otherwise. Additionally, though minions gain no benefit from using weapons, implements, or any other items, each minion can carry as much weight as you can, but drops all carried items if it is destroyed or dismissed.

Because your minions are animated by your own life force, you are limited in how many you can control at one time. You can control up to 3 minions at first level, at levels 5, 15, and 25, you gain the ability to control 1 additional minion. Attempts to conjure more minions beyond this limit automatically fail. You may dismiss any number of your undead minions as a minor action. If you choose to dismiss a minion, it discorporates instantly, disappearing back to the Shadowfell and dropping any items or equipment it was carrying.

Likewise, because you share such a bond with your minions, they act according to your will. Minions normally have no actions of their own but, if you have line of sight to one, you may spend actions to command it mentally. When you command a minion, the two of you share basic knowledge but not senses. Minions cannot make melee or ranged basic attacks, have no healing surges, and are normally incapable of flanking, performing complex tasks, or speech. If a minion makes a check, you make the roll using your modifiers and scores.

You may give undead minions the following special commands:

Move Action: You can command any number of minions you control to either: walk up to their speed, shift 1, climb, crawl, escape from a grab, jump, stand up, or squeeze. Alternatively, you may command one minion to move up to twice its speed. Minions cannot run.
Minor Action: You can command any number of minions you control to either: drop prone, open or close a door, pick up an item, or retrieve or stow an item.
Free Action: You can command any number of minions you control to either: drop held items, end a grab, make a noise, or make a stealth check.


Class Powers
Create Undead
You create an undead minion to do your bidding by first calling forth a dead spirit from the Shadowfell and then using your life-force to bond it to a material body wrought of pure shadowstuff.
At-Will ♦ Conjuration, Shadow
Minor Action Close burst 10
Effect: You conjure an undead minion of the type associated with your active Aspect of Death in an unoccupied square in the burst. Minions last until you dismiss them or they are destroyed. A minion occupies 1 square and enemies cannot move through its space, though allies still can.
Minions can be targeted by attacks, though they have no hit points. If a minion is hit and takes any damage, the minion is destroyed and you take damage equal to 3 + one-half your level. Otherwise, the minion is unaffected by the attack. Minions are immune to disease and poison and are never damaged on a miss or by ongoing damage.
Minions count as allies to you and your allies for the purpose of effects that relate to allies and as undead shadow creatures for the purpose of effects that relate to creatures.
Special: You can control up to 3 minions at first level, at levels 5, 15, and 25, you gain the ability to control 1 additional minion. Attempts to conjure more minions beyond this limit automatically fail. If you choose to dismiss a minion, it discorporates instantly, disappearing back to the Shadowfell and dropping any items or equipment it was carrying.

Undead Sentinel
As an unwary foe turns its back, your minion lashes out with a sudden ferocity.
At-Will ♦ Undead, Implement, Shadow
Opportunity Action Melee undead 1
Trigger: An enemy leaves a square adjacent to one of your undead minions without shifting.
Target: The triggering enemy.
Attack: Constitution vs. Reflex
Hit: Constitution modifier damage.
Level 11: 2 + Constitution modifier damage.
Level 21: 4 + Constitution modifier damage.
Grasping Corpse: On a hit, the target is slowed until the end of your next turn.
Skeletal Warrior: The target grants combat advantage until the end of your next turn.
Looming Shade: On a hit, the target may complete its movement. Once it has, your minion may teleport a number of squares equal to or less than your Charisma modifier toward the target.
Special: You may only make this attack once per minion per round.

Blight Bringer
You infuse your attack with a deadly contagion.
Encounter ♦ Poison, Shadow
Free Action Close burst 10
Trigger: You hit with an encounter or daily attack power.
Effect: Each target of the attack takes ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends)
Level 11: Ongoing 10 poison.
Level 21: Ongoing 15 poison.

Leech Life
You drain the life energy from enemies around you to fuel your own unnatural vitality.
Encounter ♦ Necrotic, Shadow
Free Action Close burst 1
Trigger: You hit with an encounter or daily attack power.
Target: All enemies in burst.
Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude
Hit: Constitution modifier necrotic damage.
Level 11: 2 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage.
Level 21: 4 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage.
Effect: You gain temporary hit points equal to the damage done by this attack.

Netherstep
You walk the line between life and death.
Encounter ♦ Shadow
Free Action Personal
Trigger: You hit with an encounter or daily attack power.
Effect: You gain phasing and insubstantial until the end of your next turn, and you may teleport a number of squares equal to or less than your Charisma modifier.


Attack Powers
Swarming Horde
At your command, your undead minions turn their attention to a single foe.
At-Will ♦ Implement, Undead, Shadow
Standard Action Melee undead 1
Target: One creature
Attack: Constitution vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + Constitution modifier damage, plus 1 damage for each undead minion adjacent to the target.
Level 21: 2d8 + Constitution modifier damage.
Grasping Corpse: On a hit, the target is slowed until the beginning of your next turn as long as at least two of your undead minions were adjacent to it when it was hit.

Bone Whip
Sprouting whips of ebon bone and crackling shadow energy, your undead minions attack your enemies at a distance.
At-Will ♦ Implement, Undead, Shadow
Standard Action Melee undead 2
Target: One creature per minion. You may not attack the same target multiple times.
Attack: Constitution vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d6 + Constitution modifier damage.
Level 21: 2d6 + Constitution modifier damage.
Skeletal Warrior: You may slide the target 1 square.

Charnel Touch
The touch of your undead minion fills the target with thoughts of death, sapping his will.
At-Will ♦ Implement, Undead, Shadow, Necrotic, Fear
Standard Action Melee undead 1
Target: One creature per minion. You may not attack the same target multiple times.
Attack: Constitution vs. Will
Hit: 1d4 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage. The next attack the target makes before the end of your next turn takes a penalty to the damage roll equal to your Charisma modifier.
Level 21: 2d4 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage.
Looming Shade: If the target is hit, it takes the penalty to the damage roll on all attacks until the end of your next turn.


Thanks Wrecan and Matyr.

 

[BozzNugg]

4e dramatis personae of personal game:

I am currently creating a massive Dark Sun variant campaign using the following Dramatis Personae, which I intend to split into 3 parties in order o play out a branching narrative:

Gotz, The Black Swordsman
Mul
Pit Fighter/Rage-blood Barbarian
Gladiator

Vidocq, The Desert Ghost
Dark Elf (looks kind of like nightscrawler if he was a in the old West)
Hunter-Beastmaster Ranger/Shadowy Rogue
Veiled Alliance

Samael Antara, The Hollow Man
Human
Summoner Wizard/Binder Warlock
Vile Scholar

Elysia Mordenkrad, The Storm Mother
Sunsoul Genasi
Elemental Cleric of Water (Shielding Cleric)
Elemental Priest

Cha’Ka, Khan of the Kiltektet
Thri-Kreen
Iron Soul Monk/Swarm Druid
Primal Guardian

Nimue, Witch of the Wyrding Way
Incunabula of Dregoth (hb race, I have Dregoth standing in for Vecna and he created Incunabula instead of Dray, which were created by Borys)
Necro Phage Necromancer (hb class from the Shadow Done Right wiki and my own designs)
Wyrd (Fatedancer)

Karn, The Last Legion
Warforged (actually a cyborg from one of the moons where a great vampiric nobility exist in a technologically advanced but decaying world)
Warrior Forge Artificer
Alchemist

Captain Cid Harlock, The Pirate King
Eladrin
Resourceful Warlord
Outlaw

Oona M’ke, The Dream-Touched
Kalashtar/Shardmind (hb mash-up of the two races but with Kalashtar flavour appropriate to my setting)
Telepathic Awakened Psion/Soul Knife (hb from greatfrito)
Noble Adept

Taliesin, Who Remembers
Half-Elf
Prescient Bard
Athasian Minstrel or Yakuza

D.(Dracula/Django) Valentine, Inquisitor Iscariot of Guthay
Dhampir (Shade/Vryloka, hb mash-up of the two races with different flavour)
Vampire/Executioner Assassin
Krsnik (hb undead-hunting theme)

Gogo, The Clouded Mirror
Changeling (Pyreen in flavour)
Blue Mage/Mime (hb ff6shadow's version)
Scholar

Mog/Umaru, The Mascot Moogle
Pixie/Minotaur (hb mechanic allows it to transform when bloodied)
Seeker/Warden (keyed to transformation)
Tuathan?

 

[BozzNugg]

Idea for 4e Wilder:

Wilder
Class Traits:

Role: Striker. You channel raw psionic energy to destroy your enemies. You lean toward either defender or controller as a secondary role.
Power Source: Psionic. You have the inborn gift of psionic power. You unleash it by channeling your raw emotions and vitality.
Key Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Charisma
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Hide
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple Melee, Simple Ranged
Implements: Orbs, Staffs
Bonus to Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will
Hit Points at 1st Level: 14 + Constitution score
Hit Points per Level Gained: 6
Healing Surges per Day: 8 + Constitution modifier
Trained Skills: Choose four skills from the list below:
Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Heal, Intimidate, Insight, Perception
Class Features: Wild Surge, Psychic Enervation, Surging Euphoria, Wild Talent, Volatile Mind

Wild Surge: Once per encounter you may expend healing surges to boost your offensive power in the following way. You may spend 1 to 3 surges to gain a +1 to 3 bonus on your next attack. Additionally, for each surge you spend, that attack does extra psychic damage equal to ½ your level to all creatures in the attack’s affected area.

Psychic Enervation: After you use your Wild Surge class feature, you must make a saving throw to avoid becoming enervated. If you spent 1 surge, you make a saving throw. If you fail, you are dazed until the end of your next turn and suffer a -1 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws until the end of your next turn. If you spent 2 surges, you make a saving throw with a -5 penalty. If you fail, you are stunned until the end of your next turn and suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 2 rounds after that. If you spent three surges, you make a saving throw with a -10 penalty. If you fail, you are stunned until the end of your next turn, fall prone, and suffer a -3 penalty on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 3 rounds after that. There is no way to avoid these conditions and penalties apart from succeeding on the initial saving throw.

Surging Euphoria: If you succeed on your saving throw to avoid becoming enervated you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for a number of rounds equal to the number of surges you spent on your wild surge. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level.

Wild Talent: You gain the Psionic Focus class feature which acts like an augmentable at-will power. You also gain 1 power point that may only be used in conjunction with the Psionic Focus class feature.

Psionic Focus: At-will *Psionic Wilder Feature
Standard Action (Special) Personal

Effect: You gain a Psionic Focus for a number of turns equal to your Wisdom modifier. While you retain this focus, you gain one of the following benefits:
o + 5 bonus to one of your trained skills
o + 2 bonus to saving throws
o + 1 square to all movement
o Regeneration equal to your Wisdom modifier

You must expend your Psionic Focus as an additional cost in order to gain one of the following benefits, which you may use at anytime as a free action:
Augment 1: You gain resistance to all damage equal to your 3 + Constitution modifier.
Augment 1: You may shift a number of squares equal to your 3 + Charisma modifier.
Augment 2: You may spend a healing surge and end any ongoing effects and one condition.

Special: You may use this ability a number of times per encounter equal to ½ your Wisdom modifier to a minimum of one.

Volatile Mind: Each Wilder utilizes their inborn gift differently in order to survive in the world allowing them to add additional effects to their attacks, which provide both offensive and defensive bonuses. Choose either Psychic Feedback or Psychic Barrier as your latent gift.

Psychic Feedback: You gain the Psychic Feedback class feature, which acts like an at-will power.
Psychic Feedback: At-will *Psionic, Psychic, Invigorating Wilder Feature
Free Action (Special) Special

Trigger: You hit with an attack during your turn
Target: One creature hit by your attack
Level 11: One or two creatures hit by your attack
Level 21: Each enemy hit by your attack

Effect: The target takes damage equal to your 2 + Constitution modifier.

Special: You can use this power only once per round. Temporary hit points gained from this power stack. The range of this power is the same as the range of the triggering power.

Psychic Barrier: You gain the Psychic Barrier class feature, which acts like an at-will power.
Psychic Barrier: At-will *Psionic, Psychic Wilder Feature
Free Action (Special) Special

Trigger: You hit with an attack during your turn
Target: One creature hit by your attack
Level 11: One or two creatures hit by your attack
Level 21: Each enemy hit by your attack

Effect: The target takes damage equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier and the target of the triggering attack is dazed until the end of your next turn. You gain a +1 bonus to AC and Reflex against the target of your Psychic Barrier class feature until the end of your next turn.
The damage increases by 2 at 11th level and by an additional 2 at 21st level. Increase the bonus to AC and Reflex to +2 at 11th level and to +3 at 21st level.

Special: You can use this power only once per round. The range of this power is the same as the triggering power.

Points of Concern

Armor Prof.: I'm wondering if this is too much to give him hide or perhaps even leather. I purposefully left out a class feature that increased base AC like the Monk and Barbarian has. Likewise, I have no 'ability swap' for AC defense like the sorcerer. The Wilder's Volatile Mind class feature is meant to shore up some of this by providing either temporary hit points or conditional AC bonuses but I'm not sure if this will be unbalancing if they have Hide armour. I chose to include Hide tentatively because like I said there is no feature and the class itself does not key off of Intelligence or Dexterity at all.

EDIT: On second thought, I was looking at the defense bonus provided by Hide and now I wonder if it might be too little without an additional feature. The reason I'm hesitant about another feature is because I feel like that would give the class too many but that might just be in my head.

Surges per Day: I decided to make the class's hit points on the same order as the avenger. The defendery build (Con based) is going to be focused on close blasts, but even the Controllery build (Cha-based) will only be a medium range combatant (utilizing bursts). This relative close range necessitates I feel boosted hit points, especially in light of the relatively weak AC I mention above. I didn't want to give this build as much HP as the Barbarian but due to it's heavy reliance on Healing Surges, I thought it would be appropriate to give the base number of surges as 8 + Con modifier though I might be willing to reduce it to 7 + Con mod if a sound rationale can be found.

Wild Surge: This is one of the things I'm most concerned about balancing, I think having to expend healing surges with the potential for basically being rendered incapacitated for at least one round is a reasonable penalty for using this power and since the additional damage keys off your level, I don't think it will be overwhelming in the advantage it brings, though it will certainly be useful in a pinch.

EDIT: On second thought, I'm wondering if this will be underpowered at lower levels and would invite anyone's thoughts on how to boost its power at low levels while preventing too much boost at the top end. I don't want to do the typical, "Your attack does +1d6 damage. +2d6 at 11th, +3d6 at 21st" That mechanic seems rather trite to me now and really doesn't fit the flavor of what Wild Surge used to be. I thought about making the extra damage 1/2 level + Wisdom modifier psychic but at thirtieth level, that means you'd be doing about 70+ damage with a +8 modifier each encounter. I'd really like to keep it an encounter ability but I'm not sure if that'd be balanced considering it will be targeting areas and not just single targets.... It also occurred to me that I might be better off writing this up as a power rather than as it is. Thoughts? BTW I based this ability loosely off of the barbarian Rage Strike. I feel like it should be slightly more powerful because it has a higher associated cost though, and that was kind of the point in the first place.

Wild Talent:I wanted to make this to essentially be a psionic version of Channel divinity, with racial feats (instead of divine), which present different augment options. I was envisioning it as a way to resurrect the 'Naturally Psionic' and "Psi-Like" abilities of the XPH by allowing PC's to multiclass into Wilder, gain a slightly altered form of this feature and then gain racial augments for it. Beyond that, I wanted something for the actual class that acted in a more or less similar way to the Psion's/Wizard's 'cantrips' but with somewhat more flexibility to reflect the Wilder's more mercurial nature. Moreover, I wanted something approximating the Psionic Focus of 3.x, which you could gain by taking an action to concentrate and then expend for various effects keyed off feats (e.g. Psionic Shot). I feel like this fits well flavor-wise because the Wilder needs more or a focus than other psionic classes to keep it from over-exerting itself.

Volatile Mind: Though these two powers are admittedly slightly more powerful than those given to the monk (which they are based off of) I don't think they are game breaking for subtle reasons. The AC/Reflex bonuses and the temporary hit points are addressed above as a way to shore up defense since the Wilder is lacking those and is intended to be a close to mid-range combatant, the increased damage and dazed effect on the Psychic Barrier are there to balance it with the fact that a Con-based Wilder will have access to powerful Wild Surges more often, while the Cha-based Wilder would other-wise get a bit shafted in that respect.

Over-all I think this could be a very playable class. More than that though, I hope it will be a very flavorful class that is constantly tempting the player to push themselves (via Wild Surge/Surging Euphoria/Augmenting Psionic Focus) while providing very real consequences for not maintaining control of their impulses. Moreover, I like the idea of a Striker that gains his extra damage primarily by managing his personal reserves rather than by using hunter's quarry or warlock's curse things that sort of 'mark' a target. It seems to fit better with not just the Wilder but with 4e psionics overall. I know it's not perfect but I hope you guys like it, let me know if I can tweak anything to make it better! Thanks!

 

[BozzNugg]

4e Artificer Homunculi HB: Hey, so I'm playing a human artificer (homebrew but basically a synthesis of the playtest article and a decent homebrew I found that sought to flesh out the playtest a bit) anyway, I'm playing a human artificer in a party of 3, the other two being a human barbarian and an eladrin feylock. The party seems to work for the most part, we have, for all intents and purposes, a meat-wall, a ranged striker, and a controllery-leader (me). I've adapted the artificer so that it doesn't have the one-size-fits-all healing feature like the cleric and warlord and instead, the feature provides a small amount of either healing or temporary HP plus either a short-term (one round) bonus to all defense scores or selective resistence vs. a kind of damage.

So far, these have been working nicely. His has various utility powers that occasionally provide healing supplement this feature. For what they are, they provide a reasonable alternative to the holy word type feature of the cleric but since our party only has three members, in protracted combat, things have gotten pretty desperate on occasion and we could've really used just a little bit of extra healing. Since we couldn't find a fourth player, I consulted the DM and the party about possibly creating homunculi to supplement healing. These would act as a split between an item and an NPC and provide the benefit of say, a battle standard from the AV as well as small, passive actions in combat. Basically, I wanted to create something that would indirectly help us in combat and so I've made them evasive, low-HP constructs that afford a few passive benefits to the party.

The DM and I looked them over and they seem balanced for our campaign and VERY flavourful for my character (gives me something to do all the time, and capitalizes on my low charisma, allowing me to be a shlubbish mechanic who prefers his own creations to his party mates). However, I wanted to PEACH these just to get some feedback. They're created using a low-level ritual I already have and I can only have 1 at a time, plus 1 for each tier I raise. So max, I have three of these operating. However, as you will see, they're not under my strict control as they are all assigned guarded creatures (allies) and take directives from them.

They're kind of like Aibos now that I think of it, I have two made so far. Since they're based on our present level (5) I made their stats equivalent to a level 6 lurker. The balancing factor is that, in order for them to level we need to invest gold equivalent to the difference between an item of their level and an item of the level we are raising them to, initially, this is less of a cost because there is only one but over time, the cost grows as more are added, balancing the cost/benefit. Here are the two I have made:

Bottle Gnome: Level 6 Lurker
Small natural animate (construct, homunculus)

Initiative: +8 Senses: Perception +8, Darkvision

HP: Special Bloodied: Special

AC: 20 Fortitude: 19 Reflex: 19 Will: 16

Immune: Disease, Poison Speed: 8

Special: During a short rest, a Bottle Gnome’s guarded creature may spend 1 healing surge to activate it. Activating it stores the healing surge in the Bottle Gnome and gives it both a hit point total and hit points equal to the surge value until it is deactivated; it is never considered bloodied. Only one surge may be stored at a time in this way but so long as the Bottle Gnome has 1 hit point, it may be healed using powers or class features. Once a Bottle Gnome reaches zero hit points, it is deactivated and can take no actions unless it again undergoes the activation process as described above. A deactivated Bottle Gnome is considered to be a small intricate object but may be constructed of any metallic material.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Willing Martyr: Arcane, Fire
Standard, encounter (Special) Burst 1

Special: The guarded person must take a standard action to command the bottle gnome to perform this attack. Before Bottle Gnome attacks, it may charge a creature as designated by its guarded person’s command.

Target: All enemies within burst 1 of Bottle Gnome.

Attack: Con + 2 vs. Reflex

Hit: Bottle Gnome deals fire damage equal to its hit point total to the target. Additionally, the target takes ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends). Bottle Gnome’s hit points are reduced to 0 and it is deactivated.
Increase bonus to +4 and ongoing damage to 10 at 11th level. Increase bonus to +6 and ongoing damage to 15 at 21st level.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Fade Away: Illusion
Immediate Reaction, at-will Personal

Trigger: Bottle Gnome takes damage.

Effect: Bottle Gnome turns invisible until either its guarded person physically interacts with it or until the end of its next turn.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Healing Mist: Free Action. As long as a Bottle Gnome is adjacent to its guarded creature and has 1 hit point, the guarded creature may draw any number of temporary hit points from the Bottle Gnome’s hit point total as a minor action.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Healing Aura: Free action. As long as a Bottle Gnome is within 5 squares of its guarded creature and has 1 hit point, that creature gains regeneration equal to 5. This aura is activated and deactivated using a minor action on the part of the guarded person.
If the guarded creature is 11th level or higher, the regeneration is equal to 10. If the guarded creature is 21st level or higher, the regeneration is equal to 15.
__________________________________________________ ___________________

Alignment: Unaligned Languages: -

Skills: Stealth +10

Str: 10 Dex: 18 Wis: 11
Con: 19 Int: 5 Cha: 12

Special: The Bottle Gnome will follow limited commands such as guard, heel, hide, retreat, fetch, or stay if they are given by its guarded person and it will furthermore continue to follow this command until ordered not to. Commanding a Bottle Gnome is typically a minor action unless otherwise noted and a Bottle Gnome can only follow one command at a time. A Bottle Gnome gets its own place in the initiative line-up and during its round it attempts to follow its most recent command as interpreted by the DM.
A Bottle Gnome may be commanded to guard any creature it is attuned to as a minor action. Attuning a Bottle Gnome is a process that takes 1 hour.

Expeditious Messenger: Level 6 Lurker
Tiny natural animate (construct, homunculus)

Initiative: +8 Senses: Perception +12, Darkvision

HP: 24 Bloodied: 12

AC: 20 Fortitude: 16 Reflex: 19 Will: 19

Immune: Disease, Poison Speed: 4, fly 8
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Redirect: Psychic
Immediate interrupt, at-will

Trigger: The Expeditious Messenger is targeted by a melee or ranged attack.

Effect: The Expeditious Messenger makes an attack against the attacker (Dex + 2 vs. Will). If successful, the triggering attack either targets a creature adjacent to the Expeditious Messenger (as determined by the homunculus) or simply misses if no creature is designated. The Expeditious Messenger makes a Sting attack if the enemy who attacked it is adjacent.
Increase bonus to +4 at 11th level and to +6 at 21st level.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Sting: Poison
Immediate action, at-will Melee

Special: This power may only be used in conjunction with the Redirect power. The Expeditious Messenger may shift one square before this attack.

Target: One creature

Attack: Dex + 2 vs. Fortitude

Hit: 1d4 + Charisma modifier poison damage and the target is dazed (save ends)
Increase bonus to +4 and poison damage to 2d4 + Charisma at 11th level. Increase bonus to +6 and increase poison damage to 3d4 + Charisma modifier at 21st level.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Limited Invisibility: Illusion

Effect: The Expeditious Messenger is invisible to Dazed creatures.

Damn, sorry this is also part of the Expeditious Messenger's powers:

Message: Psychic
Standard action, daily (Special)

Special: The Expeditious Messenger’s Guarded Person must take a standard action to command it to take this action.

Effect: The guarded person forms a strong mental connection to the Expeditious Messenger for 1 hour. During this time, the guarded person may telepathically communicate with the Expeditious Messenger so long as the homunculus is within 1 mile of the guarded person. At the behest of the guarded person, the Expeditious Messenger may telepathically relay communications by creating a two-way telepathic link between its guarded person and anyone within 10 squares of the homunculus.

__________________________________________________ ______________________

Tactical Bond: Zone
Standard action, encounter Close Burst 10

Effect: This power creates a zone in close burst 10 centered on the Expeditious Messenger. All creatures within the zone that are attuned to the Expeditious Messenger are able to telepathically relay communication through the Expeditious Messenger to one another. Attuned creatures within the zone automatically know each other’s positions even if they cannot see each other and can furthermore target one another with powers even without line of sight. The effect lasts until the end of the encounter or until the Expeditious Messenger drops to 0 hit points or fewer.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Alignment: Unaligned Languages: -

Skills: Stealth +10, Perception +12

Str: 11 Dex: 19 Wis: 10
Con: 12 Int: 5 Cha: 18

Special: The Expeditious Messenger will follow limited commands such as guard, heel, hide, retreat, fetch, or stay if its guarded person gives them and it will furthermore continue to follow this command until ordered not to. Commanding an Expeditious Messenger is typically a minor action unless otherwise noted and an Expeditious Messenger can only follow one command at a time. An Expeditious Messenger gets its own place in the initiative line-up and during its round it attempts to follow its most recent command as interpreted by the DM.
An Expeditious Messenger may be commanded to guard any creature it is attuned to as a minor action. Attuning an Expeditious Messenger is a process that takes 1 hour.

Read more: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?469070-Index-of-3-X-material#ixzz3n8SopmBF