. Preliminary Note: These rules are basically complete. Excluding
cases where suggestions from others are found fruitful, future
adjustments will mostly constitute:
- Rules-consistency management
- Typo corrections
- Better wording/naming
- Minor stat-adjustments (where such are found appropriate).
INTRODUCTION
Objective: Massive game improvement on numerous aspects.
Question: Why bother creating/using house rules in the first place ?
The reasons are numerous.
• Too many classes: There are dozens of base classes and hundreds of
PrCs, most of which are clones of other classes (and that's without
even mentioning class-dipping). Unfortunately about 70% of those were
worthless trash that left you crying when the wizard in your party
learned how to play (I mean, when you can singlehandedly gate in a
monster that by itself can TPK the whole party – then you know
something's seriously wrong – and that's far from being the only game
breaking spell). The worst part is most of those meant if you picked
things on flavor you practically shot yourself in the foot – twice over.
• Rigid Characters:
Very few character options, once created. I mean, you can't even send a
group of fighters to explore an elaborate dungeon without a single
magical effect in it, hoping they'll make it to the other side and back
alive.
• Rolling for stats/ HP being considered standard. (too many fudged rolls - way too easy to abuse).
• Missing Rules: Too many situations the rules don't address.
• The spell-system: Fire Everything… Fire & Forget / Knowing all class-spells… etc
• Too many added mechanical principles: XPH, MoI, ToB…
• Over Feating: Too many options covered only with certain feats that should be available to everyone.
• Senseless "biomechanical" limitations: Standard action vs. Full Round actions, or the flawed rationale of spell memorization, for instance.
• Uber Gear Dependency:
Back in 2e, a +3 sword that did +1d6 fire damage was a good weapon, now
weapons that don't do +3d6 are considered weak. It's hard to work
around if you use the 3e CR and wealth guidelines, since they are
hardwired into an expected equipment amount per level. In my view,
level-appropriate-gear is a parameter that shouldn't exist. You gat by
with what you've got - magical gear is just an added bonus.
• Game Mastery:
Since there isn't a single class that's decently designed "out of the
box", the only effective way to partially handle the above issues is to
get to memorize as much as possible from as many D&D books as
possible. Take the Beguiler for instance. A very interesting concept,
but confront it with constructs, undead, mindless or godlike INT
opponents and it's totally useless (unless you happen to have read the
right books and know the right draconic feats). This leads to another
major issue…
• Game Breaking Loopholes: The number of ways
to break the game is too great to count. By learning which classes,
skill, feats, spells and items (from which books) scale, one can
produce totally ludicrous stats. These, however always amount to
specific aspects, leaving you with one-dimensional characters that are
quite vulnerable / useless on other aspects.
• Combat Prep Time:
This is perhaps the single most time consuming in-game factor of the
game. As levels accumulate, spellcasters have more and more daily
spells and all characters have more and more ready-to-use magical items
– all available to them for instant burn. The desire for
spell-effects-combo optimization with the need for power conservation
leads to disproportionate time waste, due to the required calculations
& comparisons.
• Retreat & Regroup as a symptom: One of the symptoms that have always really bugged me about D&D throughout its different
incarnations is that when your resources are exhausted you’re compelled to retreat to buy equipment, replenish supplies or lick your wounds.
While I admit this scenario should be a possibility here & there, it should definitely not be routine - and it's not supposed to be up to the DM to
force a sotoryline that will make such strategy a non-option. The option to retreat is not always available or a good Idea.
- Bad guys NPC should seek (and sometimes find) a way to come after a retreating party.
- Monsters can also refuel (and bring in reinforcements via various means)
- The BBEG they were trying to stop from [raising an army / summoning a demon / raining fire from the skies] might have already succeeded and now the PCs / world are now left to face the consequences.
- The PCs could simply come back to an empty dungeon / castle. Inaction should have its own consequences.
The more the characters are versatile and capable, the less it is probable that this should occur on a regular basis.
I remember way too many situations in which, due to
rules-inconsistency, the DM had set the challenges and eventually
spoon-fed us with the solutions (and I'm not even addressing the plot
aspect), or miscalculated the challenges and had to stitch last moment
changes that plain simple felt awkward (e.g. providing magical gear to
open an otherwise dead-end road, and destroying it two sessions later
because of the imbalance it caused). Some situations resulted in the
entire party's demise and took away the momentum from the players for
several months/years - again, all because of flawed rules (e.g. an
8th-level average group destroyed by 2 Bodaks).
The way things are, I see no real practical solution to prevent the above issues from surfacing once in a while.
Question: What exactly distinguishes these house rules from others ?
1. These house rules are the result of a very long process of
exploration. They sum up my personal game experience and countless of
insights I've collected from others.
2. I've been toying with house rules ever since OD&D and my suggestions – when accepted – were always found contributive.
3. I've been doing my homework in reading enormous amounts of houserules suggestions and taking all the replies into account.
4. A lot of ideas I came up with were eventually implemented as the
editions progressed (e.g. 4e HP progression comes quite close to mine,
which was conceived way back in the early days of OD&D – and this
is just one of many examples).
5. I'm addressing all issues without any preferences for certain classes over others.
6. Rules that are born to address the need of the moment usually give a
partial remedy to the problems and often create new problems. With each
modification in these rules, everything else was taken into account, so
the chance of actually messing things up diminishes substantially.
Notes:
• This is NOT an attempt to boost the core game's power level (none of
what you'll see here can scale to some optimized multi-classing builds
I've seen on these boards) and this system rejects the validity of
power play supplements like BoED. It is, however, an attempt to
increase versatility and self sufficiency of each base class (and of
each character as a result). This, of course, would have quite a
dramatic effect on PrCs, and as a thumb rule the guidelines are that a
PrC IS NOT meant to be more powerful than other classes, but rather
more capable on other aspects.
• It is true that "all classes should be balanced vs. each other".
However, balance has many aspects outside of frontal combat. Different
characters have different goals and different classes have different
roles.
Basically, I'm attempting to...
1. Simplify the ever inflating rules resulting from adding more and
more base/prestige classes and mechanics, and offer a dramatic decrease
in management (i.e. no XPH, MoI, ToB, or any other added game
mechanics), while increasing the fun factor – without resorting to
overpowering.
2. Enhance the "real feel" when it comes to "biomechanics" and minimize
the "marvel" feel & touch of the non-magical abilities (e.g. the
Monk no longer receives wacky movement or Slow Fall).
3. Eliminate the need for Game Mastery and Metagaming. This means, to
redefine and re-balance the base classes in a way that would make all
of them VERY worth while taking the full 20-levels stretch - and make
each of them decently built "out of the box", even for players with
very poor background in character design.
4. Try to set things to better reflect the atmosphere of medieval folklore and fantasy literature.
5. Plug the loopholes that allow ridiculously powerful character builds that revolve around boosting hit/damage/AC stats.
6. Create a tangible balance (purely on the mechanical level), where
one can truly feel the indecision between any two classes /
class-combos, freeing players to focus on the theme and leave the time
consuming character-optimization aside. However, even the classes that
are toned down in power will actually increase in versatility.
7. Make a dramatic power shift from magical gear to the characters
themselves and drastically reduce the routine impact of gear on the
power level of characters. This would require even an arbitrary party
of adventurers to be way less dependent upon magical gear to serve as
solution for otherwise dead-end situations. As levels go up, magical
gear should gradually shift from life-saving to a collection of
nice-to-have add-ons.
8. Make the base classes live up to "The Philosophy of Class Design" as much as possible (though some exceptions will be made).
9. Give each class distinct shticks that would elevate it in its field of expertise above all others.
10. Make a dramatic cut-down in the game's routine "Prep for Battle"
factor. You have your class-features / Spell-Options / Equipment /
combat experience... now you can do things on-the-fly (things will
become clear and evident along the way).
Important Note: If at any time someone's under the impression
these rules blindly enhance character power or enable the creation of
broken characters, he/she should first do the following: (I) Open the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler and view the following topics:
- AC
- Evasion
- Hit Points
- Magical Plusses & DR
- Omitted Mechanics (especially: Permanent/Stacking ability-score enhancements by magical means)
- Undead Spawns (II) Try to Understand the content of the following spoilers:
- "...Strain & Tolerance..."
- "Removed / Modified Spells"
- "Scrying, Teleportation & Polymorph Spells and Effects" (III) Go through the "Prestige Classes" entry.
If things still seem imbalanced after that, please let me know.
I will do the following…
1. Redefine some of the game mechanics for simplification, rebalancing,
expanding game options and enhancing the realistic feel (to what extent
it can be in fantasy settings).
2. Add 2 new ability-scores – Agility (AGI) and Perception (PER) – and
redistribute the skills more rationally among 8 ability attributes.
3. Introduce my own perspective regarding spell casting, based on Strain & Tolerance.
4. Redefine / rebalance / retool the base classes, which by core are
grossly underpowered, hopelessly broken or plain simple boring.
5. Remove some of the base classes, for various reasons detailed below.
6. Define solid rules for PrCs and display several sample PrCs, for illustration.
And as a result of the above, the "casualty" base classes (and why) would be:
Already Covered (more or less) by a given revised class / class-combo:
• Barbarian – Savage Warrior
• Beguiler – Mage-Rogue mix
• Dread Necromancer – A Cleric heavily focused on necromancy & undead.
• Favored Soul – Warrior Priest (see Cleric Variants)
• Knight – Warrior wearing full plate (see Armor Mastery feat) and having a royal title
• Ninja – Rogue-Monk mix
• Ranger - Warrior-Druid mix
• Samurai – Warrior wielding a Katana and wearing the proper armor
• Scout – Rogue-Warrior mix
• Swashbuckler – Unfettered Warrior
• Warmage – A Mage focused on blasting
• Woo-Jen – A Mage focused on elemental effects Unnecessary with these game rules: • Sorcerer – The revised
Warlock is in my eyes the true should've-been-Sorcerer, so "Sorcerer"
would be the revised Warlock's new and more appropriate name. Non-viable by these game rules:
• Spirit Shaman – Too much unnecessary added mechanics. Moreover, it
has no unique spell list of its own, its spellcasting category is
impossible to define with these game rules and all of its abilities are
easily replaceable with spells. Lame concept & poor execution:
• Dragon Shaman - See the Dragonfire Adept ("More Stuff Regarding Base-Classes" in Appendix C (entry #9)) for more details.
• Marshal – The Bard and Paladin of these house rules more than cover anything it might have to offer and make it redundant.
• Spell Thief – Invalid in a reality where spells are not prepared in advance (see below). Redefined as a PrC:
• Duskblade - See the Spellblade
• Paladin
Note: Other base/prestige classes can be added to the ones given
below (and are welcome), but a new class should come along with many
characteristics that don't resemble any of the other classes' and
should allow enough customization for filling several roles, but
without adding significant mechanics to the game.
One part of D&D's stats that has always seemed odd to me was that
DEX measured both speed and coordination. I think the two are loosely
tied (much like STR and CON are loosely tied), there are examples of
people who have one but not the other. A marksman is undeniably
dexterous, but he may be "un-agile" (it is beneficial to have fast
reflexes, but your reflexes don't make you a better shot). Similarly,
WIS encompassing your senses as well as your mental resilience seems
odd. I can see some correlation between the two (insane people often
have what could be considered a sensory disorder), but I don't think
the two are directly linked. Someone could have a lot of experience but
still be imperceptive.
Strength
This is a measure of a character's physical power. You add your STR modifier to:
• Damage rolls when using a melee weapon, a thrown weapon, or a composite bow.
• STR checks for breaking objects through force, not an attack (such as bursting chains or bending an iron bar).
• Grapple, Trip, Overrun, and Bull Rush checks (both to perform and to resist).
Your STR score also determines your carrying capacity, and the size of
weapons you can wield without penalties (see the weapons entry below).
STR and damage modifiers:
- Offhand attack: No STR-mod
- 1H attack: normal STR-mod
- 2H attack: double STR-mod
Dexterity
This is a measure of a character's hand-eye coordination. You add your DEX modifier to:
• Melee and Ranged attack rolls (also see "STR-score and Weapon Sizes" in the "Weapons (groups, speed and more)" entry)
• Disable Device*, Hide*, Move Silently, Ride, Sleight of Hand and Use Rope checks.
Agility
This is a measure of a character's energy level, his reflexes and his athleticism. You add your agility modifier to:
• Dodge AC.
• Reflex saving throws.
• Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Jump, Swim and Tumble* checks.
• If higher than your STR, checks to resist Bull Rush, Trips and Overruns.
• For each +3 AGI-mod (rounded down), increase movement by 5ft.
Note: All "quick" creatures with high DEX - using these rules, they gain agility bonus instead.
Constitution
This is a measure of a character's ability to withstand injury and resist poison and disease. You add your CON modifier to:
• Fortitude saving throws.
• Concentration checks.
• Endurance checks to resist fatigue, exhaustion, and damage from environmental effects.
Intelligence
This is a measure of a character's memory and ability to learn, as well
as a character's common sense. You add your INT modifier to:
• The number of languages a character knows at 1st level.
• The number of skill points gained each level.
• Appraise, Decipher Script, Forgery and Spellcraft checks.
Wisdom
This is a measure of a character's mental resilience, mental health and
application of experience to a variety of tasks. You add your WIS
modifier to:
• Will saving throws.
• Autohypnosis*, Craft, Heal*, Knowledge, Signaling* and Survival*.
Perception
This is a measure of a character's senses and awareness to details. You add your perception modifier to:
• Initiative checks.
• Listen, Read Lips*, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks.
• Can also replace agility for AC purposes, for characters with UD class feature.
Charisma
This is a measure of a character's force of personality. You add your charisma modifier to:
• Bluff (& taunt), Diplomacy*, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate* and Perform* checks.
• Certain saves that are checked with CHA modifier.
* A new / modified skill specified below.
Notes
- There was a lot of thought behind this particular distribution. For
instance, if I wish to role someone who's extraordinarily agile, then I
wish it to be agile without it necessarily having to do with him being
a candidate for the world's strongest man, or a master sharp shooter.
Likewise, If I want to serve as the party's sentinel, it means I need
to have incredible perceptive capabilities - i.e. exceptionally
powerful visual & auditory processing - not necessarily someone
with a contemplative mind. The 3.Xe skill distribution does not allow
one to embody a specific aspect, emphasizing a single ability.
- Whenever an ability-score modifier/value is mentioned within these
rules in regards to periodic #uses or as a prerequisite, the numbers
are always derived from the unmodified (permanent) ability score.
- Temporary ability-score enhancements don't boost permanent stats (such as uninjured-HP or SkPts).
Reservations
This adaptation requires a bit of a mind-switch, and quite a lot of
work, if one insists on keeping monsters concurrent with the rules
(something I find unnecessary, since they're disposable, so it isn't
necessary to nail the stats to the decimal).
However . . .:
1. It shouldn't be too difficult to compile the appropriate AGI according to a monster's given STR and DEX scores.
2. Anyone who finds it too much of a burden should ignore this spoiler
and regard AGI as DEX and PER as WIS throughout these house rules.
Non-Classed Character Races and Racial-Paragons
According to the PHB, an individual belonging to a character race has
no existence without picking a class (even a commoner is considered a
class). This, of course, is ridiculous.
Here's an attempt to define typical 0-level characters of the classic character races, and apply 2 racial-paragon levels.
- Each character starts with BAB and all saves at +0 (not counting racial modifiers, of course).
- Paragon levels grant 4 + INT-mod SkPts each (5 + INT-mod for humans).
Racial level Zero (being just an adult specimen) grants the same amount
times 4 (i.e. 16 / 20 + 4*INT-mod), separated from skills gained from
class levels. This takes care of the 1st level SkPts-multiplication
absurdity.
- Zero-level player races have a skill-rank-max of 3, but not all SkPts
must be used prior to taking 1st class level, so a 1st level character
still has skill-rank-max of 4 (5 for humans).
- Each race has skills (racial skills) that count as class skills
regardless of the class the character progresses in. In order to avoid
hardwiring each race to a specific class (skill-wise), zero-level SkPts
are not subject to the retraining constraints of class-levels (see
"Retraining" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler) and may be
fully assigned to the 1st class a character progresses in (meaning each
1st-level character has both class-skills and racial-skills among which
to distribute his SkPts as he sees fit).
- Divided Ancestry is a racial trait of half-human races from the get
go. One does not need Paragon levels in his half-race to progress
Paragon levels in any of his parent races.
- Any paragon ability that's not detailed / commented here is taken as is from UA.
- Unlike level advancement of a base/prestige class, taking a paragon
level requires no training and is effective immediately (see "Character
Creation & Advancement" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler).
- At character creation, the player starts as an adult of his chosen
race and may choose his 1st class level. This level can be of one of
the base classes or a racial paragon level. Note: I deliberately omitted spellcasting progression from
Paragon levels, since it is too much counter-intuitive to presume
spellcasting to be an inherent racial trait, plus it's inconsistent,
since you might not get it – and then you get nothing in exchange).
Dwarf HP: 8 at Zero level; 5 at paragon levels Class Skills: Appraise, Balance, Concentration, Craft, Disable Device, Knowledge (architecture and engineering / dungeoneering). Racial Traits changes:
Dwarves can't tumble while wearing heavy-armor - unless they take heavy
armor mastery (see the new feats below)). Dwarves possess Infravision
rather than Darkvision. Paragon Levels (BAB: good ; Good Saves: Fort) 1st: Improved Infravision (+30 ft.), Improved Stonecunning 2nd: Ability boost (Con +2), Save Bonus *
* Change to +4.
Elf HP: 6 at Zero level; 4 at paragon levels Class Skills: Climb, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot and Survival. Racial Traits changes:
Ability modifiers are: CHA & DEX +2 / STR-2. Elves never age beyond
"Old" category. They're immune to magical aging and have an unlimited
lifespan. Elves are also immune to non-magical diseases. Auto-detection of secret doors is omitted. Paragon Levels (BAB: average ; Good Saves: Ref) 1st: Elfsight *, Ability Boost (INT +2) 2nd: Resist Enchantments, Ability Boost (CHA +2)
* Change the skill bonuses to +4
Gnome HP: 6 at Zero level; 4 at paragon levels Class Skills: Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Forgery, Listen and Spot. Racial Traits changes:
120ft Darkvision (Gnome – originally "Genomos" – means "earth-dweller")
and Lowlight vision as potent as that of dragons. Speak with Animals is
replaced with the Whisper Gnome's Silence (Whisper Gnome doesn't
exist), which makes you qualify for Silencing Strike and Extra Silence
feat (RoS). The other spell-like abilities are not CHA-score dependant. Paragon Levels (BAB: average ; Good Saves: Fort & Will) 1st: Keen Senses *, Bonus Feat: Piercing Sight (RoS) 2nd: Eyes of the Underdark, Ability boost (CHA +2)
* Spot is also modified.
- Eyes of the Underdark:
The Gnome can now see in the dark as well as in broad daylight, but
with no colors distinction. He can also pierce 60ft of magical darkness
around him, through which he sees as well as a human in low lighting
conditions.
Half-Elf HP: 8 at Zero level; 5 at paragon levels Class Skills: Bluff, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, Knowledge (local) and Sense Motive Racial Traits changes: Gain +2 competence modifier to ALL racial skills (offsets them having no societies and being somewhat outcast). Paragon Levels (BAB: average ; Good Saves: Ref) 1st: Elven Vision, Bonus Feat 2nd: Persuasion *, Ability Boost (+2)
* Diplomacy and Gather information gain an inherent +2 bonus. All other CHA-based skills gain an inherent +1 bonus.
Half-Orc HP: 10 at Zero level; 6 at paragon levels Class Skills: Climb, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Ride, Swim and Survival. Racial Traits changes:
Also gain +2 to CON, +3 on all Intimidate checks and +2 to all Survival
checks. Half-Orcs possess Infravision rather than Darkvision. Paragon Levels (BAB: good ; Good Saves: Fort) 1st: Bonus Feat: Rage, Monstrous Mien 2nd: Improved Infravision (+30 ft.), Ability Boost (STR +2)
Halfling HP: 6 at Zero level; 4 at paragon levels Class Skills: Climb, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Hide, Move Silently, Ride and Use Rope Racial Traits changes: Base land speed is set to 25. Halflings also gain a +2 competence bonus to Balance and Ride. Paragon Levels (BAB: average ; Good Saves: Ref) 1st: Thrown Weapon Mastery, Athletic Prowess * 2nd: Ability Boost (DEX +2), Save Bonus
* The bonus increase is assigned to Balance, Climb, Jump and Swim (which better represent athleticism).
Human HP: 8 at Zero level; 5 at paragon levels Class Skills: Any 7 skills Racial Traits changes:
Also has +1 skill-cap at all levels compared to other races, and gets
+2 to an ability score of choice (but not to the point of exceeding
racial limit 18). Paragon Levels (BAB: average ; Good Saves: Will) 1st: Bonus Feat: Any, Bonus Feat: Able Learner 2nd: Skill Supremacy, Ability boost (+2)
- Skill Supremacy: The Human-Paragon's skill-cap limit is stretched by +1 (+2 for human, +1 for half-human).
//-- Orc Paragon Levels (BAB: good ; Good Saves: Fort) 1st: Greater Infravision (+60ft), No light sensitivity. 2nd: Elf Slayer *, Ability Boost (STR +2)
* The Orc paragon gains Signature Enemy (Elf) as a bonus feat (see the
"New Feats" spoiler), even if he doesn't meet the prerequisites.
Disable Device (DEX, Trained Only)
Disable Device and Open Lock boil down to single skill - Disable
Device. The DC for un/locking a lock is always +5 to the given value.
This actually makes locks a lot harder to handle properly than just
jamming an arbitrary device. The DC for jamming a lock is actually -5
to the given value. Jamming a lock is relatively easy.
Hide (DEX)
Hiding is not just a matter of being totally out of sight – it's also
about timing and positioning (e.g. going behind someone's back, or
passing when no one's looking at your direction) – people actually do
such things IRL. However, in the absence of cover, it's much more
difficult to hide successfully, and when observed, you must really be a
wizard at hiding to escape someone's notice. Therefore, the following
options are open to anyone who's "good enough" at hiding:
• Camouflage: There's no terrain requirement, but you must beat the best Spot check by 10 points or more.
• Hide in Plain Sight:
HiPS is a skill-trick that requires 12 ranks in Hide and 5 ranks in
Bluff & Sense Motive. To successfully benefit from HiPS, you must
beat the best Spot check by 15 points or more
Perform (mimic) (CHA, Trained Only)
As a standard action, you can imitate almost any sound (footsteps, a
door opening or closing, or two people fighting). You cannot simulate
anything louder than a shout or duplicate the sound of any magical
effect like a banshee's wail. Use the Perform skill opposed by the
audience's Listen skill to be convincing
Profession (siege engineer) (WIS)
Each rank is attributed to a different siege weapon.
5 ranks cover them all (Ballista, Heavy Catapult, Light Catapult, Ram & Siege Tower)
Read Lips (PER, Trained Only)
You can understand what others are saying by watching their lips. You must be able to see them speak and understand the speaker’s language. The base DC is 10. Add +5 to the DC for complex speech, an inarticulate speaker and for each 10ft distance.
You have to concentrate on reading lips for a full round before making the skill check, and you can’t perform some other action during this minute. You can move at half speed but not any faster, and you must maintain a line of sight to the lips being read. If the check succeeds, you can understand the general content, but you usually still miss certain details. If the check fails, you can’t read the speaker’s lips. If the check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion about the speech.
Read Lips is a class skill to Bards and Rogues.
Search & Survival (PER & WIS respectively)
Track feat uses Search skill rather than Survival (you're searching for discrepancies in the landscape)
You need at least 1 Survival rank in a given terrain (including urban) in order to track
Signaling (WIS, trained only) (smoke/lights/mirrors/tapping...)
This skill uses the same mechanics given for Innuendo (see the "New
Feats" spoiler), except both sides need to be successful for the
message to go through and the communication cannot be concealed from
someone who can read the signs
Signaling is a class skill to Bards, Clerics (elementalist), Druids, Rogues and Witchs.
Tumble (DEX, Trained Only)
- Tumbling in a threatened area:
Roll once. The DC is 10 + BAB of the threatening opponent(s). Evaluate
separately against each opponent. It's more realistic that you usually
manage to elude some and some still get a crack at hitting you (and DC
15 gets way too easy at higher levels)
- Moving through occupied space: DC = [20 + BAB + DEX-mod]
- Avoiding an AoO: A swift action. DC = [the "to-hit" result]
Use Magic Device
Omitted – see "Magical Items' Creation – Redefinition"
New skill synergies:
- Bluff syn. to Innuendo (fool others)
- Craft (locksmithing) syn. to Disable Device
- Heal syn. to +K HP to all healing spells, where K = [Synergy value * Spell-Level]
- Perform (acting) syn. to Bluff.
- Perform (dance) syn. to Balance & Tumble
- Perform (oratory) syn. to Diplomacy & Intimidate
- Profession (herbalist) syn. to Heal
- Profession (sailor) syn. to Use Rope & Balance (in unstable ground)
- Sense Motive syn. to Innuendo (deliver message to target)
- Sleight of Hand syn. to Use Rope.
- Survival syn. to Searching for tracks in the specified area (also makes Survival viable for granting synergies in multiple landscapes)
Note: Every time a skill name appears within these house rules with a number attached, the number indicates a skill rank.
Feats
Omitted Feats
By Categories
Extra Slot: Inappropriate mechanics according to these rules.
Faith Feats (CDiv): No faith points under these rules.
Luck feats: Any feat that increases/adds stats/rolls based on luck/karma/watchful spirits/divine intervention.
Multi Class-Feature advancement (e.g. Ascetic Mage): Multi-Class-Feature advancements are done via PrCs.
Sudden Metamagics (CA): See the "Spellcasting, Spells & Domains" entry below.
Reserve feats (CM): These house rules provide all the spellcasting versatility one might need.
Spellcasting feats: Feats that let you cast spells from
spell-levels beyond your caster level. This restriction does not
include feats that grant spell-like abilities.
PHB I
Brew Potion: See the Witch class's "Witch's Cauldron" feature (entry #7).
Combat Expertise: See "Combat-Stats Manipulation" entry under "Game Mechanics and Misc. Issues".
Combat Reflexes: See "Actions" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler.
Dodge: Plain simple a scrap feat.
Great Cleave: See the modified Cleave.
Heighten Spell: See the Spellcasting entry
Improved/Greater TWF: See the redefined TWF rules (see below).
Improved Critical: See the modified critical rules in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler.
Improved Initiative: Add base Ref-save bonus to initiative instead.
Maximize Spell: It makes no sense to "un-randomize" an effect that's dependent upon so many factors.
Natural Spell: See the Druid's "Spellcasting" details.
Point Blank Shot: PBS is plain simple targeting something within 1st range multiplier distance.
Scribe-Scrolls: Not a feat. It's available to Clerics and Mages but to no other base class.
Silent/Still/Quicken Spell: See the Mage base-class spoiler.
Simple/Martial/Exotic Weapon Proficiency: see the Weapons entry below.
Spell Mastery: Permanent spell memorization is already covered – see the Mage base class below.
Spring Attack: See "Multiple Attacks and Movement" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler.
PHB II
Adaptable Flanker: Complicates the combat scene and gameflow.
Bonded Familiar: This type of bond never exists under these rules.
Brutal Strike: Makes no sense, especially since it's not damage/creature related.
Combat Acrobat: Plane simple unnecessary (there are skill feats that do it better).
Combat Focus: See Warrior's 3rd-level class feature.
Combat Strike: See Warrior's 15th-level class feature.
Crushing Strike: See Lightning Mace (weapon style).
Fiery Fist: See Ki Reinforce.
Ki Blast: Crappy feat.
Leap of the Heavens: You don't get momentum bonus when you have no momentum.
Lunging Strike: See "Multiple Attacks and Movement" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics " spoiler.
Mad Foam Rager: This kind of effect requires supernatural abilities (see the revised Monk below).
Robilar's Gambit: The Warrior class (see the 2nd classes entry) already gains this ability at no penalty.
Short Haft: This is how Polearms function, but they cannot be used in confined spaces.
Telling Blow: SA II automatically counts as critical.
Tumbling Feint: Tumbling to avoid AoOs… To augment feint… to augment Attack roll(!) Way too complicated.
TW-Pounce: This is already covered by the revised TWF rules.
CAdv
Brutal Throw: STR is not used for hit rolls
Danger Sense: Natural perception capabilities don't have #uses.
Dual Strike: See "Multiple Attacks and Movement" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler.
Lingering Song: See Arcane Accompaniment (PHB II) below
Pierce Magical Concealment/Protection: Physical abilities cannot grant the ability to ignore magical concealment/barriers.
Versatile Performer: Just because it makes no sense (why should oratory skills have any bearings on how you play the violin?).
CArc
Chain Spell: All feats that affect spellcasting itself are omitted. Each spellcasting class in these house rules has different means
of dealing with the drawbacks of conventional spellcasting.
Heighten Spell-Like Ability: For the same reason Heighten Spell is omitted
Practiced Spellcaster: I see this feat as a cheap min-max tool.
If one so chooses to take levels in other classes for more options or a
PrC – it WILL come at the expense of caster level. These are the
player's calculations to make and decide upon.
Silent/Still Spell-Like Ability: There's no "Sublime Ability". Nevertheless, Quicken Spell-Like is still an option (swift-action once / round, up to 3/day).
Twin Spell: See "Chain Spell".
CW
Monkey Grip: animatic
Quick Staff (weapon style): Already defined for the quarterstaff.
Shock Trooper: See the redefined Combat Brute.
Spinning Halberd: Use the redefined TWF rules (see below).
TW-Defense: Use the redefined TWF rules (see below).
Modified Feats
By Categories
Skill-Feats A skill-feat makes the two selected skills
class-skills regardless of class. Furthermore, the bonuses granted by
skill-feats actually count as skill-ranks for all intents and purposes.
Skill-feats never stand by themselves as requirements for anything, as
all they do is improve your aptitude regarding the selected skills -
it's the ranks that count.
PHB I
Cleave [BAB +4]
A standard action that doesn't require felling an opponent and is limited by the max #Att you can make in a given round.
You may Cleave after each successful hit, but no more than your #Att/DEX-mod (whichever is higher).
You can only Cleave an opponent who's adjacent to your opponent and is
within your regular reach (specialized reach weapons cannot cleave)
while Power Attacking.
Cleave is momentum based, meaning piercing attacks deny this option.
Combat Reflexes [base Ref +3]
Allows you to take immediate actions while flatfooted, but you must be
aware of your opponent and technically able to react (e.g. a human
usually cannot deflect an attack while climbing).
Diehard
You also gain +2 increase to all Endurance derived bonuses.
Improved Bull Rush
DOES NOT have PA as prereq, but it DOES require STR 13+.
Improved Disarm
If you have a free hand when you successfully disarm an opponent, you
may make a DC 15 reflex save to catch the weapon in your free hand, or
cause the weapon to fall into any space adjacent to you.
Maximize Spell
Damage of area-effects can't be maximized (too many random factors).
Mounted Combat [Ride 4]
Encompasses Ride-By Attack in it. Protecting your mount is an immediate action, not a free action.
Power Attack [STR 13+]
You may swap DEX-mod for STR-mod when it comes to hit rolls with 1H/2H / large / huge weapons.
You may also trade this STR-based hit-bonus altogether and gain it as damage bonus.
Skill Focus [4 skill ranks, there is a case in which the skill allows "take-10"]
This feat makes the chosen skill a class skill for you, for all
classes. Furthermore, it grants a +4 bonus to that skill and allows you
to take 10 when performing it, even while rushed or threatened.
Spell Mastery [Mage]
A Mage may add [1 spell per spell level] to his permanently known
spells. This feat may be taken only once and the benefit persists with
level progression. Writer's note: Taking the already given amount of known spells
for the Mage (see the "Mage" spoiler), this modification to the core
feat streamlines things up, makes retraining relevant only as far as
the selection per-level goes and doesn't cause an irrational leap of
memory capacity (taking Spell Mastery at 1st level and retraining again
& again up to level 18).
Toughness
Gives 3HP + 1HP per level. Toughness can be taken [1 + BAB/10] times at most.
TWF
You gain one extra attack and can either strike interchangeably, or save the offhand attack for last.
Hitting with both weapons interchangeably equalizes the offhand's
attack bonus to that of the primary hand (if you have Ambidexterity,
otherwise, the offhand attack takes a -4 hit penalty), penalizing all
attacks by -2 to hit.
By saving the offhand attack for last, you don't receive any penalties
to your primary attack and you gain 1 extra attack at your second
highest attack bonus.
A 20th level fighter with TWF and Ambidexterity that hold 2 small
weapons thus has +18/+18 / +13/+13 / +8/+8. The same fighter, saving
the extra attack for last, would have the following attack bonuses:
+20/+15/+10/+5/+0 / +15 (or +11 without Ambidexterity).
With both methods, if you wield 2 separate weapons, you do not need to make a full round action to gain an offhand attack.
You can refrain from attacking with the offhand weapon and use it to
feint, or to “aid self” on your primary attack the same way as aid
another works.
Double weapons cannot strike interchangeably, but they also don't require Ambidexterity. Note I: 2WF is technique based, not DEX based. There's no prerequisite. Ambidexterity just makes it much more effective. Note II: Improved / Greater Two Weapon Fighting feats are
irrelevant with this approach. TWF and Ambidexterity (see below) are
practically all there is to say about wielding 2 weapons in combat. Oversized TWF: Basically (see the exception to this rule in the
"Weapon Sizes and Weapon Speed" spoiler of entry #4), when wielding 2
1H/2H category weapons (or 1H/2H in the offhand and not ambidextrous),
you gain no bonus whatsoever and lose 1 attack from the larger weapon
(and take all TWF penalties).
That's why no one in history has ever wielded 2 bastard swords or 2 war axes in combat - plain simple: too cumbersome.
Weapon Finesse [BAB +3, proficiency with any finesseable weapon]
You may add your DEX-mod to damage when wielding a finesseable weapon, instead of your STR-mod.
Weapon Focus (and WF tree)
See alternative description in the "Warrior" spoiler.
Whirlwind Attack [BAB +6, Balance 4, Cleave, Mobility]
Works according to the SRD, but is inapplicable with piercing damage.
PHB II
Arcane Accompaniment: Renamed "Lingering Song".
Combat Awareness (combat form) [Combat Focus class feature]
This ability's blindsense stacks with blindsense from any other source.
Combat Defense (combat form) [Combat Focus class feature]
+1 dodge AC during Combat Focus for each Combat Form feat taken (including Combat Defense, max +4).
Combat Stability [Combat Focus class feature]
No change except the prereq.
Combat Vigor [Combat Focus class feature]
No change except the prereq.
Crossbow Sniper [BAB +3 , Far Shot , Precise Shot , Weapon Proficiency (any crossbow)]
You add your DEX-mod to damage when using a crossbow. If you have SA
ability, the maximum range at which you can make such attacks increases
to 3 times the weapon's range multiplier.
Driving Attack: Cannot be implemented with Small/Tiny weapons (see the weapons entry below).
Melee Weapon Mastery
Renamed "Weapon Mastery" and applicable to the selected weapon's group (melee/range), not damage type.
Penetrating Shot: Limited to 1 target per STR bonus (minimum
between your STR-mod and the bow's modifier) and requires a composite
long/short bow.
Spell-Linked Familiar: The witch can cast a spell through its
familiar (the familiar repeats the Witch's actions and the spell energy
is channeled through it).
TW-Rend: The extra damage = [1d6 + 2 * STR-mod].
CAdv
Brachiation: Not usable in medium/heavy load or heavy armor.
Disguise Spell: May not be used in conjunction with metamagic feats.
Improved Swimming: Also grants +4 to all swim checks.
Jack of All Trades: Min. skill-rank equivalency = 1/2 max cc
rank of current level. For instance, at level 6, it would allow you to
treat a skill you had no ranks in (such as Decipher Script) as having 2
ranks.
Cooperative Spell: Maxes out at 6 casters. If any of the casters is disrupted, the spell is lost.
Draconic Heritage: Also grants you 2 ranks in Speak Language (Draconic).
Draconic Skin: Increases your Natural Armor by 2.
Extra Invocation
You can never have more than a single extra invocation per invocation category (least/lesser/greater/dark).
That way, it is still viable at lower levels for those that want it,
doesn't step on the toes of 1st level parties, and stands shoulder to
shoulder with the effects other classes will be throwing around. This
also overrides the need for keeping track and determining retraining
restrictions.
CDiv
Disciple of the Sun: Spend 2 turning attempts at once to gain a 2-level boost + Daylight illumination for [1 + CHA-mod] rounds.
Divine Spell Power: The Cleric gains +1 caster level increase for each 6 class-levels (rounded down).
CW
Anvil of Thunder (weapon style): Improved Sunder prerequisite is omitted.
Arcane Strike: Limited to once / round as a swift action. By RAW
(free actions) it has no limit on #uses (multiple applications to
multiple strikes in a combat turn).
Bear Fang (weapon style): Has Improved Grapple instead of Power Attack as a prerequisite.
Clever Wrestling: has Improved Grapple instead of Improved Unarmed Strike as its prerequisite.
Combat Brute [STR 15+, BAB +4, Improved Bull Rush]
This feat grants the following options
- Directed Push: you can Bull Rush your opponent on a diagonal axis and not just straight forward to you.
- Explosive Power: you can Bull Rush from a stand still.
- Toss:
You can make an automatic trip attempt against a successfully
bull-rushed opponent at the end of your Bull Rush distance. Even if
successfully tripping, you're not entitled to an additional attack.
Crescent Moon (weapon style): Rapier is also an acceptable weapon (and Rapier was the weapon used for this style IRL).
Dash: Once per round, you may add 10ft to your speed when moving
as a standard/full-round action. You can do this a number of times per
day equal to your CON-score. Also, your overall land movement speed is
increased by 10ft when traveling.
Formation Expert: Step into the Breach requires an unobstructed
path to where your ally fell, instead of as written. Wall of Polearms
also grants a +2 damage bonus against charging or mounted foes (+4
damage to charging mounted foes) under the indicated circumstances.
Hammer’s Edge (weapon style): Improved Bull Rush is omitted.
Improved Familiar: Goes with the territory of gaining levels as a Witch. All presented monsters in CW, FrCS, PGtF, RoF and CSco are good to go.
Improved Rapid Shot: Doesn’t have Manyshot as prerequisite, but does have BAB +4.
Lightning Mace: Requires BAB +6, but for each successful hit, your next attack roll (within your combat turn) gains a cumulative +1.
Net & Trident (weapon style): With Quick Draw & Ambidexterity, you can draw an alternative offhand weapon and use it in the full attack.
Phalanx Fighting: Does not require you to use a light weapon.
Prone Attack: Doesn’t have Lightning Reflexes as a prerequisite, but does have BAB +5.
Raptor School: Each +10 to the DC adds another +2 to damage.
Hawk's eye bonus is not wasted after 3 rounds have passes (the edge is
maintained as long as the target is being observed).
Sun School: Flash of Sunset allows attacks according to the remaining combat-turn action-quota.
Three Mountains (weapon style): Does not have Improved Bull Rush as a prerequisite. DC = [10+BAB+STR-mod]
New Feats
Ambidexterity [DEX 15+]
Offhand counts as primary hand (STR-mod to damage on primary and
secondary attack). It also allows you to switch hands if one is
disabled, without suffering penalties. Without this feat, your offhand
always takes a -4 hit penalty (on top of the -4 hit penalties to both
hands without TWF).
Armor Mastery (medium) [BAB +4, STR 15+, Medium Armor Proficiency]
Medium armor no longer hinders your base land speed and your max-DEX
increases by +1 when wearing any type of light/medium armor.
Armor Mastery (heavy) [BAB +9, STR 19+, Heavy Armor Proficiency, Armor Mastery (medium)]
Heavy armor no longer hinders your base land speed and your max-DEX
increases by +1 when wearing any type of armor (stacking with Armor
Mastery (medium)).
Dwarves: A Dwarf can take heavy armor mastery at BAB +6 and doesn't need med. armor mastery.
Armor Specialization
Choose one specific type of armor you are proficient with that doesn't
hinder your land speed. When wearing that armor type, your armor check
penalty is reduced by 2, your max-DEX bonus is increased by 1 and your
ASF is decreased by -10%. This feat can be taken multiple times, to be
applied to different armor types.
Armor Optimization [Armor Specialization]
Your experience with your armor of choice has taught you how to receive
blows in a manner that will penetrate your armor's defenses less
efficiently, effectively increasing your armor AC with your armor of
choice by +2.
Charge Breaker [BAB +4]
When readying your weapon against a charge, you gain +4 to hit an
opponent that's charging you. If you hit, you deal double damage (or
triple damage with a spear).
Close Combat Archery [BAB +6, Precise Shot, Shot on the Run]
You can attack with a Bow (any type) or tossed objects even while threatened and not provoke AoOs.
Combat Grip [Combat Focus class Feature]
You have been trained to guard your weapon from being manipulated by your foes.
Add +4 to your defensive opposed roll vs. maneuvers that target your weapon, such as Deflect, Disarm and Sunder.
If you have 2 additional Combat Form feats, this bonus is increased to +8.
Crossbow Sniper [BAB +3 , Far Shot , Precise Shot , Weapon Proficiency (any crossbow)]
You add your DEX-mod to damage when using a crossbow. If you have SA
ability, the maximum range at which you can make such attacks increases
to 3 times the weapon's range multiplier.
Double Step [Tumble 6, Jump 9]
When in light or no armor and light loaded, you can take a 10ft step instead of the usual 5' step.
Dragonscale Husk [Dragonfire Adept* level 2]
Works as the feat of the same name (DrMg; p.12), but has nothing to do with armor proficiencies.
The armor benefit of this feat, when applied, overlaps with the DFA's scales. Furthermore, the energy resistance part is ignored, as it's related to the DFA's skin and flesh, not his scales.
* see "More Stuff Regarding Base-Classes" in Appendix C (entry #9) for more details.
Dual Dragonborn Aspect [Dragonborn-of-Bahamut (RotD) racial template]
You "burn" a general feat slot to emerge from the rite of birth with 2
Dragonborn racial aspects. You can also sacrifice 2 general
feat slots to gain all 3 aspects.
You cannot trade a feat that's a prerequisite to any of your character's features.
Dungeon Crasher [BAB +3 , Knowledge (dungeoneering) 6, Improved Bull Rush]:
As detailed in Dungeonscape.
Dungeon Juggernaut [BAB +6 , Knowledge (dungeoneering.) 9, Dungeoncrasher, Combat Brute]
As detailed for the Improved Dungeon Crasher ASF in Dungeonscape
("Improved..." is highly unimaginative and is reserved for specific
maneuvers).
Favored Enemy [Knowledge (according to the relevant monster group) 4]
You learn the movements and soft points of a particular group of
creatures (as given for the core Ranger). Add +2 to initiative, +1 to
hit, +1 to AC and +2 to damage (precision damage - not always
applicable) against your favored enemy. This feat can be taken multiple
times. Each time it is assigned to a different group of opponents.
Forceful Combat [Cleave, Combat Brute, Improved Sunder]
- Advancing Blows:
When successfully bull-rushing an opponent, on the next round you gain
+1 hit and to all opposed rolls (feint/disarm/trip/…) for each 5ft he
was pushed.
- Domino Effect: when successfully Bull Rushing
an opponent with at least 10ft running start, if there’s someone behind
him that you can Bull Rush, you can "Toss" (see the redefined Combat
Brute feat) both of them.
- Sundering Cleave: When
attacking an opponent's weapon, shield or other held object, if the
object is broken, you can immediately make another attack against the
same opponent or another object he holds.
Graceful Defense [BAB +4, CHA 13+, Mobility]
When wearing light/no armor (or med. armor with Armor Mastery), you add
your CHA-mod as dodge bonus to AC. This technique cannot be combined
with shield defense.
Horde Breaker [Cleave, BAB +8]
As a full round action, you may take a bonus 5ft. step every time you are
entitled to a Cleave attack, which you may take either before or after
the attack (but not both in between 2 cleaving attacks).
Improved Deflect [BAB +4, Iron Strike / Monk level 1 / Weapon Focus]
A successful deflection allows an immediate retaliation with the same
maneuver and at the same attack bonus. If your attack deals damage, the
attacker also losses his next immediate attack (if any left before his
next action).
Innuendo [Bluff 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4]
This feat allows you to utilize Bluff, Sense Motive & Spot for
gaining the use of Innuendo described in the PHB. It's simply a
separate field of practice, so it requires a feat, but it grants other
options that are not specifies in the PHB:
- With a successful DC 30 check you're able to relay detailed messages
(such that require specific locations, people, times etc).
- With 20 or more ranks in Innuendo, you're so attuned to conversations
with secret messages that noticing them becomes effortless. Within 30ft
of a conversation containing a secret message, you're entitled to a
check to intercept the transmitted message as if actively listening for
it (might require a successful Listen check).
Iron Lungs [Endurance, Swim 4 ranks]
You had extensive training holding your breath. You double the duration
you can hold your breath in all situations. You also gain +2 competence
bonus to all Swim checks.
Iron Strike [Improved Unarmed Strike]
Your Unarmed Attack does lethal damage.
To figure the damage, treat your BAB (+1/+8/+16) as if it were a Monk's level (see the revised Monk, entry #6).
Ki Extend (Su) [Channeled Ki class feature, Ki Reinforce]
The monk can make ranged unarmed attacks, dealing fire/force damage, with a range multiplier of 10ft.
Ki Reinforce (Su) [Ki Strike class feature]
As a move action that doesn't provoke AoOs, The monk can spend 1 Ki
point and make a Concentration check to imbue his attacks with a
special Ki that deals force damage, based on the check result as given
below:
Code:
Up to 15: +1d6
16-25: +2d6
26-30: +3d6
31-35: +4d6
36+: +5d6 + the opponent saves or is knocked
Last Stand [Diehard, Base Fort save +5]
Once a day per WIS-mod you may call upon your inner reserves to perform
a Last Stand. You're rendered immune to fear and may continue fighting
until you're dead. You cannot voluntarily end the effect or retreat
while performing Last Stand, but you can cease if you opponents
surrender and you have allies to take care of them.
Numbing Rage [CON 15+, Base Fort save +5, Rage]
While you are in rage you are immune to extra damage and penalties
(such as movement restrictions from caltrops) stemming from pain.
Non-lethal damage and its effects are postponed until the end of the
rage.
Persistent Spell [Extend Spell]
Spells affected by this metamagic have their duration increased 10 times normal, to a maximum of 24 hours.
Spells with concentration, instantaneous, or permanent duration are unaffected by this feat.
Spells whose effects are discharged still end normally when they are discharged.
A persistent spell counts as a spell of 2 levels higher than the spell’s actual level.
Pierce the Wind [BAB 6+, Concentration 4, Far Shot, Precise Shot]
When firing in windy conditions, you may treat the wind as if it was
two levels milder. This allows you to fire through a Wind Wall or
similar effects.
Poison Use
You have undergone extensive training of how to deal with poisonous
substances and are never in danger of self poisoning when applying
poison to a held weapon.
Rage [CON 15+]
This feat is applicable once / hour. In a state of rage you act
recklessly. You move fast but your intentions are predictable. You
strike hard but at the cost of precision. Raged characters and
creatures gain +4 STR & CON and +2 to initiative & Will saves,
but suffer -2 to hit, AC & Ref saves. Rage stacks with Combat Stats
Manipulation ("Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler).
Ramming Shoulder Butt [Monk level 1 / Iron Strike, Combat Brute, Power Attack]
This feat combines 3 combat maneuvers (unarmed strike, Bull Rush & Overrun) into a single devastating force.
You can slam your shoulder into a target, doing damage equal to 2
unarmed strikes plus the extra charging damage (see " Multiple Attacks
and Movement" in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler).
For this maneuver, you're counted as one size category larger. If
successful, you may elect to move with your target or remain in the
location of impact.
Note: This maneuver draws power from the ground and does not work in conjunction with feats like Leap Attack.
Rending Thrust [BAB 8+, Weapon Mastery: Spears]
Whenever you successfully deal damage with a Spear (or Spear-based
weapon) that's held 2H, you may choose to forfeit your next attack roll
(requires having an available attack to "burn") and deal the weapon's
base-damage as extra slashing damage. If the target can "bleed" (i.e.
mostly living creatures), it must make a reflex save (DC = [10 + 1/2
your BAB + your STR-mod]) or receive a wound that bleeds 1HP/round for
1d4+1 rounds.
Multiple rends cause multiple bleeding effects
Sharp Shooter [Far Shot, Precise Shot]
You can spend a move action to negate the benefit of
Deflect/Snatch-Arrow or any other feat that grants (or is based on one
that grants) defensive bonuses against ranged attacks.
[b]Signature Enemy[/b] [Favored Enemy, Knowledge (monster group) 6]
Add +2 to initiative, +1 to hit, +1 to AC and +2 to damage against a
particular type of foe that belongs to one of your Favored Enemy
groups. This feat can be taken multiple times. Each time it is assigned
to a different type of opponent.
Slashing Flurry [BAB +6]
When making a standard action attack or a full round action attack with
a slashing weapon (or a pair of slashing weapons), you can make an
additional attack at your highest attack bonus with a slashing melee
weapon as part of a standard / full attack, albeit this attack and all
other attacks are made at a -3 hit penalty.
Snatch Thrown Weapon [BAB +4, Base Ref +5, DEX 15+]
You can catch a weapon thrown at you (but not a missile shot from a
device) as an immediate action and throw it back at the attacker, using
your own attack roll (full BAB).
For doing so the defender must match (or beat) his opponent's attack roll.
Spinning Weapon Defense [BAB +4, Balance 4, Perform (dance) 4, Tumble 5, Ambidexterity]
You gain a +2 dodge bonus to your AC with a double weapon you're
proficient with. Additionally, if you fight defensively, you cannot be
flanked by attackers less than 4 HD greater than your own (stacks with
UD).
Strongarm Training [BAB +6, STR 15+, Balance 5]
You are trained at utilizing pole weapons (Staff, Spear etc) using one
hand. If a double weapon is used with Strongarm Training, you may only
use one side of the weapon at a time to attack with.
Taunt [Perform (comedy/mime/oratory) 5]
As a Standard Action, you may attempt to enrage a single melee
opponent. If your opponent fails its Will save (DC = your Perform
check), the enraged opponent must focus all his/her attacks on you,
ignoring all others, until it makes the save (or at least must include
you, when casting multiple-targets spells & effects) or you're
disabled/helpless/pinned/dead for whatever reason.
The enraged opponent gains a +2 Morale bonus on attack rolls against you, but receives a –2 penalty to AC.
A target can only be taunted (whether successful or not) once per encounter. Note: This feat replaces Goad (CAdv; p.109).
TW Whirlwind Attack [BAB +12, Perform (dance) 5, Tumble 5, TWF, Ambidexterity, Whirlwind Attack]
You make a Whirlwind attack with both weapons. All your attacks for the round are made at a -2 hit penalty.
Watch Duty [base Fort +5, base Ref +3]
You need only half as much sleep as a normal person of your race would and are immune to sleep effects.
Shield Feats
- Shield Proficiency (PHB): Valid to small & large shields only.
- Buckler Proficiency (New Feat): A separate proficiency that grants you a free hand at the expense of protection value.
- Improved Shield Bash (PHB) [Shield Proficiency]: As given
- Shield Slam (CW) [Improved Shield Bash]: Encompasses Shield Charge rather than depends upon it.
- Shield Sling (PHB II): As given
- Shield Ward (PHB II): As given
>>=============== New Shield Feats
- Ironhide [Shield Ward]
To gain the benefit from this feat, you must be wearing a medium or
heavy armor and must use a large / tower shield. You know how to use
your armor and shield to protect yourself (or others) from harming
effects other than weapon damage. You take less damage, equal to the AC
granted by your armor and shield from acid, cold & fire spells and
effects, and from falling rocks.
- Reflexive Shield [Shield Ward]
You know how to utilize shield defense to the fullest of its usefulness and add your shield bonus on all Reflex saves.
Counterspelling Mechanics Adaptation: You must know (permanently
memorized - see the Mage base-class spoiler) and identify the spell.
The strain toll is as if casting a spell of equal level
- Improved Counterspell (PHB-I)
You don't have to know the spell, but then you block the effect that
targets you directly rather than disrupt another caster's spellcasting.
The strain toll for countering unrecognized 9th-level spells is
calculated according to the hypothetical cost of a 10th-level spell
(Mage-level 19+).
- Dampen Spell (PHB-II) [Improved Counterspell]
As described in PHB-II, but subject to the counterspell rules above.
- Deflect Ray (new feat) [Able to cast 4th-level spells, Improved Counterspell]
When counterspelling magical ray attacks, you can redirect it back at the caster or at anyone else within the ray's remaining range.
- Reactive Counterspell (MoF/PGtF) [Able to cast 5th -level spells, Combat Reflexes, Dampen Spell]
Counterspell as an immediate action.
- True Counterspell (new feat) [Able to cast 7th-level spells, Deflect Ray, Reactive Counterspell]
When counterspelling any magical effect, you can redirect it back at the caster or at anyone else within the spell's full range.
There are basically 6 methods of Invoking magical effects:
-Arcane (Mage, INT based): Magical Weaving. Magical Weaving is the scientific approach to magic.
-Divine (Cleric, WIS based): Bending reality to your belief-driven will by drawing from the upper/lower planes.
-Natural (Druid, WIS based): Bending reality to your belief-driven will by drawing from the strength of the land.
-Charm-Spinning
(Bard, CHA based): Casting spells via sheer force of personality. In
terms of technique, his spell casting technique is sort of
divine-arcane hybrid – sort of "charming" reality to cooperate with you
and spinning the magical energies around yourself, selecting the
desired effect "on the fly". The Bard's spell progression remains
unchanged. Bardic music is another way of spinning the magical energies
into a desired effect.
-Witchcraft (Witch, INT based):
Occult rituals that draw power from the essence of powders, liquids,
crystals, minerals, symbols, plants and animal remains.
-Eldritch (Sorcerer (core Warlock themed), CHA based): Inborn magical affinity that offers a limited amount of inexhaustible abilities.
Notes on magic in general:
- Spells are basically not cast/prepared in advance. I've always had major issues with the Vancian approach to spellcasting. In the days of OD&D they told us that spells are memorized and forgotten. This is totally counter-intuitive to what everyone knows about how memory works.
Then came 3.0e and told us that a 20th level wizard can have 180(!)
spell levels activated upon himself and ready for triggering within an
hour(!) of morning study. And like "until now" no one has learned how
to trigger them violently and burn the wizard to a cinder because...?!
- Magic-items are scarce – scarce enough so that people almost never
sell them willingly. Each magical power requires special components to
manifest in magical items – a combination of creatures' organs and/or
precious materials of various sorts (some of which might not even exist
on the prime material plane).
- The only class that needs materials as given
is the Witch class (see below) that draws power from the essence of
physical substances and items. This makes Eschew Materials relevant
only to witches.
The idea is to have more flexibility to play around with the spell
levels, but not as much as with having spell points, where you can
stack all your points to gain a lot of higher-level spells.
Upon gaining a certain spell-level, one gains automatic access to a bit
more than 1 or 2 spells of the given level, but at an evident expense
in availability of lower level spells.
The recovery from spellcasting would be gradual rather than "all or nothing" upon full night's rest (yes/no).
Also, a high-level caster would not be able to pile up tons of
spell-buffs ahead of combat and still have 80% of his fire power
available for blasting & debuffing (....... and then go to sleep).
The objectives (all of equal priority) are as follows:
1. No more "Fire & Forget".
2. More versatility at the expense of raw spellpower capacity.
3. Preserving the classic literature theme, where spellcasters are taxed by spellcasting and can overcast.
4. The ability to regain some spell power in between sleep-time periods.
5. Getting rid of all Spells-Per-Day tables.
Strain & Tolerance
When a Spellcaster casts a spell, he has to channel a portion of the
magical forces he's using through his own body. This is taxing both
physically and mentally, and is the basic limiting factor that
determines how many spells a Spellcaster can cast without resting.
A full-caster's (Cleric/Druid/Mage/Witch...) Strain Tolerance score equals [(4* x (caster-level + primary-spellcasting-stat-mod**) + (CON-mod)]
* Bards and other middle-of-the-road casters (in the spirit of the core Duskblades) multiply 2 x... instead of 4 x....
Each caster-level of half-casters (in the spirit of the core
Paladin/Ranger...) is counted as a level of a middle-of-the-road
caster, not full-caster.
** When a 2nd (or 3rd/4th...) spellcasting class is gained, the sum of
both spellcasting-stat-mods is combined and put into the Tolerance
formula. The overall Tolerance pool is a bit higher per HD than for a
single caster, but it's still much less, simpler to maintain and makes
more sense than maintaining multiple Strain tables.
As a Spellcaster casts spells, the Strain accumulates. When he spends enough time resting, the Strain decreases. 0th-level spells increase the accumulated Strain by 1 point.
Each spell from levels 1st ... 9th increases the accumulated Strain by 2 pts / spell level.
As long as the total Strain toll a Spellcaster has accumulated is lower than his Strain Tolerance, he suffers no ill effect.
Continuing to cast spells once his Strain is over his Tolerance, however, is extremely taxing on a Spellcaster’s body and mind.
As soon as a Spellcaster’s total Strain exceeds his Tolerance, he becomes fatigued.
If he still wishes to cast another spell, he must first make a Fort save vs. DC [15 + spl-lvl*3] (Note: I don't want overcasting to ever be trivial - at any level, even with multiple save-bumps).
If the save is successful, the Spellcaster casts the spell as normal. If the save fails, the spell fizzles with no effect and the
Spellcaster takes both lethal and nonlethal damage equal to the spell's
Strain-toll (note that a desperate (or unwary) spellcaster can literally cast himself into unconsciousness in this manner).
A spellcaster loses 1 point of Strain per 30min if he does not cast spells, fight, run, or otherwise exerts himself.
A Spellcaster who is fatigued only due to excess Strain ceases to be
fatigued as soon as his total Strain is no longer over his Tolerance.
A Spellcaster does not recover Strain while exhausted. During sleep, a Spellcaster loses [1/2 caster-level, rounded up] Strain points per hour. If he completes an uninterrupted night's rest, he loses another CON-mod*2 Strain points.
To cope with the need for more and more spell-power on time pressing missions, adventuring spellcasters have devised the following feat:
Meditative Replenishment [able to cast 4th level spells , Concentration 9 ranks]
You can lose 1 spellcasting Strain point with a 10-minute meditation,
provided you're not
confused/dazzled/distracted/fascinated/shaken/sickened/stunned/winded
(or worse).
For the purpose of game mechanics, a meditating caster is penalized
just as if he were asleep (although he's alert enough to react to
verbal instructions and suspicious noises).
Extra Spells
The main spellcasting ability's score already affects the number of
spells by increasing tolerance. The numbers given in PHB-I for extra
spells are applied to known spells instead. A Witch may select domain
spells from domains within her chosen art (see the Witch class; entry
#7).
Heighten Spell
Heighten-Spell is not a feat, but rather a type of spell-augmentation available to all spellcasters.
Heightening a spell also (on top of the core feat's description) has 2
other significant effects – more damage and increased version of a
known spell:
1) The damage-dice-cap for any direct damage spell the feat is used on
is extended to what would be appropriate for that level (example: a
fireball at spell level 5 would cap at CL 15 and 15d6 damage).
2) You can learn the lowest instance of any "series" (e.g. summon
Monster I...IX / Normal-Lesser-Greater / Normal-Improved) type of spell
to gain the benefit of the higher level version(s) (for instance,
Summon Monster I could be heightened to spell level 6 and count as
Summon Monster VI).
Note: The idea behind this rule was that taking spell-upgrades
is basically burning spells-known slots to get the same spell-knowledge
(same arcane/divine/... insight). I wanted to increase the variety of
known spells-effects without increasing the raw knowledge capacity
(doing so would prevent a spellcaster's spell-list from boringly
containing countless repetitions of the same spell(s) that are there
just to keep up with the CR pace).
Spellcasting: About Requirements & Knowledge
Since full spellcasters represent deep understanding of their art, I
find it insufficient that the right ability-score would suffice by
itself.
I've found that the best way to represent this deep understanding would be
to give them free maximized ranking in the most appropriate skills,
which I selected to be:
- Bard: Choose one Perform category (e.g. singing/oratory/harp/...).
- Cleric: Knowledge (Religion).
- Druid: Knowledge (Nature). Druids also gain 1 bonus rank at every even level in each of Knowledge (geography, the planes).
- Mage: Knowledge (Arcana).
- Witch: Craft (Alchemy).
Caster-Level Enhancements
Caster-Level enhancements (feats, items, domains, traits, templates etc) never stack – they overlap.
This rule is set to prevent level-dependant spells (like Blasphemy) from allowing auto-TPKs by appropriate CRs – on both PCs' and opponents' side.
Spells
Removed Spells
- Celerity: Broken.
- Clone:
This spell makes absolutely no sense – even in D&D reality. It
makes even less sense in a reality that does not allow XP drain.
- Divine Power: This one deserves the more appropriate name "Divine Baloney Sandwich" in my book (for so many reasons).
- Disrupting Weapon: Replaced with Starlight Blade (see the Twilight domain below).
- Glibness: These rules ban all magical skill enhancements (see the "Banned magical items" spoiler below).
- Mage’s Lucubration: Meaningless when spells are not lost upon casting.
- Mage’s Magnificent Mansion: (see the explanation in the "Banned magical items" spoiler)
- Permanency: See "Runecraft" in the “Magical Items' Creation” spoiler below.
- Polymorph Any Object: Trickery domain's 8th level spell is Screen.
- Rope Trick: Tearing a hole into another dimension via a 2nd level spell. C'mon.
- Power Word...: Ridiculous concept (no effect / no save) and over brokenness.
- Shades / Shadow [something] Spells: This kind of diversity requires a conscious mind (spells don't have that) and is too easily game breaking.
- Stone to Flesh: Break Enchantment covers this one.
- Transformation: See my note on "Divine Power" (above).
- Wish (and Limited Wish):
Same as for Shades / Shadow spells, only much worse. To cope with
magical effects that are unusually potent at lingering on, a new spell
("Unmaking") replaces Limited Wish as a 7th level spell, which serves
as replacement for all cases that the core rules enable undoing with
Limited Wish. Anything that's undoable only with Wish or Miracle (by
core) is undoable only with Miracle.
Modified Spells
- Animate Object: Also a 6th level Mage spell.
- Atonement: Clerics may grant atonement to followers, Clerics and Paladins. Druids may grant atonement to Druids.
- Awaken:
An Awakened Animal CAN choose to serve as someone's mount (as a
companion/ally), given the right circumstances and a high enough
Diplomacy check.
- Blight: Drd 3/Mage 3; damage = d8/level (max 10d8); short range.
- Changestaff: No preparation. If the Treant is killed, it cannot be created for 1 month.
- Contingency: The effect reacts according to what you know, no more.
- Creeping Doom: Replaced with the 3.0e version.
- Cure/Cause [X] Wounds:
Cure Wounds spells have an alternative casting time: Spend 1min to
maximize the healing effect. The version used is decided by the caster
at the time of casting. Inflict Wounds Spells have the same option.
Clerics can swap out Cure or Inflict spells, regardless of alignment.
- Deathwatch: Not fowl and not evil.
- Destruction:
Modified to a 9th level spell that replaces Wail of the Banshee in
Death domain. Control Undead takes its place as 7th level domain spell.
- Detect Evil:
Works only on creatures with immediate hostile intent, or creatures
that are inherently evil (some sentient undead and extraplanar evil
creatures (demons, devils, etc), various artifacts and unholy locales.
- Detect Animals or Plants: Given these house rules don't define Ranger base class, this spell is also a 1st-level Bard spell.
- Disintegrate: deals 12d10 (save for 1/2). Any creature KILLED by this spell is entirely disintegrated
- Dispel Magic:
DM only dispels a spell if the entire area of effect of the spell is
included (for spells with no originating point) or the originating
point of the spell is included in the AOE.
- Dominate Person:
Allows the victim to make a repeated save each day – the "concentrate
on it for 1 round per DAY to keep your hold" part is omitted.
- Fabricate:
This core spell is all sorts of broken and breaks all PC treasure caps,
hands down. You cannot play with this spell as written and keep a
consistent world. Therefore, the spell summons one craftsmen skilled at
one craft (chosen at casting time) from the plane of shadow for 1
day/level to do your bidding, with ranks=caster level in the chosen
craft skill.
- Forcecage: This spell is modified so that it
allows a Reflex save to negate, but you must be able move out of the
area of effect as an immediate action.
- Gate: The option of "Calling Creatures" to fight for you is cancelled.
- Harm/Heal: 5HP / level. Mass Harm/Heal are removed (way too powerful, especially the "Harm" aspect).
- Haste: An extra attack is also applicable when attacking as a standard action.
- Heroism:
Moved from the arcane (Mage) to the divine (Cleric) spell-list. I never
did like all those HD increasing effects. As divine (or Jack of All
Spells) effects I can stomach them somehow (barely), but otherwise they
make absolutely no sense.
- Iron Body: Renamed to "Granite
Body" and the recipient doesn’t suffer from ill effects specifically
tied to metal, which is an unreasonable drawback for an 8th level
spell. In a reality of mobile combat, 50% movement decrease is
penalizing enough.
- Mage armor: An abjuration spell. It should have been so to begin with.
- Magic Missile: Does d6s and is a ranged touch attack.
- Minor/Major/True Creation: Can't create material costing more then [10gp * spell level * caster level] with a single casting of the spell.
- Miracle: This spell is the pinnacle of divina magic. Only Clerics that have reached 20th level are able to cast it.
- Nature's Avatar (MotW): If the Druid casts the spell on himself, then upon completion of the spell, he also assumes Wild Shape of his choice.
- Orb spells: Evocation rather than Conjuration.
- Polar Ray:
The only thing that this spell has on similar evocation spells is an
increased damage cap. Therefore, it also requires Fort save to avoid
being paralyzed for 1 round/level, and you can target up to 1 creature per
5 levels.
- Polymorph: Polymorph(4), Baleful Polymorph(5)
and Shapechange(9) are Druid/Witch Spells only (aside from domains).
Also, Baleful Polymorph has a duration of 1 day per caster level and
the target keeps its identity, so it has enough time to contemplate the
consequences of its actions.
- Prismatic Wall/Sphere: The caster is not immune to the effects of his own wall/sphere (spell effects don't "recognize" their caster).
- Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law: United as a single spell named "Protection from Harm" that works against all foes.
- Raise Dead (6th level spell):
At level 11 this spell enables the Cleric to reconnect a corpse’s soul
with its body, restoring life to a creature deceased no more than 1
round per [Cleric's CHA-mod + target's HD + target's CON-mod],
stabilizing the target at -1 HP. At level 14 the spell functions as the
core 5th level spell of the same name, however, exceeding the duration
noted above requires Speak with Dead (deceased approval), Commune
(deity's approval) and Consecrate / Hallow (holy ground for your deity)
before application is possible. In the latter case the revived target
must make a successful Fort save vs. DC [15 + recipient's ECL –
Cleric's (level + CHA-mod)] or lose 1 CON-point that can only be
regained with a Miracle spell. At level 17 the spell works as described
for Resurrection and with no CON loss risk (confirmation &
holy-ground still required). In all cases, casting time equals 6 hours
+ 10min / ECL of the target creature. Only a Miracle can revive as
described for True Resurrection.
- Reincarnate: The new physical body is proportionately as far through your current age category as your old one, and that is your new age.
- Righteous Might: Change DR x/evil to DR x/adamantine.
- Shapechange: The ability to change into objects (including Constructs) is omitted.
- Slow: Deprives one of a move action within a combat turn. Also imposes the noted penalties, but not the speed decrease.
- Spellstaff: Applicable for the Druid's Cudgel only (see the revised Druid in entry #6).
- Spider Climb: Moved back to a 1st level spell.
- Storm of Vengeance:
Moved to 6th level. 3 rounds of concentration on an immobile effect
before any significant damage is light years away from 9th level
category.
- Teleport via Plants: This spell gets the Conjuration [Teleportation] descriptor. An 8th level version, Greater TVP, lets you cross planes.
- Time Stop: Any spell cast during Timestop fizzles once it ends (with the exception being spells and effects on the caster).
- True Seeing:
Make opposed caster level checks when trying to see through any spell
from the Illusion school of equal or higher level (you receive a +4 to
your check). A successful check reveals the illusion for what it is,
whereas a failed check fails to penetrate the illusion for the duration
of True Seeing.
- Vision: An 8th level spell (just compare with Legend Lore to understand this one).
- Wall of Iron:
As written, this spell will single-handedly make you rich and ruin
local economies. Therefore, any part of the wall that's removed
disappears.
- Wall of Stone: The spell fails if there's a creature occupying the space of the wall.
- Wail of the Banshee:
Emanates from the caster's mouth (ZERO-range) and affects everybody
within AoE except the caster. The spell doesn't differentiate between
friend and foe and Evasion is inapplicable.
- Wood Shape:
The limitations of this spell are overridden with the proper Craft
skill(s). In fact, used in conjunction to an appropriate Craft skill,
the spell's duration is concentration dependant, it cuts crafting time
in half and grants a +3 competence bonus.
Scrying, Teleportation & Polymorph Spells and Effects
Scrying
• Scrying Location:
You can choose to scry on a particular location instead of a creature.
Doing so requires a DC 20 Spellcraft check, using the same modifiers
for the DC that applies to the Will save (see scrying spell). If the
check is successful, you can observe an area within a radius of 10 feet
per caster level. While scrying on a location your scrying sensor
cannot be moved.
• Spotting the Sensor: With detect magic or similar effects active, a scrying sensor can be spotted with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20).
• Counterspelling the Sensor:
Spellcasters who are aware of a scrying sensor can attempt to
counterspell the scrying (even though they are unable to see the
caster).
• Learn Scryer: If you determine that you’re being
scried upon, you can learn the identity of the scryer with a Spellcraft
check (DC 30). If successful, you learn the name, race, and location of
the scryer. The scryer may make an opposed Spellcraft check or cancel
the scrying as a reaction to prevent you from learning the information.
• Break Scrying:
If you determine that you’re being scried, you can make a Spellcraft
check (DC 30) to attempt to break the scrying. On a successful check,
the scrying ends and the scryer may not target you with a Divination
(Scrying) spell or similar effect for at least 24 hours. The scryer may
make an opposed Spellcraft check as a reaction to prevent you from
breaking the scrying in this way.
• Return Scrying: If you
determine that you’re being scried upon, you can look back through the
sensor at the scryer with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 40). This
allows you to spy on the scryer as if you had cast a scrying spell upon
that person. The scryer may make an opposed Spellcraft check or cancel
the scrying as a reaction to prevent you from looking back through the
sensor. Alternatively, you can cast scrying or use a similar effect to
target the character currently scrying on you. The character scrying on
you can cancel the scrying as a reaction to your spell, but if they do
not they suffer a -20 penalty on their Will save to resist the attempt.
Teleportation
• Distance & Limits:
You can only teleport a number of miles equal to [caster-level *
spell-level * 10]. Furthermore, you can teleport only to places you've
been before and you cannot D-Door somewhere unless you have line of
sight.
• Duration: Teleporting characters or objects
disappear instantly, but the teleportation itself takes a number of
rounds equal to the number of miles traveled (minimum of 1 round).
• Teleport Trace:
Characters at the destination of the teleport can make a DC 20 Spot
check. Success means they notice something's not right. Making a DC 25
Spellcraft reveals the incoming teleport. Also, outgoing teleport
spells leave a teleport trace during the duration of the teleport. The
same goes for outgoing teleportation. Teleport spells and similar
effects can be used to automatically follow the original teleport,
although you will not know where the teleport spell goes until they
arrive. Scrying sensors can be sent through a teleport trace.
• Dispelling/Counterspelling Teleports:
Spellcasters who are aware of the outgoing/incoming teleport can
attempt to counterspell the teleport (even though they are unable to
see the caster). If a teleport is counterspelled, blocked, or otherwise
disrupted the character or object being teleported appears midway
somewhere.
• Gate: This spell can be used to circumvent the
distance limitation on teleportation. The duration still equals 1 round
per mile traveled and 1d10 minutes for interplanar travel. During the
duration, the gate is clearly visible from both ends and events, and
creatures at either end of the gate can be seen murkily through it
(Spot checks suffer a -10 penalty).
Here's an essay that elaborates on the need for the above rules.
Wild Shape and alteration / polymorph spells
You can't change into legendary or dire-version animals and size
increase is limited to one category larger/smaller (unless your Wild
Shape class feature specifically says otherwise). Also, creatures
affected already count as being under size change, so further
size-increase factors don't count.
Weapon-Like Spells
The example given in CA (p.85) is unreasonable for both rationale and balance reasons.
"Critical-Hit" means demolishing/pulverizing internal organs.
1. An effect that disintegrates its target has to envelop it rather than penetrate.
2. Attacks that penetrate have to "break shell", meaning they can't be touch attacks.
For an effect to be treated as "Weapon-Like Spells", it has to uphold the following criteria:
- It has to require normal hit - something that would justify regarding
it as bludgeoning/piercing/slashing damage (which, of course, rules out
energy damage entirely).
- It has to be restricted to a localized area (something you can't say for Disintegrate spell).
Crowd Control Spells/Abilities
Crowd control is somewhat of a large category. This can be broken down
into other types, such as de-buffs, terrain modification, and
save-or-lose spells.
Now, it's the save-or-lose spells that are the most potent, generally
speaking, as they can often have the same effect as a save or die. Any
spell/ability that would directly impose (by definition of the effect,
not situation/tactic related) a status on a target that limits the
actions they can take is more potent than one that merely gives a
penalty.
So, to prevent multiple uses of save-or-lose effects in a single combat
turn (again, brilliant tactics make an exception to the rule), any
spell/ability that would directly impose any of the following
conditions to a target will have a casting time of one full round
(assuming the casting time isn't already longer by RAW), regardless of
the method by which it is applied:
• Blinded
• Confused
• Cowered
• Dazed
• Dead
• Disabled
• Dying
• Fascinated
• Frightened
• Helpless
• Nauseated
• Panicked
• Paralyzed
• Petrified
• Stunned
• Turned
• Unconscious
Spell Cabal
Arcane/Divine spells (Arcane with Arcane; Divine with Divine) can be simultaneously cast by multiple casters that know them.
All casters must be no further than 30ft from the Cabal leader.
With each participant under the Cabal leader, the spell's casting time
is doubled, but all spell-effects' DCs and SR-penetration rise by +1.
If any of the co-casters is interrupted and fails his Concentration
check – he's participation is ceased. If the Cabal leader is
interrupted, all participants must make a separate Concentration check
or have their participation ceased. If the Cabal leader fails, the
spellcasting fizzles and each participant (including the Cabal leader)
takes 1d6 backlash bamage per spell-level.
Antimagic (MR 12 + max spell-level you can cast + CHA-mod)
Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law(1); Obscure Object(2); Dispel
Magic(3); Minor Globe of Invulnerability(4); Break Enchantment(5);
Antimagic Field(6); Spell Turning(7); Protection from Spells(8); Mage's
Disjunction(9)
Concealment* (+2 caster levels on this domain's spells, permanent Conceal Thoughts and Nondetection effects)
Pass Without Trace(1), Invisibility(2), Undetectable Alignment(3),
Nondetection(4), Mind Mask(5), Veil(6), Phase Door(7), Screen(8),
Etherealness(9)
Conjuration (+1 levels on all conjuration spells, +2 levels for this domain's spells when cast as domain spells)
Mage Armor(1); Web(2); Stinking Cloud(3); Summon Monster IV(4); Wall of
Stone(5); Acid Fog(6); Summon Monster VII(7); Maze(8); Gate(9)
Corruption* (Immune to disease)
Ray of Enfeeblement (1), Blindness/Deafness(2), Contagion(3), Morality
Undone(4), Feeblemind(5), Pox(6), Insanity(7), Befoul(8), Eternity of
Torture(9)
Creation* (You cast conjuration (creation) spells at +2 caster levels)
Create Water(1), Minor Image(2), Create Food and Water(3), Minor
Creation(4), Major Creation(5), Heroes' Feast(6), True Creation (7),
Clenched Fist (8), Genesis (any)(9)
Darkness* (Darkvision to 60ft, or 60ft Darkvision boost)
Obscuring Mist(1), Darkness (2), Blacklight(3), Armor of Darkness(4),
Darkbolt(5), Prying Eyes(6), Nightmare(7), Utterdark(8), Sphere of
Sensory Deprivation(9)
Divination (+2 levels on all divination spells)
Detect Secret Doors(1); See Invisibility(2); Arcane Sight(3); Arcane
Eye(4); Prying Eyes(5); True Seeing(6); Greater Arcane Sight(7);
Discern Location(8); Foresight(9)
Domination (May rebuke or command members of own group of race (e.g. humanoids), destruction is not an option).
Command(1), Enthrall(2), Suggestion(3), Dominate Person(4), hold
monster(5), Geas/Quest(6), Mass Suggestion(7), Demand(8), Dominate
Monster(9)
Dream* (+2 to save against any magical mind manipulation)
Sleep(1), Augury(2), Deep Slumber(3), Phantasmal Killer(4),
Nightmare(5), Dream Sight(6), Scrying, Greater(7), Scintillating
Pattern(8), Weird(9)
Enchantment (+5 levels for this domain's spells when cast as domain spells)
Charm Person(1); Hideous Laughter(2); Suggestion(3); Confusion(4); Hold
Monster(5); Greater Heroism(6); Insanity(7); Mass Charm Monster(8);
Dominate Monster(9)
Enhancement (all spells are cast as if the caster had +2 levels)
Animate Rope(1); Arcane Lock(2); Explosive Runes(3); Minor Creation(4);
Major Creation(5); Spellstaff(6); Forcecage(7); Antipathy/Sympathy(8);
Mage's Disjunction(9)
Force (you gain DR 10 against force attacks)
Mage Armor(1), Magic Missile(2), Blast of Force(3), Resilient
Sphere(4), Wall of Force(5), Repulsion(6), Forcecage(7), Telekinetic
Sphere(8), Crushing Hand(9)
Freedom (same as Travel Domain: Freedom of Movement, but may also be applied to others within 60ft)
Expeditious Retreat(1), Remove Paralysis(2), Gaseous Form(3), Dimension
Door(4), Break Enchantment(5), Greater Dispel Magic(6), Refuge(7), Word
of Recall(8), Freedom(9),
Illusion (+2 to save vs. illusions + gains 3 attempts to resist)
Disguise Self(1); Minor Image(2); Major Image(3); Phantasmal Killer(4);
Shadow Evocation(5); Mislead(6); Project Image(7); Scintillating
Pattern(8); Weird (9)
Light (+2 to domain spells' DC and +2 to save vs. spells with the light descriptor)
Faerie Fire(1), Scorching Ray(2), Daylight(3), Rainbow Pattern(4), True
Seeing(5), Disintegrate(6), Prismatic Spray(7), Scintillating
Pattern(8), Prismatic Sphere(9)
Mind* (+5 to save vs. mental assault, intrusion and manipulation)
Comprehend Languages (1), Detect Thought(2),
Clairaudience/Clairvoyance(3), Greater Status(4), Telepathic Bond(5),
Mind Probe(6), Brain Spider(7), Mind Blank(8), Astral Projection(9)
Necromancy (+1 level to all necromantic spells and +2 to save vs. necromantic effects)
Ray of Enfeeblement(1); False Life(2); Vampiric Touch(3); Fear(4);
Waves of Fatigue(5); Circle of Death(6); Control Undead(7); Horrid
Wilting(8); Soul Bind(9)
Portal (Dimension Door as a free action 1 / day / 5 levels – self only)
Summon Monster I(1), Analyze Portal(2), Dimensional Anchor(3),
Dimension Door(4), Teleport(5), Banishment(6), Etherealness(7),
Dimensional Lock(8), Gate(9)
Renewal* (+5 to saves against deterioration in physical condition)
Remove Fear(1), Restoration – Lesser(2), Remove Disease(3), Remove
Curse(4), Atonement(5), Heroes' Feast(6), Restoration - Greater(7),
Unmaking(8), Freedom(9)
Rune* (You gain Runecraft as divine feat + emanating Detect Magic, Read Magic and Comprehend Languages)
Erase(1), Secret Page(2), Glyph of Warding(3), Explosive Runes(4),
Planar Binding - Lesser(5), Glyph of Warding - Greater(6), Instant
Summons (7), Transcribe Symbol(8), Teleportation Circle(9)
Slime (You can rebuke or command oozes)
Grease(1), Acid Arrow(2), Poison(3), Rusting Grasp(4), Black
Tentacles(5), Transmute Rock to Mud(6), Destruction(7), Horrid
Wilting(8), Implosion(9)
Sonic (Sonic resistance 5 and +2 on saves versus sound/sonic based effects)
Ventriloquism(1), Sound Burst(2), Sculpt Sound(3), Shout(4), Song of
Discord(5), Sympathetic Vibration(6), Word of Recall(7), Greater
Shout(8), Wail of the Banshee(9)
Spirit (add CHA-mod to all saves)
Bane(1), Consecrate(2), Speak with Dead(3), Death Ward(4), Commune(5),
Magic Jar(6), Raise Dead(7), Finger of Death(8), Soul Bind(9)
Time* (+2 Initiative bonus and +2 to perception based skills)
True Strike(1), Gentle Repose(2), Haste/Slow(3), Accelerated
metabolism(4), Permanency(5), Contingency(6), Moment of Prescience(7),
Foresight(8), Time Stop(9)
Transmutation* (+5 to save vs. polymorph)
Animate Rope(1); Levitate(2); Haste(3); Polymorph(4); Baleful
Polymorph(5); Disintegrate(6); Trans-Racial switch(7); Iron Body(8);
Shapechange(9).
Twilight* (the need for sleep is removed + immunity to sleep magic and paralysis)
Faerie Fire(1), Invisibility(2), Blacklight(3), Greater
Invisibility(4), Starlight Blade(5), Dream Sight(6), Ethereal Jaunt(7),
Maze(8), Astral Projection(9),
Undeath (Extra turning as a bonus feat)
Deathwatch(1), Command Undead(2), Animate Dead(3), Halt Undead(4), Slay
Living(5), Create Undead(6), Control Undead(7), Create Greater
Undead(8), Wail of the Banshee(9)
Void (+2 to initiative and Lightning Reflex as bonus feat)
Bleach(1), Invisibility(2), Blink(3), Dimension Door(4), Swift
Etherealness(5), Antimagic Field(6), Banishment(7), Mind Blank(8), Time
Stop(9)
* This domain has new spells that are not found in the PHB (read on).
New Domain-Spells' Descriptions
Concealment:
• 5th. Mind Mask: a minor Mind Blank
you might say. The spell prevents information gathering and Scrying by
any spell effect of level 7 or lower.
Corruption:
• 4th. Morality Undone: Ranged touch attack at short range that turns creature to evil for 10min / level (save negates).
• 6th. Pox:
The affected creatures (one living creature/level at short range, no
two of which more than 10ft. apart) take 1d4 points of Constitution
drain. Their skin breaks out in lesions and takes on a pale yellow
pallor.
• 8th. Befoul: 100ft / level by 100ft / level by
10ft / level of water permanently become foul. 1HD creatures die
immediately. Others must make fort save or take 1d4 CON deterioration
per round. If mixed with up to x4 volume – the entire amount becomes
fouled. If mixed with up to x20 volume, the entire amount becomes
fouled within 24 hours. Beyond that, the effect dissipates.
• 9th. Eternity of Torture:
subject rendered helpless with pain forever (needs no food, drink or
air). All the subject's senses are oblivious to the world and are
assaulted in the worst manner imaginable. All of the subject's ability
scores are reduces by -1 from each day, down to score 1. a successful
Fort save results in 5d6 damage and -4 to all checks for 1 round /
caster level. The effect can only be undone with a Miracle spell, or by
killing the subject. Recovered survivors of this spell require some
serious maintenance before they can function again, but they're never
the same after the experience.
Creation:
• 7th. True Creation: This spell functions
the same as Major Creation, except items created are 100% real and may
also be used as material components. Market value of all materials
created by a single spell cannot exceed 25gp per caster level.
• 9th. Genesis: with the exception that casting time is 1 month and there's no XP cost, the following description is taken to the letter: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm
Darkness:
• 3rd. Blacklight: 20ft radius sphere at
close range for 1min / level that is impenetrable from the outside to
normal vision / Darkvision. You can see normally within the Blacklight.
The spell negates any magical light source of equal or lower level.
• 4th. Armor of Darkness:
Subject is enveloped by a shroud of flickering darkness for 10min /
caster level. Subject gains[3 + 1 / 4-levels](max +8) deflection bonus
to AC, Darkvision up to 60ft (no boost for recipients with darkvision)
and +2 to save vs. holy, good and light spell effects. The caster can
choose to conceal the subject's features. Undead subjects also gain +4
turning resistance.
• 5th. Darkbolt: You can create up to 1
bolt of darkness per 2-levels as a ranged touch attack at medium range
– either all at once or one in your combat turn as a free action. Each
bolt does 2d8 damage and dazes the target for 1 round if it fails will
save. Undead suffer no damage, but can be dazed by the bolts. Multiple
save failures don't result in duration extension of being dazed.
• 8th. Utterdark:
Spreads outward from you, creating an area of cold, cloying magical
darkness that covers 100ft radius / level and lasts 1 hour / level.
This darkness is similar to that created by the Deeper Darkness spell,
but it cannot be dispelled by magical light (although a Light spell or
similar effect of equal or higher level can temporarily suppress the
Utterdark where their areas overlap, restoring normal illumination to
the affected area for as long as the Light spell or effect lasts).
Furthermore, evil-aligned creatures can see in this darkness as if it
were simply a dimly lighted area.
• 9th. Sphere of Sensory Deprivation:
A 20ft radius sphere that spreads outward from its source, which can
either be in midair, an object or a creature, including the caster. The
effect lasts for 3 rounds + 1 round / level and blocks light, sound,
smell and taste from traveling in or out of the area of effect.
Moreover, all within the sphere (living, undead, outerplanar and
constructs) lose all senses except touch. Their speed is reduced to
1/5, they have 40% chance of falling down each round if they stand
(-10% for each extra pair of legs), they suffer -8 hit penalty and
reflex saves, they completely lose all dodge abilities, and they take
20% spell failure for the somatic components, 50% spell failure for the
magical receptacle - if and when applicable - and 80% spell failure for
the verbal component (check separately for each). Creatures within the
area of effect have 75% chance of changing direction by 45 degrees to
either side. If the caster designates himself as the source of the
sphere, he's unaffected by the sensory deprivation, but even he's shut
out from the outside of the spell effect. The sphere does not penetrate
solid objects. All in the sphere have absolute concealment (75% miss
chance) except regarding the caster when he's the source of the sphere.
Dream:
• 6th. Dream Sight: Outer body incorporeal Travel at 100ft/round for 10min/level. Incorporeal form uses the caster's normal senses.
Mind:
• 4th. Greater Status: Taken to the letter from: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/spe...tusGreater.htm
• 6th. Mind Probe:
for 1 round / level you can extract information from the minds of
subjects at close range. You can target 1 creature / round, send a
question to its mind and receive the answer telepathically. If the
creature is asleep, you automatically succeed the 1st attempt and it
wakes up, otherwise, it's allowed a will save to resist, rechecked
separately each round.
Renewal:
• 8th. Unmaking: See "Wish" under the "Removed Spells" spoiler.
Rune:
• 8th. Transcribe Symbol: Safely moves an
un-triggered magical symbol to another location. You must first cast
the spell on the intended magical symbol and then cast it in a slightly
different way on the target destination within 1-hour shift of the day
cycle (within 1 hour or after 23-25 hours and so on). The second
application transcribes the magical symbol to its alternative location.
The spell fails if the caster attempts to transcribe the magical symbol
to another plane or if the caster is subjected to magic dispelling.
Summoning:
• 9th. Transdimensional Trump: A transdimensional link is formed between the caster and a target creature the caster has met personally.
-- On the recipient’s side of the link, an illusion appears (in his
mind) of the caster reaching out his/her hand, telling them to arrive
or accept his/her arrival.
-- On the caster's side of the link, an image of the recipient telling
the caller to wait for the recipient who is on his way, or that the
recipient is busy and can/will not answer.
The recipient has 1 round / level of the caster to grab the phantasmal
hand or the transdimensional link collapses. The recipient / caster
travels through the link and appears before the caster / recipient.
Once the conversation is over, the recipient / caster simply rings a
magical bell hovering nearby (this time with 3 rounds / level window of
opportunity) and is returned to the original location. The spell is
capable of working across the Planes of the Multiverse as it's name
implies. It will work through all types of warding, save those of 8th
level or higher.
Time:
• 4th. Accelerated metabolism: This spell
speeds up the life processes of the recipient at a rate of 1 day / turn
for a max duration of 10min / level. All life processes (sleeping,
eating, healing, etc) progress at this accelerated pace. If
insufficient nourishment is provided, the recipient suffers from thirst
and starvation. The target of the spell does not move or fight any
faster than normal and ages 3 days each 10min from the physical strain.
The spell cannot be forced upon the unwilling, unless the recipient is
helpless.
Transmutation:
• 7th. Trans-Racial Switch: This
spell affects only humanoid creatures. Touched subject is transformed
into another race and may receive the opposite gender. The
transformation is perfect to the last detail. Within each race the
subject has a unique appearance, so it is quite possible to transform
the recipient back to his/her original race and appearance. The effect
is permanent and non-magical.
Twilight:
• 3rd. Blacklight: See Darkness domain spells.
• 5th. Starlight Blade:
the spell creates a dull-black blade equivalent to a long sword with
25% the usual weight. The blade glows with a silvery radiance equal in
intensity to full moonlight extending to a 20ft radius and with each
stroke leaves a trail of white sparkles, like stars in the night sky.
The blade has no weight when held and cannot harm the wielder. The
blade requires just touch attack to have full effect and does 2d8
points damage not modified by STR. An undead struck by the blade takes
extra d8 damage and is affected by Turning as if by a Cleric with 4
levels below the caster's level. The caster can make the blade
disappear and reappear during the duration of the spell, which is 1
round / level.
Core Domains' Granted-Powers / Spells Correction
• Animal Domain: Speak With Animals at will.
• Elemental Domains (Air/Earth/Fire/Water): "Rebuke Elemental Creature" is omitted, but you can "Turn Opposite Elemental Creatures".
• Sun Domain: You gain +2 levels to your Turn Undead ability.
• Trickery Domain: Also grants +2 to save against any magical falsehood.
• War Domain: 7th / 8th / 9th spells are: Emerald Flame Fist (CA) (7) / Mind Blank (8) / Crushing Hand (9).
Magical Items' Creation – Redefinition
Personal remark: 3.5e categorizes magical-crafting according to
physical utilization. The more intuitive categorization in my book
should be in terms of how the items function magically. If one decides
that bestowing magical powers is done while an item is physically
crafted, a spellcaster can always find a crafter and pay for his time
(or take the appropriate Craft skill).
The crafting feats are as follows:
• Craft Magical Devices [able to cast 3rd level spells, Spellcraft 4]
You can bestow magical powers upon items from which to carry out
spells. This serves for no other purpose than to avoid the strain cost
(you have to have the spell memorized to be able to activate the device
properly with it).
• Craft Magical Items [Craft Magical Devices, able to cast 4th level spells, Spellcraft 7]
You can bestow magical powers upon carried items, either for activation
with simple vocal and/or somatic means or as emanating effects
(including magically enhanced weapons and armors).
• Craft Magical Wear [Craft Magical items, able to cast 5th level spells, Spellcraft 10]
You can enhance clothing and armor of various sorts (including
jewelry). The added value is that magical wear can be made to
automatically react to situations or state of the wearer.
• Runecraft [Craft Magical Wear, able to cast 6th level spells, Craft (painting, tattooing) 4 each, Spellcraft 13]
You can place permanent magical runes on items and/or living creatures.
Runes function on all aspects as magical items, except they're not
prone to Sunder (but their vessels ARE) or dispelling.
• Craft Minor Golem [Runecraft, able to cast 7th level spells, Spellcraft 16]
You can research and create golems of up to INT=3 and your level in HD (cost and time are as given core or up to the DM).
• Craft Major Golem [Craft minor Golem, able to cast 8th level spells, Spellcraft 19]
You can research and create golems of up to your INT and twice your level in HD.
• Craft Synthetic Sentience [Craft major Golem, able to cast 9th level spells, Spellcraft 22]
You can create all magical items with INT, WIS, CHA and personality.
Other items are not feat-associated:
- Scrolls can be scribed by the two classes that study their magical art via written text: the Cleric and the Mage.
- Disposable substances (e.g. potions, balms, powders etc) with magical
properties can be created via witchcraft rituals. Other magical arts do
not allow binding of magical energies directly onto non-solid objects.
Repairing Magical Equipment:
If a magical item is destroyed, but can still be physically repaired, then it is possible to restore it's enchantment.
If the item has been partially or wholly destroyed (disintegrated,
burned, dissolved, etc), then it cannot be physically repaired.
First, the item must be fully repaired to its original masterwork quality.
Second, the enchantment needs to be "repaired". The broken pieces still
contain residual magical energies, so once the item is made whole,
those energies need to be refocused to get the item to full working
order.
Repairing the enchantment costs 30% the raw materials and 30% the time it would take to enchant that item in the first place.
Use Magic Device:
This skill doesn't exist. An item either requires spell-completion or not.
Speed of Activation:
Except for automatically-triggered effects (e.g.
energy-drain-absorption), initiating the activation of a magical gear
requires at least a move action. Furthermore, 2 magical effects (via
spell and/or item) cannot be activated simultaneously, since the
magical energies can only be harnesed for one use at a time.
This rule is set so that no one would ever be able to abuse the rules
to produce more than 3 magical effects per round, no matter which
game-mastery methods they'd apply.
Notes:
- Sorcerers cannot create/repair magical items of any sort. Their magic is instinct-based and has no theory.
- Disposable substances, obviously, cannot be repaired.
Banned Magical Items
- Action-Speeders:
Items that make specific actions faster. This restriction prevents
action-abuse via strange combinations of magical items and
features/feats from different sources.
- Animated Shield: How does the shield "know" where to fly and how not to pose an obstacle? (Shield spell grants deflection bonus instead).
- Items that grant/enhance Class-features/Class-levels/Feats/Skills:
It's near inconceivable to make a magical item "know" something. It's
far too unreasonable to make an item make someone else know how to do
something (and then you have the paradox of that someone forgetting
what he knew while possessing the item). Furthermore, this restriction
would prevent a lot of power-abuse options.
- Portable Hole and other trans-dimensional containers: Way too Disney. There are no reserved "pockets" on other planes/dimensions waiting for someone to "log-in" onto them.
- simultaneous multi-elemental/energy damage: Different
damage types counter one another and leave only a token effect. Fire
counters acid & cold. Acid counters electricity. Force stacks with
everything.
Note: I find the 3.Xe rules for weapons over simplified and far from realistically describing how they work IRL.
The purpose of this entry is to come closer to describing how they work
and to fulfill the range of options each weapon provides.
The Weapon Groups in General
Each weapon group belongs to 1 of 3 possible categories:
1. Basic ("Stand Alone") Melee Weapon-Groups: Each group consists of several weapons that have a simplified operation technique.
2. "Multiple" Melee Weapon-Groups:
Some weapons demand elaborate techniques to operate and require
background in 2 (or 3) weapon groups to fully comprehend. Having
background in the required groups automatically confers proficiency
with them.
3. Range Weapon-Groups: These always stand alone.
Note: Exotic weapons are very tricky to use. They require
explicit training, manifested as an expenditure of a separate Weapon
Group slot.
Weapon Sizes and Weapon Speed
The given "sizes" (see "Abbreviations" later on) are actually
representations of how quick a weapon is. At lower levels, it's not
really possible to take advantage of weapons' quickness, because you're
still learning to position yourself correctly within the melee combat
"arena". With time and experience, you learn how to lend more
punches/stabs/slices per time quota with the smaller weapons (provided
you meet the criteria - otherwise, your weapon speed degrades).
Your STR-score determines the "size" of weapons you can wield without
penalties (if you wield a weapon your STR-score is not high enough to
wield properly, you suffer a -2 penalty to hit and init – cumulative
for each step of STR deficiency). Tiny weapons require STR=4, Light
weapons require STR=7, one-handed weapons and medium 2H weapons require
STR=11, Large weapons require STR=15 and Huge weapons require STR=19.
These numbers are modified by +/- 4 for each size category the
character is larger/smaller than medium.
With STR-score 23+, for all intents & purposes, you wield a 1H/2H
weapon (see the "Abbreviations" spoiler below) in 1 hand as if it were
a medium weapon and medium/light weapons as if they were light/tiny
(respectively).
All About Weapons and How it all Works
Abbreviations
T - Tiny weapon S - Small weapon M - Medium weapon L - Large weapon – large weapons may be wielded 1H. this makes them count as huge weapons. H – Huge weapon – add +4 to avoid disarm and to all sunder
checks, both defensive and offensive. Apply a -2 init penalty and a -1
AC penalty. 1H/2H – A weapon designed for one-handed or two-handed use. When
held 1-handed, use the large-weapons' attack roll progression. When
held 2-handed, use the medium-weapons' attack roll progression. The
weapon grants no extra attacks when used as offhand weapon. That's the
reason no one has ever seen in real life a warrior wielding 2 bastard
swords or 2 War Axes. Ex – Exotic Weapon ExEx – This weapon has such a complex technique, that you must
receive outside tutoring and invest 1 weapon-group slot just to make it
usable at all and another weapon group slot to use it without penalties. Bl – This weapon does bludgeoning damage. Pi – This weapon does piercing damage. Sl – This weapon does slashing damage. Cho – This weapon's damage type is "chopping", meaning it combines edge and mass for slashing and bludgeoning damage on every hit. Pry – This weapon combines penetration with a crushing force. It deals piercing and bludgeoning damage Re – This weapon penetrates and tears its target from within. It deals piercing and slashing damage.
Note I: if more than 1 type of damage is available, the 1st is
the weapon's intuitive damage. Applying the other type deals -2 hit
penalty (calculated separately on every weapon swing). In case of
"typeA or typeB", both options are available at no penalty. Note II: unarmed attacks count as tiny weapons for determining a
Monks' BAB-related base number of attacks, and as large for all other
classes.
The Weapon Groups
Melee Weapon Groups (stand alone)
Axes: hand axe (S, Sl), Throwing Axe (S, Sl), Battleaxe (M, Cho), Steel War Axe (1H/2H, Cho), Great-Axe (L, Cho) Claw Weapons: Punching Dagger (T, Pi/Sl), Spiked Gauntlet (T, Pi), Bladed Gauntlet (M, Pi/Sl) Flails & Chains: Light Flail (M, Bl), Heavy Flail (L, Bl), Nunchaku (S, Bl, Ex) Heavy Blades: Longsword (M, Sl or Pi), Greatsword (L, Cho), Falchion (L, Cho, Ex), Scimitar (M, Sl/Pi), Bastardsword(1H/2H, Cho/Pi) Light Blades: Dagger (T, Pi or Sl), Parrying Dagger (T, Pi/Sl),
Rapier (S, Pi), Shortsword (S, Pi/Sl), Sickle(S, Sl/Pi), Kukri (S,
Sl/Pi), Wakizashi (S, Pi or Sl), War Fan (S, Sl or Bl/Pi, Ex) Maces & Clubs: Club (S, Bl), Great Club (L, Bl), Light Mace (S, Bl), Heavy Mace (M, Bl), Sap (S, Bl), Tonfa (S, Bl, Ex) Picks & Hammers: Light Pick (S, Pi), Heavy Pick (M, Pry), Light Hammer (S, Bl), War Hammer (M, Bl), Maul (1H/2H, Bl), Dire Maul (H, Bl, Ex) Polearms: Glaive (L, Re), Gisarme (L, Sl), Ranseur (L, Pi/Sl), Lance (L, Pi, Ex) Spears: Javelin (S, Pi), Spear (S, Pi/Sl), Trident (S, Pi), Harpoon (S, Sl) String Based: Whip (L, Bl), Scourge (M, Bl), Net (M, --) Staffs: Quarterstaff (M, Bl), Battlestaff (L, Bl)
Melee Weapon Groups (multiple)
Axes + Heavy Blades: Khopesh (1H/2H, Cho, Ex) Axes + Heavy Blades + Staffs: Night Cleaver (H, Cho/Re, Ex) Axes + Maces & Clubs: Crusher-Axe (L, Cho and Bl, Ex) Axes + Spears + Staffs: Halberd (L, (Cho or Pi) and Bl), Urgosh (M, Cho and Pi/Sl) Flails & Chains + Light Blades + String Based: Kusarigama (M, Re or Bl, Ex) Flails & Chains + Maces & Clubs + Staffs: Three Section Staff (M, Bl, Ex) Flails & Chains + String Based: Battle Chain (M, Bl) Flails & Chains + Staffs: Flailed Staff (M, Bl) Heavy Blades + Light Blades: Katana (1H/2H, Sl or Pi, Ex) Heavy Blades + Maces & Clubs: Pounding Staff (L, Bl) Heavy Blades + Picks & Hammers: Scythe (L, Re) Heavy Blades + Staffs: Double Scimitar (M, Sl/Pi), 2-Bladed-Sword (L, Pi or Sl) Light Blades + Maces & Clubs: Sai (S, Bl, Ex), Siangham (S, Bl/Pi) Light Blades + Picks & Hammers: Kama (S, Re, Ex) Light Blades + String Based: Silken Pike (S, Bl or Sl, ExEx) Maces & Clubs + Picks & Hammers: Morningstar (M, Pry, Ex), Great Morningstar (H, Pry, Ex)
Range Weapon Groups
Bows: Shortbow, Longbow, Composite Shortbow, Composite Longbow Crossbows: Hand Crossbow, Light Crossbow, Heavy Crossbow, Repeating Light Crossbow, Repeating Heavy Crossbow Sling & Bola: Sling, Bola Tiny Projectiles: Shuriken, Throwing Iron Thrown Blades: Boomerang, Chakram Blowgun: Hand Blowgun / Long Blowgun:
The Weapons
Omitted Weapons
Double Axe: Totally unwieldy, a problem to carry around and dangerous to the user. Dire Flail: ditto. Spiked Chain: ditto. Gnome Hooked-Hammer: ditto
Modified Core Weapons
Axes: Don't have enhanced crit (unless specifically noted otherwise), but they do have more options than core. Dagger: Crit: 19-20 / x3. Falchion: Does 1d12 damage. Halberd: The halberd is a double weapon! Kama: Crit 20/x3. Morningstar: Crit.: 19-20 / x3. This weapon was greatly feared for a reason. It was affectively a one strike-one kill weapon. Nunchaku: Those proficient with this weapon and have
Ambidexterity gain an extra attack, as if wielding 2 small weapons
interchangeably. This has nothing to do with 2WF or off hand attack,
but rather exchanging holds on a symmetrical weapon. The Nunchaku is
usually made of steel and deals d6 damage. Its wooden version does d4
non lethal damage, but counts as a tiny weapon, thus using the best BAB
progression. Quarterstaff: The quarterstaff automatically grants its wielder
+2 AC bonus against melee and thrown weapons, and an additional +1 when
fighting defensively and +2 for total defense. Quarterstaff wielders
are unaffected by counter-tripping. An improvised wooden stick does d4
damage, but a highly fashioned combat staff is fitted with steel tips
that enhance the damage to d6. Shuriken: 1d3 slashing or piercing damage (there are 2 general types), 15’ range multiplier. Sling: This weapon does d6 (20/x2) with metal bullets and d4 with improvised ammunition. Spear: Does d8 damage. When held 2H, it's similar to the
quarterstaff in functionality, except the primary side does d8 damage.
It doesn't confer the basic +2 AC against melee and thrown weapons, but
it does grant the extra AC bonus for fighting on the defensive, or for
total defense. The Longspear is actually a Pike. The given pole weapons
have made it obsolete. Trident: Skewers on a critical hit. Removing a skewered trident
causes d6 damage and requires a full round's action. If one continues
to fight with the trident in place, he takes d3 points per round and
suffers -2 hit, -1 init penalties and -3 to all perception based skills.
Additional Weapons
Battle Chain: This 2H weapon allows attacks both opponents up to
10' away and against adjacent opponents without provoking AoOs. It does
1d4 damage (20/x2) and can trip, entangle ("critical" trip), disarm,
sunder and strangle (instead of a critical hit; Ref DC = [10 + BAB/2 +
STR-mod]). Battlestaff: This double weapon is a massive steel-reinforced
version of the quarterstaff with studded steel tips that does d8
(20/x2) damage and lacks the quarterstaff's defensive advantage. Bladed Gauntlet: This gauntlet has 3 blades protruding forward
from its back, each about the length of a dagger beyond the knuckles.
It does d6 (20/x2) damage and cannot be disarmed. Blowgun (hand): 20ft range increment. Deals 1 point of damage + poison effect. Blowgun (large): 60ft range increment. Deals 1d3 points of damage + poison effect. Boomerang: This weapon does d4 (20X2) damage when it hits. If it misses, it returns to the wielder. Cestus: Adds d3 bludgeoning damage to unarmed strike, at the expense of a -2 penalty to all climb checks. Chakram: This circular blade does d6 (19-20/x2) damage and has a range increment of 20ft. Crusher-Axe: This weapon is an elongated large axe (d10, 20/x3) with a studded steel ball (d8, 20/x2) at the back side. Dire Maul: Does 2d6 (20/x3). Any hit from this devastating weapon counts as Bull Rush. Flailed Staff: This weapon looks like 2 staffs connected
together, one of normal length and the other just 1/3rd length. The
primary side does d8 damage, but allows counter-tripping. In all other
aspects, this weapon functions like a regular quarterstaff. Great Morningstar: 2d6 (19-20/x3), metal hafted. Flailed Staff: This weapon looks like 2 staffs connected
together, one of normal length and the other just 1/3rd length. The
primary side does d8 damage, but allows counter-tripping. In all other
aspects, this weapon functions like a regular quarterstaff. Katana: The highest quality blade known. A standard Katana
(price: 5000gp, hardness: 15, HP: 20) does 1d10+1 (18-20/x3) damage. It
may be used either 1H or 2H (equivalent to Bastardsword) and counts as
masterwork weapon. One usually cannot simply buy Katana, since they're
custom made for high military positions or nobility in certain cultures
and take 6 months to make by 3 different master craftsmen. Masterwork
Katana (price: not set, hardness: 25, HP: 30) double the usual effects
of masterwork weapons, are 100% stainless, and although not made of
adamantine, they penetrate hardness just as effectively. They require 5
years of preparations and are made only for the use of a state's
highest military position. Although the Katana counts as exotic weapon,
it's incredibly balanced. Someone with background in Heavy Blades that
didn't take the required exotic weapon training uses it as if it were a
Bastardsword. Khopesh: This sword seems like a bizarre hybrid between a sword and an axe. It does d8 (19-20/x2) damage. Kusarigama: The next step in the evolution of the Battle Chain,
this weapon is a Battle Chain with a Kama attached to one side instead
of a weight. Maul: Does d10 (20/x2).
[b]Night Cleaver: This weapon is a massive and elongated axe-like
blade, connected to a short and heavy pole with 4 docking points. It
does 2d6 (19-20/x3) damage. For sundering attempts during combat it has
hardness 15 and 20 HP. Parrying Dagger: This triple-bladed version trades some damage potential for defense and maneuverability. It does d4 (20/x2) piercing damage. Pounding Staff: This weapon (introduced in “crouching tiger,
hidden dragon”) is a 4’ “cubistic” fashioned steel staff with a
sword-like 2-handed handle. It’s serrated throughout the entire length
and does 2d6 (20/x2) damage, and adds +4 to all sundering attempts. Its
mass makes it useful for tripping. Scourge: This shorter and more battle-appropriate version of the whip does d6 (20/x2) damage. Silken Pike: Only a handful of individuals master the usage or
the means of preparation of this weapon. The silken pike is actually a
10ft scarf, woven out of extremely fine steel threads intertwined with
silk, which has undergone special treatment with oils and minerals to
withstand fire to some extent. When used correctly, it does d6 (20/x2)
bludgeoning (forward jab – hence the name) or slashing damage. It can
trip, disarm, entangle, strike up to 10ft away and sunder. In terms of
speed, it counts as a small weapon and it can be used 1H or 2H. Without
the proper training, this weapon is no more than a piece of garment. Steel War-Axe: (1H/2H): The classic symmetrical metal hafted
axe. It does d10 (20/x3) damage. Unlike other axes, its handle is too
short for tripping. However, because of its relatively short haft, it
can be used in confined spaces. Three-section-staff: This double weapon has the same stats as
quarterstaff. To disarm a 3-sec-staff, one actually needs two
successful consecutive disarm attempts against a 1-handed weapon. For
all 2WF applications, 3-section-staff counts as 2 separate ideal-paired
weapons. You may also swing it as a 2-handed weapon for d8 damage,
usually saved to gain reach attacks, but then you may be disarmed
normally. Throwing Iron: This piercing weapon uses the same stats as
shuriken. It's useless for cutting soft materials, but it reduces the
defense of any chain or scale based armor by -2, by penetrating in
between the metal parts. Tonfa: Think of a policeman’s nightstick. This weapon does d4
(20/x2) damage. A single tonfa matches the quarterstaff’s defense. When
used in pairs, the AC bonuses stack on all applications. This weapon is
slow on the offensive side. In order to enjoy the defensive advantage
of this weapon, you must attack with it as if it were a large weapon
(in terms of weapon speed). Wakizashi: This weapon is the Katana's smaller counterpart. A
standard Wakizashi (price: 3000gp, hardness: 15, HP: 15) does 1d6+1
(18-20/x3) damage. Just like the Katana, the Wakizashi is incredibly
balanced. Someone with background in Light Blades that didn't take the
required exotic weapon training uses it as if it were a Shortsword. War Fan: When held open, this weapon does d6 slashing damage and
grants +2 bonuses to disarm and to AC. It can be used for bludgeoning
or piercing damage when closed, but then it loses the bonuses to disarm
and AC. Switching operatus modes can be done once in a combat round
cycle as a swift action (the second time requires a move action).
General Notes on Weapons
• Unless noted otherwise, all melee weapons have a range increment of 5ft.
• All weapons related to Staffs (except Night Cleaver) can utilize
reach attacks. Medium weapons allow switching uses once/round between
double-weapon and reach-weapon as a swift action and large weapons
require a move action to do so. Reach attacks made by non-reach weapons
prohibit perpendicular/diagonal maneuvers (e.g. AC bonus, trip, disarm,
slash …)
• Except for combat in confined places, all reach weapons allow attacks against adjacent opponents.
• All x4 crit multipliers are reduced to x3.
• PA with 2H bludgeoning/chopping weapons also count as a 5ft Bull Rush.
How many Weapon Groups & Armor proficiencies each class gets
Notes:
- For each +4 BAB, add another Weapon Group or Armor Category at no
cost. Also, a feat can be spent (and reclaimed later on) to "buy" a
Weapon Group / Armor Category.
- In case of multiclassing, the starting Weapon Groups & Armor Proficiencies overlap.
Rules for improving weapons' aptitude
Redefined Prerequisites & Functionalities:
1. Instead of Warrior Levels, weapon advancement has BAB as
prerequisite. The BAB requirements for Weapon Focus, Weapon
Specialization & Greater Weapon Specialization are to be deduced
from the core Fighter-Level requirements. The BAB requirements for
Weapon Mastery, Greater Weapon Focus & Weapon Supremacy are
redefined to 7, 10 & 19 respectively (this will be more meaningful
and significant once the Warrior base class is introduced (below)).
2. Greater Weapon Focus has Weapon Mastery as prerequisite.
3. Weapon Mastery is applied per group, not per damage type
(bludgeoning/piercing/slashing). Weapon Mastery for a ["Multiple" Melee
Weapon-Groups] is applied to weapons from all parent-groups.
Additional/Modified Benefits (on top of those detailed in PHB I&II):
1. Weapon Focus & Weapon Specialization and their "Greater"
versions also add a cumulative +1 to all opposed Disarm, Sunder &
Trip checks.
2. Weapon Focus & Greater Weapon Focus with melee weapons
also grant +1 shield bonus to AC. When wielding 2 Medium or quicker
weapons with Weapon Focus, the AC bonus is increased by an extra +1,
provided the welder has Ambidexterity & TWF.
3. Greater Weapon Focus also increases a weapon's critical threat range by 1.
4. Greater Weapon Specialization also increases a weapon's critical
damage multiplier by 1 and makes the wielder immune to fumbles (see
"Natural 1s and natural 20s" in the next entry).
5. Weapon Supremacy doubles the modifiers given for 1, 2, 3 & 4,
and works for range weapons as for melee weapons. This overrides the
benefits given for Weapon Supremacy in PHBII.
Additional Information and Options
Ideal Pairs
Usually, when wielding 2 weapons of the same size category (small or
medium), the "Firing rate" is reduced to that of the next "size"
category. Some weapons, however, are designed to work perfectly as
pairs (the same weapon in both hands) and do not impose this
limitation. These weapons are: Kama, Light Mace, Nunchaku, Sai,
Scimitar, Shortsword and Siangham.
Deflect (a new combat option)
Some weapons (including unarmed) allow you to avoid receiving an
immanent blow. If attacked by a melee weapon (either in melee or when
thrown) and hit, as an immediate action, roll to hit against AC = [20 +
(the to-hit result) – (your AC)]. Success means the weapon was
deflected just before hitting.
Notes:
- Missile attacks, lance charges and sundering attempts cannot be
deflected, nor can attacks made by creatures 2 size categories larger.
- When successfully deflecting natural attacks, unless doing so unarmed
yourself, the attacker is aware that continuing the attack means
certain injury. Unless the attacker ceases his attack action before
landing the blow, it automatically gets hit and takes a -4 hit penalty
for all its remaining attacks.
- A shield can be used for deflection: at the risk of being sundered.
- A target of a critical hit knows beforehand – from the situation of
battle – that it's gonn'a get it hard (provided it is aware of the
incoming blow and wasn't misled by feinting or other means) and can
time its deflections where it really counts.
Redirect: If you have both Improved Unarmed Strike (or are a
monk) and Improved Deflect, and you successfully deflect an attack
while both your hands are unoccupied, then your opponent actually
targets himself with the attack that was meant for you.
Combat Maneuvers and relevant weapons
Trip - applicable for any weapon related to Axes (except War Axe
– see weapon's description), Flails & Chains, Picks (but not
Hammers), Staffs and sting Based. Other weapons that may Trip are:
Guisarme, Kama, Khopesh, Pounding Staff and Scythe. Disarm - applicable for any weapon related to Axes and Flails
& Chains. Other weapons that may disarm are: all swords, Bladed
Gauntlet, Kama, Parrying Dagger, Quarterstaff, Ranseur, Sai, Scourge,
Siangham, Sickle and Whip. Sunder - applicable for any bludgeoning or slashing weapon, except for Bola, Sap, Shuriken and Whip Deflect - applicable for any weapon related to Axes, Flails & Chains (excluding Nunchaku), Heavy Blades, Maces & Clubs, Picks &
Hammers and Staffs. Other weapons that may deflect are:
Parrying Dagger, Sai, Siangham, Scythe and Shortsword.
AC
- The AC modifiers are: Armor, Dodge and Deflection. Any other type is ignored/redefined.
- Dodge AC can only come from character traits or morale bolstering effects.
- Armor & Deflection AC never stack with themselves (they overlap).
Actions - Redefinitions
- Dropping prone is an immediate/swift (not free) action.
- A swift action is something you integrate into your actions, whereas an immediate action is something you do as a response to someone else's actions (a reaction). The two don't usually come at the expense of one another.
- A standard action can be replaced with 2 move actions.
- A move action can be substituted for a 5ft-step, trading distance for avoiding AoOs.
- Total Defense does not prohibit immediate actions (including AoOs - see below).
- Withdraw, given the above, is no longer an action by itself, but rather a combination of other actions.
- An AoO is an immediate action, not an additional (and untimed) action or set of actions.
- A counter-maneuver (regarding: disarm/trip/... etc) is an immediate action.
Modified & New Armor Types:
- Studded Leather is called "Reinforced Leather": studded leather wouldn't work like describe and has never really been used historically.
- Chain-Mail: Max-DEX is +3 and it only weighs 35 lb. Because of this, the price is set to 200gp.
- Heavy Brigandine / Banded Mail
(2 new armor types – identical stats): Has an AC-bonus of +5,
max-DEX-bonus of +2, ACP -5, ASF 30% and weighs 40 lb. Price is 150gp.
- Splint-Mail: Redefined as Heavy Brigandine.
- Plate-Mail
(new armor type): In effect, a lighter version of the full-plate armor
– Breast-Plate extended with limb covering chain & plate. It has an
AC-bonus of +7, max-DEX-bonus of +2, ACP -5, ASF 25% and weighs 35 lb.
Price is 900gp. This is the best armor available for buying.
- Half-Plate: Redefined as Plate-Mail.
- Full-Plate: Tailor-made – requires special order and a lot of time.
- Supreme-Plate:
Found exclusively in the possession of dwarven kings or obscenely rich
warriors with too much time on their hands. It is stainless,
tailor-made and takes years to complete. It has an AC-bonus of +10,
max-DEX-bonus of +3, ACP -4, ASF 20% and weighs 30 lb. Price is 12000gp.
Shields’ AC Adjustments
- A Heavy shield grants +3 to AC
- A Tower shield does not cause attack penalties and the ACP is -4.
- All shields add +1 to AC for fighting on the defensive and +2 for total defense.
- A shield's defense can be applied to an adjacent ally against a
single attack as an immediate action. This causes you to lose your
shield's defense until the beginning of your combat turn to come.
Helmets:
The entire subject of how helmets contribute to one's defenses was
totally ignored by WotC. This is something I never found justification
for. Therefore, I've devised the following rulings, which seem to best
describe the benefits and penalties for wearing helmets, in and out of
combat:
- A helmet is worth +1 armor AC.
- Light, medium and heavy helms grant +1/2/3 AC vs. confirming-crit.
They also cause the wearer to suffer a penalty equal to this number to
all perception skill checks (Spot, Listen, Search... etc).
- This would probably mean people are constantly taking off their helmets between fights, which seem reasonable. Note: wearing lighter helmets than your armor-appropriate type
grants lower defenses, however, wearing heavier helmets than your
armor-appropriate type doesn't grants higher defenses. This has to do
with how helmets interact with the design of their appropriate armor.
Bull Rush
Spoiler:
Push Away
When successfully Bullrushing, the attacker may attempt to "shove" his
target just outside its reach without completing its move with the
target. For doing so, it must overcome its opponent on a DEX check.
Bull Rush Off a Cliff/Ledge
• Bull Rush pushes a target off cliff automatically, given enough movement.
• The faller gets DC 15 reflex save to grab a hold of something, to avoid falling.
• The faller can voluntarily give up his Ref save in order to make a
grapple check against the opponent. A success means that both go over
the cliff. Pin result indicates that only the attacker falls off. Grappling while falling
Grappling works as normal in mid-air (assuming it is a long enough fall
to allow time for grappling), but the attacker gets a -4 penalty. If
your opponent is pinned when you hit the ground, then you land on top
of him, you treat the fall as 10ft shorter, while the landed-on treats
the fall as 10ft longer.
Called Shots (yes/no) ?
Called shots are already in the game.
- Called Shot to the Feet: Trip
- Called Shot to the Hands: Disarm
- Called Shot to the Weapon(s): Sunder
- Called Shot to a Vital Organ: Sneak Attack
If your players want to go beyond that, remind them that anything they
can do, the monsters can do as well - and the monsters will get off a
hell of a lot more shots against any given PC than the PCs will get
against any given monster.
Character Creation & Advancement
Spoiler:
Ability-Score Generation
1. Take 2 of each, 4 through 9, cards from a deck of cards: (a total of 12 cards).
2. Shuffle and deal them out in pairs.
3. Turn each pair over and add them up. This gives you 6 scores, ranging from 8 to 18.
4. If 5 out of the 6 scores are below 15, you may try again. You have 2
retries. If this outcome occurs 3 times, you may take any of the
results that you see fit.
5. Assign each score to any ability you wish.
This is a nice compromise between rolling and point-buy. It combines
the excitement of uncertainty with the promise of 100% fairness, and it
requires almost no math.
Ability-Score Progretion
Characters add 1 point to one ability score at each level. Racial ability-score limits
may be exceeded at each level divisible by 4 and you cannot increase
the same ability twice in 2 consecutive levels. This serves as a decent
compensation for a bad start and/or MAD. It also puts yet a greater
impact to level progression
(Sinfire Titan: "Stat boosters are almost required for certain
characters, as they are too MAD to rely on base stats plus level
bonuses").
Level Advancement & Training
- Characters WILL age during the game. There will be significant "down
time" between adventures during which characters will train, research,
build strongholds, etc.
- Training to gain a new class takes one year - requires a mentor. This includes prestige classes.
- Gaining a new level takes one month with a mentor, or 1d4+2 months
without a mentor. A mentor is required until level 7. After that, level
progression is automatic. A prestige class requires no tutoring beyond
attaining 1st level.
- Each major city has a special training academy for adventurers,
sponsored by the authorities (an effective tool to prevent anarchy).
This includes coverage of all base classes.
Charging
When determining the line on which you charge, you do not have to take
the shortest route to your opponent. Instead, you may charge in any
straight line on which you would threaten your opponent.
You must make your attack when you enter the first square in which you threaten your opponent.
Coup de Grace
Getting into Coup de Grace position takes a standard action - execution
is a move action. Maintaining the threat provoke AoOs, but with +8 init
bonus to carry out your threat, unless attacked by an unnoticed
opponent. This allows on-the-fly hostage scenarios.
You can choose to sever extremities, blind, deafen, or otherwise maim
with 1d6 points of ability drain on a failed Fortitude save, instead of
attempting to kill a helpless target.
Critical Hits
Spoiler:
General Changes:
- Critical Hits are dependant upon the success margin, not the rolled
number. A hit is considered to be critical if the margin is 10 or more,
-1 per additional point of thread range (e.g. a scimitar would only
need an 8-point margin to score a critical hit).
- "Critical threat" is plain simple critical hit. Critical Hits do
maximum damage and the extra damage dice are rolled normally (makes no
sense for a critical hit to do less than a standard one).
- When scoring a critical hit against a creature susceptible to
precision damage (see "Immunities – Redefinition" below), a 2nd roll is
made. If it also indicates a crit, there's a chance for a killer blow (targets with discernable anatomies only)
and the opponent must make a Fort save vs. DC = [10 + 1/2 BAB + (by how much did the attacker surpass the min result to-hit-critical)] or die.
- Critical hits automatically negate miss chances due to concealment and/or cover, unless you’re fighting blind.
Critical Enhancements:
- Greater Weapon Focus increases critical threat range by 1.
- Greater Weapon Specialization increases critical damage multiplier by 1.
- Keen (magical): increases the critical threat range and damage multiplier by 1, rather than doubling threat range.
- Vorpal (magical): increases critical threat range by 1 and the
critical damage multiplier by 3, rather than behead (which is bad
mechanics for a game that has no called shots or hit locations). Vorpal
and Keen magical enhancements don't stack. Every other combination does.
Delay In-Turn
It is possible to delay after starting your turn, at the expense of a move action.
If you just make a swift action, you still have a standard action available.
If you already made a move action, all you have left is another move action.
Damage Multipliers
All damage multipliers ('double-dmg', including from multiple sources)
– for all forms of attacks – are applied to the weapon's (or spell's)
base damage, not to any add-ons (PA, STR-mod, Spec, etc)
Dodge AC progression
1/2 Ref-Save is applied as dodge AC, detracting ACP from all sources.
Epic level progression
Use the epic progression rules for saves past +12.
Beyond character level 20, BAB improves at a rate of +1 per 5 levels,
unless one of your base classes is already supposed to have a better
BAB.
Disregard everything else that's related to Epic-level rules.
Evasion
This powerful defensive option is an immediate action, not a free action.
Favored Classes & Multiclassing
There are no multiclassing XP penalties of any sort and for any reason.
Each race has 2 base classes that come more natural to it than other
classes. When advancing a favored class, you only "burn" 90% of your
appropriate level XP – the rest is transferred for sake of the next
level advancement.
The favored classes for the PHB races are as follows:
- Dwarf: Cleric, Warrior
- Elf: Druid, Mage
- Gnome: Bard, Mage
- Half Elf: Rogue, Witch
- Half Orc: Hexblade, Witch
- Halfling: Bard, Rogue
- Human: Any of the above. Note: Ghostknife, Monk and Sorcerer are classes that don't come naturally to anyone.
Feint – Redefined
I've always felt awkward with feinting being tied to skills. Battle
cunning has nothing to do with having a slick tongue or sharp wits.
So here's an alternative calculation, based on one's basic combat aptitude:
- Aggressor's score = d20 + BAB + [(DEX & CHA)-mod] + Bluff synergy
- Defender's score = d20 + BAB + [(PER & WIS)-mod] + Sense Motive synergy Notes:
- Feinting bypasses Uncanny Dodge.
- Feinting against a non-humanoid imposes a -4 penalty because it's
harder to read a creature's strange body language. Against a creature
of animal Intelligence (1 or 2), you take a -8 penalty. You cannot
feint a non-intelligent opponent. Feinting in combat does not provoke
an AoO.
Fighting Recklessly
You can choose to fight recklessly at the beginning of your turn. If you do so, you take a -4 penalty to AC to gain a +2 bonus to hit until the
beginning of your next turn.
Flatfooted
Does NOT occur just for losing initiative.
Fractional BAB & Saves
It's highly unreasonable that someone with 1st Monk level and 1st Rogue
level (which is quite combatative) would trail behind a 2nd level mage
in terms of BAB. It's also unreasonable that the same character would
have double the initial Ref save boost.
Gaze Attacks
Gaze attacks require eye-to-eye contact in order to be applicable.
When one recognizes an opponent (usually a monster) as having a gaze
attack, he can avoid meeting its gaze, taking -2 to hit and AC, and to
all opposed rolls against it.
Once a target of a gaze attack makes the save, it automatically recognizes the opponent as a threat and may react accordingly.
Grapple – simplified and with more options
Spoiler:
The cumbersome 3.5e Grapple rules cause many gaming tables to use
hand-waving when dealing with grappling situations (or bar it
altogether).
What's the problem here? Why are so many people leery of the grappling rules?
The rules for actually initiating a grapple are relatively simply
(being largely similar to the rules for bull rushing, disarming, and
the like). The problem is that, once you're in a grapple, there's a whole slew of new rules to determine what you can and cannot do in the grapple.
- Sometimes you can't attempt the action.
- Sometimes you make an opposed grapple check in addition to (or instead of) the normal check.
- Sometimes the scope of the action is limited (attack, but only with a
light weapon; cast a spell, but only if the action is no more than 1
standard action).
- Sometimes the rules aren't changed at all.
- And then, on top of all that, there's pinning... which introduces a completely different set of conditional rules.
This set of optional rules tries to fix that problem by applying a simple, consistent rule to actions attempted in grappling.
Starting a Grapple
First, make a touch attack (provokes AoOs) – if successful, make an opposed Grapple check.
The winner has its opponent held (or can break the hold).
IN A GRAPPLE:
• You do not threaten opponents that are not grappling.
• You lose your AGI-bonus to AC (if any) against opponents that are not grappling.
• When attempting any action, a character in a grapple must first
succeed at an opposed grapple check against everyone else in the
grapple (in case of multiple grapplers). This check is a free action (Note: When making a full attack you must make an opposed grapple check before each attack)
Movement
A holding opponent can move as much as its opponent's additional total
weight allows. Each additional opponent that overcomes the holder's
Grapple check also adds its weight to the total.
Pinning
Overcoming a held opponent by 10 or more, or a free opponent by 20 or
more, means the opponent is pinned (or the Grapple ends; winner's
choice).
Pinned opponents take -5 on all Grapple checks and -4 on all attack
rolls. They can’t move, and you may put ropes or manacles on them if
you wish to, using a standard action.
At the end of any turn you are pinning your opponent, you may inflict
unarmed or constriction damage. With subsequent attack actions, you may
attack with natural weapons or light weapons with no penalty.
Lift
A held opponent can be handled by expending an attack action as if it
were inanimate gear of twice its weight (since it's struggling).
A pinned opponent can be handled as if it were inanimate gear of its actual weight. Throw: A lifted opponent can be thrown just out of your reach if
it can be lifted off ground, and up to twice as far if it can be lifted
over head.
Escaping a Grapple
Escaping a grapple requires an attack action. As with any action in a
grapple, the character must succeed at an opposed grapple check against
everyone in the grapple.
Hit Points
All creatures gain maximized HP according to their racial HD (either as
given in the relevant Monster Manual or character races' HD - according
to the Races' spoiler) plus their CON-score. Any class taken grants 1/2
its maximized HD value +1 (e.g. 6 HP for d10) without regarding CON-mod. Dropping below 0 HP:
Disabled state: Up to the creature's HD in negative HP value. Disabled creatures automatically stabilize.
Dying: Any negative value between HD + 1 and HD + CON-score (consciousness is lost after 1 round per positive CON-mod).
Death: Anything beyond "dying".
Illiteracy
Except for Bards, Clerics* & Mages, all characters start out illiterate, unless they spend 2 SkPts for acquiring the ability to read & write. * Some primitive cultures also have Clerics - Shamans - which are illiterate. Shamans start with 2 extra SkPts.
Immunities – Redefinition
Spoiler:
In all the D&D games I've played, one thing has always stayed the
same: For certain fights, some character types have no options other
than to assist others and sit back and wait. For instance, a rogue
dual-wielding a pair of Vorpal scimitars (for having more attacks and
fantastic crits). Fighting a construct, he'll soon find his extra
attacks & extra damage ineffective and simply make him weaker,
because of the construct's DR (as opposed to wielding a 2-hander). So
he can't do much and ends up bored. Likewise, a bard fighting an army
of undead soon finds that all his singing and all his enchantment
spells are wasted and without serious multiclassing, there's little for
him to do. Here's an attempt to ameliorate this problem:
• Very few targets are totally immune to precision damage. The level of resistance to precision damage depends upon the level of Fortification, which goes as follows:
- Corporeal undead: 25%
- Plants & monstrous plants: 50%
- constructs: 75%
- Incorporeal & amorphous opponents (oozes etc) and objects: 100%
• Only creatures with no mind (no INT score listed, or with an INT of
0) are inherently immune to mind-effects. So you could Charm-Monster a
lich (with -4 to the DC, because the taint of death strengthens their
determination), but not a zombie. Again, the exception would be those
who're under the effect of Mind Blank or similar effects.
• The only creatures that are inherently immune to flanking are those
with class abilities like UD, items / spell-effects that negate such
penalties, or creatures with multiple/no mechanical facing (e.g.
Beholder/Hydra/jellyfish).
Initiative
- base Ref-save bonus is added to initiative. The idea is that with experience you learn to better time your reaction.
- Identical initiatives go together (there are real life situations where two men kill each other).
INT Increment
Apply extra skills from INT bonuses retroactively. It's only reasonable
that someone who becomes more intelligent can learn new things, and
otherwise, if you're making a character above first level, you'd have
to go through all his levels to nail the end result.
LA Buyoffs
Let's face it – the UA LA-buyoff is a rip off. First, LA
creatures/characters take an in-progress XP toll. Second, the factors
that warrant LA become less evident as the HD progress (e.g. a 9th
level Svirfneblin does in no way measure up to a 12th level character
in terms of power or overall capabilities... and neither to an 11th
level character).
Therefore, I suggest LA buyoff to be modified as follows:
1. The first LA reduction occurs after gaining 4 levels beyond the basic HD, without any further XP payment.
2. The second LA reduction occurs after gaining 5 more levels (a total of +9).
3. The third reduction occurs after gaining 6 more levels (and so on).
This ensures a relatively quick initial reduction, but without making
it too easy for characters with multiple-levels diff. It's a bit
cheaper on the overall (but not too cheap) and it doesn't require the
progression table or the XP-formula.
Magical Plusses & DR
There are no Magical Plusses for weapons/armors/shields. There's also
no [DR x/magic]. Replace all cases of [DR X/magic] with [DR
X/adamantine]. Remove [DR X/magic] altogether for creatures that are
just too "squishy" to have adamantine based DR (adjust CR downward
appropriately).
Massive Damage
Redefined as 50% of maximum health HP. Simple and proportional to the
subject's ability to endure damage. Starting with a decent amount of HP
at 1st level ensures it won't occur too often at the lower levels, but
there's still a significant difference between a 1st level Mage and a
colossal red dragon.
A surviving target must make an immediate second save.
- If the Save fails, the target is nauseated from the pain for 1d4 rounds.
- If the save succeeds, the target is sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Missile Devices and Skills
Missile devices are cumbersome and hinder movement. When equipped,
Shortbows and light Crossbows apply a -2 ACP, and Longbows and Heavy
Crossbows apply a -4 ACP.
Mounted Archery
Cannot be performed with longbows / composite longbows - that's why they (Mongols) invented shortbows.
Multiple Attacks and Movement
- Full attack allows spreading your attacks between multiple opponents (if you have more that a single attack per round) anyway you see fit,
while moving a distance no greater than 1/2 your movement rate. Alternatively, you can move at your normal speed, but then you can make
only a single iterative attack per opponent. Regarding the latter, if you're fighting TWF-style, you can make an offhand attack against one of
your opponents (and only one).
- Upon Gaining 3 attacks per round, You can spend a standard action to make a number of attacks equal to 1/2 your full attack (rounded up)
from a stand-still, or make a single attack while moving up to your speed. You may also make a single attack as a stand-still move-action.
- TWF and extra attacks granted by the Monk's FoB are both applicable in a standard-action attack.
- Charging and Level Advancement: When charging, an attacker's BAB is added (on top of the +2 everyone gets) to his charge damage.
In case of Two Weapon Pounce or other cases of multiple attacks (e.g. by a Hydra), only the 1st attack gains the extra damage on
a successful hit. This definition comes instead of the Barbarian's "Pounce" ACF (which is rationally flawed and pushes up the damage
too far high), but still keeps charging a decent combat option at higher levels, when no better options are available, while preventing it
from becoming an "I win" option.
Natural 1s and natural 20s
When you roll 1, calculate as 2 – d12 (min -10).
When you roll 20, calculate as 18 + 2d6 (max 30).
This rule applies to all d20 rolls and overrides automatic success/hit & automatic failure/miss of all sorts. Special: Scoring the exact to-hit never counts as critical. Fumbles: When scoring a natural 1 on a melee attack (1-2
for non proficient), unless you actually score a hit (some targets are
just too easy), you fumble.
Roll d6.
- On a result of 1 or 2, have the attacker roll an additional attack
against a square adjacent to the target that's within his reach
(including self, for self inflicted injury). The target of such an
attack always loses its AGI-mod to AC. If no target is available, the
attacker simply missed stylishly. This option is discarded in case of a
reoccurring fumble (fumbling a fumble).
- On 3 or 4 the attacker drops his weapon.
- On 5 or 6 the attacker is rendered prone. Note: All fumble results provoke AoOs.
Omitted Mechanics
- Alignment-based DR.
- Permanent ability-score enhancements by magical means.
- Stacking ability-score enhancements by magical means.
- Stacking the same bonus multiple times (I've encountered a build that
uses 2 PrCs that grant WIS-mod to AC - no go, it only counts once)
- Racial weapon-familiarity
- Racial bonuses on attack-rolls / AC (use the Favored Enemy feat when relevant)
- Racial-substitution class features
Out-of-Turn Dodge
Any time you are about to be attacked, you can initiate Total Defense
(giving up your next combat turn), provided you're not denied your
AGI-mod to AC.
Overrun - Redefined
Spoiler:
The idea behind overrunning is moving through an enemy square, knocking
the enemy down in the process without attempting to deal damage.
The 3.Xe execution of this option has one major problem - Only one overrun per combat turn.
This defies the image of a mighty warrior plowing his way through a goblin horde.
On top of everything else, it costs a move action AND a standard action
to complete. So you can move to your target and potentially knock it
down, but not attack.
No wonder I've never encountered Overrun discussions on these boards.
It's a crappy combat option – even if you only have a single attack
Let's redefine:
An Overrun attempt is a maneuver that allows you to attempt to move through squares occupied by enemies, attempting to knock all of them prone in your wake. Overrunning provokes AoOs.
Actions
- Full round action: You can move at your full running speed and attempt to overrun everyone in your path.
- Standard action: You can move up to twice your speed attempting to overrun everyone in your path.
- Special: You can Overrun on your way to making a Charge / Bull Rush
attempt as a full round action. Your start with twice your base speed
as movement distance, taking a movement decrease for every successful
Overrun (see below).
Movement
- Whatever option you choose to utilize, it must be made in a straight line from where you started.
- You must gain at least 5ft movement before engaging your 1st target.
- Every opponent of your size category you successfully
overrun detracts 5ft (1 square) from your movement. Opponents of 1 size
category larger reduce your speed by 10ft. Smaller opponents don't
hinder your movement (e.g. a human successfully overrunning 3 orcs
loses 15ft from his maximum distance (-20ft for 2 orcs, an ogre and a
halfling)).
Avoid / Block
- An avoiding opponent must make a Ref save (DC = [5 + overrunner's
BAB]) and spend an immediate action to move 5ft into an unoccupied
square. If successful, the defender is entitled to an AoO against the
overrunner as a free action (as part of avoiding the overrun).
- A blocking opponent is automatically entitled to an AoO. If the
attack hits, the overrunner takes damage and suffers a -4 penalty on
his opposed checks against the blocking opponent (checked the same as
for tripping, but the defender cannot use his DEX instead of STR).
Success / Failure
- If your opponent fails to avoid/block, you knock it prone and
continue with your overrun (or terminate your action anywhere midway).
- If your opponent successfully avoids, you may continue with your overrun (or terminate your action anywhere midway).
- If you're blocked, your overrun ends immediately, you fail to enter
your enemy's square and the defender may immediately react and make an
opposed STR check to try to knock you prone. If you lose or are
currently in an occupied square, you're immediately rendered prone.
Note: An opponent 2-sizes smaller than the aggressor (or
smaller) automatically loses if it tries to block (the mass difference
is simply too significant). Likewise, you automatically fail to overrun
someone 2 size categories (or more) larger than you.
Improved Overrun
You do not provoke an AoO from your target(s), whether they block or successfully avoid.
Pocket Dimensions
No such thing as different time-flow. Time has the same pace everywhere ("everywhere" meaning "everywhere in the widest sense).
Pounce
Creatures & characters that have pouncing capabilities gain +2 to
following attacks for every attack that hits while pouncing.
Note: While 2W-pounce is fine, one cannot attack more than once with an extremity while pouncing.
Pulling Punches
Pulling your punch successfully works just like making a successful subdual attack.
You still roll for damage normally - to relay the potential of your
attack to your opponent. You can choose to cause just 1 HP damage, to
more effectively illustrate your readiness to draw blood.
If your attack hits but would've missed for subdual damage, you cause
your weapon's base damage (no crit / stats / feats modifiers).
From this you can subtract:
- Your DEX-mod (your hand-eye coordination)
- Weapon Focus bonuses to-hit (your improved control over your weapon)
Add the carried weapon's traits (magical bonuses/effects etc) to the damage result if you deal even a single point of damage.
- by taking a -2 hit penalty, you can delay the decision to pull a punch to after confirming a hit. If the damage is enough to drop your
opponent to 0 or less, or if it’s a massive damage, you get a free Intimidate check with a +4 bonus to the result.
Retraining
Every time you gain a level, you can change one feat selection (You
must meet the prereqs for the new feat and can't replace a feat that's
a prerequisite for any other attribute you have) and/or reallocate up to 4
skill points (you cannot degrade a skill to have no ranks, if it's
already at the minimum it could be according to certain class-level combos (some base
classes (Bard, Monk & Rogue) gain automatic ranks in certain
skills), or if it's a prerequisite for any other attribute you have).
Shield Another
As an immediate action you position yourself to interfere with an
enemy's attack (melee / range / ray...) against an adjacent ally.
The enemy takes -4 on his attack rolls. Even if successful, there's 50% chance that the attack hits you instead of your ally.
The enemy may expend a swift action to redirect its attacks against you instead, gaining +4 to hit you. Note: You can't perform this maneuver if your and your enemy are (in terms of battlefield positioning) flanking your ally.
Simultaneous magical effects
Some official feats / features / class-combos (e.g. the Double Wand
Wielder feat) allow characters/NPCs/monsters to generate multiple
magical/supernatural/spell-like effects simultaneously. Given enough
ambition, one could find a way to really abuse the system. For this
reason, these rules reject the possibility of Simultaneous magical
effects. Basically, during the generation of an "unnatural" effect, the
forces around you are already utilized for a specific purpose and
cannot be harnessed for another effect.
Skill Modifiers by Size (rebalancing sizes)
- Apply +1/-1 to Disable Device and Sleight of Hand.
- Apply +2/-2 to Balance, Climb, Listen, Move Silently, Spot and Tumble.
- Apply the usual +4/-4 to Hide.
Skill Synergies
In addition to the +2 Synergy bonus at 5 ranks, for each additional 5
ranks you increase the Synergy bonus by +1 (e.g. at 15 ranks the
Synergy bonus would be +4).
Spell Resistance
- Ignore on all cases of energy damage except for "automatic hit" effects.
- Harmless spells go through automatically, instead of requiring a standard action to lower SR
Uncanny Dodge
UD & IUD are folded into a single class feature. Also, regard BAB
(which represents the sum of one's combat experience) and not class
level. UD & All around flanking: UD removes up to 2 flanking mates (a pair that by itself is flanking) from all around flanking.
Undead Spawns
Only free undead can spawn/control undead minions. This eliminates a
routine gathering of armies of undead, which being an earth-shattering
event, should only be available to spellcasters of legendary power.
Unarmed Combat
An unarmed combatant without Improved Unarmed Strike feat takes -4 AC penalty on top of the penalties specified in the PHB.
Undead Turning
Spoiler:
The core Turn Undead ability has 3 distinct problems:
1. It's very complicated (two rolls, nonstandard mechanics).
2. It works differently for good and evil characters.
3. It's too powerful at low levers and useless at high levels if not
used to fuel divine feats (undead HD rise much faster than their CR. At
levels 10+ most undead will have more HD than party level+4).
4. It affects all targets exactly the same, regardless of their efforts to resist.
The following rule is meant to solve all 4 issues:
- Undead turning is a discharge that deals [1/2-class-level (rounded
up)] * 1d6 damage to all undead within line of effect in [20ft + 5ft /
2-levels] radius sphere and allows Will save for 1/2 damage against DC
[10 + 1/2 Cleric's level + CHA-mod].
- Undead turning also heals the living, and affects specific magical
portals/barriers specifically designed to react to such energies.
Undead Clerics channel negative energy that harms the living
(basically, "Turning" them) and heals undead. Turning Results:
- Targets Are Shaken: Undead that fail their saving throw by 4 or less are shaken for 1d4 rounds.
- Targets Are Frightened: Undead that fail their saving throw by 5 or more are frightened for 2d4 rounds.
- Targets Are Destroyed: Undead that fail their saving throw by 10 or more are destroyed.
Undead turning works the same for good and evil Clerics – living
Clerics channel positive energies and undead Clerics channel negative
energies.
- Targets take 1/2 damage: Undead that make their saving throw are not demoralized.
Notes:
- These modifications keep undead turning strong at low levels, but not
as much as the PHB version, and it keeps being useful at higher levels.
Additionally, changing "nothing or destroyed" to damage & saves not
only causes the ability to scale better against undead with higher CRs,
it also makes turning more dynamic and creates a varied result.
- The healing aspect grants the Cleric extra healing without bumping
its spells and makes it useful when there are no undead around.
- This setup is much stronger against a horde of weak undead than a
single strong one, which is probably for the better. It means that the
Cleric unleashes whatever he can unleash... and it does what it does.
- Controlling Undead is a powerful tool that's accomplished with the appropriate 7th level Cleric spell.
Turn Resistance note: Creatures resistant to turning also gain 5 points of positive energy resistance for every +2 save modifier.
X-modifier to Y-stat-bonus
Spoiler:
Sometimes stats are enhanced by unorthodox means. This is reasonable
and acceptable, but in case several unorthodox enhancements co-exist,
they overlap. This serves to prevent game-mastery optimizers from
stacking modifiers to produce overblown numbers (e.g. INT/WIS/CON/CHA
to AC) that eventually ruin the fun for everyone.
Furthermore, here's a list (partial, I guess) of stat enhancements I find totally unreasonable: The target stat to be enhanced:
- AC
- Hit
- Fort
- Ref
- Will
- Spellcasting: DC / SR penetration The potential enhancers and what they should never augment:
- STR Bonus: AC / Ref / Spellcasting
- DEX Bonus: AC (under these rules) / Fort / Will / Spellcasting
- AGI Bonus: Hit / Fort / Will / Spellcasting
- CON Bonus: AC / Hit / Ref / Spellcasting
- ING Bonus: AC / Fort / Will
- WIS Bonus: Fort / Ref
- PER Bonus: Hit / Fort / Will / Spellcasting
- CHA Bonus: Hit
- Morale Bonus: Spellcasting
- Insight Bonus: Fort / Will
XP
Spoiler:
XP is not a fluid substance one can trade: You cannot just
"pore" your accumulated knowledge to anything. The same rule that is
given for magical items' creation (special components) is applied to
spells that are defined with XP cost. This is the thing that limits
their uses. Other spell components are only required when they serve as
receptacles.
Here's the motivation: http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.p...postcount%3D12
And here's how to tone down the power level gained by magical items: http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.p...postcount%3D16 XP and Level Advancement: Whenever a level is gained, the XP
drops to ZERO. Gaining the next level requires earning XP equal to your
next ECL (current +1) times 1000. This simplifies things significantly
and is OK, given the classes are way more capable and there's no XP
loss of any kind. Energy Drain doesn't consume XP: You make an immediate save
check. If you fail, you lose 1 point of STR, DEX, CON (Instant death at
Stat=0) and BAB (Instant death at BAB=-1).
The HP drain isn't significant, but you may lose #Att, there's still
danger of instant death and the effect is immediately permanent
A character can decide to follow a code of honor – a more or less
restrictive moral code. A character with a code of honor receives a
bonus to his will saves and a skill checks were his word, honor, etc.
has an influence, as long as the character does not violate the code.
The stricter the code is, the higher is the received bonus.
Being honorable has nothing to do with being ‘good’ though. A hobgoblin
raider who would never attack one of his comrades or lie to an ally is
honorable, even though he spends much of his time with plundering,
raping and pillaging.
The significance of a Code of Honor is determined by the obligations
the code includes. A minor code consists of 3 amendments, a significant
one contains 5, and a major code contains 8. It is up to the player to
determine the code’s rules, but the DM must agree to them. Any of these
rules must be significant enough to be relevant. A rule like “Assist
all albino dwarves without beard growth” is not sufficient.
A character that violates his codex loses all bonuses and suffers a
penalty to all social skills equal to the former bonus. A character can
make up for a code violation through a heroic deed.
Code:
Codel Will & Social Bonus Obligations
Minor +1 3
Significant +2 5
Major +3 8
Example Codes:
Barbarian Clansmen (minor):
- Never break your word to an honorable person.
- Always respect the laws of hospitality.
- Revenge any crime against you, your clan or your clan’s honor.
Professional Mercenary (minor):
- Stays bought.
- Follow your leader’s commands in spirit, not in words.
- Be loyal to your unit and your comrades.
Honorable Bandit (significant):
- Take from the rich, give to the poor.
- Be loyal to your comrades.
- Fights among comrades must be fair.
- Never make deals with the gentry.
- Never take from the underprivileged.
Chivalrous Knight (major):
- Protect those who are weaker than you.
- Protect the realm’s laws.
- Help women, widows and orphans.
- Don’t lie.
- Punish the guilty.
- Fights among men of honor must be fair.
- Follow the orders of your liege lord.
- Treat your subordinates well.
Damage Steps and Wounds
The more a character is injured the harder it gets for him to fight on.
There are 4 different damage steps, which bring penalties to all
throws, checks and saves (including damage) based upon the relation
between total HP and suffered damage.
This serves as a reliable reminder why it is always important to draw first blood and gain the upper hand ASAP.
Code:
Damage Steps Injury penalties
Full HP (unharmed) None
75% HP left (Hurt) -1
50% HP left (Wounded) -2
25% HP left (Staggering) -4
0 HP or less (if conscious) -6
Defensive Casting
3.5's defensive casting is DC 15 + spell level, which is OK, but
doesn't seem to account for variations in the opponent's fighting skill
and gives the same opportunity vs. a commoner as vs. an epic level
Warrior. A more reasonable approach might be DC = 10 + 1/2 attacker's BAB + spell level.
Dice-Rolling Time Optimization (suggestion)
High level play can get very slow with massive amount of dice to roll
and the variety of modifiers for each roll. If an effect calls for dice
rolling, it isn't necessary to roll them all. Instead, for each 3 dice
of damage that comes from an attack, roll the first and average the
remaining two (e.g. a 9HD fireball would do [1d6 + 7] thrice, which is
3d6 +21).
Dismemberment (sundering an extremity – resolved on critical hits)
Typically, a body parts require a certain number of HP damage to be severed.
- Hydra: each of a hydra’s heads has hit points equal to the creature’s
full normal hit point total, divided by its original number of heads.
- Humanoids: A leg or the head has 50% full HP. An arm has 30% full HP.
Energy Immunity – Gone!
Spoiler:
Just to clarify what is meant to be immune to an energy type: It means
a power/ability that always trumps another – regardless of how powerful
the attack is. e.g. A Fire Giant is immune to fire, regardless of how hot that fire
is. So even a god of fire harnessing the power of the entire plane of
elemental fire couldn't burn the giant, nor would the giant be scorched
by dropping him into the sun.
Energy immunities are impractical and unbalanced. They also promote the unhealthy idea of 'one-upmanship'.
For something like energy immunity I suggest the following solution:
Code:
Revised Energy Immunity
======================================================================
Type of Immunity Energy Resistance Example (fire related)
======================================================================
Standard 50 Bearded Devil
[Energy] Sub-type 100 Fire Giant, Red Dragon
Composed of [Energy] 150 Fire Elemental
Extra knowledge
All characters get 1 extra skill point per level that is assigned by
the DM to knowledge skills. This reflects each character's spontaneous
knowledge accumulation throughout his career.
Infinite Supplies
If anyone in the party has ranks in Craft (fletcher) and the
environment allows use of it, the party has virtually limitless ammo
supply (just because no one wants to track these things).
The same goes for food & drink where you can hunt & find water (or suck on roots ).
Sea Sickness
Fort saves once/hour vs. DC 10 + [2 per degree of weather roughness]. Failure results in sickness. Failure by -4 or more results in nausia
Spells for an alignment-less campaign
Spoiler:
Detect Hostile intents (Cleric 1, standard action, 60 ft (120-degree Cone), 10 min./level (check requires concentration), no save or SR)
You can sense how hostile detected creatures toward you.
1st Round: Presence or absence of living creatures with at least 3
points of Intelligence. For the purpose of this spell, every creature
capable of rational thinking is assumed to possess at least a certain
minimum amount of devotion.
2nd Round: Number of creatures in the area and the most inhospitable (hostile) creature present.
3rd Round: The strength and location of each target. If a creature is
outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its
exact location.
Detect Devotion (Cleric 2, standard action, 60 ft (120-degree Cone), 10 min./level (check requires concentration), no save or SR)
You can sense how devoted detected creatures are to any causes they are
affiliated with. The spell detects only the strongest devotion of any
particular creature. Causes include (but are not limited to): a
religion, an organization and personal aims and goals. The amount of
information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or
subject.
1st Round: Presence or absence of living creatures with at least 3
points of Intelligence. For the purpose of this spell, every creature
capable of rational thinking is assumed to possess at least a certain
minimum amount of devotion.
2nd Round: Number of creatures in the area and the devotion strength of the most devoted creature present.
3rd Round: The strength and location of each target. If a creature is
outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its
exact location. Devotion Strength: An aura of devotion’s strength depends on the
devotion of the detected creature. It can be either faint (for
non-devoted creatures), moderate (for somewhat devoted creatures) or
strong (for very devoted creatures). The strength of the aura of
devotion of any particular creature is completely at the DM’s
discretion. Each round, you can turn to detect a new area. The spell is
blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of
lead, or 3ft of wood or dirt.
Note: Each round you can turn to detect a new area. The spells
are blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of
lead and 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Good DMing Thumb Rules
Encounters
- Do your homework regarding spell, feats & stats – both on the
party's side and on the opponents' side (use stat-cards when necessary).
- Make your players used to several encounters between rests (even more
than 4) every now and then, so they'll remember the importance of
conserving their resources.
- The BBEG should never make it easy for the party to go NOVA – especially when prepared.
- Be descriptive: Don't let a quest for speedy combat resolution reduce
combat to nothing more than completely abstract and rapid-fire dice
rolls. It doesn't matter how fast you roll the dice: If you've taken
all the flavor and excitement out of the experience, even the shortest
combats will still feel tedious.
Characters and Death
Don't fudge rolls or implement dues-ex-machina specifically to save a
PC (unless a player's entire gaming morale is on the line – and even
then, never let your players in on the secret). However, write the
campaign with the PCs' victory in mind (after all, you want them to
win, so design the campaign around that idea). It should not be easy,
but it should be the expected outcome.
It's all part of being a good DM. You must establish challenges for the
PCs, convey (or demonstrate) the consequences of failure, and reinforce
the knowledge that failure is a possibility. Once your players start
feeling like they have a safety net, they will never take your
challenges seriously, and you've lost something as a DM.
The Campaign In General
- Take notes and keep good records. Keeping concurrent with the details
increases the general interest and makes the adventures more fun.
- Keep character ethos, alignment and CoC in mind.
- Don't give more information from Knowledge checks than it says.
- Give the characters enough downtime for resting/training, but not a lot beyond that.
- A good DM will take the time to write an adventure that takes into
account the strengths and weaknesses of each character and player. He
won't necessarily cater to the strengths or weaknesses all the time but
he should certainly keep them in mind.
- Be generous with BREADCRUMBS.
- No adventure survives the players intact. Be ready to make changes, sometimes on the fly.
- A corollary to player death is that failure should always be an
option. Players don't have to succeed in every adventure they go on. It
is important to let them know at the beginning of the game that they
might fail some adventures, and that's okay. They should have fun
trying and they'll get a better sense of accomplishment when they do
succeed.
- If the players latch on to something, grab it and run. The most
ludicrous thing could blossom into world changing events, given a
chance (e.g. The party catches a zealot evil priest and interrogates it
for his god's name ... the DM, not being prepared replies "The Unnamed
One" ... the players are awestruck and suddenly the entire campaign
revolves around "The Unnamed One")
- Learn when to say "yes" and when to say "no." If it doesn't hurt the game, then "yes" is the best.
A good D&D campaign has many characteristics in it
- RP
- mystery
- drama
- intrigue
- traps
- espionage
- riddles
- puzzles
and a healthy dose of hack&slash
Things to minimize down to zero
- Price haggling in various shops (unless the seller and/or a buyer is/are a part of the plot)
- Pin-point accurate encumbrance tracking. Outside of stupid huge amounts like lifting and carrying around carriages and stuff, it really has no added vaule.
- Magic Shops. Keep in mind wealth by population size.
Note: Table triumphs over Text. I personally find it a lot easier to figure a class out of its progression table. Whenever a class (or PrC)
feature in these rules states a class’ level that conflicts with the level given in its table – the table info takes precedence over the text.
Bard
Having no major kick of its own and suffering from low defensive
traits, I envision the Bard as being the one true "Jack of all Trades,
Master of None" – someone who can accomplish any disposition he sets
his mind to, but who also serves as a sage, a story teller and a
versatile & effective party support.
The following modifications serve as a major improvement to the core Bard.
Alignment: No restrictions
Skills: All skills are Class Skills for the Bard
Additional Spells (to further expand the Bard's range of options):
1st: Detect Snares and Pits
2nd: Pass Without Trace
3rd: Remove Curse
4th: Restoration
5th: Heal
6th: Vision Note: These spells are added to expand the "jack of all trades" aspect. Adding them doesn't change the Bard's "Spells Known" table.
Loremaster (Ex)
Bards are the renowned sages of the game world. On top of Bardic
Knowledge, a Bard gains a bonus of +1 rank per 2 Bard levels to all
knowledge skills given in PHB I (ranks for "Local", "History" and
"Nobility & Royalty" Knowledge categories may be assigned to more
than a single nation, but the total bonus is still +1 per 2 levels
each).
Spellsinger (Su)
Beginning at 4th level, a bard gains an ability to cast spells while in
the middle of performing Bardic Music, by weaving the incantation into
the song. By spending one Bardic Music use, he can cast a spell without
ending or interrupting an ongoing song. Only spells gained as a bard
can be cast in this way, not spells gained from other classes.
Bonus Feat
Choose any feat that affects Bardic Music in any way or grants a new Bardic Music power.
Well Versed (Ex)
The Bard's rich experience with music and sound grants him high tolerance to associated effects.
The Bard gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made vs. all
voice/music/sonic effects that are associated with enchantment,
illusion and compulsion. This, of course, encompasses all Bardic Music derived effects where a save is relevant.
Unearthly Song (Su)
By expending 1 daily use of Bardic Music, a Bard's Bardic Music may penetrate straight trough magical silence.
Discord (Su)
The Bard can use his Bardic Music to cause his enemies to become confused (up to a maximum of 1 round per class-level).
To be affected, an enemy must be able to see the Bard perform and within 60ft line of effect. Each enemy receives a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Bard’s level + Bard’s CHA-mod) to negate the effect. At the end of an affected creature’s turn, it is allowed a new Will save to overcome the effect.
Once a target successfully resists the effect, it is immune to Discord for 24 hours.
Cunning Brilliance (Ex)
Drawing upon a great wealth of stories and insights, through sheer inspiration and latent talent, the Bard is able to augment his actions, enabling him to fill the shoes of his companions or of his beloved heroes when needed most.
By spending 3 uses of Bardic Music, as a free action, the Bard may gain the benefits of any single extraordinary class feature of any other base class of his level or lower, for 1 round per class-level.
Combine Songs
Works as the core War Chanter's (CW) ability of the same name.
Mimicking Retort (Sp)
once per encounter, after surviving the effects of a spell, assuming he
is still able to act in combat, the Bard may make a spellcraft check
against the sell that struck him moments before. If he succeeds, he
manages to temporarily preserver the effect's energies and may recreate
it once (using his own caster level and CHA-mod) within the next [3 +
CHA-mod] rounds.
Ancient Bardic Mysteries
Spoiler:
A Bard's knowledge is vast and diverse. By spending many months during
their apprenticeship under the watchful guidance of an appropriate Bard
mentor (manifested in expending their 1st general feat (1st character
level only) and taking 4 ranks in an appropriate skill), many receive
extensive training associated with one of the primary spellcasting base
classes or even delve deeper into bardic mysteries. This extensive
training eventually grants them additional known spells (and
occasionally additional benefits).
Taking one of the features noted below, the Bard's starting age is
calculated according to the next age group (Cleric/Druid/Mage/Monk).
Chanter of Life & Afterlife (divine studies) [Bard, Knowledge (religion) 4, must revere a deity associated with life/death]
Your fascination with the afterlife enables you to dabble into powers related to life, death and afterlife.
You add the following spells to your Known-Spells collection:
- 0th level: Purify Food and Drink
- 1st level: Bless Water
- 2nd level: Consecrate
- 3rd level: Speak with Dead
- 4th level: Death Ward
- 5th level: Commune
- 6th level: Raise Dead
Green Whisperer (nature studies) [Knowledge (nature) 4, must
select Detect Animals or Plants as a 1st level known spell, must revere
a deity associated with nature]
Your training has significantly strengthened your ties with animal & plant life and with nature in general.
1. You can speak Druidic (and are bound by the druidic oath not to teach it).
2. You gain Wild Empathy (see the "Wild Empathy – Redefined" spoiler in "Appendix C: Extra Bonuses" ; entry #9).
3. You add the following spells to your Known-Spells collection:
- 0th level: Know Direction
- 1st level: Charm Animal
- 2nd level: Speak with Animals
- 3rd level: Speak with Plants
- 4th level: Command Plants
- 5th level: Awaken
- 6th level: Transport via Plants
Knowledge Hunter (arcane studies) [Spellcraft 4]
Bards, more than everyone else, understand the power of "being able to get there" and obtaining the desired information.
You add the following spells to your Known-Spells collection:
- 0th level: Message
- 1st level: Mount
- 2nd level: Darkvision
- 3rd level: Water Breathing
- 4th level: Fly
- 5th level: True Seeing
- 6th level: Plane Shift
Mystical Hymnist (strong-bardic-focus) [Perform (singing / musical instrument) 4]
Knowledge and melody run more deeply in your veins than even most other Bards.
1. You gain a permanent +2 competence bonus to all Bardic Knowledge checks.
2. You add the following spells to your Known-Spells collection (described in "Song & Sorcery", unless noted otherwise):
- 0th level: Fine-Tuning
- 1st level: Joyful Noise
- 2nd level: Summon Instrument, Greater (can summon a large instrument and has 1-hour / level duration (see the 0-level Bard spell))
- 3rd level: Hymn of Praise
- 4th level: Follow the Leader
- 5th level: Wail of Doom
- 6th level: Fanfare
Occult Spinner (occult studies) [Craft (alchemy) 4]
Your obsession with the occult leads you through a path of manipulation and dark powers
1. You may spend a general feat in the future to gain a familiar just like a Witch.
2. You add the following spells to your Known-Spells collection:
- 0th level: Prestidigitation
- 1st level: Obscuring Mist
- 2nd level: Gust of Wind
- 3rd level: Bestow Curse
- 4th level: Black Tentacles
- 5th level: Baleful Polymorph
- 6th level: Finger of Death
Cleric
Three notes regarding the Cleric:
1. The core class is radically overpowered. Only a handful few would argue differently.
2. The class is a one-man-arsenal-storage, but doesn't really manage to relay the "divine" feel.
3. Aside for the 1st-level selection of domains, all Clerics are carbon copies of one another. Even in terms of skill selection, teir options are
too few to mention: maxed out Concentration, 5 SkPts in Knowledge (religion) and most of the remaining points go to Diplomacy.
Here's an attempt to correct the above.
BAB: poor SkPts Per Level: 4 + INT-mod Class Skills: Concentration, Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana , religion), Profession, Heal, Sense Motive. Regular Clerics (see Cleric
Variants below) have all Knowledge skills and also have Decipher Script and Spellcraft as class skills.
Spellcasting
Clerics use the core Favored Soul's Spells Known table (+ healing +
restoration), except all values for 2nd spell-level and on are shifted
one level below, to grant access to new spell levels in the odd class
levels. The Cleric is a spontaneous caster, not just spontaneous healer.
Domain spells are added to the Cleric's "Spells Known".
Whenever a Cleric gains a level he can replace a single known spell
(not including domain spells) for another spell from the same level or
a lower level.
Once per month per level, a Cleric can will a spell to take effect
without a verbal or somatic component - purely by the power of his own
faith.
Turn Undead
A Cleric who can turn undead/spirits (see the "Cleric Variants" spoiler below) can identify them upon sight.
Spell Talisman
Once per day, at the culmination of his daily prayer for spells, a
Cleric can store divine spells directly into his holy symbol. He can
have up to [1 + 1/2-class-level + WIS-mod] spell-levels stored in this
manner and have them activated as a silent move action, by firmly
presenting his holy symbol.
Divine Resilience (Ex)
The Cleric gains +4 sacred resistance to all attempts to resist
corrupting effects (poison, disease (magical & mundane), ability
drain/damage, Energy Drain etc).
Bonus Feat
The cleric gains a bonus feat to be selected from: all divine / item-creation feats, Extra Turning and Iron Will.
Bonus Domain
The Cleric gains access to another domain and may choose any domain that doesn't conflict with his ethos.
Second Sight (Su)
The Cleric can see ethereal creatures (such as ghosts) as easily as he sees material creatures and objects.
Ethereal creatures' appearance is translucent and indistinct.
Spirit Strike (Su)
The Cleric confers the Ghost-Touch property to any attack he physically
makes – melee and range (including unarmed/natural attacks).
Cleric Variants:
Spoiler:
A Cleric Variant is a cleric that follows a specific theme that's less
(or not at all) associated with the clergy than the typical Cleric.
There should be more typical Clerics in a game world than all Clerical
Variant characters combined. Once a Cleric chooses a non-orthodox path
he's forever committed (although the DM is free to create sets of
conditions that would allow transitions).
Combat Priest (War Cleric)
Requirements: Must revere a deity associated with war/conquest, must take Strength and War domains Loses:
• Turn Undead
• Spell Talisman
• Second Sight
• Spirit Strike Gains:
• Average BAB.
• Warrior's HP.
• Class Skills: Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (dungeoneering / history / local / nobility & royalty) Listen, Spot and Swim.
• The bonus feats are assigned to combat.
• Weapon Focus with his deity's favored weapon as a Warrior of equal BAB (see the Warrior spoiler in the next entry).
• level 10: Mettle (Ex): see the core Hexblade's class feature.
• level 18: Counter Attack: same as 12th level Warrior.
• Only a Combat Priest has access to Divine Favor & Righteous Might spells.
Disciple of the Elements (Elementalist Cleric)
Requirements: Knowledge (the planes) 4 Loses:
• 2 SkPts / level
• Turn Undead
• Spell Talisman
• Bonus Domains
• Second Sight
• Spirit Strike
• Reveres the elements rather than a deity, therefore cannot know
spells related to holy/unholy, undead or spirits (i.e. no Bless Water,
Consecrate/Desecrate, Spiritual Weapon, Speak with Dead,
Hallow/Unhallow, Commune, Raise Dead, Create/Control Undead, Soul Bind,
etc). Gains:
• Starts with all 5 elemental domains (Air, Earth, Fire, Force, Water) instead of 2.
• Average BAB
• Class Skills: Knowledge (Geography / nature / the planes) , Survival, Swim.
• Languages: Aquan, Auran, Ignan and Teran
• May turn outsiders (one element at a time).
- Level 6: Flameburst Weapon (may switch element once / round as a free action), both with weapons and unarmed strikes.
- Level 10: Energy Resistance (acid, cold, electricity & fire) 10
- Level 14: Brilliant Energy (touch Attack), both with weapons and unarmed strikes, and carries the extra elemental damage.
- Level 18: Energy Resistance (acid, cold, electricity & fire) 20
Divine Trickster (Guild Cleric)
Requirements: Must revere a deity associated with thieving & trickery, must take Trickery and Luck domains Loses:
• Turn Undead
• Spell Talisman
• Good Fort Save (becomes poor)
• Shield Proficiency
• Second Sight
• Spirit Strike Gains:
• Good Ref Save
• Extra 2 SkPts per level. Also Balance, Climb, Disable Device, Escape
Artist, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot and Tumble as class
skills.
• Bonus feats are selected from the Rogue list.
• Class Skills: Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Search, Spot, Swim,
Tumble and Use Rope.
• Evasion (level 6)
• Divine Ascension (level 10) (Su): A 10th level Divine Trickster may use this ability AS IF actually being able to Turn Undead. Using one of
your Turn Undead as a free action, you can take part of one of your move actions to fly a distance no greater than your normal speed in any
one direction (forward, up, back, down, etc.). If you do not end your move on a surface you can stand upon (or grab hold of), you
automatically fall to the nearest such surface, taking any appropriate damage. You may only use Divine Ascension on yourself.
• Special Ability. Choose from: Improved Evasion / Slippery Mind / Skill Mastery (level 14)
• Special Ability. Choose from: Improved Evasion / Slippery Mind / Skill Mastery (level 18)
Exorcist
Requirements: Knowledge (religion) 4 Loses:
• Turn Undead
• Divine Resilience
• Bonus Domains
• Second Sight Gains:
• Turn Spirits *
• Class Skills: Decipher Script, Knowledge (history / the planes), Lucid Dreaming (Manual of the Planes; p.203) and Spellcraft.
• Languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal
• Spells: Consecrate, Speak with Dead, Dispel Evil
• Level 2: Detect Spirits * (see the Spirit Shaman (CDiv))
• Level 6: Immune to fear & charm
• Level 10: Exorcism (see the Spirit Shaman (CDiv)). Each attempt costs
1 use of Turn Spirits. An Exorcist can bypass this cost if he has the
target immobilized and conducts a ritual that takes [10min + 1min/HD]
of the possessing spirit.
• Level 14: Immune to possession
Note: The term “Spirit” includes any of the following:
• All incorporeal undead & outsiders
• All fey
• All elementals
• Creatures in astral form or with astral bodies (but not creatures physically present on the Astral plane)
• All creatures with the spirit subtype
• Spiritfolk and Telthors (see Unapproachable East)
• Spirit creatures created by spells like Dream Sight and Wood Wose (see CDiv, chapter 7)
Druid
From the few fantasy books I've read in my life and several scenes I've
seen, I never saw the Druid archetype as someone built to dominate
combat or hold a dinosaur on a leash.
I picture the Druid as someone who starts as caretaker for the woods,
evolves into a nature-bonded sage and eventually becomes a living
conscious part of the land, equipped with everything one could imagine
fantasy world's nature can grant.
BAB: Poor Class Skills: Druids also have Climb, Hide, Move Silently and Sense Motive as class skills.
Spellcasting:
Druids don't cast spells. They merely invoke magical effects. These
effects are activated with the minimum conceivable amount of gesturing
required to deliver a desired effect. Doing so still requires
concentration and a standard action (unless noted otherwise), and may
be foiled if a Druid takes damage or is distracted, but a Druid needs
neither vocal nor somatic components.
Personal auxiliary effects (e.g. detections of any sort, communication
enhancers, Spider Climb, Water Breathing, Air Walk etc.) are applicable
as free actions.
For determining the druid's Spells-Known table, use the core Druid's
spells-per-day table. Additionally, they also know all "Summon Nature’s
Ally" spells and any PHB spell with "animal" or "plant" in its name.
Whenever a Druid gains a new class level he can replace a single known spell for another spell from the same (or lower) level.
Code:
Level | Nature's Fortification | Special
==============================================================================
1 | | Wild Empathy, Nature Sense
2 | | Perfect Health, Essence of Fey
3 | Elemental Resistance 5 | Woodland Stride, Trackless Step
4 | +1 AC ; DR 1/Metal | Forest Tongue, Resist Nature's Lure
5 | | Wild Shape (1/day – Medium; Mammal)
6 | Fast healing 1 | Wild Shape (2/day – Small; Reptile)
7 | | Mystic Flame, Scent
8 | +2 AC ; DR 2/Metal | Wild Shape (3/day – Bird, Fish)
9 | | Wild Shape (4/day – Tiny; Insect)
10 | Elemental Resistance 10 | Venom Immunity, Cudgel
11 | | Wild Shape (5/day – Plant)
12 | +3 AC ; DR 3/Metal | Wild Shape (6/day – Large; Swarm)
13 | | Essence of Life, Tremor-Sense
14 | Fast healing 2 | A Thousand Faces, Voices of World
15 | | Wild Shape (7/day – Elemental)
16 | +4 AC ; DR 4/Metal | Nature's Gift
17 | Elemental Resistance 15 | One with the Green
18 | | Wild Shape (8/day – Huge)
19 | | Resident of the planes
20 | +5 AC ; DR 5/Metal | Essence of Eternity
Nature's Fortification (Ex)
Becoming a part of the land, the Druid slowly drifts. His ties to the
earth strengthen his essence. At lower levels, his skin becomes
wood-like and at higher levels his skin becomes stone-like with "woody"
patterns. This gives away the druid's nature. This bonus is lost in
wild shape.
Elemental Resistance (Ex)
The Druid gains the indicated resistance against all acid, cold, electricity, fire and force effects.
Wild Empathy (Ex)
This feature is redefined and encompasses Animal Companion.
For more details, see the "Wild Empathy – Redefined" spoiler in "Appendix C: Extra Bonuses" (entry #9)
Perfect Health (Ex)
In real life nearly all diseases and all cures come from nature. The
Druid's ties to the magical nature provide protection against all
diseases. The druid is immune to disease – magical as well as mundane.
Essence of Fey (Ex)
Just like Fey, the Druid is a part of nature and yet magical. The Druid
gains Darkvision 60ft (or 30ft boost, up to 120ft), Low Light Vision
(enhanced up to *4) and immunity to sleep magic. These changes apply at
all times and in all forms. This assists the Druid to roam his
surroundings at night and keep a watchful eye against invaders.
Forest Tongue (Ex)
Druids can speak with all forest creatures of INT 1+ (practically
includes all real-life D&D animals and their giant variants) and
interpret the communication patterns of all insects & vermin.
Wild Shape (Su)
Of each creature type available to a Druid by level progression, he can Wild Shape into a single species per size category.
A 5th level Druid may thus choose a single medium animal to turn to, such as a Puma, a Mastiff and so on.
At 6th level, a Druid may choose one small mammal form and two reptile forms (one medium and one small).
By 11th level, a Druid has 6 forms for each category (18 overall).
A 15th+ level Druid can Wild Shape into an elemental of any of the 4 types and of any size available to him.
Notes:
- A single "retraining" is allowed upon level progression. Wild Shape & Spellcasting:
A Druid's magical access diminishes substantially. Starting at 6th
level, a Druid has access to 1st level spells only. With each
additional 3 levels (9, 12, 15 and 18) the next spell level may be
accessed in Wild Shape.
Mystic Flame (Su)
As caretaker of the woods, the Druid sometimes needs to use fire for
various applications. Some of the times he has to extinguish it and
sometimes he has to fend against the very opposite of life - undeath.
This ability is available at will as a swift action and has Produce
Flame effect with a twist. The druid may decide to alter the effect and
instead of heat produce a white flame that deals cold damage and
quenches fire, or an emerald flame that harms undead (and only undead)
for double damage.
Druid's Cudgel (Su)
The Druid never has to carry weapons. As a swift action, The Druid may
manifest a cudgel (Club / Quarterstaff – according to the Druid's
choice) at will. If the cudgel is disarmed / sundered, it vanishes,
reappearing when the Druid summons it again. Dismissing the cudgel is a
free action. The cudgel is always enhanced with Shillelagh and Ironwood
– even if the Druid never took them as known spells – and the Druid may
also apply Mystic Flame with it. At 16th level and on the cudgel
bypasses hardness as if made of adamantine. Note: The Druid is not just a forest protector and a part of
nature, but also an emissary of all that is natural. It is not fitting
for an emissary to carry arms all the time. This also serves to enhance
the archetype and somewhat compensates for the dramatic depowering
compared to the core Druid.
Essence of Life (Ex)
The Druid's life essence gains an unnatural strength. He becomes immune
to all drain and necromancy effects, just as if affected by Death Ward
spell effect.
A Thousand Faces (Ex)
This ability can also mask the Druid's unique skin patterns, but at a
price of suppressing all benefits of "Nature's Fortification".
Voices of World (Su)
The Druid gains unparalleled empathic abilities. He may now use Speak
With Animals, Speak With Plants, Stone Tell, and Tongues – as by the
spell effects of the same names – at will. He may also communicate
mentally with any entity that has a language of any sort.
Nature's Gift (Su)
The Druid gains the following abilities given for the core Nature's Warrior (CW) PrC under "Nature's Armament" feature:
- Blaze of Power
- Water's Flow
- Wings of the Hurricane
In addition, the Druid can use Robe of Clouds [3 + WIS-mod] times per day.
One with the Green (Ex)
This feature grants the Druid the following benefits:
- The Druid gains the "Plant" template and longer needs to eat, drink or breathe.
- The Druid can cast modified Warp Wood at will. The wood affected may
be alive both before and after reshaping, and if so, continues to grow
unharmed. Warp Wood may be retrained, if previously taken as a known
spell.
- The Druid may meld into a tree (or similar plant) of larger size than
himself (same as Dryad's ability) for an unlimited duration. Any plant
the Druid melds with becomes hardened as if affected by Ironwood and he
knows the location of all creatures of at least Diminutive size
touching plant life within a 180ft radius, as long as he remains inside.
Resident of the planes (Su)
The Druid has become one with nature. Once per day He can travel (as
with Plane Shift spell) to each of the elemental planes as well as the
Ethereal and Astral planes, and back. The Druid must shift back to the
material prime before going from one plane to another.
Essence of Eternity (Ex)
The Druid's physical age returns to Adult (eliminating any age
penalties), he never dies of old age and he becomes
totally immune to all corrupting effects.
If the Druid is slain, his spirit travels to the material prime (anywhere he knows
within his home world), where his body reforms 1 week / character-level later, as if
restored via Miracle spell, even if his body had been obliterated.
From this point and on, a Druid can maintain Wild Shape indefinitely and he's immune
(non-voluntary) to all kinds of polymorph, except for Wild Shape.
Spells removed from the Druid's list
• Guidance (0) – Druids cannot turn to mystical insights
• Read Magic (0) – Druids do not cast spells
• Virtue (0) – Utterly useless and thematically meaningless
• Hallow (5) – Druids have no access to anything holy.
• UNHallow (5) – Druids have no access to anything unholy.
• Foresight (9) – Druids cannot turn to mystical insights.
Spells added to the Druid's list
• Alter Self (2) – Available only to Druids & Witches
• Polymorph (4) – Available only to Druids & Witches
• All spells from the following domains not already on the list: Animal, Air, Earth, Fire, Force, Plant and Water.
Hexblade
Looking through Otto the Bugbear's rewrite project,
I really liked his Hexblade fix – a perfect BBEG no Anti-Paladin
suggestion has ever made so persuasively. But it isn't 100% compatible
with my view of things and left as is would severely lag behind, so
here are my adjustments for this class.
HP: As Warrior (6 / level) Good Saves: Fort & Will
Bonus Feat
The following feats (from CA) are added to the list: Communicator, Insightful, Necropolis Born, Night Haunt, Spell Hand
Hideous Blow (Su)
The Hexblade can apply EB damage the same way as given later on for the
Sorcerer's (revised Warlock's) invocation of the same name (in the next
entry).
A Hexblade cannot use EB in any shape other than Hideous Blow.
Gray Hearted (Ex)
The Hexblade's expertise with negative effects and his generally
dispassionate attitude combine to render him immune to all undesired
emotional effects. This includes charm, fear and spells such as
crushing despair. The Hexblade can still gain morale bonuses.
Dark Companion (Su)
In addition to the details given in Otto's version, a Hexblade’s dark companion is present at all times, not only when its combat form is summoned.
While not in its combat form, it functions as described in PHB-II. Furthermore, the penalties indicated in PHB-II increase to -3 and -4 at levels 10 and 16 respectively.
If its combat form is slain, it cannot enter it for 24 hours.
Aura of Despair (Su)
Any foe within 10ft of a Hexblade takes a -2 penalty to saving throws. Note: Whenever a new aura is gained, all previous auras gain a
5ft range increase. Furthermore, wherever 2 auras overlap, both effects
take place.
Aura of Pain (Su)
Whenever any foe within 10ft fails a saving throw it becomes nauseated for 1 round.
Heart of Darkness (Ex)
The Hexblade is actually healed by negative energy as well as by
positive energy. Furthermore, he's immune to death effects, and any
effect which can be removed by Remove Curse.
Aura of Misfortune (Su)
Whenever any foe within 10ft makes an attack roll, skill check, or ability check it must roll twice and take the lowest result.
Notes:
- Hexblade's curse is usable [once + CHA-mod] times per encounter (min once) at 1st level. #uses increases by +1 at levels 5, 9, 13 and 17.
- "Murphy's Law" (19th level hex) is renamed "Warrior's Demise" and makes every hit a critical hit.
ACF: The Dark Companion is an ideal feature for an adventuring Hexblade. However, it wouldn’t adequately serve a dark warlord who wishes to lead mass armies of darkness on his hungry quest for power, riding his dreaded stallion for all to see. Therefore, I suggest an alternative feature: Dark Steed.
The idea is basically to trade raw power for a useful mount with lastability. Requirement: Mounted Combat Benefits:
- The Hexblade can, as a standard action, summon a Phantom Steed (as the spell) at will and dismiss it as a free action.
- At 9th level, the Hexblade’s steed has all the characteristics of a Phantom Stag (SpC, p. 157), except it also gains Darkvision (60ft) and it Regenerates (1/round), but instead of antlers, it has a bite/horn attack (Hexblade’s choice).
- At 15th level, the Hexblade’s steed’s stats/abilities/features evolve to match those given for Phantom Wolf (SpC, p. 157).
The steed cannot be dispelled, but it can be banished, using the Hexblade’s saves to resist the banishment. If banished or slain in battle, it vanishes and cannot be summoned for the next 24 hours.
Mage (Revised Wizard – with redefined spells-memorization rules)
Spell-Memorization
Spoiler:
Memorizing spells: A Mage can only cast spells he has memorized,
but he does not "lose" a spell when he casts it. The Mage uses the core
Wizard's spells-per-day table. Each spell slot stands for a spell the
Mage can have memorized from his spellbook.
Forgetting spells: After 24 hours from the time of study and
every 24 game hours thereafter, a random spell is selected of the
highest spell level the Mage has memorized. The caster has to confront
his caster level + INT-mod + d20 against DC = 15 + 3*SL. Failure means
the caster doesn't remember all the details to properly cast the spell.
Spells used within those 24 hours are exempt from forgetfulness.
Updating the "memorized spells" list: Whenever a Mage studies
for spells he may substitute a number of spell-levels equal to his
level + INT-mod. Memory is just too persistent to allow total override.
The same number is applied (if for some reason a Mage had no time
studying for a lengthy duration and has no spells memorized) to build
up the memorized spells from scratch. However, this is not limited to
just after full night's rest. A Mage may study for spells once every 7
hours (6 hours minimum difference between studies), provided he's in a
condition that would allow studying for spell under the standard 3.5e
rules.
Memory Practice: Whenever a Mage gains access to a spell level
(we'll use the arbitrary spell level indicator 'K'), he may select (at
his convenience) 1 spell from spell-level K and have it memorized permanently.
When spell levels K+1, K+3 and K+6 are attained, he gains yet another slot of level K to
memorize permanently. Counting from spell levels 0 till 9, a 17th level
Mage would be eligible to the following slots: 4,4,4,4,3,3,3,2,2,1.
At each even level, a Mage may replace one of his permanently memorized spells with another.
New restrictions resulting from the Mage being the fantasy world's scientist:
1. Mages have nothing to deal with souls and the dead. Magic-Jar,
Animate-Dead, Spirit-Walk, Soul-Binding, Trap the Soul etc. are out of
their reach. This results from the concept that souls cannot be studied
in a Mage's lab or formulated into equations.
2. Mages have no access to spells that alter a being into another
(Alter Self, Polymorph variants, Shapechange etc). Microbiology (a
scientific tool) is not even a concept in medieval literature (but it
still sticks well to a nature-bonded class (Druid) and the one class
dealing with the occult (Witch)).
Additional Spells:
Being the only arcane caster class, the Mage draws from all spell lists
of all arcane full-casters, selecting or discarding each spell
according to everything written in these game rules.
Additional Changes:
The Mage also has Forgery as a class skill.
Bonus Feat
A Mage may select any feat that's assosiated to spells/spellcasting, as long as it's applicable with arcane spells/spellcasting.
Sublime Casting (Su)
With level advancement, a Mage learns how to weave his spells more
efficiently at the cost of overtaxing his spellcasting tolerance,
bypassing the means normally required for spellcasting and decreasing
their casting-time.
Only standard action (or shorter) casting-time spells can be shortened through sublime casting.
Accelerated/Quick spellcasting may only be executed once during a combat round and are mutually exclusive.
The spellcasting augmentations are:
Code:
Name Effect
==============================================
Silent Verbal component is omitted
Still Verbal & Somatic components are omitted, you're not prone to ASF and you don't provoke AoOs
Accelerated Cast a spell as a move action that doesn't pronoke AoOs.
Quick Cast a spell as a swift/immediate action.
Fabricate Focus Extra spell energy is drawn (+1/SL) to create a quazi-real focus that vanishes after spell discharge
Note: Sublime Casting progresses automatically with arcane
spellcasting progression (always appropriate to the total arcane
spellcaster level – for PrCs that improve Mage spellcasting).
Monk
Anyone with some background in martial arts knows that a martial artist
is an impressive bag of tricks when it comes to combat - and
D&D3.5e doesn't have a single worthy martial artist class. Here's a
1st time remake that actually makes such a concept possible… – but
being just a martial artist would turn it into an alternate warrior,
and I'm aiming for something along the lines of oriental mysticism.
Changes to the Monk class:
– Multiclassing and Alignment restrictions are removed.
– The "Unarmored Speed Bonus" column is removed
– A medium sized Monk's unarmed strike does 1d4, 1d6 and 1d8 at levels 1, 8 and 16 respectively (also see below regarding other improvements at levels 8 & 16 before jumping into conclusions).
– Monks are naturally ambidextrous TWF-ers. FoB simply improves TWF significantly. They don't stack.
– Flurry is applicable with any medium or quicker melee weapon (see the Weapons spoiler) except weapons that deal piercing damage.
– Autohypnosis is added as class skill and Knowledge (arcana) is replaced with Knowledge (local).
– When fighting unarmed and unarmored, a monk uses his class-level in place of his BAB for all opposed checks (Bull Rush / Disarm / Feint /
Sunder / Trip...) and stacks his WIS-bonus to all said results. BABs granted from other classes are unaffected and are added normally.
– The "Special" column is redefined as given below.
Code:
1st Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike, Acrobatic
2nd Bonus Feat, Evasion
3rd Bonus Feat, Uncanny Dodge
4th Ki Power, Ki Strike (material: silver , cold iron , darkwood...)
5th Stunning Fist, Ghost Strike
6th Bonus Feat, Flawless Stride
7th Bonus Feat, Channeled Ki
8th* Ki Heal, Ghost Sight
9th Bonus Feat, Improved Evasion
10th Bonus Feat, Versatile Unarmed Attack
11th Greater Flurry, Master Acrobat
12th Sense Beyond Sight, Ghost Step
13th Bonus Feat, Slippery Mind
14th Bonus Feat, Gentle Touch
15th Metabolism Control, Iron Body
16th** Ki Strike (hardness: adamantine), Ghost Soul
17th Bonus Feat, Timeless Body
18th Bonus Feat, Legendary Acrobat
19th Sight Beyond Sight, Void Mind
20th Time Stands Still, Ki Perfection
* At level 8 the Monk's unarmed strike counts as medium weapon
for all purposes that favor this category over small weapons (e.g.
Disarm, Sunder etc). His unarmed critical threat range is now 19-20.
The Monk also gains 2 WIS-derived combat benefits:
– Being able to replace quickness with subtlety, he may choose to use his WIS-mod to augment his attack rolls rather than his DEX-mod.
– Having learned to translate his inner Ki into a kinetic force, he may choose to use his WIS-mod to augment his damage rolls rather than his STR-mod, as long as his Ki reserve is not entirely depleted.
** At level 16 the Monk's unarmed strike counts as 2-handed weapon for
all purposes that favor this category over 1-handed weapons (2 * STR-mod to damage, Power Attack etc). His unarmed critical multiplier is now x3.
The Monk’s WIS-derived combat benefits now improve significantly. He may now stack his WIS-mod on top of his DEX-mod to hit and his STR-mod to damage.
Acrobatic (Ex)
Monks start with 4 ranks in Balance, Jump and Tumble skills. With each even level, these bonus skill ranks are increased by +1.
Bonus Feat
A Monk may select a feat among the following:
- PHB I: Blind Fight, Deflect Arrows, Improved Disarm, Improved
Grapple, Improved Trip, Manyshot, Mobility, Run and Shot on the Run.
- PHB II: Acrobatic Strike, Cunning Evasion, Defensive Sweep, Fiery Ki
Defense, Hindering Opportunist, Melee Evasion, Stalwart Defense and
Water Splitting Stone.
- CW: Clever Wrestling, Close-Quarters Fighting, Dash, Defensive Throw,
Elusive Target, Extra Stunning, Freezing the Life Blood, Pain Touch,
Prone Attack, Rapid Stunning, Roundabout Kick, Sun School and Weakening
Touch.
- From these rules (entry #3): Iron Lungs, Ki Extend, Ki Reinforce and Lightning Fists. Notes on Monk's bonus feats:
1. Any prerequisite feat not already on this list is ignored.
2. For feats that require Stunning Fist, disregard any noted BAB or ability score requirements.
3. Manyshot – relates to Shuriken instead of arrows.
Ki Power (Su)
• A Monk has inner power called Ki and can channel his Ki power to manifest certain powers/abilities (specified below).
• As long as the Monk's Ki pool is not empty, he gains +2 on all Will
saves. This bonus is increased to +3 at level 8 and to +4 at level 16.
• At any given time, a Monk's Ki-pool can have a maximum of
[class-level + WIS-mod] Ki points (min 1), and can use up to
[1/3-class-level + WIS-mod] points in a single encounter.
• A Monk gains 1 Ki point per hour if he does not fight, run, or
otherwise exerts himself. Furthermore, Sleep and/or meditation (DC 15)
replenish 2 Ki points per hour.
• Feats that have Stunning Fist as prerequisite also add 1 point each
to the Monk's Ki-pool cap and count for determining #uses per encounter. Ki powers – Cost & Duration:
- Ki Strike: 1 use applies to both material & hardness; 1 + WIS-mod rounds (min 1)
- Stunning Fist: 1 use; not wasted if attack misses
- Ghost Strike: 1 use; 1 + WIS-mod rounds (min 1)
- Ghost Sight: 1 use; 1 + WIS-mod rounds (min 1)
- Ki Heal: #n uses (see below); 1 effect
- Ghost Step: 1 use; 1 combat turn
- Ghost Soul: 1 use, reactive (automatic)
- Time Stands Still: 5 uses Ki powers – Actions:
- Ki Strike (material & hardness): Free action; 1 use applies to both.
- Stunning Fist: Non action
- Ghost Strike: Swift action
- Ghost Sight: Immediate action
- Ki Heal: Standard action for self use; full round action when applied to others.
- Ghost Step: Swift action
- Ghost Soul: Non action
- Time Stands Still: Swift action
Stunning Fist (Ex)
Removed from the feats list and obtainable only at 5th Monk level.
Ghost Strike (Su)
Starting at 5th level, a Monk can strike incorporeal and ethereal
creatures as if they were corporeal. He can also use this ability to
strike opponents on the material plane when ethereal (see Ghost Step).
Flawless Stride (Ex)
Same as given for the core Scout.
Channeled Ki (Ex)
A 7th level Monk can channel Ki Strike, Stunning Fist and Ghost Strike through held (melee/Thrown) weapons.
A Monk cannot channel his Ki (Ki Strike, WIS-mod to damage etc) through magical weapons.
Ghost Sight (Su)
An 8th level Monk can spend Ki power to see invisible and ethereal creatures.
Ki Heal (Su)
The monk can use his Ki power to counter ill effects upon his body.
- 1 use: Heal 2 HP/class-level or Cure Blindness/Deafness
- 2 uses: Neutralize Poison, Remove Disease or Restoration
The Monk can also affect others with Ki Heal, but at double cost.
Versatile Unarmed Attack (Ex)
Removed from the feats list and obtainable only at 10th Monk level.
Master Acrobat (Ex)
As given for the revised Rogue (see below). Note that in order to
benefit from this feature, the sum of competence skill ranking (see
"Other class features", just below) and the invested skill points in
Balance, Jump and Tumble must amount to 12 or higher each.
Sense Beyond Sight (Ex)
The Monk’s senses become so attuned that he can feel what happens around him. The Monk gains Blind Sense (5ft + 5ft/WIS-mod).
Ghost Step (Su)
A 12th level Monk can spend Ki power to become ethereal. The Monk can return to the material prime any time during the duration.
Gentle Touch (Su)
As a standard action, the Monk can once per day make a melee touch attack that deals no damage and affects a living creature with one of the
following effects: Charm Monster, Hold Monster or Geas/Quest (caster-level = class-level).
The save DC for all effects (including the latter) is [10 + 1/2 class-level + WIS-mod].
If the monk misses his attack or the target makes its save, the daily use of Gentle Touch is not wasted.
Metabolism Control (Ex)
The monk can slow his metabolism at will for the following benefits:
- Bleeding wounds, poison and similar circumstances in which hit-points are lost take 5 times the normal time to take effect.
This ability automatically activates subconsciously if the monk is below 0 hit points.
- The monk can hold his breath 5 times longer than normal.
The monk is effectively under a Slow spell effect (does not stack with the spell's effect). This ability counters any spell (like Haste) that
would accelerate the monk.
The Monk may also self-haste as a swift action for a total of 1 round per class-level in a given day. These rounds do not have to be consecutive
and the Monk can dismiss the effect as a free action.
Iron Body (Ex)
At 15th level, Monks gain DR 5 / piercing and become immune to stunning and non lethal damage.
Ghost Soul (Su)
Starting at 16th level, whenever a Monk makes a save against "all or
nothing" (e.g. charm / polymorph / death spells / petrifaction and
basically any other "save or die/suck") effect and fails, the Monk
senses the upcoming effect (type, not potency) and may use his Ki
power to delaye the effect for 1 round and then make second save.
There's no third chance and no more than 1 effect can be delayed at a time.
Legendary Acrobat (Ex)
All Master Acrobat modifiers are doubles.
Sight Beyond Sight (Ex)
The Monk’s senses becomes so attuned that he always knows what happens
around him. The Monk gains blind sight (5ft + 5ft / WIS-mod) and permanent Forsight effect (as the 9th level spell).
Void Mind (Ex)
A 19th level Monk's mind is impervious to intrusion and manipulation, just as if affected by Mind Blank spell.
Time Stands Still (Su)
The Monk has learned the secret of channeling Ki power to slip between timeframes.
The Monk enters a state of Time Stop for the duration of the spell.
Ki Perfection (Su)
The Monk has achieved ultimate control over his Ki and gains multiple advantages for it:
- As long as the Monk’s Ki pool is not entirely drained, Ki Strike, Ghost Strike and Ghost Sight require no Ki expenditure and are always active.
- Stunning Fist effect extends to all attacks in a given round with but 1 Ki expenditure.
- Ki Heal requires only a move action and may be applied multiple times in a single round.
- Spending 2 Ki uses, the Monk can extend Ghost Step duration to 1 round / class-level.
- Ghost Soul allows continuous delays and retries as free actions.
Rogue
The core Rogue is another class no one would want to take the full
20-levels stretch. Most of this class's interesting stuff is packed to
the first 10 levels. You just need to decide between Improved Evasion
and Slippery mind at 10th level and then go power scouting.
One aspect about the core Rogue that's bothering me specifically is the
bizarre approach to Sneak Attacks. The extra damage is the same whether
it was delivered by a knife wielding tiny creature or a great-sword
wielding colossal creature. I don't think SA should be removed, but it
does require modifications.
Oddly, in general, I think the core Rogue is not "rogue"ish enough.
Skills: Rogues also have Knowledge (dungeoneering) as class skill.
Code:
Level Trap Sense Special
=========================================
1st Quickfingers, Stealthy, Guild Cant
2nd Evasion, Rogue Talent
3rd +1 Sneak Attack
4th Uncanny Dodge, Bonus Skill Trick
5th Improved Feint
6th +2 Improved Flanking, Rogue Talent
7th Bonus Feat
8th Surefingers, Bonus Skill Trick
9th +3 Sudden Strike
10th Special Ability, Rogue Talent
11th Greater Feint
12th +4 Special Ability, Bonus Skill Trick
13th Bonus Feat
14th Special Ability, Rogue Talent
15th +5 Death Blow
16th Special Ability, Bonus Skill Trick
17th Superior Feint
18th +6 Special Ability, Rogue Talent
19th Bonus Feat
20th Special Ability, Natural Skill-Trickster
Quickfingers (Ex)
This works as given for the Duneonscape ACF of the same name.
This feature goes hand in hand with 4 ranks in Disable Device &
Sleight of Hand. These skill ranks are inseparable from Quickfingers
and being a 1st level Rogue.
At class levels 7, 13 & 19, the Rogue automatically gains 1 additional bonus rank in Disable Device & Sleight of Hand. Note: Given that Disable Device is a Rogue only class-skill,
Quickfingers makes Trapfinding not really necessary for the Rogue to
have its exclusive niche and thus Trapfinding is omitted.
Stealthy (Ex)
All Rogues learn the basics of stealth and become very good at it.
A Rogue starts with 4 ranks in Hide & Move Silently as part of his
1st Rogue level and automatically gains 1 additional bonus rank with
both at each odd level. Note that this does not stretch the skill-cap
limits for these skills.
Guild Cant (Ex)
Belonging to the only class in the game with purely mundane
characteristics, all Rogues learn the basics of deceptive communication.
A Rogue starts with 4 ranks in Bluff, Sense Motive & Spot as part of his 1st Rogue level and with Innuendo as a bonus Feat.
At class levels 7, 13 & 19, the Rogue automatically gains 1 additional bonus rank in Bluff, Sense Motive & Spot.
Rogue Talent (Ex)
Spoiler:
Rogues have the ability of developing special talents that aid their stealth, agility, survivability and offensive prowess.
5 suggested abilities are given below (others may be added, more or less in the same spirit):
Ambush (min level 10)
During a surprise round, opponents are always considered flat-footed
to a Rogue with this ability, even if they have acted. Opponents who
cannot be caught flat-footed (such as through Uncanny Dodge) are immune.
Bleeding Attack (min level 6)
A rogue with this ability can cause living opponents to bleed 1HP/rd
for 1-round per extra-damage-die (2/4/6) when hitting them with a Sneak
Attack. (i.e. 2d6 SA causes 2 points of bleeding).
Bleeding can be stopped with a DC 15 Heal check or cure spells.
Brace for impact (min level 10)
As an immediate action, the Rogue can "move with the punch", detracting [class-level * AGI-mod] damage from an attack and moving away to an adjacent location (denying the attacker of subsequent attacks).
Using this option costs the Rogue a standard action during his next combat turn.
Fast Stealth (min level 2)
The Rogue may move up to his speed, taking no penalties to his Hide & Move Silently checks.
Ledge Walker (min level 2)
The Rogue may move up to his speed along narrow surfaces without penalty.
Retributive Inspection (min level 10th)
Whenever the Rogue is affected by a spell or Su/Sp ability that allows
someone else to read his thoughts or directly inspect him in any way
(Legend Lore & Vision are indirect inspections), he in turn gains
the same benefits against the assailant.
Secret Identity (min level 6th)
The Rogue's alignment and lies become undetectable by supernatural or
magical means and he gains +4 bonus on all Disguise checks.
Slow Reactions (min level 14)
Opponents damaged by the rogue’s SA cannot make immediate actions for 1 round.
Sneak Attack (Ex)
Spoiler:
When you attack a flatfooted/flanked foe and are unobserved, you gain a
+2 attack bonus, you deal +2d6 damage (smaller/larger Rogues use
different dice - appropriate to their size), and your critical threat
range is increased by 2 (e.g. 20 becomes 18-20). Notes:
- Opponents that don't have discernable anatomies still take 1/2 SA damage.
- AoOs trigger SA.
- Melee SA is applicable with small/tiny weapons only (there's a reason why a rogue would prefer a dagger over a longsword).
- Ranged SA is restricted to light missile weapons (cannot be performed
with tossed objects/weapons) such as Short-bow, Composite Short-bow,
Light-Crossbow, Hand-Crossbow and Blowgun, and is viable at close range
(up to your range multiplier), not to a fixed value of 30ft.
- SA is inapplicable unless an attack does
bludgeoning/slashing/piercing damage, meaning
area/drain/splash/elemental/etc damage are inapplicable for SA (you
usually (see Eldritch Drill) can't SA from a distance with an EB).
- With a sap (blackjack) / unarmed strike, a rogue can make a SA that
deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. He cannot use a weapon
that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a SA, not even
with the usual –4 penalty.
- Ranks in Heal could increases the lethality of a Rogue's SA against his Heal-related group of creatures.
To figure out the added damage, take the appropriate synergy value and
subtract 1. The given value is the added number of extra d6s to damage.
Bonus Skill Trick
At the indicated levels, a Rogue gains a bonus Skill Trick of his
choice to which he qualifies. These bonus skill tricks don't count, of
course, against the normal limit on skill tricks.
Improved Feint
The Rogue gains this feat as a bonus feat. If he already has Improved
Feint, he may instead select another feat from the Rogue's list, but
must meet all the prerequisites.
Improved Flanking (Ex)
Same as described for the core Swashbuckler: +4 to hit when flanking.
Bonus Feat
Choose from: Acrobatic Strike, Adaptive Flanker, Ambidexterity, Combat
Acrobat, Cunning Evasion, Dash, Deadeye Shot, Elusive Target, Fade into
Violence, Flick of the Wrist, Hindering Opportunist, Mobility, Point
Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Run, Stalwart Defense, TWF and Vexing Flanker.
Surefingers (Ex)
The Rogue gains a +4 competence bonus to all Disable-Device, Sleight of
Hand & Use Rope checks, and may Take-10 in these skills even when
rushed, threatened or distracted.
Sudden Strike (Ex)
You may perform SA even if you are observed.
Your gain a +2 attack bonus (+4 if unobserved), you deal +4d6 damage
(overlapping with SA) and your attack automatically counts as critical.
When unobserved, a successful SA hit made as a full round action counts as Coup de Grace.
A Rogue may choose to substitute death for unconsciousness for [3d6 +1 / Rogue-level] rounds.
Special Abilities (Ex)
Spoiler:
Flank Everywhere: You are considered flanking an enemy if both you and an ally are threatening your foe in melee, regardless of his position.
Hamstring: The Rogue can lose his SA damage for cutting an
opponent's movement by half. This condition passes after 24 hours or
when the target is fully healed (whichever comes 1st).
Improved Evasion: unchanged.
Opportunist: Applicable only with medium or quicker weapons. This attack specifically can be made as a free action once / round.
Slippery Mind: unchanged.
Skill Mastery is redefined as one of the four special abilities:
– Master Acrobat: This ability requires 12 ranks in Balance, Jump and
Tumble. The Rogue gains 3 benefits. 1st, He gains a +4 competence bonus
on all noted skill checks. 2nd, he may take 10 even when rushed,
threatened or distracted. 3rd, all circumstance penalties regarding the
noted skills are reduced by 5.
– Master Sentinel: Apply the above mechanics to Listen, Search and Spot,
– Master Sneak: Apply the above mechanics to Climb, Hide and Move Silently.
– Master Spy: Apply the above mechanics to Bluff, Disguise and Gather Information.
Wounding Critical: Same as given for the core Swashbuckler (CW).
Greater Feint (Ex)
The Rogue is now able to feint as a swift action.
Death Blow (Ex)
Your SA deals +6d6 damage (overlapping with Sudden Strike).
You may now perform Coup de Grace attempts as a standard action against
flanked/flatfooted foes of up to 1 size category larger than yourself.
Superior Feint (Ex)
The Rogue is now able to feint as an immediate action, or as part of his immediate action (AoOs).
Natural Skill-Trickster (Ex)
From this point on, the Rogue automatically gains the advantages/options of any skill-trick he qualifies for.
Furthermore, he regains all skill points invested in skill-tricks (if any).
ACF: "Spell Sense" – Dodge bonus to AC vs. spells & spell-like-effects, instead of vs. traps (as written in CM, p.35).
Looking at the core Warlock, it's quite obvious that this class is
underpowered and offers a very narrow array of options (per build).
Left as is, this would now be even more emphasized. So here is an
attempt to level up the Sorcerer (Warlock, remember? ;-))
EB: Keeps gaining 1d6 every other level past 11th level. This
change is set because with the low EB damage output it will STILL come
nowhere near the damage output of high-level offensive spells and would
eventually become totally useless in epic levels, when the characters
enter a new league of challenges.
Alignment: In most campaigns, a playable core-Warlock would
probably be limited to being CG. I see no reason why being N or even LN
(according to LN definition, Mussolini was probably LN) should prevent
one from advancing as a Sorcerer.
Code:
| Invocations Known |
Level ========================================= Special
| Least Lesser Greater Dark |
=========================================================================
1 | 1 | Eldritch Blast, Sacrificial Overcharge
2 | 2 | Detect Magic
3 | | DR 1 / Cold Iron
4 | 3 | Spell Resistance
5 | | Fast Healing 1
6 | 1 | Spectral Blast
7 | 4 2 | DR 2 / Cold Iron
8 | | Energy Resistance 5
9 | 3 | Fast Healing 2
10 | | Aspect of Power, Sustaining Magics (eat, drink)
11 | 5 1 | DR 3 / Cold Iron
12 | 4 2 | EB Mastery
13 | | Fast Healing 3
14 | 3 | Penetrating Blast
15 | | DR 4 / Cold Iron
16 | 6 5 1 | Energy Resistance 10
17 | 4 2 | Fast Healing 4
18 | | Fiendish Life Force
19 | 3 | DR 5 / Cold Iron
20 | 6 5 4 3 | Name of Power, Sustaining Magics (breathe, sleep, aging)
Sacrificial Overcharge
In moments of great need, a Sorcerer can take 1 CON-point damage to
increase the damage of a single EB by 1d6. This affects EB directly,
and has no effect on a mounted Eldritch Essence. at 8th level a
Sorcerer may increase his EB damage by 3d6 (costing 2 CON points) and
at 15th level by 6d6 (costing 3 CON points).
Spell Resistance (Su)
The Sorcerer gains SR 10 + class level.
Spectral Blast (Sp)
The Sorcerer's EB now stretches to the ethereal plane and no longer
suffers the usual 50% miss chance against ethereal or phased targets.
Energy Resistance (Su)
The Sorcerer's innate resistance is valid against all energy types. This includes untyped EB damage.
Aspect of Power (Su)
The Sorcerer gains a continuous, ever present power of Prestidigitation
and may use either of the following abilities once per round, as a free
action: Distinct Voice: If the Sorcerer wishes, anyone within 100 feet can hear him, regardless of noise around him, even when whispering. Unnerving Glare: The Sorcerer can make his eyes flash/glow with
a chosen color whenever he wishes, and/or permanently be of unnatural
color. This grants a +2 circumstance bonus to all Intimidate checks.
Sustaining Magics (Su)
The Sorcerer no longer needs to eat or drink. He gets all his nourishment and vitality from magic.
At level 20, magic sustains the Sorcerer to such a degree that he no
longer needs to breathe or sleep and he doesn't age unless disconnected
from magic entirely.
This benefit is lost whenever the Sorcerer is denied access to magic (Antimagic, dead magic zone etc).
EB Mastery (Sp)
The Sorcerer gains 2 new options with his EB:
- Dual Essence
The Sorcerer can combine 2 essences into his EB simultaneously.
When assigning multiple damage types (cold, fire, force...), the damage
gains 2 extra dice and is divided between both types according to the
Sorcerer's choice (at least 2 dice per damage type).
- Erupting Blast
EB can be generated without uttering a sound or making any gestures,
and can erupt from any origin on the Sorcerer's body (eyes, forehead,
chest etc).
Penetrating Blast (Sp)
The Sorcerer's EB now does full damage to objects and bypasses SR
automatically - even when the damage type is unspecific. This does not
come at the expense of Eldritch Essence or Blast Shape invocations.
Note that SR still applies against eldritch essence invocations that
require Fort/Will saves (e.g. Frightful / Sickening / Beshadowed /
Bewitching / Noxious / Utterdark Blast).
Fiendish Life Force (Su)
Your fast healing becomes Regeneration 5. Furthermore, you're no longer susceptible to necromancy effects of all types.
Name of Power (Su)
The Sorcerer becomes aware when anyone on the same world (planet)
speaks his name (referring specifically to him). He knows when it
happens, and learns the name and location of the speaker.
Notes: - There was a good reason why I "broke the
mold" with the definition of Invocations-Known. I wanted the Sorcerer
to be more versatile & capable than the core Warlock, But I didn't
want it to have 5 invocations (6 with Extra Invocation) of the highest
category available at any level, since they have limitless availability
- Which would have made it (with all the other changes) gain a
significant edge over the other base classes.
- No other class represents innate magical affinity (with the emphasis
on innate) more strongly than the Sorcerer. This does not go well with
"Deceive Magic Item" and definitely not with "Imbue Item" class
features. Also, the latter is a feat-related class feature (!?!) that
literally grants the character access to any magical effect in the game
(unlimited breakability scenarios). Therefore, I found it more
appropriate to replace these abilities with something that will go
against magical influence and something that will stand for the
Sorcerer's enhanced control over its primary class feature.
- Self-affecting invocations with lasting effects require no
activation. If dispelled, they activate automatically on their own
within 1d4 rounds (each is checked separately).
- Instead of being spellcasters, dragons gain invocations as Sorcerers
of a level equal to half their HD (since dragons don't have EB
capabilities, Blast-Shape and Eldritch-Essence invocations are not
included). Having magical abilities is much more appropriate for
magical beings than casting spells.
Invocations
Spoiler:
Banned Invocations
Beguiling Influence: These rules ban all magical skill enhancements.
Deteriorating Blast: DR is something that works on the (al)chemical level. There’s no way in hell a magical effect could be so sophisticated
as to address all of them (and how does a character suppose to distinguish between it and regular HP).
Eldritch Glaive (DrM): Multiple EBs against the same opponent is broken.
Modified Invocations
Dark Disncorporation: Reduced to Greater invocation category (6th). This invocation's power and practical value were quite overrated.
Devil's Sight: Also confers "See Invisible". Given invocations
are such a valuable asset and given there's so little of them (even
under these modifications), it seems that "Devil's Sight" and "See the
Unseen" were intentionally created separately to annoy.
Eldritch Cone: As the normal invocation, except the cone is increased from 30ft to 60ft.
Flee the Scene: If the Sorcerer has an active invocation that makes him invisible, he DOES NOT leave a Major Image after he shifts.
Hideous Blow: Instead of a standard action, an EB modified by
Hideous Blow is incorporated into melee or range attack. Only the 1st
attack in a combat turn can carry the Hideous Blow.
Wall of Perilous Flames: As with Disintegrate, if a creature is KILLED by the wall, its remains are completely consumed.
New Invocations
Blast Shape
Eldritch Bolt (Lesser; 3rd)
Your EB is 5ft diameter 60ft long bolt that hits everything in its
path. Unlike lightning, it doesn't ricochet, but it can be blocked by
solid matter.
Eldritch Burst (Lesser; 4th)
This blast shape invocation turns Your EB into a small burst around
you, striking out at everything within 10ft + 5ft per 5 Invoker levels
(friend or foe, alive as well as inanimate). This is not a ray attack,
so it requires no ranged touch attack. Any creature in the area of the
burst may attempt a Fort save for half damage.
Eldritch Missile (Lesser; 3rd)
This blast shape invocation turns Your EB into an Eldritch Missile
blast. Your EB damage can be split to generate multiple blasts. All
blasts are discharged at the same time and all targets must be within a
30ft sphere.
Eldritch Essence
Eldritch Drill (least; 2nd level)
This essence invocation changes the EB damage into bludgeoning/piercing
damage (Sorcerer's choice). The Sorcerer basically creates a thin but
powerful vortex of air that springs forward like a fist/lance.
Phantom Blast (Greater; 5th)
This eldritch essence invocation turns your EB into a phantom blast. A
phantom Blast is, for all intent and purpose, invisible. It cannot be
seen by any means and can only be noticed after the fact.
Phase Blast (lesser; 4th level)
This eldritch essence invocation causes your EB to phase into the
ethereal and bypass all physical obstacles on its way to the target
(including carried shield, a closed window, Wall of Force effect etc).
Shocking Blast (Lesser ; 4th)
Your Eldritch Blast deals electricity damage. If attacking a target in
metal armor, you gain a +3 bonus to the attack roll, or the target
suffers a -3 penalty to his saving throw (if your blast targets an area
of effect). In addition, targets in Plate-Mail / Full-Plate /
Supreme-Plate become entangled for one round.
Other Invocations
Detect Thoughts (Least; 2nd)
This invocation works as the arcane spell of the same name. It is
always active, ready for the Sorcerer to utilize via concentration.
Poltergeist (Dark; 8th)
The Sorcerer becomes incorporeal. He is immune to attacks from
non-magical weapons and magical weapons & spells, except for those
with the force descriptor. He can travel through solid substances with
no hindrance except for effects and spells with the force descriptor.
He loses any natural armor bonuses but gains a deflection bonus to AC
equal to his CHA-mod. He gains a flight speed of 90ft with perfect
maneuverability and retains his normal visual capabilities.
Size Step (Least; 2nd)
This invocation allows the Sorcerer to increase/decrease his size, just as if affected by Enlarge/Reduce Person spell.
Telekinesis (Greater; 5th)
Same as the spell of the same name.
Undulant Innards (lesser, 4th level)
The Sorcerer gains Fortification 25% per 5 class levels.
Ghostknife
The Soulknife is quite an attractive concept - a combatant that's never
unarmed and can get along decently without magical gear. However, the
result is craptacularly underpowered, totally not gear-independent
enough and very low on survivability (barely a low Tier-5). Note: The additions/modifications given here are based on the core Soulknife. Whatever's not mentioned here is to be taken from the description of the core class.
Class Skills: Autohypnosis, Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, the planes), Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Spot, Swim and Tumble. Skill Points Per Level: 6 + INT-mod
I, II, III, IV, V
A Ghostknife progresses in his weapon aptitude just as if he were a
Warrior of his BAB-equivalent level (see the "Warrior" spoiler below).
He may advance any weapon he can materialize as a Mind Blade.
Mind Blade (Ex)
Allows the creation of a short/long/bastard sword, a dagger, a rapier, a scimitar, a short/long spear or a quarterstaff.
Re-shaping the Mind Blade takes a standard action that doesn't provoke
AoOs. When the Mind Blade(s) is(are) manifested, it appears in the last
form it was in prior to dismissal.
A Mind Blade can be made (optional) to give off either bright
illumination of 10' with shadowy illumination of 20', or darkness of 5'
with shadowy illumination of 10', which a Ghostknife may change as a
swift action. These forms of illumination are not magical, and can thus
be countered by magical darkness/light (respectively).
Psychic Armor (Ex)
Ghostknives can engulf themselves with a force effect that grants them
powerful defenses. This protection persists at all times the Ghostknife
is conscious, but the Ghostknife cannot maintain it while wearing armor
of any kind, or carrying Medium or Heavy Load.
The numbers in parenthesis indicate: Armor bonus to AC / DR (as specified for the core Barbarian) / Energy Resistance (acid, cold, electricity, fire and sonic) - in the given order.
At 9th level, the Ghostknife's Psychic Armor gains the "Ghost Touch" property.
Throw Mind Blade (Ex)
The range increment is modified to 25ft + 5ft / class-level.
When multiple attacks are gained, the Mind Blade may be thrown multiple times.
If the Ghostknife also possesses the Rapid Fire feat, he may apply it to his Mind Blade as well.
If he could Sunder or Trip in melee with his Mind Blade's current shape, he can also do so with it on range attacks.
Blade Enhancement (Su)
The Ghostknife's Mind Blade Enhancements list is defined as follows:
- +1 enhancements: Elemental (1d6 from: acid, cold, electricity or fire), Keen, Ghost Touch
- +2 enhancements: Elemental Burst (ditto, any type), Disruption, Wounding
- +3 enhancements: Speed, Bodyfeeder
- +4 enhancements: Brilliant Energy
- +5 enhancements: Coup De Grace, Vorpal
Shield Enhancements (see Mind Blade Mastery below) are:
- +1 enhancements: Bashing
- +2 enhancements: Arrow Deflection
- +3 enhancements: Ghost Touch
- +4 enhancements: Energy Resistance 10
- +5 enhancements: Reflecting Special: once per encounter, as a move action that doesn't
provoke AoOs, a Ghostknife may elect to lose an enhancement for gaining
another of equal or lower level. This substitution lasts 5 rounds + 1 round
per 2-class-levels. Special: At 10th level, the Ghostknife can imbue his Mind Blade with supernatural energies, which make it ignore DR.
Psychic Strike (Ex)
At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, a Ghostknife learns how to
guide his blade(s) with his mind as well as his hand(s) – making it
strike harder and with greater accuracy, effectively gaining cumulative
+1 to hit & +2 to damage.
These modifiers do not apply to Blade Wind/Storm/Barrage. Note: As with a weapon – so is with a shield (see below) - A
Ghostknife guides his shield with his mind as well as his hand. The
to-hit bonus is also applied to the shield's defense.
Bonus Feat
The Ghostknife can take any feat to which he qualifies.
Mind Blade Mastery (Ex)
Allows to split the Mind Blade into a [short/long/bastard-sword coupled with small/large-shield or short-sword], or to materialize it as a great sword, a 2-Bladed-Sword or a Halberd. Special: From this point and on, the Mind Blade may be drawn once / round as a free action.
For not gimping 2WF, when splitting the Mind Blade, both weapons carry all the imbued magical powers.
Burst (Su)
Self Haste for 1 round / level / day Special: May be activated/deactivated as a free action
Combat Sight (Ex)
As a free action, the Ghostknife can "switch mode" into black&white vision (120ft) and may also detect invisible creatures. Special: Works even if magically blinded, but the eyes must be intact.
Slipstrike (Sp)
3 times per day, as a standard action, the Ghostknife can make a
special strike through the air and tear a hole in the fabric of space,
allowing him to self-teleport over short distances.
This ability is identical in effect to Dimension Door spell.
Ranged Blade Wind (Ex)
Blade Wind effect against a chosen square/hex within the range increment and all adjacent squares/hexes (whichever is used).
Haloed Blade (Ex)
Starting at 14th level, the Ghostknife's Mind Blade's strikes are
engulfed with an invisible halo of force that deals extra 1d10 damage
per successful strike. The extra force damage is applied even on a
miss, if hitting on a touch attack.
Bladestorm (Ex)
As a full round action, the Ghostknife can make either a Blade Wing
attack against all enemies within 15ft reach, or a Ranged Blade Wind
attack against all enemies within up to a 30ft diameter sphere. Special: Blade Wind is now a standard action.
Blade Barrage (Ex)
When performing a Blade-Wind or Ranged Blade-Wind (but not Bladestorm),
the Ghostknife can make multiple attacks against each foe he targets.
In a nutshell, the core Fighter is missing several major aspects (other
than not having enough feats to be truly versatile) that are crucial to
keeping up the pace at higher levels as primary combatant:
- The option of taking more combat actions than other classes could without some serious magical acceleration.
- The ability to draws on his inner reserves and shrug off assaults
others take to full effect....... or recover (in mid-fight) from a
condition he didn't manage to shrug off.
- The ability to actually "sense" what goes on around him.
- The ability to handle magical falsehoods and mind manipulations.
- The ability to eventually not be helpless when facing a magical barrier
- The upper hand in combat tactics, but not necessarily in term of
pumped up hit/damage/AC, since there are plenty of means of pushing
them up.
This Fighter fix is meant to encompass all [full BAB, no
spells/spell-like-abilities] classes into one effective purely
combat-focused class that does it all in straight combat without
dipping – defend efficiently, react quickly, shrug off physical
punishment, evade hazards and return the favor with some extra. It is
also meant to allow a large variety of warrior archetypes and to allow
a warrior to remain a contributing factor throughout his 20-levels
career.
The core Fighter was meant to be a tailor-made generalist - this is an attempt to really make it so for the very first time.
skill points per level: 4 + INT-mod
Class skills: Balance, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal,
Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (geography / history / local / nobility and
royalty), Listen, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival and Swim.
Class features:
Code:
Level Special
===================================================
1st I Bonus Feat, Art of War, Hardened Soldier *
2nd Bonus Feat, Know the Enemy
3rd Combat Focus
4th II Bonus Feat, Ever Vigilant (Maintain)
5th Bonus Feat
6th Uncanny Dodge, Second Wind (Expend)
7th III Bonus Feat
8th Bonus Feat, Tide of Battle (Expend)
9th Mettle
10th IV Bonus Feat, Array of Stunts (Maintain)
11th Bonus Feat
12th Counter Attack, Action without Thought (Maintain / Expend)
13th V Bonus Feat
14th Bonus Feat, Through the Haze (Maintain)
15th Find the Mark
16th VI Bonus Feat, Forcebreaker (Expend)
17th Bonus Feat
18th Riposte, Battleshaper (Expend)
19th VII Bonus Feat
20th Bonus Feat, Master of Warfare (Maintain / Regain)
I . . . VII
In the indicated levels, a Warrior gains the following benefits without the need of expending feats:
Code:
I - F(1)
II - F(2) , S(1)
III - F(3) , S(2) , M(1)
IV - F(4) , S(3) , M(2) , GF(1)
V - F(5) , S(4) , M(3) , GF(2) , GS(1)
VI - F(6) , S(5) , M(4) , GF(3) , GS(2)
VII - F(7) , S(6) , M(5) , GF(4) , GS(3) , Su(1, 2 or 3)
Legend:
F – Weapon Focus
S – Weapon Specialization
M – Weapon Mastery
GF – Greater Weapon Focus
GS – Greater Weapon Specialization
Su – Weapon Supremacy
(1) – primary weapon (choose a weapon from one melee/range weapon group)
(2) – 2nd weapon
(3) – 3rd weapon
. . . and so on
Notes:
- A Warrior is, of course, free to expend feats for further advancing
his weapon skills, on top of the given advancements for steps I...VII,
but there seems little to no reason for doing so.
- Instead of advancing a weapon, the Warrior may take feats that
promote armor/shield combat. He must stick to his armor/shield just as
if it were a weapon and meet all the prerequisites.
Art of War (Ex)
For the purposes of qualifying for feats, the Warrior treats his
ability scores as though they were 2 points higher than they actually
are at 1st level.
At level 6 and each 5 class-levels thereafter, this bonus is increased by +1 (max +5 at level 16).
Hardened Soldier * (Ex)
Clad in their restricting armor, packed with a lot of gear and somewhat
lacking in mobility, foot soldiers are hardier and more organized than
their other Warrior counterparts (see the "Warrior Variants" spoiler
below).
This manifests itself in two advantages:
1. The foot soldier (non-variant Warrior) adds his CON-mod to his
STR-score when determining his loads. This ability does not affect his
"lift over head", "lift off ground", or "push/drag" weight. Note that
this increase is in effect only to the point where heavy load is still
below the value of "lift over head".
2. Left with only the option of standing his ground more often than
not, the foot soldier gains a +1 competence bonus on all will saves.
This bonus is increased to +2 at 10th level and +3 at 19th level.
Know the Enemy (Ex)
Warriors battle against a multitude of foes, and learn to identify them
quickly. A Warrior's level counts as the number of ranks in any
Knowledge skill for the purpose of identifying creatures to gain
Strategic Advantage and in planning for a large battle (Heroes of
Battle), and a Warrior always counts as trained in any such knowledge
check. This does not apply to any other aspect of Knowledge and does
not stack with actual ranks in any of the various Knowledge skills.
Combat Focus (Ex)
At 3rd level and on, a Warrior's in-combat drive and focus on his objectives become unusually strong.
When combat commences, for the next [1/2 Warrior level + CON-mod]
combat rounds, the Warrior gains +4 to his Will saves against all
compulsions (fear, charm, hold, CHA-based skills etc) and +2
against all illusions.
As an immediate action, the Warrior can voluntarily end his focus to
gain a bonus to a single combat-related defensive d20 roll (save,
ability check, level check, etc) equal to 1/2 his class level. He may
choose to do this after learning the result, possibly changing a failed
result into a successful one.
Also, any condition that disables the Warrior or hampers his
determination (e.g. fascinated, panicked, paralyzed... etc.) also
causes him to lose his Combat Focus.
once per encounter, the Warrior may regain Combat Focus for the remainder of the duration as a standard action that doesn't provoke AoOs.
At 9th level the Warrior can regain his Combat Focus as a move action (not in the same turn it was expended).
At 15th level the Warrior can regain his Combat Focus twice - once as a move action and once a standard action. Notes:
- A Warrior cannot gain or maintain Combat Focus outside of battle for
the state of mind and body needed to achieve this simply doesn't exist
except in those conditions.
- Combat Focus requires not being surprised in order for it to kick in at zero notice.
Ever Vigilant (Ex) (Maintain)
While benefiting from Combat Focus, the Warrior gains a competence
bonus equal to 1/3 his class-level (rounded up) to Listen & Spot
checks, to his attack rolls when making AoOs and to any and all
melee-related opposed checks (bull rush, deflect, disarm, feint,
grapple, overrun, trip etc).
Second Wind (Ex) (Expend)
By expending his Combat Focus as a free action, the Warrior can heal as
many HP as he'd gain with a full night's rest and remove any and all of
the following effects: confused, temporarily crippled (hampred movement),
dazed, dazzled, exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, shaken, sickened,
slowed and stunned. This applies only to damage and conditions
sustained during the current encounter. Once the encounter is over, the
damage/conditions cannot be negated with this ability.
Tide of Battle (Ex) (Expend)
The Warrior has learned to flawlessly place himself where he is most needed in combat. As an immediate action, he may take a 5-foot step.
This is in addition to any other movement he takes during his turn (except when spending his entire combat-turn running), even another
5-foot step. If he is in his Combat Focus, he may expend it as an immediate action to take a single move action. Alternatively, the Warrior
may expend his Combat Focus as a free action to gain an additional swift/immediate action.
Mettle (Ex)
See the core Hexblade's class feature of the same name.
Array of Stunts (Ex) (Maintain)
A 10th level Warrior is so competent at warfare that he can, to a certain degree, reinvent himself during combat.
While the warrior is in his Combat Focus, he may gain the benefits of a
single feat he never took for duration of 1 round. With each passing
round he may select a different feat.
There are 2 restrictions to this ability:
1. The Warrior must meet all the prerequisites of a feat to harness its benefits "on the fly".
2. The feat must have the "may be selected as a Fighter's bonus feat" descriptor.
Counter Attack (Ex)
Same as described in PHB II, but with a twist. When counter-attacking,
you act 1st and can react to as many attackers as your DEX-mod - all at
full BAB, but just once per attacker. Anyone that's adjacent to you and
doesn't move from the beginning of your Counter-Attack turn till the
beginning of your next turn provokes an AoO that's counted in your
Counter Attack turn.
When counter-attacking, you cannot move during your turn beyond the usual allotment of 5ft-step.
Action Without Thought (Ex) (Maintain / Expend)
While benefiting from Combat Focus, if the Warrior is subject to a Mind-Afflicting effect, he ignores its effects until his Combat Focus expires
or is expended. He can choose to end his Combat Focus as an immediate action to thwart a single mind-afflicting effect altogether.
Through the Haze (Ex) (Maintain)
While benefiting from Combat Focus, a Warrior of 14th level or higher is immune to illusory effects, and can vaguely see invisible creatures,
although invisible creatures still benefit from total concealment.
Find the Mark (Ex)
The warrior's combat-rich background grants him insight of the best
ways to attack in order to find the chink in his opponent's armor. As a
stand-still standard action, the warrior makes a single attack that's
counted as a touch attack. If he hits, he deals double damage and his
critical threat is increased by one step.
Forcebreaker (Ex) (Expend)
The Warrior has gained the ability to destroy non-instantaneous force effects (Like Mage's Sword, Wall of Force, Forcecage, or even
technology-based effects). To achieve this endeavor, the Warrior must expend his Combat Focus as a swift action and make a
standard/full-round action attack that doesn't provoke AoOs.
Force effects are treated as having Hardness [10 + Spell-Level] and 5 HP/ Spell-Level.
Each of the warrior's successful attacks deals extra damage equal to [BAB + WIS-mod].
If and when a force effect is breached, it is utterly destroyed.
Riposte (Ex)
Starting at level 18, any opponent that attacks the Warrior and misses his initial strike provokes an AoO, unless the warrior is denied his
AGI-mod to AC. The number of retaliations in a given combat round is limited to the Warrior's DEX-mod.
Battleshaper (Ex) (Expend)
As a swift action, the Warrior can voluntarily end his Combat Focus to
take a standard action, but he loses a move action during his next turn.
A Warrior can only use this ability once each encounter.
Master of Warfare (Ex) (Maintain / Regain)
A 20th-level Warrior enjoys a plethora of advantages:
- While benefiting from Combat Focus, as long as the Warrior has a higher BAB than any foe he threatens, those creatures
cannot make AoOs against him.
- He may simultaneously use any number of feats he qualifies for via Array of Stunts.
- Once per encounter, if the Warrior voluntarily ends his Combat Focus, he may regain it as a swift/immediate action.
- From this point and on, the Warrior can initiate Combat Focus out of combat. Within a given hour, he can spread the full duration of a
single encounter as he sees fit, but he can only activate it as a standard action.
Warrior Variants:
Spoiler:
The classic Warrior is the typical foot-soldier, however there are
other types of Warriors, adaptable to different fighting styles
(according to background and personal preferences).
Trooper
- Swap Climb & Swim class skills for Handle Animal & Ride.
- Tower Shield Proficiency is swapped for Mounted Combat (+ Ride 4, at no SkPts cost).
Unfettered
- Heavy armor, med. armor, tower shield, shield proficiency and a
weapon group (melee or range) are swapped for 6 SkPts / level and the
following skills as class-skills: Bluff, Escape Artist, Gather
Information, Hide, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, Tumble and Use Rope
(notice that unfettered warriors ARE proficient with Buckler).
- Instead of Mettle, Unfettered Warriors gain Evasion at 9th level.
- Unfettered Warriors have good Ref saves and poor Fort saves.
Wild (primitive/tribal)
- Heavy armor, tower shield, 2 melee weapon group and 1 range weapon group are swapped for Endurance, Rage and Track.
- Diplomacy, Knowledge (architecture & engineering / geography /
nobility & royalty) and Profession are removed from the
class-skills list. Handle Animal, Hide, Move Silently, Ride &
Search come instead.
- You gain Wild Empathy (see the "Wild Empathy – Redefined" spoiler in "Appendix C: Extra Bonuses" ; entry #9).
- Claw Weapons, Heavy Blades, Polearms, Crossbows and Tiny Projectiles
- these weapon groups cannot be selected at 1st class-level.
Substitute Warrior Templates:
Spoiler:
A substitute template is an enhancement one could choose for a specific Warrior type (varies for each template).
All substitute templates have 3 special abilities that replace Uncanny Dodge / Counter Attack / Riposte.
A substitute template means you forgo some of your readiness to make counter moves and emphasize different aspects of combat:
Cavalier (Trooper)
Requirements: Cavalry Charge (acquired when training to gain 6th Warrior level), Proficient with Lance
Tall in the Saddle (replaces Uncanny Dodge)
You gain competence bonus of +1/2-class-lvl to all Ride checks. Your
mount also gains this bonus to its Will saves and may use your Ref
saves instead of its own (if they're higher). Mount's Trait when Mounted: Empathic Link (as the core Paladin's Mount), Evasion
Deadly Charge (replaces Counter Attack)
As described for the CW Cavalier, but with no #uses-limit
In addition, the Cavalier's lance attacks may also dismount (Bull Rush + target is prone) Mount's Trait when Mounted: Mettle, Devotion (see the core Druid's animal companion)
Unstoppable Mounted Assault (replaces Riposte)
This feature grants 2 of the CW Cavalier's abilities: 1) Full Mounted Attack. 2) Unstoppable Charge features. Mount's Trait when Mounted: Improved Evasion
Scent of Fear (replaces Uncanny Dodge)
A Feral Tracker gains the Scent ability and the following benefits while enraged:
- May make an Intimidate check as a swift action against a single
opponent struck within his combat turn. If he has Favored/Signature
Enemy feat, He gains +2/+4 (respectively) to these Intimidate checks.
- He deals extra damage equal to his BAB when attacking a foe struck by fear (to any degree).
Furious Resilience (replaces Counter Attack)
A Feral Tracker's raw fury pushes his reflexes and mental resistance beyond those of other mortals.
He gains Diehard as bonus feat, and the following benefits while enraged:
- 10ft movement increase (same as the core Barbarian's Fast Movement
feature, but +10 for every size category diff (+5ft for small or
smaller creatures)).
- CON-mod is added to all saves, not just Fort saves (overlaps with other ability-modifiers).
Heart-Stopping Ambush (replaces Riposte)
A Feral Tracker attacks so fiercely that any opponent surprise-attacked
by him has a chance to die of pure fright. If a Feral Tracker deals
damage in melee combat during a surprise round, every opponent he has
damaged in melee must make a will save (DC = [10+1/2 BAB + CHA-mod]). A
Feral Tracker can choose to make himself look slightly less imposing
and only cause his opponents to faint. If the target dies out of
fright, every opponent of the Feral Tracker within 30ft must make a
Will save (dc [10 + 1/2-class-level + CHA-mod]) or become frightened
for 1 round and shaken for another 2d4 rounds.
Swashbuckler (Unfettered)
Requirements: 5 ranks in Balance, Bluff, Climb, Jump, Sense Motive & Tumble
Confident Daredevil (replaces Uncanny Dodge)
This ability is basically a combination of the core Scout's Flawless
Stride plus "take-10" on Balance, Climb, Jump & Tumble attempts
even when rushed or distracted.
Feinting Retaliation (replaces Counter Attack)
The Swashbuckler can attempt to dodge an opponent's initial attack roll and retaliate as an immediate action by making an opposed feint check.
If successful, the Swashbuckler has managed to dodge the blow and gains an AoO against his attacker.
Once duped in such a manner, an opponent gains +4 on his opposed roll against you to negate this maneuver.
Wounding Critical (replaces Riposte)
Same as given for the core Swashbuckler
Warlord (Classic (non-variant))
Requirements: CHA 13+, Siege Coordinator, Leadership (manageable when training to gain 6th Warrior level)
A Warlord is a genius of the battlefield. He can greatly augment the actions of his allies/enemies in combat.
A Warlord may grant the benefits of Aid Another to a number of allies equal to 1/4 his Warrior level (round down) while performing any action he
could otherwise do normally. All that’s necessary is for him to be able to see them (and their opponents & terrain) and that they can hear and
understand his verbal instructions.
A Warlord may decide to aid up to 1/2 his Warrior level (round down), but then he cannot
perform actions beyond moving at 1/2 speed and he provokes AoOs.
In addition, a Warlord can address his subordinate-troops / allies / enemies and inspire their patriotism / sense-of-duty / inner-doubts, and greatly
influence their morale-derived combat prowess (someone who doesn't share the Warlord's agenda gains no bonus).
As a full round action that doesn't provoke AoOs, a Warlord can cause one of the following results:
Inspire Courage (replaces Uncanny Dodge)
As a Bard of equal level, no Perform ranks required.
Inspire Awe (replaces Counter Attack)
As detailed for the CW War Chanter PrC, no Perform ranks required.
Inspire Heroics (replaces Riposte)
As a Bard of equal level, no Perform ranks required.
Note: A person/creature can only be affected once/day by each/any of these Bard-like abilities. Also, these effects overlap (when
relevant), both in effect and duration, with the Bardic powers they mimic.
Each of the above effects is a language-dependant mind affecting compulsion that lingers for the duration of the battle, as long as the
Warlord is not disabled (cowering / frightened / panicked / paralyzed / unconscious / dead / ...) and is within line of sight.
Mistresses of haunted forests, healers on the outskirts of town,
crones creeping through crypts, or that unusually charming maiden:
witches come in all shapes and dispositions, but they are often objects
of mystery and suspicion in most cultures, even hated and persecuted.
Witches draw power from the essence of physical substances and items,
plants and animal remains. Some might leech nearby vegetation or even
living creatures or themselves (whether to apply this game mechanics or
not, and how, is left to the whim of the DM, but it should be
appropriate to the witch's theme and role).
BAB: Poor HP: 3 / level Class Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle
Animal, Heal, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (nature, the planes), Move
Silently, Profession, Ride and Survival. Skill points per level: 4 + INT-mod.
The Witch practices witchcraft, magic of charms, deception, insight, and nature.
Witchcraft spells require relatively simple rituals and are intuitive to Witches. A Witch doesn't need to meditate or repeatedly go over volumes of text
to memorize her spells.
The Witchcraft spells are as follows: 0 Level: dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, ghost sound, light, lullaby, mending, message, prestidigitation, read magic 1st Level: animate rope, cause fear, charm person, command, entangle, disguise self, hypnotism, obscuring mist, silent image, sleep, speak with animals 2nd Level: alter self, blindness/deafness, detect thoughts, enthrall, fog cloud, glitterdust, gust of wind, invisibility, minor image, scare, hideous laughter, whispering wind 3rd Level: arcane sight, bestow curse, call lightning, clairvoyance/clairaudience, contagion, create food & water, deep slumber, dispel magic, hold person, major image, plant growth, poison, speak with dead, suggestion, tongues 4th Level: black tentacles, charm monster, command plants, crushing despair, discern lies, fear, Fly, hallucinatory terrain, neutralize poison, polymorph, remove curse, remove disease, scrying 5th Level: baleful polymorph, break enchantment, control winds, dominate person, dream, feeblemind, greater command, hold monster, magic jar, mind fog, mirage arcana, nightmare, wall of thorns 6th Level: animate objects, control weather, disintegrate, eyebite, flesh to stone, forbiddance, geas/quest, mass suggestion, mislead, project image, true seeing, veil 7th Level: creeping doom, finger of death, greater scrying, insanity, ironwood, liveoak, repel wood, transport via plants, vision 8th Level: antipathy, binding, demand, discern location, horrid wilting, mass charm monster, sympathy, trap the soul 9th Level: dominate monster, earthquake, foresight, mass hold monster, shapechange, wail of the banshee, weird
Dabble
Spoiler:
Each Witch also has a natural affinity for one of the forbidden, secret, or
obscure branches of witchcraft called "The Arts". Each art contains a
pool of spells that are taken from 7 clerical domains. Whenever the
Witch gains access to a new spell level (including 1st level), she may
select a single spell of the given level from her chosen art and add it
to her spell list. The selection needs not be immediate, but once made
it is permanent and cannot be changed later on.
Upon obtaining 8th / 16th level, the witch can have a total of 2 / 3
additional spells (respectively) in each spell-level from her chosen
art.
The known Arts include:
• Arcane Focus: Antimagic, Creation, Divination, Force, Rune, Knowledge, Magic
• Black Magic: Corruption, Darkness, Necromancy, Slime, Sonic, Spirit, Undeath
• Manipulation: Conjuration, Creation, Domination, Portal, Summoning, Time, Travel
• Nature: Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Healing, Plant, Water
• Psyche: Concealment, Divination, Domination, Dream, Enchantment, Illusion, Mind
• Transformation: Corruption, Creation, Destruction, Renewal, Slime, Strength, Transmutation
• White magic: Freedom, Renewal, Healing, Light, Luck, Spirit, Sun
Hindrance
Spoiler:
All witches harbor some secret weakness or undiscovered vulnerability,
the result of the peculiar magic that flows within them. The witch
acquired vulnerability is determined randomly from the following list
(or one approved by the DM): Fire/cold/acid/lightning: She is especially vulnerable to a
particular type of damage. The relevant effects do 120% damage to the
witch. The extra damage can only be healed by magic. Marked: The witch has a deformity that clearly separates her
from others of her race, such as green skin, a long warty nose, a large
hump, or cloven feet. She does not receive her Charisma bonus to
Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, and Handle Animal checks and
instead receives a penalty to those checks equal to half of her
Charisma bonus (rounded up). Animals always regard the witch with
hostility. Pact: The witch is schooled in magic by a more powerful being,
such as a celestial, dragon, fiend, or spirit of the land – but at a
price. Before being allowed access to spells of a higher spell level,
the witch must strike a bargain with her patron, such as agreeing to
perform some deed or making some sacrifice. The nature and difficulty
of the bargain depends upon both the disposition of the patron and the
capability of the witch. If she fails to complete the given bargain,
she suffers a –10% penalty to all earned experience points, until she
attains another level of witch granting spell casting and fulfills the
next bargain. Pagan: Her pagan nature leaves the witch vulnerable to both holy
water and unholy water. Splash from either liquid inflicts 2d4 points
of acid damage upon the witch, which can only be healed with magic. In
addition, if she consumes food or water created by divine magic, such
as from the create food and water spell, she must make a Fortitude save
(DC 10) or be nauseated for 1 hour. Silver: Silver weapons inflict grievous wounds to the witch. Each strike does an extra d4 damage that can only be healed with magic. Taint of Evil: The witch's association with extra planar powers
has altered her nature such that she is subject to all spells and
abilities that effect evil creatures, such as protection from evil or
smite evil, etc. This is true regardless of the character's actual
alignment. All magical attempts to learn the character's alignment will
detect it as evil.
Empty Hands (Su)
A novice Witch needs to hold the spell components in hand in order to perform her witchcraft.
By 2nd level, she leans how to draw power from materials on her person and generally exposed to the air (or water) around her to perform her witchcraft.
Cauldron
At 3rd level a Witch learns the secret art of the bubbling cauldron –
the knowledge of how to bring magical properties onto disposable
substances (e.g. potions, balms, powders etc).
Other types of magical practice cannot be applied onto disposable substances.
Advanced Learning
A Witch has some means of expanding her spell repertoire with custom-made spells. Whenever this feature is gained, a Witch may select a single
spell from the spells listed in PHB-I/PHB-II/SpC under the Sorcerer/Wizard list and add it to her known spells – including a spell that’s no longer
viable for the Mage according to these rules (polymorph / spirits / familiar...).
Bewitch (Sp)
By merely uttering a few seductive words, the witch can bewitch another creature with charm person. If the witch delivers Bewitch as a touch
attack, the DC is increased by +2. This spell-like ability can be used once per day for every six levels of Witch. Being a mistress of manipulation, the
Witch is also particularely resistant to manipulations. The Witch gains +2 insight bonus to resist any attempt to mess with her conscious choices.
This includes all charm, confusion, domination, fear and similar spells & effects.
At 12th level and on, a Witch may also Bestow Curse with her Bewitch ability. In addition, her insight bonus to resist manipulation increases to +4.
At 18th level, the DC to resist Bewitch increases by +2 (+4 if delivered by touch). In addition, her insight bonus to resist manipulation increases to +6.
Charms (Su)
Spoiler:
The Witch has learned how to trap witchcraft spell-effects into physical items - charms that become the physical form of these spells.
These charms can take any number of forms:
- Love potions
- Protective amulets
- Small carved icons
- Cursed dolls
- Elixirs of heroism
. . .
A Witch does not require any special materials for creating a charm, but she does need something to provide containment for the desired effect.
Most witches prefer more complex charms where possible, but simple twigs and grasses tied into rough figures, or symbol-painted rocks, will do in a pinch.
When it comes time to actually cast the spell, the witch need only have the charm on her person.
It takes a move action that doesn’t provoke AoOs for a Witch to activate a spell trapped in a charm that’s on her person. It takes the regular casting time otherwise.
The max number of spell-levels that may be given the form of charms at any given time equals [1/2 class-level (rounded up) + CHA-mod].
The actual number of “charmed” spell-levels in a given moment is detracted from the Witch's max tolerance.
A charm lasts for 24 hours or until used (whichever comes first).
A Witch may give one or more of her charms to a companion. Doing so means that she waivers the ability to use it to cast the spell, but the
other individual may do so through use of the charm.
This inspires most witches to limit the number of talismans they give away.
The Witch determines the conditions in (and the manner of) which the spell trapped in the charm is to be discharged.
- It could be immediately upon the recipient willingfully accepts it.
- It could be via the item's traditional use, making the action provoke AoOs (yes/no) according to its “proper” use (a necklace worn, a potion drunk etc).
- It could be any other predefined action that takes at least a move action. The recipient doesn’t even have to know of the charm’s nature.
The talisman must be granted deliberately by the Witch. Stealing a talisman from an unwilling Witch yields no benefit and may actually prove quite hazardous to the perpetrator.
Voodoo Doll (Su)
Spoiler:
This iconic magical item is used to directly harm or help the spirit of a person at great range.
To create a voodoo doll, a Witch needs a very close personal object belonging to the target person, such as a piece of their clothing.
Even better, she desires strands of hair, fingernails, a patch of skin, teardrops or some other body part. She takes these pieces and creates
an effigy of her target. This effigy costs 100gp and an all-night ceremony to create.
Once created, the Witch can cast spells or use powers through the doll to affect her target with spells that can be applied to a single target,
no matter what range the target may be (although this has no effect across planes).
The Witch may also scry her target using the voodoo doll.
Destroying the doll stops all spell effects, and the doll lasts no longer than one year.
A Witch can only have a single Voodoo doll active at any given time. Once a new doll is created, the old one ceases to function. A Voodoo doll
also loses its power if the targer is subject to Break Enchantment spell or a Remove Curse (with this intended purpose) by a caster of higher level
than the Witch. After a Voodoo doll loses its power, the subject's possessions decay and can no longer be used to prepare a new doll - the Witch
needs new possessions if she's to re-astablish Voodoo binding with her target.
Coven (Su)
Witches gain power in numbers. When at least six ally Witches are in the presence of a 14th level (or higher) Witch and none of them more
than 30ft away, each ally Witch enjoys a +1 morale bonus to the DC of all witch spells they cast. The senior Witch, as well as any other
Witch of 13th level or higher in the Coven, enjoys a +1 bonus for each 3 allies, up to her CHA-mod, but no less than +1.
Witch Queen (Ex)
The witch no longer suffers ability penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged (bonuses are still accrued). Already existing age penalties
persist and the Witch still dies when her time comes.
Furthermore, at this stage, the Witch's understanding of magical deceptions and manipulation reaches a level that renders her immune to all
attempts to mess with her conscious choices. The Witch can never again be affected by magical charm, confusion, domination, fear and
similar spells & effects.
I see the concept of a PrC (except for unique exceptions, like the
Paladin) as the final step of a long and tedious road taken by someone
who's totally obsessed with (one might even say possessed by) its
concept and what it stands for.
The journey usually starts way before a character takes his 1st class level and requires unswerving perseverance.
This is represented by a PrC being based on extremely specific requirements that leave little to zero room for maneuverability.
Here are the rules I found appropriate to represent this concept:
1. A PrC is always derived from 2 or more specific classes with
specific level requirement (each PrC requires a very specific route in
order to receive the proper training that will enable taking it). No
single prerequisite class can have more than 80% the total level
requirements. This rule revolves around the approach toward classes not
just as an arbitrary collection of features, but as complete packages
of areas of expertise. A PrC, in my view, is supposed to be a mix of
areas of expertise evolving into a new area of expertise, based upon an
extremely specific build.
The would-be PrC-X member must be able to use ALL class features of
each prerequisite base-class (according to the required level) to
qualify as a viable PrC-X candidate.
Even without naming a PrC, its requirements should hint of its
abilities to come and the ties between the two should be obvious. With
nearly all core / supplemental PrCs the connections seem loosely tied
and sometimes even irrelevant.
2. The minimum combined entry level that may qualify for becoming a member of a PrC is 10.
3. A PrC is never based on another PrC and thus never advances an ability of another PrC.
4. Class Skills: All skills from all prerequisite classes.
5. A role that's applicable with any base-class / base-class-combo is non-viable for a PrC.
6. A PrC can never outshine a base class at what it does better than all other base classes.
7. Every PrC can continue its progression beyond the given pinnacle
level. It can gain as many levels as 1/2 the given pinnacle level
(rounded down). These levels advance the stats given under "Basic
Progression" and any steady #uses/DC-inclines/Bonus-Feats specified.
Notes:
- Rules 1, 2 & 3 guarantee the prevention of power abuse by taking
multiple PrCs (you could, but they won't synergize very well, if at
all).
- Rule 4 makes PrCs even more prestigious than base classes.
- Rule 5 guarantees that PrCs would be scarce, thus enhancing the prestigious-feel.
- Rule 6 keeps each base class better than any other class/class-combo
at something, for having a viable incentive of sticking to your chosen
base class all the way.
- Rule 7 comes to prevent the end-point of PrCs progression from making
the character trail the power curve after the pinnacle level is
achieved. If by then the player has failed to find an alternative
desirable route of advancement, then he must be doing something wrong.
Sample PrCs
Eldritch Weaver
An Eldritch Weaver Draws from his dual magical heritage in order to sculpt the
very fabric of magic in a unique manner – he weaves magic into his EB
and essences into his magic, rendering his opponents susceptible to
numerous effects.
Requirements:
Classes: Mage 9, Sorcerer 4 Feats: Draconic Heritage (CA), Fey Legacy (CM), Sculpt Spell (CA) Skills: Concentration 12, Decipher Script 6, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Spellcraft 12 Invocations: Eldritch Spear, any two Eldritch Essence invocations Special: Able to cast Prestidigitation and Arcane Mark without preparation
Basic Progression:
BAB: Average HP: As Sorcerer (4 / level) Good Saves: Will SkPts / Level: 2 + INT-mod Arcane Spellcasting Progression: Level stacks with Mage level Invocations: Level stacks with Sorcerer level
Spellblast (Su)
Instead of modifying your EB with eldritch essence, you can modify it with:
1st level: A ranged-touch spell.
2nd level: A spell that targets a single/multiple creature(s).
4th level: An area spell.
5th level: A touch-delivered spell.
An EB must hit its target for the spell to take effect.
If you have the means of converting spell-levels into other effects
(e.g. via Draconic Breath feat (CA)) – these effects may be mounted
onto your EB as well.
Eldritch Spellweave (Su)
You can apply eldritch essence to any arcane spell that affects a target or that requires a melee or ranged touch attack.
An eldritch essence can be mounted onto spells of a level equal to (or greater than) its level-equivalency.
If the essence requires a saving throw, use the normal save DC for that essence.
Damage alteration essences can be applied only to spells that deal damage (you can't add brimstone blast to Charm Monster). Note: Essence-carrying spells cannot be mounted onto EB.
Sublime Blast (Su)
You finally unlock the secret of applying your Sublime spellcasting to
your EB. This takes the same strain toll as Sublime Casting.
Ghost Infiltrator
Ghost infiltrators are individuals who utilize their Rogue and Sorcerer
background to focus all their attention on obtaining unparalleled
stealth, mobility and the ability to penetrate anywhere and live to
infiltrate another day. There's almost no place a Ghost Infiltrator
can't enter or leave.
Requirements:
Classes: Rogue 3, Sorcerer 7 Feats: Cunning Evasion, Fade into Violence, Iron Lungs, Quicken
Spell-like Ability (Flee the Scene), Quicken Spell-like Ability (Walk
Unseen) Skills: Climb 12, Disable Device 8, Escape Artist 5, Jump 5, Hide 12, Listen 12, Move Silently 12, Search 12 and Spot 12 Least Invocations: Baleful Utterance, Devil's Sight, Entropic Warding, Spiderwalk Lesser Invocations: Walk Unseen, Flee the Scene
Basic Progression:
BAB: Average HP: As Rogue (4 / level) Good Saves: Ref SkPts / Level: 6 + INT-mod. Invocations: 3/4 (all levels except 1 and 5) SR: 10 + Ghost Infiltrator's character level.
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Ephemeral Presence, Guarded Mind, Silent Invoking
2nd Master Sneak (see the Rogue)
3rd Ranged Legerdemain (3/day)
4th Blindsense (60ft)
5th Master Sentinel (see the Rogue)
6th Vigorous Prowler
7th Blindsight (30ft)
8th Blank Aura
Feature Descriptions:
Ephemeral Presence (Su)
Creatures with the scent, Tremorsense or Echolocation cannot detect
your presence (or track you down) by means of these abilities.
Guarded Mind (Sp)
A permanent Nondetection effect (DC: 15 + character level)
Silenced Invoking (SU)
A Ghost Infiltrator's invocations are shrouded by magical silence that's always active.
Ranged Legerdemain (Su)
Taken from the core Arcane Trickster
Vigorous Prowler (Ex)
At this point, the Ghost Infiltrator is so practiced in his arts that
he's always considered sneaking (hide/move) and sensing
(listen/spot/search) unless specifically stating otherwise.
Blank Aura (Ex)
The Ghost Infiltrator (and any equipment he wears or carries) radiates
no detectable aura of any kind. Detect chaos, detect magic, and similar
spells simply register him as a blank. The Ghost Infiltrator cannot
lower this aura.
Greensong Warden (*)
While the Druid is a representative of nature in general, the Greensong
Warden is specifically a devoted defender of the woods. Unless the
campaign revolves around the Greensong Warden character, it cannot
function as a PC, since this PrC is dedicated to defending a specific
place (however large it would be).
Upon gaining 1st level, a Greensong Warden is given (by his mentor) the
following masterwork ironwood items: Longsword / Spear / Staff (choose
one), Composite Shortbow (max STR-mod +4) and 50 arrows.
Requirements:
Classes: Bard (Green Whisperer) 2, Druid 5, Warrior (Wild) 3 Feats: Green Ear (CAdv – Bardic Music), Greenbound Summoning (LEoF), Greensinger Initiate (EbCS), Watch Duty Skills: Climb 4, Craft (bowyer, Fletcher, weaponsmith,
wood-carving) 2 each, Listen 13, Perform (sing) 5, Spot 6, Search 13,
Survival 5 and Swim 5 Weapon Proficiencies: Bows, Heavy Blades, Light Blades, Maces & Clubs, Spears, Staffs Weapon Focus: Any melee weapon noted above and any bow Special: Must revere a deity strongly tied to nature (e.g. Ehlonna or Obad-Hai)
Basic Progression:
BAB: Full HP: As Monk (5 / level) Good Saves: All SkPts / Level: 6 + INT-mod. Spells: Level stacks with Bard level; Level stacks with Druid level. Bardic Knowledge & Bardic Music: Level stacks with Bard level. Wild Empathy: By character level. Wild Shape: Level stacks with Druid level.
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Earth's Communion, Scent, Wild Bond
2nd Fast Moving, Swift Tracker
3rd Lycanbane, Venom Immunity
4th Sooth the Wild Beast
5th Circle of Renewal, Empathic Ear
6th Whispers of the Forest (news)
7th Unyielding Devotion
8th Freedom of Movement
9th Web of Life
10th Whispers of the Forest (insights)
Feature Descriptions:
Earth's Communion (Sp)
You learn to heal and replenish yourself and others by communing with
the earth once per day. At the end of 10min of sitting-down meditation,
you are affected as if by a Heal spell (caster-level =
character-level). If you so choose, you can allow up to [class-level +
WIS-mod] others to sit with you in a circle, holding hands, during your
communion. In that case, you can choose to divide the HP and other
benefits provided by your communion among the people in the circle. You
can divide HP as if you were using the core Paladin class feature Lay
On Hands. Each other benefit of the heal spell can be distributed to
only one person in the circle, at your direction. Thus, only one person
can be cured of blindness, and so forth. You do not gain any healing
benefits that you distribute to others.
Scent (Ex)
You gain the extraordinary ability to detect approaching enemies, sniff
out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. This ability otherwise
functions like the extraordinary ability of the same name {MM 314)
Wild Bond (Ex)
Your unique devotion to the wild and your rich wild-related background grant you the following benefits:
1. Your ethos and/or alignment cannot be magically manipulated.
2. You gain +4 to resist all compulsion spells & effects.
3. For all spells associated in any way with plants and/or animals, your caster level equals your character level.
4. You may Speak with Animals & Plants (as the spell effects) at will.
Fast Moving (Ex)
You receive Run & Dash as bonus feats
Swift Tracker (Ex)
See the core Ranger class feature of the same name (PHB 48).
Lycanbane (Ex)
The Greensong Warden's blood and saliva become a cure for others afflicted by lycanthropy.
Venom Immunity (Ex)
The Greensong Warden gains immunity to all poisons.
Sooth the Wild Beast (Su)
Creatures of the Animal and Magical Beast types suffer -2 penalties to
resist any compulsion/illusion/enchantment (be it spell or ability
derived) or social skill issued by the Greensong Warden.
Circle of Renewal (Sp)
Your experience with the Earth's Communion has evolved dramatically.
Now your healing ability is activated within 1 minute of concentration
(you no longer have to be sitting down) while the other participants
encircle you holding hands.
You and all participants gain all the benefits of Heal and Restoration spell-effects.
Empathic Ear (Su)
You can identify (with 100% accuracy and certainty) the origin of a
sound you hear. For example, did a brief, cut-off scream heard from
ahead come from a human throat? Male? Female? Was the screamer afraid?
In pain? Faking? Was magic involved in producing the sound? Empathic Ear
allows you to know all the details. Upon hearing the sound, the
Greensong Warden must use a standard action to identify it. He must do
so within 1min, or the opportunity to identify the sound is lost.
The power works three times a day.
Whispers of the Forest (Su)
When you attain 6th level, the plants, trees, and rocks begin to speak
to you, bringing you news wherever you are. Once per day for every
three class levels you possess, the voices of the forest give you a
short answer to any simple question you pose pertaining to current
events in any wilderness area on your land mass. Questions about
distant lands require 1 minute per mile of distance to answer. At the
DM's discretion, when the forest deems an issue particularly important,
the whispers bring you news without your request.
When you attain 10th level, the spiritual energy of the forest can give
you insights into other beings as well. Once per day, you can ask the
voices of the forest about a single creature. For the rest of that day,
you gain a +8 insight bonus on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and
Sense Motive checks pertaining to that creature. Again, at the DM's
discretion, the forest might occasionally volunteer information about a
person or creature.
Unyielding Devotion (Ex)
The Greensong Warden's devotion to his duty is now complete. From this
point and on, the Greensong Warden is totally immune to compulsion of
any kind. He also gains Diehard as a bonus feat.
Freedom of Movement (Su)
The Greensong Warden's movement is near impossible to hamper. He
constantly enjoys all the benefits of Freedom of Movement spell effect.
Web of Life (Sp)
This is the final evolution of your healing capabilities. As a standard
action that provokes AoOs, you can bestow Heal, Greater Restoration and
Regeneration spell-effects on yourself and up to [class-level +
WIS-mod] allies. Each ally must be no further than 30ft from you.
Jester
Jesters can be found in most courts – they are the archetypal fool in
motley, dancing and capering about to entertain the royal court.
While their main purpose is to make people laugh, they can also use their cutting wit to make others look the fool.
Very few Jesters are adventuring types, though one could find a good
reason (sending a Jester along on a grim mission to keep others'
spirits high, or exiling him as a punishment for insulting the king).
Jesters are often sent along with the royal court on visits of state,
and some act as spies for the king (after all, who pays attention to a
fool?).
Jesters usually don't find themselves in the heat of battle, but their
large bag of tricks sometimes serves them to set major political events
into motion.
Requirements:
Alignment: Any Chaotic Classer: Bard 5, Rogue 5 Feats: Elusive Target, Flick of the Wrist, Goad, Mobility. Skills: Balance 8, Bluff 13, Move Silently 13, Perform (acting
6, comedy 8, dance 2, instrument 4, juggling 5, mime 8 & oratory
8), Sense Motive 6, Sleight of Hand 10, Tumble 8 Spells: Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, Prestidigitation, Hypnotism, Minor Image
Basic Progression:
BAB: Average HP: As Rogue (4 / level) Good Saves: Ref, Will SkPts per level: 6 + INT-mod Bardic Music: Level stacks with Bard level Bardic Spellcasting: 3/4
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Immunity to Insanity, Laugh It Off, Master of Mockery
2nd Jokes, Pantomime
3rd Sight Gag, Slippery Mind
4th Jangling Caper, Jester's Mirth
5th Dramatic Death, Improved Evasion
6th Cruel Retort, Last Trick
Feature Descriptions:
Immunity to Insanity (Ex)
Jesters are immune to all insanity effects, due to their chaotic nature
(some say they're halfway insane anyway). In addition, anyone
attempting to contact or read a Jester's mind must make a DC 15 Will
save or suffer from a confusion effect (as the spell) for 2d6 rounds.
Laugh It Off (Ex)
Fate protects fools and little children, and Jesters certainly adopt the role of fools.
A Jester may add his CHA-mod as a morale bonus to all his saves.
Master of Mockery (Ex)
A Jester's taunting is so effective that he gains 3 distinct advantages with it:
- A Jester can Taunt as a move action.
- A target of a Jester's taunting doesn't have to be in melee with him
and takes -2 to all attempts to snap out of an enraged state once
affected.
- A Jester can Taunt a target multiple times in the same encounter, as long as it is affected for even 1 round.
Jesters are immune to taunting.
Jokes (Ex)
The Jester is skilled at telling jokes for all occasions. Telling a
joke requires 1d4 rounds, and can only be done if the Jester has a more
or less attentive audience (i.e. it can't be done in the middle of a
combat). At the conclusion of the joke, the audience must make a Will
save DC = [10 + class-level + CHA-mod]. Those who fail are affected as
the Jester intended when telling the joke – whether to set them at ease
(granting the Jester +2 to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks) or
anger them (basically granting the same effect as a Taunt, above).
Those who succeed in their checks are not affected either way.
This ability's DC is synergized by Perform (oratory).
Pantomime (Ex)
The Jester is able to communicate through gestures and body language as
well as words. He can eloquently get a message across (i.e., insult or
entertain someone) without saying a word, through gestures, facial
expression, and body language. In order to use this ability, he must
have at least his arms free (for smaller gestures), and his intended
audience must be able to see him. He can continue to pantomime for as
long as he wishes; this may or may not exclude certain other actions,
like fighting or spellcasting, depending on the pantomime (DM's
discretion).
This ability grants a +4 circumstance bonus to Bluff, Disguise and Perform (acting) checks.
It also grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Taunt & Jokes DC.
Sight Gag
As full-round actions, the Jester may cast a spell without the need for vocal and/or somatic components.
Jangling Caper (Ex)
The Jester has learned how to move silently in most situations when
lightly encumbered, even when wearing/carrying a large amount of noisy
gear (or simply wearing a suit with bells on it). The Jester gains a
+20 competence bonus to Move Silently checks; he can move at 3/4 speed
without penalty.
Jester's Mirth (Ex)
A Jester's acting ability is such that he can infect his audience with
uncontrollable laughter. He can perform, tell jokes and stories, or
otherwise get his listeners laughing so hard that they are effectively
under the effects of an uncontrollable laughter spell. This effect
requires 1d4 rounds to properly use; anyone listening to the Jester
must make a Will save (DC 10 + Jester's level + Cha modifier) or suffer
the effects, which last for 1 round per class level.
This is a mind-affecting ability.
Dramatic Death (Ex)
The Jester's acting ability is such that he can fake injuries or even
death, often in the most dramatic manner possible. For example, if
someone hit a Jester with a sword (for at least 1 HP damage), the
Jester could clutch his chest, double over, and "die". He would then
be, to all outward appearances, "dead". Those watching may make a Will
save [DC 10 + Jester's level + CHA-mod) to disbelieve the acting.
Cruel Retort (Ex)
This is where the Jester's Taunt reaches its perfection.
An affected target of his Taunt suffers -4 to attack rolls, saves,
skill check and dodge AC, and cannot use any INT/WIS/CHA based skills
except for Intimidate.
This residual effect lasts 3 rounds.
Last Trick (Su)
The Jester can turn even his death into a joke. Any time the Jester is
killed or knocked unconscious, one of his spells known is cast as if it
were a spell in a contingency effect.
Mystic Spellweaver (*)
A Mystic Spellweaver is someone who has managed to break the boundaries
of spellcasting and completely blur the lines between arcane weaving,
divine prayers and charm spinning.
This is the one and only spellcaster that can eventually cast any spell anyone's ever heard of.
Mystic Spellweavers tend to view magic as a wonderful thing, an art in
its purest and most refined form. The two most wonderful things about
it are diversity and usefulness. Personal power is nice, but it's
secondary. They strive to increase the variety of things they can do
with magic before anything else.
Mystic Spellweavers tend to somewhat look down at most single-classed
spellcasters that "push the envelope" in a never ending search for
personal power, not taking the time to "fully appreciate magic for what
it really is". Bards (especially those that delve into Ancient
Mysteries), Eldritch Weavers and Greensong Wardens, OTOH, are viewed
with great respect, for striving to achieve many magical talents.
Requirements:
Classes: Bard 2, Cleric 5, Mage 5 Skills: Concentration 8, Decipher Script 5, Knowledge (arcana / religion / the planes) 15 each, Spellcraft 15 Feats: Craft Magical Devices (new), Improved Counterspell (PHB
I), Somatic Weaponry (CM), Bardic Music feat (any), Divine feat (any),
metamagic feat (any) and any feat that grants Prestidigitation as a
spell-like ability. Domains: Knowledge, Magic Ancient Bardic Mysteries: Green Whisperer Special: Must revere a deity strongly associated with magic (e.g. Boccob, Mystra, Vecna, Wee-Jas etc.) Special: Able to cast spells from all 8 arcane schools without preparation.
Basic Progression:
BAB: Poor HP: As Bard (4 / level) Good Saves: Will SkPts per Level: 2 + INT-mod Spellcasting: Level stacks with Bard, Cleric and Mage. Turn Undead: Level stacks with Cleric Bardic Music & Bardic Knowledge: Level stacks with Bard
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Universal Sublime Magic , Weave Talisman
2nd Magic Tapestry
3rd Quiescent Weaving
4th Spell Reach
5th Spell Shaping
6th Spellweaving
7th Enlarged Tapestry
8th Spellfire
9th Magical Splendor (magical reserve)
10th The Great Unification of Magic
Feature Descriptions:
Universal Sublime Magic (Su)
Drawing from his arcane background, the 1st thing a Mystic Spellweaver
learns is to channel all spells through sublime casting, understanding
that his own faith is powering his spells. All spells take the same
strain toll as for arcane spells.
Weave Talisman (Su)
The Mystic Spellweaver can use his holy symbol to hold any spell effect, not just divine spell effects.
Magic Tapestry (Su)
This ability works as described for the War Weaver's (HoB) "Eldritch
Tapestry" (renamed, given "Eldritch" and "Arcane" are distinct in these
house rules), except the highest level that can be cast into the weave
equals the Mystic Spellweaver's class level, but no more than the
Mystic Spellweaver's INT-mod.
Quiescent Weaving (Su)
This ability works as described for the War Weaver's (HoB) ability of
the same name, except the maximum number of stored spells equals half
the Mystic Spellweaver's class level.
Spell Reach
This ability works as described for the core Archmage's/Hierophant's "Arcane/Divine Reach".
Spell Shaping
This ability works as described for the core Archmage's "Mastery of Shaping".
Spellweaving (Su)
The Mystic Spellweaver has finally unlocked the pinnacle of
spellcasting and can now experiment with magical energies he has no
solid familiarity with, hoping to generate a new spell effect according
to the need of the moment.
The Options:
A Mystic Spellweaver can cast...:
- An unknown arcane/divine spell no higher than the highest level available to him at +3 strain toll.
- A non-arcane/divine spell no higher than the highest level available to him at +7 strain toll.
- An arcane/divine spell of +1 spell-level higher than the highest level available to him at +11 strain toll.
- An non-arcane/divine spell of +1 spell-level higher than the highest level available to him at +15 strain toll.
The Restrictions:
- Spellweaving takes 10 times longer than the required spell-effect's usual casting time.
- Woven spell-effects cannot be augmented in any way whatsoever (using
feats / class-features etc). They always produce the exact effect of
their description.
- Spellweaving is the one and only method for (eventually) casting
10th-level spells-effects (left to DM's discretion). That's why they
can never be put to scrolls/books.
Success/Failure and Risks:
- To weave an effect of your highest level or lower, you must succeed
on either Spellcraft or Knowledge (religion) checks (depending on the
effect) against DC = [8 + 3*SL].
- The DC for attempting to weave your highest level + 1 equals [8 + 4*SL].
If you fail on either one, then you have blundered the attempt and
caused a backlash. To figure the backlash result, add the failure
difference of both rolls (calculate [[failure-diff] – [success-diff] in
case of 1 success). If the sum is negative/zero, you take non-lethal
damage of 1d6 for each [failure-diff] point. If the sum is positive,
you take lethal damage of [sum * 1d6] (no save for decreased damage).
For each 3d6 of lethal backlash damage, you also suffer an increasing additional effect as follows:
- 3d6: Dazzled & Winded
- 6d6: Dazed & Fatigued
- 9d6: Stunned & Exhausted
- 12d6+: Unconscious for 4d6 combat turns and Exhausted when (and if) you wake up.
Enlarged Tapestry (Su):
This ability works as described for the War Weaver's (HoB) ability of the same name.
Note that this is relevant to spells that don't target the Mystic Spellweaver himself.
Also, from this point and on, Spell Reach & Spellshaping are applicable through the Magic Tapestry.
Spellfire (Su)
This ability works as described for the core Archmage's "Arcane Fire")
Magical Splendor (Ex)
The Mystic Spellweaver has learned to store reserves of the magical weave around him.
This reserve allows him to cast spells and maintain spell effects even
within Antimagic or dead magic zone for up to 3 rounds plus 1 round per
CHA-mod.
The Great Unification of Magic (Su)
The Mystic Spellweaver has unlocked the deepest secrets of magic. He's
no longer a Bard/Cleric/Mage, but plain simple Mystic Spellweaver. For
all intents and purposes (except for tolerance score, which is already
higher), the Mystic Spellweaver is an untyped 15th-level spellcaster
that no longer has spells-known lists. He has access to all spells from
all spell-lists (spellbook becomes redundant). In case of spells that
are available to more than one spellcaster, the Mystic Spellweaver uses
the lowest "instances" of the spells.
Furthermore, the Mystic Spellweaver invokes magical effects as easily
as a Druid would and can still manipulate their casting time as a Mage.
Paladin (*)
Contemplating the old days of OD&D, one could easily conclude that
the paladin and the Druid are probably the prototypes for all PrCs.
While the Druid is firmly built, the Paladin feels awkward – both
thematically and in usability. It doesn't feel right that such a role
can be taken simply by choice. This class feels just right for the
niche of PrC.
The core paladin is the epitome of the holy knight in shining armor, a beacon of heroic Good.
The PrCed Paladin is a Warrior-Priest with intense devotion to a
certain deity's cause, a zealot that puts tremendous amount of
attention to his willpower.
A Warrior who meets all the prerequisites in the eye of a certain deity
is petitioned by the deity to become his/her active hand of execution
on earth.
Becoming a paladin is a two-step process. First you have to start as a
Warrior and after being petitioned by the deity and taking advancement
as a Combat-Priest Cleric variant. Should the Warrior-Priest be deemed
worthy, he gains the status of Paladin. Note: Not all deities sponsor Paladins. The role is anything but
stealthy. A Paladin is first and foremost a leader, an authority and a
role model of his ethos.
Requirements:
Step 1:
- Class levels: Warrior* 6
- Abilities: STR 15+, WIS 14+, CHA 16+
- Skills: Heal 8, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 5 and Sense Motive 9.
- Feats: Braveheart, Combat Stability, Diehard.
- Weapon Specialization: The deity's favored weapon
- Special: Must start out non-religious. The deity petitions the Warrior and not vice versa.
* Notice that according to the deity in question, the Warrior might be required to be of a certain variant/template.
Step 2:
- Class levels: War Cleric 4
- Skills: Diplomacy 6, Knowledge (religion) 8.
- Feats: Last Stand, Leadership, Combat Vigor
Basic Progression:
BAB: Full HP: As Warrior (6 / level) Good Saves: Fort, Will SkPts / Level: 2 + INT-mod Weapon of Focus: As Warrior, according to the Paladin's BAB (deity's preferred weapon(s) only) Divine Spellcasting Progression: 2/3 (at levels 2,3,5,6,8 and 9)
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Smite 1/encounter, Divine Grace, Hero's Courage
2nd Lay on Hands, Immune to Charm
3rd Smite 2/encounter, Immune to magical Blindness & Deafness
4th Aura of Courage, Holy Sword
5th Smite 3/encounter, Immune to Paralysis
6th Aura of Resolve, Immune to Compulsion
7th Smite 4/encounter, Divine Intervension
8th Aura of Faith, Immune to Possession
9th Smite 5/encounter, Death Ward
10th Hammer of God, True Seeing
Feature Descriptions:
Smite (Su)
A number of times per encounter, according to the Paladin's level, he
may attempt to smite an opponent with a melee/range attack (missing the
declared attack waists the attempt). He adds His CHA-mod to his attack
roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per character-level.
A Paladin can smite:
- An enemy he has personally witnessed to violate his code of ethics (hearsay doesn't count)
- An enemy he knows / believes ("suspect" isn't good enough) to be a
member of power groups who are opposed to his chosen order.
- An enemy that stands in his way of immediately upholding his code of ethics.
Divine Grace (Ex)
As given for the core Paladin
Hero's Courage (Ex)
The paladin is immune to fear (magical or otherwise).
Lay on Hands (Su)
Same as the core Paladin, using the Paladin's character-level to determine healing capacity.
Immune to Charm (Ex)
The Paladin is immune to all Enchantment spells and effects.
Immune to magical Blindness & Deafness (Ex)
The paladin cannot be deprived of his vision and hearing senses via magical means.
Aura of Courage (Su)
The paladin may exude an aura of courage that inspires his allies. Each
ally within 30ft of him gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws
against fear effects. Aura of Courage's bonus scales by level. At level
8, allies gain +8 to saves against fear, and a +1 morale bonus to
attack rolls.
There are 2 other auras the Paladin gains later on. only one of them can be active at any given time.
Auras are switchable as a move action. An aura functions as long as the paladin is conscious.
Holy Sword (Su)
A 4th level Paladin can imbue his deity's weapon with the power of Holy
Sword (note that the "to-hit" bonus is CHA-mod derived, not a fixed
+5). This can be accomplished a number of times a day equal to the
Paladin's CHA-mod. If the deity's preferred fighting style is TWF, the
Paladin requires both weapons for the effect to be activated and it
applies to both weapons.
Once per activation of this power, the Paladin can generate a Dispel
Evil spell effect on an opponent targeted by smite (declared after a
confirmed hit).
Immune to Paralysis (Ex)
The Paladin is immune to paralysis of all kinds.
Aura of Resolve (Su)
The paladin gains Aura of Resolve. While this ability is active, the
Paladin grants the ability to re-roll one Fort save every round to any
ally within a 30ft radius of his. The decision to re-roll must be made
after the roll is made but before the result is declared.
Immune to Compulsion (Ex)
The Paladin is immune to all Compulsion spells and effects.
Divine Intervension (Su)
At 7th level, a Paladin's long and faithful service grants him a special gift from his deity.
On the first occasion in a 24-hour span that his HP drop to 0 or lower,
the Paladin is automatically affected by Heal spell. This healing is
timely enough to keep him alive if the amount of damage is enough to
kill him, assuming that the amount of healing would remove sufficient
amount of damage.
Aura of Faith (Su)
The paladin gains Aura of Faith. While this ability is active, the
Paladin grants the ability to re-roll one Will save every round to any
one ally within a 30ft radius of his. The decision to re-roll must be
made after the roll is made but before the result is declared.
Immune to Possession (Ex)
The Paladin is immune to Magic Jar, Soul Bind, Trap the Soul, a ghost's
malevolence ability and all other spells and effects that displace or
replace a character's life force. The Paladin can still travel to the
planes via Astral Projection, if so desired.
Hammer of God (Su)
The deity's weapon of choice is a mighty and unstoppable weapon in the
hands of the Paladin. When the Paladin wields his deity's weapon, it
constantly fluctuates with numerous energy types and bypasses all DR.
Furthermore, the weapon cannot be broken under his grip.
Ex-Paladins
A Paladin whose alignment changes or grossly violates his ethos loses
all paladin abilities except his weapon skills. He may not progress any
further in levels as a Paladin. He regains his abilities and
advancement potential if he atones for his violations (see the
Atonement spell description).
Shadowdancer
A Shadowdancer learns how to manipulate the very essence of darkness in
order to gain concealment, movement and combat powers. Drawing from
their cunning combat skills, their darkness adaptation and the ability
to materialize and reshape weapons out of their own will, Shadowdancers
become a force to recon with.
Requirements:
Alignment: Any non-good Classes: Rogue 3 / Sorcerer 2 / Ghostknife 6 Feats: Ambidexterity, Elusive Target, Quicken Spell-Like Ability: Darkness (invocation), TWF Skills: Hide 13, Knowledge (the planes) 8, Move Silently 13, Perform (dance) 10, Tumble 13 Invocations: Darkness, Devil's Sight Special: Must have been to the plane of shadows or subject to Shadow Walk sometime in the past.
Basic Progression:
BAB: Average HP: As Rogue (4 / level) Good Saves: Ref SkPts per level: 6 + INT-mod Weapon Focus: Level stacks with Ghostknife Invocations: Level stacks with Sorcerer
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Darksight, Shadow Jump (60ft; standard action)
2nd Uncanny Dodge, Shadow Blade
3rd Shadow Mantle, Shadow Jump (120ft; move action)
4th Improved Evasion, Shadow Mark
5th Sudden Strike, Shadow Jump (240ft; swift action)
6th One with the Shadows, Shadow Walk
7th Shadow Discorporation, Shadow Jump (480ft; immediate action)
Feature Descriptions:
Darksight (Ex)
Shadowdancers gain the ability to see through all forms of darkness,
including magical (even within Antimagic or dead-magic zone).
Shadowdancers are easy to pick out, as their eyes turn flat silver.
Shadow Jump (Su)
As given for the core Shadowdancer, except that its activation is accelerated with level progression.
Shadow Blade (Su)
The Shadowdancer's mindblade(s) emits negative-energy shadows. It deals
extra negative damage of 1d6 + 1/class-level and can strike
ethereal/incorporeal opponents with no miss chance (the extra damage
doesn't affect undead). Critical hits against opponents susceptible to
precision damage also deal 2 points STR, DEX & AGI damage (Fort
save vs. DC15 negates).
Shadow Mantle (Su)
The Shadowdancer can shroud himself with protective ambient shadows for
[class-level + CHA-mod] rounds as a swift action. He gains a +4 bonus
to AC (armor), to saves vs. light-based spells, to positive energy and
to Hide checks made in less than daylight illumination. The Shadow
Mantle can be dismissed as a free action, and while active, the
Shadowdancer's facial features cannot be discerned.
Shadow Mark (Su)
The Shadowdancer can make a touch attack, and if successful, attune to
his target. He can then track it down and shadow-teleport to its
location, regardless of the distance, as long as they're on the same
material plane. A Shadowdancer can only have one marked target at a
time.
One with the Shadows
The Shadowdancer's power over shadows transcends the dependency upon magic to do so.
From this point and on, all of the Shadowdancer's shadow powers become extraordinary abilities.
Shadow Walk (Ex)
The Shadowdancer may use Shadow Walk spell effect once per day (caster
level = character level). If the Shadowdancer travels alone, this power
may be activated as a swift action.
Shadow Discorporation (Ex)
When in shadows or darkness, any damage that would inevitably reduce
the Shadowdancer to 0 HP or less has a chance to discorporate him
instead. On a successful Ref save vs. DC [5 + damage dealt], the
Shadowdancer breaks apart into dozens of flitting shadows and vanishes,
along with anything carried or held.
The Shadowdancer reforms at the next sundown at a place of his choosing
within one mile of the place where he discorporated, materializing at
the exact same condition he was when he was discorporated.
While discorporated, nothing can attack the Shadowdancer and he cannot
take any actions (this is a special sort of delayed teleportation with
no Teleport Trace).
Soulbow (*)
A Soulbow is the perfect archer, combining his diverse background to rain death upon his enemies from afar.
The Soulbow PrC is basically the core Arcane Archer modified as follows:
Requirements:
Classes: Ghostknife 6, Mage 3, Sorcerer 2, Warrior 1 Weapon Proficiency: Bows Feats: Far Shot, Manyshot, Pierce the Wind, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run, Close Combat Archery. Spell: Able to cast the following spells without preparation: Mage Hand, Magic Missile and Acid Arrow. Invocation: Eldritch Spear, Hideous Blow. Weapon Focus: Any bow.
Basic Progression:
Arcane Spellcasting Progression: At each odd level. This replaces the "Enhance arrow +X" feature. Psychic Armor: Level stacks with Ghostknife to determine potency.
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Mind Bow, Arrow Mind
2nd Arrow Trick: Imbue Arrow
3rd Bonus Feat: Sharp Shooter
4th Arrow Trick: Seeker Arrow
5th Bonus Feat: Improved Precise Shot
6th Arrow Trick: Phase Arrow
7th Bonus Feat: Greater Manyshot
8th Arrow Trick: Hail of Arrows
9th Bonus Feat: Improved Rapid Shot
10th Arrow Trick: Arrow of Death
Feature Descriptions:
Mind Bow (Su) (1st level)
A Soulbow's most basic training is the ability to shape his Mind Blade
into a bow (long/short – according to his selected weapon focus). Upon
pulling on the bow, an arrow of psychic force is formed. A Soulbow has
long spell range with his Mind Bow, tied to the Soulbow's class level.
Using a Mind Bow, a Soulbow can issue a firing rate according to the
Medium-Melee-Weapons category attack speed, since a Soulbow never has
to load an arrow onto hit Mind Bow. Each Mind Arrow shot by a Soulbow
also carries whatever enhancement his Mind Blade would carry (including
EB relevant essence).
Arrow Mind (Ex)
A Soulbow may each round select a 60-degree cone area that he threatens
and can target opponents within 60ft with ranged AoOs. This can only be
done with his Mind Bow.
Imbue Arrow (Su)
As given for the core Arcane Archer. When multiple uses of Imbue Arrow
are gained, the Soulbow may issue more than one of them in a single
attack and even with the same psychic arrow.
Seeker Arrow (Su)
As given for the core Arcane Archer
Phase Arrow (Sp)
A Phase Arrow flickers between the material prime, the Ethereal and
Astral planes, so it overcomes all barriers that don't stretch to all
three. Phase Arrow attack is a ranged touch attack.
Hail of Arrows (Sp)
All opponents within line of sight in a 120-degree cone. Each arrow counts as First Strike (EB included).
SA and precision damage in general cannot be used when applying Hail of Arrows.
Arrow of Death (Sp)
No special preparation - just plain simple usable once / day.
The DC equals [10 + 1/2 character level + CHA-mod]
Arrow Tricks note: When an arrow trick is learned, it's usable
once / day and all previous arrow tricks are usable once more per day.
A 6th level Soulbow can apply 2 arrow-tricks to a single shot (1 when
applying Hail of Arrows, starting at 8th level) and at 10th level he
can apply 3 arrow-tricks to a single shot (2 when applying Hail of
Arrows).
Spellblade
A Spellblade is an elite soldier, highly practiced in sword, skill
& spell, and trained to utilize them in an unequaled harmony. The
training facilities for becoming a Spellblade are exclusive to elven
societies and monitored by elven rulers.
Requirements:
Class levels: Mage 5, Rogue 3, Warrior (unfettered) 2 Feats: Arcane Strike (CW), Armor Specialization: Chain Shirt,
Combat Reflexes, Improved Counterspell, Metamagic feat (any) and Somatic
Weaponry (CM). Skills: Balance 5, Concentration 6, Jump 6, Perform (dance) 5, Tumble 9 Weapon Focus: Longsword or Scimitar Special I: Trained by elves Special II: Must own a personal Mithral Chain Shirt.
Basic Progression:
BAB: Full HP: As Monk (5 / level) Good saves: All SkPts / Level: 6 + INT-mod Weapon Skill: Level stacks with Warrior level Arcane Spellcasting progression: 4/5 (all levels except 1 and 6). Sneak Attack: Level stacks with Rogue level.
Arcane Channeling (Su)
See the PHB II Duskblade for a detailed description.
Bonus Feat
You gain the indicated counterspell enhancement.
Innate Spell (Sp):
At 2nd level, a Spellblade may select one spell that he knows and gain it as a spell-like ability.
A Spellblade may select an additional innate spell at levels 5 and 8.
Spellshield (Su)
Same as the core-Sorcerer's Dungeonscape-ACF of the same name.
Pierce Defenses (Su)
Once per encounter per class level, when making a melee attack, the
Spellblade can have a single attack strike through all magic-based AC enhancements and
damage blocking traits/effects of all kinds.
The Spellblade must declare the use of this ability before making an attack. Missing the attack roll counts as a failed attempt.
Spell Weaponry (Su)
Whenever the Spellblade casts an arcane spell that deals energy damage, he can turn half of the damage dealt by the spell into piercing/slashing/bludgeoning damage (reminder: physical damage is not susceptible to SR or energy resistance and may crit (20/x2), but is susceptible to DR). When channeling such spells through his weapon(s), the Spellblade doesn't have to select his wielded weapon's damage type.
Magicbane Strike (Sp)
Once per day, when making a melee attack, the Spellblade can affect the target struck with Mage’s Disjunction.
The Spellblade must declare the use of this ability before making an
attack. Missing on a touch attack doesn't count as a failed attempt.
(*) It didn't elude me that in order to fulfill the feat requirements
at the minimum level for these PrCs, one must either be human or take
flaws, or that it may even require retraining. Unfortunately, to my
better judgment, they're all required to fit the archetype.
2HW: 2-Handed Weapon
#Att: Number of Attacks
AC: Armor Class
ACF: Alternative Class Feature
ACP: Armor Check Penalty
AFAIK: As Far As I Know
AGI: Agility
ASF: Arcane Spell Failure
AoO: Attack of Opportunity
AoE: Area of Effect
BAB: Base Attack Bonus
BBEG: Big Bad Evil Guy
BoED: Book of Exalted Deeds
CAdv: Complete Adventurer
CArc: Complete Arcane
CC: Complete Champion
CDiv: Complete Divine
CHA: Charisma
Ci: Cityscape
CM: Complete Mage
CoC: Code of Conduct
CON: Constitution
CR: Challenge Rating
CSco: Complete Scoundrel
CW: Complete Warrior
DEX: Dexterity
DMG: Dungeon Master's Guide
DrMg: Dungeon Magic
Dun: Dungeonscape
DR: Damage Reduction
EB: Eldritch Blast
EbCS: Eberron Campaign Settings
Ex: Extraordinary ability/feature
FoB: Flurry of Blows
FrCS: Forgotten Realms Campaign Settings
HoB: Heroes of Battle
HoH: Heroes of Horror
HP: Hit Points
INT: Intelligence
IRL: In Real Life
IUS: Improved Unarmed Strike
LEoF: Lost Empires of Faerun
NOVA: Successfully utilizing all/most of your magical & mundane offensive resources in a single encounter
OTOH: On The Other Hand
PC: Player Character
PER: Perception
PGtF: Player Guide to Faerun
PHB: Player's Handbook
PrC: Prestige Class
RAI: Rules As Intended
RAW: Rules As Written
RoF: Races of Faerun
RoS: Races of Stone
RotD: Races of the Dragon
RotW: Races of the Wild
SA: Sneak Attack
SkPts: Skill Points
So&Si: Song & Silence
Sp: Spell-like ability/feature
SpC: Spell Compendium
SR: Spell Resistance
Sto: Stormwreck
STR: Strength
Su: Supernatural ability/feature
ToB: Tome of Battle
TPK: Total Party Kill
TWF (or 2WF): Two Weapon Fighting
UA: Unearthed Arcana
UD: Uncanny Dodge
WIS: Wisdom
XP: Experience Points
XPH: Expanded Psionic Handbook
Appendix B: Books to regard (subject to these house roles)
Feats + Spells & Invocations:
- Complete _______ (whatever)
- Races of _______ (whatever) Note: Class-specific combat spells of the core full-BAB
base-classes (Duskblade/Paladin/Ranger) can be most appropriately
assigned to appropriate PrCs (e.g. the Spellblade)
Appendix C: Extra Bonuses
Note: The following additions are as much a part of these rules as everything else presented in these 10 entries.
More Stuff Regarding Base-Classes
Bard Variant: Bladesinger
Some Elven societies have a special, highly graceful, Bard variant that is somewhat more combat focused.
Variant Requirements: Race: Elf, AGI 15+, CHA 15+, INT 13+, Mobility, Balance 4, Tumble 4. Bardic Perform focus: Sing / oratory (player's choice) and dance – both are maximized at no SkPts cost.
Bladesingers don't gain the following Bard features:
- Fascinate
- Loremaster
- Bonus Feat
- Suggestion
- Well Versed
- Song of Freedom
- Mass Suggestion
Bladesingers gain* the following features:
Combat Performance (Ex)
Bladsingers use their performance skill when making Concentration
checks related to spellcasting and Bardic music (such as maintaining a
spell while taking damage).
Inspiring Dance (Ex)
Starting at 2nd level, a Bladesinger's unique and impressive combat
style allows him to use any of his "Inspire" Bardic Music abilities to
influence allies and enemies while making melee or range attacks.
Note that Bladesingers still depend on their Sing / Oratory performance for the remaining Bardic Music features.
Defensive Aptitude (Ex)
Putting more emphasis on combat prowess than musical versatility, and stepping into the pyre on a much more regular basis, Bladesingers hone impressive defensive capabilities. At levels 5, 11 & 17 Bladesingers select one of the following abilities (at any desired order): Evasion, Mettle, Uncanny Dodge.
Battlegrace (Ex)
At 6th level, a Bladesinger may add his CHA-mod to AC and Ref saves.
He also no longer provokes movement-derived AoOs.
Bladecasting (Ex)
At 12th level, a Bladesinger no longer provokes AoOs from casting Bard
spells in melee combat, unless denied his AGI-bonus to AC.
Bladesong Perfection (Su)
At 18th level, a Bladesinger can truly mesmerize his opponents. Every
time he hits an opponent (mild touch is enough), he may discharge an
Enchantment/Illusion spell upon it.
* All of the Bladesinger's class features are inapplicable unless he's:
1. Wielding longsword/rapier/scimitar in one hand and nothing in the other (also unarmed, with Improved Unarmed Strike).
2. Wearing light or no armor.
3. Light loaded.
Also, all Bladesinger features are inapplicable during Rage or under
any form of mental compulsion spell or effect (e.g. Confusion).
Writers notes
• This actually belongs in the Bard spoiler, but there was just not
enough space to put it in, and of all the variants, nostalgia dictates
that this one should get a place of its own (as a bonus).
• It took me forever to nail this one right. I finally figured that to
keep concurrent with the other classes and my view of things, I'd have
to make the Bladesinger a Bard variant (even though I didn't like the
heavy 1st-level prereqs), since:
- The Bladesinger is supposed to combine sword & spells effectively from the get go, so it was inappropriate as a PrC.
- It must be a hybrid class, since it delves into many aspects: sword, spells, skills & song.
- Its signature features are combat-singing & combat-grace – both extremely Bard-ish.
- OTOH, there's nothing to hint of a Bladesinger being able to use the
omitted features, and most of them are still available as spells, if
one really finds them hard to give up.
• Basically, Bladesinger IS the base-class gish of this system.
• Now, is it worth it? Well, it's all a matter of personal preference.
If you have no problem with being an Elf and are ok with the
restrictive build and are patient enough:
- You save all those precious Concentration SkPts.
- At 6th level you gain significant defensive bonuses that help you linger on in direct confrontation.
- At 12th level you can wield magic free of quite a bit of worries.
Sure, you're no Mage, but both factors offset one another quite nicely.
- At 18th level you absolutely rock against opponents susceptible to
mind effects (note that some are quite immune at these levels).
Nordic Priest
The idea of the Nordic Priest was first introduced in the OD&D "Northern Reaches" gazetteer and I still find it thematically appealing.
This option is applicable to any Cleric variant except Disciple of the Elements, which by definition are non religious.
By choosing it, one commits to the resurrection restrictions and must
select all of the given Godi spells as known spells before any others.
Neglecting this obligation is a violation of the Godi CoC.
Several adaptations are required for this option to be relevant to these house rules:
- Berserker spell causes standard exhaustion.
- Resurrection checks are modified (success-wise) by the caster's CHA-mod.
- Runic Divination is a 5th level spell.
- Runic powers that compel X creatures to Y condition allow a save vs. DC [10 + 1/2 class-level + CHA-mod].
- Effects that are inconsistent with 3.5e or these house rules (in terms of mechanics or power level) are modified accordingly.
Wild Empathy – Redefined
I'm trying to set some rules of how Wild Empathy could more vividly
represent a Druid's knowledge of the way of the animal & plant
kingdom (the sounds they make, their body language / smells / droppings
etc) and how he could use such knowledge to make them work for his
(their) cause & interests. A Druid should also have an unnatural
ability to establish direct empathic communication with "creatures of
the forest" (Animal, Monstrous Plant or Wild Beast, generally referred
to as "animals").
I want it to be a tool for a Druid to utilize whatever animal/plant
lives are available wherever he goes. I want an interaction with the
wild to feel more natural rather than for a Druid to be toting a handy
mobile cannon at all times.
A Druid could, of course, have an animal pet without even needing a
single rank in Handle Animal and influence it with Wild Empathy.
However, making an animal follow you everywhere takes time and it will
receive no empowerment of any sort from accompanying the Druid (I don't
subscribe to the concept of empowering an animal just because it is
loyal to you).
Wild Empathy serves a Druid as follows:
Influencing Animal:
A Druid thinks and animals around him instantly know what he wants of them.
As a standard action that doesn't provoke AoOs, a Druid can influence animals within line of sight. He can either:
- Shift their attitude (according to the core Diplomacy "Influencing NPC Attitudes" table) by 1 step in his favor.
- Have animals with Friendly/Helpful Attitudes perform tricks.
In both cases, the Druid counts as having maximized ranks in both Diplomacy and Handle Animal - and both are susceptible to augmentations by
Skill Focus and skill-feats. A Druid can relay his desires/intentions to up to 1 animal per 4 Druid levels (rounded up) plus his WIS-mod (including different applications/instructions to each animal), and a separate check is required for each animal to be affected, however, for each animal beyond the first, the Druid takes a cumulative -1 penalty to all Diplomacy/Handle Animal checks. Restrictions: A Druid cannot just influence all animals at all times. To determine the creatures susceptible to a Druid's influence, consult the core rules that define which creatures are candidates as Animal Companions. Other unlisted creatures are assigned according to their appropriate CRs. Note: As dictated by RAW, magical beasts are harder to influence and all DCs are increased by +4.
Getting Information About Animals & Plant Life:
- 3rd level: a Druid can spend 1d6 hours to determine general characteristics of animal & plant life that dominate an unfamiliar natural region he enters.
- 5th level: a Druid can read the different signs animals relay to determine weather changes or incoming earthquakes, floods, volcano eruptions etc.
- 8th level: when inspecting an unfamiliar area, a druid also learns of not-so-common creatures of interest (should they be present).
- 13th level: a Druid may influence animals as a move action, but only once per round. This improves yet again to swift/immediate action at 17th level, but again, it's only applicable once per round.
Animal Companions:
At any given time, a Druid may select a single Helpful animal (and only it) to accompany him as his current animal companion.
The animal companion receives training (normal Handle Animal training times) according to the Druid's choice, just from being in the Druid's presence. Furthermore, a companion is taught a number of extra tricks that's mentioned in the core "The Druid’s Animal Companion" table (according to the given animal and the Druid's level).
Should a Druid decide to take a new companion, the old one loses its extra tricks at a rate of 1 trick per week. These lost tricks do not automatically reappear if the Druid takes a "discarded" animal a second time (they require "training" time once again).
Notes:
- Since overall Handle Animal is a subset of Wild Empathy, Handle Animal synergy to Wild Empathy is no longer valid.
- Some base-class variants (Green Whisperer Bard and Wild Warrior) also
get Wild Empathy. However, their Wild Empathy related Diplomacy &
Handle Animal ranks are treated as maximized cross-class skills. Furthermore, for their level-dependant Wild Empathy options, they require twice the level as required for Druids.
A standard Druid as a Master of Many Forms
Given the official Wild Shape feats are either already covered by the
Druid or are inappropriate with these rules, and given the Druid is
already half way there, the following feats are my suggestion for how
to allow the Master of Many Forms without even requiring a PrC:
Type Expansion
Aberration Wild Shape [Insect Wild Shape, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 5]
You add Aberration to the repertoire of form-types available to you.
Ooze Wild Shape [Aberration Wild Shape, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 8]
You add Ooze to the repertoire of form-types available to you.
Magical Beast Wild Shape [Plant Wild Shape, Knowledge (arcana) 5]
You add Magical Beast to the repertoire of form-types available to you.
Dragon Wild Shape [Magical Beast Wild Shape, Knowledge (arcana) 8]
You add Dragon to the repertoire of form-types available to you.
Size Expansion
Diminutive Wild Shape [Tiny-sized Wild Shape]
All of the monster categories available to you also gain one Diminutive size category.
Fine Wild Shape [Diminutive-sized Wild Shape]
All of the monster categories available to you also gain one Fine size category.
Gargantuan Wild Shape [Huge-sized Wild Shape – 6 levels straight]
All of the monster categories available to you also gain one Gargantuan size category.
Colossal Wild Shape [Gargantuan-sized Wild Shape – 6 levels straight]
All of the monster categories available to you also gain one Colossal size category.
Notes:
- Wild Shape is only applicable for life forms. No feat in the world
can grant a Druid the ability to transform into an undead or construct.
- Wild Shape feats cannot be retrained.
Invocations for a Necro-Themed Sorcerer
Death’s Command (Least; 2nd)
You can Command Undead as the spell.
Phantom Steed (Lesser; 3rd):
You may use Phantom Steed at-will. You may only have a single stead at a given time.
Soul Snatch (Greater; 5th)
You may attempt to snatch the soul of a Helpless or Dying creature, within close range (25ft + 5ft/level).
The target may attempt a Fort save to resist the effect (DC: 10 + 1/2 class levels + CHA-mod) or die.
A snatched soul grants you knowledge of everything the creature thought about 24 hours prior to its death.
You may hold onto the soul and utilize its link to the afterlife's to
make a single Knowledge check with a bonus equal to the creature's CR
(or its own Knowledge ranks, whichever is greater) plus your CHA-mod.
The result of that check isn't limited by what you or the creature
know. Once used in such a manner, the soul is released.
Awaken Undead (Greater; 6th)
Use Awaken Undead as the spell. These undead remain completely loyal to
you and remain under your command if they were already under your
command.
Restless Dead (Greater; 6th)
You can Create Undead as the spell, this undead crumbles to dust after
one minute per caster level unless you use the material components.
This undead shares your alignment and is under your direct control.
Relentless Dead (Dark; 8th)
You can Create Greater Undead as the spell, this undead crumbles to
dust after one minute per caster level unless you use the material
components. This undead shares your alignment and is under your direct
control.
Undead Legion (Dark; 9th)
All undead of a specific type under your control within 30ft of you become a legion.
So long as these undead remain within 60ft of each other, their total
HP become a single pool of HP. These undead remain animated until the
entire pool of hit points is depleted – at which point all of the
undead in the legion crumble to dust.
If one of these undead leaves this area, it is removed from the legion,
it gains hit points equal to the number of hit points currently in the
pool divided by the number of undead currently in the legion, rounded
down. If the number is below one, the undead crumbles into a pile of
dust.
An undead legion cannot be turned or rebuked unless the roll is
sufficient to affect all undead in the legion. You can only have one
legion created at a time in this way.
New Sorcerer-Exclusive Feats
Dark Transient [Knowledge (the planes) 15, fell flight, flee the scene, path of shadow]
- Your flight speed (from the fell flight invocation) increases by 30ft and its maneuverability increases to perfect.
- You can self transport great distances with a single thought (as
greater teleport). You can also transport other creatures, but if you
do, there is a chance of error (as teleport).
- You can self plane shift with perfect accuracy. You can also
transport other creatures, but you then suffer the inaccuracies
normally incurred when using the spell.
Eldritch Retribution [Combat Reflexes]
When someone scores a melee touch attack against you (whether or not
actually dealing damage – minor contact is enough), you may discharge
EB damage upon your attacker as an immediate action (auto-hit). You
cannot modify this assault with essence or shape invocations and you
must be aware of the incoming attack in order to retaliate.
Eldritch Sculptor [Spellcraft 15, Eldritch Spear, Hideous Blow, Eldritch Chain, Eldritch Cone, Eldritch Doom]
You control and shape your EB like a master sculptor and can enhance it in one of the following manners:
- You can use two eldritch blasts per round as a full attack action,
rather than the normal limit of one, and apply eldritch essences to
both blasts, with the limitation that their AoEs do not overlap in any
way and that no opponent is targeted more than once.
- You gain +2 bonus on attack rolls to hit an opponent with your EB.
- If you modify your EB with the Eldritch Spear, the range increases to 500ft.
- You can use Hideous Blow as part of an AoO.
- If you modify your EB with Eldritch Chain, you may start the chain up
to 120ft away from you and the maximum distance between each target
increases to 60ft.
- The range of your Eldritch Cone increases to 120ft.
- The radius of Eldritch Doom increases to 40ft.
Empowered Eldritch Blast
The damage dealt by your eldritch blast increases by 1d6. You can stack this feat multiple times.
Master of the Elements [Knowledge (the planes) 24, Breath of the Night, Chilling Tentacles, Stony Grasp, Wall of Perilous Flame]
You have achieved mastery of the four elements -- air, earth, fire, and water.
- Once per day, you can summon a single creature from the summon
monster I-IX list that is an elemental or has the air, earth, fire, or
water subtype. The monster serves you for a number of rounds equal to
your caster level.
- Once per day, you can use dominate monster on elementals and
creatures with the air, earth, fire and water subtype. This effect
lasts for a number of days equal to your Sorcerer class-level.
- Your energy resistance against air, earth, fire and water is increased to 20.
- Elementals and creatures with the air, earth, fire and water subtype
view you as one of their kind. These creatures react to you as if their
attitude is one step better than the situation otherwise warrants.
Paragon Visionary [Spellcraft 20 ranks, Dark Foresight, Devil's Sight, Voidsense]
Your powers of perception are beyond mortal ken.
- You can see through illusions, magical darkness, shapechangers, and other effects (as true seeing).
- You are automatically aware of all spells or magical effects you see.
- Simply by looking at a creature, you can determine if it is a divine or
arcane caster, whether it has any spell-like abilities, and the highest
spell or spell-like abilities it knows.
- When you use the Voidsense invocation, you gain Blindsight 60ft.
- You receive a bonus on all Listen, Sense Motive and Spot checks
equal to double your Wisdom modifier or +6, whichever is greater.
Adding Spells to a Mage’s Spellbook
In general, the core rules for writing spells in a Wizard's spellbook are maintained, with the following exceptions:
1. A scroll contains a magical effect that only requires several
magical words to activate. Therefore, scrolls cannot be used to study
spells.
2. Researching a new spell (beyond the 2-spells-per-level quota) takes
1 day per spell-level and costs a total of 500gp per spell-level
(including the materials for writing it in the book).
3. Mages charge 500gp per spell level for the privilege of copying
spells from their spellbooks (full price, but not time expenditure).
Familiars – Updated & Upgraded
I have a few issues with some of the things associated with familiars in 3.Xe:
1. They die too easy at low levels.
2. They sort'a become less and less interesting beyond level 12.
3. The evolution of master-familiar bond seems to stop abruptly and without fulfilling its full potential.
4. In classic literature, familiars are stereotypically associated with witches, not bookworm students of magical research.
5. Waiting 1 year and 1 day if a familiar dies is retarded and uninspiring (and unfair, since "SHIT HAPPENS").
Therefore, I suggest the following upgrade to familiars:
Familiar abilities by Witch-level:
Code:
Witch's Class-Level Special
1st-2nd: Alertness, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Empathic Link
3rd-4th: Deliver Touch Spells
5th-6th: Speak With Master, Devotion
7th-8th: Speak With Animals of Its Kind
9th-10th: Mettle
11th-12th: Spell Resistance
13th-14th: Tap onto Familiar's Senses
15th-16th: Telepathy
17th-18th: Possession
19th-20th: Sensory Duality
Ability Descriptions:
Devotion
This feature works as described for the core Druid's animal companion.
Mettle
This feature works as described for the CW Hexblade
Tap onto Familiar's Senses
The Witch may access the full range of her familiar's sensory
capabilities. She may choose which, if any, of her familiar's senses
she wishes to experience. While using her familiar's senses, she loses
the use of her own corresponding senses.
A Witch who chooses to experience all of her familiar's senses will
feel as if she is in her familiar's body (though control of the body
still belongs to the familiar).
Telepathy
The Witch and her familiar may now communicate telepathically with each
other. This telepathic communication renders fully the intent and
emotion of both parties, not just mere words. When either the Witch or
her familiar is attacked by enchantment / charm, or illusion, both
parties must roll to save (if they're within normal Empathic-link range of
each other). If either of them is successful, the attack has no effect.
If both fail, both are affected.
Possession
The Witch gains the ability to possess her familiar's body. This
possession is entirely voluntary, and can not be forced upon the
familiar. During this possession the souls of the familiar and Witch
remain in their respective bodies, however, through telepathic
communication, the Witch gains complete control over her familiar's
body. While in control of her familiar, the Witch utilizes all of its
senses (no exclusion).
Sensory Duality
The Witch and her familiar gain the ability to process massive amounts
of sensory information. From now on, both may access each other's
senses while retaining their own. It is very common, at this point in
the Witch and her familiar's sensory development, for the pair to
remain in full sensory and telepathic contact at all times.
Note: All other features work as described in the PHB.
Other modifications to the core familiar
1. Having a familiar is exclusive to the Witch class (and some Occult Spinner Bards).
2. A familiar keeps its original HP and gains 2extra HP per Witch class level.
3. A familiar gains 2 SkPts + INT-mod per its master's level. It
regards its racial skills and its master's skills as class skills
4. A familiar uses its BAB or its master's (whichever's higher).
5. Empathic link has a range of 1 mile per Witch's level.
6. Familiars can be replaced immediately, but their death does have its toll (see Familiar's Death below).
Summoning and Advancing A Familiar
The ritual of summoning a familiar takes 24 hours per desired familiar's racial HD.
Assuming a familiar doesn't suddenly dies for whatever reason and is
not dismissed, in order for a familiar to advance in the appropriate
abilities according to its master's level, each master level requires a
ritual that takes 1 day per Witch's class-level.
If a familiar is replaced, the new familiar and its master must undergo all rituals in-order for all benefits to take place.
Familiar's Death
When a familiar dies, its master experiences immense physical & mental trauma.
If the familiar is within Empathic link range, the Witch immediately
loses 1 CON-point and 1 WIS-point per familiar's development stage
(i.e. per 2 caster levels), plus 1 CHA-point per familiar's racial HD –
with no save.
These lost points are restored at a rate of 1 point per month – a process that cannot be hastened by magical means.
If either drops to 0 or lower, the Witch is rendered comatose until
enough time passes for it to have a positive value (assuming someone's
there and competent enough to nurse her during this period).
If the familiar is out of Empathic link range, its master is entitled
to a DC 15 Fort save to negate half the loss (rounded down).
Dismissing a Familiar
It takes a Witch an 8-hour ceremony to dismiss a familiar. If the
familiar takes part of the ceremony, it retains all of its accumulated
advantages over creatures of its type. Otherwise it loses its edge at a
rate of 1 master's-level per month (no save).
A Dismissed familiar that retains its edge can never be bonded with
ever again, except by its former master and only if both sides are
willing.
Dragonfire Adept Upgrade
The DFA (Dragonfire Adept – DrMg; p.25) and the DS (Dragon Shaman – PHB-II; p.11) are both intended to embody draconic aspects. To my personal taste, the DS has way too many features that have nothing to do with the draconic theme (and, AFAIK, all correlative features in other sources came later, so I don't regard them as noteworthy references/justifications for the DS’s features).
The DFA, OTOH, is quite appropriate thematically and is practically the only official base class who’s general makeup I found quite appealing and with great potential of fitting nicely to these house rules (given the revised HP rules, it could definitely keep up the pace damage-wise). However, it's just far too puny physically to relay the "dragon might" feel, and not versatile enough to come anywhere near a true dragon’s versatility.
Sure, it’s more than decent, versatile and interesting compared to the other official base classes, and the majority of features are exactly where they're supposed to be, but in order to be just as interesting as the other classes presented in these rules, I feel it needs a bit more.
I've been trying to nail down a decent draconic class ever since the days of 2e. I played around with dozens of core classes, base classes and PrCs, and there was always something that just didn't feel right.
This is the 1st time that I'm really content with the result, therefore, here are my suggestions for how to elevate the DFA into a noteworthy niche, in the game that has more to do with dragons than all others:
The DFA, similarly to the Druid, undergoes physical transformation as it rises in power.
Beginning at 2nd level, a DFA is considered dragon type for the purpuse of magical spells and effects, if and when applicable (would usually work against them more than in their favor until level 13 (see below)). The DFA also starts sprouting wings and a tail, his entire features gradually become more and more draconic and his skin changes in color and texture and grows armor-like scales.
Just like a Sorcerer, a DFA may spend feats to gain extra invocations. A DFA may also spend feats to gain more Breath Effects, but no more than one per power category (also note that “Fivefold Breath of Tiamat” Breath Effect, if and when relevant, is subject to the damage-type-combo restrictions of these rules (3 types simultaneously max – see the last spoiler of entry #3)).
The following details specify the additions and modifications to the official DFA:
1. Med BAB and monstrous HP, so that the DFA can do battle reasonably on those rare occasions when breath weapon is inappropriate or delayed due to certain feats / breath effects (plus, dragons have full BAB).
2. Energy resistance equal to the DFA's class level that's applicable to any breath weapon damage type in the DFA's repertoire.
3. Class-Skills list widens to encompass all skills mentioned in the DS's "Draconic Adaptation" feature.
4. Gains draconic senses & flight according to the progression detailed for Dragonborn of Bahamut (RotD).
5. The DS's "Draconic Resolve" feature is gained at 4th level.
6. Dragon Breath ranges double yet again at level 19 (replaces the pathetic "Immunities" feature).
7. Gains a bonus feat at levels 8 and 18. The DFA may select a feat from the following: Skill Focus, a skill-feat, Extra Invocation or Extra Breath Effect.
8. At level 13 a DFA gains +4 STR and +2 CON increase. The DFA may now make Claws & Bite attacks as detailed for the Half-Dragon template. The DFA may also make a tail-slap attack against a different target within reach. This attack does the same damage as claw attack and may also trip (allows counter-tripping). Strictly when making a full attack (full-round action) with his class-related natural weapons, a DFA's class-derived BAB is considered good rather than average.
9. At level 20, as a full round action, a DFA can assume the physical form of a true dragon for a total of up to 1 minute per class-level. He may select any age-color combination whose HD don't exceed his DFA class level, gaining the form's physical ability scores and retaining his mental stats. The DFA can only choose a dragon race with a breath weapon that's already available to him. The DFA may change back and forth and even switch forms, as long as the total daily duration is not exceeded. In dragon form, if and when his class-derived breath weapon is delayed, he may still use his form's standard breath weapon (which required 1d4 rounds to replenish and doesn't stack with his class-related breath weapon).
Note: Notice that all the above changes have very little effect on the DFA's power level (other than making it a lot more durable), especially when optimized, but I find them to make it a much more "round" and complete class.
Follow-Up Feats
Some extraordinary combat situations may render your opponent open for
a particularly potent attack during your following combat turn. The
following feat-chains are just a handful of suggestions. Many others
could exist, built more or less to use similar mechanics to the ones
given below.
Applying a follow-up always ends the condition that has made it possible in the 1st place.
>> ------------
Arcane Strike
- Spell Continuity
Spell Continuity [Arcane Strike, caster level 8th]
You have learned how to maintain a steady flow of magic between yourself and a foe you've successfully targeted with Arcane Strike for 1 round.
Within the next combat round, if your target did not make any kind of teleportation and you're not threatened, you can Still-Spell target it
with any spell that may target a single opponent (including touch attacks) at no extra strain cost, making an automatic successful hit.
A Mage possessing this feat knows when he's been marked for Spell Continuity.
>> ------------
Dazzling Display
- Foiled Defense
Dazzling Display [Weapon Specialization, Weapon Mastery]
While wielding an appropriate Weapon, you can perform a dazzling display as a full-round action.
Make an Intimidate check against all foes within 30 feet who can see
you. You can substitute an attack roll in place of your Intimidate
check if it is higher.
Foiled Defense [Dazzling Display, BAB +11]
Opponents who are shaken by your Dazzling Display on the previous round
are flatfooted against any attacks you make using the weapon you used
to perform Dazzling Display.
Any such opponent you hit takes double damage plus 1 CON-point from bleeding.
>> ------------
Scorpion Style
- Gorgon’s Wrathful Fist
Scorpion Style [8th level Monk]
Make a single unarmed attack as a full-round action. If the attack
hits, you deal damage normally and the target’s base land speed is
reduced to 5 feet for 1 round, provided it's 1 size category lerger than
you or less.
Gorgon’s Wrathful Fist [Scorpion Style, 12th level Monk]
As a full round action, you can make 2 extra unarmed attacks, at your
highest attack bonus, against a target that you hit with your Scorpion
Style in the previous round. Furthermore, your stun DC against that foe
is raised by +4.
>> ------------
Monsters
Fairy
Plain & Simple – Tinkerbelle is a Fairy.
This is an attempt to mimic as many of Tinkerbelle's features as possible and to put them into a LA+1 at most.
STR: -8. Fairies' diminutive size imposes a -8 STR penalty AGI: +6. Fairies are slender and have lightning quick reflexes CON: -4. Fairies' low body-mass makes them somewhat delicate WIS: -2. Fairies often tend to gat into trouble due to their over developed sense of curiosity CHA: +4. Fairies are by far among the most beautiful of races and they have highly developed social instincts.
Ageless: Fairies never ages beyond adult. Vision: Low light SLA: Overland Flight 3/day as a move action that provokes AoOs – using Fairy dust Alternate form: Fairies Can once/month/CL take the form of a
human or elf for 1 hour/CL. This form will always be the same, and is
chosen upon character creation. Natural Light: Fairies radiate light all the time (as Light spell) in a 2ft (4ft) sphere,
which imposes -16 to all their hide checks. They can suppress it as a
move action with a Concentration check against DC12 for 1 minute.
LA: +1
Medusa - improved and made relevant for PCs
Medusas really have very few shticks up their sleeves and need a little extra, should a player wish to RP one.
- Medusas are immune to poison & petrifaction
- Given their all around vision, Medusas gain a +2 racial bonus to Spot and Uncanny Dodge feature.
- The gaze DC is [10 + 1/2 ECL + CHA-mod]
- The poison DC is [10 + 1/2 ECL + DEX-mod]
NOSFERATU (template - monstrous humanoid)
Writer's Notes
Nowadays, many vampire sagas regard the vampires as a biological anomaly.
I first came upon the name "Nosferatu" (a vampire with character class
features) in the very 1st OD&D gazetteer "Grand Duchy of
Karameikos" and was fascinated with the idea ever since, even though I
was never really a necro-freak.
For a long time I've been toying with this concept, trying to concoct
something that would be both playable and as close as possible to
modern days folklore.
Now I think for the 1st time I'm more or less on the right track.
HD: A Nosferatu has +2 racial HD (+16HP; 1:1 BAB progression; Good Fort & Ref) Abilities: STR +6, DEX +2, CON +2 & CHA +4 Skills: +8 racial bonus to Climb, Hide, Jump, Listen Move Silently & Spot; +4 racial bonus to Bluff & Intimidate. Fast Moving: All Nosferatu gain +10ft increase to their land speed. Climbing Speed: 20ft or equal to ground speed (whichever is lower). Natural Attack: 2 Claws (1d4 + STR-mod), 1 Bite (1d3) - modify appropriately for small/large Nosferatu. Pounce: When charging, a Nosferatu can make full natural attack. Blood Drain: Same mechanics as given for the Vampire, but
dealing 1d3 CON damage per round (modify CON damage according to size,
the same as for weapons' damage). Terrifying Transformation: The Nosferatu may demoralize (see
Intimidate for details) a single opponent that witnesses his
transformation to monstrous form (see details in the spoiler below). If
the opponent has seen such a transformation in the past, it gains a +4
bonus to resist the effect. If the opponent is aware of the Nosferatu's
nature, it gains an additional +4 bonus to resist. Darkvision: 60ft, or 30ft increase (up to 120ft) Lowlight Vision: As Elves, or +1 range multiplier (up to *4) Scent: See the DMG for more details Natural Armor: The base creature's natural armor is improved by +2. DR: 5/Silver Cold & electricity Resistance: 5 Regeneration: 1 Immunities: Nosferatu are immune to all non-magical poisons and
diseases, to non-lethal damage and to aging attacks & magical
effects (limitless lifespan). Non-Fatality: While Nosferatu take full precision damage, they
can only be coup-de-graced with slashing weapons (decapitated) and they
automatically stabilize. LA: +3
Non Conspicuous Form
While equipped with all their combat faculties, Nosferatu have a frightening monstrous appearance.
- They have sharp and protruding canines and fingernails
- Their irises are colored pale blue
- Their skin turns pale gray
- Their facial features become sharp and rough
To go about in civilization, Nosferatu hide their true nature, which hinders their combat prowess as follows:
- They lose their natural form of attack and Pounce
- They lose their climbing speed
- They lose their skill modifiers
- They lose their movement increase
- Their STR bonus degrades to +2
- Natural armor, DR and Resistances are suppressed
Changing to/from monstrous form is a move action that doesn't provoke AoOs.
Hindrances
Fire Sensitivity: A Nosferatu takes 50% more damage from
fire-based attacks. Fire-based damage does not regenerate. Fire damage
is healed only by feeding or with spells (rest and natural means have
no effect). Light Sensitivity: Blinded for the 1st round of exposure and
dazzled for the time it remains in bright light. Within sunlight or
Daylight effect, Nosferatu take 1HP/min fire-equivalent damage and they
don't regenerate. Silver: Affects Nosferatu just as Dark Reaver Powder would affect humans on specific cases (solution, powder, etc). Garlic: Causes Nosferatu to be sickened (a very large amount would make a Nosferatu nauseated) Wooden Stake: A wooden stake through the heart (Coupe-de-Grace / scoring a critical hit on a surprise round) paralyses a Nosferatu
Feeding:
Spoiler:
Blood Quota
An Xth level Nosferatu needs to drain X/2 CON points a day (not enough to kill a victim).
Draining blood from non-sentient mammals: The CON of these creatures only counts 1/2 for the Nosferatu's requirements.
Draining blood from non-mammals: counts 1/4 for the Nosferatu's requirements.
A dose of blood heals a Nosferatu of 2d3 points of damage and a single
physical ability damage (the one most severely drained, in case of
multiple ability damage).
Bloodlust
A Nosferatu that has not fed for 48 hours must succeed Fort & Will
saves (DC 10) to avoid bloodlust. With each passing 6 hours thereafter,
make another check with a cumulative +1 DC increase.
A failed save also does 1d3 points of ability damage to STR / DEX / AGI
/ CON and 1 point of ability damage to INT / WIS / PER / CHA (cycle on
both cases).
Covering one's identity
A Nosferatu's bite contains a powerful sedative that acts on the target
as Deep Slumber spell (single target; DC +4; Fort save instead of Will)
and causes amnesia regarding the last 5 minutes. After 4 hours there's
no evidence of the bite, making it harder to determine what happened to
the victim (note that the sedating saliva has no affect on 11+ HD
creatures).
Nosferatu have an unusual ability of assessing their potential victim's
level of power and its chances of becoming an easy meal (is it alive...
can it be sedated... how physically strong is it...)
When feeding, Nosferatu go to great lengths not to harm their meal, since too many bodies leave a hot trail to follow.
Becoming a Nosferatu
The process of becoming a Nosfertu is the same for all.
1. The target of a Nosfertu's bite must be brought from perfect health to CON=0 by blood drain.
2. Then the Nosfertu cuts-open a vain (standard action) and feeds the
target (which dies if not fed within 1 minute), taking 2d3 blood-drain
damage himself (when feeding a medium sized victim). The victim falls
into a coma.
3. Finally, the target must make a successful Fort save against DC 13
or remain comatose (curable by Restoration/Heal in case of failure).
4. 8 hours later, the "victim" wakes up as a Nosferatu.
Societies
Nosferatu don't breed – not with non-Nosferatu and not amongst themselves. There's no "next generation" for a Nosferatu.
Their affliction renders them forever sterile, and there's no known
method of reversal for being a Nosferatu, short of a Miracle (not even
Reincarnation does the trick).
Nosferatu groupings beyond mates are extremely rare, as they rival one
another on feeding grounds and need to maintain low profile.
Elder Nosferatu
With the passing of the years, Nosferatu evolve in power as follows:
10-99 years:
- Feeding: The Nosferatu only needs X CON-points per week and the bloodlust check durations are doubled.
- Terrifying Transformation: Affects all opponents within 30ft that witness the Nosferatu's transformation.
- Regeneration: 3
- Fire Sensitivity: Diminishes to +20%.
- Silver: No longer has secondary effect.
- Sunlight / Daylight: No longer cause continual damage, but still suppresses regeneration.
- Garlic: Can no longer cause a Nosferatu to become nauseated.
- STR-Bonus: Gains a +2 increase (both in monstrous and non-conspicuous form)
- LA: +4
100-999 years:
- Feeding: The Nosferatu only needs X*2 CON-points per month and the bloodlust durations are doubled again.
- Terrifying Transformation: Opponents that are overcome become Frightened for 2d4 rounds.
- Regeneration: 5
- Fire Sensitivity: Gone.
- Silver: No longer has effect.
- Sunlight / Daylight: No longer suppresses regeneration.
- Garlic: No longer has any effect.
- STR-Bonus: Gains yet another +2 increase
- LA: +5
1000+ years:
- Feeding: The Nosferatu regains the ability to consume normal food, but needs negligible amounts.
- Terrifying Transformation: Opponents that are overcome become Panicked for 3d6 rounds.
- Regeneration: 10
- Non-Fatality: Absolute – a severed extremity (including the head) reattaches immediately.
- Fire Damage: Is now also regenerated
- Wooden Stake: No longer paralyses
- STR-Bonus: Gains a stacking +4 increase
- Killing Method:
Obliteration by Disintegrate or similar spells, or burning to death
threshold and beyond - until the entire body is totally incinerated
- LA: +6
Skills for the other 3 senses
Smell (PER)
Code:
Smell DC Task
15 Notice (but not identify) a distinct and obnoxious smell, such as ghast’s stench. No action required.
20 Identify a familiar smell.
20 Locate a particular scent when actively sniffing for it. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
25 Identify a known distinct and obnoxious smell, such as ghast’s stench. No action required except on retries (which requires a move action).
25+spell level Identify a potion. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
25+spell level Smell the lingering effects of a magical spell with material components. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
30 Identify a semi-familiar smell.
30 Notice a particular scent without actively sniffing for it. No action required.
30 Determine if a particular creature is diseased. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
40 Determine the type of infliction a diseased creature has. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
Check: The DCs for Smell checks relating to various tasks are summarized on the table above.
Action: Varies, as noted above.
Try Again: See above.
Special: If you have either the Assimilate or Connoisseur feat, you get a +2 bonus on smell checks.
If you have Resonance Hound and/or Resonance Sniffer feats, you may use
the smell skill instead of the appropriate skill listed with the feat.
Creatures with the scent ability gain a +8 racial bonus to all smell
checks related to noticing and identifying a particular non-magical
scent not including magical potions, spells or diseases.
Taste (PER)
Code:
Taste DC Task
5 Identify the type of food or drink being consumed. No action required.
10 Determine if some food or drink is spoiled.
20 Determine if some food or drink is poisoned. Requires a full-round action. No retry.
25+spell level Identify a potion. Requires 1 minute. No retry.
30 Determine the type of poison within food or drink. Requires a full-round action. No retry.
Check: The DCs for Taste checks relating to various tasks are summarized on the table above.
Action: Varies.
Try Again: Yes.
Special: If you have either the Assessor or Connoisseur feat, you get a +2 bonus on taste checks.
Touch (PER)
Code:
Touch DC Task
10 Recognize a familiar face.
15 Recognize a word in a hand-written text. 1 Round
20 Recognize an unfamiliar face.
20 Notice fine cracks, scrapes or dents upon a hard surface
25 Find hidden writing on a piece of paper or parchment
30 Recognize a word from a printed text. 3 Rounds
Check: The DCs for Touch checks related to various tasks are summarized on the table above.
Action: Typically 1 minute.
Try Again: No.
Special: If you have either the Duplicity or Feeling feat, you get a +2 bonus on touch checks.
Dwarves receive their stonecunning bonus when the hard surface is rock or stone.
Enhanced Senses & Skills
Code:
Scent: +8 to all Smell checks (canines & dragons receive an extra +4 racial bonus, and bears receive +8).
Echolocation: +8 to all Listen checks (-2 to saves vs. sonic attacks, unless noted otherwise).
Tremor Sense: +4 to all Touch checks
Using craft to create awesome weapons without magic
Every now and then stories appear about extraordinary weapons of
unusual quality & traits that don't show any (Su)/(Sp) properties
(Siegfried's starmetal sword (Ring of the Nibelungs), Excalibur, etc).
Here's an attempt to define rules for creating such legendary items without the assistance of magic:
Code:
Weapon Trait Ranks DC Materials Prices
==========================================================================================
Stainless 5 20 Mithral material value
Masterwork quality 5 20 – as normally given for Masterwork weapons
Legendary quality (+1 hit / +2 dmg) 8 30 – Masterwork value * 10
DR breaching 5 20 < Adamantine / alchemical-silver / cold-iron >
Composite DR breaching 7 25 2 Special Materials 5 * [2 material values]
Complex DR breaching 12 35 3 Special Materials 10 * [3 material values]
Keen 6 23 – "+1"
Vorpal 10 30 Adamantine "+4"
Note: When combining 2 or more traits (except encompassing
traits), the prices stack and the DC equals the highest, plus 5 for
each additional trait. For instance, the most exquisite of all weapons
would have the following properties: Stainless (DC 20), Legendary
quality (DC 30), Complex DR breaching (35), Vorpal (30). The DC for
creating such a legendary weapon would amount to 35+5+5+5 = 50. The
prices for all traits stack.
Alcohol
Alcohol Rules: Why?
The life of an adventurer begins and ends in taverns.
Regardless of what campaign setting you play, the level of technology,
or the tone of your campaign is, odds are the party will be taking a
trip to an inn, tavern, or bar at some point.
Alcohol's effects on PCs & NPCs
Pinning down what exactly happens when a character becomes intoxicated
can be pretty hard. Seemingly, every part of the body is affected by
alcohol. A nimble thief may become clumsy. A brilliant mage may not
retain the ability to spell his own name legibly. Even a rugged dwarf
may become violently ill or even die of too much liquor.
When statting out the effects of alcohol, the following things were taken into consideration:
1) Alcohol – beyond its social value – is an ingested poison.
2) Alcohol's effects generally wear off in a day or two unless poisoning is severe.
3) The strength and potency of effects is incredibly varied, especially in fantasy setting, so anything's possible.
The DCs and effects of alcohol are as follows:
Alcohol, Generic (1 Mug):
- DC: 6...15 (determined up front or with a 1d10+5 roll)
- Ability damage on a failed Fort save: 1 to INT & WIS, and 1d2 to DEX, AGI, PER & CHA
Dwarven Ale (1 Mug):
- DC: 15
- Ability damage on a failed Fort save: 1d2 to INT & WIS, and 1d4 to DEX, AGI, PER & CHA
Alcohol Checks, Secondary Effects and Recovery:
- Each portion takes 1 round to consume
- Each portion after the first is checked with a cumulative +1 to the DC.
- The effect of alcohol is checked after 1 minute, unless an additional
portion is consumed earlier, in which case resistance to the previous
portion is checked immediately.
- Inability to control bodily functions is largely controlled by Constitution, but is generally left to the DM's decision.
- Inhibition and outward senses are controlled by Wisdom, so it's more of an RP issue than numerical penalties.
- The effects normally ware off after 24 hours from the last consumption (or from the elapse of unconsciousness).
- When any of the abilities drops to 2, 24-hour unconsciousness occurs.
- If any of the abilities drops to 0, a successful save vs. the base DC
must be met or death occurs. If successful, unconsciousness wares off
after 1d3+2 days.
Dwarves & Drinking
Dwarves' unique blood chemistry makes them particularly resistant to alcohol.
They totally ignore the first portion of Dwarven Ale and the first 3 portions of other alcoholic beverages.
Additions to previous entries (due to lack of space)
.
New Feats
Adrenaline Rush [on character creation]
When during combat your HP drop to 1/2 or less, you gain +2 to STR and
DEX. This effect lasts CON-mod + CHA-mod combat rounds, or until you're
brought above 1/2 your max HP.
Agile Climber [Climb 12, Tumble 8]
You are adept at climbing and feel comfortable in combat while doing
so. You get a +2 bonus to all climb checks and you don't lose your
AGI-mod to your AC while climbing.
Armored Invoking [Invocations class feature]
You have learned how to limit your movements while using your class-related invocations and no longer suffer any chance of ASF while donning light armor.
Bladed Cover [Weapon Specialization (slashing weapon), Base Ref +5]
When applying total defense and not threatened in melee, all missile
attacks from a 90-degree cone (selected by you) take -2 hit penalty and
have 20% miss chance.
Braveheart
There is not much that scares you.
You gain a +2 bonus to all Will Saves to resist fear or fear related
effects and the degree of fear you suffer is always one level less
severe than others would normally suffer, down to no effect (e.g.
shaken instead of frightened, and you're not impressed by effects that
merely make others shaken).
Cannibalize [CON 13+, Concentration 6, Mage level 7]: in times
of need, when the Mage has exhausted his tolerance and cannot afford to
fail his spell casting, he can feed off of his own life force to invoke
a spell. Cannibalized spells take a toll of 2 HP / strain cost (see the
spellcasting entry below). Cannibalized spells are subject to spell
failure and foil as normal, and function in all respects as standard
spells. One cannot sublime-cast or apply metamagic when cannibalizing.
Covering Fire [Base Ref Save +3 , Weapon Proficiency (any bow / crossbow) , Rapid Reload/Shot]
As a swift action, you can designate a 60-degree cone area within your
weapon's range increment or 30ft (whichever's greater) where you can
react to opponents' movement or attack. If the opportunity arises and
your shot hits, the target suffers -10ft penalty to its speed or -2 on
its next attack (depending on the action that triggered your attack),
and cannot take swift/immediate actions until after its next turn.
Cupid's Brew [Spell-like ability that replicates charm person or charm monster, ability to Brew Potions]
Once per month per combined [CHA+WIS]-mod (refreshes at the rising of a
full moon), you can use your charm spell-like ability to create a
single elixir of love. You must channel a use of the qualifying
spell-like ability into an appropriate amount of non-magical,
nonpoisonous, and drinkable liquid, such as water or wine. Infusing the
liquid is a spell-like ability that takes 1 full minute.
Fleet of Foot [Dex 15+, Run]
You can change direction once, up to 90-degrees, while running or charging
Improved Armored Invoking [lesser invocations class feature , no ASF in light armor]
You have learned how to minimize your movements while using your class-related invocations and no longer suffer any chance of ASF while donning armor.
Incite Rage [Cha 19+, Bardic Music: Inspire Courage & Suggestion, Rage]
You may spend one use of your Bardic Music ability to incite rage in
all of your allies who're currently affected by your Inspire Courage
and can hear your voice.
Lightning Fists [monk level 6, DEX 15+]
Your combat skills allow you to attempt a series of blindingly fast blows.
While flurrying as a full round action, you can make an additional
attack at your highest attack bonus, at the expense of -3 penalty to
all attack rolls. Subsequently, you can make 2 additional attacks at
your highest attack bonus, taking -5 penalty to all attack rolls.
Applying this maneuver requires all the attacks to be made unarmed.
Overpowering Assault [BAB +18, Imp. Bull Rush, Imp. Deflect, Imp. Disarm, Imp. Sunder, Imp. Trip, Intimidate 15]
You make a series of specific attacks while pushing forward.
You start by attempting to either Disarm or Sunder your opponent's weapon.
If successful, it means that you've managed to remove your opponent's
weapon out of the way and you may attempt to Bull Rush your opponent.
If successful, it means that you've managed to undermine your
opponent's footing and you may attempt to Trip it (with follow-up
attack).
If you hit, you undermine your opponent's confidence and can make an Intimidate check to unnerve your opponent. Special: Specifically for this maneuver, you make all your attacks at your highest BAB.
Radiant Beauty [on character creation , CHA 15+ , Humanoid or Fey type]
Your physical attractiveness and allure gives +2 to Diplomacy and Bluff
checks made against creatures with an Intelligence score above 2 which
are capable of appreciating your attractiveness.
Shield of Blades [Ambidexterity, Bladed Cover, TWF, wielding a pair of slashing weapons]
When applying total defense and not threatened in melee, all missile
attacks from a 120-degree cone (selected by you) take -4 hit penalty
and have 50% miss chance.
Siege Coordinator [BAB +5, Profession (siege engineer) 5]
You can use Aid Another action on siege weapons you command. This
grants them a +4 bonus on attack rolls and +1 HD on Hull Damage rolls.
You can command a number of siege weapons equal to your level at once,
none two of which can be more than 100 feet away (or 400 feet away, if
you have messengers at your disposal). All ballistic weapons you
command also have their firing range increased by 10%.
Spell Tokenizer [INT 13+, able to cast Prestidigitation (5-levels straight) and 3rd level spells]
Drawing from your enhanced studies of Prestidigitation, you've learned
how to effortlessly alter the color, sound, smell, and look of spells
as you cast them. These changes do not alter the outcome of spells in
any way, however they do make it more difficult for another Mage to
identify a spell as it is being cast, which raises the DC of this task
by 5.
Strike from the Void [Greater Weapon Focus: Katana, Bluff 5, Concentration 6, Improved Feint, Quick Draw]
You have learned to surprise you foes by drawing your Katana and
striking in a blink of an eye. To execute this maneuver, you must have
your offhand free to hold the scabbard steady while drawing your blade
1-H. For this maneuver specifically, you feint against the 1st opponent
that attacks you as an immediate action (you must be aware of the
attacker). If successful and successfully hitting your target, you
automatically score a critical hit. Iterative attacks can be made 2H.
Strike from the Void can only be initiated as your 1st
defensive/offensive action of an encounter (once attacked and not
seizing the moment – the opportunity is lost).
Twin Blade Dance [Battlegrace class feature, proficiency with Scimitar, Ambidexterity, TWF]
The Bladesinger has mastered the technique of applying all Bladesinger features while duel-wielding a pair of Scimitars.
Ventriloquism [Bluff 2]
You're so skilled with your voice that you can replicate the effect of
a ventriloquism spell, though this ability is not magical. If you make
a Bluff roll and the observers fails their Sense Motive check they
believe the sound is coming from where you want them too. The range of
this ability is 10ft radius around, and if the observers don't have line of sight to you
3they are at a -5 to their Sense Motive roll. You may
change the sound of your voice, make different sorts of noises, and so
on, so long as the noises are something that could conceivably be made
vocally by you.
Watchman [CON 15+]
Your increased vitality and attentiveness grant you the following benefits:
- You need only half as much sleep as a normal person of your race would
- You can push yourself up to twice as long between sleep, but then you require normal sleep time.
- The penalty on listen checks while sleeping is reduced to -5 instead of -10.
- You're not staggered when you sleep is interrupted.
Whirling Havoc [BAB +18, Flawless Stride class feature, Last Stand, Whirlwind Attack]
While issuing Last Stand, you can make a Whirlwind Attack while moving
up to your speed, taking -2 to your dodge AC. During Whirling Havoc you
gain +4 on all opposed checks to resist Bull Rush, Deflect, Disarm,
Grapple, Overrun and Trip attempts.
Widen Aura [Cha 20, Knowledge (religion) 15, any aura class ability]
The AoE of a specific class-feature aura is extended by 10ft.
Sample PrCs
Combat Mind
A Combat Mind is someone who learns to combine powerful psycho-sensory
abilities & mental influence with cunning fighting techniques, to
gain the upper hand in battle as well as outside of it.
Requirements:
Classes: Mage 1, Rogue 6, Sorcerer 2, Warrior 1 Feats: Combat Reflexes, Elusive Target, Mobility, Quick Draw Skills: Bluff 10, Diplomacy 10, Sense Motive 13 Spells: Able to cast Charm Person without preparation. Invocations: Detect Thoughts, Devil's Sight Rogue Talent: Secret Identity
Basic Progression:
BAB: Full HP: As Rogue (4 / level) Good Saves: Ref, Will SkPts per level: 4 + INT-mod SA: Level stacks with Rogue level
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Anticipate (Ms), Combat Telepathy (Ms) (always active), Spherical Detect Thoughts (Ms)
2nd Faster Mindscan (Ms), Telepathy (Mb)
3rd Multiple Surface Thoughts (Ms) (2), Mind Read (Mb) (3/day)
4th Instant Mindscan (Ms), Greater Feint (Rogue)
5th Mettle of Will (IM) (disregard the armor requirement), Push the Weak Mind (Mb) (3/day ; DC = [10 + class-level + CHA-mod])
6th Multiple Surface Thoughts (Ms) (4), Barbed Mind (IM) (disregard the armor requirement)
7th Dominate (Mb) (2/day), Eternal Charm (Mb) (CHA-mod)
8th Multiple Surface Thoughts (Ms) (8 - max), Superior Feint (Rogue)
9th Brain Spider (SpC; p.38 – always active), Thrall (Mb)
10th Mind Blank (always active), Unbreakable Domination
Ms – See the Mindspy (CW) PrC (regard the tabled changes given above, if any).
Mb – See the Mindbender (CA) PrC (regard the tabled changes given above, if any).
IM – See the Iron Mind (RoS) PrC (regard the tabled changes given above, if any).
Unbreakable Domination
The Combat Mind's Charm & Dominate effects cannot be undone, except
by another Combat Mind of higher level, Break Enchantment of a higher
caster level than the Combat Mind's character level or Unmaking spell.
Deathwalker
Where life ends, death awaits. The Disciples of Undeath are the great
masters of innate necromantic powers. They unlock the secrets of death
and undeath on their journey to the realm of the dead.
Requirements:
Class Levels: Cleric 2, Witch 8 Alignment: Any non-good. Feats: Corpsecrafter, Enduring Life, Necrotic Presence, Stitched Flesh Familiar Skills: Concentration 8, Knowledge (religion / the planes) 10 each Domains: Necromancy, Undeath Dabble: Black Magic Special I: Tainted by Evil (see "Hindrance" under the Witch spoiler) Special II: Must revere a deity associated with death/unlife. Special III: The Deathwalker renounces his clerical position and
goes on a self exploration of the realm of death and unlife. This means
he loses his ability to cast divine spells (but not Necromancy &
Undeath granted powers). This, however, does not put him in a bad
disposition in regards to his patron deity. It just means he serves its
goals in a different manner.
Basic Progression:
BAB: Poor HP: As Witch (3 / level) Good Saves: Will SkPts / Level: 2 + INT-mod Witchcraft Progression: 4/5 (all levels except 1 & 6). Domain Spells: Necromancy & Undeath spells-known according to class Level + Witch level Dabble: Level stacks with Witch level (on top of Necromancy & Undeath) Turn Undead: Calculated according to [Deathwalker-level + Cleric-level + Witch-level]
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Unlock the Darkness, Mental Bastion
2nd Call of the Grave, Lich Body (+1 natural armor, DR 2/bludgeoning, Cold & electricity Resistance: 5)
3rd Enervating Touch
4th Death Ward
5th Undead Mastery, Lich Body (+2 natural armor, DR 4/bludgeoning, Cold & electricity Resistance: 10)
6th Shroud of Death
7th Essence of the Mummy
8th Aura of the Lich, Lich Body (+3 natural armor, DR 6/bludgeoning, Cold & electricity Resistance: 15)
9th Disembodied Possessor
10th Secret of Lichdom
Feature Descriptions:
Unlock the Darkness (Ex)
The Deathwalker gains Darkvision out to 60ft (or 60ft Darkvision increase).
Mental Bastion (Ex)
As given for a 14th level dread necromancer.
Call of the Grave (Ex)
The Deathwalker no longer needs to sleep and gains immunity to sleep, disease and non-lethal damage (both magical and mundane).
He also gains Fortification 25%.
His features begin to drift toward undead – his skin draws tightly over
his muscles & bones and his hair dwindles significantly.
He now takes a -2 penalty to all Disable Device, Sleight of Hand and Use Rope checks, due to sensation loss.
Enervating Touch (Ex)(Su)
The Deathwalker can inflict Energy Drain by touch. Each day, the
Deathwalker can bestow a number of Energy Drain effects equal to his
class level, but no more than two with a single touch attack.
Death Ward (Su)
A Deathwalker is immune to deaths effects and negative energy as though protected by a death ward spell.
An undead Deathwalker instead gains turn resistance +4. This benefit stacks with any existing turn resistance.
Undead Mastery (Su)
All undead creatures created by a Deathwalker gain a +4 enhancement
bonus to Strength and Dexterity and 2 additional hit points per Hit Die.
In addition, when a Deathwalker uses the animate dead spell to create
undead, he can control [4 + his CHA bonus] HD worth of undead creatures
per class level (rather than the 4 HD per level normally granted by the
spell).
Similarly, when a Deathwalker casts the control undead spell, the spell
targets up to [2 + his CHA bonus) HD / level of undead creatures,
rather than the 2 HD / level normally granted by the spell.
Shroud of Death (Ex)
The Deathwalker becomes Immune to poison, paralysis & pain-related hindrances, and no longer needs to eat/drink/breath.
He also gains Fortification 50%
His features drift even further toward undead – his stomach shrinks
dramatically, his teeth become sickly yellow and he loses all body hair.
He now takes a -4 penalty to Disable Device, Sleight of Hand and Use Rope checks, due to sensation loss.
Essence of the Mummy (Ex)
This power makes the Deathwalker’s touch and natural attacks poisonous.
Fortitude save DC 10 + class level. Initial damage is 1d6 con,
secondary damage 1d6 cha. The Deathwalker can suppress this ability as
a free action.
Aura of the Lich (Su)
The Deathwalker emits a 20ft-radius aura of undead terror as a free
action. A creature in the area must succeed on a Will save DC 10 +
class level+CHA modifier or be affected as though by a Fear spell
(caster level equals the Deathwalker’s character level). A creature
that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same
Deathwalker’s aura for 24 hours.
Disembodied Possessor (Su)
Once per day, by taking a full-round to utter words of the Dark Speech,
the Deathwalker may take a form capable of possessing foes and allies
alike. His form becomes incorporeal and invisible, and is incapable of
dealing any kind of damage to those around him. If he makes a
successful touch attack against a target he wants to possess, the
victim must make a will save (DC: 20 + CHA-mod), if they fail he
possesses them, following all the rules of possession as written in
"Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss".
If they succeed on their saving throw, or if the Deathwalker does
not make an attempt within 1 hour, he immediately becomes visible and
corporeal again, but gains the benefit of a surprise round. If he's
exorcized, he appears in an adjacent square to the victim and is dazed
for 1 round. Leaving a victim willingly has no harmful effect on the
Deathwalker and he gains the element of surprise.
Unlike other forms of possession, the only way to detect the possessor
is if he actually does something to rouse someone's suspicion (until
then, mortal means of divination reveal nothing).
Secret of Lichdom (Su)
The Deathwalker learns the hideous transformation ritual to becoming a lich (precise details are up to the DM).
Once he completes his phylactery and undergoes the transformation
ritual, his type changes to undead, and he gains all the traits of the
undead monster (see page 317 of the Monster Manual).
He gains monstrous HD (7HP per character level) and loses his CON ability score. Special: After Lichdom is gained, the Deathwalker gains all
benefits from Corpsecrafter & Necrotic Presence and any feat he has
that derives from them.
Dominatrix (*)
Leather, pain, pleasure & control – these are the tools of a Dominatrix (Dmx).
Lust & Obedience are her motives.
She lives to tempt and enslave mortals, not minding being on the receiving side herself (for strictly amusement purposes).
Such maidens are often stunning, statuesque, and extraordinarily
beautiful – the epitome of femininity, with the most desirable features
– as considered by most humanoid races.
A Dmx has many options. She doesn’t often do much herself, instead
choosing to delegate many tasks, including her own physical defense to
slaves. Left alone, however, she can still stand her ground against
most. Her proficiency with the whip can bring opponents to their knees
– or to her feet.
Though the freedom of a slave is forfeit, one should not consider them
as mere expendable livestock. She loves her slaves and tries her best
to protect them.
Note: Unless noted otherwise, all the Dmx's powers may be
conveyed via touch (+2 to the DC), through her special whip (see below)
or vocally. Should she choose to issue them vocally, the relevant
powers are Language-Dependant spell-like Mind-Affecting Compulsions
with a range of 30’ that do not provoke AoOs. For all the Dmx's powers,
her caster level and DC equal [11 + Dmx-level + CHA-mod]. All the Dmx's
powers that emulate spells gain +2 to the DC if she knows the emulated
spell (on top of Greater Spell Focus), and affect any living humanoid
(even remotely humanoid) of Large size or smaller, regardless of
subtype.
Requirements:
Alignment: Non-Good & Non-Chaotic. Gender: Female Abilities: CHA 16+ Classes: Hexblade 3, Sorcerer 1, Soulknife 1, Witch 6. Feats: Improved Disarm , Improved Trip , Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment Skills: Bluff 12, Concentration 6, Craft (Leatherworking) 5, Diplomacy 10, Intimidate 13, Sense Motive 9 and Use Rope 10 Invocations: Frightful Blast, Sickening Blast Weapon Specialization: Whip. Special I: Must be sterilized (see below) Special II: Must willingly serve as a collared slave in service of a Dmx for 1 year (see below).
Basic Progression:
BAB: Average HP: As Rogue (4 / level) Good Saves: Fort, Will SkPts per level: 4 + INT-mod Weapon Focus: BAB-appropriate (whip only) Hexblade Features Progression: All except Dark Companion (EB, invocations & Hex) Witchcraft Progression: 2/3 (at levels 2, 3, 5 & 6).
PrC Features
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Lash , Leatherclad , Obey , Sterile
2nd Pain Is the Teacher , You Must Be Joking
3rd Be Silent , Be Still , Kiss of Rapture
4th Collar , Dominate , Telepathy
5th Embrace the Pain , Sterilize , Worship
6th Demanding , Whip of Anguish
7th Domina Queen , Enslave, Ever Beauty
Feature Descriptions:
Lash (Su)
A Dmx' Mind Blade is materialized as a whip. The whip has up to
15ft-reach (as a normal whip) and doesn't provoke AoOs from threatening
enemies (it lengthens and shortens according to the requirements of
combat).
The whip functions just as described for Eldritch Glaive (but obviously
with less damage potential). The damage can be either bludgeoning,
slashing or pure magical energy (according to the Dmx's will, but
magical damage cannot crit and is subject to SR), but the Mind Whip has
a special quality of being semi-corporeal, so it cannot carry damage
enhancement (such as STR-mod, spell-effects, etc) other than eldritch
essence and Mind Blade enhancements.
Unlike the typical EB damage, the Dmx can elect to make all or part of it subdual damage (and with no attack penalties). Notes:
- For calculating the Mind Whip damage, the EB damage is taken from
both Hexblade & Sorcerer (and continues according to the Hexblade's
progression). Notice that ranged EB does not advance beyond the Dmx's
Sorcerer level (usually a measly 1d6).
- A Dmx loses the ability to materialize her Mind Blade as anything but the Dmx's whip.
Leatherclad (Ex)
Leather is like her second skin. When wearing Leather or Reinforced
Leather armor of her own making, the Dmx ignores max-DEX limits, ACPs
and ASFs.
Obey (Su)
You do as she commands. A number of times per day equal to [3 + the
Dmx’s level & CHA-mod], she can issue a Command spell effect.
Sterile
A Dmx is the furthest thing one could imagine from a mother-figure or
the domestic type. All Dmx are incapable of procreation. Rape – "Don't
kid me. Let them come - The more the merrier". A Dmx lives for
unrestrained, carefree routine of sexual activities.
Pain Is the Teacher (Su)
The Dmx’s touch conveys her displeasure. Up to three times per day, she
can inflict pain with a successful touch (hand or whip). The touched
creature must make a Fort save or be subjected to such debilitating
pain that it is nauseated for 1d4 rounds. Creatures immune to precision
damage are immune to Pain Is the Teacher.
You Must Be Joking (Ex)
She is not amused. The Dmx is immune to all fear spells and effects.
She also gains a +4 competence bonus against all enchantment and
compulsion attempts.
Be Silent (Su)
She demands absolute silence from lesser beings – these gnats buzzing
in her ear. Up to three times per day, the Dmx’s Obey ability may be
used to manifest a silence effect (2nd level cleric spell) on a
targeted creature. She can not use Be Silent on objects.
Be Still (Su)
The Dmx has no patience for aggravation from inferior creatures – so
many rats scurrying up her leg. Up to three times per day, her Obey
ability may be used to manifest a Hold Person effect.
Kiss of Rapture (Su)
Pleasure is just as potent as pain when it comes to a Dmx and her
domination skills. As a standard action that provokes AoOs, the Dmx can
choose to make her kiss confer a state of minor anesthesia, comfort,
passion and bliss upon a willing or helpless recipient (no save).
Her kiss negates subdual damage and the following conditions:
- Dazed
- Exhausted
- Fatigued
- Nauseated
- Sickened
- Shaken
- Stunned
However, the kiss also inflicts the effect of Dazzle and Slow spells on the recipient (caster level = character level).
Collar (Su)
The Dmx is not just a pain freak. She's also a nymphomaniac. Every
mistress needs a subject – a slave of lust. Now she can have one at all
times. When she finds a male (or female )
candidate worthy to her taste, she fashions a special leather/metal collar,
after studying her subject for several days with Detect Thoughts. She
must then lure him in via Bluff & Diplomacy or Charm Person spell
and then take him over with her Dominate power (see below). Then she
performs a 1-hour collaring ceremony (requires total privacy except for
a single witness) that totally binds his affection for her. The effect
is permanent and the subject gains no future saving-throws to resist it
(the collar merely stays on as a symbol of ownership), forever
remaining her willing and devoted loving slave. A collared slave may be
freed only if he dies, if his Dmx voluntarily relinquishes control, if
she dies or if they're no longer on the same material plane.
A Dmx can have up to 3 collared slaves.
Dominate (Su)
You are her possession, a tool to use, a puppet to discard, an amusing
pet. Up to twice per day, the Dmx's Obey ability may be used to
manifest a Dominate Person effect. If the creature fails its Will save,
it is held under her control for 24 hours, when the Dmx can reestablish
the domination, granting the victim an additional save, but at a
cumulative –1 penalty per day (to a maximum penalty equal to her
CHA-mod).
Telepathy (Su)
She looks at you and you immediately know what she has in store for
you. This ability functions as given for the Mindbender's (CA)
1st-level ability.
Embrace the Pain (Ex)
By now, the Dmx has learned to indulge herself on the pain of others
and herself. She's no longer hindered in any way by temporarily
debilitating injuries, such as caltrop wound and crippling strike.
Sterilize (Su)
The Dmx's touch can render sterile a willing female that meets all the
requirements for becoming a Dmx. This involves a 1-hour ritual, which
upon completion the Dmx touches the candidate's abdomen and makes her
sterile so she can take her just deserved place as a Dmx-candidate
collared slave. The result is just as painful as being gutted with a
serrated dagger (full crit, no enhancement), but the damage is subdual
damage and there's no real life threatening risk involved (it just
leaves the candidate wrecked with pain (see "Whip of Anguish") for 2d4
hours later).
Worship (Su)
She forces entire groups into submission. Up to twice per day, her Obey
ability may be used to manifest a Greater Command effect.
Demanding (Su)
She thinks - you obey. Up to twice per day, the Dmx’s Obey ability may
be used to manifest a Demand effect on a targeted creature. If the
creature fails its Will-save, it will attempt to comply with her demand
for 1 hour per Dmx level (or until the demand is met, if sooner).
Whip of Anguish (Ex)
Upon taking a critical hit from the Dmx's whip, the target must make a Fort save.
If the save fails, the target is nauseated for 1d4 rounds. Otherwise it's sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Domina Queen (Su)
The number of collared slaves a 7th level Dmx can have at any given time is 3 + her CHA and WIS modifiers.
For instance – if a Dmx’s WIS is 14 (+2) and CHA is 16 (+3), the number of slaves she may have under her control is 8 (3 + 2+3).
Enslave
All creatures are the Dmx’s pawns. Up to once per day, her Dominate
ability may be used to manifest a Dominate Monster effect on a targeted
creature (caster-level = character level). If the creature fails its
Will save, it is held under her control for 24 hours, when the Dmx can
reestablish the enslavement, granting the victim an additional save,
but at a cumulative –1 penalty per day (to a maximum penalty equal to
her CHA-mod).
Ever Beauty
The Dmx ceases showing the effects of aging, and appears to attain
eternal youth. She also no longer takes penalties for aging and cannot
be magically aged. However, age bonuses still accrue and she dies of
old age as normal.
She's also no longer affected by any effect which causes Charisma
damage, and any effect that causes Charisma drain causes Charisma
damage instead.
Eldritch Fist
An Eldritch Fist is basically a martial-artist blaster. By foregoing
many of the valuable abilities of both the Monk and the Sorcerer, an
Eldritch Fist gains remarkable damage output enhancement.
BAB: Average HP: As Monk (5 / level) Good Saves: Ref, Will SkPts per level: 4 + INT-mod Invocations: Level stacks with Sorcerer level Unarmed Damage: Level stacks with Monk level Ki Pool: Level stacks with Monk level
Eldritch Strike (Su)
Each of the Eldritch Fist's BAB related strikes is charged with EB damage – not including extra flurry attacks.
For each successful hit in a given combat round, the extra EB damage loses 1d6.
Channeled EB (Su)
The Eldritch Fist has learned how to channel EB through held weapons. This ability uses the same mechanics as Eldritch Strike.
Hideous Flurry (Su)
The Eldritch Fist has learned how to channel EB through his extra flurry unarmed attacks.
Channeled Flurry (Su)
The Eldritch Fist has learned how to channel EB through his extra flurry weapon attacks.
Multiple Blasts (Su)
The Eldritch Fist has finally learned the secret of making multiple
ranged EBs. Multiple ranged EBs cannot be modified by blast shape invocations.
You cannot gain more EBs via Rapid Shot, Flurry, Haste or any other method
Death Blossom (Sp)
This power is similar to Eldritch Doom invocation, except:
1. The effect's origin point is always the Eldritch Fist.
2. This is not an area effect, but rather all opponents are targeted separately, with a ranged touch attack, so there's no using Evasion on this one.
Master Thrower
Street performer, warrior, assassin – a Master Thrower can be any or
all of these. He is a master of small thrown weapons - daggers, darts,
knives, shuriken, whatever he can lay his hands on becomes a weapon
that he can throw with deadly accuracy.
Combat Throw (Ex)
A Master Thrower doesn't provoke AoOs when making ranged attacks with thrown weapons.
Thrown Weapon Trick
As given for the Master Thrower (CW). Disregard "Defensive Throw", "Double Toss" and "Palm Throw".
Fast Draw (Ex)
The Master Thrower can, once per encounter, draw and fling a Tiny or
Small thrown weapon as a single attack, catching the target flatfooted
(sneak attack damage applies).
Manythrow (Ex)
The Master Thrower can throw two Tiny weapons of the same type at once
with one hand (at a –2 penalty for each) at a single target within the
weapon's range increment. At 6th level, he can add another weapon, at
another –2 penalty to the roll. Regardless of the number of weapons
thrown, the Master applies precision-based damage (such as sneak attack
damage) only once. If he scores a critical hit, only the first weapon
thrown deals critical damage. All others deal normal damage.
Ranged AoO (Ex)
The Master Thrower may make AoOs on opponents within the weapon's range increment of a thrown weapon.
Razored Eye (Ex)
The Master Thrower is trained to fight in all environments, including
total darkness or (more often for performers) blindfolded, and against
targets of all sizes. He gains a sense of his surroundings through
sound, smell, and vibration (blindsight) to a range of [15ft + 5ft /
PER-mod], enabling him to fight normally when he cannot see. Beyond
that range, he gains the benefit of the Blind-Shooting feat.
Invisibility is no protection from blindsight, but the Master Thrower
cannot see ethereal creatures.
Additionally, the Master Thrower’s penalties to hit targets smaller than him are halved (round down).
Extended Range (Ex)
The Master Thrower adds one range increment to that of all thrown
weapons; in addition, the attack penalty for each range increment is
reduced by –1 (in effect, the first range increment is doubled).
Angled Throw (Ex)
The Master Thrower’s deadliest (and most impressive) ability, the
angled throw enables him to bank thrown weapons around corners to
strike targets in hiding. This requires a standard action, as the
Master must set himself and calculate the proper angles. He also
suffers a –6 penalty to the attack roll in addition to any other
modifiers, but sneak attack damage applies, if the opponent is caught
flatfooted. He may angle the weapons up to 90 degrees (and only along a
flat plane – around a corner, but not over an obstacle), and they are
still subject to their maximum range increments.
Ninja Spy
Ninja Spies are masters of exotic weapons, tools of stealth, and strange Ki powers.
Ninja Spies are members of a secretive ninja clan, the head of which
holds absolute authority over the ninja's life and death. They are
sworn to secrecy to protect the identities of their clan members and
must never reveal that they are Ninja Spies.
Despite their inclination to evil, Ninja spies believe strongly in a
code of honor, and risk offending their family (and earning a death
sentence) if they break that code of honor.
Ninja Spies are the stuff of legends. Some refuse to believe they exist.
NPC Ninja Spies are often a mysterious force acting in opposition to the plans and goals of player characters.
Requirements:
Classes: Monk 6, Rogue 6 Feats: Dash, Iron Lungs, Poison Use, Run Skills: Balance 12, Bluff 12, Climb 12, Concentration 9,
Disguise12, Escape Artist 5, Gather Information 12, Hide 12, Jump 12,
Move Silently 12, Tumble 12 Skill Tricks: All that relate to Balance, Climb, Jump & Tumble Rogue Talents: Fast Stealth, Ledge Walker Weapon Proficiencies: 3 exotic weapons a Monk can flurry with
Basic Progression:
BAB: Average HP: As Monk (5 / level) Good Saves: Ref, Will SkPts per Level: 6 + INT-mod FoB: Level Stacks with Monk level Ki Powers: Level Stacks with Monk level Unarmed Damage & Ki Strike: Level Stacks with Monk level (Including Versatile Unarmed Attack)
PrC Features:
Code:
1st Improved Evasion, Ki Breath, Ki Jump, Ki Fall
2nd Abundant step, Ki Invisibility
3rd Master Acrobat, Sudden Strike
4th Master Sneak, Ki Water Walk
5th Master Spy, A Thousand faces
6th Death Blow, Slippery Mind
Feature Descriptions:
Ki Breath (Ex)
By spending 1 of his Ki power uses as a swift action, the Ninja Spy
prolongs the duration he can hold his breath by [3min + 1min /
class-level].
Ki Jump (Su)
When making a Jump check, by spending 1 of his Ki power uses, the Ninja Spy can thrust himself extra 30ft up or 60ft forward.
Ki Fall (Su)
By spending 1 of his Ki power uses as a free action, the Ninja Spy is affected by Featherfall spell effect.
Abundant step (Sp)
By spending 3 of his Ki power uses, the Ninja Spy can Dimension Door (caster level = character level) as a swift/immediate action.
Ki Invisibility (Su)
By spending 1 of his Ki power uses as a swift/immediate action, the Ninja Spy gains the Invisibility spell effect.
Ki Water Walk (Sp)
By spending 1 of his Ki power uses as a swift action, the Ninja Spy
gains the benefit of Water Walk spell effect for 1-round / class-level.
Sacred Fist of the Sun
A Sacred Fist of the Sun (SFS) is a dedicated servant of the game world's sun god.
They first learn to harness the power of the sun and the sands and later use it to call down the mighty solar energies.
Requirements: Alignment: Any non-evil Classes: Cleric 5 / Monk 7. Feats: Disciple of the Sun, Endurance, Ki Reinforce, Fiery Ki Defense, Sun School Skills: Concentration 13, Diplomacy 13, Knowledge (religion) 10, Survival 7 Domains: Fire, Sun. Special: Must have been chosen and accepted as a paragon of faith of the game world's sun god
Basic Progression: BAB: Average HP: As Monk (5 / level) Good Saves: Fort, Will SkPts per level: 4 + INT-mod Spellcasting: Level stacks with Cleric level. Turn Undead: According to character-level (SFS level counted twice when Lightchild ability (see below) is active) Unarmed Offensive Capabilities: Level stacks with Monk level (including Versatile Unarmed Attack). Ki Pool & Ki Powers: Level stacks with Monk level. Spells: A SFS can take any arcane spell with the fire descriptor as a known spell. In case of arcane-divine level difference,
he may take a spell at the lower level. Spells with the fire descriptor are cast at caster-level = characterlevel.
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Embrace the Fire, Lightchild, Solar Fist
2nd Sand Prophet, Turning Strikes
3rd Walker in Darkness
4th Lord of Fire
5th Phoenix of the Sun King
Feature Descriptions:
Embrace the Fire
A SFS has fire resistance of [5/class-level + WIS-mod + CHA-mod]
Lightchild (Ex)
The SFS glows with an unearthly light, marking him as a chosen of the golden gods.
He emits light as Daylight spell, though he may suppress and reactivate this ability at will.
Solar Fist (Ex)
The SFS's unarmed strike counts as a weapon of Flameburst for all intents and purposes.
Sand Prophet (Ex)
To activate the benefits of the Sand Prophet ability the SFS must fast for one day and one night, from sunrise to sunrise.
During this 24 hour period he may not consume any food or water, and
may take no activity except for calm prayer and meditation.
Damage due to ongoing effects (such as disease or poison) does not
hinder his fast. However, if attacked during the fast, forced to move
more than 10 ft. from his spot of meditation by force or volition, or
disturbed in any way, the SFS must make a Concentration check (DC 25
+2 per incident + points of damage taken) or lose the meditative
trance. A failed fast causes 1d4 points of temporary Constitution
damage. At the end of a successful fast the SFS is affected by Heal
spell effect and gains one of the following benefits for a number of
days equal to his character level (or until the next successful fast):
- Fast of the Heart: A +4 insight bonus on attack rolls and saving throws
- Fast of the Mind: A +4 insight bonus on skill checks
- Fast of the Soul: A +4 insight bonus to Wisdom
Turning Strikes (Su)
The SFS has learned the secret of integrating his turning capabilities into his melee attacks. He may spend a use of Turn Undead and apply
its effect to any target struck with his melee attacks – including multiple times on the same target, but the extra attacks granted by FoB
don’t carry the turning effect.
Walker in Darkness (Ex)
The SFS learns that darkness is the black twin of his master, the mysteries of sun god's nightly journey are revealed to him. This
provides a plethora of benefits.
1. The SFS only requires 4 hours of rest to gain refreshment. These hours are spent meditating deeply, lending his spiritual strength
to the sun god to aide him usher in the dawn. At the end of this meditation, he loses 2d6 extra strain points.
2. He gains Darkvision 120ft. If he already possesses Darkvision to 90ft or more, it's range is increased by 60ft.
3. During the day time hours he receives a +1 bonus on attack and damage against undead, infernal and abyssal creatures.
Lord of Fire (Ex)
The sun's fire obeys the SFS's whims. The SFS may call for divine
aid and roll a Knowledge (religion) check. He then selects a 10ft
radius spread originating anywhere within 100ft +10ft / character level
(provided he has line of effect to the fire's point of origin).
Creatures in the area take damage equal to the SFS's Knowledge
(religion) check + CHA-mod (Ref save DC = [20 + WIS-mod + CHA-mod]).
This power is available [3 + WIS-mod] times per day as a swift action
(the SFS must be able to see or feel the sun) and limitlessly as a
standard action.
Phoenix of the Sun God (Ex)
Once per month per WIS-mod (but no more than once / day), the SFS may channel the sun's awesome power of life & death. He explodes in a
searing blast of solar energy, dealing 20d6 points of damage in a 20ft radius. All affected creatures are entitled to a Reflex save (DC 19 +
WIS modifier) for half damage. Half of the damage comes from fire, the other half is divine solar energy (untyped damage). An undead creature
caught within the radius instead takes 20d10 points of damage (Ref halves). In addition, the burst results in the destruction of any
undead creature specifically harmed by bright light if it fails its save. This blast destroys the SFS, but 1d6 rounds later, a 10d6
implosion fills the AoE and he reforms in the exact spot where he was when he activated the ability. He is dazed for one round after
reappearing, but is completely healed of all damage and conditions (as if affected by Heal, Greater Restoration and Regeneration).
Any held /carried non-magical equipment the SFS had when this ability was activated reforms with him, exactly as it was. In addition, the
SFS can have a single magical item restored.
This power is a direct deific gift granted by the sun god himself, upon which the sun god's symbol is forever "burned" onto the SFS's
forehead (his new and permanent holy symbol).
Soul Reaper
Soul Reapers learn the forbidden art of harvesting soul energy of others to power many abilities.
Soul harvesting is an evil act of the highest degree, as it torments a
soul to a level no mortal torment can ever amount. Soul Reapers are
well aware of this fact, since during the process they hear a bone
chilling shriek inside their heads and are aware of a terrible and
unjust loss. Furthermore, once harvested, the most basic essence of a
soul returns to the spirit world and is forever lost to mortal magic.
The only possible way of ever bringing someone that's been harvested
from the dead is via Miracle spell (i.e. direct divine intervention).
BAB: Average HP: As Rogue (4 / level) Good Saves: Fort, Will SkPts per level: 4 + INT-mod Invocations: Level stacks with Hexblade level Spells: Level stacks with Cleric level Turn Undead: Level stacks with Cleric level
Soul Harvest (Su)
They can perform a short ritual to capture the soul energy of a newly
dead corpse. This ritual requires 1min of uninterrupted concentration
(you're oblivious to your surroundings and automatically fail your
Concentration check if interrupted) plus the corpse of a living
creature and must be completed before [1min +1min / Soul Reaper's
level] has passed from the moment of death.
At the end of the ritual, your soul pool gains a number of points equal to the deceased's HD at the moment of death.
This benefit lasts for 24 hours and the number of soul points a Soul
Reaper can store within himself at any given time is limited by his
[class-level*3 + CHA-mod].
Upon completion of a soul's harvest, a Soul Reaper is immediately aware
of any topic that went through the deceased's mind during the 24-hour
period prior to its death.
Instead of immediately harvesting a soul, a Soul Reaper can trap it in
a gem and take it away at a later time. The gem must be worth at least
1000gp per accumulated HD it holds, otherwise its shatters and the
attempt fails (which sets the target's soul and all previously
trapped souls free).
Soulspell (Su)
The first evident benefit of soul power is the ability to use soul
points to power spells. Each soul point invested stands for one strain
point.
Invigorate(Su)
You have learned how to convert soul power into physical life force.
For each soul point traded (a total of 1 / class level max), you gain
1d6 temporary HP and +1 STR enhancement that last for 24 hours.
Soulshield (Su)
As a free action, you can trade soul points to augment a saving throw
(even after you know the outcome of the save attempt), at a rate of 1:1.
Accelerated Soul Harvest (Su)
You can now harvest a soul as a full-round action that provokes AoOs
and are no longer oblivious to your surroundings while harvesting.
Soulbound Metamagic(Su)
You may now use soul power to fuel metamagic. Each soul point invested
stands against one level of spell augmentation via metamagic.
Spellpower Augmentation(Su)
By spending 3 soul points, you can boost the potency of all spells. Any
spell augmented in this manner has its DC increased by +2 and its SR
penetration by +5.
Soulsnatch
You've reached the pinnacle of soul harvesting capabilities and can now steal the souls of the living.
When someone around you is helpless for any reason, you can assault its
life force as a standard action that provokes AoOs. The target must
make a Will save vs. DC 10 + 1/2 character level + CHA-mod or have its
soul harvested.
Charnel Touch
When making an unarmed touch attack, you can enhance you Hideous Blow.
Each soul point invested (up to your class level) increases your EB
damage by 1d6.
Note: Soul empowered effects can be put into magical items. This forever taints them with evil.
Uttercold Blightbringer
Uttercold Blightbringers are Druids gone rogue in the worst meaning. Reveling in decay, they're greatly feared by most.
Their plagues can eventually transform lush green forests into a foul green hell of diseased monsters and deadly poisons.
Requirements:
Alignment: Any evil Classes: Druid 7, Hexblade 4 Skills: Intimidate 12, Knowledge (the planes) 9 Feats: Energy Substitution (cold), Lord of the Uttercold, Armor Proficiency: medium, Armor Mastery: medium Spells: Resist Energy, Ice Storm, Rusting Grasp Invocations: Baleful Utterance, Miasmic Cloud Weapon Proficiencies: Heavy Blades, Light Blades, Polearm Special I: Must revere a deity strongly associated with decay & disease Special II: Cannot have known spells that undo corrupting effects of any kind
Basic Progression:
BAB: Full HP: As Warrior (6 / level) Good Saved: Fort & Will SkPts per level: 4 + INT-mod Spellcasting: level stacks with Druid level Dark Companion: Level stacks with Hexblade level
PrC Features:
Code:
1st Blightbringer prestige domain, Apostle of Blight
2nd Staredown, Cold Resistance 10
3rd Icy Blight
4th Mass Staredown, Cold Resistance 15
5th Perpetual Injuries
6th Improved Staredown, Cold Resistance 20
7th Heart of the Uttercold Blight
Feature Descriptions:
Blightbringer prestige domain (Su) Domain Power: Turn Living Domain Spells: Hold Animal(1), Snilloc's Snowball Swarm(2),
Contagion(3),Fear(4), Cone of Cold(5), Finger of Death(6), Command
Plants(7), Horrid Wilting(8), Energy Drain(9)
Apostle of Blight
As the ultimate messengers of decay and pestilence, all Uttercold Blightbringers are immune to poison and ability damage. To them such effects are like a breath of cool breeze on a warm summer day.
Staredown
Demoralize with +4 to the check (See the CW Samurai)
Icy Blight
All melee attacks made by the Blightbringer count as Icy Burst and inflict with disease (Filth Fever).
Mass Staredown
Mass demoralize as a standard action (See the CW Samurai)
Perpetual Injuries
All of the Blightbringer's melee attacks now carry the Wounding property.
Improved Staredown
Mass demoralize as a move action (See the CW Samurai)
Heart of the Uttercold Blight
Upon obtaining 7th level, an Uttercold Blightbringer undergoes a
hideous transformation that take 1 full round and provokes AoOs.
His skin blackens & splits, becoming cold & slimy to the touch,
he becomes immune to cold and he gains the plant subtype.
The sight and presence of a transformed Uttercold Blightbringer are so
dreadful, that any creature engaging him in combat must make a will
save (DC [20 + CHA-mod]) or become panicked for 4d6 rounds.
Re: . . . under construction (please ignore for now)
:: Peeks ::
__________________
You're right, maybe I do ruin chocolate.
Cookie-
And why!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kargush
Quote:
Originally Posted by glorfon
Im a prowd member of the onlin kampain for English reform. If you
beleev in fonetik spelling, the word aint, and "c" being pointles, then
kopee this into your signatur.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thakowsaizmu
See, the problemme there is that that is not phonetic at all, it is just very poor spelling. Three things:
1) No, I have nothing better to be doing right now.
2) ıf ju truli wantıd fənεtık spεliŋ, ju’d nid tu juz səmθıŋ klosз tu ðıs. ız ðæt мət ju riəli want?
3) Who's phonetics? English has so many different speakers that the
above could take someone from a different region a while to figure out.
The nice thing about English is that, with a few minor alterations, no
matter what English you speak you can read everyones English. Be proud
of that!
You, sir, or madam, have made my day. A cookie to you for that one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighPriestMikhal
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thakowsaizmu
I would have to say we go between G and UR (what ever happened to all the other ratings? X, XXX?)
G - When the pretty Elven princesses go shopping for dresses and it resembles a Disney montage.
PG 13 - Generally in the inns or on the road. Eating, kicking back and all that.
R - When those pretty little Elves get into a fight with your standard random encounter monster.
UR - When those same Elf girls relax with eachother in the
privacy of their tent or innroom. Also the fights with those Bigger
Badder Enemies, but the first is more fun.
I like the examples, BTW. Have a .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Octavious Xavier
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thakowsaizmu
THAC0
really isn't as bad as many people seem to think. It's just the same as
3e BaB system, but dyslexic and a little drunk. That's all. It still
works just fine (if you can get past the booze breath...).
Funny stuff, have a
I agree, THAC0 wasn't bad, but 3e Bab is easier to teach and more intuitive.
Thanks guys
It warms my heart that there are still RPers that favor the spirit of the game over ultra optimization and ROLL playing.
You know, the toughest thing about writing house rules is to keep
consistent within your own rules and to ensure the text does reflect
how you really want things to be.
My next challenge would be to define general house rules to apply to the 3.5e monsters in order to make everything consistent, such as:
- Quickly recalculate their Perception and Agility (which would affect AC/hit/skill modifiers).
- How monsters will progress (using the core classes for monsters / specific classes / all classes / …)
- What about innate spellcasting abilities ?
etc.
Other than that... criticism, criticism, criticism.
As I mentioned in the introduction:
- Conflicts within these house rules.
- Internal imbalance.
- CRs.
- Flawed thematics.
- Other noteworthy topics to address
Anything that would help me refine these house rules.
Edit: One last PrC (just because I couldn't get it to fit anywhere that's relevant)
Stone Serpent Apostle (a hero of the Medusa)
A Stone Serpent Apostle (SSA) is a chosen defender, an advocate and an emissary of Medusa wherever she goes.
Given their terrible reputation and the fact they're frequently hunted
down for fear of their horrid powers, Medusa need all the help they can
get – in combat and diplomacy.
SSAs are wanderers, roaming the world, desparately searching for ways
to better the way civilization views their kin and to teach other
Medusa how to avoid drawing too much attention.
Requirements:
Race: Meduse Alignment: Any good Abilities: Cha 14+ Classes: Monk 5 Feats: Braveheart, Diehard, Last Stand, Watch Duty Skills: Bluff 10, Diplomacy 10, Disguise 10, Gather Information 10, Heal 13, Intimidate 10, Sense Motive 9
Basic Progression:
HP: Monstrous (7 / level) BAB: Full Good Saves: Fort, Will Unarmed Combat: Level stacks with Monk level (damage, Ki Strike and combat options and advantages) Ki Pool: Level stacks with Monk Added Class Skills: Disguise, Gather Information, Intimidate, Spellcraft
PrC Features:
Code:
Level Special
=======================
1st Medusa's Kiss, Flesh of Iron
2nd Antivenom, Serpent's Tongue
3rd Fuzzy Identity, Lay On Hands
4th Earth Bond
5th Entangling Serpents, Lucid Vision
6th Dreaded Defender
7th Touch of the Earth, Earthport
8th Aura of the Ever Living Statue
9th Venomous Gaze
Feature Descriptions:
Medusa's Kiss (Su)
Born with the ability to petrify others with a gaze, the first thing a SSA learns is to undo petrifaction. This ability is activated by touch, at will,
as a standard action that doesn't provoke AoOs.
Flesh of Iron (Su)
The SSA's unarmed and natural attacks become powerful and as effective
as manufactured weapons and deal damage as if she were one size
category larger. Furthermore, this allows the SSA to enhance them with
magic for greater effect. The enhancement plusses equal the SSA's class
level. She can alter them whenever she gains a new class level, but not
beyond that.
A SSA may suppress or resume this feature at will as a swift action.
Whenever this ability is suppressed, so is the damage enhancement and
her natural attacks' magical enhancement. Once the ability is resumed,
all original effects are restored and the SSA registers as magical.
This class ability also gives the SSA a very strong connection with her
most primal force. When activated, the SSA gains Stonecunning and a +6
circumstance bonus on all Craft (Stonemasonry), Profession (Architect)
and Knowledge (architecture & engineering) checks.
While this ability is active, the SSA is immune to non lethal damage,
but susceptible to rusting effects as given for the Warforged (EbCS).
Antivenom (Ex)
Another damage control as far as Medusa reputation goes is to combat
poisonous effects. Instead of poison, the SSA's serpents may secrete a
powerful fluid that counters all poisons originating on the material
prime and all poisons from living or plant sources, regardless of their
origin.
As a full round action that provokes AoOs, the SSA's serpents can
carefully deliver a Neutralize Poison effect with negligible amount of
damage. To eliminate AoOs, the SSA must make a normal attack with her
serpents, dealing normal damage.
Serpent's Tongue (Ex)
Your serpent allies above acquire the acute sense of their serpentine legacy. As such, you gain the scent ability.
Fuzzy Identity (Ex)
The SSA now has the ability of perfectly blending into human society, by altering her form.
She gains 2 additional forms:
- Hybrid form, with dormant serpents, smooth skin and golden silvery tan.
- Human form – human by any definition.
When transformed, the SSA loses access to Flesh of Iron and any feature
related to her serpents, and, Given this ability is (Ex), magical
divination does not reveal her nature.
In hybrid form, because the SSA focuses her gaze strictly to her own eyes, she gains a +2 bonus to the DC of her gaze.
Lay On Hands (Ex)
This ability works as given for the PrC Paladin of these house rules.
Earth Bond (Su)
From this point and on, the SSA can meld into stone (and also earth), as the spell, and sleep in stone – both at will.
Entangling Serpents (Su)
The SSA's serpents gain unnatural elasticity and strength. This grants
her 15ft reach with her serpents and allows her to grapple with them while
having here hands free for other actions, or gain +4 to her grappling
check while also using her limbs.
Lucid Visions (Su)
This ability requires concentration that may be maintained as a swift
action each round (DC 10). While in this state, the SSA's serpents rise
up as if ready to strike and work as the eyes of the Medusa. When in
this state, the SSA's gaze functions through her serpents as well as
her own eyes (if they're open), in which case her gaze attack's range
doubles to 60ft, but she may not use her serpents for anything else.
Dreaded Defender
While the SSA's Flesh of Iron ability is active, as a standard action
that doesn't provoke AoOs, she can assume (or shed) the form of a
monstrous defender:
- Her size increases to large (physical damage is calculated for huge size)
- Her lower body becomes serpentine and grants her constriction attack (2d8 + STR-mod)
- Her blood becomes venomous (relevant for opponents that make bite attack)
- Her serpents threat 30ft around her.
Also, from this point and on, the SSA is immune to polymorph other than her powers.
Touch of the Earth
As a swift action, and at will, the SSA can apply Granite Body (as the
spell effect) to herself. While this effect is active, the SSA's touch,
melee weapons' attacks and renge weapons' attacks all petrify
Earthport (Su)
3 times per day, a SSA can teleport via earth and rock in a similar manner to Transport Via Plants.
Aura of the Ever Living Statue (Su)
At the beginning of each day, a SSA can conduct a 10min ritual of
bonding that attunes her to her alies. Once completed and for the next
24 hours, her allies are immune to petrifaction as long as they're
within 60ft of her.
If any of them does get petrified within the duration and the SSA comes within 30ft, he's immediately affected by Medusa's Kiss.
Venomous Gaze (Su)
Some opponents are beyond redemption and are too dire a threat to
remain in the world of the living. This power must be exercised with
extreme reservation, under the DM's discretion.
You can entomb the soul of your victims into their petrified body.
As a full round action, you can make a single snake attack followed by
a Petrifying Gaze. If your snake attack is successful and the target
fails its save vs. poison, it is not poisoned, but rather receives a -6
penalty to its save against your Petrifying Attack.
A creature turned to stone in this manner can only be restored to life
by Unmaking spell or Miracle spell. Should the petrified form be
shattered, only a Miracle spell can return the victim back to life.
A creature is not immune to this particular ability unless it is totally immune to polymorph and poison.
Yes, very impressive indeed! I'll be reading more deeply shortly
However, I have to nitpick on something:
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
Intimidate (CHA or STR)
STR-based Intimidation takes the same size bonuses/penalties as Grapple/Bull-Rush/Trip... etc (size affects how scary you are).
You take size penalties for Cha based intimidation checks as well
(it's in PH). Maybe Str based intimidation should follow the same rule,
i.e. size is relative to the opponent.
__________________
The Core classes are fine. It's the players that need revamping.
I have never, and will never, personally attack anyone on these boards. What good would that serve?
I also have never, and will never, attempt to convince anyone of anything. Such an attempt would be futile.
I just like discussing and presenting my opinion, occasionally interspersed with facts.
Some just don't like the way I discuss. And for that they are forgiven.
If you are one of them, you also have my sincere apologies for being offended contrary to my intent.
Yes, very impressive indeed! I'll be reading more deeply shortly
However, I have to nitpick on something:
You take size penalties for Cha based intimidation checks as well (it's
in PH). Maybe Str based intimidation should follow the same rule, i.e.
size is relative to the opponent.
Thanks for the info. Guess this means I'll just have to omit the remark (I'll take care of it later).
In the meantime, I sure am anticipating your insights.
Well, now that I have had a chance to read it more thorougly ...
I really like where this is going! It seems like a very balanced and
well thought-through houserule system. It is a tad complex, but good
otherwise.
Questions, however:
a) Skill Focus. You state that having skill focus allows taking 10 even
if rushed or threatened. I assume this means you cannot take 10 if
there is a chance of failure. If you mean "can always take 10"
regardless of whether there is a chance of failure or not, then you
need to reword it.
b) Two-Weapon Fighting. Is this not at all tied to/restricted to weapon sizes?
c) If you are banning the magic items in your list, then you should also ban things like the belt of dwarvenkind and many other similar items that allow you to "forget" something simply by taking the item off.
d) Character Creation & Advancement. Really like this ... although I have no clue what you mean by "racial ability limits".
e) Retraining. Do you only need to qualify for the new feat at current
level, or must you have qualified for the feat at the level of the feat
your are replacing?
f) Size Modifiers. There are size modifiers to listen and spot? Seems extremely awkward.
well I'll be honest I didn't read thru all of it. It is great that you are putting so much effort and it probably works well.
I have tried changing things before and what usually happened is that I complicated some things to much.
I can tell you right now without further read is that you complicated
some things as well. We all want more role-playing at our table and I
personally believe that new rules won't get that. That's totally up to
DM. He is the one who should encourage players to role-play, not the
system. What I don't like here is that you have even more complexity.
Starting both with classes and the races.
Also the weapons. Once again I didn't read all of it and I might be
wrong but weapon speed? That shouldn't be calculated. A dagger is much
faster than a great sword but a great sword is much, much bigger. You
might have more attacks than a guy with a great sword but let’s imagine
a scene where two guys are fighting. One with a dagger and other with a
g. sword. The dagger guy is gonna use more time to get in a good
position to strike because he has a shorter reach. The g. sword guy is
gonna attack once much slower but he won't spend time thinking of
opponents position and weapon because he is at a safer distance with
his g.sword. Weapon speed and weapon size cancel each other out.
I may have written this for nothing but maybe you didn't reconsider
this when you added weapon speed as a factor in the whole equation.
Also a double str mod add on dmg with two handed weapons?
I believe this is gonna kill role-play even more cause now you give
more reasons to use two-handed over one-handed weapons. Weapon choice
should be a style of play and what you think is cooler now I can tell
you everyone is gonna ditch longsword + shield play.
Also I mentioned races and classes.
For races I think they should have little effect. That way a player will choose what he likes more and not what is need more.
You added hit points, skill selection and feats to races. That way you
are gonna have even less halfling warriors who can be very fun to play.
For classes you have a knight, swashbuckler and a samurai. That’s all a
fighter but different built. I have always encouraged my players to
forget other classes in splat books and use core but change the
standard built and background. What is a fighter that fights in heavy
armour, uses a longsword and shield and has a noble origin. A knight.
Also what is a fighter who has been thought in oriental way, to use
katana and has a special armour. A samurai. Why make separate classes?
It's just a background and a style of play.
In advance I apologize if I’m totally off topic and what I have written
is already covered in you post. And sorry if my English is confusing.
It’s not my native tongue.
Well, now that I have had a chance to read it more thorougly ...
I really like where this is going! It seems like a very balanced and
well thought-through houserule system. It is a tad complex, but good
otherwise.
It's mostly complex in the build-stage, until you get the hang of it.
I tried to keep things as intuitive as possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaGalaxia
a)
Skill Focus. You state that having skill focus allows taking 10 even if
rushed or threatened. I assume this means you cannot take 10 if there
is a chance of failure. If you mean "can always take 10" regardless of
whether there is a chance of failure or not, then you need to reword it.
"can always take 10" means even when rushed or distracted.
I'll clarify this later on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaGalaxia
b) Two-Weapon Fighting. Is this not at all tied to/restricted to weapon sizes?
Yes. It was there and was somehow omitted.
Basically, when wielding 2 1H/2H category weapon (or 1H/2H in the
offhand and not ambidextrous), you gain no bonus whatsoever and lose 1
attack from the larger weapon (+ take all TWF penalties).
That's why no one in history has ever wielded 2 bastard swords or 2 war axes - plain simple too cumbersome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaGalaxia
c) If you are banning the magic items in your list, then you should also ban things like the belt of dwarvenkind and many other similar items that allow you to "forget" something simply by taking the item off.
Sorry, I'm not familiar with all magical items.
Any suggestion will be seriously considered and evaluated.
Anyway, the guideline is pretty simple to implement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaGalaxia
d) Character Creation & Advancement. Really like this ... although I have no clue what you mean by "racial ability limits".
e)
Retraining. Do you only need to qualify for the new feat at current
level, or must you have qualified for the feat at the level of the feat
your are replacing?
1. I see no game-improvement in keeping records.
2. When you advance, I see no reason not to retrain to something better.
3. Otoh... Extra Invocation... you have a point there.
Maybe I could just limit things according to original class-level-abilities/BAB requirements.
Not entirely sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaGalaxia
f) Size Modifiers. There are size modifiers to listen and spot? Seems extremely awkward.
To a certain degree.
Smaller creatures live in a world of quieter noises and smaller sizes.
And the smaller you are the more likely you'll be on the hunted side
rather than the hunting side, so you're more likely to need your senses
sharpened to survive.
I'm looking forward to it.
Also I wanted to mention that I like mage memorization.
I also had the same idea that memorized spells don't have number per
day but a different method. But I never gave it enough thought what
method should it be.
And one piece of advice since you really like doing this kind of stuff.
Have you thought of doing things from scratch? Since you have the
nerves and brains maybe you shouldn't house rule 70% of the game but
start from scratch. I think it could be more rewarding in the end and
also maybe some issue would be easier to fix.
Okay, I've read through at least half of it, and I have lots of thoughts and opinions.
First - Fantastic job with the Cleric. That is how a cleric should be handled, so well done.
Now, about the spellcasting system of Strain and Tolerance. I think
it's a great idea, but you aren't actually changing anything. You are
essentially reinventing the wheel, but to do the same thing. Sure, your
system makes more "thematic" sense, but functionally, you can't really
cast spells any more often than you could with slots, since recovering
from strain takes so long. I'm going to take a look at it again, and
build a Mage so I can understand more fully how it all works, but I
have to say I had high hopes for this system as I read your
introductory notes, but it seems like it falls short.
Feats - Again, a spectacular job here. You basically did a lot of work
I had planned to do a year ago, but I abandoned. Lots of great
edits/fixes and entirely new material in this department. My problem?
You fixed feats, and now you just give more and more of them out as
class features. Feats =/= Class Features. If that's the way you want
the game to operate, cut class levels down to 10 and give out twice as
many "general" feats.
Classes - Some good, some bad. I don't know what I think about the
Rogue and the Monk. I don't particularly like the Fighter (Warrior),
but I see how it can maybe work. The description of the Sorcerer was
very vague to me, I ended up skipping it, and one of the other classes
too... don't remember. Again, I loved the Cleric, job well done, and
the Bard also looked good.
PrCs - This is where I think I have the biggest complaint. I think
you'd be better off just making ALL of these classes in their own
right. I don't particularly like PrCs to begin with, the requirements
always seemed strange or arbitrary, and a lot of yours don't appear to
be any better, and often, just IMO seem to be worse. I don't want to
have to own a mithril chain shirt, and have to be trained by Elves to
be a Spellsword. Why couldn't I, a Mage that has dabbled in fighting
techniques, figure things disciplines out on my own, organically. To
use your own fluff, someone had to have originally done that. Whoever
the first Spellsword was, he taught himself how to combine magic and
melee in a more fluid, practical way. This is just one example - all of
your PrCs seem to be similar.
I still have to read over spells and weaponry. I'll be back at this
soon. It is quite an exhaustive list of work you have here, and I
highly commend you on your steadfastness! I'd never have the commitment
to get all of this done (of course I have various other commitments).
__________________ The good stuff is gone, but here's some okay stuff
well I'll be honest I didn't read thru all of it. It is great that you are putting so much effort and it probably works well.
I tried in the past to put them to the test, but something always got in the way.
Anyhow, these rules are not just purely my ideas – they're the sum of
my ideas mixed with all of 3.5e's week points mentioned on these boards
and other forums.
I definitely don't take all the credit for myself – I just collected
the ideas I found appropriate and managed what I considered equilibrium
between them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
I have tried changing things before and what usually happened is that I complicated some things to much.
That's because there's indeed so much to balance.
I believe I got there – or at least getting there (I'm convinced I'm now closer than anything I've ever seen)
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
I
can tell you right now without further read is that you complicated
some things as well. We all want more role-playing at our table and I
personally believe that new rules won't get that. That's totally up to
DM. He is the one who should encourage players to role-play, not the
system.
In theory, you're right.
In practice, the reasons I stated that motivated these house rules are exactly why this usually doesn't happen in practice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
What I don't like here is that you have even more complexity.
One of the thing you could here quite frequently in every group I attended was "why can't i…".
I believe that regarding the existing rules – I managed to actually make things less complicated.
The additional rules are there to add more options, more choices and a
wider range of possibilities – both during character
creation/advancement and within game-time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Starting both with classes and the races.
Races:
1. There are race members who have zero class-levels. This doesn't strike me as a bad thing.
2. The raced have 2 advancement stages that further strengthen their racial heritage.
Both are good thematically, useful mechanically and are consistent without class-dependency.
Classes:
Now each class is great out of the box – with a very wide range of
options. You no longer have to multi/prestige-class to make it live to
its spirit/theme/role. All classes are complete as they are.
If you multi/prestige-class – you gain other benefits, but you're no longer the epitome of your class.
In 3.5e…
- A Frenzied Berserker is more a barbarian than any pure barbarian
- An Archmage is more a wizard than any pure wizard (minus 1 bonus feat)
- A Fochlucan Lyrist can be made into (just nearly) a full arcane-divine-warrior-skillmonkey with the right work around.
- Take 2 dwarves, one Archivist and the other Artificer and you theoretically dominate the game.
- And here's something totally ridiculous damage-wise (wielding whichever 2 light weapons you choose): http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=11
Archerpwr's conclusion, btw, is not serious in my view – he/she really didn’t do the math.
And I'm sure there's a way to magically enhance natural attacks with energy damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Also the weapons.
1. More realistic and more options for most weapons.
2. Makes weapon selection more significant regarding your combat
options / style (as should be). If you're a defender, you'll definitely
want a weapon that enables you to deflect blows. Otoh, if you're a
skirmisher, you'd want mobility and surgical precision (hence your be
wielding small/timy weapons).
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Once
again I didn't read all of it and I might be wrong but weapon speed?
That shouldn't be calculated. A dagger is much faster than a great
sword but a great sword is much, much bigger. You might have more
attacks than a guy with a great sword but let’s imagine a scene where
two guys are fighting. One with a dagger and other with a g. sword. The
dagger guy is gonna use more time to get in a good position to strike
because he has a shorter reach.
Anyhow, IRL, most strikes are immediately fatal (and the long
blades allow you to deflect blows without really hindering your attack
– which is what I incorporated to the rules).
In a world where you can usually soak several blows before going down,
the bigger weapons do give an advantage, but not such that's supposed
to slow you down (it's much safer to take 1 or 2 blows).
Also, I'm considering reinstating Power Attack and make it so that it
allows you to swap DEX-mod for STR-mod with 1H/2H / large / huge
weapons when it comes to hit rolls and to swap this entire bonus in
favor of damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
The
g. sword guy is gonna attack once much slower but he won't spend time
thinking of opponents position and weapon because he is at a safer
distance with his g.sword.
1. He'll spend less resources, not zero resources.
2. safer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Weapon speed and weapon size cancel each other out.
Ask any martial artist that respects himself and he'll tell you that speed outweighs punch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Also a double str mod add on dmg with two handed weapons?
I believe this is gonna kill role-play even more cause now you give more reasons to use two-handed over one-handed weapons.
This should now emphasize the beauty of it all. Speed or impact – player's choice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Weapon
choice should be a style of play and what you think is cooler now I can
tell you everyone is gonna ditch longsword + shield play.
Take a 2nd look at the shield feats.
Also, read the shield section in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Also I mentioned races and classes.
For races I think they should have little effect. That way a player will choose what he likes more and not what is need more.
You mean people DON'T take dwarves for darkvision, stability, great saves, racial weapons and racial combat bonuses ?
With my approach, racial weapons and racial combat bonuses are no longer a factor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
You
added hit points, skill selection and feats to races. That way you are
gonna have even less halfling warriors who can be very fun to play.
1. HP are higher at lower levels, but lower in the long run -
which makes a lot more sense and reduces the low-levels Russian
roulette effect significantly.
2. Expanded skill-selection is very much intentional – it makes the
races much more archetypal (as I intended). It by all means doesn't
mean that every dwarf is gonna be a master crafter (some won't have
crafting abilities at all), but that it will come naturally if he'll
just put an effort to it.
3. Racial bonus feats are there only if you take paragon levels – at an obvious expense of class-levels.
3. As for Halflings… they make great unfettered types, but I'm
seriously considering raising their land speed to 25 (in 4e that move
just as fast as humans).
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
For
classes you have a knight, swashbuckler and a samurai. That’s all a
fighter but different built. I have always encouraged my players to
forget other classes in splat books and use core but change the
standard built and background. What is a fighter that fights in heavy
armour, uses a longsword and shield and has a noble origin. A knight.
Also what is a fighter who has been thought in oriental way, to use
katana and has a special armour. A samurai. Why make separate classes?
It's just a background and a style of play.
That's exactly why I redefined the Fighter as I did – to make it
just as worthwhile as the other base classes and to save the need to
improvise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
In advance I apologize if I’m totally off topic and what I have written is already covered in you post.
It's actually nice to be reminded why I did what I did
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
And sorry if my English is confusing. It’s not my native tongue.
Your English is just fine (not my native tongue either – MSWord does wonders to my English )
Races:
1. There are race members who have zero class-levels. This doesn't strike me as a bad thing.
2. The raced have 2 advancement stages that further strengthen their racial heritage.
Both are good thematically, useful mechanically and are consistent without class-dependency.
Well in 3.5 we have commoner class for that. Races are there to
provide some natural talent (+2 listen if you are an elf and so on).
3rd lvl elven commoner is most common elf you can find. He doesn't have
special training in any sphere of his life. You have taken commoner out
and added racial lvls for every race. It seems that you have just
complicated things more and in the end you have
the same result. Also what I don't like here is that with commoner
class you have some choices (feats) but with race lvls you don't. Let's
say that I want to be an orcish child who has taken and raised by
Ilmaters cleric. Will I still get Elf slayer ability? How about an orc
that never met an elf. Some clan that lives in mountains and only
fights winter wolves. Also once again on HP.
This way a half orcish wizard is gonna have more hp than a halfling
warrior who has been train for several years how to take a punch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
Anyhow, IRL, most strikes are immediately fatal (and the long blades
allow you to deflect blows without really hindering your attack – which
is what I incorporated to the rules).
In a world where you can usually soak several blows before going down,
the bigger weapons do give an advantage, but not such that's supposed
to slow you down (it's much safer to take 1 or 2 blows).
I have read more than few times that HP are not cuts and bruises.
Let's say that we have a 5th lvl fighter that has around 50hp. He is
fighting an opponent and the guy hits him and deals 15 points of
damage. This doesn't necessarily mean that the fighter was slashed and
he bleeded out 15 points of dmg.
HP are endurance. It is blocking and hitting and screaming and
everything a battle is made of. Cuts, broken rips, split head, blood
loss are the points from 0 to -10. Star wars system did a great job at
this. They used wound points.
HP's are just what I described above but wound points (you have them as
much as your constitution number) are lethal injuries. Your wound
points would suffer if you got hit by a sneak attack, critical hit or
got surprised and every situation where you can't block or counter
attack.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
Ask any martial artist that respects himself and he'll tell you that speed outweighs punch.
I know this but I didn't cancel out speed with power I canceled
it out with reach. I remember when I was boxing against a really big
guy (I'm short and skinny) the hardest thing was to get in, punch him
and then move out without getting mangled. He didn't have that problem
since his punches could reach my head while his head is safe from mine.
I wasted most time on movement and getting in for a punch than on
hitting and I was much quicker and more agile than him.
First - Fantastic job with the Cleric. That is how a cleric should be handled, so well done.
Actually, despite the relatively simple mechanics, it was one of my biggest challenges.
For a very long time I was indecisive how to work it out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
Now,
about the spellcasting system of Strain and Tolerance. I think it's a
great idea, but you aren't actually changing anything. You are
essentially reinventing the wheel, but to do the same thing. Sure, your
system makes more "thematic" sense, but functionally, you can't really
cast spells any more often than you could with slots, since recovering
from strain takes so long.
1st, it was never intended to give more spell power. It was meant to make more sense thematically and to allow greater flexibility to choose your spells on the fly.
Another thing I that tried to solve was the problem with all the full
casters going nova and the need to sleep every 3-4 encounters.
The strain-tolerance approach allows one to do things while recovering some spell access and also to have decent recovery with partial sleep.
The high price of the higher-level spells means you might be better off not firing your heaviest guns all the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
Feats
- Again, a spectacular job here. You basically did a lot of work I had
planned to do a year ago, but I abandoned. Lots of great edits/fixes
and entirely new material in this department. My problem? You fixed
feats, and now you just give more and more of them out as class
features.
1. The core fighter has bonus feats as the only class feature.
2. each class with bonus feats has its own specific list that revolves
around the scope of characteristics one could expect a member of the
class to be good at.
3. Some feats were simply turned into options available to everyone,
meaning you could decently do more things as a class member than
mindlessly wave your weapon or bring food o our mouth (an overkill, I
know, but you get my point).
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
Feats
=/= Class Features. If that's the way you want the game to operate, cut
class levels down to 10 and give out twice as many "general" feats.
But then you wouldn't be able to explain where all the
world-shattering reality-shaping spells went - and there's no way I
could built the archetypes correctly using just 10 levels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
Classes - Some good, some bad.
I'm really curious to know which of them you found bad and why.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
Classes - Some good, some bad. I don't know what I think about the Rogue and the Monk.
Rogue:
Trapfinding - WotC never really explained it in a convincing manner and
it never made sense to me. "Quickfingers" still give it something
special without barring options from all other classes (at least until
the Scout and "Trap Expert" ACF came along). In general, I see the
Rogue as: 1. extreme-nimble-fingered; 2. Savvy-Combat-Trickster; 3.
Ultra-Skillmonkey.
My rogue is the ultimate on all 3 parameters. Monk:
I always felt the Monk and the Ninja should've been a single class and
I never liked the monk's teleportation, SR or Quivering-Palm. The
monk's also supposed to be the ultimate martial artist - uniting body,
mind and soul to an harmonious perfection.
I believe my version lives up to what I described.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
The
description of the Sorcerer was very vague to me, I ended up skipping
it, and one of the other classes too... don't remember. Again, I loved
the Cleric, job well done, and the Bard also looked good.
Then I'll wait until you're done reading them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
PrCs
- This is where I think I have the biggest complaint. I think you'd be
better off just making ALL of these classes in their own right. I don't
particularly like PrCs to begin with, the requirements always seemed
strange or arbitrary, and a lot of yours don't appear to be any better,
and often, just IMO seem to be worse. I don't want to have to own a
mithril chain shirt, and have to be trained by Elves to be a
Spellsword. Why couldn't I, a Mage that has dabbled in fighting
techniques, figure things disciplines out on my own, organically. To
use your own fluff, someone had to have originally done that. Whoever
the first Spellsword was, he taught himself how to combine magic and
melee in a more fluid, practical way. This is just one example - all of
your PrCs seem to be similar.
OK, I guess the "Mithral chain-shirt" is some sort of a 2e/LotR residue.
But other than that, I tried to tie every prerequisite to the PrC's abilities (just ask and I'll explain).
And instead of me repeating myself, just read the "General PrCs rules" spoiler to understand where I'm coming from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bkdubs123
I
still have to read over spells and weaponry. I'll be back at this soon.
It is quite an exhaustive list of work you have here, and I highly
commend you on your steadfastness! I'd never have the commitment to get
all of this done (of course I have various other commitments).
I'll be waiting.
If you think I might be able to do things better, by all means, feel free to share your ideas.
Many thanks for your time.
Edit:
regarding "Mithral chain-shirt" . . . sometimes the requirement is
there so the candidate lives up to a certain ideal (e.g. the
Dominatrix, which ha an ability I need to re-word so IT IS in the
category of "lives up to a certain ideal").
Well
in 3.5 we have commoner class for that. Races are there to provide some
natural talent (+2 listen if you are an elf and so on).
Darkvision is more than "some natural talent".
So are Spell-like abilities and so is SR (Drow).
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
3rd lvl elven commoner is most common elf you can find. He doesn't have special training in any sphere of his life.
Than why does a "most common elf you can find" have 3rd lvl ?
Why does he have levels at all.
Why can't h live out his life without gaining any class-levels ?
Should a baby-Elf have levels ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Also what I don't like here is that with commoner class you have some choices (feats) but with race lvls you don't.
1. Did you read the intro to the races' descriptions ?
2. No one forces you to take racial paragon levels. They're not prerequisite to anything - they stand alone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Let's
say that I want to be an orcish child who has taken and raised by
Ilmaters cleric. Will I still get Elf slayer ability? How about an orc
that never met an elf. Some clan that lives in mountains and only
fights winter wolves. Also once again on HP.
1. The same conflict arises with racial weapon familiarity and combat bonuses against racial enemies.
2. I see no problem in replacing Elfslayer with Wolfslayer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
This
way a half orcish wizard is gonna have more hp than a halfling warrior
who has been train for several years how to take a punch.
A typical half-orc has about 5-6 times the flesh mass of a
typical halfling. it only makes sense that a 1st-level orc is most
likely to be able to oak more punishment than a 1st-level halfling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
I
have read more than few times that HP are not cuts and bruises. Let's
say that we have a 5th lvl fighter that has around 50hp. He is fighting
an opponent and the guy hits him and deals 15 points of damage. This
doesn't necessarily mean that the fighter was slashed and he bleeded
out 15 points of dmg.
HP are not just cuts and bruises.
Let's check somethnig together.
- Use the core rules an build a high-con Barb. 10th-level Dwarven-Defender with Indomitable-Soul feat.
- Now try to coup-de-grace him while he's asleep (repeat the test 10
times to get the hang of it - see how many times he actually died from
a single blow).
You'll suddenly find that HP do have something to do with cuts and bruises.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Star wars system did a great job at this. They used wound points.
HP's are just what I described above but wound points (you have them as
much as your constitution number) are lethal injuries. Your wound
points would suffer if you got hit by a sneak attack, critical hit or
got surprised and every situation where you can't block or counter
attack.
I'm not sure I'm ready to go there. It will probably drag me to
called-shots / Hit-locations tables which would really slow the game
down.
I never intended for the modifications to come at the expense of gameflow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
I know this but I didn't cancel out speed with power I canceled it out with reach.
My explanation is valid also for reach.
Once you get within reach, you can really land a barrage of blows with small weapons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
I
remember when I was boxing against a really big guy (I'm short and
skinny) the hardest thing was to get in, punch him and then move out
without getting mangled. He didn't have that problem since his punches
could reach my head while his head is safe from mine. I wasted most
time on movement and getting in for a punch than on hitting and I was
much quicker and more agile than him.
Boxing is not a good example for life & death situations.
Facing a boxer, I'll be using my feet a lot, throw sand in his eyes, do
my best to shift his balance ad reposition myself to deliver dirty
blows (I have no death wish ).
Than why does a "most common elf you can find" have 3rd lvl ?
Why does he have levels at all.
Why can't h live out his life without gaining any class-levels ?
Should a baby-Elf have levels ?
3rd lvl was an example. We all have lvls in something.
Baby elf would be lvl 1. With 4 hp that commoner gives her and her weak baby constitution she would have around 1 hit point.
lvls are your personal experience. I don't think they should be based on race.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
A
typical half-orc has about 5-6 times the flesh mass of a typical
halfling. it only makes sense that a 1st-level orc is most likely to be
able to oak more punishment than a 1st-level halfling.
What about later on? 10th lvl?
I didn't see hit points mentioned in classes description.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
HP are not just cuts and bruises.
Let's check somethnig together.
- Use the core rules an build a high-con Barb. 10th-level Dwarven-Defender with Indomitable-Soul feat.
- Now try to coup-de-grace him while he's asleep (repeat the test 10
times to get the hang of it - see how many times he actually died from
a single blow).
You'll suddenly find that HP do have something to do with cuts and bruises.
Well wounds rule would work great here..
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
I'm
not sure I'm ready to go there. It will probably drag me to
called-shots / Hit-locations tables which would really slow the game
down.
I never intended for the modifications to come at the expense of gameflow.
Well star wars runs smoothly.. your call.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
My explanation is valid also for reach.
Once you get within reach, you can really land a barrage of blows with small weapons.
I believe ONCE is the key word here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
Boxing is not a good example for life & death situations.
Facing a boxer, I'll be using my feet a lot, throw sand in his eyes, do
my best to shift his balance ad reposition myself to deliver dirty
blows (I have no death wish ).
we were talking dagger against g. sword and I used example between two boxer builds and now you trow sand in my eyes
3rd lvl was an example. We all have lvls in something.
Baby elf would be lvl 1. With 4 hp that commoner gives her and her weak baby constitution she would have around 1 hit point.
lvls are your personal experience. I don't think they should be based on race.
Dilemma: What happens to that 1st commoner level once you hit 1st Rogue level. Where does it go to ?
My approach at least solves the absurd difference between Rogue 1 /
Mage 1 and Mage 1/ Rogue 1 (same class-levels and yet 24 skill-points
difference) and doesn't raise the above dilemma.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
What about later on? 10th lvl?
I didn't see hit points mentioned in classes description.
It's in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler under "Hit Points"
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
Well wounds rule would work great here..
. . .
Well star wars runs smoothly.. your call.
I'd be glad to see them.
What's the mechanics ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
I believe ONCE is the key word here.
That ONCE is usually limited to the beginning of combat - simulated quite reasonably with the Flatfooted condition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FetFreakVR2
we were talking dagger against g. sword and I used example between two boxer builds and now you trow sand in my eyes
Dilemma: What happens to that 1st commoner level once you hit 1st Rogue level. Where does it go to ?
My approach at least solves the absurd difference between Rogue 1 /
Mage 1 and Mage 1/ Rogue 1 (same class-levels and yet 24 skill-points
difference) and doesn't raise the above dilemma.
I still think experience should be expressed in class not race.
What about an elf that is raised in human only society? He receives
human skills and feats?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
It's in the "Redefined Game Mechanics" spoiler under "Hit Points"
Well if my calculation is correct then a half orc wizard is still gonna have more hps than a halfling even on a 20th lvl.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
I'd be glad to see them.
What's the mechanics ?
Well you have hp and wounds.
Hp are class hit dice + con modifier. Wounds are your constitution (con
16 = 16 wounds) Standard dmg reduce your hp while surprise, flat
footed, critical hit take down the wound points. Also when your hps are
out your wounds start to suffer. When wounds reach -10 you die. Also
every hit on wounds triggers a fort save against lethal damage or fall
unconscious (10+dmg received vs fort+d20). Also critical hits are not
doubled. It's the same dmg but it goes on wounds. It's quite simple and
if you want realism you can add a % table what is hit when someone
receives wound dmg.
We currently don’t play on wounds but we use critical hit table. Add realism to an extent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nonsi
That ONCE is usually limited to the beginning of combat - simulated quite reasonably with the Flatfooted condition.
I wouldn't agree. Combatants move around all the time.
Just to say. I'm not arguing here with you but I want to improve my game as well and this kind of talk helps a lot.
My House-Rules Codex - DONE
).
)
candidate worthy to her taste, she fashions a special leather/metal collar,
after studying her subject for several days with Detect Thoughts. She
must then lure him in via Bluff & Diplomacy or Charm Person spell
and then take him over with her Dominate power (see below). Then she
performs a 1-hour collaring ceremony (requires total privacy except for
a single witness) that totally binds his affection for her. The effect
is permanent and the subject gains no future saving-throws to resist it
(the collar merely stays on as a symbol of ownership), forever
remaining her willing and devoted loving slave. A collared slave may be
freed only if he dies, if his Dmx voluntarily relinquishes control, if
she dies or if they're no longer on the same material plane.
Linear Mode
