Custom Class: Shinigami

[deathdonut]

Help!

I plan to start a new campaign in June, but have been running a few pre-release games in the meantime to give my players a taste of the new mechanics. Unfortunately (or fortunately), one of my players is extremely excited about the idea of playing a character in the style of the Shinigami from the manga/anime Bleach. I'm all about doing whatever possible to let my players play the type of character they envision, so given the current lack of Swordmages, I decided to put together something that would fit. Yes, I realize that this might work well as a paragon path, but the guy has no desire to play through 10 levels of that are stylistically dissimilar to what he really wants.

Regardless of whether you're familiar with the theme material, how does the following look balance-wise for a level 1 class and power set?



Shinigami

Role: Defender
Power Source: Arcane/Martial hybrid
Key Abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence

Armor Training: None
Weapon Proficiencies: Any single weapon (henseforth your Zanpakuto).
Bonus to Defense: +2 to Armor Class

Hit Points at 1st level: 15 + Constitution
Hit Points Gained per Level: 6
Healing Surges: 9 + Con Modifier

Trained Skills: 4
Skill Modifiers: None
Class Skills: Arcana (int), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Diplomacy (Cha)


Class Features
Zanpakuto - If you ever lose your Zanpakuto, you may reform one from your spirit energy by spending a standard action and a healing surge. No one but you may wield your Zanpakuto.

Defensive Fighting - While wielding your Zanpakuto, you are always considered to have a heavy shield.

Challenge of Equals - When you make an attack, you may mark the enemy. Any attack by the marked enemy that does not include you provokes an opportunity attack from you. Any attack by you that does not include the marked opponent provokes an opportunity attack from the marked enemy. Only one mark per enemy, new marks supersede old marks. You may not mark more than one enemy at a time.

Intervene
Shinigami - Feature
You interpose yourself between an ally and his attacker.
Encounter - Melee, weapon
Immediate Interrupt, Melee
Trigger: An an attack that does not target you hits an ally adjacent to you.
Effect: Opponent rerolls the attack with you as the target instead of the ally. If more than one ally is targeted by a single attack, you replace only one target adjacent to you and the other attack rolls remain unchanged.


At Will Powers

Passing Strike
Shinigami - Attack 1
You swap places with your opponent, gaining positional advantage.
At-Will - Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee
Target: 1 creature
Attack: Melee vs AC
Hit: 1d10+4 and you swap places if your opponent is of your size or smaller.


Debilitating Strike
Shinigami - Attack 1
Your attack leaves your opponent bloodied and disoriented.
At-Will - Martial, Weapon
Standard Action, Melee
Target: 1 creature
Attack: Melee vs AC
Hit: 1d10+4 and the target takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls until your next turn.


Encounter Powers

Restrain
Class - Attack 1
Bindings of spirit energy restrain the target's arms.
Encounter - Arcane
Standard Action - Range 10
Target: 1 humanoid
Attack: Int vs Will
Hit: Target is unable to attack until the end of your next turn.


Daily Powers

White Lightning
Class - Attack 1
Lightning bolts fly from your fingers frying your foe!
Daily - Arcane
Standard Action
Target: One creature
Attack: Int vs Reflex
Hit 3d8+4 and target is knocked prone.
Miss: Half damage and target is not prone.

 

[Ximenes088]

Weapon Proficiencies: Having proficiency in a single weapon is iffy. He's completely helpless at range, since none of his listed powers work with ranged attacks. Even paladins can grab a crossbow or throwing hammer.

Armor Proficiencies: For a Defender, this guy's armor class is horrendous. He gets a heavy shield and +2 AC in lieu of the Ref/Fort/Will bonii other classes get. His AC is still going to be atrocious compared to plate-armored paladins and fighters, and unlike paladins and fighters, he's got a shtick specifically designed to make people hit him instead of someone else. He needs Strength too much to rely on Int/Dex to replicate the benefits of plate armor, and Defenders are pretty much baselined on the assumption that they've got plate-level AC.

Power Source: I'd avoid using a hybrid power source. There's no canonical example of it, and the powers all look to be essentially magical in nature. Sure, they're delivered with a sword, but so are swordmage powers, and they're being built as Arcane Defenders.

Trained Skills: I'd give them at least six. Rogues have six slots and eight class skills, so I suspect the same guidelines should follow for other classes. However it's cut, there should be some variations in trained skills between two of the same class.

Class Features: These abilities are a touch tepid. He can't be disarmed for long, which is nice, but you can't effectively disarm a fighter, either, unless you somehow manage to destroy or take away every weapon he's carrying. His Mark is irrelevant unless he stays immediately beside the single person he's protecting- since he has no base ranged attacks, he can't even apply a -2 to hit to somebody who runs past him to mug the wizard. The powers don't look unreasonable, but White Lightning is going to be awkward to use in practice- since it appears to be a ranged attack, he's going to have to step away from his melee target to fire it and then step back in unless he want's to take an OA, which does not appear to fit well with a Defender. I'd also look carefully at "Restrain". From what we've seen so far, paladins get a level _27_ power that restricts line of effect to them for one turn. This power is at least as strong, since the victim can't make any attack rolls against anyone for a turn, against the user or anyone else.

I think WotC gave us some hints in that the swordmage class is going to have a specific armor-replacement ability to deal with the fact that it's not wearing plate. I'd give the class "plot plate" as a class feature, giving them plate-level AC when unarmored and have it level up in magical bonus based on class level. The summoned weapon should also boost based on level, since he's not exactly going to be trading it in for a found magic item.

 

[TheLordWinter]

Weapon Proficiencies: Any single weapon (henseforth your Zanpakuto).

Challenge of Equals - When you make an attack, you may mark the enemy. Any attack by the marked enemy that does not include you provokes an opportunity attack from you. Any attack by you that does not include the marked opponent provokes an opportunity attack from the marked enemy. Only one mark per enemy, new marks supersede old marks. You may not mark more than one enemy at a time.

This is really quite busted. The Shinigami class can first select a ranged weapon of any type, let's say a bow. Now he stays in the back with the wizard, and each time the marked enemy attacks a Defender in front of him, he gets a free shot. He, however, can shoot whomever he likes since the enemy's Opportunity Attacks won't reach him. Fighter locks him up and the Shinigami goes to town getting free ranged attacks.

 

[Pistonrager]

Gish you say? Anime you say?

...

Wait till you have the damned book.
Then, using much less time and energy... use imagination to alter the fluff of powers to achieve results.
...
Profit.

Honestly it sounds like what you really need is Paladin multiclassed with wizard in glamored armor.... poof look at that... just what you wanted and 2 extra helpings of smugness. no muss, no fuss, no attempting to make things up.

 

[AndrewRogue]

I'll take a moment to briefly state that, given the current nature of 4th (and the way Bleach functions), you would be a lot better off statting the Zanpaktou up as a magical weapon and then letting him take a normal class.

Failing that, I'd make the class with two focuses (Soul Slayer or Kidou) and keep a number of paced abilities to support both combat styles. A huge chunk of the combat in Bleach revolves around release based attacks (which, really, is where all the series' flavor comes from anyway) and occasional kidou attacks.

Edit: Generally speaking, its also worth saying that I do agree that, out of everything, statting out classes at this juncture, beyond rough skeletons, is an endeavor in futility. We barely have enough to plot out level one balance, let along an entire basic structure.

But, those idle thoughts aside, let's take a look.

Shinigami

Role: Defender
Power Source: Arcane/Martial hybrid
Key Abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence

I'd idly disagree with Soul Reapers being broadly defined as Defenders. There's cases for all the roles, but I think most of them seem more like Strikers in the end. Still, your call there.

Power Source should probably be simplified, but, unless this has some notable mechanical influence, who really cares.

I would argue that Charisma is probably more important than Intelligence from a sheer flavor prespective. Bleach, after all, is all about RESOLVE.

Armor Training: None
Weapon Proficiencies: Any single weapon (henseforth your Zanpakuto).
Bonus to Defense: +2 to Armor Class

Armor training is fitting, but illustrates the core problem of the concept of them serving as Defenders. From my understanding of things at this point, this means they'll end up as really laggy in AC, making them a bit ineffective at the role.

From a sheer balance presepective, I'd give them proficiency in a number of weapon types, and then make a class ability that distinguishes the Zanpaktou.

Bonus to defense seems fine, though.

Hit Points at 1st level: 15 + Constitution
Hit Points Gained per Level: 6
Healing Surges: 9 + Con Modifier

Looks right.

Trained Skills: 4
Skill Modifiers: None
Class Skills: Arcana (int), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Diplomacy (Cha)

You should probably give them access to more skills. Having actual choices is always a good thing. I know there should be a few more that would be fitting for Soul Reapers. Acrobatics, at least, comes to mind.

--Break--

I'll continue on this a little bit later.

 

[deathdonut]

I really appreciate all the feedback here. I probably made a mistake in posting this as I did without also adding some of my reasoning and long term plans.

Most of the concerns seem to be centered around the following topics:

Class Creation at Our Current Level of Ignorance
Couldn’t agree more here. We know next to nothing about power progressions. What I do know is that the current class selection makes it extremely difficult to fit the playstyle envisioned by my player. While I expect things to change pretty drastically once release hits and might be able to make it work once multi-class rules are released, I consider this type of design to be fun rather than a chore and if it ends with me wadding up the class and throwing it away, I still enjoy the design process.

I appreciate Pistonrager and Ximenes trying to point me in the direction of using fluff and filler to make one of the existing classes fit, but given the need of an Unarmored Defender, Arcane/Martial hybrid and the lack of multiclassing rules, this is one of the tougher concepts with which to do that. Besides, this sorta thing is fun and not work .

Arcane/Martial Hybrid
Yeah, there's no canonical example for this. But as AndrewRogue said, there's really no mechanic that detracts from it. I find the very idea of WotC trying to pigeonhole classes by power source to be somewhat flawed and I think they may find themselves regretting it eventually if they don't start making a precedent for hybrid styles.

Unarmored Defender
Sadly, this is almost the entire basis of the class as flawed as that sounds. The guy who wishes to play it is the only member of the group who wants to play a defender role and really has his heart set on an unarmored style. I considered just providing him early on with some type of “plot plate” as suggested by Ximenes088, but I was bored so went a step or three further. Solving this problem was both the biggest problem and (imo) greatest triumph of this process. Let’s look at a couple of example:

Paladin with Platemail + Heavy Shield: 20 AC
Fighter with Scalemail + Heavy Shield: 18 AC
Fighter with 2-handed Sword and Platemail: 18 AC
Shinigami with 18 dex and 2-handed Sword: 18 AC.
Shinigami with 16 int and 2-handed sword: 17 AC.

While his AC isn’t quite as solid as the pure tank types, it’s really not that much worse (especially when compared to a 2-handed weapon users). If I end up allowing his weapon enhancement bonus to be applied like a shield’s bonus as well, he’s suddenly pretty comparable to the other defender classes. Now keep in mind that this comes at the expense of the + 2 fort of a fighter and the +1 all of a paladin, but by getting a “free” shield with his 2-handed weapon, he also gets +2 to reflex saves that wouldn’t otherwise be available to someone with a 2-handed weapon. In all, I think the advantages and disadvantages compare reasonably well.

If things still look inferior for them as a tanking class, I’ve considered giving them a class feature that increases their available healing surges or even a “Third Win” option. Trust me; either option actually fits the source material of the class.


Stat Basis
With the obvious importance of Strength to melee, you might be wondering why I made the Dex/Int component so important to the class. That’s my mistake for failing to explain my longer term plans for the class.

Essentially, Shinigami will have two routes they can choose to specialize in: Shunpo (dex-based movement) and Kido (int-based magic). One of those stats will be critical to their power-base as well as their defense. Consequently, while Strength is important for all Shinigami, I think the Dex/Int choice will be even more critical.

This particular power set is based around the idea of a Kido specialty and the test-character he will be running has an 18 Int. I fully intend to flesh out the Shunpo powers and would like this to be a reasonable class choice for those going the Dex route.

Appreciate the charisma idea AndrewRogue. That would work well also, but I kind of like the idea of it being difficult to master all aspects of the class. Tradeoffs ftw!


Skill Choices
Sorry, I should have added that the class also gets the Universal skills that all classes get. The entire list should read:

Acrobatics (Dex)
Arcana (int)
Athletics (Str)
Diplomacy (Cha)
Endurance (Con)
Heal (Wis)
Insight (Wis)
Perception (Wis)
Stealth (Dex)

I think this brings them more closely in line with the other classes as pretty much all the existing classes have 8-9 skill choices (no idea what’s up with the Ranger).

Lack of a Ranged Weapon
This is definitely a concern. Staying true to the source material, it’s difficult to reconcile the problem at low levels. I suppose I could give them shuriken or throwing spikes to compensate, but I’m tempted to leave it as a weakness for now.

Challenge of Equals
Wow. TheLordWinter definitely ripped this one up. Good stuff. If I plan on leaving this style of effect, I’ll definitely change the wording to be melee (or adjacent to avoid range).

As Ximenes088 pointed out, this does nothing to prevent someone from running past him and hitting an ally who’s out of range of any OA. The flavor of the source would actually allow an effect like an immediate teleport to aid in defense, but I had wanted to save that type of effect for higher levels.

I think I definitely need to rework this aspect. Given that I’m really looking for a defender style effect here, maybe a normal fighter mark would be appropriate. I just wanted something fairly unique.

Restrain
Once again Ximenes088, thanks. Insightful to bring up the level 27 paladin option here but I seem to recall that the paladin’s ability wasn’t entirely spelled out and would most likely be applied much like his challenge. As anything other than a Standard action, this would be far too powerful, but as it is:

1) It’s a standard action and thus sacrifices a player’s attack to restrict the npc options.
2) It requires a successful attack.
3) It does not prevent a second movement option instead of the attack.
4) It targets only humanoids.

If the level 27 paladin ability is similarly restricted, I suspect it will be rarely used. My expectations is that it will be a minor or free action to use or will not require an attack roll.


Once again, thanks for all this awesome feedback! Keep it coming!

 

[Stalker0]

A good start, we can build on it.

First, I would change the power source to divine. Shinigami have spirit based powers, I can't think of a better power source than divine.

Second, you should force the Zanpaktou to be a melee weapon, but add in some ranged powers to balance it out.

To your mark, I would just use the standard fighter's mark on this one. Its clean and it works.

As for the low AC, here's the Bleach way to fix that:

Shinigami Class Feature:

Reiatsu Shield (immediate reaction, at-will)
Special: This power can be used twice per encounter.
Trigger: After an attack deals damage to you.
Benefit: Reduce the damage taken by your charisma mod.

Also I would add in this benefit to kido powers, similar to how fighters have the reliable ability:

Kido: If you take a full round action when using a kido power, you gain +2 to the attack roll.

(This takes into account that when you use kido, the longer you take to cast it the stronger it is).