Custom divine abilities, portfolios, etc.

[Nezkrul]

Force Portfolio


Aspects: force magic, physical might, fortitude
Opposed Portfolio: Destruction
Examples: Thor
Favored Animal: Gorilla
Favored Class: Sorcerer/Warmage
Favored Place: A Force Dragon's lair.
Favored Sacrifice: Magic items that use force magic or provide force-based bonuses
Favored Time: The first day of each season.
Favored Weapon: Bastard Sword
Portfolio Trial: You must defeat your greatest enemy, alone, with only your physical might and force magic.
Prerequisites: Must be able to cast any arcane spells, divine spells, or manifest psionic powers with the [force] descriptor.
Symbol: An armored fist leaving a wake in the air.
Typical Quote: "If force isn't working, you're not using enough."


Force Domain
Granted Power (Su): By manipulating cosmic forces of inertia, once per day you can roll a damage roll twice and take which ever of the two rolls you want.
Force Domain Spells
1 Mage Armor: Gives subject +4 armor bonus.
2 Magic Missile: 1d4+1 damage; +1 missile/2 levels above 1st (max 5).
3 Blast of Force: Attack deals 1d6 damage/2 levels (max 5d6).
4 Resilient Sphere: Force globe protects but traps one subject.
5 Wall of Force: Invisble wall that is immune to damage.
6 Repulsion: Creatures can't approach you.
7 Forcecage^M: Cube or cage of force imprisons all inside.
8 Telekinetic Sphere: As resilient sphere, but you move sphere telekinetically.
9 Crushing Hand: Large hand provides cover, pushes, or crushes your foes.
(Force Domain information taken from the Spell Compendium)


Realm
The typical realm of a deity with this portfolio would be any conceiveable natural terrain but will include buildings or structures made of force, possibly including high walls and castles, deep dungeons, and tall towers.
Hazards: Walls of force can be found anywhere in the realm, and so creatures unable to see invisibility will have a hard time getting around in this kind of realm, without running the risk of smashing their faces into invisible walls. And then there are the inhabitants...
Inhabitants: Any creature capable of casting force spells (such as warmages or wizards), and beings made of force or related to force (such as force dragons or force elementals) will usually find their ways to realms such as this.


Force Template (Single Portfolio)
Appearance: Parts of the immortal's manifestation will seem more translucent and lacking in pigmentation than others, depending on the second portfolio. For instance, an immortal with the Nature and Force portfolios would manifest mostly translucent claws, teeth, horns, or other natural weapons.
When the immortal adopts a different form (through Shapechanging or Wildshape for instance), this trait is also adopted.
Demeanor: The immortal's approach to social situations and conflicts is very upfront, forceful, and straight to the point.


Force Template (Double Portfolio)
Appearance: Most, if not all, of the immortal's manifestation will seem more translucent and lacking in pigmentation than some of its parts, usually all that can be seen is a stark colorless silohouette where colorful lines annotate the outer edges of its features.
When the immortal adopts a different form (through Shapechanging or Wildshape for instance), this trait is also adopted.
Demeanor: The immortal never backs down from a challenge and will always try to force his way to victory over opponents.


Single Force Portfolio




Disciple- Spell-like Abilities (Use any force domain spell as spell-like ability), Fly's Endurance (Competence penalty (= divine rank) to Constitution), Destruction Vulnerability (Suffer 100% extra damage from destruction and disintegration effects)
Prophet- Force Immunity (You are immune to force based attacks)
Hero-deity- Scion of Force (Competence bonus (= divine rank) on attack rolls, damage rolls, and caster level when using force based attacks. You also add your divine rank to any force based bonus you create, such as a shield spell.
Quasi-deity- Forceful Summoning (When creatures you summon appear, they deal force damage equal to their total hitdice to all enemies within their natural reach (no save), and gain the effects of a shield spell and a mage armor spell as though you are the caster of those spells.
Lesser Deity- Superior Force [Effect] Assault your enemies with force attacks.

Intermediate Deity- Uncanny Force Mastery Assault your enemies with force attacks.
Greater Deity- Force Absorption (Force Damage heals you)

Elder One- Specular (Anyone who strikes you suffers the same amount of damage.), Cosmic Imperfection (Destruction) (One artifact in the universe can defeat your cosmicstring ability.)
Old One- Destruction Pariah (Destruction/disintegration spells and effects cease to
function within your divine realm.)


Double Force Portfolio



Disciple- Spell-like Abilities (Use two force domain spell as spell-like abilities each round (standard/swift)), Fly's Endurance (Competence penalty (= double divine rank) toConstitution), Destruction Vulnerability (Suffer 200% extra damage from destruction/disintegration effects)
Prophet- Force Reflection (You may reflect any force based attack within your divine aura/realm)
Hero-deity- Greater Scion of Force (Competence bonus (= double divine rank) on attack rolls, damage rolls, and caster level when using force based attacks. You also double the base effect of any force
based bonus you create, and add your divine rank to it, such as shield (would become +8 shield bonus + divine rank).
Quasi-deity- Perfect Forceful Summoning (When creatures you summon appear, they deal force damage equal to twice their total hitdice to all enemies within their natural reach (no save), and gain the effects
of a shield spell and a mage armor spell as though you are the caster of those spells.
Lesser Deity- Superior Force [Effect] (x2 HD) Assault your enemies with force attacks.

Intermediate Deity- Uncanny Force Mastery (x2 HD) Assault your enemies with force attacks.

Greater Deity- Improved Force Absorption (You can automatically absorb any force attack or effect, cancelling it, in order to heal yourself of 10 hp/level of the effect. If the attack does not have a level tied to it, treat it as a level equal to half of the attacker's hit dice.
Elder One- Legendary Charisma (Your charisma score is doubled), Cosmic Imperfection (Destruction) (Two artifacts in the universe can defeat your cosmic string ability.)
Old One- Divine Force (Force damage you deal is treated as divine damage.)
First One- Abrogate (You negate a foe's greatest ability or ability score.)

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Damien!

Technically? Not really - each Time Lord has 2 Portfolios automatically, but can change them as a free action.

Aaargh! 3E question headmelting.

The Transcendental power that you're thinking of (Intrinsic) seems to be the same thing that Time Lords have, as seen above.

Thats what I meant.

Question still stands: I'm assuming that any power that lets you forgo the weaknesses of portfolios would be Transcendental, at the least, but what level would they be? ...offhand, I'd just label it Transcendental. Your description of the final powers that any given Portfolio should offer is something to the effect of "The ability to transcend the portfolio altogether in some manner," which is good enough for my purposes. To a lesser extent, the ability to negate one of a portfolio's weaknesses is probably Cosmic. Given that a Transcendental could probably apply to a double portfolio, but the Cosmic version of it would need to be taken six times to cover a double portfolio, so the math works out.

As a rule of thumb the ability to negate something requires a more powerful ability than the thing being negated.

Besides, there's something inherently right about a Sidereal of Knowledge that you know is lying because its (metaphorical) mouth is open.

As to whether or not a 4th edition remapping of 3E divinity would work, I don't know. I haven't seen your finished ideas on it.

No, I had a think, its impossible.

As to the other stuff... probably. The only real reason I posted them here is that it gives me a way to sort through my thoughts on the Supreme Beings (plural) in my story.

Feel free to post random thoughts on topic...heck I've been doing that for years.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Mr.Satan!

Are these balanced as feats?

Exception Exemption [Psionic]
Prerequisites: Erudite level 1st.
Benefit: You regain/retain the ability to add additional powers (above and beyond the two gained at each new erudite level) to your repertoire of powers known, regardless of your levels in other psionic classes.
Normal: If you gain at least as many levels in another psionic class as you have in your erudite class, you permanently lose the ability to add additional powers (above and beyond the two gained at each new erudite level) to your repertoire of powers known.

Freeform Psyche [Psionic]
Prerequisites: Erudite or Psion level 1st.
Benefit: You can freely multiclass between psion: erudite and psion.
Special: You lose the “discipline” class feature.

Last one sounds okay as maybe an epic feat. The first one is too much of a head scratcher for me - sorry.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Nekrul!

Interesting take on the Force Portfolio, thanks for posting.

I'm not sure that Thor is necessarily a good example though. I was thinking that maybe Baphomet might be better.

 

[Nezkrul]

Yah, I just tried to pick an example of someone who was mighty forceful in his tactics and personality, like Thor don't know much about all the names of the occult references used in the book, maybe heard them once or twice ever, ya know?

 

[Mr.Satan]

Howdy Mr.Satan!

o_o Ahoy there.

Last one sounds okay as maybe an epic feat. The first one is too much of a head scratcher for me - sorry.

Exception Exemption I created to counter that stupid bit about Erudite's losing their primary class benefit (the ability to learn any psionic power they encounter, much as a wizard learns it's spells) in the event of gaining as many (or more) levels in any other psionic class.

I never liked that stupid rule and rather than house ruling it out of existence, I decided that it would be more fair to force a player to burn a feat to negate that stupid rule. I mean...if the Erudite is like a wizard (which is how it is), why the hell would multiclassing penalize them so stupidly?

Erudites are the psionic version of wizards, whereas standard psions are the psionic version of sorcerers. Which brings me to the second feat...

The second feat I based on existing non-epic feats that allow multiclassing without penalizing your previous class for multiclassing. I designed it to strip a psion of it's discipline, which causes a psion to be even more like a sorcerer and penalizes the psion for taking the feat, rendering it sub-epic even from a cruel DM's perspective.

In the end, you gain far more flexibility in the actual use of your psionic powers, but you gain levels at a snail's pace since you're paying for 2 separate classes.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello again Nezkrul!

Yah, I just tried to pick an example of someone who was mighty forceful in his tactics and personality, like Thor don't know much about all the names of the occult references used in the book, maybe heard them once or twice ever, ya know?

Well Baphomet is the Demon Lord of Minotaurs in D&D.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet_(Dungeons_&_Dragons)

In 4th Edition he creates Mazes out of Walls of Force thats what made me think of him (and he's in the Manual of the Planes 4E which I just reviewed a few days ago on my website).

Review: Manual of the Planes 4E Eternity Publishing

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Mr.Satan!

Well if you based them on existing feats then there shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm not familiar enough with psionics to be much of a help on this one.

 

[paradox42]

Baphomet never had anything to do with Force in prior editions of the game- he's not a particularly good fit.

I'd say the best deity to use as an example is Tharizdun. He had the Force Domain in 3.0, in fact they created it just for him in the "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" mega-adventure, and IIRC he granted some Force-related powers to his priests in 2nd Edition as well. Magical force wasn't really much of a concept in 1st Edition, so I don't think he was particularly associated with it then.

 

[Nezkrul]

Baphomet never had anything to do with Force in prior editions of the game- he's not a particularly good fit.

I'd say the best deity to use as an example is Tharizdun. He had the Force Domain in 3.0, in fact they created it just for him in the "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" mega-adventure, and IIRC he granted some Force-related powers to his priests in 2nd Edition as well. Magical force wasn't really much of a concept in 1st Edition, so I don't think he was particularly associated with it then.

I actually created that force portfolio just for tharizdun... I've stat'ed him out as an Elder One for my campaign, one step above all the active deities currently in the realms, and he's imprisoned in the Far Realm. Gave him the madness portfolio also.