Death Bringer

[monboesen]

You'd have to be level 7 Cleric (if you go full Cleric)

From the SRD

Improved Critical [General]

Choose one type of weapon.
Prerequisite

Proficient with weapon, base attack bonus +8.
Benefit

When using the weapon you selected, your threat range is doubled.
Special

You can gain Improved Critical multiple times. The effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new type of weapon.

This effect doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of a weapon.

A fighter may select Improved Critical as one of his fighter bonus feats.

You need to be a 11th level cleric to have BAB +8 and you dont get a feat before to use before 12th level. So a 12th level cleric can qualify.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

It was meant to be a Cleric class, though you could make it cleric/warrior instead. The reasoning behind the +5 to the save DC, is due to the 3/4 BAB and the low chance to threaten a crit with a scythe. So the Death Bringer would need to threaten a crit(19-20, 18-20 if you still have keen and improved critical stack), confirm a crit (harder with the 3/4 BAB), then the target would need to fail it's save. +5 might be a bit high, what about a smaller bonus, like a +2?

As has been said, a straight cleric can easily buff themselves to have full BAB. As Moboesen has said, an Improved Crit prereq requires that a straight cleric be 12th level to get in. So definately drop the prereq if you want this to be a straight cleric class--and besides, you can be sure that all death bringers will pick up improved crit as soon as they can anyway, thanks to Belle Morte.

Belle Morte being a death effect, I don't think it is bad that you have to land a confirmed crit and your opponent must fail their save. The fact that Belle Morte automatically scales with level and is based on Wis (already a cleric's first stat) makes the DC perfect. Here's a secret about save DCs: they're supposed to scale slower than save bonuses. Why? So that players don't have to raise their character at least once a level due to death effects like Belle Morte and other high level save-or-suck effects. So by boosting Belle Morte's DC at all you're messing with an important game balancing mechanic. A +2 DC might seem like an appropriate 'capstone' ability, but think about epic levels even if you don't play epic. If you were to advance this class beyond 10th level, you would naturally feel justified in boosting the DC even further at every X levels, which would be a HUGE imbalance.

I have an idea for Belle Morte II: instead of adding to the DC, add a secondary effect that occurs on a successful save. Maybe 1d6 negative energy damage per class level or maybe paralysis.

 

[Tyonisius]

I missed the prerequisites for Improved Critical, definitely going to drop it as a prereq. And I'll look into having Bell Morte II do something other than increase the DC.


Edit: I changed the prereqs. so that Improved Critical is no longer needed. I also changed the Morte II ability. I was thinking about changing out the effects of Bell Morte I and Bell Morte II to read as follows:

Bell Morte I: Any confirmed critical chance has a chance to suck the life essense out of the target. If the target fails the save DC (Fort Save DC: 10 + Death Bringer Levels + Wis Mod) then they suffer 1d4 points of strength damage and 1d4 points of dexterity damage. This is in addition to the damage from the critical hit. If the save is successful, the target suffers the normal critical damage.

Bell Morte II: At level 10, the Death Bringer has become a true bringer of death. Now, upon a confirmed critical and a failed save the target instantly dies. Upon a save, the target suffers the affects of Bell Morte I and the critical damage as normal.

What do you think about breaking it down like this?

 

[monboesen]

I think negative levels would be a better fit for Bell Morte I. Make it 1d4 negative levels like the Enervation spell. That is strong, has precedence in the rules and will slay minor enemies right away (though the damage likely will do that by itself).

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

I like that solution.

 

[Archimedes314]

I'm tempted to say that it should get full BAB, seeing as it has only half spell-casting progression, which is a huge hit in power for a cleric. However, I'm not sure. Full BAB would be a big boon to the physical combat oriented cleric entering this class (divine power sets your BAB equal to caster level, so for these guys it's not going to give them fighter BAB). But falling a progressively further behind in spell-casting can be crippling (no other class ability matches the sheer versatility of spells). I have seen very few people play characters with more than one or two levels is half-casting PrCs. Maybe just a few more combat oriented bonus feats would be appropriate (weapon focus and specialization scythe perhaps)?