Help with a stoneworking Prestige Class

[Pielorinho]

Hi, folks! I'm looking to build a prestige class, and I figured this was the place to come for ideas.

Background: Currently, I'm playing a druid who focuses on summoning and befriending animals. However, my DM has pointed out that my turn in combat takes more time than everyone else's turn combined, given the menagerie of creatures I have to deal with. So I'm looking to move the character in a different direction, and I'm thinking a PrC might be a fun way to do that.

I'd basically like a PrC based around a supernatural understanding of and control over stone. I'd like the class to be a +1 spell level at each level class, with special abilities balanced for druids. Right now, I have only vague ideas and not much sense of proper balance. If y'all can help me get this into a coherent form (or point me toward an appropriate existing PrC), I'd be much obliged.

Teeth of the Dragon

In ages beyond memory, when the stars themselves were young, the grandmother dragon Taumin gave birth to the gods, and they played naked over her flesh. Her youngest son, Moradin, coveted her beauty: the shine of her scales, the glow of her eyes, the coruscating beauty of her blood. He demanded of his mother that she give him raiment to match hers. And when she refused, he led a rebellion of the children. They killed the grandmother dragon Taumin, and her body is the world. From her hair are made the trees; from her breasts are made the mountains; from her spit flows the rivers and oceans; from her breath is the wind of the world. And Moradin and his own children burrow through her body, stealing the blood from her veins, glistening blood of rubies and gold and silver and all the metals and gems of earth.

But Grandmother is not dead, for she created the world and is the world and cannot die. She cries out as her children use her, maim her, and few can hear.

The Teeth of the Dragon can hear. They learn her secrets; they move through her without harming her.

They protect her.

The Teeth of the Dragon is a cult dedicated to an almost-forgotten goddess, the Grandmother Dragon Taumin. They believe that the well-known Gods are her children and are responsible for her near-destruction. They believe that by ending the worst offenses on her body (including the incessant mining of the dwarves), they can protect the Grandmother, restore her, and return the world to a utopian state.

The vast majority of Teeth of the Dragon are druids, although some clerics of other earth-related Gods are inducted into the cult. Due to the spellcasting requirements, the PrC is very difficult for members of other classes to enter.

Prerequisites:
Skills: Knowledge (stone) or Profession (stoneworking) or Craft (stonemason): 6 ranks
Other skills?
Must be able to cast Spike Stones.

Possible PrC benefits, in no particular order:
-Ability to command or rebuke earth creatures as a cleric with the earth domain. Should this stack all divine class levels, or only PrC levels? The former seems really powerful; the latter seems pretty useless.
-Ability to add the earth template, from Manual of the Planes, to summoned creatures. Like the alienist class's ability to add the pseudonatural template, this would replace any existing templates on the creature.
-Ability to burrow like a xorn, probably a limited number of times (or a limited distance) per day. Possibly model after a shadowdancer's shadowjump ability?
-Natural armor bonus, as skin becomes stonelike.
- Bonus on DCs of stone-related spells (e.g., spike stones, etc.)

Again, if anyone is able to help me organize these into a reasonable PrC, that'd be fantastic. I have no experience at doing this, and am not really sure where to start.

Thanks!
Daniel

 

[nameless]

I made a PrC similar to this before, for a homebrew elven subrace with stone affinities. Here are some more ideas I had.

Check out the Xorn Movement spell in MotP. It lasts for a short time, but will always last long enough to make it to the other side. Letting them burrow at will is way too powerful, it will completely break your game. With spring attack, a xorn-mover is really just invincible. If you make it "at-will" then it should cost a full-round action at least to activate, during which time he loses Dex bonus to AC. Also, commanding/rebuking [earth] creatures isn't that great. How many earth creatures do you see anyways? Maybe give them only PrC levels for it, but give a +3 bonus.

You already have wildshape, and I had Earth Elemental wildshape specifically. Maybe let the druid get this early.

I also gave him a stone shapeish ability. Similar to the spell, you can reshape solid stone into anything you wish. The difference is, your hands physically shape it as if it were soft clay. I let them do it at will, it ended up being good, but not so good that I regret it.

Final thing, perhaps instead of +1 spell level, you'd just give a different spell progression that goes spell levels 1-5. Since this is a prestige class, you don't have to obey the normal spell levels. That's one of my peeves in PrC design: a level 1 PrC spell isn't the same as a regular level 1 spell.

 

[Pielorinho]

Thanks, Nameless, for the ideas! I think actually what I'm going to do for now is do an intensively-modified spell list for the PC in question, going through all my accessories and pulling out earth-related spells (and modifying the flavor text of other spells to make them earth-related, e.g., Iceshards from Relics & Rituals II). I'll take a look at Xorn Movement the first chance I get. And if you have your own earth-related PrC written up in electronic form, I'd love to see it.

Thanks again!
Daniel

 

[nameless]

Mine was written specifically for a homebrew race. It also ended up being overpowered. I'll type it up if you want, but it was more a failed experiment than anything else.

 

[Dave G]

You might find inspiration from the Stonelord PrC (by Monte Cook, Dragon Magazine #278, p.92-93)

 

[Pielorinho]

D'oh! The earliest Dragon I have is #280. Any chance you could give me an idea of the abilities contained in the class?

Daniel

 

[Douane]

Just sent you an Email!


Folkert