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Incarnum in Pathfinder
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<blockquote data-quote="paradox42" data-source="post: 5392270" data-attributes="member: 29746"><p>The trouble with trying to make new types of soulmelds to match Necrocarnum is that not all soulmelds with the [Evil] descriptor <strong>are</strong> Necrocarnum; several (such as Bloodwar Gauntlets) are perfectly standard soulmelds that just happen to be Evil. Necrocarnum is Evil because of <em>how the soulmelds are shaped and powered</em>, not because it links to evil-aligned souls. This means that in order to come up with new soulmeld types for each of the four alignment poles, you have to come up with a way in which each of those types is different from standard soulmelds, and all the <em>other</em> types as well. It's not just a matter of slapping on an alignment descriptor and calling it a day; that's not enough. The extra steps have to be taken in order to justify it. The details are everything.</p><p></p><p>Part of the point of Incarnates is that the power they use- the power of actual souls- is often strongly aligned. The souls won't be attracted to, nor give powers to, people who don't share some of the beliefs that are an integral part of their being. It's not like magic where you have a conscious entity (gods) deciding whether your faith warrants miracles, or you study forces of nature long and hard and learn to unlock them in special ways to produce useful effects (as Arcane casters do). Incarnates work with a power that is not only alive in its own right, but also partly conscious; the souls (in other words) do what <strong>they</strong> want, and if what they want happens to help the Incarnate, well... that's just a fringe benefit for the Incarnate. This is why Incarnates have to be strongly aligned, and why alignment is so critical to them. Alignment isn't that big a deal in some settings, true; in such settings it makes sense to open up the Incarnate as a class for other alignments. In most settings, though, alignment is a strong enough force in its own right that it makes perfect sense for Incarnates to be restricted. Honestly, the restrictions don't usually mean too much as far as soulmelds go, since the vast majority of soulmelds have no alignment descriptors at all.</p><p></p><p>As for the Incarnate of Balance, as I was calling it, it took me some digging to find my notes on it- part of the reason I hadn't posted it before now is that it's incomplete. The Incarnum Radiance is the most important thing to get, IMO; after that it's a matter of deciding whether certain melds should have a special [Balance] descriptor which would be like the alignment descriptors for the other four. In other words, none of the other four Incarnate types would be able to access soulmelds carrying the [Balance] descriptor, and the True Neutral Incarnates wouldn't be able to use any of the melds carrying any of the four standard alignment descriptors. Certainly, the Incarnate Avatar and Incarnate Weapon soulmelds need versions for Balance, unless we fudge it a bit and say that Incarnates of Balance can pick one of the four to use each day or something, but that (to me) feels like it's giving too much to the Incarnates of Balance. After all, if they can use all four (even if only one at a time), why play any of the original four types of Incarnate?</p><p></p><p>But, the Radiance powers I came up with for the Incarnate of Balance were:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Aura of Stability:</em> +1 to CMD and CMB, bonus incrases every 5th level just like the others do. This applies to <strong>all</strong> combat maneuvers equally, but not to regular attacks.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Reflection of Opposition:</em> The Radiance acts like a <em>Protection From [Alignment]</em> spell while active; the Incarnate selects which of the four it protects from each round it is activated. So you could do Evil one round, and then switch to Good the next, if you want to.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Curse of Instability:</em> The obvious -1 to an enemy's CMB and CMD, increasing at appropriate levels.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Talent for Coordination:</em> The skill that gets the bonus here is Acrobatics. Incarnates of Balance should be performing feats of circus-like daring with the greatest of ease while under the effects of this; that's the idea.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Gift of...</em> I have no idea. Here was where I ran out of creative juice. Anybody have suggestions?</li> </ul><p>The Incarnate Avatar for Balance would look like a Rilmani of course, though I don't know what it does exactly; the weapon I'd suggest should be a trident- or perhaps a morningstar or mace.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="paradox42, post: 5392270, member: 29746"] The trouble with trying to make new types of soulmelds to match Necrocarnum is that not all soulmelds with the [Evil] descriptor [B]are[/B] Necrocarnum; several (such as Bloodwar Gauntlets) are perfectly standard soulmelds that just happen to be Evil. Necrocarnum is Evil because of [I]how the soulmelds are shaped and powered[/I], not because it links to evil-aligned souls. This means that in order to come up with new soulmeld types for each of the four alignment poles, you have to come up with a way in which each of those types is different from standard soulmelds, and all the [I]other[/I] types as well. It's not just a matter of slapping on an alignment descriptor and calling it a day; that's not enough. The extra steps have to be taken in order to justify it. The details are everything. Part of the point of Incarnates is that the power they use- the power of actual souls- is often strongly aligned. The souls won't be attracted to, nor give powers to, people who don't share some of the beliefs that are an integral part of their being. It's not like magic where you have a conscious entity (gods) deciding whether your faith warrants miracles, or you study forces of nature long and hard and learn to unlock them in special ways to produce useful effects (as Arcane casters do). Incarnates work with a power that is not only alive in its own right, but also partly conscious; the souls (in other words) do what [B]they[/B] want, and if what they want happens to help the Incarnate, well... that's just a fringe benefit for the Incarnate. This is why Incarnates have to be strongly aligned, and why alignment is so critical to them. Alignment isn't that big a deal in some settings, true; in such settings it makes sense to open up the Incarnate as a class for other alignments. In most settings, though, alignment is a strong enough force in its own right that it makes perfect sense for Incarnates to be restricted. Honestly, the restrictions don't usually mean too much as far as soulmelds go, since the vast majority of soulmelds have no alignment descriptors at all. As for the Incarnate of Balance, as I was calling it, it took me some digging to find my notes on it- part of the reason I hadn't posted it before now is that it's incomplete. The Incarnum Radiance is the most important thing to get, IMO; after that it's a matter of deciding whether certain melds should have a special [Balance] descriptor which would be like the alignment descriptors for the other four. In other words, none of the other four Incarnate types would be able to access soulmelds carrying the [Balance] descriptor, and the True Neutral Incarnates wouldn't be able to use any of the melds carrying any of the four standard alignment descriptors. Certainly, the Incarnate Avatar and Incarnate Weapon soulmelds need versions for Balance, unless we fudge it a bit and say that Incarnates of Balance can pick one of the four to use each day or something, but that (to me) feels like it's giving too much to the Incarnates of Balance. After all, if they can use all four (even if only one at a time), why play any of the original four types of Incarnate? But, the Radiance powers I came up with for the Incarnate of Balance were: [LIST] [*][I]Aura of Stability:[/I] +1 to CMD and CMB, bonus incrases every 5th level just like the others do. This applies to [B]all[/B] combat maneuvers equally, but not to regular attacks. [*][I]Reflection of Opposition:[/I] The Radiance acts like a [I]Protection From [Alignment][/I] spell while active; the Incarnate selects which of the four it protects from each round it is activated. So you could do Evil one round, and then switch to Good the next, if you want to. [*][I]Curse of Instability:[/I] The obvious -1 to an enemy's CMB and CMD, increasing at appropriate levels. [*][I]Talent for Coordination:[/I] The skill that gets the bonus here is Acrobatics. Incarnates of Balance should be performing feats of circus-like daring with the greatest of ease while under the effects of this; that's the idea. [*][I]Gift of...[/I] I have no idea. Here was where I ran out of creative juice. Anybody have suggestions? [/LIST] The Incarnate Avatar for Balance would look like a Rilmani of course, though I don't know what it does exactly; the weapon I'd suggest should be a trident- or perhaps a morningstar or mace. [/QUOTE]
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