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Mind Flayer Paragon v 1.0
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<blockquote data-quote="Deaths_Fist" data-source="post: 2779192" data-attributes="member: 7163"><p>Okay, I promised everyone a fleshed-out product, so here goes:</p><p></p><p><strong>Mind Flayer Paragon:</strong></p><p>Scheming and alien, mind flayer paragons embody the virtues held dearest by all flayerkin. While mind flayers as a whole naturally develop devastating mental strength and unnatural appetites, mind flayer paragons actively strive to push the limits of their race’s potential. Driven to achieve superiority over all other creatures, the mind flayer paragon is a being who inspires both interest and awe even amongst his own kind.</p><p></p><p><strong>Adventures:</strong> Often, the slaves of the mind flayers, long subservient to their masters, lack the willpower necessary to truly test the limits of a mind flayer’s power. Accordingly, mind flayer paragons adventure in the outside world to try their mental might against creatures who can better exercise the flayer’s dominating will. Only by testing their minds against stronger beings can they attain the mastery necessary to subvert all creatures to their will.</p><p></p><p><strong>Characteristics:</strong> Mind flayer paragons are arrogant, domineerings beings with little to no concern for the welfare of other races. While outwardly cool, internally they are roiling cauldrons of seething, dark emotions. They plot endlessly against those who would thwart their plans for domination.</p><p></p><p><strong>Alignment:</strong> Almost all mind flayer paragons are lawful and evil in alignment, for it takes the outlook and tendencies of their kind amplified manifold to achieve the prowess a mind flayer paragon posesses.</p><p></p><p><strong>Religion:</strong> Mind flayer paragons, like most illithids, shy away from religion in any form a surface-dweller would recognize, being too self-absorbed to perform any act recognizable as worship. Instead they view their deities as beings to respect and emulate. Some few mind flayers with levels in cleric perform religious rites in a more worshipful sense, but this is certainly the exception amongst flayerkin.</p><p></p><p><strong>Background:</strong> Raised in the lightless depths and born into phenomenal psionic puissance, mind flayer paragons learn their skills as standard mind flayers do, trading with subterranean merchants and performing raids for slaves on the surface and elsewhere in the Underdark. Displaying a desire to excell beyond the norm for their kind, they push the resources of their own mind to its furthest extent, eventually developing deeper psychic reservoirs from which to draw.</p><p></p><p><strong>Races:</strong> To a mind flayer paragon, all other races serve two purposes: food and slaves. A mind flayer paragon is exceptional among his kind for assuring other creatures serve their allotted purpose. Any mind flayer paragon who treats another being as an equal is simply biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to dominate and consume the other.</p><p></p><p><strong>Classes:</strong> Mind flayer paragons are most comfortable when surrounded by those they are more certain they can bend to their will, such as Fighters, Rogues, and the like. However, they know they can only better themselves through true contests of will such as they can receive from the strong minds possessed by Wizards, Clerics, and others of powerful will. Psionic classes give them the greatest amount of pause, as they know these classes are capable of resisting their powers far longer than most others.</p><p></p><p><strong>Game Rule Information</strong></p><p>Mind flayer paragons have the following game statistics.</p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong> Intelligence and Charisma are key abilities for any mind flayer paragon, helping to strengthen their race’s natural talents and make the most of any new abilities they develop. Dexterity is important for avoiding the attacks of any melee combatant who manages to resist the mind flayer paragon’s mental attacks long enough to close in on it. Strength gives the mind flayer paragon an edge in a grapple, helping it get at the tasty brains waiting inside its foe’s skull.</p><p></p><p><strong>Alignment:</strong> Any</p><p></p><p><strong>Hit Die:</strong> d8</p><p></p><p><strong>Class Skills:</strong> The mind flayer paragon’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spot (Wis).</p><p><strong>Skill Points at Each Level:</strong> 2 + Int modifier.</p><p></p><p><strong>Class Features:</strong></p><p>All of the following are class features of the mind flayer paragon class.</p><p><strong>Weapon and Armor Proficiencies:</strong> Mind flayer paragons gain no new proficiencies in any weapon or armor.</p><p><strong>Variant Choice:</strong> Before taking the mind flayer paragon class, one must decide which variant of mind flayer he is using, as this determines a portion of the paragon class's abilities. If using the standard mind flayer from the Monster Manual, disregard Table 2: Mind Flayer Paragon Powers Known and the Powers Known entry after this class feature. If using the psionic variant mind flayer from the Expanded Psionics Handbook, disregard the <em>Dominate Person</em> class feature. Any given mind flayer paragon uses one variant or the other, not both, and as such cannot gain both benefits of this class.</p><p><strong>Powers Known:</strong> At 2nd and 3rd level, if you are using the psion manifester variant mind flayer from the XPH, a mind flayer paragon gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had gained a level in psion. It does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus psionic feats, and so on).</p><p><strong>Ability Boost (Ex):</strong> At each level, the mind flayer paragon may choose to add +2 to either its Intelligence or Charisma, but cannot add to the same stat twice in a row. In other words, if the mind flayer paragon chooses +2 Charisma at 1st level, it must choose +2 Intelligence at 2nd level and +2 Charisma again at 3rd, and vice versa.</p><p><strong>Grasping Tentacles (Ex):</strong> At 1st level, the mind flayer paragon's bonus on grapple checks to oppose an enemy's attempt to escape a grapple with the mind flayer increases to +3 per tentacle already attached instead of +2.</p><p><strong>Greater Grasping Tentacles (Ex):</strong> At 2nd level, the mind flayer paragon gains Improved Grapple as a bonus feat, even if it doesn't meet any of the feat's prerequisites.</p><p><strong>Dominate Person (Sp):</strong> At 3rd level, if you are using the standard mind flayer from the MM, the mind flayer paragon gains dominate person as a spell-like ability useable at will. The save DC is equal to (15+Cha modifier).</p><p></p><p>[code][B]Table 1: The Mind Flayer Paragon[/B]</p><p>[B]Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special[/B]</p><p>1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Grasping Tentacles, Ability Boost, Variant Choice</p><p>2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Greater Grasping Tentacles, Ability Boost</p><p>3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Dominate Person, Ability Boost</p><p></p><p>[B]Table 2: Mind Flayer Paragon Powers Known[/B]</p><p>[B]Level Powers Known[/B]</p><p>1st --</p><p>2nd +1 level of psion</p><p>3rd +1 level of psion[/code]</p><p></p><p>Suggestions? Feel free to read my prior thread on this for some of my thoughts as I put this class together.</p><p></p><p>EDIT: Thanks to Cabral for the table code thing. Also, I added an entry in the Class Features to clarify the variant mind flayer choice.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deaths_Fist, post: 2779192, member: 7163"] Okay, I promised everyone a fleshed-out product, so here goes: [B]Mind Flayer Paragon:[/B] Scheming and alien, mind flayer paragons embody the virtues held dearest by all flayerkin. While mind flayers as a whole naturally develop devastating mental strength and unnatural appetites, mind flayer paragons actively strive to push the limits of their race’s potential. Driven to achieve superiority over all other creatures, the mind flayer paragon is a being who inspires both interest and awe even amongst his own kind. [B]Adventures:[/B] Often, the slaves of the mind flayers, long subservient to their masters, lack the willpower necessary to truly test the limits of a mind flayer’s power. Accordingly, mind flayer paragons adventure in the outside world to try their mental might against creatures who can better exercise the flayer’s dominating will. Only by testing their minds against stronger beings can they attain the mastery necessary to subvert all creatures to their will. [B]Characteristics:[/B] Mind flayer paragons are arrogant, domineerings beings with little to no concern for the welfare of other races. While outwardly cool, internally they are roiling cauldrons of seething, dark emotions. They plot endlessly against those who would thwart their plans for domination. [B]Alignment:[/B] Almost all mind flayer paragons are lawful and evil in alignment, for it takes the outlook and tendencies of their kind amplified manifold to achieve the prowess a mind flayer paragon posesses. [B]Religion:[/B] Mind flayer paragons, like most illithids, shy away from religion in any form a surface-dweller would recognize, being too self-absorbed to perform any act recognizable as worship. Instead they view their deities as beings to respect and emulate. Some few mind flayers with levels in cleric perform religious rites in a more worshipful sense, but this is certainly the exception amongst flayerkin. [B]Background:[/B] Raised in the lightless depths and born into phenomenal psionic puissance, mind flayer paragons learn their skills as standard mind flayers do, trading with subterranean merchants and performing raids for slaves on the surface and elsewhere in the Underdark. Displaying a desire to excell beyond the norm for their kind, they push the resources of their own mind to its furthest extent, eventually developing deeper psychic reservoirs from which to draw. [B]Races:[/B] To a mind flayer paragon, all other races serve two purposes: food and slaves. A mind flayer paragon is exceptional among his kind for assuring other creatures serve their allotted purpose. Any mind flayer paragon who treats another being as an equal is simply biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to dominate and consume the other. [B]Classes:[/B] Mind flayer paragons are most comfortable when surrounded by those they are more certain they can bend to their will, such as Fighters, Rogues, and the like. However, they know they can only better themselves through true contests of will such as they can receive from the strong minds possessed by Wizards, Clerics, and others of powerful will. Psionic classes give them the greatest amount of pause, as they know these classes are capable of resisting their powers far longer than most others. [B]Game Rule Information[/B] Mind flayer paragons have the following game statistics. [B]Abilities:[/B] Intelligence and Charisma are key abilities for any mind flayer paragon, helping to strengthen their race’s natural talents and make the most of any new abilities they develop. Dexterity is important for avoiding the attacks of any melee combatant who manages to resist the mind flayer paragon’s mental attacks long enough to close in on it. Strength gives the mind flayer paragon an edge in a grapple, helping it get at the tasty brains waiting inside its foe’s skull. [B]Alignment:[/B] Any [B]Hit Die:[/B] d8 [B]Class Skills:[/B] The mind flayer paragon’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spot (Wis). [B]Skill Points at Each Level:[/B] 2 + Int modifier. [B]Class Features:[/B] All of the following are class features of the mind flayer paragon class. [B]Weapon and Armor Proficiencies:[/B] Mind flayer paragons gain no new proficiencies in any weapon or armor. [B]Variant Choice:[/B] Before taking the mind flayer paragon class, one must decide which variant of mind flayer he is using, as this determines a portion of the paragon class's abilities. If using the standard mind flayer from the Monster Manual, disregard Table 2: Mind Flayer Paragon Powers Known and the Powers Known entry after this class feature. If using the psionic variant mind flayer from the Expanded Psionics Handbook, disregard the [I]Dominate Person[/I] class feature. Any given mind flayer paragon uses one variant or the other, not both, and as such cannot gain both benefits of this class. [B]Powers Known:[/B] At 2nd and 3rd level, if you are using the psion manifester variant mind flayer from the XPH, a mind flayer paragon gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had gained a level in psion. It does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus psionic feats, and so on). [B]Ability Boost (Ex):[/B] At each level, the mind flayer paragon may choose to add +2 to either its Intelligence or Charisma, but cannot add to the same stat twice in a row. In other words, if the mind flayer paragon chooses +2 Charisma at 1st level, it must choose +2 Intelligence at 2nd level and +2 Charisma again at 3rd, and vice versa. [B]Grasping Tentacles (Ex):[/B] At 1st level, the mind flayer paragon's bonus on grapple checks to oppose an enemy's attempt to escape a grapple with the mind flayer increases to +3 per tentacle already attached instead of +2. [B]Greater Grasping Tentacles (Ex):[/B] At 2nd level, the mind flayer paragon gains Improved Grapple as a bonus feat, even if it doesn't meet any of the feat's prerequisites. [B]Dominate Person (Sp):[/B] At 3rd level, if you are using the standard mind flayer from the MM, the mind flayer paragon gains dominate person as a spell-like ability useable at will. The save DC is equal to (15+Cha modifier). [code][B]Table 1: The Mind Flayer Paragon[/B] [B]Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special[/B] 1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Grasping Tentacles, Ability Boost, Variant Choice 2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Greater Grasping Tentacles, Ability Boost 3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Dominate Person, Ability Boost [B]Table 2: Mind Flayer Paragon Powers Known[/B] [B]Level Powers Known[/B] 1st -- 2nd +1 level of psion 3rd +1 level of psion[/code] Suggestions? Feel free to read my prior thread on this for some of my thoughts as I put this class together. EDIT: Thanks to Cabral for the table code thing. Also, I added an entry in the Class Features to clarify the variant mind flayer choice. [/QUOTE]
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