OOC - [Epic] Scions of the Endless Falls - Full

[Kangaxx]

You qualify for Epic feats when your Character Level is > 20. Your character level is defined as your Hit Dice + LA. So Talariel qualified for epic feats at her 13th Hit Dice. Epic BAB and Epic Save progression starts at your 21st Hit Dice.

The rules, while a little murky, are explained in a sidebar in the epic level handbook. The epic rules in general are pretty forgiving for ECL creatures.

I don't have the book handy, so I'll take your word for it.

Pilmer has been editted with several pages of flavor text and a few corrections, and is now a spellbook away from being completely done.

 

[Ferrix]

Something has been bugging me about that since I read it. I finally figured out what it was.

When a creature has regeneration and is hit by something that it is not vulnerable to it take subdual damage, instead of normal damage.

You list nothing that it is vulnerable to.

Constructs don't take subdual damage.

An Astral Construct with this ability is immune to hit point damage and for all practical purposes invulnerable. (No death effect, no death by massive damage, Disintegrate now does hit point damage, no coup de grace).

I would change this to Fast Healing 5 and is only disabled when lowered to 0 hit points.

Fast Healing 5 is actually an ability provided on an earlier menu. I wanted an ability that would allow an astral construct to regenerate even after hitting 0 hit points. And it should take real damage from epic weapons. Basically they take the equivalent of subdual damage and are disabled if they take equivalent subdual damage equal to their current hit points, but they will eventually heal back if not destroyed otherwise. That was the idea.

 

[Kelleris]

True. I just don't want anyone thinking that a character overall will be (necessarily) weaker due to splitting their resources. Assuming you can dig up some clever synergies and useful tactics, that need not be the case at all. In specific things you're liable to be weaker, of course, but a global concern for character effectiveness shouldn't stop someone from trying to manage two schticks.

In fact, I think that a well-done epic/high-level character can pick up a second subset of talents with little in the way of opportunity cost. For a full-on fighter character, say, devoting 2-3 feats, a half-million gold, and maybe an epic feat to some other group of abilities will dramatically increase the level of those abilities over the base level, while diluting pure combat monstrousness only slightly.

 

[Wrahn]

Fast Healing 5 is actually an ability provided on an earlier menu. I wanted an ability that would allow an astral construct to regenerate even after hitting 0 hit points. And it should take real damage from epic weapons. Basically they take the equivalent of subdual damage and are disabled if they take equivalent subdual damage equal to their current hit points, but they will eventually heal back if not destroyed otherwise. That was the idea.

I was pretty sure you were not attempting to make them invulnerable, it is just a side effect of what you wanted.

If you look at what I suggested at the bottom, (the only disabled at 0 hit points) fits your description. Maybe add, is only disabled at 0 hit points or lower, unless brought there by epic damage. /shrug

I would imagine that Isida wouldn't have any trouble doing it your way either. It was just something that occured to me.

 

[Ferrix]

Yeah... Sorta like:

Regeneration 5 (Ex): Epic weapons do real damage. Real damage is converted into "subdual damage" to which the construct is not immune. Still retains immunity to normal subdual damage.

 

[Ferrix]

Updated Architect in the RG

 

[Kelleris]

Okay, I have stats here for my special weapon, Akumunaga, the Serpent's Nightmare. I like to have one "special" item for my high-level characters, and this is it. I don't foresee and problems with the other things, since they're pretty much standard items, according to their respective sources. This one's long, though, so fair warning:

(pricing follows after weapon description)

Akumunaga, the Serpent’s Nightmare – This weapon is the sacred blade of the Mugenaga ninja clan, and has a long history stretching back some eleven centuries. The weapon appears to be a battered, but still useable, ninja-to. It is utterly unassuming in appearance. The more its abilities are called upon, however, the more sinister its aspect; it soon becomes obvious that the weapon is a decidedly deadly one, and it has indeed slain hundreds of people over the centuries.

The basic enchantments of Akumunaga make it a +5 vicious, wounding ninja-to (base statistics as a rapier). When the vicious special ability is activated Akumunaga emits an almost invisible dull red glow; this glow can only be spotted in pitch darkness, and doing so requires a DC 30 Spot check. There is no penalty to the wielder’s Hide checks while this ability is active. In addition to dealing 1 point of Constitution damage with every blow, the sword can drain blood 3 times per day, dealing an additional 1d6 points of Constitution damage. When it does so, a Rokugani rune appears inscribed in red on the blade, near the hilt. Touching this symbol and uttering the phrase “a serpent’s life is venom” in Rokugani allows the wielder of Akumunaga to gain temporary hit points, as though the false life spell were cast on him by a 10th-level caster. This requires a standard action. The symbol fades if the wielder draws on it in this way, and it will fade on its own after 24 hours in any case.

Akumunaga is also amazingly light and easy to use. It may be wielded even in a grapple or when the wielder has been swallowed, as the whisper-light blade passes cleanly through flesh and other obstructions when they would block its swing.

The weapon is forged of the incredibly rare metal thinaun, a dark and glittering steel alloy, although the weapon’s enchantments make it less conspicuous than most thinaun weapons. If Akumunaga is touching a creature when it dies, that creature’s soul is sucked into the weapon rather than passing on to its final reward. The soul remains trapped in the blade until Akumunaga is destroyed or another creature dies while touching the weapon. Raise dead, resurrection, and similar spells won’t bring back a creature whose soul is trapped in Akumunaga unless the caster has the blade in his possession. Because the soul is nearby in this case, only one-half of the usual allotment of expensive material components is necessary to bring back the deceased creature. If the wielder dies holding Akumunaga, the sword absorbs his soul, displacing the one previously locked in the weapon’s blade. The wielder has no control over this process, although Akumunaga’s recently-awakened sentience (see below) may retain or release souls as it sees fit.

If it so desires, Akumunaga may reconstitute the soul it stores, either its wielder or its latest victim, bringing that creature back from death as though a true resurrection spell were cast on them by a 21st level caster. This ability may only be used once per month, as it is extremely draining.

Although decidedly effective in out-and-out melee, Akumunaga is really an assassin’s weapon, designed with cold-blooded murder in mind. It adds +2 to the save DC of any death attack made using the weapon, and grants a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls when used for any kind of sneak attack, including death attacks and the sudden strike ninja class ability.

Twice per day, after a successful melee attack with Akumunaga, the wielder may slip between the threads of local space, moving up to 800 feet as the dimension door spell cast by a 10th-level caster, except that the wielder may act immediately upon arrival. Calling on this ability is a free action. In the days when Akumunaga served the will of its original clan this was a popular assassination technique. The ninja stole into the enemy camp, killed a sentry, and thereby slipped through the enemy’s picket lines. A single blow was then dealt to the real target, slaying them instantly and moving the ninja beyond the reach of any would-be avengers. Inability to kill the target in this way was considered deeply dishonorable for one granted the sacred clan weapon, and such a crime generally led to a demand that the offender take his or her own life.

To facilitate this desire for the clean kill, Akumunaga was also granted the ability to draw on the life-force of the wielder to deal more damage. As a free action useable once per round, the wielder may sacrifice 50 hit points (no more and no less) and add this total to his next attack roll. This damage automatically forces a save versus massive damage; if this slays the wielder, he falls dead only after the attack has been completed.

In addition, the weapon’s wielder can swear to bring death to a given target by holding forth the blade and whispering “even the dragon can fall before the serpent’s fangs” as a standard action, focusing Akumunaga’s abilities on slaying a single person selected by the character who swears the oath. The weapon always gives the mental impression of a striking serpent when it is wielded, although there is no specific mental imagery associated with this effect, but against the sworn target this effect takes on terrifying proportions. Akumunaga is treated as though it had an enhancement bonus 2 greater than normal against a sworn enemy, it gains the keen special ability, it deals 2d6 points of bonus damage against that enemy, and it has a x3 critical damage multiplier against that enemy. These benefits come at a price, however: Akumunaga’s enhancement bonus is 3 points lower against all other opponents, and using any other weapon against the sworn foe requires a Will save against Akumunaga’s ego score. If the sworn enemy is not dead within 7 days, the weapon loses its enhancement bonus entirely for a week. Regardless of the length of time before Akumunaga’s bloodlust is sated, the wielder may only swear one such oath per day.

Even if all these abilities are insufficient to defeat the assassin’s target (which has only happened a dozen or so times in the weapon’s entire history), the target generally wishes that he had died under Akumunaga’s fang, rather than feeling its poisoned gaze. The blade seeps a minute amount of an awesomely powerful poison into the blood of any who are struck by it (though the sentient weapon may choose not to do so). At the same time, the blood (or other vital fluids) that the blow spills adheres to the blade, a macabre decoration with a sinister purpose.

This poison cannot be detected by magical or mundane means and can only be neutralized only if Akumunaga or its wielder wills it or if the blood on the blade is somehow magically removed. Unless this is done, the sufferer experiences horrible nightmares every night that he or she fails a Will save with a DC of 42. This nightmare prevents restful sleep and inflicts 1d10 points of damage. This also makes the victim fatigued for the next day and prevents the sleeper from regaining arcane spells for 24 hours. A dispel evil spell cast on the victim will prevent him from having to make this save, but only for a single night. The dreams take the form of a horrible whispering snake’s voice, which coldly points out the victim’s flaws and dishonoring mistakes and relentlessly prophesies doom. Most victims commit suicide or are killed by this damage within a week, and the experience deeply scars virtually everyone subjected to it. The voice is recognizable as Akumunaga’s if someone who has had these dreams hears it elsewhere.

These powers make Akumunaga a formidable death-dealing tool, but is has become something more since the fall of the Mugenaga. In Arion’s hands Akumunaga has become fully sentient. as Arion grew in power and forced that part of his past he was unwilling to face into his only remaining memento of his past. It has a 16 Intelligence and Wisdom, as well as an alarming 30 Charisma, as befits one awakened through sheer force of another’s will. This consciousness is not exactly evil, though it retains the wordless bloodlust of its origins. It seeks the deaths of others, and actively enjoys the slick feeling of blood on its surface, but would much rather kill those who do harm to others than the innocent. The truly evil cannot suffer enough for their crimes as far as Akumunaga is concerned, and it will unhesitatingly use its poisonous bite against those who flee its wrath. It pursues this goal with an abundance of energy, mitigated only by a fanatical loyalty to Arion Kietsudoku, the last remaining member of the clan it was created to serve.

Akumunaga can communicate telepathically out to 120 feet with Arion, and can speak, read, and understand Common, Yuan-ti, Infernal, and Draconic. It may see normally as though it were a sighted creature, as though it were a normal creature (though it lacks any special sight abilities).

So strong is Arion’s connection to Akumunaga, and so vital is the energy of its sentience that Arion may restore the weapon once per month, recreating it entirely and restoring its full magical power, even if it has been completely destroyed.

The synergistic relationship between Akumunaga and Arion also grants it greater abilities. Its base enhancement bonus in his hands is +7, and it gains the merciful special ability. This sheathes the weapon in a crackling white light, and makes the aura generated by Akumunaga’s vicious ability stand out in stark relief. The extra damage granted by the vicious ability represents that weapon’s thirst for blood, and is never converted to nonlethal damage by the merciful quality.

The intelligence of Akumunaga is basically a localized pool of pure life-force, and this accumulation of positive and negative energy has given rise to some new and powerful abilities that were not part of the original weapon’s design. The spiritual energy of both creatures and objects is attracted, slowly but surely, to Akumunaga. This creates a gigantic pool of energy that can be used in ways both subtle and overt, as the blade warps the very nature of reality around itself.

More commonly, this power manifests as a sort of proactive prophecy most of the time. At the start of each day, roll a d20. Once during that day, the wielder may use that roll for and d20 roll instead of rolling normally. This ability must be used before the actual roll, and it replaces it entirely. Akumunaga’s wielder may also draw on the weapon’s energy reserve to duplicate a wish spell, as cast by a 21st level character. When “fully charged” Akumunaga may do this three times, and it regains one such “charge” per month as it draws in more energy. It is not clear yet whether or not these abilities will remain if the weapon is no longer wielded by Arion, as would many of the abilities above (those that derive from Arion’s Item Familiar feat).

320 [weapon base price]
98,000 [+5, wounding, vicious]
10,000 [thinaun material]
18,000 [rapier of puncturing ability]
10,800 [false life at 10th level 3/day, halved for heavily restricted use]
32,000 [closing blade ability]
150,000 [true resurrection 1/month, restricted use, thinaun discount]
40,000 [assassin's dagger ability, doubled bonus]
20,000 [sword of subtlety ability]
29,000 [vanishing blade ability twice]
99,000 [hammer of sacrifice ability 10x, restricted use, stacking similar abilities]
26,400 [oathbow special ability, slightly modified]
270,000 [nightmare heightened to 10th level at will, heavily restricted use]
72,000 [slotless +6 enhancement to Charisma for Akumunaga]
100,000 [ability to bring back Akumunaga if attuned via Item Familiar]
20,000 [foretelling blade ability, doubled for wider application]
120,000 [3 wishes, as luck blade]
225,000 [regenerates 1 wish per month]
----------------------------------
1,330,520 gold pieces total

Although I went ahead and listed everything here, there's so much going on that it's really more of a judgment call for you, Isida. Does the price look right? Also, some of the listed abilties are from Item Familiar, rolled into the item description.

 

[Wrahn]

It is a cool weapon, very epic.

Mechanically there is a bunch of stuff I have no idea what it is, the only thing that I know is an error cost wise is the wish. Isida may want to ignore it, because it is ridiculously expensive:

When making an item with uses at will or per day/week/year there is a base cost, this is (Caster Level)*(Spell Level)*1,800. For your particular weapon that would be 9*21*1800= 340,200.

This is the part which is REALLY expensive. When you have determined the base cost, you then add in the extra cost. This is not modified by the number of uses per day other than if it is at will it is as if it had 100 charges, if it is a per day than it is as if it had 50 charges. If the spell costs experience than 5*the experience cost per charge so 5*5,000*50 = 1,250,000gp. This is added onto the final cost.

Since the rules in the SRD don't give rules for the 1/month useage, I am going to make up my own as once per week is 1/6 the cost, once per month is 1/7th the cost, so the final total would be 48,600 + 1,250,000 = 1,298,600.

Truthfully though, that is monumentally overpriced.

Balance wise I think it is an incredibly powerful and versatile weapon, but this is an epic game and that is appropriate.

What I would do, were I the Game Master is wave my hands, charge 1,330,520 gp and say it was an artifact (which it is) and not worry too much about the price.

 

[Ferrix]

Really the extra cost is poorly designed, it should be included before modifiers for uses per day, etc. get factored in. But that's just my design opinion.

And they do provide rules for once a month actually so long as you take it as a standard 30 day month.

Charges per day is factored at #times per day divided by 5. Thus if it's useable once per 30 days, that's 1/30th time per day divided by 5, which comes to 1/150th per day.

If we do it my design way: 340,200 (base) + 1,250,000 (extra) = 10,601gp. Which is vastly underpriced obviously.

But I'd say it'd be on the same level as the true resurrect 1/month (same level spell, one has an xp cost of 5000, the other a material cost of 25000gp, which are by the rules basically equivalent since XP costs are multiplied by 5 for gp value). That would cost 200,000gp as is listed under the special abilities for intelligent items. Which comes out to about a 1/8th multiplier for 1/month.

 

[Wrahn]

Really the extra cost is poorly designed, it should be included before modifiers for uses per day, etc. get factored in. But that's just my design opinion.

And they do provide rules for once a month actually so long as you take it as a standard 30 day month.

Charges per day is factored at #times per day divided by 5. Thus if it's useable once per 30 days, that's 1/30th time per day divided by 5, which comes to 1/150th per day.

Yeah, the 1/150th cost is too cheap, WAY too cheap. Assuming the cost is included in the base cost:

(340,600 + 1,250,000)/150/5 = 53,020gp for wish 5/month. That easily replaces the 825,000gp for the Manual/Tomes.

Even without the Extra Cost A Sonic, Quickened, Empowered, Intensified, Doubled (Can't recall the source of that feat or the specific name of it, but it is +6 level and causes a duplicate spell to be cast immediately after the first) Meteor Swarm (Doing 660 pts of damage on average) once per month costs 55*28*1,800/150 = 18,480gp

Now what I suggested may be too punitive, it was quick and easy and was only used in illustration of a point, but extrapolating out the uses per day to uses per month makes it too cheap.

And while I agree with you in principle about the extra cost, I think they put that in there specifically to avoid people taking incredibly powerful spells and making them 1/day.

For reference I have a couple of items built with extra cost factored in, so I am arguing against myself when I say that.