[Pathfinder] [OOC] DarkSun game

[Walking Dad]

@toptomcat:

Mechanics:

I didn't look at the athas.org prestige classes that much yet, but we can always tweak the Psionic Fist prestige class in the SRD a bit.
(removing the still mind prerequisite, requiering 6 ranks in concentration; changing HD to d8 and remove bonus armor class and unarmored speed.)

Your Bab would be +3 and you get d10 HD.

You get a +3 class skill bonus on all class skills you invested points in (concentration)

Background: We will play in the brown age, there is no slavery free city, but some slave tribes hidden in the desert.

@Leif: Do you mean Cleric of Air or Rain? Rain has starknife as favored weapon.

 

[Leif]

@Leif: Do you mean Cleric of Air or Rain? Rain has starknife as favored weapon.

No, actually, I want to get away from the starknife! Cleric of Air sounds ok, I guess, or maybe fire?

 

[kinem]

Nice background, TTC. I've been making a mul psion, Kline, who was a slave who also escaped and was recaptured. I didn't figure he was a gladiator, but he could have been sold into it at some point. He couldn't have created that illusion though.

 

[Toptomcat]

@toptomcat:

Mechanics:

I didn't look at the athas.org prestige classes that much yet, but we can always tweak the Psionic Fist prestige class in the SRD a bit.
(removing the still mind prerequisite, requiering 6 ranks in concentration; changing HD to d8 and remove bonus armor class and unarmored speed.)

Your Bab would be +3 and you get d10 HD.

You get a +3 class skill bonus on all class skills you invested points in (concentration)

Background: We will play in the brown age, there is no slavery free city, but some slave tribes hidden in the desert.

I'm confused. Are you talking about adapting it as a base class or using it as a prestige class? If the latter, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense- being designed as a PsyWar-like extension of the monk, you just end up losing power point progression, power progression, base attack bonus, Hit Die, and bonus feats to a straight PsyWar without gaining much of anything back besides slightly better saves and an unarmed damage progression. Please give the athas.org PrC a look.

 

[kinem]

Kline Landfryd, mul psion (kineticist) 3

[sblock=stats]HD 3d6+6, hp 20

BAB +1; CMB +3

saves Fort +3, Reflex +1, Will +5; move 30', AC 10 (14/15 with inertial armor; 18/19 w/IA + FS)

attack unarmed strike +3 (1d3+2 nonlethal, 20/x2, draws AOO from armed foe)

str 14 / +2 (2 pt, +2 race)
dex 10 / +0 (0 pt)
con 15 / +2 (3 pt, +2 race)
int 16 / +3 (10 pt)
wis 14 / +2 (5 pt)
cha 8 / -1 (0 pt, -2 race)

feats: Latent Power , overchannel , talented, expanded knowledge (entangling ectoplasm)

skills (15 pts) (ranks/total): psicraft 3/9, autohypnosis 3/8, bluff 3/2, survival 3/5, perception 0/2, knowledge (psionics) 3/9

concentration check (3 + ML + Con mod): +8

languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven, Giant

mul: +2 Constitution, +2 Strength, -2 Charisma: Combining the human height with the Dwarven musculature, muls end up stronger than either parent race, but their status as born-to-be slaves makes them insecure in their dealings with others.
Medium: Muls are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Darkvision: Muls can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Dwarven Blood: Muls count as both dwarfs and humans for any effect related to race.
Extended Activity: Muls may engage in up to 12 hours of hard labor or forced marching without suffering from fatigue
Hardy: Muls need only half as much rest to fatigue and exhaustion.
Ignore Pain: Muls have nonlethal Damage Resistance 1/-. They are difficult to subdue, and do not notice minor bruises, scrapes, and other discomforts that pain creatures of other races.

Psions are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, quarterstaff, and shortspear. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor does not, however, interfere with the manifestation of powers.

The psion’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration* (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually)* (Int), Profession (Wis), and Psicraft* (Int).

In addition, a psion gains access to additional class skills based on his discipline: Kineticist (Psychokinesis)
Autohypnosis* (Wis), Disable Device (Dex), and Intimidate (Cha).

powers (5+1 1st, 2 2nd): 2+11+4 = 17 pp / day, DC 13 + power level (+ special), man lev 3
1st: attraction(a), inertial armor(a), mind thrust(a), vigor(a), control object (kin), force screen (a, latent), entangling ectoplasm (a, 40', exp know)
2nd: energy missile (a, kin), cloud mind

typical combat power uses:
inertial armor: 3 hr, 1 or 3 pp, +4 armor AC (+5 if spend 3 pp)
force screen: 3 min, 1 pp, +4 shield AC
vigor: 3 min, 1-3 pp, +5 temp hp (+5 per pp, max 15, or 20 w/OC)
mind thrust: 40', 1-3 pp, 1d10/pp (3d10, or 4d10 w/OC), Will neg DC 14 (15 if 3-4 d10)
energy missile: 130', 3 pp, up to 5 targets within 15' circle, 3d6 (4d6 and +1 DC w/OC), DC 15 half (Reflex or Fort)
- cold: +1/die, Fort half
- elec: +2 to DC, +2 to overcome SR
- fire: +1/die
- sonic: -1/die, ignores object hardness

equipment:
none[/sblock]

[sblock=description]Kline has served as a slave for almost all of his life, in and around Urik. His surly attitude makes him an unpopular servant despite his obvious strength and intelligence. He escaped on a few occasions - once as a youth, but he was soon recaptured.

He served a number of employers, but was usually sold to another fairly quickly. He was not beaten to death only because there was no shortage of those willing to buy a strong mul. He served for a while as a farm laborer.

Eventually was sold to a human merchant named Bolush. He learned to please this master by showing the ability to do sums quickly and honestly. Bolush could be cruel but he was more interested in making money than in abusing his slaves, and wanted to take advantage of Kline's knack for evaluating deals. With a little help from his _attaction_ power, Kline helped his master strike good deals, and convinced him to allow his servants a few hours of 'down time' every day in exchange for better motivation.

Kline had found that he had psionic talents and honed his abilities in secret during the 'down time', using his master's library to good effect and sparring with some of the other slaves.

Seeing his opportunity, he escaped again. But perhaps foolishly, he came back to try to rescue others and was recaptured.

In truth, he dreams of carving out an empire of his own some day. He made allies among the other slaves, and those were the ones he tried to rescue; compassion is not unknown to him but it was not his immediate agenda. Power first; only when he has it could he allow himself to pursue other ends, he figures. He could have escaped much sooner, but his setup with the merchant was convenient while he read what he could and honed his power.

It was a long time before Kline was recaptured, and it became obvious that the mul had slain several bounty hunters who had vanished. Bolush wanted no more of the unruly slave and had him sold without even risking another personal meeting with Kline. Seeing his own foolishness, Bolush resolved to never again risk giving a slave any kindness.

Kline was told he would go to the gladiator pits of Draj, but for unknown reasons, the mysterious buyer put him on the slave transport to Tyr instead. Supposedly he'll be put to work with the others but Kline figures that perhaps a lucrative market exists for gladiators there too. Once again, he waits for an opportunity to escape ...

Physically, he appears to be a typical mul, with a bald head, bulging musculature, and black eyes that can look either dull and dumb, or sharp and insightful, depending on what role he is playing.[/sblock]

 

[Walking Dad]

I'm confused. Are you talking about adapting it as a base class or using it as a prestige class? If the latter, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense- being designed as a PsyWar-like extension of the monk, you just end up losing power point progression, power progression, base attack bonus, Hit Die, and bonus feats to a straight PsyWar without gaining much of anything back besides slightly better saves and an unarmed damage progression. Please give the athas.org PrC a look.

Sorry, I don't like monks in the DarkSun setting. On Athas, it is hard to get a steel weapon and it is a difficult balance between the protection of heavier armor and their penalties in the desert heat. The monk class just ignores both. It was (naturally) not in the original setting, just like the paladin.

Here are my proposed changes to the athas.org class:

Flurry of blows: like in the standard pathfinder rules
Unarmed damage:
1st–3rd 1d6
4th–7th 1d8
8th–10th 1d10
Skill Boost (Su): The psionic monk can expend her psionic focus to gain a +5 bonus to a Acrobatics skill check. This bonus increases to +10 at 5th level and +15 at 9th level. You must decide whether or not to use
skill boost prior to making a skill check. If the check fails, you still expend your psionic focus.
AC Bonus (Ex): NO!
Unlock Feat: The psionic monk unlocks more of her potential. She gains a bonus feat from the following list: Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Combat Expertise, Greater Psionic Fist, Improved Grapple, Power Attack, Rapid Metabolism, Stand Still, Stunning Fist, Up the Walls. A psionic monk need to have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select
them.

The 'standard' way for a Psy Warrior to fight without equipment is

Bite of the Wolf: Gain bite attack for 1d8 damage.
Call Weaponry A: Create temporary weapon.
Claws of the Beast A: Your hands become deadly claws.
Dissipating Touch A: Touch deals 1d6 damage.
Hammer A: Melee touch attack deals 1d8/round.
for attacking

and

Biofeedback A: Gain DR 2/-.
Force Screen A: Invisible disc provides +4 shield bonus to AC.
Inertial Armor A: Tangible field of force provides you with +4 armor bonus to AC.
Thicken Skin A: Gain +1 enhancement bonus to your AC for 10 min./level.

The later combined with the manifesting stat as extra armor bonus is a bit much...


That said, I like your concept and I hope you will stay.

 

[Toptomcat]

Sorry, I don't like monks in the DarkSun setting. On Athas, it is hard to get a steel weapon and it is a difficult balance between the protection of heavier armor and their penalties in the desert heat. The monk class just ignores both. It was (naturally) not in the original setting, just like the paladin.

Here are my proposed changes to the athas.org class:

Flurry of blows: like in the standard pathfinder rules
Unarmed damage:
1st–3rd 1d6
4th–7th 1d8
8th–10th 1d10
Skill Boost (Su): The psionic monk can expend her psionic focus to gain a +5 bonus to a Acrobatics skill check. This bonus increases to +10 at 5th level and +15 at 9th level. You must decide whether or not to use
skill boost prior to making a skill check. If the check fails, you still expend your psionic focus.
AC Bonus (Ex): NO!
Unlock Feat: The psionic monk unlocks more of her potential. She gains a bonus feat from the following list: Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Combat Expertise, Greater Psionic Fist, Improved Grapple, Power Attack, Rapid Metabolism, Stand Still, Stunning Fist, Up the Walls. A psionic monk need to have any of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select
them.

The 'standard' way for a Psy Warrior to fight without equipment is

Bite of the Wolf: Gain bite attack for 1d8 damage.
Call Weaponry A: Create temporary weapon.
Claws of the Beast A: Your hands become deadly claws.
Dissipating Touch A: Touch deals 1d6 damage.
Hammer A: Melee touch attack deals 1d8/round.
for attacking

and

Biofeedback A: Gain DR 2/-.
Force Screen A: Invisible disc provides +4 shield bonus to AC.
Inertial Armor A: Tangible field of force provides you with +4 armor bonus to AC.
Thicken Skin A: Gain +1 enhancement bonus to your AC for 10 min./level.

The later combined with the manifesting stat as extra armor bonus is a bit much...


That said, I like your concept and I hope you will stay.

To reassure you, I'm not trying for anything like a traditional Shaolin-inspired, acrobatic, mystical-master monk in *concept*- more of a consummate brawler of astonishing and refined brutality, with some inspiration taken from Thai kickboxing.
The line in the rules permitting touch attacks to be delivered via unarmed strikes or natural attacks is gone in Pathfinder, which is dissapointing and not for what I envision for the character. If you would reinstate it, it would be appreciated. Additionally, I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of Claws of the Beast: I want to describe brutal attacks with elbows, knees, headbutts, gouges, not only hand attacks with claws. However, you're right in that it's too good a power to ignore for an unarmed PsyWar: would you object to an alternate version of Claws of the Beast that dealt bludgeoning damage and was treated as an unarmed strike rather than a 'special' natural weapon for purposes of Weapon Focus, feats like Scorpion Style, and the like?
If you were flexible in those respects, I think I could just go straight PsyWar, without needing any prestige class at all.

 

[Leif]

I'm so very glad that I'm playing a simple, everyday fighter!

 

[Andor]

Sorry, I don't like monks in the DarkSun setting. On Athas, it is hard to get a steel weapon and it is a difficult balance between the protection of heavier armor and their penalties in the desert heat. The monk class just ignores both. It was (naturally) not in the original setting, just like the paladin.

You dislike the concept of people who learned to fight without armour or weapons in a world where armour and weapons are hard to come by? I admit I find that hard to grok.

That aside, are you full up yet? Most of my games seem to have stalled out hard and I've always had a fondness for Dark Sun. My first thought was admitedly a mul psywarrior, but since that slot seems to have been filled I'll have to give it some thought and come back with something else.

BTW how is the preserver/defiler split being handled?

 

[Guest 11456]

Half-Giant Gladiator