PrC Chainwhirler

[Kyamsil]

Hi. I must say that when I saw the Spiked Chain in the PHB it was love at first sight . Even when playing on 2nd Edition I was thinking of a way to make chain weapons in the game (I must say that I was a fan of the Saint Seiya anime and that for me, the most powerful of the characters was Sun who used the chains of the andromeda suit of armor to great effect). I must also say that I expected that the Master of Chains PrC of Sword & Fist would at last make a character such as Sun playable, but instead they made him some sort of evilish "half-kyton". I was very dissapointed, so, I came up with my own PrC for a Master of Chains, that is called Chainwhirler.

Chainwhirler Prestige Class
HD:d8

Most Chainwhirlers are members of the Order of the Bound Dragon, an ancient tradition of mystic warriors that practice kusarigama, "the art of fighting with chain weapons". They are pacifists at heart and want to perfect their fighting style until opponents see that it is not worth the pain to fight with them.

But there are others who know the secrets of Kusarigama but use them to be bullies wherever they go and become renegades of the Order.

Prerequisites:
Feats: Dodge,Mobility,Expertise, Spring Attack, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Prof. (Spiked Chain or another chain)
Skills: Perform 3 ranks(one of them Dancing), Tumble 3 ranks

The chainwhirler class skills and their key abilities are: Jump (Str), Climb (Str), Tumble (Dex), Perform (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points per level: 2 + Int Modifier

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Class Abilities
1 +1 +0 +2 +0 Bound Dragon Feat, Weakest Link
2 +2 +0 +3 +0 Whirlwind Attack, Bound Mastery +2
3 +3 +1 +3 +1 Double Chain
4 +4 +1 +4 +1 Fight the Crowd
5 +5 +1 +4 +1 Bound Dragon Feat, Bound Mastery +4
6 +6 +2 +5 +2 Chain Storm
7 +7 +2 +5 +2 Chain Lurge
8 +8 +2 +6 +2 Mountain Stand, Bound Mastery +6
9 +9 +3 +6 +3 Dance of Chains
10 +10 +3 +7 +3 Master the Bound Dragon

Class Abilities:
Weapon and Armor Prof: A Chainwhirler doesn't get any new armor proficiency, but becomes proficient with all chain weapons (Spiked Chain, Chain, Kusari Gama)

Bound Dragon Feat: At 1st level, you gain either the Improved Trip or Improved Disarm feat. You gain the other at 5th level.

Weakest Link (Ex): You can deal subdual damage with your chain weapons with no penalty to the attack rolls. You can change the type of damage you deal once a round as a free action.

Whirlwind Attack: You get this feat for free at 2nd Level.

Bound Mastery (Ex): You get this bonus to all Trip and Disarm rolls you make, either as part of your attack or as response to failed attempts. The bonus is +2 at 2nd Level, +4 at 5th and +6 at 8th level.

Double Chain (Ex): You can use your chain weapon as a double weapon but with no reach. You are considered to have the feats Ambidexterity and Two Weapon Fighting while using the chain as a double weapon and having light or no armor. You can switch from 10' reach weapon to double weapon as a free action once per round.

Fight the Crowd (Ex): Due to intensive training, you are more effective when fighting large groups of opponents. You add half your Chainwhirler class level to the number of attacks of opportunity you can make per round. This is stackable with the Combat Reflexes feat.

Chain Storm (Ex): From now on, your Whirlwind Attacks with chain weapons which have reach, affect all opponents on your threatened area (that is, a radius of 10' instead of 5'). You get -5 to attack rolls and apply only your full strength modifier instead of your strength modifier x 1.5 against the opponents who are farther than the usual 5'.

Chain Lurge (Ex): By extending your body and lurging forward whirling chains, you can make a full attack action as if you were standing in an adjacent square (as if you had moved 5' but without moving at all). This provokes Attacks of Opportunity from opponents who threaten your original square. You get to move a 5' adjustment as normal for a full attack after or before the Chain Lurge.

Mountain Stand (Ex): You are no longer subject to trip attempts from your opponent if you fail to trip them.

Dance of Chains (Ex): You gain the benefit of the Deflect Arrows feat but you use your chain weapon instead of a free hand.

Master the Bound Dragon (Ex): If you trip succesfuly an opponent of one size category greater than you or smaller, and forfit the free attack that the Improved Trip feat provides you can opt to make one of the following results:
Stunning Trip: You deal an amount of subdual damage equal to the minimum weapon damage roll for your weapon. If your opponent fail a Fortitude Save with DC 10 + subdual damage dealt, they are stunned for 1 round.
Chain Wave: If you beat your opponent on a second opposed trip roll you can have him pushed to an square adjacent to that which he is tripped upon.

 

[Crothian]

It has some really good ideas in it, but many of the abilities are really to powerful and there are too many of them.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Weakest Link: How in the world can you deal subdual damage with a spiked chain? It's pointy! Really pointy!

2 bonus feats, a stackable bonus to Trip and Disarm, good BAB, and the option to subdue - all in the first two levels. Isn't that a bit much, especially considering how easy it is to qualitfy for?

Chain Storm: Drool... isn't that a *bit* on the high-powered side?

 

[Kyamsil]

I don't think that it is easy to qualify. My first option really was to add the Improved Trip and Whirlwind Attack to the prerequisites, but I thought that requiring 8 feats! was making the class only available to single class fighters or very high level characters. Anyway, if you think it is really that powerful, let's change it a bit. I will change the prerequisites to make it a bit more challenging to qualify for it and level down somewhat their progression.

As for the Chain Storm, it really makes sense to me that if you whirl a chain about when you perform a Whirlwind Attack, you get to attack everyone in your reach. I honed down the damage and added the attack penalty to make the ability less unbalancing.

Let's see what we get with some changes:

Chainwhirler Prestige Class
HD:d8

Same background as first version

Prerequisites:
Base Attack Bonus: +8
Feats: Dodge,Mobility,Expertise, Spring Attack, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Prof. (Spiked Chain or another chain), Improved Trip, Whirlwind Attack
Skills: Perform 4 ranks(one of them Dancing), Tumble 5 ranks, Use Rope 5 ranks

The chainwhirler class skills and their key abilities are: Jump (Str), Climb (Str), Tumble (Dex), Perform (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points per level: 2 + Int Modifier

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Class Abilities
1 +1 +0 +2 +0 Bound Mastery
2 +2 +0 +3 +0 Hard Fall
3 +3 +1 +3 +1 Double Chain
4 +4 +1 +4 +1 Fight the Crowd
5 +5 +1 +4 +1 Stunning Dragon Fall
6 +6 +2 +5 +2 Chain Storm
7 +7 +2 +5 +2 Chain Lurge
8 +8 +2 +6 +2 Mountain Stand
9 +9 +3 +6 +3 Dance of Chains
10 +10 +3 +7 +3 Master the Bound Dragon

Class Abilities:
Weapon and Armor Prof: A Chainwhirler doesn't get any new armor proficiency, but becomes proficient with all chain weapons (Spiked Chain, Chain, Kusari Gama). All special abilities only apply if you are fighting with a Chain Weapon.

Bound Mastery (Ex): You get a bonus to all Trip and Disarm rolls you make, either as part of your attack or as response to failed attempts. This bonus is equal to half your Chainwhirler class level rounded up.

Hard Fall (Ex): If you trip successfully an opponent, you have the choice to forfeit the extra attack that Improved Trip provides to deal an amount of subdual damage equal to the minimum damage roll for your weapon to the tripped foe.

Double Chain (Ex): You can use your chain weapon as a double weapon but with no reach. You are considered to have the feats Ambidexterity and Two Weapon Fighting while using the chain as a double weapon and having light or no armor. You can switch from 10' reach weapon to double weapon as a free action once per round.

Fight the Crowd (Ex): Due to intensive training, you are more effective when fighting large groups of opponents. You add half your Chainwhirler class level to the number of attacks of opportunity you can make per round. This is stackable with the Combat Reflexes feat.

Stunning Dragon Fall (Ex): If you use the Hard Fall ability, your opponent must succeed at a Fortitude save with DC 10 + amount of subdual damage dealt or be stunned for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Chainwhirler class level.

Chain Storm (Ex): You have the option to make your Whirlwind Attack with a reach of 10' instead of the usual 5'. If you chose so, you have a -5 penalty to all the attack rolls and get to add only your Strength modifier to the damage rolls instead of the usual Strength modifier x1.5 for a two handed weapon.

Chain Lurge (Ex): By extending your body and lurging forward whirling chains, you can make a full attack action as if you were standing in an adjacent square (as if you had moved 5' but without moving at all). This provokes Attacks of Opportunity from opponents who threaten your original square and those that threaten the square you lurge into. You get to move a 5' adjustment as normal for a full attack after or before the Chain Lurge.

Mountain Stand (Ex): You are no longer subject to trip attempts from your opponent if you fail to trip them.

Dance of Chains (Ex): You gain the benefit of the Deflect Arrows feat but you use your chain weapon instead of a free hand.

Master the Bound Dragon (Ex): If you trip successfully an opponent of one size category greater than you or smaller, and forfeit the free attack that the Improved Trip feat provides, you can select the square upon which he falls prone. To do this, you must beat your opponent on a second opposed trip roll. You can select any square adjacent to that which your foe is when tripped.

That's it, any more comments?

 

[CRGreathouse]

I don't think you understand what I meant when I said it was easy to qualify. The dwarven defender only has 3 (IIRC) feat requirements, but they're harsh... Toughness, Endurance, etc. They're wasted feats (almost), allowing the class to be as powerful as it is. This class has nothing of the sort.

 

[Kyamsil]

Ok Well, any ideas of "wasted" feats to the prerequisites?

Any thoughts on the other changes? Is it more balanced now?

 

[Crothian]

I agree and think you're trying to do to much with this class. Extra AoO, better tripping abilities, a superior whirlwind.

 

[CRGreathouse]

OK, here's my "revision." I don't understand chain lurge, but I left it in, assuming it's not overly powerful. I'm not particularly concerned about the chain storm ability (it looks better on paper then in practice), but I'd wach out for the dance of chains - I raised the DC, but it's close to auto-success. Before I can say mcuh more about this class, I'd have to playtest it.

Chainwhirler Prestige Class
HD:d8

Prerequisites:
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Expertise, Spring Attack, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Prof. (any chain), Lightning Reflexes
Perform: 3 ranks (one of them Dancing)
Tumble: 5 ranks
Use Rope: 5 ranks

The chainwhirler class skills and their key abilities are: Jump (Str), Climb (Str), Tumble (Dex), Perform (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points per level: 2 + Int Modifier

Saves: As rogue
BAB: As fighter

Level Class Abilities
1 Bound Mastery
2 Hard Fall
3 Double Chain
4 Fight the Crowd
5 Stunning Dragon Fall
6 Chain Storm
7 Chain Lurge
8 Mountain Stand
9 Dance of Chains
10 Master the Bound Dragon

Class Abilities:
Weapon and Armor Prof: A Chainwhirler doesn't get any new armor proficiency, but becomes proficient with all chains: spiked chain, chain, kusari-gama.

Bound Mastery (Ex): You get a bonus to all Trip and Disarm rolls you make with a chain, either as part of your attack or as response to failed attempts. This bonus is equal to one-third of your Chainwhirler class level rounded up.

Hard Fall (Ex): If you trip successfully an opponent with a chain and do not make a followup attack (as from Improved Trip), you deal an amount of subdual damage equal to the minimum damage roll for your weapon to the tripped foe.

Double Chain (Ex): You can use your chain weapon as a double weapon but with no reach. You are considered to have the feats Ambidexterity and Two Weapon Fighting while using the chain as a double weapon and having light or no armor. You can switch from 10' reach weapon to double weapon as a free action once per round.

Fight the Crowd (Ex): Due to intensive training, you are more effective when fighting large groups of opponents. You add half your Chainwhirler class level to the number of attacks of opportunity you can make per round. This is stackable with the Combat Reflexes feat.

Stunning Dragon Fall (Ex): If you use the Hard Fall ability, your opponent must succeed at a Fortitude save with DC 10 + amount of subdual damage dealt or be stunned for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Chainwhirler class level.

Chain Storm (Ex): If you make a Whirlwind Attack, you have the option to do so with a reach of 10' instead of the usual 5'. If you chose so, you have a -5 penalty to all the attack rolls and get to add only your Strength modifier to the damage rolls instead of the usual Strength modifier x1.5 for a two handed weapon.

Chain Lurge (Ex): By extending your body and lurging forward whirling chains, you can make a full attack action as if you were standing in an adjacent square (as if you had moved 5' but without moving at all). This provokes Attacks of Opportunity from opponents who threaten your original square and those that threaten the square you lurge into. You get to move a 5' adjustment as normal for a full attack after or before the Chain Lurge.

Mountain Stand (Ex): You are no longer subject to trip attempts from your opponent when you fail to trip them with a chain.

Dance of Chains (Ex): As Deflect Arrows, but usable only when you wield a chain and against DC 25 instead of DC 20; you may add any magical enhancements from your chain to the Reflex save.

Master the Bound Dragon (Ex): If you trip successfully an opponent of one size category greater than you or smaller with a chain and do not make a followup attack (as from Improved Trip), you can select the square upon which he falls prone. To do this, you must beat your opponent on a second opposed trip roll. You can select any square adjacent to that which your foe is when tripped.

 

[Kyamsil]

Thanks for the revision to the class. I think I will maintain the DC 25 for the Dance of Chains and the Lighting Reflexes prerequisite. I am not sure about the Bound Mastery. The class is centered on the ability to succesfully trip your opponents, so I think that a rather high bonus to tripping is neccesary. Well, thinking about it, by making it a third you get a bonus of +4 at 10th level instead of +5, not a great loss. Yes, I think I'll keep this also.

As for prerequisites, considering that many of the feats are needed for the other ones, I will leave it as:

Prerequisites:
Feats: Whirlwind Attack, Improved Trip, Weapon Proficency (any chain), Lightning Reflexes.
Skills: Perform 3 ranks (one of them dancing)
Tumble 5 ranks
Use Rope 5 ranks

As for Chain Lurge? You can make your full attack as if your threatened area were centered on one of your adjacent squares by provoking Attacks of Opportunity from opponents that threaten your occupied square and the square you selected to center your threatened area for the full attack. As usual, you get to make the 5' adjustment move before or after the chain lurge. It is something like a double 5' movement in the round while making full attack but you get lots of Attacks of Opportunity by doing so.

 

[Darklone]

As for Chain Lurge? You can make your full attack as if your threatened area were centered on one of your adjacent squares by provoking Attacks of Opportunity from opponents that threaten your occupied square and the square you selected to center your threatened area for the full attack. As usual, you get to make the 5' adjustment move before or after the chain lurge. It is something like a double 5' movement in the round while making full attack but you get lots of Attacks of Opportunity by doing so.

Do I understand you right? you get two 5ft steps plus full attack action but the movement provokes AoOs? That's not too powerful. There are many PrClass abilities with much more power.

I like that class. I have to admit I hate PrClasses, but I actually consider using that one.