Messageboard Golem
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A book of prestige classes for the Mysaniti Campaign world
The Book of Fools
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Messageboard Golem
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The Book of Fools is primarily a collection of feats, magic items and prestige classes from the author's home-brew world of Mysaniti. Numerous other features are also present (deities, domains, new skills, special ceremonies, etc.) but the main emphasis in the book is the prestige classes. It is 78 pages long, but does not use space well. Lots of white space, wide margins, page borders, etc..
The feats are somewhat non-standard in that the ability scores listed as pre-requisites are usually even-numbered. The benefits of the feats seem markedly on the high side; Sage Knowledge gives a +10 competence bonus to skill checks in a number of fields equal to your intelligence modifier. You do need 4 skill points in each knowledge skill, though, and the feat cannot be stacked. Several "sorcerous ancestry" feats are given. These don't have to be taken at first level, but most are mutually incompatible. Fiendish ancestry makes all your spells take the [evil] subtype, and you gain a +2 profane bonus on all saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities. Oozing blood makes all your damaging spells take the acid descriptor and gives you an acid resistance of 5, and so on.
A few craft and knowledge skills are defined for those who would like rules on making maps or paper, or knowing the name of the officer commanding a border outpost. Knowledge (monstrous) can give you a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls vs a particular race (DC 20), or a bit of especially helpful information.
Three ceremonies are described. They are rituals connected with the prestige classes. One infuses the targets with a slime god's essence, giving them the oozing blood feat and instilling unbreakable loyalty to the the slime god's cult. Another prepares an animal skin for use by a Skin Changer. A third turns a follower of the slime god into a slime creature. All have gold and xp requirements- fairly hefty ones, as befits the power they manifest.
Next, four pantheons of gods are described; the gods of light, shadow, darkness, and the heavenless gods. The dogma, clergy and temple, domains and descriptions of each god is given. Two domains are also given; that of cities, and that of slime.
I rather liked the magic items. Sealing wax that disintegrates the message if a forgery is attempted; a dagger sheathe that envenoms a dagger 3 times per day (effect is as a poison spell); a sash that grants bonuses to intimidate and bluff, and which also acts as a wand of gust of wind, etc..
The alchemical items which follow, I'm more doubtful about. Fireout puts out a non-magical fire unless it makes a DC 15 Fortitude save. Am I the only person who doesn't know how to calculate the base fortitude save of a normal fire? Healing salve seems a little cheap. 5 gp for 1-4 points of healing?
The great majority of the book (pages 17 to 75) is devoted to 20 prestige classes. They are the Body Thief, Border Warder, City Ward, Demonic Counselor, Devotee of the City, Knight Hospitaler, Knight of the Silver Flame, Manticore Hunter, Noble Duelist, Prophet of the Gods, Royal Explorer, Royal Student, Servant of the Slime, Sharpshooter, Sister of the Rose, Skin Changer, Slave Gladiator, Slime Lord, Slinger, and Spider Mage. Some organizations are described in the appropriate locations; the Order of the Knights Hospitaler, the Order of the Silver Flame, the Salons of Mindarth, and the Royal University of Mindarth. Statistics for the Were-Spider are also given.
The Body Thief is a very easy class to get into. Any evil, BAB +1, 5+ ranks in Concentration, and some good mental ability scores (ranging from 12+ Intelligence to 16+ Charisma). And the prospective Body Thief has to have been the target of a successful magic jar attack. D4 hit dice, only three class skills, simple weapons, light armor, no shield. Good will saves and a poor BAB progression. The Body Thief gets no spellcasting ability except for their signature ability; the ability to use a magic jar style attack once per day per class level, as a sorcerer of a level equal to 10 + their class level. This magic jar ability seems to be a little different than the spell- it swaps bodies rather than involving a crystal or gem, and it seems to be permanent. A Body Thief often kills its victim while it is still stunned from being switched into a new body- it can live indefinitely in the new body, and can swap it again when desired. The save DC for the magic jar attack increases by +2 per class level (i.e. up to +18 at level 10). Other abilities of the class include an ability to access some of the new body's skills, and to gradually mold its physical abilities into a copy of the Body Thief's original body.
The Border Warder has a d10 hit dice, a good BAB, good fort and reflex saves, and a bonus feat every other level (though from a more limited list than a fighter). He also gets spellcasting ability (up to 6 first, 5 second, and 4 third level spells per day), three increments of favored enemy (like a ranger), Rage twice a day, limited abilities to scry, a +4 bonus to AC, and many other abilities. A fourth level Ranger can qualify for this class.
I shall not give a detailed description of all the prestige classes. One more, The Manticore Hunter, is available for preview on the company's homepage. If you like it, and you like the sound of the first two prestige classes described above, then you will probably like the rest.
I, however, do not. I like the flavor evoked by the classes, but they are far stronger than any half-way balanced prestige class should be. They violate several of the norms of a prestige class-, most particularly that 5th or 6th level should be the minimum level required for entrance and that particular ability scores not be required for admission. But it is the lack of balance that renders this collection of prestige classes unusable. Which is really a pity- the ideas sound fun, but the implementation... it needs a lot of work.
The feats are somewhat non-standard in that the ability scores listed as pre-requisites are usually even-numbered. The benefits of the feats seem markedly on the high side; Sage Knowledge gives a +10 competence bonus to skill checks in a number of fields equal to your intelligence modifier. You do need 4 skill points in each knowledge skill, though, and the feat cannot be stacked. Several "sorcerous ancestry" feats are given. These don't have to be taken at first level, but most are mutually incompatible. Fiendish ancestry makes all your spells take the [evil] subtype, and you gain a +2 profane bonus on all saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities. Oozing blood makes all your damaging spells take the acid descriptor and gives you an acid resistance of 5, and so on.
A few craft and knowledge skills are defined for those who would like rules on making maps or paper, or knowing the name of the officer commanding a border outpost. Knowledge (monstrous) can give you a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls vs a particular race (DC 20), or a bit of especially helpful information.
Three ceremonies are described. They are rituals connected with the prestige classes. One infuses the targets with a slime god's essence, giving them the oozing blood feat and instilling unbreakable loyalty to the the slime god's cult. Another prepares an animal skin for use by a Skin Changer. A third turns a follower of the slime god into a slime creature. All have gold and xp requirements- fairly hefty ones, as befits the power they manifest.
Next, four pantheons of gods are described; the gods of light, shadow, darkness, and the heavenless gods. The dogma, clergy and temple, domains and descriptions of each god is given. Two domains are also given; that of cities, and that of slime.
I rather liked the magic items. Sealing wax that disintegrates the message if a forgery is attempted; a dagger sheathe that envenoms a dagger 3 times per day (effect is as a poison spell); a sash that grants bonuses to intimidate and bluff, and which also acts as a wand of gust of wind, etc..
The alchemical items which follow, I'm more doubtful about. Fireout puts out a non-magical fire unless it makes a DC 15 Fortitude save. Am I the only person who doesn't know how to calculate the base fortitude save of a normal fire? Healing salve seems a little cheap. 5 gp for 1-4 points of healing?
The great majority of the book (pages 17 to 75) is devoted to 20 prestige classes. They are the Body Thief, Border Warder, City Ward, Demonic Counselor, Devotee of the City, Knight Hospitaler, Knight of the Silver Flame, Manticore Hunter, Noble Duelist, Prophet of the Gods, Royal Explorer, Royal Student, Servant of the Slime, Sharpshooter, Sister of the Rose, Skin Changer, Slave Gladiator, Slime Lord, Slinger, and Spider Mage. Some organizations are described in the appropriate locations; the Order of the Knights Hospitaler, the Order of the Silver Flame, the Salons of Mindarth, and the Royal University of Mindarth. Statistics for the Were-Spider are also given.
The Body Thief is a very easy class to get into. Any evil, BAB +1, 5+ ranks in Concentration, and some good mental ability scores (ranging from 12+ Intelligence to 16+ Charisma). And the prospective Body Thief has to have been the target of a successful magic jar attack. D4 hit dice, only three class skills, simple weapons, light armor, no shield. Good will saves and a poor BAB progression. The Body Thief gets no spellcasting ability except for their signature ability; the ability to use a magic jar style attack once per day per class level, as a sorcerer of a level equal to 10 + their class level. This magic jar ability seems to be a little different than the spell- it swaps bodies rather than involving a crystal or gem, and it seems to be permanent. A Body Thief often kills its victim while it is still stunned from being switched into a new body- it can live indefinitely in the new body, and can swap it again when desired. The save DC for the magic jar attack increases by +2 per class level (i.e. up to +18 at level 10). Other abilities of the class include an ability to access some of the new body's skills, and to gradually mold its physical abilities into a copy of the Body Thief's original body.
The Border Warder has a d10 hit dice, a good BAB, good fort and reflex saves, and a bonus feat every other level (though from a more limited list than a fighter). He also gets spellcasting ability (up to 6 first, 5 second, and 4 third level spells per day), three increments of favored enemy (like a ranger), Rage twice a day, limited abilities to scry, a +4 bonus to AC, and many other abilities. A fourth level Ranger can qualify for this class.
I shall not give a detailed description of all the prestige classes. One more, The Manticore Hunter, is available for preview on the company's homepage. If you like it, and you like the sound of the first two prestige classes described above, then you will probably like the rest.
I, however, do not. I like the flavor evoked by the classes, but they are far stronger than any half-way balanced prestige class should be. They violate several of the norms of a prestige class-, most particularly that 5th or 6th level should be the minimum level required for entrance and that particular ability scores not be required for admission. But it is the lack of balance that renders this collection of prestige classes unusable. Which is really a pity- the ideas sound fun, but the implementation... it needs a lot of work.
