The Confessor.

[GothicProphet]

Some of these ideas have a lot of merit, and I might be using some of them as I work to construct my own "Sword of Truth" style world, but instead of viewing the show for information, I'll be going back to the original series and taking notes.

And, I apologize in advance to anyone who has not yet read the source material, but I think there are a few matters that should be cleared up and these will contain spoilers for that material... so please, if you're interested in reading it, do so before reading my post any further.



***************Spoilers Ahead!**************

Spoiler

On the "Con Dar" (Blood Rage): can only be used in the defense of the Confessor's love (possibly true love, I'll poke around the Terry Goodkind boards for confirmation on that). Kahlan was not taught this ability, and didn't even know it existed because her mother died before she could teach her and it's apparently something only a Confessor's natural mother can teach their child. She learned it through instinct when she thought Richard was dead.

On recovery time: male confessors need no recovery time to reuse their powers; they are incredibly dangerous, and nearly all become corrupted by their powers (Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as they say.) Most female confessors take a day or more to recover their powers, Kahlan is an exception to this rule and can recover her power in about 4 hours.

On combat: Most Confessors didn't wield weapons as they had Wizards to guard them against such threats. Also related to this, in the books (and possibly the show - have to watch again) Zedd says something about not even plate armor is enough to protect against a Confessors touch. Kahlan knew how to fight because her mother commanded her father (a King now Confessed) to teach her everything he knew about fighting and being strong - or something like that - and Richard later improved her technique with a sword by building on what her father taught her, and using her agility rather than strength to her advantage.

On the power its self: It is permanent. One of the things that bothered me so much about the show was they nerf'd the Confessors' powers down to release the affected once the Confessor dies. Once touched by a Confessors' power, the only 100% release is death. You can, however, be partially released from it by being polymorphed into something else (another reason they had Wizards with them.)

On Armor: Confessors wear cloth. Kahlan later dons leathers when she's involved in heavy melee combat, but otherwise it's her Confessors dress.

****************Spoilers End************

Hmm... I think that's all I can think of for now, but if anyone has questions about creating this character concept from the source material, please feel free to ask me for details... I own all of the books and have read them many, many times and I look for just about any excuse to read them again.

I'll keep an eye on this thread though, because like I said, there are some very solid ideas so far.

Also, if anyone has write ups for Mord-Sith, DreamWalkers, a Sword of Truth magic weapon, etc from the Sword of Truth universe, I'd love to see them!

 

[Garthanos]

Gothic welcome thanks for adding to the clue set , I think we have pretty much been ignoring the males, they were being killed off in story, not practical in story or game contexts makes it worth ignoring .

If there was specific mention that even plate was not protection that sure cuts against the skin on skin idea, but still makes grab a possibility.

If most of the confessors didn't have "any" fighting skills being fully reliant on the wizards.... that puts them in the npc category, where I come from and 4 hour recovery time while a little longer than I suspected ... if your fighting day has 2 or 3 battles she would probably be able to use it in each, which is my definition of an encounter power // or maybe one where you can due to a feat spend action points or healing surges to do. //

What degree of incapacitation does she have following when she takes somebody in the books?

Treating it as a race / subrace which has some npc's and some heroic's and different classes seems to have come to be a most solid way to do the confessor's in my opinion... Wizards giving up for most intents and purposes there humanity to be something more powerful or fey is an interesting fantasy trope.

Yes the cloth is like ceremonial badge of office material for these wandering judge confessors ie the role that isn't there combat role.

The reason I was postulating a helpless or hit point delimiter on the working of the power in combat and why afterward the taken character is effectively a minion, is because definitionally if you were just confessed you are or must have been made to be " out of luck" - which generally corresponds to hit points low enough if you had taken a real attack as a monster they would be dead. In some ways it was introducing the same limit somebody else presented ie this doesn't work against solos,elites and pc's except maybe pcs that want an excuse to have a ritual shape change them in to some sentient animal form ;-) -- > the absoluteness of the power is something we have to do some flips to make work in a game of D&D.

A ritual which shape changed the target permanently has an interesting correspondence to a ritual to raise the dead.

I agree I am interested in other parts of the Sword of Truth Stories
Mord-sith (perhaps controllers focused on delivery disabling injury, gaining temporary hitpoints (sadistic spirit power...) and anti-magic using a rod as there implement and whips for supplemental weapons)

Sword of truth, sort of overwhelms the normal fighting style of its user with a battlerager or barbarian one.

 

[GothicProphet]

After it's use, Kahlan could recover the strength of her power in an hour or two, but for Dennee, it sometimes took several days.

Still reading, but that's something I thought I'd note before I forgot which page it was on.

To add another thought; just so I have it down somewhere... Boxes of Orden would be an epic ritual requiring the epic artifacts (the Boxes) and several rituals..... Ritual Challenge maybe? Ooh... I like the sound of that, Ritual Challenge...

 

[Garthanos]

The time is pretty much exactly what I remembered I don't remember if she is personally incapacitated in other ways immediately following the expenditure... that is something they portray in the show and it feels interesting... she appears "weakened" in the tv show, and it makes for good dramatics.

To add another thought; just so I have it down somewhere... Boxes of Orden would be an epic ritual requiring the epic artifacts (the Boxes) and several rituals..... Ritual Challenge maybe? Ooh... I like the sound of that, Ritual Challenge...

Yup, very interesting and there is a time limit on completion once you started it...with death being the prize for failure.

The mordsiths ability to put a lock down on somebodies magic is also an extreme effect or atleast readily maintainable.

 

[Garthanos]

I am thinking that Goodkinds writing features a lot of severe things which are mechanically beyond the pale for D&D.

 

[GothicProphet]

I have faith that it can be done, and reasonably well even if it's not perfect. After all, look at the show. Now, while I like the show for being a (campy) action fantasy show, I don't believe they've done the series any justice. They could have changed the names and not bothered to mention the series of books (except for all that legal stuff requiring them to do so) and it would have been fine (and likely wouldn't have irritated as many fans of the books as it has.)

Kinda like that first "Final Fantasy" movie - "Spirits Within" I think it was... Don't call it Final Fantasy and more people would've liked it.

But I digress. You asked how Kahlan is after she uses her power? That description varies, but generally she's fine - a little tired/weak but nothing too bad. It's not until much later in the series where she uses her power after fighting in vicious melee combats all night that it nearly drops her. In the show, they show her as virtually useless after expending her power.

 

[Garthanos]

I think we can design sword of truth inspired worlds... there are limits for instance I don't think any of us would be able to accept confession as a temporary effect but I can accept having the confessor have some of the same disablement we see in the tv show for instance. To create a relatively non-temporary effect ie one which requires a ritual to undo in D&D requires you deplete the persons hitpoints... or requires you use a ritual.

 

[Zaukrie]

I just finished the first book, and have watched some of the tv shows. The confessor as written in the first book has too many "save or die" type effects (which is pretty much what permanent domination is).

I'd stick closer to the tv show than the first book in terms of power.

Plus, remember, she's super, ultra powerful. What she does, few other confessors can/could do. So I'm not sure using her as the base makes sense.

 

[Garthanos]

I just finished the first book, and have watched some of the tv shows. The confessor as written in the first book has too many "save or die" type effects (which is pretty much what permanent domination is).
I'd stick closer to the tv show than the first book in terms of power.

Plus, remember, she's super, ultra powerful. What she does, few other confessors can/could do. So I'm not sure using her as the base makes sense.

Well remember heros are very powerful at what they do and in the books atleast most of the confessors did not necessarily have any fighting ability at all... ie npc confessors were only likely to ever use the power like it was a ritual that only they could know and perform against a helpless target.

IE we only have a powerful Kahlan to base things on and yes it is very like a save or die which in 4e has been changed in to hit point effects.

Check death spells now cause necrotic damage. Now an effect which either caused a depletion of N luck or transformed the target in to a minion under her control, sort of works, it needs to be reuseable till she affects somebody this way so if they are not minionized she can still do it the original effect was not resistible by normal means so luck is the only out, we have. Having it succeed only once a day works fine for me.

One way I look at it people / beings with hit points always save against save or die effects ;-), because they spend luck (measured in hit points) to ensure it.

 

[Garthanos]

To elaborate further we could call her attack.
Confessors Grab: Confessor
Everyone knows the confessors touch amounts to death and avoid it even in non conbat situations with there very last bit of energy, even most animals sense this truth.
At-Will ✦ Martial
Standard Action melee
Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + Dexterity modifier damage, and the target takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls against the confessor until the end of your next turn.
Level 21: 2d8 + Dexterity modifier "damage."
If the targets hitpoints are driven to zero or below by this attack the confessor has transformed you into her minion. This transformational effect can only be done once per day.

This attack or in some ways the threat of it is used as an offhand weapon attack in a dual weapon fighting style used by heroic confessors.