The Price of Power (creating new classes for homebrew setting, need input)

[Nephtys]

I'm creating a new home-brew setting with a few twists to the typical dnd balance. Basically, magic doesn't exist as an independent natural force. Instead it is the same as the like energies that animate all living beings. The result it that magic cannot be cast without the consumption of life, and casters get greater milage out of life-energies that are similar to their own.
Magic always involves sacrifice, one way or another. Some casters sacrifice their own life-energies and suffer debilitating chronic disabilities and disfugurements to cast their spells and gain new levels. And other casters use the life energies of others to cast their spells. Fortunately for the self-sacrificing bunch their kind of casting is a very efficient exchange of power and they can gain the same effects out of a minor injury as a naughty-caster can get out of a whole herd of goats, a couple of goblins, another human, or a piece of a family-member. There are only two classes of casters, and they both have access to all spells (with a couple exceptions) on the three major spell-lists.
The side effects of this are a lot of social ramifications, a rarity of magical items and a general dislike for magic. Another side-effect is that spells that give life (cure spells, raise dead, etc) are a lot more expensive in life-energy to cast than other spells of the same level. This changes the whole feel of the game completely, and I'll probably going to have to redo the XP-system, and so on.

But all that's for later. Right now I'm asking for a bit of input on my self-sacrificing class. I'm not too fond of the name (The Martyr is so clichéd), and don't have enough options of disabilities. I'd like a good mix of minor and major, serious and funny (with a dark flavour).

Other aspects of the class is still unfinished, but I have something in mind, and I'm open to all kinds of input and suggestions.
Game-balance is a concern, but not the primary one for me. There are other ways of evening things out between players.


--

The Martyr


Alignment: Any (but mostly Good)

HD: D4

Class Skills: All

Skill Points: 2+Int


Class Features

W+A proficiency: As Sorcerer

Spells:

The Martyr casts arcane, divine and druidic spells. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time.

To learn or cast a spell, a martyr must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a martyr’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the martyr’s Charisma modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a martyr can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Sorcerer. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.

The Martyr learns new spells per level like the Sorcerer, but unlike the sorcerer he can also learn new spells trough study. If he succeeds on a Spellcraft check (of DC 20+spell level) he can learn a spell simply by seeing (and hearing, if it involves a vocal component) it being cast, but if he fails he cannot learn the spell that way until he gains another level. By studying under another spellcaster who knows the spell he can reduce the DC by 5 points per day of focused study, and by this method he can make multiple attempts to learn the spell without having to gain another level first.

There is a price for all this power, there is always a price in the world of _____, and the martyr, unlike the Life Casters, usually chooses to pay the price himself. Though the options of Blood Sacrifice and Soul Sacrifice is open to him that path tends to be too addictive to return from. In fact many of the most ruthless and depraved Life Casters were once Martyrs, but no known Life Casters have walked that road the other way.

For every new level the Martyr gains he sacrifices a part of his life-energy to fuel his growing magical abilities. Every level he gains he can choose from the following uncurable disabilities:

*Aging:
Gain an Age category.
*Muscular atrophy:
-4 to Str, -4 to Dex.
*Weakness of the Heart:
-6 to Con.
*Slow Nerves:
-6 to Dex.
*Blindness 1 (Clouding of the eyes):
-1 to AC, loses half his Dex bonus to AC, takes a -4 penalty to Search checks and most Strength and Dex skill checks, All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) take a penalty of -10. All opponents are considered to have concealment (25% miss chance) to the blinded character.
*Blindness 2:
The character cannot see. He takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class, loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), moves at half speed, and takes a -4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded character.
*Osteoporosis and rheumatism:
Moves at half base speed (though magical boni apply normally). Takes 150% damage from blunt weapons. -2 to Str, -2 to dex.
*Paralysis of the Legs:
Moves maximum 5ft per round without aid.
*Paralysis of the Arms:
Cannot use somatic components, use weapons or shields.
*Bowel Cramps:
25% chance each round of being unable to act (dazed) because of crippling pain.
*Irregular Bowels:
The character cannot control his bowels, emmitting noxious gasses, liquids, solids or sounds at unpredictable (though frequent) times. Without diapers he takes a random -5, -10 or -20 penalty to all charisma checks involving most sentient creatures. With diapers the penalty is reduced to a constant -8.
*Flaying Sickness:
Parts of the character's skil falls off, making him suffer constant pain and makes him more suscptible to disease (-10 to Concentration, -4 to all charisma based skill checks except Intimidate , -2 to Dex, the character is unable to take ten on skill checks. -5 on all saves against disease.)
*Mild Insanity:
-4 to all Wis, Int and Cha based skill checks.
*Insanity:
-6 to all Wis, Int and Cha based skill checks. -4 to Will saves.
*Greater Insanity:
-6 to all Wis, Int and Cha based skill checks. -4 to Will saves. Acts as if under the effects of a Confusion spell.
*Genital warping:
Impotence, -20 to all charisma checks involving genitals. Males become eunuchs, suffering -2 to all charisma checks involving most sentient creatures. Females, if impregnated, tend to give birth to hideous monstrosities from the far planes.
etc, etc....


Casting Spells:

price by level:


0: 1 hp subdual
1: 1 hp
2: 3 hp ?
3: 5 hp or 1d2 con ?
4: etc ?
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:

 

[Nifft]

I'd consider d4 HD to be a debilitating condition. (Or at least the mechanical result of such a condition.)

If you're going to charge HP for casting a spell, you better give the spellcaster more HP. Seriously.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Nephtys]

I'd consider d4 HD to be a debilitating condition. (Or at least the mechanical result of such a condition.)

If you're going to charge HP for casting a spell, you better give the spellcaster more HP. Seriously.

Cheers, -- N

That's a concern, otoh, this kind of spellcaster is not intended for the typical dnd type of adventures where the PCs fight several battles a day. They can, if they have to, make a great impact on a battle if they decide that it's worth the price, but most battles are probably going to be dominated by the non-spellcasting classes.
Because of the rarity of magic items the casters remain quite powerful, though. And since they have a near-monopoly on magic they retain an essential role in any party/city/kingdom.

 

[Nifft]

Suggestion: don't design a class with the intent that it will be mostly useless, but infrequently will open a huge can of whoop-ass and win the game. That's fine in a movie, but not so much fun in a game.

-- N

 

[Nephtys]

Suggestion: don't design a class with the intent that it will be mostly useless, but infrequently will open a huge can of whoop-ass and win the game. That's fine in a movie, but not so much fun in a game.

-- N

Most of the time it would be boring for the caster, but he's still going to steal the glory from the others at the desicive moment... Maybe. I see the problem. It demands a lot of the player, I admit, and maybe it will turn out to be mostly for NPCs.

The other class, however, the evil version of caster, will have all of the advantages of this class and none of the draw-backs (unless having to round up sacrifices all the time and be universally hated outside of a fairly limited group of allies can be considered draw-backs). Maybe that would be a more fun class to play, though it would be unbalanced in combat compared to most non-optimized-prestige-class builds.

Both classes could work in a single-player game, but when other classes get involved things become more complicated...

Still, do you have any ideas for additional options of disabilities or class features?

 

[Arkhandus]

The point's been made so I'll delete this for the kinda snarky tone some of it used. But really, the point had to be clear, the class should be strictly an NPC class at most.

 

[Arkhandus]

And for reference, this is the closest thing I've ever made to such a spellcaster, the Magus. I never quite got to playtest it, but it's at least reasonably close to balanced (only real hitch to that is the Heal spell's massive amount of healing). It may give some ideas anyway, as I did base its spellcasting off of paying HP to cast.

They channel their own life force to harness arcane magic, but it's not a permanent sacrifice, and the life force they expend is just a medium to draw in and control the arcane energies they harness, not a direct conversion to arcane energies. For reference, Vitality is essentially Hit Points; this class was made for a slightly grittier D&D where HP was kinda divided; Constitution determines Health, and Vitality from hit dice and Con modifier represents just stamina and fighting ability, and there are penalties for going low on either. The Magi's spell list was identical to the Sorcerer's, and was my replacement for the Sorcerer in that setting. I never quite got around to detailing the Magus' background stuff.

[sblock]The Magus
The magus is also called the life mage, ecomancer, spirit mage, or spectral mage. They use their own life-force to power spells.

Game Rule Information
Magi have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Intelligence determines how powerful a spell a magus can cast, how many spells the magus knows, and how hard those spells are to resist. To cast a spell, a magus must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell’s level. A magus gets bonus spells based on Intelligence, but in a different way than other spellcasters. The Difficulty Class of a saving throw against a magus’ spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the magus’ Intelligence modifier. Intelligence is also important for several of a magus’ class skills. Constitution determines how much Vitality and Health the magus has, which is important to them since the number of spells they can cast each day depends on their Health and Vitality. Since magi tend to get involved in melee combat more often than other spellcasters, high Strength and Dexterity scores can be extremely helpful for some magi, and a high Constitution becomes even more important for such magi.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills
The magus’ class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int, exclusive), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the magus.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A magus is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. Armor and shields interfere quite a bit with a magus’ ability to cast spells that have somatic components, so magi tend to refrain from using any armor or shields. However, some magi who are particularly skilled in battle will gain proficiency with armor and shields so that they can fight more effectively, even though it decreases the success rate of the spells they attempt to cast.

Spells: A magus casts arcane spells from the Magus Spell List (see below). He casts these spells without needing to memorize them beforehand or keep a spellbook. The number of spells a magus knows are determined by his class level, as shown in the Magus Spells Known table. Magi do not have spell slots like other spellcasters do, and instead of using up spell slots to cast spells, magi expend small amounts of life-force. Thus, whenever a magus begins to cast a spell, his current Vitality is reduced by a number of points equal to 1 + the spell’s level (or it’s effective level, if modified by metamagic; though magus spells still have the same limits to their effective levels as those of any other spellcaster). If the spell’s level or effective level is 3rd or higher, then for every 4 levels or effective levels of the spell (considering metamagic adjustments to required spell slot, which function for a magus as simply an equivalent increase in Vitality or Health cost), the magus may instead reduce their current Health by 1 point, in place of the 4 Vitality they would have otherwise spent for the spell. Note that these reductions in Health and Vitality do not count as actual damage, and thus the magus does not begin to bleed to death after spending Health to cast a spell; however, they still suffer all the normal penalties and restrictions inherent to having their current Health or Vitality reach certain points, they just don’t begin bleeding to death after spending Health to cast a spell, because they pay in life-force rather than actually being injured. Note that the magus can also be healed after casting spells, such as a friendly cleric casting Cure Light Wounds upon the magus, and thus be able to cast more spells afterward, in such events. Also, a magus cannot cast any further spells if they would reduce either his Health or Vitality below 1 point; the magus cannot willingly, or even accidentally, cast so many spells to where they would kill him or knock him unconscious. However, due to the special way in which they cast their spells, the number of spells a magus can cast each day is limited only by their Health and Vitality and the amount of healing they receive that day. Magi receive bonus spells for high Intelligence, and to cast a spell a magus must have an Intelligence score at least equal to 10 + the level of the spell. Note however that due to the special way in which magi cast spells, their bonus spells for high Intelligence instead affect the number of spells the magus learns of any given spell level at the time they gain access to it, rather than allowing them to cast more spells per day; this is a special exception for the magus, since magi don’t have spell slots and cast their spells differently. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a magus’ spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the magus’ Intelligence modifier.

Summon Familiar: A magus can call a familiar, which is different from that of a wizard’s or sorcerer’s familiar. Doing so takes a day and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp. A familiar is a magical, unusually tough, and intelligent version of a small animal. It is a magical beast, not an animal. The magus chooses the type of familiar he gets. As the magus increases in level, his familiar also increases in power. If the familiar dies, or if the magus chooses to dismiss it, the magus must attempt a Fortitude saving throw against DC 15. If the saving throw fails, the magus loses 200 experience points per class level. A successful saving throw reduces the loss to half that amount. However, a magus’ experience point total can never go below zero as the result of a familiar’s demise. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and a day. Slain familiars can be raised from the dead just as characters can be, but do not lose levels or Constitution points when this happy event occurs. A magus’ familiar is just like a sorcerer’s or wizard’s familiar, except that the animals the magus can choose as familiars are somewhat different and more powerful, gaining a few additional traits. A magus’ familiar can be chosen from among the following special creatures.

Spectral Bat: Same as bat familiar, but has +4 higher Strength, and also grants master +6 to Listen.
Spectral Lynx: Same as cat familiar, but has +2 higher Strength and Dexterity, also has a +4 racial bonus on Listen checks, and also grants master +4 to Listen and Move Silently instead of just +2 Move Silently.
Spectral Falcon: Same as hawk familiar, but has +2 higher Strength and Dexterity, and also grants master +6 to Spot checks in any light at least so bright as torchlight.
Spectral Owl: Same as owl familiar, but has +2 higher Strength and Dexterity, and also grants master +2 to Concentration.
Spectral Fox: Same as rat familiar, but has +4 higher Strength, and also grants master +4 to Fortitude instead of just +2 to Fortitude.
Spectral Raven: Same as raven familiar, but has +4 higher Strength, and also grants master +2 to Search and Spot.
Spectral Serpent: Same as tiny snake familiar, but has +4 higher Strength, and also grants master +2 to Hide and Move Silently.
Spectral Salamander: Same as toad familiar, but has +4 higher Dexterity, and also grants master +2 to Swim and Fortitude, as well as granting its master +6 hit points, instead of granting its master +2 Constitution.
Spectral Ferret: Same as weasel familiar, but has +2 higher Strength and Dexterity, and also grants master +4 to Reflex instead of just +2 to Reflex.

Familiar's Spirit: All magus familiars are strong in spirit, allowing them to apply any armor, natural armor, and enhancement AC bonuses of theirs against attacks from incorporeal creatures. They are also able to strike incorporeal creatures as though wielding magical weapons, regardless of what attacks they use, and they ignore the 50% chance of failing to affect incorporeal creatures with weapons, natural weapons, unarmed strikes, and so on. Additionally, the familiar gains immunity to fear effects.

Familiar's Augmentation: At 9th-level, the magus’ familiar magically develops increased capabilities, permanently granting the familiar a +2 inherant bonus to all six ability scores, and also granting the familiar a permanent +3 enhancement bonus to attack and damage with its natural weapons and unarmed strikes, as well as a permanent +3 enhancement bonus to the familiar's natural armor to AC. Also, the familiar's enhancement bonus to natural weapons and unarmed strikes also carries over to grapple check damage, melee touch attack rolls, and other non-weapon melee attack rolls, but does not affect actual grapple checks nor the damage of other melee attacks (only unarmed strike, natural weapon, and grapple check damage).

Familiar's Spellcasting: Upon reaching 15th-level, the magus’ familiar gains the ability to cast spells. The familiar then casts spells just like its magus master does, knowing all of its master's magus spells up to the 3rd spell level and able to cast any of those spells just like the magus, but expending its own Vitality and Health instead. Magus familiars expend an additional 2 Vitality per magus spell they cast, and the familiar uses its own Intelligence score for determining save DCs, while the familiar also counts as a caster of its master’s caster level. The familiar does not gain any of the magus’ other feats, class features, or abilities, except that at 19th-level the familiar can henceforth use any of its master's feats that apply to magus spellcasting, except for item creation feats.

Bonus Feats: At 5th-level and every four levels following that, the magus gains a bonus feat. These feats are in addition to those gained from normal level advancement. Each of these feats must be either a metamagic feat or chosen from the following list: Ambidexterity, Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency**, Expertise, Far Shot, Great Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical**, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mobility, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Ride-By Attack, Shield Proficiency, Shot On The Run, Spell Focus***, Spell Penetration, Spirited Charge, Spring Attack, Stunning Fist, Sunder, Toughness*, Trample, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse**, Weapon Focus**, and Whirlwind Attack. Feats marked with an asterisk (*) may be taken more than once; feats with two asterisks (**) may also be taken more than once, but a different weapon must be chosen each additional time that any particular one of those feats is taken; and feats with three asterisks (***) may also be taken more than once, but a different school of magic must be chosen each additional time that any particular one of those feats is taken.

[I][U]The Magus:[/U]
Class	Attack			Fort.	Ref.	Will
Level	Bonus			Save	Save	Save	Special[/I]
1	+0			+0	+0	+2	Summon Familiar
2	+1			+0	+0	+3
3	+2			+1	+1	+3
4	+3			+1	+1	+4
5	+3			+1	+1	+4	Bonus Feat
6	+4			+2	+2	+5
7	+5			+2	+2	+5
8	+6/+1			+2	+2	+6
9	+6/+1			+3	+3	+6	Bonus Feat
10	+7/+2			+3	+3	+7
11	+8/+3			+3	+3	+7
12	+9/+4			+4	+4	+8
13	+9/+4			+4	+4	+8	Bonus Feat
14	+10/+5			+4	+4	+9
15	+11/+6/+1		+5	+5	+9
16	+12/+7/+2		+5	+5	+10
17	+12/+7/+2		+5	+5	+10	Bonus Feat
18	+13/+8/+3		+6	+6	+11
19	+14/+9/+4		+6	+6	+11
20	+15/+10/+5		+6	+6	+12

[I]Magus Spells Known:
[B]Class					Spells Known
Level		0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9[/B][/I]
1		4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2		5	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3		5	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4		6	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5		6	5	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6		6	5	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
7		7	5	4	3	1	-	-	-	-	-
8		7	6	5	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
9		7	6	5	4	3	1	-	-	-	-
10		7	7	6	4	3	2	-	-	-	-
11		7	7	6	4	3	3	1	-	-	-
12		7	7	6	5	4	3	2	-	-	-
13		7	7	6	5	4	4	3	1	-	-
14		7	7	7	5	5	4	3	2	-	-
15		7	7	7	6	5	4	3	3	1	-
16		7	7	7	6	5	5	4	3	2	-
17		7	7	7	6	5	5	4	4	3	1
18		7	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	3	2
19		7	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3
20		7	7	7	6	6	5	5	5	4	4

[/sblock]

 

[Nifft]

Every level he gains he can choose from the following uncurable disabilities:

*Aging:
Gain an Age category.
*Muscular atrophy:
-4 to Str, -4 to Dex.
*Weakness of the Heart:
-6 to Con.
*Slow Nerves:
-6 to Dex.
*Blindness 1 (Clouding of the eyes):
-1 to AC, loses half his Dex bonus to AC, takes a -4 penalty to Search checks and most Strength and Dex skill checks, All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) take a penalty of -10. All opponents are considered to have concealment (25% miss chance) to the blinded character.
*Blindness 2:
The character cannot see. He takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class, loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), moves at half speed, and takes a -4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded character.
*Osteoporosis and rheumatism:
Moves at half base speed (though magical boni apply normally). Takes 150% damage from blunt weapons. -2 to Str, -2 to dex.
*Paralysis of the Legs:
Moves maximum 5ft per round without aid.
*Paralysis of the Arms:
Cannot use somatic components, use weapons or shields.
*Bowel Cramps:
25% chance each round of being unable to act (dazed) because of crippling pain.
*Irregular Bowels:
The character cannot control his bowels, emmitting noxious gasses, liquids, solids or sounds at unpredictable (though frequent) times. Without diapers he takes a random -5, -10 or -20 penalty to all charisma checks involving most sentient creatures. With diapers the penalty is reduced to a constant -8.
*Flaying Sickness:
Parts of the character's skil falls off, making him suffer constant pain and makes him more suscptible to disease (-10 to Concentration, -4 to all charisma based skill checks except Intimidate , -2 to Dex, the character is unable to take ten on skill checks. -5 on all saves against disease.)
*Mild Insanity:
-4 to all Wis, Int and Cha based skill checks.
*Insanity:
-6 to all Wis, Int and Cha based skill checks. -4 to Will saves.
*Greater Insanity:
-6 to all Wis, Int and Cha based skill checks. -4 to Will saves. Acts as if under the effects of a Confusion spell.
*Genital warping:
Impotence, -20 to all charisma checks involving genitals. Males become eunuchs, suffering -2 to all charisma checks involving most sentient creatures. Females, if impregnated, tend to give birth to hideous monstrosities from the far planes.
etc, etc....

Any one of these would be a character-ender for most characters (except the genitals one, because we don't play with genitals at my game table).

Think about how much fun it would be to play this guy in someone else's game.

-- N

 

[Nephtys]

It looks like everyone agrees that the class is a terrible idea, you've even convinced me. Otoh, there are other classes not meant for PCs (but which allow the option to play them). At least the Martyr is more interesting (to me at least) than the Commoner or Expert. Maybe this class should be seen more as a worldbuilding-method than as a viable PC class. Then the game would center on fighters, rangers, barbarians and and rogues (with a bunch of nonmagical pretige-classes) fighting, and/or cooperating with, the awesomely overpowered Life-Casters (which is a bad name too btw.).
Yes, magic and life are interchangeable and magic that's cast would eventually seep back into nature in the form of life. At places where great amounts of magic are used in a short time that can cause bizarre side effects, cancers, mutations, and monsters.
The learning mechanic for spells would be broken for normal Wizards of Sorcerers, but I think we can agree it's a meager compensation to an underpowered class in this case and therefore not broken.

Obviously I'm not forcing anyone to play anything they don't want to play, so there's no need to get too snarky about this. I'm mostly creating the setting for my own amusement, and it probably won't get played at all, so noone else will suffer from it. Thanks anyway for replying to the thread.

... we don't play with genitals at my game table).

That would be a different kind of role-playing from what I had in mind here, but sometimes it can be fun to mix the two a little (in the right group, that is).

 

[wargear]

In a setting like this, I would put serious consideration into a d12 hp spellcaster class that only had access to an extremely limited selection of evocation type spells...possibly even a prestige class with harsh entry requirements. The spellcaster is giving up their huge bredth of spell versatility in return for the ability to wreak terrible carnage in battle.

Another idea from a campaign I ran a few years back. Sacrificial magic items. For example, a Longsword that can function at anything from +1 to +3, depending on how many (of your own) hp you sacrifice to it that round. Now imagine a Staff of Power that requires a Con point sacrifice to activate it for a number of rounds, followed by hp expenditure to activate specific spells...