[XPH] Open, Legal Psionic Snake-Men -- Balance Help, Please!
- Thread starter Nifft
- Start date
Nifft
Penguin Herder
Set Touched as a Human Paragon alternative
Prerequisites:
Race: Human and 1st level
or
Race: Human
Feats: Persuasive, Psionic Talent (see below)
Special: ability to manifest 1st level powers
Benefits:
HD: d8
BAB: 3/4 (as Cleric)
Good Save: Will
Skill Points: 2 + Int bonus
Class Skills: Climb, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local, psionics), Listen, Move Silently, Psicraft and Swim.
Proficiencies: You are proficient with Simple weapons, Light armor, and Shields (but not tower shields).
Special Abilities:
Design Notes:
1/ Still four sucky Humanoid HD: one good save, low skill points, Simple weapons.
2/ No ability boost or penalty (instead of -2/+6).
3/ Instead of a +2 ability boost at "capstone level", they get Power Resistance. That's a lot of juicy goodness. Is it too much?
4/ Half-caster. Kinda sucks. The Feat prereqs kinda suck too. So, it can get something a bit better than other Paragon classes.
Prerequisites:
Race: Human and 1st level
or
Race: Human
Feats: Persuasive, Psionic Talent (see below)
Special: ability to manifest 1st level powers
Benefits:
HD: d8
BAB: 3/4 (as Cleric)
Good Save: Will
Skill Points: 2 + Int bonus
Class Skills: Climb, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local, psionics), Listen, Move Silently, Psicraft and Swim.
Proficiencies: You are proficient with Simple weapons, Light armor, and Shields (but not tower shields).
Code:
[u]
Level BAB F/R/W Psionics Special Abilities [/u]
1 +0 +0/0/2 -- Persuasive, Poison Use, Psionic Talent
2 +1 +0/0/3 +1 Level Darkvision 60 ft.
3 +2 +1/1/3 -- Lesser Wild Shape (viper)
4 +3 +1/1/4 +1 Level Reptile Apotheosis, Power ResistanceSpecial Abilities:
- Psionics: Choose a class in which you can already manifest psionic powers. If you have no such class, you can choose Psion or Wilder, and gain powers known and power points (but no other class features) as though you had gained levels in that class.
- Persuasive, Psionic Talent: If this class is your first class level, you gain one of them as a free bonus feat, and you use your Human Bonus feat to take the other. If this is not your first class level, you must have both of these feats (as prerequisites to this paragon class). Note that if you gain Psionic Talent for free at 1st level, you gain a power point reserve and the [Psionic] subtype, and you gain this feat even if you were unqualified for it.
- Poison Use (Ex): You never risk nicking yourself when applying poison to a weapon.
- Darkvision (Ex): Out to 60 ft.
- Lesser Wild Shape (Su): You can change into a Viper of your size category for up to 5 minutes, once per day. When your total character level (racial HD plus class levels) is 5 or greater, this ability turns into regular Wild Shape 1/day, but you are still restricted to viper forms. If you later gain Wild Shape from another source, your uses per day stack, but you may never take the form of a mammal.
- Reptile Apotheosis (Ex): You gain the (Reptilian) subtype in addition to the (Human) subtype. You also gain a +1 racial natural armor bonus. You are no longer human, but the differences are small. You have a +10 racial bonus to disguise yourself as a normal human.
- Power Resistance (Su): You gain Power Resistance equal to 11 + your character level.
Design Notes:
1/ Still four sucky Humanoid HD: one good save, low skill points, Simple weapons.
2/ No ability boost or penalty (instead of -2/+6).
3/ Instead of a +2 ability boost at "capstone level", they get Power Resistance. That's a lot of juicy goodness. Is it too much?
4/ Half-caster. Kinda sucks. The Feat prereqs kinda suck too. So, it can get something a bit better than other Paragon classes.
Last edited:
Nifft
Penguin Herder
Typical Encounters
Jungle Patrol: Pair of Set-Touched, EL 5
Medium Humanoid (Human, Reptilian, Psionic)
HD: 4d8 (18 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
AC: 17 (+1 Dex, +1 natural, +4 inertial armor, +1 buckler), touch 11, flat-footed 16
BAB/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: Dagger +4 (1d4 plus poison, 19/x2) or thrown dagger +4 (1d4 plus poison, 19/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Psionics
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., detect poison, poison use, PR 15, wild shape
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +5
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 9
Skills: Concentration +4, Hide +4, Move Silently +4, Listen +4, Spot +4, Survival +8
Feats: Weapon Finesse (B), Psionic Talent (B), Track, Speed of Thought
Equipment
Each scout carries three daggers coated with black adder venom (DC 11, 1d6/1d6 Con damage).
Psionics
Scout 1: 6/9 Power Points. Powers: Inertial Armor, Entangling Ectoplasm, Missive, Know Direction and Location, Control Light
Scout 2: 6/9 Power Points. Powers: Inertial Armor, Entangling Ectoplasm, Missive, Far Hand, Detect Psionics
Encounter: These are the less-charismatic Set Touched who have been forced into the lowest level of service: jungle patrol. Assume they have already spent one PP on inertial armor prior to the encounter -- armor statistics already factored in above. The statistics assume that the Jungle Patrol scouts have each used 3 PP prior to the encounter; in general, assign each scout 9-1d6 PP to represent expending power points over the course of his patrol.
The scouts of the Jungle Patrol have exactly one goal, if they should detect the PCs: to get away. They will hinder the PCs progress if the PCs seem capable of catching them (using entangling ectoplasm), but in general they will use their powers to conceal their presence (control light) and create distractions (far hand). They try to communicate silently, using missive if one sees something complex that must be immediately communicated, or needs to communicate a complex plan.
The scouts will use their snake forms if forced into melee combat, or to escape detection, or if they need to swim. Their statistics in medium viper form are:
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
AC: 20 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +4 inertial armor), touch 13, flat-footed 17
BAB/Grapple: +3/+2
Attack: Bite +6 (1d4-1 plus poison, 20/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Psionics, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., detect poison, poison use, PR 15, wild shape
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 9
Skills: Concentration +4, Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Listen +4, Spot +4, Survival +8
Poison: DC 11, 1d6/1d6 Con
Jungle Patrol: Pair of Set-Touched, EL 5
Medium Humanoid (Human, Reptilian, Psionic)
HD: 4d8 (18 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
AC: 17 (+1 Dex, +1 natural, +4 inertial armor, +1 buckler), touch 11, flat-footed 16
BAB/Grapple: +3/+3
Attack: Dagger +4 (1d4 plus poison, 19/x2) or thrown dagger +4 (1d4 plus poison, 19/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Psionics
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., detect poison, poison use, PR 15, wild shape
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +5
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 9
Skills: Concentration +4, Hide +4, Move Silently +4, Listen +4, Spot +4, Survival +8
Feats: Weapon Finesse (B), Psionic Talent (B), Track, Speed of Thought
Equipment
Each scout carries three daggers coated with black adder venom (DC 11, 1d6/1d6 Con damage).
Psionics
Scout 1: 6/9 Power Points. Powers: Inertial Armor, Entangling Ectoplasm, Missive, Know Direction and Location, Control Light
Scout 2: 6/9 Power Points. Powers: Inertial Armor, Entangling Ectoplasm, Missive, Far Hand, Detect Psionics
Encounter: These are the less-charismatic Set Touched who have been forced into the lowest level of service: jungle patrol. Assume they have already spent one PP on inertial armor prior to the encounter -- armor statistics already factored in above. The statistics assume that the Jungle Patrol scouts have each used 3 PP prior to the encounter; in general, assign each scout 9-1d6 PP to represent expending power points over the course of his patrol.
The scouts of the Jungle Patrol have exactly one goal, if they should detect the PCs: to get away. They will hinder the PCs progress if the PCs seem capable of catching them (using entangling ectoplasm), but in general they will use their powers to conceal their presence (control light) and create distractions (far hand). They try to communicate silently, using missive if one sees something complex that must be immediately communicated, or needs to communicate a complex plan.
The scouts will use their snake forms if forced into melee combat, or to escape detection, or if they need to swim. Their statistics in medium viper form are:
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
AC: 20 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +4 inertial armor), touch 13, flat-footed 17
BAB/Grapple: +3/+2
Attack: Bite +6 (1d4-1 plus poison, 20/x2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Psionics, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., detect poison, poison use, PR 15, wild shape
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 9
Skills: Concentration +4, Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Listen +4, Spot +4, Survival +8
Poison: DC 11, 1d6/1d6 Con
green slime
First Post
Looking good Nifft. As usual.
