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So yes, there it is, since I don't know how to make it clearer than with it's own archetype name.
Ingesting it's foes to absorb their strength, courage or wits and sunder bones more effectively as to keep the natural, eternal cycle Barbarian -> You -> Animals -> Little animals -> Insects -> You after meeting AM BARBARIAN, here is the Cannibal.
It is obviously stackable with True Primitive and Savage barbarians... but also with Urban Barbarians, for all these classy Hannibal gourmets with ranks in Sense Motive and Knowledge (Ancient Arts).
Hope you'll like the archetype !
Like always, any comment is appreciated if you feel like it. ;)
Cannibal
Despite being a deeply taboo activity in most civilized societies, some barbarians, either by superstition, wicked tastes, or daily famine, don't fear to indulge themselves in the regulary consumption of creatures, and notably of intelligent beings. Most cannibals take pride in ingesting the most dangerous foes available whenever possible, thinking this ritual provides them the strength and the courage of the fallen, through litteral ingestion of their soul under their own power. While some barbarians are surprisingly skilled gourmets, and others, bestial antropophages eating their preys alive, it is never a good idea to excite their frenzy by spilling blood – especially yours.
Class Skills
A cannibal adds Profession (Cook) to her class skills.
Blood Frenzy (Ex)
A cannibal’s rage functions as normal like a barbarian's or barbarian archetype's rage, except that once per day, whenever she is able to scent, track or taste fresh blood of a living creature with less than half it's hit points, either through a survival skill check, the Scent ability, a bite attack on a creature suffering from a bleed effect, or a critical hit with a bite attack, she gains a +2 bonus to her Strength, and an additional -1 penalty to AC during one minute or until the target is dead.
A cannibal may not stop her frenzy voluntarily, though she may restrain herself from attacking and focus her hostility on something else if the bleeding target is an ally. This doesn't furthermore affect her mental abilities during the rage.
Some Like It Raw (Ex)
At 2nd level, a cannibal gains the Razortusk feat as a bonus feat. She does not need to be a half-orc. If the barbarian has a primary bite attack from another source, like from a rage power or racial trait, increase the damage dice of one step for each additional source, and add one to the damage of the bite whenever the damage step increases for the bite (1d4,1d6+1,1d8+2, etc).
In addition, once per day, if the barbarian engages in the consumption of a creature she killed or at least put unconscious by herself in the last 24 hours, she may gain one of the following bonuses during 24 hours, depending on the body part she devours :
- Blood : The barbarian recovers a number of hit points equal to the creature's number of hit dice + the creature's Constitution modifier. Any hit points in addition to her maximum of hit points become temporary hit points which stack with temporary hit points provided by a temporary increase of her Constitution modifier.
- Brains : The barbarian gains a +2 enhancement bonus to one mental stat of her choice, usually the highest of the creature eaten. Once during the following 24 hours, the cannibal may gain the effects of an Augury spell, using her barbarian level as her caster level.
- Eyes : The barbarian gains a +2 bonus to Perception checks. Once during the following 24 hours, the cannibal may gain the effects of a See Invisibility spell, using her barbarian level as her caster level.
- Heart : The barbarian gains a +2 sacred bonus to saves against fear and mind-affecting effects.
- Marrow : The barbarian gains DR 1/-. This stacks with any DR received from a class feature.
- Muscles : Once during the following day, the barbarian may gain a +2 bonus to Strength during one round as an immediate action.
Festing on a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the cannibal’s character level does not provide any bonus. A cannibal may eat more than one body part at a time, but only one of them ritualistically provides a bonus to the cannibal. This choice is made when the meal is taken. Eating the flesh has a 5% risk of transmitting Disentry, Shakes or Firegut, and a 10% risk to transmit Filth Fever or Red Ache. These numbers double every day if the meat is left unattended. These risks are reduced by 5% if the flesh is extracted or eaten from a living creature, in which case it is an evil act. Cooking the flesh eliminates the risk of catching a sickness, but needs 20 minutes of preparation, and it begins to rot as if extracted from a living creature after 24 hours.
This ability replaces uncanny dodge.
Fat is Life (Su)
At 5th level, a cannibal gains the Cook People witch hex. This works like the hex of the same name, with the following differences : the cannibal does not need a cauldron (though this doesn't remove the need for cooking tools), she may not produce a homonculus, and cooking or eating the food made from an evil intelligent humanoid that is already dead, even if taboo, isn't an evil act, merely a neutral one. With proper conservation, a meal made with this hex may be conservated up to a number of days equal to 1 for every 4 levels the cannibal has attained.
In addition, once per round and a number of times per day equal to her constitution modifier, when a cannibal hits with a bite attack, she may heal a number of HPs equal to the base damage dice rolled. The cannibal can't gain more than the subject's current hit points + the subject's Constitution score (which is enough to kill the subject).
This ability replaces improved uncanny dodge.
Rage Powers: The following rage powers complement the cannibal archetype: animal fury, bleeding blow, come and get me, crippling blow, eater of magic, mighty swing, primal scent, powerful blow, scent, strength surge, superstition.
I like the idea but I want to propose a slight change.
I propose that victims of the cannibal are sorted into three different tiers. The higher the tier, the more beneficial the effect of eating that victim is.
Top Tier: The victim has the same race as you. So a half-orc cannibal gains the best effect from eating other half-orcs.
Middle Tier: This covers all intelligent humanoids or whatever. This is basically stuff that gives a decent bonus but is a far larger group than the above, covering multiple different races as long as they are reasonably similar to your own. A half-orc eating a human gains less than if he were eating another half-orc.
Low Tier: This covers anything not covered above. Magical beasts, animals, whatever.
In addition, one can perhaps give the barbarian the ability to pick a "faoured dinner" kind of monster as well in addition to getting the effects of the above, covering a wider group than either above yet being far more specific and difficult to get your hands on. For example angels, dragons, demons, devils etc. etc.
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Food "tiers" is something I thought about, but they imply you either find yourself with a more-than-circumstancial power, or need to get more class features, like if you only have one Favorite Enemy or terrain while you are in a campaign with lots of diverse environments and races as foes.
I would prefer it if said Tiers were based on the menace the creature brought upon you, instead of race. High CR should be more beneficial than eating a simple member of it's own race, and the benefit should depend on the creature eaten, which should reflect more on the next writting of the ability.
All of this uncluding a rage powers tree (the following is only a poor, quickly-thought example, real build will come later) :
Devourer, lesser : choose a favored enemy, like the Ranger class feature. You gain only half the normal benefits of this class feature, but if you are a cannibal, you double the numerical bonuses provided by the Some like it raw ability when you consume a favored enemy.
Devourer : Each time you cannibalize a creature, you may gain the benefit from eating two organs instead of one.
Devourer, greater : The bonuses provided when you cannibalize a creature become permanent. You may not benefit from more than two bonuses at the same time, but you can change these benefits by cannibalizing a creature and choosing which benefit(s) you wish to replace.
Creepy and flavorful and awesome.
At first glance it looks like it integrates well with existing material
The only issue I have seen thus far is with the rage powers.
They don't have anything to do with raging, which all rage powers I'm aware of do. Might I recommend rebalancing them as feats instead?
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Creepy and flavorful and awesome.
At first glance it looks like it integrates well with existing material
Thank you, glad you like it ! :)
The only issue I have seen thus far is with the rage powers.
They don't have anything to do with raging, which all rage powers I'm aware of do. Might I recommend rebalancing them as feats instead?
As I said, the previous powers were only poorly-thought examples. Feats are less interesting to write since I don't know of a lot of DMs who would allow a feat found on the Internet, even if magnificently written ; while an archetype is easy to DM-check for balance and integrate/refuse if necessary. (Hint : the cannibal should not be a game-breaker to include in your game.) ;)
Here are powers that will prove more in line with Pathfinder's style, and better integrated in the case you decide to allow this class to be played in your game (including as an enemy NPC), followed by a rewrite of the archetype that should be both better balanced, and even more flavorful. Check for the differences, I think they are worth it, and I hope you'll like it even better ! :(No prerequisites)
Devourer, lesser (Ex): While raging, the barbarian gains the benefit of the ranger's Favored Enemy class feature against any creature sharing the type (and if necessary, the subtype) of a creature from which she ate a body part during the last 24 hours. A barbarian may only benefit of this effect against one type (or the associated subtype) of creature at a time.
(Prerequisites : Level 6, Devourer, lesser)
Devourer (Ex): While she is raging, the barbarian gains the Some like it raw class feature from the Cannibal barbarian archetype, allowing her to gain bonuses from eating body parts of a creature. If she already has this class feature, she instead gains the benefits from eating two organs instead of only one each time she consumes a prey.
(Prerequisites : Level 12, Devourer)
Devourer, greater (Su): Eating a creature killed during the last 24 hours litteraly provides the barbarian with it's traits, powers and abilities.
If the consumed creature possessed special abilities in the following list, the barbarian may choose to gain the benefits of one ability per organ eaten (and giving her a bonus through the Some like it raw class feature) when she is raging :
Burrow 60 feet, climb 90 feet, fly 120 feet (good maneuverability), swim 120 feet, blindsense 60 feet, darkvision 90 feet, low-light vision, scent, tremorsense 60 feet, blood frenzy, breath weapon, cold vigor, constrict, ferocity, freeze, grab, horrific appearance, jet, leap attack, mimicry, natural cunning, overwhelming, poison, pounce, rake, rend, roar, sound mimicry, speak with sharks, spikes, trample, trip, and web.
(Prerequisite : Devourer)
Eat Anything (Ex): A barbarian with this power is immune to diseases catch from eating raw or rotten flesh. When she is raging, she may tear appart and consume body parts of constructs and oozes as if they were respectively marrow and blood without damaging herself. Since these are mindless creatures, doing so isn't an evil act.
Special : A barbarian with the ghost rager rage power may consume incorporeal creatures during a rage, as if they were corporeal.
And for the revisited archetype :
Cannibal
Despite being a deeply taboo activity in most civilized societies, some barbarians, either by superstition, wicked tastes, or daily famine, don't fear to indulge themselves in the regulary consumption of creatures, and notably of intelligent beings. Most cannibals take pride in ingesting the most dangerous foes available whenever possible, thinking this ritual provides them the strength and the courage of the fallen, through litteral ingestion of their soul under their own power. While some barbarians are surprisingly skilled gourmets, and others, bestial antropophages eating their preys alive, it is never a good idea to excite their frenzy by spilling blood – especially yours.
Blood Frenzy (Ex)
A cannibal’s rage functions as normal like a barbarian's or barbarian archetype's rage, except that once per day, whenever she is able to scent, track or taste fresh blood of a living creature with less than half it's hit points, either through a survival skill check, the Scent ability, a bite attack on a creature suffering from a bleed effect, or a critical hit with a bite attack, she gains a +2 bonus to her Strength, and an additional -1 penalty to AC during one minute or until the bleeding creature is dead.
A cannibal may not stop her frenzy voluntarily, though she may restrain herself from attacking and focus her hostility on something else if the bleeding target is an ally. This doesn't furthermore affect her mental abilities during the rage.
Some Like It Raw (Ex)
At 2nd level, a cannibal gains the Razortusk feat as a bonus feat. She does not need to be a half-orc. If the barbarian has a primary bite attack from another source, like from a rage power or racial trait, increase the damage dice of one step for each additional source, and add one to the damage of the bite whenever the damage step increases for the bite (1d4,1d6+1,1d8+2, etc).
In addition, once per day, if the barbarian engages in the consumption of a creature she helped to kill or at least put unconscious in the last 24 hours, she may gain one of the following bonuses during 24 hours, depending on the body part she devours :
- Blood: The barbarian gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the creature's number of hit dice + the creature's Constitution modifier. These temporary hit points stack with temporary hit points provided by a temporary increase of her Constitution modifier.
- Brains: The barbarian gains a +2 enhancement bonus to one mental stat of her choice, usually the highest of the creature eaten. Once during the following 24 hours, the cannibal may gain the effects of an Augury spell-like ability, using her barbarian level as her caster level.
- Eyes: The barbarian gains a +2 bonus to Perception checks. Once during the following 24 hours, the cannibal may gain the effects of a See Invisibility spell-like ability, using her barbarian level as her caster level.
- Heart: The barbarian gains a +2 sacred bonus to saves against fear and mind-affecting effects.
- Marrow: The barbarian gains DR 1/-. This stacks with any DR received from a class feature.
- Muscles: Once during the following day, the barbarian may gain a +2 bonus to Strength during one round as an immediate action.
Festing on a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the cannibal’s character level does not provide any bonus. On the opposite, the bonuses provided by eating a creature with at least three more class levels, or more than double the barbarian's Hit Dice last for one week, and do not count in the daily limit of body parts a cannibal may gain benefits from. This allows a cannibal to benefit from a specific organ during one week, and of another one each day.
A cannibal may eat more than one body part on the same meal, but only one of them ritualistically provides a bonus to the cannibal, and a barbarian may never gain the benefits of a specific body part twice at the same time. This choice is made when the meal is taken.
Eating the flesh has a 5% risk of transmitting Disentry, Shakes or Firegut, a 10% risk to transmit Filth Fever or Red Ache, and a 10% risk to transmit Ghoul Fever if taken from an undead. Roll the risk and sickness when the meal is taken. These numbers double every day if the meat is left unattended. These risks are reduced by 5% if the flesh is extracted or eaten from a living creature, in which case it is an evil act. Cooking the flesh eliminates the risk of catching a sickness, but needs 30 minutes of preparation, and the food begins to rot as if extracted from a living creature after 12 hours.
This ability has no effect on constructs, oozes, incorporeal creatures, and globally on any creature without a discernable biological anatomy.
This ability replaces uncanny dodge.
Fat is Life (Su)
At 5th level, a cannibal gains the Cook People witch hex. This works like the hex of the same name, with the following differences : the cannibal does not need a cauldron (though this doesn't remove the need for cooking tools), she may not produce a homonculus, and cooking or eating the food made from an evil intelligent humanoid that is already dead, even if taboo, isn't an evil act, merely a neutral one. With proper conservation, a meal made with this hex may be conservated up to a number of days equal to 1 for every 4 levels the cannibal has attained.
In addition, a number of times per day equal to half her level, when a cannibal hits with a bite attack, she may tear off and devour a bit of the creature to heal a number of HPs equal to the base damage dice rolled, also inflicting 1 point of bleed damage to the target.
The cannibal can't gain more than the subject's current hit points + the subject's Constitution score (which is enough to kill the subject). The cannibal may not regain HP from constructs, oozes, and incorporeal creatures unless she has the eat anything rage power.
This ability replaces improved uncanny dodge.
Rage Powers: The following rage powers complement the cannibal archetype: animal fury, bleeding blow, come and get me, crippling blow, devourer, eat anything, eater of magic, mighty swing, primal scent, powerful blow, scent, strength surge, superstition.
Very, very cool. I was working on a conversion of an Ogre Butcher from warhammer, but this is probably better done.
I assume the bonus from Devourer (which I officially dub the OM NOM totem line) only comes in while raging.
That said, it looks very neat.
Possibly unintended side effect of the "Devourer" power: PC ends up carrying a wide assortment of "monster jerky," such that they can conveniently pull out and eat some of any given creature type, should they encounter one worth raging at.
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Possibly unintended side effect of the "Devourer" power: PC ends up carrying a wide assortment of "monster jerky," such that they can conveniently pull out and eat some of any given creature type, should they encounter one worth raging at.
Hence the sickness-related penalties for eating unattended food. :)
But you are right, I should have precised that the creature must have been killed during the previous 24 hours for lesser Devourer to have any effect ; reduced the bonus granted ; or increased the decaying rate of food (the latter I'll probably do) - this is the Cannibal after all, not the Scavenger.With this cheese reminder, right now I have in my head the image of a barbarian carrying alive slaves/prisoners to devour them whenever they should deal with one of their kind. Suddenly, high-level slaves, or monster hunters find a nice utility for some barbarians. This is sickly bad for a bad guy, especially a post-TPK bad guy after the PCs have been defeated and captured for later "use".
@Kazarath : Ah ah, thanks, I hope you have a blast playing with it if you have the occasion. ;)
@Trinam : Corrected. A non-cannibal may by RAW (pun !) only eat a body part when it is still raw, since they need to be raging for this power to have any effect, and I doubt they have 30 minutes of rage rounds per day. ("AAAAARH MEAT NOT SEASONED ENOUGH, MUST ADD SALT AND CURRY, GRAAAH"). Granted, a cannibal still does not need to be raging to benefit from eating two organs at a time... except that you could also read the ability as saying "a cannibal may eat one organ while raging, she gains it's benefits in addition to another one eaten during the day", which I think is the more appropriate one to apply in your game.
@jlord : Rofl, didn't know about this one. Cannibal pixie FTW.
@Trinam : Corrected. A non-cannibal may by RAW (pun !) only eat a body part when it is still raw, since they need to be raging for this power to have any effect, and I doubt they have 30 minutes of rage rounds per day. ("AAAAARH MEAT NOT SEASONED ENOUGH, MUST ADD SALT AND CURRY, GRAAAH"). Granted, a cannibal still does not need to be raging to benefit from eating two organs at a time... except that you could also read the ability as saying "a cannibal may eat one organ while raging, she gains it's benefits in addition to another one eaten during the day", which I think is the more appropriate one to apply in your game.
Actually, a properly built Half-Orc barbarian with a merciful weapon and a friend could not only rage for a half-hour, they could literally rage for 24 hours continuously. Other than that, I don't see them ever cooking the meat. Not to mention you'd have to be an Urban barbarian to cook while raging.
...Hrmmm... Hannibal was a Half-Orc?
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Actually, a properly built Half-Orc barbarian with a merciful weapon and a friend could not only rage for a half-hour, they could literally rage for 24 hours continuously. Other than that, I don't see them ever cooking the meat. Not to mention you'd have to be an Urban barbarian to cook while raging.
...Hrmmm... Hannibal was a Half-Orc?
Hannibal had a thing for biting off the face/nose of someone, that's for sure.
If two Urban Barbarians properly built, with the good race, the good weapons and acting together are the only ones able to gain the benefits of this talent without risking a sickness (Fort save on a barbarian, someone ?), I think it's good enough. ;)
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Some final changes made, available here :
- Blood frenzy AC penalty increased to -2.
- Meat turns bad way quicker.
- Except Greater Devourer, all rage powers are now usable only during a rage, and better described as to avoid cheese. Note that Greater Devourer may still provide a bonus only when you are raging if you are a cannibal from the beginning, so the global game design is still respected.
- Precision added on the Eat Anything rage power concerning incorporeal creatures and devouring organs.
- Greater Devourer doesn't provide Leap Attack anymore, but several other bonuses have been added as to get a bonus from eating elven, halfling, or gnome meat !
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Should be carnivore, not cannibal.
Need to call out action required to consume flesh. I would say full round to prevent someone eating a jerky as swift or move action to retool the character quickly.
Maybe a bonus for eating the flesh of the living?
Carnivore seemed a bit too common a name, and I think the class features, even if they extend your possibilities at higher levels, tend to follow the whole "cannibal" thematic at lower levels - especially with the lesser Devourer Favored Enemy bonus which essentially gives you advantages against your kind whenever you eat one of your own.
Good catch on the time required to consume flesh though. Full-round action provoking an attack of opportunity is the way to go when you are doing it raw.
Eating the flesh of the living is an evil act giving a +2 creepiness bonus to roleplay, has less risks of catching a disease, and is indispensable at higher levels for the purpose of the Devourer "OM NOM totem" rage powers line since it is almost impossible to cook/prepare a creature while raging. ;)