First off, yes, yes, we have a hundred of these threads, I know. We all know there's problems with these classes, though the rogue is more in being outpaced and the monk in just being non-effective in many ways.
But of course, they pop up in campaigns anyway because a) They're classics and b) martial arts and backstabbing, woot.
So here's my 'fix' to the classes that I plan to use in my campaign- was hoping for opinions.
Monk
Flurry of Blows changes entirely, Diamond Soul receives a quick fix.
Flurry of Blows:
At first level, a monk may make a single attack action as a swift action. At eleventh level, they may do so as an immediate action.
Diamond Soul:
As an immediate action, the monk may raise or lower their spell resistance.
Hopeful Results?:
I'm hoping that Flurry of Blows will allow them to use their mobility to the fullest, and that the Diamond Soul ability makes it easier for allies to heal/buff them in the midst of combat. This doesn't really do much as far as magic item dependence, but I'm hoping to solve that in my game via other routes.
Rogue
Rogue receives a new ability at third level, and at seventh.
Cunning:
[ex]At third level, the rogue may apply their int modifier in place of strength to damage with a light weapon. Alternatively, they may apply it to their AC, as Canny Defense. Once chosen, this selection may not be changed.
Mark:
[ex]Starting at seventh level, a rogue may 'mark' a target as a swift action, gaining a +2 competence bonus on bluff, diplomacy, intimidate, sense motive, and sleight of hand when used on that individual. A rogue may only mark one target each hour, and may only have one mark at any time. At thirteenth level, the skill bonus increases to +4; and the rogue applies a +2 bonus to attack and damage modifiers against their mark.
Hopeful Results?:
Here, I'm just giving the rogue an alternative to dervish or a simple AC boost; whereas Mark gives a nice benefit for the higher-levels.
This isn't the sort of thing I'd toss out in a pdf, but for a home campaign I think it might work. Any thoughts? Am I maybe missing a broken option these provide, or are these superfluous to the problems?
A somewhat-ready first draft. The class itself is generic, but there's plenty of room with the Guild Powers and guilds themselves to provide all the flavor such a class really needs; and three sample guilds besides.
I plan to add a few more fleshed-out guilds later, but I thought I'd see the thoughts on what I had so far first.
Group was-
Human Paladin 2, going sorcerer so higher charisma than anything
Half-Elf Ranger 1, Archer focus
Half-Elf Slayer 1, Dual Wielding Short Swords
Neither side was using 'optimal' build or tactics, but neither did either side pull any punches. Warpriest did have time to prepare buffs.
Simple 30ft by 30ft arena, with spikes on the walls to add 1d6 damage to any bullrushes or the like.
Round 1- versus level 3 Dwarf Warpriest.
Slayer marked her target and moved in for a swing. Then got knocked down by that warhammer's massive damage. Paladin moved to heal, and the rest of the battle was mostly a slugfest- the Dwarf's healing wasn't enough to save him from 3 PC's, though he did nearly gib the melee two.
Warpriest Buffs- Unholy Blessing.
Round 2- versus level 4 Dwarf Warpriest.
Very different. Party won init, so they all moved first- Slayer did the same as last, but paladin was able to smite and attack right away. Cleave from the bonus feats managed to knock off a LOT of hit points, and only a lucky stabilize from the Slayer and the Ranger providing some close-range meat shielding allowed victory.
Warpriest Buffs- Sacred Weapon, Shield of Faith, Unholy Blessing.
Impressions-
At low levels, the slayer, especially a two-weapon wielder, can be an amazing close combat machine. That generic +1 bonus means it can pick a target and stab away with perhaps as much or better efficiency than some fighter builds, but lower in any singular combat than a barbarian.
The warpriest has a LOT of bonus feats along with additional damage sources- I feel it easily outpaced anything a cleric, fighter or even barbarian could do in this situation.
Overall, the Warpriest mostly lost only because of three-on-one tactics; and even then, he could have won it handily if he'd rolled slightly higher on his second cleave in round 2. I feel it may be too strong with all the bonus feats. The Slayer, however, seemed fair for a melee-focused character at starting level.
So I've got a group meeting tomorrow, low level- the highest is a level 2 paladin who earned herself an experience bonus. The other two include an archery-based ranger1, and a cleric1 of protection and community.
I'm planning to put them up against a third level NPC using a class from the playtest materials, and I want you guys to pick which one! I'll post up the results afterwards. It won't be pure combat- I might add a chase scene, maybe toss in some suggested situations.
Arcanist is a no, waiting on the revision; but 'll check back here in a few hours to see which of the others is most wanted in such a test.
And you can expect to see the results come Saturday evening >:D
(( If this works, you can expect more Pick the Playtests to come~ ))
So who doesn't like the wyvern? It's a easy, low-level appropriate dragon that can put the hurt on a party. And it works well in E6!
But just having the plain version is a little annoying- so how about some variants?
One simple rule- keep it to stuff that would raise CR by 0, 1, or 2- no need to make them as deadly as REAL dragons :P
Here we go~
1. Flameshot Wyvern- Every 1d4 rounds, this variant can spit out a 20ft line of fire dealing 3d6 damage, Ref DC 17 for half. Also has Fire Resistance 10. CR +1.
2. Black Scorpion Drake- A wicked stinger on the tail, but a bit slow-witted; switch out Iron Will and Improved Initiative for Ability Focus (Poison) and Improved Natural Attack (Sting). CR +0, also a dirty trick. ;3
3. Lightning Screamer- A fringe of black adorns this blue scaled-beast, who can unleash a thunderous scream once per minute; Will save DC 17 or be Shaken for 3 rounds. Known for following storm clouds, electric damage heals them for 1 point per 3 damage. CR +1.
4. Trollfreaker- Mottled green and grey and black streaks color the scales of this small-winged beast. Known for hopping from the swamp below and scaring Trolls away from smaller prey. Fly Speed is reduced to 40ft, but gains Swim Speed 10ft and a racial bonus to Intimidate and Stealth of +4. CR +1.
5. Velociwyvern- Deadly predators on the ground with small weak wings tipped with dangerous claws; Wing attacks are now Claws, Fly speed is reduced to 20ft (clumsy), but land speed increases to 40ft; Also gains Pounce. CR +1.
I might just be derping hard on this one, but I thought I'd ask to clarify.
Creator's Will, the 8th level Creation School ability for wizards from the APG, changes at 12 level to Major Creation. This poses an issue re: casting time, going from 1 minute to 10 minutes.
Can it be assumed you can still choose to Minor Creation for the lesser casting time? Or am I derping hard, and as a spell-like ability both would take a standard action nonetheless?
Hey all, just thought I'd do a quick little shout in here.
I'm currently working out the How (prolly ttoprpg), but I still need the who!
The What: Pathfinder, using core, advanced, etc. If it's on the PRD, you can use it! And if it's on the MCA wiki, well heck yeah you can use it. Needs playtesting anyway! ;3
The When: Weekend game, aiming for an evening through the week or sunday. Saturdays are, unfortunately, a no-no.
The Where: Now, I could design a whole world ahead of time, but I think I'm gonna let my players help on that. I'm planning to start you out at level 1 in a small valley region called 'Hellsdale', nestled between the borders of the larger kingdom of Vorinth and the Piketooth mountains.
The Why: As of late, there's been an increase in... troubles, caused by the local Piketooth Kobold tribe. A truly massive group settled into three dens throughout the mountains, albeit only one is known- near the dwarven mines, no less!
I'll be working up more as I go and prepping a wikispace, but who's interested in joining up? Looking for 3-5 players, so plenty of space!
I thought I'd start up a little nifty project; it's nothing more or less than making magic items that are -interesting-, not just jumbled together.
The goal and guidelines are pretty simple. Make magic items that -matter-. That a player won't toss away in two levels, but are fairly balanced.
I'll try to make a post a day here. I'd love if people could join in or comment, but please, only put in one item a day at most. That way we won't have dozens put in.
Every few days (Probably once or twice a week), I'll take the best of the batch- the ones you guys seem to like, and that I find interesting- and post them up somewhere. Maybe on a wikispace, maybe somewhere else, haven't decided quite yet. I'll put the names of people who made'em up, too.
Finally, a quick disclaimer- These are freebies, yada yada, no taking and selling or claiming as your own, etc., etc, people may take to use in their own games.
Template? Example? First item? Right here.
Gaze-bound Staff:
This wooden stave is capped with silver. Impaled along the top is a single eyeball, which glows whenever the staff's Arcane Sight power is activated.
Effect: In addition to being a +1 Quarterstaff, the staff grants powers of divination and necromancy.
Three times a day the wielder may direct the eye to grant him or her Arcane Sight for five minutes.
As a standard action, the wielder may make a touch attack to deal 1d6 negative energy damage to a target. Undead that would be healed by this effect instead make a DC 12 will save to avoid being Dazed for 1 round.
If the Staff is a bonded object, then the owner may manipulate the eye as thought it were an Arcane Eye for up to five minutes a day. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but are used in minute-long increments.
Just like that. Rough estimates, for level and cash; we're not looking to be perfect, just interesting and fun! >:D Perfect takes too long, after all. ;3
Mostly fun IRC game over on irc.esper.net, about 50% hack'n'thought, 30% playin' the role, and 20% comedy. We're a good dozen sessions in and looking for new players to help fill the roster!
Campaign world is mostly homebrew, using Norse and Roman deities alongside a more medieval setting of a world still recovering from a war between the very gods they worship- and the plans of the ones who fell.
Character creation is simple, currently level 5- Races with a small level adjustment, like Tiefling or Aasimar, are allowed. Fast rate, 15-point buy, no Inquisitors or Monks; all other core, advanced, and ultimate magic classes/archetypes are allowed.
Current characters are:
An honorable warrior-sorcerer born with the blood of a Valkyrie.
A paranoid mercenary with a few tricks and a magic blade.
And a cleric, recently fallen from Apollo's favor.
Feel free to drop by- we're on #Vaire, and would be glad to say hello. We're looking for two more players to join in and have fun on the weekends!
(( Game times are either Saturday or Sunday each week, starting at around 12 am CST. ))
So I've decided to show a few of my prestige class ideas/work-ups for a bit of return input, and here's what I've got right now.
Still putting two more into readable formats from my notes- A dagger-throwing focused prestige class for rogues and fighters, and a divine prestige class for a cult of beast demon worshippers. I should have them ready by monday or so.
But this one, I thought I'd share now.
Still working on it, need to add skills, prerequisites and figure out a capstone- the latter, I'm having trouble with. It's designed to be a less wizard-like focused version of an eldritch knight, as I've always been unhappy with prestige classes that add better HP/Attack with little actually -payed- in the long run.
Constructive Criticism, please!
Runic Knight
The Runic Knight masters both spell and blade, melding the two into a single form.
Rune Blade
The Runic Knight first learns to enchant a weapon with Arcane power, crafting runes upon it. Most Knights choose a Longsword, but an axe, spear, or even quarterstaff is acceptable; it must, however, be a masterwork melee weapon. The act of enchanting a weapon in this way leaves the surface area covered in runes of varying sizes; and takes a single week, with 500 gold spent on materials. The Rune Blade may be replaced with a similar ritual, but the Runic Knight may only have one such weapon so enchanted.
A Runic Knight may use his class abilities to empower this weapon further. They gain a number of Rune Points equal to half their Runic Knight level plus Charisma modifier to be used as such each day.
Enchant Blade
By spending one Rune Point, the Knight may cast a spell upon their Rune Blade (And ONLY their Rune Blade) as a move action. The blade must be held, and the spell can not have a casting time of more than a standard action.
Swift Enhancement
By spending two Rune Points, the Knight may cast a spell upon their Rune Blade (And ONLY their Rune Blade) as a Swift action. The blade must be held, and the spell can not have a casting time of more than a standard action.
Disrupting Blow
By spending Rune Points, the Knight may attempt to Dispel Magic through their Rune Blade. This ability must be called before any rolls are taken, and requires a successful attack roll with the weapon. It may also be performed with a touch attack; however, this is a standard action and does no damage.
The Runic Knight makes a Dispel Magic check, with a modifier equal to their Runic Knight level plus two per Rune Point spent (Maximum +20)
Empty Thought
Through the deep meditative practice required as part of their training, Runic Knights may spend two Rune Points to ignore all mind-affecting spells and act as though with Freedom of Movement for one round. They may do this even while under a Mind-Affecting effect.
Driven Strike
By spending a Rune Point, a Runic Knight who has nearly mastered their art may deal an additional +1d6 damage on a successful attack. This ability may be called after the attack roll, but not before the damage is rolled. This ability may not add more than 5d6 damage to any attack. This damage is untyped and bypasses Damage Reduction.
'ello 'ello! Just thought I'd scour around for a couple players for a pathfinder game, starting up on Espernet- channel is #Vaire.
Right now, we're just lazing about, planning to do a very short (maybe four-six sessions) game to get used to things, meet any new players, get a flow going while I work on the REAL campaign material.
We plan to play on saturdays, about noon CST into the afternoons. Anyone interested, pop on by- I'll be there through tomorrow, as will the two other players already in.
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The short game is literally going to be a hack-and-slash setting of going into caves and killing kobolds because they keep messing up your favorite town (and tavern), but that's just so we have a simple setting to play around in. The actual campaign, starting once I have all the material together, will be far more RP-focused- I'll try to put more info up at a later point, putting together a little 'players guide' for it over the week ;3
