TeShen's page

I was reminded recently of a psionic version of the bard called the Thought Singer for 3.5... and though I cannot find it anymore, the psychic medium over on the pathfinder database has shades of it.

I want something like it, and I do like psionics, but I don't know if I want to swap out casting just yet. I did, however, want to inject a bit of doppelganger, with the ability to read thoughts, short range telepathy (which admitted doppelgangers do not have), and possibly the ability to appear as someone else. I know that alter self and detect thoughts could be picked up by bards at 4th level as spells, but that just seems a little long to wait as sometimes my DMs like to take the slow advancement track or favor 'gritter' campaigns.

I was thinking...
Thought Projection (Su):This ability functions just as the special ability telepathy except the range is limited to 5' per 2 bard levels.

This ability replaces bardic knowledge.

Reading the Crowd (Sp): A bard of 3rd level or higher can use his bardic performance to peer into the minds of the surrounding audience. This ability functions just as the spell detect thoughts with the following changes. It lasts as long as the bard performs. Its range is a 30' radius with the bard at the center, and allows the bard to sense the presence of thoughts, the number of thinking minds in the area of effect and the Intelligence scores of each as the 1st and 2nd round of the spell. The following round, he can sense thoughts as the 3rd round of the spell. For every audience member he reads in this way, he gains a +2 insight bonus to the next bluff, diplomacy, intimidate, or sense motive against the character. This bonus lasts for a number of rounds following the performance equal to the amount of rounds spent performing. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the bard has attained beyond 3rd (+3 at 7th, +4 at 11th, +5 at 15th, and +6 at 19th).

This ability replaces inspire competence.

...and I don't know if these are good or even balanced... or where to put the rest, so... yeah.

I also was thinking about a Chi Bard archetype. I mean, if rogues can have Ki pools now, why not? Possibly emphasize the serenity aspects of performances somehow, and go from there. I imagine having a ki pool would sub in at 3rd level (I do so love getting rid of inspire competence). Suggestions?

So I have a character with leadership, and I am interested in making my spellcasting minion into the ferryman. He can now cast teleport and the storyteller is allowing for a certain amount of retraining, so I can swap a few things around on the character... which in this case would be trading the one magical trait for another, namely magical lineage (teleport).

The problem is that the caster doesn't have enough of a caster level to move the entire party at once. So I am trying to come up with some way to, rather than using up three 5th level spell slots to get everybody in one place, make one teleport spell target everybody.

The lingering spell feat states...

. . . You may cause an instantaneous spell that affects an area to persist until the beginning of your next turn. Those already in the area suffer no additional harm, but other creatures or objects entering the area are subject to its effects. . . .

And teleport...

Teleport

. . .
Target: you and touched objects or other touched willing creatures
Duration: instantaneous
. . .
This spell instantly transports you to a designated destination, which may be as distant as 100 miles per caster level. Interplanar travel is not possible. You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn't exceed your maximum load. You may also bring one additional willing Medium or smaller creature (carrying gear or objects up to its maximum load) or its equivalent per three caster levels. A Large creature counts as two Medium creatures, a Huge creature counts as four Medium creatures, and so forth. All creatures to be transported must be in contact with one another, and at least one of those creatures must be in contact with you. As with all spells where the range is personal and the target is you, you need not make a saving throw, nor is spell resistance applicable to you. Only objects held or in use (attended) by another person receive saving throws and spell resistance. . .

So, teleport technically qualifies for the lingering spell feat. Would it allow 1 medium creature per three caster levels to teleport to the same location on the following round? Or would it not function like that since, in the following round, the caster himself is not there to make contact with?

Edit: Nevermind. I missed the part under lingering spell that stated 'and an area' and teleport doesn't have an area... so the two are incompatible.

Games like fable with a childhood introduction and bully where you stay a kid got me to thinking, 'why can't I have a game like this?'

I did notice another thread addressing the same concept, but in a much simpler fashion.

The idea I have messes with a few underlying concepts of the game however...

Characters start out as 1/2 hit die children. They don't have a level. They have a point buy that sets stats, and those stats determine everything until they learn their first level. Their hit points would be equal to their constitution score, and those initial hit points don't change with a change to the constitution score.

Experience to reach 1st level would be 1/3 the difference from 1st to 2nd. After you achieve 1st level, experience would reset at 0, and things would progress normally.

A modified young template is also applied, and is slowly reduced over the first three levels, as is the constitution hit point kicker (but not entirely), meaning the default adult in the game world is level 3. After that everything progresses normally.

• Child= 1/2hd, Stats, Young (1 size smaller, -3 str, +3 dex, -3 con, +2 saves/luck, family/racial trait)
  
• Child = 1st class lv (1 size smaller, -2 str, +2 dex, -2 con, +2 saves/luck, -2 hp, chosen trait)
  
• Teen = 2nd class lv (size increase, -1 str, +1 dex, -1 con, +1 saves/luck -2 hp, chosen trait)
  
• Adult = 3rd class lv (-2 hp)

The characters themselves are all children of minor nobility or possibly orphans that have received patronage by some organization and are therefore receiving some sort of education... and that will also be the basis for adventures until 'proper' adulthood. Differences in maturity for the humanoid races would be waived, so dwarves and a humans could grow up together without undue story complication.

So are there any problems I am missing? Or am I making this needlessly complicated and the idea is just... kind of stupid?

I remember seeing a discovery on the PFSRD. I believe it was titled Potency or some such and added an extra 1d6 to bomb damage. I cannot now find it in the APG or the PFSRD. Was it a discovery that was only in the playtest and then removed before printing? Or did it never exist and I'm just remembering incorrectly?