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Sorry, didn't know Vivisectionist wasn't PFS legal. May I ask what the reason is behind that? Just out of curiosity. I've never played PFS since it just isn't used in my local gaming community.
Is it possible for you to recreate your rogue as a ninja? The problem with that is ninjas don't get Trapfinding. I think your best bet is to just take two levels in Vivisectionist (Alchemist). You'll get Poison Use and you won't lose any Sneak Attack power for your level. And if you're interested in it, you can even take the Bleeding Attack rogue talent in place of the one Alchemist Discovery you'll gain if none of the Discoveries fit your character. Although it's probably not an option in PFS, Vishkanya and Drow get Poison Use as racial traits.
The wierd thing about a child being an adept, is that there's no good way to model them becoming the equivalent of a first level PC over time. What happened to those Adepts spells they used to know, like Cure Light Wounds, that aren't on the Wizard spell list? But you could say that about the retraining rules for whole class levels in general. Retrain your only level in just about any class and you're going to get examples like that. Former cleric can no longer cure. Former oracle is no longer cursed. Former barbarian can no longer go into a rage. Former bard can no longer inspire courage. Former fighter can no longer use the same weapons and armor.... I'm not saying it's a bad thing. That's just how retraining works. You no longer specialize in something so you can learn something new.
Thanks, I'll have to look into those options, though it'd have been nice if there was a Paizo-official option. I was thinking of just changing the adept's spell list and giving it a bonded object option since channeling though a wand tends to be a big part of the Wizard School concept. Feel free to change it in your campaign. Are you saying that children at a magic school should be adepts? Or maybe experts with magic based skills taken as class skills? Maybe then getting their first wizard levels after they finish their first year of school? I'm just wondering how you think a young magic school student character would progress in a campaign. I hope I don't seem snide. I'm really just curious and want to know where you're coming from. Thank you.
Yeah, this is one of the only things I don't like about the child rules. I'd really like to play or run a game with an all child party and I'm all fine with only having NPC levels until "adulthood". But the only problem I have is trying to run a Harry Potter Wizard School story. I can actually go with Arya starting as an expert. But Harry Potter is NOT an adept. I wish there was an arcane casting NPC class like the adept. Maybe call it an apprentice or something. If there was a new class like that, I'd be perfectly fine with the rules.
I'm a fan of this archetype, but my DM thinks it's too powerful (has too many other options for what the spell-less ranger gives up from a normal ranger). I had a similar knee-jerk reaction when I first looked over the class. Especially the fact that this version of the ranger starts getting new class features before the standard ranger gains spell casting. But then I had to remind myself that even before the ranger gets the ability to actually cast spells, he still has the ability to use spell-trigger items (like wands) of any spell on the ranger list which can be very useful. Then you also have to consider that all of the new ranger class features other than the ranger talents have to either be used in one of the ranger's favored terrains or against a favored enemy. Personally, I think it is very balanced with all things considered, especially since the spell-less ranger doesn't have access to the Instant Enemy spell unless he trains UMD. You should talk it over with your GM, bringing up these points and maybe he'll reconsider?? Is there anything you can recommend to bring it more in line to be "balanced" with the Paizo canon classes? I'd say if you just remove Stealth Attack the class would maybe seem more in line with the standard ranger by your GM's perception if he doesn't reconsider. Unless that's one of the main features you wanted? Otherwise I don't really know what to suggest.
I'm guessing that the Base Set's classes are Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, and Rogue. Unless something has changed, the base set should include the iconic characters of those four plus Ranger, Bard and Sorcerer. I'm very interested to see what has changed in the final game since the forum playtest here, especially for the characters.
I think he gets too many bonus feats( perhaps change this to at 2nd lvl and every 3 lvls after) but more feats to choose from, and some of the cool stuff should require more investment, Categorizer for instance is pretty sweet. A lvl 1 crafter, no matter how good, is still only lvl 1. In case you haven't seen it, here is my updated Artificer. I ended up moving Categorizer to level 2 at Cheapy's suggestion. At one point I was considering moving that to level 4 and Systematic Craftsman to level 2, but Cheapy said the level 2 drop for Categorizer would be reasonable and I trust his judgement. Yes, this class gets a lot of feats, but they're typically not very powerful. Metamagic is not as useful to this Artificer until he starts to get class features that augment them. What kind of extra feat options would you open the class up to? But in comparison, your version of feat progression only amounts to two less feats than mine (7 vs 9) and also the original 3.5 artificer gained 13.5 feats throughout its progression (considering Craft Homunculus as half of Craft Construct). I would like to see something at either 16, or 19, or both that allows artificer through pure magic force, revive, or give life to living creatures. It makes some sense to me, but its just me. just my 2, erm, 6 cents. I don't really see that to be necessary. Since he has access to Cleric spells, he can make scrolls of True Resurrection at level 17. Though I would have liked to make an ability for him to restore "life" to destroyed constructs. I just wasn't sure about he mechanics of it. Also, my main goal was to bring over as many of the 3.5 artificer abilities as possible, give them a more Pathfinder feel and functionality, and make him fully INT based, getting rid of the weird faking-spells-to-make-items thing. I mostly felt that he had enough abilities already without throwing something else in there, but if anyone has any tips on how construct resurrection might work, feel free to share. --- I remember the artificer. The alchemist liquid spells are almost the same, except for the self only part. Replace the bombs with making magic items by soaking in magical suspensions, then replace mutagens with special homoculuses and you have the artificer. Yeah, this artificer was an alchemist archetype at one point, but it kept moving so far away from the class that I ended up making it a new class itself. I might revisit making an artificer archetype for the alchemist since I've been exposed to Spagyric Devices in SGG's Alchemist book. I would really want to keep bombs, though. The archetype I was working on gave you a caster level and let you take item crafting feats you qualify for in place of any Discovery you want to replace. --- Not sure if this has been said, but I think this makes a good replacent for an artificer: Machinesmith. I haven't had a chance to fully read through that, but it does look interesting. I didn't know I could get the class without buying the PDF. Thanks for the link!
Okay. I have to say that I like the idea, but what you exchange for what you gain is WAY off in this archetype. Look at the archetypes in Ultimate Combat that trade in Slow Fall and look at the options the Qinggong Monk in Ultimate Magic has to take in place of the ability. They trade the ENTIRE slow fall ability with about 1 feat equivalent. You have traded it for getting Abundant Step 6 levels earlier, the ability to use it a number of times per day outside of needing to spend ki, plus as you progress you also gain 5 feats and Uncanny Dodge! I'm not even sure if slow fall is worth the initial Abundant Step adjustment. Abundant Step usually costs 2 ki points. At level 6, you would have 3 + WIS ki. If your Wisdom is between 16 and 19, that would mean you would have 6 or 7 ki points and only be able to use Abundant Step 3 times, and that's blowing all or nearly all of your ki, not having much for other abilities. Your adjustment means that at level 6 you can use Abundant Step AT LEAST 3 times a day without factoring in your WIS. Although with the change of using WIS instead of STR for attack and combat maneuver, your Wisdom would likely be between 16 and 20, so you would likely be able to use the ability 3 to 5 more times. That's a very powerful ability. To tack on the 5 feats and Uncanny Dodge in addition to that from just one ability is just insane. To balance this archetype, I would probably move Abundant Step to level 4 and have it replace the entire ki pool and have the feats and Uncanny Dodge replace all of the abilities linked with the ki pool (meaning ones that you need to spend ki for or have ki in your pool to use). In addition to that, I would probably even have a feat or two replacing bonus feats you usually get. Hope that didn't come off as too harsh. Like I said, I like the concept, but it is not a balanced archetype in any way whatsoever. If you're not that concerned about balance, then I guess it's fine as long as you are the GM or your GM is like-minded. If I think about it enough and get bored enough, I might try to write a balanced version of the archetype. Otherwise, good luck.
If you have $3 to spend, get Advanced Options: Alchemist's Discoveries by Super Genius Games. They have two options that can fully replace on of the three other Alchemist class features, including Mutagen. One is a little week for player characters going off of the whole lead-to-gold thing. But the other one, Spagyric Devices, is just awesome and will replace Mutagen for any alchemist I play from now on (GM willing). It gives you a pool of gold that you can use to make temporary magic items each morning. Very cool and flavorful ability in my opinion. It alone was worth the price to me.
I would really like to see this as a feature in My Downloads. I typed this up before I searched to see if something similar had already been asked: What I'd like to see should be pretty simple. To the far right of the page, after the "Date Added To My Downloads" column, add a column that says "Delete (or Hide or Archive) Item" and a little red "X" after each file. After the "X" is clicked and you confirm that you'd like to remove the item, it is taken off of your active list. In addition to this, around were the "Mark All As Downloaded | Mark All As Not Downloaded" links are, there will be a new link that says "Show Deleted (or Hidden or Archived) Items" which will bring up a list of all of your downloads including the ones you have removed. On this page, the "Delete (or Hide or Archive) Item" column would be replaced with "Restore Item" and maybe you'd have a little recycle icon next to the items which have been removed from your active list. I think this would be very helpful for managing My Downloads without getting too complicated. I'd like to use it to remove preview and playtest files and the Pathfinder file formats that I don't use (I only use the Lite-Single File versions). Thank you for listening.
If that's the case, how does it work when Oracles add arcane spells to their lists of spells known via Oracle's Curse or Mystery Bonus Spells? Especially in the case of the Haunted curse which is worded as such: "Add mage hand and ghost sound to your list of spells known. At 5th level, add levitate and minor image to your list of spells known. At 10th level, add telekinesis to your list of spells known. At 15th level, add reverse gravity to your list of spells known." Compared to New Arcana: "At 9th level, you can add any one spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list to your list of spells known. This spell must be of a level that you are capable of casting." Other than giving an option of which spell to take and the "must be of a level that you are capable of casting," parts it is exactly the same. It doesn't looks like it would work with prepared casters since they just have spell lists, not spells known. But as long as you have a "list of spells known" (like Bards and Oracles) it should work fine no matter if the spell was original on your class spell list, using the Haunted curse as a precedent. That's just my opinion, though and how I see it should work. Of course, the Arcane bloodline was written before EH came out, so if the designers don't want it to work this way there may need to be an errata to the bloodline. But back on subject, tricks with Paragon Surge and feats like Expanded Arcana and Improved Eldritch Heritage (Arcana) are very interesting. Personally, I wouldn't mind them being used in a game I'd run or play in. It seems like a very creative and fun use of the spell and trying to errata it to not include certain feats that might seem overpowered seems like it would be too complicated.
Is there anything I need to put in the e-mail other than FedEx e-mail, forum name, group lead, size of group, and preferred amount to playtest? Stuff like why I'd be a good person to have playtest this and that sort of stuff? I only ask because I sent my local VC an e-mail a few days ago and have yet to get a response.I sent an email to the VL closest to me Saturday and got a response back Sunday saying he forwarded the request to Paizo. I didn't really give any extra information. It might just depend on the VC/VL how much communication you'll get back? Not sure how the process works since this is my first time trying something like this. Hope my group gets selected! Don't mean to brag, but Vic just let me know that my 2-player group is in the playtest. (woo-hoo!) I don't know if he's doing all of the notifications now at once or if it's going to be in waves. Anyone else get confirmed for the playtest yet? I'm really looking forward to this now.
Is there anything I need to put in the e-mail other than FedEx e-mail, forum name, group lead, size of group, and preferred amount to playtest? Stuff like why I'd be a good person to have playtest this and that sort of stuff? I only ask because I sent my local VC an e-mail a few days ago and have yet to get a response. I sent an email to the VL closest to me Saturday and got a response back Sunday saying he forwarded the request to Paizo. I didn't really give any extra information. It might just depend on the VC/VL how much communication you'll get back? Not sure how the process works since this is my first time trying something like this. Hope my group gets selected!
My wife and I really enjoy deck building games like Thunderstone and Rune Age and also play adventure board games like Runebound and Talisman quite often, so this really appeals to me and will likely appeal to her as well. We have a lot of experience dissecting rules for these kinds of games and knowing what works and doesn't. And I have a deep love of Pathfinder and she's played a few games with me. So would it be perfectly fine for us to sign up as a 2 player group? Also, the closest FedEx location is about an hour's drive away, which is totally doable (and would give us an excuse to go to a bigger city), but we have a Staples right here in town. Would it be possible to sign up for the playtest, reserve our spot, and wait to see if you'd be willing to print to Staples? Then if you end up getting enough people to get their cards through FedEx, just go ahead and use them instead? Does that make sense? Anyway, as long as there is an opening for a 2 player group, I'd really like to be part of this either way. I'll just have to talk it over with my wife. Edit: And one last thing. If we did sign up as a 2 player group, would it still be okay if we playtest a few three or four player games after we finish the obligated 10+ two player sessions? Then maybe provide some feedback on the differences between the group sizes?
How about something like this? ---------------- Tinkerer (Archetype) Device Expert: At level 1, a tinkerer adds 1/2 her level to all Use Magic Device skill checks (minimum +1). This ability replaces trapfinding. Categorizer (Ex): Tinkerers meticulously keep track of their magical and mundane items, always knowing where every item on their person is located at any given time. At 2nd level, a tinkerer never provokes attacks of opportunity when retrieving stored items and any tinkerer who takes the Quick Draw feat may use the benefits of Quick Draw with alchemical items, potions, scrolls, and wands. This ability replaces the 2nd-level rogue talent. Trapfinding: At level 4, a tinkerer adds 1/2 her level to perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1). A tinkerer can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps. This ability replaces Uncanny Dodge. Device Master (Ex): At level 8, a tinkerer may take 10 on Use Magic Device skill checks even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so. This circumvents the usual rule that says you can’t take 10 on UMD checks. This ability replaces Improved Uncanny Dodge. ---------------- I'm not sure what you're willing to give up, like how much of the Rogue you would want to keep. Personally, I think that this kind of Rogue should still be able to disable traps, so I kept it in there, though a little later in progression. Could probably think of other little things to add in, but then I'd probably be taking away things like Sneak Attack dice. Like something that might be cool is that at 3rd level and every 4 levels there after the Tinkerer loses the Sneak Attack die at that level to gain the ability to be treated as if they know a spell (or a few spells) for the purposes for magic devices from the Sorcerer spell list. At 3rd level they'd be able to choose level 1 spells or lower, at 7th level 2 spells, and so on. Just a thought.
Why not make the primary attack with a two-hander and the off-hand with armor spikes while you're at it? And get two levels in barbarian to get the rage power lesser fiend totem for a gore attack while you rage. This is all legit RAW, but no sane GM would allow it (6 attacks at level 3 if you wanted).Actually it would not be legal to use a gore and a bite attack in the same attack rutine, as they both use the same limb (head), and you can only attack once with each limb. I'm sorry, but where is this rule? Imperial dragons have both bite and gore attacks and it doesn't say anything about them not being able to use both in the same round. Also, I would just use unarmed striking to get around the "where are the claws" issue. Though I have heard some people debating if you can use TWF with unarmed strikes or not.
The boar style feat tree allows some cool intimidation stuff. My personal favorite. The first feat doesn't get you anything for intimidate, but the second feat gets you a +2 bonus to demoralize and you get a free action intinidate as long as you hit with two unarmed strikes. The third feat lets you demoralize as a move action. If you're considering unarmed fighting and want to demoralize, this is totally the way to go.
Yeah, but if you do the math to get to 30, you would need to kill tens of thousands of tarrasques by yourself to get even close, lol. Actually, I did the math (bored) and by my calculations you would need to solo 1312 Tarrasques to get from level 20 to level 30. That's using medium progression and the "double XP needed to gain your current level" guideline. From 19 to 20 you need 1,050,000 XP, so you would need 2,100,000 to get to level 21, then 4,200,000 to get to level 22 and so on. Proceeding like this until you get to the XP needed to go from level 29 to 30 (1,075,200,000) and then adding all of these values together you get 2,148,300,000 XP needed to go from level 20 to 30. Dividing that by the XP gained from a Tarrasques (1,638,400) and you get 1,311.218-etc. So you'd need to kill 1,312 Tarrasques. Still, that's much closer to the "tens of thousands" than I expected it to be when I read your statement.
When the Advance Race Guide was getting ready to be released, I was lurking in the product discussion every day. When subscribers began to get their hands on their PDFs, one of the nice little goodies they mentioned from the book was the Watersinger Bard Archetype for the Undine race. There was mention of it having a very similar ability to waterbenders from the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. I have only seen a few episodes of the series, but I thought it'd be cool to make a Waterbender Archetype for the Monk, taking the abilities of the Watersinger and blending it with the Sensei and Qinggong monk archetypes. Here's what I came up with: Waterbener (Monk Archetype):
Waterbending (Su): At 1st level, a waterbender uses the power of her will to manipulate and control the shape of water within 30 feet. This power uses precise gestures which are identical in use and activation as a bardic performance (using dance) for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Wisdom modifier. At each level after 1st a waterbender gains 2 additional rounds per day. A successful Perform check allows the monk to animate and control a 5-foot-cube of water. The waterbender can command the water to take various forms, bend, rise, fall, or sustain a shape, and can make it support weight as if it were solid ice. For example, the waterbender could create a pillar of water (to provide cover), ladder, channel, bridge, stairs, slide, and so on. The manipulated water is as slippery as normal ice. This ability cannot create forms more fragile or complex than what could be carved in normal ice. While under the monk’s control, the water has hardness 0 and 3 hit points per inch of thickness. At level 3, the manipulated water gains hardness 1, and this increases by +1 for every 3 monk levels beyond that. At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level, the volume affected increases by an additional 5-foot cube (these cubes must be adjacent to each other). The manipulated water retains its shape for 1 round after the monk stops spending bardic performance rounds to maintain it. This ability replaces flurry of blows and Stunning Fist.
Unarmed Strike: A waterbender’s unarmed damage does not increase beyond 1d6 as she gains levels. This ability otherwise functions as the standard monk Unarmed Strike ability. Waterstrike (Su): At 3rd level, the waterbender can spend 1 round of bardic performance to command any water she is currently manipulating with her waterbending ability to lash out and strike an opponent with a slam attack. The waterbender uses her base attack bonus and Wisdom bonus to make this attack, and deals 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage plus her Wisdom bonus. The attack can originate from any square of water the monk is manipulating, and the water can get a flanking bonus or help a combatant get one, but cannot make attacks of opportunity. The water can make multiple attacks per round if your base attack bonus allows you to do so. The water’s slam damage increases based on the monk unarmed damage table, such as increasing to 1d8 points at level 4 and 1d10 at level 8. In addition, the water gains a reach of 10 feet at level 10. This ability replaces Maneuver Training and Still Mind. Lifewater (Su): At 5th level, the waterbender can spend 1 round of bardic performance as a standard action to manipulate the water, blood, and other fluids within a creature’s body, causing the target to become sickened for 1d4 rounds. Alternatively, she may use this ability to attempt a reposition combat maneuver (Advanced Player’s Guide), using her base attack bonus and her Wisdom modifier as her CMB. This ability has a range of 30 feet, only works on creatures whose bodies contain fluid, and does not affect creatures that are immune to critical hits. This ability replaces High Jump and Purity of Body. Spell-like Abilities (Sp): In place of other monk abilities, a waterbender gains the following as spell-like abilities using her monk level as the caster level and Wisdom do determine her concentration check bonus. The saving throw against these abilities, if any, is equal to 10 + 1/2 the monk’s level + the monk’s Wisdom bonus. The level gained, ability it replaces, and ki point cost is listed. If the cost is 0, the ability may be activated as long as the waterbender has at least 1 point in her ki pool. -Create Water (Sp): 4th level, 0 ki points. This ability replaces the ki strike and extra attack functions of her Ki Pool. -Hydraulic Push (Sp): 4th level, 1 ki point. This ability replaces Slow Fall. -Hydraulic Torrent (Sp): 7th level, 2 ki points. This ability replaces Wholeness of Body. -Slipstream (Sp): 11th level, 1 ki point. This ability replaces Diamond Body. -Aqueous Orb (Sp): 12th level, 2 ki points. This ability replaces Abundant Step. -Water Walk (Sp): 13th level, 2 ki points. This ability replaces Diamond Soul. -Ride the Waves (Sp): 15th level, 2 ki points. This ability replaces Quivering Palm. -Control Water (Sp): 17th level, 2 ki points. This ability replaces Timeless Body. -Cold Ice Strike (Sp): 17th level, 3 ki points. This ability replaces Tongue of the Sun and Moon. -Vortex (Sp): 19th level, 3 ki points. This ability replaces Empty Body. -Seamantle (Sp): 20th level, 3 ki points. This ability replaces Perfect Self. Any thoughts? Adjustments that should be made?
So.... About what time tomorrow can we non-subscribers get our grubby little hands on this lovely PDF?? And have any measures been taken to hopefully prevent some of the server overload issues that occurred with the UC PDF release?
Saboteur does replace Mutagen, but you get an ability that is like a mutagen instead (its like a mutagen, but it gives you stealth bonuses instead of combat bonuses, and it gives -2 Strength). I believe the Plague Bringer archetype replaces Mutagen with a sort of bottled plague ability. You drink it, and creatures that hit you (or are hit by your weapon) have to make saving throws to prevent bad things from happening. Thank you both. I wonder why it seems so difficult to replace Mutagen with something completely different. Regardless, I look forward to reading the full Archetypes and everything else in this book.
Please, please tell me that the Gnome's Saboteur Alchemist and/or some of the other race's Alchemist Archetypes totally replace Mutagens! I love the Alchemist, but don't really like the Mutagen ability at all. So far I've been disappointed that neither UM or UC have had any truly Mutagen free Archetypes. Mindchemist came close, but Cognatogen uses the same mechanic as Mutagen.... It's going to be a long wait to the 20th....
Thank you for your thoughts on the item. How exactly would the abuse come more easily if the badges were completely slotless, though? You mention mix and match per round, but as they are written, that is totally impractical. It is a move action to remove a badge and a move action to attach a badge. So it would pretty much take a full round to switch one badge for a different badge. Unless they also have free or swift actions they can do, an entire round is used up to switch one badge. There is no mechanic for switching between multiple badges. It's one at a time, all the time. And they would always be limited to a total of +5 worth of abilities, with or without the vest. And yeah, this is totally something that I'd give to an unarmed fighter as a "prize", be it a formal tournament or a fight with another master martial artist who happened to have the item. It's not typically something that would be very readily available for purchase. The prices are mostly there to either calculate wealth by level, if you use the guidelines, or for a party crafter to upgrade the item and make new badges for the character who ends up using it. And yes, feel free to steal the idea. I'm happy to provide something useful to the community.
This idea was originally inspired by This Thread, but I just recently wrote down my thoughts. The base item is essentially just an Amulet of Mighty Fists taking up a Chest slot instead of neck and is only used for an enhancement bonus while the badges cover weapon special abilities: ==================== Pugilist’s Vest and Badges
Description
Badges:
-Allying: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus
-Anarchic: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Axiomatic: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Bane: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Brilliant Energy: Price 160,000 gp, +4 bonus -Corrosive: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Corrosive Burst: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Cunning: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Defending: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Flaming: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Flaming Burst: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Frost: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Furious: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Ghost Touch: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Grayflame: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Holy: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Huntsman: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Icy Burst: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Jurist: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Keen: (only effective with piercing or slashing attacks) Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Ki Focus: (only has an effect on natural attacks) Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Menacing: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Merciful: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Mighty Cleaving: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Shock: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Shocking Burst: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Speed: Price 90,000 gp, +3 bonus -Spell Storing: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Thundering: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Unholy: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus -Vicious: Price 10,000 gp, +1 bonus -Vorpal: (only effective with slashing attacks) Price 250,000 gp +5 bonus -Wounding: Price 40,000 gp, +2 bonus Badges totaling up to +5 in bonuses may be attached to the vest at one time. Any badges attached after that limit is reached have no effect. Removing or affixing a badge is a move action. Construction
==================== Any thoughts? I decided to make this item to help out unarmed fighters so they can have more "weapons" to use depending on the situation without needing to have multiple Amulets and so they could break the +5 total bonus limit of the item. Yes, the badges can be expensive as they are double the cost of an Amulet of equal bonus due to them being slotless, but they can also end up cheaper than a single weapon with the right combination (a +5 vest with five +1 badges is 175,000 gp compared to a +10 weapon costing 200,000 gp). Something specific I'd like to hear opinions on, I'm thinking of either keeping the price of the badges and letting them work without having to have the vest so someone could come across just the badge, put it on, and be like, "Cool! My fists are on fire!" (hence making them truly slotless) Or keeping the "must have the vest" requirement and cutting the price down a little so that it's only 50% more than an Amulet of equal bonus (such as 7,500 gp for a +1 ability badge, since really they're only quasi-slotless). Which do you like better? I think I'm leaning more towards the no-vest-required badge option. Also, do you see any pitfalls of these items? Do the mechanics need clarified beyond the vest-or-no-vest thing? Would you make these available as a GM? Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the suggestion, but to me going for "simplicity" with firearms would ruin a lot of the fun of a Fallout setting. With all of the crazy guns and other weapons, I'm actually planning on stating out all of them to make them available in some way. Of course they will all pretty much go off of the same proficiency, but other than that, there will be a lot of variety. Then, you can name them whatever you want, and don't have to worry about re-balancing everything onto D20 modern's "Class Defense / DR" route. I'll actually be using the Pathfinder firearms and the Armor as DR variant rules from UC, with a slight adjustment. It should work perfectly fine.
Remember, I will be doing this as a Fallout setting. For the most part I won't even be using "published monsters." Some of the animals and other monsters may be re-skinned versions of Pathfinder stuff, but a lot of the enemies are going to be original creations or characters who will be bound by the same rules as the PCs. They shouldn't have any problem. And as far as environment goes, I can see sandstorms in the Wastelands of Fallout, but I don't really remember encountering lava in New Vegas (I actually haven't gotten around to playing Fallout 3 so I'm not sure if there's any in that game). So again, I think nothing but non-casters will be fine, as log as everyone is playing by the same rules. And that's not to say that there isn't going to be any "magic-like" abilities. Technology will mimic a lot of magic from Pathfinder. Thanks for the feedback, though. It's all something to be considered.
My issue with the ruling is it makes a long spear pretty powerful if you can trip with it, since your opponent can't AOO you unless they have reach as well. The Guisarme is a reach weapon and it has the trip property. Granted it's martial instead of simple, but most of the good tripper's will have all martial weapons anyway.
I'm actually working on a set of Fallout Pathfinder rules as well, although one big difference in what I'm working on is that I'm not making new classes. I'm just writing guidelines for existing classes to make them fit the Fallout world. Why play Pathfinder if you're barely playing Pathfinder? If you're interested, here's what I have so far for classes: Pathfinder Classes in Pathfinder:
Available Classes Alchemist: The Alchemist is the most exotic class allowed in a Fallout campaign. These characters may be seen as witch doctors, mad chemists, crazed addicts, skilled doctors, etc. With more supernatural abilities than any other class in Fallout, their features are closely reviewed and many are re-flavored. Some archetypes and discoveries are not available. The following archetypes are unavailable: Clone Master, Preservationist, Psychonaut, and Reanimator. The following discoveries are unavailable: Alchemical Simulacrum, Alchemical Zombie, Bottled Ooze, Dispelling Bomb, Doppelganger Simulacrum, and Greater Alchemical Simulacrum. Some formulae may also be unavailable. Barbarian: These warriors are very common in tribal communities and the more feral gangs of the Fallout setting. Some restrictions may be placed on the selection of Su abilities (such as Totem rage powers). The Titan Mauler archetype is unavailable due to the Titanic Rage ability and the fact that characters will rarely (if ever) meet an opponent with a size category larger than themselves. Cavalier: Though not a hard rule, mounted warriors are not very common in the Fallout world. The Musketeer archetype is highly recommended for Cavalier players. Fighter: Due to the nature of weapons in Fallout, a fighter’s weapon groups for the purposes of Weapon Training may take some work to get straight. Also, since some weapons are uncommon in the setting, such as bows and crossbows, some archetypes would be a little out of place in Fallout. Gunslinger: These are classic characters of Fallout, typical wanderers of the wasteland world. Though most of the basic concepts of the Gunslinger fit perfectly with the setting, some of the abilities need adjustment or replacement due to early firearms being the assumed standard for many abilities in the Pathfinder RPG rules. Monk: Ki abilities do not exist in the Fallout world. The Martial Artist is to be used as the base for all Monk characters. Some archetypes which do not typically mix with the Martial Artist may still be chosen with some adjustments, choosing between abilities which replace the same ability. For example, a Martial Artist/Maneuver Master may be made. In this case, the Reliable Maneuver ability cannot be chosen because it relies on the Ki Pool, so the Monk will have to choose Martial Arts Master to replace Slow Fall. The character must also choose between the Meditative Maneuver and Sweeping Maneuver or all of the pre-20th level Extreme Endurance abilities and may choose whether or not to replace Quivering Palm. The Sensei Archetype is available (perhaps the only way to gain the Bardic Performance ability in the setting), but does not gain the Mystic Wisdom ability. Etc. Ranger: Must take the Skirmisher or Trapper archetype. Trappers may only make extraordinary traps. Any Ranger may take the Firearm Style ability of the Trophy Hunter archetype in place of their combat feat style without taking the other Trophy Hunter abilities. Due to the limited number of creature types in Fallout, all Rangers replace their favored enemy with the Guide archetype’s Ranger’s Focus ability without taking the full archetype. Rogue: The Ninja alternate class, as well as the Ki Pool Rogue Talent, is not available. The following Rogue Talents may not be taken: Dispelling Attack, Minor and Major Magic. The following archetypes are unavailable: Chameleon, Sanctified Rogue, and Survivalist. It's nowhere near finished, but I think I'm off to a good start. It's funny. Kind of like what Psionichamster said, I'm actually planning on using Orc and Half-Orc in the current draft to represent Super Mutants. Yeah, in the games they're more powerful, but that can always be represented by higher levels. Like maybe I won't make any Super Mutant NPCs with fewer than 10 class levels and any player who might want to play as a Super Mutant will start off as a less powerful Super Mutant than most. Ghoul on the other hand, I'll probably have to make that a custom race. Waiting for the Advance Race book for that. I have a lot of other rules/guidelines that I'm working on as well for changes to equipment, skills, feats and "magic" items. It will be a bit of work, but should be a lot of fun when it's all finished.
You can use the weapon's bonuses regardless of type on disarm, sunder and trips made with any weapon. Relevent Blog Post Funny, I actually thought that trip weapons gave you a +2 to trip checks like disarm weapons do. Guess I care even less about the trip property now....
Interesting feat. Only think I'd change is get rid of the Wis 17 Prerequisite and add Cha 15 instead. Channel Energy is based on Charisma, not Wisdom. I knocked it down to 15 because this could be taken by a level 9 character and it wouldn't be the primary stat for most characters with the ability (clerics) and it's more in line with other Cha based feats for that level, like Improved Eldritch Heritage.
So I went and wrote up some thoughts as I was reading this, and then noticed it was necro'd up from two years ago, and far, far, far beyond the point where my thoughts were relevant. Heh. Actually, I've been working on my artificer base class for a long time to get it just right (at least in my mind), so I'll probably try to take some time to fix this up to get it up to speed and in line with the base class. So you're tips can still be relevant, so thank you. What’s the rationale on Gate, as the 18th level spell choice? Greater Spell Immunity also doesn’t immediately leap out to me as ‘artifice-y.’ (Iron Body, on the other hand, perhaps.) I will definitely be looking into adjusting the bonus spells. The first six spells were practically no-brainers (except for maybe Wall of Stone, but it's still at least appropriate), but the higher level stuff was a little harder to get things that fit the artificer flavor. With Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat out now, hopefully I can find some better choices. If you have any other suggestions, let me know!
Yeah, it's a really good set of skills, but the skills are a big part of the artificer. If I change the skills, it will go away from what I originally mean this mystery to be (a totally conversion and replacement of the 3.5 artificer). But that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I'd think Appraise, all Knowledge, and Use Magic Device would be an acceptable alternate class skill list, getting rid of the Trap Master revelation. I might think about it.... Construct Affects – fine, perhaps even can affect constructs with mind-affecting Oracle spells? That might be interesting. Personally I don't those kinds of spells a lot so I didn't really think of them. Might change it. Crafting Expertise – perhaps drop prereq of Item Creation revelation and reduce to only a single bonus Crafting feat? Perhaps fold Artisan Bonus into this one? I'd already dropped the Item Creation prereq, but getting the 2-for-1 crafting feat is kind of important. Though attaching Artisan Bonus to this sounds interesting. I'm might explore that, but Artisan Bonus is meant to be in there as a relatively weak revelation for balance so I'm a little hesitant about taking it out and attaching it to another revelation as an extra bonus. Fast Crafting – cool. Should specifically mention whether or not you are limited to one item a day, regardless. I’m fine with it allowing someone to make multiple potions or scrolls in a day, up to 1000 gp value, for instance, but the rules would forbid that. As written I meant for it to follow the rules, so no multiple items in a day until you reach the Final Revelation. That's one thing that artificer base class has on the oracle mystery, but for the oracle, Fast Crafting stacks with the Final Revelation while the artificer's Master Crafter replaces Trade Secrets. I might end up adjusting this, but I think it's pretty much fine as it is. Item Creation – way too long a description, IMO. It got long enough, and conditional enough, especially towards the end, that I no longer had any idea what it was doing... Hahaha! Yeah, this one of the key abilities of the 3.5 artificer and the main reason I decided to convert the artificer to an oracle mystery. The artificer was an INT based caster but he "faked" most of his magic to do his crafting. I tried my best to convert it and re-word it so that it wouldn't be confusing, but I guess it still can be. I'll have to look at it again. Magic Ability Casting – ooh, I love this one. Bane (whatever I need right now) is gonna be the logical end result (and perhaps Holy, as well), but, I’m good with that. Thanks! I was pretty proud of this little light-bulb. ^_^ Resourceful Crafting – I don’t like this. I think I would rather have it allow someone to, when they fail a crafting check to make an item (magical or otherwise) to recover the materials. Failing a check no longer will cost the artisan money, just time. Yeah, I'll be scrapping this ability all together. It's something that I ended up taking away from the artificer class due to character wealth issues that could come up from it, I haven't go back to the oracle version yet to fix it. Luckily I'm getting some nice ideas on what to replace it with, but I probably won't anything like what you described here. These characters should almost never fail a crafting check, and if they're worried about that then they can take Skill Mastery. Trap Master – I like it, but some may object strenuously to an Oracle revelation that so neatly poaches a Rogue niche ability. Like I said, I may be getting rid of this all together if I end up changing the class skill sets. Although really, there are so many classes that can "steal" the trapfinding gig from the rogue that I don't think too many people would mind the oracle being able to do it, too. I agree with the notion that the revelations list should include some combat-useful stuff, like a magic weapon / magic vestment SLA or a targetted dispel magic on items ability or the ability to cause armor or weapons or items targeted to temporarily take on the broken quality (or broken items to be temporarily made fully functional). I definitely have some ideas on what can replace Trap Master and Resourceful Crafting to give this oracle some better combat options. I'll just have to work out the details. Thank for the feedback!
What I like about this is that it fits with House Cannith being Natural artificers. You could easily have this & your Artificer conversion in the same Eberron campaign. Glad you like it. And in case you haven't seen Cheapy's Artificer thread, here are the Google Docs I have for my conversions now: Artificer
They're more or less finished at this point, though I might actually make a few tweaks to the Oracle Mystery sometime since I haven't touched it since I've finished the base class.
Yeah, I was mainly trying to convert the key abilities of the 3.5 Artificer into the mystery, but it would be nice to change things up a bit. Like I said, I might look into it again to do some tweaking. I think an ability to disable magic items might fit. Take the rules for a targeted dispel magic on magic items as a base and go from there. The ranged sunder could be cool, too. I'll have to think about it some more....
Another option that might fit the concept would be just going full Oracle and take the Eldritch Heritage feat line. If what you described is just back story, it would fit just fine (especially if you start at least at level 3 so you can have your first bloodline power). Depending on the Mystery, you can get some spells from the sorcerer list as bonus spells. You can get all of your bloodline powers except for the Level 20 ability if you want (be it a little later than a full sorcerer, but that’s better than only getting two). And you'll get full access to your Mystery's Revelations and full Oracle spell casting power. Only down side is that it will cost you in feats, but at least you'd have 3/4 BAB and 4+INT skill points for your entire character. And you can still call yourself a sorcerer in story if you wish. Your character's Class mechanically does not have to determine your character's title in game.
I think your main thing would work, but I don't think you could use kicks as unarmed strikes, the language that specifically allows it is part of the monk class, not anything that describes unarmed strikes in general. The monk also says a monk's unarmed strikes are never considered off-handed, which makes me think a fighter's can be and also that they require hands. Actually.... Core Rule Book, Combat Section:
Unarmed Attacks: Striking for damage with punches, kicks, and head butts is much like attacking with a melee weapon, except for the following:
Attacks of Opportunity: Attacking unarmed provokes an attack of opportunity from the character you attack, provided she is armed. The attack of opportunity comes before your attack. An unarmed attack does not provoke attacks of opportunity from other foes, nor does it provoke an attack of opportunity from an unarmed foe. An unarmed character can't take attacks of opportunity (but see “Armed” Unarmed Attacks, below). “Armed” Unarmed Attacks: Sometimes a character's or creature's unarmed attack counts as an armed attack. A monk, a character with the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, a spellcaster delivering a touch attack spell, and a creature with natural physical weapons all count as being armed (see natural attacks). Note that being armed counts for both offense and defense (the character can make attacks of opportunity). Unarmed Strike Damage: An unarmed strike from a Medium character deals 1d3 points of bludgeoning damage (plus your Strength modifier, as normal). A Small character's unarmed strike deals 1d2 points of bludgeoning damage, while a Large character's unarmed strike deals 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage. All damage from unarmed strikes is nonlethal damage. Unarmed strikes count as light weapons (for purposes of two-weapon attack penalties and so on). Dealing Lethal Damage: You can specify that your unarmed strike will deal lethal damage before you make your attack roll, but you take a –4 penalty on your attack roll. If you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, you can deal lethal damage with an unarmed strike without taking a penalty on the attack roll.
So I'm working on an Unarmed Fighter build with the Half-Orc Toothy trait for a bite attack and a 2 level dip in Natural Weapon Ranger to get two claw attacks. He'll be taking Boar Style and Feral Combat Training (Claws). At lower levels he'll be doing claw claw bite for his full round attacks and at higher levels (maybe not until level 11) he'll start using his unarmed strike with claw claw bite as secondary attacks, maybe taking the Multiattack feat eventually. I'm assuming he'll still be able to make all of his natural attacks since he could be using kicks for his unarmed strikes, right? Anyway, that's not my main question. I was wondering about Feral Combat Training, will his claws receive the benefits of all feats which affect his unarmed strike? For instance, if he took Weapon Specialization (Unarmed Strike) and Improved Critical (Unarmed Strike), will his claw attacks also receive +2 to damage and 19-20 crit range? "Choose one of your natural weapons. While using the selected natural weapon, you can apply the effects of feats that have Improved Unarmed Strike as a prerequisite, as well as effects that augment an unarmed strike." By my reading, it seems like it would work. Or am I missing something? Looks like a nice deal if it does work this way. Just too bad it doesn't say you can take it multiple times for different natural weapons or I'd have him take it for his bite, too. Thoughts?
(The Core Rulebook doesn’t state that you only get the damage multiplier on the first attack with a lance because there is no rule in the Core Rulebook that allows a PC to charge and take multiple attacks with a weapon, so that combination didn’t need to be addressed.)Right there. He said multiple attacks with a (single) weapon. You never get multiple attacks with a single natural weapon. You just get to use all of your separate natural attacks on a pounce or other full-attack action as always and his statement does not contradict that fact.
Again I have to disagree with this type of logic. Yes, a full-attack is an action, but it is also composed of multiple attack actions. After you cast Dimension Door, you can't take any other action. That should include the attack actions that would have come after the spell, if the magus would have cast a different spell. Let's take a different full-attack action using the same logic. A fighter has 3 attacks for his full-attack action. He doesn't have Improved Trip, but he thinks he can avoid or suck up the damage from an attack of opportunity, so he goes for a trip maneuver anyway to knock the enemy prone (-4 to AC the rest of his attacks and provokes an attack of opportunity of his own if he wants to stand up next turn). He attempts the trip as his first attack action and provokes the attack. His opponent gets lucky and not only hits, but crits and confirms, dropping the fighter. Does the fighter still get to have his second and third attack actions, even though his now unconscious? It's all the same action, right?
Specifically, you are casting dimension door as part of a full-round action. The attacks are part of the same full-round action, not a distinct action. You are not taking other actions, but completing the same full-round action. Does dimension door stop you from completing that action, or not? The problem I see with this line of thinking is from this sentence in the Spell Combat description: "A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks." You have to choose to cast your spell before or after the weapon attacks. If you cast the spell (dimension door) first, then the attack actions come after, which is not allowed in the dimension door description. But, as you said in your original post, you can dimension door then full attack with spell combat if you have the Dimensional Agility feat.
For the first 3 levels use a rapier. Same stats as a scimitar, but benefits from finesse. At level 3 make sure you haver a MW or +1 scimitar ready, and you are good to go. The problem with this is that he won't be proficiant with the rapier due to the Kensai archetype since it's a martial weapon ("A kensai is proficient in simple weapons and in a single martial or exotic melee weapon of his choice"). Yes, he'll be able to use his +4 DEX to hit, but he'll have a -4 for not being proficient. Plus, he won't have the Kensai's Weapon Focus, so he'll actually be much worse with a rapier. He'd be better off using a dagger for the first two levels and switch to scimitar at level 3 if he's having trouble hitting. +4 from Weapon Finesse verses +1 from Weapon Focus (Scimitar), and the weapon stats arn't that bad for low level. 1d4 with 19-20/x2 crit vs. 1d6 with 18-20/x2 crit.
I had actually started working on a totally unarmed monk archetype a while back. I based it off of one of my favorite anime series, Katanagatari. The main character is an epic monk who doesn't use any weapons. He is actually referred to as a living sword himself and becomes worse at fighting when he tries to use a weapon. I haven't worked on the archetype in a while, but here's what I have so far if it might be helpful: ---------- KYOTOURYUU MONK Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Kyotouryuu Monk gains no proficiency with any weapon or armor. When wielding a weapon, wearing armor, using a shield, or carrying a medium or heavy load, a Kyotouryuu Monk loses his AC bonus, as well as his fast movement and flurry of blows abilities. AC Bonus (Ex): When a Kyotouryuu Monk wields a weapon of any kind, he loses his Wisdom bonus to his AC and his CMD as well as his increasing bonuses to AC and CMD every four levels. A Kyotouryuu Monk’s AC bonus otherwise functions as normal for a monk of his level. Flurry of Blows (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a Kyotouryuu Monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. He may not make a flurry of blows with any weapons, including special monk weapons. A Kyotouryuu Monk’s flurry of blows otherwise functions as normal for a monk of his level. Unarmed Strike: At 1st level, a Kyotouryuu Monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. In addition, a Kyotouryuu Monk may freely choose the damage type (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing) which his unarmed strike deals with each blow. A Kyotouryuu Monk’s unarmed strike otherwise functions as normal for a monk of his level. Swift Step (Su): At 12th level or higher, a Kyotouryuu Monk can move at his full speed as a free action. Using this ability consumes 2 points from his ki pool and may be activated once per round. This ability replaces abundant step. ---------- As for your changes, #1 is more or less the same as what I did. But #2, I find it funny that you added in cold iron and silver to ki strike but didn't do anything about weapon damage types, while I did the opposite. Personally, I've come across the weapon damage type DR much more often than cold iron and silver, but that might just be me and the games I usually play in. I do like #3. I started working on my archetype before UC came out so I didn't have a chance to draw inspiration from the Martial Artist. Maybe now that there are new and juicy things out for the monk to think about, I can try to make the full archetype.
Vivisectionist does not give an increase to sneak attack. It adds one to your effective level to determine your sneak attack bonus. I have to disagree with this. Under the Vivisectionist's sneak attack it says: "If a character already has sneak attack from another class, the levels from the classes that grant sneak attack stack to determine the effective rogue level for the sneak attack's extra damage dice (so an alchemist 1/rogue 1 has a +1d6 sneak attack like a 2nd-level rogue, an alchemist 2/rogue 1 has a +2d6 sneak attack like a 3rd-level rogue, and so on)." It says the effective rogue level. Since the sandman gets sneak attack dice at a far reduced rate, this rule shouldn't come into play. And, if it did come into pay and you took the statement by pure RAW, an alchemist 1/sandman 5 would get +3d6 because their levels stack to determine the effective rogue level (level 6). This seems far off. By my reading, you have 5 levels of sandman. You add one level of Vivisectionist. Since sandman does not have an effective rogue level for sneak attack (never mentions the word "rogue" in the archetype) and since his dice are gained at a completely different rate, the level with Vivisectionist does not stack with sandman. He will be a sandman 5, gaining +1d6 sneak, and effective level 1 rogue from the Vivisectionist, gaining a second +1d6 sneak attack. I don't see how it can work any other way.
How high level are you planning to take this game? If he's set on becoming an Arcane Trickster, did you actually let him read the Sandman Bard archetype? If you are going high level, up to level 20 at least, point out that he can take levels in Arcane Trickster after 10 levels of Sandman. Not as early as Rogue3/Sorcerer4, but still not bad, and he wouldn't have to split his class levels. Or, better yet (thought of this on the way home from work) he can actually take 5 levels in Sandman and take one level in Rogue, Ninja or Vivisectionist (Alchemist) to meet the requirements for Arcane Trickster. That way he can actually start taking Arcane Trickster one level earlier than he could with the Rogue/Sorcerer combo. Personally, I'd use Vivisectionist since you get the most out of the dip.
How high level are you planning to take this game? If he's set on becoming an Arcane Trickster, did you actually let him read the Sandman Bard archetype? If you are going high level, up to level 20 at least, point out that he can take levels in Arcane Trickster after 10 levels of Sandman. Not as early as Rogue3/Sorcerer4, but still not bad, and he wouldn't have to split his class levels.
I want the wing attacks to work just like a dragon's which is described in the Bestiary as this: The dragon can slam foes with its wings, even when flying. Wing attacks are secondary attacks that deal the indicated damage plus 1/2 the dragon's Strength bonus. So yes, I want creatures to be able to use the wing attacks granted by this feat while flying. And since not all dragon types have the Hover feat, I wouldn't want to make it a prerequisite. And since we're on the subject of gaining natural attacks, how do you feel about a feat granting a Slam attack? What kind of prerequisites should something like that have?
Okay, so you think it'd be fine to not have the Str prerequisite? I'm fine with that. Just thought some people might want some kind of balancing for the feat. Thanks for the feedback.
When I was messing around with the idea to build characters based around natural attacks (mainly a Dragon Disciple), as well as planning pegasi as NPC's for a campaign, I was thinking that it'd be nice for creatures who have wings but don't get natural attacks from them (as dragons do) to have the option to gain them as natural attacks. And all said and done, I don't think it's too overpowered to just make it a feat. What do you think? Wings of Steel
Should the wing prerequisite be more restrictive so it can't be used by any character with Wings of Flying? I actually think it'd be cool to have a wondrous item of Greater Wings of Flying, or maybe Wings of the Dragon. Something with a better fly speed and provides wing attacks itself. Any thoughts?
As far as weapon proficiencies, I think it's always nice to have something to fall back on. Though he probably shouldn't get All Simple, but I'm not sure what else he'd be proficient in other than shield bash, or if just that would be enough. But as it is set us right now, he will at least need to be proficient in light shield bash, since his barriers are treated as such. Not sure about a grit/ki-like mechanic. Personally I prefer X times/rounds per day, like how Healing Barrier and Barrier Dome are set up. If it were make into a grit/ki system, there'd need to be many more special abilities for the class. As for Bull Rush, I did have the idea for that, but all he'd have to do is take the Shield Slam feat. He'd also have to take Improved Shield Bash and Two-Weapon Fighting, but those are awesome feats for this class anyway. Not sure what "cast with their reflex" means, though.... I'll figure out the save bonusus that they gain each level. Come up with fluff about the class... In case it's not obvious, I actually used the Monk class as a bit of a base for the class, with the BAB, AC Bonus, Damage dice, and Range. I also had him with all good saves at first, but then just dropped it to just a good reflex save since the other two didn't make as much sense and he just had so much other good stuff getting added to him. But yeah, fluff is good and you should definitely try fleshing out the concept as much as you can. As well as being able to add to the elemental barrier, prehaps a feat that makes it not only defensive, but offensive, dealing damage of the type that it is. I was actually trying to think of a way to implement the same concept with the elemental barrier, but what I was thinking about seemed a little too powerful. It would just add elemental damage to the barrier attack based on how much energy resistance was put into each element. Like 2d6 fire damage on top of the base damage and Charisma modifier. But like I said, seemed a little too powerful and also invalidated a large portion of attack abilities that he can add to his barriers. But yesterday I thought of something simple that might work. Just add this to the Elemental Barrier description: Barrier warriors can also use the power of their elemental barriers to attack their enemies. As a standard action, you may choose any one energy type you have selected resistance for. As a ranged touch attack which does not provoke attacks of opportunity, deal damage of the selected energy type equal to 1d6 per rank of your elemental barrier ability plus your Charisma modifier. You may target any creature within your barrier's range and use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.
Sound like interesting abilities. If you made them work, you might be able to have enough abilities to make a grit/ki system work, changing the X times/rounds per day into abilities that consumed points from the pool. Just keep your wheels turning and I'll keep it in the back of my mind, too. Glad you liked what I came up with so far.
Hmmm. This concept interested me so I've been working on trying to build the class for the past few days. I probably still need to fine-tune a few things. Don't know if it might be a little too overpowered. But here's what I came up with: BARRIER WARRIOR:
BARRIER WARRIOR
Alignment: Any. Hit Die: d8 CLASS SKILLS
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier. BAB: 3/4 Good Save: Ref Special Abilities by Level: 1. Barrier, Barrier Attack 1d6, Shield Expert
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Barrier warriors are proficient with all simple weapons as well as light and heavy shield bash. They are also proficient with light armor and all shields (including tower shields). Barrier (Su): Barrier warriors are able to generate a magical barrier of energy to protect himself and his allies. At level 1 this barrier acts as a Shield spell in all ways, except that it only provides a +2 shield bonus to AC. This barrier is treated as a light shield for the purposes of combat and applying feats. It is a swift action to generate a barrier and may then be moved as a free action. You can assign a barrier to protect yourself or an adjacent creature. The shield bonus to AC provided by a barrier overlaps and does not stack with existing shield bonus a creature may have. Every five levels you are able to generate an additional barrier to a maximum of 5 total barriers at level 20. You may use multiple barriers to protect different creatures or layer them on top of the same one. Multiple barriers of the same type do not stack with themselves, but as a barrier warrior increases in level, he is able to make new types of barrier which can add additional benefits to the same creature. It is typically a separate swift action to generate each additional barrier. Barrier Attack (Su): Barrier warriors may use their barrier ability to attack creatures within range. This attack is treated as a shield bash with a light shield which does the indicated amount plus your Charisma modifier in bludgeoning damage. This is a melee attack which always uses the barrier warrior’s Dexterity modifier on attack rolls instead of Strength. A barrier attack is considered to have the Ghost Touch special ability and is magic for the purposes of damage reduction. A barrier used to make an attack cannot be used to protect a creature until the beginning of your next turn unless you have the Improved Shield Bash feat. Shield Expert (Ex): Barrier warriors are not only experts in the use of their barriers as shields, but also the use of physical shields. When meeting the prerequisites for feats which apply to the use of shields, you are treated as having a base attack bonus and fighter level equal to your barrier warrior level. AC Bonus (Su): At level 2, your barrier gains a +1 enhancement bonus to AC. Unlike the enhancement bonuses granted to a physical shield, this +1 enhancement bonus also applies to attack and damage rolls when making a barrier attack. This enhancement bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels after 2nd, to a maximum of +5 at level 18. Barrier Ability (Su): At level 2, barrier warriors are able to apply any relevant magic shield or weapon ability to their barriers of a +1 enhancement cost. Every four levels after 2nd, you gain an additional +1 enhancement cost you may use to either gain another ability or gain an ability of a higher cost. You must spend one minute of meditation per enhancement bonus to grant magic abilities to your barriers. Any time during the day you may use the same meditation to exchange any number of active abilities for different ones. Whenever a barrier warrior is rendered unconscious, he loses all active abilities and must meditate for them again. Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level or higher, a barrier warrior can avoid damage from many area-effect attacks. If a barrier warrior makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a barrier warrior is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless barrier warrior does not gain the benefit of evasion. Elemental Barrier (Su): At level 3, pick one type of energy: acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic. Any creature protected by one of your barriers gains energy resistance 10 of the designated type. Every 4 levels thereafter, select a new energy type to also gain energy resistance 10 from and increase one of your existing resistances by 10 (which may be the one you just gained). If at any level you already have energy resistance 30 from any one type, adding 10 more will grant immunity from that type instead. Range (Su): Beginning at level 3, your barriers gain a range to which they can extend beyond the normal 5 feet. At level 3 you may extend your barriers out to a 10 ft. radius. This allows you to assign a barrier to protect anyone within that range as well as use your barrier attack against anyone within that reach. For the purposes of combat, a barrier attack is still considered a melee weapon, not a ranged or thrown weapon. Therefore it is not subject to penalties when attacking those engaged in melee, nor can the benefits of feats such as rapid shot or deadly aim be applied to it. For every three levels beyond 3rd, your range increases by an additional 10 feet. Healing Barrier (Su): At level 4, you can use your power to heal those you protect. As a standard action, you may heal any creature your barrier is protecting (including yourself) as if casting a Cure Light Wounds spell. Your caster level for this ability is equal to your barrier warrior level -3. Every 4 levels thereafter, the potency of this ability increases, acting as Cure Moderate Wounds at level 8, Cure Serious Wounds at level 12, Cure Critical Wounds at level 16, and Breath of Life at level 20. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. Deflection Barrier (Su): At level 5, you can change the form of your barrier as a free action to grant the protected creature a deflection bonus to AC instead of a shield bonus. This deflection bonus is equal to your barrier’s current enhancement bonus (+1 at level 5, +2 at level 6, +3 at level 10, etc.). Improved Evasion (Ex): At level 8, a barrier warrior’s evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of improved evasion. Barrier Suit (Su): At level 9, you can change the form of your barrier as a free action to grant the protected creature an armor bonus to AC instead of a shield bonus. This armor acts as a Mage Armor spell in all ways except that it provides a +2 AC bonus plus your barrier’s current enhancement bonus. Barrier Dome (Su): At level 11, for a number of rounds per day equal to your Charisma modifier, you may choose one type of barrier you are able to use. That barrier protects every creature you wish within range. Activating a barrier dome is a swift action and while it is in affect, your healing barrier acts as channeling positive energy of a cleric level equal to your barrier warrior level -3 to all protected creatures. You may not perform any barrier attacks on the same turn you active the barrier dome. Barrier Shell (Su): At level 13, you can change the form of your barrier as a free action to wrap the protective energy tightly to the protected creature’s body. The protected creature gains an enhancement bonus to his natural armor equal to your barrier’s current enhancement bonus. Immediate Barrier (Su): At level 13, once per round you may move one of your active barriers to protect a new creature. This may be done in response to an attack against a creature, applying the new protection before the attack roll is made. As part of this action, you may also change the type of barrier that is being made. Improved Immediate Barrier (Su): At level 16, when using your immediate barrier ability, you may also generate a new barrier as an immediate action and move it. You may also use your immediate barrier to generate a barrier dome. This costs one of your rounds per day for the barrier dome at activation and on your next turn you may not use any barrier attacks, even if you deactivate the barrier dome. Evasive Barrier (Su): At level 17, you can change the form of your barrier as a free action to grant the protected creature the ability to avoid damage more easily. The protected creature gains a dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves equal to your barrier’s current enhancement bonus. In addition, as long as the protected creature is only wearing armor which he is proficient in, he also gains the benefits of Evasion. If the creature already has the Evasion ability, he gains Improved Evasion. Barrier Master (Su): At level 20, your ability to use your barriers is truly exquisite. You may now generate barriers as a free action and the range to which they can extend doubles to a final reach of 120 ft. All barriers now remain active, protecting the last creatures which they were assigned to and retaining all barrier abilities for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier after being rendered unconscious. Once per day, if a barrier warrior is killed, he is immediately affected by a maximized Breath of Life spell. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.
Okay, here are the Google Doc links: Artificer
Hope that worked right. I'm not very experienced with the Google Doc thing.
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