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Just to clarify what i am asking. I am asking wether or not there has already been a class or archetype where the player is gaining various abilities and traits overtime(as they level), making him more and more divergent from the general race. this is not a shapechange thing. the player is gaining these traits and abilities physically.
If the answer is no(or even maybe) then here is what the evolutionary is as an idea.
The class is that they have something inside them. A bundle of natural energy that, for now, i'm calling the primal well spring. this triggers evolutionary change, slowly at first, like better hearing, better sight, being healthier than most, then quickly going into the major physilogical adaptions like Claws, fangs, natural armour. This gradually gets more intense with cloaking, toxic venom, regenerative properties, breathing the elements, flight etc, until they evolve into the ultimate evolutionary being. The key idea is in part nature+nurture. The evolutionary is gaining more and more evolutions but they can choose what kind of path to take. what kind of creature to become. The abilities the evolutionary gains are designed to enable it to potentialy fit a wide variety of roles. It has access to only simple weapons and armour, mostly as it will eventually evolve to the point where artificial armour and weapons are virtually obsolete, or cannot be made to fit without comprimising its own protective capabilities.
Synthetist Summoner (don't play it if you are not the only martial in the party).
Aberrant Aegis (okay).
9000 Prototype-inspired homebrews (I failed to find one that doesn't suck. If you managed to, please share.)
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Okay, so from what i can see, it has been done before. Just very poorly or in a different manner to this. Thats ok. The general thing is kind of like the player steadily evolves perminant adaptions, with some minor resource like 'primal' for fueling more powerful abilities.
I might borrow some of the abilities/traits from the race builder and monster builder to Round out some of the evolutions. Though there will be things that synegise to make a more powerful selection. Like acid-breath weapon getting more potent acids(damage), lingering acids(damage over time) or corrosive acids(damages armour and equipment). These acids are also used elsewhere, like in swallow whole's acid componant and acid blood. Other abilities like cloaking(invisibility) and blink(a minor teleport) are higher in the tiers, as are the beholder style eye rays. If a creature exists with that ability(and is not undead,abberrant, or construct), then it can be an option. Though I will try to limit the number of outsider abilities for this. Dragons I can handle, but no crazy djinn wishes.
Though devils/daemons/aberrants it could be added as archetypes with a limited pool of signiture style abilities.
Let's have some queen of blades stuff here.
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Ok. Here is the skeleton concept for the class.
Evolutionary: There are many species in the universe. Some largely built on evolutionary prowess, gaining adaptions and becoming stronger. Others have built their success on their capacity for cooperation, developing tools and weapons to enable greater control over their environment, and enabling civilisation. A Evolutionary is born when the primal energy of the world-the source of all natural life- creates a spring inside an individual, enabling an almost limitless capacity to adapt and evolve. Adapting to the often new and sudden changes in their lives, the evolutionary learns to channel the primal well spring of energy inside them towards a desired outcome, triggering adaptations and physical changes which grant a variety of dangerous abilities and traits to make the evolutionary more efficient towards its intended goal, or even more capable of survival. Sometimes going to beyond the point of survival to thrive in their new habitat, either at the expense of civilisation or alongside it.
Rule space
The evolutionary is a toolbox class for combat and scouting/traversing . It's limited plethora of skills make it very difficult to fit in a more civilised setting. That being said they can evolve into a more social role, with the right adaptations. But most of the Evolutionary's main adaptions are towards combat. More often this will be melee combat but sometime it will evolve abilities suitable for a ranged engagement, firing spines, bursts from the breath weapon, or launching beams of energy across the battlefield. The main feature of this class is its Evolutions, abilities and traits which it picks up, granting it a variety of abilities which allow it to fill a variety of roles (outside of the spell casting role). In addition, every 2 levels it gets an Adaptation, a minor ability that enables the channeling of primal energy to alter the way an ability works, like improving damage on a breath weapon or enabling cloaking to be a invisible spell-like ability. They can get a sneak attack ability if they want to, though it will take up an adaption and evolution to do so, with primal energy recovering at a relatively slow rate.
The best one I have seen is the Metamorph from Libre Influxus Communis. It's sorta built on the framework of an Eidolon for mechanics, but they are changes that are made that are permanent and grow with the character.
I'd say give it a look - it seem really close to what you are describing.
There's also the Fleshbinder(Summoner Archetype) that I really wish had been picked up by Paizo for use. :(
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I am stunned by how many archetype and classes have been build (directly or indirectly) around the idea of making a monster out of a pre-existing class.
I initially was looking to create a class(not an archetype, or prestige class) to grow more powerful, gain abilities and become something like a predator of the world. Nature + nurture. It might have started out as a human(or elf, dwarf, gnome etc) but it steadily evolves to be something very removed from the normal. Would such a creature be feared, hunted, hated or loved, studied, accepted and respected. How would it react, hiding its nature, trying to channel its instincts and abilities towards noble endeavours and goals, or would it choose to become the ultimate monster, a creature born to rule over all others or render all subject to its instincts and hungers. My inspirations for this was the monsters from evolve, the queen of blades from Starcraft and other Sci-fi alien creatures. Very different from the standard garden variety beasts you can become as a Druid, or alter your body as a alchemist.
This is my first major thoroughfare into the nature of class building in pathfinder, so I might make a lot of mistakes. Your help and critique is appreciated as I try to get this thing down into 20 level sections for abilities, traits and feats to fit this creation.
The Mutant- In Leveled Mutations. D8 dice and they get only the bonus spells that go with the mutations. They get one mutation at first, another each at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th. The mutations are an expansion of the bloodlines so they come with skills and maybe a feat. If any other class has a mutation(possible from magical fallout and such) they get no spells, skills, feats or such. Another mutation and they need to take a defect. While sorcerers can take any mutation at first level and get everything they still need to take a defect to take another mutation.
What you are doing also sounds like a Geomancer.