Seltyiel - "good" version (well, not really "good")


Homebrew and House Rules


Here’s another in the “If Tyler Ran the Zoo” project to create a magus class deck. This is the “good” Seltyiel (no, he’s not really good, but this one’s powers are more neutral than the “evil” Seltyiel version). The first character in this (“good” magus) series was Valánta, the staff magus. Note that I’ve also created a bladebound version of Seltyiel, but that role is based on the Skull & Shackles version of the character and is theoretically only available if a custom adventure has been successfully completed. Practically speaking, I could adapt that version to this character (as well as for the “evil” version of Seltyiel). Regardless, while there may be some similarities between that role and this character/roles, the rules are not directly related for the purpose of this “project.”

Here’s the base character:

Quote:

SELTYIEL

Male Half-Elf Magus

SKILLS
Strength d10 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Melee: Strength +2
Dexterity d6 □+1
Constitution d8 □+1 □+2
-Fortitude: Constitution +1
Intelligence d8 □+1 □+2 □+3 □+4
-Arcane: Intelligence +1
-Knowledge: Intelligence +1
Wisdom d4 □+1 □+2
Charisma d6 □+1 □+2

Powers
Hand Size 5 □6
Proficient with Light Armors and Weapons

Choose a weapon that doesn’t have the 2-Handed trait and a spell that has the Attack trait. When you play one for your combat check, you may recharge the other (□ or shuffle it into your deck) to add 1d6 (□ 2d6) and that card’s traits to the check.

At the end of your turn, you may attempt to recharge a spell from your discard pile.

You may recharge a spell to add 1d4 (□ +1) to your check before you act.

Cards List
Favored Card Type: Weapon or Spell

Weapon 4 □5 □6 □7
Spell 4 □5 □6 □7
Armor 1 □2
Item 1 □2
Ally 1 □2
Blessing 4 □5

Players familiar with Seltyiel’s rules from the Skull & Shackles base set will notice two areas where there are distinct differences.

First, this character’s additional skills are capped at 5 instead of 7 (i.e., Skull & Shackles Seltyiel has Melee: Strength +3, Arcane: Intelligence +3, and Craft: Intelligence +1 whereas “good” Seltyiel has Melee: Strength +2, Fortitude: Constitution +1, and Arcane: Intelligence +1, and Knowledge: Intelligence +1).

Second, this character has a third power, whereas Skull & Shackles Seltyiel only has two. I figured that removing two additional skills justified adding a minor power. So I gave a minor power suggested by the lore I quoted from Ultimate Magic (awareness).

Overall, this version is intentionally similar to the Skull & Shackles version.

As far as the roles go, I built each around a different focus. Much like the Valánta character, one role focuses on swords while the other focuses on magic. The difference here is that both roles are based on different archetypes (whereas the base Valánta character was, itself, based on an archetype). In addition, one role is internally focused (Seltyiel helping himself) and the other is externally focused (Seltyiel helping others). So each role will lead to distinct play styles and incorporation into the party’s dynamics.

The first role is that of the kensai, found in Ultimate Magic. This role specializes in using a weapon (the sword, in this case) at the expense of magic.

Quote:

SELTYIEL (KENSAI)

The kensai channels his arcane might through his blade in a dizzying and deadly dance beyond the abilities of even the greatest of mundane warriors.

Powers
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors and Weapons

Choose a weapon that doesn’t have the 2-Handed trait and a spell that has the Attack trait. When you play one for your combat check, you may recharge the other (□ or shuffle it into your deck) to add 1d6 (□ 2d6)( □ 3d6) and that card’s traits to the check.

At the end of your turn, you may attempt to recharge a spell in your discard pile.

You may recharge a spell to add 1d4 (□ +1) (□ +2) to your check before you act.

□ If your combat check has the Sword trait, add 2 (□ 4) to it.

□ When you would discard a weapon that has the Sword trait for its power, you may recharge it instead.

□ If you start your turn without any weapons in your hand, you may draw a card (□ two cards).

The next role is that of the Eldritch Knight, Seltyiel’s first incarnation. The role was presented in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. The role below was heavily inspired by the artwork for Ultimate Magic. You can see a “plain” version here.

Quote:

SELTYIEL (ELDRITCH KNIGHT)

Those who must face eldritch knights in combat fear them greatly, for their versatility on the battlefield is tremendous.

Powers
Hand Size 5 □6 □7
Proficient with Light Armors and Weapons

Choose a weapon that doesn’t have the 2-Handed trait and a spell that has the Attack trait. When you play one for your combat check, you may recharge the other (□ or shuffle it into your deck) to add 1d6 (□ 2d6)( □ 3d6) and that card’s traits to the check.

At the end of your turn, you may attempt to recharge a spell in your discard pile.

You may recharge a spell to add 1d4 (□+1) to your check before you act.

□ When a character encounters a bane that has the Skirmish or Army trait, you may display a spell that has the Attack trait to add 1d4 (□ +2)(□ +4) and that card’s traits to checks against that bane; this counts as playing a spell and you may play no other spells on any checks against that bane during this turn. At the end of the turn, discard the spell.

□ You may discard (□ recharge) a spell to add 1d6 (□ 2d6) and the Magic trait to a combat check of another character at your location.

So these roles have distinct dynamics and limitations. The sheer specialization of the kensai role makes that role more of a frontline fighter augmented by magic. The eldritch knight, meanwhile, is more of a support character, though he is able to get in the thick of the fighting when necessary. While all of the official adventure paths have Skirmish banes, players that have gone through the Wrath of the Righteous and Seasons of the Righteous adventure paths will see where the eldritch knight might come in very handy.

Any suggestions for improving this character would be appreciated.


While I can't help you with balance, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the effort you put into this project, also the other threads.
I love the kensai class and was let down that there likely won't be anything official in this direction from paizo this year, but your variant makes up for that quite well.

Do you plan to release printable pdfs of all your magus variants once you are happy with the balancing?


Doppelschwert wrote:
...I appreciate the effort you put into this project, also the other threads...

I'm happy to oblige (and appreciate the appreciation). I find that this type of "work" is interesting and challenging, and it gives me an appreciation for what the designers go through when developing the official characters.

Doppelschwert wrote:
Do you plan to release printable pdfs of all your magus variants once you are happy with the balancing?

Absolutely, but only as allowed by the Community Use policy. So the Seltyiel characters/roles can be done (both Seltyiel images are allowed, I think), but the Valánta and Arcaveil cards/roles require different images (the Valánta image I linked was a Photoshopped image that used the head from one image and superimposed it on the body of another image, both images from one of the RPG books; and the Arcaveil image is also in a book, but has not been used by Paizo in a way that allows it to be used on custom cards). This limitation on images has been affecting the other magus characters I've been working on (one "good" and one "evil" - and of course the truly "evil" Seltyiel version that I'm holding off on posting until this "good" version has been put through the paces).


After some playing today, I realized that the Swarm trait should be added to the Eldritch Knight power:

Quote:
□ When a character encounters a bane that has the Swarm, Skirmish, or Army trait, you may display a spell that has the Attack trait to add 1d4 (□ +2)(□ +4) and that card’s traits to checks against that bane; this counts as playing a spell and you may play no other spells on any checks against that bane during this turn. At the end of the turn, discard the spell.

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