Arakhor's page

I really like the condensed Tarrasque.

The capacity system seems a bit awkward at first and kind of go against the idea of having your character's power come naturally from their power than their weapon when they still have to buy a better weapon to take advantage of it. However, I do like that it ultimately makes it cheaper to have magical weapons with special abilities. This system basically makes enhancement bonuses cheaper at the cost of putting a level requirement on them.

While awkward, making special abilities more accesible is a huge plus. My players and I have more interest in giving weapons magical abilities than giving them numbers.

If I select "Standard Postal Delivery" to send something to the UK, I'm provided with this arcane instruction:

9-36 business days in transit, 2-10 business days

Can someone tell me what the point of the second clause is and whether "business days" includes Saturdays or not?

Without making this class completely playable without the book, what do people think of this conversion? I've scaled back a couple of their more beardy powers and given them a couple of minor scaling powers to fill in their dead levels.

Hit Dice, BAB, saves and skill points are unchanged from Rokugan.
Proficiencies: Simple weapons and rapier (or a one-handed non-exotic weapon appropriate to culture).
Class Skills: Bluff, Craft (Calligraphy, Painting), Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (History, Local, Nobility), Linguistics, Perception, Perform (Dance, Oratory), Profession (Courtier), Sense Motive.
Noble Bearing: You gain a +2 competence bonus to all Profession (courtier checks). This increases to +4 at 6th-level, +6 at 11th-level and +8 at 17th-level. This bonus is not further increased by your ranks in Profession (Courtier).
Style & Grace: You gain a +2 competence bonus on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate and Perform checks made in courtly surroundings (or other high society venues). This bonus increases to +4 for each affected skill in which you have 10 ranks.
Talent: If you select the Skill Focus feat in any of your Int-, Wis- or Cha-based courtier class skills, you gain a +4 bonus instead of a +3 bonus. If you have 10 ranks in the skill in which you have Skill Focus, this bonus increases to +8, rather than +6.
Wealth: In addition to your 6d4x10 gp starting wealth, you also gain a masterwork rapier (or other cultural weapon) and are provided with an additional 50 gp per point of positive Charisma modifier. This extra money is intended to be spent for the good of the family and will be replaced every six months provided the previous stipend was not wasted. Your stipend increases to 100 gp per point of positive Charisma modifier at 8th-level, to 150 gp at 14th-level and 200 gp at 20th-level.
Iron Will: At 2nd-level, you gain Iron Will as a bonus feat.
Gossip: At 3rd-level, you have an exceptional ability to ferret out secrets and learn the oddest rumours. The type of rumour is based on your Diplomacy check to gather information and is not guaranteed to be true.
Courtier Ability (at 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th & 19th): You gain a special courtier ability from the list provided in Rokugan (p.35).
Versatile (at 5th, 10th, 15th & 20th): You gain this feat at each of the indicated levels.
Inspiring Leader: At 9th-level, you gain Leadership as a bonus feat (or a +3 Leadership bonus if you already possess the feat). Your cohort is always a fighter assigned as your personal bodyguard by your family and your followers are all warriors or experts whom are willing to serve you.
The Heart Speaks: At 12th-level, you gain Skill Focus (Sense Motive) as a bonus feat and can take 10 on Sense Motive rolls even when rushed or stressed.
Aura of Peace (Ex): At 18th-level, you are protected by a constant sanctuary effect (Will save DC 10 + 1/2 your courtier level + your Cha modifier), so long as you are apparently unarmed, without hostile intent and have not yet attacked anyone. This effect cannot be dispelled but if the sanctuary is broken, all witnesses are unaffected for the next 24 hours. Non-intelligent targets are also completely unaffected.

I was asked to post this custom race when it came up tangentially in another thread. It is themed around the concept of a young boy with startling elemental powers, which I conceived long ago :) I originally wrote it for 3.5, but it's easily Pathfinderised.

Stormchildren appear to be pre-teenage humans (approximately 10 - 12 years old), who stand roughly 4' to 4'6" tall and weigh roughly 5 - 7 stones (70 - 100 lbs).

Size/Type: Medium Humanoid (human).
Ability modifiers: -2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Wis, +2 Cha
Ageless: Stormchildren have no maximum age and do not age (magically or otherwise). They have no ageing categories and will always appear to be roughly 10 - 12 years old
Elemental Heritage: Stormchildren gain Survival and Swim as automatic class skills. When they reach their 6th character level, Fly (with a +4 manoeuvrability bonus) also becomes a class skill.
Elemental Resistance: Stormchildren gain cold and electricity resistance: 5 and gain +1 to all saves vs. spells which involve air, cold, electricity or water.
Human Blood: For all effects relating to race, Stormchildren are considered to be both human and Stormchildren.
Favoured Class: Either Warlock or Sorcerer (Elemental bloodline only).
Languages: Automatic: Common; Bonus: Aquan, Auran, Draconic.
Level Adjustment: +1.

Stormchildren also gain the following abilities as they gain class levels. These are accumulated according to their character level, not their individual class levels.
Storm-touched (Su): At 1st-level, Stormchildren gain a constant endure elements effect and their body and worn equipment remain dry in even the fiercest storms, unless they are fully immersed in water.
Storm-sight (Ex): At 2nd-level, they gain 60' darkvision and can see up to 60 feet unhindered in fog and heavy rain.
Aquatic Adaptation (Ex): At 4th-level, they gain a Swim speed equal to their base land speed and can breathe and see unhindered whilst underwater. Their body and all worn equipment are impervious to water damage and instantly dry upon leaving the water.
Storm-step: At 6th-level, if in a storm or strong wind (21+ mph), they gain a Fly speed equal to their base land with good manoeuvrability. They are otherwise unaffected by strong wind.

I think in the next game I run, I will have alignments being personalities and allegiances being what pings on spells and items. So a human duellist might have a LE personality but only have allegiance of law because he serves the states and doesn't care about ethical debate.

Adventurers would typically be of good allegiance, divine spell-casters would have their god's alignment/goals as a suitable allegiance, outsiders would have an automatic allegiance to their origin (thus even a good-personality & good allegiance tiefling would also have evil allegiance) etc.

All this would mean detect evil would detect allegiance rather than personality, smite evil would not affect the selfish merchant (unless he was also a cultist of the Elder Evil) and paladins (with their automatic law & good allegiances) would not be forced to spurn that LE duellist who works for the paladin's government, though he may have problems with that honest & law-abiding tiefling.

The True Neutral/Unaligned allegiance may prove some difficulties in the end, but do people think that this system is playable in standard fantasy d20?

Oh doh. I hate doing this, but I've now realised this thread is both in the wrong place and obsolete!

Please exterminate this with extreme prejudice.