Draconfolk: A purebred race formed from continual half-dragon inbreeding. They have a human shape, with small elegant dragon wings, wild untamed hair, and random color markings on their bodies. Each person in this race is born with a random one of a specific of four possible colors. The colors are associated with the element that person has an affinity towards, red(fire), blue(cold), green(acid), golden-yellow(electricity). Also the men and women of this race are notably built different and use their affinities differently though they are the same race.
Standard Magic Healing Affinity (1RP): Prerequisites: Fey, Plant, Outsider(Native) with ties to a positive energy plane; Benefit: A member of this race gets a +1 to caster level of healing descriptor spells.
Healing Will (1RP): Prerequisites: Fey, Plant, Outsider(Native) with ties to a positive energy plane; Benefit: When a member of this race uses a supernatural job ability that heals (ie. Lay on hands), increase that healing by the character's wisdom modifier.
School Affinity (1RP): Prerequisites: None; Benefit: A member of this race gets a +1 racial bonus to DC and saves of spells from a specific school of magic (this does not include types). Special: This ability may be taken multiple times, each time for a different school.
Standard Defensive Environmental Regeneration (2RP): Prerequisites: Fey, Plant, or Undead, and Fast Healing*; Benefit: While members of this race are in an environment associated with that race, such as swamps, direct sunlight, a healthy forest, ect. and get a full 8 hour rest they can regenerate lost limbs or other scaring damage like the regeneration spell.
Advanced Defensive Improved Environmental Regeneration (2RP): Prerequisites: Fey, Plant, or Undead, Fast Healing*, Environmental Regeneration; Benefit: This race does not need to wait 8 hours, but instead one round in their environment in order to regenerate.
Monstrous Defensive Regeneration (6RP): Prerequisites: Fey, Plant, or Undead, and Fast Healing*; Benefit: Members of this race have the regeneration ability. When you take this racial ability pick two energy types and/or special materials, these will be the weakness of the regeneration. If you spend 2 more RP only pick one weakness.
*Other people have already posted ideas for fast healing so I am just building on it.
I tried to make a slight variant to the playtest samurai, something a bit more honor like and a bit less mounted. Needless to say it flopped, but I thought I might as well present what I came up with to spark some imagination for potential options to mess around with in the future.
Samurai
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills
The Samurai’s class skills are Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Perception, and Swim
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: 1/1 Fort: Good Ref: Bad Will: Bad
Level Special
1st Challenge 1/day, order, honor’s way, devoted heirloom
2nd Order ability
3rd Ijitsu
4th Challenge 2/day, Weapon expertise
5th Banner
6th Bonus Feat
7th Challenge 3/day
8th Order ability
9th Greater honor’s way
10th Challenge 4/day
11th Greater Ijitsu
12th Bonus feat, demanding challenge
13th Challenge 5/day
14th Greater banner
15th Order ability
16th Challenge 6/day
17th Undying Honor
18th Bonus feat
19th Challenge 7/day
20th Supreme Honor
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the samurai.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Samurai are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, plus the katana, naginata, and wakizashi. Samurai are proficient with all types of armor (heavy, light, and medium) and with shields (except tower shields).
Honor’s way (Ex): A samurai uses his honor to raise himself to greatness. Through actions of reserve and humility the samurai can accumulate his honor. Once a day a samurai may give homage to his ancestors or family through praying to a shrine, meditating, or performing a ritual for at least 15 minutes to gain an honor point. A samurai can also gain honor points by defeating a challenged foe or by doing an act that the GM sees exemplary of honor within the samurai’s order. The samurai can accumulate up to the number of points equal to his charisma modifier. These honor points may be used to enhance his social and combat prowess.
Combat presence: As a swift action a samurai can use an honor point to get a bonus to his attack rolls equal to his charisma modifier plus half his level (minimum 1) till the end of his next round.
Social presence: A samurai may add his level to diplomacy or intimidate checks for an hour after using an honor point.
Determined: As a move action, a samurai can spend one use of his honor points to remove the fatigued, shaken, or sickened condition. If these conditions have a duration longer than 1 hour or are permanent, this ability removes the condition for 1 hour, at which time the condition returns.
Resolute: Whenever the samurai is required to make a Fortitude or Will save, he can spend one use of an honor point as an immediate action to roll twice and take the better result. He must decide to use this ability before he rolls the saving throw.
Devoted Heirloom: At 1st level, a samurai inherits an intelligent item that harbors the spirit of the samurai’s family, clan, or order. This item may be a katana, wakazashi, naginata, or longbow. The heirloom is a masterwork weapon intelligent item that grows in power with its wielder. Starting at level 4 the heirloom becomes a +1 magic weapon, and every three levels after either increases its bonus or may use some of its bonus to gain an enhancement. In addition the heirloom may store an unused honor point that may be used at any time.
If the heirloom is every lost or destroyed the samurai loses any stored honor points and the samurai may not accumulate or use honor points until he finds a new weapon to house the spirit of his original. In order to bring the spirit into a new weapon, the samurai must find or have made a non-magical masterwork weapon of the same type as the original and meditate in a ritual for three days. The ritual costs materials worth the samurai’s level times 1000gp.
Ijitsu (Ex): At 3rd level, a samurai gains the ability to use a unique combat maneuver of ijitsu. Ijitsu is a swift action that can only be used when the samurai draws his weapon while within melee range of the target. The samurai does a combat maneuver check against his target; if he succeeds the target is considered flat-footed for the rest of the round. This combat maneuver may be used at the end of a charge, and if it succeeds it will stop any readied action or attack of opportunity in response to the charge. (Being a combat maneuver ijitsu still provokes an attack of opportunity unless the samurai has the feat improved ijitsu.)
Greater honor’s way (Ex): At 9th level, a samurai’s power of honor gain in effectiveness. Whenever someone is effected by an attack or skill enhanced by combat presences or social presence, the target must make a Will save with a DC equal to the samurai’s charisma modifier + 10, or become shaken. This effect does not accumulate to make a target frightened or panicked. Also a samurai may use determined to alternatively remove the exhausted, frightened, nauseated, or staggered condition.
Whirlwind ijitsu (Ex): At 11th level, when using ijitsu a samurai may use an honor point to use the combat maneuver on as many targets within range as he has attacks he can use that combat round. Only one roll needs to be made for all targets of the maneuver when used this way. Also when used with a charge a samurai may spend an honor point to attack foes along the way of the charge while using ijitsu as if you weren’t mobile.
Undying honor (Ex): At 17th level, a samurai will gambit his honor and life on his allies. While in combat a samurai may spend all his honor points with a minimum of 3 as a full-round action to dedicate himself to this battle. From that point on if the samurai goes all out and gives it his all until his death. After that if the samurai and his allies are victorious through defeating, thwarting, or chasing off all enemies the samurai will be revived at the end of combat with 0 hp and is weakened for one week.
Unquestionable honor (Ex): At 20th level, a samurai’s honor is beyond measure and no longer needs to spend honor points on the level 1 honor’s way abilities. However he may spend an honor point as an immediate action in display of his honor to double his attack bonus, damage, or critical range of his next attack he uses. A samurai’s devoted heirloom will not defy its owner, nor can the heirloom be lost, damaged, or destroyed. If anything would happen to the heirloom it simply returns intact in its owner’s possession immediately afterwards.
*I excluded any class features already stated in the original class.
Whelp the first session running around as level one wasn't the best, but could be worse. Mostly players being... well themselves. The group right now is a ninja, gunslinger, and a gun mage (see new rules), which brings the issue that the group lacks the dynamic of a tank. I'm gonna add in a tank NPC next session to round the group out, plus only three players feels really small. To note I've decided just to keep things moving we will be going up 2 levels between major events, so jumping from level 1 to 3 next time.
Right now can't say too much on the gun mage. The first session didn't have the best variety on combat and the player liked to hide a lot. I'm hoping to pull the class and character out of their shells.
My samurai variant is a flop over all. I will post the full thing under the samurai sections for thought provoking, but no intention of messing with it anymore. Ijitsu however I have decided to change from a class feature to a combat maneuver. Also I have added in my much more hopeful class of the "Martial Tactician". I think I will add it to the group as an NPC, maybe to take the place of the needed tank. These changes are reflected in the rules document previously posted.
OK, so looking through it I figured how I would do ijitsu as a combat maneuver. I'm rather satisfied with it and since I kinda feel like my samurai variant isn't good enough I'm dropping it from my current beta game. Hopefully my players will try it out (the ninja should enjoy it), and if not I will have my NPCs mess around with it. Including the newer concept of a combat maneuver class I decided to hammer out.
Here is the ijitsu as a combat maneuver:
Spoiler:
Ijitsu – You can leave your foe flat-footed until the end of your next round as an attack action. Ijitsu can be used once a round when a character draws a melee weapon. If you do not have the Improved Ijitsu feat, or a similar ability, attempting to use ijitsu on a foe provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. Just like feint, this maneuver will not make a target with uncanny dodge become flat-footed, but will deny the target’s Dex to AC.
and the associated feats:
Spoiler:
Improved Ijitsu
Prerequisite: Dex 13, Int 13, Combat Expertise.
Benefit: You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing an ijitsu combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks using ijitsu on a foe. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense when an opponent tries to use ijitsu on you.
Greater Ijitsu
Prerequisite: Dex 15, Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Ijitsu, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on checks using ijitsu on a foe. This bonus stacks with Improved Ijitsu. After a successful ijitsu you may damage your foe as if you had hit them with the weapon used for the ijitsu.
Swift Ijitsu
Prerequisite: Dex 17, Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Ijitsu, base attack bonus +9
Benefit: When ever you successfully perform an ijitsu you may sheathe the weapon used as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
So I am currently beta testing some alternate rules in a beta game and amongst my alternate rules is a samurai variant with the ability Ijitsu. After some discussion I've come to question whether to keep it as a class feature or change it to a standard combat maneuver. What I currently have is as follows:
Spoiler:
Ijitsu (Ex): At 3rd level, a samurai gains the ability to use a unique combat maneuver of ijitsu. Ijitsu is a swift action that can only be used when the samurai draws his weapon while within melee range of the target. The samurai does a combat maneuver check against his target; if he succeeds the target is considered flat-footed for the rest of the round. This combat maneuver may be used at the end of a charge, and if it succeeds it will stop any readied action or attack of opportunity in response to the charge. (Being a combat maneuver ijitsu still provokes an attack of opportunity unless the samurai has the feat improved ijitsu.)
Whirlwind ijitsu (Ex): At 11th level, when using ijitsu a samurai may use an honor point to use the combat maneuver on as many targets within range as he has attacks he can use that combat round. Only one roll needs to be made for all targets of the maneuver when used this way. Also when used with a charge a samurai may spend an honor point to attack foes along the way of the charge while using ijitsu as if you weren’t mobile.
And its associated feats:
Spoiler:
Improved Ijitsu
Prerequisite: Dex 13, Ijitsu class feature.
Benefit: You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing an ijitsu combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks using ijitsu on a foe. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense when an opponent tries to use ijitsu on you.
Greater Ijitsu
Prerequisite: Dex 15, Improved Ijitsu, Whirlwind ijitsu class feature, and Honor’s way class feature.
Benefit: You may spend an honor point after successfully using ijitsu at the end of a charge to do a full-round attack on the target of the ijitsu. In addition, your Improved Ijitsu bonuses increase to +4.
Lastly, here is the link to my additional rules. Since they will be constantly changing based on how they test out they will be on a dynamic public google doc.
PCs
Requirements: Level one character of a beta class build. Stats will be bought with the standard 20 points. Races will include all current races. All PCs will have a minimum of one trait and one flaw (see new rules), and may add a trait and flaw up to a max of three trait/flaw combos (these traits and flaws may be original, not just current rules).
PCs will be starting the story as basic ship hands and/or inexperienced young officers. Due to the oriental style characters being mixed in the story will begin at the first port stop. Since the basic plot of the story will be exploring new places, the characters will not be rounded and will not be focused on individual plots.
NPCs
Captain Ram Lake
Human expert 4/figher 9
Boon: Counts as 3 people for the purposes of running the ship.
Description: An average height, middle aged man. He has a long beard that is fluffy and white. He wears an eye patch over his left eye. He generally wears nice noble’s clothing that hasn’t been washed in forever and is well worn out. He also loves his glorious plumed hat that he has redesigned or replaced every port.
First Mate - Ronny Whelps
Dwarf expert 4/figher 4
Navigator - Nair
Elven adept 3/oracle 3
Oracle curse: Sea legs (see new classes & features)
Oracle mystery: Waves (Water form & Water sight)
Weapon’s officer - Gnad
Half-orc warrior 3/gunslinger 2
Boon: Will repair a broken weapon once a day.
Quartermaster - Couscous
Human expert 3/alchemist 2
Boon: Will store items for characters on the ship.
Opium addict – Terry
Halfling expert 1/rouge 1
Standard ship hands x30
(See ship hand)
The Ship
Most of the campaign will take place on or near the ship, Nagmaloto. The Nagmaloto is a sailing ship of 130ft in length that is armed with four cannons (see new weapons). The ship’s purpose is to sail from the known lands to mostly uncharted and mysterious oriental islands to the east for trade.
Some of my friends and I are starting up a small temporary beta game. We'll going for messing around to test some beta subjects. They'll be the currently test beta classes and rules as well as some that we will be implementing ourselves. In this posting I will be adding information as our trials and test are gone through.
