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I agree with Cyrad. The concept as you explained it seems better suited to an archetype rather than a class. If you wanted this to become a class, it would need to be more fleshed out and differentiated from existing classes. What roles can a Blood Former fulfill in a party? What skills and abilities set them apart from other classes and class archetypes (aside from the foundational one)? Which ability scores does this class rely on to function well in its defined roles?
FYI; the Bard is a class that adapts to several rolls. Some are pure arcane casters focusing on magic to buff the party, de-buff enemies, or even deal out a decent amount of damage. Others are master duelists, focusing on their proficiencies with light weapons and feinting mechanics to deal melee damage. Yet others are skill monkeys trained in nearly every skill on the table; capable of easily conversing with the noblest Queen in her court and just as easily escaping his dungeon after insulting the King. I've played a couple of Bards, my favorite took up the rolls of party healer (he was the only one with access to Cure Spells) and Librarian (he had high Int and all of the Knowledge skills). As for the mechanics of your world; I like the idea of making magic-based classes harder to use as they require more EXP to level. Another idea to consider is to constrain your party members to certain classes that fit the world you are making. My current game is a low magic game in which players were not allowed to choose a 9th level spell casting class and could only choose a 6th level casting class if part of their backstory explained how they were trained. The effect has been a renewed sense of focus on the battlefield and a greater sense of realism to the world.
As your PC is now, the spell will deal a minimum of 8 damage, a median of 28, and a max of 48. At full power, the spell will deal a minimum of 10 damage, a median of 35, and a max of 60. A set of Steel Full Plate has a hardness of 10 and 45 HP. On average, it will take your PC using the fully powered spell two castings of this spell to fully destroy, not just break, the armor. This doesn't account for any metamagic feats applied to this spell to increase the power (Empower and Maximize come to mind). An Empowered Wizard's Sunder at CL 10th cap would deal a minimum of 15 damage, a median of 52 damage, and a maximum of 90 damage. One casting of this is far more likely to reduce a suit of Steel Full Plate to ash. This would require the PC to have at least 13 levels of Magus if he were to use the feat and a 5th level spell slot, or to have a rod of Empower handy. The spell may be a little over-powered compared to the challenge that the armor itself provides; reducing the damage to d4s would be the best rules / mechanical solution in my mind. However I feel the best way to look at the issue of the evil enchanted armor is to look at how destroying the armor works into the story. If it's this character's life goal to destroy the armor, then maybe something more dramatic than a custom spell should be needed to destroy the armor. Part of your story could involve the party figuring out a specific ritual needed to disenchant the armor before your character would able to dismantle it, or heisting it from a powerful wizard who plans to summon a demon to don the armor and execute his wrath upon the land. Insomuch as this goal is fundamentally tied to your character's fundamental person, make the completion of the goal that much more exciting and engaging, I say.
Another fun way of running the random chance of spells behaving wildly is to look at the numerical outcome of d% dice rolls differently. Instead of judging any outcome in different sequential ranges, you can apply certain effects when the outcome of the d% is prime, odd but not prime, or even and not prime (2 being the prime even number). This way of reading d% outcomes breaks potential outcomes into three uneven likelihoods; 25% are prime numbers, 26% are odd not prime numbers, and 49% are even not prime numbers. These likelihoods are evenly distributed as possibilities across a d% roll range which forces players out of their comfort zone in terms of reading dice. I used this technique to determine the reactions of a Chaotic Fey Prince my group was trying to placate. I had my players roll a d% after every point they made to determine his reaction without telling them what I was judging the rolls on. The first player rolled a 100% after her first point which to her surprise generated a neutral reaction. The party figured out the trick after a couple of rolls and watching them work out the math of prime numbers while convincing a being of pure Chaos was sublime.
A player of mine was curious to see what Pathfinder rules for a Ki-Blasting, Dragon Ball Z fighter. That led me to creating this archetype of the Unchained Monk. I'd love to see what other people think and get any feedback on the mechanics and rules. My player liked it enough that he wanted to try it out. Cheers,
Aralica, Thanks for your input; I appreciate the feedback. I was unaware of the Scaleheart and Seascarred Skinwalkers. They're cool and way more developed than my idea, but not quite what my player is going for (he's not sure about his class, which complicates things). I'm definitely going to tab the Skinwalker for a character idea it gave me. I can see that the variants need more unique features for each; that'll be a good way to make the race stand out more.
I'm not sure you'd want to put a CR to the armaments themselves. I'd base the CR on who is firing them and their character / class levels. If they are led by people with the siege gunner, siege engineer, or master siege engineer feats, the CR would likely increase from the base CR of the team operating the engine. I hope that helps.
So here's some context: I've been putting together a Campaign in a mostly oceanic / island chain setting. One of my players wanted to play, in his words, "a freaky fish guy". We looked over Gillmen, Undines, and Gripplis but none of them caught his attention for the concept he had in mind. So I created a new race for the world and had a lot of fun making it. They bring a unique flavor to the setting I have been developing and make the world feel deeper. So without further ado, I present for your critique and comment: The Fishmen. Fishmen
Fishmen tribes are very tightly knit communities that are capable of living both above and below water. Most Fishmen make livings as hunters, rangers, fighters, and enforcers given their physical prowess. Their personalities range widely, though most fishmen are known to be stoic, calm, and patient, yet ruthless and destructive in combat. The uninitiated often mistake Fishmen for Undines, which mistake often offends Fishmen. Undines are the result of the plane of water influencing the genetics of mortals; Fishmen are descendents of Psarithropes. While Undines often make their way in the world based on what their minds can do, Fishmen use their superior physical bodies. As a race, Fishmen hold no ill-will to their Undine cousins, but many consider being associated with Undines as an insult to their strength. Some Fishmen forms are quite grotesque while others strike an alluring mix between the aquatic and terrestrial worlds. Fishmen descended from sharks have gills on the base of the neck, while those based on crocodiles and whales seem to be able to breathe underwater via magical means as a result of their Psarithrope lineage. A Fishman’s exact appearance often depends on the creature they descended from and the nature of the ocean in that area. Shark fishmen are scaly, have webbed hands and feet, and have fins sprouting from their backs and upper arms. These fins will inflate and become rigid in water and become flaccid on land. Most are shades of blue or brown with accents of white and black. All are bald. They have jet black eyes with no discernible sclera or pupils. Their teeth resemble shark’s teeth as they come in two rows, are incredibly sharp, and are replaced indefinitely throughout their lives. Their heads and bodies otherwise appear human; most have very built, fit physiques. Crocodile fishmen retain scaly appearances with dark brown and green colorations accented by lighter browns and white, like their ancestors. Their most uncanny trait is their eyes. Crocodile fishmen have two sets of eyes, one in the human location and one on the backs of their heads. The set on the back of the head is positioned so the Fishman can lay still, face down on the water, and see outside the water. This feature doesn’t give these Fishmen any particular advantage as they can only use one set of eyes at a time; their brains never developed to the point to accept and interpret both sets of stimuli simultaneously. Transitioning the source of vision requires 6 seconds of concentration while one set opens and the other is effectively paralyzed. The back of the head eyes are pitch black with no discernable sclera or pupils. These fishmen also have black, claw like nails on the fingers, but they are not sturdy enough to use as natural weapons. Whale fishmen have smooth, mammalian skin but colored in oceanic tones; blue, grey, black, and white. Their eyes appear like most other humanoids’. Their bodies tend to be much larger than other Fishmen and they often stand a few heads above other medium humanoids. Their proportions often make them bullet-shaped in the water which they move through quite gracefully. Unlike the other variants of Fishmen, these grow short hair in standard humanoid regions. While Shark and Crocodile Fishmen can often outspeed Whale Fishmen at short distance, Whale Fishmen can outlast nearly any Shark or Croc Fishman in an endurance race. Fishmen Racial Traits - 12 RP
Shark Fishman
Crocodile Fishman
Whale Fishman
Monstrous Humanoid: Fishmen are humanoids with the monstrous subtype. Medium: Fishmen are medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties based on their size. Normal Speed: Fishmen have a base speed of 30 feet on land. They also have a swim speed of 30 feet. Fishmen also have a +8 racial bonus to Swim checks and always treat Swim as a class skill. Amphibious: Fishmen can breathe both air and water. Darkvision: Fishmen have Darkvision 60ft. Natural Armor: Fishmen have +2 Natural Armor. Eye of the Tiger(shark): Fishmen have a +2 bonus to Perception checks and always treat Perception as a class skill. Languages: Fishmen start play knowing Common & Aquan. Fishmen with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Celestial, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Infernal, and Sylvan. ============================================================
Monstrous Humanoids - 3 RP
I like it. It makes players consider the necessity of the enchantment against potential or usual threats. That and the image of defending against a scorching ray like that is awesome.
Creating a High Seas Campaign world is a lot of fun. The politics, mercantile, military, and social implications of an ocean world dotted by islands are a lot of fun to design. The Age of Sail (16th - 19th centuries) and Age of Discovery (15th - 18th centuries) come as a large inspirations to such a setting. Mixing that era of history with the fantastic and magical universe of Pathfinder opens up a world of creativity and possibility. As I developed my campaign setting, I realized that Pathfinder’s built-in selection of Naval Artillery is incredibly limited. The Ultimate Combat book only includes two kinds of cannons, a standard 6d6 cannon and a Fiend’s Mouth Cannon that has slightly improved range and 9d6 damage at the cost of a size category increase. The Age of Sail boasted a variety of cannons and ammunition depending on technology levels and tactical scenarios. So why not translate that over to Pathfinder Mechanics? So I made this: Broadside: Expanding Pathfinder's Cannon Options on the High Seas. I'd love to get some feedback on this since my handle on the mathematics of Pathfinder is not the strongest. Thanks!
I like your ideas GralphidB. I looked too much at the origins of special materials instead of how Pathfinder treats them. I think I'll start using those densities. Fortunately we're early enough the game that the party hasn't dealt with special materials much, so they'll never know the densities changed!! For anyone who cares, here's an updated list to use: Material Multiplier Stone(2.75) = .63 Iron(8.00) = .875 Steel(8.05) = .875 Gold(19.32) = .95 Silver(10.5) = .90 Diamond(3.51) = .72 Gems(2.50) = .60 Adamantine(8.05) = .875 Mithral(4.00) = .75
Moving Stationary Objects Underwater This is a simplification of Archimedes’ Principle applied to characters moving stationary objects underwater. I designed this for a High Seas Adventure Campaign where the party’s first mission together was to salvage some pirate treasure from a sunken ship. As I designed the map and challenges there, I realized that the two players who could breathe water at the beginning of the game did not have very high Strength scores (they were both playing caster classes). I wondered if they would be able to move some of the very heavy items I was going to put there. Then I remembered my high school physics; Archimedes’ Principle basically states that a fluid will exert a buoyant force on any submerged object equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. In practical terms this means solid objects underwater effectively weigh less and are more easily moved than normal. The variable to be considered is the density of the submerged object. The list below goes over common materials in Pathfinder and a multiplier for each of the materials. Use this list by taking the weight of the object in question and multiplying it by the most applicable modifier in the table. The result will be the effective underwater weight of the object. Each multiplier is based on the ratio of the density of the object (in parentheses) compared to the density of water (1). Technically seawater is 1.025, but I found the difference to be negligible for the game. The calculation can be represented as such: Let n equal the density of an object in grams per cubic centimeter. Multiplier = (n-1)/n. I pulled the densities from Google searches. The density for stone is an average density of Granite. Adamantine is based off of diamond, as my research indicates that the myth of the metal started from the discovery of diamond veins in coal deposits (a blackened, shiny, super-hard material). Mithral is based off of silver, as the Tolkien legend of Mithril basically describes the material as similar to silver, but magically enchanted to outperform steel. Feel free to correct my math on this; I’m a much better conceptual writer than mathematician, especially when it comes to Fluid Dynamics. Material Multiplier Stone(2.75) = .63 Iron(8.00) = .875 Steel(8.05) = .875 Gold(19.32) = .95 Silver(10.5) = .90 Diamond(3.51) = .72 Gems(2.50) = .60 Adamantine(3.51) = .72 Mithral(10.5) = .90 |
