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Agreed that is a much more balanced race creator build there. I wouldn't have trouble allowing a player to use that race. It seems along par with most of the advanced races and more closely matches the power-level of a leonal-like pc race (if he was wanting SLA's and Natural Attacks associated with such race).
As for my scythe suggestion. Yes the blade is on the inner side of the weapon but as a gm it would be easier to just add fluff and maybe call it something different but have it function as a scythe mechanically. Most other weapons are going to require exotic weapon proficiency which is *usually* not worth the feat sacrifice. A scythe has nice damage output and a great crit multiplier though nat 20's are rare. I think if you could even still just call it a scythe or thresher or something else similar and have it look just like Ajani's weapon it would fit the bill perfectly. No reason to design a whole knew weapon just because a traditional scythe has the edge on it's inner curve (which as a gm you could easily remedy by stating his people tend to place the blade on the outer curve for more warlike reasons) and definitely not worth forcing him to take exotic weapon prof for a mediocre weapon.
I would go with something like Synjon's idea. It's only a basic rebuild of Catfolk but a 20 rp with +2 to all phys stats, element resist, SR, natural attacks and such? That race could easily be a "derailer." In my opinion that's a bit over the top if you are just rebuilding them to physically resemble the leonal. It all depends on what style of game you are running and what type of GM you are but that's giving in to the players wants way to much. As a gm i would say...you can play a catfolk with changed up stat as above in Synjon's post or you can pick another race... I love the race creator but it is very easy to put way to much into one race and make it unbalanced. Depending on what the other players are going with is a deciding factor as well. But if they are going with core races or even some of the advanced races they won't be up to par with that particular race. If I were to allow that race I would give at least some drawbacks to it since -2 int is really the only negative to the entire race. I would at least get rid of pyromaniac, exalted resistance, and change the stat scores to a standard array +2 Phys, +2 Mental, -2 to one of your choice and it would still be a pretty dang good race that in all aspects resembles the physical look and flavor of a leonal
I like Oracle of Battle or Metal, (human, half-orc, or half-elf), with a bardiche or faucharde. Combat Reflexes, STR at least 16, Dex of 12-14, eventually take Power Attack, Cornugon Smash, Hurtful, and Skill Focus Intimidate. Pump that intimidate! Otherwise go with Combat Expertise + Improved Trip and use a Faucharde or glaive.
Dang. Yep you are right. I was under the impression that the Linnorm Death Curses activated if brought to 0 hp, unconcious, or killed. Not neccisarily a "back to the drawing board" scenario but that does put a little hiccup in my rage power planning...hmmm. I had debated the Arcane Strike as a feat though I am not sure that I want to take it yet. It could be a good choice though it keeps me from using the Hurtful feat during the round I decide to use Arcane Strike.
My idea on the Linnorm Death Curse is that it does add some extra damage on hits and the fact that the gm has limited us to such crappy weapons any extra damage is a good thing + he also makes us roll Once for HP and we also have really crappy armor the best of which will be bone scale mail after much time ingame research and crafting. The likelyhood of some of us falling to 0 hp is much greater than the average game since he is making this campaign as HARD as POSSIBLE. In the moment that people fall below 0 hp for for the first few levels the Hunter and I can use Cure Light Wounds to get them back up. At later levels they will have fast healing from my Skald's Vigor + Deathless Frenzy + Guarded Life which will allow the effect of the Death Curses to Proc (theoretically). I am still kind of torn as to other better rage powers to take than the Death Curses. Linnorm Death Curses are not a prereq to any other Rage Powers that I know of and I only took them because I haven't found a whole ton of other rage powers that look as appealing. I Alot of them are standard actions to activate and I want to have all my Rage Powers be usuable by the other PC's in my group. I am currently in the process of looking at other rage powers to get a better feel for what I should go for in place of them should I find something more appealing. As for the Hurtful and Cornugon Smash I have debated both ways about when it would be best to take which. Currently the levels in which I take them is not set in stone yet so I have a bit more time to debate which order would be more useful. I am still at a toss up on that choice. The intimidate + Come and Get Me is also going to be augmented by the Guarded Stance which will also offset the likelyhood of getting hit to much with the enemies following attack.
Yah I did end up taking Lingering Song as my 1st level feat...I believe my feat, (RAGE POWER) progression will be as follows 1st: Lingering Song 3rd: Power Attack (INTIMIDATING GLARE) 5th: Cornugon Smash 6th: Improved Crit [Greatclub]-Bonus, (LINNORM DEATH CURSE, TARN) 7th: Hurtful, Furious Focus [DM replaced Craft Magic Arms/Armor with a Bonus Combat Feat] 9th: Skald's Vigor, (LINNORM DEATH CURSE, TOR) 11th: Combat Reflexes 12th: (COME AND GET ME) 13th: Hammer The Gap 15th: Weapon Focus [Greatclub],(DEATHLESS FRENZY) 17th: Intimidating Prowess 18th: (GUARDED STANCE) 19th: Extra Rage Power-->(GUARDED LIFE)
We just started playing this campaign last night. So far he has worked out wonderfully in the few encounters we have had. His skills seem to be up to par as well when it comes to survival in the primitive wilds. @Devilkiller: I looked into Intimidating Glare and decided that it will be a must have with this build. Zilde'jhynn was very fun on his 1st level run through and did very well with his intimidation tactics. I really appreciate the positive feedback and advice you have thrown my way. I am still looking into what other rage powers and feats that would work well with Zilde'jhynn. Any other pointers would be great. If not ty again!
Mammoth Shaman with a goat mauler archetype familiar....get your goat to run around and assist allies with combat providing flanking bonuses. Control the field with hexes and spells + the occassional enlarge person or other buff on your allies. Orc or Half-Orc Scarred Witchdoctor Witch Archeytpe (All Con, Str, Dex)No need to pump intelligence or any other mental stat when you cast via Constitution. Intimidate, Perma Hex, Debuff, and make attack of opportunity against any enemy that nears you with your Greataxe or Falchion. Heaven Oracle: Nuff said but overused imo.
My favorite house rule would have to be... Immersive RP Combat Bonuses: the basic idea is if the character describes his attack routine very well (within limits of possible descriptions) he or she gets a +1 immersive bonus that stacks on top of any other bonus they make on their d20 rolls for those attack/actions.
This also can be applied to spellcasters. If they describe the casting of their spell such as roleplaying verbal and somatic components well enough they get a +1 immersive bonus on the attack roll if such a spell requires an attack roll. If it does not require an attack roll and instead relies on DC's they instead get a +1 immersive bonus on the DC of that spell. Immersive RP Social Bonuses: same idea as above but functions for skills that are used outside of combat. If the player can think of a very rp heavy way of coming using a skill they will get a +1 immersive bonus to the use of that skill. In addition if the character uses another skill as part of that action to promote rp and interplay with npc's such as: A player decides to use diplomacy on an npc but wants to reinforce it with a sleight of hand check to impress the npc with minor "magic parlor tricks" he may roll the sleight of hand check first and if it succeeds against the appropriate DC associated with that check they instead get a +2 immersive bonus to their upcoming diplomacy check. If the player fails the reinforcement check they instead get a -2 immersive penalty on the roll. I made these house rules to help improve my players ways of thinking and essentially help them practice and evolve their Roleplaying which is in my opinion an important part of the game. Its much more satisfying to hear a player say "I spin in a 360 degree motion slashing the ogre with my first scimitar and follow up with a wicked backhand maneuver from my second scimitar in hopes of felling the beast!" And such descriptions should be rewarded appropriately with a lil extra bonus.
I figured it wasn't PFS legal but it's cool anyway since this is a homebrew campaign non-pfs. I just know alot of peeps get mad when you start posting things about non-PFS material at times. Ty for the compliments. Another thing...yes this world will have alot of shadow/dim light...The world has a strange night/day cycle...the "positive energy infused" day time sun stays up for only 8 hours a day, while the sun infused with shadow energy lingers longer and actually blankets the world in extraplanar energy from the plane of shadow. The normal sun is still up for the beginning of the "shadow-rise" but the shadow sun overpowers it quickly and blankets the lands in dim-light until the "positive" sun finishes setting. Then it's the blackest night, almost identical to the Plane of Shadow, only slightly different. This race is NOT meant to be a player race initially. I designed it to be one of the more friendly indigenous natives of the planet. The players are working for their cities within a government supported adventuring company known as the Shadow Pioneer Agency. They are pretty much the only people allowed to explore outside the cities at this time and they have a very rigid militaristic set of rules and guidelines. The cities in which have made it to this planet (Shae-Occuli) are COMPLETELY IGNORANT to this world, its history, customs, languages, and its inhabitants. They have a long way to go before they are comfortable enough to begin letting citizens stray from the cities (Known as Primes) until the Shadow Pioneer Agency has thoroughly explored and obtained intel. Pretty much the only thing they DO KNOW is that this world is in a constant state of Planar Instability. (Nobody realizes that this world is actually in a completely different multiverse altogether, with new deities, races, magic, etc...) The main duties of the agents of the Shadow Pioneer Agents is...
So far the pc's have realized that even the more "normal" races that they have encountered are vastly different that what was on Golarian and their languages are completely different dialects than the standard for that race. It makes for difficult communication and even with "Comprehend Languages" the dialects are so unrecognizable that there is a 30% chance of malfunction. They have encountered variants of goblins, ogres, orcs, giants, and now elves (who seem to have fiendish blood coursing through their veins). These creatures have mainly been immediately hostile or turned hostile quickly after meeting them due to misunderstandings. I made Umbraphites as an NPC race that will eventually become available as PC races well down the line from the current timeline. I am looking for good suggestions for other custom races both friendly and unfriendly.
Ok I don't know if the RP creation system is even PFS legal, but I am putting that aside for now. I am wanting advice as to other possiblities and idea for balance, flavor, and effectiveness... Umbraphites are a homebrew race for a campaign that I run on roll20. It is a pathfinder rule system based on the principle of: Golarian has been destroyed, Long story short Rovagug broke free and succeeded in the destruction of Golarian. The survivors fled on enormous mythallar powered cities to a different planet to recolonize. The planet they landed on is overwhelmed with planar energies that spill over do to coterminous boundaries (kind of like Eberron). During the day positive energy covers the planet. During the night it is overwhelmed by energy from the Shadow Plane. The energies over the course of tens of thousands of years have warped life on the planet AND have allowed previously unknown races and such to make their way to the planet, called Shae-Occuli. The mythallar cities are after a couple hundred years of keeping to themsleves without much exploration starting to become overpopulated. Sandbox style campaign the players are now paving the way for future citizens expansion by exploring and mapping environements, making allies, and enemies while traveling this alien planet. I have been trying to come up with totally new races and monsters as well as warped versions of those that are native to golarian and other planes of existence to give a different feel "Naked and Afraid" sandbox exploration to the campaign. This is one of the races I have come up with...tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions they are welcome. Please I am not looking for ridicule or "why didn't you just use this creature." I just want positive and constructive criticism without negativity thrown in the mix. Also I am looking for more ideas on unique extraplanar races from all the planes since there are areas where different planar energies are more abundant than normal. UMBRAPHITES: Description:
The Umbraphites tend to live in isolated underground monasteries where they train under their honored Sensei's. They are a very martial society and train in a variety of combat styles and martial arts. Many umbraphites are monks, ninja, samurai, sword saints, oracles (mostly battle and dark tapestry mysteries), bards (mainly geisha or arcane blade archetype), magus (eldritch scion archetype, with either the Black Blood, Fey, or Destined Bloodlines), sorcerers (mainly impossible, fey, shadow, and aberrant bloodlines) and even the occasional warpriest. Their race does not worship any particular god and instead focuses on the Divine Concepts the War, Darkness, Good, Law, Wrath, Fate, and the Circle of Life and Death. Umbraphites also tend to lean toward neutral, lawful, and good alignments. Only rarely one will encounter an evil Umbraphite. They are very brave little beasts but have a natural fear of fire. They also tend to dislike light and stay in shadowy homes. Those that do live above ground rarely travel during the day though if the situation calls for it they will brave the light of day. They are extremely friendly and easy to get along with. They go out of their way to protect those that they believe to be pure of heart and once they make a friend it they will usually shadow them secretly to ensure that they are out of harms way. Most races that are unfamiliar with umbraphites will right them off as inquisitive little wretches that are so ugly they are cute. They will soon realize that these little shadowy fey are masters of battle, especially when the creature unleashes it's "battle croak" which is frightfully disturbing. The thunderous croak that issues from such a small creature can demoralize even the most powerful of enemies (and non-umbraphite allies) and outright scare away lesser enemies. Umbraphites tend to begin a fight with said "battle croak" and then charge in bravely or if trained in the silent arts of ninjitsu fall back into the shadows to outflank their demoralized foes. Umbraphite: (16 RP) Type: Fey, Outsider [Humanoid, Native] gains Low-Light Vision and Darkvision 60 ft (5 RP) Size: Small: +1 size bonus to AC and all attack rolls. -1 to CMB and CMD, +4 size bonus to Stealth Checks. (0 RP) Base Speed: Normal Speed 30 ft (0 RP) Ability Score Mod: Specialized +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Int (1 RP) Languages: Standard [starts play with Common and Aklo: Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Infernal, Abyssal, Terran, Dwarf, and Gnome (0 RP) Race Traits:
-Hardy: +2 saves vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities (3 RP) -Shadow Blending: when in dim light or less the miss chance to hit an
-Fey Damage Reduction: Umbraphites gain a DR 5/Cold Iron (3 RP) -Swarming: up to two Umbraphites can share the same square at the same time. If two Umbraphites are occupying the same square and attacking the same foe, they are considered flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares. (1 RP) -Light Sensitivity: an Umbraphite is dazzled in areas of bright light (-1 RP) -Terrifying Croak: Once per hour as a standard action, an umbraphite can emit a thunderous croak. Any creature not of the Fey type must make a successful Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 the umbraphite's character level + Charisma Modifier) or become shaken for 1d4 rounds. A target that successfully saves cannot be affected by the user's terrifying croak for 24 hours. Creatures that are already shaken become frightened for 1d4 rounds instead. This is a sonic, mind-affecting effect. (2 RP) -Vulnerability to Fire: an umbraphite takes double damage from fire. (-2 RP) -Shadow Resistance: umbraphites gain cold resistance 5 and electricity resistance 5 (2 RP) ALTERNATE UMBRAPHITE RACIAL TRAITS: -Hatred: an umbraphite has a burning hatred for goblins and orcs. They gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against creatures of these types/subtypes. This ability replaces Fearless (1 RP) -Swift as Shadows: some umbraphites are much more stealthy when moving or striking at a distance from the shadows than others of their race. They reduce the penalty for using Stealth while moving at full speed by 5, and reduce the Stealth check penalty for sniping by 10. This ability replaces Hardy. (3 RP) -Fleet Footed: some umbraphites were raised above ground and have learned to react much quicker to dangerous situations and also learned to outrun dangerous situations. The receive Run as a bonus feat and gain a +2 racial bonus on initiative checks. Being raised above ground and exposed they have lost their keen sight that comes with their adaptation of underground life and their innate ability to blend into shadows. This ability replaces Darkvision, Light Sensitivity, and Shadow Blending. (3 RP) -Change Shape, Lesser: Umbraphites who take this trait choose either goblin or monkey goblin. Once chosen this choice cannot be changed. The umbraphite can assume the appearance of the chosen creature. This form is static and cannot be changed each time it takes this form. He gains a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks made to appear as the member of the race whose appearance he assumes. Changing shape is a standard action. This trait otherwise funcitons as alter self, save that the umbraphite does not adjust it's ability scores. This ability replaces Terrifying Croak and Shadow Blending. (3 RP)
I wouldn't be cruel just to be cruel really and it's not because I have been screwed by other gm's wishes that I want to make my pc's endure the same thing. I learned that making the players think hard and get it just right as an in character thing helps encourage creative thinking and is much more fun and beneficial in the long run. The gm/dm's that did this to me were doing it not just to do it but to help me think harder and learn how to roleplay my characters better and get a more well thought out response than... To just say "I wish I had vorpal bastard sword" is a rather bland and unimaginative in character response to receiving a wish. It's pretty open to twisting around. At which point I would say (as my mentor gm/dm's have done on many occassion)..."You just remembered you once 'had' a vorpal bastard sword but can't remember for the life of you where you left it." To instead say... "I wish for an enchanted bastard sword, sharp enough to behead the jabberwocky with ease, so that I may now use it to defend the people of Vordenghein from the depredations of the evil tyrant Kleotharc the Black Skald. They have been overshadowed for far to long and I shall be the hero to free these good folk from his tyranny with the might of such a blade! Off with his head!" A wish stated like that would and should be rather well rewarded for the person actually showing that he was excited enough to think out how his character would make his wish instead of just an indifferent and vague response that show's they are just there for the G and not the RP. (It's called an Role Playing Game for a reason and people who are in it strictly for "roll play" are missing out on the best part of the game.) I understand different folks different strokes and respect their opinions. Like my previous dm/gm's I just want players that challenge their minds to greater heights than "Glory above all things." Anyways I think I may have ranted a bit there lol. Sorry guys. But in all seriousness... "Play the character, don't let the character play "you" and for you 'roll players'...Save the wrists! Down with carpal tunnel!"
I am definitely taking Lingering Song at 1st level. I would have loved to take power attack as my 1st lvl feat but it has a prerequisite +1 bab which I do not meet since skalds have a Medium BaB progression. I will have to take it probably around lvl 3 or 5. Cornugon Smash and Hurtful will be a great addition to the build as well. I am still at an impasse as to my choice of traits...Maestro of Society and Poverty Stricken will be a big help in the campaign for sure but the Shoanti Battle Singer via Adopted, and defensive strategist traits but that will be completely a situational bonus really. Maestro and Poverty will be great for extra rounds of Inspired Rage when combined with Lingering Song which will put me at around 21 rounds per day at 1st level. The Poverty Stricken will give me an essential skill that will be used very often for getting along in the wild which is what the campaign is going to be based around.
"Your future is your own, you are the master of your own path. IF YOU WISHED IT EVEN THE INEVITABILITY OF DEATH COULD BE AVOIDED. SO, WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR YOUR FUTURE?" And... I would be jumping up and down in dick move territory myself...with no regrets or remorse. :D But that's just me. I grew up on dm's that perverted wishes no matter how well stated and clarified unless there was absolutely no room for interpretation. Everyone should learn the lesson of a terribly worded wish. I am not as strict as the gm's/dm's that I have been under for the last 23 years of my life but making a wish with the desire of "Glory above all things" is definitely time to let my inner pit fiend shine.
1 level dip into Bloodrager (Draconic Bloodline) gets you claws even when you are not bloodraging. Claws (Su) At 1st level, you grow claws. These claws are treated as natural weapons, allowing you to make two claw attacks as a full attack, using your full base attack bonus. These attacks deal 1d6 points of damage each (1d4 if you are Small) plus your Strength modifier. At 4th level, these claws are considered magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. At 8th level, the damage increases to 1d8 points (1d6 if you are Small). At 12th level, these claws deal an additional 1d6 points of damage of your energy type on a hit.
Well... You could give him an extravagantly GLORIOUS DEATH! I am not 100% sure how mongolian horse lords viewed glory but most martial society strive for the greatest death in combat believing that to be the most glorious thing ever. He could die gloriously and essentially become immortal as the tale of his death is SOOOO great that it would live on indefinitely.
These are definitely some sweet ideas! I had never even seen the Hurtful feat before. @Pounce
@Devilkiller
All that being said I probably won't be going the human with familiar route because he is adamant that I stick with my initial choice of race which is Hobgoblin. He wants the party to be racially diversified since we are all beginning as displaced people from tribes that have been wiped out recently. We will be beginning in an encampment that is mostly neutral in alignment and accepts wandering outcasts from all races and tribes. This encampment is based in a coastal jungle surrounded by other hostile tribes and vicious dinosaurs/other prehistoric beasts. We only get a 15 point buy and nothing can go below 8 after racial modifiers. The party currently consists of a tengu Hunter, a human Cavalier, and me. The skald is probably not the BEST choice of class but it is more conducive to my playstyle compared to the other classes available to us which are:
BLOODRAGER (fun stuff. No true benefit to the party though since it's essentially another hammer to swing) WARPRIEST (there are no gods in this campaign. I could go with a divine concept and yes there are heals from warpriest but like the Bloodrager, essentially another hammer) SHAMAN (very tempting, battlefield control, familar!!, heals!!, and hexes! I would have gone this route but I can't figure out a build with a 15 point buy that would be very effective without completely gimping all combat capabilities) WITCH (Squishy as crap but fun!, Familiar, Hexes are great!, awesome debuff/battlefield control though focusing on single opponents) BARBARIAN(bleh, I am looking for a caster type that can be effective in battle and help the group in the areas they are found lacking) RANGER(we already have a hunter and I don't want to trump his tracking and animal companion abilities. I want him to feel useful and I think rangers are played out in the campaigns I run and play in.) BRAWLER (not my cup of tea and another Hammer though more versatile than most hammers when it comes to maneuvers. I don't see Sunder, Grapple, Steal, Reposition, etc working well against a T-Rex.) SLAYER (Not a fan of roguish characters) ROGUE (See above :D) FIGHTER (Another friggen hammer. Makes sense I guess because of the primitive aspect of the campaign but I don't want to play anything unless it has spells!) After that list the only ones that truly interest me are
The campaign has not started yet so I still have options available but am stuck with hobgoblin race.
Sweet! I wasn't sure if raging song counted as bard performance or not. That's great! Yes I will definitely be taking Power Attack and just checked out Cornugon Smash which will be perfect! I doubt many of our players will be using intimidate often so the rage powers may not be worth taking. As for Blistering Invective i planned on taking that one after checking into some of the spells on the bard list last night. Tyvm for the answers and suggestions bro!
It may help too that I let you guys know that besides Perform (Percussion) that Zild'jhynn has a +10 Intimidate as well. So if there are any good feats that help with Intimidation such as something that allows me to use it as a move action, free action, or swift action instead of its normal action requirement that would be great too.
I am about to be starting in a very primitive homebrew pathfinder campaign. The gm stated that almost every weapon is going to be fragile/primitive, bone, stone, bronze (though we don't have the ability to learn how to craft it yet), and obsidian. Same with armor, he is only allowing bone and leather. Classes are very limited but he left the Skald up for grabs since this is going to be a tribal warfare and dinosaur jungle type campaign. He said the campaign will very slowly progress towards more civil weapons such as bronze, iron, and steel but that will take alot of time. I chose to go with a hobgoblin, Skald Wardrummer because he can use clubs and greatclubs which though wood lack the fragile tags. Zilde'jhynn Tem-po is my characters name and his stats are...
I am at a tossup on feats to choose. The gm says only pure classes "No Multiclassing." So I am trying to figure out the best route of feats. I was debating Lingering Performance but I don't even know if that works for Skalds since his class songs says "replaces Bardic Performance." That being said I am also curious if the Society Trait "Maestro of Society" works for Skald "Inspired Rage." I want Zilde'jhynn to be a buffer for sure but I want him to do very well in combat. Any suggestions?
If the GM is stupid enough to let something like this continue after you expressly asked him for assistance then he is probably stupid enough to let the other player use his newfound vampiric abilities on you. I would get out if I were you unless the pro's outweigh the cons. Yes it's nice to have others that are fun to play with but one bad apple is all it takes to spoil the bunch. Talk to the others and see if they can help since the gm has no bawz. If not then they are all already spoiled and not worth any further effort.
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