RPG Superstar 9 Season Marathon Voter. Organized Play Member. 277 posts (281 including aliases). 1 review. No lists. No wishlists. 1 Organized Play character. 2 aliases.
If you’ve read through the kineticist class in Occult Adventures, or even any of N. Jolly’s excellent Kineticists of Porphyra series, you might have found that it’s a touch difficult to use, largely because everything’s just thrown about higgledy piggledy. Well, not quite, but alphabetically, and while that’s a fine, sensible way to organise things, you don’t actually end up with a thing that’s especially easy to read, use or reference, especially since there are a big chunk of things you don’t need to use for the element you want to use
Therefore, I have started this document as a way to make things that much easier to read and use by treating each element (and in some cases, each blast) separately. There is repetition in here, largely because it’s more practical to use when your thing’s just there without needing to go looking for it in other places. No one likes to be told “it’s like this thing” and then need to go off and find that thing.
Document plans
I will update this as I gain access to it.
I will grant editing access to people who are fairly dedicated contributors and/or designers
I will try to change descriptions so the flavour suits that element only
I will try to include 3rd party material if I can get approval from the designers
I will try to check the document from time to time to comment on stuff/make changes
I will not trawl through the Paizo forums looking for errata &c.; if there’s something that’s changed just drop a comment on here and I’ll update it when I get around to it
I plan to do an archetype section at some stage
I might do a list of what wild talents are shared between elements for multi-element kineticists
This should contain most of the current Paizo material available, as well as N. Jolly's excellent Kineticists of Porphyra series (with the current exception of book 4)
I've been digging through my rulebooks trying to find some kind of reason why you shouldn't be able to make something like a cloak of resistance +6 or a belt of giant's strength +8. A number of items like this have level requirements, but in principle these could be beaten by high caster level creatures like half-fiendish Rocs with little difficulty or just increasing the DC of the spellcraft check to make it.
Are the values actual hard caps in order to maintain game balance, or are they just guidelines that are intended to be surpassed, and simply weren't included in order to create more space in the books instead of cluttering them with simple high-level variants of basic items? What kind of an impact would extrapolating the trends make on a game?
For whatever reason, I can't find any errata for this, so I thought I'd see if anyone can find me something official. I've checked the errata relevant for my copy of the core rulebook, but there doesn't seem to be a fix.
Core Rulebook, Page 221 wrote:
Spell-Like Abilities: Usually, a spell-like ability works just like the spell of that name. A spell-like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material component, nor does it require a focus. The user activates it mentally. Armor never affects a spell-like ability’s use, even if the ability resembles an arcane spell with a somatic component.
A spell-like ability has a casting time of 1 standard action unless noted otherwise in the ability or spell description. In all other ways, a spell-like ability functions just like a spell.
Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated. Spell-like abilities cannot be used to counterspell, nor can they be counterspelled. Some creatures actually cast arcane spells as sorcerers do, using components when required. Some creatures have both spell-like abilities and actual spellcasting power.
Core Rulebook, Page 554 wrote:
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Spell-like abilities, as the name implies, are magical abilities that are very much like spells. Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). Spell-like abilities can be dispelled and counterspelled as normal.
So, one page says you can counterspell them and use them to counterspell, while the other says you can't. Which is correct?
I'm sort of interested: how many people actually ever use counterspelling in any way? Do you ever ready actions to counterspell things as you wander through dangerous areas? Do you give you NPC parties counterspell specialists? Or is it just a complete waste of time for you, something that's so rare that it might as well not happen?
I realised the other day when I asked some questions here, for a high magic game, Pathfinder doesn't actually do a particularly good job of explaining how magic works. There do seem to be some things that seem relatively basic that have been missed. Take, for example, lingering magical auras. These are literally only mentioned in detect magic, where they get 6 half-page lines and a small table.
So, I wrote stuff to try to round it out a little more. This is extremely long, informal and train-of-thought post, but I'm hoping it is both logical (as far as that's possible) and doesn't upset existing rules that much. I waffle around for a while at the start getting in some basics, but there's a summary in about the middle, followed by some highly experimental rules to utilise what I've discussed.
I am, of course, open to feedback, so if anything seems unclear or nonsensical, please let me know and I'll clarify things or rethink.
Locations and sizes of magical auras:
When you cast a spell, you leave some residual magic behind. Detect magic inexplicably doesn't say where. It could be where it was cast, or where it took effect, and there is a significant difference between these two.
If you cast a fireball, there's a pretty big difference between where it takes effect and where you cast it. In part because the two are (probably) mutually exclusive, but also in shape. A fireball's a 20 ft. radius sphere, while most casters are sort of 5 ft. cube blobs (approximately).
It makes most sense to me that both the caster and the area of effect should have the magical auras. As a caster you have to actually manipulate the magic, and the effect of course is magic. The effect should leave a trace of approximately its size, and the caster would presumably leave a caster shaped blob behind. Maybe in a weird pattern to match the hand gestures and sound waves.
Wait, it's blurred?
While the shape of the aura is all very well for instantaneous spells, what happens if you have a more mobile effect? Take for example, a flaming sphere. Usually, you're going to be moving a flaming sphere around a lot for maximum utility. So, the question is, where's the aura lingering?
The obvious solution in this case is the ongoing spell has full aura since the magic's still all there and in effect. Once you've moved it the aura fades because the effect is no longer there. Consequentially, the flaming sphere must be leaving a magical trail behind everywhere it goes. This at least can be properly simulated with detect magic, once you've thought about it.
Returning to the thought that the caster also needs an aura, if you're concentrating on a spell and move, you must also leave a magic trail since you're still actively controlling the magic. From this, we can also reason that any spell that allows you to continuously alter aspects of a spell, such as changing the orders you're giving to someone via dominate person, must also stick around for some time afterwards, probably in the same way that the aura of the spell lingers on a dominated person. Importantly, this means that an ongoing spell that can be controlled can be dispelled by targeting either the caster or the effect.
One question this leaves is whether all spells, regardless of duration, will leave auras around the caster after the initial casting, even if you don't control it (such as mage armour on another creature). In this case, it's reasonable to assume that the aura doesn't linger around you for the entire duration of the spell, since you no longer need magic to maintain it or alter it; it's purely self-contained.
Finally, what happens when you cast an instantaneous spell and then move? Or equivalently, what happens to the aura of an expired spell that hangs around you when you move? While it would be nice for a tracking point of view to give an indication, since there's no more magic being used there's no reason for an aura to spread.
Residual stacks
For some reason, even if you have 100 casters all dumping a fireball in exactly the same spot at the same time, the aura only lingers for its normal duration. That is, 1d6 rounds. Frankly, this seems dumb, because that's an awful lot of magic being used there for very little residual. At the very least, you'd expect the aura to last somewhat proportionally to the number used.
Given how improved counterspell works and that you can identify different auras even a long time after they were left, it's probably reasonable to assume that auras of the same school can merge and interact in some way, while other types cannot. That is, it's easier to detect two scorching ray castings than one acid arrow and one scorching ray.
It would seem reasonable to assume effects like this should stack in some way. If we keep our 100 fireball example, a reasonable approximation would be that the aura should last 100d6 rounds: roughly the same as a strong aura of 1d6 x 10 minutes. However, 100 fireballs detonating simultaneously would be much more dangerous than any normal equivalent (9th level spells don't even compare to that), so it's unlikely to be simple addition of aura to determine the duration.
Keeping it sort of arbitrary by using spell levels, a more realistic approach would be to add spell levels together in some way to determine duration rather than just their durations. Maybe it should work on a system similar to CR: You need 1.5 1st level spells to make a 2nd, 2 for a 3rd, 4 for a 4th, 8 for a 5th, 16 for a 6th, 32 for a 7th, &c. That sort of exponential scale seems roughly right, since the actual time durations for higher level spells scale at approximately the same rate. 8 times as much magic for an aura that lasts 10 times longer; not perfect, but close enough. This makes extended caster battles leave as big a magic dump as you might expect for all the magic floating around.
Difficulties start appearing when you've got multiple schools. Since it seems logical that different auras can't merge, does it make sense if in the 100 fireball example, 5 people also cast summon monster in the same area that the additional conjuration aura lasts just as long? There's certainly an argument for it sticking around for a while longer than it should do, but it would probably be overwhelmed by the massive evocation aura from the fireballs.
How auras fade
All detect magic says about residual auras is that they fade. How helpful. There are two ways I can think of that might explain this behaviour: either magic decays like radioactive nuclei, or it just dissipates in a manner similar to coloured water in regular water.
The decay model works well in combination with the exponential model of the auras stacking; one basically explains the other in that it's sort of a half-life model. It allows auras to keep their shape much more with time, since there's no physical drift of the aura, and can explain how you can even detect ongoing effects (there's always going to be some decay because it's a half-life, and you just detect the decay).
On the other hand, this model doesn't deal so well with permanent effects so well, or longer lasting effects. If the effect lasts a long time, that's indicating it's not decaying, but my reasoning for how detect magic works in this model indicates you need some decay to detect it. The only way I can think of to allow this to work would be some sort of linear rather than exponential decay of a magical effect. Regardless, this only works for spells with finite duration. Permanent spells have to either be just really long lived or undetectable, which is its main flaw.
Dissipation has the same issue with permanent spells, but again, works in a similar manner to the decay model with its decay; it should be a half-life like decay. It has one advantage over the other model in that it can better explain how auras are left as the effect moves, but has the disadvantage of making sure auras don't keep their shape.
This section has been rather train of thought, but I'm thinking that the dissipation model works best. It's better to use the model where the auras are left behind as an effect moves than use the one where they keep their shapes better.
A consequence of this is that if you do have multiple strong auras in place that don't mix well, as it seems likely the auras of various schools of magic do, there'll be some artificially enhanced auras. If we take the example of 100 fireballs and 5 summon monsters all in the same place from above, the conjuration aura isn't able to properly disperse until the evocation aura is gone, so its duration will be lengthened despite its low intensity. It's possible it would be condensed by the force of the evocation aura attempting to push into its space as well.
If magic's just dispersing as a fading mechanism, even if it blurs and fades a lot, the magical aura will actually remain for much longer than detect magic indicates. It'll be quite weak, but in principle the auras should still be in slightly higher concentrations around the original location of a spell. If you were skilled enough, you should be able to piece together what spell was present based on what little remained of an aura, even once it had largely faded.
Learning things about spells
We already reasoned that when you cast a spell it leaves residual magic at both the location the effect took place and where you cast it. Since these both come from the same spell, it seems reasonable that if you have access to one, you can find out some things about the other. Sort of like a receiving an email, there's a way of tracing where it came from, although it's probably harder than just reading the "from" section. It seems reasonable that if you knew how to, you could also use that connection to learn everything there would be to know about a spell.
Similarly, since it makes sense for moving magical effects to leave auras behind, it also makes sense that you can tell some of the things that a spell has done from its residual aura. It would be easy to track where a flaming sphere has travelled for example. In what I hope is the first big assumption of this discussion, presumably you can also tell things about other parameters of a spell based on what the actual aura looks like. This could be things like what monster was summoned, what a suggestion was, what there was an illusion of, &c. Possibly even the caster level of the spell and DC. If you can tell where a mobile effect has been, it isn't a huge logical leap to assume that there are other obvious signs that give you more information about what a spell has done.
At last, increasing our reference material to beyond the detect magic spell, identifying the caster. Wizards need time to interpret a spell on a scroll or from another's spellbook; each wizard apparently has their own way of interpreting things so that they make sense. This means that even casting the same spell, each wizard likely has their own subtlety different way of casting. Basically, all wizards have a unique magical fingerprint. It's a fairly safe bet that the same thing holds for all magic users in the universe, not just wizards. Ergo, if you know what to look for, you can identify a caster based on the residual magic aura their spells leave.
What about magic items?
According to detect magic, you only get a residual aura when you destroy a magic item. This I'm going to call out as one of the bigger holes in the spell; it's got an aura, so it's going to leave some trace of that behind when it moves.
These should behave in more or less the same way as other magical effects, save that they are entirely self-contained: there is no place where the effect originated. They can also be considered casters, since many items cause new magical effects.
Spell completion items like scrolls have the interesting characteristic that since they're spells almost completed by someone else, requiring you to just perform the last few actions, the magical fingerprint will be a combination of both the item's creator's and your own. This doesn't hold for spell trigger and command word items, that are effectively entirely cast by someone else; these have a magical fingerprint that is entirely the creator's.
It's debatable whether such items might have an aura relating to their form anyway. Since there are feats for making a variety of different items, it's not unreasonable to assume that there's a certain, unique way for each item type to have its magic put into it, in which case you can tell if an item or effect comes from a scroll, potion, magic weapon, &c..
Since magic items tend not to have spell levels, but instead have caster levels, the method I proposed for stacking auras isn't going to work here, but you can get something functionally identical if you convert caster level to spell level: just divide the caster level by 2 (minimum 1) and you get its equivalent spell level.
Appropriately, this means that what is commonly known as the Christmas Tree effect ends up being suitably blinding, even quite some time after the tree has left.
Summary
Spells leave auras in distinct halves: one at the casting site and one at the effect site
Ongoing magical effects leave auras behind as they move
Spells that require continuous control are detectable on both the caster and effect, and as such can be dispelled by targeting either the caster or the effect
Multiple auras of the same school stack to create longer lasting residual auras
Different school auras don't mix, but can cause each other to last longer
You can learn things about a spell from the aura where it took effect or where it was cast
Details of a spell can be learnt by examining their auras
Each caster has a unique magical fingerprint
Magic items function like spells for the purposes of auras
You can identify the type of magic item by its aura
Expanded Rules
To finish off, because I can't resist a good bit of homebrew, here are some highly experimental rules to properly round off this post.
Aura strengths and durations
This is intended to expand upon the table in detect magic. These will be necessary to properly account for increased aura strengths, and also allow for the fact that you can get higher than 9th level spells through metamagic rods and gems. The ordering is in the format strength: Functioning spell (spell level). Magic item (caster level). Duration of lingering aura.
Weak: 3rd level or lower spells. Caster level 5th or lower. Aura lasts 1d6 rounds.
Moderate: 4th to 6th level spells. Caster level 6th to 11th. Aura lasts 1d6 minutes.
Strong: 7th to 9th level spells. Caster level 12th to 17th. Aura lasts for 1d6 x 10 minutes
Overwhelming: 10th and 11th level spells. Caster level 18th to 21st. Aura lasts for 1d6 days
Crushing: 12th and 13th level spells. Caster level 22nd to 25th. Aura lasts for 1d6 weeks
Deific: 14th + level spells. Caster level 26th +. Aura lasts for 1d6 months
When multiple lingering auras are present in the same square, all auras linger for as long as the strongest aura. When multiple auras of the same school are in the same square (so long as they don't result from the same casting of a spell), the strength of the aura increases. The aura strength is determined by adding the spell levels of the individual auras together in the same way that CRs add, treating the spell's level as its CR. For the purposes of this, magic items are considered magical effects with a spell level equal to half their caster level (minimum 1).
Knowledge(Arcana):
You can use your knowledge of magic to better learn about the history of a spell.
Learn how long ago a spell was cast This is a DC 20 check that takes a full-round action to perform, or a standard action if you do not need to maintain concentration on detect magic. This is only accurate to the units of measurement used to determine the lifetime of the aura (i.e. a weak aura gives a time in rounds, a moderate aura gives a time in minutes &c.)
Increase the effective strength of an aura by one step This is a DC 30 check, plus 10 for each additional strength category advanced and takes a minute per strength category advanced. This duration is halved if you do not need to concentrate on detect magic. This does not actually increase the strength of an aura, but it allows you to detect more than you might otherwise be able to.
Physically track a magical effect by residual auras You can tell where the bright spots in a magical aura are to tell which direction it travelled. This check is DC 20 and takes a full round action to perform or a standard action if you do not need to concentrate on detect magic. You can travel up to half the range of your means of magical detection while attempting to track an effect with no penalty. You can move faster up to the range of your magic detection by increasing the DC by 5.
Identify a magical fingerprint You can identify a caster's unique magical fingerprint in a residual aura with a check of DC 20 + the caster level of the effect. If the spell originated from a spell completion item, the DC increases by 5, but you identify both the item's creator and the creature that activated the item.
Determine if an aura is from an effect or the caster This is a DC 15 check, performed as part of the check to identify the school of an aura.
Determine if an aura comes from an item or caster This is a DC 20 check. If successful, you identify the type of item the aura comes from (such as from a scroll, potion, wondrous item, magic weapon &c.)
Spellcraft
You can identify various properties of a spell based on its residual aura.
Determine caster level This is a DC 20 + spell level check that is performed as part of the check to identify the spell.
Identify spell parameters You can identify what choices were made or being made in the casting of a spell with a DC 25 + spell level check. This includes the type of monster summoned with summon monster or the words to a suggestion. If the spell has a duration of concentration, can be dismissed or allows additional input once cast (like dominate person, the DC is instead 35 + spell level.
Track aura halves If you can see an aura where a spell was cast, you can determine where the effect initially took place and vice versa. You can determine the current location of the caster from an ongoing effect for any spell with a duration of concentration, can be dismissed or allows additional input once cast (like dominate person) and vice versa. Both uses require a DC 20 + spell level check, subject to modifiers outlined below:
Other half is out of range of detection method: +5*
Other half is more than 1 mile away: +5
Other half is on another plane: +10
*This stacks with other penalties that may apply (because sometimes you have very long range detection mechanisms)
Identify Summons School Divination; Level Sorcerer/Wizard 5, Psychic 5, Summoner 5, Inquisitor 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (residual aura of a spell of the calling or summoning subschools)
Range Personal
Target creatures summoned with a spell of the calling or summoning subschool
Duration instantaneous
Saving throw Will negates, see text; Spell resistance no
This spell draws upon residual aura of a spell of the calling or summoning subschools and gathers the information required to resummon the same creature(s) summoned using that spell. The creature(s) is entitled to a will save to negate this effect.
Replay Illusion School Illusion [figment]; Level Sorcerer/Wizard 3, Psychic 3, Occultist 3, Mesmerist 3, Bard 3, Inquisitor 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (residual aura of a spell of the figment or glamer subschools)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Duration concentration
Saving throw none; Spell resistance no
This spell utilises the residual magic of a figment or glamer to replicate its effects, but the effects are clearly illusions. The effect plays chronologically in real time from the earliest point within range, but can be fast forwarded or rewound at up to 10x speed and stopped at will. The effect only extends as far as this spell, but you can move to change how much is visible.
Lesser Strengthen Auras School Universal; Level Everything but alchemist 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range 30 ft. radius burst, centred on yourself
Target residual magic auras
Duration 1 minute/level
Saving throw no; Spell resistance no
This spell temporarily focuses residual magical auras, increasing their strength by one step, to a maximum of strong.
Strengthen Auras School Universal; Level Everything but alchemist 4
This functions as lesser strengthen auras, but it instead increases the strength of magical auras by two steps, to a maximum of overwhelming.
Greater Strengthen Auras School Universal; Level Everything that gets 7th level spells 7
This functions as lesser strengthen auras, but it instead increases the strength of magical auras by three steps, to a maximum of crushing.
Lesser Aura Disperse School Universal; Level Everything but alchemist 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range 30 ft. radius burst, centred on yourself
Target residual magic auras
Duration instantaneous
Saving throw no; Spell resistance no
This spell disperses magical auras, making them harder to detect. All spells in the area are treated as if 1 minute had passed. This spell does not leave an aura.
Aura Disperse School Universal; Level Everything but alchemist 4
This functions as lesser aura disperse, but it instead treats all auras as if 10 minutes had passed.
Greater Aura Disperse School Universal; Level Everything that gets 7th level spells 7
This functions as lesser aura disperse, but it instead treats all auras as if a day had passed.
Well, not sure if this is technically a rules question since I can't seem to dig up much information on it, but...
How much information can you actually get from residual magic auras?
Examples:
1.
You hear the murmuring of a spell in the next room, which you identify as someone casting teleport and leaving. You enter the room, see nothing, and want to find out who it was teleporting and where they were going. Maybe even if they took anyone or anything with them.
As far as I'm aware, if you want to actually find out this sort of thing, rules as written you've got no chance.
2.
Someone casts sending, with you as a recipient. You've never met them, and they don't tell you their name or location. They might even just spam you with nonsensical garbage just to annoy you, sort of like a magical telemarketer.
Again, as far as I'm aware, there's just nothing you can do in this situation to find and smite your pesky prankster (since you know nothing about them). While you can send a message back as the spell says, for some reason that's all you can do.
3.
Your best pal is dead, killed by a madman who teleported in from another planet, used a maximised timestop (from a rod, probably) and lots of delayed blast fireballs (also meta'd up to this lunatic's standards) before teleporting home. You don't find out for a day or two, but you head out to investigate.
Yup, there's this big ol' aura that basically tells you what happened. It doesn't help you at all with finding your friend's killer, or even help you with recognising any more of the killer's magic if you found it again.
So, in case this isn't clear enough, this comes in a couple of parts.
1 - Can you tell who cast a spell?
2 - Is it possible to tell where the spell was cast?
3 - Are you able to find out specific details about a spell (i.e. what monster did they summon, where did they teleport to, what was it an illusion of, &c.)
4 - In the case of short-lived auras such as from level 1 spells, can you at all enhance their strength/still detect them some time afterwards?
5 - Can you tell exactly how long ago a spell was cast (especially useful when the aura lingers for days)
And continuing on to slightly more advanced questions
6 - If you don't know the caster, could you recognise their magic if you saw it again?
7 - Could you locate the sites of other spells the caster's cast?
8 - Can you use the residual magic to recast the spell (to, say, temporarily speak to a summoned creature)?
I'm probably being dumb because this feels like it ought to be fairly basic stuff, but I can't see any sort of reference to it.
Reading through this thread, I just realised something that is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway:
If you have no racial hit die, do you have a type? Can you have a type at all if you have no racial hit dice?
Unless of course you have it stated in your race entry, like the Aasimar does.
Point being that since polymorph spells don't give you racial hit dice, you don't gain a type if you're typeless (or have an ability that specifically makes you a type even if you would otherwise be typeless).
I'm quite interested in seeing what the contestants who didn't make it past the map cut had in store for us with their monsters. Or even what those of us who didn't make it that far might have done.
Therefore, have a thread to put your monsters out there! Let's see what you've got!
Something that's something of an issue for me at the moment with my kineticist's inability to do non-lethal damage. Merciful spell would be an ideal thing... except you can't apply metamagics to blasts. And for good reason, I have to say. But it can be annoying.
But then we have metakinesis, which is essentially a metamagic that you get in exchange for burn. So, maybe this could be extrapolated to allow Kineticists to take and use other metamagic feats in exchange for burn?
As a starting suggestion, how about this:
+0 level metamagics (although merciful is currently the only one) can be taken from level 1 and used for no burn.
+1 level metamagics can be taken from level 1 and used for 1 burn.
+2 level metamagics can be taken from level 5 and used for 1 burn (As empower).
+3 level metamagics can be taken from level 9 and used for 2 burn (as maximise).
All of these function as metakinesis and as such can be chosen to be reduced by metakinetic mastery. You still need to take the feat to be able to use these varieties of metakinesis.
Hopefully this should interact with Kineticist suitably without messing anything up. The +1 level metamagics are the bit I'm most uncertain of, so I erred on the side of caution and made it worse than it perhaps should be.
One RPGSS tradition is to welcome all the first time entrants, but so far no one has started a first-time entrant's thread. So I am going to ask a favor of one the new folks. If you are a first-time entrant you should start a new thread for all the newcomers to announce themselves. Weirdly, this 'tradition' rests on someone unaware of the tradition to start it up :)
Gottcha. New thread started.
Welcome to all first time entrants! There are a few of us I know are around, so join me in coming out of the woodworks! I know this thread's a little late in getting started, but hey, why not? It's a good idea.
So, hi! I've been haunting the forums a lot since RPGSS started, mostly trying to keep myself sane during that long, long voting time.
I've been playing Pathfinder for about a year, more or less, and it's my first Pen and Paper RPG. It was just computerised RPGs before that.
It didn't take me that long to start messing with stuff once I actually started playing and gaining 'xp'. I mostly do spells, but since the competition started I've been doing some items as well. Do the odd monster, but those have been very... experimental.
I tend to do things that I think are a little quirky and unusual, and you can probably expect that sort of stuff from my future entries in here. In addition to the security blanket I entered this year (which is fairly typical of the things I do), I'm also done spells like exploratory tongue (A 0th level spell that lets you taste things from a distance) and monsters like the Roc Lobster and Toaster Pig.
The competition's helped me a lot with my design skills, thanks to seeing all the things I should and shouldn't do and the excellent critique that's being thrown around. Expect a better and more competitive entry next year!
I've been sort of disappointed that there aren't a few more class-specific items or feats for some of the Occult Classes. Obviously this will probably change with time as more material is released, but until that happens, we're going to have to design our own things.
Probably not going to happen, but if people design new things for the occult classes (or otherwise occult-themed), it'd be great if you could post stuff here or link to it so we have a nice archive of stuff. :3
~~~~~~~~~~~
Just to start off with, here are a couple of things, not necessarily finished or well balanced, that I'd like to put out. I'm not particularly gifted at item creation, balancing or original ideas, but here goes:
Description This spiked blue cloak flutters in an unseen breeze. The wearer of the cloak gains a +10-foot enhancement bonus to movement speed. Once per day as a swift action, when you make an attack on the same round that you moved, for every 20 feet you moved before the attack, you can gain a +1 bonus to hit and a +2 bonus to damage.
If the wearer is a Medium, this cloak increases the spirit bonus for Trickster Spirits by 2.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Creator must be a Medium, Expeditious Retreat, Spiritual Weapon; Cost 20,000 gp
This item was inspired by "The Cricket" Harrowed Medium Spirit. If that comes out, I'll adjust this item.
Description This small, humanoid skull is beautifully polished, and holding it gives an impression of sadness. When used as a Necromantic Occultist implement, it grants an additional two points of mental focus that can only be used to to activate the Soulbound Puppet Focus Power. The puppet always takes the form of a small, sad child.
An Occultist without this focus power gains access to it while he uses the haunted skull as an implement. The Soulbound Puppet created by an Occultist with the Soulbound Puppet Focus Power gains the advanced simple template.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Soulbound Puppet Focus Power, Entrap Spirit; Cost 5,000 gp
Description Strange bursts of insight flash through your mind as you touch this blood-stained black cowl, almost as if you could see through layers of reality.
A creature wearing the cowl can choose to become confused as a swift or a move action. You can end this confusion as a swift or move action. While confused, when you roll "Attack self", you can elect to cast any attack spell you know or have prepared on yourself. When you roll "Attack nearest creature", you can choose which creature to attack if there are multiple creatures near you, you can cast any attack spell you know or have prepared, and all spells cast in this way gain a +2 bonus to Caster Level and DCs.
A Medium wearing this item increases the Spirit Bonus of Archmage Spirits by 2.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, Creator must be a Medium, Confusion; Cost 20,000 gp
This item was inspired by "The Lost" Harrowed Medium Spirit. If that comes out, I'll adjust this item.
I tried to help Sphynx to make the Aetherialist Kineticist Archetype. At one point it was looking like a decent Kineticist/Rogue Hybrid, but it's managed to get to a well themed Slyph racial archetype (at least it has in my opinion). Credit goes to Sphynx on this one.
This has almost certainly come up somewhere before, but I haven't found it if it has.
I have to ask: Is there any alternative/archetype yet that changes Finesse training for something useful for rogues who aren't Dexterity based? Considering that Rogues can be basically fighters, surely this is something that comes up a lot.
Largely asking because I hate the "Rogues are Dex-based" sterotypes (I've done a total of 7 rogues and only one of them has been dex based), so some sort of replacement for an otherwise useless and backwards ability would be much appreciated.
So, I'm running Kingmaker, and due to some little bits of scheming I'm doing behind the main scene, I'm wondering about resurrecting Vordakai, the millenia old Cyclops Lich.
Spoiler:
Now, Vordakai's technically been dead for way too long to ever be bought back to life by even True Ressurection. Wish is out of the question, and I'm not convinced Lesser Wish would work.
However, since he's been undead, and presumably still being animated by his soul, even if his phalactery isn't working... would that delay the time window that he could be resurrected in?
Come to think of it, undead that are old enough they can't be resurrected must be comparatively common. There's presumably a spell around that refreshes the duration somewhere, but I haven't found it if there is.
I'll probably just design a spell if there isn't one. The plot demands what the plot demands. But I'd prefer to stick with the rules if I can.
Contemplating bringing this item into my campaign, but would like some feedback on it before I give it to my players to toy with.
Heisenburg's sling:
This strange +4 anarchic sling is covered with arcane symbols and seems to blur at the edges.
When hurling a bullet from the sling, you can choose to have the bullet fly in a random direction (as with splash weapons: a 1 indicates the bullet flies backwards). This causes the bullet to do 8 times as much damage as normal, automatically hits the first thing in its path and is a critical threat. The critical must be confirmed as normal.
You can choose to increase the chances of hitting something in exchange for lower damage. By rolling a d5 (where a 1 indicates that the bullet goes directly left of the direction fired and 2-5 are rotated by 45 degrees ending at directly right of the direction aimed), the damage dealt is 4 times normal and is an automatic hit on the first thing in its path.
Accuracy can be further increased with further damage reduction. By rolling a d3 (1 is 45 degrees left of the target, 2 is on target and 3 is 45 degrees right of the target), the bullet damage is double normal and receives a +10 to hit whatever is in its path.
It functions as normal for anyone unaware of its abilities or if the abilities are unused.
Destruction:
Heisenburg's Sling is destroyed if cooled to absolute zero in a lawfully aligned plane.
I've been working on adapting some of the races from some of the old Wizardry series computer games, what with the online version going down the other day.
I've used the rules in the Advanced Race guide to try to simulate them as much as possible, adding a few of my own devising as I felt confident enough to do so. I've tried to balance them as much as possible with the core races, so they've got RP values around 10. If they get as high as Tieflings (14 RP), they're too high.
I suppose mostly I'm looking to see what people's impressions of these are: If they're balanced, if they capture the flavour of the race, and if they're actually an appealing choice over the many many other races you could chose from.
I'm not including races such as Felpurr, Human, Elf, &., since there's no point in fixing what isn't broken.
Faeries:
Faeries are small, fluttery things good with magic, so I've picked things appropriate to this theme.
Faerie Racial Traits: -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constiution, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma: Faeries are fragile, but nimble and charming with keen minds [Specialised, Tiny bonuses -> 1 RP]
Faeries are Fey [2 RP]
Tiny: Faeries are Tiny creatures and gain a +2 size bonus to AC and attack rolls, a -2 size penalty to CMB and CMD and a +8 bonus to stealth checks. Faeries take up a space of 2.5ft by 2.5ft, so 4 can fit in a single square. They have no natural reach, so they cannot reach into adjacent squares, so cannot threaten squares and must enter an opponent's square to attack it in melee. Tiny creatures cannot usually flank an enemy [4 RP]
Slow Speed: Faeries are so small that they can't move as quickly as the big folk. They have a speed of 20ft [-1 RP]
Low light vision: Faeries can see twice as far in dim light [part of being fey]
Flight: Faeries can fly at a speed of 30ft with Clumsy Maneuverability. [4 RP]
Pixie Magic: Faeries gain a +1 bonus to the DC of any saving throws against illusion spells that they cast. Faeries with a Charisma score of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sounds, prestidigitation, speak with animals. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user’s level. The DC for the spell-like abilities is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Charisma modifier. [Gnome Magic, 2 RP]
Languages: Faeries begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Faeries with high intelligence scores can chose from the following: Auran, Gnome, Elven, Clestial, Draconic, Goblic and Orc
This totals 12 RP. A little higher than core races, but closer than other races. There are a few things that I'd like to include still, such as fey damage resistance or a better flight speed, but chances are it'd begin to start being unbalanced. Advanced ability scores would be great as well to give an extra +4 dex (+6 total) and +2 Wis to round them out fully.
Obviously, Faeries will make terrible physical combatants being as small as they are. A 1d6 medium weapon does 1d3 when it's tiny and even powerful weapons like greatswords or greataxes only do 1d8. Armour is half as effective too. And not to mention the horrible reach and no flanking! However, the increased AC and hit bonuses will make them wonderful spellcasters.
There's a race called Gathlain here which is sort of similar.
Dracons:
Dracons, for those unfamilliar with the old Wizardry series, are humanoid descendants of dragons. They breathe acid as a special race feature and make exceptional fighters.
Dracon Racial Traits: +2 Strength, +2 Consitution, -2 Wisdom: Dracons are physically tough, but unfocused. [Specialised, 1 RP]
Dracons are Humanoids with the Reptilian subtype. (Mostly because Dragon is OP and not all those features fit with Dracons)
Medium: Dracons are medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Dracons have a base speed of 30 ft
Draconic immunities: Dracons are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects. [Elf immunities, 2 RP]
Acid Resistance: A Dracon's body resists acid, so they receive acid resistance 5 [1 RP]
Acid Breath: Three times a day, a Dracon can breathe acid in a 30ft cone, dealing 2d6 acid damage to all who get hit by it. A successful reflex save against DC 10 + 1/2 the Dracon's character level + the Dracon's Consitution modifier halves the damage. [Breath Weapon, 6 RP]
Dragon Scales: The hard scales of a Dracon grant a +1 Natural Armour bonus to AC. [2 RP]
Languages: Dracons begin play speaking Common and Draconic. Dracons with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Terran, Aquan, Ignan, Auran, Celestial, Infernal or Aklo.
Total: 12 RP
I'd expect Dracons to be impressive fighters, as intended, although their main selling point is the acid breath..
Mook:
For those unfamilliar with the Wizardry Races, Mook are giant furry things. A little like yetis, actually. Despite this, they're actually extremely intelligent, perceptive and nimble.
Mook Racial Traits: +2 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence: Mook are strong and smart, but their size makes them slow and cumbersome.
Medium: Mook are medium and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow but steady: Mook have a base speed of 20 ft, but have no changes due to armour or encumberance [-1 RP]
Low light Vision: Mook can see twice as far as normal in dim light. [1 RP]
Curiosity: Mook are extremely inquisitive about the world around them. They gain a +4 bonus of Diplomacy checks to gather information, and Knowledge(local) and Knowledge(History) are class skills for them. If they have a class that has either of these skills as class skills, they gain a +2 racial bonus on these skills instead. [4 RP]
Master Tinker: Mook gain a +1 on Disable Device and Knowledge(engineering) checks. Mook are also treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted. [2 RP]
Large Weapons: Mook are large enough to use large weapons without the size penalty [Static bonus feat? 2 RP]
Envoy: Mook with an Intelligence score of 11 or higher gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/Day - Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Read Magic. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user's character level. [1 RP]
Languages: Mook begin play speaking Common. Mook with high Intelligence scores may choose any other language except secret languages (such as Druidic) [1 RP]
Total: 10 RP
Okay, obviously the Large Weapons thing is slightly dodgy. I wanted to make them large, but that costs too many RP and wouldn't leave room for other important things, and they aren't quite as large as large. Just close. Even if it should have a larger RP value, chances are it'd still be about even with Tieflings.
Rawulf:
Rawulfs are apparently descendants of wolves or dogs. Evolution made them bipedal and more traditionally sentient, but they're still a little way behind on the Brains Race. They are, however, still quite loyal and faithful. They made excellent Priests, decent Fighters and, oddly enough, Rogues.
Rawulf Racial Traits: +2 Constiution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence: Rawulfs are sturdy and perceptive, but slightly dim.
Medium: Rawulfs are medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties from their size.
Fast Speed: Rawulfs have a base speed of 40ft [1 RP]
Stubborn: Rawulfs gain a +2 racial bonus on Will saving throws to resist spells and spell-like abilities of the enchantment (charm) and enchantment (compulsion) subschools. In addition, if Rawulf fails such a save, it receives another save 1 round later to prematurely end the effect (assuming the spell or spell-like ability has a duration greater than 1 round). This second save is made at the same DC as the first. If the Rawulf has a similar ability from another source (such as a rogue’s slippery mind class feature), it can only use one of these abilities per round, but can try the other on the second round if the first reroll ability fails. [2 RP]
Pack Attack: Rawulfs maintain their old pack instincts, and receive the teamwork feat Pack Attack for free. [2 RP]
Scent: Rawulfs have the strong sense of smell of their ancestors, and have the Scent ability (see Scent) [4 RP]
Bite: A Rawulf's strong jaws gives it a natural bite attack that deals 1d3 damage. The bite is a primary attack, or a secondary attack if the creature is wielding manufactured weapons. [1 RP]
Languages: Rawulfs begin play speaking Common. Rawulfs with high intelligence scores can choose any language except for secret languages (Such as Druidic) [1 RP]
Total: 10 RP
[size=16]Alternate racial traits:[/size]
Swarming: Some Rawulf prefer to attack en masse. Two of these Rawulf (or other races with this racial trait) can occupy the same square. If two Rawulfs that are occupying the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares. This trait replaces Pack Attack.
Low-light Vision: Some Rawulf have keener eyesight than average. They can see twice as far as normal in conditions of dim light. This trait replaces Bite.
Skilled: Rawulfs descended from domesticated dogs have lost some of their old senses, but their training for a variety of purposes gives them an extra skill point at each level. This trait replaces Scent.
Moon-touched resistance: Touched by the ancestral beliefs in the moon, some Rawulf have picked up some werewolf-like qualities. They receive DR 5/Silver. This trait replaces Bite and Stubborn.
Well, my first attempt at including alternate racial traits. Mostly coming from a desire to include more things than would be balanced. Oddly, I suspect that Rawulf would actually make pretty good monks, in addition to solid clerics and exceptional rangers.
I would, at some stage, like to play a Rawulf Pirate called Black Spot.
The next two races appeared only in Wizardry 8.
Rapax:
The Rapax made their debut in Wizardry 8. They were classified as demons by the game. They certainly felt like demons when you had to fight them. They lived in an active volcano (Yes, there's a reason for it), but seemed to really thrive there. As for culture, well, their idea of high art is a large, fresh blood-stain. That should give a pretty good indication as to what they were like.
While you couldn't make Rapax characters, you could hire one, a very high level mage. Who could use swords, apparently (and surprisingly well, too). Anyway, since they were playable they were obviously intended to be a balanced race (even if you never got to see base stats).
Rapax Racial Traits: +2 Strength, +2 Intelligence: Rapax are strong and smart. [2 RP]
Medium: Rapax are medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Rapax have a base speed of 30ft
Fiendish Resistance: The Rapax's demonic nature gives them Cold Resistance 5, Electricity Resistance 5 and Fire Resistance 5 [3 RP]
Ferocity: If the hit points of a Rapax fall below 0 but it is not yet dead, it can continue to fight. If it does, it is staggered, and loses 1 hit point each round. It still dies when its hit points reach a negative amount equal to its Constitution score. [4 RP]
Desert Runner: Rapax are used to harsh conditions and receive a +4 racial bonus on Constitution checks and Fortitude saves to avoid fatigue and exhaustion, as well as any other ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, and hot or cold environments. [2 RP]
Weapon Familiarity: Rapax are automatically proficient with Scimitars and Falchions [1 RP]
Languages: Rapax begin play speaking Rapax. Rapax with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Common, Infernal, Abyssal, Ignan.
Total: 12 RP
[size=16]Alternative Racial Traits[/size]:
Defense Training: Some of the more educated Rapax overcome their overwhelming ferocity and spend their time avoiding being hit in the first place. These Rapax receive a racial +2 Dodge bonus to AC. This trait replaces Ferocity.
Pyromaniac: Rapax who welcome their volcanic homeland well and truly into their hearts become avid lovers of fire. They are treated as +1 level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline, using the revelations of the oracle’s flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage. This trait does not give Rapax early access to level-based powers; it only affects powers that they could already use without this trait. Rapax with a Charisma score of 11 or higher, gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, flare, prestidigitation, produce flame. The caster level for these spell-like abilities is equal to the user’s character level. This racial trait replaces weapon familiarity and desert runner.
Hopefully that should make the Rapax suitably fearsome without being overpowered, and provides options for both Fighters and Mages, as it did in the game.
Trynnie:
The Trynnie, like the Rapax, came around in Wizardry 8. They were, small, furry rodent things. Not like rattkin; they actually had rather a large problem with them. Actually, the Trynnie had large problems with lots of things. They really seemed to be on or near the bottom of the sentient being food chain, quite literally: all of the native sentient races on the planet seemed to have some (or occasionally, many) members who regularly ate them. Or as often as they could at least. From memory, you could even actually find, buy and eat an item called Pickled Trynnie Chunks.
Moving on from their culinary properties, the Trynnie had three quite distinct reputations: They were the best at magic on the planet (which is saying something when they had the Rapax with them), they'd steal anything nailed down, and they were kind of stupid. They had a very much tribal culture, although they did all live in a giant tree that they made into a city. Also into halcenogenic drugs (You get to try them: you eat these flower petals and drink a "Mystery Potion" and see a vision.)
Oddly enough though, despite their reputation for being stupid, the two recruitable Trynnie both had high intelligence, and two of the remaining three named Trynnie were probably an Alchemist and a Bishop, both of which require high intelligence. I'm probably inclined to say that they have low wisdom instead, since they had low Piety, were easily distracted and didn't tend to think of consequences (though they had no problems coming up with ideas)
Both recruitable Trynnie were ranged characters, and the average Trynnie seemed to be a Rogue or Ranger.
Trynnie Racial Traits: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: Trynnie have light fingers and clever ideas, but they have trouble focusing.
Small: Trynnie are Small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Normal Speed: Trynnie are fast for their size and have a base speed of 30 ft. They have a climb speed of 20 ft to help them climb in their tree home. [2 RP]
Low light vision: Trynnie can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light. [1 RP]
Eternal Hope: After centuries of oppression, the Trynnie are still hopeful that one day they'll be in a better position. Trynnie gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects. Also, once per day, after a natural roll of 1 on a d20 roll, they may reroll and use the second result. [2 RP]
Cimber: Trynnie receive a +8 bonus on climb checks [Already accounted for in speed]
Stick to the Shadows: Perception, Sleight of hand, Stealth and Acrobatics are always class skills for Trynnie. If they choose a class that has these skills as class skills, they receive a +2 bonus on them instead. [4 RP?]
Tasty: Any hostile creature that gets a taste of a Trynnie's flesh will be enamoured of its flavour, and preferentially attack the Trynnie from then on in its desire to eat it. The same holds for any creature that knows of the Trynnie's succulent flesh and desires to eat it. They still behave rationally, it is merely a prefered target. If possible, they will take away the Trynnie's corpse/unconscious body and consume it entirely, making the revival possible only by means of True Ressurection or a similar spell. [-2 RP?]
Master Tinker: Trynnie are adept at putting what they find to use, giving them a +1 bonus on Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) checks. Trynnie are also treated as proficient with any weapon they have personally crafted. [2 RP]
Languages: Trynnie begin play speaking Common. Trynnie with high intelligence scores can choose any language they wish, except for secret languages (Such as Druidic) [1 RP]
Total: 10 RP
First attempt at making a trait: Tasty. Long description, I know. Goodness knows how to balance it properly; there's nothing remotely like it to work from. Makes the other questionable thing, Stick to the Shadows, seem easier to explain. I assumed it'd be like Curiosity. Mostly it's just a combination of various skill traits.
I'm planning on adapting the Umpani and T'Rang a little later.
