I think there should be room for a variety of impulse and blast feats to build whatever kind of kineticist you want. Single target or multitarget Blasts or impulses without rider conditions that do more damage, blasts or impulses that inflict debuffs, terrain control, healing, etc.
I'd prefer having the playtest kineticist with numbers bumped slightly up (not too much better than a cantrip) over having a focus power class that's markedly stronger. The playtest mechanics we have are interesting and thematic, they just need a little polish
I still stand by the idea that they should make gathered elements a "two handed" """weapon""" and scale it accordingly both for blasts and impulses, if blasts where d6-d10, and base impulses where rolling d6-d8 or d8-d10 with the same cantrip scaling that would feel a lot meater without derailing into outside what is reasonable to be free, at level 20 that might be 20 more damage on average than a cantrip, but its nowhere close to being a focus or slot spell
-idle thoughts
Or maybe have the option to gather power in one or both hands. Both hands being more powerful and one hand being more versatile.
I hope nothing in kineticist deals with focus spells. I hate them. When everything has focus spells, it creates lazy design choices.
I don't care that you hate them
I'd still prefer them as it solves pretty much all the issues aside from you yourself not liking them
Yep and as a bonus it has nothing to do with burn and plays nice with other multiclasses/archetypes that also use focus. ;)
It would be a much better fit in the system itself yes.
But then I generally really like focus spells in general.
Either way it would give excuse to up the power of the spell like abilities. And since most people here who seem to argue that at will all day powers are meaningless because you only average x number of rounds an encounter... It only serves to buff your playstyle and table experience.
I see no downsides other than those that wanted both powers as strong as focus spells but also never to run out of gas in a fight m
Focus spells work well because they have been on classes with other things to do besides just focus spells. Kineticist will be an incredibly boring class if they use their focus spells to solve a non-combat encounter, then get into a combat and have fling the same elemental blast over and over again. And having to stop the party all the time to refocus would be a pain.
Where has it been offically decided that the thing people want out of a Kineticist is simplicity in design and purpose? I feel like the PF1 Kineticist was pretty far from simple, and capable of adding on a lot of complexity to what they can do.
Why is it wrong to envision a Kineticist who's connection to the elements makes them a capable battlefield controller and influencer of the world in big scale ways? Rising volcanos out of the ground, or summoning tidal waves isn't how you act like a laser beam to take out one target.
Cause we have a Druid that can already do that...
And the closest we have to the "laser beam" idea is Magus, who still have to interact with spell slots and spells over being over to just blast someone with fire. Why not have an elemental class that can be good at laser beaming? Who else should be that class?
PF1e Kineticist was complex for the sake of complexity. It had a bunch of mechanics and ideas that just led it to being a high skill floor, low skill cap class with no clear focus in design or theming. Too out there to be appealing to people that just want to interact with the elements without understanding spell slots, too little options to be among the full casters in breaking the game.
We also already have classes that do tons of single target damage. They're called the Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, Magus, and Gunslinger. We don't have an at-will caster and getting rid of their utility and AOE magic would just be incredibly boring. Slinging blasts all day wasn't even what PF1e kineticists did.
And I don't think the utility and AOE needs to be sacrificed to let them take feats to make more powerful single target blasts or DC save impulses.
If I may ask: what even is the point of an at-will caster in 2e?
With Focus Points, scaling cantrips, and the variety of magical tools....
what do you need to be at-will, that you are willing to take a massive power/utility penalty for?
I'm...
A lot of the impulses, like tidal hands, have better damage, AOE, or other effects than cantrips. Some of the impulses, like flame eruption, are worse than cantrips but those can be buffed.
You get 1 to 3 focus spells and can refocus 1 to 3 of them depending on your feat investment. For many classes it's 4 feats to have 3 focus spells and to be able to refocus 3 points. And sometimes you don't have the time to refocus between combats to use those points again. It's easier to get more kinetic impulses with a variety of effects and kinetic impulses allow for effects that are relatively stronger than a cantrip but weaker than a focus spell like Burning Jet or Flinging Updraft. I think the overflow impulses should probably be buffed to be closer to focus spells and kineticists could probably use a legendary class DC or improvements to the action economy, but there are plenty of reasons to have an at-will caster.
Where has it been offically decided that the thing people want out of a Kineticist is simplicity in design and purpose? I feel like the PF1 Kineticist was pretty far from simple, and capable of adding on a lot of complexity to what they can do.
Why is it wrong to envision a Kineticist who's connection to the elements makes them a capable battlefield controller and influencer of the world in big scale ways? Rising volcanos out of the ground, or summoning tidal waves isn't how you act like a laser beam to take out one target.
Cause we have a Druid that can already do that...
And the closest we have to the "laser beam" idea is Magus, who still have to interact with spell slots and spells over being over to just blast someone with fire. Why not have an elemental class that can be good at laser beaming? Who else should be that class?
PF1e Kineticist was complex for the sake of complexity. It had a bunch of mechanics and ideas that just led it to being a high skill floor, low skill cap class with no clear focus in design or theming. Too out there to be appealing to people that just want to interact with the elements without understanding spell slots, too little options to be among the full casters in breaking the game.
We also already have classes that do tons of single target damage. They're called the Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, Magus, and Gunslinger. We don't have an at-will caster and getting rid of their utility and AOE magic would just be incredibly boring. Slinging blasts all day wasn't even what PF1e kineticists did.
And I don't think the utility and AOE needs to be sacrificed to let them take feats to make more powerful single target blasts or DC save impulses.
Allowing some way for dual gate to dual wield melee blasts or elemental weapons would be cool. Or something like dedicated gate to get 2-handed weapons.
If it's anything like PF1e burn or being drained for the rest of the day then I think it's a bad idea. If it's more similar to psychics amping then I might be alright with it.
It seems like the biggest problem, damage-wise, is the inconsistency between other impulses and other elements like what Ryuujin-sama pointed out. Fire not being particularly strong and some impulses being terribly scaled aside, the good damage abilities seem pretty powerful compared to other martial classes.
I'd hope spellstrike won't require a focus point otherwise the magus will always have to decide between using spellstrike or any other focus spell they get now or in future books.
Magus: Needs full spellcasting(i.e. retaining spell slots, but not gaining 10th level spells or legendary spellcasting) and needs spellstrike to instead add a free strike action to the spell casting and tie the effect of the spell attack to the effect of the weapon attack.
...This is less of a suggestion and more of a wishlist - and not a particularly realistic one at that.
Full spellcasting plus incredibly good action economy on spellstrike PLUS two hits from a single attack roll?
Would you like the Magus to not get above Expert in weapons OR spells? Because that's about the only way that's happening.
There's no reason why they can't have a functional action economy like the other martials and some lower level spell slots. Striking spell is only going to be significantly powerful with higher level slots which are already limited to 4 per day.
If the striking spell feature is changed to work more like eldritch shot, then I think the class really doesn't need spell slots anymore and would be better built around having spell attack roll focus powers and access to cantrips only. There are just too few spell slot spells that meaningfully interact with the structure of the eldritch shot mechanic for it to be strong blend of features, especially as the odds of getting higher level, really powerful spell attack roll spells is pretty slim (they will kill your Party when cast by NPCs, and you won't be able to do anything about it).
Why not have it work with spell slots and a focus spell? I don't see why it needs to be an either/or situation where they can only have spell slots or only have focus spells, but not both.
You are not relying on them. Your are just acknowledging that they are going to happen more frequently for you than they are for other casters, especially if you take advantage of good tactics in play. That is an interesting and different dynamic without just clearly being better, and it makes having access to spells that do interesting things on crits more interesting. Which is why the "want" from this is more spells that interact interestingly with whatever striking spell mechanic they end up adopting.
But you are relying on critting because striking spell offers no advantage to you over just casting a spell save unless you crit. In fact, it's probably better to just use a multi-target spell save because then you can affect more enemies.
So it's interesting if you like being disappointed over 75% of the time. Because keep in mind, that 15% base crit chance is unlikely on an at level enemy let alone higher level ones. Against an enemy 2 levels higher than you, that chance to crit on either a strike or a true strike on the next round is going to drop to 9.875% while the chance to miss four strikes in a row goes up to 17.8%. Making striking spell only worth it on lower level enemies is the exact opposite way a class should be designed.
But most non-damage spells are save based, which doesn't really benefit much from striking spell as it is.
This has not been my experience in play. The odds of getting a crit on 1 of 2 attacks (over 2 rounds) with no penalty have been significantly higher than the odds of missing with all attacks.
Even if you assume a high base crit rate of 15% and true striking the next round, the chance of getting a crit with 1 of 2 strikes across rounds is about 24.7%, which is not great. This is of course not possible on higher level enemies. Having to rely on crits is just not great in general.
"Needs to be Magical all day, on as many turns as possible, I should Striking Spell every turn" + "Needs to be worse at Magic than full casters" + "Needs to still be balanced" + "Needs to be a full Martial
But that doesn't require their spell slots being removed. They can have focus cantrips and focus spells and still have spell slots.
On another class I wouldn't be opposed to this, but I don't think it fits a magus at all. I'd rather see the magus get more spellcasting, as part of my hope for the class was to get a comparable number of spells quicker than a multiclassing martial and be better in combat than full casters.
This is where you are actually wrong though. It is not "requires buffs to be decent." Buffs are what takes the magus damage output above other martial classes. It is not a linear comparison. That is the nature of a mechanic that ties a lot of potential damage output to critical hits with the first weapon attack. Circumstance bonuses (like from aid) also tend to only boost 1 roll, so the magus gets a massive boost in a party willing to take the extra step as a team to do the one big hit.
The crit effect of striking spell is not as good as you think it is (largely due to the fact you need to make 2 rolls just to get the spell damage). I have literally made a thread graphing the damage at each level. With flanking, striking spell manages to keep pace with a bare-bones flurry ranger without the backstabber trait until they get impossible flurry. The magus has to spend their highest spell slot, a true strike, and five actions to outpace three actions of the ranger's (before the ranger gets impossible flurry and catches up). But the gap in damage will drop when the ranger optimizes, puts elemental runes on their weapon, and picks up dogslicers. Or the ranger could just spend five actions also and immediately make up the difference.
Having to get what is effectively a +2 or more to their attack modifier, spend 2 limited resources, and five actions to out pace three actions of a regular martial isn't effective.
The "mods" in this analogy is "getting the cleric to cast Heroism on you while the rogue flanks."
Hate to spoil this for you, but other players are a part of this game and the experience of playing a magus.
greystone wrote:
If you just spend 2 spells and 5 or 6 actions you too can do the damage other martials can do in 1 round! But you might crit with 4 strike attempts and make it sort of seem close to worth it! I know I'm not chasing that dragon. :P
If you are playing a party of all martials, it might be tough. But then, you're probably picking up the slack as the caster in the group, and adjusting your playstyle to accommodate that.
One solid buff for a challenging combat is not too much to ask. You can achieve that with your own slots, purchased items, or friendly party members.
Why buff the magus when they could just buff the rogue in that example? The rogue is probably already out damaging the magus, and the rogue will do even better with heroism. This is the problem with the magus having to rely on buffs just to be decent, it would just be better to buff a different martial class anyways.
Because all of your spells can't hit unless your melee attack hits. Its an automatic "nothing" if your melee hits, it does not matter if the spell does half effect on save if the spell NEVER GOES OFF.
You have a better chance of gritting on one of your Strikes than missing all of them over 2 rounds. Magus can target all three saves with cantrips. Pick the enemies weakest and go to town.
Missing a lot isn't a benefit. And even when you eventually hit with the strike, you have to land the spell, and then you're still dealing less damage than the martials or even the casters. If the justification for a core class ability is "eventually you'll hit with it" then it's not a good class ability.
1) Fix striking spell so that it doesn't rely on a crit fishing mechanic, does decent damage, improve the action economy, and doesn't trigger attacks of opportunity. This would make them effective at single target damage and debuffs using spells. I think this can be accomplished by giving it the fortune trait, letting spell attacks have the same degree of success as the strike and giving the enemy a penalty for saving throw spells, and by letting player choose to either gain their synthesis benefit when using striking spell or use another single action ability as part of casting the spell.
2) Give them more spell slots. I don't think there's any reason to not give them 2 per spell level but even one slot for lower level spells instead of zero would be better.
3) I would like to see more unique abilities available to them that could be in the form of stances, focus cantrips, or feats like letting them shoot out a blade beam or something akin to spell combat from PF1.
But none of what you suggested helps them though. Like, what actions is the magus that you are suggesting supposed to do in combat?
Casting spells? If they got more slots of lower levels it would help their DPR considerably.
You know, the thing that does damage, applies effects, triggers Comet Spell, Energized Strikes, Bespell Strikes, Bespell Persistence, and more utility spells in your budget (like Haste) to do more of all of those things.
You apply a level 1 Fear spell to your Striking Spell, succeed, and now the enemy has a -2 to their AC and Saves. Guess what that translates to? More DPR. Even at level 7, Fear now helps them hit for a wallop on turn two with their highest slot spells.
They go Haste on turn one, use Bespell Weapon (bonus damage on strikes) for two strikes on turn one and then an even stronger turn two.
Sorry but "none of what I suggested helps DPR" just isn't true.
Do you realize how little damage those feats do for their action cost?
Comet spell has to hit an enemy behind another enemy which means they get partial cover (making it less likely to hit) all for damage equal to the spell level plus half if it's evocation.
Energize strike is one damage per weapon die for one minute if you use an action. This would be good if the magus had better action economy but they don't.
Bespell strike is 1d6 if you cast a spell and hit with a strike in the same turn. One to two actions for the chance to get 3.5 average damage. A rogue gets scaling d6s when a target is flat-footed and gets numerous ways to do it in one action or even zero actions. Bespell persistence has similar problems.
What do you think is the benefit of striking spell with fear? You have a worse DC than a wizard because your int modifier is less and you get master spell progression. You can increase the degree of success for fear if you crit with the strike (typically a 5-10% chance) but your chance to even land the fear goes down because now you have to hit with the strike and land the fear spell. And you're forgetting that the frightened condition goes down after the enemy's turn so that -2 is really a -1 for the "wallop".
So just recapping, for 6 actions you get a strike and a strike with striking spell (which doesn't deal as much damage as a fighter) on an enemy with -1 AC and saves. The fighter on the other hand could pick up intimidating strike to frighten them on a successful strike, strike again at -1AC, and then do the same thing the next turn for 4 strikes worth of damage.
This isn't a benefit, it's an action tax every combat encounter.
Yes they can haste themselves (so can a multiclassing martial for more benefit than the magus) but if you're having to haste every combat, and true strike every striking spell, and spend you're highest spell slot on striking spell just to compare to the fighter, then the class isn't even helping the party.
Aside: I think people are massively misinterpreting my opinion. If you read what I am actually saying could work instead, you'd see its a net buff to DPR if the Magus got more spells. I'm not talking about making them do less damage, I'm talking about making them cast more spells in order to realize that damage (and for the Magus that don't want to use spells for damage, more utility).
It's like people think I want to destroy my favorite class.
But none of what you suggested helps them though. Like, what actions is the magus that you are suggesting supposed to do in combat? They're a worse blaster, a worse buffer, a worse debuffer, a worse melee striker, not a tank, and not a healer. That leaves them as a burden with no role that isn't completely outshined by the rest of the party. A glass cannon can do a lot of damage, and that seems to be what the current class design is building for, but the magus just doesn't have enough damage per actions spent to justify it. With some tweaks they could get there but swapping weapon specialization out or making them even more defenseless isn't going to help.
More lower level spells also does nothing to boost their power except letting them haste and true strike more (which is the only way they deal damage comparable to other classes with striking spell). The way striking spell currently works, this is all any magus is ever going to do if they want to have some functioning role in combat. And it would just be a worse version of the fighter MCD with wizard doing true strikes and haste with their superior combat abilities.
they have utility, battlefield control, save or suck, weakness flexible damage, with martial prowess.
Saying they need to have the same DPR concerns as a Fighter is crazy to me.
If a Magus wants DPR they should have to build for it as a choice of spells and Feats, and as I pointed out on the expectation of one strike per round with striking spell or combo casting with a weapon, you’re missing minimal damage with Weapon Specialization or Greater Weapon Specialization If the Magus can cast more spells due to their Feat support. Right now they do decent damage over two rounds, it’s the lackluster feel of the mechanic that is the issue.
If you want something that casts spells with the DPR of a Fighter, that exists, it’s called a Fighter with an MCD Caster.
The goal of the Magus isn’t to be Fighter + Magic it’s to be somewhere between a Wizard and Fighter, and I’m sure no one here would claim the Wizards only build path is DPR (or even the optimal one necessarily).
They have four spells; that's not utility. They can do battlefield control, worse than a regular caster because of int not being their primary attribute and not being a legendary caster. Their save spells also suffer from this. And targeting weaknesses is also not unique to them. What you just described is the worst of both worlds. They aren't as good at casting as a regular spellcaster and they aren't as good at single target damage as a martial.
Why is having similar dpr to a martial crazy? The ranger and barbarian can have that but not a literal glasscanon? Being a high single target damaging class seems to be the best niche they can fit with their limited resources, lack of support abilities, and squishy nature.
They don't do decent damage. I literally have a thread graphing their damage and the only way they can compare to the other martials in a single round of damage is by true striking every single striking spell they do. And they can't true strike, striking spell, and strike in a single round without hasting so it's just terrible.
A fighter multiclassing is behind in spell levels, behind in spell accuracy, behind in gaining spell slots, and has to take 5 feats just to get decent amounts of spells and slots. A magus could, if changed a bit, fit this role better with interesting feats synergizing their might and magic and options to deal a lot of damage with limited resources.
Correct. Though given the lore of the Magus. Vs say, investigator. Dpr is a large and valid concern imo. It's on par with saying fighter shouldn't be held up to the notion of doing damage.
You think a Magus should have equivalent concerns for damage as a Fighter? Why?
What else is the class being designed for? They're squishy and only get medium armor without armor specialization so they aren't tanks. They only ever have 4 spells so they aren't made to provide combat and out of combat utility with spells. They aren't built around being skillful like rogues or investigators. They aren't a support class like a healer or bard. And, currently, they aren't even built for dealing damage, but it seems like the intent is to do single target novas. Are they not supposed to have a useful niche in the game?
I'll give some of my thoughts on what feats are under powered and what needs improvement.
1st level: I like Arcane Fists but I don't think it will be picked often since the magus doesn't get a first level feat. I think there should be a unarmed magus synthesis that gets this feat for free and gets another benefit.
Raise a Tome is just broken now. It doesn't work with sliding magus unless you also use a feat to get Arcane Fists which will be at 4th level. And there's no reason that the bonus to recall knowledge has to be limited to a specific subject. A +1 or +2 to recall knowledge checks if you raise a tome isn't going to severely break anything.
4th level: Spell parry doesn't work well with the magus action economy and it doesn't give enough benefit. It's really most useful when you striking spell and have an action leftover where you can't strike. And the benefit doesn't even outweigh just using the shield cantrip because shield can also block damage. I think it should be a +2 to AC and saving throws and I think I have a way to help fix the action economy. If the magus had the option to use one of their one action feats in place of their synthesis benefit, I think it would help them. So a sliding magus could slide while striking spell one turn and then on another turn could choose to use spell parry with striking spell instead of sliding.
Bespell strikes doesn't seem that worth it compared to what other martial classes get as feats. Adding 1d6 if you cast a 4 per day resource while a fighter can get exacting strike at lvl 1 seems not worth it. Especially when it only lasts for the round you cast the spell. Bespelled Persistence has a similar problem.
Steady spellcasting is a band-aid for the obvious problem of the Magus having no way to deal with attacks of opportunity. I think striking spell should just be immune to that.
6th level: Martial casters is also just a band-aid fix for the magus not having enough spell slots. I think just giving them 2 slots per level would be better.
8th level: Standby Spell is similar to martial caster, and Runic Impression seems almost worthless to anyone who spends their gold maxing out their weapon runes.
10th level: Cascading ray has a problem when using spell attacks with striking spell. At -10 MAP, cascading ray is almost always going to miss. At -5 MAP it still has problems missing but at least you can target low level enemies to either finish them off or get some extra damage. And having something to do with your reaction is nice.
I think Portal Slide should be full speed. I don't think it would be game breaking and only having 10ft to teleport for most characters is too limiting.
14th level: School Shroud is interesting but being able to choose your benefit might be better. But...
Hasted Assault is nearly mandatory with how the magus is. A one action haste is just too good.
16th level: If Dispelling strike works with cantrips (which I think it would as written) then I think it's pretty good and a good example of feats that make the magus the character that combines magic and martial abilities. If not, then I don't think it's that good with only getting 4 spell slots.
The vast majority of martial characters have at least one action every other round that goes into their combat effectiveness.
The Barbarian has to rage, and then not get knocked out, or else becomes a shade of their former selves and can't use the vast majority of their feats. Seriously, a barbarian that has been knocked out one time in a combat is pretty much reduced to a level far beneath a fighter in effectiveness. Their glassiness cannot be understated.
The monk must enter a stance, and is then usually limited to a very narrow set of attacks, unless they spend another action to change it.
The ranger has to have a hunted target or else their edge and many of their feats don't work.
The rogue needs to be attacking a flat-footed foe or otherwise enable their sneak attack.
The swashbuckler needs panache, and has to earn it with actions that require rolls.
The investigator spends an action to devise a stratagem and if that roll is bad, the action was largely wasted.
Alchemist bombers can have pretty big nova rounds, but then are spent pretty fast. Other alchemists have to use a lot of their daily resources to be adequate at combat, maybe a couple of times a day.
The fighter doesn't really have any of these issues because they are the fighter. It is their entire class focus and they skate by entirely with a little more accuracy than a magus and better defensive abilities.
Okay, so just taking what you've said, most martials need to spend one action every few rounds to do their main thing.
The barbarian rages for a minute with just one action. They have to worry about getting downed but that's why they have huge HP. The ranger hunts a target indefinitely with either one action or a free action and just has to spend one action to change targets. Swashbuckler's can spend an action to get panache. The rogue can get sneak attack just by flanking or by using one of their numerous feats to get it. The investigator usually has to spend an action a round but they also know if their strike will fail and can choose other actions. And the alchemist isn't really a martial and is probably on the weaker side of the games power balance anyways.
Now what can the magus do? The magus has to spend two actions every time they want to striking spell and use up a 4 per day limited resource to do meaningful damage. On top of that, they can completely lose the striking spell if they fail to strike or hit with the strike but miss with the spell. And as things currently stand, using striking spell with a spell attack does slightly less average damage than these other martials while using it with a saving spell does just about the same average damage. And the magus feats don't improve this action economy until hasted assault at 14th level, nor do they give a significant damage increase except for situational feats like spell swipe.
In every scenario, this is way more negatives for the magus than positives.
In a game where the rogue can stride, tumble behind, attack with sneak attack, and then nimble dodge as a reaction, the magus having to use 4 actions just to move and striking spell (3 if they have sliding) is a pretty terrible way to work in the 3 action economy. And even at the point where the magus finally uses those 4 actions to hit the enemy and somehow rolls well enough to get their spell off, they are doing less damage than a typical fighter, ranger, or barbarian. The only way to make up this damage is spending another action casting true strike, and now even the sliding magus is spending 5 actions (since you can't use true strike the round before the strike) to hit once with their 4 per day limited resource. Having to spend almost 2 rounds worth of actions just to get a single attack that does slightly better damage than other martials can do in a single round is not good design.
Making it 3 actions makes its use very complicated until you have access to Haste. Plus it's so... bland. It's not even a Spell Strike, it's just casting then Striking. Cool you avoid MAP if the spell had an attack roll, but that's really a very, very, very minor benefit not worth a whole feat.
You think +5 to hit is not worth a feat?
It's basically Double Slice.
It's not worth it when your spell attack modifier is normally about 5 less than your strike attack modifier without any MAP. It's basically like the magus is giving up all the unlimited use damage increasing feats or features of the other martial classes to get 2 uses of a feature that makes a spell attack -5 instead of -10.
This is very interresting, just using a single roll seems to make the magus more in line with similar martials, only outdamaging them noticingly when using a spell slot, which is what it should be.
Yeah, I think if they're going to tweak striking spell, this should probably be the route to go. The question then is whether or not to give it the fortune trait.
Another thing I noticed is that cascading ray is nearly useless if you a -10 MAP and deals about 1 damage on average and is slightly more useful at -5 MAP, dealing about 5 damage. So that feat either needs to be reworked or replaced.
I posted this on the reddit too, but I made some graphs comparing the magus using striking spell to a flurry ranger, the magus attacking three times, and an alternative striking spell where the degree of success for the spell is the same as the strike. I also looked at what true strike does for the damage of striking spell.
@kripdenn thanks for double checking the math, it is not my specialty which is why I wanted to be sure to show my work. How is the magus casting true strike on 3 attacks with the sword? Also my assumption was that the Magus that needed to buff for the first round, wasn't going to start off or easily maintain being close enough to not need the sliding ability.
What I meant was that the Magus could haste one round and get in position, then on the next round true strike their first strike, and then make two regular strikes for 66.55 damage. So they would only have true strike active for their first strike, not all three and that would still be slightly better damage than a true strike striking spell with disintegrate. (Although, the ancient white dragon has a high fortitude save at +30 so that's one reason the disintegrate isn't doing a lot of damage. But I think disintegrate is also one of the spells that benefits most from striking spell and fortitude might be the highest average save.)
So my opinion is that the way striking spell works right now doesn't do enough to keep up with the other martial classes especially considering the magus only gets 4 spells.
Your probabilities aren't right for striking or striking with true strike. 29 attack modifier vs 34 AC can only miss on rolls 1 through 4 which is 20% not 25%. The formula for rolling a specific number when you roll twice and take the highest is (2*X-1)/D^2 where X is the desired number and D is the dice size. So the 25/400 in your post is the chance to roll a 13. 200/400 isn't even possible because the numerator is by definition odd and you can't roll more than 20. And then you also need to factor in that a 20 increases the degree of success and 1 decreases.
The actual strike and true strike probabilities in your scenario are
strike: 20% miss / 50% hit / 30% crit
true strike: 4% miss / 45% hit / 51% crit
I also went ahead and calculated the damage in your scenario (not factoring weaknesses or resistances though) including two-handing the bastard sword (since nothing prevents you from doing that other than using sliding synthesis) and adding weapon specialization damage.
Just casting disintegrate would do 11.715 average damage. True striking that cast will do 18.39.
Striking spell with disintegrate will do 45.11. True striking the striking spell will do 63.29.
But the thing is, if the Magus just hasted to do true strike and then 3 strikes, they'd do 66.55 damage.
A fighter multiclassing as a wizard would probably be more effective just by hasting and casting true strike each round which they can do more often because they have more spell slots and can get a divination staff.
I did some calculations at 20th lvl against a 45 AC creature with +7 str modifier and +5 int modifier. For reference, if the magus spent all three actions just to strike, they'd do 48.75 damage on average with a +3 major striking greatsword.
If the magus uses produce flame for striking spell, they will deal 36.9 damage on average. That's not good but it gets worse. Using Polar ray (an 8th level attack roll spell) heightened to 9th level will deal 12d8 on a success. Striking spell with polar ray will deal, on average, 44.58 damage. And I'm pretty sure my math is correct. I think there's a problem with the class if it's better to not use a 9th level spell and their class feature.
Edit: My math was slightly wrong so I changed 36.75 to 36.9 and 44.31 to 44.58
are you including Drained 2 from Polar Ray, which is essentially 40 damage vs a lvl 20 target?
Yeah I forgot to include the drained condition, but 84.58 is still worse than a furious focus fighter with brutal finish which can do 87.3 average damage against the same target every round.
I did some calculations at 20th lvl against a 45 AC creature with +7 str modifier and +5 int modifier. For reference, if the magus spent all three actions just to strike, they'd do 48.75 damage on average with a +3 major striking greatsword.
If the magus uses produce flame for striking spell, they will deal 36.9 damage on average. That's not good but it gets worse. Using Polar ray (an 8th level attack roll spell) heightened to 9th level will deal 12d8 on a success. Striking spell with polar ray will deal, on average, 44.58 damage. And I'm pretty sure my math is correct. I think there's a problem with the class if it's better to not use a 9th level spell and their class feature.
Edit: My math was slightly wrong so I changed 36.75 to 36.9 and 44.31 to 44.58
Or. 2 actions. Cast the spell as part of your attack. Incurs 2x map after use. Uses your melee attack in place is your spell attack, using spell attacks vs any target that you did not hit with your weapon or forces the spell to be single target only when used in this way.
You only have 4 spell slots a day to do this with. And your cantrips are weaker than if you had hit a second time
So it's not overpowered and you can at least utilize it most rounds. If you think this is too much than we disagree where the games balance lies.
Produce Flame, Electric Arc, and Chill Touch scale to ~25 + ability mod. A greatsword scales to ~26 + ability mod. It'd be like giving Magus Double Slice with a d12 weapon, and that's just with cantrips.
But a greatsword also adds greater weapon specialization damage which will be 6 for master and 8 for legendary. Using a cantrip like produce flames with a 2 action striking spell that also uses the same degree of success for the melee strike and spell will be just a few points of damage better than attacking twice with a greatsword.
Table is not mine though I did help some with the math.
The Magus's hit chance is absolutely atrocious. Due to the lack of potency runes on spell attacks, the delayed casting proficiency, and the lower starting Int compared to other classes the Magus's spell attack accuracy is honestly nothing short of atrocious. Your odds of hitting with a spell strike are less than 1/3 at any level. Needing to hit with a strike first, and then hit with another, less accurate attack makes this borderline unplayable.
From level 10 up you are quite literally more accurate, and more damaging, with less actions spent attacking twice than spell striking with a cantrip. The class doesn't function as written right now.
https://imgur.com/UJ43h8G
Your chart is incorrect because you are not factoring in the step increase for the spell attack when you crit succeed the melee strike. For example, at 10th lvl the chance for both should be 25.5% and not 21%.
Ancestors is a great one if you're willing to embrace a switch hitter style where you bounce between spells, strikes, and skill usage in combat.
It's an interesting concept that might be fun, but I feel like 'only skills' in combat would be a little tricky to manage if you rolled that one.
Though I think the bigger issue is still that the Martial ancestor hands out status bonuses, which is most every flavor of buffing utility in the game hands out. Your benefits pretty much evaporate if there's a Bard in the party, or if you cast any of your own self-buffs. Not a fan of that anti-synergy.
There's a number of good skill actions to do like recall knowledge, tumble through to get flanking, or you could have a weapon with the trip trait to be even better at tripping.
And while the status bonus to melee attack rolls the battle oracle and ancestor oracle can get won't stack with other status buffs, it does mean you can use your spells to buff allies or buff yourself with something like sanctuary instead of bless or heroism and you still get the buff to damage.
Personally, I don't get the negativity around the oracle. Playing to the advantages of your curse seems to get a lot of great bonuses and the disadvantages of the curse can either be mitigated with planning or effect things that you wouldn't want to do anyways with your character build. I'm pretty excited to play an oracle when I can.
This is the first time I've ever heard of LaTeX. It looks interesting, but I have to say that I'm completely and utterly confused by this.
My understanding of the LaTeX developers' mission statement is that the entire point is that you don't care about the layout. You just right the text. Then you send it off to someone else who specializes in layouts to lay it out for you.
The entire concept of a template seems to be antithetical to the purpose of the project. At that point, why not just use a Word template and fill it out as you like? That seems quicker and easier than adding code tags to every bit of the document.
Sorry, not trying to hijack your thread, I'm just both intrigued and confused by this concept.
The about page for the LaTeX project website, imo, doesn't give good reasons for why LaTeX is preferable over other document preparation systems. The real reason to use LaTeX is because one cares about high-quality typographical layout (that's what it was originally designed for) and it has stayed as the standard for technical writing in numerous fields because it achieves this by almost completely automating the process, remaining stable across different computer systems, being free and open source, and preserving in a plain text format which will keep the original document's content for as long as computers and the file exist. There isn't anything that can compete with it in this regard.
Oracles make better gishes in my opinion especially with the Battle mystery gaining heavy armor. And I think the mystery and curse mechanics are very flavorful though the Oracle may need to be balanced more as some of their curses (like the life curse) are brutal with little reward.
Except all a Sorcerer has to do is spend one feat for Champion Dedication and they get heavy armor too. Without dealing with that awful curse. No, Oracle is still just a worse Sorcerer.
Not really though, two class feats to get expert heavy armor, ancestry or general feats to get martial or advanced weapon proficiency and weapon critical effects, toughness or champion feat to get more HP, class feats to get more focus points on refocusing. The feat tax for divine sorcerer gishes is a lot larger and the oracle can spend those feats on archetypes like the hellknight or ancestry feats to improve themselves in other ways.
The place I think oracles are hurting is their heal options (divine evolution is really nice for sorcerers and clerics get fonts) and some of the oracle focus spells (like the battle mystery ones) are really lackluster.
I'm wondering if just making the familiars immune to damage if they are in your square (or on your person) would be the best approach. That way people who don't want their familiars to get hurt in combat can keep them with them and more risky players can use their familiars to aid in combat.
Like the title says, I think the 24 hour immunity that is on some hexes should be changed to say "... immune until your next daily preparations" or maybe after a long rest. 24 hours is difficult to keep track of with how vague the passage of time is in most sessions and I think most people would just remove the immunity anyways when the players are making their preparations.
Some other things I noticed that may need to be corrected.
Characters have to do specific actions in order to refocus like a paladin praying or a cleric healing unless they're a sorcerer who refocuses automatically. I don't see anything specifying the action the Warlock needs to refocus or something saying they function like sorcerers.
The skills section of the initial proficiencies says you are trained in 1 skill from your pact and 2 + int other skills but the hexblade doesn't have a skill listed.
The magic weapon and ghostly weapon spells that the hexblade are granted are almost useless since they can't be used on a magical weapon and the pact of the blade immediately gives them a magical weapon.
You may want to allow pact of the blade warlocks to create uncommon and advanced pact weapons if they gain access to those weapons through some other means like the ancestry feats. Otherwise it kinda limits character concepts and archetypes. Though advanced should be limited to only being trained since that's the max proficiency martial classes other than the fighter can get if I remember correctly.
The changes look good although I think Fiendish Resilience should either be "you only take half damage" or "you gain resistance equal to your level". How it's currently worded doesn't make sense with how resistance works in pathfinder.
I forgot to compare the damage of eldritch blast to other cantrips but now thinking about it it seems weaker than what you'd get with just taking ray of frost. Ray of frost you get an average DPR of 25 + casting modifier at 10th spell level and get double damage and -10 feet penalty on a crit. And then the damage spread is a lot lower since you're rolling d4s. Eldritch blast only does an average DPR of 22 and then you need to take extra feats to add your casting modifier and to get additional effects. Adding the casting modifier as a default in the spell description while having repelling blast as a crit effect might make it more in line with the other cantrips.
Overall I think it's the best warlock conversion I've seen so far especially with using the refocus mechanic to regain spell slots. I can also see adding the other patrons working really well like making the hexblade curse the initial focus spell they receive.
I think this is a pretty good homebrew though I have some comments.
I feel like eldritch blast could be too unbalanced. It's like giving a class a free weapon with a base d10, 120 ft range, and that gets free striking runes. With the feats it gets to be even more powerful.
It's lacking some of the unique patron specific features that the Warlock has in 5e that also helped to make them interesting like create thrall. It would especially limit patrons like the hexblade and divine from Zanithar's in my opinion. I think replacing some of the "you get this spell for this feat" feats with patron features would make the class more interesting.
Can the pact of the blade warlock make weapons they find a pact weapon? That would be important to state.
Replacing the pact of the tome getting master armor proficiency with legendary spellcasting (since I didn't see another place where you give them legendary casting) seems more thematic.
Full Name
Kai Dries (kaɪ dris)
Gender
Male LG Human Monk (Unchained) 5 | HP 44/44 | Nonlethal: 0 | AC 24; T 18; FF 21 | CMB +9 (GRP +11) +2 vs. Demons; CMD 25 (GRP 27) | F +6; R +7; W +6 | Init +7 | Perc +10 | Ki Pool 3/5 | Status effects: Barkskin; Mage Armor; Prot. Evil
Size
Medium
Age
18
Alignment
Lawful Good
Languages
Common, Abbyssal
Strength
16
Dexterity
14
Constitution
12
Intelligence
12
Wisdom
16
Charisma
8
About Kai Dries
Stat Block:
Kai Dries
Male Human Monk 5
LG Medium Humanoid
Init +7 (+2 Dex , +4 Feat, +1 Competence)Senses Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 18, touch 17, flat-footed 15
(+2 Dex, +3 Wis, +1 Dodge, +1 Monk, +1 Armor)
hp 44 (5d10+5+5);
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +5 (+2 against Enchantment spells and effects); +2 against Sleep, Paralysis, and Stunning effects.
Special Defenses Evasion, Still Mind, AC bonus (Wis + 1), Purity of Body
OFFENSE
Spd 40 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +8 (1d8+4/x2) [Bludgeoning]
Masterwork Three-Section Staff +9 (1d10+4/19-20) [Bludgeoning]
Cold Iron Monk's Spade +8 (1d6+4/x2) [B or P or S]
Masterwork Cold Iron Siangham +9 (1d6+3) [Piercing]
Ranged Sling +7 (1d4+3/x2 Bludgeoning; 50 ft.)
Cold Iron Rope Dart +7 (1d4+3 Piercing; 20 ft.)
Masterwork Cold Iron Shuriken +8 (1d2+3 piercing 10 ft.)
Dagger +7 (1d4+3/19-20 Slashing or Piercing; 10 ft.)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Flurry of Blows (One Extra attack), Style Strike (Elbow Smash)
Ki Powers (CL 4th)
Quigong power - Barkskin (Su) (1 Ki point)
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 8
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; +11 on Grapples, +2 against Demons CMD 25; 27 vs grapples
Feats Dodge, Dragon Style Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Stunning Fist,
SQ Dual Talent (+2 to both Str and Wis; No feat or bonus skill points), Ki Pool (5)
points), Ki Strikes, Fast Movement (10 ft.)
Ten Foot Pole [8 lbs] (5 CP)
trail rations [5 lbs] (5 GP)
bar of soap (1 CP)
50 ft Silk rope [10 lbs.] (10 GP)
Tent, Small [20 lbs.] (10 GP)
bedroll [5 lbs.] (1 SP)
blanket [3 lbs.] (5 SP)
mess kit (??)
Chalk (10) (1 SP)
Flint & Steel (1 GP)
Shaving Kit [.5 lbs] (15 GP)
Ioun Torch [ - ] (75 GP)
Cracked Dusty Rose Prism Ioun Stone [ - ] (500 GP)
Armbands of the brawler [1 lb.] (500 GP)
Wand of Mage Armor (750 GP)
Potion of Magic Fang x3 (150 GP)
Acid Flask x2 (20 GP)
Alchemist's Fire x1 (20 GP)
Healer's Kit [1 lb.] (50 GP)
Ring of protection +1
Cloak of Resistance +1
Gold Spent: 5981.76/6000
18 GP
2 SP
4 CP
Total Weight: 74 lbs.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
AC Bonus
When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.
Flurry of Blows
At 1st level, a monk can make a flurry of blows as a full-attack action. When making a flurry of blows, the monk can make one additional attack at his highest base attack bonus. This additional attack stacks with the bonus attacks from haste and other similar effects. When using this ability, the monk can make these attacks with any combination of his unarmed strikes and weapons that have the monk special weapon quality. He takes no penalty for using multiple weapons when making a flurry of blows, but he does not gain any additional attacks beyond what's already granted by the flurry for doing so. (He can still gain additional attacks from a high base attack bonus, from this ability, and from haste and similar effects).
Evasion
At 2nd level, a monk can avoid damage from many area-effect attacks. If a monk succeeds at a Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a monk is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless monk does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Fast Movement
At 3rd level, a monk gains an enhancement bonus to his land speed, as shown on Table: Monk Unchained. A monk in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed. Currently 10 feet.
Ki Pool (Su)
At 3rd level, a monk gains a pool of ki points, supernatural energy he can use to accomplish amazing feats. The number of points in a monk's ki pool is equal to 1/2 his monk level + his Wisdom modifier. As long as he has at least 1 point in his ki pool, he can make a ki strike.
At 3rd level, ki strike allows his unarmed attacks to be treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
At 7th level, his unarmed attacks are also treated as cold iron and silver for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
At 10th level, his unarmed attacks are also treated as lawful weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
At 16th level, his unarmed attacks are treated as adamantine weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction and bypassing hardness.
By spending 1 point from his ki pool as a swift action, a monk can make one additional unarmed strike at his highest attack bonus when making a flurry of blows attack. This bonus attack stacks with all bonus attacks gained from flurry of blows, as well as those from haste and similar effects. A monk gains additional powers that consume points from his ki pool as he gains levels.
The ki pool is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or meditation; these hours do not need to be consecutive.
Still Mind (Ex)
At 4th level, a monk gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
10 Minute Background:
"Being in a cult has its advantages. You learn to take beatings well, being a good listener comes second only to breathing, and you learn to be grateful for the little things in life. Like breathing."
-Kai Dries
Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged!
1. Raised in a Monastery where he was a stubborn child and had difficulty learning Irori's holy texts. He excelled in more physical applications, and through them, Abbot Morgan was able to instill a sense of discipline in him. Kai continues to practice the forms he learned to this day. The exercises would help him maintain his sanity during the next phase of his life.
2. At twelve, he would be captured and raised with the other boys as cultists of Baphomet who stole them into the Worldwound. Many of their spirits would be broken and would lose faith in the Gods. Within two years, only Kai still resisted. To break him, they attempted what should have been a relatively simple ritual to bereave him of his soul. For reasons unknown, something went wrong and in an explosion of light and chaos, Kai was able to escape.
3. Contrary to the propaganda he was fed by his captors, the outside world was still good and thriving. Demonkind had not yet overrun Avistan. His Brothers are still captive and brainwashed by the cult of Baphomet.
4. Kai stands tall at 6'4", exceptionally fit and usually well-shaven. He maintains a soldier's posture at rest, and can stand for hours without moving. His garments are loose fitted brown, black, and white robes which allow mobility rather than protection. He carries a sectioned staff and a two-headed polearm with a spade at one end and a crescent on the other.
5. Kai had to survive as a beggar for almost a year before he found work at a tavern doing odd jobs. Because of this, and because of his time in the Cult, he is good at making due with little or no food.
Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.
1. Kai desperately wants to save his brothers from the Worldwound. He was told many times that the Crusades was no place for a bus boy, but he tries to join nearly every party of Crusaders leaving the city.
2. I want Kai to struggle at every turn. Things should never be easy for him. His strength may be prodigious, and he may become Mythic during the course of the adventure, but violence always creates more problems than it solves. A specific example I'm envisioning is what happens when he finds his Brothers? They will likely resist his attempts to rescue them, even attempt to kill him.
Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
1. Kai doesn't want anyone to know about his past. The fact that he was homeless, or that he was part of a cult. Even if it was forced upon him. He knows or believes that the average person would not understand and reject him.
2a. Kai's patron God Irori had directly intervened when the cultists summoned a demon to suck out his soul. When the connection was interrupted, the startled demon fed some of his own energy back into Kai, empowering the boy before he got away. The demon was utterly destroyed from Irori's intervention. Kai doesn't have any idea that his soul has been tainted.
3. GM Secret!
Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
1. Bron and Hilda Hofstadt: The owners of The Grand, a Tavern in Kenabres that Kai works for. Bron may have needed a replacement for one of his deadbeat workers, but he still could have turned Kai away on account of his manginess. Still, Bron found it in his heart to take this poor boy in and to his luck, the boy worked hard. Bron and his wife Hilda are not exactly parents to Kai, but more like a loving Aunt and Uncle. They know he plans to leave for the Worldwound, but they're happy to have him here.
2. Gael Cross: A paladin of Iomedae and a recruiting officer for incursions onto the Worldwound. Cross has seen too many young men and women die of stupidity and shuts Kai down every time the Monk tries to find a party to adventure with. He doesn't believe that Kai has what it takes to battle demons, not only that, he is fully aware of the taint Kai carries and is working subtly to find out what it is...
3. Abbot Cillian: The Abbot of the local Monastery of Irori. He is the only person who knows about Kai's history. The Grand gets whiskey and other spirits from the Monastery and Kai is the one who picks up the orders. They spend much time on philosophical and religious discussions as well as more amusing topics like stories from the Tavern. Abbot Cillian has been something of a mentor in Kai's pursuit of Crusading, and the person Kai places the most trust in.
Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
1. Kai maintains strict discipline in his own life. He has a regular schedule for waking, sleeping, eating, exercise and even going to the bathroom. He is adaptable and young still, but changing from his schedule is a bit jarring and makes him exceedingly cranky.
2. After meeting Helen the Milkmaid, and noticing his body's physical urges, he is wondering whether the path of a Monk is really for him. He still has no idea how to approach a girl, or even if he should, but he is starting to feel like he should keep the option of Marriage open.
3. Kai has a bit of a baby face despite his size, so its difficult for people to take him seriously.
Appearance and Personality:
Age: 18
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 165 lbs.
Sex: Male
Race: Human (Taldan)
Hair: Bald
Eyes: Hazel
Kai appears to be more of a boy than a man, still barely needing to shave. His sheer height and body mass makes him seem a little older than he is, but not much. He hasn't got very many clothes, but all are loose fitting and not particularly stylish, opting for browns and greys over colorful garments. He carries a small knife with him at all times, not out of any particular fear of his life, but because its standard fare when you live in a big city. You never know when you need to cut a rope or vines, and its always helpful for eating.
Everything Kai owns has a practical use and every thing that he does, he has a purpose for. He isn't vain, just disciplined like a soldier. He isn't always straight edged; he allows himself a drink every so often and engages in playful joking with friends, but he is always afraid to waste anything. He'll re-brew the same tea leaves three times before throwing it away and mends his own clothes. He is always enthusiastic and friendly at work, especially when wanderers and adventurers come into town. He eagerly asks them about they're travels and if they're planning to march on the Worldwound. Most laugh, because he looks so childlike, which still upsets him a bit, but he's learning to take it.
Other Notes:
Kai acts like a wide-eyed young man eager to see some action. While that is partly true, he's also got his dark past constantly haunting him that he wants to repair, which is why he stayed so close to the Worldwound. He should be roleplayed like a country bumpkin with some odd skills appearing out of nowhere.
From a mechanics perspective he's a fighter with a few nifty tricks, better saves, and some useful skills. I picked out climb even though it never came up in his backstory because I'm pretty sure most people are going to be bad at it while lugging around armor. Also, it's kind of a big part of acrobatics, something I felt a Monk should be good at.
Cost of Faith (Read at your own peril):
"Stop it." I didn't shout, just spoke loud enough that our tormentor could hear, but quiet enough for him to strain to listen.
"Shut up." Fletch hissed beside me. Formally Brother Fletcher, although formalities hardly mattered at this point. He was the worrywart. Standing in a line like the rest of us six except Tubs, who was being slapped around by our guard who had a face like someone dragged him through about a mile of volcanic rock.
I ignored him, "Let him go. You pick on kids 'cause you're a a little b&&+% and you can't boss anyone else around. You're a coward, Gravel-head."
I felt a small triumph as he let go of Tubs. That triumph was met with a punch to the solar plexus. Good gods that hurt. I couldn't breathe for the first couple of seconds and I collapsed. I looked up at him and gave a defiant grin just to nettle him despite my lack of air. The cultist kicked my face, then grabbed me by the collar and socked me right in the nose. Twice. Thrice. Four times. Unthinking, but wanting to get a rise out of him as much as possible, I spat as much blood at him as I could manage. He threw me on the ground as much as he dropped me.
"Coward." I coughed, spraying more blood from my face. I was pretty sure my nose was broken. I didn't care, it meant I was winning, I told myself.
I looked at Tubs who was also on the floor staring at me holding his stomach and he just stared back incredulously. I winked at him. He was on the verge of tears, I knew. Tubs was too sweet. He wasn't used to violence. Neither was I really, but I had received more beatings from the monks back home than anyone else. Those were love taps by comparison to these cult guys. But it wasn't just the beatings. Here, they starved us, restricted our movements with chains and screamed at us. As if that would bring us over to their side. I knew they were going to offer us a chance to get more food and better sleeping arrangements in exchange for joining up. I told the other boys, and they agreed that no one would say yes. After that, they locked us in our cells for a few weeks and our guard, Gravel-head, started picking on Tubs because he was fat and wouldn't defend himself. Didn't really hit him much but Tubs wasn't the type to defend himself.
Gravel-head sneered, "Baphomet has no room for compassion, boy." He dragged off Tubs someplace else. I could hear him scream for a while. I wanted to cry, but I was afraid everyone else would start if I did. I quietly got them to do exercises with me to take our minds off of it. We stopped before our next meager meal came in then we went to sleep.
----
I awoke to the cell door slamming open and a cold hand reaching for my arm. I avoided the first attempt to grab me, but a second pair of hands held me the two men dragged me away from my Brothers kicking and screaming.
I nearly lost track of the days that followed. I estimated about two years judging by how often they fed me maggotty rice and bread. I began to add prayer to my regimen, and Irori became my only friend. I knew that I wasn't the most devout worshiper among monks. That was Specs, cleverly named for his pretentious spectacles. I don't remember his real name anymore, but he really bought everything in the Monastery. All the mystical, religious, cosmic stuff. He was the only one good enough to beat me while sparring back at the monastery, even though I was taller. He knew everything there was to know about Irori and even other Gods and he took all of his studies way too seriously.
But before I was taken into solitary, Specs told me something in that cell I'll never forget: "Often times, the Gods choose who you'd least expect." Everyone knew Specs was talking about me. But I wasn't a leader. I was the opposite of a leader. I challenged authority just to rock the boat, not because I thought I could do it better.
I took it to heart as I was dragged off to my solitary confinement. They gave me every scrap of food in a wooden bowl with a crude etching of the Demon Lord's symbol, as if to remind me that I could be getting more if I gave in. If I renounced Irori and pledged fealty to Baphomet. My prayers to Irori however, gave me comfort. On my darkest days, the ones where I wished I was dead because of the smell of my own waste or that I vividly imagined eating real food at a table, Irori came to comfort me and I found myself able to make it one more day.
At the end of those two years, they dragged me from my cell and into a room full of candles and occult symbols. There were two tall figures clad in black robes with red trim, and six smaller ones. They had put out a spread with a red tablecloth, full of food and wine. There was meat. I almost wept at the sight of so much food.
"You don't need to starve any more," A gentle voice spoke. "If you give up your heathen Gods, you can eat again. Baphomet doesn't want you to starve to death. He wants you to live. All he asks for in return for your life is that you serve his will." The cultist seemed so kind and sad at the same time. Sympathetic. That was the word. And the voice... so familiar.
"Please Kai. I don't want you to die." Specs whispered.
My upper lip trembled violently. My brothers were under those black and red hoods. Six meant one of my brothers was not present, probably dead. Tubs. I felt something hot and wet on my right cheek.
Their heads were bowed in reverence. I knew they had little choice. They had been broken. I couldn't get them back. Not like this. Not yet. I had to regain my strength, but to do that would be to eat that food and give up who I was. I wished there was some other way.
I looked at Specs, and said quietly, "Irori never abandoned you, Specs. He never will." My Brother looked as if I'd slapped him in the face.
"He's not worthy." One of the taller hooded ones rumbled. "His soul will never accept the Grace of our Lord. Too stubborn. " His voice was strangely distorted to make it more scary than it was.
Specs looked at me desperately, as if he wanted to say something else. Or that he wanted me to say something else. But all that came out was, "Yes Master."
"Prepare the ritual." The basso voice resounded. The six children removed the table of food and the larger one who hadn't spoken yet forced me to my knees. They stood in a circle and began chanting. Their chanting slowly rose as the Leader delivered an incantation, leading their volume higher and higher. The flames from the candles grew brighter, and more violent, and the shadows grew sharper and a smoky shadow crept about the room like fog.
I prayed silently to Irori that this not be how it ended. I thought I had found my peace in that solitary cell, but that had been taken away from me when I saw my brothers with their wills shattered. And then I saw it. A fiend completely made of smoke and claws moved closer to my face and began to drain the life from me. I could feel myself hollowing out as my soul left slowly as a that rolling fog. I thought, this is the end, isn't it? Then a voice said,
NO.
Then in a flash of white hot pain I tore myself free of the smoke and my bindings undid themselves. Everyone stood back and averted their eyes as if blinded and I saw the demon writhing on the floor, blades of light shooting from it.
The others engaged me as they recovered from their momentary blindness. I was filled with energy and my brothers were very hesitant to fight me. Irori intervened in some way I knew. Even though I was tired, hungry, and surrounded by enemies I felt peace. I defeated every one of the cultists and my brothers with nothing but my bear hands. I felt perfection then, fighting for my Survival. More importantly my fear of death was defeated, I knew that Irori and the Gods had big plans for me and I could not die here.
To be continued...
During the Attack:
When Terendeleve fell, Kai was in the company of several adventurers, walking through the heart of Kenabres and enjoying the festivities. They tried to round up as many civilians as they could and tried to protect them. Nearby was an old Museum, the Gray Garrison which they tried to hunker down in. Unfortunately, the demons were aiming straight for that building and it wasn't long before the motley crew were overrun by the horde. By a stroke of luck after the adventurers had been separated by accident, Kai found a hidden door. Unable to find any of his other companions he hid within and hoped they were okay.
