Yeah, see I'm building this from an "I don't watch anime point" and seeing this class more as a magic type class that manipulates force, which is why splitting the two abilities works. I see where you're coming from, but I just don't see a way to combine the two abilities effectively in a way that doesn't lead to abuse or really wonky rules confusion. Granted this is your class for a home game, I guess the only reason I'm even chiming in is I see the potential...
Ok... last post for the night... I swear...
I'm glad you and everyone else is chiming in. I could have stumbled through this on my own... but I wanted outside input for just this reason. I had an idea and I wanted to share. If more than one person comes along and sees this class once it is done and says "Cool! Lets use that!" I'll be a happy camper.
I knew that this would be tough... because this is something kinda original to anything I've seen in D&D so far.
The first Barrier Adept began learning his abilities in a land full of hostile spirits. Undergoing fierce training of mind, body, and spirit the mystic slowly learned to tap the latent raw magic that surrounded him and gather and shape it through shear force of will. This warrior mystic used his newfound abilities to defend his people against these evil spirits and to destroy them. Over time, he trained others in his skills so they might continue his work. Barrier Adepts have since spread throughout the world seeking to use their abilities for as many reasons as there are barrier adepts.
Role - Barrier Adepts are prized for their skill with defensive barriers and as spirit hunters. They can function well as body guards or adventurers.
Alignment - Barrier Adepts can be of any alignment. Though, because of their training, Barrier Adepts tend towards lawful over chaotic alignments.
HD: d8
Class Skills - Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Knowledge (all), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Skill Points - 4 + INT mod.
1 Force Barrier , Personal Barrier, Third Eye, Barrier Implosion 1d4
2 Barrier Trick
3 Barrier Implosion 2d4
4 Barrier Trick
5 Barrier Implosion 3d4
6 Barrier Trick
7 Barrier Implosion 4d4
8 Barrier Trick
9 Barrier Implosion 5d4
10 Advanced Barrier Trick
11 Barrier Implosion 6d4
12 Advanced Barrier Trick
13 Barrier Implosion 7d4
14 Advanced Barrier Trick
15 Barrier Implosion 8d4
16 Advanced Barrier Trick
17 Barrier Implosion 9d4
18 Advanced Barrier Trick
19 Barrier Implosion 10d4
20 Barrier Master
*A Barrier Adept gets a Monk's BAB and SAVES. And flurry progression for use with barrier attacks.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency - Barrier Adepts gain proficiency with Simple weapons. A Barrier Adept has no proficiency with armor.
Force Barrier (Su) - A Barrier Adept has the ability to gather and store a pool of raw magical power called barrier points for use in creating versatile barriers of force that function both offfensively and defensively. This pool of energy is equal to (Barrier Adept Level x 10) + CON. Mod. barrier points. A Barrier Adept can regain these points at a rate equal to his Barrier Adept level + Con. Mod. per hour. A force barrier is a immobile rectangular or cube shaped barrier made of visable iridesent force that allows for line of sight but not line of effect. A Barrier Adept can create and mantain one or more force barriers (Max barriers equal to Int. Mod. with a minimum of 1). Creating a force barrier uses one barrier point and takes a standard or (depending on if it is created insided combat or not) attack action and has a range of 25ft. + 5ft. per Barrier Adept level and requires line of sight to the target. Once the force barrier is created however, the force barrier remains in effect as long as the Barrier Adept remains within a mile. Each force barrier takes up a 5 ft. square + one 5 ft. square per additional point spent, has a AC of 10, with a hardness equal to his Int. mod. You may spend barrier points on creating a barrier with a cap of twice your Barrier Adept level. Dismissing a barrier is a free action. The Barrier Adept can attempt to capture a single opponent in a barrier by using a ranged touch attack or mulitple opponents by targeting a square. If this attack is successful the opponent or opponents are trapped within the barrier. The size of the force barrier the adept is able to create determines the size of the creature or creatures he can capture. Once a creature or creatures is captured, thereafter at any time on his turn as a free action, a Barrier Adept can decide to cause any force barrier or barriers the Adept is maintaining to self destruct in a implosion of raw magic. This implosion deals the listed Barrier Implosion damage for the Barrier Adept's level to any creature trapped within that force barrier. Larger force barriers (as opposed to single capture barriers) allow a reflex save with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the Barrier Adept's level + the Barrier Adept's Int. Mod. for half damage to creatures trapped within. Both the barrier and implosion are force effects and thus have full effect on incorpreal opponents. Maintaining a force barrier is not without its risks to a Barrier Adept. Each time a force barrier being maintained by a Barrier Adept takes damage, the barrier drains additional barrier points equal to 2/3 the damage dealt after any hardness of the barrier is applied. If a barrier deals barrier drain from one attack that is equal or greater than the remaining barrier points a Barrier Adept has availible, the force barrier shatters causing the Barrier Adept to become fatigued.
*Flurry of Barriers- A Barrier Adept may use the monks flurry of blows progression to make Barrier attacks during combat.
Personal Barrier - One of the first barrier techniques a Barrier Adept learns is how to create a barrier for personal defense. This barrier provides a (2+ 1/2 Barrier Adept level) deflection bonus to the Barrier Adepts AC. This bonus does not function if the Barrier Adept wears any armor or shield. This Personal Barrier works constantly, even when the Barrier Adept is asleep, as long as the Barrier Adept has at least one barrier point and requires no concious thought on the Barrier Adepts part to maintain.
Third Eye- A Barrier Adepts senses are finely tuned from constantly manipulating forces that are not normally visable to the unaided eye. This manifests as a bonus to perception checks equal to +1/ Barrier Adept level.
Barrier Trick- At 2nd level a Barrier Adept begins to learn how to exert more control over the barriers created with the Force Barrier ability, allowing the Adept to control the barrier's hardness and elasticity. A Barrier Adept can use this control for a number of tricks. Using a control trick normally takes one barrier point in addition to the normal cost for creating the force barrier. A Barrier Adept can apply any tricks they know to the barriers they create. The Adept can select one trick every time they gain this ability. The tricks a Barrier Adept can know are:
- Barrier Snap- By controlling the elasticity of his barrier as he creates it next to or under a creature or object, a Barrier Adept can send the target flying. The Barrier Adept makes a special Bull Rush check vs. his targets CMD by using his INT mod. instead of his STR mod. The results otherwise function as a Bull Rush.
- Barrier Spring- By using a slight varient of the Barrier Snap trick, a Barrier Adept can use his force barrier to give the benfits of a jump spell to anyone willingly bouncing off the barrier.
- Air Bag- By creating a very elastic soft barrier beneath a falling creature or object, a Barrier Adept can break that creatures fall as per the spell Feather Fall.
- Sound Barrier- A barrier adept can create a barrier that blocks all sound. This barrier is usually created for sleep purposes. However it also contains any sounds created inside the force barrier.
- Alarm- A Barrier Adept can add the effects of a Alarm spell to the barrier they create.
- Permeable Barrier- A Barrier Adept can create a force barrier that has no physical substance. This trick is usually used in conjunction with the alarm or sound barrier tricks.
- Hardening- A barrier Adept can create a harder than normal barrier. Increase the Hardness of the force barrier by 2. This trick can only be applied once.
- Stacking Barriers- By creating barriers one on top of another the Barrier Adept can merge them to create a tower of force. Creatures standing on these barriers as they are created can remain standing by making the appropriate acrobatics check or they fall off.
- Opaque Barrier- A Barrier Adept can make the force barrier completely opaque so that it also blocks line of sight.
Greater Barrier Trick- Starting at 10th level, a Barrier Adept has a new list of Adavanced Barrier Tricks to choose from. He may learn from this list or continue to learn from the lower list.
- Advanced Hardening- A Barrier Adept learns to further harden their barriers. Increase the hardness of the barrier by 2. This stacks with the Hardening trick and can only be applied once.
- Nest Barriers- A Barrier Adept learns how to create multiple barriers within each other. (This may be applied more than once. Each nested barrier must be paid for seperately)
- Mobile Barrier- A Barrier Adept using this trick can attach a barrier to a creature or object.(This requires 2 barrier points)
- Advanced Permeable Barrier- A Barrier Adept can create a force barrier that allows certain substances to pass through it but remains solid to others.
- Invisibility Sphere- A barrier adept can add the effects of a Invisibility Sphere to his barriers.(This pricey trick requires 5 barrier points)
Barrier Master - You have truly reached the top of your craft and earned the title of "Master". Once per day you can tap into hidden reserves and instantly regain any spent barrier points as a standard action. Your Personal Barrier gains the ability to grant you damage reduction 10/-. Also, Your largest force barriers gain the ability to warp the very space within them and miraculous things happen. Whenever you craft your largest barrier centered on yourself you may apply the effects of a Miracle spell with a caster level equal to your Barrier Adept level to anything within the barrier. You may only use this ability once per day. Using this ability has significant cost, and leaves you on the brink of death and requires you to expend any remaining barrier points. (After using this ability you are left at 0 hp and stable.)
Alrighty... I've made a bunch more changes which I think work pretty well. Someone with better number crunching skills may be required to let me know if I need to tone down or raise the power of certain abilities. I've incorporated a number of ideas from various posters but allot of the change came from my back and forth with "LastKnightLeft" I'd gladly take any suggestions for Barrier Tricks or Advanced Barrier Tricks.
- Rolled the Force Barrier Ability and Barrier Destruct into one ability and drastically changed the wording.
- Changed the Barrier Destruct to Barrier Implosion (makes more sense as a name)
- Changed the wording and name of spirit sense
- Added advanced tricks
- Changed Personal Barrier
- Added a first draft of the Barrier Master Ability
- Added Use Magic Device as a class skill
Just a stray thought...
I wonder if I could use THIS somehow as a Barrier Adept ability.
So how do Bracer's of Armor work with personal barrier, because with monks they stacked, so do they stack with Barrier Adept as well?
Yes.
The first Barrier Adept began learning his abilities in a land full of hostile spirits. Undergoing fierce training of mind, body, and spirit the mystic slowly learned to tap the latent raw magic that surrounded him and gather and shape it through shear force of will. This warrior mystic used his newfound abilities to defend his people against these evil spirits and to destroy them. Over time, he trained others in his skills so they might continue his work. Barrier Adepts have since spread throughout the world seeking to use their abilities for as many reasons as there are barrier adepts.
Role - Barrier Adepts are prized for their skill with defensive barriers and as spirit hunters. They can function well as body guards or adventurers.
Alignment - Barrier Adepts can be of any alignment. Though, because of their training, Barrier Adepts tend towards lawful over chaotic alignments.
HD: d8
Class Skills - Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Knowledge (all), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
Skill Points - 4 + INT mod.
1 Force Barrier , Personal Barrier, Spirit Sense, Barrier Implosion 1d4
2 Barrier Trick
3 Barrier Implosiont2d4
4 Barrier Trick
5 Barrier Implosion 3d4
6 Barrier Trick
7 Barrier Implosion 4d4
8 Barrier Trick , Spirit Sense
9 Barrier Implosion 5d4
10 Barrier Trick
11 Barrier Implosion 6d4
12 Barrier Trick
13 Barrier Implosion 7d4
14 Barrier Trick
15 Barrier Implosion 8d4
16 Barrier Trick , Spirit Sense
17 Barrier Implosion 9d4
18 Barrier Trick
19 Barrier Implosion 10d4
20 Barrier Master
*A Barrier Adept gets a Monk's BAB and SAVES. And flurry progression.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency - Barrier Adepts gain proficiency with Simple weapons. A Barrier Adept has no proficiency with armor.
Force Barrier (Su) - A Barrier Adept has the ability to gather and store a pool of raw magical power called barrier points for use in creating versatile barriers of force that function both offfensively and defensively. This pool of energy is equal to (Barrier Adept Level x 10) + CON. Mod. barrier points. A Barrier Adept can regain these points at a rate equal to his Barrier Adept level + Con. Mod. per hour. A force barrier is a immobile rectangular or cube shaped barrier made of visable iridesent force that allows for line of sight but not line of effect. A Barrier Adept can create and mantain one or more force barriers (Max barriers equal to Int. Mod. with a minimum of 1). Creating a force barrier uses one barrier point and takes a standard or (depending on if it is created insided combat or not) attack action and has a range of 25ft. + 5ft. per Barrier Adept level. Once the force barrier is created however, the force barrier remains in effect as long as the Barrier Adept remains within a mile. Each force barrier takes up a 5 ft. square + one 5 ft. square per additional point spent, has a AC of 10, with a hardness equal to his Int. mod. Dismissing a barrier is a free action. The Barrier Adept can attempt to capture a single opponent in a barrier by using a ranged touch attack or mulitple opponents by targeting a square. If this attack is successful the opponent or opponents are trapped within the barrier. The size of the force barrier the adept is able to create determines the size of the creature or creatures he can capture. Once a creature or creatures is captured, thereafter at any time on his turn as a free action, a barrier adept can decide to cause the force barrier to self destruct in a implosion of raw magic. This implosion deals the listed Barrier Implosion damage for the Barrier Adept's level to any creatures trapped within that force barrier. Both the barrier and implosion are force effects and thus have full effect on incorpreal opponents. Maintaining a force barrier is not without its risks to a Barrier Adept. Each time a force barrier being maintained by a Barrier Adept takes damage, the barrier drains additional barrier points equal to 2/3 the damage dealt after any hardness of the barrier is applied. If a barrier deals barrier drain from one attack is equal or greater than 1/2 the remaining barrier points a Barrier Adept has availible, the force barrier shatters.
*Flurry of Barriers- A Barrier Adept may use the monks flurry of blows progression to make Barrier attacks during combat.
Personal Barrier - One of the first barrier techniques a Barrier Adept learns is how to create a barrier for personal defense. This barrier provides a (2+ 1/2 Barrier Adept level) deflection bonus to the Barrier Adepts AC. This bonus does not function if the Barrier Adept wears any armor or shield. This Personal Barrier works constantly, even when the Barrier Adept is asleep, as long as the Barrier Adept has at least one barrier point and requires no concious thought on the Barrier Adepts part to maintain.
Spirit Sense- A Barrier Adepts senses are finely tuned from constantly manipulating forces that are not normally visable to the unaided eye. This manifests as a +4 bonus on perception checks at 1st level. At 8th level this bonus increases to +20 on perception checks. At 16th level this ability allows the Barrier Adept to see as per True Seeing 2/day with a CL equal to Barrier Adept level.
Barrier Trick- At 2nd level a Barrier Adept begins to learn how to exert more control over the barriers created with the Force Barrier ability, allowing the Adept to control the barrier's hardness and elasticity. A Barrier Adept can use this control for a number of tricks. Using a control trick normally takes one barrier point in addition to the normal cost for creating the force barrier. A Barrier Adept can apply any tricks they know to the barriers they create. The Adept can select one trick every time they gain this ability. The tricks a Barrier Adept can know are:
- Barrier Snap- By controlling the elasticity of his barrier as he creates it next to or under a creature or object, a Barrier Adept can send the target flying. The Barrier Adept makes a special Bull Rush check vs. his targets CMD by using his INT mod. instead of his STR mod. The results otherwise function as a Bull Rush.
- Barrier Spring- By using a slight varient of the Barrier Snap trick, a Barrier Adept can use his force barrier to give the benfits of a jump spell to anyone willingly bouncing off the barrier.
- Air Bag- By creating a very elastic soft barrier beneath a falling creature or object, a Barrier Adept can break that creatures fall as per the spell Feather Fall.
- Sound Barrier- A barrier adept can create a barrier that blocks all sound. This barrier is usually created for sleep purposes. However it also contains any sounds created inside the force barrier.
- Alarm- A Barrier Adept can add the effects of a Alarm spell to the barrier they create.
- Permeable Barrier- A Barrier Adept can create a force barrier that has no physical substance. This trick is usually used in conjunction with the alarm or sound barrier tricks.
- Hardening- A barrier Adept can create a harder than normal barrier. Increase the Hardness of the force barrier by 2. This trick can only be applied once.
- Stacking Barriers- By creating barriers one on top of another the Barrier Adept can merge them to create a tower of force. Creatures standing on these barriers as they are created can remain standing by making the appropriate acrobatics check or they fall off.
- Opaque Barrier- A Barrier Adept can make the force barrier completely opaque so that it also blocks line of sight.
Greater Barrier Trick- Starting at 10th level, a Barrier Adept has a new list of Adavanced Barrier Tricks to choose from.
[list][*}Advanced Hardening- A Barrier Adept learns to further harden their barriers. Increase the hardness of the barrier by 2. This stacks with the Hardening trick and can only be applied once.
Barrier Master - "Insert yet to be written text here."
*AHEM* Made one slight correction to the end of the Force Barrier Power.
Just a stray thought...
I wonder if I could use THIS somehow as a Barrier Adept ability.
Indeed you should.
I was thinking about creating weak barriers without having to spend the reserve, you know, the charcters in kekkashi use them for amost everything. Maybe you could use barriers without spending points whose cost were lower than your Con or Int mod. Just like a wizard cando cantrips at will.________________________________________________________________________
Also, I still would add a spell progression, even if it's a weak one. You should be able to do some magic tricks, like force effects, repairing things, teleporting, and sensing stuff. If the spell selection is very limited, it will not unbalance the class.
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Seeing ethereal beings was a good thing. Shamans (if my memory does not fail) recieve this abilty at first lvl.
There should be some tricks for the personal barrier too. Like damaging things that touch you, expanding to a sphere, granting some miss chance...
The advanced hardness trick is a bit underpowered. I would raise it to hardness 5 or even 10. At this level, a lot of enemies will have adamant weaponry or will deal tons of damage.
The punch and jump tricks are really good!
You are creating a really interesting class. Keep the good work!
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The way you've written it, you have an autocapture that can potentially capture everyone on the board since it's an attack action and you can do it as part of a flurry. all you do is target squares and autocapture. Flurry and you can catch all enemies that are grouped you can get them all in a single turn no save. Since the barriers have hardness it can be autoloose for low level enemies, no save, and then in an hour your points are back.
I also don't think the barriers should be permanent, permanent barriers should be an advanced trick that costs extra points, and not count towards your total barrier limit, that way you could have high level barrier adepts that have castles built of force walls, how cool is that. I think in the end what I'll wind up doing is creating my own barrier adept class, thanks for the inspiration because I think it's a cool concept and one that has a place in the larger scheme of DnD, but I have different ideas on points management and certain mechanics and definitely flavor.
Just a stray thought...
I wonder if I could use THIS somehow as a Barrier Adept ability.
Indeed you should.
I was thinking about creating weak barriers without having to spend the reserve, you know, the charcters in kekkashi use them for amost everything. Maybe you could use barriers without spending points whose cost were lower than your Con or Int mod. Just like a wizard cando cantrips at will.
________________________________________________________________________
Also, I still would add a spell progression, even if it's a weak one. You should be able to do some magic tricks, like force effects, repairing things, teleporting, and sensing stuff. If the spell selection is very limited, it will not unbalance the class.
________________________________________________________________________
Seeing ethereal beings was a good thing. Shamans (if my memory does not fail) recieve this abilty at first lvl.There should be some tricks for the personal barrier too. Like damaging things that touch you, expanding to a sphere, granting some miss chance...
The advanced hardness trick is a bit underpowered. I would raise it to hardness 5 or even 10. At this level, a lot of enemies will have adamant weaponry or will deal tons of damage.
The punch and jump tricks are really good!
You are creating a really interesting class. Keep the good work!
1-Something to remember... The barrier points currently have a recharge rate. The Barrier Adept could create a great deal of small or weak barriers (1 point each) before running out of barrier points. I do not see them creating THAT many barriers within an hour outside of combat.
2-Again... what kind of spells should/would I give them?
Give me some suggestions... I've already expressed in a previous post why I do not think the class should get teleport powers. Give me a reason why you think they should. :)
3-The Hardness and Advanced Hardness stack giving a total +4 to barrier hardness. Considering so many aspects of of the Force Barrier power rely on INT... I can see this being a very bumped up ability score. Even by 1st level you can potentially get a 20 in a ability score... add +4 from leveling +4 from a magic item... and you have a 28 in INT. with the two hardness abilities... thats a 13 hardness. Say I raise the lesser one to +5 and increased the advance one to +10 that'd give a +15 +9 INT for a 24 hardness. Hows that sound? Because of the wording of Adamantine... that would effectively make the barriers immune to adamantines special property.
The way you've written it, you have an autocapture that can potentially capture everyone on the board since it's an attack action and you can do it as part of a flurry. all you do is target squares and autocapture. Flurry and you can catch all enemies that are grouped you can get them all in a single turn no save. Since the barriers have hardness it can be autoloose for low level enemies, no save, and then in an hour your points are back.
The Barrier Adept can attempt to capture a single opponent in a barrier by using a ranged touch attack or mulitple opponents by targeting a square.
This seems clear that you only target a square to capture multiple opponents. Creating the larger barrier requires more barrier points. At first level you could at most fire off 2 barriers which would cost 2 to 5 points each depending on how many opponents you are trying to capture and in what configuration they are in. If you did that you'd spend all but the bonus barrier points you have from you con mod. Those barriers would be pretty flimsy with only a hardness of 3 to keep them up.
For example... Say at first level you go against a group of 4 opponents who are standing together in a nice neat little group. You target a square and create a barrier. You just spent 4 barrier points. With things as they stand now you'd have 10 barrier points + a con. mod. of say 3 (16 con). That would be 13 barrier points and you just spent a little under a 3rd. So now you have 4 enemies trapped in your barrier and you've decided to hold them there while your party members buff up and prepare. You've got 9 barrier points left.
On the enemies turn they all begin wailing away on the barrier. The barrier would have a hardness equal to your INT. mod of say 3 (16 int). If one of opponents is a Barbarian you could be in trouble as they usually have that just in strength mods or bonus from power attack. Say the enemy Barbarian rages and hits with a two hand power attack. (14+4)18STR from rage for +4 +1/2 = +6 +4(power attack) +10 then rolls for his greataxe and gets a 4. He just did 14 points. That Barbarian just single handedly shattered your barrier and you are now fatigued with possibly no barrier points left, which means your personal barrier just dropped. The other 3 opponents run forward to combat your fellow party members. Not so much a autowin is it?
However... say its just 4 human warriors with longswords. They can hand-and-a-half a longsword. With a 14 STR thats 1d8+3 points of damage...or... 1d8 damage that is going to your barrier. With bad rolls they might not smash your barrier or the second guy to hit could. Again... that leaves you in pretty bad straits.
As long as the barrier is up your fellow party members cannot attack the opponents. If your party members can ready actions to attack when the barrier drops... so can your opponents. So even if they cannot smash the barrier they can be just as prepared as your party.
I also don't think the barriers should be permanent, permanent barriers should be an advanced trick that costs extra points, and not count towards your total barrier limit, that way you could have high level barrier adepts that have castles built of force walls, how cool is that. I think in the end what I'll wind up doing is creating my own barrier adept class, thanks for the inspiration because I think it's a cool concept and one that has a place in the larger scheme of DnD, but I have different ideas on points management and certain mechanics and definitely flavor.
The barriers being "permanent" is not that big an issue. For each barrier you are maintaining that is one less barrier you can use in combat. You've got a max cap of barriers active equal to your INT score after all. Would you feel its more balancing if I say that all barriers you are maintaining collapse if you ever run out of barrier points?
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It's less about balance and more about the presense of permanent magical effects from level one that I'm not a fan of and also the fact that it means the opponent HAS to waste an action to destroy a barrier that you can drop as a free action. So they can't drain your points because you just drop it when they hit it, meanwhile they HAVE to waste their action. Fighting a single opponent and not giving them the option of waiting out the barrier isn't right IMO. Especially when economy of action when a single opponent versus four means that loosing an action each round that you have no defense against is really a death sentence, even if you can't drop it and it does drain the points since you're also taking daily resource out of the equation for barrier adepts then they don't mind blowing all of their points each fight since they'll get them back much quicker than any other resource managing class.
well, some kind of power at will would be good. maybe something useless in combat, like frail barriers, just so serve as steping stone. Or maybe you could recover barrier points udoing undamaged barriers you made.
Spells:
0:
Mending, detect magic, message
1:
Horld portal, unseen servant, magic missle
2:
Obscure object, hold person (magic ropelike attack they use), make whole
3:
Magic circle aganist evil, dispel magic, remove curse, servant horde (spell comp)
4:
Dimensional anchor, resilient sphere, sending
5:
Teleport, hold monster,hallow, break enchantment
6:
Banishment,forbidance, shadow walk, repulsion, teleport object
7:
hold person (mass), simulacrum (They do it in the manga), ethereal jaunt, force cage
8:
Dimensional lock, telekinetic sphere, binding, holy aura
9:
Astral projection, imprisionement, gate, teleportation circle, implosion
To balance the spells I think the barrier adept should sepnd barrier points equal to double the spell's level to cast it, and those points would be unavaliable until he rests. Also each BA should have no more that 2 spells/ level known and a small prograssion of spells/ day.
The job of a Barrier adept should also bee sealing things, making charms and other mystical stuff.
I supose you just watched the anime. Later in the story you'll be able to see that their real skill is to control space(teleportating and moving into spirit realms).
IMO the spell progression would not unbalance it, since it has no real attack power. those are more utilitarian spells.
I would still like to see some personal barrier tricks.
It's less about balance and more about the presense of permanent magical effects from level one that I'm not a fan of and also the fact that it means the opponent HAS to waste an action to destroy a barrier that you can drop as a free action. So they can't drain your points because you just drop it when they hit it, meanwhile they HAVE to waste their action.
Aha! The free action problem was something I missed as that was definately not my intent. If I changed dismissing the barrier to a standard action or as even a swift action it'd work better?
Fighting a single opponent and not giving them the option of waiting out the barrier isn't right IMO. Especially when economy of action when a single opponent versus four means that loosing an action each round that you have no defense against is really a death sentence, even if you can't drop it and it does drain the points since you're also taking daily resource out of the equation for barrier adepts then they don't mind blowing all of their points each fight since they'll get them back much quicker than any other resource managing class.
This may just be my games... but as a DM rarely do my players have an hour between fights when they are in the "dungeon". I could however change the recovery rate to "1/3 total barrier pool regained every 4 hours" it puts a larger amount of time between recovery periods. That way the player needs to think towards the fight that may be "just around the bend".
Also...
Perhaps if I switch the mechanic back to spending points to give the barriers HP, and add in spending points to make the barrier last so many rounds, and put together a set cost for size...
I think this is something that can be solved. Its mostly just the lower levels that need to be balanced out, because after 9th level or so a barrier adepts force barrier have nothing on a wizard specialized in wall spells. Wall of force is unbreakable. Wall of Iron is permanent. Wall of Stone and Wall of Ice have more hp and hardness and are fairly shapable...
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This may just be my games... but as a DM rarely do my players have an hour between fights when they are in the "dungeon". I could however change the recovery rate to "1/3 total barrier pool regained every 4 hours" it puts a larger amount of time between recovery periods. That way the player needs to think towards the fight that may be "just around the bend".
Also...Perhaps if I switch the mechanic back to spending points to give the barriers HP, and add in spending points to make the barrier last so many rounds, and put together a set cost for size...
I think this is something that can be solved. Its mostly just the lower levels that need to be balanced out, because after 9th level or so a barrier adepts force barrier have nothing on a wizard specialized in wall spells. Wall of force is unbreakable. Wall of Iron is permanent. Wall of Stone and Wall of Ice have more hp and hardness and are fairly shapable..
No you're absolutely right, the wall spells do better, but you already have the mechanic to balance that and make the levels at which the adept can do said things balanced with a wizard, you yourself created the barrier tricks, which is why I suggested that there be a barrier trick to make it permanent, and actually wall of force has hardness 30 and HP in PFRPG no reason you can't have a barrier trick to increase the hardness, I think you already suggested one. And I already suggested a barrier trick for L shapes and an advanced trick for creating any shape so long as every square is adjacent to another square.
And I actually would like to cast my vote against spellcasting with the class, i'm sorry I've always felt giving every slightly magical class a spellcasting progression to be a cop out, I think you can make this class great without needing to give it spells.
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Let's try this out, see what you think.
Force Barrier (Su) - A Barrier Adept has the ability to gather and store a pool of raw magical power called barrier points for use in creating versatile barriers of force. This pool of energy is equal to (Barrier Adept Level x 5)+ Con Mod. barrier points. A Barrier Adept can regain these points at a rate of 10 per hour. A force barrier is a immobile rectangular or cube shaped barrier made of visable iridesent force that allows for line of sight but not line of effect. A Barrier Adept can create and mantain one or more force barriers (Max barriers equal to Int. Mod. with a minimum of 1). Each force barrier is a cube large enough to occupy a 5 foot square with an AC of 10 with a hardness equal to his INT mod and HP equal to his intelligence score. If a creature occupies the space that a barrier will occupy it recieves a reflex save as long as the space it occupies is adjacent to at least one edge of the barrier, this save is equal to 10+1/2 the barrier adepts class level + Int mod. Success means that the creature is moved to a space adjacent to its original position outside the barrier. Creating a force barrier uses one barrier point takes a standard action and has a range of 25ft. + 5ft. per Barrier Adept level. For each point a barrier adept spends beyond the first the barrier will occupy an additional 5ft space however the adept must make the barrier in the shape of a rectangle or a square the hight of the barrier increases proportionately to the length and width of the barrier created. Once the force barrier is created it lasts a number of rounds equal to the Barrier adepts class level plus his constitution modifier. A barrier adept may dismiss a barrier as a free action however the barrier fades slowly so dropping a barrier cannot interrupt another creatures action. Whenever a barrier takes damage greater than its current HP the barrier adept recieves a will save equal to 10+damage dealt failure means the adept loses 1 barrier point for each 5 damage the barrier took in this attack. Success means the barrier shatters with no effect on the adept.
This creates your point drain system, prevents autocapture unless a significant # of points are spent. Also I didn't like the idea of a max size for the adept, if he wants to burn 4 points at level one to capture a large creature he should be able to.
Then
shatter barrier:A barrier adept may shatter a barrier as part of an attack action. He makes a ranged attack roll, anything within the barrier receives a reflex save for half damage DC=the barrier adepts attack roll. A barrier adept may mix regular attacks with shatters as he chooses as part of a regular attack or a flurry.
This is balanced since the creatures get a save to escape the barrier, but even on an autocapture they receive a save for half damage. As a result of effectively getting two saves I would however bump up the damage on the shatter barrier effect to 2d4 at first level. Also it allows for your furry of shatters.
Been a little absorbed with other things at the moment. I'll be coming back to this after some thought at a later date.
Just giving this thread a bump. Perhaps some fresh eyes can suggest some things we may have missed.
After some thought I'm working on using Implosion as a mechanic for damage...
Wow... got involved with other things and its been a year since I last dusted off this thread to work on this class.
Consider this a bump to see if any new eyes can help.
looks neat! I've never read the manga, but I'm gonna give it a look-see...maybe have some new ideas...
looks neat! I've never read the manga, but I'm gonna give it a look-see...maybe have some new ideas...
I haven't read the Manga either... but I really enjoy the anime. I've watched it from beginning to end once already and as of the time I brought this thread out of the archives I've began watching it again.
If you'd like to check out the anime you can find it HERE and watch several episodes a day for free.
The Kekkai (barrier) powers that the main characters use are quite versatile and I'm having difficulty coming up with a balanced system to express them in class format. I think I'm close though...
looks neat! I've never read the manga, but I'm gonna give it a look-see...maybe have some new ideas...I haven't read the Manga either... but I really enjoy the anime. I've watched it from beginning to end once already and as of the time I brought this thread out of the archives I've began watching it again.
If you'd like to check out the anime you can find it HERE and watch several episodes a day for free.
The Kekkai (barrier) powers that the main characters use are quite versatile and I'm having difficulty coming up with a balanced system to express them in class format. I think I'm close though...
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out...
Let's see if I can help...
First I would say no magic, I haven't seen the anime nor the manga so when I look at the class I think of a warrior with natural telekinesis, tacking magic to it would make it "just another gish".
Heladriell is right a couple personal barrier tricks would be cool. Another cool trick would be the ability to shape a force weapon, any weapon that you are proficient in and it would have the same stats as the real weapon except it would count as a magic force effect.
I like Lastknightleft modifications to Force Barrier and barrier attack (shatter/implosion)
I'm busy finishing a couple classes of my own but I'm going to try to make some suggestions on barrier tricks later.
Let's see if I can help...
First I would say no magic, I haven't seen the anime nor the manga so when I look at the class I think of a warrior with natural telekinesis, tacking magic to it would make it "just another gish".
Heladriell is right a couple personal barrier tricks would be cool. Another cool trick would be the ability to shape a force weapon, any weapon that you are proficient in and it would have the same stats as the real weapon except it would count as a magic force effect.
I like Lastknightleft modifications to Force Barrier and barrier attack (shatter/implosion)
I'm busy finishing a couple classes of my own but I'm going to try to make some suggestions on barrier tricks later.
There is room for plenty of ideas and variations. If you could find the time I'd like to see your suggestions before and after possibly checking out the anime. It would be cool to see both. :)
Ok I watched an episode.
If you're trying to mimic this stuff, its gonna be tough, but I like what you've got so far.
It doesnt seem that the barriers explode, they just collapse in on the trapped creature, killing it. There no way we can have an effect of insta kill like that and remain balanced so the damage is appropriate.
They need a pet like the kitune or demon dog things. The paper dudes would be a summon monster blah creature you'd add, or make them a specific SLA creature you summon via a similar mechanic.
Mimicing weapons and stuff like that i didnt see. They fought each other unarmed, and only used the barriers on monsters. They had the staff to banish the essence of the dstroyed creature back into the nether...
I guess a good question would be, do you want a keikkishi or a non-specific generic keikkisi-like class that isn't setting specific?
Ok I watched an episode.
If you're trying to mimic this stuff, its gonna be tough, but I like what you've got so far.
It doesnt seem that the barriers explode, they just collapse in on the trapped creature, killing it. There no way we can have an effect of insta kill like that and remain balanced so the damage is appropriate.
They need a pet like the kitune or demon dog things. The paper dudes would be a summon monster blah creature you'd add, or make them a specific SLA creature you summon via a similar mechanic.
Mimicing weapons and stuff like that i didnt see. They fought each other unarmed, and only used the barriers on monsters. They had the staff to banish the essence of the dstroyed creature back into the nether...I guess a good question would be, do you want a keikkishi or a non-specific generic keikkisi-like class that isn't setting specific?
The barriers "implode" in on the trapped creature dealing damage. Later on in the series you'll see that this is not always auto kill. The power of the trapped creature and DR do apply. There is at least one episode where they need to hit the creature at least five times to damage its shell enough to make it collapse.
I think of the "paper-dudes" more as magic items that have a illusionary effect tied to them.
I think I could have a generic/non-campaign specific class I'd be happy. We can always make up substitute class features for more specific stuff.
I need sort of a balanced base.
My previous post was before work and a little rushed. To expand on what I was saying...
The "paper-dudes" as you called them work kinda like unseen servants. They are mostly used to pass along messages or help reconstruct/restore an area after a battle. Variations of the creations seem to have illusions over the top of the servants. They are empowered by the users Ki and can drain the user. The servants are tied to a paper token and when destroyed or dismissed only the paper remains.
I think that there is already a magic item from 3.5 that somewhat replicates the effect called the Deck of Illusions, we would really only need to make a variation of this magic item to give us something fairly close.
One suggestion turning the barrier ability into a spell, and granting it as a SLA or other wise treating it as an SLA. It can be distrupted if harrassed, like a spell, and that way they don't get "auto trap!" on monsters. Allowing a ranged touch attack to hit the creature to be trapped is ok...but a reflex save should be allowed.
I'd also lock down the ability further by only allowing one monster to be "held" at a time...and possibly increasing this as they level.
I'd look at the magus for inspiration, using unarmed strikes and such instead of weapons, and being able to throw barriers as the "off hand" attack. This will help with the concentration checks for casting defensively and such, and allow flurries when not trapping, possibly.
You can give them a witch-like familiar to represent the demon dogs, and to grant them the limited spell selection described above.
I still think the paper dudes would best be coverd by a summon monster SLA, or a slightly modified unseen servant SLA x/times per day, or borrow from the summon shadow mechanic from the shadowdancer...
Overall, I don't see this class as a damage dealer, but more of a battlefield controller, moving about throwing up walls and barriers to confine or trap enemies. Focusing on this would work better, imho.
Barrier Adept -
The first Barrier Adept began learning his abilities in a land full of hostile beings. Undergoing fierce training of mind, body, and spirit the adept slowly learned to tap the latent raw magic that surrounded him and gather and shape it through shear force of will. This warrior mystic used his newfound abilities to defend his people against these evil beings and to destroy them. Over time, he trained others in his skills so they might continue his work. Barrier Adepts have since spread throughout the world seeking to use their abilities for as many reasons as there are barrier adepts.
Alignment - Barrier Adepts can be of any alignment. Though, because of their training, Barrier Adepts tend towards lawful over chaotic alignments.
HD: d8
Class Skills - Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Knowledge (all), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Skill Points - 4 + INT mod.
1 Ki Pool, Force Barrier, Third Eye, Barrier Implosion 1d6
2 Barrier Trick
3 Barrier Implosion 2d6
4 Barrier Trick
5 Barrier Implosion 3d6
6 Barrier Trick
7 Barrier Implosion 4d6
8 Barrier Trick
9 Barrier Implosion 5d6
10 Advanced Barrier Trick
11 Barrier Implosion 6d6
12 Advanced Barrier Trick
13 Barrier Implosion 7d6
14 Advanced Barrier Trick
15 Barrier Implosion 8d6
16 Advanced Barrier Trick
17 Barrier Implosion 9d6
18 Advanced Barrier Trick
19 Barrier Implosion 10d6
20 Barrier Master
*A Barrier Adept gets a Monk's BAB and SAVES. And flurry progression for use with barrier attacks.
Class Features -
Weapon and Armor Proficiency - Barrier Adepts gain proficiency with Simple weapons. A Barrier Adept has no proficiency with any armor.
Ki Pool (Su): At 1st level, a barrier adept gains the ability to gather a pool of ki points, supernatural energy the adept can use to power abilities. The number of points in a Barrier Adept's ki pool is equal to the adept's level + the adept's Constitution modifier. A Barrier adept regains lost Ki points at the rate of 1 per hour. As long as the adept's ki pool contains one ki point the adept may use a personal barrier.
Personal Barrier - One of the first barrier techniques a Barrier Adept learns is how to create a barrier for personal defense. The barrier adept is protected constantly as if by the Shield spell. However, if the adept wears armor or if a barrier adept's hp ever falls below 0 the adept can no longer maintain this personal barrier. At 2nd level and every even level after that the ac bonus from this effect increases by 1.
Force Barrier (Su) - A force barrier is a immobile rectangular or cube shaped barrier made of visable iridesent force that allows for line of sight but not line of effect. A Barrier Adept can have mulitple force barriers in exsistence at a time. (Max barriers equal to Int mod. minimum one.) When creating a force barrier a barrier adept uses a ranged attack to target a square. The barrier uses a minimum of one ki point and has a range of 25ft. + 5ft. per Barrier Adept level and requires line of sight to the target. Once the force barrier is created it remains in effect as long as the Barrier Adept is concious and remains within a mile. Each force barrier takes up a 5 ft. square + one 5 ft. square per additional ki point spent (the adept may create smaller barriers if they wish), 5 hp per ki point spent, has a AC of 10, and 5 hardness. The max amount of ki points a barrier adept may spend on a single barrier is equal to no greater than twice the barrier adept's level. A opponent or opponents within the area targeted by a force barrier must make a reflex save equal to 10 + 1/2 the Barrier Adept's level + the Barrier Adept's Int. Mod. or be captured partially or fully within the barrier. (A partially captured opponent is usally one targeted by a force barrier not large enough to fully surround them and has their movement restricted to the point at which the barrier is secured.) As a swift action, at any time during the Barrier Adept's turn the adept can decide to dismiss or cause any existing force barrier or barriers to collapse inwards and implode. This implosion of energy deals the listed Barrier Implosion damage for the Barrier Adept's level to any creature captured by that force barrier. Partially captured creatures take only half damage. Both the barrier and implosion are force effects and thus have full effect on incorpreal opponents. If a barrier adept dismisses a barrier the adept can reclaim the ki points spent in its creation. Whenever a force barrier attacked by an enemy would normally be destroyed, a barrier adept can choice to maintain that barrier as a imediate action by expending ki points equal to what was used to create that barrier. Maintaining a force barrier is not without its risks to a Barrier Adept. Whenever a barrier maintained by a Barrier Adept takes damage in excess of its harness, the barrier drains additional ki points equal to the original cost of the barrier. If this barrier drain is equal or greater than the remaining barrier points a Barrier Adept has availible, the force barrier shatters causing the Barrier Adept to become fatigued.
*Flurry of Barriers- A Barrier Adept may use the monks flurry of blows progression to make Barrier attacks during combat.
Barrier Trick- At 2nd level a Barrier Adept begins to learn how to exert more control over the barriers created with the Force Barrier ability, allowing the Adept to control the barrier's hardness and elasticity. A Barrier Adept can use this control for a number of tricks. A Barrier Adept can apply any tricks they know to the barriers they create. The Adept can select one trick every time they gain this ability. The tricks a Barrier Adept can know are:
Barrier Snap- By controlling the elasticity of his barrier as he creates it next to or under a creature or object, a Barrier Adept can send the target flying. The Barrier Adept makes a special Bull Rush check vs. his targets CMD by using his INT mod. instead of his STR mod. The results otherwise function as a Bull Rush. (This includes any normal feats that would apply)
Barrier Spring- By using a slight varient of the Barrier Snap trick, a Barrier Adept can use his force barrier to give the benfits of a jump spell to anyone willingly bouncing off the barrier.
Air Bag- By creating a very elastic soft barrier beneath a falling creature or object, a Barrier Adept can break that creatures fall as per the spell Feather Fall.
Sound Barrier- A barrier adept can create a barrier that blocks all sound from passing it. This keeps outside sounds from entering the barrier as well as preventing inside sounds from leaving.
Alarm- A Barrier Adept can add the effects of a Alarm spell to the barrier they create.
Permeable Barrier- A Barrier Adept can create a force barrier that blocks one specific substance or creature but otherwise has no physical substance. The permeable barrier may have no physical substance at all if the adept desires.
Hardening- A barrier Adept can create a harder than normal barrier. Increase the Hardness of the force barrier by 2 and ki point cost by 1. This trick can be selected more than once and stacks with itself. (A barrier adept who has selected this trick more than once can choose how much hardening to apply.)
Stacking Barriers- By creating barriers one on top of another the Barrier Adept can merge them to create a tower of force that can lift creatures or objects. Creatures standing on these barriers as they are created can remain standing by making the appropriate acrobatics check or they fall prone.
Opaque Barrier- A Barrier Adept can make the force barrier completely opaque so that it also blocks line of sight.
Destructive- A destructive barrier ignores the hardness of objects not currently being held by a creature.
Third Eye- A Barrier Adepts senses are finely tuned from constantly manipulating forces that are not normally visable to the unaided eye. This manifests as a bonus to perception checks equal to the barrier adept's class level.
Greater Barrier Trick- Starting at 10th level, a Barrier Adept has a new list of Adavanced Barrier Tricks to choose from. He may learn from this list or continue to learn from the lower list.
Advanced Hardening- A Barrier Adept learns to further harden their barriers. Increase the hardness of the barrier by 5 and ki point cost by 2. This stacks with the Hardening trick and can only be selected once.
Nested Barrier- A Barrier Adept with this trick learns how create a nested barrier as a standard action. By applying this trick a barrier adept can double their barrier implosion damage for the nested barrier. (Using this barrier trick costs 4 extra ki points)
Mobile Barrier- A Barrier Adept using this trick can attach a barrier to a creature or object instead of a space.(Using this barrier trick requires 2 additional ki points)
Advanced Permeable Barrier- A barrier adept can create a barrier that blocks or is permeable to whatever they wish. Proper use of this trick can mimic the effects of certain spells. A advanced permeable barrier is pricey and costs twice the normal ki points to create. (The DM has final ruling on what a Barrier Adept can achieve with this trick.)
Barrier Master - You have truly reached the top of your craft and earned the title of "Master". Once per day you can tap into hidden reserves and instantly regain any spent barrier points as a standard action. Your Personal Barrier gains the ability to grant you damage reduction 10/-. Also, Your largest force barriers gain the ability to warp the very space within them and miraculous things happen. Whenever you craft your largest barrier centered on yourself you may apply the effects of a Miracle spell with a caster level equal to your Barrier Adept level to anything within the barrier. You may only use this ability once per day. Using this ability has significant cost, and leaves you on the brink of death and requires you to expend any remaining barrier points. (After using this ability you are left at 0 hp and stable.)
Made a few changes...
Changed the force barrier capture mechanic. After watching through the anime I noticed that multiple times the barriers are used to partially capture targets.
Added a actual ki pool
Changed wording of abilities all around.
Increased implosion damage back to a d6 because of the change in the capture mechanic.
One suggestion turning the barrier ability into a spell, and granting it as a SLA or other wise treating it as an SLA. It can be distrupted if harrassed, like a spell, and that way they don't get "auto trap!" on monsters. Allowing a ranged touch attack to hit the creature to be trapped is ok...but a reflex save should be allowed.
I'd also lock down the ability further by only allowing one monster to be "held" at a time...and possibly increasing this as they level.I'd look at the magus for inspiration, using unarmed strikes and such instead of weapons, and being able to throw barriers as the "off hand" attack. This will help with the concentration checks for casting defensively and such, and allow flurries when not trapping, possibly.
You can give them a witch-like familiar to represent the demon dogs, and to grant them the limited spell selection described above.
I still think the paper dudes would best be coverd by a summon monster SLA, or a slightly modified unseen servant SLA x/times per day, or borrow from the summon shadow mechanic from the shadowdancer...
Overall, I don't see this class as a damage dealer, but more of a battlefield controller, moving about throwing up walls and barriers to confine or trap enemies. Focusing on this would work better, imho.
You slipped your post in while I was putting mine up and I have not had time till now to respond...
There are already wall spells in the game, what I was looking to do is create a unique barrier mechanic that no other class could get. So...I'd prefer not make a new spell. However, as of my latest revision, I think I've corrected for the "autocapture" problem.
At the time this build started up, the classes I was kinda using as inspiration were the Dragonfire Adept/Warlock (supernatural ability to deal damage to multiple opponents), Barbarian (rage powers), and the monk (flurry progression, ki pool). I did not want this class to just be another "gish".
As for the reason I have not introduced a familiar/animal companion - not all the barrier masters in the anime have familiars. Only the main characters older brother (who is introduced later in the anime) has what appears to be a familiar. The two ghost dogs are sort of servants/advisors that are passed down within the two rival families to the current guardians. (no special bond or transfer of ability ... aside from friendship/loyalty)
One of the things I've been considering, is adding in bonus feats that the character could choose from at specific levels. (we could have one of the familiar feats be part of that selection)
I'm willing to discuss turning the "paper dudes" into a variant of unseen servant. Perhaps the barrier adept could infuse a piece of paper with ki to create the effect. (thus mimic the drain the effect causes)
I think the class is sort of a balance between a damage dealer and a battlefield controller. They should be doing roughly the same damage as a two-weapon rogue (damage progression is roughly the same) and both the flurry of barriers and two-weapon rogue function on the two weapon fighting mechanic.
I'm hoping that the flexibility of the force barrier ability will make it useful inside and outside of combat.
So, were I to add bonus feats...
What level should I add the feats in at?
What kind of feats should I have?
I also have in mind another ability to give them a little more utility. I'm thinking of calling the ability "Infuse Ki". Roughly thought out... this ability would allow them to transfer some Ki into objects to gain various effects. How does this sound in concept?
*bump*
*still working on some stuff... just busy with the holiday season and work*
I like much of it. Some sticking points:
Personal Barrier:
+14 to AC for free at 20th level seems really, really high. Especially as a force effect. +1 every four or five levels seems better when it doesn't have to be paid for to begin with.
Can you create a barrier anywhere within range you can see (through windows/satin curtains/stained glass)?
Can a barrier only be created in open areas, or can it partially encapsulate objects as well (tables/chairs/chains)? What about walls? Could it theoretically be used to destroy a thin wall? Jail bars?
If a creature is trapped in a barrier and for whatever reason can't break free (can't deal enough damage), if the barrier is left in place indefinitely, will the creature eventually suffocate?
Permeable Barrier/Advanced Permeable Barrier: Can the permitted materials be changed after the barrier is created?
With that out of the way. Some fun ideas:
A barrier trick to enhance one's personal barrier to provide saving throw effects similar to Cover or Improved Cover.
A barrier trick that allows you to take a longer action to create barriers at a greater range at no extra cost.
A barrier trick that lets you spend an extra length of time (and possibly special materials) and change to/add energy damage on implosion.
An advanced barrier trick to enhance one's personal barrier to provide energy resistance (even if only temporarily).
An advanced barrier trick that lets you convert one spell you successfully save against and suffer no ill effects from into temporary ki points for making barriers with.
An advanced barrier trick that lets you transport yourself/other people from one created barrier to another.
Some good points and ideas. I'll keep them in mind for the next write up. For now however...
I like much of it. Some sticking points:
Personal Barrier:
+14 to AC for free at 20th level seems really, really high. Especially as a force effect. +1 every four or five levels seems better when it doesn't have to be paid for to begin with.
The personal barrier cannot be "enhanced" or combined with armor. The class feature is effectively "free armor".
Can you create a barrier anywhere within range you can see (through windows/satin curtains/stained glass)?
I'd say it would work just as per line of sight for a spell. If you could see to create a spell, you could create a barrier. Line of sight would be defined by the DM.
Can a barrier only be created in open areas, or can it partially encapsulate objects as well (tables/chairs/chains)? What about walls? Could it theoretically be used to destroy a thin wall? Jail bars?
A barrier can be created pretty much anywhere as long as you have line of sight. So it can be created encapsulate objects (fully or partially) and potentially deal damage to said objects with hardness applied as normal.
If a creature is trapped in a barrier and for whatever reason can't break free (can't deal enough damage), if the barrier is left in place indefinitely, will the creature eventually suffocate?
As the enemies in the anime are spirits, the whole "breathing" thing never came up. I'd say that your standard barrier allows for the passage of breathable air, and you'd need to use a barrier trick to create a "air tight" barrier.
Permeable Barrier/Advanced Permeable Barrier: Can the permitted materials be changed after the barrier is created?
I'd say that you could make changes once per round. I think I'll say it'd take a move action to make such a change.
I like much of it. Some sticking points:
Personal Barrier:
+14 to AC for free at 20th level seems really, really high. Especially as a force effect. +1 every four or five levels seems better when it doesn't have to be paid for to begin with.The personal barrier cannot be "enhanced" or combined with armor. The class feature is effectively "free armor".
I guess I was confused by the earlier statement:
Yes.
So how do Bracer's of Armor work with personal barrier, because with monks they stacked, so do they stack with Barrier Adept as well?
So I figured you were letting Personal Barrier stack like the Shield spell normally would. If that's the case, it could be argued that it stacks with other sources of armor bonus besides worn armor (such as a scroll of Mage Armor or the explicitly allowed Bracers), the Monk's Wisdom modifier, Natural Armor Bonus (such as a potion of Barkskin), Deflection Modifier (Rings of Protection or Protection from Evil), Dodge Bonus and anything else that stacks. The Barrier Adept may not be able to invest in raw armor bonuses directly, but he's far from lacking in options, especially since he ostensibly doesn't have to sink wealth into it. That's why I thought that +14 to armor seemed too big right away. Maybe a Barrier Trick that could bring it up to that high of a level, or saying that you flush the Personal Barrier with Ki to enhance it temporarily, so it actually feels like you're giving up something to get a bonus that costs martial classes so much to get.
Edit: By the way, how would a Monk/Barrier Adept deal with the Ki Pools? Add the levels together and count the Con modifier only once?
I like much of it. Some sticking points:
Personal Barrier:
+14 to AC for free at 20th level seems really, really high. Especially as a force effect. +1 every four or five levels seems better when it doesn't have to be paid for to begin with.The personal barrier cannot be "enhanced" or combined with armor. The class feature is effectively "free armor".
I guess I was confused by the earlier statement:
Yes.
So how do Bracer's of Armor work with personal barrier, because with monks they stacked, so do they stack with Barrier Adept as well?
So I figured you were letting Personal Barrier stack like the Shield spell normally would. If that's the case, it could be argued that it stacks with other sources of armor bonus besides worn armor (such as a scroll of Mage Armor or the explicitly allowed Bracers), the Monk's Wisdom modifier, Natural Armor Bonus (such as a potion of Barkskin), Deflection Modifier (Rings of Protection or Protection from Evil), Dodge Bonus and anything else that stacks. The Barrier Adept may not be able to invest in raw armor bonuses directly, but he's far from lacking in options, especially since he ostensibly doesn't have to sink wealth into it. That's why I thought that +14 to armor seemed too big right away. Maybe a Barrier Trick that could bring it up to that high of a level, or saying that you flush the Personal Barrier with Ki to enhance it temporarily, so it actually feels like you're giving up something to get a bonus that costs martial classes so much to get.
Edit: By the way, how would a Monk/Barrier Adept deal with the Ki Pools? Add the levels together and count the Con modifier only once?
Hrmm... pointed out that way... I may need to do some considering on the personal barrier. Perhaps instead of a constant effect, the adept could instead create a personal barrier as a immediate reaction that would last for a certain number of rounds. Also, the bonus could double and then triple, at set levels... another thought would be to drop the shield spell mechanic all together and instead allow the adept to create a force barrier as a immediate action for protection.
I'm thinking the two Ki pools would not stack. One is a gathering of external energies, the other is purely internal. However, I could possibly create a gestalt feat that would allow you to combine the two and let you use the best of your two stats (Con or Wis) to figure your Ki pool. That in of itself would be a very powerful boost for a Monk as the character would gain the ability to replenish Ki points over the day as opposed to only once every night.
Barrier Adept -
The first Barrier Adept began learning his abilities in a land full of hostile beings. Undergoing fierce training of mind, body, and spirit the adept slowly learned to tap the latent raw magic that surrounded him and gather and shape it through shear force of will. This warrior mystic used his newfound abilities to defend his people against these evil beings and to destroy them. Over time, he trained others in his skills so they might continue his work. Barrier Adepts have since spread throughout the world seeking to use their abilities for as many reasons as there are barrier adepts.
Alignment - Barrier Adepts can be of any alignment. Though, because of their training, Barrier Adepts tend towards lawful over chaotic alignments.
HD: d8
Class Skills - Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Knowledge (all), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Skill Points - 4 + INT mod.
1 Ki Pool, Force Barrier, Third Eye, Barrier Implosion 1d6
2 Barrier Trick
3 Barrier Implosion 2d6
4 Barrier Trick
5 Barrier Implosion 3d6
6 Barrier Trick
7 Barrier Implosion 4d6
8 Barrier Trick
9 Barrier Implosion 5d6
10 Advanced Barrier Trick
11 Barrier Implosion 6d6
12 Advanced Barrier Trick
13 Barrier Implosion 7d6
14 Advanced Barrier Trick
15 Barrier Implosion 8d6
16 Advanced Barrier Trick
17 Barrier Implosion 9d6
18 Advanced Barrier Trick
19 Barrier Implosion 10d6
20 Barrier Master
*A Barrier Adept gets a Monk's BAB and SAVES. And flurry progression for use with barrier attacks.
Class Features -
Weapon and Armor Proficiency - Barrier Adepts gain proficiency with Simple weapons. A Barrier Adept has no proficiency with any armor and wearing armor prevents an adept from properly being able to gather and control ki to create force barriers.
Ki Pool (Su): At 1st level, a barrier adept gains the ability to gather a pool of ki points, supernatural energy the adept can use to power abilities. The number of points in a Barrier Adept's ki pool is equal to the adept's level + the adept's Constitution modifier. A Barrier adept regains lost Ki points at the rate of 1 per hour. If an adept gains a ki pool from another source, the two ki pools remain separate. As long as the adept's ki pool contains one ki point the adept may use a personal barrier.
Personal Barrier - One of the first barrier techniques a Barrier Adept learns is how to create a barrier for personal defense. The adept may create a special force barrier as a immediate action to fend off an attack. This barrier is large enough to completely encapsulate the barrier adept. To maintain the barrier while it is under attack the adept must make a special concentration check equal to 5 plus the damage dealt. Once created the personal barrier lasts as long as the adept continues to spend a move action to maintain it. Creating this barrier costs no Ki Points. (However, see Ki Pool.) Otherwise this personal barrier functions as normal.
Force Barrier (Su) - A force barrier is a immobile rectangular or cube shaped barrier made of visable iridesent force that allows for line of sight but not line of effect. A Barrier Adept can have mulitple force barriers in exsistence at a time. (Max barriers equal to Int mod. minimum one.) When creating a force barrier a barrier adept uses a ranged attack to target a square. The barrier uses a minimum of one ki point and has a range of 25ft. + 5ft. per Barrier Adept level and requires line of sight to the target. Once the force barrier is created it remains in effect as long as the Barrier Adept is concious and remains within a mile. Each force barrier takes up a 5 ft. square + one 5 ft. square per additional ki point spent (the adept may create smaller barriers if they wish), 5 hp per ki point spent, has a AC of 10, and 5 hardness. The max amount of ki points a barrier adept may spend on a single barrier is equal to no greater than twice the barrier adept's level. A opponent or opponents within the area targeted by a force barrier must make a reflex save equal to 10 + 1/2 the Barrier Adept's level + the Barrier Adept's Int. Mod. or be captured partially or fully within the barrier. (A partially captured opponent is usally one targeted by a force barrier not large enough to fully surround them and has their movement restricted to the point at which the barrier is secured.) As a swift action, at any time during the Barrier Adept's turn the adept can decide to dismiss or cause any existing force barrier or barriers to collapse inwards and implode. This implosion of energy deals the listed Barrier Implosion damage for the Barrier Adept's level to any creature captured by that force barrier. Partially captured creatures take only half damage. Both the barrier and implosion are force effects and thus have full effect on incorpreal opponents. If a barrier adept dismisses a barrier the adept can reclaim the ki points spent in its creation. Whenever a force barrier attacked by an enemy would normally be destroyed, a barrier adept can choice to maintain that barrier as a imediate action by expending ki points equal to what was used to create that barrier. Maintaining a force barrier is not without its risks to a Barrier Adept. Whenever a barrier maintained by a Barrier Adept takes damage in excess of its harness, the barrier drains additional ki points equal to the original cost of the barrier. If this barrier drain is equal or greater than the remaining barrier points a Barrier Adept has availible, the force barrier shatters causing the Barrier Adept to become fatigued.
*Flurry of Barriers- A Barrier Adept may use the monks flurry of blows progression to make Barrier attacks during combat.
Barrier Trick- At 2nd level a Barrier Adept begins to learn how to exert more control over the barriers created with the Force Barrier ability, allowing the Adept to control the barrier's hardness and elasticity. A Barrier Adept can use this control for a number of tricks. A Barrier Adept can apply any tricks they know to the barriers they create. The Adept can select one trick every time they gain this ability. The tricks a Barrier Adept can know are:
Barrier Snap- By controlling the elasticity of his barrier as he creates it next to or under a creature or object, a Barrier Adept can send the target flying. The Barrier Adept makes a special Bull Rush check vs. his targets CMD by using his INT mod. instead of his STR mod. The results otherwise function as a Bull Rush. (This includes any normal feats that would apply)
Barrier Spring- By using a slight varient of the Barrier Snap trick, a Barrier Adept can use his force barrier to give the benfits of a jump spell to anyone willingly bouncing off the barrier.
Air Bag- By creating a very elastic soft barrier beneath a falling creature or object, a Barrier Adept can break that creatures fall as per the spell Feather Fall.
Sound Barrier- A barrier adept can create a barrier that blocks all sound from passing it. This keeps outside sounds from entering the barrier as well as preventing inside sounds from leaving.
Alarm- A Barrier Adept can add the effects of a Alarm spell to the barrier they create.
Permeable Barrier- A Barrier Adept can create a force barrier that blocks one specific substance or creature but otherwise has no physical substance. The permeable barrier may have no physical substance at all if the adept desires.
Hardening- A barrier Adept can create a harder than normal barrier. Increase the Hardness of the force barrier by 2 and ki point cost by 1. This trick can be selected more than once and stacks with itself. (A barrier adept who has selected this trick more than once can choose how much hardening to apply.)
Stacking Barriers- By creating barriers one on top of another the Barrier Adept can merge them to create a tower of force that can lift creatures or objects. Creatures standing on these barriers as they are created can remain standing by making the appropriate acrobatics check or they fall prone.
Opaque Barrier- A Barrier Adept can make the force barrier completely opaque so that it also blocks line of sight.
Destructive- A destructive barrier ignores the hardness of objects not currently being held by a creature.
Third Eye- A Barrier Adepts senses are finely tuned from constantly manipulating forces that are not normally visable to the unaided eye. This manifests as a bonus to perception checks equal to the barrier adept's class level. A barrier adept also learns to perceive magic and gains Detect Magic as a spell-like ability at will. At third level the adepts third eye fully opens and the adept can See Invisible as a spell-like ability once per day per three class levels.
Greater Barrier Trick- Starting at 10th level, a Barrier Adept has a new list of Adavanced Barrier Tricks to choose from. He may learn from this list or continue to learn from the lower list.
Advanced Hardening- A Barrier Adept learns to further harden their barriers. Increase the hardness of the barrier by 5 and ki point cost by 2. This stacks with the Hardening trick and can only be selected once.
Nested Barrier- A Barrier Adept with this trick learns how create a nested barrier as a standard action. By applying this trick a barrier adept can double their barrier implosion damage for the nested barrier. (Using this barrier trick costs 4 extra ki points)
Mobile Barrier- A Barrier Adept using this trick can attach a barrier to a creature or object instead of a space.(Using this barrier trick requires 2 additional ki points)
Advanced Permeable Barrier- A barrier adept can create a barrier that blocks or is permeable to whatever they wish. Proper use of this trick can mimic the effects of certain spells. A advanced permeable barrier is pricey and costs twice the normal ki points to create. (The DM has final ruling on what a Barrier Adept can achieve with this trick.)
Barrier Master - You have truly reached the top of your craft and earned the title of "Master". Once per day you can tap into hidden reserves and instantly regain any spent barrier points as a standard action. Your Personal Barrier gains the ability to grant you damage reduction 10/-. Also, Your largest force barriers gain the ability to warp the very space within them and miraculous things happen. Whenever you craft your largest barrier centered on yourself you may apply the effects of a Miracle spell with a caster level equal to your Barrier Adept level to anything within the barrier. You may only use this ability once per day. Using this ability has significant cost, and leaves you on the brink of death and requires you to expend any remaining barrier points. (After using this ability you are left at 0 hp and stable.)
Modified personal barrier and added some wording to ki pool and proficiencies. Modified Third Eye and added some additional abilities.
*shameless bump*