On the suggestion of kyrt-ryder I'm creating this thread to give us a place to discuss anime-flavored characters. (Instead of flooding another thread.)
Currently up for discussion are Bleach inspired characters, Kenpachi in particular.
kyrt-ryder has in mind using a fighter for Kenpachi with the alternate class feature that gives them a armored husk with some slight flavor modification.
I'm suggesting that a Kenpachi inspired character should have at least a level in Barbarian for the explosive strength and other rage powers.
His little pink haired friend/vice captain has been pictured as a Bard/support styled character.
Speaking of anime flavored characters... I've always wanted some means in D&D to mimic the "projected sword attack" used in many different anime such as Bleach or R. Kenshin/Samurai X. As well as a few games or computer generated anime such as as FF7: Advent Children.
The "Heaven Shocking Fang" from Bleach being a very powerful example of this.
Its basic form though being that a swordsman swings his sword and projects ki or some other energy from the edge of his weapon in a line that cuts anything in its path. Thinking on this, I believe there is a spell (perhaps in Spell Compendium) out there where a caster can throw a weapon and deal damage to all targets in a line. Were we to change the flavor of this slightly I believe we could use the crunch of the spell to mimic what I have in mind.
Question is... should we leave it as a spell for the use of Fighter/Mage's or could we adapt it into a feat?
Perhaps something along the lines of the Ki attack feats from PHBII.
Ya know, it's only a second level spell (though more powerful in the hands of a melee combatant) so my suggestion, steal a card out of Tome of Battle.
Make it an once per encounter ability or perhaps 1+ 1/2 chosen mental stat, or 1/2 chosen mental stat (minimum 1) times per day.
Hm, also... make it a standard action to make the swing (which works if we keep the spell style)
Using it multiple times during a fight would be half the fun of it.
Keeping it as a spell gives you a limit right there. Slots per day. Use up your spells at your own risk as per normal.
However if we did do it as a feat it would have a limit much as the ki blast or whatever it is from PHBII. Speaking of which... those would be great to see in the Advanced book Paizo is coming out with as additional Monk Ki powers.
It'd give you a reason to make Fighter/Monks... weapon skill + monk ki powers.
Ya know, it's only a second level spell (though more powerful in the hands of a melee combatant) so my suggestion, steal a card out of Tome of Battle.
Make it an once per encounter ability or perhaps 1+ 1/2 chosen mental stat, or 1/2 chosen mental stat (minimum 1) times per day.
Hm, also... make it a standard action to make the swing (which works if we keep the spell style)
Using it multiple times during a fight would be half the fun of it.
Keeping it as a spell gives you a limit right there. Slots per day. Use up your spells at your own risk as per normal.
However if we did do it as a feat it would have a limit much as the ki blast or whatever it is from PHBII. Speaking of which... those would be great to see in the Advanced book Paizo is coming out with as additional Monk Ki powers.
It'd give you a reason to make Fighter/Monks... weapon skill + monk ki powers.
And all of this makes me want to create a variant version of the Fighter. Instead of feats... they gain Ki abilities.
Or just make a series of feat trees that fighters could select from. Much like the Crit feats only starting with a Ki Pool feat.
So, by anime-inspired characters, you mean shonen anime characters?
Steal the table of names for things from the monk class in the Tome of War netbook floating around. There's some great material in there.
Well... any anime inspired character really. If you wanted to do Sailor Moon inspired stuff I'm sure you could get a few posters to help. :) (Seriously though I have a player who loves Sailor Moon.)
On another note I personally have a idea for how to do a Pan-dimensional Hammer wielding character using already presented 3.5 material from Tome of Magic.
Its just that the Shonen anime characters do have a certain appeal.
EDIT: P.S. - My google-foo is apparently not strong enough to find this netbook of which you speak.
Maybe he means the Tome of Battle? That has a host of abilities that could make great anime-style characters.
Pathfinder can, potentially, make a great Luffy (One Piece) - but as an aberrant sorcerer (long limbs!).
Ah, just realized. For "projecting type" sword attacks - you can work entirely from existing core rules by simply reflavoring a whip, or weapons-of-returning. So mechanically you're simply throwing a throwing-axe; but the flavor would be that of a sword attack projection.
All the balance of existing core maintained - all the awesome of imagination brought to bear.
Maybe he means the Tome of Battle? That has a host of abilities that could make great anime-style characters.
Pathfinder can, potentially, make a great Luffy (One Piece) - but as an aberrant sorcerer (long limbs!).
Hmmm... you'd need to give him some DR as well. Use spells that require touch attacks to deal physical damage and you'd have it nailed down pretty good.
EDIT: P.S. - My google-foo is apparently not strong enough to find this netbook of which you speak.
Here ya go. Lots of interesting stuff in there, but most of the crunch will likely not conform to your typical standards of balance, I do warn you.
And no, I do not mean the Tome of Battle, although it is a book of which I am fond.
Wow... yeah... balance whats that. They went from one extreme to another in this netbook.
I to am fond of the Tome of Battle.
Ah... but that takes away the challenge of designing a character that is anime inspired by using D&D/Pathfinder material!
I must admit though, that once I have some extra fund-age I want to track down a copy of BESM Revised for my own use. It'll be easier to convert 3.5 equivalent material to Pathfinder.
I would go with Tome of Battle.
Maybe adding a string of 'anime' feats that can be taken in addition to the rest of feats out there. Like every other level or some such.
Depending on what books you use... you can already find a bunch of feats that kinda do this. For example:
Ki Blast - PHBII
Leap of the Heavens - PHBII
Martial Study - Tome of Battle
Martial Stance - Tome of Battle
Shape Soulmeld - Magic of Incarnum
Bind Vestige - Tome of Magic
Improved Bind Vestige - Tome of Magic
By using these feats you can gain access to strange powers and abilities. Ki Blast is rather obviously the ability to create and throw balls of energy. Leap of the Heavens allows you to make extreme leaps. Shape Soulmeld gives you a wide variety of powers to choose from. From a continual Waterwalk effect to the ability to spit acid. Martial Study can be chosen 3 times and lets you pick up three Maneuvers from Tome of Battle. (I'm fond of Shadow Jaunt, Shadow Stride, or Shadow Blink.) Martial Stance can give you Stances that grant interesting abilities such as a continual Spiderclimb effect. Were you to take Bind Vestige and Improved Bind Vestige any character could potentially get the ability to Summon a suit of full plate.
Any feats that are 3.5 might require a little adaptation to balance them to the overall higher power level of Pathfinder. I think Ki Blast was one of those feats where they erred on the side of caution. Now that a Monk has a Ki Pool, I'm of the opinion that Ki Blast might just work well as a Ki Power.
Not sure what material in PHB2 is open content though.
Stalled, yet not dead!
Laugh if you want... but I'm a big fan of Naruto. There are allot of neat ideas floating around in that anime that can be stolen and copied via spells or feats. I really like their take on having 3 types of "jutsu" those being Ninjutsu - Taijutsu - Genjutsu. Physical fighting styles being Taijutsu, Attack and Defensive spells being Ninjutsu, and illusionary spells being Genjutsu.
The idea of there being one ninja class that could potentially do all three or focus on one type is interesting. (Kinda like Rock Lee only being able to do Taijutsu)
Regardless - There can be allot of fun inspiration to be had from that anime and used to flavor a D&D character. You could use psionics to mimic ninja jutsu as that point based system does mirror how they talk about having only so much chakra left. Another way would be to include a optional point based casting system for spells. Regardless by using spells in creative ways you can add a lot of flavor.
Magic of Incarnum gives us the Shape Soulmeld feat which can give you a variety of powers such as water walking, acid spitting, spider climbing, short range teleportation, airwalking, or electrical attacks. (Ninjusu techniques here we come)
Tome of Battle gives us Martial Study and Martial Stance which is another pair of feats to take to give yourself a variety of unique powers. A fighter can pick up both these feats as Fighter bonus feats. (A good way to mimic a variety of Taijutsu or Ninjutsu techniques)
Tome of Magic gives us three different magic systems, each with feats allowing you to gain powers of Binding, Shadow Magic, or Truenaming.
Thanks to Pathfinder giving out 10 open feats over the life of a character its really easy to pick up several feats to flavor your D&D character however you wish to suit a wide variety of anime or manga.
Back to the original post -
If I wanted to create a "Bleach" flavored D&D character, I'd want to start with a Human Fighter as my base. Were I looking for a PrC I'd likely choose Incarnum Blade or Kensai as they both give me a sort of weapon bond.
I would of course use a Bastard Sword as my weapon of choice to represent a katana, and would not even need pick up Exotic Weapon Proficiency since I'd most likely want to just use it two-handed anyway. Aside from choosing a normal selection of combat feats to show my weaponry skills, I'd likely pick up Martial Study several times to give me some extra destructive or unique special attacks.
By picking up Shape Soulmeld (Blink Shirt) I could mimic the "Flash Step" technique. I'd also want to pick up several other feats from Magic of Incarnum to help improve the blink ability allowing me to use it as a move action and give it farther range.
Just to point this out ...
For a melee specialist, you weapon is your life in combat.
The Incarnum Blade PrC is a nifty little 5 level prestige class that gives several fun benefits. Your chosen weapon gains 5 additional hardness and 5 to 25 extra HP and is treated as magic. You also get a additional benefit that you can choose daily with more options opening up as you level. Bonuses on Initiative, damage with the weapon, confirmation on crit, vs. being disarmed, etc...
The capstone ability being you can choose two bonuses.
Hell, I have to admit that I have a fighter character largely based on Guts from 'Berserk', though he is rather more conventional than Bleach or Naruto.
Hell, I have to admit that I have a fighter character largely based on Guts from 'Berserk', though he is rather more conventional than Bleach or Naruto.
Still applicable... he swings around a sword as long as most people are tall. :)
Good Anime by the way.
Hell, I have to admit that I have a fighter character largely based on Guts from 'Berserk', though he is rather more conventional than Bleach or Naruto.Still applicable... he swings around a sword as long as most people are tall. :)
Good Anime by the way.
Yeah, EWP 'Large Greatsword', which he recently had one made of Adamantine. 'Armor Is Useless' indeed.
|
how would you turn sakura kinomoto into a 3.5 character? with the least multiclassing?
wizard wouldn't be accurate. her cards were awefully darn versatile and she was descended from clow reed (a requirement to even use the cards). clow i can tell is a diviner. i believe he dropped necromancy on the account he never created undead. what would sakura be?
"projected sword attack"
I would make it a Feat Tree...
Arcane Strike (Combat)
You draw upon your arcane power to enhance your weapons with magical energy.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.
Benefit: As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.
Arcane Shot
You focus your arcane power from your weapon towards your foe in a ball of magical energy.
Prerequisites: BaB +1, Ability to cast Arcane spells, Arcane Strike, Proficiency with chosen weapon.
Benefit: As a Standard Action, while at full health you can hurl magical energy from your weapon as a ranged touch attack against a single target up to a range of 30 feet. The damage is equal to the additional damage provided by Arcane Strike. Spell Resistance applies, No Save.
Arcane Bolt
You focus your arcane power from your weapon towards your foes in a wave of magical energy.
Prerequisites: BaB +4, Ability to cast Arcane spells, Arcane Shot.
Benefit: As a Standard Action, while at full health you can hurl magical energy from your weapon as a ranged touch attack against each creature in a 60 foot line. The damage is equal to the additional damage provided by Arcane Strike. Spell Resistance applies, No Save.
how would you turn sakura kinomoto into a 3.5 character? with the least multiclassing?
wizard wouldn't be accurate. her cards were awefully darn versatile and she was descended from clow reed (a requirement to even use the cards). clow i can tell is a diviner. i believe he dropped necromancy on the account he never created undead. what would sakura be?
This example is pretty hard to get "perfect" and its been awhile since I've watched Card Captor Sakura, but let me take a shot.
Considering the young lady did not have the ability to cast any spells herself... I'd actually be inclined to go with something along the lines of the Eberron Artificer. I believe there have been several efforts on these boards to update and Pathfinder-ize the Artificer as well.
The majority of Sakura's ability came through magic items. (her cards) Using the Artificer you could create a number of "cards" that had some spell or ability that you could activate. However, the cards also had a creature form, which could be duplicated via a summon monster/animal feature on each card.
The Artificer also has an assortment of infusions which imbue items with temporary enhancements to help fill in the gaps. Its easy to say you draw the majority of your power from the cards and role-play it that way.
If there are any specific abilities that you have trouble recreating let me know and I can perhaps suggest feats from some of the books I listed to help you fake them.
"projected sword attack"I would make it a Feat Tree...
Arcane Strike (Combat)
You draw upon your arcane power to enhance your weapons with magical energy.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast arcane spells.
Benefit: As a swift action, you can imbue your weapons with a fraction of your power. For 1 round, your weapons deal +1 damage and are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. For every five caster levels you possess, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.Arcane Shot
You focus your arcane power from your weapon towards your foe in a ball of magical energy.
Prerequisites: BaB +1, Ability to cast Arcane spells, Arcane Strike, Proficiency with chosen weapon.
Benefit: As a Standard Action, while at full health you can hurl magical energy from your weapon as a ranged touch attack against a single target up to a range of 30 feet. The damage is equal to the additional damage provided by Arcane Strike. Spell Resistance applies, No Save.
Arcane Bolt
You focus your arcane power from your weapon towards your foes in a wave of magical energy.
Prerequisites: BaB +4, Ability to cast Arcane spells, Arcane Shot.
Benefit: As a Standard Action, while at full health you can hurl magical energy from your weapon as a ranged touch attack against each creature in a 60 foot line. The damage is equal to the additional damage provided by Arcane Strike. Spell Resistance applies, No Save.
These are interesting... but the ability I have in mind is more like being able to deal slashing damage against ranged targets as if you had cut them with your sword.
Rurouni Kenshin had at least one enemy that was a near perfect example of what I'm thinking...
... yay youtube.
how would you turn sakura kinomoto into a 3.5 character? with the least multiclassing?
wizard wouldn't be accurate. her cards were awefully darn versatile and she was descended from clow reed (a requirement to even use the cards). clow i can tell is a diviner. i believe he dropped necromancy on the account he never created undead. what would sakura be?
This example is pretty hard to get "perfect" and its been awhile since I've watched Card Captor Sakura, but let me take a shot.
Considering the young lady did not have the ability to cast any spells herself... I'd actually be inclined to go with something along the lines of the Eberron Artificer. I believe there have been several efforts on these boards to update and Pathfinder-ize the Artificer as well.
The majority of Sakura's ability came through magic items. (her cards) Using the Artificer you could create a number of "cards" that had some spell or ability that you could activate. However, the cards also had a creature form, which could be duplicated via a summon monster/animal feature on each card.
The Artificer also has an assortment of infusions which imbue items with temporary enhancements to help fill in the gaps. Its easy to say you draw the majority of your power from the cards and role-play it that way.
If there are any specific abilities that you have trouble recreating let me know and I can perhaps suggest feats from some of the books I listed to help you fake them.
One thing of note I did not mention. As far as D&D is concerned Sakura is way over-equiped for her level. This is often the case in many "Magical-Girl" type anime. They usually get at least a magical weapon or artifact that often grants them magical armor (their outfit).
One suggestion... would be to make the majority of her equipment "Legacy" items. (As per the Weapons of Legacy book) This would allow her to slowly unlock new powers as she levels up.
Also... you might want to take a look at the order in which she gains her cards... and what combinations (powers) she gains and in what order she gains them.
|
|
how would you turn sakura kinomoto into a 3.5 character? with the least multiclassing?
wizard wouldn't be accurate. her cards were awefully darn versatile and she was descended from clow reed (a requirement to even use the cards). clow i can tell is a diviner. i believe he dropped necromancy on the account he never created undead. what would sakura be?
This example is pretty hard to get "perfect" and its been awhile since I've watched Card Captor Sakura, but let me take a shot.
Considering the young lady did not have the ability to cast any spells herself... I'd actually be inclined to go with something along the lines of the Eberron Artificer. I believe there have been several efforts on these boards to update and Pathfinder-ize the Artificer as well.
The majority of Sakura's ability came through magic items. (her cards) Using the Artificer you could create a number of "cards" that had some spell or ability that you could activate. However, the cards also had a creature form, which could be duplicated via a summon monster/animal feature on each card.
The Artificer also has an assortment of infusions which imbue items with temporary enhancements to help fill in the gaps. Its easy to say you draw the majority of your power from the cards and role-play it that way.
If there are any specific abilities that you have trouble recreating let me know and I can perhaps suggest feats from some of the books I listed to help you fake them.
One thing of note I did not mention. As far as D&D is concerned Sakura is way over-equiped for her level. This is often the case in many "Magical-Girl" type anime. They usually get at least a magical weapon or artifact that often grants them magical armor (their outfit).
One suggestion... would be to make the majority of her equipment "Legacy" items. (As per the Weapons of Legacy book) This would allow her to slowly unlock new powers as she levels up.
Also... you might want to take a look at the...
it's not that sakura is overequipped, it's that she is over pointed. her dex, con, and cha were obsurdly high, (16-18) and her intellegence and wisdom weren't bad (at least 12-14 off the bat) her strength was at least a 12, (power card beefed it up to more than enough to carry the terrasque as a light load.)
interesting... but the ability I have in mind is more like being able to deal slashing damage against ranged targets as if you had cut them with your... LINK
Here's a clip of one of my favorites from back in the day... Ray from Fist of the Northstar. More of a Monk unarmed with 'Versatile Strike' though. :)
Fist of the Northstar also has imagery of what I always thought to be the 'Inertial Armor' Feat from the 3.0 Psionics Handbook, which can be invisible or seen as a colored glow. (Psionic Mage Armor)
it's not that sakura is overequipped, it's that she is over pointed. her dex, con, and cha were obsurdly high, (16-18) and her intellegence and wisdom weren't bad (at least 12-14 off the bat) her strength was at least a 12, (power card beefed it up to more than enough to carry the terrasque as a light load.)
Considering her status as a anime character... how do you arrive at those numbers?
Could not some of that be skill point related?
|
|
it's not that sakura is overequipped, it's that she is over pointed. her dex, con, and cha were obsurdly high, (16-18) and her intellegence and wisdom weren't bad (at least 12-14 off the bat) her strength was at least a 12, (power card beefed it up to more than enough to carry the terrasque as a light load.)Considering her status as a anime character... how do you arrive at those numbers?
Could not some of that be skill point related?
i guess. but those numbers are small for her. (how strength is needed to swim out of a whirlpool?) i just guessed those numbers based on rough quick analysis of her strengths. her stats were uber. due to clow's blood running down her veins. (required to even use the cards)
but clow was uber.
it's not that sakura is overequipped, it's that she is over pointed. her dex, con, and cha were obsurdly high, (16-18) and her intellegence and wisdom weren't bad (at least 12-14 off the bat) her strength was at least a 12, (power card beefed it up to more than enough to carry the terrasque as a light load.)Considering her status as a anime character... how do you arrive at those numbers?
Could not some of that be skill point related?
i guess. but those numbers are small for her. (how strength is needed to swim out of a whirlpool?) i just guessed those numbers based on rough quick analysis of her strengths. her stats were uber. due to clow's blood running down her veins. (required to even use the cards)
but clow was uber.
The "Blood of Clow" is kinda like "I'm Half-elf". It potentially gave her allot of magical ability, but that is mostly it.
Working off of 3.5 numbers...
For the most part, I perceive that Sakura was just a normal female kid who was somewhat gifted athletically for her age. Because of her age... she more than likely has modifiers for being "small" and/or modifiers for being a child. Yet, she is a hero so we can give her the elite array to play with. (15,14,13,12,10,8)
So, she is not overly strong 8-10, quite dexterous 15, and not overly tough 8-10. Her mental stats are up for debate and have no real bearing on what she can do physically. But, to the norms, anything in the 14-18 range is outstanding. So having a 14 INT and a 12 & 13 in her other mental stats is good start. (In many ways her best friend was wiser and more charismatic and frigging rich besides.)
She has full skill ranks in the appropriate skills for cheer-leading (Jump, Tumble, Balance, Perform) + Swim and possibly has taken Athletic and Acrobatic as her first level and human feats. As soon as she hit second level her skills would get a nice little boost for any skill synergies she might pick up from putting 5 or more ranks.
As for swimming out of a whirlpool, assuming a 10 strength, if we say she maxed ranks in swim 4, added her bonus for athletic +2 she would have a +6 swim. I cannot remember how far into the series it was before she actually did swim out of a whirlpool - but if she has gained enough experience she may have increased her swim skill more. Lucky rolls could account allot of that with any roll of 14 or higher being a 20+ result.
As soon as she gained access to her artifacts she would gain a variety of bonuses. The Power card giving her the strength of a giant (22-30) would not be outside the range of possibility. Magic throws physics to the curb and calls it its *Bleep*. ;)
Lets see, what other anime can we come up with...
Kagome Higurashi is an Arcane Archer. (but divine flavored)
Lelouch Lamperouge is a beguiler focused on enchantment
Mei-Ling-Li is a monk with high acrobatics.
Shuriken Nekogami (you probably never even heard of her) you would think is a rogue but is really some odd gestalt based combo. that involves rogue and a custom sorcerer bloodline that kinda mimics the celerity domain.
Forgive me for being too tired to wade through the posts.
Getsuga Tenshou and similar effects can be imitated with just a simple throwing-returning ability on a weapon. So in PFRPG, you're bereft your sword. Just add fluff to the effect of "you leave yourself open by providing cover for your opponent with your massive attack."
If you need to beef it up, combine it with Vital Strike. I think that works for ranged thrown weapons, right?
And remember, the distance limit doesn't actually exist, you simply subtract 1 for each increment beyond the weapon limit.
Likewise, you can merely throw in a hat of disguise for quite an interesting variety of effects.
One of my pet projects is working up a D20 Shinigami class. Most of the stuff you see in Bleach just really can't be replicated by any D&D character without going into way far epic levels.
*Bump*
Good Stuff... Good Stuff...
In honor of the new Summoner ... how many people are creating "poke-masters"?
Actually, I was thinking that the Summoner makes for an interesting Shinigami. It'd need some alterations, but it's by far the closest class in the game to the characters in Bleach (the ones that have summons, anyway).
Actually, I was thinking that the Summoner makes for an interesting Shinigami. It'd need some alterations, but it's by far the closest class in the game to the characters in Bleach (the ones that have summons, anyway).
Hmmm... true true. A Eidolon would work good for a substitute Bankai. Spellcasting is natural for Kido...
Hmmm...
After some thought, a Summoner would also work near perfect for S-Cry-ed and their Alters.
Actually, I was thinking that the Summoner makes for an interesting Shinigami. It'd need some alterations, but it's by far the closest class in the game to the characters in Bleach (the ones that have summons, anyway).
An interesting idea, but the BAB is a bit low for such a martial concept. On the other hand, it does nicely represent Shikai and Bankai techniques.
Heh, what sort of feat would you take to represent the "Tite Kubo factor", I wonder?