ok, so i just finished running a campaign in Golarion, and basically this is what occured.
-a man named Raziel Nazar had taken control of Molthune and started a war with the surrounding countries to "reclaim the glory that was once ours." He implemented several experiments to help in his quest to conquer these areas but also to become a living god.
-in this version, there are still divine characters, but the heavenly realms were cut off from the material realm and the only way to pass the barrier was as a spirit. no resurrections in any way were allowed due to this. thus, there were many people who didnt believe in the gods at all. but there was still a majority that did.
-Raziel implemented many programs that were similar to what the Nazi party did in WWII Germany.
-The players were on a quest to find 7 magical instruments for any unknown reason (they had sort of a Gaes Quest cast on them, similar to what happened in FF13, for those that played it). Once they found these instruments they had to find a magical black pyramid, about the size of a basketball, an item which was fabled to make the weilder of it go through apotheosis (the process of becoming a god).
-While Raziel waged war, he also developed new technology. He brought in engineers from Alkenstar to create air ships for a fleet and also scrounged up enough money to buy the loyalty of the creaters of the gunworks to buy cannons. He utilized golems and clockwork constructs as well to serve in his military.
-When the players find the pyramid, they discover Raziel is already there and has also been put on a Gaes. The battle ensues. the players win, and use the instruments on the pyramid. at this point the pyramid opens and all the gods holy symbols appear in the sky and they all fall (meteor style) to the earth, ushering in a new age.
now, due to all of the technological advances, many of the areas of Golarion, such as Andoran, Taldor, Alkenstar, Cheliax, Molthune, and other areas like that are now undergoing a sort of industrial revolution. I.E. Steampunk. now our gm is going to be continuing this story but we had come up with an idea for an alternate class after seeing a homemade steampunk ironman toy on a website, and we thought "im sure someone would make that in a steampunk setting."
now idt any of the players are going to play it but the gm said he'll use it for npcs and such and in future settings along this Golarion story line. we were thinking an alternate class for the alchemist. replace mutagens and bombs with a suit of armor. it has +2 ac, and you get 10 build points (and you can take a feat to get 2-3 more, still deciding how many) at first level to buy different abilities, which are just certain discoveries you can take later on (but a selected few of the discoveries) such as a incendiary bomb similar to the bombs in the Adventurers Armoury so many times per day, energy whips similar to whiplash in ironman 2, a force push effect similar to ironmans gauntlet weapon, inproving your natural slam attack (which starts as a d8), and also being able to buy up to another +6 to your ac. the higher you buy your ac bonus, the less abilities youll be able to purchase. the lower the ac, the more abilities (and thus versatility) you'll have.
you can buy them as special metals at first level, but after that you have to spend a discovery to change it if you want it later on. you can also for 1 bp buy a racial specific armor that gives you something different (different abilities for a gnome suit, dwarf suit, etc) but you must be of that race. you wont be able to make the armor magical (but you can still wield weapons and there will be discoveries where you can get special magical abilities to the armor). you also get a choice at every 3 levels to increase str or dex by +2 of gain +10-15 temp hp, but you only get these benefits while in the armor. it takes a certain amount of time to don the armor depending on the ac bonus, but with a discovery you can reduce the donning time to a move action or such. at every odd level, you ac in the armor increases by +1.
there will also be a stealth mode, infiltration mode, flamethrower, etc discoveries. at level 10, you can take a discovery that gives you another +2 to your ac, and then you can take it again at 13th, 16th and 19th. we have a crap ton of different discoveries you can take. the alt alchem will have a monks starting money due to that he gets a really cool armor with a slam attack and other cool abilities.
my question is to the forums, how would you go about this? what are some things you would add or take away? (please be kind). i dont have a draft to show you. these are just the brainstorming ideas. i just wanna know how you would change these ideas presented OR how you would approach this subject. i dont ever homebrew anything, im just helping out the guy that is making this.
any ideas are extremely helpful. thanks in advance.
oh and also, there will be a discovery and 6 or 8th level min where you can take it and every day you can swap 1 discovery you have for a different discovery which lasts for the day. after that it resorts back. it takes an hour to do this. later levels (maybe 12 and 16th) you can swap two and then 3 discoveries respectively.
I made a PrC based on Iron Man. It's designed for fighter/alchemist multiclasses, mostly, but it is possible for others to qualify for it.
ENGINE KNIGHT
Engine Knights are soldier-smiths that construct their own suits of magical armor that enhance their battle prowess. Most begin their careers as alchemists or fighters, or a combination of the two, but many other classes can qualify.
Requirements:
BAB: +7
Feats: Armor Proficiency (heavy), Craft Arms and Armor, Master Craftsman, Weapon Focus-gauntlet or spiked gauntlet
Skills: Craft alchemy, Craft armorer, Knowledge engineering, Use Magic Device 7 ranks each.
Special: Must possess a suit of magical armor he has constructed himself.
Class Features:
BAB: +1
Good Saves: Fortitude
Hit Dice: 1d10
Class Skills: Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Fly, Knowledge engineering, Perception, Profession, Ride, Swim, Use Magic Device.
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Intelligence modifier.
Engine Knights do not gain any new armor or weapon proficiencies.
LEVEL ABILITY
1. Armor Item Slots, Bonded Armor, Craft Wonderous Item, Durable Armor, Gauntlet Mastery (1d6)
2. Armor Training, Construction Discount
3. Puissance
4. Gauntlet Mastery (1d8)
5. Armor Training
6. Puissance
7. Gauntlet Mastery (1d10)
8. Armor Training
9. Puissance
10. Gauntlet Mastery (1d12)
Armor Item Slots (Ex). The engine knight can enhance his bonded armor by adding additional magical effects to it. These additional magical effects use body slots that are normally filled with magic items. The engine knight’s bonded armor can have a number of additional magical effects equal to his class level + his Intelligence bonus. He must pay the normal cost for these magical effects as if they were magic items filling those slots.
Bonded Armor (Ex). The engine knight may construct a number of magical suits of armor equal to his Intelligence bonus (minimum 1). Each suit of bonded armor is designed to be worn by the engine knight.
Craft Wonderous Item. The engine gains Craft Wonderous Item as a bonus feat, primarily so he can enhance his armor using his Armor Item Slots ability.
Durable Armor (Ex). When the engine knight wears a suit of his bonded armor, he gains DR 1/- per class level. This damage reduction stacks with all other sources of similar damage reduction. He also adds his class level to his CMD for the purposes of sundering his bonded armor.
Gauntlet Mastery (Ex). At 1st level, the engine knight learns how to make melee attacks with his gauntlets more deadly. The base damage of the gauntlets or spiked gauntlets of his bonded armor increases to 1d6. At 4th level, their base damage increases to 1d8. At 7th level, their base damage increases to 1d10. At 10th level, their base damage increases to 1d12. In addition, the gauntlets of the engine knight’s bonded armor gain an enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to the enhancement bonus to the engine knight’s bonded armor.
Armor Training (Ex). As the fighter ability of the same name. Once the speed penalty for wearing heavy armor is eliminated, each time the engine knight gains this ability, he gains a cumulative +1 competence to his AC when wearing his bonded armor.
Construction Discount (Ex). At 2nd level, the engine knight reduces the construction cost of his bonded armor by 10% times ½ the engine knight’s class level. This applies to both the enhancement bonus to his armor and to his Armor Item Slots.
Puissance. At 3rd level, and every 3 levels thereafter, the engine knight gains a bonus combat feat. The engine knight must meet any requirements of the selected feat. Alternatively, an engine knight with alchemist levels can choose increase the number of damage dice his bombs have by 1 or choose a new discovery.
Have you considered looking into the d20 Mecha book or SRD for it. The PDF is on discount at Drive Thru. Is a nice point based guide to building d20 vehicles including powered armored suits.
Dotting