Have a pathfinder game coming up where I have been given the opportunity to play/reinvision a character I ran out of savage species. The character was a Rakshasa, and while Pathfinder recommends cutting out ECL and just using CR to determine levels, the game is going to start out at 1st level.
So I have a choice, do I build out a ten level progression for the Pathfinder Beastiary Rakshasa (which I feel is too powerful at level 10 with its great DR and SR for its level)or do I find a reasonable way to recreate the Rakshasa using a Race/Class combo that PC characters can get easily.
For option two I was thinking of Converting AE's Litorian to pathfinder with an addition of +2 to str. For the class, levels in Sorcerer with the Rakshasa bloodline and the old 3.0 Unearthed Arcana battle sorcerer variant is what I came up with. It isn't a perfect conversion, and I'm not under the impression that there is a perfect solution. Would another bloodline be better? Perhaps another class combo?
For option one I was thinking of cutting the DR down a lot or just cutting it out. The SR needs to go down to 10+level rather than the 15+level it is currently at. The sorcerer spellcasting looks to be three levels below the level listed. Meaning that the level 10 Rakshasa has an effective sorcerer level of 7 for spellcasting. I'm not sure if anything else needs to be cut out or changed. This option doesn't really get the option of class features that normal PCs get, but it gets DR and SR, and a couple of nifty tricks (Read Thoughts, Change Shape)...
Does anyone have any opinion on what I have so far, or does anyone have suggestions on how to make this work? I'd appreciate feedback. I want to make this work, and Pathfinder is the game of choice so I thought I'd solicit ideas from the messageboards.
Have a pathfinder game coming up where I have been given the opportunity to play/reinvision a character I ran out of savage species. The character was a Rakshasa, and while Pathfinder recommends cutting out ECL and just using CR to determine levels, the game is going to start out at 1st level.
So I have a choice, do I build out a ten level progression for the Pathfinder Beastiary Rakshasa (which I feel is too powerful at level 10 with its great DR and SR for its level)or do I find a reasonable way to recreate the Rakshasa using a Race/Class combo that PC characters can get easily.
For option two I was thinking of Converting AE's Litorian to pathfinder with an addition of +2 to str. For the class, levels in Sorcerer with the Rakshasa bloodline and the old 3.0 Unearthed Arcana battle sorcerer variant is what I came up with. It isn't a perfect conversion, and I'm not under the impression that there is a perfect solution. Would another bloodline be better? Perhaps another class combo?
For option one I was thinking of cutting the DR down a lot or just cutting it out. The SR needs to go down to 10+level rather than the 15+level it is currently at. The sorcerer spellcasting looks to be three levels below the level listed. Meaning that the level 10 Rakshasa has an effective sorcerer level of 7 for spellcasting. I'm not sure if anything else needs to be cut out or changed. This option doesn't really get the option of class features that normal PCs get, but it gets DR and SR, and a couple of nifty tricks (Read Thoughts, Change Shape)...
Does anyone have any opinion on what I have so far, or does anyone have suggestions on how to make this work? I'd appreciate feedback. I want to make this work, and Pathfinder is the game of choice so I thought I'd solicit ideas from the messageboards.
Have you considered modifying the Rakshasa bloodline from UM?
I have looked at it, and the only thing about the bloodline that I think is weird is the alter self at level 15. Alter Self is a very low level spell (OK usable at will is a lot) so why is it that it appears as the level 15 ability. It is likely that the character has been using other methods of doing this for 12 or so levels by this point.
I'm thinking that option two will be easier on me as the player in the long run. Any thoughts on the class selection? Is the battle sorcerer up to snuff?
Someone is converting Savage Species to PF in the Converstion forum... jump down the page and check it out... not sure how far they come but been up for a few weeks.
I'll have to check it out, thanks for the reference.
It would be helpful if you could provide additional context, especially with what you want to do with the character.
Council of Thieves part 1, The Bastards of Erebus, contains an expanded section on Tieflings, including a Heritage Variant based on the Rakshasa: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Wis.
I played a Rakshasa in an epic level game back in the days of 3.5. If I were to do it again, I would definitely go with the tiefling. Mechanically, tiefling would be your race. You would take "Fiendish Heritage" as your first level feat, which would allow you to obtain the Rakshasa variant, and choose either DR or SR as your "randomly rolled" additional power. A kind GM, would allow you to trade out the tiefling's sla "darkness" for "alter self", and maybe the elemental resistance for some minor DR or SR (on par with the drow's or the alternative racial trait of the dwarf). Take the Rakshasa sorcerer bloodline, and, again, a kind DM would allow you to obtain the Tiefling's +2 cha for your chosen outsider's bloodline. That might look like this:
+2 Dex -2 Wis +4 Cha (effectively), darkvision, skilled (maybe +2 disguise self instead of stealth), SLA: alterself, and Fiendish Resistance: SR 5+ character level), Fiendish Facade: DR2/Piercing
A simple twist to the backstory is that your character is either a newly made Rakshasa or one that has transitioned to a new body. Your PC would have the racial flavor and the ability to take all 20 levels.
Regardless, please let us know how it all turns out.
It would be helpful if you could provide additional context, especially with what you want to do with the character.
Council of Thieves part 1, The Bastards of Erebus, contains an expanded section on Tieflings, including a Heritage Variant based on the Rakshasa: +2 Dex, +2 Cha, -2 Wis.I played a Rakshasa in an epic level game back in the days of 3.5. If I were to do it again, I would definitely go with the tiefling. Mechanically, tiefling would be your race. You would take "Fiendish Heritage" as your first level feat, which would allow you to obtain the Rakshasa variant, and choose either DR or SR as your "randomly rolled" additional power. A kind GM, would allow you to trade out the tiefling's sla "darkness" for "alter self", and maybe the elemental resistance for some minor DR or SR (on par with the drow's or the alternative racial trait of the dwarf). Take the Rakshasa sorcerer bloodline, and, again, a kind DM would allow you to obtain the Tiefling's +2 cha for your chosen outsider's bloodline. That might look like this:
+2 Dex -2 Wis +4 Cha (effectively), darkvision, skilled (maybe +2 disguise self instead of stealth), SLA: alterself, and Fiendish Resistance: SR 5+ character level), Fiendish Facade: DR2/Piercing
A simple twist to the backstory is that your character is either a newly made Rakshasa or one that has transitioned to a new body. Your PC would have the racial flavor and the ability to take all 20 levels.
Regardless, please let us know how it all turns out.
I'll have to take a look at this. The ability to take all 20 levels in a PC class is a big deal. The Rakshasa was a power behind the throne type character who allies himself with up and coming nobles/military/heroes and furthers their goals while getting them to trust in his advice and take actions he suggests to them. The sorcerer magic that wasn't focused on killing enemies charmed them.
I'll pick up council of thieves part one and look over that. Thanks for the idea and the backstory.
I actually just finished converting a version of the Rak, in my savage species type conversion. Although, I don't use CR as the level progression. So not sure if its what you're looking for. I decided to use the hit dice level of the creature to break down the monsters into. I know it tends to make some creatures more powerful than others at certain levels, but so far in playtest - on average the creatures per level normally can't stand toe-to-toe with the same level fighter.
But the Rak is included in the new sample...
I actually just finished converting a version of the Rak, in my savage species type conversion. Although, I don't use CR as the level progression. So not sure if its what you're looking for. I decided to use the hit dice level of the creature to break down the monsters into. I know it tends to make some creatures more powerful than others at certain levels, but so far in playtest - on average the creatures per level normally can't stand toe-to-toe with the same level fighter.
But the Rak is included in the new sample...
Awesome! I'm taking a look at it now. Aren't all outsiders proficient with martial weapons? Or was this a balance decision?
You are correct sir, they are prof with martial weapons. Thanks for the catch =) This is first draft still and in need of editing, so any other deletions, typos, omissions - please let me know. Thanks! =)