Some updates for the final version,
There's not going to be anymore of this "your bind spirits as an occultist equal to half your binder level" crap anymore. You just use your full binder level all the time. Here are the classes that were affected and the reasoning (or changes) behind it; let me know what you think.
And yes, Blayde, this is all your fault. :)
Totemic Sage (Barbarian): They're already restricted to one constellation of spirit at a time and the class gives you benefits for sticking with a single constellation, so why limit your choices by level to? The barbarian no longer gets additional rage powers and they trade all of their defenses for that spirit; no damage reduction, no uncanny dodge or improved uncanny dodge, and no fast moment. Totemic Alignment was changed so that it gives you a bonus if you invest in a specific totem, but if you don't you're not completely screwed. You can change your associated totem every level, but its not going to do you much good if you specialize in a specific branch of totem rage powers.
Soul Muse (Bard): It was already losing a LOT of its famed versatility. Id didn't need a wonky binding mechanic on top of that.
Warshade (Fighter): The fighter gets full progression now, but it loses armor training and armor mastery in addition to their first bonus feat for the ability to bind spirits.
Untouchable (Rogue): This archetype REALLY had it rough. No capstone empowerments, always a bad pact, an oracle curse, AND half binder level? Ew. So now, you get two oracle curses but you use your full binder level.
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First, I like that the aasimar binded with Serapith. That's pretty thematic in and of itself, so props to you!
It definitely sounds like a great encounter and I'm glad to hear that the warshade worked out well for you; to be honest, not giving them easy access to Major Granted abilities was something I truly debated with myself on but reading about the class in action seems to varify that choice; the seals seem to be worth giving up the Major Granted Ability for in most cases.
The only thing that I am curious about is that I thought the Fighter had a binder level equal to 1/2 their fighter level for the purpose of binding spirits. In this case, Serapith would be beyond the fighter's ability to bind with, correct?
To be honest, I'm debating removing that restriction entirely in most cases; especially after reading about how this test run went.
Now that my life isn't so hectic, I went back and checked. You're right... the best that he could have gotten was a level 4 spirit. My rushing to get the character done skewed my playtest.
My apologies.
I'm glad you like the thematic quality of the aasimar bound to Serapith. I liked it as well, though my initial reason was meeting the +4 bonus for binding the spirit.
But don't let my mistake change the 1/2 level set up. A fighter archetype shouldn't be as good the actual occultist class when it comes to binding spirits. I was planning on rewriting Saker any way, possibly making him a 7th level occultist with 7th or 8th level fighter abilities (still would be keeping the fighter archetype combo though). If my understanding of the multiclass binding rules is correct, that should give him access to Serapith (occultist granting up to 4th with the warshade fighter levels granting another two spirit levels to make a total of 6th level maximum). He may take a hit to his combat prowess as I'll have to eliminate some of his more potent fighter feats, but I'm thinking Saker being able to bind two spirits and getting pact augments will give him more flexibility than he would have had before. I'll post both builds when I'm done with the second one so you can see what I've done and to get some feedback from you on ways to make him better.
EDIT: Well crap.... I was hoping my mistake wouldn't cause you to change that. I stand by my feeling that the warshade shouldn't be as good at binding spirits as the occultist, though I understand changing it for the rogue archetype (I would've hated playing an untouchable).
EDIT: Well crap.... I was hoping my mistake wouldn't cause you to change that. I stand by my feeling that the warshade shouldn't be as good at binding spirits as the occultist, though I understand changing it for the rogue archetype (I would've hated playing an untouchable).
To be completely honest, even with that buff the warshade is not as good at binding spirits as the occultist. At the minimum level you would have needed to bind Serapith, the occultist would have had two additional spirits over you, constellation aspects, pact augmentations, plus the option of taking binder secrets which all feature very useful tricks when making pacts.
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EDIT: Well crap.... I was hoping my mistake wouldn't cause you to change that. I stand by my feeling that the warshade shouldn't be as good at binding spirits as the occultist, though I understand changing it for the rogue archetype (I would've hated playing an untouchable).To be completely honest, even with that buff the warshade is not as good at binding spirits as the occultist. At the minimum level you would have needed to bind Serapith, the occultist would have had two additional spirits over you, constellation aspects, pact augmentations, plus the option of taking binder secrets which all feature very useful tricks when making pacts.
I understand that technically the warshade wouldn't have those things going for it, but to me that was the point. If you wanted those things, then you're better off playing an occultist. The problem I have is giving up armor training; the seal of darkness/weapon training trade-off made sense to me, but getting rid of armor training for full spirit binding gimps the archetype severely in my opinion because he doesn't have access to those other things like an occultist. To me, the full binding doesn't give back enough to warrant the loss of a feat and armor training. My taking lore warden on as an additional archetype gave Saker abilities that compensated for the loss of armor training (plus I got back a feat at second level thanks to expertise).
I don't know if what I'm saying is making sense to you or not. I'm hoping that others who are participating in this playtest with me can see where I'm coming from and back me up by stating this far more eloquently than I can at the moment. I like the archetype the way you presented it, not with the change you have in mind.
I understand that technically the warshade wouldn't have those things going for it, but to me that was the point. If you wanted those things, then you're better off playing an occultist.
The warshade isn't getting things like Pact Augmentations or Constellation Aspects. They're just getting more spirits made available to them.
The problem I have is giving up armor training; the seal of darkness/weapon training trade-off made sense to me, but getting rid of armor training for full spirit binding gimps the archetype severely in my opinion because he doesn't have access to those other things like an occultist.
And an occultist doesn't have access to 20 feats over 20 levels. Right now, the warshade gets 19 of their 20 feats, armor training, and the seal of darkness modification to their spirits.
To me, the full binding doesn't give back enough to warrant the loss of a feat and armor training. My taking lore warden on as an additional archetype gave Saker abilities that compensated for the loss of armor training (plus I got back a feat at second level thanks to expertise).
I don't know if I agree with that. You get access to four additional levels of spirits to customize your abilities with each day. It gives fighters access to things like telepathy, Superior Two-Weapon Fighting, and even things like simacrums and whatnot. While all spirits are relatively close in power, higher level spirits tend to have niftier effects like that.
I don't know if what I'm saying is making sense to you or not. I'm hoping that others who are participating in this playtest with me can see where I'm coming from and back me up by stating this far more eloquently than I can at the moment. I like the archetype the way you presented it, not with the change you have in mind.
Almost all of my gametime is on the GM side of the screen, and as both a GM and an occasional player I personally think that having all of these weird numbers to keep track of isn't fun or innovative gameplay, especially when high level spirits aren't significantly more powerful than lower level ones. Its even worse when you take this line under Multiclassing into consideration:
"Multiclass binders who take levels in classes that do not grant a binder level add half of their class levels in non-binder classes to their binder level to determine the strength of their granted abilities; for example, a bard 2 / occultist 2 has a binder level of 3 (their occultist level + ½ their bard level)."
So you mean to tell me that your warshade, who is a dedicated pact magic warrior, only gains knowledge of new spirits as quickly as someone who isn't really focusing on it at all (aka multiclassing)? That doesn't make sense at all.
Considering how relatively small the Armor Training bonus is compared to a feat, I may just not remove Armor Training and leave the cost at feats; probably 1st, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th (those are the feats you get when Bravery improves, so you still get something, even if its only a +2 bonus on a trivial saving throw). I like the idea of trading innate class versatility for the versatility of spirits, when possible.
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I'm no game designer, and though I spend more time dealing with the rules as a DM than my own players, my system mastery is nowhere near as comprehensive as others on these forums. So I accept what's usually said, especially if that coincides with my own experience.
However, sometimes I will disagree with things if my gut reaction as a gamer leads me that way. And my gut disagreed with your proposal of taking away armor training for full spirit binding. It just felt wrong to me. There are times when I can properly put my feeling into words. Today I could not. But despite that, I think you understood on some level where I was coming from (your own gut reaction perhaps?).
Considering how relatively small the Armor Training bonus is compared to a feat, I may just not remove Armor Training and leave the cost at feats; probably 1st, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th (those are the feats you get when Bravery improves, so you still get something, even if its only a +2 bonus on a trivial saving throw). I like the idea of trading innate class versatility for the versatility of spirits, when possible.
That my gut can handle as a compromise.
Okay, this (hopefully) will be my final update in regards to major changes.
ALL core class archetypes (except for rogues, sorcerers, and wizards; see below) now have a special class feature called a Constellation alignment. Basically how it works is that all pact magic classes get full maximum spirit level, but they are restricted to specific constellations. Its a balancing factor that sucks for now but will be less painful as more of the spirits are released. That way, a non-occultist doesn't have access to every spirit easily. For the reccord, Constellation Alignment looks a little something like this:
Constellation Alignment: At 1st level, the foe reaper selects 1 constellation to align with. The foe reaper cannot make pacts with spirits whose constellation is opposed to their aligned constellation and the foe reaper is treated as a binder of ½ their ranger level for the purpose of making binding checks with and using the granted abilities of spirits they are not aligned with.
Every class except the bard is restricted to 1 constellation in this manner; the bard gains 3. In addition, here is the rule for multiclassing and Constellation Alignment:
In addition, a multiclass binder that gains Constellation Alignment from multiple classes uses only the alignment from the first class he or she received; subsequent classes abide by the selected alignment(s). If a class places a restriction on what constellations the binder can and cannot align to, the binder must abide by these restrictions or else they cannot take levels in the class. For example, a character aligned with the Noble constellation cannot take levels in the totemic sage archetype and a character aligned with the Thief constellation cannot take levels in the empyrean friar archetype. Similarly, a character that multiclasses into the
Because of this rule, I feel confident that I don't need to take away things like armor training or even additional bonus feats beyond that first one for the Fighter; they're fairly limited in what they can pick from now.
As for the Rogue, the Rogue has its own special restriction; a rogue can never make a good pact with a spirit. It has its own multiclassing rules as well, similar to the Fighter's. The difference is that the rogue doesn't get anything to make up for their basic lack of capstone empowerment in the same way that the Fighter can take Seals of Darkness. There's no more curses involved, but the rogue also loses their Sneak Attack for a nifty little skill-based ability. The reason I took away sneak attack was that it occupies the same space as the spirit's abilities and if you want, you can get back a worse version of your sneak attack by making a pact with Vandrae; in that case, you basically trade away half your rogue level for Vandrae's other abilities.
The Sorcerer's special spirit bonus is tied to their bloodline, which makes it an extremely difficult choice. (Remember how I said I'm only rarely a player? When I am, I'm a 14th level sorcerer. :-P) Aside from bind spirits, the other abilities in the bloodline are purposefully weaker than other bloodlines and sorcerers do not get anything to mix their binding with their spellcasting in the way that occult priests or soul weavers do. Plus they're losing a spell known per level since they trade away their bloodline spells.
The soul weaver doesn't get constellation alignment because they're suppposed to be arcane scholars; they wouldn't restrict themselves. Speaking of restrictons, they give up a LOT for their abilities. Its a cool archetype, but the wizard takes some heavy hits to get them.
I know it's a stretch, but how about a note/sidebar in the final release about how the ravaged bloodline interacts with the crossblooded archetype. I have a character who is based around a rakshasa pact magic experiment. If you can't fit it, what would you recommend I do?
If the playtesting's still open, I'd like to participate too.
I know it's a stretch, but how about a note/sidebar in the final release about how the ravaged bloodline interacts with the crossblooded archetype. I have a character who is based around a rakshasa pact magic experiment. If you can't fit it, what would you recommend I do?
The Ravaged Bloodline does not grant bonus spells, so you don't get a choice in what spells you get; they're all from the second bloodline. You still get to bind spirits, however, and you'd pick what sorcerer bloodline abilities you get at each level.
Basically, you take the -2 Will save penalty in exchange for the super flexibility and double-ups on arcana and class skills and you get bloodline spells as normal, but you lose 1 spell per day per spell level as indicated.
This is possibly a cool option for crossblooded sorcerers despite the spell delay (which really, REALLY hurts a pure casty type). I'll ask Dario if we can fit it in or not; I swamped that poor, poor man in a deluge of last-minute alterations last night so he may wish to refrain from speaking to me again until the book is officially released. xD
If we can't fit it in, use that comment as the WORD OF GOD. Or something similar.
If the playtesting's still open, I'd like to participate too.
I'd afraid its not open anymore. That being said, if one of the fine people in this thread wants to send you a link to look at the document, I will not object. Just be warned that the playtest document you all have is now VASTLY out of date compared to what Dario is plugging into the layout program thingie.
Thanks for the speedy response, I'll send that to my DM.
Thanks for the speedy response, I'll send that to my DM.
Apparently I didn't swamp him as badly as I thought I did; he sent me the whole editorial version of the book today to look over while he's away! Pretty awesome.
When he gets back from Europe in two weeks, the editor should be done looking the text over and I should be done looking over the game mechanics and fixing what weird issues need to be fixed. To clarify, unless one of you points out something grossly overpowered, rules changes are done. I'm only clarifying language and rules from this point onward.
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My apologies for not getting back here on Thursday. I've been dealing with the health of my grandmother, so my presence here on the forums has been limited. I still plan on posting my builds (all three of them) for you to review, hopefully later on in the day at the earliest, tomorrow at the latest.
My apologies for not getting back here on Thursday. I've been dealing with the health of my grandmother, so my presence here on the forums has been limited. I still plan on posting my builds (all three of them) for you to review, hopefully later on in the day at the earliest, tomorrow at the latest.
No worries; post away when you can. Dario is still on his business trip and the book isn't back from the editor until he returns anyway. I still have time to update my list of errata if needed before then.
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My time is limited so I'll post what I've got.
This is the original fighter version of Saker. I left it 'as is' from when I first did the set-up, not knowing what mistakes I had made when I playtested it. This version is by far the most melee-optimized of the three.
A tall man dressed in white and gold-chased holy vestments that do little to cover his lean but muscular build hovers before you on feathered wings that pulse red with blood.
Saker CR 14
Male aasimar fighter (lore warden, warshade) 14
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +13; Senses darkvision (60 ft.) Perception +17
AC 32, touch 21, flat-footed 23; (+9 armor, +5 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 insight, +2 shield)
hp 137 (14d10+46)
Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +4 (+6 vs. fear)
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +2 keen dueling bane (human, evil outsider) adamantine Aldori dueling sword +23/+18/+13 (1d8+9/17-20)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th)
1/day – daylight
Str 16, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +14; CMB +23 (+25 w/disarm and feint); CMD 38 (40 vs. disarm)
Feats Aldori Dueling Mastery*, Charge of the Righteous, Combat Expertise*, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Aldori dueling sword), Furious Strike*, Greater Weapon Focus (Aldori dueling sword)*, Greater Weapon Specialization (Aldori dueling sword)*, Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Quick Draw*, Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Aldori dueling sword)*, Weapon Specialization (Aldori dueling sword)*
Skills Acrobatics +19, Diplomacy +3, Knowledge (local, planes, religion) +18, Perception +17; Racial Bonus +2 Diplomacy, +2 Perception
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic
SQ bind spirit, bravery (+3), expertise, hair's breadth, know thy enemy, maneuver mastery (+6), scholastic, seal of darkness (shade step, shroud of the dark, tendril of darkness), sealed lore, swift lore
Combat Gear necklace of fireballs (type V), potion of cure serious wounds (3), potion of heroism; Other Gear bag of holding (type II), +3 champion celestial armor, belt of physical perfection +2, dusty rose prism ioun stone, +2 keen dueling bane (human, evil outsider) adamantine Aldori dueling sword, periapt of wound closure, ring of blinking, ring of protection +5, trackless boots
Saker version 2 is a multi-class build. This one was made after my discovery of the mistake with the previous build pointed out by Mr. Augunas, but before his initial revision of the archetype half-binder rule.
A tall man dressed in white and gold-chased holy vestments that do little to cover his lean but muscular build hovers before you on feathered wings that pulse red with blood. As he speaks, his words appear as luminous sigils that dance to the cadence of his voice.
Saker CR 15
Male aasimar occultist 7/fighter (lore warden, warshade) 8
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +5; Senses darkvision (60 ft.) Perception +17
AC 26/27, touch 17/19, flat-footed 22/24; (+9 armor, +2 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 insight, +2 sacred [smite only])
hp 131 (7d8+8d10+52)
Fort +15, Ref +9, Will +10 (+11 vs. fear)
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
Speed 30 ft.
Melee brilliant energy unarmed strike +18/+13/+8 (1d8+7)
Special Attack stunning fist (DC 18; 6/day)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th)
1/day – daylight
Spirits Known (binding check +13 [+15 w/angel constellation, +17 w/Serapith])
Serapith – Granted Abilities (currently bound)
Major – scouring light (11d6; Fort DC 19 for 5d6 damage)
Minor – angel's wings (12 minutes), Serapith's protection (+2 bonus), smite enemy (+2 attack; +11 damage), wrath of daylight (Fort DC 19 or permanent blindness)
Arturius – Granted Abilities
Major – skill at arms (3d6+3)
Minor – inspire courage (11th level bard; 6 rounds/day), king's dancing blade (+5 dancing longsword), royal pleasantries (+5 insight bonus), corpsewhisper (25 words; 55 mile range)
Loh'moi – Granted Abilities
Major – transdimensional ray (8d6 ranged touch attack)
Minor – bend to freedom (+5 insight bonus), extra space (rope trick [CL 11th]), geometrical agility (take standard action after geometrical step; provide flanking), geometrical step (dimensional door as move action)
Xalen d'Marek – Granted Abilities (currently bound to tattoo on hand)
Major – shrink (Will DC 17 negates)
Minor – enhance vessel's mind (+2 insight to Intelligence; 11 ranks one Knowledge skill), forbidden lore (+5 insight on Knowledge and Spellcraft checks), locate writings (locate any written documents seen or familiar as locate objects), thirst for knowledge (constant comprehend languages; +4 bonus on saves vs. written magical traps)
Ubro – Granted Abilities
Major – healing surge (channel energy as 11th level cleric; healing only)
Minor – heal aches (remove blinded or deafened condition), healer's hands (+5 bonus to Heal checks), sand skin (gain DR 6/magic and piercing), status (as the spell on successful Heal check)
General Hessant – Granted Abilities
Major – Hessant's punishment (Reflex DC 17 or knocked prone and entangled)
Minor – call longsword (summon +2 flaming keen longsword), courage of the general (+4 insight bonus on saves vs. fear effects), dazing strike (daze for 1 round; Fortitude DC 17 negates), iron gaze (+5 insight bonus to Intimidate and Sense Motive; +11 vs. subordinates)
Str 20, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 14 (12), Wis 13, Cha 15
Base Atk +13; CMB +22; CMD 36
Feats Angel Fist, Angel Step, Angel Style*, Combat Expertise*, Constellation Focus (angel), Flexible Pactmaking, Greater Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)*, Spirit Focus (Serapith), Stunning Fist, Toughness, Vital Strike*, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)*, Weapon Specialization (unarmed strike)*
Skills Acrobatics +13, Diplomacy +13, Knowledge (arcana) +16, Knowledge (engineering*, history) +11, Knowledge (local, planes, religion) +12, Perception +11, Profession (soldier) +11, Spellcraft +16; Racial Bonus +2 Diplomacy, +2 Perception
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic
SQ bind spirit, bravery (+1), constellation aspect (angel, scholar), expertise, know thy enemy, maneuver mastery (+4), pact augmentation (defense, insight), scholastic, scribe binding tattoo, seal of darkness (shade step), sealed lore
Combat Gear necklace of fireballs (type V), potion of cure serious wounds (3), potion of heroism; Other Gear bag of holding (type II), +3 champion celestial armor, belt of physical perfection +2, dusty rose prism ioun stone, periapt of wound closure, ring of blinking, ring of protection +5, trackless boots, wayfinder of revelation
Finally, this is Saker version 3. This build is done using Mr. Augunas' recent constellation alignment rule for archetypes.
A tall man dressed in white and gold-chased holy vestments that do little to cover his lean but muscular build hovers before you on feathered wings that pulse red with blood. As he speaks, his words appear as luminous sigils that dance to the cadence of his voice.
Saker CR 15
Male aasimar occultist 7/fighter (lore warden, warshade) 8
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +5; Senses darkvision (60 ft.) Perception +17
AC 27/29*, touch 18/20*, flat-footed 23/25*; (+9 armor, +3 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 insight, +2 sacred [smite only])
hp 131 (7d8+8d10+52)
Fort +16, Ref +10, Will +11 (+12 vs. fear)
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +20/+15/+10 brilliant energy unarmed strike (1d8+7)
Special Attacks stunning fist (Fort DC 18; 6/day)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th)
1/day – daylight
Spirits Known (binding check +17 [+19 w/angel constellation, +21 w/Serapith])
Serapith – Granted Abilities (currently bound)
Major – scouring light (15d6; Fort DC 21 for 5d6 damage)
Minor – angel's wings (16 minutes), Serapith's protection (+2 bonus), smite enemy (+2 attack; +15 damage), wrath of daylight (Fort DC 21 or permanent blindness)
Arturius – Granted Abilities
Major – skill at arms (4d6+4)
Minor – inspire courage (15th level bard; 7 rounds/day), king's dancing blade (+5 dancing longsword), royal pleasantries (+7 insight bonus), corpsewhisper (25 words; 75 mile range)
Loh'moi – Granted Abilities
Major – transdimensional ray (8d6 ranged touch attack)
Minor – bend to freedom (+7 insight bonus), extra space (rope trick[i/] [CL 15th]), [i]geometrical agility (take standard action after geometrical step; provide flanking), geometrical step (dimensional door as move action)
Xalen d'Marek – Granted Abilities (currently bound to tattoo on hand)
Major – shrink (Will DC 19 negates)
Minor – enhance vessel's mind (+2 insight to Intelligence; 15 ranks one Knowledge skill), forbidden lore (+7 insight on Knowledge and Spellcraft checks), locate writings (locate any written documents seen or familiar as locate objects), thirst for knowledge (constant comprehend languages; +4 bonus on saves vs. written magical traps)
Ubro – Granted Abilities
Major – healing surge (channel energy as 15th level cleric; healing only)
Minor – heal aches (remove blinded or deafened condition), healer's hands (+7 bonus to Heal checks), sand skin (gain DR 6/magic and piercing), status (as the spell on successful Heal check)
General Hessant – Granted Abilities
Major – Hessant's punishment (Reflex DC 19 or knocked prone and entangled)
Minor – call longsword (summon +4 flaming keen longsword), courage of the general (+4 insight bonus on saves vs. fear effects), dazing strike (daze for 1 round; Fortitude DC 19 negates), iron gaze (+7 insight bonus to Intimidate and Sense Motive; +15 vs. subordinates)
Str 20, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 14 (12), Wis 13, Cha 15
Base Atk +13; CMB +22; CMD 36
Feats Angel Fist, Angel Step, Angel Style*, Combat Expertise*, Constellation Focus (angel), Flexible Pactmaking, Greater Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)*, Spirit Focus (Serapith), Stunning Fist, Toughness, Vital Strike*, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)*, Weapon Specialization (unarmed strike)*
Skills Acrobatics +11, Diplomacy +14, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Knowledge (engineering*) +20, Knowledge (history) +12, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (planes, religion) +12, Perception +11, Profession (soldier) +11, Spellcraft +16; Racial Bonus +2 Diplomacy, +2 Perception
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic
SQ bind spirit, bravery (+1), constellation alignment, constellation aspect (angel, scholar), expertise, know thy enemy, maneuver mastery (+4), pact augmentation (defense, insight), scholastic, scribe binding tattoo, seal of darkness (shade step), sealed lore
Combat Gear necklace of fireballs (type V), potion of cure serious wounds (3), potion of heroism; Other Gear bag of holding (type II), +3 champion celestial armor, belt of physical perfection +2, dusty rose prism ioun stone, periapt of wound closure, ring of blinking, ring of mind shielding, trackless boots, wayfinder of revelation
As always, comments are appreciated. A note should be made in regard to three feats used in builds 2 and 3: Angel Style is a combat style introduced in Kobold Quarterly #21's "Divine Archetypes" article, with Angel Step and Angel Fist (where the brilliant energy enhancement on his unarmed strike comes from) being the additional components of that fighting style. When Blood of Angels comes out later this month, I'll more than likely be refining the build even further to really enhance Saker's angelic nature. Looking forward to seeing how well that turns out. Also, I'm not completely done with Saker's gear in builds 2 and 3, as he is supposed to have the wealth of a 15th-level PC in all three (hence the CR).
As far as characters go, this is the first angelic themed one I've ever done, so it's 'all out' and 'in your face.' Since my players are not used to fighting that kind of foe, I want that aspect of what Saker is to really stand out in their minds each time they encounter him.
Alzrius is right; CR for 0-HD races is equal to class levels -1.
Other then that, looks pretty good except for the fact that Dario and I are clearly going to have to get some kind of special character sheet / spirit cards made or something as a reference tool.
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His CR is 1 higher because he's supposed to be an enhanced NPC. When I'm finally done, he's going to have the gear of a 15th level PC as opposed to the normal wealth for a 15th level NPC. I didn't completely put down all of his gear when I posted builds 2 and 3 while his stats were derived from 20 point buy as opposed to 15 points. This precedent was established with the Pathfinder ruleset in Pathfinder #30: The Twice-Damned Prince.
Chammady Drovenge is an enhanced NPC, as is her brother (who is also something more than a normal tiefling).
The character sheet and spirit cards would be useful if you can come up with them. I just went with putting the spirits down like I would spells as that puts them and their abilities where I can find them.
I do know that upping the gp value of an NPC from NPC-level to PC-level increases the CR by +1. My mistake.
But yeah, I'll talk to Dario about it. I have a *little* experience with that kind of formatting, but not a whole lot. Maybe we can commission it or something; I don't know. I think he's somewhere in France at the moment right now, though. He's pretty good at avoiding Facebook Stalking. :-<
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Though I was upset about the delay for Blood of Angels, getting my notice for the Advanced Race Guide has mitigated the pain I felt. I'm still going over its contents, but once I give the aasimar portion the once over, I'll begin working on that final build for Saker (looking more at swapping out racial traits than applying the race-specific feats but we'll see).
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It took a while but I finally finished going over the ARG, and based on what I saw that intrigued me, incorporated what was found into my final build for Saker.
Enjoy!
A tall man dressed in white and gold-chased holy vestments that do little to cover his lean but muscular build hovers before you on feathered wings that pulse red with blood. As he speaks, his words appear as luminous sigils that dance to the cadence of his voice.
Saker CR 16
Male aasimar occultist 7/fighter (lore warden, warshade) 9
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses Perception +11
AC 30/32*, touch 23/25*, flat-footed 24/26*; (+7 armor, +5 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 insight, +1 monk, +2 sacred [smite only*])
hp 172 (7d8+9d10+87)
Fort +18, Ref +13, Will +12 (+13 vs. fear; +4 vs. death effects; +2 vs. blinded and dazzled effects, energy drain, negative energy, and necromantic spells or spell-like abilities)
Resist negative energy damage 5
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +23/+18/+13 brilliant energy unarmed strike (1d8+9)
Special Attacks stunning fist (Fort DC 19; 7/day)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th)
At will – light
1/day – lesser age resistance
Spirits Known (binding check +19 [+21 w/angel constellation, +23 w/Serapith])
Serapith – Granted Abilities
Major – scouring light (16d6; Fort DC 23 for 5d6 damage)
Minor – angel's wings (17 minutes), Serapith's protection (+2 bonus), smite enemy (+3 attack; +16 damage), wrath of daylight (Fort DC 23 or permanent blindness)
Arturius – Granted Abilities
Major – skill at arms (4d6+4)
Minor – inspire courage (16th level bard; 11 rounds/day), king's dancing blade (+5 dancing longsword), royal pleasantries (+8 insight bonus), corpsewhisper (25 words; 80 mile range)
Loh'moi – Granted Abilities
Major – transdimensional ray (8d6 ranged touch attack)
Minor – bend to freedom (+8 insight bonus), extra space (rope trick [CL 16th]), geometrical agility (take standard action after geometrical step; provide flanking), geometrical step (dimensional door as move action)
Xalen d'Marek – Granted Abilities
Major – shrink (Will DC 21 negates)
Minor – enhance vessel's mind (+2 insight to Intelligence; 16 ranks one Knowledge skill), forbidden lore (+8 insight on Knowledge and Spellcraft checks), locate writings (locate any written documents seen or familiar as locate objects), thirst for knowledge (constant comprehend languages; +4 bonus on saves vs. written magical traps)
Ubro – Granted Abilities
Major – healing surge (channel energy as 16th level cleric; healing only)
Minor – heal aches (remove blinded or deafened condition), healer's hands (+8 bonus to Heal checks), sand skin (gain DR 7/evil and piercing), status (as the spell on successful Heal check)
General Hessant – Granted Abilities
Major – Hessant's punishment (Reflex DC 21 or knocked prone and entangled)
Minor – call longsword (summon +5 flaming burst keen longsword), courage of the general (+4 insight bonus on saves vs. fear effects), dazing strike (daze for 1 round; Fortitude DC 21 negates), iron gaze (+8 insight bonus to Intimidate and Sense Motive; +16 vs. subordinates)
Str 24, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 14 (12), Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +14; CMB +25; CMD 38
Feats Angel Fist, Angel Step, Angel Style*, Combat Expertise*, Constellation Focus (angel), Flexible Pactmaking, Greater Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)*, Spirit Focus (Serapith), Stunning Fist, Toughness, Vital Strike*, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)*, Weapon Specialization (unarmed strike)*
Skills Acrobatics +11, Diplomacy +13, Fly +9, Knowledge (arcana, history) +15, Knowledge (engineering*) +22, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (planes, religion) +12, Perception +11, Profession (soldier) +11, Spellcraft +16
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic
SQ bind spirit, bravery (+1), constellation alignment, constellation aspect (angel, scholar), deathless spirit, expertise, halo, immortal spark, know thy enemy, maneuver mastery (+4), pact augmentation (defense, insight), scholastic, scribe binding tattoo, seal of darkness (allure of the night, shade step), sealed lore
Combat Gear potion of cure serious wounds (3), potion of heroism; Other Gear bag of holding (type IV), +7 champion bracers of armor, belt of physical perfection +6, binding tattoo (Serapith – back of both hands), binding tattoo (Xalen d'Marek – occupies shoulder slot), dusty rose prism ioun stone, monk's robe, pathfinder's coin, periapt of wound closure, ring of blinking, ring of protection +5, trackless boots, wayfinder of revelation
PC Gear: +67,000 gp
Deathless Spirit: Saker's celestial spirit manifest's strongly within him, granting him resistance 5 against negative energy damage. He does not lose hit points when gaining negative levels and gains a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against death effects, energy drain, negative energy, and necromancy spells or spell-like abilities.
Halo: Saker can create light centered on his head at will as a spell-like ability in the form of a halo. When using his halo, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks against evil creatures and on saving throws against becoming blinded and dazzled.
Immortal Spark: Saker's aasimar form defies the powers of death. He gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (history) checks and saving throws against death effects. In addition, Saker can use lesser age resistance once per day as a spell-like ability.
Bind Spirits: Saker may seal pacts with spirits, each day being able to bind two spirits of his choice.
Constellation Aspects: When performing a spirit's ceremony, he can choose to increase the spirit's binding DC by 5 in order to add a constellation aspect to the list of minor granted abilities the spirit grants. The spirit bestows this power even if the binding check fails. The decision to add a constellation aspect must be made before the binding check to determine if the pact is good or bad. Saker can only have one constellation aspect per bound spirit at a time.
Pact Augmentation (Su): If Saker makes a good pact with at least one of his bound spirits he can select two additional benefits. A pact augmentation lasts for 24 hours or until Saker is no longer bound to any spirits. The following are the augmentations most commonly used by him, though they are by no means the only ones:
* Defense Augment: +1 insight bonus to AC and CMD. This bonus applies to both touch and flat-footed AC.
* Insight Augment: +2 insight bonus on initiative checks.
Know Thy Enemy (Ex): Saker can take a standard action to study a specific target in sight. He must make a Knowledge check to determine the target's abilities and weaknesses as part of this standard action. If successful, Saker not only notes the appropriate abilities and weaknesses, but also gains a +2 competence bonus on all attack rolls and weapon damage rolls made against that enemy. This bonus on attack and damage rolls applies only to that specific creature and lasts for the duration of an encounter, or until Saker attempts a new Knowledge check to use this ability on a different target.
Seal of Darkness (Su): Whenever Saker makes a pact with a spirit, he can choose to draw one of their seals onto a weapon, placing the spirit into the weapon and gaining the selected seal's ability. He continues to benefit from the spirit's minor abilities while the spirit is sealed inside of the weapon. A seal of darkness follows all of the rules for a major granted ability (including how it is expended) and Saker cannot apply a seal of darkness if he chooses to gain a spirit's major ability.
* Allure of the Night: As a standard action, Saker can set loose the tantalizing whispers of the spirit bound to his seal of darkness for 16 rounds. A successful Diplomacy check (DC 10 + ½ the creature’s hit dice + their Wis modifier) against creatures in his threatened area causes them wrought with alluring whispers, urging them to attack him. The creature takes a -3 penalty on attack rolls made against creatures other than Saker and suffers a 15% spell failure chance on spells that do not target him or have him in their targeted area. A creature so affected is aware of this penalty.
* Shade Step: As a move action, Saker can move up to 25 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Saker may only have one seal of darkness at a time, despite being able to bind with multiple spirits.
Looks good, Blayde!
I spoke with Dario yesterday. The manuscript is back from the editor and he's about 2/3s of the way through fixing everything. We don't think we're going to have the printed copy ready for PaizoCon like we had planned, but the PDF will almost certainly be ready (*knocks on wood*) and the first batch should hopefully be back from the printers the following week!
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Glad you like it. Wasn't too sure you'd see the build, to be honest.
Good to hear about the PDF, though I am sorry about the printed copy not being ready for PaizoCon. Though I'm pretty sure about getting the PDF when it becomes available, I'll have to wait and see on the printed copy. I usually don't get 3PP in printed form, but for you guys I'm willing to make the rare exception (provided the funds allow for it, that is).
Glad you like it. Wasn't too sure you'd see the build, to be honest.
Good to hear about the PDF, though I am sorry about the printed copy not being ready for PaizoCon. Though I'm pretty sure about getting the PDF when it becomes available, I'll have to wait and see on the printed copy. I usually don't get 3PP in printed form, but for you guys I'm willing to make the rare exception (provided the funds allow for it, that is).
I am a huge forum lurker. If I've ever posted in something, there's about an 83% chance that I'll see updates to the topic (that's repeating, of course).
I can't speak for Dario on this one, but I personally expect more people to buy the PDF over the printed copy. That's just how the hobby is evolving nowadays. However, I like seeing a printed copy available. Private printing (i.e. not printing in bulk) is on the expensive side and there are tons of 3PP products that I'd totally buy in print if the option was available (looks at the Genius Guide to the Godling and sighs).
I'm hoping that this is a product people want to buy in print. Though to be honest, I'm hoping that this is a product people want to buy period!
wow i am late to the party, i definately want to see pact magic interacting with divine productively for once.
wow i am late to the party, i definately want to see pact magic interacting with divine productively for once.
Well, Spirits Unleashed is a (mostly) settings neutral book, so we don't really get into specific gods. By "productively," I'm assuming you mean, "worship and pact magic being apart of one another." If that's the case, you'll get both sides of the coin in this book. The cleric section possesses a new Cleric domain (the Occult domain) as well as a new pact magic archetype (the Occult Priest). On the contrary, the paladin receives a new archetype (the Templar) that is dedicated to destroying pact magic and the Oath against Spirits, an oathbound paladin oath that allows the paladin to swear to eradicate pact magic.
To give other news, I'm actually proof-reading the (mostly) completed Spirits Unleashed: Volume 1 book right now. I'm going to be a little conceded and say that its one of the best-looking 3PP I've ever seen; Dario certainly sets the bar high for all others. Dario also upped the book's final page count from 64 pages to 76 pages to account for art and whatnot, and as a result there are some new pieces of material that weren't in the playtest.
Without spoiling too much, the following will make its debut when the book is released:
- 3 all-new spells, tailored for clerics and other practitioners of divine magic (located in the cleric section).
- A second all-new Occultist archetype, the Seal-Etched Occultist.
- A second all-new Sorcerer bloodline, the Ergon Bloodline.
When we have the 100% finished copy of the manuscript, I will see if I can't sneak you all several pages to get you even more hyped up!
I am very interested in helping playtest this. I've always been a fan of adding different kinds of magic to the game and I can't wait to see how this one is unique compared to the base spellcasters.
Sorry, this thread is outdated. Playtest month was back in May. When the finished book is done, I'm going to be opening up a product thread in this forum.
Final update for this thread. I just approved Dario to send out the final version of Spirits Unleashed: Volume One to the printers today. We are going to be sending the PDF to the fine folks At Paizo soon as well, so thank you everyone who helped get this project to be the quality supplement that it is today!
I will be opening. Product page about the book later, but for now rejoice! The book's final page count is now at 84; a whopping 8 more pages then I told you we were going to have last week! Those new pages have the full fictional recounting of select spirit's legends that Dario wrote for the original book.