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Strewn throughout the Numerian wastes lie the shattered wrecks of ancient craft. These mysterious hulks fell to Golarion from an unknown place beyond the stars and in their holds one may find great wonders and danger in abundance.
An armiger is one who has hauled a piece of technological armour from such a wreck, or obtained it from other salvagers or traders that do not know its true worth. By bonding to the armour and learning about its functions, the armiger may enhance both it and himself to perform stunning feats.
While many of the armiger’s abilities seem magical and fantastic, he relies purely on science well beyond the understanding of most. Even he does not know the full extent of how his armour operates, but his knowledge is enough to grant himself potency enough to rival both might and magic.
This class is unfinished and probably broken in some way. It's a work in progress and I welcome contributions and suggestions toward its completion.
As you can see, it's vaguely built around the same ideas as the Synthesist, albeit not riding on the framework of the Summoner so much.
This class started as a joke in a thread about banning classes for not fitting concepts or mechanics or flavours of ice cream. This is one set to rile people up, or not, as you like!
If you do like the idea of an adventurer that found an old suit of high-tech power armour in a Numerian starship and has figured out how to make it go, come on in!
It's really late and I need to go to bed, so here's the stuff. Link is above.
Numerian Space Marine, Awesome!
At the moment I've not really done any balance work. It's all hashing out ideas and filling in the abilities and devices lists for now. When there are a decent number, we can start fine-tuning the numbers.
What do you want to see in a power-armoured character? If it's a good idea (or even an entertaining bad one) I'll think about writing it up and adding it to the document next time I update it.
Right now one thing that's a bit of a niggle for me is making everything extraordinary and nothing spell-like or supernatural. It makes sense that nothing about this is magical despite its great abilities, but that makes interaction with the rest of the Pathfinder system a little strange.
If I add an 'instant translocation' device to the armiger, and make it (Ex), should it be subject to such things as forbiddance and teleport trap? despite not being a teleportation spell?
Huh. I just checked forbiddance and it only blocks teleportation spells and not other forms of teleportation. Anything with a (Su) teleport can pop in without a worry.
It does seem a little overpowered (at first level) to be honest. Then again it went in a completely different direction then I was planning to go with it. I was planning on making it an artificer archetype for either magus or alchemist, but I'm lazy.
Let's see.
We'll take a human with the elite array. Let's say he wants to be a melee fighter with the battlesuit helping perform that role.
Stats: 16, 12, 13, 15, 10, 8
1st level armiger grants:
+0 BAB, +2 Fort, +0 Ref, +0 Will
He doesn't plan on monkeying about, and chooses the heavy battlesuit.
This grants him a reserve of 5 hit points from the armour, a +7 armour bonus and darkvision, low-light vision and 3 power points (level plus int mod). He can also spend 2 points to repair 1d6 damage to the battlesuit as a swift action.
He has three points to spend on devices. At this stage, there's not much to choose from. So, let's say he picks Efficient Repair, bringing the cost of healing down to 1 point per use, Improved Plating to bring the AC bonus up to +8 and Inertial Barrier because there's a spare point to spend.
He gets two feats for being a 1st level human, and picks power attack and weapon focus.
He picks up a greatsword with his starting cash because he needs a weapon.
This comes to... a statblock I'm too tired to write right now. It's almost 3 am.
maybe tone down the siege cannon a little bit. being able to inflict deafness on casters from 250 feet away, as an area effect is huge at fourth level (even at one shot only it can cause a significant shift in the battle dynamic).
It's for one round. Other casters can do the same thing permanently at that level.
Devices to add:
Flight tree:
Jet Boost - Spend a power point to fly x distance then fly speed ends (you may fall).
Sustained Flight - Spend a power point to fly for x rounds. (light and medium only)
Efficient Flight - Flight no longer requires power points. (light only)
Heavy Impact - Spend a power point to deal area damage (stun/knockback?) when falling from a sufficient height. (heavy only)
Size tree:
Medium size - A cheap option to allow a small armiger to count as medium.
Large size - What it says on the tin. (heavy only)
Huge size - Same deal. (heavy only)
Natural weapons:
To differentiate it from the synthesist, I might drop the masses of natural weapons route entirely. Maybe a few, with more special uses of them than simply large numbers of them.
Slam attack tree:
Slam attack - Gain a slam attack if you have a free hand.
Rapid punch - Iterative slams.
Kinetic punch - Spend a power point to add knockback to a slam attack.
Overturning punch - Spend a power point to add trip to a slam attack.
Rocket punch! - Spend a power point to make your slam as a ranged attack.
Remote control tree:
Scout drone - Spend a power point to summon a tiny construct to have a look around. Consumes 1 power point per minute of operation.
Combat drone - Spend a power point to summon a small construct with a basic beam emitter (functions as a lantern archon but with DR/adamantine and is a neutral construct). Consumes 1 power point per round of operation.
Remote armour - Your battlesuit may operate independently, at a cost of 1 power point per minute. It is a construct with no skills or feats, and has ability scores equal to your own (sans constitution and intelligence) and uses the battlesuit's hit points. Something like animate object.
Preservation protocol - When you're unconscious or helpless, your armour continues to operate according to a short set of instructions you define earlier.
Even though I couldn't access the google doc from my dumbPhone...from what I can see here....
Loving this. Blaze away UR, blaze away...
If you could post it here I would be a happy old wolf...
Numeria or go home!!!
You might want to look at Dreamscarred's aegis base class in their Psionics Expanded, which is basically a full-BAB meleer with non-sentient synthesist summoner armor. (The psionics is basically just flavor and could be easily reskinned as arcane spell-like abilities.) Unfortunately PsiExp isn't up on d20pfsrd.com yet, or you could take a look at it for yourself.
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Let's see.
We'll take a human with the elite array. Let's say he wants to be a melee fighter with the battlesuit helping perform that role.
Stats: 16, 12, 13, 15, 10, 8
1st level armiger grants:
+0 BAB, +2 Fort, +0 Ref, +0 Will
He doesn't plan on monkeying about, and chooses the heavy battlesuit.
This grants him a reserve of 5 hit points from the armour, a +7 armour bonus and darkvision, low-light vision and 3 power points (level plus int mod). He can also spend 2 points to repair 1d6 damage to the battlesuit as a swift action.
He has three points to spend on devices. At this stage, there's not much to choose from. So, let's say he picks Efficient Repair, bringing the cost of healing down to 1 point per use, Improved Plating to bring the AC bonus up to +8 and Inertial Barrier because there's a spare point to spend.
He gets two feats for being a 1st level human, and picks power attack and weapon focus.
He picks up a greatsword with his starting cash because he needs a weapon.
This comes to... a statblock I'm too tired to write right now. It's almost 3 am.
Sorry, this comes to an illegal stat block. :P
Power attack needs a +1 BAB, as does weapon focus.
In related news, I'm a fan of this already.
Whoops. Forgot about that. Never mind those.
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At the moment I've not really done any balance work. It's all hashing out ideas and filling in the abilities and devices lists for now. When there are a decent number, we can start fine-tuning the numbers.
What do you want to see in a power-armoured character? If it's a good idea (or even an entertaining bad one) I'll think about writing it up and adding it to the document next time I update it.
Right now one thing that's a bit of a niggle for me is making everything extraordinary and nothing spell-like or supernatural. It makes sense that nothing about this is magical despite its great abilities, but that makes interaction with the rest of the Pathfinder system a little strange.
If I add an 'instant translocation' device to the armiger, and make it (Ex), should it be subject to such things as forbiddance and teleport trap? despite not being a teleportation spell?
Huh. I just checked forbiddance and it only blocks teleportation spells and not other forms of teleportation. Anything with a (Su) teleport can pop in without a worry.
The Designer Who Shall Not Be Named came up with the idea for a steampunk class that could be either magic backed or "science backed". Basically, every ability is (St), meaning "Steampunk". There'd be a discussion at the front about (St) meaning either (Su) or (Ex) depending on the flavor the GM wanted.
That'd work here too.
I've gone mad!
More to come when I get around to it. This may be delayed as I have a lot of painting to catch up on.
I really like really like this. And I'm no fan of anything approaching point buy, that says something.
i love it.
quick question on the siege cannon, does the intended target also receive the sonic damage in addition to the piercing damage?
Love it.
quick question on the siege cannon, does the intended target also receive the sonic damage in addition to the piercing damage?
Nope. I'll fix that when I do an update.
Still a work in progress.
quick question on the siege cannon, does the intended target also receive the sonic damage in addition to the piercing damage?Nope. I'll fix that when I do an update.
that was my primary concern with it everything is better now.
Printan, makan some different characters.
Quick aside: Thank you for not going the "you're a construct? No soul/resurrection for you!" anti-technology route.
I had the idea of the technology being alive and somewhat intelligent, at least enough to enable the armiger to do all these things without truly understanting the science behind them. Perhaps the battlesuits were designed for soldiers with the expectation that they wouldn't be scientists.
As for technological singularity, I imagine the magic reviving the armiger's living flesh but it takes a while (and restoration) for the infused technology to reintegrate itself with his organic parts. Any critical impairment (i.e. negative levels) hinder this integration process.
dotting
how about an area effect healing bubble reactor module, thinking nanites would be appropriate as an excuse. seems like if these were soldier armors, at least some of them would be designated medics. also had a thought about wrist mounted melee weapons for a free quick draw/can't be disarmed mechanic.
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Running into the issue of supporting non-humanoid symmetry for the armor itself. Admittedly this is mostly because I went into character creation with visuals in mind before reading the class. Two of the four are easy enough to make though. For the other two, may just wing it on shape and ability support.
Just another thought, but this could also be useful, with some flavor and possibly mechanical tweaks, to represent a form of Augmentation for Vercite characters. I wouldn't want to have all Augmented work this way, but this is certainly an interesting option for a variety of that caste.
As it happens, I already had the idea of retractable blades, plus some extra gadgets for them. ;)
Still basically no balance work. Srsly, guys, tear this thing to bits! I want to see how it's perforated. :D
Link says it's in your trash...
BAH nevermind...it's there now.
Holy Dead Levels, Batman!
So this is basically a not-psionic version of Dreamscarred Press's Aegis class?
I have no idea what the Aegis does and don't have access to it.
And yes, there are 'dead' levels, but at the moment I can't think of anything to put in them, and they're not really dead since the armiger gets device points every level. They're about as dead as cleric levels.
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I wonder if Efficient Flight's level requirement might be too high, compared to the other flight options available before that level. Then again, it is always on with no resource usage.
Been considering some multiclass options. Armiger/Synthesist came up. My head hurts now.
Have to say, I like the feel in the separate reactor and capacitor pools.
I have no idea what the Aegis does and don't have access to it.
And yes, there are 'dead' levels, but at the moment I can't think of anything to put in them, and they're not really dead since the armiger gets device points every level. They're about as dead as cleric levels.
Similar to how the Soulknife creates a weapon out of their own mental energy, the Aegis creates a suit of armor out of their own mental energy.
The armor comes in three varieties: Light, Medium, and Heavy, and the stats for each of them are equivalent to certain pieces of pre-existing armor, and at higher levels, they're treated as a set of better armor. For example, the Medium version of the armor is initially treated as Scale Mail, but later on is treated as a Breastplate.
The armor can also be customized with a number of different modifications, like gaining darkvision, being able to breath in a non-breathable environment, or gaining enhancement bonuses to your physical stats (among many, many others). Depending on the version of the armor you're using, you get certain customizations for free. For example, you get an ability that reduces your armor check penalty and another that gives you a little extra damage with melee weapons.
Customizations for the Aegis are set up pretty much exactly as you have them as the Armiger; 1 point customizations being the cheapest and the easiest to access, but also the weakest, all the way up to 4 point customizations being the most expensive and hardest to unlock.
If you're interested in a full rundown of the class, you can find it in the Psionics Expanded: Unlimited Possibilities book.
[EDIT] Here's a preview of the first part of the book, which contains the class features and a couple of the customizations:
http://watermark.rpgnow.com/pdf_previews/95327-sample.pdf
All in all, the Armiger is designed a lot how I was originally designing a class I called Auto-Plate Pilot, which is pretty much exactly what you're doing here as well, though admittedly much more coherent than what I'd originally done. I pretty much shelved the idea when I found the Aegis (I have a preference for psionics classes anyway).
I wonder if Efficient Flight's level requirement might be too high, compared to the other flight options available before that level. Then again, it is always on with no resource usage.
Been considering some multiclass options. Armiger/Synthesist came up. My head hurts now.
Have to say, I like the feel in the separate reactor and capacitor pools.
I put it at the same level as sorcerer bloodlines get their permanent flight.
First off, 'dotting' this (if I understand that term as meaning that I'm favoriting it)
Second off, I'm kinda curious as to your reasoning behind making this a 3/4 BAB class. Based on what I'm seeing so far (Primarily melee-focused, all forms of armor and shields [except tower shields], all Simple and Martial weapons), this class would probably benefit better from a full BAB, possibly with a corresponding increase in the hit die's size.
Third, as far as what I think you should probably work on...
-While I like the idea of another "Trap Disarmer" class, particularly one that can do so well in combat, I think you should take off Trapfinding, especially if you do wind up giving it full BAB.
-As far as the armor goes, I think you might want to have it use the stats of pre-existing armor. As it stands, the stats used for Medium armor are actually closer to Light armor but with a worse Armor Check penalty, and the closest approximation to the Light armor version is Leaf Armor with a worse Arcane Failure Chance.
-I don't believe there is DR/Mithril, so it might be better to make the Mithril weapon enhancements something like "Silversheen Blade/Fist" or something like that.
-The Battlesuit needs some sort of upgrade to make it count as if it were made of Mithril. Perhaps an improved suspension system and circuitry to improve reaction time and lower the suit's over-all weight?
-Needs more explosives. Like, bomb-launchers or something.
-Freezethrower: Wut.
-Why is Sustained Flight a 1 point device while both Jet Boost and Efficient Flight are 2 point devices?
-This class needs an "Extra Devices" feat. Possibly use the Extra Evolution feat as a base?
So, yeah, not a whole lot of things that I think need downsizing, and quite a bit more that I think need improvement/clarification. granted, I could just be looking at the class with rose-tinted glasses, but then again, I've always felt that Pathfinder needed a class like this, that used technology to accomplish what others do via magic.
First off, 'dotting' this (if I understand that term as meaning that I'm favoriting it)
Second off, I'm kinda curious as to your reasoning behind making this a 3/4 BAB class. Based on what I'm seeing so far (Primarily melee-focused, all forms of armor and shields [except tower shields], all Simple and Martial weapons), this class would probably benefit better from a full BAB, possibly with a corresponding increase in the hit die's size.
I don't believe in tying BAB to combat prowess. It would be entirely possible to build a class that has 1/2 BAB and wrecks face in melee. In this case, the armiger relies heavily on stat boosts and armour abilities instead of BAB. It can get physical stats vastly in excess of a fighter and even then may be too powerful.
Third, as far as what I think you should probably work on...
-While I like the idea of another "Trap Disarmer" class, particularly one that can do so well in combat, I think you should take off Trapfinding, especially if you do wind up giving it full BAB.
That's kind of a leftover from the 'delves into wrecked starships and avoids hazards in search of technology' part of the concept.
-As far as the armor goes, I think you might want to have it use the stats of pre-existing armor. As it stands, the stats used for Medium armor are actually closer to Light armor but with a worse Armor Check penalty, and the closest approximation to the Light armor version is Leaf Armor with a worse Arcane Failure Chance.
The starting armour properties are deliberately worse than ordinary armour, but can be massively improved by class abilities and progression. And for free, too!
-I don't believe there is DR/Mithril, so it might be better to make the Mithril weapon enhancements something like "Silversheen Blade/Fist" or something like that.
The mithral weapon material is a precautionary piece of design. While mithral is usually just for overcoming silver, I am not going to assume that there will never be a creature with DR/mithral instead of silver.
-The Battlesuit needs some sort of upgrade to make it count as if it were made of Mithril. Perhaps an improved suspension system and circuitry to improve reaction time and lower the suit's over-all weight?
I could do that.
-Needs more explosives. Like, bomb-launchers or something.
I was keeping most of the direct attacks to single target so not to step on the alchemist's and evoker's toes as AoE specialists.
-Freezethrower: Wut.
The freezethrower is largely a copy/paste of the witch's ice tomb hex plus cone of cold, with an additional save for the extra effect. And yes, it's awkward.
-Why is Sustained Flight a 1 point device while both Jet Boost and Efficient Flight are 2 point devices?
Sustained flight is only a marginal improvement over jet boost in most circumstances.
-This class needs an "Extra Devices" feat. Possibly use the Extra Evolution feat as a base?
I haven't done class feats yet. That's likely to be one of them.
So, yeah, not a whole lot of things that I think need downsizing, and quite a bit more that I think need improvement/clarification. granted, I could just be looking at the class with rose-tinted glasses, but then again, I've always felt that Pathfinder needed a class like this, that used technology to accomplish what others do via magic.
I appreciate criticism. The more, the better. I prefer acknowledgement of flaws over praise. If everyone says something is great, how do you fix it?
At the end of all of this, I am of the mind that it's significantly weaker than the synthesist and still overpowered, which really says something about the synthesist and the even more powerful summoner.
i actually think this class is workable but i do have 2 concerns so far,
1. permanent huge size can cause a lot of problems for players
2. i really feel ultimate enlightenment is rather unimpressive compared to the other capstones and needs an upgrade
that being said i really like this class and it probably deserves a play test before ruling it broken at this junction.
I may add a 'compact mode' device that allows the battlesuit to take any size smaller than itself, to a minimum of the armiger's size.
Iron Man? :P
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Gah, that does apply doesn't it? I was thinking more along the lines of transforming robots with different levels(or kinds) of capability depending on whether their fully "open" or "closed", like the new Cyberdiscs coming in X-Com: Enemy Unknown, but Iron Man's a example of that sort of thing too...
Movie! Iron Man's "donning-while-walking" sequences are what came to mind when seeing the quick equipping features that Armiger picks up too. :)
Hmm. I am now considering a line of 'machine talents' to fill out some of the dead space in the armiger's class progression. Being able to hold the armour internally could be one.
But that would make the class even more complicated.
The dead levels comment was mostly a light-hearted jab. :)
Added it to my list of artificer classes as an engineer. All the other battle armor guys went there, so it's a good fit.
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You didn't ask for it, but oh god, there comes an Armiger archetype ! (Balance more than uncertain. Done when tired, so handle with precaution and Christopher Lee-metal awesomeness.)
*sparkles*
"I want a Big Daddy !"
Somatophylax Master
Sometimes, an armiger finds himself unable to physically bond with an alien piece of technology he stumbled upon... but, either by sheer luck, hidden protocols in the system or a supernatural intervention, the mechanisms someday animate spontaneously, relying on the creature's brainwaves to sustain it's own existence. It is said that particularly strong emotions, like a child's pure love or a hate-driven bloodlust, may activate and feed such machinery which in turn quickly awakes as a somatophylax - an automaton purely dedicated to the protection of it's master.
Iron Protector (Ex): At 1st level, the somatophylax master gains the following of a suit of living armor called a somatophylax. This is a machine with the traits of a half-construct, except that it merely falls unconscious if put to 0 hit points or less. Due to it's structure, it follows the same rules as an armiger's bonded armor but does not benefit from any hardness.
A somatophylax possesses all the properties of an armiger's bonded armor and receives the following properties of a summoner's eidolon : BAB, Good Saves, Bad Saves, Skills, Feats, Armor Bonus, Special (except share spells) and base shape - to which he adds the Monowheel/Motorbike shape from the list he may select.
Monowheel/Motorbike Shape : Starting Statistics : Size Medium; Speed 40 ft ; AC +2 natural armor; Saves Fort (good), Ref (good), Will (bad); Attack trample (1d8); Ability Scores Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11 ; Free Evolutions : mount, trample, plus may be mounted by a creature of same size, use trample as a creature one size category larger, and select the Improved Damage, Pull, Push, Reach and Energy Attacks evolutions by spending an equal amount of device points to improve trample as if it was a natural weapon.
A somatophylax gains an increase to both it's armor and natural armor bonuses as it's master gains levels, reflecting it's ever improving plating. A somatophylax's base shape does not provide it with natural attacks ; though all are proficient with simple and martial weapons plus any weapon their master is proficient with as long as they are able to wield them (using arm limbs, or treating a mouth as a pair of arms). By spending 1 reactor point, or if it's master is put unconscious by an attack or a spell, the somatophylax turns berserk and enters into a Rage. It gains a +2 morale bonus to Strength, Constitution and Will saves and suffers a -2 penalty to AC for a number of rounds equal to it's master Intelligence modifier, attacking any creature deemed as hostile until none remains or his Rage ends, at which point it falls to 0 HP, unconscious and inanimate until the next time it's master repairs it. If the master naturally falls asleep or unconscious, the somatophylax merely remains in stand-by next to him if possible, taking no action and suffering a -5 penalty to Perception checks.
A somatophylax may spend 1 device pool point to gain proficiency in shields, or 2 points to gain proficiency in tower shields. It may buy the eidolon's Mount property if allowed by it's base shape, and spend 1 device pool to be treated as a stable carriage for the purposes of wielding a double hackbutt or culverin.
This ability replaces Battlesuit Bond.
Guardian Tactics (Ex): A somatophylax gains the Bodyguard feat as a bonus feat at 1st-level, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. A number of times per day equal to his Intelligence modifier, the somatophylax master may repair his creature as a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity, as if using the auto-repair ability. Using this ability does not consume power points. On the opposite, a somatophylax may spend 1 reactor point as a free action to sacrifice up to 5 hit points and provide an equal amount to it's adjacent master in addition to the effects of a successful DC 15 heal check ; any point over the master's max HP is gained as temporary HP. Temporary HPs from this ability do not stack, though a somatophylax may provide a high amount of temporary HPs to it's master by burning several reactor points at once.
At 2nd level, and every six levels later (8,14,20), whenever the somatophylax or it's master use the Aid Another action, the bonus provided increases by an additional +1, up to +6 at 20th level.
At 4th level, whenever the somatophylax master is within his creature’s reach, he receives a +1 shield bonus to his Armor Class and a +1 circumstance bonus on his saving throws. This bonus does not apply if the somatophylax is grappled, helpless, paralyzed, stunned, or unconscious. Every 4 levels later (8,12,16,20), this bonus increases by +1, up to +5 at 20th level.
At 5th level, both the somatophylax and it's master receive the Team Up feat ; they may use this feat together without needing a third ally to have this feat and be adjacent to their target.
At 15th level, both the master and it's somatophylax's may put themselves in the trajectory of blows, absorbing half the damage received by the other as per the Shield Other spell. To absorb half the damage, one must be able to threaten the other's square.
These abilities replace trapfinding, infused Body, reinforced body and machine body.
Hmm. I haven't touched this thing since September. Would anyone be interested in me finishing it? Would anyone like to give it a playtest?