Prana?
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Hi, everybody!
Ssalarn asked me to looks at this stuff sooooo long ago but I've been so busy with life and my own projects that I haven't until recently. Bad friend. No. Go lie down.
I PM'd most of this to Ssalarn but I'm going to put it here too for discussion.
Daevik: My guess at power level right now is better than a Fighter, worse than a good Magus. Yes, the Daevik has some slick versatility but magic does that for the Magus, too. There's only a couple bits that give me pause, like binding Bloody Shroud with Blood Bind. It's potentially a lot of negative levels. TWF with Kukri and you're guaranteed to be dropping negative levels on bad guys.
Guru: I think guru is solid. Ssalarn tells me it was the last one they did and they got to apply all the lessons learned to this one and I think it shows.
Vizier: There is a narrow path to stupidly powerful for him right now. Avatar of light for extra DPR, Ditchdigger's Armlets for battlefield control, Light Whip for even more control while Ditchdigger recharges, and something like hand cannon or riven darts for everything in between. If I made that a bad guy, my players would flip the table in frustration.
I like Light Whip, but once it's bound it's totally nuts. If I were a wizard playing with that guy I'd cast greater invisibility on him and just let him run around forever tripping the hell out of everyone and not even using an action to do it! With the right defensive veils, he probably doesn't even really need the invisibility. Maybe instead, when it's bound he can activate it as a full round action to trip everyone?
prana makes sense.
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Vizier: There is a narrow path to stupidly powerful for him right now. Avatar of light for extra DPR, Ditchdigger's Armlets for battlefield control, Light Whip for even more control while Ditchdigger recharges, and something like hand cannon or riven darts for everything in between. If I made that a bad guy, my players would flip the table in frustration.I like Light Whip, but once it's bound it's totally nuts. If I were a wizard playing with that guy I'd cast greater invisibility on him and just let him run around forever tripping the hell out of everyone and not even using an action to do it! With the right defensive veils, he probably doesn't even really need the invisibility. Maybe instead, when it's bound he can activate it as a full round action to trip everyone?
Do you think a full round action is necessary for Light Whip given how situational it is? Would a move or standard serve as well? I'm just trying to think, at the level where it's most potent, it seems like a Wizard with Toppling metamagic could do the same thing (effectively) and drop a reasonably potent spell simultaneously (and maybe a Quickend one as well!). SInce the Vizier is basically the Essence "wizard", I want him to be able to do controller-y stuff competitively.
We're looking at a change in terminology to make Essence something that fits more closely with the overall silk road/Persian/Hindi themes we've been going with. This may involve elaborating on the idea of Essence, or defining Essence in a slightly different way. I'm not sure if that's something I can dive into right now, but leave it that we've got some solid plans for the terminology that probably will be enacted closer to the end of the playtest. I'd really like to make sure the mechanics are pretty nailed down before we start spending too much time twiddling with the fiddly flavor bits. Trust that it will all tie together very neatly for the final package and we'll keep a very strong grounding in the cultural flavors we've chosen.Funny how a change in perspective can change so much. So then Essence takes the place of Incarna. Although, what gives it the Indian flavor? That seemed tied to Essence, and made it different in a sense from any other magic.
If it's just magic suffusing the world, and some can harness it in X ways, while other can only do Y, and then mister Z can only shoot it out from his mouth as rays....
Something to consider, at least.
And I'm sure you'll do an awesome job. Looking forward to it!
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Do you think a full round action is necessary for Light Whip given how situational it is? Would a move or standard serve as well? I'm just trying to think, at the level where it's most potent, it seems like a Wizard with Toppling metamagic could do the same thing (effectively) and drop a reasonably potent spell simultaneously (and maybe a Quickend one as well!). SInce the Vizier is basically the Essence "wizard", I want him to be able to do controller-y stuff competitively.
Are there a lot of force spells that affect a bunch of people? I can't really think of any off the top of my head. Forcecage I guess, but it doesn't really matter if you trip someone stuck in the cage.
And even if there were spells I'm not thinking about, it would be a full round action if it were a sorcerer. The sorcerer might be able to do it from further away but the Vizier has better defenses making the close range less dangerous.
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Do you think a full round action is necessary for Light Whip given how situational it is? Would a move or standard serve as well? I'm just trying to think, at the level where it's most potent, it seems like a Wizard with Toppling metamagic could do the same thing (effectively) and drop a reasonably potent spell simultaneously (and maybe a Quickend one as well!). SInce the Vizier is basically the Essence "wizard", I want him to be able to do controller-y stuff competitively.Are there a lot of force spells that affect a bunch of people? I can't really think of any off the top of my head. Forcecage I guess, but it doesn't really matter if you trip someone stuck in the cage.
And even if there were spells I'm not thinking about, it would be a full round action if it were a sorcerer. The sorcerer might be able to do it from further away but the Vizier has better defenses making the close range less dangerous.
Hmmm, fair enough. I just kind of doubted there would be a time where Light Whip would be any more useful than a Toppling Magic Missile.
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Yeah, but as I understand it the Light Whip is limitless and doesn't take an action. A wizard would get six or seven 2nd level spells at 9th level and it takes him a feat, a spell slot, and an action to perform.
Using Ditchdigger to force enemies to move closer together to avoid the pit or difficult terrain leaves them in good position to get tripped en masse. And then presumably gored to death or something if you make changes to how some of the more melee oriented veils work for Viziers.
If making it a full round action really makes you uncomfortable, a standard action would suffice to minimize my concerns if not completely eliminate it. See what other boards think.
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Nobody cares about the AoOs of a 1/2 BAB class. Maximising core action economy is arguably the most important part of making a powerful character.
Fair enough. I was kind of playing around with some options to give the Vizier something that resembles a true caster's action economy, since he can't really Quicken his Veil abilities (and even if he could, he's eating up swift actions that a Vizier will probably always want to be using for moving Essence), this seemed like a viable option.
I also worry about nerfing it down too much because the bind kicks in at a level where flying is becoming common, and you can't trip flying creatures, and you have more and more creatures with huge bonuses to their CMD vs. Trip (and in general).
However, I definitely respect your opinion enough that with it added to the other feedback I have we'll be looking at cutting the overall power of this Veil back.
What if it was a swift or immediate action? He'd be choosing between re-investing his Essence and utilizing a potentially powerful ability at a moment where it could be very useful. I've been trying to avoid too many swift action abilities since an experienced player is probably going to burning his swift every round to shift Essence, but this seems like a scenario where it could potentially be a fair trade. He'll probably spend his swift action on the first round allocating to whatever offensive Veil he wants to capitolize with in preparation for opening an opportunity with the Light Whip. Thoughts?
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Quick note guys, I finally have internet at home, so the new updates should make a weekend release, including final adjustments to Daevic Veils and some smoothing out of some of the phrasing, additional Guru Veils, removal of Avatar of Light, adjustments to Guru Philosophies, reworking/addition of several Vizier Veils to keep him with a wide range of functional options with his reduced BAB, and addition of several important descriptors and minor terminology adjustments throughout the Veil lists.
Also of note, a poster in another forum brought up the fact that Transfer the Essence could have some strange interactions with cursed items (and potentially intelligent items as well) so I'm going to be reviewing that tonight and making some decisions about how those will all interact. At this point, I believe Transfer the Essence simply won't work on artifacts, cursed items, and intelligent items.
Feats, which I had originally planned for this release, will probably need to wait for the archetype roll-out. Since several of the feats will have a much more noticeable impact with the archetypes than the core Veilweaver classes (kind of in the same vein as how running sideways along a wall is kind of neat for a Psion but potentially amazing for a more martially focused class) I think this will give them a better and more thorough testing opportunity.
Thanks all!
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Bumped into a small editing issue with the new Veils (need to get them matched up with some of the changes worked into the current Veils in addition to a weird formatting issue that keeps cropping up when I try to add them to the gdocs), so there will be a follow up release very shortly adding those to the playtest document.
In the meantime though:
Changelog:
Immortal Essence adjusted so that multiple uses overlap rather than extending the duration, allowing him a second option for Essence burn recovery.
Stunning Fist updated to note that recovering a use is a 1/day mechanic.
Gloves of the Master Thief corrected to grant an insight bonus.
Armory of the Conqueror adjusted so that it no longer grants a size boost until essence is invested, and size now scales at 1, 3, 5, and 7 Essence.
Wrath Passion adjusted so that both Bull Rush and Overrun options are supported throughout the life of the Passion instead of Bull Rush being the only maneuver supported past the first ability.
Clarified that a rake counts as one of the extra attacks granted by the Wrath maneuver abilities.
Horns of the Minotaur now has the option to use veilweaver level in place of BAB for gore attacks.
Bonus granted by Essence of the Succubus now scales at 1 + 1/Essence instead of 2 + 2/Essence.
Akasin now only needs to meditate for 15 minutes to gain temporary Essence pool.
Cuirass of Confidence now affects creatures who come within 60 feet instead of line of sight.
Dark Lord’s Ring of Essence Binding clarified to only grant a human zombie companion until the bind ability allows access to a cairn wight.
Clarifications made to Deathchannel Ring to remove some ambiguous phrasing.
Gorget of the Wyrm changed to 1d4 base damage with a 30 foot line option.
Hand Cannons adjusted to allow the wearer to use either their BAB or veilweaver level to determine to-hit and bonuses.
Note made to Heart of the Wight that you cannot benefit from effects normally activated by taking damage to your physical ability scores.
Light Whip is now a purely reactive ability used in place of an attack of opportunity.
Pestilence Cloak clarified in several places, descriptors added.
Polar Snowshoes now requires a Fortitude save instead of a Reflex save. Other clarifications made.
Ring of the Abjurer and Riven Darts clarified as force effects.
Darkness descriptor added to Robe of the Forgotten Deity.
Sentinel’s Helm clarified to grant improved if uncanny dodge if you have uncanny dodge from another source.
Stalker’s Tabi clarified to work in dim light or darker.
Fear descriptor added to Stare of the Ghaele.
Stone Giant’s Girdle now grants a size bonus to strength of 1 / 2 Essence. Enhanced reach requires at least 4 points of Essence to be invested.
Massive reworking to the Vayist Philosophy.
Numerous changes to the Sineater Philosophy.
Vizier's Transfer the Essence noted to not work when used on cursed, intelligent, or artifact items.
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I just wanted to let everyone know that I am sending The Vizier to Andreas tomorrow for layout and .pdf publication, so if anyone has any further insight or or playtest data they would like to get me on that class, please do so ASAP. I'll still be open to that information after tomorrow, but it'll be logged for potential future updates and probably won't be featured in the initial publication. The Guru and The Daevic still have a couple weeks of open playtest and feedback before they are sent off for layout. Daevic should be next up after the Vizier, followed by the Guru.
I'm glad to see that excitement!
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I'm excited to hear what you all have to say, and look forward to your feedback.Thank you!
Downloading the playtest now (sorry it took so long, I've been really swamped with running my campaign and RL stuff, so I'm about 5 days late on that "check it out tomorrow" thing but hopefully you can forgive me. I'm really excited to see what you've done with it. :D
I lost track of newest changes sometime ago. I don't know I will be able to browse it in time to provide useful feedback about the latest changes :/
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I lost track of newest changes sometime ago. I don't know I will be able to browse it in time to provide useful feedback about the latest changes :/
Vizier has seen the fewest changes over the last couple weeks, with his downgrade to 1/2 BAB and d6's being the last major adjustment he's seen, if that's at all helpful. Thanks for everything you've done so far, you've been an awesome help.
I lost track of newest changes sometime ago. I don't know I will be able to browse it in time to provide useful feedback about the latest changes :/Vizier has seen the fewest changes over the last couple weeks, with his downgrade to 1/2 BAB and d6's being the last major adjustment he's seen, if that's at all helpful. Thanks for everything you've done so far, you've been an awesome help.
I am totally out of touch with veils :(
Not enough brain power after/before work (depending upon morning/evening shift rotation) to spare beyond trying to write a few of my own things.
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I lost track of newest changes sometime ago. I don't know I will be able to browse it in time to provide useful feedback about the latest changes :/Vizier has seen the fewest changes over the last couple weeks, with his downgrade to 1/2 BAB and d6's being the last major adjustment he's seen, if that's at all helpful. Thanks for everything you've done so far, you've been an awesome help.I am totally out of touch with veils :(
Not enough brain power after/before work (depending upon morning/evening shift rotation) to spare beyond trying to write a few of my own things.
I know how that goes. I've been so caught up between work and life and this project (not to mention a bad case of pneumonia that knocked me out almost this entire last week) that I haven't even touched the Iron Lord class I wrote for Libris Influxis in almost a month, despite the fact that it only needs like an hour's worth of work before it's ready to go back to Greg for peer review. Hopefully I'll get that taken care of next week along with the update for the Daevic and the final Veil release for the Guru.
Then I'll be able to get the PrCs and archetypes for this project out the door to everyone like I hoped to do this week.On the upside I'm pretty much done with the Vizier docs and am just waiting on giving everyone a little more time to turn in any feedback before sending it off, so that's one thing down.
I am looking through vizier - a thought about Eldritch Insight ability to gain temporary charges - I would consider adding clause that temporary charges cannot be used to cast spells with costly components to avoid casting such spells from a staff too often, too easily...
Path Of Seer: I think that ability to invest Essence to share teamwork feats should be written in separate paragraph as a specific named ability like Foresee Conflict is.
Alternate way it could work - for each point of Essence it allows sharing one selected teamwork feat with all allies within range. I am not sure which would be more interesting/useful.
Essence bond: I think that it might benefit from some rewording and reediting.
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I am looking through vizier - a thought about Eldritch Insight ability to gain temporary charges - I would consider adding clause that temporary charges cannot be used to cast spells with costly components to avoid casting such spells from a staff too often, too easily...
Considering that he's cutting into a fairly limited resource and is prevented from accessing the two highest levels of spells, can you think of a particular instance where this might be an issue? Would putting in a limit on the component cost of the most powerful spell he "emulate" this way be a sufficient fix in your opinion?
Essence bond again. Some of the benefits remind me of a class that I wish write in the future that grants allies bonuses to actions based on actions taken by such character - taking a move action would increase their speed, attacking would grant them bonus to attack rolls, defending would increase their defense.
I still don't exactly feel some of the bonuses but it might be just me...
Chest could grant fast healing *and* increase Constitution for purpose of determining when the vizier dies... Possibly spreading increased negative hp at which death occurs to allies as well.
I am looking through vizier - a thought about Eldritch Insight ability to gain temporary charges - I would consider adding clause that temporary charges cannot be used to cast spells with costly components to avoid casting such spells from a staff too often, too easily...Considering that he's cutting into a fairly limited resource and is prevented from accessing the two highest levels of spells, can you think of a particular instance where this might be an issue? Would putting in a limit on the component cost of the most powerful spell he "emulate" this way be a sufficient fix in your opinion?
I think some cap of costly components should be placed.
A specific example:
12th level vizier could invest 5 Essence into staff of life every day allowing him to cast raise dead for free once a day saving 5,000 gp returning the cost of the staff in 22 days. Quite impressive. I dread the moment a vizier would make a staff of permanency... Ok, that's an exaggeration - a bit.
Maybe 1,000 gp cap limit on costly components would be in place?
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I'm doing a little re-working on Essence Bond right now, trying to streamline and clarify the core mechanic and make a few of the abilities like Shoulders more interesting and useful. I'll post up the version that's going with the final submission for everyone to look over before I send it out.
**EDIT** To clarify that statement, I'm not looking at making any mechanical changes to Essence Bond, other than shoring up some weak options. What I'm really looking at is making it easier to read and use.
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Sorry about the continued delays in the finalized playtest docs for the Daevic and Guru, as well as the archetype and PrC release. My new house decided that the master bedroom was a cool place to try doing a Niagra Falls impression, so the cascade of catastrophe that's been chasing me the last couple months as I've moved and switched jobs continues :P
Here's a little peek at something to hopefully keep you interested while I get the other playtest materials ready. I'm still chatting with Andreas about doing Incarna/Akashic races for the final product, and this is one of the ones I proposed:
The Gamla are a race of bipedal humanoids who appear to be a cross between a half-giant and a camel. These sturdy nomads travel in small communities throughout the deserts they call home, always seeking new sources of water and shelter.
Physical Description: Gamla tower over 8 feet tall, with long, gangly arms and legs and thick torsos. Their backs appear somewhat lumpy and misshapen due to the fatty stores of moisture and nutrients they carry in the humps on their backs
Society: Gamla are nomadic herdsman and traders, always seeking the next horizon. They typically travel in groups consisting of 4 to 5 extended families, each with their own specialty they bring to the tribe. Oftentimes it is the responsibility of younger male Gamla to leave the tribe and seek out a mate to bring a fresh influx of blood and skills into the community.
Relations: Gamla are a calm and good-natured people and get along well with most other races, though the frantic pace of many human settlements is sometimes unsettling to the Gamla, who tend to move at the pace nature dictates.
Alignment and Religion: Gamla tend towards neutral alignments, as their slower-paced upbringing often teaches them to approach everything with a calm and measured mindset.
Adventurers: Many young Gamla who leave their tribes in search of a mate or skillset stumble upon the adventuring life almost by accident. Their large size makes them favored caravan guards, both for their ability to see above crowds and for the intimidation factor provided by their bulk. Others naturally gravitate towards established adventuring groups since the close-knit nature and generally open minds of such people tend to make the gamla feel at home.
+2 Constitution: Gamla are tough and hardy, well adapted to the rigors of a nomadic lifestyle in the deserts they call home.
Large: Gamla are Large and take a -1 size penalty to AC, take a -4 size penalty on stealth checks, and gain a +1 size bonus on combat maneuver checks and and to combat maneuver defense. In addition, a gamla's large size give them a reach 5 feet greater than a medium creature.
Speed: Gamla have a base land speed of 30 feet.
Undersized Weapons: The Gamla have crude ungulate hands which make it difficult for them to wield properly sized weapons. As such, Gamla’s ability to wield manufactured weapons is determined as though the Gamla were one size category smaller than they actually are.
Desert Strider: A Gamla moves through nonmagical difficult terrain in desert environments at normal speed.
Endurance: Gamla's ability to store fatty, moisture rich deposits in their bodies allows them to sustain themselves through harsh and extended conditions. Gamla gain Endurance as a bonus feat.
Bonus Essence: Gamla have a natural connection to the unique power of Incarna and start play with 1 bonus Essence point in their pool.
Spit(Ex): Once per hour a Gamla can regurgitate some of the contents of its stomache, spitting the disgusting phlegm that results at a single enemy within 10 feet as a swift action. The target must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Con modifier) or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. The Gamla can invest Essence into this ability as though it were a Veil; for each point of Essence invested, the save DC of the spit attack increases by 1 and the duration is extended by 1 round.
Languages: Gamla begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Gamla with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Elven, Giant, Gnome, and Terran.
The other races I put together, the Sobek-khaliq and Suqur-kha, are also anthromorphs. The Sobek-khaliq are crocodilian humanoids with the ability to use Essence to camouflage themselves or enhance their racial bite attack, and the Suqur-kha are a race of falcon people with a racial Glide ability that can be enhanced and improved with Essence.
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Gah! I hate the way posts lock on this forum :P
It just looks tacky (and sad) when the last 4 posts in a product thread are all from the designer.
Anyways, I gave the guys over at GitP the second race, the sobek-khaliq, to play with, so I thought I'd share it over here as well. These haven't actually made the final cut for the product yet, so if you like them, let me know. Also after the feedback in the GitP forum, change the DC for the Gamla's Spit from (10 + Con mod) + Essence to (10 + 1/2 level + Con Mod) + Essence.
Since I have been really delayed in getting you all new stuff to play with, you can also take a look at the second akashic race, the Sobek-khaliq. I want to reiterate that at this point I'm not 100% positive if they'll make it into the final document, but if you guys like them and give me some good feedback, it'll raise the chances of that happening.
The sobek-khaliq are a race of reptilian humanoids who prefer to live near areas of running water. They are proud and fierce creatures, as at home in the rivers of their native lands as they are fighting in the plains or dunes. The sobek-haliq are a young race, and nearly all of them are born with some facility for manipulating the mysterious force known as akasha.
Physical Description: Sobek-khaliq are stocky, with ridged and mottled skin and short, almost stumpy, limbs. Sobek-khaliq range in coloration from sandy tan to murky green or gray, with their particular coloration usually matching the habitat they were born in. The average Sobek-khaliq stands just over 5 feet tall, though their powerful tails are nearly as long again as their body.
Society: Much of a male sobek-khaliq’s life is spent in engaging in struggles for dominance, both social and physical . The females are often just as fierce as the male, though typically they are more inclined to shame a rival through a clever social manipulation than a show of brute force.
Despite their highly competitive natures, the sobek are a highly social bunch, often living in large closely-knit communities. Sobek-khaliq are fiercely protective of their young until they reach the age of maturity, at which point the are regarded as rivals just as dangerous as any other member of the race
Relations: The sobek are a young race that has only recently devloped relationships with the outside world. They find that they have much in common with proud and war-like races like orcs, though their strictly structured hierarchy is much more disciplined than those chaotic creatures. The sobek also appreciate trade with dwarven tribes, as the reliable and strong nature of that race appeals to them. Humans and elves they view as flighty and inconsistent; gnomes and halflings are viewed with similar disdain, often compounded by deep-seated instincts that tell the sobek that such small, soft creatures are surely prey.
Alignment and Religion: The sobek-khaliq tend towards lawful alignments, always following the strict hierarchy established by their complex and instinctive dominance rituals. A sobek who would seek to overrule another must prove his superiority. The sobek-khaliq have no concept of religion, except in a vague naturalistic philosophy they refer to as the river of existence. This philosophy believes that all energy flows through the various planes and levels of existence and the sobeks are travelers riding its current. When a sobek passes on, they believe that their spirit merely flows on to a new or greater tributary.
Adventurers: The sobek-khaliq are incredibly fierce warriors and rarely have trouble finding employment as mercenaries. Young sobek who disagree with the elders of their communities but lack the strength to supplant them will often leave to acquire experience and strength before returning to take their rightful place as leader. Others will seek to apprentice themselves to particularly skilled members of other races, hoping to learn the martial or social skills necessary to rise to a position of strength and leadership.
+2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, -2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom: Sobek-khaliq are strong and cunning, but their heavy bodies and short limbs are ill-suited to delicate tasks, and their predatory instincts often lead them to making rash decisions.
Medium: Sobek-khaliq are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow Land Speed: Sobek-khaliq are poorly built for moving long distances across the ground and have a base speed of 20 feet.
Amphibious: Sobek-khaliq are natural swimmers, with strong tails that help propel them through the water, granting them a swim speed of 30 feet. In addition, a sobek-khaliq can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 times their Constitution modifier before they risk drowning
Natural Camouflage: A sobek-khaliq chooses one terrain type from the following list: Desert, Jungle, Plains, Swamp, Water. Whenever the sobek is in this environment he gains a +2 bonus to Stealth checks. A sobek-khaliq can invest Essence into this ability the same way they would invest it into a Veil or feat making it even more effective; they gain an additional +2 to Stealth checks for each point of Essence invested into this ability.
Bite: The Sobek-khaliq gain a bite attack dealing 1d6 damage plus his Strength modifier. This bite can be enhanced by investing Essence into it; for each point of Essence invested in their bite the sobek-khaliq gains a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage on their bite attacks.
Sweeping Tail: The sobek-khaliq’s powerful tail makes them difficult to sneak up on. Whenever a creature would move into a flanking position, the sobek-khaliq may make a tail slap attack against them as an attack of opportunity. This attack deals 1d6 points of damage plus half his Strength modifier, and if successful, the sobek-khaliq may attempt a free trip maneuver against the opponent.
Bonus Essence: sobek-khaliq have a natural connection to akashic energy and start play with 1 bonus Essence point in their pool.
Languages: Sobek-khaliq begin play speaking Common. Sobek with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aquan, Draconic, Dwarven, Goblin, Gnoll and Orc
I would change name of amphibious to something like fast swimmer or natural swimmer - amphibious has a specific mechanical meaning in Pathfinder IIRC.
Sweeping tail seems quite powerful to me - maybe it should be a racial feat instead?
They should probably have note that they are humanoid with reptilian sub type.
Gamla ability score adjustments seems unfinished to me... I would give them Strength bonus (size) and Dexterity (crude manual manipulation skills) but Sobek-Khaliq got those as well. I don't know... Maybe Dexterity penalty and Wisdom bonus?
Also, they definitely need additional receptacle for Essence... Maybe their racial Endurance should bestow additional benefits when invested with Essence?
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There's kind of a standing effort to make sure that any new races bring something special or unusual to the table, without being a straight-up better option than can be found in the core races.
The Gamla's gangly limbs lack the strength of most creatures their size, was where I was going with that. Con is also an important stat for many Akasha/Incarna feats.
I was actually a little nervous about the sobek-khaliq having two racial Essence receptacles, as he's the only race to get that option, including the original Incarnum material. I did bump the DC on the Gamla's Spit up to 10+1/2 level+ CON though.
Looking forward to it! Will Akashic Mysteries be a subscription with each class being a separate "book" or will they all be in one "book" together?
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Looking forward to it! Will Akashic Mysteries be a subscription with each class being a separate "book" or will they all be in one "book" together?
So the Vizier is actually in layout now and it's going to roll out very similarly to Path of War with 3 single class releases, an archetype and PrC release, and then a final compiled document.
Speaking of archetypes and PrCs, here's a little preview from the upcoming playtest release, the Akashic Warrior. The Akashic Warrior is a Fighter Archetype utilizing the Essence subsystem.
Essence Pool- The Akashic Warrior gains an Essence Pool equal to ½ his class level (minimum 1).
This replaces the bonus feat gained at level 1
Bonus Feats- The Akashic Warrior can take any feat with the [Akashic] descriptor, as well as the Shape Veil feat, in addition to the standard combat feats. This modifies the Fighter Bonus Feat class ability.
Akashic Resolve – At 2nd level an Akashic Warrior can fortify his resolve with Essence. For each point of Essence invested into this ability he gains a +1 bonus to saves vs. fear and Enchantment (Compulsion) effects. This replaces Bravery.
Essential Armaments- Starting at 3rd level the Akashic Warrior gains the ability to fortify his armor with Essence, making it lighter and more responsive. For each point of Essence invested in this ability the Fighter lowers the armor check penalty of armor and shields he wears by 1 and raises increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. If the Akashic Warrior has at least 2 points of Essence in this ability, he can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor. If he has at least 3 points of Essence invested, he can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.
This ability replaces Armor Training.
Steel Bond – At 5th level the Akashic Warrior gains the ability to channel Essence into his wielded weapons, allowing them to strike with greater accuracy and force. The Akashic Warrior gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage with wielded weapons per point of Essence invested in this ability.
This ability replaces Weapon Training.
Improved Essence Capacity- At 9th level, the Akashic Warrior increases the maximum Essence capacity of all his class abilities by 1.
Well, I'm ready to fire up my subscription.
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Running a bit behind and experiencing some Dropbox issues, so until I get that sorted out, let me introduce you to the second Akashic archetype, the Raveler. This is a veilweaving archetype for the Cryptic. It also introduces what I'm planning on making a standardized ability for akashic/psionic crossover characters Contemplation. Let me know what you think-
Veilweaving- Unlike most Cryptics, the Raveler’s ability to discern the patterns of energies that shape the world around them extends to the powers of Akasha as well. At 1st level, the Raveler may choose any one Veil from the Guru Veil list. They know and can shape that Veil, and are considered to have a veilweaver level of their class level -3 for the purposes of determining feats and other effects based on veilweaving level. Every four levels thereafter (5th, 9th, 13th, 17th) they may select one additional Veil. This Veil must occupy a different slot than any of the previously selected Veils. If the Raveler does not have any levels in another veilweaving class, their total Veils shaped is equal to the number of Veils gained through this class feature. Ravelers with levels in a veilweaving class add their veilweaving level from this class to that class to determine their total veils shaped. This replaces the disrupt pattern ability gained at 1st level and the enhanced disruptions gained at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.
Akashic Absorption- The Raveler’s Altered Defense ability is tied directly into his Veils, increasing the defensive properties of any Veils he wears while sacrificing the standard benefit of the ability. Whenever a Raveler activates his Altered Defense ability while he has a Veil shaped which grants damage reduction, energy resistance, or a bonus to saving throws, he increases that bonus or defense by an amount equal to his Altered Defense bonus instead of gaining its normal benefits. This modifies the Altered Defense ability.
Contemplation – The Raveler gains the ability to fuel Veils and other Essence receptacles with psionic energy instead of Essence. By spending 1 power point as a swift action, the Raveler may treat a Veil he has shaped as though it were invested with a point of Essence for 3 rounds. This does not stack with, though it may overlap, standard Essence invested in a given Veil. At 5th level and every three levels thereafter, the Raveler may spend an additional 4 power points per Veil he wishes to invest to treat it as being invested with an additional point of Essence. This ability can be used to exceed the Raveler’s normal limitation on the maximum amount that can be invested in a given Veil (for example, a 20th level Raveler could spend 25 power points to treat a Veil as being invested with 7 points of Essence, even though he’d normally be limited to 4 points when investing Essence normally). If the Raveler has multiple Veils shaped, he may choose to spend power points in this way to psionically invest any number of the Veils with the same swift action, though he must still pay the normal cost for each Veil. This replaces the trapmaker ability and the insights gained at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level.
Disrupt Pattern- The Raveler gains the disrupt pattern ability at 3rd level, and gains enhanced disruption increases every 4 levels thereafter (7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th).
Essence Pool- Starting at 6th level the Raveler’s prolonged use and exposure to Akashic energies creates a resevoir of power he can use to strengthen his Veils and Akashic abilities even if he’s expended all of his mental resources. The Raveler gains a pool of Essence equal to ½ his class level. This replaces the Swift Trapper ability.
Contemplation – The Raveler gains the ability to fuel Veils and other Essence receptacles with psionic energy instead of Essence. By spending 1 power point as a swift action, the Raveler may treat a Veil he has shaped as though it were invested with a point of Essence for 3 rounds. This does not stack with, though it may overlap, standard Essence invested in a given Veil. At 5th level and every three levels thereafter, the Raveler may spend an additional 4 power points per Veil he wishes to invest to treat it as being invested with an additional point of Essence. This ability can be used to exceed the Raveler’s normal limitation on the maximum amount that can be invested in a given Veil (for example, a 20th level Raveler could spend 25 power points to treat a Veil as being invested with 7 points of Essence, even though he’d normally be limited to 4 points when investing Essence normally). If the Raveler has multiple Veils shaped, he may choose to spend power points in this way to psionically invest any number of the Veils with the same swift action, though he must still pay the normal cost for each Veil. This replaces the trapmaker ability and the insights gained at 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level.
Ssalarn, you might want to review the power point portion (italicized for emphasis) of this ability because as written it breaks the golden rule of psionics: you cannot spend more than your manifester level in power points on any ability.
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Ssalarn, you might want to review the power point portion (italicized for emphasis) of this ability because as written it breaks the golden rule of psionics: you cannot spend more than your manifester level in power points on any ability.
I popped it over to the psionics experts so they could give me a thumbs up or down on the mechanic and I can ratchet the math around if necessary. The current progression is there because I was trying to build in an "overclock" ability for psionic characters that allows them to exceed the normal limitations of Veils and Essence investment progression without using the same mechanics as standard veilweavers, and that's just kind of where the math took me. I, personally, am willing to make an exception to the general rule as kind of a result of blending the two power sources and will probably add in the fact that that is an exception for those reasons, assuming Andreas and Jeremy don't take me out back and lay a hurt on for violating the psionic standard.
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I can't speak on that question specifically, as I haven't had time to look into the specific rules and give an informed opinion, but I can pop in to say that while the Vizier is in layout, progress is a bit slow as I'm wrapping up a couple of other things (like the final installment of Path of War).
I'm trying to avoid opening up another preorder / subscription without closing another. :)
That being said, I still expect to have it released this month.
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For the time being assume that Contemplation will allow a character to exceed the normal limitations on how many PP can be spent to activate a given ability. If it's decided that we don't want to make any exceptions to that rule, I'll rejigger the math and find a way to make it work. In the meantime, here's another archetype, because Dropbox is still giving me issues. Very interested in any feedback on this one, as there were actually 3 Aegis archetypes in the lineup and this was the one I selected for the final cut. There was one monstrosity that used Essence to grant Eidolon evolutions to his astral suit (representing his suit slowing mutating into a physical body for the daeva), but that turned out to just have wwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy too many variables to even begin to predict all the different things that might happen or all the ways a player could break it. Introducing three highly variable subsystems into one archetype just didn't make sense, so I went with something a little more stable and predictable.
Zirih are born when a mortal with the potential to shape ectoplasm in an astral suit attracts the presence of a daeva, a powerful akashic outsider. When the daeva forms a symbiotic bond with this being, an unusual and powerful hybrid is created.
Daevic Manifestation- A Zirih’s armor is enhanced and empowered by the daeva he is bonded to, influencing the basic nature and capabilities of his astral suit. Starting at 2nd level, the Zirih gains the benefits of a Daevic Passion as though he were a Daevic of his class level -2 (minimum 1), including additional class skills, Veils shaped (this applies only to Passion Veils, not the Daevic’s normal veils by level), and investment bonuses. The particular Passion must be chosen at 1st level and cannot be changed later. The Zirih is treated as having a veilweaver level of his class level -3 for the purposes of determining feats and other effects based on veilweaving level. This replaces the damage reduction and Craftsman class features.
Contemplation – At 4th level, the Zirih gains the ability to fuel Veils and other Essence receptacles (such as his Daevic Passion) with psionic energy instead of Essence. By spending 1 power point as a swift action, the Zihir may treat any 1 of his Essence receptacles as though it were invested with a point of Essence for 3 rounds. This does not stack with, though it may overlap, standard Essence invested. At 5th level and every three levels thereafter, the Zirih may spend an additional 4 power points per Essence receptacle he wishes to invest to treat it as being invested with an additional point of Essence. This ability can be used to exceed the Zirih’s normal limitation on the maximum amount that can be invested in a given receptacle (for example, a 14th level Zirih could spend 17 power points to treat his Daevic Passion as being invested with 5 points of Essence for 3 rounds, even though he’d normally be limited to 3 points when investing Essence normally. This also overrides the standard limitation on the maximum number of power points a psionic character can spend to activate a given ability). The Zirih may choose to spend power points in this way to psionically invest any number of receptacles with the same swift action, though he must still pay the normal cost for each. This replaces the Augment Suit ability.
Akashic Construction- Starting at 8th level the Zirih’s bond with his daeva grants him insight into unique ways to utilize and fortify Veils he has shaped. The Zirih may use his customization points to reinforce his Veils, spending 2 customization points to treat a Veil as though it has been invested with 1 point of Essence. He may spend as many of his customization points as he would like in this manner, though he cannot use this ability to exceed his normal Essence capacity for a given Veil. Whenever the Zirih uses his Reconfigure ability he may choose to move customization points spent to reinforce Veils just as though they were currently being used to configure his armor. This replaces the Master Craftsman ability gained at 5th level.
Merge with Daeva- At 20th level the Zirih’s Veils cannot be sundered or dispelled, nor can his astral suit be dispelled or removed by any means, though his Veils and suit will both fail to function within an area where psionics do not work, such as a null psionics field. This alters the Perfect Merger ability gained at 20th level but counts as that ability for all purposes.
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All right, things are starting to move again!
Here's the playtest document for the archetypes, which includes the current playtest archetypes for the Aegis, Cryptic, Fighter, Magus, Monk, and Summoner.
(If Psyren happens to see this post, I'd appreciate it if you could add this link to the OP, please!)
New archetypes and prestige classes will be added to this doc as I get them ready for your review.
Now that I've got the Dropbox and computer/formatting issues I've been dealing with resolved I'm going to be getting the much-delayed Guru and Daevic updates out before doing any more archetype releases, and those updates will be reflected in the original Dropbox links re-posted below (though I will, as usual, post up a change log detailing the additions, subtractions, and amendments made to the existing materials). Thanks for all the support and insight guys!
For ease of reference, here's the main class playtest docs as well:
Vizier Playtest
Guru Playtest
Daevic Playtest
You may notice that the Vizier uses the new Akashic language while the Daevic and Guru still use the Incarna terminology. I'll be working to get all of the playtest docs (as well as future releases) to consistently use the akashic terminology that will be reflected in the final document.
Nice Monk fixes!
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Thanks! I feel like Mystic Resilience might need a little love and attention, but I'm waiting to get a little more feedback before I make any changes to it.
The archetypes have been interesting, because I've been trying really hard not to think of them as "fixes", but rather my own vision for what I'd like from a combination of the original class and the Akashic materials.
In the case of the Fighter, I did come right out and say that I was going to try and open the door to allow repairs to all the things people routinely see as being an issue with the core class, while doing my best to make sure that the Akashic Warrior continues to feel like a Fighter when played.
The True Mystic I honestly didn't even think about as a fix. I wanted a monk who used Veils, and I didn't want Spell Resistance because in my experience it's been more hindrance that help, so I thought I'd try something that could lend similar results in an entirely different way.
The Monk has a lot of really unique abilities that are cool, but don't really build up to a cohesive whole in terms of gameplay.
As someone once put it "The Primary class feature wants you to stand still while all the rest want you to move"
I like the True mystic because it gets rid of a lot of the schizophrenic class features to build something cohesive. In creating your "vision for what I'd like from a combination of the original class and the Akashic materials" you created a class that feels significantly more cohesive and focused.
When I said "Monk fix" I was talking about the above problem I perceive with vanilla monk.
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The Monk has a lot of really unique abilities that are cool, but don't really build up to a cohesive whole in terms of gameplay.
As someone once put it "The Primary class feature wants you to stand still while all the rest want you to move"
I like the True mystic because it gets rid of a lot of the schizophrenic class features to build something cohesive. In creating your "vision for what I'd like from a combination of the original class and the Akashic materials" you created a class that feels significantly more cohesive and focused.
When I said "Monk fix" I was talking about the above problem I perceive with vanilla monk.
Oh, I know about the monk's problems. There's a reason I play archetypes like the Sensei or Tetori :D
I just meant that while the Fighter really did have some things that I was intentionally trying to subtly shore up, the True Mystic was something I was little more organic about. I'm glad the end result was something that felt more cohesive to you.
Any thoughts on any of the other archetypes?
The Monk has a lot of really unique abilities that are cool, but don't really build up to a cohesive whole in terms of gameplay.
As someone once put it "The Primary class feature wants you to stand still while all the rest want you to move"
I like the True mystic because it gets rid of a lot of the schizophrenic class features to build something cohesive. In creating your "vision for what I'd like from a combination of the original class and the Akashic materials" you created a class that feels significantly more cohesive and focused.
When I said "Monk fix" I was talking about the above problem I perceive with vanilla monk.
Oh, I know about the monk's problems. There's a reason I play archetypes like the Sensei or Tetori :D
I just meant that while the Fighter really did have some things that I was intentionally trying to subtly shore up, the True Mystic was something I was little more organic about. I'm glad the end result was something that felt more cohesive to you.
Any thoughts on any of the other archetypes?
Well I found it odd that the Summoner archetype doesn't get Blood binding and the Magus archetype is SUPER cool looking.
I can't comment on balance though because I'm still new to a lot of the concepts.