Hello all, I will be playing an Aasimar Paladin in an upcoming game and was thinking of a new bond ability. My DM has already said no and that is fine I don't wish to argue the point. Though he did say it was unbalanced with the core ability and I just wanted to get some advice here. How off base am I? Am I at all? I personally feel like this would be a very balanced option. So here goes.
Divine Bond: Divine Heritage (5th level, added as a Divine bond choice)
In some Aasimar's their Angelic heritage takes hold in a more powerful way. The divine heritage of these Aasimars manifests in many ways and their Angelic powers are improved.
Halo:
If the Aasimar has the Halo alternate race trait he may increase the power of the light. As a full round action the Aasimar may increase the power of the light produced by his halo to Daylight. This takes full concentration and only lasts as long as the Aasimar concentrates. If the Aasimar moves more than a '5 step or takes any other action beyond free actions the power of the light reverts back to normal.
Angelic Blood:
If the Aasimar has the Angelic Blood feat the damage that is caused to undead and creatures with the evil subtype is increased to 1D4. If the Aasimar has wings, she is also subject to constant slow fall. The slow fall only functions if she is conscious and there is no damage to her wings.
Angelic Flesh:
If the Aasimar has the Angelic Flesh feat the penalties to disguise and stealth are double (now -4) and any damage reduction the Aasimar may have adds "and Adamantium" to what is needed to overcome it. Example: DR5 Evil and Adamantium.
Angel Wings:
If the Aasimar has the Angel Wings Feat the flight distance is increased to '60 good maneuverability, or '50 average maneuverability if in heavy armor or carrying a medium or heavy load.
Thoughts?
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I don't think it's really overpowered, just weird.
First, it doesn't appear staggered the same way divine bond usually is. You could easily get the first three benefits immediately at level 5, and then the last one at level 11. The companion gets a little stronger at every level, and the weapon gets a boost every 3 levels after 5.
Second, the slow fall ability is out of place. It's attached to Angel Blood, but requires wings - but once you get wings getting slow fall only when conscious is not very useful because you should be able to just fly.
Third, Angelic Flesh's augmentation a disadvantage until level 17 when you get DR 5/evil, unless you're getting DR from an odd place (eg racial). So that might make sense as a benefit granted at level 17.
Fourth, burdens slow characters down proportionally. If your speed is 60ft unencumbered it should be 40ft encumbered, not 50ft.
Finally, I'd also give the character the option to take the relevant feat as a bonus feat at each level in lieu of getting the enhanced benefit. I know this is built for your character who plans to take the relevant feats, but it feels more elegant to me if it doesn't make that assumption.
Level 5: If the Aasimar has the Halo alternate race trait he may increase the power of the light. As a full round action the Aasimar may increase the power of the light produced by his halo to Daylight. This takes full concentration and only lasts as long as the Aasimar concentrates. If the Aasimar moves more than a '5 step or takes any other action beyond free actions the power of the light reverts back to normal. If the the aasimar does not have that racial trait they may gain its benefits without losing Darkvision.
Level 8: If the Aasimar has the Angelic Blood feat the damage that is caused to undead and creatures with the evil subtype is increased to 1D4. If they do not have that feat they receive it as a bonus feat.
Level 11: If the Aasimar has the Angel Wings feat, she is also subject to constant slow fall. This ability functions even when the aasimar is unconscious, but not if their wings are damaged or bound. If they do not have the Angel Wings feat they receive it as a bonus feat (without meeting its prerequisites).
Level 14: The aasimar's fly speed improves to 60ft (good) or 40ft (average) if wearing medium or heavy armour or carrying a medium or heavy load.
Level 17: If the Aasimar has the Angelic Flesh feat the penalties to disguise and stealth are double (now -4) and any damage reduction the Aasimar may have adds "and Adamantine" to what is needed to overcome it. Example: DR5/Evil and Adamantine. If they do not have the Angelic Flesh feat they receive it as a bonus feat.
Thanks for the input Weirdo.
A little background, my character is starting the game with wings. They will not give him any sort of fly speed (because of the Exposed to Awfulness trait from WotR, the wound stole his ability to fly) until he takes the wings feat at level 11. That is where the early access to slow fall would come in.
I see what you mean by making the abilities staggered similar to the way they effect the weapon or the mount.
Definitely appreciate the input.
Anyone else have thoughts?
First, thanks for taking the time to reply LazarX.
So, you think because the ability is now useful that it is to much?
I have played a paladin as well. I am not a huge fan of the mount either but there are plenty of builds where the mount is the far superior choice. In the case of a small paladin many times.
As for the weapon, I found myself using my weapon bond very frequently. Once you can use it more than once a day there are many cases where you can use it for many encounters in a row since it lasts for minutes.
Do you care to comment on the individual suggestions I have made regarding the balance of them?