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The permanent Chi Block should require either a Will Save or a Fortitude Save, whichever is better, but it would have a very high DC. A spirit or somebody strongly affiliated with them should be able to repair the damage though.
I am thinking that there should be regular classes for all of the non-bender stuff and Elemental Archetypes (the four classics, and Spirit instead of Aether)... with advanced forms of bending (Metal, Sand, Blood, Chi, etc) all being Prestige options.
I am also thinking that people who are directly associated with the "Spirit" element should have access to "spells" like Magic Missile (renamed Chi Missile), Light and Mage Hand. Chi Benders would also get these abilities, and Chi Bending could be a Prestige class for the other elements.
Quick question: If Fire benders get Lightning (and for Water, Lightning Redirection), should Earth Benders get Acid?
For the whole blood bender block, I don't think you need to add a save to it. The reasoning is that the ability is strictly tied to an overarching story or plot and could easily be the second half a campaign itself. Of course, you can detail many different ways a DM can remove the block.
I'm not too big on prestige classes because of how narrow they are. Things like sandbenders would work better as just archetypes with slight changes to the overall class. For example, Sandbenders could get Endurance instead of the Utility Wild Talent at level 2 to illustrate their resilience to their desert home and maybe the airbender's elemental defense instead of the earth bending one. Stuff like that.
I'm still looking into how to do a generic non-bender class that allows the character to essentially do one of the basic classes (fighter, rogue, ranger, and so on) but also tie the class more with the universe itself.
Someone mention medium as a spirit "bender" or someone unusually close to the spirits, although maybe spiritualist could work better or even just tied in the potential to both an archetype and feat options to cover everything.
I think you could give some Aether abilities to metal benders as long as the material is appropiate.
For Fire, I wouldn't mind trying to add a bludgeoning option as fire bending often knocked people around quite often.
Alternative potential stat keys for benders (so that not everyone has to rely on strictly CON and to fit more with the universe)
Air: Wisdom
Water: Wisdom (perhaps charisma instead so it mirrors fire)
Fire: Charisma
Earth: Wisdom
I've been doing a rework of the Kineticist to fit more into the world. He's a rough draft of the progression
1 : Burn, elemental focus, gather power, infusion, kinetic blast
2 : Elemental defense, utility wild talent
3 : Infusion
4 : Intermediate Bending, Utility wild talent
5 : Infusion, infusion specialization, metakinesis (empower)
6 : Internal buffer 1, utility wild talent
7 : Specialization (think Expanded element + other options)
8 : Infusion specialization 2, utility wild talent
9 : Infusion, metakinesis (maximize)
10 : Super charge, utility wild talent
11 : Infusion, infusion specialization 3, internal buffer 2
12 : Advanced bending, Utility wild talent
13 : Infusion, metakinesis (quicken)
14 : Infusion specialization 4, utility wild talent
15 : Specialization
16 : internal buffer 3, utility wild talent
17 : Infusion, infusion specialization 5, metakinesis (twice)
18 : Utility wild talent
19 : Infusion, metakinetic master
20 : Infusion specialization 6, capstone, utility wild talent
First, this is just a rough draft and there's more to come.
Why is elemental overflow gone? Well, Avatar is a largely non-magical world unlike normal fantasy rpgs so I don't think we'll need the extra hit and damage. Secondly, the stat growth from the ability don't really fit. Elemental Overflow could work as an Avatar state basis with a few more tweeks to it.
Specialization? This is there to function largely as expanded element and give benders their composite blast or extra bending abilities. I also want to include the option for a bender to branch off into another non-bender ability. Just think of Zuko who choose to master the swords instead of having to multiclass. Other options include a tactician-like ability to give teamwork bending feats to people (think of the interweave composite blast but expanded to other utility talents too)
Intermediate and Advanced bending are pretty much like the basic elemental power. They are there to fill out some of the 'dead' levels.
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Charisma would actually be very important for Water benders since they are very spirit-savvy. Metal Benders might trade Wisdom for Intelligence. Different physical attributes would also be important for the different elements, with Earth and Fire being strength-oriented and Water and Wind being Dexterity oriented.
Water: Dexterity/Charisma
Earth: Strength/Wisdom
Fire: Strength/Charisma
Air: Dexterity/Wisdom
If you allowed Golarion races, then you can probably guess who'd be the most likely to gravitate toward water-bending.
Charisma would actually be very important for Water benders since they are very spirit-savvy. Metal Benders might trade Wisdom for Intelligence. Different physical attributes would also be important for the different elements, with Earth and Fire being strength-oriented and Water and Wind being Dexterity oriented.
Water: Dexterity/Charisma
Earth: Strength/Wisdom
Fire: Strength/Charisma
Air: Dexterity/WisdomIf you allowed Golarion races, then you can probably guess who'd be the most likely to gravitate toward water-bending.
When I designed my classes, I had the Bending Classes use a different Stat each for their primary (bending) Stat (since it was using the Tome of Battle rules, this was fine), with 2 secondary Stats that thematically supported the class:
Fire: Charisma;Strength/Dexterity
Air: Dexterity;Charisma/Wisdom
Water: Wisdom;Dexterity/Strength
Earth: Strength; Wisdom/Charisma
If you make a grid like this, it comes out with the elements being opposite one another:
.....Cha.....
Str........Dex
.....Wis.....
--------------
.....Fir.....
Ear.......Wat
.....Air.....
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So Firebenders used Charisma to Bend fire; opposite of them, using Wisdom as their Bending Stat, are Waterbenders. Both classes had Strength and Dexterity as secondary Stats.
Earthbenders, likewise, had Strength as their Bending Stat, while Airbenders used Dexterity; again, both had Wisdom and Charisma as secondary Stats.
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Strength feels a bit odd to me for Earth. Always felt like Constitution was the most "earth" stat among the six besides Wisdom. Solid as a rock. The other problem with one of the three physical stats as a basis for benders is that bending itself was largely more spiritually based. Typically with the yin/yang mentality, with two as positive and two as negative. Yes, I know that in that universe negative energy is very bad but I'm thinking more along the traditional lines.
For physical stats, what if there were other situations (for benders) that would be beneficial for them? Something like certain feats or infusions besides the basic things like strength for damage/hit, AC for dex, and hp for constitution?
I think we could do "races" with just the differences between the various ethnicity in the universe. These could largely be centered around non-stat bonuses as we are essentially dealing with humans and most societies we see have a good mixture of traits.
If there's a change between Pathfinder Humans and Avatar humans, I'd probably look at the other bonuses. Is there a need for the extra feat or the basic +1 hp a level or skill point? Probably not but I think it's something to look into.
I've been working almost non-stop since last week so I hope to add more on Wednesday or Friday.
Strength feels a bit odd to me for Earth. Always felt like Constitution was the most "earth" stat among the six besides Wisdom. Solid as a rock. The other problem with one of the three physical stats as a basis for benders is that bending itself was largely more spiritually based.
Toph said, in so many words, that Earthbenders use physical strength to Bend.
If ANY of the Benders would be Constitution-based, it's Firebenders.
Firebenders draw the chi from within themselves and super-heat it, creating Fire or Lightning.
That description just SCREAMS "Constitution," even though Ki in Pathfinder is drawn from Wisdom - which, really, if you're familiar with eastern philosophy and magical thought at all doesn't make any damn sense. Qi/Chi/Ki/Gi is the energy of the body; Constitution is the Stat of the Body; erego, Ki should, in all rights, be based ENTIRELY upon Constitution.
The only reason Wisdom makes even the slightest sense for working with Ki is that you may need Wisdom to know how to MANIPULATE Ki; however, Charisma (force of personality) would ALSO be just as good for manipulating Ki, if not the significantly BETTER stat (you don't use WISDOM when you make a Kiai in martial arts for instance - you are effectively THROWING your Personality at your opponent when you do so, meaning you are quite literally utilizing Charisma and nothing else).
If eastern philosophy here being followed AT ALL, your Ki Pool would be based upon your Constitution, and you would manipulate it with your Charisma.
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So, then, Constitution may be a useful universal stat for all Benders - they can utilize a number of Maneuvers, or have a number of Bending Points, equal to their Constitution Modifier that they burn through and them must take a moment to refocus and gain back their cache.
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If I had to go back and rewrite the classes, I'd still go with them being based on the Maneuver users of Tome of Battle, but I'd base the number of Maneuvers they can perform on Constitution, and have the number of Stances they know be based on Intelligence, with the aforementioned stats being what they use to Bend (and thus the highest levels of Maneuvers and Stances they can use, plus the power of each Maneuver).
Doing so might make each class a little MAD, but since there'd be no spellcasters in the game and you'd have to balance the Benders out with things like Rogues, Monks, Fighters, Barbarians, non-spellcasting Rangers, Cavaliers, etc., you're going to want to tone down the potential for Benders to be TOO quadratic.
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The way the description of stats in Pathfinder, I can see physical "strength" as a mixture of strength and constitution. Constitution is the key stat for the original class so I'd lean towards that for being something that is more important. It's also used for the burning mechanic too and the HP total. I do think that the other two physical stats are important for other, non-class specific reasons like wearing armor or general athleticism.
I'd also agree on the mix of ideas of Ki with both Wisdom and Charisma. Even Intelligence can play a role in using bending from a scholarly or learning perspective. However, I think the best way to approach it is as simply as possible: one as the key stat, keeping in mind that the class does use constitution, while others can perform non-class functions that simulate mentioned effects*.
Obviously feats can be attributed to the other stats.
I've considered adding a "spellcaster" to the game as a type of alternative bender who focused more on fewer, bigger effects than the standard bender/kineticist. Of course, some numbers would have to be potentially changed and a really weak kinetic blast rather than the level 1 school options a wizard gets or the bloodline abilities (the 3 + Int/Cha filler abilities).
I think things like 'maneuvers' can simply be abstractly implied with a bending attack or utility wild talent. They may also be easier applied through either feats or specialized additions introduced in a different section.
I also with toning down certain aspects of the game and adding "bending" variants to existing abilities. One was bending defensively, which is pretty much fighting defensively. Most likely the attack would also have to have a burn limit placed on what ever kinetic blast is used but I'd have to playtest that sort of option for the class.
*There's a good chance to add the other two mental stats to the class but it would need to do something relatively simply and straight forward. For example, something like Intelligence denoting extra infusions or utilities talents and Wisdom increasing the internal buffer.
With other classes like the ranger or fighters, much of that feels like non-benderish stuff to me and I've been trying to make a generic non-bender class that can branch off to specialties like a ranger or barbarian. Much of that would allow for ease of limiting what isn't really needed for the universe or setting, as well as adding other touches.
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I was thinking about it and why not post a sort of conversion of the Tome of Battle maneuver system for a third type of bender? I haven't read through the book since about the time it was released (2006 I think) so it might be good for a bender that's more focused on specific styles rather than the universal kineticist or the glass cannon of the 'sorcerer' bender. I might take more of a cue from the psychic or arcanist though so there's more than just one stat.
From a simple look of a disposition of stats
Kineticist: Cha, with constitution being very important secondary stat and maybe a third doing something as a distant third. Not counting stuff like dexterity or strength which help in other ways (bonus to hit , carry capacity, and so on)
Sorcerer/Arcanist Savant perhaps?: Wisdom with a choice of either Int or Cha as a secondary. When I think of this character in the universe, I think of Jinora.
ToB Bender: I have to look at the class and the structure of the systems in the book but I'm guessing it's more combat oriented so maybe Constitution as a primary stat and one or two helping out in other ways? There would also need to be enough of a change because of the lack of OGL material in Tome of Battle.
This way we should have enough choices for players and different play styles too.
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Since there is a disparity between Benders and Non-Benders, I have a bit of a stop-gap workaround for the issue;
On character creation, you decide whether your character is a Bender or a Non-Bender. There are plenty of classes available to both, and a few only available to Benders, but if you are a Non-Bender then you may make up for this with the use of Gestalt rules.
If you dislike the above system and want everyone to be able to Gestalt, then there is another option:
Benders: Basic/Bender
Non-Benders: Basic/Advanced
A Bender may gestalt a Bending class and a Basic Non-Bending class, while a Non-Bender may gestalt a Basic Non-Bending class and an Advanced Non-Bending class, which would essentially be a 1st-level Prestige Class.
Just a thought. It is possible that Non-Benders might eventually gain Bending abilities under the Mythic rules, and/or via Spirit intervention.
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You could potentially cover some of the aspects through feats and other non-class options rather than having a character multi-class.
I think a player character that starts out as a non-bender and discovers bending could be done either with multi-classing, feat tree, or a prestige class (most likely the better option / late bloomer). I can think of Bumi that started most of his life as a soldier or vagrant before getting air bending.
Non-benders will most likely be something that comes after getting the bender types done. Part of that is that I see most people just playing benders anyways. Maybe 1 out 4 or 5 would be a non-bender.
Another way to help non-benders is to have them as the skill monkeys (6 + Int per level) compared to benders who could have their skills per level reduced to 2 + Int a level. Other options are special feats, perhaps specifically technology feats for LoK as an example, or abilities that benders wouldn't normally get.
There could be skills like Knowledge (Technology) or Use Machinery/Technology that could function like Use Magic Device for various machines and normally only a class skill for non-benders.
Always open to other options.
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I went through the "gestalt" and Tome of Battle series. The "gestalt" could work as a narrative mechanic for someone who's effectively taking enough time (i.e. months or years) to abandon whatever they were doing before. It does make me feel that it's a last option if other things like feat trees don't work.
With the Tome of Battle, I like how some of it works but without it being open licensed, I'd rather work on an idea that could be similar. The best option I could think of is really working on styles rather than things like maneuvers. These styles would be much more game changing for the class rather than the usual styles that we've seen. Additionally, the class itself could have options like talents or infusions that allow the player to essentially customize their style to differentiate between others.
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Been busy with work lately but I was trying to think of how to do those other two 'bender' classes and I'd thought I would show a sort-of overview. There's still holes here and there as the ToB class is tough to determine which styles to actually use.
1 : Elemental Focus, Kinetic Blast 1d4
2 :
3 :
4 : Kinetic Blast
5 : Infusion (or Wild Talent?)
6 :
7 :
8 : Kinetic Blast
9 :
10: Infusion/Wild Talent
11:
12: Kinetic Blast
13:
14:
15: Infusion/Wild Talent
16: Kinetic Blast
17:
18:
19:
20: Kinetic Blast, Infusion/Wild Talent
As you can see the Mystic gets a weaker Kinetic Blast that grows more slowly. Essentially, this ability would replace the level 1 ability that a wizard or sorcerer would get. I'm debating whether or not to have Infusions for the class or just limit it to something like Wild Talents.
"Spellcasting" would simply be like normal spellcasting. Progression would be Sorcerer but I'm not too certain about how many times they should cast per day. It might work out to do 1 less at each level with a minimum of 1.
Still making the spell lists but should generally be like an Wizard Elementalist but limited to their one element. More spells would be added to account for various Avatar things and to even out the lists. For example, Life bubble for Air Benders and so on.
Level : Ability
1 : Elemental Focus, Kinetic Blast, Bending Style (two styles)
2 : Bending Style (three styles), Style talent
3 :
4 : Style Talent
5 :
6 : Style Talent
7 : Bending Style (four styles)
8 : Style Talent
9 :
10: Style Talent
11:
12: Style Talent
13:
14: Style Talent
15:
16: Style Talent
17:
18: Style Talent
19:
20: Style Talent
Styles are to be more involved that the styles in regular Pathfinder. Starting a style is a full round action and changes how a player would act or what they could do. Styles would allow for abilities that wouldn't normally be usable, may limit what the player can do, and so on.
For example, one water style may allow the player to create a weapon from the water (think of the typical water whip or those fist spikes that Tonraq used against Zaheer). Their kinetic blast would be better, but limited by the weapon choice they used. Style Talents would allow the player to customize the style (extra range for a weapon choice, weapon specialization, etc.).
Another water style could be that water octopus-like ability that Katara used late in ATLA book 2. The player wouldn't be able to move very far or attack a great distance a turn, but could get pretty good defensive abilities, extra attacked, or increased threat range.
After styles are formulated, other abilities could be added to fill out the class itself.
Always welcome suggestions or alternative builds.