While most black blades are wielded by the arcane, there are those that walk a different path. Warriors sworn to their patron and the sword are sometimes bestowed with living blades as devoted as they are, sometimes even more so.
Special: A black blade zealot must have a patron that has a one-handed slashing weapon, a rapier, or a sword cane as a favored weapon.
Patron's Black Blade (Su): Upon reaching 3rd level, the black blade zealot acquires a sentient black blade. This blade must take the form of their patron's favored weapon. This blade advances as a black blade using the black blade zealot's class level in place of the magus's class level, and does not gain an arcane pool. Instead, when the black blade zealot prepares he spells for the day, he invests a number of uses of his blessing ability into his black blade equal to the black blade's Intelligence modifier + 1. Each of these invested uses function as a 'divine pool', with which the black blade's abilities function. A black blade zealot with this class feature cannot have a familiar of any kind, even from another class.
Because of the nature of this form of black blade, the blade always has an alignment matching the black blade zealot's patron's. So long as the black blade zealot's alignment remains within one step of their blade's patron's alignment, no negative levels will be applied for picking it up. If the black blade zealot becomes an ex-warpriest, the black blade will try to drive the zealot to atone, leave, or attempt to slay the zealot. This is completely dependent upon the blade, the patron, and the GM's discretion.
This ability replaces the bonus feats gained at 3rd and 9th level.
Black Blade Training: Starting at 6th level, whenever the black blade zealot would gain a bonus feat, he may forgo the feat in place of one of the following options;
Magus Arcana: The black blade zealot can select any magus arcana for which he qualifies. A black blade zealot may not select any magus arcana that utilizes an arcane pool. The black blade zealot treats her war priest level as her magus level when determining the effects of magus arcana and when specific arcana are available. A black blade zealot can take this option multiple times. Each time it is taken, it applies to a different magus arcana.
Spell Strike (Su): The black blade zealot can deliver touch spells with his black blade. This works as the magus ability of the same name.
|While ultimately a work in progress at this point, I'd love feedback so I can hammer out the kinks. Is it too strong, and needs more pulled from it? is it too weak, and need something more? Is my wording poor and need cleaned up anywhere?|
It's too strong. The warpriest gets a free, powerful weapon that gains free enhancement bonuses and only loses two feats for it. The magus loses an arcana (better than a feat), can't get any arcana until 6th level, and has his arcane pool stunted -- and even this didn't feel like enough of a sacrifice. Your archetype sacrifices even less.
The blessings economy thing is really unclear.
I'm totally not a fan of just stealing spellstrike and magus arcana from the magus. Spellstrike is a primary class feature of the magus. It's why you play a magus. This archetype tosses it out for just a bonus feat.
I see you're trying to borrow from the blade adept arcanist archetype, but the problem with that thinking is that blade adept is an archetype for a 1/2 BAB class. A blackblade is much more powerful for a warpriest than it is for an arcanist.
Also, warpriests don't have patrons. They worship deities.
It's too strong. The warpriest gets a free, powerful weapon that gains free enhancement bonuses and only loses two feats for it. The magus loses an arcana (better than a feat), can't get any arcana until 6th level, and has his arcane pool stunted -- and even this didn't feel like enough of a sacrifice. Your archetype sacrifices even less.
The blessings economy thing is really unclear.
I'm totally not a fan of just stealing spellstrike and magus arcana from the magus. Spellstrike is a primary class feature of the magus. It's why you play a magus. This archetype tosses it out for just a bonus feat.
I see you're trying to borrow from the blade adept arcanist archetype, but the problem with that thinking is that blade adept is an archetype for a 1/2 BAB class. A blackblade is much more powerful for a warpriest than it is for an arcanist.
Also, warpriests don't have patrons. They worship deities.
You make a fair point. It is a very strong archetype. Lets see what else we can rip away and tone down;
Blessings; I could cut them down to only 1 blessing gained. I could also, more clearly, cut down number of uses.
Focus Weapon: ..I'd likely make it so it must be the deity's favored weapon. Wouldn't do much there though.
Sacred Weapon: I could remove some things from it. The first being the ability to use anything that one has weapon focus with as one's sacred weapon. I could also punt the acquisition of the black blade to 4th level, and rip out the enhancement bonus increases from this ability.
Fervor: I could throw it out, reduce uses, replace it, tone it down...
Idea for 'divine pool': You are forced to sacrifice points from your pool of uses for blessing, and in turn your black blade has as many points as it normally would for a magus of its proper level. Unnecessarily complicated though.
I was honestly on the fence with giving them that ability in the first place, so I have no problem with throwing it out all together. That tones things down a bit, but then we have an archetype with 1 class feature.
Patron deity is the term I am drawing from, but you are right. I should phrase it as Deity.
-snip-
Some great suggestions here. Lets see what I can do with them, at 2 in the morning;
While most black blades are wielded by the arcane, there are those that walk a different path. Warriors sworn to their patron and the sword are sometimes bestowed with living blades as devoted as they are, sometimes even more so.
Special: A black blade zealot must worship a deity that has a one-handed slashing weapon, a rapier, or a sword cane as their favored weapon.
Sacred Weapon (Su): At 1st level, a black blade zealot gains the sacred weapon feature as normal. However, this ability does not grant the 4th-level ability to enhance the black blade zealot's weapon with divine power, nor does it grant subsequent increases to that ability.
This ability alters Sacred Weapon
Fervent Smite (Su): Because of the nature of their training, black blade zealots are ill-equipped for tending to their. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver fervor as part of the standard action used as part of this ability, a black blade zealot can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of using fervor. If successful, this melee attack deals its normal damage as well as the damage dealt by fervor. This attack uses the weapon's critical range, but fervor can only deal (or heal if the case may be) x2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.
A black blade zealot cannot use fervor to heal (or harm) themselves or others as a touch attack normally, nor can a black blade zealot expend a single use of fervor to cast a single spell upon themselves.
This ability alters Fervor.
Divine Black Blade (Su): Upon reaching 3rd level, the black blade zealot acquires a sentient black blade. This blade must take the form of their patron's favored weapon. This blade advances as a black blade using the black blade zealot's class level in place of the magus's class level. If the black blade would restore points to the zealot's arcane pool, via Life Drinker, the black blade instead restore 1 use of the black blade zealot's fervor. A black blade zealot with this class feature cannot have a familiar of any kind, even from another class.
Because of the nature of this form of black blade, the blade always has an alignment matching the black blade zealot's deity. Should the black blade zealot's alignment no longer match that of their deity, the blade becomes prone to rebelling against the zealot or leaves. This is completely dependent upon the blade, the patron, and the GM's discretion.
This ability replaces the bonus feats gained at 3rd level.
Wrathful Fervor (Su): Upon reaching 4th level, the black blade zealot gains the ability to use their fervor to cast spells. As a swift action, a black blade zealot can expend two uses of fervor to cast any one warpriest spell he has prepared with a casting time of 1 round or shorter. When cast in this way, the spell can target only a single target, even if it could normally affect other or multiple targets. Spells cast in this way ignore somatic components and do not provoke attacks of opportunity. The black blade zealot does not need to have a free hand to cast a spell in this way.
This ability replaces channel energy.
Magus Arcana: Starting at 7th level, a black blade zealot gains one magus arcana. He gains an additional magus arcana for every 3 levels of warpriest gained thereafter. For the purpose of qualify for arcana, the black blade zealot treats their magus level as their war priest level -4. A black blade zealot uses his Wisdom score in place of Intelligence for the purpose of utilizing magus arcana, and any arcana that require points from an arcane pool to be expended instead consume uses of fervor.
This ability replaces sacred armor.
I'm not seeing the logic of the design here. You take away the ability to normally touch targets with fervor, but you gain an even better version of fervor at 4th level. The Fervent Smite has no downside if your fervor deals negative energy damage. You only lose a bunch of weak abilities and gain a bunch of very powerful ones. So, again, this archetype feels like a total buff.
Fervor technically doesn't actually give you a free action melee touch attack. It just lets you touch attack as part of the ability. The text you're borrowing from spellstrike refers to a specific rule about touch spells.
I'm not seeing the logic of the design here. You take away the ability to normally touch targets with fervor, but you gain an even better version of fervor at 4th level. The Fervent Smite has no downside if your fervor deals negative energy damage. You only lose a bunch of weak abilities and gain a bunch of very powerful ones. So, again, this archetype feels like a total buff.
Fervor technically doesn't actually give you a free action melee touch attack. It just lets you touch attack as part of the ability. The text you're borrowing from spellstrike refers to a specific rule about touch spells.
Admittedly, I was half asleep at the time, so I can't argue it is good design there
but here;
I took away the initial ability to utilize it for anything except for use with weapon attacks. While this could be said to be a boon for black blade zealots dealing in negative energy, it only allows for a single attack, no advancement to full attack and it is useless for some other purposes such as healing undead or full-attacks later on.
At 4th level, you get a superior version of fervor's other use, but it requires 2 uses instead of 1 use, at the cost of channel energy.
And you are right, thats borrowed text. Another assumption.
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I can take that concept, throw out the change to fervor, and make it so that they can't use channel energy normally. Instead, they get Channel Smite as a bonus feat at 4th level and can only use their channel energy for that. Robs them of an area of effect use and utility, but makes it more dependent upon their weapon.
Looking back to fervor, I could take away the use of it being used on anyone but one's self, making it usable only for self healing, casting spells on one's self, and being expended on other things.
At that point, it is taking away party utility from fervor (and its usefulness with having undead minions, not that people play warpriest for that), but not actually nerfing the ability otherwise. Channel energy would get a specific use, similarly focussed. Though, really, perhaps I should just replace channel energy as already discussed, but with something less useful.