Hello, Paizo boards. It's been a while, but the question is am positing is nevertheless of some interest.
How to improve the Arcanist Exploit Fiendish Proboscis from Horror Realms?
First, i want you to look at the text of the ability.
From Archives of Nethys:
Fiendish Proboscis (Su) (Horror Realms pg. 6): The arcanist can spend 1 point from his arcane reservoir as a standard action to grow a long, articulated proboscis covered with small spiky hairs. The appendage grows from the arcanist’s face and houses a highly flexible, muscular tongue tipped with a cartilaginous barbed quill. The proboscis lasts for 1 round per arcanist level, during which time the arcanist cannot speak or use verbal components. The arcanist can end this exploit’s effects early as a swift action. As a standard action, the arcanist can attack a target with the proboscis’s tongue. This is a primary natural weapon with a 10-foot reach. Attacks with the tongue resolve as a touch attack. If the arcanist uses his tongue and hits a creature capable of casting spells or using spell-like abilities, he drains a portion of the target’s magical ability and adds 1 point to his arcane reservoir (points gained in excess of the reservoir’s maximum are lost). If the arcanist hits a creature that cannot cast spells or use spell-like abilities, the tongue instead drains a portion of the target’s life force and heals the arcanist of 1d6 points of damage. Regardless of the target’s ability to use magic, the tongue’s unnerving siphoning of magical or life energy causes the struck creature to become sickened for 1 round.
Let's look at the ability, it's design flaws, and look at ways to improve it so that it is more fun, and simultaneously more balanced. Let's start by taking parts of the text, and examining it's effects.
The arcanist can spend 1 point from his arcane reservoir as a standard action to grow a long, articulated proboscis covered with small spiky hairs. The appendage grows from the arcanist’s face and houses a highly flexible, muscular tongue tipped with a cartilaginous barbed quill.
This is mostly flavour text, but it does mean there is a cost associated with the exploit. Namely, 1 point from the character's arcane reservoir.
The proboscis lasts for 1 round per arcanist level, during which time the arcanist cannot speak or use verbal components.
This is the first drawback of the exploit. No Verbal components means that most spells that classes with access to this exploit are off limits. It's a hard it, right? Well, not really. We'll get to why exactly that is the case in a minute.
The arcanist can end this exploit’s effects early as a swift action. As a standard action, the arcanist can attack a target with the proboscis’s tongue. This is a primary natural weapon with a 10-foot reach. Attacks with the tongue resolve as a touch attack.
This explains the mechanics of the exploit. The important things are that it's a touch attack (pretty nice, througth mostly inconsequential), it has a reach of 10 ft. (meaning you don't have to stand in meele to use it), you can only make 1 attack with it (since it's a standard action), and you can dissmiss it without much issue.
If the arcanist uses his tongue and hits a creature capable of casting spells or using spell-like abilities, he drains a portion of the target’s magical ability and adds 1 point to his arcane reservoir (points gained in excess of the reservoir’s maximum are lost).
This, now this is the real purpose for the exploit. Now, sure, there are some other uses, like sapping hp and applying mediocre debuffs, but this is the real reason the exploit is so powerful.
If the arcanist hits a creature that cannot cast spells or use spell-like abilities, the tongue instead drains a portion of the target’s life force and heals the arcanist of 1d6 points of damage.
Eh. This is fine mostly. Not much damage, but it's still worth exploiting (pun intended).
Regardless of the target’s ability to use magic, the tongue’s unnerving siphoning of magical or life energy causes the struck creature to become sickened for 1 round.
This, like the previous part, is mostly fine. Not gamebreaking, and it doesn't leave a lot of room for abuse.
"BUT WAIT!"
You might say.
"As an Outer Rift exploit, isn't it limited by the following rule?"
All of the following exploits can be learned by arcanists of any alignment, but these exploits come with a risk. If you use an Outer Rift exploit and in doing so reduce your arcane reservoir to 0, you immediately gain the stain of one manifestation from the accursed, demonic, hellbound, or possessed corruption. The GM chooses which corruption, manifestation, and stain you receive; this stain persists for 24 hours. Reducing your arcane reservoir to 0 in this way multiple times within a 24-hour period results in a new stain for each such instance, and each time you do so you reset the timer for all stains gained in this manner to 24 hours. At the GM’s option, multiple instances of abusing exploits in this manner could result in a permanent corruption, but otherwise these corruptions are temporary and do not progress. You can never gain a gift from a corruption in this way.
And you'd be right. Well, "right". You see, while it is true that you gain a stain of a corruption, this doesn't actually matter because of the purpose of Fiendish Proboscis. You can indefinelty hold on to 2 points, activate the exploit for 1, and still have 1, thus not meeting the requierments for the above ruling. And then you have more points (if you're higher than level 1) to spend on recharging further, thus gaining infinite points in your Arcane Reservoire.
Depending on interpretation, you could even argue that the user can gain infinite healing. Since RAW, it never states that the target loses HP. Sit down, activate the exploit, and use it on an ally that can cast or your familiar, or something you've summoned or captured.
Now, i want to try and change this exploit to be more balanced without being overly powerful like it is now. It's a cool idea for sure. The implementation is what needs work.
So, my question is: how would you change the exploit to be more balanced and/or fun to use?
Bump.
This should probably be in the homebrew forum. Since you're looking for house rulings to alter the ability.
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Am I missing something here, or can you just refill your reservoir out of combat effectively for free by poking a spell-casting ally? Sure, they get sickened while you do it, but it's temporary.
Am I missing something here, or can you just refill your reservoir out of combat effectively for free by poking a spell-casting ally? Sure, they get sickened while you do it, but it's temporary.
that seems to be the case. Better yet if you have an improved familiar you could just refill your reservoir out of combat by poking it. Other party members might think it's "weird" that you "lick" your familiar after combat, but that seems to be the extent of it's negative effect. Especially if you never let your reservoir drop below 2.
Am I missing something here, or can you just refill your reservoir out of combat effectively for free by poking a spell-casting ally? Sure, they get sickened while you do it, but it's temporary.
Yes, you are right. That's the problem with the exploit. No wonder it's not PFS-legal.
Anyway, what do you think about 1+Cha times/day as a limit for the exploit?
Am I missing something here, or can you just refill your reservoir out of combat effectively for free by poking a spell-casting ally? Sure, they get sickened while you do it, but it's temporary.
Yes, it's the reason this is a top 20 atrocity published in a splatbook.
Does anyone know a way to fix the Exploit?
I'm open to any suggestions.
Perhaps have the exploit be of a different structure?
Say, you can activate it as a swift action instead of a standard one, doesn't cost any points, but it only lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Arcanist level? Or would 1/2 level be better?
Swift actions are usually for things with 1 round duration, unless they're core class features.
To clarify, i meant that it can only be active for that number of rounds PER DAY. The altered propostion would be:
You can activate it as a swift action instead of a standard one, doesn't cost any points, but it only lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Arcanist level per day? Or would 1/2 level be better?
If you're using a swift action each round to use/maintain it, full level IMO.