Hello.
So a game lets us play monsters too.
And a PC is a ghost.
Now with ABP, PCs get, with levels, bonuses to NA and deflection, even if they hadn't before.
This sounds like an omen of things to come.
The ghost can't get deflection from 2 sources, nor does it get NA.
Ghost touch armor is too expensive for a good while.
How can the PC, currently able for picking 2 class levels, prefers melee for corruptive touch, maximize survivability? Alignment is TN.
Dex 18, Int 16, Wis 8 (4d6 roll), Cha 16
As the GM, I'd replace both bonuses with dodge bonuses. Players pay for ABP with halved loot, ABP serves to push combat values into a certain corridor and intra-party balance is important. Hence a player shouldn't be randomily penalized for picking the "wrong" monster as base for their PC. If there is a penalty to compensate the benefits of being a ghost, it should be applied consciously and at a fitting amount, like getting x class levels less.
As a ghost you ignore most damage and take half damage from almost everything you are not immune to. Only ghost touch weapons deal full damage to you, and you only take half damage from magic weapon. Normal weapons do no damage to you. You are affected by magic but take half damage from that as well unless the magic is force effect, or has the ectoplasmic spell feat applied. Last but not least even if you are killed you simply reform 2d4 days later. In all honesty you don’t really have that much of a problem. Ghost touch armor may be expensive, but the spell mage armor should work.
This particular ghost is based off racial class levels.(3PP)
As such, ghost powers come via level dependant feats.
Incorporeal at lvl 9, revive at 15, at earliest.
Until then, they have a 10% miss chance/HD to avoid non magical attacks. 1/2 that for magical sources.
Incorporeal at lvl 9 (...)
Until then, they have a 10% miss chance/HD to avoid non magical attacks. 1/2 that for magical sources.
In that case there is no problem. It's not being a ghost that removes the natural armor and grants the deflection bonus equal to the charisma bonus, it's the incorporeal ability that does that. Once incorporeality kicks in, defenses shouldn't be a problem (immunity to non-magical damage and -50% magical damage is easily worth having lower AC), and until then, everythign works as normal.
ABP is basically a replacement for normal magic items in the big six. What would this ghost normally be able to use of those? Figure that out (I'm not sure of the exact mechanics this ghost class is using) then have ABP give them that.
Through a racial feat, the ghost can hold/carry items as if they themselves were corporeal. No armor benefit unless ghost touch is involved, though.
So i assume wearing protective magical items wouldn't be impossible.
Allowing that "ghost" race/class thing is like "allowing" players to be a Drow and waste all their feats to become a Noble Drow.
Either allow it, or don't... but no matter what, you shouldn't require the player to waste feats just to be what they wanted to be in the beginning. It removes the player's ability to choose things they want to do, because they have to waste all their feats just to become WHO they already are.
I would be p!ssed if that was the so-called ghost I was "allowed" to play as... yeah, I will just be something else if you won't actually allow me to be what I want... you're the GM, could have just told me "no" instead of teasing me with that disappointing BS.
@ VoodistMonk,
This ghost class was the player's own choice, instead of applying a template to a character. Being invulnerable to conventional (non magic) weapons from the get-go, might lower the chances of being picked for the game, is what they were considering.
I had mentioned 'we get to play monsters', i am not the DM.
Check out Ghostwalk from WotC. It was written right at the 3.0-3.5 change, but there is a 3.5 update available online. Has rules for playing ghost PCs.