Hadoken
2004-07-14, 04:52 PM
The Blades of Hadoken
The Blades of Hadoken is a secret organization. They are made up of people of all nationalities and personalities. But they are all driven by one determining force, a single factor that draws them each together. This is Hadoken Energy. And though it is there singular purpose to understand and embrace this foreign energy none of them fully do know what it is. Only that it is somewhat akin to the magic that wraps itself about their world, that it is a mysterious force, with neither goals nor a seeming cognizance. It is just a part of the world, something that is so ingrained into the very fabric of their every fiber that to remove it would be catastrophic.
So they instead seek to pull it even into their lives. And it becomes somewhat akin to an addiction. The force of Hadoken Energy is both exultant, the most wonderful ecstatic feelings in the world pour from its depths, and a ruinous substance, revolting to the very core. Molten Ice some would call it. But no matter what it truly is a few proven things have come from it, that it can be harnessed is one of them. By a Blade of Hadoken, properly trained Hadoken Energy can be harnessed in such a way as to improve their combat abilities, and to extend their life beyond normal mortals. But this does not come without a price.
A wielder of Hadoken Energy slowly becomes insane. The more energy he draws in the more he craves and thus a snowball effect occurs. The effects are quite visible, and vicious. One’s eyes take on a silvery sheen. Practically crackling with an inner lightning, they do. The energy does more than this though, much more. It drives it’s wielder to a maddening rage. It rides through his body, strengthening muscles, improving health and driving the body to recklessness. And when it leaves, flying from the body it leaves a tired man, a weary man.
But all this means little to the Blade of Hadoken, that secret cult. They know that only their group could ever hope to deal with even the slightest sliver of the true power of Hadoken Energy, so their numbers are few, and new members are carefully screened and watched. For one to even know of this group shows that either the Blades have been reckless or that you are connected to very high places indeed. And next to speak of the induction into the Blade of Hadoken. It is a horrid process; tearing down your soul, ripping it to pieces, and rebuilding it, placed back in but a husk of a body.
The process begins first by a council of the eldest Blades calling in and focusing Hadoken Energy. The inductee would stand in the center of a circle of at least ten Blades. And then the power would come, blowing through you and them, and finally when the pain seems to be unending it stops. Then the true trial begins. One at a time the elders surrounding you come in, attacking with abandon, using every last resource to kill you, enraged by some unseen force. And after each duel you are healed, your body restored, and the body of the elder is dragged off to be rebuilt with Hadoken Energy. And if you should survive all ten you will then be assigned a tutor to study with you the use of Hadoken Energy. This is a long, arduous task that takes many years to master, eventually resulting in many varied abilities and a bodily dependence on Hadoken Energy.
Later, with mastery of Hadoken Energy secrets are revealed. The true nature of Hadoken Energy is unknown, but it has heavy ties to the different planes of existence, and no matter where a Blade travels there has been documentation of Hadoken Energy being present. Thus the organization works hard at understanding the very nature of the different planes, what it is that stands between one plane and another, some even believe that the separation between each individual plane is Hadoken Energy itself. Though, truth be told, this matters little, whether it is correct or not. All that matters to most of the organization is the warrior path that they set for themselves.
It becomes a path of wandering. Since most follow this path there is only one concentration of the Blades, this happens once every ten years. It is a gathering of all that have been inducted to the depths of their group that usually ends with little more being accomplished than the knowledge of their true numbers becoming known to even them. Currently the Blades enjoy almost 500 members, fewer than half of which have any actual knowledge to be able to take on an apprentice. There are only ten elders who work in collaboration at all times. And though all of the Blades know who the elders are and where to find them, none but themselves know the elders names.
This is less an act of secrecy than it is an act of faith. When one has been within the ranks for over a hundred years they are considered for a spot on the council of elders. If their previous deeds have proven them worthy and their fellows speak highly enough of them then they are accepted within the folds of the innermost circle. At this time they lose their name, they are given a new one that is only known by the elders and themselves. But should they not be proven worthy they are immediately, ruthlessly killed. This is to discourage most from applying to be on the council from fear that they may not be worthy of the honor.
It is considered rude to the highest degree, punishable by a slow, pain-filled death to name an elder by their former name. The simple fact is that every day is a rebirthing for a Blade of Hadoken. Every day their soul is swept clean by Hadoken Energy and they are given a chance to start over. This process is aided by meditation, but stops entirely when one becomes an elder. They are never again cleansed, and so their souls must be maintained for the rest of their days through care and a sinless existence, never violating their tenets. To recall the past sins of an elder by naming their lost name is an act of cruelty, and simply despicable.
Finally, the last thing one needs to know about the Blades is their code of honor. A Blade may do whatever he or she wants, may pursue their own goals, kill with abandon, slaughter innocents, or uphold law and order. It matters not to the larger organization. But they all have a code of honor that they must adhere to.
They must never reveal to outsiders the scope and breadth of their organization. They mustn’t actively seek to harm another member of the Blades. They must offer any help they can to another Blade, be it food, clothing, or rooms. And that their soul must be cleansed every morning, or let it be destroyed.
These are things that a Blade must follow strictly or be forever forsaken. Breaking the final tenet of their order utterly destroys ones body, Hadoken Energy clouds the soul and eats away at it, feeding upon the mind, and within mere days the Blade could only be found as a pile of blackened dust.
Requirements:
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills: 10 ranks in Intimidate, 5 ranks in Knowledge (the planes)
Special: Must be initiated by ten elder Blades of Hadoken, must have the Rage class ability
Game Rule Information:
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier
Skills: Climb (str), Craft (int), Intimidate (cha), Knowledge (the planes) (int), Jump (str), Ride (dex), Swim (str)
{table]
Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
1
+1
+2
+0
+1
Channel Hadoken Energy 1/day, Madness
2
+2
+3
+0
+2
Infusion of Hadoken Energy
3
+3
+3
+1
+2
Know Hadoken Energy
4
+4
+4
+1
+2
-
5
+5
+4
+1
+3
Channel Hadoken Energy 2/day, Enhanced Madness
6
+6
+5
+2
+3
Bane of Life
7
+7
+5
+2
+4
-
8
+8
+6
+2
+4
Live as Hadoken Energy
9
+9
+6
+3
+4
Channel Hadoken Energy 3/day
10
+10
+7
+3
+5
Gleaming Blade of Fury
[/table]
Channel Hadoken Energy (Su): This ability is in all aspects identical to a Barbarian’s Rage ability. Though if one possesses the Rage ability from a previous class this counts as a separate pool of uses per day, thus the Barbarian’s (or any other class’) ability to rage is not a suitable substitute for this ability in regards to later Blade of Hadoken skills. This is usable once at 1st level, twice at 5th level, and a maximum of 3 times at 9th level.
Madness (Ex): Each time you gain a level in Blade of Hadoken you also gain a madness rating. The DM secretly rolls 1d6 each level and adds this to a total madness rating. According to your overall rating you may fall into fits of madness due to certain occurences, as below:
{table]
Madness
Occurence
0-15
-
16-30
Injury
31-40
Will Save
41-50
Using Blade of Hadoken ability
51-60
Threat
61+
Constant
[/table]
Occurence explanation:
Injury: Whenever a Blade takes damage in combat or in dangerous non-combat situations he must check for madness.
Will Save: Whenever a Blade is required to make a Will Save he must check for madness.
Using Blade ability: By merely calling upon the power of Hadoken energy he must check for madness
Threat: Any stressful situation, be it real or in the Blade's mind means he must check for madness.
To check for madness you roll 1d20 and subtract the result from a Blade's madness rating. Depending on the result a number of things can occur
5 or lower: A Blade enters a delusion for 2d6 minutes
6-15: A Blade becomes extremely suspicious of even close friends for 2d6 hours
17-25: A Blade is panicked, he tries to flee, barring that he attacks desperately for 2d6 rounds
26-35: A Blade becomes depressed and withdrawn for 2d6 hours
36-45: A Blade becomes Furious, insane, he lashes out at the nearest target, and rampages for 2d6 rounds
46-55: A Blade must succeed at a DC 20 Fort save or become diseased. This disease incubates for one week with know known cure and after that perioud it causes 1d3 temporary constitution damage until the blade finally dies.
56+: A Blade is entirely demented, he is lost to all and is effectively an NPC, leading a short self-destructive life usually ending by him killing himself.
Infusion of Hadoken Energy (Su): The Hadoken Energy that you have channeled through your body has become so much a part of you, and so infused within you that it can keep you alive beyond what would kill normal men. You gain the Diehard feat for free, even if you don’t normally qualify for it. Note that this ability is only functional while Channeling Hadoken Energy as per the ability.
Know Hadoken Energy (Ex): Due to the heavy ties between the Hadoken Energy and the planes a Blade of Hadoken receives a competence bonus equal to his Blade of Hadoken level for Knowledge (the planes) checks.
Bane of Life (Su): With his constant tapping of extraplanar resources a Blade of Hadoken treats one designated weapon as having the Bane (outsiders) ability, you must choose one type of outsider for this to be used against, as presented on the list of available banes below. This ability only affects one weapon in your possession, a weapon which you must designate upon gaining the ability. You cannot change the weapon until a year and a day has passed at which time you can re-designate the type of outsider it affects.
{table]
Bane
Outsiders, air
Outsiders, chaotic
Outsiders, earth
Outsiders, evil
Outsiders, fire
Outsiders, good
Outsiders, lawful
Outsiders, water
[/table]
Enhanced Madness (Ex): A Blade of Hadoken upon reaching 5th level can trade off their madness rating for bonus ability points. You can gain a +2 bonus to one ability score for an extra 2d6 of madness rating. But you can only gain one +2 bonus per ability score, so while you could gain a +2 to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for 6d6 madness you could not gain +6 to Constitution for 6d6 madness. You can only designate to gain this bonus upon gaining a level in Blade of Hadoken and you can only gain one ability bonus per level. Thus in the example above that player would have to have been a 7th level Blade of Hadoken to get the bonuses to Str, Dex, and Con.
Live as Hadoken Energy (Ex): This is taking the Infusion of Hadoken Energy ability a step farther, now when you are reduced to negative hit points you may act normally, taking your full action at no penalty, though if you are raised to above 0 hit points you immediately become exhausted. But above and beyond just that your fury is so great that it provides an inherent bonus to strenght equal to your level in Blade of Hadoken, meaning that a 9th level Blade of Hadoken would recieve a +9 inherent bonus to their strength. This bonus to strength only applies when you are dropped to 0 hit points or below in a dangerous combat situtation. Note that this ability may only be used while Channeling Hadoken Energy as per the ability.
Gleaming Blade of Fury (Su): 3 times/day a Blade of Hadoken can transform the significant portion of their weapon into a pure force of Hadoken energy, bypassing all forms of armor, effectively turning their attack roll into a touch attack. This effect lasts for one a single attack only and is usable a maximum of once per round. You gain Improved Critical for that attack only.
---
That is the build of my Blade of Hadoken PrC, I'm looking for some more comments, too powerful, or what?
The Blades of Hadoken is a secret organization. They are made up of people of all nationalities and personalities. But they are all driven by one determining force, a single factor that draws them each together. This is Hadoken Energy. And though it is there singular purpose to understand and embrace this foreign energy none of them fully do know what it is. Only that it is somewhat akin to the magic that wraps itself about their world, that it is a mysterious force, with neither goals nor a seeming cognizance. It is just a part of the world, something that is so ingrained into the very fabric of their every fiber that to remove it would be catastrophic.
So they instead seek to pull it even into their lives. And it becomes somewhat akin to an addiction. The force of Hadoken Energy is both exultant, the most wonderful ecstatic feelings in the world pour from its depths, and a ruinous substance, revolting to the very core. Molten Ice some would call it. But no matter what it truly is a few proven things have come from it, that it can be harnessed is one of them. By a Blade of Hadoken, properly trained Hadoken Energy can be harnessed in such a way as to improve their combat abilities, and to extend their life beyond normal mortals. But this does not come without a price.
A wielder of Hadoken Energy slowly becomes insane. The more energy he draws in the more he craves and thus a snowball effect occurs. The effects are quite visible, and vicious. One’s eyes take on a silvery sheen. Practically crackling with an inner lightning, they do. The energy does more than this though, much more. It drives it’s wielder to a maddening rage. It rides through his body, strengthening muscles, improving health and driving the body to recklessness. And when it leaves, flying from the body it leaves a tired man, a weary man.
But all this means little to the Blade of Hadoken, that secret cult. They know that only their group could ever hope to deal with even the slightest sliver of the true power of Hadoken Energy, so their numbers are few, and new members are carefully screened and watched. For one to even know of this group shows that either the Blades have been reckless or that you are connected to very high places indeed. And next to speak of the induction into the Blade of Hadoken. It is a horrid process; tearing down your soul, ripping it to pieces, and rebuilding it, placed back in but a husk of a body.
The process begins first by a council of the eldest Blades calling in and focusing Hadoken Energy. The inductee would stand in the center of a circle of at least ten Blades. And then the power would come, blowing through you and them, and finally when the pain seems to be unending it stops. Then the true trial begins. One at a time the elders surrounding you come in, attacking with abandon, using every last resource to kill you, enraged by some unseen force. And after each duel you are healed, your body restored, and the body of the elder is dragged off to be rebuilt with Hadoken Energy. And if you should survive all ten you will then be assigned a tutor to study with you the use of Hadoken Energy. This is a long, arduous task that takes many years to master, eventually resulting in many varied abilities and a bodily dependence on Hadoken Energy.
Later, with mastery of Hadoken Energy secrets are revealed. The true nature of Hadoken Energy is unknown, but it has heavy ties to the different planes of existence, and no matter where a Blade travels there has been documentation of Hadoken Energy being present. Thus the organization works hard at understanding the very nature of the different planes, what it is that stands between one plane and another, some even believe that the separation between each individual plane is Hadoken Energy itself. Though, truth be told, this matters little, whether it is correct or not. All that matters to most of the organization is the warrior path that they set for themselves.
It becomes a path of wandering. Since most follow this path there is only one concentration of the Blades, this happens once every ten years. It is a gathering of all that have been inducted to the depths of their group that usually ends with little more being accomplished than the knowledge of their true numbers becoming known to even them. Currently the Blades enjoy almost 500 members, fewer than half of which have any actual knowledge to be able to take on an apprentice. There are only ten elders who work in collaboration at all times. And though all of the Blades know who the elders are and where to find them, none but themselves know the elders names.
This is less an act of secrecy than it is an act of faith. When one has been within the ranks for over a hundred years they are considered for a spot on the council of elders. If their previous deeds have proven them worthy and their fellows speak highly enough of them then they are accepted within the folds of the innermost circle. At this time they lose their name, they are given a new one that is only known by the elders and themselves. But should they not be proven worthy they are immediately, ruthlessly killed. This is to discourage most from applying to be on the council from fear that they may not be worthy of the honor.
It is considered rude to the highest degree, punishable by a slow, pain-filled death to name an elder by their former name. The simple fact is that every day is a rebirthing for a Blade of Hadoken. Every day their soul is swept clean by Hadoken Energy and they are given a chance to start over. This process is aided by meditation, but stops entirely when one becomes an elder. They are never again cleansed, and so their souls must be maintained for the rest of their days through care and a sinless existence, never violating their tenets. To recall the past sins of an elder by naming their lost name is an act of cruelty, and simply despicable.
Finally, the last thing one needs to know about the Blades is their code of honor. A Blade may do whatever he or she wants, may pursue their own goals, kill with abandon, slaughter innocents, or uphold law and order. It matters not to the larger organization. But they all have a code of honor that they must adhere to.
They must never reveal to outsiders the scope and breadth of their organization. They mustn’t actively seek to harm another member of the Blades. They must offer any help they can to another Blade, be it food, clothing, or rooms. And that their soul must be cleansed every morning, or let it be destroyed.
These are things that a Blade must follow strictly or be forever forsaken. Breaking the final tenet of their order utterly destroys ones body, Hadoken Energy clouds the soul and eats away at it, feeding upon the mind, and within mere days the Blade could only be found as a pile of blackened dust.
Requirements:
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills: 10 ranks in Intimidate, 5 ranks in Knowledge (the planes)
Special: Must be initiated by ten elder Blades of Hadoken, must have the Rage class ability
Game Rule Information:
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier
Skills: Climb (str), Craft (int), Intimidate (cha), Knowledge (the planes) (int), Jump (str), Ride (dex), Swim (str)
{table]
Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
1
+1
+2
+0
+1
Channel Hadoken Energy 1/day, Madness
2
+2
+3
+0
+2
Infusion of Hadoken Energy
3
+3
+3
+1
+2
Know Hadoken Energy
4
+4
+4
+1
+2
-
5
+5
+4
+1
+3
Channel Hadoken Energy 2/day, Enhanced Madness
6
+6
+5
+2
+3
Bane of Life
7
+7
+5
+2
+4
-
8
+8
+6
+2
+4
Live as Hadoken Energy
9
+9
+6
+3
+4
Channel Hadoken Energy 3/day
10
+10
+7
+3
+5
Gleaming Blade of Fury
[/table]
Channel Hadoken Energy (Su): This ability is in all aspects identical to a Barbarian’s Rage ability. Though if one possesses the Rage ability from a previous class this counts as a separate pool of uses per day, thus the Barbarian’s (or any other class’) ability to rage is not a suitable substitute for this ability in regards to later Blade of Hadoken skills. This is usable once at 1st level, twice at 5th level, and a maximum of 3 times at 9th level.
Madness (Ex): Each time you gain a level in Blade of Hadoken you also gain a madness rating. The DM secretly rolls 1d6 each level and adds this to a total madness rating. According to your overall rating you may fall into fits of madness due to certain occurences, as below:
{table]
Madness
Occurence
0-15
-
16-30
Injury
31-40
Will Save
41-50
Using Blade of Hadoken ability
51-60
Threat
61+
Constant
[/table]
Occurence explanation:
Injury: Whenever a Blade takes damage in combat or in dangerous non-combat situations he must check for madness.
Will Save: Whenever a Blade is required to make a Will Save he must check for madness.
Using Blade ability: By merely calling upon the power of Hadoken energy he must check for madness
Threat: Any stressful situation, be it real or in the Blade's mind means he must check for madness.
To check for madness you roll 1d20 and subtract the result from a Blade's madness rating. Depending on the result a number of things can occur
5 or lower: A Blade enters a delusion for 2d6 minutes
6-15: A Blade becomes extremely suspicious of even close friends for 2d6 hours
17-25: A Blade is panicked, he tries to flee, barring that he attacks desperately for 2d6 rounds
26-35: A Blade becomes depressed and withdrawn for 2d6 hours
36-45: A Blade becomes Furious, insane, he lashes out at the nearest target, and rampages for 2d6 rounds
46-55: A Blade must succeed at a DC 20 Fort save or become diseased. This disease incubates for one week with know known cure and after that perioud it causes 1d3 temporary constitution damage until the blade finally dies.
56+: A Blade is entirely demented, he is lost to all and is effectively an NPC, leading a short self-destructive life usually ending by him killing himself.
Infusion of Hadoken Energy (Su): The Hadoken Energy that you have channeled through your body has become so much a part of you, and so infused within you that it can keep you alive beyond what would kill normal men. You gain the Diehard feat for free, even if you don’t normally qualify for it. Note that this ability is only functional while Channeling Hadoken Energy as per the ability.
Know Hadoken Energy (Ex): Due to the heavy ties between the Hadoken Energy and the planes a Blade of Hadoken receives a competence bonus equal to his Blade of Hadoken level for Knowledge (the planes) checks.
Bane of Life (Su): With his constant tapping of extraplanar resources a Blade of Hadoken treats one designated weapon as having the Bane (outsiders) ability, you must choose one type of outsider for this to be used against, as presented on the list of available banes below. This ability only affects one weapon in your possession, a weapon which you must designate upon gaining the ability. You cannot change the weapon until a year and a day has passed at which time you can re-designate the type of outsider it affects.
{table]
Bane
Outsiders, air
Outsiders, chaotic
Outsiders, earth
Outsiders, evil
Outsiders, fire
Outsiders, good
Outsiders, lawful
Outsiders, water
[/table]
Enhanced Madness (Ex): A Blade of Hadoken upon reaching 5th level can trade off their madness rating for bonus ability points. You can gain a +2 bonus to one ability score for an extra 2d6 of madness rating. But you can only gain one +2 bonus per ability score, so while you could gain a +2 to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for 6d6 madness you could not gain +6 to Constitution for 6d6 madness. You can only designate to gain this bonus upon gaining a level in Blade of Hadoken and you can only gain one ability bonus per level. Thus in the example above that player would have to have been a 7th level Blade of Hadoken to get the bonuses to Str, Dex, and Con.
Live as Hadoken Energy (Ex): This is taking the Infusion of Hadoken Energy ability a step farther, now when you are reduced to negative hit points you may act normally, taking your full action at no penalty, though if you are raised to above 0 hit points you immediately become exhausted. But above and beyond just that your fury is so great that it provides an inherent bonus to strenght equal to your level in Blade of Hadoken, meaning that a 9th level Blade of Hadoken would recieve a +9 inherent bonus to their strength. This bonus to strength only applies when you are dropped to 0 hit points or below in a dangerous combat situtation. Note that this ability may only be used while Channeling Hadoken Energy as per the ability.
Gleaming Blade of Fury (Su): 3 times/day a Blade of Hadoken can transform the significant portion of their weapon into a pure force of Hadoken energy, bypassing all forms of armor, effectively turning their attack roll into a touch attack. This effect lasts for one a single attack only and is usable a maximum of once per round. You gain Improved Critical for that attack only.
---
That is the build of my Blade of Hadoken PrC, I'm looking for some more comments, too powerful, or what?