Sun and Moon Warrior PrC (PEACH)

[Annalia]

The Sun Warrior

A Sun Warrior is a fighter that draws upon the power of the sun to fight his opponents. He is deeply connected to the fiery star and is more effective while fighting in plain light.
Sun Warrior are part of the Astral Fighter, an organisation dedicated to finding the lore and artifact on the sun and the moon. Sun Warrior usually see the other Sun Warrior as comrades in arms and gladly accept their company. They regard their stealthier counterpart, the Moon Warriors* with respect and often friendly rivalry.
Though no alignement is common to all Sun Warriors, they often tend towards Lawfulness. A Sun Warrior depends on Strenght (or Dexterity) and Constitution for his battle prowess and on Charisma for his special abilities.
Sun Warriors are commonly fighters, paladins or ranger. Barbarian, druid, cleric (of Pelor, most often) even rogue that became Sun Warriors are not unheard of either. It is extremely rare for a Sorcer or a Wizard to enter this PrC as they gain little from it and looses the spellcasting progression.

*Still working on the Moon Warriors. See below.

Requirements
BAB +5
Weapon Focus (any martial or exotic weapon)
Combat Expertise
Knw (Nature) 4 ranks, Diplomacy 4 ranks

Class Skills
Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Nature), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis) and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at each level: 2 + Int modifier

Hit Die: d10

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Abilities
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Sunbeam, Sun Domain, Sun Dependant
2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Daylight
3 +3 +3 +1 +1
4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Fire Resistance 5
5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Sun Infusion
6 +6 +5 +2 +2 Rapid Sunbeam
7 +7 +5 +2 +2
8 +8 +6 +2 +2 Fire Resistance 10
9 +9 +6 +3 +3
10 +10 +7 +3 +3 Improved Sunbeam


Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sun Warriors gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Sun Dependant: A Sun Warrior's abilities are highly dependant on the sun. To be able to use the Sunbeam, Sun Domain and the Sun Infusion abilities to their full capacity, a Sun Warrior must be in sunlight. A Sun Warrior in an environment where there's no sunlight (underground, a room with no windows, etc) finds his powered diminish (each entry will give more detail).
Furthermore, if a Sun Warrior stays away form sunlight for too long, he becomes fatigued. The number of days a Sun Warrior can be away from sunlight is equal to his Constitution modifier. When a Sun Warrior becomes fatigued from lack of sun (and only from lack of sun) he looses all the sun dependant abilities.

Sunbeam (Su): A Sun Warrior is able to concentrate the sun's warmth into a single beam of searing heat. A Sunbeam is a ranged touch attack that deals fire damage equal to 1d8 + the Sun Warrior class level + Sun Warrior's CHA modifier. Creating a Sunbeam is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A sunbeam has a range of 80 ft.
Sun Dependant: Because a sunbeam is a sun dependant ability, a Sun Warrior not in presence of sunlight finds his beam less powerful. The beam now deals 1d4 + Half the Sun Warrior class level + Sun Warrior's CHA modifier at a range of 40'.

Sun Domain: A Sun Warrior gains a limited access to the Sun Domain. He can cast spells from it as a cleric of half his Sun Warrior class level (rounded down, minimum 1). This means that he can only cast the spells 1/day. It also means that at 1st level he knows Endure Element, at 6th level he knows Heat Metal and at 10th level he knows Searing Light.
Sun Dependant: A Sun Warrior's ability to cast spell is dependant on the sun's presence. When there's no sunlight, a Sun Warrior can only cast 1 of the spell he knows per day and only at a caster level of ¼ his Sun Warrior level (rounded down, minimum 1).

Daylight (Sp): At 2nd level, a Sun Warrior can cast Daylight as a cleric of half his Sun Warrior class level (rounded down, minimum 1).

Fire Resistance (Ex): At 4th level, a Sun Warrior is so used to the Sun's heat that he gains Fire Resistance 5. If the Sun Warrior already had a Fire Resitance, he instead adds +5 to his current resistance.
This improves to Fire Resistance 10 (or +10) at level 8.

Sun Infusion (Su): At 5th level, a Sun Warrior can infuse his weapon with the Sun's power. Infusing a weapon is a full-round action action that provokes attacks of opportunity. An infused weapon gains the Flaming and Flaming Burst properties for a number of rounds equal to the Sun Warrior's Cha modifier. The Sun Infusion ability can be used a number of time per day equal to the Sun Warrior's Cha modifier (minimum 1). These enchantments stack with any other enchantment placed on the weapon.
Sun Dependant: A Sun Warrior cannot infuse a weapon is no sunlight is present. He can, however, draw some power from light creates from a daylight spell or spell-like ability to infuse his weapon with minor strenght. Such an infusion gives the weapon an additional 1d4 fire damage.

Rapid Sunbeam: At 6th level, a Sun Warrior is capable of forming a sunbeam more quickly than before. Using the Sunbeam ability is now a move action.

Improved Sunbeam: At 10th level, a Sun Warrior's Sunbeam is more powerful than before. It now deals 3d8+the Sun Warrior class level+Sun Warrior's CHA at a range of 160 ft.
Sun Dependant: If there's no sunlight, an Improved Sunbeam deals only 3d4+Half the Sun Warrior class level+Sun Warrior's CHA at a range of 80'.

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That's it for now. I don't know how balanced it is and already have a couple of ideas to change it if it's too overpowered/underpowered. If it's overpowered, I'd remove the Sun Domain and tone down the Sunbeam. Maybe put Bonus Feats to compensate a little. If it's underpowered, Bonus feats can make it more powerful and I'm contemplating the idea of an ability that gives bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls.

So, comments and tips?

Well, let's get on to the Moon Warrior, then.
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The Moon Warrior

The Moon Warrior is a stealthy but effective fighter that draws upon the power of the moon to improve his ability. He is deeply connected to the moon and more effective in its light. Moon Warriors are the other branch of the Astral Fighters, dedicated to finding lore and magical items related to the two predominent sources of light. They regard other Moon Warrior and Sun Warrior with respect and often develop a friendly competition with the latter, discussing the power of their chosen paths.
Moon Warriors rely mostly on Dexterity (to fight), Charisma (for their abilities) and Constitution (for hit points). Rogues, Bards, Monks and Rangers make excellent Moon Warriors and while fighter, paladin and barbarian have more difficulty following this class, they can still fairly profit from it. Spellcasting classes are rarely willing to abandon their spells for what the Moon Warrior has to offer.
Though no alignement is common to all Moon Warriors, they tend toward chaos more often than toward lawfulness.

Requirements

BAB +3
Point Blank Shot or Weapon Finesse
Knowledge (Nature) 4 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks, Hide 8 ranks

Class Skills
Balance (Dex), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Nature), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str) and Tumble (Dex).
Skill points per level: 4 + Int Modifier

Hit Die: d8

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Ability
1 +0 +2 +2 +0 Moon Dependant, Moonbeam, Moon's Luck +1
2 +1 +3 +3 +0 Low-Light Vision
3 +2 +3 +3 +1 Evasion
4 +3 +4 +4 +1 Moon's Luck +2
5 +3 +4 +4 +1
6 +4 +5 +5 +2 Rapid Moonbeam
7 +5 +5 +5 +2 Moon's Luck +3
8 +6 +6 +6 +2 Improved Low-Light Vision
9 +6 +6 +6 +3
10 +7 +7 +7 +3 Improved Moonbeam, Moon's Luck +4

Moon Dependant: A Moon Warrior's abilities are highly dependant on the moon. To be able to use the Moonbeam and Moon's Luck abilities to their full capacity, a Moon Warrior must be in moonlight. A Moon Warrior in an environment where there's no moonlight (underground, a room with no windows, etc) finds his powered diminish (each entry will give more detail).
Furthermore, if a Moon Warrior stays away form moonlight for too long, he becomes fatigued. The number of days a Moon Warrior can be away from moonlight is equal to his Constitution modifier. When a Moon Warrior becomes fatigued from lack of moonlight (and only from lack of moonlight) he looses all the moon dependant abilities.

Moonbeam (Su): A Moon Warrior is able to channel the moon's power into a single beam of magical energy. A Moonbeam is a ranged touch attack that deals magical damage equal to 1d8 + the Moon Warrior's class level + Moon Warrior's CHA modifier. Creating a Moonbeam is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A moonbeam has a range of 80 ft.
Moon Dependant: Because a Moonbeam is a moon dependant ability, a Moon Warrior not in presence of moonlight finds his beam less powerful. The beam now deals 1d4 + Half the Moon Warrior class level + Moon Warrior's CHA modifier at a range of 40'.

Moon's Luck (Ex): A Moon Warrior's fate is tied to the moon and he feels more lucky and confident in its presence. A Moon Warrior gains a +1 luck bonus to his attack rolls, saves ans skill checks.
This bonus increases by +1 every three level thereafter (+2 at level 4, +3 at level 7, +4 at level 10).

Low-Light Vision (Ex): At 2nd level, a Moon Warrior can see twice as far as a human in starlight, torchlight and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish colors and details under these conditions.
If a character already has Low-Light Vision, he instead gains Improved Low-Light Vision (see below).

Evasion (Ex): At 3rd level, a Moon Warrior gains the Evasion class feature just like a Monk (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monk.html) (PHB p.40).
If a character already has Evasion, he instead gains Improved Evasion.

Rapid Moonbeam: At 6th level, a Moon Warrior is capable of forming a moonbeam more quickly than before. Using the Moonbeam ability is now a move action.

Improved Low-Light Vision (Ex): At 8th level, a Moon Warrior can see four times as far as a human in conditions of shadowy illumination. This ability otherwise function like Low-Light Vision.

Improved Moonbeam: At 10th level, a Moon Warrior's Moonbeam is more powerful than before. It now deals 3d8 + the Moon Warrior's class level + Moon Warrior's CHA at a range of 160 ft.
Moon Dependant: If there's no moonlight, an Improved Moonbeam deals only 3d4 + Half the Moon Warrior's class level + Moon Warrior's CHA at a range of 80'.
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Tadam! ;D

These PrC are especially meant for a world concept I had where the universe outside the world stopped moving. Stars, sun and moon are stuck into one place which means half the world is always on nighttime while the other half is always during the day. Clouds still move, though, so rain's possible.

So, how's the balance of the second PrC? Especially, how does they fare when compared to one another?

[TheThan]

I like it but I see one problem with it. when a Sun warrior enter all of their powers suddenly are worthless. So in order to keep them from becoming mostly useless I suggest reworking how the Sun Dependent ability works.

I would allow them to be able to use their powers while not in the sun for a number of days equal to their constitution modifier before their power fade. I would also weaken all of their abilities while not in the sun. For example I would cut the damage dice of the sunbeam down to 1d4 + sun warrior level + charisma modifier. I would also cut the range in half.

That’s just a suggestion though. I think its fairly well balanced other darkness rendering this class useless. I also have a question. What happens on rainy or cloudy days? Are they powerless?

[Annalia]

It definitely keeps his powers on a cloudy or rainy day. Even if the sun's not directly visible, its light still pierce the clouds. A good way to view it would be that even on a cloudy day, you can still see outside very well.

I knew the Sun Dependant would hamper them a lot but I had no obvious solution. Reducing the abilities power is a good idea (though I'll won't cut the die, I'll cut the bonus from class level). I'll be editing soon.

Edit: There. I modified it and each entry has specific details on the effect of lack of sunlight. Thanks for the help.

Oh, and the abilities won't work during the night. I know moonlight is the reflection of sun rays but that'd screw the flavor. And render my other uncoming PrC (Moon Warriors) rather useless.

[JadedDM]

Okay, far be it from me to claim to have a deep understanding of 3E and how balance works in it (and it's possible I'm about to make myself look dumb by even speaking up), but generally for something to be 'balanced', doesn't it have to have a downside?

I mean, granted, the Sun Warrior's abilities wane when it's not daytime, but it still gets all these nifty powers for free (seemingly). I mean, the question to ask, is there any reason to be a regular fighter instead of taking this class?

If I'm showing my ignorance here, please enlighten me.

But otherwise, I like the idea behind it.

[Annalia]

An ordinary fighter gets the bonus feats. A lot of them. That'd be the downside you missed. :)

So the question is: are all the abilities here about equivalent in power than what you can get from Fighters Bonus feats?

I'd say yes, but really, I'm not sure I'm that good on mesuring balance. What I can tell is that I loose on dishing damage for some versatility.

[JadedDM]

Oh, I see.

If you don't mind indulging my ignorance further, can I ask what Daylight does? Just the basic gist, mind you, no need to bog me down with stats. It doesn't exist in 2E, so I was curious.

I really do like the concept, though. Perhaps I'll adopt something similar into my own game (there is a sun god in my world, and these warriors would fit in well with that).

[TheThan]

Hmm ok cutting the dice down on the sunbeam was a bit much. But I discovered another thing to ask about. How does sun infusion affect a weapon that’s already magical. Specifically if it already had flaming or flaming burst on it.

[Steward]

If you don't mind indulging my ignorance further, can I ask what Daylight does?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/daylight.htm

[Annalia]

Hmm ok cutting the dice down on the sunbeam was a bit much. But I discovered another thing to ask about. How does sun infusion affect a weapon that’s already magical. Specifically if it already had flaming or flaming burst on it.

Starting from 5th level (and with a good Cha), a Sun Warrior gets about as much damage from the die than the other bonuses. And it follows a certain logic that the higher the level in Sun Warrior, the more dependant you grow.

Edit: You know, TheThan, when you reach Improved Sunbeam, cutting the die might be a better idea. And for the sake of continuity, I'll probably be doing that to both places.

As for your other point, I'd have the bonus stacks. And since that's among the most powerful abilities I made it highly dependant.

[JadedDM]

Oh, I see. So Daylight is pretty much just another version of Continual Light?

[TheThan]

I saw the sun Infusion to be a little powerful but with the new restrictions you made on it, it now seems fair. I like the class and hope the moon warrior comes out as good.

As to the daylight spell it guess it’s probably an equivalent if anything. Granted I’ve never played 2E so I couldn’t tell from experience but it seems likely.

[Annalia]

I also intend to cut down the Infusion a by making it Provoke AoO. Makes sense, when you think about it. You have this guys, stopping th fight to concentrate and put some of the sun's magic in it's blade. Seems like a perfect occasion to hack at him.

And Moon Warrior's finished. I'll be typing him for the next minutes.

As for Daylight/Continual Light, Daylight has a time limit and stays in one area. Don't know about Continual Light (doesn't even makes a year a play DnD so I never touched 2e). Maybe what you look for is Continual Flame (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/spellsC.html#continual-flame).

[TheThan]

I like, but I would change the prerequisites to match the sun warriors. I would say change it to weapon focus (any ranged) and probably leave the skill requirements. Also you need to check the moonbeam and fix your copy and paste job, it still says Sun warrior on it in some places.

Hmm most prestige classes require a character level of 6 so I would change the prerequisites to +6 bab for the sun warrior and +4 bab for the moon warrior. That way they can both get there at 6th level. It’s a bit more consistent that way and can be dropped into an otherwise standard game with no worries.

[AdInfinitum]

Moonbeam has a typo (you forgot to change sun to moon)

[PMDM]

Did you read the article in which Rich created a fantasy world from begining to end? If not, then I would check it out if I were you.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I read the title and thought it would be one Prc. Oh well, but a class that got differant abilities depending on the time of day would be cool, maybe I'll steal it for myself. I like how you didn't make the Moon Warrior a simple opposite of the Sun Warrior.

[Annalia]

Thanks for spotting the typo, Ad_Infinitum. I still haven't read Rich article's (probably because I had forgotten of this one existence) but if it's as good as the others, I'll read it.

I do have a base class in mind that gets his ability depending on what's in the sky. These would be some sort of priest that want the sun and the moon to start moving again. But if you want to try the idea on a more roguish/tank/whatever type of class, go ahead.


Edit (I had missed TheThan's post): Don't most PrC have level 5 requirements? Then you only take your first level into it on lvl6. Wait, let me check the DMG and Completes... *insert various time here* Well the DMG is fairly inconsistent. I've seen at least two at level 5 and about the same number for level 6. And some higher. I guess it depends.

Edit2: Complete Adventurer definitely has a majority of level 5 requirements.

[PMDM]

Read it. One aspect of it is there are clerics, who follow the gods of the Sun and Moon. These religions work together. So if there's a Sun Temple, there will be a Moon Temple right next to it. Rich also his own version of a Sun and Moon Vatican City.

[Soul_of_Ice]

So the sun warrior gets unlimited use of his sun beam ability? How about limiting it to his cha/wis mod + class level.

[Annalia]

Yes, he gains unlimited use. But it's a standard action so he probably dish out more damage with a full attack.

And by the time he gets it to be a move action (thus throwing two of them), he's one more attack due to high BAB. Let's see if we compare a standard greatsword fighter to a Sun Warrior using his Sunbeam ability.

Fighter level 6 (with 16 Str) and a greatsword +1 (he's level 6, he ought to have that). He'd have Weapon Spec on it too.: Two attacks dealing 2d6+7 each. Average damage = 14+14=28

Sun Warrior level 1 (with 16 Cha). He deals 1d8+4 damage. Once. Average damage = 7.

Let's see farther in the game, when he gets two beams. He'd now be level 6 so we'll compare to Fighter level 11.

Fighter Level 11 (with 16 Str) with a +2 greatsword and Weapon Spec. : Three attacks dealing 2d6+8 each. Average damage = 15+15+15=45

Sun Warrior level 6 (with 16 Cha). He deals 1d8+9 damage twice. Average damage = 13+14 = 27.

And now let's compare the Improved Sunbeam with a level 15 Fighter.

Fighter level 15 (with 16 Str) with a +3 greatsword, Weapon Spec and Greater Weapon Spec: Three attacks dealing 2d6+11 each. Average damage = 18+18+18=54

Sun Warrior level 10 (with 16 Cha). He deals 3d8+13 damage twice. Average damage = 26+26=52


So? Obviously the beam is worth using more at high levels and has closed the gap. But remember that a fighter will continue to pump his Str while the Sun Warrior Cha's is only a secondary stat. The beam is useful on a versatility point of view and gets diminished as soon as there's no sunlight. A fighter can always swing his sword.

The Sunbeam won't get much used compared to the Sun Infusion/Full Attack combo (which I was thinking to limit to Cha modifier/day. It's powerful enough like that, I wouldn't want the player to get the equivalent of a +3 sword any time).

Edit: There! Nerfed Sun Infusion a bit.

[Lapak]

And the range of the Sunbeam makes up nicely for the reduced damage capacity. I think that's pretty well balanced, actually.

[knightsaline]

Question: in the case of an eclipse, whose powers work? I know that your setting states that the outer universe stopped moving, but what would happen if some epic wizard made the world spin once again? make the eclipse a special event where sun and moon warriors have a huge tournement.

just my 2 sp

[Eighth_Seraph]

Seems to me like that would be more of a story purpose, and that if such a thing were to happen, the effects upon those who draw power from the eclipsed celestial body would be described within the actual event, as opposed to within the class. If there's alot of classes in your world that work under similar circumstances though, it may be best to list them in the class, so you don't have to make one just upon the eclipse.

Actually, it seems that in the case of an eclipse, it would count as the warrior not seeing the sun/moon and would suffer normal penalties for that. Your call, Annalia