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Mephibosheth
2005-10-06, 09:20 AM
I have came up with the idea to design a Mafia-based PrC yesterday that capitalizes on some seldom-used (at least in my limited experience) abilities provided by D&D rules, specifically, the ability to demoralize your opponent in combat, the rules for garrote attacks found in “Song and Silence,” and the Leadership feat. These abilities correlate relatively well to three major Mafia roles: the guy who delivers threats, the guy who follows through on threats, and the mind behind the mob (i.e. Don Vito and the like). Thus, I have created the Mouth, Mind, and Muscle Mafiosi PrC’s. This post and the following two contain the traits as they stand. I would welcome any constructive criticism/suggestions/rants/etc.

THE MAFIOSI

Mafiosi come in three forms: mouth, mind, and muscle. Mouth Mafiosi serve as intimidators and persuaders for organized crime syndicates, Muscle Mafiosi serve as enforcers, and Mind Mafiosi organize the syndicate and direct the other members.

General Traits
Level Special
1 The Family +2
2
3
4
5 The Family +4
6
7
8
9 The Family +6
10

Special Abilities
Organization – Mafiosi work better in groups. Any time a Mafiosi of any type is working in conjunction with at least one other Mafiosi, they both gain a bonus of +2 at 1st level, +4 at 5th level, and +6 at 9th level on a certain skill. Mouth Mafiosi gain a bonus on intimidate checks, Muscle Mafiosi gain the bonus on grapple checks, and Mind Mafiosi gain the bonus on diplomacy checks.

MOUTH MAFIOSI
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
Alignment: any non-good
Skills: Intimidate 8 ranks, Bluff 5 ranks, Forgery 5 ranks, Gather Information 3 ranks
Feats: Persuasive
Special: The character must have been formally inducted into a criminal organization of some sort. Examples include a thief’s guild, a secret society, a gang, and an organized crime ring.
Class Skills
The Mouth Mafiosi’s class skills are: Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (local), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Slight of Hand, Spot, Tumble, and Use Rope.
Skill Points per Level: 4 + intelligence modifier

BAB: as Cleric
Fort: poor
Ref and Will: good
Level Special
1 Calling Card, Offer You Can’t Refuse
2 Hey, You Over There! +5ft
3 Fast Intimidate (move)
4 Sneak Attack +1d6, I Can Have That Effect on People (frightened)
5 Hey, You Over There! +10ft
6 Fast Intimidate (free), Blackmail
7 Hey, You Over There! +15ft
8 Sneak Attack +2d6, I Can Have That Effect on People (panicked)
9 Hey, You Over There! +20ft
10 I Can Have That Effect on People (paralyzed)

Special Abilities
Calling Card – Beginning at level 1, a Mafiosi cultivates a unique identity, known as a calling card. This identity should be determined by the player and subject to the veto of the DM. Calling Cards are visual or behavioral quirks that reveal the identity of the Mafiosi to those familiar with the calling card (for example, a Mafiosi may be seen always eating lemon drops, may wield a distinctive weapon or have a unique killing style, or may have a prominent scar/facial feature that identifies him). Any humanoid that sees the Mafiosi automatically makes a Knowledge (local) check to recognize the Mafiosi. The DC for this check is 25 – the Mafiosi’s class levels (thus, a 5th level Mafiosi can be identified on a DC 20 Knowledge check) for characters who are not from the Mafiosi’s home country, 20 – the Mafiosi’s class levels for characters who are from the Mafiosi’s country but not from his hometown or territory, and 15 – the Mafiosi’s class levels for residents of the Mafiosi’s hometown or territory. In the case of a Mouth Mafiosi, when attempting to demoralize any character that has successfully identified him/he, instead of only lasting a single round, a Mouth Mafiosi’s demoralized opponents are shaken for a number of rounds equal to the Mouth Mafiosi’s class levels.
Offer You Can’t Refuse – When making a diplomacy check for a character that has successfully identified him/her, a Mouth Mafiosi adds his ½ of his intimidate modifier to the check.
Hey, You Over There! – Beginning at 2nd level, a Mouth Mafiosi can demoralize opponents at greater distances than normal. The range of a Mouth Mafiosi’s demoralization ability increases by 5 feet at 2nd level, and increases again at 5th level and every two levels thereafter.
Fast Intimidate – Beginning at 3rd level, a Mouth Mafiosi can make an intimidate check to demoralize an opponent as a move action instead of a standard action. At 6th level, the Mouth Mafiosi can demoralize an opponent as a free action.
I Can Have That Effect on People – Starting at 4th level, a Mouth Mafiosi has the ability to produce greater fear than normal in demoralized opponents. At 4th level, number of times per day equal to his/her charisma modifier, a Mouth Mafiosi can render an opponent Frightened (as if affected by a Cause Fear spell). At 8th level, the Mafiosi can render the opponent panicked (as if affected by a Fear spell), and at 10th level, the Mouth Mafiosi can render an opponent paralyzed. With the exception of paralysis (which lasts for 1 round), these effects last 1 round per Mafiosi level.
Blackmail – Beginning at 6th level, a Mouth Mafiosi can combine the Forgery skill and the Intimidate skill to intimidate an opponent at long distances. The Mouth Mafiosi must attempt a Forgery check against the target. If the Mouth Mafiosi succeeds, he/she may make an intimidate check as normal, regardless of the distance between the two people (this represents the Mouth Mafiosi sending the target a threatening letter or other means of written/symbolic communication). If successful, determine the results as if it had been a standard intimidate check.

Mephibosheth
2005-10-06, 09:22 AM
MUSCLE MAFIOSI
Hit Die: d10
Requirements:
Alignment: any non-good
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (cord garrote, wire garrote, locking garrote), Combat Expertise
Special:The character must have been formally inducted into a criminal organization of some sort. Examples include a thief’s guild, a secret society, a gang, and an organized crime ring.
The Muscle Mafiosi’s class skills are: Bluff, Climb, Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Profession, Search, Slight of Hand, Spot, and Tumble.
Skill Points Per Level: 2 + intelligence modifier
BAB: as Cleric
Fort and Ref: good
Will: poor
Level Special
1 Calling Card, Improved Grapple, Sneak Attack +1d6
2 Garrote Focus +1
3 Sneak Attack +2d6
4 Improved Disarm
5 Improved Garrote (first round), Garrote Focus +2
6 Sneak Attack +3d6
7 Improved Trip
8 Deft Grappling
9 Sneak Attack +4d6, Garrote Focus +3
10 Improved Garrote (continuous)
Special Abilities
Calling Card – Beginning at level 1, a Mafiosi cultivates a unique identity, known as a calling card. This identity should be determined by the player and subject to the veto of the DM. Calling Cards are visual or behavioral quirks that reveal the identity of the Mafiosi to those familiar with the calling card (for example, a Mafiosi may be seen always eating lemon drops, may wield a distinctive weapon or have a unique killing style, or may have a prominent scar/facial feature that identifies him). Any humanoid that sees the Mafiosi automatically makes a Knowledge (local) check to recognize the Mafiosi. The DC for this check is 25 – the Mafiosi’s class levels (thus, a 5th level Mafiosi can be identified on a DC 20 Knowledge check) for characters who are not from the Mafiosi’s home country, 20 – the Mafiosi’s class levels for characters who are from the Mafiosi’s country but not from his hometown or territory, and 15 – the Mafiosi’s class levels for residents of the Mafiosi’s hometown or territory. In the case of the Muscle Mafiosi, all foes who recognize the Muscle Mafiosi take a -1 penalty on attack roles against the Muscle Mafiosi as long as they are in a space threatened by the Muscle Mafiosi. This aspect of the calling card is not in effect the Muscle Mafiosi is Flat-Footed or otherwise denied his/her dex bonus to AC.
Garrote Focus – Beginning at 2nd level, a Muscle Mafiosi becomes more adept than most at garroting foes. He/She gains a bonus of +1 to damage while attempting to garrote a foe. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level and +3 at 9th level
Improved Garrote – Beginning at 5th level, when a Muscle Mafiosi successfully initiates a garrote against an opponent who cannot apply his dex bonus to AC, he/she deals sneak attack damage in addition to the normal damage for the first turn of the garrote. Beginning at 10th level, the Muscle Mafiosi is able to deal sneak attack damage for every round of the garrote.
Deft Grappling – Beginning at 8th level, a Muscle Mafiosi may attempt to either trip or disarm at no penalty while engaged in a grapple.

Mephibosheth
2005-10-06, 09:24 AM
MIND MAFIOSI
Hit Die: d6
Requirements:
Alignment: any non-good
Skills: Bluff 10 ranks, Intimidate 10 ranks, Diplomacy 10 ranks
Feats: Leadership
Special: The Family +4
Class Skills
The Mind Mafiosi’s class skills are: Appraise, Bluff, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Intimidate, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Listen, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Slight of Hand, Speak Language, Spot
Skill Points per Level: 6 + intelligence modifier
BAB: as Cleric
Fort and Ref: Poor
Will: Good
Level Special
1 Calling Card, Improved Leadership (+2)
2 Offer You Can’t Refuse
3 The Day of My Daughter’s Wedding
4 Diplomatic Efficiency
5 Improved Leadership (1 level lower)
Special Abilities
Calling Card – Beginning at level 1, a Mafiosi cultivates a unique identity, known as a calling card. This identity should be determined by the player and subject to the veto of the DM. Calling Cards are visual or behavioral quirks that reveal the identity of the Mafiosi to those familiar with the calling card (for example, a Mafiosi may be seen always eating lemon drops, may wield a distinctive weapon or have a unique killing style, or may have a prominent scar/facial feature that identifies him). Any humanoid that sees the Mafiosi automatically makes a Knowledge (local) check to recognize the Mafiosi. The DC for this check is 25 – the Mafiosi’s class levels (thus, a 5th level Mafiosi can be identified on a DC 20 Knowledge check) for characters who are not from the Mafiosi’s home country, 20 – the Mafiosi’s class levels for characters who are from the Mafiosi’s country but not from his hometown or territory, and 15 – the Mafiosi’s class levels for residents of the Mafiosi’s hometown or territory. In the case of the Mind Mafiosi, add together all levels in any Mafiosi prestige class for determining the modifier on the Knowledge (local) check. Additionally, when attempting to attract a cohort within one step of his/her alignment, the Mouth Mafiosi’s reputation score is not affected by having caused the deaths of previous cohorts as long as the prospective cohort successfully recognizes the Mafiosi.
Improved Leadership – Beginning at 1st level, a Mind Mafiosi gains a +2 bonus to his/her reputation score for the purpose of attracting cohorts or followers. Additionally, beginning at 5th level, he/she gains the ability to attract a cohort one level lower than his/her own, instead of the normal restriction of two levels lower.
Offer You Can’t Refuse – Beginning at 2nd level, a Mind Mafiosi may add ½ of his/her intimidate modifier to diplomacy checks. This ability is identical to the ability of the Mouth Mafiosi. If the Mind Mafiosi already has this ability, the bonus increases to ¾ of his/her intimidate modifier.
The Day of My Daughter’s Wedding – Beginning at 3rd level, a Mind Mafiosi begins to collect favors owed from members of the community. At any given time, a Mind Mafiosi may be owed a number of favors equal to his/her class level plus his/her charisma modifier. In order to accumulate favors, the Mind Mafiosi must perform some service to the individual, who will then be indebted to the Mind Mafiosi. To call in a favor, the Mind Mafiosi must either be able to talk to the target or communicate via intermediaries, spells, letters, or any other means of communication. In person, calling in a favor counts as a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. The duration for calling in a favor in any other circumstances varies at the discretion of the DM. A favor may be granted willingly, or may be taken forcefully. An unwilling target may make a will save (DC 10 + the Mind Mafiosi’s intimidate modifier) to avoid returning the favor. If a target successfully avoids returning a favor, the Mind Mafiosi must take some sort of punitive action or seek recompense (a promise of another favor in the future, a formal apology, broken knees, etc). For every week that the Mind Mafiosi does not act on an unfulfilled favor, his/her reputation score decreases by 1. If and when he/she is successful in seeking recompense, his/her reputation score returns to normal.
Diplomatic Efficiency – Beginning at 4th level, a Mind Mafiosi gains the ability to influence a person’s behavior with very little effort. When attempting a diplomacy check against any individual who has successfully identified a Mind Mafiosi, the Mind Mafiosi may make the diplomacy check as a full round action at no penalty.

Seerow
2005-10-06, 09:47 AM
I like the flavor of this, and have only one comment...

If a requirement to become the Mind Mafiosi is to have "The Family +4" doesn't that mean that he's already got a Caller ID from when he was a Mouth/Muscle? What is the purpose of gaining this a second time as the Mind?

bolgar
2005-10-06, 09:51 AM
This a prestige class you can't refuse ;D

Serpitus
2005-10-06, 09:54 AM
good one bolgar

Mephibosheth
2005-10-06, 10:02 AM
Good call Seerow. I hadn't thought about that. Mainly, I included Calling Card in the Special Abilities for the Mind Mafiosi in order to explain its new benefit. I think that I'll rule that the two Calling Card benefits stack, representing the mob boss' familiarity with his old skills while gaining some new diplomacy abilities because of his new role in the organization.

Thanks for the positive feedback. Any other comments? Balance issues? Anything else?

Super_Ashura
2005-10-06, 10:23 AM
Ooh! I love it! :-*

btw, This just beggs to be abused by RAW min-maxers! ;D

Spuddly
2005-10-06, 10:38 AM
I really like it. They're all good classes and pretty varied. It'd be fun to have everyone in a campaign take one of the PrC to get those bonuses.

However, I feel that the Muscle is a little underpowered in comparison to the others. Both the Mouth and the Mind could be either a Bard or Rogue and go into the either class without any problems. The classes are more like super-bard/rogue classes. But with Muscle, you'd have to be a multiclassed rogue/fighter. I see 1 or 2 levels of rogue with a small HD as being somewhat problematic.

Bizwacky
2005-10-06, 01:09 PM
Great Class :-D I really can't comment on the balance, not good with that But, I was thinking, shouldn't a mind mafiosi be easier to recognize, possibly lower the DC by 5 on checks to recognize him at some point? I was just thinking that a lvl 10 muscle mafiosi probably has less of a reputation that a lvl 10 mind mafiosi ( I know lvl 5 mouth/muscle and lvl 5 mind but still)

Seerow
2005-10-06, 01:16 PM
Well first, I don't see a Muscle Mafiosi becoming a Mind. That's just my personal feel for it, the mouth is in a better possition to do as much.

Second, I think that Mind, rather than getting a stacked Caller ID, should actually have something a bit more... special.

As someone running behind the mob, everyone should know him by another name, and by his handiwork, not by face. Thus if someone passes him on the street they would need a very high check to recognize him for what he was.

However, if he sent some henchmen to traumatize a Blacksmith who wouldn't answer to a favor, then everyone who sees it should know instantly who was behind it(that being the other name), but have no idea how to get to him.

I see the mind as the guy behind the scenes, everyone knows him, yet nobody knows him at the same time if you take my meaning. My favorite example is the Upright Man(Sagacious Man, and his other incarnations) from Feist's books. But if you haven't read those, I can just say this guy doesnt want to be known. He's behind most if not all of the criminal activity in an area, and as such will want not want to be known by law enforcers.

This kind of goes against the reputation he builds as a Mouth/Muscle, so I say he may have to fake his own death or something along those lines.

But really Im just spouting stuff that fits more into flavor, and what the DM would probably make a player go through than what you might make actual abilities. Ill let somebody more inclined puzzle that out.

Spuddly
2005-10-06, 01:26 PM
Everyone knew the Godfather. Everyone knew Tony Montana (who btw was muscle).

Scorpina
2005-10-06, 02:20 PM
As someone running behind the mob, everyone should know him by another name, and by his handiwork, not by face. Thus if someone passes him on the street they would need a very high check to recognize him for what he was.

However, if he sent some henchmen to traumatize a Blacksmith who wouldn't answer to a favor, then everyone who sees it should know instantly who was behind it(that being the other name), but have no idea how to get to him.

This might just be me, but that sounds more "Keyzer Soze" than Mafioso...

Nasrudith
2005-10-06, 03:10 PM
I guess the mob bosses would have to have scrying protections to prevent him from being scryed and then killed by a group of paladains who are sick and tired of his organized LE crime.

Mephibosheth
2005-10-06, 03:32 PM
First, I’ve made a change to the Mind Mafiosi’s Calling Card ability. Idiot me, there are no rolls opposed to diplomacy checks.

Second, thanks a lot for the feedback guys. I’m glad you’re interested in these PrC’s. Maybe that means that my players will be as well. Now, let’s see…

Super_Ashura –

How do you see it being abused? I’m open to any suggestions you have on how to make the RAW more iron-clad and less abuse-prone.

Spuddly –

Do you think that Muscle Mafiosi would be better if it had requirements that lent more to a straight fighter build? Should I remove the sneak attack requirement? To be honest, I just put that sneak attack requirement in because it seemed to fit the flavor of a mob enforcer, but if you think the mechanics would be better without it, I’m open to arguments.

Bizwacky –

I set the Knowledge (local) DC’s on the assumption that most checks would be made untrained (cuz let’s face it, how many characters have ranks in Knowledge (local)). Thus, a 10th level Mafiosi of any variety can be identified by his neighbors on a roll of 5 or higher (assuming +0 from ranks or intelligence bonus). This seems easy enough to me. If I lowered the DC by 5, it would be impossible to fail. From my perspective, there’ll always be some idiot who doesn’t recognize the mob boss, mouths off in some way, and gets whacked. Finally, for the Joe Commoner on the street, the Muscle and Mouth Mafiosi are probably the ones you recognize the easiest, since they’re the ones who bring the might of organized crime down on your head when you don’t pay for protection. I could be wrong, and I would welcome any points to the contrary, but it seems to me that, in this case, the system works well enough.

Seerow –

Hopefully the change I made to the Mind Mafiosi’s Calling Card will help make the Mind Mafiosi’s identity more unique. I designed the Calling Card feature with pretty vague language in order to address this very problem. The Calling Card doesn’t have to be linked to a name, as long as Joe Commoner or Bob Fighter or whoever sees/hears it and realizes, “Oh crap. This is that guy that broke my cousin’s knees because he welched on that gambling debt. I feel like I’m gonna soil my armor.” Additionally, Spuddly’s right. It’s not so much that no one knows the Mind Mafiosi is a mob boss, it’s that he keeps his hands clean and he’s so powerful that everyone’s scared to go after him (for fear of the aforementioned whacking).

Mystical Druid –

That’s what wizard cohorts are for! ;)

Again, thanks a lot for the suggestions/comments guys! Keep ‘em coming!

Spuddly
2005-10-06, 03:41 PM
Here's how I see the Muscle–
He specializes in garroting and grappling, and has a d10 hit die. He's gonna be big, scarred and scary. He can take a hit, and definitely dish one out. He's going to need all the HP he can get before he starts garroting/grappling people.

I'd remove the requirement for sneak attack, and give him 1d6 sneak attack attack at level one. That seems fair to me.

As long as no one cherry picks from the PrC, however.

Bizwacky
2005-10-06, 03:42 PM
yeah you're right, but you brought up another interesting point, Joe Blow on the street will probably recognize the muscle the mind and the mouth equally, but Joe Caviar the aristocrat will probably only know the mind, possibly a higher level mind gains his calling card ability with Knowledge(nobility and royalty) checks as well. Ohh and I think spuddlys right about the muscle, and you really can't cherry pick with the stiff "join a crime syndicate" requirement.

Mephibosheth
2005-10-06, 04:08 PM
Spuddly-

You're right about the Muscle. I made the suggested changes. Thanks for the help!

Bizwacky-

What if, instead of giving the Mind a flat reduction in the knowledge DC, he became more recognizable when in the presence of his cohorts. Say, when both the Mind Mafiosi and one or more Muscle/Mouth Mafiosi are within line-of-sight of an individual, that individual gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (local) checks made to identify the Mind Mafiosi?

Bizwacky
2005-10-06, 04:43 PM
Yeah that makes sense, I mean, it would be kind of ridiculous if Big Tony and Johnny the Weasel walk in to a bar trailed by "The Don", and nobody recognizes the don.