PDA

View Full Version : New mysteries for gish shadowcasters



peacenlove
2009-07-27, 05:39 PM
Hallo! In the upcoming campaign i will attend i am planning to use shadowcasters specialised in melee combat :smallbiggrin: so i ended homebrewing this path.
Unlike most of my creations this uses 3.5 edition rules (but needs no changes in order to be ported to Pathfinder) :smallsmile: Also for those not familiar with Tome of Magic or the Descent of shadows (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74519) project, treat mysteries as spells of the equivalent level with the only difference that they are utilized by a class that needs long lasting abilities since it has few uses of them.

Here we go!

Shadow Alacrity
Master, Warrior of Darkness
Level/School: 7th/ Transmutation
Target: You
Duration: 10 minutes/level

Not only the body can benefit from accelerated speed. By casting this mystery you grant yourself unnatural speed of thought.

Mysteries with a range of Touch are cast as swift actions rather as a standard actions (you can't cast them as standard actions for the duration of the spell).

In addition you gain an extra attack when you make a full attack as per the haste spell.

Blade of Darkness
Master, Warrior of Darkness
Level/School: 9th/ Evocation [Force]/Transmutation
Range: 0 feet
Effect: Held melee weapon
Duration: 10 minutes/level

Your weapon transforms into a dark, translucent version of itself. Its black fiery aura betrays its connection with the plane of shadows.

You transform your weapon into a weapon of pure darkness. Although you cannot be disarmed of it, if it leaves your hands the mystery ends. Despite the changed appearance its still the same weapon for all purposes unless noted below.

The damage type (slashing, piercing or bludgeoning) of the weapon changes to force damage. You gain proficiency with the affected weapon and you attack with that weapon with a base attack bonus equal to your caster level (maximum +20) and you add your charisma or your intelligence modifier (whichever is higher) instead of your strength modifier on both damage and attack rolls (1.5 for 2 handed weapons as normal).

All attacks with the blade are considered touch attacks and bypass all damage reduction. However each attack checks spell resistance (if the mystery is cast as an arcane spell or spell like ability) and cannot affect creatures immune to force effects. If the attack fails to bypass the spell resistance of the attacked creature then it deals no damage and it doesn't discharge the held spell (see below).

The weapon can now hold the charge and deliver touch attack mysteries as though as they were delivered by your hand. All other rules for touch mysteries apply normally.

Lastly the affected weapon gains special weapon abilities. You gain a number of enchantment bonus points to spend on those abilities equal to your caster level/5 (maximum +5 at 25 caster level). These abilities can be spent on any ability, provided the weapon has at least a +1 enchantment bonus and those abilities do not make the weapon exceed an effective enchantment bonus of +10 (you can spend less points should you choose so). For example a shadowcaster with 20 caster level could add to a +1 bastard sword the speed property or the icy and flaming burst properties (abilities of +4 enchantment bonus value). He couldn't affect a +5 vorpal greatsword and he could add only the keen (or an equivalent +1 ability) property to a +4 vorpal glaive.

Touch of Inevitable Fate
Master, Warrior of Darkness
Level/School: 8th/ Transmutation/Necromancy
Range: Touch
Targets: creature or creatures touched (up to 1 per caster level)
Duration: 1 minute/level and 1 round
Save: None and will negates; see text
SR: yes

Your hands turn pitch black as your touch anchors, slows and withers the very shadow of your opponent. You smile knowing he has no other choice but to stand and fight.

You gain a touch attack. Creatures affected by this touch attack are afflicted by various debilitating effects. You can use this melee touch attack up to one time per caster level.

Should you successfully touch a creature, it can't heal hit point damage naturally or magically nor can it use teleportation effects and its regeneration ability is suppressed for 1 round (no save).

Lastly the target must make a will saving throw or it will be unable to benefit from spells and effects that grant extra actions or allow existing actions to resolve faster than normal (such as the time stop, celerity, contingency and other similar spells, the quicksilver motion and time stands still martial maneuvers and the quicken spell metamagic feat), and spells or effects that grant extra attacks or enchantment bonuses to speed for 1 round.

And this is the path mastery feat for those who use the Descend of shadows material and/or my modified shadowcaster :smallbiggrin:

Path Mastery (Warrior of Darkness) (Master)
Black Grip

Nothing can hide from its shadow. Nothing can escape your clutch.

Benefit: Once every 5 rounds, as a swift action you can teleport a creature to an adjacent to you square. That creature is immobilized and can't use any teleportation effects for 1 round. Affected creature may attempt a will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 caster level + charisma modifier) to negate the effect and be no further than medium range.

peacenlove
2009-07-28, 12:22 AM
Bump for (hopefully) comments.

Also heres a short description ala ToM format

Master Path
Warrior of Darkness
Shadow Alacrity: You attack and cast quicker
Touch of Inevitable Fate: 1 touch per level, affected targets can't be healed, escape or be affected by action quickening effects.
Blade of Darkness: Enchance your weapon with new abilities, touch spell deliverance and all attacks are resolved as touch attacks.

Maybe these mysteries do too much? Maybe they are overpowered despite their high level?

AstralFire
2009-07-28, 12:29 AM
Isn't there a blaster shadowcaster path? I had a shadowcaster PC in a game I ran, but I trusted the player with the mechanics and I didn't have Tome of Magic handy most of the time, and it never got above 12th. I worry that the other mysteries might benefit too much from your 7th level haste spell. But again, I remember very little of the class.

peacenlove
2009-07-28, 01:01 AM
Isn't there a blaster shadowcaster path? I had a shadowcaster PC in a game I ran, but I trusted the player with the mechanics and I didn't have Tome of Magic handy most of the time, and it never got above 12th. I worry that the other mysteries might benefit too much from your 7th level haste spell. But again, I remember very little of the class.

There is only 4 offensive touch spells (life fades, flesh fails, umbral touch, and the plane shift one dont remember name) in Tome of magic and 3 of them are apprentice mysteries in the same path (the 4th being plane shift). Descent of shadows introduces some more but they are far apart to be a problem. Please keep in mind that shadow alacrity only hastens your Touch mysteries not other mysteries.
Edit: Although there are many defensive touch ones so your point might still stand. My mind was set to combine arcane alacrity from dragon magic and haste, and make a seriously discount version, while increasing the duration

AstralFire
2009-07-28, 01:04 AM
Ah, I missed that line. Unfortunately, I'm just not familiar enough with the class to be able to speak to it well without the book in front of me, which I don't have. =\

peacenlove
2009-07-28, 01:08 AM
Ah, I missed that line. Unfortunately, I'm just not familiar enough with the class to be able to speak to it well without the book in front of me, which I don't have. =\

Well thank you for your interest anyway :smallbiggrin:

Cieyrin
2009-07-28, 11:05 AM
I'm kinda confused on what kinda gish you could possibly make that would actually get access to this path. Maybe the the first and possibly the second at the highest levels but I don't see a gish actually finishing the path and therefore gaining access to the path mastery ability.

Now, my mind may be failing me but I'm not sure of the viability of shadowcasters getting into eldritch knight, spellsword or any of the other gish classes, either. Are you aiming this at full shadowcasters, who're gonna go all out touch-based melee, possibly two-weaponing w/ a weapon in one hand and a touch mystery in the other?

As for the mysteries and path mastery themselves, they seem alright, though the touch of inevitable fate bugs with me the ability bonus gained lasting for a single round. I'd make it last either a minute or the encounter, as otherwise, that 1 point of untyped bonus will never amount to anything.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

peacenlove
2009-07-30, 04:07 AM
I'm kinda confused on what kinda gish you could possibly make that would actually get access to this path. Maybe the the first and possibly the second at the highest levels but I don't see a gish actually finishing the path and therefore gaining access to the path mastery ability.

Now, my mind may be failing me but I'm not sure of the viability of shadowcasters getting into eldritch knight, spellsword or any of the other gish classes, either. Are you aiming this at full shadowcasters, who're gonna go all out touch-based melee, possibly two-weaponing w/ a weapon in one hand and a touch mystery in the other?

As for the mysteries and path mastery themselves, they seem alright, though the touch of inevitable fate bugs with me the ability bonus gained lasting for a single round. I'd make it last either a minute or the encounter, as otherwise, that 1 point of untyped bonus will never amount to anything.

Them's my 2 coppers. Take as you will.

You are right, shadowcasters as written can't enter most prestige classes . I was aiming as you said at full class shadowcasters. Thats why i didnt hold back at the creation of blade of darkness. However should they become able to enter those classes, it is not unheard for a gish to cast 9th level spells (or mysteries)
As for the touch of inevitable fate the bonus lasts as soon as the mystery ends, not for one round. Now that i think about it though i would need to write that recasting the mystery (near impossible :P) resets the bonus to +0.

Cieyrin
2009-07-30, 01:10 PM
I'm still kinda confused on how long it lasts. Instantaneous duration means it ends immediately, so why give a bonus at all?

peacenlove
2009-07-31, 01:29 AM
ok will change it to last 1 minute per level. Also i was under the impression that you can deliver touch attacks and can attack with a 2 handed weapon interchangengably during the full attack action.

Cieyrin
2009-07-31, 10:17 AM
Maybe if you're a monk in a flurry but I don't think you can otherwise do such without special rules, as you can't normally two weapon fight with a two-handed weapon unless it's a double weapon, which even then would only be using its two ends, not throwing in a touch spell while you're at it.

peacenlove
2009-07-31, 10:36 PM
Maybe if you're a monk in a flurry but I don't think you can otherwise do such without special rules, as you can't normally two weapon fight with a two-handed weapon unless it's a double weapon, which even then would only be using its two ends, not throwing in a touch spell while you're at it.
then this a nice idea for a feat :D

CaBaaL
2010-02-08, 04:14 PM
the mysteries are too overpowered (especially the fate one) the is bestow curse GR it is 7-8 lvl spell and does half the thing this one does

arguskos
2010-02-08, 04:21 PM
Maybe if you're a monk in a flurry but I don't think you can otherwise do such without special rules, as you can't normally two weapon fight with a two-handed weapon unless it's a double weapon, which even then would only be using its two ends, not throwing in a touch spell while you're at it.
You CAN use a touch spell while holding a two-handed weapon, to clarify. You simply can't two-weapon with a touch and a greatsword.

Oh, and I still like Black Grip. It caught my eye while reading over your materials. :smallwink:

peacenlove
2010-02-08, 07:19 PM
the mysteries are too overpowered (especially the fate one) the is bestow curse GR it is 7-8 lvl spell and does half the thing this one does

Greater Bestow curse cancels 75% of all the actions made by the target (it puts him out of combat in the very least). While touch of inevitable fate might seem too much, it is made to combat high level spellcasters and to cover some deficiencies of the mystery list (no dimensional anchor or graymantle). Its touch range is a limiting factor but that can be said about bestow curse too. However what would you suggest doing on toning it down? My first thought is to remove the ability drain.

CaBaaL
2010-02-09, 05:23 AM
i suggest from ability drain change it to damage and remove the fact that u can do multiple attacks with it

Scorpions__
2010-02-09, 12:43 PM
I agree, I think it should be changed from drain to damage, also, your list of what time effects that may not apply is rather lengthy. Couldn't you just say "effects that grant extra actions..." ?

It's lookin' good Peace.





DM[F]R

peacenlove
2010-02-09, 12:52 PM
I agree, I think it should be changed from drain to damage, also, your list of what time effects that may not apply is rather lengthy. Couldn't you just say "effects that grant extra actions..." ?

It's lookin' good Peace.





DM[F]R

Deleted ability drain altogether. On second thought this mystery doesn't need it at all. also about the lengthy description, it is meant to block arcane alacrity, quicken spell/mystery and that wouldn't be covered in that sentence only.

Scorpions__
2010-02-09, 01:01 PM
I suppose that's right, heh... "No one apply anything they learned from the lollipop guild!"





DM[F]R