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View Full Version : [3.5 Base Class] The Romancer - "TO BE A HERO!"



Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 03:55 AM
Hi there! This is my first post on these fine forums, and I decided to make that post about a new base class I thought of. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a whole new class for all those trope fans out there. It's not just a class meant for fighting, you see. It's a class meant for being a hero...
...of a kind.
So, if you manage to bear my shaky grip on the English language and my occasional going overboard with fluff, I hope you'll find this most enjoyable. (Beware of vile and dangerous drawings of the self-made kind!) And if not, please help me with balancing this fellow anyway! :smallbiggrin:
So without further ado, I present to you:

THE ROMANCER

“Then let me tell you something, honourable foe, before you draw your blade. See this crowd? They’re here to see me. They’re here to see you lose. You may have your petty ideas about right or wrong, or whatever you call your twisted sense of justice, but in the end, who’s gonna judge? I’m gonna tell you who’s gonna judge. My fans. You’ve already lost.
Now put away that weapon of yours before you embarrass yourself. Please.”
- Erik Firehawk, actual name Erik Farmington, famous romancer, self-proclaimed hero and faced with a very brutal fellow with a very big sword -

You want to know what I can teach you?
Oh, I'll tell you what I can teach you. Even better, I'll show you.

WITNESS!

A LOWLY FARMER BOY being turned into an AGENT OF AWESOME!

http://i28.tinypic.com/2cfs49l.jpg

BEHOLD!

A BORING SOLDIER changing into a VILE SEDUCTRESS OF HELL!

http://i32.tinypic.com/vhdawo.jpg

AESTHETICIZE!

A COMMON BLACKSMITH becoming a MAN OF DESTINY!

http://i31.tinypic.com/33z5pv9.jpg

How, you may ask, is this possible? How can the EMBODIMENT OF STORIES be evoked? Easy- by having an adventure! Become... a Romancer!

Introduction
At the end of a long and difficult journey, there is always a treasure. It’s not always a treasure of material worth. In fact, the greatest treasure of all, putting certain ironic statements about friendship aside, is glory. Glory, fame, prestige- the kind of deeds which put a warrior above being a sword-wielding guy, and make him a true legend. Some say this is the only true way of achieving immortality. The wizard may seek absolute knowledge, the paladin may defend a noble cause, and despicable villains may hatch evil schemes, but in the end, they all yearn to be recognized by history. Their names shall be among the stars, so they say. Enormous effort, tireless devotion and bravery without equal are just a few roads to the realm of legends, but all of these roads are difficult and not easy to travel.
Until some wise guy figured there’d gotta be an easier way than that.
Why spend your time studying the secrets of the universe, when you can just tell everyone you know them already? Why clash blades with evil conquerers, when you have such a flashy style that your opponent cowers in bewilderment? Why tiringly earn your victory, when you can earn your glory by merely looking absolutely awesome? The romancer has learned the hard way that he certainly doesn’t have skill nor dedication enough to achieve greatness, but he has also learned that greatness is something you only have in other people’s eyes. And so, he will pretend. He will fight as extravagantly as possible. He will go to ridiculous lengths just to look cool. He will unnerve his opponents in the hope of not having to fight them. The romancer steadily builds and manipulates the rumours surrounding his person, until illusion and truth are no longer separatable. With a winning smile and a gleaming blade, stories are reality- so they say. And surely enough, many romancers often end up fooling people so well, they even start believing in their alleged competence themselves! On their weird and loopsided path to legend, they keep stacking up the risks, gambling for fame, with endless embarassment just below them.
And, maybe, if they follow this path just long enough, the immortality of stories might be the reward…

Adventures
Could it be any more obvious? To become a hero! Most romancers leave their homes in order to gain a reputation, to make people talk about them, to become something greater in the realm of rumors. If there is a great danger threatening the people, one can count on a romancer sticking his head up. He is fearless and relentless in his pursuit. All too often, this eagerness is also the cause of their untimely end, when clever puns and artful sword weaving ultimately proved ineffective against incoming boulders or the like. Of course, some romancers think differently about how to achieve greatness: some think they have to help the people, others just selfishly want to steal the spotlight, and others consider spreading terror the most effective means of entering the bards’ stories. But what unites all of them is a love for the dramatic and a sense for the flair of the situation- you’ll never meet a romancer who won’t consider going on an adventure, as long as he gets his share of the applause.

Characteristics
Above all, the romancer strives for the glory of the moment. Unfortunately, this doesn’t exactly require actual skill, so the romancer does what he is best at: faking it. The romancer excels at making people believe in their defeat. He is a gambler of sorts: using his elaborate Flynning style, he convinces people of actual abilites, until even a flick with the sword sends an ogre flying. However, the more he tries to achieve, the harder he falls, should he fail. The romancer isn’t made to last in the thick of battle. However, he also has many defensive abilities coming to his aid, such as an incredible aura of invulnerability (which he very much tries to uphold), and the ability to stun and cripple his opponents. A romancer has to plan his attack carefully- after all, he’s out to fool the masses. And even if the masquerades threatenes to collapse, he always has his wit, and his sheer stubborness, which can cancel even the greatest magic… just because the romancer believes so hard that drama should prevail.

Alignment
Because a romancer wants to be heard in stories all over, he generally adopts the alignment which gets him the most followers. As a self-proclaimed representative of his alignment, he tends to display this tendency to the extreme. However, he might just as easily switch his loyalties if there is greater prestige to gain. This trickery and constant fooling of on-lookers makes the romancer favor chaos over law. Since stories mention cruel warlords just as they tell of saints, the romancer doesn’t overly tend to good or evil.

Religion
Once again, the romancer proves his adaptibility: those who want to be popular with the masses do as the masses wish they’d do. Most romancers tend to view religion more as a tool than a devotion, and even if they worship a god, it’s often an entity of trickery, or another god who favors illusion and appearance over actual fact. But once in a while, a romancer who has true faith appears, because even the most pious long for greatness… and who says you gotta be good to get it?

Background
There is no school or organization for romancers. In fact, one romancer might never guess he has anything in common with another one. They can hail from any background imaginable: be it the teenage farmer boy who has dreams of becoming a knight, yet always stabs his own foot when trying to lift a sword, or the daughter of a nobleman, who concludes that rather than sit around, looking pretty, she’d like to slay dragons, looking pretty. In general, romancers spontanously appear from the populace whenever someone’s dreams finally overcome his knowledge of his own inability. Since most of them, except for those who hurriedly left any places of actual education, possess no real fighting skills, they quickly learn to cover up that fact. They often learn that the hard way. Romancers never stay still; the journey to discover where fate meant them to be. And even if they do decide to pick up a cause, they’ll always view the horizon with the eyes of a dreaming fool.

Races
Humans generally have the most romancers among them, because if there’s one thing mankind has dreamt of since they discovered how to kill wooly elephants, it’s immortality. And what better way to achieve that than in the stories and legends of bards and folklore? This passion for stories and glory attracts many wandering halflings as well, who often leave their safe homelands to have blissfully ill-defined adventures. Gnomes and elves are generally too much involved in their own culture to follow such impulses, whereas half-orcs all too often lack this very society that leaves them dreaming of legends and lore. Dwarves, then again, have the ideal community life that romancers arrive from. Disgusted with clan traditions and curious about life away from the mountains, they have just the right combination of naivety, dwarven ambition and will to deceive.
And strangely, some of the allegedly best romancers are drow. Who’d thought? Turns out the silliest airheads do, in fact, emerge from the darkest pits.

Other Classes
Romancers have only one iron rule: no-one must ever believe anything else other than that he is great. He is the stuff of legends. He is a fighter without equal. He is totally awesome. Naturally, living, working and adventuring together with battle-hardened people makes any illusion difficult to keep up, so sooner or later, they find out just how the romancer ‘defeats’ his opponents. This makes it especially difficult for the romancer to fight and live alongside classes with more honorable ideas of battle, such as paladins and knights. They also tend to be suspicious of classes who encourage strong discipline, since monks and wizards often lose their sense for the dramatic. Also, they rarely share the romancer’s idea of good entertainment. The romancer favors people who employ trickery, no matter what kind, as they often deal with similar obstacles as he does. Rogues, beguilers and bards are the perfect addition to what the romancer views as the protagonists of a great story. He is generally indifferent towards fighters, who he views as people who do the same as he, only boringly, and he is very respectful towards barbarians, who all too often brutally end a romancer’s fascinating performance. But in the end, he always has his best buddies- the sorcerer and the warblade, who care just as much about appearance and glory as he does. But when in doubt, anybody who’ll get him drunk is fine.

Role
The romancer fulfills several roles. His first and foremost is to cripple enemies and wear them down with his potentially devastating Flynning and Play the Crowd abilites. Furthermore, he excels at employing social skills, often serving as the party’s face (if they can stand the embarassment). With his many defensive abilites, the romancer also makes a great scout, but an even better supporter in melee. But it should never be forgotten that the romancer, ultimately, just isn’t very great at actual fighting: when it comes down to outlasting enemies, he tends to retreat.
Only to strike back in a furious blaze of glory! Never forget, you’re only as dead as you’re ready to admit!

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Romancers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Charisma is extremely important for most of the romancer’s abilities: it determines the uses of his defensive abilities in battle, something no romancer would want to be caught without, and it boosts virtually anything else. Finally, charisma is responsible for skills such as Perform, and that’s basically burnt into a romancer’s head anyway. Dexterity is a great ability for any romancer, as it helps with dodging and many skills. Furthermore, some romancers require it for their extravagant style, such as fencing. Constitution helps in staying alive, which most performances usually require. The romancer has not much use for strength, wisdom and intelligence, although they do appreciate skill points and being able to carry their weapon.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d6.
Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp.


CLASS SKILLS
A romancer’s class skills are: Bluff, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Forgery, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (History), Perform (Act), Perform (…), Ride, Spot, Tumble.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier.

THE ROMANCER
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Flynning (1 mark), Fool's Sword

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|Heroic Radiance

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Flynning (2 marks), Talk 'Em Down

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Play the Crowd (1 mark), Will Power (1st Lv.)

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Flynning (3 marks), Rising Star

6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|Heroic Fortune, Will Power (2nd Lv.)

7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+5|Flynning (4 marks), Weaving Blade

8th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+6|
+6|Play the Crowd (2 marks), Will Power (3rd Lv.)

9th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+6|
+6|Flynning (5 marks)

10th|
+7/+2|
+3|
+7|
+7|Heroic Intent, Will Power (4th Lv.)

11th|
+8/+3|
+3|
+7|
+7|Flynning (6 marks), Fool's Might

12th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+8|
+8|Play the Crowd (3 marks), Will Power (5th Lv.)

13th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+8|
+8|Flynning (7 marks), Pun Assault

14th|
+10/+5|
+4|
+9|
+9|Will Power (6th Lv.)

15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+9|
+9|Flynning (8 marks), Immortal Melody

16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+10|
+10|Play the Crowd (4 marks), Will Power (7th Lv.)

17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+10|
+10|Flynning (9 marks), Stirring Performance

18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+11|
+11|Will Power (8th Lv.)

19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+11|
+11|Flynning (10 marks), Greater Weaving Blade

20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+12|
+12|Play the Crowd (5 marks), Will Power (9th Lv.), A Living Legend[/table]

CLASS FEATURES

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
The romancer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. Additionally, he is proficient with one single exotic melee weapon, which reflects his unique training to display a fighting style as memorable and extravagant as possible. The romancer is proficient with light armor, but not shields.

Flynning (Ex)
The romancer raises his blade. He jumps over the table and swings his weapon in an elaborate arc. The crowd gasps in amazement! The romancer’s opponent takes the hit, he stumbles backwards, incredulous, and as the romancer lands gracefully, his foe has fallen over already. The romancer bows to his audience. They are amazed, so amazed, in fact, that nobody noticed that blade and enemy never truly met…
A romancer has his own unique style of fighting, commonly named Flynning. It involves many flashy techniques and lots of impressive displays- and that’s about it. But that’s a carefully kept secret. As long as it looks great, so the reasoning, nobody will ever guess the difference. Foes, believing themselves to be mortally wounded, lose their will to fight and succumb even to the weakest attack. Even those who rival the romancer in sheer self-confidence fall when the whole world seems to demand it. The romancer makes them part of his story, and there’s only place for one main character!

At 1st Level, the romancer has the ability to add Flynning to any of his attacks. If he chooses to, he can add so-called "marks" to an enemy once the attack hits, one per attack at 1st Level, and another one at every second level thereafter. All marks are kept track of, even if other enemies receive marks. There is no limit on the amount of marks a single enemy can receive. Finally, the romancer can end his stunningly choreographed battle with a successful Perform (Act) check, which requires a move action. That is the moment in which his enemies lose their will to fight or, to be more accurate, in which they believe themselves to be defeated. Every target who has received one or multiple marks receives that same amount in d6 damage; for example, a foe bearing two marks receives 2d6 damage once the romancer performes the move action.
The Perform DC needed to succeed varies depending on the total sum of marks the romancer has used on his enemies (see the table; but also see the Play the Crowd ability). After all, the more devastating their attacks are supposed to look, the harder they’ll have to convince! Since they were the ones believing in their defeat in the first place, the targets hit by a successful Flynning perceive this damage as lethal rather than imaginary. Should the check fail, no Flynning damage is dealt at all, and the romancer feels very, very silly. Nonetheless, there are no other consequences for failing the Performance check.

{table=head]Marks|Perform DC|Marks|Perform DC


1 mark|
12|
6 marks|
22

2 marks|
14|
7 marks|
24

3 marks|
16|
8 marks|
26

4 marks|
18|
9 marks|
28

5 marks|
20|
10 marks|
30
[/table]
Generally: Perform DC = 10 + (Amount of Marks x 2)

Only enemies which possess some level of intelligence can be affected by this ability. This excludes objects, oozes, and undead, except for those with intelligence such as vampires.


Fool's Sword (Ex)
Just as he is a master of impossibly artful maneuvers, the romancer is also skilled at manipulating his enemy into behaving in certain ways. With a clever quip and a sudden hit, even the most experienced soldier might suddenly think he’s lost the grip on his weapon, even though all the romancer did was weakly hitting the blade. One might even think he’s never doing anything other than hitting the blade. But these clever imitations of actual skill aren’t as natural for the romancer as the Flynning style- if the masquerade is weakened enough, nobody’s going to fall for a awkward punch and a twirled mustache.
At 1st Level, the romancer has access to the Fool’s Sword techniques. These consist of three different maneuvers, aimed at manipulating the enemy into behaving as you want, but doing so strains the romancer’s performance. For every use of one of these techniques, the romancer loses one point of his Glory Pool. If it reaches zero, people start doubting him, and there is no greater enemy for a hero than doubt. The points in his Glory Pool start off at 3, but if the romancer’s charisma modifier is higher, use it instead to determine the amount of points. The Glory Pool regenerates completely at the end of battle. No romancer would ever think of anything other than playing hero.
The three techniques available from Fool’s Sword follow one set scheme: whenever the romancer declares one of his attacks to be a Fool’s Sword attack, he forgoes any damage that would ordinarily have resulted from it. Instead, the result of his attack throw is the DC of a will saving throw that the affected enemy has to make. The target has to make this saving throw, even if the attack result normally wouldn’t have been enough to overcome his Armor Class. If the attack roll would have been a critical threat, the enemy isn’t entitled to a saving throw, and suffers the effect of a failed save immediately instead. The effects of a failed Will saving throw can be one of the following three:
Flying Blade: With a flick of the blade, the romancer strikes his opponent’s weapon. Shocked and amazed, his unknowing target lets go of it, and the romancer has once again proven that it’s all just a matter of feigning skill. The target of this attack is disarmed, and the weapon lands in a chosen square adjacent to the romancer. If the attack roll was critical, the romancer can opt to catch the weapon instead, if he doesn’t have his hands full.
Clumsy Foe: Fooling your enemy into staggering past you is a common trick in Flynning. With a little taunt and confusing attack patterns, everybody can be tricked into looking like a drunk. Should the enemy fail his saving throw, the romancer can place him in any field adjacent to him. This movement doesn’t provole any attacks of opportunity.
Paralyzing Awe: Sometimes, a stubborn foe needs some extra work to be impressed. Showcasing his incredibly useless, yet awesome moves, the romancer can stun most people. Some can’t believe what there are seeing, and some can’t believe somebody’s actually trying to fight that way. In any case, they just stopped trying to hit you, so there’s your profit! Should the target fail his saving throw, he is dazed for his next turn only.

Flynning and Fool’s Sword techniques can also be combined. However, Flynning marks can only be added when the attack result would have been sufficient to overcome the target’s Armor Class. That way, a romancer can still cause imaginary damage while fully employing the dazzling effects of his elaborate style.

Only enemies which possess some level of intelligence can be affected by this ability. This excludes objects, oozes, and undead, except for those with intelligence such as vampires.


Heroic Radiance (Ex)
The romancer is aware of his fate as a hero. Fully convinced that he’ll enter the realm of legends one day, he strives to look like a hero at all times. He dresses instantly recognizably, he shouts intimidating quotes from people far more clever than himself, he never misses an opportunity for heroic, yet rather meaningless speeches, and of course, his outfit is crowded with useless trinkets and accessoires. As long as it’s cool, the romancer shall never go down.
At 2nd Level, the romancer fully embraces his extravagant style. His clothes become more unusual and he wears more allegedly cool accessoires and other features, such as sunglasses, tattoos, glistening necklaces, earrings, unneeded camouflage stripes, very very big hats, eyeshadow, cheap jewelry or his own name exaggeratedly displayed somewhere on his clothing. This open declaration of war towards good taste nonetheless proves effective in making the romancer an awe-inspiring person, as his enemies are more reluctant at attacking him. He may now add his Charisma modifier to his Armor Class at all times, unless his enemy is unable to perceive the romancer and doesn’t know just who he is attacking.


Talk 'Em Down (Ex)
Faking competence isn’t easy, and it can hurt a lot once you’re out of options. But a good romancer knows that sharp items and flashy gadgets aren’t the only weapons at his disposal- he always has his fast-talking. Taunts, witty puns or good ol’-fashioned insults are just a few ways to make war with words. The romancer knows that words can’t break bones, but they sure as hell can break self-esteem.
At 3rd Level, the romancer becomes competent enough at trash-talk to unnerve his opponents. As an immediate action, he may release one truly terrifying piece of linguistics, enough to force an enemy to reroll either an attack roll or a skill check. The romancer has to announce this before he knows the result of the roll. Since talking is fine, but can’t make a good performance on its own, the romancer has to spend one point of his Glory Pool to use the Talk ‘Em Down action.
The DM may rule that the player actually has to come up with a witty comment, or that he receives a bonus of some sort if he does.


Play the Crowd (Ex)
It’s only a matter of experience before a romancer notices that no lie is too big to swallow. When fooling people into believing he’s actually doing something, it can even be of help if his enemy is a big, easily impressed crowd. If a fighter sees his comrades left and right sink to their knees after merely touching the tip of the romancer’s blade, he is far more inclined to be fooled himself. One might even say that dupability is contagious.
At 4th Level, the romancer is more effective at damaging multiple enemies with his Flynning ability. Normally, when determining the total amount of marks for the Perform DC, all marks from all affected enemies are counted; however, Play the Crowd allows the romancer to ignore a certain amount of marks from every enemy except the one with the highest count. For example, if an 8th Level romancer added 4 marks to one enemy, and 2 to another one, the total amount of marks determining the Perform DC would still be 4, since as an 8th Level romancer he would be allowed to subtract up to two marks from any other enemies. He still does the full damage for 6 marks, distributed across the affected enemies as usual.
This actually allows the romancer to deal a certain low sum of Flynning damage "for free", as long as it is aimed at more than one enemy.
The amount of ignorable Flynning marks starts off at 1 and increases every fourth level afterwards by one.
This ability is highly valued by romancers far and wide. There’s just nothing like making the people fall down at the same time, yet never actually having done anything.


Will Power (Su)
Another feature that all romancers share is their unshakable belief in their own abilities, which, paradoxically, they just don’t have. Some even argue that a romancer’s fighting style works just as much because of fooling his enemies, as it does because of fooling himself. And then there’s that crazy thesis that a conviction strong enough can actually manifest as a supernatural power, acting according to the romancer’s belief. Of course, romancers do their best to prevent a serious take on the source of their so-called powers, so nobody knows for sure, and the romancers certainly don’t as well. But there’s no doubt that a romancer’s belief in the triumph of drama and flair can mess with magic. Fireballs may rain down upon them, dark magic may reach into their minds, and necromantic rays may try to peel their flesh off- the romancer won’t give up his aim of delivering a grand show in battle, so no supernatural stuff will stop him. Is it not common in stories for people to overcome unexplicable terror with superhuman determination? As a true romancer once said: “I… can’t… give… up!”
From 4th Level on, the romancer has the truly perplexing ability to negate a spell by sheer belief in his role as a hero. As an immediate action, he can choose to be entirely unaffected by a spell. However, he doesn’t end the spell; if the effect continues independantly from him, such as a heat metal or desecrate spell, he is unaffected only for the round he used his Will Power ability. Continous effects on his person, such as Charm Person or Reduce Person, are instantly cancelled. If there are other people in the area of effect, they are affected normally. This ability expends one point from the romancer’s Glory Pool- after all, no story can remain credible if the hero just keeps pulling previously unseen powers from his metaphorical behind. Additionally, the ability is limited to certain spell levels. At 4th Level, the romancer can only negate 0th and 1st level spells this way; for every second level afterwards, he can negate spells one level higher, until eventually reaching 9th level spells at 20th Level.


Rising Star (Ex)
Living a lie can pay off faster than one might think. As he is busy sowing rumours and increasing his reputation among the common folk, the romancer slowly becomes the protagonist of several anecdotes, small stories, and whispered talk by the campfire. People start to hear about the great hero, or the fearful lord of terror, who wanders the land, doing mighty deeds and wooing the ladies/lads left and right. The romancer is filled with hope and even more possibly fatal confidence as his name is whispered once in a while. Now, he can stage bigger performances than he could as a lowly no-namer.
At 5th Level, the romancer increases his Glory Pool by one.


Heroic Fortune (Ex)
Becoming a legend involves drawing lots of attention, and who knows just whose attention you might draw? Stories can travel far, after all. By chance, these stories could reach the ears of a curious entity- at least that’s what a romancer hopes. In any case, the recent updrift in his popularity starts to convince the romancer that there’s someone looking at him, judging him, maybe acting as his patron. Clearly, some higher power intends to set him on a fated path, so the common dangers shouldn’t stop him anymore!
At 6th Level, the romancer may add his Charisma modifier to all his saving throws, as fate seems to favour him out of a mix of dangerous confidence and foolish luck. Also, his comrades from now on have to bear the thought that somebody, somewhere, somehow now thinks that the romancer’s awesome.


Weaving Blade (Ex)
After many battles with more or less real participation, the romancer has managed to improve his flashy fighting style. A twirl with the blade? Make that two twirls. A little jump, combined with confusing footwork? Why not add some dance moves! Ineffective sword waggling? Dramatically throw your cloak away to draw the attention elsewhere. With so many clever additions, the enemy’s bound to fall victim to the romancer’s techniques sooner or later.
At 7th Level, the romancer may treat the critical range of his weapon as two higher than normal when using it for a Fool’s Sword technique. This increases his chance of denying his target a saving throw. Different than normal, this actually stacks with other methods of increasing the threat range; however, it is not doubled as well, such as by the feat Improved Critical.
At 19th Level, this bonus increases to four as the romancer truly masters the art of show fighting. Errol Flynn would be proud.


Heroic Intent (Ex)
The romancer has already learned to incorporate his flair and his stunning performance into many aspects of battle that he’d normally be lacking in. What could be missing? Obviously, the attack! Only by putting his whole intent as a hero behind the strike, his fighting style is truly impressive. Holding a rose between his teeth or making it seem as if he’s glowing with force by using the blade’s gleam: there are countless little tricks of maximizing the effect your appearance has on an attack. Too bad that’s still not actual skill, but who needs skill if no-one’s missing it?
At 10th Level, the romancer may add his Charisma bonus on his attack roll whenever he’s performing a Fool’s Sword technique. This actually makes it much easier to add Flynning marks as well, since he now has a higher chance of overcoming the Armor Class when using Fool’s Sword techniques.


Fool's Might (Ex/Su)
Inventiveness is what keeps the trickster alive, and that goes double for someone who’s fooling audience and himself at the same time. Now that he’s made himself out to be a hero, the romancer reaches a breakthrough in the development of his impressive performance fighting style. He begins to work with the crowd and even magic itself, and to top it of, he now masters the way of bringing a sinking show back on track. The romancer is ready for everything the adventurer world may throw at him, at least in his mind. He’s not lacking motivation.
At 11th Level, the romancer gains access to three new Fool’s Sword techniques.
Away with Superstition: To fight means to be magic. This rather simplified approach of the romancer nonetheless proves effective in disturbing magical energy- once again, traditional magic is stumped as for an explanation. If it were a common topic of discussion, some would probably muse: is this the story of the romancer itself, which refuses to let otherworldly stuff mess with its narrative? But, alas, the people rather talk about the romancer’s hair style than that. If the enemy fails his saving throw, all magic effects that he is currently profiting from are instantly cancelled.
Cheer for Me: Ultimately, a performer is nothing without an audience. So isn’t it true that the cheering crowd is part of the audience as well? With this realization, the romancer gains new strength and presses on to win the battle, or at least look great while fiddling his thumbs. If the enemy fails his saving throw, he is utterly humiliated in front of everyone. This triumph over a seemingly clumsy foe makes the crowd roar and allows the romancer to regain strength. He heals in hit points his class level plus one for every on-looker who’s favoring him. The romancer’s teammates are an exception in so far as that they don’t have to particularly like the romancer in order to count as on-lookers.
Comeback: Barring some external training from professional performers (see the feat Neverending Story for more details), the romancer is often rather limited in what he can do during his pseudo-fight. Will this pun make it all look ridiculous? Could one hastily applied fake mustache be the downfall? But that is no longer one of the experienced romancer’s worries, because he can always surprise his enemies with a sudden, impressive display of skill, which makes it seem as if he’s still got actual capability left. If the enemy fails his saving throw, the romancer regenerates two points from his Glory Points, minus the cost for the Fool’s Sword technique, leaving him with one bonus point. However, if the enemy succeeds at his save, the point from the Glory Pool is still considered expended.


Pun Assault (Ex)
True expertise does strange things to those possessing them. Giant thoughtful foreheads, paranoid eyes, armor-like muscles. And the romancer? He gets vocal chords made from STEEL. The constant yelling and clever quipping has left him with an uncanny ability to joke, deadpan and wisecrack all day long, faster and more creative than anyone would’ve guessed. Nobody knows where he takes all that energy and creativity from, but the romancer knows the answer: from Your Mom last night.
At 13th Level, the romancer receives one extra immediate action per round which he may only use for the Talk ‘Em Down ability. He still expends Glory Pool points for it. Additionally, the romancer is now immune to hoarseness.


Immortal Melody (Ex)
Becoming a legend means becoming unique as well. The outfit is a given, the fighting style is so impractical it’s basically guaranteed to never be copied, and the romancer’s deeds all sound truly magnificient, but something’s missing. Something that can instantly be identified with the romancer, even if he’s not around. Whatever could that be? The crafty romancer knows what to do. Humming a tune once in a while, having a friendly bard spread a melody accompanying the rumours, playing it himself, no matter how badly: music is the key to people’s memories. And once you unlock those, there’s bound to be one or two romancer stories hoppin’ in. Now, the romancer has finally managed to create a melody that people instantly associate with him, something that the romancer only mysteriously refers to as his ‘theme song’. Whenever it can be heard, fear is stricken into the hearts of his enemies.
At 15th Level, the romancer knows his own personal theme song. When played as a full round action, the romancer can affect one enemy that he sees with a Fool’s Sword technique as an immediate action, as if he would attack him right now in melee. This only works if the enemy can see the romancer and hear the music as well. The technique still uses up a Glory Pool point and cannot be combined with Flynning marks, no matter how high the attack roll is, which in this case is only done for the purpose of setting a Will DC. On a special note, the theme song doesn’t have to be played by the romancer himself; anyone with at least one rank in Perform (music instrument) can do so as a full-round action. Since this can be a ranged attack, the Fool’s Sword techniques Flying Blade and Clumsy Foe can only be used if the targeted enemy is actually within melee reach of the romancer. The romancer is weird, but not telekinetic.


Stirring Performance (Ex/Su)
The romancer is a hero, at least in appearance- so far the public opinion. His team mates have up till now seen a much less pretty side of him: the romancer who frantically keeps his outfit in perfect condition at all times, the romancer who slips on the floor and is still praised for slaying the dragon, the romancer who keeps calling them ‘sidekicks’ or ‘redshirts’. In short, the romancer is not a bad teamplayer, but there is some difficulty in accepting his true self. The romancer has finally acknowledged that and pledges to take them with him on his great journey to the realm of legends. This enables him to project some of his abilites on his teammates, merely because he believes so hard that he and them think alike. Most people stop bugging him at that moment and quietly agree that that’s the most they should ask from him.
At 17th Level, the romancer has the option to let any other of his allies that he can see profit from one of his abilites. He can now add Flynning marks to their attacks as a free action, although the romancer still has to succeed at the Perform check required to translate these marks into damage. Furthermore, he can use his Will Power ability to protect others from a spell, and he can choose to heal somebody else than himself with his Cheer for Me Fool’s Sword technique. His teammates can’t use any other of his abilites; for example, Immortal Melody still gives only the romancer an immediate Fool’s Sword attack. There’s only so many things covered by trademark.
Additionally, all of the romancer’s teammates are now upgraded from ‘Redshirts’ to ‘Mauveshirts’.


A Living Legend (Su)
It is done.
Everybody knows his name. The stories tell of his great adventures, of the impossible odds he had to overcome. Some tremble in fear, others scream in joy and want clothing with his face on it. The gods themselves look upon this mere mortal, but now he has reached the realm of legends- there is nothing mere about that mortal. Does the realm of legends truly exist? Is he even still human? Is this what being a hero is all about? No-one can answer these questions, although the romancer would always say otherwise. He is now a true legend. A wandering force of nature.
A living story.
At 20th Level, the romancer answers one of the questions by ceasing to be a human. From now on, he is a magical creature that embodies the stories told about him, gaining the Outsider [Native] type; he can still be resurrected normally, though. By concentrating for a minute, the romancer gains knowledge of where stories of his adventures are told, as well as the general opinion people there have of him. By concentrating for another minute, he knows who exactly is telling stories about him in a certain area, usually about the size of a medium city. Then, he can view these individuals as if using a scry spell, but this isn’t magic, so regular protection spells don’t apply- instead, the romancer is reaching out through the stories that he is made from. This ‘story sense’ could, for example, detect if someone is muttering the romancer’s name, if the corresponding area is watched by the romancer at that time.
The change from mortal to story also influences those fighting alongside and against him. From now on, the romancer emanates a aura with a 60 ft. radius, centered on him. Everyone the romancer deems as an enemy has to succeed on a Will saving throw with a DC of (10 + Romancer’s level + Cha modifier) or be shaken with fear. This effect begins as soon as they enter the area, or as soon as the romancer starts the effect. People the romancer considers his allies, on the other hand, are immune against fear and mind control as long as they are within 60 ft. of the romancer.
He still doesn’t know how to hold a sword, though.


FEATS
(Expect seeing more!)

Extra Glory
Description: Just that bit of glamour can already save a romancer from being utterly humiliated.
Prerequisite: Fool's Sword.
Benefit: Increase your Glory Pool by one.

Neverending Story
Description: No matter what happens- the show must go on!
Prerequisite: Base Attack Bonus +6, Fool's Sword.
Benefit: As a full round action, the romancer may regenerate his Glory Pool completely. This represents an absolutely astounding performance by the romancer, who now announces to "lay down the smack" or similar.

Awesome Embodied
Description: The romancer has found out just what makes people cool. Never one to be left behind, he furiously imitates whatever draws awe and respect, in the hopes of actually earning it himself.
Prerequisite: Cha 16, Heroic Radiance.
Benefit: On every social opposed skill check, as there are Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate, the romancer may add one half of his romancer level.
Special: The romancer has to obtain an especially awesome item. Available options are very large hats, silly bling-bling, pimp coats, sunglasses, ridiculous make-up, a shiny lighter or a seemingly expensive watch (if such things exists in the game world). The DM is encouraged to expand this list.

Captivating Defense
Description: That clunky, dirty armor won't do any good in front of an audience. Why not wear something more revealing? The fans certainly won't object!
Prerequisite: Cha 12, Heroic Radiance.
Benefit: The romancer may add a +2 natural armor bonus to his Armor Class whenever he's not wearing any kind of armor. This doesn't apply to shields. Since this bonus depends on the romancer's dashing good looks, he loses it once he doesn't look great / incredible / manly / fabulous anymore. This either happens once his Charisma for some reason drops below 12 or under special uglifying circumstances, such as being tarred and feathered. The DM may rule differently about the latter.

Thriller, Thriller Night
Description: Those without mind are without imagination. It seems impossible to fool such creatures. Yet, the compassion of a romancer won't be stopped by mere impossibilities- with the burning soul of a hero, even the dead will feel the beat!
Prerequisites: Flynning (1 mark), Fool's Sword.
Benefit: The romancer gains the ability to affect even creatures without an Intelligence score with his Flynning ability by expending one point from his Glory Pool. This ability lasts only for one attack; to use Flynning with further attacks, even in the same round, the romancer has to spend further points. Furthermore, the romancer can now affect creatures without intelligence with Fool's Sword techniques if he spends two points instead of one. For all they're worth, mindless objects just aren't the best audience.
Normal: Creatures without Intelligence score are immun to Flynning damage and Fool's Sword techniques.

CONCLUSION TIME!

So, fellows! For all those who actually read all that stuff (I probably lost it at some point during writing that- well, I had loads of fun), please comment on what you think of the Romancer. Keep in mind that I tried to create a class that is a bit silly, but at the same time completely playable. With some changed descriptions, you could even use it as a very serious "living story" class (wasn't there this race with letters floating around their heads? Might fit). Please comment! And for those who care, here's some comment on the class itself.

Time for some serious introspective!
Okay- what I wanted to do was create a hero class which can do all those crazy things we're used from the flashy, charismatic type. However, I decided that this class would be far, far more entertaining if it actually were some kind of trickster, who doesn't really possess any of its alleged abilities, but rather fakes them all- even ultimately fooling themselves. So he gets the full program: fancy fencing, witty oneliners, impossible determination, ass pull powers, his own theme song, sidekicks (of sorts).
As for the technical side, I liked the idea of a rather frail melee fighter who has to gamble for his damage, and who otherwise relies on crippling his opponents and carefully managing his defensive abilities. I think the Flynning damage is balanced- consider how much damage other characters do at high levels, and while the rogue, for example, gets his 10d6 sneak attack bonus on all attacks of a full round action, the romancer has to "pay off" for all of them. I'm not so sure whether Stirring Performance is balanced, though- does it change too much about how the class can work?
Also, I'm not quite sure whether Play the Crowd is written well. Maybe it's too complicated, but just subtracting the Play the Crowd amount for every other targeted enemy doesn't work either.
As for Will Power, yes, I am aware how very, very useful that is. I delayed it compared to the spell progression of casters so that casters of the same level are still a threat; additionally, things like summons still work perfectly well, since the romancer can't cancel it (after all, the summoning is the spell, not the summoned creature being there).
With Fool's Sword, I decided to try something new: have an attack roll be a Will DC. It's not reminiscent of Tome of Battle for nothing: it's supposed to give the romancer lots of options, also, it's his main tool for fighting alongside Flynning. Is it too powerful? The effects themselves are okay, I think, but the Will DC could be soaring through the roof pretty quickly. What do you think?
I purposefully gave the romancer a rather small skill list, but many skill points because I figured most romancers wouldn't have much intelligence anyway, and the few class skills would force them to invest in many other skills, making him the learner of many, the master of few. I think it fits quite nicely. And yes, that's Forgery in there!
Furthermore, you'll surely notice that, overall, the romancer is a beast in fighting spellcasters. Thematically, that's because the romancer refuses to bow down to some "unfair" methods; technically, that's achieved by truly staggering saves and Will Power, of course. To balance that out, the probably biggest weaknesses of the romancers, or at least I tried to mirror that, are people stabbing him from somewhere he can't see, or people just simply punching him in the face. :smallbiggrin: That's why they're wary of barbarians!
Also, I considered giving the capstone ability A Living Legend a more powerful aura: instead of being shaken, enemies are paralyzed with fear. Is that a problem at that level? Or is it too powerful already? I'd definitely keep in the "story sense", though- fits very well, I think!

So, whaddya think?


The Change Log, fellas!
I now changed the Flynning ability from working with "Flynning damage dies" to marks and changed other abilities correspondingly.
Also, some abilities now have the remark that they only work against foes with an Intelligence score.
Another addition: now, A Living Legend officially makes the romancer a native Outsider, except for that can't-resurrect-bit.
I added Tumble and Jump to class skills!
Recommend on!


Hopefully enjoy!

Fri
2009-08-05, 03:58 AM
Beautifully awesome class. And the fluff fit the crunch perfectly. I might use this some times instead of my usual bard....

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 04:07 AM
Glad you like it! I'm alwys open for any changes to it, so feel free to suggest :smallbiggrin:

Pie Guy
2009-08-05, 08:22 AM
How would Will Power interact with an antimagic field?

Djinn_in_Tonic
2009-08-05, 08:50 AM
Wonderful! I did, however, find Play the Crowd almost impossible to understand. Can you clarify it a bit, please?

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 09:41 AM
How would Will Power interact with an antimagic field?

Whew, interesting question. Since the romancer doesn't actually cast spells himself, it normally wouldn't be a problem, since antimagic field doesn't prohibit the use of supernatural abilities.
But I think you're rather asking what a romancer with multiclass levels would do. I'd say, yes, the romancer can actually choose to not be affected by antimagic field, and thus he can cast spells. Given that he'd have to be at least a 14th Level romancer, he wouldn't be able to cast anything that powerful anyway.
By the same logic, his magic items would suddenly activate as well.


Wonderful! I did, however, find Play the Crowd almost impossible to understand. Can you clarify it a bit, please?

Yeah, I kinda struggled a bit with the wording. Let me try that again. Here, first of all, a changed version of the "official" wording. If you think it's clearer that way, I'll put it into the opening post.


At 4th Level, the romancer is more effective at damaging multiple enemies with his Flynning ability. Normally, when determining the total amount of damage dies for the Perform DC, all dies from all affected enemies are counted; however, Play the Crowd allows the romancer to ignore a certain amount of dies from every enemy except the one with the highest count. For example, if an 8th Level romancer dealt 4d6 Flynning damage to one enemy, and 2d6 to another one, the total amount determining the Perform DC would still be 4, since as an 8th Level romancer he would be allowed to subtract up to two die from any other enemies.
This actually allows the romancer to deal a certain low sum of Flynning damage "for free", as long as it is aimed at more than one enemy.
The amount of ignorable Flynning damage starts off at 1d6 and increases every fourth level afterwards by one d6.


I hope that clarifies things. Basically, it's meant to counterbalance the fact that the romancer has to "pay" for every bit of bonus damage, unlike a rogue or a scout, who need prerequisites. That way, a romancer can always deal some bonus damage, although much less than what would be overkill, I hope. I'm a bit worried that it could get too complicated keeping track of which enemy has how much Flynning damage until that damage is actually dealt; you think that'd be manageable?

Otherwise, thanks for the reception so far, guys :smallsmile:

Telonius
2009-08-05, 10:55 AM
From the way it's described, Flynning seems like it would only affect intelligent creatures. Would it apply to things like undead, oozes, constructs, things immune to mind-affecting effects?

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 11:04 AM
From the way it's described, Flynning seems like it would only affect intelligent creatures. Would it apply to things like undead, oozes, constructs, things immune to mind-affecting effects?

Hmmm, now that's a good question. I think it's a good point that creatures who barely react to anything but pain won't be impressed by fancy sword moves, either, so let's say Flynning doesn't work against them. However, Flynning is neither magical nor supernatural by itself, so immunity against mind-affecting things wouldn't help one bit: after all, the romancer relies on the fact that people believe what he's doing. In a way, Flynning or Fool's Sword works against mind protection the same way Spell Resistance helps against illusions you don't touch.

I'd also add that Flynning works against all creatures with intelligence, regardless of how high it is. For example, an animal may not appriciate a carelessly tossed in quote from a famous tanner, but it can certainly be bewildered by unpredictable moves. Ever seen a dog dealing with a parrot?
Something like that. :smalltongue:

Okay, I'll add that to the description! As well as changing the wording of Play the Crowd.

dyslexicfaser
2009-08-05, 11:43 AM
Totally awesome class. I love the whole concept, and will be playing one as soon as I can find an appropriate game. I particularly love the pictures.


How, you may ask, is this possible? How can the EMBODIMENT OF STORIES be ewoked? Easy- by having an adventure! Become... a Romancer!

You may want to edit that typo, though - it detracts a little when you mean to say 'evoke' and instead you say 'Ewok'.

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-08-05, 11:50 AM
You may want to edit that typo, though - it detracts a little when you mean to say 'evoke' and instead you say 'Ewok'.

What, you don't think an Ewok storyteller would make a good Romancer? :smallwink:


The class looks awesome; I'll look over it in more detail and post any issues I find later.

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 12:10 PM
Dammit, PairO'Dice Lost, now I have to find stats for the Ewok race! I hope your happy with what you've done :smallwink:

Anyway, typo-B-gone. And also, here's a small feat addition- you have Telonius to thank for that!

Thriller, Thriller Night
Description: Those without mind are without imagination. It seems impossible to fool such creatures. Yet, the compassion of a romancer won't be stopped by mere impossibilities- with the burning soul of a hero, even the dead will feel the beat!
Prerequisites: Flynning (1d6), Fool's Sword.
Benefit: The romancer gains the ability to affect even creatures without an Intelligence score with his Flynning ability by expending one point from his Glory Pool. This ability lasts only for one attack; to use Flynning with further attacks, even in the same round, the romancer has to spend further points. Furthermore, the romancer can now affect creatures without intelligence with Fool's Sword techniques if he spends two points instead of one. For all they're worth, mindless objects just aren't the best audience.
Normal: Creatures without Intelligence score are immun to Flynning damage and Fool's Sword techniques.

Just had to add that one. :smallbiggrin: Also, I remarked that Fool's Sword only works with intelligent creatures as well.

Always happy to see more reactions, guys!

Gorgondantess
2009-08-05, 02:17 PM
1st of all, Welcome to the Forums!
2nd of all- this is awesome. Truly awesome. However, reading up on the abilities is a bit tedious... could you try to make the mechanics a bit simpler, more concise? Especially flynning, it's really long and complicated.

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 03:42 PM
1st of all, Welcome to the Forums!
2nd of all- this is awesome. Truly awesome. However, reading up on the abilities is a bit tedious... could you try to make the mechanics a bit simpler, more concise? Especially flynning, it's really long and complicated.

Welcoming appreciated! :smallbiggrin:

Okay, as for your point: yeah, I think I went a bit overboard in describing the abilities. However, I think most of them are still pretty clearly worded, especially Play the Crowd. You're still right, though: Flynning, in retrospective, sounds much more complicated than it should be. I think I'll stop talking about "dies" in the descriptions and rather call it "mark" all together, and just say that Flynning does a corresponding amount of d6. Should make things easier.

I'll just post another explanation here. I'm gonna keep the mechanical bits short, and I'll leave the fluff in- let's see how that works! (For your reading convenience, I'll separate fluff from mechanics.)

Flynning (Ex)
The romancer raises his blade. He jumps over the table and swings his weapon in an elaborate arc. The crowd gasps in amazement! The romancer’s opponent takes the hit, he stumbles backwards, incredulous, and as the romancer lands gracefully, his foe has fallen over already. The romancer bows to his audience. They are amazed, so amazed, in fact, that nobody noticed that blade and enemy never truly met…
A romancer has his own unique style of fighting, commonly named Flynning. It involves many flashy techniques and lots of impressive displays- and that’s about it. But that’s a carefully kept secret. As long as it looks great, so the reasoning, nobody will ever guess the difference. Foes, believing themselves to be mortally wounded, lose their will to fight and succumb even to the weakest attack. Even those who rival the romancer in sheer self-confidence fall when the whole world seems to demand it. The romancer makes them part of his story, and there’s only place for one main character!

At 1st Level, the romancer has the ability to add Flynning to any of his attacks. If he chooses to, he can add so-called "marks" to an enemy once the attack hits, one per attack at 1st Level, and another one at every second level thereafter. All marks are kept track of, even if other enemies receive marks. There is no limit on the amount of marks a single enemy can receive. Finally, the romancer can end his stunningly choreographed battle with a successful Perform (Act) check, which requires a move action. That is the moment in which his enemies lose their will to fight or, to be more accurate, in which they believe themselves to be defeated. Every target who has received one or multiple marks receives that same amount in d6 damage; for example, a foe bearing two marks receives 2d6 damage once the romancer performes the move action.
The Perform DC needed to succeed varies depending on the total sum of marks the romancer has used on his enemies (see the table; but also see the Play the Crowd ability). After all, the more devastating their attacks are supposed to look, the harder they’ll have to convince! Since they were the ones believing in their defeat in the first place, the targets hit by a successful Flynning perceive this damage as lethal rather than imaginary. Should the check fail, no Flynning damage is dealt at all, and the romancer feels very, very silly. Nonetheless, there are no other consequences for failing the Performance check.

{table=head]Marks|Perform DC|Marks|Perform DC


1d6|
12|
6d6|
22

2d6|
14|
7d6|
24

3d6|
16|
8d6|
26

4d6|
18|
9d6|
28

5d6|
20|
10d6|
30
[/table]
Generally: Perform DC = 10 + (Amount of Damage x 2)

Only enemies which possess some level of intelligence can be affected by this ability. This includes objects, oozes, and undead, except for those with intelligence such as vampires.



Okay! I hope that's more understandable. I'll replace the current description with this one, as well as changing the wording from dies to marks. Also, I'll put the fluff in front of the actual description in italics so that it's easier to find the actual mechanics!

Finally, I know it's not exactly a common technique, so of course there's bound to be some explaining. Just mention if you think somebody might have trouble with an ability. :smallsmile:

Emong
2009-08-05, 03:59 PM
I really enjoy this class! However there are a two little things that bother me though.

The first is really more of a nitpick, but in the last sentence of the Flynning ability I think you mean "excludes" not "includes".

And shouldn't A Living Legend change the romancer's type to Outsider (Native)? It seems like it would make sense given the fluff.

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-05, 04:02 PM
I really enjoy this class! However there are a two little things that bother me though.

The first is really more of a nitpick, but in the last sentence of the Flynning ability I think you mean "excludes" not "includes".

And shouldn't A Living Legend change the romancer's type to Outsider (Native)? It seems like it would make sense given the fluff.

Whoopsie! Of course you're right, it should be "exclude".

As for A Living Legend, I actually wanted to make it similar to the ability the monk receives at Level 20, aside from the obvious differences. I'll include the bit about the Outsider, as well as that they can still be resurrected.
The fluff would actually justify easier resurrection at that point, but I don't see the need to go that far! Thanks.

Origomar
2009-08-05, 06:48 PM
its a really cool idea for a class i hope the class i make gets as many responses as this one.


anyway, shouldn't (doesnt have to) the flynning ability actually do nonlethal damage considering your not ACTUALLY hurting them?

Also does flynning take up marks when it is used?

And does willpower also have the ability to negate damaging spells like fireball, i mean just because you don't believe its there doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

And does weaving blade increase it from like x2 to x4 or from 19-20 to 17-20, if it does the latter does it stack with other things like keen?


Edit: doesn't this class kind of remind you of the defense against the dark arts teacher in chamber of secrets?

Seguile Daengz
2009-08-06, 05:23 AM
its a really cool idea for a class i hope the class i make gets as many responses as this one.

anyway, shouldn't (doesnt have to) the flynning ability actually do nonlethal damage considering your not ACTUALLY hurting them?

Also does flynning take up marks when it is used?

And does willpower also have the ability to negate damaging spells like fireball, i mean just because you don't believe its there doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

And does weaving blade increase it from like x2 to x4 or from 19-20 to 17-20, if it does the latter does it stack with other things like keen?

Edit: doesn't this class kind of remind you of the defense against the dark arts teacher in chamber of secrets?

Okay! Let's clarify some more things.

First of all, Flynning SHOULD technically deal non-lethal damage, but that would make anything without a Constitution score immune to it. But a lacking Constitution score alone doesn't save you from being fooled! Therefore, it's always counted as lethal damage, since that's what the targets believe.
Remember the credo of the romancer: it's always as real as they think!

And, yes, Flynning uses up all marks currently on other enemies. The romancer has to distribute new ones after damaging people.

As for Will Power: Will Power can negate any spell taking effect on the romancer, as long as he meets the level prerequisite. The ability is supernatural, after all- the romancer's sheer determination is responsible for that.
Exceptions would be spells that don't originate on him and whose effects are continous; for example, you can't negate an enlarge person spell currently affecting somebody else. Likewise, you would be able to negate being hit by a prismatic sphere, but that wouldn't make the sphere go away. Another exception would be summon spells, since they technically originate from themselves. Basically, what the romancer does with Will Power is "merely" not being affected by a spell- but if the spell continous beyond that or has already taken its effect on something else, it won't help.
An exception would be spell effects on the romancer, which he can immediately remove with Will Power.

As for Weaving Blade: it doesn't multiply the crit range, it just adds two to it. For example, if you had Improved Critical with a rapier, you'd have a crit range of 15-20. If you'd now get Weaving Blade, it would be 13-20; it's not multiplied, just added. It's also unique in that it does, in fact, add up with every other thing changing crit ranges. But remember, it's always only added in the end!

P.S.: You mean Gilderoy Lockheart, eh? Well, I didn't think of that guy when writing this up, but yeah, he's a pretty good example of a romancer, only with spells. Basically, any phoney in media could qualify for romancer... and the more they actually believe what they're babbling, perfect! :smallbiggrin:

Light-Hero
2010-04-06, 09:16 AM
Should not creatures that are raging be immune too?

Seguile Daengz
2010-04-06, 09:44 AM
Should not creatures that are raging be immune too?

Hey, someone found my old thread again! :smallsmile:

I assume you mean Flynning damage? If that's so, than nope, they wouldn't be immune. After all, while not exactly capable of a civilized discussion, they still possess some amount of intelligence, and that's all it takes. And, if anything, angry people might prove even easier to mislead!

DragoonWraith
2010-04-06, 09:48 AM
This is awesome. So glad this got bumped, I never would have seen this.

Kallisti
2010-04-06, 10:07 AM
Made of win so pure it shall pierce the heavens.

That said, the class skill list lacking Tumble and Jump strikes me as very, very odd for a class that relies on acrobatics to make people think they know what to do with their sword. I'd maybe take off Knowledge (History) and Spot and put on Jump and Tumble. Or just give them Jump and Tumble without removing any skills.

Seguile Daengz
2010-04-06, 11:33 AM
Good point! I added Jump and Tumble to the romancer's skills... And, why not, here's an additional use for the tumble skill!

Show Off

During any move action- be it movement, drawing your weapon, standing up or other-, the character can add a useless flourish, a little pirouette, or just extra-fancy pose-striking. This can be used to achieve a frankly unrealistic illusion of grace and skill. Performing a move action in this way means succeeding on a tumble check.

{table=head]DC|Influence on on-lookers
10|Battle performance becomes memorable.
20|Audience perceives character as center of the battle.
30|People actively cheer for the character. Improves their attitude by one.
40|People mistake character for a person of legend.[/table]

Failing this check wastes the move action and makes the character look like a bumbling idiot. The DM may rule that several such actions are necessary for the described effects, or special actions may be created.

Ta-daaa. :smallsmile:

Lix Lorn
2010-04-06, 01:01 PM
This is awesome. XD

Ashtagon
2010-04-06, 01:05 PM
Not had a chance to examine the crunch yet. Fluff-wise, this is what the bard should have been.

Kallisti
2010-04-06, 02:10 PM
I'd call it more of a swashbuckler. The whole "magical songs" aspect of the bard is pretty central to at least some bard concepts.

Seeker of the Song is more like what bard should have been. They can sit back and inspire or they can pull out some flashier magic with their music, instead of needing Melodious Casting just to get anywhere near "more than a bump on a log with some bonuses for everyone else."

Drackhyo
2010-04-07, 10:38 AM
I am going to play a gesalt of this and spellthief changeling for a character whose lone skill is fooling people. The best thing is: I play with newbies who can't roleplay (IDM most of the time) so I'll show them what roleplaying truly means. Thank you so much for this class!

Kamai
2010-04-07, 12:49 PM
I'm curious what this class is supposed to be balanced to, because some of these abilities, like many of the things attached to Fool's sword, and the ability to negate multiple spells every battle, seem extremely powerful when stacking them anything other than a full caster.

Seguile Daengz
2010-04-07, 03:06 PM
I'm curious what this class is supposed to be balanced to, because some of these abilities, like many of the things attached to Fool's sword, and the ability to negate multiple spells every battle, seem extremely powerful when stacking them anything other than a full caster.

May I suggest giving one of the last spoilers in the opening post a look? It's titled "Time for some introspective", in which I described most of the thoughts that went into designing this fella. Maybe that'll clear things up a bit.
Anyway, I know what you mean- Fool's Sword and Will Power are probably the most powerful abilities; however, the first is best for stalling rather than damage, and the second is purely defense. If you would multiclass, that would mean lagging behind in the ability to negate higher-powered spells; also, the other class would have to possess Perform as a class skill to truly make the most of existing Flynning damage, and most melee fighters don't.

In short, I think it's still balanced. Maybe you could clarify a bit?


P.S.: @Drackyho: maybe you could write here about your experience with the romancer part of your character. I'd love to hear about that! :smallsmile:

Kamai
2010-04-07, 05:45 PM
May I suggest giving one of the last spoilers in the opening post a look? It's titled "Time for some introspective", in which I described most of the thoughts that went into designing this fella. Maybe that'll clear things up a bit.
Anyway, I know what you mean- Fool's Sword and Will Power are probably the most powerful abilities; however, the first is best for stalling rather than damage, and the second is purely defense. If you would multiclass, that would mean lagging behind in the ability to negate higher-powered spells; also, the other class would have to possess Perform as a class skill to truly make the most of existing Flynning damage, and most melee fighters don't.

In short, I think it's still balanced. Maybe you could clarify a bit?



First off, the fact that you are basing the will save off of an attack roll will eventually cause major problems in trying to evade these abilities, but that's not the biggest problem.
Will Power may struggle to keep up full casters, but this ability eats up spells with metamagic effects and bard-like casters extremely quickly, and can negate 5 spells/encounter, without a larger investment in charisma than a bard would want(which other class features of the romancer wants anyway), and taking only immediate actions on his own part, which he doesn't need because he eventually gets a second immediate reaction to fuel the re-roll ability. This is scary if there wasn't a way to regain points in the glory pool, of which you have multiple. This is on top of being able to laugh at 8th and 9th level spells in a way that far surpasses spell resistance, and at that point, this could easily be 10 times/encounter without taking into account the ability to recharge 4 glory points/round [7 if twf] (hasted attacker with comeback) averaging 2 auto-successes [3.5 as a twf] and will saves averaging DC 40 for a reasonably optimized build, which makes a single caster cry, even if he's not in melee.

It's good for a class to be able to give other classes trouble, but when you start completely negating things with no recourse, that's when you go too far. You already have +Cha to all saves and to touch AC, which is enough to at least make casters think twice about fighting you. You don't need this ability, in my opinion. If you still need something like this, maybe swift action SR (10+romancer level+Cha mod) for 1 round would do this in a more fair way?

These are the main problems I see other than absolutely hating features saying that you just can't resist, like the fool's sword that auto-succeeds on a crit threat (which for this caps at 11-20!)

Also, look carefully at perform DCs. These can be made arbitrarily high with skill boost items. A +10 perform boost item is 10k gold (which allows for an extra 5d6 damage from the marks at the same difficulty). At the same time, someone who doesn't pull that stuff caps at +31-35 (averaging an allowance of 18d6 on a target) which makes a single weapon rouge laugh in pity, let alone a twf rogue. I don't think this scales the way you want it to without obscure equipment, and then it's allowed to go over the top (+60 is not out of the question, allowing 35d6 damage at max). This may also be worth looking at.

Seguile Daengz
2010-04-07, 07:10 PM
Ah, some great insight! Thanks for that already, Kamai.

First: yes, the romancer is meant to be anti-mage, not only for fluff reasons, but also to give him an edge over other melee classes. I considered different ways of countering magic. The thing with spell resistance is... It's just so easily broken, once you really try to, and in some cases, it doesn't help at all. There's plenty of ways to screw over melee classes without resorting to spell resistance (solid fog, for instance). So I wanted an ability that goes beyond that. Too far? Maybe- but don't forget that there are other abilities as well, such as summoning or illusions, which can't exactly be cancelled due to their nature- not to mention continous effects, and then there's countless boosts the mage can use on others, which THEN will give the romancer quite a lot of trouble. I really wanted an absolute ability, if you will.

As for your point about the glory pool: you assume full-round attacks and TWF here... which isn't all that likely, I think. Still, I kinda agree. Maybe limiting the possibility to regain glory points would be a way? That way, those bothersome Fool's Sword techniques don't pop up that often, too, which would make them more special (something you more strongly invest in, which in my opinion always should have a better or even overwhelming chance of success).

As for the Perform DC: yeah... this was a tricky part. I didn't quite know how big the amount of added damage should be, given that the romancer achieves Flynning damage entirely different than sneak attack or skirmish. But keep in mind that there's also the Play the Crowd ability!
I guess I could make the DC lower.

In the end, I have to admit that I made some of these abilities "absolute" on purpose, mainly because I wanted SOME kind of counterweight to optimization. In the end, optimization and absolute success aren't that far apart, especially if there aren't players or a DM who play that kind of game or are that adapt at countering it. Maybe I went overboard. Maybe the romancer is not powerful enough, but too strong on the defense. I'll know for sure once I really playtested this fella, and given that this thread revived *for a bit* only recently, I haven't exactly planned anything like that... Though I hope I get the opportunity to do so soon.

It's a bit late in this part of the globe, though- let's see what I can think of to combat 1) glory pool regeneration and 2) lacking Flynning damage!

Dornath
2010-04-07, 09:08 PM
I liked reading this a lot.
It seems a bit bizarre, but I'm sure that's what you were going for.
It's a fun little tweak to a game, and a great 5th or 6th character.
thanks!

Nodwick22
2010-04-08, 12:20 PM
this class reminds me of the PrC that Elan takes in OOTS...the Dashing Swordsman i think it was.