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Primal Fury
2009-09-11, 01:20 PM
Over in the Roleplaying sub-forum, I posted "Beauty in D&D" trying to find out if my idea for a class based on aesthetics would make any sense without spitting in the face of a very widely accepted ideal. I came to find that I was worried about absolutely nothing, and that I was being rather silly. :smallredface:

That having been said, I'd like a bit of help in creating this new base class, as I've made attempts in the past that didn't turn out very well.

It's name doesn't really matter at this point, but I've been thinking about: the Aesthete, Enchanter/Enchantress, and Conduit (don't like this one, but it's in my head anyway.)

One of it's main abilities is very similar to the Warlock's Eldritch Blast. This ability doesn't have a solid name either (Aesthetic Burst/Blast, Wondrous Burst/Blast, Gift of True Beauty {again another icky one, but there it is.}) But rather than doing actual damage to the target with arcane energies, it tries to overload the targets senses with the casters raw ideal of aesthetic perfection. This would result in various mind affecting stauses: like Dazzled, Blinded, Shaken, Confused, Panicked etc. And rather than an attack roll on the weilders part, it would only require a will save on the target's part. This could be augumented by various feats that might come later if this thing gets off the ground.

One of the other abilities I have in mind are Aesthetics. Rather than being raw representation of the casters ideals, it funnels that ideal through the various Experiences (thank you Gralamin :smallwink:) they've went through. Aesthetics are organized into Experiences that dictate the form their ideals take.

Here are the Experiences I already have, as well as their basic functions:

Aesthetic Experiences
Pleasing- Healing, Mental Buffing, Resurrection, General Improvement of Well-Being
Emotional- Charming (possibly Domination), Crowd Control (Fear), Rage, Manipulation of Emotions
Maddening- Crowd Control (Confusion), Mental Attribute Damage, Corruption of Reality
Elemental- Damage Dealing, Non-Combat Elemental Summoning, Elemental Manipulation
Magical- Disrupting & Controlling Enemy Magic, Strengthening Allied Magic, Dead & Wild Magic
Bestial- Physical Buffing, Growth of Natural Weapons, Manipulation of Animals
Entropic- Physical Attribute Damage, Destruction of Objects, General Erosion


Each day the (insert class name here) becomes Inspired by her past trials and tribulations, allowing her to change the experiences she may use on any given day. It's similar to what wizards, clerics, and druids do with their spells, but it's more like choosing which school of magic you want access to that day rather than specific spells.

As they level up, they'd be able be inspired by more than one experience at a time. BUT! Some experiences cannot be used with others. These are called Antithetical Experiences. You can know two opposing experiences, but you can't be inspried by both of them at the same time.

By the same token, other experiences work quite well with others. These are called Synergistic Experiences. When using two Synergistic Experiences at the same time, they both get some sort of bonus.

As for the role this class would play... As you can see, that could vary depending on the experiences they choose on any given day, but their primary place in the party seems to be (if you wanna use 4e lingo) Controller. They keep the enemies dazed/stunned/etc with their (insert at-will brain zapping ability name here), while the rest of the party beats the crap out of them. Many of their aesthetics accomplish this as well (Fear, Confusion, Magic Disrutption, etc.). Granted they could also serve as healers, buffers/debuffers, or blasters, but with a wizard and/or cleric present, that seems largely unnecessary.

I've also been rolling a kind of Final Fantasy-esque (not on purpose, that's just how it looks in retrospect) summoning mechanic in my head, but I want to know how this here sounds first.

I've got plenty of fluff on how they think, live, and act; but where does a person with these kind of abilities come from???:smallconfused:

So... Blah blah blah Charisma main arribute. Blah blah blah Poor BAB, Poor Fort, Poor Ref, Good Will. Any one wanna give me some advice? :smallbiggrin:

DracoDei
2009-09-11, 01:47 PM
I like the idea fluff wise.

Mechanically/metagame wise (in a good way), if your players are PARTICULARLY bad about showing up, but you have ENOUGH people that show up each time, and one who shows up regularly, this can provide a way of keeping the party from hurting too much if say, both the clerics don't show on a given day.

As for source, here are some ideas (mix and match as you like):
- High Fey blood (Titania and Oberon type stuff, not a dryad or whatever) in the same way that sorcerers have draconic blood.
- Had such a strong emotional experience (generally early on (children have very elemental emotions)) that it broke through and allowed you to tap into the primal power of emotions.
- Achieved the same as above, but later in life by studying at an art school, but as an audience more than an artist. If Wizards art the mathematicians and engineers, and sorcerers are the highly successful college drop-outs, then these guys could be the fine arts majors who took Art History in place of all their classes where you actual PRODUCE any art.

Primal Fury
2009-09-11, 02:03 PM
I'm glad you like the idea. :smallbiggrin: I didn't even notice the metagaming thing; but I do believe flexibility and adaptability are key when making a good class. :smallwink:

And I like the the whole "Strong Emotional Experience" thing. Inherited magic seems more like a sorcerer thing to me.

Primal Fury
2009-09-12, 12:29 PM
Little tweak on the origin of the Aesthete: Rather than a strong emotional experience, they can be inspired by any experience that is sufficiently awe-inspiring, since that will dictate the experience they have access to. For example, someone who has some sort of strong emotional experience will have the "Emotional Experience" as their first experience. The same goes for Elemental, Magical and so on.

And I believe I have finished the Wondrous Burst. Let me know if the wording is funny or anything:

Wondrous Burst: All aesthetes have the ability to impose their ideal of perfect beauty upon reality whenever they wish. The default form is a sudden burst of light and color that overwhelms the targets' senses, but it can take any form the aesthete wishes. At 1st level, an aesthete can release this burst, which has a radius of 5ft, on any location within 30ft. Any creature within this area must make a Will save (DC = 10 + ½ class level + users Charisma) or become Dazzled. The area of effect doubles at 4th level, and every four levels thereafter, to a maximum of 80ft at level 20. An aesthetes idea of perfect beauty is shifting constantly, for how can something remain truly beautiful if it does not change? At 5th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, they gain a new condition they can impose on their enemies. At 5th level, the aesthete can Fascinate their opponents with a lingering explosion of twisting light. At 10th level, the Wondrous Burst severely hampers their opponents ability to act, leaving them Dazed. At 15th level, enemies are Blinded by the burst, unable to process such purity through their meager senses. Finally, at level 20, the aesthete can simply overload their targets' simple minds, leaving them Stunned. These conditions last for a number of rounds equal to the aesthetes Charisma modifier, and the penalties they impose equal half their class level.

I will proceed to work on Beast of the High Realm (working name for summoning ability), the various Auras, and the passive abilities that I haven't decided on yet. I'll do the Aesthetics last, since those'll take forever.