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Hesh87
2009-09-18, 08:56 PM
This is my first thread on this forum and I was hoping to start it off with a class my friend came up with and a number of us tweaked and changed. It's pretty much done. I just think it may need a little more balacing or streamling to finish it off. If there is already a thread concerning this I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind me posting it AJ. Keep in mind I only helped with this class but I was there every step. What do you guys think?



Adventuring Physician

Some people leave their homes and delve into the dangerous for fun. Some do it for honor, for profit, or because they have to. And some do it for knowledge. The Adventuring Physician knows that he could learn immense ammounts of information from not only the various people who tread life's most dangerous path, but also from the foes they face. He aims to meet those foes, and to get to learn them in ways much more intimate than some people even dream of. While the Wizard may seek knowledge of the lost and arcane, and the Psion may seek to learn all he can of the mind, the Physician turns his scalpel to the mundane, opening weird and wondrous creatures, both to learn how to defeat them better, but also how to survive better, how to sew up his friends better.

Role: Physicians resemble Clerics in healing abilities, Wizards in knowledge, and Rogues in sheer jack-of-all-tradeness, but one of their greatest strengths is that they do not depend on magic while at the same time they are able to heal their friends wounds, simultaneously preparing them for the coming war.

Alignment: Any. Some Physicians perform autopsies for purely altruistic reasons, while some perform vivisections on living patients for the sheer joy of it. Some abide by the laws and work with the authorities, while some practice their art in the middle of the night, away from prying eyes.

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: 5d4 x 10

Class skills: The Adventuring Physician's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Decipher Script (Int; Trained Only), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Any; Taken Individually; Trained Only) (Int), Profession (Doctor) (Wis), Search (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex; Trained Only; Armor Check penalty), Survival (Wis), Use Rope (Dex)

Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int Modifier

Medium Base attack Bonus, as Rogue and Cleric. Will is the strong save, Fortitude and Reflex are weak.

Level 1: Study, Administer, Anatomical Knowledge, Sneak Attack +1d6
Level 2: Corpuscular Training
Level 3: Intelligent Direction,
Level 4: Anatomical Strike, Health Booster
Level 5: Anatomical Knowledge, Surgery, Sneak Attack +2d6
Level 6: Supernatural Disturbance
Level 7: Poison Use
Level 8: Anatomical Knowledge, Anatomical Strike
Level 9: Concoction, Sneak Attack +3d6
Level 10: Field Guide
Level 11: Anatomical Knowledge, Keen Observation
Level 12: Anatomical Strike, Supernatural Disturbance
Level 13: Sneak Attack +4d6
Level 14: Anatomical Knowledge, Keen Observation
Level 15: Field Guide
Level 16: Anatomical Strike
Level 17: Anatomical Knowledge, Keen observation, Sneak Attack +5d6
Level 18: Panacea, Supernatural Disturbance
Level 19: Panacea
Level 20: Anatomical Strike, Field Guide, Panacea

Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Adventuring Physicists are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the scalpel (kukri). They are proficient with light armor, but not shields.


Study: Level 1
The most important skill of an Adventuring Physician is to heal, and equally important is to learn how to heal. To do so, Physicians perform autopsies on both the living and the dead, both to determine what makes the creatures tick and how to stop them from ticking. Dissection may be performed on any dead creature with discernable anatomy (Basically, any sneak attack target) ithin 24 hours after it died. Doing so takes several hours, and during the process, the Physician takes notes and studies the insides of the creature, from the skeleton to the nerves.
Each act of studying a corpse provides many benefits, including access to several class features, for the race studied. Subraces are included in the studying, creature types are not. Dissecting an Elf also provides benefits against Drow; dissecting a goblin does not provide benefits against hobgoblins. A Profession (Doctor) check must be passed to successfully study and take notes about a race, the DC of which is 10 + the HD of the monster. A failure of the Profession check requires the use of another specimin; the notes are now useless, as is the mutilated corpse.
A Physician may only have a number of races currently studied equal to his intelligence bonus.
Vivisection is another option available to the Physician, in which he dissects a creature while it is still alive. The creature must be held in some way, either through magic, strong attendants holding it down, or the use of ropes and such to keep it from squirming too much. Any creature, even a willing one, must be held this way, for any creature will attempt to escape the pain and horror of having its insides examined. The scalpel used must be able to overcome the creature's damage resistance or else it can not be vivisected. Vivisection results in the death of the creature, although a Raise Dead spell can still bring it back. Vivisections take longer than dissections, possibly 8 hours although this is left to the DM's discretion. Physicians gains a bonus equal to the Ranger's Favored Enemy ability for creatures vivisected. He may only have this vivisection bonus for one race at a time.
Writing the notes requires a paper or parchment, and ink to write with. Notes for a dissected creature may not be used to Study the creature again, although notes from a vivisected creature may be used for this purpose.

Administer: Level 1
Allows the Physician to tend to a characters wounds, resetting joints and applying salves, healing hp up to equal to his heal skill. The usage of administer requires one charge of a healer's kit and takes a full round action for both participants. The Physician may administer a number of times each day equal to his intelligence bonus.
Administer may, instead of healing damage, instead remove the following conditions: Bleeding, Blinded, Caltrops, Confused, Dazzled, Deafened, Dying, Fatigued (Once per character per day), Nauseated, Sickened, Stunned, or Unconconscious. Dying characters may also become Stable through the use of this ability. When a status condition is removed, however, no damage may be healed though one use of Administer for the day is used up, so for dying characters the standard use of the heal skill may be more appropriate.

Anatomical Knowledge: Level 1
The Physician does not keep his knowledge of his enemies to himself, and as a full round action, he can describe to his party members how best to deal with their foes, so long as he has Studied the enemies. This act requires a Profession (Doctor) check at a DC of 15. If the DC is beaten, then the bonus is +1. If the DC is beaten by 10, then the bonus is +2. If the DC is beaten by 20, then the bonus is +3. At level 17, the bonuses all double in effectiveness. The effects are cumulative.
The Physician may only give this bonus to a number of people, himself included or excluded as he wishes, up to his intelligence bonus. The effects from Anatomical Knowledge last one encounter.
At level 1, the Physician imparts an attack roll bonus as he describes where best to attack.
At level 5, he imparts a damage bonus as he describes the most effective ways to strike.
At level 8, he describes how to deal with the creature's abilities, imparting a saving throw bonus.
At level 11, he describes how best to avoid the creatures attacks, imparting a dodge armor class bonus
At level 14, he describes how to disable the enemy creature's limbs with a successful strike. Once per round, his allies may perform a Disabling attack. If the creature fails a fortitude save with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 of the Physician's level + his intelligence modifier, then it becomes Disabled.
At level 17, the Physician is able to describe to his party members how to do any of the specialized Anatomical Strikes, except for Skillful Strike, that he knows. The same conditions of use apply; only one specific Anatomical Strike may be used per encounter, and an Anatomical Strike may only be performed when the conditions for sneak attack are met, though the party members do not gain any extra sneak attack damage.

Sneak Attack: Level 1
Exactly the same as the Rogue's Sneak Attack except for several ways. It may only be used with a light bladed melee weapon, it may only be used against a creature the Physician has studied, and the Physician must roll a Knowledge check the first time he sneak attacks a race has studied. The DC is 10 + the monsters HD. If it passes, the Physician does not have to reroll against that race again, unless he lost the Study status of that race and had to acquire it again. If the roll failed, then there is no sneak attack damage, and Anatomical Strikes may not be used against that race. The race must be Studied again for another attempt at sneak attacks and Anatomical Strikes.
Sneak Attack starts at 1d6 damage, and increases by 1d6 damage every four levels; level 5 is 2d6, 9 is 3d6, etc.

Corpuscular Training: Level 2
The Physician is trained to not balk at the sight of an opened cadaver, and has learned how to deal with illnesses. For diseases, poisons, and nauseating effects, the Physician can substitute his Will save instead of the Fortitude save.

Intelligent Direction: Level 3
If the Physician is level 3 or above, and has Studied the creature he is attacking, he may add his Int bonus to both his attack and his damage.

Anatomical Strike: Level 4
The Physician eventually learns anatomy so well that he may use his scalpel or another light bladed melee weapon to deliver carefully chosen, precise strikes with great effect. At every fourth level he may chose one strike from the list below. Only one strike may be used a round, it must be a full attack action, and the attack must have qualified as a sneak attack. Each specific Strike may only be used once per encounter, although a creature may be attacked with multiple Strikes. A missed attack roll does not count against these limits. The Strike's effect is on top of any sneak attack damage. Only races which have been Studied are susceptable to Anatomical Strike.
With the exception of Skillful Strike, the creature affected by these strikes may roll a fortitude save against a DC of 10 + 1/2 Physician level + Int bonus.
Artery Strike - The target receives damage equal to sneak attack dice per round, and it lasts until at least 1 hp of healing from any source is done, or a successful heal check.
Blinding Strike - Target blinded
Debilitating Strike - Target receives temporary ability damage, -2 to str and con
Draining Strike - No sneak attack damage, but opponent loses 5 BAB until healed
Intestinal Strike - Target nauseated for rounds equal to Sneak Attack dice
Nerve Strike - Target paralyzed for 1d6 rounds
Skillful Strike - Weapon Specialization (Scalpel) (Must already have Weapon Focus for Scalpel)
Tendon Strike - Enemy struck with this strike loses use of one limb until healed
Tiring Strike - Target Fatigued

Health Booster: Level 4
Allows the Physician to use the Craft (Alchemy) skill to create a homemade tablet of his own devising, filled with herbs and less than savory parts, which boosts the health of anybody who consumes it. The DC to create the Booster is equal to the Physician's level +5. He may create one Health Booster for every four levels of Physician he has. This is the maximum amount allowed to exist, not just on his person, although anybody may consume his Boosters. Each Booster provides a temporary hp bonus equal to the creator's Physician level. This temporary health lasts for one minute for every four levels of Physician. At the end of the designated time, the temporary health goes away. The Booster can be given to a dying character to get them above 0 hp, but the loss of the temporary health will return them to dying unless the get healed from another source. As well, for every four levels of the Physician, the consumer gains a +1 bonus to Fortitude saves for one day.
Multiple Health Boosters may be consumed, but this will result in a detrimental effect. The temporary hp and fortitude saves stack, but when the temporary health is lost, the consumer takes 2d6 unblockable damage and 2 permanent damage to both str and con for every Booster consumed after the first one, after the temporary health has worn off.

Surgery: level 5
This ability is what allows the Physician to claim himself as such. A healer's kit is required to perform surgery. During surgery, the patient must be restrained as if she was being vivisected, although that result is not preferable here. Unconscious characters do not struggle to escape the pain. Anaesthesia is practically unknown except for certain magical spells. Surgery heals all of a wounded character's hp and restores permanent ability score damage. The duration of the surger is one hour plus is one minute per hp healed and ten minutes per ability score point healed.
Unfortunately, surgery is a rather risky procedure, and contamination can happen quite by accident. Two separate skill checks have to be made to make sure that the procedure has gone well, a Heal check and a Concentration check, both at a DC corresponding to the amount of health healed. DC 15 as a base, plus five for every twenty health healed with surgery. A failure of one skill check means that the patient has been exposed to a disease and must deal with it with a -2 penalty to her fortitude save; a failure of both checks is catastrophic, and is a botch.
A botched procedure deals 1d10 damage for every total level of the Physician, including non-Physician levels, minus his int and dex bonuses. Unless the botch was on purpose, which some unscrupulous surgeons have been known to do, in which case the two bonuses are instead added to the damage dealt.
A period of rest while under Long-Term Care is required after a surgical procedure, lasting for 1d6 days. A patient who failed to survive the procedure may be dissected.

Anti-Supernatural Goop: Level 6
The Physician uses the mundane to reach his goals, something which makes spellcasters wary of him. In response, a level six Physician has learned how to use his skills agains spellcasters, and once a day he may create a small glob of lotion which is anathema to those who use magic. This ability may not be used by multiclass Physician/casters. The green glob of lotion smells foul, and the Physician may use a touch attack to wipe it on a spellcaster. It reacts with the mana within them as if the spellcaster developed an allergy to their own magic, and remains active upon them for 1d6 rounds.
While the lotion is affecting the spellcaster, any spellcasting attempts during that time must succeed on a Concentration check of DC 10 + the number of ranks (if any) the Physician has in Craft (Alchemy) or fail. Once the Physician reaches level 12, he can create two globs of this lotion, and the effects expand to dispelling the spell effects upon those afflicted with the lotion, starting with the weakest spell in effect first. One spell is affected per round. At level 18, he can create three globs per day, and they last twice as long, 2d6 rounds.
Each glob only lasts a single day before its anti-magic properties vanish and it just smells foul, with no effects.

Poison Use: level 7
The Physician has become so used to being around unpleasant substances that no poison holds fear for him any more. He no longer has a chance to affect himself when he uses poison for any purpose.

Concoction: Level 9
Once a day, so long as the Physician has access to an Alchemy lab he may create a non-magical liquid concoction which is equivalent to a Cleric's Cure Critical Wound spell, with two exceptions. It always heals the full amount, 32, plus the Physician's Craft (Alchemy) skill. The Physician may have a number of these concoctions in existence equal to his Physician level. The hp is recovered in quarters; the first quarter is recovered immediately, the next quarter is recovered in one minute, then ten minutes, then an hour, all from the initial imbibing time. Anybody may use a healing concoction, although it has no effect on the undead.

Field Guide: Level 10
Upon reaching level 10, the Physician is travelled enough to start writing Field Guides, one for each type of creature, such as Aberration, Outsider, etc. A Field Guide superficially resembles a spellbook. It takes one day, eight of which spent with the guide, to transpose his notes for one race into proper form for such a guide. If the Physician spends a full round action studying the guide, he may gain the benefits of Studying one of the races contained within. Every subsequent race is another full round action. A non-Physician who uses the guide gains half of the Favored Enemy benefits, after an hour of study for each race.
If there are five races for one creature type in a single Guide, then so long as the Physician has read the book for an hour he has the benefits of having Studied the entire creature type, even ones he has not yet autopsied. As well, for the specific races within the guide he has studied, he gains them as a Favored Enemy.
All the benefits of the guide last for one day. Only one guide of each type may be in existance. The bonus for Favored Enemy from the guidebook becomes +4 at level 15, and then increases again at level 20 to become +6.

Keen Observation: Level 11
Upon reaching level 11, the Physician becomes more aware of how knowledge can directly affect combat. He becomes able to observe his enemy, and once he does so for three rounds, he gains a +2 bonus to the to hit, damage, and knowledge roll of his first attack against that target within the next three rounds, regardless if it is an enemy he has Studied or not. If he does not use this bonus within three rounds of ceasing to observe the target, then the bonus is lost. The bonus expands to +4 at level 14, then it increases again to +6 at level 17.

Panacea: Level 18
This ability is the same as Concoction except for the following ways. Only one Panacea may be created per week, and only one may be in existance. However, it fully heals the person who imbibes it of all hp damage, all adverse conditions including diseases and poisons, and also removes all negative levels, drained ability scores, and has a fifty percent chance to restore permanently drained levels. Upon reaching level 19, two Panaceas may be in existence, and upon reaching level 20, three may be in existence, and it is guaranteed to restore drained levels as well. It has no effect upon the undead.

Composed by Andrew Jackson, September 2009, with assistance from anonymous at /tg/, including Hesh87.

Hesh87
2009-09-20, 01:03 AM
I think it's too overpowered. I'm currently dissecting it as we speak.