DueceEsMachine
2009-10-19, 10:44 PM
Alright, so I've always loved the Effigy Master Class from Comp. Arcane, but I never felt that it had enough levels. So while I always hoped someone would feel the same as I, and make a homebrew for it, it never happened. Getting off my lazy tucus, I started writing this up yesterday, and was hoping I could get some feedback from the many wonderful minds on the forums.
I know that several of the abilities are ones that have been used in other classes, but I felt they fit correctly into a class that focuses on the creation of life-like beings. I'm also not sure how much of the book is OGL, so I tried to put it all in my own thoughts and words, but if I'm out of line anywhere, someone please let me know and I'll fix it promptly. The last thing I need is to step on toes.
Anyways - this is my first homebrew, so be patient with me. Without further adieu.
Revised Effigy Master
Requirements
To qualify to become an Effigy Master, a character must meet all of the following criteria.
Skills: Craft (Leatherworking, metalworking, or woodworking) 12 ranks, Knowledge (special, see below) 8 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks, Use Magic Device 5 ranks.
Feats: Craft Homunuculus or Craft Construct, Bind Elemental
Special: Must have the simulacrum spell on a class spell list, or be able to emulate the spell for item creation, whether the character is able to cast it is irrelevant.
Knowledge - In order for a character to create an effigy of any given type, they must have enough knowledge of the subject to be able to recreate it. To reflect this, a character needs 5 ranks in the following knowledge skills to make the listed effigy.
Knowledge (Arcana) - Dragons and Magical Beasts
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) - Aberrations
Knowledge (Nature) - Animals, Giants, Monstrous Humanoids, Vermin and Humanoids
Class table:
{table] Level | BAB | Fort. | Ref. | Will. | Special | Spellcasting
1 | + 0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Craft Effigy, Master Craftsman, Repair Focus | -
2 | +1 | +0 | + 0 | +3 | Effigy Link | +1 level of existing spell casting class
3 | +1 | +1| + 1 | +3 | Waste Not, Want Not | +1 level of existing spell casting class
4 | +2 | +1| + 1 | +4 | Improved Effigy | -
5 | +2 | +1| + 1 | +4 | Effigy Merge | +1 level of existing spell casting class
6 | +3 | +2 | + 2 | +5 | Spread it Thin | +1 level of existing spell casting class
7 | +3 | +2 | + 2 | +5 | Effigy Bond | -
8 | +4 | +2 | + 2 | +6 | Extreme Effigy | +1 level of existing spell casting class
9 | +4 | +3 | + 3 | +6 | Waste Not, Want Not | +1 level of existing spell casting class
10 | +5 | +3 | + 3 | +7 | One Body, One Mind | -[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Effigy Master prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Effigy Masters gain no proficiency with any kind of weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At each class level indicated, an Effigy Master gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a spell casting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If he had more than one spell casting class before becoming an Effigy Master, he must decide to which class to add each level.
Craft Effigy (Su): Building upon his knowledge of constructs and his homunculi, an Effigy Master learns to create constructs known as effigies. Effigies are magically animated automatons similar to homunculi, build in the form of other living creatures. They are creations of clockwork machinery and alchemy, animated by an elemental spirit bound to their mechanical shells. An Effigy master can add his class level to his caster level to determine the maximum Hit Dice of effigy that he can create.
Master Craftsman (Ex): Through countless hours of work and experimentation, Effigy Masters become extremely skilled at construction and repair. They add their Effigy Master level to all Craft checks you make.
Repair Focus (Ex): Any construct sustains damage over time, and effigies are no different, especially since they are mainly used as combat machines. Through countless applications of their magic, Effigy Masters have learned the most effective ways to repair their creations. Every Repair spell or infusion cast by an Effigy master heals +1 point of damage per Effigy Master level.
Effigy Link (Su): At 2nd level, the connection that all artificers possess to their homunculi extend to their effigy creations as well. As well, an Effigy Master can create a supernatural bond between himself and one of his creations that is even stronger than before. This requires a 1 hour ritual, and special components worth 100gp. Afterward, the Effigy Master functions as if he constantly had a status effect on his creation, allowing him to sense its condition. He can also Scry as a spell-like ability on the creation, once per day.
In addition, as long as he is within 10 feet of his linked companion, the Effigy Master gains a +1 moral bonus to his Caster level and saving throws.
This ritual can be performed on any creation the Effigy Master wishes, following the same pattern each time, but he can only be linked to one creation at a time, bonding a different effigy destroys the link to the previous.
Waste Not, Want Not (Ex): The largest problem that most Effigy Masters come across is that of funding. While the lucky Effigy Master finds a government or large organization to fund his continued research, the cost for such work is extremely high, and the vast majority of Effigy Masters have no one to rely upon but themselves for finances. As such, they quickly learn to stretch the money they have to ridiculous lengths. Upon reaching 3rd level, and again at 9th level, an Effigy Master reduces the cost for creating Constructs, be they homunculi, effigy or other constructs by 10%. This bonus stacks with that of Extraordinary Artisan, so that an Effigy Master of 9th level would reduce the cost of creation in gp by 45%.
Improved Effigy (Ex): Upon reaching 4th level, an Effigy Master has learned to improve his creations drastically. They gain the Improved Homunculus feat for free. (MoE). If they already possess this feat, they can take any crafting feat or metamagic feat for which they qualify.
Effigy Merge (Su): Starting at 5th level, an Effigy Master learns to physically merge with the body of an effigy that he has created. The effigy must be at least two size categories larger than the Effigy Master for this ability to function, as well as being the effigy to which he is linked (see above). Merging with an effigy requires the Effigy Master to be adjacent to the construct, and spend a move action on his turn to step into the creation.
Once you have merged with the effigy, you can no longer take any action other than communication. Instead, you take control of the constructed being as if you were controlling your own body, though you must use its ability scores and other statistics, since it retains these. The effigy does not benefit from (and cannot use) any of your magic items or continuous effect or special abilities while you are so merged. Any temporary effects active on you when you merge continue to function normally, assuming the effigy remains a valid target for the temporary effect.
While you are merged with the effigy, you are completely immune to harmful or beneficial effects . Effectively you no longer exist as a separate being. If the effigy you merged with is destroyed, you appear in a randomly determined square in the space it occupied.
You can remain merged inside the effigy for a number of rounds equal to your character level, as far as effigies are concerned, though there is no limit to the number of times per day you can use this ability.
For example, an Artificer 9/ Effigy Master 6 would be able to maintain this ability for a total of 15 rounds at a time.
Spread it Thin (Su): One of the problems that an Artificer, or Effigy Master by extension face, is that of the death of their creations. Due to the spiritual connection that is required by the creator, every time an effigy or homunculi dies, the creator takes damage. Upon reaching 6th level, the Effigy Master has learned to reduce this damage by limiting his spiritual connection to this creations to as little as possible. Now, whenever one of his creations die, he instead takes 1d10 damage.
Effigy Bond (Su): Upon Reaching 7th level, the Effigy Master discovers a way to bond his creations to other willing subjects, at a cost. To use this ability, the Effigy Master must perform the Ritual to Link his effigy, but have the willing participant be present. Upon completion of the 1 hour ritual, the Effigy Master must pay experience as if he were creating the effigy and control of the effigy goes to the willing participant. If the effigy were to die, the person to whom it is bonded takes the damage associated with it, and not the Effigy Master. This ability allows the Effigy Master to sell his effigies to others without having to worry about whether or not their destruction will backlash upon him and damage him at an inopportune time. It also allows the buyer the confidence that his new purchase will be completely loyal to him alone. While the cost is high, the Effigy Master usually charges more than enough to cover his monetary losses. One special note: if the willing participant is present upon completion of the creation of the effigy, the Effigy Master must only pay the exp. point cost once, for the creation and bonding, rather than twice, at separate times.
Extreme Effigy (Ex): Upon reaching 8th level, an Effigy Master has learned enough that he can improve drastically upon his creations, making them stronger, faster and more resilient. This improvement grants a construct a permanent +2 competence bonus on attack and damage rolls as well as saving throws. The work requires 100 gp of supplies per HD of the creation to be improved, but doesn’t have to be used solely on an effigy, it can be used to upgrade any construct that the Effigy Master has created, or could create.
One Body, One Mind (Su): Upon reaching 10th level, an Effigy Master truly becomes just that. His ability to merge with his creation attains a new pinnacle, allowing him to survive inside his creation even longer. Upon gaining this ability, when an Effigy Master merges with his linked creation, he pools his hit points with that of his effigy, and uses that total as the constructs hit points. The hit points of the effigy are reduced first, so even when the construct would be reduced to 0 hp normally, it now begins to damage the Effigy Master, allowing him to push his creation even further.
Upon exiting the effigy, the Effigy Master has the option to drain hit points from the creation to fill his own, or sacrifice his own to restore the effigy. For example: A 10th level Effigy Master takes a fireball for 32 points of damage. Spending his move action, he merges with his linked effigy and finishes the fight with the enemy mage. Upon exiting, he drains the extra 32 hit points from his creation, putting him back to full health, but at the cost of his creation. Alternately, if the effigy had lost all of its hit points during the fight, before exiting, the Effigy Master could sacrifice some of his hit points to keep the construct functioning long enough to fix it from the outside.
This ability also allows the Effigy Master to remain merged with his creation for a number of minutes equal to his character level. This ability is otherwise identical to Effigy Merge.
I know that several of the abilities are ones that have been used in other classes, but I felt they fit correctly into a class that focuses on the creation of life-like beings. I'm also not sure how much of the book is OGL, so I tried to put it all in my own thoughts and words, but if I'm out of line anywhere, someone please let me know and I'll fix it promptly. The last thing I need is to step on toes.
Anyways - this is my first homebrew, so be patient with me. Without further adieu.
Revised Effigy Master
Requirements
To qualify to become an Effigy Master, a character must meet all of the following criteria.
Skills: Craft (Leatherworking, metalworking, or woodworking) 12 ranks, Knowledge (special, see below) 8 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks, Use Magic Device 5 ranks.
Feats: Craft Homunuculus or Craft Construct, Bind Elemental
Special: Must have the simulacrum spell on a class spell list, or be able to emulate the spell for item creation, whether the character is able to cast it is irrelevant.
Knowledge - In order for a character to create an effigy of any given type, they must have enough knowledge of the subject to be able to recreate it. To reflect this, a character needs 5 ranks in the following knowledge skills to make the listed effigy.
Knowledge (Arcana) - Dragons and Magical Beasts
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) - Aberrations
Knowledge (Nature) - Animals, Giants, Monstrous Humanoids, Vermin and Humanoids
Class table:
{table] Level | BAB | Fort. | Ref. | Will. | Special | Spellcasting
1 | + 0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Craft Effigy, Master Craftsman, Repair Focus | -
2 | +1 | +0 | + 0 | +3 | Effigy Link | +1 level of existing spell casting class
3 | +1 | +1| + 1 | +3 | Waste Not, Want Not | +1 level of existing spell casting class
4 | +2 | +1| + 1 | +4 | Improved Effigy | -
5 | +2 | +1| + 1 | +4 | Effigy Merge | +1 level of existing spell casting class
6 | +3 | +2 | + 2 | +5 | Spread it Thin | +1 level of existing spell casting class
7 | +3 | +2 | + 2 | +5 | Effigy Bond | -
8 | +4 | +2 | + 2 | +6 | Extreme Effigy | +1 level of existing spell casting class
9 | +4 | +3 | + 3 | +6 | Waste Not, Want Not | +1 level of existing spell casting class
10 | +5 | +3 | + 3 | +7 | One Body, One Mind | -[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Effigy Master prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Effigy Masters gain no proficiency with any kind of weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At each class level indicated, an Effigy Master gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a spell casting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If he had more than one spell casting class before becoming an Effigy Master, he must decide to which class to add each level.
Craft Effigy (Su): Building upon his knowledge of constructs and his homunculi, an Effigy Master learns to create constructs known as effigies. Effigies are magically animated automatons similar to homunculi, build in the form of other living creatures. They are creations of clockwork machinery and alchemy, animated by an elemental spirit bound to their mechanical shells. An Effigy master can add his class level to his caster level to determine the maximum Hit Dice of effigy that he can create.
Master Craftsman (Ex): Through countless hours of work and experimentation, Effigy Masters become extremely skilled at construction and repair. They add their Effigy Master level to all Craft checks you make.
Repair Focus (Ex): Any construct sustains damage over time, and effigies are no different, especially since they are mainly used as combat machines. Through countless applications of their magic, Effigy Masters have learned the most effective ways to repair their creations. Every Repair spell or infusion cast by an Effigy master heals +1 point of damage per Effigy Master level.
Effigy Link (Su): At 2nd level, the connection that all artificers possess to their homunculi extend to their effigy creations as well. As well, an Effigy Master can create a supernatural bond between himself and one of his creations that is even stronger than before. This requires a 1 hour ritual, and special components worth 100gp. Afterward, the Effigy Master functions as if he constantly had a status effect on his creation, allowing him to sense its condition. He can also Scry as a spell-like ability on the creation, once per day.
In addition, as long as he is within 10 feet of his linked companion, the Effigy Master gains a +1 moral bonus to his Caster level and saving throws.
This ritual can be performed on any creation the Effigy Master wishes, following the same pattern each time, but he can only be linked to one creation at a time, bonding a different effigy destroys the link to the previous.
Waste Not, Want Not (Ex): The largest problem that most Effigy Masters come across is that of funding. While the lucky Effigy Master finds a government or large organization to fund his continued research, the cost for such work is extremely high, and the vast majority of Effigy Masters have no one to rely upon but themselves for finances. As such, they quickly learn to stretch the money they have to ridiculous lengths. Upon reaching 3rd level, and again at 9th level, an Effigy Master reduces the cost for creating Constructs, be they homunculi, effigy or other constructs by 10%. This bonus stacks with that of Extraordinary Artisan, so that an Effigy Master of 9th level would reduce the cost of creation in gp by 45%.
Improved Effigy (Ex): Upon reaching 4th level, an Effigy Master has learned to improve his creations drastically. They gain the Improved Homunculus feat for free. (MoE). If they already possess this feat, they can take any crafting feat or metamagic feat for which they qualify.
Effigy Merge (Su): Starting at 5th level, an Effigy Master learns to physically merge with the body of an effigy that he has created. The effigy must be at least two size categories larger than the Effigy Master for this ability to function, as well as being the effigy to which he is linked (see above). Merging with an effigy requires the Effigy Master to be adjacent to the construct, and spend a move action on his turn to step into the creation.
Once you have merged with the effigy, you can no longer take any action other than communication. Instead, you take control of the constructed being as if you were controlling your own body, though you must use its ability scores and other statistics, since it retains these. The effigy does not benefit from (and cannot use) any of your magic items or continuous effect or special abilities while you are so merged. Any temporary effects active on you when you merge continue to function normally, assuming the effigy remains a valid target for the temporary effect.
While you are merged with the effigy, you are completely immune to harmful or beneficial effects . Effectively you no longer exist as a separate being. If the effigy you merged with is destroyed, you appear in a randomly determined square in the space it occupied.
You can remain merged inside the effigy for a number of rounds equal to your character level, as far as effigies are concerned, though there is no limit to the number of times per day you can use this ability.
For example, an Artificer 9/ Effigy Master 6 would be able to maintain this ability for a total of 15 rounds at a time.
Spread it Thin (Su): One of the problems that an Artificer, or Effigy Master by extension face, is that of the death of their creations. Due to the spiritual connection that is required by the creator, every time an effigy or homunculi dies, the creator takes damage. Upon reaching 6th level, the Effigy Master has learned to reduce this damage by limiting his spiritual connection to this creations to as little as possible. Now, whenever one of his creations die, he instead takes 1d10 damage.
Effigy Bond (Su): Upon Reaching 7th level, the Effigy Master discovers a way to bond his creations to other willing subjects, at a cost. To use this ability, the Effigy Master must perform the Ritual to Link his effigy, but have the willing participant be present. Upon completion of the 1 hour ritual, the Effigy Master must pay experience as if he were creating the effigy and control of the effigy goes to the willing participant. If the effigy were to die, the person to whom it is bonded takes the damage associated with it, and not the Effigy Master. This ability allows the Effigy Master to sell his effigies to others without having to worry about whether or not their destruction will backlash upon him and damage him at an inopportune time. It also allows the buyer the confidence that his new purchase will be completely loyal to him alone. While the cost is high, the Effigy Master usually charges more than enough to cover his monetary losses. One special note: if the willing participant is present upon completion of the creation of the effigy, the Effigy Master must only pay the exp. point cost once, for the creation and bonding, rather than twice, at separate times.
Extreme Effigy (Ex): Upon reaching 8th level, an Effigy Master has learned enough that he can improve drastically upon his creations, making them stronger, faster and more resilient. This improvement grants a construct a permanent +2 competence bonus on attack and damage rolls as well as saving throws. The work requires 100 gp of supplies per HD of the creation to be improved, but doesn’t have to be used solely on an effigy, it can be used to upgrade any construct that the Effigy Master has created, or could create.
One Body, One Mind (Su): Upon reaching 10th level, an Effigy Master truly becomes just that. His ability to merge with his creation attains a new pinnacle, allowing him to survive inside his creation even longer. Upon gaining this ability, when an Effigy Master merges with his linked creation, he pools his hit points with that of his effigy, and uses that total as the constructs hit points. The hit points of the effigy are reduced first, so even when the construct would be reduced to 0 hp normally, it now begins to damage the Effigy Master, allowing him to push his creation even further.
Upon exiting the effigy, the Effigy Master has the option to drain hit points from the creation to fill his own, or sacrifice his own to restore the effigy. For example: A 10th level Effigy Master takes a fireball for 32 points of damage. Spending his move action, he merges with his linked effigy and finishes the fight with the enemy mage. Upon exiting, he drains the extra 32 hit points from his creation, putting him back to full health, but at the cost of his creation. Alternately, if the effigy had lost all of its hit points during the fight, before exiting, the Effigy Master could sacrifice some of his hit points to keep the construct functioning long enough to fix it from the outside.
This ability also allows the Effigy Master to remain merged with his creation for a number of minutes equal to his character level. This ability is otherwise identical to Effigy Merge.