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View Full Version : Death and Fate have taken the stage... [3.5 PrC, Psionics, ToB]



Edge
2010-02-14, 03:01 PM
The Warseer of Khaine
http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/ff334/SoullessEnigma/EldarWarlock.jpg
”He who sees his own doom can better avoid its path. He who sees the doom of others can deliver it.” – Excerpt from the Teachings of the Blind Seer of Ulthwé

”We bring only death, and leave only carrion. It is a message even an orc can understand.” – Seer Cair Hol of Saim Hann

The elves are a fading race. The process is slow, torturous even, but its slow pace does not hide it progress from the long-lived elf folk. Few elves would enjoy the idea of their race slipping into oblivion, but equally rare are those who absolutely refuse to let their race step any closer to oblivion, no matter the cost.

Years ago, a number of these elves, each one either a great psionicist or martial adept gathered in a conclave called by the Blind Seer of Ulthwé and the-then Autarch of the Saim Hann eternal blade chapter. The pair had recovered texts detailing an ancient and forgotten elven war deity, records of whom predated even Corellon. This god, Kaela Mensha Khaine, or Bloody-Handed Khaine, embodied a number of aspects of killing and war, and apparently gave his life to defend the elven race from abominations from beyond the stars, back in the mists of primordial time. More of interest to the pair, and indeed the conclave, were mention of the techniques the dead god taught that blended mental might and sublime martial prowess. After much debate, the conclave elected to return the dead god to life.

The centuries-long preparation and manifestation of the ritual to return Kaela Mensha Khaine to life were worth both the conclave members’, and their successors’, time. Whilst the ritual failed to bring the Bloody-Handed God back from the dead, it did create a number of fragments that were equivalent to the avatars of a living god. These avatar-fragments retained enough of the knowledge of Khaine that they could teach the surviving conclave members and those that had joined them the secrets of Khaine’s ancient techniques. Thus were the Warseers of Khaine born, and the conclave spread far, establishing four schools, each providing a minor variation on the art of the Warseer, and each one guarded by one of the avatar-fragments of Khaine.

HD: d8

Requirements
Race: Elf
Deity: Kaela Mensha Khaine
Alignment: Any non-good
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Concentration 9 ranks, Psicraft 9 ranks, Martial Lore 2 ranks
Feats: Psionic Meditation, Psionic Weapon
Psionics: Must be able to manifest two of defensive precognition, offensive precognition, offensive prescience and precognition. Must also be able to manifest fate link.
Maneuvers: Must be able to initiate 2nd level maneuvers of the Diamond Mind discipline.
Special: Must possess the battle clarity class feature.
Special: Must have trained at one of the Warseer of Khaine enclaves – either Alaitoc, Iyanden, Ulthwé or Saim Hann.

Class Skills: Autohypnosis, Balance, Concentration, Craft, Gather Information, Jump, Knowledge (all skills, taken individually), Listen, Martial Lore, Profession, Psicraft, Spot and Tumble.
Skill points per level: 4 + Int modifier, minimum 1.


LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialPsionics
1st
+1
+0
+2
+2Path of the Seer, Fortune, Enclave Training-
2nd
+2
+0
+3
+3Runic Warding Stance+1 of existing manifesting class
3rd
+3
+1
+3
+3Guide, Rune Channelling+1 of existing manifesting class
4th
+4
+1
+4
+4Doom+1 of existing manifesting class
5th
+5
+1
+4
+4Ravaging Witchblade Strike, Adept Seer-
6th
+6
+2
+5
+5Rune Channelling 2/day+1 of existing manifesting class
7th
+7
+2
+5
+5Eldritch Storm+1 of existing manifesting class
8th
+8
+2
+6
+6Farseer+1 of existing manifesting class
9th
+9
+3
+6
+6Mind War, Rune Channelling 3/day+1 of existing manifesting class
10th
+10
+3
+7
+7Bloody-Handed God's Stance+1 of existing manifesting class



LevelMan. KnownMan. ReadiedStances Known
1st100
2nd100
3rd011
4th000
5th100
6th110
7th000
8th001
9th110
10th100


Psionics: At every level other than 1st and 5th, a Warseer of Khaine gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, psicrystal special abilities, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of Warseer of Khaine to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly.
If a character had more than one manifesting class before she became a Warseer of Khaine, she must decide to which class she adds the new level of Warseer of Khaine for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.
If the character did not belong to a manifesting class before taking this prestige class, she does not gain manifesting levels.

Maneuvers: At 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 9th and 10th levels, a Warseer of Khaine gains new maneuvers known from the Coin’s Edge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75548), Diamond Mind and Sleeping Goddess (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5408276) disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it. You add your full Warseer of Khaine levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known.
At 3rd, 6th and 9th levels, you gain additional maneuvers readied per day.

Stances Known: At 3rd and 8th levels, a Warseer of Khaine learns a new martial stance from the Coin's Edge, Diamond Mind and Sleeping Goddess disciplines. You must meet the stance’s prerequisites to learn it.

Path of the Seer (Ex): At 1st level, the Warseer of Khaine takes the first step on the Path of the Seer. From now on, their bonus power points and power DCs are based off their Wisdom, if they were not already. They must now possess a Wisdom score of 10 + power level to manifest a power, instead of the ability score their class normally needs. If they possess any of the battle clarity, battle ardour, battle cunning, battle skill and/or battle mastery class features, they now function off their Wisdom modifier rather than their Intelligence modifier.

In addition, throughout this class, the Warseer of Khaine gains knowledge of psi-like abilities designated as Warseer Powers. Warseer Powers can be used at-will, but to manifest them the Warseer of Khaine must expend their psionic focus and a maneuver of a level given in the power’s description without initiating it. If the Warseer Power has a duration listed as “psionic focus”, the Warseer of Khaine must regain their psionic focus on their next turn or lose the effects of the power. If they do regain their psionic focus, the Warseer Power’s effects last until they lose their psionic focus. Note that the levels in their power descriptions do not indicate the class level at which they are gained, but their power level for the purposes of interacting with other psionic effects and determining their saving throw DCs, if any.

Finally, any armour or robe the Warseer of Khaine dons will have the Warseer Runes appear on them over the course of 10 minutes. While they have no effect on their own, infusing them with psionic power does produce results (see the Runic Warding Stance, below).

Enclave Training (Ex): Whilst all Warseers of Khaine receive the same basic training, the three enclaves offer slight differences in their style. At 1st level, the Warseer of Khaine gains a benefit dependent on the Enclave they trained at.
Alaitoc: The Warseer may expend their psionic focus as a swift action to regain a maneuver of a level up to their class level. As a swift action, they may also expend a maneuver of a level equal to their class level to regain their psionic focus.
Iyanden: When manifesting a mind-affecting power, the Warseer may expend their psionic focus and a maneuver of equal level to the power to bypass a target’s immunity to mind-affecting effects for that manifestion of the power.
Ulthwé: When manifesting a power that provides the manifester with knowledge, the Warseer may expend their psionic focus and a maneuver of equal level to the power to halve the augmentation costs of the power.
Saim Hann: When initiating a martial maneuver, the Warseer may expend their psionic focus and a number of power points equal to the amount required to manifest a power of equal level to the maneuver to increase the damage dealt by that power by 50%.

Fortune (Ps): At 1st level, the Warseer of Khaine gains the fortune Warseer Power.


Fortune
Clairsentience
Level: Warseer of Khaine 3
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 30ft
Area: 30ft emanation centred on you
Duration: Psionic focus (see Path of the Seer)
Cost: Expend psionic focus, expend 3rd level maneuver

You twist the treads of fate to aid in your comrades’ survival. You grant each allied creature within the emanation a number of defensive charges equal to one per two Warseer of Khaine class levels. An ally may expend a defensive charge once per round to force an attacker to re-roll a successful attack roll, or to re-roll a failed save. The defensive charges vanish if you stop maintaining the power.


Runic Warding Stance (Su): At 2nd level, the Warseer of Khaine learns how to channel psionic energy into Warseer Runes etched into their armour or woven into their robes. They may take a swift action to lose the benefits of their current stance and expend their psionic focus to gain the benefits of this stance. Whilst in this stance, the Warseer of Khaine retains any armour to AC they possess against touch attacks and attacks made by incorporeal creatures.

In addition, the psionic energy focused into the runes allows the Warseer to glimpse into the future more easily. Whilst in this stance, the Warseer halves the augmentation costs of the defensive precognition, offensive precognition, offensive prescience and precognition powers. This stance can only be utilised if the Warseer’s current armour or robes bear the Warseer Runes (see Path of the Seer, above).

Guide (Ps): At 3rd level, the Warseer of Khaine gains the guide Warseer Power.


Guide
Clairsentience
Level: Warseer of Khaine 5
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 30ft
Area: 30ft emanation centred on you
Duration: Psionic focus (see Path of the Seer)
Cost: Expend psionic focus, expend 5th level maneuver

You twist the threads of fate to aid your comrades’ capabilities in the art of death. You grant each allied creature within the emanation a number of offensive charges equal to one per two Warseer of Khaine class levels. An ally may expend an offensive charge once per round to re-roll an attack roll or a number of damage dice up to your Warseer of Khaine class level. The offensive charges vanish if you stop maintaining the power.


Rune Channelling (Su): At 3rd level, 1/day the Warseer may endow psionic power into their Warseer Runes to enhance their mental assaults. They gain Psionic Endowment as a bonus feat if they did not already possess it. If they did, they gain Greater Psionic Endowment instead.

In addition, when expending their psionic focus in order to utilise Psionic Endowment or Greater Psionic Endowment, the Warseer of Khaine may also expend a maneuver of the Diamond Mind discipline. The power being manifested is automatically augmented by a number of power points equal to the maneuver’s level without any additional cost to the Warseer. The Warseer gains an additional use of this ability per day at 6th and 9th levels.

Doom (Ps): At 4th level, the Warseer of Khaine learns the doom Warseer Power.


Doom
Clairsentience
Level: Warseer of Khaine 5
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25ft + 5ft per manifester level)
Area: 30ft burst within range
Duration: Psionic focus (see Path of the Seer)
Saving Throw: Will partial (see text)
Cost: Expend psionic focus, expend 5th level maneuver

You violently twist the threads of fate, bringing your foes’ dooms ever closer. All enemies within the burst must make a Will save. On a failure, they take a -5 penalty to AC, and must re-roll the first successful save made each round. In addition, when making saving throws, affected targets treat a natural 20 as a natural 1 instead. Targets that fail their save suffer these effects until you cease maintaining doom or they die, whichever comes first. On a successful save, the target only suffers the effects for one round.


Ravaging Witchblade Strike (Su): At 5th level, the Warseer of Khaine gains access to a unique martial strike much like those granted to martial adepts. This strike must be recovered and readied to use, just like any maneuver, and is considered to belong to the Diamond Mind discipline.

Initiating this strike is a standard action. As part of this strike, you make a normal melee attack that is resolved as a touch attack. If the attack hits, you may gain the benefits of the Psionic Weapon or Greater Psionic Weapon feats without expending your psionic focus. However, if you expend your psionic focus, the target must make a Will save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die. This strike is a supernatural ability, and if you expend your psionic focus as part of it, a death effect.

Adept Seer (Ex): At 5th level, the Warseer of Khaine has mastered the basic skills of the Path of the Seer. They may manifest two of fortune, guide and doom as a single standard action and with a single expenditure of psionic focus. They may also maintain both effects for as long as they maintain psionic focus after regaining it.

Eldritch Storm (Ps): At 7th level, the Warseer of Khaine learns the eldritch storm Warseer Power.


Eldritch Storm
Psychokinesis
Level: Warseer of Khaine 7
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium
Area: 60ft emanation within range
Duration: 1 round per Warseer of Khaine class level
Saving Throw: Will partial (see text)
Cost: Expend psionic focus, expend 7th level maneuver

You unleash a storm of psychic energy that wracks the minds of those caught within. All creatures caught within the area of effect take 13 dice of damage and 1d4 Charisma damage and halve their movement each round they remain in the area of effect. A successful Will save halves the damage and negates the Charisma damage and speed reduction for that round.

The manifester of the eldritch storm rolls a d8 each round to determine the size of the damage dice of the power for that round. 1-3: d4s, 4-5 d6s, 6-7: d8s, 8: d10s


Farseer (Ex): At 8th level, the Warseer of Khaine’s mastery of the Path of the Seer begins to approach its apotheosis. Instead of manifesting two of fortune, guide and doom as a single standard action and with a single expenditure of psionic focus, the Warseer of Khaine may now elect to manifest one of those Warseer Powers plus either eldritch storm or mind war (if he knows the latter) as a single standard action and with a single expenditure of psionic focus.

Mind War (Ps): At 9th level, the Warseer of Khaine gains the mind war Warseer Power.


Mind War
Telepathy [Mind-affecting]
Level: Warseer of Khaine 8
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long
Target: One intelligent creature you perceive that is within range
Duration: Instantaneous
Save: Will special, Will half, see text
Cost: Expend psionic focus, expend 8th level maneuver

Upon initiating this Warseer Power, you and your target make an opposed Will save. The one of you who rolls the lowest must then make a Will saving throw or be immediately reduced to 0 hit points. A successful save reduces this to 15d8 damage.


Bloody-Handed God’s Stance (Su): At 10th level, the Warseer of Khaine has discovered what it means to be a true aspect of Khaine, and incorporates this newfound knowledge into their fighting style in the form of a martial stance. They may take a swift action to lose the benefits of their current stance to gain the benefits of this one. Whilst in the Bloody Handed God’s stance, the Warseer of Khaine may ready psionic powers of 5th level or lower with a range of personal or touch as though they were martial maneuvers. Psionic powers so used are automatically fully augmented for the Warseer’s manifester level as though they were psi-like abilities and are considered to be supernatural Diamond Mind boosts whilst this stance is maintained. The Warseer may only ready powers they know in this manner.

In addition, the Warseer of Khaine main maintain up to two psionic foci whilst maintaining this stance, which are maintained, spent and regained separately from each other. Unlike other stances, this stance is tiring to maintain as it requires the channelling of a fragment of the psyche of a god. The Bloody-Handed God’s stance can only be for a number of rounds each day equal to the Warseer of Khaine’s class level. After leaving the stance, the Warseer is fatigued for a number of rounds equal to the number of rounds they spent in the stance.


New Deity

Kaela Mensha Khaine
The Bloody-Handed God, The Banshee, The Scorpion, The Hawk, The Reaper, The Spider, The Avenger, The Spear, The Dragon
Lesser Deity
Symbol: A bloody handed arm of magma grasping a sword.
Home Plane: Formerly Acheron, currently the Material Plane.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: War, death, killing, warriors, slaughter, elven supremacy, warrior pride.
Worshippers: Warseers of Khaine, Exarchs of Khaine, elven supremacists, elven warriors, elven battle-psions.
Cleric Alignments: Due to the variety of alignments displayed by his aspects, Khaine’s clerics can be of any non-good alignment.
Domains: Competition, Death, Destruction, Elf, Hatred, Pride, Retribution, Strength, War.


New Items

Ghosthelm: Pending

Spirit Stone: Pending

Witchblade: Witchblades are +1 collision psychokinetic deep crystal greatswords. Furthermore, a character with the Path of the Seer class feature who possesses a witchblade for at least 24 hours learns the Diamond Mind strike emerald razor exactly as with a novice ring of the Diamond Mind (Tome of Battle 149-150).
Strong psychokinesis, moderate metacreativity; ML 13th; Craft Psionic Arms and Armour, creator must be a Warseer of Khaine, concussion blast, matter manipulation, knowledge of the emerald razor maneuver; Price 103,350 gp; Cost 51,675 gp + 4134 xp.

---------------------
A little worried about the power on this thing, and it could probably afford to lose some more manifesting, but I'm unsure as to how much.

DracoDei
2010-02-14, 03:18 PM
At a very first glance the maneuvers known progression looks odd. Why didn't you just do odd levels, rather than clumping them like that? Nothing on that list advances at 4th, OTOH I think Doom is powerful to broken (due to the effect on a successful save against it mostly), so maybe if you were trying to intentionally create weak areas on that table so you could put your most powerful abilities there, that works. Note that Doom is the only ability I have looked at so far.

Eldan
2010-02-14, 03:18 PM
Are you sure Khaine belongs on acheron, when he's chaotic neutral? The constant combat part could also fit Ysgard, though that sounds a little too good for Khaine.

Edge
2010-02-14, 03:21 PM
Are you sure Khaine belongs on acheron, when he's chaotic neutral? The constant combat part could also fit Ysgard, though that sounds a little too good for Khaine.

Yeah, that's a problem.

If I really wanted to, I guess I could put each of his aspects on a different plane, but that could be a tad complicated. Though the Banshee would be a good match for Pandemonium. :smalltongue:


At a very first glance the maneuvers known progression looks odd. Why didn't you just do odd levels, rather than clumping them like that? Nothing on that list advances at 4th, OTOH I think Doom is powerful to broken (due to the effect on a successful save against it mostly), so maybe if you were trying to intentionally create weak areas on that table so you could put your most powerful abilities there, that works. Note that Doom is the only ability I have looked at so far.

It's more that I borrowed the maneuver progression from Krimm's Eldritch Knight redux, and then slotted the abilities in around that. Given the power of doom, I figured a blank maneuver level would help to balance it.

The Tygre
2010-02-14, 06:26 PM
I never really cared where deities lived based on alignment. Acheron is the plane of war; Khaine is a god of war. He belongs where there will be war. The closest you could possibly shoot for with that is the Abyss, and that's a rather obtuse option. Eldar or not, Lolth doesn't like people walking all over her property.

Eldan
2010-02-14, 06:31 PM
Ysgard is also a plane of war, however. Or, well, the realm of heroic glorious combat, then being revived iand getting horribly drunk.

Sorry, I'll stop derailing your thread now and go actually read the class.

ErrantX
2010-02-14, 11:56 PM
I see a Martial Adept / Binder PrC coming from this deity as well, the fluff would fit to have Khaine as a Vestige. Something to consider!

Otherwise, a neat idea, I like it.

-X

imp_fireball
2010-02-15, 12:31 AM
”We bring only death, and leave only carrion. It is a message even an orc can understand.” – Seer Cair Hol of Saim Hann

"Arrogant elves are arrogant. Hurr." - Ugluk the Scary, an orc.

EDIT: The table for maneuvers and stances is a little confusing. Sometimes it says 1 and then on higher levels it says zero. If you mean to make the maneuvers/stances known stack, then you should either say so, or re-write it as telling the player the exact number of maneuvers/stances he knows at that level (which is what the actual books do).

Eldan
2010-02-15, 06:59 AM
I see a Martial Adept / Binder PrC coming from this deity as well, the fluff would fit to have Khaine as a Vestige. Something to consider!

Otherwise, a neat idea, I like it.

-X

Interesting idea, actually: the various aspects could easily be seen as vestiges: when donning their armour and assuming their war personality, they actually bind their vestige. Exarchs would then be those who have personally taken on the vestige and lost the bargain.

The Dark Fiddler
2010-02-15, 08:45 AM
"Arrogant elves are arrogant. Hurr." - Ugluk the Scary, an orc.

EDIT: The table for maneuvers and stances is a little confusing. Sometimes it says 1 and then on higher levels it says zero. If you mean to make the maneuvers/stances known stack, then you should either say so, or re-write it as telling the player the exact number of maneuvers/stances he knows at that level (which is what the actual books do).

Actually, the books use the binary system for the PrCs, a 1 means you gain one, a 0 means you don't. Simple as that.

Edge
2010-02-15, 01:28 PM
I see a Martial Adept / Binder PrC coming from this deity as well, the fluff would fit to have Khaine as a Vestige. Something to consider!

Otherwise, a neat idea, I like it.

-X

Combined with Eldan's suggestion, I very much like this idea. I shall begin working on it... soonish. When I've looked over ToM again to see the balance on vestiges.

Edge
2010-02-18, 06:04 AM
And a bump for this. Nearing on 300 views, and only 8 comments? Comments on the unique powers and class balance in general would be appreciated.

Master_Rahl22
2010-04-26, 12:41 PM
I don't know how GW would feel about ripping the fluff straight from Eldar, and not even changing any names except Eldar -> Elf. Other than that, it seems good but I'm not interested in an Elf only class since I never play elves.

DracoDei
2010-04-26, 12:59 PM
It is better to PM the author, or start a new thread rather than committing forum necromancy.


I don't know how GW would feel about ripping the fluff straight from Eldar, and not even changing any names except Eldar -> Elf.
That sort of thing happens all the time around here... I think as long as nobody is making money, it isn't a problem.