PDA

View Full Version : Battlemind v2: A Tactical Core Class and feats for 3.5 PEACH



katarl
2010-05-14, 03:55 PM
Battlemind v2
http://critical-hits.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/githyanki1.jpg

Tacticians without peer, Battleminds use their intellect and keen analytical skills to analyse the situation, create the perfect plan to win, and see that plan through to fruition. Physically weaker than the less cerebral fighter, and less skillful than the daring rogue, the Battlemind is noneless able to take on creatures many times his own size and power and take them down reliably, time after time.

Unlike the marshal, who specialises in leading small groups of soldiers, the Battlemind is equally capable without allies around him.

Class Information
forthcoming
Skills

Skill Points gained at level One: 4x(4+Int Modifier)
Skill Points gained at each additional level: 4+Int Modifier

Class Skills
Autohypnosis (Wis), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str).

Hit Die: d6
Battlemind
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

One|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2| Planning it Out, Prepared for the Worst 1/encounter

Two|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+3| Assistance +1, Alacrity

Three|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+3| Instant Analysis

Four|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4| Teamwork, Set-up

Five|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4| Bonus Feat, All according to Plan

Six|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5| Retaliation

Seven|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+5| Prepared for the Worst 2/encounter

Eight|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+6| Draw Fire

Nine|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+6| Up his Sleeve

Ten|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+7| Instinctive Reaction

Eleven|
+8|
+3|
+7|
+7| Assistance +2

Twelve|
+9|
+4|
+8|
+8| Know your Enemy

Thirteen|
+9|
+4|
+8|
+8| Prepared for the Worst 3/encounter

Fourteen|
+10|
+4|
+9|
+9| Punishment

Fifteen|
+11|
+5|
+9|
+9| Bonus Feat

Sixteen|
+12|
+5|
+10|
+10| Turncoat

Seventeen|
+12|
+5|
+10|
+10| Contingency Plan

Eighteen|
+13|
+6|
+11|
+11| Intuitive Defence

Nineteen|
+14|
+6|
+11|
+11| Prepared for the Worst 4/encounter

Twenty|
+15|
+6|
+12|
+12| Master Plan, Assistance +3[/table]

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies
A Battlemind is proficient with light armour, and with all simple and martial weapons.

Class Features
Planning it Out
Random chance can spoil the best laid of plans. An unexpected fall or failing to make that crucial jab could mean the difference between life and death for an adventurer. A Battlemind's keen insight and trust in an outcome can ensure that the party is able to depend on their skills rather than on chance.

The battlemind rolls a number of d20 equal to half the battlemind’s level plus his intelligence modifier at the beginning of each day and notes them down. He may later replace the natural roll of an attack, saving throw or skill check made by himself or an ally with a result from that list as an immediate action.

An ally must be within sight of the battlemind and able to hear the battlemind for this ability to work. Once used, the result is removed from the list. These rolls do not pass onto the next day, they are subsumed by the new set of rolls.

Prepared for the Worst
A successful Battlemind knows how to read his opponents movements, and so can begin to react even before they finish their action.

Once per encounter, as a swift action the battlemind can choose an enemy and a prescribed action, as if he were readying an action. This action must be specific- i.e. making an attack or casting spell wouldn’t be specific enough, but making a charge attack on Regdar, or casting a spell at Mialee would be.

If and when this precondition is met by the specific enemy, the battlemind immediately either gets a move action or a free attack, initiated just before the enemy finishes his action, which may put him out of range of an attack.

Assistance
Battleminds realise that not every situation can be handled alone, and few realise the power of a reassuring word or a warning as well as they do.

The battlemind’s granted circumstance bonus for aiding another increases by 1, and becomes usable at a range of 30ft. At level ten, the bonus increases by another 1, and at level 20, it increases by 1 again.

Alacrity
He who strikes first often strikes last. The hope to end a conflict before it begins leads Battleminds to develop their reaction speed.

A battlemind of 2nd level or higher adds his intelligence modifier to initiative checks as an insight bonus.

Instant Analysis
Often knowing where to strike can be more important than the force with which it is delivered. By studying anatomy and developing an intuition for hurt no doubt after suffering much of it himself, a Battlemind can analyse his opponents for injury.

As a swift action, a battlemind can scan a single target and determine his remaining hitpoints.

Teamwork
A Battlemind's abilities ultimately stem from genius, not magic or unique abilities, they actually *know* what it is they're doing and so they prove to be superb instructors to others.

A team that trains with a battlemind of 3rd level or higher to gain a teamwork benefit learns that benefit in twice the usual time, and companion spirits that have a battlemind of 3rd level or higher among the group cost half as much to create.

Set-Up
Through a mixture of feints and offputting language, a Battlemind can set his enemies up for his allies to strike.

As a Standard action, a battlemind of 4th level or higher can set up an opponent for his allies. The battlemind chooses a target within line of sight, who must make a will save at dc 10+the number of ranks the battlemind has in bluff, or become dazed and flat footed for 1 round.

Bonus Feat
Studying the battle strategies of other races, Battleminds learn how to apply force in non-traditional ways.

May choose any tactical feat as a bonus feat.

All according to Plan
It takes a special kind of confidence to affect your enemies as you do your friends, but that's exactly the kind of confidence the Battleminds have in their plans.

At 5th level, a battlemind’s Planning it Out ability can affect enemies as well as allies. Since you can't know before the result is declared what the enemy rolled, your imposed result may be higher than what the dm rolled.

For the purposes of this ability, a natural 1 doesn't mean an automatic failure.

Retaliation
Nothing is going to stop the battlemind's perfectly laid plans, least of all that orc pulling his falchion through that crucial ally's innards.

When an ally is successfully damaged within the battlemind’s line of sight, he may make a single attack at a -5 penalty at the enemy who damaged the ally as an attack of opportunity. He may only do this a maximum of once per round.

Draw Fire
Because sometimes it's better to be the centre of attention, if it allows another to get something done.

As a Standard action, a battlemind of 8th level or higher can draw fire away from his allies. All enemies within sight of the Battlemind make a will save at a dc of 10+ the number of ranks the battlemind has in intimidate. Those who fail take a -10 penalty to attack against all but the battlemind next turn. If for any reason, the battlemind becomes an invalid target, this penalty is negated.

Up his Sleeve
Tricks and Battleminds were born to be together, both are sly, often unexpected and when combined, devastating.

The battlemind gains an additional skill point per level for the purposes of purchasing skill tricks. If by this level, he already had any skill tricks, he gains 2 skill points for each he had previously. Additionally, he may regain a use of an expended trick a number of times per encounter equal to his intelligence modifier.

Instinct
Realising that the best armour to have is distance, Battleminds train their minds to react to danger as it occurs.

A battlemind of 10th level or higher adds his intelligence modifier to reflex saves as an insight bonus.

Know your Enemy
Battleminds keep their friends close, and begin to be able to accurately second-guess their enemies every time.

As a Standard action, a battlemind of 12th level or higher determine what an enemy is about to do. The battlemind chooses a target within sight, who must then make a will save at a dc of 10+ the number of ranks the battlemind has in sense motive. If the save fails, the battlemind may then immediately ready an action against the enemy without declaring a trigger. He may put this action into effect any time during that enemy's turn.

Punishment
Battleminds predict the attacks of their enemies, and savagely punish them for it.

The battlemind’s Retaliation attack no longer suffers a -5 penalty, and may consider himself an ally for the purposes of this ability.

Turncoat
The greatest weapon to have is to turn an enemy into a friend. This is not that weapon, but with honeyed words and trickery, the battlemind is able to maneuvre his enemies just as if they were allies.

As a Standard action, a battlemind of 16th level or higher can trick an enemy into performing actions not in their own interests. The battlemind chooses a target within sight, who must make a will save at a dc of 10+ the number of ranks the battlemind has in diplomacy. If the save fails, the Battlemind may dictate exactly what that enemy does with his move action at any point during the enemy's turn. The enemy will not perform any obviously suicidal actions, though you could trick him into a trap, or lead him to suffer attacks of opportunity.

Instead of choosing a move action, you may choose to force the enemy who fails his save to make a single attack as a standard action against any legal target, or repeat any action he performed last turn.

Contingency Plan
When it hits that fan, it pays to have a plan b.

Once per round, if the battlemind fails an attack roll, saving throw or skill check, he may ignore the result and roll again. That roll stands, even if it turns out to be worse than the original result.

Intuitive Defence
Ultimately, there is always a limit to the number of choices an enemy can make. By analysing these choices, and predicting the most likely outcomes, the Battlemind learns to avoid blows he would be otherwise unable to physically dodge.

A battlemind of 18th level or higher adds his intelligence modifier to his armour class as an insight bonus.

Master Plan
Many tactics all hinge entirely upon one detail. It had better be perfect.

As a Standard action, a battlemind of 20th level or higher may make a knowledge (tactics) check, the result of which he may then add as a special roll for his Plan it Out ability, except that this will replace the final result of an attack, save or skill, rather than the natural roll. He may only do this once a day.

Feats

It Pays to be Prepared
You know to expect the unexpected
Prerequisites: Prepared for the Worst 1/encounter
Benefit: You gain another Prepared for the Worst use per encounter.

Encouragement
Your companions draw strength from your trust in them.
Prerequisites: Assistance +1, Cha 13+
Benefit: Instead of granting a bonus when using the aid another action, you may grant a number of temporary hitpoints equal to 5+your class level to the chosen ally. Remember that temporary hit points do not stack.

Dual Reflex
You think two moves ahead, regardless of what they're about to do.
Prerequisites:Prepared for the Worst 1/encounter
Benefit: You may assign 2 triggers for each use of your Prepared for the Worst ability instead of 1.

demidracolich
2010-05-14, 04:18 PM
Interesting, completely different from the 4e class but this is a viable interpretation of the name. Looks fine in terms of balance.

Fable Wright
2010-05-14, 06:32 PM
I'd definitely want a battlemind in my party; they can cover melee, protect spellcasters, and offers a fair amount of disruption. It scales well, and I can just see a 16th level battlemind using his diplomacy score of +28 (before magic items) to convince the enemy dragon to go and destroy his followers, export his treasures to the PC's banks, and then go and self-cannibalize in a cave. (seriously, a +5 bonus to that diplomacy modifier could have the dragon do that.)
(hint: word turncoat to read more like suggestion, and some players can really load their diplomacy scores through the roof. A level 5 character in my party has a diplomacy modifier of +17. Opposed skill checks: good. Skill vs. Will check: skill usually wins.)
An old Brass dragon (CR 17) has a will save of +17. The battlemind taking 10 on the check could easily force the dragon to do his will most of the time, for example in the time when he has the dragon jump into a chamber that contains an antimagic field and is surrounded by a wall of force, and then run off with the treasure while the dragon suffocates to death. It's a little bit strong. Maybe word it to read like the spell command, and ten it would be a bit less broken.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great power, and I like it, but a team of adventurers with a bag of holding could easily beat a great number of enemies with it. Not to mention that the characters could easily take the dragon out of the box when it passes out (they'd know when it was faking, thanks to the battlemind), and then cast geas/quest, dominate monster, programmable amnesia, or some similar spell to force the dragon to do their will, with all of the other enchanted minions they'd get this way.

Saveducks
2010-05-15, 01:49 AM
Interesting it seems as though, unlike the marshall, this could be usefull in a smaller group.

katarl
2010-05-15, 09:30 AM
Interesting it seems as though, unlike the marshall, this could be usefull in a smaller group.

Previous buffing classes, such as the bard and marshal rely very heavily on the other players in their party to be effective, and often only grant a few extra points to attack or saves. It's not a very fun way to play, i wanted the battlemind to use real tactical abilities that he could use to personally affect the outcome of a battle, rather than relying on minions.


I'd definitely want a battlemind in my party; they can cover melee, protect spellcasters, and offers a fair amount of disruption. It scales well, and I can just see a 16th level battlemind using his diplomacy score of +28 (before magic items) to convince the enemy dragon to go and destroy his followers, export his treasures to the PC's banks, and then go and self-cannibalize in a cave. (seriously, a +5 bonus to that diplomacy modifier could have the dragon do that.)

I agree, turncoat does seem too powerful in retrospect, particularly against solo enemies, i'll nerf it in some way later.


Interesting, completely different from the 4e class but this is a viable interpretation of the name. Looks fine in terms of balance.

Never heard of the battlemind otherwise, so this class had nothing to do with it. Glad you like it :smallbiggrin:



edit- master plan and turncoat modified, feats added

katarl
2010-05-16, 01:27 PM
bump- would like some constructive criticism if possible

Lord Loss
2010-05-16, 01:35 PM
I personally think the Plan it out class feature is way overpowered. Replace Half level Plus intelligent Bonus by either half class level or intelligence bonus, not both. If it counts int bonus, however, know that this will be everyone's one-dip of choice.

Jota
2010-05-17, 08:50 PM
I will begin by saying I love the premise, enough that I'm already thinking about adapting it into a prestige class format, but I do think the concerns about power are legitimate given that I get an overall tier four, maybe tier three feel, and then I read something like Set-Up. So, point by point:

Planning it Out is a wonderful idea. I love the premise. And yet there is a point to be had about dipping the class. I've been over this concept of a great dip versus a great class as a whole, and while this is extremely potent in its own right, I think some of the other abilities are likewise quite powerful, so I'm going to say this is appropriate for the level it is made available, at least at the moment.

Prepared for the Worst is nice, though you may need to implement some kind of blind to prevent too much meta-gaming between the DM and the player. It is also potentially incredibly broken, because if the trigger is "that guy attacks me" it has the potential to offer the battlemind an unapproachable quality in single combat. Immediate action moves are something that I've generally found unbalanced, though the specific criteria for acquiring here go a little way toward mitigating that. Nevermind, just saw the per encounter limit -- is fine.

Can't say I know anything about teamwork bonuses, so I can't really say anything with regard to that.

Skill check opposed by a save is just very bad. At first level an optimized skill check will be close to +10. An optimized save is what, +7? But that's a player character. A monster is probably around +1 or +2. The disparity only grows to +65 (23 ranks, 12 ability score, 30 item -- pre-epic maximum) versus say, +40 or so (again as a PC -- 12 base, 12 ability score, 12 something like Divine Grace, 5 Cloak of Resistance -- a balor's saves are 22, 19, and 19; a great wyrm gold dragon's are 33, 22, 33). Just not a good match-up. You can more or less daze-juggle one guy forever with this.

All According to Plan is very nice/borked. I mean let's be honest:
1. Get a low roll.
2. Swap out enemy save vs. whatever spell suits your fancy.
3. ???
4. PROFIT.

I am assuming retaliation is still limited by the battlemind's reach/range?

Draw Fire (or the equivalent) is a staple of many controllers/tanks. I can justify the late inclusion by the fact that this is more the former than the latter, though it again has potential for abuse combined with something like invisibility, flight, or telekinetic sphere. Limiting the effect of it to fewer targets might make it more balanced, but the class has generally been quite strong so far, so maybe you don't want that. Like Set-Up, skill check opposed by save is generally a bad idea for balance.

Know Your Enemy is again troublesome from a metagame perspective, coupled with the fact that the creature may not know what it's doing until its turn comes up. I know as a player I don't decide what I'm doing until it's my turn.

Turncoat again has the skill check/save issue. It is also problematic in that a turn can be taken in different ways. Do you control their move before or after they take their standard? Needs to be more clearly defined.

Contingency Plan is sweet.

It's not like anyone ever gets to 20 anyway, but Master Plan is suitably epic. Shock Trooper Leap Attack Pounce for everything you've got off a 80 some Knowledge [Tactics] result? Yes, please. Granted at this point you'll have spent 270,000 gp on skill-boosting items, but it's a cheap price for unlimited power, no?

All in all I suppose I wasn't expecting this much power (probably stuck in the non-ToB fighter can't have nice things mindframe), but for a game that going to use sorcerers and things of that nature (awesome power, semi-limited scope), this will fit in just fine.

katarl
2010-05-18, 06:04 AM
I personally think the Plan it out class feature is way overpowered. Replace Half level Plus intelligent Bonus by either half class level or intelligence bonus, not both. If it counts int bonus, however, know that this will be everyone's one-dip of choice.

I've been thinking this one through- generally speaking, the [int mod] of rolls you get from the class feature is comparable to rerolls (a bit better actually), but generally worse than other dips classes make. The pally for example, gets [cha mod] to saves, and in virtually every situation a +2 to saves is better than 2 rerolls per day.

I don't believe Plan it Out is that overpowered, and it makes for a fairly basic dip, it's the equivalent of 2 rerolls average, max 5 at level 1 per day, which compared to the other dips available- wis to ac, cha to saves, extra speed and rage etc. doesn't compare all that well.


I will begin by saying I love the premise, enough that I'm already thinking about adapting it into a prestige class format, but I do think the concerns about power are legitimate given that I get an overall tier four, maybe tier three feel, and then I read something like Set-Up. So, point by point:

It was lmostly balanced against the later classes, so it was always going to be a higher tier power-wise.


Planning it Out is a wonderful idea. I love the premise. And yet there is a point to be had about dipping the class. I've been over this concept of a great dip versus a great class as a whole, and while this is extremely potent in its own right, I think some of the other abilities are likewise quite powerful, so I'm going to say this is appropriate for the level it is made available, at least at the moment.

Uh, thanks? I'm not so sure about Planning it Out being powerful, it's useful, definitely, but it's not gonna have the dm tearing his hair out, for that you'll need:


Prepared for the Worst is nice, though you may need to implement some kind of blind to prevent too much meta-gaming between the DM and the player. It is also potentially incredibly broken, because if the trigger is "that guy attacks me" it has the potential to offer the battlemind an unapproachable quality in single combat. Immediate action moves are something that I've generally found unbalanced, though the specific criteria for acquiring here go a little way toward mitigating that. Nevermind, just saw the per encounter limit -- is fine.

Anything that allows extra actions is going to be a bit iffy, but considering all you get is a move action (or as is planned, a single attack), it's not going to ruin any campaign. It's not a great deal different from an attack of opportunity type fighter with defensive opportunity feats.


Can't say I know anything about teamwork bonuses, so I can't really say anything with regard to that.

It's players handbook 2, not important, just a little gimmick to add interest.


Skill check opposed by a save is just very bad. At first level an optimized skill check will be close to +10. An optimized save is what, +7? But that's a player character. A monster is probably around +1 or +2. The disparity only grows to +65 (23 ranks, 12 ability score, 30 item -- pre-epic maximum) versus say, +40 or so (again as a PC -- 12 base, 12 ability score, 12 something like Divine Grace, 5 Cloak of Resistance -- a balor's saves are 22, 19, and 19; a great wyrm gold dragon's are 33, 22, 33). Just not a good match-up. You can more or less daze-juggle one guy forever with this.

All According to Plan is very nice/borked. I mean let's be honest:
1. Get a low roll.
2. Swap out enemy save vs. whatever spell suits your fancy.
3. ???
4. PROFIT.

I liked the idea that skills could be used for class features, and the theory was that the average 10.5 you'd roll would replace the standard '10' you add to a dc, so you start with an average dc of 16-19, possibly 22 at level 1.

Recognising that you'll pretty much always beat their will, we can compensate either by reducing the power of the 4th level abilities, so they pretty much become get 20 or fail, or by changing the skill check to a standard dc.

I think i'll change it to 10+ranks dc, so you avoid the problems you mention.

All according to Plan is quite useful, but it doesn't do anything that isn't covered by chance anyway. I guess you could use slay living or something combined with a 1 result to create an instant kill move. Maybe reword the ability to exclude natural 1?


I am assuming retaliation is still limited by the battlemind's reach/range?

Yes, i assume most battleminds will either focus on ranged combat, or have quick draw and throwing weapons to most profit from this.


Draw Fire (or the equivalent) is a staple of many controllers/tanks. I can justify the late inclusion by the fact that this is more the former than the latter, though it again has potential for abuse combined with something like invisibility, flight, or telekinetic sphere. Limiting the effect of it to fewer targets might make it more balanced, but the class has generally been quite strong so far, so maybe you don't want that. Like Set-Up, skill check opposed by save is generally a bad idea for balance.

Cheesy, might have to rethink the level 4 abilities entirely.


Know Your Enemy is again troublesome from a metagame perspective, coupled with the fact that the creature may not know what it's doing until its turn comes up. I know as a player I don't decide what I'm doing until it's my turn.

A dm might not know what the monster is going to do, so i'll reword it to mean 'i knew he was going to do that', allowing him to predict Pr4tW without knowing exactly what it is.


Turncoat again has the skill check/save issue. It is also problematic in that a turn can be taken in different ways. Do you control their move before or after they take their standard? Needs to be more clearly defined.

Again, the level 4s need a rework.


Contingency Plan is sweet.

:smallcool:


It's not like anyone ever gets to 20 anyway, but Master Plan is suitably epic. Shock Trooper Leap Attack Pounce for everything you've got off a 80 some Knowledge [Tactics] result? Yes, please. Granted at this point you'll have spent 270,000 gp on skill-boosting items, but it's a cheap price for unlimited power, no?

Unlike the other abilities, this was intentionally left broken. I'll probably fix it at some point.


All in all I suppose I wasn't expecting this much power (probably stuck in the non-ToB fighter can't have nice things mindframe), but for a game that going to use sorcerers and things of that nature (awesome power, semi-limited scope), this will fit in just fine.

ToB is a dirty word in many groups, including mine, so those of us who play combat classes never get nice things. I'm hoping this'll help bridge the divide, but it needs a lot more work yet.


edit- changes made