PDA

View Full Version : Ubiquitous Hands (3.5, Epic Mindscourge Feat, PEACH)



TabletopNuke
2010-07-25, 09:12 PM
No, the mindscourge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131476) (psionic warlock) class is not dead. I've just been focusing on my setting's main rules first. However, I've still been putting together some ideas for the class, and at Imp_Fireball's bidding, I'm posting the first of some epic feat ideas. (There's a little epic mindscourge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7676315#post7676315)stuff already) I'd like to make an feat (or possibly several) for each psionic discipline. Here's one for psychokinesis mastery.

This might be underpowered. I'm basing it on those delightful Epic Insights Warlock Feats (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ei/20061027a).

The prereq anomalies right here for easy reference!Obstruction Field
Least, Psychokinesis; 2rd
Display: Visual
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 Hour/Level
When this anomaly is activated, you encase yourself in a bubble of telekinetic force, deflecting incoming ranged attacks. Each ranged attack directed at you for which the attacker must make an attack roll (including arrows, magic arrows, Energy Ray, Ray of Enfeeblement, and so forth) has a 20% miss chance (similar to concealment). Other attacks that simply work at simply work at a distance, such as a dragon’s breath weapon, are not affected.

In addition, you leave no footprints or scent trail (You can still be detected normally by scent, just not tracked), and cannot be tracked by any nonmagical means.

Telekinetic Propulsion
Lesser, Psychokinesis; 3rd
Display: Visual
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 24 Hours
When you use this anomaly, you surround yourself with a telekinetic field. You can fly at a speed equal to your land speed with good maneuverability for 24 hours.

Telekinetic Marionette
Greater, Psychokinesis; 5th
Display: Material
Range: Close (25 ft + 10 ft/2 levels)
Target: One creature of the appropriate size and shape (see text)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Power Resistance: Yes
You can psychokinetically control the body of any creature with a discernible anatomy that is within range and to which you have line of sight. The creature can be no more than one size category above Medium size per 5 manifester levels. For example, a 12th level mindscourge could manipulate a Huge creature, but not a Gargantuan one.

Manipulating the creature's body doesn’t require mental contact with the subject, since you are forcing limb movements independent of the target’s mind. You can make the subject stand up, sit down, walk, turn around, and so on, but operating the vocal cords is too difficult. You can also render the subject helpless by holding it subject immobile. You cannot force the subject to manifest powers, cast spells, or use any special ability that is not a function of just its body movements. If you lose line of sight to the subject, the effect of this anomaly ends.

If you force the subject to engage in combat, its attack bonus is equal to your base attack bonus + your Charisma bonus, and its bonus on damage rolls is equal to your Charisma bonus. A creature under the effect of this anomaly cannot make attacks of opportunity. The subject gains no benefit to Armor Class from its Dexterity, but it does gain a bonus to its AC equal to your Charisma bonus.

Although the subject’s body is under your control, the subject’s mind is not. The creature is still capable of taking purely mental actions (such as manifesting powers).

Telekinetic Manipulation
Phenomenal, Telekinesis; 6th
Display: Visual
Range: Close (25 ft. +5ft./2 levels)
Target: See text
Duration: Concentration (up to 1 round/ level) or instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw: Will negates (object) or None; see text
Power Resistance: Yes (object); see text

You move objects or creatures by concentrating on them. Depending on the version selected, the anomaly can provide a gentle, sustained force, perform a variety of combat maneuvers, or exert a single short, violent thrust.

Sustained Force: A sustained force moves an object weighing no more than 25 pounds per manifester level (maximum 375 pounds at 15th level) up to 20 feet per round. A creature can negate the effect on an object it possesses with a successful Will Save or with power resistance.

This version of the anomaly can last 1 round per manifester level, but it ends if you cease concentration. The weight can be moved vertically, horizontally, or in both directions. An object cannot be moved beyond your range. The anomaly ends if the object is forced beyond the range. If you cease concentration for any reason, the object falls or stops.

An object can be telekinetically manipulated as if with one hand. For example, a lever or rope can be pulled, a key can be turned, an object rotated, and so on, if the force required is within the weight limitation. You might even be able to untie simple knots, though delicate activities such as these require Intelligence checks set by the DM.

Combat Maneuver: Alternatively, once per round, you can use telekinesis to perform a bull rush, disarm, grapple (including pin), or trip. Resolve these attempts as normal, except that they don’t provoke attacks of opportunity, you use your manifester level in place of your base attack bonus (for disarm and grapple), you use your Charisma modifier in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier, and a failed attempt doesn’t allow a reactive attempt by the target (such as for disarm or trip). No save is allowed against these attempts, but power resistance applies normally. This version of the anomaly can last 1 round per manifester level, but it ends if you cease concentration.

Violent Thrust: Alternatively, the psychic energy can be spent in a single round. You can hurl one object or creature per manifester level (maximum 15) that are within range and all within 10 feet of each other toward any target within 10 feet per level of all the objects. You can hurl up to a total weight of 25 pounds per manifester level (maximum 375 pounds at 15th level).

You must succeed on attack rolls (one per creature or object thrown) to hit the target with the items, using your base attack bonus + your Charisma modifier. Weapons cause standard damage (with no Strength bonus; note that arrows or bolts deal damage as daggers of their size when used in this manner). Other objects cause damage ranging from 1 point per 25 pounds (for less dangerous objects) to 1d6 points of damage per 25 pounds (for hard, dense objects).

Creatures who fall within the weight capacity of the anomaly can be hurled, but they are allowed Will Saves (and power resistance) to negate the effect, as are those whose held possessions are targeted by the anomaly. If a targeted creature is hurled against a solid surface, it takes damage as if it had fallen 10 feet (1d6 points).

Ubiquitous Hands (Epic, Psionic)
Your mastery of psychokinesis is such that it has become second nature.
Prerequisites: Psicraft 24 ranks, obstruction field, telekinetic manipulation, telekinetic marionette, telekinetic propulsion
Benefits: The save DC for all your anomalies of the psychokinesis discipline increases by 2.

While psionically focused, you can manifest far hand as a psi-like ability at will, augmented to the maximum for your manifester level. Unlike the normal power, maintaining concentration on the power is a free action.

When you manifest obstruction field, the miss chance increases to 40%, and applies to melee attacks as well as ranged.

When you manifest telekinetic propulsion, your flight speed is equal to double your base land speed, and your maneuverability is perfect.

If the target of your telekinetic marionette anomaly succeeds on the Fort save, they must make another Fort save at the same DC or be slowed for 1 round/level.

When you use the sustained force version of telekinetic manipulation, you can preform any action requiring two hands, and do not need to make an Intelligence check to do so. You can even use sustained force to preform skill checks requiring 2 hands, such as Disable Device, Open Lock, or Sleight of Hand (provided you are capable of using the skill), using your Intelligence modifier in place of the usual ability. This action does not disrupt your concentration, and is considered part of manifesting the anomaly.

When you use the combat maneuver version of telekinetic manipulation, you add double your Charisma modifier (if positive) to your manifester level to determine your attack bonus.

When you use the violent thrust version of telekinetic manipulation, you can pick up one object or creature per manifester level, without the usual maximum limit of 15. You can hurl up to a total weight of 25 pounds per manifester level, without the usual maximum limit of 375 pounds.

imp_fireball
2010-08-03, 06:21 PM
Looks good to me.

Nothing else to say regarding that.

Hyooz
2010-08-03, 06:51 PM
This... is really, really specific to PEACH.

I mean, it's an Epic feat for a homebrew class that has four homebrew 'spells' as prerequisites and primarily augments their function.

I will say its very rare for feats to do stuff like this. I honestly can't think of a precedent for a feat, epic or no, to alter the function of specific spells. That being said, I don't see anything terrifically broken about what it actually does, especially at epic levels. It just doesn't feel like 'proper' homebrew so much as something desired for a specific character in a specific game.

imp_fireball
2010-08-03, 07:42 PM
It just doesn't feel like 'proper' homebrew so much as something desired for a specific character in a specific game.

Which is more or less the ultimate goal of homebrew, is it not?

Hyooz
2010-08-03, 07:56 PM
Which is more or less the ultimate goal of homebrew, is it not?

Maybe of some homebrew?

I've seen a lot of homebrew designed because a concept was undercovered in normal 3.5 or it was just a cool idea. Lots of homebrew disciplines and such, PrCs that have cool general applicability, base classes that do things in a brand new way.

The ultimate goal should be to make something that could apply to a variety of characters in as many games as possible.

To me, this just screams 'tailor made.' That's not necessarily bad, I just don't like that kind of design philosophy.

imp_fireball
2010-08-03, 08:20 PM
To me, this just screams 'tailor made.' That's not necessarily bad, I just don't like that kind of design philosophy.

Well in this case, it came from the idea of having a psionic warlock class (mindscourge) - which needs to begin from the bottom up.

The feats are very specific to the mindscourge.

TabletopNuke
2010-08-06, 03:39 PM
Thanks Imp!

Really Hyooz, you can EACH it as a epic warlock feat. Most anomalies are based on preexisting invocations or spells/powers.

FlamingKobold
2010-08-06, 10:53 PM
And Hyooz, if you've seen WotC's epic warlock feats, stuff like this is what they do. That TabletopNuke is being consistent is awesome and perfectly acceptable to me.

As an adamant fan and reader of both your setting and the Mindscourge, it looks good to me, though it does do a bit more than most epic warlock feats that I've seen.

Hyooz
2010-08-06, 11:56 PM
And Hyooz, if you've seen WotC's epic warlock feats, stuff like this is what they do. That TabletopNuke is being consistent is awesome and perfectly acceptable to me.


So it is.

My apologies.

TabletopNuke
2010-08-07, 06:12 PM
And Hyooz, if you've seen WotC's epic warlock feats, stuff like this is what they do. That TabletopNuke is being consistent is awesome and perfectly acceptable to me.

As an adamant fan and reader of both your setting and the Mindscourge, it looks good to me, though it does do a bit more than most epic warlock feats that I've seen.
D'aww thanks! Does a bit more than most of those feats you say? Would you suggest toning it down then? If so, how should I go about that? Remove the save DC increase?

FlamingKobold
2010-08-07, 07:19 PM
Well, I'd rather not tone it down, sense I should be playing a mindscourge soon :smallwink:

But yeah, probably. Most of them that require 4 invocations as prereqs give a 7th-9th level spell either continuous or at will, and 2-3 other goodies of approximately that power level. Far hand basically isn't doing much, and you're giving a pretty substantial improvement to all four anomalies, which is quite unprecedented. I however like this, as that's what I think all of the warlock ones should have been. Yeah, I think the DC upper might just push it over the edge, especially since the rest of the feat is already improving the anomalies that that applies to.

TabletopNuke
2010-08-08, 09:08 PM
Well, I'd rather not tone it down, sense I should be playing a mindscourge soon :smallwink:
Awesome! You must tell me how it goes! I'd love to see the character sheet too.

But yeah, probably. Most of them that require 4 invocations as prereqs give a 7th-9th level spell either continuous or at will, and 2-3 other goodies of approximately that power level. Far hand basically isn't doing much, and you're giving a pretty substantial improvement to all four anomalies, which is quite unprecedented. I however like this, as that's what I think all of the warlock ones should have been. Yeah, I think the DC upper might just push it over the edge, especially since the rest of the feat is already improving the anomalies that that applies to.
You summed up the epic warlock feat formula really well!

As an experiment, I'm trying something slightly different for epic mindscourge feats. Each feat will be for a particular discipline (possibly a subgroup of within a discipline, like self-buffing psychometabolism). The feats will require one anomaly of each level. The feat improves each required anomaly, and along with something extra (new psi-like ability, DC increase?). Does this sound like a good formula?

I decided to try it this way because the "thematic" approach of epic warlock feats was kinda sporadic and they often have "useless" prerequisites, wasting precious invocation slots. I'm hoping that increasing the usefulness of each required anomaly will help prevent the latter problem.

I kinda loaded up the anomaly improvements on this one because the additional benefit is a 1st-level power at will, a far cry from a 7th-9th power. You still think I should nix the DC increase?

FlamingKobold
2010-08-08, 09:27 PM
I'm not really sure. I think that it's certainly better than a lot of the epic warlock feats, which was my original basis for comparison. However, I like what you're doing more than what Eytan Bernstein did. Considering all of the shenanigans that happen in epic anyway, it shouldn't be a problem, I was just pointing out what would keep it in line with it's most applicable precedents. However, it's still not nearly as powerful as epic spellcasting, so you're fine :smalltongue:

TabletopNuke
2010-08-14, 01:37 AM
I'm not really sure. I think that it's certainly better than a lot of the epic warlock feats, which was my original basis for comparison. However, I like what you're doing more than what Eytan Bernstein did. Considering all of the shenanigans that happen in epic anyway, it shouldn't be a problem, I was just pointing out what would keep it in line with it's most applicable precedents. However, it's still not nearly as powerful as epic spellcasting, so you're fine :smalltongue:
So this is good as-is? I should go add it to the Mindscourge post? I've also been looking into the next of these feats I should work on. Is there a particular discipline you'd like me to do?