master zzan
2010-11-03, 07:17 AM
Rock handler. (A.K.A that weirdo with the pet rock)
“Hello, you must be the new rogue that George talked about. I’m Steave and this is my familiar Ed.
Hello Steave you can call me Malek, and where is this Ed I can’t seem to see him? Is he invisible?
No, no, Ed is just hard to notice, He’s right there between us, that little chipped gray flint.
Are you still carrying that stone around? I thought we left it in that swamp.
Ed came back. Because Ed is my familiar and my friend. You can’t get rid of Ed that easily.
I hit it with my hammer like three times.
And Ed didn’t feel a thing!
I broke it into half a dozen smaller stones! How are you even so sure that that piece is the “real Ed”?
All s tones are pieces from a bigger one that broke, this one had the part of Ed with the purpose in existence to come with me and be my friend.
That’s it. I’m off to find a sphere of inhalation!
That’s awful, why are you always trying to kill Ed?
How do you know that Ed’s purpose in existence isn’t being annihilated by a sphere?
Because she told me so!
“I eh-… …
… … wait, Ed is a SHE?!?
I don’t believe you got dragged into this argument..”
1st: Rock Familiar, That’s just a Rock I
2nd: Rock Gardener I
3rd: A stalking stone
4th: Rock Gardener II
5th: That’s just a Rock II
6th: Rock Gardener III
7th: Sink like a rock
8th: Rock Gardener IV
9th: That’s just a Rock III
10th: Little friends, Rock Gardener V
Rock familiar : at 1st level gain a rock familiar .the rock is treated as familiar for all aspects except the intelligence boost and talking ability (the master might think it’s talking, he may even be right. but no proof of it ever exist). The rock gain benefit as familiar and the Rock handler class level stack with his arcane caster level for the familiar abilities. The rock get better ac as the master level. The rock hp is only for breaking it, it really is HARD to kill.(it's not REALLY alive). as long as a piece of the rock exist the master my treat it as the REAL Rock.
The following exceptions from normal familiar are made:
Alertness ,shared spells and emphatic link– unchanged. (this is explained in the dm notice later on)
Improved evasion – not gained. The rock will fail any ref save while been observed. (also see dm notice later).
Deliver touch spell – since the stone can't move and touch anyone (unless the DM want it too,see last part of a stalking stone class ability ).this effect only those who touch the stone.ether by accident or by intent.
Speak with master ,speak with other of same kind– unchanged. Explained later.
Spell resistance –unchanged.
Scry on familiar – unchanged, but since the master see from the stone's point of view. (blind deaf ,can't feel or smell).that is not a really useful ability.
The stone need to be no more then 2 pounds in weigh, although that can be changed with dm acceptance, it's abilities score are all 0.
That’s just a Rock I : at 1st level the Rock Handler learn to be unnoticed from watching his pet. He get a bonus to hide and move silently as long as not moving(the move silently is for listeners chance to hear him breath or make normal noises). The bonus equals class level. Anyone with stone cunning as race ability can add it’s bonus to spot and search checks to find the Rock Handler.
That’s just a Rock II : at 5th level the Rock Handler can hide in plain sight as long as no one is looking when he start hiding. He can use bluff to make them turn away as usual.
That’s just a Rock III : at 9th level the Rock Handler can cast a number of spells per day equal to his spell casting ability bonus, As silent spell and still spell with out the need to prepare them with the meta-magic feat and without the need to cast at higher spell level. Can only be used to cast a spell of 7th level or lower.
Rock Gardener I: gained at 2nd level. this is like the stone cunning ability dwarfs get, the bonus increase by 2 every other level after 2nd (4th, 6th etc.). if the character already has the stone cunning ability then the bonus increase by 2 from the 2nd level and not from the 4th.
A stalking stone: at 3rd level the rock can be found when ever the character looks for it (free action). It will just be there where a moment ago it didn’t. the rock will disappear from former spot and reappear in the now one only if no one is watching it. Explanation, the rock is being watched by some one who shift his gaze to look at something else, when he looks back to where the stone was, it’s not there anymore. The master look for the stone, when he shift his gaze to a different area the stone is there. This will happen as long as no one is watching the stone when it leave and no one is watching the place the stone appear when it comes. The stone will never appear in a closed container as a bag or a chest or even a pocket .nor will it stalk to the possession of any one. Although capturing it is easy as it stays put if looked at. The stone stalking ability is not sight based, but perception based if anyone can tell where it is by sight, smell, touch or any such sense it stays .(the perceiver need to focus on the stone though, once he shift his attention to something else it can stalk away).
The character use this ability to move the stone, but the DM decide where it appear.
Sink like a Rock: at 7th level the Rock Handler can hold his breath for an extra minute per class level before resolving to normal suffocation rules.
Little friends: at 10th level, once per day, the Rock Handler can call for his special friend’s friends.
This is a standard action that act as a spell like ability .Doing so will drop a great mass of small stones on the target area and anyone there. The stones fall from the air 120 feet above the area and pile up to a cone 30 feet high and with a radius of 30 feet. A second after all the stones fall the Rock Familiar appear in the air above and drop down as well. The caster roll once for a touch attack against anyone in the area, and anyone that never seen or heard of this ability is considered flat footed.(uncanny dodge prevent this as usual). A hit will cause bludgeon physical damage of 1d6 per caster level (max 15d6). No spell resistance allowed unless the stones appear in the creature’s space (as he is 120 feet above the ground, a floating drow for example).anyone hit by the hail need to overcome a trip attempt equal to 10+ caster level or fall prone. Prone or standing the target might be buried under the mass depend on his position and height. See the rules for cave in and such. (too lazy to look for them now ;) .
The stones will disappear as per the staking stone ability, anyone under a pile of rocks is considered perceiving the whole pile while still there and alive. (or undead and able to perceive). Passing out of suffocation from the cave in will cause the stones to go away if no one else perceive them.
Dm notice : the main thing to remember is that the whole fun in this class is the uncertainty of what is really happening. Is the stone a real being or is the character a total loony.
Is the Rock Handler a sane person with greater perception then the rest. Or a raving lunatic that lets his power move stones and pretend they are intelligent of sort.
While the characters and the Npcs may have an opinion on the matter, the point is never let the players have any idea who is right.the whole fun is in that being weird .and after a time an intelligent stone\insane caster is not weird anymore.
That is why some of the power seem to come from he caster and some from the stone.(he gain alertness and such from being close to the stone.and the stone has spell resistance. But it has no ability score and can't or actually shouldn't be able to perceive anything).the emphatic link to the stone let you play it even deeper. Remember stones may be silent by they talk in volume. The feeling the character get from the stone can be silent ,stability or cool as stone. The stone might weigh on their shoulders or be as nagging as a pebble in their shoes. These are feeling that the character get from the stone. Or is it his alter-ego at work?.this goes even more when the master talk to his stone or it talk to other stones.how can something with 0 int talk and make sense?.leave these questions unanswered. Or give them a different answer every time.
Also note. The a sneaky stone ability is used by the character as a free action on their turn to locate the stone. BUT you should make it an immediate action from the stone when it fits.even without the character looking for it.
For example: a character in the group that throw the stone into a swamp, might find later on a murky wet stone in his soup bowl.
this is still work in progress.
“Hello, you must be the new rogue that George talked about. I’m Steave and this is my familiar Ed.
Hello Steave you can call me Malek, and where is this Ed I can’t seem to see him? Is he invisible?
No, no, Ed is just hard to notice, He’s right there between us, that little chipped gray flint.
Are you still carrying that stone around? I thought we left it in that swamp.
Ed came back. Because Ed is my familiar and my friend. You can’t get rid of Ed that easily.
I hit it with my hammer like three times.
And Ed didn’t feel a thing!
I broke it into half a dozen smaller stones! How are you even so sure that that piece is the “real Ed”?
All s tones are pieces from a bigger one that broke, this one had the part of Ed with the purpose in existence to come with me and be my friend.
That’s it. I’m off to find a sphere of inhalation!
That’s awful, why are you always trying to kill Ed?
How do you know that Ed’s purpose in existence isn’t being annihilated by a sphere?
Because she told me so!
“I eh-… …
… … wait, Ed is a SHE?!?
I don’t believe you got dragged into this argument..”
1st: Rock Familiar, That’s just a Rock I
2nd: Rock Gardener I
3rd: A stalking stone
4th: Rock Gardener II
5th: That’s just a Rock II
6th: Rock Gardener III
7th: Sink like a rock
8th: Rock Gardener IV
9th: That’s just a Rock III
10th: Little friends, Rock Gardener V
Rock familiar : at 1st level gain a rock familiar .the rock is treated as familiar for all aspects except the intelligence boost and talking ability (the master might think it’s talking, he may even be right. but no proof of it ever exist). The rock gain benefit as familiar and the Rock handler class level stack with his arcane caster level for the familiar abilities. The rock get better ac as the master level. The rock hp is only for breaking it, it really is HARD to kill.(it's not REALLY alive). as long as a piece of the rock exist the master my treat it as the REAL Rock.
The following exceptions from normal familiar are made:
Alertness ,shared spells and emphatic link– unchanged. (this is explained in the dm notice later on)
Improved evasion – not gained. The rock will fail any ref save while been observed. (also see dm notice later).
Deliver touch spell – since the stone can't move and touch anyone (unless the DM want it too,see last part of a stalking stone class ability ).this effect only those who touch the stone.ether by accident or by intent.
Speak with master ,speak with other of same kind– unchanged. Explained later.
Spell resistance –unchanged.
Scry on familiar – unchanged, but since the master see from the stone's point of view. (blind deaf ,can't feel or smell).that is not a really useful ability.
The stone need to be no more then 2 pounds in weigh, although that can be changed with dm acceptance, it's abilities score are all 0.
That’s just a Rock I : at 1st level the Rock Handler learn to be unnoticed from watching his pet. He get a bonus to hide and move silently as long as not moving(the move silently is for listeners chance to hear him breath or make normal noises). The bonus equals class level. Anyone with stone cunning as race ability can add it’s bonus to spot and search checks to find the Rock Handler.
That’s just a Rock II : at 5th level the Rock Handler can hide in plain sight as long as no one is looking when he start hiding. He can use bluff to make them turn away as usual.
That’s just a Rock III : at 9th level the Rock Handler can cast a number of spells per day equal to his spell casting ability bonus, As silent spell and still spell with out the need to prepare them with the meta-magic feat and without the need to cast at higher spell level. Can only be used to cast a spell of 7th level or lower.
Rock Gardener I: gained at 2nd level. this is like the stone cunning ability dwarfs get, the bonus increase by 2 every other level after 2nd (4th, 6th etc.). if the character already has the stone cunning ability then the bonus increase by 2 from the 2nd level and not from the 4th.
A stalking stone: at 3rd level the rock can be found when ever the character looks for it (free action). It will just be there where a moment ago it didn’t. the rock will disappear from former spot and reappear in the now one only if no one is watching it. Explanation, the rock is being watched by some one who shift his gaze to look at something else, when he looks back to where the stone was, it’s not there anymore. The master look for the stone, when he shift his gaze to a different area the stone is there. This will happen as long as no one is watching the stone when it leave and no one is watching the place the stone appear when it comes. The stone will never appear in a closed container as a bag or a chest or even a pocket .nor will it stalk to the possession of any one. Although capturing it is easy as it stays put if looked at. The stone stalking ability is not sight based, but perception based if anyone can tell where it is by sight, smell, touch or any such sense it stays .(the perceiver need to focus on the stone though, once he shift his attention to something else it can stalk away).
The character use this ability to move the stone, but the DM decide where it appear.
Sink like a Rock: at 7th level the Rock Handler can hold his breath for an extra minute per class level before resolving to normal suffocation rules.
Little friends: at 10th level, once per day, the Rock Handler can call for his special friend’s friends.
This is a standard action that act as a spell like ability .Doing so will drop a great mass of small stones on the target area and anyone there. The stones fall from the air 120 feet above the area and pile up to a cone 30 feet high and with a radius of 30 feet. A second after all the stones fall the Rock Familiar appear in the air above and drop down as well. The caster roll once for a touch attack against anyone in the area, and anyone that never seen or heard of this ability is considered flat footed.(uncanny dodge prevent this as usual). A hit will cause bludgeon physical damage of 1d6 per caster level (max 15d6). No spell resistance allowed unless the stones appear in the creature’s space (as he is 120 feet above the ground, a floating drow for example).anyone hit by the hail need to overcome a trip attempt equal to 10+ caster level or fall prone. Prone or standing the target might be buried under the mass depend on his position and height. See the rules for cave in and such. (too lazy to look for them now ;) .
The stones will disappear as per the staking stone ability, anyone under a pile of rocks is considered perceiving the whole pile while still there and alive. (or undead and able to perceive). Passing out of suffocation from the cave in will cause the stones to go away if no one else perceive them.
Dm notice : the main thing to remember is that the whole fun in this class is the uncertainty of what is really happening. Is the stone a real being or is the character a total loony.
Is the Rock Handler a sane person with greater perception then the rest. Or a raving lunatic that lets his power move stones and pretend they are intelligent of sort.
While the characters and the Npcs may have an opinion on the matter, the point is never let the players have any idea who is right.the whole fun is in that being weird .and after a time an intelligent stone\insane caster is not weird anymore.
That is why some of the power seem to come from he caster and some from the stone.(he gain alertness and such from being close to the stone.and the stone has spell resistance. But it has no ability score and can't or actually shouldn't be able to perceive anything).the emphatic link to the stone let you play it even deeper. Remember stones may be silent by they talk in volume. The feeling the character get from the stone can be silent ,stability or cool as stone. The stone might weigh on their shoulders or be as nagging as a pebble in their shoes. These are feeling that the character get from the stone. Or is it his alter-ego at work?.this goes even more when the master talk to his stone or it talk to other stones.how can something with 0 int talk and make sense?.leave these questions unanswered. Or give them a different answer every time.
Also note. The a sneaky stone ability is used by the character as a free action on their turn to locate the stone. BUT you should make it an immediate action from the stone when it fits.even without the character looking for it.
For example: a character in the group that throw the stone into a swamp, might find later on a murky wet stone in his soup bowl.
this is still work in progress.