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View Full Version : [3.5] Homebrew Monster Class: The Glimmering



Kajhera
2010-12-08, 01:28 PM
I fundamentally like the design of the Improved/Community Monster Classes, so I decided to try redoing an old template idea of mine along those lines.

The creation is along the philosophy of Dragonborn - the template is applied to an existing creature with all its inherited templates, but it possesses none of its memories and a limited number of prior racial features.

The Glimmering


Creation: Glimmering are the beings created when a resurrection spell fails. A soul declining to return is a relatively normal occurrence, and not a failure - the soul being destroyed, sucked into a thorium weapon, or forcibly planeshifted to a different plane during the casting of Resurrection might be a catastrophic enough failure for the spell to rebound and create such an echo of the creature that was to be raised.

Description: Glimmering appear as the base creature, except somewhat glittery and colored as the diamonds used in the spell (usually white, sometimes blue, pink, or even more exotic colors). Their eyes are gemlike, resembling uncut diamonds.

This is a template class.

Requirements: Living creature capable of being resurrected.

Hit Die: d8

{table]Level|BAB|Fort Saves|Ref Saves|Will Saves|Class Features
1|+0|+2|+2|+2|Diamond Body, Spell Soul, Adept Healer[/table]

Proficiencies: A glimmering is proficient with its natural weapons (if any) and all simple weapons.

Skills: Appraise, Concentration, Craft(any), Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge(any), Profession(any), Search, Spellcraft, Spot, Use Magic Device

Diamond Body: A glimmering's type changes to Outsider. It is treated as native to the Positive Energy Plane.

As an outsider it gains:
*Darkvision 60'.
*Can only be restored to life with a wish, limited wish, or miracle.
*Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish).

It retains the ability modifiers, size, speed, languages, level adjustment, and racial hit dice of its former self (see Dragonborn), but loses all memories, class levels, and other racial traits.

It gains a bonus to natural armor equal to its Charisma modifier.

Being composed of diamond dust, a glimmering may substitute part of itself for the material component of any spell that uses diamonds as a material component (or part of it). By taking 1 point of Con damage, it can supply 50gp/HD of diamond as a material component (up to its Con score). Immunity to ability damage does not apply to this ability.

A glimmering is immune to the negative effects of a major positive-dominant plane, but cannot gain temporary HP exceeding its hit points. It has a vulnerability to negative energy, taking half again as much damage from inflict spells, and to positive energy, gaining half again as much healing from cure spells.

Spell Soul: A glimmering's monster level stacks with any casting class it takes to determine caster level, spells known and spells per day.

Adept Healer: Each level, a Glimmering may choose a Conjuration(Healing) spell of level no greater than 1/2 its HD that it knows. It may cast that spell 2/day, gaining an additional use every 3 HD, with a caster level equal to its Hit Die and save DC of 10+1/2HD+Cha.

In addition, it gets a +1 bonus to caster level on all healing spells.


... Okay, I don't know if I'd play it at first level or if it's balanced at higher levels when you have a sorcerer with nice healing, but that's what I'm posting it here for. :P The original version (at +1 LA) had some penalties to physical scores, bonuses to mental scores, spell resistance, and a lack of color vision, but I am rather certain now that spell resistance is not the best idea for a creature with native healing powers, so here's what my concept's evolved to.

I gave it 'mind, body, and soul' aspects, but outsiders don't have separate souls from their bodies, so the soul part feels somewhat empty right now. :smalltongue: While diamond creatures having natural armor makes some sense, I didn't want them to depend on Constitution for anything except getting rid of it, and Charisma felt right.

While I could make its healing spells wisdom-based to provide the illusion of MAD, well, they are healing spells; the situations in which they will be saved against is relatively limited.