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gooddragon1
2011-03-31, 06:26 PM
Planar Cleric

Alignment

A planar cleric's alignment depends on whether he chooses to channel positive or negative energy. If positive, the planar cleric must be non-evil. If negative, the planar cleric must be non-good.

Hit Die

d6

Class Skills

The planar cleric's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Planar cleric's also gain Heal (Cha)[If Positive] or Intimidate (Cha)[If Negative]

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Poor BAB = 1/2 Planar Cleric Level (rounded down)
Poor Fortitude and Reflex saves = 1/3 Planar Cleric Level (rounded down)
Good Will save = 1/2 Planar Cleric Level + 2 (rounded down)

Spell slots as Cleric

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Planar clerics are not proficient with any armor or shields. Planar clerics are proficient with clubs, light maces, and slings.

Planar clerics are morally opposed to wearing anything that imposes an armor check penalty. Those who willingly do so lose access to all non-extraordinary planar cleric spells and abilities until 24 hours after removing the cause of the armor check penalty.

Energy Devotion

At 1st level, a planar cleric must choose whether to channel his power from the positive or negative energy plane. This choice has significant effects on the role of the planar cleric in the party as well as other things as listed:

Positive Devotion:
-Must be non-evil in alignment
-Gains heal as a class skill
-Cannot cast necromancy spells
-Gains a positive energy aura at 2nd level
-Unearthly grace grants sacred typed bonuses

Negative Devotion:
-Must be non-good in alignment
-Gains intimidate as a class skill
-Cannot cast healing spells
-Gains a negative energy aura at 2nd level
-Unearthly grace grants profane typed bonuses

Talented Healer (Ex)

Positive devotion planar clerics apply their charisma modifier in place of their wisdom modifier for heal checks.

Spells

A planar cleric casts divine spells, which are drawn from the cleric spell list. However, his energy choice restricts him from casting necromancy spells (positive devotion) or healing spells (negative devotion). A planar cleric must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below).

To prepare or cast a spell, a planar cleric must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a planar cleric’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the planar cleric’s Charisma modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a planar cleric can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is identical to that of a normal Cleric. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score. A planar cleric also gets one planar energy spell of each spell level he can cast, starting at 1st level. When a planar cleric prepares a spell in a domain spell slot, it must be either a cure spell (positive devotion) or an inflict spell (if negative devotion chosen). Unlike normal clerics, planar clerics do not require a holy symbol to cast their spells.

Planar clerics meditate for their spells. Each planar cleric must choose a time at which he must spend 1 hour each day in quiet meditation to regain his daily allotment of spells. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a planar cleric can prepare spells. A planar cleric may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list (with the noted exceptions based on devotion as mentioned above), provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation.

Spontaneous Casting

A positive devotion planar cleric can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that the he did not prepare ahead of time. The planar cleric can "lose" any prepared spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with "cure" in its name).

A negative devotion planar cleric, can’t convert prepared spells to cure spells but can convert them to inflict spells (an inflict spell is one with "inflict" in its name).

Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su)

A positive devotion planar cleric can turn or destroy undead creatures. A negative devotion planar cleric instead rebukes or commands such creatures.

A planar cleric may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. A cleric with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.

Unearthly Grace (Su)

A planar cleric adds his Charisma modifier as a sacred (positive devotion) or profane (negative devotion) bonus on all his saving throws and to his Armor Class. If you have levels in a class other than planar cleric, the bonuses provided by this ability cannot exceed your planar cleric level. If you have another ability that would apply your charisma bonus to saves or AC or both, these bonuses to not stack with the bonuses granted by that ability.

Positive or Negative Energy Aura (Su)

At 2nd level, planar cleric may choose to generate a field of energy that can heal his allies or harm his enemies depending on what devotion he has chosen.

A positive devotion planar cleric may cause allies within 30 feet of himself to gain fast healing 1 if they are below 50% of their maximum HP. This ability functions through positive energy and harms enemy undead for an equal amount within 30 feet if they are below 50% of their maximum HP. Affected creatures show a glowing radiance surrounding them while being healed or damaged. The amount of healing or damage increases by 1 at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter.

A negative devotion planar cleric may cause enemies within 30 feet of himself to lose 1 hit point per round if they are below 50% of their maximum HP. This ability functions through negative energy and heals allied undead for an equal amount within 30 feet if they are below 50% of their maximum HP. Affected creatures show a highly transparent greyish miasma surrounding them while they are being damaged or healed. The amount of damage or healing increases by 1 at 5th level and every 5 levels thereafter.

Positive Infusion or Negative Infusion (Su)

Beginning at 2nd level, a positive devotion planar cleric with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (his own or those of others) by touch. Each day he can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to his planar cleric level × his Charisma bonus. A positive devotion planar cleric may choose to divide his healing among multiple recipients, and he doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using positive infusion is a standard action.

Alternatively, a positive devotion planar cleric can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using positive infusion in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The positive devotion planar cleric decides how much of his daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature. An undead creature subjected to this attack can make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 planar cleric level + planar cleric's Cha modifier) to halve the damage dealt.

Negative devotion planar clerics instead receive the ability to cause wounds with a successful touch attack. Each day he can deal a total number of hit points of damage equal to his planar cleric level x his Charisma bonus. An opponent subjected to this attack can make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 planar cleric level + planar cleric's Cha modifier) to halve the damage dealt.

Alternatively, a negative devotion planar cleric can use any or all of this power to cure damage to undead creatures, just as an inflict wounds spell does. This power otherwise functions identically to the positive infusion ability.

Planar Link

At 20th level, a planar cleric ceases to age and reverts to adulthood. Furthermore, the planar cleric need not eat, breathe, or sleep as their bodies generate energy sufficient to sustain them although they may do so if they desire.

So what do you guys think? What tier is this?

NOTE: Planar link is an absolutely critical part of the class. Critical.

jiriku
2011-03-31, 06:48 PM
This is a good first effort, although you still have a lot of work left to do.

First of, all, learn the forum table code and put your class features in a table; you'll get more feedback once your class is easy to read and interpret.

You have some major balance defects to correct. Your class is grossly front-loaded, with all meaningful class features granted in the first two levels. You need to move some of this back, and space the features out through the 20-level progression to give players some kind of incentive not to multi-class out.

Heal is a Wisdom-based skill.

It's odd that the class can use a sling, but not basic weapons like the dart, dagger, and staff. Even wizards know how to use those.

The class armor restriction is badly fluffed and needs better explanation to be credible.

Overall, I'm not really feeling the class. It seems to be basically just a domain-less cleric who sucks at combat, and has a couple of paladin features tacked on at 1st and 2nd level. There's no real connection to the planes that would justify the "planar" portion of the name, and I'm not really seeing how this class can do anything that the cleric can't already do better. You could probably fix this by inserting some fluff, adding some new abilities with a planar theme, and defining what the class's strengths and weaknesses are, and what its primary focus is.

gooddragon1
2011-03-31, 09:36 PM
This is a good first effort, although you still have a lot of work left to do.

First of, all, learn the forum table code and put your class features in a table; you'll get more feedback once your class is easy to read and interpret.

You have some major balance defects to correct. Your class is grossly front-loaded, with all meaningful class features granted in the first two levels. You need to move some of this back, and space the features out through the 20-level progression to give players some kind of incentive not to multi-class out.

Heal is a Wisdom-based skill.

It's odd that the class can use a sling, but not basic weapons like the dart, dagger, and staff. Even wizards know how to use those.

The class armor restriction is badly fluffed and needs better explanation to be credible.

Overall, I'm not really feeling the class. It seems to be basically just a domain-less cleric who sucks at combat, and has a couple of paladin features tacked on at 1st and 2nd level. There's no real connection to the planes that would justify the "planar" portion of the name, and I'm not really seeing how this class can do anything that the cleric can't already do better. You could probably fix this by inserting some fluff, adding some new abilities with a planar theme, and defining what the class's strengths and weaknesses are, and what its primary focus is.

Uh... you may be misreading some stuff.
-The cha heal is intentional (means he uses cha instead of wis)
-Not really frontloaded, infusion and aura both scale with level and dipping this class for unearthly grace is inadvisable given how armor problems crop up. Not sure the armor thingy. The weapons thingy: wizards study at least some combat whereas these guys are just naturally gifted and don't really study at all.

Primary focus is healing OR damage depending on devotion. Derives energy from the plane of their devotion and channels it through them to use it's power.

Siosilvar
2011-03-31, 09:44 PM
-The cha heal is intentional (means he uses cha instead of wis)

Make that into a class feature, don't throw it into the skill block. You'll confuse people.

Something along the lines of

The Magic Touch: A Planar Cleric may substitute their Charisma modifier for their Wisdom modifier on Heal checks.

gooddragon1
2011-03-31, 09:50 PM
Make that into a class feature, don't throw it into the skill block. You'll confuse people.

Something along the lines of

The Magic Touch: A Planar Cleric may substitute their Charisma modifier for their Wisdom modifier on Heal checks.

I made this class for a game I'm in and the DM approved it. I'll make the change here, but me and the DM already know what it is. Lazy atm tho, will make the change later.

Benly
2011-04-01, 07:47 PM
So what do you guys think? What tier is this?


Tier 1. You added some bonus features onto a tier 1 class, what were you expecting to get?

gooddragon1
2011-04-01, 10:05 PM
Tier 1. You added some bonus features onto a tier 1 class, what were you expecting to get?

Forgetting that it has no armor, barely any weapons, and lower HD... it has a restriction on what spells it can cast. I was just worried it would be above tier 1 actually.

Benly
2011-04-02, 01:29 AM
Forgetting that it has no armor, barely any weapons, and lower HD... it has a restriction on what spells it can cast. I was just worried it would be above tier 1 actually.

Trading off the armor and weapon proficiencies for Unearthly Grace is a no-brainer, especially on a Charisma caster. Bracers of Armor can easily make up for the armor loss, while it's a lot harder to get an obscenely high bonus to all saves that stacks with pretty much every other save bonus you're going to get.

The restriction on what spells you can cast is kind of a joke. The spell restriction is a nuisance, but not a major one - a good-aligned cleric can't cast most of the best necromancy spells on the cleric list anyway, and an evil one can just pick up Tomb-Tainted Soul and heal with his negative energy powers.

The variant is on the whole stronger than a core cleric, largely because of Unearthly Grace. As a one-level dip, it's vastly superior to a core cleric - any Charisma-oriented class should strongly consider dipping it. Paladins in particular should note that Unearthly Grace stacks with Divine Grace for dang near unassailable saves.

gooddragon1
2011-04-02, 04:13 AM
Trading off the armor and weapon proficiencies for Unearthly Grace is a no-brainer, especially on a Charisma caster. Bracers of Armor can easily make up for the armor loss, while it's a lot harder to get an obscenely high bonus to all saves that stacks with pretty much every other save bonus you're going to get.

The restriction on what spells you can cast is kind of a joke. The spell restriction is a nuisance, but not a major one - a good-aligned cleric can't cast most of the best necromancy spells on the cleric list anyway, and an evil one can just pick up Tomb-Tainted Soul and heal with his negative energy powers.

The variant is on the whole stronger than a core cleric, largely because of Unearthly Grace. As a one-level dip, it's vastly superior to a core cleric - any Charisma-oriented class should strongly consider dipping it. Paladins in particular should note that Unearthly Grace stacks with Divine Grace for dang near unassailable saves.

Errata:

If you have levels in a class other than planar cleric, the bonuses provided by this ability cannot exceed your planar cleric level. If you have another ability that would apply your charisma bonus to saves or AC or both, these bonuses to not stack with the bonuses granted by that ability.

Still wanna dip?

Benly
2011-04-02, 04:32 AM
Errata:

If you have levels in a class other than planar cleric, the bonuses provided by this ability cannot exceed your planar cleric level. If you have another ability that would apply your charisma bonus to saves or AC or both, these bonuses to not stack with the bonuses granted by that ability.

Still wanna dip?

That makes it less dippable, although it doesn't actually change the effect on the class itself.

If you want to make a class that's basically a powered-up cleric that's great and more power to you, just telling you what's going on.