Gizmo5579
2011-06-03, 04:40 PM
Ok, so I recently watched the Legend of the Seeker tv series and I got hooked really fast. As I was watching I got to thinking how much of a fun campaign that looked like it could be and then began to think of how to incorporate some of the characters and special abilities into a D&D game. That got me thinking even more on how cool the Confessor powers are and how would you set up a class with confessor powers without making her too powerful for the game. Confessing people is cool and all but it would be overkill if a player could just confess everyone she met and have permanent love slaves. So, after a couple of weeks in the making, taking bits and pieces from the show and also from other classes as well as adding the wonderful 'spell like ability' feature I was able to come up with a new Confessor Class that would be formidable, but not necessarily too overpowering. Giving her the confessor powers shown from the series, including the Con Dar, but again, not making her too godly in power. By giving the confessor a touch ability to confess people into being her love slave (though not permanently) and focusing on her special fighting style as well as her ability to discern truth from lies as well as taking a page from the Barbarian class feature of Rage for her Con Dar (though not exactly like rage, in fact there are quite a few differences) I was able to come up with what I think to be a well rounded class that would be a benefit to any party. Unfortunately you can't add files to a thread so I can't just attach the word document that I used and it's a little over 2 pages so I don't want to copy and paste (as this post is getting a little long as is). If you are interested in seeing my design, just send me an e-mail at
[email protected] and I'll send you the document. If you are a fan of the Legend of the Seeker, appreciate the power a confessor can bring to your game, or just think Kahlan is awesome (and in my opinion freaking HOTT!) let me know you want to see my class. Please also feel free to give me feedback or any ideas/suggestions. The best way to get exactly what you want is to collaborate.
faus7rav3n
2011-06-03, 09:06 PM
I'm actually re-reading the Sword of Truth series of books now, which I'm sure you know is where the Confessor and her derivatives are drawn from. The TV show rapes the books terribly.
Anyhow, I've been thinking about doing something like this, and I realized that Confessors shouldn't actually be a class. Confessors are individuals with specific powers that are gained via birthright, they aren't necessarily learned through training. If you have read through the books, Kahlan becomes quite the swordswoman training under Richard's tutelage, furthermore she learns tactics and strategy from her father. I think that a class will stretch the limits of what a Confessor actually gains in reality.
In game terms I think that maybe a Template should be considered. Very easy to confer SLA's of Dominate w/Exhaustion features and a Rage-like ability gained at X level used X number of times/day to represent the Con Dar. Possibly give it a +1 CL adjustment. Hell even a 0 adjustment b/c the abilities would be pretty fairly balanced with the exhaustion trait.
Gizmo5579
2011-06-08, 11:39 AM
I'm actually re-reading the Sword of Truth series of books now, which I'm sure you know is where the Confessor and her derivatives are drawn from. The TV show rapes the books terribly.
Anyhow, I've been thinking about doing something like this, and I realized that Confessors shouldn't actually be a class. Confessors are individuals with specific powers that are gained via birthright, they aren't necessarily learned through training. If you have read through the books, Kahlan becomes quite the swordswoman training under Richard's tutelage, furthermore she learns tactics and strategy from her father. I think that a class will stretch the limits of what a Confessor actually gains in reality.
In game terms I think that maybe a Template should be considered. Very easy to confer SLA's of Dominate w/Exhaustion features and a Rage-like ability gained at X level used X number of times/day to represent the Con Dar. Possibly give it a +1 CL adjustment. Hell even a 0 adjustment b/c the abilities would be pretty fairly balanced with the exhaustion trait.
I'm actually including the fact that a confessor is born with her powers when I finish with the background for the class (i.e. race, religion, adventure, that kind of thing) and as such this particular class is one you can only take upon character creation and it automatically takes the place the race's preferred class. I opted for a class rather than a template because I feel it's much easier to work with a class than a template, including CL adjustments. They may have gained their powers at birth, but like all things they need to be studied and honed to perfection.
I have not read the books, though I am aware that is where the confessor's come from, but being as I haven't read the book I wasn't aware of her increased swordsmanship. However, based on the awesome performance all the confessors on the show displayed with their two weapon fighting style I've included advancements in two weapon fighting for the confessor as she levels. Essentially, this works the same as a rangers preferred fighting style character class feature, however it only works for two weapon fighting (not a ranged weapon) and is only in effect when the character is wearing light or no armor and is wielding two daggers. I also included weapon finesse as a class feat since confessor's (based on what I've seen) rely more on their grace and finesse rather than brute strength.
Also, this character class does offer the Con Dar at higher levels. I went into this very extensively, allowing the Con Dar once per day at level 16 and twice per day at level 20. In the Con Dar she can use her confess ability as a ranged touch attack as opposed to a targeted unarmed tough attack as well as the ability to confess multiple opponents at once (I called it Confess Mass in the class features). Also, I wanted to go with a class that I could dull down a bit from the show as even with a CL adjustment, being able to confess someone permanently anytime you want to would overpower anyone. Instead, she confesses at a rate of 1 hour/confessor level, allowing her to attempt a confession once per day per confessor level to a creature with a max HD of no more than her current Confessor level. Upon reaching 20th level she can make a confession permanent as though casting the permanency spell when she confesses the opponent. As with the permanency spell, a confessor would need to expend XP to make a confession permanent at a rate of 500XP per HD of confessed creature. Also, if making a confession permanent would drop a Confessor below level 20, she needs to wait till she attains level 20 again before making another permanent confession. Also, her confession incorporates fatigue as well, since confessors on the tv show show signs of fatigue after they confess someone.
I also included abilities that give her a bonus on sense motive checks to discern truth from lies, eventually evolving into the ability to cast discern lies as a spell like ability once per day per confessor level at a CL equal to her confessor class as well as synergies to skills allowing a +2 to sense motive checks when the confessor has 5 or more ranks in the appropriate Knowledge skill based on the situation. Also, to add a little more variety to the confessor I included 6 new feats to add at the DM's discretion including: Extra Confess; Confessor's Grace; Confess Animal; Confess Monster; Higher Confess; and Improved Confess.
Just let me know if you want to know more about the class or any of the extra feats I mentioned. Also, I've converted the Word Doc to a PDF file (though I'm sure I'll make minor adjustments to it as I get more insight or ideas, also when I finally get around to the class background).
Gizmo5579
2011-06-08, 02:05 PM
Ok, so someone has helped me learn how to add a drop down which will allow me to post the class in the forum without taking up 3 pages (though it will take up that space with you open the drop downs) so here goes nothing.
First the table:
Table 1-1: The Confessor
Lvl BA- Fort- Ref- Will------- Special:
1 +0 - 0 -2 -2 -Confess, Sense Truth, Twin Daggers
2 +1 - 0 -3 -3
3 +2 - 1 -3 -3
4 +3 - 1 -4 -4 -Weapon Finesse
5 +3 - 1 -4 -4
6 +4 - 2 -5 -5
7 +5 - 2 -5 -5
8 +6/+1 - 2 -6 -6 -Improved Twin Daggers
9 +6/+1 - 3 -6 -6
10 +7/+2 - 3 -7 -7 -Greater Confess
11 +8/+3 - 3 -7 -7
12 +9/+4 - 4 -8 -8 -Know Truth
13 +9/+4 - 4 -8 -8
14 +10/+5 - 4 -9 -9
15 +11/+6/+1 -5 -9 -9 -Twin Daggers Mastery
16 +12/+7/+2 -5 -10 -10 -Con Dar 1/day
17 +12/+7/+2 -5 -10 -10
18 +13 /+8 /+3 -6 -11 -11
19 +14/+9 /+4 -6 -11 -11
20 +15/+10/+5 -6 -12 -12 -Permanent Confession, Con Dar 2/day
I played with the table on here for about 20 minutes and that's the best I could do as far as lining up the columns, but if you play D&D 3.5 you should be able to understand. Also, for a point of reference, she uses the same base attack and for/ref/will setup as the 3.5 bard.
And for the game rule information as well as class skills:
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Confessors have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Charisma is important for a confessor as her main special ability, Confess, uses her Cha modifier to determine the save difficulty as well as the save against her Know Truth spell like ability. Dexterity is also very important as confessors usually rely more on speed and dexterity as opposed to strength.
Alignment: Lawful. It is often a confessors duty to uphold law and order among the people where she comes from as a result of her ability to know who is lying, and who is telling the truth.
Hit Die: d6
Class Skills
The confessor’s class skills (and the key
ability for each skill) are Balance(Dex), Concentration(Con), Diplomacy(Cha), Gather Information(Cha), Heal(Wis), Knowledge [History](Int), Knowledge [Law](Int), Knowledge [Nobinroy](Int), Knowledge [Religion](Int), Listen(Wis), Sense Motive(Wis), Spot(Wis), Tumble(Dex), and Speak Language (n/a).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) X 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Special: A confessor gains a +2 synergy bonus on Sense Motive checks when she has 5 or more ranks in a related Knowledge skill. For example, Kahlan gets to add +2 to her sense motive check to tell if someone is lying about whom the rightful heir to the throne is if she has 5 or more ranks in Knowledge [Nobinroy].
Class features is actually going to be a big one so I think I'll break it down into two drop downs.
The first half:
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the confessor.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A confessor is proficient with simple and martial weapons, and with light armor but no shields.
Confess: The ability to confess is something a confessor is born with, though they typically don’t have a very good grasp on how to use their powers until they are older.
Once per day per confessor level, a confessor can attempt to confess a humanoid creature with up to 1HD / Confessor level by attempting to make an unarmed touch attack with a -4 penalty (for precision), which provokes an attack of opportunity (unless she has the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, PHB pg97), to grab the opponent by the neck or jaw (if target is wearing partial cover that makes it more difficult to make skin contact change the penalty to a -6, if they are wearing complete cover where contact is impossible, the confession attempt fails). If her attack succeeds the target is granted a will save vs. a DC of 10 + Confessor Level + Cha Modifier. If the target fails the will save he is confessed. Undead, constructs, and creatures immune to critical attacks are immune to confession.
After a successful confession attempt the confessor is fatigued (-2 penalty to Strength, -2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for 1 round / HD of the confessed creature. If she attempts to confess someone else while she is fatigued, the duration for her fatigue stacks for each additional creatures confessed and the penalties to Str and Dex are increased by 2 for each creature confessed before fatigue wears off (i.e. if a confessor successfully confesses an opponent and before she has rested from her fatigue successfully confesses two more opponents, her penalty to her Strength and Dexterity scores are -6). If either her Strength or Dexterity scores gets to 0 or 1 she can not make an attempt to confess until she has rested from her fatigue.
When an opponent is confessed, he falls madly in love with his confessor, doing whatever she commands. His complete loyalty is to his confessor and his top priorities above all else are pleasing his confessor and keeping her safe. Upon confession the target immediately turns to fend off oncoming attackers threatening his confessor if they are currently engaged in battle. If there is no threat around, they will answer any of her questions truthfully and fulfill any of her demands that they are capable of. If they have any doubts about their ability to succeed they can voice them with their confessor, but ultimately will do whatever she asks.
The target remains confessed for 1 hour / confessor level. When the confession wears off the subject usually returns to life as usual, though in some cases people have been known to hold a grudge against confessors who have confessed them. Confession can be the target of a dispel magic spell with a dispel check vs. 10 + Confessor lvl + Cha.
For the purpose of resistances, Confess is treated as an enchantment type spell like ability. The unarmed strike used for confess deals no damage, lethal or non lethal.
Sense Truth: As bringers of justice, confessors have a much easier time discerning lies from the truth. First level confessors gain a +2 bonus on sense motive checks to determine how truthful an opponent is being.
Twin Daggers: Confessors learn to defend herself from a young age from anyone would seek to use her powers for their own personal gain. Preferring their speed and grace over brute strength, confessors train in dual wielding of light weapons. When wearing light or no armor and using two light weapons, a confessor is treated as having the Two Weapon Fighting feat (PHB pg102). If she already has Two Weapon Fighting, she is treated as having Two Weapon Defense (PHB pg102) instead.
Weapon Finesse: At level 4 a confessor gains Weapon Finesse (PHB pg102) as a bonus feat.
Improved Twin Daggers: As a confessor advances, she continues to hone her skills in her two weapon fighting style. A confessor level 8 and higher who wears light or no armor and when wielding two light weapons is treated as having the Improved Two Weapon Fighting feet (PHB pg96).
And the second half:
Greater Confess: As she continues to master her gift she begins to feel the drain a little less. A confessor level 10 and higher reduces the penalty to Strength and Dexterity by half (-1 for the first creature and -1 for each additional creature confessed before fatigue wears off) and her speed isn’t halved after confessing more than one opponent before fatigue wears off.
Know Truth: Having the inner ability to tell truth from lie is something that all great confessors master. Starting at level 12, a confessor can cast discern lies (PHB pg221-222) as a spell like ability once per day for every 2 confessor levels (6 times per day at level 12, 7 times at level 14 up to 10 times per day at level 20). For the purposes of determining resistances and saving throw, a confessor casts discern lies with a CL equal to her confessor level using Charisma as the base spell ability score.
Twin Dagger Mastery: At level 15 a confessor becomes a master of fighting with two light weapons. When wearing light or no armor and wielding two light weapons she is treated as having the Greater Two Weapon Fighting feet (PHB pg95)
Con Dar: The Con Dar, also known as the Blood Rage, is an ability only the strongest confessors can master. Usually, the first time a confessor can go into the Con Dar is when someone very dear to her is in extreme danger, and in some cases when her own life is gravely threatened. When in the Con Dar, the confessor gains an unspeakable blood lust, viciously attacking her enemies and unleashing the full potential of her confessor powers. After much practice and intense meditation, a strong confessor can begin to control not only her actions while in the Con Dar, but also when she enters her savage rage.
There are many benefits given to a confessor who goes into the Con Dar, but there are also prices to pay for such power. A confessor in the Con Dar temporarily gains a +2 bonus to Constitution, +2 bonus to Charisma and a +1 morale bonus on Will saves, but she takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class.
The increase in Constitution increases the confessor’s hit points by 1 point per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the Con Dar when her Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are; see Temporary Hit Points, PHB pg146) While in the Con Dar, a confessor is acting more on instinct than anything else and as such cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except for Balance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration, nor can she cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. She can use any feat she has except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats.
While in the Con Dar, a confessor’s powers work a little differently as well, gaining a temporary boost in her abilities. While in the Con Dar, a confessor is not fatigued after confessing an opponent and can attempt her confessions as a ranged touch attack with an increment of 25ft + 5ft per level that does not take a -4 or provoke an attack of opportunity. The target is still allowed a saving through to avoid confession on a ranged confess attempt. In addition to the ranged confess benefit, the confessor can also attempt Confess Mass. Confess Mass is a full round action that allows the confessor to make a confess attempt to one or more targets no more than 30 ft apart. This ability functions like Confess except that Confess Mass affects a number of creatures who’s combined HD do not exceed twice your level, or at least one creature regardless of HD. If there are more potential targets than you can affect, you choose them one at a time until you choose a creature with too many HD. Each creature attempted to confess uses up one confess attempt from her daily confess attempts. After a confessor attempts a Confess Mass she immediately falls out of the Con Dar and is fatigued.
The Con Dar lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Charisma modifier. A confessor may prematurely end the Con Dar. At the end of the Con Dar, the confessor loses her modifiers and restrictions and becomes fatigued (-1 penalty to Strength and Dexterity per creature confessed during the Con Dar, minimum penalty of -1) for the duration of the encounter.
A confessor can enter the Con Dar only once per encounter. At 16th level she can use her Con Dar ability once per day. This increases to twice per day at 20th level. Entering the Con Dar takes no time itself, but a confessor can only do it during her action, not in response to someone else’s action. A confessor can’t, for example, enter the Con Dar after being struck down by an arrow in order to get the extra hit points from the increased Constitution, although the extra hit points would be of benefit if she had into the Con Dar earlier in the found, before the arrow struck.
Permanent Confession: At 20th level a confessor has such a great command over her confessor powers that she can literally enslave someone to her for eternity. When attempting to confess a target she can choose to make it permanent, as though casting a permanency spell (PHB pg.259-260). Doing so requires a full round action and the confessor must announce her intention to make the confession permanent before she makes her attempt. A creature targeted for a Permanent Confession is allowed two will saves; the first to see if the confession succeeds and the second to see of the permanency sticks. If the target fails the first save but succeeds in the second he is confessed as though it were a normal confession with no permanency. If he succeeds in his first Will save the confess attempt fails. In either event, a confessor suffers the fatigue penalties associated with permanent confession as described below.
Making a confession permanent is a full round action that requires a confessor to expend 500XP per HD of the creatures attempting to be confessed. If the confession or the permanency fails no XP is spent. If a Permanent Confession reduces a confessor’s XP enough to bring her below 20th level, the target is still permanently confessed, but the confessor can’t attempt another permanent confession until she attains 20th level again. A confessor in the Con Dar can attempt permanent confession individually or with Confess Mass. Permanent Confession is much more strenuous on the confessor and as such her fatigue penalties after a successful Permanent Confession are -1 to Strength and Dexterity for every 2 HD of confessed creature until she rests again. For example, if a 20th level Confessor used permanent confession on an elf ranger with 12HD, she would need to spend 6,000XP and would suffer -6 Strength and -6 Dexterity until she rested that night.
And for the final drop down, the feats:
NEW FEATS
Extra Confess [General]
You have a knack for bending people to your will.
Prerequisite: Confessor level 1
Benefit: 2 more daily uses of Confess
Special: A confessor can take Extra Confess more than once. Its effects stack.
Confessor’s Grace [General]
A true confessor knows the best way to get someone to do something you want is to use your charm to your advantage. Doing say can make even the toughest opponent beg for your affection.
Prerequisite: Improved Confess, Charisma 19, Confessor level 9
Benefit: You gain a +1 competency bonus on Will save DC’s for your opponent to avoid being confessed.
Special: A confessor can only take Confessor’s Grace once.
Confess Animal [General]
Your ability to confess creatures goes beyond that of a normal confessor’s ability to confess only humanoid creatures
Prerequisite: Improved Confess, Charisma 17, Confessor level 3
Benefit: You can use your daily confession attempts to confess creatures of the Animal subclass as you could confess a humanoid. The animal in question then becomes your completely loyal pet, defending you to the best of their abilities and following your commands.
Normal: A confessor can normally only attempt to confess humanoid creatures such as elf, human, dwarf, etc.
Special: The animal you confess can only understand simple commands such as “stop”, “help”, or “attack” (see the command spell in the PHB, pg) unless you have an ability that allows you to communicate with animals, in which case the animal will respond to any of your commands as a person would. When the animal is released from confession, it will wonder off back to its home as though nothing had happened.
If a Confessor has 5 or more ranks in Handle Animal, she also gains a +1 bonus to her unarmed touch attack to confess an animal.
Confess Monster [General]
Your ability to confess creatures goes beyond that of a normal confessor’s ability to confess only humanoid creatures
Prerequisite: Improved Confess, Confess Animal, Charisma 21, Confessor level 12
Benefit: At the expense of 3 of your daily confession attempts, you can attempt to confess any creature, regardless of type as you could confess a humanoid. The monster in question then becomes your completely loyal servant, defending you to the best of their abilities and following your commands.
Normal: A confessor can normally only attempt to confess humanoid creatures such as elf, human, dwarf, etc.
Special: The monster you confess can only understand simple commands such as “stop”, “help”, or “attack” (see the command spell in the PHB, pg) unless you speak a language the monster also speaks. When the confession wears off the monster in question will typically wonder off back to its home as though nothing had happened, although in some cases the monster may hold a grudge and want revenge (refer to the description in the MM, also defer to DM’s discretion)
Higher Confess [General]
You can take on even strong opponents, bending them to your will.
Prerequisite: Confessor level 6
Benefit: At the expense of 2 of your daily Confess attempts, you can attempt to confess a creature with a max HD of up to 1½ your confessor levels, rounded down. For example, a 10th level confessor can expend 2 of her daily confess attempts to attempt a confession on a creature with up to 15HD (10 for her level X 1½).
Normal: A confessor can normally only attempt to confess a creature with a max HD up to that of her confessor level.
Special: If a confessor also has the Confess Monster feat, she can expend 5 of her daily uses (2 for Higher Confess and 3 for Confess Monster) to attempt to confess a monster with a max HD of up to 1½ her current confessor level.
Higher confess can be used in conjunction with a Confess Mass attempt while in the Con Dar. In this event, the first creature attempted to be confessed in this manner uses the 2 daily confess attempts, and each subsequent attempt uses 1 per creature.
A confessor can only take Higher Confess once.
Improved Confess [General]
You take to your craft of Confession better than most allowing you to maximize your potential to Confess.
Prerequisite: Confessor level 1
Benefit: Use your confession powers at 1 level higher than your current confessor level. This affects how many daily attempts a confessor has, the max HD of creatures allowed to confess, the Will save DC, and the duration of the confession. For example, a 9th level confessor with Improved confess can attempt to confess 10 times per day (as though she was level 10) and she could confess a creature with up to 10 HD as though she were a 10th level confessor, with confessions lasting as though she were a 10th level confessor.
Special: This feat also increases the effectiveness of Confess in the Con Dar including an extra 5ft increment for the range of her touch attack for a ranged confess as well as the max HD allowed for a Confess Mass attempt.
This increase also applies to confessors who use the Higher Confess feat, allowing them to confess creatures with a max HD of up to 1½ times the confessor’s level +1. For example, an 11th level confessor with Improved Confess and Higher Confess can expend 2 of her daily confess attempts to attempt a confession on a creature with up to 18HD (11th level + 1 level for Improved Confess [12] X 1½ for Higher Confess).
This feat does not allow a 19th level confessor to use Permanent Confession. She still needs to be at least 20th level to use her Permanent Confession, but the DC for the will saves as well as the max HD allowed for her confess attempt during a Permanent Confession are increased as though by a confessor of 1 level higher.
A confessor can only take Improved Confess once.
Since I've found a way to get this on the forum without taking up too much space (all at once) I would greatly appreciate any feedback, ideas, constructive criticism, or input you would like to give. Thank you and I hope you enjoy.
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