Hawkflight
2011-06-04, 11:03 PM
Hello everyone. I'm going to keep this short, so you can get onto the meat of this class, but first a little backstory. I've always liked the samurai as a concept, and recently I've found myself able to play one in a high-level campaign. Unfortunately, most of the WotC-published samurai either suck (CW) or are made for 3.0 (Rokugan). I then happened across Frank and K's Samurai class from their Tomes, which seemed to be just what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the Tomes are a different system, and it's a bit unbalanced. This is my attempt to both convert the Samurai class to standard D&D 3.5, and also to balance it out.
I'm not sure what to do with a lot of this stuff, so I'm going to be relying on reader input. So please, please, please PEACH.
For your convenience, here is the original Tome's Samurai: http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Samurai,_Tome_(3.5e_Class)
Making a Samurai
Alignment: The Samurai can be of any alignment. All of them must maintain the veneer of honor and civility, though there is no reason that they have to actually be Lawful.
Races: The Samurai is primarily found in societies where the law of the land is held in primacy over other things. So while a Samurai himself does not have to be Lawful, Lawful races bear the vast majority of Samurai.
Starting Gold: 4d6x10 gp (140 gold), plus one masterwork weapon.
Starting Age: As Fighter.
Table: The Samurai (Hit Die: d10)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Class Features
1st|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+2|Ancestral Weaponry, Pledge of Loyalty, The Edge
2nd|
+2|
+0|
+0|
+3|
3rd|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+3|
4th|
+4|
+1|
+1|
+4|
5th|
+5|
+1|
+1|
+4|Ancestral Guidance
6th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+2|
+5|
7th|
+7/+2|
+2|
+2|
+5|Iaijutsu
8th|
+8/+3|
+2|
+2|
+6|
9th|
+9/+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|
10th|
+10/+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Blade of Devastation
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+7|Iaijutsu Focus
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+8|
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+4|
+4|
+8|
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+9|
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+5|
+5|
+9|Iaijutsu Master
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+10|
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+11|
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Iaijutsu Grandmaster
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|
[/table]
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis) Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex).
ISSUES:
What I'm going to do is I'm going to address each of these class features one by one, and address them individually before adding them back in. So, I would like to discuss each of them individually, then add them back into the table.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Samurai are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as a single exotic weapon appropriate to the Samurai's tradition. Samurai are proficient with light and medium Armor, but not with shields of any kind.
This one's good, I don't think we need to worry about this one.
Ancestral Weaponry: Every culture with a Samurai tradition has a signature weapon that Samurai from that culture use. Whether it is the Spiked Chain of the Hobgoblin Khanate of Khadun or the Katana of the Human Empire of Rokugan, the weapon serves as a symbol of the office and prowess of the Samurai.
A samurai can only have one weapon designated as his Ancestral Weapon at a time, and this weapon must be a masterwork weapon exalted by the Samurai's warrior culture. He must perform a 24 hour ritual to call his ancestral spirits into the weapon and designate it as his Ancestral Weapon. This ritual costs 100 gp in incense and offerings, and once performed grants the following abilities:
Counts as his Ancestral Weapon for all Samurai abilities.
Has a minimum enhancement bonus to attack and damage equal to his level divided by three (maximum of +5 for a samurai of 20th level or lower).
The Ancestral weapon has double HPs and +10 Hardness, and has the Ghost Touch special property.
Example: Bandy Humaido is a halfling samurai, and his people greatly extort the halfling skiprock as a weapon of war – but because the skiprock is thrown weapon ammunition, it is inappropriate as an Ancestral Weapon (which, of course, you could only have one of). As such, Bandy instead draws the power of his ancestors into a short sword.
Personally, I think this one's good too, so I'm leaving it in. If anyone disagrees, I'm happy to hear their argument and consider changes.
Pledge of Loyalty: Samurai pledge their loyalty to a Lord, a figure of temporal power and head of a noble family or clan. To retain this Lord, they must follow this Lord's orders and uphold any Code of Conduct the Lord obeys. As long as a Samurai does these two things, he cannot be forced to act against his Lord or Lord's family by mind-affecting effects.
Samurai who have broken their vows to their lord are called ronin, while samurai who have never been pledged to a lord or are unwilling to do so are weaponmasters called kensai, sword saints, or simply "master swordsman" or other descriptive title. Regardless of their name, Samurai without a Lord receive a +4 bonus against mind-affecting effects.
Same as above.
The Edge: If a Samurai's BAB is higher than his opponent's, he is considered to have the Edge on all attacks made against that opponent.
This one actually has to stay in, unless we want to completely rewrite some of the class features due to rules changes.
Horde Breaker: A Samurai gains Horde Breaker (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Horde_Breaker_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 2nd level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a Combat Feat (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_Combat_Feats) instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
This doesn't work with the conversion. We need to break this up into several separate feats and abilities, inserted at the appropriate levels.
Kiai! (Ex): At 3rd level, a Samurai may convert a successful strike into a confirmed critical hit. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his half his Samurai level + 2. This ability is a free action that is declared after the strike is rolled and confirmed as a hit, but before damage is rolled. This ability cannot be used on Attacks of Opportunity.
This ability is unbalanced, by general consensus, and needs rebalancing. I am open to advice on this ability.
Whirlwind Attack: A Samurai gains Whirlwind (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Whirlwind_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 4th level.
See 'Horde Breaker'.
Ancestral Guidance (Sp): At 5th level, a Samurai may seek guidance from his ancestors. This counts as a commune effect that can be used once a day. A samurai can also seek guidance from other peoples' ancestors if they are available. This works like a speak with dead effect that may be used once per day.
This one's good, so I'm leaving it in. It's really more of plot-driving machine anyways.
Blindfighting: A Samurai gains Blind Fighting (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Blind_Fighting_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 6th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a Combat Feat (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_Combat_Feats) instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Again, see 'Horde Breaker'.
Terrible Blows (Su): At 6th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon bypasses Damage Reduction and ignores Hardness.
I think this ability is fairly balanced, but it needs to occur at higher levels. Thoughts?
Iaijutsu (Ex): When a 7th level Samurai has the Edge on an opponent, he may take an Attack of Opportunity against that opponent as an immediate action at any time. In addition, he may make one extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
This is another ability I think is fine, so I'm leaving it in. As always, I am open to opposing viewpoints.
Parry Magic (Su): At 8th level, a Samurai may use his Ancestral Weapon to parry magic targeted at him. When the Samurai is targeted by a spell or supernatural ability, he may take an Attack of Opportunity against the targeted effect. If he can make an attack roll against an AC equal to the spell or effect's DC with this Attack of Opportunity, the effect does not affect him.
This one is pretty broken, and needs rebalancing. Maybe if it instead worked like Evasion?
Subtle Cut: A Samurai gains Subtle Cut (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Subtle_Cut_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 9th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose another Combat Feat (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_Combat_Feats) instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
See 'Horde Breaker'.
Blade of Devastation (Su): At 10th level, the Samurai may attack enemies within his reach through objects and walls, his Ancestral Weapon automatically destroying any unattended object or wall in the way with a Hardness less than 20. As a result, enemies do not gain cover bonuses against an attacking Samurai. As a standard action, he can also destroy unattended objects of any Hardness with a successful Ancestral weapon attack.
I actually think this ability is fairly balanced, but again I'm open to opposing viewpoints. I'm keeping it in for now.
Iaijutsu Focus (Ex): At 11th level, a Samurai may make up to his per round limit of Attacks of Opportunity against any opponent(s) that he threatens as an immediate action. In addition, he may make another extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
See 'Iaijutsu'.
Cut Magic (Su): At 12th level, a Samurai may attack ongoing spell effects by attacking the square they are in for Area of Effect effects or the object or person for targeted effects (which does damage as normal to the object or person). This attack is handled like the Samurai's Parry Magic ability, but it only dispels a 10' by 10' section of an Area of Effect spell or spell-like ability.
This one also needs rebalancing, but I'm not sure what to do with it. I could use opinions on this one.
Deny Caster Defenses (Ex): At 13th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from spells or spell-like abilities.
Is this one balanced? Part of me says it is, but another part of me has its doubts. I'm leaving this one open to discussion before adding it back in.
Final Cut (Ex): At 14th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon gains the Vorpal special quality, even if it is not a slashing weapon.
Uh ... this strikes me as a bad idea. Vorpal is fairly overpowered, according to some. Personally, I think the requirement of a nat 20 balances it out a bit, but ... I'm leaving this one open to discussion, but I might just delete this ability altogether.
Iaijutsu Master (Ex): At 15th level, any enemy struck by a Samurai's Attacks of Opportunity must make a Fortitude save against a DC equal to 10 + ½ the Samurai's HD + the Samurai's Wisdom bonus or be dazed for one round. A successful save against this effect makes the enemy immune to this effect for five rounds. In addition, he may make another extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
See 'Iaijutsu'.
Reflect Magic (Su): At 16th level, an spell effect that would be dispelled by a successful use of the Samurai's Parry Magic ability can instead be reflected back on the caster, as per a spell turning effect.
The ability to reflect spells is nothing new, it's an ACF that the Rogue gets at level 2. But the Parry agic ability needs work, so this might require some reworking as well to work in line with the new Parry Magic. On its own merit, this ability is actually fairly balanced, however.
Blade of Souls: At 17th level, any enemy killed by a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon has his soul sucked into it, and this enemy cannot be raised, resurrected, or otherwise returned to life until the Ancestral Blade is broken. Each time the Ancestral Weapon takes a soul, the Samurai gains a single bonus use of his Kiai! ability that must be used before the next sunrise.
I has some serious doubts about this ability, I think we should just get rid of it altogether.
Deny Armor (Su): At 18th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from armor or natural armor.
This ability is awesome, but is it balanced? Discuss.
Iaijutsu Grandmaster (Ex): At 19th level, any Attack of Opportunity made by the Samurai is automatically a confirmed critical hit. In addition, he may make another extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
See 'Iaijutsu'.
Scrolls of Wisdom: At 20th level, the Samurai has reached the pinnacle of his art, and he may compose a treatise of his collected wisdom. If he spends one month composing this treatise, he may distribute it and spread his wisdom. Anyone who reads this treatise gains a +2 competence bonus to attack characters with Samurai levels, but a -8 penalty to attack the writer of the treatise.
In addition, a Samurai who writes his treatise no longer takes ability penalties for aging as long as one copy of the treatise exists.
This ability is fine ... but I'm not sur eit;s particularly good as a capstone ability. Maybe if I swapped it with the 18th level ability?
I'm not sure what to do with a lot of this stuff, so I'm going to be relying on reader input. So please, please, please PEACH.
For your convenience, here is the original Tome's Samurai: http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Samurai,_Tome_(3.5e_Class)
Making a Samurai
Alignment: The Samurai can be of any alignment. All of them must maintain the veneer of honor and civility, though there is no reason that they have to actually be Lawful.
Races: The Samurai is primarily found in societies where the law of the land is held in primacy over other things. So while a Samurai himself does not have to be Lawful, Lawful races bear the vast majority of Samurai.
Starting Gold: 4d6x10 gp (140 gold), plus one masterwork weapon.
Starting Age: As Fighter.
Table: The Samurai (Hit Die: d10)
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Class Features
1st|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+2|Ancestral Weaponry, Pledge of Loyalty, The Edge
2nd|
+2|
+0|
+0|
+3|
3rd|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+3|
4th|
+4|
+1|
+1|
+4|
5th|
+5|
+1|
+1|
+4|Ancestral Guidance
6th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+2|
+5|
7th|
+7/+2|
+2|
+2|
+5|Iaijutsu
8th|
+8/+3|
+2|
+2|
+6|
9th|
+9/+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|
10th|
+10/+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Blade of Devastation
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+3|
+3|
+7|Iaijutsu Focus
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+8|
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+4|
+4|
+8|
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+4|
+4|
+9|
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+5|
+5|
+9|Iaijutsu Master
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+10|
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+10|
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+11|
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Iaijutsu Grandmaster
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|
[/table]
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis) Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex).
ISSUES:
What I'm going to do is I'm going to address each of these class features one by one, and address them individually before adding them back in. So, I would like to discuss each of them individually, then add them back into the table.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Samurai are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as a single exotic weapon appropriate to the Samurai's tradition. Samurai are proficient with light and medium Armor, but not with shields of any kind.
This one's good, I don't think we need to worry about this one.
Ancestral Weaponry: Every culture with a Samurai tradition has a signature weapon that Samurai from that culture use. Whether it is the Spiked Chain of the Hobgoblin Khanate of Khadun or the Katana of the Human Empire of Rokugan, the weapon serves as a symbol of the office and prowess of the Samurai.
A samurai can only have one weapon designated as his Ancestral Weapon at a time, and this weapon must be a masterwork weapon exalted by the Samurai's warrior culture. He must perform a 24 hour ritual to call his ancestral spirits into the weapon and designate it as his Ancestral Weapon. This ritual costs 100 gp in incense and offerings, and once performed grants the following abilities:
Counts as his Ancestral Weapon for all Samurai abilities.
Has a minimum enhancement bonus to attack and damage equal to his level divided by three (maximum of +5 for a samurai of 20th level or lower).
The Ancestral weapon has double HPs and +10 Hardness, and has the Ghost Touch special property.
Example: Bandy Humaido is a halfling samurai, and his people greatly extort the halfling skiprock as a weapon of war – but because the skiprock is thrown weapon ammunition, it is inappropriate as an Ancestral Weapon (which, of course, you could only have one of). As such, Bandy instead draws the power of his ancestors into a short sword.
Personally, I think this one's good too, so I'm leaving it in. If anyone disagrees, I'm happy to hear their argument and consider changes.
Pledge of Loyalty: Samurai pledge their loyalty to a Lord, a figure of temporal power and head of a noble family or clan. To retain this Lord, they must follow this Lord's orders and uphold any Code of Conduct the Lord obeys. As long as a Samurai does these two things, he cannot be forced to act against his Lord or Lord's family by mind-affecting effects.
Samurai who have broken their vows to their lord are called ronin, while samurai who have never been pledged to a lord or are unwilling to do so are weaponmasters called kensai, sword saints, or simply "master swordsman" or other descriptive title. Regardless of their name, Samurai without a Lord receive a +4 bonus against mind-affecting effects.
Same as above.
The Edge: If a Samurai's BAB is higher than his opponent's, he is considered to have the Edge on all attacks made against that opponent.
This one actually has to stay in, unless we want to completely rewrite some of the class features due to rules changes.
Horde Breaker: A Samurai gains Horde Breaker (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Horde_Breaker_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 2nd level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a Combat Feat (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_Combat_Feats) instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
This doesn't work with the conversion. We need to break this up into several separate feats and abilities, inserted at the appropriate levels.
Kiai! (Ex): At 3rd level, a Samurai may convert a successful strike into a confirmed critical hit. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his half his Samurai level + 2. This ability is a free action that is declared after the strike is rolled and confirmed as a hit, but before damage is rolled. This ability cannot be used on Attacks of Opportunity.
This ability is unbalanced, by general consensus, and needs rebalancing. I am open to advice on this ability.
Whirlwind Attack: A Samurai gains Whirlwind (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Whirlwind_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 4th level.
See 'Horde Breaker'.
Ancestral Guidance (Sp): At 5th level, a Samurai may seek guidance from his ancestors. This counts as a commune effect that can be used once a day. A samurai can also seek guidance from other peoples' ancestors if they are available. This works like a speak with dead effect that may be used once per day.
This one's good, so I'm leaving it in. It's really more of plot-driving machine anyways.
Blindfighting: A Samurai gains Blind Fighting (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Blind_Fighting_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 6th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a Combat Feat (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_Combat_Feats) instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Again, see 'Horde Breaker'.
Terrible Blows (Su): At 6th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon bypasses Damage Reduction and ignores Hardness.
I think this ability is fairly balanced, but it needs to occur at higher levels. Thoughts?
Iaijutsu (Ex): When a 7th level Samurai has the Edge on an opponent, he may take an Attack of Opportunity against that opponent as an immediate action at any time. In addition, he may make one extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
This is another ability I think is fine, so I'm leaving it in. As always, I am open to opposing viewpoints.
Parry Magic (Su): At 8th level, a Samurai may use his Ancestral Weapon to parry magic targeted at him. When the Samurai is targeted by a spell or supernatural ability, he may take an Attack of Opportunity against the targeted effect. If he can make an attack roll against an AC equal to the spell or effect's DC with this Attack of Opportunity, the effect does not affect him.
This one is pretty broken, and needs rebalancing. Maybe if it instead worked like Evasion?
Subtle Cut: A Samurai gains Subtle Cut (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Subtle_Cut_%283.5e_Feat%29) as a bonus feat at 9th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose another Combat Feat (http://www.dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Tome_Combat_Feats) instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
See 'Horde Breaker'.
Blade of Devastation (Su): At 10th level, the Samurai may attack enemies within his reach through objects and walls, his Ancestral Weapon automatically destroying any unattended object or wall in the way with a Hardness less than 20. As a result, enemies do not gain cover bonuses against an attacking Samurai. As a standard action, he can also destroy unattended objects of any Hardness with a successful Ancestral weapon attack.
I actually think this ability is fairly balanced, but again I'm open to opposing viewpoints. I'm keeping it in for now.
Iaijutsu Focus (Ex): At 11th level, a Samurai may make up to his per round limit of Attacks of Opportunity against any opponent(s) that he threatens as an immediate action. In addition, he may make another extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
See 'Iaijutsu'.
Cut Magic (Su): At 12th level, a Samurai may attack ongoing spell effects by attacking the square they are in for Area of Effect effects or the object or person for targeted effects (which does damage as normal to the object or person). This attack is handled like the Samurai's Parry Magic ability, but it only dispels a 10' by 10' section of an Area of Effect spell or spell-like ability.
This one also needs rebalancing, but I'm not sure what to do with it. I could use opinions on this one.
Deny Caster Defenses (Ex): At 13th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from spells or spell-like abilities.
Is this one balanced? Part of me says it is, but another part of me has its doubts. I'm leaving this one open to discussion before adding it back in.
Final Cut (Ex): At 14th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon gains the Vorpal special quality, even if it is not a slashing weapon.
Uh ... this strikes me as a bad idea. Vorpal is fairly overpowered, according to some. Personally, I think the requirement of a nat 20 balances it out a bit, but ... I'm leaving this one open to discussion, but I might just delete this ability altogether.
Iaijutsu Master (Ex): At 15th level, any enemy struck by a Samurai's Attacks of Opportunity must make a Fortitude save against a DC equal to 10 + ½ the Samurai's HD + the Samurai's Wisdom bonus or be dazed for one round. A successful save against this effect makes the enemy immune to this effect for five rounds. In addition, he may make another extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
See 'Iaijutsu'.
Reflect Magic (Su): At 16th level, an spell effect that would be dispelled by a successful use of the Samurai's Parry Magic ability can instead be reflected back on the caster, as per a spell turning effect.
The ability to reflect spells is nothing new, it's an ACF that the Rogue gets at level 2. But the Parry agic ability needs work, so this might require some reworking as well to work in line with the new Parry Magic. On its own merit, this ability is actually fairly balanced, however.
Blade of Souls: At 17th level, any enemy killed by a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon has his soul sucked into it, and this enemy cannot be raised, resurrected, or otherwise returned to life until the Ancestral Blade is broken. Each time the Ancestral Weapon takes a soul, the Samurai gains a single bonus use of his Kiai! ability that must be used before the next sunrise.
I has some serious doubts about this ability, I think we should just get rid of it altogether.
Deny Armor (Su): At 18th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from armor or natural armor.
This ability is awesome, but is it balanced? Discuss.
Iaijutsu Grandmaster (Ex): At 19th level, any Attack of Opportunity made by the Samurai is automatically a confirmed critical hit. In addition, he may make another extra Attack of Opportunity per round.
See 'Iaijutsu'.
Scrolls of Wisdom: At 20th level, the Samurai has reached the pinnacle of his art, and he may compose a treatise of his collected wisdom. If he spends one month composing this treatise, he may distribute it and spread his wisdom. Anyone who reads this treatise gains a +2 competence bonus to attack characters with Samurai levels, but a -8 penalty to attack the writer of the treatise.
In addition, a Samurai who writes his treatise no longer takes ability penalties for aging as long as one copy of the treatise exists.
This ability is fine ... but I'm not sur eit;s particularly good as a capstone ability. Maybe if I swapped it with the 18th level ability?