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View Full Version : Born a Thousand Times (3.5 base class, PEACH)



Zaydos
2011-12-23, 02:36 AM
So I apparently have the homebrew bug, and it's taking the awkward form of base classes (which in my honest opinion are the hardest to make and hardest to PEACH so thank you in advance to whatever brave souls attempt it). Also random note where do people get images for their classes? Just off of Google Images :smallconfused:

I wrote out certain balance justifications and concerns I had throughout the class, these areas are marked with red text.

The Awakened Champion:
Intent: Spoilered for length and because honestly I can understand if you don't want to read why I made the class. Balance point intended is 3rd tier if that matters to you, with the class originally intended for melee but quickly realizing that it's probably closer to factotum.
I’m not really sure; originally the class came about from the idea of the character in some fantasy who is cursed so that he cannot die but upon realizing such abilities are necessarily high level I changed it. Some of the abilities, fast healing and contingent resurrections, are intact. As I strove to make a class from the original concept the fluff drifted towards the Hero Eternal concept (most famously seen in Michael Moorcock’s works) and it became a character whose various pasts have, through some fluke, been awakened, granting them knowledge and a wellspring of life. At some point I started thinking about the factotum as a possibly appropriate balance point as due to the concept of being a reincarnation of heroes the class was shaping up to have several abilities drawn from other classes (and the only reason I didn’t stop when realizing that factotum pretty much covered the concept was that I was half done). So in the end this was finished mostly because I thought someone might sometime find it useful and tweaking it to be balanced would teach me how to better design classes and abilities for them. So here’s hoping someone finds this class useful sometime. As for inspiration I will cite Michael Moorcock as my main inspiration but also Rand al’Thor (and Ta’Veren in general), the Nhevarine from Morrowind, and even Link.

Fluff:
Sometimes heroes are born. Sometimes they are born and reborn time and time again. These people, fated to be heroes, usually live out lives of great exploits never realizing that they are reborn from the soul of ancient heroes. Rarely something goes awry and one of these reborn heroes awakens to his past, the voices of a thousand lives clamoring for his attention. Some men break under the strain, a thousand lifetimes of fate too much to bear, others set forth to become greater heroes than any that came before them.
Adventures: An Awakened Champion adventures because they have no choice otherwise. Some may adventure because they feel the need to live up to the greatness of the lives they have lived before, but regardless of motivation ultimately an Awakened Champion cannot choose to retire and live happily. If they find a peaceful life within a matter of years it will be destroyed. If they marry their family will be slain, if they join a king’s court a coup will disrupt it, if they become a king their reign will be fraught with enemies which require their personal attention.
Characteristics: An Awakened Champion is an adventurer first and foremost. They are tough to kill, hanging to life tooth and nail. In addition to their resilience, Awakened Champions have a variety of skills drawn from their myriad lives.
Alignment: An Awakened Champion can be of any alignment, and in fact amongst their lives they usually count at least one of each alignment. Good Awakened Champions put their lives on the line time and time again to protect others from the brunt of monstrous assaults. Evil Awakened Champions are often those driven mad from the strain of the lives which weigh upon them. Lawful Awakened Champions are rarer than Chaotic ones, the life of adventure placed upon them often shattering any belief in law. That said Awakened Champions have a firsthand look at cosmic law and as such some bind themselves to its cause.
Religion: Awakened Champions have no definite religious leanings to or away from the worship of any specific gods.
Background: Awakened Champions come from a variety of backgrounds. There is one common point in the background of Awakened Champions, at some point they awakened to the sheer press of lives behind them and either set forth on their own or waited for such an action to be forced on them.
Races: Awakened Champions can come from any race as destiny calls on them all from time to time. If any race shows a predilection to spawn them it is humans and their tendency to spawn heroes who push beyond their limitations.
Other Classes: Awakened Champions have fulfilled enough different roles in their past lives to know that most other classes can be of use and are willing to consider people on their own merits.
Abilities: Awakened Champions rely primarily on Charisma for their special abilities. Strength determines how well they hit and how much damage they deal in melee, meanwhile Dexterity adds to their AC and initiative as well as ranged attacks. Constitution determines how well they can survive, determining their hit points and Fortitude saves. Wisdom is important for Will saves and Intelligence determines skill points.

BAB Balance: this is usually a point of worry with me, compared to the factotum it’s the same with both having the ability to (eventually) add a mental ability score to attack rolls, the Factotum’s though stacks with Knowledge Devotion where this one’s does not. If they need a boost the first thing I’d like to do is give them Good BAB but I’m not sure if they’re too powerful for that already.

HD type: d8. Much of their toughness comes from healing powers; while I want them tough and hard to kill
Skills per Level: 6 + Int.
Class Skills: Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), any 10 skills of choice.

{
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st
+0
+2
+0
+2Champion Eternal, Fast Healing 1, Mutterings fo the Past
2nd
+1
+3
+0
+3Battle Insight, Fate's Aegis
3rd
+2
+3
+1
+3Bonus Feat
4th
+3
+4
+1
+4Arts of Old, Fast Healing 2
5th
+3
+4
+1
+4Fate of the Eternal, Myriad Souls
6th
+4
+5
+2
+5Insight of the Past, Skill from the Past
7th
+5
+5
+2
+5Bonus Feat, Fast Healing 3
8th
+6/1
+6
+2
+6Shield of Life, Improved Battle Insight
9th
+6/1
+6
+3
+6Destined Blow, Second Chance
10th
+7/2
+7
+3
+7Fast Healing (full health), Skill from the Past
11th
+8/3
+7
+3
+7Bonus Feat, Second Life
12th
+9/4
+8
+4
+8Greater Battle Insight
13th
+9/4
+8
+4
+8Fast Healing 4, Lingering Destined Blow
14th
+10/5
+9
+4
+9Greater Skill from the Past
15th
+11/6/1
+9
+5
+9Bonus Feat, Hero's Return
16th
+12/7/2
+10
+5
+10Fast Healing 5
17th
+12/7/2
+10
+5
+10Blade of Destiny
18th
+13/8/3
+11
+6
+11Greater Skill from the Past
19th
+14/9/4
+11
+6
+11Fast Healing 6, Bonus Feat
20th
+15/10/5
+12
+6
+12Return from Beyond


Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: An Awakened Champion takes to weapons and armor naturally. They are proficient in light and medium armor, as well as shields (except tower shields). Awakened Champions are also proficient in all simple and martial weapons.

Champion Eternal (Ex): Should an Awakened Champion attempt to stop adventuring, the life you make around yourself will be destroyed as adventure comes to them. For example, should they marry and settle down to raise kids they will come back to their home one day to find their family slain by raiders, monsters, or minions of a big bad.
Balance Notes: Honestly I see this ability as having 0 balance factor; it's a flavor restriction and one that is unlikely to directly affect the character until you want to quit playing him at which point work with the DM to have him die, or say he goes forth traveling the earth. If your character is no longer adventuring then what's the point?

Fast Healing (Su): The sheer amassed energy of past lives swimming through an Awakened Champion makes his fate resist death. His body, channeling this power instinctively, seals fatal wounds quickly. When at below half health an Awakened Champion gains fast healing equal to the listed number. Beginning at 10th level they are no longer limited to half health and have such fast healing regardless of their current health.
Balance Note: Heal to half health is available for the entire party via a 2nd level spell slot and a feat from a cleric at Lv 3 (Touch of Healing from Complete Champion). By the time they gain it at 10th level heal to full health between battles is easily available, if nothing else through wands of lesser vigor, and this just alleviates a little gold. The amount might be significant at low levels in battle, and at first between them, but with their d8 HD they're still within one shot range (1d12+4 from an orc warrior CR 1/2), and capping at 6 at Lv 19 it shouldn't be too significant at high levels within combat.

Mutterings of the Past (Su): Past lives speak in the minds of an Awakened Champion. This ability functions as bardic knowledge of a bard of his class level; in fact levels in the two stack for determining the total bonus to the check (instead of making two checks), but only so long as the Awakened Champion is not in an anti-magic field. Like bardic knowledge this ability gains a synergy bonus from Knowledge (History).

Battle Insight (Su): The lives from the past whisper hints to Awakened Champions in combat, starting at 2nd level they gain a +1 Insight bonus to attack rolls, damage, and AC.

Hero’s Aegis (Su): Energy of their past lives guard an Awakened Champion. Starting at 2nd level if failing a saving throw would directly result in an Awakened Champion dying (either due to the effect being a save versus death, saving throw against an effect which deals enough damage to kill them, or a saving throw against an effect which could deal enough Constitution damage to kill them, etc) they add their Charisma modifier to the save to resist that effect.

Bonus Feat (Ex): At 3rd level and every 4th level thereafter an Awakened Champion gains a bonus feat that he fulfills the prerequisites for. After 8 hours of rest an Awakened Champion may meditate for 1 hour to change what any and all of these bonus feats are to other feats for which they qualify, but may not do so if they are being used to fulfill the prerequisites of feats or prestige classes.
Balance concerns: Too many floating bonus feats? At Lv 19 this is effectively 5 bonus feats at Lv 19, then again Fighters get 11 and it doesn’t do much for them.

Arts of Old (Ex): At 4th level an Awakened Champion gains 7 ranks in any one Craft, or Profession skill in which they have no ranks; every time they gain a level in Awakened Champion thereafter they gain 1 more rank in this Craft or Profession as a free bonus rank.

Fate of the Eternal (Su): Fate has great plans for an Awakened Champion. Starting at 5th level an Awakened Champion has established himself in the eyes of fate well enough that it will protect him. Once per encounter an Awakened Champion may as an immediate action add his class level to one saving throw this round as a luck bonus; this must be used before the saving throw is actually made.

Myriad of Souls: The numerous souls within an Awakened Champion span the breadth of alignments and each brings its own influence upon him. Starting at 5th level if a spell or effect has a different effect on a creature based on that creature’s alignment it affects an Awakened Champion as if they were the most beneficial alignment. In addition any spell or effect to detect their alignment reveals a strangeness about them; they show up as a cleric of their hit dice of each and every alignment although even spells which can only detect one alignment reveal that the Awakened Champion has multiple auras.

Insight of Heroes Gone Before (Su): The whisperings of heroes who lived long ago help you in your daily ventures. Beginning at 6th level 3 times per day you may add your class level as an insight bonus to a skill check you are making.
Balance concerns: This is the ability that made me realize they were closer to factotums than to anything else. I honestly think Factotums do this better as even though an Awakened Champion could add this to the same skill three times a factotum can add this to every skill once each day.

Skill from the Past: Half awakened memories from countless lives of heroes fill your mind. Drawing from these lives you pick up eclectic skills. At 6th level, and again at 10th level, you gain one of the following:
A 2nd level or lower spell from the spell-list of a class which gets 9th level spells usable three times per day as a spell-like ability. Any DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your caster level equals your class level, and you must have a Charisma of at least 10 + Spell level to use it.
Any 0 level spell as a spell-like ability usable at-will. Any DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your caster level equals your class level.
A 3rd level stance or maneuver; you do not need to meet the prerequisites for this maneuver, and your initiator level for this maneuver (but not others) is equal to your Class level + ½ your levels in other classes. Maneuvers gained this way have no recovery method but are all considered readied and can be used once per encounter.
A least invocation; caster level equal to your class level.
The ability to bind a 1st level vestige. For the purposes of determining this vestige's special abilities your Effective Binder Level is equal to your Awakened Champion class level plus your levels in Binder if any. If the Awakened Champion selects this ability multiple times he is still only able to bind 1 vestige at a time unless another class (binder) gives him the ability to bind multiple vestiges normally.
The ability to use any 2nd level or lower psionic power as a psi-like ability three times per day. Any DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your manifester level equals your class level, and you must have a Charisma of at least 10 + Power Level to use it.
Any one 2nd level or lower utterance of the evolved mind. Any save DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your caster level equals your class level.
Trapfinding.
Balance Concern: Umm… I’m pretty sure there’s some way to break this. Okay actually this one is unlikely to be too bad, though I might reduce the SLA uses.


Improved Battle Insight (Su): You have learned how to better listen to the voices of the past in combat. Beginning at 8th level you gain a +2 Insight bonus to attack rolls, damage, and AC; this supercedes (does not stack with) Battle Insight.

Shield of Life (Ex): The myriad of lives within an Awakened Hero bolster his own life force making it difficult to extinguish. Beginning at 8th level an Awakened Hero becomes immune to death effects, in addition he cannot receive negative levels.
Balance Concerns: It’s continuous death ward, but without negative energy immunity for fluff reasons. While this isn't available till higher levels normally (+4 armor quality) it's also not really that necessary till high levels.

Destined Blow: Destiny is part of the life of an Awakened Hero. Starting at 9th level once per day as part of an attack they may designate it as a destined blow. This attack gains a luck bonus to hit equal to their class level, ignores all miss chances, and if it hits is automatically a critical hit even against a creature which is normally immune to critical hits. If the target survives the attack they must make a Will save (DC 10 +1/2 your class level + your Charisma modifier) or be shaken for 1 round per class level; this portion of the effect is a mind-affecting, fear effect.
Balance Notes: Automatic critical hits can be good; I don’t actually know all the abilities you can get riding on a crit, but once per day it shouldn’t be bad. Honestly while thematic this is mostly a minor ability because it is limited to once per day, although the potential for x4 damage is quite powerful (might should just make it deal double damage).

Second Chance (Su): The lives that fill you bolster your own life force and make death come not easily to you. This allows you short bursts of healing energy which go beyond the miraculous. Starting 9th level once per day if you die you are immediately affected as if by the Revivify spell. If you would be killed in a way which would make it impossible for Revivify to revive you this ability does not activate.
Balance Notes: It brings you back, but you’re at low enough health that you’ll probably be killed again next round. You’d better hope that your allies manage to take out whatever took you out before it can repeat the performance.

Second Life: Innumerable lifetimes mix in your soul, all half awake and some even more so. Beginning at 11th level one such life has awakened to such an extent that you take on some of the qualities of its race. Select one race from the list below. You are considered to be a member of that race for meeting prerequisites and using magic items, and gain the abilities listed below.
Dwarf: Stonecunning, +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC against giants.
Elf: a +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks. In addition if you pass within 5-ft of a secret door you automatically may make a Search check as if you were actively looking for it.
Gnome: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions, +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids, and a +4 dodge bonus to AC against giants.
Halfling: +2 racial bonus to Climb, Jump, and Move Silently checks, and a +2 morale bonus on saves versus fear.
Will add more, if some are requested.

Greater Battle Insight (Su): The voices in your soul grow stronger even as you do. Starting at 12th level you add your Charisma modifier (if positive) as an Insight bonus to attack rolls, weapon damage, and AC. This normally supercedes Improved Battle Insight, although should your Charisma modifier ever drop to +1 or less Improved Battle Insight's higher bonus would take precedence.
Balance Notes: With medium BAB I mostly think this kicks it up to good or maybe a little below. The AC bonus is a little worrisome, though, and I might drop it from Greater leaving it at +2 (the same as Foresight and only 1 higher than a 5000 GP slotless item).

Lingering Destined Blow: When destiny is upon your side the force of battle swings with you. Beginning at 13th level if you use your Destined Blow against an enemy even if you miss you gain a +5 luck bonus to attack and weapon damage against that enemy for the next 5 minutes. In addition if they fail their save they are shaken for 5 minutes instead of 1 round per class level.
Balance Notes: Once per day against one enemy your functioning a little above base line in melee.

Greater Skill from the Past: Drawing deeper into the lives of your past you access a truly powerful ability they once wielded. At level 14 and again at level 18 you gain either one of the following, or two abilities selected from the Skill from the Past list.
A 5th level or lower spell from the spell-list of a class which gets 9th level spells usable three times per day as a spell-like ability. Any DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your caster level equals your class level, you must have a Charisma of 10 + Spell level to use any such spell-like ability.
Any spell from the Paladin or Ranger spell list usable three times per day as a spell-like ability. Any DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your caster level equals your class level.
A 6th level stance or maneuver; you do not need to meet the prerequisites for this maneuver, and your initiator level for this maneuver (but not others) is equal to your Class level + ½ your levels in other classes.Maneuvers gained this way have no recovery method but are all considered readied and can be used once per encounter.
A lesser or greater invocation; caster level equal to your class level.
The ability to bind a 5th level vestige. For the purposes of determining this vestige's special abilities your Effective Binder Level is equal to your Awakened Champion class level plus your levels in Binder if any. If the Awakened Champion selects this ability multiple times he is still only able to bind 1 vestige at a time unless another class (binder) gives him the ability to bind multiple vestiges normally.
The ability to use any 5th level or lower psionic power as a psi-like ability three times per day. Any DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your manifester level equals your class level, you must have a Charisma of 10 + power level to use any such psi-like ability.
Any one 5th level or lower utterance of the evolved mind, 3rd level or lower utterance of the crafted tool, or any 2nd level or lower utterance of the perfected map. Any save DC is based off of your Charisma modifier and your caster level equals your class level.
Balance Note: This is the ability that really worries me. It’s got so many options, but while at 14th level a 5th level spell might be pretty good it might well be rather weak at Lv 18.

Hero’s Rise (Su): The power you draw from the lives within you increases even as your own power does. Beginning at 15th level once per day when you die you are instantly revived (as if by Resurrection except there is no associated level loss) but are left with only half of your maximum hit points and are dazed for 1 round.
Balance Note: Again you’re revived in the middle of melee with an enemy that just killed you rather nearby. This time, though, you at least have half your health, but you also lose your next turn meaning they still have another turn to maul you.

Blade of Destiny (Su): An Awakened Champion a destined hero, chosen by fate for some role. Starting at 17th level once per day you can, as a free action, declare an encounter a destined battle. If you do so you gain a +3 luck bonus to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, and AC for the duration of the encounter, the crit range of any weapon you wield increases by 2 (this is applied after any and all multipliers but stacks with Improved Critical and Keen), and you may make an extra attack each round at your highest attack bonus. Finally you may move up to your speed as a swift action for the duration of the encounter, this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Balance Notes: You’re at baseline or slightly above it for a dedicated melee combatant for 1 encounter per day. With a split between two stats for attacking one can be expected to be roughly +5 and the other average for a class relying on it so this puts you 3 above with the same number of attacks. The big thing is the swift action movement to get full attacks. Okay this ability worries me... I feel that's just because I'm used to groups where fighter can keep up although I've broken that recently (they've upgraded to ToB; now I don't have to fudge the dice to save them except when I made a monster that spammed summons which got exponentially more powerful for the number of summons of the same type on the battlefield).

Return from Beyond (Su): At the pinnacle of their power an Awakened Champion though empowered by destiny is no longer bound by it. Harnessing the power of countless past lives they obtain immortality of a sort. Starting at 20th level if an Awakened Champion dies they are automatically affected by True Resurrection 24 hours later, assuming their soul is free and able to return and that they did not die in a place where Supernatural abilities (namely this one) are suppressed. They are either revived at a place to which they have a deep personal attachment, beside a person to which they have such an attachment, or near an object to which they have such an attachment.
Balance Note: It’s a free True Resurrection spell; good in case of a TPK. It is not fail proof (soul bind) but it also leaves you without gear in the case of a TPK, or if they just don’t get it back. While it can save you it leaves you in a bad position unless the party could have saved you for 25,000 GP anyway.

TravelLog
2011-12-23, 02:55 AM
I really like this. I have one problem though:


The ability to bind a 5th level vestige. Your Effective Binder Level is equal to your Awakened Champion class level plus your levels in Binder if any.


Particularly this: "Your Awakened Champion class level plus your levels in Binder if any."

That can be broken six ways from Sunday, particularly as EBL is important for later prestiging.

Zaydos
2011-12-23, 11:51 AM
I really like this. I have one problem though:


Particularly this: "Your Awakened Champion class level plus your levels in Binder if any."

That can be broken six ways from Sunday, particularly as EBL is important for later prestiging.

Added the qualifier: For the purposes of determining this vestige's special abilities. So you only get a psuedoreal binder level which only works for the vestige(s) gained through this ability. Is is clear that you do not gain the ability to bind multiple vestiges at the same time from that ability or do I need to add a line clarifying that?

TravelLog
2011-12-23, 01:42 PM
It's probably clear, but making it explicit can never hurt.

radmelon
2011-12-23, 06:27 PM
The eternal champion is one of my favorite fantasy tropes, but I've never found a way to pull it off in D&D. This fills that gap quite nicely.

Noctis Vigil
2011-12-24, 04:16 PM
I like this a lot. My biggest problem is that he has a whole lot of passive abilities, and very few active abilities.

Also, you never say in the ability descriptions: do Battle Insight, Greater Battle Insight and Improved Battle Insight stack, or does one replace the previous?

I think with so few active abilities, a full BAB wouldn't hurt. He's a combatant, after all, and even with the Battle Insight abilities, this won't be broken I don't think.

For the SLAs, I would state that your Cha must be high enough as a caster stat that you could cast it (so at least Cha 15 to cast a 5th level spell, for example). You're fairly heavily based off Cha, so I don't see this as a problem.

Zaydos
2011-12-24, 04:29 PM
As Battle Insight and its improved versions all grant an Insight bonus they do not stack, but in the case that you've taken Charisma damage or drain Improved Battle Insight would actually take precedence over Greater; I will add the note that Improved supercedes regular and the Greater applies only so long as it is a larger bonus than improved.

I think I will add the clause for spell-like abilities and charisma.

With the BAB I'd like to get at least one more opinion, since eventually they get Charisma to hit, damage, and AC (doesn't stack with Knowledge Devotion which is a minus) and... something roughly equivalent to greater rage... hmm. Okay it's probably not too bad, but I'd still like another opinion; also on whether to keep Charisma to AC or drop it to just +2 (you have medium armor so your AC is as good as most non-casters already and most casters short of polymorph/shapechange)

Also should Destined Blow be auto-crit or just 2x damage, to stop everyone of these from picking up a scythe and laughing madly?

Noctis Vigil
2011-12-24, 05:37 PM
Frankly, Destined Blow is once a day. Once a day auto crit just isn't that overpowered, and frankly, if you decided to make it auto max damage for the attack as well, I don't think anyone would blink twice at it.

Veklim
2011-12-24, 07:20 PM
As for inspiration I will cite Michael Moorcock as my main inspiration but also Rand al’Thor (and Ta’Veren in general), the Nhevarine from Morrowind, and even Link.

You missed out Kenny, serial reincarnation sucks/rocks! And whilst on the subject of Southpark AND this thread (I hadn't forgotten!), I'd have to say 'Holy **** dude!' It's little bits of everything, all rolled into one huge class to read! I'm gonna refer to this when not full of whiskey (and coincidentally watching Red Sleigh Down, hence references).


Frankly...*snip!*...I don't think anyone would blink twice at it.

1/day auto-crit is tiny, 1/encounter ain't too much really. I play plenty of fighter-type builds (I like 'hard mode' :smalltongue:) and honestly Destined Blow seems almost underwhelming, by level 9 I'm approaching a guaranteed 1 crit/round with many builds so an extra 1 for sure is just timing the inevitable to be convenient, nothing more.


With the BAB I'd like to get at least one more opinion...

Full BAB won't hurt, nearly everything else which uses it tops out at tier 3, it's not actually a massive bonus after 6th IMO.


...also on whether to keep Charisma to AC or drop it to just +2...

Let it sit at +2, they'll be in mithral fullplate soon enough and they won't need the help.

Gonna read properly tomorrow night (maybe, possibly later) and give a good PEACHing, I'm sure others will too, this is rather interesting.