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Zaydos
2011-12-23, 03:36 PM
Inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226510) I decided I wanted there to be a way to use martial maneuvers via familiars. It might should require another lost caster level (level 3, 4, or 5), and might should have less disciplines available (I tried to give them a discipline with Counters, one with some useful Boosts, Stone Dragon and White Raven because its the teamwork discipline) but here it is:

Fang of Split Souls:

Some mages discard their familiar as worthless, and a liability in combat. Others, though, embrace it sharing body and soul with their familiar. A few of these mages master of the arts of the Nine Swords. Amongst these mages some learn to fight in tandem with their beasts. They learn to integrate their souls further allowing them to share magic from afar and they slowly master the art of melding their sublime martial skills and allowing their familiar to use these same techniques.

Prerequisites:
Skills: Concentration 9 ranks, Balance 6 ranks, Jump 4 ranks, Tumble 4 ranks.
Feats: Improved Familiar
Special: Proficiency in all martial melee weapons
Special: Ability to use a 2nd level or higher strike and at least one stance
Special: Ability to call a familiar.

Class Traits
HD type: d6.
Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Knowledge (the Planes) (Int), Martial Lore (Int), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

FANG OF SPLIT SOULS

LevelBase Attack<br>BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialSpells
1st
+0
+0
+0[table="class: grid"]
[tr][td]LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveManeuvers KnownManeuvers ReadiedStances KnownSpecialSpells
1st
+1
+0
+2
+2
1
0
0Familiar, Ranged Share Spells, Share Stance-
2nd
+2
+0
+3
+3
0
0
0Share Boosts+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd
+3
+1
+3
+3
1
1
0Share Counters+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th
+4
+1
+4
+4
0
0
0Share Strikes+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th
+5
+1
+4
+4
1
0
1Improved Share Spells, Warrior Familiar+1 level of existing spellcasting class


Class Features:

Familiar: Levels in a Fang of the Split Soul stack with other classes for the purposes of determining the abilities your familiar gains.

Spellcasting: At every level except first your caster level increases and you gain additional spells per day and spells known as if you had gained a level in any one spellcasting class you had before taking levels in this class.

Maneuvers: At each odd numbered level you gain a new maneuver known from the Diamond Mind, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisites to learn it. You add your Fang of the Split Soul levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest level maneuvers known.
At third level you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.

Stances Known: At 5th level you gain an additional stance known from the Diamond Mind, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a stance’s prerequisites to learn it.

Ranged Share Spells (Ex): A Fang of the Split Soul’s ability to share spells with his familiar improves. Spells may be shared as long as their familiar remains within 30-ft of the Fang of the Split Soul. If the Fang of the Split Soul chooses to use a spell only on his familiar he can use it at a range of up to 30-ft if it’s normal range would be less than 30-ft (touch, or a personal spell turned into a touch spell by use of Share Spells).

Share Stance (Ex): As long as their familiar is within the range of their share spells ability, a Fang of the Split Soul’s familiar gains the benefits of whatever stance their master is in.

Share Boost (Ex): As long as their familiar is within the range of their share spells ability, a Fang of the Split Soul may allow their familiar to gain the benefits of any boost they initiate. In addition their familiar may initiate boosts that they have readied and unexpended. If it does so the maneuver is expended and the familiar, and only the familiar, gains the benefits of the boost.

Share Counters (Ex): As long as their familiar is within the range of their share spells ability, a Fang of the Split Soul may allow their familiar to gain the benefits of any counter they initiate. In addition their familiar may initiate boosts that they have readied and unexpended. If it does so the maneuver is expended and the familiar, and only the familiar, gains the benefits of the counter.

Share Strikes (Ex): As long as their familiar is within the range of their share spells ability, when a Fang of the Split Soul initiates a strike they may also have their familiar use the same type of action to initiate the same strike on its turn. In addition their familiar may initiate strikes that they have readied and unexpended. If it does so the maneuver is expended and the familiar, and only the familiar, uses the strike. A Fang of the Split soul may not recover maneuvers the same round that their familiar initiates a strike.

Improved Share Spells (Ex): A Fang of the Split Soul’s ability to share spells with his familiar improves further. Spells may be shared as long as their familiar remains within 1 mile of the Fang of the Split Soul. If the Fang of the Split Soul chooses to use a spell only on his familiar he can use it at a range of up to 1 mile. In addition any spell that the Fang of the Split Soul casts and which only affects their familiar has its duration doubled (as if by Extend Spell) with no increase to its spell level, this effect does not stack with Extend Spell.

Warrior Familiar (Ex): A Fang of the Split Soul’s familiar has the spirit of a master warrior. Its BAB increases to equal the master’s character level if it is not already, and its hp is either the base creature’s or 75% of its master’s whichever is higher. In addition their familiar may now use any stance that the Fang of the Split Soul knows, although while doing so it forfeits the benefits of any stance shared to it by its master. The familiar can also benefit from any of the following feats that its master has: Combat Expertise, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Grapple, Improved Overrun, Improved Trip, Power Attack, and Stone Bones. Finally choose either full or new moon, if your familiar dies you suffer half the usual XP cost and can summon a new familiar as soon as the moon enters the chosen phase once again.

bobthe6th
2011-12-23, 04:50 PM
this looks really fun. Not sure if its balanced but it does look fun.

playswithfire
2011-12-23, 10:58 PM
I'm not necessarily the best judge, but I would say that it's balanced, or at least as balanced as Leadership. You essentially get a second character in your familiar who can do the fighting/meat-shielding while you do the casting, but that's not too different than having a martial adept cohort.

One thing to consider, either for incorporation into the class, or at least to think about using in conjunction with it, is the guardian familiars from Complete Warrior. Either at completion of this prestige class with the Practiced Spellcaster feat or shortly after completing it, a Fang of Split Souls can craft himself a Blade Guardian to do his fighting for him which, with access to all the master's maneuvers, should be pretty effective.

Ashtagon
2011-12-24, 12:08 AM
This doesn't really fix the problem that if the familiar dies, the character is screwed for a year and a day before the familiar can be replaced.

Zaydos
2011-12-24, 12:10 AM
This doesn't really fix the problem that if the familiar dies, the character is screwed for a year and a day before the familiar can be replaced.

5th level ability does make it only until it's a full or new moon (so up to 30 days). The reason I didn't do more is because my preferred fix is to change that rule in the first place.

playswithfire
2011-12-24, 12:47 AM
This doesn't really fix the problem that if the familiar dies, the character is screwed for a year and a day before the familiar can be replaced.


5th level ability does make it only until it's a full or new moon (so up to 30 days). The reason I didn't do more is because my preferred fix is to change that rule in the first place.

Guardian familiars also don't require waiting the year and a day, but they have both a gp and xp cost to craft the replacement once the current one is destroyed.

Zaydos
2011-12-24, 01:18 AM
Looked over guardian familiars. They're improved familiars with actually a few debuffs, everything about the class should work fine with them (and Dragon Familiars).

Now I want to make a thread about improving improved familiars since except for UMD + talking they usually aren't good for much as the stuff which makes a familiar nice loses most of the differences (Polymorph, Shapechange).

eftexar
2011-12-24, 01:25 AM
Wow. This actually makes familiars useful (and does it quite well).
That being besides the point, granting full bab to a casting class seems weird even if it does use maneuvers. I would either drop the bab to a lower progression or would remove two the +1s to spellcasting class.
Also what hd and skills does it grant?

Zaydos
2011-12-24, 01:31 AM
Theoretically it's a gish class, like Jade Phoenix Mage (actually I mostly copied the prerequisites from it; 1 less maneuver, less knowledges, and more martial skills), Abjurant Champion (which is actually what I'd combo it with using a 1 level dip into a maneuver using class to minimize loss of caster levels), or Eldritch Champion. All three of which gain full BAB.

As for HD and Skils... :smalleek::smallredface: I forgot both of those. HD will be right up (d6), skills will take a bit longer as I have to decide the skill list.

Edit: Added HD (d6), skills (Balance, Climb, Concentration, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, a few Knowledges, Martial Lore, Ride, Spellcraft, Tumble) and skills per level (2 + Int). Also Jade Phoenix Mage requires 3 different knowledge skills, it does not have Knowledge or Spellcraft as class skills :smallconfused: