A Goblin who will rise up to lead his people(3.5)(PrC) PEACH

[Madara]

The Shaman
http://cdnimg.visualizeus.com/thumbs/a1/d8/anton,zemskov,art,character,creature,fantasy,fire-a1d80dfe8313baabf63bde1fd7d8692b_h.jpg
"My people have struggled for too long! They will toil in vain no longer, we will rise up and gain a place for ourselves in the world."- Ukazku, the First Shaman of the Stone Halls

The Goblinoid people haven't always been at the bottom of society. At several points in time, one leader would rise up who was strong enough to unite the goblinoids. Those days are gone, and such leaders do not exist for the goblin people, but some of their spellcasters do learn some of the ways of old, and become well known. These spellcasters become Shamans, and their tribes are often the most successful.


Requirements: To become a shaman, a character must fulfill the following criteria;
Caster Level: 5
Race: Must have the Goblinoid subtype.
Special: The character must have earned the respect of at least six goblins, which decide to follow him. Must have an Eldritch blast that does 3d6 damage.


The Shaman
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |
Invocations

1st|+0|+0|+2|+1|Chieftain's status, Tribal Magic|
+1 level of Invoking Class

2nd|+1|+0|+3|+1|Boost Innate Magic|
+1 level of Invoking Class

3rd|+2|+1|+3|+2|Secret of Goblin Vigor|
+1 level of Invoking Class

4th|+3|+1|+4|+2|Formations and Tactics|
+1 level of Invoking Class

5th|+3|+1|+4|+3|Shaman combat mode|
+1 level of Invoking Class

[/table]
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: 1d8

Class Skills:
Bluff(Cha), Concentration(Con), Craft(Int), Disguise(Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Any), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha)
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier

Invocations: Shaman levels count as warlock levels for the purpose of advancing invocations known and eldritch blast damage. A shaman does not gain energy resistance or any other abilities besides casting from this advancement.

Chieftain's status: At first level, the Shaman becomes equal in status to a chief. This means that goblins are willing to follow him and listen to his orders. The Shaman gains a tribe of followers as indicated on the table below. His status is equal to his class level+ charisma modifier+ Reputation(As Leadership). These followers must all have the goblinoid subtype. At least 1/2 must only have levels in the Commoner, Warrior, Expert, or Adept class. His cohort must also have the goblinoid subtype.

Tribal Magic: The Shaman is responsible for the well being of his tribe, as such, he gains the Lay on Hands ability. His Paladin level for this ability is equal to his class level + 2

Boost Innate Magic: Once each day, after meditating for one hour the Shaman may swap one of their chosen invocations for another. The invocation must be the same grade (Least, Lesser, Greater, or Dark) as the invocation they are swapping it for.

Secret of Goblin Vigor: Goblins have short lifespans, but tribal leaders seem to live for many more years than the average goblinoid. The Shaman's age categories change to be equivalent to a Dwarf. In addition, the Shaman gains fast healing 2, which can heal up to 10x class level hp in a day. He becomes more awe inspiring, and his Charisma increases by 2.

Formations and Tactics: At fourth level, the Shaman learns to command the tribe and better prepare them for combat. The Shaman grants all allies within 100ft. a +2 Insight bonus to AC and Reflex saves.

Shaman combat mode: Once per day, as a free action, a 5th level shaman can enter "Shaman Combat mode" during which they gain the Elemental type and one of the following abilities. They Shaman Combat mode lasts for 5+Cha rounds

Earthen Lord: The Shaman Lord gains the Earth Glide ability as an Earth Elemental.

Sky King: The Shaman Lord gains a Fly speed(Perfect) of 30ft., if they already have a fly speed, their fly speed increases by 30ft.

Fire Emperor: The Shaman Lord's melee attacks deal an extra 2d6 points of fire damage.

Master of the Icy Throne: The Shaman Lord radiates a cold aura which deals 1d6 points of cold damage to all within 5ft. of him.

{table=head] | Followers by level
{table=head]Status | Cohort level
1 | 3
2 | 4
3 | 4
4 | 5
5 | 5
6 | 6
7 | 6
8 | 7
9 | 7
[/table] | {table=head]-1-|-2-|-3-|-4-|-5-
5
6 | 1
7 | 2 | 1
8 | 3 | 2
8 | 4 | 3
12 | 4 | 3 | 2
12 | 4 | 4 | 3| 1
12 | 4 | 4 | 4| 2
15 | 4 | 4 | 4| 3
[/table] [/table]

[rgrekejin]

As much as I love the idea for this class... this whole thing is really pretty massively overpowered (I mean... not Wizard-overpowered, but way overpowered in comparison to the sorts of things Warlock prestige classes normally get). Here are my basic points:

-Boost Innate Magic is, simply, way too powerful. The primary limiter on Warlocks is that, once they choose their invocations, they're pretty well stuck with them until they level again. Giving them the ability to change them around, even in a limited fashion, gives the class way more power than it was ever intended to have. Seriously, this is way, way too powerful, even without the extra +2 to save DCs (which is pretty strong on its own).

-The cap achievement, Shaman Combat Mode, is probably the weakest of the abilities this class grants. I'm still fuzzy on how the Bull Rush Blast would work. Does it do normal damage, too? Maybe swap the order of this with something else.

-Why the increased HD size? Normally a warlock gets a d6, why a d8 for the prestige class? With the boosted fast healing and augmented lay on hands, this guy has a bunch of built in healing already. And since it's granted over only the course of three levels, this is probably better than a normal warlock's fast healing. By the way, for the lay on hands thing, is it his total class levels +2, or just his Shaman class levels +2?

-Why the nonstandard will save progression?

-Why the extra 2 skill points per level?

-You wind up with a pretty small number of followers at fifth level for a legendary leader of goblins. Why not just give them leadership as a bonus feat, with the limitation that you are only allowed to have goblinoids as followers and cohorts?

Yeah... in general, this class is just warlock plus-plus-plus. I think it really needs to be toned down to be playable, but if you only want to use it as an enemy NPC, then I guess it would be alright, but I'd maybe up the CR on it.

[Madara]

As much as I love the idea for this class... this whole thing is really pretty massively overpowered (I mean... not Wizard-overpowered, but way overpowered in comparison to the sorts of things Warlock prestige classes normally get). Here are my basic points:

Well, there are only about 3 warlock PrCs and 2 are duel progression, which makes them weak.


-Boost Innate Magic is, simply, way too powerful. The primary limiter on Warlocks is that, once they choose their invocations, they're pretty well stuck with them until they level again. Giving them the ability to change them around, even in a limited fashion, gives the class way more power than it was ever intended to have. Seriously, this is way, way too powerful, even without the extra +2 to save DCs (which is pretty strong on its own).

Warlock DCs don't scale, because the level of the spell they imitate always remains the same, which makes many of their lower-level invocations much weaker at higher levels.


-The cap achievement, Shaman Combat Mode, is probably the weakest of the abilities this class grants. I'm still fuzzy on how the Bull Rush Blast would work. Does it do normal damage, too? Maybe swap the order of this with something else.

It is a little weak. I was trying to think of something, but it's harder to have a capstone for the 5 level PrCs.


-Why the increased HD size? Normally a warlock gets a d6, why a d8 for the prestige class? With the boosted fast healing and augmented lay on hands, this guy has a bunch of built in healing already. And since it's granted over only the course of three levels, this is probably better than a normal warlock's fast healing. By the way, for the lay on hands thing, is it his total class levels +2, or just his Shaman class levels +2?

He moves into more melee combat in this class, plus increasing dice size really doesn't make much of a difference in hp. I felt that this goblin would be leading his people in the front lines, which meant an increased HD size. Its class level, which means Shaman class level. Total class levels is written as "Character level"



-Why the nonstandard will save progression?
They have full reflex progression, and poor fortitude. Rather than give them two good saves, which I found to not fit the 'Shaman' flavor, I kept the Will save progression at "average"


-Why the extra 2 skill points per level?

I feel that part of a goblin will always be a skillmonkey, and the warlock class should be a little bit more skill monkey than it currently is, so I increased it to 4.


-You wind up with a pretty small number of followers at fifth level for a legendary leader of goblins. Why not just give them leadership as a bonus feat, with the limitation that you are only allowed to have goblinoids as followers and cohorts?

As the fluff says at the beginning, legendary leaders are no more. This guy leads a single tribe. I won't give leadership because Leadership is just plain broken. This restricted cohort/follower progression should be a more balanced version.


Yeah... in general, this class is just warlock plus-plus-plus. I think it really needs to be toned down to be playable, but if you only want to use it as an enemy NPC, then I guess it would be alright, but I'd maybe up the CR on it.

Warlock is tier 4, I hope to bring it up to tier 3, but 2 would also be acceptable. I suppose it depends on your level of play. This is definitely not a T1. In fact, any full "normal" caster could take leadership and outdo this class. Still, thank you for the evaluation.

[rgrekejin]

He moves into more melee combat in this class, plus increasing dice size really doesn't make much of a difference in hp. I felt that this goblin would be leading his people in the front lines, which meant an increased HD size.

Right, the reasons for the extra HP makes sense. It's just that he doesn't really seem to give up anything to get them. Same with the increased skill points. This class is so much better than anything the warlock gets from his base class (and all the available official prestige classes) that you'd sort of have to be crazy not to take it if it was on the table. I was under the assumption that you were trying to balance it against the existing warlock stuff. But if the purpose is to raise the tier of the class, rather than match the level of existing warlock materials, then that makes sense.


As the fluff says at the beginning, legendary leaders are no more. This guy leads a single tribe. I won't give leadership because Leadership is just plain broken. This restricted cohort/follower progression should be a more balanced version.

My apologies, I misunderstood the fluff. I was under the impression that the Shaman was heralding the return of the bygone Goblinoid leaders of legend. I guess it just goes to show that I should read more closely. :smallsmile: Yes, I think that a limited version of leadership is probably much more balanced.


Warlock is tier 4, I hope to bring it up to tier 3, but 2 would also be acceptable. I suppose it depends on your level of play. This is definitely not a T1. In fact, any full "normal" caster could take leadership and outdo this class. Still, thank you for the evaluation.

I think the Boost Innate Magic enhancement elevates this class up to tier 3 all by itself. It allows the warlock to swap out an invocation for one which is useful in the present situation. Warlock invocations are usually more powerful than the spell they imitate, so this increased flexibility, in my eyes, would bump them up all on its own, without all the various other boosts to HP, healing ability, and AC.

[Madara]

I think the Boost Innate Magic enhancement elevates this class up to tier 3 all by itself. It allows the warlock to swap out an invocation for one which is useful in the present situation. Warlock invocations are usually more powerful than the spell they imitate, so this increased flexibility, in my eyes, would bump them up all on its own, without all the various other boosts to HP, healing ability, and AC.

I understand, but I believe the fact that they can only change 1 invocation each day keeps them rather limited.

[JoshuaZ]

Instead of Boost Innate Magic, why not give them the ability to each day choose a single extra Lesser invocation? That's fairly flexible but a bit more balanced.

[Madara]

Instead of Boost Innate Magic, why not give them the ability to each day choose a single extra Lesser invocation? That's fairly flexible but a bit more balanced.

They're already getting normal progression as a warlock, so they get more invocations. I suppose I could drop the DC boost.

[Cieyrin]

There may only be 4 Warlock specific PrCs (you forgot Enlightened Spirit or Hellfire Warlock) but there are several they are capable of taking that advances invocations and eldritch blast damage, like Half-Elf and Human Paragon, Ruathar, Cyran Avenger, Blood Magus, Acolyte of the Skin, Enlighhtened Fist, Green Star Adept, Mindbender, Wild Mage, Uncanny Trickster, Mythic Exemplar, Paragnostic Apostle, Sanctified One, Squire of Legend, Cloaked Dancer, Fortune's Friend, Master of Masks, Daggerspell Mage, Maester, Ollam and Virtuoso, among others. So there are choices out there, you just have to look for them.

And while Boost Innate Magic feels strong, it could probably be reproduced by a Psychic Reformation or some such, not to mention you're trying to go up a tier, so it seems alright to me.