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Cipher Stars
2012-04-14, 11:50 PM
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i382/Cipherthe3vil/Talia_from_Brody__s_Ghost_by_markcrilley.jpg (http://markcrilley.deviantart.com/art/Talia-from-Brody-s-Ghost-155714894?q=boost%3Apopular%20Ghost&qo=301)
The Hesprit



Type/Subtype: Hesprit are native outsiders.
Size and Speed: Hesprit are Medium creatures. They have no penalties or bonuses associated with size. Hesprit move at a speed of 30 feet.
Racial Bonuses: +2 Cha, +1 Wis, -2 Str, -2 Con
Racial Resistance: Hesprit receive a +4 racial bonus to their saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities under the Necromancy school, as well as a +4 racial bonus against fear effects. Hesprit always have at least 1/magic DR against Bludgeoning weapons or one more then they currently would have from other sources.
Soul Mate: Hesprit, being close to being spirits themselves, have a strong connection to the idea of "Soul Mates". Every Hesprit has a Soul Mate somewhere in the multiverse. Hesprit are drawn towards their soul mate by what seems like fate or the guiding hand of their patron deity. A soul mate can be of any humanoid sentient race. When a Hesprit meets their soul mate they may not like them right away, but "fate" keeps pushing them towards each other and they will frequently see one another. After love is seeded the two are then connected. They will always get a feeling when the other is in danger and be fate-driven to come to the others aid if they attempt to do so. When the two are within 100feet of another, they gain a +5 luck bonus to saves and AC.
Fortify: A Hesprit's body, even when physical, has a high concentration of spiritual energy. The Hesprit can usher that energy out, fortifying it, making it act as temporary health. Once per day the Hesprit can gain 1d10 + her character level x Charisma modifier as temporary hit points. At every fifth character level, the Hesprit gains another use. After ten levels, she can use it once every encounter.
Hesprit's Gift: Hesprits do not gain any penalties when aging, and cannot die from age. They cease aging at 18. Hesprit can share this gift with their "soul mate" if they ever find it.
Ghostform (Su): A Hesprit can become incorporeal as a movement equivalent action for a number of times per day equal to their charisma modifier and each use lasts the same amount in rounds. As an incorporeal creature, the Hesprit has no strength score in this form. This ghostform also gains +20ft to their base land speed, a fly speed of 120ft, and can use the following spells at-will as a Supernatural ability (Only when in ghost form):
Etherealness (Can only effect you and your Soul Mate)
Faerie Fire
Modify Memory
Dancing Lights
Lv 1-5: Mage Hand
*lv 6-10: Greater Mage Hand
**LV: 11+: Telekinetic Sphere
Unbound Soul: A Hesprit's soul is not bound to an Afterlife. Whenever the Hesprit is killed, it is simply locked out of its physical form and takes on a Ghostform that does not have a duration and can't be exited. In addition, she cannot effect the world around her through any means other then Mage Hand, Greater Mage Hand, and Telekinetic Sphere. If used to deal damage, damage is halved.
The Hesprit does not appear where it is killed, but is in a sort of limbo. It takes 1d6 days to escape limbo. There is a chance however that the Hesprit will find herself in an owned plane instead, in which case she may have to work to escape.
At any time, the Hesprit can be resurrected without penalty, or can be called with a simple ritual that will act as True Resurrection but gives four semi permanent negative levels that go away every year in-game, or two go away every time the character levels up. If this ritual is done by the soul mate, the penalty lasts only three days.
Racial Skill Bonuses: +4 Intimidate, +4 Hide, +4 Move Silently, +8 Jump, +16 Tumble.
Automatic Languages: Common and Undercommon.
Bonus Languages: Any
Favored Class: Rogue, Sorcerer, Favored Soul
Level Adjustment: +6

Race Details:
Hesprit are Humanoid beings that are strongly in tune to the realm of spirits. Half dead, half alive, Hesprites appear to be human and are extremely difficult to distinguish otherwise without divine, magical or psionic aid.
Hesprit have a supernatural ability to become spectral, or full out ethereal. In this ghostly form, the Hesprit can be a force to be reckoned with, or a highly illusive prey.
Due to their usually charismatic nature and stealthy abilities, Hesprit often favor Rogues or Sorcerers, sometimes a Hesprit is chosen and makes a good Favored Soul.
It is not at all uncommon for Hesprit to be seen as any charismatic class truly.
There are rumors speculating as to how the Hespit came to be. It is widely accepted that they are the descendants of a tribe of humans who traveled into the afterlife to retrieve their beloved priestess and never returned, the humans eventually adapting over time to merge with the spiritual plane in which they resided before the new race found a way out and back to the world in the living in small numbers.
No one knows for sure, because when a Hesprit arrives they do not remember where they came from. No Hesprit is seen younger then 6 years of age and they are almost always found randomly, whether it be in the remains of a wreckage, discovered in a basket in a river, or appearing one day in with the rest of other kids.
Still more unnerving is when they appear new in a family and the family remembers having the child all along, as well as their friends though the Hesprit his or herself does not, but strangers and official records never show of the childs previous existence within the community.

Most Hesprit are wanderers, following a tugging sense of adventure, desire to move on. This is the guidance of the Hesprit patron goddess: Prodepheline, some say. Others say its fate. The desires to travel set in when the Hesprit hits the age of sixteen, and they continue to wander, never staying in the same place more then six months, until they find their Soul Mate. Which can be all eternity, as Soul Mates are rare to be found on the same plane that the Hesprit Awakens on.

Hesprit cannot have children naturally, but when two Hesprit meet and experience strong emotion with one another the energies flowing between them are said to call a new Hesprit to Awaken somewhere on the same plane as they. Hesprit commonly make a goal of finding these younglings.
There is a small chance that a Hesprit can successfully mate with a non-Hesprit race. The resulting child is always of the non-Hesprit's race however.

Lastly, Hesprit are rare. There are usually only up to around 500 of them on any one single plane, and it is unknown where they come from specifically. Such a place where Hesprit run as the dominate or even common race is unheard of.



Hesprit Feats:
Extended Ghostform:
Your Ghostform ability lasts one round longer then normal.

Toggle Ghostform:
Prerequisite: Extended Ghostform
Your Ghostform ability is toggled, having no duration.

Quick Ghostform:
Your Ghostform ability can be used as a free action.

Soulbound Spell [Metamagic]:
prerequisites: Hesprit, at least one level of Spellcasting class
Benefit: You can select one spell you know of at least two levels lower then your maximum spell level. You can now use it at-will as a supernatural ability whenever you are in your Ghostform. This feat can be taken multiple times.

Limbo Hopper:
Benefit: You have a little anomaly in your being that makes it impossible to enter Limbo. You never go to limbo when you die, instead you simply remain in Ghostform as normal where you died.


Alternate Racial Feature:

Replaces Unbound Soul
Deathkin: When a Hesprit would be killed roll a d100. There is a 25% chance that it lives, and is just unconscious. After dealth, if it occurs, there is a new 25% chance of regaining life every week unless the Hesprit is buried on concentrated ground of an unfriendly diety's religion.
In addition, Animate Dead or similar spells effect Hesprit corpses as if a Raise Dead spell. Create Undead and similar spells effect a Hesprit corpse as if a True Resurrection spell (though remains are needed of course, as it requires their body unlike True Resurrection)

Feats for the Alternate Racial Feature.
Undying:
Prerequisites: Hesprit, Character level 10th
Benefit: You add 5% to the chance that you come back to life when killed. Your resurrection can only be stopped by a Wish, Reality Revision, or Miracle. But after the first week, the next chance for a resurrection comes a month later. Then two. Then four. then eight. and so on.

Everliving:
Prerequisites: Hesprit, Undying, Character level 26th
Benefit: You add 20% to the chance that you come back to life when killed. Your resurrection can only be stopped by a Deity. But after the first week, the next chance for a resurrection comes a month later. Then two. Then four. then eight. and so on.

Immortal:
Prerequisites: Hesprit, Everliving, Divine Rank 0
Benefit: You add 50% to the chance that you come back to life when killed. Your resurrection can only be stopped by a Divine of rank 5 or more. But after the first week, the next chance for a resurrection comes a month later. Then two. Then four. then eight. and so on.

Omnilock:
Prerequisites: Hesprit, Immortal, Divine Rank 10
Benefit: You cannot be killed, or erased from any form existence in anyway by anything with less then Divine Rank 15. But after the first week, the next chance for a resurrection comes a month later. Then two. Then four. then eight. and so on.



I made this just to get the idea out of my head. I have no intentions of editing this in the future except to fix the two areas in red which are open to review/suggestion/clarification.

This unless of course you find something glaringly off-key. If something is wrong, please point it out.
Until then, I'm unsure as to the subtype/type, and unsure about the LA.


Kitsune Hesprit:
As Hesprit, but looks like a Kitsune as seen in Pathfinder, instead of a Human, retains Kitsune racial traits except for Kitsune Magic, and Agile which converts into a different agile, adding an additional +2 to Tumble, Escape Artist, and Balance. Kitsune Hesprit comes with the additional ability to turn into a Fox as by the Polymorph spell.
LA +8

Cipher Stars
2012-05-23, 04:07 PM
I feel stupid bumping a thread after over a month when no one commented at all.

But I replaced the undying mechanic and replaced it with something a lot more DM or indeed game friendly.

I could really use insight on those red areas...

eftexar
2012-05-23, 04:15 PM
I would say this is more LA +7. At this point I think it needs a couple of HD because of that (otherwise you risk one hit kills). And I think native outsider would be more fitting for their type.

Cipher Stars
2012-05-23, 05:22 PM
I would say this is more LA +7. At this point I think it needs a couple of HD because of that (otherwise you risk one hit kills). And I think native outsider would be more fitting for their type.

+7? That's like Vampire LA, and in my opinion they're a quite a bit better.
Perhaps if I added a bit of Regeneration and a touch of DR/Magic. What do you think?

eftexar
2012-05-23, 06:05 PM
Actually the vampire is LA +8. You also have to keep in mind the sheer number of weaknesses a vampire (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/vampire.htm) has. You might convince me of a +6 LA though, because I was on the fence already.
This race has considerably fewer weaknesses, bonuses to mental stats, and limited incorporeality. Still you might be able to get away with adding a little bit of DR, but I think regeneration would be too much on top of its other abilities.

Edit > The vampire also has a large number of abilities which are situational or fairly useless at higher levels. Children of the night doesn't scale and blood drain requires a grapple before it even works. It's alternate form, resistences, and DR don't scale either. Your abilities are much more synergistic.

Cipher Stars
2012-05-23, 06:15 PM
Then I made it Six. But gave them +5HP per level, -1 for the -2 con, for a +4HP per level.
I think this is a way to make them a touch more resilient while not as good as giving them Regeneration or Damage Reduction.
Edit: Or perhaps False Life as a Supernatural ability...

Sypher667
2012-05-23, 06:22 PM
Not too sure about balance, never really been good at that. But from a "would I play one" perspective, oh yeah. Very interesting. Though I do question why Wis only gets a +1...

eftexar
2012-05-23, 06:31 PM
My vote's for false life once or twice a day. Active abilities are always more interesting than innate abilities or statistics.

Cipher Stars
2012-05-23, 06:38 PM
Not too sure about balance, never really been good at that. But from a "would I play one" perspective, oh yeah. Very interesting. Though I do question why Wis only gets a +1...
*shrug* They're not all that more wise then others, but its still there. I did make this over a month ago. A lot of things are lost on me now.


My vote's for false life once or twice a day. Active abilities are always more interesting than innate abilities or statistics.
I don't think so. Innate can't be nulled, and it feels like its actually a part of them.
Same problem I have with Aion's flight feeling like its borrowed power, or in DCUO how it seems all power comes from what you wear...
I don't like my characters feeling like they run on "Borrowed" fuel, if that makes any sense.
I'll choose Sorcerer over Wizard any time, for example.
But that's a bit off topic.
I'll make a False Life Like ability and see how that looks.


Edit: added. "Fortify".

eftexar
2012-05-23, 06:49 PM
I didn't say it was better. I just think active abilities are more interesting because you have to participate in their use. Looks good though.
Out of curiosity where did you get that image? It looks really familiar, but I can't place a finger on it...

Edit > I do understand where you are coming from though. Actually that is part of the reason I have always been irritated by the magic item reliance in the d&d system.

Cipher Stars
2012-05-23, 08:06 PM
I didn't say it was better. I just think active abilities are more interesting because you have to participate in their use. Looks good though.
Out of curiosity where did you get that image? It looks really familiar, but I can't place a finger on it...

Edit > I do understand where you are coming from though. Actually that is part of the reason I have always been irritated by the magic item reliance in the d&d system.

Deviant Art, markcrilley. Apparently. Thats what the URL tells me. It was a long time ago...