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View Full Version : The Bonechiller: Chill with your undead homies [3.5e PrC]



dchevallier
2012-09-13, 09:01 AM
All right, so I'm going to start DMing an evil campaign soon, and one of my players wanted to be a necromancy-focused cleric. So, I came up with this PrC.

http://www.jungarts.com/images/snow%20zombie%20-A.jpg

THE BONECHILLER
Bonechillers are an elite conglomeration of necromancers from far and wide who congregate in the northern forests to practice dark magic. They have been known to freeze entire towns with their devastating abilities, and to revive those who they kill in such a manner. They are feared by small villages all throughout the world who have heard of them. Bonechillers are the stuff of children's ghost stories, and of the stories the village elders tell to children both to frighten and to warn them. A Bonechiller is often not noticed until he unleashes a wave of cold around himself, at which point he is regarded with utmost suspicion, and would probably be captured and brought to a guard.


Entry Requirements:
Alignment: Any evil
Skills: Concentration 8 ranks
Feats: Corpsecrafter, Deadly Chill
Domains: Must have access to the Undeath or the Cold domain
Special: Must have at least one undead minion via the Animate Dead, Create Undead, or Greater Create Undead spell.

THE BONECHILLER (HD: d6)
Level|BAB| Fort|Ref|Will|Class Features|Spellcasting
1|+0|+0|+0|+2|Concentrated Cold, Improved Cold Endurance
2|+1|+0|+0|+3|Master of Undeath|+1 of existing class
3|+1|+1|+1|+3|Tiring Cold|+1 of existing class
4|+2|+1|+1|+4|Frozen Flesh|+1 of existing class
5|+2|+1|+1|+4|Intense Concentration +5, Cone of Cold
6|+3|+2|+2|+5|Create Ice Golem|+1 of existing class
7|+3|+2|+2|+5|Draining Cold|+1 of existing class
8|+4|+2|+2|+6|Frozen Bones|+1 of existing class
9|+4|+3|+3|+6|Intense Concentration +10|+1 of existing class
10|+5|+3|+3|+7|Icy Casing|+1 of existing class[/table]
Skills (2+int modifier): Concentration (con), Craft (int), Heal (wis), Knowledge (Arcana, Religion) (both int), Profession (wis), Spellcraft (int)

Spellcasting: At each level, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Bonechiller, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.
Improved Cold Endurance: The Bonechiller gains Improved Cold Endurance as a bonus feat. He need not meet the prerequisites.
Concentrated Cold (Su): As a standard action (but see below), the Bonechiller can produce an area of intense cold around him, dealing damage to those around him (see table). As a standard action, each round thereafter the Bonechiller may concentrate on his Concentrated Cold ability, and gains a +1 bonus on said concentration check and +1 cold damage per die. As a full-round action, the Bonechiller may continue to concentrate, giving him +2 to the check and +2 damage per die. Bonuses from each consecutive round (regardless of the action taken) stack. The Bonechiller is immune to his own Concentrated Cold ability. The Bonechiller may use this ability for up to one minute at a time, at which time he cannot use it for another five minutes.
Master of Undeath (Ex): At 2nd level, the Bonechiller’s HD limit for controlling undead created by his own magic doubles.
Tiring Cold (Su): At 3rd level, the Bonechiller’s Concentrated Cold ability fatigues anyone that takes damage from it and fails a Fortitude save (DC 15+Bonechiller level+ Wisdom Modifier)
Frozen Flesh (Ex): When the Bonechiller attains 4th level, his flesh begins to freeze over. The frost gives the Bonechiller immunity to frostbite and +2 Natural Armor.
Intense Concentration (Ex): When the Bonechiller attains 5th level, he gets a +5 bonus to all concentration checks. At 10th level, this bonus increases to +10.
Cone of Cold (Sp): At 5th level, the Bonechiller can use Cone of Cold, as the spell, once per day. Caster level is equal to his level.
Create Ice Golem (Ex): At 6th level, you learn the secret to crafting an Ice Golem. You do not need the appropriate Item Creation feats, spells known, nor must you expend GP and XP. However, you must meditate for one day (without eating or drinking, although this is sufficiently restful to regain spells when you pray again) on a block of ice at least 20ft on all sides, which becomes the Ice Golem after exactly 24 hours. This meditation requires a DC30 Concentration check. If it is interrupted, you must restart, spending 24 more hours until you decide to abandon the task (Requiring a DC20 Will save) or complete the task.
Draining Cold (Su): When you attain 7th level, your Concentrated Cold ability exhausts any target that it would normally fatigue (although a successful save still fatigues the target). In addition, the target takes one point of Strength damage (A successful save against exhaustion also negates the Strength damage). If you decide to maintain your Concentrated Cold ability, damaged targets become exhausted if they take damage twice. The Strength damage is cumulative every time the target is damaged, but does not increase with the cold damage.
Frozen Bones (Sp): At 8th level, you may raise anything you kill with your Concentrated Cold ability as a skeleton, as the Animate Dead spell.
Icy Casing (Ex): When you attain 10th level, your body becomes encased in ice. Your size category increases by one, and you gain a +2 bonus to constitution, but take a -2 penalty to dexterity. You become immune to cold damage, but vulnerable to fire damage (+50% damage if no save is allowed, -10 on saves against fire effects). However, 30 points of fire damage in a single melts the casing for 1d6 minutes. When it melts, you lose all the benefits and drawbacks of the Icy Casing ability. The ice encasing you is so cold that the damage dealt by your Concentrated Cold ability increases by one die. In addition, the temperature drops by two temperature bands in the radius of your Concentrated Cold ability.

Check Result|Damage|Range|DC Boost (Boosts DC of Tiring Cold and Draining Cold abilities)
15-19 |1|5 ft|-1
20-24|1d6|10 ft|+0
25-29|2d6|20 ft|+1
30-34 |4d6|30 ft|+3
35-39 |6d6|50 ft|+5
40-44 |9d6|80 ft|+7
45+|10d6|100 ft|+10

EDITS: Italicized SLAs, Justified Frozen Bones as Sp instead of Su, hit two levels casting.

My first Homebrew... what do you guys think? Fluff, power, possible substitutions?

Tanuki Tales
2012-09-13, 10:05 AM
Well, first thing I'll mention is that you should probably add another column to the table to show the increase in spellcasting it gives like most PrCs do.

Coidzor
2012-09-13, 10:41 AM
If I'm reading the Concentrated Cold ability right, that's something that they can spend time making colder and colder for free as a pre-buff and then walk around with at max or near max level for the whole day.

Actually there doesn't seem to be any means for the concentrated cold ability to expire or a clear method for rolling the check result initially. The subsequent rounds the concentration check (which appears to be cumulative or at least constantly acquires a cumulative +1 or +2 bonus each round) increases the power of the ability, but when the ability is started there's no check, so is that intended that it just starts feeling a bit nippy and then the next round it does damage?

Also, the 8th level ability, Frozen Bones, that raises beings killed by Concentrated Cold as skeletons should probably be Su rather than Sp, because it's not an actively toggled spell-like ability that casts a spell, it's a passive rider effect on the concentrated cold.

Also, should probably specify whether these count against his command limit or if he is able to get limitless undead under his command using this method as well as whether corpsecrafter feats will apply.

eggs
2012-09-13, 11:06 AM
Not sure if it's intentional, but the prereqs mean that losing all minions means losing all class powers. That could be cool for a BBEG, but it seems problematic for a PC.

That aura needs a duration and an explanation on when the damage is done before it can really be assessed. But from what we're seeing now, that's looking like a very fast-scaling save and a very party-unfriendly radius.

Master of Undeath is a very strong ability to come so cheaply (2 levels with no CL hit and abilities that a character interested in raising undead would consider anyway).

I'd consider sticking a dead casting level at ECL 1, stacking MoU and Cleric levels for Rebuke Undead to both advance a relevant ability and decrease the "something for nothing" exchange for a cleric.

dchevallier
2012-09-13, 06:43 PM
Good points from all... spellcasting column was easy to implement, done that. I do agree with the whole duration idea, but I figured that when a party member needed to go near him he would dismiss it. As for damage assessment, it's made when the BC makes his Concentration check, as a Swift action for no bonuses, or as a Standard or FLR Action for bonuses. I also agree that I didn't think the casting progression through very much, so I slapped on a 10/10... maybe reducing it to 8/10 (hits at 1 and 5 or 10) would work. There are feats you can take that make up for the loss.

@Coidzor I made it an SLA so his Master of Undeath applied, although it's a gray area for the Corpsecrafter feats. I would say yes, but maybe that's just me.
@eggs The description at the very top said my reason for making it... DMing an evil campaign. It is both a BBEG and a PC PrC at the same time.

Edit: hit 1st and 5th level casting, Corpsecrafter and Master of Undeath now certainly apply. Also, @eggs, it is a glitch that losing minions loses class features. I need to find a better way to word that.

Mithril Leaf
2012-09-13, 11:39 PM
No requirement for energy substitution [cold] and Lord Of The Uttercold? I am disappoint.

dchevallier
2012-09-14, 09:03 AM
The class isn't about cold magic...