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View Full Version : [3.5e][WIP] Fel Tyrant (A Tier 1-Tier 2 debuffer/dominator)



Giegue
2012-11-07, 08:34 PM
Fel Tyrant


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The allure of power is perhaps the greatest allure of the arcane arts. Wizards and sorcerers can bend reality to their will, subjugating the laws of nature and physics to their power. Some arcanists, however, are more practical in their aspirations. While most arcane casters cloister themselves to gain influence over that which cannot be seen by mortals there is a select few who instead seek more worldly power. Part slaver, part wizard, these corrupt arcane casters study magics that allow them to subjugate and control the living beings of the mortal world.

Known as Fel Tyrants, these dominator-mages focus on magics that allow them to make slaves of other creatures, enervate and twist their body and soul and fool and deceive people into following them willingly. Master manipulators, these Fel Tyrants seek power in the here and now; political influence, hoards of followers and massive empires are what the Fel Tyrant seeks. As a result, their magical arts are not nearly as diverse as that of a wizard, though many abilities wizards traditionally use are also at the command of these power-hungry mages. Despite this, Fel Tyrants remain fearsome and powerful spellcasters who forever seek greater power in the realm of mortals.

Adventures: The Fel Tyrants are, as their name suggests, cheifly concerned with gain worldly power(and usually the abuse of it as well.) As a result, this is often their motive for adventuring. The more they adventure the more they can practice and understand their foul dark magics and the more wealth and influence they gain. Indeed, this wealth and political influence is often reason enough on it's own to call many Fell Tyrants to the life of adventure. However, despite power being the prime motive of most Fel Tyrants, there is a rare few who adventurer because they feel they can use their sinister powers to do some good in the world. These individuals feel they can use dark magic and worldly power as a means to bring positive change in the world, and seek a position of power as a way to right wrongs, deliver justice and help those in need.

Alignment: At the very core of the Fel Tyrant's breed of magic is the ability to warp, twist and subjugate the mind of individuals. As a result, good-aligned individuals never take up this class. In fact, as one may imagine, the vast bulk of Fell Tyrants are of evil alignments. Motivated primarily by a desire for power and control, Lawful Evil is the most common element for Fel Tyrants. These mages tend to be the ones most concerned with using their magical talents to gain influence in the societies of the mortal realm. They will often set out to build vast empires or even conquer the entire material plane.

However, despite this neutral evil and chaotic evil fel tyrants do exist. The former are much more common then the latter. Chaotic evil Fel Tyrants are especially rare, but the few that do exist use their magics and abilities not to obtain influence in society but rather to fulfill their own sadistic fantasies. They raping the minds of their victims with glee and use their thralls more like toys then soldiers, torturing them for fun and putting them through all kinds of horrors for their own twisted pleasure.

While the vast bulk of Fel Tyrants are evil, there is an odd few who are more anti-hero then villain. While they cannot be considered good-aligned individuals, these morally gray Fel Tyrants often claim to be working in favor of the greater good and actively use their powers to help others and assure justice is delivered. However, while they may preach goodness, often times they are forced to use less then noble means to forward their benevolent ends due to the nature of their abilities, and as a result can never reach the exalted status members of other classes can.

Religion: Fel Tyrants while ultimately concerned with their own powers know the value of association with a deity and a church. As a result, many Fel Tyrants often join evil faiths. Of particular popularity among them is Asmodeus, the god of tyranny, slavery and other things that the Fel Tyrant sees as valuable. Other gods worshiped by Fel Tyrants have similar portfolios and often embody the thirst for power Fel Tyrants possess.

However, for every truly faithful Fel Tyrant there is two more who join a church or religion simply as a means to more influence and power. These Fel Tyrants often feign piety while in reality they only worship themselves, using this false veneer of faith to gain favors and aid from powerful clerics and other useful allies that are more spiritually-minded.

Background: Fel Tyrants can come from any walk of life but the vast majority of them come from privlaged backgrounds. The art of the Fel Tyrant is one that is learned, not given at birth and as a result those of wealth and privlage have the best chances of finding the rare and forbidden lore that a Fel Tyrant must study to learn their magics. In addition, those of noble and privlaged birth also tend to have the arrogance, decadence and thirst for power that drives most people to the Fel Tyrant's craft.

However, despite all of this, there are some cases when a more experienced Fel Tyrant sees promise in a less well-off child and offers them the resources and training needed to learn the craft. Such Fel Tyrants are usually the most dangerous of all as living life in the lower class world gives them even more drive and ambition to gain power and raise themselves up then the more privileged Fel Tyrants possess.

Races: Any race can produce Fel Tyrants, but out of all the word's races humans by far produce the most. Humans are naturally ambitious and have a burning desire to tame the world around them. It is there qualites that are the reason humans produce more Fel Tyrants then any other race. Humanity's desire to expand and dominate is embodied in the Fel Tyrant and human Fel Tyrants are paragons of some of mankind's worst qualites.

In addition to humans, Elves also produce a fair number of Fel Tyrants. Elves are naturally giften in the arcane arts and often times considered arrogant by other races. It is when that elfish arrogance becomes megalomania that the elvish Fel Tyrant is born Gray Elves, who are known even among the elves for their arrogance, and the sinister drow are the two elvish sub-races most known for producing Fel Tyrants..

Gnomes, Halflings and Dwarves, while they have been known to produce some Fel Tyrants, though not nearly in the same number as humans and elves. Savage races such as Orcs and Goblins rarely produce Fel Tyrants, the lack the ties to civilized society and access to forbidden lore to do so. However, despite this, there are tales of members of more savage races entering into the civilized world and taking up the art.

Other Classes: Fel Tyrants see others not for who they are as people, but rather in terms of their value to them. As a result, most Fel Tyrants are willing to associate with almost any other class provided they see eye to eye or are easy enough to fool into thinking they mean well. Fel Tyrants see martial fighters as lesser minds, meat shields that are highly useful for protection purposes but who have little other value. Wizards and other arcane spellcasters are considered peers by the Fel Tyrant; allies who can opperate on equal terms. Clerics and other paragons of faiths are likewise respected by Fel Tyrants but not seen as close of a peer as an arcane caster would be. Good Clerics and Paladins, however, are hated enemies to most Fel Tyrants and are seen and treated with hatred and mistrust.

Roll: The Fel Tyrant is a powerful class(About Tier 1-Tier 2 balance wise) that can fill a number of different rolls in an adventuring party. However, despite this fact, the class is build with a paticular strategy in mind. Fel Tyrants are mind-effecting specalists and debuffing masters who combind necromancy, illusion and enchantment spells to a nasty result. Fel Tyrants start combat by debuffing their targets and then, when they are too debuffed to resist the Fel Tyrant starts throwing out their mental domination spells.

As a result, the Fel Tyrant is a primary debuffer who can also bring a fair degree of battlefield control and utility to the table. Utility is, in fact, what separates the Fel Tyrant from the beguiler. The Fel Tyrant as a power-seeker masters some of the more potent generalist aspects of the arcane arts. In addition to his mind-magics and debuffs he possesses a smattering of defensive buffs, contingencies and iconic arcane spells like the planar binding line, Wish and Genesis.

Due to his large amount of skills and large skill list, the Fel Tyrant can also excel outside of combat. With all knowladge skills and the key social skills as class skills the Fel Tyrant can serve as both a textbook and face, and the latter roll is enhanced by some of his class features to boot. The Fel tyrant is a versatile character, and one that can be a valuable asset to any party.

Abilites: Intelligence and Charisma are the two most important abilites for a Fel Tyrant. What spells he can cast, and the power of his spells are both based on his intelligence score. Many of his class features and class skills are also keyed off intelligence. Charisma is also highly valuable to the Fel Tyrant because it determines his bonus spells and also powers his rebuking and leadership-esc abilities. Charisma can also help the Fel Tyrant be more adept at social interaction, which is useful if you seek to be the party face.

Dextarity and constitution are also of great value to the Fel Tyrant. As a class restricted to robes, a good dexterity score is key to having a good defense and constitution is always valued for the extra hit points it grants. Wisdom and strength are the stats with the least value to Fel Tyrants, and strength especially will usually be a dumb stat.


Class Features

Hit Die: d4
Alignment: Any non-good

Proficiencies: The Fel Tyrant has proficiency with the club, dagger, quarterstaff, light crossbow and heavy crossbow. He has no proficiency with any kind of armor or shields.

Class Skills: Bluff(Cha), Concentration(Con), Craft(Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Decipher Script(Int), Gather Information(Cha), Intimidate(Cha), Knowledge(All skills taken individually)(Int), Profession(Wis), Sense Motive(Wis), Speak Language(Int), Spellcraft(Int)
Skill Points Per-Level: 4+ Int modifier(x4 at 1st level)

Starting Gold:As Wizard

FEL TYRANT
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th| 9th

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Edict, Rebuke(1st creature type), Cunning Manipulation |3|2

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Merciless Tyrant|4|3|-

3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|Edict|4|3|2|-

4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Thrall Companion|4|4|3|-|-

5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Edict, Rebuke(2nd creature type)|4|4|3|2|-|-

6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Shatter the Shield|4|4|4|3|-|-|-

7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Edict|4|5|4|3|2|-|-|-

8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|Intelligent Thrall|4|5|4|4|3|-|-|-|-|-

9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6 |Greater Rebuke 1/day|4|5|5|4|3|2|-|-|-|-|-

10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Legion of Thralls|4|5|5|4|4|3|-|-|-|-

11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Greater Edict, Rebuke(3rd Creature Type)|4|5|5|5|4|3|2|-|-|-

12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8|Tyrant’s Prestige +2,|4|5|5|5|4|4|3|-|-|-

13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8|Greater Rebuke 2/day|4|5|5|5|5|4|3|2|-|-

14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+9|Greater Edict|4|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|-|-

15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+9|Rebuke(4th creature type)|4|5|5|5|5|5|4|3|2|-

16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10|Tyrant’s Prestige +4|4|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|3|-

17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10|Greater Edict|4|5|5|5|5|5|5|4|3|2

18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Greater Rebuke 3/day|4|5|5|5|5|5|5|4|4|3

19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Second Cohort|4|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|4|4

20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|Thrallmaster|4|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5|5[/table]

Spellcasting: The Fel Tyrant is an arcane spellcaster who draws his spells known from the Fell Tyrant spell list. The fel tyrant, like a wizard, must prepare his spells ahead of time; he is not a spontaneous caster. However, unlike the wizard, the Fel Tyrant need not keep a spellbook or even read one to memorize and learn spells. Instead, the Fel Tyrant has access to every spell on his class spell list of the spell levels he is able to cast, and whenever he gains access to a new spell level he automatically gains access to all spells on his spell list. To cast a spell, a Fel Tyrant must have an intelligence score equal to at least 10+ the spell’s level. The DCs for a Fel Tyrant’s Spells are equal to 10 + The spell’s level + the Fel Tyrant’s intelligence modifier. The Fel Tyrant receives bonus spells per-day for having a high charisma score in the same way a wizard gains bonus spells based on their intelligence score.

Edict (Su): In addition to his spellcasting power, the Fel tyrant learns a number of special magical commands, called Edicts, which can be used to debuff and weaken opponents or enhance his own manipulative skills. At 1st, 3rd 5th, and 7th level the Fel Tyrant chooses and selects a single edict from the list below. Using an edict requires a standard action unless otherwise noted. Edicts are spell-like abilities and can be used at-will and their DCs are equal to 10+ 1/2 the Fel Tyrant's level + his intelligence modifier.

Edict of Submission- The Fel Tyrant issues a command that weakens his enemy in a way he chooses. The fel tyrant chooses one target within 30 feet that he can see. The target takes a-2 penalty on one of the following: AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws or skill checks. The edict lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3+ the Fel Tyrant’s intelligence modifier. A save reduces this to a single round. This ability is considered mind-effecting. At 8th level, this penalty increases to -4.

Edict of Cowardice: The Fel Tyrant issues a command that fills his enemies with fear. The Fel Tyrant chooses one enemy within 30 feat that he can see as a target of this edict. That target makes a will save. If the target fails his save, he is frightened for a number of rounds equal to the Fel Tyrant’s intelligence modifier. If he makes his save, he is shaken for a number of rounds equal to the Fel Tyrant’s intelligence modifier instead. If this ability is used on a creature that is already shaken, they become frightened automatically and remain so for 3 rounds round. If it is used on an enemy who is frightened, they are entitled to another will save. If they fail, they are shifted from frightened to cowering and remain cowering for 2 rounds. If they make their save, they are freed from the effects of this edict completely and cannot have this edict used on them for the rest of the day. This is a mind-effecting ability. This Edict cannot be taken at first level.

Beguiling Voice: The Fel Tyrant can lace his voice with magic, making others trust him absolutely. This edict mimics the effect of a hypnotism spell, except that it lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Fel Tyrant’s intelligence modifier and it’s DC is equal to 10+1/2 the Fel Tyrant’s level + his intelligence modifier. This ability is mind-effecting and language-dependent. If this edict is used in a non-combat encounter, it can be used as a minor action instead of a standard action At 7th level, this ability can be used to mimic Lesser Geass, having a save DC of 10 +1/2 the Fel Tyrant’s level + the Fel Tyrant's intelligence modifier and a duration equal to the duration a lesser geass spell cast by the Fell Tyrant would normally possess. At 11th level, this changes from Lesser Geass to Geass/Quest, and the duration changes accordingly. If this ability is used to mimic Lesser Geass or Geass/Quest in a non-combat situation it cannot be used a minor action. A standard action is required at any point to mimic these two spells. This ability is mind-effecting and can only be used once per-day on an individual creature.

Cursed Edict: The Fel Tyrant issues a command that curses his foe. The Fell Tyrant chooses an enemy within 30 feet of him that he can see and chooses two of the following roll types: skill checks, saving throws, attack rolls or damage rolls For 2 rounds. When the target makes one of the selected rolls, he must make two rolls and take the worse of the two. When this edict is used, the target is entitled to a will save. If he or she succeeds on her will save, this edict has it’s duration reduced to 1 round. This ability can only be used on an individual once-per day. This ability is mind-effecting.

Edict of Failure: The Fel Tyrant issues a command that causes his enemy to purposely fail against his magic spells. When the target of a spell or edict the Fel Tyrant casts successfully makes their save, the Fel Tyrant can use this ability as an immediate action to force the target to re-roll their save with a penalty to that roll equal to the tyrant’s intelligence modifier. This ability can be used only once-per round and is mind-effecting. This edict cannot be chosen at 1st level.

Rebuke (Su): Much like an evil cleric channels negative energy to subjugate the undead , the Fel Tyrant channels arcane power to influence all manner of creatures and bring them under his command. At 1st level the Fell Tyrant gains the ability to rebuke creatures of one type as an evil cleric of his class level rebukes undead. The types that can be chosen are the following: Humanoid, Monstrous Humanoid, Undead, Dragon, Elemental, Outsider, Aberration, Animal, Ooze, Construct, Fey. At levels 5, 11 and 15 the Fel Tyrant chooses an additional creature type from the list that he can effect with his Rebuke ability. This ability can be used a number of times per-day equal to 3+ the Fel Tyrant’s charisma modifier.

Cunning Manipulation(Ex): The Fel Tyrant has a sharp wit that he knows how to put to use in social situations. When the Fel Tyrant makes a bluff, diplomacy, intimidate or sense motive check outside of combat, he may treat intelligence as the governing ability score for that skill. (So, for example, if the Fel Tyrant makes a diplomacy check outside of combat he adds his ranks in diplomacy and his int modifier to the check rather then his ranks + his cha modifier and so on and so forth.) This ability cannot, however, be used during combat.(So, for example, a Fel Tyrant, if he tried to make an intimidate check in combat to demoralize foes would still add his ranks in intimidate + his charisma modifier to the check. Not his intimidate ranks + his int modifier.)


Merciless Tyrant (Su): The Fel Tyrant is a master of mind-effecting magics and thus is able to use his spells to enhance the power of his edicts. When an enemy fails their save against an enchantment, illusion or Necromancy spell cast by the Fel Tyrant all edicts effecting that enemy have their duration extended for a single round.

Thrall Companion (Su): At 4th level, the Fel Tyrant learns the secrets of mental domination and uses it to enslave an animal to act as his personal minion. At 4th level, the Fell Tyrant gains an animal companion as a druid of his class level. The Fel Tyrant can choose a new animal companion as he levels up in the exact same manner as a druid. Unlike an animal companion, however, this creature is an enslaved thrall and does not serve the Fell Tyrant willingly.

Shatter the Shield (Ex): The Fel Tyrant’s greatest weakness is the immunity so many creatures have to his powers. As a result, he takes it upon himself to learn how to break that resistance. Starting at 6th level, the Fel Tyrant’s mind effecting spells, abilities and class features can ignore resistance and immunity to mind effecting spells and abilities.

Intelligent Thrall (Su): As time goes on, the Fel Tyrant learns how to dominate more powerful thralls. At 8th level the Fel Tyrant loses his animal companion and gains a single cohort. This cohort is fanatically loyal to the Fel Tyrant and serves him because the Fell Tyrant has dominated his mind. He or she is not a willing minion. This cohort is treated exactly as one gained through the leadership feat and his/her level is calculated as a cohort gained with the leadership feat would be. The Fel Tyrant’s effective leadership score for this ability is equal to the leadership score he would have if he possessed the leadership feat.

Greater Rebuke (Su): As the Fel Tyrant grows in power he learns how to strengthen his ability to rebuke creatures. Once per-day, the Fel Tyrant can declare a use of his Rebuke ability to be a “greater rebuke.” A greater rebuke takes a free action to make instead of a standard action. In addition, any creatures forced to cower by this greater rebuke cower for 15 rounds instead of 10. A greater rebuke can also effect more creatures then normal . A greater Rebuke can effect any number of creatures whose total HD do not exceed his effective cleric level +4. Alternatively, he may command a single creature with no more HD then his effective cleric level +4, but he must concentrate continuously to do so, as if concentrating to maintain a spell. At 13th level, the Fel Tyrant can make two greater rebukes per-day. At 18th level, he can make a greater rebuke 3/day.

Legion of Thralls (Su): As the Fel Tyrant grows in power he soon comes to dominate large masses of individuals. At 10th level, the Fel Tyrant gains followers as if he had the leadership feat. The effective leadership score that he uses to determine the number of followers he gains is equal to his effective leadership score for his Intelligent thrall class feature + 1/4th his Fel Tyrant class level, rounded down(minimum of +1). All followers gained with this ability are fanatically loyal to the Fel Tyrant.

Greater Edict (Su): Eventually, the Fel Tyrant learns even more powerful magical commands. At levels 11, 14 and 17, the Fel Tyrant can choose and gain access to one Greater Edict from the list below. Greater Edicts are spell-like abilities that function in the exact same manner as standard edicts; they can be used at will ,take a standard action to use unless otherwise noted and have save DCs equal to 10+1/2 the Fel Tyrant's level + his intelligence modifier.

Greater Edicts

Enervating Command: The Fel Tyrant gives a dire command that enervates a single foe and deals significant damage to his body in the process. The tyrant chooses one enemy within 30 feet of him. That enemy makes a fortitude save. That foe gains 1d4 negative levels and takes 3d6 points of damage to one of the following stats: strength, dexterity, constitution. The negative levels and ability damage gained by this ability are permanent. This ability only be used on a creature once-per day. This Greater Edict cannot be chosen at level 11 or 14.

Subjugate the Masses: The Fel Tyrant eventually learns how to bring many people under the effects of his edicts. When an enemy fails his save against an edict the Fel Tyrant uses, he may as an immediate action use this greater edict to create a burst with a radius of 25ft + 5ft for every four class levels the Fel Tyrant possesses centered on the target of that edict. All enemies in that burst must immediately make a will save. If they fail, they are afflicted with the same edict that the enemy at the center of this burst failed his save against. This edict cannot be taken at 11th level. This is a mind-effecting ability.

Command of Transference: The Fel Tyrant knows that new threats complicate combat. As a result, he learns how to transfer edicts from one foe to another. The Fel Tyrant can choose two enemies within 50 feet of him, one of which must currently not be under the effects of any edicts or greater edicts. The fel tyrant transfers all edicts and greater edicts effecting one target to the other. The target who is to receive the edicts is entitled to a will save. If they succeed on their save, this edict has no effect.

Voice of the Emperor: The Fel Tyrant can only take this edict if he has the Beguiling Voice edict. When using the Beguiling Voice edict, the Fel Tyrant can use this edict as a free action. The person effected by the hypnotism use of his beguiling voice edict is raised two steps higher in attitude rather then one. In addition, when the Fel Tyrant makes a diplomacy, bluff or intimidate check against an individual effected by his beguiling voice edict he may take 20 on that check.This edict cannot be used in combat encounters and only is useable during social interaction. It can only be used once per day on any one individual and is a language-dependent mind-effecting ability.

Tyrant’s Prestige (Ex): As the Fel Tyrant becomes stronger, his talent for leadership and mind-controlling power grows even greater. The Fel Tyrant gains a +2 bonus to the effective leadership score of his Intelligent Thrall and Legion of Thralls class features. This bonus increases to +4 at 16th level.

Second Cohort (Su)t: The Fel Tyrant forever hungers for power, and as a result enslaves another cohort. At 19th level, the Fel Tyrant gains a second cohort, using his effective leadership score for his Intelligent Thrall class feature to determine this cohort’s powers, level, capabilities ect.. Like all other cohorts and followers the Fell Tyrant possesses, this cohort is fanatically loyal to the Fell Tyrant.

Thrallmaster (Su): At the pinnacle of his power, the Fel Tyrant becomes the unchallenged master of mental domination. Instead of adding 1/4th his class level to his effective leadership score for his Legion of Thralls class feature, he adds ½ his class level. In addition, he gains the ability to give telepathic orders to all followers, cohorts and minions dominated or otherwise brought into the Fel Tyrant’s service through his spells. He can give these orders from any distance, but must be on the same plane as his minions in order to give them orders. In addition the Fel Tyrant can, as a standard action, cast greater scrying as a spell-like ability on any follower, cohort or minion dominated or otherwise brought into his service by spells. Cohorts and followers and minions gained via the leadership feat, prestige classes or any other means beyond the base class features and spells cannot be effected in any way by this ability.


Fel Tyrant Spell List

0th: Daze, Light, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Disrupt Undead, Touch of Fatigue, Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation, Ghost Sound,

1st: Alarm, Bane, Backbiter, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Charm Animal, Comprehend Languages, Command, Daze Monster, Doom, Detect Good/Evil/Chaos/Law, Death's Call, Dimension Hop, Glimpse of Fear , Feather Fall, Hypnotism, Identify, Lesser Shivering Touch, Mage Armor, Net of Shadows, No Light, Power Word Fatigue, Power Word Pain, Protection from Good/Evil/Chaos/Law, Ray of Enfeeblement, Restful Slumber, Rope Trick, Remove Fear, Stupor, Sleep, Sorrow, Shield, Silent Image, Ventriloquism, Unseen Servant

2nd: Addiction, Blindness/Deafness, Black Karma Cruse, Charm Person or Ghost, Command Undead, Curse of Impending Blades, Darkness, Darkvision, Darklight, Dimension Step, Entice Gift, Escalating Enfeeblement, Ghoul Touch, Hypnotic Pattern, Invisibility, Locate Object, Masochism, Mesmerizing Glare, Minor Image, Mirror Image, Phantasmal Assailants, Phantom Foe Ray of Stupidity, Rebuke, Ray of Weakness, Scare, Sadism, Sap Strength, Shadow Mask, Shadow Spray, See Invisibility, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Touch of Idoicy, Power Word Sicken, Wall of Gloom, Vision of Fear, Undetectable Alignment

3rd: Arcane Sight, Adoration of the Frightful, Bestow Cruse, Curse of the Putrid Husk, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance ,Circle of Nausea, Deep Slumber, Deeper Darkness, Dispell Magic, Dimension Door, Dominate Animal, Evil Eye, Greater Mage Armor, Invisibility Sphere, Lesser Shadow Tentacle, Magic Circle against Good/Evil/Chaos/Law, Mass Curse of Impending Blades, Major Image, Miser's Envy, Mind Poison, Ray of Dizziness, Ray of Exhaustion, Reality Blind, Remove Cruse, Shivering Touch, Suggestion, Shadow Cache, Shadow Binding, Shadow Dagger, Shadow Slip, Tormenting Thirst, Power Word Deafen, Phantasmal Strangler, Phantom Objects, Wrack

4th: Burning Blood, Charm Monster, Confusion, Crushing Despair, Dream Walk, Dimensional Anchor, Detect Scrying, Damning Darkness, Enervation, Fear, Finger of Agony, Greater Rebuke, Greater Invisibility, Greater Dimension Door, Greater Mirror Image, Hallucinatory Terrain, Horrid Sickness, Identify Transgressor, Lesser Geass, Lesser Globe of Invulnerability, Manifest Desire, Manifest Nightmare, Locate Creature, Modify Memory, Phantasmal Killer, Plane Shift, Psychic Poison, Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Puppeteer, Shadow Well, Sphere of Terror, Scrying, Teleport, Tongues, Ultravision

5th: Dominate Person, Dream, Dreaming Puppet, False Vision, Everlasting Terror, Feeblemind, Greater Shadow Tentacle, Greater Command, Hold Monster, Insidious Suggestion, Sending, Lesser Planar Binding, Morality Undone, Magic Jar, Mind Fog, Mass Charm Person, Nightmare, Night's Caress, Power Word Disable, Prying Eyes, Persistent Image, Shadow Hand, Shadow Form, Shadow Guardians, Shadowfade, Shadow Evocation, Spiritwall, Waves of Fatigue

6th: Aura of Terror, Banishment, Cloak of Hate, Dream Casting, Dominate Person or Ghost, Eyebite, Freezing Glance, Fleshshiver, False Sending, Geass/Quest, Greater Dispell Magic, Globe of Invulnerability, Imperious Glare, Mage's Magnificent Mansion, Mass Suggestion, Planar Binding, Permanent Image, Programmed Image, Power Word Nauseate, Remorseless Charm, Ray of Entropy, Shadow Walk, Snare Astral Traveler, Thousand Needles, Word of Recall

7th: Blasphemy, Bestow Greater Curse, Crown of Despair, Control Undead, Dream Sight, Evil Glare, Ethereal Jaunt, Energy Ebb, Final Rebuke, Greater Shadow Conjuration, Greater Arcane Sight, Greater Plane Shift, Greater Scrying, Hiss of Sleep, Limited Wish, Mass Lesser Geass, Mass Invisibility, Mass Hold Person, Project Image, Retributive Enervation, Symphonic Nightmare, Simulacrum, True Dominate Waves of Exhaustion

8th: Antipathy , Binding, Blackfire, Clone, Demand, Discern Location, Familiar Geass, Greater Shadow Evocation, Greater Prying Eyes, Greater Planar Binding, Maddening Whispers, Mind Blank, Mass Charm Monster, Mass Dominate Person, Nybor's Wrathful Castigation, Sympathy, Teleportation Circle, Power Word Petrify, Unholy Aura

9th: Astral Projection, Dominate Monster, Energy Drain, Foresight, Gate, Genesis, Mass Hold Monster, Mindrape, Monstrous Thrall, Mage's Disjunction, Programmed Amnesia, Power Word Kill, Shades, Weird, Utterdark, Wish

(NOTES: This class is a MAJOR WIP and is very much in BETA state. As a result, I would like help with it. I intend for it to be a Tier 1-Tier 2 class focused on debuffing and mind control, but I want it to be a playable Tier 1-Tier 2. In other words, I want it to be balanced enough to be allowed in a normal D&D game in which you could find wizards, druids ect.. Thus, I am turning to the playground. As of now, this may not be up to snuff to be playable in an actual game. So, does anybody think they could help me make this class a Tier 1-Tier 2 that would be allowed in some games and not just auto-banned on sight by DMs? Also...yes, one of the witch hexes snuck onto the edict list. I thought it was a good ability to use for the class so please don't point this out to me, I know it's there.)

Silva Stormrage
2012-11-08, 12:45 AM
Sure I am always up for reviewing home-brews

HD: Fine
Skills: Make it 2+Int these guys are not skill based and they have int as their primary skill. They do not need to be as good as beguilers at skills.

Spells: They have more spells per day than a wizard AND get other class features. I honestly think you should cut back on their spells per day or maybe cut them to sorcerer spell progression (2nd level spells at 4th, 3rd at 6th etc etc)

Edicts: Hm, I like the idea but most are too strong.

Edict of Submission This is fine

Edict of Cowardice: This is too strong. WAY too strong. Essentially at third level you need to kill this character in 1 round as he can incapacitate any character regardless of their strength in 2 rounds as long as they aren't immune to fear. Make this cause enemies to be shaken on a failed save for 3+int rounds and on a successful save shaken for 1 round. And then add that this ability can never raise someone past shaken. It still can be used with other fear effects but can no longer incapacitate bosses incredibly easily.

Edict of Failure: This is a really good class feature of the fate spinner that not only imposes a huge penalty on the save but ALSO is at will. I have no idea how to balance this it is far too strong. Maybe just have it be an immediate action reroll for opponent's saves that can be used 1/round.

Edict of Slumber: Too strong, the sleep spell is a one round cast time. This is at will, a standard action and affects any amount of HD.

Honestly I would either remove the edicts or move them much later like 9th or 12th level for the first one.

Rebuke: Can they command the creatures they rebuke? And can this be used to fuel things that are powered by turn/rebuke undead like DMM or divine feats? Do the creatures that get rebuked get affected by things that lower Turn Resistance into negatives (i.e Lyre of Restless Dead)?

Cunning Manipulation: Remove this. He doesn't need to be better than other characters by default at skills. Tyrant's Grace should handle it.

Merciless Tyrant: Cool ability.

Tyrant's Grace: This is fine combined with Cunning Manipulation it is fine.

Aura of Fear: Fine

Thrall companion: Why? This class doesn't seem like a nature based class at all. Also its incredibly strong as the animal companion class feature is ludicrously powerful especially at low levels.

Shatter the Shield: WAY too early to get this. At 6th level you can break an 8th level spell (Mind Blank). Thats ludicrous. Raise this to 15-17th level.

Inteligent Thrall: Okay leadership. Make a note that many DM's auto-ban anything that gives cohorts or leadership so watch out for that.

Greater Rebuke: The name is a bit misleading as it brings to mind Greater Turning but this ability is fine.

Greater Edicts:
Enervating Command: Fine
Edict of Suffering: Fine
Subjucgate the masses. Too strong. The only balancing point for edicts is that they can only affect one creature at a time.

Tyrant's Prestige: Fine

Second Cohort: Do you really need this?

Thrallmaster: Surprisingly tame for this class's capstone. At this level you already have a 25 leadership score which you can't get above till epic. The other abilities are fine and flavorful



Overall: This class is WAY too strong. Its a mix between Wizard, Thrallherd, and Beguiler. And frankly might out preform a gestalt of those three classes if thrallherd was an arcane prestige class. Reduce the spells per day to something akin to the druid's spells per day as they have Edicts to make up for lower spells.

Tvtyrant
2012-11-08, 12:56 AM
I disagree with you on the Edict of Cowardice Silva; fear stacking is already extremely easy in game, and this one is not appreciably more so than others. Especially as everything will be immune to it soon.

If you really wanted to fix it so it is still useful but not OP, make the automatic shaken only lasts 2 turns. Then you cannot stack it for long.

Silva Stormrage
2012-11-08, 01:16 AM
I disagree with you on the Edict of Cowardice Silva; fear stacking is already extremely easy in game, and this one is not appreciably more so than others. Especially as everything will be immune to it soon.

If you really wanted to fix it so it is still useful but not OP, make the automatic shaken only lasts 2 turns. Then you cannot stack it for long.

Thats a fair point, but its also a VERY strong trick. With imperious command it is possible to make lock down builds pretty easily. However, for other builds it takes expending resources, on intimidate, items, feats, etc. This class just gets it automatically for the price of one edict (Not that expensive). Also for most fear lockdown builds they only last for 1 round (The ones with imperious command anyway and those are the easiest to do) and require actions each turn to maintain the lockdown. This is fire and forget.

TuggyNE
2012-11-08, 02:58 AM
OK, a couple of global critiques first: aiming for T1 is generally a very dangerous thing to do, as T1/T2 classes require a lot of care to play well with others, and any DM is well within their rights to ban all T1/T2 classes outright; also, the name "Fel Tyrant" is a little odd, since you could just spell "fell" properly and it would still work. (There are assorted spots where capitalization or spelling of the name break down at present.)


Skill Points Per-Level: 4+ Int modifier(x4 at 1st level)

There's no obvious reason to give them so many skill points, as noted already.


Spellcasting: The Fel Tyrant is an arcane spellcaster who draws his spells known from the Fell Tyrant spell list. The fel tyrant, like a wizard, must prepare his spells ahead of time; he is not a spontaneous caster. However, unlike the wizard, the Fel Tyrant need not keep a spellbook or even read one to memorize and learn spells. Instead, the Fel Tyrant has access to every spell on his class spell list of the spell levels he is able to cast, and whenever he gains access to a new spell level he automatically gains access to all spells on his spell list. To cast a spell, a Fel Tyrant must have an intelligence score equal to at least 10+ the spell’s level. The DCs for a Fel Tyrant’s Spells are equal to 10 + The spell’s level + the Fel Tyrant’s intelligence modifier. The Fel Tyrant receives bonus spells per-day for having a high charisma score in the same way a wizard gains bonus spells based on their intelligence score.

Fixed-list prepared spellcaster with several of the well-known gamebreakers on his list: already T2, guaranteed.


Edict (Su) [...] Edicts are spell-like abilities and can be used at-will and their DCs are equal to 10+ 1/2 the Fel Tyrant's level + his intelligence modifier.

This is labeled wrong (it should be "(Sp)").


Edict of Cowardice

Pretty brutal. You can basically solo most encounters with this alone (staggering your targets in order to keep them all fear-locked), and do so at-will no less. Should probably be cut back, increased in minimum level, or both.


Beguiling Voice[...] If this edict is used in a non-combat encounter, it can be used as a minor action instead of a standard action At 7th level, this ability can be used to mimic Lesser Geass, having a save DC of 10 +1/2 the Fel Tyrant’s level + the Fel Tyrant's intelligence modifier and a duration equal to the duration a lesser geass spell cast by the Fell Tyrant would normally possess. At 11th level, this changes from Lesser Geass to Geass/Quest, and the duration changes accordingly.

I assume by "minor action" you mean "swift action", but I'm not sure what the point is, since out of combat you don't generally need to worry about action economy cost anyway. Also, auto-scaling up to (lesser) geas at will is ... odd, to say the least. (One/creature/day is at least a moderate limitation, but not all that relevant most of the time.)


Cursed Edict[...] When this edict is used, the target is entitled to a will save. If he or she succeeds on her will save, this edict has it’s duration reduced to 1 round. This ability can only be used on an individual once-per day. This ability is mind-effecting.

Hmm. This is just "Will halves duration", right? Seems ... a bit strong. Generally this strength of effect is both limited in total uses and Will negates, or sometimes unlimited usage at higher levels. Spamming this at (if I'm not mistaken) level 1 would also be pretty obnoxious, since it's practical to hit them with another save effect while they're still under the curse (even if they make the save, unless they happen to have Mettle).

Also, nitpick: here and elsewhere, you typo "mind-affecting" as "mind-effecting".


Edict of Failure: The Fel Tyrant issues a command that causes his enemy to purposely fail against his magic spells. When the target of a spell or edict the Fel Tyrant casts successfully makes their save, the Fel Tyrant can use this ability as an immediate action to force the target to re-roll their save with a penalty to that roll equal to the tyrant’s intelligence modifier. This ability can be used only once-per round and is mind-effecting. This edict cannot be chosen at 1st level.

Only once per round, eh? Well that makes it all better!

No, but really, forced rerolls are quite strong, and quite rare; 1/round with a further penalty is unheard of, at any level. And you can pick this up at Fel Tyrant 3? I wanna dip this class!


Rebuke (Su): Much like an evil cleric channels negative energy to subjugate the undead , the Fel Tyrant channels arcane power to influence all manner of creatures and bring them under his command. At 1st level the Fell Tyrant gains the ability to rebuke creatures of one type as an evil cleric of his class level rebukes undead. The types that can be chosen are the following: Humanoid, Monstrous Humanoid, Undead, Dragon, Elemental, Outsider, Aberration, Animal, Ooze, Construct, Fey.

Besides cutting in on the cleric's turf (as well as several other far more specialized classes), the FT here gets a completely unjustified level of control over non-magical types. That is, Turning and Rebuking operate by channeling positive or negative energy in such a way that the inherently highly magical undead are forced to respond in particular patterns. Similarly, Fey, Elementals, Outsiders, and a few other types can reasonably be considered to be so filled with magical energy that they're susceptible to certain supernatural manipulation. Not so with Animals, Humanoids, or Oozes at the very least; they have nothing in common, and there is no surge of energy to manipulate there. It simply doesn't work, fluff-wise.

Also, it's almost certainly too strong, since you get control over a pool of commanded creatures of ... whatever type you want, really. It's like necro-minionmancy combined with polymorph.


Cunning Manipulation(Ex): The Fel Tyrant has a sharp wit that he knows how to put to use in social situations. When the Fel Tyrant makes a bluff, diplomacy, intimidate or sense motive check outside of combat, he may treat intelligence as the governing ability score for that skill.

This is dubious (Charisma is a mental stat too, and far more suitable for representing social smarts most of the time), and a nasty source of X Stat to Y Bonus — also, unnecessary, since the FT already wants to keep Cha high for bonus spells.


Merciless Tyrant (Su): The Fel Tyrant is a master of mind-effecting magics and thus is able to use his spells to enhance the power of his edicts. When an enemy fails their save against an enchantment, illusion or Necromancy spell cast by the Fel Tyrant all edicts effecting that enemy have their duration extended for a single round.

Interesting.


Thrall Companion (Su): At 4th level, the Fel Tyrant learns the secrets of mental domination and uses it to enslave an animal to act as his personal minion. At 4th level, the Fell Tyrant gains an animal companion as a druid of his class level. The Fel Tyrant can choose a new animal companion as he levels up in the exact same manner as a druid. Unlike an animal companion, however, this creature is an enslaved thrall and does not serve the Fell Tyrant willingly.

This is dubious. They're just now learning the secrets of mental domination? What were they doing back at first level? (Also, why are they just as good as druids at this, when they're forcing animals into an unnatural bond?) The bit of flavor text at the end doesn't really do anything as far as I can tell, unless an enemy can figure out some way to sever the bond (temporarily or permanently).


Shatter the Shield (Ex): The Fel Tyrant’s greatest weakness is the immunity so many creatures have to his powers. As a result, he takes it upon himself to learn how to break that resistance. Starting at 6th level, the Fel Tyrant’s mind effecting spells, abilities and class features can ignore resistance and immunity to mind effecting spells and abilities.

At this point I admit I stopped taking the class seriously. It trivializes the obstacle deliberately set up in the nature of Enchantment, and does so at an appallingly early level and with no lingering drawbacks whatsoever: there's no action economy cost, no limited uses per day, no partial resistance from immunity, no strain on the caster, nothing.

As the capstone of a 10-level prestige class only enterable with 13 ranks in <relevant skill> and with no other notable abilities, this might be almost tolerable. As it is, no no no.


Intelligent Thrall (Su)

Flavor text and (half of) a free broken feat. Next, please?


Greater Rebuke (Su)

Surprisingly, this is a little underpowered: the strict per-day limit (at last! I've missed those) means the free-action usage isn't much of a problem, and it's not really much more powerful than the standard Rebuke. Mild insult added to serious injury, nothing more.


Legion of Thralls (Su): As the Fel Tyrant grows in power he soon comes to dominate large masses of individuals. At 10th level, the Fel Tyrant gains followers as if he had the leadership feat. The effective leadership score that he uses to determine the number of followers he gains is equal to his effective leadership score for his Intelligent thrall class feature + 1/4th his Fel Tyrant class level, rounded down(minimum of +1). All followers gained with this ability are fanatically loyal to the Fel Tyrant.

The other half of the free brokenly good feat. Now comes with extra bonuses!


Greater Edict (Su)

Again, (Sp).


Enervating Command: The Fel Tyrant gives a dire command that enervates a single foe and deals significant damage to his body in the process. The tyrant chooses one enemy within 30 feet of him. That enemy makes a fortitude save. That foe gains 1d4 negative levels and takes 3d6 points of damage to one of the following stats: strength, dexterity, constitution. The negative levels and ability damage gained by this ability are permanent. This ability only be used on a creature once-per day. This Greater Edict cannot be chosen at level 11 or 14.

Surprisingly, this isn't too bad. Oh wait. "Permanent" negative levels? What does that even mean? (If you mean they lose a level permanently, that's a slightly different thing, but this sounds like they have a permanent negative level until someone slaps them with restoration.)


Subjugate the Masses: The Fel Tyrant eventually learns how to bring many people under the effects of his edicts. When an enemy fails his save against an edict the Fel Tyrant uses, he may as an immediate action use this greater edict to create a burst with a radius of 25ft + 5ft for every four class levels the Fel Tyrant possesses centered on the target of that edict. All enemies in that burst must immediately make a will save. If they fail, they are afflicted with the same edict that the enemy at the center of this burst failed his save against. This edict cannot be taken at 11th level. This is a mind-effecting ability.

Yeesh. At-will AoE save-or-gimp and save-or-loses, here I come! (At least there's an action economy cost, but not enough of one by any means.)


Command of Transference

Reasonable enough, I suppose, although it has some interesting corner case usages where it could be pretty brutal. (Also, I have no idea what happens if you combine this with Subjugate the Masses. Divide by Cucumber error?)


Voice of the Emperor

Impressive, and a little overpowered, although it's mostly the taking 20 that bothers me. Taking 20 represents trying over and over again until you finally get it right after all possible failures. It's pretty weird that you can pull this on someone and they just ... don't care that you're making terrible arguments, doing a pretty mediocre intimidation, or whatever: they wait until you finally are awesome enough to convince them.


Tyrant’s Prestige (Ex): As the Fel Tyrant becomes stronger, his talent for leadership and mind-controlling power grows even greater. The Fel Tyrant gains a +2 bonus to the effective leadership score of his Intelligent Thrall and Legion of Thralls class features. This bonus increases to +4 at 16th level.

I have no idea why you need this. (As noted earlier, you're already likely to cap out the scale before 20, and with another +4 this just cements it.)


Second Cohort (Su)t: The Fel Tyrant forever hungers for power, and as a result enslaves another cohort. At 19th level, the Fel Tyrant gains a second cohort, using his effective leadership score for his Intelligent Thrall class feature to determine this cohort’s powers, level, capabilities ect.. Like all other cohorts and followers the Fell Tyrant possesses, this cohort is fanatically loyal to the Fell Tyrant.

Both cohorts are the same level, then? Kinda unusual.


Thrallmaster (Su): At the pinnacle of his power, the Fel Tyrant becomes the unchallenged master of mental domination. Instead of adding 1/4th his class level to his effective leadership score for his Legion of Thralls class feature, he adds ½ his class level. In addition, he gains the ability to give telepathic orders to all followers, cohorts and minions dominated or otherwise brought into the Fel Tyrant’s service through his spells. He can give these orders from any distance, but must be on the same plane as his minions in order to give them orders. In addition the Fel Tyrant can, as a standard action, cast greater scrying as a spell-like ability on any follower, cohort or minion dominated or otherwise brought into his service by spells.

Unless you use Epic Leadership's table, the first part of this is basically useless. However, telepathy and at-will greater scrying of any class-gained follower (of whom you'll have more than any other class by a wide margin) is game-changing all by itself: send a follower everywhere they can survive unaided, and you're now a minor deity, absent only the formality of Divine Ranks.


Now for a bit of anticlimax (dangerous spells bolded).

Fel Tyrant Spell List
0th: Daze, Light, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Disrupt Undead, Touch of Fatigue, Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation, Ghost Sound,

1st: Alarm, Bane, Backbiter, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Charm Animal, Comprehend Languages, Command, Daze Monster, Doom, Detect Good/Evil/Chaos/Law, Death's Call, Dimension Hop, Glimpse of Fear , Feather Fall, Hypnotism, Identify, Lesser Shivering Touch, Mage Armor, Net of Shadows, No Light, Power Word Fatigue, Power Word Pain, Protection from Good/Evil/Chaos/Law, Ray of Enfeeblement, Restful Slumber, Rope Trick, Remove Fear, Stupor, Sleep, Sorrow, Shield, Silent Image, Ventriloquism, Unseen Servant

2nd: Addiction, Blindness/Deafness, Black Karma Cruse, Charm Person or Ghost, Command Undead, Curse of Impending Blades, Darkness, Darkvision, Darklight, Dimension Step, Entice Gift, Escalating Enfeeblement, Ghoul Touch, Hypnotic Pattern, Invisibility, Locate Object, Masochism, Mesmerizing Glare, Minor Image, Mirror Image, Phantasmal Assailants, Phantom Foe Ray of Stupidity, Rebuke, Ray of Weakness, Scare, Sadism, Sap Strength, Shadow Mask, Shadow Spray, See Invisibility, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Touch of Idoicy, Power Word Sicken, Wall of Gloom, Vision of Fear, Undetectable Alignment

3rd: Arcane Sight, Adoration of the Frightful, Bestow Cruse, Curse of the Putrid Husk, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance ,Circle of Nausea, Deep Slumber, Deeper Darkness, Dispell Magic, Dimension Door, Dominate Animal, Evil Eye, Greater Mage Armor, Invisibility Sphere, Lesser Shadow Tentacle, Magic Circle against Good/Evil/Chaos/Law, Mass Curse of Impending Blades, Major Image, Miser's Envy, Mind Poison, Ray of Dizziness, Ray of Exhaustion, Reality Blind, Remove Cruse, Shivering Touch, Suggestion, Shadow Cache, Shadow Binding, Shadow Dagger, Shadow Slip, Tormenting Thirst, Power Word Deafen, Phantasmal Strangler, Phantom Objects, Wrack

4th: Burning Blood, Charm Monster, Confusion, Crushing Despair, Dream Walk, Dimensional Anchor, Detect Scrying, Damning Darkness, Enervation, Fear, Finger of Agony, Greater Rebuke, Greater Invisibility, Greater Dimension Door, Greater Mirror Image, Hallucinatory Terrain, Horrid Sickness, Identify Transgressor, Lesser Geass, Lesser Globe of Invulnerability, Manifest Desire, Manifest Nightmare, Locate Creature, Modify Memory, Phantasmal Killer, Plane Shift, Psychic Poison, Shadow Conjuration, Shadow Puppeteer, Shadow Well, Sphere of Terror, Scrying, Teleport, Tongues, Ultravision

5th: Dominate Person, Dream, Dreaming Puppet, False Vision, Everlasting Terror, Feeblemind, Greater Shadow Tentacle, Greater Command, Hold Monster, Insidious Suggestion, Sending, Lesser Planar Binding, Morality Undone, Magic Jar, Mind Fog, Mass Charm Person, Nightmare, Night's Caress, Power Word Disable, Prying Eyes, Persistent Image, Shadow Hand, Shadow Form, Shadow Guardians, Shadowfade, Shadow Evocation, Spiritwall, Waves of Fatigue

6th: Aura of Terror, Banishment, Cloak of Hate, Dream Casting, Dominate Person or Ghost, Eyebite, Freezing Glance, Fleshshiver, False Sending, Geass/Quest, Greater Dispell Magic, Globe of Invulnerability, Imperious Glare, Mage's Magnificent Mansion, Mass Suggestion, Planar Binding, Permanent Image, Programmed Image, Power Word Nauseate, Remorseless Charm, Ray of Entropy, Shadow Walk, Snare Astral Traveler, Thousand Needles, Word of Recall

7th: Blasphemy, Bestow Greater Curse, Crown of Despair, Control Undead, Dream Sight, Evil Glare, Ethereal Jaunt, Energy Ebb, Final Rebuke, Greater Shadow Conjuration, Greater Arcane Sight, Greater Plane Shift, Greater Scrying, Hiss of Sleep, Limited Wish, Mass Lesser Geass, Mass Invisibility, Mass Hold Person, Project Image, Retributive Enervation, Symphonic Nightmare, Simulacrum, True Dominate Waves of Exhaustion

8th: Antipathy , Binding, Blackfire, Clone, Demand, Discern Location, Familiar Geass, Greater Shadow Evocation, Greater Prying Eyes, Greater Planar Binding, Maddening Whispers, Mind Blank, Mass Charm Monster, Mass Dominate Person, Nybor's Wrathful Castigation, Sympathy, Teleportation Circle, Power Word Petrify, Unholy Aura

9th: Astral Projection, Dominate Monster, Energy Drain, Foresight, Gate, Genesis, Mass Hold Monster, Mindrape, Monstrous Thrall, Mage's Disjunction, Programmed Amnesia, Power Word Kill, Shades, Weird, Utterdark, Wish

[...] In other words, I want it to be balanced enough to be allowed in a normal D&D game in which you could find wizards, druids ect.. Thus, I am turning to the playground. As of now, this may not be up to snuff to be playable in an actual game. So, does anybody think they could help me make this class a Tier 1-Tier 2 that would be allowed in some games and not just auto-banned on sight by DMs?

As I mentioned earlier, I disagree with the premise of deliberately designing something as imbalanced as a wizard or druid. However, at present this isn't even limited to that; it has a number of game-breakers all its own, a number of classic Wiz/Sorc and even Drd/Clr game-breakers, as well as the ability to gain a lot of game-breaking minions of uniquely high power.


Overall: This class is WAY too strong. Its a mix between Wizard, Thrallherd, and Beguiler. And frankly might out preform a gestalt of those three classes if thrallherd was an arcane prestige class.

Essentially, this. The class has a high floor, and an even higher ceiling; it's almost impossible to avoid getting at least one game-breaker (and if you do somehow miss them, you can always prepare new spells and more sensible tactics for the next day, and bam you're up to full nuke capacity). It's like Druid in that respect, except even more so, since the class encourages you to minion-mance.

LordofBones
2012-11-13, 08:55 AM
Some of the spells don't make sense. If this is a spellcaster focused on breaking minds and enslaving minions, why are the shades line and wish there? Rope trick? Spiritwall?

Tanuki Tales
2012-11-13, 11:12 AM
wish

To play devil's advocate here, Wish is quite simple. You've upgraded from breaking the minds and enslaving wills of beings to breaking the mind and enslaving the will of the cosmos. :smallamused:

Realms of Chaos
2012-11-14, 01:00 PM
Really? :smallconfused:

You get 2 cohorts by level 20 (say, 2 wizards that can cast 9th level spells)
You also get rebuking that you could potentially use to get another Wizard of your class level under your control permanently.

So... you start out with 3 wizards who each have 9th level spells under your permanent control. You are, by definition, better than the rest of your team could ever hope to be before you start adding ANYTHING else to the equation (Even counting WBL problems).

Then you throw full spellcasting, an animal companion that basically does does the job of a party fighter (meaning that you literally have your own adventuring party of 4 people not including yourself [or your wimpy followers]) and class features that act as at-will save-or-dies (ignoring the normal immunities that balance such effects).

So... yeah.