PDA

View Full Version : [PF] Voltaic (formerly Lightning) Bloodline, PEACH (WIP)



AttilaTheGeek
2012-12-18, 06:29 PM
I noticed there were a couple cool electricity-based spells in Pathfinder, and I wanted to make a sorcerer archetype to emphasize on those. I'm thinking about maybe playing it in a very combat-oriented campaign, and I'm designing new spells to go with it too. It's based off Stormborn, Elemental, and Protean. It's intentionally very evocation-focused to try and bring new style and flavor to the blasty caster.

Mechanics-wise, it focuses on spells that bounce between multiple targets and affect them all, the same way electricity bounces between conductors if there's enough current. Everything marked with a (*) at the end is also created by me and listed at the end. Without further ado, the bloodline previously known as Lightning, the


Voltaic Bloodline

You attempt to contain the power of lightning within your veins, but you are not always successful. Perhaps you have an elemental ancestor whose mastery over electricity found its way to you, or your family's heritage in a particularly stormy area affected your blood.

Class Skill: Knowledge (Planes)

Bonus Spells: Shocking Grasp (1st), Lightning Wave* (4th), Lightning Bolt (6th), Ball Lightning (8th), Lightning Arc (10th), Chain Lightning (12th), Discharge* (14th), Stormbolts (16th), Ride the Lightning (18th)

Bonus Feats: Improved Initiative, Arcing Spell*, Reach Spell, Elemental Focus, Greater Elemental Focus, Flaring Spell, Sorcerous Bloodstrike

Bloodline Arcana: Save DCs for spells you cast with the [Light] or [Electricity] descriptors are increased by 1.

Bloodline Powers: Raw electrical power flows in and around you.

Arc Blast (Sp): At 1st level, you can create and launch a small ball of lightning in front of you. It travels 10 feet and deals 1d6 damage +1 per caster level. Each target may make a Fortitude save and a Reflex save at a DC of 10 + half your Sorcerer level + your Charisma modifier; if they make either, they take half damage. (If they make both, they still take half damage). If it hits a target, regardless of their saves, it can continue for another 10 feet, dealing more damage and continuing to travel. It can affect a maximum of 1 creature per two caster levels, minimum 1. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

Lightning Charges (Su): At 3rd level, Whenever you cast a spell with the electricity descriptor, you gain Lightning Charges equal to the level of the spell. As a standard action, you can release all Lightning Charges to deal 1d6 damage per charge to all creatures within 15 feet. Targets can make a Fortitude save to take half damage. You can only hold Lightning Charges up to two times your level- if you surpass that limit, you immediately Detonate, as the spell, except that it always deals electricity damage and does full damage to you instead of half.

Bolt (Su): At 9th level, as a move action, you may transform into a bolt of lightning and instantly travel in a straight line to a distance of up to 40 feet (minimum 15 feet), rematerializing in the new location instantaneously. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity, but you have a 50% miss chance because you are not completely physical. Creatures in this line take 2d6 points of damage and can make a Reflex save to take half as much. (Spell Resistance applies.) Objects in your path are damaged as well, with combustible objects being set ablaze and metals with low melting points melted. If your path is interrupted by a barrier or otherwise deflected, you materialize short of your final destination in the nearest open space; targets in the line to that point take damage as normal. When you Bolt, you gain 2 Lightning Charges.

Bolt Mastery(Su): At 15th level, your Bolt improves. You can Bolt up to 60 feet, and no longer provoke attacks of opportunity. Creatures directly in your path now take 4d6 damage. Whenever you end a a Bolt, you may deal 6d6 damage to creatures within 15 feet of you. As before, all affected targets can make Reflex saves for half damage, and Spell Resistance applies. When you Bolt, you gain 3 Lightning Charges.

Ascendance (Sp): At 20th level, you master the power of lightning. You are forevermore treated as an elemental outsider, except for that you can still be raised from the dead if you die. At the beginning of your turn, you may choose any number of creatures and/or objects within 10 feet of you. You may sacrifice a spell slot of any level- if you do, each of those targets take 2d6 electricity damage per level of the slot used. Creatures 10 feet away from you can make a Reflex save for half damage, but those 5 feet away cannot.

Stuff I've also created for this bloodline:
Arcing Spell (Metamagic)
You spells reach between targets.
Benefit: When casting a spell that affects multiple targets and targets each of them individually (such as Scorching Ray, but not Fireball), choose two targets who were affected by the spell. The Arcing spell affects every potential target between the two as if the spell had also targeted them.
Level Increase: +3 (an arcing spell uses up a spell slot three levels higher than the spell’s actual level.)

Lightning Wave
School: Evocation [electricity]; Level Sorcerer/Wizard 2, magus 2
Casting Time: 1 standard action, Components: V,S
Range: Close, Effect: 1 ray, Duration: Instantaneous, Saving Throw: Fortitude half, Spell Resistance: Yes
You blast an enemy with a bolt of lightning. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit. They take 2d6 damage plus 1d6 per three caster levels above 4th. If it hits, you may launch another beam that functions identically at another target within range of the first. The spell continues until an attack misses or you launch 1 beam per caster level, whichever comes first.

Discharge
School: Evocation [electricity]; Level Sorcerer/Wizard 7
Casting Time: 1 full-round action, Components: V,S
Range: Medium, Area: 30-foot radius, Duration: Instantaneous, Saving Throw: Fortitude half, Spell Resistance: Yes
You charge a large group of enemies with the power of lightning, which bounces between them to decimate large groups. Each target takes 3d6 damage for each creature within 20 feet of them. Creatures outside of the spell's radius still affect those inside for determining damage, but take none themselves.


Well, playgrounders? What do you think?

AttilaTheGeek
2012-12-19, 04:15 PM
Is there a reason why I'm not getting any feedback? It is too bad, too wall-of-text-y, or do people just not homebrew for Pathfinder? Would I have better luck just posting on the Paizo boards instead? I'm thinking of doing a whole series to rework/replace the four Elemental bloodlines because I think they could really use it.

grimgrin
2012-12-20, 04:35 PM
Mechanically the bloodline it works for me and its balanced. You might want to dial Lightning Wave back to just targets wearing metal, everybody has coins in their pockets. And I not sure I understand how short circuit scales.

The name is kind of vanilla: Voltaic, Galvani, Thunderstruck?

Grelna the Blue
2012-12-20, 04:37 PM
Okay, I'll give this a whack, although as I've never played a sorcerer in 3.5 or in Pathfinder, this is something of an outsider's viewpoint. Further, reading it over after writing, I'm afraid it comes off very critical, but you did ask for honesty, which I am attempting to deliver.

I like the Arcing Spell feat, which while powerful seems well balanced.

Also, regarding the concept, a sorcerer bloodline based off pure lightning seems totally valid. Although the pre-existing Stormborn bloodline is already fairly lightning themed, it includes sonic and wind elements as well. However, there currently are no wildblooded variants of the Stormborn bloodline other than Aerial, which focuses upon the wind and rain elements rather than the lightning. So it occurs to me it might be better if some of your ideas were used with the Stormborn bloodline to create a wildblooded variant (as found in Ultimate Magic):


A wildblooded sorcerer has a mutated version of a more common bloodline, with one arcana and at least one bloodline power that are different from those of an unmutated bloodline. When creating a wildblooded sorcerer, select an existing bloodline, then select one of the following mutated bloodlines associated with that bloodline. Use the normal bloodline’s class skill, bonus spells, and bonus feats, and the mutated bloodline’s bloodline arcana. Use the normal bloodline’s bloodline powers, except when the mutated bloodline replaces one of those powers.

The bloodline arcana for Stormborn is:


Whenever you cast a spell with the [electricity] or [sonic] descriptor, increase the save DC by 1.

and your proposed bloodline arcana is:


Bloodline Arcana: Save DCs for Evocations you cast are increased by 1.


Stormborn actually concentrates on your theme of lightning more than your more narrowly focused bloodline does.

Your proposed 1st level power does not scale well at higher levels. Granted that such powers are the weakest gained by sorcerers, but looking at the other bloodlines this one does not seem as if it will stay useful as long. At extremely low levels it will have some utility. At higher levels it will probably never see use.

The 3rd level power, contrariwise, scales too quickly. Other 3rd level bloodline powers continue to scale past 9th level. Just as a suggestion, perhaps you could grant resist electricity 5 at 3rd level and increase it by 5 every 4 levels past that. Since that still doesn't seem very exciting, you could perhaps throw in evasion as well at 9th level, but only vs. electrical damage.

The 9th level power is sorta wonky. The idea of electrical spells boosting or charging up the caster in some way seems fine, but the implementation messes with your theme. If this is a character who has resist electricity because of a lighting-infused nature, why then should electricity spells pose any sort of risk? Also, the area of effect seems a little overmuch (although as a non-blaster player, I may be offbase on that). I'd have thought a touch attack a la Shocking Grasp (no save) would work better. If it is an area effect, though, it should probably be a Reflex save (harder to save against at high levels anyway), as energy spells generally are Reflex, not Fort.

The 15th level power turns this variant into a NPC only bloodline. Like the 9th level ability it turns what is supposed to be a strength into a liability. No party members are going to want to administer touch-ranged healing spells, or any touch-based spells when the sorcerer is unconscious, for that matter. The sorcerer is going to be extremely angsty, too, due to a bloodline that virtually guarantees they will never know love. Sure, a Resist Energy spell can get around your lightning incontinence, for a time, but good luck finding someone who's willing to sleep in the same bed for hours on end. If you made it Lightning in the Blood or something, where those that attacked you in melee and inflicted damage took a level-based amount of electrical damage, I think it would work better. Perhaps also throw in an initiative boost.

The 20th level power is mixed. I like the turn into an outsider thing. A classic. Still don't think the "do small amounts of damage to enemies AND friends is a good idea. Maybe you could get some impressive lightning-themed movement ability in addition to the type change.

Finally, I have to note that as written, this sorcerer is going to be very frustrated when running up against lightning resistant or immune foes, given that all of the powers that are not protective involve doing electrical damage. Lightning does have more to it than that, speed, light, magnetism, perhaps.

I apologize if this review comes off as overly negative. I do, truly, think your basic concept is sound and worthy of development.

AttilaTheGeek
2012-12-20, 06:17 PM
Mechanically the bloodline it works for me and its balanced.

Thanks! That means a lot :smallsmile:


You might want to dial Lightning Wave back to just targets wearing metal, everybody has coins in their pockets.

Lightning Wave was actually the one I mathed out more than anything else- it was pretty much perfectly balanced with Scorching Ray for touch ACs of 12 and 13, so on a whim I decided to give it a +3 to hit and thought that would balance it. I will take another look at it though.


And I not sure I understand how short circuit scales.

I might just scrap it entirely for being too complicated, but here's how it goes in my head:
-Round 1: You cast the spell, they make a fort save. If they fail, they take 1d6 damage per 4 caster levels and are stunned for a round.
-Round 2: You continue to concentrate, and they make another fort save. If they fail, they take 1d6 per two caster levels and are stunned for another round.
-Round 3: You continue to concentrate, and they make another fort save. If they fail, they take 1d6 per caster level and are stunned for another round.
-Round 4: You continue to concentrate, and they make another fort save. If they fail, they take 2d6 per caster level and are stunned for another round.
-Round 5: You continue to concentrate, and they make another fort save. If they fail, they take 4d6 per caster level and are stunned for another round.
-Rounds 6 and onward: The same as round 5.
When they make their save, the spell ends.They also get a whole bunch of modifiers depending on what they're wearing.

I just looked up and saw an entire paragraph of explanation just for how it scales. Yeah, I think I'll cut, just it for readability's sake.


The name is kind of vanilla: Voltaic, Galvani, Thunderstruck?

Those are all good ideas! I think I'll go with Voltaic.


Further, reading it over after writing, I'm afraid it comes off very critical, but you did ask for honesty, which I am attempting to deliver.

Thank you very much for the honesty. It really is appreciated much more than a halfhearted "it's great!" and a Bluff check.


I like the Arcing Spell feat, which while powerful seems well balanced.

Thanks! It was one of the first ideas I had, and the rest of it kind of snowballed from there.


So it occurs to me it might be better if some of your ideas were used with the Stormborn bloodline to create a wildblooded variant (as found in Ultimate Magic):
(snip)
Stormborn actually concentrates on your theme of lightning more than your more narrowly focused bloodline does.

That's actually a very good point. Perhaps it would do better as a Wildblooded Stormborn, then?


Your proposed 1st level power does not scale well at higher levels. Granted that such powers are the weakest gained by sorcerers, but looking at the other bloodlines this one does not seem as if it will stay useful as long. At extremely low levels it will have some utility. At higher levels it will probably never see use.

Valid. Do you think I should add a (+1/2 Caster Level) component to the save DC?


The 3rd level power, contrariwise, scales too quickly. Other 3rd level bloodline powers continue to scale past 9th level. Just as a suggestion, perhaps you could grant resist electricity 5 at 3rd level and increase it by 5 every 4 levels past that. Since that still doesn't seem very exciting, you could perhaps throw in evasion as well at 9th level, but only vs. electrical damage.

That 3rd level bloodline power is actually the same as the Elemental bloodline power, mostly because I was trying to connect the two, but I also didn't really know what do with a 3rd level bloodline power. That is a very good point, though. Perhaps I could put in a random chance to resist it all?


The 9th level power is sorta wonky. The idea of electrical spells boosting or charging up the caster in some way seems fine, but the implementation messes with your theme. If this is a character who has resist electricity because of a lighting-infused nature, why then should electricity spells pose any sort of risk? Also, the area of effect seems a little overmuch (although as a non-blaster player, I may be offbase on that). I'd have thought a touch attack a la Shocking Grasp (no save) would work better. If it is an area effect, though, it should probably be a Reflex save (harder to save against at high levels anyway), as energy spells generally are Reflex, not Fort.

That's a very good point you raise about the conflict with the 3rd level bloodline power. I wanted a resource system that would fundamentally change the way the bloodline played, but I was unsure about giving it at first level. I think what I'll do is move it to first level, get rid of the 3rd level power, and find something to go in this slot.

The reason I have most of the saves targeting Fort instead of Reflex is because an electrical discharge is literally impossible to dodge, but it affects the body directly. I don't want it to be a touch attack because it's an explosion in every direction, not an actual beam of energy targeting enemies.


The 15th level power turns this variant into a NPC only bloodline. Like the 9th level ability it turns what is supposed to be a strength into a liability. No party members are going to want to administer touch-ranged healing spells, or any touch-based spells when the sorcerer is unconscious, for that matter. The sorcerer is going to be extremely angsty, too, due to a bloodline that virtually guarantees they will never know love. Sure, a Resist Energy spell can get around your lightning incontinence, for a time, but good luck finding someone who's willing to sleep in the same bed for hours on end. If you made it Lightning in the Blood or something, where those that attacked you in melee and inflicted damage took a level-based amount of electrical damage, I think it would work better. Perhaps also throw in an initiative boost.

Those are all extremely good points. I wanted to emphasize the transition into an elemental, which is why I wanted to make it a negligible amount of damage, but it is still damage. I'm iffy about Lightning in the Blood, because it seems like it would have a very limited application because a blasty caster wouldn't be standing in the front anyway.


The 20th level power is mixed. I like the turn into an outsider thing. A classic. Still don't think the "do small amounts of damage to enemies AND friends is a good idea. Maybe you could get some impressive lightning-themed movement ability in addition to the type change.

I'm thinking a minor version of Ride the Lightning, as a move action. I still want the 15th level bloodline power to show how the character is beginning to become an elemental.


Finally, I have to note that as written, this sorcerer is going to be very frustrated when running up against lightning resistant or immune foes, given that all of the powers that are not protective involve doing electrical damage. Lightning does have more to it than that, speed, light, magnetism, perhaps.

The only difficult thing about that is that magnetism is difficult to implement in-game. It would have to be a directional Bull Rush against a target who must be wearing armor, and... actually, that's no more unnecessarily complicated than Short Circuit was.


I apologize if this review comes off as overly negative. I do, truly, think your basic concept is sound and worthy of development.

Really, overly negative is better than overly positive (although overly positive is great to hear when it's deserved). You gave some great feedback, and it's been incredibly helpful.

Grelna the Blue
2012-12-21, 01:02 PM
Okay, first of all, this looks considerably better. It's looking a lot closer to done.

Now some nitpicks.

This may be just me, but I still don't get why you are building in an auto-Detonate possibility into the Lightning Charges ability. I'm not saying it couldn't add roleplaying oomph, but I just cannot think of any comparable examples in other bloodlines. Incidentally, if you are going to keep it, you should make the wording a bit more precise: "You can only hold Lightning Charges up to two times your level..." doesn't tell the reader what time units are being used (although I assume rounds).

I like the Bolt ability. Just as a point of clarification, though, can it be used any number of times per day? And can it be used more than once in a round (it is normally possible to take two move actions by giving up a standard action)? I'm not saying right now that the ability to take two Bolts across a range of targets every round is overpowered (I'd have to think about it), but is that in fact something that can be done?

Given that every single one of the Voltaic Bloodline powers currently is written as doing electrical damage, and the higher level powers do more than the lower level powers, you might consider making at least one of them (maybe Arc Blast) something that does something else, a blinding or dazzling effect maybe, or an initiative boost, so you don't end up with a bloodline sorcerer whose non-spell powers are mostly irrelevant in situations where you are fighting blue dragons (or enemies who have heard or deduced that the spell Resist Energy is a good way to shut you down) and whose lower level powers are never ever used at higher levels because the higher level powers do everything they do better.

AttilaTheGeek
2012-12-21, 01:52 PM
This may be just me, but I still don't get why you are building in an auto-Detonate possibility into the Lightning Charges ability. I'm not saying it couldn't add roleplaying oomph, but I just cannot think of any comparable examples in other bloodlines.

I put it in to add the feel of having the caster be able to control their power and take advantage of their affinity for it, but to not be completely in control. I did intend for it to be primarily for roleplaying reasons, which is why I set the limit so high.


I like the Bolt ability. Just as a point of clarification, though, can it be used any number of times per day? And can it be used more than once in a round (it is normally possible to take two move actions by giving up a standard action)? I'm not saying right now that the ability to take two Bolts across a range of targets every round is overpowered (I'd have to think about it), but is that in fact something that can be done?

That was the idea. One of my main goals with this bloodline was to have it be able to blast across the battlefield and back behind friendly lines (or around a corner) without using spell slots. If it does too much damage, I could turn it down, but if that's the case I'd rather just move it to a higher level.


Given that every single one of the Voltaic Bloodline powers currently is written as doing electrical damage...

That's a very good point. I might add in a spell that deals Fire damage, and definitely one that does Sonic.

However, I realized that the flavor and the mechanics of what I'm trying to go for aren't in line with the Sorcerer, so I'm building an entirely new class called the Elementalist, with its own magic system (maybe). Ambitious, I know, but I feel it's what I need to do to do justice to what I'm imagining.