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View Full Version : The Malphasian Raven [3.5, Binder PrC, PEACH]



TheGeckoKing
2012-12-25, 10:17 PM
Note: An Explanation on Fluff
If you're wondering where I'm getting this strange fluff from, it's from the Ecology of the Kenku in Dragon 329, where a pact with Pazuzu goes horribly wrong and curses the entire species never to all lose their wings......until now! DUH DUH DUHHHHH!

Malphasian Raven

By a feathered otherworlder we are bound to the ground, and by a feathered otherworlder we shall rise to the skies. - Poe, a Malphasian Binder

In ages past and best left forgotten, the Kenkus made foolish errors in their dealing with Pazuzu, Demon Lord of the Skies. The result of this was that the Kenkus were stripped of their wings, a cruel mark that has left deep psychological scars in the Kenku's psyche even today.
In their desperation to regain what once was, Kenkus have turned to magic both arcane and divine, Warlock pacts and ironically even demon worship.
One odd way of regaining their wings devised by Kenkus is to appeal to a long lost spirit called Malphas the Turnfeather, a Vestige in the never-was of reality that all Vestiges dwell. An odd creature that once could be called an elf, "he" now manifests in reality with a distinct raven and dove motif, something which appeals to the Kenku. Although the processes in making the greater and grander pacts required to bind Malphas to their soul can go wrong to great detriment, once Binder and Vestige meet a mutual pact is instantly made - one for freedom and flight.

Becoming a Malphasean Raven
Only Kenkus have the pathological urging to return to the skies requires to make the necessary pacts to forever bind Malpheas to their soul, and even then, it requires great knowledge in Binding Arts. However, this path is not an easy one, as most Kenku Binders aspire their whole lives to join the esteemed ranks of the Malphasean Ravens and thus will quite happily spill blood and guts over every teacher, tome or relic that will get them one step closer to their dream.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Race: Kenku
Skills: Knowledge (Arcana) 8 ranks
Special: Soul Binding Class Ability
Special:Must of bound Malphas the Turnfeather at least once before entering this Prestige Class

Class Skills
The Class Name's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), Move Silently, Profession, Sense Motive and Tumble
Skills Points at Each Level: 6 + int

Hit Dice: d6

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Soul Binding, Eternal Grey Feathers

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|Flock of Feathers (3 Birds)

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Ashen Grey Wings

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Flock of Birds (5 Birds), Furious Fluttering of White Doves

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Brilliant White Wings[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: A Malphasian Raven gains now new proficiencies.

Soul Binding: At each Malphasian Raven level, your soul binding ability improves as if you had also gained a level in the binder class. Thus, your Malphasian Raven levels and binder levels stack for the purpose of determining your bonus on binding checks, the effectiveness of your vestige-granted abilities, your ability to bind higher-level vestiges, and the number of vestiges you can bind. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a binder would have gained.

Eternal Grey Feathers: From 1st level onwards, you no longer need to summon Malphas every day; you are bound to him constantly, counting towards the maximum amount of Vestiges you can bind at once. You cannot choose to bind a different vestige in his place. However, you can still attempt a binding check each day to negate his influence. To signify this, two streaks of grey feathers grow across your back, like the remnants of torn wings.

Flock of Feathers (Su): At 2nd level, you can summon up to 3 birds summoned at a time via your Bird's Eye Viewing ability. While you must summon all of these birds individually ( a standard action each time), you see what all these birds see at the same time, using the same rules as you would for one bird. From now on, birds you summon with this ability are neither doves nor ravens, but an ashen grey crossbreed of the two.
At 4th level, you may summon up to 5 birds with this ability, and may summon any number of birds with a single standard action, although you still cannot summon more than 5 birds at once.

Ashen Grey Wings (Ex): Eureka! At 3rd level, you spit in Pazuzu's eye and gain what you had always dreamed of - flight! You gain a pair of feathery wings that grant you a flight speed of 60ft (Average), and a +2 bonus to your Dexterity score to aid you in your aerial acrobatics.

Furious Fluttering of White Doves (Su): At 4th level, your very steps leave behind white feathers, and with a rush of air, you can create a tornado of these remnants shaped into doves. Once every 5 rounds, you may use Wings of Flurry (RotD p119) as a Supernatural ability with a caster level equal to your Effective Binder Level, except instead of draconic wings you summon brilliant white doves to assail your foes.

Brilliant White Wings (Ex): At 5th level, your wings moult and grow shining white feathers instead of their usual ashen grey, to the point where their reflective brilliance is off-putting and even painful to look at. While your wings are uncovered and in some type of light source, you gain a 20% miss chance against any melee attack rolls made against you. As a swift action, you may increase this miss chance to 50% until the start of your next turn, but you may only do this once every 5 rounds.
Lastly, Malphas no longer counts towards the maximum amount of Vestiges you can have bound at once, as he effectively counts as a bonus Vestige.

Lord_Gareth
2012-12-25, 10:47 PM
Wrong forum there bro.

Arcanist
2012-12-25, 11:00 PM
Wrong forum there bro.

Don't worry, soon enough it will be teleported on over to the Homebrew section and we will just be joke comments (or removed entirely!)

Wyntonian
2012-12-26, 12:28 AM
I'm not going to lie, Eternal Grey Feathers is a pretty raw deal. One of the Binder's greatest perks is its versatility, and you're entirely negating that.

That said, this is pretty neat. It's very flavorful, I love the abilities, and it's just great overall.

As an alternative to the painfully restrictive limitation, I'd say that all the class abilities (except progressing binding) only work when bound to Malphas. That seems like a pretty fair compromise. If you really want, you can bump the DC's on the binding checks for other Vestiges.

Psyren
2012-12-26, 12:56 AM
The capstone is kind of lackluster. I'd let you also intensify the brightness to gain Total Concealment (50%) for 1 round, once every 5 rounds.


I'm not going to lie, Eternal Grey Feathers is a pretty raw deal. One of the Binder's greatest perks is its versatility, and you're entirely negating that.

Not entirely - just early on when you can't bind more than one vestige.


As an aside, I'm kind of torn - I like commenting on interesting homebrew PrCs, but I keep forgetting to check that board. So the only ones I tend to read are the ones that are mistakenly posted to the 3.P board.

Don't really have a solution or suggestion based on this, it's just something I noticed about myself (and wondering if it's the same for anyone else.)

TheFallenOne
2012-12-26, 08:08 AM
As an aside, I'm kind of torn - I like commenting on interesting homebrew PrCs, but I keep forgetting to check that board. So the only ones I tend to read are the ones that are mistakenly posted to the 3.P board.

Homebrew posted in the wrong section always gets more attention than in the proper section. If you ask me you shouldn't reward this kind of behavior with feedback. It only encourages others to do the same. Sure, sooner or later it gets moved, but by then the damage is done - the brew got lots of undeserved attention and feedback, while the stuff of those decent enough to keep it in the Homebrew section doesn't.

Vaynor
2012-12-26, 06:05 PM
The Red Towel: Moved to Homebrew Design.

TheGeckoKing
2012-12-26, 06:53 PM
Yay! Now then, I bump this thread in the hopes people can stop pointing and laughing at me and give me more advice.

Thrice Dead Cat
2012-12-26, 07:42 PM
While having an almost permanent miss chance is very nice from a mechanical perspective, it is a bit underwhelming as a capstone.

Also, you should mention if Malphas counts against your normal amount of vestiges bound or not.

TheGeckoKing
2012-12-26, 10:58 PM
While having an almost permanent miss chance is very nice from a mechanical perspective, it is a bit underwhelming as a capstone.

Yeah, it is a bit "Here's some numbers, do try to have fun". Any ideas on a more interesting capstone?


Also, you should mention if Malphas counts against your normal amount of vestiges bound or not.

Huh, there we go for a Capstone.