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Yarghenforgen
2013-02-01, 07:53 PM
I was talking with some people about playing an all fey party, and I thought it'd be really fun to play a Naiad. Upon looking around however, the closest thing I could find was The Demented One's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83460), and I had a hard time figuring out how to convert from monster table to racial traits despite the listed LA. So, I attempted this race. I aimed for LA+1, but this is my first homebrew, so it may be horribly overpowered. PEACHing would be appreciated. Might add some feats in the future if people like it.

Inspiration and some traits from the aforementioned monster by The Demented One, as well as some other sources I can't think of right now.

Naiad Racial Traits

-2 Str +4 Charisma: Naiads possess the grace shared by most fey, but their liquid composure makes them weaker than their stature would suggest

Speed: 30 ft, Swim 40 ft.

Medium Fey [Aquatic] Naiads gain no benefits or penalties based on their size, and possess all traits of the fey type as well as the aquatic subtype (mainly low-light vision). The naiad exchanges its 1 HD of fey for its first class level.

Naiad Traits: The naiad, being entirely composed of water, possesses certain bodily requirements and quirks.
-The naiad need not eat, but requires water daily for survival, either in the form of complete immersion for 5 minutes or by consuming 5 times the normal amount for a humanoid of her size. Failure to do this for a full 24 hours results in 2 Con damage, which can only be healed by consuming water in one of the aforementioned ways.
-Any time the naiad is targeted by a spell of the [Cold] descriptor and fails a fortitude save of DC equal to the caster's spell DC for that level, their base land speed is cut in half, to a minimum of 5 ft for 5 rounds as their body partially freezes. This also applies if the naiad fails their saving throw to resist cold weather, with the duration lasting until they are either warmed up by some method (DM's discretion), or successfully make their saving throw. The naiad may not make use of their Diffuse Form while their speed is slowed in this manner.

Amphibious (Ex): Although naiads are normally aquatic, they can survive indefinitely on land (But see Naiad Traits).

Quenching Touch (Ex/Su): The naiad’s touch puts out torches, campfires, exposed lanterns, and other open flames of nonmagical origin if these are of Medium size or smaller. The creature can dispel magical fire it touches as dispel magic (caster level equal to character level). The naiad also takes half damage from nonmagical fires.

Diffuse Form (Su): For 3 + Cha mod minutes/day, the naiad may assume a diffuse form as a standard action. This functions as the spell Gaseous Form, with a few exceptions. The naiad drops into a puddle of water on the floor, her equipment becoming diffuse with her. She does not gain a fly speed, and her base land speed drops to 10 feet. The naiad may enter the water and swim at her full swim speed while this is active. This time need not be continuous, but must be spent in 1-minute increments. This ability may be used at will when submerged entirely in water, and the naiad gains the Hide in Plain Sight ability and +8 to hide checks while under these conditions.

Aquatic Healing (Su): Each day a naiad can heal a total number of hit points equal to 1/2 her level (rounded down) times her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) as long as she is partially or totally submerged in water. She may only use this ability on herself and doesn't have to use all the points at once, but any left over are lost as are any in excess of her maximum hit points. She can heal herself as a standard action.

Water Affinity (Ex): Although naiads are Fey, they have a deep connection to the water and an affinity for all water realms. As a result, they can be rebuked by clerics with the Water Domain and are affected by spells with the [Water] descriptor as if they had the Water Subtype.

Skills: A naiad has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. A naiad gains +4 to hide checks while submerged in water, increasing to +8 while in Diffuse Form

Languages: Sylvan and Aquan Bonus: Common, Elven, Hobbit, Gnome, Auran

Favored Class: Druid or Moonblessed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211265)

LA: +1

Feats
Gift of Clear Water [Racial]
Requirements: Naiad
Benefit: You may use your Aquatic Healing to heal others you touch as a standard action, though you must still be partially or totally submerged in water to use it. Your Cha score also counts as 2 higher for the purposes of Aquatic Healing only, and you gain an extra daily use.
Normal: You may only use your Aquatic Healing pool on yourself.

Water Mastery [Racial]
Requirements: Naiad
Benefit: By expending a minute from your Diffuse Form, you may cast one of the following as a SLA with a caster level equal to your HD:
Animate Water (SpC), Water Breathing, Swim
Please note that you do not gain unlimited use of these while in water. You still expend minutes from your pool. If your minutes are exhausted, you may only assume Diffuse Form while in water until you get 8 hours of rest.
Normal: You may only use Diffuse Form to turn into a puddle, you poor thing.

Creeping Water [Racial]
Requirements: Naiad
Benefit: While in Diffuse Form, you gain extra benefits:
-Land speed increases to 20 ft
-You gain a 10 ft. climb speed
-When you transform, you heal damage as if you had rested for a night
Normal: Your land speed is 10 feet, you have no climb speed, and you don't heal when you shift.


Naiad Paragon
Requirements: Naiad

Hit Die: d6

Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Perform (Cha), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points per Level: 4+Int Mod

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Spellcasting
1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Swift Swimming, Water Power|-
2nd|+1|+0|+0|+2|Aquatic Poise|+1 level of Druid or Moonblessed
3rd|+2|+1|+1|+3|Ability Boost (Con + 2), Light Fortification|-
[/table]

Spellcasting: If the Naiad possesses levels in the Druid or Moonblessed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211265) classes, she may choose one to gain a caster level increase and new spells per day to at 2nd level.

Swift Swimming (Ex): At 1st level, the Naiad paragon gains a +10 bonus to her swim speed.

Water Power: At 1st level, the Naiad paragon gains +1 to caster level when casting a spell with the [Water] descriptor. This also applies to her SLAs and Quenching Touch abilities.

Aquatic Poise (Su): At 2nd level, the Naiad paragon is constantly under the effects of a Water Walk spell, though she may suppress this as a free action. While walking on the surface of the water, she may move at her full swim speed.

Ability Boost: The Naiad paragon increases her Con score by 2 at 3rd level.

Light Fortification (Ex): At 3rd level, When a critical hit or sneak attack is scored on the Naiad paragon, there is a 25% chance that the critical hit or sneak attack is negated and damage is instead rolled normally.



Winter's Daughter

Winter's Daughter

"Nature? Fire? Bah! Both are chaotic and difficult to control. Ice is structured, latticed, light as a feather, massive as a glacier. In ice, there is power!"

The cold is not kind to naiads, to say the least. The bitter temperature literally freezes them, and the difficulty of finding liquid water makes it possible for a naiad to quite literally starve to death. Those that are strong and persevere through the conditions, however, may find themselves forever changed.

Becoming Winter's Daughter
How you would normally become a member of this prestige class.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Race: Naiad
Skills: Knowledge(Nature) 6 ranks
Feats/Class Features: Snowcasting [Frostburn] or Lunar Radiance 1d6 Moonblessed (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211265)
Special: Must have spent a week unprotected (Such as the endure elements spell) in conditions of 40 degrees or below.

Class Skills
Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Perform (Cha), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + Int mod

Hit Dice: d6

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spellcasting
1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Altered Racial Traits|-
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Snowdrift Magic +1|+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+3|Chill Touch|+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Snowdrift Magic +2|+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+4|Control Temperature|+1 level of existing spellcasting class
[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: The Winter's Daughter gains no new weapon or armor proficiencies

Spellcasting: At every level except for first, a Winter's Daughter gains new spells per day (andspells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class to which she belonged before adding the prestige class level. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning or destroying undead, a bonus feat, and so on). If she had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Winter's Daughter, she must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.

Altered Racial Traits: At first level, a naiad changes to a creature of ice and snow. Their racial traits change as listed below:

The naiad loses her Quenching Touch and Water Affinity. The naiad gains the [Cold] subtype, and as such gains cold immunity and fire vulnerability. The naiad also replaces the entries listed under "Naiad Traits" in the Naiad Race, and gains the following:

- The Winter's Daughter does not need to eat or drink. However, they need to pay close attention to temperatures, as they start suffering adverse effects in hot weather.
-If the temperature is between 60 and 90 degrees (Fahrenheit), the Winter's Daughter makes a DC 15 Fortitude save each day or become fatigued. if she is already fatigued, she then becomes exhausted.
-If the temperature is greather than 90 degrees, then she makes a DC 15 Fortitude save each hour or become fatigued. If she is already fatigued, she then becomes exhausted. If she is already exhausted, she takes 1 NLD each hour (no save). If a Winter's Daughter is hit by an effect that deals cold damage, she heals an amount of NLD taken this way equal to the cold damage taken. If she drops below 0 hp in these conditions, she remains unconscious for 24 hours, at which point she dies.

Flurry Form: For 3 + Cha mod rounds/day, the naiad may assume the form of a cold wind. This functions as the spell Gaseous Form, with a few exceptions. The naiad gains a fly speed of 50' in this form, with perfect maneuverability. This ability replaces Diffuse Form.

Cold Vitality: In temperatures ranging from 40-60 degrees, the Winter's Daughter gains Fast Healing 1. In temperatures ranging from 0-40 degrees, this increases to Fast Healing 2. In temperatures lower than 0 degrees, this increases to Fast Healing 4. This ability replaces Aquatic Healing.

Skills: A Winter's Daughter no longer gains a bonus to Hide and Move silently while submerged in water. She instead gains a +4 to Hide checks in frozen environments (Snow, ice, etc).

If the Winter's Daughter possesses levels in the Naiad Paragon class or has Naiad racial feats, they change as follows:
Naiad Paragon:
-Arctic Grace(Ex): The Winter's Daughter may move through ice and snow at no penalty. This ability replaces Swift Swimming.
-Ice Power The Winter's Daughter gains +1 damage per die when using an ability or casting a spell that deals cold damage. This replaces Water Power.
-Frozen Poise(Su): Squares the Winter's Daughter walks over freeze under her feet at her option. Ground becomes slick and icy, and water freezes solid. This ice lasts for class levels + cha mod rounds before melting once she moves off of it. For rules on icy terrain, check Frostburn. This ability replaces Aquatic Poise.

Feats
-Heart of Clear Water: Your existing fast healing from cold temperatures increases by one at each level. Note that this does not give you fast healing at temperatures higher than 60 degrees.
-Water Mastery: You may expend a round from your Flurry form to cast one of the following as a spell like ability:
Obscuring Snow, Ice Shape, Snowdrift, Snowsight.
These spells may be found in Frostburn
-Creeping Water: The Winter's Daughter's fly speed in Flurry Form increases by 10 feet. They gain 3 additional rounds of Flurry Form per day, and heal as if they had rested for a night when they activate the ability

Snowdrift Magic: At second and fourth levels, the Winter's Daughter gains +1 to caster level and save DC with spells of the [Cold] descriptor. This also applies to spell-like abilities with the cold descriptor.

Chill Touch(Su): At third level, the Winter's Daughter gains the ability to cast Chill Touch as a spell-like ability at will, caster level equal to HD.

Control Temperature(Su): At fifth level, the Winter's Daughter gains the ability to cast the spell Control Temperature as a spell-like ability once per day, caster level equal to HD. She may only use this ability to lower the temperature.

Playing a Winter's Daughter
You are a creature of the cold. You are at your best when using and dwelling in ice and snow.
Combat: The Winter's Daughter will use magic to give herself an edge, whether it be through spell-like abilities or casting from a previous class. Despite the shift towards a cold focus, play style will be fairly similar to the base casting class obtained before this class.
Advancement: After taking levels in Winter's Daughter, consider more classes that advance casting, particularly elemental enhancement. Moonblessed might take a level in bard and go into Moondancer, springing gracefully through the snow.
Resources: Cold is your ally. Cold is your friend. Use it.
Winter's Daughter in the World
"T'was the strangest thing. Here I was, wandering through the snow frozen half to death, when I sees a white girl out in the distance. After that I passed out, and suddenly I was outside town. Strange place, the wastes." -Frothgar, Barbarian

Winter's Daughters can be found in any area of great cold, though their behaviors vary greatly. The good ones aid travelers in their journey, while the crueller ones play tricks or even attack wanderers on sight.
Daily Life: You live and thrive in the snow, forever pushed from your warmer ponds, rivers, and forests. You do not regret your decision to live, but you may be...bitter, sometimes.
Notables: Shala, the Ice Queen, lives in an immense palace of ice and snow in the frozen wastes. Her domain is hard to get to, but you've heard tell that her hospitality and aid is worth the journey.
Organizations: Winter's Daughters sometimes congregate into similar groups, roving through the land. Past this, there aren't many real associations for them, though you may find the odd one integrated to life among normal people with the aid of magic.
NPC Reaction
This is an in detail description of how NPC's would perceive your class and the immediate generalization that people would give of your class.

Winter's Daughter in the Game
Adaptation: Winter's Daughters are fairly adaptable to settings, able to exist anywhere with areas of ice and snow.
Encounters: They may be encountered in areas of ice or snow as friend or foe.

Sample Encounter
Work in Progress

Give an example of how one might encounter a member of this PrC.
EL x: Give the encounter level and description of a sample member of this class and a stat block for him/her.


Name
alignment/Gender/Race/Levels
Init +0, Senses: Listen +, Spot +,
Languages
------------------------------------------------
AC , touch , flat-footed ()
hp ( HD)
Fort +, Ref +, Will +
------------------------------------------------
Speed ft. ( squares)
Melee
Base Atk +, Grp +
Atk Options
Combat Gear
Spells Prepared
Supernatural Abilities
-----------------------------------------------
Abilities Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
SQ
Feats
Skills
Possessions
[/b]



Even if this is balanced for normal play, the LA would probably need to be increased in a Stormwrack or similar game. (Naiad pirate?)

Frathe
2013-02-01, 09:47 PM
I'm not great at judging LAs, but I have a few other comments.

Drench needs some revision; it looks like you copied it from the elemental entry, and forgot to change the word elemental. If this is going to be a player race, you probably also don't want to base the ability on HD.

It's clear what you mean, but you might want to specify in Diffuse Form that you can enter water and other fluids (which the spell you give as a basis, Gaseous Form, specifically forbids).

There's two problem with with Watery Body. First, it doesn't really compromise a single extraordinary ability, so much as a list of racial traits. You might want to change this to a section called "naiad traits". Second, not all [Cold] spells have saves for the naiad to try to resist. You might be better off specifying some kind of default Fortitude save here.

It looks good besides that.

Edit: Was the nymph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/nymph.htm) perhaps one of your sources?

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-02, 12:21 AM
Drench needs some revision; it looks like you copied it from the elemental entry, and forgot to change the word elemental. If this is going to be a player race, you probably also don't want to base the ability on HD.


Alright, changed it to a CL of 1 for now. I can't think of much better, and it's more of a minor ability



It's clear what you mean, but you might want to specify in Diffuse Form that you can enter water and other fluids (which the spell you give as a basis, Gaseous Form, specifically forbids).

There's two problem with with Watery Body. First, it doesn't really compromise a single extraordinary ability, so much as a list of racial traits. You might want to change this to a section called "naiad traits". Second, not all [Cold] spells have saves for the naiad to try to resist. You might be better off specifying some kind of default Fortitude save here.


Done and done. Made it its own fort save based on the caster's DC for a spell of that level, though it feels a bit...wordy.

And no, I didn't base it off the nymph, though I guess it's somewhat similar when you get to the crunchy bits.

Thanks for the help!

Frathe
2013-02-02, 12:52 AM
Maybe not CL 1 for Quenching Touch, considering you can't get dispel magic at that level. I think CL 5 is the lowest Wizards can get a 3rd Level spell like that.

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-02, 01:10 AM
That's true, but I've seen racial abilities using spells at a lower CL than they could be cast normally. And it feels like a level 1 naiad might have an unfair advantage over all the little wizard kids if she can already dispel at that level of proficiency. Perhaps give it to them at CL 5 when they get to level 5?

Frathe
2013-02-02, 02:05 AM
If you've seen abilities that are cast at lower than normally allowed CL, then you could maybe just give it a CL equal to its character level. I think that seems like a reasonable scaling.

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-02, 02:38 AM
Alright, I'll do that.
One example that comes to mind is that 1 in 10 pixies can use irresistible dance, a level 8 wizard spell (6 for bards)

Frathe
2013-02-02, 02:51 AM
No, but that example confirms my point. They cast that spell at caster level 8 (same as a Wizard).

Oops, never mind. That seems fine.

Edit: Speaking of pixies, for the sake of player-friendliness you might want to add a line like this: A pixie naiad character exchanges its 1 HD of fey for its first class level.

willpell
2013-02-02, 03:41 AM
This is interesting but seems questionable in terms of power level. Aquatic healing is kind of ridiculous in its binariness; if you're near water you're almost invincible unless the water itself is full of dangers, so you would have very little reason to ever go far onto land (where you couldn't heal) or deep into the water (where you couldn't heal fast enough if a monster attacked). But as long as you stuck to beaches and rivers and such which were minimally dangerous, it'd be hard to beat you up without you just going for a five-minute swim and being in perfect health again.

From an abstract in-setting perspective, it makes sense, but its utility to a player would be limited I think.

Frathe
2013-02-02, 03:58 AM
Maybe a better replacement for Aquatic Healing would be a 3/day or such healing "surge" that can only be used when the naiad is submerged in water or when enough water is consumed (to focus on the "absorption" aspect). It could heal, I don't know, 1d6 health, and maybe the number per day and/or the die size would increase with level.

Edit: Actually, that'd be an awful lot of healing for a first level character. Starting off with a d4 might work better instead.

JeminiZero
2013-02-02, 06:02 AM
Maybe a better replacement for Aquatic Healing would be a 3/day or such healing "surge" that can only be used when the naiad is submerged in water or when enough water is consumed (to focus on the "absorption" aspect). It could heal, I don't know, 1d6 health, and maybe the number per day and/or the die size would increase with level.

Edit: Actually, that'd be an awful lot of healing for a first level character. Starting off with a d4 might work better instead.

Or simply go with 1 HP/HD, as if she had rested for one night, doable 1/day.

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-02, 10:33 AM
Hmm, I'd prefer more than once a day. Perhaps the ability to heal as if they had rested for the night 3/day while they're submerged in the water? Still gives them a distinct advantage when they have the opportunity to be in the water, but they can't go all day.

Edit:

Speaking of pixies, for the sake of player-friendliness you might want to add a line like this: A pixie naiad character exchanges its 1 HD of fey for its first class level.

Done.

And upon further thinking about it, I decided that Con mod times/day would probably be a nice scaling way for aquatic healing, so that's written in for now.

Edit Edit: Added some racial feats, tweaked how Aquatic Healing works. It's more similar to a paladin's healing pool, but smaller and more limited.

3x EDIT COMBO: Added Racial Paragon class.

Debihuman
2013-02-05, 02:17 PM
Aquatic Healing (Su): The naiad gains a healing pool equal to Cha mod x 1/2 level (rounded down), usable only on herself while partially or totally submerged in water. This pool refreshes after 8 hours of rest She can heal herself from this pool as a standard action.

It isn't really a healing pool, its a total number of hit points. Under your method, a naiad could have a negative score if her charisma were less than 10.

Aquatic Healing (Su):Each day a naiad can heal a total number of hit points equal to 1/2 her level (rounded down) times her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) as long as she is partially or totally submerged in water. She may only use this ability on herself and doesn't have to use all the points at once, but any left over are lost as are any in excess of her maximum hit points. She can heal herself as a standard action.


The Water Subtype generally means the creature is from the Elemental Plane of Water. This would actually make her an Outsider rather than Fey.


Water Subtype

This subtype usually is used for elementals and outsiders with a connection to the Elemental Plane of Water. Creatures with the water subtype always have swim speeds and can move in water without making Swim checks. A water creature can breathe underwater and usually can breathe air as well.

A naiad's low-light vision comes from being Fey not from the Water Subtype.

Debby

Frathe
2013-02-05, 02:24 PM
You could perhaps replace the water subtype with (aquatic).


Aquatic Subtype
These creatures always have swim speeds and thus can move in water without making Swim checks. An aquatic creature can breathe underwater. It cannot also breathe air unless it has the amphibious special quality.

Although then you'd have to add the amphibious special quality.

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-06, 08:06 AM
Hmm, alrighty then. Subtype changed to aquatic, and implemented the recommended wording of Aquatic Healing. The amphibious special quality was already there, so that's taken care of.

EDIT: It seems like the [Water] subtype may be more appropriate in this situation, though, if from a mechanical standpoint rather than a fluffy one. I know there are several perceptions of what naiads are, as is common to fantasy creatures, but the version I was going for here was the one of the maiden composed entirely of water (Hence the diffuse form and the light fortification in the paragon class). It would probably make sense that clerics with the water domain could rebuke them, and that spells meant to affect [Water] creatures would affect them. I'll leave them at the [Aquatic] subtype for now, but I'm going to puzzle over it.

Xallace
2013-02-06, 08:32 AM
They can have both subtypes.

Debihuman
2013-02-06, 12:17 PM
Hmm, alrighty then. Subtype changed to aquatic, and implemented the recommended wording of Aquatic Healing. The amphibious special quality was already there, so that's taken care of.

EDIT: It seems like the [Water] subtype may be more appropriate in this situation, though, if from a mechanical standpoint rather than a fluffy one. I know there are several perceptions of what naiads are, as is common to fantasy creatures, but the version I was going for here was the one of the maiden composed entirely of water (Hence the diffuse form and the light fortification in the paragon class). It would probably make sense that clerics with the water domain could rebuke them, and that spells meant to affect [Water] creatures would affect them. I'll leave them at the [Aquatic] subtype for now, but I'm going to puzzle over it.

Easy peasy, just make it a Special Ability like so:

Water Affinity (Ex): Although naiads are Fey, they have a deep connection to the water and an affinity for all water realms. As a result, they can be rebuked by clerics with the Water Domain and are affected by spells with the [Water] descriptor as if they had the Water Subtype.

Debby

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-07, 10:16 AM
Easy peasy, just make it a Special Ability like so:

Water Affinity (Ex): Although naiads are Fey, they have a deep connection to the water and an affinity for all water realms. As a result, they can be rebuked by clerics with the Water Domain and are affected by spells with the [Water] descriptor as if they had the Water Subtype.

And added. Thanks for that.

I think I'll make a PrC for naiads that stayed out in the cold too long, more on that later.

EDIT: Added the Winter's Daughter PrC

Debihuman
2013-02-09, 12:28 PM
You should probably fix the feats since a naiad doesn't have a pool of points for her healing and diffuse forms.

Debby

Yarghenforgen
2013-02-09, 02:51 PM
Changed the feats in question. I may want to make the Aquatic healing into a pool again though, I guess I'll think about it.

Debihuman
2013-02-10, 02:05 PM
I advise against making it a pool. It's one more pain in the neck thing to have to track. It will also scale badly most likely without a serious playtest.

Debby