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View Full Version : Thu'um: Shouting is but another skill(trick) [3.5, PEACH]



Amnestic
2013-04-10, 04:50 AM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Amnestic/WordWall-e1343756728475_zps72ad13c5.jpg
An initiate in Dragonspeech seeks out a place of power to further their studies

Introduction

I've had this idea in my head for a while. Skyrim was fun and the Dragonshouts were cool, but I've always been dissatisfied with homebrewers tying the ability to shout into a class (normally Dovahkiin). He's not the only one who could do it, you know? So then I stumble across Morph Bark's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224359) thread and was inspired. Turning the Shouts into a Skilltrick and tying them into a Truespeak skill? Nice idea! And it's deliciously classless (mostly) which is exactly what I was after, so I opted to extend the original concept. And thus, the following was created.

Dragonspeech

Words have power. Words are power. While some magic users may display this through use of Power or Holy Word spells, those trained in Dragonspeech are of a different sort. They come from all walks of life, from the most mundane of fighters to the most pious Cleric to the intellectual Wizard. Those trained and practised in Dragonspeech can utter certain words to create astonishing supernatural effects. It is not just the sound of the word itself which grants this, but true understanding and comprehension of the word and its place in the world. Such can only come from practise, meditation and reflection. And maybe a few Dragon Souls here and there.

Dragonspeech Words are all Skilltricks (Complete Scoundrel) and thus are learned via the investment of 2 skill points per trick/word. Dragonspeech Words fall under the "one skill trick per level" rule, however they use a separate 'pool' to normal skilltricks. You could, therefore, learn Collector of Stories and a Word of Unrelenting Force at the same level, but you couldn't learn Conceal Spellcasting and Collector of Stories at the same level, nor could you learn a Word of both Fire Breath and Frost Breath at the same level.

Unless otherwise noted, a Word can only be used once per encounter (once per minute out of combat), are Standard actions, and are Supernatural effects. In addition, you can use no more than 1 word/3HD per encounter.

Before learning any Words, the character must first spend a feat to unlock these abilities.

Dragonspeech
Prerequisites: Must be able to speak Draconic as a language.
Benefit: A character with this feat can learn and benefit from Dragonspeech skilltricks. They also gain Truespeech as a permanent class skill. If this feat is ever retrained away (PHB2), the character instantly loses the ability to use their Dragonspeech until they retrain the feat once more. Unless otherwise noted, the DC for Dragonspeech words is (10+1/2HD+ConMod). Each part of a Word must be taken in sequence. You cannot, for example, take Fus and then Dah for Unrelenting Force; you must take Fus, then Ro, then Dah. You can opt, if you so desire, to use only part of a full word. Even if you have learned Fus, Ro and Dah, you could opt to use only the Fus Ro effect if you so desired.


Words of Destruction

Cyclone
Ven
Prerequisite: Truespeak 10 Ranks
Effect: You unleash a swirling tornado which travels in a straight line 50'. Any creature struck by this takes 1d6/3HD damage. In addition, if they fail a Fortitude Save they are picked up 1d8x10' into the air, before being dropped back down in their original square and taking any fall damage as normal. If an obstacle (such as a ceiling) blocks a creature from reaching its full height, it takes 1d6 damage for every 10' of upwards movement it was unable to complete.

Gar
Prerequisite: Truespeak 15 Ranks
Effect: The winds are more receptive to your calls. Creatures who fail their Fortitude save are also knocked prone and are dazed for one round after they hit the ground.

Nos
Prerequisite: Truespeak 20 Ranks
Effect: The Tornado grows in strength, and now deals 1d6/2HD. In addition, creatures who fail their Fortitude save are stunned instead of dazed for one round, in addition to being knocked prone after being tossed by the winds.


Drain Vitality
Gaan
Prerequisite: Truespeak 8 Ranks
Effect: As a swift action you attempt to drain one opponent's strength. They must succeed on a Fortitude save or take 1d6/4HD damage per round (save: half). Any damage dealt is granted to you as temporary HP which lasts for one minute, and stacks with itself. Drain Vitality lasts for 2d6 rounds.

Lah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 11 Ranks
Effect: You drain yet more from your opponents, now dealing 2d6/4HD damage. Creatures who fail their save versus the damage also have a -1 to Attack rolls, damage rolls and Caster level.

Haas
Prerequisite: Truespeak 14 Ranks
Effect: The drain increases. Creatures who fail the save versus the damage now take a -3 on attack rolls, damage rolls and Caster level. Even if they make the save, they still suffer -1 to the previous three.


Fire Breath
Yol
Prerequisite: Truespeak 5 Ranks
Effect: As a Standard Action you can unleash a torrent of flame in a 30' Line dealing 1d6/2HD Fire Damage, Reflex Halves.

Toor
Prerequisite: Truespeak 7 Ranks
Effect: The range extends to a 60' line. In addition, a further 50% of the initial damage dealt is dealt again in the subsequent round.

Shul
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: The range extends to a 15' wide, 60' line. In addition, a further 75% of the initial damage dealt is dealt again in the subsequent round, and 50% of the initial damage dealt is dealt in the round after that.


Frost Breath
Fo
Prerequisite: Truespeak 5 Ranks
Effect: As a Standard Action you can unleash a torrent of frost in a 30' Line dealing 1d6/2HD Cold Damage, Reflex Halves.

Krah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 7 Ranks
Effect: The range extends to a 60' line. In addition, anyone who takes damage must succeed on a Fort save or be Slowed for one round.

Diin
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: The range extends to a 15' wide, 60' line. In addition, anyone who takes damage must succeed on a Fort save or be Slowed for 1d4 rounds. A successful save still Slows for one round.




Words of Debilitation

Bend Will
Gol
Prerequisite: Truespeak 7 Ranks
Effect: As a Standard Action, your voice of will is so inspiring that it bends the perception of those around you. Acts as the Spell Charm Person, but can target multiple targets with an HD total equal to your own.

Hah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 13 Ranks
Effect: Bend Will now acts as Charm Monster instead of Charm Person, but can target multiple targets with an HD total equal to your own.

Dov
Prerequisite: Truespeak 19 Ranks
Effect: Bend Will now forces the target to make two saves versus its effect - it must succeed on both to prevent its effects.


Disarm
Zun
Prerequisite: Truespeak 6 Ranks
Effect: As a swift action, your voice shocks those in front of you. Anyone in a 15' Cone must beat (10+HD+ConMod) on a Disarm check or be Disarmed. Their weapon automatically falls into the square they occupy, and you cannot attempt to grab it, even if unarmed.

Haal
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: Disarmed weapons now falls 1d6 squares away in a random direction.

Viik
Prerequisite: Truespeak 12 Ranks
Effect: The size of the cone increases to 30' and disarmed weapons now fall 2d6 squares away in a random direction.


Dismay
Faas
Prerequisite: Truespeak 6 Ranks
Effect: Your voice expresses the pure nature of Fear. This can affect a number of targets whose HD equals your own. The affected creatures become Frightened for 1d4 rounds. If they succeed on a Will save, they are instead Shaken for 1d4 rounds.

Ru
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: The HD limits for targets you can affect increases to double your own HD.

Maar
Prerequisite: Truespeak 12 Ranks
Effect: Dismay can now affect those normally immune to fear/mind-affecting effects (such as Constructs/Undead).


Dragonrend
Joor
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: You can project your voice into the very antithesis of dragonkind. Any Dragon-type creatures struck by this 200' Line must succeed on a Fort save or be unable to fly or burrow.

Zah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 15 Ranks
Effect: Those affected by Dragonrend must now also make a Will save or be unable to use their breath weapon (if they have one).

Frul
Prerequisite: Truespeak 21 Ranks
Effect: The culmination of Dragonrend strips the Dragon of any Spell Resistance and Damage Reduction (if they have any). In addition, failure on the Will save for their Breath Weapon now also strips them of their any spellcasting/spell-like abilities that they have.



Ice Form
Iiss
Prerequisite: Truespeak 11 Ranks
Effect: Your voice crystallises the air around your target into solid ice, locking them in place. The target must succeed on a Fort save or be paralysed for one round. Ice Form can be used on one target within Close (25+5'/2HD) range.

Slen
Prerequisite: Truespeak 15 Ranks
Effect: The ice chills the air and clings to the target. Regardless of whether or not they make the save, they are Fatigued for two rounds.

Nus
Prerequisite: Truespeak 19 Ranks
Effect: The duration of the paralysis increases to two rounds, and the duration of the fatigue increases to three rounds.


Marked for Death
Krii
Prerequisite: Truespeak 13 Ranks
Effect: You speak words of unmaking, attempting to pierce the enemy's defences. The target of Marked for Death must succeed on a Will save. If they fail, they effectively lose 30% of their AC, Damage Reduction and Spell Resistance for 2d4 rounds. Marked for Death can be used on one target within Close (25+5'/2HD) range.

Lun
Prerequisite: Truespeak 17 Ranks
Effect: Those Marked for Death now lose 50% of their AC, DR and SR.

Aus
Prerequisite: Truespeak 19 ranks
Effect: Those Marked for Death now lose 100% of their AC, DR and SR for you and you alone - for others, those Marked only lose 50% still.


Unrelenting Force
Fus
Prerequisite: Truespeak 4 Ranks
Effect: Your voice forces the opponents back, pushing them down. As a swift action you can push opponents away. They must succeed on a Fortitude save or be Staggered for one round. Unrelenting Force is a 10' Line.

Ro
Prerequisite: Truespeak 5 Ranks
Effect Unrelenting Force now Stuns instead of Staggers, and is a 15' line.

Dah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 6 Ranks
Effect The power of your voice grows further. On a failed Save, it now Blows Away creatures as well as Stuns them for one round. The size of the effect also increases to a 15' Cone.


Words of Enhancement

Aura Whisper
Laas
Prerequisite: Truespeak 6 Ranks
Effect: As a swift action your voice enhances your senses. Your sight widens and you can perceive the auras of all living creatures within 50' for 1d6 rounds. This effect does not pierce walls or other physical obstructions.

Yah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 11 Ranks
Effect: The range of Aura Whisper increases to 100'.

Nir
Prerequisite: Truespeak 16 Ranks
Effect: Aura Whisper now breaks the physical - it is no longer limited by walls or other obstructions.


Battle Fury
Mid
Prerequisite: Truespeak 10 Ranks
Effect: As a standard action, your voice grants one ally swifter attacks. For 1d4+1 rounds, your ally can make a full attack as a Standard Action. For the purposes of this Word, you do not count as your own ally.

Vur
Prerequisite: Truespeak 15 Ranks
Effect: You can now grant two allies swifter attacks.

Shaan
Prerequisite: Truespeak 20 Ranks
Effect: The two allies who you target with Battle Fury now also gain an additional attack on a full attack at their highest base attack bonus (including any modifiers).


Become Ethereal
Feim
Prerequisite: Truespeak 15 Ranks
Effect: As a swift action, you become Ethereal for 1 round, crossing the dimensional lines from Material to Ethereal Plane. Taking any action besides moving instantly ends this effect, and the action resolves as if you were on the Material Plane the entire time.

Zii
Prerequisite: Truespeak 17 Ranks
Effect: The duration of the Become Ethereal effect doubles to 2 rounds, and your movement speed while Ethereal is also doubled.

Gron
Prerequisite: Truespeak 19 Ranks
Effect: You can now take actions besides move actions while Ethereal without returning to the Material Plane. However, you still cannot affect the Material Plane - not even magically. An attempt to do so prematurely ends the Become Ethereal effect as normal.


Elemental Fury
Su
Prerequisite: Truespeak 10 Ranks
Effect: As a swift action, your voice enhances your weapons. For 1d4+1 rounds, you can make a full attack as a Standard Action.

Grah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 15 Ranks
Effect: You now also gain an additional attack at your highest base attack bonus (including relevant modifiers) whenever you full attack.

Dun
Prerequisite: Truespeak 20 Ranks
Effect: Elemental Fury's duration increases to 2d4+1 rounds.



Words of Utility

Animal Allegiance
Raan
Prerequisite: Truespeak 7 Ranks
Effect: As a standard action you can utter a call for help from nature's beasts. Any non-hostile animals or vermin in a 60' vicinity will, if they fail a Will save, rush to your aid and fight for you for 1d4+1 rounds, before returning to their normal behaviour.

Mir
Prerequisite: Truespeak 10 Ranks
Effect: Animal Allegiance now also affects plant-types.

Tah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 13 Ranks
Effect: Animal Allegiance now also affects ooze-types. Its duration also increases to 1d4+2 rounds.


Clear Skies
Lok
Prerequisite: Truespeak 5 Ranks
Effect: Your voice pierces to the heavens. You can instantly clear any non-magical weather effects, changing any weather to a "warm" (relative to climate) sunny day, with a light breeze.

Vah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 12 Ranks
Effect: Your voice can now clear away some (but not all) magical effects. Clear Skies can now clear any weather-based effects (including Fog or Wind) generated by spells of up to 4th level.

Koor
Prerequisite: Truespeak 17 Ranks
Effect: Your voice gains mastery over clearing the skies, and can now clear away any magical weather-effects (including Fog or Wind) up to 8th level. Any 9th level weather based effects (such as Storm of Vengeance) only do half damage.


Kyne's Peace
Kaan
Prerequisite: Truespeak 8 Ranks
Effect: You attempt to pacify any nearby animals. All animal and vermin creatures within 30' must make a Will save or be Dazed for 1d4+1 rounds. This effect instantly breaks if the creature is subject to hostile action (attack, spell, etc.)

Drem
Prerequisite: Truespeak 12 Ranks
Effect: The range increases to 50', and creatures can be subject to up to two hostile actions before the effect breaks.

Ov
Prerequisite: Truespeak 16 Ranks
Effect: Kyne's Peace now also affects Magical Beasts, and the range increases to 70'.


Throw Voice
Zul
Prerequisite: Truespeak 5 Ranks
Effect: As a swift action you can throw your voice as the Ventriloquism spell (CL=HD), however the effect only lasts for two rounds.

Mey
Prerequisite: Truespeak 7 Ranks
Effect: Throw Voice is now a Free Action.

Gut
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: Throw Voice no longer offers a save to disbelieve it.


Whirlwind Sprint
Wuld
Prerequisite: Truespeak 4 Ranks
Effect: As a Swift Action, you can dash forwards up to 15' in a straight line. Any movement from Whirlwind Sprint does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity, ignores difficult terrain and can pass through squares inhabited by enemies unhindered.

Nah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 9 Ranks
Effect: Whirlwind Sprint's dash distance increases to 30'. Any creature in a square adjacent to where you finish Whirlwind Sprint must make a Reflex save or be Flat-footed for one round.

Kest
Prerequisite: Truespeak 14 Ranks
Effect: Whirlwind Sprint's dash distance increases to 45'. Any creature in the path of your Whirlwind Sprint or in a square adjacent to where you finish Whirlwind Sprint must make a Reflex save or be Flat-footed for one round.



Words of Absolute Power


All Words of Absolute Power are Extraordinary, and you can only use one such word per day.


Dragon Aspect
Mul
Prerequisite: Truespeak 19 Ranks
Effect: Your voice can call upon the pure power of Dragons. Your arms are draped in fire and your feet crackle with electricity that lingers in your wake. These effects convey no mechanical benefit, they are solely aesthetic.

As a swift action, you take on the aspects of the dragon which lasts for a number of rounds equal to your hit dice. You can choose from two of the following effects whenever you use Dragon Aspect:


+6 bonus to Constitution, immunity to fatigue and exhaustion and a set of spectral Draconic wings (fly speed=movement speed, good maneuverability)
+6 bonus to Wisdom, immunity to Sleep and disease, telepathy (60' range) and a 5' aura that applies a penalty on all attack rolls and saves equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1, maximum 6). A successful Will save halves the aura's effect, but must be made every round.
+6 bonus to Intelligence, immunity to Paralysis and Poison and spell resistance equal to your HD+11 which can be lowered as a free action, even when it's not your turn.
+6 bonus to Strength, immunity to mind-affecting effects, and a spectral tail as a natural attack (2d6). Whenever this tail deals damage, the target must make a Fortitude save or be Paralyzed for 2d4 rounds.
+6 bonus to Dexterity, immunity to Energy drain, and a miss chance equal to two times your dexterity score (max 75%)
+6 bonus to Charisma, immunity to ability damage/drain and Regeneration 5 (overcome by Sonic).


Qah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 21 Ranks
Effect: In addition to the previous visible effects, your shoulders now drip and hiss with bubbling acid.

You can choose one additional effect, to a total of three.

In addition, you gain the ability to teleport 30' as a free action once during your turn. You can also use this on another creature within 50', but they are allowed a Will save to prevent it.

Diiv
Prerequisite: Truespeak 23 Ranks
Effect: Your head is topped with a crown made of ice, your breath is ice-cold and your eyes turn into orbs of blazing blue fire.

You can choose one additional effect, to a total of four.

In addition, you also gain DR 20/- for the duration.

Slow Time
Tiid
Prerequisite: Truespeak 18 Ranks
Effect: Your voice slows all time around you, your perceptions heightening above all else. Each round, you can take an additional Standard action. This effect lasts for 1d6+1 rounds.

Klo
Prerequisite: Truespeak 20 Ranks
Effect: You now gain an extra Move action, in addition to the Standard action.

Ul
Prerequisite: Truespeak 22 Ranks
Effect: You now gain an extra Swift action, in addition to the Standard and Move actions. The duration of Slow Time is also increased to 2d6+1 rounds.



Storm Call
Strun
Prerequisite: Truespeak 21 Ranks
Effect: Thunder cracks and lightning flashes at the sound of your voice. All creatures within' 300' must make a Fortitude save or be Deafened for 1d4x10 minutes. Each round, eight lightning bolts strike the surrounding 100' area, two of which you can direct at specific targets (though no two bolts may strike the same target); the remaining bolts strike at random, though none can strike you. Each bolt deals 8d6 lightning damage (Reflex Halves). Storm Call lasts 1d4+1 rounds.

Storm Call can only be used outdoors.

Bah
Prerequisite: Truespeak 22 Ranks
Effect: Your mastery over the Storm increases. You can now prevent your allies from being deafened, and can direct two more bolts of lightning each round. Two bolts still cannot target the same creature in the same round.

Qo
Prerequisite: Truespeak 23 Ranks
Effect: You can now direct six bolts of lightning each round. Two bolts still cannot target the same creature in the same round. The remaining two bolts remain wild. In addition, any struck by a bolt of lightning must make a Fortitude save or be Dazzled for one round.




Optional Rules/Variants

Dragon Souls: Whenever anyone with the Dragonspeech feat kills a True Dragon, it has the option to absorb its soul. Doing so irrecoverably destroys the dragon's soul forever, but allows the character who absorbed the soul to fuel their Dragonspeech. They can immediately learn one Word of Power that they qualify for without spending skill points to do so.

Only souls of Dragons with HD equal to or higher than the character who killed the dragon are able to fuel a character's Dragonspeech. In the event that one or more character with Dragonspeech participates in the killing of a dragon, the Dragonsoul will be absorbed by a single character determined at random.

Places of Power: In some worlds, Dragonspeech is a lost art from a bygone era. In this case, learning a Word of Power is one part exploration, one part practise. Words can only be learned by visiting the specific Word Wall somewhere in the world which holds the Word of Power. Meditating at these walls for one hour allows a Dragonspeech character to gain some understanding of it. However, they must still invest one skill point (rather than the normal 2) into practising it before they can utilise the Word properly.

If you use both the Places of Power and Dragon Souls optional rules, then the Dragon Soul will only replace the one skill point required to "activate" the word after it has been learned from the Wall.

Words as Song: In some worlds, Dragonspeech is not speech at all, but music. Whether it be due to a particularly musically inclined deity, a Wizarding mishap or simply a case of Musical Dragons, the powerful Words of Dragonspeech are instead melodies. Replace all mentions of Truespeak/Truespeech with Perform (Music Type) - this could be as restrictive as only Perform (Singing) or as wide as including all types of musical performance (wind, string, etc.), depending on preference.

Concerns/Thoughts

At this point in time, I have two major concerns regarding this idea. First is grammar/writing. I gotta be honest, I'm pretty terrible at writing out descriptions for stuff. I'm never entirely satisfied with the fluff:crunch ratio, I think the structure of them could probably be improved to make it easier (or at least, more fun) to read and comprehend. I might go back and write out a short italicised fluff piece for each ability, though between the name and the little fluff I've already put in there, it's mostly not necessary I don't think.

The second concern is balance. I'm not gonna deny that there are some powerful effects and would likely be desireable on every character given the investment (1 feat plus a variable number of skillpoints) and they were designed with the idea of being powerful. Things I'm concerned about are: Whether the effects come at the right "time" with regards to character levels and whether there's enough internal balance of the system with itself to be satisfactory. Neither of those I'm 100% on, so I'd appreciate some input.

With regards to the concern of making it too desireable, I would say that this system is probably best used when all your PCs have access to it (at that point, maybe make the feat a bonus at 1st level), and the large skillpoint investment should - assuming the system is internally balanced - ensure that people don't all just take the same Words. Using the Places of Power variant might also help keep things restricted. I'm really curious to see what people think about it though, whether you'd consider using it, what changes you'd make if so (and if not!) and suggestions - as well as get an idea of which abilities are most/least desireable (especially with regards to specific classes).

Thanks

As noted in the introduction, this was mostly spurred off of this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224359) by Morph Bark. They've done some really cool other stuff as well and you should probably check it out!

Also want to say thanks to Dsurion who made his own version (http://bardmoon.blogspot.nl/2012/09/using-thuum-in-d-35.html) on the concept which gave me a few ideas here and there.

Both of their concepts helped to flesh mine out a bit, so they get mentions/plugs :smalltongue:

Thanks for reading. Please critique fairly! :smallwink:

Changelog


Posted.
Added Draconic language as a prerequisite for the Dragonspeech feat.
Restricted new Words to only one per level.

nonsi
2013-04-10, 10:15 AM
Kill the notion of do not fall under the "one new skill trick per level" rule.
Otherwise, every skillmonkey in your group(s) will be a Dragonspeech master.

Even with the regular restriction, I see no reason not to spam everything a character can possibly divert to Dragonspeech.

SamBurke
2013-04-10, 11:12 AM
This is cool, but you do need to limit it. Perhaps the Pre-requisites could be lowered, but only your skill ranks count, not the bonus?

Larkas
2013-04-10, 11:14 AM
Hmmm, you have a strong foundation right there, that is for sure. I like the idea of not tying the Shouts to any class, and using skill tricks manage that just fine. A few pieces of criticism, though, if you don't mind:

- Dragonspeech is the language of Dragons (duh!). As such, I think that having Draconic as a known language as a pre-requisite for the feat would be a good idea.

- I have to agree with Nonsi here, not having a limit per level on words might bring sillyness really quick. Besides, I have a fluff concern here also: remember how the sages in High Hrothgar spent all their lives honing and perfecting their speech, and even so only knew a precious few words? The Dovahkiin is certainly not the only one to be able to learn the Shouts, but he is the only one to master them in such short notice. The skill tricks shouldn't come at more than one per level.

- Bring the two concepts together, and you have the basis for a PrC that can learn lots of shouts in short notice. Call it whatever you want, give it a progression like Legacy Champion but giving free Words every level (you still should need to qualify for them, though) and you should be set. That way, you can have Truespeech to be a skill open to anyone but hard to master, and a class that can learn them faster due to class features. This should stop some of the sillyness concerning skill monkeys but still enable a specialized character to excel in Shouting, should s/he wish to do so.

- Thinking about High Hrothgar again, characters that take a Vow of Silence should have a bonus to Dragonspeech, and using it shouldn't break their vow.

Anyways, just my 2 cp, hope it can be of use.

Amnestic
2013-04-10, 11:47 AM
Kill the notion of do not fall under the "one new skill trick per level" rule.
Otherwise, every skillmonkey in your group(s) will be a Dragonspeech master.


I didn't want it to interfere with learning real Skilltricks, but thinking about it, it's a decent limitation to add on it and I can always add an exception.


This is cool, but you do need to limit it. Perhaps the Pre-requisites could be lowered, but only your skill ranks count, not the bonus?

The intention is that only Skillranks count. If that wasn't clear it might be a fault with my writing. You're investing skillpoints, but under this system you never actually need to make a Truespeak check. Truespeak bonuses count for naught with it.



- Dragonspeech is the language of Dragons (duh!). As such, I think that having Draconic as a known language as a pre-requisite for the feat would be a good idea.


Not a bad plan.



- Bring the two concepts together, and you have the basis for a PrC that can learn lots of shouts in short notice. Call it whatever you want, give it a progression like Legacy Champion but giving free Words every level (you still should need to qualify for them, though) and you should be set. That way, you can have Truespeech to be a skill open to anyone but hard to master, and a class that can learn them faster due to class features. This should stop some of the sillyness concerning skill monkeys but still enable a specialized character to excel in Shouting, should s/he wish to do so.


I considered building a PrC around it but decided I wanted to get the system out before I did any more work for feedback/opinions.



- Thinking about High Hrothgar again, characters that take a Vow of Silence should have a bonus to Dragonspeech, and using it shouldn't break their vow.

I'd probably bake this into the PrC, but I hadn't really considered it (silly me!).

Will make edits and put up a changelog shortly.

Larkas
2013-04-10, 11:55 AM
On the Vow of Silence, I wouldn't relate this closely to what the PrC can do, since a sage and the Dovahkiin itself could still speak; the other sages couldn't due to the potency of their voice. Maybe a feat? (And suddenly I remember of Alanis Morrisette in Dogma :smallbiggrin: )

Another thing that just occurred to me: Truespeak should be a class skill for all dragons. I was going to say true dragons, but I find the image of a Dragonne using some power words, and a Wyvern struggling to learn the most basic of shouts, rather amusing.

EDIT: Oh, and if you don't want regular skill tricks to interfere with power words (and vice versa), just call them "power words", say that they are treated like skill tricks but that you can learn a power word and a skill trick in the same level, but no more than a power word at any given level. :smallsmile:

Silvernale
2013-04-10, 01:45 PM
I just started Skyrim a couple days ago and I was thinking how cool thu'um would be in D&D! Originally my idea was a series of Power Word spells that were (Sp) class.

PS am I not seeing a duration or is there not one?

nonsi
2013-04-10, 10:30 PM
Not a bad plan.


Care to explain ?
To me it also makes a lot of sense and the payment of 2 skill points is not that heavy (and some get Draconic as racial language).

Amnestic
2013-04-11, 07:49 AM
Care to explain ?
To me it also makes a lot of sense and the payment of 2 skill points is not that heavy (and some get Draconic as racial language).

It wasn't a bad plan, as in, a good plan. I agreed with the recommendation and made the change :smalltongue:

Seharvepernfan
2013-05-04, 02:53 AM
This is awesome. I'm not sure about the Words of Absolute Power, but I haven't completely read the thread yet.

Fighters need this.

I don't have the Truenamer book; is there somewhere online that I can read about the Truespeech skill?

Amnestic
2013-05-04, 07:19 PM
This is awesome. I'm not sure about the Words of Absolute Power, but I haven't completely read the thread yet.

Fighters need this.

I don't have the Truenamer book; is there somewhere online that I can read about the Truespeech skill?

As it stands, the only use for Truespeech is on Truenamer ability (Utterances) checks and for identifying utterances. Outside of the Truenamer, Truespeak has no use.