Nettlekid
2013-05-28, 08:40 PM
I've been combing obscure sources for Prestige Classes lately, and one I came across in the Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde (an adventure module) is called the Serene Guardian. Reading it over a bit, it looks like it has the potential to be an excellent attrition-type debuffer. The longer the battle goes, the more extreme the effect can be. The class gets the ability to build up points of "resonance" in a foe that it strikes more than once in a round. Two hits for one point of resonance, three hits for two points, and unfortunately it doesn't extrapolate from there, so every round the maximum number of resonance you can build is 2 per foe. Once you've built up resonance, you can swift action use it up for several effects. You can make a foe take -1 on attack rolls and saves per point of resonance built up, lasting for as many rounds as resonance points built up. You can decrease the foe's movement speeds by 10*resonance for that same duration. You can inflict a target with Confusion (no save) for the same duration. Or you can make the foe take 1d6 (later 2d6) damage per point of resonance. And finally, if the target has 2*resonance HD, you can try to make it save or die. The first two effects only work on crittable enemies, so no constructs or undead, though you can probably deal with those with the sheer damage of the 2d6*resonance. The really interesting thing about it is that I don't see any limit to the number of resonance points you can have built up at any one time, which means that if you had a high agility character, like a Shadowpouncer or Spring Attack/Bounding Assault user, you could rack up a very large number of points, then crash their saves to zero, and either you or your ally uses a SoD to take them out. It seems like a strong class!
The only prereqs are BAB 6, Lawful, and some fluff stuff. It has full BAB and good Fort and Ref, and the Will doesn't matter because at level 9 you get a permanent, no-action Moment of Perfect Mind effect. I could imagine making this a pretty good Initiator, maybe focused on Tiger Claw maneuvers. The thing is, although it's got pretty good class features throughout, the debuffing effect (which I think is the best one) you get at level 1. You probably want to stick with the class at least as far as level 5, because that's when you get the ability to build two resonance with three hits. But it's got pretty good class features throughout, except maybe the level 10 SoD. Though again, even with a pretty low DC (10+level+Wis mod), it synergizes well with the debuff you get (so long as you can build up HD/2 resonance in the number of turns the debuff lasts). What do you think? Does this have potential as a strong melee debuffer, to clear the way for casters to wreak havoc with SoDs galore?
The only prereqs are BAB 6, Lawful, and some fluff stuff. It has full BAB and good Fort and Ref, and the Will doesn't matter because at level 9 you get a permanent, no-action Moment of Perfect Mind effect. I could imagine making this a pretty good Initiator, maybe focused on Tiger Claw maneuvers. The thing is, although it's got pretty good class features throughout, the debuffing effect (which I think is the best one) you get at level 1. You probably want to stick with the class at least as far as level 5, because that's when you get the ability to build two resonance with three hits. But it's got pretty good class features throughout, except maybe the level 10 SoD. Though again, even with a pretty low DC (10+level+Wis mod), it synergizes well with the debuff you get (so long as you can build up HD/2 resonance in the number of turns the debuff lasts). What do you think? Does this have potential as a strong melee debuffer, to clear the way for casters to wreak havoc with SoDs galore?