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drew2u
2013-07-14, 05:00 PM
Warning: lots of fluff, almost nonexistent crunch (due to not wanting to invest a lot of time into this idea if it has been done before and done better)

Someone somewhere has had to have come up with the idea of a class that involves someone's sketches or writings come-to-life, possibly utilizing a[n oversized] paintbrush as a weapon or something.

In the off-chance that nobody has, or the concept is different than what I'm envisioning, here's what I've been tooling around with:

The Ukiyo

Concept: a Bard archetype, maybe?
A painter who is able to make her paintings come to life from creating simple items that help make her daily life easier [mushishi utility], to imitating magical items and weapons for protection [combat], to creating fantastical landscapes and imagery as to awe or fool onlookers [illusonist], to summoning creatures [summon drawn creature], to killing a targeted creature simply by writing their name and cause of death [death note; Power Word Kill] (or life with True Res).
A Composer Ukiyo [archetype/prestige] can even create phantasmal music and sound depending on her written composition.

Illusion - creates fake living-sketches to distract and confuse foes
Transmutation - creates objects or alters existing objects. Cannot transmutate living creatures (at least not as easy as regular casters).
Evocation -
Conjuration - Calls, Creates, or Summons. The Ukiyo is not a healer or a teleporter. The creatures that she calls/creates/summons are representative creatures made of living ink and not an actual creature of that type/kind.
Divination - The Ukiyo is not a diviner
Enchantment - The Ukiyo is not an enchanter except when it comes to "Symbol of" spells or "Power Word" spells, and only then when those are written.
Abjuration - creates barriers and can create a protective talisman from a slip of paper with ink written on it.


Abilities & Skills
Ink Well:
A Ukiyo is imbued with a reserve of power analogous to ink that she is able to siphon (draw upon) for her creations. This is refilled after 8 hours of rest. As the Ukiyo becomes more adept at painting, the well she is able to draw from deepens and she can create even more complex paintings. [The Well is similar to Spell Pooling except that the Ukiyo also uses the Well for class abilities and not just for casting spells.]
Note: I am a fan of how Incarnum works with being able to shift around essentia. I view ink acting the same way, only a creation has to be destroyed first before the ink can be used again.

Sketchbook:
A Ukiyo starts out needing either parchment or a clean surface to draw. Eventually she only needs the air in front of her to create her paintings.
Drawing or writing is an act that provokes an AoO. If the parchment is destroyed, the effect or item disappears.
A written-on page can be torn out and placed in a particular area or space separate from the Ukiyo or her sketchbook if she wishes to place an effect at that location. If she chooses to do this, she will not replenish her well of that amount of ink if the page is destroyed. Her well will naturally replenish those points after 8 hours of rest.

Brush:
A Ukiyo needs a paintbrush of masterwork quality in order to begin her training and use her ink. This brush is similar in size and make to a wand. Eventually she only needs her own fingers to draw out her ink with the brush becoming a supplementary augmentation of her ability.

Creations:
A Ukiyo's paintings deplete her well depending on how complex, costly, or exhaustive the effects are. The number of creations she can have active at any given time is limited by her well. She is able to erase an existing creation as a swift action before its duration is over and replenish her well.
Creations can be made permanent with Permanency. If broken or destroyed, the creations cannot be repaired or resurrected even with True Resurrection or Wish.
Price:
A Ukiyo can mimic more expensive objects the higher her level is. These objects, however, retain no actual worth and cannot be sold. If these objects are tried to be sold, bartered, traded, or destroyed, they revert back to ethereal ink. She can lend an object to another creature for [duration] after which it is erased and her ink well is replenished by that amount.

- Protective Charm: This slip of paper is a portable version of "Protection from [Alignment]" spell. An advanced version acts as a "Magic Circle Against [Alignment]" spell instead. It has hardness 0, 1 hit point, and a break DC of 2. (meant to be simple and not real powerful)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omamori
- Drawn Creatures: As Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally spells, not limited to those choices, but similar CR. Drawn Creatures are augmented with construct traits and are soul-less and mindless, being commanded by its Ukiyo creator.
- Drawn Mundane Objects: Can create mundane objects and tools, lasts for 24 hours. If broken, bartered, or sold, it disappears. How much ink is used is based on gold-price.
- Drawn Armor / Weapons: How much ink is needed is based on total gold-price. Lasts for 24 hours. If broken, bartered, or sold, it disappears.
- Drawn Wondrous Item: How much ink is needed is based on total gold-price. Lasts for 24 hours. If broken, bartered, or sold, it disappears.
- Runes, Symbols, Wards, Words, and Power Words: How much ink is needed is based on spell-level. This can also be used to deliver a ranged Combat Maneuver, simply by writing the target and the desired effect into the Ukiyo's sketchbook.
- Binding Charm: a paper-seal that, when attached to a creature, binds that creature to the Ukiyo. The bound creature cannot, on its own, destroy the seal, but could ask for assistance from other creatures.
- Figment Illusions: How much ink is needed is based on spell-level.
- Conjuration [Creation]: How much ink is needed is based on spell-level.


Note: Anything that could be used to alter another creature (such as erasing its mouth or altering its physical and mental characteristics) or to create a permanent physical landscape or permanently alter an existing landscape would be regulated to either epic-level or a prestige class. The idea of, "I draw you as a cute bunny so now you're a cute bunny" or, "I draw my own map so now it exists that way" would not be the main abilities or focus of this class.

Inspirations:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArtInitiatesLife
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink_wash_painting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Georges_Seurat_066.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Ckami
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Mickey
http://www.funimation.com/mushi-shi/episode/the-green-seat/dub
http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Note_%28object%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impasto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calligraphy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_pen_is_mightier_than_the_sword
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawn_to_Life
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/books/japan/hearn/boydrewcats.html
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/HaroldAndThePurpleCrayon
http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/qt/Chinese-New-Year-Bombing-The-Dragon-2.htm
http://many-of-me.deviantart.com/art/Ink-Dragons-91732130
http://gabriel-andrade.deviantart.com/art/Splashed-Ink-Dragon-120104148

P.S. I'm not good at homebrew so mercy, please! *begs*