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View Full Version : (3.5) A Racial Feature; Help, balancing? How would you do it?



AuraTwilight
2013-08-27, 02:13 PM
So I've got another race in the works. A major feature is that each member of the race will start out bonded to some sort of magical item. I'm not entirely satisfied with the Ancestral Relic feat or the Item Familiar rules for modeling this out, but the item can be any type of item with any sort of effects, scaling to HD of the race in some way. The item is potentially transferrable, so please no "lol just use Incarnum" please. :P

The Dark Fiddler
2013-08-27, 02:32 PM
Do you plan on having the item scale with the character, or stay at a similar power level throughout their career? The latter would either be really powerful at low levels or useless at high levels, with little wiggle room.

The first is easily done by cribbing the mechanics that I think started with the Kensai PrC. Basically, the character can destroy magic items (sacrifice them to their ancestors, remove their magic, whatever) and take the XP/GP gained there to improve their bonded item. Usually some sort of efficiency drop whenever I see it done.

Edit: Yes I skipped the part where you specified it should scale. My bad.

Anyway, if you want it to be based off of/limited by HD, you could do something like make the cap for the CL of effects the character makes be limited by the HD, or just give a straight-up +1 equivalent for every 5 HD or something.

Rosstin
2013-08-27, 02:37 PM
It would suck to have an item as a class feature and then have someone steal it from you. What a jerk.

http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee493/rosstin2011february/11944_revolutionary_girl_utena_zpsdf3883c2.jpg

AuraTwilight
2013-08-27, 05:50 PM
Racial feature; and they can't be 'stolen' except by death. They'll be one of those "Can only be transferred by will or death" thing.


Anyway, if you want it to be based off of/limited by HD, you could do something like make the cap for the CL of effects the character makes be limited by the HD, or just give a straight-up +1 equivalent for every 5 HD or something.

I think I like the latter idea.