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View Full Version : Scroll of the Third Eye: Epic-level abilities for gunslingers [D&D 3.5]



NichG
2014-02-16, 09:30 PM
It occurred to me to post this, not in particular for review or anything, but just as a set of interesting abilities to tie with high-epic ranged combat characters. I instituted these abilities into a campaign I ran where the gun-users had fallen behind the Tome of Battle-based melee characters as far as having interesting/potent stuff to do. They worked pretty well in play.

The abilities are grouped into three 'scrolls' and are associated with XP costs (thats how they were learned in the campaign - you studied the scroll and paid the XP cost), but you could tack them onto homebrew PrCs, epic feats, whatever you want.

All of these are quite powerful numerically (the ToB character they were designed to help balance against was dealing ubercharger-level damage), so I would be very careful about allowing any of these without modification at pre-epic level (or for a fairly high-op campaign). That said, I don't think any of these would raise a character above T3, and they're not trying to.

Note: These abilities refer to 'ranged attacks' and so on, but in general that is meant to not actually apply to ranged spells/touch spells/rays/etc - only attacks made with ranged weapons. Also, prereqs: maneuvers that have the above maneuver as a prerequisite are noted with increasing levels of '-' indentation)

Black Scroll of the Third Eye

This scroll contains secrets of the lost Third Eye Clan that focus on making a single shot count for as much as possible. It describes techniques to fire kill shots, shots with increased effectiveness, and highly accurate shots. Learning one of these techniques takes about a month of study and the indicated xp expenditure.

- The Shot that Cannot Miss: 8000xp. You can make a single shot as a
standard action. This shot has a +100 to hit.

- The First Equilibrium: 2000xp. You can make a single shot as a full
round action. This shot automatically satisfies any conditions you have
on precision damage (e.g. Sneak Attack needing a Flatfooted target,
Skirmish needing movement).

-- The Second Equilibrum: 4000xp. Requires the above technique. As a
Full Round action you can make a single shot that both satisfies your
precision damage requirements, and negates one 'layer' of protection against precision damage held by the target. So for example: your precision damage would apply to a target under concealment or an undead, but not an undead under concealment (since that's two layers).

--- The Third Equilibrium: 10000xp. Requires above technique. As
The Second Equilibrium, but your precision damage is Maximized and then
doubled. This can apply to things where you trade Sneak Attack/etc for other
effects. A Crit with this shot does multiply Sneak Attack and the like.

- Deflecting Shot: 10000xp. Counter. As an immediate action you may fire a shot to interrupt a melee attack against someone else. You must hit the attacker's AC modified by their weapon size to interrupt the attack. If you beat their attack roll, they are disarmed (though they gain the usual modifiers against disarm from whatever source).

- One Shot One Kill: 5000xp. You may spend a full round action to
fire a single shot. If this shot hits, and if it could reduce the target to below 0hp on a maximized critical hit, then it kills the target. Otherwise it does normal damage. It does not matter if the target is immune to precision damage for this strike.

- Gunslinger's Stance: 8000xp. Stance. Your first shot against a target
that has not yet acted in the fight automatically crits if it hits.

- Hit Em Where It Hurts: 5000xp. Maneuver. Spend a Full Round Action
to fire one shot whose crit range and crit multiplier (after other multipliers) are both increased by 1 per attack in your Full Attack Sequence (not counting sources of extra attacks like Speed, Two Weapon Fighting, etc). For example, someone with BAB 16 would gain +4 crit range and +4 crit multiplier on this shot.

- Crippling Shot: 5000xp. Spend a Full Round Action to fire one shot
that does 2d4 Con damage in addition to its normal damage.

- Heartbeat Timing: 5000xp. Stance. While in this Stance your range
increment is multiplied by 5. This adds with Far Shot (e.g. with Far
Shot this would be x6).

Mastery: If you learn all 10 techniques, you may activate two Black Scroll Maneuvers on a single shot (e.g. you could use Cripping Shot and The
Third Equilibrium on a single attack).


Yellow Scroll of the Third Eye

The Yellow Scroll contains the most versatile maneuvers, covering multi-target attacks, battlefield control, and things like that.

- Fragmentation Technique: 4000xp. Fire a single shot as a standard action. This shot fragments on impact and strikes secondary targets at your
original to-hit roll -5. You can strike one target this way for every 3 BAB you possess, up to a maximum of 6 targets. This does destroy the projectile (and cannot be used with indestructible projectiles...)

- Lightning Shot. 6000xp. Boost. Spend a Swift action to add 1d6 electricity damage/HD to your first shot this round.

-- Instant Fire. 6000xp. Requires above technique. Maneuver. Make a
full attack. Your shots cannot be reacted to with Immediate Actions or
any passive abilities that specifically avoid/protect against the first attack you receive each round.

--- Phasic Fire. 6000xp. Requires above technique. As Instant Fire,
but your shots also automatically target Flatfooted AC (they do not render the target flatfooted) and ignore any bonuses or penalties that come from speed-based effects (e.g. Haste, firing from a fast-moving vehicle, firing at a Planar Shepherd using 10x time acceleration, ...)

- Pentagram Shot: 8000xp. Maneuver. Requires an attack sequence with at least five shots in it. By shooting five separate enemies you can create a pentagram between them that fills with caustic energies. The area
within the pentagram negates Regeneration and Fast Healing, and deals 40 profane damage each round. This lasts until any of the corners of the
pentagram move, or for five rounds. You may shoot objects instead of
creatures to anchor the Pentagram.

- Concentrated Fire. 8000xp. Maneuver. When using this maneuver with
a full (ranged) attack, the target's DR and Resists only apply against your
total damage, not your individual shots.

-- Piercing Shot. 5000xp. Maneuver. As above, plus this effect
applies against the next attack the target receives after your attacks.

- Explosive Array. 4000xp. Maneuver. Shots made with this maneuver
explode the next round for 5d6 fire damage in a 10ft radius. The Reflex save is based on 10+HD/2+Wis mod, but those who have been shot do not receive a save against this effect.

- Big Bullet. 4000xp. Manuver. Make a full attack sequence and
collect the total damage that would be done by your attack (ignoring
crits and other precision damage). The attack creates a tiny speck of
light that travels at 60ft per round at the end of the round and expands
by 5ft in radius per round as it travels, up to a maximum radius of
30ft (at which point the shot dissipates). Targets standing in the way
of the shot take the bullet's damage (Reflex halves, DC 10+HD/2+Dex mod)

- Destruction Shot. 6000xp. Maneuver. Fire a single shot as a full
round action. This shot deals 10d6 sonic damage to the target's armor
if it hits, in addition to doing normal damage to the target.

Mastery: If you learn all 10 techniques, elemental damage on your
shots while using Yellow Scroll Maneuvers treats immunity as 50% resistance instead.


Blue Scroll of the Third Eye

This scroll contains defensive applications of ranged combat.

- Signal Flare: 4000xp. Boost. When making an attack with a
ranged weapon, you may spend a swift action during the attack to
render one of your shots into a signal flare. This shot flares
brightly, confusing the enemy and allowing your allies to maneuver.
All allies within 120ft of the line of fire of your shot may immediately
take a 5ft step.

-- Deceptive Arrow: 6000xp. Maneuver. Spend a full round action to
fire a single shot. This shot circles around and appears to come from
a different direction. As part of this maneuver you must make a Bluff
check. Enemies who fail a Sense Motive check against this Bluff check
are subject to a condition called 'Fade' with respect to you for 1d3 rounds. Each round, they must roll a 50% chance that they cannot target you with any ability that round (they can place an AoE that includes your position, but it fails to affect you if they are suffering under this penalty). Abilities that would pierce concealment or miss chance, or sustained divinations such as Locate Creature reduce this chance to 20%.

--- Phantom Army: 12000xp. Maneuver. As Deceptive Arrow, but the Fade effect extends to allies that remain within 20ft of you.

- Arrow Storm: 5000xp. Maneuver. Make a full attack, areas
within 50ft of your line of fire suppress all forms of flight for one round (fliers retain enough control to land without taking falling damage).

- Red String Arrow: 3000xp. Maneuver. Make a single attack against a
target. If this attack hits, a thin red string of energy connects you
and the target for HD rounds. Healing, including Fast Healing, received
by the target is also mirrored to you.

-- Eye of God Stance: 6000xp. In this stance, enemies are made
particularly aware of the fact that you might shoot them, even if you
choose not to. You must declare a single target that you are protecting.
Attacks - melee or ranged - against that target draw ranged AoOs from
you. All enemies are made aware of this fact.

- Harrying Fire: 3000xp. Maneuver. Make a full attack against a single
enemy. For each shot that hits, they suffer a -1 penalty on attacks
for a round.

-- Stance of the Silver Guardian: 6000xp. In this stance, you may
take a reactive shot against an incoming ranged attack as an immediate
action. When doing this, you make an attack roll against an incoming spells, arrow, bullet, thrown weapon, etc. If you hit, the intercepted projectile 'resolves' halfway between where it was fired from and its target. The projectile need not have been targetted at you.

- Ballista Bolt: 3000xp. Maneuver. Make a full attack against an
enemy. Even though fired at slightly different times, the shots arrive
simultaneously at the target and blow the target backwards. Each shot
does damage separately as normal, but the target must make a Strength
check (DC equal to 10+5 per shot that connected) or be knocked back.
For every 5 points the check is failed by, they are sent backwards
5ft. Furthermore, if they fail the check they end up prone.

-- Thicket Arrow: 4000xp. Maneuver. You fire a series of shots with such force and precision that it causes the terrain itself to rupture around it.
Around each of these shots (you may make a full attack), the local
terrain collapses within 10ft, creating a loose wall approximately 5ft high.

Mastery: If you learn all 10 techniques, you may threaten AoOs with ranged weapons up to a distance of 10ft.