boxfox
2014-03-12, 03:52 PM
Hello GitP.
I've written up a template. I need honest feedback. I know that this is pretty powerful, but it has some huge drawbacks, and I'm here to get opinions on whether or not they balance out.
Let's begin.
GAUNT REMNANT
When an ethergaunt (Fiend Folio, page 64) uses its enslave power for extended periods of time on a creature, there are consequences for the slave. These poor creatures wake as if from a deep sleep to find that time has forgotten them. Victims who suffer domination for a few days or weeks are rarely affected much, but occasionally a Red ethergaunt will want to use a slave to explore the material plane more fully, and will hold the creature for months or even years. In these cases, the eventual departure of the ethergaunt leaves the brain-host forever altered.
Personality: These gaunt remnants are, for all intents and purposes, the same people they were before their fateful encounter, but they are noticeably different. Having such a brilliant entity inside their heads for so long has developed their minds further, allowing them to better serve their masters. They are vastly more intelligent, but their thoughts and words tend to be more alien in nature, having been subjected to the intense thoughts of their captors for so long. They tend to mimic ethergaunts in one or more ways, becoming more philosophical, increasingly rational, or less emotional. Alternatively, stronger-willed remnants might never give up fighting the influence of their captors. They may use their increased intelligence and strategic ability to rally against their masters, seeking out things that ethergaunts typically spurn, such as art, pleasure, or divinity.
Physical Description: Ethergaunts detest the food found on the material plane, and are often loath to “waste time” by waiting for their slaves to eat or sleep. For the remnants that are held for years, this results in a vastly weaker physical body, as their muscles are generally unused and malnourished. Their body slowly morphs to resemble their captors, becoming thin and wiry. To those who knew them before their capture and others of their own race, it’s obvious that they are not as healthy as they should be, though they appear to be more nimble.
Relations: For the most part, these gaunt remnants are treated as any other member of their race. Once they start speaking, people may think they’re odd or even rude, but it really depends on what comes out of their mouths. Those who notice how thin the slave is may be cautious of catching a sickness, but no more than they would be near any other frail looking person.
Also, it is possible that the ethergaunt who captured the slave made them do or say things to alienate themselves from their friends or family. If this is the case, the remnants often go out of their way to avoid returning to the place that they came from.
Alignment: Gaunt remnants, even those who rebel, tend to share the neutral nature of their ethergaunt captors. They tend toward both good and evil in equal proportion, depending on whether they tried to fight off the domination.
Gaunt Remnant Lands: They have no lands of their own, specifically, as they are incredibly rare, though they are welcome anywhere their race is usually welcome.
Religion: Gaunt remnants who find themselves released from their mental bonds tend to either detest religion, or become increasingly drawn to it. They may worship any deity, as a typical member of their race.
Language: Gaunt remnants speak the typical languages of their race.
Names: Though nameless in captivity, once released, most remnants resort to their old name. Occasionally a slave feels so changed or was forced to do things bad enough that they take up a new name and a new life and try to start over again.
Adventurers: Gaunt remnants generally come back to their minds after living with another being in their head for so long that not having it there makes them feel as though they are missing something. Often they begin adventuring to satiate their new hunger for knowledge, to fill the void in their minds, or even to find a way to rejoin or destroy their old masters.
CREATING AN GAUNT REMNANT CREATURE
“Gaunt remnant” is an acquired template that can be added to any living corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A gaunt remnant has all the base creature’s characteristics except as noted here.
Size and Type: Animals that have this template become magical beasts due to their high intelligence, but otherwise type is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Same as the base creature.
AC: Same as the base creature.
Attacks: Same as the base creature.
Special Qualities:
Dominated- Gaunt remnants have been remnants for so long that their minds have trouble keeping out other creatures. They receive a -2 to all saving throws against spells and abilities with the [mind-affecting] subtype. Gaunt remnants lose any racial bonus against enchantment spells or effects. Their natural resistance to the domination of their masters annoys ethergaunts, who go out of their way to destroy it.
Malnourished- Gaunt remnants are used to constantly being forced to continue on when they are tired and under-fed. Gaunt remnants cannot eat more than half-portions of food, leaving them constantly malnourished. They always have -1 to weapon attack and damage rolls, and suffer a -1 penalty on all skill and ability checks. (This is a modified version of the sickened condition. If a character gains the sickened condition later, the effects stack.) If the character has to make a Constitution check to avoid becoming fatigued due to starvation (from eating even less than what is stated above), he suffers a -4 penalty to his roll. This is in addition to the -1 penalty to all ability checks. However, because they have gone so long in such a state, they only need to sleep half as long as normal members of their race to be fully rested.
Alien thoughts-Gaunt remnants get a further -1 penalty to diplomacy checks made when dealing with other members of the base creature's race.
Abilities: -4 Strength, -2 Constitution, +6 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: Gaunt remnants have expanded mental faculties, but their bodies have become weaker. They also tend to think differently than most humanoids and have a hard time relating to folk of other races.
Skills: Same as base creature.
Climate/Terrain: Same as the base creature.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature (if caster-based) or -1 (if physical combat-based). Though they are smarter than other members of their race, they are physically weaker and have a hard time avoiding performing some tasks.
Level Adjustment: +0
GAUNT REMNANT CHARACTERS
A gaunt remnant character’s preferred class is wizard. With their increased mental faculties, they excel in the arcane arts.
And that's it. Thanks for reading if you got this far. :smallwink: Now, get brutal....
EDITTED TO SHOW FEEDBACK CHANGES.
I've written up a template. I need honest feedback. I know that this is pretty powerful, but it has some huge drawbacks, and I'm here to get opinions on whether or not they balance out.
Let's begin.
GAUNT REMNANT
When an ethergaunt (Fiend Folio, page 64) uses its enslave power for extended periods of time on a creature, there are consequences for the slave. These poor creatures wake as if from a deep sleep to find that time has forgotten them. Victims who suffer domination for a few days or weeks are rarely affected much, but occasionally a Red ethergaunt will want to use a slave to explore the material plane more fully, and will hold the creature for months or even years. In these cases, the eventual departure of the ethergaunt leaves the brain-host forever altered.
Personality: These gaunt remnants are, for all intents and purposes, the same people they were before their fateful encounter, but they are noticeably different. Having such a brilliant entity inside their heads for so long has developed their minds further, allowing them to better serve their masters. They are vastly more intelligent, but their thoughts and words tend to be more alien in nature, having been subjected to the intense thoughts of their captors for so long. They tend to mimic ethergaunts in one or more ways, becoming more philosophical, increasingly rational, or less emotional. Alternatively, stronger-willed remnants might never give up fighting the influence of their captors. They may use their increased intelligence and strategic ability to rally against their masters, seeking out things that ethergaunts typically spurn, such as art, pleasure, or divinity.
Physical Description: Ethergaunts detest the food found on the material plane, and are often loath to “waste time” by waiting for their slaves to eat or sleep. For the remnants that are held for years, this results in a vastly weaker physical body, as their muscles are generally unused and malnourished. Their body slowly morphs to resemble their captors, becoming thin and wiry. To those who knew them before their capture and others of their own race, it’s obvious that they are not as healthy as they should be, though they appear to be more nimble.
Relations: For the most part, these gaunt remnants are treated as any other member of their race. Once they start speaking, people may think they’re odd or even rude, but it really depends on what comes out of their mouths. Those who notice how thin the slave is may be cautious of catching a sickness, but no more than they would be near any other frail looking person.
Also, it is possible that the ethergaunt who captured the slave made them do or say things to alienate themselves from their friends or family. If this is the case, the remnants often go out of their way to avoid returning to the place that they came from.
Alignment: Gaunt remnants, even those who rebel, tend to share the neutral nature of their ethergaunt captors. They tend toward both good and evil in equal proportion, depending on whether they tried to fight off the domination.
Gaunt Remnant Lands: They have no lands of their own, specifically, as they are incredibly rare, though they are welcome anywhere their race is usually welcome.
Religion: Gaunt remnants who find themselves released from their mental bonds tend to either detest religion, or become increasingly drawn to it. They may worship any deity, as a typical member of their race.
Language: Gaunt remnants speak the typical languages of their race.
Names: Though nameless in captivity, once released, most remnants resort to their old name. Occasionally a slave feels so changed or was forced to do things bad enough that they take up a new name and a new life and try to start over again.
Adventurers: Gaunt remnants generally come back to their minds after living with another being in their head for so long that not having it there makes them feel as though they are missing something. Often they begin adventuring to satiate their new hunger for knowledge, to fill the void in their minds, or even to find a way to rejoin or destroy their old masters.
CREATING AN GAUNT REMNANT CREATURE
“Gaunt remnant” is an acquired template that can be added to any living corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A gaunt remnant has all the base creature’s characteristics except as noted here.
Size and Type: Animals that have this template become magical beasts due to their high intelligence, but otherwise type is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Same as the base creature.
AC: Same as the base creature.
Attacks: Same as the base creature.
Special Qualities:
Dominated- Gaunt remnants have been remnants for so long that their minds have trouble keeping out other creatures. They receive a -2 to all saving throws against spells and abilities with the [mind-affecting] subtype. Gaunt remnants lose any racial bonus against enchantment spells or effects. Their natural resistance to the domination of their masters annoys ethergaunts, who go out of their way to destroy it.
Malnourished- Gaunt remnants are used to constantly being forced to continue on when they are tired and under-fed. Gaunt remnants cannot eat more than half-portions of food, leaving them constantly malnourished. They always have -1 to weapon attack and damage rolls, and suffer a -1 penalty on all skill and ability checks. (This is a modified version of the sickened condition. If a character gains the sickened condition later, the effects stack.) If the character has to make a Constitution check to avoid becoming fatigued due to starvation (from eating even less than what is stated above), he suffers a -4 penalty to his roll. This is in addition to the -1 penalty to all ability checks. However, because they have gone so long in such a state, they only need to sleep half as long as normal members of their race to be fully rested.
Alien thoughts-Gaunt remnants get a further -1 penalty to diplomacy checks made when dealing with other members of the base creature's race.
Abilities: -4 Strength, -2 Constitution, +6 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: Gaunt remnants have expanded mental faculties, but their bodies have become weaker. They also tend to think differently than most humanoids and have a hard time relating to folk of other races.
Skills: Same as base creature.
Climate/Terrain: Same as the base creature.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature (if caster-based) or -1 (if physical combat-based). Though they are smarter than other members of their race, they are physically weaker and have a hard time avoiding performing some tasks.
Level Adjustment: +0
GAUNT REMNANT CHARACTERS
A gaunt remnant character’s preferred class is wizard. With their increased mental faculties, they excel in the arcane arts.
And that's it. Thanks for reading if you got this far. :smallwink: Now, get brutal....
EDITTED TO SHOW FEEDBACK CHANGES.