Misha
2014-07-18, 01:44 PM
Disclaimer* I am a complete amateur regarding the rules governing D&D character building and pen-and-paper RPGs. My knowledge of the abilities, classes, and creatures, history, and realms comes from a keen interest in the fantasy framework and lore behind the franchise.
I recently had an idea concerning a player character build based on highly specialized non-detectability as a central feature. The idea behind this character would be the ability to interact with a players and the environment without being noticed.
Please tell me what you think of this build. Would it work as an epic level trickster PC? How many mistakes are there? What would you do to improve the build?
Links to relevant material:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Quicklings_(3.5e_Race)
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/wilder.htm
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/psionUncarnate.htm#
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powerList.htm#firstLevelPsionWilderPowers
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723d
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ei/20030418a
This character would be a mixture of trickster, poltergeist, and semi-malevolent fey. His true motivations would be unknowable and his actions would be unpredictable (not that anyone would be aware of his existence). One day he might lead enemies to the group or make part of a bridge disappear under their feet, but the next day he might knock a weapon out of the bad guy's hand or leave a feast for the group to enjoy. He really has very little power beyond his non-detectability, mobility, and aptitude for escape. His delight would come from the subtly of his own influence on events.
I actually struggled to find a race for this build. I thought about using a Will-O'-Wisp, but then I stumbled across the Quicklings. According to this source, the 3.5e Quickling is a small fey creature which possesses an evil alignment, high dexterity and base land speed, and even better Natural Invisibility (Ex).
The fact that he has invisibility as an extraordinary ability was a huge selling point. The power would be invulnerable to anti-magic fields, immune to dispel magic and always active unless he was attacking. The downside would obviously be the +7 level adjustment for his race.
His class would need to allow him to perform some minor ticks to help or wreak havoc on his victims. I decided on the Wilder as a base class. Remember that he is no fighter or power build. The idea is that he can manifest a few simple tricks as part of his natural abilities. The psionic abilities are also a pre-requisite for his first prestige class.
Wilder 1: Power: Control Light (1st Level Power)
Wilder 2: Power: Control Flames (1st Level Power)
Wilder 3: Power: N/A
Wilder 4: Power: Control Sound (2nd Level Power)
Wilder 5: Power: (Educated Wilder): Cloud Mind (2nd Level Power)
Wilder 6: Power: Telekinetic Thrust (3rd Level Power)
All of the powers chosen from the Wilder base class appear to help him as a trickster – the Control Flames, Light, and Sound represent his ability to manipulate the environment to toy with his victims. Cloud Mind helps him avoid detection. Telekinetic Thrust allows him to play some more dangerous tricks on people.
Enter the Psion Uncarnate. This is where the character becomes closer to a true poltergeist. This prestige class represents his desire to be as intangible as possible. There is also the fact that his race doesn't live very long and abandoning his physical body seems quite reasonable.
Psion Uncarnate 1:
Class Feats: Incorporeal Touch 1d6 (Su), Uncarnate Armor (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 2:
Class Feats: Shed body 1/day (Su) (Wilder Progression 6) Time Hop (3rd Level Power)
Psion Uncarnate 3:
Class Feats: Assume Equipment (Su),
Psion Uncarnate 4:
Class Feats: Assume Likeness (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 5:
Class Feats: Incorporeal Touch 2d6 (Su) (Wilder Progression 8) Dimension Door, Psionic (4th Level Power)
Psion Uncarnate 6:
Class Feats: Shed body 2/day (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 7:
Class Feats: Telekinetic Force (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 8:
Class Feats: Uncarnate Bridge
Psion Uncarnate 9:
Class Feats: Incorporeal Touch 3d6, (Wilder Level 11) Plane Shift, Psionic (5th Level Power)
Psion Uncarnate 10:
Class Feats: Uncarnate (Ex)
The trickster now has permanent Invisibility and Incorporeality, both as extraordinary abilities. He also has the use of supernatural abilities such as Telekinetic Force, Assume Likeness, and Uncarnate Bridge. The Wilder progression powers, Dimension Door and Plane Shift, will increase his mobility and provide an extra means of escape.
I wanted to go even further with the theme of a mysterious and undetectable entity that could subtly harass others and follow them on adventures.
During my search for more abilities, I found an interesting class called the Void Incarnate. This is a class which offers amazing extraordinary abilities such as Blank Aura (Ex) which removes detectability by magic revealing effects, Void Presence (Ex) which has been described as making people forget about the PC in non-combat scenarios, Blank Mind (Ex) which provided Immunity to Mind-Affecting and Divination/scrying/etc., and finally Empty Form (Ex) which gives Freedom of Movement and Immunity to Force Effects (goodbye Force Cage).
The problem is that the Void Incarnate has rather stiff entry requirements:
Skills – Bluff 24 ranks, Escape Artist 24 ranks, Hide 24 ranks – Feats: Great Fortitude or Iron Will or Lightning Reflexes. Epic Feats: Dexterous Fortitude or Dexterous Will – Special: Evasion class feature, slippery mind class feature.
The best option that I could find to fill these was the Psychic Assassin prestige class. This class does offer slippery mind as a feature, but I'm not sure about evasion. It also offers some progression in the Wilder class.
Psychic Assassin 1:
Class Feats: Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use
Psychic Assassin 2:
Class Feats: +1 save against poison, (Wilder Level 12) Major Creation, Psionic (6th)
Psychic Assassin 3:
Class Feats: Danger sense (uncanny dodge)
Psychic Assassin 4:
Class Feats: Sneak attack +2d6, +2 save against poison
Psychic Assassin 5:
Class Feats: Danger sense (improved uncanny dodge), Slippery mind (Ex) (Wilder Progression 14) Divert Teleport (7th)
This may allow progression to the Void Incarnate class. But I'm still not sure about the evasion class feature requirement.
Void Incarnate 1: Class Feats: Blank Aura (Ex)
Void Incarnate 2: Class Feats: Improved evasion (Ex)
Void Incarnate 3: Class Feats: Void presence (Ex)
Void Incarnate 4: Class Feats: Mettle of fortitude (Ex)
Void Incarnate 5: Class Feats: Blank mind (Ex)
Void Incarnate 6: Class Feats: Mettle of will (Ex)
Void Incarnate 7: Class Feats: Null strike (Ex)
Void Incarnate 8: Class Feats: Improved mettle of fortitude (Ex)
Void Incarnate 9: Class Feats: Empty form (Ex)
Please realize that this is simply a thought experiment. I realize that in a proper game this would probably be impractical and that a DM would be unlikely to go for the build. I'm not even sure if the classes above are 100% compatible or if the character could reach the required skill levels for the entry requirements.
I thought about abandoning the idea of the Void Incarnate/Psychic Assassin in favor of six levels of Fiend of Possession. The concept of possessing equipment and group members while subtly influencing the them does seem to fit with the overall spirit of the trickster build.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my admittedly amateur attempt to create a class concept. Please let me know what you think about the idea. Don't hold back! I welcome your criticism!
I recently had an idea concerning a player character build based on highly specialized non-detectability as a central feature. The idea behind this character would be the ability to interact with a players and the environment without being noticed.
Please tell me what you think of this build. Would it work as an epic level trickster PC? How many mistakes are there? What would you do to improve the build?
Links to relevant material:
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Quicklings_(3.5e_Race)
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/wilder.htm
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/psionUncarnate.htm#
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powerList.htm#firstLevelPsionWilderPowers
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723d
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ei/20030418a
This character would be a mixture of trickster, poltergeist, and semi-malevolent fey. His true motivations would be unknowable and his actions would be unpredictable (not that anyone would be aware of his existence). One day he might lead enemies to the group or make part of a bridge disappear under their feet, but the next day he might knock a weapon out of the bad guy's hand or leave a feast for the group to enjoy. He really has very little power beyond his non-detectability, mobility, and aptitude for escape. His delight would come from the subtly of his own influence on events.
I actually struggled to find a race for this build. I thought about using a Will-O'-Wisp, but then I stumbled across the Quicklings. According to this source, the 3.5e Quickling is a small fey creature which possesses an evil alignment, high dexterity and base land speed, and even better Natural Invisibility (Ex).
The fact that he has invisibility as an extraordinary ability was a huge selling point. The power would be invulnerable to anti-magic fields, immune to dispel magic and always active unless he was attacking. The downside would obviously be the +7 level adjustment for his race.
His class would need to allow him to perform some minor ticks to help or wreak havoc on his victims. I decided on the Wilder as a base class. Remember that he is no fighter or power build. The idea is that he can manifest a few simple tricks as part of his natural abilities. The psionic abilities are also a pre-requisite for his first prestige class.
Wilder 1: Power: Control Light (1st Level Power)
Wilder 2: Power: Control Flames (1st Level Power)
Wilder 3: Power: N/A
Wilder 4: Power: Control Sound (2nd Level Power)
Wilder 5: Power: (Educated Wilder): Cloud Mind (2nd Level Power)
Wilder 6: Power: Telekinetic Thrust (3rd Level Power)
All of the powers chosen from the Wilder base class appear to help him as a trickster – the Control Flames, Light, and Sound represent his ability to manipulate the environment to toy with his victims. Cloud Mind helps him avoid detection. Telekinetic Thrust allows him to play some more dangerous tricks on people.
Enter the Psion Uncarnate. This is where the character becomes closer to a true poltergeist. This prestige class represents his desire to be as intangible as possible. There is also the fact that his race doesn't live very long and abandoning his physical body seems quite reasonable.
Psion Uncarnate 1:
Class Feats: Incorporeal Touch 1d6 (Su), Uncarnate Armor (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 2:
Class Feats: Shed body 1/day (Su) (Wilder Progression 6) Time Hop (3rd Level Power)
Psion Uncarnate 3:
Class Feats: Assume Equipment (Su),
Psion Uncarnate 4:
Class Feats: Assume Likeness (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 5:
Class Feats: Incorporeal Touch 2d6 (Su) (Wilder Progression 8) Dimension Door, Psionic (4th Level Power)
Psion Uncarnate 6:
Class Feats: Shed body 2/day (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 7:
Class Feats: Telekinetic Force (Su)
Psion Uncarnate 8:
Class Feats: Uncarnate Bridge
Psion Uncarnate 9:
Class Feats: Incorporeal Touch 3d6, (Wilder Level 11) Plane Shift, Psionic (5th Level Power)
Psion Uncarnate 10:
Class Feats: Uncarnate (Ex)
The trickster now has permanent Invisibility and Incorporeality, both as extraordinary abilities. He also has the use of supernatural abilities such as Telekinetic Force, Assume Likeness, and Uncarnate Bridge. The Wilder progression powers, Dimension Door and Plane Shift, will increase his mobility and provide an extra means of escape.
I wanted to go even further with the theme of a mysterious and undetectable entity that could subtly harass others and follow them on adventures.
During my search for more abilities, I found an interesting class called the Void Incarnate. This is a class which offers amazing extraordinary abilities such as Blank Aura (Ex) which removes detectability by magic revealing effects, Void Presence (Ex) which has been described as making people forget about the PC in non-combat scenarios, Blank Mind (Ex) which provided Immunity to Mind-Affecting and Divination/scrying/etc., and finally Empty Form (Ex) which gives Freedom of Movement and Immunity to Force Effects (goodbye Force Cage).
The problem is that the Void Incarnate has rather stiff entry requirements:
Skills – Bluff 24 ranks, Escape Artist 24 ranks, Hide 24 ranks – Feats: Great Fortitude or Iron Will or Lightning Reflexes. Epic Feats: Dexterous Fortitude or Dexterous Will – Special: Evasion class feature, slippery mind class feature.
The best option that I could find to fill these was the Psychic Assassin prestige class. This class does offer slippery mind as a feature, but I'm not sure about evasion. It also offers some progression in the Wilder class.
Psychic Assassin 1:
Class Feats: Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use
Psychic Assassin 2:
Class Feats: +1 save against poison, (Wilder Level 12) Major Creation, Psionic (6th)
Psychic Assassin 3:
Class Feats: Danger sense (uncanny dodge)
Psychic Assassin 4:
Class Feats: Sneak attack +2d6, +2 save against poison
Psychic Assassin 5:
Class Feats: Danger sense (improved uncanny dodge), Slippery mind (Ex) (Wilder Progression 14) Divert Teleport (7th)
This may allow progression to the Void Incarnate class. But I'm still not sure about the evasion class feature requirement.
Void Incarnate 1: Class Feats: Blank Aura (Ex)
Void Incarnate 2: Class Feats: Improved evasion (Ex)
Void Incarnate 3: Class Feats: Void presence (Ex)
Void Incarnate 4: Class Feats: Mettle of fortitude (Ex)
Void Incarnate 5: Class Feats: Blank mind (Ex)
Void Incarnate 6: Class Feats: Mettle of will (Ex)
Void Incarnate 7: Class Feats: Null strike (Ex)
Void Incarnate 8: Class Feats: Improved mettle of fortitude (Ex)
Void Incarnate 9: Class Feats: Empty form (Ex)
Please realize that this is simply a thought experiment. I realize that in a proper game this would probably be impractical and that a DM would be unlikely to go for the build. I'm not even sure if the classes above are 100% compatible or if the character could reach the required skill levels for the entry requirements.
I thought about abandoning the idea of the Void Incarnate/Psychic Assassin in favor of six levels of Fiend of Possession. The concept of possessing equipment and group members while subtly influencing the them does seem to fit with the overall spirit of the trickster build.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my admittedly amateur attempt to create a class concept. Please let me know what you think about the idea. Don't hold back! I welcome your criticism!