Kill La Kill: Living Armor?

[Getsugaru]

So I just watched the first episode of Kill La Kill (in the original Japanese w/ subs via Netflix), and as far as I can tell, the lead's armor "Kamui" seems to have some sort of cross between a symbiont and armor. My Google-Foo found little information on this when I searched to see if 3.5 had a way to do something similar, so I thought I would ask directly. Is there a way to make the armor of Kill La Kill in 3.5 w/o Homebrew?

[Forrestfire]

Eberron has literal living armor, but it's unlikely to be what you're looking for. Have you thought about playing a spellcaster of some sort (maybe a buffy cleric) and refluffing (or Spell Thematics-ing, if the DM doesn't like that) the spells as armor abilities?

Alternatively, backport Synthesist Summoner from Pathfinder.

[1pwny]

Use Intelligent Items (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/intelligentItems.htm) (or from Pathfinder (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/intelligent-items)), and make it armor.

Just give each piece a huge Ego and it'll work out. :smallsmile:

[StoneCipher]

There is no way to make the living armor do all the stuff kamui does without homebrewing. You could combine existing items to achieve this without doing too much homebrew, but just one set of armor RAW wouldn't do everything it can do.

[Flickerdart]

Intelligent Clockwork Armour isn't a bad choice. You can also just get the Living Breastplate from Eberron. In fact, you could construct a Kamui from various symbionts, as there are others that have weapon capability.

[Gildedragon]

yeah.
for my own KlK-style campaign: +1 Living Breastplate was the base used

an additional effective +1 enhancement bonus was given per "star", using the legacy-item ability to give martial maneuvers as a +1 equivalent.

[Sith_Happens]

Eberron has literal living armor, but it's unlikely to be what you're looking for.

Besides the massive stat boosts it's exactly what he's looking for.

Especially since the stuff that makes Goku Uniforms and Kamuis tick is in fact a malevolent alien symbiont.

[Flickerdart]

yeah.
for my own KlK-style campaign: +1 Living Breastplate was the base used

an additional effective +1 enhancement bonus was given per "star", using the legacy-item ability to give martial maneuvers as a +1 equivalent.
+1 seems a little tame for what a star represents.

[Snowbluff]

+1 seems a little tame for what a star represents.

I concur. 5 star is well into epic with how much it improves, IMO.

[...]

Make a deal with a Sharpnyl (MM2) and you get the best armor ever.

[Getsugaru]

yeah.
for my own KlK-style campaign: +1 Living Breastplate was the base used

an additional effective +1 enhancement bonus was given per "star", using the legacy-item ability to give martial maneuvers as a +1 equivalent.
Source please.

Besides the massive stat boosts it's exactly what he's looking for.

Especially since the stuff that makes Goku Uniforms and Kamuis tick is in fact a malevolent alien symbiont.
Somehow I knew I was on the right track.

Make a deal with a Sharpnyl (MM2) and you get the best armor ever.
Just flipped through my Monster Manual 2; could not find it.

[...]

Source please.

Somehow I knew I was on the right track.

Just flipped through my Monster Manual 2; could not find it.

It's under tatterwhateverIdon'tcare.

[Getsugaru]

It's under tatterwhateverIdon'tcare.

Do you mean "Teratomorph"?

[Extra Anchovies]

Stormwrack has Living Coral Armor, which is pretty nice (+6 AC, -3 check penalty, medium armor), carries the hefty price of 16,000gp, and is alive. I'm not sure at all if it's the sort of thing you're looking for (there isn't really any symbiosis beyond the wearer keeping it moist), and have never seen an episode of Kill La Kill so probably have no idea what's going on here, but I felt it was worth a mention.

[...]

Do you mean "Teratomorph"?

tatterdamial or whatever.

[Getsugaru]

tatterdamial or whatever.

Google does not agree. I cannot find anything about a "tatterdamial". :smallconfused:

[...]

Google does not agree. I cannot find anything about a "tatterdamial". :smallconfused:

I probably spelled it wrong... I'm sad. :smallfrown:

[otakumick]

he means Raggamoffyn of which one of the types is Tatterdemanimal and another type is Shrapnyl.

[Extra Anchovies]

tatterdamial or whatever.

Tatterdemanimal? It's one of the Raggamoffyns from MM2, specifically the one made of rags and trash. The Common Raggamoffyn, on the other hand, is made out of articles of clothing (in the shape of a person, but with no person inside), and might work. However, it also controls the mind of anyone it manages to place all of its component pieces of clothing onto, giving them the Captured One template from that book's appendices. That aspect of the creature would probably make it unsuitable for a living armor, but the template description *is* accompanied by a cute little picture of a bugbear with underwear on his head.

EDIT: ninja'd! Also the Shrapnyl, in addition to being the toughest one (CR 7, 12 HD), is made out of weapons, shields, and armor. Might make for an interesting character if you somehow houseruled it in as a cohort or something.

[Getsugaru]

Tatterdemanimal? It's one of the Raggamoffyns from MM2, specifically the one made of rags and trash. The Common Raggamoffyn, on the other hand, is made out of articles of clothing (in the shape of a person, but with no person inside), and might work. However, it also controls the mind of anyone it manages to place all of its component pieces of clothing onto, giving them the Captured One template from that book's appendices. That aspect of the creature would probably make it unsuitable for a living armor, but the template description *is* accompanied by a cute little picture of a bugbear with underwear on his head.

EDIT: ninja'd! Also the Shrapnyl, in addition to being the toughest one (CR 7, 12 HD), is made out of weapons, shields, and armor. Might make for an interesting character if you somehow houseruled it in as a cohort or something.
*Silently Glares at Leadership*
Will look into it, but am still considering other options. Anyone know the source for Eberron's Living Armor?

[Extra Anchovies]

*Silently Glares at Leadership*
Will look into it, but am still considering other options. Anyone know the source for Eberron's Living Armor?

Magic of Eberron, I think, along with of course the core Eberron book. A quick run-down of them can be found here (http://eberron.wikia.com/wiki/Symbiont). That page doesn't give numerical values, so you'd need to refer to the books as well.

[Snowbluff]

*Silently Glares at Leadership*
Will look into it, but am still considering other options. Anyone know the source for Eberron's Living Armor?

Lestro, BABY! I use leadership for Fiends of Possesion. Dvati Fiends of Possession. My blessed twins are quite the lookers, and my armor is nothing less than +6 equivalent when they are around, if you know what I mean. You know, old sport? :smallamused:

[Getsugaru]

Lestro, BABY! I use leadership for Fiends of Possesion. Dvati Fiends of Possession. My blessed twins are quite the lookers, and my armor is nothing less than +6 equivalent when they are around, if you know what I mean. You know, old sport? :smallamused:

I do you one better: Thrallherd. But yes, I see the advantages of the Dvati FoP. I was just trying to find a practical way to do it, as opposed to resorting to Leadership (I know of only one time a DM I've played with allowed Leadership. One. Time. Involving a ring gate. And lots of wands of Magic Missiles).

I'm guessing my best bet is a refluffed Living armor or a raggamouffyn that somehow isn't in control of me. Main problem I see is that we've missed one important detail...

...and that's the transformation (and the power boost, but that's another story)! If only there was a way to give the symbiont Glamour! That would solve (almost) all of the problems! And make it Light Armor instead! :smallamused:

[Snowbluff]

One is fine, two is good, but anything past that is is a CROWD, BABY! These girls are for me, and I am for them. The Bane Magebane says so. Thrallherds ain't for me!

Being a fellow gish, have you consider Skin of the Construct or a similiar method.

[JusticeZero]

Haven't seen the source. Just mentioning, since I don't know if any of it would work, Pathfinder classes - either the Synthesist Summoner or the Aegis - might be useful.

[Getsugaru]

Decided to cast Protection from Spoilers and visit the wiki (didn't work too well, as expected). Seems that a symbiont of some form is what we need. Also, considering the fact that the "stripperrific" outfits still protect them, I presume that they release some form of force armor. This lead me (along with the claws) to the Psionic Sinew (FF 218). Now to turn it into an outfit, give it the other abilities (it has the first couple), and find a DM who'll actually allow such a thing (ooh~ Dice~)... :smallwink:

[Flickerdart]

There's actually a very sensible in-universe explanation for the stripperiffic outfits (spoiler from near end of series):

A Kamui is much more powerful than a standard Goku Uniform, so it works best when the amount of skin contact with the wearer is minimal. A less stripperiffic Kamui gives the clothing too much control over the wearer.

[Getsugaru]

...they feed off your blood, so the more skin they touch, the more points to extract blood.Eh, what do I know, I'm only in the middle of Episode 5. :smalltongue:

[Oko and Qailee]

I haven't watched Kill a Kill, but here's a recommendation.

+1 Armor possessed by a Psionic (S2P Erudite if you need Arcane spells to emulate) Fiend of Possession.

-The Fiend can mind link you to communicate with you (The armor talks to her I think)
-Psionics/spells emulate the armor.
-This should give the armor a lot more things it can do than an intelligent item. You just need leadership as a feat.
-The fiend, if it has all 5 levels of FoP, can also give you some sweet armor enhancements.

TBH, I'm guessing I haven't watched it. Tell me if that helps.

Edit: Sorry, didn't see someone already suggested FoP...

[Flickerdart]

A Kamui doesn't really have very much agency separate from the wearer. They mostly grant additional strength and resilience. Even in regard to intelligence, Senketsu is unique - the other Kamui we see display no such ability.

[Sith_Happens]

and have never seen an episode of Kill La Kill so probably have no idea what's going on here,

Think "Intelligent Glamered Gloryborn armor that basically gives the wearer the Paragon template."


Also, considering the fact that the "stripperrific" outfits still protect them, I presume that they release some form of force armor.

Impractical ArmorTM only costs an extra 150 gp, courtesy of the Gloryborn armor template (DMGII).

[Crazysaneman]

What about using the Living Spell on Shield or something shieldy and getting the amulet of oozeriding? This way you can live in it under a constant Shield spell leaving both your hands free and allowing you to wear armor and still have that fun shield bonus. For fun and profit make it medium size and cast Awaken on it.

[JusticeZero]

Am I missing some reason why what I assume to be some sort of Synthesist-esque worn symbiont creature is having so much attention paid to modeling it as equipment rather than class features? Because class features and the like would have been my first go-to. And still is, given that I immediately thought "Either Summoner or Aegis, maybe Soulknife, possibly Psychic Warrior or something in the general realm of Monk even".

[Flickerdart]

Think "Intelligent Glamered Gloryborn armor that basically gives the wearer the Paragon template."
Actually, it's kind of funny - Kamui don't make their wearers all that much stronger, mostly because they have to be obscenely strong in order to wear them. Satsuki and Ryuko show off exactly how powerful they are without their fancy clothes on more than one occasion. It seems that the more Life Fibers are involved, the less of a relative effect they have (compare the benefits of a One-Star and Two-Star Goku Uniforms with what Gamagoori is capable of with and without his uniform, and then look at late-season Ryuko).

[Getsugaru]

Just finished the anime (sad ending :smallfrown:).

As stated above, there seems to be many cases (at least with Goku Suits) where they have a stronger effect on weaker people (*stares at Mako*). However, they still grant exponential power no matter the subject; without the kamui, Ryuko and Satsuki are powerful. With the kamui, they create shockwaves and cataclysmic blasts by swinging a sword normally. Therefore, while they seem to boost the weak further than they boost the strong, they still boost the strong enough for it to be worth noticing.

All that being said, I think that the place to at least start is the Psionic Sinew (a symbiont that you effectively wear) from Fiend Folio. For starters, it grants a flat bonus to Strength of +4, which would fit with the super-human power the suits grant. Next, it generates a defensive field of force energy around the user, something that the kamui must be doing since their wearers are near-nude and still seem to have good defense. Third, the Psionic Sinew can manifest Claws of the Bear on the wearer; similar in effect to what Senketsu does in Senjin mode (though his is obviously better since it also effectively gives Ryuko armor spikes). Finally, sinew is "a piece of tough fibrous tissue uniting muscle to bone or bone to bone; a tendon or ligament." This sounds rather similar to what the Life Fibers would be the equivalent of, don't you agree?

If yes, then we have quite possibly discovered the base point for Life Fibers in D&D 3.5, but that's only the beginning. Now we need to find a way to take Psionic Sinew and turn it into "Wizard Armor", i.e. clothes. *Starts flipping through books in search of templates, etc.*

[Owl Prowler]

Make an effigy creature with a built in compartment, then cast Magic Jar while inside it. You now have a mecha. Even when you're not inside it you can give it basic commands that it can follow.

Alternatively, in pathfinder there's a feat called Construct Armor that allows you to wear a construct the same size as you as armor. Use the custom magic item creation rules if you want to create the perfect "power suit," or alternativly use size shenanigans and the young template to shrink larger constructs. Or just have your DM houserule that you can make constructs smaller just by using less materials when crafting them. This method depends on Pathfinder material though, and it's a little weaker than option 1, but it's the only sensible way to "ride" a construct the same size as you as far as I'm aware. It's the option between a full on Mecha-Walker, or a Tony Stark-style suit.