PDA

View Full Version : Emotists [Base Class]



Quellian-dyrae
2007-04-02, 11:52 PM
Emotist

The quintessential psychic is the psion, a disciplined, focused individual who wields the power of its mind with rational skill. Less well-known are wilders, those who embrace their passions to heighten their psionic might. The emotist is a development of the wilder philosophy; they seek psionic power, and personal self-knowledge, through the ebb and flow of their emotions.

Emotists are typically chaotic, allowing their feelings to flow freely. A rare few are lawful, paying close attention to their emotions but also keeping a tight hold on them. They may be good or evil, spreading joy or pain. Only the rarest emotists are neutral; they usually have strong feelings about one belief system or another.

Emotists tend to get along well with other members of the party, being outgoing and sociable. They may sometimes irk more reserved individuals, and they certainly can be as aloof or annoying as they want, but most emotists who put any effort into it are generally well liked. Rare is the emotist who fails to get along famously with the party’s bard.

Emotists focus on enhancing their allies and weakening the opposition. They possess potent magic to support or debilitate, as well as fairly powerful healing abilities. An emotist can easily fulfill the base roles of a cleric, although they lack the priest’s access to versatile spells, especially in the area of defense and divinations. Given time to take on and recover from their friends’ hurts, they are capable of tremendous amounts of healing, but they are less skilled than a cleric at curing their allies in the midst of battle. They are also credible fighters, especially once they have enhanced themselves. Emotists are natural empaths, and make excellent diplomats or spokespeople for the party.

Charisma is of prime importance for an emotist, as it governs their abilities and many of their skills. A good Wisdom gives them some modicum of mental resistance, but it is hardly the most common ability score for members of the class. Since an emotist’s power lies heavily in its enhancements, it always helps to have a good foundation of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for going into combat.

HD: d6.
SP: 6.
Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Psionics), Perform, Profession, Psicraft, Ride, Sense Motive, Swim, Tumble.
Proficiencies: Simple weapons, light armor, shields.

Emotist
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Emotism, Introversion +2, Passion +1

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Empathy, Purge

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|Extroversion

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Emotional Overwhelm (Hamper)

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Passion +2

6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+2|Introversion +4

7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+2|Improved Extroversion

8th|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+2|Emotional Overwhelm (Subdue)

9th|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+3|Passion +3

10th|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+3|

11th|
+8|
+3|
+7|
+3|Greater Extroversion

12th|
+9|
+4|
+8|
+4|Emotional Overwhelm (Pacify), Introversion +6

13th|
+9|
+4|
+8|
+4|Passion +4

14th|
+10|
+4|
+9|
+4|

15th|
+11|
+5|
+9|
+5|Superior Extroversion

16th|
+12|
+5|
+10|
+5|Emotional Overwhelm (Nullify)

17th|
+12|
+5|
+10|
+5|Passion +5

18th|
+13|
+6|
+11|
+6|Introversion +8

19th|
+14|
+6|
+11|
+6|Ultimate Extroversion

20th|
+15|
+6|
+12|
+6|Emotional Overwhelm (Eradicate)[/table]

Emotism (Su): Emotists are able to channel their emotions to augment themselves and their allies and hinder their foes. An emotist can use its emotism abilities a number of times per day equal to its class level plus its Charisma modifier. The save DC’s for its emotism abilities are 10 + ½ its class level plus its Charisma modifier.

Introversion (Su): The emotist is able to harness its feelings into an upsurge of emotion, which it can channel into itself to improve its abilities. Introversion is a standard action that costs one daily use of emotism. The emotist gains a +2 morale bonus to a chosen ability score. The ability score improved is usually tied to the emotion channeled—an emotist channeling rage, for example, might increase its Strength or Constitution. This bonus increases by +2 at every sixth level. The effects of introversion last for one minute per class level.

At the cost of more emotism uses, the emotist can boost multiple ability scores. Boosting a second score simultaneously costs three uses. A third score costs six, a fourth ten, a fifth 15, and all scores costs 21 daily emotism uses.

The emotist who attempts to boost another score while a previous boost is still active must pay a number of uses equal to the number of scores currently boosted + 1. For example, if an emotist boosts its Strength, Dexterity, and Charisma (costing six uses) and five rounds later boosts its Constitution, it pays four uses for the Con boost (three for the three active stats, +1 for the new boost).

Passion (Ex): Emotists are very passionate individuals. Any time an emotist receives a morale bonus of any sort (including from its own introversion ability), or a bonus clearly tied to an emotion (as from the barbarian’s rage ability), the emotist receives a +1 bonus on attack rolls and skill checks. This bonus increases by +1 every four levels. Unfortunately, the emotist is also very poor at resisting hostile emotional effects; against any attack that changes its emotions (including charms—but not compulsions—fear effects, confusion effects, and effects that inflict morale penalties) the DC for the emotist to resist the effect increases by the same number. Between this penalty and the emotist’s low Will save, it is very easy to influence emotists in this manner—but due to their purge ability, it is hard to get such effects to stick for more than a round or so.

On character creation, an emotist can choose to sacrifice its passion ability, permanently losing both the benefits and the restrictions (the emotists who do so are usually lawful-aligned, but not always).

Empathy (Su): Emotists are natural empaths. Starting at second level, the emotist may substitute its Charisma modifier for its Wisdom modifier on Sense Motive checks. It gains a bonus equal to half its class level on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks it makes.

The emotist’s empathic abilities also allow it to take on the feelings and injuries of others—and transfer its own to foes. The empath can do so purely psychically, as a close-range effect and a standard action, but this is the weakest method. Physical contact strengthens the connection, and the power improves in effect as a touch-range effect (requiring a successful touch attack against an unwilling target). If the emotist embraces the target (requiring a grapple check against an unwilling target) it produces the strongest effect. In this case, the hug (or attempted grapple) and use of the power are a single full-round action for the emotist, and the emotist and target both count as if grappling for the duration of the round (even if the target is willing).

Transferring injury is emotionally and physically draining. An emotist can transfer a daily amount of injury equal to its Charisma modifier times its class level, dividing it up as it chooses among uses. If the emotist embraces the target, each point of damage transferred costs one from its daily total. Touching the target costs two points for each point transferred, while a purely psychic transfer is three for one. The emotist can spend two daily uses of emotism to restore its healing potential to full.

When absorbing injury from another, the emotist sustains one point of nonlethal damage per point of damage that the target heals.

When transferring its injury to another, the target may make a Will save to negate the effect entirely. If this save fails, the target sustains one point of nonlethal damage per point of damage the emotist heals.

An emotist can also utilize an empathic transfer to take on the feelings of others. Taking on weak feelings does not require uses of emotism, but strong feelings requires one daily use (in addition to strong natural feelings, any emotion-based effect that provides a statistical modification, alters the character’s actions, or provides a morale bonus or penalty counts as a strong feeling). This functions as a calm emotions spell cast on the recipient, with a duration of concentration (psychic), concentration plus one round per level (touch), or concentration plus one minute per level (embrace). Concentration may be maintained for no more than one minute per class level. During this time, any adjustments that the target would have received, the emotist receives (for example, if the emotist absorbs a barbarian’s rage, the emotist gains the effects of the rage; if it absorbs a fear effect, it is afflicted by fear, and so on).

Empathy is a mind-affecting ability. The emotist does not gain its bonus on skill checks (including its improved Sense Motive check) and cannot transfer emotions or damage for or against creatures immune to mind-affecting powers. An emotist immediately realizes a given individual is immune to mind-affecting powers if it comes within close range of that individual, since it cannot discern the creature’s feelings.

Purge (Ex): Emotists are not good at resisting effects that alter their emotions, such as fear, charm, confusion, and morale penalties. They are, however, very good at getting rid of such unwanted influence. As a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, the emotist can purge all emotional influences from itself. This automatically ends any charm, fear, or confusion effect that the emotist is under, as well as any morale effects or other effects based on emotions. Emotists can also purge themselves of unwanted feelings in this manner.

The emotist can perform a purge even if an effect (such as confusion or fear) would normal compel it to a specified form of action.

An emotist can purge feelings that it takes on through empathy. The target is still calmed for the normal duration, but the effects no longer apply to the emotist.

Purging feelings leaves the emotist somewhat drained, both emotionally and psychically. One daily use of emotism is lost in the purge. If the emotist spends a second daily use of emotism in conjunction with the purge, it retains any beneficial effects; otherwise it purges them too. An emotist without uses remaining lacks the mental strength to purge its feelings.

An emotist can also purge the nonlethal damage it takes from an empathic transfer, or any damage it takes from other empathic effects. It automatically purges such damage at the rate of one point per point of its Charisma modifier per round. The emotist can purge more damage as a full-round action (no emotism required) or a free action (one daily use of emotism required). In these cases, the emotist purges an amount of empathic damage equal to its full normal empathic transfer total.

Extroversion (Su): Starting at 3rd level, the emotist can channel heightened feelings to others, empowering its allies or hampering its foes. It may use its introversion ability on other characters as a close-range effect. It may choose to bestow either a bonus or a penalty to ability scores. An unwilling target can resist the effects with a Will save.

Multiple extroversions to different stats, even by different emotists, carry the same increased cost as with multiple introversions. This does not apply towards opposed effects (a character taking a penalty to Strength from an enemy emotist would not raise the cost of an allied emotist boosting its Dex, for example).

In the case of a penalty to Constitution, the target does not actually lose hit points; it sustains nonlethal damage that does not go away until its Constitution score returns.

The emotist cannot bring a character’s ability score below 1 using extroversion. Extroversion is a mind-affecting ability.

Emotional Overwhelm (Su): Having mastered the art of projecting emotions into others, the emotist begins to develop more tactics for using emotions to hamper its foes. Beginning at 4th level, the emotist can attempt to overwhelm a single opponent in close range with a channeled feeling. The opponent must make a Will save or suffer a condition chosen by the emotist, lasting for one round per emotist class level. A 4th level emotist gains abilities that hamper its foes, but don’t prevent a combat effort, which costs one daily use of emotism. An 8th level emotist can subdue its opponent, preventing most effective combat forms, at the cost of two emotism uses. A 12th level emotist can pacify its opponent, rendering it helpless, at the cost of three emotism uses. A 16th level emotist can so overwhelm its foe as to slay or otherwise neutralize it. A 20th level emotist can destroy its opponent utterly in a consuming blast of pure emotion, which costs five emotism uses. Conditions marked with an asterisk are described below.

Hamper Conditions: Blinded, Charmed, Confused, Dazzled, Deafened, Exhausted, Infuriated*, Overconfident*, Shaken, Sickened, Staggered.

Subdue Conditions: Compelled*, Cowering, Dazed, Nauseated, Panicked, Stunned, Vengeful*, or any Hamper condition for one minute/level.

Pacify Conditions: Dominated, Paralyzed, Passive*, Unconscious, or any Hamper or Subdue condition for one hour/level.

Neutralize Conditions: Dead, or any Hamper, Subdue, or Pacify condition for one day/level.

Eradicate Conditions: Destroyed (as above), or any Hamper, Subdue, or Pacify condition with a permanent duration.

Infuriated: The target attacks an individual (chosen by the emotist) using melee attacks only. It will close if necessary. It will take minor risks (such as provoking attacks of opportunity or jumping through a Wall of Fire) to close, but it will not take any major risks (such as charging into a Prismatic Wall or leaping off a cliff). If it cannot effectively close, the condition ends and it acts normally.

The emotist must select one of the target’s enemies as the target of the infuriated character’s wrath. It can select an ally as a subdue condition.

Overconfident: The target does not believe its foes can effectively harm it and does little to defend against them. It loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and does not make any specific effort (such as withdraws, Tumble checks, defensive casting, or circuitous routes) to avoid attacks of opportunity.

Compelled: As per the suggestion spell.

Vengeful: The target attacks a chosen individual (ally or enemy, usually one of its allies) using what it perceives to be its most lethal tactic.

Passive: The target sits down, closes its eyes, and takes no action.

Improved Extroversion (Su): Whenever an emotist of at least 7th level uses its introversion, it may spend twice as many uses to project an aura of emotion out to a range of 10’ per point of its Charisma modifier. All allies within that aura receive the benefit of the introversion, only the bonus is reduced by 2. This bonus lasts as long as the character remains within the aura and for one round per point of the emotist’s Cha modifier thereafter (or until the base effect ends, whichever comes first). Returning to the aura resets the one round per Cha modifier. Utilizing this aura lowers the duration of the augment (both the emotist’s bonus and the aura) to one round per emotist level.

An extroverted aura of any sort does not stack with a similar extroversion or introversion, even from a different emotist or to different ability scores. For example, a character can’t be extroverted for +4 Strength and then receive the benefits of an aura for +2 Dex; it would have to choose which benefit it receives.

Greater Extroversion (Su): Whenever an 11th level emotist uses its extroverted aura, rather than boosting its allies, it can require all enemies within the radius must make Will saves or sustain a penalty to their ability scores equal to what allies would have received. For example, if the emotist is getting +6 to Str and Dex, enemies who failed their saves would take -4 to Str and Dex. The result of a saving throw remains effective for the duration of the aura (so an enemy that makes its save and leaves the aura would not have to save again upon reentry). This functions in all other ways as improved extroversion (including the cost, duration, and so on).

Superior Extroversion (Su): A 15th level emotist’s extroverted aura boosts allies and hampers foes simultaneously.

Ultimate Extroversion (Su): Starting at 19th level, the effects of the emotist’s aura are equal to the full benefits the emotist receives, rather than at -2.

Innis Cabal
2007-04-02, 11:55 PM
looks interesting, dont have time to give it an honest review

ShneekeyTheLost
2007-04-03, 05:32 PM
When Emo's Attack! News at 11.

Seriously, not very powerful. Can give minor stat bonuses or penalties. That's it. This is very very weak, even worse than the Bard, who can duplicate most if not all of these effects plus a whole lot more.

Quellian-dyrae
2007-04-03, 05:40 PM
You mean it? I actually underpowered a class for once? Nice! And here I thought balancing classes was against my DNA or something...

In seriousness, though, the possibility of +13 morale to up to three ability scores (and +8 to those scores to the rest of the party) at 20th level doesn't seem a bit strong? I'll gladly go back and add some of the abilities I took out from the rough draft, I just thought the ability boosting, plus some fairly credible after-battle healing (or in-battle transferring your injuries to foes, whichever works) would make up for it.

ShneekeyTheLost
2007-04-03, 05:43 PM
You mean it? I actually underpowered a class for once? Nice! And here I thought balancing classes was against my DNA or something...

In seriousness, though, the possibility of +13 morale to up to three ability scores (and +8 to those scores to the rest of the party) at 20th level doesn't seem a bit strong? I'll gladly go back and add some of the abilities I took out from the rough draft, I just thought the ability boosting, plus some fairly credible after-battle healing (or in-battle transferring your injuries to foes, whichever works) would make up for it.

The problem is that the Emotist doesn't have anything to do other than sit back and buff the hell out of everyone. Then he just kind of sits around and does nothing but be all emotive. An extremely boring class to play.

Potential Abuse: Getting an Emotist Follower is effectively giving you that bonus to your scores. Bro-ken.

Quellian-dyrae
2007-04-03, 05:51 PM
Meh. Emotist cohort can't do more than +6 to two scores (the extras from Passion only apply to the emotist, and cohorts can't go beyond 17th level). Go for a Words of Creation bard with the Inspirational Boost spell if you want a cohort who powers up the party.

My original draft gave them escalating abilities to inflict conditions onto opponents. Maybe I'll toss those back in sometime.::Shrugs::

Kyace
2007-04-03, 08:02 PM
Bit of trivia, but another word for someone who can sense the emotions of others telepathically or magically is an empath.

Just curious, but why do they get escape artist and use rope as class skills?

Quellian-dyrae
2007-04-03, 08:08 PM
Empathy is one of an emotist's abilities, so all emotists are indeed also empaths. As to Use Rope and Escape Artist...Escape Artist was because I was giving them a number of the athletics/acrobatics/mobility type skills, and Use Rope...in the rough draft they had 8 SP and a few more of the rogue skills, and I suppose Use Rope was just something that got left over from that::shrugs::

ShneekeyTheLost
2007-04-03, 08:30 PM
The problem is that they can boost themselves to insane stats... and do absolutely nothing with it. They aren't really a caster class, neither are they a melee class, nor a skillmonkey, nor can they heal... in short, they really can't do anything useful. They need to be able to fill a useful role in a party, and they just can't. A Bard can generally buff the party better than an Emotist, and do a whole lot more in addition. They can cover multiple roles, if needed. The only thing an Emotist can do is jack up half their stats up to insane levels... then not really have anything to contribute other than another warm body to throw in the breech.

Quellian-dyrae
2007-04-04, 02:02 PM
I have a couple nits to pick with that post. Namely the idea that being able to boost the party isn't, in itself, "a useful role in the party". They also can heal (for straight get-the-damage-out-of-there power they are awesome, but since the damage has to actually go somewhere they are much less efficient than the cleric) and have pretty darn good skills, especially in the social area. I'm not even sure I'd rate them as worse at enhancements than a bard. Unless we're talking a Words of Creation bard, of course.

That all being said, I do agree with your basic premise. It's true, healing and enhancing, as useful as they are to a party, are boring jobs. You never get to be the hero, even though in a given battle it is entirely possible that you are making the single greatest contribution to the party's success and picking up the pieces afterwards.

So I'll just head on back and rework them. Make their healing less powerful but more efficient, give them back some of their neutralizing abilities, and so on.

Quellian-dyrae
2007-04-04, 03:44 PM
Class has been revised. Knowing me, now it's probably overpowered, but I hope not.

aaron_the_cow
2007-04-04, 05:06 PM
awosom, I wish i could make classes as good as yours.