ezkajii
2015-02-11, 01:22 PM
I originally just uploaded a screenshot of the Word document (http://imgur.com/MdbtoRS) to imgur for posting on reddit's DnD board, but if anyone would rather I can re-type it for this board's formatting so it's available inline.
So this is almost a year old, but I still really like the flavor and mechanics of it - does it look balanced? I was looking back over it and it seems like the primal scream ability may be too powerful as written for a first level ability.
Version 2 of the Soul Warrior follows. Also taking name suggestions - Gravitas Berserker?
Soul Warrior
The soul warrior is a warrior who impresses his will upon his enemies both in combat and with powerful shouts.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Soul warriors have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Strength, Constitution, and lastly Charisma are the most important ability scores for a Soul Warrior, dictating his effectiveness in combat and the potency of his primal scream ability.
Alignment: Any chaotic.
Hit Die: d10
Starting Age: As barbarian.
Starting Gold: As barbarian.
Class Skills
The Soul Warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex)
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier
The Soul Warrior
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Power Words
1st
+0
+2
+0
+2
Primal scream 1/day, stalwart soul
2nd
+1
+3
+0
+3
Two-handed combat style
3rd
+2
+3
+1
+3
Power words (same type only)
Fatigue, Pain
4th
+3
+4
+1
+4
Two-handed destroyer (DR 1/-), voice of beasts
5th
+3
+4
+1
+4
-
Sicken
6th
+4
+5
+2
+5
Flurry of blades (-1 penalty), power words (two more types)
7th
+5
+5
+2
+5
Primal scream 2/day
Deafen, Maladroit, Weaken
8th
+6/+1
+6
+2
+6
Two-handed destroyer (DR 2/-, Strength bonus increase)
9th
+6/+1
+6
+3
+6
Power words (two more types), primal scream (90ft plus frighten 1rd/lvl)
Distract
10th
+7/+2
+7
+3
+7
Flurry of blades (no penalty), stalwart soul (immunity)
11th
+8/+3
+7
+3
+7
Flurry of blades (bonus attack)
Disable
12th
+9/+4
+8
+4
+8
Power words (any), two-handed destroyer (DR 3/-)
13th
+9/+4
+8
+4
+8
Primal scream (greater rage) 3/day, voice of beasts (no damage)
Nauseate
14th
+10/+5
+9
+4
+9
-
15th
+11/+6/+1
+9
+5
+9
Power words (bypasses resistances), primal scream (tireless rage)
Blind
16th
+12/+7/+2
+10
+5
+10
Two-handed destroyer (DR 4/-, Strength bonus increase)
17th
+12/+7/+2
+10
+5
+10
Primal scream (120ft plus panic 1rd/lvl)
Petrify, Stun
18th
+13/+8/+3
+11
+6
+11
Power words (add Charisma to bypass SR)
19th
+14/+9/+4
+11
+6
+11
Primal scream 4/day
Kill
20th
+15/+10/+5
+12
+6
+12
Rampage
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Soul Warrior.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Soul warriors are proficient with all simple and martial melee weapons and bastard swords, and with light and medium armor, but not shields. None of the soul warrior's abilities are based on encumbrance or type of armor worn, so the character is free to choose the Armor Proficiency (heavy) and Shield Proficiency feats if desired.
Primal Scream (Ex): Once per day, a soul warrior can loose a bestial and ferocious scream, inspiring fear in your enemeis and bolstering your resolve and combat prowess. Activating this ability is a free action which does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A primal scream has two effects: Rage and Fear Aura. For every six levels beyond first, the soul warrior can use his primal scream one additional time per day (but no more than once per encounter).
Rage: Upon unleashing his primal scream, the soul warrior enters into a state of rage identical to that of a barbarian. He gains a +4 bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +2 morale bonus to Will saves, and a -2 penalty to AC, for a number of rounds equal to his Constitution modifier +3. He is limited in all the same ways as a barbarian (regarding skill use, spellcasting, etc.) except that he can use his Power Words ability while enraged and that he can end the rage prematurely if desired. After a rage, a soul warrior is fatigued for the remainder of the encounter. At 13th level, the soul warrior's bonuses to Strength and Constitution increase to +6 and the morale bonus to Will saves improves to +3. At 15th level and beyond, the soul warrior is no longer fatigued at the end of a rage.
Fear Aura: The sheer, unbridled fury released in a soul warrior's primal scream strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies. Creatures within 60ft of the soul warrior at the time of the scream who have fewer HD than the soul warrior and who are not allied with him must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 soul warrior level + the soul warrior's Charisma modifier) or be shaken for a number of minutes equal to his Charisma modifier. At 9th level, this fear aura affects creatures in a 90ft radius, and those who fail their saves are frightened for 1 round per soul warrior level, and shaken for the remainder of the 1 minute/level duration. At 17th level, the fear aura affects a 120ft radius, and creatures who fail their saves are panicked for 1 round per soul warrior level, then shaken for the remainder of the duration.
Stalwart Soul (Ex): A soul warrior is resistant to the deception and attempted control of his mind. He gains a bonus on saves made to resist mind-affecting effects equal to his soul warrior level. At 10th level, the soul warrior gains immunity to mind-affecting effects instead.
Two-Handed Combat Style:/b] At 2nd level, a soul warrior must select one of two paths: that of fighting with two lighter weapons, or of fighting with one great weapon, wielded in both hands. Once made, this decision cannot be changed; he advances in abilities according to the path selected from the options presented below.
[I]Flurry of Blades (Ex): A soul warrior only benefits from flurry of blades when wielding two weapons of the same type. They need not possess identical properties, but must be the same size and type of weapon. For instance, a soul warrior could wield a +1 flaming shortsword in one hand and an ordinary shortsword in the other. A soul warrior who chooses this option may not receive any benefit from the Two-Weapon Fighting feat or its Improved or Greater versions; this ability supersedes them. The character is considered to possess these feats for the purposes of selecting other feats (such as Two-Weapon Defense).
When a soul warrior makes a full-round attack with flurry of blades, he make make one additional attack with either weapon at his highest base attack bonus, but all attacks (including this bonus attack) suffer a -2 penalty on the attack rolls. This penalty persists until the beginning of his next turn, and so applies to any attacks of opportunity or other attack rolls made before then. At 6th level, this penalty is reduced to -1, and at 10th level, the soul warrior can make a flurry of blades attack without penalty. Additionally, upon gaining 11th level, a soul warrior making a full attack with flurry of blades receives two bonus attacks at his highest base attack bonus, rather than just one. All attacks made by a soul warrior with flurry of blades add his full normal Strength bonus to the off-hand weapon damage rolls.
Two-Handed Destroyer (Ex and Su): A soul warrior only benefits from two-handed destroyer when wielding a non-light melee weapon two-handed. He is considered to have the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats for any weapon wielded this way, and may select Greater Weapon Focus and Greater Weapon Specialization featas as though he possessed fighter levels equal to his soul warrior levels.
Beginning at 4th level, the soul warrior wielding a weapon in this way gains DR 1/-. This damage reduction is supernatural. At 8th level, and every four levels thereafter, this damage reduction improves by 1/-, to a maximum of DR 5/- at 20th level.
A soul warrior of 8th level or higher who makes a full attack gives up the attack that would be made at the lowest base attack bonus (so a character with only levels in soul warrior upon gaining this ability would make a single attack at +6 base attack, rather than two at +6/+1). Instead, rather than adding one and one-half his Strength bonus on damage rolls, he adds twice his Strength bonus, and adds one and one-half his Strength bonus to attack rolls. (If using Power Attack, add three times the strength bonus to damage rolls instead, in addition to the normal benefits of that feat.) At 16th level, the soul warrior adds two and a half times his Strength bonus on damage rolls, and twice his Strength bonus on attack rolls (four times Strength bonus to damage with Power Attack). These bonuses only apply to full attack actions made by the soul warrior, and can be voluntarily foregone to make multiple weaker attacks, as normal.
Power Words (Sp): Starting at 3rd level, a soul warrior learns to control the spiritual power he projects through his voice more precisely. He gains the ability to use power word spells as spell-like abilities, as cast by a sorcerer whose level equals his class levels. When a power word is first learned, it is useable once per day; additional uses per day are gained for every four class levels beyond the level at which the power was originally learned. The specific words learned at each level is given on Table: The Soul Warrior and their per-day uses detailed in Table: Power Words.
Initially, the soul warrior can only affect other creatures with whom he shares a creature type (typically humanoids). At 6th level, and again at 9th, he chooses two additional creature types to be affected by his power words, and at 12th level, he can affect any creature with his power words. A soul warrior of at least 15th level can affect even creatures with resistance or immunity to mind-affecting effects, ignoring any such resistances/immunities (though he is still unable to affect mindless creatures), and at 18th level, he adds his Charisma modifier to caster level checks made to overcome the spell resistance of the power words' targets.
Power Words
[b]Word
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Fatigue
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
Pain
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
Sicken
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
Deafen
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
Maladroit
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
Weaken
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
Distract
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
Disable
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
Nauseate
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
Blind
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
Petrify
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
Stun
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
Kill
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
Voice of Beasts (Ex): At 4th level, the soul warrior learns to change the tonality of his voice to match that of any creature he has heard vocalize before. When doing so, he gains a bonus equal to one-half his soul warrior level on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate checks made to interact with a creature of the kind he imitates, as well as on Disguise checks made to disguise himself as a creature of that kind. This bonus increases by +4 if communicating in a native language that creature possesses other than Common. However, speaking with this inflection is draining; each round after the first minute of talking using this ability deals 1 point of nonlethal damage to the soul warrior. At 13th level, the soul warrior is acclimated to using his voice this way and no longer takes damage from doing so, even for extended periods of time.
Rampage (Su): A 20th level soul warrior unlocks the most powerful secrets of unleashing his soul upon the world. Once per day, as an immediate action, the soul warrior can enter into a rampage, which lasts for 10 rounds. During this time, he is immune to weapon damage, gains resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic 20 and spell resistance 30, he bypasses damage reduction as though any weapon he wields is adamantine, anarchic, and epic, and whenever he makes an attack or damage roll (including rolls made to confirm critical hits), he rolls twice and takes the better result. Once the rampage is over, the soul warrior is fatigued for the remainder of the encounter.
Ex-Soul Warriors: A soul warrior whose alignment shifts away from chaotic loses the use of his primal scream ability and may not advance further in the class, but retains all other class features.
So this is almost a year old, but I still really like the flavor and mechanics of it - does it look balanced? I was looking back over it and it seems like the primal scream ability may be too powerful as written for a first level ability.
Version 2 of the Soul Warrior follows. Also taking name suggestions - Gravitas Berserker?
Soul Warrior
The soul warrior is a warrior who impresses his will upon his enemies both in combat and with powerful shouts.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Soul warriors have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Strength, Constitution, and lastly Charisma are the most important ability scores for a Soul Warrior, dictating his effectiveness in combat and the potency of his primal scream ability.
Alignment: Any chaotic.
Hit Die: d10
Starting Age: As barbarian.
Starting Gold: As barbarian.
Class Skills
The Soul Warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex)
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier
The Soul Warrior
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Power Words
1st
+0
+2
+0
+2
Primal scream 1/day, stalwart soul
2nd
+1
+3
+0
+3
Two-handed combat style
3rd
+2
+3
+1
+3
Power words (same type only)
Fatigue, Pain
4th
+3
+4
+1
+4
Two-handed destroyer (DR 1/-), voice of beasts
5th
+3
+4
+1
+4
-
Sicken
6th
+4
+5
+2
+5
Flurry of blades (-1 penalty), power words (two more types)
7th
+5
+5
+2
+5
Primal scream 2/day
Deafen, Maladroit, Weaken
8th
+6/+1
+6
+2
+6
Two-handed destroyer (DR 2/-, Strength bonus increase)
9th
+6/+1
+6
+3
+6
Power words (two more types), primal scream (90ft plus frighten 1rd/lvl)
Distract
10th
+7/+2
+7
+3
+7
Flurry of blades (no penalty), stalwart soul (immunity)
11th
+8/+3
+7
+3
+7
Flurry of blades (bonus attack)
Disable
12th
+9/+4
+8
+4
+8
Power words (any), two-handed destroyer (DR 3/-)
13th
+9/+4
+8
+4
+8
Primal scream (greater rage) 3/day, voice of beasts (no damage)
Nauseate
14th
+10/+5
+9
+4
+9
-
15th
+11/+6/+1
+9
+5
+9
Power words (bypasses resistances), primal scream (tireless rage)
Blind
16th
+12/+7/+2
+10
+5
+10
Two-handed destroyer (DR 4/-, Strength bonus increase)
17th
+12/+7/+2
+10
+5
+10
Primal scream (120ft plus panic 1rd/lvl)
Petrify, Stun
18th
+13/+8/+3
+11
+6
+11
Power words (add Charisma to bypass SR)
19th
+14/+9/+4
+11
+6
+11
Primal scream 4/day
Kill
20th
+15/+10/+5
+12
+6
+12
Rampage
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Soul Warrior.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Soul warriors are proficient with all simple and martial melee weapons and bastard swords, and with light and medium armor, but not shields. None of the soul warrior's abilities are based on encumbrance or type of armor worn, so the character is free to choose the Armor Proficiency (heavy) and Shield Proficiency feats if desired.
Primal Scream (Ex): Once per day, a soul warrior can loose a bestial and ferocious scream, inspiring fear in your enemeis and bolstering your resolve and combat prowess. Activating this ability is a free action which does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A primal scream has two effects: Rage and Fear Aura. For every six levels beyond first, the soul warrior can use his primal scream one additional time per day (but no more than once per encounter).
Rage: Upon unleashing his primal scream, the soul warrior enters into a state of rage identical to that of a barbarian. He gains a +4 bonus to Strength and Constitution, a +2 morale bonus to Will saves, and a -2 penalty to AC, for a number of rounds equal to his Constitution modifier +3. He is limited in all the same ways as a barbarian (regarding skill use, spellcasting, etc.) except that he can use his Power Words ability while enraged and that he can end the rage prematurely if desired. After a rage, a soul warrior is fatigued for the remainder of the encounter. At 13th level, the soul warrior's bonuses to Strength and Constitution increase to +6 and the morale bonus to Will saves improves to +3. At 15th level and beyond, the soul warrior is no longer fatigued at the end of a rage.
Fear Aura: The sheer, unbridled fury released in a soul warrior's primal scream strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies. Creatures within 60ft of the soul warrior at the time of the scream who have fewer HD than the soul warrior and who are not allied with him must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 soul warrior level + the soul warrior's Charisma modifier) or be shaken for a number of minutes equal to his Charisma modifier. At 9th level, this fear aura affects creatures in a 90ft radius, and those who fail their saves are frightened for 1 round per soul warrior level, and shaken for the remainder of the 1 minute/level duration. At 17th level, the fear aura affects a 120ft radius, and creatures who fail their saves are panicked for 1 round per soul warrior level, then shaken for the remainder of the duration.
Stalwart Soul (Ex): A soul warrior is resistant to the deception and attempted control of his mind. He gains a bonus on saves made to resist mind-affecting effects equal to his soul warrior level. At 10th level, the soul warrior gains immunity to mind-affecting effects instead.
Two-Handed Combat Style:/b] At 2nd level, a soul warrior must select one of two paths: that of fighting with two lighter weapons, or of fighting with one great weapon, wielded in both hands. Once made, this decision cannot be changed; he advances in abilities according to the path selected from the options presented below.
[I]Flurry of Blades (Ex): A soul warrior only benefits from flurry of blades when wielding two weapons of the same type. They need not possess identical properties, but must be the same size and type of weapon. For instance, a soul warrior could wield a +1 flaming shortsword in one hand and an ordinary shortsword in the other. A soul warrior who chooses this option may not receive any benefit from the Two-Weapon Fighting feat or its Improved or Greater versions; this ability supersedes them. The character is considered to possess these feats for the purposes of selecting other feats (such as Two-Weapon Defense).
When a soul warrior makes a full-round attack with flurry of blades, he make make one additional attack with either weapon at his highest base attack bonus, but all attacks (including this bonus attack) suffer a -2 penalty on the attack rolls. This penalty persists until the beginning of his next turn, and so applies to any attacks of opportunity or other attack rolls made before then. At 6th level, this penalty is reduced to -1, and at 10th level, the soul warrior can make a flurry of blades attack without penalty. Additionally, upon gaining 11th level, a soul warrior making a full attack with flurry of blades receives two bonus attacks at his highest base attack bonus, rather than just one. All attacks made by a soul warrior with flurry of blades add his full normal Strength bonus to the off-hand weapon damage rolls.
Two-Handed Destroyer (Ex and Su): A soul warrior only benefits from two-handed destroyer when wielding a non-light melee weapon two-handed. He is considered to have the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats for any weapon wielded this way, and may select Greater Weapon Focus and Greater Weapon Specialization featas as though he possessed fighter levels equal to his soul warrior levels.
Beginning at 4th level, the soul warrior wielding a weapon in this way gains DR 1/-. This damage reduction is supernatural. At 8th level, and every four levels thereafter, this damage reduction improves by 1/-, to a maximum of DR 5/- at 20th level.
A soul warrior of 8th level or higher who makes a full attack gives up the attack that would be made at the lowest base attack bonus (so a character with only levels in soul warrior upon gaining this ability would make a single attack at +6 base attack, rather than two at +6/+1). Instead, rather than adding one and one-half his Strength bonus on damage rolls, he adds twice his Strength bonus, and adds one and one-half his Strength bonus to attack rolls. (If using Power Attack, add three times the strength bonus to damage rolls instead, in addition to the normal benefits of that feat.) At 16th level, the soul warrior adds two and a half times his Strength bonus on damage rolls, and twice his Strength bonus on attack rolls (four times Strength bonus to damage with Power Attack). These bonuses only apply to full attack actions made by the soul warrior, and can be voluntarily foregone to make multiple weaker attacks, as normal.
Power Words (Sp): Starting at 3rd level, a soul warrior learns to control the spiritual power he projects through his voice more precisely. He gains the ability to use power word spells as spell-like abilities, as cast by a sorcerer whose level equals his class levels. When a power word is first learned, it is useable once per day; additional uses per day are gained for every four class levels beyond the level at which the power was originally learned. The specific words learned at each level is given on Table: The Soul Warrior and their per-day uses detailed in Table: Power Words.
Initially, the soul warrior can only affect other creatures with whom he shares a creature type (typically humanoids). At 6th level, and again at 9th, he chooses two additional creature types to be affected by his power words, and at 12th level, he can affect any creature with his power words. A soul warrior of at least 15th level can affect even creatures with resistance or immunity to mind-affecting effects, ignoring any such resistances/immunities (though he is still unable to affect mindless creatures), and at 18th level, he adds his Charisma modifier to caster level checks made to overcome the spell resistance of the power words' targets.
Power Words
[b]Word
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Fatigue
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
Pain
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
Sicken
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
Deafen
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
Maladroit
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
Weaken
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
Distract
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
Disable
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
Nauseate
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
Blind
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
2
2
Petrify
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
Stun
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
1
Kill
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
Voice of Beasts (Ex): At 4th level, the soul warrior learns to change the tonality of his voice to match that of any creature he has heard vocalize before. When doing so, he gains a bonus equal to one-half his soul warrior level on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, and Intimidate checks made to interact with a creature of the kind he imitates, as well as on Disguise checks made to disguise himself as a creature of that kind. This bonus increases by +4 if communicating in a native language that creature possesses other than Common. However, speaking with this inflection is draining; each round after the first minute of talking using this ability deals 1 point of nonlethal damage to the soul warrior. At 13th level, the soul warrior is acclimated to using his voice this way and no longer takes damage from doing so, even for extended periods of time.
Rampage (Su): A 20th level soul warrior unlocks the most powerful secrets of unleashing his soul upon the world. Once per day, as an immediate action, the soul warrior can enter into a rampage, which lasts for 10 rounds. During this time, he is immune to weapon damage, gains resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic 20 and spell resistance 30, he bypasses damage reduction as though any weapon he wields is adamantine, anarchic, and epic, and whenever he makes an attack or damage roll (including rolls made to confirm critical hits), he rolls twice and takes the better result. Once the rampage is over, the soul warrior is fatigued for the remainder of the encounter.
Ex-Soul Warriors: A soul warrior whose alignment shifts away from chaotic loses the use of his primal scream ability and may not advance further in the class, but retains all other class features.