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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class Class: Chronomancer. DnD 3.5 (PEACH)



Omegatank
2015-03-18, 01:34 PM
Hi! I'm new to the forums and have been playing DnD for a fair while now, and wanted to get some opinions / balancing advice on a caster class of mine based off of a warlock. I apologize for the rough and readiness of the post - I'm still learning the tips and tricks of the forums. Likewise, whilst I did proofread / spell check things, I apologize for any mistakes made.

Overview: The Chronomancer is a studious wizard of time, adept at wielding time magic, scrying certain moments in time and wielding the fabric of the universe as a weapon. Even those creatures and gods that do not notice magical aging effects can still be harmed by a chronomancer. Higher level chronomancers are an asset to themselves and allies, and in their most desperate hour, may even undo entire rounds of actions in their favor in a quick burst of energy. Unlike most wizards, most of their spells scale with their chronomancer levels as their mastery of time increases. Things immune to magical aging effects can be harmed by the sheer intensity and aeon-spanning magic of a chronomancer, particularly as they begin to draw from the ultimate vision of a chronomancer's power – a boundless desert, stacked with years like grains of sand, filled to the brim with the arcane.

A chronomancer's power typically manifests in a flash of blue, distorted light, and a howl of noise. Simple sounds like talking or the clash of battle sound odd and warped as they pass through anything currently imbued with a chronomancer's power.

Mechanically, a chronomancer has more in common with a warlock than a wizard, giving up a list of selected invocations for set spell-like abilities.



Level
BaB
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special


1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Time Bolt, Chronoblade, Regress wounds, Studious Assessment, Minor arcane casting


2
+1
+0
+0
+3
Accelerated Combat, Whispering Sand.


3




Temporal Duplicate, Time Bolt 2d6


4




Conduit Hourglass


5




Twelve Hour Arc, Time Bolt 3d6, Regress Wounds Unlocks, Regress Wounds 3d6.


6




Emptiness of the Desert


7




Borrowed Time, Time Bolt 4d6


8




Sandstorm


9




Implosion of Sand, Time bolt 5d6


10




Permanency, Split Seconds, Regress Wounds 4d6


11




Relentless March, Time Bolt 6d6


12




Bolt Flurry, Timekeeper, Skillful Moment


13




Aging Touch, Time Bolt 7d6


14




Gaze Into Infinity


15




Distort Time, Time Bolt 8d6, Regress Wounds 5d6


16




Temporal Jolt


17




Staggered Bolts, Time Bolt 9d6


18




Time Prison


19




Future Knowledge, Time Bolt 10d6


20
+15
+6
+6
+12
Perfect Self, Perfect Moment, Regress Wounds 6d6





Alignment: Any. Whilst the art of Chronomancy has many implications on the fabric of space-time, it attracts the studious from all walks of life.

BAB: As a Warlock. (15 by level 20)

skill points: 2 + int mod per level, x 4 at level 1.

Saves as a wizard / warlock (6 fort, 6 reflex, 12 will at level 20.)

Proficient skills:
Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Decipher Script (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis),Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha).

Hit dice: D6.

The saving throw for a chronomancer's abilities is (10+ 1/2 of the Chronomancer's level in chronomancer + Chronomancer's int mod.) All of a chronomancer's abilities are bizarre and outside the realms of typical magic, functioning as spell-like abilities unless otherwise stated.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Chronomancers are proficient with all simple weapons and the shortsword. ( Though most prefer to channel their spells through a hardy staff of wood or metal) They are proficient with light armor but not with shields.

The save on all Chronomancer abilities unless otherwise stated is DC 10 + 1/2 Chronomancer level + their Intelligence modifier.

Time bolt (sp): The first ability a chronomancer learns is Time Bolt. A Chronomancer attacks his foes with arcane force, dealing Arcane damage (Untyped)

A time bolt is a stand action that creates a ray with a range of 60 feet. It is a ranged touch attack that affects a single target, allowing no saving throw. A time bolt deals 1d6 points of damage at 1st level and increases in power as the chronomancer rises in level, an extra 1d6 every 2 levels after level 1. (an extra 1d6 at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and so on.) A time bolt is the equivalent of a 1st-level spell.

Time bolt crits naturally on a 20 for 2x normal damage, and is subject to feats such as improved critical, however a weapon enchant such as keen does not confer the bonus to Time bolt.

Chronoblade: A Chronomancer may deliver Time Bolt as a melee touch attack, including through a weapon. This gains iterative attacks if their BaB allows it. It does not add the weapon's damage.

Regress Wounds (sp): Once per day plus one per level in chronomancy, a Chronomancer may attempt to regress any allies’ wounds to a less severe degree. healing 2D4. This ability adds an additional 1d4 points of healing starting at level 5 and every 5 levels thereafter. (10, 15, 20.) A chronomancer may add her int modifier to damage healed by Regress Wounds. Starting at level five, a chronomancer may use this ability at will.

Studious Assessment: Starting at level 1, a chronomancer knows at least rudimentary levels of knowledge about magic. She gains Skill Focus (Knowledge Arcana) as a bonus feat.

Minor Arcane Casting: Starting at level 1, The Chronomancer may cast detect magic, ghost sound, and light, an infinite number of times per day, and read magic a number of times equal to her Int mod.



Level 2:
Accelerated combat:
You gain Improved Initiative as a bonus feat. Additionally, you may use Time Bolt as an Attack of Opportunity.

Whispering Sand(sp):
You may cast Whispering Sand as a spell-like ability (See book: Sandstorm.)

Level 3:
Temporal Duplicate(sp): As a swift action a chronomancer may distort time and timeway passages to allow her to come to her own aid for a brief period of time. She may summon a ghostly, timeway distorted version of herself at any point within line of effect and line of sight within 60 feet as a swift action that lasts until the start of her next turn. She may request it target foes with Time Bolts for half their usual damage or heal an ally for half of Regress Wounds. However, as a time-shifted version of herself, it will vanish the instant before it would take damage, and can perform no other action other than talking, attacking with time bolt (Including attacks of opportunity) and movement. Temporal Duplicates last for an additional round at levels 13 and 20.

Level 4:
Conduit Hourglass(sp): The chronomancer may summon a conduit as a swift action that lasts for 5 rounds or until destroyed – A four foot high, two foot wide hourglass on a free area that takes up a five foot square. The hourglass cannot be moved when placed. Upon being summoned and each turn thereafter on the chronomancer's turn, the hourglass will cast slow on all enemy targets within 20 feet of the hourglass. (Will save is 10+ 1/2 of the Chronomancer's hit die + chronomancer's int mod.) A conduit hourglass is very fragile, having 2x the chronomancer's hit dice in HP, with an AC of 10, and a hardness of 2. It automatically fails fortitude and reflex saves, however, it uses the chronomancer's will save, should it require one. It is otherwise treated as an object. The CL of the hourglass is your level in Chronomancer.

In order for the hourglass to be attacked by foe, the creature must make a will save of 10+ 1/2 of the chronomancer's hit die + chronomancer's int mod. if the creature fails, they take 1D6 arcane damage. This damage increases by another 1D6 at levels 12, 16 and 20.

Lastly, the chronomancer may cast Bolts of Time on the Conduit Hourglass. Doing so still requires a ranged touch attack (And thus can crit.) and causes the bolt to become a 20 foot burst, dealing its total damage to all foes in the area on a reflex save of (10+ 1/2 of the Chronomancer's hit die + Chronomancer's int mod.)


Level 5:
Twelve Hour Arc(sp): As a standard action, the Chronomancer may make an attack roll against all enemies within melee reach at their full bab as per Chronoblade, though not gaining iterative attacks.
Any Temporal Duplicates the Chronomancer may have active at this time also perform this same action, dealing 50% less damage than the Chronomancer with these attacks.

If a target is successfully struck by both the Chronomancer and at least one Temporal Duplicate with Twelve Hour Arc in the same round, they must make a will save against being slowed for two rounds.

Level 6:
Emptiness of the Desert(sp): – At level 6, a chronomancer may imbue her spells with the frigid night winds of a bare arctic desert, or the scalding heat of a barren sand desert during midsummer. When they use time bolt, they may nominate sand bolts to be either Fire or Cold damage instead of arcane damage. Additionally, If a target has died within the past hour, the Chronomancer may cast Speak With Dead on the above target as per the spell.

Level 7:
Borrowed Time(sp): The chronomancer may choose to bestow their moments in time upon an ally, giving up their own move and standard actions to give the ally the ability to act during them as if they themself had an action of the corresponding type.

Level 8
Sandstorm(sp): As a standard action, a chronomancer may summon a strange, shifting blue sandstorm centered on themselves that lasts 1d4+1 rounds, in a 60 foot square. All allies within it gain partial concealment and may use it as cover for the purposes of hide checks. Enemies within must make a fortitude save every round at the start of their turn. If they fail, they take 1d4+chronomancer's int modifier in arcane damage. If they succeed, they are completely undamaged. Foes that critically fail this fort save see into a snarl of time, and are also blinded for 1 round.

After using the Sandstorm, you cannot use it again until 1d4 rounds after it has ended.

Time Shield (Sp): As a standard action, you create a 30 foot radius Time Shield centered on yourself that lasts two rounds. It does not have any saving throw and bypasses all spell resistance.

Upon casting this spell-like ability all spells and spell effects within the time shield have their durations consumed at twice their normal rate. Any spell with a duration measured in rounds or minutes, whether beneficial or harmful, if affected (spells measured in hours, days, or longer are shortened imperceptibly). Creatures affected by spells cast outside a time shield that enter the time shield have their spells consumed at the increased rate. Upon leaving the time shield, the creature's spells again decrease at their normal rate. Even spending only a portion of a round within a time shield causes spells to expire at an accelerated rate. Thus, if a creature begins and ends its turn outside a time shield but passes through the area of effect in the interim, any spells that affect the creature lose 2 rounds of duration that round. A time shield cannot affect another time shield, thus the spell has no effect on other instances of this spell.

Level 9:
Implosion of Sand(sp): As a standard action, a chronomancer may cast Implosion of sand, causing a ring of blue timewarped energy to enclose on a target and explode. This spell-like ability functions exactly like Time Bolt, however, it automatically hits. Because it is treated as an automatic hit with no save or attack roll, it cannot crit.

Level 10:
Permanency(sp): Once a week, the chronomancer can cast Permanency as a spell-like ability, with only a 500 exp cost.

Split Seconds(sp): Split Seconds may be cast as a swift action. Split second marks a twenty foot diameter burst area of the Chronomancer's choice. Three rounds after it is cast, the field explodes in a hail of blue sparks. All enemy targets within this field must make a will save or be dazed for one round. Because this daze effect represents becoming disjointed in the present timeline, creatures ordinarily immune to this effect such as undead are still vulnerable, and must attempt the save.

Level 11:
Relentless March(sp): As a standard action the chronomancer folds the fabric of time, attempting to undo one negative spell or spell like effect on any one ally. This ability functions as Dispel Magic for that one function (but no other).

Level 12:
Bolt Flurry(sp): The Chronomancer may use a full round attack to gain iterative ranged attacks with Time Bolt.

Timekeeper(sp): As a standard action, the Chronomancer creates a 5 foot wide circle underneath their feet. This circle contains a 'snapshot' of their current hp and position that lasts for four rounds. Starting from one round after this ability is cast, the chronomancer may active this circle as a swift action to instantly return to the circle and the snapshotted HP, consuming the circle in the process. Consuming the circle is a slightly taxing exercise for the Chronomancer, preventing them from recasting Timekeeper again for 1d10 round. Upon returning in time in this manner, the Chronomancer is dazed for one round.

Skillful Moment (Sp): You may cast Skillful Moment as a spell-like ability. This spell is usable only on yourself.

Upon casting this spell, you channel a future result of one designated course of action into an act you're about to perform. When casting this spell, choose one skill. On the round after you cast this spell you may take 20 on the chosen skill as a single standard action. You only gain this benefit on the skill noted at the time of the spell's casting, gaining no bonus to any other skill. If you do not make the skill check in the round immediately following the spell's casting, the benefit is lost.


Level 13:
Aging Touch (sp): You may cast the spell Aging Touch as a standard ray attack with a range of 60 feet. A fort save negates this.

Any creature you touch with a successful ranged touch attack takes 1 point of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution damage. This aging is reflected in the target's appearance - skin becomes more wrinkled and pockmarked, hair turns white, posture stoops - and while this has no additional negative effect, it does provide a cumulative +2 bonus on disguise checks. Only the target's body is aged by the spell, and it gains none of the benefits of growing older naturally. Creatures that gain benefits by age category do not gain additional advantages due to this spell. Every time a creature is affected by this spell it is temporarily aged one age category - a young character becomes middle age, a middle-aged character becomes old, and an old character becomes venerable. (Assume a character is young if no age is given.) Every time the target ages in this way the effects of this spell stack, until the target raches venerable age. If a creature is aged past venerable it instead takes 5d6 points of damage each time it is struck, as its body succumbs to the ravages of incredibly swift decay. Thus, a young character struck by a wizard using aging touch three times takes -3 points of damage to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution and gains a +6 bonus to Disguise checks. Upon being struck the fourth time, that target takes 5d6 points of damage. Ability damage dealt by this spell heals as normal, at a rate of 1 point per day for each affected ability. The bonus on Disguise checks also fades over time, decreating at a rate of -2 every day until the target's Disguise modifier returns to normal.

Level 14:
Gaze Into Infinity(sp): As a standard action, The Chronomancer attempts to flood the target's mind with forbidden knowledge about the fabric of the universe with a gaze attack, fascinating the target (Will save negates).

Level 15:
Distort Time(sp): As a standard action, The Chronomancer creates a stable tear in the fabric of reality, summoning a floating wall filled with strange interlocking patterns and terrifying, vast space. Any foes attempting to pass through this area is assaulted with arcane power and visions of their own potential death.

The wall is 40 feet long, 5 feet wide and 30 feet tall, and that lasts 1d4 rounds. All foes attempting to pass it to make a will save or suffer 1d10 per 4 levels in Chronomancer the caster has. If the wall is formed in a square containing a creature, that creature is moved to one side of the wall (the creature in question's choice). The wall is opaque and breaks both line of sight and line of effect.

Level 16:
Temporal Jolt(sp): You learn Temporal Jolt as a spell-like ability, with a range of 100+10/level in chronomancer.
A colourless beam streaks toward your target, violently throwing the target back and forth in time, aging natural materials and damaging the brittle remains. The ray requires a ranged touch attack to hit and deals 1d6 points of damage per 3 caster levels (maximum 5d6). In addition, the beam speeds the decay or corrosion of nonmagical items, aging them hundreds of years in a single moment. Nonmagical armour worn by an affected target permanently loses 1d6 points of armour class (to the maximum amount of protection the armour offered) and nonmagical weapons and items being held are instantly destroyed (items in backpacks, pouches, and other containers are unaffected). Armour that has its armour bonus reduced to zero is destroyed. Magic items are unaffected by this spell.

Level 17
Staggered Bolts(sp): The Chronomancer may, as a swift action, create and suspend 2d8 Time Bolts in midair. At any point before the end of her next round, as an immediate action, the Chronomancer may fire these at any target within Time Bolt's range.

Level 18
Time Prison(sp): As a standard action Stuns the target for 1d3 rounds, freezing their thoughts in time, making them vacant on a will save. Unlike most stuns, this does not cause the target to drop their held items – It merely freezes them in time, allowing them no actions nor dexterity bonus to AC. Creatures normally immune to stuns such as undead are still stunned, due to the time-based nature of this ability.

Level 19:
Future Knowledge: As a standard action, the chronomancer may cast either Clairaudience, Clairsentience or Divination as a spell-like ability, with a 5 minute casting time.

Level 20:
Perfect Self(Ex):
At 20th level, a chronomancer becomes a magical creature. She is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the chronomancer’s creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the chronomancer gains damage reduction 6/magic, which allows her to ignore the first 6 points of damage from any attack made by a nonmagical weapon or by any natural attack made by a creature that doesn’t have similar damage reduction. Unlike other outsiders, the chronomancer can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

Perfect Moment(sp): Once per encounter, as a free action, the Chronomancer may unleash a rush of power, modifying the strength of one of the following spells of their choice drastically until after it is next cast. If Perfect Moment is not used within ten rounds, it fades, consumed.

Timekeeper: Consuming the circle becomes a free action instead of a swift, and upon arrival, dealing 20d10 arcane damage to all enemies within the area.

Split Seconds: Doubles the DC of the dazed effect and increases its duration to 2 rounds. If the Chronomancer is within the burst area when it triggers, they gain temporary hit points for 2 minutes equal to their Chronomancer level + int mod x 2.

Conduit Hourglass: The created hourglass has an AC of 28, and ten times its ordinary HP, and lasts for ten rounds. It increases the burst radius of any Time Bolts that strike it, and the slow field out to 50 feet, and the DC of the slow's save by 10.

Temporal Duplicate: The created duplicate becomes greatly warped and untethered from reality, and cannot be destroyed. It deals full damage, not half, on all of its abilities and interactions and lasts for 10 rounds.

JKTrickster
2015-03-18, 06:26 PM
I think if you format this class with a table, it will be easier to read (and consequently get more replies and views). Right now its difficult to understand what's going on with the class without a table.

That being said:

This class is definitely weaker than the DFA and probably weaker than the Warlock as well.

The problem is that you only provide some weak, 1/day SLAs. For example? You get 1/day SLAs for levels 17, 18 and 19.

Compare that to the list of invocations of DFA and Warlock. Those classes are just funner to build. This class has no options and no choices involved. You even list all the feats that you can't use with Time Bolt.

You also don't specify actions a couple of times and that makes things harder to judge.

Let's go level by level:

Level 1:

Is Time Bolt an attack action...or a standard action like Warlock's Eldritch Bolt?

Level 2:

I guess it's cool? Free feat? The Whispering Sand SLA is more flavor than anything.

Level 3:

What action is this? Standard? It's kind of meh honestly.

Level 4:

The Hourglass is good....until you see its 1/day. Also its so small, you can just put it in a bag or something. There's no indication that you have to place it anywhere.

And...what's Wither?

Level 5:

1/day +AC! Woo....

Level 6:

Um....okay? The first part is a questionable advantage. The second part of this ability is a 1/day SLA....again.

Level 7:

Actually strong. No complaints.

Level 8 - Level 11:

More Once per day effects! Aside from the 1/week Permanency effect (what would you make Permanent? Can you make the Hourglass permanent?) and the 2/day scrying effects. But honestly, doesn't matter.

Also you don't specify what actions it takes to do any of this stuff.

Level 12 is empty, which makes me sad :smallfrown:

Level 13 and Level 14:

Cool effects but you don't mention a usage limit or a action requirement. Which makes it hard to judge.

Assuming standard action + unlimited uses....it's okay. It's honestly just damage....and it's not even that much. And it doesn't scale that much either.

Level 15:

This suggest that Time Bolts are only an attack action.

In which case, this is kind of cool? Haste would already give you an extra attack, but who complains about more?

Question is, what BaB is this extra attack with?

Level 16:

I don't know what this is. Haste can hit multiple targets naturally. This could help more....but honestly its just more Haste uses per day. Kind of small for level 16.

Level 17 - 19:

Wooo more 1/day abilities. Yay.

Level 20:

The DR is inconsequential. The type change is a nerf probably.

The doubling thing is too little too late. Going from 1/day to 2/day is nothing.


~~~

And that's my review!

You're lucky I look over anything Chrono-magic related :smalltongue:

By the way, the Medium BaB, Light Armor, One Good Save, d6 HD, Simple Weapons + Shortsword, chasis is a really weird chasis.

What was the logic behind it? It looks like you were going for something similar to Cleric...?

Omegatank
2015-03-18, 06:33 PM
Oh! Great points. I'll fix clarity on all of these. I was told if it's not mentioned in most books abilities default to a standard action, but I'll go back and go over this. Let me finish the editing...


Alright, I've added clarity to a bunch of things, but I'm not sure how to make a table. Let me list off some of my replies here:

Thank you for your feedback, I think the hourglass might need further wording perhaps to prevent people from running around with one strapped to their back, as awesome as that sounds for a laugh.

A lot of the once a day abilities add their int mod to enabling uses per day. With a decent int score, you can use quite a few of them! I'm worried I might make the class a bit over the top if I go willy-nilly with uses per day. With an int score of 14-16, you have a lot of your stuff quite hard to save from, and a fair few cooldowns. Particularly scary if most of them are cooldownless is the idea of a chronomancer summoning up 4-5 hourglasses across a room, and the ability to heal as a spell like ability at will - Effectively being able to top off their party after every encounter, barring duress or other circumstances. If you DO feel like a large amount need to become at will rather than cooldowns, which ones in particular?

In regards your feedback on level 5: Isn't the ability to get a decent bonus to AC as an immediate action a great counter for those bad situations where a bit more AC would help? I felt it was flavorful and reactive and nicely encapsulated acting when it wasn't your turn with a nice bit of hopefully 'save the day for yourself' material.

In regards to level 6: Getting 150% bonus damage against certain creatures vulnerable to fire or cold seems like decent utility.

8: Well, you can permanency things like your own haste, and if you have a wizard in the party, you've suddenly got some great gradual build up of continual effects at a lowered exp cost.

12: Yes. I felt an empty level would make more sense than the ability I had here previously, which was yet more battlefield control (Allowed you to summon a barrier that could block ranged attacks) If you have a time based spell like you'd like to see added, I would absolutely love to hear it and add it in. :D I'm a huge fan of chronomancy too. Favorite theme of mages, no question.

13 and 14: What would you add to give it more scaling?

16: True, but more of an army situation, and great when your tactics require being spread out. Do you have an alternative suggestion?

17-19: Suggestions?

20: I almost want to say a way to fix some of your complaints would be to change the capstone to be 'Able to use spell like abilities with a cooldown at will' but that sounds like we're getting into serious Truenamer syndrome of living for late game, and feels lazy and a bit simple. It's largely borrowed from the monk for the first bit - and is mostly a way of making you stop aging, which as a flavor capstone for a chronomancer made sense to me. Again, anything you'd suggest instead?

Tacitus
2015-03-18, 09:29 PM
Infinite healing, especially of less than 10hp rapidly becomes a nonissue when PCs gain access to Wands of Lesser Vigor. Their low cost with high return mean that after like level 5 they really stop being costly, meaning out of combat healing is almost free anyway. May I suggest perhaps allowing healing more often, but capping any healing until a certain level? For instance, you ask that allies track how much damage they take per hit. Most people do already. You can then (at first) only heal individual wounds, and each wound only once.
Fighter McDum takes 5 knife wounds of 1,2,3,4 and 20. You can only heal each instance of damage once, and even then you can only heal your 2d4 (or whatever) so that those first 4 wounds are easy, but that 20 isn't going to fully close. I think Shadowrun does this or used to. I'm having a hard time remembering.

Side note, why is Bulwark of Time a shield bonus? If you are imbuing yourself with a burst of extra time, that feels like you are going to dodge the attack with all that extra time you have. So... Dodge bonus?

By and large, many of these abilities could become Per Encounter if you feel that At Will is too much.

Also, why not try to remove "you cast this spell" and instead add in exactly what you are doing and maybe tweaking it slightly from the spell? For instance, Wither is just deal damage and save for dehydration. Why not x/day or x/encounter make your time bolt deal double damage and save vs dehydration/fatigue/exhaustion/whatever. (which is essentially just the warlock essences, but eh) Also, its already untyped damage, so why use desiccation for this one thing? Marruspawn resist desiccation, you know. XP
Indeed, why untyped 'arcane' damage? Why not make up Temporal Damage, which is still more or less untyped, but against ageless beings deals reduced damage (and maybe more damage to something else?) Or, is it more that you envision it as a distortion of temporal energies in the form of a ray intended to just scramble all of the things rather than act as sort of a localized aging to age portions of things struck to dust/rust/goop?

Edit: Looked at level 19 again after the below post. I saw 1 round the first time somehow. 1d10+1 is a large variation and a huge number of rounds. Wish lets you change a single roll in the last round for someone, much less reset the entire round. I'm sure there is a spell that does similar (epic, maybe?), but 1d10+1 has the chance of really pissing off fellow players.

TheEmperor
2015-03-18, 09:51 PM
See, I like the whole idea, and it'd probably be better to listen to the advice of the others on how to improve your homebrew (the idea of which I really like, just saying again), BUT

I'm under the impression that Level 19's ability is going to be a pain to deal with for many groups, especially if they want to try the class out in PbP.

Is there any way of making it less disrupting to the flow of the session, but still just as thematic and powerful?

Omegatank
2015-03-19, 03:01 AM
Infinite healing, especially of less than 10hp rapidly becomes a nonissue when PCs gain access to Wands of Lesser Vigor. Their low cost with high return mean that after like level 5 they really stop being costly, meaning out of combat healing is almost free anyway. May I suggest perhaps allowing healing more often, but capping any healing until a certain level? For instance, you ask that allies track how much damage they take per hit. Most people do already. You can then (at first) only heal individual wounds, and each wound only once.
Fighter McDum takes 5 knife wounds of 1,2,3,4 and 20. You can only heal each instance of damage once, and even then you can only heal your 2d4 (or whatever) so that those first 4 wounds are easy, but that 20 isn't going to fully close. I think Shadowrun does this or used to. I'm having a hard time remembering.

Side note, why is Bulwark of Time a shield bonus? If you are imbuing yourself with a burst of extra time, that feels like you are going to dodge the attack with all that extra time you have. So... Dodge bonus?

By and large, many of these abilities could become Per Encounter if you feel that At Will is too much.

Also, why not try to remove "you cast this spell" and instead add in exactly what you are doing and maybe tweaking it slightly from the spell? For instance, Wither is just deal damage and save for dehydration. Why not x/day or x/encounter make your time bolt deal double damage and save vs dehydration/fatigue/exhaustion/whatever. (which is essentially just the warlock essences, but eh) Also, its already untyped damage, so why use desiccation for this one thing? Marruspawn resist desiccation, you know. XP
Indeed, why untyped 'arcane' damage? Why not make up Temporal Damage, which is still more or less untyped, but against ageless beings deals reduced damage (and maybe more damage to something else?) Or, is it more that you envision it as a distortion of temporal energies in the form of a ray intended to just scramble all of the things rather than act as sort of a localized aging to age portions of things struck to dust/rust/goop?

Edit: Looked at level 19 again after the below post. I saw 1 round the first time somehow. 1d10+1 is a large variation and a huge number of rounds. Wish lets you change a single roll in the last round for someone, much less reset the entire round. I'm sure there is a spell that does similar (epic, maybe?), but 1d10+1 has the chance of really pissing off fellow players.

In regards to regress wounds: Perhaps it has limited charges per day until level 5, then becomes simply 'At will' ? I'm also not sure that regress wounds should gain further complexity like that. I admit that it's a great idea, I'm just not sure if it's complexity that fits correctly.

In regards to bulwark, because A) Chronomancers can't use shields, and thus they would have little issue with shield stack bonuses. On reflection, you're right, it should probably be dodge bonus - I envisioned it as a quick flash of a summoned shield in front of them, but untyped AC bonus or dodge could be more useful, especially as it wouldn't stack with them picking up a shield bonus AC item. I'll nudge it to dodge.

Wither was suggested to me as flavor, and a number of the more sand / flavor spells are additions that I agreed with the suggestions of - The sand spells are a bit stand-alone, but it felt like something a Chronomancer would look at whilst doing the mage equivalent of liking deserts as a concept to eerily creepy levels. (I'm picturing an amusing scene where one leans against his poster of an oasis yelling 'YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT UNDERSTANDS MEEE!'

In all seriousness, I'll consider Nixing it, but it's fine if they resist this particular one via racials or what have you...

Now, for the damage type in arcane: Yes, I could have made up Temporal damage, however I feel this would further shoot them in the foot, especially on high level encounters with functionally immortal beings - I originally had a system where the more they attacked ageless beings the more they overcame that, but in the end it felt fat, saggy and encouraged a micro system that felt clunky as a rattling siege engine. Arcane isn't a perfect solution, and even calling it Temporal that virtually functions as arcane might be the way to go, if you feel that way - But I'm not sure reinjecting the aging and age resisting mechanic is a way to gain damage identity. Thoughts?




Is there any way of making it less disrupting to the flow of the session, but still just as thematic and powerful?

Okay, on reflection, I have two ways I can do this:

Change it to one round, at will possibly -

OR, change it so it resets not set or rolled rounds, but the encounter itself. This one instantly has problems in that some of the more.. Minmaxy sorts can do incredibly cheesy things such as getting in combat with a rabid hamster, stuffing it down their trousers, and then walking into the level 20 dragon cave, confident in the fact they can reset to the start of the hamster. It feels easier to reset an entire encounter bar player knowledge than it does part of one.

Thanks for all the advice so far! Going to update a few things.

Omegatank
2015-03-20, 09:35 PM
I've updated some abilities! Open to more feedback. Also considering changing the capstone to be 'Abilities Usable at Will.' The biggest problem I have with class balance at the moment is that Chronomancer is currently stuck halfway between the warlock DFA system of at will and the sorcerer wizard system of a limit per day. They're not quite a good enough selection of abilities to outstrip a wizard / sorc, and some of them are just arguably too strong to be on the DFA/Lock system. The question is - Would a capstone that shifts them be fair?

Omegatank
2015-06-11, 09:33 AM
Version 1.7 is out, planning to play test it hopefully over the next fortnight. Complete overhaul and moving away from the /per day system. Looking for more feedback. Got a table now, haven't data entry-ified the saves and bab, but they're pretty obvious from what's there. Looking to hear from folks / suggestions.

Specific suggestions I'd really appreciate hearing about:

*Item suggestions for such a class, perhaps similar to Chausuble of Fell Power for warlocks?
*Dragon Magazine 350, page 77 lists ways of running time travel campaigns. I'd like to add a variant rule of some sort to this class to allow them to cast time travel based magic for the purposes of PCs chasing the big bad across time as well as space, but I'm not sure where to start.
*What prestige classes would work well with Chronomancer, if any?
*Are there any meaningful abilities that should show up for an epic chronomancer? The spells Haste and Time stop were considered a little too overpowered to be 'At will' but I'm hungry for ideas for epic scaling / bonus cool toys.

Cheers and thank you. :)