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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class The Black Parader: A class from the Base Class Contest XVII, a gothic bard!



inuyasha
2015-04-13, 10:15 PM
The Black Parader

Image (http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs14/f/2007/095/9/1/A_Black_Parade_ish_Gerard_Way_by_ihni.jpg)

Now come one come all to this tragic affair, wipe off that makeup what's in is despair, so THROW ON THE BLACK DRESS MIX IN WITH THE LOT! You might wake up and notice your someone your not...
-Gerard way, the most famous of all black paraders

The master of melencholy music, the bardic necromancer, the dirger, the black parader goes by many names, and is known in many forms, but what they all have in common, is that they are frightening, and that is what they use to their advantage

Adventures: Black paraders adventure to spread music, mourning, sorrow, and make people realize that while reality may look like a happy world of sunshine...it isn't...its a cruel reality of pain, darkness, and sorrow, and black paraders often travel in groups (called parades of course) to let people know this.

Characteristics: Black paraders are experts at spreading fear, chaos, and music. They sing songs of sorrow, of mourn, of death, and do so, to simply spread fear.

Alignment: Good black paraders are rare, and neutral and evil black paraders are the most common, they can be of any alignment on the chaotic-lawful scale

Religion: Black paraders often follow no deities but those that do follow ones of despair and sorrow

Background: Usually a black parader is someone who spends their life studying and practicing to become a bard, but sometime before they actually become one, a tragic thing happens. Such things could include loss of a family member, wife, girlfriend, house, or maybe just living a horrible life itself.

Races: Humans are definitely the most common black paraders, but half elves, elves, and halflings can become black paraders as well. Black paraders among dwarves, gnomes, half orcs, or any of the tough or savage races are very rare.

Other Classes: Black paraders interact with bards strangely, for bards inspire courage, while the black parader spreads fear and depression, they treat eachother with respect, but not always with trust. They find fighters and barbarians to be shields from other people in combat, big, fleshy, damage causing shields. The way they interact with clerics and paladins is odd as well, clerics tend to treat them as other people would, but paladins feel a slight sense of unease around black paraders, wondering if they are truly evil, or just misunderstood. Spellcasters such as sorcerers and wizards react with indifference towards them but black paraders actually like them, adding a little bit of fire and destruction to the gloom and despair. Rogues tend to react to them the same as they do bards, liking them, but wishing they would be quiet in certain situations.

Role: The black parader is an odd one, instead of beefing the party like the bard, it weakens the enemy with fear, gloom, and manipulation of the enemies emotions

Adaptation: The DM could introduce a black parader as a party member, or as a support for the enemy, to make the party wonder what that is. Is it a bard? An evil cleric? A sorcerer? All three??

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Black paraders's have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Charisma, dexterity, and constitution are important for a dirger, the charisma increases his ability to use spells, the dexterity makes him be stealthy and not get hit, and constitution makes him stay alive in the most heated of battles
Alignment: Any non-lawful, and though they do exist, good Black Paraders are rare
Hit Die: d8
Starting Age: As bard
Starting Gold: As cleric

Class Skills
The Black Parader's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are...Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points at First Level: (6 + Int modifier) x 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier



Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special


1st

+0

+x

+2

+2
I don't love you -1, Welcome to the black parade


2nd

+1

+0

+3

+3
Disenchanted 1/day


3rd

+2

+0

+3

+3



4th

+3

+1

+4

+4



5th

+3

+1

+4

+4
Blood 1/day,


6th

+4

+1

+5

+5
Disenchanted 2/day


7th

+5

+2

+5

+5



8th

+6/1

+2

+6

+6
I don't love you -2


9th

+6/1

+2

+6

+6
The sharpest lives..., Blood 2/day


10th

+7/2

+3

+7

+7
Cancer 1/week, Disenchanted 3/day


11th

+8/3

+3

+7

+7
House of wolves 1/day


12th

+9/4

+3

+8

+8



13th

+9/4

+4

+8

+8
Blood 3/day


14th

+10/5

+4

+9

+9
I don't love you -3, house of wolves 2/day, Disenchanted 4/day


15th

+11/6/1

+4

+9

+9
House of wolves 2/day


16th

+12/7/2

+5

+10

+10



17th

+12/7/2

+5

+10

+10
Blood 4/day, house of wolves 3/day


18th

+13/8/3

+5

+11

+11
Dead!, House of wolves greater, Disenchanted 5/day


19th

+14/9/4

+6

+11

+11
Cancer 2/week


20th

+15/10/5

+6

+12

+12
Famous last words, I don't love you -4




Spells per day




Level
0
1
2
3
4
5
6


1st
2
-
-
-
-
-
-



2nd
3
0
-
-
-
-
-



3rd
3
1
-
-
-
-
-



4th
3
2
0
-
-
-
-



5th
3
3
1
-
-
-
-



6th
3
3
2
-
-
-
-



7th
3
3
2
0
-
-
-



8th
3
3
3
1
-
-
-



9th
3
3
3
2
-
-
-



10th
3
3
3
2
0
-
-



11th
3
3
3
3
1
-
-



12th
3
3
3
2
-
-
-



13th
3
3
3
3
2
0
-



14th
4
3
3
3
3
1
-



15th
4
4
3
3
3
2
-



16th
4
4
4
3
3
2
0



17th
4
4
4
4
3
3
1



18th
4
4
4
4
4
3
2



19th
4
4
4
4
4
4
3



20th
4
4
4
4
4
4
4








*provided a black parader has a high enough charisma to have bonus spells of that level to cast.

Spells Known As bard, because the table broke utterly and I don't feel like fixing it

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Black parader

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Black paraders are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the longsword, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow, and whip. Black paraders are proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields). A black parader can cast spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. However, like any other arcane spellcaster, a black parader wearing medium or heavy armor or using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component (most do). A multiclass black parader still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.


Welcome to the black parade (Ex):
You have experienced frightening tragedy, but you don't let that stop you, and as such you gain a +2 on all saves against fear effects

I don't love you (Sp):
A black parader with 3 or more ranks in a Perform skill can use song or poetics to inspire extreme depression and sadness and weakening them against fear and decreasing their combat abilities. To be affected, an enemy must be able to hear the black parader sing, and must fail a will save (10+1/2 HD+Cha modifier). The effect lasts for as long as the enemy hears the black parader sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected enemy receives a -1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a -1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 8th level, and every six black parader levels thereafter, this penalty increases by 1 (+2 at 8th, +3 at 14th, and +4 at 20th). I don't love you is a mind-affecting ability. This ability stacks if multiple black paraders are in concert

Blood! (Sp):
A number of times per day as indicated on the class chart, a black parader may create a song that influences its allies into feeling bloodthirsty and wanting to create a shower of blood, this also makes their enemies skin weaker and thinner, so for every round that a black parader sings and succeeds a perform check (DC 10+1/2 the HD of the strongest enemy within 30ft) all allies within 30ft gain the wounding property on their weapon. This lasts for a maximum of the black paraders class level divided by 2, and for three rounds after that.

The sharpest lives... (Ex):
At 9th level, you have experienced even more tragedy than most people, your bonus to will saves against fear effects increases to +4, and all allies within 30ft of you are reminded of how tragic your past is, and gain the benefits of welcome to the black parade

House of wolves (Su):
Once per day as a standard action starting at 11th level, a black parader can make a perform check (DC 18) to summon a pack of Yeth hounds from a dark layer of hell, this pack is 1d4 yeth hounds+1 per 2 black parader levels (to a maximum of +8 at level 16). At 14th level the black parader can do this twice a day, at 17th level he can do this three times a day, and at 18th level this ability summons shadow mastiffs instead of yeth hounds. These summoned yeth hounds (or shadow mastiffs) last for 1 hour+1 per 2 black parader levels, and they do whatever the black parader wants, such commands can include command, stop, watch, scout, etc. While summoned, the yeth hounds seem to be singing with the black parader

Cancer (Sp):
A number of times per week as noted on the class chart, a black parader may use the contagion spell with a successful DC 15 perform check

Disenchanted (Su):
A number of times per day as indicated on the class chart, a black parader can make a DC 20 perform check to instantly remove one mind influencing effect or spell affecting anyone within 30ft by bringing them back to the real horror of reality instead of the pseudo reality created by magic. This is a standard action. They can also do this to themselves.

Dead! (Sp):
At 18th level a black parader gains the ability to make someone relive all the agony that they have ever felt, channeling it through their body. Once a day with a successful melee touch attack a black parader rolls a number of D8's equal to his character level, if these add up to the targets HP or more, the target dies instantly no save, if these do not, the target instead taked 5d8 points of damage no save.

Famous last words (Sp):
Starting at level 20 when a black parader dies, he goes out with a bang. When a black parader is reduced to a number of hit points to kill him (I.E. negative 10) the black parader says one final word, and as a free action, casts any one spell he knows. If he is revived because of this, he must still play any XP or expensive material component cost, the material component needed just vanishes as the spell is cast, and the black parader dies. If the last spell cast costed XP but does not revive the character, when the character is revived he has that much XP missing.
BLACK PARADER SPELL LIST
0-Cure minor wounds, Dancing lights, Daze, Detect magic, Flare, Ghost sound, Inflict minor wounds, Know direction, Light, lullaby, mage hand, open/close, prestidigitation, read magic, summon instrument
1-Animate rope, Bane, Cause Fear, Charm Person, Confusion (lesser), Cure light wounds, Detect secret doors, Disguise self, Erase, Grease, Hideous laughter, Hideous laughter, Hypnotism, Magic Mouth, Magic aura, Obscure object, Silent image, Sleep, Summon monster I, Undetectable alignment, Unseen servant, Ventriloquism
2-Alter self, Blindness/Deafness, Blur,Cure moderate wounds, Darkness, Daze monster, Detect thoughts, Enthrall, Hold person, Hypnotic pattern, Inflict moderate wounds, Invisibility, Minor image, Mirror image, Misdetection, Pyrotechnics, Rage, Scare, Shatter, Silence, sound burst, Suggestion, Summon monster II,
Summon swarm, Whispering wind
3-Blink, Charm monster, Clairaudience/Clairvoiance, Confusion, Crushing despair, Cure serious wounds, Deeper darkness, Deep slumber, Dispel magic, Displacement, Fear, Gaseous form, Geas (lesser), Haste, Illusory script, Inflict serious wounds, Invisibility sphere, Major image, Phantom steed, Scrying, Sculpt sound, Secret page, See invisibility, Sepia snake sigil, Slow, Summon monster III
4-Cure critical wounds, Detect scrying, Dimension door, Dominate person, Freedom of movement, Hallucinatory terrain, hold monster, Inflict critical wounds, Invisibility (Greater), Modify memory, Rainbow pattern, Shadow conjuration, Shout, Summon monster IV, Zone of silence
5-Dispel magic (greater), Dream, False vision, Inflict light wounds (mass), Mind fog, Mirage arcana, Nightmare, Persistant image, Shadow evocation, shadow walk, Song of discord, Suggestion (mass), Summon monster V
6-Analyze Dweomer, Animate objects, Charm monster (mass), Eyebite, Geas/quest, Harm, Inflict moderate wounds (mass), Irresistable dance, Permenant image, Programmed image, Project image, Scrying (greater), Shout (greater), Summon monster VI, Sympathetic vibration, Veil




I've decided to bring it back, any PEACHes would be appreciated, as well as peoples thoughts on the matter.

Lord Loss
2015-04-14, 09:55 PM
I haven't a clue as to whether this is remotely balanced, or whether the features could be improved, or anything.

But I clicked on this link and went ''Black Parader... could it be... surely no one made a class based on..."

And then I saw the Gerard Way quote, and grinned. And then I noticed the names of the class features.

So I guess what I'm here to say is cheers for making a class based on a fantastic album by a mostly forgettable band which I loved through high school. To this day, I'll defend that album to the death, and to hell with the ridicule. I'll take a look through the class features when I'm not studying for a final exam :P

In the meantime, thanks for making this. I'm currently full of nostalgia. I think I'll have to give them album a whirl...

inuyasha
2015-04-14, 11:28 PM
Heh thanks, for some of the features I just flipped the bard around, though some were made up just for this (especially house of wolves) so I don't know how good those are.

JeenLeen
2015-04-15, 02:15 PM
On Famous Last Words: does it have to be a spell from the black parader spell list (as is, they could cast from another class as well, if they were level 20 in black parader and also multiclass)?

More importantly, it is meant to be worded such that, regardless of what is cast, the black parader still dies at the end? (For example, whether due to also being a high-level cleric and being able to cast Resurrection or due to just casting the black parader spell Cure Light Wounds, the black parader still dies after that spell goes off.) I think it reads that way, but I wasn't 100% sure.

inuyasha
2015-04-15, 07:01 PM
On Famous Last Words: does it have to be a spell from the black parader spell list (as is, they could cast from another class as well, if they were level 20 in black parader and also multiclass)?

More importantly, it is meant to be worded such that, regardless of what is cast, the black parader still dies at the end? (For example, whether due to also being a high-level cleric and being able to cast Resurrection or due to just casting the black parader spell Cure Light Wounds, the black parader still dies after that spell goes off.) I think it reads that way, but I wasn't 100% sure.

I think that it should expand to other spell lists, my reasoning being that if you've reached 20th level in Black Parader, and you are high enough level in another class to cast a cool spell, you should be able to exercise that.

The other, yes the parader dies at the end, unless they cast raise dead, resurrection, etcetera. I'm thinking of adding a thing where you can only do that twice per week and no more than once per day, just in case the parader becomes suicidal with how cool his new power is.