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Xuldarinar
2015-05-17, 02:07 AM
Nightblade
-A character who chooses nightblade as her secondary class gains the following secondary class features.
--Nightblade Path: At 1st level, she must select a path. She treats her character level as her effective night blade level for all path abilities.
--Path Technique: At 3rd level, she gains her path's 1st-level path technique.
--Path's Surge: At 7th level, she gains shadow surge and her path's surge ability.
--Nightblade Art: At 11th level, she gains a single nightblade art, using her character level for meeting the prerequisites of and using the art.
--Greater Path Technique: At 15th level, she gains her path's 5th level path technique.
--Greater Nightblade Art: At 19th level, she gains a second nightblade art.


Shadowcaster
-A character who chooses shadowcaster as her secondary class gains the following secondary class features.
--Enshadowed Magic: At 1st level, her abilities become augmented by shadow. Whenever she casts a spell, manifests a power, uses a spell-like or psi-like ability, or uses a supernatural ability, observers can make a DC 15 perception check to note that her shadow is moving differently from her.
--Apprentice of Shadow: At 3rd level, her abilities become further laced with shadow. Her spells, psionic powers, spell-like abilities, psi-like abilities, and supernatural abilities become treated as mysteries for the purpose of interacting with spells and feats.
--Enshadowed Body: At 7th level, she gains sustaining shadow and umbral sight as a shadowcaster of her character level -4.
--Fundamental: At 11th level, if she has an Intelligence score of 10 or higher, she chooses a shadowcaster fundamental and can cast that fundamental as a supernatural ability at-will. She uses her character level as the caster level and Charisma as the fundamental's key ability score.
--Ingrained Shadow: At 15th level, when she casts a spell, manifests a power, or uses a spell-like ability or psi-like ability based on a spell or power up to 3rd level, it becomes treated as a spell-like ability if it was a spell, a psi-like ability if it was a power, or supernatural ability if it was normally a spell-like or psi-like ability.
--Greater Ingrained Shadow: At 19th level, her inherent shadow ability expands to cover spells, power, spell-like abilities, and psi-like abilities up to 6th level.

Based on the Shadowcaster class, as updated to pathfinder (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7pX5JzphJ4ya3YxNl91anlmLTQ/edit) by Peacenlove.


Oracle
Add the following to the oracle's revelation entry:
--Darkness: Cloak of darkness, defy darkness, hide in plain sight, pierce the veil, shade sight, shadow resistance, touch of the void, wings of darkness.

Xuldarinar
2015-06-01, 02:11 AM
Update: Initially, I had this set up as strictly a post regarding the shadowcaster class's VMC. Now, I've decided to set out and expand it to all shadow oriented classes I can find. If I've missed any, or you've any input on any already present, go ahead and post or send me a PM.

Extra Anchovies
2015-06-02, 01:30 PM
Nightblade VMC is interesting. Do they get the path power (e.g. Umbral Shackles)?

Also, a link to the Shadowcaster PF update would be cool.

Xuldarinar
2015-06-02, 08:31 PM
Nightblade VMC is interesting. Do they get the path power (e.g. Umbral Shackles)?

Also, a link to the Shadowcaster PF update would be cool.

While not explicitly stated, and I think it would be cool, no, they do not. If someone wanted to allow it upon selection of the path, then by all means. I just, couldn't think of a real balanced way to put it in there. Perhaps doing so would also eschew the 1st level feat.


As for the Shadowcaster PF update, there is a link. It is in the file the link takes you to, the link being the words "updated to pathfinder".

Seginus
2015-06-03, 12:52 AM
Nightblade
-A character who chooses nightblade as her secondary class gains the following secondary class features.
--Nightblade Path: At 1st level, she must select a path. She treats her character level as her effective night blade level for all path abilities.
--Path Technique: At 3rd level, she gains her path's 1st-level path technique.
--Path's Surge: At 7th level, she gains shadow surge and her path's surge ability.
--Improved Path Technique: At 11th level, she gains her path's 5th level path technique.
--Greater Path Technique: At 15th level, she gains her path's 10th level path technique.
--True Path Technique: At 19th level, she gains her path's 15th level path technique.


I think that's a bit too strong. Most VMC abilities tend to stay at less than half the power of the character's level, making the 11th, 15th, and 19th level abilities above what the general power-level is for VMC. I think I might go for something like this:

-A character who chooses nightblade as her secondary class gains the following secondary class features.
--Nightblade Path: At 1st level, she must select a path. She treats her character level as her effective night blade level for all path abilities.
--Path Technique: At 3rd level, she gains her path's 1st-level path technique.
--Path's Surge: At 7th level, she gains shadow surge and her path's surge ability.
--Nightblade Art: At 11th level, she gains a single nightblade art, using her character level for meeting the prerequisites of and using the art.
--Greater Path Technique: At 15th level, she gains her path's 5th level path technique.
--Improved Art: At 19th level, she gains a second nightblade art.

That's more in line with what I would have done had Unchained come out before I released Path of Shadows.

Xuldarinar
2015-06-03, 11:23 AM
I think that's a bit too strong. Most VMC abilities tend to stay at less than half the power of the character's level, making the 11th, 15th, and 19th level abilities above what the general power-level is for VMC. I think I might go for something like this:

-A character who chooses nightblade as her secondary class gains the following secondary class features.
--Nightblade Path: At 1st level, she must select a path. She treats her character level as her effective night blade level for all path abilities.
--Path Technique: At 3rd level, she gains her path's 1st-level path technique.
--Path's Surge: At 7th level, she gains shadow surge and her path's surge ability.
--Nightblade Art: At 11th level, she gains a single nightblade art, using her character level for meeting the prerequisites of and using the art.
--Greater Path Technique: At 15th level, she gains her path's 5th level path technique.
--True Path Technique: At 19th level, she gains a second nightblade art.

That's more in line with what I would have done had Unchained come out before I released Path of Shadows.

That not only looks better, but I have no way to argue with the author on this one. I was following more or less in line with what the sorcerer secondary class, but clearly it wasn't the most appropriate approach. And, do pardon the thread name's similarity to the book. It just seemed the most appropriate.


All thats left is the shadow assassin, and anything that simply hasn't occurred to me or I've yet to hear of.


While I am thinking of it though, what would people think of Secondary Class Archetypes? I could try to devise a formula for use, or just produce versions of archetypes suitable to their corresponding secondary classes.

Seginus
2015-06-03, 01:42 PM
That not only looks better, but I have no way to argue with the author on this one. I was following more or less in line with what the sorcerer secondary class, but clearly it wasn't the most appropriate approach. And, do pardon the thread name's similarity to the book. It just seemed the most appropriate.
Yeah, sorcerer is in a weird spot that its class features are arguably pretty weak, for the most part (Arcane bloodline notwithstanding). When 80% of your signature ability can be obtained with a handful of feats, it's pretty obvious it's not all that great. And don't sweat the title, it's not like you're selling this thread. :smalltongue:



While I am thinking of it though, what would people think of Secondary Class Archetypes? I could try to devise a formula for use, or just produce versions of archetypes suitable to their corresponding secondary classes.

Do you mean VMC for class archetypes instead of just the base class features? That sounds pretty cool.

Xuldarinar
2015-06-03, 01:53 PM
Yeah, sorcerer is in a weird spot that its class features are arguably pretty weak, for the most part (Arcane bloodline notwithstanding). When 80% of your signature ability can be obtained with a handful of feats, it's pretty obvious it's not all that great. And don't sweat the title, it's not like you're selling this thread. :smalltongue:


Thats true. Sorcerers are weird in that. And of course I'm not selling the thread. I don't think I can, even if I wanted to.



Do you mean VMC for class archetypes instead of just the base class features? That sounds pretty cool.

Well, it could be approached of one of two ways: Construct them as VMCs, or construct them as archetypes are, in essence as templates applied to the VMC. The result would be the same, but the format would differ.