JaronK
2007-05-02, 05:58 PM
I'm really liking the Binder thing. However, since Binders aren't supported much past Tome of Magic, there are very few Vestiges available... 28 or so I think, in total, including a few from Dragon magazine. There are, however, guidelines for how to create new Vestiges, given in an article on the D&D website in the design section (see here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060324a ). The basic balance points are as follos:
At-will or constant abilities a binder gains should be about as powerful as what a warlock of the same level can accomplish. (See Complete Arcane for a description of the warlock.)
Abilities with the 5-round delay should be about as useful and powerful as the highest-level spell a wizard of the same level as the binder can cast (assuming the vestige grants just one such ability.) If the vestige grants more than one such ability, you’ll need to scale both powers down. A good rule of thumb is to lower the effective spell level by one for each additional 5-round-delay ability that the vestige grants.
Abilities that grant a feature from another class, such as sneak attack or sudden strike, should be slightly behind what a character of that class gains.
I've also noticed that generally, all vestiges follow a theme, but the abilities of any one vestige aren't usually very synergistic... they do very different things. With that in mind, I've got an idea for a Vestige... tell me what you think:
Nicomas, the Undying.
Legend: Nicomas was a powerful necromancer, and very afraid of vanishing. As such, he studied how to become a lich, that he might live forever. However, he learned too much about lichdom, and realized that while it would preserve his body, it would also stagnate his soul, such that he would not truly be alive. He was now afraid of being either dead or undead. As such, as his life was ending, he devised a powerful spell to prevent his becoming either. He assumed incorrectly that by being unable to die and unable to be undead, he would have to remain the only other option, alive. Instead, however, he faded into a fourth option, existance as a Vestige.
Influence: While bound to Nicomas you are intensely interested in methods of continued existance. Any time you come upon an outsider or abberation with a lifespan of greater than 1000 years, you must spend a standard action to study it before doing anything else.
Sign: Those bound to Nicomas have eyes that are jet black and seem to be looking directly at anyone gazing upon them.
Granted Powers:
March of the Dead: You may animate a single corpse as though you have cast the Animate Dead spell, following all the usual rules for that spell, with your caster level being equal to your effective binder level. This being is under your control, as per the spell, and counts towards your limit of animated undead. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again for another 5 rounds.
Deathlight: To your eyes, undead shine like light sources, allowing you to see. This light is not visible to anyone else. Undead of 6HD or less cast light like a torch. Undead of 7-12HD shine like a lantern. Undead of 13 or more HD shine like a daylight spell cast from their location.
Deathward: You are continually protected from Death effects.
As animate dead is a 3rd level cleric spell, and thus could be cast by a 5th level character, I figure this should count as a 3rd level vestige, available to a 5th level binder. Deathlight is actually nearly identical to a feat that's undead only called "Lifesight" that does almost the same thing, except that living people glow instead of undead. Deathward is a useful and characterful ability, but a bit rare to actually come up.
Anyway, some details need to be ironed out, but what do you think?
JaronK
At-will or constant abilities a binder gains should be about as powerful as what a warlock of the same level can accomplish. (See Complete Arcane for a description of the warlock.)
Abilities with the 5-round delay should be about as useful and powerful as the highest-level spell a wizard of the same level as the binder can cast (assuming the vestige grants just one such ability.) If the vestige grants more than one such ability, you’ll need to scale both powers down. A good rule of thumb is to lower the effective spell level by one for each additional 5-round-delay ability that the vestige grants.
Abilities that grant a feature from another class, such as sneak attack or sudden strike, should be slightly behind what a character of that class gains.
I've also noticed that generally, all vestiges follow a theme, but the abilities of any one vestige aren't usually very synergistic... they do very different things. With that in mind, I've got an idea for a Vestige... tell me what you think:
Nicomas, the Undying.
Legend: Nicomas was a powerful necromancer, and very afraid of vanishing. As such, he studied how to become a lich, that he might live forever. However, he learned too much about lichdom, and realized that while it would preserve his body, it would also stagnate his soul, such that he would not truly be alive. He was now afraid of being either dead or undead. As such, as his life was ending, he devised a powerful spell to prevent his becoming either. He assumed incorrectly that by being unable to die and unable to be undead, he would have to remain the only other option, alive. Instead, however, he faded into a fourth option, existance as a Vestige.
Influence: While bound to Nicomas you are intensely interested in methods of continued existance. Any time you come upon an outsider or abberation with a lifespan of greater than 1000 years, you must spend a standard action to study it before doing anything else.
Sign: Those bound to Nicomas have eyes that are jet black and seem to be looking directly at anyone gazing upon them.
Granted Powers:
March of the Dead: You may animate a single corpse as though you have cast the Animate Dead spell, following all the usual rules for that spell, with your caster level being equal to your effective binder level. This being is under your control, as per the spell, and counts towards your limit of animated undead. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again for another 5 rounds.
Deathlight: To your eyes, undead shine like light sources, allowing you to see. This light is not visible to anyone else. Undead of 6HD or less cast light like a torch. Undead of 7-12HD shine like a lantern. Undead of 13 or more HD shine like a daylight spell cast from their location.
Deathward: You are continually protected from Death effects.
As animate dead is a 3rd level cleric spell, and thus could be cast by a 5th level character, I figure this should count as a 3rd level vestige, available to a 5th level binder. Deathlight is actually nearly identical to a feat that's undead only called "Lifesight" that does almost the same thing, except that living people glow instead of undead. Deathward is a useful and characterful ability, but a bit rare to actually come up.
Anyway, some details need to be ironed out, but what do you think?
JaronK