Allnightmask
2016-04-21, 01:17 PM
Allnightmask here and this is my first time posting some of my material. So the balance point is a bit off kilter and I would like to figure what can be fixed and what needs to be redone. I'm not often free but I'll try to get back to any responses with some measure of urgency. So here is the race I made for my friend and some racial feats.
Hilen, the Lost of the Mountain
Characteristics
Born of human stock, this people tends towards more contrasted looks like dark hair and pale skin and often look more frail or fey-like. The only thing that sets them apart from most is the cold, dead feel of their forms and the terrible heat of one in or after conflict. Cursed to only feel alive in battle Hilen also have nodes and spines of iron throughout their bodies. Most of the time that rarely comes up but for some the iron will consolidate into areas where it is visibly pressing up from in the skin and rarer still are those with the spines and spars pushing out from the skin.
Alignment
Hilen are rarely passive and have a wide, culturally accepted split between good and evil. They tend to feel more deeply and will rarely ever reign those feeling in, where their love is like whirlwind and their hate is like an eruption. Neutrality scarcely ever happens and when it does it that someone sees the pros and cons of both sides often becoming arbiters, politicians, or vigilantes who try to force a balance in their own world view. On the axis of law and chaos Hilen are spread everywhere like chaff on the wind, with no real tendencies for either but usually falling to one through actions.
Religion
Birthed of deity who only refers to itself as the neverborn of love this race rarely is told when its offerings and rituals are to the taste of their god. This lack of answering tends to leave the emotionally driven race to not call on deities for aid, but the rare clergy who finds a moment of connection with their god never turns their back on the neverborn. Each church building has at least one cleric with one of those moments and young hilen of church all try to incite the attention of their god in attempt for those moments.
Adventurers
Prone to extremes young Hilen will often fall into a life of conflict and while with most that means joining the military host of their nations some will find their way out into the world to make their own way.
+2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
Medium sized
Land Speed 30
Natural Initiator: For the purpose of iniatitor level use 3/4 of your levels in full BAB classes and you may select one Maneuver from Ace Pilot (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=7159.0), Burning Justice (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=7164.0), Into the Danger Zone (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=7170.0), or Internet Explorer (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16296.0). You may use this Maneuver as if you had it readied and may replace it whenever you level up.
Live Near Death: You may recover maneuvers by taking a free action and staggering yourself your next turn, after that turn you recover all expended maneuvers. You may live in battle but you never truly lived.
Living Mockery: You are considered undead at all times outside of initiative, while in combat you have a con score and all the frailties that come with that. You retain Undead immunities until your first turn happens.
So this race is fairly strange with only having undead traits outside of combat and having natural access to some, well ridiculous maneuvers. Their balance point was lost to my old computer's notes but I wanted them to all have the ability to reference my last campaign with their existence. I wrote Live Near Death thinking even at high levels staggered is a gamble to put oneself into and full recovery seemed like a fair exchange. Zaydos' Yamabito (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?407053-Yamabito-(New-human-subrace-natural-initiators))was my main inspiration for the inclusion of the maneuvers. I have to rewrite the maneuvers' fluff for some of them and write some rules for interacting with energy but for now this is the base framework with Ace Pilot users being tactical fighters, Burning Justice and Into the Danger Zone users being obvious shock troopers, and Internet Explorer users being refluffed to be a curse spewing sect. The undead traits feature allows them to exist in cities where a normal culture would die under siege and such so I still have to think about it. Maybe slaves who have been poisoned and know they will die if they get uppity? Now I'm just prattling.
Hilen Racial Feats
Deep Spars
Every Hilen is born into this world speared through by iron shards. Some see this blessing and induce an unnatural growth of their shards granting reinforcement beyond nature's allowance.
Prerequisites: Hilen, 13 Constitution
Benefits: You have such a large amount of metal reinforcing your body you gain a +2 armor bonus that counts as metal armor for effects and you can mount warforged components on yourself. This feat also counts you as a Fallen Star or Warforged for prerequisites.
Special: You may take this as your 1st level Monk feat, all attacks from this and following feats count as monk weapons and your armor bonus doesn't detract from your monk armor bonus. With a Strength 13 you gain two claw or slam attacks and this feat counts as Improved Unarmed Strike for prerequisites. With 15 con you can count them as armor spikes. With Cha 13 your spars count as cold iron for attacks.
Borne to War
The Iron Wargrounds are place that any longer only exists in the memories of the Hilen, the dreams of that land allows the Hilen to invoke long lost acts of violence.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Deep Spars
Benefits: Your form is slowly forged after gaining this feat, you gain 25% fortification. You may as a move action during your turn take Constitution burn and draw out a weapon made of the spare spars enveloped by your body, this ability burn is recovered upon placing the spars back in your body. Light weapons cost 1 con, one handed 2, and two handed 4. Ammo is 1 con for 10.
Special:You may select this as your sixth level monk feat. If your Wisdom is 13 or higher you take 1 less burn, meaning light weapons and ammo are free. With a Dex of 13 it is a swift action to draw a weapon. With a Cha of 13 they gain a +1 enhancement bonus and all the benefits that entails. If you possess Rage or a similar ability you may pay out of your temporary Constitution bonus and draw as apart of your Rage. If you have no Con from Malevolent Seed you may manifest two weapons freely at a time, with ammo counting as one weapon but you take a negative level from taking more then two from yourself.
Birthed to Conflict
The Palace was said to wear the spine of the world as armor and extension of form. You don't have that kind of material to work with so you'll have to wear the Iron of war.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Deep Spars, Character Level 12, Must have Killed a Hilen that had the Deep Spars feat.
Benefits: You may call on the cast offs of the Iron Wargrounds as a full round action. When so armored you count as having Full plate with an AC bonus of 13, this replaces your normal armor bonus from feats like Deep Spars or Body feats for Warforged and Fallen Stars. Your fortification increases to 50%, If you pass a Fortitude or Reflex save that would have a lesser effect you when you succeed you instead ignore it as it washes over you instead.
If you have a natural attack from Deep Spars or a melee weapon from Borne to War its damage increases by one size and you may make crippling attacks as a standard action basic attack or as a charge attack(the attack still deals normal damage, only one attack) unless they succeed on a Fort save with DC 5+Bab (including eyes to make them blind, mouth to make them unable to speak, ears to make them deaf).The limb can't be used until the target receives regeneration or a Heal check with DC 20+Bab as a full round action. A crippled leg reduces speed by half, stacking until no legs are left, in which case the creature can only crawl at speed 5 feet, while a crippled wing makes flight impossible. A crippled head instantly kills the target, but they get a +5 bonus on their Fort save on that case. If the target succeeds on their save by less than 10, they suffer the penalty for 1 round.
Special: at level 17 if the enemy is below 25% max HP, you can combine the crippling attack with any attack as a free action (but no more than once per attack). If your Dex is 13 or higher your spars gain Arrow Deflection.
So this was the first tree I made for them and it doesn't show any real polish or fixing. I can see Pure Crafting (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6584.0) in there for Birthed of Conflict but the thing bugging me is the Borne to War weapons interaction with the upcoming feats getting too silly and wondering if the price of Con burn is harsh enough or maybe it's too harsh? Also the extra bit with the ability scores was something I wanted to explore but for some reason only the Hilen really got the treatment. And Fallen Stars are warforged like race I'm still trying to craft that are based on gramarie bits and maybe ravenloft doppelganger feats.
Malevolent Seed
There once was a castle whose gardens were said to grow the full forms of men. Though it was attempted many times the only fruit borne out of that place were filled distasteful homogeneous blends of meat, bones, and bile in uninterrupted skins. Every now and then there are those born to resemble the fruits of the castle have lost the bizarre internal definition of man.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Must have suffered sneak attack or critical hit before their turn in initiative
Benefits: Your innards have been wrought down to their basest twitching slices and pastes. No longer can you feel the pulse of battle and as such lose your Living Mockery ability to massive internal trauma. You now count as undead at all times with the burdens that imposes. You lose your constitution score and gain 50% fortification and your maneuver can be selected from the Void Messiah (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?186173-3-5-Void-Messiah-Discipline) discipline.
Special: This feat counts as Con 13 for Deep Spars. The granted fortification stacks with other fortification granted by racial feats.
Unholy Blossoming
Where once you were a seed you have grown. The broken order of your form will be shared with others as it was given to you.
Prerequisites: Malevolent Seed
Benefits: You can as a standard action attack or when you confirm a critical hit make an attack that tears the opponent's innards dealing 2 constitution damage. The target must make a fortitude or will save (which ever is higher) versus the sickened condition for 1 round per 5 levels you posses.
Special: This affects your spells and equivalents only on critical hits if they primary function is to deal damage. If your charisma is 17 or higher you can apply it as a metamagic effect by increasing the casting time by one step.
Field Unfolding in Carnage
Prerequisites: Unholy Blossoming, Evil Alignment, Level 13
Benefits: If you affect an opponent with Unholy Blossoming you may seed them with Iron Warground debris your attacks deal 1 con and 1 cha every time they deal damage as your foe's form fill with otherworldly iron and it wears at their connection to an afterlife. If either score is reduced to 0 through this ability they are now a fertile field for your own soul. If you are to die you make a level check versus the target's level when they were last alive, on a success you reanimate the body as your own. for every Level or hit dice lower they are to you take the difference as level burn which heals one level a day till you are back to full power. If they were higher level you gain a death knell effect on raising and heal your mental scores by engorging yourself on their soul's remnants. You can only have 1 field planted for every 7 levels you have.
Special: You no longer have a connection to the afterlives and will remain as a presence on the earth evermore.
This one was my attempt to let player's act like a big bad hopefully without going too over board. You become a horrible undead who wrecks everyone, so yeah this tree might require more though.
Neverborn but Remembered
The Hilen act in a mockery of life but there are those born truly ready for life.
Prerequisites: Good Alignment, Hilen, 1st level only
Benefits:You lose your Living Mockery and Live Near Death. You gain a Favored Maneuver +1 and you may recover that maneuver with a standard action.
Special: If you favor an Ace Pilot maneuver you gain a +5 to your land speed.
If you favor a Burning Spirit maneuver you gain a +2 on opposed rolls.
If you favor an Into the Danger Zone maneuver you gain a +1 to confirm critical hits.
If you favor an Internet Explorer maneuver you gain a +1 to save DC's.
Palace Grand Beam
Written in the Grey Mountains were stories of an old god who reached beyond his base earth and revised his own world. You are an exemplar of his cause and will breach those lofty vaults once again.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Must know the Head Beam maneuver, Character level 5, and either have Smite (or Smite Evil) or Steely resolve 5
Benefits: Your Head Beam maneuver is improved, offering improvements in the following ways.
-You May Choose to sweep it, which converts its area to a arc for half the distance
-You May Choose to Breach, Which makes ignores DR and Hardness equal to your level. At point blank it ignores all DR and Hardness.
-You may convert it to a line attack which stops at the first object it can't break.
Special: At character level 13 you may ready two instances of Head Beam and the range doubles.
Grand Temple Idealization
You have been birthed with the potential of great purpose and stand to show what the Mountain was meant to stand for in the previous age. You have found a purity that war conceals and a catalyst that death can not abate.
Prerequisites: Palace Grand Beam, Neverborn but Remembered
Benefits: All instances where your racial feats mention Iron turn to Silver. Your Borne to War and your natural weapons gain the Holy weapon enhancement and you gain DR/evil equal to 1/3 your level. You gain an aura of good like a cleric which is negated if you're evil or halved in intensity if you are neutral. Your newfound purity grants you a +3 bonus to saves from disease and poisons which counts as an equipment bonus and you may touch another and grant them an additional save with that equipment bonus versus any disease or poison they are currently suffering from. Your Maneuvers count as good aligned for DR and gain the attack and damage bonuses provided by the Holy enhancement.
Special: if your level is 15 and your cha is 17 your spars gain the soulfire enhancement. If your str is 15 and your cha 13 your Borne to War weapons gain holy surge.
This tree is the opposite side of the spectrum and is supposed to feel like an RPG protagonist. I don't know if Neverborn but Remembered is good enough and Palace Grand Beam is a bit...niche? But I kind of enjoy Grand Temple Idealization. I know the free enhancements might seem a bit much but I can't be sure still.
Core to Core
It was said the heart of the mountain was lost and found again. Those who discovered it were said to be corrupted.
Prerequisites: Hilen
Benefit: You become swollen and monstrous, this grants you the Ponderous form ability. You are Large Sized but count as one size smaller whenever it wouldn't be in your favor. The Hilen who are born into this legacy are called the Aldoi and there are said to be entire tribes of them hidden in the mountains.
Special: This feat counts as the prerequisite of evil for Vile feats and as Willing Deformity for feats that require it. Aberration Blood for feats that require it. and at every 6 levels counts again for feats that count the number of Deformity or Aberrant feats you have
Chosen of the Grey Peaks
No longer will you wear your corruption as an impediment, Aldoi who gain this feat are considered adults in their culture.
Prerequisites: Core to Core, Character Level 6
Benefits: You are now large sized and gain all the benefits of a monster increasing size from Medium.
Special: This counts as Deep Spars for other prerequisites
Expression of the Grey Mountain
You become more like the beings whose fossilized remains stud the Mountain and find yourself filled with power. Aldoi who come into power are often called as Seers and Leaders.
Prerequisites: Chosen of the Grey Peaks, Character Level 6
Benefits: You gain a number of spell like abilities that are cast at your character level. You can use Pass Without Trace and Fog Cloud at will. You also gain two of the following once a day out of Gaseous Form, Gust of Wind, Soften Earth and Stone, or Meld into Stone. Every other level after gaining this you can select one more once a day spell.
I just call this one the mountain ogre tree really. Would any of you spend two feats to for large size? I feel like it's almost too good of a return sometimes.
Hilen Inheritor
It is said the Mountain once was capable of moving and that it had the form of a man. The Hilen have a memory of its improvements and design. You can call on the helping hand of the Grey Mountains as once it called on the souls of the Colored Heights, granting you a new extension of self.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Character Level 3
Benefit: You gain the Ability to cast Mage Hand at will as a spell like ability. The weight limit it can carry is equal to half your light load. At 5th level you can now order it as a free action once per turn. At 7th level you can draw it near you and empower it. You gain another arm that performs in all capabilities you normal could do with your arms. While empowered you can not cast Mage Hand.
Special: If your Int is 13 or higher you can move objects 30 ft per turn. If your strength is 13 you can make an unarmed strike with the spell like ability as if you were adjacent to them. If your Cha is 15 or higher you do not need to concentrate on the spell.
Three Hand Overflowing
It was never known what the third arm of the mountain was born for but through your own methods you have discovered your own style.
Prerequisites: Hilen Inheritor, BAB +6
Benefits: Your Third arm isn't a physical existence and you can use that for many purposes. You may internalize your third arm to gain ghost touch to one attack or weapon . If you haven't attacked during your turn you may make an attack as a swift action with your third arm or whatever it is wielding. If you are using a two hand weapon you can apply your new point of leverage to punishing effect, increasing your damage modifier by .5, typically increasing your str mod to damage to x2.
Special: If your int is 13 your reach with your third arm increases by 5. if your wis is 13 you can leave your third unburdened and gain a +2 shield bonus to AC. If your dex is 15 your third arm's weapons can add your dex to damage. Weapons made from Borne to War gain ghost touch.
Draw Soul Stopper
Each Hilen is born still and it is never sure that they will be, only those who hold to the gifts of the Mountain ever figure the truth and then gain the title "Sahara"
Prerequisites: Three Hand Overflowing, Character Level 13
Benefits: You can draw out that which bars the gears of your life. This stoppage is in the form of a weapon you identify with which is retroactively the reason you resonate with it. This weapon is typical for its type with the following changes. It is Pure iron and deals slashing damage in addition to its other types, its critical range is 1 higher, it counts as one size bigger for every 4 BAB you posses, and imposes a stacking -1 to AC and saves on those it hits (these penalties stay until all damage from the weapon is healed). At BAB 17 its critical multiplier is increased by one and critical hits are confirmed automatically and against opponents who are immune to critical hits you can roll to confirm, if successful you deal critical damage anyway.
With the removal of this impediment you find your strength increasing, you gain a +2 to initiator and caster level of effects you started in addition to counting as 2 levels higher for relevant effects. You count as a living Native outsider, losing all undead traits as long as it's drawn.
Special: Your Soul Stopper counts as a Borne to War weapon for interaction with feats. If your cha is 15 Borne to War weapons gain Wounding.
Once again Pure Crafting got me. This tree is something I want to do with each race of mine and it is a line of emulation. Clerics are neat but I want anyone to be able to be more like their deity without alignment nitty gritty and such.
Shard Serf Savant
The conflicts of the world never truly end, playing out through the dance of the undead and the conflicts of the servitors. You take this concept into your own hands and drag the the bones of the fallen towards another dawn.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Character level 6
Benefits: You can invoke a ritual involving the natural spars of iron from your body and placing them in the target creature, Each Hilen's ritual is different with small collections swearing by certain methods none of which have proven more efficient, everything from spars through the chakra points to reinforcing the points of articulation.
You can cast animate dead with a hour long ritual and instead of a material component it requires a sacrifice of charisma damage equal to 1/5 the hit dice of the target and spars from your body. If you don't posses Borne to War you must take damage equal to your level. if you do posses Borne to War it requires a light weapon quantity of metal.
Special: At level 11 you can use create undead with the charisma damage increased to 1/4 the target's hit dice. At level 15 you can use create greater undead and the damage is increased to 1/3.
Graven Mountain Dead
You have been on both sides of the gates of life and have learned how to share your passage with your undead.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Shard Serf Savant
Benefits: You can increase the time it takes you to raise undead and increase it twofold. If you choose to do so your undead from that ritual gain one enhancement available to your Borne to War weapons to their primary natural attack and also gain a virtual con score of your level. What that means they can now run, are subject to critical hits, and need to feed. This Virtual con score can be drained, but any bonuses or penalties it would normally grant are ignored and if drained to 0 your undead merely loses its bonuses from this ritual.
Grey Mountain Prophet
Turning to many routes and studies eventually you find yourself kneeling before the most knowledgeable font of necromancy. You are empowered to show those around you the power of the Mountain.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Shard Serf Savant
Benefits: You are considered at the center of a Desecrated aura which negates Consecration effects and will always alert the caster and their deity to your entering it. All undead you make are considered made on an alter of an deity and cost no Charisma or hit points to make.
Special: Weapons made from Borne to War are considered evil aligned for attacks. If your charisma 15 or higher your weapons are also considered Unholy on top of other effects.
This was my attempt at a necromancer tree, I feel it is too simple but maybe that's not bad
War Etching Enlightenment
Your spars have come into stylized shapes and deep-set glyphs granting you a measure of magic to your form.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Wis 15
Benefits: Your body gains a +1 enhancement bonus to AC and to your natural weapons. You can improve this by assimilating sundered magic items gaining half their cost as a pool to buy new abilities from.
Special: if you posses spells or some rough equivalent you can now etch your spars with them. These count as scrolls and this counts as scribe scrolls for purposes. With Int 13 your spars from Borne to War count as spell storing. If your str is 15 or higher your Borne to War weapons gain Mighty Cleaving.
Iron Scrimshaw Meditation
You have a deepening understanding of the arts you wield and like a weapon you have honed your body to better accept its new uses.
Prerequisites:War Etching Enlightenment, Caster Level 7
Benefits: Your Borne to War weapons gain spell storing, if you already had that due to your intelligence your spell storing can now hold level 4 to 6 spells also. With the internalization of the arts you have learned new defenses. When you ready your spells you can also draw one spell into your form. This spell will activate when you are either reduced below half health or when you are struck (chosen when prepared). You may internalize a scroll or potion instead of using one of you spell slots.
Special: With an int of 15 you can internalize two spell effects at the start of the day. With cha 15 your Borne to War weapons now overcome DR with your ethical alignment (law or chaos, neutrality doesn't pay).
Soul Scarring Preparation
The marks of your arts are now engraved upon bone, flesh, and soul setting you apart from all others along the same path. You are more then the sum of your parts and it will be known.
Prerequisites: Iron Scrimshaw Meditation, Caster Level 13
Benefits: Your spellstoring improves again increasing to 1-6 and to 1-9 if your int is 13 or higher. You can now embody a spell effectively pesisting it for the day, this spell is chosen when you ready your spells for the day. At level 13 you can pick a level 0-1 spell, at 15 a level 2 spell, level 17 allows level 3 spells, and etc.
Special: If your con is 13 or higher you gain DR/cold iron equal to your embodied spell +1. If your str 13 or higher your caster level is always equal to your BAB if it would be greater, this only improves your caster level and doesn't give access to higher level spells or additional spell slots. If your dex is 13 or higher you can choose to embody touch attack spells, this allows it to be reflexivly used for AoOs and is always on your attack.
This was my Gish tree and it might be a bit overbearing but that's why I'm here.
I would love to hear your thoughts and hopefully I can get my other races written up already.
Hilen, the Lost of the Mountain
Characteristics
Born of human stock, this people tends towards more contrasted looks like dark hair and pale skin and often look more frail or fey-like. The only thing that sets them apart from most is the cold, dead feel of their forms and the terrible heat of one in or after conflict. Cursed to only feel alive in battle Hilen also have nodes and spines of iron throughout their bodies. Most of the time that rarely comes up but for some the iron will consolidate into areas where it is visibly pressing up from in the skin and rarer still are those with the spines and spars pushing out from the skin.
Alignment
Hilen are rarely passive and have a wide, culturally accepted split between good and evil. They tend to feel more deeply and will rarely ever reign those feeling in, where their love is like whirlwind and their hate is like an eruption. Neutrality scarcely ever happens and when it does it that someone sees the pros and cons of both sides often becoming arbiters, politicians, or vigilantes who try to force a balance in their own world view. On the axis of law and chaos Hilen are spread everywhere like chaff on the wind, with no real tendencies for either but usually falling to one through actions.
Religion
Birthed of deity who only refers to itself as the neverborn of love this race rarely is told when its offerings and rituals are to the taste of their god. This lack of answering tends to leave the emotionally driven race to not call on deities for aid, but the rare clergy who finds a moment of connection with their god never turns their back on the neverborn. Each church building has at least one cleric with one of those moments and young hilen of church all try to incite the attention of their god in attempt for those moments.
Adventurers
Prone to extremes young Hilen will often fall into a life of conflict and while with most that means joining the military host of their nations some will find their way out into the world to make their own way.
+2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
Medium sized
Land Speed 30
Natural Initiator: For the purpose of iniatitor level use 3/4 of your levels in full BAB classes and you may select one Maneuver from Ace Pilot (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=7159.0), Burning Justice (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=7164.0), Into the Danger Zone (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=7170.0), or Internet Explorer (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16296.0). You may use this Maneuver as if you had it readied and may replace it whenever you level up.
Live Near Death: You may recover maneuvers by taking a free action and staggering yourself your next turn, after that turn you recover all expended maneuvers. You may live in battle but you never truly lived.
Living Mockery: You are considered undead at all times outside of initiative, while in combat you have a con score and all the frailties that come with that. You retain Undead immunities until your first turn happens.
So this race is fairly strange with only having undead traits outside of combat and having natural access to some, well ridiculous maneuvers. Their balance point was lost to my old computer's notes but I wanted them to all have the ability to reference my last campaign with their existence. I wrote Live Near Death thinking even at high levels staggered is a gamble to put oneself into and full recovery seemed like a fair exchange. Zaydos' Yamabito (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?407053-Yamabito-(New-human-subrace-natural-initiators))was my main inspiration for the inclusion of the maneuvers. I have to rewrite the maneuvers' fluff for some of them and write some rules for interacting with energy but for now this is the base framework with Ace Pilot users being tactical fighters, Burning Justice and Into the Danger Zone users being obvious shock troopers, and Internet Explorer users being refluffed to be a curse spewing sect. The undead traits feature allows them to exist in cities where a normal culture would die under siege and such so I still have to think about it. Maybe slaves who have been poisoned and know they will die if they get uppity? Now I'm just prattling.
Hilen Racial Feats
Deep Spars
Every Hilen is born into this world speared through by iron shards. Some see this blessing and induce an unnatural growth of their shards granting reinforcement beyond nature's allowance.
Prerequisites: Hilen, 13 Constitution
Benefits: You have such a large amount of metal reinforcing your body you gain a +2 armor bonus that counts as metal armor for effects and you can mount warforged components on yourself. This feat also counts you as a Fallen Star or Warforged for prerequisites.
Special: You may take this as your 1st level Monk feat, all attacks from this and following feats count as monk weapons and your armor bonus doesn't detract from your monk armor bonus. With a Strength 13 you gain two claw or slam attacks and this feat counts as Improved Unarmed Strike for prerequisites. With 15 con you can count them as armor spikes. With Cha 13 your spars count as cold iron for attacks.
Borne to War
The Iron Wargrounds are place that any longer only exists in the memories of the Hilen, the dreams of that land allows the Hilen to invoke long lost acts of violence.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Deep Spars
Benefits: Your form is slowly forged after gaining this feat, you gain 25% fortification. You may as a move action during your turn take Constitution burn and draw out a weapon made of the spare spars enveloped by your body, this ability burn is recovered upon placing the spars back in your body. Light weapons cost 1 con, one handed 2, and two handed 4. Ammo is 1 con for 10.
Special:You may select this as your sixth level monk feat. If your Wisdom is 13 or higher you take 1 less burn, meaning light weapons and ammo are free. With a Dex of 13 it is a swift action to draw a weapon. With a Cha of 13 they gain a +1 enhancement bonus and all the benefits that entails. If you possess Rage or a similar ability you may pay out of your temporary Constitution bonus and draw as apart of your Rage. If you have no Con from Malevolent Seed you may manifest two weapons freely at a time, with ammo counting as one weapon but you take a negative level from taking more then two from yourself.
Birthed to Conflict
The Palace was said to wear the spine of the world as armor and extension of form. You don't have that kind of material to work with so you'll have to wear the Iron of war.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Deep Spars, Character Level 12, Must have Killed a Hilen that had the Deep Spars feat.
Benefits: You may call on the cast offs of the Iron Wargrounds as a full round action. When so armored you count as having Full plate with an AC bonus of 13, this replaces your normal armor bonus from feats like Deep Spars or Body feats for Warforged and Fallen Stars. Your fortification increases to 50%, If you pass a Fortitude or Reflex save that would have a lesser effect you when you succeed you instead ignore it as it washes over you instead.
If you have a natural attack from Deep Spars or a melee weapon from Borne to War its damage increases by one size and you may make crippling attacks as a standard action basic attack or as a charge attack(the attack still deals normal damage, only one attack) unless they succeed on a Fort save with DC 5+Bab (including eyes to make them blind, mouth to make them unable to speak, ears to make them deaf).The limb can't be used until the target receives regeneration or a Heal check with DC 20+Bab as a full round action. A crippled leg reduces speed by half, stacking until no legs are left, in which case the creature can only crawl at speed 5 feet, while a crippled wing makes flight impossible. A crippled head instantly kills the target, but they get a +5 bonus on their Fort save on that case. If the target succeeds on their save by less than 10, they suffer the penalty for 1 round.
Special: at level 17 if the enemy is below 25% max HP, you can combine the crippling attack with any attack as a free action (but no more than once per attack). If your Dex is 13 or higher your spars gain Arrow Deflection.
So this was the first tree I made for them and it doesn't show any real polish or fixing. I can see Pure Crafting (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6584.0) in there for Birthed of Conflict but the thing bugging me is the Borne to War weapons interaction with the upcoming feats getting too silly and wondering if the price of Con burn is harsh enough or maybe it's too harsh? Also the extra bit with the ability scores was something I wanted to explore but for some reason only the Hilen really got the treatment. And Fallen Stars are warforged like race I'm still trying to craft that are based on gramarie bits and maybe ravenloft doppelganger feats.
Malevolent Seed
There once was a castle whose gardens were said to grow the full forms of men. Though it was attempted many times the only fruit borne out of that place were filled distasteful homogeneous blends of meat, bones, and bile in uninterrupted skins. Every now and then there are those born to resemble the fruits of the castle have lost the bizarre internal definition of man.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Must have suffered sneak attack or critical hit before their turn in initiative
Benefits: Your innards have been wrought down to their basest twitching slices and pastes. No longer can you feel the pulse of battle and as such lose your Living Mockery ability to massive internal trauma. You now count as undead at all times with the burdens that imposes. You lose your constitution score and gain 50% fortification and your maneuver can be selected from the Void Messiah (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?186173-3-5-Void-Messiah-Discipline) discipline.
Special: This feat counts as Con 13 for Deep Spars. The granted fortification stacks with other fortification granted by racial feats.
Unholy Blossoming
Where once you were a seed you have grown. The broken order of your form will be shared with others as it was given to you.
Prerequisites: Malevolent Seed
Benefits: You can as a standard action attack or when you confirm a critical hit make an attack that tears the opponent's innards dealing 2 constitution damage. The target must make a fortitude or will save (which ever is higher) versus the sickened condition for 1 round per 5 levels you posses.
Special: This affects your spells and equivalents only on critical hits if they primary function is to deal damage. If your charisma is 17 or higher you can apply it as a metamagic effect by increasing the casting time by one step.
Field Unfolding in Carnage
Prerequisites: Unholy Blossoming, Evil Alignment, Level 13
Benefits: If you affect an opponent with Unholy Blossoming you may seed them with Iron Warground debris your attacks deal 1 con and 1 cha every time they deal damage as your foe's form fill with otherworldly iron and it wears at their connection to an afterlife. If either score is reduced to 0 through this ability they are now a fertile field for your own soul. If you are to die you make a level check versus the target's level when they were last alive, on a success you reanimate the body as your own. for every Level or hit dice lower they are to you take the difference as level burn which heals one level a day till you are back to full power. If they were higher level you gain a death knell effect on raising and heal your mental scores by engorging yourself on their soul's remnants. You can only have 1 field planted for every 7 levels you have.
Special: You no longer have a connection to the afterlives and will remain as a presence on the earth evermore.
This one was my attempt to let player's act like a big bad hopefully without going too over board. You become a horrible undead who wrecks everyone, so yeah this tree might require more though.
Neverborn but Remembered
The Hilen act in a mockery of life but there are those born truly ready for life.
Prerequisites: Good Alignment, Hilen, 1st level only
Benefits:You lose your Living Mockery and Live Near Death. You gain a Favored Maneuver +1 and you may recover that maneuver with a standard action.
Special: If you favor an Ace Pilot maneuver you gain a +5 to your land speed.
If you favor a Burning Spirit maneuver you gain a +2 on opposed rolls.
If you favor an Into the Danger Zone maneuver you gain a +1 to confirm critical hits.
If you favor an Internet Explorer maneuver you gain a +1 to save DC's.
Palace Grand Beam
Written in the Grey Mountains were stories of an old god who reached beyond his base earth and revised his own world. You are an exemplar of his cause and will breach those lofty vaults once again.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Must know the Head Beam maneuver, Character level 5, and either have Smite (or Smite Evil) or Steely resolve 5
Benefits: Your Head Beam maneuver is improved, offering improvements in the following ways.
-You May Choose to sweep it, which converts its area to a arc for half the distance
-You May Choose to Breach, Which makes ignores DR and Hardness equal to your level. At point blank it ignores all DR and Hardness.
-You may convert it to a line attack which stops at the first object it can't break.
Special: At character level 13 you may ready two instances of Head Beam and the range doubles.
Grand Temple Idealization
You have been birthed with the potential of great purpose and stand to show what the Mountain was meant to stand for in the previous age. You have found a purity that war conceals and a catalyst that death can not abate.
Prerequisites: Palace Grand Beam, Neverborn but Remembered
Benefits: All instances where your racial feats mention Iron turn to Silver. Your Borne to War and your natural weapons gain the Holy weapon enhancement and you gain DR/evil equal to 1/3 your level. You gain an aura of good like a cleric which is negated if you're evil or halved in intensity if you are neutral. Your newfound purity grants you a +3 bonus to saves from disease and poisons which counts as an equipment bonus and you may touch another and grant them an additional save with that equipment bonus versus any disease or poison they are currently suffering from. Your Maneuvers count as good aligned for DR and gain the attack and damage bonuses provided by the Holy enhancement.
Special: if your level is 15 and your cha is 17 your spars gain the soulfire enhancement. If your str is 15 and your cha 13 your Borne to War weapons gain holy surge.
This tree is the opposite side of the spectrum and is supposed to feel like an RPG protagonist. I don't know if Neverborn but Remembered is good enough and Palace Grand Beam is a bit...niche? But I kind of enjoy Grand Temple Idealization. I know the free enhancements might seem a bit much but I can't be sure still.
Core to Core
It was said the heart of the mountain was lost and found again. Those who discovered it were said to be corrupted.
Prerequisites: Hilen
Benefit: You become swollen and monstrous, this grants you the Ponderous form ability. You are Large Sized but count as one size smaller whenever it wouldn't be in your favor. The Hilen who are born into this legacy are called the Aldoi and there are said to be entire tribes of them hidden in the mountains.
Special: This feat counts as the prerequisite of evil for Vile feats and as Willing Deformity for feats that require it. Aberration Blood for feats that require it. and at every 6 levels counts again for feats that count the number of Deformity or Aberrant feats you have
Chosen of the Grey Peaks
No longer will you wear your corruption as an impediment, Aldoi who gain this feat are considered adults in their culture.
Prerequisites: Core to Core, Character Level 6
Benefits: You are now large sized and gain all the benefits of a monster increasing size from Medium.
Special: This counts as Deep Spars for other prerequisites
Expression of the Grey Mountain
You become more like the beings whose fossilized remains stud the Mountain and find yourself filled with power. Aldoi who come into power are often called as Seers and Leaders.
Prerequisites: Chosen of the Grey Peaks, Character Level 6
Benefits: You gain a number of spell like abilities that are cast at your character level. You can use Pass Without Trace and Fog Cloud at will. You also gain two of the following once a day out of Gaseous Form, Gust of Wind, Soften Earth and Stone, or Meld into Stone. Every other level after gaining this you can select one more once a day spell.
I just call this one the mountain ogre tree really. Would any of you spend two feats to for large size? I feel like it's almost too good of a return sometimes.
Hilen Inheritor
It is said the Mountain once was capable of moving and that it had the form of a man. The Hilen have a memory of its improvements and design. You can call on the helping hand of the Grey Mountains as once it called on the souls of the Colored Heights, granting you a new extension of self.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Character Level 3
Benefit: You gain the Ability to cast Mage Hand at will as a spell like ability. The weight limit it can carry is equal to half your light load. At 5th level you can now order it as a free action once per turn. At 7th level you can draw it near you and empower it. You gain another arm that performs in all capabilities you normal could do with your arms. While empowered you can not cast Mage Hand.
Special: If your Int is 13 or higher you can move objects 30 ft per turn. If your strength is 13 you can make an unarmed strike with the spell like ability as if you were adjacent to them. If your Cha is 15 or higher you do not need to concentrate on the spell.
Three Hand Overflowing
It was never known what the third arm of the mountain was born for but through your own methods you have discovered your own style.
Prerequisites: Hilen Inheritor, BAB +6
Benefits: Your Third arm isn't a physical existence and you can use that for many purposes. You may internalize your third arm to gain ghost touch to one attack or weapon . If you haven't attacked during your turn you may make an attack as a swift action with your third arm or whatever it is wielding. If you are using a two hand weapon you can apply your new point of leverage to punishing effect, increasing your damage modifier by .5, typically increasing your str mod to damage to x2.
Special: If your int is 13 your reach with your third arm increases by 5. if your wis is 13 you can leave your third unburdened and gain a +2 shield bonus to AC. If your dex is 15 your third arm's weapons can add your dex to damage. Weapons made from Borne to War gain ghost touch.
Draw Soul Stopper
Each Hilen is born still and it is never sure that they will be, only those who hold to the gifts of the Mountain ever figure the truth and then gain the title "Sahara"
Prerequisites: Three Hand Overflowing, Character Level 13
Benefits: You can draw out that which bars the gears of your life. This stoppage is in the form of a weapon you identify with which is retroactively the reason you resonate with it. This weapon is typical for its type with the following changes. It is Pure iron and deals slashing damage in addition to its other types, its critical range is 1 higher, it counts as one size bigger for every 4 BAB you posses, and imposes a stacking -1 to AC and saves on those it hits (these penalties stay until all damage from the weapon is healed). At BAB 17 its critical multiplier is increased by one and critical hits are confirmed automatically and against opponents who are immune to critical hits you can roll to confirm, if successful you deal critical damage anyway.
With the removal of this impediment you find your strength increasing, you gain a +2 to initiator and caster level of effects you started in addition to counting as 2 levels higher for relevant effects. You count as a living Native outsider, losing all undead traits as long as it's drawn.
Special: Your Soul Stopper counts as a Borne to War weapon for interaction with feats. If your cha is 15 Borne to War weapons gain Wounding.
Once again Pure Crafting got me. This tree is something I want to do with each race of mine and it is a line of emulation. Clerics are neat but I want anyone to be able to be more like their deity without alignment nitty gritty and such.
Shard Serf Savant
The conflicts of the world never truly end, playing out through the dance of the undead and the conflicts of the servitors. You take this concept into your own hands and drag the the bones of the fallen towards another dawn.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Character level 6
Benefits: You can invoke a ritual involving the natural spars of iron from your body and placing them in the target creature, Each Hilen's ritual is different with small collections swearing by certain methods none of which have proven more efficient, everything from spars through the chakra points to reinforcing the points of articulation.
You can cast animate dead with a hour long ritual and instead of a material component it requires a sacrifice of charisma damage equal to 1/5 the hit dice of the target and spars from your body. If you don't posses Borne to War you must take damage equal to your level. if you do posses Borne to War it requires a light weapon quantity of metal.
Special: At level 11 you can use create undead with the charisma damage increased to 1/4 the target's hit dice. At level 15 you can use create greater undead and the damage is increased to 1/3.
Graven Mountain Dead
You have been on both sides of the gates of life and have learned how to share your passage with your undead.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Shard Serf Savant
Benefits: You can increase the time it takes you to raise undead and increase it twofold. If you choose to do so your undead from that ritual gain one enhancement available to your Borne to War weapons to their primary natural attack and also gain a virtual con score of your level. What that means they can now run, are subject to critical hits, and need to feed. This Virtual con score can be drained, but any bonuses or penalties it would normally grant are ignored and if drained to 0 your undead merely loses its bonuses from this ritual.
Grey Mountain Prophet
Turning to many routes and studies eventually you find yourself kneeling before the most knowledgeable font of necromancy. You are empowered to show those around you the power of the Mountain.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Shard Serf Savant
Benefits: You are considered at the center of a Desecrated aura which negates Consecration effects and will always alert the caster and their deity to your entering it. All undead you make are considered made on an alter of an deity and cost no Charisma or hit points to make.
Special: Weapons made from Borne to War are considered evil aligned for attacks. If your charisma 15 or higher your weapons are also considered Unholy on top of other effects.
This was my attempt at a necromancer tree, I feel it is too simple but maybe that's not bad
War Etching Enlightenment
Your spars have come into stylized shapes and deep-set glyphs granting you a measure of magic to your form.
Prerequisites: Hilen, Wis 15
Benefits: Your body gains a +1 enhancement bonus to AC and to your natural weapons. You can improve this by assimilating sundered magic items gaining half their cost as a pool to buy new abilities from.
Special: if you posses spells or some rough equivalent you can now etch your spars with them. These count as scrolls and this counts as scribe scrolls for purposes. With Int 13 your spars from Borne to War count as spell storing. If your str is 15 or higher your Borne to War weapons gain Mighty Cleaving.
Iron Scrimshaw Meditation
You have a deepening understanding of the arts you wield and like a weapon you have honed your body to better accept its new uses.
Prerequisites:War Etching Enlightenment, Caster Level 7
Benefits: Your Borne to War weapons gain spell storing, if you already had that due to your intelligence your spell storing can now hold level 4 to 6 spells also. With the internalization of the arts you have learned new defenses. When you ready your spells you can also draw one spell into your form. This spell will activate when you are either reduced below half health or when you are struck (chosen when prepared). You may internalize a scroll or potion instead of using one of you spell slots.
Special: With an int of 15 you can internalize two spell effects at the start of the day. With cha 15 your Borne to War weapons now overcome DR with your ethical alignment (law or chaos, neutrality doesn't pay).
Soul Scarring Preparation
The marks of your arts are now engraved upon bone, flesh, and soul setting you apart from all others along the same path. You are more then the sum of your parts and it will be known.
Prerequisites: Iron Scrimshaw Meditation, Caster Level 13
Benefits: Your spellstoring improves again increasing to 1-6 and to 1-9 if your int is 13 or higher. You can now embody a spell effectively pesisting it for the day, this spell is chosen when you ready your spells for the day. At level 13 you can pick a level 0-1 spell, at 15 a level 2 spell, level 17 allows level 3 spells, and etc.
Special: If your con is 13 or higher you gain DR/cold iron equal to your embodied spell +1. If your str 13 or higher your caster level is always equal to your BAB if it would be greater, this only improves your caster level and doesn't give access to higher level spells or additional spell slots. If your dex is 13 or higher you can choose to embody touch attack spells, this allows it to be reflexivly used for AoOs and is always on your attack.
This was my Gish tree and it might be a bit overbearing but that's why I'm here.
I would love to hear your thoughts and hopefully I can get my other races written up already.