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Falcon X
2016-05-17, 11:07 AM
This is an adaption of the Void Disciple (http://alcyius.com/dndtools/classes/void-disciple/index.html), originally created in the 3.5 sourcebook, "Complete Divine". I was inspired to do this when I tried to create a elemental sorcerer based on the plane of vacuum. The biggest hurdle here seems to be balancing out "Sense Void" as it can get game breaking, but the other powers seem to adapt fine.

Please comment and provide suggestions for flavor or balance:

Void Disciple
Sorcerous Origin

Of all the elemental forces that make up the universe, the most powerful and the most difficult to control is the one that lies between and joins the others: Void. Void disciples understand that everything in the world contains all the basic elements, held together by the least tangible essence. Void is like the silence between notes of music, giving rhythm and shape to the whole. To those who understand the relationship of Void to all other things, and who have the innate ability to personally perceive that relationship, distance and form become inconsequential.
The void element is found on what has been called the plane of vacuum, which is a large portion of the plane of air that meets with the plane of negative energy. It is a place of nothingness in its purest form. It’s polar opposite element is the storm. Just as the storm is everything that is chaotic and energetic about the element of air, so void is where air is peaceful and still: when it is absent.
Like many spellcasters, void disciples often play the role of wise elders or keepers of religious teachings and legends. Those who have mastered the path of void are charged with the task of listening across the world’s underlying stream of void for those who have an innate affinity for void, and supervising the training of those individuals as they mature.

Level 1:
Sense Void – The First technique you were taught is the ability to reach out with the mind and sense the world around, exploring the unseen layer of reality most people rarely experience. Your consciousness actually departs your body and extends into the world, allowing you to use your normal senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) to perceive whatever area, person, or thing you direct your attention to. You must make a perception check using charisma as a modifier, with the DC determined by distance, not familiarity. You may not cross planar boundaries. You move at the speed of thought, but will only be able to observe the world if you are staying still or travelling at your normal pace. Your body becomes unconscious during this time and you are unaware of it's condition. If it dies, your spirit will fade in 24 hours. You cannot sense your body, so if it is moved, you must find it. You may use this ability three times. A long rest will replenish these uses.
As you grow, you gain the ability to perceive deeper levels of reality. At level 6, you may add detect magic, detect good and evil, and detect thoughts to your spell list if they are not already chosen. At level 18, you may use these three spells at will.


Distance Table
Distance DC
Line of sight 10
Up to 1 mile (same village) 15
Up to 10 miles (same province) 20
Up to 100 miles (same clan’s territory) 25
Up to 1,000 miles (another clan’s territory) 30

Bonus Cantrip – You gain Void Strike as a cantrip.

Void Strike: You send a ray of energy from the plane of vacuum at a creature or object within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 air damage and all breathable air is removed from the location struck for one round.
This spell’s damage increases by 1d10 when you reach 5th level (2d10), 11th level (3d10), and 17th level (4d10).

Level 6:
Void Release
You may spend 2 sorcery points and spend an action to allow another creature to use one ability score modifier in place of any one other modifier (target’s choice) for a number of rounds equal to half your level. You must touch the other creature to produce this effect.
At level 14, you gain the ability to spend 4 sorcery points to use this ability on a target and choose which ability will replace which. If the target is unwilling, you must succeed in an opposed dexterity check to touch the other creature.

Level 14:
Altering the Course
When you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw you may roll an additional d20. You can choose to do this after you roll the die, but before the outcome is determined. You choose which of the d20s is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. You may not use this ability again until you finish a short or long rest.

Level 18:
Freedom of Space
Space becomes inconsequential to you. You gain a magical flying speed of 60 feet. As an action, you may reduce your flying speed to 30 feet for 1 hour and choose a number of creatures within 30 feet of you equal to 3+ your Charisma modifier. The chosen creatures gain a magical flying speed of 30 feet for 1 hour. Once you reduce your flying speed in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or a long rest.

Edits:
Modified Void Sense to include: You move at the speed of thought, but will only be able to observe the world if you are staying still or travelling at your normal pace. Your body becomes unconscious during this time and you are unaware of it's condition. If it dies, your spirit will fade in 24 hours. You cannot sense your body, so if it is moved, you must find it. You may use this ability three times. A long rest will replenish these uses.

Final Hyena
2016-05-17, 11:35 AM
Sense void is exceptionally powerful. I feel as written it allows unlimited unpunishable scouting within many miles of you.

Falcon X
2016-05-17, 12:50 PM
Sense void is exceptionally powerful. I feel as written it allows unlimited unpunishable scouting within many miles of you. I agree. It was one of things that made the 3.5 Void Disciple so powerful. I even nerfed the DCs a little for this. Still a bit much... I'm trying to keep the feel of Void Disciple, but also be reasonable.
Of course, most Lvl1 Sorcerer abilities are pretty good. They are the defining traits of the class as Void Sight is supposed to be for Void Disciple. How do you think we could bring this one down to being on par with other Sorcerer abilities?

Some ideas:
- Scale it out: (Line of Sight at level 1, 1 mile at level 6, 10 miles at level 14, etc.)
- Restrict it to a single sense (Sight OR hearing OR smell, etc.)
- Restrict it to a number of times per day or for sorcery points.

I will go ahead and edit it to 3/day

Final Hyena
2016-05-17, 01:27 PM
Your spell is somewhat similar to clairvoyance, a 3rd level spell that has a 10 min cast time and concentration. Not to mention creates a detectable sensor.

I prefer the idea of something a bit simpler (to avoiding repeat rolls) that doesn't make scouting 100% risk free and easy.

I would give it a very simple range (somewhere from 50 to 100 ft sounds reasonable) and line of sight limitation, but no perception DCs and infinite uses. A spyglass could double the affective range (but a spyglass is likely to attract more attention).

If you feel that is too much of a nerf you could give/extent darkvision range which is a nice boon and enhances the above ability variant.

Changing Void Strike to deal force damage would be easier.

Falcon X
2016-05-17, 04:57 PM
I was considering just adding in a clairvoyance spell in place of that big paragraph. Simpler is easier.
However, the precedence set by the other examples we have (Dragonblood, Wild, Storm, and Favored Soul) all give things that are substantially more complex and useful than xspell x/day. I believe I was trying to create the concept of Astral Projection that Shadowrun has. The 3.5 Void Sense reads kind've like that.

If we do nerf it as you suggest, I think I'd want something to spice Level 1 up just a little more.
- Perhaps giving the Unending Breath feature from Air Genasi (character doesn't breathe)? That+Clairvoyance x/day+Void Strike seems to be about on par with the others.
- Could take the bulk of the wording of Clairvoyance, but make it scale by level, giving more uses or making it so detect magic, detect good and evil, and detect thoughts are used automatically while perceiving.

Final Hyena
2016-05-17, 05:04 PM
Those are nice additions, another options is to give a "greater void sense" with abilities such as being able to bond to a creature/item and sense from it, another is to allowing "jumping sense" If you go to the end of a corridor then use the jump to go one further allowing scouting round several corners or other obstacles.

Falcon X
2016-05-18, 12:30 PM
Those are nice additions, another options is to give a "greater void sense" with abilities such as being able to bond to a creature/item and sense from it, another is to allowing "jumping sense" If you go to the end of a corridor then use the jump to go one further allowing scouting round several corners or other obstacles.
I don't think the bonding idea would work. I think part of the Void Disciple's flavor is that the don't bind with anything. They live in the gaps and outside the bonds of form and space.

Jumping sense is intriguing. So, what you are saying is giving a short-range (100'?) sight that can extend around a single corner? Like a really long periscope that can be used at-will. If it scales, it might provide a second jump or a little longer distance. Heck, it could still use a die roll for how many jumps it can make if we wanted to.
However, the flavor would feel more tac-ops than village mystic. I suppose it all depends on how it's described. Not quite as cool as astral projection, but it sounds like something 5e gamemakers would do. 5e will put balance before cool factor any day, which is probably what we should do.