Wielder of the Missing Ache - Let Nothing Keep Us Apart

[Eno Remnant]

Wielder of the Missing Ache

https://genviedollsworld.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/rririr1.jpg

“Ours is the union of two souls, bound by love – a fire that burns away the forces of darkness! Beloved, show this cretin your power!”


—Alexander Havel, first Wielder of the Missing Ache

There are few things mortals feel so keenly as loss. The loss of a loved one is particularly devastating, and a person might do anything to retrieve their lost love. While resurrection magic does exist, it is often out of the price range for the majority of beings. But for those willing to work hard and dedicate their lives to their heart’s desire, there is a solution. This is known as the Missing Ache.

Adventures: Wielders of the Missing Ache tend to adventure for the same reasons anyone else might. However, ever-present in their motivation is the love they have for their beloved, which often leads them to quest for a cause that the spirit held dear in life, or—amongst those with a more comprehensive understanding of the Missing Ache—to gain strength enough to reincarnate the spirit, bringing the two together once more.

Characteristics: Wielders of the Missing Ache tend to seem utterly normal. Average, even. They will often have a fixation on the object that is their Missing Ache, treating it as though it were their beloved (which it almost is, as it contains part of their soul). It is only when the spirit bound to the Ache is manifest through its power that anything seems exceptional about the Wielder – often a look of calm, bliss, rapture or even simple joy will overcome them as they direct the feelings of love they receive from their beloved into the world, bringing an ease and grace that stand out from anyone else. They may even appear to glow, as though filled with ethereal light. Wielders are also sometimes standoffish about their past, and in some cases will refuse to refer to their beloved by name, for various reasons.

Alignment: Everyone loves, and everyone suffers loss; as such, every alignment is home to a potential Wielder of the Missing Ache. While the technique that binds a spirit to the Wielder’s Missing Ache was supposedly taught to the first Wielder by a celestial, a darker version of the technique exists that can be employed by Evil Wielders, or Neutral Wielders with such inclinations. A prevalence of neutrality on the Law-Chaos axis exists amongst most Wielders of the Missing Ache, but not by any significant margin.

Religion: Wielders of the Missing Ache are not usually swayed to a deity due to their abilities, and continue to favour whichever deity they worshipped before they gained their Missing Ache. However, some Wielders consider the power of the Missing Ache to be a divine gift – Good Wielders may believe it Sunê’s work; for Evil Wielders, Evening Glory’s boon.

Background: Wielders of the Missing Ache usually start life as normal people leading normal lives. It is when they lose someone close to them that they begin on the path to binding a Missing Ache, as they desperately search for any means to return their love to them; they are usually either too poor to afford a Resurrection, or worship a deity that considers such a spell to be a violation of the cycle of life (or consider it to be too easy, and want their followers to work for miracles). They may learn of this secret from the church—most Good-aligned churches that know the legend of the first Wielder consider it to have been caused by their deity—or in a library of arcane knowledge, a bardic college—where copies of the tale of Alexander Havel are coveted, though benevolent deities tend to be replaced by a compassionate celestial in bardic recitations of religious texts—or perhaps simply from an existing Wielder. In certain cases, celestials have been known to grant the knowledge, and fiends to tempt mortals with such power.

Races: Humans are the most common Wielders of the Missing Ache, as well as many gnomes and halflings, who as strongly emotional races feel the sting of death sharply. Elves and dwarves, who live longer and as such have a more pragmatic attitude when it comes to the tragedies of the world, are much less likely to have Wielders counted amongst them. Orc Wielders are virtually non-existent, as they prefer a more visceral response to the pain of loss.

Other Classes: The response to Wielders of the Missing Ache tends to vary based on their choice of manifestation. Good-aligned Wielders are often seen as bearing guardian angels by those not of a magical inclination, and with reserved attitudes by Paladins and Good Clerics unfamiliar with the Missing Ache, who fear it may be a form of necromancy. Evil Wielders tend to be seen as necromancers in practice, and as such are looked upon with disdain and hatred by many. Wizards look down on a Wielder’s power as an inferior, narrow-minded magical path, clouded by single-minded devotion to love. In contrast, Sorcerers and Bards tend to love Wielders of the Missing Ache, whom the prior see as kindred spirits, and the latter as a walking love story.

Adaptation: While this class is intended to express the power of love, and the ongoing struggle to reclaim that which is lost, it could just as easily be re-fluffed to be a necromantic class, binding souls to its icon to fuel dark powers. With some changes to the class features, it could also be used to recreate the Phoenix technique from the manga Flame of Recca.

Game Rule Information
Wielders of the Missing Ache have the following game statistics.

Abilities: A Wielder of the Missing Ache primarily uses Charisma, which powers most of their class features. Strength may be important if the Wielder chooses to enter melee. Constitution and Dexterity improve survivability.

Hit Dice: d6


Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special


1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Missing Ache, Guiding Hand


2
+1
+0
+0
+3
You Are My Sunshine


3
+1
+1
+1
+3
First Bonding


4
+2
+1
+1
+4
Until Our Last 1/day


5
+2
+1
+1
+4
Where You Go, I Go (Locate Object)


6
+3
+2
+2
+5
Second Bonding


7
+3
+2
+2
+5
Guiding Hand (skill ranks)


8
+4
+2
+2
+6
Love is Blind +2


9
+4
+3
+3
+6
Third Bonding


10
+5
+3
+3
+7
Until Our Last 2/day


11
+5
+3
+3
+7
Where You Go, I Go (Clairvoyance/Clairaudience)


12
+6/+1
+4
+4
+8
Fourth Bonding


13
+6/+1
+4
+4
+8
You Raise Me Up


14
+7/+2
+4
+4
+9
Guiding Hand (take 10)


15
+7/+2
+5
+5
+9
Fifth Bonding


16
+8/+3
+5
+5
+10
Until Our Last 3/day


17
+8/+3
+5
+5
+10
Where You Go, I Go (Teleport Without Error)


18
+9/+4
+6
+6
+11
Sixth Bonding


19
+9/+4
+6
+6
+11
Love is Blind +4


20
+10/+5
+6
+6
+12
Love Born Anew



Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Int modifier) *4

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

The Wielder of the Missing Ache’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (all, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int) and Use Magic Device (Cha)

Class Features

Proficiencies: Wielders of the Missing Ache are proficient with all simple weapons and light armour, but not shields.

Missing Ache (Su): The heart of the Wielder’s art is their Missing Ache. It is usually a trinket of some sentimental value, either belonging to the person who the Wielder wishes to bind as a spirit (who must be dead to be bound), or that reminds them of the aforementioned, and is always a tiny object with 10 hit points and a hardness of 5 (this trinket cannot already be magical, and cannot be enchanted after becoming a Missing Ache. An object larger or smaller than tiny size cannot be used, as the object in question will not miraculously change to be tiny). When a Missing Ache is formed, the magic in this item coalesces a portion of the person’s soul – the love that person had for the Wielder. Part of it remains within the Missing Ache, and the rest forms into a creature on the Ethereal Plane, the Beloved Spirit. Once the Ache is complete, the soul within cannot be resurrected by any means short of a Wish or Miracle. The spirit then gains an empathic link with the Wielder, as well as the ability to manifest powers through the Missing Ache, which the Wielder can utilise.

These powers are determined through the spirit’s bonded levels: for every class level the Wielder has, the spirit has an equal number of bonded levels. These do not act like normal levels, as they do not directly affect the spirit itself (some exceptions apply; see below).

These abilities are also affected by one’s alignment. Neutral characters choose whether to be treated as Good or Evil for the purposes of said abilities when they gain this class feature.

The Wielder chooses one of the following three bonded level types at each level, bestowing the chosen level to their spirit:

Guardian: You become bathed in the warmth of love, the spirit’s desire to protect you from all harm manifest. You gain an AC bonus (sacred if Good, profane if Evil) equal to your Charisma modifier (but no higher than your Guardian level), which applies to touch attacks, while flat-footed, and even if you’re helpless. This bonus increases by 1 per two Guardian levels.

Dedicator: Your beloved liked to express their love by supporting you in all of your endeavours, and continues to do so with the energy of righteous fury directed at your enemies. You gain the ability to project a ray of energy (holy if Good, unholy if Evil) as a spell-like ability, functionally identical to the Warlock’s Eldritch Blast, except that the damage it deals increases by 1d6 per Dedicator level.

Companion: You can conjure a spectral manifestation of your Beloved Spirit to fight alongside you, often appearing to be a chromatic (often white), feature-lite reproduction of the original person, bearing a simple weapon of your choice (ranged weapons do not require ammunition). This requires a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, and can be ended as a free action. The base Companion form is the same size as the Wielder, has a single Deathless hit dice (Undead if Evil), and is semi-corporeal (50% miss chance with non-magical weapons, no miss chance with magic weapons). It can only remain conjured for one minute per Companion level (not necessarily all at once). Its ability scores are all 12 (except Constitution, as it lacks a Constitution score; the Companion also lacks the ability to speak any language, despite its Intelligence score), and gain a sacred (profane if Companion is Undead) bonus equal to the Wielder’s Charisma modifier. The Companion cannot stray further than 100 ft. from the Missing Ache (which must remain in contact with you for the Companion to manifest). When it is dismissed or destroyed, it cannot be conjured again for one minute. For every two Companion levels, the Companion gains an extra hit dice and the attendant benefits.

The Wielder must be in physical contact with their Missing Ache to use these abilities and their associated Bondings.

If anyone attempts to take a Missing Ache without permission from the Wielder (being helpless does not affect this), it will attempt to defend itself with its powers: if it has Guardian levels, the thief must make a Will save (10 + half Guardian levels + Charisma modifier) to interact with it, and cannot try again for 24 hours if they fail; if it has Dedicator levels, the thief is immediately struck with damage equal to that of the Dedicator ray attack at the beginning of every turn in which they are touching it; if it has Companion levels, it will conjure the Companion to defend it as an immediate action.

Should the Missing Ache ever be destroyed, it can be repaired through a ritual lasting an hour, and requiring an expenditure of (half class level*1000) xp.

The form taken by the beloved’s soul on the Ethereal Plane has one Outsider hit die, and is considered native to the Ethereal Plane. It has 12 in all ability scores except Constitution, which it lacks, and Charisma, in which its score is 16. It also possesses a ghost’s manifestation and rejuvenation abilities, but with some changes – namely, the manifestation ability is replaced by the Until Our Last ability, and the rejuvenation ability does not require a check, automatically succeeding.

Additionally, the spirit has a special quality called Separation Anguish. This quality prevents the Wielder and spirit from making physical or verbal contact with one another.

One’s beloved spirit will attempt to protect them from threats on the Ethereal Plane. While normally this would be largely ineffective against most threats, a beloved spirit with Companion levels is able to suspend their conjured Companion form (and will always do so if they consider the ethereal threat to be greater than any material threat), and gain hit dice equal to the Companion’s, as well as the benefits of Companion Bondings. If the beloved spirit is destroyed, the Wielder loses access to their class features until the spirit rejuvenates.

Guiding Hand (Ex): Your beloved was good at something you probably aren’t, and through the Missing Ache, can share their knowledge. The Wielder chooses one skill (which their beloved was particularly skilled in). This becomes a class skill for them.

At 7th level, you gain 10 skill ranks in the chosen skill, plus an additional skill rank in that skill for each Wielder of the Missing Ache level beyond 11th. If this would put you above your maximum rank in that skill, you may re-assign excess skill points to other skills as desired.

At 14th level, you may take 10 when using the chosen skill, even if distracted or threatened.

You Are My Sunshine (Sp): A Wielder is never alone, and their beloved is always happy to guide them through the darkness. Starting at 2nd level, the Wielder of the Missing Ache gains the ability to create an aura of illumination at-will, centred on themselves, as the Light spell.

First Bonding (Su): As you progress as a Wielder of the Missing Ache, your bond with your beloved spirit grows, strengthened by your affections. Starting at 3rd level, a spirit with at least two levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You become constantly affected by Protection from X (Evil for Good Wielders and vice versa; Neutral Wielders can select Chaos/Law if they so choose, whichever—if either—is opposed to their alignment).

Dedicator: Once per encounter, you may empower your ray attack, as though it were affected by Empower Spell-Like Ability.

Companion: Your Companion gains a 30 ft. aura, in which all allies gain +4 to saves against fear effects.

Until Our Last (Su): A beloved spirit’s greatest desire is to protect the one it loves from harm, and will sacrifice itself to achieve this goal. Starting at 4th level, once per day, when an attack or effect would kill the Wielder of the Missing Ache, the beloved spirit will translate itself to the Wielder’s current plane, intercepting the attack/effect at the cost of its own life. This has all the attendant consequences of the spirit dying, including the loss of access to class features.

The spirit becomes able to withstand a greater number of attacks as the Wielder’s power increases. It gains an extra use of this ability every six levels after 4th.

Where You Go, I Go (Sp): No distance is enough to keep Wielder from beloved. Starting at 5th level, if the Wielder is separated from their Missing Ache, they may divine its location, as the Locate Object spell.

Starting at 11th level, the Wielder is capable of seeing and hearing what is nearby their Missing Ache, as the Clairvoyance/Clairaudience spell.

Starting at 17th level, the Wielder can Teleport Without Error to their Missing Ache, as the special quality of the same name.

Second Bonding (Su): Starting at 6th level, a spirit with at least three levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You gain the slippery mind ability. This grants you a new save against a mind-affecting effect on your next turn after failing the effect’s initial save.

Dedicator: You gain the ability to use Lay on Hands (Deadly Touch if Evil), as a Paladin whose level is equal to your Dedicator levels.

Companion: Your Companion gains a 30 ft. aura, in which all allies gain +4 to saves against compulsion effects.

Love is Blind (Ex): It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (which is odd, since Beholders are aberrations, and they have a lot more than one eye). However, in the case of Wielder and beloved, beauty seen is made real. At 8th level, the Wielder of the Missing Ache’s Charisma is increased by 2. At 19th level, it increases again, by 4.

Third Bonding (Su): Starting at 9th level, a spirit with at least four levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You gain a bonus to Reflex and Fortitude saves equal to your Charisma modifier. This bonus is of the same type as your Wielder of the Missing Ache AC bonus.

Dedicator: When you deal damage to an enemy with your ray attack, you heal hit points equal to a quarter of the damage dealt.

Companion: Your Companion becomes incorporeal instead of semi-corporeal. Their attacks become incorporeal touch attacks.

Fourth Bonding (Su): Starting at 12th level, a spirit with at least five levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You gain the ability to bind The Loving Dead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?454445-The-Loving-Dead-%28Vestige%29) vestige as a Binder of your class level.

Dedicator: Your ray attack gains a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier to beat spell resistance.

Companion: Your Companion’s base attack bonus increases to full.

You Raise Me Up (Su): There is no height a Wielder of the Missing Ache cannot reach with their beloved at their side. Starting at 13th level, the Wielder gains a flight speed of 60 ft., with good manoeuvrability. The Beloved Spirit also gains this ability, and applies it to the Companion, if the Wielder has one.

Fifth Bonding (Su): Starting at 15th level, a spirit with at least six levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: As an immediate action, your spirit negates a single attack against you that requires an attack roll. You may only use this ability once per encounter.

Dedicator: If your ray attack hits a target, it immediately attacks all other enemies within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)., at the same attack bonus. These subsequent attacks do not gain the benefit of the Third Bonding.

Companion: Your companion gains the ability to inhabit other bodies, in differing ways. The Companions of Evil Wielders can inhabit undead forms, which come under its control and gain its mental ability scores, its bonus to physical ability scores, and its abilities gained from Bondings. Companions of Good Wielders can inhabit their Wielder, granting them their bonus to ability scores (if the spirit’s are higher) and its abilities gained from Bondings. This possession lasts up to a number of rounds equal to the Companion’s Charisma modifier. It is possible to resist a Companion’s possession (in the case of an unwilling intelligent undead, or in situations where a Companion attempts to prevent their Wielder from taking potentially harmful actions/forces them to take self-preserving actions) with a successful Will save (DC = 10 + Companion levels + Charisma modifier).

Sixth Bonding (Su): Starting at 18th level, a spirit with a least seven levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: Your spirit’s ability to negate attacks increases to 1+(CHA mod, min. 1) before your next turn, and will now negate effects that offer saves as it does those with attack rolls. You can now use this feature once per minute instead of once per encounter, whenever it would be beneficial to do so.

Dedicator: The damage dealt by your initial ray attack lingers, dealing half of its original damage to the target for a number of rounds equal to half of your Dedicator levels. This effect and its duration are not cumulative.

Companion: Your Companion gains the benefit of Unholy Toughness, retroactively applying the Companion’s Charisma modifier to every hit dice as bonus hit points.

Love Born Anew (Su): At the height of their power, a Wielder of the Missing Ache’s love, granted the strength of experience and having overcome countless adversities, makes the Wielder’s wish come true. At 20th level, when the final bonded level is chosen for the Wielder’s spirit (or at a dramatically appropriate point after reaching 20th level), the spirit translates from the Ethereal Plane to whichever plane the Wielder currently resides on, becoming their beloved reborn. The spirit’s hit dice increase to 20, they lose the Separation Anguish special quality, and their native plane is now the same as that of their Wielder. The spirit gains either the Good or Evil subtype, depending on the wielder’s alignment (Neutral Wielders, if they are Lawful or Chaotic, may choose the Lawful or Chaotic subtype respectively).

Additionally, the spirit gains all the effects and benefits of the Wielder’s Missing Ache and Bonding class features, except the ability to summon a Companion. In place of this ability, the spirit gains additional hit dice equal to half the number its summoned form possesses.

The Wielder of the Missing Ache can still use all of their class features as normal, and these are still drawn from the spirit-turned-beloved.

[Eno Remnant]

Wielders of the Missing Ache in the World

“Mommy, why is that man talking to a book?”
“Pay him no mind, darling. He’s clearly quite mad.”

Daily Life: Wielders of the Missing Ache typically spend their downtime engaging in hobbies, participating in charitable acts, cruelly torturing innocent people – whatever they enjoyed doing with their beloved. Some more heartbroken Wielders have been known to resort to excessive vice to forget the pain of loss, and will spend their free time drinking themselves into a stupor or otherwise attempting to obliterate their feelings for a few hours.

Notables: Alexander Havel (WotMA 20), the first Wielder of the Missing Ache, is fabled throughout the land for his heroism and dedication to the woman he loves. It is rumoured that his love for her was so strong, it brought her back from the dead.

NPC Reactions: NPCs tend to find Wielders of the Missing Ache to be open, friendly people, and treat them in kind. The average person tends to see a Wielder as just another average person, which has been known to create confusion when they travel with a party. The sometimes strange habits of Wielders in regards to their Missing Ache are usually outweighed by their amicable attitude, but many find them off-putting.

Reputation Statistics: The following figures represent how likely it is for a member of a certain class or profession to know about the Missing Ache: Clerics/Priests/Clergy - 10%; Historians/Arcanists - 2%; Bards - 25%. Celestials and Fiends have a 30+(1 per HD)% chance of knowing about it. All deities are familiar with the Missing Ache, bar Tharizdun (who would undoubtedly do everything in his power to twist and corrupt the nature of such magic) and those with divine rank 0 (who follow regular reputation guidelines stated above).

Wielder of the Missing Ache Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Religion, Arcana, History) can research Wielders of the Missing Ache to learn more about them. Using Knowledge (Arcana, History) increases the DC by 10, as historical and magical tomes describing the Missing Ache and its users are rare and eclectic. A bard makes any Knowledge check used to research Wielders (including Bardic Knowledge) with a +2 circumstance bonus, as the story of Alexander Havel is famous in bardic circles. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.



DC
Result


10
The Missing Ache is a magical artefact that holds the soul of a loved one.


15
Wielders of the Missing Ache are often kindly, but dangerous is angered. It is unwise to speak about their lost loved one if they do not initiate the conversation. Wielders are capable of firing rays of energy, creating magical shields and summoning powerful champions to fight for them.


20
The player knows of the story of Alexander Havel, and that he supposedly brought his lover back to life.


25
The player knows the story of Alexander Havel in its entirety. Bard characters who make this check can recite it by heart.



The Tale of Alexander Havel

Below are two excerpts from the story of Havel’s legendary journey to return the love of his life to the world of the living. This version of the tale is a translation from a religious tome written in Celestial, edited by the bard Lirael Sunchaser.

… and his brethren wept beside him, for they too felt compassion for Alexander – yet they had no means with which to aid him. But Yuriel was old and clever, and had gleamed many secrets from the gods of Elysium and Celestia. It was in his cunning inquisition that he knew a means to grant Alexander respite, and in his infinite love and mercy he would grant it, regardless of the consequences. Gods curse him to nothingness if they so will it, the angel would not stand for this cruel justice they had imposed upon the grieving…

… At last, the beast lay defeated at the feet of Asiaticus, head removed from body as one might separate a rose from its brethren. Along its side were a hundred arrows, and a hundred more holes that burned with the holy wrath of Alexander’s Ache.

A cheer went up amongst the warriors, flushed and sweating from their exhaustion but exultant in their victory. Alexander joined this raucous cry but fleetingly, for it was not his way to carouse and crow like his brothers- and sisters-at-arms. He instead lowered himself gently to the grassy knell upon which they had brought the dragon down, a slight smile at his lips and a hand to the Ache around his neck.

“Beloved, thank you,” he whispered gently, sweetly, caressing the warm iron that hummed its contentment at his touch. “As always, you have given me the strength to overcome the darkness. I grant you all my love on this day, as every day, that you may come one step closer to the realm of the living.”

He sighed then, leaning back to lay upon the sweet-scented blades that glistened in the morning dew. The sun warmed him for a moment, before a shadow came between he and Pelor’s magnificence. One of his companions, no doubt, coming to congratulate him on their latest triumph.

However, it was with great alarm that he learned this to not be the case, as a familiar yet long-unheard voice spoke unto him,

“One step to pass the threshold, love.”

Alexander’s eyes widened in surprise, and his hand instinctively went to the Ache on its chain – he could feel Her love, Her happiness, and most tellingly, Her amusement. Cries of alarm went up amongst the warriors, still gathered around the dragon’s corpse, and they thrilled Alexander into motion.

He rose swiftly, mouth open and devoid of speech, blinking rapidly to dispel the dazzle of sunlight in his eyes. But it was not the sun that sparkled before him, rather the radiance of the woman he now faced.

Her features were soft, fair, framed gracefully by locks of warm, tawny hair. Her form was willowy, delicate, and yet possessed of an inner strength that seemed to radiate from her very being. The dress that swathed her body, virginal white, was both modest and alluring, capturing the dips and curves Alexander could locate in his sleep. Her bare toes wriggled in the wet grass, dancing in a delight that was reflected in her smile.

His friends still clamoured, but Alexander couldn’t hear a word. There was only one thing in the world that mattered, and it was before him now.

Alanna was alive, and she stood before him now.



Changelog

2/9/2016: Increased skill points to 4 + Int/level; removed class level cap from save bonuses; increased Guardian AC bonus to 1 per 2 levels; added a range limit and cooldown to the Companion; nerfed the Dedicator ray's healing Bonding; swapped some Bondings with others; reduced some DCs.

6/9/2016: Combined Third and Fourth Guardian Bondings as Third Bonding. Added new Fourth Guardian Bonding. Refined restrictions on healing provided by the Dedicator ray. Feat selection slimmed down and changed.

[Magery]

A careful reading of the class will reveal that yes, it does allow for yanderes (and may the gods help us all). This is on the insistence of Magery, who has provided a sample yandere build for your... enjoyment (his word, not mine). Or rather, he would have, if I hadn't refused for the sake of the Playground's collective remaining sanity.

I resemble that remark!

[Eno Remnant]

Feats

Gifted Bond
Even when you aren’t dedicating your time to unlocking the powers of the Missing Ache, you can still draw out its potential
Prerequisites: Level 6, First Bonding class feature
Benefits: Every two levels in a class other than Wielder of the Missing Ache count as one level in the aforementioned class for the purposes of bonded levels.

Versatile Bond
Rather than be limited to the pursuit of one form of bonding at a time, you have taken special effort to master multiple facets of the Missing Ache.
Prerequisites: Fourth Bonding class feature
Benefits: If you gain this feat at the same time as a level in Wielder of the Missing Ache, you gain two bonded levels of different types, instead of one. This feat can be taken up to three times.

[Eno Remnant]

I'd like to think that having 200 views and no meaningful replies means that the class is so good there's nothing to be said about it. Realistically, I expect it's because I made it so lengthy.

Gonna bump this anyway, in case somebody can get over the mind-numbing length. Reviews are the lifeblood of a writer, homebrew or otherwise, so give generously :smallbiggrin:

[Eno Remnant]

Added some feats. More to come, as well as alternate class features.

[Zaydos]

Alright haven't read the 2nd fluff post yet, but for the mechanics:


-snip the fluff since not commenting on it-

-snip the table for length-

So d6 HD, poor BAB, and good Will. It's a chassis to say hey I'm not melee. Not much else to say here.


Skill Points at First Level: (2 + Int modifier) *4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: (2 + Int modifier)

The Wielder of the Missing Ache’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (all, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int) and Use Magic Device (Cha)

Also not a skill monkey though those skills they do have (UMD, Diplomacy, KNOWLEDGE) are good ones.


Class Features

Proficiencies: Wielders of the Missing Ache are proficient with all simple weapons and light armour, but not shields.

Still not a martial character.


Missing Ache (Su): The heart of the Wielder’s art is their Missing Ache. It is usually a trinket of some sentimental value, either belonging to the person who the Wielder wishes to bind as a spirit (who must be dead to be bound), or that reminds them of the aforementioned, and is always a tiny object with 10 hit points and a hardness of 5 (this trinket cannot already be magical, and cannot be enchanted after becoming a Missing Ache. An object larger or smaller than tiny size cannot be used, as the object in question will not miraculously change to be tiny). When a Missing Ache is formed, the magic in this item coalesces a portion of the person’s soul – the love that person had for the Wielder. Part of it remains within the Missing Ache, and the rest forms into a creature on the Ethereal Plane, the Beloved Spirit. The spirit then gains an empathic link with the Wielder, as well as the ability to manifest powers through the Missing Ache, which the Wielder can utilise.

These powers are determined through the spirit’s bonded levels: for every class level the Wielder has, the spirit has an equal number of bonded levels. These do not act like normal levels, as they do not directly affect the spirit itself (some exceptions apply; see below).

These abilities are also affected by one’s alignment. Neutral characters choose whether to be treated as Good or Evil for the purposes of said abilities when they gain this class feature.

The Wielder chooses one of the following three bonded level types at each level, bestowing the chosen level to their spirit:

Guardian: You become bathed in the warmth of love, the spirit’s desire to protect you from all harm manifest. You gain an AC bonus (sacred if Good, profane if Evil) equal to your Charisma modifier (but no higher than your Guardian level), which applies to touch attacks, while flat-footed, and even if you’re helpless. This bonus increases by 1 per three Guardian levels.

As other sources of Sacred/Profane bonuses default Neutral to Sacred the ability to choose makes this a step up for Neutrals compared to Good/Evil. I will have to come back to this after reading the rest of the class. Because +7 AC with the possibility for Mithral Fullplate 1 feat away is... not great without some stuff supporting it.


Dedicator: Your beloved liked to express their love by supporting you in all of your endeavours, and continues to do so with the energy of righteous fury directed at your enemies. You gain the ability to project a ray of energy (holy if Good, unholy if Evil) as a spell-like ability, functionally identical to the Warlock’s Eldritch Blast, except that the damage it deals increases by 1d6 per Dedicator level.

Strong at low levels, weak at high levels, mostly balanced across the board and 1d6/level eldritch blast is a good way to bring Warlocks up to snuff without Hellfire+Gear or Eldritch Glaive (which has the 3 save or lose your turn/round issue).


Companion: You can conjure a spectral manifestation of your Beloved Spirit to fight alongside you, often appearing to be a chromatic (often white), feature-lite reproduction of the original person, bearing a simple weapon of your choice (ranged weapons do not require ammunition). This requires a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, and can be ended as a free action. The base Companion form is the same size as the Wielder, has a single Deathless hit dice (Undead if Evil), is semi-corporeal (50% miss chance with non-magical weapons, no miss chance with magic weapons) and is incapable of speech. It can only remain conjured for one minute per Companion level (not necessarily all at once). Its ability scores are all 12 (except Constitution, as it lacks a Constitution score; the Companion also lacks the ability to speak any language, despite its Intelligence score), and gain a sacred (profane if Companion is Undead) bonus equal to the Wielder’s Charisma modifier. For every two Companion levels, the Companion gains an extra hit dice and the attendant benefits.

Again can't really comment until I see more of the class. I like the semi-corporeal nature, it's a good happy medium between ghost and usable by PCs.


The Wielder must be in physical contact with their Missing Ache to use these abilities and their associated Bondings.

If anyone attempts to take a Missing Ache without permission from the Wielder (being helpless does not affect this), it will attempt to defend itself with its powers: if it has Guardian levels, the thief must make a Will save (10 + Guardian levels + Charisma modifier) to interact with it, and cannot try again for 24 hours if they fail; if it has Dedicator levels, the thief is immediately struck with damage equal to that of the Dedicator ray attack at the beginning of every turn in which they are touching it; if it has Companion levels, it will conjure the Companion to defend it as an immediate action.

Should the Missing Ache ever be destroyed, it can be repaired through a ritual lasting an hour, and requiring an expenditure of (half class level*1000) xp.

That is a painful amount of XP. Not saying it's unreasonable, but ouch. It really falls under the 'destroying a spellbook' range of things. If you want missing ache destruction to be something that does happen I'd suggest lowering the XP cost to at most half (I mean familiars are 'useless' because of the XP loss).

Also Guardian ability is the best protection due to the save scaling at double speed.


The form taken by the beloved’s soul on the Ethereal Plane has one Outsider hit die, and is considered native to the Ethereal Plane. It has 12 in all ability scores except Constitution, which it lacks, and Charisma, in which its score is 16. It also possesses a ghost’s manifestation and rejuvenation abilities, but with some changes – namely, the manifestation ability can only be used as part of the Until Our Last class feature, and the rejuvenation ability does not require a check, automatically succeeding.

Additionally, the spirit has a special quality called Separation Anguish. This quality prevents the Wielder and spirit from making physical or verbal contact with one another.

One’s beloved spirit will attempt to protect them from threats on the Ethereal Plane. While normally this would be largely ineffective against most threats, a beloved spirit with Companion levels is able to suspend their conjured Companion form (and will always do so if they consider the ethereal threat to be greater than any material threat), and gain hit dice equal to the Companion’s, as well as the benefits of Companion Bondings. If the beloved spirit is destroyed, the Wielder loses access to their class features until the spirit rejuvenates.

Why Outsider instead of Undead/Deathless like Ghost?


Guiding Hand (Ex): Your beloved was good at something you probably aren’t, and through the Missing Ache, can share their knowledge. The Wielder chooses one skill (which their beloved was particularly skilled in). This becomes a class skill for them.

At 7th level, you retroactively gain maximum skill ranks in the chosen skill for every Wielder of the Missing Ache class level. If you already had ranks in the skill, those skill points are redistributed as desired.

At 14th level, you may take 10 when using the chosen skill, even if distracted or threatened.

For the 7th level ability I'd change it to 'you gain 10 ranks int he chosen skill, and you gain an additional skill rank in that skill for each WotME level beyond 11th. If this would put you above your maximum rank in that skill you may re-assign excess skill points to other skills as desired.'


You Are My Sunshine (Sp): A Wielder is never alone, and their beloved is always happy to guide them through the darkness. Starting at 2nd level, the Wielder of the Missing Ache gains the ability to create an aura of illumination at-will, centred on themselves, as the Light spell.

Yay nerfed cantrip at-will at 2nd!


First Bonding (Su): As you progress as a Wielder of the Missing Ache, your bond with your beloved spirit grows, strengthened by your affections. Starting at 3rd level, a spirit with at least two levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You become constantly affected by Protection from X (Evil for Good Wielders and vice versa; Neutral Wielders can select Chaos/Law if they so choose, whichever—if either—is opposed to their alignment).

Go go Charm immunity.


Dedicator: Once per encounter, you may empower your ray attack, as though it were affected by Empower Spell-Like Ability.

Deadly at low levels, lets you deal reasonable damage at higher levels, I like it.


Companion: Your Companion gains an Aura of Courage, as the Paladin class feature.

Interesting.


Until Our Last (Su): A beloved spirit’s greatest desire is to protect the one it loves from harm, and will sacrifice itself to achieve this goal. Starting at 4th level, once per day, when an attack or effect would kill the Wielder of the Missing Ache, the beloved spirit will translate itself to the Wielder’s current plane, intercepting the attack/effect at the cost of its own life. This has all the attendant consequences of the spirit dying, including the loss of access to class features.

The spirit becomes able to withstand a greater number of attacks as the Wielder’s power increases. It gains an extra use of this ability every six levels after 4th.

So this ignores the beloved spirit's hp and it's just auto-kill? Why reference this ability as being how they can use Manifestation if the mechanics are completely different from that ability's?


Where You Go, I Go (Sp): No distance is enough to keep Wielder from beloved. Starting at 5th level, if the Wielder is separated from their Missing Ache, they may divine its location, as the Locate Object spell.

Starting at 11th level, the Wielder is capable of seeing and hearing what is nearby their Missing Ache, as the Clairvoyance/Clairaudience spell.

Starting at 17th level, the Wielder can Teleport Without Error to their Missing Ache, as the special quality of the same name.

I honestly think all of these would work at lower levels.


Second Bonding (Su): Starting at 6th level, a spirit with at least three levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You gain a bonus to Reflex saves equal to your Charisma modifier. This bonus is of the same type as your Wielder of the Missing Ache AC bonus, and cannot exceed half your class level.

This is extremely bad Divine Grace, I'd make it apply to all saves, or at least remove the class level limit.


Dedicator: You gain the ability to use Lay on Hands (Deadly Touch if Evil), as a Paladin whose level is equal to your Dedicator levels.

I have issues with Lay on Hands being weak but on a less MAD class it is acceptable (Lay on Hands is better than I think, and I really need to stop multiplying it).


Companion: Your Companion becomes incorporeal instead of semi-corporeal.

Should note that it gets the ability to make attacks with its weapon as an incorporeal touch attack. Also can I summon my Companion send it off, let it die, then summon it again? Actually just in general can I send it off on its own or is there a range limit?


Love is Blind (Ex): It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (which is odd, since Beholders are aberrations, and they have a lot more than one eye). However, in the case of Wielder and beloved, beauty seen is made real. At 8th level, the Wielder of the Missing Ache’s Charisma is increased by 2. At 19th level, it increases again, by 4.

It's in the central eye of their goddess the Great Mother, a mortal who could claim it could control the world at a glance... if it wasn't for pesky mind-blanked wizards and paladins of freedom and the occasional cleric with 3 PrCs for ridiculous Will saves.


Third Bonding (Su): Starting at 9th level, a spirit with at least four levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You gain the slippery mind ability. This grants you a new save against a mind-affecting effect on your next turn after failing the effect’s initial save.

This is a pretty low level ability.


Dedicator: When you deal damage with your ray attack, you heal hit points equal to a quarter of the damage dealt.

I will use this to get full out of combat healing (self only). Which it's 9th level I can think of at least one unquestionably functional way requiring 1 level of a prc, 1 feat, and being an initiator so don't really have a problem with it.


Companion: Your Companion gains an Aura of Freedom, as the Paladin of Freedom class feature.

Your companion is already immune to compulsion (deathless/undead type) and giving you a +4 when within 10 ft is nice but I'd make it be a larger range and remove the paladin reference but just say it gains an aura which grants allies within (new range) a +4 bonus on Will saves against compulsion.


Fourth Bonding (Su): Starting at 12th level, a spirit with at least five levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: You gain a bonus to Fortitude saves equal to your Charisma modifier. This bonus is of the same type as your Wielder of the Missing Ache AC bonus, and cannot exceed half your class level.

So it's 12th level and I have +2 AC and 2/3rds of nerfed Divine Grace.


Dedicator: Your ray attack gains a bonus equal to your Charisma modifier to beat spell resistance.

Nice.


Companion: Your Companion’s base attack bonus increases to full.

Ok this was necessary, though even with incorporeal touch attacks you're looking at +1 + 1/2 your class level; well I'm assuming it's +1/HD (instead of +1/2 HD) and not +1/WotMA level you have.


You Raise Me Up (Su): There is no height a Wielder of the Missing Ache cannot reach with their beloved at their side. Starting at 13th level, the Wielder gains a flight speed of 60 ft., with good manoeuvrability. The Beloved Spirit also gains this ability, and applies it to the Companion, if the Wielder has one.

This seems sort of weird and out there, but is mostly reasonable, if a little late.


Fifth Bonding (Su): Starting at 15th level, a spirit with at least six levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: As an immediate action, your spirit negates a single attack against you that requires an attack roll. You may only use this ability once per encounter.

Nice.


Dedicator: If your ray attack hits a target, it immediately attacks all other enemies within 10 ft., at the same attack bonus.

Hehehehehe, losing functionality at this level (enemies cluster less at higher levels) but still likely to be useful.


Companion: Your companion gains the ability to inhabit other bodies, in differing ways. The Companions of Evil Wielders can inhabit undead forms, which come under its control and gain its mental ability scores, its bonus to physical ability scores, and its abilities gained from Bondings. Companions of Good Wielders can inhabit their Wielder, granting them their bonus to ability scores (if the spirit’s are higher) and its abilities gained from Bondings. This possession lasts up to a number of rounds equal to the Companion’s Charisma modifier. It is possible to resist a Companion’s possession (in the case of an unwilling intelligent undead, or in situations where a Companion attempts to prevent their Wielder from taking potentially harmful actions/forces them to take self-preserving actions) with a successful Will save (DC = 10 + Companion levels + Charisma modifier).

The DC needs to scale at 1/2 companion levels since you can max them... then again it has a +3 Cha modifier... wait do you get to choose your companion spirit's Feats? Either way the Evil version is really quite powerful... if the DM lets you see a major undead creature again.


Sixth Bonding (Su): Starting at 18th level, a spirit with a least seven levels in either Guardian, Dedicator or Companion gains the corresponding ability:

Guardian: Your spirit’s ability to negate attacks increases to 1+(CHA mod, min. 1) before your next turn, and will now negate effects that offer saves as it does those with attack rolls. You can now use this feature once per minute instead of once per encounter, whenever it would be beneficial to do so.

So 1/encounter (very few encounters are longer than 1 minute) I am immune to attacks for 1 round; it's 18th level and not a 2nd level spell so it's reasonable.


Dedicator: The damage dealt by your initial ray attack lingers, dealing half of its original damage to the target for a number of rounds equal to half of your Dedicator levels. This effect and its duration are not cumulative.

Interesting.


Companion: Your Companion gains the benefit of Unholy Toughness, retroactively applying the Companion’s Charisma modifier to every hit dice as bonus hit points.

So it gains +30 hp. Actually does it gain ability bonuses per 4 HD? In that case it gains +40.


Love Born Anew (Su): At the height of their power, a Wielder of the Missing Ache’s love, granted the strength of experience and having overcome countless adversities, makes the Wielder’s wish come true. At 20th level, when the final bonded level is chosen for the Wielder’s spirit (or at a dramatically appropriate point after reaching 20th level), the spirit translates from the Ethereal Plane to whichever plane the Wielder currently resides on, becoming their beloved reborn. The spirit’s hit dice increase to 20, they lose the Separation Anguish special quality, and their native plane is now the same as that of their Wielder. The spirit gains either the Good or Evil subtype, depending on the wielder’s alignment (Neutral Wielders, if they are Lawful or Chaotic, may choose the Lawful or Chaotic subtype respectively).

Additionally, the spirit gains all the effects and benefits of the Wielder’s Missing Ache and Bonding class features, except the ability to summon a Companion. In place of this ability, the spirit gains additional hit dice equal to half the number its summoned form possesses.

The Wielder of the Missing Ache can still use all of their class features as normal, and these are still drawn from the spirit-turned-beloved.

Interesting...

Ok let's do some quick comparisons to Warlock at Lv 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20.

Lv 1: Warlock has +0 BAB, Eldritch Blast (1d6), and an Invocation (let's say Frightening Blast).

You have +0 BAB, and one of +1 AC, Eldritch Blast, or an (apparently) infinitely resummonable minion with +1 to hit, 6 HP, 11 AC, and 50% miss chance.

Advantage: Companion. Otherwise warlock.

Lv 3: Warlock has +2 BAB, Eldritch Blast 2d6, and 2 invocations (let's say Frightening Blast and Darkness), at will Detect Magic, and DR 1

You have +1 BAB, and either 2 of: Eldritch Blast 1-2d6, +1 AC, and the minion from above; or 1 of: Eldritch Blast 3d6, +2 AC, and minion with twice the hp and +1 better to hit. You also gain 1 of Protection from Evil, +5 damage 1/encounter (if you hit), or +4 to saves versus fear.

Advantage: This is closer. If you go full blast you have a damage edge, but the warlock has concealment, and is a ranged attacker so can move to where you aren't in shadowy light and shoot you. I'd give it over all to the warlock, the dpr route gets close, though, and might be better. If you split between Eldritch Blast and Companion is a viable option, though probably worse, if you split between eldritch blast and guardian you suffer. If you go all one route, your companion doesn't improve enough to be worth it, and the AC isn't worth it. EB is the best route in combat, even then it's +3.5 damage vs +1 to hit, save or debuff,

Lv 5: Warlock has +3 BAB, Eldritch Blast 3d6, and 3 invocations (let's say Frightening, Darkness, and See in Darkness), also Deceive Item. But we're ignoring it.

You have +2 BAB, and either 5d6 Eldritch Blast, a 3 HD minion (+2 to hit), or +2 AC, but hey you can mix up the bonuses at the cost of EB.

Advantage: Can WotMA benefit from Chausable of Fell Power and other items which boost EB? If not the Warlock is dealing 1d6 damage less, but has a massive defense advantage, if so I'd give it to WotMA's offense.

Lv 10: Warlock has either +7 BAB, 5d6 Eldritch Blast, and 6 invocations (Blind, Invisibility, Flight, with using their ability to change invocations when learning one to dismantle their old combo and get See Invisibility, Cha to save of choice, and Eldritch Glaive) or has gone the Hellfire Route has 1 less invocation, 1 less BAB, 7d6 damage, Naberius, and fire instead of blindness and no flight. Oh and DR 2.

You have +5 BAB, 10d6 Eldritch Blast, Lay on Hands, or you can split up but there's no real reason to have more than 3 in Guardian, Companion has more purpose but it deals 1d8 damage 1/round (no strength if incorporeal), it simply isn't worth enemies caring about it and not attacking you. You do get healing from damage dealt.

Advantage: Warlock beats Companion or Guardian. You might go 7d6 eldritch blast with 3 levels of guardian but then you have +2 AC and a worse version of the save invocation (limited to +5). You might have better Reflex, and compared to straight warlock better damage, but DR 2/cold iron is... worse than +2 AC at this level but Flight more than makes up for it, and save or Blind makes up 2d6 damage. So let's look at straight DPR. 10d6 damage beats warlock, even save vs blind doesn't make up the difference. Your healing actually gives you better defense (effectively fast healing 8-9. If an enemy gets into melee with you it'll hurt, if an enemy gets into melee with them their damage equals yours and they can invis to gtfo if they get into too much trouble. Advantage... the 2/day free save from death probably pushes this into WotMA barely. Hellfire actually shapes up worse than warlock (if Hellfire Strongheart Vest combo is okayed then they have Blind and shape up better), though they're going to wade into melee and out dps you and you have no way of staying out of melee so it's still really close. Again Chausable makes an impact (if WotMA can't use it then Warlock pulls ahead with Glaive, and Hellfire looks better, even if WotMA). If Warlock goes with Chain over Invis they're better AoE (especially hellfire) but worse defensively. Warlock could also pick up Charm but that's not directly comparable (Charm would be a stronger option than those I've listed, though).

Lv 15: Straight Warlock has 7d6 damage (9d6 with chausable), and 9 invocations (Vitriolic Blast, swap Invis for Chain... there's a lot of options actually) let's say they didn't ditch the Darkness combo but just the fear part and now have Enervating Shadows.

Hellfire has 1 less invocation, but we haven't even chosen one of Straight-lock's Greater (let's say Cone) so doesn't matter too much, they have 13d6 damage.

WotMA has 15d6 damage if they go pure damage, an flight! Plus AoE.

Advantage: Hellfire. They lose 7 damage/round, but double it in melee range, possibly triples it. In addition they ignore Spell Resistance if they're willing to take -10 damage. Meanwhile you gain 7 damage/round (0 if you can't chausable), Chain is comparable to your AoE, you do heal, but they have total concealment and debuff adjacent creatures' melee capabilities. Cha to spell pen can allow you to penetrate SR reliable (big plus) but means you're actually not hitting reliably against outsiders (i.e. the things with SR). Straight-lock lags needing Glaive to keep up with your damage and that has major limitations, but this is Straight-blaster-lock so is about the worst possible build for warlock. If you fight clustered groups your fast healing becomes ridiculous (if you hit 4 enemies you heal 45/round) but you still have nothing but 'I blast'. The other two routes get... umm... Guardian isn't worth investing in (-6d6 damage for negate 1 attack/encounter is not worth it with the fast healing), and Companion if you go straight companion and are Evil in an Undead heavy game ends up potentially game breaking, but outside of undead-land you're looking at trading 3d6 damage for an incorporeal scout which is... a really sweet deal.

If you and warlock both go pure damage, you come out a little ahead at AoE and behind at single target. Fast Healing gives you some survivability, but hope they don't hit you too hard. With the pseudo-fast healing if I coup de grace a dying enemy at -8 hp can I heal the full 25 hp still? Still I'd probably drop the 3d6 damage for incorporeal scout.

Also I must mention Maximize Spell-like Ability. Warlock can only use it with glaive (giving hellfire warlock 90 damage/hit with it, but allowing SR; note that 3 hits at 90 damage kos a pitfiend), WotMA gets 90 damage, 102 with chausable, but can use it on an AoE and use it for emergency healing. So advantage there.

Lv 20: Warlock is 9d6 (11d6 with chausable) and has save or lose a turn (CM), and I don't know what else. Hellfire Warlock is 16d6 with chausable.

WotMA is 17d6 (19d6 with chausable) and incorporeal scout but has lingering damage. They have the advantage of, due to their built in Cha bonuses, being able to reliably overcome SR just by investing in a +6 Cha item and 14 starting Charisma. Warlock needs an 8 (Greater Spell Penetration) without something else to boost or using Vitriolic (which is -10 damage and no save or lose a turn).

Advantage: WotMA. Here's the thing you can take Quicken Spell-like Ability, you end up with burst damage of 285 dpr 1/day. Hellfire Warlock is dealing 256 3/day. You can even manage ~210 3/day and potentially to multiple enemies without a full round action that requires you starting in melee. So you actually have the advantage in blasting. But that's the only thing you do. The warlock? Is using 3 of their 11 invocations to blast. They can do up to 8 other things, you can heal ~150 hp a day which is quite frankly a nice amount, and you heal yourself so you can survive, but it ends up rather boring. With automatic assay spell resistance and touch attacks it's automatic damage (you need a 1 and you need a 2), in fact after misses you flat out damage the hellfire glaivelock. If you're fighting 1 balor a day you're the best around like no-one ever was, if you're fighting 3, or groups, you still out dpr basic ToB (without charge damage multipliers, or questionable RAW, or anything beyond Core, basic maneuvers, and the Collision weapon quality), warblade reaches kills balor levels {290 damage} with a boost and Time Stands Still, or a crit (30% chance) and Strike of Perfect Clarity, this reaches it 1/day if it rolls above average on its Empowered blast, and also maximizes the blast and a quickened blast which is actually better than warblade's 30% chance. Coupled with its ability to heal ~50-75 hp while doing that and it might be a bit too much.

Edit: Oh yeah forgot to mention the warlock either way can go you know what I want to debuff the enemy and getting 3 save or be blind for 1 round or 3 save or lose a turn or 3 save or take 2 negative levels. None of these hit undead/constructs, but this gives warlock a fair bit more power (can also do this in a cone or 20 ft burst centered on self but then it's only 1 save/target and the damage sucks) and a whole lot more tactical play. End Edit

Final Conclusion:

The concept is neat, though I want to know what happens at 15th level when you can easily afford Resurrection, or 17th level when you can afford True Resurrection... Well ok I mean when I actually make a world my rule is Raise and its line only function on exceptional individuals (i.e. PCs and a few others) and I've been known to put a 3 resurrection limit even on PCs (Revivify doesn't count). Still I like the idea a lot.

The mechanics are... actually mostly acceptable. I mean if this was a contest class it'd definitely be in the running for 1st, because I'd actually allow it in a game (depending upon level range) and not go 'why are you getting 0 level spells stronger than 1st level wizard spells? Why are your 3rd level spells stronger than 5th? WHY????' or 'you do realize that DR Class level/- makes you practically invulnerable to attacks from Monsters above 15th level and thus is either circumvented or makes you walk over battles'.

That said while I'd allow it, except maybe at 15th level plus (depends upon optimization level, you normally need some to reliably take out balors in 1 round, I mean Paladin can do it with extreme difficulty or a flying mount with perfect maneuverability) I'd not play it.

Guardian and Companion need buffs, the Companion needs to deal relevant damage thanks to damage boosts or get debuffs to make it worth using, I'd also make some limitations on its distance from you or move the incorporeal to a higher level (6th level incorporeal is almost invincible, 10th+ it becomes much more reasonable).

Devotion, I'd say limit the healing from the attack to only the initial target. I'd also consider (depending upon where you want the burst damage to fall) making it so that instead of getting +Cha to spell penetration you get the ability to use it as an Su ability instead of a Spell-like and the ability to swap between them at-will, letting you still get the same burst damage but now you don't ignore SR when doing so, or you take a hit to damage (Maximize Supernatural Ability exists but is only 1/day iirc and there isn't Quicken) and ignore SR. Then again I like some tactics and this does currently work better for the 'I attack' every round player (in fact even fighter tends to have some deciding where to move, this is just attack and fall back).

Also note this is all 'on paper' and actual play and 'on paper' while related end up very different.

On the feats:

Arcane Bond: You just made it a 3 level class. Bonded levels are your main class feature, while yes missing out on the fast healing and SR penetration hurts, 17 levels of warmage are in fact better. Also Beguiler is in my experience stronger than Dread Necromancer.

Azure Bond: Better, since I'm not sure if Soulborn gets the stuff to make it worth losing the later bonds (and +1/2 isn't too great).

Divine Bond: I'd have to actually look over Healer.

Gifted Bond: I think you mean Practiced Spellcaster not Versatile Spellcaster, and I'd remove that note.

Martial Bond: Personally I find Crusader stronger than Warblade but..

Natural Bond: There's an official feat by this name (Practiced Spellcaster for Animal Companions), and I assume Shaman is Spirit Shaman and not OA Shaman (though really should probably be both).

Psychic Bond: Ardent is definitely worth going full over the fast healing, I'd actually gauge Ardent as stronger than Wilder, but even Wilder would be at 1/1.

Versatile Bond: Does the feat give you 2 at that level including the 1 from class level or 2 in addition (for a total of 3)? If the latter you need to reword so you can't take it to also boost the one you're taking with the 1 from class level, if the other it's too weak.

Warrior Bond: I don't think Monk has anything that's quite worth what you lose. :smallsigh: Poor Monks.

Overall (Feats): I'd make all of these except Versatile Bond 1 feat either Gifted Bond which even then I'd question (Practiced Spellcaster works because CL is <<<< Spells per Day/Spell levels, here nth Bond is << Bonded Levels), or a feat that says "Choose a class you gain 1 bonded level per 2 levels in that class" which still makes easy multiclassing possible, and gets around the 1:1 classes obsoleting the WotMA with those feats, and the 1:3 classes not ever being worth it (it caps at +5, gifted is +4, unless the game is 19th-20th level it is no better than gifted, at less than 16th it is less than Gifted).

[Eno Remnant]

A review! IT LIIIIIIIVES!

All dramatics aside, thanks for the review!


Also not a skill monkey though those skills they do have (UMD, Diplomacy, KNOWLEDGE) are good ones.

I actually looked back at it when I saw this, and kind of thought to myself "For a class that doesn't really use INT, they could probably afford to have a couple more skill points." That said, I will be increasing their skills points per level to 4.


Because +7 AC with the possibility for Mithral Fullplate 1 feat away is... not great without some stuff supporting it.

There was actually a lot of fuss over Guardian in the beta stage. Originally the bonus AC was uncapped and you got improvements as a quicker rate. But when we established that you'd have +50 AC by level 20, I decided it should probably be cut back. After that, I decided that it needed to scale more off of your Guardian levels, otherwise there's less incentive to take more levels.

Factoring in that you can use this class feature with any armour--so long as you're willing to take a few skill hits for your lack of proficiency--I'd say this class can reach, on average, a base AC of 21 with an increase by 1 each level (based on math determining an AC at level 1, level 5, level 15 and level 20 based on light optimisation). That seems plenty reasonable to me. Though as you mention later, it's hard to tell just how much my math applies without running a Wielder through an actual game.

That said, I trust that you know better than I do, so I'll increase the miscellaneous bonus progression to once every two levels.



Strong at low levels, weak at high levels, mostly balanced across the board and 1d6/level eldritch blast is a good way to bring Warlocks up to snuff without Hellfire+Gear or Eldritch Glaive (which has the 3 save or lose your turn/round issue).

I'm so glad, because that damage progression was really worrying me.


That is a painful amount of XP. Not saying it's unreasonable, but ouch. It really falls under the 'destroying a spellbook' range of things. If you want missing ache destruction to be something that does happen I'd suggest lowering the XP cost to at most half (I mean familiars are 'useless' because of the XP loss).

Also Guardian ability is the best protection due to the save scaling at double speed.

I actually did a lot of math to determine an appropriate cost to keep the XP loss meaningful by not crippling at every level. It's important to remember that the Missing Ache is an anchor for a person's soul, and as such requires a significant amount of your own soul energy to fix.

Were I to see one of these played in a campaign I DMed, it'd have the same issues as anyone with a spellbook. Either it doesn't take a hit at all, or there are--at most--one to two attempts to break or steal it. The XP cost is appropriate on the basis that a DM will attack the Missing Ache as often as they attack the Wizard's spellbook, or the Druid's mistletoe and holly, or even the Fighter's sword.

As for the Guardian, yeah, I've been told that before. I think I can afford to take out the bonus from Guardian levels (or drop it to half as the Companion possession save [see below]). Keeps scaling, less ridiculous.


Why Outsider instead of Undead/Deathless like Ghost?

Mostly because the beloved spirit isn't a ghost. The ghost template simply had a lot of features that were convenient for what I wanted to achieve. As to why the spirit is an Outsider, of all things, it's to do with the nature of the Missing Ache. Its very nature is that of the Outer Planes, and to be compatible with the Ache the spirit is made to conform to its nature.


For the 7th level ability I'd change it to 'you gain 10 ranks int he chosen skill, and you gain an additional skill rank in that skill for each WotME level beyond 11th. If this would put you above your maximum rank in that skill you may re-assign excess skill points to other skills as desired.'

Will do.


Yay nerfed cantrip at-will at 2nd!

I'll admit, some of the abilities this class has were slotted in to fill out dead levels. I thought to myself "What utility skills does everyone need?" From there I just put them in the closest to reasonable level that was available.


Deadly at low levels, lets you deal reasonable damage at higher levels, I like it.

Interesting.

Having properly considered how the deathless and undead types work, I will probably replace Aura of Courage as I will with Aura of Freedom. As for the Dedicator Bonding, I'm glad, because it was a real pain to balance these abilities and I clearly haven't done well enough.


So this ignores the beloved spirit's hp and it's just auto-kill? Why reference this ability as being how they can use Manifestation if the mechanics are completely different from that ability's?

Your point is well taken. I'll take that bit out.


I honestly think all of these would work at lower levels.

As I said for You Are My Sunshine, these features are filler for dead levels. As they're not necessary to the class's function, they can afford to come a little late.


This is extremely bad Divine Grace, I'd make it apply to all saves, or at least remove the class level limit.

I'll be honest, I can't remember why I thought capping it to half your class level was a good idea. That said, if there wasn't a class-based cap, you could take a three level dip in this class for Charisma to Reflex saves and AC. Though you can do better than that with Paladin... Very well, cap removed.


Should note that it gets the ability to make attacks with its weapon as an incorporeal touch attack. Also can I summon my Companion send it off, let it die, then summon it again? Actually just in general can I send it off on its own or is there a range limit?

Right. As for the Companion abuse, maybe I should install a cooldown. A range limit is also a good idea.


It's in the central eye of their goddess the Great Mother, a mortal who could claim it could control the world at a glance... if it wasn't for pesky mind-blanked wizards and paladins of freedom and the occasional cleric with 3 PrCs for ridiculous Will saves.

Oh man, she must really hate me. This is another one of those filler features, were it not obvious.


This is a pretty low level ability.

Mmm, I hadn't been too sure on just how good it was. I'll swap it around with the Reflex save Bonding for now, may come up with something better further down the road.


I will use this to get full out of combat healing (self only). Which it's 9th level I can think of at least one unquestionably functional way requiring 1 level of a prc, 1 feat, and being an initiator so don't really have a problem with it.

I don't know how that works, nor am I fussed to. There are cheesier ways to get free max hit points, that are easier to get.


Your companion is already immune to compulsion (deathless/undead type) and giving you a +4 when within 10 ft is nice but I'd make it be a larger range and remove the paladin reference but just say it gains an aura which grants allies within (new range) a +4 bonus on Will saves against compulsion.

As I noted above, I've taken this little bit to heart, and will make the necessary changes.


So it's 12th level and I have +2 AC and 2/3rds of nerfed Divine Grace.

Yeah, but I can't afford to upstage one of my favourite classes. It gets so little love as-is, let it keep its dip-value.


Ok this was necessary, though even with incorporeal touch attacks you're looking at +1 + 1/2 your class level; well I'm assuming it's +1/HD (instead of +1/2 HD) and not +1/WotMA level you have.

Companion scales stuff on its own HD, yeah.


This seems sort of weird and out there, but is mostly reasonable, if a little late.

Another one of those dastardly filler features. Flight's an essential, and I was able to think of a way to fluff it, so in it went.


Nice.

Very pleased you like this Bonding, because it gave me a headache trying to determine if it was at the right level.


Hehehehehe, losing functionality at this level (enemies cluster less at higher levels) but still likely to be useful.

I might extend it to close range, to make sure it has a significant impact.


The DC needs to scale at 1/2 companion levels since you can max them... then again it has a +3 Cha modifier... wait do you get to choose your companion spirit's Feats? Either way the Evil version is really quite powerful... if the DM lets you see a major undead creature again.

Technically, the beloved spirit chooses the Companion's feats. Realistically, that's up to you and your DM. It's the same as having a cohort from Leadership, really.

As for the DC, done.


So 1/encounter (very few encounters are longer than 1 minute) I am immune to attacks for 1 round; it's 18th level and not a 2nd level spell so it's reasonable.

Again, a feature that gave me anxiety over how balanced it was. Should have remembered Wings of Cover was a thing :smalltongue:


Interesting.

Yeah, not too sold on this Bonding myself, but I was running out of ideas to make it effective and worth having.


So it gains +30 hp. Actually does it gain ability bonuses per 4 HD? In that case it gains +40.

Ability bonuses as with feats. It gets them, and either you or the DM assigns them.


Can WotMA benefit from Chausable of Fell Power and other items which boost EB? If not the Warlock is dealing 1d6 damage less, but has a massive defense advantage, if so I'd give it to WotMA's offense.

Not as intended, but the class feature does read "functionally identical to the Warlock's Eldritch Blast," so I might just leave this up to any DM who has to deal with this. It's fine mechanically, but it's a clash with the fluff.


Guardian isn't worth investing in (-6d6 damage for negate 1 attack/encounter is not worth it with the fast healing), and Companion if you go straight companion and are Evil in an Undead heavy game ends up potentially game breaking, but outside of undead-land you're looking at trading 3d6 damage for an incorporeal scout which is... a really sweet deal.

It hurts me to realise that one path isn't really worth investing much in long-term, but I pretty much had to make my peace with that, due to it being so passive. As for Companion, I'll probably add a range limit, so less useful as a scout.


With the pseudo-fast healing if I coup de grace a dying enemy at -8 hp can I heal the full 25 hp still?

Eh, I mean, you can keep damaging someone past -10, so it makes sense.


But that's the only thing you do. The warlock? Is using 3 of their 11 invocations to blast. They can do up to 8 other things, you can heal ~150 hp a day which is quite frankly a nice amount, and you heal yourself so you can survive, but it ends up rather boring.

That's something I'd love to fix, but can't really see doing with the class as it stands. I'd have to change a lot of things to give it variety, and I'd likely throw the balance off completely.


Final Conclusion:

The concept is neat, though I want to know what happens at 15th level when you can easily afford Resurrection, or 17th level when you can afford True Resurrection... Well ok I mean when I actually make a world my rule is Raise and its line only function on exceptional individuals (i.e. PCs and a few others) and I've been known to put a 3 resurrection limit even on PCs (Revivify doesn't count). Still I like the idea a lot.

You have a good point, which I can only partially address with fluff. There are few good reasons to not use resurrection magic at that stage. I'll add an addendum stating that you cannot resurrect a soul bound by a Missing Ache, which can be justified in fluff for a number of reasons: for Good characters, they're committing themselves to a holy quest of sorts, and there's no easy trail once you've set foot on the path; for Evil characters, you've probably been conned into suffering for years with no chance of escape by fiends.


The mechanics are... actually mostly acceptable. I mean if this was a contest class it'd definitely be in the running for 1st, because I'd actually allow it in a game (depending upon level range) and not go 'why are you getting 0 level spells stronger than 1st level wizard spells? Why are your 3rd level spells stronger than 5th? WHY????' or 'you do realize that DR Class level/- makes you practically invulnerable to attacks from Monsters above 15th level and thus is either circumvented or makes you walk over battles'.

Sadly, this is not a concept class, and as such could afford to have good mechanics rather than acceptable ones.


That said while I'd allow it, except maybe at 15th level plus (depends upon optimization level, you normally need some to reliably take out balors in 1 round, I mean Paladin can do it with extreme difficulty or a flying mount with perfect maneuverability) I'd not play it.

I wish I could say that I would, but honestly, I think I'd have more fun with Warlock.


Guardian and Companion need buffs, the Companion needs to deal relevant damage thanks to damage boosts or get debuffs to make it worth using, I'd also make some limitations on its distance from you or move the incorporeal to a higher level (6th level incorporeal is almost invincible, 10th+ it becomes much more reasonable).

Range limit is good as done. Buffs for the two paths... Well, for now, Guardian has seen some improvement. Companion I'll have a think about. Incorporeality I'll switch with Aura of Freedom.


Devotion, I'd say limit the healing from the attack to only the initial target. I'd also consider (depending upon where you want the burst damage to fall) making it so that instead of getting +Cha to spell penetration you get the ability to use it as an Su ability instead of a Spell-like and the ability to swap between them at-will, letting you still get the same burst damage but now you don't ignore SR when doing so, or you take a hit to damage (Maximize Supernatural Ability exists but is only 1/day iirc and there isn't Quicken) and ignore SR. Then again I like some tactics and this does currently work better for the 'I attack' every round player (in fact even fighter tends to have some deciding where to move, this is just attack and fall back).

Yeah, the healing thing's a great point I hadn't considered. Spell penetration thing, I'll definitely look into. The attacking thing, this was never going to be on par with ToB's versatile attack options. I can't really afford to give it a lot of different abilities either, for the sake of fluff and balance. There'll be ACFs that improve that somewhat, and I'll give serious thought to fixing it, but I'm not optimistic I'll come up with something.


Also note this is all 'on paper' and actual play and 'on paper' while related end up very different.

Amen. I've been dying to get one of these into a game for a practical test.


On the feats:

Arcane Bond: You just made it a 3 level class. Bonded levels are your main class feature, while yes missing out on the fast healing and SR penetration hurts, 17 levels of warmage are in fact better. Also Beguiler is in my experience stronger than Dread Necromancer.

Azure Bond: Better, since I'm not sure if Soulborn gets the stuff to make it worth losing the later bonds (and +1/2 isn't too great).

Divine Bond: I'd have to actually look over Healer.

Gifted Bond: I think you mean Practiced Spellcaster not Versatile Spellcaster, and I'd remove that note.

Martial Bond: Personally I find Crusader stronger than Warblade but..

Natural Bond: There's an official feat by this name (Practiced Spellcaster for Animal Companions), and I assume Shaman is Spirit Shaman and not OA Shaman (though really should probably be both).

Psychic Bond: Ardent is definitely worth going full over the fast healing, I'd actually gauge Ardent as stronger than Wilder, but even Wilder would be at 1/1.

Versatile Bond: Does the feat give you 2 at that level including the 1 from class level or 2 in addition (for a total of 3)? If the latter you need to reword so you can't take it to also boost the one you're taking with the 1 from class level, if the other it's too weak.

Warrior Bond: I don't think Monk has anything that's quite worth what you lose. :smallsigh: Poor Monks.

Overall (Feats): I'd make all of these except Versatile Bond 1 feat either Gifted Bond which even then I'd question (Practiced Spellcaster works because CL is <<<< Spells per Day/Spell levels, here nth Bond is << Bonded Levels), or a feat that says "Choose a class you gain 1 bonded level per 2 levels in that class" which still makes easy multiclassing possible, and gets around the 1:1 classes obsoleting the WotMA with those feats, and the 1:3 classes not ever being worth it (it caps at +5, gifted is +4, unless the game is 19th-20th level it is no better than gifted, at less than 16th it is less than Gifted).

All agreed. I'll get onto it.

Edit: After I finished this response, I went out for lunch, and while I was out had a brainwave. With your permission, I'd like to give the Wielder access to the Eldritch Rain discipline and The Loving Dead vestige.

[Zaydos]

Yeah, the healing thing's a great point I hadn't considered. Spell penetration thing, I'll definitely look into. The attacking thing, this was never going to be on par with ToB's versatile attack options. I can't really afford to give it a lot of different abilities either, for the sake of fluff and balance. There'll be ACFs that improve that somewhat, and I'll give serious thought to fixing it, but I'm not optimistic I'll come up with something.

The thing is atm it is on par with ToB's versatile attack options, it just has one option for all situations (which actually puts it a little above). It's not game breakingly above, and even avoiding questionable RAW and well known cheese its optimization ceiling is probably a good deal lower than warblade (I mean I ran the math with the simplest build I could for raw numbers which means WF and WSpec line and optimal PA), due to uses per day limits and if you do go the Su when used to overcome SR route it slips down to closer to a little below.

The main thing, though, is making it where it's worth spreading out into all 3 types of bonded levels. If they were each about as strong as Dedicator and it was worth going 20/0/0 or 7/7/6 or 10/10 (and so forth) it'd be a really sweet class. The issue is making it that way and, I will admit I do not know how hard that is to do, my attempt at something similar tried to do it by going 'if you mix and match abilities your other abilities are stronger' which would be somewhat similar to if to get the Third Bonding ability (as a note I meant initial damage as in the damage to the initial target) you didn't need 4 dedicator but 4 dedicator and at least 2 guardian or some such and I'm 1) not sure if it was such a good idea when I did it, and 2) not sure that it'd be a good idea here even then.


Edit: After I finished this response, I went out for lunch, and while I was out had a brainwave. With your permission, I'd like to give the Wielder access to the Eldritch Rain discipline and The Loving Dead vestige.

Feel free, I put it out there for people to use, though I'll note that I 1) never ran the math on Eldritch Rain as well as I should have (I was making a lot of stuff that month), and 2) It was designed with being on classes which did not inherently get Eldritch Blast, except possibly through theurge levels (and even then 1/2), in mind.

[Eno Remnant]

The thing is atm it is on par with ToB's versatile attack options, it just has one option for all situations (which actually puts it a little above).

Which is what I'm hoping to mitigate with Eldritch Rain. Variety is the spice of life, after all. Actually it's napalm, but who's to know?

The main thing, though, is making it where it's worth spreading out into all 3 types of bonded levels. If they were each about as strong as Dedicator and it was worth going 20/0/0 or 7/7/6 or 10/10 (and so forth) it'd be a really sweet class.

That's my main focus at this point. I've got some ideas now, we'll see how well they work.


(as a note I meant initial damage as in the damage to the initial target)

Yeah, that's what I get for editing late at night. I'll fix that.


Feel free, I put it out there for people to use, though I'll note that I 1) never ran the math on Eldritch Rain as well as I should have (I was making a lot of stuff that month), and 2) It was designed with being on classes which did not inherently get Eldritch Blast, except possibly through theurge levels (and even then 1/2), in mind.

1) It should be fine since I only intend to give them a very weak progression. Just enough to add a little variety.

2) As in 1, I'm just adding a small progression for variety, as opposed to endless "I attack."

[remetagross]

This class seems very neat !
As an idea of making multiple bonded levels progression worthwhile, well I suppose you can't simply say "For every two levels you have in another bonding..." and mechanically increase the bonuses since it would make every type of mixing and matching stronger, including going almost 100 % Dedicator. I guess I'm saying something rather evident though :)
What about some rider effects ? For example, if you have a lot of Guardian bonded levels, this would enable you to add secondary effects to you Dedicator Eldritch Blast, like Calm Emotions, Sleep, a Suggestion that the target actually fights with you rather than against you, or maybe a Ray of Enfeeblement. This wouldn't be difficult to justify fluff-wise, while making the Guardian bonded levels more attractive. It also makes your more versatile.
It could also benefit to the Companion bonded levels by, say, increasing its AC, its HD at some point...like, giving him the benefits of your nth - 2 Guardian bonding. This is, however, not very interesting. Maybe it would be cooler to give your Companion some spell-like abilities like low-level Bigby's spells.
Taking levels in Companion would enhance your personnal protection by making you more and more incorporeal, I suppose, while better dealing with other incorporeal beings. At the beginning, it would allow you to see on the Ethereal Plane; then, maybe, you could get slightly immaterial for a few rounds a day, giving you concealment. At the end, you could Blink a number of rounds per day. Your Dedicator ray would be allowed to become a Force effect after some point, and to nail down Ethereal creatures into the Material Plane; maybe a Dimensional Anchor effect can be added a few times per encounter if you invest a lot in Companion.

On the other hand, it will mess up the class by giving new, numerous options, so maybe if you decide to go this way to enhance your class you should pick only two or three "side effects" for each bonding towards each other bonding.

[Eno Remnant]

Thanks for the feedback, remetagross! You've more or less hit on the head the very nail I have devised. Or in less metaphorical terms, I'd come to a similar conclusion and am reworking the class in that fashion.

No idea when I'll be done with that, but it should give the class the variety it needs.