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Jendekit
2016-09-06, 08:46 PM
Greetings playground, I need some help balancing a modified vampire template for the setting that a friend of mine and I are working on. Feel free to check out the blog for the setting, link in my sig. But anyway, here's the Bloodcloak template:


The remnants of vampires that survived the same cataclysm that destroyed all civilizations on the planet, bloodcloaks have lost much. No more than skin, ribs, head and spine, bloodcloaks are a grotesque combination of bat and centipede. While on the ground, their ribs propel themselves forward like centipedes. In the air, the skin that was once part of their torsos act as wings allowing them flight. Lastly, their spines are flexible and whip around like a bony tail.

“Bloodcloak” is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature with 5 or more Hit Dice (referred to hereafter as the base creature). Most bloodcloaks were once humanoids, fey, or monstrous humanoids. A bloodcloak uses the base creature’s stats except as noted here.
CR: Same as the base creature +2
Size: The creature’s size is reduced by one.
AL: Any evil.
Type: The creature’s type changes to undead (augmented). Do not recalculate class Hit Dice, BAB, or saves.
Senses: A bloodcloak gains darkvision 60 ft.
Armor Class: Natural armor improves by +6.
Hit Dice: Change all racial Hit Dice to d8s. Class Hit Dice are unaffected. As undead, bloodcloaks use their Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution).
Defensive Abilities: A bloodcloak gains channel resistance +4, DR 10/magic and silver, and resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10, in addition to all of the defensive abilities granted by the undead type. A bloodcloak also gains fast healing 5.
Weaknesses: Bloodcloaks cannot tolerate the strong odor of garlic and will not enter an area laced with it. Similarly, they recoil from strongly presented holy symbols. Holy symbols don’t harm the bloodcloak—they merely keep it at bay. A recoiling bloodcloak must stay at least 5 feet away from the holy symbol and cannot touch or make melee attacks against that creature. Holding a bloodcloak at bay takes a standard action. After 1 round, a bloodcloak can overcome its revulsion of the object and can function normally each round it makes a DC 25 Will save.
In addition to reducing the bloodcloak’s hit points to 0 or lower, there are certain attacks that can slay bloodcloaks. Exposing any bloodcloak to direct sunlight staggers it on the first round of exposure and turns it to stone on the second consecutive round of exposure if it does not escape. Each round of immersion in running water influcts damage on a bloodcloak equal to one-third of its maximum hit points.
Speed: Reduce base speed to 15 ft. The base creature gains a fly speed of 40 ft. (good maneuverability).
Melee: A bloodcloak gains a tentacle attack and looses any ability to use manufactured or improvised weapons as well as any natural attacks other than bite. Damage for the tentacle depends on the bloodcloak’s size (see Bestiary pages 301-302). When a bloodcloak hits with its tentacle, it may trigger either energy drain or grab but not both. Its natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Special Attacks: A bloodcloak gains several special attacks. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 bloodcloak’s HD + bloodcloak’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Blood Drain (Su): A bloodcloak can suck blood from a grappled opponent through its tentacle; if the bloodcloak establishes and maintains the pin, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage. The bloodcloak heals 5 hit points or gains 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour (up to a maximum number of temporary hitpoints equal to its full normal hit points) each round it drains blood.
Create Spawn (Su): A bloodcloak can create spawn out of those it slays with blood drain or energy drain. The victim rises from death as a neavir in 1d4 days. This neavir is under the command of the bloodcloak that created it, and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. A bloodcloak may have enslaved neavir totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any attempts to create a neavir that would exceed this limit fails.
Dominate (Su): A bloodcloak can cush a humanoid opponent’s will as a standard action. Anyone the bloodcloak targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the bloodcloak’s influence, as though by a dominate person spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet. At the GM’s discretion, some bloodcloaks might be able to affect different creature types with this power.
Energy Drain (Su): A creature hit by a bloodcloak’s tentacle attack may, at the GM’s discretion, gain two negative levels. This ability only triggers once per round, regardless of the number of attacks the bloodcloak makes.
Grab (Ex): This ability can be used on creatures up to one size category larger than the bloodcloak, but otherwise functions as detailed in the Universal Monster Rules.
Special Qualities: A bloodcloak gains the following.
Frightful Presence (Ex): This ability functions as detailed in the Universal Monster Rules.
Reflective Fury (Ex): When a bloodcloak sees their reflection in a mirror, they are forced to confront everything that they have lost. This sends them into a reckless fury, lashing out at anything and everything, as if subject to the rage spell. This effect lasts for one minute, and cannot occur more than once every 24 hours.
Shadowless (Ex): A bloodcloak casts no shadows but unlike their vampiric forebears do show reflections in mirrors.
Ability Scores: Str +4, Dex +6, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As an undead creature, a bloodcloak has no Constitution score.
Skills: Bloodcloaks gain a +8 racial bonus on Fly, Intimidate, Perception, Sense Motive, and Stealth checks.
Feats: Bloodcloaks gain Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, and Toughness as bonus feats.

Thealtruistorc
2016-09-07, 02:16 PM
This is an interesting premise for a monster, but I question how it would function in an environment.

For example, the fluff mentions that it is the remnant of planet-scale desolation, but the entity has no way to effectively traverse the cosmos. Maybe add starflight to its abilities. Second, what is a Neavir? It would be nice to have a source on that.

The third question is why it cannot grab and energy drain as part of the same attack. It would probably remain balanced, and it makes sense as to why a creature of this physiology would be able to zap somebody with negative energy while grabbing onto them.

Also, just as a flavor thing, it would be neat to grant it some sort of weakness regarding things being jammed inside of it. That's what I would do if I ever fought this thing.

Jendekit
2016-09-07, 04:19 PM
This is an interesting premise for a monster, but I question how it would function in an environment.

For example, the fluff mentions that it is the remnant of planet-scale desolation, but the entity has no way to effectively traverse the cosmos. Maybe add starflight to its abilities. Second, what is a Neavir? It would be nice to have a source on that.

In regards to the first part, the planet wasn't destroyed. There was just a world-wide societal collapse that, outside the obvious, no one knows anything about. I've taken to calling it the Historical Wipe behind the scenes but the other half of the setting creators doesn't care for the name enough to make it used insetting.

A neavir is simply the setting name for vampire spawn, like how in MtG's Zendicar the undead servants that vampires create are called Null.


The third question is why it cannot grab and energy drain as part of the same attack. It would probably remain balanced, and it makes sense as to why a creature of this physiology would be able to zap somebody with negative energy while grabbing onto them.

I'm hesitant to do so because I'm worried about it turning into a one hit eventual kill because the PCs if they fail the initial grapple may not be able to get out of it due to negative levels.


Also, just as a flavor thing, it would be neat to grant it some sort of weakness regarding things being jammed inside of it. That's what I would do if I ever fought this thing.

I'll strongly consider it, but I'm drawing a blank on what would need to be jammed in and how that would work.