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CervantesTheDefenestrator
2007-07-13, 03:25 AM
This one is for all you Nodwick lovers out there. You know who you are. Let me know what you think, and feel free to offer ideas and suggestions.

HD: d12
Saves: All poor
BAB: 1/2 level
Skills: Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Jump
Skill Points:6
Proficiencies: Helmet

Level Special
1 Contract, Lug Loot, Balance Loot
2 Patch 'em Up
3 Trap Sense +3/1d6
4 Disable Trap
5 Love of Life
6 Activate Magic Device
7 Loot Trap
8 Trap Sense +4/2d6
9 Tireless Hauling
10 Mighty Hauling
11 You Go First 1/day
12 Beg for the Sweet Release of Death
13 Trap Sense +5/3d6
14 Improved Balance Loot
15 You Go First 2/day
16 Never Stop Hauling
17 Awesome Hauling
18 Trap Sense +6/4d6
19 You Go First 3/day
20 Retire

Contract: The henchman cannot access any of his class abilities unless he is bound in service in some way to an adventuring party. The various methods are up to the DM. or to be negotiated between the players. Note that the contrat is exceedingly hard to get out of, sometimes even after the death of the party. It also has really sucky pay and benefits.

Lug Loot: When carrying loot and treasure for his contracted party, the henchman is granted a bonus to twice his Strenth score equal to his class level. This bonus also applies to picking up loot.

Balance Loot: The henchman is skilled at balancing loot when carrying it. Any loot he is carrying ganins the benefits of the Evasion special ability, and saves separately from the henchman with a bonus equal to 1/2 class level. At 14th level, the loot is considered to have the Improved Evasion special ability.

Patch 'em Up: No one wants to waste valuable healing spells on a mere henchman. If a Contract Holder takes special care when healing the henchman, any spell slot, power points, uses per day, or whatever are not used up. Doing so takes 5 times as long, minimum 5 rounds.

Trap Sense: At the indicated level, the henchman gains the trapsense class feature, but with a twist. If he fails his save or is hit by an attack generated by a trap, he takes the indicated d6s as extra damage.

Disable Trap: An adventurer who is included in the contract can use the henchman to simulate the Disable Device skill. He gains a bonus on such skills equal to 1/2 henchman level+the henchman's Con modifier, and can use the skill untrained, and checks take half the normal time. Whenever he uses it, the henchman takes the following amount of damage:
Simple: 1d6
Tricky: 2d6
Difficult: 3d6
Wicked: 4d6
Trap: Half Effect

Love of Life: The henchman is bound by his contract, not even death can break it. He never loses a level when being brought back to life. If subject to an effect such as the reincarnate spell, he automatically comes back as his starting race. These effects only apply when being raised by a contract holder.

Activate Magic Device: An adventurer who is included in the contract can use the henchman to simulate the Use Magic Device skill. He gains a bonus on such skills equal to 1/2 henchman level+the henchman's Con modifier, and can use the skill untrained. He can only use this ability to activate magic devices. The henchman becomes the target of all effects produced by the item. Harmful effects are reduced by half, if possible. Curses automatically activate. Adventurers generally use this to find out what magic items do.

Loot Trap: The henchman can make a special check similar to the Craft(Trapmaking) skill. He adds his level, plus both his Int and Wis modifer to this check. It is up to the DM to decide on the full extent of the effects of the trap, but the henchman can decide it's basic functioning. Such traps are decidedly difficult to notice or disable by non-henchman. Search and Disable Device skills made by anyone without this class ability are at DC 40. Checks made by people with the skill are at 15, can be made untrained, and grant a circumstance bonus equal to half the henchman's class level. The henchman who made the trap automatically succeeds at such checks.

Tireless Hauling: The henchman gains the benefits of the Endurance feat, but only when hauling loot.

Mighty Hauling: The henchman is considered one size larger for the purposes of lifting and carrying capacities when hauling loot.

You Go First: Whenever a Contract Holder would be targeted by a trap, he may gain the henchman's Trap Sense bonus, but not the extra damage. He must be adjacent to the henchman to use this ability. Doing so causes the trap to target the henchman instead, and negates his trapsense bonus, but not the extra damage. If the henchman was also targeted by the trap, as in an area attack, he takes the effects twice, but not the extra damage twice, and automatically saves against one of the effects.


Beg for the Sweet Release of Death: Any spell cast by the contract holders to bring the henchman to life requires no material or xp componant. In addition, it always succeeds, reguardless of the wishes of the henchman.

Never Stop Hauling: The bonuses from the henchman's Tireless Hauling Class feature are doubled.

Awesome Hauling: The henchman is considered two sizes larger for lifting and carrying capacity purposes when hauling loot.

Retire: At 20th level, the henchman finally is free of his contract. He loses all class abilities, but who cares? He's free now!

When he gains the Retire class ability, he can immediately choose to inflict all adventurers with the effects of a Greater Bestow Curse, no saving throw, SR does not apply, and cannot be removed by non-epic means. He may choose the effect of the curse for each separate adventure, but once chosen, cannot be changed. He may supress or resume the effects of the curse as a free action. As an additional effect of the curse, the adventurer is unable to reveal the curse to anyone who is not under the same curse from the same henchman. Any means, both mundane and magical, are foiled. Only Diety level magic can reveal to a mortal the existance of the Hench Curse. If an adventurer under the curse causes the death of the henchman who inflicted the curse, then the curse immediately is immediately lifted from the other victims, but becomes permanant for the adventurer who killed the henchman. This applies even to indirect casues of death, such as hiring assassins. The non-discloser effect remains for all, even until after death. This effect is one of the most closely guarded Hench secret. Any effect to use divination to find information on it must succeed at a CL check DC 40. Bardic Knowledge reveals this much:
DC Information
35: Boy, adventurers sure take care of their retired henchmen. I hear it's really bad luck not to.
40: This reveals information about a specific retired henchman and his adventuering party.

Henchman usually use this ability to blackmail their former employers. They keep the curse off, as long as they give up a generous cut of thier loot. Of course, some especially vintictive ones just activate the curse anyways and disapear.

DracoDei
2007-07-13, 05:15 AM
Have resurrection stuff work at earlier levels regardless of Henchman's wishes. Also I am not so sure about always coming back as original race if Reincarnated seems like having Nodwick still being expect to carry stuff as a squirrel would be just his luck...

RelentlessImp
2007-07-13, 06:10 AM
May I just say this just brightened my morning? Ahahahahaha... had a good chuckle at this. Very nice work overall! A party always needs a lug to carry around the loot.

Zeta Kai
2007-07-13, 07:35 AM
Why would anyone take this class, ever? I can tell it's designed for NPC's, but I would have a hard time justifying why any non-serf would choose this career path. It could just as easily be renamed Slave.

And the capstone ability of losing all class features, combined with poor saves & a complete lack of BAB, equals a character who should be a CR19 opponent who couldn't challenge a party of 1st level wizards. This is humorous, but brokenly underpowered.

Or maybe I'm just not getting the joke.

Matthew
2007-07-13, 07:39 AM
Yeah, you have to be familiar with Nodwick to get the joke here, Zeta.

BisectedBrioche
2007-07-13, 10:20 AM
Who's Nodwick?

Hranat
2007-07-13, 11:03 AM
a lower bab then a commoner? (who doesn't know how to fight at all?)

Zeta Kai
2007-07-13, 11:08 AM
Apparently, this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodwick) is Nodwick.

I stand by my assessment that this class is ridiculously underpowered, to the point of nigh-uselessness.

Vhaidara
2007-07-13, 01:56 PM
To put it plainly, anyone smarter than gravel wouldn't take this class. Not meant as flaming, just truth.

Xuincherguixe
2007-07-13, 02:01 PM
This seems like it's mostly a joke. One doesn't choose to take this class, they are cursed to take it.

SydneyLosstarot
2007-07-13, 02:31 PM
i'd say give him more skills to make the class more playable =)

and also move the retire ability to lv19

and give him a capstone that enables him to wreck vengeance upon the contract party as well as any obstacle the party had dealt with =)

elliott20
2007-07-13, 02:38 PM
might as well have called this class "immortal red shirt"

Xuincherguixe
2007-07-13, 02:55 PM
He's dead Ji... wait no he isn't!

elliott20
2007-07-13, 02:59 PM
the secret is in losing one's virginity. studies have shown that losing ones virginity can lengthen the character's life span by an average of 30% of the show's lifespan. except if you're in a horror film, then it's like the kiss of death.

CervantesTheDefenestrator
2007-07-13, 04:11 PM
Alright, this is for all you people out there who keep complaining that the class is underpowered and stuff. It's supposed to be, it's meant to be a joke. As RelentlessImp said, it's for all those who read the webcomic Nodwick, which can be found here.

http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/index.htm

I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear at the beginning, but I just made it for the fun of it, I didn't for one minute imagine that anyone would want to play one in a serious campaign. You should read some of the comic, and then go back and look at the class.

CervantesTheDefenestrator
2007-07-13, 04:35 PM
To make the Retire class ability much funnier, I'll add this to it. I know it's not in the comic, but I thought it was funny.

When he gains the Retire class ability, he can immediately choose to inflict all adventurers with the effects of a Greater Bestow Curse, no saving throw, SR does not apply, and cannot be removed by non-epic means. He may choose the effect of the curse for each separate adventure, but once chosen, cannot be changed. He may supress or resume the effects of the curse as a free action. As an additional effect of the curse, the adventurer is unable to reveal the curse to anyone who is not under the same curse from the same henchman. Any means, both mundane and magical, are foiled. Only Diety level magic can reveal to a mortal the existance of the Hench Curse. If an adventurer under the curse causes the death of the henchman who inflicted the curse, then the curse immediately is immediately lifted from the other victims, but becomes permanant for the adventurer who killed the henchman. This applies even to indirect casues of death, such as hiring assassins. The non-discloser effect remains for all, even until after death. This effect is one of the most closely guarded Hench secret. Any effect to use divination to find information on it must succeed at a CL check DC 40. Bardic Knowledge reveals this much:
DC Information
35: Boy, adventurers sure take care of their retired henchmen. I hear it's really bad luck not to.
40: This reveals information about a specific retired henchman and his adventuering party.

Henchman usually use this ability to blackmail their former employers. They keep the curse off, as long as they give up a generous cut of thier loot. Of course, some especially vintictive ones just activate the curse anyways and disapear.

Yakk
2007-07-13, 04:40 PM
Duct Tape: When not in a time-sensitive or immediately dangerous situation, healing spells cast on the Henchmen have a chance of being free. Insert Mechanics Here.

Change the rez abilities to "if reincarnated as something else, will be back to normal at the start of the next adventure".

The Balance thing needs some mechanics. Maybe the Henchman should have Evasion, Improved Evasion, and Perfect Evasion for the loot only?

The Henchman Guild needs to be crunched in.

A note that the Henchman can never save against any spell cast by the Contact Holders.

You go in front: X times per day, a Contract Holder who fails their save may transfer the failure on the Henchman. The Contract Holder must be within 20' of the Henchman, and the Contract Holder suffers the effect of a successful save against the attack, while the Henchman suffers the effect of a failed save.

Tallis
2007-07-13, 05:34 PM
Good stuff. I would use this as a DMPC in a game. Not a serious game of course, but a game.
Maybe give them the scent ability due to their extremely large noses?
Can be used as a battering ram by contract holders?

CervantesTheDefenestrator
2007-07-13, 10:17 PM
Alright, I made some additions, as per your excellent suggestions. And here is some bonus material.

Henching Helmet: This helmet can only be worn by henchmen, as a sign of their service. When worn, it allows the henchman to be used as a handheld battering ram. Each use deals damage to the henchman equal to 1d4/per Contract holder using the henchman + their combined Str bonuses. Each round of use causes the henchman do be dazed for one round afterwards per round of use.

Hard to Digest (General)
Prerequisites: Patch 'em Up, must have been subject to a Swallow Whole special attack.
Benefit: You gain Acid Resistance 10 and Damage Reduction 10/Slashing and Piercing. The DR applies only to the crushing effect of being swallowed, and the Acid Resistance applies only to digestive acid. Note that this also grants you resistance to digestive acid that is somehow out of the digestive tract, such as from the digester monster's acid spraying ability.