Jirachi
2017-01-19, 07:23 AM
The Chorus
An Elf stares confusedly at an ancient text, and then promptly delivers a lecture about the interesting writing style of the piece. A worshipping cleric abruptly stops his reverie and begins a martial kata. A villain begins weeping when confronted by adventurers, beginning forgiveness.
These people are all choruses, people who have more than one mind existing within there body. The Chorus may have been born this way, or they could have been exposed to a horrifying magical or psionic effect that sundered there mind in half.
Adventures: A Chorus may adventure because the most dominant mind will it to be so, or simply because the person wishes to have there mind undivided between each personality. Many choruses adventure to try to find there own identity that is independent of what they see, and what there sensory experiences tell them, as the mind 'in control' often has there personal perceptions overlaid, meaning that they may adventure for a purely philosophical reason.
Some Choruses develop an intense hatred of effects that tamper with peoples minds, and may set out on adventures to destroy such 'abominations'. However, due to the variety that the class offers, they may have any motivation for going on an adventure.
Religion: Choruses sometimes tend Gods who emphasize unity and teamwork, as it is a pragmatic nessecity in there lives. As there lives often wisk them out to exotic and uncivilized locales, many prefer to simply pray to any god they believe in.
Background: Any sentient being may become a Chorus, though outsiders tend to have a distilled essence that makes the fracturing required for entry into this class more difficult. The humanoid races are represented most evenly, though there are stories of scrolls of awaken construct being miscast to create constructs with many minds...
Other Classes: Choruses have no special relation with other classes, though many Choruses have respect for people who's solitary path is that class that there casting emulates.
Role: Choruses are very useful if you do not have a caster in your group, as they can provide secondary casting. They are also good at having a number of tricks up there sleeves, whether they be spells, maneuvers or skills.
Hit Die: d6
This is my first time homebrewing a class, so please tell me if it is incorrectly made. Feel free to post constructive criticism in the comments.
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Class Features
1st
+0
+0
+0
+2
Dual minded, Cantrips, mental archetypes
2nd
+1
+0
+0
+3
Spellcasting
3rd
+2
+1
+1
+3
Discordant thoughts
4th
+3
+1
+1
+4
5th
+3
+1
+1
+4
Telepathy 30 ft
6th
+4
+2
+2
+5
7th
+5
+2
+2
+5
Ethereal mind
8th
+6/+1
+2
+2
+6
Increased 'casting'
9th
+6/+1
+3
+3
+6
Of two minds
10th
+7/+2
+3
+3
+7
11th
+8/+3
+3
+3
+7
Uncanny dodge
12th
+9/+4
+4
+4
+8
13th
+9/+4
+4
+4
+8
14th
+10/5
+4
+4
+9
Improved Ethereal Mind
15th
+11/+6/+1
+5
+5
+9
Third mind
16th
+12
+5
+5
+10
Mental fortress
17th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+5
+10
Telepathy 120 ft.
18th
+13/+8/+3
+6
+6
+11
Disjointed mind
19th
+14/+9/+4
+6
+6
+11
20th
+15/+10/+5
+6
+6
+12
Unified mind
Alignment requirements: A Chorus can be of any alignment, but all minds must be within 3 alignment steps of the dominant mind. Further requirements may be added by mental archetypes (see below)
Dual minded: You have two minds, each that has it's own mental archetype. You use your mental ability scores arranged in any order to create the statistics for each mind. Each mind has access to one skill list and mental archetype. Each mind is entitled to 2 + Intelligence modifier skill points per level, as well as a quantity of skill points equal to the amount that you have obtained from other sources, such as racial hit die and other classes.
Control of the body is best done by roleplaying, but each mind has roughly the percentage of time in control of the body as the chance that they would win an opposed will save against the other minds.
To change minds, you must spend a standard action.
Due to your dual nature, you are very difficult to read. All opposed sense motive checks have a -5 penalty, and if you use a different mind as a disguise, then you gain a +5 bonus to disguise checks due to your changed mannerisms.
Mental archetypes: You select 2 of the following archetypes. All figures are rounded down.
Arcanist: You cast as a Wizard, Sorcerer, Wu Jen or Warmage 3/4 of your level -1.
Martial Adept: You gain maneuvers and stances as if you were 3/4 -1 of your level in a base martial adept class. If the class has three sublime paths, you temporarily gain a full base attack bonus when the mind is in charge.
Invoker: You gain eldritch blast or a dragon fire adept breath weapon as a warlock or dragonfire adept equal to your Chorus level -1. However, you use and gain access to invocations as a character 3/4 of your level -1.
Manifester: You have power points and a maximum power level cap as a psion or wilder 3/4 -1 of your level.
Bard: You cast as a bard or divine bard of your level -1.
Priest: You cast as a cleric, Favoured soul 3/4 of your level -1. You also gain two domains.
Naturalist: You can cast as a Shaman or Druid 3/4 of your level -1.
Archivist: You cast as an Archivist 3/4 -1 of your level, but you have a poor base attack bonus when you can cast archivist spells.
Cantrips: If a mental archetype would give you spellcasting and you cast as a zero level caster, you gain cantrips as a first level caster.
Discordant thoughts: Between the mental interactions inside your head, your mind is naturally confusing to read. You gain a +5 bonus to Will saves against effects that would tell your thoughts.
Telepathy: You gain the ability to communicate with other minds outside of your head up to the stated distance, though you gain no special ability to communicate across language barriers.
Of two minds: When you are subject to a hostile effect that alters your behavior, you are treated as two people, so if you become effected, you may as an immediate action switch minds and repress the effected mind so you are not influenced.
Apologies, that was a bit awkwardly phrased, but I don't know how to phrase it more cleanly. Suggestions?
Uncanny dodge: Your mind becomes so strong that you have a supernatural awareness of your surroundings and yourself, allowing you to gain the rogue class feature.
Ethereal Mind: Your minds are so strong and large that you continue to exist even into the far ethereal. You can choose to see into the ethereal plane as a free action. In fact, your mind is so dense that you have natural armor + 1 vs. effects that bypass armor.
Improved Ethereal mind: The natural armor bonus goes to +2 and is considered to be under a constant shimmering scales effect.
Third mind: You are so used to being disjointed that you have a hybridized personality that is relatively stable. You gain any ten class skills from classes that you have a mental archetype in and 4 + Intelligence modifier skill points.
Mental Fortress: Your minds become so strong that they are essentially impentetrable. You are consider to be under a permanent mind blank effect, though you may lower this as a free action.
Disjointed mind: Your minds are now separate enough that when you are subjected to any effect that would remove your soul from your body, you may have only one soul leave, and have the other behind.
For example, if you get astral projection cast on you, you can have one mind leave your body, but the other may be awake, aware and active. Mostly a flavor ability.
Unified mind: You have come to accept the other mind in your head, and realize that you can work together to be far more powerful than before. Once a day, you may 'slave' on of your minds to the other, allowing you to temporarily access the true power of the archetypes. You can cast / manifest / initiate maneuvers / invoke as if you had levels in that class equal to your Chorus level. After 5 minutes, you lose this power surge and can only create effects that a character 3/4 of your level could create, though you may have access to more techniques than normal. In addition, this prevents the slaved mind from emerging until after you have had a long rest. Furthermore, you may not use this class feature on the same mind twice in a row.
Multiclassing note: Choruses interact uniquely with prestige classes that grant '+1 level of spellcasting' or similar. You may either progress as a Chorus, in which you continue to acquire spells as you would if you had continued in the class for all spellcasting minds, or you may take one of the classes that you are emulating as the +1 level of spellcasting, where you cast as a character 3/4 (-1 if less than level 8) + added spellcasting progression from prestige classes. This is the same for invocations and powers.
Feats: Each mind takes feats separately, except when you gain the third mind class feature where you gain feats selected from the list of feats gained by other minds. Each mind must qualify on its own merits for feats and prestige classes.
An Elf stares confusedly at an ancient text, and then promptly delivers a lecture about the interesting writing style of the piece. A worshipping cleric abruptly stops his reverie and begins a martial kata. A villain begins weeping when confronted by adventurers, beginning forgiveness.
These people are all choruses, people who have more than one mind existing within there body. The Chorus may have been born this way, or they could have been exposed to a horrifying magical or psionic effect that sundered there mind in half.
Adventures: A Chorus may adventure because the most dominant mind will it to be so, or simply because the person wishes to have there mind undivided between each personality. Many choruses adventure to try to find there own identity that is independent of what they see, and what there sensory experiences tell them, as the mind 'in control' often has there personal perceptions overlaid, meaning that they may adventure for a purely philosophical reason.
Some Choruses develop an intense hatred of effects that tamper with peoples minds, and may set out on adventures to destroy such 'abominations'. However, due to the variety that the class offers, they may have any motivation for going on an adventure.
Religion: Choruses sometimes tend Gods who emphasize unity and teamwork, as it is a pragmatic nessecity in there lives. As there lives often wisk them out to exotic and uncivilized locales, many prefer to simply pray to any god they believe in.
Background: Any sentient being may become a Chorus, though outsiders tend to have a distilled essence that makes the fracturing required for entry into this class more difficult. The humanoid races are represented most evenly, though there are stories of scrolls of awaken construct being miscast to create constructs with many minds...
Other Classes: Choruses have no special relation with other classes, though many Choruses have respect for people who's solitary path is that class that there casting emulates.
Role: Choruses are very useful if you do not have a caster in your group, as they can provide secondary casting. They are also good at having a number of tricks up there sleeves, whether they be spells, maneuvers or skills.
Hit Die: d6
This is my first time homebrewing a class, so please tell me if it is incorrectly made. Feel free to post constructive criticism in the comments.
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Class Features
1st
+0
+0
+0
+2
Dual minded, Cantrips, mental archetypes
2nd
+1
+0
+0
+3
Spellcasting
3rd
+2
+1
+1
+3
Discordant thoughts
4th
+3
+1
+1
+4
5th
+3
+1
+1
+4
Telepathy 30 ft
6th
+4
+2
+2
+5
7th
+5
+2
+2
+5
Ethereal mind
8th
+6/+1
+2
+2
+6
Increased 'casting'
9th
+6/+1
+3
+3
+6
Of two minds
10th
+7/+2
+3
+3
+7
11th
+8/+3
+3
+3
+7
Uncanny dodge
12th
+9/+4
+4
+4
+8
13th
+9/+4
+4
+4
+8
14th
+10/5
+4
+4
+9
Improved Ethereal Mind
15th
+11/+6/+1
+5
+5
+9
Third mind
16th
+12
+5
+5
+10
Mental fortress
17th
+12/+7/+2
+5
+5
+10
Telepathy 120 ft.
18th
+13/+8/+3
+6
+6
+11
Disjointed mind
19th
+14/+9/+4
+6
+6
+11
20th
+15/+10/+5
+6
+6
+12
Unified mind
Alignment requirements: A Chorus can be of any alignment, but all minds must be within 3 alignment steps of the dominant mind. Further requirements may be added by mental archetypes (see below)
Dual minded: You have two minds, each that has it's own mental archetype. You use your mental ability scores arranged in any order to create the statistics for each mind. Each mind has access to one skill list and mental archetype. Each mind is entitled to 2 + Intelligence modifier skill points per level, as well as a quantity of skill points equal to the amount that you have obtained from other sources, such as racial hit die and other classes.
Control of the body is best done by roleplaying, but each mind has roughly the percentage of time in control of the body as the chance that they would win an opposed will save against the other minds.
To change minds, you must spend a standard action.
Due to your dual nature, you are very difficult to read. All opposed sense motive checks have a -5 penalty, and if you use a different mind as a disguise, then you gain a +5 bonus to disguise checks due to your changed mannerisms.
Mental archetypes: You select 2 of the following archetypes. All figures are rounded down.
Arcanist: You cast as a Wizard, Sorcerer, Wu Jen or Warmage 3/4 of your level -1.
Martial Adept: You gain maneuvers and stances as if you were 3/4 -1 of your level in a base martial adept class. If the class has three sublime paths, you temporarily gain a full base attack bonus when the mind is in charge.
Invoker: You gain eldritch blast or a dragon fire adept breath weapon as a warlock or dragonfire adept equal to your Chorus level -1. However, you use and gain access to invocations as a character 3/4 of your level -1.
Manifester: You have power points and a maximum power level cap as a psion or wilder 3/4 -1 of your level.
Bard: You cast as a bard or divine bard of your level -1.
Priest: You cast as a cleric, Favoured soul 3/4 of your level -1. You also gain two domains.
Naturalist: You can cast as a Shaman or Druid 3/4 of your level -1.
Archivist: You cast as an Archivist 3/4 -1 of your level, but you have a poor base attack bonus when you can cast archivist spells.
Cantrips: If a mental archetype would give you spellcasting and you cast as a zero level caster, you gain cantrips as a first level caster.
Discordant thoughts: Between the mental interactions inside your head, your mind is naturally confusing to read. You gain a +5 bonus to Will saves against effects that would tell your thoughts.
Telepathy: You gain the ability to communicate with other minds outside of your head up to the stated distance, though you gain no special ability to communicate across language barriers.
Of two minds: When you are subject to a hostile effect that alters your behavior, you are treated as two people, so if you become effected, you may as an immediate action switch minds and repress the effected mind so you are not influenced.
Apologies, that was a bit awkwardly phrased, but I don't know how to phrase it more cleanly. Suggestions?
Uncanny dodge: Your mind becomes so strong that you have a supernatural awareness of your surroundings and yourself, allowing you to gain the rogue class feature.
Ethereal Mind: Your minds are so strong and large that you continue to exist even into the far ethereal. You can choose to see into the ethereal plane as a free action. In fact, your mind is so dense that you have natural armor + 1 vs. effects that bypass armor.
Improved Ethereal mind: The natural armor bonus goes to +2 and is considered to be under a constant shimmering scales effect.
Third mind: You are so used to being disjointed that you have a hybridized personality that is relatively stable. You gain any ten class skills from classes that you have a mental archetype in and 4 + Intelligence modifier skill points.
Mental Fortress: Your minds become so strong that they are essentially impentetrable. You are consider to be under a permanent mind blank effect, though you may lower this as a free action.
Disjointed mind: Your minds are now separate enough that when you are subjected to any effect that would remove your soul from your body, you may have only one soul leave, and have the other behind.
For example, if you get astral projection cast on you, you can have one mind leave your body, but the other may be awake, aware and active. Mostly a flavor ability.
Unified mind: You have come to accept the other mind in your head, and realize that you can work together to be far more powerful than before. Once a day, you may 'slave' on of your minds to the other, allowing you to temporarily access the true power of the archetypes. You can cast / manifest / initiate maneuvers / invoke as if you had levels in that class equal to your Chorus level. After 5 minutes, you lose this power surge and can only create effects that a character 3/4 of your level could create, though you may have access to more techniques than normal. In addition, this prevents the slaved mind from emerging until after you have had a long rest. Furthermore, you may not use this class feature on the same mind twice in a row.
Multiclassing note: Choruses interact uniquely with prestige classes that grant '+1 level of spellcasting' or similar. You may either progress as a Chorus, in which you continue to acquire spells as you would if you had continued in the class for all spellcasting minds, or you may take one of the classes that you are emulating as the +1 level of spellcasting, where you cast as a character 3/4 (-1 if less than level 8) + added spellcasting progression from prestige classes. This is the same for invocations and powers.
Feats: Each mind takes feats separately, except when you gain the third mind class feature where you gain feats selected from the list of feats gained by other minds. Each mind must qualify on its own merits for feats and prestige classes.