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SilverNoble
2017-08-20, 02:19 PM
Hello All, this is my first post to giantitp.com so I hope I get this right.

I have always loved the concept of a bone mage(as I am sure many of you do as well) and while I typically steer clear of a lot of homebrew content in the games I run, I decided it was time to try my hand and balancing an old favourite concept that just was not up to par with so many other great options. So I present to you all for your approval/constructive criticism: The Osteomage, The Master of Bone.

Osteomages are an odd breed of spellcasters that favour a more martial approach to their magic use. For them, magic is not a mystical power to be used for affecting the outside world, it is a science to be applied to improve themselves from the inside out. Oseteomages are obsessed with perfecting their own biology to the point of a twisted artistic perfection. Many monks enthralled by magic use pursue this passion, some Sorcerers who feel the need to fight with their hands, and the occasional Ranger or Druid that wishes to combine the natural with the unnatural.

Entry Requirements:
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Heal 6 Ranks, Knowledge(Arcana) 6 Ranks, Knowledge(Nature) 6 Ranks, Craft(Bonework) 6 Ranks.
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Any Metamagic Feat.
Spells: Must be able to cast any 4 Transmutation Spells, at least one of which is 2nd level or higher.
Special: Anyone taking levels in the Osteomage Prestige Class must take all 10 Levels Consecutively. Bone Magic is difficult and unwieldy, if an Osteomage abandons their study to pursue other interests, lack of understanding and attention to this magic can cause harm and even death. If you decide to abandon this class you lose all special abilities of it and immediately 1d6 damage per Character Level plus and additional 1d6 damage per Osteomage Class Level.

Class Skills:
Contentrate, Craft, Disguise, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge(Arcana), Knowledge(Architecture & Engineering), Knowledge(Dungeoneering), Knowledge(Geography), Knowledge(History), Knowledge(Local), Knowledge(Nature), Knowledge(Nobility & Royalty), Knowledge(Religion), Knowledge(The Planes), Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int

Hit Dice: d8

Advancement:


Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special
Spells Per Day


1st
0
2
0
2
Boneless, Immunity to Disease
-


2nd
1
3
0
3
Skeletal Shift, Bone Spurs
+1 Level of Existing Class


3rd
2
3
1
3
Unnerve, Bone Restructure(Heal)
-


4th
3
4
1
4
Enlarge/Reduce, Iron Bones, Skeletal Harden +1
+1 Level of Existing Class


5th
3
4
1
4
Seize the Frame, Improved Bone Spurs
+1 Level of Existing Class


6th
4
5
2
5
Bone Restructure(Damage), Bristle
-


7th
5
5
2
5
Adamantine Bones, Magic Weapon(Bone Spurs)
+1 Level of Existing Class


8th
6
6
2
6
Fracture, Skeletal Harden +1
+1 Level of Existing Class


9th
6
7
3
7
Osteophage, Complete Bone Spurs
-


10th
7
7
3
7
Master Osteomage
+1 Level of Existing Class




Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
Osteomages gain no additional proficiency with any Weapons or Armor

Spells:
At every level gained except 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th, an Osteomage gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of rebuking or controlling undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on), except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an Osteomage, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Boneless(Su):
At will, as a full-round action, an Osteomage may dissolve or restore her own skeleton. She becomes able to travel at a speed of 10 feet through muscular control taught to all novice Osteomages (she may not run). The Osteomage may now fit in minute spaces and crawl under barriers, with one important caveat: the Osteomage must at all times take care to protect her organs, making sure they are not squashed or crushed. For simplicity's sake, assume the Osteomage cannot travel through any space smaller than 6 inches in diameter.
While in this form, the Osteomage is considered prone. She cannot use a shield, and loses her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class. She can't attack or cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus components while boneless. (This does not rule out the use of certain spells that the Osteomage might have prepared using the feats Silent Spell, Still Spell, and Eschew Materials.)

Immunity to Disease(Ex):
Due to their phenomenal understanding of bone and the role it plays in the immune system, Osteomages are immune to disease, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Skeletal Shift(Ex):
As a standard action, 2nd-level Osteomages can shift the bone structure of their limbs and face (including teeth) to appear as a different person, at will. This ability grants a +3 bonus on Disguise checks.

Bone Spurs(Su):
The 2nd-level Osteomage may, as a free action, cause portions of her skeleton to break her skin and protrude, causing her no damage or disability whatsoever. The protruding bones act as armor spikes and spiked gauntlets. The Osteomage is automatically proficient in the weapons forged directly from her own skeleton, but not the normal weapons of the same type. Note that while normal bone is far more fragile than any forged weapon, the Osteomage's supernatural skill causes her exposed bones to have the strength of steel. She may use this ability at will. As natural weapons, the Osteomage's bone spurs cannot be sundered.

At 5th Level this ability improves in damage as though it had the "Cutting Hand" Spell permanently applied, thus increasing the damage from d6->d8 and doing either Slashing or Bludgeoning Damage depending on your attack. Your knowledge of your own bones improves your use with them and you gain a +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls(instead of +2 as the spell).

At 9th Level your Bone Spurs are completed, and you can shape the bones from your hands as you see fit. This Increases the damage again from d8->d10 and, as a move action, you may elongate the bone into a sword to do Slashing or Piercing damage. The Enhancement bonus improves to +2.

Unnerve(Su):
As an extension of the above ability, an Osteomage may sculpt her protruding bone into terrifying shapes, such as sinister leering faces. Creatures within 30 feet of the Osteomage attempting to strike or otherwise directly attack the Osteomage, even with a targeted spell, must attempt a Will save (DC 10 + Osteomage level + Charisma modifier). If the save succeeds, the opponent is unaffected and immune to that particular Osteomage's unnerve effect for 24 hours. If the save fails, the opponent suffers a -2 penalty on every attack roll against the Osteomage for the next 24 hours. A creature only has to make one save against a particular Osteomage per 24 hour period. This is a mind-affecting, fear effect.

Bone Restructure(Su):
Beginning at level 3 an Osteomage can work her own or someone else's bones to heal for a small amount of damage equal to her Charisma bonus x her Osteomage Level. This effectively works like the "Lay on Hands" Ability of a Paladin.

At 6th Level an Osteomage can channel this into damage, by Making a Melee-Touch Attack she can do damage to her opponent. At this level the ability improves to the Osteomage's class level+1 x the Charisma Bonus. There is only so much magical energy an Osteomage can produce for this effect, and the healing and damage ability share a single pool. Thus a Level 7 Osteomage with a Charisma of +4 can Either Heal or Damage for a total of 32 Damage Per Day.

Enlarge/Reduce(Sp):
Beginning at 4th level, once per day, the Osteomage may cast enlarge person or reduce person on herself as cast by a Sorcerer of the Osteomage's class level. She gains one daily use of each spell.

Iron Bones(Su):
A 4th-level Osteomage's bone spurs act as cold iron weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Skeletal Harden(Su):
Beginning at Level 4 an Osteomage can harden her bones in battle, effectively creating a Natural Armor Bonus of +1. This Bonus improves by +1(Total +2) at level 8.

Seize the Frame(Su):
Once per day, the 5th-level Oseomage can take temporary control of the skeletons of her opponents, paralyzing them. She can affect up to one creature per Osteomage level within 60 feet, no two of which can be more than 30 feet apart. Each subject is allowed a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Osteomage level + Charisma modifier). Creatures without skeletons (such as oozes) are not affected. Subjects affected by this ability are held immobile as though paralyzed. As this ability targets the bone structure of a being, rather than its mind, corporeal undead are subject to its effect. A winged creature affected by this ability cannot flap its wings and falls. A swimmer cannot swim and might drown. Creatures immune to paralysis are not immune to this effect.

Bristle(Sp):
Beginning at 6th level, once per day, the Osteomage may cast Bristle on herself as cast by a Sorcerer of the Osteomage's class level. She gains one daily use of the spell.

Adamantine Bones(Su):
A 7th-level Osteomage's Bone Spurs act as Adamantine, cold iron, and silver weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Fracture(Su):
As a touch attack, an 8th-level Osteomage can cause a malaise to settle into the core of an opponent's bones. This effect deals 2d4 points of Strength damage and 1d4 points of Dexterity damage unless the opponent makes a Fortitude save (DC 10 + Osteomage level + Charisma modifier). The Osteomage can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 plus her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). This ability can only affect living creatures with a skeleton.

Osteophage(Su):
This 9th-level ability is the most lethal power at the Osteomage's command. Once per day, an Osteomage can cause the skeleton of a target to liquefy in a matter of seconds, causing the target to collapse in on itself This collapse causes instant death on a failed Fortitude save (DC 15 + Charisma modifier); a successful save prevents skeletal collapse but still deals 10d6points of damage.

Alternatively an Osteomage with this ability may Elect to launch her bones at an opponent. This ability effectively functions as the "Arrow of Bone" Spell. An Osteomage can only summon enough power to use this ability once per day and must choose which version of the Osteophage ability she wants to use. Unlike the spell, this attack gets no Enhancement bonus, using only the normal ranged attack modifiers. However if the attack hits, but the opponent succeeds the save to not be slain instantly, the opponent takes 3d10 damage +1 Damage per Character Level.

Master of Bone Magic(Su):
At 10th-level an Osteomage has Mastered her craft and can wield her bones like no other can hope to. As a Full-Turn Action(Yes one whole turn) an Osteomage may grow and produce an Extra grouping of bone to use offensively or defensively. Offensively she may augment the Osteophage ability by expending this extra bone supply to double the damage of Either the Melee attack(Becoming 20d6) or the damage bonus of the ranged attack(Becoming 3d10 +2 per Character Level). Or she may keep the extra bone on herself as an added barrier of defense. An Osteomage with this extra bone in defense may negate a single non-magical, physical attack(Like that of a sword or arrow even a magically enhanced one). This will use up the extra bone to stop the attack. An Osteomage may only make enough extra bone to do this once per day. An Osteomage can expedite this ability in a pinch if need be and change the cast time from Full-Turn Action into an Instantaneous Action, but in doing so will Leave her prone afterwards for 1d4 rounds.

Playing an Osteomage:
My redesign of what in many people's opinion(or so I have read) could have been a badass amazing prestige class focuses more on the martial aspects of the class, ideally in tandem with specialized magic. I designed this with a Sorcerer in mind for the Charisma stat and spontaneous casting. Because this is primarily a gish idea, it doesn't focus too too much on either spellcasting or martial prowess, instead finding reasons and uses to use either or both. The moment I read up on the original class from the Dragon Compendium, I just had this idea of a monk spell caster using the study of bone to advance both aspects.

I really wanted to amp up the power potential of the class, and knew I had to make drawbacks for that to make the frightening power worth the struggle, and the consecutive level requirement seemed to fit the theme of the class.

I hope anyone bothering to read this enjoys the changes I have made and the additions/ subtractions I have imposed. Please let me know what you think :D.

Also again this is my first posting so please let me know if I have made any errors or am missing anything.

nonsi
2017-08-20, 04:08 PM
pecial: Anyone taking levels in the Osteomage Prestige Class must take all 10 Levels Consecutively. Bone Magic is difficult and unwieldy, if an Osteomage abandons their study to pursue other interests, lack of understanding and attention to this magic can cause harm and even death. If you decide to abandon this class you lose all special abilities of it and immediately 1d6 damage per Character Level plus and additional 1d6 damage per Osteomage Class Level.


Bad!
Bad!!
BAD!!!

One of the great appeals of 3e is the flexability to mix and match levels from different classes to make one's character vision come to life.
What you're doing is shoving your vision down people's throat.

SilverNoble
2017-08-20, 04:21 PM
Lol thank you for reminding me why I don't take part in most online communities. Instead of offering constructive criticism in response to someones first thread/post/idea, you went the same route I expected an online forum to go, right to a crude and pointless response, instead of offering advice on how to balance or fix an problem concept.

Sariel Vailo
2017-08-20, 05:47 PM
Bad!
Bad!!
BAD!!!

One of the great appeals of 3e is the flexability to mix and match levels from different classes to make one's character vision come to life.
What you're doing is shoving your vision down people's throat.
In all honestly they were taking damage for not consecutively taking levels in this prestige class if not certain death.seems a little sad for a game about creating mix match multiclass madness.but i do like osteo mage would i give up 10 levels of another concept for that one not if i get hurt for trading out intrests

SilverNoble
2017-08-20, 06:03 PM
In all honestly they were taking damage for not consecutively taking levels in this prestige class if not certain death.seems a little sad for a game about creating mix match multiclass madness.but i do like osteo mage would i give up 10 levels of another concept for that one not if i get hurt for trading out intrests

The reason I put that in was to create a restriction similar to a Paladin or Monk, the damage seemed thematically appropriate given the nature of the concept. It was to encourage seeing the class through entirely for what it is as well as put a sort of balance on some powerful abilities. Do you have an alternative suggestion for this?

The mix and match madness I have found is exactly that, Madness. While it can be a lot of fun to find all the little loopholes and strategies to max out potential, I have found(for myself at least) that you lose out on some of the flavour and theme when only taking 2 levels here and 3 levels there of a class.

Sariel Vailo
2017-08-20, 06:29 PM
The reason I put that in was to create a restriction similar to a Paladin or Monk, the damage seemed thematically appropriate given the nature of the concept. It was to encourage seeing the class through entirely for what it is as well as put a sort of balance on some powerful abilities. Do you have an alternative suggestion for this?

The mix and match madness I have found is exactly that, Madness. While it can be a lot of fun to find all the little loopholes and strategies to max out potential, I have found(for myself at least) that you lose out on some of the flavour and theme when only taking 2 levels here and 3 levels there of a class.

Although true that was what the poster i quoted meant altho poorly stated. It does love the jene sai quais the lifes blood of the theme if you want to put a restriction rsstrict say the abilities for forgoing levels in this class take damage for using the abilities of this class.make it a resource and a debuff for stopping that way they dont take random damge just cause they stopped now its tied in to poor usage of said abilites and little training.

rferries
2017-08-21, 01:35 AM
The reason I put that in was to create a restriction similar to a Paladin or Monk, the damage seemed thematically appropriate given the nature of the concept. It was to encourage seeing the class through entirely for what it is as well as put a sort of balance on some powerful abilities. Do you have an alternative suggestion for this?

The mix and match madness I have found is exactly that, Madness. While it can be a lot of fun to find all the little loopholes and strategies to max out potential, I have found(for myself at least) that you lose out on some of the flavour and theme when only taking 2 levels here and 3 levels there of a class.

It's certainly a very creative penalty for not following the Osteomage path, but I agree it's too restrictive. Plus it doesn't realllly make sense - why do you suddenly forget how to keep yourself together? If anything you should be taking damage each time you take a new level of Osteomage, as you struggle to maintain yourself in the face of the new knowledge/powers you've learned (taking a level of a different class should be a "safe" reprieve from your Osteomage studies). It would be somewhat explainable if the "god of Osteomages" punishes you for straying but this seems a very arcane-flavoured class.

The skill prerequisites are interesting - who could realistically take this class? Multiclassed druid/wizards? The classes you mention in the introduction and conclusion will have a lot of trouble making it in by themselves (sorcerers lack the skills; and really: monks?! 0.0).

What's the rationale for the class skills? Disguise and Heal are great, but why Knowledge (geography) etc? Not a criticism, just interested.

Base attack bonus could stand to be full, given that you're probably a wizard going in to this class and it grants natural attacks (your BAB averages out to 3/4ths that way).

"Boneless" should allow you to use material components and foci if they're in contact with your body (at least flavour-wise IMHO, if you're adapting a published ability that's fine).

Immunity to Disease - sheer brilliance! It could even be a "Magic Marrow (Ex)" class feature that grants immunity to disease (granulocytes/lymphocytes), immunity to bleed effects (platelets), and removes the need to breathe (hyperoxygenation from red blood cells) in some sort of ascending order.

Skeletal Shift - perhaps even a bonus on Disguise checks equal to Osteomage class level, up to the full +10 bonus granted by typical transmutation effects?

Bone Spurs -can you link to cutting hand (e.g. in D&D tools)? It helps for people unfamiliar with 3rd-party references (like me, cough, cough :D). I'd even suggest saying you have a permanent greater magic fang effect on the spurs (caster level = your character level) and gain the Improved Natural Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#improvedNaturalAttack) and Improved Critical feats for the spurs as bonus feats at different levels. Finally, perhaps they could grant damage reduction as a skeleton or lich, even? (DR 5/bludgeoning up to DR 15/bludgeoning and magic). Sorry if I'm going wayyy overboard with the concept, that's probably several class features' worth of stuff I've just packed in :D

Unnerve - I assume this is meant to be a gaze attack? It doesn't specify what type of action the Ostemage has to take to use it.

Skeletal Harden - is this ability constant? Does it take an action? (It'd be fine as a constant effect but you say "in battle", implying she relaxes the rest of the time, so she might be caught flat-footed without it).

Seize the Frame - how long does this last? Do they get saves every round as for hold person? Could be very broken otherwise (and I say that as a fan of high-tier classes). Otherwise a very cool and well-reasoned way to ignore mind-affecting immunity of undead etc -maybe even throw in a mention of flesh golems and such.

Bristle- again, what's this spell?

Adamantine bones - I think you intended to have a separate "bones count as silver" entry before this adamantine entry?

Fracture -even if you specify that Seize the Day allows multiple saves and has a set duration, this would still be a weaker ability. I'd switch the order you gain them.

Osteophage-from the ability name you'd expect the mage to regain hp or some benefit from slaying the enemy (is that what arrow of bone does?). The save DC seems a bit low too. Finally, the next ability implies the liquefy is a touch attack, would help to have that specified.

Master of Bone-Does the enhanced attack full-round option include the osteophage attack, or does it have to be used in the round before you make an attack? How long does it last, if so? How long does the defensive option last for i.e. can she grow protection in the morning before she starts adventuring?

Now, I definitely don't intend to be harsh, these edits are all just suggestions. It's a remarkably creative class; kudos to you for creating a bone mage that ISN'T a necromancer of some kind! :D

AOKost
2017-08-21, 02:45 AM
Some interesting changes you've made to the original Osteomage (https://dndtools.net/classes/osteomancer/). I would suggest adding the Silver Bones back in before Adamantine Bones... And the original Osteomages requirements for entery were much simpler and easier:

Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Heal 4 ranks , Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks , Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks (Subtract 3 from each if playing Pathfinder)
Feats: Toughness
Spells: Ability to cast at least three transmutation spells, one of which must be 1st level or higher.

But those are just my thoughts...

rferries
2017-08-21, 06:35 AM
Some interesting changes you've made to the original Osteomage (https://dndtools.net/classes/osteomancer/). I would suggest adding the Silver Bones back in before Adamantine Bones... And the original Osteomages requirements for entery were much simpler and easier:

Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Heal 4 ranks , Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks , Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks (Subtract 3 from each if playing Pathfinder)
Feats: Toughness
Spells: Ability to cast at least three transmutation spells, one of which must be 1st level or higher.

But those are just my thoughts...

Oh cool, I should have read the intro more closely, didn't realise this was a remake of something. The original prereqs are indeed simpler.

SilverNoble
2017-08-21, 01:35 PM
Wow rferries, thank you for the detailed and constructive response. That was what I was hoping for entirely! To break down everything you have asked:


It's certainly a very creative penalty for not following the Osteomage path, but I agree it's too restrictive. Plus it doesn't realllly make sense - why do you suddenly forget how to keep yourself together? If anything you should be taking damage each time you take a new level of Osteomage, as you struggle to maintain yourself in the face of the new knowledge/powers you've learned (taking a level of a different class should be a "safe" reprieve from your Osteomage studies). It would be somewhat explainable if the "god of Osteomages" punishes you for straying but this seems a very arcane-flavoured class.

My thought process was that because you are learning to wield magic on your bones, not completing your knowledge or training would result in a painful loss of that magic control. I can see the response is clear on this idea and I am working on a rewrite for this concept. I like your ideas :D.


The skill prerequisites are interesting - who could realistically take this class? Multiclassed druid/wizards? The classes you mention in the introduction and conclusion will have a lot of trouble making it in by themselves (sorcerers lack the skills; and really: monks?! 0.0).

What's the rationale for the class skills? Disguise and Heal are great, but why Knowledge (geography) etc? Not a criticism, just interested.

Base attack bonus could stand to be full, given that you're probably a wizard going in to this class and it grants natural attacks (your BAB averages out to 3/4ths that way).

I'll cover these together. The skill requirements come directly from the original class skill requirements, I just buffed them a little and added craft boneworking. I thought this made sense for the entry into the class, having a background in working with bone. The class skills themselves come directly from the original class, I agree I have no idea why all the knowledge skills are there either, and perhaps I will take that out. This was intended to be a PrC for a Monk/Wizard or Sorcerer/Fighter base, but that was simply my mindset when reworking several of the components.


"Boneless" should allow you to use material components and foci if they're in contact with your body (at least flavour-wise IMHO, if you're adapting a published ability that's fine).

Immunity to Disease - sheer brilliance! It could even be a "Magic Marrow (Ex)" class feature that grants immunity to disease (granulocytes/lymphocytes), immunity to bleed effects (platelets), and removes the need to breathe (hyperoxygenation from red blood cells) in some sort of ascending order.

Skeletal Shift - perhaps even a bonus on Disguise checks equal to Osteomage class level, up to the full +10 bonus granted by typical transmutation effects?

Bone Spurs -can you link to cutting hand (e.g. in D&D tools)? It helps for people unfamiliar with 3rd-party references (like me, cough, cough :D). I'd even suggest saying you have a permanent greater magic fang effect on the spurs (caster level = your character level) and gain the Improved Natural Attack and Improved Critical feats for the spurs as bonus feats at different levels. Finally, perhaps they could grant damage reduction as a skeleton or lich, even? (DR 5/bludgeoning up to DR 15/bludgeoning and magic). Sorry if I'm going wayyy overboard with the concept, that's probably several class features' worth of stuff I've just packed in :D

Unnerve - I assume this is meant to be a gaze attack? It doesn't specify what type of action the Ostemage has to take to use it.

Skeletal Harden - is this ability constant? Does it take an action? (It'd be fine as a constant effect but you say "in battle", implying she relaxes the rest of the time, so she might be caught flat-footed without it).

Seize the Frame - how long does this last? Do they get saves every round as for hold person? Could be very broken otherwise (and I say that as a fan of high-tier classes). Otherwise a very cool and well-reasoned way to ignore mind-affecting immunity of undead etc -maybe even throw in a mention of flesh golems and such.

Bristle- again, what's this spell?

Adamantine bones - I think you intended to have a separate "bones count as silver" entry before this adamantine entry?

Fracture -even if you specify that Seize the Day allows multiple saves and has a set duration, this would still be a weaker ability. I'd switch the order you gain them.

Osteophage-from the ability name you'd expect the mage to regain hp or some benefit from slaying the enemy (is that what arrow of bone does?). The save DC seems a bit low too. Finally, the next ability implies the liquefy is a touch attack, would help to have that specified.

Master of Bone-Does the enhanced attack full-round option include the osteophage attack, or does it have to be used in the round before you make an attack? How long does it last, if so? How long does the defensive option last for i.e. can she grow protection in the morning before she starts adventuring?

Many of these abilities I translated directly from the original class, as I thought they were awesome and made sense for the theme of the character. Boneless and Immunity to disease I left fairly untouched. The same for Skeletal Shift, but I really like your idea of amping it as you progress!

Bone Spurs:
Cutting Hand: Spell Compendium Pg. 57
I adapted the spell concept to the class ability in an attempt to include more magic in the class. I love all the ideas your threw out for the concept, as it was one of my favourites for the class, and the reason I instantly thought Monk. I felt like including the feats might be a little too much for the class, and I already included some extraordinary abilities, so those feats could simply be options for the player if they wanted to pursue a very martial take on the class as opposed to a more magical one.

Unnerve: Directly translated from the original class. I didn't really bother to put too much time into reworking the existing abilities, but perhaps I should. I will review them again and see what comes out.

Skeletal Harden: This was intended to be a static permanent Natural AC bonus, but perhaps I will rethink that too. I like the idea of it being a conscious thing and therefore can be caught off guard. This was also where I planned on adding damage reduction, but I felt that was too much. Thoughts?

Sieze the Frame: Also adapted directly from the original class.

Bristle:
Spell Compendium Pg. 40.
I liked how they included the enlarge/reduce as a natural magical ability with the class, I thought this made sense as well.

Adamantine Bones: Yes Silver Bones was originally included in the class, I thought it was a little unnecessary and so I skipped it, which may have been very brazen of me to do, but I was trying to balance the class and not put too too much in each level progression.

Fracture: I will definitely consider switching the order of abilities, that is a great idea!

Osteophage:
Arrow of Bone: Spell Compendium Pg. 16
It behaves so much like the original class feature I thought it would be a fun and versatile option to include in the original ability which was just a touch attack. I did not consider a healing effect, would that be too overpowered? I will think on this as well. This is meant to be the money ability for the class, and it is once a day so that could be a very good incentive.

Master of Bone: No, the full-round action was meant to be a sort of "pooling" of extra bone. I admit I was a little sloppy when coming up with the concept. I should have thought of durations for this "Bone Token" to be spent. It was intended to add more versatility and a little magic to the class, this sort of stockpile of bone you keep that you can throw up to take an attack, or add to your Osteophage attack to increase the damage. I will go back to work and think it through properly to specify my intentions and work it correctly.

As for the increase in the requirements, I knew I was adding more power to the class, with some dangerous abilities both offensively and defensively. I thought increasing the requirements would help to balance that a little. I also felt the increase would push a more gishy build, and that the type of magic being dealt with here was not that of a level 1 Wizard or Sorcerer(Which would be possible with the original requirements). I didn't think toughness did anything for the class, and because of its focus on smashing a fist full of bone into an opponent, improved unarmed attack would make more sense(and again Monks!) as well as a metamagic feat to push the Gish concept.

I hope this explains some of my decisions and helps to understand where I was coming from with this rework. Thank you again for the response and detailed analysis. Let me know what you think!

rferries
2017-08-21, 10:06 PM
Yes, after I learned you were adapting a pre-existing class (which you had already pointed out, it was my fault for missing it) things made a lot more sense to me. I'd generally just edit things to make sure you include how to activate abilities, how long they last, etc. Damage reduction is fine and I wouldn't worry too much about the power level - you're losing 4 levels of spellcasting with this class so that justifies a LOT of power elsewhere :)

nonsi
2017-08-22, 02:26 AM
Lol thank you for reminding me why I don't take part in most online communities. Instead of offering constructive criticism in response to someones first thread/post/idea, you went the same route I expected an online forum to go, right to a crude and pointless response, instead of offering advice on how to balance or fix an problem concept.

That wasn't meant as an insult.
I assume that you put a lot of work in this PrC remake. Just pointed out the one thing that I think would drive a lot of potential "subscribers" away.
I'm on family vacation and replying from my mobile, so I didn't have the time for a more "helpful" reply.
But you have to admit that me "rattling the cage" got things going. That's the best I could do at the time.