TSGames
2007-08-17, 03:21 PM
This is a tribute and slight alteration to a homebrew class that appeared on these boards a long time ago. The original can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11491).
Wizards and sorcerors draw from different sources of inner and outer power to fuel their magic. Wizards tend to believe in an underlying set of universal laws that inundate the multiverse, which define reality and can be predicted with but the right knowledge. Sorcerors confide in a chaos-with-purpose, a flowing and unpredictable sea of magic, like the run of a river that changes course where it may and takes the willing along for a ride.
Some mages go crazy. Not the terrifying crazy that eats at the will and drives one to fiendish acts, but the strangely amusing kind of crazy that makes one lose their grip on everyday life. Mages who have slipped off the status quo have been seen talking to signposts, writing entire books in one letter, or casually slinging magic missile spells at shadows, asserting with calm grace that they are "attacking the darkness." They're prone to using illusion spells to trick their own eyes, and dosing themselves on powerful hallucinogens to while away their free time. They're harmless nutters, usually.
Of course, when signposts start talking back, and the tomes entitled AAAA AA AAA AAAAAA start making sense, it could be there's a method to a mage's madness. Or a madness to a mage's method. Noone's quite sure how it happens... but every once in a blue moon, a crazy mage gets so eccentric that the world they interact with starts going bonkers too.
They're the Weirders. And they're Weird.
I proudly present my slightly altered version of:
The Wierder
To qualify for the Weirder prestige class, a character must meet the following prerequisites.
Alignment: Any chaotic.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks.
Spells: Must be able to cast at least two 3rd-level arcane spells from the illusion school.
Special: Must have accomplished at least one of the following:
-Made friendly contact with a chaotic neutral outsider.
-Concentrated on a self-induced illusion for at least 3 consecutive days.
-Overdosed on a hallucinogenic substance.
-Been subject to insanity, as per the spell.
------------------
Hit Die: d4.
Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier per level.
Class Skills: Craft (alchemy) (Int), Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (The Planes), Profession (herbalist) (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).
{table]Level |BAB |Fort |Ref |Will |Special |Spellcasting
1|+0|+0|+0|+0|Addled mind|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
2|+1|+0|+0|+0|Psychadelic aura|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
3|+1|+1|+1|+1|Indecipherable|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
4|+2|+1|+1|+1|One with everybody, the furniture is talking|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
5|+2|+1|+1|+1|Un/Real| +1 level of arcane spellcasting class[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Weirder.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:A Weirder gains proficiency with no weapons or armor.
Addled Mind (EX):Weirders have trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality, and so do their enemies. Weirders suffer a -4 penalty to Will saves against magical effects of the illusion school. However, they add their weirder level to the Will save DCs of their own illusion spells and magical effects. In addition, a Wierder's unique perspective makes it difficult to understand the actions of those around him. Because of this a Wierder takes a penalty equal to his Wierder class level when he uses the following skills:Bluff, Diplomacy, Sense Motive, and Gather Information.
Psychadelic Aura (SU):At 2nd level, anyone within a weirder's immediate surroundings sees things begin to distort and change in bizarre ways - changing colors, growing stretched or squashed or bent in odd places, and in general not making sense to the rational mind at all. The weirder exudes a psychadelic aura, with a maximum radius of 5 feet per weirder level; anyone within this range suffers a 20% miss chance with all attacks and a -2 penalty to attacks, saves, and skill checks. The weirder can expand or contract this aura, extending its radius up to 5 feet per level of weirder, or reducing it to as little as a 5-foot radius. They cannot supress their aura.
The weirder is immune to the effects of psychadelic auras, his own or another weirder's. Presumably, he's used to seeing the world that way anyway.
Indecipherable (Ex):Weirders are hard to get a hold of with enchantments and compulsions, as their thought processes are so cross-wired that everybody else's assertions seem crazy. At 3rd level, they gain a +4 bonus to Will saves versus mind-affecting and compulsion effects, and are immune to confusion, insanity, and similar spells and effects.
One with Everybody (Ex): At 4th level, a weirder's sense of self becomes so distorted that it encompasses others as well. They can cast spells with a range of "self" upon other creatures by touch.
The Furniture Is Talking (Su): At 4th level, the world around the weirder starts to get a mind of its own. Objects in the weirder's psychadelic aura begin moving of their own accord, as an animate objects spell of caster level equal to the character's weirder levels. (For example, a 4th level weirder's psychadelic aura will animate up to four Small objects, two Medium objects, or one Medium object and two Small objects.) They cannot control which objects animate, or what these objects do, and the objects de-animate once they leave the psychadelic aura. Animated objects have an Intelligence and Charisma score of 10 + weirder level; in general, they will act in the interest of self-preservation and engage in social interaction where inappropriate.
Un/Real (Ex): At 5th level, a weirder's power and mind have become so scrambled by madness that they cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not; eventually, reality begins to buckle with their perception, treating all magical effects as both illusive AND real at the same time. Weirders may react to any spell, spell-like ability, or supernatural effect not originating from themselves as if it were either an illusion or real. If the weirder treats a normally real effect as real, or an illusory effect as illusory, then there is no change in treatment of the magic. However, things get fuzzy when they mix up others' magics.
If a weirder reacts to an illusion as if real, then for all effects and purposes it IS real for the weirder. An illusory fireball requires a Reflex save to avoid taking full damage, for example, and the illusion of a wall is just as solid as true stone. This can be used to the weirder's advantage - the illusion of a rope will hold a weirder, while other characters could never hope to use it, and a silent image of a bridge spanning a chasm can be trod upon by the weirder as if it were truly there.
If a weirder reacts to a real magical effect as if illusory, then they may make a Will save to disbelieve the very reality of the magic (they still take a -4 penalty due to their Addled Mind). If the spell usually allows a Reflex or Fortitude save, then a successful Will save is treated as if it were the save usually made for such a spell. (For example, a weirder who disbelieves a fireball and makes their Will save still takes half damage.) The weirder can also make a Will save to disbelieve structures such as a wall of force, a gust of wind, or a symbol; success allows the weirder to ignore them as if they didn't exist at all.
No matter their addled senses, a weirder always knows which of their spells are real and which are not, and thus can never disbelieve their own non-illusory spells, or treat their own illusions as real.
-------------
And that's the class as I have altered it. Most of the class is still the same, but I changed the Addled Mind ability, and the skills slightly. Also, I would like input on the capstone ability, "Un/real", if it it too powerful one of the suggested variants that it be made into a percentile role. In other words, make it so that the Wierder has a 50% chance to treat an effect as an illusion and a 50% chance to treat an effect as real.
Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? Insults?
Wizards and sorcerors draw from different sources of inner and outer power to fuel their magic. Wizards tend to believe in an underlying set of universal laws that inundate the multiverse, which define reality and can be predicted with but the right knowledge. Sorcerors confide in a chaos-with-purpose, a flowing and unpredictable sea of magic, like the run of a river that changes course where it may and takes the willing along for a ride.
Some mages go crazy. Not the terrifying crazy that eats at the will and drives one to fiendish acts, but the strangely amusing kind of crazy that makes one lose their grip on everyday life. Mages who have slipped off the status quo have been seen talking to signposts, writing entire books in one letter, or casually slinging magic missile spells at shadows, asserting with calm grace that they are "attacking the darkness." They're prone to using illusion spells to trick their own eyes, and dosing themselves on powerful hallucinogens to while away their free time. They're harmless nutters, usually.
Of course, when signposts start talking back, and the tomes entitled AAAA AA AAA AAAAAA start making sense, it could be there's a method to a mage's madness. Or a madness to a mage's method. Noone's quite sure how it happens... but every once in a blue moon, a crazy mage gets so eccentric that the world they interact with starts going bonkers too.
They're the Weirders. And they're Weird.
I proudly present my slightly altered version of:
The Wierder
To qualify for the Weirder prestige class, a character must meet the following prerequisites.
Alignment: Any chaotic.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks.
Spells: Must be able to cast at least two 3rd-level arcane spells from the illusion school.
Special: Must have accomplished at least one of the following:
-Made friendly contact with a chaotic neutral outsider.
-Concentrated on a self-induced illusion for at least 3 consecutive days.
-Overdosed on a hallucinogenic substance.
-Been subject to insanity, as per the spell.
------------------
Hit Die: d4.
Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier per level.
Class Skills: Craft (alchemy) (Int), Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (The Planes), Profession (herbalist) (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).
{table]Level |BAB |Fort |Ref |Will |Special |Spellcasting
1|+0|+0|+0|+0|Addled mind|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
2|+1|+0|+0|+0|Psychadelic aura|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
3|+1|+1|+1|+1|Indecipherable|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
4|+2|+1|+1|+1|One with everybody, the furniture is talking|+1 level of arcane spellcasting class
5|+2|+1|+1|+1|Un/Real| +1 level of arcane spellcasting class[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Weirder.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:A Weirder gains proficiency with no weapons or armor.
Addled Mind (EX):Weirders have trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality, and so do their enemies. Weirders suffer a -4 penalty to Will saves against magical effects of the illusion school. However, they add their weirder level to the Will save DCs of their own illusion spells and magical effects. In addition, a Wierder's unique perspective makes it difficult to understand the actions of those around him. Because of this a Wierder takes a penalty equal to his Wierder class level when he uses the following skills:Bluff, Diplomacy, Sense Motive, and Gather Information.
Psychadelic Aura (SU):At 2nd level, anyone within a weirder's immediate surroundings sees things begin to distort and change in bizarre ways - changing colors, growing stretched or squashed or bent in odd places, and in general not making sense to the rational mind at all. The weirder exudes a psychadelic aura, with a maximum radius of 5 feet per weirder level; anyone within this range suffers a 20% miss chance with all attacks and a -2 penalty to attacks, saves, and skill checks. The weirder can expand or contract this aura, extending its radius up to 5 feet per level of weirder, or reducing it to as little as a 5-foot radius. They cannot supress their aura.
The weirder is immune to the effects of psychadelic auras, his own or another weirder's. Presumably, he's used to seeing the world that way anyway.
Indecipherable (Ex):Weirders are hard to get a hold of with enchantments and compulsions, as their thought processes are so cross-wired that everybody else's assertions seem crazy. At 3rd level, they gain a +4 bonus to Will saves versus mind-affecting and compulsion effects, and are immune to confusion, insanity, and similar spells and effects.
One with Everybody (Ex): At 4th level, a weirder's sense of self becomes so distorted that it encompasses others as well. They can cast spells with a range of "self" upon other creatures by touch.
The Furniture Is Talking (Su): At 4th level, the world around the weirder starts to get a mind of its own. Objects in the weirder's psychadelic aura begin moving of their own accord, as an animate objects spell of caster level equal to the character's weirder levels. (For example, a 4th level weirder's psychadelic aura will animate up to four Small objects, two Medium objects, or one Medium object and two Small objects.) They cannot control which objects animate, or what these objects do, and the objects de-animate once they leave the psychadelic aura. Animated objects have an Intelligence and Charisma score of 10 + weirder level; in general, they will act in the interest of self-preservation and engage in social interaction where inappropriate.
Un/Real (Ex): At 5th level, a weirder's power and mind have become so scrambled by madness that they cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not; eventually, reality begins to buckle with their perception, treating all magical effects as both illusive AND real at the same time. Weirders may react to any spell, spell-like ability, or supernatural effect not originating from themselves as if it were either an illusion or real. If the weirder treats a normally real effect as real, or an illusory effect as illusory, then there is no change in treatment of the magic. However, things get fuzzy when they mix up others' magics.
If a weirder reacts to an illusion as if real, then for all effects and purposes it IS real for the weirder. An illusory fireball requires a Reflex save to avoid taking full damage, for example, and the illusion of a wall is just as solid as true stone. This can be used to the weirder's advantage - the illusion of a rope will hold a weirder, while other characters could never hope to use it, and a silent image of a bridge spanning a chasm can be trod upon by the weirder as if it were truly there.
If a weirder reacts to a real magical effect as if illusory, then they may make a Will save to disbelieve the very reality of the magic (they still take a -4 penalty due to their Addled Mind). If the spell usually allows a Reflex or Fortitude save, then a successful Will save is treated as if it were the save usually made for such a spell. (For example, a weirder who disbelieves a fireball and makes their Will save still takes half damage.) The weirder can also make a Will save to disbelieve structures such as a wall of force, a gust of wind, or a symbol; success allows the weirder to ignore them as if they didn't exist at all.
No matter their addled senses, a weirder always knows which of their spells are real and which are not, and thus can never disbelieve their own non-illusory spells, or treat their own illusions as real.
-------------
And that's the class as I have altered it. Most of the class is still the same, but I changed the Addled Mind ability, and the skills slightly. Also, I would like input on the capstone ability, "Un/real", if it it too powerful one of the suggested variants that it be made into a percentile role. In other words, make it so that the Wierder has a 50% chance to treat an effect as an illusion and a 50% chance to treat an effect as real.
Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? Insults?