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Jormengand
2017-11-13, 01:45 PM
Paths of Sacrifice

Sometimes, a creature gives up some of their essential freedom, their bodily integrity, or something else of great value in order to claim a reward of some kind. Whether a paladin bound to service of their master, or a disciple of a dark god whose gifts take their toll on the disciple's sanity, those who take a path of sacrifice are always giving up something major in return for something else major.

The two listed here are proof of concept; more may be created later.

Mega-Traits and Substitution Levels for the Soul: Paths in the Game

A path of sacrifice is somewhat like a trait in basic conception: you get a benefit and a drawback. It doesn't cost you feat selections or skill ranks the same way a feat or skill trick does; instead, you just take it freely up to a maximum. In this case, the maximum is one: you can only bind yourself to a single path of sacrifice. The differences are two: scale and scale. What? Okay, the difference is that they are a lot more significant (in scale) and that they advance (or scale) with level, both in benefit and drawback.

You cannot give up on a path of sacrifice partway, but otherwise it's a little bit like taking substitution levels - rather than trading away class features, though, you trade away some sanity here, some hit points there, and in return, you gain a boost to your power. You might instead gain some kind of curse which you need to stave off in return for this additional power. In any case, the drawbacks are never trivial, and sometimes they may be more trouble than they're worth. Such is the danger of these things.

How Paths of Sacrifice Work

You may take a single path of sacrifice at character generation or at any later time, although there usually has to be some event at which you could reasonably take the path for you to do so. A path of sacrifice has a table a lot like a class table, although the base attack and save entries are missing. The table shows what benefits and drawbacks are acquired at which levels. Levels with no additional benefits or drawbacks aren't listed, just like in a substitution level table. If you acquire the path of sacrifice after first level, you still get all the benefits and drawbacks listed at levels below yours.

Trying to remove any of the features of the paths of sacrifice simply fails and does not work. Any effect which would do so fails, does not work, is ineffective, and is inoperable. Prevent anything which would do so. Seven times. To be clear, you cannot remove the drawbacks no matter what clever way you come up with to do so!

Path of Sacrifice: Hero's Path
Not everyone can be a hero, but everyone can go down trying.

A hero's path is long and arduous, but rewarding. A hero must always do the right thing, no matter how hard it is, but her heroism guides her along the path. To be a hero is to do good without regard for yourself, and trust the righteousness of your motives to see you through to the end.

The hero's path is a good path for paladins and exalted characters, who need to follow many of its tenets anyway, and so suffer a reduced drawback.

Prerequisite: Any good alignment.


LevelSpecial
Heroism Points
1stI am a Hero//And I will be Righteous
1
5thProtect the Innocent
2
9thThe Path to the Enemy//Is the Path we Must Walk
3
13thMy Means are Improved//My Ends are the Same
4
17thA Chance at Redemption//To Even the Greatest Foe
5


I am a Hero (Ex)
The hero gets a heroism point at first level and another one at every four levels thereafter. A heroism point can be spent to do one of the following:


Change the hero's failed saving throw into a successful one
Change a successful hit or critical hit against the hero into a miss
Change the hero's hit or miss into a critical hit.
Cause an enemy's special attack which requires a roll to fail against the hero.


Using a heroism point isn't an action. It's simply a choice you make, just like choosing a target for an attack or whether or not to save against a harmless spell. Either you use the point or you don't. You can wait to see if the roll succeeds or fails (including critical confirmation where relevant) before choosing whether or not to spend the point.

A hero recovers spent heroism points after a full night's rest.

...And I will be Righteous (Su)
A hero is physically compelled to do the right thing. A hero must be fair and just in all things and must never cheat anyone. She must not break reasonable laws except in service to a greater good. The hero cannot take any action which would cause her no longer to be good.

Protect the Innocent (Su)
From fifth level, innocent creatures and the possessions they have on their person are completely shielded from the hero's attacks and other damaging or debilitating abilities the hero uses.

The Path to the Enemy (Su)
From ninth level, the hero gets an intrinsic sense of how best to reach their current most important viable foe, and where that foe is. This may not actually be the strongest or most important creature they could possibly fight if they cannot reach that creature or hope to succeed in fighting that creature. Effects which protect against divination effects are partly effective; the hero still knows the direction to the enemy in question but nothing more.

...Is the Path we Must Walk (Su)
From ninth level, the hero is compelled to attempt to defeat nearby important enemies if they have a real chance at succeeding. The hero must spend at least an hour a day fighting, working against or conspiring to work against (such as by collecting information for an assassination) the enemies of righteousness, if able. Failure to do so results in the hero compulsively attempting to do so as she is physically forced to by the powers of the path she walks.

My Means are Improved (Ex)
From thirteenth level, the hero gets a +5 bonus to all d20 rolls and a +10 bonus to all damage rolls, including spell damage rolls and the like, so long as she is working towards the cause of righteousness.

...My Ends are the Same (Su)
From thirteenth level, the hero must do good whenever the opportunity presents itself. Given the choice between helping an injured citizen and chasing a fleeing villain the hero may do either, but must do active good whenever there is a chance offered.

A Chance at Redemption (Sp)
From seventeenth level, the hero can attempt to redeem her enemies. By focusing on an enemy whose hit points minus their nonlethal damage total are below one quarter of their original hit points, but who is still conscious, as a standard action the hero can demand that they turn to the cause of the good. The enemy makes a will save if desired, DC 10+half the hero's character level+the hero's wisdom or charisma modifier, whichever is higher. If successful, the creature is immune to the effect and their evil continues. If the save is failed, the creature's alignment becomes good of the same type as their original alignment, and they start to make an effort to redeem themselves.

The hero has an innate sense of when a creature is low enough on health to be redeemed.

...To Even the Greatest Foe (Su)
From seventeenth level, the hero is unable to attempt to kill someone unless they have failed to redeem that person, though the hero can attempt to reduce their hit points low enough to redeem them and may kill them by accident.

Path of Sacrifice: Mystic's Path
The flesh is weak, but magic is strong!

The mystic's path is one of scorn for physical things. Spellcasters who are willing to give up their vitality for additional magical power take this path, but doing so is dangerous. Many who walk this path find themselves quickly becoming frail and slow to act, and damage which they take is often enough to kill them instantly. They must use their exceptional magical skills to defend themselves.


LevelSpecial
1stPower in the Blood
5thThe Flesh is Weak
7thSlow and Purposeful
11thBlood for Blood
13thOne Chance is All I Need
17thUnlimited Power!


Power in the Blood
The mystic permanently loses 4 points of strength, constitution and dexterity, and no machinations or mechanisms can restore them (though the mystic can gain bonuses to counteract them normally). However, the mystic gains an extra spell slot of each level in each class he has which can cast spells. For example, a mystic wizard 3/cleric 3 can cast an additional zero-, first- and second-level spell each day of each of wizard and cleric spells.

The Flesh is Weak
From fifth level, the mystic gains a penalty equal to one third his character level to all saving throws and to armour class, and the same bonus to the saving throw difficulty class and attack rolls pertaining to his spells.

Slow and Purposeful
From seventh level, the mystic's speed in all forms of movement is one third of the usual rate. He also becomes exhausted if he attempts strenuous activity for more than a minute without resting for a minute in between bouts of activity, though resting for a minute removes the condition. In return, he can cast spells which normally take a full round as a standard action, and any spell which takes longer than that has its casting time halved.

Blood for Blood
From 11th level, the mystic's hit point total is halved. However, his spells gain the benefit of the empower spell feat free if relevant.

One Chance is All I Need
From 13th level, the mystic is permanently staggered, so he can only take one move or standard action per round, like a zombie. However, his spells are almost impossibly good: their effects are doubled either in the number of targets they affect or their numerical effect. For example, a mystic casting fireball can cover two areas or deal double damage.

Unlimited Power!
From 17th level, the mystic's maximum hit point total is 1 and he automatically fails any saving throw he is called upon to make, but the mystic can cast spells he knows at will.

RatElemental
2017-11-15, 01:28 AM
Slow and Purposeful
From seventh level, the mystic's speed in all forms of movement is one third of the usual rate. He also becomes exhausted if he attempts strenuous activity for more than a minute without resting for a minute in between bouts of activity, though resting for a minute removes the condition. In return, he can cast spells which normally take a full round as a standard action, and any spell which takes longer than that has its duration halved.

Do you mean casting time?

Jormengand
2017-11-15, 07:25 AM
Do you mean casting time?

See, this is what I get for making brew when really quite tired. Ficks'd.

noob
2017-11-15, 08:20 AM
I hoped it would reduce the spell duration instead of the casting time.

Westhart
2017-11-15, 08:29 AM
Under mystic's path; shouldn't the flesh is weak exclude will saves?

I'll check the rest over later, have to write a paper :smallsigh:

noob
2017-11-15, 08:34 AM
Under mystic's path; shouldn't the flesh is weak exclude will saves?

I'll check the rest over later, have to write a paper :smallsigh:

No because casting spells at will basically multiply the number of spells you can cast by 3600(if you go by the assumption that you can cast a given spell 4 times per day).
Basically if you get that many castings of spells you probably retire and stop adventuring so you no longer have an use for saves(You will for example spam twin repeated unseen crafter or other silly shenanigans for destroying forever the economy).
Oh and you do that with all the spells known so you no longer need to prepare the right spells in the morning.
The concept is that with such a power you should probably no longer worry about people actually getting a chance at attacking you.
I still think the drawback of slow and purposeful is very small(I mean: you move slower but you can still be carried by your awesome raven familiar or whatever way you have of being moved around by someone else and anyway it is only a division by three which is not much)