New Player wants to Play Eneru....can it be done?

[GrayDeath]

As the Title says.

In our upcoming short High Power low Logic Campaign, where Characters inspired by normally not really D&D Material" are especially welcome, one of the Players wants to Play Eneru (from One Piece, for those who dont know him, he can transform into and control Lightning, from short time change of an arm into Lightning to calling down a terrifying Thunderstorm).

I am looking forward to Opinions and suggestions, as I cant see how it could be done well...


Oh yeah, Starting Level will be around 15ish, End level shortly before reaching Epic, and everybody gets at least 2 free points of LA (at least because weaker Classes may get more, up to +4 free).

[Rynjin]

Not sure on existing 3.5 options, but playing as a Lightning Elemental or backporting this Thunder Child template (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/thunder-child-creature-cr-2/) from Pathfinder would get you most of the way there.

The rest of the Logia properties would be difficult to make, but finding some way to get copious amounts of DR/Magic would actually be pretty good for it, with magic as a stand-in for Haki overcoming a Logia's immunity to physical attacks.

[tyckspoon]

Druid or another wildshape/polymorph-casting-capable class, turn into a Storm Elemental, use the rest of your spells for various lightning effects. Probably the closest you'll get without having to lean heavily on refluffing things. Has the benefit of being pretty straightforward and, aside from the 'being living lightning' thing, fairly easily within the wheelhouse of Druid's normal spell list.

It gets harder if you also want to be Incorporeal or have very high DR or something to reflect the 'you can't hurt lightning/fire/smoke/whatever' thing that type of One Piece character usually has going.

[AnimeTheCat]

Is the setting low magic or is the party playing low magic because I dont know of a single way (off the top of my head) to turn in to lightning as a ex ability...

[GrayDeath]

The CHaracters are going to be Style over substance, and we are likely not going to play any full Caster if they are avoidable.

So going Druid and Shapechanging might work, but is not really what were after. The Thunder Child Template and some PF Race Builder would be my goto at the moment, but again, I have not found a full way to manage the Logia Effects yet either, and we would like to minimize homebrew if possible. (its allowed, but discouraged unless truly necessary).

[AnimeTheCat]

Maybe take a look at the Tome of Battle and see what can be refluffed from fire/shadow/etc to lightning? I know there are a fair number of Desert Wind and Shadow Hand maneuvers/stances that grant effects where you're "cloaked in shadow" or your weapon is "sheathed in fire" that can easily be changed to lightning and grant the same/similar effects. Then, just be a straight swordsage or swordsage/warblade/master of 9 and have fun with it. There are plenty of maneuvers and stances so you should be able to do nearly everything you want, and even if you can't they're pretty easy to write new ones.

That's about all I've got for trying to make something passable without going too far in to homebrew territory while simultaneously avoiding full casters.

EDIT: even in TOB, a lot of the Desert Wind abilities are still sp abilities, so you're still not *really* low magic, just kind of different magic.

[Ruethgar]

If PF is ok, Spheres of Power can easily get all that done with a low caster.

[GrayDeath]

Tell me how, then. SoP might be allowed, alas we are not really well versed in it.

Dropping a book is not really helpful at all, mate. ^^

[EldritchWeaver]

If PF is ok, Spheres of Power can easily get all that done with a low caster.

Not sure about being a low-caster. You can get some boosts via items and choice of class/archetype, but for my suggestions you need to be at least a mid-caster. You can get access earlier to talents with such boosters than your character level would allow, but without those boosters they aren't usable. A CL 4 booster for a certain sphere costs 32k, CL 5 costs 50k. That means a 15th level mid-caster can reach CL15 with a +4 booster and get retrain talents. If you take a high-caster class, you can get those CL 15 talents as early as level 11. But let's look a bit further into options:

Part 1: The basic invulnerabilities can be gained using these talents:

From the Light sphere, take:



The Light sphere (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/light) itself: You need access to several of its talents.
Black Light (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/light#toc4): This is optional, but without it you glow brightly all the time.
Glory (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/light#toc10): This grants the bright glow without requiring to pay spell points or the need to concentrate. This allows to work the combo below indefinitively.
Flicker (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/light#toc34): The base version of "I am light incarnate".
Incarnate Glow (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/advanced-talents#toc135): You are light incarnate! This is the Eneru talent you want the most.
Light Speed (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/advanced-talents#toc136): This is optional, but you are 5x times faster than before. It helps, if you can boost your base speed somehow, since Incarnate Glow translates this into fly speed. Animal Transformation has such trait, which ties in to part 4.


Getting 2 15th caster level talents at level 15 is possible. I recommend for simplicity to retrain a talent, but using caster level boosters works, too (but if you lose them, you might not being able to use a talent).

Part 2: Lightning damage:

This is easy. Take these talents:



Destruction sphere (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/destruction) itself: Allows you to use scaling damage spells all day long. Allows various damage types, but you want lightning.
Energy Focus (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/casting-traditions#toc111) drawback: Optional. In exchange for an additional Destruction talent allows you use only one blast group (that linked text is a bit outdated), which is electricity in your case. Grants you access to Electric Blast and Shock Blast, but if you want sonic damage, you can't take it.
Various blast types and blast shapes. Maybe Gather Energy and the Orb Expert feat.


Part 3: The Weather:

Immediate storms are difficult and require going into the Tempestarii (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/tempestarii) PrC. But if you can wait a few rounds:



Weather sphere (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/weather) itself: Allows to manipulate the weather.
Greater Weather: Be a bit more efficient in weather manipulation
Rain Lord, Storm Lord, Wind Lord, Severe Weather: Increase the severity level and get access to lightning control.
Greater Size, Climate: Blow up your own flying island! Or at least flatten settlements!


Part 4: Transformation:

For transforming into an lightning elemental, I'm afraid, you might have to homebrew things a bit. The Transformation feat - which allows infinite duration with no concentration shapeshifting - doesn't allow the use of Alteration talents, which cost SP. IMO, that is unnecessary, if you require the SP each time the feat is used. Also, Elemental Transformation has only air elementals, not lightning elementals. But that can be easily rectified, if you change out the whirlwind ability with something more appropriate. But you can say, one has to use the normal Alteration sphere.

The Alteration sphere (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/alteration) or Transformation (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/sphere-focused-feats#toc8) feat: For the shapeshifting.
Elemental Transformation (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/alteration#toc42): It's self-explaining.

Part 5: Tying it together:

Which class/archetype is best depends on the wishes of the player. An incanter has no melee capability, but can easily get the required talents. The Shifter's (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/shifter) Elemental Scion (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/elemental-scion) gets more combat stuff, but uses Destruction (at least for your lightning) and Alteration as High-Caster, Weather only as Mid-Caster (but can get the Climate talent without a booster).

[Buddy76]

If you guys are not playing in a super optimized table and don't a full caster you could go with the kineticist: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030328b

Choose electricity as your energy type. It's a 3.0 prestige class, so it might require some work. Change +1 level Psion to +1 manifester level. I think this class could work really well with Ardent. Maybe something like Ardent 4/Monk 1/ Kineticist 10. Toss in tashalatora associated with Kineticist and you can flurry with a quarterstaff.

For race, since you've got free LA, Mechanatrix could work. You'd get electricity healing and shocking grasp.

[Ruethgar]

Well, the drawback Energy Focus(Electric) with the talents Energy Leap and Energy Blade from the destruction sphere cover the transform into lightning and arm of lightning as well as generic bolts of lightning. Two Storm Lord talents, Dry Lightning, Severe Weater, and Wind Lord would let you make impressive, devastating, thunderstorms. Not sure what other abilities you would want as I’m not familiar with the character, but that’s only 8 talents, a Mystic Ranger gets 2 at lvl 1+1/even level so level 12 with full BaB. There are other drawbacks you can take to lessen that further, and either a feat or a talent to make up for your half caster level by +5 for Destruction only.

Might need to sink a couple feats into it, Improved Energy Blade and Melee Blaster to melee better, (Improved)Mystic Assault if you want as well. With the WBL of a lvl 15 you can easily afford to shuffle your 3 useless proficiency feats you get for being a ranger to cover all but one of the sphere feats and do a melee build with the rest of it.

Also, Major Storm Giant Bloodline because it costs you literally nothing without DM adjudication and gives you some nice stormy thematic things.

Edit: Severely ninjaed

[GrayDeath]

Well, this looks really promising, thanks guys?

Ill give the info to the respective Player and the main GM and see what happens.

Just aside: Suggestions for really good +2 LA/CR Race except the Stormchild mentioned above? otherwise likely going to use the Race Builder (its restricted but allowed) to give the guy bonuses fitting its style.