Its Magic Girl Time: How To Make One

[Baby Gary]

Hi all,

I'm getting ready to create a new campaign and one of my players wants to play as a magical girl, the type which seems like a defencless child, but can transform into a powerful being (usually with some otherwordly traits). So what classes, races, prestiege classes, feats, spells, and gear do you think I should suggest for this player? Pretty much all official 3.5 material is ok to use, as long as its not overpowered. There are pretty much no restrictions on this, and all I am looking for are some ideas of how to create such a character. The campaign will probably start around levels 5-6, and monsters are available as player characters.

Thanks!
-BabyGary

[NontheistCleric]

Argent Spider (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psb/20030725a) Entomanothrope (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040621a)?

She transforms into a crystal spider-hybrid that teleports!

[Silva Stormrage]

Well I am not much of an expert on the genre but I can try to help here. Warlock has the at will blasting that magical girls seem to love so that would be a solid choice. The "Transformation" sequence could either be alter self into a more durable form with natural armor or wings or they could just have a magic item like a hat of disguise to disguise their "magical girl" persona and then just drop it when they start to fight.

A psion would probably be one of the stronger choices. Select an egoist psion and take metamorphosis and then the metamorphic transfer feat. Find an outsider or a form that has a cool SU ability that you want and then use that as your "magical girl" form. Problem is that you can't take metamorphosis until 7th level.

If homebrew is avaliable I am partial to the Servant Soul (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ng2iQ7tiuS7R6rEBMe24VNTOUamyeK9QBX3k64007Ss/edit) which is based off of the Fate/Prisma Illya magical girl anime. It has what you are looking for, if a bit more "melee" focused than most magical girls.

[Zsaber0]

Don't know if you are allowed to use pathfinder stuff, but they got you covered (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/vigilante/archetypes/vigilante-archetypes-paizo-inc/magical-child).

[Anthrowhale]

Be a Sorcerer/Wizard or Cleric with the Transformation domain and use Alter Self and later Polymorph to change into scary things?

[Falontani]

Step 1. Unholy Psion. Your magical girl can now be any age by RAW.
Step 2. (Optional) Pathfinder's Young Template
Step 3. Alter Self: there are several ways to obtain this, but one way is through a feat and limits you once per day. Momentary Alteration gives you 1 minute per day without requiring you to jump through hoops. Since you are an outsider you get access to some of the best forms.
Step 4 (optional). Magical girls are usually good aligned, apply the Sanctified template from book of exalted deeds.

[unseenmage]

Green Ronins Advanced Bestiary has a anything-were-anything template. But it's awful, dont use it.

Instead use the Lycanthrope template and just sub other creatures for its base and were forms.

In this case a Young (PF) human Were adult Human.

The transformation is scary and traumatic and awkward and mechanically impactful.
Could even have the (probably Warlock) class abilities only in hybrid or were form.

[Boo600]

I believe SilverClawShift holds your answer; in the third campaign on the logs (the incomplete [ly posted] one), SCS herself played an Champion (first post, so no links; just 172910-Articles-Previously-Appearing-on-GiantITP-com&p=9623431#post9623431), made by The Giant Himself! The Avatar form fits well with Magical Girls, with the main drawback (for the fluff) being the lack of energy attacks at low levels.

[rel]

Easy option; Class = wizard. The transformation just represents the character casting a bunch of combat buffs.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Divine Minion (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a) of Anhur: +1 LA, get Wild Shape as a Druid 11 but only into the form(s) listed (Lion), but it's activated as a free action, no daily limit. Preferably buy off the level adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) for 3,000 gp.

Go Strongheart Halfling, Fast Movement Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) 1/ Master of Many Forms X/ Warshaper Y. Master of Many Forms builds on the existing wild shape ability by granting additional types and sizes (but it does not grant medium or small size forms, or additional animals). It's still a free action to wild shape, and still usable at will.

Take Frozen Wild Shape and she can turn into a Cryohydra once she gets huge sizes available. Aberration Wild Shape is also decent, especially with Assume Supernatural Ability: Eye Rays. For now she can turn into a Cave Troll, War Troll, or any number of other amazing forms (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472737-Updated-Master-of-Many-Forms-Bible-official-wild-shape-rules-(recovered)). Just ignore anything small or medium size on that list, as well as any animals.

[magic9mushroom]

Divine Minion (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a) of Anhur: +1 LA, get Wild Shape as a Druid 11 but only into the form(s) listed (Lion), but it's activated as a free action, no daily limit. Preferably buy off the level adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) for 3,000 gp.

I think you mean 3,000 XP.

[Troacctid]

Some prestige classes that might be of interest, off the top of my head: Hellreaver, Solar Channeler, Champion of Gwyharwyf, Incandescent Champion, Legacy Champion.

[Mordaedil]

I think a blaster warlock does everything a magical girl needs to be able to do.

For the uniform thing, look into Incarnum and consider giving it a buff, because god if Incarnum isn't a bit unfulfilling.

[Jack_Simth]

If Pathfinder material is on the table, you could also go with a Synthesist Summoner (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner/archetypes/paizo-summoner-archetypes/synthesist/). You even have energy attacks at relatively low level via spells - Snowball (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/snowball) at first (possibly Positive Pulse (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/p/positive-pulse)), Force Anchor (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/force-anchor) might work when you hit 2nd level spells.

[Malphegor]

Dread Necromancer is my go-to for preteen heroes for some reason. You're okay close range, you can use basic weapons or a scythe (coughcough that character from RWBY), you can use the power of your undead spirit to heal others who join your side, and you have a gimmick for your magical girl team.

<realises what I just wrote.>


Oooh the Shimi-Mahou-Shoujo team! From beyond death, striking a blow for justice! The most goth magical team.

I feel a transmutation wizard would work. Maybe an osteomancer, who can animate bones independently of necromancy... Which then creates a few plot threads to pick at for competition between the DN and the Osteo.

Warlock of course, that's a given, at will blasty magic user works nicely and even provokes a few character ideas for how being the pew pew magic user of the team makes them operate differently.

Archivist works because you typically have a bookish character who's secretly a powerhouse whilst the main character's a dummy. in Sailor Moon terms, the Ami of the gang.

Apart from the Osteomancer, most of these could work as seemingly-childlike (from memory osteomancer needs a decent BAB, so that's the beefiest member of the squad).

Give them all a limited limited duration slotless item of Disguise Self to change into their superhero form, and bam you got yourself costumes and magical transformation sequences.

[TheCount]

Give them all a limited limited duration slotless item of Disguise Self to change into their superhero form, and bam you got yourself costumes and magical transformation sequences.

THIS! if the item is actually usable (say, in combat) make it a cursed one thats unusable without changing (possibly also needs a remove curse/break enchantment).

....now, you could use a devil to give them these item(s), after all, devils LOVE contracts..... though, a bored demon doing it for fun and giggles would also work, just make sure the items have other ridiculus effects as well.

[Telonius]

I'm thinking that The Giant's Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?172910-Articles-Previously-Appearing-on-GiantITP-com&p=9623431#post9623431) class could be tweaked a bit to fit.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

On the melee side of things, Shifters are one of my favorite races. Essentially the same flavor as Lycanthropes/Entamothropes but with out the racial HD and LA. Or have a Shifter Lycanthrope for double the fun.

Aside from that, I'll second the recommendation for Incandescent Champion.

[Psyren]

My two PF suggestions (Magical Child and Synthesist) have already been covered, so I'll point out that Big Eyes Small Mouth has a d20 adaptation (http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/animesrd.html) that includes a number of stock anime tropes; in addition to Magical Girl Child, they also have Mecha Pilot, Monster Tamer, and Sentai Member among others.

[Prime32]

Book of Exalted Deeds is a good source, particularly Purify Spell (your damage-dealing spells become harmless to good creatures, and more dangerous to evil outsiders) and Vow of Nonviolence/Peace (swear never to kill humanoids, and in exchange gain bonuses with attacks used to disable them). Then there's the luminous armor spell, which gives you both great defences and a flashy appearance.

Alternaltey, a ring of arming can store a set of weapons and armor, and swap them out for your current gear when activated.

Paladin makes for a decent chassis, or you can take 2 levels then head into cleric, sorcerer or warlock. Knight of the Raven from Expedition to Castle Ravenloft is worth checking out, since it lets a divine spellcaster pick up something similar to a familiar.

Some tropes might require DM assistance though, like letting the character's spells deal nonlethal damage without penalty, or declaring that the character can free people from curses (lycanthropy/vampirism/mirror of opposite alignment/etc.) by defeating them with her powers.

[Jack_Simth]

My two PF suggestions (Magical Child and Synthesist) have already been coveredHeh. Yeah. Magical Child is of course relatively obvious for this specific question, and Synthesist can cover a reasonably wide range of classic superhero types.

[Xaotiq1]

Again, if homebrew is allowed, this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258654-Tome-of-Radiance-Mastering-the-Power-of-Love-and-Justice) could be fun. But, yeah, Warlock or Psion/Psychic Warrior would work.