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MoleMage
2019-08-05, 08:51 AM
Welcome to the chat thread for the eighth Base Class Competition for D&D 5e. If you wish to say anything about the competition which is neither a submission nor a vote, then it belongs here. You do not need to be a contestant to post here. You are allowed to critique a competitor’s work and offer suggestions on how to improve their homebrew through this thread, but it is preferred if you do so through that class’ specific thread (if applicable).

Current Contest: Contest VIII: Magic Without Slots (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?594571-D-amp-D-Base-Class-Contest-VIII-Magic-Without-Slots&p=24070927#post24070927)

1st contest: Who Needs Swords or Sorcery? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?556338-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-I-Who-needs-Swords-OR-Sorcerery), won by WarrentheHero with the Inventor

2nd contest: Expect a low Margin of Terror (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?560208-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-II-expect-a-low-Margin-of-Terror), Won by Mourne with the Sleepwalker

3rd Contest: The Elements, and not the Periodic Ones (Probably?) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?565360-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-III-The-Elements-and-not-the-periodic-ones-(probably-)!), won By Pygmybatrider with The Shaman

4th contest: Does Not Meet Expectations (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?570496-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-IV-Does-Not-Meet-Expectations), won with a tie by Molemage with the Destined and Pygmybatrider's Mesmer

5th contest: Time to Chill out (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?576131-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-V-Time-to-Chill-Out&p=23567807#post23567807), won by Molemage with the Wintreborn

6th contest: The Monster Mash (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?581138-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-VI-The-Monster-Mash), won with a three-way tie by Molemage with the Golem, theVoidWatches with the Lycanthrope, and daemonaetae with the Elemental Scion

7th contest: Remix Mastery (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?587919-D-amp-D-Base-Class-Contest-VII-Remix-Mastery&p=23906232#post23906232), won by KOLE with the Ranger Remixed


1) The class you homebrew should fit the theme. You can interpret the theme as broadly as you like without risk of disqualification, but doing so may reduce your chances of earning votes during the voting period.
2) You may only create one base class. If you create more than one class then you must choose which one to enter and remove all the others from this thread and the contest (making them invalid) . If you do not specify which one you favor by the time voting begins, all of your content is invalid.
3) When you submit your class you must create a post on this thread which either has the content or holds a link to it. You may also optionally create one other individual thread for your class on the homebrew design sub-forum. If it is found that you have revealed your class on another site or on another thread than one on the homebrew design sub-forum, your entry will be considered invalid. If you do make a specific thread for you class, please mention its involvement to the competition in that thread. If you use external formatting resources such as Homebrewery, or GMBinder it is recommended that you also create a PDF of the content and share it here.
4) You may use other homebrew content (such as feats, spells, magical items and monsters) or even features to supplement your class, provided you have permission from the original creator and provide links to the source. Failure to receive permission from the original creation will disqualify you from entry in the current contest.
5) Your class must have fully completed mechanics and descriptions for it to be valid. Entries are due by 11:59 PM Central Time on the deadline. Any submissions after this point are invalid. No changes can be made to your class while voting is taking place. Failure to comply with the previous rule will result in disqualification.
6) Any content which has been declared invalid by the rules above cannot be voted for, but you may decide to remove it from the contest and create another class instead. If you are disqualified then you are not allowed to enter any more homebrew for this competition, though you may still vote and later enter the next competition.
7) Please note that misunderstandings occur, if you break a rule which results in disqualification it might be excused if you can convince the group that it was a result of confusion over the rules.

Contests stay up for 8 weeks unless an extension is requested by participants. Voting threads then go up for 2 weeks before the next contest begins.


Time
Dragons

MoleMage
2019-08-05, 11:17 AM
So, I haven't gotten around to revising the sorcery system just yet (I've made some notes following a playtest of the Theurge), but my plans for the system as a whole are as follows:


Simplify sorceries to use character level instead of surge dice for scaling. I do have some concerns about multiclassing still, so this might change back or into something else entirely.
At-will sorcerous abilities will be dialed back in complexity and damage. Damage will be brought in line with cantrips, but may have slightly better traits similar to Eldritch Blast (more desirable damage types, longer range, partial effect on failure, larger dice, or better riders). Combat buffs will almost always be limited by concentration or have a single-round duration. Single-round duration effects will generally take a bonus action, unless their effect is very strong.
At-will exploration abilities which are similar to spells will be given drawbacks (such as shorter range or greater activation time, requiring concentration, or unique drawbacks such as sorcerous scrying sensors/communications not being invisible). Exceptions for spells which are available as rituals; at-will sorceries duplicating such spells do not need additional drawbacks.
Surges will remain roughly the same.


The reason I mention this is because I've started to put together an outline for the Cultist, my half-sorcerous class. Some general stuff about the structure for the cultist is below. Hopefully I'll have the first full draft up in the next week or two.




The cultist uses the sorcery system at a half-speed progression, making it the Paladin to the Theurge's Cleric. It gets d10 hit dice, medium armor and shields, and all weapons.
The cultist's sorcerous focus is its athame, a magical slashing or piercing melee weapon it can produce as part of a 1st level class feature. This means they can use sorceries without disarming, much as the paladin can emblazon a holy symbol onto a shield.
The cultist's 1st level feature (other than the athame) determines what sort of thing they worship. This acts as a secondary subclass, much like the Warlock's Pact compared to their Patron. The initial planned choices are Things from Beyond, Elementals, and Forgotten Gods. Each choice adds a couple sorceries to the cultist list and gives a limited-use ability that refreshes on long rest.
Cultist fighting styles are Defense, Dueling, Protection, and TWF.
The cultist, like the paladin and ranger, gets a unique expenditure option for their magic (in this case, surges). Theirs lets them conjure giant force-tentacles (or other appropriate manifestations) to attack and control distant targets.
The cultist's subclass is their Rite, which determines their role in the cult. I have given names but not clear plans to the Rite of the Voice (one who speaks the word of their idol), Rite of the Guardian (one who protects worshippers and sacred sites of the idol), and Rite of the Watcher (one who watches for signs and prophecies of the idol's arrival).
The cultist will have three exclusive sorceries, themed around aberrations, blood, and shadow. They also share a number of sorceries with the Theurge or Wilder.




I wish everyone luck with this contest!

moonfly7
2019-08-05, 02:23 PM
I'm already ready for this one, had a class sitting on the back burner in Google docs for about half a year now. It's a class a friend asked for, a dex based caster.
We call it the rune tracer. Basically, instead of using slots, you make dexterity checks to cast spells, if you fail, you take damage equal to the slot level

sengmeng
2019-08-05, 04:56 PM
I'm already ready for this one, had a class sitting on the back burner in Google docs for about half a year now. It's a class a friend asked for, a dex based caster.
We call it the rune tracer. Basically, instead of using slots, you make dexterity checks to cast spells, if you fail, you take damage eqyual to the slot level

I like this. I also like that you cleared up my question in your other post: since you forgot the e, it came up as "runtracer" leaving me wondering if it meant a racer of runts, or a tracer of runs :biggrin:

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-06, 01:59 AM
I always loved the Truenamer from the Tome of Magic. I'm taking some notes from that for my Calligrapher.

Basically, you write a narrative of the battle as it progresses and the universe will remember it that way, so the enemies will suffer as if those things had happened.

Here's a big rambling block of late night concept work...


Since 5e doesn't have the same problem with skill scaling that 3.x did I might be able to use the increasing difficulty as a way to curtail use.

As is I'm looking at a basic mechanic of Words having reliable basic effects on par with a Cantrip and a Word Modifier that affects the DC of the check required to use more than 1 word at a time.

Words are broken up as Descriptors, Things, and Actions. You have a limited number of each known and level determines how many you can use at once. How they interact when you use more than one will require either specific rules in each Word description or general guidelines. I'm probably going to go with the former.

So if you know Big, Fire, Fast, and Strike, you can use any one with little difficulty that scale like Cantrips. Example: At 5th level You compose "I Strike the target" this is a level appropriate damage effect so it's 2d6 save for nothing. Alternatively, you could write "My fighter friend Jarn Strikes the target." In this case it's still just a 2d6 damage effect, save for none. This has no impact on the Action economy since the damage of Jarn's attack is based on your Cantrip damage and you used your Action to do it (though it does have some passive benefit of Jarn seeming like a multiattacking terror and you looking like a harmless nerd). You could also script "The ogre Strikes the Chandelier." This could have different effects based on intent. If intent is bang head on metal thing, then the ogre gets a save. If the goal is having the ogre knock the Chandelier down accidentally, then the Ogre doesn't get a save, it just hits the Chandelier and the DM would have to adjudicate the effect, no different than acid splashing it. 2d6 might be enough to bring the Chandelier down, but it might just snuff some of the lights creating shadows for the rogue to hide, etc.

As soon as you combine 2 or more Words your effect becomes save for 1/2 and has a Calligraphy DC (10+word modifiers which range from 1 to 5 depending on their effects).

By default you can complete a Testament with 1 Word as an action. Adding another Word is a bonus action but now invokes the DC. So say it's 13, You can also amp the DC by some amount I'll have to do maths to figure out (I'm thinking 3 for a Reaction or 5 for no Action). so you can reliably use 3, 4 or 5 as you go up in level. I'm thinking the damage stacks (so like multiple cantrips landing) and the damage die increases for every even word, so 2 words become d8s, 4 words become d10s.

So by level 20, if you can crack the 5 word DC (which can range between 15 and 35, but I think damage effects will default to higher DCs to make combining more than 2 prohibitive) you'll be hitting for 20d10 (if for some reason you can combine nothing but damage dealing words), but more commonly 12d8-16d10. Each time you use that effect, the total DC increases by 1/word, so in this case +5. This also means at level 4, when you'll have around 5 words total you might be able to pick 5 that work together and hit that DC, but the damage will be 5d10 since we're cantrip scaling.

Hmmm, that does create quite the spike at Tier breakers 5, 11, and 17. I think some clever design in the Word choice and level availability can keep that more manageable.

The real trick will be lasting effects. I'm thinking Lasting will extend a given effect by 1 round as a Cantrip (so you could use your action to turn the Bladewarding Warlock into a somewhat poopy Barbarian... is that too much?) and when mixed it creates a 1 minute duration. Maybe it can scale based on number of Words, so if you do a Lasting Fire the fire appears for 1 minute. Lasting Big Fire would be a 1 minute large area, while a Big Lasting Fire might last for 10 minutes.

Big just being a x10 multiplier for area or volume feels okay if effects like Fire are "1 ft diameter ball of flame."

If the Word Modifier increases by 1 for Each time it's used and reset after long rests, then I think that will be a good limit. Gotta see where Expertise comes in, Probably gonna hand it out so the math accounts for it right away rather than having a level of rogue break it all to heck.

You could buff an ally performing a feat of strength with "Jarn is Big." So Jarn counts as large until the end of your next turn.

You can just write "Fire" and there's a level appropriate cantrip effect. Fast might increase move speed normally, but when combined with others it might make much stronger effects. I think the basic vocabulary will comprise between 30 and 45 words, you don't know all of them, you know a portion and can forget/relearn every Calligrapher level like a Sorcerer.


The idea is that you're trying to elevate one of the two languages believed to be derivative of Truespeech, Celestial and Primordial, into Truespeech and coaxing the universe to "remember" the events as you describe in your testaments. I'm borrowing thematically from my Artist Class (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/245039/Class-Option-The-Artist?term=the+artist), but I don't think I can plagiarize myself.

Subclasses are focused on how you record events. Runekeepers use Runes which empower elemental effects, Codex keep books of prophecy in riddles and code that reveal secret Divinations, and Illuminators embellish their Testaments with elaborate renderings that create or enhance illusory or Conjuration effects.

We'll see how much of this makes it to the final cut.

moonfly7
2019-08-06, 06:55 AM
I like this. I also like that you cleared up my question in your other post: since you forgot the e, it came up as "runtracer" leaving me wondering if it meant a racer of runts, or a tracer of runs :biggrin:

I will fix that.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-09, 12:54 AM
Okay. Calligrapher is shaping up to be about 20 pages since I have an entirely new magic system to go with the Core class! I'm just about done with the base, now I have to hammer out the Subclasses.

Do I have to/Should I reformat post the whole thing for the chat tabs here or can I just link a PDF once I have one up and running?

Here's the gdoc link (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N0ykElGYUv-Cw6L-_TKol6r-grMfOK-JI4tu3FQcJuI/edit?usp=sharing) if anyone wants to take a look

Fluff

Picture it: Azed the half-Elf opens an arcane tome on the field of battle, but instead of reading, begins to furiously scribble, the ink from his quill flying across the page. In moments he's scripted the events as he wants them to be, as his companions need them to be. The most archaic version of the Celestial tongue known fills his book, but two words stand out "The orcs advance in the D'LANARA (cube) of the field comes to ISHPET (stop)." The swiftly indited Testament to the events bore the two words written in a language the mortal mind could barely comprehend. The record he'd created was part of the Universe, future generations would read of this day and their collective understanding, informed by Azed's Testament was reflecting back through history to make it be.

The fields before him become a quagmire, the orcs' advance grinds to a halt, their own axes and arrows halting mid air as they are let fly. The Calligrapher's allies rain fire on the unsuspecting horde and the day is won!



As I mentioned upthread I took inspiration from Truespeaker, but instead of a whole bunch of discrete effects, this is a whole bunch of discrete effects that you can also Voltron write into bigger crazier effects.

Mechanics (loose description)

It's Calligraphy Tool skill based (duh). Just like the old Truespeaker, the more you do in a day, the harder it gets. As is, one Word Testaments are cantrip level(ish), they incur no check to do but do essentially cost 1 silver (see Spellbook below) and raise the future DC of multi-Word Testaments that use those Words. So if you just make FIRE that's no difficulty, but if you later want to make CONE of FIRE, the DC will be 1 higher since you used FIRE earlier. If you use FIRE a dozen times a day, then the DC for a sentence with FIRE will be minimum 23, but if you just want to make the FIRE Cantrip effect, there's no roll other than bad guy saves.

Your "spellcasting ability" is Intelligence. The Calligraphy DCs to create your Multi-Word Testaments are 10+Calligraphy modifiers. You approach DC 20 around 3 words (most words seem to hover around +3 to the DC) but that's only for your first use, after that the DC of every word you used goes up every time you use them. Expertise is baked in at level 2 so I'm assuming a +17 at level 20 and trying to use that scaling. Really important "I'd use it all the time" words like Lasting (gives a 1 minute duration) are +4 or +5 base DC to discourage constant use.

As is this is a class that risks accomplishing nothing but wasted money and time. You can manage that by limiting the number of effects you pull off or sticking with Cantrips. A couple of big effects, a bunch of mediums and then you have a bunch of little ones left, but unlike Slots (you're out you're out) you can always swing for the fences and maybe do something ridiculous.

Spellbook

You have a spellbook, but instead of writing spells in it you write Testaments. A Spellbook has 100 pages and costs 100gp, you can fit 10 Words of Power on a given page. That means a 1 Word Testament takes up a 10th of a page or 1 silver's worth of the book's value. So lots of big effects eat your book faster, but I think the average module wouldn't see nearly a whole book's use, so just have a back up.

Complaints

One of the big challenges with this kind of undertaking is spending so much time writing in bread and butter that unique or interesting effects (like Secret Chests or Clones) are left out or avoided. I usually end up putting some of those into a subclass somehow.

New Subclass Concept for Calligrapher: Scrimshander
You keep your Testaments carved into the bones or flesh of the fallen. This is a way to backdoor necromancy in since the established 3 don't cover it.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-10, 11:15 AM
To TheVoidWatches,

The caster concept you have immediately rubbed me the wrong way and then the more I read it the more I warmed to it. It's presently at the top of my interest list for this contest, please be sure to finish it.

I'd recommend a Capstone that grants spell dice whenever you roll initiative and have none.

Naming concepts: Heuristitrix: something probablilities
Khonshuan- egyptian god gambles for time (maybe get magic back)
Dicer.

Good luck!

theVoidWatches
2019-08-10, 12:00 PM
Hey thanks! Glad to hear you're interested.

That's a great idea for a capstone, and I'll definitely use it. As for theme/name, I'm currently thinking Arcanist - the idea is that they can rework magical residue into new spells. They'll have features that let them interact with other spells, too.

moonfly7
2019-08-11, 01:06 PM
I've just posted the core mechanic of the rune tracer, so please check that out, if you don't mind, I'd love the help! Also, could someone post a link to the class tables code, and maybe explain how to actually understand them?

MoleMage
2019-08-11, 01:54 PM
I've just posted the core mechanic of the rune tracer, so please check that out, if you don't mind, I'd love the help! Also, could someone post a link to the class tables code, and maybe explain how to actually understand them?


One quick bit of help for entries in general: there are pre-formatted tables available in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?205677-Table-Pre-sets-and-Tablemaking-tutorial/page3) linked in the Notable Threads sticky for a variety of editions. Homebrewery.com and GMBinder.com also both have auto-generating class tables and a number of markup formatting options designed to mimic the PHB.

The following links are the posts which contain preformatted tables for 5th Ed. specifically:

One Feature Column, Special Column after features (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23888356&postcount=81)

Two Special Columns, Three Special Columns, Full Caster (Prepared) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23888379&postcount=82)

Full Caster (Spells Known), Half Caster (Prepared) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23888392&postcount=83)

Half Caster(Spells Known), Pact Magic, 1/3rd caster spell table (for subclasses) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23888400&postcount=84)

For these tables, they should be mostly prefilled with level, proficiency, ASI, etc. (plus spell slots if this was any other contest).

The way these tables are set up is to be printed by rows. So you'll see a few sets of tags: TR represents a new row while /TR represents the end of a row. Likewise TD represents a new cell (of Data), and /TD the end of a cell. So each row should be set up something like this:

(TR)
(TD) Cell 1.1 (/TD)
(TD) Cell 1.2 (/TD)
(TD) Cell 1.3 (/TD)
(/TR)

(With square brackets instead of parentheses) Which reads across as:

Cell 1.1 | Cell 1.2 | Cell 1.3

On top of that the whole table is wrapped in TABLE tags, with some parameters. There are guides around for the parameters but these tables already have them filled in to look nice.

I can do a better summary and examples when I'm back at my proper keyboard, but hopefully this helps get you started.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-11, 04:05 PM
Moonfly7,

Runetracer concentration mechanic question:
So can they have multiple such effects running as long as they make the check?

First impression to concentration checks every round is that’s too many dice rolls, if they can keep multiple effects going that way, it’s wayyy too many rolls.

You could make the DC for Spells with Durations higher, Concetration is just a +2 while 1 hour and more could be +5 and so on.

Good luck whatever you choose!

theVoidWatches
2019-08-11, 08:19 PM
Just finished formatting that first draft of the Arcanist. I'm not sure about it in some ways - it feels like I'm not really using spell dice differently from spell slots, except as a mechanic to keep a 50% chance of getting back a lower level spell after casting alongside a decreasing chance of keeping the same slot. I was originally thinking about having the result of the spell die roll also have some effect on the spell cast (like changing damage type, messing with the number of targets, etc) but I couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't feel off in some way (possibly because I tend to dislike random mechanics).

It's probably better than my first thought, though, which was to have an increasingly large pool of d6s - at the beginning of each turn, you rolled all of them, and the total number of 5s and 6s you got was the level of spell you could cast that turn, and you could expend a die until your next long rest in order to increase your allowed spell level by 1 (but of course, each time you did that, your max and average would go down until then). That would have been total chaos.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-11, 09:07 PM
Just finished formatting that first draft of the Arcanist. I'm not sure about it in some ways - it feels like I'm not really using spell dice differently from spell slots, except as a mechanic to keep a 50% chance of getting back a lower level spell after casting alongside a decreasing chance of keeping the same slot. I was originally thinking about having the result of the spell die roll also have some effect on the spell cast (like changing damage type, messing with the number of targets, etc) but I couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't feel off in some way (possibly because I tend to dislike random mechanics).

It's probably better than my first thought, though, which was to have an increasingly large pool of d6s - at the beginning of each turn, you rolled all of them, and the total number of 5s and 6s you got was the level of spell you could cast that turn, and you could expend a die until your next long rest in order to increase your allowed spell level by 1 (but of course, each time you did that, your max and average would go down until then). That would have been total chaos.

You could also try Arcanaut for a name (I reserve the right to use it for a class of my own in the future).

Other thoughts: What if you have a Spell die that grows as you level, capping at d12.

Each round you can attempt to cast any spell you know and the difficulty to cast that spell is the spell level. If you roll the spell level or above on your Spell die the spell goes off. If you roll above by +1 or more you get a minor benefit (casting stat to damage). If you roll max you get a big benefit (maybe twinned or empowered). But that benefit gets blacked out till a short rest.

If you roll under, you get a Cantrip effect. On a 1 you get nothing. You could have your spell lists salvo’d somehow, like all Fire spells, all psychic spells etc so you know which Cantrip will happen on a fail.

You get some roll two and pick one a few times a day mechanic later.

This eliminates any sense of resource management.

moonfly7
2019-08-12, 07:25 AM
For these tables, they should be mostly prefilled with level, proficiency, ASI, etc. (plus spell slots if this was any other contest).

The way these tables are set up is to be printed by rows. So you'll see a few sets of tags: TR represents a new row while /TR represents the end of a row. Likewise TD represents a new cell (of Data), and /TD the end of a cell. So each row should be set up something like this:

(TR)
(TD) Cell 1.1 (/TD)
(TD) Cell 1.2 (/TD)
(TD) Cell 1.3 (/TD)
(/TR)

(With square brackets instead of parentheses) Which reads across as:

Cell 1.1 | Cell 1.2 | Cell 1.3

On top of that the whole table is wrapped in TABLE tags, with some parameters. There are guides around for the parameters but these tables already have them filled in to look nice.

I can do a better summary and examples when I'm back at my proper keyboard, but hopefully this helps get you started.
Thanks! I'll get right on that.

Moonfly7,

Runetracer concentration mechanic question:
So can they have multiple such effects running as long as they make the check?

First impression to concentration checks every round is that’s too many dice rolls, if they can keep multiple effects going that way, it’s wayyy too many rolls.

You could make the DC for Spells with Durations higher, Concetration is just a +2 while 1 hour and more could be +5 and so on.

Good luck whatever you choose!
No, they can't have multiple effects going at once. Thank you for bringing this to my attention actually, I hadn't considered it. I plan on having it be that runetracer cannot cast any other spell of any level while concentrating on another spell. The reason for this is that, thematically, they're "tracing" magical symbols in the air with both hands to keep the spell effect going, kind of like on the spot ritual casting, I guess. Although that's a bad example.
Speaking of ritual casting, I was going to add a feature which lets you cast any spell with a certain casting time as a ritual, ritual casting not requiring saving throws, is this fair, or too much?

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-12, 07:45 AM
I’m not sure what their spell list looks like so I can’t say if Every Spell is a Ritual is broken or not. Unlimited Wishes? Imprisonments?

I can say, without question, no further casting while concentrating is bad design unless their concentration spells universally provide some new kind of action, like Witchbolt or Enervation do ( also note, everyone agrees those spells are terrible, essentially spending a spell slot for a new kind of Cantrip that’s easy for a foe to end).

Good luck whatever you decide!

moonfly7
2019-08-13, 06:44 AM
I’m not sure what their spell list looks like so I can’t say if Every Spell is a Ritual is broken or not. Unlimited Wishes? Imprisonments?

I can say, without question, no further casting while concentrating is bad design unless their concentration spells universally provide some new kind of action, like Witchbolt or Enervation do ( also note, everyone agrees those spells are terrible, essentially spending a spell slot for a new kind of Cantrip that’s easy for a foe to end).

Good luck whatever you decide!

the thing here is that your not spending Spell slots, allowing for a more liberal casting approach. I have a question though, for everyone:
If I didn't make you remake the spell check every turn while concentrating, you could cast other spells, but that sounds, to me, pretty broken. because your already casting spells without slots, and I'm worried that just concentrating on the effect like normal isn't enough. although the issue is that, conversely, I'm also worried that making you remake the check, and basically guaranteeing that you'll fail it and take damage on one of your turns, is going to make the class unfair and not fun.

I like the +2-5 AC idea that was suggested, but could anything else work better?

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-13, 11:49 AM
The game already has several ways around spell slot limitations, from Simulacrums to True Polymorphs, to Pearls of Power, to DMs that only have single encounters each day. Action and concentration economy are the real limiters.

If they don’t have to concentrate then maybe do a thing where the rune burns in the air and creatures can attack it to end the effect.

My concern would be casting a spell and then essentially being stuck as a 1st level character plinking with a crossbow for the duration.

I’m running into a similar issue with the Calligrapher (I think you and I are going to be sharing some design space), lasting effects don’t require concentration. My fix is effects only ever last a minute and over lapping areas of effect overwrite. So you can chain them, or litter a huge area in a short period of time, but a target never makes more than 1 save vs ongoing AoEs. And doing sonisnt smart because each time you try to make an AoE you’re making it harder to do again.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-13, 08:04 PM
Alright, Calligrapher's 2nd draft is done.

It's 22 pages of google doc. I'm starting a Homebrewery document tonight, hopefully I can get some art done and I'm hoping I can playtest it this weekend, though that's going to be some whiteroom stuff.

I don't think anyone got back to me on whether a link to the gdoc or pdf is acceptable for the contest entry, the thought of formatting the whole thing for a thread after also doing it for the pdf is daunting. please LMK.

MoleMage
2019-08-13, 08:47 PM
Alright, Calligrapher's 2nd draft is done.

It's 22 pages of google doc. I'm starting a Homebrewery document tonight, hopefully I can get some art done and I'm hoping I can playtest it this weekend, though that's going to be some whiteroom stuff.

I don't think anyone got back to me on whether a link to the gdoc or pdf is acceptable for the contest entry, the thought of formatting the whole thing for a thread after also doing it for the pdf is daunting. please LMK.

Using external formatting is fine, and in fact was the norm up until a couple contests ago. I recommend exporting as PDF since Homebrewery tends to be somewhat unreliable from device to device.

EDIT: Also note that the use of external formatting doesn't excuse the rule about sharing your entry. You can use Homebrewery or GMBinder, but wait until voting concludes to make your entry public on those sites.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-15, 11:37 PM
I was going to put it on gdrive. Formatting the Testament section is turning out to be a beast. The language starts to get pretty sterile here and there as my desire to generate a variety of effects outweighs my commitment to pleasing prose descriptions. When it’s finally up I will welcome any descriptive blurbs.

Thanks!

Fnissalot
2019-08-18, 04:20 PM
Updated the mortifiers spell point system in a way that I feel it starts to look good.
The short version is that you spend hit dice to get spell points as a bonus action. From 5th level, if you roll lower than your con-mod, you get to keep the hit die, else you spend it. You lose current spell points on rests. That might let you have spell points for too long though. It has slower progression to somewhat counter the possibility to get a lot more spell points.

There is a table on the maths of it to compare it to the DMG spell point variant in the post.

Tallytrev813
2019-08-21, 07:06 PM
1.) I see a Blood Mage in the post above me, apologies for a similar concept, but this version is a little different (No armor - 1 subclass gets light armor. Constitution based spell casting).

2.) My class DOES get One 7th, 8th, and 9th level spell slot later on. It's a class ive been building for a while. I am editing the concept to remove those spell slots and make 7th, 8th, and 9th level spells more HP expensive. I hope thats OK

3.) I have another thread where im bouncing my class off of posters to check for abusable issues and so on, im hoping that doesnt disqualify me. It's in this forum in the Homebrew Designs forum.

MoleMage
2019-08-22, 07:43 AM
3.) I have another thread where im bouncing my class off of posters to check for abusable issues and so on, im hoping that doesnt disqualify me. It's in this forum in the Homebrew Designs forum.

This is okay. You're allowed one thread for your class outside the main submission thread as long as it wasn't created before the contest started. Just make sure that you link to that thread in your submission post and link to the contest in that thread.

MoleMage
2019-08-22, 01:46 PM
I just posted the table for the Cultist as it currently stands. I've written up most of the features (except Awaken Idol and the Rite features) on it currently, but I still need to come up with ideas for 6th, 13th, 14th, and 17th level. Once I have all the features I'll post them in a big lump. Sorceries will be shared in PDF form once they are complete as well (I know from the Theurge that they won't fit in the same post). The bulk of the sorceries are shared with the Theurge or the Wilder (or both), but they're all being rewritten to use "sorcerous power" instead of surge dice, opening more options for math and dice type.

Fnissalot
2019-08-22, 05:43 PM
Nice! I like how you manage to make such a versatile system. My take on spell casting from hit dice is very limited to and built around my specific class.

I think all of the mechanics and rules for the Mortifier are written now. It lacks some flavour and introductionary text but it should be playable now. Any critique is welcome! I am not certain about some of the subclass features.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-23, 12:07 AM
I think the current iteration of the Calligrapher will be what I go with for the contest, please check it out. I think I could revamp the entire thing as a straight Truespeaker by swapping Calligraphy Expertise for Perform Expertise and eliminating the need for something to write on. Rename some of the features and tweak the Aesthetics to Mnemonics and it might be good to go. But that's volumes of work I don't want to do and finally having a class that can "Eat a Potato Chip!" as a combat flourish is good enough for me.

Playtesting will reveal if my math is sustainable.

Fnissalot
2019-08-23, 04:01 AM
I think the current iteration of the Calligrapher will be what I go with for the contest, please check it out. I think I could revamp the entire thing as a straight Truespeaker by swapping Calligraphy Expertise for Perform Expertise and eliminating the need for something to write on. Rename some of the features and tweak the Aesthetics to Mnemonics and it might be good to go. But that's volumes of work I don't want to do and finally having a class that can "Eat a Potato Chip!" as a combat flourish is good enough for me.

Playtesting will reveal if my math is sustainable.

After a quick read through.

Hit Dice: 1d16 per Calligrapher level seems misswritten, i guess you mean a d6
The testament system appears rather overwhelming at first, but after a while, I think I get it and then it provides a lot of depth. If I understand it correctly, a simple testament is pretty much a cantrip while a complex is a cantrip with a set of modifiers that might fail?
Due to the complexity of this system and the vast amount of combination, I have no direct idea of what is balanced.
Is there any limit to how many words a testament can hold (other than impossible dcs)?
What happens if i combine multiple shapes in a testament?
The row for level 18 in the table looks odd.
There are a few inconsistencies; you sometime refer to big as great or tall etc.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-23, 07:19 AM
After a quick read through.

Hit Dice: 1d16 per Calligrapher level seems misswritten, i guess you mean a d6
The testament system appears rather overwhelming at first, but after a while, I think I get it and then it provides a lot of depth. If I understand it correctly, a simple testament is pretty much a cantrip while a complex is a cantrip with a set of modifiers that might fail?
Due to the complexity of this system and the vast amount of combination, I have no direct idea of what is balanced.
Is there any limit to how many words a testament can hold (other than impossible dcs)?
What happens if i combine multiple shapes in a testament?
The row for level 18 in the table looks odd.
There are a few inconsistencies; you sometime refer to big as great or tall etc.


Thanks for the heads up, I’ll definitely tweak those minor edits.

Yes, Simple Testaments are basically Cantrips (though some have unique effects that are quite powerful, like Brief). However, each use of those Cantrips also contributes to the increased difficult of a later Complex Testament using that word.

Impossible DCs are the limiting factor. Failing a generous DM that allows a custom item PCs will cap at +17 to their roll. The average 3 Word Testament will have a DC or about 21. Spamming it raises it by 3 each time (1 per word) so you rapidly approach unrealistic target numbers unless you change it up.

I rolled a couple of concepts into Great and Small (short, tall, Long, etc). Looks like I’ll have to swap those as well.

Fnissalot
2019-08-23, 07:46 AM
Thanks for the heads up, I’ll definitely tweak those minor edits.

Yes, Simple Testaments are basically Cantrips (though some have unique effects that are quite powerful, like Brief). However, each use of those Cantrips also contributes to the increased difficult of a later Complex Testament using that word.

Impossible DCs are the limiting factor. Failing a generous DM that allows a custom item PCs will cap at +17 to their roll. The average 3 Word Testament will have a DC or about 21. Spamming it raises it by 3 each time (1 per word) so you rapidly approach unrealistic target numbers unless you change it up.

I rolled a couple of concepts into Great and Small (short, tall, Long, etc). Looks like I’ll have to swap those as well.

Great and small works but you refer to it by other names in some places.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-08-23, 03:12 PM
Originally I had intended to have a bunch of size descriptors and allow modification of Shapes, so a Short Cube would become a Wall, etc.

When I rolled those into Great and Small I realized the listed math creates some edge cases, like cones. Doubling one aspect of the cone doubles the other, but using Great or Small as written, you could create some very narrow or wide cones. I added some notes to some of the shapes but wanted a fair bit of depth that rode the margins of what spells could do.

Side note: the Spell Noun doesn’t allow you to change the Shape of existing spell effects, I toyed with the idea but figured making them bigger or smaller in some ways was good enough. Smallifying the BBEGs Prismatic Wall so the Fighter can get around it or the the BBEG doesn’t fit inside it was good enough.

I also added a bit to the Testaments description RE: readying a Testament and made it clear completing a Testament reveals your presence of hidden (unless you’re a Codex and delaying an activation).
Since there are no Reaction Testaments using Short Hand and Readying one are my intended fix.

Also, the last line under the Shapes heading says you’re limited to one per Testament.

I’m still kind of wowed by what this can do narratively. Writing that your Fighter -Strikes with a Cone of Fire- at level 5 can have him be breathing fire or making a sweeping attack with a flaming sword that deals 6d8 Fire, save for half. That’s a DC 20, you should have about a +9-+10 mod. So you can reliably do that twice a day.

But you can also give him Lasting Sharpness on his Blade which just adds 2 dice to his weapon damage for a minute. That’s real big. That’s broken, that needs to be changed to first time it hits on a turn. Glad I rambled into that.

Edit: Turns out Hard and Soft had already had the intended fix baked in, just added the text to Sharp and Dull.

Tallytrev813
2019-08-27, 05:25 PM
Ok guys, so im submitting this class (Though i changed some of the casting to remove ALL spell slots)

Here is my ORIGINAL class (With the spell slots)

I'd really appreciate input. I just finished the features. Im working on the spell lists (both specific to subclass, and overall).

In the last 2 days i finished the subclasses so i'd love some eyes on it and thoughts regarding any abusable abilities or overpowered abilities.


Here's the class:


Blood Mage

Class Features:

As a Blood Mage, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d12 per Blood Mage level
Hit points at 1st level: 12 + Your Constitution Modifier
Hit Points at Higher levels: 1d12 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per Blood Mage level after 1st

Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple Bladed weapons (Dagger, Handaxe, Sickle, Darts, Light Crossbow)
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose 2 from Arcana, Perception, History, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Insight, Investigation, Medicine

Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
• (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• a dagger with ceremonial markings related to your background

Bloodcasting:
Your study of arcane magic fueled by the inert power of lifeblood is frowned upon in society by those who are aware of it’s practice. You are able to utilize your blood (or at times the blood of others) to power your spellcasting. You have no spell slots outside of ones gained via Bloodcasting, and any spell slots you currently have are lost. You may not gain spell slots through multiclassing. In order to cast a spell, you must have a bladed weapon in 1 hand, and nothing in the other hand to facilitate an open wound when needed. The cost in blood of a spell is equal to the spell slot level being used to cast it x4. For example, if one wished to cast a spell with a 1st level spell slot, it would cost them 4 Health, a 4th level spell would cost 16 health, and so on. Your spells do not require components beyond your own blood. A Blood Mage may not cast a spell that brings their health below 1. Health may not be spent to cast spells with spell slots of 7th level or higher. You gain ONE level 7 spell slot at level 13, ONE level 8 spell slot at level 15, and ONE level 9 spell slot at level 17. These spell slots are replenished on a long rest.

Cantrips
You know the Leach cantrip plus 2 cantrips of your choice from the Blood Mage spell list. You learn additional Blood Mage cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Blood Mage table.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the Blood Mage spell list.
The spells known column of the Blood Mage table shows when you learn more Blood Mage spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you chose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the tables Spell Level column for your level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new Blood Mage spell which can be of the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the Blood Mage spells you know and replace it with another spell from the Blood Mage spell list which also must be of a level lesser than or equal to the Spell Level shown in the Spell Level column for your level on the Blood Mage table.

Spellcasting Ability
Constitution is your spellcasting ability for your Blood Mage spells, so you use your Constitution whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Constitution modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Blood Mage spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + Your Proficiency Bonus + Your Constitution Modifier
Spell Attack Modifier = Your Proficiency Bonus + Your Constitution Modifier

Drain Life:
Level 1
Through practice manipulating the essence contained in blood, you have learned to draw it from others when it’s exposed. During combat, as a bonus action, you may choose a damaged enemy to target with this ability. Roll 1d4, and deal that much necrotic damage to the target. You gain life equal to the damage dealt to the enemy as you funnel their lifeforce to you. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your constitution modifier, and your uses are replenished on a Long Rest. The damage dice increases to 2d4 at level 5, 3d4 at level 11, and 4d4 at level 17.

Corrupted Blood:
Level 1
Due to prolonged arcane practice on/with your blood, and manipulation of your lifeforce, your natural healing has been altered to accelerate at will, but this has come with a price. As a bonus action in combat, you may spend 1 Hit Die (1d12) to regain health equal to the number rolled without the addition of your constitution modifier. Additionally, your lifeforce is not responsive to magical healing from others. Magical healing from other creatures has no effect on you. You may use Health Potions as normal, but otherwise you may not be healed outside of your own hit die and your own spells/abilities. This immunity to magical healing includes other class abilities such as Song of Rest. Being immune to the effects of magical healing from others does not preclude them from casting the spell on you if there were a secondary benefit to the magical healing. The lone exception to this occurs when a Blood Mage drops to 0 hit points, at which point their magic affecting their Blood fades and the Blood Mage becomes eligible for magical healing until stabilized or healed. Being immune to the effects of magical healing from others does not preclude them from casting the spell on you if there were a secondary benefit to the magical healing.

Paths of Manipulation:
When you reach 2nd level, you chose a path of manipulation, utilizing the arcane power of lifeblood through one of 3 different means; Path of Harm, Path of Sacrifice, Path of Enhancement, all detailed at the end of the class description.
Your choice grants you features at 2nd level, and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.


Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you cant increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Hematologic Regeneration:
Your bone marrow has magically adjusted to your ever-increasing need for blood. You regain all your Hit Die on a Long rest. In addition, when you use your Corrupted Blood feature to expend Hit Die in combat, you may add your Constitution Modifier to the roll. Finally, if you begin combat without any Hit Die, you regain 1 Hit Die at the start of Combat.

Master Bloodcaster:
You have mastered your blood-driven form of spellcasting such that you may use other’s untapped lifeforce to fuel your spells. You may draw health from a willing creature within 30 ft of you to cast a spell with Bloodcasting during combat. This health cost may not be reduced by any spells or abilities, and is drawn directly from the creatures health (not from any kind of Ward or protective spell/ability, though it may be drawn from Temporary hitpoints). This creature must be willing and not coerced to do so via a magical effect, such as Dominate Person or Geas, and this ability cannot reduce a creatures health below 1. You may choose to draw a ratio of the spell's cost in health from the creature, and pay the difference in your own blood. The Blood Mage decides how much health to draw from the creature, and how much to draw from himself, but may only target 1 other creature at a time (May not Draw from 2 separate targets simultaneously). Any creature whom you draw blood from in this manner is touched by your Blood Magic, and becomes immune to magical healing until the start of it's next turn.

Paths of Manipulation
The study and practice of manipulating the lifeforce in ones blood is an ancient, powerful, and dangerous practice. It remains frowned upon, and often times is hidden by those who wield it’s furious powers for their benefit.
There are 3 typical uses one may direct their Blood’s lifeforce towards, though all 3 are known by the few who are aware of the practice as particularly dangerous.
The Path of Harm focuses the strength drawn from Blood to enhance one’s spellcasting prowess. The Path of Sacrifice is a path some desperate individuals take when seeking to utilize their own lifeforce to empower their allies. Finally, the Path of Enhancement is reserved for individuals who seek to use their Blood Magic to empower their own body and weapons, enhancing their armor or sword with Blood energy.




Path of Harm
The Path of Harm focuses the strength drawn from Blood to enhance one’s spellcasting prowess. Being hit by a fireball, for example, is particularly dangerous from these Blood Mages. Those who continue down this path realize that, often times, ending an enemy quickly is the best way of preserving ones self rather than wasting time mending ones wounds while your foe continues their offensive assault. These Bloodcasters seek to end combat quickly at the expense of their own life force.

Reopening Wound
Beginning when you select this Path at level 2, your ability with your Bloodcasting increases. Choose a spot on your exposed skin (your hand, your neck, your face, your arm, etc.) and describe a type of fresh cut, wound, etc. You have learned to magically maintain this open wound such that it begins to slightly, unnoticeably bleed when you decide to utilize your Bloodcasting feature. You no longer require a bladed weapon, or an open hand, to cast spells, thus freeing your hands to utilize weapons, staffs, wands, etc. You share attunement restrictions with Sorcerers, and may attune to any item that a Sorcerer can with the text of the item simply replacing "Sorcerer" with "Blood Mage".
You additionally gain proficiency in 1 of (Your choice) Arcana, Investigation, Religion or History.

Improved Leaching
Starting at 2nd level, you’ve become more adept with your ability to draw health from enemies, briefly leaching hitpoints. You may add your spellcasting modifier to your Leach Cantrip’s damage.

Bloodcharged
Starting at 6th level, when you cast a spell at a spell slot level of 1st or higher, you have the option to “Bloodcharge” your spell. Before rolling a spell attack, or before your target(s) make saving throws, sacrifice up to 5 health to Bloodcharge your spell. If the spell deals damage, the initial damage dealt is supplemented by Necrotic damage equal to the amount of health you sacrificed. At 11th level, the maximum health available to sacrifice increases to 10 health, and at level 17 it reaches a maximum of 20 health.

Healing Response
Starting at 10th level, your magically charged blood has developed the ability to respond briefly to assault. Whenever an enemy hits you with a melee attack that does damage, you may spend your reaction to gain temporary hitpoints equal to double the damage dealt by this attack. These temporary hitpoints last until the end of your next turn. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you finish a Long rest.

Last Chance
By the 14th level, you have tested the limits of your resiliency in utilizing the power of the magic in your blood. As an action, you may make one last ditch effort at finishing an enemy by placing every available ounce of your bloods energy into a spell. Choose any spell from your spell list. You may cast this spell with no immediate cost in blood. If the spell requires a spell attack, roll it with Advantage. If the spell requires a saving throw from the target, they make that save with Disadvantage. If the spell causes damage, double the damage die as though it were a critical strike. You may not Bloodcharge this spell. After casting this spell your health drops to 1, you gain 1 point of exhaustion, you fall prone, and your turn immediately ends. You may not utilize your Corrupted Blood feature’s ability to Roll a damage die after using this ability for 1 minute.







Path of Sacrifice
The Path of Sacrifice is a path some desperate individuals take when seeking to utilize their own lifeforce to empower their allies. They sacrifice their own blood to heal, or quicken, or strengthen others by great lengths. Those who follow this path typically fell into Blood Magic by necessity, perhaps seeking a way to heal or restore a loved one or aspect of life unsuccessfully, eventually turning to powerful Blood Magic after exhausting all other options, eventually falling to the corruption of the art of Blood Magic.

Battle Support
Starting at 2nd level when you choose this Path, you acquire the training necessary to defend yourself from attacks in combat. You gain proficiency in Light Armor and Shields, though you still require a dagger in 1 hand and another open hand in order to utilize Bloodcasting.
You additionally gain proficiency in 1 of (Your choice) Perception, Insight, Survival, or Medicine.

Blood Aura
Starting at 2nd level when you choose this path, you’ve discovered the ability to use your Blood Magic to emanate an Aura of lifeforce driven magic at the price of your own vitality. Your Blood Aura may be activated at any time as an Action at the cost of lowering your Maximum Health by 1/3 (Rounded down) while the aura is active. When your Blood Aura is dropped, dispelled, or otherwise discontinued, your Maximum Health returns to its normal amount but your current health remains as is. This aura requires your concentration, and continues for as long as you choose to concentrate on it, however, you need not make concentration checks when hit with a melee attack or spell. Additionally, you may change your Blood Aura as an Action at any time. You may activate/change your Blood Aura a number of times equal to your Constitution Modifier per day.

Blood Aid
When you choose this aura, Each ally within 30 ft has experiences an increase in maximum and current hitpoints by 5 for the duration of the Aura. Any time a friendly creature is within 30 ft of you during combat, they gain +1 AC and +1 to Saving Throws.

Blood Assault
When you choose this aura, whenever an ally is within 30 ft of you deals an extra 1d4 Necrotic Damage when they hit with a weapon attack. Additionally, any ally who casts a spell while they are within 30 ft of you gains +1 to their spell attack for that spell.

Blood Fatigue
When you choose this aura, whenever an enemy is within 30 ft of your presence you are warded against them. Whenever an enemy targets you with an attack or a harmful spell they must first make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the enemy must choose a new target or lose the attack or spell. This Aura does not protect the Blood Mage against Area effects, such as a fireball, so long as the Blood Mage is not the direct target of the spell or effect. Additionally, Enemies within this 30 ft radius must make a Constitution saving throw at the start of their turn. On a failure, the enemy takes 1d6 psychic damage as their mind fatigues inside the Blood Mage’s aura, and no damage on a successful save.

Blood Bond
Starting at 6th level, you gain the ability to magically bond with those affected by your Blood Aura. Any time an ally who is currently within range and under the effects of your Blood Aura (Either Blood Aid or Blood Assault) takes damage, you may spend your reaction to transfer any number of temporary hitpoints from you to them prior to the damage being deducted from their hitpoints. For example, if you have 8 Temporary Hitpoints and an ally who is within your Blood Aura is hit with a melee attack for 20 damage, you may transfer those 8 Temporary Hitpoints to said ally by spending your reaction, resulting in them taking only 12 total hitpoints worth of damage. You may not transfer more temporary hitpoints to your ally than damage they’re receiving.

Improved Concentration
Starting at 10th level, you’ve become adept at maintaining your Blood Aura. It no longer requires your concentration, and you are able to maintain concentration on another spell while still maintaining your Blood Aura.

Empowered Blood Aura
Starting at 14th level, your Blood Aura grows in strength;

Blood Aid
When you choose this aura, Each ally within 30 ft has experiences an increase in maximum and current hitpoints by 10 for the duration of the Aura. Any time a friendly creature is within 30 ft of you during combat, they gain +2 AC and +2 to their Saving throws.

Blood Assault
When you choose this aura, whenever an ally is within 30 ft of you deals an extra 1d8 Necrotic Damage when they hit with a weapon attack. Additionally, any ally who casts a spell while they are within 30 ft of you gains +2 to their spell attack or +1 to their Spell Save D/C for that spell.

Blood Fatigue
When you choose this aura, whenever an enemy is within 30 ft of your presence you are warded against them. Whenever an enemy targets you with an attack or a harmful spell they must first make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the enemy must choose a new target or lose the attack or spell. This Aura does not protect the Blood Mage against Area effects, such as a fireball, so long as the Blood Mage is not the direct target of the spell or effect. Additionally, Enemies within this 30 ft radius must make a Constitution saving throw at the start of their turn. On a failure, the enemy takes 2d6 psychic damage as their mind fatigues inside the Blood Mage’s aura, and no damage on a successful save.




Path of Enhancement
The Path of Enhancement is reserved for individuals who seek to use their Blood Magic to empower their own body and weapons, enhancing their armor or weapon with Blood energy. Some wear medium armor, slashing with their Battleaxe as they throw fireballs, others utilize lighter armor to hide in the shadows and surprise enemies with their Rapier. Those who travel down the Path of Enhancement trend more towards melee combat, utilizing their weapon in conjunction with magic to both harm foes and draw out their lifeforce.



Blood Mage Warrior
Starting at 2nd level when you choose this Path, you acquire the training necessary to effectively arm yourself for battle. You gain proficiency in Light Armor, Medium Armor, and Martial Bladed Weapons without reach (Battleaxe, Greataxe, Greatsword, Longsword, Rapier, Scimitar, Shortsword, War Pick).
You additionally gain proficiency in 1 of (Your choice) Acrobatics, Athletics, or Stealth.

Blood Enhanced Speed
When you choose this path at 2nd level, you learn how to quickly weave in and out of melee combat, using the pain from the open wounds of an enemy to magically distract them. After you use your action or bonus action to make an attack, you gain the benefits from the disengage action if the enemy is not at full health.

Blood-Tinged Weapon
Starting at 6th level, you have learned to utilize the arcane power of your blood to enhance your weapon. While in combat, as a bonus action, you may run a 1 handed bladed weapon across your empty hand, enhancing the blade as you bleed on it. For the next 1 minute, You may add your Spellcasting (Constitution) modifier to your damage with this weapon, this additional damage counts as Necrotic damage, and you gain Temporary Hitpoints equal to the necrotic damage dealt in this way. The Temporary Hitpoints granted by this ability last until the end of your next turn.

Blood-Tinged Armor
Starting at 10th level, you gain the ability to magically utilize your fresh blood to enhance armor when in combat. Whenever you are in combat and below full health, your light armor is empowered by the lifeforce of your blood and gains +2 AC.

Battle Magic
Starting at 14th level, you have mastered the art of spell casting and weapon use into a single act. When you use your action to cast a Blood Mage spell, you can make a weapon attack as a Bonus Action.

MoleMage
2019-09-01, 08:10 PM
I'll be back at my house tomorrow and will have time this week to put up feedback on all of the other entries and finally settle in to finish the dead levels and missing sorceries on Cultist.

MoleMage
2019-09-13, 01:38 PM
Alright I know I'm like a week behind on these reviews, for which I have no good excuse (my bad excuse is WoW Classic). Still, this should leave everyone with a solid two weeks to make edits, or more if we decide to do an extension.


There isn't a lot in here so far. I have some concerns with the core casting mechanic, which I will detail below.


First, the penalty of losing health on failure acts as a harsh limitation, until the Runetracer lines up the right buffs (for example, Guidance and Cat's Grace), at which point they have a nearly guaranteed cast of 1st level spells without end. On the flip side, 9th level spells are almost not worth it, unless they have access to healing magic, at which point they can cast as many 9th level spells as the healing would allow.
Continuing from the last one, healing effects, if possible on the Runetracer, would entirely break the class. If they can restore any damage they take by simply tracing a new rune, they functionally do not have a daily limit on spells. Since learning healing spells from Feats or multiclassing is actually quite easy, this is something to be wary of.
Concentration requiring a check each round is a severe penalty but one which is probably compensated for by the aforementioned lack of daily limitations with the right buffs.






I liked the idea of the Truenamer even if it functioned poorly in 3.5. I also liked successor systems like Pathfinder's Sphere's of Magic, so you're already in my area of enjoyment.


Each of the subclasses feels unique, especially with their exclusive words of power. I think you did great work there.
The core classes features mostly pertain to improving the use of its magic system, as befits a full-caster equivalent class.
You don't mention in your crafting testaments section or in the class description what is added to a Calligraphy check. By context, it seems to be Intelligence plus your proficiency in Calligrapher's Tools, but it would be nice to have it explicitly spelled out somewhere.
I am a little concerned about the high starting difficulty of testaments. For example, the simplest complex testament which deals damage (Sharp/Dull or Hard/Solf plus an energy) would still have a DC of 15, which would leave a 1st level character with around 55% chance of success. Expertise with the tools kicks in at 2nd level, which does help a lot, but some of the tasks will still be extremely unreliable (image, as a Simple Word, has a DC of 25, when the highest possible bonus that could be attained is +17, which requires level 17 and a +5 attribute bonus). This has the side effect of making the scrimshander extremely attractive due to their ability to decrease the DC by sacrificing health.
Related to the previous, making testaments of six words (the highest breakpoint for most Words' improving effects) seems rather unattractive. For example, a Sharp, Hard, Strike with Fire, Acid, and Cold (these words chosen to minimize the DC) would still have a DC of 25, assuming none of those words had been used yet that day.
Finally, Shape words should probably be cheaper since their only use is in creating multi-word testaments. Creature especially should have a lower cost, as it allows a single target to affect two for the same cost as creating a 15 food cube (which could reliably affect 3 or 4).



Each individual word seems to be in about a good place, and the scaling function is nice, allowing even cheaper testaments to remain valuable in higher tiers due to how extra words multiply the dice instead of adding them. I think you've done a great job, but I'd be interested to know what your ideal break points for number of successful uses per day were.



Ah, the 3/4ths caster. A logical if as-yet unused extrapolation of our existing casting rates.


Alright, I am a big fan of this casting mechanic. Using Hit Dice has been done before, but I think this is cleaner than some examples I've seen before and overall it just works.
Based on your math, it seems like the intent is for the class to have a deeper pool of spellcasting which doesn't stretch into the higher levels. This is fine as an identity, but keep in mind that the class can't use its full resources each day (as only half of hit dice are regained each long rest), and their pool for longer adventures will be functionally half what it is. This is not even taking into account their reliance on forms of healing other than short rests due to needing their hit dice for resources. Give the class stuff to do beyond its huge potential pool of spell points and you'll be in a good place.
It isn't clear if you are supposed to add your Constitution bonus to hit dice rolled for class features like you would for spending them to heal on a short rest. Do you use it for none, some, or all features?
For a class that's not quite a full caster, I would like to see a couple more features in the middle levels (5-15ish). The capstones are all compelling but without 9th level spells their higher levels need some love (their most interesting feature comes at level 13 when they can reattach lost body parts.
The archetypes' capstones all have the first sentence of the Bloodshaper.


Overall, I seriously enjoy the casting mechanic, but the class doesn't have enough to do besides casting (and the odd skill check) to justify it not being a full caster.



I actually am working on a variant sorcerer to go along with my sorcerous classes that I called the Arcanist. It's a good word.


Spell Dice: Another fascinating spellcasting mechanic. I'd actually like to see this written up as a general replacement for normal casting, and may need to borrow the idea in the future for this system or one of my (too many) homebrew ones.
Class Features: Counterclaim's introduction makes it seem like you'll be getting spell dice off from it, but it's effect is probably more balanced. I'd just give it a new intro to suggest you're causing magical feedback instead of reclaiming magical energy. The rest are thematic and appropriately leveled.
Heirophant: Improved Arcane Reclamation is extremely good. Especially combined with Harvest the Crop, this class is going to be casting spells way after most casters have resorted to their wands and cantrips. Conversely, Superior Arcane Reclamation I would rarely use, since I already get the next smallest on anything but a 1, and keep the same size on a max value roll. I might use it to reclaim the odd d6 spell die, but probably would not bother for d8 or higher.
Duskblade: the passive damage is comparable to a paladin's, and eventually even exceeds it. They can't use active smiting like a paladin, but they also are functionally full casters, not half. I'd dial it down or make it resource based (maybe after spending a spell die, you add it as force damage to attacks until the end of your next turn, making it both stronger and less reliable).
Spellthief: Gets a basically better version of counterspell at level 6 and can freely negate cantrips (which monsters rarely use so it's probably fine). I think Educational Theft should be swapped out, as it is just Expanded Knowledge and Improved Spell Theft is a more interesting and specific feature that provides a similar benefit.



Overall, this is a mechanically interesting and thematically constructed class. Overall excellent work as usual. I'd touch up some of the runaway power in Heirophant and to a lesser extend Spellthief


I'll be back for the two blood mages after lunch. I'm really enjoying this theme so far, gotta say.

Fnissalot
2019-09-13, 02:06 PM
Mortifier
Ah, the 3/4ths caster. A logical if as-yet unused extrapolation of our existing casting rates.

Alright, I am a big fan of this casting mechanic. Using Hit Dice has been done before, but I think this is cleaner than some examples I've seen before and overall it just works.


Thanks!



Based on your math, it seems like the intent is for the class to have a deeper pool of spellcasting which doesn't stretch into the higher levels. This is fine as an identity, but keep in mind that the class can't use its full resources each day (as only half of hit dice are regained each long rest), and their pool for longer adventures will be functionally half what it is. This is not even taking into account their reliance on forms of healing other than short rests due to needing their hit dice for resources. Give the class stuff to do beyond its huge potential pool of spell points and you'll be in a good place.


I did not know this. Our table have always run that you get all of them back at a long rest. It was built around the idea that you got all hit dice back on a long rest. Would it be too powerful to just give an early feature around level 2 or so that restores all mortifier hit dice on a long rest?



It isn't clear if you are supposed to add your Constitution bonus to hit dice rolled for class features like you would for spending them to heal on a short rest. Do you use it for none, some, or all features?


I don't think that any of the features add constitution to the rolls, but I might have missed one.



For a class that's not quite a full caster, I would like to see a couple more features in the middle levels (5-15ish). The capstones are all compelling but without 9th level spells their higher levels need some love (their most interesting feature comes at level 13 when they can reattach lost body parts.


I will look into adding something more in the middle then!



The archetypes' capstones all have the first sentence of the Bloodshaper.

Overall, I seriously enjoy the casting mechanic, but the class doesn't have enough to do besides casting (and the odd skill check) to justify it not being a full caster.


I missed the capstone texts. Nice spotted! (odd skill check?) The main reason for the slower progression is that I thought it had a higher spell point potential, which know I know might not be the case.

MoleMage
2019-09-13, 03:50 PM
I did not know this. Our table have always run that you get all of them back at a long rest. It was built around the idea that you got all hit dice back on a long rest. Would it be too powerful to just give an early feature around level 2 or so that restores all mortifier hit dice on a long rest?
Standard rule is half rounded up of your maximum hit dice. I'd say that a feature which restored all mortifier hit dice would not be out of line.



I don't think that any of the features add constitution to the rolls, but I might have missed one.

My confusion comes from the wording of "spending a hit die" or "spending X hit dice" as I have preconceived notions of what that entails (since the only normal use for it is short rest healing which always adds constitution). Your wording never mentions adding Con though, so the strict reading aligns with your intent.



I will look into adding something more in the middle then!

I missed the capstone texts. Nice spotted! (odd skill check?) The main reason for the slower progression is that I thought it had a higher spell point potential, which know I know might not be the case.

By odd skill check I just meant that they get bonuses to highly specific skill checks (like Medicine) as their biggest features outside of spellcasting. In combat, they are entirely dependent on spells, for example, and the specific nature of their skill bonuses means they are also limited in their exploration and social pillars (spellcasting notwithstanding). And like I mentioned in other sections, I like the slower spell progression but the class needs more unique abilities to compensate (like Paladins' Lay on Hands or Divine Sense, or Rangers' Vanish and Hide in Plain Sight).


It looks like this is a short rest full caster (similar to warlock). That's fine, the spellcasting game needs more participants in the short rest sector.


A note that typical 5e formatting is to use the second person for class feature descriptions ("you can do X") instead of previous editions' third person ("the class can do X"). It doesn't affect my voting but someone pointed it out to me once and I try to pass that information along.
Your proficiencies say they are based on your subclass. Since the subclass has a name (Blood Oath), you could use that wording in the proficiency block.
Blood Casting: three times spell level is sufficiently severe to put the blood mage in line with other full casters. The addition of spells which are natively cheaper based on subclasses is also a good use of concept space. It seems like you don't have limits on spells above 5th level, which should be fixed. I'm also quite concerned about drawing magic from any list.
Blood Rituals does not have a description.
It seems like each subclass also receives "any one other skill". I'd put this free pick in the base class (Skills: One of your choice, plus additional skills based on your Oath). This is mainly a formatting concern, as my first read of Vow of Poverty suggested that my second skill came from the list of "Religion, History, Nature, and Arcana, and any one other skill", instead of the list ending with Arcana and any one other skill being a separate clause.



Overall, I think your framework here is decent, but I can't say with any confidence how it will look with the Oaths fully written and any extra features added in.



I actually looked up leach because I wasn't aware of the different meanings based on spelling. I learned something today!


Can you use temporary hit points for Bloodcasting? My gut says no, since Leach gives a reliable source of those and would let the prudent blood mage cast all day long, but the wording does not mention whether they count as health.
Constitution spellcasting is a dangerous game, even for a class with hit points instead of spell slots. With Multiclassing or the Magic Initiate feat and a reasonable Wisdom (+3 or better), you are guaranteed to break even on the spellcasting cost of Cure Wounds or Healing Word. On top of that, you have hit points to compete with the barbarian as you share their impressive d12 hit dice and barbarians typically want to prioritize Strength first.
Drain Life: seems like a way to allow the blood mage to keep in rotation a bit longer. I was worried about giving them built-in healing on top of my concern above until I saw Corrupted Blood.
Corrupted Blood: This goes a long way to mitigating my concern about the effects of healing on extending your hit points. The blood mage themself could still use the loophole above, but that requires them to prioritize an otherwise unnecessary attribute over the arguably more generally valuable Dexterity. Life Clerics can't pass their 1st level slots on to the blood mage to produce 2nd level effects now. I'm still worried about the potential blood mage who learns to heal, though.
Hematologic Regeneration is too much. The fact that you didn't get to add your Constitution with Corrupted Blood was the tradeoff for using it. It created meaningful choice (less health now, or more health later). This removes the meaningful choice. Since it's such a late-in feature I'm okay with the hit dice recovery, but I think that regaining all hit dice each long rest and additional hit dice when you start combat empty is enough for the feature.
Path of Harm: Everything here seems okay. Last Chance is a doozy of a list of penalties, but doubling a level 6 Flame Strike is probably worth the penalty, especially if you're low on health anyway (which you probably are because of how this class works).
Path of Sacrifice: I would give Blood Aura a flat cost (4 times your level will come out approximately the same for a blood mage with max Constitution), but since you only need to check your health each time your max changes it's probably okay to put a 1/3 calculation in there. Blood Fatigue seems too versatile. I would rarely use Blood Assault unless we were fighting fewer enemies than we had party members or we were fighting things immune to psychic damage.
Path of Enhancement: No signature Path spell? I see they get a lot of the paladin smites, which might count, but the unique spells for Harm and Sacrifice were definitely part of the draw. The weapon proficiencies seem specific without a particular reason. Blood-Tinged Weapon could just say Constitution modifier instead of Spellcasting modifier (since there is no way to change the spellcasting modifier for this feature). The rest of this class seems pretty straightforward, sort of an Eldritch Knight in reverse. I like it.
In your new spells, you sometimes use the redundant wording "creature you can see of your choice within range". 'Of your choice' is implied by the nature of spells, so you can leave it out and it will make them read nicer. Blood Boil's secondary effect should probably require an action instead of a bonus action (as it is quite a lot of guaranteed damage). Dark Blessing is redundant (either just give Sacrificers Bless as normal, or give Dark Blessing a unique effect with a similar purpose similar to Hex/Hunter's Mark).



This class is hard to gauge balance-wise because (like my own entry) it diverges so far from the norm in a few key areas. However, as it stands, I think it is perhaps a little too strong. You've plugged most of the leaks, but the fact is that this is still a class that can have respectable armor class and outstanding hit points while still being prepared to cast spells as a primary caster. We had a similar class in a previous contest (Does not Meet Expectations) called the Whitescourge, and the problem the creator ran into in playtesting is that his players were using the class as a straight up tank and rarely using their spells. With the self-healing abilities of your Blood Mage, you might encounter the same issue (the fact that outside healing doesn't work will mitigate this possibility somewhat though.


And that's everyone! I've finished the Cultist and will start copying over their class features. Sorceries are going to remain an external link only because of the space they would take up in the contest thread.

Fnissalot
2019-09-13, 05:25 PM
Standard rule is half rounded up of your maximum hit dice. I'd say that a feature which restored all mortifier hit dice would not be out of line.

My confusion comes from the wording of "spending a hit die" or "spending X hit dice" as I have preconceived notions of what that entails (since the only normal use for it is short rest healing which always adds constitution). Your wording never mentions adding Con though, so the strict reading aligns with your intent.

By odd skill check I just meant that they get bonuses to highly specific skill checks (like Medicine) as their biggest features outside of spellcasting. In combat, they are entirely dependent on spells, for example, and the specific nature of their skill bonuses means they are also limited in their exploration and social pillars (spellcasting notwithstanding). And like I mentioned in other sections, I like the slower spell progression but the class needs more unique abilities to compensate (like Paladins' Lay on Hands or Divine Sense, or Rangers' Vanish and Hide in Plain Sight).


Added a unique ability at level 1(touch, con save or short disadvantage on skill checks), and 11(borrow magic from fresh corpses of spellcasters), moved leechblood to level 9 to spread things out a bit, and gave them full recovery of mortifier hit dice at level 2.

Tallytrev813
2019-09-16, 12:30 PM
[SPOILER=Mortifier Cont.]
I actually looked up leach because I wasn't aware of the different meanings based on spelling. I learned something today!

Can you use temporary hit points for Bloodcasting? My gut says no, since Leach gives a reliable source of those and would let the prudent blood mage cast all day long, but the wording does not mention whether they count as health.
Constitution spellcasting is a dangerous game, even for a class with hit points instead of spell slots. With Multiclassing or the Magic Initiate feat and a reasonable Wisdom (+3 or better), you are guaranteed to break even on the spellcasting cost of Cure Wounds or Healing Word. On top of that, you have hit points to compete with the barbarian as you share their impressive d12 hit dice and barbarians typically want to prioritize Strength first.
Drain Life: seems like a way to allow the blood mage to keep in rotation a bit longer. I was worried about giving them built-in healing on top of my concern above until I saw Corrupted Blood.
Corrupted Blood: This goes a long way to mitigating my concern about the effects of healing on extending your hit points. The blood mage themself could still use the loophole above, but that requires them to prioritize an otherwise unnecessary attribute over the arguably more generally valuable Dexterity. Life Clerics can't pass their 1st level slots on to the blood mage to produce 2nd level effects now. I'm still worried about the potential blood mage who learns to heal, though.
Hematologic Regeneration is too much. The fact that you didn't get to add your Constitution with Corrupted Blood was the tradeoff for using it. It created meaningful choice (less health now, or more health later). This removes the meaningful choice. Since it's such a late-in feature I'm okay with the hit dice recovery, but I think that regaining all hit dice each long rest and additional hit dice when you start combat empty is enough for the feature.
Path of Harm: Everything here seems okay. Last Chance is a doozy of a list of penalties, but doubling a level 6 Flame Strike is probably worth the penalty, especially if you're low on health anyway (which you probably are because of how this class works).
Path of Sacrifice: I would give Blood Aura a flat cost (4 times your level will come out approximately the same for a blood mage with max Constitution), but since you only need to check your health each time your max changes it's probably okay to put a 1/3 calculation in there. Blood Fatigue seems too versatile. I would rarely use Blood Assault unless we were fighting fewer enemies than we had party members or we were fighting things immune to psychic damage.
Path of Enhancement: No signature Path spell? I see they get a lot of the paladin smites, which might count, but the unique spells for Harm and Sacrifice were definitely part of the draw. The weapon proficiencies seem specific without a particular reason. Blood-Tinged Weapon could just say Constitution modifier instead of Spellcasting modifier (since there is no way to change the spellcasting modifier for this feature). The rest of this class seems pretty straightforward, sort of an Eldritch Knight in reverse. I like it.
In your new spells, you sometimes use the redundant wording "creature you can see of your choice within range". 'Of your choice' is implied by the nature of spells, so you can leave it out and it will make them read nicer. Blood Boil's secondary effect should probably require an action instead of a bonus action (as it is quite a lot of guaranteed damage). Dark Blessing is redundant (either just give Sacrificers Bless as normal, or give Dark Blessing a unique effect with a similar purpose similar to Hex/Hunter's Mark).



This class is hard to gauge balance-wise because (like my own entry) it diverges so far from the norm in a few key areas. However, as it stands, I think it is perhaps a little too strong. You've plugged most of the leaks, but the fact is that this is still a class that can have respectable armor class and outstanding hit points while still being prepared to cast spells as a primary caster. We had a similar class in a previous contest (Does not Meet Expectations) called the Whitescourge, and the problem the creator ran into in playtesting is that his players were using the class as a straight up tank and rarely using their spells. With the self-healing abilities of your Blood Mage, you might encounter the same issue (the fact that outside healing doesn't work will mitigate this possibility somewhat though.

Thank you for the feedback!

Here's some nuances i think you missed:

A.) Can you use temporary hit points for Bloodcasting? My gut says no, since Leach gives a reliable source of those and would let the prudent blood mage cast all day long, but the wording does not mention whether they count as health.

-Yes, Temporary hitpoints MAY be used for bloodcasting! HOWEVER, you may notice the Bloodmages sources of temporary hitpoints only last until the end of their next turn. So, the idea is, if you want to use TWO turns to 1. Leach hitpoints, then 2. Cast a spell using some THP and some HP, then i feel that's a fair price to pay. It will slow down spellcasting enough, and will still require some actual HP.

Side note: Yes! I Had to look up LEECH vs LEACH too haha!

B.) Constitution spellcasting is a dangerous game, even for a class with hit points instead of spell slots. With Multiclassing or the Magic Initiate feat and a reasonable Wisdom (+3 or better), you are guaranteed to break even on the spellcasting cost of Cure Wounds or Healing Word. On top of that, you have hit points to compete with the barbarian as you share their impressive d12 hit dice and barbarians typically want to prioritize Strength first.

-This problem was solved, as the description of Bloodcasting states when you learn Bloodcasting you sacrifice ALL spell slots, and cannot gain spell slots via multiclassing or other means.

Additionally, it notes you CANNOT receive magical healing. It does not affect you, unless you're healed specifically from your own bloodcasting spell.

I believe this solves that problem.

I dont see how they can learn Heal, though. Clarify this for me please.

Edit: I now see you were correct, and i didnt specify that it had to be from BLOODCASTING. Excellent catch. Thank you. I am editing it to say that you may only be healed by your own spells cast with BLOODCASTING (So as to prevent Magic Initiates from gaining a once a day cure wounds or something).

2nd Edit: I believe i understand now - you're saying that learning cure wounds via magic initiate with a +3 spellcasting mod will allow you to cast cure wounds via bloodcasting and outweigh the HP cost. I think the way to solve this is to specify in the description of Bloodcasting that it cannot be used to cast primary-healing spells such as Healing Word or Cure Wounds. Editing now.

Due to the nature of Bloodcasting, this ability may not be used to cast strictly healing spells such as Cure Wounds or Healing word.

C.) Corrupted Blood: This goes a long way to mitigating my concern about the effects of healing on extending your hit points. The blood mage themself could still use the loophole above, but that requires them to prioritize an otherwise unnecessary attribute over the arguably more generally valuable Dexterity. Life Clerics can't pass their 1st level slots on to the blood mage to produce 2nd level effects now. I'm still worried about the potential blood mage who learns to heal, though.
Hematologic Regeneration is too much. The fact that you didn't get to add your Constitution with Corrupted Blood was the tradeoff for using it. It created meaningful choice (less health now, or more health later). This removes the meaningful choice. Since it's such a late-in feature I'm okay with the hit dice recovery, but I think that regaining all hit dice each long rest and additional hit dice when you start combat empty is enough for the feature.

Fair enough. I havent playtested this so you may be on to something here. Perhaps i remove the +con mod to the in-combat hit die usage. I was thinking that since it's a level 18 feature and since you can only spend 1 hit die at a time in combat (1d12+con) it would still be a tradeoff for casting since the cost for higher level spell would be greater, but I shall remove the +Con mod aspect of in-combat usage.

EDITED: Your bone marrow has magically adjusted to your ever-increasing need for blood. You regain all your Hit Die on a Long rest. In addition, if you begin combat without any Hit Die, you regain 1 Hit Die at the start of Combat.


D.) Path of Sacrifice: I would give Blood Aura a flat cost (4 times your level will come out approximately the same for a blood mage with max Constitution), but since you only need to check your health each time your max changes it's probably okay to put a 1/3 calculation in there. Blood Fatigue seems too versatile. I would rarely use Blood Assault unless we were fighting fewer enemies than we had party members or we were fighting things immune to psychic damage.

-My logic here was i wanted 3 Aura types; an Offinsive BUFF, a Defensive BUFF, and an aura to make you capable as a SOLO COMBATANT. For the offensive buff, i simply adapted Crusader's Mantle and added something for spellcasters. For the Defensive buff i adapted Aid with some additional buffs. For the SOLO ability i adapted Sanctuary with a nerfed Spirit Guardians.

I figured in a party of, say, a Monk + Fighter + Rogue, for example, the +1d4 necrotic dmg would get used. Do you think i should buff this aura to, say, 1d6 instead of 1d4? How can i balance the 3 aura's better?

E.) Path of Enhancement: No signature Path spell? I see they get a lot of the paladin smites, which might count, but the unique spells for Harm and Sacrifice were definitely part of the draw. The weapon proficiencies seem specific without a particular reason. Blood-Tinged Weapon could just say Constitution modifier instead of Spellcasting modifier (since there is no way to change the spellcasting modifier for this feature). The rest of this class seems pretty straightforward, sort of an Eldritch Knight in reverse. I like it.

-I struggled to create a spell here, and my player that wanted this class wasnt as concerned with a new spell. I wanted the class to be a sort of "weave in and out" of combat, stealing temp HP and using it to cast spells, i sort of combined a Monk with a Valor Bard. I suppose i could create a new spell for this class, i just never got around to it and i didnt really have one that "spoke to me" so to speak. But, to be fair, Siphon life/Mass Siphon life are CLASS spells so all of the subclasses get it.

F.) In your new spells, you sometimes use the redundant wording "creature you can see of your choice within range". 'Of your choice' is implied by the nature of spells, so you can leave it out and it will make them read nicer. Blood Boil's secondary effect should probably require an action instead of a bonus action (as it is quite a lot of guaranteed damage). Dark Blessing is redundant (either just give Sacrificers Bless as normal, or give Dark Blessing a unique effect with a similar purpose similar to Hex/Hunter's Mark).

-In retrospect, Dark Blessing was lazy. I just reskinned Bless since i wanted that subclass to have Bless but it didnt fit Thematically. I may need to toy around with the spell to make it more original. Bloodboil, This i think i want to leave as is, it's a Path of Harm SPECIFIC spell that i wanted to Rival fireball. The idea was to damage on par with Fireball, but sacrifice the AoE aspect of the spell for better single target effect, which i adapted from the Heat Metal spell. I wanted this to be a good one. Do you think it's strictly TOO OP? I wanted it to be a show stopper.

sengmeng
2019-09-28, 05:15 PM
Blood Mage, sengmeng style, is done. One more day, contestants!

BerzerkerUnit
2019-09-28, 08:15 PM
Alright I know I'm like a week behind on these reviews, for which I have no good excuse (my bad excuse is WoW Classic). Still, this should leave everyone with a solid two weeks to make edits, or more if we decide to do an extension.




[/SPOILER]


I liked the idea of the Truenamer even if it functioned poorly in 3.5. I also liked successor systems like Pathfinder's Sphere's of Magic, so you're already in my area of enjoyment.


Each of the subclasses feels unique, especially with their exclusive words of power. I think you did great work there.
The core classes features mostly pertain to improving the use of its magic system, as befits a full-caster equivalent class.
You don't mention in your crafting testaments section or in the class description what is added to a Calligraphy check. By context, it seems to be Intelligence plus your proficiency in Calligrapher's Tools, but it would be nice to have it explicitly spelled out somewhere.
I am a little concerned about the high starting difficulty of testaments. For example, the simplest complex testament which deals damage (Sharp/Dull or Hard/Solf plus an energy) would still have a DC of 15, which would leave a 1st level character with around 55% chance of success. Expertise with the tools kicks in at 2nd level, which does help a lot, but some of the tasks will still be extremely unreliable (image, as a Simple Word, has a DC of 25, when the highest possible bonus that could be attained is +17, which requires level 17 and a +5 attribute bonus). This has the side effect of making the scrimshander extremely attractive due to their ability to decrease the DC by sacrificing health.
Related to the previous, making testaments of six words (the highest breakpoint for most Words' improving effects) seems rather unattractive. For example, a Sharp, Hard, Strike with Fire, Acid, and Cold (these words chosen to minimize the DC) would still have a DC of 25, assuming none of those words had been used yet that day.
Finally, Shape words should probably be cheaper since their only use is in creating multi-word testaments. Creature especially should have a lower cost, as it allows a single target to affect two for the same cost as creating a 15 food cube (which could reliably affect 3 or 4).



Each individual word seems to be in about a good place, and the scaling function is nice, allowing even cheaper testaments to remain valuable in higher tiers due to how extra words multiply the dice instead of adding them. I think you've done a great job, but I'd be interested to know what your ideal break points for number of successful uses per day were.




Thanks so much for your feedback! I’ll try to go point by point.

Calligraphy tools vs calligraphy DC,
Wish I’d thought of that myself, I’ll see if I have time to edit the pdf tonight but I definitely don’t have time to reformat the whole thing if it shuffles text so I may have to do without. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll definitely fix it before the official release on DMsguild!

High DCs
I felt the ability to stack damage and conditions so freely was so strong and invert those conditions to protect allies so good, a real chance of failure was warranted. Take Stop, Fire, and Lasting/Brief at level 1 and you can potentially grant an ally a minute of Fire Resistance with no concentration, so you can also light an enemy on Fire for 3d8/round for a minute as well as grant “Total Cover” against a lot of non magic ranged attacks with your Stop which is also a Trap square.

# of uses of Complex Testaments re: 6 words
This was a real tap dance to get it where I wanted. If a party averages 4 combats a day, averaging 4-5 rounds a piece, I wanted the player to be able to do something flashy about 3/5 rounds, but different things each time. There are some really great combos in there, but I didn’t want the player to be able to sit atop one the way “Polymorph/Disintegrate” can kind of be the end all for spell casters.

There are a lot of features that add dice to checks (Bardic Inspire, Inspiration, Enhance Ability, Lucky, Wild Sorc, Guidance, Easy Word of Power and far more I’m sure) if the party stacks them on you, you could be throwing lingering 12d10 balls of Fire on areas as fight starters at level 5. And create a trap square with Stop in the exit on the same turn. That’s strong, but it takes an entire party of specifically chosen subclasses to commit resources to accomplish it, so I think it’s balanced.

Some words are supposed to be 1/day but I wanted to entice gambling for more. some words have pretty spectacular effects and that meant hard DCs to justify their possible effect. Image is perhaps the most singularly powerful word. Copy the Lich and ask the duplicate where the phylactery is? Copy your Paladin and have him go supernova? So I really think that should only happen about once a day at best. Same for those 6 Word combos, but again, if the whole party chips in, you could have a +4 to +16 from bonus dice and advantage with lucky.

I don’t generally balance stuff against what’s possible in edge cases like that though.

... sorry, had to stop in the middle of this post and think I’ve lost the thread. I’ll come back later

sengmeng
2019-09-30, 11:34 AM
Did this contest get an extension or just fall by the wayside? If it's not closed, I'd appreciate some feedback. Actually, that'd be nice either way.

MoleMage
2019-09-30, 11:39 AM
Did this contest get an extension or just fall by the wayside? If it's not closed, I'd appreciate some feedback. Actually, that'd be nice either way.

I haven't put the voting thread up yet but plan to do so before the end of today.

sengmeng
2019-09-30, 12:57 PM
I haven't put the voting thread up yet but plan to do so before the end of today.

I was more hopeful about an extension than intending criticism :smalltongue:

jjordan
2019-09-30, 09:04 PM
How did I miss this!?! Argh! Cool stuff.

BerzerkerUnit
2019-10-03, 07:40 PM
UA just published an Onomancer Wizard “Power of true names.”

Grrr.

MoleMage
2019-10-03, 08:21 PM
How did I miss this!?! Argh! Cool stuff.

Stick around! We have a new one coming up soon!

Forgot to post the voting link here when I made the thread on Monday.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?599403-D-amp-D-Base-Class-Contest-VIII-Voting-Thread

BerzerkerUnit
2019-10-06, 09:01 PM
Added a Calligrapher mix Fighter Subclass to my document. It isn’t meant to affect the judging since it’s not base class, just an idea for me and a free gift for anyone that thinks this might be interesting enough to play.

MoleMage
2019-10-14, 09:13 AM
Time to tally these votes!

In third place, with 8 points earned, we have theVoidWatches's Arcanist! Gamble with your magic as a core class feature!

In second place, with 9 points earned, BerzerkerUnit's Calligrapher! It's sorta like a truenamer, but it functions properly!

And in first place, with 10 points earned, MoleMage's Cultist! Stealing innate magic and worshipping the weird!

This was a good contest all around; a lot of complete, well built entries. Time had the most votes, so I'll be putting together the chat thread and submissions thread for that presently, but the new theme ideas will be noted at the beginning of that chat thread so we have time to consider them.

Contest is tallied, and the new chat thread is up here! http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?600535-D-amp-D-Base-Class-Contest-IX-Chat-Thread