DJDeMiko
2019-10-19, 11:44 AM
I'm planning a homebrew world for a campaign. Long story short, the players are mostly descendants of the 5 Demi-Gods that make up this worlds pantheon. They each pick one and gain an additional template to add to all the other PF2E options.
I recognize this makes the players stronger, but I aimed for abilities equivalent to tier1 feats, mostly non-combat, and tried to make the combat ones situational, 1Xday, or not something a player could build a character around. I can balance the game to handle more powerful players. My biggest concerns are "is this generally balanced" and "Am I missing any clearly broken mechanics".
I expect my players to bring strong, but not munchkined characters.
My world has magic and magic-tech called Artifice or (for ancient, sci-fi level stuff) elder artifice. It has a lore attached to it. Crafting options as well with new items that are Rare.
Satiran
All of Satiran’s Scions gain the Arcane Sense general feat
Background options - choose one
-
Artificer
[**]Gain the trained proficiency in Elder Artificing Lore. You may upgrade crafting recipes to artificed crafts for free, but you lose the normal recipe. When acquiring new recipe, you may instead acquire an artificed version. If the artifice version of a recipe has different requirements, you must still match them.*
Ancestral Knowledge -
[**]While doing your daily preparations you can tap into the divine font of knowledge. You gain trained proficiency in a skill of your choice. This skill must be one that uses Int, Wis, or Cha. This may not be used to qualify for any feats or other character options.
Gifted
[**]Choose one cantrip off any spell list. It may not require an attack roll or save. You can cast it and it is heightened to half your level rounded up.
Unnatural bond -
[**]You gain a familiar using the rules on page 217. The type is up to you.
Polyglot -
[**]Learn 3 new languages, chosen from common and uncommon languages you have access to. When you pick multilingual feat, you learn 3 languages instead of 2.
Mundus
All Scions of Mundus either gain Terrain Expertise as a feat or Quick Repair as a feat.
Background options - choose one
Natural Fieldman
[**]Gain trained proficiency in Elder Artifice Lore. You have a +2 circumstance bonus to notice details of Elder Artifice. You gain a free secret check to notice Elder Artifice even if not seeking or searching.
Jury Rigger
[**]Gain the Junk Tinkerer goblin feat, page 48
Environmentally bonded
[**]Choose fire or cold. You gain resistance equal to half your level and treat environmental effects of that type as one step less severe. You may not choose this if you already have resistance to an element or gain resistance from a racial ability later.
Fed by Fusus
[**]When trying to subsist in the wild if you fail, but not critically fail, to Subsist in the wilderness, you can still keep yourself fed with poor meals. When exploring, you can Hustle twice as long before you have to stop.
Animal bond
[**]Gain an animal companion as per the druid rules
Aletut
Aletut’s Scions are sturdier than most and can carry 2 more bulk. When sleeping if they would regain hitpoints, they add their con to the total.
Background options - choose one
War Mage
[**]Pick one cantrip from any list that requires a saving throw or attack role. You may cast this and heighten it to half your level rounded up. If your class provides a spell list, you replace one of. Your allotted cantrips with this one.
Weapon Savant
[**]Gain the human feat unconventional weaponry
Armor born
[**]Reduce the movement penalty of your armor by 5. You may sleep in armor without penalty. It takes you half the time to don or remove armor.
Artificed Weapon Master
[**]Gain trained in elder artifice lore.
[**]When wielding an artificed weapon, as a 3-action activity, you can jury-rig the weapon to perform in unexpected ways. When you use this ability, add one of the following weapon traits to a melee artificed weapon you wield: deadly d6, disarm, nonlethal, shove, trip, versatile B, versatile P, or versatile S. You cannot add a trait that the weapon already has. The weapon retains this trait until you successfully hit and deal damage with the weapon. The weapon retains this trait only while you wield it, and you can have only one weapon modified in this way at any time.
Battle Madness
[**]Once per day you may enter a Rage as per the barbarian ability of the same name.
Mercatus
All of Mercatus’s Scions gain a +2 circumstance bonus to earning income, practice a trade, gathering information, Recall knowledge on society, and subsisting in a city
Background - Choose one
Protector
[**]As a reaction, when one of your allies within 10 feet is struck with a melee attack, you may Step towards them or their attacker
Dual Major
[**]You may pick one lore that would make sense as a profession. You become trained in it. You may rank increase the skill rank of this lore at 3, 7, and 15.
Protective Magic’s
[**]Choose a cantrip with the Abjuration or divination tag. You may cast it and heighten it to half your level rounded up.
Elder Artifice Trader
[**]You gain trained in Elder Artifice Lore. You can cast the cantrip Read Aura, but it only works on artificed objects. When casting the spell Read Aura from a class spell list to read the aura of an artificed device, it only takes 3 actions. You Cain a +2 circumstance bonus to identify an artificed item. If you successfully identify an artificed item, you know its exact gold value.
Empathic Aid
[**]You gain a +4 circumstance bonus on checks to aid others.
Osdig
Osdig’s Scions can once per day, as a reaction, increase a saving throw result degree by one step up to a maximum of success.
Background options - choose one
Unveiled Eyes
[**]If you have normal vision, you gain low light vision. If you have low light vision you gain dark vision.
Veiled by shadows
[**]When sneaking you can move 5 feet further, up to your speed. In addition, as long as you continue to use Sneak actions and succeed at your Stealth check, you don’t become observed if you don’t have cover or greater cover and aren’t concealed at the end of the Sneak action, as long as you have cover or greater cover or are concealed at the end of your turn.
Dark Magics
[**]You may cast a cantrip that has darkness, necromancy or illusion as a trait. This cantrip is heightened to half your level rounded up.
Unnatural look
[**]Gain intimidating glare general feat
Grave body
[**]You gain necromancy resistance and resistance to sub dual damage from injury equal to half your level rounded up. You cannot critically fail recovery checks.
The Remade
Your body heals quickly. You start the game with 4 additional hit points. You regain 2 hit point per hour, up to a maximum of your 2X level Per day
Background - Choose one
Perfect recall
[**]You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to recall knowledge and cannot critically fail a recall knowledge roll.
Augmented legs
[**]Your move speed increases by 5, this does not stack with the fleet feat
Artificed skin
[**]Gain a +2 circumstance bonus to stealth, saves against effects with the light descriptor, and attempts to detect an illusion that your skin has touched. Additionally, your body receives some of its nutrients from sunlight. As long as you are in sunlight for 4 hours you can subsist on poor meals without ill effect.
Redundant Systems
[**]Once per day as a reaction - If you would be reduced to 0 hit points but not immediately killed. YOu may avoid being knocked out and remain at 1 hit point, and your wounded condition increases by 1
Artificed Body Systems
[**]You gain trained in elder artifice lore. You are always considered trained in the correct skill when trying to identify artificed items. You may choose one artificed item that requires investiture, it does not count against your limit of 10
Any thoughts appreciated.
I recognize this makes the players stronger, but I aimed for abilities equivalent to tier1 feats, mostly non-combat, and tried to make the combat ones situational, 1Xday, or not something a player could build a character around. I can balance the game to handle more powerful players. My biggest concerns are "is this generally balanced" and "Am I missing any clearly broken mechanics".
I expect my players to bring strong, but not munchkined characters.
My world has magic and magic-tech called Artifice or (for ancient, sci-fi level stuff) elder artifice. It has a lore attached to it. Crafting options as well with new items that are Rare.
Satiran
All of Satiran’s Scions gain the Arcane Sense general feat
Background options - choose one
-
Artificer
[**]Gain the trained proficiency in Elder Artificing Lore. You may upgrade crafting recipes to artificed crafts for free, but you lose the normal recipe. When acquiring new recipe, you may instead acquire an artificed version. If the artifice version of a recipe has different requirements, you must still match them.*
Ancestral Knowledge -
[**]While doing your daily preparations you can tap into the divine font of knowledge. You gain trained proficiency in a skill of your choice. This skill must be one that uses Int, Wis, or Cha. This may not be used to qualify for any feats or other character options.
Gifted
[**]Choose one cantrip off any spell list. It may not require an attack roll or save. You can cast it and it is heightened to half your level rounded up.
Unnatural bond -
[**]You gain a familiar using the rules on page 217. The type is up to you.
Polyglot -
[**]Learn 3 new languages, chosen from common and uncommon languages you have access to. When you pick multilingual feat, you learn 3 languages instead of 2.
Mundus
All Scions of Mundus either gain Terrain Expertise as a feat or Quick Repair as a feat.
Background options - choose one
Natural Fieldman
[**]Gain trained proficiency in Elder Artifice Lore. You have a +2 circumstance bonus to notice details of Elder Artifice. You gain a free secret check to notice Elder Artifice even if not seeking or searching.
Jury Rigger
[**]Gain the Junk Tinkerer goblin feat, page 48
Environmentally bonded
[**]Choose fire or cold. You gain resistance equal to half your level and treat environmental effects of that type as one step less severe. You may not choose this if you already have resistance to an element or gain resistance from a racial ability later.
Fed by Fusus
[**]When trying to subsist in the wild if you fail, but not critically fail, to Subsist in the wilderness, you can still keep yourself fed with poor meals. When exploring, you can Hustle twice as long before you have to stop.
Animal bond
[**]Gain an animal companion as per the druid rules
Aletut
Aletut’s Scions are sturdier than most and can carry 2 more bulk. When sleeping if they would regain hitpoints, they add their con to the total.
Background options - choose one
War Mage
[**]Pick one cantrip from any list that requires a saving throw or attack role. You may cast this and heighten it to half your level rounded up. If your class provides a spell list, you replace one of. Your allotted cantrips with this one.
Weapon Savant
[**]Gain the human feat unconventional weaponry
Armor born
[**]Reduce the movement penalty of your armor by 5. You may sleep in armor without penalty. It takes you half the time to don or remove armor.
Artificed Weapon Master
[**]Gain trained in elder artifice lore.
[**]When wielding an artificed weapon, as a 3-action activity, you can jury-rig the weapon to perform in unexpected ways. When you use this ability, add one of the following weapon traits to a melee artificed weapon you wield: deadly d6, disarm, nonlethal, shove, trip, versatile B, versatile P, or versatile S. You cannot add a trait that the weapon already has. The weapon retains this trait until you successfully hit and deal damage with the weapon. The weapon retains this trait only while you wield it, and you can have only one weapon modified in this way at any time.
Battle Madness
[**]Once per day you may enter a Rage as per the barbarian ability of the same name.
Mercatus
All of Mercatus’s Scions gain a +2 circumstance bonus to earning income, practice a trade, gathering information, Recall knowledge on society, and subsisting in a city
Background - Choose one
Protector
[**]As a reaction, when one of your allies within 10 feet is struck with a melee attack, you may Step towards them or their attacker
Dual Major
[**]You may pick one lore that would make sense as a profession. You become trained in it. You may rank increase the skill rank of this lore at 3, 7, and 15.
Protective Magic’s
[**]Choose a cantrip with the Abjuration or divination tag. You may cast it and heighten it to half your level rounded up.
Elder Artifice Trader
[**]You gain trained in Elder Artifice Lore. You can cast the cantrip Read Aura, but it only works on artificed objects. When casting the spell Read Aura from a class spell list to read the aura of an artificed device, it only takes 3 actions. You Cain a +2 circumstance bonus to identify an artificed item. If you successfully identify an artificed item, you know its exact gold value.
Empathic Aid
[**]You gain a +4 circumstance bonus on checks to aid others.
Osdig
Osdig’s Scions can once per day, as a reaction, increase a saving throw result degree by one step up to a maximum of success.
Background options - choose one
Unveiled Eyes
[**]If you have normal vision, you gain low light vision. If you have low light vision you gain dark vision.
Veiled by shadows
[**]When sneaking you can move 5 feet further, up to your speed. In addition, as long as you continue to use Sneak actions and succeed at your Stealth check, you don’t become observed if you don’t have cover or greater cover and aren’t concealed at the end of the Sneak action, as long as you have cover or greater cover or are concealed at the end of your turn.
Dark Magics
[**]You may cast a cantrip that has darkness, necromancy or illusion as a trait. This cantrip is heightened to half your level rounded up.
Unnatural look
[**]Gain intimidating glare general feat
Grave body
[**]You gain necromancy resistance and resistance to sub dual damage from injury equal to half your level rounded up. You cannot critically fail recovery checks.
The Remade
Your body heals quickly. You start the game with 4 additional hit points. You regain 2 hit point per hour, up to a maximum of your 2X level Per day
Background - Choose one
Perfect recall
[**]You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to recall knowledge and cannot critically fail a recall knowledge roll.
Augmented legs
[**]Your move speed increases by 5, this does not stack with the fleet feat
Artificed skin
[**]Gain a +2 circumstance bonus to stealth, saves against effects with the light descriptor, and attempts to detect an illusion that your skin has touched. Additionally, your body receives some of its nutrients from sunlight. As long as you are in sunlight for 4 hours you can subsist on poor meals without ill effect.
Redundant Systems
[**]Once per day as a reaction - If you would be reduced to 0 hit points but not immediately killed. YOu may avoid being knocked out and remain at 1 hit point, and your wounded condition increases by 1
Artificed Body Systems
[**]You gain trained in elder artifice lore. You are always considered trained in the correct skill when trying to identify artificed items. You may choose one artificed item that requires investiture, it does not count against your limit of 10
Any thoughts appreciated.