[3.5/PF] GitP Regulars as Vestiges Type II

[Zaydos]

I remember creating vestiges in the home brew vestige thread back on the WotC board back in the day. Made a bunch too including Star Scream, Yorinaga Kurita, SPINAL TAP, and others (I think Spinal Tap was my best one overall though).

SO while I don't think I am well known enough here (particularly on this board) I give permission to create one of me if you desire.

I know 2 things about you. 1) You make vestiges of cartoon characters and fictional metal bands. 2) You hate alignment as mechanic. As someone who makes vestiges of comic book characters, Star Fleet personnel, and the occasional vampire wizard spy Christopher Lee I can respect the former. Add in your name for some inspiration and...

Pyro火gnus Friend of Meepo (MeeposFire)

Pyroignus was a devoted friend in life, and shares that devotion even now as a vestige.

Vestige Level: 3rd.
Binding DC: 20.

Legend: Pyrohignus was a kobold and the closest friend to his fellow kobold the tribe’s dragon keeper. Following an event in which the tribe’s wyrmling dragon was stolen by goblins, Pyrohignus’s best friend was banished and Pyrohignus followed him into exile.

When werefleshrakers attacked and infected his friend, Pyrohignus stood beside him and suffered the same affliction. The kobolds were inseparable, Pyrohignus always following behind his more charismatic friend. That was until the dragon disciple and Pyrohignus encountered a ghost dragon. The two kobolds were hopelessly outmatched, but Pyrohignus plead to save his friend’s life, offering not just his own life, but his very soul in exchange. Of course the dragon ghost was a dragon ghost not a fiend, it couldn’t directly take his soul, but it possessed his body, letting his friend go and ‘living’ through Pyrohignus, letting the kobold’s own soul wither and fade.

Thus Pyrohignus died while he yet lived, his soul losing its anchor to his body, yet he could not rest easy while his friend still lived. Too little of Pyrohignus remained to return as a ghost, but it still clawed to return, and though his friend may have passed on Pyrohignus still watches for his one true comrade.

Manifestation: Pyrohignus rises from the seal in the form of a fleshraker. Slowly he reshapes into a form halfway between kobold and fleshraker, and then takes the form of a kobold which slowly fades throughout the binding process.

Sign: While showing Pyrohignus’s sign your toes curve up into wickedly twisting claws like those of a deinonychus.

Influence: While under Pyrohignus’s influence you may not betray a friend or deceive them, nor may you knowingly encourage another creature to do so.

Granted Powers:

Distracting Flanker: While Pyrohignus is bound if you flank a creature it suffers a penalty to attack rolls made against creatures other than you equal to the bonus you gain to attack rolls for flanking it. In addition it provokes an attack of opportunity from any creature (other than you) that is flanking it with you if it moves even if it takes a 5 ft step or withdraws; a tumble check can still be made to avoid this AoO but they suffer a penalty to do so equal to ½ your binder level.

Envenom: While Pyrohignus is bound as a swift action you may charge your next melee attack with a slashing or piercing weapon with poison. This poison has an initial and secondary damage of 1d6 Dexterity. If the charged attack misses this ability is wasted. If you do not make a melee attack with a slashing or piercing weapon before the end of your turn this ability is wasted. Once you have used this ability you must wait 5 rounds before using it again.

Friendly Fire: While Pyrohignus is bound you gain a fiery breath weapon which you can use as a standard action. This breath weapon is a cone of fire out to 10 ft per 3 binder levels (maximum 50 ft) which deals 1d6 fire damage per binder level within the area (Reflex halves). Allied creatures within the area take no damage, as Pyrohignus’s flames burn not his friends. Once you have used this ability you must wait 1d4+1 rounds before using it again (minimum 1 round).

Keeper of the Fire: While Pyrohignus is bound you gain fire resistance 10 and any flaming object you carry cannot be extinguished as long as you are carrying it (lifting it off the ground).

Rake: While Pyrohignus is bound when you charge you may make 2 rake attacks in addition to your normal attack(s) at the end of a charge. These rake attacks are made as primary natural weapons (even if you make other attacks) each dealing 1d6 + Strength damage. In addition if you successfully strike a creature with both rake attacks you may make a trip attempt against that creature with a +4 bonus added to your opposed check and without provoking any attacks of opportunity for the trip attempt, without needing a touch attack, and without allowing the enemy to respond to trip you back if you fail to trip them. You must show Pyrohignus’s sign to use this ability.

For Contractors: True Friend’s Shield (new invocation).

True Friend’s Shield
Least, 2nd (Abjuration)
With a touch you create a protective bond between you and another creature. As long as you are on the same plane the subject gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to your deflection bonus to AC and a resistance bonus to saves equal to your resistance bonus to saves, and takes only half damage from all wounds and attacks (including that dealt by special abilities) that deal hit point damage. The amount of damage not taken by the warded creature is taken by you. Forms of harm that do not involve hit points, such as charm effects, temporary ability damage, level draining, and death effects, are not affected. If the subject suffers a reduction of hit points from a lowered Constitution score, the reduction is not split with you because it is not hit point damage. When the spell ends, subsequent damage is no longer divided between the subject and you, but damage already split is not reassigned to the subject.

This invocation lasts 24 hours, though may be dismissed prematurely.

With (Improved) Bind Vestige: If you have the Improved Bind Vestige feat you gain Distracting Flanker. If you also have Practiced Binder you gain Envenom.

Zaydos, I am disappointed that Draconium's vestige has no breath weapon.

But a red dragon who binds him already has fire breath, and now they get new extra abilities. More seriously Draconium is always getting given a breath weapon it feels cheep and uninspired to do it too often, got to be able to do red dragon without the crutch of 'fire breath' sometimes. There is more to a red dragon than its breath weapon. Besides there's already a vestige for breath weapon.

This is great! Now I need to go read ToM again! Haha. I love this and it actually makes me want to play a binder.

There's a little sidebar on page 18 of Tome of Magic about making vestiges different and I always loved the idea of incorporating some of the ideas suggested with regular vestiges as well. I mean if Sorcery, Wizardry, Druidism, Theurgy Clerical Magic, and Psionics can all co-exist (with Truenaming and Shadowcasting) why can't 'I make pacts with entities outside of reality' and 'I make pacts with angelic entities' and 'I make pacts with Red Fel the Prince of Imps' also coexist?

Zaydos, you did it again. That right there is a wonderful piece of slaughter.

Thank you.

Oh, I like this. It almost makes me want to play a Binder just to use this. ... Almost. (I love the Binder's flavor, but for the life of me, I'm never able to enjoy actually playing the class.) Thank you for the wonderful present, Zaydos.

I need to look into the PF version (Radiance House's Occultist). I looked at it a little before and it looked like it fixed a lot of the problems I have with how vestiges were designed (the 8 level system and Improved Binding are horrible design decisions as the first just makes them scale awkwardly, and the latter makes it so everything ultimately has to be designed as 'functions 2 levels lower at the cost of a feat' which makes them scale even more awkwardly). Add in that you don't get your second vestige till 8th level

I keep trying to come up with ideas for a vestige based on Marlowe's Planetouched characters, but I can't pull anything coherent together...

Regardless, I'm here.

Zaydos, the Peanut Dragon

Vestige Level: 3rd
Binding DC: 22

Legend: It's a peanut. It's a dragon. Do the math.

I'm more than a peanut and a dragon. I'm also a lich... I mean a dracolich. I am not a dragon lich. I'm a dracolich... I mean there are other peanut dragons (in theory).

Manifestation: A number of small shoots and vines burst forth from the ground and twist into the shape of a small dragon. A pair of peanuts sprout from the vines in positions reminiscent of eyes, and the resulting effigy silently awaits your bargain.

Sign: Your skin is covered in rough scales, like the shell of a peanut, and the hair on top of your head turns green.

Influence: While under Zaydos's influence, you have difficulty resisting invitations to participate in creative or artistic activities. When presented with such an invitation, you must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 character level + your Wisdom modifier) to turn down the invitation.

Odd for an influence to force a save (normally it's 'do X or suffer a -1 stacking penalty on attacks, saves, and checks'). That said I like that influence, even if my artistic skills are less than 0.

Granted Powers: Those who dare to bind Zaydos have at their disposal the massive untapped power of the peanut.

-snippety for length-

Is the peanut glob supposed to be 1/5 rounds? It's odd for a vestige not to have one, and with it at-will I'd say probably should be 4th or 5th level (Focalor {3rd} gives the penalties of sickened passively to creatures adjacent to you, but this is also save or lose 1d4 rounds, the fast healing is better than Buer's {4th} but limited to daylight which more than makes up for the difference. It gives a much better AC bonus than Dahvler-Nar {2nd} in that it stacks fully with enhancement bonuses and is twice as good if you lack actual natural armor already). With it 1/5 rounds it fits in pretty well with other 3rd level vestiges with a focus on passive defense (difficult terrain, AC, hard to move, fast healing) and a ranged offense which can shut down an enemy temporarily. Apparently I can't read.

Altogether it looks fun, though. To note Icky Sticky is my favorite ability it gets. And now I almost want to play a binder.