Base Class Challenge - Can I Borrow That?

[Vaynor]

Quote of Some Kind by a member of the class!

Once possessed by an evil spirit, a possessed overcame the otherworldly infiltration to use the power of the possessor for their own gains. Instead of removing the spirit entirely through force of will, the possessed instead chooses to imprison the spirit within their body to gain its power. This spirit manifests itself as a ghostly head, linked to the possessed’s head by otherworldly energy. Keeping the powerful spirit at bay requires great sacrifice, however, and places a great demand on the possessed’s body or mind. As the possessed slowly gains greater control over the spirit inhabiting their body, the power they gain from it grows.

Abilities: The abilities important to your class

Role: What does your class do in the party?

Background: How do you become a member of your class? Why?

Organization: Organizations that tend to hold members of your class belong here.

Alignment: What alignment(s) your class may have and why.

Races: What races most often have members of your class, as well as any races that cannot join, along with why.

Religion: How a member of this class might approach religion; general stereotypes, what gods they revere, and even why.

Other Classes: How does your class relate to other classes? How do they cooperate? Are there classes they just can't stand?

Adaptation: How might a DM fit your class into his campaign or his own unique world setting? How might your class be changed?


Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d6.

Starting Gold: As cleric.


The Class Name's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Int modifier) x4.
Skills Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

{table=head]Level|

Base Attack[br]Bonus

|Fort[br]Save|Ref[br]Save|Will[br]Save|Special|{colsp=10}Spellcasting|Maneuvers[br]Known|Maneuvers[br]Readied|Stances[br]Known

{colsp=6}|0 lvl|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|7th|8th|9th|{colsp=3}

1st|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|

+2

|Possessed, detraction, improvement|3|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|

3

|

3

|

1

2nd|

+1

|

+3

|

+0

|

+3

|Bonus feat|4|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|

4

|

3

|

1

3rd|

+2

|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|Improvement|4|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|

5

|

3

|

1

4th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Detraction|4|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|

5

|

4

|

2

5th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Improvement|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|

6

|

4

|

2

6th|

+4

|

+5

|

+2

|

+5

|Bonus feat|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|

6

|

4

|

2

7th|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|

+5

|Improvement|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|-|

7

|

4

|

2

8th|

+6/+1

|

+6

|

+2

|

+6

|Detraction|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|-|-|

7

|

4

|

2

9th|

+6/+1

|

+6

|

+3

|

+6

|Improvement|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|

8

|

4

|

2

10th|

+7/+2

|

+7

|

+3

|

+7

|Bonus feat|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|-|

8

|

5

|

3

11th|

+8/+3

|

+7

|

+3

|

+7

|Improvement|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|-|

9

|

5

|

3

12th|

+9/+4

|

+8

|

+4

|

+8

|Detraction|4|4|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|-|

9

|

5

|

3

13th|

+9/+4

|

+8

|

+4

|

+8

|Improvement|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|-|

10

|

5

|

3

14th|

+10/+5

|

+9

|

+4

|

+9

|Bonus feat|4|4|4|4|4|3|3|2|-|-|

10

|

5

|

3

15th|

+11/+6/+1

|

+9

|

+5

|

+9

|Improvement|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|-|

11

|

6

|

3

16th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+10

|

+5

|

+10

|Detraction|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|3|2|-|

11

|

6

|

4

17th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+10

|

+5

|

+10

|Improvement|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|2|1|

12

|

6

|

4

18th|

+13/+8/+3

|

+11

|

+6

|

+11

|Bonus feat|4|4|4|3|3|3|3|3|3|2|

12

|

6

|

4

19th|

+14/+9/+4

|

+11

|

+6

|

+11

|Improvement|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|3|3|

13

|

6

|

4

20th|

+15/+10/+5

|

+12

|

+6

|

+12

|Mastery|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|4|

13

|

7

|

4

[/table]



Weapon Proficiencies: A possessed is proficient with all simple weapons and light armor, but not shields. A possessed can cast possessed spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.

Possessed: Once at the mercy of a powerful spirit, the possessed now keeps that spirit prisoner inside their body. The power gained is great, but it requires great sacrifice. The possessed must choose to sacrifice either body or mind.

If you choose to sacrifice your body, you gain spellcasting progression as noted on the table and do not gain the maneuver progression.

If you choose to sacrifice your mind, you gain the maneuver progression as noted on the table and do not gain the spellcasting progression.

The spirit contained within you manifests itself as a ghostly face connected to your own by a strand of spiritual energy. Along with the power and knowledge gained from overpowering the spirit, as time goes on, you can improve the spirit as well (see the Improvement special ability).

The spirit is not considered a separate entity and cannot be targeted whatsoever. It does, however, have a number of hit points that act as a buffer. Each day the spirit starts with a number of hit points equal to class level x3. These hit points act as temporary hit points that last the entire day, and damage is always dealt to the spirit’s HP before affecting the possessed’s. When reduced to 0 hit points, the spirit does not die, it simply no longer acts as a buffer.

The spirit is considered to be in the same square as the possessed, but it can be sent up to 5 feet away (1 square).

The spirit cannot be concealed (except through use of illusionary magic or similar effect) and cannot be contained within the body (unless the possessed has the Conceal Spirit feat, see below). Because of this, the possessed has trouble blending in with society. As the possessed gains greater control (and thus greater power) from the spirit, it becomes more difficult to control. The possessed receives a -1/3 class levels penalty on the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, and Gather Information.

Maneuvers: If you choose to sacrifice your mind, you gain the use of martial maneuvers. You begin play with three martial maneuvers known. The disciplines available to you are Stygian Nightmare, Black Heron, Witch Razor, Rending Scream, and Stone Dragon.

To use a maneuver you know, you must ready it before you can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by a possessed is considered an extraordinary ability unless noted otherwise in its description. Your maneuvers do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one, and are not affected by spell resistance

You learn additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on the table above. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. See page 39 of the Tome of Battle to determine the highest-level maneuvers you can learn.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered possessed level thereafter (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: To ready your maneuvers you must meditate for 10 minutes, regaining full control of the spirit that possesses you. Any maneuvers readied remain readied until you meditate once more and change your readied maneuvers. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers.

You begin every encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you’ve used them since meditation. When you initiate a maneuver, it is expended for the duration of the current encounter, so each readied maneuver may only be used once per encounter (until recovered).

You may recover all expended maneuvers with a standard action, during which you bring your spirit into your body and use its energy to supplement your own. You cannot perform any other actions during this action nor can you use your move action to initiate a maneuver (if possible).

Stances Known: The possessed begins play with one 1st-level stance from any available discipline. At 4th, 10th, and 16th level, you can choose an additional stance. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All stances you know are always available, and your current stance can be changed with a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in the stance description.

Spells: A possessed casts arcane spells which are drawn from the possessed spell list. A possessed can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time.

To learn or cast a spell, a possessed must have a Charisma score equal to 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a possessed’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the possessed’s Charisma modifier.

A possessed can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. Additionally, a possessed receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.

A possessed only knows a limited number of spells, the knowledge of which he has gained from his spirit possessor. The possessed gains spells as detailed on the table below. These new spells may be chosen from the possessed’s spell list.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered possessed level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), a possessed can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the possessed loses the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level possessed spell the possessed can cast. A possessed may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.

A possessed can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming his spells per day for that spell level are not used up. He does not have to decide in advance which spells he’ll cast.

Detraction: The cost of keeping your possessor under control is great, and requires great sacrifice to your body or mind. At first level, if you chose to sacrifice your mind, your three mental stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) are all reduced by 1 permanently.. If you chose to sacrifice your body, your three physical stats (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution) are all reduced by 1 permanently.

At fourth level, and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, and so on), you must choose an ability score to sacrifice further. If you chose to sacrifice your mind, you may choose any of the three mental stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma). If you chose to sacrifice your body, you may choose any of the three physical stats (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution). Once you have chosen an ability score, that score is reduced by 1 permanently.

An ability score cannot be reduced below 1 by this class feature. If you cannot reduce any of the allowed ability scores, you may instead chose from any ability score that isn’t currently less than or equal to 1.

Improvement: As your mastery of your possessor increases, you gain greater control over the spirit itself, even changing its form to suit your own purposes. At level 1, and every odd level thereafter, you may choose one improvement (see below) for your spirit. Each improvement may only be taken once unless noted otherwise in the improvement description. Improvements in general have no prerequisites, but some specific improvements may have requirements.

WIP: IMPROVEMENTS COMING SOON.


NEW FEATS

Conceal Spirit
Your mastery of your spiritual possessor has grown enough to be able to conceal its presence within your own body.
Prerequisites: Possessed class feature, Cha 13.
Benefit: By expending a move action, you can conceal the spirit that possesses you. While concealed, the spirit cannot be sent elsewhere and you lose the ability to use any class features that require the spirit to be outside the body and/or seen, or in another square. However, you also lose any penalties received by having the spirit visible.
Normal: The spirit cannot be contained within the body, and is always visible.