[4e] Your Breath to Mine (PEACH)

[Limos]

I am running a 4e game in the play by post section of this very forum, So if you are in The Spine, get out of here and don't look at my things. Anyway, I had a concept for a Class I wanted to use for a villain based on the book Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. I have only thought up the powers for the very first level, and only the one build so far. But tell me what you think.

Any suggestions for powers would be great as well.

Awakener

“Your Breath to mine.”

Class Traits

Spoiler

Show

Role: Controller. You use your stock of Biochromatic breath to animate various facsimiles to distract, damage and hinder opponents.

Power Source: Biochromatic Breath. You collect this valuable essence from willing suppliers and infuse objects with it to give them a false life and imbue them with simple commands.

Key Abilities: Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Hide
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple Melee weapons
Bonus to Defense: +1 Will, +1 Fortitude

Hit points at 1st level: 12 + Constitution score
Hit points per level gained: 5
Healing Surges per Day: 6 + Constitution modifier

Trained skills: Choose three of the following.
Class Skills: Streetwise (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Insight (Wis), Perception (Wis), Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha)

Build Options: Prismatic Acrobat
Class Features: Biochromatic Reserves, Awakened Senses, Awakened Presence.

Creating an Awakener

Spoiler

Show

Prismatic Acrobat
As a Prismatic Acrobat you focus on powers and abilities that allow you to flit around the battlefield and simultaneously hinder your opponents. You aren’t particularly powerful but you are difficult to catch and even more difficult to avoid.
Your attacks are powered by your Wisdom, so make this your highest ability score. Your Dexterity stat is crucial for avoiding damage and getting around the battlefield, so this should be your second choice. Constitution is always important for keeping you alive when a hit does sneak through.
Suggested Feat: Improved Initiative (Human feat: Human Perseverance)
Suggested Skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Perception
Suggested At-Will Powers: Strangle, Hold Things
Suggested Encounter Power: Aid My Steps
Suggested Daily Power: Protect Me

Awakener Class Features

Spoiler

Show

Biochromatic Reserves
You have gathered a reservoir of Breath for use as an Awakener, this Breath can be given to, and regained from, anything you animate with your powers. Upon animation you may issue a simple command to the newly Awakened object which it will carry out until you reclaim your Breath.
At 1st level you have 10 Biochromatic Breath. You gain 2 additional breath per level automatically. If you do not reclaim Breath given out during battle you may replace this breath by an expenditure of 180 Gold and a Single day spent in the search. This may only be used in a City or Town which is not Hostile.
You gain access to the My Breath to Yours and Your Breath to Mine At-will abilities automatically.

Awakened Senses
The infusion of Breath in your body grants you the overlapping benefits of Breath in its natural state. You gain an increased ability to sense other living creatures nearby as well as a finer sense of Hue and Pitch. This only functions as long as you have at least 1 Breath.
If you have no Breath you take a -1 penalty to Perception and Insight. For every 10 Breath you currently contain you gain a +1 bonus to Perception and Insight.

Awakened Presence
Containing large amounts of Breath has several visible side effects. You gain a Biochromatic Aura which sharpens the Color and Intensity of everything within it.
For every 15 Breath you contain you take a -1 penalty to Stealth and gain a +1 bonus to Bluff.

Awakener Commands

Class Features

Spoiler

Show

My Breath to Yours Awakener Command
Your Breath flows out of you, like Oil on the water, and disappears into your Target.
At-Will ✦ Biochromatic
Minor Action Ranged 5
Effect: You imbue an object or creature with the entirety of your Biochromatic reserve. Objects do not show any effect from this treatment and appear completely mundane. Creatures gain the full effects of Awakened Sense and Awakened Presence. They gain the My Breath to Yours power.

Your Breath to Mine Awakener Command
You tap your Awakened Servant and reclaim your precious Breath.
At-Will ✦ Biochromatic
Minor Action Touch
Effect: You reclaim the breath used to animate one of your Awakened. It immediately ceases function and you regain the amount of Breath used to animate it.

Level 1 At-Will Commands

Spoiler

Show

Strangle Awakener Command
You toss an Awakened length of cord or rope with a stern command to strangle the next creature it comes into contact with. The cord obliges.
At-Will ✦ Biochromatic, Force
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d4 Force damage. The target takes a -1 penalty to hit as long as the Command is in effect and ongoing 2 force damage (save ends).
On 21st level this rises to 2d4 damage and a -2 penalty and 4 ongoing damage.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 2 Breath to activate this ability.


Hold Things Awakener Command
You hurl a length of rope with the command to grab hold of everything it can, the supple length lashes out and snares any hapless creatures within its serpentine grip.
At-Will ✦ Biochromatic, Force
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 2 squares
Target: All creatures in burst
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: The target takes a -2 penalty to hit and AC (save ends). If they fail the first save they become Immobilized.
On 21st level this becomes a -4 penalty to hit and AC.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 2 Breath to activate this ability.

Level 1 Encounter Commands

Spoiler

Show

Aid My Steps
You animate your own clothing to give yourself increased balance and speed.
Encounter ✦ Biochromatic
Standard Action Personal
Effect: Your Base speed increase by 2 squares until you dismiss this Awakened. In addition your Reflex save increases by 2 points.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 4 Breath to activate this ability.

Level 1 Daily Commands

Spoiler

Show

Protect Me
You animate a cloak into an ever vigilant guardian. It will defend you to the last Breath.
Daily ✦ Biochromatic, Force
Standard Action Personal
Target: An enemy that enters an adjacent square. This may only be used once per round until it has been activated a number equal to your wisdom modifier + 1.
Attack: Wisdom vs. AC
Hit: 1d6 + Wisdom modifier Force damage and the target is shifted 1 square.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 6 breath to activate this ability.

Level 2 Utility Commands

Spoiler

Show

Fetch Item
You twist a handful of Straw or weeds into a human shape and command it to fetch something for you.
Encounter ✦ Biochromatic
Standard Action Personal
Target: Any object, less than 40 lbs, that you know the approximate location of within 50 feet.
Effect: Your facsimile attempts to retrieve the item you designate as the target. It moves at a rate of 3 squares per round. If the object is currently being held by a creature it may make a secondary attack to wrest the object from its grasp.
Secondary Target: Any creature currently holding the original target.
Secondary Attack: Dexterity vs. Reflex
Hit: The target is knocked prone and the Straw man takes the item.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 6 Breath to activate this ability.

Level 3 Encounter Commands

Spoiler

Show

Defend This Spot
A spare set of clothing makes a handy warrior in a pinch.
Encounter ✦ Biochromatic
Standard Action Ranged 5
Target: An adjacent square
Effect: You create a cloth facsimile that will remain in the target square until the breath is regained or it is destroyed. At the end of your turn it may make a secondary attack against any creature in an adjacent square. In addition it will make a secondary attack against any creature leaving an adjacent square.
Secondary Attack: Wisdom vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier Force damage.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 6 Breath to activate this ability. The Cloth facsimile has 4x Wisdom modifier HP and an AC of 10 + 1/2 Your Awakener level. If destroyed it becomes inactive but remains in the space until its Breath is retaken.

Level 5 Daily Commands

Spoiler

Show

Kill Him
You turn the targets own garments against them.
Daily ✦ Biochromatic, Force
Standard Action Ranged 10
Target: One Creature within range
Attack: Wisdom vs. AC
Hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier Force damage and the target takes 4 ongoing damage. (save ends)
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 6 Breath to activate this command.

Level 6 Utility Commands

Spoiler

Show

Lift Me
A large rope, vine, tapestry or carpet can be used as a means of transportation. If you know how to sweet talk it.
Daily ✦ Biochromatic
Standard Action Personal
Effect: Your base speed increases by a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier, and you may move the same number of squares directly upward. Your facsimile has 3x Wisdom modifier Hp and AC equal to 10 + 1/2 Your Awakener level. If destroyed you fall prone.
Special: You must imbue the Awakened with 4 Breath to activate this command.

[Yakk]

Mechanics on how to move breath around need clearing up.

Mechanics on how you lose breath need clearing up.

At-will powers traditionally upgrade their dice at 21, not 11.

Burst 1 within 2 should be a Close Blast 3.

Penalties to hit/AC that grow with level are powerful.

Ongoing damage is worth about 1.5 times the amount displayed. So your choke power is a ~ 1d4+wisdom+3 = 5.5+wisdom, plus the -1 to attack, at ranged 10.

Finally, building PC classes for villians isn't really needed. PC creation rules are intended to have excess complexity on purpose, so the players can fiddle with numbers. Instead, build an elite or solo NPC opponent, and balance the powers in that context.

[Limos]

Moving Breath is very simple. You visualize what you want to happen and command the object. Then the Breath needed to animate the object flows out of you and into the object. The command has to be short and simple. You can't say "Run to Mordor holding this ring and drop it into Mount Doom while avoiding having the ring taken from you or being destroyed."

See, that would be far too difficult for the Awakened to understand. The two basic commands are My Breath to Yours, and Your Breath to Mine. The first gives you entire supply of Breath to an object or person. The second reclaims the breath you have sunk into an Awakened object. Your various powers are actually just Visualizations you have perfected so that you can reliably animate Awakened in that way.

Simple ones like Grab Things and Strangle take very little breath and are very general. Ones like Protect Me and Aid My Steps are more complex and require more breath.



The thing about losing breath is more to stop players from animating bits of rope and then leaving them behind. Breath does not come back on it's own. You have to physically touch the Awakened objects you used recently and reclaim the Breath with the Your Breath to Mine power in order to remain effective. Doing that will quickly have you out of Breath. I gave a way to regain breath because accidents happen. They might throw an enemy being Strangled into a lava pit and lose the Awakened object and the Breath.


I made it a PC class because I really wanted to make a PC class and someday I might play a setting where I will allow players to use it themselves. (Or I might play it if I can convince a DM)

[Limos]

I updated the powers like you mentioned and added the first Utility power I thought of.

[Yakk]

You imbue an object or creature with the entirety of your Biochromatic reserve

That is what I don't understand.

The only power that lets you move Biochromatic reserve seems to be one that moves all of it.

[Limos]

Okay, the core concept of Awakening is the Command. You give a command to an object, and back it up with Breath.

The appropriate amount of Breath comes out when you give the command.

So if a power says you need to imbue 2 breath, then that means that you both need to have at least 2 in resereve, and that you give the object 2 by using that power.

The My Breath to Yours command is more of a flavor thing, in the books that is the command you give when selling your Breath to someone else, so you won't be using it in the course of gameplay very much. Unless you need to power up one character really quick.

You don't actually have to do anything to move the breath, it's part of the commands.

[Limos]

I added a couple more powers. Still could use suggestions on more commands.

[DracoDei]

"Destroy Yourself" has possibilities...(EDIT: magical equivalent to a Sunder attempt... which if they don't have in 4E they should, and it should be possible to balance such a command even if the weapon on weapon action doesn't exist).
So does "Stay Still" to create effects much like the 3.X Immovable Rod...