Questions for the creative of mind

[Lochar]

Alright playgrounders, here's the deal.

Eventually, I'm going to have players pick up an artifact that gives them semi-gestalt abilities. However, I'm picking the classes on the other side that the artifact gives.

The artifact gives them, as they unlock it powers, the class abilities and BAB of the twenty levels inside it. It does not give spells, nor does it give manuevers. It also does not give familiars or another other type of animal. It does not give bonus feats that are picked, only if they're specifically listed.

So going Wizard 20 would only give Scribe Scroll, plus anything if the went specialist and took the alternate class abilities.


What would be your picks for twenty levels of class abilities?

[HamsterOfTheGod]

I'll pick ranger or rogue...if I'm the wizard of the party.

Paladin if I'm the sorcerer.

Barbarian or rogue...if I'm the fighter.

etc.

[Shinizak]

Barbarian/ranger

[Lochar]

At least give me levels. How many barb, how many ranger?

Prestige classes are good too.

[Pharaoh's Fist]

Factorum. The answer is Factorum.

[Lochar]

I'm not handing out factorum to several players. I'd like to make them a bit unique.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

How powerful do you want this to be, and what's the build of the player you expect to use it?

[Lochar]

Fairly powerful. It's basically the soul of a previous hero, tied into an artifact by their sacrifice. I don't want it to kick complete butt straight from the getgo, I want the players to work to unlock all of it's abilities.


As for the players, I'm not certain yet. They're still deciding what they'd like to play. Which is why I was just elicting a few ideas. My own ideas ranged from Dread Necro 1-20, to Ranger/Horizon Walker, to Illusionist Wizard/Master Spec/Mage of the Arcane.


That help any?

[HamsterOfTheGod]

Well do you want to slightly augment the role of each party member. Say for ex, you have a wizard, fighter, cleric and rogue. Then the heroes in you artifact could be a warlock or dragon fire adept for the wizard, a barbarian or ranger for the fighter, a marshall or bard for the cleric and a monk or ninja for the rogue.

If you want each party member to have the complementary gestalt class, then you would pick different classes...

[Lochar]

I know. I was hoping just to get some general ideas of what people thought were a good set of abilities. Because actually, since they're only getting abilities, even a few monk levels look good.

[HamsterOfTheGod]

Well from the player point of view, no freebie is bad.

From the DM point of view, this all takes a bit of work like
- what benefits to give
- how to adjust your encounters to match (gestalt characters can handle monsters of 1 or 2 CRs higher than normal or so I've read but what of "semi-gestalt")
- how to make the "players to work to unlock all of it's abilities"

One easy way is to just to let the players choose gestalt characters and then impose some RP requirements.

[Lochar]

They'll only be able to unlock up to their own levels worth of the abilities in the artifact. To get to that point will require time and effort spent on the players part attuning to the artifact. Not quests, but downtime spent trying to draw upon the power, learning to do so without thought.

I'm actually fairly tempted to let it fall into the wrong party members hands and let them play mix and match until they end up with what they like.

[Mando Knight]

If it's Monk, Barbarian, Ranger, Rogue, or Paladin levels inside, it's pretty decent so long as the character has ability synergy. If it's Fighter, Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, etc. it's a pretty bad deal.

In fact, most characters would gain nothing from the Wizard or Sorcerer except Scribe Scroll, and Fighter loses the only enticing thing about it over Paladin and Barbarian: Bonus Feats on every even level. Same thing with Cleric: you'd only gain Turn Undead, which would far less useful than the limited turning and class features of the Paladin, and not have an HD or BAB advantage over the Druid (which still grants Wildshape), Ranger, Monk, Barbarian, Paladin, Fighter, etc.

In other words, it's not balanced well at all.

[Ninetail]

Sticking to PHB classes only...

Druid is broken, because of wildshape. Not as badly broken as an actual druid would be, thanks to the lack of casting, but still pretty broken. A pure arcane caster wouldn't get too much out of druid, though. (Of course, a pure arcane caster wouldn't need to.)

Rogue and ranger are both pretty powerful, and applicable to pretty much anyone.

Paladin and barbarian are somewhat less powerful, but still quite good for the right classes. A bard or sorcerer will really appreciate paladin freebies, for instance. Monk probably falls here, too, just because it would give so many freebies to certain classes.

Speaking of bard, it'd be okay, but only for someone who has Perform maxed out (or at least close to it).

Cleric, fighter, sorcerer, and wizard are all useless or nearly so.

[HamsterOfTheGod]

They'll only be able to unlock up to their own levels worth of the abilities in the artifact. To get to that point will require time and effort spent on the players part attuning to the artifact. Not quests, but downtime spent trying to draw upon the power, learning to do so without thought.

I'm actually fairly tempted to let it fall into the wrong party members hands and let them play mix and match until they end up with what they like.

Well if it's about downtime...

You can treat it as magic item creation (like a legenday item) except it's not.

For ex, say one trapped soul is a monk. Then the benefits he gives could include unarmed attack and evasion.

The PC can pay the time, xp and gp cost to have the "power" added to his character. (If you wave the gp cost, players are more apt to go for it.)

Assign a "magic" item cost to each power and have the PC pay it.

For ex, in the monk example evasion is given by a ring of evasion which costs 25000 gp and unarmed attack is given by a monk's belt which costs 13000 gp. If the character "pays" 1000 xp and 12 days of downtime, he gets evation. If the character "pays" 540 xp and 7 days of downtime, he gets unarmed attack like if he had a monk's belt.

[Roc Ness]

Give the spellcaster Duskblade.

[Lochar]

Cool. Thanks for the ideas, all.

[Telonius]

Knight, Swashbuckler, or Ninja also have fairly nice abilities.

[eepop]

I would say that you can just unpeg from the idea that it has to simulate existing classes by using their class features.

Mix and match class features you think would be fun, pick some thematic spells/day, and just make **** up.

And also, they would really be a lot more memorable if they were more tailored to the character than what we can suggest with no info on the party.

For an example, assuming you have a basic fighter:
1) Threaten: One per round on your turn as a free action, choose an enemy within 5 ft/level, that enemy must make a Will save at a DC equal to 10 + Your Level + The highest of your INT/WIS/CHA. If the target fails the save they get -2 to attack anyone but you, and any save DCs for effects that they create are 2 lower than normal.
2) Perfect Tool - As a move action, you can transform this item into any weapon for which you are proficient. Any feats you have that require you to choose a weapon now effect this weapon (ie Weapon Focus).
3) +10 ft to movement when you charge
4) +2 to all saves
5) Brutality - Reroll any 1s you roll on damage dice.
6) Regeneration 5
7) Get over here: When you Threaten an enemy, you can force that enemy to make a movement towards you as a free action.
8) +20 to movement when you charge
9) +4 to all saves
10) Increase effects of Threaten to 4.
11) Dispelling Strike - When you hit an enemy, you can force that enemy to choose one beneficial spell or effect effecting them. That spell or effect ends.
12) Perfect Tool - You can now use this ability as a free action.
13) +30 to movement when you charge
14) +6 to all saves
15) Brutality - Reroll any 1s or 2s you roll on damage dice.
16) Regeneration 10
17) Get over here: You can now also force the enemy to make a full movement.
18) +40 to movement when you charge
19) Increase effects of Threaten to 6.
20) Combat Superiority - Whenever an enemy within 30ft of you takes advantage of the Power Attack Feat, the Combat Expertise Feat, the Attack Defensively combat option, or the Full Defense Combat option, you also receives an equal benefit as the enemy would, without incurring any of the penalties.