The Vessel (Base Class; WIP)

[EdroGrimshell]

Spoiler: Preface

Show

We've all seen these kinds of classes, the famous Harrowed, the less well known Netherhost, and the infamous Demonblooded Warrior. However, I've always thought that it would be interesting to take the mechanics of the Evolutionist and apply it to the concept of the harrowed, netherhost, and demonblooded warrior to create someone that taps into parts of its beast's power as they're needed while risking corruption. I also added in the challenge of making a Dark Deal actually have a "deal" aspect that's missing from the Harrowed homebrew.

This idea is an old one for me, back when the first evolutionist and harrowed classes were out. I've just never had the inspiration to truly follow through with it. Now, however, I've had a solid inspiration run into my brain like a runaway freight train and decided to run with it! So, I present to you...

The Vessel

Power often comes with a cost, for some, it's years of study, for others, it's rigorous training that often leaves scars, and still others sell parts of their soul in pacts. The vessel is different, its power coming from an entity it now contains within its body and soul, constantly whispering in its mind, and always trying to assert itself on the vessel. The vessel must be ever vigilant of its own power lest it consume them.

Adventures: Vessels are rarely accepted in common communities, their power seen as a liability and danger to those around them, so the vessel travels, adventures, and wanders all their lives, attempting to gain more control over their inner demon, quite literally, and gain more power from it in the process. At later points in their lives, some vessels can suppress their inner beast indefinitely, allowing them to finally settle down, however, by that point, many are too well used to travel and simply never settle down in favor of ever more challenging quests.

Characteristics: Anyone can tell you the defining trait of a vessel, the beast harbored within its soul, a demonic or other vile being sealed within the soul and body of the vessel. In their own, a vessel is barely stronger than an average commoner, albeit with a different range of skills and slightly more resilience. It is their ability to tap into the power of their beast within through a process called linking that sets the vessel apart, drawing on combat instinct, physical form, and pure power from their beast, the vessel is able to fight on the same level as skilled warriors, however, they risk their humanity with every link they maintain, and must be careful they do not delve too deeply into their beast's power, lest it take control.

Axis Alignment: A vessel often opposes the beast within itself, fighting it constantly for control. And vessels go about this in many ways, from being as evil as the beast itself in hopes of keeping it appeased to being paragons of justice to keep the beast at bay with the brilliance of their soul, some use strict discipline to keep the beast caged and others simply bend like a river, flowing as the beast does to avoid its grasp on them. This often leads to extremes in alignment, with very few being neutral.

Color Alignment: Vessels have little propensity for any particular color, however, many often focus on only one or two colors, having a more extreme or focused outlook on their prospects. From the savagery of red and green to the cool cunning of blue and black or the protective ward that is white, Vessels are a diverse lot. However, one color combination seems to be surprisingly unrepresented among vessels, that of the combination of blue and green.

Religion: Religion is a contested point among vessels, many believe that faith in a higher power can improve their chances of dealing with the beast within, others believe that it is simply trading one demon for another. The fact remains that organized clergy, particularly for good or nature deities, often frown upon or openly oppose a vessel.

Background: The only true similarity among all vessels is the beast within them, even how or why they obtain the beast can be vastly different among them. Another common trend is that they often go about it without instruction from another vessel, those that do receive instruction are often unable to use what they are taught do to the differences in how or why the beast was obtained in the first place, leading to many such "apprenticeships" falling through early on.

Races: Almost any race with a soul can become a vessel, being more common among the more plentiful races for obvious reasons, however, planetouched are exceptionally common vessels, their connection to the other planes making it easier for a beast to establish itself within their soul, some even becoming vessels without knowing they have become one.

Other Classes: With their beast within, a vessel is often subject to suspicion from religious individuals such as clerics and especially paladins, the evil of the beast making the vessel a prime target for their ire. It does not help that a vessel is not particularly picky about its traveling companions. Vessels tend to get along better with those that have earned their power through study or self sacrifice, such as wizards, barbarians, rogues, rangers, and monks, while ones that came into their power naturally or through pacts, such as sorcerers, warlocks, and druids, are less well regarded. Surprisingly enough, vessels tend to get along well with bards and other performers, many enjoying a simple song for the calm it can bring.

Role: The beast within the vessel often determines more of its role than anything else. Without a beast, a vessel is little more than a resilient commoner, with the beast, the vessel can range from the sturdy warrior to the scout and thief to the supernatural shaman. It all depends on what links the vessel forges for itself.

Hit Die: d8

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Links
1st	+0	+0	+0	+0	Beast Within	3 (0)
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+0	Adamant Will +1, Harrowing	3 (0)
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+1	Bonus Feat	4 (0)
4th	+2	+1	+1	+1	Stable Links	4 (1)
5th	+2	+1	+1	+1	Harrowing	4 (1)
6th	+3	+2	+2	+2	Speed Link	5 (1)
7th	+3	+2	+2	+2	Bonus Feat	5 (1)
8th	+4	+2	+2	+2	Harrowing	5 (1)
9th	+4	+3	+3	+3	Adamant Will +2	6 (1)
10th	+5	+3	+3	+3	--	6 (2)
11th	+5	+3	+3	+3	Bonus Feat, Harrowing	6 (2)
12th	+6	+4	+4	+4	Fast Link	7 (2)
13th	+6	+4	+4	+4	--	7 (2)
14th	+7	+4	+4	+4	Harrowing	7 (2)
15th	+7	+5	+5	+5	Bonus Feat	8 (2)
16th	+8	+5	+5	+5	Adamant Will +3	8 (3)
17th	+8	+5	+5	+5	Tireless Severance, Harrowing	8 (3)
18th	+9	+6	+6	+6	Quick Link	9 (3)
19th	+9	+6	+6	+6	Bonus Feat	9 (3)
20th	+10	+6	+6	+6	Harrowing	9 (3)

Class Skills: Autohypnosis, Concentration, Control Shape, Craft, Intimidate, Listen, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival. (2 + Int Mod, x4 at first level)

Wpn/Arm Prof: A vessel is proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (excluding tower shields).

Beast Within: A vessel draws its power from a primal entity sealed within its body and soul, referred to be many as the Beast Within, however, drawing from the beast within is a dangerous prospect, allowing the beast to access the mind and soul of the vessel and attempt to corrupt it (see Corruption below).

The beast is a being of evolution and vile power, granting some of these traits to the vessel itself. The vessel has a mutator level equal to its class level and possesses an aura of evil as a cleric of its class level. The vessel may take Vile Feats even if it is not evil, it must meet all other prerequisites however. A good vessel that takes any vile feat may not take exalted feats. A good vessel that takes any exalted feat loses the ability to take vile feats.

The beast may be Chaotic Evil, Neutral Evil, or Lawful Evil but cannot have an alignment matching the Vessel's. A beast may have up to a +4 profane bonus to a mental ability score, but has an equal penalty to another mental ability score. This is chosen at 1st level and cannot be changed in any way. These bonuses and penalties only apply while the beast is in control (see Corruption below).

There is, however, a minor benefit to the beast's presence in the vessel's body and soul, beyond the power that the vessel can steal from it, the beast’s will bolsters the vessel's own, providing them with a +4 bonus to will saves vs. mind-affecting abilities, as well as soul-displacement effects such as Trap the Soul and Magic Jar.

Links (Su): The beast held within the vessel is a powerful creature, and the source of the vessel's power. However, the vessel can only access a small portion of the beasts power at great risk to himself. The vessel creates links to aspects of the beast within that allow him to draw on its power. At first level, the vessel gains three links, gaining additional links as he increases in power as shown on the table above. A link is comprised of two mutations at first level. At 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level, the number of mutations in each link is increased by 1.

As a full-round action, a vessel may connect to a link, gaining the benefits of the mutations held in the link, but also risking the chance of corruption (see below). Additionally, the vessel may make a Control Shape check after connecting to a link, DC 5 + 3 per link the vessel is currently connected to. On a success, the vessel may connect to another link as a free action. The vessel may sever his connection with the links as a swift action. After severing its links, the vessel is fatigued for five rounds for each link severed.

Each link a vessel connects to has an obvious physical change, even if the link possesses no mutation with an obvious physical change (such most basic mutations). These changes grant a bonus on Intimidate checks equal to the number of links the vessel is currently connected to.

Whenever the vessel gains a level, it may trade one mutation from each of its links with another mutation.

Corruption: Every time the vessel uses the power of their beast, they risk corruption from the beast constantly vying for control of the vessel's body. The vessel possesses a Capacity equal to its class level + its Charisma score. Every round a vessel remains connected to a link, it must make a Will save with a DC of 0 + 5 per link it is currently connected to. If the vessel fails the saving throw, it gains one point of corruption for each link it is currently connected to. When the vessel's corruption equals or exceeds its Capacity, it must make an additional Will save at the same DC with a penalty to its Will save equal to its corruption minus its Capacity. If it succeeds, the vessel severs all links and becomes exhausted and cannot connect to a link until its corruption goes below its Capacity. If it fails this save, the beast gains control.

While the beast is in control, the vessel is connected to all of its links, but need not make Will saves. Every minute the beast remains in control, the vessel loses one corruption. Once the corruption is reduced below its Capacity, the vessel may begin making Will saves once per minute to reclaim control, the DC equal to 0 + 5 per link it is currently connected to - the vessel's capacity + its current corruption - the number of minutes the beast has been in control. The vessel may choose to forgo this save to allow the beast to remain in control, and increasing its chance of regaining control later.

Corruption naturally fades at a rate of one point of corruption every minute.

Spoiler: Example

Show

Marcus, a Level 4 Vessel with charisma 16, has a Capacity of 20, allowing him to have 19 points of corruption before he needs to make a save to resist losing control to the beast within.

After several battles in a dungeon, Marcus is pushing his limits, sitting at 12 corruption, when they encounter the final boss of the dungeon. The boss proves too strong to challenge without tapping a little further into his Beast's power than he normally would, accessing all of the four links he has access to and prompting a Will save of 20 every turn or risk corruption that will flow quickly.

The first round he barely makes the save to resist corruption.

The second round he fails, increasing his corruption to 16.

The third round he succeeds and lands a heavy blow that puts the boss in range for the rest of the party.

The final round he fails his saving throw, gaining 4 points of corruption and putting him at his Capacity, prompting a second will save, DC 20.

If he succeeds, he's rendered exhausted and unable to use his links for 20 minutes, leaving him unable to land the final blow on the boss (but easily defeated by the rest of the party).

If he fails, his beast takes hold and, depending on the beast, may be antagonistic to the already weakened party.

Adamant Will (Ex): Constantly struggling against the beast within, the vessel has fortified its will to be a fortress against the assault of the beast. At 2nd level, the vessel gains a +1 competence bonus on Will saves. At 9th and 16th level, this bonus increases by 1. This bonus is doubled against Fear effects.

Bonus Feat: At 3rd level and every four levels thereafter, the vessel gains a bonus feat it qualifies for.

Stable Link (Ex): Starting at 4th level, a vessel can access a few links without risking corruption. On gaining this ability, the vessel can maintain a single link without making saves against corruption, gaining additional stable links at later levels as shown on the table above (the numbers in parenthesis under the Links column). As a swift action, the vessel may make a DC 10 + 5 per link it is currently connected to in order to change one of its stable links to another link. While a stable link is connected, the vessel's corruption does not fade.

Harrowing: At 2nd, 5th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 20th level, the vessel gains a method that allows them to control their beast within called a harrowing, chosen from the list below. Unlike a link, a harrowing is always available to the vessel and does not need to be connected to work. A vessel must meet the prerequisites of a Harrowing to select it.

Spoiler

Show

Dark Commune: A vessel with this harrowing can speak with the beast at will and the beast can speak to the vessel at will. A side effect of this harrowing is that it is easier to connect to the beast as it is drawn closer through the mental link, permanently reducing the DC to connect to a link by 1. However, this also means corruption flows easier, permanently increasing the DC to resist corruption by 1.

Teratomorphism: A vessel with this harrowing naturally draws on an aspect of the beast within that, prior to this point, only manifested as a vestigial trace of the true ability. The vessel may select a single teratomorphism available to an evolutionist of the vessel's class level. While the vessel is connected to a number of links equal to the tier of teratomorphism (1 links for Dire Body, 3 links for Flight), they gain the benefits of the chosen teratomorphism.

Heightened Capacity: A vessel with this harrowing naturally has a high capacity for handling corruption, adding the number of harrowings it possesses to its Capacity. This harrowing can be taken multiple times.

Purge Corruption: One of the simplest harrowings, Purge Corruption allows a harrowed to use its own pain to feed the beast and reduce its influence on the vessel. As a standard action, a vessel can purge a number of points of corruption, up to its Cha or Wis mod (whichever is higher) by taking 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per point of corruption so purged. A vessel can use this ability a maximum number of times per day equal to the number of harrowings it possesses. Nonlethal damage from this harrowing cannot be healed except through natural healing (including accelerated natural healing). A vessel that is immune to nonlethal damage or pain effects instead takes lethal damage.

Seal the Tainted Form: A vessel with this harrowing is able to exert its will to chain some of the beasts power when it gains control. The vessel may choose up to a number of links equal to the number of Stable Links it could maintain when the Beast gains control. The beast is not connected to those Links. At any time, the vessel can release one or more of these restrained links to allow the beast access to them. Requires Vessel Level 5.

Tainted Presence: A vessel with this harrowing unleashes a small amount of the beast's malice every time it connects to a link. Creatures within 30ft of the vessel when they connect to a link must make a will save (DC 10 + half the vessel's class level + the vessel's Cha mod) or be shaken for 1 minute. The vessel's save DC to resist corruption is increased by 1 permanently.

Unleash the Beast: A vessel with this harrowing is able to, instead of connecting to a link, let the beast free. The vessel may now take purely mental actions while the beast is in control. Additionally, by letting the beast free for an hour or longer, the vessel gains a bonus on will saves to resist corruption equal to the number of harrowings the vessel possesses as the beast is placated somewhat by the freedom. Requires Vessel Level 11.

Instant Link: A vessel with this harrowing is able to access their beast in an instant, at the cost of opening themselves up to their influence. As an immediate action, the vessel may take on corruption equal to the number of links it is currently connected to attempt to connect to one or more links. Requires Vessel Level 11.

Fortified by Dark Power: A vessel with this harrowing has struck a bargain with its inner demon, gaining some of its profane health when tapping into its power. Whenever the vessel connects to a link, they gain temporary hit points equal to their class level. These temporary hit points last for five minutes. The vessel's save DC to resist corruption is increased by 2 permanently.

Surge of Strength: A vessel with this harrowing has struck a bargain with its inner demon, gaining some of its dark strength and power when tapping its power. Whenever the vessel connects to a link, they gain a +1 bonus on attack, damage, and opposed skill checks per harrowing they possess for five minutes. The vessel's save DC to resist corruption is increased by 2 permanently.

Bestial Instinct: The beast is often gifted in combat, even if they don't explicitly focus on it. A vessel with this harrowing taps into that innate combat instinct and forces the beast to grant it, causing it to resist the vessel's attempts to gain additional power. The vessel automatically gains Evolved Combat Instinct at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level. These mutations are gained retroactively if this harrowing is gained after 1st level. The vessel's Control Shape DC to connect to a link is increased by 1 permanently.

Resist Corruption: The vessel has forced themselves to combat the influence of the beast extensively, granting them a resistance to its corruption. The save DC to resist corruption is lowered by 1 permanently. This harrowing can be taken multiple times.

Skilled Vessel: Forgoing training with the beast to make themselves more self sufficient, the vessel bolsters themselves without the beast within. The vessel automatically gains two instances of the Evolve Aptitude mutation and one instance of the Evolve Skill mutation. These mutations are inherent to the vessel. The vessel can take this harrowing twice.

Resilient Vessel: A vessel with this harrowing chooses one of Fortitude or Reflex saves. The vessel applies the competence bonus from Adamant Will to the chosen save when connected to a link as well as their Will saves. The vessel can take this harrowing a second time to apply the bonus to both Fortitude and Reflex saves when connected to a link as well as their Will saves. Requires Vessel Level 5.

Tenebrous Energy: A vessel with this harrowing chooses one type of elemental energy they can deal (fire, cold, acid, electricity, or sonic) with their mutations. While connected to at least one link, the vessel can choose to substitute half of the energy damage for unholy damage.

Fallen's Awakening: The beast is a tenacious creature and will do whatever it can to survive, even when its host should die. When a vessel would die from hit point loss or a death effect, they are instead reduced to 1 hit point, gain Corruption equal to twice their normal maximum, and gain temporary hit points equal to twice their corruption. While under the effects of this Harrowing, the vessel is immune to death effects, gains the bonus from ferocity as if they were at the number of hit points necessary to kill them, and their Corruption fades at a rate of one point per five minutes instead of one point per minute. This state ends when the vessel no longer possesses temporary hit points or corruption. Additionally, the Vessel gains the Ferocity mutation plus an additional instance of the mutation at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

: .

: .

: .

: .

: .

: .

: .

: .

Speed Link (Ex): Starting at 6th level, the vessel learns to tap into the power of the beast more quickly. The vessel may connect to a link as a Standard Action rather than a Full-Round Action.

Fast Link (Ex): Starting at 12th level, the vessel improves on the speed at which they can tap into the power of their beast. The vessel may connect to a link as a Move Action rather than a Standard Action. The vessel may still use a Standard Action to connect to a link.

Tireless Severance (Ex): Starting at 17th level, the vessel is no longer Fatigued when it severs its links and is only Fatigued, rather than Exhausted, when it succeeds on its Will save after its Corruption exceeds its Capacity.

Quick Link (Ex): Starting at 18th level, the vessel improves further on the speed at which they can tap into the power of their beast. The vessel may connect to a link as a Swift Action rather than a Move Action. The vessel may still use a Move or Standard Action to connect to a link.



FAQ

Q: What Mutations does the Vessel use/have access to?
A: Same as the Evolutionist, as linked in the first mention of Mutations in the Links ability.

Q: How does this interact with mutations like Evolved Skills or Evolved Aptitude?
A: You spend the skill points or choose skills as normal but don't gain the benefits until you connect to the link. So if you took Evolved Aptitude for Hide, Move Silently, and Bluff as well as Evolved Skills to invest into Hide and Move Silently, the Vessel would only gain those skills as class skills and skill points while connected to the Link that had the mutations.

Q: What happens when you fail the Control Shape check after connecting to a link?
A: Absolutely nothing. You just can't connect to another link.

Q: Can the vessel keep some of its links connected when severing its links?
A: No, though it does maintain its Stable Links.

Q: Why such an expansive formula for regaining control from the Beast?
A: Reaching your maximum corruption is a big deal, and at later levels this can be a massive saving throw (DC 55 base, not including other modifiers). The formula has been reworked and this question is no longer Valid.

Q: Do stable links still count towards increasing your Will save DC against Corruption?
A: Yep, you're still connected to them, it's just that if you keep a small number active you don't risk inceasing your corruption. It has the side effect that you don't recover corruption though, so you'll still want to have them inactive for a while.

Q: If a vessel takes a feat that grants it mutations are they added to a link or are they gained in their base form?
A: Their base form gains the mutation, it is not put into a link. This also applies to the Azure form feat, you gain the mutations in your base form. This is largely due to the difficulty of separating the extra mutations into individual links, so, instead they apply to the base form without need of connecting to a link.

Q: Did you steal the Harrowings from Lord_Gareth?
A: Nope. I copied the name, but the ideas behind them are already largely covered in mutations. Harrowings are more like the evolutionists teratomorphisms except the specifically focus on controlling or accessing the beast within.

[EdroGrimshell]

As you can see I need ideas for Harrowings, but that's really all that's left to do for the Vessel to be complete. If anyone has ideas for possible Harrowings please share them, I have found myself quite stuck on them lately.

[EdroGrimshell]

No interest at all?

[Extra Anchovies]

We've all seen these kinds of classes, the famous Harrowed, the less well known Netherhost, and the infamous Demonblooded Warrior. However, I've always thought that it would be interesting to take the mechanics of the Evolutionist and apply it to the concept of the harrowed, netherhost, and demonblooded warrior to create someone that taps into parts of its beast's power as they're needed while risking corruption. I also added in the challenge of making a Dark Deal actually have a "deal" aspect that's missing from the Harrowed homebrew.

I... what? Is this part of some already established subsystem? If so you should probably specify that at/near the beginning (and maybe in the thread title), and if possible give some links. I'm vaguely familiar with the Evolutionist, but none of the other names are familiar.

Also, it's hard to critique this when I have no idea what this class is supposed to do. Poor BAB, poor skills, poor saves (except for will which for some reason gets a scaling, situationally-variable bonus as a class feature; I'd just give them a good save for that one and call it a day), unrestricted bonus feats, something called Links which doesn't seem to do anything because you didn't include a list of them (but from the description seem to be temporary at-will buffs). If Links are going to give combat bonuses this class needs at least average BAB. If it's more of a utility class it needs at least 4+Int skills, maybe more (unless Links can modify skills as heavily as some of the Incarnate soulmelds can).

The corruption mechanic seems interesting, but currently there's no RAW penalty for failing the final corruption save. You should probably add that "the beast takes control" means "the DM takes over your character for a bit" if that's what you mean (note: you probably shouldn't compare your DM with a beast to his face). However, losing control of your character and having the DM play with it for a while is exactly zero fun, so I'd replace that with a confusion-like effect (except maybe with less frequent and/or less drastic behavioral changes). Stable link is a nice feature, makes the corruption a bit easier to deal with while not eliminating its influence.

Harrowings look like they modify Links, but without any links to look at I can't really be of any help there.

[EdroGrimshell]

I... what? Is this part of some already established subsystem? If so you should probably specify that at/near the beginning (and maybe in the thread title), and if possible give some links. I'm vaguely familiar with the Evolutionist, but none of the other names are familiar.

That's just an intro for where the inspiration of the class came from and where I drew some of my ideas from. Nothing more. There's no "subsystem" used for them other than the Mutator/Evolution system from the Evolutionist which is linked a bit later in the thread. So I do, in fact, link what is relevant. If you read the class you'd notice that it's linked right when it's important, under the Links class feature.

Also, it's hard to critique this when I have no idea what this class is supposed to do. Poor BAB, poor skills, poor saves (except for will which for some reason gets a scaling, situationally-variable bonus as a class feature; I'd just give them a good save for that one and call it a day), unrestricted bonus feats, something called Links which doesn't seem to do anything because you didn't include a list of them (but from the description seem to be temporary at-will buffs). If Links are going to give combat bonuses this class needs at least average BAB. If it's more of a utility class it needs at least 4+Int skills, maybe more (unless Links can modify skills as heavily as some of the Incarnate soulmelds can).

...Links are a collection of Evolutionist mutations. Read the FAQ at the bottom of the opening post. And because of those mutations, this class uses the standard Mutator chassis, same as the commoner with a d8 HD.

Links (Su): The beast held within the vessel is a powerful creature, and the source of the vessel's power. However, the vessel can only access a small portion of the beasts power at great risk to himself. The vessel creates links to aspects of the beast within that allow him to draw on its power. At first level, the vessel gains three links, gaining additional links as he increases in power as shown on the table above. A link is comprised of two mutations at first level. At 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level, the number of mutations in each link is increased by 1.

So, yes, Links can vastly alter your combat and skill capabilities while active. They aren't specific, they're mutations compartmentalized and left inactive until you connect to them. As is stated several times each time this question is asked and has already been somewhat covered in the FAQ section at the bottom of the class.

The corruption mechanic seems interesting, but currently there's no RAW penalty for failing the final corruption save. You should probably add that "the beast takes control" means "the DM takes over your character for a bit" if that's what you mean (note: you probably shouldn't compare your DM with a beast to his face). However, losing control of your character and having the DM play with it for a while is exactly zero fun, so I'd replace that with a confusion-like effect (except maybe with less frequent and/or less drastic behavioral changes). Stable link is a nice feature, makes the corruption a bit easier to deal with while not eliminating its influence.

No, the GM doesn't actually gain control unless you're not comfortable RPing a radically different character that's just as likely to stab the party in the back and run off as fight to the death.

I do want to give it some mechanical effect, but it's sort of like the Harrowed class (it changes your alignment to CE and gives you free use of your class powers). As it stands, my current ideas are being fleshed out in a notepad and will be covered later when I have a few solid ideas for how to cover this. Maybe as a "Pick One" kind of deal.

Harrowings look like they modify Links, but without any links to look at I can't really be of any help there.

As described above. Links are not specific, they are compartmentalized selections of mutations.

[Quarian Rex]

This is a fascinating class. I am quite fond of the Evolutionist and this class makes good use of it's systems. It does have some minor issues in regards to clarity and usability though. To address those concerns I offer you a small PEACH.

The basic chassis of the class (BAB, skills, proficiencies, etc.) are all good considering the Evolutionist/Commoner roots. Nothing more to say about that.

Beast Within

Here is where things need a little more explaination. This is the character's dark side, one that, due to the mechanics you have presented, will be spending a rather large amount of time acting out. Does it retain all of the memories of the host? Does it retain the host's intelligence or is it more bestial? What is the creatures alignment? Evil obviously, but what of the other half? Is it fixed at character creation? Whose alighment is detected when the Beast is in control? Is it capable of long-term planning or is it more bestial?

Provide some indication of the possibilities here. Can the Host keep secrets from the Beast? Perhaps the Beast is aware of everything that occurs while a Link is active, but is blind otherwise? There are a lot of possibilities here and so far none of them are addressed. Give it some consideration.

Links

I like how you have handled the Links as expandable suites of powers. Nice. It provides grat customization as well as simplicity. Well done. My only recomendation is to, for the love of the baby jebus, drop the DC. This is the activation DC. Merely to turn on the only point of this class. This should not be difficult. As it currently stands a low-level character will be spending multiple full-round actions just to activate his ability to actually do something. You have DC 15 just to activate a single Link, up to DC 25 for the third. This is not good. The end result is that a beginning character will feel more useless than an actual Commoner (a least the Commoner could be taking actual actions while the Vessel is trying to power himself up), and have virtually no chance of using his full abilities in play.

How to fix this? Drop the DC. Go with DC 0 + 5 per link the vessel is currently connected to. It sounds low but it isn't. The DC will still scale faster than the skill bonus can keep up but this will make sure that the Vessel can at least call upon the least capabilities of the Beast with relative ease. After all, the Beast wants to come out, doesn't he? If you combine this with something like the beast only being aware of things when a Link is active then you have an interesting roleplaying hook to exploit.

Or even change the formula so that they have a hope of actually turning on all of their Links, change it to something like DC 5 + 3 per link the vessel is currently connected to. I actually strongly recomend this second option. You want the vessel to be able to bite off more than he can chew.

Corruption

This section is in dire need of some examples. You do some unconventional things and have a complex (by D&D standards) formula for the important task of recovery. Spell all of this out. You don't want any confusion. Even things like...

The vessel possesses a Capacity equal to its class level + its Charisma score.

Provide a quick example (ie. A 3rd level Vessel with a Charisma of 16 will have a Capacity of 19) because it is extremely rare for the Charisma Score to be used in any calculation in this game. When I first read this class I had a very different impression of its capabilities because of that misinterpretation.

Same goes for the section on losing/regaining control to the Beast. The Beast can only stay in control for a maximin number of minutes equal to the number of links active (less if the Vessel's Capacity wasn't maxed out before the loss of control). Again, this was not clear upon first reading of the class. Initially it seemed much longer. Throw in an example, it removes doubt.

The other problem with Corruption is the same as with Links, the DC's are just too damn high. The problem is only magnified here because saves are much harder to boost than skill checks. What's the DC for a 1st level character to maintain all three Links (assuming he can get them active)? DC 25. That is the same DC to save against an 8th or 9th level spell from a competent (though not optimized) caster. That is insane to ask from a low level character, and it only gets worse from there because the DC escalates far, far faster than saves have a hope to catch up.

How to fix this? Drop the DC. Drop it to DC 0 + 5 per link it is currently connected to. Why would you do such a crazy thing? Because this is Corruption, this is being seduced by power. You want the player to be comfortable with letting the Beast slip through a little bit. You even support this very idea with Stable Link. You just need to incorporate that mentality into normal link use.

Maintaining a single Link at DC 5? Trivial. Even a low level character should be able to pull that off consistently (unless they roll a 1 and that never happens, right?). Even two links is only DC 10. That's doable consistently. Might build up a little Corruption but no big deal. Combat starts and you need more? DC 15-20 means Corruprion is now flowing in at a steady pace. Oops, looks like the Beast is now free. Have fun with the consequences of that.

This is a way more interesting pattern of play that you currently have available.

Remember too that you essentially have an Evolutionist variant here (that is in no way a criticism) yet your base mechanics are breaking the balance of the chassis that you are utilizing. The idea of using the Commoner as the basis of the Evolutionist only works because you can use the abilities of the class to build upon it. Now the same concept works for the Vessel (indeed, from a fluff perspective it works even better) but only if the character can actually access the things that make him not suck. You are going to have entire Links devoted to BAB, skills, and saves, just to bring the character up to par with everyone around him, and he hasn't even activated anything fun yet.

With your current DC levels there is really only one viable way to play this character. Dump Charisma, Activate as many links as possible (ie, not many), and deliberately fail Will saves to release the Beast to actually use the abilities of this class. That is extremely limiting.

Stable Link

You need a way to switch out Stable Links (or any links for that matter) without actually severing the links. Here would be an appropriate place for the higher DC of 10 + 5 per Link currently being maintained to switch out one Link. Swift action to do so?

Harrowing

I can't say much yet since this ability is almost completely empty. One thing I have to say is that the Spee/Fast/Quick Link abilities need to be base abilities of the class. This is a requirement. Even if you put them at the dead levels of 6, 12, and 18 (although I think it would be better if they were put in earlier) would be acceptable. I don't know what you have in mind for the Harrowings but those three options are such basic needs of the class that it would be unfair to put them in the list.

Good job on the FAQ as well.

I hope this helps.

[EdroGrimshell]

This is a fascinating class. I am quite fond of the Evolutionist and this class makes good use of it's systems. It does have some minor issues in regards to clarity and usability though. To address those concerns I offer you a small PEACH.

Thank you for the interest! I thought this would end up a dud like my Psycarnate class!

The basic chassis of the class (BAB, skills, proficiencies, etc.) are all good considering the Evolutionist/Commoner roots. Nothing more to say about that.

Not much to reply with either

Here is where things need a little more explaination. This is the character's dark side, one that, due to the mechanics you have presented, will be spending a rather large amount of time acting out. Does it retain all of the memories of the host? Does it retain the host's intelligence or is it more bestial? What is the creatures alignment? Evil obviously, but what of the other half? Is it fixed at character creation? Whose alighment is detected when the Beast is in control? Is it capable of long-term planning or is it more bestial?

Provide some indication of the possibilities here. Can the Host keep secrets from the Beast? Perhaps the Beast is aware of everything that occurs while a Link is active, but is blind otherwise? There are a lot of possibilities here and so far none of them are addressed. Give it some consideration.

It is a bit open ended. I'm planning to expand on it so there's a few examples but it's left open ended for the GM to interpret ATM. However, you bring up some good points for clarification, which I will put here and add in to the main feature when I get the right wording down.

Yes, the beast is evil, it can be neutral evil, lawful evil, or chaotic evil, though a variant could make it chaotic neutral instead and just be a reckless thrill seeker/party animal. Though it would be open for change just as a normal character, though much, much harder to actually change. Also relevant, the beast's alignment would be detected when it's in control.

I'm a little unsure on what exactly to do for its mental scores, besides the obvious boon of the character taking the mental score mutations. I'd probably have it so it switched the mental scores around (chosen on gaining the beast), so you could say, have the host have Cha as its highest mental score with Wis as a secondary, but the beast be primarily Int with Cha as a secondary instead. I'm not 100% sure on how to do this one though. Any suggestions?

I don't want to give it instant access to the host's memories, but I don't want them completely shut off as well. I'll have to think on exactly how much freedom it has with the host's memories. This would go the same for keeping secrets from the beast as well, so I'll need to consider a bit.

I like how you have handled the Links as expandable suites of powers. Nice. It provides grat customization as well as simplicity. Well done. My only recomendation is to, for the love of the baby jebus, drop the DC. This is the activation DC. Merely to turn on the only point of this class. This should not be difficult. As it currently stands a low-level character will be spending multiple full-round actions just to activate his ability to actually do something. You have DC 15 just to activate a single Link, up to DC 25 for the third. This is not good. The end result is that a beginning character will feel more useless than an actual Commoner (a least the Commoner could be taking actual actions while the Vessel is trying to power himself up), and have virtually no chance of using his full abilities in play.

How to fix this? Drop the DC. Go with DC 0 + 5 per link the vessel is currently connected to. It sounds low but it isn't. The DC will still scale faster than the skill bonus can keep up but this will make sure that the Vessel can at least call upon the least capabilities of the Beast with relative ease. After all, the Beast wants to come out, doesn't he? If you combine this with something like the beast only being aware of things when a Link is active then you have an interesting roleplaying hook to exploit.

Or even change the formula so that they have a hope of actually turning on all of their Links, change it to something like DC 5 + 3 per link the vessel is currently connected to. I actually strongly recomend this second option. You want the vessel to be able to bite off more than he can chew.

I see your point here, I will change the formula to be a little more appropriate. However, do realize that the beast may actually not want to grant its power. I might actually link this to a type of beast at some point, make it so there's something like a Corruptor that has a low DC for its links while some have a higher DC as they actively fight the host for whatever reason. But that's a thought for another time. For now, I like the DC you offered and will implement it in the class.

This section is in dire need of some examples. You do some unconventional things and have a complex (by D&D standards) formula for the important task of recovery. Spell all of this out. You don't want any confusion. Even things like...

Provide a quick example (ie. A 3rd level Vessel with a Charisma of 16 will have a Capacity of 19) because it is extremely rare for the Charisma Score to be used in any calculation in this game. When I first read this class I had a very different impression of its capabilities because of that misinterpretation.

Will do.

Same goes for the section on losing/regaining control to the Beast. The Beast can only stay in control for a maximin number of minutes equal to the number of links active (less if the Vessel's Capacity wasn't maxed out before the loss of control). Again, this was not clear upon first reading of the class. Initially it seemed much longer. Throw in an example, it removes doubt.

Actually you've got it wrong. The beast can remain in control until the Vessel makes a will save to regain control.

While the beast is in control, the vessel is connected to all of its links, but need not make Will saves. Every minute the beast remains in control, the vessel loses one corruption. Once the corruption is reduced below its Capacity, the vessel may begin making Will saves once per minute to reclaim control, the DC equal to 10 + 5 per link it is currently connected to - the vessel's capacity + its current corruption - the number of minutes the beast has been in control. The vessel may choose to forgo this save to allow the beast to remain in control, and increasing its chance of regaining control later.

The maximum number of points a Vessel can exceed it's Capacity is the number of links it has. Based on this, the vessel could go for quite some time without regaining control, 10-20 minutes depending on their luck and how much they overreached with their corruption. Not to mention, the Vessel's Capacity has to be maxed out in order for the Beast to gain control.

The other problem with Corruption is the same as with Links, the DC's are just too damn high. The problem is only magnified here because saves are much harder to boost than skill checks. What's the DC for a 1st level character to maintain all three Links (assuming he can get them active)? DC 25. That is the same DC to save against an 8th or 9th level spell from a competent (though not optimized) caster. That is insane to ask from a low level character, and it only gets worse from there because the DC escalates far, far faster than saves have a hope to catch up.

How to fix this? Drop the DC. Drop it to DC 0 + 5 per link it is currently connected to. Why would you do such a crazy thing? Because this is Corruption, this is being seduced by power. You want the player to be comfortable with letting the Beast slip through a little bit. You even support this very idea with Stable Link. You just need to incorporate that mentality into normal link use.

Maintaining a single Link at DC 5? Trivial. Even a low level character should be able to pull that off consistently (unless they roll a 1 and that never happens, right?). Even two links is only DC 10. That's doable consistently. Might build up a little Corruption but no big deal. Combat starts and you need more? DC 15-20 means Corruprion is now flowing in at a steady pace. Oops, looks like the Beast is now free. Have fun with the consequences of that.

This is a way more interesting pattern of play that you currently have available.

I agree here, I like that way of looking at it. I'll change it once I get the chance.

Remember too that you essentially have an Evolutionist variant here (that is in no way a criticism) yet your base mechanics are breaking the balance of the chassis that you are utilizing. The idea of using the Commoner as the basis of the Evolutionist only works because you can use the abilities of the class to build upon it. Now the same concept works for the Vessel (indeed, from a fluff perspective it works even better) but only if the character can actually access the things that make him not suck. You are going to have entire Links devoted to BAB, skills, and saves, just to bring the character up to par with everyone around him, and he hasn't even activated anything fun yet.

With your current DC levels there is really only one viable way to play this character. Dump Charisma, Activate as many links as possible (ie, not many), and deliberately fail Will saves to release the Beast to actually use the abilities of this class. That is extremely limiting.

Agreed. As said above, I will be changing the DCs to make this more playable.

You need a way to switch out Stable Links (or any links for that matter) without actually severing the links. Here would be an appropriate place for the higher DC of 10 + 5 per Link currently being maintained to switch out one Link. Swift action to do so?

I'm not sure here. I was going to do something like that for a Harrowing but making it a basic part of Stable Links might work better. And I think a Swift action would be fine.

I can't say much yet since this ability is almost completely empty. One thing I have to say is that the Spee/Fast/Quick Link abilities need to be base abilities of the class. This is a requirement. Even if you put them at the dead levels of 6, 12, and 18 (although I think it would be better if they were put in earlier) would be acceptable. I don't know what you have in mind for the Harrowings but those three options are such basic needs of the class that it would be unfair to put them in the list.

I can do that, but it essentially makes the Harrowing Section empty. 100% empty. As it stands, I'm stuck on what to even do for the Harrowings, they're supposed to be like Teratomorphisms from the Evolutionist adapted for use with a Vessel's method of gaining mutations. Though that's only barely. I've had ideas before, such as granting extra Vile damage or gaining Temp HP by taking on some corruption. I still want to implement some Harrowings that force you to gain corruption for their use, as well as a few more utility ones (Wings of the Beast: Gain a fly speed when connected to 3 or more links, one of which must have the Vestigial Wings mutation).

Heck, I even had the idea for one that let you let out the beast at any time and that letting it out makes it less willing to fight the host (bonus on checks and saves to connect to links and resist corruption). Sorta like a "Deal with the beast" kind of thing. I'm just not sure how to implement some of the ideas yet.

Worst one is Tainted Body, which grants scaling bonus based on how much corruption you have.

Good job on the FAQ as well.

Thanks, I thought it was rather needed with the class given how different it is from other classes, even ones with a similar premise.

I hope this helps.

It does. Greatly so in fact. Thanks for taking the time to critique it and giving such good advice on it.

[EdroGrimshell]

Modifications complete.

I took Quarian Rex's advice for most of it but also added a "Tireless Rage"-like ability at 17th level, since the Vessel is fatigued after severing its links and exhausted after being forced to fight off the beast (succeeding on the Corruption Will Save after it's corruption exceeds its capacity) I thought it fitting to give it something akin to a raging barbarian's method of making their rage less crippling when it ends.

[Quarian Rex]

Thank you for the interest! I thought this would end up a dud like my Psycarnate class!

No problem. And remember, this is the land of the lurker. There is a lot of homebrew that I enjoy but I only post if I feel like I have something to contribute. Post count in the thread is not necessarily a good indication of how well recieved an idea is.

Yes, the beast is evil, it can be neutral evil... Though it would be open for change just as a normal character, though much, much harder to actually change.

I might urge you away from that. Fiends are fundamentally evil and should not be capable of moral growth. That is something for the PCs, not their unholy power source. Although it does give me some ideas for things later.

I'm a little unsure on what exactly to do for its mental scores, besides the obvious boon of the character taking the mental score mutations. I'd probably have it so it switched the mental scores around (chosen on gaining the beast), so you could say, have the host have Cha as its highest mental score with Wis as a secondary, but the beast be primarily Int with Cha as a secondary instead. I'm not 100% sure on how to do this one though. Any suggestions?

This is a good idea at first, I'm just not sure how useful it would be in practice. By that I mean that you would need a seperate statblock for the Beast since skills/saves and such would be shifting due to the changes in mental stats. I'm just not sure that it would be worth the bookkeeping.

I don't want to give it instant access to the host's memories, but I don't want them completely shut off as well. I'll have to think on exactly how much freedom it has with the host's memories. This would go the same for keeping secrets from the beast as well, so I'll need to consider a bit.

I think that the Beast only having awareness when a Link is active is a good way to deal with it. Once the Vessel has Stable Link the Beast will be right there for the formation of most memories so mind reading won't be necessary.

I might actually link this to a type of beast at some point, make it so there's something like a Corruptor that has a low DC for its links while some have a higher DC as they actively fight the host for whatever reason.

Interesting. But that will be a pain to balance and so may not be worth it. Depends.

Actually you've got it wrong. The beast can remain in control until the Vessel makes a will save to regain control.
...
The maximum number of points a Vessel can exceed it's Capacity is the number of links it has. Based on this, the vessel could go for quite some time without regaining control, 10-20 minutes depending on their luck and how much they overreached with their corruption. Not to mention, the Vessel's Capacity has to be maxed out in order for the Beast to gain control.

Yup, I got that. Poor choice of words on my part. I meant the time that the Beast can stay in complete control, before saves are allowed and such.

I can do that, but it essentially makes the Harrowing Section empty. 100% empty. As it stands, I'm stuck on what to even do for the Harrowings, they're supposed to be like Teratomorphisms from the Evolutionist adapted for use with a Vessel's method of gaining mutations. Though that's only barely. I've had ideas before, such as granting extra Vile damage or gaining Temp HP by taking on some corruption. I still want to implement some Harrowings that force you to gain corruption for their use, as well as a few more utility ones (Wings of the Beast: Gain a fly speed when connected to 3 or more links, one of which must have the Vestigial Wings mutation).

Heck, I even had the idea for one that let you let out the beast at any time and that letting it out makes it less willing to fight the host (bonus on checks and saves to connect to links and resist corruption). Sorta like a "Deal with the beast" kind of thing. I'm just not sure how to implement some of the ideas yet.

Worst one is Tainted Body, which grants scaling bonus based on how much corruption you have.

Interesting ideas. Just need some fleshing out. Except 'Wings of the Beast'. Scrap that one. Stay away from any Harrowings that essentially just give you another mutation. Harrowings should be a little more interesting than that. They should provide abilities/options that you can't get anywhere else.

How about options to gain some control over the Beast? How about one that lets you place a no save Suggestion on the Beast when it emerges 1/day? No save Dominate on the Beast 1/day? How about 1/day for the duration of the Beasts rampage it has one half of its alignment moved one step closer to the Hosts? I'm usually not a fan of 1/day abilities but in this case I think they would work quite well. Perhaps these options could be at the cost of a point or two of corruption. Taking action to control the Beast only keeps it around longer.

How about the ability to purge Corruption at the cost of you own pain? For every one point of Corruption removed the Host sufferes 1d4 nonlethal damage (damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way. Creatures immune to nonlethal take lethal instead), taking a Swift action. A max number of corruption points can be removed equal to Cha bonus (min. 1). This could provide some moments of dramatic tension as the Vessel feeds the Beast with his very suffering to keep it at bay just a little longer.

Just some thoughts.

[EdroGrimshell]

No problem. And remember, this is the land of the lurker. There is a lot of homebrew that I enjoy but I only post if I feel like I have something to contribute. Post count in the thread is not necessarily a good indication of how well recieved an idea is.

Sounds about right. Though my psycarnate was still a dud. It was one of my early classes and never fully fleshed out.

I might urge you away from that. Fiends are fundamentally evil and should not be capable of moral growth. That is something for the PCs, not their unholy power source. Although it does give me some ideas for things later.

It's not a fiend per se, just an evil being sealed inside a human body for all eternity. Of course I more so meant the change to the Law-Chaos Axis rather than the Good-Evil Axis. And a bit with the Color Wheel (I often include this in my classes since I run games that use the color wheel personally).

Which reminds me, the Beast will usually be Red, with Black as a common secondary color.

This is a good idea at first, I'm just not sure how useful it would be in practice. By that I mean that you would need a seperate statblock for the Beast since skills/saves and such would be shifting due to the changes in mental stats. I'm just not sure that it would be worth the bookkeeping.

I think I'd have it only affect modifiers, not things derived from the stat (bonus spells, power points, skill points, etc.)

Still having a changing modifier for Saves and Skill Modifiers would be a little annoying at times. But the beast is not meant to be completely feral.

I think that the Beast only having awareness when a Link is active is a good way to deal with it. Once the Vessel has Stable Link the Beast will be right there for the formation of most memories so mind reading won't be necessary.

I'll probably end up going with this then. Seems to work about right.

Interesting. But that will be a pain to balance and so may not be worth it. Depends.

Yep. Was simply a thought.

Yup, I got that. Poor choice of words on my part. I meant the time that the Beast can stay in complete control, before saves are allowed and such.

Not much to say here.

Interesting ideas. Just need some fleshing out. Except 'Wings of the Beast'. Scrap that one. Stay away from any Harrowings that essentially just give you another mutation. Harrowings should be a little more interesting than that. They should provide abilities/options that you can't get anywhere else.

Except no mutation gives a fly speed, none. That's a teratomorphism. Vestigial Wings enhances an existing fly speed and gives a jump bonus, that's really it. It's why I specifically went for flight. Plus what kind of fiendish character can't fly?

How about options to gain some control over the Beast? How about one that lets you place a no save Suggestion on the Beast when it emerges 1/day? No save Dominate on the Beast 1/day? How about 1/day for the duration of the Beasts rampage it has one half of its alignment moved one step closer to the Hosts? I'm usually not a fan of 1/day abilities but in this case I think they would work quite well. Perhaps these options could be at the cost of a point or two of corruption. Taking action to control the Beast only keeps it around longer.

I don't think that'd work. It seems a little... lackluster I guess you could say.

How about the ability to purge Corruption at the cost of you own pain? For every one point of Corruption removed the Host sufferes 1d4 nonlethal damage (damage cannot be reduced or negated in any way. Creatures immune to nonlethal take lethal instead), taking a Swift action. A max number of corruption points can be removed equal to Cha bonus (min. 1). This could provide some moments of dramatic tension as the Vessel feeds the Beast with his very suffering to keep it at bay just a little longer.

I like this one, I really do. I'll probably implement it. I'll probably have it usable X/day with X being the number of harrowings possessed (that's another common thing, scaling based on number of harrowings). Likely make it a maximum of 1/encounter.

Just some thoughts.

And I thank you for them. A few thoughts are always good for helping an idea grow after all

[Defiantnight]

Hiya.

I'm not here to PEACH, not that I'm good at doing so, just lurking and paying my admiration.

Looks like a cool concept :) would love to use it when it's finished, I've always been a fan of the Evolutionist and like what your idea does with it (my DM might even let me play this class :P )

[EdroGrimshell]

Hiya.

I'm not here to PEACH, not that I'm good at doing so, just lurking and paying my admiration.

Looks like a cool concept :) would love to use it when it's finished, I've always been a fan of the Evolutionist and like what your idea does with it (my DM might even let me play this class :P )

I'd love to hear how that goes if you do!

I'll be putting in the first few Harrowings soon, tomorrow or the day after.

[EdroGrimshell]

There are now five harrowings, rather simple harrowings but they're still there. This means that the Vessel is Playable now!

I will still be adding more Harrowings as I think of them, but for now the five I have up are what I've got. If anyone has ideas please share them.

[Haluesen]

Hey Edro! First of all I want to say that I like the idea because it's two classes I love and seeing the ideas behind them put together is cool. However, I am not great at PEACH just by reading things. So, an NPC in my D&D game at home will be using this class. I'll let you know how it goes in practice! We start play tonight but probably won't be able to really be put into action until next week.

[EdroGrimshell]

Wow it took me a long time to get back to this...

I've modified and added a few Harrowings, which should make this class a bit more playable now. A few of them modify the formula for gaining corruption or connecting to links, minute numbers, but they can add up, so there's one in there for mitigating that issue somewhat.

I did add a few that mitigates the issue of needing to use a Link to purchase a large number of basic mutations.

In total, I have 14 individual harrowings, several of which can be taken multiple times.

[ImperatorV]

Alright, the class is a lot better now, but I don't consider it finished. You have three levels that are completely dead, and no equivalent to Mutant Ascendancy/Perfection. You could theoretically leave out the latter, but I've always considered it just as much a defining characteristic of the evolutionist system as mutations and teratomorphisms.

I'd recommend adding a form of Ascendancy/Perfection at levels 10/20, reworking the levels you receive harrowings, and add one more chain of abilities. If you don't want to carbon copy the evolutionist's progression, you could instead add one or more "capstone" harrowings that require level 20. If you do that, however, maybe you should increase the total harrowings - a Vessel already gets less harrowings then an evolutionist has teratomorphisms, and if you're having them be the capstone as well then the class simply doesn't get enough.

I'm looking forward to seeing this finished. If you need help with ideas I could throw some around.

[EdroGrimshell]

Alright, the class is a lot better now, but I don't consider it finished. You have three levels that are completely dead, and no equivalent to Mutant Ascendancy/Perfection. You could theoretically leave out the latter, but I've always considered it just as much a defining characteristic of the evolutionist system as mutations and teratomorphisms.

I'd recommend adding a form of Ascendancy/Perfection at levels 10/20, reworking the levels you receive harrowings, and add one more chain of abilities. If you don't want to carbon copy the evolutionist's progression, you could instead add one or more "capstone" harrowings that require level 20. If you do that, however, maybe you should increase the total harrowings - a Vessel already gets less harrowings then an evolutionist has teratomorphisms, and if you're having them be the capstone as well then the class simply doesn't get enough.

I'm looking forward to seeing this finished. If you need help with ideas I could throw some around.

I've already been considering making Harrowings progress at the same rate as Teratomorphisms, maybe delayed a level, so I just got an up vote for that idea.

As for the Ascendency/Perfection aspects of the system... I don't exactly know what I'd do there. Main issue is that this is all about being what's essentially a host to a demonic entity, so that's a main aspect. I might be able to do something for each type of possible fiend for the Vessel to draw from at those levels, giving various stuff like Ascendency and Perfection. But I kinda want to do something different if at all possible.

I'll be thinking on this quite extensively, I think, since I'm quite tired ATM and have yardwork to do tomorrow. I'll see if I can't get some ideas flowing for that part of the class after I finish that up.

[EdroGrimshell]

Modified the Harrowing Progression to be like that of the Evolutionist's Teratomorphisms. Level 10 will be getting an ability of its own eventually, leaving only level 13 as a "dead" level. Even now level 10 isn't a dead level because it grants the second stable link as it is.