Succumb to the Voices in Your Head (Base Class, Finished! PEACH)

[NeoSeraphi]

The Tortured Soul


^ A tortured soul's Bloody Spear ability

"My blood is black, you know." - Demon Swordsman Crona, a tortured soul on the brink of total madness.

Description: A tortured soul is someone who is infected with the madness of the world. He constantly hears voices in his head, all of his different emotions coming together and speaking against him. He doubts himself, he hates himself. He trusts no one. A tortured soul is aptly named, he goes through life constantly trying to ignore or argue with the madness, losing a little more sanity each day.

The madness itself grants him amazing power, though it weakens him at every turn. It turns his insanity into strength, forcing his body to become more than it ever was. The power of madness flows through his muscles, and directs them without him needing to, making it easier for him to land devastating blows while dodging others.

Abilities: The tortured soul is intended to be a SAD melee class, and focuses on the Strength score alone.

Alignment: True Neutral

HD: d12

Class Skills: The tortured soul treats all skills as cross-class skills.

Skill Points Per Level: The tortured soul receives no skill points per level, not even from a high Intelligence score.

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|+1|+2|+0|+0|Madness, Vitality of Insanity, Unpredictable Dance

2nd|+2|+3|+0|+0|No Rhyme or Reason

3rd|+3|+3|+1|+0|Voices in My Head

4th|+4|+4|+1|+0|Black Blood

5th|+5|+4|+1|+0|Calamity Punch

6th|+6/+1|+5|+2|+0|Give in to the Madness

7th|+7/+2|+5|+2|+0|Bloody Spear, Scream of Clarity

8th|+8/+3|+6|+2|+0|Indomitable Madness

9th|+9/+4|+6|+3|+0|Ragnarok

10th|+10/+5|+7|+3|+0|Black Scabs, Bloody Wings

11th|+11/+6/+1|+7|+3|+0|Screech Arrow

12th|+12/+7/+2|+8|+4|+0|Scream Resonance

13th|+13/+8/+3|+8|+4|+0|Improved Unpredictable Dance

14th|+14/+9/+4|+9|+4|+0|Black Web

15th|+15/+10/+5|+9|+5|+0|Can't Focus

16th|+16/+11/+6/+1|+10|+5|+0|Bloodlust Catastrophe

17th|+17/+12/+7/+2|+10|+5|+0|Cries of Pain

18th|+18/+13/+8/+3|+11|+6|+0|Screaming Agony

19th|+19/+14/+9/+4|+11|+6|+0|It's Your Problem Now

20th|+20/+15/+10/+5|+12|+6|+0|Slave to the Madness

[/table]

Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The tortured soul is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. He is not proficient with any armor or shields.

Madness (Ex): The tortured soul suffers from a disturbing mind, constantly hearing things that aren't there, and often times cannot even control his own body. At every class level (including 1st), the tortured soul increases his Strength score by 1 point, and then decreases his highest mental ability score by 1 point. (If it's a tie, he may choose, unless one of the scores tying is Wisdom, in which case he must choose Wisdom.) A tortured soul may not decrease his Intelligence score below 3 with this class feature, and may not reduce either his Wisdom or Charisma score to 0 with this class feature.

Additionally, the overwhelming power of madness strikes him hard at every point in his mind, forcing him to rely only on his raw power to get through life. When the tortured soul gains this class feature, he immediately loses all ranks he had invested in any skills, and may never gain skill points from any class he takes. Also, his base Will save drops to 0, and he never increases his Will save from taking a level in a class again.

This class feature is a curse. The only way to remove it is to have a cleric of a lawful deity cast miracle to remove it, which will usually require the tortured soul to perform some sort of task or quest for the deity's church.

Vitality of Insanity (Ex): Strength flows through the tortured soul's body. The madness makes him stronger than he can possibly imagine. His muscles bulge and his insanity will force him to rise long after his body would have normally given out.

Every tortured soul class level (including this one) the tortured soul adds his Strength modifier to his HD instead of his Constitution modifier to determine his hit points. If his Strength modifier increases, he retroactively gains hit points, as if he had increased his Constitution score.

Unpredictable Dance (Ex): The madness works in mysterious ways. The tortured soul will often bob and weave, or jump when nothing's there. This strange fear of everything around him works to his advantage. While unarmored and unencumbered, the tortured soul adds his Strength modifier to his AC. This modifier applies to touch attacks, as well as to when the tortured soul is flat-footed.

No Rhyme or Reason (Ex): The madness overshadows the tortured soul's thoughts, making him indecisive and suppressing his instincts. It often takes the tortured soul ages to make a choice, so he normally opts to not answer questions or latches on blindly to a suggestion. Starting at 2nd level, the tortured soul's alignment is forever cemented as Neutral. He may not receive the atonement spell or otherwise be forced to change his alignment in any way, nor may he simply make the conscious choice to become any other alignment. The tortured soul may not enter classes with certain alignment requirements unless they require neutrality. (Examples of classes he may not enter are paladin, monk, or incarnate, while an example of a class he may enter would be the druid)

Voices in My Head (Ex): The tortured soul has dealt with the problems inside him as they grew, but others who have never even felt its touch would be consumed by its current power. Starting at 3rd level, whenever someone attempts to read or speak with the tortured soul's mind, they are affected by the madness. Any attempt to either read the tortured soul's thoughts or speak with him telepathically requires the initiator to make a Will save (DC 10+1/2 the tortured soul's class level + his Strength modifier) or be confused for 1 round per class level. If the telepath succeeds his saving throw, he is instead stunned for 1 round. (This ability does not prevent the initiator from achieving his original goal, however. His attempt to speak or read the tortured soul's mind is still successful)

Black Blood (Ex): The madness in the tortured soul's mind flows through his circulatory system to the rest of his body, in the form of black blood. The madness protects him (and therefore itself) so that it may continue to poison his body. Whenever the tortured soul is struck by a piercing or slashing weapon, the blood in his body hardens to protect him from taking serious damage. Starting at 4th level, the tortured soul gains DR X/Bludgeoning, where X is half his class level, rounded down (to a maximum of DR 10/Bludgeoning at level 20).

Calamity Punch (Ex): The tortured soul is not a warrior, and rarely fights like one. Often times he will lower his weapon and respond to an attack with a swift punch or roundhouse kick that sends his opponent flying. The black blood in his veins allows him to use his body like a weapon. At 5th level, the tortured soul gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat. He may use any part of his body to attack, such as his elbow, his fist, his knee, his foot, or even his head. The tortured soul's unarmed strike deals 1d6 damage plus his Strength modifier, and is considered a light or one-handed weapon, whichever is more beneficial at the time. Unlike the monk, the tortured soul's unarmed strike is only treated as a natural weapon, and may only be enhanced by spells or effects that target natural weapons.

Give in to the Madness (Ex): The tortured soul is constantly fighting a battle with the voices in his head, and sometimes, especially in the heat of battle, he learns to just give in. Starting at 6th level, the tortured soul gains the ability to let go of his own identity and become a puppet of the black blood inside him. Doing this is a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, but can only be used during the tortured soul's turn.

While in this state, the tortured soul gains an untyped bonus to his Strength score equal to half his class level, rounded down. This provides him with extra hit points, however, these are not lost first in the way temporary hit points are, and as soon as the tortured soul regains control and his Strength score returns to normal, the extra hit points are lost.

While under the influence of the madness, the tortured soul is constantly and incurably confused. However, underneath his madness, the tortured soul's mind is still intact and conscious, and can decide when it needs to regain control (generally when there are no immediate threats to his life anymore). Additionally, as a few of the choices on the normal confusion chart deal with the behavior towards the caster, the following changes are made when the tortured soul enters confusion in this way: Attack the caster becomes Act Normally, and Flee the Caster becomes Flee the Nearest Creature.

Ending this state of madness is extremely difficult and requires the normally weak-willed tortured soul to fight what it has already surrendered to, which is never an easy task. Each round, the tortured soul may make a Will save (DC 10) to escape the madness. If he fails that save, he continues acting with the confusion intact, sometimes turning on his friends. If he successfully saves, the madness returns to its normal manageable level.

Additionally, if one of his allies works out a safe word with him, that ally may shout the word and it will grant the tortured soul a Will save as an immediate action with a +4 bonus (this also interrupts his current action, such as attempting to cut said ally in half)

If the ally in question physically touches the tortured soul while speaking the safe word, the madness is suppressed automatically. (The ally in question never threatens an attack of opportunity when moving or touching the tortured soul during his madness). The tortured soul may only form this special bond with one person. If that person leaves him or dies, he may form the bond with another of his allies.

There is no limit to the number of times the tortured soul may surrender to the madness, but each time after the first, it becomes harder and harder for him to escape. The Will save DC increases by 2 for every time the tortured soul has already entered his frenzy since the last time he had an 8 hour rest. (After an 8 hour rest, the Will DC resets to 10)

Bloody Spear (Ex): The tortured soul's blood has a will of its own, and it doesn't like being poked and prodded. Starting at 7th level, whenever the tortured soul receives enough damage from a piercing or slashing melee weapon that it penetrates his DR from Black Blood, the blood that spills out turns into a spear for a single moment, attempting to skewer the attacker. The tortured soul makes the attack roll for the blood. The blood's attack bonus is the tortured soul's Base Attack Bonus + his Strength modifier. If it hits, the blood deals damage as if it were a lance sized for the tortured soul (simply the weapon damage, no bonus damage for Strength or enhancements)

Scream of Clarity (Su): The tortured soul's screams of agony can often remind a person of his own humanity. As a standard action, a tortured soul can yell loudly, and all allies who hear him are subjected to an immediate dispel check with the tortured soul's class level as a caster level. If he succeeds, any mind-affecting abilities, beneficial or harmful, on that ally are immediately removed. This is a sonic, mind-affecting supernatural ability. The tortured soul may use this ability at will, but must wait a number of rounds between each use equal to his Wisdom score -6 (minimum 0, maximum 4). If the tortured soul is confused and rolls the "do nothing but babble incoherently", there is a 50% chance that he will instead use this ability if he is able.

Indomitable Madness (Ex): The tortured soul's mind is not even under his own control. The power of the madness is far greater than any simple arcane trick. Even when the tortured soul's will isn't strong enough to resist, by overpowering him and seizing control of his mind itself, the madness protects its master from harm. Starting at 8th level, whenever the tortured soul fails a Will save against a mind-affecting effect, he is instead confused for 1d4 rounds, or until he makes a DC 10 Will save. (He is not allowed this Will save during the first round he is confused, after that he is allowed one as a free action at the start of every round until the confusion ends). Meanwhile, any caster or monster who attempted to dominate him telepathically receives the effects of his Voices in My Head class feature.

Ragnarok (Ex): As the madness continues to progress, the black blood gains more and more control over the tortured soul, and becomes not only his shield, but his weapon as well. Starting at 9th level, the tortured soul may use a move action to draw some of his blood into a weapon to protect himself. This action provokes an attack of opportunity, but it otherwise does not harm the tortured soul, nor does it require him to cut himself open. The blood simply rips its way out of his body and then seals itself.

The weapon is known as Ragnarok, and it is an intelligent longsword with 14 Int, 10 Wis, and 10 Cha. As long as the tortured soul is holding Ragnarok and Ragnarok's Wisdom score is higher than the tortured soul's Wisdom score, Ragnarok decides who to attack, not the tortured soul. Ragnarok is a natural bully who prefers attacking weak targets, though his pride also lets him be easily goaded by anyone who insults him or his wielder. Ragnarok does not care about the tortured soul's allies at all and will not aid them unless he views that doing so would be of some obvious benefit to him or his wielder.

Ragnarok's strength comes from the madness, and as such, the more control he has over his wielder, the more powerful he becomes. For every point the tortured soul's Wisdom score is below 10, Ragnarok receives a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, and deals damage as if he were one size category larger. (to a maximum of a +9 longsword that deals 24d6+9 for a Medium sized tortured soul with a Wisdom score of 1)

Ragnarok is made of black blood, and as such cannot be Sundered by slashing weapons. He has a hardness of 10 and HP 50 for Sundering by bludgeoning weapons. If he is broken the madness punishes the tortured soul by causing his blood to extend out of his arms like spikes and impale his legs, dealing 50 points of unavoidable damage that penetrates his DR (no save). Ragnarok may be reformed 24 hours later. Otherwise, Ragnarok will immediately draw back into the tortured soul's body as soon as he perceives combat to be over, though the tortured soul may also sheathe him as a move action before combat ends.

Ragnarok is treated as chaotic and adamantine for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction, and ignores hardness during Sunder attempts. If his wielder has 4 or less Wisdom, he also overcomes DR/Epic.

Black Scabs (Ex): The black blood inside a tortured soul heals him abnormally quickly, in addition to preventing his wounds. Starting at 10th level, the tortured soul gains Fast Healing X, where X is half his class level, rounded down. (To a maximum of Fast Healing 10 at 20th level)

Bloody Wings (Ex): Also at 10th level, as a move action, a tortured soul may sprout wings made of black blood. These wings are powered by both the level of madness that a tortured soul exhibits and by his simple physical ability to support his own weight. The tortured soul's wings grant him a fly speed equal to twice his land speed, +5' for every point his Strength score is above 20. His maneuverability is average.

Screech Arrow (Su): Starting at 11th level, the tortured soul may use Ragnarok's black blood to make attacks from afar. As a standard action while using Ragnarok, the tortured soul may swing his blade and deliver a devastating shockwave that hits all creatures in a 60 ft line. Every creature hit must make a Reflex save (DC 10+1/2 tortured soul level + Str mod) or take 1d6/level sonic damage. (A successful save halves the damage) The tortured soul may use this ability at will, but must wait a number of rounds between each wave equal to his Wisdom score-6 (minimum 0, max 4). If the tortured soul has 11 or higher Wisdom, he may not use this ability at all.

While the tortured soul is confused, Ragnarok may make a DC 10 Charisma check to convince the tortured soul to use this ability in the direction he wants to attack. Ragnarok will not actively try and catch the tortured soul's allies in this shockwave, but he won't give up the chance to hit multiple enemies just because an ally happened to be in the way either.

Scream Resonance (Ex): At 12th level, Ragnarok and his wielder are shaking with lust for battle, literally. Ragnarok's blade quivers and vibrates as the tortured soul swings it, rupturing any surface that it strikes.

Starting at 12th level, whenever the tortured soul strikes a creature wearing armor with Ragnarok, he deals the same amount of damage to the armor that he dealt to its wearer, ignoring hardness as usual. If the armor is completely Sundered, the wearer provokes an attack of opportunity from the tortured soul.

The tortured soul may suppress or resume this ability as a swift action.

Improved Unpredictable Dance (Ex): As the madness moves through every part of the tortured soul's body it starts jerking his fingers and his elbows, his knees and his hips, and the tortured soul's movements become even more erratic than before. Starting at 13th level, the tortured soul receives a 5% miss chance per 2 class levels while unarmored and unencumbered (to a maximum of 50% at 20th level).


Additionally, while under the influence of Give into the Madness or Slave to the Madness, the tortured soul is under a constant extraordinary freedom of movement effect.


Black Web (Sp): By concentrating on his blood, the tortured soul may blast forth a small gob of it that will stick and wrap up an enemy. This ability is similar to a web effect, caster level equal to the tortured soul's level, except that the range becomes 60 ft and it requires a ranged touch attack. However, if the attack hits, the victim is wrapped up completely (No save), without requiring any anchor points. (Unlike web, this ability only affects one creature, but it affects as many squares as the creature occupies) The victim must succeed on a Strength check (DC 10+1/2 tortured soul level+Strength modifier) to break it, and it requires a full-round action to attempt it. Until the web is broken, the creature can only take mental and verbal actions or move.

The tortured soul may use this ability once per day per point his Wisdom score is below 10.

Can't Focus (Ex): The tortured soul often times finds himself wishing he could just dump the madness on to others. Starting at 15th level, the tortured soul gains the ability to make a touch attack that drains the target's Wisdom score. (He may not make this touch attack through an unarmed strike) As a standard action, the tortured soul makes a melee touch attack and if he hits, he drains 1d4 Wisdom from the target. This temporarily increases his own Wisdom score for 1 round per class level. If the tortured soul's Wisdom score increases to 10 or higher with this ability, the voices in his head are momentarily quieted and the tortured soul enters a state of pure sanity. The tortured soul may use this touch attack at will.

While focused, the tortured soul acts as if he wasn't insane. He selects any four skills and treats it as though he had ranks in those skills equal to his character level +3. His base Will save becomes half his character level +2. He is still able to use Ragnarok, but cannot use Scream Resonance, and cannot use Screech Arrow if his Wisdom is 11 or higher. At the end of the duration, his Wisdom score returns to what it was, and the bonuses listed here disappear.

Bloodlust Catastrophe (Ex): The tortured soul has spent so much time fighting the madness that now when it takes over he has some level of control. Starting at 17th level, whenever the tortured soul becomes confused for any reason, his behavior chart changes to 0-50: Act Normally, 51-100: Attack the nearest person, friend or foe, so long as they aren't your bonded ally.

Cries of Pain (Ex): The tortured soul can truly no longer hold back the madness inside him. Starting at 17th level, whenever the tortured soul is confused for any reason, he is constantly emitting cries of sadness and grief. The voices in his head have become so loud and have truly taken control, and only one person in the world can reach him.

Beginning at 17th level, whenever the tortured soul is confused for any reason, he is treated as deaf. He is immune to sonic, language-dependent, and any other effects that require him to be able to hear in order to affect him. The tortured soul automatically fails all Listen checks and attempts to cast spells with verbal components, or use command trigger magic items. (All of this occurs even when he rolls the "Act Normally" option)

The exception to this is the safe word spoken by the single trusted ally mentioned in the Give into the Madness class feature. This ability works as normal and the ally is able to speak to him as though he could hear her.

Screams of Agony (Sp): The tortured soul's sonic abilities are by far the most destructive, not even a bard or a jester can compare to the devastating effect that the tortured soul's vocal madness has on others. Beginning at 18th level, the tortured soul may cast wail of the banshee, as the spell, as a spell-like ability once per day with a caster level equal to his class level. The save DC is Strength-based.

It's Your Problem Now (Ex): Starting at 19th level, whenever the tortured soul makes a Wisdom drain touch attack, he may drain 4 Wisdom instead of 1d4 Wisdom. If the creature he drains is not immune to mind-affecting abilities and had 10 or more Wisdom before he drained it, but 9 or less after, the creature becomes permanently and incurably insane, as the spell.

If the creature somehow restores its drained Wisdom, or otherwise increases its Wisdom score back up to 10, the insanity goes away, though it will always come back immediately every time the creature's Wisdom score drops below 10.

Slave to the Madness (Ex): At 20th level, madness truly takes hold of the tortured soul and he becomes completely enveloped. His soul is all but lost and his mind is almost completely shattered. His madness has become incurable and can no longer be removed by a miracle spell or any other means.

As long as the tortured soul has Ragnarok drawn, he is constantly engaged in a battle for control. He gains +20 Strength, and each turn he must make a Will save (DC equal to the total modifier of his Will save after applying his Wisdom score and all magical bonuses, resistance bonuses and feats +10. For example, a 20th level tortured soul with a Wisdom score of 1, a cloak of resistance +5, and the Iron Will feat would have a DC 12 Will save).

If the tortured soul succeeds his Will save, he acts normally for the round, otherwise, he is confused for the round. This ability supercedes the power of Give into the Madness, and the tortured soul may only use Give into the Madness when he is using a weapon other than Ragnarok.

As soon as Ragnarok is sheathed, the tortured soul may stop making Will saves and act normally.


Ex-Tortured Souls: A tortured soul whose madness is cured by a miracle spell cast by a cleric of a lawful deity loses all class features. He regains any lost skill points and Will saves from other classes, but does not receive skill points or a Will save score for his levels of tortured soul. His Strength and mental scores all return to their original values. Additionally, he may never take another level of tortured soul.

Sample Tortured Soul
Maiko the Insane
Medium Humanoid (Orc)
HD 20d12+480 (590 HP) or 680 if Ragnarok is drawn (790 HP)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares); 300 ft flight (60 squares, average maneuverability) or 350 ft flight if Ragnarok is drawn (70 squares, average maneuverability)
Init: +6
AC 36, touch 36, flat-footed 34, or 46 if Ragnarok is drawn; touch 46; flat-footed 44
(10+2 Dex +24/34 Str)
BAB +20; Grp +44 or 54 if Ragnarok is drawn
Attack Standard attack +63 (Ragnarok) (24d6+43, 19-20x2) or Screech Arrow (20d6 sonic 60 ft line, Ref DC 56 1/2) or +54 Touch (1d4/4 Wisdom Drain) or +54 Unarmed (2d6+34, 20x2)
Full-Attack Full attack +63/+58/+53/+48 Ragnarok (24d6+43, 19-20x2) or +54/+49/+44/+39 Unarmed (2d6+34)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Screech Arrow, Screams of Agony 1/day (DC 55), Black Web 6/day (DC 56), Can't Focus, Bloody Spear
Special Qualities 50% miss chance, Changes any Mind-Affecting ability into confusion, Deaf and Immune to Sonic while confused, freedom of movement while Ragnarok is drawn, Fast Healing 10, light sensitivity, DR 10/Bludgeoning, Will DC 5 every round or be confused
Saves Fort +14 Ref +8 Will -5
Abilities Str 58 or 78 if Ragnarok is drawn, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 1, Cha 1
Skills -
Feats Improved Unarmed Strike (Bonus), Power Attack, Superior Unarmed Strike, Improved Initiative, Flyby Attack, Ability Focus (Screech Arrow), Ability Focus (Screams of Agony), Ability Focus (Black Web)
Alignment True Neutral

Possessions: +6 Belt of Giant Strength, Manual of Gainful Exercise +5 (consumed)

[Zale]

Someone's been watching Soul Eater!

[NeoSeraphi]

Someone's been watching Soul Eater!

Indeed! Have any suggestions? I want to get rid of those pesky empty levels. (And I'm only on Episode 35, so please don't spoil anything for me)

[jiriku]

Perhaps some abilities to make the class party-friendly. As written, if someone announced he wanted to play this class, he'd probably be greeted with groans of dismay from his group at the prospect of having a permanently confused lunatic with ungodly strength and endurance in their midst.

[NeoSeraphi]

Perhaps some abilities to make the class party-friendly. As written, if someone announced he wanted to play this class, he'd probably be greeted with groans of dismay from his group at the prospect of having a permanently confused lunatic with ungodly strength and endurance in their midst.

No more than the groans of someone who wanted to play a frenzied berserker. But I suppose you're right. Any suggestions?

[Zale]

I can't really think of anything you haven't covered..

[NeoSeraphi]

Added Scream Resonance, based on what happened to Soul the first time Crona used it. Still have 7 dead levels to fill though.

[jiriku]

No more than the groans of someone who wanted to play a frenzied berserker. But I suppose you're right. Any suggestions?

Hard to say. Safe words? Not being confused while give into the madness is in effect? Not being immune to spells the party could use to make him snap out of it?

I suppose the visceral "yuck" reaction that I'm getting is actually not so much the class as the type of player who would play it. There's this guy in my gaming group who loves to play insane characters, and it amuses him no end when his character goes off on a tear and jacks up the plot or turns an easy fight into a grueling deathmatch because he's "accidently" screwing over the party. He'd be on this class like a fly on honey, because he'd see it as an invitation to act up, get into trouble, and PVP anyone the dice told him to, with it "not his fault" all the while because he has class features telling him to be disruptive to the group.

So he has kind of prejudiced me.

Let me dig deep in the old brain here (and pardon me if I get the flavor wrong because I'm not familiar with Soul Eater)...

• How about the ability to scream like a crazy idiot so effectively that you produce an effect that disrupts mind-affecting spells on your allies?
• What if you could exude your black blood like a web spell (sort of like the avascular mass spell), unavoidably immobilizing you but potentially ensnaring those nearby? This would be a nice tactical option, and also a way for you to take yourself out of the fight if the crazy was causing you to do more harm than good, or if the Will save to regain control wasn't going your way.
• What if you simply had the option to pound your head brutally against the nearest hard surface, screaming "No! Bad brain!" instead of attacking an ally?

To answer your question about additional class features, I'd see an improved version of Unpredictable Dance granting you a miss chance and the ability to escape entanglement effects. Also some kind of insane insight or black blood tremorsense to help you locate hidden creatures, because your Listen and Spot modifiers will be trash. It would be neat if you could form other things from your blood, like a ladder, a rope and grapple (that automatically reels you in), or a shovel (to dramatically dig yourself free when buried under a landslide that "no one could survive").

[Yitzi]

What if you simply had the option to pound your head brutally against the nearest hard surface, screaming "No! Bad brain!" instead of attacking an ally?

Well, it's not an option per se, but that's very well might happen when you roll 1-10 for confusion (since the Tortured Soul is himself the effective caster of the effect.)

Also, the dice never tell you to attack an ally; at most they'd tell you to attack the closest creature. When being played as he's meant to, this class will be closer to an enemy than to any ally anyway.

[NeoSeraphi]

I added the miss chance/escape method of Unpredictable Dance, as well as the safe word mechanic and the web ability.

I like your idea for the screech, but I was wondering what level you thought I should add it in? (It seems like it would come in earlier than 15th)

The tremorsense ability doesn't work, unfortunately. The madness consumes the tortured soul's attention, he's supposed to be the big stupid fighter that gets caught off-guard, takes a hit but ignores it from DR and then replies by slamming someone in the face.

As for the blood into utility tools, I like the idea but fluff-wise it doesn't work. It requires more concentration and control over the black blood than a tortured soul would have (Something important to remember is that the tortured soul is the madness's tool, not the other way around)

[NeoSeraphi]

Well, it's not an option per se, but that's very well might happen when you roll 1-10 for confusion (since the Tortured Soul is himself the effective caster of the effect.)

Also, the dice never tell you to attack an ally; at most they'd tell you to attack the closest creature. When being played as he's meant to, this class will be closer to an enemy than to any ally anyway.

The problem is, if all the enemies are dead, he turns on his allies.

[Yitzi]

The problem is, if all the enemies are dead, he turns on his allies.

Actually, he only turns on his allies 30% of the time. Which (given that he's almost invariably going to be using melee) means they should be able to run away quite easily until he makes his save.

[jiriku]

Imagine the joy of the other players when they learn that the guy with the 50 Strength is only 30% likely to try to kill them after every battle. The safe word feature ought to make it manageable, though.

[NeoSeraphi]

Yes, and imagine that they realize...OH! I forgot about the wings! Crap, thanks Yitzi, you reminded me of the wings! Okay, putting those in now. Anyway, with Screech Arrow, you aren't "just melee"

Edit: And jiriku? Did you have a suggestion for what level I should put in the mind-affecting removal scream?

[NeoSeraphi]

Added a Wisdom-draining touch attack at level 15 that allows the tortured soul to act against the madness, and improved it to pass on the madness at level 19.

[jiriku]

Wherever, really. Make it a dispel check using your class level as a caster level, and it will auto-scale to any level from about 5ish to 20+

[NeoSeraphi]

Alright, added it in, and now if you do nothing but babble when you're confused, you might instead scream and wake your allies out of their stupors. So that's helpful.

[NeoSeraphi]

Added a 17th and 18th ability, AND! Done! Alright, the Tortured Soul is open for business! Any comments on the finished product?

[jiriku]

Screams of Agony should be (Sp).

[NeoSeraphi]

Ah, right. Dunno how I forgot to write that in. Editing now.

[Girshtop]

Madness (Ex): The tortured soul suffers from a disturbing mind, constantly hearing things that aren't there, and often times cannot even control his own body. At every class level (including 1st), the tortured soul increases his Strength score by 1 point, and then decreases his highest mental ability score by 1 point. (If it's a tie, he may choose, unless one of the scores tying is Wisdom, in which case he must choose Wisdom.) A tortured soul may not decrease his Intelligence score below 3 with this class feature, and may not reduce either his Wisdom or Charisma score to 0 with this class feature.

Additionally, the overwhelming power of madness strikes him hard at every point in his mind, forcing him to rely only on his raw power to get through life. When the tortured soul gains this class feature, he immediately loses all ranks he had invested in any skills, and may never gain skill points from any class he takes. Also, his base Will save drops to 0, and he never increases his Will save from taking a level in a class again.

Wouldn't a easy counter be to deal a little bit of Wis, Cha, or Int damage to him? It would drop him to 0 and then he's out of the fight. Plus his Will save would be in the minuses, so he couldn't even Save or Die; it would be just Die.

I like the idea, but this was the first thing I thought of when I read it.

[NeoSeraphi]

Yes, you're right. That would be the case...if dealing Int, Wis, or Cha damage was "easy". As it stands, only spellcasters can do that. And if you want to talk about easy ways for spellcasters to get him out of the fight, using Will saves well..yeah. That's not even a discussion with pure melee classes

[Epsilon Rose]

Yes, you're right. That would be the case...if dealing Int, Wis, or Cha damage was "easy". As it stands, only spellcasters can do that. And if you want to talk about easy ways for spellcasters to get him out of the fight, using Will saves well..yeah. That's not even a discussion with pure melee classes

I'm fairly certain there are also poisons that will affect you're mental stats. Also, the fact that he auto fails will saves is kind of bad. Especially at higher levels. Dominate is not fun, in fact will saves tend to lead to some of the nastiest effects, so... That probably needs some fixing. It's to glaring of a weakness.

[Dragon Star]

I think voices innmy head should give bonuses against and eventually immunity to mind affecting effects.

[NeoSeraphi]

I'm fairly certain there are also poisons that will affect you're mental stats. Also, the fact that he auto fails will saves is kind of bad. Especially at higher levels. Dominate is not fun, in fact will saves tend to lead to some of the nastiest effects, so... That probably needs some fixing. It's to glaring of a weakness.

Poisons require a Fort save, which he has the best progression for. He's immune to mind-affecting starting at level 8, so I don't see the problem with that.

I think Voices in my Head should give bonuses against and eventually immunity to mind-affecting

Indomitable Madness gives him immunity to mind-affecting.

[Dragon Star]

Poisons require a Fort save, which he has the best progression for. He's immune to mind-affecting starting at level 8, so I don't see the problem with that.



Indomitable Madness gives him immunity to mind-affecting.

Damn, I can't believe I missed that.

[NeoSeraphi]

Added a sample optimized build.

[SoliaTera]

maybe u should add mad blood like in the manga just a thought

[NeoSeraphi]

maybe u should add mad blood like in the manga just a thought

I never read the manga. What does "mad blood" mean?

[SoliaTera]

Its an ability that the character you based this class off of has its actually its most power ability
heres a wiki write up of it
http://souleater.wikia.com/wiki/Mad_Blood