I was intending to run either a D20 or a BESM D20 campaign recently, but I need advice for the creation of a new Core Class to replace the role of the Wizard/Sorcerer. Basically, in my intended campaign, Arcane Magic is a force that is normally unavailible to mortals, its place being taken instead by Divine Magic.
However, there are those who crave Arcane Magic, and acquire it by forging dark pacts with monstrous, alien and unholy forces. The most "human" of these forces resembles the Demon Lords and Arch-Devils of D&D, whilst the others are more like CoC D20's Outer Gods; vile, Lovecraftian dieites who are simply beyond mere mortal comprehension.
So, in essence, these "Heartless", as I call them, willingly surrender a portion of their very humanity (or soul or whatever you want to call it) to become living conduits for forces of pure madness, evil, corruption and entropy. My question is simply this: how do I handle this? I'm not really asking for spell list advice (though that would be appreciated), but more on the 'details' of the class; special abilities, Class Skills, Attack and Saving Throw bonuses, the real meat of a character class.
I call them Heartless because, as part of the "pact", they literally and physically lose their hearts; they're still alive, and register as such, but their life-force is sustained purely by the raw magical energy coursing through their bodies. If that were gone, they'd be nothing more than dead, rotting corpses.
As well as having no heartbeat/pulse, a Heartless's blood become increasingly saturated with mystic energy, and by the time a Heartless is nearing the heights of its powers (around level 15-20) it doesn't bleed at all, its blood having been either evaporated or solidified by the magic coursing through its veins.
I also see the Heartless devloping mystical "mutations" as a consquence of their very nature. This, I don't know how to represent or explain.
Spell-wise, I see a Heartless as being a mixture of Eldritch Artillery Battery (blasting foes to bits with destructive magics) and Dark Overmaster (raising the undead and summoning Aberrations/Outsiders and bending them to its will to serve as servitors).
I appreciate any input/ideas people are willing to share with me.
Seeking advice and aid
Seeking advice and aid
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
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Spiteful Crow
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You probably want something cross between the Warlock class from Complete Arcane and the Alienist prestige class from either Complete Arcane or Tome and Blood.
As for the mutations, "Chaositech" from Malhavoc Press has a pretty nice looking system. Or, you could adapt the mutation rules from the Geomancer class in Complete Divine or Masters of the Wild.
Sounds like you've got a very interesting campaign planned there.
As for the mutations, "Chaositech" from Malhavoc Press has a pretty nice looking system. Or, you could adapt the mutation rules from the Geomancer class in Complete Divine or Masters of the Wild.
Sounds like you've got a very interesting campaign planned there.
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ScS of the Fraternity
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So, the role of these guys is going to be purely offensive?
Are we talking about "like wizards" who blast things from afar?
Or can we assume that this fulfills more roles?
basing a class on doing damage seems unbalanced - kind f like a wizard class who can only cast fireballs and as a result gets über-fire balls.
I'd give them cleric stats for the most part, and build upon this transformation into creatures of evil.
1st level,: Cause wounds (hand becomes enveloped with vile energy) or, infuse a bolt or dagger, or weapon with the energy (adds an extra 1D8+cha mod). This ability can be used 1/day/level.
2nd level: Heartless: immune to nonmagical diseases
3rd energy whip. Proficiency in whip - allows player to threaten a 10" radius, and attack adjacent enemies. 1D4 damage+cha mod. Whip can remain present for 1 round x cha mod. Can be used 1/day/level. Can be activated as a free action, but can't be used for attacks of oppertunity in the same round inwhich it was activated. Energy whip can trip, just like regular whip - dropping whip counts as deactivating it.
5th: energy bolt - make a ranged touch attack to deal 2D6 damage + cha mod. Can only do this 1/day/ levels. Range increment 25 feet. May, as an option, expend 1 more use per day to add 1 more D6 to the blast.
6th level: Heartless II - Immune to Fatigue, sleep effects, nausea, ect...
7th level: energy whip becomes spiked chain. 1D8 damage+cha mod.
9th level: Energy fan - 1/day/2 levels may make an attack roll against every creature threatened in a 10-foot reach. On a successful attack, struck for 3D6 damage + cha mod. May use this ability 1/day/2 levels. (also targets friends in reach)
11th level: Bolt master - as a ranged attack, at will, may fire energy bolts as attacks - no limit. (You may still expend extra uses to increase damage, but you may only expend a number of boosting usses equal to 1/level/day.)
10th level: Heartless IV - Immune to poisons and magical diseases
13th level: Energy ball - Like fireball - except deals only 8D6 damage+cha mod. Can be used 1/day/ levels. An extra use may be expended to increase damage by 2D6. Blast radius 10 feet.
14th level: Heartless V - Immune to trap the soul, ghost jar, does not register as a living being.
16th level: Unliving - negative energy no longer drains your levels. Cannot be raised from the dead. Do not eat, drink or sleep.
17th level: Retributive field. Everythime you are struck for damage by an enemey within 10 feet, he or she takes 2D6 points of energy damage.
20th level: Becoem energy elemental. Type turns to elemental, ect....
Are we talking about "like wizards" who blast things from afar?
Or can we assume that this fulfills more roles?
basing a class on doing damage seems unbalanced - kind f like a wizard class who can only cast fireballs and as a result gets über-fire balls.
I'd give them cleric stats for the most part, and build upon this transformation into creatures of evil.
1st level,: Cause wounds (hand becomes enveloped with vile energy) or, infuse a bolt or dagger, or weapon with the energy (adds an extra 1D8+cha mod). This ability can be used 1/day/level.
2nd level: Heartless: immune to nonmagical diseases
3rd energy whip. Proficiency in whip - allows player to threaten a 10" radius, and attack adjacent enemies. 1D4 damage+cha mod. Whip can remain present for 1 round x cha mod. Can be used 1/day/level. Can be activated as a free action, but can't be used for attacks of oppertunity in the same round inwhich it was activated. Energy whip can trip, just like regular whip - dropping whip counts as deactivating it.
5th: energy bolt - make a ranged touch attack to deal 2D6 damage + cha mod. Can only do this 1/day/ levels. Range increment 25 feet. May, as an option, expend 1 more use per day to add 1 more D6 to the blast.
6th level: Heartless II - Immune to Fatigue, sleep effects, nausea, ect...
7th level: energy whip becomes spiked chain. 1D8 damage+cha mod.
9th level: Energy fan - 1/day/2 levels may make an attack roll against every creature threatened in a 10-foot reach. On a successful attack, struck for 3D6 damage + cha mod. May use this ability 1/day/2 levels. (also targets friends in reach)
11th level: Bolt master - as a ranged attack, at will, may fire energy bolts as attacks - no limit. (You may still expend extra uses to increase damage, but you may only expend a number of boosting usses equal to 1/level/day.)
10th level: Heartless IV - Immune to poisons and magical diseases
13th level: Energy ball - Like fireball - except deals only 8D6 damage+cha mod. Can be used 1/day/ levels. An extra use may be expended to increase damage by 2D6. Blast radius 10 feet.
14th level: Heartless V - Immune to trap the soul, ghost jar, does not register as a living being.
16th level: Unliving - negative energy no longer drains your levels. Cannot be raised from the dead. Do not eat, drink or sleep.
17th level: Retributive field. Everythime you are struck for damage by an enemey within 10 feet, he or she takes 2D6 points of energy damage.
20th level: Becoem energy elemental. Type turns to elemental, ect....
Evil Reigns!!!!
A very nice set of ideas SCS, but not quite what I was intended. I think Spiteful Crow had it "on the money" when he suggested building from the Warlock, as that's the sort of "spell-casting method" I think a Heartless would use.
The role of a Heartless, normally found as either an enemy or as an anti-hero, is, basically, offensive magical support. It can slightly defend itself in 'mundane' combat, but it's main use is like a living mortar; it blasts the enemies from the back whilst its allies keep them away from the Heartless. On its own, it can cause immense damage so long as it can keep out of the reach of its opponents, but let them get into stabbing distance and the Heartless falls with little trouble.
The two "themes" of Heartless magic are this:
*Firstly, the Heartless is a living conduit for forces of evil and destruction. In other words, stereotypical black magic. As a consequence, the only spells a Heartless has are a few that have the sole purpose of inflicting damage- even a Warlock, a "selfish mage", has a few Incantations with non-damaging tactical uses. A Heartless can destroy his enemies, but he's useless at anything else.
*The second "theme" is that a Heartless willingly and deliberately bargains with monstrous, unholy, nightmarish forces- to wit, Evil Outsiders, Aberrations and the Undead. This expands the spell-list to include spells that let him summon/bind the above-mentioned forces.
A Heartless's "motto" is thus: "I shall destroy you, but I won't stain my clothing/waste my vital time to do so."
I did manage to figure out a few "special abilities" I thought a Heartless would gain after transformation.
No Heart: when a Heartless is subjected to a Sneak Attack, there is a 1% chance that the Sneak Attack fails and the Heartless receives no extra damage from the attack. This represents the attack attempting to puncture the non-existant heart.
Twisted Emotions: in most cultures, the heart is seen as the "emotional wellspring" of the soul, and in the Heartless this seems to be true, as their lack of a heart seems to distort or even remove their capacity for emotion. Heartless receive a +4 Circumstance bonue to resist Charm effects, Fear effects and the Emotions spell.
The Magic is the Life: a Heartless is sustained solely by the mystical energies coursing through their being, thus a disruption of this energy is most dangerous to them. A Heartless cannot be resurrected by any spell other than a Resurrection or True Resurrection. If a Heartless is subjected to a Dispel Magic spell then it suffers 1D6 non-type damager per caster level of the spell, which can be reduced to 1/2 damage by passing a Will save. A Heartless that enters an anti-magic/null-magic zone, for any reason, must pass a DC20 Fortitude save, with additional saves being made with a cumulative +5 DC increase at the start of each subsequent round the Heartless remains in that area. Failing a single Fortitude save means that the Heartless instantly dies.
::EDIT::
I also managed to come up with some "social" commentary as well.
Alignment Limitation: A Heartless must be either any Evil or Chaotic Neutral in Alignment; a Heartless either embraces its inner darkness or is driven insane by it.
Relations with Other Classes: generally speaking, what relations? Heartless, for the most part, are loners, sating whatever twisted desires for companionship they may have by surrounding themselves with their "unholy servitors". However, they do have to interact with other character classes on occasion, so let's take a look.
Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Blackguard: a Heartless's relationship with these classes is simply and directly summed up in three words: mutual undying hatred. To become what they are, a Heartless has metaphorically spat on the outstretched hands of all gods, Good, Neutral and Evil, which naturally earns the enmity of Clerics of all alignments and, by extension, the enmity of Paladins and Blackguards, with Paladins also loathing the Heartless because of their pure evil nature. Their relationship with Druids and Rangers is similar, simply because the Heartless, in their eyes, is an abomination against the natural order, an even worse perversion than the undead.
Wizards/Sorcerers: these don't exist in my campaign setting, so they're not a problem. In a setting where Heartless did rub shoulders with these two, then there's going to be trouble. Wizards and Sorcerers look down on Heartless, who can't even harness their powers without outside help, whilst Heartless regard Wizards/Sorcerers with seething bitter envy; a Heartless may be able to use his powers constantly, but his powers are severly limited in comparison. A Heartless can blast an enemy with unholy energy and summon twisted abominations to do his will. A Wizard/Sorcerer can do that and more; they can teleport from place to place, travel to different planes, change their shape, fly, and have an even greater variety of offensive spells than Heartless do.
Bards: in my campaign setting these have no spell-casting talents, but in another setting that would risk inciting envy from the Heartless. Other than that though, Heartless have no outright problems with Bards. In fact, Bards are very useful to Heartless, with their ability to inspire those around them- a Bard that can make this effect work for a Heartless's servitors is guaranteed a position in the retinue, and some Heartless have been known to cling to Bards as a source of companionship, most likely in reaction the Bard's Charisma.
Rogues: generally speaking, Heartless don't care about Rogues one way or the other. A Heartless rarely has anything that would be of value to a Rogue, and the Rogue's skills with infiltration, deception and -especially- assassination can be quite useful to a Heartless that can stomach dealing with normal humanoids. The whole "shunned by society" trait the two classes share can sometimes be useful in getting the two together.
Fighters: what class doesn't like Fighters? The Heartless appreciate a good meatshield as much as the next easy target; as far as they're concerned, anyone willing to intersperse themselves between the Heartless and a foaming Cleric is okay.
Barbarians: oil and water, generally speaking. Barbarians dislike spell-casters on principal, and the Heartless view them as too uncontrollable to be trustworthy. On the rare occasions they can get over their predjudices and align, there are few combinations more destructive.
The role of a Heartless, normally found as either an enemy or as an anti-hero, is, basically, offensive magical support. It can slightly defend itself in 'mundane' combat, but it's main use is like a living mortar; it blasts the enemies from the back whilst its allies keep them away from the Heartless. On its own, it can cause immense damage so long as it can keep out of the reach of its opponents, but let them get into stabbing distance and the Heartless falls with little trouble.
The two "themes" of Heartless magic are this:
*Firstly, the Heartless is a living conduit for forces of evil and destruction. In other words, stereotypical black magic. As a consequence, the only spells a Heartless has are a few that have the sole purpose of inflicting damage- even a Warlock, a "selfish mage", has a few Incantations with non-damaging tactical uses. A Heartless can destroy his enemies, but he's useless at anything else.
*The second "theme" is that a Heartless willingly and deliberately bargains with monstrous, unholy, nightmarish forces- to wit, Evil Outsiders, Aberrations and the Undead. This expands the spell-list to include spells that let him summon/bind the above-mentioned forces.
A Heartless's "motto" is thus: "I shall destroy you, but I won't stain my clothing/waste my vital time to do so."
I did manage to figure out a few "special abilities" I thought a Heartless would gain after transformation.
No Heart: when a Heartless is subjected to a Sneak Attack, there is a 1% chance that the Sneak Attack fails and the Heartless receives no extra damage from the attack. This represents the attack attempting to puncture the non-existant heart.
Twisted Emotions: in most cultures, the heart is seen as the "emotional wellspring" of the soul, and in the Heartless this seems to be true, as their lack of a heart seems to distort or even remove their capacity for emotion. Heartless receive a +4 Circumstance bonue to resist Charm effects, Fear effects and the Emotions spell.
The Magic is the Life: a Heartless is sustained solely by the mystical energies coursing through their being, thus a disruption of this energy is most dangerous to them. A Heartless cannot be resurrected by any spell other than a Resurrection or True Resurrection. If a Heartless is subjected to a Dispel Magic spell then it suffers 1D6 non-type damager per caster level of the spell, which can be reduced to 1/2 damage by passing a Will save. A Heartless that enters an anti-magic/null-magic zone, for any reason, must pass a DC20 Fortitude save, with additional saves being made with a cumulative +5 DC increase at the start of each subsequent round the Heartless remains in that area. Failing a single Fortitude save means that the Heartless instantly dies.
::EDIT::
I also managed to come up with some "social" commentary as well.
Alignment Limitation: A Heartless must be either any Evil or Chaotic Neutral in Alignment; a Heartless either embraces its inner darkness or is driven insane by it.
Relations with Other Classes: generally speaking, what relations? Heartless, for the most part, are loners, sating whatever twisted desires for companionship they may have by surrounding themselves with their "unholy servitors". However, they do have to interact with other character classes on occasion, so let's take a look.
Cleric/Druid/Paladin/Ranger/Blackguard: a Heartless's relationship with these classes is simply and directly summed up in three words: mutual undying hatred. To become what they are, a Heartless has metaphorically spat on the outstretched hands of all gods, Good, Neutral and Evil, which naturally earns the enmity of Clerics of all alignments and, by extension, the enmity of Paladins and Blackguards, with Paladins also loathing the Heartless because of their pure evil nature. Their relationship with Druids and Rangers is similar, simply because the Heartless, in their eyes, is an abomination against the natural order, an even worse perversion than the undead.
Wizards/Sorcerers: these don't exist in my campaign setting, so they're not a problem. In a setting where Heartless did rub shoulders with these two, then there's going to be trouble. Wizards and Sorcerers look down on Heartless, who can't even harness their powers without outside help, whilst Heartless regard Wizards/Sorcerers with seething bitter envy; a Heartless may be able to use his powers constantly, but his powers are severly limited in comparison. A Heartless can blast an enemy with unholy energy and summon twisted abominations to do his will. A Wizard/Sorcerer can do that and more; they can teleport from place to place, travel to different planes, change their shape, fly, and have an even greater variety of offensive spells than Heartless do.
Bards: in my campaign setting these have no spell-casting talents, but in another setting that would risk inciting envy from the Heartless. Other than that though, Heartless have no outright problems with Bards. In fact, Bards are very useful to Heartless, with their ability to inspire those around them- a Bard that can make this effect work for a Heartless's servitors is guaranteed a position in the retinue, and some Heartless have been known to cling to Bards as a source of companionship, most likely in reaction the Bard's Charisma.
Rogues: generally speaking, Heartless don't care about Rogues one way or the other. A Heartless rarely has anything that would be of value to a Rogue, and the Rogue's skills with infiltration, deception and -especially- assassination can be quite useful to a Heartless that can stomach dealing with normal humanoids. The whole "shunned by society" trait the two classes share can sometimes be useful in getting the two together.
Fighters: what class doesn't like Fighters? The Heartless appreciate a good meatshield as much as the next easy target; as far as they're concerned, anyone willing to intersperse themselves between the Heartless and a foaming Cleric is okay.
Barbarians: oil and water, generally speaking. Barbarians dislike spell-casters on principal, and the Heartless view them as too uncontrollable to be trustworthy. On the rare occasions they can get over their predjudices and align, there are few combinations more destructive.
Last edited by Hell_Born on Fri May 05, 2006 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
Doesn't anyone have anymore input? I still need help here; primarily figuring out incantations, class skils and class abilities. If no one cal help me with the Heartless, then there's a creature I need advice on.
There's this creature that came inot my mind recently and I wanted to throw it at my players, the problem is I don't know whether or not the creature was already made and, if so, where it was found. I also don't know how to create it if this is something out of my own head.
Basically, the creature was originally a humanoid, cursed because of their "cold heart". Now, they can only survive in the deepest cold -the warmth of, say, a sunny spring day, is fatal to them- though they themselves still feel the cold. They haunt the high mountains and the artic regions through most of the year, emerging onyl during the depths of winter to stalk "normals" out of bitterness. They no longer need to eat and no longer age, even though they are corporeal and not undead, they also have the power to drain heat.
Can someone help me out with this?
There's this creature that came inot my mind recently and I wanted to throw it at my players, the problem is I don't know whether or not the creature was already made and, if so, where it was found. I also don't know how to create it if this is something out of my own head.
Basically, the creature was originally a humanoid, cursed because of their "cold heart". Now, they can only survive in the deepest cold -the warmth of, say, a sunny spring day, is fatal to them- though they themselves still feel the cold. They haunt the high mountains and the artic regions through most of the year, emerging onyl during the depths of winter to stalk "normals" out of bitterness. They no longer need to eat and no longer age, even though they are corporeal and not undead, they also have the power to drain heat.
Can someone help me out with this?
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
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Spiteful Crow
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At level 20, the Heartless should gain a template, depending on the source of its power. Like, a Heartless that made a pact with a demon should gain the fiendish template, one that made a pact with an eldritch being from beyond reality should gain the pseudonatural template, and one that made a pact with an undead... not too sure.
Hmm... perhaps make it that a class ability allows the Heartless to select certain "powers" (and drawbacks) of being an Aberration, Outsider or Undead? Culminating with the type-change at level 20?
I have a couple of "conceptual" Incantations, but I have no idea how to turn them into actual spells or what type (Least, Minor, Major, Dark) of Incantation each would be.
*Thine Senses Deceive Thee: target is Blinded and Deafened, but only in regards to a specific target designated by the caster.
*Darkbolt: magic blast inflicts 1D6 damage on a target, damage is Magic and Evil for purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction.
*Chain of Torment: magic blast damages one target, then "lashes out" at a series of nearby targets.
*Dark Malestrom: flings multiple Darkbolts to form a damaging Cone instead of targetting a specific individual.
*Unholy Vortex: the caster opens a planar rift that attempts to draw in all nearby victims.
*Space-Time Expulsion: the caster attempts to teleport a target to a random location in space-time.
*The Third-Eye Weeps: the caster summons low-power Aberrations or Outsiders for assistance.
*Give Up The Dead: the caster animates local corpses as Undead slaves.
*Faustian Pact: the caster contacts a powerful Outsider or Aberration for advice/assistance.
*The Earth Revolts: the caster opens up a series of rifts in the ground, through which pour elements (mutant limbs, geysers of corrosive pus, gouts of hellish flame, infernal frost, toxic vapours ect) that damage all nearby.
*Call Of The Reaper: the caster attempts to invoke a curse that slays all in earshot.
*Cheat The Grave: target is resurrected as a Corpse or Bone Creature with a Friendly attitude towards the caster.
*Plant The Seeds of Darkness: subject is infected with dark energy and takes damage over several rounds. If reduced to Zero HP the target is instantly healed back to full HP, but gains the Corrupted template and allegiance switches to the caster.
*Embrace The Corruption: the caster temporarily becomes a powerful combat Aberration.
*Fleshwarp: the caster or a designated friendly target temporarily gains 1 form of Natural Attack.
*Mindleech: the caster attempts to drain Int and Wis from a target.
*Soul-Shrivelling: the caster blasts multiple targets with magic bolts, slain targets reanimate as Undead loyal to the caster.
*Ravening Horror: the caster partially summons an extra-planar abomination into this world and thrusts it at a victim, scaring them out of their wits.
Any and all input welcome!
I have a couple of "conceptual" Incantations, but I have no idea how to turn them into actual spells or what type (Least, Minor, Major, Dark) of Incantation each would be.
*Thine Senses Deceive Thee: target is Blinded and Deafened, but only in regards to a specific target designated by the caster.
*Darkbolt: magic blast inflicts 1D6 damage on a target, damage is Magic and Evil for purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction.
*Chain of Torment: magic blast damages one target, then "lashes out" at a series of nearby targets.
*Dark Malestrom: flings multiple Darkbolts to form a damaging Cone instead of targetting a specific individual.
*Unholy Vortex: the caster opens a planar rift that attempts to draw in all nearby victims.
*Space-Time Expulsion: the caster attempts to teleport a target to a random location in space-time.
*The Third-Eye Weeps: the caster summons low-power Aberrations or Outsiders for assistance.
*Give Up The Dead: the caster animates local corpses as Undead slaves.
*Faustian Pact: the caster contacts a powerful Outsider or Aberration for advice/assistance.
*The Earth Revolts: the caster opens up a series of rifts in the ground, through which pour elements (mutant limbs, geysers of corrosive pus, gouts of hellish flame, infernal frost, toxic vapours ect) that damage all nearby.
*Call Of The Reaper: the caster attempts to invoke a curse that slays all in earshot.
*Cheat The Grave: target is resurrected as a Corpse or Bone Creature with a Friendly attitude towards the caster.
*Plant The Seeds of Darkness: subject is infected with dark energy and takes damage over several rounds. If reduced to Zero HP the target is instantly healed back to full HP, but gains the Corrupted template and allegiance switches to the caster.
*Embrace The Corruption: the caster temporarily becomes a powerful combat Aberration.
*Fleshwarp: the caster or a designated friendly target temporarily gains 1 form of Natural Attack.
*Mindleech: the caster attempts to drain Int and Wis from a target.
*Soul-Shrivelling: the caster blasts multiple targets with magic bolts, slain targets reanimate as Undead loyal to the caster.
*Ravening Horror: the caster partially summons an extra-planar abomination into this world and thrusts it at a victim, scaring them out of their wits.
Any and all input welcome!
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
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Spiteful Crow
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Well... I actually wasn't thinking of giving Eldritch Blast to the Heartless- the simple access to Arcane Incantations was enough spell-wise was what I thought. Do you have any suggestions for the other Incantations? And how to render them into rules?
By the way... I managed to figure out a few "mutations", but only descriptions and not rules. Advice?
Earth Rejects Thee: the Heartless no longer walks but instead "glides", suspended by an invisible current of power he floats about 6 inches above the earth, incapable of touching the soil no matter how hard he tries.
Beast of a Thousand Mouths: the Heartless's skin is rent asunder by the emergence of dozens of small, wickedly-fanged mouths with barbed, worm-like tongues. These ceaselessly click and murmur and sob, ensuring the Heartless is never truly silent. Those foolish enough to come with reach of the ever-hungy maws find themselves savagely bitten, and when the Heartless speaks these mouths speak along with him, doing so just out of synchronicity and with the slightest alterations to his words.
Clouded Eyes See True: the Heartless's eyes alter in a manner that suggests blindness, though his sense of sight seems unaffected, and the Heartless develops the strange habit of responding to events before they actually happen.
Thirsting Aura: the presence of the Heartless seems to draw life from the immediate area. Plants wither and die, wounds refuse to stop bleeding and those touched by the Heartless feel the very strength seep from their limbs.
Sinister Presence: what is it about the Heartless that makes it so strangely fearsome? Why is it that shadows grow longer and deeper in his presence? Why does the wind that blows past him bear with it the faint sounds of souls in torment?
Vermin King: the Heartless seems to have a magnetic attraction for some breed of vermin. Be it wasps, rats, spiders, serpents or centipedes, they are drawn to him like the sea is drawn to the coast, worshipping him like the brooding idol of some dark god, crawling across his flesh and worming into his body as a symbol of their rapt devotion.
By the way... I managed to figure out a few "mutations", but only descriptions and not rules. Advice?
Earth Rejects Thee: the Heartless no longer walks but instead "glides", suspended by an invisible current of power he floats about 6 inches above the earth, incapable of touching the soil no matter how hard he tries.
Beast of a Thousand Mouths: the Heartless's skin is rent asunder by the emergence of dozens of small, wickedly-fanged mouths with barbed, worm-like tongues. These ceaselessly click and murmur and sob, ensuring the Heartless is never truly silent. Those foolish enough to come with reach of the ever-hungy maws find themselves savagely bitten, and when the Heartless speaks these mouths speak along with him, doing so just out of synchronicity and with the slightest alterations to his words.
Clouded Eyes See True: the Heartless's eyes alter in a manner that suggests blindness, though his sense of sight seems unaffected, and the Heartless develops the strange habit of responding to events before they actually happen.
Thirsting Aura: the presence of the Heartless seems to draw life from the immediate area. Plants wither and die, wounds refuse to stop bleeding and those touched by the Heartless feel the very strength seep from their limbs.
Sinister Presence: what is it about the Heartless that makes it so strangely fearsome? Why is it that shadows grow longer and deeper in his presence? Why does the wind that blows past him bear with it the faint sounds of souls in torment?
Vermin King: the Heartless seems to have a magnetic attraction for some breed of vermin. Be it wasps, rats, spiders, serpents or centipedes, they are drawn to him like the sea is drawn to the coast, worshipping him like the brooding idol of some dark god, crawling across his flesh and worming into his body as a symbol of their rapt devotion.
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
Does no one have any suggestions for what I asked? Fine, maybe that was too difficult. Alright, here's something easier: my scouting of the new Planescape site (www.planewalker.com) has turned up a heap of spells that I think could suit the Heartless, albiet with a little flavour change in some cases. Could I have your recommendations for what level of Incantation each spell would be?
*Motivating Horror
*False Identity
*Beshaba's Kiss (needs renaming)
*Siphon Power
*Cloak of Fear
*Ecstatic Entropy
*Dissolve
*Plague-Mort
*Shroud of Shadows
*Pain Mirror
*Embalming/Minor Embalming/Greater Embalming
*Mechanus Cannon (Name and nature need alteration here; a blast of pure Alien Logic is what this spell summons in the hands of a Heartless. Same effect though.)
*Ignus's Fury (needs renaming)
*Tongues of Flame
*Steal Youth
*Uncontrollable Growth
*Howl of Pandemonium (needs renaming)
*Infernal Orb
*Ignus's Terror (needs renaming)
*Hollow Horror
*Fire and Ice
*Fiery Blast
*Dark Spell of the Other Body
*Conflagration
*Cataract
*Black Barbed Curse
*Motivating Horror
*False Identity
*Beshaba's Kiss (needs renaming)
*Siphon Power
*Cloak of Fear
*Ecstatic Entropy
*Dissolve
*Plague-Mort
*Shroud of Shadows
*Pain Mirror
*Embalming/Minor Embalming/Greater Embalming
*Mechanus Cannon (Name and nature need alteration here; a blast of pure Alien Logic is what this spell summons in the hands of a Heartless. Same effect though.)
*Ignus's Fury (needs renaming)
*Tongues of Flame
*Steal Youth
*Uncontrollable Growth
*Howl of Pandemonium (needs renaming)
*Infernal Orb
*Ignus's Terror (needs renaming)
*Hollow Horror
*Fire and Ice
*Fiery Blast
*Dark Spell of the Other Body
*Conflagration
*Cataract
*Black Barbed Curse
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
Just one, final, plea for assitance, as well as a few more spells/incantations.
Bone Spurs: the caster causes hundreds of jagged, razor-sharp shards of bone to burst through his flesh and spin at high speeds, drilling into whatever he touches.
Path of Shadows: the caster turns a reflective surface into a temporary gateway to a gloomy, catacomb-like pocket plane of his design. Though the doorway itself is temporary, the pocket plane is permanent.
Blood Tongue: the caster spits a stream of corrosive blood and venom at a target.
Combustion: the selected target is enveloped in a burning shroud of flame.
Conflagration: the target begins to burn from the inside out.
Mirrowalk: essentially Teleport Without Error, but the caster needs to enter and exit from a mirror.
Host of the Unclean: the caster gains the Swarmshifter template (from Libris Mortis) for the duration of the spell.
Spit Ichor: the caster vomits a short-ranged geyser of corrosive black goo.
Touch of Decay: the caster's touch causes matter to rot and disintegrate over a period of time.
Bone Spurs: the caster causes hundreds of jagged, razor-sharp shards of bone to burst through his flesh and spin at high speeds, drilling into whatever he touches.
Path of Shadows: the caster turns a reflective surface into a temporary gateway to a gloomy, catacomb-like pocket plane of his design. Though the doorway itself is temporary, the pocket plane is permanent.
Blood Tongue: the caster spits a stream of corrosive blood and venom at a target.
Combustion: the selected target is enveloped in a burning shroud of flame.
Conflagration: the target begins to burn from the inside out.
Mirrowalk: essentially Teleport Without Error, but the caster needs to enter and exit from a mirror.
Host of the Unclean: the caster gains the Swarmshifter template (from Libris Mortis) for the duration of the spell.
Spit Ichor: the caster vomits a short-ranged geyser of corrosive black goo.
Touch of Decay: the caster's touch causes matter to rot and disintegrate over a period of time.
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
Okay, I finally got my hands on a copy of the Class Construction Engine and that's helped iron out a lot of the problems I had. Basically, the Heartless uses the basic stats (attack bonus, saves etc) of the Wizard/Sorcerer, except it gains D6 HP per level instead of D4- a representation of the mystical augmentation granted by their nature. I just need assistance with two aspects of the Heartless and I can finally use it:
1: Spellcasting
The method I was hoping to use was the "Incantation" method used by the Warlock of Complete Arcane. The problem is, how would I translate the spells from the Wizard/Sorcerer list into Incantations? I've decided that spells availible to a Heartless would be: Spells with the "Evil" descriptor, Conjuration spells summoning Abberations and/or Evil Outsiders and Necromancy spells devoted to creating, controlling and augmenting the undead. I was also thinking I'd maybe design a few unique spells just for the class- should I do so? If yes, can I have suggestions?
1B: Spellcasting Statistic
Just something else; what ability score should the Heartless use for its spellcasting abilities? I was leaning towards Intelligence, but I don't know.
1C: Class Skills
What skills should be Class Skills for a Heartless?
2: Class Abilities
An early poster suggested having a Heartless gain either the Fiendish, Psuedonatural or Undead template at level 20. I like the idea, but it does make them rather cookie-cutter and it gave me a better idea. Basically, a Heartless gains "Mystic Talents" at certain levels- these are essentially Automatically-Failed Powers Checks, only without turning the Heartless into an NPC. Advice I need here consists of:
*What levels should a Heartless get a Mystic Talent at?
*Suggested Mystic Talents; I've never had much of a head for designing Failed Powers Checks.
I know that the Incantation method of spellcasting means I'll need to remove the Bonus Metamagic Feats from the Wizard class, and I've a few proposed Class Abilities to replace them. I'd like your opinion on these and any other of the "quirks" of the Wizard I'll need to remove for this class.
Arcane Sustenance (Ex): at 1st level, the Heartless can go without food and water for three times the normal duration. At 5th level, this ability increases in potency so that the Heartless no longer needs food nor water to live. At 9th level, the Heartless no longer needs to breathe.
Immunity to Mundane Poison/Disease (Ex): the Heartless becomes immune to non-magical poisons and diseases at 11th level.
Personal Demesne (Ex): at 18th level, the Heartless gains access to a personal Pocket Plane (as the spell). The Heartless may enter and exit from the pocket plane at will as a Standard Action, with exiting the plane depositing him at either the place where he chose to enter or at a place with which he is familiar (as per a Teleport spell). The Heartless may bring items and other creatures he is touching with him to the pocket plane.
1: Spellcasting
The method I was hoping to use was the "Incantation" method used by the Warlock of Complete Arcane. The problem is, how would I translate the spells from the Wizard/Sorcerer list into Incantations? I've decided that spells availible to a Heartless would be: Spells with the "Evil" descriptor, Conjuration spells summoning Abberations and/or Evil Outsiders and Necromancy spells devoted to creating, controlling and augmenting the undead. I was also thinking I'd maybe design a few unique spells just for the class- should I do so? If yes, can I have suggestions?
1B: Spellcasting Statistic
Just something else; what ability score should the Heartless use for its spellcasting abilities? I was leaning towards Intelligence, but I don't know.
1C: Class Skills
What skills should be Class Skills for a Heartless?
2: Class Abilities
An early poster suggested having a Heartless gain either the Fiendish, Psuedonatural or Undead template at level 20. I like the idea, but it does make them rather cookie-cutter and it gave me a better idea. Basically, a Heartless gains "Mystic Talents" at certain levels- these are essentially Automatically-Failed Powers Checks, only without turning the Heartless into an NPC. Advice I need here consists of:
*What levels should a Heartless get a Mystic Talent at?
*Suggested Mystic Talents; I've never had much of a head for designing Failed Powers Checks.
I know that the Incantation method of spellcasting means I'll need to remove the Bonus Metamagic Feats from the Wizard class, and I've a few proposed Class Abilities to replace them. I'd like your opinion on these and any other of the "quirks" of the Wizard I'll need to remove for this class.
Arcane Sustenance (Ex): at 1st level, the Heartless can go without food and water for three times the normal duration. At 5th level, this ability increases in potency so that the Heartless no longer needs food nor water to live. At 9th level, the Heartless no longer needs to breathe.
Immunity to Mundane Poison/Disease (Ex): the Heartless becomes immune to non-magical poisons and diseases at 11th level.
Personal Demesne (Ex): at 18th level, the Heartless gains access to a personal Pocket Plane (as the spell). The Heartless may enter and exit from the pocket plane at will as a Standard Action, with exiting the plane depositing him at either the place where he chose to enter or at a place with which he is familiar (as per a Teleport spell). The Heartless may bring items and other creatures he is touching with him to the pocket plane.
"Is there any word more meaningless than 'hope'? Besides 'blarfurgsnarg,' of course."
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"
"Seek and Locate! Locate and Destroy! Destroy and Rejoice!"