Café de Nuit

I am finishing an article for next QtR and I have a game mechanic's question...

Let's say we have reincarnated person R and is used in a ritual by a "soul mate", a person tied to spiritually called S.
S is using R's body in the ritual merging both beings souls into one, not possession, no reincarnation, but because of their spiritual bond they S's fragmnented soul has all the memories of S and R.

Does that mean that in game mechanics:
a) S keeps all his powers skills and feats ands R's class powers, skills and feats?
or
b) Is S treated as a possessor anyway keeping only his class powers, skills, feats but just uses R's Physical stats and hp?

I used (a) at first creating a very powerful villain, almost godlike and unbitable CL22, which was what I wanted to create, but then I was sceptical about how it would seem in game mechanics.
Then I remade it as in (b) creating a CR 10 villain, but lacked the element's I wanted.

What do you think I should do? Just for more clarity the powerful being is what will result if everything goes wrong and the ritual is successful dooming everyone...

Not really sure I understand the motivation of S here, but rules-wise, I don't think giving two CR10 people's feats, powers, and spells to a single person would make a CR 22 monster.

First off, there's action economy. You can have access to as many spells as you want, but if you can only cast one per round, that hardly matters. You're not going to cast more than a handful of them in any given encounter. If their spellcasting levels don't stack, you're not even getting any more powerful spells, just more to choose from. (If they do, then, yeah, that will increase the CR accordingly.)

Any buffs to their AC and Saves will remain at the CR10 level unless they also stack, so they'll be just as easy to hit. And unless they get hp/HD from both characters, they will still be just as easy to kill.

Even if you were to give them double actions per round, it's still the equivalent to fighting both CR10 people at the same time, which if I recall correctly would be an ECL12 encounter.

If it serves the purpose of your narrative, then I think going with option (a) is a choice you are free to make.

That being said, if you are going with Reincarnated as the feat from the RLPHB, then nothing in the written rules-space suggests this has any special interaction with possession magic, such as magic jar.

If you want established rules-space that has the effect you are going for, your ritual could work like the fusion psionic power.

Thank you both for the answers.

Didn't know about that psionic fusion thingy...

But I think if I just make it work like a multiclass may be better, my idea of merging was not battle based, more skill and memory based, ok with some class abilities too like a barbarian rage.

I am working on it still, just wanted to have other opinions since I 've basically played only 2nd edition and although I really like 3rd and when I play that will be the edition I prefer, it takes me too long to create NPC's as I am not accustomed to the rules.

Mephisto wrote:I am working on it still, just wanted to have other opinions since I 've basically played only 2nd edition and although I really like 3rd and when I play that will be the edition I prefer, it takes me too long to create NPC's as I am not accustomed to the rules.

Even though I am accustomed to 3rd edition, it still takes me too long to create NPCs. Of course, taking too long is my approach to most things.

Mephisto wrote:But I think if I just make it work like a multiclass may be better, my idea of merging was not battle based, more skill and memory based, ok with some class abilities too like a barbarian rage.

If you multiclass it, then the CRs would stack, in theory. (You'd been increasing HD, Saves, and Ability points, at least, and stacking any caster levels that both base creatures have), but keep in mind that the CR of an NPC is level-2 (if I recall correctly), and that even that is a bit generous in many people's opinions. Single NPCs just don't make great opponents at higher levels. It's too easy to use the party's multiple actions to hamper their single one. Or to have a few PCs somehow restrain them or keep them prone and have the rest of the party whale on them. That's why minions are great, to keep the PCs off your NPC's back.

Wolfglide wrote:

Mephisto wrote:I am working on it still, just wanted to have other opinions since I 've basically played only 2nd edition and although I really like 3rd and when I play that will be the edition I prefer, it takes me too long to create NPC's as I am not accustomed to the rules.

Even though I am accustomed to 3rd edition, it still takes me too long to create NPCs. Of course, taking too long is my approach to most things.

It's also a very intrinsic part of 3e NPC design. Whether it's a flaw or a feature is up to personal taste. I happen to like making detailed NPCs. Enough people don't that 4e and 5e moved away from treating NPCs exactly like PCs and made them much simpler and faster to design.

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:but keep in mind that the CR of an NPC is level-2 (if I recall correctly), and that even that is a bit generous in many people's opinions.

A lot of example NPCs in the DMG made with PC class levels just use the level as the CR, which is a poor estimate. I have done so as well for internal consistency, but I think there is a fair argument for the CR being level - 4. After all, a 4 person party of X-level characters is relatively standard, and should be equipped to fight an encounter of ECL X. Two creatures of the same CR add to make a CR+2 encounter, so four creatures add to make a CR+4 encounter. Thus, if each character is CR X-4, the party is ECL X, matching the expectation.

That being said, general balance issues between classes make it hard to generate an estimate that holds up across all levels.