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asromta
2006-08-23, 10:33 AM
Pyromancer

They had walked two days in this freezing cold already, almost constantly walking. The others in the group where extreemly tired, even he physicaly the best began to feel it. Their guide said that there would be a save place within a few hours. He had also said that he would defend them against those ice zombies, which was not true. He had killed his share, but not much more. He said he didn't want to hurt his healt in this cold.
Suddenly about 30 of the zombies popped out of the ice, advancing on them. The guide ran towards them, while the sorcerer used one last fireball to take some of the zombies out. Far to tired the rest of the party could only watch, as they saw the guide getting hit, slowly freezing from the zombies hit. Suddenly a bright red light started inside him, quickly he was completely on fire. He grew to the size ofa giant. He destroyed the zombies with his flames. Shortly there after he changed back into himself, only with blackened skin. "It will heal in a coupple of hours, be now we must go on."

Pyromancers are people who change into fire elementals, but are damaged afterwards. They are often among the most healty of people, because of they constantly decrease it. Their skin is often covered in black spots, indicating their use of fire.
Pyromancers are often people who have some hatred of cold. They must gather a lot of knowledge of the Elemental Plane of Fire and magic in general to gain the ability to change into a fire elemental.

Requirements:

Skills: Knowledge(arcana) 5 ranks, Knowledge(the planes) 8 ranks.

Speak language: Ignan.

Feats: Endurance, Toughness.


Class Skills:
Climb, Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge(arcana), Knowledge(the planes), Profession, Swim.

Skill points each level: 2+int mod

Good Saves: Fortitude

BAB: Medium (as cleric)

Hit Dice: d10


Class Features:

Proficiency: A Pyromancer gains no proficiencies.


Level Special
1.... Self Combustion, fire resistance 5
2.... Fire Power(burning hands)
3.... Fire resistance 10
4.... Self Combustion(+1 HD), Fire Power(scorching ray)
5
6.... Fire resistance 20, Fire Power(fireball)
7.... Self Combustion(+1 HD)
8.... Fire Power(wall of fire)
9.... Immunity to fire
10... Self Combustion(+1 HD), Fire Power(summon monster V)

Self Combustion (su): From 1st level a Pyromancer can ignite himself, turning into a fire elemental. When you use this ability, you change into a Fire Elemental of a size of HD equal or less than own HD, taking al its properties, except that every toughness feat that you have gives +5 hitpoints to the elemental form. You can stay in this form for 3+class level rounds.
When you die in this form or the duration ends, you reform as your self, in the same state as before using the ability, except that you take a -8 penalty on Constitution. This penalty stack with earlier uses of this ability. This penalty decreases by 2 every hour. This penalty can put you at 0 Constitution, when this happens, you die.

At 4th 7th and 10th level you gain +1 effective HD for determining the size of elemental you change in.

Fire resistance (su): At 1st level a Pyromancer gains fire resistance 5.
At 3rd level this resistance increases to 10.
At 6th level this resistance increases to 20.
At 9th level a Pyromancer becomes immune to fire.

Fire Power (sp): From 2nd level a Pyromancer can burn a part of himself to create a fire attack. At will as a standard action you can cast burning hands. The caster level is equal to your class level and the save DCs are Constitution based. If you do this, you suffer a -1 penalty to Constitution, which stacks with penalties gained through Self Combustion and is healed the same way as Self Combustion. If you have penalties from both Fire Power and Self Combustion, you heal 2 of the combined penalty, not 2 of both.
At 4th level you also cast scorching ray this way, doing so gives you a -2 penalty to Constitution.
At 6th level you also cast fireball this way, doing so gives you a -3 penalty to Constitution.
At 8th level you also cast wall of fire this way, doing so gives you a -4 penalty to Constitution.
At 10th level you also cast summon monster V this way, doing so gives you a -5 penalty to Constitution. When using this, you can only summon Fire Elementals.

Loren_and_Kivsith
2006-08-23, 12:03 PM
I really like the concept for this class; a person who can control fire, but the fire hurts them. That's sweet. One thing that doesn't seem to make sense, though, is the fire resistance. If the Fire Combuster gets fire resistance, shouldn't that mean that they are no longer harmed by their own powers?

Also, why do some abilities deal Constitution damage, while others have a Constitution penalty? I'm sure you have reasons, but it just seems kind of confusing to have to keep track of what is damage and what is a penalty.

One last nitpick. The name is a bit redundant. Fire, by definition, combusts. Perhaps you could call this class "Burning Soul," instead.

asromta
2006-08-23, 12:11 PM
They are not immune to setting themselfs to fire, but they spend so much time being hurt by fire that they become immune to other fire.

They should all be penalties, where did I accidentaly put damage?

I know, but I couldn't think of anything better. But I don't like the 'soul' part of your name. 'Burning ...' sound good however.

Loren_and_Kivsith
2006-08-23, 12:19 PM
That still doesn't really make sense. You can't be immune to some fire and not another. Unless theirs is a special kind of fire that hurts more than other fire does.

Under the Self Combustion ability. It says they take 2 Con damage each round.

Maybe . . . hmm, maybe "Burning Mage." Sorry, that was the best I could come up with.

asromta
2006-08-23, 12:33 PM
You are probally right, but if it is taken away there are to few class features, and all invole a con penalty.

And that con damage is dealt to the elemental form, as a sort of time limit on the change, it is not carried over to the character.

I thought of 'burning one', but it seems so generic.

Prehaps it should be called 'burning mage', lose the fire resistance and gain a few arcane spell levels and gain 2nd level arcane spell as a requirement.

fangthane
2006-08-23, 03:58 PM
Thoughts:
1. Prerequisite feat: PYRO (when you wield fire it deals +1 per die). Dunno how you missed that one. :)

2. I'd also have it require Elemental Substitution: Fire.

3. Self-combustion thresholds seem a bit arbitrary. What might work better is that the caster be limited to elementals of their own HD, eliminate the con reduction while in elemental form because that'll confuse people, and give it a number of rounds equal to the caster's 'fire combuster' (I say call 'em Pyromancers or Pyrophiles, but what do I know) level. Levels 4, 7 and 10 can boost either effective HD (for the purpose of determining elemental size) or number of uses per day.

4. Fire resistance - seems to me that most prestige classes give a big bunch of goodies at 10 - why not make 9th level the resistance 30 mark, and leave immunity for 10?

Interesting stuff generally, though imnsho it needs a little tweaking to make it more accessible - a little less complex, a little more of the kind of hardcoded balance involved with most other transformative classes (shifters, druids, etc)

asromta
2006-08-23, 04:18 PM
1: I don't have that book, only PHB, DMG, MMI and PHBII.

2: Same.

3: I will keep the tresholds as they are now. But for the con damage, I will change that. How about a duration of 3+class level? And how would it increase uses per day, if it already is at will?

And about the name, is pyromancer really not taken?

4: It already gains a lot at level 10.

fangthane
2006-08-23, 06:11 PM
Heheh sorry, didn't explain fully enough what I meant I guess :)

1/2 - fair enough, though I thought elemental substitution feats were in the PHB at this point - I always forget what's in PHB3, PHB3.5 or wherever else though so my apologies if I'm wrong - Pyro was, if memory serves, in Song and Silence but it could have been in any of a number of others...

3. I was actually thinking that if you did reduce or remove the influence of constitution that'd remove the current limit on how often it can be used (given that you can only use it with a 9 or better con and only regen the con at a specific rate, that determines the maxima) and that there'd need to be a new limiting factor. If you retain the -8 penalty and limit the ability of magic to remove it, that effectively limits you to 6 uses per day anyway. This is where the confusion hits too though, because you've got two locations where con is used as a limiter - for the duration of the effect, which could as easily be level or stat-based in another fashion without having to make rules around "fake" death, and again for the number of uses per day (or, allowing restoration, per healing). I think the limit for duration is probably easier handled as 3 rounds plus 1 per class level; 13 rounds certainly isn't an overpowering duration, and nor is 4 worthless. My issue with the thresholds isn't they themselves, but the arbitrary "You get to be large/you get to be huge/you get to be Greater" thing - that really should be tied at least partly to character level (usu. HD) in order that the benefits not be overpowering for a 5th-level character who takes the class, nor underpowering for a 10th level character who takes it.
I suspect you're probably right, but does any so-called pyromancer who can't turn into an elemental really deserve the name? :)

4. This is also true... I'm just pointing out simultaneously that you've omitted a resistance:30 level and that 3/6/9/10 would make a nifty progression - perhaps I'm being a little bit retentive about that, but I like to see smooth progressions where possible. :)

asromta
2006-08-24, 07:08 AM
3: I will change the duration to 3+class level.
And now that I looked into it better I will also change the size to which you change to match you HD and give a +1 effective HD bonus at level 4, 7 and 10.
And I think I will change the name to Pyromancer than, much better than the old one.

4: I think that 3/6/9 is a smoother progression than 3/6/9/10.

Fredderf
2006-08-27, 07:29 PM
I love the fact that I don't have to be a mage to be a member of this class. Classes like this are rare, for the most part, but this one seems to be a genuine winner. I have to say, I really like it, although -8 CON seems to be an awful harsh penalty. Besides that I absolutely love it.

Emperor Tippy
2006-08-27, 07:58 PM
There is already a Pyromancer prestige class. Its in the XPH,

Other than that this seems to be a fine class.

martyboy74
2006-08-27, 08:00 PM
There is already a Pyromancer prestige class. Its in the XPH.
Nope, it's the Pyrokineticist (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/pyrokineticist.htm).

Emperor Tippy
2006-08-27, 08:05 PM
^
Doh. Stupid me.

Traveling_Angel
2006-08-28, 01:40 AM
and Pyrokineticists don't hurt themselves.

Bob_the_Mighty
2006-08-28, 09:00 PM
This class is kickass. It's awesome that you don't have to be a spellcaster to take levels in it, and the limiter for spells and stuff is very original. I don't like that the Con penalties are as massive as they are, though. A Dwarf who starts with 18 Con and puts all of his bonus stat points into it will only be able to use Self Combustion twice a day, and won't really be able to do much after that. With lower penaltie, though, this is a great PrC.

P.S. I know that there's already a pyromancer, IIRC it's in the minis handbood.