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ghost_warlock
2006-08-15, 07:42 PM
I’m working on a new campaign for my group and I came up with this variant class to use with it.

The Muse (Psionic Bard)
Psionics are strong in many of the same areas as bardic magic so it seems only natural that the abilities of a bard could spring forth from psionic power instead of arcane.

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Except as noted below, a muse is identical to the bard presented in the Player’s Handbook.
A muse is treated as a standard bard for the purpose of meeting feat or prestige class prerequisites. A character cannot have levels in both muse and bard.

Class Skills
A muse gains Psicraft and Use Psionic Device (described in Expanded Psionics Handbook) as class skills in place of Spellcraft and Use Magic Device.

Class Features
A muse does not cast spells but manifests psionic powers instead. Otherwise, the muse’s class features function identically to the bard’s except as noted here.
Powers Points/Day: A muse’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points she has available. He base daily allotment of power points is given on Table 1-1: The Muse. In addition, she receives bonus power points per day if she has a high Charisma score (see Table 2-1: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Power Points in the Expanded Psionics Handbook).
Powers Known: A muse begins play knowing one muse power of your choice. At every level of this class, she unlocks the knowledge of a new power.
Powers are chosen from the muse power list, below. (Exception: the feats Expanded Knowledge, EPH 46, and Epic Expanded Knowledge, EPH 34, as well as a few feats from Complete Psionic, do allow a muse to learn powers from the lists of other classes.) A muse can manifest any power that has a power cost equal to or lower than her manifester level.
The total number of powers a muse can manifest in a day is limited only by her daily power points.
A muse simply knows her powers; they are ingrained in her mind. She does not need to prepare them (in the way that some spellcasters prepare their spells), though she must get a good night’s sleep each day to regain all her spent power points.
The Difficulty Class for saving throws against muse powers is 10 + the power’s level + the muse’s Cha modifier.
Maximum Power Level Known: A muse begins play with the ability to learn 1st-level powers. As she attains higher levels, she can gain the ability to master more complex powers – for example, a 4th-level muse can learn powers of 2nd level or lower, a 7th-level muse can learn powers of 3rd level or lower, and so on.
To learn or manifest a power, a muse must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the power’s level.



Table 1-1: The Muse
.......Power
.......Points/..Powers..Maximum Power
Level..Day......Known...Level Known
1st....1........1.......1
2nd....2........2.......1
3rd....3........3.......1
4th....5........4.......2
5th....7........5.......2
6th....11.......6.......2
7th....15.......7.......3
8th....19.......8.......3
9th....23.......9.......3
10th...27.......10......4
11th...35.......11......4
12th...43.......12......4
13th...51.......13......5
14th...59.......14......5
15th...67.......15......5
16th...79.......16......6
17th...91.......17......6
18th...103......18......6
19th...115......19......6
20th...127......20......6


Muse Powers
A muse draws her powers known from this list.
1st – call to mind, psionic charm, conceal thoughts, psionic daze, déjà vu, demoralize, detect psionics, distract, empathy, empty mind, far hand, psionic grease, know direction and location, mindlink, missive, my light, sense link, synesthete, telempathic projection.
2nd – animal affinity, aversion, brain lock, cloud mind, concealing amorpha, control sound, detect hostile intent, ego whip, id insinuation, psionic identify, mental disruption, mass missive, forced sense link, read thoughts, psionic suggestion, thought shield, psionic tongues.
3rd – body adjustment, body purification, dispel psionics, false sensory input, mind trap, solicit psicrystal, touchsight, ubiquitous vision.
4th – aura sight, correspond, detect remote viewing, psionic dimension door, psionic dominate, empathic feedback, psionic freedom of movement, thieving mindlink, mindwipe, psionic modify memory, personality parasite, power leech.
5th – catapsi, leech field, metaconcert, mind probe, power resistance, shatter mind blank, tower of iron will, psionic true seeing.
6th – aura alteration, mass cloud mind, co-opt concentration, remote view trap.

If using Complete Psionic, add these powers to the list from which a muse may draw her powers:
1st – eidetic lock, primal fear, urban strider, touch of health.
2nd – serenity, zone of alertness.
3rd – cerebral phantasm, danger sense, from the brink, psychoportative shelter, mindfire, psychic containment, realized potential.
4th – implanted suggestion.
6th – inconstant location, psychometry.

If using Hyperconscious, add these powers to the list from which a muse may draw her powers:
1st – aver, broker, detect compulsion, judge, psionic resistance, psionic sleep.
2nd – empathic condition relief, psychic bodyguard.
3rd – mindful aura.
4th – sensorineural cascade.
5th – persistent correspond, psionic dream, psionic nightmare.
6th – probability mantle.

martyboy74
2006-08-15, 09:23 PM
Seems balanced. It is only a psionic bard. Can he use Call to Mind to affect bardic knowledge checks?

ghost_warlock
2006-08-15, 10:49 PM
Can he use Call to Mind to affect bardic knowledge checks?
Hmmm... *looks up the power description*

From the SRD (http://d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/calltoMind.htm)

Telepathy [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 1
Display: Mental
Manifesting Time: 1 minute
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Power Points: 1

By meditating on a subject, you can recall natural memories and knowledge otherwise inaccessible to you.

On a failed Knowledge check, you can manifest this power to gain a new check with a +4 competence bonus. If successful, you instantly recall what was previously buried in your subconscious.


I don't see anything in the power description saying that it has to be a Knowledge skill check...although the hypertext SRD implies this with it's own link to here (http://d20srd.org/srd/skills/knowledge.htm). I don't think it'd be especially game-breaking to allow him to, and I'd probably allow it my campaigns. But I think that, officially, it'd have to be a DM call. Certainly enough of those going around in psionics so it's not exactly anything new... ::)

Fax Celestis
2006-08-16, 12:29 PM
...does he sing too?

ghost_warlock
2006-08-16, 12:43 PM
...does he sing too?
Yep, or play bongos or a gong or whatnot. ;) The muse is just like the bard except that it uses psionics to fuel its special abilities (bardic music and whatnot) and manifests powers rather than casts spells.

I have a thread going over in Gaming (d20) about the campaign I'm putting together. Here's a link. (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1155094457 ) I put this together for use in that campaign (mostly just deciced on a power point progression and powers list) and figured that I may as well post it here. This was, really, very easy to put together - unlike its companion the machinist (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=homebrew;action=display;num=11557022 01) (psionic artificer) - for which I had to rework a number of infusions as psionic powers.