Sir_Chivalry
2010-05-10, 09:54 PM
Base thread for sanding out my ideas: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149641
Hello all again. This time, I'm taking a walk on the good side, and doing a two-fold homebrew project. There are no angelic paragons, and due to certain restrictions, I can't use archangels, so I'm creating both angelic paragons and PrCs for those from whole cloth. This is the first of the bunch, the Commander of Isamukemen! Fluff for the angelic paragon coming soon, but I'll start with the basics now.
Isamukemen (Ee-saw-muu-kay-men) rules justly over his angelic bretheren in Arcadia from the Cathedral of the Honoured Vow, on a large floating citadel orbiting the Orb of Day and Night. The cathedral is a place of war, always preparing for the next incursion from the formians, or readying to send aid to the other celestial planes to stem the tide of demonic or infernal invasion.
Isamukemen is a tall figure, with emerald skin and a bald head. Like the warriors of some Material Plane barbarian tribes, he is covered in ritual scars. But unlike the Material warriors, his scars are not tokens of his victories, but of each warrior he has lost, mortal, angel or archon. His right arm, long ago lost to a pit fiend in battle, is now replaced by a mechanical arm, forged in one of the forge-creches of the inevitables as a gift in his war upon the formians. He is protected by a suit of brigandine armour, riveted with formian chitin on the inside. When joining combat, he often wields a halberd bearing a standard depicting a ring of celestial script enclosed by a square imbedded in a sun, his symbol. What the mortal versions of the script say vary depending on the order, but Isamukemen's merely outlines his three unbreakable laws: That innocents are to be unharmed, that the enemy must be captured alive unless innocents will be harmed, and that everything must be done to win, unless it would interfere with the previous two.
Though known for his never-ending readiness for war, Isamukemen is noted for his gentle nature. He never raises his voice outside of battle, and demands of those sworn to him to do that same. His followers usually consist of paladins, marshals, and anyone who must command, whether large armies or small groups. Though he believes first and formost that an action taken to right injustice is itself just, he places importance on showing mercy and honour in combat.
His order among mortals takes inspiration from his war against the formians. Much as they grind others beneath their many legs to bring the multiverse to order, so too will many mortal factions stop at nothing to gain control of their fellow mortals. The mortal Order of the Honoured Vow seeks out slavers, conquerers and usurpers to ensure they do not abuse power, putting a stop to these violations where they can. Among like-minded allies, the commanders of this order can push them to new heights of courage and resolve. These commanders become fonts of inspiration and courage in Isamukemen's name.
Commander of Isamukemen
Requirements
To qualify to become a commander of Isamukemen, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any good
Skills: Diplomacy 8 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 8 ranks, Perform (oratory) 4 ranks, Speak Language (Celestial)
Feats: Acolyte of the Archangels (Isamukemen), Words of Creation
Class Features: Aura of Courage
Commander of Isamukemen
hit dice:d10
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spellcaster
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Improved aura of courage|-
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Celestial link +1|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Angelic strategy (resistance)|-
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+4| Celestial link +2|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Courage in battle, Isamukemen's training|-
6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+5|Angelic strategy (battle), celestial link +3|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+5|Arcadia's readiness, scars of martyrdom|-
8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+6| Celestial link +4|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+6|Angelic strategy (weakness)|-
10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+7| Celestial link +5, gift of law|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class [/table]
Class Skills
The commander of Isamukemen’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points
2 + Int modifier per level
Improved Aura of Courage: A commander of Isamukemen’s aura of courage has a radius of 10 feet per class level and the bonus granted to allies within the radius becomes 4+half the commander of Isamukemen’s class level (rounded down).
Celestial Link: As a standard action, a 2nd level commander of Isamukemen can create a mental support network for his allies. While this effect is active, all allies within the commander’s aura of courage (including the commander himself) whose Hit Dice are equal to or less than his character level gain a +1 sacred bonus on Will saves and telepathy with all allies with the aura of courage. This bonus increases by 1 for every two additional commander of Isamukemen levels after the 2nd. The commander can affect one ally per point of Charisma modifier with this ability, but never himself.
Angelic Strategy: Once per day per point of charisma bonus, a 3rd level commander of Isamukemen can draw upon his expansive knowledge of monsters, granting his allies benefits against the creatures they face. Doing this counts as a move action. The secrets of angelic strategy pertain only to aberrations, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, or undead.
A commander of Isamukemen unlocks new angelic strategy abilities as his level increases and can also call upon his angelic strategy more often, gaining one additional daily use for every three additional commander of Isamukemen levels (+1 at 6th level, +2 at 9th level).
Using angelic strategy requires a Knowledge check of a type appropriate to the creature faced. A Knowledge (arcana) check reveals secrets of magical beasts, Knowledge (dungeoneering) pertains to aberrations, Knowledge (religion) covers undead, and Knowledge (the planes) applies to outsiders and elementals. The DC of the check is 15.
Most of the commander of Isamukemen’s angelic strategy abilities increase
in effectiveness if he succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more. Angelic strategy can only be used once against any given creature. The commander of Isamukemen’s angelic strategy can affect a single creature
or all creatures of the same race, depending on the effect used. A target creature must be within 60 feet, and the commander of Isamukemen must be aware of the creature’s presence, although he need not have a line of sight to it. The effects of angelic strategy last for 1 minute, unless stated otherwise.
Resistance: At 3rd level a commander of Isamukemen can use this ability to to help his allies fight off the corrupting influence of other creatures. Allies within 60 feet of the commander of Isamukemen gain a +1 bonus on saving throws against the affected creature’s abilities. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, this bonus increases to +2. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, this bonus increases to +3.
Battle: At 6th level a commander of Isamukemen can use this ability to aid in battle against certain foes, granting his allies a +1 bonus to AC and attack rolls made against the selected foes. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then this bonus increases to +2. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then this bonus increases to +3.
Weakness: At 9th level a commander of Isamukemen can use this ability to expose the weaknesses of his foes and even speak words of power to immobolize them. A commander of Isamukemen can direct his allies to attack vital spots of his enemies. On a successful Knowledge check, he grants them a bonus to weapon damage rolls made against the target creatures equal to 1d6 points of damage. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then this bonus increases to 2d6. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then this bonus increases to 3d6. Also the commander may select one target creature of the chosen type. By speaking aloud a dread secret of the target creature, a commander of Isamukemen can dazzle a target creature for 1 round. Unlike other angelic strategy, this ability can be used only against a single creature. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then the target is dazed for 1 round. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then the target is stunned for 1 round (if the target is immune to being stunned but not immune to being dazed, such as most undead, then the commander of Isamukemen can choose to daze the target instead of stunning it).
Note: This ability counts as Dark Knowledge for the purpose of feats and the like, such as Archivist of Nature and Draconic Archivist (which would allow the commander to use this ability on giants and fey, and constructs and dragons respectively.)
Courage in Battle: Allies within a 5th level commander of Isamukemen's aura of courage may make an aid another action once per round in place of a normal attack. A 12th level fighter could make two attacks and then an aid another action, for instance. The ally can still only aid another once per round.
Isamukemen's Training: At 5th level, Isamukemen begins sending instructional dreams to his commanders, training them while they sleep to defeat enemies they will encounter in their waking life. As long as a commander has rested his needed time the night before, he receives a bonus on Knowledge checks to identify creatures equal to his class level.
Arcadia's Readiness: All allies within the Aura of Courage of a 7th level commander of Isamukemen gain the effects of the Endurance feat, though it does not count as the feat for prerequisites. They are also able to undertake strenuous activity for 50% longer (see rules on Forced Marches) before having to make Constitution checks.
Scars of Martyrdom: Once per day, for 10 rounds, a 7th level commander of Isamukemen can cast shield other on one ally within his aura of courage per point of Charisma modifier, except that the commander takes all hit point damage from any attack on the targets of this ability. The commander also gains fast healing 5 for the duration of this effect. This effect cannot be ended prematurely.
Gift of Law: A 10th level commander of Isamukemen is given a mighty gift by his paragon. The night after obtaining 10th level in this class, Isamukemen visits the commander in a dream, bestowing upon him pieces of inevitable armour that he received from his allies in Mechanus. Part of the commander's body is transformed into metal and gears, giving the commander a 25% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attack damage. The commander ceases to age from this point on, though he can still die from damage. The commander also gains a weakening touch attack once per day. If the commander hits with the attack, it deals no damage, but if the target has DR, it loses up to 10 points of it for 1 minute. The commander can use this touch additional times per day, but must expend two turn undead attempts each time.
And the Acolyte of the Archangels feat
Acolyte of the Archangels (Isamukemen) [Exalted]
You swear fealty to Isamukemen, mighty general of celestial armies and bastion against the spread of unthinking law.
Benefit: Once per day, you may make a rousing speech as a full-round action. Make a Diplomacy check against a DC of 15. On a success, all allies within 60 ft gain a +(1 + 1 for every four points over 15 the result is, max +5) sacred bonus to attacks, saves and damage for one round per character level.
You may also immediately add one Knowledge skill of your choice to your list of class skills. Thereafter, you treat that skill as a class skill, regardless of which class you are advancing in. Whenever you fight an evil creature, you can make a Knowledge check based on its type, as described on page 78 of the Player's Handbook, provided that you have at least one rank in the appropriate Knowledge skill.
You then receive an insight bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls against evil creatures of that creature type for the remainder of the combat. The amount of the bonus depends on your Knowledge check result, as given on the following table.
{table=head]Check Result|Bonus Granted
15 or lower| +1
16-25| +2
26-30| +3
31-35| +4
36 or higher| +5[/table]
You can make only one Knowledge check per creature type per combat. If you fight evil creatures of multiple types during the same combat, you can make one Knowledge check per type, thereby possibly gaining different bonuses against different opponents. This benefit is an extraordinary ability.
Special: Once you take this feat, you may not take it again, nor can you take either the Servant of the Heavens feat, Knight of the Stars or the Favored of the Companions feat. Your allegiance is only yours to give once.
Hello all again. This time, I'm taking a walk on the good side, and doing a two-fold homebrew project. There are no angelic paragons, and due to certain restrictions, I can't use archangels, so I'm creating both angelic paragons and PrCs for those from whole cloth. This is the first of the bunch, the Commander of Isamukemen! Fluff for the angelic paragon coming soon, but I'll start with the basics now.
Isamukemen (Ee-saw-muu-kay-men) rules justly over his angelic bretheren in Arcadia from the Cathedral of the Honoured Vow, on a large floating citadel orbiting the Orb of Day and Night. The cathedral is a place of war, always preparing for the next incursion from the formians, or readying to send aid to the other celestial planes to stem the tide of demonic or infernal invasion.
Isamukemen is a tall figure, with emerald skin and a bald head. Like the warriors of some Material Plane barbarian tribes, he is covered in ritual scars. But unlike the Material warriors, his scars are not tokens of his victories, but of each warrior he has lost, mortal, angel or archon. His right arm, long ago lost to a pit fiend in battle, is now replaced by a mechanical arm, forged in one of the forge-creches of the inevitables as a gift in his war upon the formians. He is protected by a suit of brigandine armour, riveted with formian chitin on the inside. When joining combat, he often wields a halberd bearing a standard depicting a ring of celestial script enclosed by a square imbedded in a sun, his symbol. What the mortal versions of the script say vary depending on the order, but Isamukemen's merely outlines his three unbreakable laws: That innocents are to be unharmed, that the enemy must be captured alive unless innocents will be harmed, and that everything must be done to win, unless it would interfere with the previous two.
Though known for his never-ending readiness for war, Isamukemen is noted for his gentle nature. He never raises his voice outside of battle, and demands of those sworn to him to do that same. His followers usually consist of paladins, marshals, and anyone who must command, whether large armies or small groups. Though he believes first and formost that an action taken to right injustice is itself just, he places importance on showing mercy and honour in combat.
His order among mortals takes inspiration from his war against the formians. Much as they grind others beneath their many legs to bring the multiverse to order, so too will many mortal factions stop at nothing to gain control of their fellow mortals. The mortal Order of the Honoured Vow seeks out slavers, conquerers and usurpers to ensure they do not abuse power, putting a stop to these violations where they can. Among like-minded allies, the commanders of this order can push them to new heights of courage and resolve. These commanders become fonts of inspiration and courage in Isamukemen's name.
Commander of Isamukemen
Requirements
To qualify to become a commander of Isamukemen, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Any good
Skills: Diplomacy 8 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 8 ranks, Perform (oratory) 4 ranks, Speak Language (Celestial)
Feats: Acolyte of the Archangels (Isamukemen), Words of Creation
Class Features: Aura of Courage
Commander of Isamukemen
hit dice:d10
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spellcaster
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Improved aura of courage|-
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Celestial link +1|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Angelic strategy (resistance)|-
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+4| Celestial link +2|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Courage in battle, Isamukemen's training|-
6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+5|Angelic strategy (battle), celestial link +3|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+5|Arcadia's readiness, scars of martyrdom|-
8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+6| Celestial link +4|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+6|Angelic strategy (weakness)|-
10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+7| Celestial link +5, gift of law|+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class [/table]
Class Skills
The commander of Isamukemen’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points
2 + Int modifier per level
Improved Aura of Courage: A commander of Isamukemen’s aura of courage has a radius of 10 feet per class level and the bonus granted to allies within the radius becomes 4+half the commander of Isamukemen’s class level (rounded down).
Celestial Link: As a standard action, a 2nd level commander of Isamukemen can create a mental support network for his allies. While this effect is active, all allies within the commander’s aura of courage (including the commander himself) whose Hit Dice are equal to or less than his character level gain a +1 sacred bonus on Will saves and telepathy with all allies with the aura of courage. This bonus increases by 1 for every two additional commander of Isamukemen levels after the 2nd. The commander can affect one ally per point of Charisma modifier with this ability, but never himself.
Angelic Strategy: Once per day per point of charisma bonus, a 3rd level commander of Isamukemen can draw upon his expansive knowledge of monsters, granting his allies benefits against the creatures they face. Doing this counts as a move action. The secrets of angelic strategy pertain only to aberrations, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, or undead.
A commander of Isamukemen unlocks new angelic strategy abilities as his level increases and can also call upon his angelic strategy more often, gaining one additional daily use for every three additional commander of Isamukemen levels (+1 at 6th level, +2 at 9th level).
Using angelic strategy requires a Knowledge check of a type appropriate to the creature faced. A Knowledge (arcana) check reveals secrets of magical beasts, Knowledge (dungeoneering) pertains to aberrations, Knowledge (religion) covers undead, and Knowledge (the planes) applies to outsiders and elementals. The DC of the check is 15.
Most of the commander of Isamukemen’s angelic strategy abilities increase
in effectiveness if he succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more. Angelic strategy can only be used once against any given creature. The commander of Isamukemen’s angelic strategy can affect a single creature
or all creatures of the same race, depending on the effect used. A target creature must be within 60 feet, and the commander of Isamukemen must be aware of the creature’s presence, although he need not have a line of sight to it. The effects of angelic strategy last for 1 minute, unless stated otherwise.
Resistance: At 3rd level a commander of Isamukemen can use this ability to to help his allies fight off the corrupting influence of other creatures. Allies within 60 feet of the commander of Isamukemen gain a +1 bonus on saving throws against the affected creature’s abilities. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, this bonus increases to +2. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, this bonus increases to +3.
Battle: At 6th level a commander of Isamukemen can use this ability to aid in battle against certain foes, granting his allies a +1 bonus to AC and attack rolls made against the selected foes. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then this bonus increases to +2. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then this bonus increases to +3.
Weakness: At 9th level a commander of Isamukemen can use this ability to expose the weaknesses of his foes and even speak words of power to immobolize them. A commander of Isamukemen can direct his allies to attack vital spots of his enemies. On a successful Knowledge check, he grants them a bonus to weapon damage rolls made against the target creatures equal to 1d6 points of damage. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then this bonus increases to 2d6. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then this bonus increases to 3d6. Also the commander may select one target creature of the chosen type. By speaking aloud a dread secret of the target creature, a commander of Isamukemen can dazzle a target creature for 1 round. Unlike other angelic strategy, this ability can be used only against a single creature. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then the target is dazed for 1 round. If the commander of Isamukemen succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then the target is stunned for 1 round (if the target is immune to being stunned but not immune to being dazed, such as most undead, then the commander of Isamukemen can choose to daze the target instead of stunning it).
Note: This ability counts as Dark Knowledge for the purpose of feats and the like, such as Archivist of Nature and Draconic Archivist (which would allow the commander to use this ability on giants and fey, and constructs and dragons respectively.)
Courage in Battle: Allies within a 5th level commander of Isamukemen's aura of courage may make an aid another action once per round in place of a normal attack. A 12th level fighter could make two attacks and then an aid another action, for instance. The ally can still only aid another once per round.
Isamukemen's Training: At 5th level, Isamukemen begins sending instructional dreams to his commanders, training them while they sleep to defeat enemies they will encounter in their waking life. As long as a commander has rested his needed time the night before, he receives a bonus on Knowledge checks to identify creatures equal to his class level.
Arcadia's Readiness: All allies within the Aura of Courage of a 7th level commander of Isamukemen gain the effects of the Endurance feat, though it does not count as the feat for prerequisites. They are also able to undertake strenuous activity for 50% longer (see rules on Forced Marches) before having to make Constitution checks.
Scars of Martyrdom: Once per day, for 10 rounds, a 7th level commander of Isamukemen can cast shield other on one ally within his aura of courage per point of Charisma modifier, except that the commander takes all hit point damage from any attack on the targets of this ability. The commander also gains fast healing 5 for the duration of this effect. This effect cannot be ended prematurely.
Gift of Law: A 10th level commander of Isamukemen is given a mighty gift by his paragon. The night after obtaining 10th level in this class, Isamukemen visits the commander in a dream, bestowing upon him pieces of inevitable armour that he received from his allies in Mechanus. Part of the commander's body is transformed into metal and gears, giving the commander a 25% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attack damage. The commander ceases to age from this point on, though he can still die from damage. The commander also gains a weakening touch attack once per day. If the commander hits with the attack, it deals no damage, but if the target has DR, it loses up to 10 points of it for 1 minute. The commander can use this touch additional times per day, but must expend two turn undead attempts each time.
And the Acolyte of the Archangels feat
Acolyte of the Archangels (Isamukemen) [Exalted]
You swear fealty to Isamukemen, mighty general of celestial armies and bastion against the spread of unthinking law.
Benefit: Once per day, you may make a rousing speech as a full-round action. Make a Diplomacy check against a DC of 15. On a success, all allies within 60 ft gain a +(1 + 1 for every four points over 15 the result is, max +5) sacred bonus to attacks, saves and damage for one round per character level.
You may also immediately add one Knowledge skill of your choice to your list of class skills. Thereafter, you treat that skill as a class skill, regardless of which class you are advancing in. Whenever you fight an evil creature, you can make a Knowledge check based on its type, as described on page 78 of the Player's Handbook, provided that you have at least one rank in the appropriate Knowledge skill.
You then receive an insight bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls against evil creatures of that creature type for the remainder of the combat. The amount of the bonus depends on your Knowledge check result, as given on the following table.
{table=head]Check Result|Bonus Granted
15 or lower| +1
16-25| +2
26-30| +3
31-35| +4
36 or higher| +5[/table]
You can make only one Knowledge check per creature type per combat. If you fight evil creatures of multiple types during the same combat, you can make one Knowledge check per type, thereby possibly gaining different bonuses against different opponents. This benefit is an extraordinary ability.
Special: Once you take this feat, you may not take it again, nor can you take either the Servant of the Heavens feat, Knight of the Stars or the Favored of the Companions feat. Your allegiance is only yours to give once.