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View Full Version : Need some help with a new mechanic...



Maho-Tsukai
2011-07-27, 07:54 PM
I am slowly making a PrC class that will have a rather unique mechanic based around a unique brand of "necromancy" that is loosely based on Kabuto's Edo Tensei jutsu from Naruto. The PrC's main feature is the ability to use a twisted form of resurrection to bring back the souls of the dead as undead slaves. Mechanically this ability is basicly an altered true resurrection that brings the the target back with a new template that makes them an undead creature called a soulslave, which comes with some serious drawbacks, the primary one being soulslaves are unable to level up as normal.

However, while the minions have their own drawback and the ritual to create them has it's own needs, to restrict this power further, I wanted to create a sort of "energy pool" that is used in place of XP. This pool of points would both be used to pay for the summon of these beings(the cost being equal to the cost of true rez..) and it would also be used to pay for the cost the class' power to erase the soulslave's free will and also as payment for an ability which allows you to temporarily use spells, powers ect.. that belong to your soulslaves yourself..

The only issue I have, however, is I am horrible with setting both amounts and costs...so I have come to you all here. I want your help in the following areas...

-How much of these points the class gets (Not only that, but I also want these points to scale by CL or some other level-dependent way that would continue even after a character has taken all levels of the PrC(as of now it looks to be a 5 level PrC that's meant for higher levels).

- How many points it should cost to strip these soulslaves of their personalities/will?(Perhaps it should be based on the soulslave's HD/"level"?)

- How many points should it cost to temporarily leech a spell, power, ect.. from a soulslave to use it once per day?(Perhaps make it scale with the spell/power/whatever level?)

Dose anybody think they can help me out with these big concerns so I can finally get to work on the rest of the PrC?

Analytica
2011-07-27, 09:16 PM
It resembles a rebuke pool, so might be elegant to use something similar.

I.e. you can maintain up to CL times X HD of soul slaves, where X could be 1 at first level in class, 2 at third, 4 at fifth, or steeper if you wish, maybe 1xCL-4xCL-9xCL-16xCL-25xCL. With no single slave having HD higher than your caster level.

Analogously, leeching something could be a 3+Cha mod (or maybe some other stat if you want to make it subtly different) uses per day, with max power level increasing by class level, so up to twice class level as the maximum spell/power level you can leech.

As for stripping them of free will, they are already defeated by the time you can do this to them, so in a sense does not have to be costly. Maybe it takes their Cha mod in leech uses when you first bind them, then they remain bound for as long as you have rebuke-equivalent pool slots allocated according to their HD?