Gorfnod
2012-08-29, 12:19 PM
2nd draft is up and is ready for full review. Please provide feedback on balance, fluff, and just whether or not you like it.
I have spoilered some of my thoughts so feel free to tear it apart.
Stone Scarred Curse
A stone scarred oracle may only cast oracle spells reliably while in direct contact with the earth or a large piece of worked stone. Clothing or armor does not hinder this connection but any time the oracle does not have direct connection to the earth, he must make a concentration check equal to 15 + double spell level in order to cast the spell. The oracle’s deep connection with stone provides him with the Stonecunning racial ability of dwarves. If the oracle already has the Stonecunning ability, he receives the Improved Stonecunning feat instead.
The idea basically started with what I thought would be a "good" negative aspect of a curse. The Stone oracle must maintain contact with the earth/stone to cast spells. I quickly realized that although a "typical" dungeon crawl would provide no problem for this, the more "modern" approach to D&D that places a lot of emphasis on flying, planar travel, seafaring expeditions, etc, would completely shut this guy down. In that vein I decided that a concentration check could potentially be a balancing factor in these situations.
Stonecunning seemed like the perfect choice for a 1st level bonus.
At 5th level, the stone scarred oracle can skillfully negotiate rocky terrain and passages. He can ignore difficult terrain created by rubble, broken ground, or steep stairs made of stone and can move through narrow passages of stone that require squeezing at his normal movement rate and without penalty. Areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion, however, still affect him.
If you are going to be stuck to the ground, you might as well be able to maneuver effectively. I felt that these were some flavorful choices for the character that didn't push the level 5 balance in any significant way.
At 10th level, he gains tremorsense out to a range of 30 feet.
Tremorsense at level 10 is a bit good but I did find some precedence for this, the Deep Earth sorc gets it at level 9, and tremorsense just feels like something that this curse needed.
At 15th level, the stone scarred oracle gains immunity to petrification and receives a +4 bonus on saving throws or to CMD to resist any attempt to push, pull, bull rush, or drag her, or to resist any other effect that would physically move her from her position (e.g., repel wood, reverse gravity, or being blown away by high winds). This does not protect her against being tripped, grappled, or overrun.
This is where I may have pushed the balance over the edge. I am never any good at judging my own work so I'm not really sure. Immunity to petrification is really just a flavor choice to me as it doesn't come up all that often and at level 15, you should be able to deal with it anyways. I feel that the rest of the bonuses fit well with the class but maybe should be knocked down to a +2.
Special: Direct contact with the earth can only be maintained in any natural outdoor or underground environments areas where the character has physical contact with the earth. It can also be maintained in large indoor areas that are primarily made of stone (castles, temples, etc.). Direct contact with the earth can only occur on the Material Plane, the Shadow Plane (when overlapping the material plane), and the Elemental Plane of Earth. It is the discretion of the DM on what other planes it may work.
I only included the special portion so that people didn't think that they could keep a rock in their pocket to negate the penalty, although TBH I have envisioned an oracle flying through the air on a massive boulder hurling less massive, but equally impressive boulders. I still feel that this is too wordy and if anyone and think of a better way to say this while still covering all the bases I would be grateful.
Thanks again for any input, and I look forward to what you guys have to say.
I have spoilered some of my thoughts so feel free to tear it apart.
Stone Scarred Curse
A stone scarred oracle may only cast oracle spells reliably while in direct contact with the earth or a large piece of worked stone. Clothing or armor does not hinder this connection but any time the oracle does not have direct connection to the earth, he must make a concentration check equal to 15 + double spell level in order to cast the spell. The oracle’s deep connection with stone provides him with the Stonecunning racial ability of dwarves. If the oracle already has the Stonecunning ability, he receives the Improved Stonecunning feat instead.
The idea basically started with what I thought would be a "good" negative aspect of a curse. The Stone oracle must maintain contact with the earth/stone to cast spells. I quickly realized that although a "typical" dungeon crawl would provide no problem for this, the more "modern" approach to D&D that places a lot of emphasis on flying, planar travel, seafaring expeditions, etc, would completely shut this guy down. In that vein I decided that a concentration check could potentially be a balancing factor in these situations.
Stonecunning seemed like the perfect choice for a 1st level bonus.
At 5th level, the stone scarred oracle can skillfully negotiate rocky terrain and passages. He can ignore difficult terrain created by rubble, broken ground, or steep stairs made of stone and can move through narrow passages of stone that require squeezing at his normal movement rate and without penalty. Areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion, however, still affect him.
If you are going to be stuck to the ground, you might as well be able to maneuver effectively. I felt that these were some flavorful choices for the character that didn't push the level 5 balance in any significant way.
At 10th level, he gains tremorsense out to a range of 30 feet.
Tremorsense at level 10 is a bit good but I did find some precedence for this, the Deep Earth sorc gets it at level 9, and tremorsense just feels like something that this curse needed.
At 15th level, the stone scarred oracle gains immunity to petrification and receives a +4 bonus on saving throws or to CMD to resist any attempt to push, pull, bull rush, or drag her, or to resist any other effect that would physically move her from her position (e.g., repel wood, reverse gravity, or being blown away by high winds). This does not protect her against being tripped, grappled, or overrun.
This is where I may have pushed the balance over the edge. I am never any good at judging my own work so I'm not really sure. Immunity to petrification is really just a flavor choice to me as it doesn't come up all that often and at level 15, you should be able to deal with it anyways. I feel that the rest of the bonuses fit well with the class but maybe should be knocked down to a +2.
Special: Direct contact with the earth can only be maintained in any natural outdoor or underground environments areas where the character has physical contact with the earth. It can also be maintained in large indoor areas that are primarily made of stone (castles, temples, etc.). Direct contact with the earth can only occur on the Material Plane, the Shadow Plane (when overlapping the material plane), and the Elemental Plane of Earth. It is the discretion of the DM on what other planes it may work.
I only included the special portion so that people didn't think that they could keep a rock in their pocket to negate the penalty, although TBH I have envisioned an oracle flying through the air on a massive boulder hurling less massive, but equally impressive boulders. I still feel that this is too wordy and if anyone and think of a better way to say this while still covering all the bases I would be grateful.
Thanks again for any input, and I look forward to what you guys have to say.