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View Full Version : (Actually second ever) Shining Blade of Heironeous rework (ToB) [PrC] [PEACH]



Xerlith
2013-07-03, 04:10 PM
Shining Blade of Heironeous


Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Spells


1st

+1


+2


+0


+2

Shock Blade +1d8, Smite Evil 1/encounter
+1 level of Paladin spellcasting


2nd

+2


+2


+0


+3

Devoted Sword
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


3rd

+3


+3


+1


+3

Stormwind
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


4th

+4


+4


+1


+4

Battle Blessing
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


5th

+5


+4


+1


+4

Smite Evil 2/encounter, Righteous Strike
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


6th

+6


+5


+2


+5

Holy Blade, Shock Blade +2d8
+1 level of Paladin spellcasting


7th

+7


+5


+2


+5

Divine Wind
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


8th

+8


+6


+2


+6

Smiting Recovery
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


9th

+9


+6


+3


+6

Smite Evil 3/encounter
+1 level of existing spellcasting class


10th

+10


+7


+3


+7

Shock Blade +3d8, Brilliant Blade, Will of Heironeous
+1 level of Paladin spellcasting



Maneuvers


Level
M. Known
M. Readied
Stances


1st
0
0
1


2nd
1
0
0


3rd
0
1
0


4th
1
0
0


5th
0
0
0


6th
1
1
1


7th
0
0
0


8th
1
0
0


9th
0
1
0


10th
1
0
0



HD: d10
Skill points: 4+int

Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Martial Lore (Int).


Requirements:
Alignment: Lawful Good
BAB: +5
Maneuvers: At least one Devoted Spirit maneuver and at least one Devoted Spirit stance.
Skills: Knowledge (Religion) 8
Feats: Weapon Focus (Longsword)
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 1st level divine spells
Special: Must worship Heironeous.


Class Features:

Weapon and armor proficiency: Shining blades are proficient with all armor, all simple and martial weapons and all shields.

Spellcasting: At each level except 1st, 6th and 10th, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one divine spellcasting class before becoming a Shining Blade, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.
If you were a paladin, your 1st, 6th and 10th level grant you spellcasting as well.

Maneuvers: At each even-numbered level, you gain one new maneuver known from the Devoted Spirit or Desert Wind disciplines. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. You add your full Shining Blade levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known.
At 3rd, 6th and 9th level, you gain an additional maneuver readied.

Stances Known: At 1st and 6th level you learn a new martial stance from the Devoted Spirit or Desert Wind discipline. You must meet a stance’s prerequisite to learn it.

Smite Evil (Su): At 1st level, and again at 5th and 9th level, a shining blade of Heironeous gains a 1/encounter use of Smite Evil. On the next melee attack he makes, he gains a bonus on his attack roll equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) and a bonus on damage equal to his Shining Blade class level plus his paladin or cleric levels, if any.

Shock Blade (Su): For a number of rounds per day equal to twice his class level + his charisma modifier, the Shining Blade may make his weapon deal an additional 1d8 electrical damage. This improves to 2d8 at 6th and 3d8 at 10th level. Those rounds do not have to be consecutive. Activating this ability is a free action.

Devoted Blade (Su): Whenever you deal damage with a Devoted Spirit maneuver, you deal additional divine damage equal to your Shining Blade level.

Stormwind (Su): Whenever you attack with a Desert Wind maneuver, you may opt to deal electrical damage instead of fire damage. If you do so, it deals +1 damage for every damage die of the maneuver.

Battle Blessing (Ex): At 4th level the Shining Blade gains Battle Blessing as a bonus feat. They do not have to fulfill the requirements, however only paladin spells benefit from this feat, as normal.

Righteous Strike (Su): By sacrificing a divine spell slot as a swift action, the Shining Blade's weapon is treated as both lawful and good aligned for his next attack. This attack deals an additional 1d6 divine damage per level of the spell slot sacrificed. This changes to 2d4/level for paladin spell slots.

Holy Blade (Su): At 6th level the Shining Blade gains the ability to grant his weapon the Holy ability, allowing it to deal an additional 2d6 damage versus evil enemies. This may be used for a number of rounds equal to twice his class level + his charisma modifier. Those rounds do not have to be consecutive.

Divine Wind (Su): While using a strike from the Desert Wind discipline, half the damage dealt by the strike is fire (or electricity, if the Shocking Wind ability is used), the other half divine.

Smiting Recovery (Ex): After a succesful smite attempt, if the target is dealt damage, the Shining Blade may immediately recover one of his expended maneuvers. If he is a crusader, he is immediately granted a maneuver of his choice (From the maneuvers readied).

Brilliant Blade (Su): At 10th level the Shining blade may make his weapon have the Brilliant Energy property for a number of rounds equal to 10+his Charisma modifier. Those rounds do not have to be consecutive.

Will of Heironeous (Su): The Shining Blade becomes a vessel of his deity's will. He gains stacking Damage Reduction 5/- and may be treated as an Outsider (Lawful, Good) whenever that would be beneficial for him.

Special: Paladins who took levels in the Shining Blade class may continue to advance as paladins.

Xerlith
2013-07-06, 03:48 AM
*brimming with impatient desire to be noticed*

Arcanist
2013-07-06, 03:56 AM
It's a very normal fix for a prestige class. It's not bad, it's just not what I would consider good. I'm not saying I wouldn't use this for a campaign or anything (It is clearly superior in every way to the previous source material), I just really don't know what to say about it beyond it is a reasonable, normal fix for a god awful prestige class. Keep up the good work, mate :smallwink:

Xerlith
2013-07-06, 05:41 AM
http://anamariao7.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/its-something.jpg?w=500

No, but seriously, as much as I understand what you mean, I would like you to elaborate. Is it just too plain? I intended this to be a simple rework without unnecessary bells and whistles added. Maybe I oversimplified it.
It was a little hard for me to think of something really innovative for something that in essence is just a combat-oriented prestige paladin class. I'll be more than happy to hear ideas on how to make it more appealing.

Xerlith
2013-07-15, 01:04 PM
Ok, now I'm curious if the problem's just this PrC being uninteresting or me having no reputation...

Xefas
2013-07-15, 01:37 PM
Basically, what Arcanist said. It's fine. You did a really good job. Kudos for that.

It's just, there's not much to comment on. You took a bad prestige class and added a few highly standard quality-of-life abilities (Battle Blessing, Divine Wind), and appended a very normal and basic Tome of Battle chassis on it, which has been an increasingly routine thing to do with melee-focused classes.

It has no fluff. It has nothing that didn't already exist in some form or another. It doesn't take things in a new direction or view it through a new perspective, and it doesn't show anything about you or your creativity.

It's good. But it would be better to see you do something that shows your imagination and individuality. Write a new paladin-themed Martial Discipline, completely different from Devoted Spirit. That would be amazing. Create a new prestige class about a deity that you find particularly interesting, and fill it up with bizarre and terrifying abilities that make it play unlike anything that came before. Make something new, that you feel passionate about, and people will flock to it.

This? This is just a list of utilitarian mechanics with the words "Yet Another" in the title. It has no style. Where's the passion?

Xerlith
2013-07-15, 01:55 PM
Well... This IS a rework. Nothing more, nothing less. The generic fluff is built in it. I get your point - and I'm currently working on something more challenging. I am not experienced so I am testing the waters by working with the material I know.
The Shining Blade is a class that has its fluff explained in the book it was introduced. And I like the kind of generic fluff it has that can be pretty much adjusted to fit not only Heironeous, but other deities as well.

But then, if the crunch's alright, there's not much I can ask for here. Thanks, and I mean no ill will here.

And as something different, I'd like to present this: The Runewarden (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292636)