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View Full Version : [3.5] The Bladestorm (Feedback wanted!)



Tempestfury
2014-01-19, 03:10 AM
First of all, I would like to thank Just to Browse from the Homebrew request thread, for helping me create the basis of this class, through I have made quite a few modifications and extensions to it. Now, without further ado, let me introduce to you my class.

This is very much a work in progress, as there is several problems I have with it. Firstly, I feel that the fighting style loses power and luster throughout the levels, and I feel like it should play a stronger role in the class’s features. Not to mention that some of the fighting styles are, quite frankly, incomplete.

Secondly, excluding the maneuvers there isn’t much in terms of in-built mobility or defence. Powers can of course remedy this, but I feel like it should be built stronger into the class, which can actually go hand-in-hand with the first problem I mentioned, though I don’t like limiting people’s options more than necessary.

On top of this, I actually need to create a full-power list and the skill list, but I’m hoping to flesh out the class’s features as they stand, before deciding which skills will be best for the characters. Powers might even end up being tied to the fighting style, I’ve yet to make a final decision on that.

The Bladestorm

The Bladestorm are powerful meele combatants, able to learn and master a variety of different fighting styles depending on their personal choice. However, they all have the ability to seemingless blend martial maneuvers with psionics powers, able to unleash a storm of metal and power onto the battlefield, while remaining as the calm and centered eye within.

Hit Die: d8

Skill Points: 4 + Int

{table=head] Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Class Features | Maneuvers Known | Maneuvers Readied | Stances Known
1st | +1 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Fighting Style, Stage 1 | 2 | 2 | 1
2nd | +2 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Fighting Style, Stage 2, Eye of the Storm | 3 | 2 | 1
3rd | +3 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Manifestation | 4 | 2 | 1
4th | +4 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Psychic Channeling, +1d4 | 4 | 2 | 1
5th | +5 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Fighting Style, Stage 3 | 5 | 3 | 2
6th | +6/+1 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Battle Meditation | 5 | 3 | 2
7th | +7/+2 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Psychic Channeling, +2d4 | 6 | 3 | 2
8th | +8/+3 | +2 | +6 | +6 | | 6 | 3 | 2
9th | +9/+4 | +3 | +6 | +6 | | 7 | 3 | 2
10th | +10/+5 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Fighting Style, Stage 4, Psychic Channeling, +3d4 | 7 | 4 | 3
11th | +11/+6/+1 | +3 | +7 | +7 | | 8 | 4 | 3
12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +8 | +4 | | 8 | 4 | 3
13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +8 | +4 | Psychic Channeling, +4d4 | 9 | 4 | 3
14th | +14/+9/+4 | +4 | +9 | +9 | | 9 | 4 | 3
15th | +15/+10/+5 | +5 | +9 |+9 | Fighting Style, Stage 5 | 10 | 5 | 3
16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +5 | +10 | +10 | Psychic Channeling, +5d4 | 10 | 5 | 4
17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +5 | +10 | +10 | | 11 | 5 | 4
18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +6 | +11 | +11 | | 11 | 5 | 4
19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +6 | +11 | +11 | Psychic Channeling, +6d4 | 12 | 5 | 4
20th | +20//+15/+10/+5 | +6 | +12 | +12 | Fighting Style Mastery | 12 | 6 | 4
[/table]

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You are proficient with simple and martial melee weapons (including those that can be used as thrown weapons), light and medium armor, and all shields except tower shields.

Maneuvers: The Bladestorm begins his career with knowledge of two martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to him are Diamond Mind, Shadow Hand, and Desert Wind. Once he knows a maneuver, he must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by Bladestorms is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. His maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one. You learns additional maneuvers at higher levels (Tome of Battle, Table 3-1, p39, to determine the highest-level maneuvers he can learn). He must meet a maneuver prerequisite to learn it. Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered Bladestorm level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), he can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, he loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. He need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level, but can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: The Bladestorm can ready all two of the maneuvers he knows at 1st level, but as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he must choose which maneuvers to ready. A Bladestorm readies his maneuvers by exercising for 5 minutes. The maneuvers he chooses remain readied until he decides to exercise again and change them. Bladestorms need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready their maneuvers; any time they spend 5 minutes in practice, they can change their readied maneuvers. A Bladestorm begins an encounter with all his readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he might have already used them since he chose them. When he initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of the readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (until recovered, as described below). A Bladestorm can recover all expended maneuvers as a full-round action when not in a stance.

Stances Known: A Bladestorm begins play with knowledge of one 1st level stance from any discipline open to him. At level, he can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and he does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance you is currently using (or drop out of all stances) as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, he cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

Fighting Style, Stage 1: The Bladestorm’s have 4 distinct fighting styles, each mastering a different set of weapons and disciplines. Because of this, the fighting powers of the Bladestorms can differ wildly, but all are devastatingly powerful.

[I]Tornado: The Bladestorm gains the Weapon Focus as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it as well as gaining access to the Devoted Mind discipline.

Windstorm: The Bladestorm gains Improved Shield Bash as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it as well as gaining access to the Iron Heart discipline.

Monsoon: The Bladestorm gains Power Attack as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it as well as gaining access to the Stone Dragon discipline.

Tempest: The Bladestorm gains Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it as well as gaining access to the Tiger Claw discipline.

Eye of the Storm: The mind of a 2nd-level Bladestorm is calm, even when his body is a hurricane of force. He may gain and retain psionic focus even when his power point total drops below 1 or he is unconscious (this includes when voluntary sleep). In addition, he may expend his psionic focus as a swift action to regain all his expended maneuvers (see Maneuvers Readied, above).

Fighting Style, Stage 2: The fighting abilities of a 2nd-level Bladestorm has already increased rapidly, and as their innate psionic powers start to awaken, they unlock abilities that other fights can only dream off.

Tornado: While wielding a weapon in one hand and their other hand being empty, the Bladestorm’s attacks causes an enemy to bleed. An enemy struck takes bleeding damage equal to the Bladestorm’s BAB for three rounds. A DC 15 heal check, or healing magic will negate this effect.

Windstorm: The Bladestorm’s AC bonus from their shield instead becomes a deflection bonus.

Monsoon: The Bladestorm gains Improved Sunder as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Tempest: The Bladestorm can now make attacks with two weapons (as per two-weapon fighting) when he makes attacks as a standard action.

Manifestation: At level 3, the Bladestorm’s starts to manifest psionic powers and use them in combat. A Bladestorm manifest level is equal to his class level -2, and he gains power points per day as shown by the table below, as well bonus power points per day if he has a high Wisdom score. A 3rd level Bladestorm’s gains no power points, but still gains bonus power points if entitled to.

Bladestorm’s can use any power on their list at any given time, as long as they have enough power points to use the psionic power. In addition, a Bladestorm’s can expend his Psionic focus, in order to use an power without paying any power points. If he does this, the power cannot be augmented.

{table=head] Level | Power Points | Maximum Power Level Known
3rd | 0 | 1st
4th | 1 | 1st
5th | 2 | 1st
6th | 3 | 1st
7th | 5 | 2nd
8th | 7 | 2nd
9th | 9 | 2nd
10th | 11 | 2nd
11th | 14 | 3rd
12th | 17 | 3rd
13th | 20 | 3rd
14th | 24 | 3rd
15th | 28 | 4th
16th | 32 | 4th
17th | 37 | 4th
18th | 42 | 4th
19th | 48 | 4th
20th | 54 | 4th
[/table]

Psychic Channeling: At 4th level, the Bladestorm learns how to channel destructive psychic energy into their weapons. As long as they have a Psionic focus, they deal an extra 1d4 damage on attacks. Mindless creatures are immune to this damage, although non-mindless creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are affected by this damage as normal. At every three levels thereafter (7th, 10th, etc) the damage from the Bladestorm’s Psychic Channeling increases by 1d4

Fighting Style, Stage 3: At 5th level, the Bladestorm’s has reached a new stage in their fighting style, unlocking abilities they did not have before.

Tornado: The Bladestorm gains Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Windstorm: The Bladestorm gains Agile Shield Fighter as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Monsoon: The Bladestorm gains Great Cleave as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Tempest: The Bladestorm gains Improved Two-Weapon fighting as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Battle Meditation: Even in the heat of battle, when it looks like death is inevitable, the Bladestorm has a remarkable ability to sharpen his focus and clear his mind of any distractions. At level 6, once per round, if you do not have a Psionic Focus, you can pay power-points equal to half your character level to regain it.

Fighting Style, Stage 4:

Tornado: The Bladestorm gains Greater Weapon Focus as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Windstorm: ???

Monsoon: ???

Tempest: The Bladestorm gains Greater Two-Weapon fighting as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Fighting Style, Stage 5:

Tornado: The Bladestorm gains Greater Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Windstorm: ???

Monsoon: ???

Tempest: The attack roll penalties for wielding two-weapons is reduced by 2.

Fighting Style Mastery: The Bladestorm has reached the pinnacle of their fighting skill. There is now no difference between the weapon and its wielder, it has become part of their body and will, and they fight with unparalleled fighting ability.

Tornado: The Bladestorm gains Weapon Supremacy as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.

Windstorm: ???

Monsoon: ???

Tempest: When making a full attack, the Bladestorm can make as many attacks with your off-hand weapon as with your primary weapon, using the same base attack bonus