Prestige Class Help

[duncan]

I don't know where to put this, but I have a really cool idea in my head for a character, so I asked my DM and he said if I can get fair mechanics to go with it, it would be fine.

So here's the idea:
A warrior is so in touch with the Spirits/Gods/Ancestors that they literally fuel his body with holy/unholy awearness and ability. They sharpen his wisdom and speed his attacks.

I was thinking that maybe they could get the monk's ability to have WIS apply to AC, as well as maybe have a rage ability but have it improve WIS? What else could a class like this have?

Oh, and tell me if you think this is a good level 10 ability...
You have become so attuned with the spirits of your ancestors that you can fuel them into others. Doing so gives one ally your "Rage" ability, but sacrifices all of your uses that day.

[melchizedek]

If you're going to go with a rage like ability that effects Wisdom, you should probably change the name.

What class would you want to take this prestige class? It would seem that druids would be the best class to take it. They would have good use for the wisdom increase and would be most in keeping with the theme. You might consider giving the class increased divine spellcaster levels. That would make them more appealing to druids and clerics.

[Rama_Lei]

Are you familiar with the TV show avatar? If so, consider making it akin to the avatar state. Name it like, "Possession" or "Soul bond"

[Eighth_Seraph]

Well, the first step that I always take when designing something is to define what I'm trying to make as clearly as I possibly can. Now what you're talking about can manifest its potential awesomeness in any number of ways. First: is it a primary caster, a frontline fighter, a support fighter (a la monk) or GISH (a la paladin or ranger)? Furthermore, if it has any spellcasting, spell-like abilities, psionics, or psi-like abilities, will they put emphasis on offense, buffing/debuffing, or healing?

Also, since you want to make a Prestige class, there's a few extra things to think about. For example, what kind of classes would want to take levels in it and for what reason? What aspects of the original class will be sacrificed and in exchange for what? I know it's alot to take in all at once, so it may be best to focus on the first paragraph for now, Duncan.

[duncan]

I was thinking that it could make classes more battle orientened because that's what I like most. What I was really hoping is that maybe it could boost ATK and DMG in exchange for mobility or something.

But yeah, to anwser your question, I think it would make the class a frontline fighter. Classes looking to go into it would be: Monk, Fighter, Paladin, and to some extent a Cleric?

[Fax Celestis]

That's a start. As a frontliner, he should have a d8 or greater hd, +1/1 BAB, and one of the following: good fort/ref, good fort/will, good ref/will.

Now, how many levels are you looking for? 3, 5, and 10 are the standards, though there are prestige classes with other numbers (Void Disciple with 13, Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil with 7...).

[Peregrine]

A 'rage' that enhances Wisdom? I'd call it 'trance' or 'meditation' or something.

When you get it a bit more developed, post it here and ask people to try and break it. There are always a dozen ways to overpower a given feature that boosts a particular ability or gives it more benefits. (I've even seen lists of techniques for this -- basically 'how to add <ability modifier> to everything' -- on the Wizards boards, I think.) You'll want to try to stop the cheesier ones.

[Roderick_BR]

Something like Shaman King? Maybe like the skill "Past Life" from Werewolf: The Apocalypse.
He could gain the ability to gain diferent feats and/or skill bonus, or others class abilities a set number of times a day.
"Trance" would be a good name. A warrior that uses dodges like a monk would be interesting.

[duncan]

I was thinking 10 levels... And that High Will/ Ref sounds like it would fit...

[Icewalker]

I've got to say, the basic idea seems a little bit similar to the Giant's Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/mYkD5jL8N9SAcClN3pZ.html) class.

As to the Trance ability, I can see a wisdom bonus, as well as maybe a con and str bonus, if I understand the idea right. The wisdom bonus would give you an AC bonus, because of the wis to AC ability. Attack speed bonus, maybe he gets one extra attack per round at his highest BAB?

I definitely agree with Fax Celestis on the scores, Full BAB and fort/will. This sounds like a class with only a couple abilities: several stages of the trance and then a few more. I'd suggest a 5 level PrC, unless you have enough ideas to fill up several more levels.

[TRM]

Something like the Animal Lord (Complete Adventurer)? Where there are a host of different types of animal lord (Equine, Canine, etc...). You could have something like that.
[example]:
Werewolf [classname] (someone else mentioned werewolves on the thread, so I'll use that.)
The werewolf [classname] had werewolf ancestors in his/her distant past, including one who was well versed in mystical arts and whose spirit remained after death.
The werewolf [classname] has different abilities than the celestial [classname], but they both follow the same template for abilites (the same Base Attack Bonus, saves, spell progression (if any).
There's one idea:smallredface: