Manly Man
2014-09-29, 02:16 AM
A GIANT WOMAN. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI0gcYSeuIs)
So, something I noticed when I first started watching Steven Universe is how many parallels I managed to draw between the abilities exercised by the Gems and the psionics subsystem, especially with the rewrite that DSP did (which I adore, by the way, just sayin'), and I've wanted to figure out a way to make them into a playable psionic race. The majority of it was easy enough, but the biggest issue is how to emulate their ability to fuse without just giving them fusion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/psionic-powers/f/fusion) as a psi-like ability, which is not only ridiculous (an 8th-level power as a racial ability? No way!), but it also doesn't capture the same feel. For their abilities, I figured to build them almost like a psionic aasimar, and so I ended up with something like this, which I've put up as a suggestion in the Steven Universe thread on Media Discussion:
Outsider (Native)
+2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Cha
Wild Talent as a bonus feat
Call weaponry as an at-will psi-like ability (only one particular weapon per Gem, chosen at character creation)
The ability they have to fuse together, though, is the tough part, since there would be so many problems with it being true to the show and balanced for a character race at the same time. A friend and I have discussed it a bit, and what we've come up with so far is that it takes a full-round action for the both of them to do, they need to make a skill check, though I'm unsure about whether it should be Autohypnosis or Perform (dance), if you have a look at their rituals, and it has to total to a certain amount. The size of their fused form is dependent on their HD; if their total HD, combined together, would be less than 8, then their fusion is Medium, 8-15 is Large, and 16+ is Huge. Those numbers are ones I made myself, but they seem to be fair enough.
In the show, Pearl gives the explanation that fused gems are like water; they're not just hydrogen and oxygen smooshed together. Because of that, the idea comes to mind that they don't just have two minds sharing one brain, they end up making an entirely new psyche that is very much aware of the fact that it only comes into being when two Gems fuse. Because the fused being is neither of the two parts, but is in fact something more, it seems fair that the DM then controls the new character. On top of that, an ability like this shouldn't be usable 1/day, even if it's breaking the lore (Amethyst and Pearl make two attempts in one day), and so I figure to make it 1/week.
Apart from all that, largely, it seems okay to make it function like the fusion power, but I'd really like the takes of everyone else on top of that, especially if there are any details I'm missing.
So, something I noticed when I first started watching Steven Universe is how many parallels I managed to draw between the abilities exercised by the Gems and the psionics subsystem, especially with the rewrite that DSP did (which I adore, by the way, just sayin'), and I've wanted to figure out a way to make them into a playable psionic race. The majority of it was easy enough, but the biggest issue is how to emulate their ability to fuse without just giving them fusion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/psionic-powers/f/fusion) as a psi-like ability, which is not only ridiculous (an 8th-level power as a racial ability? No way!), but it also doesn't capture the same feel. For their abilities, I figured to build them almost like a psionic aasimar, and so I ended up with something like this, which I've put up as a suggestion in the Steven Universe thread on Media Discussion:
Outsider (Native)
+2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Cha
Wild Talent as a bonus feat
Call weaponry as an at-will psi-like ability (only one particular weapon per Gem, chosen at character creation)
The ability they have to fuse together, though, is the tough part, since there would be so many problems with it being true to the show and balanced for a character race at the same time. A friend and I have discussed it a bit, and what we've come up with so far is that it takes a full-round action for the both of them to do, they need to make a skill check, though I'm unsure about whether it should be Autohypnosis or Perform (dance), if you have a look at their rituals, and it has to total to a certain amount. The size of their fused form is dependent on their HD; if their total HD, combined together, would be less than 8, then their fusion is Medium, 8-15 is Large, and 16+ is Huge. Those numbers are ones I made myself, but they seem to be fair enough.
In the show, Pearl gives the explanation that fused gems are like water; they're not just hydrogen and oxygen smooshed together. Because of that, the idea comes to mind that they don't just have two minds sharing one brain, they end up making an entirely new psyche that is very much aware of the fact that it only comes into being when two Gems fuse. Because the fused being is neither of the two parts, but is in fact something more, it seems fair that the DM then controls the new character. On top of that, an ability like this shouldn't be usable 1/day, even if it's breaking the lore (Amethyst and Pearl make two attempts in one day), and so I figure to make it 1/week.
Apart from all that, largely, it seems okay to make it function like the fusion power, but I'd really like the takes of everyone else on top of that, especially if there are any details I'm missing.