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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Class The Javelin! A mageslaying Base Class. Give me your reviews!



WhiteBread
2016-10-05, 06:45 PM
Hey guys,
I put one character of a game into a base class fitting to be played in DnD. What do you think about it?

Javelin

“ Many mages stood before me. You will fall like all the others!”
—First Javelin Claire, Fight Against The Mage Clan, 200 b.D.o.M.

The Javelins as they are called are part of a larger Organization formed to destroy dictating Wizard and Sorcerer Guilds as well as any other magical threats before the great downfall of Mystra. The Javelins were never named by their secret Organization and instead were simply referred to as warriors. They obtained their nickname by companions and people watching them train with shortened spears and were thus always referred as "Javelins".
They took a great part into the destruction of Mystra as well as the magical death zones existing to this day. Upon realization what their fanatic like destruction of magic brought forth they rebelled against their own leaders, taking lead into their own hands and reformed their Organization. Javelins never rejected the idea of using magic for their own ends and thus kept honing their abilities to protect the world from catastrophic mages gone rogue. However they do so far more disrcreetly and with a lot more leniency compared to their past.
Javelins different to their name never really fight with real javelins or spears which they however use for their training. They rather practice summoning magical alternatives of these weapons in fights to be flexible and unpredictable as well as to be underestimated when carrying no visible weapons. A Javelin can easily be recognized while in fighting mode by the purple electric rings surrounding her hands which serve as dimensional portals.
A Javelins trainings regimen starts with seven years, the time when most children develop a natural talent for magic. They are mainly drawn from orphanages and streets nowadays while in the past the Organization more often than not resorted to killing their families in secret, putting the blame on mages and thus fueling their revenge driven strength. Their training includes several years of summoning practice as well as instructions for fighting with these weapons. It also includes training in different social aspects, sometimes even in aspects of prostitution for covert operations. Once hitting an age of 12 they are sent into a secret lair to train and fight magical creatures of all kinds to improve their spell resistance and willpower. If there is no lair in the vicinity they will be sent to extremely hazardous areas instead.
Javelins are the bane of magicians. And have few enemies to fear. However their own power sometimes drives them into madness, devouring them slowly until they transform into something worse than a nightmare. This process also called " Awakening" leads from the fact that many Javelins draw their strength by sacrificing part of their soul to boost their own abilities. Few Javelins managed to stay sane after an Awakening. The ones that did manage to stay sane became legendary names whispered amongst the top ranking wizards in fear.
It is highly believed that Javelins derive their strength from a djinn like being which transcended into higher planes. Their connection to this being is formed through the purple rings of sparks surrounding their hands. This highly greedy djinn demands besides his lust for life energy also high amounts of gold in exchange for more powerful weapons.

Making a Javelin

Abilities: A Javelin is a master at summoning their weapons and striking at thunderlike speed before their enemies can even react. Their most important scores are Charisma which boosts the magic strength of their weapons and Dexterity which allows them to outmove an enemy in battle. A Javelin can also profit from a high Int and Wisdom score to boost their skill effiency or willpower.

Races: Most Javelins in the past were drawn from the human culture due to their rapid growth and easily obtainable resources (children). Nowadays elves of all kinds as well as some other races are recruited into their ranks too due to shortage of troops.

Alignment: From the past until now Javelins were never seen as a lawful organization. They often bent laws to their profit, bribed authorities and kidnapped in the past. While many things changed, their need for new recruits in the fight against godlike beings still takes their toll on them. Some parts of the Organization still recruit Javelins from slaves or children in underhanded ways. Thus many Javelins are trained into a lawless nature persuing the goal with all means nessecary.

Starting Gold: 6d4x10

Starting Age: Simple or young.


Table: Javelin
Hit Die: d6


Level
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Special


1
1
0
2
2
Domain of Weapons, Domain of Secrets


2
2
0
3
3



3
3
1
3
3



4
4
1
4
4



5
5
1
4
4



6
6
2
5
5



7
7
2
5
5



8
8
2
6
6



9
9
3
6
6



10
10
3
7
7



11
11
3
7
7



12
12
4
8
8



13
13
4
8
8



14
14
4
9
9



15
15
5
9
9



16
16
5
10
10



17
17
5
10
10



18
18
6
11
11



19
19
6
11
11



20
20
6
12
12



Class Skills (8 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis), Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Psionic Device (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Autohypnosis (Wis), Diplomacy (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Tumble (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Move Silently (Dex).


Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Javelin:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Javelins are proficient with all weapons mentioned in "Domain of Weapons". They can also add more weapons to their domain. Moreover they are proficient with light, medium and heavy armor but no shields.

Domain of Weapons (Su): The Javelin begins her career unlocking the gates to the Domain of Weapons. She forms a bond with a powerful djinn providing her with weaponlike spells to destroy magical foes. All weaponlike spells can be summoned as a free action and can be used in similar ways to normal weapons. Despite being weaponlike spells they can be used in conjunction with feats. They are also permanently enchantable and upgradable as normal weapons. They can be used for attack actions like full attack and trip attempts. They ignore spell resistance and are not subject to dispel attempts. These weapons can be destroyed through normal means but can be resummoned as a free action next round. Only one weapon can be held per round as well as only one weapon can be summoned per round. Upon summoning a new weapon the old one dissipates into purple sparks. Weapons summoned like this throw a light on their surrounding area and act like a torch in this regard. Curses inflicted by these weapons persist until the end of fight and can't be removed by a remove curse spell. Weapons that are dropped, thrown or otherwise not being held in a hend will dissipate after 1 round if not being rearmed by their owner.

Der Anker : At first level the Javelin gains profiency with javelins as well as Weapon Focus with this weapon. The first weapon they can summon is called "Der Anker" and looks like a transparent purple javelin surrounded by purple sparks. This weaponlike spell can be thrown 120 feet and is considered a ranged touch attack. It has a 2x crit multiplier, threat range of 20 and can re-reroll successful rolls to confirm critical hits. It deals 1d6 damage and uses the wielders charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage. Enemies hit by "The Anker" are marked by a supernatural curse which prevents them from using magical movement of any form like magical flight, teleportation or spells like blink which move the creature wholly or partially onto another plane. Enemies hit by this curse are always visible for the Javelin even behind walls or with invisibility.

Die Schwäche: At 3rd level the Javelin gains profiency with spears as well as Weapon Focus with this weapon. The second weapon she can summon is called "Die Schwäche" and looks like a transparent purple longspear surrounded by purple sparks and has a gigantic arrowlike blade at the top. This weaponlike spell has a range of 10 feet and is considered a touch attack. It has a 3x crit multiplier, threat range of 20 and can re-reroll successful rolls to confirm critical hits. It deals 1d8 damage and uses the wielders charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage. "Die Schwäche" can be used like a spear against charging foes and marks hit targets with a secondary curse. If the target is already marked by the curse of "Der Anker" the javelin can use a gate to jump towards the target as a swift action putting him into close range behind the target. Enemies within threat range of this weapon have a decreased concentration check of 1 + charisma modifier. The secondary curse of "Die Schwäche" decreases attack rolls by -1 for every successful hit up to a maximum of -1 per three caster levels.

Die Hinrichtung: At 5th level the Javelin gains profiency with halberds as well as Weapon Focus with this weapon. The third weapon she can summon is called "Die Hinrichtung" and looks like a transparent purple halberd blade surrounded by purple sparks transcending into invisibilty where its grip would be. This weaponlike spell has a 10 feet range and is considered a touch attack. It has a 3x crit multiplier, threat range of 19-20 and can re-reroll successful rolls to confirm critical hits. It deals 1d10 damage and uses the wielders charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage. "Die Hinrichtung" can be used for trip attempts like a normal halberd. Moreover it buffs the Javelin for each successful critical strike as well as curses the enemy for each sucessful hit. Enemies that are under the curse of "Die Schwäche" and use spells within the Javelins threat range can be countered. If this spell is a ranged touch attack and misses the Javelin or any other companion in this situation the Javelin can make a new touch attack against its original caster and throw it back with all additions and modifications of the spell. If an enemy gets hit by "Die Hinrichtung" he will be cursed and has to roll a will save against 11 + charisma modifier or fall to the ground weakened. In a weakened condition the target can't use any more spells and looses his dexterity bonus to armor class.

Die Schändung: At 10th level the Javelin gains proficiency with the unarmed strike and the feat Improved Unarmed Strike as well as Weapon Focus for all fist like weapons. The 4th weapon called "Die Schändung" consists of the purple sparks already surrounding their hands but with far more intensity. This weaponlike spell has a 2x crit multiplier, threat range of 20, can re-reroll successful rolls to confirm critical hits and is nonlethal if wanted. It does 1d4 damage and uses the wielders charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage. Enemies cursed by "Der Anker", "Die Schwäche" and "Die Hinrichtung" are subject to a will save against 15 + charisma modifier upon being hit by "Die Schändung". A failed will save results in the natural body being completly destroyed, crumbling into sparks and being banned from resurrection by normal means. A wish spell however can remove the ban and a second wish spell or resurrection spell can revive the target.

Domain of Secrets (Su): At first level the Javelin also gains access to the Domain of Secrets enabling him to track and fight mages of all kinds more effectively.

Eyes of Insight (Sp) : At first level the Javelin gains access to the "Eyes of Truth", coloring her eyes blue and enable her to use Detect Magic at will. Upon reaching 8th level the "Eyes of Insight" increase in Power, changing color to a blueish purple granting her permanent Arcane Sight. This ability can be dispelled and is subject to antimagic zones but automatically resets on a new day.

Mouth of Order (Sp) : At first level the Javelin gains access to the "Mouth of Order". Granting her +3 as bonus to Diplomancy. At 5th level this bonus extends to Bluff and Intimidate Checks and at 8th level to all other charisma based skill checks.

Awakening (Su): If a Javelin reaches a certain threshold without being forced into a bad awakening they can attempt to awaken themselves at 10th level granting them superb power. An awakened Javelin gains a +1 bonus to the critical threat range for all weaponlike spells inside her Weapon Domain upon scoring a critical hit with one of her weapon like spells. This bonus stacks with every following critical hit.
This buff resets after every fight.

Blink Movement (Sp) : At 12th level the Javelin gains the ability to teleport herself small distances using a move action. The teleported distance is 4 x her base land speed and can be used 3 + charisma modifier times.

Power of Deception (Su): At 13th level a javelin can add her charisma modifier to will saves against spells and to attack rolls for her weaponlike spells.

Mantle of Magic (Su) : At 14th level a Javelin gains the ability to resist magic. Her spell resistance is equal to her caster level + 10. This spell resistance doesn't stack with other sources of spell resistance.

Djinn's Favor (Su): A Javelin of 16th level or higher can use her supernatural connection to trade for magic items, even if she does not know the spells required to make a specific item. She can use a Use Magic Device Check of 15 + spell level in place of the required spells that would normally be needed to craft or enchant a specific item. She doesn't need the required feats to create or enchant items but she gets a -10 penality on enchants and -20 on magical items if attempted without. A Javelin can only attempt to substitute a required spell once per level. If the check however was successful and is required a second time the javelin can redo the check again. If it fails, she cannot complete the item. She does not expend the XP or gp costs for making the item; her progress is simply arrested.

Heavy Armed (Su): A Javelin of 20th level or higher can hold onto two of her weaponlike spells at once. One in each arm and can dual wield these granting her the benefits of two weapons at the same time. However she still can only summon one new weapon per round.

Campaign Information

Playing a Javelin

Religion: Javelins themselves contributed to the downfall of Mystra. They rarely worship gods as they see them as a sin in this world. Some however have a devotion like relation towards the Djinn which enabled them their powers.

Other Classes: Many Javelins stick to their training and keep going until they reach their peek. However in rare circumstances Javelins may decide to take on foreign approaches of mage slaying and thus multiclass into fitting classes.

Combat: Javelins start their combat with ranged touch attacks and than close in fast to deliver heavy and devasting strikes.

Javelins in the World

“ Hmm, seems this little sorcerer is hiding somewhere around... HERE! ”
—James, Human Javelin, just found his prey

Javelins are rarely seen normally. However whenever magical disturbences seem to occur they appear fast and in most cases the disturbence is gone in the morning.

Daily Life: Javelins that finished their training are mostly used as scouts for magical activities of all kinds and can therefore be often seen wandering around towers and forests. Their life is one full of travel and adventure. However many loose their lives early on due to the dangerous nature of their missions.

Organizations: All Javelins are part of "The Organization". They are however part of different branches within this organization and only take orders from their own branch.

NPC Reactions: Normally considered Fighters and therefore treated the same.

Javelin Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (history) (Int) can research Javelins to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (history) (Int)


DC
Result


5
Javelins are part of a barely known Organization. They are exterminators of evil mages and magical beast.


10
They were also partly responsible for the downfall of Mystra and caused the magical death zones all over the country.


15
Back in the days they were forcefully recruiting orphans and slaves to fight against wizards.


20
Even to this day sometimes they kill families to recruit children into their ranks falsly pushing the blame onto wizards to direct their anger.



Javelin in the Game

Javelins are efficient warriors. They hate wasting time and use anything to their disposal. They aren't afraid of using underhanded means and don't care about opinions in this regard. A dead magician is a better than an insane magician.

Adaptation: This class fits perfectly into a world infested by strong and uncontrollable wizards. Javelins are an opposing force hunting wizards from the shadows and keep this world from total destruction.

Jormengand
2016-10-06, 12:04 PM
Supernatural abilities aren't actually spells, and it becomes way easier not to treat them as spells - look at the soulknife (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/soulknife.htm).
"Seen through" should be "See-through" or "Seethrough" or "Transparent."
"Threat range of 20 and double crit chance" should be "Threat range of 19-20" or "Threat range of 20, and can re-roll failed rolls to confirm a critical hit". Similar alterations should be made for the others.
"It has a hit dice of 1d6 + cha mod damage and marks targets hit with a supernatural curse. Enemies hit by The Anker are unable to use magical movement of any form like fly, teleportation and blink." should be "It deals 1d6 points of damage, and uses the wielder's charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine damage. Enemies hit by Der Anker are subject to a curse: they are unable to use magical movement of any type, such as magical flight, teleportation, or spells such as blink which move the creature wholly or partially onto another plane." It should also specify a duration or how to remove the curse, possibly even with remove curse. Similar alterations should be made to other weapon damages.
"Into close range towards the target" should be "Within 5 feet of the target" or "Within 10 feet of the target"
"A decreased concentration check equal to 1 + cha mod" should be "A penalty on concentration checks equal to 1, plus the javelin's charisma modifier (if positive)" or possibly "A penalty on concentration checks equal to 1, plus the javelin's charisma modifier (minimum zero)".
"Per three caster levels" should be "Per three levels" - unless you mean the target's caster levels, in which case it should be "Per three caster levels of the target".
"Enemies that are under the curse of "Die Schwäche" and use spells within the Javelins threat range can be countered" should be "If an enemy is under the curse of "Die Schwäche" and attempts to cast a spell within the Javelin's threat range, that spell can be countered."
"If an enemy gets hit by "Die Hinrichtung" he will be cursed and has to roll a will save against 11 + cha mod or fall to the ground weakened." should be "If an enemy gets hit by "Die Hinrichtung" that creature is cursed and has to roll a will save against a DC of (10 + half the javelin's class level + the javelin's charisma modifier) or fall prone", and should also specify in what capacity the enemy is "Weakened" (Loss of strength, caster levels, etc.) Die Schändung's save DC should be changed to use the same formula.
"Proficiency with his fists and the feat unarmed strike" should read "Proficiency with the unarmed strike and the feat improved unarmed strike".

This is the example of the kind of change you need to be making. Look at the sentences and make sure they make sense. Make sure there's some kind of game representation of what it means for a creature to be weakened, or a mechanism for the critical chance to be doubled. Give the javelin a single pronoun unless the iconic javelin is genderfluid (which, one supposes, they might be - I used this for one of my classes where I deliberately kept changing the pronouns). For example, "First Javelin Claire" is female, presumably (Claire is a female name, at least in standard English usage), so you need to change all the references to "He" or "Him" to "She" or "Her". I'm going to guess your first language isn't English (in fact, I'm going to guess your first language is German) and I'm happy to look over the rest of your sentences if you're sure you can't do it yourself.

WhiteBread
2016-10-06, 01:04 PM
This is the example of the kind of change you need to be making. Look at the sentences and make sure they make sense. Make sure there's some kind of game representation of what it means for a creature to be weakened, or a mechanism for the critical chance to be doubled. Give the javelin a single pronoun unless the iconic javelin is genderfluid (which, one supposes, they might be - I used this for one of my classes where I deliberately kept changing the pronouns). For example, "First Javelin Claire" is female, presumably (Claire is a female name, at least in standard English usage), so you need to change all the references to "He" or "Him" to "She" or "Her". I'm going to guess your first language isn't English (in fact, I'm going to guess your first language is German) and I'm happy to look over the rest of your sentences if you're sure you can't do it yourself.

Pretty good guess about me being german. Yes you are right .. this was a draft so I need to improve the text by a lot. Thanks for giving me some advice on that. I still would like a review of the class itself too. The name "Javelin" is gender neutral but for easier reading I should go through it and change all he/him to she/her. About the weakened state that is already defined in the PHB and the double crit chance refered to the normal weapons crit multiplier. Gotta improve on that too. Thanks for your help! :D

Jormengand
2016-10-06, 02:21 PM
About the weakened state that is already defined in the PHB

It isn't. The conditions are ability damaged, ability drained, blinded, blown away, checked, confused, cowering, dazed, dazzled, dead, deafened, disabled, dying, energy drained, entangled, exhausted, fascinated, fatigued, flat-footed, frightened, grappling, helpless, incorporeal, invisible, knocked down, nauseated, panicked, paralysed, petrified, pinned, prone, shaken, sickened, stable, staggered, stunned, turned and unconscious. "Weakened" isn't among them. You might mean disabled or helpless.

WhiteBread
2016-10-06, 02:43 PM
It isn't. The conditions are ability damaged, ability drained, blinded, blown away, checked, confused, cowering, dazed, dazzled, dead, deafened, disabled, dying, energy drained, entangled, exhausted, fascinated, fatigued, flat-footed, frightened, grappling, helpless, incorporeal, invisible, knocked down, nauseated, panicked, paralysed, petrified, pinned, prone, shaken, sickened, stable, staggered, stunned, turned and unconscious. "Weakened" isn't among them. You might mean disabled or helpless.

Ah yes you are right. I meant fatigued. But I might want make a new condition if it doesn't exist already.

Edit: Another thing is that this is still a caster class and therefore has caster levels. Similarly to an Artificier or Warlock. The caster levels here are less important however.
I changed some of text already. I will keep going through it.

umbrapolaris
2016-10-06, 09:37 PM
Giving an English translation of the abilities will be appreciated , the only one i can remember after reading is the "der anker" :smallbiggrin:

WhiteBread
2016-10-07, 03:24 AM
Giving an English translation of the abilities will be appreciated , the only one i can remember after reading is the "der anker" :smallbiggrin:

I purposely left them in german. But they would be called "The Anchor", "The Weakness", "The Execution" and "The Desecration" in english.