Brood Warrior, take 2! [PEACH]

[Bandededed]

A good while ago, I posted a base class called "The Ryu" which got almost no feedback :smallfrown:. This is probably due to my own lack of orginizational skills. However, now the class has been cleaned up and rebooted! Enter the powerful Brood Warrior!

Fluff! (different from Breath of Fire III)
A Brood Warrior is a rare individual. They have learned special techniques from their masters, which allow them to transform themselves into powerful draconic forms. The initial training is intense, but after they have mastered a few basic techniques, the masters turn them free on the world. Eventually, the master's hope, they will return and show progress in their abilities.

Most Trainee Brood Warriors desire to advance their powers so that they can return to their masters. Some do this to make their masters proud, and some to show them up, and a relative few do it so that they can return and destroy the master that taught them. In any case, the Brood Warriors master plays a large and important part in his life.

Only very few instances of a Brood Warrior coming to power without a master have ever been recorded, but even when that occurs a Master will swoop down upon the individual and take him as his own trainee.

Brood Warriors are not very well understood by the general populace. They are generally feared once they have revealed themselves, though any city, town, or village near a benevolent master usually feels the opposite.

For this reason, any Brood Warrior will usually use his powers only in secret, or as a last resort.

[Bandededed]

The Ryu.
Hit die : d10
Base attack bonus: Full
Good saves : All
Weapon and Armor: All simple and martial weapons : Light and medium armor : Light and heavy shields
Skills : Bluff, Climb, Craft, Disguise, Intimidate, Jump, Sense Motive, Spot
Skill Points: 4 + int mod per level (x4 at first level)
{table=head]Lvl| BAB| Saves| Special abilities| Mana Pool
1st| +1| +1 | Ascension(whelp)| 5
2nd| +2 | +1 | | 10
3rd |+3 | +2 |Uncanny Dodge | 15
4th |+4 | +2 |Ascension(Frost, Fire, Lightning)| 20
5th |+5 | +3 |Ascended Resistance | 25
6th |+6/+1 | +3 | | 30
7th |+7/+2 | +3 |Evasion | 35
8th |+8/+3 | +4 |Ascension(Mutant, Adult) |40
9th |+9/+4 | +4 |Bonebreak 1/day | 45
10th |+10/+5 | +5 |Ascension(Radiance, Shadow) |50
11th |+11/+6/+1 | +5 |Improved Ascended Resistance |55
12th |+12/+7/+2 | +5 |Ascension(Warrior, Behemoth)| 60
13th |+13/+8/+3 | +6 | | 65
14th |+14/+9/+4 | +6 |Bonebreak 3/day | 70
15th |+15/+10/+5 | +7 |Ascension(Kaiser) | 75
16th |+16/+11/+6/+1| +7 |Greater Ascended Resistance | 80
17th |+17/+12/+7/+2 | +7 | | 85
18th |+18/+13/+8/+3 | +8 |Ascension(Failure) | 90
19th |+19/+14/+9/+4 | +8 | | 95
20th |+20/+15/+10/+5 | +9 |Bonebreak 5/day | 100[/table]

Abilities:
Mana Pool: A Brood Warrior's ability to Ascend is limited by the Mana he has available in his mana pool. His maximum allotment of Mana is given on Table: Brood Warrior. In addition, he receives bonus Mana per day if he has a high Wisdom score. This bonus is equal to his Brood Warrior level times the modifier for his Wisdom score. This Mana comes back after a full night's sleep (8 hours of rest).

Ascension: This is the signature ability of the Brood Warrior. As a full-round, Attack of Opportunity prevoking action, it allows the warrior to take on several different draconic forms. To ascend, a Brood Warrior selects one form gene he can apply to his ascensions and up to any two elemental or miscellaneous genes he can apply. He than pays the total mana cost of all selected genes, and becomes different draconic creature based on his Form choice. For all forms other than Warrior or Kaiser, the Brood Warrior loses all worn equipment*, but gains a natural armor bonus = 1/2 his armor bonus before Ascending.** At the end of each turn after his ascension, the Brood Warrior pays half of that ascension cost again. If at any time he cannot or refuses to pay the full cost, he reverts to his original form as an immediate action. He will also revert if the form he is in drops to 0 HP or lower, though this leaves the Brood Warrior stunned for the next round.
Upon Ascending, the Form always has the Brood Warrior's maximum HP plus any new HP gained from the form's stat enhancements. After reverting, the Brood Warrior has the same HP total as he had before Ascending.
* If a Brood Warrior is wearing a Wisdom enhancing item, that effect alone is never lost. Thus, his mana pool will not decrease if he Ascends.
* For the Behemoth form, the Brood Warrior gains a nat. armor bonus = 10 + his armor bonus before ascending

Uncanny Dodge: The Brood Warrior's heightened draconic senses allow him to react to danger before he would normally do so. He retains his Dex bonus to AC even when flat-footed or when struck by an invisible attacker. He still loses it if he is immobilized, helpless, etc.

Evasion: Whenever a Brood Warrior is the subject of a spell or ability with a reflex partial save, his draconic reflexes can allow him to ignore that effect. He instead treats that spell or ability as a Reflex negates.

Ascended Resistance: The Brood Warrior gains resistance 5 to all elemental damage when ascended. At level 11, this ability improves; the Brood Warrior instead gains resistance 15 to all elemental damage.

Bonebreak: This ability must be declared before the attack roll to be used (so a miss ruins the attempt). The bonebreak attack deals automatic critical damage on a successful hit, and if the attack roll indicates and confirms critical damage, it does damage as if the critical modifier were one step up (2x would be 3x, 3x 4x, etc)

Genes:
Form: Whelp, Adult, Warrior, Behemoth, Kaiser
Elemental: Fire, Frost, Lightning, Radiance, Shadow
Miscellaneous: Failure

Fire does fire damage, Frost does cold damage, Lightning does electric damage, Radiance does positive energy (heals living, damages undead), and Shadow does negative energy (hurts living, heals undead)

{table=head]Gene name| Mana cost|Gene name|Mana cost|Gene name|Mana cost|Gene name|Mana cost
Fire | 8 | Whelp | 2 | Behemoth | 24 | Mutant | 16
Frost | 8 | Adult | 16 | Kaiser | 40 |Radiance | 20
Lightning | 8 | Warrior | 24 | Failure | 10 |Shadow | 20[/table]

Form Genes allow access to the following special abilities:
Form Breath Attack: X ft cone of Force Damage (depends on type). It does xd4 (determined by the form) and decreases with the Form's health. It tapers at the following percents: 75, 50, 25. It only does that percentage damage, rounded down. Cost: dependant on form.
*The Warrior and Behemoth forms do not gain this ability

Form natural weapons: Each form grants different natural weapons - some none at all - but these natural weapons are treated as having the same magical enhancements as any one weapon the Brood Warrior posses when he Ascends.

Elemental Genes allow access to the following special abilities:
Elemental Breath Attack: As Form Breath Attack, except it deals xd6 damage, deals elemental damage, and costs twice as much mana. Only one element can be used at a time (frost breath or fire breath, not frostfire breath).
*Kaiser cannot gain this ability

Elemental Claw: Despite the name, an Ascended Brood Warrior can take a standard action to attack with any natural or held weapon to deal an extra 1d8 elemental damage for every 5 points of damage the attack would otherwise do. This drains mana equal to 5 * the number of d8's. Only one element can be used at a time (lightning claw or radiance claw, not radiantlight claw).
*Kaiser cannot gain this ability

Form abilities, extended:
Whelp: Small size. +2 to all physical scores.
Breath attacks: 15 ft cones. Do 1d4 / 6 per Brood Warrior level. Cost is 1 or 2 for elemental.
Nat. Weapons: (primary) claw attack (1d3) (secondary) bite attack (1d4)
Special: Fly speed (20 ft, poor)

Adult: Large (tall) size. +4 to all physical ability scores.
Breath attacks: 30 ft cones. Do 2d4 / 6 per Brood Warrior level. Cost is 8 or 16 for elemntal.
Nat. Weapons: (primary) claw attack (1d6) (secondary) bite attack (1d8)
Special: Fly speed (30 ft, average)

Mutant: No size change. No stat change.
Breath attacks: As adult.
Retains all worn equipment
Special: Looks as if nothing had happened. Good for sneaking.

Warrior: Medium size. +6 to all physical ability scores.
Breath attacks: Only elemental. As adult.
Retains all worn equipment.
Special: Always hasted. Fly speed (40, good)

Behemoth: Huge size (15/15), reach 10 ft. +10 str and con.
Breath attacks: Only elemental. As adult.
Nat. Weapons: (primary) bite (with imp. nat. atk(bite)) (4d6), a trample attack (2d6 + 1.5x str mod, Ref save DC = 10 + .5 BW lvl + str mod), and a (secondary) gore attack (2d6)
Special: Base land speed decreases by 10 (min 5). Gains DR 15/- Nonstandard Armor bonus, see above.

Kaiser: No size change. All physical ability scores +10
Breath attacks: -Special- Only Kaiser breath (force damage). 60 ft cone, 4d6 damage / Brood Warrior level. Costs 20 mana.
Retains all worn equipment
Special: 1 bonus Bonebreak attack that doens't count against the daily limit per transformation. Is always hasted. Gains DR 15/-. Base land speed increases to 90 ft.
Berserk Fury: There is a 25% chance at the end of each round that the Kaiser goes berserk, attacking the nearest living thing until it is slain, reverts due to mana loss, or regains sanity. Once the Kaiser goes berserk, there is a 25% chance at the end of each round that her regains sanity. The Kaiser cannot use any special attacks while berserk.

Failure: Special: can only be chosen along with the Kaiser gene upon ascension. This gene negates the Kaiser's Berserk Fury special ability, leaving him fully in control of his power for it's duration.

Form descriptions (no description for mutant):
Whelp: A small creature stands before you, with a dragon's muzzle and scaled skin. It has wings and a tail, and it's back legs are shaped like a humans, but it stands on only those two legs, it's front ones instead supporting large claws...

Adult: A large creature stands before you, with a dragon's muzzle and scaled skin. It has wings and a tail, and it's back legs are shaped like a humans, but it stands on only those two legs, it's front ones instead supporting large claws...

Warrior: The creature that floats before you looks like a half-dragon. It's forearms and lower legs are covered in scales, and it has enourmous wings. A tail curls around from behind it, lashing the ground.

Behemoth: The creature you see looks like a giagantic turtle with a spiked shell, except that it's face and head seem to be part of the shell instead of extending beyond it. It has massive teeth, and looks as though it could trample you easily.

Kaiser: You don't understand. A moment ago your enemy had hair as black as the night, but now it gleams golden in the light of the setting sun. (note: whatever color your character's hair was, it turns into a shiny gold)

[DracoDei]

Needs Fluff...

[ZeroNumerous]

As a balanced class, it works. Theres not much else to say as you didn't give any fluff from BoF3.

Fluff-wise, however, the class doesn't stand up to the fluff and abilities given in BoF3. For example, Warrior doesn't get access to a breath weapon, Failure Kaiser is weaker than True Kaiser or Berserk Kaiser. Berserk Kaiser only exists because Ryu is weak(See BoF2 for G.Drgn/Kaiser transformation). And a few other fluff-based problems. None of this actually matters, as the fluff is malleable since it's your class.

DracoDei: You're sorta required to have played BoF3 to understand the abilities as they're given.

[RTGoodman]

Yeah, I have no idea what BoF3 is, but I do know one thing - having the skill section as "Any 10" leaves it wide open for abuse. I'd just go ahead and pick the ones that fit and limit to those.

[Bandededed]

I added a fluff section in the first post, but I probably forgot to add something so if anyone notices it, please let me know. I'm considering skills as I type this, and I'll have the list up soon.

Edit: Skills are up

[Foulu]

I think it's rather good, I'm trying to put together a homebrew BoF campaign series...do you think I can take your class and warp it some to fit the Brood race I already made?