As presented by what appears to be my spirit.
"It should be clear to everyone that this is not because I like this guy and his material or anything, I just happen to think that some of it is okay!
Got that?! G-good then! Alright,
ikimasu! Let's go!
So, Lord_Gareth. We've practically been neighbours for years, but it wasn't until he posted a prestige class of his -- the
Infernomancer -- that we actually conversed for the first time and ignited the beginnings of this relationship.
...friends, you dolt! Homebrew buddies! Heck, we had both brewn stuff before then! He had a foursome of elemental elves as races, a handful of prestige classes, the Harrowed--oh
god, the Harrowed--and a monster, plus a campaign setting in the works and he had hosted two Base Class Challenges by that time, too. He even had a
homebrew deposit for himself for a while! He forgot about that, it seems!
Baka! Idiot!
The newer version of it is
here, which I never really looked at, but looking back now... I am stunned that he never finished the Terramancer, Levinmancer and Frigimancer! Tsss! What a lazy bum he is!
I don't know what I see in him.
Talking about the Base Class Challenge, the ass
not a pony didn't even properly do the third one right! He ran off just so he didn't have to put up with the hassle of a voting thread! Heck, even the guy who did ran off, making me the only one never officially proclaimed as a victor until BCC XII! Well, unless you count Temotei listing it in the new chat thread, bless his heart.
I mean, seriously.
Hrmmm... well, one thing can be said for sure about this shaggy-haired redhead demon-possessed brony 'brewer, he sure has a colourful personality. And he knows how to work his colours too, because
DA-YUM, DEM WHEELS. I first discovered the Colour Wheel in its first incarnation by just browsing around, responded on the second and gaze Gareth a water torture as I interrogated him on the changes. Well, not really... actually, my lawyer's telling me that I probably should continue with the real stuff. It's an interesting system and feels much better than the old system that was so blocky, whereas this one is round and many-layered, making it a firm system.
...what are you drooling for?!
Wipe that stupid look off your face! And sit still! I'm telling a story here!
Okay, where was I? Hmmm... oh yeah, let's talk a bit about his early work. Like his
Kustom Job feats. I mean, sheesh, really? A Warhammer fanboy? Icky! Let's move on before the one-week smell buys itself a sentience upgrade with that heap of disposable income!
The
Lightningblade feats are meant to go with fluff and PrCs and stuff for a monastary, but those never came. The feats are very nifty and balanced to themselves, but they have very hefty prerequisites, feats that likely very few people will ever take, ultimately making them fit mainly for low-op games.
So hm, what's more? Gareth's made a ton of races, but I only paid attention to handful of them, despite loving races a lot most of the time, races are my bitches
and not my bishies as people claim, dammit! Well, I mainly kept up with his races for his Dreavarr setting, which are grouped together, so I'll just cover those. The
Halflings are greasemonkeys in the fluff, as well as thieves and all that, fitting right into lower class New York from the '30s.
Gnolls fall into the boat right next to it, similar societal roles, but go into the military often too. They're the tough guys and the luggers. No Str bonus and Powerful Build, you say? Yeah, I did that too, it's unusual, but not forbidden, so shut up! The fluff for
Half-Orcs suggests that the there no longer are pureblooded orcs, that they fall into the same boat as gnolls, but more thuggish often, and they're wiser than their ordinary DnD counterparts. Hm, I'm starting to see a pattern here in societal roles... The
Elves are the tinkerers and real engineering greasemonkeys, way different from standard elves, mainly because they've given up on the whole "protect nature" gig, since it was inevitable that the world turned to shyte, mechanical shyte all over, the huff and puff of factories, all that jazz. Curiously enough, it would seem the elves are more middle class than the previous three races, or even a small step up from that sometimes, despite them fighting against the whole progress in the past. Dwarves and gnomes are hinted to be big in the world, so presumably they are the middle and upper classes (and humans of course), but I guess Dreavarr games mainly focus on the lower classes and struggling in society.
Geargrinders fit right into that, except less so being the strugglers and moreso a symbol of the struggle itself to other races, as they are a sign that workers can be replaced by machines. They come in various production styles and roles, being quicker and stronger than the other, true-living races, but fragile and easily damaged, something mobs of angry workers take advantage of if they catch one. I didn't see anything of the Dreavarr setting beyond these races, but this is looking a lot like the breeding grounds of communist revolution or World War II, except for the fact that there hasn't been a World War I to create the slow-burning fire to erupt into a bonfire. Yikes!
Oh, he's also made a bunch of artifacts, but a lot aren't posted on GitP it seems, but those can be found
here, so I'm guessing Gareth is not only a Lord, but also a Prince of Knives. Hmmm, interesting...
never thought he'd be a prince.
He's made over a dozen PrCs, but those aren't really my thing, so I kinda want to skip over those, so I'll just stick to one, though I will note I've seen all the PrCs with "of" in the name when they were posted and they're... well, uh, they're alright I guess. It's not like some of them are pretty awesome or anything...
I see there's three with single-word names, one pretty short:
Spook. Oohh, multi-language word! Double oohh, a commoner PrC! *
sits down for this one* Wow, the fluff starts off good, murder of a rapist, oh my! It has some really nasty abilities, a few ordinary ones, but they fit well with the theme of the class and together with each other. Brutal. Be good now, kids!"
"
Why, because Santa won't give us presents?"
"No, because the Spook will fracken' MUTILATE your ankles and your face!"
"
D:"
"Now be quiet and let me finish! This is the final part anyway, the base classes!
My opinions on the
Malefactor has already been
stated, and the same goes for the
Witch Doctor. That leaves three, the first of which is the
Revised Hexblade, but that prettymuch got worked into the Malefactor, so eh.
Then there is the
Scourge. Half of it is prettymuch ordinary and cribbed from official stuff it seems to me, but hey, it was one of Gareth's early classes, so cut him some slack! He tried! Plus, the Scourgecraft ability and the alchemist and grenadier stuff it has is pretty well done and interesting, though I don't get much what is so specifically scourgey about it, at least over and beyond that of other classes. Well, aside from the favoured enemy stuff, I guess. Fits well enough into Tier 4 or Borderline, I suppose.
Now then, I guess we're getting to the main event now. A class that has been requested to be Tiered several times, some of those times being by Gareth himself, for which he has been smitten...
...smitten as in that I smited him! Like a Paladin does, not like the whole lovey thing! Shut up, or I'll smite you too, and then you won't get to hear the rest of it, or get Tiered yourself! I said SHUT UP!
So yeah, here it is then, the class requested half a dozen times, once even getting a person pissed off at me for not having Tiered it yet, a class in the making since Gareth started homebrewing (I mean, really, how long can a guy work on something like that, I mean,
GOD, GEEZ [/hypcrite).
Come one, come all, for it's time for the Tiering of...
Tenebrous Touch is the Harrowed's basic ability that builds over its 20 levels. It's kind of like the Warlock's Eldritch Blast, except it is a melee touch attack and deals energy damage of a kind you pick at level 1, customizing the flavour for the class (and the demon sealed inside) to your character.
Harrowings are the Harrowed's main deal. Well,
obviously! And obviously everyone is going to take Hell-Born Flight when they can because it's awesome. Verminous Slither is also good mechnically, but I have one thing to say about it:
ewwww! Otherworldly Senses is also damn good, especially with Two-World Eyes and all (see below). Predatory Obfuscation is basically Hide in Plain Sight, except you can get it earlier than other classes
and you deal more damage. Damn, Gareth, you and your sense of balance!
No, really, it's kinda good though. Love the damage, actually. Fiendish Sweep is a tasty ability that I like and I love how that plays out in my head.
Two-World Eyes is a very nice ability with a great build-up over the levels. Most of the time it may feel very minor or not see much use, but against certain opponents it is perfect. Plus, at-will
detect magic and darkvision for a race normally without it is always great to have.
Scent the Occult is a very nice ability, very flavourful and it can be incredibly handy at certain occassions during a campaign, in similar vein as the Nemesis feat (see BoED) does for an Arcane Hunter Ranger, but more expanded, though limited by the range of scent.
Tenebrous Fury is a very nice capstone, making the Harrowed a force to be reckoned with in melee, even if it is only for a number of rounds equal to their Cha modifier.
There's a bunch of feats, and considering there is one specifically for nongood Harrowed, I'm surprised there aren't any for good Harrowed, or especially LG ones, considering that's the opposite of the demon inside them. The feats are very good and strong, so if you prefer low-op games, then they aren't for you, but if you don't and/or hate feat tax and think official feats could use a bump, these are feats you want to take.
Well, I think uh... that that was prettymuch it! Whew, thank god it's over. If I had to talk any more about Gareth I think I'd puke! What a bitch!
Not a bishie, dammit, I don't think he's pretty! Really!
God, I think I need to go make a saving throw, because that guy just sickens me!
Sayonara! Goodbye!"
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I will accept any reasonable punishment for my spirit's overuse of baka desu Japanese, its horrendously bad and disguised double entendres and its very cute blushing.