New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Results 1 to 13 of 13
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Circle of Life's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2010

    Default The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    The Soulweaver



    ”Shadow and light; to most, they are naught but things to be seen. But to those who know the soul - truly know the soul – these things exist within every creature, surpassing such mundane concepts as good and evil, right and wrong. I see the deep shadows in your heart, and judge you unworthy of life.” - Carerris Morium, Soulweaver


    Adventures: Soulweavers adventure for many reasons; those who focus on their darker side might wander the world collecting souls to increase their own power, while those who favor the powers of light might find the true meaning of life only in defending those who throw themselves against the tide of evil on a continual basis.

    Characteristics: Soulweavers embracing their link to the negative energy plane are powerful necromancers, capable of raising armies of undead to fight beside them. Soulweavers who favor their link to the positive energy planes are potent support characters, able to repeatedly heal or shield allies over the course of a battle.

    Alignment: Soulweavers must have a neutral alignment on the good/evil axis, though many lean strongly one way or another to one of these extremes. Though the use of undead creatures is an abhorrent act in many eyes, a Soulweaver can temper the taint of their abilities by using them for good causes. Likewise, their link to positive energy prevents a Soulweaver from developing a truly depraved mindset, though some are nevertheless cruel or selfish despite this.

    Religion: Soulweavers never worship gods that abhor the use of undead creatures, but their choice of religion is otherwise unrestricted. Many Soulweavers favor the gods of balance, such as Xan Yae.

    Background: Soulweavers can come from many backgrounds, such as deep study of the afterlife and the planes or a desire to become apprenticed to a powerful necromancer. However, the most common way in which a Soulweaver unlocks their powers is by having a near-death experience; many who learned of their abilities in this way speak not of their lives flashing before their eyes, but of a strange, eerie calm in which the secrets of life – and unlife – were revealed to them.

    Races: Soulweavers come from all races, though those with primal or shamanistic characteristics are most likely to develop a high number of Soulweavers. Unlikely as it may seem, Warforged are more likely than most races to become Soulweavers, fascinated as many are with the nature of all living things.

    Other Classes: Soulweavers are often looked down upon by the “true” necromancers – those depraved spellcasters who have devoted their souls to evil in exchange for greater power – for not fully embracing the darkness within them. Likewise, mystics and zealots of good deities, especially Pelor, tend to loathe Soulweavers for their use of the undead. Neutral clerics often empathize with Soulweavers in their attempts to balance the powers of positive and negative energy, and neutral dread necromancers consider Soulweavers close kin, as both tend to use undead for good causes.

    Role: A Soulweaver favoring their link to negative energy is a potent summoner, capable of spawning a single powerful ally or multiple weaker ones. When embracing their link to positive energy, a Soulweaver is a powerful healer with several disabling and supporting abilities.

    Adaptation: In a campaign where Undead are not inherently evil, or where a connection to positive energy is not inherently good, a DM should consider loosening the alignment restrictions placed upon a Soulweaver.

    GAME RULE INFORMATION
    Soulweavers have the following game statistics.
    Abilities: Charisma is the most important ability score to a Soulweaver, as it determines the most powerful undead they can summon, as well as the difficulty class of saving throws offered by their abilities. Strength is important to Soulweavers who wish to fight on their own, as these boost their capability with both mundane weapons and their positive energy lash. Constitution and Dexterity are both important to any Soulweaver, as they tend to be relatively fragile with their medium hit dice and lack of armor proficiencies beyond light.
    Alignment: Chaotic neutral, lawful neutral, and true neutral.
    Hit Die: d8
    Starting Age: As cleric.
    Starting Gold: 4d4x10

    Class Skills
    The Soulweaver's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis)
    Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + int

    {table="head"]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort|Ref|Will|Special|Anima

    1st|+0|+0|+0|+2|Deathly Horde, Life's Dichotomy, Positive Energy Lash (1d6)|3

    2nd|+1|+0|+0|+3|Deathly Horde (animals), Turn or Rebuke Undead|4

    3rd|+2|+1|+1|+3|Deathly Horde (ghouls), Positive Energy Lash (2d6)|6

    4th|+3|+1|+1|+4|Deathly Horde (magical beasts), Purifying Light|7

    5th|+3|+1|+1|+4|Deathly Horde (shadows), Positive Energy Lash (3d6)|9

    6th|+4|+2|+2|+5|Deathly Horde (giants), Blinding Lash|10

    7th|+5|+2|+2|+5|Deathly Horde (wights), Positive Energy Lash (4d6)|12

    8th|+6/+1|+2|+2|+6|Deathly Horde (aberrations, fey), Warding Light|13

    9th|+6/+1|+3|+3|+6|Deathly Horde (mummies), Positive Energy Lash (5d6)|15

    10th|+7/+2|+3|+3|+7|Deathly Horde (monstrous humanoids), Breath of Life|16

    11th|+8/+3|+3|+3|+7|Deathly Horde (mohrgs), Positive Energy Lash (6d6)|18

    12th|+9/+4|+4|+4|+8|Deathly Horde (dragons, outsiders), Dazing Lash|19

    13th|+9/+4|+4|+4|+8|Deathly Horde (dread wraiths), Positive Energy Lash (7d6)|21

    14th|+10/+5|+4|+4|+9|Radiant Blast, Swarm of Souls|22

    15th|+11/+6/+1|+5|+5|+9|Deathly Horde (nightwings), Positive Energy Lash (8d6)|24

    16th|+12/+7/+2|+5|+5|+10|Necrotic Burst, Shield of Light|25

    17th|+12/+7/+2|+5|+5|+10|Deathly Horde (nightwalkers), Positive Energy Lash (9d6)|27

    18th|+13/+8/+3|+6|+6|+11|Aura of Light, Soul Siphon|28

    19th|+14/+9/+4|+6|+6|+11|Deathly Horde (nightcrawlers), Positive Energy Lash (10d6)|30

    20th|+15/+10/+5|+6|+6|+12|The Circle of Life|40[/table]

    Class Features: All of the following are class features of the Soulweaver.

    Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Soulweavers are proficient with all simple weapons and with one martial melee weapon of their choice. Soulweavers are proficient with light armor and with bucklers, but no other shields.

    Anima: Whether it be releasing lashes of pure energy or calling hordes of undead, Soulweavers are limited in the effects they can create by the amount of positive or negative energy they can safely channel through their own bodies. This limit is reflected in a limited pool of points, known simply as Anima, that refreshes at the start of each encounter (or after eight hours have elapsed without an encounter, whichever comes first). Each ability that the Soulweaver uses consumes an amount of Anima as detailed in its description; once used, Anima is lost until the beginning of a new encounter, at which point the Soulweaver's full pool of Anima becomes available again, ready to be used however he sees fit. A Soulweaver begins with a pool of 3 Anima, though this amount steadily increases as he gains levels, as seen on the table above.

    Dichotomy of Life: Whether through intense study or an inherent link instilled within them from birth, all Soulweavers possess the ability to touch both the positive and negative energy planes. These two conflicting forces cancel each other out however, and so a Soulweaver can only embrace one at any point. A Soulweaver can change which source of energy they are attuned to with five minutes of uninterrupted concentration, but once attuned to one of these energy sources, they remain so attuned indefinitely, even while sleeping or while in an area of antimagic or similar.

    Deathly Horde (Su): By drawing on his connection to the negative energy plane, a Soulweaver can animate souls, giving them physical forms created from the base elements of the surrounding area. A Soulweaver gains the ability to absorb the souls of fallen enemies into his own body, to be made manifest at a later point. Absorbing a soul is a full-round action that must be taken within one round of the creature's death per class level and requires both line of sight and line of effect. A Soulweaver can only absorb a soul from a creature whose hit dice are equal to or less than his class level plus his Charisma modifier, to a maximum of twice his class level; he intuitively knows the hit dice of a soul he attempts to absorb, provided he would be capable of absorbing it, and may choose not to do so. After absorbing a soul, the Soulweaver must decide what form of undead the soul will take when manifested. A 1st level Soulweaver begins play with two souls, and may possess a maximum number of souls at one time equal to three times his class level. The Soulweaver may release a held soul at any time, but while the soul is in his possession, it is an intrinsic part of his essence, and may not be returned to life in any way short of the direct intervention of a deity of Greater rank or above; even a wish spell or similar magic is insufficient to restore life to a captured soul.

    A Soulweaver doesn't need to absorb a humanoid soul or even an intelligent being's soul to make an undead. Once he obtains a soul, he can force it to take the shape of any undead he is capable of creating; once made, the choice of undead form a given soul will take is permanent.

    Animating a soul with this ability is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. If the Soulweaver takes damage while activating this ability, he may attempt a Concentration check to continue animating the soul; treat this ability as a spell of a level equal to half the hit dice of the creature to be animated for the purpose of determining the DC of the Concentration check to continue the action. Otherwise, the action fails to no effect, though the Soulweaver does not lose any Anima he would have consumed to manifest the chosen soul. If successful, the chosen creature becomes manifest within Close (25 ft +5 ft/2 levels) range of the Soulweaver. After having animated one or more dead creatures, the Soulweaver must spend a swift action every round to maintain their animation; failure or inability to take a swift action to keep the undead animated causes them to crumble to dust instantly. While animated, the Soulweaver has complete control over undead he creates, though he is limited to simple mental commands when directing undead to a task whose goal he himself cannot immediately perceive (such as directing a burrowing ankheg skeleton to dig a tunnel, or controlling any animated creature beyond the range of his vision).

    Every animated soul requires Anima to be invested in it. While animated, the Anima invested in an animated undead does not return to the Soulweaver's pool, no matter how long he rests. Animating a soul requires an amount of Anima equal to one-half the HD of the soul to be animated, or the base cost of the undead form it takes, whichever is higher.

    Animated souls become manifest at full hit points, no matter their condition the last time they were destroyed. If a soul is destroyed while animated (including simply by failure to devote a swift action to maintaining the forces animating it), the Soulweaver must make a Concentration check equal to 10 + the HD of the destroyed soul or lose focus, destroying all animated souls.

    At 1st level, the Soulweaver only has access to skeletons and zombies. However, at 3rd level, 5th level, and every 2nd level thereafter, he gains an extra form of undead as shown on the table below. Futhermore, the Soulweaver is limited to humanoid forms for his animated undead at 1st level, but gains the ability to create undead in the form of other creature types as he gains levels, as shown on the table above. More powerful forms of undead require more Anima to maintain, as shown on the table below. When the Soulweaver absorbs a soul, the target keeps their HD and ability scores if the chosen undead form is a template, but loses class features and racial traits as they are transformed into undead. If the undead form is not a template, they instead keep only their HD. If they have more HD than the monster entry listed, it is advanced to their level when they are summoned, regardless of whether the monster entry lists advancement to that number of hit dice or not. If a soul has fewer HD than the base HD of a monster entry, that soul cannot be used to create the chosen creature. All animated undead lose the ability to create spawn, regardless of the form they take.

    {table=head]Undead Form|Class Level|Minimum Anima Investiture
    Skeleton|1|1
    Zombie|1|1
    Ghoul|3|3
    Shadow|5|5
    Wight|7|7
    Mummy|9|7
    Mohrg|11|8
    Dread Wraith|13|11
    Nightwing|15|15
    Nightwalker|17|18
    Nightcrawler|19|22[/table]

    A Soulweaver may only use this ability while attuned to the negative energy plane, and any undead currently animated when he changes his attunement to the positive energy plane are immediately destroyed.

    Positive Energy Lash (Su): As an attack action – that is, an attack made as part of a standard or full-attack action or as an attack of opportunity – a Soulweaver may conjure a lash of positive energy and strike at a foe. When using this ability, the Soulweaver makes an attack as with a whip sized for a creature of his type, save that the attack is resolved as a touch attack. Successfully striking with the whip deals 1d6 radiant damage, and an additional 1d6 radiant damage at 3rd level and every two levels thereafter. Radiant damage is unresistible untyped damage, save that creatures normally immune or resistant to positive energy damage (such as a creature with the life ward spell active) are also immune to this damage.

    Alternately, a Soulweaver may strike an ally with a positive energy lash, temporarily establishing a link between them and the positive energy plane, healing an amount of damage equal to the damage normally inflicted by this ability. A willing ally may choose to be struck by the lash with no need for an attack roll. Only creatures normally healed by positive energy may be healed by this ability.

    While the Soulweaver has at least one point of Anima remaining, he threatens an area out to 5 feet with his positive energy lash, and may take attacks of opportunity as normal for creatures moving through his threatened area. When activating this ability as part of a full-attack action, the Soulweaver may make attacks with the lash only for each attack granted to him by his base attack bonus; abilities that grant the Soulweaver additional attacks in a full-attack action, such as the Two-weapon Fighting line of feats or the haste spell continue to function normally, but these extra attacks must be made with other weapons, not the positive energy lash.

    Regardless of how it is used, each time a positive energy lash is activated, it consumes one point of Anima. A Soulweaver may only make use of his positive energy lash while attuned to the positive energy plane.

    Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a Soulweaver can turn or rebuke undead as a cleric of his level -1. While attuned to the positive energy plane, the Soulweaver gains the ability to turn undead, and while attuned to the negative energy plane, gains the ability to rebuke undead. A Soulweaver cannot use his rebuke undead ability to command undead. A Soulweaver can turn or rebuke undead a combined number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier.

    Purifying Light (Su): When using his positive energy lash to heal an ally, a Soulweaver of 4th level or higher may imbue the lash with additional Anima to cleanse the healed ally of one or more conditions. The Soulweaver may cleanse multiple conditions with a single use of this ability, though the Anima required for each condition is cumulative.

    {table=head]Condition|Anima Cost
    Ability Damage|1/point
    Ability Drain|3/point
    Blinded|2
    Confusion|3 (10 if permanent)
    Dazed|2
    Dazzled|1
    Deafened|2
    Energy Drain|4/level
    Exhausted|4
    Fatigued|2
    Nauseated|4
    Paralyzed|6
    Permanent Level Loss|10/level
    Petrified|10
    Sickened|2
    Stunned|4[/table]

    Blinding Lash (Su): Beginning at 6th level, a Soulweaver may imbue his positive energy lash with blinding energy by infusing it with two additional points of Anima. If the imbued lash strikes its target, the struck foe must succeed on a Will save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier, or be blinded for 1d6 rounds.

    Warding Light (Su): Beginning at 8th level, a Soulweaver may conjure a swirling field of semisolid radiance around an ally within Close (25 ft + 5ft/2 levels) as an immediate action. This field persists until the end of the affected ally's next turn. While active, the field grants a +2 deflection bonus to AC that stacks with any other deflection bonuses the ally might possess. If the warded ally is struck by an attack, whether magical or mundane, despite this additional bonus to AC, the shield of light vanishes, instantly healing the struck ally for the full amount of healing from the Soulweaver's positive energy lash.

    Activating this ability consumes three points of Anima. This ability may only be activated while the Soulweaver is attuned to the positive energy plane.

    Breath of Life (Su): Beginning at 10th level, a Soulweaver may infuse a fallen ally with the pure essence of the positive energy plane, restoring life to a body before its soul departs. Once per day, the Soulweaver may replicate the effects of a revivify spell (SpC, p. 176), except that the time frame in which this ability may be used can be extended for one round for each additional point of Anima infused into its activation.

    Activating this ability consumes five points of Anima, plus an additional point for each round of time added to its activation window. This ability may only be used while attuned to the positive energy plane.

    Dazing Lash (Su): Beginning at 12th level, a Soulweaver may imbue his positive energy lash with dazing energy by infusing it with three additional points of Anima. If the imbued lash strikes its target, the struck foe must succeed on a Will save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier, or be dazed for 1d2 rounds.

    Radiant Blast (Su): Beginning at 14th level, a Soulweaver may release a 60 ft burst of brilliant energy as a standard action once per encounter. All foes caught within this burst take radiant damage equal to the Soulweaver's positive energy lash damage. A successful Reflex save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier halves this damage.

    Additionally, the Soulweaver may designate one ally within the area of effect; that ally receives the effect of a heal spell, with a caster level equal to the Soulweaver's class level.

    Using this ability consumes ten points of Anima. This ability may only be used while attuned to the positive energy plane.

    Swarm of Souls (Su): Beginning at 14th level, a Soulweaver may conjure a ring of whirling souls around him as a standard action, which persists for five rounds. At the beginning of each of the Soulweaver's turns, all foes within 10 feet of him must succeed on a Reflex save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier, or be struck by the scything souls, taking 1d6 points of ability drain to one physical and one mental ability score of the Soulweaver's choice, chosen when he first activates this ability.

    Using this ability consumes five points of Anima. This ability may only be used while attuned to the negative energy plane.

    Necrotic Burst (Su): Beginning at 16th level, a Soulweaver may release a blast of concentrated negative energy as a standard action once per encounter. The Soulweaver releases a 30 ft burst of negative energy, which inflicts 1d6 negative levels on all creatures within the area of effect. A successful Fortitude save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier reduces the number of negative levels to one, or negates the effect if the Soulweaver rolled a 1. All Undead creatures in the area of the burst receive 5 temporary hitpoints for each negative level this ability would otherwise have inflicted. These temporary hitpoints persist for one hour or until consumed.

    Using this ability consumes ten points of Anima. This ability may only be used while attuned to the negative energy plane.

    Shield of Light (Su): Beginning at 16th level, a Soulweaver may create a nimbus of swirling golden light around an ally within line of sight as a standard action. This shield sheds light as a daylight spell, and absorbs up to five damage per class level. This damage absorption is not temporary hitpoints, but rather the shield itself taking the effects of the damaging attacks; any attack that is completely absorbed by the shield has no effect on the warded ally, as if they were not struck at all.

    Using this ability consumes ten points of Anima. This ability may only be used while attuned to the positive energy plane.

    Aura of Light (Su): Beginning at 18th level, a Soulweaver may generate a brilliant aura around himself as a standard action. This aura is a 60 ft emanation that persists for five rounds. All allies within the aura gain fast healing equal to the Soulweaver's class level, while all enemies within the aura take an equal amount of radiant damage at the start of each of his turns. A successful Will save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier halves this damage.

    Using this ability consumes ten points of Anima. This ability may only be used while attuned to the positive energy plane.

    Soul Siphon (Su): Beginning at 18th level, once per encounter a Soulweaver may violently pull on the soul of a creature within Close (25 ft +5ft/2 levels) range. If the creature fails a Will save, DC 10+1/2 class level+Cha modifier, it is slain instantly and the Soulweaver immediately absorbs its soul (if the Soulweaver is incapable of holding more souls, he may choose to immediately release one or fail to absorb this soul, at his discretion). This is a negative energy [Death] effect, and works only on creatures whose souls are linked to their body; most constructs, undead, and outsiders are thus immune to this ability. If this ability is successful, the Anima cost is refunded, and the Soulweaver gains additional temporary Anima equal to half the slain creature's hit dice, which persist until the end of the encounter.

    Using this ability consumes ten points of Anima. This ability may only be used while attuned to the negative energy plane.

    The Circle of Life (Ex): At 20th level, a Soulweaver's mastery over life and death reaches its zenith. He may attune himself to both the positive and negative energy planes at the same time, and thus may make use of all of his class features concurrently. Additionally, he may cause his positive energy lash to instead function as a negative energy lash at his discretion; a negative energy lash functions in all regards as a positive energy lash, save that it deals negative energy damage and may be used to heal and remove conditions from creatures healed by negative energy damage.
    Dealing with massive extended family DRAMAAAAA, posting slow to nonexistent until issues resolved.

    Avatar by the wonderful Ceika. Many praises be unto she.

    Live your life without regrets.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Circle of Life's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2010

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    The above is a repost of my entry for the Base Class Challenge X. The Soulweaver ended up taking 3rd, after a tie for first place between two excellent submissions. PEACH away if you like, but I think of it as a completed work in its current state.
    Dealing with massive extended family DRAMAAAAA, posting slow to nonexistent until issues resolved.

    Avatar by the wonderful Ceika. Many praises be unto she.

    Live your life without regrets.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    gkathellar's Avatar

    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Beyond the Ninth Wave
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Not up for a full review, but I like it at a glance.

    Also, it's you!
    Quote Originally Posted by KKL
    D&D is its own momentum and does its own fantasy. It emulates itself in an incestuous mess.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Knight13's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    I like it, though I would point out that, until level 14, the only ability that negative energy-attuned Soulweavers have is undead summoning. Furthermore, it looks highly impractical to manifest a soul in any form other than the strongest one you have access to. Aside from the fact that it takes a full round action to manifest each one, you also run the risk of losing them all every time one is destroyed. Thus, the only real option a negative energy Soulweaver has before level 14 is to manifest one or two souls in the strongest forms he can and then wade into melee. This also means that there's no real reason to have more than two souls at any given time, since you can't do anything else with them.

    I would recommend giving the Soulweaver more uses for his bound souls. Right now, negative energy Soulweavers only have one use for them (which, as I pointed out before, means that there's not really any reason to have more than two) and positive energy Soulweavers have no use for them at all. Specifically, abilities that actually expend the souls in some way, so there's a motivation to keep collecting them. Perhaps a negative energy Soulweaver could "fire" a soul, causing AoE damage or some other effect, but doing so destroys the soul.

    I'm not really sure what "good" uses a positive energy Soulweaver would have for a bound soul, but it should probably be something that doesn't destroy it. Maybe you could assign a bound soul to a party member to act as a spectral guardian for a few rounds, causing the party member to gain AC or save bonuses or something. Then, when the ability ends, the Soulweaver releases the soul to the afterlife as reward for its service or something like that.
    "Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire." - Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

    There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved with a suitable application of high explosives.

    "Time to throw the dice." - Mat Cauthon, Wheel of Time

    "Nothing good can ever come from staying with normal people."

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Anxe's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Davis, California
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Anima progression seems a little random.

    You didn't explicitly state how positive and negative energy spells work with Dichotomy of Life. I assume that when the Soulweaver is positively attuned he is healed by positive energy and damaged by negative and that the opposite holds true when he is attuned to negative energy, but I think it should be explicitly stated in the ability.

    Putting a range on soul absorption would be good. Right now he can absorb souls if he sees someone die on the other side of a mountain range or something. A close range just like the animating of the souls would work. I'm also a little unsure on how the "soul pool" works. Does animating an undead use up a soul? Or does the soul come back after the undead is destroyed? Does the soul only come back if the Soulweaver voluntarily stops maintaining the undead?
    Also, do animated mummies still give mummy rot? I feel like they shouldn't.

    Positive Energy Lash needs to be more clear on what you mean by activating. Is an attack activating? Or is activating kind of like drawing a weapon?
    Also, can the Soulweaver heal himself with this ability? Currently, it can only be used on allies in this manner.
    Does the Lash deal #d6+STR damage or just #d6?

    I like the Purifying Light ability a lot.

    Is Blinding Lash a one use ability like Stunning Fist or does it stay imbued until the Soulweaver "deactivates" the Lash? Same question applies to Dazing Lash.

    Breath of Life is cool.

    Add an ability to Swarm of Souls to allow the Soulweaver to extend it by infusing the Swarm with more Anima or with more souls. Same thing for similar abilities.

    The two 18th level abilities are beastly.

    I also agree with Knight13's suggestions. I'm not sure what the point of having multiple souls is if they aren't being used up when they're animated, etc. Perhaps the negative energy abilities use souls and the positive energy ones use anima? And souls contribute to the "soul pool" based on how many HD the creature had? I like that idea.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    +1 to the stuff mentioned above.
    My Homebrew:
    WIP
    The Fortunar Base Class: A Fortuneteller wielding a minor Deck of Many Things. Mid T3.

    Completed Classes
    The Grandmaster : A master of animated stattuettes and tactical magic. High tier 3.
    The Hidden Word: An infiltrator with a wide range of abilities that works best in small teams. Tier 2-3
    Web-Spinner: A martial class based around using webs. Mid T3.
    The True Warrior: A swift mundane martial combat class that can dodge and slice their way to victory. Low Tier 3.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Wyntonian's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Oregon

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Good lord I want to play this immediately. Also, holy mother of god you're gifted. Seriously, your homebrew is amazing. I'll need to see what beat this. It must be the greatest thing since sliced bread and ToB.
    Guess who's good at avatars? Thormag. That's who.

    A Campaign Setting more than a year in the making, Patria!

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    The amount of Anima the Soulweaver has at each level does not seem like a lot, I suggest adding Feats that can be taken too raise the amount of Anima that the Soulweaver can have at once.

    Also I think that some of the abilities should have an opposite alignment counterpart, like the positive energy whip could also be a negative energy whip when attuned to the negative energy plane.

    I was also thinking that there could be a neutral energy focus, where the shaping of souls into undead would cost twice the Anima, and the whip would only do half damage but can do either negative or positive energy.
    "I do not suffer from insanity, I enjoy every moment of it" - Edgar Allen Poe


  9. - Top - End - #9
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    EvilClericGuy

    Join Date
    Sep 2011

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    hmn...
    yeh, i would definatley advise a few burst uses for a soul you've gathered

    my thoughts: for positive, an AoE heal perhaps, or trading 1 soul per day someone has been dead to cast increasingly stronger ressurection spells

    for negative, maybe a powerful debuff/damaging blast, the ability to call multiple weaker enemies with 1 soul at higher levels a la summon monster, and possibly a move to reanimate all nearbye corpses to fight for you for a short while (1 round/4 class levels? maybe more)

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Elfstone's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    TX, USA
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Quote Originally Posted by Wyntonian View Post
    Good lord I want to play this immediately. Also, holy mother of god you're gifted. Seriously, your homebrew is amazing. I'll need to see what beat this. It must be the greatest thing since sliced bread and ToB.
    Pretty much this. The only reason I haven't is because Im hoping it will get better with time.

    I'd like to see more Anima and more Negative class abilities in earlier levels and a cheaper cost of anima for curing effects with the lash. It already takes anima to create the lash, and removing effects is very costly when you look at how many anima you have.

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Nov 2010

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Spoiler
    Show
    Quote Originally Posted by Circle of Life View Post
    Deathly Horde (Su): By drawing on his connection to the negative energy plane, a Soulweaver can animate souls, giving them physical forms created from the base elements of the surrounding area. A Soulweaver gains the ability to absorb the souls of fallen enemies into his own body, to be made manifest at a later point. Absorbing a soul is a full-round action that must be taken within one round of the creature's death per class level and requires both line of sight and line of effect. A Soulweaver can only absorb a soul from a creature whose hit dice are equal to or less than his class level plus his Charisma modifier, to a maximum of twice his class level; he intuitively knows the hit dice of a soul he attempts to absorb, provided he would be capable of absorbing it, and may choose not to do so. After absorbing a soul, the Soulweaver must decide what form of undead the soul will take when manifested. A 1st level Soulweaver begins play with two souls, and may possess a maximum number of souls at one time equal to three times his class level. The Soulweaver may release a held soul at any time, but while the soul is in his possession, it is an intrinsic part of his essence, and may not be returned to life in any way short of the direct intervention of a deity of Greater rank or above; even a wish spell or similar magic is insufficient to restore life to a captured soul.

    A Soulweaver doesn't need to absorb a humanoid soul or even an intelligent being's soul to make an undead. Once he obtains a soul, he can force it to take the shape of any undead he is capable of creating; once made, the choice of undead form a given soul will take is permanent.

    Animating a soul with this ability is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. If the Soulweaver takes damage while activating this ability, he may attempt a Concentration check to continue animating the soul; treat this ability as a spell of a level equal to half the hit dice of the creature to be animated for the purpose of determining the DC of the Concentration check to continue the action. Otherwise, the action fails to no effect, though the Soulweaver does not lose any Anima he would have consumed to manifest the chosen soul. If successful, the chosen creature becomes manifest within Close (25 ft +5 ft/2 levels) range of the Soulweaver. After having animated one or more dead creatures, the Soulweaver must spend a swift action every round to maintain their animation; failure or inability to take a swift action to keep the undead animated causes them to crumble to dust instantly. While animated, the Soulweaver has complete control over undead he creates, though he is limited to simple mental commands when directing undead to a task whose goal he himself cannot immediately perceive (such as directing a burrowing ankheg skeleton to dig a tunnel, or controlling any animated creature beyond the range of his vision).

    Every animated soul requires Anima to be invested in it. While animated, the Anima invested in an animated undead does not return to the Soulweaver's pool, no matter how long he rests. Animating a soul requires an amount of Anima equal to one-half the HD of the soul to be animated, or the base cost of the undead form it takes, whichever is higher.

    Animated souls become manifest at full hit points, no matter their condition the last time they were destroyed. If a soul is destroyed while animated (including simply by failure to devote a swift action to maintaining the forces animating it), the Soulweaver must make a Concentration check equal to 10 + the HD of the destroyed soul or lose focus, destroying all animated souls.

    At 1st level, the Soulweaver only has access to skeletons and zombies. However, at 3rd level, 5th level, and every 2nd level thereafter, he gains an extra form of undead as shown on the table below. Futhermore, the Soulweaver is limited to humanoid forms for his animated undead at 1st level, but gains the ability to create undead in the form of other creature types as he gains levels, as shown on the table above. More powerful forms of undead require more Anima to maintain, as shown on the table below. When the Soulweaver absorbs a soul, the target keeps their HD and ability scores if the chosen undead form is a template, but loses class features and racial traits as they are transformed into undead. If the undead form is not a template, they instead keep only their HD. If they have more HD than the monster entry listed, it is advanced to their level when they are summoned, regardless of whether the monster entry lists advancement to that number of hit dice or not. If a soul has fewer HD than the base HD of a monster entry, that soul cannot be used to create the chosen creature. All animated undead lose the ability to create spawn, regardless of the form they take.

    {table=head]Undead Form|Class Level|Minimum Anima Investiture
    Skeleton|1|1
    Zombie|1|1
    Ghoul|3|3
    Shadow|5|5
    Wight|7|7
    Mummy|9|7
    Mohrg|11|8
    Dread Wraith|13|11
    Nightwing|15|15
    Nightwalker|17|18
    Nightcrawler|19|22[/table]

    A Soulweaver may only use this ability while attuned to the negative energy plane, and any undead currently animated when he changes his attunement to the positive energy plane are immediately destroyed.


    Is it just me, or is the Deathly Horde ability and the Anima progression taken almost verbatim from Kellus's Necronomist? There are a few changes I can see, plus the obvious ones needed to remove the Truespeaking component, but it is essentially the same ability.
    A Guide to Free D&D - A resource of free, official D&D resources on the web.
    Handbooks Index
    My Homebrew Compendium

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGuy

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Please allow use of the Negative Energy Lash at a level lower than 20, and please add more Negative Energy abilities.

    I also think that maybe the amount of Anima the Soulweaver has should be raise a bit, because it seems that after only a short time, the Soulweaver can't do much until the next encounter.

    Also, the Positive Energy Lash says that as a standard action, you conjure a lash of positive energy, my question is does it last for only that round or does it last longer?

    I also think that the Soulweaver should be healed by the plane of energy that he is attuned to (attuned to Positive means that Positive energy heals, Negative damages, and vice versa for negative attunement).

    Maybe you should also give the Soulweaver the ability to use his lash to heal himself instead of just healing allies.

    A negative energy Breath of Life ability would also be nice, called Soul Mender or Soul Retrieval or something like that (I just pulled those name out of no where).

    Also, as I said before, please oh please add more negative energy abilities for Soulweavers below level 14.

    This is all I have to say about this for now, though the class does seem really good to me.

    Also, how did you get that avatar? I know it's a Soulweaver and it looks awesome.
    Last edited by masterstalker2; 2012-04-17 at 09:48 PM.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Wyntonian's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Oregon

    Default Re: The Soulweaver [3.5 Base Class]

    Hey Circle of Life,

    I'd like to use this class in a upcoming campaign, set in Ravenloft. I think it's an interesting class, with a solid premise and a well thought-out execution. As it's, well, Ravenloft, and all that that suggests, I'll probably spend most of my time using the positive energy abilities.

    On that topic, if I use the Positive Energy Lash on a full attack, does it cost a point of Anima each attack, or once for the round?

    Just a bug in your ear, though. If you have some non-core Monster Manuals, might you consider assigning a class and anima investiture for some of the undead critters you find within? There's some really cool stuff in there, and ghouls get old after a while. Just a thought.

    Lastly... What sort of build should I go for, do you think?

    I can get up to +1 LA for free, perhaps Aasimar? Or if you have a better idea, please let me know.

    We're starting at level 6, and I was considering a rapier for my proficiency, and either using javelins or a light crossbow for ranged, and using the PE Lash to heal my allies.

    My feats would include Weapon Finesse, so I could pretty much ignore str and.... I have no idea, honestly. What do you suggest?
    Guess who's good at avatars? Thormag. That's who.

    A Campaign Setting more than a year in the making, Patria!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •