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2017-05-25, 08:53 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2012
- Location
- In the Playground, duh.
Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
For everyone who likes screwing around with constructs, technology and siege weapons.
Alignment: AnyLevel BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Commune with Machine, Charm Construct 3/day, Clockwork Companion 2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Rites of Repair 3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Augmentation 4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Charm Construct at will, Augmentation 5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Augmentation 6th +4 +5 +2 +5 Augmentation 7th +5 +5 +2 +5 Mechanical Body, Augmentation 8th +6/+1 +6 +2 +6 Augmentation 9th +6/+1 +6 +3 +6 Dominate Construct 1/day, Augmentation 10th +7/+2 +7 +3 +7 Augmentation 11th +8/+3 +7 +3 +7 Augmentation 12th +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 Dominate Construct 2/day, Augmentation 13th +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 Mechanical Mind, Augmentation 14th +10/+5 +9 +4 +9 Augmentation 15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +5 +9 Dominate Construct 3/day, Augmentation 16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Augmentation 17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Machine Spirit, Augmentation 18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 Dominate Construct 4/day, Augmentation 19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Augmentation 20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Mechanical Soul, Augmentation
Race: Any living except for living constructs
Hit Die: 1d8
Class Skills:
The machine cultist's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Craft (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Forgery (Int), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) (Int), Profession (Architect) (Wis), Profession (Engineer) (Wis), Profession (Priest) (Wis), Profession (Siege Engineer) (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Psionic Device (Cha) and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 6 + Int modifier
Class Features
The following are the class features of the machine cultist.
"Significant Mechanical Components"
Many of the machine cultist's abilities require a significant mechanical component to be present in an item. What this means is that the item has some kind of springs, cogs, gears, wheels, engine, magnets, electrical wires, or other component of that calibre which could not be removed without making the weapon very much functionally different in its operation or effect. This includes crossbows and any type of firearm but not flails, for example.
Weapon and armour proficiency
Machine cultists are proficient with all simple weapons, the battleaxe, the greataxe, the light hammer, the warhammer, and all weapons with a significant mechanical component such as repeating crossbows. They are proficient with light, medium and heavy armour as well as any kind of exotic armour with a significant mechanical component. They are not proficient with shields except if they too have a significant mechanical component.
Commune with Machine (Na/Su)
The machine cultist can always communicate with constructs as though they shared a common language. This use of the ability is a natural ability.
The machine cultist also has a far more powerful ability, to commune with the inner spirit of a machine, either a construct or anything with a significant mechanical component. In the case of a construct, the construct's spirit has the intelligence, wisdom and charisma of the base creature, minimum 10 (10 intelligence for a mindless construct). Otherwise, all of those ability scores are based on the complexity of the machine in question. A crossbow has intelligence 1, a handgun usually intelligence 2, a simple vehicle such as a cart intelligence 3, a steam engine intelligence 5, and anything involving electricity intelligence 10 or more. The machine's wisdom and charisma are around the same, although a particular machine might have a variation in mental ability scores.
The machine cultist can commune with any machine within reach even without actually moving to touch it. The communion is an exchange of ideas rather than actual words, but is just as effective as actual speech. Bluff, diplomacy, intimidate and sense motive checks work normally through the link. A machine almost always has a starting attitude of indifferent, though it usually considers the machine cultist an ally if not an actual friend.
The machine cultist can use a special check to influence the machine's attitude, rolling (1d20+level+charisma modifier) instead of a normal diplomacy check, but can also use a diplomacy check normally.
By communing with a machine, the machine cultist can convince a normally-inanimate machine to operate itself, using the machine cultist's level in place of base attack bonus or skill ranks and the machine cultist's charisma in place of a relevant ability score.
Charm Construct (Sp)
Three times per day, the machine cultist can charm a machine, as charm person except that it works on any construct or any machine with which the machine cultist communes, is not mind-affecting, and does not work against humanoids. From fourth level, this ability can be used at-will.
Clockwork Companion
The machine cultist gains a companion just like a druid's, except that it has the construct type and consequently lacks a constitution score, and that its hit dice are construct hit dice not animal hit dice.
Rites of Repair (Su)
The rites of repair work just like a paladin's Lay on Hands ability, except that it heals items and constructs. If a magic item is healed enough that it is no longer broken, its magical properties are restored as though it had never been broken.
Augmentation (Su)
From third level, the machine cultist chooses a new augmentation each level from the following list. Unless specified, each can be taken any number of times:
Blindsight: The machine cultist gains blindsight (10 ft) or improves existing blindsight by 10 feet.
Darkvision: The machine cultist gains darkvision (30 ft) or improves existing darkvision by 30 feet.
Extra arms: The machine cultist gains an additional arm, but actions with the arm take a -4 penalty on all rolls. This can be taken up to eight times. Each time, you can either add a new arm up to a maximum of four extra arms, or nullify the penalty that one of your extra arms takes.
Flight: The machine cultist can use an augmentation to gain the ability to slow falls, taking no damage from them. If this augmentation is taken a second time, the machine cultist gains a 20 ft fly speed with terrible maneuverability. This is a step worse than clumsy, only allowing straight line movement without any chance to turn at all. Each further time it is taken, it improves the machine cultist's fly speed by 10 feet and the maneuverability by one step. If the machine cultist can already fly, go directly to improving the speed and manueverability rather than granting slow falls or a fly speed.
Natural Armour: The machine cultist gains a +2 natural armour bonus to AC, or improves an existing natural armour bonus to AC by that much.
Natural Weapon: The machine cultist gains a secondary natural weapon attack which requires the use of a hand and deals d4 damage of one type when medium. Further selection of this augmentation can make the weapon a primary attack, remove the requirement that a hand be used for it, add both remaining damage types (with one augmentation) or increase the damage by one step (d4, d6, d8, 2d6, 3d6, 4d6, 6d6, 8d6). A natural weapon which has become an 8d6 weapon cannot be improved further in terms of damage.
Sensor Array: The machine cultist has the ability to detect, as one of the spells, one out of animals and plants, chaos, evil, good, law, magic, poison, secret doors, snares and pits, or undead. This ability is always active, but requires you to focus on targets for additional information if the spell in question requires it. This augmentation can be taken once for each spell in question.
Various: Players are encouraged to invent their own augmentations. This list should be seen as a balance point, not an exhaustive list.
Mechanical Body
From 7th level, the machine cultist is immune to poison, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects and necromancy effects, as well as critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion and energy drain, alongside any effect requiring a fortitude save (unless it also affects objects or is harmless) and death from magic damage. The machine cultist still technically does have a physical living body and blood, and still breathes, eats and sleeps. The rites of repair and repair damage spells work at half effect on the machine cultist.
Dominate Construct (Sp)
Once per day at ninth level, plus once more per day per three levels beyond ninth, the machine cultist can dominate construct, which differs from dominate person in exactly the same way that charm construct differs from charm person.
Mechanical Mind
From 13th level, the machine cultist is immune to sleep effects and mind-affecting abilities.
Machine Spirit
From 17th level, the machine cultist no longer takes penalties for aging, and cannot be magically aged, though any penalties already taken remain in place. Bonuses still accrue however, and the machine cultist still dies upon reaching maximum age.
Mechanical Soul
From 20th level, the machine cultist no longer breathes, eats or sleeps. The machine cultist also gains the full benefit from the rite of repair, and can be resurrected with make whole rather than needing to resort to proper ressurection spells. The machine cultist is no longer vulnerable to abilities reliant on a living body, or abilities which only affect creatures of a certain type (unless those abilities affect both constructs and members of the machine cultist's real type).Last edited by Jormengand; 2017-05-27 at 02:47 PM.
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2017-05-25, 10:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
Back to the classes in thirty minutes huh? I like this one. Good mechanics, fills an important niche that's hard to pull off in standard D&D, and mostly is well balanced. It does suffer from a weak first level and the overall power scales up or down a lot based on whether you meet any constructs. The second issue is kinda inevitable given the class design and also is easily managed by the DM, so I'm not worried about it. The first could be a problem depending on the scenario. I'd suggest switching clockwork companion with charm construct and/or rites of repair so as to give the first level Machine Cultist some combat relevance - an animal companion with some immunities is not going to be gamebreaking at level one anyways.
In other news, chatting up inanimate objects sounds like a great way to gather information. Cool, unique, useful, love it.
Overall, 9.7/10, excellent and elegantly simple class. Typical Jormengand work.I'm a Prestige Class! Thanks Zaydos!
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2017-05-26, 02:34 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2014
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
I feel this is a GREAT concept... But it should be a prestige class, entry at level 6 and requiring Craft Construct as a prerequisite... The top ability should be level 15 or so of the class. Being more than 10 levels is odd for a prestige class, I know... Things could be squeezed into 10 like Greenstar Adept, too for comparison.
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2017-05-26, 05:25 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2012
- Location
- In the Playground, duh.
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
I should probably swap not!animal companion and not!lay on hands to the same levels as their parent abilities.
I don't think that "I talk gud with machine" really needs to be something that can't be done before level 6. Plus, what should be the intended entry class? Plus insert standard gripes with prestige classes (they unneccessarily gate certain character concepts to high levels, they force you to spend 5 levels waiting to be good at your thing, etc.) here...
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2017-05-26, 10:04 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Gender
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
Uhm, this looks nice! Well done!
May I throw in some augmentations ideas? I was thinking at improved natural armor, more senses (telluric senses, blind senses etc), new natural weapons (gore, tail, claws, jaws whatever), weapon attachment (arm/shoulder crossbows and the like) or new movement modes (burrow/swim)
I know you didn't wanted to write them all down, but you listed just 5 augmentations when we have 17 to take! :P
Edit - also, are you taking "30 minutes class" requests again?Last edited by CinuzIta; 2017-05-26 at 10:11 AM.
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2017-05-26, 07:25 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2015
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2017-05-27, 02:05 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Gender
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
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2017-05-27, 02:28 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2017
- Location
- Vancouver <-> Dublin
- Gender
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
All hail Phyrexia!
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2017-05-27, 02:48 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2012
- Location
- In the Playground, duh.
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2017-05-27, 04:29 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2014
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
That's what I thought! I'd love to play a techpriest in a steampunk game using this class
From a flavour standpoint I really like it, and the mechanics seem solid when looking at each ability individually, but I am a little unsure of what 'role' this class would have in a party?
Perhaps I'm missing how powerful the augmentations can become (I've never been good at calculating the power of multiple limbs/natural weapons), but it doesn't have a lot of offensive abilities, not a lot of support/control/bfc and it can't really buff allies, even if they are constructs.
That said, I really like the class so if I get the chance I'll try it out!
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2017-05-30, 03:27 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
- Gender
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
Just some questions for the sake of clarity (I really like this class and I think I could use it, should my sorcerer die in the future! The setting my GM created lend itself to the general feel of this class):
What is required to get an augmentation? A lab or just the cultist's tools? And how much time it takes to create/install an augmentation?
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2017-05-30, 10:27 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2012
- Location
- In the Playground, duh.
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2017-05-30, 02:35 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2015
Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)
Wow there is mecha twice in the same word for explaining how the Machine Cultist gets his mechamechamagitech grafts.
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2017-05-31, 09:14 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2012
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Re: Machine Cultist (Class in 30 minutes, PEACH)