Incarnum fuel does not spend, it grows... [Template]

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-18-2007, 11:41 PM

Well, I guess my will to homebrew just took a short break. This template is focusing on how incarnum works in my campaign setting, Nation of the Dead.

Incarncate Outsider Template

An evil incarnate and his incarnate succubus companion
Art by Jonathan Bowser

In the World, the prime force of Incarnum is the remaining essence of outsiders that have permenantly died. The essence wanders the planes without rest or thought, and are drawn to prime examples of their alignment. When they find them a spark of sentience grows that was once the outsider. When this happens they show this mortal the power of Incarnum. These mortals are Incarnates and Soulborns.
When these mortal meldshapers gain power over incarnum, so does their outsider gain power and sentience. After a long while this outsider may separate themselves from their hosts soul and become symbiots without the need to attachment. These two beings continue to be dependant on eachother so long as they both live and may be so even across different planes and dimensions.
Incarnate outsiders tend to have a blue glow and indigo skin. Other features(such as a flaming body) will also be blue and they always have a blue glow in their eyes.
Adaptation: This template may also be applied to other creatures that give incarnum to mortals, such as magical beasts, dragons, fey and aberrations(in which case they would have access only to the totemist soulmelds, or aberrant soulmelds in case of aberrations or draconic in case of dragons). Other creatures may also have access to this template that aren't actually outsiders but follow the same basic theme as outsiders, such as Inevitables.

Creating an Incarnate Outsider
"Incarnate Outisder" is an acquired template that can be added to any outsider with the extraplanar subtype and at least one alignment componant subtype(refered to hereafter as the base creature) and an Int score of at least 3.

An Incarnate outsider has all the base creature's statistic and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type
Incarnate outsiders size and type do not change, but they do gain the incarnum subtype.

Armor Class
Incarnate outsiders gain a +2 bonus to their existing natural armor, and a natural +2 Deflection bonus to their armor class.

Special Attacks

Incarnum weapons (Su): Incarnate outsiders can attune their weapons(natural or otherwise) to the power of their souls to improve them. At the beginning of each day an incarnate outsider may invest a number of points of essentia into their weapons(max 5 each) and the weapon gains an enhancement bonus equal to the invested essentia. An incarnate outsider's natural weapons are always considered magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Soulmelds: Incarnate outsiders have a strong attachment to incarnum, magic of the soul. Thus as all their time attached to meldshapers, they gain their own set of soulmelds and essentia pool. They have an essentia pool, number of soulmelds and chakra binds as an incarnate of their HD. They have access to soulmelds on both the Incarnate and Soulborn soulmeld lists. Incarnate outsiders often share at least a few soulmelds with their personal meldshaper.

Spell-Like Abilities: Incarnate outsiders may use the following spell-like abilities the indicated number of times per day. At will- detect incarnum; 3/day- soul blight, soul boon, arc of incarnum; 1/day- wall of incarnum. These spell-like abilities are Cha based and hav a caster level equal to the outsider's Hit Dice.

Special Qualities

Incarnum Armor (Su): Incarnate outsiders can attune their natural armor to the power of their souls to improve it. At the beginning of each day an incarnate outsider may invest a number of points of essentia into their natural armor(max 5) and their natural armor gains an enhancement bonus equal to the invested essentia. They also gain DR 2 per point of invested essentia in their natural armor which can only be overcome by magic weapons.

Incarnum Resistance: Incarnate outsiders gain a +2 bonus on all saving throws against incarnum based attacks.

Immunities: Incarnate outsiders are immune to scrying effects with one variation. Any scrying attempt made on an Incarnate outsider instead shows all the information on the meldshaper they gave the power of incarnum to. So if someone should scry on the meldshaper and then the incarnate outsider they would recieve the same information on the meldshaper twice.

Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Con +4, Wis +4.

Skills
Incarnate outsiders have a +8 racial bonus to Spellcraft checks when identifying soulmelds or anything based on incarnum.

Feats
If the base creature was capable of casting spells, they gain the Incarnum Spellshaping feat as a bonus feat. If they gain the ability to cast spells at any point they gain it as a bonus feat. Incarnate outsiders may also switch out any of their feats gained through HD for Incarnum feats upon manifestation as solid creatures. These feats are chosen when the template is applied and cannot be changed out for another feat.

Organization
Solitary or with their personal meldshaper.

Challenge Rating
Same as base creature +3

Treasure
Half standard(due to the time spent as nothingness).

Alignment
As base creature.

Level Adjustment
+5

--

I'll make a sample creature sometime in the near future. I hope at least... School starts monday... Luckily though I have no classes wednesdays.

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-19-2007, 11:03 AM

From Hell's heart I bumpeth thee!

Wolfman42666 · 08-19-2007, 11:30 AM

Wow.
This setting scares me and I've only skimmed it.
After all your homebrew and artwork I have to ask:
Is there anything you don't do?

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-19-2007, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfman42666

Wow.
This setting scares me and I've only skimmed it.
After all your homebrew and artwork I have to ask:
Is there anything you don't do?

Dance...

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-20-2007, 12:55 PM

Anyone have any helpful comments? Criticisms? Praise? I'm thinking the CR and LA are a little too high but I need a second or third opinion.

Cazziuz · 08-21-2007, 06:42 AM

I've only just got the 'Magic of Incarnum' book a couple of days ago, but this is really great! I like the concept and rules wise I say it's pretty good. The only thing I would point at would be the con modifier. In my opinion it's a bit too much, +4 would do the trick.

If you don't mind, I'll use this in my own game since it would actually explain a lot about what Incarnum is and how the players would be able to acquire the ability to manipulate it.

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-21-2007, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cazziuz

I've only just got the 'Magic of Incarnum' book a couple of days ago, but this is really great! I like the concept and rules wise I say it's pretty good. The only thing I would point at would be the con modifier. In my opinion it's a bit too much, +4 would do the trick.

If you don't mind, I'll use this in my own game since it would actually explain a lot about what Incarnum is and how the players would be able to acquire the ability to manipulate it.

I was thinking something along those lines, too. Perhaps instead of +6, +2, it'd be +4, +4.

And by all means, please do use it.

Fenria · 08-21-2007, 10:35 AM

I like this a lot. I'm going to be using Incarnum in the game I'm playing now, and this seems to be a good explanation of Incarnum...cooler than the book at least. I do have one question, though. Is their a minimum level to gain the Outsider? I can't really see a level two incarnate walking around with a Succubus standing behind him.... Just a balancing thought... :D

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-21-2007, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenria

I like this a lot. I'm going to be using Incarnum in the game I'm playing now, and this seems to be a good explanation of Incarnum...cooler than the book at least. I do have one question, though. Is their a minimum level to gain the Outsider? I can't really see a level two incarnate walking around with a Succubus standing behind him.... Just a balancing thought... :D

I havn't got a real system worked out, I was kind of thinking it would be up to the DM to decide what's powerful enough to have a companion such as that. Once way I considered dealing with it was making them get the leadership feat, but they would just get an incarnate outsider cohort and instead of Cha as the main stat for it, use Wis.

The Demented One · 08-21-2007, 02:39 PM

Neat template. I'm not sure exactly why, but the flavor of this makes a lot of sense to me. You might want to give them some of the incarnum spells as spell-like abilities, but they'd be fine without. As it is, I'd call the CR adjustment +3, and the LA +5.

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-21-2007, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Demented One

Neat template. I'm not sure exactly why, but the flavor of this makes a lot of sense to me. You might want to give them some of the incarnum spells as spell-like abilities, but they'd be fine without. As it is, I'd call the CR adjustment +3, and the LA +5.

I may just add some Incarnum SLA's, I hadn't thought of that... Let's see what I have to choose from...

Matthew · 08-26-2007, 05:05 AM

Good work, Krimm. Where's that bit of Art from, by the way?

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-26-2007, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew

Good work, Krimm. Where's that bit of Art from, by the way?

Thanks, and it's from a gallery of Jonathan Bowser, which I found here.

Matthew · 08-26-2007, 01:26 PM

Neat. There's some nice work there. I wish 4e Art was going to look more like this.

Krimm_Blackleaf · 08-26-2007, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew

Neat. There's some nice work there. I wish 4e Art was going to look more like this.

I'll be happy with it so long as Wayne Reynolds does at least one thing in every book. And seeing as he did the covers, I'm happy with the art so far.