The Gifted - the Humanoid potential (base class) PEACH

[Kioran]

The Gifted

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Erial was wary. The fight had lasted for the better part of two minutes, both opponents stalking each other, neither one committing to an attack - until now. His concentration was slipping, as was his grip on the power of the Diamond mind. It didn´t matter - there it was, the opening he´d waited for.
Lunging forward, his sword describing a flashing, bright silver streak, headed straight for the opponents heart, the large, bare-chested human moving slow, to slow...till his upper body gave a sharp twist in the last instant. A scarlet fountain of blood erupted from his opponents chest, and yet, Erial could tell he had missed the heart, failed to strike the mortal blow. Then, it struck him, like the hand of a vengeful god, his opponents´ elbow slamming into his ribcage with impossible strength, almost like a giant´s. He felt ribs bend and snap under the power, felt his vision fade to black. There was, they said, an amount of power, against which no measure of strategy or sophistication would work. But...how?

This class does not attempt to enhance a characters grip on a specific kind of techniques or supernatural power - instead, it advances the Characters capaiblites much like those of a creature. A Humanoid monster advancement, if one so wills. It´s a design exercise based on the Dragon Disciple and the Acolyte of the Skin, as well as the tenets of the MM1 (no flight before ECL 5, reliable access to DR at ECL 7+ and so on - abilties do not become racially available before a PC can achieve it through some class Feature, mainly spellcasting). I know it will probably be broken in Gestalt, but I´m very interested how you see it working in normal play....

HD: d8

Class Skills: Choose any 10 skills. Craft and knowledge skills must be taken separately
Skills: (4 + Int mod ranks)/lvl, (4 + Int mod ranks)*4 at first
A gifted is proficient with all simple weapons and medium armor, She is not proficient with Shields.

GIFTED
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|

+2

|Bonus Feat

2nd|

+1

|

+3

|

+0

|

+3

|Ability Boost

3rd|

+2

|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|Speed Increase

4th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Ability Boost, Toughened Body +1

5th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|Unlock potential

6th|

+4

|

+5

|

+2

|

+5

|Bonus Feat, Ability Boost

7th|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|

+5

|Insightful learning

8th|

+6/+1

|

+6

|

+2

|

+6

|Ability Boost, Toughened Body +2

9th|

+6/+1

|

+6

|

+3

|

+6

|Speed Increase

10th|

+7/+2

|

+7

|

+3

|

+7

|Ability Boost, Unlock potential

11th|

+8/+3

|

+7

|

+3

|

+7

|Bonus Feat

12th|

+9/+4

|

+8

|

+4

|

+8

|Ability Boost, Toughened Body +3

13th|

+9/+4

|

+8

|

+4

|

+8

|Advanced Insight

14th|

+10/+5

|

+9

|

+4

|

+9

|Ability Boost

15th|

+11/+6/+1

|

+9

|

+5

|

+9

|Unlock Potential, Speed Increase

16th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+10

|

+5

|

+10

|Ability Boost, Toughened Body +4, Bonus Feat

17th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+10

|

+5

|

+10

|Ageless Body

18th|

+13/+8/+3

|

+11

|

+6

|

+11

|Ability Boost

19th|

+14/+9/+4

|

+11

|

+6

|

+11

|

20th|

+15/+10/+5

|

+12

|

+6

|

+12

|Adaption, Ability Boost, Toughened Body +5[/table]

Bonus Feat: At level 1 and every 5 levels thereafter, the Gifted may freely select one additional Feat.

Ability boost: At level 2 and every even level therafter, a Gifted may permanently increase one of his ability scores by +2

Speed Increase: At level 3 and every 6 levels thereafter, a Gifted may increase the speed of one of his modes of movement by +10. This includes additional modes of movement gained through unlocked potential.

Toughened Body: At level 4, a Gifted´s natural armor Bonus increases by +1. This Bonus increases by another point every 4 levels thereafter.

Unlock Potential: At 5th level and every 5 lvls therafter, a Gifted may choose one Adaption from the following list. Unless otherwise specified, Adaption may be taken only once. All abilities conferred are, unless otherwise specified, extraordinary abilites:

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Climber: The Character gains a climb speed of 20ft, and a +8 racial bonus on any climb checks made in hazardous situations. The Character may always take 10 on these checks, even if normally prevented from doing so.
Swimmer: The character gains a swim speed of 20 ft., and +8 racial bonus on any swim checks made in hazardous situations. The character may always take 10 on these checks, even if normally prevented from doing so.
Robust Body: The Character may substitute his strength modifier for the constitution modifier to Fortitude Saves.
Extraordinary SpeedAll the Characters modes of Movement gain a +10 racial bonus to their speeds.
Arcane Resistance: The Character gains Spell resistance equal to 5+his class level.
Evasion: The Character gains Evasion, as per the Monk Class Feature.
Uncanny Dodge: The Character gains Uncanny Dodge, as per the Barbarian class Feature.
Muscular armor: The Character gains DR 3/adamantine. This Adaption may be taken multiple times. It´s effects stack.
Prerequisite: Robust Body
Greater Arcane Resistance: The Characters Spell resistance increases to 10 + class lvl
Prerequisite: Arcane Resistence
Improved Uncanny Dodge: The gifted gains improved uncanny dodge, as per the Barbarian class Feature.
Prerequisite: Uncanny Dodge
Intuitive Magic: The Character gains a Spell-like Ability, usable 3/day. Choose any spell from the Cleric or Wizard spell list (no Domains!), with a lvl of up to a third of the Gifted´s class lvl. The Caster lvl equals the Gifted´s class lvl. This Adaption may be taken multiple times. Each time, choose another eligible Spell. The save DCs are Charisma based.
Arcane Stamina: One of the Character´s Spell-like Abilities is available an additional 3 times/day. This Adaption may be taken mulitple times, it´s effects stack.
Prerequisite: Intuitive Magic
Inherent Magic: One of the Character´s Spell-like Abilites becomes available at will. This adaption may be taken multiple times. It´s effect applies to a different SLA each time.
Prerequisite: Intuitive Magic, Arcane Stamina for chosen SLA

Insightful learning (Ex): At each new lvl, recalculate the amount of available ranks for skill selection based on the current Intelligence modifier. A player may not redistribute ranks already invested, neither will she lose any of those. All rules for maximum ranks per skill still apply.

Advanced Insight (Ex): Choose another 4 Skills. These are henceforth considered class skills for this Gifted.

Ageless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 17th level, a Gifted no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the Gifted still dies of old age when her time is up.

Comments?

[Stycotl]

very interesting idea. as far as i can see, it looks decently balanced, though i would give fewer ability bonuses if i were you. i don't think that ability bonuses are as big a deal for me as for other people. i have too much white wolf and rift stuff stuck in my head (lifting tanks and stuff).

i would have to playtest to be sure.

one thing though: i didn't see weapon/armor proficiencies. you should put them in; even if they don't have any, mention it.

[Kioran]

one thing though: i didn't see weapon/armor proficiencies. you should put them in; even if they don't have any, mention it.

You are, of course, right. I will remedy this.

[Callyn]

I'd give them good reflex saves instead of fortitude saves. According to the SRD, that's the only good save Humanoids have. I like it otherwise, though.

[Rowanomicon]

I've been mulling something very similar to this over in my head for quite some time.

I'm unsure whether I should hurry up and make my own version so we can compare or to just give you all my ideas and let you do with them as you will.

Either way you'll see my ideas and I'll be sure to link to my version in this thread if/when I make it.

Anyway, a lot of the ideas I had have been implimented in yours so clearly it is quite a good creation.

[kentma57]

Reminds me of the Racial Paragon classes...

[Stycotl]

Reminds me of the Racial Paragon classes...

yeah, only 20 levels of a paragon class. it would be interesting to se a gifted with paragon levels.

[Kioran]

Reminds me of the Racial Paragon classes...

That is also true - and I think it´s a compliment you make that connection, since I like most of the Paragon classes and think of them as good design.

I've been mulling something very similar to this over in my head for quite some time.

I'm unsure whether I should hurry up and make my own version so we can compare or to just give you all my ideas and let you do with them as you will.

Either way you'll see my ideas and I'll be sure to link to my version in this thread if/when I make it.

Anyway, a lot of the ideas I had have been implimented in yours so clearly it is quite a good creation.

Thanks....The main ideas behind this class were customization and inherent abilities. It´s my attempt at an answer to the Magic mart - a Character that packs some of the most frequently used items as inherent abilities.....
I´d actually like to see your Class and your thoughts about this.

[jagadaishio]

You mentioned that they're proficient in medium armor, but you forgot to say that they're proficient in light armor. I thought that I should point that out.

[GryffonDurime]

Nice. I like it.

Though I feel the need to point out how absurdly powerful it becomes in Gestalt, still, it stands as a nice class for anyone who doesn't want to blind passing Wizards who're using Detect Magic.

I am modestly concerned about the fact that this class could easily end up with a Strength (or any other score!) in excess of 48 or so, pre-magic items. Though it would be a great way to model things like the Slayer.

[mroozee]

I like the class and the idea, but I think it might be too strong. For any new base or prestige class, I always ask, "Can this make a Core Class irrelevant?"

Here is a comparison between a 10th Level Barbarian and a 10th Level Gifted pretending to be a Barbarian.

The Barbarian:
BAB +10/+5, d12's, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +3, DR 2/-, Rage 3/day, Fast Movement +10

The Gifted (Barbaric Build):
BAB +7/+2, d8's, +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 Dex, 2 Bonus Feats, Fast Movement +20, +2 to AC, Good Will Save, Evasion and Intuitive Magic 3/day (lots of good choices... Fly, 10d6 Lightning Bolt or Fireball, Displacement, Haste or maybe even Rage)

The BAB v. AC battle is a wash. The Barbarian has an average of 2 extra HP per level but the Gifted is on permanent, controlled Rage - without the AC penalty. The Gifted is faster and has the better Will Save (even with the Rage Bonus). And the Gifted gives up Improved Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +3, and DR 2/- in exchange for Evasion, and a 3rd level Spell 3x per day as a 10th level caster. The Gifted is Literate gets two Bonus Feats and has a better selection of Skills, while the Barbarian gets Martial Weapons and Shields.

I think the Gifted makes it useless to play a Barbarian (and probably other classes as well). Overall, a great effort and a cool class, but a little too strong.

[magic_unlocked]

Like the idea, but the class may be a bit overpowered. Perhaps you lower the amount of ability increases, or change it to +1? That way. it's a slower progression and shows that the Gifted is increasing much more slowly.

That's my 2 cp.

[jagadaishio]

Like the idea, but the class may be a bit overpowered. Perhaps you lower the amount of ability increases, or change it to +1? That way. it's a slower progression and shows that the Gifted is increasing much more slowly.

That's my 2 cp.

I like this idea, but the reason it's cool right now is because you don't have to put all of your bonuses into the same stat. You could divide the +20 you get amongst a few stats, and that would really make sense when taking into account magic items. However, there really needs to be some way to make sure that they don't just cheese it even further with magic items. Perhaps the bonuses granted are enhancement bonuses, that way they wouldn't stack with magic items which augment the same score.

[Rowanomicon]

Well I've got my class written up in what I think is a semi-final copy. It's changed a lot over the last month. I decided to go back to my original idea of making it centered around strength.

I think my class is more powerful than this one, but I designed it with the purpose of making it on par with the Big Three core classes.

It's interesting that you say it's your attempt at an answer to the Magic mart because I was thinking of making my class a mundane answer to the Batman Wizard. It was one of the inspirational ideas that got me working on the class. I thought about trying to make a class that simulates Batman abilities other than the tool belt, which is the part that Wizards simulate (and my least favourite aspect of Batman himself).

Anyway, my class is written up on paper so I'll try to get it typed up and posted tomorrow and I'll post the link in this thread and my sig.

I don't really think that my class is fully finished but it is, for the first time, in a finished looking form and therefore postable for the first round of review before I change anything that needs changing.

EDIT: My class is here in it's first draft form: Tah-Dah!