[Tome] Prestige Classes

[CatharzGodfoot]

It Says Pull (Ex): on the off chance that this wasn't a standard rule already, the Door Openeranybody may pick/open locks with Disable Device.

Fixed.

[Utterfail]

I was disappointed when Dimension Door was actually Dimension Door the spell. As soon as I read the title I was thinking "Oh! It's going to be a joke about opening doors that go into other planes!"

[Meikle641]

Where we're going we won't need roads.

[Koumei]

And it is now complete. I don't feel the need to give the class anything super-duper, because: it's a Wizard. Seriously, it gets some freebies to free up spell slots, and an increase on a utility ability (that makes the DM's job a little easier by saying "Here, there are secret doors, done!") and that's all it needs. WIZARD.

[Maxus]

Just something which made me think of the Glitch Pokemaster.

[Koumei]

Witch of the Sparkling Heart

"I won't let you defile these lands with your evil-desu!"

Sometimes a witch realises her true calling in life is not to turn pumpkins into carriages, nor to curse women to eternal sleep, but instead to be defenders of love and justice, using their magical wand as a focus of power. With crazy costumes, panty-shots, ridiculous attack names and annoying phrases-desu.

Requirements:
Alignment: any Good
Spellcasting: 4th level spells
Skills: Knowledge: Ecchi Intentions Sense Motive 10 ranks

Features:
BAB: Medium
Hit Die: d8
Good Saves: Ref and Will
Skill Points: 4+Int
Class Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Handle Animal, Jump, Listen, Search, Sense Motive, Spot
Proficiencies: Wands

Level:	Special:	Spellcasting
1	Smart Familiar, Charismatic-Desu!
2	Sparkling Transformation, Awkward Entanglement	+1
3	Falling Pan, Flight*	+1
4	Home Run Wand Hammer*, Flash~!
5	Magic Princess Twinkle Love Cannon*, Love-Me Chain*	+1
6	Charming Beam*, Gift of Truth-Desu	+1
7	Crystal Heaven Transformation*
8	Ero-Ero Henshin-Desu!, Heart in Love-Me Chains**	+1
9	Miracle Kiss**, Rainbow Storm	+1
10	Twilight Angel Love-Love Beam**, Beauty Passion Storm-Desu**

Abilities marked with an asterisk require the character to be transformed via Sparkling Transformation or Crystal Heaven Transformation.

Abilities marked with two asterisks require the character to be transformed via Crystal Heaven Transformation.

Spellcasting: every level except for one, four, seven and ten, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart continues to gain spells known, caster level and spells per day in a single class she already has access to.

Smart Familiar (Ex): the Witch of the Sparkling Heart gains a familiar if she doesn't already have one. It is probably a cat, and can talk. If it dies, she suffers no special penalty and gets another one the next day. If she already has a familiar, it becomes as smart as her (if normally less smart), and gains a number of Knowledge skills with maximum ranks for her level, equal to her Charisma modifier. The familiar can then make Knowledge checks on her behalf.

Charismatic-Desu! (Ex): the Witch of the Sparkling Heart may elect to use Charisma for her spellcasting (bonus spells, spells able to be cast, save DCs etc.), and may additionally elect to swap her Charisma and Wisdom scores or Charisma and Intelligence scores. Both of these are optional.

Sparkling Transformation (Su): starting at second level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart can magically transform with a Swift action. For the next hour she looks a bit different, and gains the following effects:
[*] +1/3 HD Enhancement bonus to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution
[*] +1/3 HD Deflection bonus to Armour Class
[*] Constant Featherfall and Expeditious Retreat effects
[*] Energy Resistance (all of them) equal to double her HD

Awkward Entanglement (Sp): starting at second level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart can magically cause people to get entangled in an embarrassing manner, such as their shoelaces being tied together or their pants falling down. Or they suddenly step in a mudhole, despite being in a building. She uses an Immediate action to target anyone she can see, and if they fail a Ref save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha), they become Entangled until the beginning of their next turn.

Falling Pan (Sp): starting at third level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart can make a heavy iron pan fall on people's heads, which is both painful and funny. She spends a Swift action, and one target she can see takes 3d6+HD bludgeoning damage and must make a Fort save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha) or fall Prone.

Flight* (Su): starting at third level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart gains a Fly speed (when transformed) of 50' (Perfect). No broom is needed for this.

Home Run Wand Hammer* (Su): starting at fourth level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart may wallop people with her wand. Any time she strikes a foe with a wand, it deals triple the base damage plus her Charisma modifier, and the foe must pass a Fort save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha) or be sent 50' away in the direction of her choosing.

Flash~! (Ex): starting at fourth level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart becomes adept at shocking people with glimpses of her underwear. Every time she makes a Move action, all enemies that can see her take 1d6+Cha nonlethal damage from nose bleeds.

Magic Princess Twinkle Love Cannon* (Sp): this powerful beam technique is learned at fifth level, and instantly ends the transformation effect when it is used, regardless of duration. It is a ray fired out to 150' with a Ranged Touch Attack, dealing 1d6 Light damage per level plus her Cha modifier. Additionally, the target (if hit) must pass a Will save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha) or be Fascinated for 1 round, probably shouting "Lovely!" or something to that effect.

Love-Me Chain* (Sp): starting at fifth level the Witch of the Sparkling Heart may cast Howling Chain at will, except it doesn't howl and it looks pretty.

Charming Beam* (Su): at level six the Witch of the Sparkling Heart learns how to fire a beam of love. It is a 60' Ranged Touch Attack that forces the target, if hit, to attempt a Will save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha) or be Charmed (as per Charm Monster) for 1d6+1 rounds.

Gift of Truth-Desu (Su): at level six the Witch of the Sparkling Heart gains a permanent aura effect. She gains True Seeing, as do all allies within 15' of her.

Crystal Heaven Transformation* (Su): at seventh level, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart gains the ability to transform yet again, beyond her basic transformed state. This requires a Partial action, but not on the same turn she uses Sparkling Transformation, and the transformation only lasts for one minute before changing back to her original form. It grants, on top of the Sparkling Transformation benefits:
[*]Constant Haste and Greater Blur effects
[*]Charisma bonus as a Deflection bonus to Armour Class
[*]Charisma bonus as a Resistance bonus to Saving Throws
[*]Damage Reduction HD*3/-
[*]Spell Resistance 11+HD
[*]A Caster Level equal to her hit dice for all spells and spell-like abilities
[*]+1 to the Save DC of her spells and Witch of the Sparkling Heart class features per 3 HD

Ero-Ero Henshin-Desu! (Ex): at eighth level, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart has a slow-motion transformation with nudity and indecent poses. Whenever she transforms, she may extend it to a Full-Round action if she wishes. All enemies that can see her must then make a Will save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha modifier) or be Blinded for 1d4 rounds and take 1d6 nonlethal damage per level.

Heart in Love-Me Chains** (Sp): at eighth level, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart may cast Widened Evard's Black Tentacles at will, except they look pretty instead of spooky, and are possibly vines with roses.

Miracle Kiss** (Su): at level nine the Witch of the Sparkling Heart gains a few miraculous abilities. She may cast True Resurrection once per day as a Supernatural ability, and Heal three times per day. She may also grant Wishes like an Efreeti, three per day, by bestowing kisses upon the wisher. This automatically has "Tome" limits on wishes.

Rainbow Storm (Sp): at level nine the Witch of the Sparkling Heart may cast Prismatic Spray at will, DC 10 + half HD + Cha. If in her Crystal Heaven Transformation, she may Chain it: anyone struck fires rays out (one per colour they are hit by) to secondary targets of her choosing, up to 50 feet away. This requires her to make a successful Ranged Touch Attack, and the targets still get saving throws against the effects.

Twilight Angel Love-Love Beam** (Su): at level ten, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart can use her ultimate attack, which ends all her transformations. It fires a 500' long Line, dealing 2d6 Light damage per level, plus her Charisma modifier, to all in the area with a Will save for half (DC 10 + half HD + Cha). Any enemy who survives must pass a Fort save as well (same DC) or be affected by Sanctify the Wicked.

Beauty Passion Storm-Desu** (Sp): at level ten, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart may unleash a storm of floral might once per day. This duplicates the following spells all at once: Rain of Roses, Rain of Black Tulips, Prismatic Deluge

---

Vampire Count

"One, one negative level, a-ha-ha."

Sometimes, people get bitten by vampires, and that sucks. Unless they become powerful vampires themselves, in which case it is awesome.

Requirements:
Special: be bitten by a vampire, suffering at least 1 point of Con damage/drain or 1 negative level

Features:
BAB: Medium
Hit Die: d10
Good Saves: Fort and Will
Skill Points: 4+Int
Class Skills: Appraise, Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Forgery, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Any), Listen, Move Silently, Perform (Pipe Organ), Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Tumble
Proficiencies: any natural weapons

Level:	Special:	Advancement:
1	Vampire, Unliving, Bite, Deadsight	+1
2	Fast Healing, Claws, Blood Frenzy, Dirge
3	Dark Count, Undead, Drain, Summon Mists	+1
4	Charming, Bat Form, Symphony of the Night
5	Vampire Lord, Living Dead, Dominator Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d-minor	+1

Advancement: at levels one, three and five, the Vampire Count may gain +1d6 Sneak Attack, a bonus [Combat] feat, or an increase in spellcasting ability as though gaining one level in a spellcasting class she already has access to. Alternatively she can gain a Martial Stance or Manouevre, or can argue with Mister Cavern about something else being close enough.

Vampire (Ex): the Vampire Count is a Vampire, and thus gains significant abilities in various fields. If she engages someone in conversation for at least three rounds uninterrupted, without violence occurring, then from that point on, the target will listen intently. If the target elects to break away from conversation, such as to fight, they automatically go last in the Initiative order. Anyone she successfully bites continues to bleed for 1d6+HD damage per round until they receive any healing or a DC 20 Heal check.

Unliving (Ex): the Vampire Count gains the Undead type, but none of the usual junk associated with it, even retaining a Con score. She gains the following:
[*]Immune to Fatigue and Exhaustion at night
[*]Immune to [Death] effects and Diseases.
[*]Cold and Lightning Resistance equal to double her hit dice.
[*]No longer needs to eat, breathe or drink water, only needing about a pint of blood per day - or dealing 1 point of Constitution damage/drain
[*]takes 3d6 damage per round (bypassing all DR, Resistances and Regeneration) when in direct Sunlight, and is considered "weak to sunlight" for all of the spell that depends on it.
[*]Can only suffer critical hits from Piercing weapons.
[*]Healed by Inflict spells and Harm, damaged by Cure spells and Heal

Bite (Ex): the Vampire Count gains a Bite attack that deals 1d6 + 1/2 Str for a Medium creature, and has a 20/x3 critical. Whenever she hits with the Bite, she deals 1 Con damage and regains 5 HP - multiply both by 3 on a critical hit.

Deadsight (Ex): the Vampire Count has Low-Light Vision, Scent and Darkvision 120'.

Fast Healing (Su): starting at second level, the Vampire Count gains Fast Healing equal to her class level. At night, this becomes Regeneration, bypassed by wooden weapons, sunlight (such as the Daylight spell) and Holy effects.

Claws (Ex): at second level, the Vampire Count's nails become razor sharp claws. They each deal 1d6 + Str for a Medium creature, as well as dealing her Cha modifier in Negative energy damage (healing her of an equal amount). The claws have a critical of 18-20/x2.

Blood Frenzy (Ex): starting at second level, the Vampire Count enters a Blood Frenzy whenever she is hungry (has not yet fed that day) and blood has been shed nearby (any living creature takes damage). Until three rounds after she feeds, she is affected by Rage, Haste and Bull's Strength.

Dirge (Su): at second level, the Vampire Count learns how to create magical effects by playing the Pipe Organ. With a DC 15 Perform (Pipe Organ) check, she may cast Dispel Magic (with no limit to the Caster Level bonus) or may suppress all [Sonic] effects in the area for the duration of her performance, preventing them from having any effect. This is a [Sonic] effect that is not suppressed by itself.

Dark Count (Ex): at third level, the character becomes a Dark Count, no longer a regular Count. She retains all previous abilities except where mentioned. She may add her class level as a bonus to Perform (Pipe Organ) checks. Additionally, her Bite now deals 2 Con damage and restores 10 HP to her. If she deals at least 4 Con damage through drinking, she may store a unit of blood which may be used in the next hour for any one of the following:
[*]Gain a Blur effect for one minute
[*]Grant her natural weapons the Vicious and Keen qualities for one minute
[*]Regain 1d8 HP per hit die and restore 1 point of ability damage/drain per level
After spending blood, she immediately becomes hungry again. Up to three units of blood may be stored at a time.

Undead (Ex): the Vampire Count is now Undead.
[*]She is merely Fatigued in direct sunlight, but is still considered weak to sunlight.
[*]Immune to [Poison] and energy drain/negative levels/ability damage/ability drain.
[*]Only suffers critical hits as 20/x2, regardless of their normal value.
[*]While she can still be Turned or Rebuked, she cannot be Destroyed or Commanded by such abilities - treat Destroyed as Turned and Commanded as Rebuked.

Drain (Su): if the Vampire Count hits a foe with both claw attacks in one round, the foe suffers a negative level that lasts 1 hour and she counts as drinking 1 pint of blood, regaining 5 HP. If any of the claw attacks hit, both of these amounts are doubled. In a grapple, she deals automatic Bite damage every round she remains latched on, but deals 2 Con Drain instead of damage.

Summon Mists (Su): as of third level, the Vampire Count may cast Obscuring Mist at will. Additionally, she is treated as Invisible when in mists, and may Dimension Door from one point in the mist to another as a Swift action.

Charming (Su): starting at level four, the Vampire Count can cast Charm Monster at will (DC 10 + half HD + Cha, duration "until the target leaves her sight and one hour thereafter"), but may only affect one person at a time. Additionally she may cast Greater Command and Suggestion at will (same DC), and by making a DC 20 + HD of target Diplomacy check, may cause any one of the following effects in the target for one minute: Greater Heroism, Crushing Despair, Greater Rebuke

Bat Form (Su): at level four, the Vampire Count gains the ability to transform into a Swarm of Bats. All that really changes is she gains the [Swarm] subtype, the ability to change back, and a fly speed of a bat swarm, as well as losing her equipment (it falls to the ground) and replacing her natural attacks with the swarm attack - which deals 2 Con Drain each time, as if she had grappled the foe.

Symphony of the Night (Su): starting at level four, the Vampire Count becomes even more magically skilled with the pipe organ. With a DC 20 Perform (Pipe Organ) check, she may perform any one of the following:
[*]Create a Song of Discord effect for the duration of the performance
[*]Create a Mass Slow effect for the duration of the song
[*]Shroud a 100' radius spread centred on her in darkness for the duration, all living creatures in the area taking damage equal to the Perform (Pipe Organ) check every round, Fort half.
Any save DCs are 10 + half HD + Cha. Playing the organ requires a Full Round action each round to keep it going.

Vampire Lord (Ex): at level five, the Vampire Count becomes a Vampire Lord. She can store up to five units of blood to use now, and is constantly benefiting from a Blur and Haste effect at night. She becomes completely immune to Turning and Rebuking, and may add her Charisma modifier to her Initiative, and as an Enhancement bonus to her Strength score.

Living Dead (Ex): the Vampire Count finally becomes the real deal of living dead at level five.
[*]Can only take critical hits from Wooden weapons
[*]Damage Reduction equal to her hit dice, overcome only by Piercing Wooden weapons.
[*]While still considered weak against sunlight, she is merely Dazzled in it, nothing more.

Dominator (Su): at level five the Vampire Count may cast Dominate Person at will (DC 10 + half HD + Cha), except it may only affect one person at a time. It may also affect Animals, Plants and Vermin. Additionally, if she speaks with someone for even one full round, as long as they are not distracted (such as by combat) she may bestow a Geas/Quest effect upon them (same DC). She may cast Mass Suggestion at will as well (again, same DC).

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d-minor (Su): the Vampire Count becomes a master of the pipe organ at level five. While making a Perform (Pipe Organ) check, she may grant any one of the following effects:
[*]All enemies within 100' Cower for 1 minute (Will negates, DC 10 + half HD + Cha)
[*]Create a Nightmare Terrain or Hallucinatory Terrain effect for the duration of the performance
[*]She removes all negative status conditions from herself
[*]The Vampire Lord is protected by a Resilient Sphere for the performance, and her Fast Healing/Regeneration is doubled.

[ubernoob]

Both the Flash ability and the Ero-Ero Henshin-Desu! ability are way, way too good. I say delete them from the class and it's fine (seriously, it's full casting already). Charismatic-Desu! has problems with a few base classes that are deliberately MAD, but it's a fringe problem.

Vampire Lord needs Perform(Skin Flute) instead of (Pipe Organ). The Vampire Lord class also is made of suck and fail except for the DR it gets and the capstone ability.

[Utterfail]

The for Ero-Ero Henshin-Desu! totally made me think of a cute witch walking around with a fuckton of bananas for the DC bonus.

[Koumei]

You accidentally a word there. Anyway, the DC is the same as all the rest, I was just sick of typing the same shit out.

So, Sparkling Witch:
Fuck you, I'm not flat-out dropping those abilities. Now removing any stunlockery to turn them into minor nonlethal damage sources could be in, however.

But there's also the problem that, iconically, magical girls transform in combat (hence the short durations). But in D&D, fights only last 2-3 turns. So any time spent transforming (especially to the final stage) could seriously be a waste and it's all over by then. So I dunno. Maybe I should make it Swift, cut the casting down, and make the class worth the loss of some caster levels with seriously kick-ass transformation stuff.

Vampire Lord:
What kind of fucking vampire plays a goddamn flute? If you don't even know that vampires play the pipe organ, you have no business here. But I suppose it does need some kind of modification, generally being weak at first. Maybe "Special: when bitten, a character can, the next night, trade levels in for levels in this, flat-out dropping 5 levels to become a Vampire Lord over night"?

[CatharzGodfoot]

Ero-Ero Henshin-Desu! (Ex): at eighth level, the Witch of the Sparkling Heart has a slow-motion transformation with nudity and indecent poses. Whenever she transforms, all enemies that can see her must make a Will save (DC 13 + Bananas + her Green modifier) or be Blinded and Stunned for 1d4 rounds and take 1d6 nonlethal damage per level.

How do you determine your Bananas? Or your Green modifier?


As for the Vampire Lord, the Toccata and Fugue is freaking awesome, but probably a bit overpowered if she can do all of the abilities at the same time. I can't imagine a high-level Master Vampire who won't be going everywhere with her very own phantom organ. I'd actually like to see it as more organ abilities; it has the potential to be the best bard PrC ever.

I'd also rename the class to "Vampire" or "Count", considering that it starts with "Vampire Spawn" rather than being a lord right off the bat.

...Furthermore, with a Moe-Equivalent action she can reveal her underwear intentionally, causing all foes who can see her to need to make a Will save (DC 10 + half HD + Cha) or be Dazed for one round.

[ubernoob]

You accidentally a word there. Anyway, the DC is the same as all the rest, I was just sick of typing the same shit out.

So, Sparkling Witch:
Fuck you, I'm not flat-out dropping those abilities. Now removing any stunlockery to turn them into minor nonlethal damage sources could be in, however.

Yeah, minor damage would probably be fine.

But there's also the problem that, iconically, magical girls transform in combat (hence the short durations). But in D&D, fights only last 2-3 turns. So any time spent transforming (especially to the final stage) could seriously be a waste and it's all over by then. So I dunno. Maybe I should make it Swift, cut the casting down, and make the class worth the loss of some caster levels with seriously kick-ass transformation stuff.

Redesigning it to be actually worth losing CLs is probably a much better approach than trying to just tone down the class while keeping it full casting with the number of class features you want to give it.

Vampire Lord:
What kind of fucking vampire plays a goddamn flute? If you don't even know that vampires play the pipe organ, you have no business here. But I suppose it does need some kind of modification, generally being weak at first. Maybe "Special: when bitten, a character can, the next night, trade levels in for levels in this, flat-out dropping 5 levels to become a Vampire Lord over night"?

1. I assumed you were making a fellatio joke with the perform bit since vampires in D&D tended to suck.
2. No, just make the class not suck. Trading in levels is fucking annoying.

[Koumei]

Catharz: as I said, it's really 10 + half HD + Cha, I was just sick of typing it out. I wish everything in the universe had standard "10 + 1/2 HD + Stat" DCs, with "Stat" defined on a per-class/race or per-ability basis.

The Pipe Organ abilities are only 1 at a time, but yes, I will grant it a series of them over time as part of beefing it up. And rename it Count.

And only now do I understand what a skin flute is. So, um, yeah. Not skin flutes.

So, on the to-do list:
1. Reduce casting of the Sparkling Witch and make the full load of features totally worth it.
2. Rename Vampire Lord to Vampire Count.
3. Specify 1 at a time for Organ powers, and grant more over the levels.
4. Make the class not suck. Scratch starting as a spawn, it can be "Vampire", "Dark Count" and "Vampire Lord". Condense all that info so it has token vampire weaknesses that it mitigates over the levels, great defence and some mind control and combat "flesh tearing ra ra" power.
5. Change the "Caster progression" to "1 class feature of choice progression" like the Legacy Wielder does

[ubernoob]

5. Change the "Caster progression" to "1 class feature of choice progression" like the Legacy Wielder does

I agree with everything except for this. And I disagree with this because the wording on that ability is vague and stupid. Write it like Hellwalker does, since that's explicit and not annoying.

[Koumei]

Obviously I would do that. The way I did write it was just a shorthand for that list.

[Koumei]

Okay, updated. Tell me what you think.

[Surgo]

I don't really know exactly what you're trying to go for. The advancement works great for combat feats, but I wish there was a version you could take as a spellcaster.

[Koumei]

I may need to tweak that a bit. Ultimately both those classes are "I've recently watched both seasons of Rosario to Vampire".

[Koumei]

So as to fill a request ("Short transformational PrCl for a Monk, to turn into a bear, but not in a shapeshifty way")

The Initiate of Zod

"You can't be a bear, Timmy." "RAWR!"

Picture Here

BEARS BEARS BEARS

Requirements:
Skills: Knowledge (Nature) 8 ranks
Special: Master Style

Features:
Hit Die: d8
Base Attack Bonus: Good
Good Saving Throws: Fortitude
Skill Points: 4+Int

Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (Nature), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble

Level:	Special:
1	Claws, Angry Bear Stance
2	Bite, Shaggy Hide
3	Kneel Before Zod
4	Power Pulldown
5	Master Style
6	RAWR IMA BEAR

Claws (Ex): the Initiate of Zod gains two Claw attacks as primary natural weapons that deal damage as normal for his size. Any Styles, Master Styles or Grand Master Styles that affect his Slam also affect his Claws.

Angry Bear Stance (Ex): the Initiate of Zod gains access to an additional Style. When active, the Initiate counts as one size category larger for all purposes and gains the Improved Grab ability when striking with any natural weapon.

Bite (Ex): at second level, the Initiate of Zod gains a Bite attack as a primary natural weapon. It deals damage for his size and is also affected by Styles, Master Styles and Grand Master Styles the same as his Slam and Claws.

Shaggy Hide (Ex): at second level, the Initiate also gains thicker skin, providing Natural Armour equal to his class level minus one.

Kneel Before Zod (Ex): starting at third level, once per round when the Initiate of Zod strikes a foe while in Angry Bear Stance, he may make a Demoralise attempt as a Free action. It need not be against that foe, and the effects last until he leaves their sight. The effects can stack up to Frightened, Panicked and then Comatose if he keeps going.

Power Pulldown (Ex): starting at fourth level, any time the Initiate of Zod successfully Bites or Claws a foe who is not prone, he may make a free Trip attempt against that foe. Additionally, if he makes a Full Attack against a foe who is already prone, he gains an additional Trample attack that automatically hits, dealing double Claw damage (plus double his Strength modifier).

Master Style (Ex): at fifth level, the Initiate of Zod gains an additional Master Style of choice.

RAWR IMA BEAR (Ex): at sixth level, the Initiate of Zod actually turns into a bear. His size increases by one category unless he is already Huge or larger, and instead of the usual ability score changes and natural armour, he gains +10 Strength and +6 Con. He also gains Low-light Vision and Scent, and his Type changes to Magical Beast, because a Kung-Fu Bear with the brain of a human is pretty magical if you ask me. He also gains the shitty feats of Endurance, Run and Track, for free, because nobody cares.

[ubernoob]

Shaggy Hide is a mite bit too good.

[koz]

Shaggy Hide is a mite bit too good.

Even considering the 'half smaller bonus' rule in Tome and the fact that being a monk means you'll trigger that no matter what? When you get it, this basically doesn't do... well, almost anything, and even at 6th level, it's like, +3 to your AC or so?

[Kaelik]

Is that a joke Uber?

Because Shaggy Hide is a crap ability that doesn't even matter. I mean, compare that to free action stacking Demoralize attacks and basically a free application of the extra monk ability to more attacks, Shaggy Hide has like, no effect on the character at all.

??? And you are taking him seriously? It's a +1-+5 natural Armor bonus.

That's like, A Druid that casts Barkskin but doesn't transform into something with an absurd natural armor bonus first.

[Quantumboost]

??? And you are taking him seriously? It's a +1-+5 natural Armor bonus.

That's like, A Druid that casts Barkskin but doesn't transform into something with an absurd natural armor bonus first.

What's more, if you're a Lizardfolk Monk (or just alter-selfed into a Lizardfolk or similar) you actually negative care about the ability - since you gave up 1-3 AC from the Monk's Armored in Life progression. That also counts as touch attacks. It's a straight natural armor bonus, it doesn't stack with existing natural armor bonuses.

If you aren't covered in armor skin already, the ability is up to zero net benefit with the half-lesser rule compared to just going moar Monk, and even with direct stacking it's only +2 AC over straight Monk. At level 15.

It's not a *bad* ability, especially since it does keep the AC for squishy-race Monks on par with the base Monk AC progression. But it isn't superstrong. It isn't superstrong at all.

[Prak]

Thanks Koumei, I'll pass it along to my player once I come up with who the hell Zod is in my game, it looks awesome.

[Koumei]

Zod is "THE BEAR" from Gladius, a gladiatorial tactical game for PS2. It kicks the shit out of anything else you can hire. Seriously, fuck gladiators, assassins and lich wizards, Zod is the MVP.

Now, regarding the Natural Armour, that's a minimum of +1 (well, +0 at level 1 but w/e) and a maximum of +5 (unless you do something retarded like take Bloodline levels and gain all of +8 total). Yeah, it stacks with Armoured in Life (an Armour bonus). Yes, Touch Attacks ignore it. I... don't see it being a big deal.

Now, the Demoralising. Is it a big deal, Kaelik? I mean, it's a Free Action, so it's on top of smacking someone in the face, and it stacks, so it does something relevant the second time you successfully use it, but I did specify once per round. How likely is Demoralise to actually work? Should I make it an Immediate action so they can use it while in Angry Bear Stance, but then can't activate a Style next turn?

[Kaelik]

Now, the Demoralising. Is it a big deal, Kaelik? I mean, it's a Free Action, so it's on top of smacking someone in the face, and it stacks, so it does something relevant the second time you successfully use it, but I did specify once per round. How likely is Demoralise to actually work? Should I make it an Immediate action so they can use it while in Angry Bear Stance, but then can't activate a Style next turn?

I'm not saying it's broken or anything, just that it has a meaningful effect, unlike Shaggy Hide, which is barely noticeable.