Fighter Fixes

[Avoraciopoctules]

This is part of an email I sent out to my RPG group.

Akula, you are playing a melee Fighter, and as such have unlocked the secret Artifact Sword class feature. Choose one of the following legacy weapons you took from Hruggek's Ninja Temple.
- Reaver-of-Mountains, +2 Neutralizing Grounding Adamantine Earth Breaker
This weapon currently allows you the following SLAs, CL equal to your character level, CHA-based DC:
At Will: Magic Stone, Mending
3/day: Stone Call, Stone Shape
1/day: Stone Tell
It is said that if one strikes the heart of a mountain with this great hammer, it will crumble into a chasm.

- The Bane of Escalant, +2 Keen Magical Beast-Bane Copper-Plated Steel Scimitar
This weapon currently allows you the following SLAs, CL equal to your character level, CHA-based DC:
At Will: Jump, Darkness
3/day: Shocking Grasp (delivered through weapon), Memory Lapse
1/day: Greater Invisibility
A bugbear champion once used this weapon to kill an entire town of elves in retaliation for some long-forgotten slight.

- Gaia's Judicator, +2 Heartseeker Fey-Bane Ironwood Katana
This weapon currently allows you the following SLAs, CL equal to your character level, CHA-based DC:
At Will: Pass without Trace, Tree Stride
3/day: Defoliate, Plant Growth
1/day: Haste (Extended)
Created by a mighty druid to arm the champion she tasked with enforcing her laws, this sword can deliver both life and death to those governed by the rules of nature.

- Ghosteater, +2 Frost Undead-Bane Cold Iron Spear
This weapon currently allows you the following SLAs, CL equal to your character level, CHA-based DC:
At Will: Chill Touch (delivered through weapon), Disrupt Undead
3/day: Command Undead, Death Knell
1/day: Disrupting Weapon (Extended)
Said to have once belonged to a notorious Ice Devil, this lance feeds upon the essence of undead it strikes down. With each scrap of soulstuff, the weapon's atrophied mind grows closer to reawakening.

I wrote these 4 weapons when I was half asleep. Do they look reasonably balanced with each other? The game's going to be a dungeon crawl with lots of ice monsters, aimed at a party of 4 level 5 Pathfinder characters.

[Previn]

Reaver-of-Mountains easily looks like the go to weapon to me. It's got a lot of very good non-combat uses while the rest are all pretty situational.

[ishy]

Why is the DC Cha based for a fighter?

[JigokuBosatsu]

P.S: Flu meds, whoopdeedoo

Step up your meds game, son.

Not nearly weird enough.

[erik]

Why is the DC Cha based for a fighter?

Maybe the tragic fighter has a decent Charisma and that's the reason.

Most don't have saves anyway so it is mostly moot. Command Undead is the only one I'd care about the DC for and that weapon is the clear trap option anyway.

A piercing frost weapon for fighting undead... and in an adventure that is supposed to feature ice monsters... that's doubly cruel.

Other than the trap option I'd say they're fairly balanced. None jump out at me as being teh winnar. Granted, I don't know what Heart Seeker, Neutralizing, Grounding or Earthbreaking properties do (not in SRD, not in MiC). I assume Earthbreaking to be like Mattock of the Titans which is at least kind of cute. At will Tree Stride is cute too, but kind of useless on a underground dungeon.

If I had to pick one, the Scimitar has the best stuff going for it. Greater Invis + Shocking Grasp and a threat range of 15-20/X2.

[Mistborn]

The fighter threads

They keep happening

[nockermensch]

The fighter threads

They keep happening

Meh, it was just thread necromancy. I'm disappointed.

[Akula]

Why is the DC Cha based for a fighter?

Maybe the tragic fighter has a decent Charisma and that's the reason.

Nah, I'm not sandbagging that hard. I was offered an artifact sword if I played a fighter, so I'm playing a fighter. Granted I have a higher Cha than average because our group allows 14 in everything as a stat option. Players in this group consistently make characters that lose to mighty Valeros in a fight so...

Other than the trap option I'd say they're fairly balanced. None jump out at me as being teh winnar. Granted, I don't know what Heart Seeker, Neutralizing, Grounding or Earthbreaking properties do (not in SRD, not in MiC). I assume Earthbreaking to be like Mattock of the Titans which is at least kind of cute. At will Tree Stride is cute too, but kind of useless on a underground dungeon.

They are pathfinder weapon properties. Neutralizing and Grounding give you +1d6 damage against earth and air subtype creatures and a +2 bullshit bonus to saving throws against acid and lightning effects. Heart Seeker negates concealment against living targets, and earthbreaker is the type of weapon. Some big hammer or something.

If I had to pick one, the Scimitar has the best stuff going for it. Greater Invis + Shocking Grasp and a threat range of 15-20/X2.

Yeah, but then I can't write about how my superior goblin wood has been folded over 1000 times. Plus he'll let me have keen instead of Heart Seeker.

By the way I wrote a pathfinder prestige class for the character. I'll probably never get to use it, but it has all these stupid limitations so that it isn't as obvious as a straight upgrade from any martial class. What do you guys think? Realistically, Ninja Execute might be a problem, simply because if you have it you end some large subset of fights before they begin.


Bugbear Ninja
Requirements: Bugbear, BAB +5, Iron Will, Dodge, Acrobatics 5 ranks
BAB: Good
Fort: Bad Ref: Good Will: Good
4+int skills
Class skills: Who really cares?
1: Flippin' Like a Ninja, Smoke Bombs, Tricks of the Trade
2: Ninja Execute, Poison Smoke
3: Balance on Falling Leaves
4: Revengance
5: Solid Smoke, Improved Tricks of the Trade
6: Temple's Calling Card
7: Killing Smoke, Enduring Smoke
8: In Position
9: Bloodbath

Flippin' Like a Ninja (Ex): Acrobatics is always a class skill for a Ninja, and they can always take 10 on Acrobatics checks, even when threatened or in danger.

Smoke Bombs (Ex): At first level a Ninja can create a 20ft radius cloud of smoke within close range as a standard action every 3 rounds, this otherwise functions as a fog cloud spell with caster level equal to the Ninja's character level.

Tricks of the Trade (Su): A Ninja of first level can use Invisibility (self only) as an SLA of caster level equal to character level whenever they cannot be seen by a hostile or otherwise suspicious party. Further, 3 times per day a Ninja can create a Mirror Image effect as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity (CL = character level).

Ninja Execute (Ex): A Ninja of second level can perform a Coup De Grace from a distance of up to 30 feet, the enemy targeted does not have to be helpless, merely completely unaware of the Ninja's presence. Using this ability ends any invisibility effects on the Ninja and always leaves them next to their target. At fourth level they can use this ability as a standard action. At seventh, the ninja can Coup De Grace as an attack action.

Poison Smoke (Ex): Anyone caught in a Ninja of second level's smoke bombs is effected as if by a Stinking Cloud spell with DC = 10+1/2 character level+Con and a caster level equal to the Ninja's character level. The Ninja herself is not effected by the noxious fumes, and can choose whether to use this ability each time they use a smoke bomb.

Balance on Falling Leaves (Ex): As long as a Ninja of third level begins and ends their movement on a surface that they can safely support themselves on they can move over the intervening distance with a DC 30 acrobatics check. This allows ninja's to run up and down vertical surfaces, ceilings, or to traverse broken or falling objects. At the MC's discretion, this ability can be used to move on missile weapons in midair, though at DC 35 instead.

Revengance (Ex): A Ninja of fourth level is almost impossible to stop when they put their mind to something. Once per day per class level, the Ninja can reroll a failed saving throw after the results of the save are known, the Ninja must take the second result even if it is worse. Further, when defending against a combat maneuver, the Ninja is treated as having a size bonus to CMD equal to the attacking creature's size bonus to CMB or her own, whichever is better.

Solid Smoke (Su): A Ninja of 5th level can treat their smoke bombs as if the effect was a Solid Fog (CL= Character Level), which does not impede the Ninja. This ability cannot be combined with Poison Smoke.

Improved Tricks of the Trade (Su): Up to three times per day, when a Ninja of 5th level becomes invisible, they can treat the effect as Greater Invisibility. This can apply both to the Tricks of the Trade ability and to invisibility spells cast on the Ninja, though the caster level of the effect doesn't change. The Ninja can now use her Mirror image SLA as a swift action at will.

Temple's Calling Card (Ex): As a standard action a 6th level Ninja can throw a 60ft cone of shuriken. Effected creatures must make a reflex save DC=10+1/2 character level+Dex or take 4d6+strength damage and be effected by Giant Wasp poison, a successful save halves the damage and negates the poison. This ability covers the area in pointy throwing weapons which can be easily seen, in all other ways this functions as a spike stones spell that cannot be dispelled, but may be cleared like caltrops. The caster level of this effect is equal to the Ninja's character level.

Killing Smoke (Su): At 7th level, the Ninja can choose to effect creatures in her smoke bomb with Cloud Kill spell DC = 10+1/2 character level+Con and caster level equal to character level. The Ninja herself is unaffected. This ability cannot be combined with Poison Smoke or Solid Smoke.

Enduring Smoke (Ex): As long as the Ninja of 7th level centers her smoke abilities on herself, they restore themselves the round following being blown away or dispelled. The Ninja carries a smoke dispenser of some culturally appropriate type.

In Position (Su): A Ninja of 8th level can use Dimension Door as an SLA with caster level equal to character level once every 1d4 rounds. If the Ninja has Dimensional Dervish, this ability cannot be combined with Ninja Execute.

Bloodbath (Su): Every time a Ninja of 9th level kills, or knocks unconscious, a foe, the Ninja gets 10 temporary HP and their sword is effected by a CL 20 Greater magic weapon if it was not already magical. The temporary HP from this ability stacks with itself. In order for this ability to trigger the victim must have a CR no more than 4 points lower than the Ninja's own.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Thanks for the advice on the artifact "swords", I agree that the spear should have been tweaked to be a little more immediately useful. Bane of Escalant has some really sick synergies, especially if pathfinder lets arcane strikes use the weapon's crit range.

Personally, Reaver-of-Mountains is a favorite just because of how I'd flavor the spells. You terrify rocks. Throw a pebble, and it feels so relieved at leaving your hands that it picks up a positive energy charge. Yell at the stalactites until they lose their grip on the ceiling. Menace a boulder with your hammer until it breaks down and tells you everything it knows.

It looks like the Metal Gear Rising joke sword is the final choice, with Heartseeker swapped for Keen.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Welp, it looks like everybody wanted to grab the cursed artifacts behind glass in the doom cathedral's treasury. Things just got interesting.

To: Akula
Subject: Dawn of the Artifacts, level 7

Gaia's Judicator, +2 Called Keen Fey-Bane Ironwood Katana
This weapon currently allows you the following SLAs, CL equal to your character level, CHA-based DC:
At Will: Pass without Trace, Tree Stride
3/day: Defoliate, Plant Growth
1/day: Haste (Extended), Speak with Plants

Created by a mighty druid to arm the champion she tasked with enforcing her laws, this sword can deliver both life and death to those governed by the rules of nature.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mantle of the Cloudwalker, +3 Cloak of Resistance
While wearing the cloak, you have these powers (CL=character level, CHA=based DC):
- Immunity to being encumbered or knocked around by wind effects
- Fly speed 50' (poor maneuverability)
- You may use Suggestion at will, but only on creatures with the Air subtype
- You no longer need to breathe
- While you have line of effect to the sky, as an action taking one full round, you can attempt to call down spirits of the air. This is usually air elementals between Small and Large size, but you could get other stuff depending on my roll on a table I haven't made yet. Maybe even certain kinds of dragon, or noble djinn. They start out Unfriendly, but will obey your commands until you release them or they manage to make their daily Will save to break free.

Seemingly made of miniature clouds stitched together with sky-blue thread, this cloak grants the wearer mastery over air. Unfortunately, many spirits of the air resent an outsider deigning to command them, and they will scheme and plot for vengeance. Also, legend has it that the cloak was made out of the body of a lord of elemental air after she was defeated by a Teotl of Mictlan. Cultists may be plotting to steal it so they can revive their master.

Anybody want to make suggestions for my "creatures of the Air" table? Air and lightning elementals for sure, but there's loads of other possibilities. Invisible stalkers and aerial servants, arrowhawks, djinn, storm demons, dragons with the right subtypes, air-element genasi with class levels, etc.

[Prak]

Behirs, shocker lizards, shocker lizardmen.

[hyzmarca]

My Feats Aren't Useless (EX): You may take any spell of X level or lower as a bonus feat usable Y times per day.