[3.P Class] Vorpal Knight

The homebrew forum

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
Sasaisen
NPC
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 3:12 am

[3.P Class] Vorpal Knight

Post by Sasaisen »

I'd appreciate highlights of significant issues or any other feedback for this class. This is intended as a higher-balance-point paladin analogue with blue-mage-esque capabilities. I know the the latter is... fraught, given that monsters don't adhere to PC balance standards, but hopefully I've sufficiently addressed the likely cases and the rest can be handled with light rule zero.

The Vorpal Knight
"The season changed, but they weren't ready for it, and the breeze took them away. They thought they could find their way home, but they didn't have a home to go back to."

Alignment: Eating souls for personal gain is of dubious morality, and a GM should squint very hard at a player who presents them with a good-aligned vorpal knight.
Ability Scores: The vorpal knight cares about Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution as much as any other front-line combatant. Additionally, Charisma is used for her class features and borrowed abilities.
Hit Die: d10
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Skills: The vorpal knight’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (Planes) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
LevelBABFortRefWillSpecialAspectsManeuvers KnownManeuvers ReadiedStances
1st1200Claim Soul, Consumption, Deathwatch, Mark Soul (1/day), Reservoir-531
2nd2300Soul-clad, Whispers of the Dead-642
3rd3311Echoes of the Dead (Minor), Infernal Constitution, Opportunist-742
4th4411Aspects, Mark Soul (2/day)1742
5th5411Memories of the Dead1853
6th6522Echoes of the Dead (Major)1853
7th7522Mark Soul (3/day)2953
8th8622Remand Soul (Lesser)2964
9th9633Shadows of the Dead (20%)21064
10th10733Mark Soul (4/day)31064
11th11733Soul Reaver31175
12th12844Shadows of the Dead (40%)31175
13th13844Mark Soul (5/day)41275
14th14944Remand Soul (Greater)41285
15th15955Shadows of the Dead (60%)41386
16th161055Mark Soul (6/day)51386
17th171055Sacrifice Soul51496
18th181166Shadows of the Dead (80%)51497
19th191166Mark Soul (7/day)61597
20th201266Master of Souls616107

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Vorpal knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with light and medium armor, but not shields.

Maneuvers
A vorpal knight begins her career with knowledge of a number of martial maneuvers, as indicated in the table. The disciplines available to her are Cursed Razor, Riven Hourglass, Scarlet Throne, Shattered Mirror, and Veiled Moon. Once she knows a maneuver, she must ready it before she can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by a vorpal knight is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. She learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, although she must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. A vorpal knight’s maneuvers and initiator modifier are keyed on her Charisma.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even numbered level after that, the vorpal knight can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one she already knows; in effect, she loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. The vorpal knight need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level, but can choose a new maneuver of any level she likes, as long as she observes her restriction on the highest-level maneuvers she knows. The vorpal knight can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied
The vorpal knight can have some of her maneuvers readied at a time, as indicated in the table. She readies her maneuvers by meditating and communing with her claimed souls for ten minutes. The maneuvers she chooses remain readied until she decides to meditate again and change them. She does not need to sleep or be well rested to ready her maneuvers; any time she spends ten minutes in meditation, she can change her readied maneuvers. She may not ready any individual maneuver more than once.

All of the vorpal knight's maneuvers are considered unexpended after being readied; once she initiates the maneuver it becomes expended, unable to be used again until she once again readies her maneuvers, or she recovers her maneuvers. Once per round, she can take a swift action to recover one expended maneuver of her choice. When she does this, she may also spend any number of points from her consumption pool (see Consume Soul), and recover an additional expended maneuver per point spent.

Stances
A vorpal knight has knowledge of a number of stances from any discipline and maneuver level open to her. At the indicated levels, she selects an additional new stance. Unlike other maneuvers, stances are not expended, and she does not have to ready them. All the stances she knows are available to her at all times, and she can change the stance she is currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, the vorpal knight cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one she already knows.

Claim Soul (Su)
The vorpal knight can claim the soul of a deceased creature within 30ft of her, either as a swift action, or a free action immediately after she personally kills the creature. She may either extract a consumption point from it and let the soul pass on (becoming unavailable to claim again), or add it to her reservoir. If her reservoir is full, she can choose to replace an existing soul with the one she just claimed, and the old soul is immediately released. The following limitations apply:
  • The creature cannot be mindless, and must be of a type that can be affected by Raise Dead.
  • The creature must have no more than her level + 3 in HD (including those from class levels).
  • The creature must not have died from a death effect.
  • The creature must have died within her level in rounds.
Consumption (Ex)
The vorpal knight possesses a pool of consumption points, representing raw soul energy at her disposal. Every day, she gains one consumption point for every soul in her reservoir, and she may possess up to her level + her Charisma modifier in consumption points at any time. These points can be spent to recover her maneuvers (as described above) or to activate later class features.

As a full-round action, the vorpal knight may process a soul from her reservoir and gain a number of consumption points equal to the soul's HD. She must have possessed the soul for at least the previous twenty-four hours before she is able to process it. This releases the soul from her reservoir, though the soul is treated as if it had died from a death effect.

Deathwatch (Sp)
At will, a vorpal knight can use deathwatch, as the spell. She can, as a move action, concentrate on a single living or undead creature within 30 feet and determine its current hit points and HD (including those from any class levels). While focusing on one creature, she does not sense the condition of any other creature within range.

Mark Soul (Su)
Once per day, a vorpal knight can mark a foe for reaping. As a swift action, the vorpal knight chooses one creature within sight to mark; this creature must be a valid target (aside from being alive) for Claim Soul. The vorpal knight adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her level to all damage rolls made against the target of her mark. Attacks on a marked foe from the vorpal knight automatically bypass any damage reduction (DR) the creature might have.

In addition, while mark soul is in effect, the vorpal knight gains a resistance bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) to her saving throws on effects that originate from the marked foe (spells, special attacks that grant a save, etc), knows if/when the creature dies, and may claim its soul if it dies without requiring an action and regardless of distance.

The mark’s effects remain until the target is dead or the next time the vorpal knight rests and regains her uses of this ability. At 4th level, and every three levels thereafter, the vorpal knight may use mark soul one additional time per day as indicated on the table above, to a maximum of seven times per day at level 19.

Reservoir (Ex)
A vorpal knight can store souls for her later use, up to two souls plus one per level after 1st, with souls that exceed her level in HD counting as two souls. Souls in her reservoir are prevented from passing on to their afterlife, which means the "clock" for spells such as Breath of Life, Raise Dead, and Resurrection is essentially stopped while she possesses the soul. However, this does not affect the condition of the body, and until the soul is released, these effects will also fail unless they are capable of restoring life to a creature that died from a death effect. When she dies, all souls in her reservoir are released, and she may also release one or more souls from her reservoir at any time as a free action.

Soul-clad (Su)
At 2nd level, a vorpal knight is able to harness the power of her collected souls to defend her from harm. She gains a +1 deflection bonus per three souls in her reservoir (round up) to her AC and CMD.

Whispers of the Dead (Su)
At 2nd level, a vorpal knight adds half the number of souls in her reservoir to all Knowledge skill checks. If she houses at least one soul in her reservoir, she may also make Knowledge skill checks even if untrained.

Echoes of the Dead (Sp)
At 3rd level, a vorpal knight can conjure forth the likenesses of the souls contained within her. This ability replicates the effects of Minor Image, but she may only create the illusion of a creature whose soul she possesses in her reservoir. This ability costs one consumption point but is otherwise usable at-will. If, before the effect expires, she uses this ability again, the previous effect ends.

At 6th level, if she spends two consumption points, this ability instead replicates the effects of Major Image, but is otherwise subject to the same limitations.

Infernal Constitution (Su)
At 3rd level, the vorpal knight can spend one or more consumption points as a swift action to gain fast healing equal to half her level (round up), which lasts one round per point spent. Using this ability again while it's already in effect extends the duration by the new number of points spent, but the amount of healing per round is unchanged.

Opportunist (Ex)
At 3rd level, a vorpal knight is a specialist in taking lives, especially from those helpless enough to not resist. She can perform a coup de grace as a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity from doing so. She can also perform a coup de grace against a creature immune to critical hits.

Aspects (Su or Sp)
Beginning at 4th level, the vorpal knight can replicate the abilities that her held souls possessed in life. Nearly any ability or quality can become an aspect, subject to the guidelines at the end of the class description. The total number of aspects (among all her souls) she may channel at once is given in the class table above, and she may change her aspects with ten minutes of meditation; this can be done at the same time as she readies her maneuvers. Before a soul can be channeled into an aspect, she must have possessed it for at least the previous twenty-four hours, at which point she becomes fully aware of the soul's capabilities. If she consumes, releases, or otherwise loses a soul that's currently lending her an aspect, she also loses that aspect at the same time. Aspects don't produce any physical changes; instead, a visible manifestation reminiscent of the soul appears around her when the aspect is activated or relevant (e.g. a defense in response to an attack), or when viewed with True Seeing.

Memories of the Dead (Sp)
At 5th level, the vorpal knight can pry into the memories of the souls she holds. This ability functions similarly to Speak With Dead, allowing her to receive an answer from any soul in her reservoir to one question per consumption point she spends. This ability is always a minute to use, regardless of the number of questions asked, and if asking multiple questions she may question her souls in any order or combination. Regardless of alignment, each soul receives a Will save (DC 10 + ½ the vorpal knight's level + her Charisma modifier) the first time it's questioned each day; if it succeeds, it may subvert or avoid questioning for twenty-four hours.

Remand Soul (Sp)
At 8th level, the vorpal knight can store souls from her reservoir into gems. This is usable at-will and functions similarly to Soul Bind, except that it only applies to souls in her reservoir; the value of the gem needs only be 100gp per HD of the soul; and any effect that can restore life to a creature that died from a death effect, will successfully restore the soul and shatter the gem.

Further, the vorpal knight may claim souls from these gems (regardless of who created them, or when they were created) as if the creature had just died, provided she's touching the gem. Doing this leaves the gem intact for later use.

At 14th level, the vorpal knight may instead choose to fully replicate Soul Bind, provided she has a sufficiently valuable gem and still limited to souls in her reservoir.

Shadows of the Dead (Sp)
At 9th level, the vorpal knight can command the likenesses of the souls she possesses to act by her side. Treat this ability as Shadow Conjuration, emulating a conjuration (summoning) spell that summons a creature whose soul she possesses. This is a full-round action that costs four consumption points, and lasts for one round per level. The DC to disbelieve the effect is equal to 10 + ½ the vorpal knight's level + her Charisma modifier; each creature may attempt this save the first time it interacts with the shadow, and if successful the shadow's abilities are only 20% "real" as described in Shadow Conjuration.

When summoned, the shadow acts immediately after the vorpal knight, and on her initiative count on subsequent rounds. It does not demonstrate any independent action, but instead obeys the vorpal knight's commands to the best of its ability. Any limits on ability use, both for an individual ability and the vorpal knight's overall daily limits on Su/Sp abilities, apply to both the vorpal knight and the shadow. The vorpal knight loses any aspects she had borrowed from the shadow when it's summoned.

The vorpal knight can only bring one shadow out at a time, and similarly to channeling aspects she must have possessed the soul for at least twenty-four hours prior. When this ability ends, if she uses it a second time while a shadow is still active, or if the shadow "dies", the soul automatically returns to her reservoir and is unavailable to channel or summon again for twenty-four hours.

At 12th level, she may instead spend six consumption points to increase the "reality" of her summoned shadows to 40%; at 15th level, eight consumption points and 60%; and at 18th level, ten consumption points and 80%.

Soul Reaver (Ex)
At 11th level, the vorpal knight may now take even the most resistant of souls. her Claim Soul and Mark Soul abilities may now be successfully used on outsiders, non-mindless undead, and creatures that have died from a death effect. She also becomes immune to any effect that would move or trap her own soul, whether she is alive or dead.

Sacrifice Soul (Su)
At 17th level, if the vorpal knight would die, she may sacrifice a soul from her reservoir in her place, allowing her to survive the attack or effect with 1HP/level remaining. This releases the soul, though it is treated as if it had died from a death effect for purposes of being brought back to life. This ability is a free action, but requires the vorpal knight to be conscious.

Master of Souls (Su)
At 20th level, the vorpal knight may use Claim Soul on a still-living creature; this entitles it to a Will save (DC 10 + ½ level + Charisma modifier) and a success prevents its soul from being claimed for twenty-four hours or until it dies. The vorpal knight may also use Claim Soul and Mark Soul regardless of a target's HD, and wins Pathfinder.

Aspects
The following are guidelines for the traits and abilities that the vorpal knight can borrow from her stored souls. These aren't exhaustive (but should cover the common cases) or guaranteed (certain traits/abilities can be declared off-limits). Each individual aspect can only call upon a single soul; if she wishes to gain several similar abilities from multiple souls, she must select them with multiple aspects. All aspects follow their standard rules for stacking with other aspects or with the vorpal knight's own abilities.

Every capability granted by an aspect is considered a (Su) or (Sp) ability. If the soul's ability was extraordinary or supernatural in nature, the corresponding aspect is a (Su) ability for the vorpal knight; otherwise, it's considered a (Sp) ability. Aspects use the vorpal knight's attack bonus, ability scores, and other modifiers, and the DC for any ability is equal to 10 + ½ her level + her Charisma modifier. In all other ways, unless specifically overridden below, the aspect functions as it's written in the creature's entry.

Natural Armor
The vorpal knight can equip a soul's natural armor as an aspect. The bonus is the lesser of that of the soul, or half her level (round up).

Damage Reduction
The vorpal knight can adopt a soul's damage reduction as an aspect. The amount of damage reduction granted is the lesser of that of the soul, or twice her level, and is overcome by whatever material or quality would overcome the soul's damage reduction. An immunity to some or all physical damage can count as "infinite" (overcome by whatever the immunity misses) damage reduction for purposes of this aspect; if doing so she cannot also claim it as part of an immunity aspect from the same soul.

Spell Resistance
The vorpal knight can acquire a soul's spell resistance as an aspect. The spell resistance granted is the lesser of that of the soul, or 10 + her level. Any effects on a successful resistance roll (e.g. reflecting the spell) or conditions (e.g. only applies against some effects) are also copied. An immunity to some or all magic can count as "infinite" (conditional if appropriate) spell resistance for purposes of this aspect; if doing so she cannot also claim it as part of an immunity aspect from the same soul.

Energy Resistance
The vorpal knight can assume all of a soul's energy resistances as a single aspect. The total amount of ER granted is capped at five times her level (she chooses which resistances to reduce if greater), but otherwise the amount of resistance to each energy type is the same as that of the soul. An immunity to an energy type can count as "infinite" energy resistance for purposes of this aspect; if doing so she cannot also claim it as part of an immunity aspect from the same soul.

Resistances and Immunities
The vorpal knight can claim some or all of a soul's resistances and immunities as an aspect. The immunities she can select are limited by her level as indicated on the table. She can adopt one immunity of her level or lower, two of (her level minus two) or lower, or four of (her level minus four) or lower, as a single aspect. A bonus to saves greater than +4, or caveats on an immunity (such as a narrow scope or corresponding vulnerability), counts as an immunity two levels lower; a bonus of +4 or less counts as an immunity of four levels lower; and she can voluntarily claim either a +4 or +8 bonus to saves in lieu of a greater bonus or full immunity.
LevelAllowed Immunities
4thAltitude effects, bleed, dazzled, forced movement
5thBlindness, deafness, pain
6thDrowning, nonlethal damage, sleep, suffocation
7thCharm, sickened, single spell (½ level or lower), stagger
8thDazing, fatigue/exhaustion
9thDisease, fear, poison
10thAcid, cold, electricity, fire
11thAging, curses, multiple spells (each ½ level - 1 or lower), nauseated
12thCompulsion, sonic effects, visual effects
13thPetrification, polymorph, stunning
14thAbility damage/drain, force or other energy type
15thCritical hits, precision damage, spell school
16thEnergy drain, paralysis
17thMind-affecting
18thDeath effects
19thSpells
20thWeapon damage

Senses
The vorpal knight can borrow one of a soul's senses, including any modifiers (e.g. darkvision or mistsight for vision), as an aspect. Blindsense/sight, lifesense, thoughtsense, tremorsense, and the like are typically considered individual senses unless intrinsically tied to a standard sense (e.g. blindsense derived from exceptionally keen hearing).

Languages
The vorpal knight may communicate using all means available to the soul as an aspect. This includes the ability to read, write, speak, and understand any languages the soul knew, as well as special communication methods such as telepathy.

Feats
The vorpal knight can learn either one of the soul's feats that they don't otherwise qualify for, or two that they do, as a single aspect. In the latter case, one feat can be used to qualify for the other.

Movement
The vorpal knight can take on one of the soul's movement modes, and any abilities that directly modify it (e.g. earth glide for a burrow speed), as an aspect. If she doesn't already possess that movement mode, her speed is half that of the soul's. If she does, her speed is the greater of her normal speed + 10ft, or that of the soul. For flight, the maneuverability is one step lower than that of the soul if she couldn't already fly, or the greater of her own or the soul's if she could.

Natural Attacks
The vorpal knight can copy one of a soul's natural attacks, either a single attack or a linked set as appropriate, provided she has enough compatible appendages, as an aspect. For example, she could gain a pair of claw attacks as a single aspect assuming she has at least two arms (or something similar to arms), but she could not gain all of a hydra's bite attacks unless she has a lot of heads. The attack deals the same damage/effects as if used by the soul, including any rider effects that are linked specifically to the attack (e.g. grab or poison for a bite, rake for claws) but not general abilities or effects from the soul that modify all attacks (e.g. feats, energy auras, incorporeality).

Breath Weapons
The vorpal knight can produce one of a soul's breath weapons as an aspect. If the soul had multiple breath weapons, she selects one when she assigns the aspect. The breath weapon is usable at-will, subject to any limitations (daily uses, recharge periods, conditions, etc.) that applied to the soul.

Maneuvers
The vorpal knight can tap into a soul's martial knowledge. Each selection of this aspect grants her knowledge of all maneuvers and stances that the soul knows from a single martial discipline. She can ready these maneuvers as if they were her own, and may also ready one of these maneuvers without it counting against her normal allotment.

Extraordinary Abilities
The vorpal knight can gain one of a soul's (Ex) abilities that are not covered by the above, including special attacks and qualities. Any limitations that applied to the soul for this ability (daily uses, recharge periods, conditions, etc.) also apply to the vorpal knight. Specifically excluded from this are fast healing, incorporeality, natural invisibility, and regeneration, which even if extraordinary are taken as if they were a (Su) ability (see below).

Spell, Spell-like, or Supernatural Abilities
The vorpal knight can gain the use of any one spell the soul knew or had prepared at time of death, or a (Sp) or (Su) ability that they possessed and is not otherwise covered above. If the ability would normally be passive or constant (as is the case with many supernatural abilities), she can activate the ability as a swift action, and it remains active for one round per HD of the soul. Any limitations that applied to the soul for this ability (daily uses, recharge periods, conditions, etc.) also apply to the vorpal knight.

In addition to any per-ability limitations, the vorpal knight has daily limits on the total number of spells, spell-like, or supernatural abilities she can use, based on her level and the ability's level per the table below. For spells and spell-like abilities, use the sorcerer/wizard spell level if available, or the highest spell level of all classes that can cast it otherwise. For supernatural abilities, if a comparable spell exists, use that spell's level; if not, treat the spell level as half the HD of the soul. To recover her daily uses, she must rest for eight hours and spend an hour in concentration, in a similar fashion to a spellcaster recovering their spells.
Level0th1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
4thAt-Will32-------
5thAt-Will321------
6thAt-Will532------
7thAt-Will5321-----
8thAt-Will5532-----
9thAt-WillAt-Will5321----
10thAt-WillAt-Will5532----
11thAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5321---
12thAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5532---
13thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5321--
14thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5532--
15thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5321-
16thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5532-
17thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5321
18thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will5532
19thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will532
20thAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-WillAt-Will553

Last edited by Sasaisen on Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:03 am, edited 13 times in total.
User avatar
The Adventurer's Almanac
Duke
Posts: 1540
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:59 pm
Contact:

Post by The Adventurer's Almanac »

I can't offer any real feedback, but I'd play it. This greatly appeals to my inner 14 year old edgelord.
Post Reply